AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



May 



that made brood -in the hive at time for cel- 

 laring, and taking out the brood would likely 

 not have helped. 



3. Some report entire success; but others are 

 not so successful. 



4. Yes. 



Unpacking Goldens — Royal Jelly 



1. When could I take four stands of bees 

 out of a shed? When I bought them it was 

 almost too late to pack them. 



2. When is the correct time to unpack my 

 bees? 



3. Would you advise me to buy Golden Ital- 

 ians, or the leather colored? 



4. Are the Goldens as good? 



5. Would it be too early to divide before the 

 white clover flow, about June 15? 



6. Or would this check the honey-flow to a 

 certain extent? 



7. Do you get royal jelly out of queen-cells? 



8. If so, what part? and can it be saved in 

 a bottle ? 



9. Should I put any syrup or flour out for 

 my bees now? 



10. How do you feed inside the hive when 

 packed? 



11. How much honey should I expect from 

 a colony that has never had much care, but is 

 in a good hive with straight foundation? 



12. I have eight stands, four well cared for 

 and four that are not. How much honey 

 should I expect and make an increase of 

 eight colonies? 



13. Will they make 800 pounds or more? 



14. How would you advise me to sell this 

 amount, in 2-lb. cans, 5-lb., or large cans, and 

 ship it? INDIANA. 



Answers. — 1 and 2. Unless there be danger 

 of starvation or some other reason for dis- 

 turbing them, it is better not to unpack until 

 it is pretty warm, say toward the end of May. 

 That is equivalent to saying that the bees in 

 the shed should not be moved till then. If, 

 however, you had taken them out before there 

 was any flying to speak of, there would have 

 been less trouble about bees going back to the 

 shed when taken out of it. 



3 and 4. There are good and bad in each; 

 hut on the whole, I should prefer the leather- 

 colored. 



5. Yes, if you want the most honey; no, if 

 you want the most bees. Yet in regions where 

 the chief flow comes late, it might not be too 

 early for either purpose. 



0. If you divide at the beginning of the clo- 

 ver flow you will pretty surely get less clover 

 honey than you would to leave the colony un- 

 divided. 



7. You can, if you want it; but in the 

 practice of some no jelly is needed to start 

 cells. The bees will produce the jelly without 

 your taking any out of queen-cells, if they 

 need it. 



8. The whole of the pap-like substance found 

 in a queen-cell is royal jelly, and some report 

 keeping it some time corked in a bottle. 



9. Putting out syrup may be a good thing if 

 the bees can get nothing from the flowers and 

 you don't mind feeding neighboring bees; and 

 it does no harm to put out some kind of meal 

 if the bees get no natural pollen. 



10. You can't without at least partly un- 

 packing. 



11. Anywhere from nothing to 200 pounds. 

 But you're more likely to have nothing than 

 200 pounds. 



12 and 13. I couldn't tell at all. The loca- 

 tion, the season, the bees, and other things 

 have much to do with it. Then that "well 

 cared for" is a varying quantity, depending 

 on whether it is the care of a beginner or an 

 expert. To double the number of colonies 

 ami get 800 pounds of honey from eight colo- 

 nies could hardly be expected. To get 300 

 pounds would be doing well. 



14. Likely you will do better to sell near 

 home. Size of container depends on market; 

 likely the 5-pound size may be best. 



Bee-Keeping m> For Women 



Conducted by Miss Emma M. Wilson. M»reneo. 111. 



Starting With Bees 



My Dear Miss Wilson: 



I am also a woman and anxious to 

 succeed with bees, although I know 

 nothing about them. 



Will you kindly tell me how I can 

 best make a small start, where to 

 obtain information, what month is 

 t to start in, etc. 



We recently moved to this place 

 ami there are some hives and a stand 

 in the yard. The last lot of bees 

 were killed by moths. How can I 

 cle;.n and fumigate the hives, etc. 

 MRS. HENRY B. McVEIGH. 

 New Sharon, Iowa. 



There is no better time to start 

 with bees than in spring, say about 

 the time fruit trees are in bloom. 

 Then the risk of wintering is over. 

 Better not start with more than two 

 or three colonies, and then you can 

 increase in numbers as you gain ex- 

 perience. Get Italian bees, or you 

 can Italianize them afterward. 



For information about bees you 

 can take First Lessons in Beekeep- 

 ing, a 175-page beginner's book, by 

 Dadant, price $1.00. If you 

 want a larger work, you can get 

 Langstroth on the Honey-bee, a full 

 treatise on bee-keeping having 575 

 pages, revised by C. P. Dadant, price 



$1.50. A thousand answers to bee- 

 1 eeping questions, by Dr. C. C. Mill- 

 er, a book of 290 pages, supplements 

 other books by answering questions 

 not usually taken up. Price $1.25. 

 You can get any of these books at 

 the office of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal, Hamilton, 111. Sooner or later 

 you will be likely to want a monthly 

 bee journal, but be sure to have a 

 book first. 



If the old hives have been in com- 

 plete control of the bee-moth, they 

 have probably destroyed the comb, so 

 that all you need do is to scrape out 

 the remains and no fumigation is 

 necessary. 



Any further questions you may 

 have will be cheerfully answered in 

 this department. 



Beekeeping for Women 

 Beekeeping for women can be di- 

 vided into two parts; first a hobby, 

 second a commercial industry. Every 

 woman, though she be a busy house- 

 wife, should have a hobby or some- 

 thing to turn her mind to besides 365 

 days of cooking, washing dishes, do- 

 ing the family washing, ironing and 

 mending. For it has been proven 

 that years of this kind of work has 

 given us a crop of pale, nervous, 



dissatisfied women. 'Tis true most 

 of us do embroidery work, lace mak- 

 ing, or something of this nature, but 

 I do believe we should have some- 

 thing to take us out of doors, giving 

 us fresh air, nature study and make 

 us forget ourselves. 



To me beekeeping is the most fas- 

 cinating work I ever studied, and as 

 I said, we should have a hobby, why 

 not have one that gives financial re- 

 turns as well as pleasure. Now, for 

 the new beginner, don't try too many 

 colonies, and remember there are 

 three important things to be remem- 

 bered, viz., neatness, self-control and 

 patience. Don't forget this last word, 

 patience, for bees do not approve of 

 this hurry habit so many of us have 

 fallen into. Neither di they approve 

 of slovenly, dirty ways, and if we 

 are neat and patient we must have 

 self-control; having these three 

 things in mind, get a few colonies of 

 bees in good hives, a good, practical 

 book on beekeeping, and, if possible, 

 get some beekeeper to help you get 

 started, for reading books alone is 

 not so helpful as working with some 

 beekeeper. 



Some woman says, "I can't think of 

 being stung." There are worse stings 

 than bee-stings, and with the use of 

 gloves and veil, bloomers or coverall 

 suit, stings become a small factor in 

 beekeeping. One can get hives com- 

 plete, but I believe most women will 

 enjoy the making of hives, especially 

 the inside fixtures. I enjoy all the 

 work except the painting. 



One thing in particular I wish to 

 mention, don't forget to use full 

 sheets of foundation in hive-body; in 

 fact, prepare your whole hive the 

 best way possible. 



One must not expect everything to 

 be lovely, for beekeeping has its tips 

 and downs, as well as any other vo- 

 cation one might engage in. 



Perhaps the heavy lifting is one of 

 the greatest drawbacks for a woman 

 beekeeper, but generally there is 

 some one around who can assist in 

 the lifting. I think for the woman 

 who finds help scarce comb honey is 

 the most profitable for her to handle. -' 

 Then, too, there is something fascin- 

 ating about preparing comb honey 

 for market, and I do not see anything 

 fascinating in turning an extractor, 

 but this can be decided by each in- 

 dividual. 



Now for the financial side of bee- 

 keeping. I have in mind several 

 women who keep bees as a side line 

 for their own money. All of these 

 women have families to care for and 

 help with other outdoor work. One 

 single woman handles 70 colonies suc- 

 cessfully and does most of the farm 

 w..rk aione. her father dying a year 

 ago this winter. 



I believe the woman that takes up 

 beekeeping as her hobby or for her 

 self-support, will at the end of the 

 year find herself better, physically, 

 ainl mentally, and a better companion 

 for her fellow men than the little 

 indoor woman. 



MRS. ROY BUNGER, 

 Eskridge, Kans. 



(Not every woman would agree that 

 it is better to produce comb rather 

 than extracted honey. To be sure 



