276 



THE BEE-KEEPER'S REVIEW 



Fall Feeding. 



The sooner fall feeding- is attended to 

 now, the better. The bees will now have 

 time to ripen and cap over the stores given 

 them, and get everything in apple-pie or- 

 der for winter. The position and char- 

 acter of the stores have much to do with 

 the successful winter of the bees. 



Then there is another point: If the bees 

 have not gathered any stores since early 

 in the season, there ought to bs some 

 stimulative feeding to encourage breeding, 

 and thus have some young bees for win- 

 ter. 1 had a letter today from a man in 

 Canada, saying that his bees had gather- 

 ed no stores since fruit bloom, and the 

 bees had run down in numbers until he 

 was fearful that he could not winter 

 them. Last year, here at Flint, my bees 

 gathered no honey after the close of 

 the white clover honey harvest, hence 

 there was not very much breeding late in 

 the season. There were plenty of bees in 

 the hives when put into the cellar, but 

 many of the bees were old, and when 

 spring came many of the bees (not col- 

 onies) were dead from old age. The bees 

 were all clean, dry and healthy, but 1 was 

 surprised to see how few there were in 

 many of the hives. This year 1 am giving 

 them an occasionally a feed this month, 

 and probably will continue it a part of 

 next month. No amount of fussing next 

 spring will atone for neglecting the bees 

 this fall. 



»>i*^^tr»^i«ji^ 



"Music Hath Charms." 



A few days ago I heard a professional 

 violinist play a few solos in the back room 

 of a barber shop. There was no one 

 present except a few chums of earlier 

 days, and he was playing with all that 

 abandon, and "just for the love of it," 

 style that usually characterizes playing 

 under such circumstances. But how he 

 did play ! How the tones rose and fell, 

 and died away to a whisper. Then they 

 set my pulses dancing until 1 could scarce- 

 ly sit still. Then, without peing able to 

 say why, I found my eyes g-rowing moist, 



and I was biting my lips to keep back 

 actual sobs. 



When it was all over 1 found myself say- 

 ing "Oh, if I could only play like that !" 

 Then the thought came to me, suppose 

 this musician should go with me to an 

 apiary, see the rows of white hives dot- 

 ting the greensward, listen to the myriads 

 of bees on the wing, inhale the fragrance 

 that arises from an apiary in the clover- 

 time, see the building of the dainty combs, 

 the piling up of the glass-fronted cases of 

 honey, and all the other beauties of 

 modern bee culture, he, too, might turn 

 away with a sigh, and say "What wouldn't 

 I give if I could manage a business like 

 this !'■ 



We are too much given to seeing and 

 magnifying the beauties of some other 

 business than our own. 



««^^rf«*'^ii,»*^ 



The Bee Journals of this country are 

 now fewer in number than they have been 

 in many years, but it is likely that more 

 will soon be started. If everybody knew 

 as much about it as do those already in 

 the business, no more would be started. 

 The truth is that the field is already more 

 than covered. 1 don't say that it would 

 not be possible to make a success of 

 another bee journal, but the same amount 

 of time, talents and capital put into 

 straight honey production would bring 

 much larger returns. Why do 1 publish 

 the Review? Because it has now b acorn e 

 a profitable business, but to make it such 

 has cost years of hard work and thou- 

 sands of dollars. As 1 have said before, 

 in these columns, if 1 should now sell the 

 Review for S5,000, 1 would not, with this 

 capital, and my years of experience, 

 think of starting another bee journal — I 

 would turn my whole attention to honey 

 production. Having built up the Review 

 to what it is, 1 can now continue it at a 

 good profit, but, having "been through the 

 mill," I know there are many things that 

 are easier of accomplishment and more 

 profitable than that of making a success 

 of starting a bee jonrnal. Yes, and most 

 of the ventures in this line are not sue- 



