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Fifty Years
Among the Bees

BY
DR. C. C, MILLER

Published by

Copyrighted 1915
by Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, Ills.

All rights reserved

PREFACE.

In the year 1886 there was published a little book written
by me entitled “A Year Among the Bees.” In 1902 it was en-
larged, and appeared under the title “ Forty Years Among the
Bees.” In preparation for the present edition I undertook the
revision with little thought of the number of changes to be
made or the number of pages to be added in order to bring it
fully up to date (about one-eighth being new matter), but it is
hoped that the changes and additions may make it of more value
to the reader. As I began beekeeping in 1861, fifty years ago,
the present name seems appropriate.

Howevcr much some personal friends may like the brief
biographical sketch that oceupies the first few pages, others
may think that the space could have been better occupied.
There remains, however, the privilege of skipping those few
pages.

Most of the pictures are from photographs taken by my-
self or under my immediate supervision, at least so far as con-
cerns “ touching the button.” The Eastman Kodak Co. “ did
the rest.”

C. C. Miuuer.
Marengo, Ill., 1911.

INTRODUCTION

One morning, five or six of us, who had occupied the same
bed-room the previous night during the North American
Convention at Cincinnati, in 1882, were dressing preparatory
to another day’s work. Among the rest were Bingham, of
smoker fame, and Vandervort, the foundation-mill man. I
think it was Prof. Cook who was chaffing these inventors,
saying something to the effect that they were always at work
studying how to get up something different from anybody else,
and, if they needed an implement, would spend a dollar and a
day's time to get up one “ of their own make,” rather than pay
25 cents for a better one ready-made. Vandervort, who sat
contemplatively rubbing his shins, dryly replied: “But they
take a world of comfort in it.” I think all beekeepers are
possessed of more or less of the same spirit. Their own inven-
tions and plans seem best to them, and in many cases they are
right, to the extent that two of them, having almost opposite
plans, would be losers to exchange plans.

In visiting and talking with other beekeepers I am generally
prejudiced enough to think my plans are, on the whole, better
than theirs and yet I am always very much interested to know
just how they manage, especially as to the little details of
common operations, and occasionally I find something so mani-
festly better than my own way, that I am compelled to throw
aside my prejudice and adopt their better way. I suppose there
are a good many like myself, so I think there may be those who
will be interested in these bee-talks, wherein, besides talking
something of the past, I shall try to tell honestly just how I do,
talking in a familiar manner, without feeling obliged to say
“we? when I mean “I.” Indeed, I shall claim the privilege of
putting in the pronoun of the first person as often as I please;
and if the printer runs out of big I’s toward the last of the
book, he can put in little 1’s.

Moreover, I don’t mean to undertake to lay down a
methodical system of beekeeping, whereby one with no knowl-
edge of the business can learn in “ twelve short lessons” all
about it, but will just talk about some of the things that I think
would interest you, if we were sitting down together for a
familiar chat. I take it you are familiar with the good bouks
and periodicals that we as beekeepers are blest with, and in
some things, if not most, you are a better beekeeper than I;
so you have my full permission, as you go from page to page,
to make such remarks as, “ Oh, how foolish!” “I know a good
deal better way than that,” etc., but I hope some may find a
hint here and there that may prove useful.

T have no expectation nor desire to write a complete treatise
on beekeeping. Many important matters connected with the
art I do not mention at all, because they have not come within
my own experience. Others that have come within my experi-
ence I do not mention, because I suppose the reader to be
already familiar with them. I merely try to talk about such
things as I think a brother beekeeper would be most interested
in if he should remain with me during the year.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

BIOGRAPHICAL—-BOY HOOD DAYS.

Fifty miles east of Pittsburg lies the little village of
Ligonier, Pa., where I was born June 10, 1831. Twenty miles
away, across the mountains, lies the ill-fated city of Johnstown,
where my family lived later on. The scenery about Ligonier
is of such a charming character that in recent years it has
become a summer resort, a branch railroad terminating at that
point. Looking down upon the town from the south is a hill
so steep that one wonders how it is possible to cultivate it,
while between it and the town flows a little stream called the
Loyalhanna, with a milldam upon whose broad bosom I spent
many a happy winter hour gliding over the icy surface on the
glittering steel; and in the hot and lazy summer days, with
trouser-legs rolled up to the highest, I waded all about the dam,
the bubbles from its oozy bed running up my legs in a creepy
way, while I watched with keen eyes for the breathing-hole of
some snapping turtle hidden beneath the mud, then cautiously
felt my way to its tail, lifted it and held it at arm’s length for
fear of its vicious jaws, and with no little effort carried it
snapping and struggling to the shore. Ever in sight was the
mountain, abounding in chestnuts, rattlesnakes, and huckle-
berries, and I distinetly recall how strange it seemed, when all
was still about me, to hear the roar of the wind in the tree-tops
on the mountain eight or ten miles away.

EARLY EDUCATION.

My earliest opportunities for education were not of the
best. Public schools were not then what they are to-day, for
they were just coming into existence. I recall that we children,
upon hearing of a free school in a neighboring village, decided
that it must be a very fine thing, for what else could a free

10 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

school be than one in which the scholars were free to whisper
to their hearts’ content? The teachers, in too many cases,
seemed to be chosen because of their lack of fitness for any
other calling. The one concerning whom I have perhaps the
earliest recolletion was a man who dstingwshed himself by
having a large family of boys named in order after the presi-
dents, as far as the United States had at that time progressed
in the matter of presidents, and who extinguished himself by
falling in a well one day when he was drunk.

But with the advent of free schools came rapid improve-
ment, and J made fair progress in the rudiments, even though
the advancement of each pupil was entirely independent of that
of every other. Indeed, there was no such thing as a class in
arithmetic. Each one did his “sums” on his slate, and sub-
mitted them to the ‘ master” for approval, the master doing
such sums as were beyond the ability of the pupil, in some cases
a more advaneed pupil doing this work in place of the teacher.
Tom Cole was a beneficiary of mine, and every time I did a
sum for him he gave me an apple. I do not recall that I lacked
for apples, and apples then and there were worth 1214 cents
a bushel.

PARENTS.

When ten years old I suffered a loss in the death of my
father, the greatness of which loss I was at that time too young
fully to realize. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church,
but for one of those days very tolerant of the views of others.
He was most lovable in character, and the wish has been with
me all through my life that I might be as good a man as my
father. I think he was chiefly of English extraction, althoug!
his ancestry had for many generations lived in this country.
His father had tried to make a tailor of him, but he did not
take kindly to that business, and became a physician.

My mother was German, her father and mother having
both come from the fatherland. Like many others at that day,
her education never went beyond the ability to read, and I am
not sure that her reading ever went outside of the Bible. Possi-
bly confining her reading to so good a book was one reason why
she was a woman of remarkably good judgment, and to her

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 11

credit be it said that she spared no pains to earry out the dying
wish of my father that the children should be allowed to secure
an education. She was a faithful Methodist; and, although
belonging to the two different churches, my parents usually
went to chureh together, first to one church and then to the
other.

When my mother married the second time, she married a
Methodist, and as the children came to years of discretion they

Fig. 1—Home of the Author (from the Southwest).

were impartially divided between the two denominations, three
to each (there were six of us—myself and five sisters).

Two years were taken out of my school life to clerk in a
country store three miles away. For the first year I got twenty-
four dollars and board, my mother doing my washing. The
second year I was advanced to fifty dollars.

BEGINS STUDY OF MEDICINE.
Then I undertook the study of medicine under the tutelage

of the leading—I am not sure but he was the only—village
physician. The Latin terms met in my reading tripped me

12 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

badly, aud by some means I vot it into my head that if I could
spend three months at the village academy I might be so good
a Latin scholar that my troubles would be overcome. Dr.
Cummins was very insistent that it was vital for my strength
of character that having begun to read medicine I should not
be weak enough to be dissuaded from my purpose by a little
thing like the lack of Latin, and if I must have the Latin I could
work half time at it, spending the other half in his office. Pos-
sibly he needed an office boy.

ATTENDS ACADEMY.

But I was equally insistent that IT must have one uninter-
rupted term at the academy, and at il I went, taking up ‘other
studies as well as Latin. When the term was completed I felt
pretty certain that two more terms were needed to make a
complete scholar of me, and by the time I had finished the two
more terms | had settled into the determination that I would
not stop short of a college course. .\ college course, however,
took money, little of which I had. At my father’s death it was
supposed he had left a fair property, but it was in the hands of
others, and by some means it soon melted away. I kept on at
the academy, making part of my college course there.

ENTERS COLLEGE,

While yet in my teens I taught school in Shellsburg, and
afterward in Johnstown. I entered Jefferson College at (an-
onsburg, Pa., which college was afterward united with Wash-
ington College, and from there went to Union Colleee, at
Schenectady, N. Y. This last undertaking was a bit reckless.
for when I arrived at Schenectady I had only about thirty
dollars, with nothing to rely on except what I might pick up by
the way to help me to finish up my last two years in college.
I had a horror of being in debt, and so was on the alert for any
work, no matter what its nature, so it was honest, by which IT
could carn something to help carry me throuch.

WORKS WAY THROUGH COLLEGE.

I had learned just enough of ornamental penmanship to
be able to write German text, and so got $44.00 for filling the

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 13

hames in 88 diplomas at the two commencements. I taught
a singing-school; I worked in Prof. Jackson’s garden at seven
and a half cents an hour; raised a crop of potatoes; clerked at
a town election; peddled maps; rang one of the college bells;
and, as it was optional with the students whether they taught
or studied during the third term senior, I got $100.00 for
teaching during that term in an academy at Delhi, N. Y.
Neither were my studies slighted during my course, which was
shown by my taking the highest honor attainable, Phi Beta
Kappa, which, however, was equally taken by a number of my
class.

Fig. 2—Peabody Honey-Extractor

I secured my diploma, allowing me to write A.B. after my
name, and left college with fifty dollars more in my pocket than
when I arrived there. It was not, however, so much what I
earned as what I didn’t spend that helped me through. I kept
a striet cash account, and if I paid three cents postage on a
letter or one cent for a steel pen or two blocks of matches, it
was carefully entered, and probably a good many cents were
saved because I knew if I spent them I must put it down in

black ink.

14 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

CHEAP BOARD-BILLS.

The item that gave me the greatest chance for economy
was my board-bill. I boarded myself all the time I was in
college. My board cost me thirty-five cents a week or less most
of the time. The use of wheat helped to keep down the bill.
A bushel of whole wheat thoroughly boiled will do a lot of
filling up. The last ten weeks, with less horror of debt before
me, I became extravagant, and my board cost me sixty-six ana
a half cents a week.

In the long run, however, I paid dear enough for my boare,
for its quality, together with a lack of exercise, so affected my
health that I never fully recovered from it. Strange to say, 1
was so ignorant that I did not know exercise was essential to
health. That was before the day of athletics in college.

STUDY AND PRACTICE OF MEDICINE.

After teaching a term in Geneseo (N. Y.) Academy, I took
up the study of medicine in Johnstown, Pa., attended lectures
in Michigan University, at Ann Arbor, Mich., and received the
degree of M.D. I practiced medicine a short time in Earlville,
Tll., and went to Marengo, IIl., for the same purpose, in July,
1856.

It did not take more than a vear for me to find out that I
lad not a sufficient stock of health myself to take care of that
of others, especially as I was morbidly anxious lest some lack
of judgment on my part should prove a serious matter with
some one under my care. So with much regret J gave up my
chosen profession.

TEACHES AND TRAVELS.

In 1857 I abandoned a life of single blessedness, marrying
Mrs. Helen M. White. I spent some years in teaching voeal and
instrumental music, and was for several years principal of the
Marengo public school. Before devoting my entire time to
beekeeping, J was for one year principal of the Woodstock
school, most of the time driving there thirteen miles each morn-
ing, and returning to Marengo at night.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 15

I traveled two years for the music house of Root & Cady,
making a specialty of introducing the teaching of singing :n
publie schools. In 1872 I went to Cincinnati, where I spent
six months helping to get up the first of the May musical festi-
vals under the direction of Theodore Thomas. At the close uf
the festival I began work for the Mason & Hamlin Organ Co.
at their Chicago house.

FIRST BEES,

To go back. July 5, 1861—I was in Chicago at the time
—a swarm of bees passing over Marengo took in their line of
march the house where my wife was. She was a woman of
remarkable energy and executive ability, generally accomplish-
ing whatever she undertook, and she undertook to stop that
swarm. Whether the water and dirt she threw among them
had any effect on the bees I do not know, but ! know she got
the bees, hiving them in a full-sized sugar-barrel.

In her eagerness to have the bees properly housed—or
barreled—she could not wait the slow motion of the bees, but
taking them up by double handfuls she threw them where she
wanted them to go. In so doing she received five or six stings
on her hands, which swelled up and were so painful as to make
it a sick-abed affair. This was a matter much to be regretted,
for ever after a sting was much the same as a case of erysipelas,
preventing her from having anything whatever to do with
handling bees except in a case of extremity.

Previous to that time I had not been interested to any great
extent in bees. When a small boy I had captured a bumble-
bees’ nest and put it in a little box, but I do not recall that
there was a remarkable drop in the price of honey on acvount
of there being thrown upon the market a large amount of honey
produced by those bumblebees.

BEE-PALACE.

When I was a little older I remember helping my stepfather
carry home, one night, a colony of bees in a box hive (movahle-
comb hives were not yet invented) the colony being intended to
stock a “ bee-palace.” This bee-palace was a rather imposing

16 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BES

structure. I think it cost ten dollars. It was large enough to
contain about four colonies and was raised about two feet high
on four legs. On the top was a hole over which the box hive was
placed, with the expectation that the bees would build down and
oceupy the entire space. The bottom was made very steep, so
that wax-worms falling upon it would, however unwillingly, be
obliged to roll out! When a nice piece of honey was wanted fur
the table, all that was necessary was to take a plate and knife
and eut it out, a door for that purpose being in one side of the

Fig. 3—Wide Frame

palace. The plate aud knife were never called into requisition,
the magnitude of the task of filling that palace being so great
that the bees coneluded to die rather than to undertake it.
Many vears after, I saw at the home of an intelligent farmer
near Marengo the exact counterpart of that bee-palace, which
an oily-tongued vender had just induced him to purchase.
Notwithstanding my utter ignorance of bees, T began to feel
some iramediate interest in the bees in that barrel. T put them
in the cellar, and at some time in the winter 1 went to a bee-
keeping neighbor, James F. Lester, and with uo little anxiety

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 17

told him that some disease had appeared among my bees, for ]
found under them a considerable quantity of matter much
resembling coarsely ground coffee. He quieted my fears by
telling me it was all right, and nothing more than the cappings
that the bees had gnawed away to get at the honey in the sealed
combs.

In the spring I sawed away that portion of the barrel not
occupied by the bees, and when the time for surplus arrived I
bored holes in the top of the hive and put a good-sized box
over. There were holes in the bottom of the box to correspor.d
with holes in the hive. I made three box hives, after the
Quinby pattern, with special arrangement for surplus boxes,
and they were well made.

“ TAKING UP ” BEES.

When the bees swarmed I hived them in one of the new
hives, and later on “took up” the bees in the barrel. Alto-
gether I got 93 pounds of honey from the barrel, and am a litle
surprised to find it set down at 1214 cents a pound. Perhaps
butter was low just then, for in those days it was a common
thing for honey to follow the price of butter.

T left one of the hives with a farmer, and he hived a prime
swarm in it, for which I paid him five dollars. In the remain-
ing hive I had a weak swarm hived, paying a dollar for the
swarm. I bought a colony of bees besides these, paying $7.00
for hive and bees.

WINTERING UPSIDE DOWN.

The bees were wintered:'in the cellar, and according to
Quinby’s instructions the hives were turned upside down. That
gave ample ventilation, for when the hives were reversed the
entire upper surface was open, all being closed below. I doubt
that any better means of ventilation could be devised for winter-
ing bees in the cellar. There is abundant opportunity for the
free entrance of air into the hive, without anything to force a
current through it. Equally good is the ventilation when all is
closed at the top and the whole bottom is open, as when the
hives without any bottom-boards are piled up in such manner

18 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BETS

that te bottom of a hive rests upon the top of a hive below il
at one side, and upon another hive at the other side, and the
ventilation is perhaps as good when there is a bottom-board so
deep that there is a space of two inches or more under the
bottom-bars.

Fig. 4—Heddon Super
SEASON OF 1863.

The four colonies wintered through, and I find charged to
ihe bees’ account for 1863 three movahle-frame hives at $2.00
each, three box hives at $1.00 for the three, and some surplus
boxes at 10 to 20 cents each. These surplus boxes held from 6
to 10 pounds each, some of them having glass on two sides, and
some having glass on four sides. Small pieces of comb were

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 19

fastened in the top of each box as starters. I also bought an-
other colony of bees at $7.00, and I bought Quinby’s text-book,
“ Mysteries of Beekeeping Explained.” I think I had previous-
ly read this as a borrowed book. I got 82 pounds of honey,
worth 15 cents a pound.

I began the year 1864 with seven colonies, which had cost
me $23.39; that is, up to that time I had paid out $23.39 more
for the bees than I had taken in from them, reckoning interest
at ten per cent, the ruling rate at that time. Besides getting
new hives that year, I bought a colony of bees for $5.00, and
twenty empty combs at 15 cents each. I took 54 pounds of
honey, 39 pounds of it being entered at 30 cents, the balance at
25 cents.

The year 1865 opened with nine colonies, and the total
crop for the season was 10 pounds of honey. Alas! that it was
so small, for that year it was worth 35 cents a pound.

L-

FIRST ITALIANS.

In 1866 I got my first Italian queen, paying R. R. Murphy
$6.00 for her, and the following year I paid $10.00 for another
to Mrs. Ellen S. Tupper, who was at one time editor of a bee-
journal. The crop for 1866 was 10084 pounds of honey, which
that year was worth 30 cents.

GETTING EVEN.

I took 131 pounds of honey in 1867, worth 25 cents a
pound, and this for the first time brought the balance on the
right side of the ledger, for I began the season of 1868 with
seven colonies and had $10.40 ahead besides, It will be seen,
however, that bad wintering had been getting in its work, for
there were two colonies less than there were three years before.

There was certainly nothing brilliant in being able after
seven years of beekeeping to be able to count only two colonies
more than the total number I had started with, together with
the four I had bought. But there was a fascination in beekeep-
ing for me, and it is very likely I should have kept right on,
even if it necessitated buying a fresh start each year. At any
rate, my friends could no longer accuse me of squandering

20 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

money on my bees, for there was that $10.40, and the time I had
spent with the bees was just as well speut in that way as in
some other form of amusement. Indeed, at that time I am not
sure that I had much thought that I was ever to get any profit
out of the business. Certainly I had no thought that it would
ever become a vocation instead of an avocation.

Fig. 5—-T Super

GETS AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

In 1869, while away from home, I came across a copy of
The American Bee Journal, J subscribed for it, and also ob-
tained the first volume of the same journal. That first volume,
containing the series of articles by the Baron of Berlepsch on
the Dzierzon theory, has been of more service to me than any

VIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 21

other volume of any bee-journal published, and to this day I
probably refer to it oftener than to any other volume that is as
much as two or three years old.

Among the most frequent contributors to The American
Bee Journal when I subseribed for it were H. Alley, D. H.
Coggshall, C. Dadant, E. Gallup, A. Grimm, J. L. Hubbard,
J. M. Marvin, M. Quinby, A. I. Root, J. H. Thomas, and J. F.
Tillinghast, most of which are well known names a third of a
century later. G. M. Doolittle did not appear on the scene till
late in 1870.

A. I. Root, under the nom de plume of Novice, was then
just as full of schemes as he has been since, and was trying a
hot-bed arrangement for bees, and in my first communication
to The American Bee Journal, in 1870, I wrote, “I am waiting
patiently for Novice to invent a machine for making straight
worker-comb; for as yet I have found no way of securing all
worker-comb, except to have it built by a weak colony.” At
that time he probably little thought that he would come so near
fulfilling my expectations, sending out tons upon tons of foun-
dation.

ATTEMPT AT COMB FOUNDATION.

I made some attempts myself in that line, simply with
plain sheets of wax. I poured a little melted wax into a pail
of hot water, and when it cooled J took the sheet of wax and
gave it to the bees. It was not an immense success. I dipped
a piece of writing paper into melted wax, and gave to the bees
in an upper corner of a frame where no brood was reared, and
for year's you could hold that frame up to the light and looking
through the comb see the writing that was on the paper. Then
when foundation came upon the market, what a boon it was!

VISITS A. I. ROOT.

In 1870 I made my first visit to Medina, then several miles
from a railroad station. Mr. Root was then a jeweler; his shop
had been burned up, and his house (not a large one at that
time) was doing duty as both shop and dwelling. Just then he
was full of the idea of having maple sap run directly from tLe

to
t2

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

trees to the hives. J showed him how to use rotten wood for
smoking bees, and he thought it a great improvement over the
plan he had been using. I do not now remember what his plan
had been, but hardly a tobacco-pipe, for I have heard that he
has some objections to the use of tobacco. Pleased with his
newly acquired accomplishment, I had hardly left town when he
tried its use, and succeeded in setting fire to a hive by means of
the sawdust on the ground. Whether it was burned up or
merely put in jeopardy I do not now remember. He did not
send me the bill for it.

At that time he knew nothing of a bee-smoker, and neither
of us then thought that in the next third of a century he would
send out in the world three hundred thousaud of them.

ADOPTS 18 x 9 FRAME,

In 1870 I made a change in hives. I cannot now tell the
size of frames I had been using, but I think the frames were
considerably deeper than the regular Langstroth. I say “ the
regular Langstroth,” for in reality all movable frames are Lang-
stroths, but the regular size is 175,x 9%. J. Vandervort, a
man well knewn among the older beekeepers as a manufacturer
of foundation-mills, had at that time a machine shop in Maren-
go, and upon his moving away in 1870 I bought out his stoek
of hives. The frames were 18 x 9, 34 of an inch longer than the
standard size, and 14 of an ineh shallower.

CHANGE TO REGULAR LANGSTROTH.

So little a difference in measurement could make no appre-
ciable difference in practical results, yet after going on unti! I
had three or four thousand of such frames, the inconvenience
of having an odd size was felt to be so great that I felt I must
change so as to be in line with the rest of the world, and be
able to order hives, frames, ete., such as were on the regular list
without being obliged to have everything made to order. The
change to the regular size cost a good deal of money, and a good
deal more in labor and trouble, extending over several years.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 23

PEABODY EXTRACTOR.

In that same year, 1870, IL got a honey-extractor. With
much interest I made my first attempt at extracting, ‘the
supreme moment of interest coming when after having given
perhaps 200 revolutions to the extractor I looked beneath to
see how much honey had run into the pan beneath. Very
vividly I remember my keen chagrin and disappointment when
I found that not a drop of honey had fallen. The machine was
one of the first put on the market, a Peabody extractor (Fig.

Fig. 6.—Heddon Slat Honey-toard,

2), the entire can revolving, and it had not occurred to me that
the same force that threw the honey out of the comb would keep
it against the outer wall of the can so long as it kept in motion.
When the can stopped revolving, a fair stream of honey ran
down into the pan, and J resumed my normal manner of breath-
ing.

TOO RAPID INCREASE.

I began the season of 1870 with eight colonoies, increased
{o 19, and extracted about 400 pounds of honey. This warmed

a4 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

up my zeal considerably. In the winter I lost three colonics,
so I commenced the season of 1871 with 16 colonies, took 408
pounds of honey, and, the season being favorable, I inereased
without much difficulty until I reached thirty or forty, and I
thought it would be a nice thing to have an even fifty, so I
reached about that number, for so many of them were weak,
that I am not sure exactly how many it would be fair to call
them. I fed them some quite late, too late for them to seal over,
and they were put into the cellar with little anxiety as to the
result.

DISASTROUS WINTERING.

In the winter they became quite uneasy, and February 11
I took out five colonies, which flew a little, and then I put them
back. They continued to become more and more uneasy and to
be affected with diarrhoea, aud, February 22, I took them all out
and found only twenty-three alive. They flew a little, but it
was not warm enough for a good cleansing flight; and soon
after there came a cold storm with snow a foot deep, and by
April 1 had only three colonies living, two of which I united.
making a total of two left from the forty-five or fifty.

It was some comfort to know that nearly every one lost
heavily that winter, but what encouragement was there tu con-
tinue under such adverse cu'cumstances? I was on the r0ad
traveling for Root & Cady all the time, with only an occasional
visit to my bees, and no certainty of being there upon any par-
ticular date, and evidently with no great knowledge of the bus-
iness if I had been home all the time. To be sure, I may have
got enough money so as to feel that there was no particular
money loss, but after eleven years of beekeeping, and after hav-
ing bought, first and last, quite a number of colonies, here I
was with only two colonies to show for all my efforts!

I do not remember, however, ihat any question as to con-
tinuanee occurred to me at that time. Perhaps I didn’t know
enough to be discouraged. Instead of selling off the two colo-
nies and going out of the business, I bought five more cevlunies
early in April. They were in box lives, and one of them died
before the seasou warmed up, so I began the season of 1872
with six colonies. These I increased to nineteen, and I think I

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 25

took no honey. With the number of empty combs I had on
hand, there was nothing to exult over in this inerease, especial-
ly as the colonies were not in the best condition as to strength.

WINTER IN CINCINNATI.

The thousands who have been charmed by the delightful
musi¢ rendered under the guidance of the baton of that prince
of conductors, Theodore Thomas, at the May Music Festivals
held in successive years in Cincinnati, will have no difficulty in

Fig. 7—Two Carrying with Rope.

understanding that a congenial although somewhat arduous
occupation was afforded me when the managers offered me the
position of “ official agent,” charged with doing the thousand
and one things needed to be done to carry out their wishes in
preparing for the first of these festivals. I began this work in
1872, some six months in advance of the time for the Festival,
making my abode in Cincinnati, although I still called Marengo
my home. In the winter I went back home, put the bees in the
cellar December 7, and then locking up cellar and house for the
winter I took my wife and child to Cincinnati, from which
place we did not return till late the following May.

26 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

The bees were left entirely to their own devices throughout
the winter. In the latter part of March the weather at Cincin-
nati became quite warm, and I wrote to my beekeeping friend,
Mr. Lester, to get him to take the bees out of the cellar. He
took them out under protest, for Cincinnati weather and Maren-
go weather are two different things, and when they were taken
out, March 31, they were probably ushered into a rather cold
world. They were in bad condition when taken out—bees do
not always winter in a cellar in the best possible manner with
their owner several hundred miles away—and when I got home
in May I found only three of the nineteen left alive.

THREE YEARS IN CHICAGO.

Immediately upon the close of the Cincinnati Festival I
began work for the Mason & Hamlin Organ Co., at their Chi-
cago office, where I stayed three years. My-wife and little boy
stayed on the farm at Marengo during the summer and spent
the winters with me in Chicago. Notwithstanding the fact that 7
could have only a few days with the bees each summer, I still
clung to them. At least I could lie awake nights dreaming and
planning as to what might be done with bees, and I could do
that just as well in Chicago as Marengo.

One thing that resulted from that three years’ sojourn in
Chieago was an appreciation of country life that I had never
had before. The office, 80 and 82 Adams Street, was in the
heart of the burnt district left bare by the great fire of 1871,
and to one with a love for everything green that grows it was
desolate indeed. A few weeds that grew in a vaeant lot hard by
were a source of pleasure to me; but my chief delight was to
stand and admire a bunch of white clover that. grew near Clark
Street. I think all my years of country life since have been the
brighter for the dismal months spent in that burnt district of
the great city.

The three colonies that were left in the spring of 1873 were
increased to eight in fair condition, and I took perhaps 60
pounds of honey. These eight were put into the cellar Nov. 10,
and December 10 Mrs. Miller gave the cellar a good airing by
opening the inside cellar door so as to communicate with the

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 27

upstairs rooms, and then she closed up the house to go into the
city to spend the winter with me.

March 30, 1874, I went out and took them out of winter
quarters, and was delighted to find them in superb condition,
the whole eight alive, and hardly a teacupful of dead bees in
all. These eight I increased to 22, taking 390 pounds of honey.
Of course they were increased artificially.

I attributed the previous winter’s success partly to their
having been taken in earlicr than ever before, so I decided to
take them in still earlier, and went out for that purpose October
29. But the bees decided they would not be taken in, and when-
ever I attemped to take them in they boiled out. So, just as I
had done a good many times before, I had to give up and let
them have their own way, leaving Mrs. Miller to get them in
when the weather was cool enough for them.

November 19 they had a good flight, and November 20
they were taken in by Mr. Phillips, a farmer with the average
knowledge—or perhaps the average ignorance—of bees, aided
by “Jeff,” Mrs. Miller’s factotum, one of the liveliest specimens
of the African race that ever jumped, with considerably more
than the average fear of bees. December 12 my wife gave the
cellar a good airing, and then it was closed up for the winter.

The winter of 1874-5 was one of remarkable severity, and
I felt some anxiety about the bees. The Jast of February my
wife went out and warmed up the house and cellar, finding the
bees somewhat uneasy, but after being warmed up and aired
they became quiet. Then the house was again closed up, and
they were left till April 6, when the men took them out.

ITALIANS FROM ADAM GRIMM.

Three of the twenty-two had died, leaving nineteen to be-
gin the season of 1875. May 10 two colonies were received from
Adam Grimm, for which I paid thirteen dollars per colony for
the purpose of getting Italians to improve my stock, for not-
withstanding the several Italian queens I had got, some of my
bees were almost black. May 27 I made my first visit, and I did
not find the colonies very strong. Two colonies had died of
queenlessness, so that with the two Grimm colonies I had still
only nineteen.

23 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THIF BEES

June 25 I visited Marengo again, and was surprised to find

very little gain in the strength of the colonies. The season had

been extremely unpropitious. July 7 J made another visit, of

’ three days, and found searcely any honey in the hives. I made

a few new colonoies, and by giving empty combs and plenty of

room I left them feeling that there was little fear of any swarm-
ing for that season.

TROUBLE WITH SWARMING.

But a sudden change must have come over the bees and the
season, and the bees must have built up with great rapidity, for
letters kept coming to me saying that the bees had swarmed, and
Mrs. Miller was kept busy superintending the hiving, “Jeff”
doing the work. It was a mixed-up business for them, for I had
left the queens clipped, and swarms would issue only to return
again, and then in a few days there would be after-swarms, and
they didn’t know which swarms were likely to have young
queens, and which clipped queens. Some swarms probably got
away, but in the round-up when I went out again, August 10, [
found the whole number of colonies had reached 40, there hav-
ing been an increase of 12 by natural swarming in addition to
the nine colonies I had formed artificially.

BACK TO COUNTRY LIFE.

Clearly, keeping bees at long range was very unsatisfactory
business. City life was also unsatisfactory ; a traveling life was
worse. So in spite of the reduced chance of making money, I
decided for a life in the country, turned my back upon an offer
of $2500 and expenses, and engaged to teach school at $1200
and bear my own expenses; all because I wanted to be in ihe
country and have a chance to be with the bees all the time. I
have never regretted the choice. If I had kept on at other
business, I would have no doubt made more money, but IT would
not have had so good a time, and I doubt if I would be alive
now. It’s something to be alive, and it’s a good deal more to
have a happy life.

I did not, however, get away from the city till August 12,
1876, but that was early enough to see that all colonies were well

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 29

prepared for winter, and to be sure of being with them through
the winter.

Six of the 40 colonies were lost in the preceding winter, and
the remaining 34 had given 1600 pounds of honey, mostly ex-
tracted, and had been increased to 99.

Fig. 8—Carrying with Rope.

IMPROVED WINTERING.

The advantage of being home through the winter was ap-
parent, for in the next four winters the average loss was only 2
per cent, while for the preceding four winters it had been nine
times as great. A new facteor, however, had come in, to which
part of the change was to be attributed. There was chance
enough to ventilate the cellar, for two chimneys ran from the

30 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

ground up through the house, a stove-pipe hole opening from
the cellar into each. But the only way to warm the eellar was
by keeping fire in the rooms overhead, and by opening the inside
eellar-door. One day when I came home from school—I think
it was in December, 1876—I found my wife had decided to
hurry up the manner of warming the cellar, and had a small
stove set up, and throughout the winter there was fire there a
good part of the time.

FIRST SECTION HONEY.

In 1877 I gave up extracted honey, the introduction of
sections having made such a revolution that it seemed better to
go back to comb honey. The sections of that day were crude
compared with the finished affairs of the present day. One-
piece sections were then unknown, four-piece sections being the
only ones, and there was not a remarkably accurate adjustment
of the dovetailed parts, so that no little foree was required to
put the sections together. When a tenon and mortise did not
correspond, pounding with a mallet would make the tenon
smash its way through.

In order to fasten the foundation in the section, the top
piece of the section had a saw-kerf going half way through the
wood on the under side. The top was partly split apart, the
edge of the foundation inserted, then the wood was straightened
back to place. I was not well satisfied with my success in fast-
ening in the foundation, and in 1878 wrote to .\. I. Root for a
betier plan, describing minutely the plan I had been using,
giving a pencil sketch of the board I used on my lap, with the
different parts upon it. In June Gleanings in Bee Culture my
letter appeared in full, pencil sketch and all, and he sent me a
round sum in payment for the letter, but no word of instruction
as to any better way! I hardly knew whether to be glad or mad.

WIDE FRAMES.

The seelions were put in wide frames, double-tier, making
a frame hold eight sections (Fig. 3). I had an arrangement by
which the sections, after having been lightly started together,
were all punched into the frame at one stroke, driving them

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES a1.

together at the same time, and another arrangement punched
them out after they were filled with honey. The super in which
they were put was the same in size as the ten-frame brood-
chamber—in fact, there was no difference whatever in the two
except that the bottom-board was nailed on to the brood-cham-
ber and an entrance eut into it. The super held seven frames,
and that made 56 sections in a super. Lifting these supers
when they were filled was no child’s play, especially when load-
ing them on the wagon at an out-apiary, and unloading them
at home, as I had to do in later years.

BROOD-COMBS AS BAITS.

In order to start the bees promptly to work in the sections,
a frame of brood was raised from below, and the sections facing
this brood were occupied by the bees at once if honey was
coming in. Care had to be taken not to leave the brood too
long, for if the bees commenced to seal the sections while it was
there they would be capped very dark, the bees carrying some
of the old black comb over to the sections to be used in the
capping.

BEEKEEPING SOLE BUSINESS.

In 1878, at the close of the school year in June, I decided
to give up teaching for a time, and since that time I have had
no other business than to work with bees, unless it be to write
about them.

In 1880 I began out-apiaries in a tentative sort of way, a
few bees in two out-apiaries. In Mareh of that year my wife
died. When the bees were got into the cellar for winter I closed
up the house, took my boy with me, and went to Johnstown,
Pa., to spend the winter with my sister, Mrs. Emma R. Jones.
When I returned near the close of the following April, deep
snow-banks still surrounded the house, and matters were in
anything but a happy condition in the cellar.

DISCOURAGEMENT.

When the bees were ready to begin upon the harvest of
1881, there were 67 colonies left out of the 162 that had been

32 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

put in the cellar the previous fall. A loss of 59 per cent was
additional proof that it is better for the bees and their owner to
spend the winter in the same State.

ENCOURAGEMENT.

Beginning 1881 with 67 colonies, I took 7884 pounds of
comb honey, and increased to 177 colonies. An average of

Fug. 9—Philo Carrying a Hive

117 2-3 pounds of comb honey per colony, and an increase of
164 per cent, would be nothing so very remarkable in some
localities, but I consider it so in a place where there is no
basswood, buckwheat, nor anything else to depend upon for a
crop except white clover. Certainly it is not the usual thing

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 33

here, but remember there were only 67 colonies, and if I were
again reduced to 67 colonies | think 1 might do a shade better
now.

AVERAGE YIELD DEPENDS MUCH UPON NUMBERS.

In general, I suspect that the number of colonies in a place
is not sulficiently taken into account. I remember at one time
A. I. Root commenting upon the case of a beginner with a very

Fig. 10—Colonies Intended for Out-ajpiuries.

few colonies making a fine record, and he thought it was be-
cause of the great enthusiasm of the beekeeper as a beginner.
I think instead of unusual enthusiasm it was unusual opportn-
nities for the bees. I can easily imagine a place where five
colonies might store continuously for five months, and where a
hundred colonies on the same ground might not store three
weeks. There might be flowers yielding continuously through-
out the entire season, but so small in quantity that, although
they might keep a very few colonies storing right along, they
would not yield enough for the daily consumption of more than
ten to fifty colonies. Remember that the surplus is the smaller

34 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

yart of the honey gathered hy the bees. Adrian Getaz computes
that at least 200 pounds of honey is needed for home consump-
tion by an average colony. So far as enthusiasm and interest
are concerned, I do not believe my stock is any less of those
commodities than it was fifty years ago. A born beekeeper
never loses his enthusiasm.

TOTAL CROP RATHER THAN PER COLONY.

Some one may possibly ask, “If you can do so much better
with 67 colonies, why not restrict yourself to that number?”
But I can’t do any better; at least not in any average season.
For it is not the yield per colony I care for, unless it should
be to boast over it; what I eare for is the total amount of net
money I can get from my bees. In the year 1897 my average
per colony was 7134 pounds, only about three-fifths as much as
in 1881; but as I had in 1897 239 colonies, my total crop was
17,150 pounds, or more than twice as much as in 1881.

A BAD YEAR.

In the year 1887 my crop of honey was a little more than
half a pound per colony, and in the fall I fed 2802 pounds of
granulated sugar to keep the bees from starving in winter.
But I could not then tell, neither can I now tell whether it was
because the season was so bad or because the field was over-
stocked, for I had 363 colonies in four apiaries. Possibly if |
had had only half as many bees, the balance might have been on
the other side of the ledger. But I don’t know.

Somewhere there surely is a limit beyond which one cvannot
profitably increase the number of colonies in an apiary, but just
where that limit is cai perhaps never be learned. If I were
obliged to make a guess, I should say about 100 colonies in one
apiary is the limit in my locality.

If I were to live my life over again, and knew in advance
that I should be a beekeeper, I never would locate in a place
with only one source of surplus. When white elover fails herve
the bottom drogs out. Unfortunately the years in which the
bottom drops out have been unpleasantly [vequent.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 15

In the fall of 1881 I married Miss Sidney Jane Wilson,
who was born on the Wilson farm where one of my out-apiaries
was for years located. There was some economy in the arrange-
ment, for she could go out to the out-apiary for a day’s work,
and visit her old home at the same time.

A GOOD YEAR.

Of the 177 colonies with which the year 1881 closed, two
died in wintering, and I sold one in the spring. That left 174

Fig. 11—Hive-staples.

for the season of 1882, and these gave me 16,549 pounds of
honey, nearly all in sections. That was 95 pounds per colony,
and the increase was only 16 per cent—quite a falling off from
the amount per colony of the previous year. But the additional
nine thousand pounds in the total crop reconciled me to the
“per colony” part of the business. It would be interesting
to learn how much the difference in the yield jer colony was due
to the season, and how much to the increased number, but that
is one of the things past finding out.

36 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

HEDDON SUPER.

In the year 1883 I tried the Heddon super (Fig. +) to the
number of two hundred. The Heddon super is much in form
like a T super, but it is divided lengthwise into four compart-
ments. This prevents, of course, the possibility of having sep-
arators running the length of the super, so no separators are
used. James Heddon and others had reported success in ob-
taining sections that were straight enough for satisfactory
packing in a shipping-case, but with me too many sections were
bulged, their neighbors being correspondingly hollowed out. I
did not continue the use of this super very long.

T SUPER.

In the latter part of the same year I attended the North
American convention at Toronto, Canada, and while there D.
A. Jones showed me the T super (Fig. 5). I was much im-
pressed with it. The next year I put a number of T supers in
use, and the more I tried them the better I liked them. I have
tried a number of other kinds since, but nothing that has made
me desire to make a change.

THICK TOP-BARS.

When attending that same convention, that very practical
Canadian beekeeper, J. B. Hall, showed me his thick top-bars,
and told me that they prevented the building of so much burr-
comb between the top-bars and the sections. Although I made
no immediate practical use of this knowledge, it had no little
to do with my using thick top-bavs afterward. I was at that
time using the Heddon slat honey-board (Fig. 6), and the use
of it with the frames I then had was a boon. Tt kept the bot-
toms of the sections clean, but when it was necessary to open
the brood-chamber there was found a solid mass of horney
between the honey-board and the top-bars. It was something
of a nuisance, too, to have this extra part in the way, and I am
very glad that at the present day it can be dispensed with by
having tep-hars 114 inehes wide and ™ inch thiek, with a space
of 4% inch between top-bar and section. Not that there is cn

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 37

entire absence of burr-combs, but near enough to it so that one
can get along much more comfortably than with the slat honey-
board. At any rate there is no longer the killing of bees that
there was every day the dauby honey-board was replaced.
But it would take up space unnecessarily to follow farther
the course of the years, especially as these later years are
familiar to more of my readers than are the former years, so I
will proceed to fulfill my chief purpose in telling about my

Fig. 12—Bottom-rack.

work throughout the course of the year, reserving, however,
the right to refer to the past whenever I like.

SEASONS HAVE CHANGED.

It is only fair to remark, however, that in later years the
crops have not always been so good as formerly. At least that
is true as to the early crop. The fall crop, however, seems to
be on the increase. Just why, I don’t know, unless it be that
there are two important pickle-factories at Marengo, and the
bees have the range of some two hundred acres of cucumbers.

38 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

Sweet clover may have a little to do with it, and also heartsease.
If the vield of fall honey keeps on the increase, it will
hardly do to say there is only one source of honey—white
clover. The season of 1902 emphasized the change in seasons.
During the proper time for white clover, the bees would have
starved if it had not been that they were fed about a thousand
pounds of sugar. Clover grew well, but blossoms were scarce.
The bloom, however, kept increasing, and during the latter part
of August and the first part of September a number of colonies
stored fifty pounds and more each. How much of the honey
was from clover J cannot tell. As late as the last half of October
I saw the bees busy on both red and white clover.

TAKING BEES OUT OF THE CELLAR.

The difficulty of wintering bees, at the North, is not entirely
without its compensations. I am almost willing to meet some
losses, for the sake of the sharp interest with which I look
forward to the time of taking the bees out of the cellar in the
spring. I live on a place of 37 acres, about a mile from the
railroad station, and on my way down town a number of soft-
maple trees are growing. How eagerly ] watch for the first
bursting of the buds! and when the red of the blossom actually
begins to push forth, with what a thrill of pleasure I say, “ The
hees can get out on the first good day”!

In former years I did sometimes bring out the bees earlier,
because they seemed so uneasy, but I doubt if I gained anything
by it. I have known years when a cold, freezing time came on
at the time of maple-bloom and did not take out the bees for a
good many days, but generally I go by the blooming of the soft
maples. So I wateh the thermometer and the clouds, and usu-
ally in a day or two there comes a morning with the sun shining,
and the mercury at 45 or 50 degrees, with the prospect of going
a good deal higher through the day.

TAKING OUT WITH A RUSH.

This is one of the times when I want outside help, for
cariying two or three hundred colonies of bees out of the cellar
is not very light work if it be done with a rush; and I want

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES a)

them all out as soon as possible so as to have a good flight
before night. If any should be brought out too late to fly, it
may turn cold before the next morning, when a lot of bees
might fly out to meet their death. To be sure, I could get along
without outside help by having one of the women-folks help me,
for my hives have cleats on each end, the cleats reaching clear
across the hive, so that a rope can be slipped over them, and
one can take hold of the rope at each side, making the work not
so very hard. Indeed, the two women have sometimes rendered
efficient service by taking a hive between them, as shown in Fig.
7. An endless rope is used, making it the work of a very few
seconds to throw the rope over each end of the hive.. The same
rope may be used to make the work lighter for a single person
(Fig. 8). But the rope is not so quickly adjusted as when two
persons use it.”

On the whole, it is better to have a strong man who can
pick up each hive without any ceremony, carry it directly to its
place and set it on its stand. In this work the end-cleats of the
hive serve an important purpose,. for the carrier can let the
full weight of the hive come on his forearms by having an arm
under each cleat, each hand lightly clasping the hive on the
opposite side (Fig. 9).

CELLAR AIRED BEFORE CARRYING.

When it is warm enough to carry out bees, it will be
understood that the cellar is likely to become a good deal
warmer than 45 degrees, the temperature near which it is desir-
able to keep the cellar throughout the winter. So if carrying
out is undertaken without any previous preparation, when the
cellar-door is opened the bees will pour out of the hives and
out of the cellar-door, sailing about in confusion, causing some
loss and making the work of carrying out exceedingly unpleas-
ant. This must be avoided; so the previous evening, as soon as
it becomes dusk, cellar door and window are thrown wide open.

Having the cellar open the previous night makes it much
pleasanter to carry out the bees, which do not generally come
out of their hives till some time after being set on their stands.
If at any time a colony seems inclined to come out of the hive.
a little smoke is given at the entrance. At other times it would

40 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

be bad to have smoke in the cellar, but as the bees are immedi-
ately to have a chance to fly, it does no harm to have the cellar
filled with smoke. The hive entrances are left open; and as the
hives have been taken into the cellar with covers and bottom-
boards just as on the summer stauds, the work can be done
rapidly.

Before each hive leaves the cellar, I make sure there are
live bees in it, by placing my ear at the entrance. If I hear
nothing I blow into the entrance. That generally brings an

Fig, 18—Entrance-blocks

immediate response, but sometimes I will blow several times
before getting a sleepy reply from a strong colony. That pleases
me. If any are dead they ave piled to one side in the cellar.

PLACING OF COLONIES.

Colonies intended for the home apiary are set upon their
stands. Those for the out-apiaries are set upon the ground not
far from the cellar, being placed in pairs, two hives almost
touching, then a space of a foot or more between that pair and
the next pair, so as to oecupy as little roum as possible. (Fig.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 11

10.) Sometimes some attempt is made to have colonies oceupy
the same stands they occupied the previous year, but oftener no
attention is paid to this. Close attention, however, is paid to
selecting the colonies that are to be in the home apiary.

BEST BEES FOR HOME APIARY,.

The hives with queens having the best records were all
marked the previous fall by having a stick tacked on the front.
These are all put in the home apiary—not that queens will be
reared from all of them. The one or two very best colonies
may furnisn all the young queens, the rest will furnish choice
drones. By doing this from year to year I ought to have better
stock than if T allowed tie poorest drones to remain in the home
apiary.

TAKING BEES ALL OUT AT ONCE.

Some object to taking all the bees out at the same time, for
fear .f so much excit:ment that bees will swarm out and return
to the wrong hives. I have never had much trouble in that way.
Neither have I had any evil results from putting colonies on
stands different from the ones they occupied the previous fall.

1 sm not sure that I can tell for certain just why there
should bz this difference in different apiaries, but I think I ean
see some reason for it. As already mentioned, the cellar is left
wide open all night the night before the bees are carried out,
and it is possible that just in that little thing lies the secret of
the differenceec. When the weather begins to warm up in the
spring before it is time to carry out the bees, it often happens
that there comes a warm day when the outside temperature runs
up to 50 degrees or more, and possibly this may continue more
than a day. Such times are hard on the ventilation of the cellar.

TEMPERATURE AND VENTILATION.

Please remember that the ventilation of the cellar depends
on the difference of the weight of the air in the cellar and the
weight of the outside air. Also remember that the difference in
weight depends on the difference in temperature. Warm air is

412 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

lighter than cold air. So when the air outside the cellar is
colder and heavier than that inside, it forces itself in and crowds
up the warm air, precisely in the same way—although not with
the same degree ot foree—that water would pour into the cellar
if a body of water surrounded the cellar. Tf the water were
lighter than the air, no water would flow into the cellar. So
long as the ontside air is colder than the inside, ventilation
continues.

Suppose, now, that the air in the cellar stands at 45 or 50
degrees, and that the outside air becomes warmed up to the
same temperature. There will be an equilibrium in weight, and
there will be no ventilation. The air in the cellar is all the time
becoming vitiated by the breathing of the bees, and, no matter
what the ventilation of the hives, it ean do little good so long
as there is no pure air in the cellar. The bees become frantic
in their desire for fresh air, and if carried out while in this
condition they will rush out of the hive, the excitement becom-
ing so great that soon after being put on their stands whole
colonies will swarm. If the cellar has been open all night, they
will find little change of air on being carried out, and so will
not fly ent of the hives for the sake of vetting air, but ouly to
take their cleansing flight.

Of course, there is an understanding with the women-folks
about the time the bees are taken out, lest they spot the elothes
on the ine on a wash-day; but the bees have the rivht of way,
and if there is a clash, the wash-day must be postponed.

SIZE OF ENTRANCE,

While the bees were in the cellar, they had an entrance 124
x 2 inches, and during the cool days of spring, after they ave
taken out of the cellar, it is no longer desirable to have so large
an entrance. So as soon as the bees are on their stands, the
entrance is closed down to a very small one by means of an en-
trance-block. Before describing this I must tell vou about the
hive and bottom-board.

CLEATS FOR HIVES.

The hive is the ordinary 8-frame dovetailed, only I insist
tpon having on each end a plain cleat 13¥gx1¥4x7%. There

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 43

are more reasons than one for having this cleat, rather than the
usual hand-holes. It is more convenient to take hold of when
one wants to lift a hive. Latterly the manufacturers use a very
short cleat, which is a great improvement on the hand-hole, but
it does not allow one to carry the hive with the weight resting
on the whole forearm, as shown in Fig. 9. This way of carrying
a hive is one gotten up by Philo Woodruff, the hired man who
helped me for several years, evidently to make the work easier
for him. One day he was carrying a hive that had no cleats,
only hand-holes, perhaps the only one of that kind he had ever
carried. He seemed disgusted with it, and as he set the hive
down he grumbled, “I wish the man that made them hand-holes
had to carry them.”

Another advantage of the cleats is the strength it gives to
the rabbeted ends of the hive. Without the cleat the rabbet
leaves the hive-end at the top only 7-16 of an inch thick for
more than 34 of an inch of its depth, and the splitting off of
this part is unpleasantly frequent. With the added cleat the
thickness is three times as much, and it never splits off..

These cleats, not being regularly made by manufacturers,
ean be had only by having them made to order, so hives are
generally made without them, but quite a number of. experi-
enced beekeepers are quietly using them because of their dis-
tinet advantage, notwithstanding the inconvenience of having
them made to order.

BOTTOM-BOARD,

The bottom-board is a plain box, two inches deep, open at
one end. It is made of six pieces of ¥ stuff; two pieces 221%
x 2, one piece 121% x 2, and three pieces 13% x 744. When so
desired, the bottom-board is fastened to the hive by means of
four staples 114 in. wide, with points 34 inch long (Fig. 11).

With such a bottom-board there is a space two inches deep
under the bottom-bars, a very nice thing in winter, and at any
time when there is no danger of bees building down, but quite
too deep for harvest-time. Formerly I made the bottom-board
reversible, reversing it in summer so as to use the shallow side,
but latterly I leave the deep side up summer and winter.

44 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

Of course, with a 2-inch space under the bottom-bars the
bees would build down, sometimes even as early as dandelion
bloom. Before that time I shove under the bottom-bars a
bottom-rack. As material for a rack there are 2 pieces 18 x1
x 34, and 21 pieces 104% x 944 x%%. The little pieces are nailed
upon the 34-inch sides of the two larger pieces, ladder-fashion,
with 14-inch space between each two strips. The strips are
allowed to project over at each side about an inch.

I value this bottom-rack highly. It prevents building down,
and at the same time gives the bees nearly the full benefit of

; |
|
|

Fig. 14—Wagonload of bees.

the deep space, preventing vver-heating in hot weather, thus
serving as no small factor in the prevention of swarming. It
also saves the labor of lifting the hive off the bottom-board to
reverse the bottom-board and then lifting the hive back again,
spring and fall. Instead of being made in the way described,
a board 104% inches long may be split up irregularly and used
for the eross-pieces. Such a bottom-rack is shown at Fig. 12.

Now for that entranee-block. Formerly I made it heavy
(Fig. 13), but now it is thin, %4 inch or so thick, 12 inches long
and 3 inches wide. It is lightly nailed upon the hive by one or

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 45

two small nails, and at one lower corner a notch 1 inch square
or less is cut out. I think that small entrance helps to prevent
“drifting” when the bees take their first flight.

‘When the bees are being carried out, if any are noted as
suspiciously light, they are marked, and the next day frames of
honey are given them. If, unfortunately, these are not to be
had, sections of honey are put in the hive in wide frames, or
shoved under.

HAULING BEES.

As soon as the bees have had a good flight, those not in the
home apiary are ready to be hauled away. I like to get then
away as soon as possible, so as to have advantage of the spring
pasturage at the out-apiaries, bué sometimes the condition of
the roads causes delay. I first hauled four colonies at a time on
a one-horse wagon, which you may imagine was very slow work.
That was years ago, and the number has been gradually in-
creased until now 40 or 50 colonies are taken at a load.

WAGON FOR HAULING.

After several changes, I used for a good while a common
farm-wagon with heavy springs put under the box. Nine colo-
nies were put in the box; then a rack (Fig. 15, made in two
parts for convenience in handling’) was put on the box, and 22
colonies were set on the rack, making 31 colonies in a load.
After that I used a flat hay-rack or a drayman’s platform,
taking 40 or 50 colonies at a load.

PREPARATIONS FOR HAULING.

All the hives have fixed-distance frames, so no preparation
is needed in the way of fastening frames in place before haul-
ing. The only thing to do is to fasten the cover and close the
entrance. The cover is fastened to the hive by two staples (the
same as those used to fasten the bottom-board to the hive) one
staple at the middle on each side. Hives that were brought
from the out-apiaries the previous fall have the covers already
fastened, for they have never been opened since coming home,

46 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

unless they were so light as to need feeding. If things were
always done just right, there never would be any opened
because suspiciously light; but things are not always done just
right.

ENTRANCE-CLOSERS.

The entrance is of course closed with wire cloth, and after
trying a good many entrance-closers 1 have settled down upon
the simplest of all. It is a jnece of wire cloth just large enough
to close the 12!, entrance and project an inch or so up on the

Fiy. 15—Rack for Hauling Bees.

front of the hive. To make the edges at the bottom and at the
two ends move firm, and to prevent them from raveling, the
wire cloth is eut about 1315 x 4, and about #4, of an inch folded
over at the bottom and at each end. These edges are folded
over the blade of a saw. When finished, the cluser is 12h,
inches long or a trifle less, so it will easily fit in the bottom-
board. The closer is put in place, a piece of lath 13! inches
long is pushed up against il, and fastened by a nail in the
middle of the lath. Then to make it more secure, a nail at each
end is placed perpendievlarly against the lath and driven a

FIFTY YE\RS AMONG THE BEES 47

short distance into the outer rim of the bottom-board. The
three nails used to fasten the lath are finishing or wire casing
nails 21 inches long or longer. Being so long and not driven
in very deep, one can generally pull them out with the fingers.

At Fig. 16, in the middle of the eut, will be seen an
vutrance-closer. above it being the lath to fasten the closer in
place.

Before the hives are put on the wagon I make sure there is
no possible leak in any of them. This is hardly necessary where
everything is in good condition, but some of my covers and
bottom-boards are pretty old, and J must plug up any hole that
would pessibly allow a bee to escape.

When the hives are placed on their stands in the out-apiary,
the entrance-closers are removed, a little smoke being used if the
bees appear belligerent. Then the entrances are closed with the
entrance-blocks.

I speak of taking bees to out-apiaries as’if I were still
keeping up out-apiaries. As a matter of fact, I have had no
bees away from the home apiary since 1909. That vear I kept
bees in the Wilson apiary for the last time, having given up tlie
Hastings apiary some years before, and the Belden apiary still
earlier. But it is more convenient, sometimes, to speak of past
things as if present, so the reader will please pardon any dis-
crepancy that may appear in this book at any time on that
account.

NUMBERING HIVES.

Numbers for hives are made in this way: Pieces of tin
4x 214 inches have a small hole punched in each one, near the
edge, about midway of one of the longer sides. With 14-inch
wire nails, nail them on the top of a wooden hive-cover or other
plane surface. Then give them a couple of coats of white paint,
and, when ary. pul the numbers on them, frem 1 upward, with
black paint. There is room to make figures large enough to be
seen distinctly at quite a distance. These tin tags are fastened
on the fronts of the hives with *4 or inch wire nails driven in
not very deep, making it casy to change them at any time from
one hive to another.

418 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

T have also used manilla tags with figures printed on them
but the figures are not seen at so great a distance as on the white
tin tags. The tin tags cost more in the first place, but are
cheaper in the long run, for they last twenty years or more,
while the manilla searcely last a fifth of that time in satisfac-
tory shape.

ORDER OF NUMBERS.

When the hives are put on the stands in the spring, the
numbers are all mixed up. The first thing to be done is to enter
upon the record-book these numbers. The first hive in the first
row should be No. 1, the next No. 2, and so on; but in the place
of No. 1 stands perhaps 231: on the place of No. 2 stands 174,
ete. So, on the new record-book I write No. 1 (231) on the

_ first page at the top; one-third the way down the page, I write
No. 2 (174), and so on.

Just as soon as convenient the tags are taken off the hives
where they are wrong, and the right ones put on. If on No. 1
the tag says 231, then that tag is taken off and the tag that says
1 is put on.

THE RECORD-BOOK,

I can tell more or less of the history of every colony of bees
siice J began keeping bees in 1861. At first I kept the record
of each colony from year to vear in the same book, but for a
good many years I have had a new hook each year. The book
I like is 12 x 515 inches, containing about 160 pages (Fig. 17).
Three colonies are kept on each page, so the book is a good deal
larger than I need, for I have never had quite 400 colonies. But
a good many pages are used for memoranda and other things,
and it is better to have too much roon: in the book than too little.
While the size of the book is not so very important, the binding
is. If the book were bound the same as the book in which you
are now reading, it would come to pieces if it should be left out
long enough in a soaking rain. Of course a book never should
be left out in a rain, but of course it sometimes is. So I want
a book that will suffer no greater harm than to have the eover
come off if if should be rain-soaked. It must be slitehed together

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 49

through the middle, so that the one set of stitches does the whole
business, the first leaf being continuous with the last leaf, ihe
second continuous with the next to the last, and so on.

HISTORY OF QUEENS.

While the record-book is very important to keep track of
the work from day to day, it is pernaps more important for the
purpose of tracing the history of queens from year to year. On
each page is left a margin of about 34 of an inch. In that
margin is put the last two figures of the year in which the queen
is born, ’99 if she was born in 1899, ’01 if in 1901, and so on.
Tn that margin is also found anything important to have record-
ed about the queen. “ Very cross” may be in the margin if the
workers distinguish themselves in that direction; “ seals white ”
if the capping of sections was uncommonly white; “ dark” if
the workers were unusually dark, ete. Especially am I inter-
ested in the memoranda in the margin relating to swarming and
storing. You will find sw if the colony of that queen swarmed
last year; no c if no queen-cells were found in the hive during
the whole of last season; 2k if I twice killed queen-cells that
were started. No doubt the printer will feel like putting some
periods after these contractions. Please don’t do it, Mr. Printer,
for } never take time to use any such embellishments when
making entries. The number of sections stored by the progeny
of the queen the preceding year has a place in this margin; 24
sec if 24 sections were stored; 160 sec if so many sections were
stored. If an unusual number of sections was reached, that
record follows the queen as long as she lives. For instance, in
the year 1802 there may be found in one case in the margin,
14 sec, 60 sec in 1900, 178 in 99. That means that the progeny
of that queen stored 44 sections in the preceding vear, 1901, 60
sections in 1900, and 178 sections in 1899. An unusual record,
considering the character of the seasons in 1900 and 1901. If,
in the year 1902, a 1900 queen is by any means replaced by a
young queen, a line is drawn through the 00 and 02 is written
below it.

As soon as I have entered in the record the old numbers
that were on the hives, as previously mentioned, I am ready to
enter the respective ages of the queens. If, for instance, I find

a0 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

al the beginning, No. 1 (231), I turn to No. 231 ib last year’s
record and find the year set down for the age of the queen, and
put it in the new book at No. 1. This I do throughout all the
numbers.

ADVANTAGE OF BOOK FOR RECORD.
I do not need to be in the apiary to do this work; i can he

done in the house just as well. Indeed I spend a good deal of
time in the house with my record-book, studying aud planning.

eae

Pig, 16—funtrance-closers,

perhaps lying on the lounge. I had two out-apiaries, one three
miles north at Jack Wilson’s, on the old farm where my wife
was born; the other five miles southeast at cousin Hastings’.
Frequently I studied my book most of the way in going to one
of these.apairies, making my plans, and jotting down memoran-
da of what was to be done when I got there. That saves time.
Another advantage is thal my records are safe from interfer-
ence, for with slates, stones, ete., in the apiary, there is always
danger that records may be changed, either through aecident or
mischievous design. One disadvantage of the hook is the danger

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 51

of forgetting it. One may forget it at an out-apiary, and then
have to make a special trip to get it. I've done that..

SPRING OVERHAULING.

After the bees are hauled to the out-apiaries, J am ready
for the spring overhauling as soon as the weather is right for it.
I do not want to open up the hives except at a time when it is
warm enough for bees to fly freely. Too much danger of chill-
ing the brood. Sometimes there may come one good day followed
by a week of weather too bad for bees to fly. So I may com-
menece overhauling in April, and perhaps not till in May; and
if I do commence in April I may not get all done till well ou in
May.

TTIVE-SEAT.

Having due regard for my own comfort, | want a seat when
T work at a hive. Mr. Doolittle once tried to poke fun at me in
convention, because I accidentally admitted that I sat down to
work at bees. If I were obliged to work all the season without
a seat, I am afraid I would have to give up the business from
exhaustion. Moreover, if I had the streugth of a Samson I don’t
think I should waste it stooping over hives, so long as I could
get aseat. I generally have three or four seats about the apiary,
and they may not all be of the same kind. A common glass-box
is more used than any other. To make it convenient for carry-
ing, a strap of leather or cloth may be nailed to two diagonally
opposite corners on the bottom. Or the cover may be nailed on
the box with a hand-hole in the middle. The box being of three
different dimensions, one has a choice as to height of seat. It is
a little curious to know what a difference there is in this respect
as to the preferences of different persons. My assistant never
uses the highest seat the box affords, while I never use the lowest.

Fig. 18 shows a hive-seat with a strap-handle, the kind I
prefer; Fig. 19 shows one with hand-hole, which my assistant
prefers.

A DIGRESSION.

Perhaps I ought to digress a little, and tell you about my
help. Years ago, my wife, her sister Emma, and sometimes my

52 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

boy Charlie (I have no other children), all worked with me at
the bees. Those were delightful days. I think Charlie would
have made a very bright beekeeper, but somehow he did not take
kindly to the business, and has spent his later years in the army
and government service. My wife is one of the sort who is never
happy unless she is doing something for some one else, so for
years she has been confined to the house so as to help make a
pleasant home for others, sometimes of my relatives, sometimes
of hers. Ever since the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and
ninety-eight there has dwelt with us my wife’s mother, Mrs.
Margaret Wilson, a blessed old Scotch saint, whose presence in
the home I feel to be much like the presence of the ark in the
house of Obed-Edom, when “it was told king David, saying,
The Lord hath blessed the house of Obed-Edom, and ali that
pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of Grud." She is a great
consumer of honey, and her temper is correspondingly sweet.

ASSISTANT BEEKEEPER.

So for a number of years Miss Emma M. Wilson has given
me the only assistance I have had in the apiary. Hired help
does some such work as carrying out and hauling bees, putting
together hives, ete., unloading honey brought from the out-
apiary, taking sections out of supers, ete. Sometimes it has
been a convenience that I could call on the hired help in the
employ of my good brother-in-law, Ghordis Stull. Ghordis has
the place pretty well filled with raspberries and strawberries,
and he is ‘way up in such matters. Previous to his oecupaney
of the place, it was chiefly in grass, for I could give no attention
to cultivated crops. The only thing I pretend to oversee of the
farm work is the cultivation of the rose-beds. J could hardly
live without roses, and my wife is an expert in chrysanthemums.
With the fruit crop I have nothing whatever to do except with
the finished product, and only so much of that as we can finish
in the house—by no means a small quantity.

Miss Wilson was a school-teacher with health run down,
and in 1882 she stopped a year for the out-door life of bee-
keeping. She is still stopping. Although never rugged in health,
I think she has never missed a day's work in the apiary during
all the years since, when there was work to be done. Small of

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 53

stature and frail of build, she yet has a remarkable capacity for
work, perhaps partly owing to the fact that she is full-blooded
Scotch, and she will go through more colonies in a day than J
ean, do my best. I think, however, that the bees prefer just a
little to have me work with them. They have more time to get
out of the way, and not so many of them get killed.

T-SUPER SEAT,

Well, I started in for a digression, but I didn’t mean to
write a history. We were talking about seats. Another kind of
seat is made of an old T-super. A piece of lath is nailed to two
opposite diagonal corners, and another piece nailed to the othe.
two corners. That stiffens and strengthens it, so it makes a
good seat for one who doesn’t like a low seat.

HIVE-TOOLS.

Of all the hive-tools I have tried, I like best the Muench
tool (Fig. 20). Its broad semi-circular end with sharp edge ean
hardly be excelled for the purpose of raising covers and supers,
and when the other end is thrust between two frames, a quarter
turn separates the frames with the least possible effort. Miss
Wilson has a liking for the Root tool. I have not used it much,
but it has the special advantage that it is a fine scraper. Beside
the hive-tool for opening the hive and starting the frames. if the
hives are to be cleaned out another tool is needed.

_ After trying a number of different things for hive-cleaners.
I have been best satisfied with a hatchet, the handle sawed short,
so that it will not be in the way when working in the bottom of
the hive, the edge dull and a perfectly straight line, and the
outside part of the blade also ground to a straight line and at
right angles with the edge. This right-angled corner is to clean
out the corners of the hive. In cleaning, the hatchet is moved
rapidly back and forth, or rather from side to side, the blade
being held at right angles to the surface being cleaned. The
weight of the hatchet is quite a help, something like a fly-wheel
in machinery.

It would be a nice thing to clean the propolis out of all
hives every spring, because I am in a region for profitable

54+ FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

propolis production if it ever comes to be a staple article of
commerce; but it takes some time tu clean the hives, and it is
not done every spring.

CLEANING HIVES.

If the hives are to be cleaned, an emj:ty clean hive is ready
in advance. The empty hive is placed at right angles to the

Fig. 1? —Record-books

hive to be overhauled, the back end of the empty hive near the
front erd of the other hive, thus leaving plenty of room for my
seat beside the full hive, and leaving the empty hive within easy
reach,

FIFTY YEARS \MONG THE BEES | TG

OPENING ILLVE.

iA single putf at the entrance if the smoker is going well,
or two or three puffs if it is yet scarcely under headway, notifles
the guards that they needn't bother to come out if they feel a
little jar. The cover is cracked open the least bit at one eorner
by the tool, then the other corner is cracked open and the cover
lifted. It could be lifted without using the tool twice, simply
prying up one corner enough, but that would jar the bees more,
and excite them. The desire is to get along with the smallest
amount of jar possible, for the queen is to be found, and too
much smoke or jarring will set the bees to running so the queen
cannot be found. As soon as the cover is raised, a little smoke
is blown across the tops of the frames, not down into the hive.
While it is bad to use too much smoke, it is also bad to use too
little, for if the bees are once thoroughly aroused it takes more
smoke to subdue them than it does to keep them under in the
first place.

TAKING OUT FRAMES.

When the cover is removed the dummy is taken out. If the
dummy was on the near side, the frames are all crowded to that
side, allowing me to lift out the further frame. Whether that
further frame is now to be put into the empty hive depends
upon circumstances. It is to be put in if the next frame con-
tains brood; otherwise not. For I want the brood-nest to begin
with the frame next to the further outside frame, at least that is
generally the way. Then I can tell at any time afterward how
many frames of brood are in a hive, merely by finding where
the brood begins on the side next me. One after another the
frames are changed into the empty hive, making sure that at
least those containing brood maintain their original relative
positions.

When the old hive is empty, then it is set off the stand and
the other takes its place. The order of proceeding may be
changed by first setting the full hive off the stand and putting
the empty one in its place. Or the change may be made when
half the frames have changed their places. The last makes the
lifting a little lighter, but takes more time.

56 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

The empty hive is now to be cleaned out, the hatchet being
used for all but the rabbet, which is a separate contract. Pro-
polts is used in laree quantities ia my loeality, and the trough
formed by the tin rabbet will, in the course of years, become
completely filled.

In the matter of propolis, there is a difference in bees as
well as localities. The worst daubers I ever had were the so-
called Punies or Tunisians from the north of Africa. One colony

Fig. 1S—Hive-seat with Sirap-handle,

put so much propolis at an upper entrance that I rolled up a
ball of it somewhere between the size of a hickorynut and a
blackwalnut.

To clean out the rabbet, the small end of the hive-tool ix
well adapted. Holding it perpendicularly, with the edge of the
tool diagunally in the trough, I play it backward and forward
until the trough is emptied of propolis. Still better is a screw-
driver, rather sharp, ground to just the right width to fit easily
in the trough.

The empty hive is now used to take the place of the ext
hive to be overhauled, whieh in ifs turn is cleaned and then used
neain, and so on.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 57

While the frames are being changed from one hive to the
other, observations and necessary changes are made. If there
is no cleaning of hives, then the work is shortened. The dummy
is taken out, and one frame is also taken out so as to leave freer
working room. This one frame may be put in an empty hive
standing convenient; or it may be leaned against the hive being
operated on, or against an adjoining hive. If the dummy was
on the near side, then the frames are all pushed toward me, two
or three being started at a time, and when all are started the
tool is pushed down between the further frame and the side of
the hive, and all the frames at one push shoved toward me
enough to give plenty of room at the further side. If the frames
are Hoffman (a few hives contain Hoffman frames) then it is
necessary to start each frame separately before it can be lifted
out.

WATCHING FOR QUEEN.

As the frames are being handled, the thing that receives
closer attention than anything else is to see the queen so as to
know whether she is clipped or not. For if a colony should
have an unclipped queen there is a fair chance that it might
swarm and decamp; and it is possible that almost any colony
may have superseded its queen the previous fall, leaving it with
an unclipped queen.

IMPLEMENT FOR CLIPPING.

If the queen is unclipped, of course I clip her. Nearly
always I use a pair of scissors for clipping, although I have
tried a knife. The strongest argument in favor of the knife is
that a knife is always on hand. But it is as easy to have a pair
of scissors on hand. They may be tied to the record-book, and
the record-book is sure to be always on hand. Most of the time
I have had a pair of embroidery scissors tied to my record-book
with a string long enough to allow the scissors to be freely used,
but I have been surprised to find that much larger seissors will
do very good work. Latterly I have used a common pair of
gentleman’s pocket scissors, and I am not sure but I like them
as well as the embroidery scissors. It is Just as easy to have a

58 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

pair of these as a knife constantly in the pocket. To make good
work clipping, a knife should be very sharp, and I find it is
harder to have a sharp knife constantly on hand than a sharp
pair of scissors. Neither is it so necessary that the scissors be
sharp.

FINDING QUEEN.

Before a queen is clipped she must be found. I have seen
some attempt at rules for finding a queen, but after all is said,
you must do more or less hunting for a queen if you would
find her. I generally begin looking on the first frame of brood
I come to—hardly worth while to look on any frame before the
brood is reached—and as I raise the frame out of the hive I
keep watch of the side next me. Then when the frame is lifted
out of the hive, before looking at the opposite side, I glance at
the nearest side of the next frame in the hive; for it requires
scarcely any time to do this, and if she happens to be in sight
it will be a saving of time tu lift out immediately the frame she
is on. Not seeing her on the frame in the hive, I look over both
sides of the frame in my hand, and continue thus through all
the frames. Although it was not worth while to look for her
on any comb before the brood-nest was reached, it is worth
while to look for her on the comb or combs remaining after
passing over those that vontain brood, for in trying to get away
from the light she will go on to the outside combs.

This trying to get away from the light on the part of the
queen, by going from one comb to the other, makes me go over
the combs as rapidly as possible without looking too closely, for
if I do not see her with a slight looking, the chances are that
she is on another comb, and I count it better to run the chance
of going over the combs again, rather than to go too slowly.
For if one goes over the combs slowly enough, it is a pretty safe
thing to say that the queen will be driven clear to the other side
of the hive.

My assistant, however, who is an expert at finding queens,
holds a different theory, and as a cousequence her practice is
different. She thinks it better to go more slowly and make sure
of finding the queen first time going over. She takes more time
to go over the combs the first time, but she doesn’t often have to

FIFTY YEARS A!MONG THE BEES 59

go over the combs a second time; so perhaps one way is as good
as the other.

If the queen is not found the second time going over, she
may be found the third time, but it is quite possible that she is
lid in such a way that it may be impossible to find her with long

Fig. 19—Hive-seal with Hand-holes.

searching. So it 1s economy to close the hive, and try it again
another day, or at least to wait half an hour.

AIDS TO FINDING QUEEN.

If, for some special reason, it is very important to find the
queen without any postponement, sometimes the combs are put
in pairs. Two of the combs are put in an empty hive, the two
being close together; then another pair is put an inch or more
distant from the first pair, and the remaining combs in the hive
on the stand are arranged in pairs the same way. Wherever tle
queen is, it will not be long before sl:e will be in the middle of

60 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

whatever pair vf combs she is on. Going on with work at
another hive, I return after a little, and look again for the
queen. Lifting out the comb nearest me, I look first on the side
of its mate in the hive, and if I do not see the queen there, I
quickly look on the opposite side of the comb in my hand. Tam
pretty sure to find her in the middle of one of the pairs.

iy, 20—Mueneh Live-loot.

If the pairs are sufficiently separated from each other (1
don’t mean the two combs of each pair separated, for the two
eombs in each pair should be as elose together as possible, but
that one pair should be far enough from another pair so that
the bees should not communicate), the bees will, after standing
long enough, show signs of uneasiness ly running over the
combs. all but the one pair that has the queen on, and the

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 61

quietness of the bees on that one pair is sufficient warrant for
seeking the queen there.

If the bees get to running, it is hardly worth while to
continue the search for the queen until they have quieted down.
Sometimes she will be on the side or the bottom of the. hive, and
will be found only by lifting out all the combs.

BEE-STRAINER.

iA strainer may be used for straining the bees through and
leaving the queen. A queen-excluder is fastened to the bottom
of an empty hive-body, and that makes the strainer. The
strainer is set over a hive-body in which there is a frame of
brood but no hees—at least it must be certain that the queen
cannot possibly be in the hive-body under the strainer. Then
all the bees are shaken and brushed from the combs into the
strainer. The workers will go down through the excluder, being
hurried by a little smoke if necessary, while the queen will be
left in the strainer.

On the whole the queen is generally found so easily by the
ordinary looking over the combs that it is seldom that any other
plan is resorted to.

It happens once in a great while that the queen is on the
cover when it is lifted off the hive, so it is well to glance over
the under surface of the cover as it is removed from the hive.
Onee in a great while I have known the queen after no little
searching to be on the shoulder or some other part of the
operator. How she managed to get there I don’t know.

CATCHING THE QUEEN.

When the queen is found, she must be caught before she is
clipped. J want to catch her by the thorax or just back of the
thorax, and if she is in motion, by the time I reach for the
thorax it will have passed along out of reach. So I make a
reach more as if attempting to catch her by the head, and the
movement she makes is likely to bring my thumb and finger
down on each side of her thurax, and in that position she is held
firmly on the comb (Fig. 21). There is no danger of hurting
the queen by giving a pretty hard squeeze on the thorax, and

62 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

indeed there is not so very much danger if the hold is further
back and the abdomen gets a little squeeze.

Then the thumb and finger are slid up off the thorax, at the
same time pressed together, and this gives me a grip on the
wings, when she is lifted from the comb, fairly caught (Fig. 22).

All this is done with the right hand, generally, although
occasionally she is caught with the left hand. At any rate, she
is now shifted to the left hand, and held between the thumb
and finger, back up, head and thorax between thumb and finger,
head pointing to the left, ready to clip (Fig. 23).

CLIPPING THE QUEEN.

Then cne blade of the scissors is slipped under the two
wings of one side, and they are cut off as short as they can
conveniently be clipped (Fig. 24).

The queen will be just as helpless about flying if only the
larger wing on one side is clipped, and clipping the one wing
will not mar her looks so much, but when a queen is seurrying
across a comb, or when you get just a glimpse of her in the
hive, it is much easier to tell at a glance that she is clipped if
both wings on one side are cut off.

ADVANTAGE OF CLIPPING.

Although nowadays the practice of clipping has become
quite general, there are a few who doubt its advisability. T
would not like to dispense with clipping if J kept only one
ajiary and were ou hand all the time, and with out-apiaries and
no one to watch them it seems a necessity. Ifa colony swarms
with a clipped queen, it cannot go off. True, the queen may
possibly be lost, but it is better to lose the queen than to lose
both bees and queen.

Tf there were no other reason for it, I should want my
queens clipped for the sake of keeping a proper record of them.
A colony, for example, distinguishes itself by storing more than
any other colony. I want to breed next spring from the queen
of that colony. But she may be superseded in the fall after that
big harvest, and if she is not clipped there is no way for me to
tell in the following season whether she has been superseded or

FIFTY YEARS AMONU THE BEES eB

not. Indeed | ean hardly see how it is possible to keep proper
track of a queen without having her clipped.

Sometimes when a queen is being found, she will quickly
run under and out of the way, giving one a mere glimpse of her,
so that it is not easy to say whether it was a queen or a worker
that was seen, in which case the missing wings aid in recogniz-
ing her. To this, however, it may be replied that there is less
need to find queens where they are not kept clipped.

Tig. 2i—Catching the Queen.

BEE-SMOKERS.

You who have used smokers ever since you began working
with bees hardly know how to appreciate them. At least it is
doubtful if you appreciate them as much as you would if you
had done as I did when I first began beekeeping, going around
with a pan of coals and a burning brand on it, or else a lighted
piece of rotten wood (indeed this last was quite an improve-
ment over the first), the only bellows I had being a sound pair
of lungs. Any one of the various makes of smokers I have
tried will do quite satisfactory work. I have used up more
Clark smokers than any others. Although low in price, the

G4 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

Clark is really more expensive than any other. Jt works beau-
tifully while new, but the “new” wears off entirely too soon.
The bellows becomes ineapacitated by reason of the smoke
sucked into it, and then there is no good way to clean it out.

CONTINUOUS AND CUT-OFF BLAST.

The Bingham, Corneil, Crane, and others, are all good.
The cut-off blast lengthens the lite of a smoker, but shortens ils
blast. The continuous blast, as in the Clark, allows one to send
the smoke with more force, but, as already mentioned, shortens
the life of the smoker, because the bellows become foul with
smoke. The Crane has the advantage of the full strength of
blast without the weakening of the cut-off, and works in perfec-
tion for along time. Still, in the course of time. the metal valve
becomes dirty, and it must be cleaned. Fortunately the part
containing the valve can be taken off, allowing all to be made
just as clean as when new. It takes quite a bit of time to do
this, but it is time well spent, and one cleaning a year, even
with heavy use, is sufficient. Those who do not care for so
strong a blast will prefer » Bingham, Corneil, or other smoker
with a eut-off, never needing to be cleaned, while those who lke
the strong blast will be willing to spend the time vccasionally
cleaning the Crane. The latest Root smokers are the favorite
of all.

CLEATS ON SMOKERS.

Using a smoker all day long is a hard thing on the museles
that work the bellows, and the stiffer the spring of the bellows
the more tiresome ihe work. But unless the spring be quite
stiff, the smoker will drop out of the hand when the grasp is
relaxed so as to alluw the bellows to open. I think it was W.
L. Cogeshall who suggested little cleats on the smoker, and
these cleats have given great satisfaction. They are merely
strips of wood one-fourth inch by one-eighth, extending across
the upper end of each bellows-board and half way down the
sides (Fig. 80). The sharp edges of the cleats cling to the
fingers, allowing the spring to be—I don’t know just how much
weaker, buf T should guess only half as strong as without cleats.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 65

Most of the latest smokers are now made’so that no cleats are
needed. ,

SMOKER-FUEL.

It is a matter of much importance to have plenty of the
right fuel and lighting material. Time is precious during the

Fig. 22—Caught!

busy season, and it is trying on the temper to have to spend
much time getting a smoker started, or relighting it when it has
gone out. There are a great many different things that can be
used for fuel, and it is largely a matter of convenience as to
what is best for each one. Pine needles, rotten wood, sound
wood, excelsior rammed down hard, planer shavings, greasy

66 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

cotton-waste thrown away along the railroad, peat, rags, corn-
cobs, old bags—in fact almost anything that will burn may be
used in a smoker. Whatever is used, however, there should be
a good stock of it on hand thoroughly dry, with no chance for
the rain to reach it.

GREEN FUEL.

And yet there are times when something green is better.
When a continuous and strong smoke is wanted, after a hot
fire has been started in the smoker, it is a good thing to fill the
smoker with green sticks from a growing tree. The hot fire
and the continuous blowing makes it burn freely, and the smoke
from green wood is sharper than that from dry.

But it is only on special occasions that it is desirable to
have green wood, and it should at all other times be not only
dry but very dry. Nothing is better as a standard fuel than
sound hard wood sawed into proper lengths and split up into
pieces about a quarter of an inch thick. The only objection is
that such wood is rather expensive, for it takes a great deal of
time to prepare it. Much the same thing without the cost of
preparation may be had at any woodpile where hard wood has
been chopped—I mean the chips to be found there—and that
has been the favorite smoker-fuel “in this locality” for some
time. When the weather is dry, the chips may be picked up in
the chip-yard and filled directly into the smoker, but a stoek is
always kept on hand well coverd up, ready to use immediately
after the heaviest shower of rain.

SMOKER-KINDLING.

When live coals are at hand in the cook-stove, nothing is
handier than to put a few of them in the smoker to start the
fire. These are not always at hand. J have used for kindling
carpenter’s shavings, kerosene, rotten wood of some hard wood,
especially apple, that kind of rotten wood that is somewhat
spongy and will be sure to burn if the least spark touches it—
all these have given more or less satisfaction, but nothing quite
so much as saltpeter-rags. Like the right kind of rotten wood,
the least spark will light a saltpeter-rag so that it will be sure

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 67

to go, but it is not so slow in its action as the rotten wood, and
makes a much greater heat, so that chips of sound hard wood
will be at once started into a secure fire.

SALTPETER-RAGS.

To prepare the saltpeter-rags a crock is kept constantly
standing, containing a solution of saltpeter. The strength of

Fig. 23—Ready for Clipping.

the solution is not a matter of great nicety. A quarter or half
a pound of saltpeter may be used to a gallon of water, and if it
evaporates so that the solution becomes stronger, water may be
added. A cotton rag dipped in this solution will be ready for
use as soon as dried. As a matter of convenience, quite a lot
of rags are prepared at a time. They are wrung out of the

68 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

solution and spread out to dry in the sun, and when thoroughly
dry are put in the tool-basket, which always contains a supply.
When taken out of the crock, the rags may be wrung quite dry,
thus containing not so much saltpeter, or they may be wrung
out just enough so the liquid will not run off on the ground and
waste, in which condition they will be strongly dosed with salt-
peter.

A plentiful supply of dry smoker-fuel, with a correspond-
ing stock of saltpeter-rags, is a great saving of the “ disposi-
tion.”

POUNDING BEES OFF COMBS.

Mention was made of getting bees off combs. Sometimes
shaking is used altogether, sometimes brushing, and sometimes
both. The weight of the comb has something to do with the
manner of shaking. The most of the shaking—in fact all of
the shaking, unless the combs be very heavy or the bees be
shaken on the ground—is done as shown in Fig. 26. Perhaps it
might better be called pounding bees off the comb. The comb
is held by the corner with one hand, while the other hand
pounds sharply on the hand that holds the comb. By this
manner of pounding IJ ean get almost every bee off a comb with
a few strokes, unless the comb be too heavy.

DOOLITTLE PLAN OF SHAKING.

With a very heavy comb, G. M. Doolittle’s plan is better,
and is the one used. Let the ends of the top-bar be supported
by the first two fingers of each hand, the thumbs scme distance
above. Keeping the thumb and fingers well apart, let the frame
drop, and as it drops strike it hard with the balls of the thumbs,
then catch it with the fingers, raise it and repeat the operation.
The bees are jarred both up and down, and don’t know which
way to brace themselves to hold on, so a very few shakes will
get most of them off.

PENDULUM PLAN OF SHAKING.

Often it is desirable to shake the bees back into the hive.
In that case brushing may be better than shaking, but the
pounding plan serves very well. A space may be made by

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 69

shoving the combs apart, and the frame.to be pounded held well
down in the hive. But many times it is as well to shake the
bees on the ground. This may not be so advisable if the queen
is likely to be among the shaken bees. Yet I have often shaken
the queen off among the bees on the ground, and I am not sure
that she ever failed to find her way with the bees back into the
hive. When the bees are to be shaken on the ground the pen-
dulum plan is used almost altogether. With the right hand IJ
take hold of one end of the top-bar, letting the frame hang
with the bottom-bar pointing forward, and then swinging the
frame backward like a pendulum I let it swing again forward,
and then as it falls back I let the lower end of the top-bar strike
the ground in such position that a diagonal from the point that
strikes the ground to the opposite end of the bottom-bar shall
be nearly vertical. It is easier than the other plans, and takes
less time.

BEE-BRUSHES.

Sometimes it is not desirable to get all the bees off, in
which case, or with very light combs, no brushing is needed.
But if all the bees are to be cleaned off, and the combs are not
very light, then brushing must be resorted to. I know of no
brush better than one made of some growing plant, such as
asparagus, sweet clover, goldenrod, aster, ete.—no little bit of
a thing, but a good big bunch, well tied together with a string
(Fig. 27).

But like many a thing that costs nothing, these weed
brushes are too expensive, for they dry up so that a fresh one
must be made every day, and that takes a good deal of time.
So I generally use a Coggshall brush (Fig 28). The essential
thing about a Coggshall brush is that it must be made of long
broom-corn with a very thin brush, and not trimmed at all at
the ends. One of these is always in the tool-basket.

Of course no shaking or pounding of combs is admissible
if queen-cells are on the combs that are considered of any value.

TOOL-BASKET,

The tool-basket spoken of is simply a common splint
basket (Fig. 29). At different times I have had different ar-

70 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

rangements for carrying the things most generally needed, at
least two different tool-boxes having been made for that special
purpose with separate compartments for the various articles.
But the basket is lighter, and although things get a little mixed
up in it, it seems to have the preference at present. At one time
I tried to keep an outfit at each apiary—smoker, hive-tools, ete.
—so that there should be no need to carry anything from one
apiary to another, but one gets used to tools and prefers to use
the same ones day after day, so the basket is used.

CONTENTS OF TOOL-BASKET.

Of course, the number of objects carried in a basket must
be somewhat limited. The bulkiest part is the apron, sleeves,
and gloves of my assistant. The record-book must always be
present. Then there will be smokers, hive-tools, hammer, cages,
matches (although matches are always kept covered with the
fuel in each apiary), saltpeter-rags, nails, and any other light
objects that may happen to be needed at any particular time.
Of course there will be heavier articles, not convenient to carry
from one apiary to another, and each apiary must have its own,
as a hive with a closed entrance and a robber-cloth, ready to
contain at any time frames of brood or honey safe from reb-
bers. Generally, however, there will be no need to be so careful
against robbers, and the one or two frames lifted out of a hive
will be leaned up against it, taking pains to stand any frame
where the hot rays of the sun may not strike too directly upon
it, and to stand it up straight enough so it will not sag with its
own weight.

RESTING FRAMES DIAGONALLY IN HIVE.

With one frame out of the hive there will be room enough
for the rest to be moved about in the hive, and returned to it
as soon as examined. Sometimes when it is desired to set a
frame back in the hive very quickly, or when a queen has been
caught and is held in the fingers, so that the frame must be
handled by one hand, it is convenient to set the frame in the
hive resting diagonallly, as shown in Fig. 36. The frame is
lowered till one end of the top-har rests upon one rabbet, and
then the bottom-bar is allowed to rest upon the other rabbet.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 71

Perhaps oftener, however, I use both hands to handle a
frame, even while holding a queen in one hand. While searching
for the queen the frame is held in both hands, and as soon as
she is seen the end of the frame held by the right hand is rested
upon the hive, the right hand catches the queen, and she is then
allowed to run upon the leg of my trousers, upon the thigh (it

Fig. 24—Clipping the Queen.

is an exceedingly rare thing that a laying queen will offer to
fly), and then I catch her in the hollow of my right hand, hold-
ing her in the hollow formed by the three fingers, while with the
thumb and forefinger I am free to handle the frame at leisure.

BEES BALLING QUEEN.

When a colony is being overhauled, it sometimes happens
that the queen is found balled. This balling is likely more be-
cause the colony, being frightened, is seeking to protect the
queen than because of any hostility to her. Fig. 30 shows a
queen thus balled, or rather the balling bees are shown, the
queen being hidden by them. The ball is small, whereas a ball

72 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

of bees bent on the destruction of a strange queen is likely to be
as large as a hickory-nut, or larger.

Whether the object of the bees be to protect the queen or
not, anything that tends to excite them sufficiently may lead
them to do violence to the queen. So when I find the queen thus
balled, I always close the hive immediately, not generally touch-
ing it again till the next day, when everything will be found all
right.

MAKING RECORDS.

After the overhauling of a colony is completed, a record
thereof must be made. If May 10, 1902, should be the date of
the visit, and if I should clip the queen at that visit, I would
make the entry, “May 10 el g (01),” which means that I clipped
the queen May 10, and that she was a queen reared in 1901. If,
later in the season, I should clip a queen reared that same
season, the entry would be “el q (02),” meaning that the queen
was reared in 1902. In either case the year of the birth of the
old queen in the left-hand margin has a line drawn through it,
and the birth-year of the new queen is written under it. If I
find a clipped queen in the hive, then the entry is, “q ¢l,” which
means the queen was already clipped. It might not seem
important to enter that the queen was already clipped, but if I
do not find her the first or second time looking over the combs
I leave it till another day, leaving a blank after the date, and
that keeps me in mind of the fact that I have not yet seen the
queen.

After clipping the wing of the queen I pnt her on the top
of a frame directly over the brood-nest. If you hold her on your
finger over the brood-nest she displays a great degree of per-
verseness and persists in crawling up your hand, right away
from her proper home. So J let her crawl upon a leaf, little
stick or other objeet, lay this on the frames, and she will direet-
ly go down into the cluster.

Not always, however. Too often she will run about over
the tops of the frames, and even over the side of the hive, and
when thus excited there is some danger she may be balled when
she gets down in the hive. So I like better to have-a frame of
broad covered with bees, lying flat, or held flat by an assistant,

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 73

and then I drop the queen right among the bees on the middle
of the comb.

On this first visit I also generally enter in the record-book
the amount of brood present. If the record is “2 br,” or “3 br,”
it means that two combs or three combs are fairly well filled
with brood—at least half filled with brood. If the record is
“br in 2,” that means that brood is found in two combs, but
that at least one of them is less than half full. So you will see
that “br in 3” might be a good deal less than “ 2 br,” for “2
br” might mean two very full combs, and at the least will be
as much as one very full comb, while “ br in 3” may mean that
there is only a little spot of brood in each of three combs.

Any other item that needs especial mention will be recorded,
but generally there is no record made beyond those mentioned.

MENDING COMBS.

Tn handling the combs, if any are found with drone-comb
or with holes in them, and if we are not too crowded for time,
the defects are remedied. Very likely I may turn over these
combs to my assistant, who mends them before they are returned
to the hive. The usual plan is to mend them in this way:

She takes a common tea-knife with a thin, narrow, sharp
blade, cuts out the piece of drone-comb if the hole is not already
made, lavs the frame over a piece of worker comb (this piece
of worker-comb may be the part or whole of some old or objec-
tionable comb), with the point of the knife marks out the exact
size and shape of the hole, removes the frame, cuts out the piece
and crowds it into the hole.

Or the following plan may be used, especially if the frame
is wired: After the hole is made (the mice have probably made
the holes in the wired frames), the cells on one side are cut
away to the base for a distance of ¥g to 1% inch from the hole,
and a piece of foundation cut to the right size is placed over the
hole and the edge pressed down upon the base that surrounds
the hole. The foundation must not be too cold. Before fall
these patches cannot be detected, unless by the lighter color
where the foundation has been used.

74 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

HIVES AND FRAMES.

Now that the apiary is all in running order, you may want
to take a look at it. You “don’t think it looks remarkably
neat’? Neither do I. If I had only a dozen colonies and were
keeping them for the pleasure of it, I should have their hives
painted, perhaps ornamented with scroll work, but please 1e-
member that I am keeping them for profit, and I cannot afford
anything for looks. I suppose they would last longer if painted,
but hardly enough longer to pay for the paint. Besides, in the

Fig. 25—Home from the Out-apiary.

many changes constantly taking place, how do I know that I
may not want to throw these aside and adopt a new hive?

CHANGES IN HIVES.

I have already changed five times, having begun in 1861
with a full-sized sugar-barrel, changing the next year to Quinby
box hives, then to a movable-frame hive made by J. F. Lester,
and afterward when J. Vandervort, the foundation-mill man,
came and lived perhaps a year in Marengo, 1 bought out his
stock of hives. I supposed they were the exact Langstroth
pattern, but they had frames 18 x 9 inches, not different enough

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 75

to make auy appreciable difference in results, but different
enough so that they were not standard, and after I had a few
thousand of them on hand and wanted to change to the regular
Langstroth size, the trouble I had would be hard to describe.
I still have some of them, but not in regular use. These hives
were 10-frame, and in course of time I cut them down and made
them 8-frame. Then I changed to the 8-frame dovetailed hive,
and I don’t know what the next change will be.

Another reason for not painting hives is that I am afraid
bees do not do quite so well in painted as in unpainetd hives,
especially in winter.

Exeept the full-sized cleat already mentioned on each end,
my hives are the regular dovetailed. But the frames are Miller
frames.

LOOSE-HANGING FRAMES.

For a good many years handling frames was much slower
work than it is to-day, because for a good many years I had
loose-hanging frames. In moving the frames from one side of
- the hive toward the other, each frame had to be moved separate-
ly. It would not do to shove two or more at a time, because in
so doing bees would be mashed between the frames. Then when
the frames were returned to place each one had to be carefully
adjusted, judging by the eye when it was at the right distance
from its neighbor. This was slow work, and when done with the
utmost care it was only approximately exact. There was no
dummy to lift out to make extra room; and the frames had to be
crowded together so as to make room to get a first frame out.
That disarranged the spacing of several of the frames, even if
there were no other occasion for disarranging them.

SELF-SPACING FRAMES.

Then there came a time of struggling for some self-spacing
arrangement, closed-end, partly closed-end, and what not. I
tried a good many different kinds. Closed-ends were probably
warmer for wintering, and were certainly self-spacing, but it
took time to avoid killing bees, and the troublé with propolis
was no small maiter. Half-closed ends were the same in kind,
only different in degree.

76 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

Of these last the Hoffman is probably the most popular,
and I put in use enough to fill a few hives, and some of them are
still in use. When new they work very nicely, but as propolis
accumulates the difficulty of handling increases, and the frames
become more and more crowded, until it is almost impossible to
get out the dummy, the easier thing being to pry out with a
good deal of force the first frame, either with or without the
dummy. Indeed, the difficulty of getting out the frames is so
great that the sight of a set of Hoffman frames when the cover
is removed always produces something like a shudder.

Although I could not have anything in the line of closed-
ends, I wanted the advantage of the self-spacing, and not find-
ing anything on the market to suit me I was, in a manner,
compelled to adopt something of my own “ get-up,” and so for
several years I have used with much satisfaction the Miller
frame (Fig. 95).

MILLER FRAME.

The frame is of course of the regular Langstroth size,
1754x9¥%. Top-bar, bottom-bar, and end-bars are uniform in
width, 1¥ inches throughout their whole dimensions. The top-
bar is % inch thick, with the usual saw-kerf to receive the
foundation, and close beside this is another kerf to receive the
wedge that fastens in the foundation. The length of the top-
bar is 1854 inches, and 7% x 9-16 is rabbeted out of each erd
to receive the end-bar. The end-bar is 8 9-l6x1¥4x*y. The
bottom-bar consists of two pieces, each 17544 x4ox%. This
allows Yg inch between the two parts to receive the foundation,
making the bottom-bar 14g inches wide when nailed.

In Fig. 95 the frame is upside down, one-half of the bot-
tom-bar nailed on, the other half above, while below is seen
the long strip that serves as a wedge to fasten in the foundation.

Some of my latest frames, however, have the bottom-bar in
one piece, 11% inches wide, and I’m not sure but I prefer them.
The only object in having the bottom-bar in two pieces is the
convenience of an exact fit of the foundation without the trouble
of cutting it carefully to the right size. With the bottom-bar
all in one piece, the foundation fitting down close upon it, and
melted wax run along the joint, the bees may be less inelined to

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 17

gnaw a passage under the foundation than with the double
bottom-bar without the melted wax.

SPACING-NAILS.

The side-spacing, which holds the frame at the proper
distance from its next neighbor, is accomplished by means of
common wire nails. These nails are 114 inches long and rather
heavy, about 3-32 inch in thickness, with a head less than one-
fourth inch across. By means of a wooden gauge which allows
them to be driven only to a fixed depth, they are driven in to
such a depth that the head remains projecting out a fourth of
an inch.

Each frame has four spacing-nails. A nail is driven into
each end of the top-bar on opposite sides, the nail being about.
an inch and a half from the extreme end of the top-bar, and a
fourth of an inch from its upper surface. About two and a
fourth inches from the bottom of the frame a nail is driven into
each end-bar, these nails being also on opposite sides. Hold the
frame up before you in its natural position, each hand holding
one end of the top-bar, and the two nails at the right end will
be on the side from you, while the two nails at the left end will
be on the side nearest to you.

The object of having the nails so heavy is so that they may
not be driven further into the wood when the frames are crowd-
ed hard together. Once in a great while the wood is split by
having so heavy a nail driven, and if such a nail could be
obtained it would be better to have a lighter nail with a head a
fourth of an inch thick, so that it could be driven automatically
to place without the need of a gauge, and without the possibil-
ity of being driven further in by any amount of crowding.

I have never tried the metal spacers now used on what are
still called Hoffman frames, but it seems to me they must be an
immense improvement over the original Hoffman frames, such
as I had. I think, however, I should still prefer such a nail as
I have mentioned, because there is less opposing surface, and so
less chance for propolis. Such nails are in use in Europe.

Objection has been made to metal spacers because they are
in the way of the uncapping-knife. But why should I, who do
not use an uncapping-knife, be denied the frame that is best for

78 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

my use, because, forsooth, it doesn’t suit an uncapper? Yet I
must say I am very skeptical as to the objections to metal
spacers on even extracting frames. The spacers are only at one
end of the frame at each side, and if the knife starts at the
spacer-end it does not seem necessary to dull it on the spacers.
I have tried it enough to form something of an opinion, and I
have been told by those who ought to know that the objection
is a thing largely of imagination.

Fig. 26—Pounding Bees Off Comb.

END-SPACING,

The end-spacing is done by means of the usual frame
staple, about three-eighths of an inch wide. The staple is driven
into the end-bar, immediately under the Ing of the top-bar.
This lug being only half an inch long, there is room for a bee
to pass between the end of the lug and the upper edge of the
hive-end, so no propolis is deposited there. I like this feature
as much as some dislike it. They complain that with so short a
top-bar the frames drop down in the hive—a nuisance not to be
tolerated. I do not have that trouble, although the hold of the
top-bar on the tin support is so slight that if the work were
not exact I can easily imagine the frames dropping down.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 79

Possibly those who complain do not have very exact work. I
am not sure but I would put up with a little dropping down of
frames, rather than to have the ends of the top-bars glued.

It will be seen that while the frames are automatically
spaced very firmly, the points of contact are so small that the
frames are always easily movable. Those points of contact are
the thin metal edges upon which the top-bars rest, the two end-
staples, and the four nail-heads. The same spacing is in use in
other frames, only staples are used for side-spacing instead ot
nails. The staples do not seem quite so substantial, and there
is more danger, when the frames are crowded hard together,
that the staples may be driven in deeper, or that the head of the
staple may dig into the adjoining wood.

The top-bar and end-bar being 14 wide, and the spacing
of the nails 4 inch, the frames are spaced just 134 from center
to center. It is just possible that a little wider spacing than
13% might be better, but 1° is the general fashion, and so far
as possible I like to adopt standard goods. I may be asked,
then, why I should use a frame not regularly made by manufac-
turers. Possibly prejudice has a little to do in the ease, but I
think the Miller frame enough better than anything I can find
listed, that I prefer to be out of fashion so long as I ean find
nothing listed that is quite close to what I want.

USING STANDARD GOODS.

In general I think it is best to adopt standard goods. They
can be more cheaply made, and it is more convenient to get
them. It cost me no small sum to change my frames so little
as to make them only % of an inch less in length and an eighth
of an inch more in depth, but J made the change, and made it
solely because my frames were not of standard size. Years ago
I changed from four-piece to one-piece sections solely because I
wanted to be in fashion, although I think I prefer the one-piece
now.

WORKING FOR IMPROVEMENT.

At the same time it is one’s privileg-—perhaps one’s duty
—to make some effort toward improvement, if one can only

80 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

keep from thinking that a thing is necessarily an improvement
because it 1s different from what has been. The things and
plans gotten up by me that were different from others would
make a pretty long list. Unfortunately, a full trial has in most
eases convinced me that my supposed improvements were no
improvements at all, and so they were cast aside. A few, how-
ever, have stood the test; the Miller feeder and the Miller
introducing cage having become standard articles on the price-
lists, while bottom-starters, the robber-cloth, bottom-board, and

Fig. 27—Weed Brushes

some other things have had from my brother beekeepers a
reception of which I have no reason to complain. While the
tendency toward something different needs to be kept in bounds
it would be a sad thing if no changes had been made, and we
were set back just where we were a quarter or half a century
ago. i

GETTING COMBS BUILT DOWN TO BOTTOM-BARS.

While upon the subject of frames, I may as well tell how
T manage to have them entirely filed with straight combs which
are built out to the.end-bars and clear down to the bottom-bars,

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 81

a thing J experimented upon for a long time before reaching
suecess. The foundation is eut so as to make a close fit in
length, and the width is about half an inch more than the inside
depth of the frame. The frame is all complete except that one
of the two pieces of the bottom-bar is not yet nailed on. The
frame is laid on a board of the usual kind, which fits inside the
frame and has stops on the edges so that when foundation is
laid on the board it will lie centrally in the frame. The half of
the bottom-bar that is nailed on lies on the under side. The
foundation is put in place, and one edge is crowded into the
saw-kerf in the top-bar. Then the lacking half of the bottom-
bar is put in place, and a light nail at the middle is driven down
through both parts. Then the frame is raised and the ends of
the two halves of the bottom-bar are squeezed together so as to
pinch the foundation, and nailed there. Then the usual wedge
is wedged into the fine saw-kerf in the top-bar.

As already said, I am not sure but it is just as well, or
better, to have the bottom-bar in one piece, with the foundation
cut to fit close upon it.

FOUNDATION SPLINTS.

Now we are ready for the important part. Little sticks or
splints about 1-16 of an inch square, and about 14 inch shorter
than the inside depth of the frame, are thrown into a square
shallow tin pan that contains hot beeswax. They will froth up
because of the moisture frying out of them. When the frothing
ceases, and the splints are saturated with wax, then they are
ready for use. The frame of foundation is laid on the board
as before; with a pair of plyers a splint is lifted out of the
wax (kept just ‘hot enough over a gasoline-stove), and placed
upon the foundation so that the splint shall be perpendicular
when ‘the frame ig hung in the hive. As fast as a splint is laid
in place, an assistant’ immediately presses it down into the
foundation with the wetted edge of a: board. : About 114 .inches
from each end-bar is placed a splint; and between these two
splints three others at equal distances (Fig. 31). When these
are built out they make beautiful combs, and the splints do not
seem to be at all in the way (Fig. 32).

$2 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

Five splints in a frame works all right for medium brood
foundation, but in 1909 I filled a number of frames with light
brood foundation, and used seven splints in a frame.

A little experience will enable one to judge, when putting
in the splints, how hot to keep the wax. If too hot there will
be too light a coating of wax.

It must not be understood that the mere use of these splints
will under any and all circumstances result in faultless combs
built securely down to the bottom-bar. It seems to be the

Fig. 2—Coygshall Bee-brush.

natural thing for bees to leave a free passage under the comb,
no matter whether the thing that comes next below the comb be
the floor-board of the hive or the bottom-bar of the frame. So
if a frame be given when little storing is going on, the bees will
deliberately dig away the foundation at the bottom; and even
if it has been built down but the cells not very fully drawn out,
they will do more or less at gnawing a passage. To make a
suecess, the frames should be given at a time when work shall
go on uninterruptedly until full-depth cells reach the bottom-
bar.

In Fig. 32 will be seen two such frames of splinted founda-

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 83

tion that have been built out and filled with honey. The upper
one is built out solid to the frame all around, while the lower
one has a hole at one of the lower corners, through which a
queen can play hide-and-seek.

In Fig. 33 are two that have been built out and filled with
brood. They are built out solid to the wood, excepting one
hole in each at one of the lower corners, but these two holes are
covered up by the fingers so that you cannot see them. Look
carefully at the frame at the left hand, and you will see at least
three places where the capping is slightly elevated, because of
the splints beneath.

BROOD TO THE TOP-BAR.

Incidentally your attention may be called to this comb as a
fine specimen of one well filled with brood. It is literally filled,
all the cells, sealed and unsealed, containing brood. It shows
that there is no necessity for shallow frames to have brood clear
to the top-bar. At the time when it is desired to get bees to
start work in sections, the brood will be up so high in the combs
that bees will start in the sections just as promptly with stand-
ard frames as with those that are shallower. After the bees have
been at work storing for some time, the brood in the standard
frame will not be as near the top-bar as in a shallow frame,
but that will be no hindrance to the continuance of storing in
supers.

For a long time it puzzled me to understand why others
should say that in a Langstroth frame a space of one or two
inches would be left under the top-bar where no brood would
be reared, while in my hives, in the height of brood-rearing,
frame after frame would be filled with brood clear to the top-
bar. It was urged that the trouble arose because the frame was
too deep. Finally it was suggested that horizontal wiring
allowed enough sagging so that the upper cells were stretched
just enough so they would not be used for brood. In my frames,
with foundation-splints, there was no chance for stretching,
and so the row of cells next to the top-bar and bottom-bar could
alike be used by the queen.

Even if brood were not reared in the upper part of a Lang-
stroth frame, I should still prefer that depth for comb honey,

84 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

whatever might be true as to extracted honey. At one time I
had two hives with shallow frames, and the amount of pollen
in sections filled over those shallow frames was greater than in
all the other thousands of sections filled over the Langstroth
frames.

Please do not misunderstand that all my combs look like the
four in Figs. 32 and 33. Many of them do, but more do not,
because so many of them were built in seasons of comparative
dearth.

There is another way tc get combs built down to the bottom-
bar. Suppose you have a comb with a passageway under it
more or less of its length. Cut it free from the bottom-bar, and
then cut straight across an inch or more above the bottom-bar ;
then turn this piece upside down and let it rest on the bottom-
bar. The bees will immediately fasten this piece to the bottom-
bar (of course it must be at a time when bees are working
freely), and very soon they will fill in the gap above the piece.

HIVE-DUMMY.

A good dummy is a matter of no hght importance. It is
handy to fll up vacant space, its chief use being to make an
easy thing of removing the first comb from a hive. With self-
spacing frames there ean be no crowding together of the frames
so as to give one of them extra room, as is the case with loose-
hanging frames, and if a hive be filled full of self-spacing
frames it will be about impossible to remove the first frame
after a fair amount of propolis is present. A dummy at one
side is the thing to help out.

An eight-frame dovetailed hive is 124 inches wide inside.
Eight frames spaced 1% inches from center to center will occupy
11 inches, leaving at one side a space of 14% inches, abundance
of room to lift out the first frame easily. A dummy put into
that space will keep the bees from filling it up with comb, and
it ought never to be difficult to lift out the dummy. If a dummy
a trifle more than a fourth of an inch thick be put in, leaving
a fourth of an inch between dummy and frame, there will be
left between the dummy and the side of the hive a space of a
little more than half an inch, a space that the bees will never

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 85

fill with comb in such a place. As propolis accumulates, how-
ever, this space will become less.

The dummy should be light and at the same time quite
substantial, and the one I use fulfills these requirements (Fig.
42). The principal board of the dummy is 161% x 83g x 5-16,
of pine. The other parts are of some tougher wood. The top-
bar is 18% x 5-16 x 5-16. Each end-cleat is 83 x 4 x 5-16.

It will be seen that the dummy is neither so long nor deep
as a frame. That makes it easier to handle, and being at the
side of the hive it never makes any trouble. If I were making

Fig. 29—Tool-basket.

new dummies, I think I would make the principal board 15
inches long instead of 164%. It would be easier to handle, and
bees are little inclined to fill in comb at the ends of the dummy.
While the cut-off top-bars in the frames work nicely, they do
not work so well in dummies, as I found upon trying a number
of them. The principal objection to this dummy is that the
top-bar, being only 5-16 square, is sometimes broken off, or
pulled off, when the dummy is pried out of a hive where it is
glued in. Some of them are made over in a simple way that is
very satisfactory. The top-bar is entirely torn off, and for a

86 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

lug at each end is used a common tenpenny wire nail, which is
3 inches long and ¥ inch thick. Lay the nail on top of the
dummy, with the point projecting as far as it can and yet admit
the dummy into the hive. The head of the nail will not allow
it to lie down flat. All the better. Hammer on the head till
the nail does lie flat. Now take a piece of tin 344 to 4 inches
long and wide enough to cover the part of the nail that lies on
the dummy, not ineluding the head. Lay this tin on top, bend
down over each side, and near the lower end drive through two
light wire nails an inch long or longer, and clinch. There’s a
feeling of solid comfort every time one opens a hive containing
such a dummy.

HIVE-COVERS.

At the risk of losing caste as a beekeeper, I am obliged to
confess that I never got up “a hive of my own,” never even
tried to plan one, but I have tried no little to get up a hive-cover
to suit me. A hive is so seldom moved that I care less for its
weight, but when I, or, more particularly, my female assistants,
have to lift covers all day long, when hot and tired, a pound
difference in weight is quite an item. The first covers I had for
movable-frame hives were 8 inches deep and weighed about 18
pounds. Needless to detail the different covers I have devised
and tried, with upper surface of tin, oilcloth, and wood, painted
and unpainted. Although I don’t paint hive-bodies, I want
covers painted or at least waterproof. Some of my covers have
been the common plain board cover, and I don’t like them.
Some of them are of two boards united at the middle by a V-
shaped tin slid into saw-kerfs, and I like these still less. iA new
board cover is a nice thing. After a little it warps, and then it
is not a nice thing. Put a cleat on each end so it ean not warp
—east-iron cleats, if you like—and it will twist so that there
will be a evinning opening at one coruer to allow bees to walk
out and cold to walk in, to say nothing of robber-bees.

TIN COVERS WITH DEAD-AIR SPACE.

I have fifty covers that I like very much. They are double-
board covers, the boards being %@ thick, the grain of the upper

FIrTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 87

and lower boards running in opposite directions, with a %
dead-air space between them; at least it would be dead-air if it
were not for cracks, and I do not consider the cracks a necessary
part if the covers were properly made. The whole is covered
with tin and painted white. The lower surface is perfectly flat,
with no cleat projecting downward, for such cleats do not help

Fig. 30—Balled Queen.

rapid and easy handling. Such a cover is light, safe from warp-
ing and twisting, is cooler in summer than the plain board
cover, and warmer in winter. The greatest objection is the cost;
I think they cost 25 cents or more each.

Two of these tin covers will be seen at Fig. 37, the one at
the right showing the under surface of the cover.

88 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

ZINC COVERS.

Fifty other covers are made on the same plan and covered
with zine. These are not painted. So long as they remain
whole there is no need of paint, and whenever there seems {o
be a possibility of their approaching anything like a leaking
condition they ean be covered with paint. The same might be
said of the tin, only I expect the zine to stand the weather
unpainted much longer than the tin would.

At Fig. 38 may be seen two of these zine hive-covers. The
one at the right shows the upper or zinc surface. The left one
shows the under or wood surface; and if you look at the right
end of this last cover you will see that the upper layer of thin
board projects three-fourths of an inch so as to serve as a
handle. One of these covers weighs five pounds.

A cover sent me by the A. I. Root Co. covered with paper
and painted, has been in use several years, and so far it seems
to stand as well as zine or tin. Possibly this paper may do as
well as the metal and save expense. I would rather pay a good
price for a good cover, rain-proof, bee-proof, non-warpine,.
non-twisting, with a dead-air space, than to take a poor cover
as a gift.

The hundred covers I have mentioned were made specially
to order. but Iam vlad to see that the A. T. Noot Co. have now
on their list a cover made on the same principle.

TLIVF-STANDS.

My hive-stands are simple and inexpensive (Fig. 39).
They are made of common fence-boards 6 inches wide. Two
pieces 32 inches long are nailed upon two other pieces or cleats
24 inches long. That’s all. Of course the longer pieces are
uppermost, leaving the cleats below. Two similar cleats, but
loose, lie on the ground under the first-mentioned cleats. This
makes it equivalent to cleats of two-inch stuff, with the decided
advantage that only the loose cleat will rot away by lying on
the ground, without spoiling the whole stand. These stands are
leveled with a spirit-level before the hives are placed on them
(sometimes not till afterward), being made perfectly level from
side to side, with the rear one or two inches higher than the

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 89

front. Each of these stands is intended for two hives, with a
space of 2 to 4 inches between the two hives. It is much easier
to level a stand like this than to level one for a single hive.
There are other advantages.

For years I was well satisfied with these stands, but longer
experience has made me become greatly dissatisfied with them.
More than a square foot of the under surface of the bottom-
board lies flat upon the boards of the stand. When it rains the
water soaks in between these two surfaces, and favors rotting.
Worse still, it makes the nicest kind of a place for the large
wood-ants to make a nest and honeycomb the wood of the
bottom-board. Perhaps the coming stand is of cement with but
a small surface in actual contact with the bottom-board.

HIVES IN PAIRS.

This putting in pairs is quite a saving of room; for if
room were allowed for working on each side of each hive, only
two-thirds the number could be got into the row. But so far
as the bees are concerned, it is equivalent to putting in double
the number; that is, there is no more danger of a bee going into
the wrong hive by mistake, than if only a single hive stood
where each pair stands. If hives stood very close together at
regular intervals, a bee might by mistake go into the wrong
hive, but if a colony of bees is in the habit, as mine sometimes
are in the spring, of going into the south end of their entrance,
they will never make the mistake of entering at the north end,
as you will quickly see if you plug up, alternately, the north
and south ends of the entrance. When the north end is closed
it does not affect the bees at all, but close the south end, and
dire consternation follows. To the bees the pair of hives is
much the same as a single hive, and they will not make the
mistake of entering the wrong end.

A space of 2 feet or so is left between one pair of hives
and the next pair, so as to leave plenty of room for a seat.

GROUPS OF FOUR HIVES.

In two of the apiaries there is still further economy of
room by placing a second row close to the first, the hives stand-

90 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

— s

ing back to back. That, you will see, makes the hives in groups
of four. I do not know of any arrangement that will allow a
larger number of hives to stand on a given surface. The dif-
ference in the amount of travel in the course of a year in such
an arrangement as compared with one without any grouping,
is a matter not to be despised.

SILADE.

Trees shade most of the hives at least a part of the day,
and at one end of the home apiary the trees were so thick that

Fig. 31—Foundation with splint supports.

I cut out part of them. IJ had previously thought that shade
was important, and that with sufficient shade there was never
any danger of bees suffering from heat, but after having combs
melt down in a hive so densely shaded by trees that the sun did
not shine on it all day long, I changed my mind. I value the
shade these trees give, not so much for the good it does the bees,
but for the comfort of the operator working at them. I don’t
believe bees suffer as much from the hot sun shining directly on
the hives as they do from having the air shut off from them by
surrounding objects. I have had combs melt down in hives, the

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 91

honey running in a stream on the ground, one of the hives at
least being in a shade of trees so dense the sun never shone on
it, and I suspect it was for lack of air. A dense growth of corn
was directly back of the hives and a dense growth of young
trees and underbrush in front. I didn’t know enough to notice
this, although when working at the bees my shirt would be as
wet as if dipped in the river. I had the young trees thinned
out and trimmed up, the corn-ground in grass, so the air could
get through, and I now work with more comfort, and no comb
has melted down for 30 years.

Sometimes I have found it desirable to shade one or more
hives singly. An armful of the longest fresh-cut grass obtain-
able is laid on the hive-cover, and weighted down with two or
three sticks of stove-wood. But I do not think anything of the
kind is needed on double covers.

MOVABLE SHADE.

For hives that are not in the shade, especially during
certain parts of the day, a movable shade (Fig. 58) is a great
comfort to the operator when the sun shines with blistering
heat. Four standards are made of 7-16-inch rod iron. Take a
piece of the iron 6 feet 2 inches long; bend the upper end into
a ring or eye, and sharpen the lower end. Twelve inches from
the point or lower end bend the rod at right angles. Two inches
higher up bend again at right angles, leaving the rod straight
except that knee of two inches, upon which you can set your
foot and drive it in the ground as when spading.

The cloth used for the shade is about as large as an ordinary
bed-sheet, and is usually the linen lap-robe, which is always at
hand, and on which a string is kept tied on each corner so as to
be always ready to set up in a twinkling. This string has both
ends tied around the cloth at the corner, leaving the string in
the form of a léop. The loop is thrust through the eye of the
standard, looped back over the eye, and there you are.

When the sun is not far from the horizon, only two stand-
ards are used, from which the lap-robe hangs as a wall between
the operator and the sun.

92 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

FEEDING MEAL.

I used to read about feeding meal in the spring. I tried
it, put out rye-meal, and not a bee would touch it; baited them
with honey, and if they took the honey they left the meal.
Finally, one day, I saw a bee alight on a dish of flour set in a
sunny place. It went at it in a rollicking manner as if delight-
ed. J was more delighted. At last J had in some way got the
thing right, and my bees would take meal. The bee loaded up,
and lugged off its load, and I waited for it and others to come
for more. They didn’t come, and that was the first and last
load taken that year. I cannot tell now exactly when the change
came about, neither do I know that I have done anything
different, but I have no trouble now in getting the bees to take
bushels of meal. I suppose the simple explantion is that there
was plenty of natural pollen for the few bees I had in the first
years, but not enough for the larger number of colonies I had
later.

About as soon as the bees are set out in the spring, I begin
feeding them meal, although some years I do not offer any
substitute for pollen. For this purpose I like shallow boxes,
and generally use old hive-covers 4 inches deep. These are
placed in a sunny place about a foot apart, one end raised three
or four inches higher than the other. This may be done by
putting a stone under one end, although I generally place them
along the edge of a little ditch where no stone is needed, and
they can be whirled around as if on a central pivot. One feed-
box is used for every 10 io 20 colonies, although I am guided
rather by what the bees seem to need, adding more boxes as fast
as the ones already given are crowded with bees.

SUBSTITUTES FOR POLLEN.

I can kardly tell what I have not used for meal. I have
used meal or flour of pretty much all the grains, bran, shorts,
and all the different feeds used for cows in this noted dairy
region, including even the ycllow meal brought from glucose
factories for cow-feed, although, if this last were known, it
might be reported that I filled paraffin combs with glucose and
sealed them over with a hot butcher-knife. I think this glucose

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 93

meal is perhaps the poorest feed I have used. As to the rest I
hardly know which is best, and I have of late used principally
corn and oats ground together, partly because I was using that
for horse and cow feed, and partly because I think it may be
as good as any.

When the feed-boxes are put in place, in the morning (and
I commence this feeding just as soon as the bees are out of the
cellar), I put in each box at the raised end about four to six
quarts (the quantity is not very material) of the feed. The
more compact, and the less scattered the feed the better. The
bees will gradually dig it down till it is all settled in the lower
end of the box, just the same as so much water would settle
there. This may take an hour, or it may take six, according to
circumstances. As often as they dig it down, I reverse the
position of the box, just whirling it around if it stands on the
edge of the ditch. This brings the meal again at the raised end
of the box. When the bees have it dug down level there is little
to be seen on the top except the hulls of the oats, and what fun
it is to see the bees burrow in this, sometimes clear out of sight!

It is always a source of amusement to see the bees working
on this meal, and the young folks watch them by the half-hour.
By night the oatmeal and finer parts of the corn are nearly all
worked out, and after the bees have stopped working, the boxes
are emptied, piled up, one on top of another, and at the top,
one placed upside down so that no dew or rain may affect them.
Tf I think it is not worked out pretty clean, I may let them work
it over next day, putting three or four times as much in a box.
When the bees are done with it, there will be empty oat-hulls on
top, and the coarse part of the corn on the bottom. It does not
matter if it is not worked out clean, for it is fed to the horses
or cows afterward.

After the first day’s feeding, the boxes must be filled in
good season in the morning, or the bees annoy very much by
being in the way, and throughout the day, while the bees are at
work, if I go among the feed-boxes to turn them, or for any
other purpose, I must look sharp where I set my feet, or bees
will be killed, as they are quite thick over the ground, brushing
the meal off their bodies and packing their loads. Before maay
days the meal-boxes are deserted for the now plenty natural

94 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

pollen, although if you watch the bees, as they go laden into the
hives, even when working thickest in the boxes, you will see a
good many carrying in heavy loads of natural pollen.

It seems to be a beneficent natural law, that bees do not
like to crowd one another in their search for pollen or nectar,
or else the meal-boxes would be untouched and all the bees
would work upon the insufficient supply of pollen. In conse-
quence of this law it is necessary to furnish a sufficient number

Fig. 32—Combs of Honey.

of boxes, for although the bees will work quite thick if only 5
boxes are Jeft for 150 colonies, they will work scarcely thicker
if only one box is left.

OUT-DOOR FEEDING.

I have fed barrels of sugar syrup in the open air, and it is
possible that circumstances may arise to induce me to do it
again, but I doubt.

There are serious objections to this out-door feeding. You
are not sure what portion of it your own bees will get, if other
bees are in flying distance. Considerable experience has proved

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 95

to me that by this method of feeding, the strong colonies get the
lion’s share, and the weak colonies,very little. Moreover, I have
seen indications that part of the colonies get none, both of the
weak and strong. You are also dependent on the weather, as
wet and chilly days may come, when bees cannot fly.

As already mentioned, when bees are brought out of the
cellar, colonies are marked that are suspiciously light, and their
immediate wants supplied as soon as possible. But with eight-
frame hives there will be a good many colonies that will run
short of stores before there is any chance for them to supply
themselves from outside.

STIMULATIVE FEEDING.

Some would say that I ought to practice stimulative feedirg
for the sake of hastening the work of building up the colony.
But it takes a good deal of wisdom to know at all times just
how to manage stimulative feeding so as not to do harm instead
of good; and I am not certain that I have the wisdom.

Whatever else may be true about spring feeding, I am
pretty fully settled in the belief that it is of first importance

that the bees should have an abundant supply of stores, whether

such supply be furnished from day to day by the beekeeper,
or stored up by the bees themselves six months or a year pre-
viously. Moreover, I believe they build up more rapidly if they
have not only enough to use from day to day, but a reserve or
visible supply for future use. If a colony comes out of the
cellar strong, and with combs full of stores, I have some doubts
if I can hasten its building up by any tinkering I can do. So
my feeding in spring is to make sure they have abundant stores,
rather than for the stimulation of frequent giving.

RAPID CONSUMPTION OF STORES.

After so many years of experience in that line, I am never-
theless still surprised sometimes to find how rapidly the stores
have diminished under the constantly increasing demands made
by brood-rearing. So there is little danger of getting too much
honey in the the hive. It is not enough to have sufficient to last
till the white-clover harvest begins. To be sure, that might be

96 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

all right so far as the building-up of the colony is concerned.
But no hovey will be put in the supers so long as there are
empty cells in the brood-chamber, and it is better to have
enough honey left in the brood-chamber so that the first white
honey shall go straight into the supers.

SURPLUS COMBS OF HONEY.

Nothing is better than to have plenty of full combs of
sealed honey saved over from the previous year, with which to
supply any colony that may need them. If I were as good a
beekeeper as I ought to be, there would always be enough of
these so that nothing else would be needed to take their place.
But J am not as good a beekeeper as I ought to be, and while
some years I may have all the extra combs of honey that can
be used, at other times they may run short, even to not having
enough to supply the pinching wants of colonies just taken
from the cellar. There may, however, be some combs at least
partly filled that have been taken from colonies that died in
winter, or from the uniting of colonies in spring, and these may
supplement the number of combs saved up from the previous
vear.

FEEDING SECTIONS OF COMB HONEY.

When the combs of honey are all gone, the next best thing
is to give sections in wide frames. This seems like an extrava-
gant thing to do; but if the sections contain dark or objection-
able honey, and if they ean be cleaned out and used for baits,
there is no very great extravagance about it. I have given
sections by sliding them under the bottom-bars, a thing very
easily done with bottom-boards two inches deep, but such
sections are ruined for use as baits, and all you can do with the
empty comb in them is to melt it into wax.

FEEDING TO FILL COMBS.
If neither combs of sealed honey nor suitable sections are

to be had, then feeding with Miller feeders is in order. But
colonies that need feeding in spring are not always very strong,

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 97

and a weak colony makes rather poor work on a feeder at that
time. Instead of distributing feeders to all colonies that need
feeding, they are limited to a small number of the very strong-
est, whether these need feeding or not. Then filled combs are
taken from these strong colonies and given to the needy colonies
whether at home or in the out-apiaries, for the feeders are gen-
erally used only at home.

It may be that these strong colonies are already well
supplied with honey. Whatever honey they have is taken from
them, unless it be in combs containing brood, and empty combs
given in place. The feeder is put directly on the brood-cham-
ber. After the bees get a fair start on the feeder an upper
stery with empty combs may be given, but just at first they will
make a better start without this second story. When the feeder
is put on 5 or 10 pounds of sugar is poured in, and an equal
quantity of water poured on the sugar. It is much better to
have the water hot. It would be well to fill the feeder full, but
in that case a good portion of it would be left to get cold, and
faster work will be done if no more is given each day than will
be taken that day. Very often when I go around to the feeders
next morning I find most of them with sugar still in the feeder,
but the liquid all taken. That doesn’t matter; more water can
be added. Indeed, 12 or 15 pounds of sugar may be put in the
feeder, and then each day only so much water as the bees will
use out that day; for they are not likely to do much at night
unless the weather be quite warm.

WHOLESALE FEEDING.

There come times, however, when the feeding must be
rushed, and there can be no puttering with getting one colony to
store for another. One of those times came in the year 1902.
The second week in June, at the time when in a good season
there ought to be lively work piling on supers, I found nearly
every colony on the point of starvation. If there was any
difference, the strongest colonies were the worst. The combs
were filled with brood, requiring large daily consumption, stores
in the hive were exhausted, and not enough for daily supplies
coming in. It would hardly be proper economy to have combs
filled with honey saved up for such emergencies, seeing that they

98 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

are not expected to come often, so the whole force of feeders,
some fifty, were put into action.

Part were put in the home apiary and part taken to the
out-apiaries. When going to an out-apiary a bag of sugar was
taken along. Water was put in the wash-boiler on the cook-
stove anda good fire built under it. A good-sized tin pail was
filled half full or more with the heated water, then sugar was
poured in till the pail was nearly full, and it was stirred with
a stick till fairly well dissolved, which did not take very long.
The syrup was then poured into the feeder on one of the hives, a

Fig. 833—Combs of Brood

pail half full of water was taken in and poured into the boiler,
and then another colony was fed, and this was continued till all
the feeders were supplied. The next day or so the feeders weve
shifted to another set of hives, till all were fed.

FEEDING IN JUNE.
You will notice this is considerably different from the early

spring feeding. The colonics were stronger in June, the weather
warmer, and the bees made rapid work carrying down the feed.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 99

It was better to dissolve the sugar before putting it in the
feeders (perhaps it is better at any time), for then there was
no danger of having dry sugar left in the feeder. Perhaps there
was no real gain in using hot water when the colonies were
strong and the weather warm. I tried cold water in some eases,
and it worked all right, only it took more stirring.

ORIGINAL MILLER FEEDER.

Most of my feeders are of the original pattern (Fig. 40).
At Fig. 41 is seen one of them dissected. The lower part is an
ordinary section-super. On this rests the feeder proper, with
the little board at one end removed, also the little board at one
side, so as to show the inside wall under which the syrup may
flow, and the outside wall, which lacks enough of coming to the
top so that the bees can come up over it and ge down into the
feed.

IMPROVED MILLER FEEDER.

The improved Miller feeder of the catalogs, instead of
being all in one has two parts, and the bees go up through the
middle. I thought it was an important improvement to allow
the bees to go up the middle instead of up the {wo sides, because
the heat ought to be greater at the middle. After a thorough
trial of the two, side by side, J am obliged to admit that the
improvement is one in theory only, and that the bees go up the
sides whenever they will go up the middle, and it seems a little
better to have the feed all in one dish.

If it were not for the expense of keeping two sets of
feeders, I should like to keep a set of Doolittle division-board
feeders, for there may come times when it is cool and bees will
not take feed readily from a Miller feeder, yet would take it
from a division-board feeder, because closer to the brood-nest.
But most times I should prefer the Miller, so that has the
preference.

CROCK-AND-PLATE FEEDER.

I have used the crock-and-plate feeder (Fig. 43), and it
answers a very good purpose. It has the advantage that any

100 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

one can make a feeder at a minute’s notice with materials always
teady to hand. Take a gallon crock, fill it half full of granu-
lated sugar; then fill uearly full with water, all the better if
stirred till dissolved; cover over the crock a thickness of flannel
or other woolen cloth, or else four or five thicknesses of cheese-
cloth; over this lay a dinner-plate upside down; then with one
hand under the crock and the other over the plate, quickly turn
the whole thing upside down. Of course a smaller quantity of
feed may be used if desired.

Fig. 34—Part of Home -lpiary (from Northwest).

The feeder is then set over the frames of a colony, an
empty hive-body placed over, and all covered up so no bee can
get to it except through the regular hive-entrance.

WATERING-CROCK.

This crock-and-plate feeder is a good one for those who
hke outdoor feeding, if only a small quantity is to be fed. It
also makes a good watering-place for hees, if one does not mind
the trouble. Better than this is a six-gallon eroeck standing
upright with a few sticks of fire-wood in it for a watering-
erock (Hig. 44). .A litile salt thrown into the water helps to

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 101

keep it sweet, and prevents it from being a breeding-place for
mosquitoes.

CORK-CHIPS FOR WATERING.

But I hit upon something that is so effective, so cheap, and
so little trouble, that I can hardly imagine anything better. Go
to your grocer and ask him to save you some cork-chips, such
as he gets in kegs of grapes, and probably throws away. Take
a pail or other vessel (I use a half-barrel), put in as much
water as you like, and on this put on so much of the cork-chips
that the water will barely come up enough for the bees to reach.
A bee can not drown in this. When the water gets low, a fresh
supply can be poured in, and it does no great harm to pour it
directly on the bees. They climb easily to the top of the cork
after their bath. The cork remains effective throughout a whole
season.

It is important to start the watering-place early in the
season, before the bees make a start at some pump or other
place where they will be troublesome.

LACK OF SYSTEM.

I would like to say that I am very methodical about over-
hauling and seeing to the building up of colonies, from the time
they are placed on the summer stands till the honey harvest
begins, but it would hardly be in accordance with facts. Con-
ditions of bees or weather may make a difference in the course
of action. Possibly some other duties aside from the direct
care of the bees may make a difference. So when I attempt to
tell things just as they are, my want of system confronts me,
and makes the task somewhat difficult.

At this point I faney I can hear some of my good friends
saying, “ Why don’t you keep a smaller number of colonies, so
that you can have system enough to be able to tell a straight
story, and derive more pleasure and profit?” I know it would
be more pleasure; as to the profit, I doubt. If I had so few
that I could at all times do every thing by a perfect system, 1
am afraid I should have part of the time a good deal of idle
time on my hands. Neither is it fair for me to charge my lack

102 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

of system entirely to the number of colonies. Some of it comes
from ignorance in not knowing how to do any better, some of
it from changing plans constantly, and perhaps some of it from
lack of energy in doing every thing just at the right time.

DIVISION-BOARDS.

In former years I made some attempt to keep the bees
warmer by the use of a division-board, closing down to the
number of combs actually needed at the time by the bees. I was
disappointed to find no clear proof that any great good came
from it. Since then the experiments of Gaston Bonnier have
shown that combs serve as good a purpose as a division-board,
so the trouble of moving a division-board from time to time to
accommodate the size of the colony is avoided.

VERY WEAK COLONIES IN SPRING.

I have had, one time and another, a good many very weak
colonies in the spring, and I am puzzled to know what to do
with them. It seems of no use to unite them, for I have united
five into one, and the united colony seemed to do no better than
one left separate. About all I try to do is to keep the queen
alive till I find some queenless colony with which to unite them.

One year I took the queens of five or six very weak colonies,
put them in small cages, and laid the cages on top of the frames,
under the quilt, over a strong colony. When I next overhauled
this colony, its queen was gone, probably killed by the bees on
account of the presence of other queens, but the queens in the
cages were in good condition, and became afterward the mothers
of fine colonies. I had put two of the queens in one cage, as I
was short of cages, and did not attach much value to the queens,
and these two did as well as the others. Of course this was an
exception to the general rule.

Tn my locality I do not think the colonies can ever become
strong and populous too early in the season. Theoretically, at
least, then, I see that every colony as soon as it comes out of the
cellar has plenty of stores to last it for some time. I know
this is a very indefinite amount. Perhaps I might make it more
definite by saying, for au ordinary colony, the equivalent of

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 103

two full combs of stores. If they have not so much I supply
them. I formerly thought it desirable to have any feed given
them as far as possible from the brood-nest, so that they might
have the feeling they were accumulating from abroad. Further
observation makes me place less confidenes in this.

STRONG VERSUS WEAK COLONIES.

I think that with increasing years I have an increasing
aversion to weak colonies. At the time of the honey harvest,
40,000 bees in two colonies will not begin to store as much. us
the same bees would do if they were all in one colony. Of
course you have thought of that, but possibly you have not
noticed so clearly that something like the same rule holds good
about building up in spring. Take a colony that comes out of
the cellar with only enough bees to cover two combs. It will
remain at a.standstill for a long time. Indeed, it may not stand
still, but may become weaker, so that it will not have as much
brood June 1 as May 1, with a possibility of pegging out alto-
gether before the harvest opens. On the other hand a colony
with bees enough to cover well three frames is likely to hold ts
own, beginning to increase slowly as soon as weather permits;
and if it has bees enough to cover four frames it will walk right
along increasing its brood-nest.

GIVING BROOD TO STRONGER.

Shall I take frames of brood from strong colonies to give
to the weaklings? Not I. For the damage to the strong colo-
nies will more than overbalance the benefit to the weaklings.
If any taking from one colony to give another is done in the
spring, it will be to take from the weak to give to those not so
weak. If one colony has four frames of brood and another two,
taking from the stronger frames for the weaker would leave
both so weak they would not build up very rapidly, whereas
taking one from the two-frame colony and giving it to the four-
frame colony would make the latter build up so much faster
that it could pay back with interest the borrowed frame.

104 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES
GIVING BROOD TO WEAKER.

Not till a eolony has six or eight frames of brood is it
desirable to draw from it brood for weaker colonies, and there’s
no hurry about it then. When a colony has its hive so crowded
with brood that the queen seems to need more room, then a
frame of brood can be taken from it to help others. The first to
be helped are not the weakest, but the strongest of those with
less than four frames of brood. When the three-framers are all
brought up to four frames, it is time enough to help the weaker

Pig. 835—Part of Home Apiary (from Southawest).

ones. Toward the last the little fellows can be helped up quite
rapidly. Perhaps a colony with two or three brood (if you will
allow me to use brood for short when I mean frames of brood)
has had brood taken from it, leaving it with only one brood.
It has stood for several weeks, and now it can have three or
four brood given to it, setting it well on ils feet.

When brood is thus taken, gencrally the adhering bees are
taken with the brood, of course making sure that no queen is
taken. Where a single brood is given with adhering bees to a
colony, I have never known any harm to come to the queen of

TIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 105

the reinforced colony. In rare cases I have had the queen killed
when several frames of brood have been given at a time to a
very weak colony. A precautionary rule is that when more than
one brood is given at a time, each one is taken from a different
colony.

GIVING SECOND STORY.

When a colony is beginning to be crowded and there are no
colonies needing help, and sometimes even when others do need
help, a second story is given. This second story is given below.
Putting an empty story below does not cool off the bees like
putting one above. The bees can move down as fast as they
need the room. Indeed this second story is often given long
before it is needed, and sometimes two empty stories are given,
for it is a nice thing to have the combs in the care of the bees.
They will be kept free from moths, and if any are mouldy they
will be nicely cleaned out ready for use when wanted.

Sometimes when a colony is very strong and a story of
empty combs is given below, a frame of brood is taken from
the upper story and put below, an empty comb being put in its
place above. But unless the colony is very strong, this hinders
rather than helps the building up.

So good a beekeeper as G. M. Doolittle practiced giving
the extra story on top. I protested, at least mentally, against
dissipating the heat of the colony in that way. Yet in the
spring of 1914 I did exactly that thing myself! By the middle
of May colonies were unusually strong, and there were no longer
any weak colonies to which brood could be given after being
taken from the stronger colonies. The only thing to do was to
give extra stories to colonies which needed more room, or else to
limit the queen to one story, a very unwise thing up to the time
of giving supers. So I began giving to the strongest colonies
an upper story, putting in it two brood from below. I put the
extra story above instead of below, not because it was better
for the bees, nor to gratify Doolittle, but because that was the
easier thing for the beekeeper, and the bees would just have
to stand it. A day or two later it began to be evident that any
colony in the apiary might need more room, and so I made a
wholesale business of giving an extra story to each colony, with

106 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

the exception of one or two. To make the work still easier for
the beekeeper, instead of putting two frames of brood in the
upper story, | mereiy put in it five empty combs. That took
less than half the time, and would also take much less time when
it came to putting on supers, especially in the case of a colony
which had started no brood above. That gave plenty of room
above for the queen to use if she needed it. If she didn’t need
il, no harm was done beyond cooling off the heads of the bees
more than they might lke.

Fig. 36—Comb Resting Diagonally in Hive.

I may say here that after a good deal of experience with
colonies having two stories, I find that there is no trouble from
having the queen stay exclusively in one or other of the stories.
She passes up and down freely, keeping filled with brood in
hoth stories as many combs as the bees will care for.

SUBSEQUENT OVERHAULING.
Any overhauling subsequent to the first is an easy matter.

As a broodless frame was left at the further side at the first
overhauling, and the brood-nest commenced with the next frame,

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 107

I can count that the bees will continue this arrangement, only
in some cases there will be brood found in the outside frame.
So in any examination after the first, I commence at the near
side; and when I come to the first frame of brood, I need go no
further, for I know that the brood-nest will occupy all the rest
of the combs except the outside one. If they have not plenty
of feed, of course it can be given, although it may not often be
necessary to give stores the second time, for in this locality they
can get good supplies from fruit-bloom. I suppose they can
forage upon 10,000 fruit-trees without going a mile.

If, however, the first frame of brood I come to contains
only sealed brood, I must look further to see whether they
have eggs or very young brood, for it is possible they may have
become queenless. If eggs are plentiful, but no unsealed brood,
I know that they have a young queen which has commenced
laying, and I must find her and clip her wings.

If there is nothing but sealed brood, and no eggs, I am not
sure whether they have a queen or not, and it is not safe to give
them one till I do know, so I give them, from another colony, a
comb containing eggs and young brood. I make a record of
giving them this young brood thus: “ May 20, no eg gybr,” (no
eggs; gave young brood), and in perhaps a week I look to see
in what condition they are. If I find queen-cells started I am
pretty sure they have no queen.

QUEENLESS COLONIES.

What shall be done in that case depends. If the colony is
weak, it is at once broken up, brood and bees being given wher-
ever they may be needed, and I heave a sigh of relief to think I
am rid of the weakling. If it is strong—an accident may have
happened to the queen of a strong colony at the last overhaul-
ing—it may be broken up and the brood and bees distributed
where they will do the most good, but more likely a-weaker
colony with a good queen will be united with it. Just possibly,
the queen-cells started may be allowed to go on to completion.

BROOD AS A STIMULANT.

If it happened that they had a virgin queen when the
young brood was given them, the presence of this brood is sup-

108 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

posed to stimulate the queen to lay the sooner, and I may find
eges on this later inspection. It may be, however, that I shall
find neither eggs nor queen-cell, in which case I consider it
probable that they have a queen which has not yet commenced
to lay, and they are left for examination later.

LAYING WORKERS.

Although laying workers are not so likely to be found early
in the year, it is still possible. In some cases the scattered con-
dition of the brood awakens immediate suspicion. This scattered
condition is shown in Fig. 59, but the picture does not clearly
show how the sealed brood projects above the surface like so
many little marbles, being thus projected because drone-brood
is in worker-cells.

Often the presence of laying workers can be detected before
there is any sealed brood, by the fact that drone-cells are chosen
in preference to worker-cells, that is, drone-cells will be filled
with eggs or brood—perhaps two or more eggs in a cell—while
plenty of unused worker-cells seem handy. Eggs in queen-cells
are also likely to be found, and if you find a queen-cell with
more than one egg in it you may be pretty sure laying workers
have set up business. Sometimes a dozen of eggs may be found
in one queen-cell. An egg in a queen-cell with no other brood
or eggs present is a pretty sure sign of laying workers.

TREATMENT OF LAYING-WORKER COLONIES.

When a colony of laying workers is found early in the
season, about the only thing to do is to break it up, and it
matters little what is done with the bees. They are old, and of
little value. Indeed, there are never any very young bees with
laying workers, when the bees are Italians or blacks, and it may
be the best thing in all cases to break them up, distributing the
bees and combs to other colonies.

Yet if a strong colony is found at any time with laying
workers, and if, for any reason, it may seem desirable to con-
tinue the colony, a queen-cell, or a virgin queen just hatched
may be given, for it is not easy to get them to accept a laying
queen.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 109

DRONE-LAYING QUEENS.

Drone-brood in worker-cells may be present with no laying
workers—the work of a drone-laying or failing queen. The
brood in that case, however, will not be so scattering as in Fig.
59. Such a colony is more amenable to treatment, and can be
well utilized by uniting with a weak colony having a laying
queen.

BREAKING UP FAULTY COLONIES.

When fruit blossoms are about ready to burst forth, and
bees are carrying pollen whenever it is warm enough, I do not

Fig. 37—Painted Tin Hive-covers.

expect to lose any more colonies except those that are queenless
or have faulty queens. But I do expect to have the satisfaction
of breaking up every colony that does not have a good queen,
for when I find a colony that is queenless or one whose queen
is more or less a drone-layer, it is no longer any satisfaction to
me to nurse it and coax it along for the sake of saying I have
not lost that colony. The real satisfaction is in having it out of
the way. Time was when it seemed a nice thing in case of

110 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

finding a strong colony without a queen to give it young brood
and let it rear a queen; but much observation has shown that a
queen reared thus early is only an aggravation nine times out
of ten. So when a colony is found that is not queen-right, it is
remorselessly broken up, and distributed amongst other colonies,
or united with a weak colony having a good queen. The break-
ing up of such colonies does not make the number less in the
long run, for by fall the number can be made greater than if
no breaking up had taken place.

RECORD ENTRIES.

While care is taken to omit no entry in the book that will
be of future importance, there is really not such a great deal
of writing done, as will be readily understood when it is remem-
bered that only one page is allotted to three colonies, allowing
only 22 square inches for each. It is seldom that a colony
requires more than its allotted space in the season, hardly half
the space being used on the average. There is a great deal of
monotony about the entries, and there are a few words which
are so frequently used that abbreviations aid much in saving
room and time for making entries. Some abbreviations that are
constantly used are as follows: b for bees, br for brood, ¢ or qe
for queen-cell, g for gave, k for killed or destroved (ke means
I destroyed the queen-cells), q for queen, s for saw, but se
means sealed yneen-cell, t for took, v for virgin queen, []
for super.

PLACE FOR PENCIL.

To make sure of having a pencil always handy to make
entries, it is tied to the book, as also is a pair of scissors for
clipping queens unless the latter is replaced by a pair of pocket
scissors. A strong string is put in the middle of the book,
passed around the back and tied, and to this is tied a long string
that holds the pencil, and another for the scissors. To prevent
the scissors hanging open with its two sharp points, a common
rubber band is so fastened on the handles as to hold them to-
gether. While the band holds the scissors together when not
in use, its elasticity allows their free use when needed.

FIFTY YEARS ‘AMONG THE BEES ill

KILLING GRASS.

This is a good time to'salt the ground at and about the
entrances of the hives, to kill the grass, although too often I
leave it till it has to be cut with a sickle. Grass growing in
front of the hive annoys the bees, and that growing at the side
annoys the operator, especially if the operator is of the female
persuasion, and the grass is wet with dew or rain.

HARBINGERS OF HARVEST.

There are certain things always noticed by a beekeeper,
with much interest, as heralding the beginning of spring or of

Fig. 38—Zine Hive-covers.

the honey-harvest. Among these are the singing of frogs, the
advent of bluebirds, and the opening of various blossoms. With
me the highest interest centers in white clover. As I go back
and forth to the out-apiaries, I am always watching the patches
of white clover along the roadside. If your attention has never
been called to it, you will be surprised to find how long it is
from the time the first blossom may be seen, till clover opens
out so bees will work upon it. I usually see a stray blossom

ball

112 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

days before it seems to have any company. In my location I do
not count upon anything usually besides white clover for sur-
plus, so no wonder I am interested in it.

VARIOUS HONEY-PLANTS.

Yet there are a good many other plants whose help, all
taken together, is not to be despised. If I kept only a few
colonies, it is quite possible that J might secure some surplus
from more than one of them.

Dandelions help no little in brood-rearing.

Raspberries are eagerly visited by the bees, but there are
not enough of them to give a noticeable amount of raspberry
honey. It is a very pleasant sight to see the bees thickly cover-
ing a field of raspberries in full bloom (Fig. 45).

Red clover may yet be of importance. Whether it be tke
change in the bees or the change in the season I do not know,
but formerly I never saw a bee on red clover except at rare
intervals, and now it is quite common. I think it may be that
the bees are different.

Alsike clover is becoming common,

SWEET CLOVER.

It is hard to tell just how much, but 1 think the bees gather
quite a little from sweet clover (Fig. 46). The earlier part of
the sweet-clover bloom is probably of no great value, because it
comes at the same time as white clover, but it continues after
white clover is gone, thus making it of greater value. It has a
habit of throwing out fresh shoots of blossoms on the lower part
of the stalk after the whole stalk has gone to seed and appears
dead, and thus it continues the blooming season till freezing
weather comes ou. A branch of this kind will be seen at the
right in Fig. 46. I value sweet clover for hay.

Yellow sweet clover blooms from two to four weeks earlier
than white sweet clover, and on that account is of less value in
a year when common white clover yields well. But in the years
when common white clover is a failure yellow sweet clover may
be of very great value, for so far as I know there are no years
of failure with either kind of sweet clover. There may be no

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 113

small advantage in having the annual variety of yellow sweet
clover.

Alfalfa (Fig. 47) has become quite common here, a boom
for it having started about 1912. But it is a rare thing to see a
bee at work upon it, and I think it is generally understood that
it does not yield nectar east of the Mississippi.

GIANT WHITE CLOVER.

A new honey-plant was mentioned a good deal in foreign
bee-journals, a giant white clover, called Colossal Ladino (Tig.
48). I sueceeded in getting some seed from Switzerland, sowed
a few of them in the window in the winter, and had the plants
blooming in the summer of 1902. For the purpose of compari-
son you will see in Fig. 48, at the right, a branch of red clover,
and at the left a plant of common white or Dutch clover, both
grown on the same ground. As you will see by looking at the
picture, the new plant has leaves as large as those of red clover
ald in appearance I think they are identical. The blossom,
however, which you will see toward the left, looks precisely like
a large white-clover blossom. The habit of growth, too, is that
of the common white clover, running along the ground and
taking root as it goes. A look at the picture will show this, the
roots being seen coming from the stalk at the left.

Just how much value there is in this new clover I do not
know. As will be seen, it grows much larger than the common
white, but only as its leaves and leaf stems are larger, for it
does not grow up and throw out branches like red clover. It
died out the second winter.

LINDEN, CATNIP, GOLDENROD, ASTERS, HEARTSEASE.

Linden or basswood (Fig. 49) is a scarce article, the flavor
of linden honey being seldom perceptible in any honey stored
by my bees. I take great pleasure, however, in the sight of a
row of lindens running from the public road up to the house
(Fig. 50).

Catnip (Fig. 51) is seattered about in some places quite
plentifully where it has the protection of hedges, for which 1
seems to have a great liking. It has a long season.

114 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

Goldenrod (Fig. 52) grows in abundance in several vari-
eties, and while other insects may be seen upon it in great
numbers, a bee is seldom seen upon it. Much the same may be
said of the asters (Figs. 53 and 54). In some other places both
these plants ave said to be well visited by the bees.

The summer of 1902 was very wet, and for the first time in
my observation heartsease (Fig. 55) was busily worked upon by
the bees. Probably it was not plentiful enough before. At any
vate it has now beeome a honey-plant of importance. In some
localities heartsease is, I believe, the chief honey-plant pro-
ducing amber honey. But I think it yields very light honey
here.

CUCUMBERS,

I think the white-clover crop, for some reason, is more
unreliable than it was years ago. Some years there is a pro-
fusion of clover bloom, but there seems to be no nectar in it.
As some compensation, I think there is more fall pasturage than
formerly. One reason for this is that two pickle-factories are
located at Marengo, and my bees have the run of one or two
hundred acres of eueumbers. And yet I must confess that I am
not at all sure what eucumber honey is. Sometimes the honey
stored at the time of cucumber bloom is objectionable in flavor.
and sometimes the flavor is fine. Two or three vears the bees
at the Hastings apiary stored in the fall some fine honey, re-
markable for whiteness, and I’ve no idea what it was gathered
from unless it was heartsease. On the whole I am in a poor
honey region, and would have sought a better one long ago but
for ties other than the bees.

ARTIFICIAL PASTURAGE.

I have made some effort to increase the pasturage for my
bees. Of spider-plant I raised only a few plants. It seemed
too difficult to raise to make me care to experiment with it on a
larger scale. Possibly if I knew better how to manage it. the
difficulty might disappear. Or, on other soil it might be less
difficult to manage. The same might be said of the other things
T have tried. My soil is clay loam, and hilly, although I live in

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 115
a prairie State. I am at least a mile distant from prairie.soil.
I had an acre of as fine figwort as one would care to see. It
died root and branch the second winter; even the young plants
that had come from seed the previous summer. It was on the
lowest ground I had, very rich, and much like prairie.

When the boom for Chapman’s honey-plant (Hchinops
spherocephalus) was on, I was among the first to get it, and I
succeeded in having a large patch. Bees were on it in ‘large
numbers, but close observation showed that a great proportion

Fig. 39—Hive-stand.

of them were loafing as if something about the plant had made
them drunk. I concluded I did not get nectar enough from it
to pay for the use of the land, to say nothing of cultivation.

One year I raised half an acre of sunflowers, and J have
tried other things, but given them up.

APPLE-BLOOM.
Quite likely if a second crop of apple-bloom came a month

or two later than the usual time, I might get some surplus from
that; but coming so early I think there are hardly bees enough

116 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

to store it. Still, the bees are at this time using large quantities
of honey for brood, and so the apple-bloom is of very great
value. Another advantage is that the great quantity of bloom
has somewhat the effect of prolonging its time, for the latest
blossoms, that with a few trees would amount to little or noth-
ing, are enough to keep the bees busy. So it happens that often
I can searcely recognize any interim between fruit-bloom and
clover. A few items from a memorandum for 1882 may be
interesting.

MEMORANDA OF 1882.

April 4.—Last bees taken out of cellar.

May 8.—Plum-bloom out. Bees still work on meal and
sugar syrup.

May 10.—Wild plum, dandelion, cherry, pear, Siberian,
Duchess of Oldenberg.

May 31.—Saw first clover blossom.

June 5,—Apple about done.

June 12.—Commenced viving supers.

June 13.—Clover tull bloom—plentiful.

June 20.—Locust out.

August 1.—Clover failing.

August 5.—Robber bees trouble.

You will notice that the earliest apple-bloom (Duchess cf
Oldenbere) commenced. May 10, while the Janets and other late
bloomers were still in blossom on June 5, several days after the
first clover was seen, making about four weeks of apple-bloom.
Possibly this was unusual—eertainly the clover lasted unusually
long, being about 7144 weeks from the time the bees commenced
working on it, fur they do not seem to commence work till after
the blossoms have been out some time.

TIME FOR GIVING SUPERS.

You see that I did not commence putting on supers till 12
days after I saw the first clover-blossom, and if I had had only
a dozen colonies, I might have waited later, but with a large
number I musi commence in time so that all shall be on as soon
as needed. Usnally I put on supers as nearly as convenient to
ten days after seeing the very first white-clover blossom. A

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 117

little time before bees commence work in supers, little bits of
pure white wax will be seen stuck on the old comb about the
upper part, yet 1 hardly wait for this, but go ratl.er by the
clover. :
Another year (1884), I saw the first clover-blossom on
May 21, apple being still in full bloom; and I commenced put-
ting on supers June 2. One year, I remember, clover failed on
July 4, the earliest I ever remember.

MEMORANDA OF 1901.

Turning to another year, the year 1901, I give a few
entries: .

March 17.—Bluebirds, prairie chickens, robins, larks.

March 25.—Frogs.

April 5.—Soft maple.

April 28.—Dandelion.

May 1.—Hard maple, plum.

May 2.—Cherry.

May 5.—Apple.

May 6.—Strawberry.

May 23.—White clover.

June 20.—Sweet clover.

June 29,—Linden.

WHITE CLOVER UNCERTAIN.

That year, 1901, had perhaps the finest show of white-
clover bloom ever known, but it was a dead failure, perhaps on
account of the terrible drouth, although sometimes white clover
blossoms bountifully and fails to yield honey when nothing
that ean be seen in the way of weather is at all at fault. About
the middle of August the bees began storing, perhaps from
cucumbers and sweet clover, and gave a surplus of 16 pounds a
colony. It would have been better to have had it all stored in
brood-frames, I think.

The following year, 1902, was still more exceptional. As
already told, the bees would have starved in June but for feed-
ing, yet later on they did some good work, some colonies yield-
ing as much as 72 sections. The bulk of this was stored toward
the last of August or later.

118 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

Fig. 70 is from a photo taken Oct. 1. In the picture the
bee appears to be perfectly still, but these are not moving pic-
tures, and I assure you that that bee was in very lively motion
when taken.

OVERSTOCKING.

To a beekeeper who has more bees than he thinks advisable
to keep in the home apiary, pasturage and overstocking are
subjects of intense interest. The two subjects are intimately
connected. They are subjects so elusive, so difficult to learn
anything about very positively, that if I could well help myself
T think I should dismiss them altogether from contemplation.
But, like Banquo’s ghost, they will not down. I must decide,
whether I will or not, how many colonies will overstock the
home field, unless I make the idiotic determination to keep all
at home with the almost certain result of obtaining no surplus.
T do not expect ever to have any positive knowledge upon the
subject, because if I could find out with certainty just what
number of colonies a given area would support in one year.
I have no kind of assurance that the same kind of year will
ever vecur again. So I act upon the guess that in my locality
it is never wise to have more than 100 colonies in one apiary.
and possibly 75 would be better.

SURPLUS ARRANGEMENTS.

The first surplus honey I obtained worth mentioning was
secured in boxes holding somewhere from 6 to 10 pounds. The
boxes had glass on one or more sides, and were placed on the
top of box hives. Then for a year or more my surplus was
extracted honey obtained with the old Peabody extractor (Fig.
2), in which the whole affair, can and all, revolves.

SECTIONS.

Then I started on sections of the four-piece kind, and later
used one-piece. I have used the 414 x 444 x 1% size much more
than any other. I have used a few hundreds of the tall sections,
but my market does not seem to like them any better, if as well,

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 119

as the square sections. I have tried 444 square sections of
several widths, 1 15-16 inches wide, 7 to the foot, also 8, 9, and
10 to the foot. I have made some trial of plain sections, but for
my market ] am not sure that there is advantage enough in them
to ake me change from ihe two-beeway sections.

T SUPERS.

The T supers I use are 121% wide inside, just right fer
eight-frame hives. Just why I adopted this size I do not know,

Fig. 40—Original Miller Feeder.

for at that time I was using 10-frame hives, and it was a little
awkward to use a super so much narrower than the hive. But
at least part of the time I used only eight frames in the 10-
frame hives,

HOW TO MAKE A T SUPER.

So miany have asked how to make a T super that it may be
well to give directions here. It is a plain box without top or
bottom, the inside width being the same as that of the hive, and
the depth 14 inch more than the depth of the sections to be

120 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

used. Mine being for the 8-frame dovetailed hive, and for
4+14,x 4% sections, are 173g inches long, inside measure, 12%
inches wide, and 41% inehes deep. If they were all to be made
over again, | think L might prefer to have them 1x, inch shorter.
Unless the lumber is very thoroughly seasoned, the depth should
be a litile more than 44 inch more than the depth of the sections.
To support the sections, three T tins are needed, and there must
be something to support these T tins, 3 supports on each side.
With your super lying before you upside down, make a mark en
the edge of each side at the middle. Now, half way between
this mark and each inside end of the super, make another mark.
Those 3 marks on each side will tell you where the middle of
each support is to be. Most of the supers have for these 6
supports pieces of sheet iron 14% x1linch. Lay the piece flat on
the edge of the side of the super, and fasten it by 2 nails about
14 inch from the inside edge of the side of the super. As the
wall of the super is % thick, that will allow the support to
project inside about 14 inch, and the support is of course 1 ineh
wide. Some of the latest of my supers, instead of these squares
of sheet iron, have staples as supports. A staple is driven in
about 144 inch from the inside edge, then bent over and ham-
mered down flat. The staples are an inch wide. To support the
sections at cach end of the super a strip of tin is nailed on. It
is 1314 xx, and is nailed on so as to project inward 14 inch.
The 12-inch T tins are bought ready made. The super is hardly
long enough to close the top of the hive. I lke this. When the
harvest is booming I let the super be shoved furward enough so
there will be at the back end a space of 14 inch for ventilaticn,
which is an important factor to prevent swarming. But the
sections tear this ventilation will not be finished so rapidly, and
at the beginning and toward the close of the season a cleat is
nailed on the super to close fully the opening. Yet I remember
at least one year when it worked the other way, and the sections
were sealed sooner at the open end than at the closed end. Per-
haps it was hecause the weather was very hot.

The separators used are plain wood, and are generally
bonght new every year, for it is about as cheap to buy new as
(o clean the old, and more satisfactory. The usual follower fills
out the super, wedged in with a super spring.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 121

TOP VENTILATION OF SUPERS.

In working for extracted honey it is an easy thing to give
a good deal of ventilation to each story, and it works well as a
great hindrance to swarming. It makes no great difference if
the bees should not seal the combs so well at the openings for
ventilation. For years I dreamed of trying 1o have some way
of having the same advantage for comb honey. To be sure, it
had worked well enough, at least part of the time, to have a
space for ventilation between hive and super at the back end.
But to have ventilation between each two supers could hardly
fail to make bad work about sealing where the openings came.
If we could only have ventilation at the center, where sealing
is first done, instead of at the ends where the last sealing is
done! Well, why net at the center? [tn 1912 I tried it, making
a ventilation-cover. Here is the bill of material for it: 2 pieces
20x 45g x 4; 2 pieces 4x 45g x14; 2 pieces 13% x 14x14; 2
pieces 7x14x%.

At each side will be one of the 20-inch pieces, and between
them, one at each end, the 4-inch pieces. These will be nailed
upon the 13%% pieces, one at each end, and the 7-inch pieces will
come at the inside ends of the 4-inch pieces. We now have a
cover with a central opening 12 x 45% inches. This is laid upon
the super with the 14-inch square pieces uppermost, and on this
is placed the usual cover. If desired, this ventilation-cover can
be lightly nailed to the hive-cover, to be removed at the close of
the super-season. These ventilation-covers have not been thor-
oughly tested, but give promise of being an acquisition.

SUPER SPRINGS.

Until the introduction of super springs, my supers of
sections were wedged together by crowding in behind the fol-
lower a straight stick about as long as the inside length of the
super, and 4% x ¥%4 inch. I find the super springs a very great
improvement. When the sections are filled into the super, the
corners, which have been wet, are not yet entirely dry, and no
matter how tightly wedged, as they dry out there will be a
shrinkage of the contents of the super, so that in some cases the
wedge-stick will drop down. The metal springs will adjust

122 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

themselves {o this, and continue to press the sections together,
although with less force, after all have entirely dried out. It is
easier to put the springs in, and very much easier to take them
out. In a word, the sticks are not always a fit, and the springs
are.

Another thing of perhaps still more importance is that the
stick, being crowded in diagonally, forms a pocket in which the
bees are apt to congregate when one is trying to get them out
of the super, and it is very hard to dislodge them from this
pocket. The springs form no such pocket.

T ain not sure whether it is better to use one spring or two
to a super.

The T tins are not fastened to the super, but loose (Fig. 5).
SECTIONS READY IN ADVANCE.

The work of getting secliuis and supers ready for use kas
been all done long before the time for putting on, and some-
thing will be said about how that work is done.

Al the time the supers are needed for putting on the hives,
they are all nicely piled up in the store-room of the shop, ready
lo earry out.

Years ago I thought 1 was doing pretty well if I had ready
in advance as much as 4 supers filled with sections for each
colony. Certainly, if I could average, one vear with another,
46 finished sections per colony, it would not be such a bad thing.
But if preparation is to be made in advance, it must be not for
an average crop, but for the largest crop possible. Allowance
must be made, too, for unfinished sections that will be taken off
at the close of the season, and also for a good many that the
bees have not begun on at all. Being caught short of sections
and having to get them ready right in the rush of harvest made
me change my mind as to the number that should be ready in
advance. Several times I had to change my mind, each time
setting the mark a little higher, for as the vears went by the big
yields of big years became bigger. One reason for this was no
doubt the improvement in pasturage. Another was the improve-
ment in bees by continuous breeding from the best storers.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 123

AN EMPHATIC SEASON,

The year 1903 was one of the years that emphasized the
need of having a big stock of sections ready in advance. It
emphasized also the variableness of the seasons. Another item
of no small importance was the harvests of the present and
future as compared with the past. Some have said that, with
the advance of civilization, the plow and the ax have cut off our
resources for nectar, and we are no more to expect such crops
as we have had in the past. We shall see where the year 1903
put the emphasis in that matter.

A furnace put in the cellar somewhat late the previous
winter had made bad work with the wintering, so that by the
12th of May, 1903, I could muster only 124 colonies all told, and
some of them were very weak indeed. The dense carpet of white
clover promised well, provided the weather was good (as it
turned out there was too much cold and wet for best expecta-
tions), but enough supers were piled ready-filled to satisfy any
reasonable demands. The cool wet weather hindered storing no
little, but was no doubt an advantage in the long run, for it
kept the clover growing and blowing, and I don’t know really
when it did cease to yield.

The season was remarkably early, so that second stories
were given some colonies by May 13, and May 25 we began
giving supers. Three days later there were evidences of abun-
dant storing. July 1 we began taking off supers, and from that
on had a busy time both taking off and putting on—no trouble
with robber-bees; supers could be set on hives and left till the
bees all ran out of their own accord, standing all day if nec-
essary. This up to July 18, after which time the bees would
have spells of letting up, only to go at it afresh after the pause.

Finally it began to dawn on us that our stock of filled
supers was running dangerously low. More sections were
ordered. Getting them ready as needed was added to our already
heavy task. We were kept on the jump till near the middle of
August. Then came the National convention at Los Angeles.
Some 12,000 finished sections were piled up in the house, but a
lot more were on the hives, and I hesitated about going. But
my assistant insisted I should go; the bees had let up on storing,

124 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

and I thought it would do no great harm to leave all sections on
till I got back, so I left August 12, getting back the 28th.
Searcely had I got out of sight when the bees made a fresh
start as fierce as ever, and gave Miss Wilson the busy time of
her life. Up at 4 o’elock in the morning to get sections ready,
then to one of the apiaries to take off and put on supers, with
no let-up in the work of going through colonies to keep down
swarming. Yes, indeed, there was swarming galore, and had
been all through the season. It is generally understood that
when bees ave busily engaged at storing they give up all thoughts

Fig. 41—Miller Feeder Dissected.

of swarming, Nolin 1803. I'm not sure I ever knew so bad a
season for swarming, We fought our best to prevent it, but
every now and then the bees would get the start of us. .

Some 6000 finished sections were taken off during my 16
days’ absence, and on my return I found everything about the
work kept uj in as good shape as if 1 had been at home. And
Miss Wilson was still alive.

We didu’t get the last sections off the hives till well along
in September, and the final footing np was not conducive to
despondency. From 124 colonies, spring count, we had 18,150

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 125

pounds of comb honey (about 20,000 finished sections), increas -
ing to 284 colonies; or an average of more than 146 pounds per
colony, with 129 per cent increase. As the storing was mainly
by one set of colonies and the increase by another, it would
perhaps be fairer to say that 100 colonies averaged 18114
pounds per colony with no inerease, and that each of the re-
maining colonies was increased to 7 2-3 colonies with no sur-
plus. The best colony gave 300 sections, and several colonies
were close on its heels.

NUMBER OF SECTIONS NEEDED PER COLONY.

Clearly, in such a season as 1903 it would not do to have
ready only 4 supers per colony, and I did some figuring to
determine what would be the right number. That average of
146 pounds per colony was equivalent to about 160 sections per
colony. With 24 sections to the super, those 160 sections would
lack 8 sections of filling 7 supers. There were probably more
than 8 unfinished and empty sections per colony, so it will be
readily seen that for another year like 1903 it will be a conser-
vative estimate to count on having 7 supers of sections ready in
advance for each colony. Such a year may never come again,
but then again it may. So remembering the old saw, “It is
better to be ready and not go than to go and uot be ready,” it
will be the wise thing to have 7 supers filled in advance each
year. If they are not needed they will keep over all right, even
if kept so long as 4 or 5 years.

Perhaps it will be well, as a general rule, to have ready as
many as will be needed in your best year, and then an extra
super besides for each colony. That, of course, might make it
more, or it might make it less, than 7 supers to the colony.

A PHENOMENAL SEASON.

Just ten years later came the season of 1913, again upsetting
all figures. The season opened with 83 colonies; 11 of these
were devoted to extracting-combs, and 72 to sections, and these
72 had no help from the other 11. There was abundance of
fruit-bloom and dandelion, and colonies became strong. May
27 appeared the first bloom on alsike and white clover, just as

126 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

fruit-bloom closed. Two days later we began putting on supers,
and the bees were not long about occupying them. There was
a steady flow from clover for at least 11 weeks, and I don’t
know; how much longer, for about August 18 sweet clover and
heartsease began to mix in, continuing till Sept. 20, supers
being: taken off Sept. 22. Thus there was a continuous flow,
with scarcely a break, for about 16 weeks. Timely rains oceur-
red to keep the bloom at its best, but they generally occurred in
the night, allowing the bees to be on their job the next morning.

After the flow was well under way, with every prospect of °
continuance, Miss Wilson began to urge that more sections
should be ordered. I laughed at her. I said, “ There is no need
of more than 7 supers per colony, spring count. We had at
the beginning of the season 660 supers ready to put on the
hives. That’s a little more than 9 supers per colony. We never
have needed anything like that number of supers, and never
will.’ No matter how hard the bees are working now, there ave
always setbacks, as you will see, and at the close of the season
we will have empty supers to burn.” But with Scotch persis-
tence she kept insisting, and finally I ordered more sections,
with no expectation they would be needed. !t would, however,
satisfy Miss Wilson, and the sections would keep for another
season. But the expected setbacks did not come, and the big
flow kept right on flowing until the 660 supers had been put on
the hives, and we began to put on some of the fresh lot. Then
Miss Wilson had the laugh on me. I bore it calmly.

The inerease from these 72 colonies was only one colony,
the other 11 colonies furnishing all needed increase.

There was no stinting of surplus-room. .As fast as needed
an empty super was added below, and as a sort of safety-valve
an empty super was kept on top. Throughout the whole of
July there were on the hives an average of 5 supers each. A
few colonies had as many as 7 or 8 supers each at one time.

June 24 we began taking off supers. Each colony had
careful credit for all honey taken from it. Not only were full
sections counted, but sections partly filled were estimated and
credited. Footed up at the close of the season, there were
19,186 sections, or an average of 266.47 sections per colony, for

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 127

the 72 colonies spring count. If reduced to pounds it would
probably be about 244 pounds per colony.

The number of finished, marketable sections was 17,684, or
245.6 sections per colony, spring count. Reduced to pounds,
that would be something like 225 pounds per colony.

Returning to the total credits, the poorest colony was
eredited with 68 sections, the best with 402. Only 10 colonies
gave less than 200 sections each. The best 6. colonies gave
respectively 383, 384, 384, 390, 395, 402.

Whether you count the total 266.47 sections per colony, or
only the 245.6 finished sections, I think that 1913 crop stands as
the world’s record for the best yield of comb honey for as many
as 72 colonies. It could hardly be expected that I should not feel
a little proud of holding such a record; but I am not proud that
in such a season there should be as many as 10 colonies giving
less than 200 sections each. I can take no pride in the season;
that’s one of God’s good gifts; I can only take pride in good
management and careful breeding; and for those am J not
equally indebted to the same God?

SHOP FOR BEE-WORK.

The shop (Fig. 71) in which the filled supers are stored is
a plain wooden building 18 x 24, two-story, with a bee-cellar
under it. The bee-cellar, however, has not been used for some
years. The upper story is used for storing empty supers, hives,
and other articles not very heavy, or such as are not often
needed. The outside door opens into the middle of the east side
of the house into a store-room; immediately in front of you as
you enter are the stairs leading to the upper stcry, and at your
right a door opens into the work-room. In this work-room is a
coal-stove, and the room, being ceiled up, is comfortable in tke
severest weather.

ROOM FOR QUEEN.

Up to the time of putting on supers the queen has had
unlimited room with the design of encouraging the rearing of
as much brood as possible. When the harvest begins, she may
have as much as 6, 9, 11, even up to 14 frames well occupied

128 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

with brood and eggs. A good deal depends on the season, as
well as the queen. At one time I thought I ought to be able to
make a success of continuing the two stories of brood-frames
throughout the harvest. It seems that when a colony is so
strong as to have 12 or 14 frames of brood, there ought to be no
difficulty in having good super-work done by putting the supers
above the two stories; and one season of failure the only super
I had filled was on a two-story colony. But I was never able
to have that thing repeated, and whatever the reason may ke,
I have not been able to make a suecess of putting comb-honey
supers on two-story colonies. Even if the two-story plan would
work all right it involves much extra lifting.

REDUCING TO ONE STORY.

So before putting on supers the colonies are reduced to one
story each. If a colony has 9, 10, or more frames of brood, all
but 8 are taken away. The surplus frames ef brood are given
to those which have less than 8 frames of brood each, the effort
being to have in each hive 8 frames well filled with brood when
a super is given. The season may be such that it will not be
possible to have as many as 8 brood in each hive. A colony
strong enough to have 6 frames well filled with brood is likely
to be in condition for good super-work, but the work will be
better if it has 7 or 8. On the other hand the season and the
early condition of the bees may be such that when each colony
is brought up or down to its 8 frames of brood, a considerable
surplus of brood may be left.

DISPOSAL OF EXTRA BROOD.

Circumstances will decide what shall be done with this
extra brood. It may be needed for building up nuelei, or fur
new colonies. It may be piled up temporarily in piles of three,
four, or five stories each, to be used later in any manner desired.
It does nut take three times as mauy bees to care for the brovd
in three siories as it does to care for the brood in one story.
If two or three stories of brood with adhering bees are piled np,
in two or three weeks there will be enough bees there so that
when reduced to one story it will be all right for super-work.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 129

Or it may be left just as it is, and allowed to store in combs
for the next spring’s use, or for extracting.

BURR-COMBS.

At the time of putting on supers, it is desirable that ther,
shall be as little inducement as possible toward the building of
burr-combs between top-bars and supers. A very strong induce-
ment of that kind consists in the presence of any beginnings of
such combs already there. Formerly I had a space of % of an
inch over top-bars, and if a super of sections were placed
directly on the hive, burr-combs in abundance would be built.

Fig. 42—Hive-dummy.

HEDDON HONEY-BOARD.

In such conditions the Heddon slat honey-board (Fig. 6)
was a boon. Between the top-bars and the honey-board was a
mass of burr-combs filled with honey, making a disagreeably
dauby, sticky, dripping mess when the honey-board was re-
moved; but the space between the honey-board and the bottoms
of the sections was left beautifully free from burr-combs, so
the section bottoms were left clean. This while everything was

130 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

new; for if honey-boards were put on a second year without
cleaning there would be the beginnings of burr-combs between
honey-board and sections, or more than the beginnings if the
honey-boards had gone more than one year without cleaning.
So at some time before putting on the honey-boards they were
carefully cleaned. But cleaning the honey-boards was not
enough. The tops of the frames had to be cleaned as well, and
this cleaning was done with a common garden-hoe, an assistant
smoking the bees out of the way while the top-bars were hoed.

CORRECT BEE-SPACE, «

It was a great step in advance when we learned that instead
of a space of “gy of an inch there should be only 14 inch, or
perhars a shade less. In other words we learned that a bee-
space, or that space in which bees were least inclined to put
either comb or propolis, was a scant quarter of an inch. With
a correct bee-space between top-bars and sections, we can dis-
pense entirely with anything in the shape of a honey-board.
There will be a little trouble with the building of bits of comb
under the sections, but not enough to make it worth while to use
a honey-board. But that trouble will be greatly aggravated if
there be any beginnings of burr-combs on the tops of the frames
when supers are given. So the tops must be cleaned off wher-
ever there is anything to clean off before the supers are put on
the hives.

THICK TOP-BARS.

Another thing that may help to keep down burr-combs is
the thickness and width of top-bars. My top-bars are % thick
and 11s wide, leaving a space of 144 inch between them. There
are more burr-combs than I like built between them, and I have
wondered whether any other space would be better. If the sides
as well as the tops of the top-bars were cleaned off at the time
of giving supers, it would help to keep the bottoms of sections
clean, but I doubt its paying.

THICK TOP-BARS FOR WHITE SECTIONS.

Even if the 7 thickness of top-bar were of no other
advantage, I should want it for the sake of keeping the cap-

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 131

pings of the sections white. At one time I had wide frames of
sections facing brood-frames (the brood-frames were used to
bait the bees up into the supers), and if the brood-frames were
left there till the sections were sealed, the sealing would be
almost if not quite as dark as the sealing of brood-combs. The
bees seem to carry bits of the old, black brood-combs to use in
capping the sections. So the thick top-bar increasing the dis-
tance of the sections from the brood-combs helps to keep the
former whiter.

NO EXCLUDER UNDER SECTIONS.

“ Before putting on the super, would you advise me to put
a queen-excluder (Fig. 56) over the brood-chamber?” It would
increase the space between the brood-combs and the sections,
and in that way would be a further help toward prevention of
dark cappings on the sections, and it would make a sure thing
as to preventing burr-combs on the bottoms of the sections.
But I don’t believe there would be enough advantage in both
ways to pay for the excluders.

T think I hear you say, “ But wouldn’t it pay to use exclud-
ers for the sake of keeping the queen out of the supers?” I
may reply that the queen so seldom goes up into a super that
not one section in a hundred, sometimes not more than one in a
thousand, will be found troubled with brood. So on the whole
I hardly think that all the advantages to be gained from using
excluders would pay for the time and trouble of using them.
I need not consider so very much the cost of them, for I have a
lot on hand lying idle. At one time I thought I had a plan for
prevention of swarming by the use of excluders, and was so
sanguine about it that I got 150 of them. I think a great deal
of queen-excluders, and wouldn’t like to do without them, but
I did not need 150 of them, for my excluder-swarm-prevention
plan did not turn out to be a howling success.

EXPERIMENTING ON TOO LARGE A SCALE.

Allow me to digress long enough to confess that one of my
weaknesses is being a little too sanguine about new plans while
they are yet in the raw, and so experimenting on too large a
scale. More than one crop of honey has been lessened by means

132 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

of some foolish project that I thought might increase the ercn
But I haven’t done as badly as I might have done, for my good
wife has acted somewhat as a balance wheel, advising me to
“ 90 slow ” and not experiment on too large a seale, and she has
always been abetted by her sister, who is perhaps over-conser-
vative. I could have tested my plan with 15 excluders just as
well as with ten times that number, but J knew the plan would
work, and I eouldn’t wait! I think I didn’t consult my wife

9

Fig. £3—Crock-and-plate Feeder.

about ordering the 150 exeluders. As I grow older I may learn
caution, and experiment on a smaller scale, but too much should
not be expected of me.

PLEASURE OF EXPERIMENTING.

Asan offset to the mischief done by experimenting on too
large a scale, I may say that one of my keenest enjoyments is
the working out of problems connected with beekeeping. There
is never a time, summer or winter, when I am not cooking one
or more schemes, plans or projects connected with the business.
No doubt more money could be made at beekeeping if every-

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 133

thing in the business were fully settled and we knew beforehand
just exactly the right step to take in any given case, but there
wouldn’t be nearly the fun in it.

BROOD AND POLLEN IN SECTIONS.

It may be asked why it is that I have so little trouble with
queens laying in sections, while some others are much troubled
in that way. Possibly the thickness of top-bars may have some-
thing to do with it, but very likely it may be that the amount
of foundation in sections has a bearing on the case. Some use
small starters in sections, while my sections are filled as full as
possible with foundation. When drone-comb is absent from the
brood-nest, there seems such a desperate desire for drone-brood
that I have known the queen to leave the brood-nest and fill with
eggs a patch of drone-comb two or three frames distant from
the brood-nest. On the same principle she would go up into
the sections if drone-comb were there, and nearly always when
I find brood in the sections it is drone-brood. With small start-
ers in sections there is plenty of chance for building drone-
comb, but when the sections are full of worker foundation there
is no chance for it, hence no special temptation for the queen to
go above unless very much crowded for room.

Of course, when brood enters the sections, pollen is likely
to follow. Perhaps a more common cause of pollen in sections
is the shallowness of brood-frames. Against this, an excluder
is powerless to help. I had a little experience with frames
shallower than the Langstroth, and had more pollen over one
hive with the shallower frames than over fifty of the others.

PREPARING SUPERS OF SECTIONS.

This work is done in the winter, or at least so early in
spring that it will not interfere with other work, but as an
understanding of it may help just a little toward understanding
some of the summer work, I will talk about it here.

CLEANING SUPERS AND T TINS.

The propolis is scraped from the supers by means of the
hatchet already mentioned. Cleaning T tins is another matter.

134 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

The plan used is the invention of my assistant, and I think I
cannot do better than to let her tell about it by copying the
following article which she wrote for Gleanings in Bee Culture:

“ When we commenced work in the shop, the first super I
filled with the nice clean sections, I looked at the T tins all
covered with propolis and thought to myself, ‘If we are to have
sections unstained by propolis it will never do to put them on
these dirty T tins. But, oh dear! it will be an endless task to

Fig. 44—Watering-crock.

scrape them all. I ean never do it.’ Just then a happy thought
struek me. Why not boil the propolis off? Sure enough, why
not?

“T repaired to the kitchen, placed the wash-boiler on the
stove (one we use for such work), filled it with water and T
tins, then went back to the shop to work, and left them to boil
at their own sweet will, delighted to think I had such an inspir-
ation. In about an hour I went back to the kitchen to see how
my T tins were progressing. I fully expected to see them all
nice and clean, and was most bitterly disappointed to find that
they looked een worse than they did when T put them in, as the
propolis was more cvenly distributed all over them.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 135

“T next tried serubbing them with a broom in the boiling
water, but it would not work. I meditated awhile, then con-
eluded I would try concentrated lye, provided Dr. Miller did
not object. I did not know what effect the lye would have on
the tins. He said I might try it. I put the boiler back on the
steve to try once more. I did not feel quite so sanguine as I
voured in part of a can of concentrated lye.

“T did not leave it this time, but anxiously watched to sce
what effect it would have. It brought it off pretty well, but was
not quite strong enough. I put in the rest of the can of lye,
and, Eureka! the propolis disappeared as if by magic. I stirred
the tins with the poker to insure the lye reaching all parts of
them; then with the tongs I lifted them into a tub and rinsed
them off with cold water and set them up in the sun to drain,
as bright and clean as when they came from the tinner’s.

“T filled up the boiler with T tins again, and so on, until
the strength of the lye was all used up, when IJ turned it out,
filled up the boiler afresh, and began all over again, continuing
untii they were all done. I used a can of lye to a boiler of
water.

“ Every time I fill up a super with the nice clean T tins I
feel more than paid for the work it took to make them so. I
am pretty sure that washing-fiuid would clean them almost if
not quite as well as the concentrated lye, providing it were used
strong enough, although T have never tried it. However, I
think I should prefer the lye, as it does the work most thor-
oughly and does not hurt the T tins in the least, that 1 can see.

“Tf you have a lot of dirty T tins I advise you to clean
them in this way, and see if you are not as delighted as I was
to see them come out so bright and clean. Be sure to use plenty
of water in rinsing them off.”

WETTING SECTIONS.

The well-known Hubbard section-press is used for putting
the sections together. If the sections are fresh from the manu-
facturer and as good as they ought to be, they can be put to-
gether at once without any preparation. If they have been held
over from the previous year they may be so dry that too many

136 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

of them will break in folding. The joints of these are wet in a
somewhat wholesale manner. If they are crated in such a way
as to be favorable for it, the whole crate of 500 are wet before
being taken from the original package, one side of the crate
being removed so as to expose the edges of the sections. If the
crate is not of the right kind for this, then the sections are
taken from the erate and put in the proper position in an
empty erate lying on one side with the top and one end removed.
Of course the sections do not lie flat, but on their edges, the
grooves of each tier corresponding with the grooves of the other
tiers, so that a small stream of water poured into the grooves at
the top will readily find its way clear through to the bottom.
If necessary the sections must be wedged together, so there will
be no room for water to get between them only at the grooves.

A pint funnel is specially prepared for the work. A
wooden plug is pushed in from above, projecting below two
inches or less. The lower end of the plug is whittled to a point,
and cither by means of a bad fit or by means of a little channel
cut in one side of the plug, there is just leak enough so that
when the funnel is filled there will be a continuous fine stream
of water running from the point of the plug. Holding the
funnel in one hand I pour into it boiling water from a tea-kettle
held in the other hand, at the same time holding the funnel so
that the stream from the point of the plug shall be directed into
the grooves, moving the funnel along just fast enough so that
the water shall be sure to go clear through to the bottom. Cold
water will not work well.

A plan I like better is to have a vessel of hot water some-
what elevated, with a small rubber tube running from it, so that
the stream from it can easily be directed into the grooves. A
fountain syringe works nicely.

Before wetting, the box of sections should be stood so that
the sections are on end, and then jolted heavily, so as to make
the grooves correspond the whole depth of the box. After the
sections are wet they swell immediately, making them fit too
tightly in the box to be gotten out without much difficulty. The
boards are torn off one end of the box, and after the sections
are taken out the boards are nailed on again, if it be desired to
preserve the box.

.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 137

FOLDING SECTIONS.

Somelimes | put sections together myself, but generally
some boy or girl does the work unless my wife be pressed into
service. The operator seated at the machine (Fig. 57) has a
pile of sections laid at a convenient height at her left hand,
the sections piled so that ends correspond. As fast as the
sections are taken from the press they are neatly piled in order
on a board at the right of the operator. (1 know that some
throw the sections indiscriminately into a basket as they leave
the press, and it seems this ought to take less time, but I think
in the long run my way saves time.) It is desirable that the
board upon which the sections are piled should be light, as no
great strength is required, and sometimes several thousand
folded sections will be piled up ahead, and it is pleasanter to
handle the light board. A dummy or almost any board ‘will
answer, but oftener hive-covers ave used. One of these is of
such size that there may be placed upon it side by side three
rows of sections with eleven sections in each row. Upon these
are placed three other rows, break-joint fashion, with ten sec-
tions in each row, and this piling up may continue till the upper
rows contain four or less each. Generally the piling goes no
higher than to have six sections in the upper rows, making 153
sections a boardful. As fast as one board is filled another
takes its plaec, and the filled board is piled up, unless Miss
Wilson is putting in foundation at the time and is ready for
a fresh boardful of sections.

SIZE OF STARTERS IN SECTIONS.

Foundation for sections comes from the factory in sheets
large enough to fill several sections. At different times the
sheets have been of different sizes, but for some time past they
have measured 3% x15%. This size is just right to make four
top starters 314 inches deep, and four bottom starters 5g inch
deep. Occasionally a bottom-starter of this depth makes trouble
by lopping over, but not often, and a shallower starter is more
likely to be gnawed down by the bees. Moreover, I think the
deeper the bottom-starter the more promptly the two stariers
are fastened together.

138 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

With two starters of this size in a 414 section, there should
be a space of 4% inch between the two if it were not that the
space is made larger by the melting away of the edges of the
starters when they are put in the section (Fig. 60).

CUTTING FOUNDATION.

I have one time and another used different plans for
cutting. A simple way, and one that is quite satisfactory, is
the following: Take a board 18 x12 inches or larger; on one

No. 45—Field of Raspberries in Bloom.

end nail a block as a stop for the ends of the sheets of founda-
tion to rest against, and on one side nail four blocks about 214
inches long as stops for the one edge of the foundation to rest
against. It is well also to nail one of these 21-inch blocks on
the other side near the stop at the end, so as to make a space of
7%, inches in which the ends of the’ foundation shall be con-
fined, otherwise the foundation has a disagreeable habit of
sluing off to one side when the first cut is made at the other end.
Of course these stops are to be nailed on the upper surface of
the board and not on the edges. The two blocks that are nailed
nearest the end-stop are to be tight against it, the others at such

*

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 139

intervals as to allow for cutting the 344 starters. The size of
these blocks is not important, 5g square being a good size. With
a rule of any convenient length 14x \, this rule being used to
guide the knife in cutting, the machine would now be ready for
the foundation if one had an eye accurate enough to put the
rule in the right place. In order to do this quickly and accu-
rately, nails against which to place the rule at the right places
are partly driven in on both sides; 24-inch wire finishing-na*!s
are good for this purpose. The board is to. lie before you,
having the side with the four stop-blocks nearest you. Drive a
nail into each side of the board so that there shall be a space of
just 344 inches between the end-stop and the nail. I don’t mean
you shall mark a point 3144 inches from the end-stop and drive
your nail there, for that would make 344 inches from the end-
stop to the middle of the nail, whereas it shotild be 34% from
the stop to the nearest side of the nail. Thedistances of the
other nails from the end-stops will be as follows: 614, 934, 13,
135, 14144, 14%. Now your cutting-board is all ready for
work.

Two knives are needed, one to be heating while the other
is cutting. For heating I use a common kerosene lamp put in
a box deep enough so that when a board is laid over the top of
it and a knife is laid on that board the end of the knife-blade
shall be directly over the lamp, nearly or quite touching the top
of the chimney. J don’t know what kind of a knife is best. A
Barlow knife makes good work, but I think I like better a
common tea-knife with a thin steel blade broken off, so it is 2%
or 3 inches long, and somewhat square at the point.

Preparatory to cutting, the foundation must be carefully
and evenly placed on the board. Take several sheets and even
them up true and nice, and lay the pile with one end tight
against the end-stop and one side against the side-stops. Now
lay a similar pile close beside it. Beginning at the right-hand
end, place your rule against the left-hand side of the nails, and
with a quick stroke make a cut with the knife held flat against
the rule. If you don’t look out you'll hold the rule so that you'll
cut a piece off the tip of the thumb or fingers of the left hand,
but you'll not be likely to do it many times. If you are not
careful to hold the knife flat against the rule you will be likely

140 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

to eut into it. To avoid this J have tried covering the rule with
tin, but do not like it so well. The rapidity of the stroke is
important. If your knife is hot enough you can cut clear down
through at one stroke, but that’s bad. The edges of the founda-
tion will be melted together, and you will have trouble getting
them apart. Turn down your lamp, and get it so three or four
strokes will be needed.

Fig. 46—Sweet Clover.

Latterly I have given up heating the knife, and like it
better. The small blade of a pocket-knife is used, and it is kept
very sharp, especially at the point. Three rapid strokes do the
business. The rapidity of the strokes is important, but some
practice is needed, for with the very quick stroke there is some
danger that the knife will eut into the stick. If the wax is
warm enough two strokes will do.

Although this plan takes more strokes, it still saves time for
there is no heating or changing of knives. It also saves the time

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 141

of pulling the pieces apart, for with the hot knife there will
always be at least a little melting together at the edges. Of
course the cutting must not be done when the foundation is too
cold, or it will be more or less broken.

Cutting foundation in a miter-box with a corrugated bread-
knife was highly commended. I tried it, and was quite pleased
to think it made faster work, although hardly such exact work.
Then I timed it by the watch, and was surprised to find that it
took more time than the old way.

When the boardful is cut I take a super with a bottom in
it, gather up and put into it 48 bottom-starters, also the 48 top-
starters, making these last in a neat pile.

Instead of using a single rule, I have for some time
preferred to have a rule for every cut, making a saving of
{ime. Take seven rules and lay them on the board on the proper
places for cutting. On the ends of the rules, at each side, lay
a thin strip of wood 15 inches long or longer—a one-piece
section without the grooves does nicely—with one end of each
strip tight up against the end-stop. Now nail together in this
position, clinching the nails. You will use this with the other
side up, the rules above, the side-strips below (Fig. 61). Of
course the guide-nails are not needed with this arrangement.
In the picture three of the rules appear all right, but the other
four, which are very close together, look as if they were all one.

The cutting-board rests on a little work-table (Fig. 62),
which is quite convenient for this and other purposes.

The sections being folded and the foundation cut, we are
now ready for putting starters in the sections. This is the work
of Miss Wilson, and she is an expert at it. After trying a
number of foundation-fasteners, I have found nothing with
which I can do better work than with the Daisy fastener.

DIVISION OF LABOR.

I may remark in passing that when I speak of doing things
it does not always mean that I do such things personally, for
it may be that some one else does the work entirely. But when
any new implement is to be used or new plan tried, I first care-
fully study it up and try to learn just how it ought to be used,
and then I instruct the one who is to make a specialty of that

142 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

part of the work, and in a short time the specialist far exceeds
the instructor. Miss Wilson can put in, I think, five starters
to my one; my son Charlie, when a little chap, could distance
me in putting together sections; and I think Philo can beat me
at taking sections out of supers.

PUTTING STARTERS IN SECTIONS.

The Daisy foundation-fastener is so well known that I need
say nothing about the use of the machine itself. As the opera-
tor sits at the machine with a small pile of starters in the lap,
a boardful of sections is at the left hand at a convenient height,
the side of the board toward the operator (Fig. 87). The bot-
tom-starter is put in first, then the top-starter. When the sec-
tion has its two starters, it is put directly into the super. With
a starter as deep as 314 inches it would hardly do to throw the
sections in a basket. Formerly the sections when filled were
placed in order on a board the same as the board from which
they were taken, and it was a separate job afterward to fill them
in the super.

PUTTING SECTIONS IN SUPERS.

By means of an implement of my own devising, which for
wont of a better name may be called a “ super-filler ” (Fig. 63),
the separate job of filling sections in supers is now entirely
dispensed with, and the sections go directly from the Daisy
fastener into the super, taking no more time to be put into the
super than it would take to put them on a board. Indeed, 1
think it takes a little less time, for there is not the same need of
care in placing the sections so other sections will not be knocked
off the board, but the sections are shoved into place in the super
in a sort of automatic way. Then, too, it is a comfort to get
them directly into the super, for while on a board, even for a
short time, there is always danger of some mishap by which a
boardful may tumble over and come to grief.

SUPER-FILLER.

Tl tell you how to make a super-filler. Take a board as
large as the outside dimensions of your super or larger. (The

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 148

one in the picture is a board hive-cover.) Nail a cleat on one
end of the board, and another cleat on one side as in the picture.
These cleats may be 4% by % inch, but the dimensions are not
important. Now put a super on the board, shoving one corner
snug up jn the corner made by the cleats. With a lead-pencil,
mark on the hoard, on the inside of the super, where the sides

Fig. 47—Alfalfa.

of the super come. Put eight sections in the super, four on
each side, with three T tins in their proper places. With a
pencil rule across the board each side of each T tin, so as to
show where the T tins come. Now take off the super and its
contents, and get six strips, each 1114 inches long and 14 inch
square. Nail these on as shown in the picture, so as to keep at

144 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

equal distances from the pencil-mark of the super at each side,
and about a fourth of an inch distant from the marks made for
the T tins. The super-filler is now complete.

It stands at a convenient height at the right-hand side of
the one who operates the Daisy fastener, with the side-cleat at
the further side (Fig. 87). A super is placed on it with one
corner of the super tight against the angle made by the cleats:
but no T tin is yet put in the super. As the sections come from
the fastener they are placed in the super at the end toward the
back of the operator. When the first row of six is completed,
the T tin is shipped under these sections into its proper place.
In hke manner a second row of sections and a T tin; then a
third row and a T tin, and lastly the fourth row. Then, without
rising, the operator lifts this filled super to one side and gets an
empty one.

PUTTING IN SEPARATORS.

Generally these filled supers are not separatored till the
day’s work of fastening foundation is done. Then a small table
is used at which the operator sits. This table is made of three
hive bottom-boards, or boards 21x 14. Stand two of the boards
on end; nail the other board on top; nail light boards on one
side for a back, or brace with two pieces of lath diagonally,
and there’s vow: table (Fig. 62). Being convenient for other
purposes, several of these little tables are on hand. The table
is placed near a pile of supers to be separatored, and the sep-
arators are filled in.

TOP SEPARATORS.

As the sections now stand, there is some space between
them endwise, allowing them to be out of square, and making a
convenient place for the bees to deposit a disagreeable quantity
ot propolis. To remedy this, there is crowded in at the top
between each two rows of sections a little stick 1144 by % by
scant ¥g. Then the follower is wedged in with a super-spring,
and when all are done the supers are carried into the south room
or store-room, and piled up to await the harvest time.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 145

BAIT-SECTIONS.

Bait-sections are put in enough supers so that the first
super put on each hive shall be baited. Generally only one bait-
section is in a super, the bait being in the center, and these
baited supers are piled in the store-room where it will be con-
venient to reach them first.

Fig. 485—Colossal Ladino Clover.

SATISFACTION IN HAVING SUPERS READY,

There is a feeling of real satisfaction in seeing the larger
part of the store-room filled with piles of supers ready to go on
the hives. How many times J have counted them and admired
the nice even piles reaching to the ceiling! Perhaps I should
not appreciate them so much if I had not, years ago, felt the
annoyance of running out of sections or foundation right in the
middle of the honey season, waiting days for it, and the honey
wasting.

146 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

Having spent this much time telling what was done the
previous winter, let us get back to warmer weather.

GIVING ADDITIONAL SUPERS.

Understanding now that each colony has had a super given
to it about ten days after the very first white-clover blossom has
been seen, or sooner, the further history of this super and its
possible successors is a matter that varies so much in different
seasons that it is difficult to tell it straight. By the way, you
may think that I’m always thrilled with the sight of the first
clover blossom. I'm not. Searcely ever a thrill. The colonies
are rarely all of them as strong as I would like for the begin-
ning of the harvest, and that first clover blossom is merely a
warning that the time for building up for the harvest is becom-
ing very short.

UNCERTAINTY OF SEASONS,

As to giving additional super room, it is a thing that may
or not be. That first clover bloom may have so few successors
that there will be no harvest; or bloom may be abundant with
no nectar. So sometimes it happens that after it becomes a
clear ease that the harvest is a failure, the supers are taken off
as innocent of honey as when they were put on. Oftener it
happens that the bait-section in each super is filled and sealed
and not a cell drawn out in the other sections. From that up,
the seasons will vary so that the average number of sections to
each colony will be 10, 24, 48, and up to 150 or more, although
these latter seasons do not come with any alarming degrees of
frequency.

If one could knéw in advance just what the season was
going to be, one could tell a good deal better what to do in the
way of giving additional super room. One may give so mucli
room that there will be an undue proportion of unfinished sec-
tions at the final taking off, or one may leave the bees so crowd-
ed for room as to lose part of the crop. J am not likely to make
the latter mistake, which I consider a good deal worse than to
have too many unfinished sections.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 147

GUESSING ABOUT MORE SUPER ROOM.

On the whole, there is a mixture of judgment and guess-
work as to putting on any super after the first. Perhaps the
nearest to a general rule in the matter is to give a second super
when the first is half filled. If, however, honey seems to be
coming in slowly, or if the colony is not strong, and the bees
seem to have plenty of room in the super, no second super is
given, although the one already there may be' nearly filled with
honey. On the other hand, if honey seems to be coming with
a rush, and the bees seem crowded for room, a second super may
be given although there is very little honey in the first. These
same conditions continued, a third super may be given when the
second is only fairly started and the first not half full, and
before the first super is ready to take off there may be four or
five supers on the hive. :

RISKING IN. GOOD SEASON.

In the year 1897—a remarkably prosperous year—there
were on the hives in the Wilson apiary an average of four
supers to ‘each colony, some colonies with less than four and
some with more, before a single super was filled. As I would le
at night thinking it over, I would say to myself, “ What if there
should come one of those sudden stops to the flow that some-
times occur, and you should be caught with those tons of honey
with seareely any sections finished in the lot? Wouldn’t you
wish you had gone a little slower, and had the bees finish up
what they had, rather than coax them to spread over more
territory?’ And then the cold chills would run up and down
my back. But the sudden stop didn’t come, and the crop was
finished in good style. The supers were all well filled with bees,
and although I took some chances as to unfinished work, I feel
pretty sure that if I had allowed less room it would have been
at a loss. But that was a very exceptional case.

Usually, in a fair season, when the harvest is in full blast
and fairly along, there will be 3, 4, or more supers upon each
hive, at one time, and in an extra season there may be a few
hives having seven, or even eight, supers each. That does not
mean, by any means, that all of them will be finished, for very

148 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

likely the last super given will have very little honey in it when
the harvest is over. But it will not do to let the bees be crowded
for room, and if all the sections on the hive are about full, if
the harvest has not entirely closed an empty super must be
given, in case they night need it.

Fig. 49—Linden or Basswood Blossoms.

SUPERS POR OULT-APIARIES,

If there is guessing about the number of supers to put on
in the home apiary, there is still more guessing as to the number
to be taken when starting to an out-apiary. If I take a smaller
number than needed, I may have to take a special trip for more.
If I take more than are needed, I will hardly want to take them
back home with me, and they are put in piles and covered up in

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 149

the hope that they may be used the uext time. But there is some
danger of their being affected by rain when piled up at the out-
apiary, so there is trouble either way. On the whole it is better
to take too many than too few, and so there are generally some
extra ones at the out-apiaries.

To take supers to the out-apiaries, they are piled up on the
wagon in five piles, a lath is nailed from top to bottom on each
pile, and they are braced on top with lath (Fig. 64). Fifty
empty supers can be taken at a load, but it is not often that as
many as forty filled supers are taken at a load.

ADDING SUPERS UNDER OR OVER.

As the harvest advances I am more chary about giving
room, and it is given only when the sections already on are
pretty well filled. Suppose toward the last of the season I come
to a colony that has its sections nearly all filled. There is a
possibility that the bees may be able to finish up what they have
and a few more in an additional super, but the great probability
is that they will do no more than to finish what they have. Al-
though that probability may amount to almost a certainty, I do
not act upon it, but go for the possibility and give the extra
super. But I put it on top of the others, so that the bees will
not commence work in it unless actually crowded into it.

During the early part of the harvest, so long as there is a
reasonable expectation that each additional super will be need-
ed, the empty super is put under the others, next to the brood-
chamber. Work will commence in it more promptly than when
an empty super is placed on top, and that greater promptness
in oceupying the new super may be the straw to turn the scale
on the side of keeping down the desire for swarming. But
when a super is put on toward the close of the season, not
because it seems really needed, but as a sort of safety-valve in
case it might be needed, I do not wish to do any thing to coax
the bees into it, so it is put on top, and the bees can do as they
please about entering it. It is true that if an empty super is
put under the others at a time when the harvest is nearing its
close, the bees may not do a thing in it, but merely go up and
down through it and keep to work in the super above. But it

150 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

is not so well to have them working so far from the brood-nest
with empty space beneath.
No bait-seetion is needed in any super after the first.

EMPTY SUPERS ON TOP.

Latterly I have fallen into the practice of giving an empty
super on top, even when an empty super is put under. This for
more than one reason. It sometimes happeus that the upper
starter of foundation is not securely fastened the entire length

Pig. 50—Row of Lindens in Bloom.

Tf fastened half way across the tup-bar of the section, if will
look all right, but if put under other supers, next to the hrood-
chamber, a heavy weight of bees coming upon it suddenly will
drag dow the foundation at one side. If put on top, the bees
will enter the super only gradually, and the foundation will be
fasieued in place before any great weight of bees comes upon it.
This empty super on top gives a less crowded feeling, and may
help a little toward preventing swarming. No matter how full
or emply the lower super may be, this top super serves as a sort
ol safely-valve, in case any need for more room should arise.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 151

The next time there is need to give a super below, this top super
is moved down and another empty super put in its place. When
the top super is put down, I think the bees start work on if
just a bit sooner than if it had not been above.

SWARMING NOT DESIRABLE.

If I were to meet a man perfect in the entire science and
art of beekeeping, and were allowed from him an answer to just
one question, I would ask for the best and easiest way to pre-
vent swarming, for one who is anxious to secure the largest
crop of comb honey. There are localities where a large crop
of honey is secured in the fall, and in such place, or in any
place where the honey-flow is long enough, a larger crop may
be secured by increase, but I am not so stire about that. Ifa
man in such a place start in the spring with 75 colonies, he may
get a larger crop by increasing early enough to 150, supposing
150 colonies to be the largest number his field will bear; but
would he not have a still larger crop if he had 150 all through
the season and made no increase? However that may be, in my
loeality, which beekeepers generally would consider a poor one,
where white clover is the chief if not the only source from
which a crop may be expected, and where the harvest is all too
short, if, indeed, it comes at all—in such a place I am satisfied
that more honey can be harvested by commencing in the spring
with the largest number the field will bear and holding at that
number, always provided that the means taken to keep down
inerease shall in no wise interfere with the best work on the
part of the bees.

If I were working for extracted honey, I suppose the
matter might be managed, to a great extent, if not to the fullest
extent, by simply giving abundance of room in every direction;
but with comb honey, I do not believe that an abundance of
room in the brood-nest is compatible with the largest yield of
surplus.

Or, if I were working for extracted honey, I might at the
beginning of the harvest put all the brood over an excluder in
an upper story, leaving the queen on empty frames below, but
that would hardly work for comb-honey production.

152 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

MANAGEMENT OF SWARMING COLONIES.

From my first using movable frames, ] think | have kept
my queens’ wings clipped, so my experience in having natural
swarms with flying queens has been very limited. But my
experience in having swarms issue where and when 1 did not
want them, has been very large. Only extreme modesty and
humility prevenis my being very proud of so large an experi-
ence. If I should ever reach that point where J shall be equally
successful in preventing swarms, | make no promise to be either
modest or humble.

So long as success in prevention of swarms has not been
reached, it remains an important matter to know the best thing
{o do when swarms do issue. Under ordinary circumstances
some one must be on hand to wateh for swarms. For several
years I have had no watching for swarms, and have had no
swarms except those which swarmed in spite of my efforts io
prevent them. Yet if I had only the one apiary, it is just
possible that I might allow swarming, at least so far as to allow
the bees to swarm and then return to their old hives. At any
rate there are a great many so situated as to allow their bees to
vo thus far in swarming, and I feel pretiy sure that for them
there may be some interest in knowing what | did when swarms
did issue, so I will give an account of my management when 1
formerly allowed the bees to swarm.

WATCTIING FOR SWARMS.

With as many as 100 colonies in an apiary, the one who is
on watel cau hardly be allowed to do any thing else. The
regular noise is so great among so many that the added noise of a
swarm is hardly noticed; so sight, not hearing, must be depended
on. I have gone on with my regular work and taken a look once
in five or ten minutes along the rows to see if any swarms were
out, but il is not a very satisfactory way of doing. A bright
boy or girl can walceh very well, if faithful. Tis not necessary,
of course, fo watch all day; and the weather has inueh to do
with the hours at which swarms may be expected. On a hol
morning a swarm may issue as early as 6 o’elock; brit this is
exceptional, and if the weather has been cloudy through the day,

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 153

clearing off bright and warm in the after part, a swarm may
issue after 4 o’clock. Ordinarily, however, it is not necessary
to be on the lookout before 8 4. M., or much after 2P.m. I had
a sworm issue once in a shower, but that is so unlikely to oeeur
that I would not think it worth while to keep any watch at such
a time.

Fig. 51—Catnip.

The watcher will soon learn the points of advantage from
which he can easily command a view of the whole apiary, not
needing to stir from his seat unless a swarm issues. Sometimes,
however, there is so much playing going on among the bees, that
there is no alternative but to travel about and take a close look
at each colony that shows unusual excitement. It is an advan-
tage at this time to have the hives in long rows. I have 30 or

154 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

40 hives in a row. At the middle is a shady place to sit. A
clock or wateh lies in open sight so that a look at every hive
may be taken once in five minutes. If there is no time-piece to
go by, the watcher may become interested in something else, and
think the five minutes not up when double that time has passed;
but having the time measured out, he is free to read or do any
thing else between times. At each five minutes, the watcher,
who is sitting at the middle of the middle row, rises, glances
along the back row to the north end; then along the middle row
to the north end; then, stepping forward, glances along the
front row to the north end; then along the same row to the
south end; then to the south end of the middle row; and lastly
to the south end of the back row. All this has taken less time
than it takes to write it, and the watcher is ready to sit down
till another five minutes is up.

If, however, unusual commotion is seen—and, sighting
along the rows in this way, it can easily be seen—the watcher
goes to the hive for a closer look. Up to the middle of the day
or later, there is not often much excitement, unless there be a
swarm; but after this time so many colonies take their play-
spells that the watcher needs to spend most of his time on his
feet.

ONE-CENT CAGES,

The watcher is provided with a number of queen-cages.
These are easily made and the material costs less than a cent
apiece. I take a pine block, 5x 1x %-inch, and wrap around it
a piece of wire cloth 4 inches square. The wire cloth is allowed
to project at one end of the block a half-inch. The four sides
of this projecting end are bent down upon the end of the stick
and hammered down tight into place. A piece of fine wire
about 10 inches long is wrapped around the wire cloth, about
an inch from the open end, which will be about the middle of
the stick, and the ends of the wire twisted together. I then
pull out the block, trim off the corners of the end a little so that
it will easily enter the cage, slide the stick in and out of the
cage a number of times so that it will work easily, and the
thing is complete (Fig. 65). When not in use, the block is
pushed clear in, so as to preserve the shape of the cage. Such

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 155
cages can be carried in the pocket without danger of being
injured.

FINDING QUEEN OF SWARM.

When the watcher finds a swarm issuing, he is pretty dull
if he does not become interested in looking for the queen. I do

Fig. 52—Vase of Goldenrod.

not know of any sure way to find the queen, but she is not often
missed. I think I ean find her most easily by watching on the
ground in front of the entrance. Very frequently she comes
out at the back end of the hive or at the side, when the hive is
raised on blocks. Rarely she may be found at some distance
from the hive, on the ground, with a group of bees about her.
Tf not found, she is most likely in the hive, and the swarm may

156 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

re-issue in a day or two. She may be lost, but at this particu-
lar time her loss is not so very great. There is no danger of
ihe swarm being lost; it will return to the hive in a few minutes,
although I have known them to cluster for half an hour or more
before returning. It may happen, sometimes, that a swarm
may go into a hive whose colony has swarmed a little while
before, and where it is always peacefully received. I do not
like this doubling up, but I do not know that I lose any thing
by it, for the bees can store up just as much in one hive as
another.

When the watcher finds the queen, she is caged. Either the
cage is held down for her to run into, or she is caught and then
caged. After the queen is in the cage, the block is pushed in
an inch or so, and the cage put where the bees can take care of
it. Usually it is thrust into the entrance, close up against the
bottom-bars, so that if a cool night should come there will be
no danger that the bees will desert it.

The watcher keeps a little memorandum hook, and puts
down in it the number of the colony that swarmed; for it might
make bad work if it should be forgotten and neglected until the
emergence of a young queen to lead out an abseonding swarm.

DOOLITTLE’S PLAN.

Some years ago Mr. G. M. Doolittle gave a plan for man-
agement of swarming colonies when no increase was desired.
J do not think that he uses it now. I do not know that T shall
ever use it again, and yet it was valuable tu me, and for some
circumstances nothing may be better. The plan, in brief, was
this: The queen being caved and left in the hive, all queen-cells
are cut out in five days from the time the swarm issued, and
five davs later all queen-cells ave again cut out and the queen sei
at liberty.

I used this one season with great satisfaction, and J do not
remember that any colony thus treated swarmed again.

VARYING DOOLITTLE’S PLAN.

The next season I varied the plan. Instead of leaving the
queen with the colony to remain idle for ten days, I took her

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 157

away and gave her to a nucleus, a new colony, or wherever a
queen was needed. At the end of the ten days I returned her
to the colony, placing her directly upon a comb taken from the
middle of the broodnest. Often, however, I gave them a differ-
ent queen, for after an absence of ten days I doubt if they
could tell their own queen from any other. Besides, they were
in a condition to take any queen without grumbling.

After the first year, however, I had some colonies swarm
again after the queen was given them. Whether it was the
season, the change in the plan, or some other cause, I am unable
to say.

PUT-UP PLAN.

I then adopted a plan which relieved me of the necessity
of hunting for and eutting out queen-cells. No matter how
careful I might be, there was always a possibility that I might
overlook a queen-cell, although this very rarely happened, if
ever. But it took a great deal of valuable time. I give here-
with the plan, which I think an improvement:

When a swarm issues and returns, it is ready for treatment
immediately; although usually it is put down in my memoran-
dum of work to be done, and the time set for it may be the next
day or any time within five days, just as suits my convenience.
The queen is caged at the time of swarming, and left in the care
of the bees, as already mentioned.

Within the five days, I take off the super, and put most of
the brood-combs into an empty hive. Indeed, I may take all
the brood-combs, for I want in this hive all the combs the colony
should have. In the hive left on the stand, I leave or put from
one to three frames, generally two. These combs must be sure
to have no queen-cells, and may be most safely taken from a
young or weak colony having no inclination to swarm. The
two combs are put in one side of the hive, two or three dum-
mies placed beside them, and the rest of the hive left vacant.

The question may be asked, “ Will not the bees build comb
in this vacant part of the hive?’ No; at least they do not for
me. Queenless colonies are little given to eomb-building, and
not at all inclined to make a fresh start in a new place.

158 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

If I did not do so at the time of taking out the frames, I
now shake the bees off from about half the frames, not being
particular to shake them off clean. These bees are of course
shaken off into the hive on the stand. The supers are now put
on this hive with its two or three frames of brood, the cover is
put over the supers, and the “ put-up” hive filled with brood
is placed over all.

Please understand that there is no communication whatever
between the lower and the upper hive, each hive having its own
cover and bottom-board.

GETTING THE BEES TO DESTROY THE QUEEN-CELLS.

A plenty of bees will be left to care for the brood, the
queen will commence laying, all thought of swarming is given
up, and every queen-cell torn down by the bees. In perhaps two
days I take a peep to see if the queen is laying, for it sometimes
happens that at the time when I “ put up the queen” (as I call
the operation I have just described), there is already a young
queen just hatched, and then the old queen is pretty sure to be
destroyed. In this latter case I may remove the young queen
and give them a laying one, or I may let the young queen
remain.

PUTTING DOWN THE QUEEN.

In ten days from the time the swarm issued—sometimes
ten days from the time I “ put up the queen ”—I put down the
queen. If hy chance a young queen is in the upper hive, I do
not like to put her down until she commences laying and her
wing is clipped, for fear of her taking out a swarm. It seems
a foolish operation for them to swarm when there is nothing in
the hive from which a queen can be reared, but I have had it
happen. The operation of putting down is very simple. I lift
the hive off the top, place it on the ground, remove the supers,
take the hive off the stand, place it on one side, put the hive
containing the queen on the stand, and replace the supers.

You will see that this leaves the queen full chance to lay
from the minute she is uncaged, and at the time of putting
down there will be as much brood as if the queen had remained

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 159

in her usual place. Most of the bees, of course, adhered to the
lower hive when the queen was put up, but by the time she is
put down quite a force has hatched out, and these have marked
the upper hive as their location. Wpon this being taken away,
the bees as they return from the field will settle upon the cover,
where their hive was, and form a cluster there; finally an

Fig. 53—Two Asters.

explorer will crawl down to the entrance of the hive below, and
a line of march in that direction will be established immediately.
In a day or two they will go straight to the proper entrance.

GOOD CHANCE FOR NUCLEI.

We left, standing on the ground, the hive with its two
combs, which had been taken from the stand. These two combs,

160 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

when the queen was put up, probably had a good quantity of
eges, and brood in all stages. They now contain none but sealed
brood, some queen-cells and a pretty heavy supply of pollen.
Or, it may be that eggs from a choice queen were given, and the
queen-cells are to be saved. A goodly number of bees adhere to
the two combs and I know of no nicer way to start a new colony
than simply to place the hive in a new location. Or, the bees
may be shaken off at the old stand and the combs given to a
nucleus which needs them.

I may remark in passing, that these queenless colonies will
produce queen-cells not excelled by those of a swarming colony,
and not surpassed in excellence by those produced by any of the
best plans used by queen-breeders. In short, I do not believe it
is possible to have better. It must be remembered, however,
that all of them are not of equal excellence. For the bees will
continue to start cells for several days, and the last ones started
will be from larve too old to make good queens. You may be
able to distinguish these cells by their poorer look, or, if you
give the bees several cells, among them at least one or two of the
finest looking, they will make no mistake in making the proper
selection.

WORKING OF QUEENLESS BEES.

It may be objected that this keeping bees queenless for ten
days makes them work with less vigor. I am not sure but it
ought, but I must confess I have had no stroug proof of it come
directly under my own observation. So far as I could tell, these
bees seemed to work just as hard when their queen was taken
away as before. In the spring of 1885 one colony was, by some
means, left entirely away from the proper rows—some three
rods from any other colony. I took it away, put it in proper
line, and left to cateh the returning stragglers a hive containing
one comb, this comb having no brood and very little if any
honey. This colony having been a very weak one, very few bees
returned to the old spot, but these few surprised me by filling a
good stock of honey in empty comb, before they were put with
the rest of the colony.

Swarms treated on this “ putting up” plan often swarmed
again, but if they did they were put up again. An objection to

oe

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 161

the plan was that these “ putups ” were in the way and had to
be lifted down when any thing was done with supers. Still, for
any one who allows the bees to swarm, and who does not object
to the lifting, the plan is a good one.

VARYING THE PLAN,

To avoid the heavy lifting, there has been a tendency
toward a variation, by way of putting up only two or three
frames of brood with the queen. (Indeed the number of frames

Fig. 54—Three Asters.

put up may be anywhere from two to the whole number.) If
only two frames are put up, the lifting is light, but there is
more work in killing the cells in the lower hive, both at the time
of putting up the queen, and at the time of putting down.
Putting up the larger number of frames has the advantage that
the queen has the chance to lay without hindrance, keeping up

162 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

the full strength of the colony. On the other hand, when only
two frames are put up I think the colony is more likely to
continue the rest of the season without swarming.

GIVING NUCLEUS TO SWARM.

A plan that has seemed to be as satisfactory as any other,
although it is not always convenient to use it, is upon the issuing
of a swarm to pick up the queen so as to have her out of the
way, remove the old hive from the stand and place on the stand
a nucleus in a regular hive. The supers are put upon this
hive, and the swarm is left to return at its leisure. This takes
little time and trouble, and there is no danger of further
swarming. I have seen it stated that when the swarm returns
the queen of the nuclers may be killed, but that does not occur
“in this locality.”

PREVENTION OF sWARMING.

I don’t quite like that heading. It may be understood to
mean that 1 am entirely successful in profitably preventing
swarming, and I am not certain that I have yet attained to that.
I say profitably preventing it, for there might be such a thing
as preventing it in a way that would hardly pay. If a colony
disposed to swarm should be blown up with dynamite, it would
probably not swarm again, but its usefulness as a honey-gather-
ing institution would be somewhat impaired. Swarming might
also be prevetted by means of such character as to involve an
amount of trouble that would make it unprofitable; or it might
be prevented in such a way as to have a very unprofitable effect
upon the honeyerop. The thing I am after is profitable preven-
tion.

NO DELIGHT IN SWARMS.

I have read of the great delight felt by the beekeeper at the
sight of an issuing swarm, the bees whirling and swirling in
delirious joy, but such things do not appeal to me. I do not
like swarming. I never did. I don’t think I ever shall. In my
many years of beekeeping experience, I think I never looked

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 163

upon the issuing of a swarm with feelings other than those akin
to pain, unless it might be the first swarm I ever had.

BAD MANNERS OF SWARMS.

I am not an expert at hiving swarms. They don’t act nicely
for me. After I have climbed a tree with laborious pains and
shaken down a swarm with a hive under it at just the right
place, the swarm instead of entering in a well-mannered sort of
style will just as like as not keep flying back every time it is
shaken down, unless it should take it into its head to give me
more exercise by taking another tree. I got a Manum swarm-
catcher, but I do not remember that I ever used it with success.
One day when I was trying to use it, J. T. Calvert, the energetic
business man of The A. I. Root Co., was here. He helped me.
He made a catcher of his hands and put the bees in the catcher
by main strength. , But they wouldn’t stay “ catched,” and they
didn’t. So I don’t like swarming, even if I didn’t think it inter-
fered with the honey crop.

WHY DO BEES SWARM?

Upon no other subject connected with beekeeping have J
studied so much, tried so many plans, or made so many failures,
as with regard to prevention of swarming. If I knew all about
just what makes a colony swarm, I would be in better shape to
use preventive measures; but I don’t know all about it. Of
course I know that want of room and want of ventilation may
hasten swarming, and possibly some other things of that kind;
but after all there is a good deal of mystery about the whole
affair.

VENTILATION AND ROOM.

I think it is of some use to take pains to see that the bees
are never cramped for room. I believe that raising the hive on
blocks 34 of an inch or more is a good thing. It is also a good
thing to rear queens from stock that has shown little inclination
to swarming. Indeed, with room enough and ventilation enough
it is possible that bees would never swarm. Some one will say
to me that bees may swarm with a hogshead of room. Yes, but

164 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

the combs may be in such condition that the queen will be
cramped for room, even in a hogshead.

NON-SWARMING PILES.

For a good many years I have been in the habit of having
in each apiary one or more colonies whose hives were kept as a

Fig. 55—Heartsease.

sort of storehouse where extra frames of brood or honey could
be put, to be drawn from as occasion required, but often there
has been no drawing, and these “ piles” have grown to be four
or five stories high with an immense force of bees. I never
knew one of them to swarm. But the ventilation was as im-
mense as the force of bees, for each story had an entrance of

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 165

good size, and perhaps the superabundanee of ventilation was
the secret of their not swarming.

YOUNG QUEENS AND SWARMING.

It was said that colonies with queens of the current year’s
rearing would not swarm, and one year I supplied all the colo-
onies of one apiary with voung queens about the beginning of
the honey harvest. It didn’t work.

Once when a colony swarmed, and returned to its hive, I
removed its queen and gave it a queen that I think had not been
laying more than two or three days. Within three days that
queen came out with the swarm. It seems the condition of the
colony has more to do with the ease than the condition of the
queen. C.J. H. Gravenhorst, late editor of Deutsche Illustrierte
Bienenzeitung, gives what I think is the truth about young
queens and swarming: A given colony will not swarm with a
queen of this year if the queen was reared in this colony; if
reared elsewhere it may swarm. Why that difference he did
not know. But some have claimed exceptions to this rule.

TAKING TWO FRAMES OF BROOD WEEKLY.

One season I kept eight brood-combs in the hive, and every
week or ten days took out two of the central combs, replacing
them with foundation or empty combs. This was to give the
queen so much room that there should be no desire to swarm.
It was successful in most cases, but there were too many excep-
tions to make the plan reliable.

TAKING AWAY ALL BROOD,

Afterward I carried the same thing to its extreme limit in
a good many cases, taking away all the brood. One frame of
brood, however, was left for two or three days, perhaps a week,
for fear the bees would be discouraged and desert an entirely
empty hive. This one frame of brood was then taken away
because it was the common thing for the bees to start queen-
cells on it. Yet it is just possible that no swarming would have
taken place, in spite of the queen-cells,

166 VIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

FORCED SWARMING.

This plan has come into great prominence lately under the
name of forced, shaken, or brushed swarms. Gravenhorst, the
great German authority, practiced and advocated it in the seven-
ties of the last century. L. Stachelhausen was earnest in his
advocacy of the plan in this country, and E. R. Root, editor of
Gleanings in Bee Culture, took it up with great enthusiasm.
Probably a good many had done more or less at it independent-
ly, for it would naturally suggest itself that taking away all the
brood would leave a colony in much the same condition as if
they had swarmed; and in actual practice most of those who
had tried the plan have found bees no more inclined to swarm
after it than after natural swarming.

FORCED VERSUS NATURAL SWARMING.

Many have found the plan a material advance ovér natural
swarming. One very great advantage is sufficient to eommend
it; the beekeeper is master of the situation, and is not dependent
upon the whims of the bees as to when they shall swarm—an
inestimable boon to those who have out-apiaries, and indeed to
any one who does not wish the trouble of watching for swarms.

STRONGER FORCE IN FORCED SWARMING.

It also gives the beekeeper control over the number of bees
that shall remain with the swarm. In natural swarming there
may be too few bees go with the swarm for best results in
storing, while there may still be not enough for any hope of
good work in the parent colony, with a possibility of this latter
foree being still furiher divided by after-swarms. In the case
of a forced swarm, all the bees may be allowed to remain on the
old stand except merely enough to care for the brood which is
taken away. This brood may then be put on a new stand, and
with the addition of a queen or a queen-cell allowed to start out
on its career as an independent colony.

SHAKING OFF ALL BEES.

Or the forced swarm may be made still stronger by giving
it all the bees, and distributing the brood to nuclei, weak colo-

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 167

nies, or wherever it will do most good. Jn no ease, however,
would it be a prudent thing in this locality to follow the recom-
mendation of some, by putting the brood on a new stand with-
out any bees, trusting to the warmth of the weather to hatch out
young bees fast enough to care for the brood. If such a colony
—if you ean call it a colony—should not fall a prey to the rob-
bers, there would in most cases be a serious loss of brood from
starvation and chilling.

_

Fig. 56—Queen-excluder.

NO FORCED SWARMING TILL QUEEN-CELLS STARTED.

In no ease did I practice this foreed swarming till I found
by the presence of queen-cells that the bees were thinking of
swarming. There would be less labor in the long run (suppos-
ing that all were to be swarmed sooner or later), to do up the
whole business at a suitable time, without waiting for the bees
to take the initiative. Indeed, conditions may be such in some
loealities that there might be a loss to wait for queen-cells.

But the harvests here are such that it is usually better to
have swarming delayed. Moreover, a good many of my colo-
nies, if let alone, will go throtgh the entire season without

168 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

attempting to swarm, and such colonies are the very ones that
give the best yields, and forced swarming would be practiced
upon them only at a loss.

DISADVANTAGE OF FORCED SWARMING.

With all the advantage forced swarming has over natural
swarming, it still leaves something to be desired. As already
said, those colonies which hold their force intact throughout the
entire season are the ones that give the best results. It is true
that in forced swarming the entire force of bees may be left on
the old stand, but there are thousands of prospective bees in the
brood taken away. If you take away that brood to-day, you
are taking away the bees of tomorrow, and of twenty more days
to come.

“But the bees that emerge to-morrow do not emerge as
field-bees, and will not be field-bees till they are sixteen days
old. If the harvest closes in sixteen days the additional force
will only be a lot of useless consumers.” While the first part of
your statement may be true enough, I cannot say as much for
the seeond.

BEES DO THE WORK MOST NEEDED.

While the bees that emerge to-morrow may do no field-work
for sixteen days, they begin housework at a very tender age—
housework that would have to be continued by older bees if
this brood were taken away. As fast as one of these young
bees is ready to begin housework, it takes the place of an older
bee, which can now go afield. I know that, as a general rule,
the different departments of work are done by bees of certain
ages, but I also know that bees accommodate themselves to
circumstances. I have seen bees at five days old carrying in
pollen because there were no older bees in the hive to perform
that duty, and we all know that in early spring nursing and
housework are done by bees several months old.

So it is reasonable to believe that at least to a certain extent
the necessities of the case rather than the matter of absolute age
decides what duties a bee shall perform; and the logical con-
clusion from that is that the larger force of bees we have in a

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 169

hive the more storing we shall have even if a good many of the
bees be quite young.

Without, perhaps, giving any satisfactory reason for it, I
am also quite of the opinion that better work is generally done
when bees are allowed to go right along rearing brood at their
own sweet will; for toward the close of the harvest they, of their
own accord, curtail work in that direction.

Fig. 57—Folding Sections.

NON-SWARMING PREFERRED TO FORCED.

While I yield to no one in my appreciation of the advan-
tages of forced swarming over natural swarming, I believe that
the advantages of no swarming whatever over forced swarming
are as great as the advantages of forced over natural swarming.

So you will hardly blame me if instead of resting content
with forced swarming I continue to pursue that will-o’-the-wisp
—in the opinion of many—non-swarming.

KEEPING COLONIES QUEENLESS,

The next season after practicing the removal of two frames
of brood, I settled upon a plan which I felt pretty sure would

170 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

prevent the possibility of swarming. It was a no less radical
measure than to keep the colony queenless. J reasoned that as
I had never had a queen hatched inside of eleven days from the
time the queen was taken away, or from the time the bees
started queen-cells, the colony was safe from swarming if once
in ten days I took away their brood and gave them fresh; also,
that it was only bees over two weeks old that worked in the
field; add to this the three weeks that it took from the egg to Lhe
full-fledged worker, and it was five weeks or more from the
time the egg was laid till the bee became a gatherer. Clearly,
then, only such bees as came from eggs laid five weeks or more
before the close of the honey harvest were available as gatherers.
Why not have the colony queenless during this five weeks? So
I took away the queen, leaving in the hive three combs, one of
which contained eggs and brood in all stages, the other two
containing nothing from which queen-cells could be started.

Once in ten days the comb of young brood with its queen-
cells was taken away and a fresh one given them, and at the
close of the five weeks, which was about the close of the harvest.
the queen was returned.

NOT A SUCCESS,

As a preventive of swarming, it was a complete success.
Not one colony thus treated swarmed; how could it? As a
means of securing a large crop, I think it was an egregious
failure; although I can hardly tell with great definiteness, the
season itself being a failure. Possibly the absence of the queen
itself had something to do with lessening their stores, but I
doubt it. But when all combs of brood but one were taken
away, a large force of prospective bees were taken away that
would have hatched out in the next twenty-one days.

Tf I had allowed four or five frames of brood, changing
every ten days, the result might have been quite different.
Moreover, the one frame they did have was, for the most part,
filled with brood so young, that little or none of it hatched while
in the hive. If I should try any thing in the same line again,
T should keep four or five frames in the hive, and this should
be mainly brood well advanced so that much of it would hatch
out to replenish the wasling numbers.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 171

KEEPING QUEENS CAGED,

Success was reported by others with tle plan of keeping
queens caged in the hive during part or the whule of the har-
vest, and although I tried it. on a large scale there was no case
of suecess with me.

FASTENING YOUNG QUEENS IN.

The good old-fashioned way of managing after-swarms was
to return them as fast as they came out. This gave the young

Fig. 58—Movable Shade.

queens a chance to fight it out till only one was left, and when
only one was left there would be no more swarming. So I
planned to let the young queens fight it out without the trouble
of returning swarms. I put a queen-excluder between the bot-
tom-board and hive, so that no queen could get out. As no
queen could get out no swarm could leave. When the young
queens emerged they could settle their little differences to suit
themselves till only one queen was left. I would keep track of
what was going on inside the hives sufficiently to take away the
excluder after all but one queen had been put out of the way,

172 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

so the young queen could go out on her wedding-trip. The
thing was so certain to work that I spent $37.50 for queen-
excluders to put the plan in practice.

SWARMING GALORE.

In due time when queen-cells were sealed the swarms began
to issue. Then they returned. Then they came out next day.
Then they returned again. After doing more or less of this, the
time came when the young queens began to emerge. Business
became lively. Swarming once a day did not always satisfy
them. The number of issues in a day became such that several
awarms would be out at a time, and they were not at all partic-
ular to keep separate. Neither were they as methodical as
prime swarms about returning to ibeir own hives. Almost any
hive seemed to suit them providing there was a good deal of
noise at the entrance, and when swarming got well under way
for the day there were plenty of hives with noise at the en-
trance. Whether the excluders leaked queens, or whatever may
have been the reason, there were some cases of young queens
being out, and when there was a young queen in a swarm there
was no telling how many swarms would unite with it.

ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR,

After a swarm had been balked in its efforts a number of
times there seemed to be a reckless disregard in a good many
cases as to the propriety of returning when they had had plenty
of time to discover that no young queen had come out with
them, and sometimes they would settle and remain clustered for
half a day, perhaps several swarms in the cluster. Nothing so
very bad about that, if I had only been entirely sure that some
time they would return; but when I stood gazing on a bunch of
bees as big as my body when I’m in best condition, and medi-
tated upon the chance of there being a young queen in the
bunch to incite them to sail off into the ethereal blue—well, it
was not the sort of meditation most conducive to composure of
mind.

Inside of the hive the program as laid down was pretty
generally carried out; at the proper time the excluder was

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 173

removed, and in due time the young queen was laying. The
plan is a good one if one could only induce the bees to refrain
from swarming out until only one young queen is left in the
hive. I could not induce them to do that.

REARING QUEEN IN “ PUT-UP.”

It is not necessary to tell of all the plans that were tried.
One was finally hit upon that proved to be quite satisfactory,
so far as tried. When the presence of well-advanced queen-cells

Fig. 59—Brood of Laying Workers.

showed that a colony was bent on swarming, all but one or two
frames of brood were taken from the hive and put in another
hive that was “ put-up ” on top, of course having no communi-
cation with the bees below. In the old hive below the old queen
was sometimes left, and sometimes the bees were left without any
queen; but in either case care was taken that no queen-cell was
left below, and ten days later search was made for queen-cells
below, or else the brood was exchanged for brood from a colony
where there was no danger of queen-cells, and the old queen
was removed. To the “ put-up ” was given, at the time of put-
ting up, a virgin queen or a ripe queen-cell, and as soon as the

174 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

young queen was laying the old hive was taken away and the
“put-up” live was put down in its place. Thus the whole
foree of the colony was kept together, there was a young queen
of the current year’s rearing, practically reared in the hive, and
that colony was past the anxiety for the season. Some, how-
ever, say that such a queen will swarm with them.

GETTING BEES TO DESTROY CELLS.

I said the brood was put up, but said nothing about the
bees or the queen-cells. No attention was paid to the queen-
cells, and about half the bees were shaken off the combs—
perhaps more than half. Just how many bees to leave in the
““put-up ” hive was not an easy matter to gauge. If too few
there would be chilled brood. If too many the young queen
would leave with a swarm. Of course the latter danger could
be avoided by destroying all queen-cells in the “ put-up,” but
that would make more work, and if theie are few enough bees
all superfluous cells will be destroyed by the bees themselves,
and there will be no danger of swarming.

NUCLEUS TO PREVENT SWARMING.

A modification of the plan sometimes used was to take a
nucleus from somewhere else and put in ihe place of the colony.
But in this case the colony was made queenless two or three
days in advance. Hither plan left the colony without anv
diminution of its forces, and with no very great check to ils
work, and these plans might have been continued if it had not
heen that I struck upon a plan that seemed equally effective
but quite a litile easier. This was at first called the foundation
plan, and afterward the exeluder plan. Before speaking of
this, however, it will be well to speak of the preliminary work,
which is the same for all colonies, whether the after treatment
be on the “put-up ” plan or some other plau

PRELIMINARY WORK.

As soon as colonies become strong and are working busily,
we begin to be on the lookout for queen-eclls. This generally
will not be till the bees are at work on clover bloom, although
it may hapjen in some seasons that preparation for swarming

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 175

begins during the last of fruit-bloom. Of late years dandelion
has become so important that there is a possibility it may start
swarming. Whether it be in apple or clover bloom, we begin
to examine some of the strongest colonies to see if any prepara-
tions for swarming are made. If we find none in the strongest
colonies it is hardly worth while to look through the rest.
When, however, we find one or more queen-eells with an egg in
each, then it is time to begin a systematic canvas of all colonies,
and to keep it up in all so long as we continue to find queen-

Fig. 60—Top and Bottom Starters in Section.

cells in any, except in a case where a colony has already been
treated or has treated itself in such way that it need not be
expected to swarm.

COLONIES THAT DO NOT NEED WATCHING.

In struggling with the swarming problem, there are a few
things that may be relied upon with some degree of certainty.
A swarm that has been hived in an empty hive this season will
not send forth a swarm this year, with rare exceptions. Equally
safe from swarming is a colony whose queen has been removed

176 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

and the colony allowed to rear a new queen, provided only one
queen is allowed to mature. Also a colony kept queenless about
10 days and then given a laying queen of the current year’s
rearing. Colonies that do not come under either of these heads
will need watching until the time comes when bees have given
up starting cells in all colonies.

LOOKING FOR QUEEN-CELLS.

We plan to go through each colony about onee in ten days
to look for queen-cells. I say about once in ten days, for it is
not always possible to be exact. It may happen that one or
two days in succession will be rainy, and then the ten days
become eleven or twelve. Or, it may be that on account of some
interference with our work that we can see in advance, we may
think it best to shorten the ten days to nine or less.

Suppose we go through a certain colony and find no queen-
cell with as much as an egg init. The next time around it may
be in the same condition, and so it may continue throughout the
season. In that case there is nothing to be done with that
colony beyond the examination every ten days but to let it alone
and be thankful. Such cases are not plentiful as I should like.
but I think they are on the increase.

DESTROYING EGGS.

Suppose, however, that upon one of our visits we find one
or more cells containing eggs. We destroy the incipient cells
by mashing them, and in the record-book write after the date,
“keg,” a contraction for the expressive, if not very elegant
entry, “killed eggs.” It is possible that upon the next visit we
may find no more queen-cells started, and that may be the last
of them for the season. So long as we find only eggs, we do
nothing more than to destroy them.

Generally, however, when eggs are found in cells, the next
visit will find cells with grubs well advanced. When large grubs
are found in cells, then the colony must be treated.

As already mentioned, an easier plan than the “ put-up ”
plan was struck upon, and for a time that had a run. It may
be called the excluder plan, and I will now give it as we first
practiced it.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 177

EXCLUDER PLAN OF TREATMENT.

We find and cage the queen, destroy all queen-cells, remove
the hive from its stand, and put in its place a hive containing
three or four frames of foundation. The foundation is on one
side of the hive with a dummy next to it. The rest of the hive
is left vacant. Upon this hive is put a queen-excluder, and over
the exeluder the old hive with its brood and bees, and over this
the supers as before (Fig. 66). Then the queen is run in at

Fig. 61—Cutting Foundation.

the entrance of the lower hive, and the colony is left for a week
or ten days. Ten days is safer.

At the end of the week, or as soon after that time as we
can conveniently reach it we take away the lower story with its
excluder, and put back the queen in the old hive, which is left
on the stand. When we remove the lower story with its three or
four frames that a week before contained foundation, there will
be less advance made in those frames than you would be likely
to suppose. The vacant part will still be vacant, the amount of
honey will be very small, generally only one or two frames will
have been oceupied by the queen, and possibly nothing beyond

178 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

eges will be found. If larve are found, they will be still small,
and not in large quantity. It appears from this that there is
some sulking for a time on the part of the queen, or else that
the bees are rather slow to prepare the foundation for her. It
is possible that this interim without any laying may be an
important part of the treatment. I don’t know.

SOME FAILURES.

At any rate, in the first {wo seasons of using the plan, there
was no case of any colony making any further preparation for
swarming after being thus treated. The third season (1902)
every thing did not work so smoothly, but possibly the treat-
ment was not fairly administered in all cases. Some of the
colonies did not take kindly to the foundation, and in a few
eases it looked as if they might have swarmed out rather than
to use the foundation. In one case they built comb and started
a brood-nest in the vacant part, leaving the foundation un-
touched. But there was some excuse for this as the foundation
was weather-beaten and hard.

WORKING TOWARD NON-SWARMING.

Of couse it is no little work to ev through the colonies
every ten da\s up to the time of treatment, and I think it likely
that it would work all right to treat every colony on the exelud-
er plan, or some other plan, early in the honey-flow, whether
they had grubs in queen-cells or not. But there are some colo-
nies that will go through the whole season with never a grub in
a queen-cell. Possibly one or more cges may be found in queen-
cells at each of several successive visits; possibly eggs may be
found at one visit, and none at succeeding visits. And exactly
these colonies that never start cells, or are willing to be thwarted
in it, are the ones most likely to give record-yields. To inter-
fere with their work, even for a week in a slight degree, is not
desirable. There is also another important reason for allowing
every colony willing to do so to 20 through the whole season
without any preparation for swarming and without any inter-
ference. J am trying all the time to work at least a little
foward a non-swarming strain of bees, and if all colonies were

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 179

treated in advance how would I know which were the non-
swarmers from which to choose my breeding stock? Their care-
ful record must be kept.

EMPTY FRAMES USED.

Some time later a little change was made so as to make the
queen better satisfied with her new quarters. Instead of put-
ting foundation under the exeluder, a brood-frame is put there,
at one side. It is preferably one with very little brood in it, the
object being merely to hold the queen in the hive, but not to

Fia. 02—Litlle Work-table.

encourage her to do much in the way of laying. As a further
discouragement to laying and comb-building no other comb is
put in the hive, nor even the least starter of foundation. Two
or three other frames entirely empty are placed beside the
brood-comb. No dummy is needed. You might expect that the
bees very promptly fill with comb one or more of these empty
frames. They don’t. At the end of. a week or ten days you
may find one frame half filled, with a very little comb in the
second; perhaps only a little comb in the one frame.

As to the rest, of course the proceeding is just the same as
when foundation was used.

180 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

DESTROYING QUEEN-CELLS TO PREVENT SWARMING.

Among the first things a beginner thinks he has learned is
that destroying queen-cells will prevent swarming, and then he
is sorely disappointed to find that he is mistaken about it. But
I must confess that J have a good deal more faith in it than I
formerly had. Not that I would for a minute trust to it as a
sole means to prevent swarming. But I do know that in a good
many cases it is efficient. Perhaps one cause of my change of
view is the change in my bees. Breeding constantly for im-
provement in storing, and at the same time giving preference
to those least inclined to swarm, it is possible that destroying
cells has more effect than it formerly had.

It may be well to give some examples, taking just as they
come in order some colonies that needed no other treatment to
prevent swarming. I take them from the year 1908, one of the
best honey years. The first one I come to had a two-year-old
queen, and June 23 I destroyed a grub in just one queen-cell.
No other queen-cell was started. If that had not been destroyed,
I suppose the colony would have swarmed, and that would have
lessened the number of sections produced, which was 181, be-
sides finishing up some “go-backs.” The next had a three-vear-
old queen, and gave 244 sections. June 23 one egg in a cell was
destroyed, and that was all for the season. The queen was
superseded after August 8. The next had a two-vear-old queen,
and gave 276 sections. I destroyed, June 15, one egg in a
queen-cell, aud June 24 one grub. The next had a queen of the
previous year and gave 100 sections. It never had even an ege
in a queen-cell the whole season. The next had a yearling
queen, and gave 145 sections, besides having taken from it, in
May, three brood with adhering bees. Not an egg in a queen-
cell. The next had a yearling queen, and gave 211 sections. It
had one egg in a queen-cell June 6, also July 27 and August 6.
That may be enough to show that at least in some cases destroy-
ing cells was worth while. Perhaps one colony in three will
behave thus well.

THOROUGH WORK AT KILLING CELLS.

Some have said that if a frame or two were lifted from the
center of the hive and no cells found in them, there was no need

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 181

to look further. No such slipshod work will answer here. Every
comb in the hive must be carefully examined. It may be that
not a cell is found in the hive except upon the very last comb
lifted out. Neither will it do to examine a comb with all its bees
upon it. The bees must be shaken off, so that the cells can be
plainly seen. If at the previous overhauling eggs or cells were
lulled, or if for any other reason it is suspected that the colony
is in danger of swarming, then the queen is found, and the
comb upon which she is found is put into an empty hive stand-
ing near before the bees are shaken off the combs. If any
combs were shaken first, it would make it difficult to find the
queen.

DEQUEENING TREATMENT.

Latterly no one plan of treatment is followed exclusively.
It may be the “ put-up” or the exeluder plan, or it may be
dequeening for about 10 days. This dequeening treatment is
the one most generally used. The queen is removed, the queen-
cells are killed, and in 10 days the queen-cells are again de-
stroyed and their own queen returned, or another queen given.
Sometimes a queenlessness of a week seems to do as well. At
any rate, a queen in a provisioned cage may be given in a week,
for it will be a little time before she is out ready to lay. Possi-
bly, instead of waiting 10 days and giving a laying queen, a
ripe queen-cell or a newly born virgin is given at the time of
removing the old queen. This has the advantage that if there
is any thing like European foul brood in the case, it may be
considered somewhat in the light of a eure. It has the disad-
vantage that my assistant is quite strongly opposed to the idea
of having a virgin in a honey-hive, lest she should take it into
her head to get the colony to swarm out, a thing that may
happen once in a great while in reality, and in the imagination
of my assistant quite frequently.

REPLACING WITH BETTER QUEEN.

On the whole perhaps the most common thing is to replace
the removed queen with a young laying queen taken from a nu-
cleus. This will generally result in replacing the old queen with

182 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

one of better stock, for the young queen will be reared from
best stock. If, however, the old queen be an extra good one, she
will be put into a nucleus when removed, and then returned at
the proper time. Whether the old queen be returned or a new
one given, she is likely to be given with a frame of brood and
adhering bees from the nucleus, so there is no interruption in
laying. If for any reason she is given in an introducing-cage,
the cage is thrust into the entrance of the hive, in such way

Lig. 68—Super-Filler.

that the bees will be sure to take care of it, and where it can
be looked at any time without opening the hive. ] am not sure
but that a queen at the entrance is a little letter received than
elsewhere. Of course there might be a little danger of chilling
in a very cold time.

If the old queen is returned there is a possibility of further
attempts at swarming. But if a young queen be given, «a/ter
ten days of queenlessness, that colony is considered settled for
the season, and no further watch is kept against swarming.

Somewhat curiously, it is the common thing, upon opening
a hive a week after giving the queen, to find one or more queen-
cells started. I don’t know why. Verhaps the bees have been

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 183

frightened because of their spell of queenlessness, and want to
provide against its happening again. At any rate, when these
cells are killed they are not replaced. Possibly the bees would
destroy them themselves after finding that the queen was settled
to work.

Some think it best, when a queen arrives at a certain age,
to replace her with a young queen. It is held by some that a
queen does her best work in her first year, and that no queen
should be allowed to do a second year’s work, because there will
always be a gain by replacing her with a younger queen. Some
of the men that hold such views, and practice accordingly, are
such successful beekeepers that I dare not say they are wrong.
Whether it be a difference in bees, in locality, management, or
what not, I do not believe that such pratice would be best for
me.

I am pretty sure that many of my queens do as good work
in the second as in the first vear, possibly better. But it is not
altogether a question as to whether a queen does as well or
better in ber second vear, comparing it with the first. The
question is rather as to what she will do in her second or third
year as compared with what would be done by the average
young queen that would replace her. However it may be else-
where, the rule with my bees is that a queen which distinguishes
herself by a good crop of honey in her first vear, will keep
above the average as long as she lives. And I can count on the
bees superseding her at the close of harvest whenever she
reaches an age when it would seem profitable for me to replace
her with a younger queen. :

Another thing may be worth considering. It is claimed,
and with some show of reason, that longevity in bees is an
important factor. One colony will be stronger in bees and
brood than another beside it, while the latter will store more
honey. The explanation given is that the bees in the second
colony are longer lived. It may not be unreasonable to suppose
that if one has a strain of bees with queens which live to an
unusual age, that the workers will also live to unusual age. So
it may be the part of wisdom to encourage those queens which
show a disposition to live beyond the usual span.

184 PIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

On these accounts it is my practice to leave the matter of
superseding entirely to the bees in all cases, except where for
some reason other than age it will seem an improvement to
replace with a younger queen. That reason may be that the
workers of a queen are unusually vicious, that they do not seal
their honey white enough, or there may be some other fault,
but generally it will be because they did not store honey enough
the previous year. When, then, the colony of such a queen
shows persistence in the matter of preparation for swarming,
she will be replaced by another as part of the treatment of that
colony. But old age alone will not endanger her life.

An item of'some interest is the fact that when I look
through the colonies in the spring to clip any queen that may
have whole wings, I find very little use for the scissors if the
previous season was very poor, whereas after a big honey-yield
I generally find a good deal of clipping to do. In other words,
there seems to he more superseding at the close of a good than
of a poor year. Has it only happened to come so, or does a
good harvest wear out the queen faster?

THE “ JUMBO” HIVE.

At oue time I had strong hopes that by the use of a large
hive with a large frame I might greatly diminish, if not entirely
suppress, swarming. Others reported success with what was
called the Jumbo hive. At Fig. 67 will be seen one of these
hives. The frame is 24% inches deeper than the regular Lang-
stroth frame, and if you will look at the front of the hive in the
pieture you will zee that it is 24% inches higher than the eight-
frame dovetailed hive by its side. The Jumbo has ten frames,
and the extra depth makes it equivalent to a twelve-frame
Langstroth.

I put bees in two of these hives in the home apiary, and
waited to see what would result the next summer with much
interest. The very first colony to send out a swarm was in one
of these Jumbo hives! I was sorry, but it didn’t make me sick
abed. I had become hardened to failures and disappointments
in following after the will-o’-the-wisp—non-swarming,

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 185

PILES OF STORIES.

The problem of prevention of swarming would be very
much easier if I were running for extracted honey instead of
comb. I am very much of the opinion that I could pile up
stories as in Fig. 68, and not have one colony in a hundred
swarm, the fact that no such pile ever swarmed for me confirm-
ing that opinion; and I have had a few such piles every year
for a number of years.

VENTILATION TO PREVENT SWARMING.

It is not, I think, so much the abundance of room as the
abundance of ventilation that prevents swarming, although the
room is important. Notice the opportunity for ventilation in
that pile in Fig. 68. The entrance, which you cannot see, is 12
inches wide and 2 inches deep. The second story is shoved
forward on the first story so as to make a ventilating space of
half an inch at the back, between the two stories. The third
story is shoved back to make a space in front; and the ventilat-
ing space between the third and fourth stories is at the back.
Lastly the cover is shoved forward to make a space of half an
inch or more. Thus you see there is a fine chance for a free
cireulation of air right through the whole pile. Alas that such
a thing cannot be used for comb honey!

DEMAREE PLAN,

If I were running for extracted honey, 1 could get along
with little or no swarming by following the plan of G. W.
Demaree. When the time comes that there is danger of swarm-
ing, put into a second story all the frames from below except
one containing the least brood, fill up the vacancies with empty
combs or frames of foundation, put a queen-excluder between
the two stories, and leave the queen in the lower story. Then
as the brood hatches out in the second story the combs will be
filled with honey and become extracting-combs.

SHAKEN SWARM WITHOUT INCREASE.

Another plan that I would enjoy trying if I were running
for extracted honey is one variation of forced or shaken swarms.

186 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

It is the simple plan of making a shaken swarm, say from A,
and then piling all the brood from A on another strong colony,
B. European beekeepers tell us that with this accession of
brood B will not swarm. 8S. Simmins, of England, and some
others, give A half the bees from B. A would be all right for

comb honey, but B would not—at least not right away—but it
would be all right for extracted honey.

ACCIDENTAL SWARMS.

The best I can do there will sometimes be what might be
called accidental swarms. Perhaps « strong colony has in some
way lost iis queen in the busy season, and when the first-reared
young queen emerges—if one is allowed to emerge—there will
surely be a swarm issue. (wenerally such a thing will be headed
off before the young queen has a chance to emerge, but once in
a great while she gets ahead of me.

Although there is to me nothing entrancing in the sight of
such a swarm whirling through the air, there is one thing I do
very much enjoy in it—it is the sight of the seething mass
hurrying into the hive when dumped in front of it, as in Fig.
69. You will see that a deep bottom-board has been placed in
front of No. 32, on which the swarm was dumped (it had pre-
viously settled on a low plum tree), and the bees have flowed all
over the sides of the bottom-board, and also over the front of
the live. But I don’t want the distress of seeing them pouring
out of the hive in a swarm for the sake of the pleasure of seeing
them hustle back into the same hive when dumped down in front
of it.

TAKING OFF SECTIONS.

As fast as supers are filled they are taken off. I do not
think I could be bothered to take off each section as fast as
finished, putting in an empty one to take its place. It would
take too much time. Neither do I like to wait till every section
in a super is entirely finished. Unless the bees are crowded
very much, there will be some uneapped cells in the outside
sections which the bees will be very long in sealing. If these
are waited for, the central sections may lose a little of their

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 187

showy whiteness—the thing which, perhaps, helps most to sell
them.

A super is, then, taken off when all but the outside sections
are finished. This can be pretty well told by glancing over the
top of the super, although sometimes the sections may be all
sealed at the upper part and hardly filled below. A look at the
under part of the upraised super will decide it. The sharp,
cireular end of the hive-tool is thrust under the supers to pry
apart the attachment of bee-glue.

Fig. 64—Load of Forty Supers.

Unless care is taken, bees will be killed when a super,
which has just been taken off, is put back again. Sometimes
there may be so few bees in the way that the super can be put
on quickly without danger. Oftener too many bees are in the
way for this, so I put one end on its place, and with a series of
rapid up-and-down motions gradually lower the other end to its
place. This gives the bees time to get out of the way, and there
are seldom any crushed by it.

CLOSE OF CLOVER HARVEST.

Formerly I took off all supers at the close of the white-
clover harvest. Of late there has been a tendency to leave them

188 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

on for the later flow. JI am not sure whether this is wise,
except in the few years in which from some unknown source
some exceptionally white sections were secured at the Hastings
apiary. In other years at the Hastings apiary, and in all years
at the other apiaries, the honey stored during the cucumber
flow is rather dark in color, and is likely to have an unpleasant
appearance on the surface, as if lightly varnished with bee-
glue. But of late years the late honey has been improving, both
in eolor and flavor. I don’t know why. Possibly a greater
proportion of sweet clover may have improved the flavor.
Possibly, also, the increase of heartsease may have something to
do with it. Although I think my bees get no inconsiderable
quantity of honey from cucumbers, I confess J don’t know
what pure cucumber honey tastes like, but I am afraid it does
not rank very high in flavor.

LATE HONEY.

As I said, I am not sure that it is ever wise, except in the
Hastings apiary, to allow supers to stay on after the white-
clover harvest is over. True, a considerable amount of honey
may be got in sections from the late flow, but it is not all of it
of the best, and if it were stored in brood-combs and saved as
extra combs to be crowded into the brood-chamber the next year
before the beginning of the harvest, there might be nearly or
quite as many more sections of white-clover honey stored, to
offset what was lost in sections in the fall.

GETTING BEES OUT OF SECTIONS.

For the purpose of getting bees out of sections I have tried
pretty thoroughly the Porter escape and other escapes which
work on the principle of allowing the bees to go down out of
the supers without the chance of returning, but they do not
work fast enough to suit me. When I go to an out-apiary, I
always want to bring home with me all the honey taken off that
day. Even at home I want it taken in the same day it is taken
off. I may want to go elsewhere the next morning, and I don’t
want to be hindered from an early start by having to get it in
before starting. Besides, I am just a little afraid that if I

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 189

should make a practice of leaving honey out over escapes till
the next day, some one none too scrupulous might learn the
trick and by a night visit save me the trouble of taking off some
of the honey. So whatever honey is taken off any day is got
into the house before we get to bed that night; for sometimes
it happens that when we have a big day’s work at an out-apiary
we do not get home till 8 o’elock or later.

Fig. 65—One-cent Cage.

SMOKING BEES DOWN.

When a super is to be taken off, smoke is blown down into
it until a sufficient number of bees have gone down out of it.
What that sufficient number is depends upon circumstances.
If it is early in the day, and we do not care to take the honey
home till late, there is no need to drive out so many bees. Other
circumstances may also make a difference, and we “ cut our coat
according to the cloth.”

SUPERS STANDING OPEN.

Suppose the honey-flow is in full blast, and we commence
to take off supers early in the day, or at least in the forenoon.

190 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

At such a time there is little need to be very careful about
robbers, and it may be that honey may stand exposed for hours
without being troubled by them. So when the super has been
smoked it is taken off and set on the ground leaning against the
hive, the hive-eover is put on the remaining supers, and then
our removed super is set on its end on top, so as to project a
little over the side of the hive. After a time, perhaps half an
hour, the bees are likely to start a trail from the super over the
side of the hive to join the bees of the colony below.

A number of supers may be thus standing at a time on
their respective hives. Sometimes {wo supeis are taken from
the same hive, and, in rare cases, especially late in the season,
three.

WATCHING FOR ROBBER BEES.

These supers, left standing on the hives, however, are never
left entirely out of mind, and a glance is given toward them
every few minutes. If at any time bees are seen flying with
{heir heads toward a super, immediate attention is given to the
matter, and the supers hustled off the hives. When the bees are
nearly out, or at any time when it is not desirable to leave
supers standing on the hives, they are put in piles, preferably
uot more than ten high,

WHEN ROBBER BEES TROUBLE.

If fear of robbers does not allow the supers to stand
exposed, the super is still put on top of the hive, and a good
many of the bees are at once driven out by smoke. The smoker
is held on the side toward the wind, so that the wind will help
drive the smoke between the sections, and from time to time the
bees are brushed off. The bee-brush generally used is the Cogg-
shall, but if it were not for the trowble of preparing one fresh
every day, I think I would prefer a good-sized bunch of aspara-
vus, sweet clover, goldenrod, or something of the kind tied
together.

MILLER TENT-ESCAPE.

Tn piling the supers a sunny place is preferred, to entice
out tle bees. uA deep bottom-board is put on the ground, a

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 191

super placed on it, and the entrance closed with wire cloth some-
what as a hive-entrance is closed for hauling (Fig. 72). Then
over the super is-thrown what Root's “ A B C of Bee Culture”
has been pleased to call the Miller tent-eseape (Fig. 73). (Later
on V’ll tell how it’s made.) When 2. second super is brought to
the pile, the escape is kicked off, the super placed on the pile
and the escape thrown over it. When tke pile becomes too high
to kick off the escape, it is shoved off with the hand, but still
allowed to fall to the ground, and afterward picked up.

Fig. 66—Colony at left treated for swarm ny.

The bees can now make their exit through the top of the
escape at their leisure, and from time to time those that have
gathered on the wire cloth below are allowed to escape. Matters
may be hurried up a little by blowing in smoke below. But this
is hardly advisable, for the smoke, being more or less confined,
is likely to give an unpleasant flavor to the sections. When
there is abundance of time for the bees to get out without being
hurried, or if the pile is only five or six high, it is better not to
have any opening at the bottom of the pile, but to set the first
super on a flat surface that admits no light, or right on the
grass.

192 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

KEEPING TALLY OF SECTIONS.

The number of the colony from which each super is taken
is marked in pencil on one of the middle sections, perhaps when
the super is first taken from the hive, certainly before it is taken
from the hive entirely. A board or a slip of paper is kept
where the supers are piled, and as each super is taken to the
pile the number of the hive and the number of sections in ihe

Fig. 67 —Jumbo Hive (at right.)

super is taken. Occasionally the number of supers in the pile
is counted, so as to see whether it tallies with the number taken
on the memorandum, for without this there is danger that some
super might he forgotten, and the colony not have proper credit.
When convenient, possibly while we sit resting a little while
after the supers are all piled, possibly not till the next morning,
the numbers on the memorandum are used to give each colony
its proper eredit in the record-book.

CREDITING COLONIES.

The eredil tu each colony is entered over the first line that
helongs lo that eolony, so that it may easily he seen at a glanee,

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 193

and so that it may be convenient to have all the credit on one
spot. Ifa super containing 24 sections is taken from a colony,
the number 24 is entered over its first line. Then when another
24 sections 3s taken from that colony, +-24 is written after the
first 24, and whatever number is taken each time, that number
is put down with the plus sign preceding. Sometimes it happens
that a super partly filled is taken from one hive and put on
another. Suppose it is estimated that the super contains the
equivalent of 7 sections, and that it is taken from No. 21 aad
given to No. 45. At No. 21 will be entered +7, and at No. 45
will be entered —7. At the end of the season the whole will be
summed up. In an extra good year, an average colony may
have some such account as this: 24+48+48—7+ 24416 equals
153. But the minus sign very seldom occurs.

WHEELING SUPERS IN.

At the home apiary, the piles of supers are generally left
till nightfall, so the bees will have abundance of time to be fully
out. Then they are taken on a wheelbarrow to the honey-roum
(Fig. 74).

You will notice that the wheelbarrow is innocent of any
box or tray. It is a common railroad barrow, with the tray
removed. In this shape it is very convenient for wheelins
supers or stove-wood, the principal uses to which it is put.
When desired the tray ean be replaced to be used for other
purposes.

HAULING SUPERS FROM OUT-APIARY.

At the out-apiaries the supers must be loaded on the wagon.
and sometimes at the close of the season that is a rather ticklish
job. When we go to the apiary in the morning, we drive pretty
close to the place where the piles of supers are to be—much
closer than it wil! be safe to take the horses at the close of the
day’s work when the bees are thoroughly stirred up—and after
the horses are unhitched the wagon is taken by hand to the most
convenient spot for loading on the supers.

194 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

LOADING SUPERS ON WAGON.

Unfortunately, although the wagon was built especially for
the purpose, some irons prevent a perfectly level floor on which
to put the supers, so strips of thin board or lath are laid so the
supers will be level. The size of the wagon-box is such as to
take on one side three supers running crosswise, and on the
other side two supers running fore and aft. Great care is taken
to build up the piles true, and when all are on they are fast-
ened together by laths with nails driven partly in, so the nails
can easily be drawn upon reaching home. Hach pile las a lath
vertically; across the top, laths are braced in both directions, so
that the whole load is practically one solid pile (Fig. 64). As
the load comes mainly on the hind axle, 40 supers are as many
as we like to haul at one load. We seldom take so large a load.

As I have said, putting the load on the wagon at the close
of the season is something of a ticklish job, and is mostly done
under cover of smoke, my assistant playing the smoker wherever
it will do the most good. The character of the tent-esecape comes
into fine play here, for it can so quickly and surely be thrown
into the right place that the robber-bees have little chance at the
piles, so the smoking is mostly done at the wagon. A robber-
eloth (Fig. 75) is even a little better than the tent escape.

When the load is all on, the wagon is drawn away to a
distance safe for the horses. This may be 8 or 10 rods, or it
may be more than twice that distance. Fortunately, at each
out-apiary the ground les in such a way that after the first few
rods the ground is descending, making it easy to draw the load
the longer distance. Then the horses are hitched on as speedily
as possible.

HONEY-ROOM.

Generally, Philo will be ready to take off the load when we
get home, unless we get home too near bed-time and Philo has
gone home, in which case I am not always a good enough fighter
to keep the women from helping to carry the supers into the
honey-room. This is an addition built on to my dwelling-house.
It is 20x15 feet, and the foor-timbers are blocked up with
stones so that it will sustain a great weight without breaking.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 195

When the supers of sections are taken in, they are piled up
near the center of the room with no very great precision, usually
being piled crosswise, that is, each super placed across the one
under it, for the double purpose of ventilation and to make it
easier to lift the supers off the pile than they would be if piled
straight and stuck together with bee-glue.

PUSH-BOARD.

Perhaps the sections will be taken out of the supers the
next day, possibly not for a week or more. A push-board (Fig.
76) is used to push the sections out of the super. This is made
as follows:

196 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

Take a board 165% inches long and 11 inches wide. Take
boards 12 inches long and 1% inch thick and nail them across
the first board so as to cover just its length, and project % inch
at each side. This makes a surface 1654 x12 inches. If this
board be now put inside an empty T-super, and the T-super
raised, it will be seen that the board will easily drop through
the super, except where it is upheld by the three T-tin supports
on each side. Places must be eut out of the board so that the
supports will present no hindrance. In order to make these
places abundantly large, I cut them 144x144 inch. When cut
out, the measure will be, from the corner of the board to the
first place or hole, 314 inches, then 11% inches for the hole, then
2 13-16 inches to the next hole. Measure the same way from
each of the other three corners, and you will have on each side
three holes that will allow the supports of the T-tins to pass
through without obstruction.

Occasionally, after pushing sections ont with the push-
board, I found at the lower part of some of the central sections
some of the cells looking watery, showing that the push-board
had crowded down a little too hard at the central part. To
obviate that I put a litle cleat about 14 inch wide and 1% thick
at the outer edge of the board on all sides, giving the pressure
right where it is needed. If the outer part of the sections eomes
out, there is no danger that the rest of the sections will not keep
company. Unfortunately, the picture does not contain the little
cleats.

TAKING SECTIONS OUT OF SUPER.

Being now ready to take out the unfinished sections, the
first thing is to see whether there are any to take out. If a care-
ful inspection shows that all sections in a super are sealed down
to the bottom, it goes directly to the pile of finished sections.
If any sections are seen that are not finished, the super is placed
on the table, and the little sticks removed that were crowded
between the ends of the sections on top. A flat hive-cover, or
a board a little larger than the super, is placed upon it. Then
super and board are both turned upside down, the board being
firmly held on the super by one hand while reversing. If the

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 197

super should be reversed without this board being held on it,
there might be a possibility of sections tumbling out and break-
ing. (The board is needed under the reversed super in any
ease.) The super is now lying upside down on the board, the
board even with the edge of the table. The side of the super
having the follower is nearest, and I slide the super toward me
enough so that I can push the follower down and let it drop out.
I then push the super back on the board and lay the push-board

Fig. 69—Swarm dumped before No. 32.

on the bottoms of the sections. Before putting the push-board
on the sections, however, I remove any bits of wax that may be
on the bottoms of the sections, otherwise the push-board coming
down hard upon them will crush the comb enough to make the
sealing on the lower part of the sections look watery, if it does
no greater damage.

As the super now lies, the sections are not resting on the
board beneath, there being 4% inch space there. I push the
push-board down till the sections rest on the board below.

198 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES
EXCEPTIONALLY TROUBLESOME CASES.

The sections may fall that quarter of an inch with their
own weight, and they may not go down at all without urgent
coaxing. If the honey was stored with a rush in the early part
of the season, there will be very little gluing, and the sections
will come out easily. The later in the season, and the slower the
storing, the more gluing, and the more trouble. If there is a
lot of glue, and if it is warm, stringy, and sticky, it must be
humored a little. It ean hardly be jerked loose suddenly any
more than if it were nailed; but if it is allowed time enough the
weight of the sections may be enough to bring them down. Of
course a little insistence will hasten matters to some extent, but
it seems to be a matter of principle with that kind of glue not
to let go too suddenly. Sometimes I take a super of that kind
and place it low enough to sit down on the push-board, and then
let it take its time. When J feel it give way under me, I give
up my seat, unless I continue matters a little longer by taking
hold of the super at each end and lifting up while still sitting
on the push-board.

WHEN THE GLUE 18S BRITTLE.

Sometimes the glue is brittle, especially if quite cold. The
case 1s then quite different. Sitting on it all day would do no
good, unless one is heavy enough to bring down the whole thing
suddenly. If pushing down with the hands on the push-board
produces no effect, I pound with the fist on each corner enough
to make the start. Then lifting on the super at each end with
the fingers, I push the sections out of the super by pushing
down on the push-board with the thumbs (Fig. 77).

After the first start is made, perhaps the super is at once
lifted off without any trouble, and perhaps further coaxing is
needed, and the super must be treated somewhat as one treats
a refractory bureau-drawer. I lift on each end alternately,
holding down the push-board with one hand and lifting with the
other, then with both hands lift off the super (Fig. 78).

This sounds a little as if it were hard work getting sections
out of supers, because T have spent so much iime talking about

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 199

the troublesome cases, but these are the exceptional ones, and
in general the work is easy enough to be done rapidly.

TAKING OUT UNFINISHED SECTIONS.

The empty super being set down and the push-board
removed, the unfinished sections are picked off, and the super
is put back on the sections as it was before. Then the super
and the board under it are reversed, and the board lifted off.
Finished sections from another super used for tliat purpose are

Fig. 70—Bee Working on Red Clover.

put in to take the places of the unfinished sections that were
removed, and the super with its 24 finished sections is put on
the pile.

BLOCKING UP SUPERS OF SECTIONS.

The piles of finished sections are 20 supers high, the piles
being about 6 inches from each other and from the wall. Four
blocks % of an inch thick are placed under the corners of the
first super in the pile, and four are put on the corners of each
super before the next super is placed over it. This for ventila-
tion (Fig. 79). The sun has a fair chance to make this room a
pretty warm place, and screened doors and windows allow free
passage for the air.

FUMIGATING SECTIONS.

Years ago it was very important to fumigate these sections,
or else a good many of the larve of the bee-moth would dis-

200 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

figure them. The trouble gradually faded away until for several
years I have done no fumigating whatever, and no harm has
come from the omission. I do not know why there should be so
much change except a change in the character of the bees that
stored the honey. Years ago black brood was present in my
bees to a larger extent than now. The weeding out of bees too
lazy to fight away the wax-moths may have much to do with it.

“ GO-BACKS.”

The unfinished sections that were taken out are to be
disposed of. They are filled into supers and returned to the
bees to be finished up, and these supers of sections that are tc
go back to the bees for finishing are called “ go-backs,” for
short. In filling up these supers of “ go-backs,” no very great
care is taken as to assorting them, although it is desirable so far
as convenient to have all in the same super at nearly the same
stage toward completion.

ARRANGEMENTS OF SECTIONS IN “ GO-LACKS.”’

All ercept the two outside rows. In these {wo rows are
put the sections that are the least advanced, the four corner
sections often containing only foundation.

There are two objects in having these outside rows different
from the others. The bees will not make as rapid work finishing
them as the others, and if all were alike the super would have
to be left on too long before all would be fivished. No there is
no expectation of their being finished, and it is not worth while
to put in the outside row any that are near completion. There
is another reason. Toward the close of. the season, especially,
there will be no other supers on a hive that has “ go-backs,”
and these outside rows are needed io give them a chance to do
some storing while finishing up ‘he sealing of sections that
allow little or no room for storing.

COLONIES FOR “ GO-BACK ” WORK.

Being more convenient, the “ go-hacks “ are all given to
colonies in the lume apiary. When the first are given, the

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 201

honey harvest is usually still in full blast, and a good many
colonies in the apiary will have “ go-backs,” each colony having
only one, that being placed on top of its other supers. We keep
watch to see which colonies make the best work on “ go-backs.”
Some seal faster than others, some seal sections with extra
whiteness. In order to help keep track of the rate of progress.
each “ go-back,” at the time it is put on, has marked on one of
the middle sections the word “ go-back” and the date. If the
super were not thus marked, the colony would get more credit
than it deserved when the super was removed.

A little later in the season the number of colonies chosen
for this work is limited, only those which do the best being
continued at it, and these are not allowed to have any other
supers. Generally two supers at a time will be enough for a
colony to have; but sometimes three will be given. As fast as
one super is ready to come off another takes its place.

ROBBER-CLOTH.

Before fulfillmg my promise to describe the tent-escape.
I must describe a robber-cloth (Fig. 75), which forms an essen-
tial part of the tent-escape. I take a piece of stout cotton cloth
(sheeting) or burlap large enough to cover a hive and hang
down four inches or more at both sides and at each end. This
must be weighted down at the side with lath, and for this pur-
pose I take four pieces of lath about as long as the hive. I lay
down one piece of lath with another piece on it, and one edge
of the cloth between the two pieces of lath. I then nail the two
together and clinch the nails. I use the other two pieces of lath
for the opposite edge of the cloth. This makes a good robber-
cloth just as it is, but it is better to have the ends also weighted
down, especially on a windy day. For this purpose I make a
hem in each end, and put in it shot, nails, pebbles, or something
of the kind, stitching across the hem here and there so the
weighting material will not all run together at one side or the
other.

QUICK COVERING WITH ROBBER-CLOTH.

In any case where one wants to cover up a hive quickly
against robbers, as when opening and closing the same hive

202 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

frequently for the sake of putting in or taking out combs, this
robber-cloth will be found a great convenience. No careful
adjustment is needed, as in putting on a regular hive-cover, but
one can take hold of the lath with one hand, and with a single
throw the hive is covered securely, with no killing of bees if
any should happen to be in the way.

Fig. 71—Shop (looking South).

MILLER TENT-ESCAPE.

Having made the 1obber-cloth, an escape, not in the shape
of a cone, but in the shape of a pyramid, is fastened centrally
upon it (Fig. 73). Take three triangular pieces of wire cloth,
each of the three sides measuring alike. Put them together in
the form of a tent, sewing the edges together at the three sides
by weaving fine wire through. At the top, however, let each of
the pieces be folded out, so that a hole large enough to push
your finger in will be left. Lay the tent centrally on the robber-
eloth, and mark where the three corners of the tent eome. Now
starting at each of these points, cut the cloth to the center. Cut
away the three flaps of cloth all but about 114 inches, and turn
this 114-inch margin up on the outside of the tent and sew there
with heavy thread.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 203

Another way is a little easier to do, and it is a little better,
although a little harder to describe. Take a piece of wire cloth
2 1-3 times as long as it is wide. Mark a point at the middle
of one of the longer sides, and on the other side mark a point
half way from each end to the middle, as shown in the figure.
Make a fold at each of the dotted lines. The wire cloth may be
cut away at the two outside dotted lines, or, what is better, the
end pieces may be folded over and sewed down. Now bring the
two parts of the upper margin together and sew with wire, and
then proceed to fasten the tent in place as before. In this latter
case, of course, a hole must be cut at the top of the tent. Be-

fore the tent is sewed together, cut a slit about an inch deep in
the two dotted lines at the top, and then fold out the three
points.

When one of these tent-escapes is placed on a pile of
supers, or on a hive containing bees, the bees will pass out
freely at the top, but the bees that try to get in attempt to make
the entrance further down. Once in a great while there will
gather a bunch of the outgoing bees at the top so as to clog the
exit, and then the robbers will settle on this bunch of bees and
work their way in, but a little smoke will scatter the bunch of
bees.

But bees are persevering creatures, and are not likely to
stay scattered. In that case it is a good thing to put two escapes
over the pile, a larger one over a smaller one. The piece of
wire cloth used in making some of mine is 22 x 91% inches, and
in others it is 14x6. The smaller ones seem to work just as
well as the larger, and it is a convenience to have the two sizes

204 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

when a case such as I have mentioned oceurs. But it does not
often occur.

“ONCE A THIEF” NOT “ ALWAYS A THIEF.”

For many years I believed what perhaps is generally
believed, that the saying, “ Once a thief, always a thief,” was
true of any bee ever guilty of robbing. There is, no doubt,
some ground for such belief, for a bee that has spent to-day
robbing from a certain hive will very likely start in on the same
business to-morrow, if any more plunder is to be had in the
same place; but it is not true that a bee that has been engaged
in one robbing serape will never after return to honest labor.

Indeed, so far as the bee is concerned, getting honey out of
another hive probably seems just as honest work as to gather
nectar from the flowers. And the more active a bee is when
engaged in the field, the more active might we expect to find it
in trying to rob when there is nothing more to be had in the
field. ~

Many a hive is robbed out in the spring, and many a bee
1s engaged in the robbing; yet the first day in which an abun-
dance of stores can be had in the field, every bee of sufficient
age gleefully joins in the quest abroad, and the fact that honey
may be exposed with little danger shows that the bees that were
formerly so intent upon robbing are now afield with the others.

LEAVING SOMETHING FOR ROBBERS.

A practice that is just as far from right as the theory
about which we have been talking is the practice of taking
away whatever the robbers are working upon, without leaving
any thing in its place. If by carelessness I have left a section
of honey on a hive, and find the robbers at work upon it, I can
hardly do a worse thing than to take it away.

If I leave it, the bees will stick to it, and clean it out, and
for some time a number of robbers will stick to it after the
honey is all gone, but they stick io that one spot, and if the
empty comb is left there, they keep hunting it all over and over,
and by and by eonelude the honey is all used out of it and go
about their business. If the section is taken away and nothing

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 205

left in its place, they seem to think they have made a mistake
as to the place and hunt all around for the missing section, until
they force their way into ihe nearest conquerable colony.

If a weak colony is attacked, I may sometimes take it away,
but if I do, I immediately put in its place an empty hive in
which I put some scraps of comb containing a little honey.

Fig. 72—No. 12 Closed for Hauling. -

They will rob this out and that will be the end of it. It is
possible that dry comb without any honey might answer.

ROBBING FAULT OF BEEKEEPER.

Except in case of queenless coionies, I am somewhat of the
opinion that most eases of robbing have been through my own
carelessness. When there is nothing to do in the fields, the bees
may be seen busily trying to enter cracks about hives so small
that there is no possibility of their entering, and they are sharp
to observe any change. If, at such times, a fresh opening be
left anywhere about a hive, it is sure to be discovered. An
entrance at the top of brood-chamber, at the back end, may be
left open all the season without being disturbed by robbers.

206 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

But if it has been kept closed until a time when rebbers are
troublesome, and then wpened, whether it be that the robbers
are stirred up by seeing the change, or whether the bees of the
colony are not in the habit of protecting themselves in that
quarter, the robbers are pretty sure to give the new entrance
especial attention; and if the colony be not very strong there
may be serious trouble.

STARTING ROBBING BY FEEDING.

a\s feeding is done only in a time of seareity, it is one of
the most common causes of robbing among’ careless beekeepers.
When general feeding is done with Miller feeders, there is little
danger, no matter what time of day the work is done; but if
some weak colony is short of stores, I try to be somewhat care-
ful to do nothing to attract especial attention to it. J have
sometimes fed at night, and so far as convenient prefer to feed
late in the day, but convenience does not always allow it.

One time I found a colony at the close of the honey harvest.
by some means about at the point of starvation. With more
carelessness than was excusable, I gave them, I think in the
forenoon, two or three combs filled with sugar syrup. Some
time after, I happened to look toward that end of the apiary,
and saw what looked like a swarm. The bees had become excited
over their new-found stores; the robber-bees had joined in, and
the bees of the colony seemed to think forage was so plentiful
that it wasn’t worth while to be mean about it, there was enough
for all; so the robbers were doing a land-office business without
let or hindrance.

STOPPING ROBBING WITH WET HAY.

I closed the entrances of the other hives in the immediate
neighborhood, so that only two or three bees could pass at a
time, and then threw a lot of loose wet hay at the entrance of
the besieged hive.

Not only did I put bay at the entrance, but piled it up all
around to the top of the live. For some time I kept every
thing very wet all around the hive by pouring on pails of water,
and then left them till next day.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 207

No other hives were attacked. I somewhat expected to find
the queen killed, but she was all right next day, and no further
trouble occurred, as the colony was a strong one, and, when in
its right mind, capable of taking care of itself.

DO ROBBED BEES JOIN THE ROBBERS?

One of the venerable traditions that is perhaps generally
accepted without question is that when a colony is being robbed

Fig. 73—Miller Tent-Escaype.
it is a quite common thing for the bees that are robbed to joi
the robbers and help earry off the stores. I am very skeptical
as to there being any truth in the tradition. I do not say such
a thing never happened, but T never saw such a case, and I have
seen from first to last a number of cases in which all the stores
were emptied out of the combs by robbers, and the bees of the
colony seemed to be all left, and generally by taking the right
kind of pains I have succeeded in re-establishing such a colony.
In such eases there was certainly no joining the robbers.

TI have found other cases in which the bees were entirely
gone, and I could only guess what had become of them. My
guess was that after being robbed of all their stores, and having

208 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

used up all the honey in their honey-saes, perhaps some time
after the robbers had ceased to pay any attention to them, they
had swarmed out as any hunger-swarm will do, and had united,
or tried to unite, with some other colony. Would they not be
likely to join some colony other than the one that had treated
them so unkindly?

PILES SOMETIMES A TARGET FOR ROBBERS.

Piles of four or five stories with abundant ventilation at
each story are in no danger from robbers under ordinary cir-
cumstances; but if you ever have such piles, and are so unfor-
tunate as to get the robbers once started at them, you “ better
watch out.” Even if there should be a dearth for some time,
robbers are not likely to attack a pile; for they have probably
got into the habit of thinking that such a pile is not to be
meddled with; but just you do something to call particular
attention to the pile, such as letting a comb of honey stand by
‘it exposed, and there are so many exposed places to defend that
the robbers are likely to have things thelr own way.

A BAD CASE OF ROBBING.

One time George W. York was here when bees were not
busily at work in the fields, and [ opened up a pile of four
stories, for what purpose I do not now remember; very likely
T was trying to show off in some way. At any rate I showed
him a fine case of robbing, for the robbers pounced down upon
every exposed point, and before I had noticed what was going
on they were having a gay time. Of course I couldn’t build a
haystack about the four stories, but I had to do something, for
although the colony was a powerful one it was utterly inade-
quate to the protection of four exposed stories, and without
any interference on my part its doom was sealed. I closed all
entrances except the lower one, and then applied the hay and
water to the lower story successfully.

PILES IN LATE SUMMER.

During the usual working season there is need of some
foolishness on the part of the beekeeper to start robbing at a

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 209

pile having a strong colony; but after the weather becomes quite
cool toward fall, the case is different. Of course, all but the
lower entrance should be closed before cold nights come, but
sometimes there is a case of neglect. In a cold night the colony
shrinks down into the lower or the lower two stories—all the
more because there is a current of air right through the hive—
and the two or three upper stories are left without any bees.

Fig. 74—Wheeling Load of Supers.

In the following morning they do not go up again into the
upper stories till some time after the day has warmed up. The
robbers, however, do not wait so long, but finding an upper
entrance unprotected go to work in lively style.

As late as October 6, in the year 1902, a pile was left with
an upper entrance or ventilating space still open, and on the
forenoon of that day I observed lively work at that place, while
all was quiet at the lower or regular entrance. I shoved the
cover back so as to close the space, and then took a snap-shot
of the bees trying to get in, as shown in Fig. 81. Only two
stories show in the picture, although the pile was four stories
high. Fortunately no other place was open except the regular
lower entrance, and it was so far from top to bottom that the

210 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

robbers made no attempt below—indeed I suppose they would
have been promptly repulsed if they had—so after trying for
a time to get in the place I had closed, they gave up and left the
hive.

PLAYING BEES AN) ROBBERS.

JT think | can tell by carefully looking at bees when Jlying
with unusual commotion at the entrance of a hive whether it is
a case of robbing or bees at play, but I am not sure I could tell

Ieig. 75—Robber-Cloth.

some one else the difference in appearance. Looking at bees at
play in Fig. 82, and comparing with Fig. 81, there appears little
difference. In actual life there will be seen the same excited
eagerness in eacl: case.

The time of day helps to decide. During the middle of the
day, say from noon till the middle of the afternoon, playing is
common; earlier or later than that time, if there is big excite-
ment at the entranee of a weak colony, the likelihood is {hat
robbing is going on.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 211

SIGNS OF ROBBING.

One pretty sure sign of robbing, when there is a good deal
of stir at the entrance, is to see bees working frantically to force
an entrance under the cover or at some other part of the hive.
Just why they should do this at times when they seem to have
plenty of chance to get in at the regular entrance I do not
know. It seems to be a way they have.

A sure sign of robbing is to find the bees entering the hive
with empty sacs and coming out with their sacs full. The
contents of the sae can be told by killing the bee, pulling it in
two, and squeezing ow the contents of the sac. Indeed, the
squeezing is hardly needed.

BEES STICK TO THE SAME ENTRANCE.

A glance at the hive shown in Fig. 81 would show that it
is a case of robbing, for the flying is at an opening never used
for an entrance. It is a somewhat curious fact that bees are
very persistent in continuing to use the same place for an
entrance.

After the bees have become used to going in and out at the
regular place, if I make an opening at the back end of the hive,
no matter if it be as large as the front entrance, that back
opening will never be used as an entrance. One would think
that young bees taking their first play-spell would be as likely
to use the back as the front opening; but when I have had
ventilating openings at the backs of the hives I do not remem-
ber to have seen bees playing at the back. Perhaps the noise
of the regular traffic in front attracts them there.

LOSING THE ROBBERS.

I make it a rule to stop operations usually when robbers
are very bad, but sometimes it seems necessary to fight it out.
I have sometimes taken advantage of the plan of making cross
bees or robbers lose themselves or, rather, lose the object they
are after by rapidly changing the base of operation. One day ai
the Wilson apiary I had taken off some wide frames of sections
and wanted to take them from the place where they were piled
up, so as.to put them on the wagon. The robbers were so fierce

212 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

and persistent that it seemed impossible to open a crack without
their immediately forcing their way in. My wife was provided
with a smoker in full blast, and a big bunch of goldenrod or
other weeds. <A robber-cloth covered the pile. With one hand
I lifted the cloth and with the other took out a frame of sections,
then quickly dropped the robber-cloth in its place, my wife
keeping a cloud of smoke in the way of any robbers which
should attempt to enter the pile while the cloth was raised.
Instantly the frame was out of the super, the robbers made for
the frame of sections. I made for the wagon and my wife
made for me. Running in a zig-zag, circuitous course, my wife
followed me, puffing and switching at every step, and by the
time we got to the wagon the robbers were lost, the frame was
slipped quickly into the super on the wagon, and the robber-
cloth dropped over it. The Scotch folks at the house had a
good laugh over the erazy couple chasing one another through
the orchard, but we beat the bees. Under ordinary cireum-
stances it would be better to take an easier plan or wait till
dark.

PROTECTION FROM STINGS.

I have been a beekeeper since 1861, and since 1878 I have
made the production of honey my sole business, aside from
writing about bees, and yet J have not reached that point where
I care nothing for protection from stings. When I first com-
menced keeping bees, a sting on my hand was a serious affair,
swelling to the shoulder, and troubling fully as much the second
day as the first. Now, if I receive a half-dozen stings or more,
I cannot tell an hour or two later where I was stung, except as
a matter of memory. Yet I think that a sting gives me fully
as much pain for the first minute now, as it did fifty years ago.
Sometimes the pain is so severe that it literally makes me groan,
especially if no one is within hearing. J sometimes wonder at
those who scout at any sort of protection, and query whether
there may not be just a little of a spirit of bravado about it.
I think I could go through a year without any sort of protection,
but I do not think I ever shall. A bce inside my clothing makes
me very nervous, and I cannot go on in comfort at my work
with a feeling of uncertainty as to where and when its little

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 213

javelin shall pierce my flesh. If I felt it crawling on me, and
then cease to feel it because it is on the clothing and not on ihe
skin, I am in momentary dread as to where it shall turn up
next; and it is a real relief when it stings me, for I know then

the precise spot where it is, and have no further expectations
from it.

BEE-VEIL.

So I seldom go among the bees without a veil. I may not
have it over my face, but it is on the hat, ready to be pulled

Fig. 76—Push-Board.

down at any time. The veil is made of inexpensive material,
called by milliners cape-lace or cape-net. It is 21 inches wide.
A piece is cut off as long as the cireumference of the brim of a
straw hat, and both ends sewed together. Shirr a rubber cord
in one end of this open bag, thoroughly soak or wash out the
starch, and sew the other end on the edge of the hat-brim. It
is important for the eyesight that the stuff of the veil be black;
but the black coloring crocks one’s clothing. So of late years a

£14 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

border of white cloth is sewed on the veil to receive the rubber
cord.

The rubber cord holds the veil close about one’s neck, yet
not close enough but that a bee sometimes gets under it. Al-
though a bee is not at all likely to sting when it gets inside a
veil, it is just as well to have it remain outside. So my assistant
devised the plan of drawing the veil down very tightly in front,
and pinning it to her waist with a safety-pin. Seeing it work
so well with her, I have also adopted the plan, pinning to my
suspenders on one side, or to my vest if I have one on.

Sometimes a face-piece of silk net is sewed in the veil.
Instead of having the veil sewed to my hat, so that the bee-hat
must he taken along when we go to an out-apiary, I sometimes
have in my pocket a veil made with a rubber cord shirred into
each end, and when I reach the apiary the veil is slipped on
over the hat I am wearing.

The openings at the wrist and neck of my shirt are small,
the cloth lapping over so as to give a bee little chance for
entrance. If bees are likely to be on the ground I put my pants
inside my stockings, or, still better, put on a pair of trouser
cuards such as bieyelists wear. I get a great many stings on my
hands, but the inconvenience and discomfort of gloves are so
great that for many vears I felt the stings to be the lesser of the
two evils. But after working for years to get bees that would
give the most honey, without paying any attention to the
temper of the bees, I finally had bees so cross that in spite of
the inconvenience I felt obliged to wear gloves.

My assistant prefers to wear gloves, not only to avoid the
stings, but to avoid the bee-glue. [ may say in passing that J
am not always very particular about getting the bee-glue off my
hands, but when I do clean them I usually give the bee-glue a
good rubbing with butter or grease, and then wash off with soap
and water. I confess I don’t very much mind having bee-glue
on my hands unless there is so much of it that it sticks to the
bed-clothes at night. But I do abhor the sticky feeling of honey
on my hands; and when they get daubed, if I have no water I
pick up some soil to rub them with. That at least takes away
the sticky feeeling. Perhaps you think the soil is worse than the
honey. I don’t.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 215

BEE-GLOVES.

For some time Miss Wilson wore a kind of cheap white
glove that I think was made of pig-skin. She dislikes the smell
of oiled canvas gloves, although to me the smell is not very bad,
and the smell of the pig-skin is horrid. Latterly she wears light

Fig. 77—Pushing Sections out of Super.

buekskin, which are free from smell, and wash well, or else a
pair of kid gloves with a pair of 10-cent pickle gloves over
them. The latter are rather bungling.

GETTING OUT STINGS.

I like to get a sting out of my skin as soon as possible, if
not too busy. A little trick in this direction is, I think, not

216 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

known to all beekeepers. I am not sure whether I learned it by
instinet, or from the writings of G. M. Doolittle. If a bee stings
my hand I instantly strike the hand with much force upon my
leg, with a sort of quick, wiping motion. This mashes the bee,
generally, and rubs out the sting at the same time.

SCOLDING BEES.

If one thinks of the thousands or millions of bees in a large
apiary, if will be seen that eomparatively few bees make any
attack. Sometimes a single bee will threaten and scold me by
the hour, perhaps finally stingine me by getting into my hair
or whiskers, and for aught I know the same bee may keep up
the same thing for days—I mean the scolding, not the stinging.
It is sometimes worth while to get rid of the annoyance by
stepping to one side and knocking it down with a stick by a few
rapid strokes back and forth in front of my face. I often mash
it hy slapping my hands together.

CROSS COLONIES,

Sometimes the bees have seemed very cross, and a little ob-
servation has shown these bees to proceed from a particular part
of the apiary, and really from only one hive. A careless observer
might have said all the bees in the apiary were cross. I have
had a few colonies so cross that merely walking by the hive was
the signal for a general onslaught. Truth obliges me to say that
I have sometimes been so badly stung by one of these, when
working at them, that I have taken refuge in inglorious flight,
glad to get a respite and scrape out the stings. Just why there
should be one or two of these in a year in such marked contrast
with others I cannot say. The only remedy I had was to kill
the queen.

DRESS FOR THE HOTTEST WEATHER.

During the principal part of the honey-flow, a prominent
element of hardship is the endurance of the heat. Sometimes
the heat really has made me sick, so that in spite of a press of
work T have been obliged to give up and lie down for an hour
er more, At such times you may be sure I am not very warmly

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 217

clad. One straw hat and veil, one cotton shirt, one pair cotton
overalls, one pair cotton socks and one pair shoes, comprise my
entirewearing apparel (Fig. 83). Before noon, shirt and pants
are both thoroughly wet with perspiration.

Fig. 78.—Infting off the Super.

SPONGE-BATH AT NOON.

In this heated condition, I sponge myself off with cold
water before dinner, put on dry pants and shirt, and hang up
the wet ones in the sun to be put on next day. J am sure that,
by this refreshing change, I am able to do more work. It might
be thought that applying cold water all over the body when
every part is dripping with perspiration might make me take
cold. I have never found it so, even if followed up every day.

218 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

The body is so thoroughly heated that i: easily resists the shock,
and a brisk rubbing leaves one in a fine glow.

My overalls are white, such as painters or masons use. I
do not enjoy being so conspicuous when I happen to be on the
street clad in white; but I would rather be conspicuous than to
be stung; and IJ feel sure that I do not get so many stings as [
would with darker clothing.

WOMAN'S BEE-DRESS.

My assistant is not dressed so eoclly as I. Her desire to
keep her dress clean makes her warmer than she otherwise
would be, for she wears an apron that covers all the dress except
the sleeves (Fig. 84). This apron is made of denim, and has
two large pockets. It is made after pattern No. 3696 of the
Butterick Publishing Co. To cover the sleeves of her dress, she
uses a pair of white sleeves fastened together by a strap sewed
to each sleeve across the back, a similar strap in front being
sewed to one sleeve and buttoned to the other. The wrists of
these sleeves are sewed to the wrists of her gloves, and ripped
off whenever it is necessary to wash either gloves or sleeves.
For convenience, several pairs are kept.

QUEEN-REARING—BREEDING FROM BEST.

My sole business with bees being to produce honey, I am
not particular to keep a popular breed of bees, only so far as
their popularity comes from their profitableness as honey-
gatherers. I am anxious to have those that are industrious,
good winterers, gentle, and not given to much swarming. For
some years I got an imported Italian queen every year or two.
Then for a good many years | preferred to rear from queens
of my own whose workers had distinguished themselves as being
the most desirable. The chief thing considered was the amount
of honey stored. Little or no attention was paid to color, and
unfortunately ho more to temper. So] had bees that were hy-
brids, hustlers to store, but anything but angels in temper.
Then, beginning with 1906, I introduced quite a number of
Italian queens, in the hope that among them I might find one
as good as my hybrid stock, without so much ill temper. By

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 219

the time of the year 1913 most of the black blood was worked
out, and in that year, when I obtained the world’s record. for
the highest average of sections from as many as 72 colonies, it
had come to pass that my best yields were from colonies having
three yellow bands.

IMPORTANCE OF SELECTION,

The queen being the very soul of the colony, I hardly con-
sider any pains too great that will give better queens. The first

Fig. 79.—Supers of Sections Blocked Up.

thing is to select the queen from which to rear, for generally all
rearing will be from the same queen, whether for the home
apiary or an outside apiary. The records are carefully scanned,
and that queen chosen which, all things considered, appears to
be the best. The first point to be weighed is the amount of
honey that has been stored. Other things being equal, the
queen whose workers have shown themselves the best storers will
have the preference. The matter of wintering will pretty much
take care of itself, for a colony that has wintered poorly is not
likely to do very heavy work in the harvest. The more a colony
has done in the way of making preparations for swarming, the

220 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

lower will be its standing. Generally, however, a colony that
gives the largest number of sections 3s one that never dreamed
of swarming.

BREEDING FROM BEST.

T am well aware that I will be told by some that I am
choosing freak queens from which to rear, and that it would be
much better to select a queen whose royal daughters showed
uniform results only a little above the average. I don’t know
enough to know whether that is true or not, but I know that
some excellent results have been obtained by breeders of other
animals by breeding from sires or dams so exceptional in
character that they might be called freaks. J know, too, that
it is easier to decide which colony does best work than it is to
decide which queen produces royal progeny the most nearly
uniform in character. By the first way, too, a queen can be
used a year sooner than by the secord way, and a year in the
life of a queen is a good deal. I may mention that a queen
which has a fine record for two succes3ive seasons is preferred
to one with the same kind of record for only one season. At
any rate, the results obtained in the way of improvement of
stock as a result of my practice have been such as to warrant
me in its continuance at least for a time.

The danger from inbreeding must not be lost sight of en-
tirely. With two or three hundred e¢slonies kept in three differ-
ent apiaries it is perhaps not great. Should signs of degeneracy
at any time appear, it will not be difficult to introduce fresh
blood.

CONDITIONS FOR QUEEN-REARING.

Having’ chosen the queen from which to rear, I have kept
in mind that unless conditions are favurable the royal progeny
of the best queen in the world may be very poor. Queen-cells
must be started when the weather is sufficiently warm, when
bees are gathering enough to make them feel that there is no
need to stint the royal larve in their rations, and until near the
point of emergence it is much better that the. cells shall be in
the care of a strong colony. So I do not begin operations for

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 221

queen-rearing until about the time that bees inclined to swarm-
ing would begin to make preparations therefor.

REARING QUEENS IN HIVE WITH LAYING QUEEN.

It would be too long a story to enumerate all the plans I
have used in queen-rearing. I have reared excellent queens, and
many of them, by the Alley plan and by the Doolittle cell-eup
plan, together with its modifications by Pridgen and others.

Fig. 80.—Cleated Smoker.

I think I was the first one to report rearing a queen in a colony
having a laying queen; and I have reared them in stories under
as well as over the story having the laying queen. Neither is it
absolutely necessary to have a quzen-excluder between the
stories. In lieu of an exeluder I have used a cloth with room
for passage at the corners. Neither excluder nor cloth is abso-
lutely necessary; distance is enough. That first reported case
was on this wise:

222 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

Upon a hive containing a colony had been piled four stories
of empty combs for safe keeping. To make sure that the bees
would not neglect the care of the most distant combs, I put a
frame of brood in the upper story. A few weeks later I found
a laying queen in the upper story with the old queen still below.
The bees that had gone up to that frame of brood were so far
from the queen that they had reared a queen of their own. A
hole in the upper story had allowed the flight of the young
queen without invading the domains cf her mother, For those
who produce extracted honey this plan might be used to ad-
vantage.

UNQUEENING COLONY TO START CELLS.

I have reared good queens by the old and simple plan of
taking away the queen of a strong colony. Of course this must
be a choice queen. Previous to the removal of the queen the
colony is strengthened. Frames of well-advanced brood are
from time to time given from other evlonies until it has two—
perhaps three—stories of brood. None of this brood, however,
is given less than five or six days before the removal of the
queen. The queen is taken with two frames of brood and ad-
hering bees and put on a new stand in an empty hive, an empty
comb and one with some honey being added.

TIME TO START NUCLEI,

In nine or ten days from the removal of the queen it ‘is
time to break up the queenless colony into nuclei. It might
generally be lef( till a day or two later before a young queen
would come out to destroy her baby sisters in their cradles, but
it is best to take no chances. If it were true, as formerly be-
lieved, that queenless bees are in such haste to rear a queen that
they will select a larva too old for the purpose, then it would
hardly do to wait even nine days. A queen is matured in fifteen
days from the time the egg is laid, and is fed throughout her
larval lifetime on the same food that is given to a worker-larva
during the first three days of its larval existence. So a worker-
larva more than three days old, or more than six days from
ihe laying of the egg, would be too old for a good queen. If,

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 223

now, the bees should select a larva more than three days old,
the queen would emerge in less than nine days. I think no one
has ever known this to occur.

Fig. 81.—Robber Bees.

BEES DO NOT PREFER TOO OLD LARVAE.

As a matter of fact bees do not use such poor Judgment as
to select larvee too old when larve sufficiently young are present,
as I have proven by direct experiment and many observations.
It will not do, however, to conelude from this that all queen-cells
started by a queenless colony left to themselves will be equally
good. Bees have a fashion of starting cells for a number of
days in succession, and will continue to start them when larve
sufficiently young for good queens are no longer present. So

224 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

some means must be taken to make sure that no nucleus has for
its sole dependence one of these latest cells. If several cells
can be afforded for each nucleus, there is little danger they will
all be bad. Neither is there great danger if a cell is chosen
which is large and fine-looking. Perhaps the safer way is to
give the queenless colony a frame with eggs and young brood
three or four days after the removal of the queen, and then they
will not be obliged to use the old larve of the other comb.

PLACING QUEEN-CELLS.

Two or three frames of brood with adhering bees are taken
for each nucleus. If one of the frames has a cell or several
cells in a good location, well and good. If not, the lack must
be supplied. But the cells must be where they will be sure to
be well cared for. They must not he on the outer edge of a
comb, with the chance to be chilled, neither must they be on the
outer side of the comb, but on the side of the comb that faces
the other comb. Any cells that are not just where they are
wanted must be cut out. For this purpose I like a tea-knife
with a very thin and narrow blade of steel.

STAPLING CELLS ON COMB.

A staple, such as is used to fasten a bottom-board to a
hive, is used to fasten a cell in place. The cell is placed where
it is wanted, then the staple is placed over it, one leg of the
staple close to the cell, and the other leg is pushed deep into
the comb (Fig. 85).

MAKING BEES STAY IN NUCLEI.

Each nucleus is put upon a stand of its own, and the en-
trance is plugged up with leaves so that no bee can get out.
One of the nuclei, however, is left without having its entrance
closed, and this is put in the place of the hive which contains
the queen, and the hive with the queen is put back on the old
stand from which the queen was first taken. The entrances may
be left closed until the shrinking of the leaves allows the bers
to make their way out, but I generally open them in about
twenty-four hours, first pounding on the hive to make the bees

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 225

mark their location upon emerging. Although queenless bees
are much better than others at staying wherever they are put,
there will be still fewer bees return to the old place if the
nucleus is fastened in twenty-four hours or longer.

LOOKING FOR EGGS.

Twelve or fourteen days after forming the nuclei I look to
see if the queens are laying. I might find eggs in less time, but
not always, and at any rate not in considerable number, and it

Fig. 82.—Bees Playing.

saves time on the whole not to be in too much of a hurry. If
no eggs are found a comb of young brood is given as an en-
couragement to start the young queen to laying, and a day or
two later, if queen-cells are started on this young brood, a ma-
ture queen-cell is given.

. KEEPING BEST QUEEN 1N NUCLEUS.

Instead of having my best queen in a strong colony, as in
the plan just given, she is usually kept in a two-frame nucleus
throughout the summer, the nucleus being strengthened into a

226 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

full colony in the fall for wintering. One object of this is to
make the queen live longer. It is generally understood that a
worker lives a longer time if it has little work to do, and prob-
ably the same is true of a queen. As laying eggs is her work,
the less the number of eggs she lays the longer she ought to live,
and in a nucleus she lays a smaller number of eggs ihan in a
strong colony.

There is another reason for keeping her in a nucleus.
Some who have tried to have comb built in the colony containing
their best queen complain that they can get only drone-comb
built. That may be avoided by filling the frame with worker-
foundation, but the better way is to keep the colony with the
queen so weak that only worker-comb will be built. In a nu-
cleus only worker-comb will be built.

STARTING BROOD FOR CELLS.

Having my breeding queen in a two-frame nucleus, I take
away one of the combs, and in its place put a frame in which
are two small starters four or five inches long and an inch or two
wide. One of these starters is put about four inches from each
end (Fig. 86). The nucleus must be strong enough in bees so
that a week later this frame will have a comb built in it that
will fill most of the frame, the comb being fairly well filled with
egys and young brood (Tig. 88). It is taken away, and another
frame with two small starters put in its place as before. Thus
this nucleus will furnish once a week a frame of comb with
brood of the best sort for queen-rearing. It will be a day or so
after the frame is given before the queen lays in it, so that the
brood will not be too old even if the bees were so foolish as to
prefer it.

The comb being new and tender makes it probably an
easier job for the bees to build queen-cells upon it; at any rate
they always show a preference for such comb, and start on it a
larger number of cells than they would on older comb.

BEES FOR CELL-BUILDING.

Having now arranged for the right kind of brood and
eggs to be ready on the same day of each week, the next
thing is to find the right kind of bees to start the cells, not

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 227

only to start them, but to take the very best care of them. We
can probably find no bees better fitted to produce good queen-
cells than those that of their own accord have already engaged
in the busivess. So a strong eolony is chosen which has already
Started queen-cells in preparation for swarming. All queen-
cells already started are destroyed, the queen is removed, and

iia)

Fig. 83.—Bee-Dress.

one of the frames is taken away, leaving a vacancy in the cen-
ter of the hive. Most likely the eolony has one or more supers,
but these are not to be taken away.

BROOD FOR QUEEN-CELLS.

We now go to the nucleus containing our best queen, take
out the frame with the virgin comb, and replace it with an

228 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

empty frame with its two starters, brushing back into the hive
the bees from the comb taken out, and closing the hive. Look-
ing at the comb taken out, you will see that, instead of the old-
est brood being in the center, it will be in the two places where
the two starters were put. It was for this purpose the two
starteis at the sides were given rather than a central one. For
by this means the waving contour will give opportunity for a
larger number of queen-cells on the edge of the comb than would
otherwise be the case.

TRIMMING THE BREEDING-COMB.

For a little distance at the edge, the comb contains eggs
only. This part is trimmed away, leaving the youngest of the
brood at the edge of the comb (Fig. 89). One reason for this is
that, other things being equal, the bees show a decided prefer-
ence for building on the edge of a comb. Another reason is
that I decidedly prefer to have cells on the edge, thus making
them easier to cut out when wanted. The part cut away would
only be in the way of both of us.

Ss

BEES USING YOUNG LARVAE ONLY.

When a queen is taken away from a full colony, the bees
start cells from young brood, and, as J have already said, they
continue to start fresh cells for several days, and until after
there is no longer brood of the proper .ge, so that the last cells
started would contain larve too old io make good queens. But
on these combs prepared as I have described, they do not do so.
Rarely, if ever, will a cell be found elsewhere than on the edge
of the comb, and I have never known the bees to start a cell
after the larve were too old. 1 dv not know why there is this
difference. I only know the faet. But it is a very convenient
fact.

AGE OF LARVAE FOR QUEENS.

Scientists tell us that a worker-larva is fed for three days
the same as a queen-larva, and then it is weaned, Theoretically,
then, up to the time a larva in a worker-cell is three days old,
it ought to be all right to rear a queen from. Practically, I do

FIFTY YEARS \MONG THE BEES 229

not believe a larva three days old is as good as a younger one.
The only reason I have for so believing is the expressed pref-
erence of the bees themselves. Give them larve of all ages
from which to select, and they always choose that which is two
days old. or younger. Indeed, it will be seen that in the comb

Fig. Sf.—Woman’s Bee-Dress.

from which I have trimmed the edge (Fig. 89) the larve on the
edge of the comb have been out of the egg but a short time, for
I merely trimmed away the eggs, and possibly not all of them.

PLACING THE BREEDING-COMB.

The breeding-comb, thus properly trimmed, is taken to the
queenless colony, ard put in the vacancy that was left for it.
On the top-bar of the frame is penciled the date on which the

230 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

cells are to be cut out, allowing ten days from th. time of put-
ting in. Thus, if the frame be given June 27, the number 7 is
put on the top-bar, July 7 being ten days later than June 27.
No need to put the month on. Besides giving the date, that
figure marks the frame, so I can know at a glance which frame
to take out. At the same time a memorandum of this. date is
put in the record book to remind me when to eut the cells.
Some one may ask, “ But if you leave nearly all the old
brood in the hive, will the bees not start cells on them, with orly

Fig. 85.—-Queen-Cell Stapled on Comb.

the smaller part on your breeding-comb?” So I thought at
first, and took some pains to have no very young brood of the
old stock left. But I found upon trial that when I left all the
young brood of the old stock, the bees ignored this, at the most
starting upon it one, two, possibly three cells, confining their at-
tention to the prepared frame I had given. Probably the hard-
ness of the old combs and the lack of convenient places in which
to build cells convince the bees that it is better to use the soft
comb where room is abundant. Of course a cell or two on the
old combs can do no great harm, for they will not ke used.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 231

MORE THAN ONE NUCLEUS IN HIVE.

The frames for nuclei are the regular full-sized frames,
and a full hive may be used for each nucleus, but it is economy
to have the hive divided up into two or three compartments for
as many nuclei. Three nuclei in one hive are mutually helpful
in keeping up the heat, and thus it is possible to have the nuclei
weaker than if each nucleus were by itself, while results are as
good with the three weaker nuclei in the one hive as with three
stronger nuclei in three separate hives.

NUCLEUS-HIVE.

”

For many years I have had hives divided into two or.more
compartments, and have had much trouble from the bees find-
ing a passage from one compartment to another, but my latest
nucleus hives have not troubled in that way. They are made
from ordinary 8-frame hives together with the 2-inch-deep bot-
tom-board. First, two pieces are nailed on the inside of the
bottom-board, each piece 1814x134x%. One piece nailed 414
inches from one side, the other 4% inches from the other side.
These pieces do not lie flat in the nottom, but stand on edge,
with 136 inches between them. Then the hive is fastened on
the bottom-board with the four usual staples. Two division-
boards, each 1814x934x5-16, are now put in place and crowded
down tight upon the two pieces in the bottom-board. These
two division-boards are 45 inches from each side, leaving 214
inches between them. The four spaces at the top, at the ends
of the division-boards, are closed by blocks 34x14x5-16, whit-.
tled enough to allow them to be wedged into place. Light 114-
inch wire nails are driven through from the outside tc hold the
division-boards in place. A block 19x2x% is pushed into the
entrance centrally, and held there by a nail lightly driven in
front of it. That leaves an entrance at each end of the block
for the two side compartments, but no entrance for the middle
compartment. For this purpose an inch hole is bored in the
back end of the hive midway between the two corners, its center
being about three inches from the upper surface of the hive.
Three boards of half-inch stuff cover the three compartments,
and over this is an ordinary hive-cover.

232 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

At Fig. 90 will be seen a bottom-board for a nucleus hive.
You will notice that the two pieces that run lengthwise through
the center of the bottom-board are a quarter of an inch shal-
lower than the rim of the bottom-board. If they were 2 inches
deep instead of 134, the bottom-bars of the frames would rest
directly on them. Of course the division-boards are deep
enough to come clear down upon these two pieces.

Fiy. 86.—Starters in Breeding-Frame,

Two nucleus-hives will be seen at Fig. 91. The one at the
right faces us, showing the entrance at each side. The back of
the left hive is toward us, showing the round hole near the top,
which serves as an entrance to the middle compartment.

LARGE SPACE FOR MIDDLE FRAME.

In one of these side compartments there is abundant room
for two frames and a dummy, and three frames without the
dummy can with care be crowded in. The central compartment
will of course take only one frame. It seems as though 214
inches is quite too much space for one frame, but I use that
space advisedly. Many years ago I made a nucleus hive with six

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 253

compartments; and at that time, not having had much experi-
ence, I made each compartment 21% inches wide. Years after-
ward I made another nucleus hive; and, smiling at my former
ignorance and congratulating myself upon the superior knowl-
edge I had gained with the passing years, I made the compart-
ments more nearly in accord with the usual space occupied by
each frame in a hive, making each compartment—I’m not sure
whether it was 15g or 184. At any rate, the bees swarmed out
of these limited quarters to such an extent that I could not use
them, whereas they had not swarmed out of the 2144 compart-
ments; veither have they swarmed out of these later ones.
Having so much room in these central compartments, the bees
sometimes build pieces of comb on the sides which I must clean
away, but that is better than to have them swarm out.

CONTENTS OF NUCLEUS HIVES.

A nucleus hive is tenanted by a two-frame nucleus on each
side and a one-frame nucleus in the middle. Care is taken to
choose one of the best frames of brood for the middle nucleus,
and perhaps a few extra bees are brushed in. A third comb
may be put in each of the side compartments, or a dummy, the
same as the dummies used in the regular hives.

MAKING THE BEES STAY.

When populated, the entrances of the nuclei are plugged up
with green leaves. These are generally taken away twenty-four
hours later, after the hives are pounded to stir up the bees, but
if they are neglected the leaves will dry aud shrink so the bees
can make their way out. It is better to form nuclei with queen-
less bees. for they are not so much inclined as others to go back
to their old place.

BABY NUCLET.

There has been much interest in the matter of having
queens fertilized in small nuelei containing only 200 bees or so.
About the year 1863 I had seen miniature nuclei in the apiaries
of Adam Grimm, but they had not so few bees as the so-called
baby nuclei of to-day. Of course, I had a number of queens
fertilized in baby nuclei, but I did not go to the trouble of hav-

234 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

ing hives specially built for them. I merely used an 8-frame
dovetailed hive, putting in it sometimes a 1-pound section
nearly filled with honey, and sometimes two such sections side
by side. A frame of brood with its adhering bees was taken
from some colony, the bees shaken or brushed into the nucleus-
hive quickly, a virgin not more than a day or two old dropped
into the ‘hive among the bees and all hastily closed, the en-
trance having been closed in advance. Of course, the frame of
beeless brood was returned to its old place. Three days later
the entrance was opened, and in due time the queen was layixg.

However it may be for the commercial queen-rearer, for
the honey-producer there seems no great advantage in baby
nuclei. He generally needs to make some increase, and it is
more convenient for him to use 2 or 3 frame nuclei for queen-
rearing, and then build them up into full colonies.

REGULAR HIVES FOR NUCLEI.

One year I tried rearing queens on a commercial scale, pro-
ducing them for Editor G. W. York, of the American Bee
Journal. I may say, parenthetically, that one season was
enough to convince me it was best to stick to honey-production,
rearing queens only for my own use. But I had 50 three-com-
partment hives left on hand; and in spite of that, truth compels
me to say that latterly they generally lie idle, and I use a full
hive for each nucleus, merely putting 3 or 4 frames in one side
of the hive, with a dummy beside them. To be sure, it takes
moie bees than to have three nuclei in one hive, but it is a yood
bit more convenient to build up into a full colony a nucleus
that has the whole hive to itself.

QUEEN-CAGE.

When we go to give queen-cells to the nuclei, we are pro-
vided with introducing queen-cages. The first introducing-
cage I devised was the Miller introducing-cage, listed in the
catalogs of supply-dealers. Then I got up one I liked better,
three of which are shown in Fig. 92, the blocks containing the
candy being separate from the cages. This may be called
Tiler cage No. 2. Two blocks 3 inches by 4% by 14 and a piece

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 235

of wire cloth 614x1%, form the material for the cage. Lay the
two blocks parallel on their edges, and nail on these one end of
the wire cloth, the end of the wire cloth corresponding with the
ends of the blocks. Fold the wire cloth around the ends of the
blocks and nail it on the other side, and you have a cage
3x17%exl4, outside measure. The plug to close the cage is not

Fig. 87.—Puitting Foundation in Sections.

so simple, for the cage is to be provisioned, and the plug holds
the eandy. Two blocks 114x14x14, a piece of tin and a piece of
section stuff each 114 inches square form the material for the
plug. Lay the two blocks parallel on their sides, with 14 inch
space between them. On these nail the piece of tin, turn over,
and nail on the section stuff. Near oue end drive a tack partly

236 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

in to prevent the plug going too far into the cage. That makes
all complete.

After using these for some years, I got up another that in
some respects I like still better. This is shown in Fig. 871.5,
and may be called Miller cage No. 3. Make a block 334x1%xx-
5-16. From one side of the block, at one end, eut out a piece
144x%%, making the block as shown at No. 1, Fig. 8744. Cut a
piece of tin 1x2 inches. Stand the block on edge with the eut-
out place uppermost, and in this cut-out place lay a lead pencil
or similar object 11-32 in diameter. Over this bend the tin,
letting it come out flush with the end of the block. Then laying
the block on its side, still keeping the pencil in place, drive two
14-inch wire nails through tin and wood, clinching on the oppo-
‘site side. When the pencil is withdrawn there is left a tube to
be filled with candy. That completes the plug (No. 2, Fig.
8714). The cage itself is made of a piece of wire cloth + inches
square, if one edge is a selvedge. If there is no selvedge, it
must be 4x4%% and 1% inch folded over as a selvedge to prevent
vaveling. A block must be made, not to be part of the cage, but
to be used to form the wire cloth over. It must be a little
larger than the first block, say 5x1 3-16x34. If the block were
the same size as the first, there would be too tight a fit, and if
the fit be loose it is easy to wedge in a thin slip, as a piece of
wood separator. The wire cloth is wrapped around the block
and allowed to project at one end about % inch. A light wire is
wound twice around, about ¥ inch from the selvedge end
(which is the part that does not project) and fastened. An-
other wire is similarly fastened about 134 inches from the first
wire. Now the projecting part of the wire cloth is bent down
upon the end of the block, and hammered down with a hammer.
That completes the cage (No. 3, Fig. 8714), but for convenience
in hanging it between brood-frames one end of a light wire 7 or
8 inches long is fastened into one side of the cage about 1% inch
from the open end. To put it in a hive, I shove the frames
apart, and holding the end of the wire lower the cage where 1
want it, and then shove the frames together. That leaves 3
inches or more of the wire abuve the top-bars, and when I want
to take out the cage I take hold of the wire, draw the frames

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 237

apart, and lift out the cage. The wire serves also to mark the
spot where the cage is.

When the tube is filled with candy, it may be pushed so far
into the cage that the bees can not get at the candy. Then when
it is desired that the bees shall get at the candy, the plug is
drawn out until the eandy is exposed (No. 5, Fig. 871%). This
is more reliable as to time than to have the usual cage with the
candy covered with eard-board. With the card-board there is

Fig. 8744.—Miller Cage No. 3.

no certainty as to whether the queen will be released in 24
hours or much longer. Sometimes it may be several days.
With the No. 3 cage you know just how long the bees have the
cage before they get to the candy, and after the candy is ex-
posed you may count on the bees clearing out the candy in
about 24 hours.

It may be objected that it is troublesome to open up the
hive to change the position of the plug in the cage. That is

238 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

true, and often, if not generally, the cage is not put between
the combs, but thrust in the entrance, making sure that it is
where it will be protected by the bees. After being there about
two days, it is only the work of a minute to take out the cage,
expose the candy, and put the cage back in the entrance.

Sometimes, if I want to have the work done automatically,
I use a device that delays the work about as much as the card-
board, but is more uniform in the time it takes. I thrust into
the center of the tube of candy its whole length a wooden splint
about 1-16 of an inch square, and that delays the bees at gnaw-
ing out the candy.

When a queen-cell is to be caged, the No. 2 cage allows
more room for the cell.

For making queen-cages, instead of the common painted
wire cloth that is used for screen doors, I like better extra heavy
bright wire cloth. It is more substantial. But E. R. Root says
queens have been poisoned in such cages, so have a care, al-
though I have had hundreds of queens in them without noting
any harm. Perhaps all tinned wire cloth is not alike.

DISTRIBUTING QUEEN-CELLS.,

When the queen-cells are to be distributed, the first thing
is to provision a number of queen-cages of the No. 2 style, with
the usual queen-candy, tacking a piece of pastebuard on the
end of the plug. Then we go to the nucleus where the cells are
stored, cut out the cells, rejecting any that do not appear satis-
factory, and put the cells in the cages. Some cells, however, are
left uncaged. When we come to a nucleus that has had no
queen for a day or more, there is no need of caging the cell. It
is put against the comb in a good place, and fastened there
with a hive-staple (Fig. 85). Coming to a nucleus with a
queen which we wish to remove, we put the queen in a cage, and
give the nucleus a caged cell, laying the cage against the comb
and nailing it there with a 1% or 134 wire nail (Fig. 93).
This nail is slender so as to push easily through the meshes uf
the wire cloth. Then the young queens that we have removed
are used wherever needed.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 239

BRUSHING BEES OFF QUEEN-CELLS.

Before cutting cells from the comb the bees must be re-
moved, and it would mean the ruin of the cells to shake the
bees off. Brushing with a Coggshall brush, although it might
do with extreme care, would be likely to result in torn cells.
Even something no stiffer than goldenrod or sweet clover needs
much care. I like best a bunch of long and soft June grass—a
very flimsy affair to use as a brush, but it is safe.

Fig. 88.—Comb for Queen-Cells.

ADVANTAGE OF CAGING CELLS.

Of course the object of caging the cells is to prevent the
bees from tearing them down. At the time of taking a queen
out of a nucleus, if a cell were merely stapled on, the bees
would be pretty sure to destroy it; for, not yet realizing that
their young laying queen has been taken from them, they feel no
need of anything like a queen-ccll. So .he cage saves the time
and trouble of waiting and making a second visit another day.

There is, however, another advantage in using the cage,
making it somewhat desirable to use it in all cases. We often
want to know what has been the fate of a cell, and can generally

240 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

tell pretty well by its appearance. If it has the appearance of
most of those in Fig. 94, we know that a young queen has
emerged and must be in the nucleus. If it is torn open in the
side, like the one at the extreme right, the capping being still
perfect, we are sure that the young queen in it was destroyed
by the bees. ,

If the cells have merely been stapled on, the bees are so
prompt about removing them as soon as they are uo longer of
any use that scarce a vestige of them is left, so we lave uothing
to judge by. But when a cell is enclosed in a cage, the bees are
very slow about removing it, so the cage gives us a better chance
for judging,

APPEARANCE OF VACATED CELLS.

In Fig. 94 the three first cells at the left have the cap still
adhering by a neck, showing that it bas been only a short time
since the queen emerged, providing the cell has not been caged;
if it has been caged the queen may have been out some time. The
fourth cell looks entire, as if it yet contained a young queen.
But it is deceptive. The bees have a trick of fastening the cap
back again as if it were a great joke, sometimes thus impris.
oning one of their own number. <A very close look will gen-
erally show a little crack, and a very little force will be needed
to pick the cap loose. The next six cells show plainly that a
young queen has emerged from each, and finding a cell of that
kind is just as good evidence as a sight of the queen: only I
would a little rather see the queen for the bare chance that she
may not have perfect wings. .As already mentioned, the cell at
the extreme right shows by the hole in its side that no queen
ever came out of it alive.

MILLER QUEEN-NURSERY.

Whatever the advantages of using queen-cells instead of
virgin queens, there are also advantages in having the young
queens hatch out in a queen-nursery. So I have made consider-
able use of a nursery of my own devising, Fig. 8844. It may
take the place of a brood-frame in any hive, in the lower story
or in an upper story, and it does not matter whether a laying
queen is in the hive or not.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 241

For this nursery I use a regular Miller frame, which lends
itself to the purpose admirably, top-bar, bottom-bar, and end-
bar being all of the same width, 14 inches. If you haven’t a
Miller frame, you ean easily make a frame having all parts the
same width, 14g inches; only be sure the end-bars are at least
3 thick, and have the outer dimensions of the frame the same
as the frames you have regularly in use. I’ll give instructions

Fig. 881.—Miller Queen Nursery.

for making a nursery with a frame of the Langstroth size, and
if your frames are of different size you must act accordingly.
Make 7 pieces, each long enough to reach from top-bar to
bottom-bar (with top-bar % and bottom-bar 14, that makes the
length 8 inches), 144 wide, and % thick. Saw-kerfs must be
made on each side of these 7 pieces. Beginning 114 inches
from one end, on one side of the piece, with a very fine saw,
make a saw-kerf by sawing about half-way through. Make a
similar kerf 1144 inches from the first, and then, each time

242 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

measuring off 114 inches, make 3 move kerfs, making 5 in all.
(Your last kerf will be more than 114 inches from the end, but
that’s all right.) Do the same thing on the opposite side, be-
ginning at the opposite end. Make similar kerfs in each end-
bar, measuring from the top-bar for one end, and from the bot-
tom-bar for the other end. Of course these kerfs are to be
made on the inside of the end-bar, and none on the outside.
Now distribute these 7 pieces at equal distances from one end
of the frame to the other, and if you are exact about it the dis-
tance between each two will be 1 25-32 inches. Fasten these 7
sticks in by driving one nail down through the top-bar into
each, and two nails through the bottom-bar. Before nailing,
make sure that each stick faces right, as mentioned further on.
Nail upon one side of your frame a piece of wire cloth to cover
it (175¢x9¥4). Have the nails not more than 2 inches apart all
around and on each stick. I use bright wire cloth, extra heavy,
with meshes of the usual size in screen-doors.

You now need 40 pieces of tin, 2x1¥% inches to go into all
the saw-kerfs. Each piece of tin serves as a shelf, thus dividing
up the whole into 48 compartments. You will now see the ne-
cessity of having the sticks face each other so as to have the
kerfs correspond, as mentioned a minute ago. Look out for this
before you nail the sticks in place. i

To close these compartments, you need 8 pieces of tin, each
10x2 inches. That’s % inch longer than the depth of the
frame, allowing the % to be bent over at right angles on the top-
bar. To hold these covers in place I use heavy pins bent over.
Small serew-hooks of straight pattern might do better. Three
are needed in each end-bar, and 6 in each upright. Of course
these tin covers are put in at the top and slide down.

You will see that each of the compartments furnishes a
large amount of room, 40 of them being 1 25-32x114x1\%, and
the remaining 8 being larger. That gives abundance of room to
put in the largest kind of queen-cell. With each cell is given
a ball of candy the size of a pea.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF A QUEEN-NURSERY.

If a ripe queen-cell is given to a nucleus or colony, there is
no way to be sure that a queen that is all right will issue from

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 243

it. She may be imperfect as to her legs, and, what is still
worse, her wings may be so deficient that she never ean fly. If
she can not fly she can never be fertilized, and so is worthless.
Indeed she is worse than worthless, for she is wasting the time
of the nucleus. Sometimes, indeed, it happens that the occu-
pant of the queen-cell is dead. All of this is avoided by having
the virgins hatch out in a nursery. If a cell is cut into, and
is given to a nucleus, the bees will at once destroy it, but in the
nursery it will hatch out all right.

One may have a lot of queen-cells on hand with no immedi-
ate use for them. It will not do to leave them without cutting
out beyond a certain time, for the hatching out of the first one
means the death of all the rest. Butif they are put in a nursery
they are safe, and may be left stored in the nursery for some
days after hatching out.

Over against these advantages stands the one disadvantage
that in the nursery the bees are not allowed to come in immedi-
ate bodily contact with the cells, nor with the young queen after
she issues from the cell. Some think this so serious a disad-
vantage as to overbalance all the advantages of the nursery. It
is claimed that the clustering of the bees about the cells and the
young queens does more than merely to keep up the temperature
to a certain point, and that when this close contact is lacking
something will be lacking in the resulting queens. Also that
the young queens thus isolated and imprisoned are in a fright-
ened condition, and that a young queen reared in such an atmos-
phere is not the same as one that has the feeling that she is all
the while closely surrounded by friends.

So whether it be wise to use a nursery or not, it will cer-
tainly be wise not to put cells into it before it is necessary for
their safety, nor to leave a virgin in 4 nursery any longer than
necessity demands.

QUALITY OF QUEENS.

The question has been raised whether queens reared in the
way I have described are as good as those reared by the latest
methods. I think I can judge pretty well as to the character of
a queen after watching her work for a year or two; I have
kept closely in touch with what improvements have been made

244 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

in the wav of queen-rearing, and have reared queens by the
hundred in the latest style; and I do not hesitate to say that
the simple method I have given produces queens that can not be
surpassed by any other method.

BEGINNER IMPROVING STOCK,

1 have been asked whether I would advise a beginner with
vuly half a dozen colonies, one of them having a superior queen,
(o use the plans I have given to rear queens from his best queen.
I certainly should, if he intends to give much attention to the
business and increase the number of his colonies. The essential
stey's to be taken are simple enough: and even a beginner can
easily follow them. But in a few words, here is what I would
advise him:

Take from the colony having vour best queen one of its
frames, and put in the center of the Live a frame half filled or
entirely filled with foundation. If small starters are used in a
full colony tlie bees are likely to fill out with drone-comb. A
week later take out this comb, and trim away the edge that con-
tains only eges. Put this prepared frame in the center of any
strong colony after taking away its queen and one of its
frames. Ten days later cut out these cells, to be used wherever
desired, giving the colouy its queen or some other queen.

Now there’s vothing very complicated about that, is there?

ITALIANIZING WITH NATURAL SWARMING.

Yet still there are some who don’t want to take even that
much trouble. A man says: “ All J care to do with the bees is
to hive the swarms that come oul, aud to put on the surplus
boxes and take them off when filled. I never take a frame out
of a hive any more than if they were all box hives. But I have
Ttalians in one hive, and if I could I’d like to have more of that
stock.”

For such a one I would advise after this manner: Suppose
we call your Halian colony A, the strongest of the other col-
onies B, the next strongest C, the next D, and so on. When A
swarms, hive the swarm and set it on the old stand, put A in
place of B, and put B on a new stand. All the field-bees of B

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 245

will return to A, making A quite strong again. In 8 or 10 days
a young queen will be ready in A to go out with aswarm. Hive
the swarm, put it in place of A, put A in place of C, and put ©
in anew place. The field-bees of C will again strengthen A, and
in a day or two another swarm will issue. Put the swarm in
place of A, put A in place of D, and put D in a new place.
Continue this as long as A continues te swarm, and each one of
your swarms will have for its queen a daughter of your Italian
queen. If you have only five or six colonies, the whole lot may
be thus Italianized.

QUEENS FOR OUT-APIARIES.

On any day when we are going to an out-apiary and expect
fo use voung queens, we take them from any nucleus that will
furnish them, never putting any escort bees in the cage with the
queen, and generally one or more extra queens are taken along,
for we are never sure they may not be needed.

Care is taken that the record-book shall always show the
condition of each nucleus; so we always have some idea as to
which nueleus will furnish a laying queen, which one needs a
cell, and so on.

INTRODUCING QUEENS.

A queen may be introduced in a No. 2 provisioned cage,
the cage being nailed directly over the brood, as in Fig. 93, or
she may be introduced in a No. 3 cage let down between the
combs or thrust into the entrance as already described. Often.
however, when it is convenient, I take from a nucleus the frame
on which the queen is found, and put frame and all in the
queenless hive. If this is done at a time when honey is yielding,
there is little or no danger, provided the colony has been queen-
less long enough to be fully conscious of its queenlessness. In-
deed, I have introduced many queens during the harvest into a
colony conscious of its queenlessness, by merely taking out a
frame of brood and dropping the queen among the bees on the
middle of the comb. If I wish to run no risk whatever, as in
the case of a valuable imported queen, I put in a hive without
any bees several frames with no unsealed brood, but with plenty

246 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

of sealed brood, some of it just emerging, and then closing the
hive bee-tight put it where there is no danger of the brood being
chilled. One way to do this is to put it over a strong colony,
wire ¢clofb preventing the passave of the bees from one hive to
the other. At the end of five days the hive can be set on its
own stand, and these five-day-old bees, under the stress of ne-
cessity, will soon be seen carrying in pollen.

Fig. 89.—Comb for Queen Cells, Trimmed.

ARTIFICIAL INCREASE.

Fighting so bitterly against all inerease by swarming, I
would run out of bees entirely if I did not resort to artificial
increase. Without pretending to give all the ways by which in-
erease has been made, I may tell just a little about it.

One can make increase by drawing brood or bees, or both,
from colonies that are working for honey, and thus keep all the
old colonies storing, and at the same time make the desired in-
crease. In that way the largest number of colonies possible are
kept at work on the harvest, and one might have a feeling that
all the increase was clear gain. But the feeling is a delusive
one. It is not the number of colonies at work storing, but the

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 244

number of bees, that counts. And 69,000 bees in one hive will
store more honey than will the same number of bees equally di-
vided in two hives. So in planning for inerease I generally
count that the colonies that are drawn upon for increase shall
make that their business without being expected to be called
upon to stare surplus, while those at werk for surplus are to be
left in the fullest strength possible throughout the season. You
cannot make something out of nothing, and if increase is to be
made you may as well devote a certain number of colonies to
that business.

INCREASING BY TAKING TO OUT-APIARY.

The case may be different in a locality where there is a
long and late flow, but I am talking about this locality with
white clover as the dependence for a harvest. In the year 1880
I took 1200 pounds of honey from tweive colonies and increased
them to eighty-one; but the honey taken was extracted buck-
wheat, and I never knew such a buckwheat harvest before or
since. Perhaps it will be well to tell more explicitly how that
increase was made. The success achieved will be somewhat di-
minished when I say that the bees were supplied with ready-
built combs, so they had no combs to build. But they had no
help from other colonies in the way of bees or brood except a
few eges from which to rear queens.

The twelve colonies were taken from the home apiary to
the Wilson apiary, and were prepared in advance for dividing.
From part of them the queens were taken and queen-eells thus
secured. Ten-frame hives were used at that time, and by some
help from others of the twelve a hive would contain ten frames
of brood and bees without any queen, a sealed queen-cell on
each frame of brood. After standing a day or so this hive
would be taken to the out-apiary, and the ten frames put in ten
different hives. Of course every bee stayed just where it was
put. To each.of.these was added another frame of brood and
adhering bees that had been brought along, and whether these
bees ‘were queenless or not there was.nothing for them but to
stay where they were put. In the course of time these first-
formed ‘nuclei were strong enough to help others, and the latest
nuclei were’built up at once into fair colonies.

248 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

INCREASING 9 WEAK COLONIES TO 56.
i nase
In the year 1899, at the Hastings apiary, I increased nine

colonies to fifty-six, making them rear their own queens, and
building up mostly on foundation. No advantage was taken in
the way of hauling colonies from home to divide, and the same
plan would work just as well if I had had only one apiary. The
inerease was very satisfactory, considering how weak the col-
onies were at the start. May 29 there were only forty-one

Fig. 90.—Nucleus Bottom-Board.

combs containing any brood in the nine colonies, counting each
comb with brood, even if the patch of brood were no larger than
a silver dollar. I doubt if the nine averaged any more than
three and a half good frames of brood each. On the other hand,
the year was unusually favorable for increase, for there was a
continnons though not strong flow right through until, I think,
in September.

No attempt could be made at increase until the colonies
were stronger, and the first step looking in that direction was
not made until June 12. On that date No. 237 with its seven
frames of brood and bees was taken from its stand, and a hive

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 249

of empty combs set on the stand. The queen was found and
pul in the hive of empty combs, which by this time had a gocd
many bees returning from the field. The queen of No. 237 was
considered the best in the apiary. No. 237 was now set on the
stand of No. 235, and No. 235 was set in a new place. Please
understand that the stand holds its number, and that when the
hive that was on stand 237 is moved as stated it is now No. 235.
We now have on 235 a hive full of brood and bees without any
queen; and while it will lose the old flying force it had, it will
get the flying force that belongs to its present stand. The
colony that was moved from 235 will, of course, lose its flying
force, and will take its time to recuperate.

The bees on these two stands—235 and 237—were the
principal actors throughout the season, the other colonies in
the apiary merely serving as feeders from which to draw brood
from time to time, On 227 was left the live of empty combs,
the queen, and the constantly increasing flying force. We now
go to the other colonies and draw from them what brood they
can spare without depleting them unwisely, leaving foundation
in place of the brood. Looking at the record I find this was only
four frames of brood. No bees were taken with this brood. An
upper story was put on 237 and these four frames of brood put
in it with four empty combs. Of course the queen and bees
would soon be up in this upper story.

Matters were left in this shape for nine days, the plan be-
ing to visit the apiary every nine days throughout the summer.
A stormy day, however, might extend the time to ten days, or
Sunday coming on the ninth day might shorten the time to eight
days.

At the expiration of the nine days, June 21, we returned.
We took the brood with queen-cells and all bees from 235, and
formed two nuclei. Just why we did not start three I don’t
know, for usually we started a nucleus with two frames of
brood, and we must have had more than four frames of brood.
No measures were taken to make these bees stay where they
were put; it was not necessary with such queenless bees.

Then we took the upper story of 237, with all its brood
and bees, and put it on 235, taking out the queen and putting
her back in the lower story on 237. Then we looked to see

250 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

what brood we could get in the seven cclonies that acted as feed-
ers, without reducing any of them to less than four or five
brood. This time we found six brood, which we took without
any bees, and put on 237.

This was the regular program each time: forming nuelei
with the brood, bees, and cells on 235; putting all brood and

Fig. 91.—Nucleus Hives.

hees from 237 on 235, always leaving the queen at 237; and
then getting for 237 a fresh stock of brood wherever it could
be spared.

As none of the assisting colonies were overdrawn, they
would be getting stronger, so that up to a certain point more
brood could be drawn each time. July 18, for the first time,
more brood was drawn than it was thought wise to give to 237,

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 251

there being twenty frames in all. Sixteen of these, or two hives
full, were taken for 237, the other four were used to strengthen
some of the nuclei. Not the weakest nuclei were strengthened,
but the earliest and strongest, for by being helped these would
become strong enough to be helpers in turn. In fact, toward
the last of the season, when there was little time for nuclei to
grow up, the earlier nuclei rendered substantial aid to the later
ones, at least one of them yielding as many as nine frames of
brood. The first nuclei were formed June 21, as already men-
tioned; the last were formed August 23.

I have gone thus fully into details because I believe this
plan can be used successfully by any one who has only a small
number of colonies and is desirous of increase. The first nuclei
are formed early enough in the season so that they have more
than time enough to become strong colonies, and the latest must
be formed only in sufficient numbers so that they can be
strengthened up as soon as the queen gets to laying.

NUCLEUS PLAN OF INCREASE,

With nucleus hives for queen-rearing, as already described,
it is easy to carry out the nucleus system in the strictest sense.
I go to a nucleus with a laying queen, preferring a nucleus with
two or three frames, take all the frames with queen and adher-
ing bees, put them in an empty hive, and set the hive on an
empty stand. A week later a frame of brood may be added. It
will be better ifsit can be given with adhering bees, and still bet-
ter if the bees can be queenless. Still, there is no great danger
to the queen in any case, although the weaker the nucleus when
strange bees are given, the greater the danger to the queen. A
week later on, two frames of brood and bees may be added, and
the queen will be safer if these two frames are taken from two
different colonies. The colony will then be strong enough to be
left to its own devices.

NUCLEUS BUILDING UP WITHOUT HELP.

Indeed, it is not necessary to do anything more than to let
a nucleus stand without any help in a fair season, if it can
stand long enough. My assistant is imelined to be quite opti-

w
Sy

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

be

mistic in some things, and one August she expressed her belief
that a nucleus of two frames with a laying queen would be able
without any assistance, if started on that date, Aug. 6, to build
up into a colony strong enough to winter. J said that would be
asking too much, and we would put the matter to the test. So
two frames of brood with adhering bees were put in a hive on
a new stand, and (wo days later a laying queen was given. The
two frames of brood were rather better than the average, for I
wanted her to see that even with an extra chance it was too late
in the season for any such growth. I don’t know whether she
watehed that colony on the sly or not, but I did. Looking at it
every few days, I could see no gain—if anything it grew weak-
er. Then I thought I could zee a little gain, and in twelve days
from the time it was started the two frames of brood had in-
creased to two and a half. Five days later there were three
brood, and from that on it walked cigkt along to a fair colony,
although it had to be fed up for winter. But I would not waut
to count on starting for a full colony so late as that in all sea-
sons, especially if the frames of brevd were not the very best.

INCREASE WITHOUT NUCLET.

These different ways are all on the nucleus plan. Just one
more way I want to mention, and it is not on the nucleus plan,
but if queens are on hand I think I like it as well as any. We
take four colowies, and the first thing is to have all four strong’
before anything is done. Then we take an empty hive-body
without any bottom-board, and into it we put two frames of
brood without any bees from the first hive (a few bees will do no
harm), the same from the seewud, and the same from the third,
filling out the hive with two empty combs or combs with some
honey. In the middle of the hive is a provisioned introducing-
cage containing a laying queen. Upon the fourth hive we put
a queen-excluder, and on this we set our hive full of brood, and
cover it up. Very soou bees enough will go up through the ex-
cluder to take care of the brood. Three or four hours later, or
twenty-four hours later if more convenient, this hive is set
upon a bottom-board on a new stand, and the work is all done.
A way that is easier, and nearly as good, is to set the hive with
the six brood immediately in place of the fourth hive, setting

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 253

the fourth hive in a new place. The returning field-bees will
populate the new hive. Ten days or two weeks later the per-
formance may be repeated if the season is prosperous, and this
may be repeated a number of times. Of course empty combs or
foundation will take the place of the two frames of brood drawn
from each hive. An advantage of this plan is that it makes a
strong colony at once, and there is no danger of being caught

Fig, 92—-Alller Cage No. 2.

with a number of weaklings on a sudden cessation of the har-
vest. Each new colony formed will in its turn soon be able to
take its part in the game to start still others.

SHAKING BEES OFF COMBS.

In this last plan, since the frames of brood are taken with-
out bees, there is a good deal to be done in the way of cleaning
bees off the combs. While it does not matter if a few bees
should be left on the combs, it does matter greatly that care be
taken to make sure that the queen is not among the bees taken.
So it is well to brush the combs tolerably clean, and then one
can easily see whether the queen is present. Before brushing,

254 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

however, most of the bees should be shaken off, for if this is
rightly done it will be a saving of time.

FINAL TAKING-OFF OF SECTIONS.

When the time comes that the bees are expected to do no
more work in the sections, whether that be immediately at the
close of the clover harvest or later, the supers with their see-
tions are all brought home and piled up in the honey-room. On
some accounts it is better if the sections can be taken out of
the supers at once and taken care of, and on other accounts it

50%
Ot
BBe

Fig. 93.— Caged Queen-Cell.

is better they should stand for some time. It is a very difficult
thing to scrape the bee-glue from sections while the weather is
still hot, and as disagreeable as it is difficult. There may be
some unsealed cells of honey in the outer cells of some sections,
and this will have little chance to evaporate if it is thin, after
the sections are in the shipping-cases. Sc the sections are likely
to stand for some time in the supers after all are taken off, be-
ing blocked up as in Fig. 79.

FUMIGATING SECTIONS.

Formerly it was necessary to fumigate the sections with
sulphur after they were brought into the house, the fumigation

#IFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 255

being repeated two or three weeks later. I suppose I should
now prefer bisulphide of carbon to sulphur for fumigation, but
for several years I have not found it necessary to fumigate.
Formerly the larvee of the bee-moth would make bad work if
fumigation were omitted, and sometimes in spite of it, but now
there is no trouble. JI don’t know what makes the difference,
unless it be that formerly there was so large a per cent of black
blood in my bees.

When the time does come for taking the sections all out of
the supers, the work is gone at in earnest and continued until
all the marketable sections are in their shipping-cases ready
for market. It will be understood that all supers taken off be-
fore the last have been handled as heretofore mentioned, the
marketable sections having all been piled up in the honey-room
and the others returned as “ go-backs,” and the last lot taken off
will consist of every sort, from foundation untouched by the
bees up to sections entirely filled and sealed.

SORTING THE SECTIONS.

Philo sorts the sections into four classes as he takes them
out, although some supers are assigned to one class or another
without being taken out, because all in the super are of one
kind. One lot consists of dry sections, or those in which the
foundation either has not been touched by the bees, or else has
been drawn out so little that no drop of honey has been put in
it. These are put in a pile by themselves.

FEEDER SECTIONS.

The second lot consists of those which have just a few
drops of honey in them, up to those which are not more than
half filled. Some entire supers will be assigned to the first or
second lot without being taken out of the super at all. Whena
super feels pretty light, it is inspected with some care by look-
ing through it from the under side. If it is found that there
is no honey in any section in the super, it goes to the dry pile
without any taking out. If there is honey in the super, but
no section in it more than half filled, it goes to the second pile
without being emptied, even if there is only one section in the

256 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

super containing any honey, and that section having only a few
drops. 412

BEES EMPTYING SECTIONS.

The supers of sections in this second pile are called “ feed-
ers,” because the honey in them is to be fed back to the bees
(Fig. 96). Usually this feedine is not done until all tbe
“ feeders” are ready for the bees. They are taken into the shop

Fig. 9f.—Vucuated Qucen-Cells.

cellar, and if there are only a few of them they are put in
piles bee-tight with an opening at the top and another at the
bottom only large enough for one or two bees to pass at a time.
If the number of supers is sufficiently large, say half as large
as the uamber of colomes in the ome apiavy. then the supers
are set singly all around against the wall of the cellar so as to
make them as easily accessible to the bees a3 possible. When
there are ouly.a few sections, if tue bees have free access to
them they will tear the comb to pieces.

When all the “ feeders” are in the cellar, then the door is
opened wide, and the bees help themselves. The reasons for

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 257

having these “ feeders” in the cellar rather than outdoors are,
first, that I want to keep the bees away from them until the
whole of them are ready for the attack; second, that in the cel-
lar they are safe from the rain. The best of these emptied
“ feeders ” furnish “baits” for the following season.

UNMARKETABLE SECTIONS.

The third pile Philo makes consists of those which are more
than half filled with honey, but not good enough to be market-
able (Fig. 97). This pile is never very large, and is easily
gotten rid of at home, together with some help from relatives.
Some of it will make as fine appearance as any honey when
placed on the table, although the under side on the plate may
have too many unsealed and unfilled cells to admit it into the
marketable class. There may also be some broken sections, for
sections have a fashion of falling with half a chance.

BEES CLEANING DAUBY SECTIONS.

Sometimes it happens that a section otherwise good is
spoiled, and badly spoiled, in appearance, by having honey
from some section above leak all over one or both of its faces.
Miss Wilson hit upon a plan for having such sections cleaned
up in short order, and with very little trouble. She puts them
in a super, puts the super over a colony of bees, and an hour
later, if the bees are active, they are taken from the hive as
good as new.

The rest of the sections that do not go into one of these
three piles are merchantable sections. That makes four kinds
into which Philo sorts them, and you will see that it is possible
out of one super to take sections that will go into all four of
the piles. Of course there is always standing a super ready for
any odd sections of each kind, that is, a super for dry sections,
another for “ feeders,” ete.

FIRST PART OF CLEANING SECTIONS.

Having now told how Philo sorts the sections, let me
further tell what he does with them. When he comes to a super

258 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

that does not go entire to the first or the second pile, the sections
are taken out in the manner described on previous pages, leav-
ing the contents of the super upside down on a board. The T
tins are lifted off, and any sections that are not marketable are
picked off and their places supplied with those that are market-
able. Then the super that was taken from them is replaced by
a box without top or bottom, that is, it is much like the super,

rig. 95.—Aliller Frame.

only it is perhaps an inch longer, an inch wider, and an inch
shallower than a T super, the exact size not being important.
A piece of board is wedged into one side, and another into one
end, so as to hold the sections firmly in place (Fig. 98). A
case-knife with the whole length of its edge held at right angles
to the sections sweeps back and forth, and when this has made
the surface fairly clean, No. 2 sandpaper is used. A cabinet-
maker’s seraper is better than a case-knife while it is sharp, but
is harder to keep sharp. Then a boar similar to the one under
the sections is laid on top, and with one hand under the under

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 259

board and the other over the upper board he turns the whole
upside down, the super resting on one end on the table as he
turns it over. The knife and sandpaper now do their work on
the tops of the sections. Then the wedges are taken out, the
box removed, and the boardful of sections is slid along the
table to the one who is scraping. This table, which is very con-
venient, is 8 ft. long and 3 ft. 9 in. wide.

FINAL SCRAPING OF SECTIONS.

Miss Wilson generally does all the scraping; that is, all the
scraping besides what Philo has done, and sometimes his part,
as in Fig. 98. She sometimes scrapes on a board on her lap,
but usually on one of the small tables heretofore mentioned
(Fig. 99). If the section should rest upon the table, the knife
used in seraping could not freely reach the lowest parts, so a
loose block lies on the board, on which the sections rest. An-
other advantage of the block is that the accumulation of propo-
lis is not so much in the way. The size of this block is not ma-
terial; it may be an inch thick, four inches long or longer, and
two inches wide or wider. The block could be nailed down, but
it is more convenient to have it loose, so as to scrape the propo-
lis off the table from time to time. The serapings have gen-
erally been thrown away, but with a steam wax-press it may
pay well to get the wax out of it. Possibly propolis may yet be
a marketable commodity.

The knife used is a steel case-knife kept very sharp. The
sides and edges of the sections are to be seraped, and, if neces-
sary, sandpaper follows the knife. The finishing touches are
put on Philo’s work, knife-marks, pencil-marks, and any dis-
colored spots being carefully removed.

If it is cool enough, so that the bee-glue is brittle instead
of being sticky, then sandpaper replaces the knife. The sand-
paper is not rubbed upon the section, but the section is rubbed
upon a sheet of sandpaper lying flat. This makes more rapid
work than the knife, especially in seraping the edges, for four
edges are sandpapered at one operation.

A scraper should be a careful person, or in ten minutes’
time he will do more damage than his day’s work is worth.
Even a careful person seems to need to spoil at least one sec-.

260 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

tion before taking the care necessary to avoid injuring others.
But when the knife makes an ugly gash in the face of a beau-
tiful white section of honey, that settles it that care will be
taken afterward.

PACKING SECTIONS IN SHIPPING-CASES.

The scraper has in easy reach two shipping-cases. In one,
as fast as they are scraped, are put all sections that are not in
any way faulty, such as appear in Fig. 100. In the other are
put any which are a little off color, either as to comb or honey,
or which have some cells unsealed. These must be sold as
second-class at a reduction of about 2 cents a pound. In Fig.
101 are shown six such sections, the upper three having the best
side out and the lower three having the poorest side out.

KIND OF SHIPPING-CASES,

For some years I used double-ticr shipping-cases holding
twenty-four sections each, the upper tier resting on a little
board supported by two other little boards, so that no weight
came upon the lower tier. A pile of such cases showed a great-
er proportion of honey in its surface than a pile of single-tier
eases, and for this reason I liked it, but it was odd goods, and
so I changed to single-tier cases. I have used mostly the twelve-
section ease, as shown in Fig. 102. But please do not think that
all my honey looks as well as that in Fig. 102. The specimens
in Fig. 100 are fair samples, although they are possibly a little
below the mark.

I have used some single-tier cases holding twenty-four sec-
tions (Fig. 103). These are not so nice and firm to handle as
the smaller cases, but it costs less to pack a ton of honey in the
larger than in the smaller cases. CGrovers who sell by the case
are inclined to prefer the larger case, for they say a customer
who buys a ease at a time will as readily buy a twenty-four-sec-
tion case as a twelve-section case.

I have used several hundred safety shipping-cases, but am
none too sure they are worth the extra cost.

The most difficult thing about the packing is to prevent ve-
neering. It seems to come so natural, when a particularly

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 261

white and straight section goes into the case, to put it next the
glass, best side out at that. But it is especially desirable that
the outside shall be a fair index of the entire contents of the
ease. In the long run there is money to be made by it, to say
nothing of the feeling of satisfaction.

HONEY-SHOW.

When the cases are filled they are stacked up in piles, and
these piles are mostly—perhaps always—so arranged as to
make the best show possible. There is no object in this beyond

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oo,
fozetetcta*
Bate neat.
el ose

e2 2% e%
eesececeterse
2%,
elessnestatate’ S
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aa
.

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at ata *ote®:
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i?

Fig. 96.—Feeder-Sections.

the pleasure it gives the family to see it for a few days, perhaps
only for a day. But the sight is a beautiful one so long as it
lasts, as I think you will agree with me if you look at Fig. 104.

PLACE TO KEEP HONEY.

T have sold a crop of honey before it was off the hives and
sometimes I have kept part of a crop over till spring.

In any case the honey for home use in spring must be kept
over. It is not the easiest thing in the world to keep it through

262 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

the winter in good shape. If kept cold it is apt to granulate,
or candy, as it is usually called. If allowed to freeze, the combs
crack and look bad, and in time the honey oozes out of the
cracks. Honey is deliquescent, absorbing from the atmosphere
a large amount of water if conditions are favorable. Try put-
ting some common salt in a place where you think of keeping
honey; if the salt remains dry, so would honey. But a place
that is suitable at one time may not be at another. Years ago
I filled the back end of the honey-room with honey. It was a
good place for it; the outside walls were thin and the heat of
the sun made it a hot place. When cold weather came, how-
ever, it was a bad place, and the lower sections at the back part
—beautiful, snowy-white, when first put in—became watery and
dark-looking. <A fire for cooking was kept in the adjoining
room, and although there seemed but very little steam in the
air, by the time it got to the back end of the room, and settled to
the lower part, there was enough to spoil hundreds of sections.
You see, warm air is like a sponge to take up moisture, and cold
squeezes the moisture out of it. The point to see to, then, is
to have no air coming from a warmer place to the place where
the honey is. I would sooner risk honey in a kitchen with a
hot fire and plenty of steam, than in a room without fire and
with a door partly opened into a sitting-room where no water
or steam is ever kept. Indeed, a kitchen is quite a good place
to keep honey, the higher up the better.

KEEPING HONEY IN GARRET.

It is well known that a cellar, except in particularly dry
localities, is about the worst place in which to keep honey; but
it is not so well known that the place the furthest removed
from the cellar—the garret—is one of the very best places. My
mother kept some sections throughout the latter part of sum-
mer in a garret, and after enduring the freezing of the following
winter they were as fine as when first put there. The roasting
heat of the summer in that garret had so ripened the honey as
to make it proof against injury from freezing.

HONEY IN CELLAR WITH FURNACE.

T just spoke of a cellar as a poor place for honey except in
very dry climates. But a furnace in a cellar makes a big differ-

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 263

ence. In 1902 a furnace was put in my cellar. Several winters
since then I have piled up sections beside the furnace, at a dis-
tance of 1 to 4 feet from it, and anything better could hardly
be desired.

GRANULATED HONEY.

If comb honey becomes granulated or watery, I know of
no way to restore it. If for home use, or if one happens to
have a market where extracted honey sells for a good price, the

Fig. 97.—Unmarketable Sections.

sections may be put in stone erocks, slowly melted, being sure it
is not overheated; and then when cosi, the cake of wax may be
lifted off the honey.

The best place to keep comb honey is also the best place to
keep extracted; but if extracted honey becomes granulated or
watery, it may be restored to its former, or even a better con-
dition. If thin and not granulated, by setting it on the reservoir
of a eook-stove and letting it remain days enough, it will be-
eome thick. I suppose you may have known this, and also that
extracted honey, when granulated, may be liquefied by slowly

264 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

SS

heating, but did you know that when thin honey is warmed for
a long time the flavor is improved? I have had the flavor im-
proved and could attribute it to nothing but remaining a couple
of weeks on the reservoir. I do not mean by this that if fine-
flavored honey in good condition is placed on the stove reser-
voir it will be improved. Most people, however, who have had
much to do with honey, must have noticed that when extracted
honey becomes thin from attracting moisture from the atmos-
phere, it seems to acquire a different flavor—perhaps I might
say it has a sharp taste—and the slow heating seems to restore
it partly if not wholly to its former condition.

RIPENING HONEY.

The same thing is true of honey which is taken thin from
the hive, not yet having been brought to proper density by the
bees.

There is a difference of opinion as to whether honey, or
perhaps nectar, evaporated outside of the hive, is equal to that
which remains in the hive till thick. Of course, no large amount
could be evaporated on a stove reservoir. Some beekeepers
have large tanks in which to evaporate honey by the sun or
other heat. The general opinion, however, is that the best place
for ripening honey is on the hives.

It must not be understood that when honey has really
soured it ean be made good by the process mentioned. The only
thing is to use it for vinegar; and fine vinegar it will make.

DRAINING EXTRACTED HONEY.

There is another plan which I have used to secure some ex-
tra-fine extracted honey for our private use. Whether it could
be used profitably on a large scale, I cannot say. There are,
however, always people who are ready to pay a high price for
an extra article. After a crock of clover honey has granulated,
I turn it on its side or upside down, and let it remain days
enough to drain off all the liquid part. If drained long enough,
the residue—and this will be nearly all the crockful—will be as
dry as sugar, and when this is liquefied by slow heating it makes
a delicious article. It will, however. granulate very easily a

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 265

second time. On a large scale, the liquid might be drained off
by boring a hole at the lower part of a barrel of granulated
honey. I spoke of treating clover honey in this way; I do not
know what other kinds may be treated the same way, but I have
had some granulated honey of smooth, even texture, from which

Fig. 98.—Sections Wedged for Scraping.

sig liquid part could be drained. When set to drain, the whole
mass would roll slowly out.

MARKETING HONEY.

T have had no uniform way of marketing honey. I should
prefer in all cases to sell the crop outright for cash, if I could
get a satisfactory price; but some years I can do better to sell

266 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

on commission. Judgment must be used as to limiting commis-
sion men to a certain price. Some commission men will sell off
promptly at any price offered, and when sending to such men it
is best to name a certain figure, below which the honey must not
be sold. I have sold in my home market, as well as in towns
near by, and have shipped to nine of the principal cities, and it
would be an impossibility for me to say what would be my best
market next year. Prices vary according to the yield in dif-
ferent parts of the country. If shipping to a distant point in
cold weather, I keep up a hot fire ‘0 warm the honey twenty-
four hours before shipping. If very cold I wait for a warm
spell.

LOADING SECTIONS WHEN SHIPPING.

On a wagon, the length of a seetion should run across the
wagou—on a ear, lengthwise of the car. Convenience of pack-
ing in a wagon, however, is of first consideration, for with care-
ful driving it matters little which way the sections are placed.
On the other hand, no matter what the inconvenience, I would
have the sections in a railroad car so that when a heavy bump
comes the sections must take it endwise. I always prefer, if
possible, to load the hovey direetly into the car myself. Then
I know that it will carry well unless {he engine does an unrea-
sonable amount of bumping.

PACKING SECTIONS IN A CAR.

Very likely a number of cases of honey packed in a crate
do not need any special care in loading; but if I can make sure
that the honey will go through to its destination without any
reloading, I prefer to put the cases in the car one by one. If
ihe number of cases is so small that there is no need to pile one
case on another, then the eases are put in one end of the car
and kept in place by a strip of common inch lumber nailed on
the floor. If there are enough cases so they must be tiered
up, then the lower tier has a strip nailed on the floor as before,
but each of the upper tiers is fastened differently. On each
side of the car is nailed a cleal to support a fence-board which
runs across the width of the car, resting flat like a shelf on these
cleats. Another cleat is nailed on the side of the car over the

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 267

board, so it can move neither up nor down. The board is up
tight against the cases, perhaps a little above their middle. Then
a third cleat is nailed on each side of the ear against the board
to prevent the board from moving in the least.

If there is a space at the side of the car, straw is packed
hard into it beside the cases. If the space is very small, pieces

Fig. 99.—Scraping Sections.

of old wooden separators may be wedged in. Newspapers are
laid on the bottom of the car under the cases, and newspapers
tacked on top of them.

HOME MARKET.

Much has been said about cultivating a home market, but
there are two sides to the matter. If beekeepers from neighbor-

268 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

ing towns come in and supply my home market at 2 cents per
pound less than my honey nets me when shipped to a distant
market, about all I can do is to leave the home market in their
hands. I suspect, however, that it would have been to my ad-
vantage to have paid more attention to developing my home
market for extracted honey.

HOME VERSUS DISTANT MARKET.

In deciding between a home and a distant market, there
are more things to be taken into consideration than are always
thought of. There is breakage in transportation, and the
greater the distance ihe greater the risk. If I can load my
honey into a car myself, and it goes to its destination without
change of cars, I do not feel very anxious about it. On this
account a car-load is safer than a small quantity, for a full car-
load may be sent almost any distance without re-shipping. If
re-shipped, it is not at all certain how it will be packed in a
ear. I once sent a lot of honey to Cimeinnati, and when it ar-
rived at its destination the sections were actually lying on their
sides! I suppose the railroad hands who packed it in the car
at the last change, thought the glass was safest from breakage
if the case was put glass side down. The strangest part about
it was that I lost nothing by the breakage. The dogged per-
sistence of a German consignee obliged the railroad company to
pay all damage! for the consignee was that staunch German and
genial friend of beekeepers—the late C. F. Muth.

There is less danger of breakage by freight than by ex-
press. Besides danger of breakage, there is risk of losing in
various ways. You may not be able to collect pay for your
honey. If sent on commission, the price obtained may be less
than the published market report. You have no means general-
ly to know how correct the claims for breakage may be. In
fact, unless you know your consignee to be a thoroughly honest
man, you are almost entirely at his mercy.

PRICES IN HOME AND DISTANT MARKET.

Taking all these things into consideration, together with
the cost of freight and shipping-cases, it must be a yood price

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 269

that will justify a man to ship off honey to the neglect of his
home market. If shipped to be sold on commission, provided
he ships to a near market, the price should be at least 214 cents
per pound more than he can get in his home market, to justify
his shipping. If he ships to a distant market the difference
should be still more, as the additional freight may make a dif-
ference of 1 cent per pound or more, and the risk of breakage
becomes greater.

Fig. 100.—Sections Ready for Casing.

Not always, however, must I be willing to sell in my home
market for less than I can get abroad. Jf there is a year of
dead failure in my locality, or so nearly a failure that the
home market must be at least partly supplied from elsewhere,
then I should get more for my honey than the grocers will have
to pay in the large city markets, for they must add freight to
the price they pay there.

FALL FEEDING.

Some seasons are so poor that the bees do not get enough
throughout the whole season to carry them through the winter.

270 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

One year I took no surplus, and fed 2800 pounds of granulated
sugar for winter stores. Some years the clover crop will be a
failure, but plenty of stores will be gathered later in the season
to carry the bees over winter. It is not always easy to tell in
advance just what will be, but it is best to err on the safe side;
and it is no harm to have more stores on hand than are actually
needed. It is also better to have the feeding done early. If the
feed is given so early that it can be given thin enough, the bees
make chemical changes in it that make it better for winter.

FEEDING SYRUP,

Formerly I did not take this into account, and syrup was
prepared that approached the consistency of honey. Water was
put in a vessel on the stove, and when at or near the boiling-
point granulated sugar was slowly stirred in at the rate of five
pounds of sugar to a quart of water. When the sugar was
about dissolved, an even teaspoonful of tartaric acid for every
twenty pounds of sugar, previously dissolved in water, was stir-
red into the syrup, for without the acid the syrup is likely to
turn into sugar in the combs when fed so thick. If I were to
feed late in September, or in Octobar, I think I should prefer
the same syrup now.

FEEDING EARLY FOR WINTER.

But by feeding in August or early in September the work
can be made much easier, and at the same time the food will be
better for the bees. For they will so manipulate the thin feed
given them that no acid will be needed, making their winter
stores much more like the stores they cbtain from the flowers.
There is nothing complicated about the feeding, and there is
not the same trouble with robbers as when syrup is made. First,
the feeders are all put on, and left standing uncovered. Then
the amount of sugar needed in each feeder is put in dry, wheth-
er that be two pounds or fifteen pounds. Then I go around to
each feeder, and, making a depression in the center of the sugar,
put in half a pint or more of water. I do this rather than to
put in the full quota of water at first, because in the latter ease
it is possible that the water would force its way into the reach

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 271

ot the bees without having much sweetness in it, for I forgot to
say that I use the Miller feeder. I am not sure that this pre-
caution is necessary, but it can do no harm. I now go around
and put in each feeder about as much water as will balance the
sugar, counting either by pints or pounds. Of course, if twelve
pounds or more of sugar should be in the feeder, it will be im-
possible to balance the sugar with water. In that case I put
in all the water I can. Next day or so the liquid will be used

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Fig. 101.—Second-Class Sections.

out, and I can fill up again. Indeed, in many cases where
equal parts of sugar and water are given, the water will be
mostly out by the next day, leaving only damp sugar in the
feeder, and more water must be added. Practically, this is
giving the feed very thin, and I suspect it is all the better. I
have never had any trouble from robber bees while leaving the
feeders open in the way mentioned, of course covering up as
soon as water is all in; although I have had trouble by leaving
a cover on a feeder that was not bee-tight, and with such a
cover it is better first to put on a cover of cotton cloth that
hangs down all around.

272 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

SELECTING COLONIES TO FEED.

T have spoken as if a feeder was put over each colony lacking
stores. That is by no means always the case—indeed, not often
the case. There are reasons why it is better to have a compara-
tively small number of colonies do the storing, taking sealed
combs from these to give to the weaker ones. It is a good deal
less trouble, when the feeding is begun in good season, to have
one colony store enough for five or ten others besides itself than
it is to have feeders on all of the five or ten colonies. Some
eolonies will store better than others, and the best can be
chosen.

FEEDING IN FALL FOR SPRING.

For some reason, bees seem to store from a feeder much better
late in the seasou than they do before the harvest time. The
greater strength of the colonies and the warmer weather would
make one expect a difference, but it has always seemed to me
that there was more difference than could be aceounted for
without some other reason. So it is desirable at this time to
have not only enough combs filled to bridge over the winter,
but to supply any possible deficiency up to the harvest time.

An upper story of empty combs is put on, possibly two. As
fast as combs are completely filled and sealed they can be re-
moved and replaced by empty ones. If it is desired to have
combs filled out upon foundation, beautiful work will be done
upon them in these upper stories. It will easily be seen that it
is less trouble to add sugar from time to time as needed, also
to add water as needed, than it is to apportion the smaller
amounts to a number of colonies. No great matter if too much
or too little of one or the other is present; the thing will regu-
late itself. For with cold water there is no danger of the feed
being too thick, and all the harm of too large a proportion of
sugar is that the bees will have to wait for more water when it
is too dry to give down. On the other hand, they will continue
taking it down when it is much thinner than half-and-half, and
perhaps it is all the better manipulated when very thin.

Perhaps it would do as well to feed as described under whole-
sale feeding in spring, but in that case I should want the feed

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 273

quite thin, and there would be more danger from robbers, and
more danger of having thin feed left in the feeders to sour.

DIFFICULTY IN DECIDING ABOUT STORES.

It is not an easy thing to determine just what amount of
stores is needed to carry a colony through to the next harvest.
Some colonies use more than others under apparently the same
conditions. Experience will evable ure to judge fairly well by
inspection as to the amount of stores present, but one can be
more exact about it by actual weighing. Besides, with proper
conveniences for it, the weighing takes less time. But two
colonies may weigh exactly the same, and one may have abun-
dance and the other may starve, because, although weighing the
same, one had much more honey than the other. One had much
pollen, the other little. Or, the combs of one were new, and the
combs of the other very old and heavy. The only safe way is
to have all so heavy that under any and all circumstances there
will be no danger. So we aim to have each hive with its con-
tents, its cover, and its bottom-board, weigh as much as fifty
pounds. Some will weigh so much more than this that hefting
will show that there is no need of weighing. Even a strong
colony that stored well throughout the season in a prosperous
year may have had the brood-chamber so stocked with brood
that not enough honey was in the brood-chamber, so it is well to
heft and weigh even in the best seasons, and to do this late
enough so that storing from flowers need no longer be taken into
account, and so early that there will be abundance of time for
the bees to arrange matters to their liking in the brood-chamber.

WEIGHING COLONIES.

A common spring balance with a capacity of eighty pounds
is used for weighing (Fig. 105). An endless rope passes around
the hive under the cleat at each end, then the hook of the spring
balance passes under the two parts of the rope over the hive,
and the slack is taken up by tying a string around the two parts
under the hook. A hickory stick used as a lever passes through
the ring of the upper part of the spring balance, the short end
of the lever being supported by a light framework ihat stands

274 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

on the adjoining hive. When all is properly adjusted, the long
end of the lever is raised, and the weight is read, and then taken
down, so that a comb or combs may be added to bring up to the
desired weight. If no precaution is taken, the spring balance,
when first raised, will slide on the lever down against one’s
hands or shoulders. To prevent this a stout string has one end
tied to the short end of the lever, and the other end tied to the
ring of the balance, so as to keep it within bounds. When once

Fig. 102.—Twelve-section Shipping-case.

adjusted, rope, balance, and lever are left fastened together, the
rope being slipped on each end of the hive for weighing, and
slipped off when the hive is weighed.

RESERVE COMBS OF HONEY.

After all I have said about feeding, I am happy to say that
since about the time of the coming in of the 20th century very
little feeding has been done. Most years not a feeder is put ou.
This is partly due to the increase of fall pasturage, and perhaps
in some degree to the fact that the present stock of bees are
more provident than they were some years ago.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 275

In spite of the better fall feed, some colonies in eight-frame
hives might be short of stores before the white-honey harvest.
To meet such cases, combs filled with sealed honey are kept in
reserve from the previous fall. These reserve combs are valu-
able for another purpose. Left to themselves the bees would
have very little honey in the hives at the opening of the honey-
harvest, and all vacancies in the brood-chamber must be filled
before honey goes into the supers. Now if we have reserve
combs on hand from the previous fall, so as to have the brood-
chamber entirely filled with brood and honey at the opening of
the harvest, then there is nothing left for the bees to do but to
tote the first honey up-stairs, instead cf waiting for the brood-
chamber to be filled. You may ask what is gaincd by merely
swapping last year’s honey for honey in the sections. There
would be nothing gained if the honey in the reserve combs were
white-clover honey. But it is fall honey; and for every pound
of fall honey we put in the brood-chamber we get back a pound
of white honey in sections.

So I like to have one or two reserve combs on hand for cach
colony in the spring. These reserve combs may be obtained by
taking them in the fall from colonies that are over-heavy, giving
in place of them empty combs to be again filled, or upper storics
may be given filled with combs.

NUCLEI IN FALL.

.

When the time for rearing queens is over, the nuclei will be
in various conditions. Some will be weak, some strong, some
queenless. Here will be a nucleus hive containing three strong
nuclei with a good laying queen in each nucleus. Nothing is
to be done in such a case but to leave the three nuclei as they
are, to be carried into the cellar without any further prepara-
tion, unless it be to give some honey if it be needed. In the case
of the middle nucleus, that will mean exchanging their comb for
one as much as two-thirds or three-quarters full of honey. In
the nuclei at the sides of the hive, the heaviest frames of honey
will be toward the center of the hive. This will encourage the
bees to cluster in that direction, thus concentrating the warmth
of the three nuclei.

276 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

UNITING NUCLEI.

But the hives with three strong nuclei and three queens will
be exceptional. Some will have only two queens, some one. If
a nucleus hive has in it only one queen, it may be that a full
hive is set in place of the nucleus hive, the contents of the three
apartments of the nucleus hive put into this full hive, and, if
“necessary, enough nuclei added from elsewhere to make a fair
colony. If none of the nuclei in any one nucleus hive be suf-
ficiently strong where there is only one queen in the hive, then

Fig. 103,—A 24-section Case.

the nueleus with the queen is likely to be put in some nucleus
hive that has contained only two queens. In some eases one of
the division-boards is taken away, making one of the compact-
ments large enough to receive five frames, besides the other with
the three frames. Thus the nucleus in the larger compartment
may be built up to a tolerably fair colony.

Thus you will see that there is little or no destroying of
queens, the effort being to have each queen supported by a good
force of bees, considering the size of her compartment. No
attention is paid to the matter of trying to make bees stay where

FIPTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 277

they are put. If they don’t like to stay they don’t need tu;
they’ll count somewhere. But as they are mostly queenless bees
that are moved, they are not bad about returning.

DOUBLE HIVES FOR WINTER.

Not only have I wintered nuclei two and three in a hive, but a
few years ago I had considerable experience in wintering full
colonies in double hives. If I had not changed from ten-frame
to eight-frame hives I should have continued the practice, but
an eight-frame hive makes too cramped quarters for two full

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Fig. 104.—Honey-show.

colonies, even in winter. Still, I approximate it with five frames
on one side and three on the other, and of course the hive could
be divided to take four frames on each side.

There is nothing new or original about two colonies in one
hive, among others Dzierzon’s twin hives having been highly
esteemed by him and others for many years. These, however,
are used the same all the year around, and my use of them is
only during the time of year when bees can be crowded into a
less space than a full hive.

From the time the bees are fed in the summer or fall, till
perhaps the middle of May, most of my colonies would have

278 PIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

room enough in one half of a ten-frame hive. 1 am not sure
that any of them ever need more rocm through the fall and
winter, and in the spring they need no more till more than four
frames are necded for brood. With some, this may come quite
early, but I think I should be well satisfied if I could get all my
colonies to contain four combs well filled with brood by the

iy, 195—VWeighing Colonies.

middle of May. Some of them may have at that time brood in
nine or ten frames, but more of them could have all their brood
crowded into three or four combs.

ADVANTAGE OF DOUBLE HIVES,

Now if, during the time ] have mentioned. we ean have two
colonies in one hive, we shall, I think, find it advantageous in
more than one direction. It is a common thing for beekeepers
to unite two weak colonies in the fall. Suppose a beekeeper has
two colonies in the fall, each occupying two combs. He unites
them so they will winter better. If they would not quarrel and
would stay wherever they were put, he could place the two
frames of the one hive beside the two frames in the other hive,
and the thing would be done. Now, suppose that a thin divi-

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 279

sion-board were placed between the two sets of combs, would
he not see the same result? Not quile, I think, but nearly so.
They would hardly be so warm as without the division-board,
but nearly so; and both queens would be saved. In the spring
it is desirable to keep the beees warm. If two colonies are in
one hive, with a thin division-board between them, they will Le
much warmer than if in separate hives. The same thing is true
in winter. J have had weak nuclei with two combs come through
in good condition during a winter in which I lost heavily, these
nuclei having no extra care or protection other than being in a
double hive. You would understand the reason of all this easily
if in winter you would look into one of these double hives in the
cellar. On each side the bees are clustered up against the
division-board, and it looks exactly as if the bees had all been
in one single cluster, and then the division-board pushed down
through the center of the cluster.

Now suppose we have 100 colonies that are all fed up for
winter and they are then put into double hives. Please under-
stand that there is little or no extra expense for these double
hives. They are just the regular hives, only we take special
pains to see that the division-board is perfectly bee-tight. If
the hives are to be hauled home, as I haul mine each fall, there
are only 50 instead of 100 to haul; just half the bulk, and a
much less weight than the 100 would be. Just half the hives
are to be handled in taking in and out of winter quarters; just
half the room is occupied in winter quarters; and I think,
although I do not know, that the bees will winter better than if
only one colony in a hive. If they are to be taken, in the spring,
to a distant apiary, there is the advantage of hauling only 50
hives instead of 100. If, in the spring, any colony be found
queenless it is in fine position to be united with its fellow
colony.

CHANGING FROM SINGLE TO DOUBLE HIVES.

Possibly you may be ready to agree with me so far as to say,
“ Certainly, the thing looks desirable, but is it feasible? Will
not the trouble counterbalance all advantage?” I know it is
usually a matter of some trouble to change a colony from one
location to another in the sam apiary. I think, however, that

280 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

I have redueed the trouble to a minimum. I will give you my
plan and you ean judge for yourself.

As I have already told you, my hives stand in pairs, and IJ
kept them so, years before I thought of double hives. Some
time before the change is made to double hives, the entrances of
the hives are closed at one side, so that the bees become accus-
tomed to using the same side of the entrance that they will use
when thrown inte the double hive, that is, the right-hand colony
will use the right-hand side of its entrance, and the left-hand
colony will use the left-hand side of its entrance. Each colony
will have four of its combs so solid with honey that it will be
well provisioned.

Remembering that the two colonies of a pair are on the same
stand, we now remove both hives frem the stand and set the
double hive on the middle of the stand. Then the four combs
from the right-hand hive will be put with their bees in the
right-hand side of the double colony, and the rest of the bees
brushed from the other combs. The left-hand side is treated
the same way. Some bees will still be left in the depopulated
hives; so these hives can be sect at each side, the entrance of the
empty hive at the proper entrance of the double hive, and left
there long enough for the bees to crawl in and join their com-
panions.

The matter is now accomplished and it has been no long or
difficult job. The bees use the new entrance almost as readily
as the old. To them their hive seems moved less than its width
to one side, and there is no possible danger of their entering the
wrong place. I have tried it, and watched the result. therefore
I speak of not what the bees ought to do, but what they do do.

CHANGING FROM DOUBLE TO SINGLE HIVES.

Can we as easily get them back into two hives in the spring
when they become crowded in this double hive? Just exactly
as easily. We simply reverse the operation. Take the doubie
hive from its place and replace it with the two hives, then re-
move the contents of the double hive and put them in the proper
single hives, and the bees will go every time to the right place.
T speak again from personal observation as to what the bees
actually do.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 281

BRINGING BEES HOME IN THE FALL.

In the fall, the bees must be brought home from the ouat-
apiary so as to be wintered in the cellar.

There are always a few things upon which bees can work
{ill quite late; so it is desirable to be as late as possible bringing
them home. They must, however, be brought home early enough
so they will be sure of a good flight after being brought home
and before being put in the cellar. Some say they may be

Fig. 106—-Ceolonies Home from Oul-apiaries.

safely put into the cellar without the flight, but one winter part
of mine were put in without a flight, and ihat part wintered
distinctly worse than the others. At the latest, I want them
home before Nov. 1. When brought home they are placed
conveniently near the cellar door (Fig. 106).

WHEN TO PUT BEES INTO CELLAR.

It is a thing impossible to know beforehand just what is the
best time to take bees into the cellar. At best it can be only a
euess. Living in a region where winters are severe, there are

282 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

some years in which there will be no chance for bees to have a
flight after the middle of November till the next spring, and I
think there was one year without a flight-day after the first of
November. One feels bad to put his bees into the cellar the
first week in November, and then two or three weeks later have
a beautiful day for a flight. But he feels a good deal worse
after a good flight-day the first week in November to wait for a
later flight, then have it turn very cold, and after waiting
through two or three weeks of such weather to give up hope of
any later flight and put in his bees after two or three weeks’
endurance of severe freezing weather. So it is better to err on
the side of getting bees in too early.

Theoretically, the right time to cellar bees is the next day
after they have had their last flight for the season, and one must
do the best he can to judge after any flight-day whether it is
the last or not. More than one reason can be given for taking
in next day after a flight. The hives are dry; there are no
accumulations of frost or ice inside; and the bees are unusually
quiet. All the better if the next morning is cool, as it is likely
to be. Sometimes, however, one cannot have everything as he
wants it, and I have been caught taking in bees in a snuw-storm.
Better take them in during the storm than after it is all over
and constantly growing colder. But it seems to do no harm for
them to be taken in covered with snow.

PREPARING THE CELLAR.

For twenty-four hours before taking in—perhaps for several
days—doors and windows of the cellar are kept wide open, so
as to air it out thoroughly, and perhaps the walls are white-
washed and the floor limed, although this is generally done after
taking out in the spring. Strips of board are placed on the
ground so that the bottom hive has its bottom-board an inch or
two above the ground at the front end, and an inch more at the
back end.

CARRYING IN HIVES.
Hives are carried in just as they are, because before the time

for hauling bees home all false bottoms were removed, and the
bottom-boards fastened to the hives where necessary. With the

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 283

large ventilating space at the entrance, and with abundance of
stores, there is no need to loosen the gluing of a cover from
before the time a colony is hauled home till after the time for
hauling back in spring.

PILING HIVES IN CELLAR.

The hives are piled five high, each pile independent of the
others, so jarring one hive can jar only four others. First a
row of piles is put at the further side of the cellar, the hives

Fig. 107.—Dripping-pan Waz-extractor.

SRA NTS EAS RESIN BRASS RRS
close side by side, entrances facing the wall, with a space of
about two feet between them and the wall. Then another row
is placed back to back close up against this row. Then comes a
space of about two feet, and another row facing the space, so
that entrances face each side of the space. Then comes another
row, back to back, and so on. That makes the hives in double
rows, back to back, with a two-foot space in which to get at the
entrances.

As far as convenient, the heavier hives are put at the bottom,
and lighter at top. It is easier work to do so, and the lighter

284 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

ones have perhaps the advantage by being higher up, where it
is a little warmer.

CARRYING IN BEES WHEN IOUSED UP.

Often the beees get so warmed up by the middle of the fore-
noon, that they fly out when their love is lifted to be carried
into the cellar. In this ease the hive is put back on iis summer
stand, and snother colony, less wide-awake, is taken. But if the
rousing up becomes general, operations must cease until the
after-part of the day or the next morning. If for any reason,
as the lateness of the season, or the fear of an approaching
storm, it is thought best to carry in a hive whether the bees are
willing or not, the entrance must be stopped. For this purpose
—as there is no danger of suffocation from stopping for a short
time—I know of nothing better than a large rag or cloth which
will easily cover the entire entrance. The rag must be dripping
wet. In this condition it can be very quickly laid at the en-
trance, and being cold and wet the bees seem tu be driven back
by it, and when the rag is removed in the cellar, few if any bees
come out. If dry, the bees would sting the rag, and upon its
removal in the cellar a crowd of angry bees would follow it.

WARMING THE CELLAR.

There ix a furnace in the cellar where my bees are kept,
which has been there since the winter of 1902-3. But let us go
back to the time before that, when the chief difficulty was to
keep the cellar warm enough. Some think it a bad thing to
have fire in cellar. I would rather have the right temperature
without the fire. So I would in my sitting-room. But when
the temperature in the sitting-room without a fire gets down in
the neighborhood of zero, I would rather have the fire. Same
way in the cellar. In this latitude, 42 degrees north, I have
known the mercury to reach 37 degrees below zero, and some
winters there is very little of the time when my cellar is warm
enough for the bees. A thermometer hangs centrally in the
cellar, and I try to keep it at about 45 degrees. Sometimes it
goes to 36 degrees, but not often, and not for long. Oftener it
reaches 50 degrees, but that is neither often nor long.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 285

STOVE IN CELLAR.

Whenever the thermometer appears to have any fixed
determination to stay below 45 degrees, a fire is started. I
would not think ef using an oil-stove, nor any thing of the kind
that would allow the gases to eseape in the cellar. A chimney

Fog. 108—-Serewing Down War-press,

goes from the ground up through the house, and a hard-coal
stove is used. For many years I used a common small cylinder
stove, having an inside diameter of about 8 inches between the
fire-brick. Then I used a low-down open or Franklin stove,
and I think J like it as well or better. With either stove there
is the open fire, and one might fear that the bees would fly into
it, but they do not appear to do so. Neither does any harm

286 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

come to the hives that stand within two feet of the stove, for
the stove is right in the same room as the bees. A few minutes’
attention each morning and evening will keep the fire going
continuously, in case it is needed continuously. There have
been winters when fire was kept going nearly all the winter
through, and other winters when little was needed. The winter
of 1901-2 was one of the mild ones. A fire started Dec. 21 was
kept for three days. Another, Jan. 27, lasted one day. A third
started Feb. 3 lasted seventeen days. IJ think the outer temper-
ature was at no time more than 15 degrees below zero.

HEAT FOR DIARRHOEA.

T do not know for certain, but I think I have had good
results at a time when diarrhea began to trouble the bees in
the cellar, by making a hot fire and running up the temperature
above 60 degrees. The bees would become very noisy, but after
the cellar cooled down to the normal 45 degrees they were quiet-
er than before, and I suspect the bees felt better.

VENTILATION OF CELLAR.

I believe heartily in the doctrine of pure air and plenty of
it for man, beast, and bee. So I consider ventilation a very
important affair. With a two-inch space under the bottom-
bars and a 12x 2 entrance, there is no trouble about the ven-
tilation of the hive; but no matter how well ventilated a hive
may be, if the cellar in which it is placed contains nothing but
foul air, how can the air in the hive be sweet?

FIRE FOR VENTILATION.

I am not sure but J should want a fire in a cellar for the sake
of ventilation even if not needed for heat.

For the purpose of ventilation alone, the warmer the weather
the more the fire in the cellar is needed. Of course there must
be some limit to this, for when the temperature of the cellar
goes above 60 degrees, the bees show signs of uneasiness.

WARM SPELLS IN WINTERING.

The most difficult time to keep the bees quiet in the cellar, is
when a warm spell comes in the fall soon after taking them in,

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 23)

or early in the spring. At such times I open up the cellar at
dark. If very warm, all doors and windows are opened wide
and by morning generally all are quiet. I leave all open as
long as possible in the morning; sometimes till noon; when the
bees begin to fly out all must be darkened. Very likely it would
be better if there were a way to admit air in abundance without
admitting light.

COOLING AND AIRING CELLAR.

Years ago, when the temperature became too high in the
cellar in spring, and I wanted to keep the bees in the cellar still
longer, I tried cooling down with cakes of ice. But it was not
satisfactory. The trouble was not so much with the tempera-
ture as the quality of the air. Then I learned that opening the
cellar was more effectual.

OPENING CELLAR AT NIGHT.

The first time I tried that trick I got a pretty bad seare. It
was in the spring, and there came a warm spell, lasting perhaps
two or three days. It kept getting warmer in the cellar, and
the bees kept getting noisier. At the same time I kept getting
more uneasy, not knowing just what the end would be. After the
trouble got pretty bad, I thought I would venture to open the
cellar wide in the evening, hoping that it might become cooler
through the night. I think it was 50 or 60 degrees outside, and
not far from that in the cellar. The bees were quite noisy when
the cellar was opened, and I listened closely for the quieting
down. It didn’t come. On the contrary, the noise increased to
a roar that could be heard some distance from the cellar, and
the bees were running all over the hives, some of them hanging
out in great clusters as if getting ready to swarm. I felt afraid
they would all leave their hives and make a wreck. I assure
you I was badly frightened; but I didn’t know of any thing to
do, so I didn’t do any thing. As nearly as I now remember, I
did not go to bed till I could recognize a little subsiding, and
in the morning the bees were back in their hives as quiet as
mice. More than onee since then I have gone through the same
performance without being troubled by it; only the cellar is
not allowed to get so bad before it is opened.

288 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

LETTING LIGHT IN CELLAR.

Here is a memorandum written March 14, 1902: “ During
the past eight days the weather has been unusually warm for
the season, varying from 29 to 65 degrees. The doors have
been wide open day and night except on the two warmest days,
and the (east) window part of the time. Three days ago it
was 65 degrees in the afternoon. Within twenty-four hours the
ground was covered with snow, and yesterday morning the
mercury stood at 29 degrees. At 7 a.m. to-day, it was 35

Fiy. 109.—Emptying Out Slumgum.

degrees without and 44 degrees in the cellar, doors and window
having been open all night. At 9 a.m. it was 46 degrees outside
and 45 degrees in the cellar. The sun shone directly into some
of the entrances near the window without disturbing the bees.
At 10:30 A.M. it was 52 degrees outside and 47 degrees in the
cellar; the bees still quiet. At 11 a. M. it was 53 degrees with-
out and 48 in the cellar. In five minutes by the watch I counted
fifteen bees which flew to the window. I then closed the window,
leaving the doors wide open. At 12 o’elock it was still 53 degrees
without and 49 degrees in the cellar. In five minutes I counted

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES Zou

five bees flying to the door. The light does not shine directly
inte the room where the bees are, they being in an inside room.
T can see to read easily at the hives nearest the door. At 3:20
it was 55 degrees outside and 50 degrees in cellar. In five
minutes I counted three bees flying to the door. It was then
getting cloudy, the sun having been shining most of the day.
I opened the window for five minutes and twelve bees flew to it.
At 6 P.M. the window was opened again, leaving all wide open
till it should again become bright enough on the next or some
following day to make the bees fly out, or cold enough to bring
the mercury down too far in the cellar.”

I have not given this as an example of the perfection of
wintering. Jt is far from that. But it shows that after 119
days of confinement the bees will stand a good deal of light
and warmth without showing much insubordination, providing
they have an abundance of good air. It must be higher than
45 degrees to induce them out when in good condition.

SUB-EARTH VENTILATOR.

Some years ago I put in a sub-earth ventilator of 4-inch tile,
100 feet long and 4 feet deep. It was of common porous drain.
tile, and becoming a little skeptical of the quality of the air
admitted I allowed it to become filled up. I am not sure that I
did wisely. I am strongly of the opinion that an air-tight pipe
large enough and deep enough would be a great aid to success-
ful cellaring. :

MICE IN BEE-CELLARS.

Mice are troublesome denizens of cellars in winter. Even if
a cellar should be entirely free from them, they are likely to be
brought into the cellar with the bees when the hives are brought
in. Some winters I have closed the entrances with heavy wire-
cloth having three meshes to the inch. This shuts out mice
without hindering the free passage of bees. Even if a mouse
is shut up in a hive, it will not be so bad as to let it have the
free run of the cellar. Other winters traps have been used and
various poisons, perhaps the most satisfactory poison being
strychnine thinly spread upon very thin slices of cheese, the
cheese being then cut into tiny squares.

290 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

CLEANING OUT DEAD BEES.

Aside from atiending to warming and ventilating my cellar,
and waging war against the mice, I think of no other attention
given to the bees through the winter, except cleaning out the
dead bees. For cleaning them out of those hives which have
them—for some reason of which I am not yet sure, there are
some hives which contain scarcely a dead bee—I have a very
simple tool. It is a piece of round, 44-inch or smaller iron rod,
with one end hammered flat for about two inches and bent at
right angles, making something like a hook. With this hook I
can reach into the hive under the frames and serape out the
dead bees.

I have a common kerosene hand-lamp with a sheet-iron chim-
ney having a little mica window on one side—such as is used
for heating water on lamps. This serves as a dark-lantern,
making little light except in one direction. Holding the lamp
in my left hand, I look in to see whether any live bees are in
sight. Often I see the cluster near the front of the hive, oftencr
at the center or back part of the hive, the bees looking as if
dead, so still are they; but in a few seconds some one will be
seen to stir. Sometimes the cluster will come clear down so as
to touch the bottom-board, and sometimes not a bee will be
seen below or between the bottom-bars. When the cluster comes
clear down, there may or there may not be bees on the bottom-
board. In any case, all the dead bees are cleaned out that can
be got without disturbing the living. There is, as has been said,
a difference as to the number of dead bees in different colonies,
and there seems also a difference in different winters. In some
cases perhaps the dead bees all reach the cellar bottom, in
others staying in the hive.

SWEEPING UP DEAD BEES.

It is very unpleasant to have the dead bees under foot on the
cellar bottom. Some fasten them in the hive. Some sprinkle
sawdust on the floor. In either case they are left in the cellar
to foul the air. It seems much better to sweep out the cellar.
During the first part of the winter very few bees will be on the
floor, and sweeping once a month will be enough, or more than

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 292

enough. Toward spring the deaths will be very much more
frequent, and the sweeping must be more frequent. As giving
a more definite idea with regard to this, I find by referring to
the record that in the winter of 1901-2 the cellar was not swept
till January 29—seventy-five days after the bees were taken in.
Then it was swept again after respective intervals of twenty-
one, nineteen, and five days, the quantity swept out each time
being about the same. That gives some idea of the greater

Fig. 110.—N al-bozes.

mortality as spring approaches. One winter, when the bees
were confined 124 days, the dead bees for each colony amounted
to four-fifths of a quart or three-fifths of a pound, which made
about 2130 bees for each colony. I think the mortality is usu-
ally greater than that.

FURNACE IN CELLAR.

In the year 1902 the coal famine following the great anthra-
cite strike caught me with four hard-coal stoves and no coal to
put in them—indeed, no prospect of getting any, and winter
close at hand.

292 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

About that time my friend E. R. Root happened to be here,
and strongly advised as the best way out of the dilemma to have
a furnace put in—one big enough to heat the whole house, and
of such character as to burn wood, green or dry, coal, hard or
soft, and indeed any thing having any inclination toward com-
bustibility. I followed his advice, or rather I outran it, for I
got a larger furnace than he thought advisable, the fire-pot
being 27 inches in diameter. I am not sorry the furnace is so
large so far as heating the house is concerned, for it makes a
delightful summer temperature in any part of the house, no
matter how cold the weather, without any of that unpleasant
aut unwholesome burnt-air effect. Isut it made a matter of
impossibility for me to think of keeping the temperature of the
hee-room down to 45 degrees; and since that time, instead of
having to make an effort to keep the cellar warm enough, the
problem has been to keep it cool enough.

UNFAVORABLE (CONDITIONS.

Conditions for suecessful wintering were by no means the
best.

The workmen that set up the furnace were late in finishing
up the last part of the work in the cellar, so that the hees were
not put in till the 8th of December. On that day the tempera-
ture was 8 degrees below zero. It would have been much better
to leave them out for another flight if I had been sure of a
day warm enough without waiting too long. But I was not
sure of thai. and I thought it better for them to be taken in in
rather bad condition than to run the risk of leaving them out
longer. The sequel showed I was wise in so doing, for no day
warm enough for a flight came until February 26.

A tin partition of lath and plaster is all that separates the
bee-room from the room in which the furnace is located, and
the thermometer in the bee-room generally showed a tempera-
ture of 50 degrees. Some.of the hot-air pipes pass through the
bee-room overhead; and a thermometer laid on one of the two
hives directly under one of these pipes nearest the furnace
showed a temperature of 70 degrees. The pipe is covered with
asbestos paper, but there was only a space of about three inches
between the pipe and the top of the hives. There was plenty of

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 293

room to set these colonies in a cooler place, but they were
allowed to stay right where they were to see what the result
would be. They wintered beautifully—until they died. They
starved to death, and that not so very late in winter, although
I think they were well supplied with stores. No doubt the heat
kept them so active that they used up their stores with unusual
rapidity.

BAD WINTERING.

Under the circumstances I figured on considerable loss. The
loss went beyond my figuring. Not that the deaths all occurred
in the cellar. They were largely after the bees were taken out
in the spring; none the less, however, they were chargeable to
bad wintering. By the 12th of May there were left only 124
colonies out of 199 put in cellar, and many of them were mere
uuelei. A loss of 37 per cent was not gratifying; but, beekeep-
evlike, [ looked forward hopefully to the next winter.

las for my hopes! Instead of 7 per cent, the loss for the
winter of 1903-04 was 47 per cent, leaving 150 colonies alive
out of 284. And the loss was mainly due to lack of sufficient
stores. Some of them had died in the cellar, and more would
have died there if they had not been taken out a little earlier
than was well, so they could be fed. But feeding very early
in spring is not so well as having an abundance of stores in the
fall, and the mortality continued well along in spring. The
faet that after so many years of experience, and after advising
others always to have abundant stores for winter, I should have
lost eolenies by the score through starvation, was humiliating
indeed.

But conditions were new and I needed to learn that in a
cellar with the thermometer generally ranging from 50 to €0,
and sometimes going higher, bees consume stores much more
rapidly than at a lower temperature, and to the increasing
number of those who are putting furnaces in cellars, I would
say, ‘ Look out for starvation.”

But along with the disadvantage mentioned, there are not
lacking advantages. Perhaps I ought to say advantage rather
than advantages, for the one great advantage is that of an
abundant supply of pure, fresh air. Exeept in the very

294 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

severest weather, the outside cellar door is more or less open,
and the air in the cellar is sweeter than in many—perhaps most
—living-rooms. That’s good for the people living over the
cellar, and it must be good for the bees. Inside the hives the
combs are just as dry and nice as in summer. No dampness,
no mold, no musty smell.

It seems nice to look into a hive and find so few dead bees
lying on the bottom-board, often none. When a bee wants to
die, it is warm enough so it can come outside, just as in summer.

It would be better if it was so arranged that fresh air could
enter without the light. During the first part of the winter, the
bees do not seem to mind the light at all, and not very much till
toward spring, when the door must be closed in daytime. But
there is no need to be unduly frightened by a few bees coming
out; for bees will get old and die off, no matter how dark the
cellar is kept; and there may be some question whether a little
light is as bad as the fouler air when the cellar is closed.

GOOD WINTERING,

Having had such a severe lesson, you may be sure that in
sueceeding years I took pains to see that before the bees went
into the cellar they had enough stores to stand a winter temper-
ature of 50 or 60 degrees. The result has been very gratifying.
T no longer have anxiety about wintering, and do not expect
any colonies to die unless it be from queenlessness.

Some one may say, “ But why don’t you make sure that no
queenless colony goes into the cellar?” Possibly that might be
better; but I doubt. The queenless colony is not worth very
much at that time of year, and anything that would be done
with it would hardly pay for the trouble of hunting through a
number of colonies, causing them no little disturbance.

On the whole I am quite in favor of a furnace in cellar. To
be sure, it does away with one argument in favor of cellaring,
tor there may be as heavy consumption of stores as on the
summer stands, but that is greatly overbalanced by having the
bees practically outdoors all winter in a very mild climate. For
with the abundance of fresh air allowed, are they not practically
outdoors? Besides that, I think the bees are stronger—I mean
each individual bee is stronger—when well wintered outdoors

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 2.95

than when wintered in the usual close cellar, and I think there
will be that same strength when wintered in a cellar with a
furnace and a full supply of outdoor air.

EUROPEAN FOUL BROOD.

In the year 1907 a number of cells of dead brood were found
in colony No. 13. I cannot now be certain of it, but I think a
few such dead brood had been seen a year or two previously.
A large cherry orchard in easy range of my bees had been
sprayed before the blossoms had fallen, and it was easy to
believe that the poison sprayed on these blossoms was account-
able for the dead brood. Nothing was done about it, and No.
13 turned out to be one of the best in the apiary. In 1908 I
think some cells of dead brood were found in two colonies. The
season was good, and no attention was paid to it, the idea still
being that the poisonous spray was the cause of the trouble.

Beginning with the year 1909 I decided to give up the last
out-apiary (the Wilson), and keep all colonies in the home
apiary. When I found out later what was before me I was
thankful that all were in a single apiary. Diseased brood was
found to such an extent and in so many colonies that I sent a
sample to Dr. E. F. Phillips at Washington. Back came the
report that European foul brood was the thing I had to deal
with. T do not know how many colonies were diseased at the
opening of the season, but I do know that we had been doing
our level best to spread the disease throughout the whole apiary
by indiscriminate exchanging of combs of brood.

It was fairly along in the season when I got the word from
Washington, and here is what I had to face: A season of
dearth, there being a dead failure of the early honey-flow; bees
in about 150 hives, counting nuclei and all, and only 22 of
them that showed no sign of disease throughout the whole
season; with a disease that at that time was said to be ten
times worse than American foul brood. I felt like giving up,
but for only a little while. If others had fought the disease,
why couldn’t 1? Besides, I could now have some live experience
with a thing I had only previously read about.

I started in to use the McEvoy treatment, brushing the
diseased colonies upon foundation, after doing some breaking

296 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

up and doubling. In all, however, only 56 colonies were actually
brushed upon foundation. When I came to look how they were
building up, I found, out of those first treated, that nine had
left, bag and baggage, leaving empty hives. That was probably
from starvation, so after that I gave to each shaken colony one
or more sections of honey taken from diseased colonies. So far
as I know, this did not in any case convey the disease. Later,
to make more sure against desertion, one of the diseased combs
was left in the hive, and beside it {wo empty frames—not even
a starter in the two frames, and the rest of the hive empty.
When the bees made a start at building in the empty frames,
the old comb was taken away, and the hive was filled up with
full sheets of foundation. Sometimes the comb the bees had
built in the empty frames was taken away after a good start
was made on the foundation, and sometimes not. The outcome
seemed to be all right either way.

Parily to please Editor E. R. Root, toward the latter part
of the summer I tried the Alexander treatment. The gist of
that treatment is to remove the queen and in 20 days vive the
colony a ripe queen-cell of best Italian stock, or else a very
young virgin. Previous to the treatment, however, an impor-
taut 1.equisite is {o make the colony strong.

I varied from the regular treatment by giving hybrid virgins
instead of Italans, as my bees were mostly hybrids. It may
be a question whether hybrids are not as good as Italians in
carrying out the treatment, provided the hybrids are of equal
Vigor.

l made the inexcusable blunder of understanding that Mr.
Alexander had given a laying queen at the end of 20 days of
ueenlessness, instead of giving a virgin. So I gave a young
virgin after ten days of queenlessness, so that there would be
a laying queen present in about 20 days from the removal of
the queen. I now think that the blunder was a fortunate one,
since there is a gain of 8 or 10 days in the time of the treat-
ment, always provided that continued trial of the plan by
invself and others should prove it to be reliable.

There were some cases of failure, but in each of these cases
the colonies had not been made very strong. Mr. Alexander
lad emphasized the point that in order to have the treatment

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 297

effective the colony must be strong, either by uniting or giving
frames of sealed brood. My experience leads me to think that
not only must the colony be strong but it must be strong in
young bees.

With the opening of the season of 1910 you may well suppose
I was on the alert to see whether any colonies were diseased.
In fact I was really hoping there would be some cases, for I
had formed a theory and wanted to try some experiments. I
was not disappointed. In 27 hives could be found the distine-
tive mark of the disease, in some only a cell or two, while in
others as much as one cell in every ten was affected.

Some one may think it a difficult thing to detect the disease
if only one or two bad cells are to be found in a hive. It is not
difficult. The healthy brood is pearly white, while the diseased
larva being distinctly yellow is quickly spotted, just as you
would easily detect a yellow hen in a flock of white ones. It
was impossible to say how many of the 27 cases were old
offenders and how many of them were fresh cases brought in
from outside; for there were diseased colonies all about me, and
there was no law in Illinois to clean them up.

About that theory, the theory as to how the disease is
continued in the hive and conveyed from one cell to another.
It is well known that if a larva be broken open the bees will
suck up its juices, and in a case of starvation the juices of the
larvee are consumed and the white skins thrown out of the
hive. When a larva first becomes diseased, and has not yet
become offensive, it is easy to believe that the nurse-bees will
suck up its juices, and then when they feed healthy larve the
healthy larvee will become diseased. But in a little while a dis-
eased larva will become decayed and offensive, so that it will no
longer be eaten by the nurse-bees. If this supposition be cor-
rect. it will come to pass that if egg-laying should stop for 5 or
6 days (the time a larva remains unsealed in its cell) there will
no longer be in the hive at the same time diseased larve fit for
the nurses to eat and healthy larve to which the diseased food
may be given, and thus, the disease should come to an end,

It was not hard to make the test. J caged the queen of a
diseased colony after strengthening it, and freed her after six
days of imprisonment. No more diseased brood appeared in

298 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

the hive. Of course, one swallow does not make a summer, and
this might not work in all cases. Neither would I in any bad
case recommend the continuance of the old queen after treat-
ment. A queen that has been for some time in a foul-broody
colony seems sluggish, and is better replaced by a vigorous
youn® queen.

As between the McEvoy and the Alexander—or the Alexan-
der-Miller treatment as it has been called—there is so much to
be gained in the saving of combs that, even if the first plan
always succeeds and the other sometimes fails, it may be cheaper
to use the latter and treat over again the failures. But I may
remark in passing that among the 27 cases of 1910 some of
them were of those that had been brushed upon foundation the
previous year.

With my present knowledge of the disease, here is the
treatment that I believe well worth trying for European foul
brood: Make the colony strong, preferably by giving sealed
brood so as to have abundance of young bees: remove the queen
and at the same time give a ripe queen-cell or a very young
virgin, which eell or virgin shall be of the most vigorous stock,
and trust the bees to do the rest.

Jn a mild case I do not think it necessary to take so much
trouble: merely keep the queen caged in the hive for a week or
ten days, and then free her. In the year 1913 about one in
four of my colonies was slightly affected, and in nearly all
cases all I did was to cage the queen for about eight days. The
fact that in spite of the disease I averaged a little more than
266 sections per colony from 72 colonies, spring count, shows
that good crops may be obtained even where European foul
brood is present. Still, I am sure I could have done a little
better without the disease.

Tn 1914, five cases showed up in the first week of June in 91
colonies. They were all mild, and were treated successfully by
caging the queen.

Now please remember that I do not give this as a treatment
well tried and thoroughly reliable. My theory is only a theory,
and the plan of treatment needs confirmation, as the newspapers
say. I only say that J think the treatment worth trying because

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 299

it has worked with success so far; and if it proves successful
with others it will be no small gain.

Remember, too, that it is European foul brood I am talking
about. For American foul brood the plan would be worthless.

DRIPPING-PAN WAX-EXTRACTOR.

Before the introduction of the solar wax-extractor, the ren-
dering of wax was generally reserved as winter’s work, and
indeed after the introduction of the solar it was often conven-
ient to work up in winter some of the material saved up. A
very simple arrangement on a small seale did excellent work on
much the same principle as the solar extractor, only the heat
of the stove was used in place of solar heat.

An old dripping-pan (of course a new one would do) had
one corner split open, and that made the extractor. The drip-
ping-pan is put into the oven of a cook-stove with the split
corner projecting out (Fig. 107). The opposite corner, the one
farthest in the oven, is slightly raised by having a pebble or
something of the kind under it, so that the melted wax will run
outward. A dish set under catches the dripping wax, making
the outfit complete. Of course the material to be melted is put
in the pan the same as in the solar extractor.

SOLAR WAX-EXTRACTOR.

I do not know that the solar extractor has any advantage over
the dripping-pan arrangement, except that the sun furnishes
free heat. In either case, when old combs are melted a good
deal of wax remains in the refuse or slumgum, because the
cocoons act much like sponges. Especially is this the ease if
more than a single thickness of comb is placed for melting.

STEAM WAX-PRESS.

So when the German steam wax-press came, leaving the
slumgum mostly free from wax, the solar extractor had to take
a back seat, leaving wax-rendering again a proper thing for
winter work.

The wax-press is placed upon the cook-stove (Fig. 108), and
the work is done according to the instructions sent out with the

300 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

machine. I find that time is an important element in the work,
and that there is nothing to be gained by trying to hurry up
matters by serewing down very hard. If the screw be turned
down as tight as can be done without sliding the can around
on the stove, that is all that is necessary. Then when the wax
ceases to run it can be turned down again. Continuing in this
way till no more wax runs, when the slamgum is turned out
(Fig. 109) it is so free from wax that it is not worth working

Fig. 111.—@ Busy at the Typewriter.”

over again. The wax saved by using the steam wax-press will
pay immense interest on the money invested in its purchase.

But the tendency to specializing has invaded the domain of
Wan-rendering, and now one can send off his old combs. eap-
pings, and bits of wax, and have the renderi:e done by special-
ists without the bother and muss.

OTHER WINTER WORK.

The work of getting sections ready for the hoped-for harvest
of the coming summer has already been mentioned, and the
winter affords opportunity for making up hives, supers, or any
fixtures {hat may be needed. As these things are bought mos'ly
in the flat, the chief part of the work is nailing, and it is a

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 301

great convenience to have the different kinds of nails in their
proper places ready for immediate use. A set of nail-boxes,
part of which are seen in Fig. 110, serves the purpose excellent-
ly. The boxes are patterned somewhat after a tin nail-box I
saw at a tin-shop. When a box is taken from its nail on the
wall, laid flat and slightly shaken, the nails ure easily picked
up from the shallow part of the box.

Truth compels me to say that so many different persons find
it convenient to use these boxes and inconvenient to return
them, that of late the boxes are not always found in their
proper places, and when the picture was taken they were
assembled for that special occasion.

Most of the winter time, however, is occupied with reading
and writing. There are some thirty or forty bee-journals to
be read, and a large part of them are printed in the German
and French languages. I am a poor scholar in either German
or French, so it is not strange if I sometimes get behind in my
reading, to bring up in winter. I wish I could find the time
to read over again at my leisure in winter all the bee-journals
that I read more or less hurriedly in summer. But I never find
the time. I used to think that if 1 ever lived to be fifty years
old I would take things very leisurely. But I am now past fifty,
and I never was more crowded in my life before.

WRITING FOR THE BEE-JOURNALS.

Besides the reading, there is the writing. Some extra writing
usually to be done each winter, besides the regular work in that
line. I have written “Stray Straws” for Gleanings in Bee
Culture ever since December, 1890, and four years later I began
writing answers to questions in the American Bee Journal. The
thought of keeping up that work year in and year out, with
never a vacation, summer or winter, would be somewhat weari-
some if it were not that I delight in the work. If any one of
my readers should hesitate about sending to me any question
connected with beekeeping because of the thought that it will
be unpleasant to me, let him disabuse his mind of any such
thought. The receipt of such questions is a real pleasure.

One thing, however, that gives pain instead of pleasure, is to
find a stamp enclosed upon opening a letter, for then I know

302 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

that the writer expects an answer by mail, and, in justice to
others, answering bee-questions by mail is a thing I cannot do.
If I should answer one by mail I must answer others, and the
only fair way is to treat all alike. The request for me to answer
a question in print will always be cheerfully complied with
without any stamp accompanying the request.

IF BEGINNING AGAIN.

I ain sometimes asked whether, if beginning afresh, I would
take the same course I have already been over. That is not a
very easy question to answer. There are some things that can
be settled only by experiment, and about such things one eannot
reply offhand. Likely, if I were beginning all over again not
many things would be different from what they are. But it
may be worth while to answer as well as I can about a few
things.

CHOICE OF LOCATION.

If I were to start in afresh, I would take some pains to select
a location as favorable for beekeeping as possible. I didn’t
choose a location. I just began beekeeping where I was, with
no thought of doing any thing in a commercial way, and grew
into the business. I certainly would not start in afresh in a
location with only one principal honey-plant, and that some-
times a failure. That was the condition here, clover the only
dependence for a crop, and that with too many off years. Of
late years, however, the fall crop is worth considering.

HIVE-STANDS.

I surely would not start in with such hive-stands as I now
have. The bottom-board resting upon so large a flat surface
makes a good place for moisture to lodge, and favors rotting
both bottom-board and stand. It also makes a fine place for
the large black ants to lodge and honeycomb the boards. Some-
thing would be better that allows a smaller area of contact.
Tile or cement might fill the bill.

ITALIAN BEES.

Through years of selection I secured hybrids that were
hustlers. But they were cross. If 1 had it to do over again I

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 303

would look out more for temper, and I think I would stick to
pure Italian blood, even if occasionally a hybrid colony should
store most honey. If I had persisted in breeding from pure
Italian stock, I might have had just as good hustlers, with less
tendency to change, and with better tempers.

As already mentioned, since 1912 I have mainly Italian stock
that is excellent, but not as gentle as I should like. If, from
the beginning, I had rigidly stuck to Italians, I might now have
bees of best gathering qualities, and by attending to other
qualities I might now have hustlers beautiful in appearance,
mild in temper, and little given to swarming.

EIGHT VERSUS TEN FRAMES.

I changed from ten-frame to eight-frame hives, I think, more
than for any other reason because at that time it was the
fashion. I do not know that I got any better crops by changing.
When it comes to moving hives about, the advantage is decided-
ly in favor of the smaller hive. The same may be said of the
supers. I am not sure the smaller hives have any other advan-
tage, unless it be that they occupy Jess space and cost a little
less. But the larger hive has the great advantage that it can
have a larger supply of stores on hand at all times, making less
danger of starvation in winter and spring. That makes fess
trouble and less anxiety. An eight-frame hive is sometimes
too small for a queen without a second story, where a single
story with ten frames would answer. So if it were to do over
again, very likely I might continue the ten-frame hive.

EXTRACTED HONEY VERSUS COMB.

T have learned the production of comb honey as a trade, and
it would be a good deal like taking up an entirely different
business to take up the production of extracted honey. Never-
theless I do not know that I can make more money with comb
than with extracted honey. At one time there was so much
adulteration of extracted honey that the price of the genuine
article was affected thereby. J’ure-food laws have changed that,
so that comb honey has no longer that advantage.

There is another matter tbat deserves serious consideration.
If I were running for extracted honey I wonld undoubtedly

304 FIFTY YEaRS AMONG THE BEES

produce more honey than by running for comb honey. If more
honey is produced, more of it will be consumed, and I believe
increased consumption of honey would be a fine thing for the
health of the nation. So if I were broad-minded enough, very
likely 1 would start in again as an extracted-honey man.

Indeed, it is true that in 1913 I returned to the extractor
sufficiently to extract several hundred pounds, and it is not
impossible that I may do still more in that line.

“ OFFICE.”

Possibly some one of my readers might desire a picture of
the office in which I do my work. That would take a number
of pictures. According to circumstances, my office may be on
the back porch seen in Fig. 1, or it may be in any one of nine
different rooms inside. A look at the furnishings in Fig. 111
will show that it is no serious undertaking to move my “ office ”
whenever desired. I never like to be far from the rest of the
family, and when at work I enjoy the sound of their voices,
even though I may pay no attention to what they are saying.
They are generally quite considerate in refraining from inter-
rupting my work by remarks directed personally to me, but
sometimes they forget.

I count myself singularly blessed in having a home where
all the members of the family are so united in their tastes and
enjoyments. One of our chief earthly pleasures is the love of
flowers. At our quiet country home we have room unlimited
for producing summer roses by the bushel, and the bay window
of the sitting-room brightens the days of winter with its bright
colors and luxuriant green. If you were here, I am sure you
would enjoy a sight of that window, and then I would take
pride in displaying to you my set of china honey-dishes shown
in the last picture in the book. They were painted by my sister,
each dish showing a separate honey-plant, one-half the dish
being covered by a honeycomb.

T desire to record my deep gratitude to a loving Heavenly
Father for giving me so busy and happy a life; and for you,
dear reader, I can hardly express a better wish than that your
life may be as happy, if not as busy, as mine.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 305

Some years ago, at the instigation of Editor E.R. Root, I wrote a honey
leaflet which has been circulated by hundreds of thousands. It has been
thought well that it should be reproduced in more permanent form by having
a place in the present work, and here follows:

HONEY AS A WHOLESOME FOOD.

About 50 pounds of sugar on the average is annually consumcd by every
man, woman, and child in the United States. Of course, many use less than
the average, but to make up for it some consume several times as much.
It is only within the last few centuries that sugar has become known, and
only within the last generation that refined sugars have become so low in
price that they may be commonly used in the poorest families. Formerly
honey was the principal sweet, and it was one of the items sent as a
propitiatory offering by Jacob to his unrecognized son, the chief ruler of
Egypt, 3000 years before the first sugar-refinery was built.

It would be greatly for the health of the present generation if honey could
be at least partially restored to its former place as a common article of diet.
The almost universal craving for sweets of some kind shows a real need of
the system in that direction, but the excessive use of sugar brings in its train
a long list of ills. Besides the various disorders of the alimentary canal,
fatal disease of the kidneys is credited with being one of the results of
sugar-eating. When cane sugar is taken into the stomach, it cannot be
assimilated until first changed bv digestion into grape-sugar. Only too often
the over-taxed stomach fails to perform this digestion properly, then comes
sour stomach and various dyspeptic phases. Prof. A. J. Cook says:

“Tf cane-sugar is absorbed without change, it will be removed by the
kidneys, and may result in their break-down; and physicians may be correct
in asserting that the large consumption of cane-sugar by the twentieth-
century man is harmful to the great eliminators—the kidneys—and so a
menace to health and long life.”

Now, in the wonderful laboratory of the Lec-hive there is found a sweet
that needs no further digestion, having been prepared fully by those wonder-
ful chemists—the bees—for prompt assimilation without taxing stomach or
kidneys. As Prof. Cook says: ‘“‘ There an be no doubt but that in eating
honey our digestive machinery is saved work that it would have to perform
if we ate canue-sugar; and in case it is vver-taxed and feeble, this may be
just the respite that will save from a break-down.”

A. I. Root says: ‘‘Many people who cannot eat sugar without having
unpleasant symptoms follow, will find by careful test that they can eat
good, well-ripened honey without any difficulty at all.”

HONEY THE MOST DELICIOUS SAUCE.

Not only is honey the most wholesome of all sweets, but it is the most
delicious. No preparation of man can equal the delicately flavored product
of the hive. Millions of flowers are brought under tribute, presenting their
tiny cups of dainty nectar to be gathered by the busy riflers; and when they
have brought it to the proper consistency, and stored it in the wondrously
wrought waxen cells and sealed it with coverings of snowy whiteness, no

306 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

more tempting dish can grace the table at the most lavish banquet; and yet
its cost is so moderate that it may well find its place on the tables of the
common people every day in the week.

IT IS ECONOMY TO USE HONEY.

Indeed, in many cases it may be a matter of real economy to lessen the
butter-bill by letting honey in part take its place. A pound of honey will
go about as far as a pound of butter; and if both articles be of the best
quality the honey will cost the less of the two. Often a prime article of
extracted honey (equal to comb honey in every respect except appearance)
can be obtained for about half the price of butter. Butter is at its best
only when ‘‘ fresh,’ while honey, properly kept, remains indefinitely good—
no need to hurry it out of the way for fear it may become rancid.

GIVE CHILDREN HONEY.

Prof. Cook says: ‘‘ We all know how children long for candy. This
longing voices a need, and is another evidence of the necessity of sugar in
our diet. é Children should be given all the honey at each meal-time
that they will eat. It is safer, will largely do away with the inordinate
longing for candy and other sweets; and in lessening the desire will doubt-
less diminish the amount of cane-sugar eaten. Then if cane-sugar does work
mischief with health, the harm may he prevented.”

Ask the average child whether he will have honey alone on his bread
or butter alone, and almost invariably he will promptly answer, “ Honey.”
Yet seldom are the needs or the tastes of the child properly consulted. The
old man craves fat meat; the child loathes it. He wants sweet, not fat.
He delights to eat honey; it is a wholesome food for him, and is not expen-
sive. Why should he not have it?

HONEY BEST TO SWEETEN HOT DRINKS.

Sugar is much used in hot drinks, as in coffee and tea. The substitu-
tion of a mild-flavored honey in such uses may be a very profitable thing
for the health. Indeed, it would be better for the health if the only hot
drink were what is called in Germany ‘‘ honey-tea’’—a cup of hot water
with one or two tablespoonfuls of extracted honey. The attainment of great
age has in some cases been attributed largely to the lifelong use of honey-tea.

COMB AND EXTRACTED HONEY.

At the present day honey is placed on the market in two forms—in
the comb and extracted. ‘‘ Strained'’ honey, obtained by mashing or melting
combs containing bees, pollen, and honey, has rightly gone out of use. Ex-
tracted honey is simply honey thrown out of the comb in a machine called
a honey-extractor. The combs are revolved rapidly in wa cylinder, and cen-
trifugal force throws out the honey. The comb remains uninjured, and is
returned to the hive to be refilled again and again. For this reason ex-
tracted haney is usually sold at a less price than comb honey, berause each
pound of comb is made at the expense of several pounds of honey.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 307

DIVFERENT KINDS OF FLAVORS.

Many people think ‘honey is honey ’—all just alike; but this is a
great mistake, Honey may be of good, heavy body—what beekeepers cal
‘‘ well-ripened ’'—weighing generally twelve pounds to the gallon, or it may
be quite thin. It may also be granulated, or candied, more solid than lard.
It may be almost as colorless as water, and it may be as black as the
darkest molasses, The flavor of honey varies according to the flower from
which it is obtained. It would be impossible to describe in words the flavors
of the different honeys. You may easily distinguish the odor of a rose from
that of a carnation, but you might find it difficult to describe them in words
so that a novice smelling them for the first time could tell which was which.
But the different flavors in honey are just as distinct as the odors in
flowers. Among the light-colored honeys are white clover, linden (or bass-
wood), sage, sweet clover, alfalfa, willow-herb, etc., and among the darker
are found heartsease, magnolia (or poplar), horsemint, buckwheat, etc.

ADULTERATION OF HONEY.

In these days of prevailing adulteration, when so often ‘things are
not what they seem,” it is a comfort to know that strictly pure honey, both
extracted and comb, can still be had and at » reasonable price. The silly
stories seen from time to time in the papers about artificial combs being
filled with glucose, and deftly sealed over with a hot iron, have not the
slightest foundation in fact. For years there has been a standing offer by
one whose financial responsibility is unquestioned of $1000 for a single
pound of comb honey made without the intervention of bees. The offer
remains untaken, and will probably always remain so, for the highest art
of man can never compass such delicate workmanship as the skill of the
bee accomplishes.

' Extracted boney,however, is not incapable of imitation. Time was when
a tumbler on a grocer’s shelf labeled honey might contain honey, and it
might contain glucose. If you were well enough acquainted with honey you
might tell the difference by the taste; otherwise you had to trust to the
honesty of the grocer. Always, however, you could be sure of the genuine
article by getting it from the beekeeper himself. But the pure-food laws
have changed all that, and nowadays you may trust that the label correctly
represents what is under it.

CARE OF HONEY—-WHERE TO KEEP IT.

The average housekeeper will put honey in the cellar for safe keeping
—about the worst place possible. Honey readily attracts moisture, and in
the cellar extracted honey will become thin, and in time may sour; and with
comb honey the case is still worse, for the appearance as well as the quality
is changed. The beautiful white surface becomes watery and darkened,
drops of water ooze through the cappings, and weep over the surface. In-
stead of keeping honey in a place moist and cool, keep it dry and warm,
even hot. It will not hurt to be in a temperature of even 100 degrees.
Where salt will keep dry is a good place for honey. Few places are better
than the kitchen cupboard. Up in a hot garret next the roof is a good place,

308 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

and if it has had enough hot days there through the summer, it will stand
the freezing of winter; for under ordinary circumstances freezing cracks the
combs, and hastens granulation or candying.

GRANULATED HONEY-——TO RELIQUEFY.

When honey is kept for any length of time it has a tendency to change
from its clear liquid condition, and becomes granulated or candied. This 1s
not to be taken as any evidence against its genuineness, but rather the
contrary. Some prefer it in the candied state, but the majority prefer it
liquid. It is an easy matter to restore it to its former liquid condition.
Simply keep it in hot water long enough, but not too hot. If heated above
160 degrees there is danger of spoiling the color and ruining the flavor.
Remember that honey contains the most delicate of all flavors—that of the
flowers from which it is taken. .\ good way is to set the vessel containing
the honey inside another vessel containing hot water, not allowing the
bottom of the one to rest directly on the bottom of the other, but putting a
bit of wood or something of the kind between. Let it stand on the stove,
put do not let the water boil, It may take half a day or longer to melt the
honey. If the honey is set directly on the reservoir of a cook-stove, it will
be all right in a few days. In time it will granulate again, when it must
again be melted.

HONEY-COOKING RECIPES.

HoNEY-GEMS.—Two quarts flour, 3 tablespoonfuls melted lard, %4 pint
honey, % pint of molasses, 4 heaping tablespoonfuls brown sugar, 1% level
tablespoonfuls sodu, 1 level teaspoonful salt, 1/3 pint water, 4% teaspoonful
extract vanilla.

HonzEyY JUMBLES._—Two quarts flour, 3 tablespoonfuls melted lard, 1
pint honey, 14 pint molasses, 1% level tablespoonfuls soda, 1 level tea-
spoonful salt, 4% pint water, % teaspoonful vanilla.

The jumbles and the gems immediately prereding are from recipes
used by bakers and confectioners on a large scale, one firm in Wisconsin
alone using ten tons of honey annually in their manufacture.

AIKIN’S HoNEY COOKIES.—One teacupful extracted honey, 1 pint sour
cream, scant teaspoonful soda, flavoring if desired, flour to make a soft
dough.

Sorr HonrEy CAkr.—One cup butter, 2 cups honey, 2 eggs, 1 cup sour
milk, 2 teaspoonfuls soda, 1 teaspoonful ginger, 1 teaspoonful cinnamon, 4
cups four.—-Chalon T'owls

Gixq@erR HonEY CAKE.—One cup honey, % cup butter, or drippings, 1
tablespoonful boiled cider, in half a cup of hot water (or % cup sour
milk will do instead). Warm these ingredients together, and then add 1
tablespoonful ginger and 1 teaspoonful soda sifted in with flour enough to
make a soft batter. Dake in a flat pan.—Chalon Fowls.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 309

OBrYRLIN Honey Frvuit-Caxkr —Half cup butter, % cup honey, 1-3 eup
apple jelly or boiled cider, 2 eggs well beaten, 1 teaspoonful soda, 1 tea-
spoonful each of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, 1 teacupful each of raisins
and dried currants. Warm the butter, honey, and apple jelly slightly; add
the beaten eggs, then the soda dissolved in a little warm water; add spices
and flour enough to make a stiff batter, then stir in the fruit and bake in a
slow oven. Keep in a covered jar several weeks before using.

Honey Porcorn Batus.—Take i pint extracted honey; put it into an
iron frying-pan, and boil until very thick; then stir in freshly popped corn,
and when cool mold into balls. These will especially delight the children.

Honky SHOKPCAKE.—Three cups tlour, 2 teaspoonfuls haking-powder, 1
teaspoonful salt, % cup shortening, 1% cups sweet milk. Roll quickly, and
bake in a hot oven. When done, split the cake and spread the lower half
thinly with butter, and the upper half with 4% pound of the best-flavored
honey. (Candied honey is preferred. If too hard to spread well it shouid
be warmed or creamed with a knife.) Let it stand a few minutes, and thu
honey will melt gradually, and the flavor will permeate all through the cake.
To be eaten with milk.

OBERLIN HONEY LAYER CAKE.—Two-thirds cup butter, 1 cup honey, 3
eggs beaten, % cup milk. Cream the butter and honey together, then add
the eggs and milk. Then add 2 cups of flour containing 1% teaspoonfuls
baking-powder previously stirred in. Then stir in flour to make a stiff
batter. Bake in jelly-tins. When the cakes are cold, take finely flavore.!
eandied honey, and, after creaming it, spread between the layers.

Honey Nut-Caxes.—Hight cups sugar, 2 cups honey, 4 cups milk or
water, 1 pound almonds, 1 pound English walnuts, 3 cents’ worth each of
candied lemon and orange peel, 5 cents’ worth citron (the last three cut
fine), 2 large tablespoonfuls soda, 2 teaspoonfuls cinnamon, 2 teaspoonfuls
ground cloves. Put the milk, sugar, and honey on the stove to boil 15
minutes; skim off the scum, and take from the stove. Put in the nuts,
spices, and candied fruit. Stir in as much flour as can be done with a
spoon. Set away to cool, then mix in the soda (don't make the dough too
stitt). Cover up and let stand over night, then work in enough flour to
make a stiff dough. Bake when you get ready. It is well to let it stand a
few days, as it will not stick so badly. Roll out a little thicker than a
common cooky, cut in any shape you like.

This recipe orizinated in Germany, is old and tried, and the cake will
keep a year or more.—Mrs. E. Smith.

Murts Honvy Cakrs.—One gallon honey (dark honey best), 15 eggs,
3 pounds sugar (a little more honey in its place may be better), 1% oz.
paking-soda, 2 oz. ammonia, 2 Ibs. almonds chopped up, 2 Ibs. citron, 4 oz.
cinnamon, 2 oz. cloves, 2 oz. mace, 18 Ibs. flour. Let the honey come almost
toa boil; then let it cool and add the other ingredients. Cut out and bake.
The cakes are to be frosted afterward with sugar and white of eggs.

310 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

OFERLIN Honey Cooxrrs —Three teaspoonfuls soda dissolved in 2 cups
warm honey, 1 cup shortening containing salt, 2 teaspoonfuls ginger, 1 cup
hot water, flour sufficient to roll.

HONEY TEA CAKE.——One cup honey, % cup sour cream, 2 eggs, % cup
butter, 2 cups flour, scant % teaspoonful soda, 1 teaspoonful cream-of-
tartar. Bake 30 minutes in a moderate oven.—Miss UM. Candler.

HONEY GINGER-SNAPS.—One pint honey, %4 lb. butter, 2 teaspoonfuls
ginger. Boil together a few minutes, and when nearly cold put in flour
until it is stiff. Rollout thin, and bake quickly.

Honey CARAMEFLS.—1 cup extracted honey of best flavor, 1 cup gran-
ulated sugar, 8 tablespoonfuls sweet cream or milk. Boil to “ soft crack,”
or until it hardens when dropped into cold water, but not too brittle—just
so it will form into a soft ball when taken in the fingers. Pour into a
greased dish, stirring in a teaspoonful extract of vanilla just before taking
off. Let it be % or % inch deep in the dish; and as it cools, cut in squares
and wrap each square in paraifine paper, such as grocers wrap butter in.
To make chocolate caramels, add to the foregoing 1 tablespoonful melted
chocolate, just before taking off the stove, stirring it in well. For chocolate
caramels it is not so important that the honey he of the best quality —0O. Q.
Miller.

Honey GRAPE JELLY.—Stew the grapes until soft; mash and strain
them through cheese-cloth, and to each quart of juice add one quart of
honey, and boil it until it is thick enough to suit. Keep trying by dipping
out a spoonful and cooling it. If you get it too thick it will candy. Any
other fruit juice treat just the same.

Moore’s HONEY GINGER-SNAPS.—One pint of honey, one teaspoonful
of ginger, and one teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little water, and two
eggs. Mix all, then work in all the flour possible, roll very thin, and bake
in a moderately hot oven. Any flavoring extracts can be added, as you
may wish.

Moorr’s Honny JUMBLES OR COOKIES are made in the samé way as the
above, without any sugar or syrup, but add some shortening. In using
honey for any kind of cakes, the dough must be as stiff with flour as pos-
sible, to keep them from running out of the stove.

To Spice APPLES, PEARS, OR PEACHES.—One quart of best vinegar, 1
quart of honey, % ounce each of cloves and stick cinnamon. Boil all
together 15 minutes, then put in-the fruit, and cook tender. Put in a stone
jar with enough of the syrup to cover the fruit. It will keep as long as
wanted.

For SUGAR-CURING 100 PouNvs oF MEaAT.—Eight pounds of salt, 1
quart of honey, 2 ounces of saltpeter, and 3 gallons of water. Mix, and
poil until dissolved, then pour it hot on the meat.

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 311

Mrs. BARBER’S HONEY CANDY.—One quart honey, 1 small teacup of
granulated sugar, butter size of an egg, 2 tablespoonfuls strong vinegar.
Boil until it will harden when dropped into cold water, then stir in a small
teaspoonful of baking-coda. Pour into buttered plates to cool. Without the
vinegar and soda it can be pulled or worked a long time, and is just the
thing for an old-fashioned candy-pull, as it is not sticky, and yet is soft
enough to pull nicely.

ScripTuRE Honry Cakn.—One cupful of butter—Judges v. 25; 3%
cupfuls of flour—I Kings iv. 22; 2 cupfuls of sugar—Jeremiah vi. 20; 2
cupfuls of raisins—I Samuel xxx. 12; 2 cupfuls of figs—I Samuel xxx. 12;
1 cupful of water—Genesis xxiv. 17; 1 cupful of almonds—Genesis xliii.
11; little salt—Leviticus ii. 13; 6 eggs—Isaiah x. 14; large spoonful of
honey—Exodus xvi. 31; sweet spices to taste—I Kings a. 2.

Follow Solomon's advice for making good boys, and you will have a good
cake—Prov. xxiii. 14. Sift two teaspoonfuls of baking-powder in the. flour;
pour boiling water on the almonds to remove the skins; seed the raisins and
chop the figs. It makes one large or two small cakes.

Mrs. BARBER’S HONEY COOKIES.—-One large teacupful of honey. One
egg broken into the cup the honey was measured in, then 2 large spoonfuls
sour milk, and fill the cup with butter or good beef dripping. Put in one
teaspoonful of soda and flour to make a soft dough. Bake in a moderate
oven a light brown.

GoTHAM HONEY GINGER CAKE.—Rub % of a pound of butter into a
pound of sifted flour; add a teacupful of brown sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls each
of ground ginger and caraway seed. Beat 5 eggs, and stir in the mixture,
alternately, with a pint of extracted honey. Beat all together until very
light. Turn into a shallow square pan, and set in a moderate oven to bake
for one hour. When done, let cool and cut into squares.

Mrs. AIKIN’s HonrEY APPLE-BUTTER.—One gallon good cooking apples,
1 quart honey, 1 quart honey-vinegar, 1 heaping teaspoonful ground cin-
namon. Cook several hours, stirring often to prevent burning. If the
vinegar is very strong, use part water.

HoweLu’s Harp Honey CAKkEe.—Take 6 pounds of flour, 3 pounds
honey, 1% pounds of sugar, 1% pounds butter, 6 eggs, % ounce saleratus;
ginger to your taste. Have the flour in 4 pan or tray. Pack a cavity in
the center. Beat the honey and yolks of eggs together well. Beat the
butter and sugar to cream, and put into the cavity in the flour; then add
the honey and yolks of the eggs. Mix well with the hand, adding a little
at a time, during the mixing, the % ounce of saleratus dissolved in boiling
water until it is all in. Add the ginger, and finally add the whites of the
6 eggs, well beaten. Mix well with the hand to a smooth dough. Divide
the dough into 7 equal parts, and roll out like gingerbread. Bake in ordi-
nary square pans made for pies, from 10x 14-inch tin. After putting into
the pans, mark off the top in %-inch strips with something sharp. Bake

312 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

an hour in a moderate oven. Be careful not to burn, but bake well. Dis-
solve sugar to glaze over top of cake. To keep the cake, stand on end in an
oak tub, tin can, or stone crock—crock is best. Stand the cards up so the
flat sides will not touch each other. Cover tight. Keep in a cool, dry place.
Don't use until three months old, at least. The cake improves with age,
and will keep good as long as you will let it. Any cake sweetened with
honey does not dry out like sugar or molasses cake, and age improves or
develops the honey-flavor. This recipe has been used with unvarying success
and satisfaction for 100 years in the family that. reporis. .\ vear’s supply
of this cake can be made up at one time, if desired.

MARIA FRASER’S HONEY JUMBLES.—Two cups honey, 1 cup butter, 4
eggs (mix well), 1 cup buttermilk (mix), 1 good quart of flour, 1 level
teaspoonful soda or saleratus. If it is too thin, stir in a little more flour.
If too thin it will fall. It does not want to be as thin as sugar-cake. Use
very thick honey. Be sure io use the same cup for measure, and to mix
the honey, eggs, and butter well together,

Honey Fruit CAKE.—Take 1% cups of honey, 2-3 cup of butter, %4
cup of sweet milk, 3 eggs well beaten, 3 cups of flour, 2 teaspoonfuls of
baking-nowder, 2 cups raisins, 1 teaspoonful each of cloves and cinnamon,

HONEY GINGER-SNAPS.—One pint honey, % pound of butter, 2 tea-
spoonfuls of ginger, boil together a few minutes, and when nearly cold put
in flour until it is stiff, roll out thinly and bake quickly.

Mrs. MiInniIcK’s Sort HONEY Cakr.—Put scant teaspoonful soda in
teacup, pour 5 tablespoonfuls hot water on the soda; then fill the cup with
extracted honey. Take % cup of butter and 1 egg and beat together; add
2 cups of flour and 1 teaspoonful of ginger; stir all together, and bake in
a very slow oven.

Honey Cake —One quart of extracted honey, % pint sugar, % pint
melied butter, 1 teaspoonful soda dissolved in % teacup warm water, %
of a nutmeg and 1 teaspoonful of ginger. Mix these ingredients, and then
work in flour and roll. Cut in thin cakes and bake on buttered tins in a
quick oven.

REMEDIES USING HONEY

HONEY AND TAR COUGH CURE.—Put 1 tablespoonful liquid tar into a
shallow tin dish, and place it in boiling water until the tar is hot. To this
add a pint of extracted honey, and stir well for half an hour, adding to it
a level teaspoonful pulverized borax. Keep well corked in a bottle. Dose,
1 teaspoonful every one, two, or three hours, according to severity of cough.

HONEY AS A TAPE-WORM REMEDY.—Peeled pumpkin seeds, 3 ounces;
honey, 2 ounces; water, 8 ounces. Make an emulsion. Take half, fasting,

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 313

in the morning, remaining half an hour later. In three hours’ time two
ounces castor-oil should be administered. Used with great success.—Medt-
eal Brief.

HONEY FOR ERYSIPELAS is used locally by spreading it on a suitable
cloth and applying to the parts. The application is renewed every 3 or 4
hours. In all cases in which the remedy has been employed, entire relief
from the pain followed immediately, and convalescence was brought about
in 3 or 4 days.

HONEY FOR DyspiupslIA.—A young man who was troubled with dyspep-
sia, and the more medicine he took the worse he became, was advised to try
honey and graham gems for breakfast. He did so, and commenced to gain,
and now enjoys as good health as the average man, and he does not take
medicine, either. Honey is the only food taken into the stomach that leaves
no residue; it requires no action of the stomach whatever to digest it, as it
is merely absorbed and taken up into the system by the action of the blood.
Honey is the natural foe to dyspepsia and indigestion, as well as a food
for the human system.

HONEY FOR OLD PEOPLE’s CoUGHS.—Old people’s coughs are as dis-
tinct as that of children, and require remedies especially adapted to them.
It is known by the constant tickling in the pit of the throat—just where
the .\dam’s apple projects—and is caused by phlegm that accumulates there,
which, in their weakened condition, they are unable tu expectorate.

Take a fair-sized onion—a good strong one—and let it simmer in a
quart of honey for several hours, after which strain and take a teaspoonful
frequently. It eases the cough wonderfully, though it may not cure.

HoNEY ror STOMACH CovUGH.—AIl mothers know what a stomach
cough is—caused by an irritation of that organ, frequently attended with
indigestion. The child often “throws up” after coughing.

Dig down to the roots of a wild-cherry tree, and peel off a handful of
the bark, put it into a pint of water, and boil down to a teacupful. Put this
tea into a quart of honey, and give a teaspoonful every hour or two. It is
pleasant, and if the child should also have worms, which often happens, they
are pretty apt to be disposed of, as they have no love for the wild-cherry
flavor.

Honery AnD Tar CouGH CANDY.—Boil a double handful of green hoar-
hound in two quarts of water down to one quart; strain, and add to this
tea two cups of extracted honey and u tablespoonful each of lard and tar.
Boil down to a candy, but not enough to make it brittle. Begin to eat this,
increase from a piece the size of a pea to as much as can be relished. It
is an excellent cough candy, and always gives relief in a short time.

Swiss REMEDY FoR A COLD SETTLING ON THE CHEST.—Boil a quart
of pure spring water; add as much camomile as can be grasped in three
fingers, and three teaspoonfuls of honey, and cover tight. The vessel is

314 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

; \* Wee Ss os .
then to be quickly removed from the fire and set on a table at which the
patient can comfortably seat himself. Throwing a woolen cloth over the
patient's head so as to include the vessel, he is to remove the cover and inhale
the vapors as deeply as possible through the mouth and nose, occasionally
stirring the mixture until it is cold, and then retire to » warmed bed. In
obstinate cases the treatment should be repeated for three evenings.

Honey Croup REMEpY.—This is the best known to the medical profes
sion, and is an infallible remedy in all cases of mucus and spasmodic croup:
Raw linseed oil, 2 0z.; tincture of blood root, 2 drs.; tincture of lobelia, 2
drs.; tincture of aconite, % dr.; honey, 4 0z. Mix. Dose, % to 1 teaspoon-
ful every 15 to 20 minutes, according to the urgency of the case. It is also
excellent in all throat and lung troubles originating from a cold.

This is an excellent remedy in lung trouble: Make a strong decoction
of hoarhound herb and sweeten with honey. Take a teaspoonful 4 or 5
times a day.

HONEY ON FROST-BITES.—If your ears, fingers, or toes become frozen
nothing will take the frost out of them sooner than if wrapped up in honey.
The swelling is rapidly reduced, and no danger occurs.

HONEY AND CREAM FOR FRECKLES.—Have you tried a mixture of hon-
ey and cream—half and half—for freckles? Well, it’s a good thing. If on
the hands, wear gloves on going to bed.

Dr. Kyeipr’s Honey Satyre.—This is recommended as an excellent
dressing for sores and boils, Take equal parts honey and flour, add a little
water, and stir thoroughly. Don’t make too thin. Then apply as usual.

SuMMER Honey DRINK.—One spoonful of fruit juice and 1 spoonful
honey in % glass water; stir in as much soda as will lie on w silver dime,
and then stir in half as much tartaric acid, and drink at once.

Dr. PErRO’s Honty SAuve—for boils and other diseases of a similay
charatcer—-is made by thoroughly incorporating flour with honey until of 1
proper consistency to spread on cloth. Applied over the boil it hastens
suppuration, and the early termination of the painful lesion.

Honey as A LAXATIVE.—TIn olden times the good effects of honey as a
remedial agent were well known, but of late little use is made thereof. <A
great mistake, surely. Notably is honey valuable in constipation. Not as
an immediate cure, like some medicines which momentarily give relief only
to leave the case worse than ever afterward, but by its persistent use daily,
bringing about a healthy condition of the bowels, enabling them to perform
properly their functions. Many suffer daily from an irritable condition,
calling themselves nervous, and all that sort of thing, not realizing that
constipation is at the root of the matter, and that « faithful daily use of
honey fairly persisted in would restore cheerfulness of mind and a health;
body.—Le Progres Apicole.

CoueHs, CoLps, WHOOPING COUGH, ETC.—Fill a bell-metal kettle with
hoarhound leaves and soft water, letting it boil until the liquor becomes

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 315

strong—then strain through a muslin cloth, adding as much honey as desired
—then cook it in the same kettle until the water evaporates, when the
candy may be poured into shallow vessels and remain until needed, or pulled
like molasses candy until white.

HONEY FOR SORE EvES.—A neighbor of mine had inflammation in his
eyes. He tried many things and many physicians; was nothing better, but
rather grew worse, until he was almost entirely blind. His family was
sick, and I presented him with a pail of honey. What they did not eat he
put in his eyes, a drop or two in each eye two or three times a day. In
three months’ time he was able to read coarse print, and after four months’
use his eyes were almost as good as ever. I have also found honey good
for common cold-sore eyes.—S. C. Perry. :

Set of Honey-dishes.

316

Academy, Attends .........
American Bee Journal

Apple-bloom
Asters

Balling of Queen..........
Beekeeper, Assistant .......
Beekeeping Sole Business... .
Bee-brushes ...........-.,
Bee-dress, Woman’s ...
Bee-gloves .............4..
Bee-journals, Writing for ...
Bee-palace
Bee-smokers ..............
Bee-space, Correct ....
Bee-strainer eps

BeOoMel) — iaviits ai fiieleyeicledeuidredetasriedn
Bees all Removed at Once...
Bees do Not Prefer Old Larva
Bees do Work most Needed. .
Bees Removed from Cellar Quick
Bees Shaken from Combs....
Bees Staying in Nuclei
Bees Stick to Same Entrance
Bees Using Young Larve Only
Bees, Best for Home Apiary.
Bees, Bringing Home in Fall.
Becs, Brushing from Queen-cells
Bees, Carrying when Roused.
Bees, Cleaning out Dead.
Bees, Naha aaeaeses Salen tates
Bees,
Bees,
Bees,

Making them Stay.....
My First
Bees, Pounding off Combs...
Bees, Removing from Cellar.
Bees, Robbed, Joining Robbers.
Bees, Robber, Watching for.
Bees, Scolding .....
Bees, Shaking off
Bees, Smoking Down
Bees, Sweeping up Dead....
Bees, ‘‘ Taking up”
Bees, when to Put in Cellar. .
Bees, why they Swarm......
Bees. Working of Queenless. .

Beginning Again
Behavior Abnormal ..
Blast, Continuous and ‘Cut-off
Bottom-hoard
Boyhood Days ...........-
Board-bills, Cheap

Breeding from Best
Breeding-comb, Placing te
Breeding-eomb, Trimming for
Brood as a Stimulant.......
Brood-comhs as Baits
Brood in Sections..........
Brood to Top-bar
Brood, Disposal of Extra....
Brood, Giving to Stronger...

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

INDEX

12 Brood, Giving to Weaker.

20 Brood, Removing Bl] ccrets
135 Brood, Starting for Cells...
113 Brood, Two Frames Weekly. .
118 Burr-combs ........ ..-.-
71 Cages, One-cent ......

52 Cases, Troublesome ........
31 Catnip: cas cecinadedsauciaenisnin :
69 Cellar, Airing of .. .......
216 Cellar, Cooling and Airing...
215 Cellar, Fire for ...........
301 Cellar, Furnace in ........
15 Cellar, Lighting ...........
63 Cellar, Opening at Night...
130 Cellar, Piling Hives in.....
61 Cellar, Preparing ........
213 Cellar, Stove in ... .......
41 Cellar, Ventilation of ......
205 Cellar, Warming .. .......
168 Cell-building, Bees for
38 Cells Destroyed by Bees... ..
253 Cells, Advantage of Caging .
224 Cells, Appearance of Vacated.
211 Cells, Killing Thororzhly :
228 Cells, Stapling on Comb.....

43. Chicago, Three Years in.
281 Cincinnati, Winter in ,
239 Cleaning Supers and T-ti: as.
284 Cleats for Hives ..........
290 Cleats on Smokers .......

45 Clover, Giant White ........
302 Clover, Sweet
233 Clover, White, Uncertain
15 Clipping, Advantage of ... .
68 Clipping, Implement for ....
38 College, Enters ...........-
207 College, Works Way through.
196 Colonies for Go-back Work. .
216 Colonies Kept Queenless ....
166 Colonies Not Needing Watching
189 Colonies, Breaking up Faulty
290 Colonies, Crediting ........
17 Colonies, Cross ...... .....
281 Colonies, Laying-worker, Treat-
163 1 1 eae ear eee are tr arn
160 Colonies, Placing of........
302 Colonies, Sclevting to Feed. .
172 Colonies, Strong v. Weak...
64 Colonies, Queenless .......-
43 Colonies, Weak, in Spring. .

9 Colonies, Weighing .....

14 Comb Foundation, Attempt ‘at
29d Combs Built to Bottom-bars.
229 Combs of Honey, Reserve....
288 Comls, Mending ..........
107 Conditions, Unfavorable
31 Contents of Tool-basket
113 Cork Chips for Watering.

83 Covers, Tin, Dead-air eee
128 Covers, Zine .ciesac as rs
103 Crock, Watering ..........

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

Crop, Total,
Colony
Cucumbers

Rather than per

Demaree Plan ............
Dequeening Treatment
Diarrhoea, Heat for
Digression .........
Discouragement
Division-boards
Doolittle’s Plan ....
Dress for Hot Weather

Education, Early
Eggs, Destroying
Eggs, Looking for
Encouragement
End-spacing ..............
Entrance-closers
Entrance, Size of
Entries, Record
Even, Getting a
Excluder,. None under Sections
Excluder Plan of Treatment.
Experimenting on Large Scale
Experimenting, Pleasure of..
Extractor, Peabody

Failures, Some ............
Feeder, Original Miller......
Feeder, Improved Miller ....
Feeder, Crock-and-plate .....
Feeding Early for Winter....
Feeding in Fall for Spring..
Feeding in June
Feeding
Feeding, Fall
Feeding,
Feeding, Stimulative
Feeding, Wholesale ........
Frame, Langstroth, Adopted. .
Frame, Miller .............
Frame, 18x9, Adopted.....
Frames Diagonal in Hive...
Frames, 8 versus 10........
Frames, Loose-hanging
Frames, Self-spacing
Frames, Taking out
Frames, Using Empty
Frames, Wide ............
Foul Brood, European
Foundation, Cutting

Fuel, Green

Garret, Honey in
Glue, Brittle
Go-backs
Goldenrod ...............
Goods, Using Standard
Grass, Killing

Harvest, Clover, Close of....
Harvest, Harbingers of.....
Hauling, Preparations for ..
Heartsease ..........-...-
Hive, Jumbo

317

Hive, Nucleus ............ 231
Hive, Opening ............- 55
Hives and Frames.......... 74
Hives in Pairs ............ 89
Hives, Carrying in . 282
Hives, Changes in 74
Hives, Changing from Double

fo: Simele” wcsaacen ae ia 80

Hives, Changing from Single

to. Doubler 322 sccasekseas 279
Hives, Cleaning ........... a4
Hives, Double, Advantage of 275
Hives, Double, for Winter... 277
Hives, Groups of Four...... 89
Hives, Nucleus, Contents of.. 233
Hives, Numbering ...... 47
Hives, Regular, for Nuclei 234
Hive-covers 1... seen eee 86
Hive-dummy ...........--. 84
Hive-seat, 51
Hive-stands ...........4. 88, 302
Hive-tools «.s.ecacteiee aig eae 53
Honey as a Food..........- 305
Honey in Cellar with Furnace 262
Honey for Remedies ........ 312
Honey Recipes ..........

Honey, ‘Aduiteration of . 807

Honey, Care of ......... B
Honey, Comb v. Extracted. 303
Honey, Han Feeding See-

HONS! (OF Zastontyiote e824} Muses 96
Honey, Draining Extracted . 264
Honey, First Section 30
Honey, Granulated
Honey, Late .......

‘Honey, Marketing ..

Honey, Ripening ..........
Honey, Surplus Combs of.... 96
Honey, Various Uses for.... 306
Honey, Where to Keep ..... 261
Honey-board, Heddon ...... 129
Honey-plants, Various ..... 112
Honey-room .........+--5- 194
Honey-show .....--.++e00% 261

Improvement, Working for. 79
Increase by Taking to Out:

@DIALY oe ee wale eet at 247
Increase of 9 to 56........ 248
Increase without Nuclei... 252
Increase, Artificial ........ 246
Tnerease, Nucleus Plan of. 251
Increase, Too Rapid........ 23
Ttalianizing with Natural

SWCALMENE: sore eat a yalkget ered 244
Italians from Adam Grimm.. 27
Italians, My First .......-. 19
June, Feeding in .........-- 98
Labor, Division OE charac, sleeve 141
Life in Country, Back to. 28
Linden 4.cecresqggun eee se eos 8 113
Location, Choice of .......- 302
Market, Home 267
Markets, Distant ........-- 268

318

Meal, Feeding ............
Medicine, Practice of ....

Medicine, Study of ....
Memoranda of 1901...
Memoranda of 1882
Mice in Bee-cellars

Nails, Spacing
Non-swarming Preferred to
MONG. a .8 stents cnconay sndpanis
Non-swarming,
ward
Nuclei in Fall .
Nuclei, Baby
Nuclei,
Nuclei,
Nuclei, Time to Start.......
Nuclei, Uniting ...........
Nucleus Built without ‘ielp..
Nucleus Given to Swarm.
Nucleus to Prevent Swarming
Numbers, Order of

Office, Author’s
Overhauling,
Overhauling,
Overstocking

ee dita settntetes
Subsequent

AVORO TES (ae i! ba ie adianscgantseete Ss
Pasturage, Artificial
Pencil, Place for ..........
Piles a Target for Robbers...
Piles in Late Summer......
Piles, Non-swarming
Plan, Put-up
Plan. Varying
Playing Bees and Robbers.
Push-board
Pollen i
Pollcn,

Queen Balled by Bees.......
Queen Rearéd in ‘ Put-up”
Queen, Aids in Finding.....
Queen, Best, in Nucleus.....
Queen, Catching ..........
Queen,
Queen,
Queen,
Queen,

Putting down
Replacing with Better
Queen, Room for
Queen, Watching for
Oueen-cage
Queen-cells Destroyed by Bees
Queen-cells Destroyed to Pre-
vent Swarming .........
Queen-cells, Brood for
Queen-cells, Distributing
Queen-cells, Looking for
Queen-cells, Placing
Queen-nursery, Advantages of.
Queen-nursery, Miller
Queen- rearing
Queen-rearing, Conditions ‘for
Queens for Out-apiaries

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

Queens Reared with Laying
Queen
ce
ueens,
Queens,
Queens,

Confining Young... .
Drone-laying
History of

Introducing 4
Queens, Keeping Caged .
Queens, Quality of
Queens, Young, andi Swarming

Record-hook
Record, Advantage of Book. .
Records, Making
Reducing to One Story......
Risking in Good Season ....
Robbers. when .Troublesome. .
Robbers, Watching for
Robbers, Losing the
Robbers, Leaving Something for
Robber-cloth
Robber-cloth, Quick Covering
with
Robbing is Fault of Beekeeper
Robbing Started by Feeding.
Robbing Stopped with Wet Hay
Rohbing, Bad Case of......
Robbing, Signs of
Root, A. I., visit to

Saltpeter-rags
Season of 1863
Season of 1902
Season of 1912 Phenomenal. .
Seasons, Change of
Seat, T-super
Sections
Sections in Go-backs
Sections Needed per Colony..
Sections Packed in Car ...
Sections Packed in Shipping-
cases
Sections Prepared in Advance
Sections, Bees Emptying ....
Sections, Blocking up Supers of
Sections, Cleaning
Sections, Dauby, Bees Cleaning
Sections, Feeder
Sections, Final Seraping ....

Sections, Final Taking off...
Sections, Folding ..........
Sections, Fumigating 199
Sections, Getting Bees out of
Sections, Loading when Ship-
PING Ge snpoke tees muh bbs
Sections, Putting in Supers..

Sections, Removing from Super
Sections, Removing Unfinished
Sections, Sorting
Sections, Taking off
Sections, Tallying

Seasons, Uncertainty of ....
Sections, Unmarketable
Sections, Wetting ..........
Sections, White, Thick Top-
Pars: fOP- 3.6 escent eaten sae

Selection, Importance of.....
Separators, Putting in
Separators, Top
SSR OLGS icccivarisiton sickeaire ease SS iaitena na
Shade, Movable ..
Shaking by Doolittle Plan.
Shaking by Pendulum
Shop for Bee-work ......
Shipping-cases, Kind of. .
Smoker-fuel .........-.

Smoker-kindling ...........
Smoking Bees Down
Space, Large, for Middle Frame
Spacing, End
Spacing-nails
Splints, Foundation ...
Sponge-bath at Noon
Springs, Super
Starters, Putting in Sections.

Starters, Size of ..........
Stings, Removing .........
Stings, Protection from .....

Stock, Beginner Improving. .
Stores, Choosing .
Stores, Rapid Consumption i
Stories, Piles of
Story, Giving Second
Super Room, Guessing about.
Super, Heddon
Super, T
Super-filler
Supers for Out-apiaries .....
Supers of Sections, Preparing
Supers Standing Open......
Supers, Empty, on Top
Supers, Giving Additional .
Supers, Hauling from Out-
APVABY.— eapcapis eos dod ovate fo bene
Supers, Loading on Wagon. .
Supers; LY cesses see ee BS a
Supers, Time to Give.......
Supers, Top Ventilation of...
Supers, Wheeling in
Supers, where to Add ......
Swarm Prevention NotSuccess.
Swarm, Finding its Queen...
Swarm, Shaken, without In-
crease

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE

BEES 319
Swarming Galore ......... 172
Swarming Not Desirable.... 151
Swarming, Forced ......... 166
Swarming, Forced, Disadvan

ADO OE 5 oy suailacty tlt bacouseaipliresaty 168
Swarming, Forced, Time of.. 167
Swarming, Prevention of ... 162

Swarming, Troubled with ... 28
Swarming, Ventilation to Pre-

VEN vin keewe. s cacgos a Gene LOO:
Swarms Not Desirable . 162
Swarms, Accidental ..... oe E86
Swarms, Bad Manners of.... 163

Swarms, Management of .... 152

Swarms, Watching for 152
Syrup, Feeding ..... 270
System, Lack of ........... 101
Teaches and Travels ....... 14
Temperature and Ventilation. Al
Tent-escape, Miller ...... 190, 202
Thieves Always Thieves 204
Tool-basket ......--.000-0e 69
Top-bars, Thick .......... 36, 130
Unqueening to Start Cells... 222
Ventilation and Room ...... 163
Ventilator, Sub-earth ....... 289
Wagon for Hauling ........ 45
Watering-crock ........... 100
Wax-extractor, Dripping-pan. 299
Wax-extractor, Solar ...... 299
Wax-press, Steam ......... 299
Wintering pele down .... 17
Wintering, Bad ........... 293
Wintering, Disastrous 24
Wintering, Good : 294
Wintering, Improved 29
Wintering, Warm Spells in.. 286
Work for Winter .......... 300
Work, Preliminary ........ 174
Workers, Laying .......... 108
Year, Bad One............ 34
Year, Good One .......... 35
Yield, Average ............ 33

FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES

ILLUSTRATIONS
AMEBIE OE) Sis noe Stars Ba Bom Miller Queen-nursery ..-... 241
Balled Queen Miller Tent-escape ......... 207
Bee-dress .......... Movable Shade ............ 171
Bees Playing 228 Muench Hive-tool .......... 61
Bee Working on Red Clover.. 199 Nall DOXeS: es gids Sere ena 291
Bottom-rack .............. 37 Nucleus Bottom-board ...... 248
Brood of Laying Workers... 173 Nucleus Hives ..........-.. 250
Busy at the Typewriter...... 300 One-cent Queen-cage ....... 189
Caged Queen-cell ..... atin 2 Oe Original Miller Feeder ...... 119
Carrying with Rope .. 25, 29 Painted Tin Hive-covers..... 109
Catching the Queen .. 63 Part of Home Apiary (from
CA@ENED) ieiMamcsiasar ose 153 Northwest) 2. 228 424 08s 00
Caveht. ssaicnonarien sens. 65 Part of Home Apiary (from
Cleater Smoker ........ non. Southwest) .......... . 104
Clipping the Queen ........ 71 Peabody Honey-extractor ... 13
Coggshall Brush .......... 62 Pile of Stories ............ 195
Colonies Home from Out-api- Philo Carrying a Hive...... 32
ID TACS “piscihoensta nephvicia tiers ote wet 281 Pounding Bees off Comb.... 78
Colonies Intended for Out-api- Push-boar@: <6 300664 seas 213
ATIOS ee hivecenieenin dona Roinnsetire a 33 Pushing Sections out of Super 215
Colony Treated for Swarming 191 Putting Foundation in Sections 235
Colossal Ladino Clover..... 145 Queen-cell Stapled on Comb.. 230
Comb for Queen-cells ...... Q2h7 Queen-excluder ............ 167
Comb for Queen-cells Trimmed Rack for Hauling Bees...... 46
sei fe setae cates sass cates yal ttashcn cast ioe 39, 246 Ready for Clipping ........ 67
Comb Resting Diagonalin Hive 106 Record-books ............. 54
Combs of Brood ........... 98 RObDer bees os a2 sed heeweew a os 223
Combs of Honey ........... 94 Robber-cloth ..............4 210
Crock-and-plate Feeder ..... 132 Rows of Lindens in Bloom... 150
Cutting Foundation ........ 177 Scraping Sections ......... 267
Dripping-pan Wax-extractor. 283 Second-class Sections ...... 271
Emptying Out Slumgum..... 288 Sections Ready for Casing... 269
Entrance-block 40 Sections Wedged for Scraping 265
Entrance-closers ........ 50 Set of Honey-dishes ...... ~. 315
Feeder Sections ........... 261 SHOP srrcneenhs-2 haaeeomse este 202
Field of Raspberries in Bloom 138 Starters in Breeding-frame.. 232
Folding Sections .......... 169 Super-filler, occ sgt eae ge as 182
Foundation with Splint Sup- Supers of Sections Blocked up 219
POLS: eos nos eee Ga ees < 90 Swarm Dumped before Hive. 137
German Steam Wax-press... 307 Sweet Clover ............. 140
TROarIsSeaBse 2 2 bares daecnentr tate 164 Three Asters ............. 171
Heddon Slat Honey-board... 3, Tool-basket ............404 85
Heddon Super ......... 18 Top and Bottom-starter in
Hive Closed for Hauling. . 205 Section 175
Hive-dummy ............. 129 T Super 20
Hive-seat with Hand-hole... . 59 Twelve-section Shipping-case. 274
Hive-seat with Strap-handle. . 56 Twenty-four-section Shipping-
Hive-stand .............. 115 CASE: © ccuoouaver Sut -cwe & eicdiiee 2 276
Hive-siaples ............4.. 35 Two Asters ............. 159, 161
Home from the Out-apiary... 74 Two Carrying with Rope.... 26
Home of the Author ........ 11 Unmarketable Sections...... 263
Honey-dishes .......... 315 Vacated: Queen-cells ....... 256
Honey-show .............. 277 Vase of Goldenrod ......... 155
Improved Miller Queen-cages. 252 Wagon-load of Bees . 44
Jumbo Hive .. ........... 192 Watering-crock ...... 134
Lifting Off the Super....... 217 Weed-brushes ............. 80
Linden or Basswood Blossoms 148 Weighing Colonies ......... 278
Little Work-table .......... 179 Wheeling Load of Supers.... 209
Load of Forty Supers....... 187 Wide Frame ............. 16
Miller Cages .............. 235 Woman's Bee-dress ........ 229
Miller Feeder Dissected..... 124 Zine Hive-covers .......... 111
Miller Frame ............5 * 258 Wax-press, Screwing Down... 285

BOOKS ON BEEKEEPING

: The beekeeper who would be down to date and progressive will find
in a recount of the experiences of others the very suggestions he needs for
Saving time and money. Very few other occupations have been blest with
so many well-written books covering the pursuit in its many different phases.
To beekeepers are offered authoritative works at a minimum of expense,
and the opportunity to gain knowledge in this satisfying way should not be
neglected. :

For the benefit of those who wish to purchase other books on beekeeping
—covering the subject in a general way or some phase of the work in
particular—we have compiled the following list. These books may be had
at the prices named from The A. I. Root Co., Medina, Ohio, the publishers
of the volume in which this announcement appears, or from dealers in bee-
keepers’ supplies everywhere.

THE ABC AND X Y Z OF BEE CULTURE

A. I. and E. R. Root. The latest edition of
this work is the most complete of any bee-book
that has ever been issued in the English language.
While it is for the beginner, it may be read with
profit by the advanced beeekeeper. Its sale is so
large that neither time nor money is spared to
keep this book fully abreast with the times. In
the latest edition some scientific and technical
matter as well as the practical has been added to
its pages. It has been most carefully edited and
revised. Its authors and publishers feel that,
more than ever, it is a safe and-reliable guide to
beekeeping. Nearly 150,000 copies in the Eng-
lish language alone have heen sold. It has been
translated into French, German, and Spanish.

In the last edition there is a large number of
half-tone reproductions from what might be
called moving-pictures, showing various steps in
the processes for handling bees. While a detailed
description goes with the separate views showing
each step, yet one can almost learn how to handle
bees by simply looking at the series of photographs.
Under the head of ‘‘ Frames, to Manipulate,” for
example, there are a large number of new engrav-
ings that show not only the method of handling
frames but hatdling hives and bees in-such a way
as to do the work with the greatest economy of labor, with few or no stings,
and with but little fatigue.

The new methods of queen-rearing have been carefully reviewed, and
the main points incorporated in the new edition, so that the practical bee-
keeper who possesses a copy will have the best ideas of the subject con-
stantly by his side for reference.

The new methods of wax-production are treated in an exhaustive
fashion, and as this subject is now of more importance than formerly, more
space has been devoted to it. : .

The new power-driven automatic extractors are amply illustrated and
described. The subject of diseases has received entirely new treatment to
keep pace with new discoveries of the last few years. The laws relating
to bees have for the first time received full treatment. No other bee-book
treats of this very important subject. The subject of swarm control has
received special attention. Honey, sugar, nectar, and glucose, written up
by a United States government chemist, are carefully defined in accordance
with the demands of our new pure-food laws.

The authors have traveled thousands of miles in the United States,
with notebook and camera, and have endeavored to incorporate in the pages
of this volume all the latest and best practices known to the professional
and amateur beekeepers. There is scarcely a practical method or device
known to the beekeepers of the country that is not here described. Be-
sides the immense amount of valuable material gathered through extensive
travel, the work has been enriched with the choicest material that has

appeared in the columns of GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE, an illustrated
semi-monthly by the same authors.

Besides the matter relating to methods and devices, the book contains
a complete dictionary of apicultural terms, and a picture-gallery comprising
a list of the choicest illustrations that have appeared in GLEANINGS IN BEE
CuLTURE for the last ten years.

Prices, cloth bound, $2.00; half leather, $2.75. The edition bound
in half leather includes the bee-models, with key, bound in.

FOREIGN EDITIONS OF THE A B C.—Carefully translated editions
of this complete cyclopedia of beekeeping may now be had in the German,
French, and Spanish languages. The German edition (A B C DER BIE-
NENZUCHT) sells for $2.00 in paper and $2.50 in cloth binding. In
French (A B C de L'APICULTURE) may be had in cloth for $2,00, In
Spanish (E] A B C y X Y Z de la APICULTURA), $2,50.

OTHER PRACTICAL WORKS ON BEES

The books mentioned on this page are all devoted to practical bee
culture, although a few of them, as will be noted by their descriptions,
have more or less scientific value. A somewhat careful reading of the
descriptions below will undoubtedly show any one just what book will suit
him best. If several books are to be selected covering a wide range of
subjects, the following list may be helpful in deciding what you want: A B
C and X Y Z of Bee Culture (see preceding page), Langstroth on the
Honeybee, Advanced Bee Culture. Or this ist: How to Keep Bees, Forty
Years among the Bees, A Modern Bee Farm.

Langstroth on the Honeybee.—By C. P. Dadant. The bee:
keeper who does not like this book is hard to suit. The present volume is
termed the ‘‘ Twentieth Century Edition,’ and contains a vast fund of
information on all subjects relating to practical bee culture. It has long
been recognized as a standard work, and should be found in the library
of every progressive beekeeper. It is well illustrated, and has 575 pages,
Price by mail, $1.25; by freight or express, 15 cts, less. :

Fifty Years among the Bees.—By Dr. C. C. Miller. This is
another standard book of 300 pages and 100 illustrations, written by 4
specialist with an experience of more than fifty years. The author hag
read not only all of the literature on bees published in this country, but
much of that published in Europe, and is a recognized authority. Price
by mail, $1.00; by freight or express, 10 cts. less.

Manual of the Aplary.—By Prof. A. J. Cook. This is a very
complete treatise on bees and Beokesping, and is particularly valuable where
one is interested in the anatomy and physiology of the bee, which has been
very completely covered in this work. It is also valuable for its chapter on
honey-plants, or bee botany; 540 pages with good illustrations. Price by
mail, $1.15; 15 cts. less by freight or express.

Doolittle’s Queen-rearing.—This is practically the only com-
prehensive book on queen-rearing now in print. It is looked upon by
many as the foundation of modern methods of raising queens wholesale.
Mr. Doolittle has an entertaining way of writing on bee subjects which
enables his readers to follow him with pleasure, even if they never intend
to raise queens at all. Cloth bound, 124 pages, $1.00 postpaid; by freight
or express, 5 cents less.

Quinby’s New Beekeeping.—By L. C. Root. A modern
edition of that early volume on bees entitled ‘‘ Quinby’s Mysteries,” revised
some years ago by a well-known beekeeper, a son-in-law of the original
writer. Mr. Quinby was a practical beekeeper, and greatly assisted Mr.
Langstroth in laying the foundation of American apiculture. For this
reason it should be read by all beekeepers who want to know of the early
work in beekeeping. Cloth bound, 270 pages, by mail, $1.00; by freight
or express, 10 cents less.

Advanced Bee Culture.—By W. Z. Hutchinson; Revised Edi-

tion. This is a very unusual work—we might say indispensable to any one

who is thinking seriously of becoming a specialist in apiculture. ‘The
author himself has been a specialist and in closest touch with with these
methods; and nothing now in print could be of more benefit to the practical
beekeeper than this book. It is fully illustrated, well printed, and is sure
to please. Price by mail, $1.00; 10 cents less by freight or express.

How to Keep Bees.—By Anna Botsford Comstock. This is
a charmingly written maunal for amateurs, describing in the clearest lan-
guage all necessary details. The authoress combines enthusiasm, literary
ibility, and a knowledge of beekeeping into a goodly volume. Having her-
self made a start in the bee business, she fully appreciates the perplexities
of the situation, and makes provision accordingly. The book is well suited
to the wants of the suburbanite who wishes a hobby which will give some-
thing by way of return for labor and capital expended, or those who wish to
keep only a small apiary either for pleasure or profit. If there is any
better book than this for the purpose indicated, we do not know of it. Cloth
bound, 228 pages, $1.00 postpaid; by freight or express, 10 cts. less.

Biggle Bee-book.—This is a very neat cloth-bound book,
well printed and illustrated. It is 5% by 4 inches, by % inch thick—just
right to carry in the pocket. It is just the thing for the busy man who
would like to get a birdseye view of’ beekeeping, and who has not the time
to read the more comprehensive works. The book is boiled down, containing
only the best practices known. Price by mail, 50 cts.; 5 ects. less if sent
by freight or express

A Modern Bee-Farm.—By Simmons, is one of those books
which will cause you to sit up and take notice if you are a real live bee-
keeper with lots for formic acid in your blood. The author is an English
beekeeper of note, who not only knows and understands bee culture in his
own home land, but is as well an earnest student of American apicultural
methods. He is not very orthodox in his views, but his book is all the
Letter for that, seeing he wants to take us out of the ruts. You can read
the book right straight through, as it runs along like a narrative or a
novel. Cloth bound, 430 pages, 1904; price $2.00 postpaid; by freight or
express, 15 cts. less.

British Beekeepers’ Guide Book.—By T. W. Cowan. This
is the leading English work on practical beekeeping in England, and as
such has had an immense sale. The work is condensed into 179 pages,
handsomely bound and well illustrated. Price $1.00 by mail; by freight or
express, 5 cts. less.

The Irish Bee-Guide.—By Digges, is, as its name implies, a
guide to the beekeeping industry of Ireland. This is a closely printed, well-
bound book of 220 pages with excellent illustrations on e paper. It
would be useful to any one who wishes to become acquainted with the
status of beekeeping in the old land. Price $1.00 postpaid; by freight or
express, 5 cts. less.

The Honeybee.—By T. W. Cowan. A complete scientific
treatise on the honeybee, its natural history, anatomy, and physiology, by
one of the foremost writers on apiculture. More than 200 pages—nearly
150 illustrations. Bound in substantial cloth, $1.00 postpaid.

Wax Craft.—By Thomas William Cowan. No beekeeper of
any pretensions can afford to be without one book on beeswax. This is
the only book on the subject in English. Price by mail, $1.00; by freight
or express, 5 cts. less.

These books may be obtained from the publishers of this volume or
from dealers in beekeepers’ supplies everywhere.

POPULAR WORKS ON BEE CULTURE

The following books are for the most part by writers of well-known
literary ability, and are very interesting indeed, and are greatly valued by
beekeepers and others for their literary merit, and the popular style in
which beekeeping is depicted, and we are very glad to have the opportunity

to offer them to beekeepers and others. The description of each work will
give a fair idea of the same, but a pamphlet giving an extended view of
these and the practical books on bee culture listed in the preceding columns
will be sent on application.

The Honey-makers.—By Miss Margaret W. Morley. This is
the story of the life of the bee, told in very interesting style—how it lives,
gathers honey, and all about it. While clothing the general subject with
an air of poetry, it seems to be entirely within the limits of known facts
while attempting to deal with them. We believe it will give all thoughtful
beekeepers a greater liking for their business to read it. Probably it has
more to do with the curious traditions connected with bees than any other
hook of the kind. Price £1.50 postpaid.

The Life of the Bee—By Maeterlinck. This is a master-
piece of fine writing by a modern Shakespeare. The words fly from the
pen of this writer like sparks from a blacksmith’s anvil, the result being a
glorification of the honeybee. Maeterlinck is considered by many to le the
finest writer now living, and anything from him is sure to be worth reading.
He is, to a certain extent, familiar with beekeeping, but the truth about
hees does not interest him so much as the romance of the queen and the
drone and the swarming instinct The look itself is well bound and beau-
tifully printed. Price $1.40 postpaid.

The Bee People.—A book on hees, especially for children,
from the pen of Margaret W. Morley. Including its elegant illustrations,
it is in some respects the prettiest bee-book in existence. It has 177 pages,
very coarse print, the reading being ingeniously interwoven with the illus-
trations showing the parts of the bee. The story of bee-life is told in a
fascinating manner, and is well calculated to get the casual reader, as
well as children, interested in this useful insect. The cuts go just enough
into detail to explain fully the lesson taught, without confusing the mind
with other things. We think the book well worthy a place in every beekeep-
er’s home. Fittingly designed cover. Pric $1.50 postpaid.

The Lore of the Honeybee.—By Tickner Edwards. A fine
work for those who desire an interesting book about bees. Does not deal
with practical details, but gives valuable information about bees in general.
Very readable and entertaining. Price $2.00 postpaid.

THE GLEANINGS LIBRARY

So called because of great popularity of the following books when
offered in combination with GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE.

Alexander’s Writings on Practical Bee Culture.—By the late
E. W. Alexander, who conducted the largest apiary in the United States.
A wonderfully interesting discussion of beekeeping in its broadest phases.
Any one can understand it. 385 chapters, 95 pages. Paper bound, 50 cts.
postpaid. :

A Year’s Work in an Out-apiary—By G. M. Doolittle.
Packed full of most valuable information ever en to beekeepers. A prac-
tical and interesting book by a very successful apiarist. Sale has reached
nearly 5000 copies. 60 pages, paper bound, 50 cts. postpaid.

The Townsend Bee Book.—By E. D. Townsend. Written by
one of the most progressive. successful, and extensive beekeepers in the
United States, this new hook has heen in great demand from the day of its
announcement. Tells how to make a start with bees, and will greatly
benefit beginners and experienced beekeepers. 90 pages, paper bound,
50 cts. postpaid.

In combination with Gleanings in Bee Culture for One Year
either of the above books may be had for the price of Gleanings
alone, $1.00. Foreign postage 60 cts. extra. Canadian postage
30 cts. extra.

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