166 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' RB,VIEW. 



Star mill brought into this county, nnd 

 now I can count twelve within a few 

 miles of my place. 



Swartz Creek, Mich., May 5, 1903. 



WHYS AND WHEREFORES 

 SHOULD RECEIVE 

 MORE ATTENTION. BY 

 ARTHUR C. MILLER. 



Friend Hutchinson: Your letter of 

 the 11th inst. was duly received. Your 

 efforts for real progress in apiculture 

 are worthy of more earnest support 

 than you receive. It is decidedly an 

 uphill and almost thankless task. 

 Bee-keepers have for so long Ijeen 

 served with articles on manipulation, 

 Avith so little regard to the whys, that 

 they will not listen to anything else 

 Not that all are so, but such a large 

 majority are, that it is difficult to 

 make headway against their stolidity. 

 If you can get these people to see that 

 the new line of treatment means more 

 cash, then ))erhaps you can get anc! 

 hold their attention. 



Harder to combat than these, are 

 the veterans whose prestige rests on 

 manipulation — which they do not al- 

 ways follow — and, fearing loss of pop- 

 ularity, assail every move made by the 

 ncAver school. 



There are many little matters, dis- 

 coveries of ways and methods of bee 

 life, which have no direct bearing on 

 the financial side of bee-keeping, and 

 yet, which it is important that thev 

 be correctly stated, as reasoning re- 

 garding modes of procedure are oft(>n 

 based on them. Misstatements, due 

 to carelessness and ignorance, by men 

 who because of their prominence 

 should be doubly cautious, lead many 

 astray and cast doubt on th(> work of 

 real investigators. 



A very glaring example of careless 



statements is Dr. Gallup's concerning 

 the so-called "umbilical cord," and 

 Mr. Doolittle's endorsement of it. [I 

 believe Mr. Doolittle says that he did 

 not intend to fully endorse Mr. Gal- 

 lup's views, but rather to convey the 

 idea that if there was any virtue in 

 this "missing link," then (lueens reared 

 acording to the plan given in "Scien- 

 tific Queeu-llearing" possessed tnis 

 virtue.— Ed. Review.] A reference to 

 Cowan's "Honey Bee," Cheshire's 

 "Bees, Etc., Scientific" or any work 

 on the origin and metamorphosis of 

 insects, will soon satisfy any student 

 as to what the "cord" really is. 



But what can you expect of others 

 when you ^\•l•ite of "l)ees caressing th»> 

 •jueen and offering her food when she 

 pokes her tongue from the partly open- 

 ed cell." That surely is a relic of the 

 dark ages. The tongue is probably 

 put out as a "fiH'U'r," for it is often 

 used tluis. Bees never titter food to the 

 (jueen. or to each other, it always has 

 to be asked for. anil, sometimes, al- 

 most taken ))y forci'. From long ol)- 

 servation I am satislicfl that it is 

 never given on or by the tongue of 

 the "giver," but is taken from the 

 jnouth of the "giver" by the tongue 

 of the taker. When a (lueen is free to 

 roam at will she can get such food as 

 she needs, but, shut uj) aiKl depend- 

 ent on "callers," she stands a slim 

 chance. It is not the worry of con- 

 finement which kills (jueens. but star- 

 vation. 



. A seemingly small matter, but of 

 large importance, is the faeces of bees; 

 are they finid or dvyV The textbooks 

 say finid. and Prof. Cook says that 

 bees, when unable to fiy out and void 

 their faeces, are compelled to do so in 

 the hive, thus soiling combs, etc. 

 When diseased this is so. but. when 

 lienltliy, l)ees void dry faeces. I have 

 often seen Ihem do this and have 

 siathered such matter from the bottom 



