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V Entered at the Posi-Office at Chicago as Second-Class Mail-Matter. 



aeORae W. YORK, Editor. 



CHICAGO, ILL, JAN. 28, 1904, 



Vol, XLIV— No, 4, 





Editorial Comments 





A Double Number This Week. 



Did you notice it? Just 32 pages of the old American Bee Jour- 

 nal this time. But we don't suppose any one will object to it, if tve 

 don't. 



This number should serve for two pretty good meals of apiarian 

 literature. And the prospects are for a few more double numbers 

 later on. We think it will not be our fault if any reader does not get 

 " value received " for his investment of a dollar for the American Bee 

 Journal for 1904. 



Is Disposition Inherited from the Drone? 



Editok American Bee Journal — 



Can't you get an article from Prof. Benton as to the basis for his 

 belief — recently expressed in your columns — that the drone gives the 

 trait of gentleness or crossness? Some of us would like to know if he 

 can prove it. Roxbcrt. 



It might not be an easy thing to prove directly from the bees 

 themselves that the trait of gentleness is inherited from the drone, 

 even though it might be the accepted belief that, in general, traits of 

 character are inherited from the male parent. Is there, however, en- 

 tire agreement upon this? and is. there anything like positive proof in 

 the case? Space will be gladly given to Prof. Benton, or any one else 

 who can answer satisfactorily. 



Plain Board Covers. 



These are not so much in use as they were a few years ago. The 

 objection is made that in spite of cleating they warp., and even if held 

 rigidly by iron cleats without the possibility of warping, they will still 

 twist. But aside from the objections urged against them, Editor Root 

 gives another reason why they are going out of use. He says in 

 Gleanings in Bee-Culturg: 



"The fact is, clear wide boards in sufficient quantities to care for 

 the trade for such covers can not be bought at any price. The big 

 pine trees are nearly all gone. Manufacturers have simply been foin- 

 pclled to adopt a. root covered with paper or metal, or some form of 

 three-piece design that would permit of the use of one or more narrow 

 boards spanned by a ridge-piece to close up the. cracks. Such boards 

 are readily obtainable at a moderate price, because the small trees are 

 not all cut out yet." 



Performance Before Prettiness. 



There are not a few who favor breeding from queens whose colo- 

 nies have distinguished themselves in the matter of stormg without 

 regard to pedigree or color. With proper precautions it may be a 

 good thing to do. " A York County Bee-Keeper " says in the Cana- 

 dian Bee Journal : 



This brings to my mind my experience with a colony of genuine 

 " blacks " the past two seasons. A year ago they stored something 

 over 350 pounds, and the past season over 250 pounds of choice clover 

 honey, never swarming either year. Although they are quite irritable 

 to work with, yet this fall I took extra care to put them in good con- 

 dition for wintering, for notwithstanding the fact that there are some 

 choice queens of both the Italian and Carniolan races in that yard, I 

 would not care if the whole apiary were of the strain mentioned, even 

 f I did have a little extra stinging while working with them. 



Big Average Yields of Honey. 



Estimating 100 pounds of comb honey as equaling 150 pounds of 

 extracted, and reducing all to extracted, the following large average 

 yields per colony may be gleaned from the report of the National 

 Association : 



Harry Lathrop, Wis . . . 

 Ernest J. Smale, Calif. . 



Jos. Scroggins, Mo 



Chas. A. Brown, Calif.. 

 Mrs.L. S. Coleman, Utah 

 Harry K. Warren, Nev. . 



D. C. McLeod, 111 



H. J. Chapman, Iowa. . 



N. E. France, Wis 



C. P. Dadant, 111 



C. H. Pierce, Wis 



Anthony Schmidt, Wis. 



Mack Shrontz, 111 



N. Louffburrow, Kan. . . 

 W. D. Moffatt, Calif... 

 Rail Baker, Wis 



E. B. Tyrrell, Mich 



L. Stachelhausen, Tex.. 

 J. T. Hairston, Ind.Ter. 

 Dr. H. Copley, 111 



H. W. Lee, III 



Byron Whitney, 111 



E. J. Baxter, 111 



W. S. King, Calif 



Robert Taylor, 111 



Andrew Nelson, Utah.. 

 Geo. W. Rowley, Calif.. 



Henry Ahlers, Wis 



J. A. Delano, Calif 



Ole Sorenson, Utah. . . . 

 Christian Nielson, Utah 

 Rev. H. A. Winters, Wis. 



W. T. Brite, Tex 



S. S. Brite, Tex 



Dr. C. C. Miller, 111.... 

 C. K. Ercanbrack, Calif. 

 G. W. Vangundy, Utah. 

 L. A. Hammond, Md. . . 

 Rev. R. B. McCain, 111. 

 C. H. Stordock, Wis.... 



Two others are given with figures far 'exceeding ^anyof these: 

 Franklin Young, of Utah, 1333, and W. A. Pain, Haw. Is., 1500; but 

 there must surely be a mistake in some of the figures that would give 

 such averages. 



It may be observed that the increase throughout the list is quite 

 gradual till it comes to the last four, and they seem to be in a class by 

 themselves. We may account for the unusual averages of Messrs. 

 Hammond and McCain partly by the fact that the former had only 4 

 colonies and the latter 2; but Mr. Vangundy had 109 colonies which 

 yielded 175 pounds comb and 32,000 extracted, while Mr. Stordock, 

 with 94 colonies, had the very remarkable yield of'15,500 pounds comb 

 honey and 15,400 pounds extracted ! 



Tight vs. Loose Horizontal Wiring. 



Some insist that when brood-frames are wired horizontally the 

 wires must be left slack if there is to be no buckling or sagging, while 

 others say there is no trouble with horizontal wires tightly drawn. 

 M. W. Shepherd is perhaps the first to give the philosophy of the 

 buckling in some cases, and thinks it the end-bars are sufliciently 

 thick the trouble will disappear. He gives in Gleanings in Bee-Cul- 

 ture this explanation for the buckling that occurs with tight wiring: 



"The end-bars, only I4 -inch thick, are too light. When you pull 

 the wire tight, the end-bars spring in as the bees keep adding weight. 

 The end-bars spring in more and more; and how can buckling be 

 helped! The wire stacks, a,ad that tells the story. This is how it 

 works with us." _^^_^_^^_^_ 



Read Up Your Bee-Papers Now. 



Last summer you were so busy that you hadn't time to read your 

 bee-papers carefully. Read them over at your leisure now, and you 

 may find a goad many new things in them. 



Prime Swarms Settling Low. 



In a first prize article in the Australasian Bee-Keeper, in his in- 

 structions for hiving a prime swarm, George W. Commins says to get 

 a hive ready with frames, starters or foundation, bottom-board, quilt, 



