340 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



May 12, 1904. 



not an inch of comb left. The trouble is that the eggs are already in 

 the hive— have been there all through the preceding winter. 



If the combs are liept in a cool cellar, the worms will make very 

 little headway compared with what they will accomplish out in the 

 warm air. But as soon as the weather warms up, you can do nothing 

 better than to give the combs into the care of the bees. Fill a hive- 

 body with such combs, and put it under a strong colony, so that the 

 bees will have to pass through this lower story in going in or out. 

 After a few days, as the weather gets warmer, a second story of the 

 combs may be put over this lower story, leaving the colony in the 

 third story, and if the colony be strong a fourth story of combs may 

 be put above the colony. Of course, these combs can not be left thus 

 throughout the season, unless you are working for extracted honey, 

 but they can be used as soon as needed for swarms, and a story of 

 combs may be cared for by a colony too weak to work in sections. 

 Even a quite weak colony will keep the moth at bay if the bees be 

 Italians. _^^^^^__^^^ 



"Better than Honey for Less Money." 



Thousands of dollars are being spent in putting before the public 

 this lie about a preparation of glucose, and there's doubtless money in 

 such advertising. What a pity the National Association can not have 

 an equal amount of money to spend in advertising the trnlh about 

 honey. And it could have the money if every bee-keeper would send 

 in his dollar to become a member. The Association has done a lot of 

 good with the small amount already at its disposal, and all get the 

 benefit. It is hardly the fair thing for a few to pay all the expenses. 

 If you have forgotten to send in your dollar till now, better send it at 

 once. It can be sent either to General Manager N. E. France, Platte- 

 ville. Wis., or to the office of the American Bee Journal. 





Miscellaneous Items 





»Ir. and Mrs. A. Coppin, of Marshall Co., 111., gave us a 

 pleasant call last week, when on their return trip from attending the 

 funeral of Mr. Ooppln's l>rother at Hurley, Wis. Mr. Coppin had 300 

 colonies of bees last fall, but thinks he has lost about 50 of them in 

 wintering. He was one of the comb-honey exhibitors at the Illinois 

 State Fair last year, and had about the finest lot of honey we ever saw. 



G. B. Lewis Co., the Wisconsin minufacturers of popular bee- 

 supplies, wrote us April 23, as follows : 



" The outlook for a heavy honey season this year is very bright 

 from our standpoint. We have never known, in all our experience as 

 manufacturers of bee-supplies, such a rush as this." 



It seems that the larger manufacturers of bee-keepers' supplies 

 are unusually busy. We suppose that advising bee-keepers to make 

 their own hives, etc., has not had anything special to do with the in- 

 creased business of the manufacturers. But if it has had any influence 

 at all, we doubt not that the manufacturers will hope that such advice 

 may be continued to bee-keepers. Certainly they (the manufacturers) 

 have no good reason for objecting to such advice being given if it re- 

 sults in their having a larger business than ever. While there may be 

 a few bee-keepers that can save money by making their own bee-sup- 

 plies, the greater majority seem to find that it is better for them to 

 have factory-made goods. 



A Plant-Introduction Garden.— The United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture has decided to establish a Plant-Introduction 

 Garden and Experiment Station at Chico, Calif. Contracts for the 

 necessary land have been closed, and work has been begun on what 

 will undoubtedly be the greatest institution of its kind in America, 

 and perhaps in the world. A beginning will be made with 90 acres, 

 but it is the intention of the Department to extend the area as the 

 needs of the institution require. The garden will be devoted to ex- 

 perimental culture of the plants introduced from various parts of the 

 world, and to a careful study of plant- life. 



Such an institution has long been contemplated by the Agricul- 

 tural Department. California was selected for its location on account 

 of climatic conditions, which admit of the culture of tender plants 

 from the tropics, and of northern products as well. The ideal location 

 for such an institution is that which admits of the successful cultiva- 



tion of the widest possible range of products, and the committee en 

 trusted with the duty of selecting the site believe they have found it 

 at Chico. 



This committee was composed of Prof. P. H. Dorsett, Govern- 

 ment Expert, who will have charge of the institution, and Prof. A. V. 

 Stubenrauch, of the University of California, acting with Dr. A. J. 

 Pieters, head of the division for seed and plant distribution. Messrs. 

 Dorsett and Stubenrauch spent months in making a careful study of 

 conditions affecting plant-life in various portions of the State, visiting 

 and carefully inspecting each locality likely to prove available. The 

 decision in favor of Chico was reached some time ago, but the site 

 selected could not be secured, and so another tract had to be chosen, 

 which has now been done, and the purchase consummated. 



Chico is situated near the eastern Ijorder of the great Sacramento 

 Valley, 75 miles north of Sacramento, the State Capital, and was the 

 most northerly point considered by the committee. Climatic condi- 

 tions iu California are affected but little if at all by conditions of lati- 

 tude, the orange, the lemon, and the olive being staple products of a 

 district that measures fully 500 miles north and south. 



Doubtless the managers of the new garden can be induced to ex- 

 periment with nectar-yielding plants as well, and thus be of more value 

 to bee-keepers. 



Race for the Pir.st Ohio Inspectorship.— The bee-keepers 

 of Hamilton Co., Ohio, are much elated over the success of the Ham- 

 ilton County Bee-Keepers' Association in being instrumental in hav- 

 ing a foul brood law placed on the statute books of the State. 



It seems there are now two candidates in the field for the position 

 of foul brood inspector — Henry Shafer, a prominent bee-keeper and 

 president of the Hamilton County Bee-Keepers' Association, and Fred 

 W. Muth. The latter has the endorsement and recommendation of 

 the Association. Both candidates are capable and experienced bee- 

 keepers, the latter being the son of the late Chas. F. Muth, whose 

 name for years was a household word for honey and bee-supplies all 

 over Ohio, and, in fact, over the entire United States. 



The County Commissioners, who make the appointment, await 

 the receipt of a certified copy of the law, after which, and before the 

 lapse of five days, they must make the appointment. The result is 

 awaited with interest. May the best man win. 





Some Expert ODinion 



■ In the multitude of counsellors there is safety." — Bible. 





Use of Queen-Excluding Honey-Boards. 



If for some reason you were to start in anew to keep bees, and 

 were obliged to get an entirely new outfit — 



Ques. 9. — Would you use queen-excluding honey-boards? If so, 

 why? If not, why? 



N. E. France (Wis.) — Never did. 



O. O. Poi'PLETON (Fla.) — No. I can not use them in my style of 

 hive. 



Eugene Secor (Iowa) — Yes, on newly-hived swarms; not on old 

 colonies. 



Dr. J. P. H. Brown (Ga.) — Not in my location, with my honey- 

 pasturage. 



Geo. W. Brodbeck (Calif.) — If conditions required restriction, 

 yes; otherwise, no. 



Mrs. L. Harrison (111.) — No; I never found the need of any. 

 Not one cell of brood in a section of honey last year. 



P. H. Elwood (N. T.) — When extracting to keep the qufeen be- 

 low, and sometimes when boxing on empty frames, if ever that is 

 done. 



R. L. Tatlor (Mich.) — Yes. Because with it I always know 

 where the brood and queen are— in the brood-chamber, and not in the 

 sections. 



C. Daveni'ort (Minn.) — I do not find them necessary for comb 

 honey, but for extracted I can get more honey with less work by con- 

 fining the queen to the lower story. 



Adrian (iETAz (Tenn.)— No. A honey-board is a regular nui- 

 sance, anyway. All its advantages can be secured by using the right 

 kiAd of supers and other fixtures. 



G. W. Dkmaree (Ky.) — I have used the perforated-zinc queen- 

 excluder for 15 or 30 years on hives prepared for the honey-extractor, 

 and I look upon the device as one of the great modern improvements 



