41st YEAR. 



CHICAGO, ILL,, JANUARY 24, 1901, 



No, 4, 



\ ^ Editorial. % \ 



Bee-Keeping at the Pan-American. 



— The busy bee will be in big business at the 

 Pan-American Exposition the coming sum- 

 mer. It has been decided to construct a spe- 

 cial building for the proper display of the 

 working colonies of bees and the great va- 

 riety of bee-keepers" supplies which will con- 

 stitute this exhibit. It is expected that this 

 will be the most extensive bee-exhibit ever 

 prepared in this or any other part of the 

 world. 



The exhibits will be so arranged that the 

 bees may enter their hives from the exterior 

 of the building, and carry on .their work un- 

 disturbed by visitors, yet in full view thru the 

 glass sides of the hives. As the successful 

 management of an apiary requires a knowl- 

 edge of botany as well as the habits and re- 

 (luirements of the bees themselves, this ex- 

 hibit will illustrate the operation of an api- 

 ary, and will show the common honey-pro- 

 ducing flora in a way to be understood by all 

 who may be interested. The relation of bees 

 to horticulture and agriculture will be clearly 

 .shown, and the many uses of honey illus- 

 trated. 



Since the invention of the movable-frame 

 hive by Langstroth in 1851, the application of 

 labor-saving, honey-saving, and bee-saving 

 devices has been very interesting and impor- 

 tant, as is well known by up-to-date bee-keep- 

 ers everywhere. It is intended to make the 

 most complete display ever seen of things 

 apiarian at the Pan-American Exposition. 



Amateur Bee-Keepers is the heading 

 of an article by Ramljler, in Gleanings in Bee- 

 Culture. He contends that to the amateurs 

 the bee-keeping world owes quite a debt. He 

 begins with Samson, who found a colony of 

 bees in the carcass of a lion, '■ some writers 

 going so far as to claim that Samson invented 

 the movable-frame hive, from the supposition 

 that the bees built the combs to the ribs of 

 the defunct lion ; and it was the comb attacht 

 to one of these ribs with which he sweetened 

 himself." 



Kambler then mentions Virgil, of later time, 

 followed by Huber, and notes in passing that 

 cotemporary with him were many German 

 investigators who were amateur bee-keepers. 



Then coming across the ocean he finds 

 Langstroth, who was never an extensive bee. 

 keeper, yet it was he who by the invention of 

 the movable frame opened to vie* the mys- 

 teries of the hive, and made it possible for 



bee-keeping to become a remunerative busi- 

 ness. 



After that, again jumping liack over the 

 ocean, it was Hruschka who discovered the 

 idea of the honey-extractor. 



Returning to this country, among the many 

 amateur bee-keepers who have been of great 

 service to the bee-keeping world, he names A. 

 I. Root, Prof. A. J. Cook, Samuel Wagner 

 (founder of the American Bee Journal), 

 Thomas G. Newman, F. Danzenbaker, and 

 Arthur C. Miller, the inventor of the hot- 

 plate foundation-fastener. 



Skipping across the ocean once more. 

 Rambler mentions .J. Mehring, a German, who 

 invented comb foundation. Also Prof. Che- 

 shire, and Thos. Wm. Cowan, editor of the 

 British Bee Journal, and inventor of the 

 Cowan honey-extractor. 



As Rambler intimates, the foregoing are 

 only a few of those who while only amateurs 

 in the pursuit of bee-keeping, yet did much to 

 bring it up to its present high place among 

 the useful businesses of the world. Surely, 

 no amateur bee-keeper need be ashamed of 

 his place or efforts, either in the past or pres- 

 ent. May his tribe increase, and continue to 

 bless the craft with bright and helpful ideas. 



Pure Stock vs. Crosses. — A Stray 

 Straw in Gleanings in Bee-Culture is as fol- 

 lows : 



A fixt strain of bees Is very desirable for the 

 sake of continuing good qualities without 

 change. But the "fixt strain " idea maybe 

 workt too hard when it comes to the matter 

 of improvement. With a strain so fixt that 

 there is no possibility of variation, there is 710 

 possibility of improvement. Continuation of 

 good traits comes from fixtness. Imjirove- 

 ment of traits comes not from fixtness, but 

 from variation. The trouble with a cross is 

 that its characteristics are not fi.xt, but that 

 does not argue against the pos.s(6i7j(j/ of greater 

 improvement in the cross, and then it is the 

 proviiu/c of careful breeding to make that im- 

 provciiiunt tixt. I am an advocate of pure 

 stock; Init if I had the purest and best Ital- 

 ians on earth, and a cross that would beat 

 them in storing by 50 percent, I'd droj) the 

 purity and try to fix that .50 percent. — [Yes, but 

 I believe you will Hud that crosses would have 

 a very ^lroll;^■ tendency to sport back to the 

 original >tiick, fiilii'i- one uf which would be 

 poorer than the mixture. — Editor.] 



There is a somewhat sharp conflict between 

 the Straw and Editor Root's comments; but 

 not an irreconcilable one. Both views are 

 correct. The progeny of pure or thorobred 

 stock is likely to continue the qualities of the 

 parents. The progeny of a cross is likely to 

 hark back to the (lualities of one or the other 

 of the parents, selecting perhaps some of the 

 least desirable traits. But there is a posKibility, 

 also, that there may be a sporting toward good 

 as well as bad qualities. In the hands of the 

 ignorant and careless, a cross is likely to run 



nuich more rajiidly to the bad than pure-bred 

 stock. In the hands of the careful there may 

 be more poor than good in the progeny of the 

 cross, but by careful and severe selection 

 there is a, possibility of something that may be 

 an improvement on the pure stock on either 

 side from which the cross originated. It is a 

 i|uestion for each one to decide for himself 

 whether he will try the more hazardous plan 

 of l)reeding for improvement from an unstable 

 cross, or the safer plan of breeding from pure 



stock. 



■•' 



" Bees Do Nothing Invariably " is a 



saying attributed to Mrs. Tupper, and there is 

 much truth in it. To establish any general 

 rule about bees, there must be no little obser- 

 vation. Because y'ou see bees do a certain 

 thing on a certain day, you are not safe in 

 saying that all bees invariably do the same 

 thing every day. What is true at one time 

 may not be true at another time. What is 

 true one season may not be true the next. 

 What is true in one place may not be true in 

 another place. Laugh as much as you will at 

 the frequent recurrence of the phrase. " iu 

 this locality," in many cases locality has a 

 large influence. 



As illustrating this matter, one man. having 

 nuide careful observations, says he has found 

 that when a bee brings in a load of pollen it 

 brings no necla.r, iind I'iceversa. Another man, 

 observing just as carefully, finds a full honey- 

 sac in bees carrying pollen. In order to es- 

 tablish a general rule on the subject, there 

 must be repeated observations, all the better 

 if made by different observers in different 

 places and at different times. 



C. Davenport says on page 776 (1900), that 

 he has foimd hundreds of bees carrying both 

 Ijollen and honey, while an Ohio professor 

 found bees carrying only one at a time. 

 Which was the more exceptional case ? The 

 general opinion has probably been in accord 

 with Mr. Davenport's view, but it is doubtful 

 whether many have closely observed. If it is 

 safe to venture an opinion, it is that careful 

 observation will show that the popular opin- 

 ion is in general the correct one. and the com- 

 ing season may find many to substantiate Mr. 

 Davenport's testimony. 



Another illustration may be found by re- 

 ferring to pages 530 and 777 (1900). The ob- 

 servations of " Kip Van Winkle " do not en- 

 tirely agree with those of Prof. Cook, as to 

 the matter of scouts, and as to the reason for 

 clustering. The questions are Interesting, 

 and may possibly be of practical importance. 

 There is no lack of testimony that scouts are 

 sent out by some colonies before the act of 

 swarming. In apiaries where swarming is 

 auti<'ipaled by dividing or other means when 

 the condition of the colony shows that swarm- 



