326 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



May 23, 1901. 



20 pounds ; annual expenditure 20 pounds-six," which can 

 only result in " misery " to the United States. And I can 

 not, for the life of me, see why Prof. Cook and others can 

 see aught but misery to a nation in that which would be 

 misery to an individual. 



The papers tell us that during the last four years this 

 country has sent out 32,150,000,000 more wealth than it has 

 brought in — in other words, it has got rid of that much 

 wealth for which it has received no equivalent. The 

 monopolists (and if I read Prof. Cook aright, he also), calls 

 that trade " in our favor," but just how I have trade in my 

 favor when I give another more than I receive back, is not 

 clear to my muddled brain. Will Prof. Cook explain the 

 matter to us? Don't any one say this has nothing to do 

 with hee-kccpitiK^ for it has very much to do with it, and 

 with the happiness of the bee-keeper and family. 



Public documents, covering the subject, show that 

 there has been over 84,000,000,000 more gold and silver and 

 merchandise sent out of this country in the last forty years 

 than came back. What did this country get for it ? They 

 were not paid in gold, for more gold went out than came 

 back. They were not paid in silver, for more silver went 

 out than came back. And Prof. Cook tells us, "This is all 

 very cheering." Well, it may be to him, but it is very 

 depressing to me ; for in it I can see only the " sickness " 

 and eventual ruin to the bee-keepers of the United States. 

 Onondaga Co., N. Y. 



Experiences YVith Swarming, Hive-Maliing, Etc. 



BV J. B. AI^EXANDEK. 



I HAVE been keeping bees for three years. My text 

 book is " A B C of Bee-Culture." I take two bee-papers, 

 the American Bee Journal being one of them. I like 

 them verj' much, because I think they are published by good 

 men — men that try to do the right thing. 



Last spring I had a colony of bees to swarm ; I caught 

 and caged the queen, and let the bees return, as I did not 

 want the increase. In 15 or 20 minutes I lookt through the 

 brood-chamber to cut out the queen-cells, and the first cell I 

 found the queen had just hatched — I saw her on the frame 

 that contained the vacant queen-cells. I cut all the queen- 

 cells out that had not hatched, being very careful not to 

 leave one. I let the newly hatched queen stay in the hive. 

 I noticed there were eggs in the combs at the time. In six 

 days from the prime swarm they swarmed out again, clus- 

 tering for half an hour, then returned to the hive. I looked 

 the frames all over again, shaking the bees all oif of the 

 combs to see if I had left another queen-cell. I found noth- 

 ing but the cell that had first hatched, and one unsealed 

 queen-cell with a larva in it. I cut this out and they did 

 not try to swarm any more. 



My next experience with the peculiarities of bees was 

 in dequeening a colony of five-banded bees (these being the 

 only five-banded bees in this portion of country). I noticed 

 in the course of half an hour a great quantity of dead bees 

 in front of the hive. I watched them for quite a while to see 

 if robbing was the trouble ; there was no robbing at all, 

 for the bees all had the same number of bands, so I was 

 sure they were having war among themselves. I opened 

 the hive, and to my great astonishment it appeared to me 

 that every bee in the hive was in a state of war with one of 

 its mates. I swept the dead bees from the bottom-board, 

 which I am satisfied would have filled a quart measure. 

 I closed the hive quickly, and smoked them with tobacco- 

 smoke at the entrance. In five minutes they were perfectly 

 peaceable. 



Now some one will say that it was caused by robbing, 

 but everything went to prove that there was no robbing 

 going on. 



I make my hives 16 inches long inside measure, and 

 125s wide inside. I cut the frame-rabbets -'4 of an inch 

 deep and "4 inch wide, and cut a piece of tin 12 = sx2 inches, 

 and double it so it is 1 inch wide. I then file nine notches 

 in the round edge (caused by doubling) of this piece of tin. 

 Commencing 13-16 of an inch from one end, I file the 

 notches I's inches apart. I then nail the tin in- the hive so 

 that the edge that is notched will come within ' , inch of the 

 top edge of the hive. I prefer the top-bars and end-bars 

 just 1 inch wide instead of I's inches. Instead of letting 

 the top-bars extend over to hang on the rabbets, I drive a 

 4-penn)' nail in the center of each end of the top-bars ; as 

 my top-bars are only '2 inch deep, driving the nail in the 

 center of the end of the top bar makes just a '4 inch space 

 over the frames. The notch in the tin should be 1-16 inch 



deep, letting the nails rest in the spacing notches, thus 

 giving correct spacing. I let the nail extend '4 inch to 

 hang the frame, and to hold to while manipulating the 

 frames. I do not suppose this style of hive and frame 

 would suit every one, but if any reader has much propolis to 

 contend with I would be glad if he would try my style of 

 hanging frames. 



I send a photograph of my family, and a part of my 

 apiary, taken in February, 1900. Pulaski Co., Ark. 



" Lon§-Ton§ued Bees-Fad or Fallacy, Which ?" 



BY DR. C. C. .MILI,EK. 



THERE is danger that too much may be expected from 

 length of tongues in bees, and it is well that attention 

 be called to this. Mr. Doolittle, on page 293, is right 

 in saj'ing, " There are times when it is necessary that 'a 

 halt should be called ' by some one," but when he adds, 

 " and as no one has seen fit to do this, I have felt it my 

 duty to do so," he is hardly going by the book. In Glean- 

 ings in Bee-Culture for April 1st, page 296, Editor Root 

 says : 



'■ It is onlj' proper to sound a note of warning- that the general 

 bee-keeping public must not be disappointed if they get some 



untested queens that do not come up to their expectations Again, 



we are not positively sure that the amount of honey a colony will 

 gather is in direct proportion to the length of the tongues of its 

 bees." 



And in the following number this Stray Straw 

 appeared : 



'■ You are wise, Mr. Eilitor, to sound a note o( warning against 

 losing our heads and dependinf; entirely upon long tongues. A tall 

 man can reach more apples on a tree than a short one; but two men 

 of equal heiii-ht may not lie ei|imlly industrious at gathering apples. 

 — [Yes, and from present indications it maj' be necessary to continue 

 the note of warning. While I believe in long tongues, and expect 

 great results, yet it is evident that a good many are bound to be dis- 

 appointed. The fact can not be too strongly emphasized, that daugh- 

 ters from the very best of mothers may prove to be very inferior ; 

 and I am afraid that .50 percent of them may be only medium, or no 

 better than other queens in the yard. — Ed.]" 



So there were at least two men previously engaged in 

 calling a halt. 



Mr. Doolittle is vehement against claiming superiority 

 for long tongues without in the same breath constantly 

 saying that there can be no superiority apart from red 

 clover. It would hardly seem necessary cotistantly to men- 

 tion that, but over against all the quotations from Glean- 

 ings which he gives to show that it is held " that long- 

 tongued bees are just the thing he should have if he would 

 succeed, no matter about red clover, or in what portion of 

 the country he resides ;" which he seems to think warrant 

 him in accusing Gleanings of misleading or false state- 

 ments. Over against all this stands out clear and emphatic 

 the utterance of Mr. Root, quoted by Mr. Doolittle, that no 

 one claims that long-tongues have any value except for the 

 sake of the red clover crop. If claims for long tongues 

 have been made \>y men in the South who have no red 

 clover, that conflict with the utterance of Mr. Root, a man 

 who has sat in the editorial chair as long as Mr. Doolittle 

 ought to understand that it is not an easy thing to edit out 

 all discrepancies. But suppose a man who never saw a red 

 clover blossom should find that long tongues and good 

 working qualities go together, why should he not be allowed 

 to say so without having the accusation of falsity brought 

 against the journal publishing his statement ? 



I do not believe that Gleanings has knowingly published 

 anything but what it believed the truth in the matter, and 

 the innuendos of Mr. Doolittle are not in keeping with his 

 usual charitable spirit. Surely Gleanings can hardly be 

 accused of misleading in the face of the distinct utterance 

 by its editor that the red clover crop was the only thing to 

 be gained by longer tongues. 



A few words as to the real merits of long tongues. I 

 believe, and have said, that the right thing to do is for 

 every bee-keeper in the land to engage in a united effort to 

 continue only the progeny of such colonies as show a good 

 record in harvest, trusting to records rather than to meas- 

 urements, yet I do not believe the measurements are with- 

 out value. It seems a pretty clear case that with long 

 enough tongues there ought to be no difficulty about getting 

 the red clover. If I could get all the red clover honey now 

 going to waste within the reach of my bees, it seems to me 

 I should hardly consider it either a fad or a fallacy. The 

 fact that the midge destroy's Mr. Doolittle's chances does 

 not make red clover honey any less desirable to me. We 



