558 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Aug-. 29, 1911. 



bood is l)uilt over tht> ct'll. and this is built 

 downward to miil;e tlie full size desired. In 

 the meantime llie larva lias been lavishlj' fed 

 so tliat it is Iloateil out of the narrower part 

 of the cell. Because such a queen-cell is 

 built from a cell :itter it has been started as a 

 worker-cell and is occupied by a larva, it is 

 called apo.s(constructed cell. 



You may not always be able to tell from 

 outside appearance whether a cell is precon- 

 structed or posteonstructed, but you can 

 always tell by tearing it down and seeing 

 whether it has a smoothly concave base, or an 

 angular and smaller base like a worker-cell. 

 A precoDstructed cell has an egg deposited in 

 it, never a larva at the start. A posteon- 

 structed cell is built over a worker-cell con- 

 taining a larva, although in very rare cases it 

 may contain an egg. 



Editor Root thinks it would be better to 

 call them vwarnihig-ceJla and enieryency-ceJh, 

 The name emergencij-ceUs is entirely appropri- 

 ate, as applied to cells that are built to meet 

 an emergency, and there is just as much 

 appropriateness in the term swarmhtg-celh 

 when such cells are built for swarming. But 

 to use it for cells that are meant for super- 

 seding, when there is not the slightest inten- 

 tion of swarming, seems exceedingly inap- 

 propriate. 



Bees and Alfalfa. 



The introductiim of alfalfa into Kansas has 

 made the State richer by one million dollars. 

 But the discovery that the honey-bee can feed 

 on alfalfa blossoms has added another mill- 

 ion. Bees and alfalfa are an ideal combina- 

 tion. Experiments have been made by raisers 

 of honey-bees and they report most favorably 

 upon the blossom of the alfalfa. 



Alfalfa contains a certain degree of sweet- 

 ness not found in either the sweet clover or 

 white clover. Every stock-breeder knows 

 that in-and-in breeding will cause a deteriora- 

 tion in the strain of stock. Infusions of new 

 life are required to give a new life and vigor 

 to the breed. As it is with animals so it is 

 with plants. Cross-fertilization must take 

 place to keep up the standard. It was once 

 , supposed that within each flower are the nec- 

 essary means for assuring the formation of 

 the embryo within the seed. The truth is 

 that many plants, instead of endeavoring to 

 facilitate self-fertilization, are so constructed 

 as to prevent it. Alfalfa is of this class. 

 The pollen or fertilizing agcul must be car- 

 ried from one blossom and placed where it is 

 needed in another to insure a full crop of 

 seed, and some foreign agency is depended on 

 to accomplish the purpose. In the case of 

 alfalfa, currents of air are unable to carry 

 the pollen and accomplish the cross-fertiliza- 

 tion, and most insects do not carry it. Here 

 is where the bee is useful. The alfalfa blos- 

 soms offer the bee a sweet drop, and in return 

 for the favor the bee leaves a few grains of 

 pollen, unconsciously brought from another 

 blossom. So the exchange goes on, to the 

 mutual profit of the owner of the alfalfa and 

 the keeper of the bee.— Saturday Evening 

 Post. 



Cane vs. Beet Sugar. 



The authorities tell us that there is no diff- 

 erence between sugar made from beets and 

 that made from sugar-cane. That seems to 

 be the accepted view among the bee-journals 

 of this country. But the British Bee Journal 

 has persistently urged that beet-sugar should 

 not be fed to bees. Although chemical analy- 

 sis shows no difference, it insists that there is 

 a difference that has its effect on the welfare 

 of the bees to which it is fed. Chemical 

 analysis shows no difference between dia- 

 monds and charcoal, but a pound of diamonds 

 would buy a good many pounds of charcoal. 



The refined article, in the form of granu- 

 lated sugar, is the kind universally recom- 

 mended as best for bees. VV. K. Morrison 



Dittmer's Foundation ! 



Retail— VNholesale— Jobbing. 



I use a PROCESS that produces EVERY 

 ESSENTIAL necessary to make it the BEST 

 and MOST desirable in all respects. My PRO- 

 CESS and AUTOMATIC MACHINES are my 

 own inventions, which enable me to SELL 

 FOUNDATION and 



Work fax Into Fonndation For Cash 



at prices that are the lowest. Catalog giving 



Full Line of Supplies, 



GUS, DITTMER, Augusta, Wis, 



Be6S=SUDDli6S 



CATALOG FREE. 



I. J. STRINQHAM, 



105 Park Place, 



13A26t Please 



NEW YORK, N. Y. 



:ntion the Bee Journal. 



Lanosiroiti on... 



TI16ll0I16yB66 



Revised by Dadant — 1900 Edition. 



This is one of the standard books on 

 bee-culture, and ought to be in the 

 library of every bee-keeper. It is bound 

 substantially in cloth, and contains 

 over 500 pages, being- revised by those 

 large, practical bee-keepers, so well- 

 known to all the readers of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal — Chas. Dadant & Son. 

 Each subject is clearly and thoroly ex- 

 plained, so that by following the in- 

 structions of this book one cannot fail 

 to be wonderfully helpt on the way to 

 success with bees. 



The book we mail for $1.25, or club 

 it with the American Bee Journal for 

 one year — both for $1.75 ; or, we will 

 mail it as a premium for sending us 

 THREE NEW subscribers to the Bee 

 Journal for one year, with $3.00. 



This is a splendid chance to get a 

 grand bee-book for a very little money 

 or work. 



GEORGE W. YORK & CO. 



1+4 & 146 Erie Street, - CHICAGO, ILL. 



FREE FOR A MONTH .... 



If you are interested in Sheep in any way 

 you cannot afford to be without the best 

 Sheep Paper published in the United States. 



IVool ]VIark:et«!i and Sheep 



has a hobby which is the sheep-breeder and 

 his industry, first, foremost and all the time. 

 Are you interested? Write to-day. 



WOOL MARKETS AND SHEEP. CHICAGO, ILL. 



FARMERS SAY 



•'P.IGE FENCES liav tlir most fi-iive virtuea 

 andlhe least fei»o<* l";,!iHi.." Ask :iny ns'i. 

 PAGE WOVEN WIltK KKNCE CO., AIH{U>,.1IICI1. 

 Please mention Bee Journal -when writing, 



thinks an article less retined would be better. 

 He says in Gleanings in Bee-Culture: 



The best wliite suf^ar sold is very highly 

 reflued, be it eane-suirar or beet. The bee- 

 men of Europe carefully avoid it because, in 

 the process of refining, it has been robbed of 

 some of its finest constituents. 



Here is an analysis of a good quality of 

 highly refined cane-sugar: 



Percent. 



Cane-sugar 98.00 



• ilueose 50 



Water 1.00 



Ash 30 



Organic matter 20 



Now notice the difference in a sample of 

 muscovado sugar which has not been refined 

 to the same extent: 



Cane-sugar 84.00 



Glucose 6.00 



Water 5.50 



Ash ■ 1.50 



Organic matter 3.00 



Note the difference. The large amount of 

 glucose makes it more agreeable to the bees, 

 and the three percent of organic matter con- 

 tains Havoring extracts or etheis that give to 

 muscovado sugar its honey-like flavor, so 

 much appreciated by the bees. The first 

 sugar is the best from a chemist's point of 

 view, but from the point of view of a good 

 Italian bee the muscovado is healthier, and 

 nicer to the taste. 



I believe that, in this matter, we have been 

 too hasty in following the crowd. American 

 and English housewives buy sugar from its 

 look ; but the careful bee-man ought to con- 

 sider that bees do not judge by looks: and in 

 buying a sugar with a high percentage of 

 natural glucose he is pleasing the bees and 

 conforming to their wants. For my part I 

 believe the larger the percentage of glucose 

 in sugar the Vietter it is for the bees; and, 

 seeing that it is cheaper than white sugar, 

 why should we not usa it ? 



Barbadoes makes large quantities of this 

 kind of sugar, which is exported to New 

 York to be refined into white sugar. It is the 

 old-fashioned sugar, but nevertheless a good 

 one for some uses. .laggery, or palm sugar, 

 would be oetter still ; but it is not easy to get, 

 being mostly produced in India. But any 

 sugar having a high percentage of glucose 

 ought to hav6 the preference, as it is more 

 readily assimilated by bees, being nearer 

 their natural food, and therefore less likely to 

 cause derangement to their intestines, ending 

 in bee-diarrhea and perhaps other troubles. 

 There is no trouble in getting all the musco- 

 vado sugar that is required, hence the way is 

 plain. 



Confining Laying Queens Bad Prac- 

 tice. 



That is the opinion of F. Greiner, as e.Y- 

 pressed with some emphasis in Gleanings in 

 Bee-Culture, He thinks the injury to queens 

 sent by mail is not so much due to the rough 

 handling as to the confinement, and says: 



The confinement in the mailing-cages dur- 

 ing transit can not well be avoided, as bad as 

 it is ; but if to this we add days or possibly 

 weeks of unnecessary confinement in nursery- 

 cages, then good-by queen-business, I for 



The Eniersou Binder 



This Emerson stifif-board Binder with cloth 

 back for the American Bee Journal we mail for 

 but 60 cents; or we will send it with the Bee 

 Journal for one year— both for only $1.40. It is 

 a fine thing to preserve the copies of the Jour- 

 nal as fast as they are received. If you have 

 this "Emerson" no further binding' is neces- 

 sary. 



GEORGE W. YORK & CO.. 



144 & 146 Erie Street, CHICAGO, ILL. 



