628 



AMERICAN BEE lOUKNAL 



Oct. 3, 1901. 



been showu iu the worker progeny of that 

 queen, we have that same superiority in the 

 drones with which the entire apiary is now 

 stocked. Some claim that it is more impor- 

 tant to have good drones than good queens, 

 and no one denies that the drone is fully as 

 important as the <iaeen. So whatever the 

 quality of the queens reared next year, we 

 are sure of drones of best quality. 



As already intimated, all this must be dis- 

 counted by the chance of inferior drones from 

 outside, but after making that discount there 

 is still food for much encouragement in the 

 thought that only superior drones are in our 



own yard. 



^ 



The Best Fuinigator. — A Stray Straw 

 in Gleanings in Bee-Culture says : 



If it is true that bisulphide of carbon will 

 Isill moth-eggs as well as larv*, why is it not 

 a long way ahead of sulphur for those who 

 fumigate their sections '. Bisulphide can be 

 used once for all when sections are taken off, 

 or within two weeks, and save the repetition 

 of the fumigation that sulphur requires, also 

 saving the danger of making the sections 

 green with sulphur. — [If the reports are true, 

 the man who persists in using sulphur in 

 place of bisulphide of carbon is far behind 

 the times. The bisulphide is more thorough, 

 and much less trouble to use. While it is 

 subject to more or less danger from explo- 

 sion, the burning of sulphur, even in an iron 

 kettle, also has its danger.— Editor.] 



But even bisulphide of carbon may have to 

 give way to gasoline, according to J. B. 

 Rapp, who says in the same periodical: 



I have just made an important discovery, 

 to me at least; that is, that gasoline is as 

 effective in killing moth-worms in bee-combs 

 as bisulphide of carbon, and it does not cost a 

 twelfth as much. My plan is to till a tight 

 box or barrel with combs, then pour in a 

 pint or so of gasoline ; close up tight for 24 

 or 36 hours, and the work is doue. Gasoline 

 beats sulphur far away, and is much easier 

 used, and safer. I have used gasoline on 

 hundreds of l^angstroth combs, and have no 

 trouble with worms, as I think the gasoline 

 kills the eggs as well as the worms. 



The editor adds that he knows gasoline can 

 be used in place of the more expensive drug 

 to destroy ant-nests, but it takes a larger 

 quantity. 



The Production of Beeswa.v.— Harry 



Howe thinks there may be profit in producing 

 wax instead of honey iu Cuba. He says in 

 Gleanings in Bee-Culture that in the olden 

 time many apiaries were run entirely for wax, 

 the honey being thrown away. At present 

 wax brings it'.j times as much as honey in 

 Cuba, and the conditions are peculiarly favor- 

 able there for tlie production of wax, the 

 honey-flow being eight months long, with hot 

 enough nights during half that time for 

 secreting wax without waste of heat. He 

 says: 



My plan is to cut out the combs instead of 

 extracting them, and return the frames, but 

 only half from each hive, extracting the 

 other half so they will at all times have store- 

 room. Then, when there is no longer a sur- 

 plus to be had in the fields, contract the 

 brood-nest and set out honey at one side of 

 the apiary. As fast as they carry in the 

 honey, melt the wax which remains; then 

 ' when they have built their combs nearly 

 down, set them out to be emptied and melted. 



I think the improved condition of my bees 

 in the beginning of the next harvest will 

 about pay for the extra labor; hut until it 

 has been tried, no one knows how it will 

 work. 



I Weekly Budget. I 



Mr. Jons C. Wilms, of Riverside Co., 

 Calif., wrote us. Sept. IS, that he had taken 

 off 26,850 pounds of extracted honey from l\o 

 colonies, spring count. Pretty good average 

 per colony. 



The Apiart op Leslie E. Hazes, of 

 Nemaha Co., Kans., is found on the first 

 page of this issue. The photograph was 

 taken from the northeast, so the rows of 

 hives running north and south in the apiary 

 can not be seen. We should think, however, 

 that it is a very neat apiary. 



Mr. Harry Howe, the " lightning opera- 

 tor," has had some sympathy wasted on him 

 by the report that he was hopelessly broken 

 in health. It appears that the news of his 

 ill-health was a year old or more, and his 

 friends will be glad to learn that he is now as 

 well as ever, and caring for about 1000 colo- 

 nies of bees in Cuba. The report and the 

 correction have both come through Gleanings 

 in Bee-Culture. 



Mr. Wm. Kohriq, of Maricopa Co., Ariz., 

 gave this office a call on Monday, Sept. 23. 

 He had been in the East — New York, Buffalo, 

 etc. — looking up the honey interests. He is 

 vice-president of the Arizona Honey-Pro- 

 ducers' Assocation, which has quite a number 

 of car-loads of extracted honey for sale, but 

 they think the prices offered so far are too 

 ruinously low. Mr. Rohrig has about 900 

 colonies, in three apiaries. The principal 

 source of honey there is alfalfa, which iu that 

 locality seems to yield a light amber honey, 

 while in Colorado and Utah alfafa honey is 

 very white. This great difference in color 

 seems quite unaccountable. 



Quoting the Honey Market. — Messrs. 

 Blake, Scott & Lee, of Boston, write us as 

 follows in response to Mr. Cooley's letter on 

 page 363 : 



American Bee Journal: — We note with 

 interest the letter of Mr. Stoughton Cooley in 

 the issue of Sept. 5, and as we have had the 

 honor of quoting in the American Bee Jour- 

 nal for several years past, a word from us 

 might not be amiss at this time. 



Our method has been invariably to quote 

 from actual sales. During the summer 

 months — in fact, we might say from May 1 to 

 Sept. 1 — the demand for honey is so limited 

 that quotations are practically nominal, and 

 although we received quotation cards regu- 

 larly, yet during this interim we very fre- 

 quently simply state that " the market is 

 without change." 



Now, the (|uestion would seem to arise. 

 Which is the more reliable, quotations given 

 by the commission men from actual sales, or 

 quotations from a trade paper '. When it is 

 known that the trade papers in the various 

 centers must dej)end upon the commission 

 men themselves for quotations, it will be seen 

 at a glance that both the quotations the 

 American Bee Journal receives, and those of 

 the trade papers, are primarily from the same 

 source, and in that event the former would 

 naturally be the latest and most up to date. 

 From our experience with quotations of 

 other commodities, we know that the quota- 

 tions in the American Bee Journal are more 



apt to be reliable for this reason — you are 

 quoting one specialty? In the trade journal, 

 honey is but one of a great many, and for 

 this reason will not demand the searching 

 inquiries that the American Bee Journal is in 

 a position to give. 



By referring to the instance mentioned in 

 Mr. Cooley's letter, it will be seen that it 

 comes during the inactive period of the year; 

 while it reference is made to the issue of 

 Sept. 0, it will be found that the oldest quo- 

 tation is Aug. H, and from that on to Aug. 22, 

 during which time we venture to assert that 

 there could be no essential change in any 

 market. 



We might mention that in our business we 

 have had occasion from time to time to write 

 to different markets when for any reason our 

 market happened to l)e short of supply, an-d 

 we have invariably found that we were un- 

 able to buy at a lower price than prices 

 quoted; thus proving the correctness of the 

 quotations, and certifying to the value of the 

 American Bee Journal to our shippers. 



Wishing you continued success, we remain, 

 Yours respectfully, 



Blake, Scott & Lee. 



We should he pleased to hear from the rest 

 of those who quote the honey and beeswax 

 market for the American Bee Journal. We 

 want to get at the bottom of this matter, and 

 if there is a better way to get at actual mar- 

 ket values we desire to know it, and avail 

 ourselves of it. What have the rest of the 

 dealers to say * 



Apiary of J. W. Tccker & Son.— The 

 picture on page 634 was taken from the roof 

 of the barn. The aged lady to the right is 

 Mr. Tucker's mother, and next are his wife 

 and daughter Grace. The young man on the 

 left is his son, and the people in the back- 

 ground are his next-door neighbors. The 

 little boys came in at the eleventh hour, but 

 one can see them by looking closely. 



It will be noticed that quite a few of his 

 hive-covers are flat, and he says they are 

 made in this way : The two gable ends proper 

 are made out of '„xl?4 inch wood rabbeted 

 out ?4 of an inch deep on the lower edge for 

 the under lid to lie in, leaving 'i inch to 

 hook over the end of the hive. The center 

 gable is one inch. The top lid projects one 

 inch all the way around, and the tin is turned 

 down over it. There are several layers of 

 thin paper i'., of an inch under the tin. The 

 one-inch air-space and the paper make the 

 cover all right, and it doesn't cost much more 

 than the other kind. 



Mr. John G. Cokey, of Ventura Co., Calif., 

 wrote us as follows, Sept. 10: 



I had no honey in 1808, 1899 and 1900, but 

 this year I built up my bees to my original 

 200 colonies, and have taken 16,500 pounds of 

 honey. My stock had run down to 135 colo- 

 nies 



I am one of the old bee-keepers, having 

 been in the business since 1860. My father 

 kept bees in gums; he got his start from bee- 

 trees. We lived in Rock Grove, in Stephen- 

 son Co., III.. 1.=) miles north of Freeport, set- 

 tling there in ls:i6. We hauled wheat to Chi- 

 cago, 110 miles, and sold it for 40 cents per 

 bushel; camped out, and hauled oats to feed 

 our horses for the round trip, which took 

 seven to eight days. 



Mr. Edwin Bevins, of Decatur Co.. Iowa, 

 called at this office recently when on his way 

 to Wisconsin for relief from a severe attack 

 of hay-fever. We wish him complete relief 

 from that terrible attiiction. 



