June, 19x1. 



American Hee Journal 



lacking. "What fun will there be in 

 picking a bee off a dandelion by its 

 gauzy appendages if the element of 

 danger — the ever imminent possibility 

 of being stung — is removed ? And what 

 thrills possibly can come from hiding 

 indifferent, plodding, stingless bees in 

 teacher's dinner - pail ?" And what 

 chance will there be for glorying over 

 the fact of hiving a swarm of bees in a 

 brave and fearless manner if there is 

 nothing to fear? And what will take 

 he place of bee-stings for rheumatism ? 

 The probability is that Dr. Gates and 

 his able coadjutors will be as much 

 surprised as any one to learn of the 

 great changes under contemplation. 



sle of Wigbt Bee-Disease 



This mysterious disease has no im- 

 mediate interest for American bee- 

 keepers only as they have a fellow feel- 

 ing for bee-keepers everywhere, but it 

 may have a tremendous interest for 

 hem in the future. According to a 

 report in the Irish Bee Journal, there 

 can be little doubt the disease is of an 

 infectious nature, and from the way it 

 has spread it is almost too much to 

 hope that it will never reach this coun- 

 try. .'\ppearing in 1904, by 1908 it had 

 succeeded in wiping out all the bees 

 on the Isle of Wight, and in 1909 it 

 had crossed the narrow channel and 

 has since been found in several coun- 

 ties in England and 2 counties of Scot- 

 land. 



Seemingly more fatal than foul brood, 

 it bears little resemblance to that dis- 

 ease, for the adult bees are the ones 

 that suffer, while the brood remains 

 healthy. The field-bees are the first to 

 suffer, and generally the disease is con- 

 fined to them. There is first a disincli- 

 nation to work, and gradually the 

 power of flight is lost. The colon be- 

 comes enormously extended, which 

 might happen to any bee when not 

 allowed to fly so as to empty its intes- 

 tines. There is, however, an unusual 

 amount of undigested pollen in the 

 colon, there being apparently an in- 

 ability to digest the pollen-grains, and 

 the colon thus presents a bright yellow 

 color, although sometimes dirty brown. 

 What the microbe is that produces the 

 disease, if a microbe it is, no one yet 

 knows. 



Let us hope it may take the disease a 

 long time to cross the Ocean. 



Color and Bee.s' Temper 



D. M. Macdonald occupies a page of 

 the British Bee Journal in trying to 

 show that bees are no more likely to 

 sting dark-colored objects than those 

 that are light-colored. Perhaps it is 

 not of great importance that the matter 

 be settled once for all. Those who 

 think black clothing likely to irritate 

 bees are at liberty to wear clothing of 

 light color, and :'icc rvrsci. 



Mr. Macdonald spoke to three clergy- 

 men on the subject, "and all declare 

 positively and emphatically the idea 

 is a myth, without any foundation in 

 reality." One can not but wonder what 

 proof they could offer that allows them 

 to speak so "positively and emphat- 

 ically." The mere fact that they have 

 never seen any proof of special dislike 

 for black on the part of the bees is 



hardly proof that such dislike does not 

 exist. On the other hand, what will 

 they do with those who declare that 

 they have known bees to sting black 

 chickens or horses while those of 

 light color went scot free? Says Mr. 

 Macdonald : 



"My veil is black, in common. I suppose, 

 witti the majority of these indispensable 

 pieces of armor, worn to defend us from the 

 wrath of the bee. Has it ever been seri- 

 ously proposed by any sane bee-keeper that 

 the colors should be changed in order that 

 stinjjs mi^ht be decreased ?" 



Mr. Macdonald is a well-informed 

 man. In the present case he must be 

 accused of ignorance or of lack of can- 

 dor. It is easier to believe that he 

 may be ignorant on a single point than 

 to believe that he is lacking in candor; 

 so it is a great pleasure to add to the 

 stock of knowledge of one already so 

 well equipped by telling him that the 

 reason bee-keepers — at least bee-keep- 

 ers "in this locality " — wear black veils, 

 is because they think they can see much 

 better with black veils, and because 

 looking through a black veil does not 

 injure the eyes as does looking through 

 a white one. He may rest assured that 

 there is one bee-keeper who, if it were 

 not for the objections mentioned, would 

 not only seriously propose, but wOuld 

 act on the proposition, to change from 

 black to white, even at the risk of hav- 

 ing his sanity questioned by so good a 

 man as Mr. Macdonald. 



Getting Bees Started iu Sections 



R. D. Bradshaw, an Idaho bee-keeper, 

 reports in the Bee-Keepers' Review, 

 that in the year 1906 he produced 34,000 

 pounds of comb honey; in 1907,32,000; 

 and in 1908 he produced 43,200 sec- 

 tions. When a man "does things " like 

 that, his word is entitled to respect. So 

 we are interested in knowing what are 

 his views as to getting bees to start 

 work in sections. 



Plainly, not by the use of bait-sec- 

 tions. He says : 



"I don't like bait-sections. Honey pro- 

 duced in them is usually inferior." Later 

 on he says: " Give me thin top-bars in brood- 

 frames. 1 \\'ould much rather have a few 

 burr-combs than not to have thebees readily 

 enter the supers. We must have our sec- 

 tions as close to the brood as possible." 



Mr. Bradshaw is not the only one 

 who objects to using bait-sections. 

 Probably no one denies that bait-sec- 

 tions will start bees to work in the 

 supers as soon as any other means, if 

 not sooner. So the objection to using 

 them must be something rather serious. 

 As to how serious, some idea can be 

 obtained by considering what Mr, 

 Bradshaw is willing to endure for the 

 sake of getting the start made without 

 resort to baits. 



He depends upon nearness to the 

 brood-combs by means of thin top- 

 bars. He admits burr-combs as a re- 

 sult of this ; but he evidently prefers 

 burr-combs to the greater evil of baits. 

 He does not mention it, but there is 

 another evil that he endures with thin 

 top-bars. The nearness of sections to 

 brood-combs, while favoring early 

 start in sections, equally favors carry- 

 ing dark comb from the old brood- 

 combs to be used in sealing the sec- 

 tions; thus spoiling their snowy white- 

 ness. This unless the brood-combs 

 are new. 



I don't know how thin are the top- 

 bars in question, but for years I used 

 top-bars ^s-inch thick, and there was 

 considerable sagging because of their 

 thinness. 



Clearly there must be something 

 pretty bad about bait-sections to make 

 one undergo increase of burr-combs, 

 darkening of sections, and possible 

 sagging of top-bars, for the sake of 

 avoiding them. And yet, although I 

 have been using bait-sections nearly as 

 long as I have been using sections, I 

 would regard either one of the three 

 troubles mentioned as being greater 

 than any trouble with bait-sections, to 

 say nothing about taking the whole 

 three together. 



What is the objection to bait-combs? 

 Mr. Bradshaw says, " Honey produced 

 in them is usually inferior." I think I 

 never heard of any other objection. 

 Note, the honey produced in them is 

 not a/zt'rtvs inferior, but iisiia//y infe- 

 rior. One may fairly understand from 

 that that some bait-sections are all 

 right, and some are objectionable. So 

 there is a difference in bait-sections 

 after they are filled, and in that I sus- 

 pect lies the secret of the whole 

 trouble. If some of them are objec- 

 tionable, I believe it is possible to have 

 all so, and when any of them are ob- 

 jectionable I believe they were objec- 

 tionable at the time they were given to 

 the bees as baits. 



I have no desire to plume myself un- 

 duly as to the number of bait-sections 

 I have used, but having used them for 

 so many years, and having always used 

 one or more bait-sections (usually only 

 one) to get each colony started, I think 

 I may speak with some degree of au- 

 thority, and I do not hesitate to say 

 that I can have bait-sections filled that 

 shall be of first quality every time. If 

 I can tell beginners how to avoid the 

 bad and to secure the good, I may be 

 doing a service. 



If bait-sections are to be of best 

 quality when filled, they must be of 

 best quality when given. Some have 

 used baits that contained honey from 

 the previous year, and this honey not 

 having kept in perfect condition, the 

 result was unsatisfactory. I know that 

 an eminent authority says that the bees 

 will empty out such sections, and fill 

 them with honey. I do not think I can 

 trust my bees to do that. 



Some have left sections on the hive 

 in the fall until a good many days after 

 the close of the harvest, and these sec- 

 tions have become darkened with 

 travel-stain and bee-glue. Then they 

 were used for baits the next season, 

 and of course the product would be un- 

 satisfactory. 



Do not allow sections to stay on the 

 hive to be spoiled after the harvest 

 closes. When taken off there will, of 

 course, be sections in all stages of 

 progress, from those in which the bees 

 have just begun to draw out the foun- 

 datioti up to those that are entirely 

 finished. Any of these may be used as 

 baits, the most satisfactory being per- 

 haps those that have been about half 

 filled, although without any sealing. 

 Let them be emptied of honey and 

 thoroughly cleaned out by the bees 

 soon after being taken oft', and if these 

 are given as baits the next year there is 



