October, 191 1. 



American Bee Jonrnal j 



probably no difference of opinion tbat 

 the narrower the glass the stronger the 

 case. Along with the strength of the 

 case must be considered the matter of 

 looks. What width of glass will show 

 off the honey to the best advantage ? 

 At first thought it might seem that if 

 strength be left out of account the 

 more glass the better, and that all 

 would agree that the finest show would 

 be made with one side entirely of glass. 

 But there is no unanimity of opinion 

 as to this, especially when the double- 

 tier case is under consideration. In- 

 deed, after a little thinking no one 

 would be likely to favor a whole side 

 of glass, or even the widest possible 

 strips if two strips of glass be used. 

 Any one who tries it will easily see 

 that a section will look better if the 

 top and tlie bottom of each section ex- 

 posed to view be hidden sufficiently to 

 cover up all unsealed cells next to the 

 wood. So in a double-tier case there 

 must be 3 narrow strips of wood in 

 front, the only question being as to the 

 width of these strips, or, in other words, 

 as to the width of the glass. 



Now it would seem that we have 

 come to a point where agreement is 

 easy. So long as the front strips are 

 wide enough to cover all imperfec- 

 tions, leaving nothing to show but the 

 perfectly sealed honey, why not the 

 wider the better ? But all do not 

 agree on this. Wesley Foster, who 

 claims that the object of the glass is 

 " to display the honey to the customer," 

 says in Gleanings in Bee Culture, " I 

 would prefer the appearance of a 2- 

 inch glass, double-tier case, to one of 

 3 inches;" and R. L.Taylor says in 

 the same number, " There may be 

 honey that looks better behind "a 3- 

 inch glass, but I have never seen it. 

 It's my opinion that a 2-inch glass is 

 better in every way." 



In addition to his belief that 2-inch 

 glass looks better than 3-inch, Mr. Fos- 

 ter thinks cases with 3-inch glass are 

 not strong enough. But he says he 

 has never seen double-tier cases with 

 3-inch glass. The writer has seen 

 many a pile of sections in double-tier 

 cases with 3-inch glass, as well as in 

 cases with narrow glass, and is decid- 

 edly of the opinion that the 3-inch 

 glass makes the prettier show. He 

 has also shipped tons of sections hun- 

 dreds of miles in double-tier cases with. 

 3-inch glass without any mishap. So 

 it seems not reasonable to believe they 

 are strong enouffh. If desired, they 

 could, without the width of the glass 

 being changed, be made stronger. Two 

 nails could be put in each end of each 

 front strip, where only one was used. 



While the subject of changes is un- 

 der discussion, it might do no harm to 

 consider another point. Instead of 

 having the middle strip of wood, in 

 front, of the same width as the top and 

 bottom strips, why not have the middle 

 strip wider and the other strips nar- 

 rower .^ That would make a more 

 even distribution of wood and glass in 

 a pile of cases stacked up. As now 

 made, there is a narrow space between 

 two pieces of glass in the same case, 

 and then more than twice as great a 

 distance before the next glass is 

 reached in the next case. If the mid- 

 dle strip were %% inches wide, and the 

 other two strips 13-16 wide, then when 



cases are piled up the amount of wood 

 between two pieces of glass would in 

 every case be the same. If, upon put- 

 ting the thing to the test, practical ob- 

 jections should arise to strips so nar- 

 row as 13-16 of an inch, there might 

 be a compromise; but it seems that in 

 any event it might be an improvement 

 to have the middle strip wider than 

 the other two. 



Dou't Bee-Keepers Know Foul 

 Brood ? 



This question Editor Tyrrell asks in 

 the Bee-Keepers' Review in a way that 

 suggests that a bee-keeper is to blame 

 if he can not recognize foul brood 

 when he sees it. Mr. Tyrrell is perhaps 

 putting it a little strong. One who has 

 never seen the disease before may be 

 excused for not recognizing it at first 

 sight, but he is not excusable if he 

 does not try to find out what the trou- 

 ble is when he finds something wrong 

 with his bees. Too often the bee- 

 keeper seems to have a feeling that it 

 is some sort of a disgrace to have foul 

 brood among his bees; therefore, he 

 keeps quiet about it, perhaps hoping 

 that it may turn out something else, or 

 that it may mysteriously disappear. 



It is no disgrace that some infectious 

 disease appears in a man's family, but 

 it is a disgrace if he does not try to get 

 medical attendance, and perhaps a still 

 greater disgrace if he tries to keep it 

 quiet, endangering the whole commu- 

 nity. Same with foul brood. Dr. E. 

 F. Phillips, at the head of the bee-busi- 

 ness at Washington, makes it so easy 

 to find out about disease that there is 

 no excuse for a man to let it run in 

 his apiary. Not only does he tell you 

 what the trouble is, and what to do, 

 without any charge, but if you write to 

 him he will send you a box in which to 

 mail to him a sample of the diseased 

 brood, and a frank with it, so you will 

 not even have to pay postage. Hard to 

 think what better he could do, unless 

 you expect him to send a chromo with 

 each examination. 



A Rhode Island Bee-Bulletin 



The State Board of Agriculture, of 

 Rhode Island, has issued a bulletin, 

 " How to Keep Bees," written by no 

 less an authority than Arthur C. Miller. 

 It contains 37 pages of clear type, and 

 is well intended to accomplish its 

 avowed end, "to aid in extending bee- 

 keeping in this State, and to make it 

 easier and more profiable." 



In the main it must, of course, con- 

 tain the usual things to be found in any 

 elementary work on beekeeping. Some 

 of the items, however, will be more or 

 less new to bee-keepers of other States. 



Fruit - blossoms, Mr. Miller says, 

 yield good crops of the finest honey 

 when the spring is favorable. Euro- 

 pean lindens seem to be more plenty 

 than American, being planted as shade- 

 trees in cities and villages. Goldenrods 

 and asters can not always be depended 

 upon, which is better than in some 

 States where they can hardly be called 

 honey-plants. 



On flat or low lands hives must be 

 raised about a foot to raise them above 

 a stratum of cold fog which in the 



night often lies 6 or 8 inches deep in 

 such places. 



The keeper of a few colonies in 8- 

 frame hives who contemplates increas- 

 ing is advised by all means to change 

 to lO-frame hives. 



In making a start in bee-keeping the 

 advice is sometimes given to buy bees 

 in a bo.x or any old hive, and then 

 transfer to a modern hive " for the ex- 

 perience." This is characterized as 

 " the sort of experience to dampen the 

 ardor of the most enthusiastic, and an 

 experience which a wise and thrifty 

 veteran avoids as he would the pesti- 

 lence.'' 



Mr. Miller thinks it better not to puff 

 smoke into the entrance of a hive. 



Not all bee-keepers will favor the 

 advice to give narrow starters to a 

 swarm. 



" It is quite unnecessary to put bees in the 

 cellar in this climate; in fact, they are much 



better off out-of-doors Never close the 



entrance. It may be reduced in size, even 

 down to a square inch, but the experience 

 of years has shown that colonies with en- 

 trances wide open (/. <■.. u by i inch: are not 

 only just as strong in the spring as those 

 with reduced entrances, butoften stronger. • 



Age of Queens and Introduction 



In an interesting article about intro- 

 duction of queens, by Dr. Bruennich, 

 in the German bee-paper, Bienen-Vater, 

 he says it is easier to introduce an old 

 queen than a young one. That is not 

 a very welcome piece of information, 

 for niost of the cases of introduction 

 concerning which there is any consid- 

 erable anxiety are those in which 

 queens have been received by mail, 

 and these are almost invariably those 

 that have been laying only a short time. 

 In one respect, however, it may prove 

 useful, for a colony of laying workers 

 may accept such an old queen when 

 they would not accept a younger one, 

 and if the old queen is killed the loss 

 will not be so much. 



He also says that a colony with a 

 vigorous young laying queen will more 

 readily accept a strange queen than 

 one which has a very old queen. Ac- 

 cording to this there should be a 

 change in what is probably the general 

 practise. When a queen is received by 

 mail, it is likely to be introduced to a 

 colony with an old queen, because the 

 old queen is of little value on account 

 of age. But in most cases the safety of 

 the new queen is of so much impor- 

 tance that the purchaser would rather 

 sacrifice the younger queen, or perhaps 

 let her replace the old one. 



It would be interesting to know 

 whether others have confirmed the 

 statements of Dr. Bruennich, who, by 

 the way, is a Swiss bee-keeper of very 

 high authority. 



Feeding Bees Thin Syrup 



J. E. Hand can probably take the 

 premium for the thinness of the syrup 

 he feeds bees outdoors. The editor of 

 Gleanings in Bee Culture tells about a 

 visit to him : 



"There." said Mr. Hand, pointing with 

 some pride to a lot of outdoor feeders. " 

 believe I have solved one of the problem 

 that confront every queen-breeder during a 

 dearth of honey. I have here what corre- 

 sponds to a natural light honey-flow All 

 my hives are in splendid condition. Bees 



