1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



633 



breed of mutton sheep. Has any one tried 

 to breed the tails from lambs? Would this 

 be more difficult than breeding the tail from 

 a cat? It is a fact that many cats have no 

 tails. AVhen we can once get control of the 

 mating I firmly believe that it will be just 

 as easy to eliminate the swarming tendency 

 from bees as it was to eliminate the desire 

 to sit, brood, or incubate from the Spanish 

 Leghorns, Minorcas, etc., and produce a 

 breed of fowls from which the natural desire 

 to incubate had been practically eliminated. 



I believe it is generally conceded by com- 

 petent authorities that our domestic chick- 

 ens are descended from the wild jungle fowl 

 of India, a small bird weighing about three 

 pounds. From this fowl, man has produc- 

 ed an almost endless variety of distinct 

 breeds, from the gigantic Cochin and Brah- 

 ma to the diminutive Bantam — some hav- 

 ing three combs, some rose combs, and oth- 

 ers single; some having feathers on their 

 legs; others, five toes; some, the crest and 

 beard; some white and others black; some 

 are spangled and others laced. The keynote 

 to the whole situation is the control of the 

 mating of the breeding stock. Some cattle- 

 raisers practice dehorning, while others 

 breed cattle that never have horns. 



In conversing with the late Mr. Pratt, of 

 Swarthmore, Pa., on this subject, I found 

 him thoroughly in accord with the forego- 

 ing opinion; and had his life been spared a 

 few years longer I have no doubt it would 

 have been successfully worked out. This is 

 one of the things that I hope to see the Phil- 

 adelphia Bee-keepers' Association give their 

 special attention to in the near future. If 

 anyone is skeptical about this, let him turn 

 to the 30th chapter of Genesis, and, begin- 

 ning with the 31st verse, read carefully to 

 the end of the chapter. I believe it would 

 take less time with bees than with animals, 

 because several generations could be produc- 

 ed in a single season. 



Ashbourn, Pa. 



MORE ABOUT THE CONDITIONS IN THE 

 OZARK MOUNTAINS OF MISSOURI. 



BY OTIS A. GRIFFITH. 



I have received letters from almost every 

 State in the Union, asking me to tell the 

 truth about the Ozark Mountains, and I 

 feel it my duty to give the facts. This is a 

 rough hilly country with rocks, steep hills, 

 high bluffs, and with nice valleys which 

 are very rich, the valley land all being in 

 cultivation. Not half of the hilly land is in 

 cultivation or even fenced off. Half of this 

 county (Barry) is very rough, and there are 

 thousands of acres of this land that will 

 never be of any value, on account of so 

 many sharp ravines and steep hills, which 

 are densely covered with fine oak timber, 

 cedar, and pine. The northern half of the 

 county is as smooth as Iowa or Illinois land, 

 and has six good railroad towns, Cassville 

 being the county-seat. 



This hilly land will produce corn, clover, 

 or wheat as well as vegetables of all kinds, 

 if places can be found that are not too steep. 

 The north and east slopes are very fine for 

 all kinds of grain. 



We have about ten counties in this part 

 of Missouri that are very rough, including 

 Barry, Stone, McDonald, Newton, Taney, 

 Texas, Dade, and Green. All of the south- 

 west part of Missouri is rough, yet we have 

 a fine mild climate with short winters. We 

 have good roads, schools, and churches. 



Those who advertise Missouri will do well 

 to invite strangers to come to the Ozark re- 

 gion and rent a small farm the first year 

 and be exceedingly careful how and where 

 he spends his money until he becomes ac- 

 customed to the natives, as he is liable to 

 leave the second year a broken and disheart- 

 ened man. The land sells for from $3.50 to 

 $40.00 per acre according to the location. A 

 thousand dollars will buy a good home; but 

 the man buying it must know something of 

 the i)eople, as those ten miles from the rail- 

 roads are very different from those close to 

 town. Those wishing to come to this coun- 

 ty to make it their home should keep out of 

 the hands of the land agents, to avoid get- 

 ting a big elephant on their hands. 



This is a fine bee country, but theie are 

 only a few who keep bees as a business. I 

 have been a bee-keeper for many years, and 

 I honestly believe if we had the right kind 

 of men this would be one of the best States 

 in the Union for honey and bees. We have 

 fine spring water, and wild flowers every- 

 where, white clover being the main source 

 of honey. Bulk or comb honey is in great 

 demand at 15 cts. a pound, fancy honey 

 bringing 20 cts. 



In response to my short article, page 378, 

 June 15, describing buckwheat - raising in 

 the Ozarks, I have received over one hun- 

 dred letters asking for full particulars, one 

 lady in British South Africa asking for 

 the truth about the conditions here. I hope 

 that the above will answer these questions. 



Scholten, Mo. 



Condensing Moisture on the Front Hive-wall Dur- 

 ing Winter. 



Packing colonies for winter with the thickest 

 packing on the top, so that the moisture will con- 

 dense on the sides of the hive, has been recom- 

 mended. Mr. C. L. Fisher, of Central Bridge, New 

 York, has a winter case with a 7 x 9-inch hole cut in 

 the front so that the front side of the hive is ex- 

 posed to the cold air, thus condensing the moisture 

 at this point so that the water will run down and 

 out of the entrance on warm days. He has made a 

 good record with these cases. I myself borrowed 

 38 of the cases last fall, and successfully wintered 36 

 colonies, and found them better than any thing I 

 had ever tried before. One of the two that died 

 was very weak last fall, and I think that mice were 

 partly to blame for the other. I should like to hear 

 from other bee-keepers as to whether this plan has 

 ever been tried, and, if so, with what result. 



Sloanesville, X. Y. R. V. Cox. 



[It would seem to us that the necessarily lower 

 temperature in the hive, that would result from 

 having the front wall exposed to the cold air, would 

 oflfset any advantage of the moisture condensing in 

 the manner described. In other words, would not 

 the remedy be worse than the disease? — Ed.] 



