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Vol. XXI. 



MAY 15, 1893. 



No. 10. 



Stray Straws 



FROM DR. C. C. MILLER. 



Are you planning to come to Chicago next 

 October ? 



Tally one more in the line of improvements. 

 That ^3.00 rig on p. 349, to allow common people 

 to use steam without owning a steam-mill. 



Among pictures of prominent bee-men in 

 Schiveizer Blenenfreund is one of A. J. Root, 

 looking wonderfully like our old friend A. I. 



Dandelion-blossoms were half open April 

 17, and the same blossoms are half open May 5. 

 Guess they wish they hadn't started so soon. 



The best mucilage to fasten labels on glass, 

 according to Schweizer Bienenfreund, is the 

 white of egg beaten to a froth and then allowed 

 to settle. 



I've been reading the new edition of 8im- 

 rains' Modern Bee-farm, and it seems like a 

 live bee-keeper in his shirt-sleeves telling how 

 he does. 



If not sure whether to say " apartment" or 

 "department," better say "apartment," for 

 nine times out of ten that's the one meant in 

 bee-keeping. 



Nuclei is the right word to use if you mean 

 more than one nucleus; but " nuclei " is never 

 an adjective, so don't say "nuclei hives," but 

 " nucleus hives." 



There's a lesson for those who want to 

 tinker with weak colonies, on p. 341, where 

 Harbison doubled down 63 colonies to .50 when 

 12 colonies meant $1200. 



Friend Pouder, on p. 351, is after nearly the 

 same cover I've been studying on— a closed box 

 % in. deep, of >2-in. stuff, as nearly air-tight as 

 possible, covered with tin. 



Stimulants are among the things I don't 

 use at all— doii'i believe in 'em. But there's 

 something very siimulating in that talk on p.' 

 360. Good for you, Bro. Root. 



CoAVAN INSISTS that there is- no white wax 

 made by bees; but that if we take that which 

 looks white and lay it on white paper the yel- 

 low tint will be plainly seen. 



If you move a hive from its stand tempora- 

 rily to manipulate it, put an empty hive in its 

 place for the flying bees to fool around in, in- 

 stead of going into other hives to be killed. 



California and Florida produced more 

 honey in 1802 than there ever was consumed in 

 America during any one year up to about ten 

 or fifteen years ago.— C. F. Muth, in A. B. J. 



Clip the wing of a newly bought queen, at 

 least enough to mark her; then if she disap- 

 pears and another takes her place by any 

 means, you'll not blame the queen-dealer for 

 cheating you. 



The Dzierzon theory should be thoroughly 

 understood by every one who desires to be an 

 intelligent bee-keeper. I'm led to say this from 

 seeing the theory ridiculed by one signing M. 

 D. to his name. 



The French Revue occupies a page in telling 

 how John Hammond, Dadant's colored man, 

 found his mother after 38 years' separation. It 

 gives a hint as to the esteem in which Dadant 

 is held in France. And John deserves it. 



"It IS, so far, doubtful whether honey-pro- 

 ducing alone, except under particularly favor- 

 able conditions, will ever become a reliable 

 source of income." — A Modern Bee - farm. 

 There's honesty for you, anyway. 



Tin .joints for making a hive-cover of two 

 pieces water-tight are a delusion. I have a 

 number of them ; and as they grow older they 

 grow badder. For a hive-cover 14 inches wide, 

 give me a single board every time. 



I believe in patents, but there's one trouble 

 about them. A patent on an article doesn't 

 leave you quite so free to discuss the merits of 

 the article. Any unfavorable criticism is likely 

 to be considered a personal attack on the 

 patentee. 



That " 85 " with a string of ciphers after it at 

 the bottom of p. 363 makes one open his eyes; 

 but it also awakens a feeling of gratitude that 

 nowadays human lives are considered too valu- 

 able to use up so many of them in a thing of 

 that kind. 



The chief hindrance to the development 

 of apiculture in France, says a writer in Bulle- 

 tin, is the price of movable-comb hives. Wtiile 

 a box hive costs 40 or 50 cents, a movable-comb 

 hive costs $4.00 or more. Better send over a 

 cargo of Dovetails, Bro. Root. 



Smoker fuel. L. Highbarger sent me some 

 cotton waste, such as they use in axle-boxes of 

 railroad cars. I think it had already been used 

 in axle-boxes. It makes a dense smoke, holds 

 fire well, and lasts well. It may be a little bad 

 about creosote, but on the whole it is, I think, 

 quite an acquisition. 



I HOPE those who have A. I. Root in charge 

 will not turn him loose at the World's Fair till 

 he changes his belief that "such acts of high- 

 way robbery are mostly confined to individuals 

 who have thoughtlessly exhibited money," etc. 

 (p. 359). He might stray into some of the streets 

 where the thugs and thieves are not so dis- 

 criminating. 



