394 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15. 



knife very sharp, the same being open, and 

 near at hand. Hunt the queen, and, when 

 found, catch her by the wings with the thumb 

 and forefinger of the left hand. Now take the 

 knife in the right hand, and place the sharp 

 blade on the wing, wings, or the amount you 

 wish to cut off; lower both hands lo within an 

 inch of the top -bars to the frames, when you 

 are to draw the knife a little till the queen falls 

 to the frames, when, of course, you will raise the 

 knife from the finger or thumb. No danger of 

 cutting yourself if you stop as soon as the queen 

 falls. 



From Our Neighbors' Fields. 



We note the color craze among beginners as 

 of yore. Dear friends, will you listen to one 

 who has been there? If so, do not place too 

 much stress on color, but look for a honey crop, 

 and use the bees that bring in the largest 

 yields.— T/ie SoathUind Queen. 



We have just received a sample lot of The 

 A. I. Root Co.'s new Weed process foundation, 

 and it looks very tine indeed. It does look and 

 seem as though this foundation was perfection, 

 as it is smooth, bright, and uniform. We will 

 give it a test as early as possible, and report.— 

 The Southland Queen. 



ABOUT FOUNDATION. 



Ought not foundation-makers to follow the 

 bees'? There is a most beautiful half-tone pic- 

 ture of a frame of comb on page 174 of Glean- 

 ings of March 1. I notice that the cells are 

 built the unnatural way, and it indicates that 

 foundation has been used, so that the bees 

 were forced to follow the wrong pattern in 

 building comb. I have examined a number of 

 specimens of comb, and noticed that, whenever 

 bees are not hampered by the pattern of the 

 foundation, they build their cells so that two 

 of thfc) sides are horizontal, or parallel with the 

 bottom- bar. T. S. Ford. 



Columbia, Miss. 



[We think it is the aim of our prominent 

 foundation-makers, as well as others, to follow 

 nature in the manufacture of foundation. It 

 is claimed that the new Weed process founda- 

 tion will overcome most of the difflculties you 

 mention. The Dadants and Roots are now 

 making the new-process foundation. We have 

 some on hand, and like it better than any other 

 kind, so far as tried. We have learned no right 

 or wrong side to foundation, but it must be 

 fastened to the frames properly or it will break 

 or sag. We have no trouble of late years with 

 any kind of foundation breaking down, regard- 

 less of the weather.— £d. Southland Queen.] 



IMPORTATION OF APIS DORSATA. 



lam thoroughly convinced that a great deal 

 more is being made out of the importation of 

 Apis dorsata than the circumstances warrant. 

 It will cost but little to secure a few of these 

 bees to test their merits, and I do not think 

 that the Government should be asked to go to 

 great expense in order to make any experiments 

 along this line. There are other things of more 

 importance to bee-keepers than the importa- 

 tion of these bees, which should have attention 

 first. 



This agitation seems to be mostly in the in- 

 terest of one man, who seems to want the job 

 of going after Apis dorsata. It would be better, 



it seems to me, to wait until he has shown a 

 disposition to deal fairly and honestly with his 

 fellow bee-keepers as to some matters he now 

 has in hand before he receives any new com- 

 missions. 



I for one do not think that, under the circum- 

 stances, these bees would prove to be a very 

 valuable addition to the wealth of the bee- 

 keepers of the United States. 



Emerson T. Abbott. 



—Amei'ican Bee Journal. 



TO THOSE who DESIRE ANSWERS BY MAIL. 



Notwithstanding I have more than once said 

 in pi'int that I can not make answer by mail, I 

 still get a good many requests of that kind, and 

 there seems to be a feeling that a stamp en- 

 closed puis one under obligation to send a 

 written answer. A little thought ought to 

 show the unreasonableness of this. Il 1 an- 

 swer one by mail there's no good reason 

 why I should not answer another; and 

 as in most cases it would be a little more desir- 

 able to have an answer by mail sooner than it 

 could be had in print, very few would want 

 answers in print, and a large part of my time 

 would be taken up writing letters. I'm glad to 

 answer as well as 1 can in print, for in that 

 case I'm paid for it, and many others have the 

 benefit of the answer; so when you ask for an 

 answer, please always say in what place you 

 want the answer, and don't expect an excep- 

 tion to be made in your case. 



I know it often seems as if a man must be 

 very unaccommodating who will not answer a 

 question by mail that requires only a few 

 words; but sometimes an answer of three words 

 may require an hour of looking up the matter; 

 and, even if it didn't, there's no reason why 

 you should be treated any differently from oth- 

 ers. C. C. Miller. 



— American Bee Journal. 



BICYCLES. 



The Times would be pleased to go on record, 

 here and now, to the effect that the bicycle has 

 come to mankind as a revelation and revolution 

 in personal transportation. It is not here in 

 the nature of a faa that shoots across the hor- 

 izon of amusement, and declines like a spent 

 meteor, but to stay and to grow better, more 

 popular, and more useful. 



A few days since, we saw a father leading 

 along the walk a bright active little son about 

 eight years of age. A bicycle passed by in the 

 street; the little fellow, instinctively impressed 

 with the unfettered, rapid, and easy victory 

 over time and space, watched the speedy flight 

 with joy, his every nerve exhilarated with the 

 manitestation of one of man's greatest turns in 

 the wheel of progress — one the truth of which 

 he could feel — lagged back, only to be yanked 

 up with the cruel exclamation, "'Come along; 

 don't be chasin' bicycles all the time." This 

 parent meant well, but he did very badly. In a 

 cold and heartless speech, one that should nev- 

 er be indulged in whether our boys are doing 

 right or wrong, this father rebuked the exer- 

 cise of the highest ambition that could seize 

 the mind of the child he loved as he loved him- 

 self. He didn't see; misconception was all that 

 made him perpetrate the wrong— a wrong that 

 must finally react upon himself. 



Those who have an idea that, " the bicycle 

 craze will soon be over" must realize but little 

 of its real relation to mankind, and be entirely 

 forgetful of the fact that, after years of in- 

 creased adoption, scarcely an abandonment can 

 be found. All will ride who rode before, and 

 all who ride will ride the more. — Dowagiac 

 Times. 



