1896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



575 



State, and stand as one good result of the Atlanta 

 bee-keepers' congress. W. S. Hart, 



Hawks Park, Fla. Chairman of Com. 



As Mr. Hart intimates, I see no reason why 

 the North American or the Union, when it shall 

 be reorganized, may not be able, by continual 

 hammering, to get as good legislation for the 

 whole country. If there is any place where the 

 trite but old adage applies, " If at first you don't 

 succeed, try, try again," it is here. There is no 

 reason in the world why honey should not be 

 classed as syrup. Of late years it has been sold 

 at nearly the same price — so near it that it 

 ought to go at the same rate. 



the two associations," and " the poorer one re- 

 ceiving the dower of the other." 



AMALGAMATION, AGAIN. 



I BEG pardon for referring to this old sub.iect 

 again; but it is rapidly reaching a point where 

 I firmly believe it will solve itself. Here Is 

 what Mr. Brodbeck has to say: 



Friend Boot:—! notice that you indorse Mr. York's 

 suggestion for a vote on the amalgamation ques- 

 tion. Now, while I am not opposed to an expression 

 on this subject by the members of the Union, yet I 

 am inclined to believe that, if we take this action- 

 and the majority should favor amalgamation, it 

 would be binding. Your proposition of converting 

 the B. K. U. into a distinctive national organization 

 would then fall to the ground. Now, do you think 

 it would be wise to risk this ? The state of the case 

 as it stands at present resolves itself into one of 

 two propositions: The perpetuation of an inter- 

 national association, by the combination of two, or 

 the utilization of the one (international) in the con- 

 struction of a national, or, in other words, either a 

 national or international association. Then, again, 

 why should this limited membership of the Union 

 be griven the power to decide a question of such 

 vital importance to the whole bee fraternity? 

 Those who are not members of the Union can not 

 vote on this question, and yet we propose acting 

 on a subject which is of as much importance to 

 them as to ourselves. Now, if we desire to enlist 

 their future interest in our proposed new organiza- 

 tion (whatever that may be), would it not be wise 

 for us to act in such a way as to inspire an interest 

 in every bee-keeper in the United States at the very 

 beginning? If we desire to make it an exclusive 

 organization, it is not necessary to take these things 

 into consideration; and unless we act wisely the 

 result may be the opposite of that which we desire. 

 It has been my intention to write an article for 

 Gleanings, summing up the various propositions 

 presented, as the result of my article on a national, 

 etc. Geo. W. Brodbeck. 



Los Angeles, Cal., .July 11. 



In view of what Mr. B. says, I do not believe 

 it is at all necessary for the Union to go to the 

 expense of taking a vote. Let each association 

 paddle its own canoe. If one of them (to carry 

 out the figure) goes over the falls because it is 

 not able to hold its own, let it go. So far as I 

 am concerned, I believe it is best to give up the 

 idea of amalgamation, and make, as I have said 

 before, the Union what we want it to be. By 

 this we do away with the idea of "marrying 



DKAWN COMBS, AGAIN. 



The following letter jnsi at hand, comment- 

 ing on the editorial on page 538, has just come 

 to hand: 



When reading what you have to say of " drawn 

 combs for the production of surplus honey," I was 

 moved to write a few lines. I have in former years 

 read articles wherein the writer claimed that foun- 

 dation was better than drawn combs. This state- 

 ment surprised me, as my experience was quite to 

 the contrary. I think if I could have all drawn 

 combs for the sections, to supply all my bees, it 

 would add at least 100 per cent to my honey crop. 

 I use a Given press to make foundation, and have 

 been longing for one with which I could make 

 foundation with cells V2 inch deep. I hope (as j-ou 

 say) that the time may not be far distant when such 

 foundation can be made. Give me drawn combs 

 for brood-frames or sections every time. Of course, 

 for sections tliey must be clean and white; but for 

 brood I care not if they are 20 years old. 



Nappanee, Ind., July 21. L. A. Ressler. 



A good deal was said in the last July Beview, 

 indorsing drawn combs also. The editor, In 

 commenting on what I said, gives this sub- 

 stantial indorsement: 



Full sheets of foundation are accepted more read- 

 ily than starters; and partly drawn combs, leveled 

 down a la Taylor, more quickly still. So says 

 Gleanings, and Gleanings is right. 



Mr. Ressler thinks he could add 100 per cent 

 to his comb-honey crop providing his bees did 

 not have to draw out foundation. When I said 

 I thought we could add a half to the honey 

 crop I thought I was putting It strong enough 

 so that some would challenge the statement; 

 but I am not sure that friend Ressler's estimate 

 is very far out of the way. 



For some time I have known that the Ger- 

 mans were using a much deeper foundation 

 than we do here in America. One of our cus- 

 tomers in that country particularly specifies 

 that his mills shall turn out cell-walls at least 

 ^s of an inch deep. This made the whole thick- 

 ness, including both sides and the base, from 3^ 

 to % inch. We tried some of this wax, and 

 found that the bees accepted it very readily; 

 but at that time, owing to the large amount of 

 wax wasted, I came to the conclusion it was a 

 rather expensive way to get comb; but, as I 

 said in our previous number, I have confidence 

 to believe that some of our native-born invent- 

 ors will get up a foundation having very light 

 side walls I4 or }4 inch deep, with a base as 

 thin as the natural. When the problem is once 

 solved, we shall be making one of the greatest 

 steps in advance in the production of comb 

 honey that has ever been made. In the mean 

 time it goes without saying, that Taylor's 

 comb-leveler, a device for leveling down partly 

 drawn-out sections, is a big thing, and should 

 be used by every comb-honey producer. 



