THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



sary. I have simply driven a wire nail in the 

 ends of each frame and always found it suffi- 

 cient. In the fall or spring, when the combs 

 are well-fastened with propolis, and the bees 

 are to be moved only a short distance on a 

 wagon. I think that even the nails in the ends 

 of the frames may be dispensed with. 



In the shipment of bees by the pound, I 

 have had no experience. I once bought a 

 large lot of bees by the pound, of G. W. 

 Gates, of Bartlett, Tenn., and they came in 

 perfect condition. There were about three 

 pounds in a package, and eight packages 

 were fastened together in one crate. Each 

 crate was a sort of " double decker," there 

 being four packages in the upper deck and 

 four in the lower deck with an air space be- 

 tween. There was a post at each corner to 

 which the packages were fastened. These 

 posts also extended below the lower deck, 

 thus forming legs to keep the packages off 

 the floor. There was a strap over the top by 

 which the whole arrangement could be lifted. 

 Each package was about eight or nine inches 

 square, by eighteen inches long, with wire 

 cloth on top and bottom; and the food was 

 a soft candy placed in a sort of trough made 

 against the side of one end of the cage. 

 Perhaps Mr. Gates will give us more par- 

 ticulars in regard to the candy and the 

 preparing of bees for shipment. It has al- 

 ways seemed to me that the shipping of bees 

 by the pound was the way in which to send 

 them. When a bee-keeper loses his bees 

 winters, all he needs is bees. He has plenty 

 of hives and combs, and to buy and pay ex- 

 press charges on something already posses- 

 sed seems like folly. To let the hives and 

 combs lie idle for the want of bees is equally 

 foolish. 



The attaching of cautionary labels in re- 

 gard to " Handling with Care, " " Keeping 

 out of Sun," etc., etc., should not be neg- 

 lected. Now, if I have made any mistakes, 

 or neglected any important points, will the 

 readers of the Review supply the needed 

 corrections? 



The Responsibility of Editors. 

 Some journals keep standing at the head 

 of the editorial department, a notice that 

 reads something like this : " We are not re- 

 sponsible for the views expressed by our 

 correspondents ; simply for the wisdom of 



having given them publicity." I don't know 

 but the Review may yet be forced to keep a 

 similar notice in its columns, as so many 

 seem to have formed the idea that I must 

 agree with the views of everything that is 

 published, unless I expressly state my views 

 to the contrary. It is not always possible, 

 nor advisable, to foot-note every article with 

 which I may not agree. In the discussion 

 upon "Apicultural Journalism," that took 

 place in the Review of Nov., 18VX), Mr. Eu- 

 gene Secor so clearly expressed my views 

 upon this point that, at this particular time, 

 I feel that it may be well to reproduce them. 

 He said : — 



" I maintain editors have no right to muti- 

 late a manuscript. If it doesn't suit them a 

 postal card could inform the writer, or the 

 waste basket is always handy. An editor 

 ought not to allow any person to use his 

 paper to vent a personal spite, nor to woand 

 the feelings of any reader or writer, but if 

 this is not attempted the more of the person 

 of the writer appearing the better. His 

 stifle is a part of himself, and to try to reform 

 it by clipping out or changing is often fatal. 

 Right in line with this idea is the omnipres- 

 ent foot note in some journals. I don't like 

 them. They often betray the editor — that 

 is, they prove he has no conception of the 

 thing he is commenting on. Why not let 

 every man (or woman) have their own way 

 untrammeled by individual criticisms or 

 fulsome praise, and then editorially treat of 

 such subjects as are presented by correspon- 

 dents, or suggest others ? " 



Rendering and Melting Wax.— Why Foun- 

 dation is Milky in Colo'". 



If there is any one thing in bee keeping 

 upon which we need more knowledge, it is 

 that of rendering, melting and handling 

 beeswax ; for this reason I clip the following 

 from Gleanings : 



"There are some who think steam makes 

 foundation milky, and some that heating 

 hot injures wax. Now, steam, if not used 

 right, will make poor foundation, and heat- 

 ing hot will spoil wax : but wax heated in 

 water can not be heated too hot, and steam 

 used rightly increases its value. When melt- 

 ing wax, if steam is used direct, be sure to 

 let all boil together (water and wax) /io-iOHS- 

 ly for fifteen minutes. Then let it stand 

 five hours, and the wax will be perfectly 

 clear — so clear that you can see the bottom 

 of a dipperful. There is now no water with 

 the wax. If the wax is dipped immediately 

 over into the dipping-can after melting, or 

 if the wax is not heated hot, but only enough 

 to ,/i(.s^ melt it, the wax will be milky, and 

 foundation made from it will look as though 

 full of sand. At our State fair there were 

 IM lbs. which we clarified for a bee-keeper, 

 and it took the first premium. It certainly 

 would not if it had been sandy. Every one 



