February, 1916. 



Amgrican Hae Journal /( 



80 colonies in two yards, but foulbrood 

 had appeared in one of them too late 

 in the fall to do anything with it. There 

 is absolutely no disease in this State, 

 so it was decidedly risky to take these 

 bees along. Every one advised us 

 against it. But we couldn't sell them 

 in that condition, and there was no 

 one to leave them in charge of so we 

 brought them along. First, however, 

 we melted up all the diseased ones. 

 This left us 55 in all which we consid- 

 ered healthy. All these colonies were 

 given the McEvoy treatment in the 

 sprinii as soon as they had built up 

 sufficiently so as to be certain that any 

 infection that had escaped our notice 

 should be given no chance to develop. 



We have not been able to detect any 

 evidence of disease in them so far. 

 This may seem to be an over-cautious 

 procedure, but coming as we did from 

 an infected area we wanted to be sure 

 that no disease was transmitted. No 

 doubt foulbrood will in time spread 

 over the South, but at present it is free 

 from this trouble. Anyway, we rest 

 lots better since we are sure of these 

 bees. 



During the latter part of January, 

 1915, these bees were prepared for 

 shipment. They had been left out on 

 the summer stands with no protection, 

 and many were in a weakened condi- 

 tion. The weather being intensely cold 

 and the ground covered with snow, 

 they were brought into the cellar so 

 that we would be in a more comfort- 

 able place to work. Even at that we 

 suffered severely. First the entrances 

 were screened then the covers removed 

 and wire-cloth tacked over the tops of 

 the hives. The bottoms were left on 

 and securely fastened hy crate staples. 

 The covers were left off during the 

 trip. An ordinary box-car was secured 

 and the bees and fixtures loaded into 

 one end and our household goods into 

 the other while a Ford occupied the 

 middle portion. I will never forget the 

 day we started to load the bees. Part 

 were hauled on a sled and part on a 

 wagon, but no combs were broken. 

 Indeed, only one or two combs in the 

 entire lot were broken during the 800- 

 mile trip. 



The method of loading them into the 

 car was as follows : A layer of hives 

 was placed on the floor as closely to- 

 gether as possible so as not to allow 

 any motion sidewise or back and forth. 

 The frames were parallel with the rails. 

 A 2x4 was nailed on the floor in front 

 of the layer to prevent it slipping for- 

 ward. Three pieces of 2x4 were next 

 laid edgewise on top of the hives one 

 at each side of the car and one in the 

 middle. Pieces of 1x6 board were then 

 nailed on top crosswise of the car at 

 the proper distance apart, so that the 

 front and rear ends of the hives would 

 rest on them. Another layer of hives 

 was set on them and then another set 

 of 2x4's until all were in. The pile of 

 hives was now braced securely from 

 the front so that it could not move and 

 the remainder of the car filled with our 

 other goods. These bees went through 

 in fine shape, only two colonies arriv- 

 ing dead, and these were very weak 

 when they started. They were confined 

 in the car eleven days. From the time 

 the car was shipped until it arrived in 

 Louisiana I did not see it, so the bees 



had no attention on their long trip. 



We had intended to use a horse for 

 our transportation in Louisiana, get- 

 ting about from one yard to another 

 and hauling material. After mature 

 consideration it was given up and a 

 runabout purchased and loaded into 

 the car with the bees and other things. 

 It turned out to be a lucky investment, 

 for a horse could never have stood the 

 work, and besides the horse would 

 have cost more to feed than the up 

 keep on the car amounts to. In com- 

 mon with lots of other people, I was 

 always inclined to poke fun at the 

 small cars, but I have had my eyes 

 opened by the service this car has given 



us. and I am about as enthusiastic ovt r 

 it as any one you will find. The turtle 

 back was taken off the rear and a box 

 put on in place of it transforming it 

 into a light truck. It will carry 1000 

 pounds, and is the finest thing imagin- 

 able for outyard work. The car is easy 

 to understand, there being compara- 

 tively little intricate mechanism in it. 

 I am 50 miles from a repair shop, and 

 am therefore my own repair man by 

 necessity, but so far have been able to 

 do anything required. Of course, I 

 should mention that I had automobile 

 experience before we came here. 

 Bordelonville, La. 



[To be continued]. 



Miscellaneous ^ News Items 



Death of Michigan and Wisconsin Bee- 

 keepers. — Readers will be shocked to 

 learn of the sudden death of Mr. H. C. 

 Ahlers, of West Bend, Wis., which oc- 

 curred but recently from hemorrhage. 

 At about the same time occurred the 

 death Mr. W. E. Forbes at Plainwell, 

 Mich. Mr. Forbes was a civil war vet- 

 eran and a beekeeper of 40 years' ex- 

 perience, having kept as high as 200 

 colonies of bees. 



H. C. Ahlers has practiced North and 

 South beekeeping with much success 

 in the last few years, having apiaries in 

 Wisconsin and in Louisiana. 



Our sympathy is extended to the 

 families of these two successful men, 

 in their bereavement. 



A Good Insect Book We have re- 

 ceived from the pubishers, Ginn & Co.. 

 of Boston, Mass., a copy of " Elemen- 

 tary Entomology," by E. Dwight San- 

 derson, of the West Virginia College of 

 Agriculture and C. F. Jackerson, Pro- 

 fessor of Entomology, New Hampshire 

 College. The book is bound in attrac- 

 tive cloth cover, contains 372 pages, 

 and is unusually well illustrated. There 

 are more than 400 pictures to assist the 

 student in identification of the various 

 insects described. The price is $2.00. 



The work is designed as a text book 

 for short courses in Entomology, and 

 is written in a style quite intelligible 

 and interesting for the average person. 

 The whole field of insect life is cov- 

 ered, including bees. While there is 

 nothing in relation to practical bee- 

 culture there is an interesting account 

 of the relatives of the honeybee, bum- 

 blebees and other wild bees. There is 

 a chapter on the anatomy of insects, 

 which can be read with profit by any 

 beekeeper. Full directions are given 



for collecting and preserving insects. 



This book may well fill a place in the 

 library of any student of insect life. 



Report of Michigan's 50th Meeting. — 



With an attendance of almost 200, the 

 Michigan Beekeepers' Association held 

 their 50th annual convention at Grand 

 Rapids on Dec. 15 and 16 last. 



It does not fall to the lot of every 

 beekeepers' association to enjoy a 50th 

 anniversary, and the consensus of opin- 

 ion of those present was that Michigan 

 had a wSrthy celebration, and one that 

 has left pleasant memories. 



The meeting was marked by several 

 interesting and novel features, one of 

 these was the banquet supper, so kindly 

 provided for by the G. B. Lewis Co., of 

 Watertown, Wis., and the A. G. Wood- 

 man Co., of Grand Rapids, Mich. An- 

 other feature was the giving of medals. 

 The cut gives a good idea of what these 

 medals are like. 



In place of the usual half dozen en- 

 tries there were over 40 different ex- 

 hibits, and in the comb honey and light 

 extracted honey classes competition 

 was very keen. The medals are cell 

 shaped, IK inches in diameter, and bear 

 on one side the portrait of L. L. Lang- 

 stroth, suggested by Dr. Phillips. 



The medals were provided as follows : 

 The manufacturers of supplies, Messrs. 

 G. B. Lewis Co., A. I. Root Co., Dadant 

 & Sons, R. & E. C. Porter, The Marsh- 

 field Mfg. Co., The Kretchmer Mfg. Co., 

 and Gus Dittmer Co. gave the gold 

 medal. This medal is 10 karat solid 

 gold, and is known as the manufac- 

 turers' medal ; value $50. 



The Michigan jobbers in bee-sup- 

 olies : Messrs. A. G. Woodman Co., 

 M. H. Hunt & Co., W. D. Soper, and 

 The Beekeepers' Review per E. D. 

 Townsend, provided the silver medal. 

 This medal is known as the jobbers' 

 medal ; value $20. 



The bronze medal is provided by the 

 association, and is known as the asso- 

 ciation medal. 



The medals were much appreciated 

 and declared appropriate and beautiful 

 in design, and created much interest 

 during the meeting. Many of the bee- 

 men present decided that the winners 



