1917 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



59 



noticed that some mares will nurse a 

 colt better than others ; that some 

 cows treat a calf kindly and will nurse 

 it, whereas its own mother will not; 

 that a certain brood sow can nurse 12 

 pigs better than another will nurse six. 

 It is a question of individuality and 

 behavior. We have the same condi- 

 tions present in queen-rearing. Not 

 all colonies are cell-builders. One will 

 accept a batch of 20 cells and complete 

 them all ; another may not accept ten. 

 It is up to the beekeeper and queen- 

 breeder to determine to some extent at 

 least which colonies it will pay him to 

 use as cell builders, the same as it pays 

 the breeder of swine to determine 

 which shall be his brood sows and 

 and which shall go to market. 



"It is a business sense that prompts 

 such action. We must specialize in 

 order to succeed best. It is quite as 

 easy to start 100 cells and have 90 com- 

 pleted as it is to have only 25 completed. 

 As it takes time to make the wax cell- 

 cups, secure royal jelly, and graft larv;e, 

 one should endeavor to get maximum 

 results. To use the words of David 

 Rankin, ' Make every seed, every sec- 

 ond, and every cent count.' " 



The Missouri Meeting at Columbia 



During the year 1916, the editor at- 

 tended 17 different beekeepers' meet- 

 ings, besides declining a half dozen 

 invitations, which it was utterly impos- 

 sible for him to accept. He resolved 

 to retrench for 1917. But so urgent a 

 letter was written him by Dr. L. Hase- 

 man. Entomologist at the University 

 of Missouri, that he broke his resolve 

 Jan. 3, and went to Columbia. 



This was Farmers' Week at the Mis- 

 souri University, and some 1500 farm- 

 ers had availed themselves of the oppor- 

 tunity to get information. The train 

 on which the Editor reached Columbia, 

 after 7:00 p.m., was carrying about 300 

 visitors. He was promptly informed 

 that the hotels were all full, as well as 

 the boarding houses, and that the only 

 chance for a bed was through the 

 efforts of the Business Club, who was 

 directing the stranded visitors to the 

 homes of hospitable citizens. Our 

 Editor appears to be a lucky man, for 

 he is always properly cared for. This 

 time, he was given a room in the fine 

 home of the mayor of the city, Mr. J. 

 M. Batterton. If the hospitality he en- 

 joyed is a sample of Missouri hospi- 

 tality, that State must be put in the 

 front rank for kindness to strangers. 

 Reader, did you ever stop to think how 

 many good people there are in the 

 world, if you could only know them ? 

 The acquaintance made during this 

 visit will not be readily forgotten. 



The meeting of beekeepers was at- 

 tended by only 30 to 35 persons, mostly 

 beginner?. But it was splendidly con- 

 ducted by the president, E. E. Tyler, 

 assisted by Dr. L. Haseman, Entomolo- 

 gist, and Messrs. A. H. HoUinger, Thos. 

 Talbert, K. C. Sullivan and Harold 

 Fort. Our old acquaintances, R. A. 

 Holekamp, J. F. Diemer, Gladish, Sr., 

 Nebel, and other experienced apiarists 

 were in attendance. 



A splendid exhibit of the " evolution 

 of the beehive" was furnished by the 

 managers. From the old straw skep, 

 through the " gum," the first patented 

 hives, the original Langstroth, the 

 Heddon, Danzenbaker, Jumbo and lat- 



est dovetailed hive, most of the modern 

 changes were represented. A hive of 

 bees, under a screen cage, gave oppor- 

 tunity for demonstrations each day. 

 Fine honey was also shown. A very 

 much magnified section of a worker- 

 bee, showing all the internal organs, 

 gave Dr. Haseman great help in his 

 descriptions of the anatomy of the 

 honeybee. 



The spraying of fruit trees in con- 

 nection with the possible poisoning of 

 honeybees was treated by Dr. T. J. Tal- 

 bert. A short synopsis of this valuable 

 essay will be inserted in our April 

 number. Mr. Talbert's conclusions 

 are that if spraying is done at the 

 proper time and with the proper rai.x- 

 ture, there is no danger whatever for 

 the bees. 



An address by Miss Louise Stanley, 

 instructor in Household Science, on 

 " Uses of Honey on the Farm." urged 

 strongly the substitution of honey 

 for sugar in many things. Miss Stanley 

 quoted mainly from the Farmers' Bul- 



letin No. 653 of the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture, which may be 

 had at Washington, D. C, upon request. 



A most interesting essay, by a very 

 interesting man was " Why Some Bee- 

 keepers Fail," by H. B. Parks, Biologist 

 at Palmer College, Albany, Mo. Mr. 

 Parks promised us a- synopsis of his 

 essay for publication. 



It is out of the question to speak of 

 all the interesting matters discussed at 

 this meeting. The beekeepers of Mis- 

 souri are to be congratulated in hav- 

 ing such lively interest taken by the 

 Entomological Department of their 

 State, and they should give this work 

 their hearty support, by attending the 

 meetings of the Association. 



On the last evening of Farmers' 

 Vyeek a banquet of 900 covers was 

 given, in which the department of bee- 

 keeping had furnished honey for every 

 table. At that banquet, the greatest 

 need of Missouri, good roads, was em- 

 phatically discussed. The world is 

 moving in the right direction. 



Bee-Keepinc <^ For Women 



Conducted by Miss Emma M. Wilson, Mareneo, 111. 



Foulbrood Experiences of a Beginner 



I will tell of my experience with the 

 little busy bees, as they have been so 

 interesting and given me so many, 

 many hours of pleasure; but if it had 

 not been for our State apiarist, Prof. 

 F. Eric Millen, my beekeeping would 

 have been of short duration. 



For several years I h?d wanted bees 

 on account of the fruit; but spring 

 after spring would pass, and still I 

 would not have bees. Finally there ap- 

 peared this advertisement in our town 

 paper last April: "For Sale— Eight 

 good healthy swarms of bees." I bought 

 the bees and all the old beekeeper's 

 paraphernalia. In a few days I learned 

 that the bees were diseased, but the 

 party giving the information would 

 give no more, not even the State api- 

 arist's name, but "closed up like a 

 clam." I am glad he did, and I am glad 

 I ran into this trouble at the start. 



I wrote, addressing the letter to the 

 State Inspector of Apiaries, Lansing. 

 By return mail came a letter from Prof. 

 Millen, saying he would be in my 

 locality and would call in a few days, 

 which he did, and after examining each 

 colony said they had foulbrood, but 

 thought, by treating, they could be 

 saved. This he did June 10, and such a 

 transformation in a couple of hours. 

 They were shaken from the old hives, 

 some of which dated back 25 years, 

 into new double-walled hives all neatly 

 painted, and on painted stands. A bon- 

 fire soon consumed the old hives, 

 brood-frames, and all the old parapher- 

 nalia. Prof. Millen reduced them to 

 six colonies, and clipped the queens 

 wings. 



The neighbors, learning that I was 

 interested in bees, would telephone if 

 they found a swarm, and so the season 

 ended with 14 colonies. 



On Sept. 15, Prof. Millen again ex- 

 amined the colonies and introduced 

 Italian queens. At that time he ad- 



vis -d extra feeding, which was given" 

 The chaflF trays were put on early in No- 

 vember; they are being wintered out- 

 doors without any further protection, 

 other than being in a secluded spot 

 with buildings to the north, and build- 

 ings and a high closed fence to the 

 west. 



On Jan. 27, they were as active as on 

 a day in the fall, and what greatly in- 

 terested me was to see the little yellow 

 bees around each entrance, which I 

 hope proves that all queens are alive. 



A. S. 



In the Eucalyptus Country 



I am sending a sample of eucalyptus 

 honey, which is just as pure as 

 you will get, I believe. The forest is 

 about 500 feet from the hives. It com- 

 menced to bloom in November, and 

 was the only thing in bloom when the 

 bees began to work, which was Jan. 3, 

 1916. 

 I am enclosing two views of my places 

 after the box-hive time. I bought 24 

 8 frame hives, and found the colonies 

 swarmed when the hives were full, so I 

 tried 10 frame hives and supers. Now 

 I put all the ten frames for brood-nests 

 with all the shallow frames above 

 early, then the 8 frame bodies later, as 

 it is easier to lift them. I have added 

 queen-excluders and blocks under the 

 hives. I try to keep to 25 colonies, and 

 bless Dr. Miller for the paper uniting 

 plan. By blocking a part of the en- 

 trance and taking off the full and half 

 supers they are ready for our winters. 

 [Mrs.] Lucy Se.xton. 



Goleta, Calif 



Thanks, Mrs. Sexton, for the liberal 

 samples of eucalyptus honey. It is in- 

 deed interesting to sample various 

 honeys from different sections of the 

 country. Each sample has a different 

 taste, some mild and some strong. 



This honey is amber, of excellent 



