1917 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



239 



invariably well finished off. As a rule, 

 however, these combs are constructed 

 in the brood-nest. Many slip in a 

 frame with a full sheet anywhere and 

 anyhow, with the result that the comb 

 is thick here and thin there, and the 

 whole surface generally uneven. This 

 need not necessarily follow the build- 

 ing of combs in the brood body. 

 Choose two combs nice and even in 

 the very center, the inward faces all a 

 mass of sealed brood. Insert the frame 

 there, and you will in general be de- 

 lighted with the resultant comb. 



Repairing combs may be undertaken 

 in spring with good results. Bees may 

 have been busy all day when weather 

 permits, carrying in pollen and perhaps 

 driblets of nectar from early fruit 

 bloom. At night they seem to have a 

 natural crave for building and repair- 

 ing any defects in the brood-nest. They 

 should be encouraged in this laudable 

 purpose. If defects are not so bad as 

 in the last category, where frames had 

 to be withdrawn, it pays to have faults 

 remedied. And this the bees will carry 

 out, making old combs look almost as 

 good as new. Combs with a lot of dry 

 hard pollen in a good many cells may 

 have the walls cut down close to the 

 midrib, and during the night the bees 

 will build them up perfectly. 



Other combs containing patches of 

 drone-cells may have these parts cut 

 out, and a piece of worker foundation 

 or worker- comb can be neatly fitted 

 into each vacancy when the workers 

 will fit in the whole firmlyand securely, 

 and so neatly that one can scarcely 

 detect the joinings. The same may be 

 done with corners of comb showing 

 mildew or mold. The defective parts 

 may be cut out as squares or triangles, 

 but a handier plan is to use a circular 

 tin lid. With a sharp edge this cuts 

 out the comb neatly. A similar piece 

 gotten from reserve worker-comb can 

 be fitted in securely. Place the frame 

 in a strong hive at night, and in the 

 morning you will scarcely detect where 

 the patch has been fixed, as the bees 

 have repaired it so neatly. 



Langstroth said: "Good straight 



worker-combs, not too old, are the most 

 valuable capital of the apiarist. To the 

 bees they are like cash capital to a 

 business man." It pays, therefore, to 

 use all diligence and care to preserve 

 combs well and truly built. The bees 

 are undoubtedly the best caretakers of 

 comb, and, while under their charge, 

 little evil can befall it. Surplus combs 

 and those lying over for next season's 

 extracting are in a different category, 

 and require to be passed periodically 

 under the scrutinizing eyes of the bee- 

 keeper. Damp, mildew, mice, and 

 moths are their worst enemies. A nice 

 dry room will hinder any development 

 of the first two evils if the combs have 

 been thoroughly cleaned up by the bees 

 in early autumn. 



Wage a constant war against the mice. 

 A very ancient writer advised "cats, 

 traps, and henbane " as a " souvereign 

 remedie" against them. Fumigation 

 with sulphur fumes or with bisulphate 

 of carbon, should prove thoroughly 

 operative in destroying moths in all 

 stages, but combs should undergo the 

 process periodically in order to insure 

 that any merely scotched in the one 

 operation may be thoroughly killed in 

 the succeeding one. 



Scotland. 



Legal Service Department 



CONDUCTED UY FRANK C. PELLETT. 

 ATLANTIC, IOWA. 



" You will note by the enclosed clip- 

 ping that the Board of Health of the 

 town in which I live has passed a rul- 

 ing aimed solely at myself. While no 

 action has yet been taken their finding 

 will probably be that my apiary is in- 

 habited by ferocious bees. Will you 

 please tell me to whom I can appeal in 

 the state for an equitable ruling." 

 The clipping reads as follows: 



" Honeybees were brought under the 

 jurisdiction of the city Board of Health 

 at a special meeting last night. Here- 

 after like autosand dogs they must be 

 licensed. 



The Board of Health claiming sole 



jurisdiction passed a new ordinance 

 last night which provides ' No person 

 shall keep in any part of the city any 

 hive of honeybees except by permis- 

 sion of the Board of Health, which per- 

 mission shall specify the number and 

 location of the hives.'" New York. 



Here is certainly something new, 

 We have long been familiar with the 

 efforts of town councils to undertake 

 to prohibit the keeping of bees within 

 the limits of the town or to require 

 that they be licensed in some states. 

 For the lioard of Health to claim juris- 

 diction is certainly unusual to say the 

 least. Boards of Health are, as a rule, 

 clothed with very arbitr.iry powers. In 

 just what manner they determined that 

 the keeping of bees comes within their 

 exclusive jurisdiction is hard to guess. 

 It is unheard of that bees should be 

 considered an agency in the spread of 

 infectious or contagious diseases 

 among the human race. As a general 

 rule, a Board of Health cannot enforce 

 rules for the keeping of animals except 

 in emergencies, such as an epidemic of 

 rabies or something similar. 



Our correspondent has not given 

 sufficient information to enable us to 

 give a reply of much value in his par- 

 ticular case. As far as the newspaper 

 clipping goes the board has not pro- 

 hibited the keeping of bees or provided 

 any penalty, but only required a permit. 

 It may be that they can lawfully go 

 that far whatever their object may be. 



Our correspondent should consult a 

 local lawyer in the event the board re- 

 fuses to issue a permit. Even though 

 he disregarded the rule it is hardly 

 probable that they will attempt to de- 

 stroy the bees since they are property 

 of considerable value, and they would 

 find it very difficult to show that the 

 public health was endangered by their 

 presence. In many cases such rules 

 have been passed in the spirit of bluff, 

 and when no attention has been paid to 

 them nothing has come of the matter. 

 It is probable, however, that in case of 

 this kind they might cause the violator's 

 arrest under some general ordinance 

 assessing a penalty for failure to ob- 

 serve the rules of the board. 



Note. — Questions intended for this 

 department should give all possible 

 facts bearing on the matter at issue, as 

 laws differ so widely in different States 

 that it is difficult to give a satisfactory 

 answer unless the case is stated very 

 fully. 



Bear in mind that " more flies are 

 caught with honey than with vinegar." 

 So in your intercourse with your neigh- 

 bors, be as kindly as possible and avoid 

 friction. Have no recourse to law if 

 you can possibly help it. 



PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATION IS THE KEY FOR MAKING GOOD BEE- 

 KEEPERS. AND IT IS ALSO THE BEST WAY TO FIGHT BROOD DISEASES 



Flying Zones for Bees 



BY \V. H. MC WILLIAMS. 



DO bees have flying zones in which 

 to work, the older bees going 

 the farthest, and the younger 

 ones working nearer to the hive ? I 

 have proven to my own satisfaction 

 that they do. 



For years I have been a chronic bee 

 hunter, and oft times start with bees in 

 my decoy box which are from three to 

 five miles from home. In such in- 

 stances all the bees working on the 

 bait are old ones ; they are shiny, and 



