February, 1910. 



American Vee Journal 



arrived at ripe age. not only by feedine. but 

 by Erooming and comnuinication as well. I 

 have been closely watclifiil of this, and have 

 gathered some data which may be interest- 

 ing to the student. By repeated experiment 

 I have found that if a colony is entirely 

 made up of old bees— so old that they are in- 

 capable of nursing— it becomes impossible 

 for them to create in a virgin that desire to 

 fly and mate. She may fly, but she does not 

 seem to he attractive to the drones, as she 

 repeatedly returns unsuccessful in her 

 flights. 



As a result of the above condition the vir- 

 gin simi^ly lives among the bees as a worker- 

 member lives, not even becoming a drone- 

 layer, owing to the lack of nurse-bees to de- 

 velop her ovaries by feeding, liven young 

 larva; given to such a colony will be neg- 

 lected, and will frequently die of starvation. 

 If emerging brood is given, howe^■cr, young 

 bees will hatch, and at length begin to feed 

 the queen, and in time the queen may begin 

 to lay. but. having passed the mating age. 

 she will not mate, so becomes a drone-layer. 

 These experiments have proved to me that 

 it is necessary for even a drone-layer to be 

 fed and nursed by workers before it is pos- 

 sible for her to produce eggs. 



As a conclusion, I believe that young bees 

 are absolutely needed at the three funda- 

 mental stages of a queen, viz. : First, to pro- 

 duce the abundance of food needed fully to 

 develop their queen in her cell: second, 

 properly to stimulate her to flight for the 

 purpose of mating; third, to develop the 

 eggs in her ovaries after impregnation. 

 Further, as has been previously mentioned 

 in the papers, it is also necessary for the 

 drones to receive their share of attention 

 from the nurse-bees in order that they may 

 become at all potent. 



Editor Hntchinson and His Bee.s 



The editor of the Bee-Keepers' Re- 

 view has a streak of poetry in liim 

 which frequently manifests itself in 

 his writings. In his January issue he 

 becomes enthused over the condition 

 of the bees in his cellar, and breaks out 

 in this strain : 



"When I wake in the night there is actually 

 a comfortable feeling comes over me when I 

 think of those bees snuggled away there, 

 sleeping away the winter with their heads 

 pillowed on snowy combs of sweetness." 



The brutally matter-of-fact bee- 

 keeper will say, " My bees spend the 

 winter with their /'<■</ resting on the 

 combs, and the blacker the combs the 

 better." But we may easily forgive the 

 license of speech in one whose poetic 

 soul thus lovingly expresses his feel- 

 ings toward his little pets. 



Slow Upward Veiitilatiou for 

 Winter 



R. B. Ross, Jr,, discussing the matter 

 in the Canadian Bee Journal, is not in 

 accord with those who advocate sealed 

 covers in cellar-wintering. He asks 

 Editor Root to make trial of 3 colonies 

 varying in strength, with good stores, 

 any kind of ventilation at the entrance, 

 covers removed, and a heavy gunny- 

 sack thrown over (with a newspaper 

 loosely laid over, if the cellar is very 

 cold.) 



♦^ 



Spraying: Fruit-Trees in Bloom 



We have received the following 

 from Dr. G. Bohrer, of Kansas : 



On page 22. Mr. George W. ,^dams asks for 

 information as to the laws in different States 

 concerning the matter of spraying fruit- 

 trees when in bloom. While here in Kansas 

 we have no law upon the subject of spray- 

 ing, we have a State Horticultural Society 

 that holds annual meetings at which the 

 matter of si>raying is discussed every year. 

 And while spraying is recommended, all 

 agree that trees should never be sprayed 

 while in bloom— for two reasons: 



First, it destroys the fruit-germ to come in 

 direct contact with spraying fluid. 



Second, spraying-fluid will kill honey-bees 

 —a thing well informed horticulturists do 

 not wish to have occur, knowing that bees 

 aid very materially in the pollination of 

 fruit-bloom. They advise spraying just be- 

 fore the blossoms open out, and soon after 

 thev drotr off. 



While a number of our States have no law 

 upon the subject of spraying trees, they are 

 quite likely to enact such laws in the near 

 future, as it is becoming more and more 

 generally conceded that to spray is the only 

 sure means of securing fruit free from in- 

 jury by insects. And bee-keepers should 

 make it a point to see their member of the 

 I..egislaturc and point out to them the im- 

 portance of the law specifying that spraying 

 must not be done when trees are in bloom, 

 for the reasons above given, 



Lyons, Kans, (Dr.) G. Bohrer, 



This is a r'ery important matter, and 

 one in which not only bee-keepers but 

 horticulturists as well should be deeply 

 interested. Spraying fruit-trees while 

 in bloom is a two-edged sword — it is 

 likely to injure the delicate and tender 

 blo*ssom, and also kills the bees that 

 want to help Nalure produce a bounti- 

 ful crop of fruit. 



Bee-keepers should pass the word 

 along, that the only safe and proper 

 time to spray fruit-trees is just before 

 the blossoms open, and just after 

 blooming is over. To do it during the 

 time between is to risk killing the bees 

 and ruining the prospects for a crop of 

 fruit. 



^ 



Honey-Yield and Cold Weather 



A report is given in the British Bee 

 Journal which rather upsets one's 

 ideas as to the effect of cold weather 

 on the honey-flow. It refers to the 

 heather harvest, as follows : 



September 3 was the best day. showing a 

 gain of 10 pounds. The day began with a 

 very heavy hoar frost, a shade temperature 

 of 34 degrees Kahr.. rising to 58 degrees Fahr. 

 at midday. The wind was due north and 

 very cold, so that in spite of a cloud- 

 less sky imtil 2 p.m.. it was too cold to 

 sit in the open air unless sheltered from the 

 wind. The bees began gathering at 8 a.m., 

 with a shade temperature of 48 degrees 

 Fahr.. a very heavy flow continuing until 10 

 a.m.. when the temperature had reached only 

 52 degrees Fahr. After this the nectar in- 

 take rapidly slowed down, though carried 

 on until 3 p.m. A suspicion of north wind 

 or a hoar frost we had always regarded as 

 fatal to heather-secreting. 



To Help Our Advertiser.s Help.s 

 All 



We want to invite our readers to 

 patronize those who advertise in the 

 columns of the American Bee Journal. 

 Always be sure to mention the Bee 

 Journal when writing to any of them. 

 They want to know in what papers 

 their advertisements were read. And 

 such mention helps the American Bee 

 Journal also, for when advertisers find 

 that their announcements are read in 

 this journal, they will not only continue 

 to use its columns, but will often in- 

 crease the space they use. And then 

 we can have more money to spend on 

 making the American Bee Journal bet- 

 ter for vou. 



California State Convention 



The California State Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will meet at Los Angeles, 

 Feb. 15, Ifl, and 17, UtlO. It is expected 

 to make this meeting the most inter- 

 esting and instructive of any held in a 

 long time on the Pacific Coast. Write 

 to M. H. Mendleson, Ventura, Calif., 

 for further information, if desired. 



The Michigan State Convention 



The annual meeting of the Michigan 

 State Bee-Keepers' Association will be 

 held at Hotel "VVentworth, corner of E. 

 Michigan St. and Grand Ave., Lansing, 

 Mich., Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 

 23 and 24, 1910. Rate, $2.00 per day, 

 and the use of the parlor free as the 

 convention room. 



A very interesting program has been 

 arranged, containing, besides the ques- 

 tion-box, the following papers: 



"A New Method of Getting Rid of Foul 

 Brood," by Ira D. Bartlett. 



" Size. Ventilation, and Construction of 

 Hives, ' by R. !•". Holtermann. of Canada. 



"The Bee-Keeper's Real Problem." by E, 

 B. Tyrrell. 



" Some of My Experience as a Farmer Bee- 

 Keeiier," by W. J. Manley. 



" Science and Theory of Bee-Keeping," by 

 Hon. Geo. E. Hilton, ex-pre^sident of the 

 National Association. 



"A Few Suggestions." by N. E. France, 

 General Manager ot the National Associa- 

 tion. 



George W. York, president of the 

 National Association, has promised to 

 be present, and many others that we 

 have not room to mention, have signi- 

 fied their intention of attending. 



Many prizes are offered for exhibits 

 of honey and beeswax. Send for pro- 

 gram and prize-list, if interested. 



If for any reason you cannot attend 

 this meeting, but would like to take ad- 

 vantage of the benefits derived from 

 having your name appear in the Asso- 

 ciation's Annual Booklet, send $1.00 to 

 the Secretary, which will make you not 

 only a member of the State Associa- 

 tion, but also of the National, for one 

 year. E. B. Tyrrell, Sec. 



230 Woodland Ave., Detroit, Mich.' 



The Wiscou.sin Convention 



This was held at Madison, Feb. 2 and 

 3, 1910. While the attendance was not 

 large, the interest was good. We were 

 present and enjoyed meeting the repre- 

 sentatives of Wisconsin beedom once 

 more. The officers for the ensuing year 

 were all re-elected, viz. : 



President, Jacob 'Huflfman, of Mon- 

 roe ; vice-president, F. Wilcox, of 

 Mauston ; secretary, Gus Dittmer, of 

 Augusta; and treasurer, A. C. Allen, of 

 Portage. 



We expect to publish a brief report 

 later, in these columns. 



The S. E. 3Iinn. and W. Wis. 

 Convention 



The Southeastern Minnesota and 

 Western Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation will hold its annual conven- 

 tion Feb. 22 and 23, 1910, in the Court 

 House at Winona, Minn. There will 

 be some good speakers present. All 

 bee-keepers are invited. 



O. S. Holland, Sec. 



Route 1, Winona, Minn. 



Worth Many Tiines the Price. 



I appreciate the American Bee Journal very 

 much, and don't see" how I can very well do 

 without it, as some of the articles are worth 

 many times a year's subscription alone. I 

 expect to be a subscriber to the "Old Reliable" 

 as long as I keep bees, so you may count on 

 me as a permanent customer. 



Jackson, Mich. II. .\. Rushton. 



