February, 19 lO. 



American l^ee Journal 



the said "wild" animals innocuous 

 though cognizant of their dangerous 

 habits). 



The judge of the first instance hand- 

 ed down a decision of exoneration, 

 upon the ground that bees must be con- 

 sidered domestic (tame) animals, and 

 that there does not exist an arrange- 

 ment by which bees could be rendered 

 harmless so far as to prevent them 

 from making use of their stings, when 

 irritated. Neither can they be kept in 

 an enclosed space, since their economi- 

 cal importance of honey-gathering 

 would then be nullified. 



Impelled by orders from higher 

 places, the prosecutor of the State an- 

 nounced an appeal, and the gendarmes 

 was assigned to investigate, whether 

 the school-master's bees are vicious, 

 and whether or not the chairman's 

 field, adjacent to the school-garden, is 

 really threatened to such an extent as 

 to render all the field-work thereon 

 next to impossible. In Austria any- 

 thing may happen, and the gendarmes 

 furnished evidence that the field-work 

 is actually endangered. And this, too, 

 was ascertained by them in the winter 

 time! 



Consequently this peculiar case was 

 up before the circuit court at Pisek. 



The Bohemian National Bee-Keepers' 

 Association, of which the principal was 

 a member, furnished the defendant with 

 a legal counselor in the person of Dr. 

 Zmek, who, before the court of appeals, 

 eloquently emphasized the importance 

 of apiculture along the lines of national 

 economy, besides setting forth its peda- 

 gogical value, and in his closing ap- 

 pealed to the still valid Patent of Em- 

 press Maria Teresa, in which tlie high- 

 est disfavor is put on those who would 

 dare to commit an infraction against 

 keepers of bees ; remarking further, 

 that it would be impossible to tie bees 

 with a thread on their legs, or to pro- 

 vide them with a muzzle, he petitioned 

 the court to affirm the verdict of the 

 first instance. 



The deputy State's attorney, Mr. 

 Sebanek, contended in his lengthy plea, 

 that the present case actually involves 

 offences against both articles of law, 

 and requested judgment against the 

 defendant. 



The Senate of Appeals sustained the 

 ruling of acquital, of the lower court, 

 basing its opinion on the Patent of 



Maria Teresa, already quoted, the va- 

 lidity of which was thus confirmed. 

 Brainard, Nebr. 



Conducted bv J. L. B YER, Mount Joy, Ont. 



Disposing of Comb and Honey in Foul 

 Brood Treatment 



A. R. Summers, of Missouri, asks as 

 to what is done with the combs and 

 honey put into the vat of boiling water 

 as described in the McEwen treatment 

 for foul brood in the December Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal. They are, of course, 

 rendered into wax at once, and that is 

 one of the main things in any of the 

 different treatments of foul brood that 

 is really necessary — getting the source 

 of reinfection out of the way in a thor- 

 ough manner. One of the most diffi- 

 cult things the inspectors meet with in 

 their rounds is in seeing that all these 

 old combs are out of the reach of the 

 bees after other instructions have been 

 faithfully obeyed. The matter of ren- 

 dering the combs into wax is often put 

 off till "a more convenient season," 

 and they will be placed in some shed 

 or other building where it is taken for 

 granted that the bees will not find 

 them. Judging from many experiences, 

 some men seem to think that any place 

 that will exclude a woodchuck, will 

 also be proof against bees getting in, 

 and, as a result, often the work done 

 previously is rendered abortive because 

 of gross carelessness in allowing the 

 bees to gain access to these combs of 

 honey. 



Time and time again have I come to 

 a place where the bees have been shaken 

 from the old combs, and on asking if 

 the latter were burnt or put into wax 

 the answer would be, " No, but they are 



away from the bees." Insisting on 

 seeing where they had been placed, 

 sometimes we would be taken to a 

 building and find the combs of honey, 

 etc., loosely stacked up, and many open- 

 ings in the sides of the building that 

 the bees could come through at will. 

 The owners would express surprise 

 that I thought the bees would ever 

 come in such roundabout places, and 

 really thought that I was a bit unrea- 

 sonable in insisting that the combs be 

 moved into a cellar or other secure 

 place at once. Of course, it is only 

 fair to say that this would be with men 

 who kept but few bees, and gave them 

 little care, at that, as any experienced 

 bee-keepers soon learn that even when 

 every possible crack is closed, in so 

 far as can be seen, often after all our 

 precaution we will find bees gaining an 

 entrance in some out-of-the-way place 

 that has been overlooked. 



No. 6. 



-General View of the Agricultural Building of the Oklahoma State Fair, 

 Where tiie^Apiarian Department Was Located.— See page 42. 



Sealed Stores for Spring Feed 



There is some difference of opinion as to 

 the quantity of honey a colony of bees 

 should have in the spring in order to build 

 up successfully. 



The late E. W. Alexander stated that he 

 would prefer to have the brood-chamber 

 nearly empty when the first fresh honey 

 came in. while many good bee-keepers think 

 that it is a sign of prosperity if there are 

 several combs of sealed stores in the hives 

 when brood-rearing commences. 



There is no doubt that this capped honey 

 helps out in feeding the brood, but its pres- 

 ence in the hives at this time is a serious 

 detriment to the growth of the colony. I 

 have frequently seen a good queen greatly 

 hampered in her egg-laying by the presence 

 of capped honey at the tops of the frames 

 and in the frames at the outside of the hive, 

 and it is quite possible to have the frames in 

 the hives so tilled with honey in the spring 

 that there is no chance of a colony getting in 

 good shape for the harvest. 



This condition is often brought about by a 

 late fall flow, or by heavy feeding to a col- 

 ony on its full set of brood-combs. 



Any ordinary colony will winter well on 6 

 Langstroth combs, well tilled with honey or 

 sugar syrup, and by contracting down to this 

 number and tilling them up well, the honey 

 or syrup is in the best shape possible to be 

 used by the bees. 



When brood-rearing is well advanced in 

 the spring the empty spaces can be filled out 

 with empty combs, and the queen given a 

 better chance to go ahead with her egg 

 laying. 



I would much prefer empty combs on the 

 outside of the brood-nest in the spring with a 

 gooti feeder on the hive, to several solid 

 slabs of honey in the brood-nest. 



Bees will not use up sealed stores for 

 brood-rearing to any extent, and the pres- 

 ence of tins surplus honey in the hives is no 

 indication of prosperity. It is rather the 

 reverse. 



The tinest combs of brood that I ever saw 

 were in empty frames given to fill out. In 

 them the queen could lay unhampered by 

 honey, and they were filled right out with 



