1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



219 



possibility for a bee to bite iuto a peach or 

 grape. [I think your suspicion is well found- 

 ed. I have examined the mouth-parts of sev- 

 eral different insects, and it seems to me those 

 of any one of them are better adapted for cut- 

 ting or puncturing fruit than those of the bees. 

 From what I know of bees they would cut 

 and slash through the skins of fruit during a 

 dearth of hone}- if they could. They have no 

 more conscientious scruples about wading into 

 the nice preserves of the housewife than the 

 highway robber has for stealing my watch.— 

 Ed ] 



You S.\Y, Mr. Editor, that bees will start 

 in an extracting-super when they wouldn't 

 in sections, and when this is replaced by a 

 section super they'll start promptly in the lat- 

 ter. I don't doubt it in the least. But that 

 still leaves it an open question with me wheth- 

 er the plan is advisable. Now please answer 

 two questions : How many days after the ex- 

 tracting super is given before they will start 

 work in the sections ? Do you knocv that they 

 would not start just as soon in bait sections if 

 these are given in place of the extracting-su- 

 per ? [I have found that many of our pure 

 Italian colonies were very stubborn about go- 

 ing into sections, even when I gave them 

 " baits ; " but by giving them a shallow super 

 of extracting-combs all drawn out, I could in- 

 duce most of them to start upward at once. 

 When they have stored a little honey above, 

 and become accustomed to going above, which 

 would take anywhere from one to two days, I 

 would take this extracting super off, and give 

 them, instead, sections with full sheets of 

 foundation. The habit of going above seem- 

 ed to be so strong that those same bees that 

 had been stubborn before would now go right 

 into the sections. I did not allow any such 

 colonies so treated to store very much honey 

 in extracting-combs As soon as the bees en- 

 tered them and began to stoie a little honey I 

 would take them off and give them to other 

 stubborn colonies. Thus one set of extract- 

 ing-combs might answer for four or five colo- 

 nies, but usually not more than two. — Ed ] 



So YOU THINK I rate a little too highly the 

 value of Dzierzon's contributions to bee cul- 

 ture, Mr. Editor. Possibly, but that's my 

 honest conviction. You have grown up un- 

 der the full light of the Dzierzon theorv, and 

 is it not just possible that it is a little diflficult 

 for you to realize just what it would be to have 

 that light totally extinguished? Perhaps, 

 too, you may not give full force to the fact 

 that Dzierzon gave the movable frame to a 

 large part of the bee-keeping world. I do 

 not think of any one living man who has done 

 more for bee-keeping than those two things. 

 [Dzierzon gave the movable frame? Why, 

 doctor, it must be you have forgotten. If you 

 are basing your authority on Cheshire, I am 

 afraid you are misled. What Cheshire says 

 concerning Dzierzon, and his connection with 

 the movable frame, is contradicted by Charles 

 Dadant and E. Stachelhausen. Samuel Wag- 

 ner, than whom there is no better authority, 

 says in the American Bee Journal, page 14, 

 Vol. I., that " Dzierzon did not invent a mov- 

 able frame ; that he only improved a method 



for handling movable combs;''' that Delia 

 Rocca, as you will see by reference to the au- 

 thorities, devised a method for using movable 

 bars to which combs were built ; tut in all 

 these cases it was necessary to cut the combs 

 away from the sides of the hive as wtll as 

 from the bottom, before they could be taken 

 out. Dzierzon improved on this by using bars 

 in a top-opening hive. Later on, Berlepsch 

 invented a movable frame, but not till after 

 Langstroth had patented and brought out his 

 invention. But for argument's sake, assuming 

 that Berlepsch was prior, you will see that the 

 Langstroth invention made a practicable mov- 

 able frame, which the Berlepsch was not. Be- 

 fore we could give credit to Dzierzon for the 

 invention of movable frames we should have 

 to mention the names of Munn, of England ; 

 Debeauboys, of France ; and Propokovitsch, 

 of Russia. But if any one is to be credited 

 for the invention of movable frames before 

 Langstroth, that honor should be extended to 

 Huber, who did make a closed-end frame that 

 was a great improvement on any of the frames 

 ever invented until the Langstroth came out. 

 The Ouinby, the Heddon, and the Danzenba- 

 ker are, practically, modifications of the origi- 

 nal Huber. For my authorities I would refer 

 you to the American Bee Journal, Vol. I., for 

 1861, page 14. There you will find a most in- 

 teresting and valuable article by Wagner. 

 While it is admitted by this writer that Dzier- 

 zon's improvement on the movable bar " re- 

 ceived general acceptance and approval in 

 Europe," yet he limits this invention to 

 "bars," and not "frames," as 3'ou will see. 

 Now turn to Gleanings for May 15, 1888, 

 pages 379-381 ; then, if you care to, turn to 

 Dadant's Langstroth Revised, from pages 137 

 to 144. But I would not detract from the 

 glory that Dzierzon has won in his great dis- 

 covery of parthenogenesis. That alone is 

 enough to make him great in the mind of any 

 intelligent bee-keeper. But as long as it is 

 generally conceded now, both in Europe and 

 America, that Langstroth was the first to bring 

 out a practicable movable frame I think we 

 ought to concede that honor to him. — Ed.] 



1>ICKlj^GS 



^//lOMOUfi NEIGHBORS FIELDS. 



A strange comtningling of the weather now — 



Fogs, rain, zero, then more snow ; 

 Then t.hish, then mud, then icy walk. 



And all within a day or so. 



L' APICULTURE PRATIQUE. 

 This is a new French bee journal published 

 in Mr. Dadant's native department (Haute- 

 Marne) in France. The first number is before 

 us. It presents a fine appearance, and gives 

 an account of Mr. Dadant's visit to his old 

 home. From it we also learn that the Minis- 

 ter of Agriculture of Hungary has just created 

 a special school for the study of apiculture. 



