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Vol. XXIX. 



MAY 15, 1901. 



No. 10. 



In advising against spraying fruit-trees 

 when in bloom, don't forget that the poison- 

 ous spray seriously injures the delicate organs 

 of the blossoms, thus injuring the fruit crop. 



At Vienna is established a school for bee- 

 keepers, with building and grounds for the 

 same. The chief course occurs June 3 — 16, 

 with side courses on 10 special days in June, 

 July, and September. Tuition free, limited to 

 20 students for the chief course. 



HONEV contains 20 to 25 per cent of water ; 

 nectar, 65 to 80. It is easier to remember 

 that honey contains an average of 77 per cent 

 of sugary matters, and nectar 33 per cent. 

 For every pound of honey stored, the bees 

 must bring in 2>^ pounds of nectar. 



Stenog quotes some one as saving that 

 slitting a queen's wings lengthwise will save 

 her beauty and prevent her flying. Wouldn't 

 the workers gnaw off such wings? In any 

 case I shouldn't like it, for I want to be able 

 at a glance to determine whether a queen is 

 clipped. 



"Dr. Dzierzon, through the invention of 

 the movable comb, became the founder of 

 rational bee - keeping," says the editor of 

 Gravenhorst's Bienetizeitufig. No, he is not 

 ignorant of Langstroth. Neither do we give 

 Langstroth more credit than he deserves, but 

 we are ignorant of Dzierzon. 



DooLiTTLE thiaks the argument in favor of 

 painted hives, that bees glue the inside of the 

 hive doesn't count, for the glue cracks apart 

 in such fashion that moisture can escape 

 through it. [I have great respect for Doolit- 

 tle and his opinions ; but I do not think much 

 of his idea of moisture going through a Js in. 

 board, painted or unpainted, bee-glue or no 

 bee-glue. — Ed ] 



The poison of a beesting, according to the 

 investigations of Prof. Langer, quoted p. 382, 

 not formic acid. These investigations were 

 made more than three years ago (see Straws, 



Jan. 15, 1898), and yet we still hear talk about 

 bee-poison being formic acid. Prof. Cook, in 

 his review of A B C, seems to take it for 

 granted that it is. — Sae answer to another 

 Straw on this subject. — Ed.] 



Alex Astor, in Revue Internationale, says 

 diurnal evaporation, which is always ignored, 

 is really more than nocturnal evaporation. 

 So when the scales show that the bees have 

 gained 20 pounds since morning, the evapora- 

 tion through the day must be taken into ac- 

 count, and they must be credited with carry- 

 ing in .^0.5 pounds of nectar. [Probably Mr. 

 Astor is not far from right. — Ed.] 



The drink bii^i, of this nation is, for the 

 year, $1,059,565,787, or $13.94 for every man, 

 woman, and child. [I believe the drink evil 

 is the worst problem that civilized countries 

 have to contend with, and sooner or later all 

 right-thinking men must line up, either for or 

 against the saloon. So far as I am individual- 

 ly concerned I propose to help fight the sa- 

 loon through any organized effort that will 

 mitigate this terrible evil. — Ed.] 



One rose in September is worth more to 

 me than ten in June ; so as soon as the blos- 

 som-buds show on the hybrid perpetuals I 

 carefully pinch off every one except one or 

 two of the most advanced on each bush. Then 

 the bush is not exhausted with its June crop, 

 so as to give no roses later. Of course, that 

 will not do for June roses, but their stalks are 

 cut back severely in spring, which makes the 

 blossoms a little later and perhaps a little 

 finer. 



Prof. Cook, in American Bee Journal, 

 doubts if the tongue has any thing to do with 

 gathering pollen. I don't know whether it 

 has, but I know the A B C is right in saying 

 that the tongue is extended while the bee is 

 pjised on the wing, and its feet seem to be 

 doing something with it. I had supposed it 

 was getting honey from its tongue to pack the 

 pollen. Certainly the tongue appears to have 

 something to do with gathering pollen. [The 

 manner in which the bees pad the pollen on 

 their hind legs is so deft and sleight-of-hand- 

 like that it is almost impossible to witness the 

 operation from end to end ; but it is hard to 

 escape the conclu.sion that bees use honey in 



