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Vol. XXIX. 



SEPT. 15, 1901. 



No. 18 



Editor Hutchinson, wax from cappings 

 is the hardest kind of wax, and the best kind 

 for brood foundation if you don't wire frames. 



" Fly-escapes are needed on the windows 

 of a dwelling as much as bee escapes are need- 

 ed on the windows of a honey-house," says 

 Editor Hutchinson. Bright idea ; and he 

 got it from that Kanuck, Jacob Alpaugh. 



I'm very glad to know that the tables are 

 turning with Bro. Doolittle, and that, instead 

 of red clover being worthless as in past years, 

 he has been getting the grand red-clover crop 

 reported on page 712. What a testimonial 

 that is for those yellow bees ! 



A rule that I supposed without exception 

 was that, if you found more than one egg in 

 a queen cell, you might be sure of laying 

 workers. The other day I found two eggs in 

 a queen cell and a good laying queen present. 

 " Bees do nothing invariably." 



" Dark old combs give to honey a darker 

 color. This is the experience of some — others 

 say no. Why this difference of experience? " 

 — Bee-keepers' Review. May there not be a 

 difference as to careful observation ? Will not 

 the length of time the honey is in the comb 

 also make a difference in color ? Fill a black 

 comb with water, and immediately throw it 

 out, and the water will be clear. Let it soak 

 for a number of days and it will be like ink. 



Carbolineum seems to be getting more 

 popular in Germany as a substitute for oil- 

 paint on hives. Editor Weippl, of Illuslrierte 

 MonatsblcFlter, says he has used it exclusively 

 for years ; prefers it to paint because cheaper, 

 and because it does not close the pores of the 

 wood so as to prevent ventilation ; and in spite 

 of its strong smell he has hived swarms in 

 hives painted with it two hours previously, 

 although it is better to let them dry two or 

 three days. I wish I could get some of it to 

 try. [Carbolineum — I can not find it in the 

 dictionary, and do not remember to have 



heard of it before. Does it go by some other 

 name in this country ? In any case, what are 

 its main ingredients? — Ed.] 



F. B. Simpson', in Revieiv 2inA elsewhere, is 

 looming up as a real light upon the subject of 

 queen-rearing. Upon one point, however, it 

 is hard to agree with him. If I understand 

 him correctly, he says that length of tongue 

 is of no value /"^r se, only as it indicates the 

 presence of other good qualities. Take two 

 colonies exactly alike in industry, etc., differ- 

 ing only in tongue-length. Would not the 

 greater length of tongue have a cash value 

 per se on a crop of red clover ? Possibly, how- 

 ever, I do not rightly understand him. 



Bees transfer larvae — p. 714. I don't know 

 whether that's true or not, but I'd like some 

 proof if the assertion is to stand. We do 

 know that it is a very common thing for bees 

 to start queen-cells that are never used ; now, 

 why might not queenless bees do that ? [Bees 

 transfer /ai-z'i^ .^ I could not believe I had 

 said any thing of the kind ; but, sure enough, 

 the type stands out clear and cold. What I 

 had in mind, and should have said, was that 

 bees transfer eggs., for I have seen them do 

 this. Under stress of conditions they may do 

 the other.— Ed ] 



IT IS reported in Elsasz Biencnznechter 

 that bees were fed honey that came from cap- 

 pings that had stood in a zinc enameled dish, 

 and half the bees died. [This might be true; 

 but in that event the quantity of honey was 

 probably small compared with the amount of 

 zinc exposed ; but the Californians universal- 

 ly store their honey in galvanized (zinc cover- 

 ed) cans; but the cans hold anywhere from 

 ten to twenty tons ; and the amount of sur- 

 face of zinc exposed to the honey is so small 

 that, for all practical purposes, we might say 

 that the amount of poison is infinitesimal, 

 and not vvorth considering. — Ed ] 



"In the arrangement of nuclei it is al- 

 waj's desirable to h.^ve something by which 

 young queens cm discriminate between their 

 own entrance and that of some other of the 

 same general appearance." That's what the 

 editor says, p. 714. and it's worth saying over 

 again. It applies to hives as well as nuclei. 



