1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



815 



g'ivinjjf his own opinion, I've a choice assort- 

 ment of abusive epithets laid up for him, and 

 a lot of brickbats to flint,'- at his battlements. 

 I oui^ht to explain that he reasons that the 

 one that runs 90 above the average is a freak 

 that will not g\\e uniform results, while 

 the 5 of the other mother, being- uniform, 

 ma_v be relied upon for future results. 

 [The recommendation of F. B. Simpson is 

 one that we have been carryini,*- out in prac- 

 tice for several years. A breeder whose 

 queens are irregular, zigzagging from one 

 extreme to the other, is one that will cause 

 complaints from customers; but one that will 

 give uniform results in markings, in pro- 

 lificness, in gentleness, in every one of her 

 daughters, is the one that we select for a 

 breeder — providing, of course, that these 

 daughters all score a high average; but if 

 Mr. S. or any one else can find a mother, 

 the bees of whose daughters will average in 

 number of pounds of honey about the same 

 under like conditions — well, we can not do 

 it. The daughters of our best breeder near- 

 ly all score well in hone}% but there is quite 

 a variation. While the poorest wuU be no 

 worse than the average, the best will be 

 considerably better. — Ed.] 



^■»a^A:^A:sd]Cgaa gi5^<feA^i/feS:LjaC ;ii^^fe^^ 



^iciijjsrGS 



±J^/lOM0i//tN£lGfiBOIiS FIELDS. 



Green were the leaves at sunset ; 



I o-daj' they're sear and red ; 

 Like men they play their proper part. 

 Then fall to' earthy bed. 



lit 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mr. York is about to publish the proceed- 

 ings of the late Buffalo convention. As it 

 consisted entirely of discussions on live 

 questions it is likely that these minutes will 

 be of unusual interest to bee-keepers. No 

 essays were read. Don't miss a cop}'. 

 ««« 



In regard to the spread of foul brood in 

 California, Mr. J. M. Hambaugh writes an 

 article of so much interest and importance 

 that I give herewith most of it. The read- 

 er is requested to keep in mind that, a month 

 ago, I gave the views of a French writer 

 who deprecated the use of inovable frames 

 as being conducive to the spread of foul 

 brood. Mr. Hambaugh takes the exact op- 

 posite, and his position seems sound. 



Here in this salubrious clime, where every month 

 in the year, and almost every day in the year, bees 

 can go forth in quest of polUn and nettar, opens op- 

 portunity f^r the spread of infectious diseases; and 

 th s, coupled with the wild waste of rocky cliffs, can- 

 yons, and wooded districts, furnishes hiding-pl -ces 

 for bees that can wreak and fester in disease unmo- 

 lested. It is hard for the wide-awake bee keeper to 

 overcome these dangers beyond his reach ; but there 

 is a danger of far greater magnitude right at his very 

 door. tJ. at he needs to recognize, and which needs a 

 cure in the form of a little legislation. 



Here is Mr. A, a practical beekeeper, with all his 

 combs thrcughout his eutire apiary movable, and ac- 



cessible at any time for inspection and in appropriate 

 condition to battle against any disease that may arise. 

 Mr. B, his next door neighbor, is of the slip.'-hod, go- 

 as-you-please make-up. and allows his bees to i uild 

 their combs at haphazard, half-moons and all "-hapes 

 that may suit their fancy, in their brood-chambers ; 

 and the consequence is, he is 1. ckiug th door agtiinst 

 all knowledge or treatment of any disease that is like- 

 ly to turn up; he is al.-o in shape to be (as i. were) 

 hugging an adder to receive its fatal sting and also 

 to dispense its venom among his neighbors. When 

 there is s-uch a deadly foe as foul brood abto d in the 

 laud, these inacces.'-ible hives are a veritable death- 

 trap, and. so far as inspectors are crncerned, they are 

 simply ban en from investigation, save what the ex- 

 terior may rtvtal. 



In our route through the country these troubles are 

 so manifest, and there is such a universal cry against 

 their toleiation, that it stems to me a very easy mat- 

 ter to have a law placed upon our statutes, compelling 

 every one who keeps Dees to have them upon movable 

 combs, built in movable frames, and, by so doing, 

 minimize the chances for contagious diseases, besides 

 doing away with the old slipshod way of keeping 

 bees We believe that every wide-awake bee keeper 

 in the land should cry down the box-hive station ^ry- 

 com'> evil, until every one who dares to keep bees 

 would imderstand th^t to do so means they must be 

 up n movable combs, or a penalty of a fine incurred. 



We al o believe that a little further protection is 

 needed to the bee keeper, by statute enactment ; and 

 that is. when a bee-keeper contemplates moving from 

 one location to another he should have a certificate 

 from a lawfully appointed inspector, the said certifi- 

 cate to be an assurance that each and every colonv is 

 free from all infectious or contagious disease, other- 

 wise let it be a finable offense to remove them from 

 their old location. 



\)/ 



Regarding the sparing of bees' lives, Mr. 

 Hasty says: 



Th-re gets afloat at times a considerable amount of 

 sentimental nonsense and unwisdom, which would 

 fain make us more careful of insect life than the 

 Creator is him' elf, and w hich would make apiculture 

 impossible before we got to its logical conclusions. 



\i/ 



Dr. Miller says, in reply to a corespond- 

 ent: 



Don't think for a minute of u'-ing even the smallest 

 proportion of sugar to finish sections. Just now about 

 the greatest foe bee-keepers have to fight is adultera- 

 tion ; and for them to band together in a national as- 

 .sociation to fight it, and then feed sugar themselves to 

 get sections fiiiished, v/ould be about as con,sistent as 

 is the (christian man who prays SW days in the yesr 

 for the downfall of the salooti, and then on the 365th 

 dav votes to support it. If you want to have sections 

 finished, use diluted honej^. Very few, however, have 

 been able to make it pay. 'Better sell, at reduced price, 

 .sections that are not fi'nished, and let the bees empty 

 out anj' that are less than half full. 



Pile up outdoors supers of sections you want bees to 

 empty, and allow entrance for only one or two bees at 

 a time. If y.u allow a larger entrance, the bees will 

 tear the combs to pieces. 



PROGRES APICOLE. 



The following is recominended. For want 

 of a better name we will call them "honey 

 jimcracks." They are doubtless good in 

 both French and English: Mix together one 

 quart of honey, one quart of powdered su- 

 gar, one quart of fresh butter, and the juice 

 of two oranges. Incorporate with this, 

 slowly, a little fine wheat flour, and make 

 a dough of it thick enough to be rolled otit; 

 knead it, and beat it for several minutes, 

 and finally roll it otit with a rolling-pin in 

 layers about half an inch thick. Ctit out 

 round cakes, like biscuit, and bake them 

 on a light plate, greased with butter, with 

 moderate heat. 



