98 



March, 1915. 



American Hee Journal 



dation in more rapidly, and thinks it is 

 better in every way. It also makes the 

 frames less expensive than if double 

 grooved and wedged. 



The ordinary friction-top honey pail 

 has not been altogether satisfactory to 

 Mr. Atwater. He prefers the common 

 lard pail with a double cover, the extra 

 cover preventing the entrance of dust 

 or other foreign matter. The extra 

 expense is perhaps only half a cent 

 per pail. 



Mr. Atwater, with other beekeepers 

 here, is much interested in strengthen- 

 ing the bee disease lawsof Idaho at the 

 present session of the legislature. But 

 I will later write an article on this sub- 

 ject and the extent of the beekeeping 

 industry in this State, getting some of 

 the information from the Horticultural 

 Inspector, under whose department 

 comes the enforcement of th ■ bee 

 laws of the State of Idaho. 



Sandpoint, Idaho. 



Another Method of Introduction 



BY SOUTHWESTERN BEE CO. 



FROM a casual reading of the De- 

 cember American Bee Journal it 

 appears that queen introduction 

 is being given a great share of atten- 

 tion just now. The article from our 

 Swiss brother was of particular inter- 

 est, especially because he went into 

 detail as to most of the more com- 

 monly used methods and gave com- 

 parative records. Our apiary manager 

 has asked us to describe what he calls 

 the zuatcr method, one which he assures 

 me has never in his experience met 

 with failure. He says that he wishes 

 he might have had an opportunity of 

 trying it on the obstinate No. 23 that 

 Dr. Bruennich described. 



The procedure is as follows: Kill 

 the old queen ; remove all frames from 

 the hive and shake into the bottom of 

 the box with a sharp jar, all the bees 

 possible. Sprinkle the mass of bees 

 on the hive floor with water until they 

 are soaking luet. The secret of success 

 is in the use of plenty of water; there 

 is no danger of overdoing this part. 

 Wet the new queen thoroughly and 

 put her on the pile of wet bees. Put 

 back the combs into the hive and the 

 job is finished. We have been using 

 this method for several seasons. We 

 have never lost a queen, even in the 

 most obstinate cases, and have found 

 the method successful with virgins, 

 with laying queens, and with queens 

 received in cages by mail. 



When honey is coming in, any time 

 of the day will do for the work of in- 

 troducing, but in times of dearth it is 

 better to wait until about an hour be- 

 fore dark. 



The chief value of this method is 

 that there is no time whatever lost and 

 the new queen is immediately accepted 

 and ready to go to work. It has none 

 of the disadvantages ot Arthur C. 

 Miller's smoke method. (Incidentally 

 would say we have had only partial 

 success with smoke.) 



Some may say that when Dr. Bruen- 

 nich plunged No. %\ into the lake, he 

 had practically adopted the method 

 above described, but the difference, 

 and we believe the cause of his failure, 



SOme of the beeswax rendered at the Massachusetts Agriciilural College Rendering 



Station— Mr. Jno. L. Byard operator. The piles represent about «oo 



pounds of commercial wax,— 'Author's illustration' 



lay i'l his use of the wire cage and the 

 fact that he did not soak the new queen 

 in water and release her with the bees. 

 San Antonio, Tex. 



Why Not Save the Wax ?- 



It Will Help Pay the 



Foundation Bill 



BY DR. BURTON N. GATES, 



[Assotiate Professor of Beekeepitie. Miissachit 

 setts At^ridiUtiral Colletie.) 



IN States where apiary inspection is 

 progressing, inspectors often find 

 occasion to condemn considerable 

 amount of comb. This may be broken 

 or mutilated, and unsuitable for further 

 use in the hives or it may be good 

 comb, but infected and not desirable 

 to use. This is especially true where 

 American foulbrood prevails, for it is 

 not considered safe ever to use Ameri- 

 can foulbrood comb. 



Inspectors find, too, it is by prefer- 

 ence often times, that beekeepers will 

 destroy this comb and not attempt to 

 salvage this wax. Rightfully there is a 

 prejudice against home wax rendering. 

 Unless one has exceptional facilities, 

 wax rendering in the kitchen or home 

 is highly objectionable to the entire 

 household. Furthermore, it is time- 

 consuming and generally conceded 

 that home rendering does not give 

 maximum returns. 



In an effort to meet these objections, 

 the Massachusetts Agricultural College 

 and the Apiary Inspection Service 

 have offered provisionally to open a 

 Wax Rendering Station. This was 

 announced previously in the American 

 Bee Journ.''!. The results have been 

 astonishing and alinost overwhelming. 

 For instance, one shipment of scrap 

 wax consisted of a thousand combs. 



There have been other large shipments 

 as well as many small ones. Appar- 

 ently the opportunity has met with 

 immediate favor. As evidence of some 

 of the product of this Rendering Sta- 

 tion, the illustration herewith shows a 

 part of the product of the last few 

 weeks. At some future time figures 

 will be 1 iven to show the amount of 

 wax salvaged during a given period. 



If the college had not offered its ser- 

 vices, in some instances at least, the 

 writer knows positively that the mate- 

 rial rendered would have been burned 

 up rather than to attempt its reduction 

 at home. Furthermore, knowing that 

 these services are available, the bee- 

 keepers are saving their scrap wax. 

 To do this, a tight barrel should be 

 procured, and as comb is thrown into 

 it, a tamper, such as a piece of 2x4, 

 should be used to pack the comb solidly 

 into the bottom. The harder the comb 

 is packed the better the results. Among 

 a relatively few colonies of bees, the 

 apiarist will be surprised, in the course 

 of a year, at the amount of scrap wax 

 which he will accumulate. Freight 

 rates are low, consequently he may well 

 afford to ship this to the Central Ren- 

 dering .Station for reduction. At his 

 pleasure, the rendered product will be 

 forwarded to the foundation manufac- 

 turer, supply agent, or elsewhere as he 

 may direct. 



It should not be forgotten that bees- 

 wax is as important a product of the 

 apiary as the honey. The well cared 

 for apiary, moreover, will not show old 

 comb and wax scraps scattered about 

 the premises. If not destroyed, they 

 will be stored for rendering. Beekeep- 

 ers should not lose sight of the possi- 

 bilities of obtaining a neat margin of 

 income from their old combs and 

 scraps. As the policy of the Massa- 

 chusetts Agricultural College becomes 

 more definitely proven and more widely 



