174 



May, 1915. 



American ~Bee Journal 



cutting lingers. The miter box sliould be 

 perfectly square, if one wants the founda- 

 tion to hang plumb in the sections. I have 

 used starters of various sizes, but hnd those 

 like you use to be the best. I shall never be 

 content wiln starters hereafter. I shall use 

 full sheets as you advise. 



In putting foundation in sections 1 have a 

 device of my own "get up." with which I 

 can finish four sections witli one handling, 

 top and bottom starters at one handling. 1 

 also have a section press of my own devising, 

 which beats anything 1 ever had. and I have 

 bought several. All 1 have to do is to si 

 and fold them, not even putting the dovetail 

 together, as the machine does that part bet- 

 ter ttian any one else could possibly do it 

 by hand, and when they come from the 

 press they are perfectly square. 



Columbia City, Ind, Frank Langohr. 



The Cause of Drone-Cells 



I am using the Hoffman frame entirely 

 and I am well pleased with it except that I 

 tind the percentage of drones reared is 

 rather large. Could you tell me what ought 

 "l?e the right width of the end-bars so as 

 to give the proper spacing and reduce to a 

 minimum 'h^ rearing of^dm^i^e^s?^ ^,^^^_^ 



Rougemont, Quebec, 



[I do not believe that the thickness or 

 width of the top-bar and end-bars and con- 

 sequent spacing would have any important 

 influence over the number of drones reared 

 There comes a time in every season, when 

 the queen, especially if she is an oldqueen, 

 wants to lay eggs in drone-cells. At those 

 times, as noticed by Dr. Miller, myself and 

 others, the bees will purposely leave empty 

 the drone-cells that may exist in the hive, 

 even if such drone-cells are only to be found 

 in the supers. Then the queen will lay in 

 them. If there is not enough room. I believe 

 the bees will cut down the opposite cells, 

 rather than fail to rear drones in these cells. 



The only practical method 1 know of to 

 prevent the rearing of drones is to replace 

 the drone-comb with worker-comb, early in 

 the season. Even then, there will always be 

 scattering drone cells here and there, 

 enough for a few hundred drones in each 



colony. ] 



False Parsnip 



My bees wintered finely: they were con- 

 fined to their hives iH months without a 

 flight Last fall I got some large paper 

 packing cartons and packed my bees in 

 them. On Feb. 2. the bees began bringing in 

 honey and bee-bread, and have been doing 

 so ever since the pussy willows and soft 

 maples were in bloom. There is another 

 small plant with a white blossom that is in 

 bloom that the bees get lots of honey from; 

 1 will send you some of the plants. The bees 

 work on it the same as they do on buck- 

 wheat in old Maryland. James Heron 



EUensburg. Wash., March 15. 



(Prof. Pammel. of Ames. Iowa, to whom 

 the specimen was referred, calls it false 

 parsnip (/'emriliuum /lem/crwm;, native of the 

 States of Washington and OreTOn. — Fd 1 



Milkweed in British Columbia 



I notice in the American Bee .Journal for 

 March an article on "Honey Plants and 

 Their \'alue" (page 80). in which the name 

 of Dr. 1.. H. Pammel, State Botanist, Ames, 

 Iowa, appears, where mention is made of 

 Indian hemp and whorled milkweed (./w A - 

 /./,n ;r/-//i ///,//./). We have a wild Hower in 

 this province that grows nearly everywhere 

 and is one of our best honey plants, lam 

 wondering whether it is identical with the 

 above. The local name is milkweed, as it 

 exudes a milky sap when broken or injured. 

 It grows about two feet high andcommences 

 to flower about the end of .June, and lasts in 

 bloom a long time. The Howers are borne 

 in clusters, small and bell-shaped, in color 

 white slightly tinged with pink, and are 

 strongly fragrant. 'Ihe seed pods also 

 formed in clusters are about three inches 

 long, something like dwarf beans in minia- 

 ture. The seed, when ripe, is covered with 

 white down very like the tireweed, I sent 

 foliage and flowers of this plant to England 



for identification, and was informed that it 

 was AlnHviiiim In inihi folium, and belongs to 

 Periwinkle family. 1 find on reference to 

 one of my books on botany that .{pMvinim is 

 also known as Dogbane and Indian hemp. I 

 am told that the Indians smoke Indian 

 hemp. The honey from this plant is light in 

 color and the aroma of the Hower is quite 

 recognizable in the taste of the honey. Any 

 information that will establish the identity 

 of this to us important bee-plant will be 

 much appreciated. W. J. Sheppard. 



Nelson. B. C. 



[The Indian hemp referred to is a species 

 of Ahocviium. We have two species in Iowa, 

 one. Al'Oivnum androsa-mifoliiim. and the other 

 ./ (annabium. '\'\ve A. hvl'cricifvinim by some 

 botanists is regarded as a variety of ianiia- 

 hiKin. The English determination is correct. 

 The milkweed AuU-l'hn vcrticillata has cream 

 colored flowers. I do not think it occurs in 

 your section of British Columbia.— L. H. 

 Pammel.] 



No Loss Whatever 



I have owned and kept bees since 1852. and 

 I never had them do better than the past 

 winter. I put 48 colonies into the cellar 

 Nov. 19, and took them out April 11, all in 

 good condition. John Cline. 



Darlington, Wis., April 15. 



Classified Department 



[Advertisements in this department will 

 be inserted at 15 cents per line, with no dis- 

 counts of any kind . Notices here cannot be 

 less than two lines. If wanted in this de- 

 partment, you must say so when ordering. 



BEES AND QUEENS. 



Phelps' Golden Italian Queens will please 

 you. 



Bees and Queens from my New Jersey 

 apiary. J. H. M. Cook. 



lAtf 70 Cortland St.. New York City. 



Golden all-over Queens. Untested. $1.00. 

 Tested, J3.00. Breeders. J5.00 and Jio. 



Robert Inghram. Sycamore, Pa. 



Phelps' Golden Italian Bees are hustlers. 



Archdekin's fine Italian queens and bees. 

 See larger ad. in this issue. 



J. F. Archdekin. Big Bend. La. 



Notice W. W. Talley will sell bright Ital- 

 ian queens this season at 60c each. $7.00 per 

 dozen. Safe arrival guaranteed. 



W. W. Talley, Rt. 4. Greenville. Ala. 



Queens of Quality— I am booking orders 

 for early queens now. Three-banded Ital- 

 ians only. Circular free. 



J. I. Banks. Dowelltown, Tenn, 



Italian and Carniolan Queens, the ear- 

 liest and best to be had of either race. My 

 circular and prices are free. 



Grant Anderson. San Benito. Tex. 



Italian Queens for sale this season at 

 6uc each; $700 per dozen. Ready April i^. 

 Safe arrival guaranteed T. J. Talley. 



Kt. 3. Greenville. Ala. 



Place your order early to insure prompt 

 service. Tested, $1.25; untested. Si.ou. Ital- 

 ians and Goldens. John W. Pharr, 

 Herclair, Tex. 



Quirin's superior improved queens and 

 bees are northern bred, and are hardy. Or 

 ders Iwoked now Over 20 years a breeder. 

 Free circular H. G. Quirin. Bellevue. Ohio. 



Golden Italian Queens, about June 1. 

 Untested 75c; halfdoz.. J4.00. Tested. Ji. 25. 

 Pure mating guaranteed. 



J. I. Danlelson. Kt. 7. Fairfield. Iowa. 



Try my best bright yellow queens. They 

 are beautiful and good honey "getters;" 60c 

 each or $7.00 per dozen. Safe arrival and 

 satisfaction guaranteed. M. Bates. 



Rt, 4, Greenville. Ala. 



Three Band and Golden Yellow Italian 

 Queens, Untested, one. \\ 00; six. $4 ,so. 

 Tested, J2.00. ready April 15 Safe arrival. 

 Send nie your orders early. 



E, A. Simmons. Greenville. Ala. 



Queens— The quality kind. 3 band Italians 

 only. Winners at Hartford and Berlin, 1014. 

 Untested after June i, Jr.uo. 



A. E. Crandall & Son, Berlin, Conn. 



Golden Queens that produce Golden 

 Workers of the brightest kind. I will chal- 

 lenge the world on my Goldens and their 

 honey-getting qualities. Price. $1.00 each; 

 "Tested, $2.00: Breeders, $5.00 and $10.00. 



2Atf J. B. Brockwell. Barnetts. Va, 



Wanted— To send our list to you of our 

 famous honey gathering and almost non- 

 swarming strain of Golden queens. iNO bet- 

 ter bees of any strain to be found. One fr. 

 untested. $1.00; 6 for $5.00; 12 for $g 00. Write 

 us what you want, T.S.Hall. 



Talking Rock. Ga. 



The Secret of Success is in having your 

 colonies headed by good prolific queens. 

 We have good Italian queens at 75c for un- 

 tested and $1.00 for tested G. \\'. Moon, 

 1004 Adams St.. Little Rock, Ark. 



Queens, improved three - band Italians 

 bred for business. June i to Nov. 15. Un- 

 tested Queens. 75ceach; dozen, $8,00; Select. 

 $1.00 each; dozen. $10. Tested Queens. Ji. 25; 

 dozen. $12. Safe arrival and satisfaction 

 guaranteed. H. C. Clemons. Boyd. Ky. 



For Sale— After June 15 Golden Italian 

 queens. Strictly northern bred and hardy. 

 Fine honey gatherers and gentle. No dis- 

 ease. Safe arrival guaranteed. Untested. 

 $1.00; 6, $s,oo; 12, $0.00. Tested queen after 

 July 15, .wc each extra. 



J.Stuart Scofield. Kirkwood, N. Y. 



Golden and 3-banded Italian and Carnio- 

 lan queens, ready to ship after April ist. 

 Tested. $:.oo; 3 to 6. qsc each ;6 to 12 or more. 

 goc each. Untested, 75c each; 3 to 6. 70c 

 each; 6 or more, bsc. Bees, per lb., Ji.so; 

 Nuclei, per frame. $1.50. C. B. Bankston, 

 Buffalo, Leon Co., Tex. 



If You Need a queen for that queenless 

 colony, you want it as soon as you can get it. 

 We can furnish tested queens by rctttrir mail, 

 $1.00 each. Three-band Italians, bred for 

 business. No disease. Satisfaction guaran- 

 teed in every case. J. W. K. Shaw & Co.. 

 Loreanville, La. 



Famous North Carolina Italian Queens for 

 for sale. Reared from Howe's best breed- 

 ers. Mated with Root's, Moore's. Davis', se- 

 lect stock. Free from disease. Untested, 

 one 75c; per doz. $7.50. Select untested, one. 

 $1.00; per doz., $g.oo. Tested, $1.25; select 

 tested. $1,50, Breeders, $3,00 and Ss.oo. 



H. B. Murray, Liberty, N, C. 



Phelps" Golden Italian Queens combine 

 the qualities you want. They are great 

 honey gatherers, beautiful and gentle. 

 Mated. $1.00; six. $5.00; Tested, $3,00; Breed- 

 ers, $5.00 and Jio, C. W. Phelps & Son. 



3 Wilcox St.. Binghamton, N, Y, 



I (AN supply you with Ciolden or three- 

 banded Italian queens. Tested. $1.00 each; 

 six or more, 85c each; untested, 75c each; six 

 or more, 65c each. Bees, per pound. $1.25, 

 Nuclei per frame, $1,25. Write for prices on 

 large orders. Everything guaranteed' 



I. N. Bankston. Buffalo. Tex. 



California Queens, Nuclei and Bees 

 bred from the best Doolittle stock, ready 

 for shipment at once. Queens, untested. 

 75c; dozen. $8.00. Tested. $1.25; dozen, $12. 

 Mismated. one year old, soc; dozen. $5.00. 

 Tested, one year old. 7Sc; doz.. $8.00. Nuclei. 

 2-frame, $1 so; 3-frame. $2,25; 5-frame. $3.00; 

 lo-frame colony. $4. so. Bees by pound, li lb.. 

 75c; one lb. Ji. 00. Add prices of queens de 

 sired to all above prices of bees and nuclei. 

 Delivery guaranteed. No disease. 



Spencer Apiaries Co.. Nordhoff, Calif. 



