July. 1915. 



I^American l^cc Journal 



the fact that the yellower strains have 

 often been secured by color selection 

 with less regard for other qualities. 

 Mr. Pettit reports the Carniolans as 

 " not generally as good as the Italians." 

 The pith of the entire report is found 

 in the following words from Mr. War- 

 rington Scott : 



"The successful honey producer of 

 the future must keep his queens young 

 and his colonies vigorous. The remedy 

 for the disease is exactly in line with 

 the system of beekeeping that must be 

 followed in order to obtain the highest 

 success even if foulbrood never ex- 

 isted." 



ber, Mr. Greiner used the terms " divided 

 colonies" and "artificial divisions," 

 which, to our mind, are very much 

 more explicit than the term "half 

 swarm," which literally would mean a 

 natural swarm divided in two parts. 

 With this explanation, we think Mr. 

 Greiner's meaning will be fully grasped. 

 Although the word "swarm" is ac- 

 cepted by the dictionaries as meaning 

 " a hive of bees," it is a misnomer, and 

 should be used only to denominate 

 the bees composing a new colony. 



Half Swarms 



Referring to the explanation given 

 in this number by our experienced 

 friend G. C. Greiner, in reply to the 

 query of W. C. Cunningham, we think 

 the misunderstanding comes from Mr. 

 Greiner's use of the w ^rd "swarm" 

 where he means " colony." Mr, Greiner 

 divides his colonies during fruit bloom, 

 as stated in June, 1914. In that num- 



In Spaiii.sh 



The LangstrothDadant "Hive and 

 Honey Bee " is now published in 

 Spanish, " La Abeja \ La Colmena," a 

 translation from the French edition, by 

 M. Pons Fabregue. Ttie publisher is 

 Gustavo Gili, of Barcelona, Spain. The 

 paper, print, binding, cuts, etc., do him 

 honor. It is finely gotten up and 

 comes at the right time, for the two 

 Americas are getting more closely 

 connected than ever before. 



form with the law. 



This is not only true with extracted 

 honey in all sizes of packages, but it is 

 also true of honey in the comb. Be 

 sure, therefore, to mark each section 

 " Net weight not less than 13 ounces," 

 or whatever weight the grade will 

 make after drdttcting /he lare of the 

 section. 



Instead of looking on these laws as 

 a hardship, the careful beekeeper should 

 look upon them as a blessing since 

 they will make towards uniform pack- 

 ages and will either drive the careless 

 beekeeper out of the business or will 

 force him to conform with a stand- 

 ard where most of his honey will 

 probably be classed as "cull" in the 

 market. 



Miscellaneous W^ News Items 



Attention Iowa Beekeepers I — The 



Polk County Beekeepers' Association 

 will hold its annual picnic and field 

 meet the second Wednesday in July at 

 the N. J. Harris apiary, about one mile 

 north of Highland Park, a suburb of 

 Des Moines. Arrangements are being 

 made for several good speakers, and a 

 number of demonstrations will be 

 given. This will be a basket picnic, 

 each one taking his own lunch. The 

 picnic is not limited to members of the 

 association nor to beekeepers residing 

 in Polk county. Beekeepers from all 

 over the country are welcome, and a 

 large attendance from outside the 

 county is expected. 



F. C. ScRANTON, Sec.-Treas. 



the net weight must be marked on 

 every can also. Added, therefore, to 

 the convenience in having every pack- 

 age of the same weight there is now 

 the fact that this must be so to con- 



Study of Honer Flora.— The Massa- 

 chusetts Agricultural College, through 

 the Botanical Department, Prof. A. V. 

 Osmun in charge, has consented to 

 serve as a repository for specimens of 

 honey and pollen plants from various 

 parts of the country. The study of this 

 subject, especially by the beekeeping 

 press, is fundamentally important, for 

 only by a thorough understanding of 

 the flora can the most successful honey 

 cropping be accomplished. Some sea- 

 sons one honey plant may predominate; 

 in another season other plants may 

 predominate. 



Furthermore, a given plant may yield 

 nectar, as for instance, alfalfa, in one 

 locality and not in another. The rea- 

 sons for some of these phenomena are 

 not fully understood. It is with a view 

 to determine the range of honey-plants 

 and the locations of their highest effi- 

 ciency that this Institution proposes to 

 serve the beekeepers. 



Many Bees in Imperial County.- Ac- 

 cording to the " California Home 

 Farmer," Imperial County in California 

 has 22,000 colonies of bees. "The 

 completion of the San Diego and Ari- 

 zona railroad in the near future will be 

 of material advantage to the beekeep- 

 ers of this section. This is significant 

 when it is remembered that this region 

 was a desert only 14 years ago." 



Packing Net Weight of Honey .\ 



word of warning to the beekeeper who 

 is getting his honey ready for the mar- 

 ket. Si.xty-pound cans of honey should 

 be put up with sixty pounds net of 

 honey in the can. .According to the 

 interstate laws governing food stufTs, 



L 





gfjk^ IhiiM i.'<M(> 



i*^ 







NEAT. MODEL APIAKY OK GLEN S, PLATNER. NE.\R CENTER JUNCTION. 

 IOWA.— Colonies wintered in cellar last winter without loss. 



