March, 1912, 



71 



American Hee Joarnal 



)^=.^^b^ I 



ing galore. One special case may be 

 mentioned. I am not sure now whether 

 the colony was just on the point of 

 swarming or had swarmed and re- 

 turned. At any rate I said, " I'll fix 

 you. I'll give you a queen that has just 

 begun laying, and then you can't 

 swarm." I gave the young queen, and 

 the colony was all right for, I think, 2 

 days. Then it swarmed, and the queen 

 hadn't been yet laying a week! So you 

 see the rule doesn't work /'/" l/ie colony 

 izlrcady has tht' aiLarmiuff fei't'r. 



But the rule is — and I value the rule 

 greatly — that if a young queen be given 

 to a colony which has not the swarm- 

 ing fever, that colony will not swarm 

 that same season. With a strain of 

 bees greatly given to swarming, there 

 might be so many e.xceptions as to 

 make the rule worthless. I can im- 

 agine a strain of bees so little given to 

 swarming that there would be no ex- 

 ceptions. I think there were never any 

 e.xceptions with me except one year, 

 and then there were 2 or 3 exceptions 



But how may we know in any case 

 that no swarming fever is present ? I 

 ■don't know that I can answer that, but 

 I think that it is pretty safe to say that 

 when a colony has been queenless a 

 week or 10 days, with all queen-cells 

 destroyed, there will be no immediate 

 danger of swarming if a laying queen 

 be introduced. After a month or so 

 there may or may not be swarming if 

 the queen be more than a year old. 



Just how far it will answer may be 

 understood if I tell what is the practise 

 here. Queens being clipped, it is not 

 hard to tell whether there has been a 

 change of queens. Each colony is ex- 

 amined before there is any danger of 

 swarming, all queens with whole wings 

 are clipped, and if at any future exami- 

 nation a laying queen is found with 

 whole wings, she is clipped, and in the 

 record-book on the page for that col- 

 ony is written the word " PASS," and 

 no more attention is paid to that col- 

 ony that season so far as swarming is 

 concerned. That same word " PASS " 

 is also written if we have given a young 

 queen to a colony after it has been 

 queenless a week or 10 days. To be 

 sure, there is a bare possibility that a 

 fasser may swarm, but the occasion is 

 so rare that it is not worth while to take 

 it into account. C. C. M. 



Help Get a U. S. Parcel Post 



Practically every nation has a Parcel 

 Post System. Exhaustive reports on 

 Parcel Post Systems of all nations 

 have been prepared under the direction 

 of Jonathan Bourne, Chairman of the 

 Senate Committee on Post-Offices and 

 Post Roads, 1911, showing that our 

 country is away behind in this matter. 

 From the data we learn that the United 

 States has the lowest weight-limit fpr 

 parcels carried by mail, and the highest 

 charge per pound of any country in the 

 list. Our Goverment makes a flat 

 charge of 16 cents per pound for any- 

 thing carried by Parcel Post, and limits 

 the package to 4 pounds in weight. 



Russia will carry packages up to 120 

 pounds, charging 13 cents for 2 pounds 

 and 213 cents for 7 pounds. China, with 

 a territory nearly one-half larger than 

 ours, carries 4 pounds for 30 cents, and 

 22 pounds in one package for a dollar. 



To mail 22 pounds in our country we 

 would have to put the material in six 

 packages and pay $3..52 postage. 



Germany has the zone system, by 

 which charges vary according to dis- 

 tance and weight. That country will 

 carry an 11-pound parcel 10 miles for (i 

 cents, and to any post-office in the em- 

 pire for 12 cents. 



More than a score of other nations 

 could be added, but enough has been 

 given to show how antiquated our pos- 

 tal system is in the matter of transport- 

 ing parcels for the people. 



Recently, VV. A. Henry, Emeritus Pro- 

 fessor of Agriculture, in the University 

 of Wisconsin, Madison, spent some 

 time in Washington attending hearings 

 on Parcel Post held by the Senate 

 Committee referred to above. He soon 

 found that powerful interests, well or- 

 ganized, were opposing a General Par- 

 cel Post System by every possible 

 means, especially by flooding Congress 

 with petitions in opposition and by 

 urging one-cent letter postage. Do you 

 want from the present Congress a Gen- 

 eral Parcel Post System such as all 

 other civilized people enjoy ? Then 

 spend 6 cents in saying so by letters to 

 your two senators and your represen- 

 tative. 



March 18, 1912, has been set apart as 

 Farmers' Parcel Post Letter Day — -a 

 day on which farmers all over our land 

 are to write letters to their congres- 

 sional representatives in Washington, 

 asking for an up-to-date General Parcel 

 Post such as all other civilized coun- 

 tries enjoy — one not limited to rural 

 routes alone. Gradually the American 

 farmers are learning the value of co- 

 operating and working together in a 

 common cause. Here is a chance for 



the first nation-wide lesson in team- 

 work by farmers, all acting together as 

 one man for the common good. 



Do not expect your congressmen to 

 vote for a Parcel Post when they are 

 all the time hearing from the opposi- 

 tion and not a word from you. Peti- 

 tions are the lazy man's way of dis- 

 charging the duties of citizenship. 

 Write three letters and get your neigh- 

 bors to write, and be sure to oppose 

 one-cent letter postage until we have a 

 General Parcel Post. 



Join with the other farmers all over 

 the land in again writing letters to 

 your congressmen. Ask for a General 

 Parcel Post, and not one limited to 

 rural routes. Only by co-operation and 

 timely effort can the friends of Parcel 

 Post win their cause. 



Take down your calendar, Mr. Bee- 

 Keeper, and draw a circle around 

 March 18, 1912— the farmers' Parcel 

 Post Letter Day. Get your neighbors 

 to join in the movement, so that on 

 March 18, 1912, from 4,000,000 rural 

 mail-boxes there will be gathered let- 

 ters and postal cards which, pouring 

 into Washington in a great flood, shall 

 convince the members of Congress 

 that at least the American farmers and 

 others are alive, and in dead earnest in 

 their call for an up-to-date General 

 Parcel Post. 



We believe that the right kind of a 

 Parcel Post in the United States would 

 be a grand thing for the rural produc- 

 ing class. Yes, it would be a great 

 benefit for all classes — both consumers 

 and producers. Let us all unite, March 

 18th, and "go after" Parcel Post by 

 simply overwhelming the members of 

 Congress with urgent letters as sug- 

 gested. 



Miscellaneous ^ News Items 



The Wisconsin Convention The an- 

 nual meeting of the Wisconsin State 

 Bee-Keepers' Association was held at 

 Madison, Feb. 20 and 21, 1912. It was 

 our pleasure to be present. Mr. C. P. 

 Dadant came to Chicago and went with 

 us. We had a delightful round-trip 

 together. There were about 30 bee- 

 keepers present, a number of them be- 

 ing the best convention men in the 

 ranks, such as Messrs. France, Wilcox, 

 Huffman, Dittmer, Ochsner, Allen, 

 Lathrop, and others. 



Lloyd France, a son of N. E. France, 

 who is attending the Wisconsin Col- 

 lege of Agriculture at Madison, was 

 also present, and gave an interesting 

 address on what the various agricul- 

 tural colleges of America are doing 

 (and not doing) for bee-keeping. He 

 also said that he thought the time was 

 ripe for the installation of an experi- 

 ment apiary at the college where he is 

 studying. Prof. Sanders, the State En- 

 tomologist, is deeply interested in the 

 subject, and is giving every encourage- 

 ment to the plan, which we have no 

 doubt will be put into effect the com- 

 ing spring. 



'■ Lloyd " is a reritable " chip of the 



old block," and gives promise of doing 

 most excellent work for the advance- 

 ment of bee-culture. Having the ad- 

 vantage of not only his own bee-ex- 

 perience, but also that of his father's, 

 gives him a splendid beginning, which, 

 if followed up with his characteristic 

 thoroughness and efficiency, will make 

 him one of the leaders of apiculture in 

 a very few years. 



The Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation voted to continue its affiliation 

 with the National Association, which 

 now makes it one of the branches as 

 provided by the new National Consti- 

 tution. We were glad to see this ac- 

 tion passed with such evident unani- 

 mity. We believe that the Wisconsin 

 Association was the first to join the 

 National as a body, many years ago, 

 and has always continued its close re- 

 lationship. 



Mr. N. E. France, treasurer of the 

 National Association, who has done so 

 much for the bee-keepersand bee-keep- 

 ing of the United States, being relieved 

 of much of the burdensome work he 

 has carried so many years for the Na- 

 tional, is planning to devote himself 

 more extensively than ever to his be- 



