lEnlcrcd aa wecuiid-class matter at the Poat-otticc at Hamilton. III., under Act of March '6. IHTy.) 



Published Monthly at $1.00 a Year, by American Bee Journal, First National Bank Building 



C. p. DAD.'\NT. Editor. 



DR. C. C. MILLER. Associate Editor. 



HAMILTON, ILL., NOVEMBER, 1912 



Vol. LII-No. 11 



Editorial 



Comments 



Houey-Crop Reports 



Secretary Tyrrell sent out to the 

 tneinbers of the National Association, 

 blanks for reports, and has published 

 the result of the same in the Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Review. He received 329 reports 

 from 3(5 States, and publishes the num- 

 ber of colonies reported for each State 

 for the spring of 1911, with the number 

 of pounds of honey produced for that 

 year; also the same for the year 1912. 

 In many of the States the reports for 

 the two years differ greatly; as, for in- 

 stance, California reports about an 

 eighth more bees in 1912 than in the 

 year before, but only a little more than 

 half as much honey. Somewhat curi- 

 ously it turns out that the variations 

 in the different States very nearly bal- 

 ance each other, when the whole is 

 totaled. 



The total colonies reported for 1911 

 number 33^94, against 33140 for 1912. 



Honey for 1911, 1,633,211, against 

 1,601,491 for 1912. 



Average honev per colony in 1911, 

 49.0.-,, against 48.32 for 1912. 



Perhaps if the bees of 1912 had 

 known there was so little difference 

 they might have " humped " themselves 

 a little more and brought up that other 

 three-quarters of a pound. 



Disposing of Sweet Water 



The last number of the American 

 Bee Journal contained a question as to 

 what to do with sweetened water which 

 must be thrown away. This was an- 

 swered by Dr. Miller. It may be well 

 to add that no sweet water need be 

 thrown away which is not actually 

 dirty. The water obtained from wash- 

 ing cappings, or cans or barrels, etc., 

 which have contained honey is of value 

 according to its degree of sweetness. 

 Even when it may look dirty, it can be 

 claritied. Of course, cappings contain 



pieces of broken comb, dead bees and 

 other impurities. By heating the water 

 and filtering it afterwards through a 

 piece of muslin, most of these impuri- 

 ties may be removed and good vinegar 

 obtained by one of the processes so 

 often given in the Bee Journal. 



Thorough clarifying may be secured 

 by beating in it the white of one or 

 more eggs, and allowing time enough 

 to settle. This is the process used for 

 wines. If the sweetened water is too 

 weak, more honey may be added or it 

 may be reduced by boiling. If too 

 rich, water is added until the proper 

 point is reached. In this country we 

 are not accustomed to saving little 

 things like this. We must learn to do 

 so, for the high cost of living of which 

 so many complain, is in great part due 

 to the wastefulness of our nation. The 

 wealth of the nations of the European 

 continent is mainly due to their saving 

 habits. 



Shippiiiff Old Combs and Cap- 

 pings to Dealers 



It is becoming popular to ship old 

 combs, bits of wax and cappings, from 

 the small apiaries to the dealers, to be 

 rendered by them into beeswax. This 

 method has been followed by European 

 bee-keepers, on the Continent, for 

 years, as apiaries there are small but 

 numerous. The dealer or wax mer- 

 chant is generally better prepared to 

 squeeze out the last drop of wax from 

 rendering combs than the small api- 

 arist can be. In fact, many combs are 

 allowed to waste without any render- 

 ing, owing to the inconvenience of 

 rendering small lots. 



We should, however, sound a note of 

 warning to all who try this method. 

 There is no surer way to transmit bee- 

 moths and bee-diseases, especially foul 

 brood, than through the shipping of 

 unrendered combs. After the wax has 



been heated sufficiently to render it 

 out of the slum-gum, it is harmless. 

 But until then, if any germs lurk in the 

 combs or in the honey that they may 

 contain, you may be sure of dissemi- 

 nating disease if you ship them with- 

 out proper precautions. 



Combs to be rendered into wax 

 should be entirely free of leaking 

 honey. They should be put up in tight 

 boxes, or the bo.xes should be lined 

 with heavy paper to prevent the bees 

 from getting at the combs in transmit. 

 Better yet if the combs should not be 

 shipped until cold weather. The burn- 

 ing of brimstone, or the use of bi- 

 sulphide of carbon, will kill moths, but 

 these drugs have no effect whatever 

 upon the bacilli of foul brood. 



Likewise, the dealerwho receives old 

 combs for rendf-ring, should at once 

 put them out of the reach of bees by 

 rendering them or storing them in a 

 safe bin. 



With the above precautions, it is 

 quite probable that the rendering of 

 wax at wholesale by persons properly 

 supplied with the necessary implements 

 will result in a saving to the general 

 public. 



The Cause of the Drone's Death 



On page 268, Mr. Scholl discusses 

 "how often queens mate." He may be 

 correct in his general view, but as to 

 one of the details the writer differs. 

 Scholl says "the hold of the queen on 

 the male organs is of such force that 

 they are torn entirely from the drone's 

 body when the two separate." Then 

 he adds, " This is the cause of the im- 

 mediate death of the drone." If I un- 

 derstand that rightly, it means that the 

 tearing away of the male organs is 

 what causes death, and immediate 

 death. I have frequently seen a worker 

 with its entire abdomen torn away, and 

 yet walking about apparently as much 

 alive as ever. If tearing away the 

 whole abdomen does not cause imme- 

 diate death, it hardly seems reasonable 

 to believe that immediate death would 

 be caused by the tearing away of part 

 of the abdomen. 



Still, that may not be conclusive. Let 

 me cite something else. When a drone 

 of the proper age is held in the hand, a 



