S24 



November, 1912. 



American l^ee Journal 



slight squeeze, perhaps only the warmth 

 of the hand, will cause a violent con- 

 traction of the abdomen, making it 

 only part of its former volume, the 

 male organs will be forcibly thrust out, 

 and instantly the drone is dead. In 

 that case certainly the tearing away of 

 the organs does not cause death, for 

 there is no such tearing away ; there is 

 no attachment to the queen, and there 

 is no queen in the case. Death seems 

 in some way to be connected with the 

 violent spasmodic action. Is it not 

 reasonable to believe that the death of 

 the drone is due to the same cause 

 when he meets the queen ? 



Bee-Keepers of Iowa 



The following letter speaks for itself. 

 We hope our readers of Iowa, and 

 those who formerly lived there, will 

 comply with the request. The Editor 

 will gladly attend the Iowa convention, 

 and hopes to meet many acquaintances 

 there : 



Dkar Sir— P'or the purpose of showing 

 the status of the bee-industry in Iowa. 1 am 

 anxious to get into communication with bee- 

 l^eepers who are now located in other States, 

 but who formerly lived in Iowa, in order to 

 learn from them the average production of 

 lioney in their present location compared 

 with their crop in Iowa. It is also desired 

 to learn from those now living in Iowa, who 

 formerly kept bees in other -States, the com- 

 parison between their present production 

 and that of their former locality. 



The offer of the columns of the Bee Jour- 

 nal to assist the bee-keepersof Iowa in their 

 effort to secure proper recognition from the 

 legislature is much appreciated. If you will 

 insert a note to the effect that the above in- 

 formation is desired, it will be of assistance, 



Mr. W. P. Southworth. President of the 

 Iowa Bee-Keepers' Association, writes me 

 that he has had a conference with the Sec- 

 retary, and that it has been decided to hold 

 the convention at Des Moines on Dec, 12 

 and 13. Frank C. Pei i.ett, 



^^^^^^^^^^^^ Itupector. 



Japanese a Witle-Awake Nation 



We are receipt from the editor of the 

 Japanese Bee Journal of a pamphlet 

 containing the pictures of Father Lang- 

 stroth, Mehring and Hruschka, besides 

 a number of cuts of Japanese apiarists 

 and implements. Being unable to read 

 the Japanese language, we wonder 

 whetlier this is a regular issue of their 

 journal. In spite of patriotic vanity 

 which leads one to believe that his own 

 country is above all others, we must 

 grant at least onepointto the Japanese. 

 Very few of us can read Japanese, 

 but judging by the number of sub- 

 scribers that come to the American 

 Bee Journal from Japan, many of them 

 must be able to understand English. 

 We take our hat off to them. Japan 

 is in the front rank of progress. 



Bee-l>iseases in (ireat Britain 



In the British Bee Journal of Sept. 

 12, D. M. Macdonald says that "the 

 question of disease is fast becoming 

 an alarming one over large areas of 

 our islands." He urges the prompt 

 establishing of inspectors throughout 

 the country. This is certainly a desir- 

 able move. 



However, in regard to the " Isle of 

 Wight disease," which is said to have 

 lieen introduced by ""«<• stock in the 

 apiary in IIKIK," in a certain part of utif 

 county, we believe that a knowledge 

 of the conditions which caused the 



disease, more than the isolation of the 

 diseased colonies, is of importance. 

 We base this opinion upon the fact 

 that the "May disease," which is the 

 same as the " Isle of Wight," if we are 

 to believe all descriptions given, has 

 repeatedly appeared spontaneously 

 among bees in our Middle States, and 

 has not proven contagious. It is cer- 

 tainly in the line of an epidemic, and 

 until we can remove its cause, it is sure 

 to reappear. We need the inspectors 

 and the experiments of men of learn- 

 ing, entomologists and bacteriologists, 

 to help us find both cause and remedy. 

 The bee-keepers of the world are 

 awake to the i.nportance of this matter. 



Bees and Alfalfa Seed 



"Very few data are at hand relative to the 

 value of insects in the production of a seed 

 crop, but it is generally believed that they 

 are necessary in order that the (lowers may 

 be fertilized properly. At the Kansas Ex- 

 peritnent Station, alfalfa plants covered 

 with a wire-netting, which excluded all in- 

 sects, made no seed, whereas those plants 

 that were adjacent but uncovered were 

 tilled with seed pods. Botanists all agree 

 that insects are necessary to the production 

 of alfalfa seed, but the farmers are more or 

 less divided on this point. In many sections 

 where insect life is scarce, dragging the 

 alfalfa field with a plank or brush, or rolling 

 it has been found greatly to increase the 

 yield of seed."— /'/■(• Coiintrv Gentlcmnn. 



The recognition of the importance 

 of bees as fertilizers in so reliable an 

 agricultural paper as the Country Gen- 

 tleman is gratifying. While " dragging 

 the alfalfa field with a plank or brush " 

 may greatly increase the yield of seed, 

 the question will arise whether it will 

 increase it as much as would the pres- 

 ence of a good force of bees. Even if 

 the bees be no better than the drag- 

 ging, what about economy in the 

 affair ? There will be a definite outlay 

 for the dragging that must be paid out 

 of the seed. The bees will more than 

 pay their own cost by the honey they 

 store, doing the work of fertilizing free 

 gratis. Cheaper to introduce bees than 

 to drag. 



Improving Bees in Finland 



In another column is a report from 

 Mr. Paul Mickwitz, of his trip from 

 Carniola to Finland, with a shipment 

 of bees. Those who met Mr. Mickwitz 

 during his stay in the United States a 

 few years ago, when he studied and 

 practiced progressive bee-keeping with 

 a number of noted apiarists, will not be 

 astonished at his initiative, in thus 

 transporting bees of the best breeds to 

 his own native country. Mr. Mickwitz 

 writes us that he has taken a few pic- 

 tures during his trip, and that he will 

 forward them to us as soon as they are 

 developed. His bees are now in win- 

 ter quarters in good shape. We wish 

 him success. 



Heather 



Considering what an important honey 

 plant heather is, the wonder is that 

 more effort has not been made to in- 

 duce it to make its home in this coun- 

 try. Across the water, especially in 

 Scotland, heather honey is considered 

 «<■ f>li(s ulliii, and D. M. McDonald says 

 that " by all bee-keepers who live with- 

 in reach of its bloom it is recognized 

 as the king of bee-flowers." The honey 



is so thick that it cannot be extracted, 

 but must be pressed or else used as 

 comb honey. 



Unlike white clover, which is scat- 

 tered all over, easily accessible to bees 

 located at the homes of their owners, 

 heather is in large tracts away from the 

 bee-keepers' homes, and those who 

 would avail themselves of its nectar 

 must transport their bees miles at the 

 time of its blooming. Taking the bees 

 to the heather is a great annual event. 

 D. M. Macdonald, in the British Bee 

 Journal, paints a picture of it in such 

 glowing colors that one almost envies 

 the Scotch their stretches of heather. 

 He says in part : 



"Over vast stretches of hill and dale it is 

 found in lavish profusion, and the wealth of 

 blossom makes the purple hills during Au- 

 gust a vision of delight. For scores of miles 

 there is one ocean of heather, stretching for 

 leagues and leagues, in an unbroken sea of 

 purple, and every yard of it scented like a 

 honey-comb. 



" In a few days thousands of bee-keepers, 

 with tens of thousands of hives, resort to 

 this El Dorado. All sorts and conditions of 

 men transport their hives to the moors for 

 a distance, it may be. of from 5 to 50 miles. 

 Every description of hive is carried there, 

 from the rudest form of 'ruskie' to the 

 most advanced modern-frame hive. ,\nd 

 the means of transport are as inhnite. every 

 sort of a vehicle being requisitioned, from 

 the humble farm machine' to the stylish 

 motor car. flying to the uplands at the rate 

 of 3u miles an hour. 



"In many parts of central Scotland this 

 annual event is made an occasion of high 

 festivity, a kind of yearly pilgrimage, and 

 scores of bee-keepers from every village and 

 ' clachan ' unite to celebrate the occasion. 

 Mere ordinary work is suspended by mid- 

 day, and every man, woman, and child is ex- 

 pected to lend a hand in packing, in order 

 that the cavalcade may start as soon as the 

 cool of the evening allows the ' port-holes ' 

 of every hive to be closed." 



A Question of Smells 



A letter from Morley Pettit, the On- 

 tario Provincial Apiarist, to the editor- 

 in-chief of this Journal, shows that Mr. 

 Pettit and Dr. E. F. E'hillips are not 

 entirely of one mind regarding the 

 odor of European foul brood. Either 

 because he does not care to handle so 

 malodorous a subject, or because he 

 thinks I am more at home than he with 

 European foul brood, Editor Dadant 

 has turned the letter over to me. While 

 it is not true that I am at home with 

 European foul brood, it is only too 

 true that European foul brood has 

 made itself very much at home with 

 me. At any rate, here is the letter: 



Dear Sir:— In your editorial on " Dr. Zan- 

 der on Foul Brood." in the last American 

 Bee Journal, you make the statement that 

 the average case of European foul brood 

 may be said to be pleasantly fragrant com- 

 pared with a bad case of American. This 

 reminds me of a difference I have had with 

 Dr. Phillips. He states, in his bulletin, that 

 European foul brood has very little if any 

 odor. I sent him recently a sample of l''.uro- 

 pean foul brood which has what I call a 

 characteristic odor. The sample came 500 

 miles in the mail, and before the package 

 was opened any one in the othce holding it 

 anywhere near his face could get the char- 

 acteristic odor very clearly. After the outer 

 wrapping was removed, it was necessary to 

 remove the package from the ofhce for the 

 convenience of those working. I sent the 

 package forward to Dr. Phillips , to show 

 him what was the characteristic odor of 

 Canadian European foul brood. 



lie wrote back saying that the odor was 

 not noticeable when it reached his office at 

 all. It makes me think that there must be 

 something wrong with the smellers of the 

 American bee-keepers, when they do not 

 notice the odor, or else there must be a very 

 great difference between Canadian Euro- 



