MARCH 1, I'Ji: 



Dr. C. C. Miller 



STEAY STKAW 



laremgo. 



R. F. HoLTEKHANN, p. 14;>, yoii 

 say you never bad combs melt 

 down in bives witb fence around. 

 Years ago I bad tbem melt down in 

 dense sbade with no fence, only 

 close sbrubbery; but my entrances 

 at tbat lime were V2 inch or less. 



Answering a Wisconsin correspondent, 

 I may say tbat my bees in the cellar are 

 never entirely quiet. There is always at 

 least a gentle nnirmur, something like a soft 

 breeze tlu-ough pine-trees. I doubt if it's 

 possible or even desirable to have utter 

 silence. 



Mr. Enrron, are not you and T. H. Holmes 

 talking about two different birds, p. 38? 

 The bee-martin, or king-bird {Tyrannus 

 tyrannus), as you say, is a bee-enemy; but 

 the purple martin {Frogne sitbis), the one 

 that lives in martin-houses, is not, I think, 

 an enemy. 



Glad to know, Mr. Editor, that you've 

 taken on the grapefruit " habit," p. 144. 

 I'm living with two " grapefruit fiends." 

 They take it every morning '' I'eg'lar," and 

 other times when they feel like it. It's 

 cheaper than medicine, and a heap easier 

 to take. We don't spoil it with sugar, either. 



" A CURIOUS thing about the-alligator pear 

 is that it is worthless if permitted to ripen 

 upon the tree," but must be " laid away in 

 a dark jdace to mature," p. 170. Not so 

 curious either, seeing it's the rule with all 

 pears, except Buffum and a very few others. 

 Always pick pears fairly green, and ripen 

 in the dark. 



" Hello. Poppleton I you've got the same 

 old ]diiz, haven't you? " That's what I said 

 when I opened up to the pictures, pp. 144-5. 

 It is said, p. 146, that he has followed the 

 Long-idea plan tliese many years " almost 

 all alone." True, if you confine it to this 

 country. But he has lots of company in 

 Europe — good company too. 



W. ('. ^Iollett, p. 165, because you dis- 

 turbed bees in winter and they outlived it, 

 don't count too safely on it always. I've had 

 them live after sucli disturbance, and I've 

 had lliem die, witli pretty clear proof that 

 the disturbance killed them. A few pages 

 eailier (p. 1.34) the editor says: " A broken 

 cli ster. then, in cold mid-winter is a veiy 

 bad sign. It is evident that the bees are 

 demoralized and the end is near." And dis- 

 turbing llie bees is likely to result in "a 

 broken cluster." 



•T. L. Byer, p. 97. you have little fear of 

 American foul brood, but dread European 



foul brood. Just the opposite here, perhaps 

 on the i^rinciple lliat we dread the unknown. 

 At any rale, in 1913 I got tiie best average 

 yield of my life, and in 1914 an average of 

 70 pounds when all about me was failure, 

 and in both years European foul brood was 

 in my apiary. If ever European foul brood 

 makes you a visit, I prophesy you'll learn 

 two tinngs — that requeening with good Ital- 

 ian slock is not a remedy but a help, and 

 that there are other remedies worth using. 



Gardener B. Willis thinks decoy hives 

 must be set in a very conspicuous place, p. 

 80. With me I don't believe any place is 

 better than right in or about I he apiary. 

 Last summer my assistant put a decoy hive 

 up in an apple-tree in the most orthodox 

 manner. It was let severely alone, while 

 nearly every year one or more swarms from 

 outside enter empty hives in the apiary. 

 Hardly a day in summer but scouts may 

 be seen at empty hives, no doubt from 

 colonies in the apiary; but as we are con- 

 stantly thwarting them they never get be- 

 yond the scout stage. Outside bees do. 



The long deadlock in the Illinois legisla- 

 ture since the first of the year still continues. 

 There are four camps, the wets and the 

 drys, in each of the two parties, and no 

 candidate for speaker can get a majority of 

 votes. The leaders of the two parties want 

 to ignore the wet and dry question, and the 

 leading wets and drys want to ignore party 

 lines, and so they get nowhere. Latest pros- 

 peels are that a bi-partisan combination 

 may elect a wet speaker — possibly a good 

 thing. The issue would then be squarely 

 made, and it might bring state prohibition 

 sooner than an}^ other way. [We note from 

 a late paper that this is just what took 

 place. — Ed.] 



Gleanings is to be congratulated on the 

 stand taken about advertisements for queens, 

 p. 9. One thing needs to be said that 

 budding queen-rearers don't always think 

 about. A advertises that he can furnish cer- 

 tain queens at a certain time. B sends an 

 order with the money. B waits past the 

 time, but no queen. Then he writes. A re- 

 plies that he's behind orders, and if B can't 

 wait money will be returned. Then A thinks 

 he's not at all to blame, and says he's done 

 the best he could. But the delay and dis- 

 appointment may be more than the value of 

 the queen, and A is to blame for agreeing 

 to do what he couldn't carry out. Honest 

 advertising is coming to the fore, and it 

 should be honest in every respect. 



