JULY 15, 1915 



same place. Tliis year has been a good one 

 in that respect. The first swarui settled 

 on a dwarf maple. Everj' one since has 

 settled on the same maple, and nearly all 

 on the same limb. Last year the first swarm 

 alig-hted on a maple 40 ft. from the ground. 

 All subsequent swarms made for the same 

 spot until I cut it down. Now, how long 

 can they scent the place, when the same 

 place is chosen covering a period of weeks, 

 and often many days apart? 



My neighbor lias had similar exi)erience, 

 and not a pleasant one. Six times his bees 

 have settled on the chimney of his house, 

 and each has been successfully scra])ed ot? 

 and secured 30 feet from the ground. This 

 same chimney was taken poss^'.^sion of by a 

 fine swarm two years ago. They filled the 

 space so that the furnace fire would not 

 draw. Combs were started close to the top, 

 and went down six feet. They were cut 

 loose, and the bees finally killed. Query — 

 can the bees of to-day smell the old leavings 

 in that chimney that has been used for 



595 



months as a flue? Coal was burned, and 

 surely the scent has been eradicated. Will 

 the wiseacres please answer? 



White clover is strictly to the fiont just 

 now, and a steady roar all day tells a good 

 story. Is there any music as pleasant as 

 the roar of the bee when honey is flooding? 

 We have the music, and dance to the tune 

 of well-filled supers and plenty more in 

 sight. 



Portland, Oregon. 



[While it is a well-recognized fact that 

 swarms alight on limbs where previous 

 swarms have clustered, it seems impossible 

 to believe that the scent could cling to a 

 chimney that had been in use that length of 

 time; and yet the fact that six different 

 swarms have occupied it is hard to explain 

 except for scent. If we did not absolutely 

 know the unquestioned veracity of the cor- 

 respondent, we might think he was telling 

 us a '* fish story," especially when he adds 

 that the last time the swai-m actually im- 

 paired the draft of the chimney. — Ed.] 



HOOSIER HITS 



BY S. H. BURTON. 



" Brown rot" would be a good name to 

 gi\"e American foul brood. 



" It's an all wind that blows nobody 

 good." The continued rains are bringing 

 out the white clover wonderfully ; but the 

 bees get to work on it only between showers. 



D. W. Howell, page 448, June 1, I am 

 afraid would not think so much of a shal- 

 low brood-frame " because it does not allow 

 so much room for stores" if he had my 

 present conditions confronting him. Colo- 

 nies in full-depth Hoffman ten-frame hi\es 

 are in a starving condition. All surplus 

 stores have been used up in brood-rearing, 

 and a recent e.xamination at my outyards 

 showed the bees on perfectly dry combs, 

 and so weakened they were unable to fly. 

 A hive as deep as the old log gums comes 

 nearer being the ideal size. 



Has anybody observed that the clipi)ing 

 of queens causes a pluralitj' of eggs in each 

 cell? Recently I clipped a very fine gold- 

 en, and now find six and eight eggs in each 

 cell, with the bees trjing to supersede her. 

 A queen uses her wings in breaking into and 

 getting out of the cell, and the mutilation 

 in tliis way is bound to liave evil effects. 



•J- PJ. Crane, page 48.3, June 1, should 

 keep hammering away at this great fact 

 about the variation in bees, not only as to 

 tlieir superior honey-gathering qualities but 

 their power to resist disease. Undoubtedly 



nature has enabled some races or colonies 

 to resist foul brood effectively, else there 

 would be great danger of the race becoming 

 extinct. We have not only found some 

 colonies far superior to others in gathering 

 honey, but have found in some yards even' 

 colon}^ save one infected with foul brood. 

 We beekeepers are not up with stock-breed- 

 ers and plant-pathologists in our profes- 

 sion. 



Washington, Ind. 



[Clipping would not affect a queen's 

 laying. Plurality of eggs in a cell is usually 

 explained by a lack of cell room or old age 

 in the queen. Sometimes a young queen 

 will start laying in this way, and later lay 

 one egg in a cell. — Ed.] 



A IVIID-SUMIVIER SONG 



BY GRACE ALLEN. 



Ttic mid-summer day is drunk with heat, 



And the earth is aswoon in the sun; 

 But the bees — oh the bees from the dawning till night 

 Go winging their way through an ocean of light, 

 Straight on to the blossoms ihat bloom out of sight, 

 And the wine of their vision is won 



The warm west wind with the perfumed breath 



Sinks heavily down, and is done; 

 But the bees are a-quiver with life as with fire! 

 O soul! dreaming soul of mine, why should we tire? 

 W'e too have a vision, a distant desire — 



We too have the sun. 



