NOVEMBER 15, 1915 



O'i.'? 



Dr. C. C. Miller 



iTMAY STKAW! 



" Light honey does not impart 

 ;my appreciable flavor," p. 799. 

 (ienerally that's true — not always. 

 1 'vo had liirht honey (alfalfa) with 

 so strong- a flavor that I couldn't 

 use it in my drink. [It would be 

 more correct to say that light hon- 

 ey does not impart any strong flavor as a 

 rule. All light honeys, with perhaps one 

 or two exceptions, have a very delightful 

 flavor. Grenei-ally speaking, mildness or 

 strengfth of the flavor varies according to 

 lightness or darkness of the honey. — Ed.] 

 " The great trouble with the ' baits ' is 

 that they granulate almost immmediately 

 after they leave the producer's hands," p. 

 831. Wiiy? Because of granules in the 

 cells fron.i the honey previously contained. 

 If the baits are cleaned out in the fall by 

 the bees, honej' should not granulate in 

 them more quickly than in other sections. 

 I You are doubtless correct ; but a great 

 majority of those who use baits leave the 

 honey in. Old honey will granulate more 

 readily than new, and when the nev/ honey 

 is piled on the old it all granulates. — Ed.] 

 Replying to P. C. Chadwick, p. 837, I 

 saw once, and only once, a laying- worker in 

 the act of flying. She was in a worker-cell, 

 and her wing-s were pushed up about her 

 neck in an uncomfortable way. I think that 

 accounts for the fact that laying workers 

 ]>i"efer queen-cells and drone-cells. As to 

 whotlier only one laying worker or many, 

 some y^ais ago a German investigator dis- 

 sected a number of workers in a laying- 

 worker colony, and found eggs in a large 

 proportion. [The obstruction of the wings 

 also explains why very often laying-worker 

 eggs are partly up from the bottom and on 

 the sides of the cells. — Ed.] 



Aluminum is recommended for hive-cov- 

 ers, p. 818. Wonder how it compares with 

 zinc. .After years of use my zinc covers 

 seem as good as new — no paint, no rust. 

 [The objection to aluminum would be the 

 expense; but, say, do you know that both 

 aluminum and zinc have more than doubled 

 since the war began? When the new bee- 

 supply catalog comes out an extra charge 

 will have to be made for zinc covers as well 

 as for an«y metal cover. Wliy not use ])a- 

 l)er? A. good quality of roofing-paper, well 

 painted, if carefully handled, will last near- 

 ly as long as zinc; but it will never do to 

 pile hive-supers on paper covers. 



G. M. DooLiTTLE says, p. 839, " from 

 years of experimenting along ti:at line 1 



cannot help thinking that much honey is 

 lost in the attempt to stop prime SAvarming 

 by destroying qneen-cells." I have not 

 merely experimented but practiced it to 

 the fullest extent for very many years, 

 friend Doolitlle, so that ray experience is 

 probably mueli larger than yours, and I am 

 confident that I have gained honey by it in 

 some cases, and 1 doubt if I ever lost by it. 

 M.y best yields are generally from those 

 colonies that never start a queen-cell, and 

 the next best from those that were prevented 

 from swarming by having their cells killed. 

 lint the beginner who thinks he can prevent 

 all swarming by killing cells is fooled. 

 [This is an interesting piece of testimony. 

 We desire to inquire whether others have 

 had a similar experience. We should na- 

 turally incline toAvard the opinion of Dr. 

 ]\liller, for the simple reason that some of 

 the best comb- lioney producers in the world 

 practice cell-killing. — Ed.] 



Mr. Editoo!, you say, p. 835, '' We fail to 

 see yet why piping and quahking cannot be 

 made by the same organs and in the same 

 way." I never hinted that they couldn't. 

 But that doesn't iitake them alike. When \ 

 say, " Tom shot John," I use the same 

 organs and in the same way as when I say, 

 "John shot Tom," but the two things ai-e 

 not the same. Compare these two lines : 



I can hardly imagine that shutting a cell 

 v.'ould make the first like the second. You 

 say the noise is made by the wings. Ches- 

 shire says, p. 157, " It is certain, also, that 

 the wings are not concerned in its produc- 

 tion, since queens clipped so vigorously that 

 not a vestige of Aving remains can be as 

 noisy as others." He thinks it is " an effect 

 of stridulation resembling that of the ant." 

 He agrees Avith yor. that enclosure in a cell 

 accounts for the difference. But he is ap- 

 pai-ently ignorant of the difference in length 

 of tones, as he makes no mention of it. [It 

 is hard to say Avhat the effect of too close 

 confinement would be u]ion the noise made 

 by an organ located just beloAv the base of 

 the wings. While the Avings may not make 

 the noi.se, they invariably vibrate Avhen the 

 sound is made. Moses Quinby, in his orig- 

 inal book which we ai'e just noAV reprinting, 

 says : '' TJie (jueen was near the glass, ap- 

 peared agitated, stopping occasionally to 

 vibrate her wings, Avliieh Avas simultaneous 

 with the pipitiii', and seemed to make it." — 

 Ed.1 



