Fkbruarv, 19in 



G T. K A N T N G S IN BEE C U I. T U R E 



105 



UNDER 

 " ^r i n r 

 Tools and 

 Appliances of 

 the Modern Api- 

 ary," by D. M. 

 Macdonald, in 

 the December 

 British Bee 

 Journal, we 



find the following: "A small rake, called a 

 ' queen-persuader, ' is periodically run over 

 the surface of sealed comb every time the 

 hives are examined in the spring and early 

 summer. In this way the bees are given the 

 smell and taste of honey. The bees, trans- 

 ferring this to the neighborhood of the 

 brood, feed the queen, and thus induce her 

 not only to start laying, but to keep it up 

 even when nothing is coming in from the 

 fields. ' ' [In our basswood apiary we have 

 used such a tool for getting combs in the 

 right condition for shipping one-frame nu- 

 clei.] 



* * * 



inheritance; thru dronis. 

 Certain traits are more readily transmit- 

 ted by drones than queens, claims C. P. Da- 

 dant, in the January American Bee Journal. 

 He recalls that at the International Con- 

 gress of Beekeepers held at Paris in 1900 

 the assertion was made that gentleness or 

 irritability is transmitted thru the drones; 

 that a black queen mated to an Italian 

 drone will have progeny of a gentle disposi- 

 tion, while an Italian queen mated with a 

 black drone will produce bees with the 

 characteristic temper of the blacks. Mr. 

 Dadant says he hasi since that time proved 

 the theory true, having corroborated it in 

 his own experience. 



« * » 



WRESTING SUCCESS FROM FAILURE. 



Stick-to-it-ive-ness is necessary for suc- 

 cess with bees, claims D. Anguish Lambeth 

 in the December Canadian Horticulturist 

 and Beekeeper. He believes one should have 

 the staying qualities of a Jack Johnson, so 

 that when he gets a hard blow in the first 

 or fifth round he comes up smiling, refusing 

 to "take the count." Among the many 

 successful beekeepers Mr. Lambeth has 

 known, he says there is not one who has not 

 received at some time or other bad blows 

 and reverses sufficient to put him out of 

 business, but each time he came back 

 "wresting success from grim failure just 

 because they knew how to hang on." 



A good illustration of this is found in 

 an article by G. C. Greiner, appearing in the 

 January American Bee Journal- In the 

 spring he found himself practically destitute 

 of bees, from the ravages of foul brood. He 

 straightway purchased and built up in prep- 

 aration for the coming flow. The result 

 was an average of 280 pounds of surplus 

 per colony, one-third of the honey being 

 comb. One colony made a most remarkable 

 record. Early in the spring it was of 

 medium size, but was large enough to divide 



.^=s^^^^^^^ 



on May 10, and 

 again on June 2; 

 also on July 12 

 the first division 

 cast a swarm, so 

 that the one 

 colony increased 

 to four and also 

 produced 610 

 pounds of honey. 

 Mr. Greiner says the secret of his heavy 

 yields is leaving the brood-chambers undis- 

 turbed during the honey flow. Unless abso- 

 lutely necessary he never opens the brood- 

 chamber from the time spring management 

 is over until the following spring. [In the 

 phrase "Unless absolutely, necessary," Mr. 

 Griener doubtless has in mind the need of 

 occasional inspection for disease. We are 

 certain he would consider this essential.] 



INSPECTION -WORK IN TEXAS. 



Organization for bee control in Texas ex- 

 eels that of any other State, says Frank C. 

 Pellett, in the January American Bee Jour- 

 nal. The work of disease-eradication 

 has been placed in the hands of the State 

 Entomologist, Prof. F. B. Paddock, who has 

 appointed a chief inspector and 40 local in- 

 spectors. In this work Mr. Paddock has 

 unlimited authority in making and enforc- 

 ing all necessary regulations. In any locali- 

 ty where inspection is to be undertaken, he 

 believes co-operation and organization im- 

 pei-ative, and therefore requires county or- 

 ganizations to name two or more men who 

 would be acceptable to the county. From 

 these the selection is made. When cleaning 

 up a locality the inspectors begin at the 

 center of infection and work outward. They 

 are required to examine every comb in every 

 apiary inspected, and in case of a queen- 

 rearing yard, every colony within a radius 

 of a mile is also examined before a certifi- 

 cate is granted. [Let us hope this good 

 work will spread to other States also. The 

 present inspection work in many places is 



deplorable.] 



* * « 



LICENSING BEEKEEPERS. 



European foul brood has become so preva- 

 lent in British Columbia that a demand has 

 arisen that beekeepers be licensed. In the 

 December Canadian Horticulturist and Bee- 

 keeper is a proposed amendment to the Foul- 

 brood Act, which, it is hoped, will be passed 

 at the next session of the Provincial legis- 

 lature. It would require all beekeepers to 

 register annually and pay according to the 

 number of colonies, with $5.00 for the maxi- 

 mum. The Minister would have power to 

 refuse registration to any beekeeper whose 

 methods he had grounds for believing a 

 menace to good beekeeping. 



* * * 



HAVE BEES A SENSE OF DIRECTION! 



The sense of direction is discussed in the 

 January American Bee Journal by Prof. 

 Emile Jung in a clipping taken originally 



