136 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Feb. 2b, 1903. 



the air we breathe, and in the water we drink, but they do 

 not produce sickness unless some parts of our bodies are 

 favorable for their lodg^ment, when they will propagate and 

 cause sickness. Now, the air always contains water, and 

 what we call pure water also contains air. A pear-tree, 

 body and branch, contains both water and air. The air in 

 the sap, or water of the tree, contains nearly 35 percent of 

 oxygen which passes from the earth throug^h the body, 

 branch and leaves ; also the air, not in the water of the 

 sap, which contains only 20 percent of oxygen, which is in- 

 haled by the leaves. Now, if the blight-bacteria live in the 

 moist, warm air, and the tree itself contains air, the air 

 contains water, and so does every live tree, what is to hin- 

 der it from entering any part of its new growth and propa- 

 gating if the sap is favorable to its propagation ? I be- 

 lieve there is a limit to the amount of sap any tree can 

 carry, and when there is a super-abundance of sap, or an 

 element of that sap, it becomes subject to the agents of fer- 

 mentation, of which the blight-bacteria are members. 

 Some varieties are either able to utilize more sap, and form 

 into wood or fruit-growth, or are more careful in the selec- 

 tion from the elements of the earth, therefore more proof 

 against the germ. Rapid growers are not always the most 

 subject to blight, but any variety will blight if abundantly 

 stimulated. 



From what experience I have had, and from what in- 

 vestigations I have made, I am led to believe that although 

 the blight-bacteria wiil live in the nectar of the blossoms, 

 they will not bud and propagate there unless in rainy or 

 moist weather, which would tend to prevent the bees from 

 utilizing the nectar, or rains or heavy dews which would 

 dilute the nectar, thereby rendering it subject to fermenta- 

 tion, and therefore the bees would be, to a certain extent, a 

 means of prevention of blight by keeping the nectar from 

 becoming soured or stale. It is a well-known fact that sea- 

 sons that are dry, and the bees working on blossoms every 

 day, are just the seasons when blight spreads very little ; 

 and seasons of rainy weather, when bees are hindered from 

 working on blossoms, are the seasons when blight often 

 does the most damage. 



That bees are agents in destroying the means of their 

 own existence is contrary to the laws of Nature, which are 

 God's laws, and always correct. 



In conclusion let me say, do not understand me to mean 

 that a pear-tree must be starved to be healthy, but that it 

 must not be stimulated. Analysis of the pear-fruit shows 

 that generally it contains about one-third less nitrogen than 

 the apple, and more than twice the amount of potash, three 

 times the amount of lime, and nearly twice the amount of 

 phosporic acid and sulphuric acid. Therefore, feed the tree 

 the elements it uses when it bears heavily. All these ele- 

 ments are present in the soil, but the element used is what 

 should be replaced. Abundance of nitrogen causes rank 

 wood-growth. Phosphorous is a mineral, very essential to 

 pear-trees. Potash is the backbone of all fruit-manures. 

 The last two are abundant in wood ashes. Potash gives 

 color and flavor to fruit, and makes trees productive. Nitro- 

 gen retards production. Knox Co., 111. 



Suggestions to Writers— Queen-Rearing. 



BY ARTHUR C. MILLER. 



ON page 55 is the conclusion of an article by Mr. Adrian 

 Getaz, which has appealed to me in several ways. It is 

 quite evident that some of the criticisms to which he 

 has been subjected have hurt, and lest it should cause him 

 more or less to cease his writing, I want to begin this arti- 

 cle with a word of cheer to him, and to all others who are 

 sincerely and unselfishly trying to advance the science of 

 bee-culture to the end that it may become both a more 

 pleasant pastime and a more profitable business. 



He complains of being accused of dogmatism. Well, 

 that is a trifle. There are two classes of persons prone to 

 use that accusation against an author — those who are envi- 

 ous, and those who are prejudiced, and neither are worth 

 considering. But the assertive, dogmatic style, while not 

 conducive to popularity, serves a very useful purpose — it 

 arouses opposition. This, when aroused in the mind of 

 another enthusiast, is conducive to new investigations, 

 deeper research, and live discussion. Ofttimes the dog- 

 matic form is the only one that will arouse some persons, 

 but, once aroused, their work and their writings are well 

 worth all the censure, criticism and pain it took to get 

 them. 



Again, he complains of being taken to task for not 



embracing in a single article everything relating to a topic. 

 Some people want a free text-book with every issue of the 

 paper. 



Yet, again, he writes of being tasked with not being 

 up-to-date on biological matters. A recent remark of a 

 biologist may console him and some of the rest of us : 

 " The only way to be up-to-date in biology is to live in the 

 ' to-morrow.' " Theories are like a clothes-horse — while the 

 latter are to hang clothes on, the former are to hang ex- 

 periments on. If they will support the experiments they 

 are good, and we call them "laws;" if not, we cast them 

 aside and make new ones. 



Further along, Mr. Getaz remarks on some details of 

 queen-rearing, and names " three imperious conditions." I 

 think that if he will consider the following, and will care- 

 fully experiment thereon, he will revise those conditions : 



The first and greatest essential — the one without which 

 all else is useless — is a nurse-force of young bees. Further- 

 more the presence of old bees is a detriment. Size of nurse- 

 force is a relative quantity. 



The second essential is, eggs, or larvae under three days 

 from the egg. 



And, third, the presence of pollen, and honey or syrup 

 readily accessible to the nurses. 



To explain : Young bees do all the nursing. Old bees, 

 when present with them, sometimes help themselves to 

 " pap " which should go to the development of larva;. This 

 is particularly so in inclement weather. 



Size of nurse-force should be governed by three things — 

 season of year, number of cells to be " grown," and hive- 

 chamber, its shape and size. A nurse-force of a given size 

 can care for more cells if they are grouped in the center of 

 a chamber which the nurses nearly fill, than if strung out 

 in a long row in a chamber which the nurses can only 

 partly fill. 



The second condition is well understood and acknowl- 

 edged. 



The third is all too often forgotten, at least the pollen 

 part. To obviate any chance of scrimping of larval food, 

 it is essential that pollen should be present in the queen- 

 rearing colony ; and whether honey is present or not, or 

 whether or not nectar is being gathered, more uniform re- 

 sults are secured and danger is removed by keeping a sup- 

 ply of syrup in a feeder always accessible to the bees. 



To prove the correctness of the foregoing, take a pint 

 of young bees — those just preceding the age of field-work 

 and younger; give them eggs or larva; for two to four 

 queens and the other conditions as stated, and fine queens 

 will result. Also take a peck, more or less, of old bees — 

 field-bees; give them any number of eggs or larvse j'ou 

 choose, and all the other conditions, and not once in a 

 thousand will the resulting queens be worth the bother of 

 killing. Providence Co., R. I. 



\ Our Bee-Keeping Sisters \ 



Conducted bij EMMft M. WILSON, Marengo, III. 

 Fastening- Foundation in Sections. 



Mr. Erdman, on page 108, tells how he controls the heat 

 from the lamp while fastening foundation in sections with 

 the Daisy fastener. I use the Daisy fastener, but have 

 never had any trouble in controlling the heat, by turning 

 the flame of the lamp up when I wanted it warmer, or down 

 when I wanted it cooler. 



Have any of the sisters had any of the trouble men- 

 tioned ? 



Bees Short of Stores— Feeding-, 



On account of sickness and lack of help I failed to pre- 

 pare my bees for winter. Before I could attend to them 

 some colonies died for want of food. I fed them the best 

 granulated sugar, two parts sugar to one of water. I fed 

 them in a glass fruit-jar with cloth tied over the top and 

 inverted. They will carry down two quarts during the 

 night ; some I have fed six quarts. I am sick with -la grippe, 

 and unable to attend to them. I forgot to say that the last 



