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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Oct. 8 1903. 



I Hasty's Afterthoughts ] 



The " Old Reliable " seen through New and Unreliable Glasses. 

 By E. E. Hasty, Sta. B Rural, Toledo. Ohio. 



TEXAS AND APICULTURE. 



Texas the only State having an experimental apiary, 

 and the apiary manned. Hardly thought it. Well, one out 

 of Uncle Sam's family of forty-five is some better than that 

 apiculture should be totally ignored. Credit to Texas ! 



Wonder what Texas legislature was thinking of when 

 they supplied a foul-brood law, and no funds to enforce it. 

 Well, now, maybe they thought apicultural public spirit 

 needed a little cultivating— and that if a few hundred dollars 

 of cash were appropriated it would kill off the desirable crop. 

 Page 533. 



NUMBER OF BEE-FARMS — AN ERROR. 



So taking the United States as a whole only one farm 

 in eight has bees, but in Texas one farm in six. That, 

 with the fact that Texas is a very big State, and compris- 

 ing considerable extra-good bee-territory, has put them 

 nominally at the head. 



Who is responsible for this enormous Munchausenism, 

 and what did the original author intend to say? "The 

 average production of wax per colony for the United States 

 was 43 lbs.; for Texas, 41 lbs.; for Arizona, 69 lbs.; and 

 California, 89 lbs." Thus, in Texas an average colony yields 

 12 pounds of honey and 41 pounds of wax. Page 534. 



BEE-PARALYSIS AND ITS CURB. 



I think Mr. O. O. Poppleton's article on paralysis to be 

 a very instructive one. Tallies well with the general puz 

 zlement on the subject. An erratic disease with no visible 

 rules. Colonies in appartnt health suddenly cut down to a 

 remnant, and diseased colonies suddenly recovering without 

 known cause. This last, if correct, may be relied on to fur- 

 nish us with a large crop of worthless "sure cures." But 

 we see Mr. Poppleton has a sure cure himself— dusting 

 every bee with sulphur, after the brood is all taken away. 

 But he doubts whether the cure is of much practical value 

 because he finds the colony, when the cure is accomplished, 

 to be so weak. If he's right, that the disease is wholly of 

 the adult bees, and not at all in the brood, that will greatly 

 help the apiarist in making his fight. New, healthy colo- 

 nies can be built up, and all old diseased bees destroyed. 



And an important riddle this is : " While I am satisfied 

 that it is to a limited extent contagious, I do not know ex- 

 actly how the contagion is communicated." Page 535. 



WHILE MAN REMAINS— AN APIARY CART. 



While man remains on the earth, eh ? Quite a benedic- 

 tion. Well, why not the American Bee Journal while man 

 remains on earth ? It will continue unless it stops; and 

 why should it stop, Mr. Parker? 



You're right to agitate for just the right kind of a 

 honey-transporter about the apiary. I use a handcart, 

 which is much better than a wheelbarrow in some respects 

 —worse, if anything, abojt getting tipped over ; and the lifts 

 are too high. Just comes to me that perhaps a four-wheeled 

 hand-cart is the thing— a handcart with the body all in 

 front of the wheels, and low down, and furnished in front 

 with two light. wheels no bigger than plow wheels— which 

 same are to carry, or to be carried, according to load and cir- 

 cumstances. Must our vehicle have springs, or can we do 

 without them ? Page 541. 



BIG JACK-KNIFE A C.OOD APIARY TOOL. 



The apiary tool for most constant use might very well be 

 a jack-knife if it was a big enough one. But where will one 

 find a comfortable assortment of big jack-knives to choose 

 from ? Just glance over the stock of a big city house once. 

 Disgustingly little things almost all of them— as if the 

 world were peopled with dudes and babies. Perhaps there 

 will not be one in the stock even half big enough for the 

 purpose named. Fashion. Cowardice. Half mankind don't 

 dare to carry a knife as big as they know they need. Years 

 ago it got to be a sort of a test- country man carried a big 

 knife, and the city man carried a little one— till callow 

 young men everywhere wanted to be seen with the city 

 man's kind of knife. The manufacturer would just as lief 



make big knives ; but he can't afford to make them unless 

 some one will buy them. Page 542. 



DROWNING QUEENS FOR INTRODUCING. 



Will the drowned-andbrought-to-life queen be any bet- 

 ter than the ruined-in-the-mail queen. Dr. Miller ? Impor- 

 tant conundrum, which, I guess, we will credit to you, Mr. 

 A. C. F. Bartz. Dr. Miller kind o' got away when I tried 

 to catch him for cutting off the queen's legs ; but we've got 

 him this time for drowning her — on his own confession. 

 Page 542. 



THE IDEA OF SUGAR CAUSING FOUL BROOD 1 



Quite an idea to go on the " important if true " list is 

 suggested by Mr. J. M. Hobbs, on page 543. He is quite 

 sure that the feeding of sugar greatly favors the develop- 

 ment of foul brood. Barely possible that there may be 

 something in this ; but some of the folks will say, "Sugar!" 





Dr. Miller's Answers 





Send Questions either to the oiBce of the American Bee Journal, 

 or to Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, 111. 



Wintering a Smalt Colony— Buying Bees. 



I am a beginner and am desirous of working with bees and having 

 them, and would like a little information. 



I have one colony of bees that I hived while swarming, July 10, 

 in the railroads yards, and carried them 100 miles on my engine. I 

 put them in a hive the next morning and they went to work at once, 

 early and late. Now what I wish to know is th|i6: 



1. The hive is a 10-frame hive with foundation, frame 9x7 inches. 

 How many of these frames full will it require to winter this colony, 

 there being, as near as I could judge, about one or one and a half cup- 

 fuls of bees? 



2. The honey-flow has been good, but it is a little slack now, 

 while pollen is very good. I placed about one-half pound of good 

 sugar syrup in front of a hive, which they carry in in about four hours 

 each day. Is this all right, in order to save feeding or disturbing the 

 bees while in winter quarters? 



3. VVhere can I procure a few good colonies stocked with' queens, 

 and at what lime would you have them shipped? I wish the golden 

 Italians already in the hives. Missouri. 



Answers. — 1. If not more than P^ cupfuls of bees are in the 

 hive, ihty would not consume the honey in one full frame; but it is 

 pretty safe to guarantee that so small a colony will not live till spring. 

 Their chances may be better if you put them in a cellar for the winter. 



3. Yes, that's all right, if they haven't enough stores. 



:-). It is now so late in the season that unless you have a specially 

 good opportunity to obtain them conveniently near and at a bargain 

 you will do well to wait till next spring. Look out for the advertise- 

 ments in these pages about that time, and you may see what you want. 

 By making inquiry it is possible you may be able to supply your wants 

 from bee-keepers near you, for you will find it expensive business hav- 

 ing full colonies sent from a distance. It would cost less to buy nuclei 

 in the spring and build them up. 



Queen Questions and Some Others. 



1. How should bees mi when favorable to accepting a queen intro- 

 duced to a colony that has been queenless perhaps ever since the col- 

 ony was hived last May ! 



2. What do bees mean by one grabbing another, a strange bee and 

 two or more run round the prisoner as it to examine it while the other 

 holds to it '. This looks to me like they were playing highway robbery 

 — but only get back their own. Do they thus rob a bee l 



3. What way do you account for my finding, in almost if notevery 

 hive examined, unsealed queen-cells? Certainly they can't contem- 

 plate supersedure. 



4. Should a young queen hatch out at this season (July 31) what 

 chance would she have to become fertile when all the colonies have 

 disposed of their drones ? 



5. Would she go unfertile until next spring, when the drones ap- 

 pear, and then meet the drone? and would such a queen be of any 

 value '. 



0. Would she lay drone-eggs between now and then, or remain as 

 a dead-bead in the hive? 



7. You say it is easier to introduce a queen to a colony that has 

 been queenless only two or three days. How would you count the 

 time, from the time you remove the old queen, or should the old queen 

 be removed for 4S hours before the queen to be introduced is placed in 

 the hive '. Or, would you remove the old queen and immediately put 

 in the other, enclosed in her cage, as it would require at best from 24 

 to 48 hours for the bees to release her ! 



8. Should a good queen lay eggs all through the winter in this 



