26 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. I 



ease is in his and his neighbors' apiaries, 

 and this, with the law in cases needed, will 

 do much to stamp out the disease. 



HONET FOR ROYALTT. 



So King Edward, of Great Britain and 

 Ireland, is to be presented with Canadian 

 comb and extracted honey. It is the product 

 of the Province of Ontario, and it was shown 

 at the fruit, flower, and honey show, Toron- 

 to. Messrs. D. Anguish, Geo. Laing, H. G. 

 Sibbald, E. Grainger, and J. H. Thomson, 

 certainly had very fine honey there, and I 

 feel sure that, with His Majesty's usual good 

 judgment, the Ontario Bee-keepers' Associa- 

 tion (for it presents the goods) will in future 

 be "Purveyors to His Majesty." His peace- 

 ful tendencies are already well known; but 

 we expect that, after partaking of this hon- 

 ey, his Majesty's tendencies in that direction 

 will become so active, and his good will to 

 the bee-keeping industry in Ontario will be- 

 come so great, that he will be instrumental, 

 or at least seek to be instrumental, in calling 

 a truce, or even declare a peace between 

 Bacillus alvei and the the larvae of Apis mel- 

 lifica; also between whatever factions or dif- 

 ferences of opinion there may be in the bee- 

 keeping world. 



CARBON DIOXIDE IN WINTERING. 



In the British Medical Journal of Dec. 22, 

 1906, appears an interesting article on ' ' Acap- 

 nia as a Factor in Shock." The article is 

 by Dr. Henderson, and it may have a very 

 interesting bearing upon the wintering prob- 

 lem. It is just such problems as these, and 

 the impossibility of their accurate solu- 

 tion otherwise, that makes us long for the 

 time when we shall have thoroughly practical 

 yet scientific experiments in charge of api- 

 cultural experimental stations equipped for 

 the most delicate of tests and closest obser- 

 vations and the recording of the results. 

 Briefly Dr. Henderson states that it is found 

 that, in the foetus of animals, there is found 

 in their blood a higher percentage of carbon 

 dioxide than in the mature animal; that in 

 breathing our lungs are not entirely emptied 

 of gas, and that, when we draw in fresh air, 

 owing to the admixture of this with the car- 

 bon-dioxide-laden air there is a dilution. 



This admixture of carbon dioxide and air 

 has a purpose, as has every act in nature. 

 He found that, when we draw sharp quick 

 breaths for several times in succession the 

 carbon dioxide in the lungs is diluted, and, 

 after such action, we naturally want to stop, 

 or at least we much want to curtail breath- 

 ing for a time. The object thus accomplish- 

 ed by nature is to increase again to normal 

 the percentage of carbon dioxide in the lungs. 

 Dr. Henderson, by careful tests, found that 

 by increasing the amount of oxygen in the 

 lungs, the palpitation of the heart increased, 

 and the amount of blood driven through the 

 veins was affected, and that this may become 

 injurious; in fact, in extreme cases it caused 

 death. 



But some may say this is very interesting, 



and may even explain to those whose heart- 

 action is weak why they should not exercise 

 violently; but what has that to do with bee- 

 keeping? 



Why, I can see that it maybe possible that, 

 when bees are at rest, especially during the 

 quiet of winter, it may be a positive ad- 

 vantage for the atmosphere to be diluted 

 with carbon dioxide, that the lack of venti- 

 lation, except in a very moderate way, may 

 be injurious, providing the moisture, by 

 means of environments, or the construction 

 of the hive, or can be taken away from the 

 bees. What interesting problems in bee-keep- 

 ing, problems that we have not yet dreamed 

 of, may we not solve in the future? 



GleaoinjsfroiiiOurroreijiii&clianje: 





HONEY GINGER-BREAD. 



Simmer one pound of honey; mix in one 

 pound of rye flour or wheat flour. Stir with 

 a wooden spoon. Beat it well and then al- 

 low it to get cold. Add to the batter (dough) 

 half an ounce of carbonate of ammonia, 

 which may be obtained at any drugstore. 

 Thoroughly incorporate the carbonate of 

 ammonia, for on this the proper rising of 

 the bread depends. It should be cooked 

 slowly in the oven. This is said to produce 

 excellent bread, and yet is very easy to maKe. 

 —Health and Honey [French). 



BEE-KEEPING FOSTERED BY THE NEM' ZEA- 

 LAND DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The New Zealand Department of Agricul- 

 ture has just sent us a copy of a recent bul- 

 letin on bee culture which it is now distrib- 

 uting to the bee-keepers of that far-away 

 country. As usual, it is well gotten up, and 

 its teachings are sound and good. Its author 

 is an old-time friend of Gleanings, Mr. 

 Isaac Hopkins, who is now government apia- 

 rist. The bulletin is mainiy written in the 

 interest of beginners and amateurs, and, so 

 far as we know about New Zealand apicul- 

 ture, the instruction given is excellent. 



A NEW WORK ON THE NATURAL HISTORY 

 OF THE HONEY-BEE. 



The publishers of the lllustrierte Monats- 

 blatter fuer Bienenzucht, published at Klos- 

 terneuburg, near Vienna, have sent us a 

 copy of part first of their new book "Con- 

 tributions to a Natural History of the Hon- 

 ey-bee," by Dr. Fleischman, * Professor of 

 Zoology in the University of Erlangen. The 

 editor is the well-known Theodor Weippl, 

 himself^quite an author, and also editor of 



