U7f> 



GLEAiNINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



OCr. 1 



that large dealers advertise, "We do not handle 

 beet sugar," but I wish they'd tell us how they 

 know they don't. [The United States neither 

 produces nor consumes much beet sugar. Mich- 

 igan is the only eastern State which cuts any fig- 

 ure. California, Utah, Idaho, and Colorado 

 are large producers, but it is consumed there. 

 We import little or none. Possibly about one- 

 seventh of our consumption is beet sugar. Eng- 

 land consumes vast quantities of beet sugar, 

 more than any other country by far. — W. K. M.] 



Ye editor wants me to tell why the bees gnaw- 

 ed away the splints in the combs pictured on p. 

 1127. If the splints were boiled in wax and used 

 at such temperature as to be well coated, and 

 then given to the bees at a time when they were 

 building comb, I don't know why they should 

 make such bad work. E. F. Atwater's plan of 

 spooning wax over the splints may work, but I 

 believe I'd rather paste over each splint a small 

 strip of foundation. In that case there would be 

 no need to wax tne splints. [Do you think there 

 is any real difference between boiling the splints 

 in the hot wax or covering them over with a thick 

 film of wax as described by Mr. Atwater.? We 

 should like to hear from the latter as to whether 

 he has tried boiling the splints; and if so, whether 

 it prevented the bees from gnawing them. Pos- 

 sibly your strain of bees, doctor, are not as much 

 inclined to do this thing as some other strain. — 

 Ed.] 



Pardon me, friend A. I. Root, if I disagree 

 with you when you object to having the stars and 

 stripes floating over a brewery, page 1143. Why 

 not, so long as the brewery is doing a legitimate 

 business under the protection of that flag.^ On 

 the whole, isn't it a good thing thus to proclaim 

 that the United States government is especially 

 interested in the brewery business.' If we object 

 to the proclamation of that fact, let's get rid of 

 the fact. Come to think of it, we're steering 

 pretty surely in that direction. One after anoth- 

 er the States are going dry so rapidly that one can 

 hardly keep track of them. See if you can tell 

 offhand just how many. Well, there are 8 — 

 practically 9, for the election just held in Arkan- 

 sas makes it morally certain that State-wide pro- 

 hibition will be enacted at the meeting of legis- 

 lature. Take good care of your health, Brother 

 Root, so as to live until there shall no longer be 

 a brewery or a brothel over which the American 

 flag can wave. 



Editorial 



sermon. Dr. Lyon knew Mr. Alexander very in- 

 timately, and has promised to furnish an obitu- 

 ary sketch, telling something about this large- 

 hearted Christian man. 



By E. R. Root. 



DEATH OF E. W. ALEXANDER. 



In our issue for Aug. 15 we announced that 

 our cr^rrespondent, Mr E. W. Alexander, of De- 

 lanson, N. Y. , so well and favorably known to 

 our readers, had an incurable disease, and that it 

 was only a question of days when death would 

 relieve his sufferings. We are now pained to an- 

 nounce that our friend passed away on Sept. 19. 

 He had specially requested, before he died, that 

 Dr. D. Everett Lyon, of Rye, N. Y., another of 

 our correspondents, should preach his funeral 



SENDING THE SAME MATERIAL TO 1 WO BEE JOUR- 

 NALS. 



We wish to protest most earnestly against the 

 practice of some of our correspondents in sending 

 precisely the same photos to two different publi- 

 cations at the same time. Perhaps the thought 

 is that, if one of the papers does not accept, the 

 other will. But a photo designed for publication 

 should be regarded as so much original matter for 

 one journal. Manuscript should likewise be 

 given to only one publisher; and then, if he de- 

 clines, the owner is at liberty to send it to some 

 other publisher. If one publisher buys manu- 

 script or photos in good faith he should have the 

 exclusive use of them, and the seller has no mor- 

 al right to accept money for them from some 

 other publisher. 



QUARANTINE ON QUEENS TO HONOLULU. 



Having heard that a quarantine has been plac- 

 ed on American queens to the Hawaiian Islands, 

 we wrote Dr. E. F. Phillips, of the Bureau of 

 Entomology, 'who has recently returned from the 

 islands. We give his letter herewith. 



Dear Mr. Root: — Among the numerous letters which I am at- 

 tempiing to clear up 1 find a letter from Mr. Gates to you under 

 date of July 25, concerning the quarantine regulations at Hono- 

 lulu. By this time you have probably heard from Mr. D. L. Van 

 Dine concerning this matter, since he wrote me that you had re- 

 quested information from him on the subject. 



No sitisfactory quarantine is yet in force, but there will prob- 

 ably be a good bee-disease law passed this winter. At present 

 all queens introduced are reported to Mr. Van Dine, and he fol- 

 lows them up to see if any disease breaks out. While I was over 

 there I was asked to make recommendations f(Jr a satisfactory 

 disease law, and a quarantine was one of those recommendafons. 

 Careless queen impo'tation should not be allowed in a country as 

 free from disease as Hawaii is. Then, too, most imported queens 

 are sent to small bee-keepers, who naturally are not competent 

 to diagnose disease. The big men have satisfactory stock, or if 

 they do import they would take care of what they got. 



Washington, D. C, Sept. 19. E. F. Phillips, 



In Charge of Apiculture. 



We have written Mr. Van Dine, but as yet 

 have not heard from him. In view of the cir- 

 cumstances it might be best for breeders of 

 queens to Hawaii to wait until something more 

 definite is learned. 



THE BIG NATIONAL CONVENTION AT DETROIT, 

 OCT. 13 TO 15. 



The convention of the National Bee-keepers' 

 Association, that is to be held in Detroit, in the 

 pavilion of the 'Wayne Hotel, Oct. 13 to 15, 

 promises to be one of the biggest and most en- 

 thusiastic meetings of bee-keepers ever held in 

 the history of the Association. We have had 

 reports from bee-keepers all over the country who 

 expect to be present. The editors of this journal 

 intend to be on hand. 



Detroit has always been an ideal convention 

 city, as it is right in the heart of the best bee 

 country, taking in Canada and some of the best 

 sections of the United States. Rates by water 

 are always very low, and hence it is possible for 

 bee-keepers to get to this convention at a low 

 rate, and comfortably. Then, moreover, Detroit 

 has connections by trolley in every direction. 



