1304 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1 



John Smith at a glance; but to tell you just how 

 1 recognize him so that from my description 

 alone you can recognize him at a glance, is prob- 

 ably beyond me. In the same way it is easy to 

 recognize an old queen, but not so easy to tell 

 how. And yet it's a fair question, so I'll make 

 a stagger at an answer. An old queen is darker 

 and more shiny in appearance, due to loss of 

 plumage, probably. She does not move over the 

 comb with the vigor of a younger queen, but 

 more slowly and feebly. In many cases she 

 seems to lose her footing,' and acts as if about 

 to fall off the comb. Now, that doesn't seem to 

 tell much, but I'm not sure I can do any better. 

 I'll be glad, Mr. Editor, if you or any one else 

 will improve upon it. It is only fair to say that 

 even the few signs I have given are not infallible. 

 A queen that has been balled may look black 

 and shiny while still young. Again, I have seen 

 a queen which looked not very old, and yet my 

 record told me she was three or four years old. 

 [You have given the general characteristics that 

 go to show an old queen; but there is a certain 

 indescribable ^g-^wfr^j/ appearance which is at once 

 recognized by the veteran queen-breeder, and 

 which to him is almost infallible. — Ed.] 



Editorial 



By E. R. Root. 



THE DETROIT-CONVENTION PICTURE. 



Elsewhere a picture taken of the members 

 who were in attendance at the National conven- 

 tion at Detroit is advertised by Secretary Hutch- 

 inson. We have seen this, and unhesitatingly 

 pronounce it by all odds the best photo of a col- 

 lection of representative bee-keepers we have ever 

 seen. Every face is clear and distinct, and, what 

 is more, shows a natural likeness. It is 18X22, 

 and can not be reproduced in half-tone on the 

 pages of any of the bee-papers. It will prob- 

 ably be many years before another collection of 

 as many representative bee-keepers as are in this 

 one will be seen again. 



newspaper between the upper and lower stories of 

 the two forces to be united. Several of these 

 writers pronounce the paper scheme far ahead of 

 any other method, because the bees will gradual- 

 ly unite after gnawing through the paper, and 

 because they will not return to their old stand. | 



We remember that this paper scheme has been ^ 

 given before in our columns; but at the time of 

 preparing the editorial mentioned we had forgot- 

 ten it. 



PHOTOGRAPHS OF APIARIES FOR ILLUSTRATED i 

 WORK FOR GLEANINGS. I 



We are getting a large number of snapshots of 

 bee-yards that we can not use. A mere picture 

 of an apiary, showing a collection of hives of or- 

 dinary pattern, with ordinary surroundings, does 

 not convey any new information; nor does it il- 

 lustrate any trick of the trade. Photos that we 

 use most contain some distinctive feature. Those 

 that show methods of work in handling bees or 

 hives, are, as a general rule, very acceptable, for 

 these convey an object-lesson that the reader can 

 take in at a mere glance. A view of a bee-yard 

 with a pretty background, or one with hives ar- 

 tistically arranged is also acceptable, because it 

 stimulates the artistic sense in one's nature; and 

 when it costs no more to have the surroundings 

 neat and pretty, others are inspired to beautify 

 their apiaries. Photos of prominent bee-keepers 

 or of scientific subjects, or of practical appliances 

 are always available. J 



In a word, any photo that we use must con- ■ 

 tain some distinctive feature that is either artistic 

 or educational. They must in some way carry a 

 message of some sort. For example, in the Aug. 

 1st issue the half-tone plate on p. 942shows an api- 

 ary with good tiering up of the hives that are 

 home-made; page 943 shows how just enough 

 shade may be secured from a shed; page 944 de- 

 picts excessive clustering out on a hot day, and 

 proves that some very good shade-boards did not 

 serve to stop it; 945 represents a yard, not artis- 

 tically arranged, but that has yielded a good reve- 

 nue to its owner, and, incidentally, a hive-carry- 

 ing wheelbarrow is shown in the background. 

 So on, each picture will have some feature that ^ 

 makes it available for these columns. ^ 



THE FOREST FIRES OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN. 



We have just received word from Mr. Geo. E. 

 Hilton, of Fremont, Michigan, stating that "the 

 forest fires are making sad havoc in the bee in- 

 dustry of this State. To-day's papers state that 

 over fifty dead bodies have been found, and scores 

 are yet to be accounted for." This will mean, 

 of course, the absolute destruction of all bee flora 

 within the territory involved, as vegetation of ev- 

 ery kind will be destroyed, root and branch. 

 The sympathies of all bee-keepers will, we feel 

 sure, go out to those who have suffered from this 

 terrible affliction. 



THE PAPER PI AN OF UNITING BEES. 



After reading our editorial on page 1178, Oct. 

 1st, setting forth the various methods of uniting 

 bees, several write us, saying we had omitted one 

 very important plan — namely, putting a sheet of 



QUEENS STOP LAYING IN THE FALL. 



On the approach of fall every year we have to 

 answer many inquiries from beginners as to why 

 their queens do not lay and have not laid since 

 along in August. For the benefit of such we 

 will repeat that, as a rule, Italian queens, at least, 

 will stop laying after the main honey harvest in 

 August in the Northern States. They may be- 

 gin laying again if there is a fall flow; but as 

 soon as it stops there will be no eggs and but 

 very little brood, which will be mostly in the 

 sealed form. The reason of this is, the queen 

 and the bees are slow to rear brood when there 

 are no new stores coming in, either from the 

 fields or from a feeder. If the colony is not 

 strong it is always advisable to practice stimula- 

 tive feeding early in the fall so there will be a 

 large force of young bees to go into winter quar- 

 ters. About the time this journal reaches most 

 of our readers it will be too late to practice this. 



