Gleanings In Bee Culture 



Published by The A. I. Root Co., Medina, Ohio 



H. H. ROOT, Assistant Editor E. R. ROOT, Editor A. L. BOYDEN, Advertising Manager 



A. I. ROOT, Editor Home Department j. T. Calvert, Business Manager 



Kntered at tbe h'ostoflice, Medina. Ohio, as Second-class Matter. 



VOL. XXXVII 



OCTOBER 1, 1909 



NO. 19 



Editorial 



By E. R. Root. 



A CORRECTION. 



The following letter ffom Toepperwein &: 

 Mayt'ield, San Antonio, Texas, will explain. 

 We do not know how the error occurred, but 

 it is worthy of correction. 



We wish to call attention to a typographical error in 

 our report of the honey crop in Texas— p. 512, Aug. 15. 

 Ins'ead of the price advarc ng 4 cts. per lb. it should 

 r^ad 'i of a cent. Toepperwein & M.ayfield. 



San Antonio, Texas, Aug. 24. 



LENGTH OF BEE-FLIGHT. 



Referring to-the discussion in the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal and Gleanings, on the ques- 

 tion of how far bees can fly for nectar, Mr. 

 C. P. Dadant, in the American Bee Journal, 

 and Editor Hutchinson in the Review, seem 

 to agree to the statement we made in these 

 columns, to the effect that most of the honey 

 that bees gather comes within the range of 

 a mile or a mile and a half from the yard. 



But referring to the question as to how far 

 bees can see, Mr. Dadant rather doubts our 

 statement to the effect that bees may have 

 telescopic vision. He would be more inclin- 

 ed to think that when they go a great dis- 

 tance they are guided by the sense of smell 

 rather than by sight. 



carbolic acid to KEEP BEES AWAY FROM 



spraying-liquids. 



In this issue a correspondent, on page 611, 

 refers to the fact that when trees are spray- 

 ed while in blossom in Canada, the law re- 

 quires that the mixture be flavored with 

 crude carbolic acid. This is to keep bees 

 away, for it is well known that the drug is 

 very offensive to them. 



If it is necessary to spray while trees are 

 in blossom, which we doubt very much, it 

 would seem that it might be a good idea to 

 have a similar amendment incorporated in 

 our anti-spraying laws. 



We present the suggestion to our readers 

 for what it is worth. In the meantime we 

 should be glad to get reports from those who 

 may be in position to know whether the car- 

 bolic-acid sprays, or, rather, spraying liquids 



flavored with carbolic acid, will not be touch- 

 ed by bees. 



WHEN it is "honey" AND WHEN "HONEY- 

 DEW." 



Mr. Friedman Greiner, see page 594, and 

 the beekeepers of Pennsylvania, as indicat- 

 ed in their convention proceedings in this 

 issue, apparently regret that the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, in its pure- 

 food regulations, has put a ban upon honey- 

 dew by forbidding its sale under the name 

 of honey, and requiring it to be branded and 

 sold as honey-dew. As we understand it, 

 when there is only a very small quantity of 

 the dark stuff in the combs— not enough to 

 darken the color or impair the flavor— it may 

 be sold as honey; but when there is consid- 

 erable of it, it inust be put under the name 

 honey-dew. The difficulty comes in here— 

 where to draw the line. Thousands of bee- 

 keepers in the country to-day are up against 

 the proposition. To call it "honey-dew" 

 will ruin its sale. To brand it as "honey" 

 will render them liable to fine, imprisonment, 

 or both. 



It is proper to remark right here that the 

 national law applies only on territorial and 

 interstate business. 



POOR FOUL-BROOD LAWS IN SOME STATES, 

 AND WHY. 



Some of the bee-keepers of our various 

 States are making a serious mistake in draw- 

 ing up foul-brood bills and submitting the 

 same to their State legislatures. It is unwise 

 to copy from some other State, as it may have 

 a very poor law. Those who are contemplat- 

 ing the drawing-up of bills for submission to 

 their State legislatures would do well to cor- 

 respond with Dr. E. F. Phillips, of the Bu- 

 reau of Entomology, Department of Agricul- 

 ture, Washington. D. C. Dr. Phillips has 

 made this question of foul-brood legislation 

 a special study, and he will be glad to send 

 a draft of a bill that he would recommend 

 for enactment. 



It is difficult to get a foul-brood bill through 

 both branches of the legislature: but it is no 

 more difficult to get a good bill through than 

 a poor one. In one or two States bills have 

 been enacted into laws that are practically a 

 dead letter, and largely because the original 

 promotors had not been properly informed 

 as to the form of law they should have. 



