SEPTEMBER 1, 1913 



599 



Stray Straws 



Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, III. 



Yesterday the bees were fearfully cross, 

 although storing heavily. The smoker was 

 loaded with pure greasy waste, which we've 

 never used much. Was it the fuel that made 

 them so cross f Well, the smoker was emp- 

 tied, and filled with wood. Bees just as 

 cross as before, or at least kept on cross, 

 and I don't know why. But I wonder if 

 some verdicts about fuel are not hastily 

 made, just as we would have decided against 

 greasy waste if we had not compared it 

 with wood. [See last Straw. — Ed.] 



In America no one seems to think of a 

 hive-entrance anywhere except at the bot- 

 tom, summer or winter. In Germany there 

 are many hives with entrances near the top. 

 In Leipz. Bztg., 41, G. Leis tells of an old 

 beekeeper who for 20 winters had closed 

 air-tight the bottom entrance, allowing no 

 chance for air to enter except through a 

 bung-hole on top, and that was covered 

 over so no light could enter. It would seem 

 there was no chance for a winter flight, yet 

 his bees always came out in good condition 

 in spring. Luneburg beekeepers have for 

 centuries used the uj^per entrance, and it is 

 claimed that this secures greater freedom 

 from mold and diarrhea in winter. [In go- 

 ing out with our inspector this summer we 

 found entrances all the way from the bot- 

 tom to the top of the hive, and some old 

 boxes that had openings in half a dozen 

 places. Bees were using all their entrances. 

 —Ed.] 



In England and in Europe drugs are 

 more in favor" for the cure of foul brood 

 than here. Seldom is there a time when 

 some drug is not lauded in German jour- 

 nals as a " sure cure," onW to be replaced a 

 little later by some new candidate. Now 

 comes so high an authority as Dr. Maassen, 

 who says, Leipz. Bztg., 36, that no time 

 should be wasted in such experimenting, as 

 the disease can never be cured through 

 chemical means. [Dr. Maassen is authority 

 in Europe. We do not know why any one 

 should fuss with drug-s for the cure of foul 

 brood. Some 25 years ago we tried out 

 thoroughly the various drug treatments for 

 the cure of American foul brood, but they 

 all failed. Practically all the reports from 

 reliable sources in this count ly show the 

 same result. There have been eases where 

 some honest investigators supposed they 

 were dealing with the real foi^.l brood, when 

 the fact was it was something else. When 

 they tried out the drug treatment it appar- 

 ently brought about a cure. — Ed.] 



Wesley Foster says, p. 440, " When a 



queenless colony is found set it 



on top of another hive and be done with it." 

 A Kentucky correspondent asks whether his 

 object in doing this is merely to unite or to 

 give a queen, and asks what I would do 

 with a queenless colony. Undoubtedly he 

 means merelj' to unite without the trouble 

 of giving a queen. What I would do with 

 a queenless colony would depend. Early 

 in the season, or with a weakling any time, 

 like Mr. Foster. I would unite; although 

 very early a strong queenless colony might 

 be united with two or more others. Later 

 in the season a strong colony would be 

 given a laying queen from a nucleus kept 

 to rear queens. If no such queen were on 

 hand, I might wait for it, or I might give 

 a virgin or a ripe queen-cell to the queen- 

 less colony. Emphatically I wouldn't try 

 rear a queen very early, and just as em- 

 phatically I wouldn't break up a full colony 

 because queenless in harvest-time. 



A BURNING question is that one getting 

 to be about burning cotton waste with and 

 without grease. We've burnt lots and lots 

 of cotton rags without ever noting bad ef- 

 fects. We never had much experience with 

 greasy waste, but are now using some very 

 rich in grease. I think it's the most lasting 

 fuel we ever used — lasting, I should say, 

 five times as long as the dry cotton. The 

 smoke seems milder to breathe, and doesn't 

 smart the eyes like wood smoke; but it 

 seems to affect the bees more. With a 

 smoker filled with it going its best, blown 

 on top of a super, it makes the bees fly off 

 in a cloud, instead of running down in the 

 super. I think I never knew any other 

 smoke to do that. [We believe we were the 

 first to suggest and introduce greasy waste 

 as a smoker fuel. Its trial in the first place 

 was accidental. As we had quantities and 

 quantities of it, and it continued to give 

 excellent satisfaction, we kept on using it. 

 In our judgment it is far ahead of any 

 other fuel that was ever used. It furnishes 

 a milder smoke, and yet subduing enough 

 to do the work. It is lasting, and, most 

 important of all, it does not gnim up the 

 smoker with creosote as do other fuels. It 

 can usually be had for the asking at any 

 machine-shop. But do not leave gi-easy 

 waste stored around in a building near com- 

 bustible material. It is subject to sponta- 

 neous combustion, and should, therefore, be 

 stored in an empty hive or in a box or a 

 small building remote from other buildings. 

 —Ed.] 



