AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



783 



giving the preference to his frame (l2x 

 12 inches), induced the Central Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Society of France to select a frame 

 which would be acknowledged as official. 

 Yet he did not succeed in his undertak- 

 ing, for there were three parties in pres- 

 ence; one for the square frame, another 

 for the Quinby-American, and a third 

 for the King-American — that is, higher 

 than long. Besides, as a part of the 

 bee-keepers present at the convention 

 used fixed comb hives, and as the others 

 could agree only on the superiority of a 

 large size, the convention selected three 

 frames; one square, 14x14 inches; 

 one high, 16x12 inches ; one low, 12x16 

 inches; each having a surface of about 

 200 square inches. 



Of course this selection was made to 

 please everybody — the amateurs of the 

 square frames, those of the high, and 

 those of the low frames; but it was not 

 made after comparative experiments to 

 choose the best, but according to the 

 fancies of the voters. As not one of 

 these three sizes had been used before, 

 the number of shapes and sizes, which 

 was already too large in France, would 

 have been increased without any ra- 

 tional motive; but such a ludicrous de- 

 cision, made by incompetent and stub- 

 born bee-keepers, had no bad results ; 

 for it is already about forgotten, and the 

 two frames, which were the most in use 

 — the King, under the name of " De Lay- 

 ens," and the Quinby known as " the 

 Dadant," continue to be sold by the 

 manufacturers at the rate of ten to one 

 of the official frames. 



To sum up : The movable-frame hives 

 are not as prevalent in France as in the 

 United States, yet their progress is in- 

 creasing every year, and their adver- 

 saries have vanished. I may add that, 

 after comparative experiments, the pref- 

 erence of the majority of bee-keepers, 

 using the French language, is incontes- 

 tably in favor of a frame and hive far 

 larger than the regular Langstroth. 

 Chas. Dadant. 



The contents of the question-box not 

 having been exhausted, it was voted that 

 their consideration be resumed. 



Substituting Syrup for Fall Honey. 



Question No. 8.—" Is it advisable to 

 take the fall honey from the brood- 

 frames and substitute syrup ?" 



Frank Benton — No. 



Question No. 9.— "What is the best 

 section foundation fastener?" 

 No answer given. 



Paper for Winter Packing-. 



Question No. 10.—" Is paper a good 

 winter packing ?" 



Dr. C. C. Miller— Yes. 



Mr. Benton— Very excellent, indeed. 



C. P. Dadant — Yes, provided you don't 

 leave it on too long. They will gnaw it. 



Pres. Abbott— It is the best thing that 

 I have found, provided you use my sugar 

 cake. If you let the paper extend out 

 where the water can get at it, it will 

 draw the moisture in. 



Distinguishing Robber-Bees. 



Question No. 11.— "In what way can 

 we distinguish robber-bees ?" 



Pres. Abbott— Watch them and see if 

 they bring any honey out. 



The "Adel" Queens. 



Question No. 12.— "What are Adel 

 queens, and what is the meaning of the 

 term ?" 



Frank Benton— I believe I first used 

 this term in connection with the English 

 language. It seems to me that Mr. 

 Alley has misapplied it, but I do not 

 know that I care, only it is best for the 

 fact of this misapplication to be known. 

 The word Adel in German means " the 

 nobility," and is from the old Anglo- 

 Saxon word, athel, meaning "noble." 

 The adjective forms are adeliri and edel, 

 which may also be translated "noble." 

 The pronunciation of e-d-e-l in German 

 is a-del (accent the first syllable, giving 

 a the long sound), therefore I chose the 

 latter in order to preserve in English the 

 sound of the word which is in common 

 use in German. It has been used by 

 some European bee-keepers to designate 

 their choicest breeding queens, and, in 

 itself, has no reference whatever to race. 

 Nothing of the kind. It can be used for 

 Italian, Cyprian, black or any other va- 

 rieties of queens, and has been applied 

 to them all. SeZect queens of any well- 

 established race or variety may properly 

 be called "Adel queens." But it cannot 

 correctly be applied to hybrids or cross- 

 bred bees, nor to sports which have not 

 been bred until they constitute a perma- 

 nent and distinctive type, hence it seems 

 to me a misapplication to use it in con- 

 nection with those yellow bees which are 

 being offered as Carniolans. When I in- 

 troduced it I used it to represent such 

 Carniolan queens as were relatively well- 

 developed and typical specimens of their 

 race. Gray being the distinctive color 

 of this race, such queens were bred from 

 mothers producing only gray workers— 

 the type so largely predominant in Car- 

 niola. When applying the term to Ital- 



