THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



41 



every statement or theory, but try the 

 statements whether they be born of 

 truth, for many false views are 

 pushed out into the worhl. Paul s 

 rule, we should make literally our 

 own : " Prove all things ; hold fast 

 that whicli is good." 



Many farmers, as they see the lux- 

 uriant lire-weed spring up in the very 

 track of tlie hurnuig brush-heap, are 

 sure that spontaneous generation is a 

 law of nature. Ignorance is often a 

 strong pillar on which faith undoubt- 

 ing stands. The doctrine of the 

 metempsychosis is no more unscien- 

 tilic than that wheat will turn to 

 chess; yet many a husbandman has 

 no doubts of the freciue nt occurrence 

 of the latter. Science has long shown 

 tlie utter fallacy of these statements, 

 and will have to keep battling, for 

 long years before all will see the 

 truth. So in bee-keeping. It will 

 take years to persuade all beekeepers 

 that the so-called honey-dew does not 

 fall like the gentle rain from heaven, 

 yet that it never so falls, is very 

 certain. 



That bees can change worker larvae 

 to those of drones, is entirely beyond 

 the possibilities even of the very 

 skillful workers ; yet I doubt not, if 

 our editors will publish such state- 

 ments, we shall read them yearly in 

 our apiarian papers. The presence 

 of tlie spermatozoa or sperm-cells in 

 the eggs insures a female bee. These 

 sperm-cells are so exceedingly minute 

 that it takes a most excellent magni- 

 fier to see them at all. We must be- 

 lieve then that as good and wonderful 

 a manipulator as the worker-bee is, to 

 remove the.se intinitesimal sperm-cells, 

 is quite beyond its powers. It is pos- 

 sible for iinfeciindated eggs to be in- 

 terspersed among fecundated ones in 

 the cells, and to be placed in the small 

 or worker-cells, and such must be the 

 explanation when we lind drone-brood 

 among worker brood, even if in tlie 

 worker cells. 



Even more absurd is the notion that 

 crushed tissue of a drone larva may 

 fecuudalea queen-bee. Surely, such 

 statements are (piite unworthy a place 

 in any of our bee-periodicals. 



The new facts, if they be facts, re- 

 cently developed by Mr. Frank Che- 

 shire, of England, in reference to foul 

 brood, are certainly very interesting. 

 Mr. Cheshire claims to have found the 

 specific cause of foul brood in a kind 

 of bacterium which he calls Baclllufi 

 alvei. He thinks that these are not 

 confined to the brood, but swarm 

 everywhere in the adult bees, mieen, 

 drones and workers, and even lu the 

 sperm-cells of the drones and ova of 

 the queen. He thus objects to the 

 term " foul brood," as he believes old 

 bees die from this fungoid aflectioii. 



He thinks that honey probably does 

 uot contain the spores, l)ut that they 

 — the spores — are conveyed on the feet 

 and antenna; of the bees. Lastly he 

 suggests phenol, as a specific to be 

 used as the cure of the malady. He 

 is not the first to suggest phenol, nor 

 is the idea of the molting of the lin- 

 ing of the alimentary canal with the 

 skin of tlie larva, original with him, 

 as it is a fact well known to every 

 entomologist. 



Now, while we should be very glad 

 of this elaborate investigation by Mr. 

 Cheshire, we may well pause before 

 we join in his cry of "Eureka!" If 

 the adult bees are attacked with the 

 bndllm alvei, why do we get none of 

 the characteristic od(u- from tliem V 

 and how are we to explain the cure by 

 partial starvation which has been so 

 successful in the hands of Messrs. 

 Jones, Mason, and many others. 

 These well authenticated cases of 

 cure can be explained only on the 

 ground that the active sp(u-es are con- 

 fined to the hoiiev, and that the adult 

 bees are not viciiins of the malady, 

 and can (uily C(uivey it in the honey. 

 Again, why is it that so many fail 

 with |)heiiol ? While we may all hope 

 much from all such careful research, 

 we must yet wonder whether the bot- 

 tom-facts are reached in this matter 

 of " foul brood." 



The pollen controversy still rages. 

 There can be very little doubt but 

 that bees are better off with no pollen 

 during winter, especially if they are 

 to be conlined in their hives for long 

 periods. The argument that bees are 

 likely to be the best judges of a proper 

 diet,' counts for nothing in these days 

 of intemperance. I once heard a 

 prominent physiologist assert that no 

 small amount of sickness and disease 

 was caused by hearty dinners on Sun- 

 day. IIow much more likely to suffer 

 would bees be if they take full rations 

 of hearty nitrogenous food during the 

 enforced quiesence of our long, rigor- 

 ous winters. 



In their native climate, bees can fly 

 every month of the year ; here they 

 are forced to very different habits, 

 and it is not at all unlikely that these 

 new conditions demand new food- 

 habits. I fully believe that with just 

 the right temperature, bees will eat 

 very little, will remain very quiet, 

 and be very sure to winter well. 1 

 also think that if this temperature is 

 not maintained, in which case the 

 bees will become more or less active, 

 then it were far better to have no pol- 

 len in the hive. 



For many years we have given pol- 

 len to some colonies and withheld it 

 from others. Nearly every year has 

 sustained in the sequel the opinion 

 expressed above. The present winter 

 we have given one-third of our colo- 

 nies large quantities of pollen, the re- 

 mainder almost none. Should our 

 cellar become unduly warm, or very 

 chillv, I shall surely expect the colo- 

 nies having the pollen to suffer. Such 

 hearty food and rest are not safe com- 

 panions. The pollen theory is «oe un- 

 scientific, but is just what our physio- 

 logical knowledge in reference to food 

 would lead us to propose. If bees can 

 fly often, pollen will not effect them 

 illy ; if they can be kept very quiet, I 

 think that the same is true ; as in this 

 case they would eat little or no pollen. 

 But as it is very difticult to so gu.age 

 the temperature as to secure either 

 pf these conditions, I am sure that we 

 are safer with no pollen in the hives. 

 I would remove all pollen in the fall, 

 and return the frames containing it to 

 the hive as soon as I wished breeding 

 to commence in tlie spring— about 

 April 10. Had I a cellar just to my 



liking, I should have very little fear, 

 even if every frame contained pollen. 

 The coming bee has been often dis- 

 cussed, and if we are all to reach after 

 it, we must know what it is to be. As 

 I have shown in an article which re- 

 cently appeared in the Amkuican 

 liKK '.loUKNAL, the coming bee will 

 have all the good points, and many of 

 these improved, possessed by each of 

 our separate races, and so of course 

 some of the blood of all our races 

 that have superior merits. There is 

 no objection to cross-breeding bees, 

 such as is met in cross-breeding cat- 

 tle, horses and sheep. Nor is the 

 ditticulty of selecting the males in 

 mating any practical estoppel, though 

 it may be "a hinduuice to tlu^ quick 

 securing of the" bee of the future." 

 With our present knowledge and 

 luachinery, we can secure drones for 

 mating from our choicest colonies, 

 and while we might reach results 

 sooner, could we know the very best 

 drones in any hive and use them, we 

 shall do nearly as well by precluding 

 the flight of all drones from any but 

 the best colonies. That even the best 

 families of any colony give an occa- 

 sional weakling among its male off- 

 spring, only shows that we must work 

 longer for the coining bee. That we 

 have anything like perfection now, is 

 very doubtful. By judicious crossing 

 and careful selection we shall surely 

 reach results that shall be to the bee 

 of the day, what the sleek, short horn 

 is to the lean Texan kine of the West- 

 ern plains. ^ 



I might speak of separators, of 

 small sections, and reversible frames, 

 but they will each and all be discussed 

 by abler and more experienced per- 

 sons. So I will close this paper by 

 some remarks on a very iiupiu-tant 

 topic. I refer to the securing of cor- 

 rect statistics. 



It is probable that no one thing 

 will so aid us in marketing (uir honey 

 product, as accurate, reliable statis- 

 tics. I expect that Mr. Hewit will 

 show us how we can secure, through 

 the crop reports of the Secretary of 

 State, twice each year, just such tacts 

 as each bee-keeper desires to know. 

 Now, while I am in favor of our 

 pushing vehemently such action as 

 he may advise looking towards needed 

 legislation to accomplish the most, I 

 am not in favor of stopping there. 

 Why can we not use sucli funds as 

 we shall obtain at this meeting, in 

 securing a kind of independent report 

 of our own '< Why may not the Sec- 

 retary of this Society secure a reporter 

 in each county, an able bee-keeper 

 who will promise to report the prob- 

 able crop, each October V He can 

 prepare blanks so that this can be 

 made as easy as possible. Then, as 

 soon as he gets the reports, let him 

 compile them and send his report to 

 the bee-periodicals. At present this 

 could only give us the probable crop, 

 as compared with an average; but 

 soon we might hope that it would 

 grow into a knowledge of the amount 

 of honey and number of colonies of 

 bees. From these two efforts I feel 

 great hopes that Michigan may be one 

 of the first States to prepare such 

 statistical facts as we all desire. 



Agricultural College,? Mich. 



