262 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



worked up in a short time. Our coun- 

 try towns and smaller cities are 

 wholly imsupplied, and I have no 

 doubt that the South and West is in 

 the same condition. 



Producers, instead of finding fault 

 with honorable competition, should 

 exert themselves the more to create a 

 demand. This same old cry has been 

 raised ever since the world began. 

 When the attempt was first made to 

 introduce labor-saving machinery, we 

 all know what a hue and cry was 

 made against it. The same cry was 

 made then as now, " We shall get so 

 large a supply that we can't sell at re- 

 munerative prices, and we shall also 

 cut wages down so low that the poor 

 laboring- man will surely starve." 

 What has been the result? AVe all 

 know well, and no one now wishes to 

 go back to the olden time before the 

 days of mowing machines, reapers, 

 sewing machines, etc. So with the 

 production of honey. Improvements 

 in hives and appliances make honey- 

 gathering an easier matter than form- 

 erly, and of course make the cost of 

 production less also. As the country 

 opens upandthe population increases, 

 the demand will increase also, and if 

 our producers would only take ad- 

 vantage of their opportunities and 

 branch out a little more — offer their 

 goods where none are now to be 

 found, and do in their business as 

 other business men do in theirs, there 

 would soon arise such a demand that 

 it would take a large increase of pro- 

 duction to supply it. 



Bee-keepers," as a rule, are poor 

 salesmen. They can produce honey 

 and manage bees successfully, but not 

 having been educated as salesmen, 

 they are obliged to leave the disposing 

 of their products to others. Some of 

 these days they will awake to the fact 

 that they are at the mercy of the mid- 

 dle-men, and then they will organize, 

 and by virtue of such organization, 

 succeed in gaining their rights, and 

 maintaining them also. 



Fo.xboro,o+ Mass. 



For ttie American Bee Journal. 



ftueen-Excluders and Drone-Traps. 



tachment, the double-wire-cloth-cone 

 fly-trap mania swept over the country. 

 A lady in South Bend, Ind., invented 

 a very good trap, and a non-swarming 

 attachment. Arguments were not 

 sufficient to showthe impracticability 

 of both, but time has fully satisfied 

 bee-keepers ; both are now among the 

 things of the past, and almost for- 

 gotten. 



The 6rst attachment I ever made 

 was like that illustrated, except that 

 the holes were a trifle larger than an 

 empty worker required. When I had 

 this in use, and the drones were buz- 

 zing in it, as mentioned in my former 

 article, I began to contrive to get the 

 entrance clear of them, and yet not 

 let them go. If the illustration is 

 viewed at the left end, it will be seen 

 that all the upper side of the box that 

 is within the partition A, is perforated 

 the same as the partition. Just there 

 I cut a large round hole, and over it I 

 put the two cones of the fly-trap. 

 This took the drones, and would likely 

 have caught the queen also if any 

 swarm had issued while it was on the 



JAMES HEDDON. 



On page 10.5 is a clear and logical 

 article on the use of drone-traps, a 

 perusal of which reminded me of 

 something I wish to say. Ever since 

 I first read Mr. Langstrollfs work 

 (some 16 years ago), I have had an eye 

 upon any advantages that might be 

 gained by the use of bee-passages, of 

 such size as would in certain desired 

 ways, separate the workers from the 

 larger drones and queens. As stated 

 in my article on page 21 of the Bee 

 Journal for 1884, about 12 years ago 

 I gave the subject a thorough inves- 

 tigation, using mainly tlie non-swarm- 

 ing attachment here illustrated. The 

 advantages gained by the angling 

 partition A, are of very great value, 

 or I made a great mistake in my con- 

 clusions, drawn from experiments, 

 and I would to-day use no arrange- 

 ment not possessing this feature. 

 About the time I was using 's at- 



hive. Notice how nearly this arrange- 

 ment embraced all (and more) of the 

 principles of Mr. Alley's new trap. 



On page 201 (1884), one can see where 

 Mr. Longmate may have borrowed 

 this same'combination from Mr. Alley 

 and myself. 



During the seasons of 1883 and 1884, 

 I experimented with in to 40 queen- 

 excluding honev-boards, and I have 

 so far not satisfied myself that any 

 queen and drone excluding passage- 

 ways are the best practical methods 

 of obtaining tlie results sought, 

 neither for ridding our apiaries of 

 unwanted drones, for keeping the 

 queen from the surplus receptacles, 

 or for preventing her leading away 

 swarms. I have given the matter 

 much thought and experiment, and 

 yet I am a "doubting Thomrs." 1 

 think that Father Langstroth and 

 others studied it, and experimented 

 considerably, yet no general use has 

 ever been made of the fact of the dif- 

 ference in the size of our drone, (lueen 

 and worker bees, except to distinguish 

 them at sight. I do not contend that 

 it cannot be done, but I do contend 

 that the arguments are rather against 

 it now, at least they are to me. If I 

 am wrone. and Mr. Alley is right, the 

 future will so decide it. 



The second point which I wish to 

 make is, does my old device invalidate 

 Mr. Alley's claims V I say most em- 

 phatically, no ! If i\Ir. Alley's trap is 

 useless, the future actions of bee- 

 keepers will invalidate the claim, 

 trap and all. If it is worthless, what 

 do we care further about it V If it is 

 useful, and as necessary as he thinks 



it is, by what moral or common-sense 

 right do my twelve-year-old failures 

 invalidate his last year's successes V 

 The '■ monopoly " of granting a pat- 

 entee the results of his own labor, the 

 exclusive use of what never existed 

 until he made it, is secured to him by 

 the common consent of every civilized 

 nation, in exchange for the good these 

 discoverers do their fellow men, by 

 their inventions. What good did my 

 quiet failures do anyone V All honest 

 men are getting tired of hearing the 

 cry, "Oh, I made that years ago," fol- 

 lowing the heels of every recognized 

 valuable invention. Most of these 

 cries are falsehoods ; those that are 

 not, are failures. 



I believe that the United States 

 courts, setting upon patent interfer- 

 ences, declare that it is not enough to 

 prove prior invention of any imple- 

 ment, but piior improvement must also 

 be discovered. Improvements are not 

 allowed to die, and these facts pre- 

 vent dragging up dead failures, with 

 which to invalidate living, progressive 

 improvements. Swearing to false- 

 hoods is becoming so common that the 

 above system of evidence has become 

 a necessity. The court now asks these 

 questions : " Mr. B. if you really did 

 invent or discover this principle prior 

 to the date claimed by Mr. A., why 

 did you not use it, and seek to receive 

 .remuneration for so great and valua- 

 ble a discovery ? Why did you delay 

 such seeking until Mr. A. had made 

 the principle popular and in demand ? 

 The people certainly ought to pay for 

 the benefits they are receiving, to Mr. 

 A., and not to you. Your testimony 

 has the coloring of falsehood. If you 

 ever discovered the implement, you 

 certainly did not discover its worth, 

 or you would have sought its easy 

 security then, rather than its difficult 

 possession now."' 



Dowagiac, ? Mich. 



Read at the late Bee-Keepers' Congress. 



Honey Resources of Kapa Co., Calif- 



J. D. ENAS. 



To give an idea of bee-keeping in 

 this section, would not begin to rep- 

 resent with fairness the interest » of 

 bee-keepers throughout the State. 

 Napa county does the best in what is 

 called a " dry season." Water is 

 plentiful at all seasons, and a " wet 

 season '' is not favorable for the de- 

 velopment of this countv, although 

 Napa valley is called " the garden- 

 spot of California." Napa valley haa 

 been principally devoted to the rais- 

 ing of grain ; of late years, fruit has 

 taken an important part. Vineyards 

 are springing up like magic, and 

 grapes, fruit, and the wine interest 

 will eventuallv be the principal busi- 

 ness in this" valley. The climate 

 varies according to locality; frosts 

 affect some parts of the county, whilp 

 on the other hand, a very short dis- 

 tance away, fruits are hardly known, 

 while the 'localities are within sight of 

 each other. The foot-hills are, on 

 that account, becoming -more sought 

 after. Spots having an elevation of 

 from 700 to 1,000 feet, are often entirely 



