552 



THE AMElllCA]^ BEE JOURNAL. 



discussions of tlie " tlieory," during 

 the last two seasons, 1 can give it no 

 higlier seat. AV^e Ijnow that in case of 

 the human family, the adjunct-causes 

 of diarrhea, include very nearly all of 

 our substantial foods ; and wliat would 

 be thought of the practitioner, who, 

 in looking at the excreta, to (ind the 

 cause of the disease, would banisli 

 meat, potatoes and vegetables from 

 all our tables 'i Because he happened 

 to notice these in the excreta, and he 

 concludes they are tlie prime cause of 

 the disease, no liealtliy person is safe 

 unless he conlines himself to bread 

 and water! I doubt if intelligent 

 persons would call for his services 

 again. 



No, this cause of bee-diarrhea must 

 be looked for in some other quarter, 

 than this theory that does not develop. 

 I have for some time wondered if Mr. 

 Heddon would adopt a deep frame 

 hive, whether he would not Hnd a 

 road leading toward one of tlie prime 

 causes of bee-diarrhea, in comparing 

 them with his long, shallow frames 

 Mr. D. A. Jones uses the deepest 

 frame that I have learned of, and his 

 apiaries seem nearly exempt from the 

 dreaded disease. 



In regard to Prof. Cook's opinion as 

 to the cause of bee-diarrhea. I can 

 only say : If the Professor does not 

 say, on page 197, that some of Mr. 

 Doolittle's bees that had the odor of 

 the disease present, yet seemed to be 

 without pollen, then I am unable to 

 read correctly or understand what I 

 read. 



I did not think it unjust that Mr. 

 Heddon did not read a certain old 

 article of Mr. Doolittle's. I referred 

 to an article by Mr. Doolittle entitled 

 "Those Six-Frames," found on page 

 69 of the Bee .Iuuknal for 1884. If 

 contraction and expansion is not there 

 systematized as summer and winter 

 management, then I do not under- 

 stand its meaning. If it is so sys- 

 tematized, did Mr. Heddon never see 

 it before V If Mr. Heddon did read it 

 before, then I say lie is unjust to Mr. 

 Doolittle, in not giving him the lionor 

 of priority in using the system, and 

 claiming for himself the honor of 

 only adapting the system to his style 

 of hive. 



I do not know what Mr. Heddon 

 means that my last few years' prac- 

 tice should show. If he means that I 

 should be practicing expansion and 

 contraction of the brood-comtis in my 

 hives, I can assure him such is the 

 case, as I use Gallup hives 18 inches 

 long with 7 brood-combs, at present, 

 to each hive, and wide-frames at the 

 ends, according to Mr. Doolittle's plan 

 or system as quoted. 



I would also state in tliis connec- 

 tion, that I am using 10 slotted honey- 

 boards on my hives for trial, and I am 

 so well pleased with their use. in con- 

 nection with crates, that I shall adopt 

 them generally next season. I was so 

 disgusted with bees sticking crates to 

 the tons of the frames last season, 

 that I had almost determined to use 

 ■wide-frames in full upper .stories in 

 preference ; but now the crate suits 

 me best, when used with a Heddon 

 Blotted honey-board. I also intend to 

 give the Heddon crates, adapted to 



ray hive, a trial next season, as ray 

 present plain crate seems capable of 

 being improved upon. 



Mv desire is to give bee-keeping a 

 fair trial, and if I succeed in winter- 

 ing my bees as I have done, and they 

 increase as rapidly as they have for 

 the last three seasons, I will be 

 obliged to drop all else in order to 

 give them proper attention. 



Weedville.O I'a, 



■ ^ » — . 



Country Gentleman. 



Wind-Breaks in tlie Open Northwest. 



.T. W. CLAKKE. 



Substantially in all the open North- 

 west, much of wliich is prairie, wind- 

 breaks have been very generally ad- 

 vocated and practically patronized; 

 and wide experience has shown that 

 the grey or white willow makes the 

 most effective wind-break, when 

 properly set out and cultivated after- 

 ward, of the four kinds of trees that 

 have been used to resist high winds. 

 Tills white willow— the name probably 

 having been suggested by the whitish 

 color of the twigs and branches when 

 the green bark is stripped oft— was 

 called the Huntingdon willow until 

 about .SO years ago. It is the most 

 valuable "tree that we have in the 

 great Northwest. 



The Cottonwood is our best grove- 

 tree, being large, tall and handsome, 

 when six to ten years grown. It 

 grows too tall, and does not sucker or 

 throw up from the gnuind half as 

 many branches as the willow. 



The box-alder is a more picturesque 

 form of tree, growing always crooked 

 in stein and branch ; but even if it 

 grew as straight and smooth, the 

 alder does not grow more than half as 

 fast as the willow. 



Soft maple is considerably patron- 

 ized as a erove-tree, but its suckering 

 habit makes a great deal more labor 

 to kee]) the suckers down, and so 

 allows heads to form. When quite 

 young, majile groves are handsome, 

 but a good looking maple grove that 

 has been growing ten years, is hard 

 to hnd, as the trees vary so much in 

 height and form, and vvant of simi- 

 larity. The maple is at present, 

 moreover, badly affected with leaf- 

 rust, from cell rupture, in many 

 groves set out within two or three 

 years. On account of comparatively 

 slow and uneven growth, the maple 

 does not approach the willow as a 

 wind break in the Northwest. 



By "wind break," a thick-set 

 growth at the ground is meant- a 

 growth of nearly uniform thickness 

 formed and made effective according 

 to the hlling out, or the number of 

 shoots growing directly from near the 

 ground surface, in which feature the 

 willow leads and excels all the varie- 

 ties of Cottonwood, maple, box-alder 

 and ash — the only sorts generally 

 grown with success in this part of 

 the Northwest. 



Then, as to hardiness and power to 

 recuperate after severe injury, the 

 white willow will grow up again and 

 again from the roots, even alter the 

 top growth has all been killed by 

 burning— a fate which happens to it 



in numbers of cases. In fact, some 

 thirty or forty rods of this willow has 

 been twice burned off on one of my 

 farms, but has thrown a fine, thrifty 

 growth since. So the total destruc- 

 tion of the willow by lire, if burnt 

 before the leaves are formed in the 

 spring, need not be feared. Willow 

 wind-breaks are so uniform in height 

 and shape of growth as to make a 

 very neat and pleasing appearance. 



The late powerful hurricane, which 

 destroyed chifl-ches by the half-dozen, 

 houses by the score, and barns and 

 stables by the hundred, has proved 

 the great importance and necessity of 

 groves, and particularly willow wind- 

 breaks, for protecting houses and all 

 sorts of buildings. Where well pro- 

 tected, no serious damage to build- 

 ings resulted from the hurricane. 

 Tiiree rows of willow wind-break 

 saved a large stable and three cribs 

 full of com for me. Two rows of 

 willows, the cuttings being one foot 

 apart in the row, and the rows at 

 least eight feet apart, make an effec- 

 tive wind-break after four years' 

 growth. 



When the wind violently strikes a 

 bank, or rising ground, it must rise to 

 pass over. When it strikes a build- 

 ing, the structure must go down, or 

 the wind must rise and pass over it. 

 If a two or three row wind-break of 

 thickly growing willows intervenes, 

 so that it intercepts the head of wind 

 before it reaches the building, it will 

 be saved. The willows bend some- 

 what as the wind-force increases, hut 

 still raise the current of air, so that 

 its direction is mainly over the top. 

 Three-fourths of the damage by the 

 late terrific hurricane would have 

 been prevented by efficient wind- 

 breaks. 



Having had considerable experience 

 with it in Wisconsin, I will say a 

 word about the basket willow, which, 

 if a third row were added outside two 

 rows of white willow, would make a 

 very complete and effective resisting 

 barrier. Ills a smaller growing sort, 

 and all its twigs and branches are fine 

 and tough, making a thicker growth, 

 that woulil prevent wind, sleet and 

 snow alike fioiu driving through and 

 remaining too late inside the shelter 

 before thawing in the spring. Two 

 rows of white willow, and a third of 

 the smaller basket wiWow—tialis pur- 

 p((j'eo— the latter set either inside or 

 outside, and not nearer than eight 

 feet, would make a most durable bar- 

 rier against both wind and snow, 

 while still admitting a full and free 

 ciic Illation of pure air. 



Plymouth County ,-o Iowa. 



Philadelphia Press. 



Lamentable Ignorance about Bees. 



PKOF. A. J. COOK. 



A novel lawsuit is now pending in 

 the State of Wisconsin. A Mr. Potvera 

 is a large land-owner, and keeps a 

 large number of sheep. Ilisneiglibor, 

 Mr. Freeborn, is a very successful and 

 extensive bee-keeper. Mr. P. has 

 noticed that his acres of white clover, 

 where his sheep are pastured, are 

 swarming with bees — presumably, 



