THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



133 



For the American Bee Journal. 



An Injustice. 



I was quite sorry to see in tlie Secretary's 

 report ot the proceedings of the Micliisan 

 State Bee-Keepers' Association, the state- 

 ment that "the subject of 'Humbugs' 

 brouglit out many severe criticisms on Mr. 

 A. I. Root's method of doing business, from 

 those present, it being claimed tliat he had 

 misled more people and had been the cause 

 of more failures than any other person in 

 America." While such criticisms were pro- 

 nounced, they were by no means the voice 

 of the Convention, and it is but doing jus- 

 tice to Mr. Root and to some " of the mem- 

 bers present " to say that there were strong 

 remonstrances against such arraignment. 



One may have his likes and dislikes; his 

 opinions and prejudices; lie may tliink 

 another has injured him or his interests, 

 but, in my opinion, it is entirely out of 

 place to bring such personal matters into 

 the discussions of a body like our State Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, and it is equally out 

 of place to introduce them into the report 

 for the columns of tlie Journat.. Though 



1 would not like to have it thought that I 

 wish to lay claim to a knowledge of just 

 how the duties of the officers of such associ- 

 ations should be performed, still I wish to 

 state that I have been accustomed to think 

 that, in the performance of all official work, 

 strict iinpartiality should be preserved — 

 that, in fact, the ability to pursue such a 

 course should be ranked as one of the first 

 and mast essential qualifications for office. 



I dislike to write on such a subject be- 

 cause Mr. Burch, the Secretary of the Mich. 

 State B. K. Association, and I, have always 

 been on the most friendly terms. But since 

 the words above quoted appeared in the re- 

 port of the Convention, without the "other 

 side" of the matter, this explanation was 

 called for. Fbank Benton. 



[This article was written for the Febru- 

 ary number, ^3ut was unavoidably crowded 

 out.— Ed. 1 



For the American Bee .lournal. 



Comb Gruides. 



Take a Langstroth frame and lay it bot- 

 tom up on a table before you; take a piece 

 same size as top bar and lay it close by the 

 top of your frame on the table; then take 

 another bar same size and cut it so that it 

 will fit inside of the frame. Place it so that 

 the edge will come to the middle of the 

 frame, less 1-10 of an inch. Press bar No. 2 

 close against the frame (laying flat on the 

 table), then take bar No. 3 (called top bar) 

 and place it on the frame and bar No. 2 and 

 let the edge come to the middle ot toji liar 

 of frames, less l-Ki of an inch, nail No. 3 on 

 to No. 2. Have melted wax ready; call No. 



2 and 3 nailed together, the mould; wet the 

 mould in soapy water — quite cool. Take 

 the frame in tlie hand; put the mould on; 

 hold it down with the thumb; elevate one 

 end of the frame, and pour wax on the 

 highest end; raise one end of the frame just 

 s© that the wax will run to the other end. 

 The frame should be leaned to one side just 

 to form a triangle gutter, or so that when 

 the wax is poured in, it will stand thus — A. 

 What is wanted is a streak of wax an inch 



thick, where it is joined to the top bar, and 

 hanging down froin 3^ to ^ inch. Make one 

 and perhaps you can describe it better. 



Tlie bees "will work the wax out and 

 make comb of it, always straight. It does 

 not cost half as much as wooden guides and 

 is as good as a 2-inch strip of comb guide- 

 artificial— while it is one-fourth cheaper 

 and more easily put on. Have put on 600 in 

 10 hours. W. B. Rush. 



New Orleans, Mar. 1, 1877. 



For tlie American Bee .Tournal. 



Bee Hives. 



Mr. Editor:— I read your remarks on 

 page 84, March number of the Journal, 

 concerning T. S. Bull's bee-hive. You say 

 that it is not patented and we can criticise 

 as much as we please. Here are a few 

 questions: What is there new about it ? 

 What advantage has it over others, almost 

 precisely like it, that have been used for 

 years ? What is there about it that is not 

 or has not been patented ? I am of the 

 opinion that on some of its features there is 

 still valid patents. The frames are no new 

 thing; that they are hung on the rabbets is 

 not new, and I think that a Vermont man 

 has a patent claim on that part of it; the 

 hanging of the bottom-board at the rear end 

 is not new, and a nuisance any way. There 

 is nothing new about the boxes, honey- 

 board, etc., and in fact I fail to find any- 

 thing new about it at all. 



One who Knows. 



For the Americun Bee Journal. 



Dysentery. 



HOW TO CUBE IT, AND AT THE SAME TIME 

 TELL WHETHER A HIVE IS QUEEN- 

 LESS OR NOT. 



Bees in this section have had considerable 

 dysentery this winter. Friends Johnston, 

 Waterhouse, and myself have cured ours by 

 giving each swarm some water in little 

 wooden cups, made of maple, by taking 23^ 

 x2>^xl in. cut out with a 2-in. centre-bit. 

 Place one at the entrance of each hive and 

 fill them with water, say once each week, if 

 required. We have had them out of the 

 cellar tVfice and gave them a good fly, and 

 they are now all right. If we found any of 

 the cups with but little or no water taken 

 out, we took a piece of chalk and marked 



that stock, QUEENLKSS. 



The water kee])S them quiet; when they 

 are breeding fast, towards spring, they re- 

 quire a large amount of water for the young 

 bees, and when they find it they seem quite 

 contented. These wooden cups are very 

 much cheaper and cleaner than sponges, 

 and I think the bees like them better. 



W. G. Walton. 



Hamilton. Ont., Feb. 19, 1877. 





For the American Bee Journal. 



Chips from Sweet Home. 



I have all the comb I want for starters; 

 all I can well use. I watcli all new swarms 

 and take out nearly all drone comb. I use 

 the Harbison sections and like them better 

 than anything I ever saw. These sections 

 hold from 2 to 2)4 lbs. 1 shall do but little 



