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ence in the yollow-niarkeJ bees. The 

 reader luaj' query how it came about 

 that suih a contrast exists as is seen 

 in the colorings of specimens of one 

 and the same species ; in answer, I 

 call attention to tlie contrast in cattle 

 and sheep, as well as in almost all 

 creatures. 



Color is secreted between the cuticle 

 and true skin, and the pigment thus 

 secreted gives color to the skin and its 

 appendages — hairs, feathers, etc., the 

 colorings being a creature of accident 

 — not dependent upon certain constitu- 

 tional elements peculiar to species, 

 race or breeil, but dependent upon the 

 secretive function of the lining of the 

 skin — an aberration more or less com- 

 mon to all creatui'es — fickle as the col- 

 oring of the clouds. 



We know of no type, breed or strain 

 of bees that is at all constant in repro- 

 ducing, identically, progeny like the 

 parent specimens. This fact settles 

 the claim that hive-bees of ever)' name 

 and nature are true lineal descendants, 

 and should be treated as having but 

 one common origin. 



BEE-FEEDERS. 



The Cause of Loss Aiiiongr 

 Bees iu Winter. 



tbe 



Writte7ifor theAmericayi Bee Journal 



BY JAMES HEDDON. 



Mr. S. J. Youugman (see page 353), 

 like manj- other Michigan bee-keepers, 

 thinks that a spring bee-feeder is 

 needed. I, too, had to feed a good 

 many hundred pounds to keep my bees 

 breeding, and. in fact, to keep some of 

 them from actually starving. I have 

 two diftereut feeders that are just as 

 handy as can be. and from which bees 

 will eat in cold weatlier in winter. 

 The feeders are tilled without coming 

 into contact with the bees during the 

 operation. 



I have no engravings with which to 

 illusti-ale, and I hardly feel as though 

 spa'ce ought to be occupied with a 

 lengthj- mechanical description, which, 

 in the end, would not be well under- 

 stood ; but I merely write the above to 

 inform Mr. Youngman and other bee- 

 keepers, that such excellent feeders are 

 in use all over the country. 



The inspiring motive of this article 

 was not so much bee-feeders, as the 

 •question of loss in wintering. I quote 

 the following from Mr. Youngman's 

 article : " Bees, here in Michigan, 

 usually gather large quantities of pol- 

 len in autumn, and, if wintered out- 

 side, thej' will commence breeding in 

 March." Yes, they do, after such 

 warm winters as last winter, but if 

 severely cold they commence dying in 



March, and they keep on dying tlirough 

 April, and they die from the effects of 

 eating the fall pollen. So the " pollen 

 theory" comes to the front once more, 

 and it turns out to be true on every 

 corner. 



Last fall was a pollen fall ; hives 

 were stored witli it ; the winter was 

 warm, and bees tlcw frequently, where 

 they were wintered out-doors. They 

 unloaded as fast as they filled up, and 

 they wintered well. Bees in special 

 repositories usually winter better in 

 warm than in cold winters — that is a 

 rule. The reason is, that most bee- 

 keepers do not keep the temperature 

 in their repositories high enough, ex- 

 cept in warm winters. 



Well, last winter, just as Mr. Young- 

 man sa}'s, cellar- wintered bees perished 

 in large numbers, and, during the 

 spring, dwindled badly. Of course 

 they dwindled. Spring dwindling is 

 nothing more nor less than the "tail 

 end " of winter loss. I feel sure of 

 that. 



Had last winter been as cold as the 

 winter about five years ago, not one 

 colony in 25 wintered out-doors 

 (whether packed or not) would have 

 come through alive, in this part of the 

 State. Pollen was everywhere in the 

 hive, and the low temperature forces 

 the bees to exercise ; the exercise 

 causes waste of tissue ; waste of tissue 

 causes the consumption of the nitrog- 

 enous pollen, which was plentiful, as 

 said before. This pollen loads the in- 

 testines, and if no chance to flj' and 

 imload them is oftered, the disease 

 above-mentioned is the result. 



Dowagiac, Mich. 



FOUL BROOD. 



A High Estimate of Prof. Cook's 

 Article. 



Written for the American Dee Journal 



BY J. E. POND. 



The article on '-Foul Brood" by 

 Prof. Cook, on page 350, should be 

 read by every bee-keeper in the land. 

 It not onlj' gives the rationale of the 

 disease, but also that of treatment, 

 and must, I think, show those who 

 either have no knowledge whatever, 

 or an imperfect knowledge at best, the 

 cause (so far as at present understood) 

 and the means of ridding an apiary 

 from this great plague. 



It is of little use for the ordinary 

 bee-keeper to bother his head with 

 the origin of this disease, or for any 

 one to publish fine-spun theories as to 

 its age. We all know the results that 

 will inevitably follow, allowing it to 

 run its course unmolested ; and with 

 that knowledge, and the means of cure 



gained, notliing more is needed by the 

 practical man. Let those who liave 

 the time, pliilosophize over the matter. 

 It is enough for us plain bee-men to 

 know consequences and means of 

 eradication. 



In my judgment the article is well 

 worth putting into pamphlet form, as 

 a means of putting it into the hands of 

 every bee-keeper in the country, and 

 also ijreserving it for future use. I 

 thank Prof. C'ook for the plain and 

 simple way in which he handles the 

 subject, and he deserves not only my 

 thanks, but the thanks of us all. I 

 hope that some means may be taken 

 to put the article into the hands of 

 every bee-keeper in the country. 



North Attleboro, Mass. 



[We quite agree with Mr. Pond as 

 to the excellence of the " Foul Brood " 

 matter referred to. It is already pub- 

 lished iu pamphlet form by the Michi- 

 gan State Agricultural College, and 

 we think can be obtained by any one 

 sending for it. It was copied from that 

 College "Bulletin" into the American 

 Bee Journal. — Ed.] 



MISSOURI. 



The Report of tiie State Bee- 

 Keepers' Convention. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY J. w. KOUSE. 



The Missouri State Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation met in Marshall, Mo., on 

 April 16 and 17, 1890. The conven- 

 tion was called to order bj' President 

 R. B. Leahy. The proceedings of the 

 previous meeting and the Secretary's 

 financial report were read, both of 

 which were approved. 



The committee on adulteration of 

 honey, reported by reading Section 

 3,879, of the Revised Statutes of Mis- 

 souri (1889), relating to adulteration 

 of food and drinks. On motion, the 

 report was received, and the commit- 

 tee discharged. 



A letter was then read from Mr. C. 

 P. Dadant, Secretary of the Interna- 

 tional American Bee-Association, call- 

 ing attention to the importance of 

 affiliating with the International, 

 which, after due consideration, was 

 decided to be done. 



The proceedings of the convention 

 were then suspended to give an op- 

 portunity to any to become members, 

 and 35 new names were taken. 



SHOULD any person KEEP BEES ? 



An essay by Mr. James Heddon, of 

 Dowagiac, Mich., was read, entitled, 

 "Should any person, so desiring, keep 



