AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



807 



Several years ago I wrote an article on 

 this subject, which never appeared in 

 print. Probably the editor, to whom I 

 sent my article, supposed my theory was 

 foolish. Possibly at some time in the 

 future it may be accepted as facts. 

 Lockwood, N. Y. J. H. Andre. 



Space Under Brood-Frames. 



' It is a cold, backward spring, and 

 colonies are weak in bees. I have 13 

 colonies, and have lost none yet. What 

 is the best size of space under brood- 

 frames for both summer and winter, 

 with fixed bottom-boards, and wintered 

 on the summer stands in chaff hives ? 

 I notice that some bee-keepers recom- 

 mend a space up to % of an inch. Mine 

 are J^ inch, with an entrance M to % 

 inch, and 12 inches long. 



», Geo. a. Cobb. 



Windham, N. Y., June 4, 1892, 



[It is not of much importance unless a 

 space of more than % of an inch is 

 given, and we prefer that size rather 

 than anything smaller. — Eds. 



Wavelets ol: News. 



Siinflowers — History and Value. 



It has been suggested that while we 

 are sending Indian corn to Russia, and 

 trying to teach the poor peasants of that 

 country how to eat it, we should learn 

 something from them in regard to the 

 great value and usefulness of the sun- 

 flower. It is said that in the Czar's 

 dominions 750,000 acres are devoted to 

 the cultivation of the sunflower, and 

 that every part of the plant is utilized. 



From the seed an oil is expressed that 

 is used in cooking, for salads and various 

 domestic purposes,^ as olive oil is in 

 other countries. The oil-cake is valua- 

 ble for feeding cattle, and the dry stalks 

 make an excellent fuel. The seeds of 

 the larger varieties are used to an enor- 

 mous extent by the people, very much as 

 peanuts are eaten with us, but without 

 being roasted. They are certainly ex- 

 cellent in flavor, as well as rich and 

 nutritious. 



But the strangest part of this story 

 of the sunflower is that probably many 

 centuries, if not thousands of years be- 

 fore Columbus sailed in his voyage of 

 discovery, the inhabitants of this coun- 



try were cultivating, or, at least utiliz- 

 ing the seed of this plant for food, and 

 its flowers as sacred emblems in their 

 religious rites. 



The early inhabitants of America who 

 worshiped the sun, used the sunflower in 

 their religious ceremonies on account of 

 its resemblance to the great source of 

 light and heat. Historians who have 

 investigated the subject inform us that 

 the virgins who officiated in the Temples 

 of the Sun in Peru, were crowned with 

 sunflowers made of pure gold, and also 

 carried them in their hands, besides 

 wearing them on their breasts. 



Historically it is the oldest plant of 

 which we have any record, and this 

 record extends back in America to a 

 very early period, of which we know 

 nothing except what we can learn from 

 the imperishable relics of their handi- 

 work scattered broadcast over the entire 

 Western Hemisphere. — Andrew S. Ful- 

 ler, in N. Y. Tribune. 



Dwindling of Colonies. 



Spring dwindling is one of the dangers 

 that beset bee-keeping, and imperil col- 

 onies. Dwindling occurs to some extent 

 during spring, summer, fall, and winter. 

 Dwindling occurs by reason of certain 

 different causes, the most common one 

 the failure of colonies to rear brood to 

 the extent required to maintain an equal 

 populous condition of the colony by 

 reasons (often) of queens failing to sup- 

 ply sufficient eggs in due season, and 

 perhaps workers sometimes mismanage 

 breeding affairs ; besides, the contingen- 

 cies of unfavorable weather, chilly tem- 

 perature, and undue careless exposure 

 while the weather is fickle in changes 

 of temperature. Colonies in a normal 

 condition will reproduce more than 

 equal to ordinary losses of old or imago 

 bees, providing, however, brood-rearing 

 goes along, as it naturally should. 



Unless colonies are blessed with first- 

 class queens, spring dwindling will be 

 mooted and whooped up in all the bee- 

 periodicals. Success in bee-keeping 

 very largely depends on the prolificness 

 of queens used. No such bee-hive as a 

 "non-swarmer" ever was or can be con- 

 trived, but non-swarming queens are 

 very common ; yes, they have been 

 advertised by certain breeders. It is a 

 law of nature that all colonies of bees 

 that remain in a primevous or prime 

 condition will multiply individually, and 

 multiply in ^colonies by swarming. The 

 mandate is, "multiply and replenish." 

 — C. J. Robinson, in Avfierican Farmer. 



