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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



June 8, 1905 



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The "Old Reliable" seen through New and Unreliable Glasses. 

 By E. E. Hasty, Sta. B. Rural, Toledo, Ohio. 



NO ADULTERATED COMB FOUNDATION AMONG 

 AMERICANS. 



It is not that all Europeans are rogues and 

 all Americans honest, that we don't have 

 adulterated foundation ia this country. 

 Climate and Conscience trot in double harness 

 for us as they do not elsewhere. In our ex- 

 treme climate impure foundation is nearly 

 j«rf to break down ; while in cool climes the 

 break-down is only occasional — not frequent 

 enough to stop the use of the article. We 

 have rogues, and they can simulate honesty 

 and innocence ad libitum : but they can't 

 keep people from abandoning the use of an 

 article that absolutely won't work. Page 324. 



WISCONSIN APIARY INSPECTOR'S BLANK. 



Did you suitably thank N. E. France for 

 that " Subscriber for " in the inspection 

 blank? It appears to be suggestive enough 

 to do lots of good without being quite itera- 

 tive or impertinent enough to be insulting. 

 This latter contingency is sometimes sadly 

 forgotten in human affairs. I'm well ac- 

 quainted with the superintendent of a little 

 country Sunday-school who feels insulted by 

 the blanks he is required to make out — with 

 iterative "none — no— no — no." A closing-up 

 line reading, " Nothing but heathen, moss- 

 backs and savages out here " would almost 

 be appropriate. Page 324. 



FREIGHT-RATE ON HONEY IN JACKETED CANS. 



The importance of getting juster freight- 

 rates for extracted honey in jacketed cans is 

 considerable, even if it applies to but one 

 classification region. Easier to make other 

 regions follow suit then. Something more 

 than six lines of fine print might very prop- 

 erly be given to this success of Mr. N. E. 

 France. Very plain that Mr. F. does not 

 make the incubating hen his sole model of 

 performance. Let us remember that a few 

 appreciative words now and then are excel- 

 lent to make a servant who does well keep on 

 doing well. For costing little and accom- 

 plishing much they take first prize. And 

 they bless him who gives them almost as 

 much as him who receives them— keep him 

 from growing to be a bear in this zoological 

 world. Page 334. 



TARIFF ON CUBAN HONEY. 



With all allowances made, the present 

 actual tariff on Cuban comb honey is a cent 

 and a quarter a pound, it seems. Not heavy 

 enough to be prohibitive or seriously repres- 

 sive. By common repute there's going to be 

 lontf time a general readjustment of the tariff; 

 but our folks want a rise, and the popular 



idea is a general reduction. Driving from 

 Derby to London when London drives out to 

 Derby to see the great race is said to be a 

 trifle trying. Page 324. 



KNOWING THE PURPOSE OE ONE'S EXISTENCE. 



So you concluded the Root Company know 

 what they are there for without being told! 

 Well, if the bell knows what it's there for 

 without being told, it should still be tolled at 

 proper times. Won't hurt us perhaps to say 

 that on the whole they are there because they 

 best deserve to be there. And in this world 

 of God's, cotiiinniHij to deserve leadership is 

 an immensely important item — seeing that we 

 have Scripture to inform us that the crown 

 does not endure to all generations. Page 324. 



POLLEN OF VARIOUS HUES. 



The pollen pellets which bees bear on their 

 legs take a wide range of color ; yet they 

 rather rarely verge on the greens, and still 

 more rarely on the blues. Some of the Cali- 

 fornia gilias, according to Prof. Cook, yield a 

 blue pollen. Page 325. 



BEES don't STING FRUIT. 



Lots of us have been living with bees for a 

 good share of our lives, and I venture the as- 

 sertion that none of us has ever seen any- 

 thing in their behavior that would lead one to 

 expect them to sting a grape or peach. Not 

 like them. And that sort of consideration 

 counts heavily. The dog might make faces 

 at the looking-glass, but he is not going to do 

 it. The captured rabbit might defend himself 

 by biting (and we greatly wonder why he 

 does not), but somehow he never does. The 

 great carnivora of the cat tribe might, when 

 tamed, hunt under a master like the dog, but 

 they just wonH. Domestic pussy pretty nearly 

 ditto — she must boss her own hunting or 

 there'll be none. Similarly it's not in the 

 nature of bees to sting things for mechanical 

 purposes. Dander must be up or no sting. 

 Or let us get at the slander from a different 

 direction. Suppose bees did sting grapes. 

 Those who charge this do not consider what 

 an exceedingly fine shaft the sting is. No in- 

 sect would notice so infinitesimal a puncture, 

 and no juice would exude — unless I am very 

 greatly mistaken. In fact, we may offer our 

 own hides in evidence. An ordinary stiog 

 does not let out the blood. But when it 

 causes a spasm of the tissues, making the 

 spot to assume a different color, and to draw 

 into an entirely new shape, then a visible dot 

 or color of blood is foreecl out. But fruits do 

 not have the kind of life that can get up a 

 spasm. Page 328. 



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Doctor ITlillcr s Qucstion^Box 



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Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal, 



or to Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, 111. 



It^" Dr. Miller does not answer Questions by mail. 



California Redwood— Bee-Stlng 

 Remedies 



1. I have a chance to get some hives made 

 of California redwood. It is used for making 

 incubators in this town. They say it will not 

 take water, ants or moths will not work in it, 

 and it will stand painting. Would the honey 

 taste of it, or would the bees want to live in 

 hives with that odor* Some say to wash 

 with salt water or peach leaves. I can get 

 hives made from this very cheap, although 



redwood is high-priced. Have you had any 

 experience in this matter? 



2. What is the best remedy for a bee-sting, 

 either for a person on whom the sting swells 

 or one that it doesn't; It does not swell on 

 me. I have heard that a sting will always 

 swell up on a healthy person. Is that true? 



Nebraska. 



Answers.— 1. California redwood has been 

 successfully used for bee-hives, and you need 

 not fear ics effect on the honey, even without 

 salt or peach leaves, which probably have no 



effect. But you will hardly find it proof 

 against ants and moths. 



2. To give all the remedies that have been 

 offered for bee-stings would occupy pages. 

 Perhaps as good as any other remedy is a 

 plaster of mud. Most bee-keepers of experi- 

 ence seem to think that no remedy does much 

 good ; the only thing they do being to get 

 the sting out as soon as possible. Don't 

 pull out the sting by grasping it between 

 thumb and finger, for that helps to squeeze 

 more poison into the wound; but scrape it 

 out with the finger-nail, or else, if it is in the 

 hand, by striking the hand hard on the thigh 

 with a sort of sliding motion which wipes out 

 the sting, A sting will swell on a healthy 

 person in nearly every case it the person is 

 not used to it, and perhaps a little worse on 

 an unhealthy person; but after being stung 

 often one generally becomes to an extent 

 immune, so there is little or no swelling. 



Puttlne on Supers 



Is it better to put on supers before swarm- 

 ing-time or at once? Michigan. 



Answer.— In most localities it is better to 

 put on supers before swarming begins. As 

 you are probably in a white-clover region, 

 you will do well to put on supers a week or 

 10 days after the ««/■?/>>«( clover blossom is 

 seen. Better put on supers too early than too 

 late. 



Clipping Off Queens' Legs 



In clipping queens, do you not sometimes 

 clip off a foot? It you should accidentally 

 do so, what effect would it have on the 

 queen? Would she die, stop laying, or be 

 superseded by the bees? Iowa. 



Answer. — I think I was never more than 

 once so careless as to cut off a leg. A queen 

 with 5 legs will do good work laying, as I 

 have had several born lacking one leg. 



Management for Increase 



I bought a 3-frame nucleus May 12, and put 

 it in an S-frame hive with 5 frames of empty 

 combs. It has been said that properly man- 

 aged this could be increased to 4 or 5 full 

 colonies by fall. How ought it to be man- 

 aged in order to accomplish this result? I 

 have been feeding syrup, and the bees have 

 taken considerable of it into the combs. 



Missouri. 



Answer. — If any one tells you that you 

 can increase that 3-frame nucleus to 4 or 5 

 colonies by fall, tell him you don't believe it. 

 That's a feat for a veteran of long experience 

 under the most favorable circumstances. I 

 wouldn't dare to promise I would do it. To 

 make the greatest increase, you need famili- 

 arity with basic principles which you will get 

 from a book of instructions on bee-keeping. 

 This department is intended to supplement 

 such a book, not to take its place, for which 

 enough room could not be allowed. After 

 studying up the book, it anything is not clear, 

 I shall be glad to help clear up all 1 can in 

 this department. 



Bees Gnawing Foundation In Sections 



What is the cause of bees cutting, founda- 

 tion out of the sections? _ ^ 'rzs 'SZ 



I am a beginner, having started with a 

 swarm which came to me July 6, 19U3. I 

 hived it in a box, and put it in an orchard, 

 where I keep it. In the spring of 1904 a 

 neighbor helped me to put the bees in a hive, 

 and I secured one swarm and 30 sections of 

 honey from them that season. I caught 3 

 runaway swarms, but lost 2 of them in the 

 winter. 



I used inch starters in the sections, but this 

 spring I thought I would use full sheets, and 

 I notice that the bees are cutting out some of 

 them. lean not imagine what makes them 

 do it, unless 1 did not fasten them in right. I 

 fastened the foundation at both ends. Did I 



