776 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Nov. 9, 1S»( 5 



its general, all-around worthlessness — how does this black 

 bee, I repeat, manage to run out of existence its yellow cousin 

 whose splendid attributes are printed on the advertising 

 sheets of every journal devoted to apiculture ? The question 

 is a difficult one, and one which I should have been inclined 

 to give up had I not stumbled upon a possible answer the past 

 season. 



It has been my purpose for some time to save this black 

 bee from contamination with other races, if possible, and seek 

 to give it a chance through careful breeding to prove its quali- 

 ties. During the past summer I have been rearing queens 

 from an old black queen of unusual excellence. 



The task has been very up-hill labor. I have reared 30 

 or more queens with great care, and now have only a few 

 mated queens to show for my labor. Out of the last dozen 

 which emerged most promisingly, more than half failed to 

 mate or were crippled on their return by being balled. Many 

 were killed outright. Yellow queens at the same time were 

 mated with no dilHcuUy. 



To account for this thing was a puzzle till I happened to 

 see one of the black queens fly. She went like a bullet. 

 Surely it would take a swift drone to catch her ! One of the 

 queens was gone nearly, if not quite, half an hour, yet returned 

 unmaled. This was during the last week of September, and 

 only a few drones were still alive. The yellow queens, how- 

 ever, mated in spite of the scarcity of drones. 



There seems to be but one answer. The flight of black 

 bees is stronger than that of Italians. The drones found it 

 easy to overtake the yellow queens, but were mostly distanced 

 by the black queens. 



Here we have an explanation for the frequent mismates 

 which we encounter when trying to rear Italian queens. In 

 the wedding-race the black drones distance the yellow drones, 

 and, unless the yellow drones happen by chance to be better 

 situated in the race, the accepted suitor is black. This will 

 explain why eventually, if left to themselves, black bees will 

 run jellow ones out of existence. 



I fully expect that little credence will be given this theory 

 which I have just advanced, especially since the prejudice 

 against the black is so firmly rooted ; but I feel confident that 

 what I have advanced can not fail to arouse the interest of 

 every thinking bee-keeper. Even if the reader does cry 

 "Bosh!" he will be set to thinking, and thinking is what 

 makes of us better bee-keepers. 



New London Co., Conn. 



Wax-Rendering Methods and Equipment 



BY ARTHUR C. MILLER 



ONE of the difficult things for most of us is to get a new 

 point of view for a subject, to approach it from a different 



side. This seems to be noticeably the case in regard to 

 apicuUural matters, due partly to the old superstitions which 

 still cling about it, and partly to the literature on the subject. 

 These thoughts are suggested by some recent comments in 

 the bee-press on current practices, particularly some regard- 

 ing the extraction of wax. 



Wax-presses have received much attention of late, all 

 sorts of home-made affairs being illustrated and written about. 

 They are exploited as being the proper thing for securing all 

 the wax from old combs, this claim being made by one firm 

 for the presses they make. Any one with half an eye knows 

 that such results are impossible with any wax press now made. 

 It is only necessary to examine the refuse from a wax-press to 

 be assured of the fact that much wax remains in it. And the 

 greater the mass of material put in a press the greater the 

 proportion of wax retained. This principle of wax-extraction 

 is wrong, and no amount of " clawing over " of the slumgum 

 will remedy the evil. 



Not long since there appeared in these columns an article 

 by Mr. Dadant, describing a French contrivance for recover- 

 ing wax, consisting of a double-ended paddle rotating below a 

 strainer. The kettle, or pail, was to be tilled with water and 

 comb, the paddle and strainer adjusted, and as the paddle 

 stirred the mass below the strainer, the freed wax rose to the 

 surface. Aside from a brief adverse comment by Mr. Hasty, 

 no notice appears to have been taken of \i, and yet within 

 that tUtle contrivance lie the true principles /or the extraction 

 of wax. To be sure, the machine is incomplete and crude, 

 but, properly developed, it is to be the wax-extractor of the 

 future. 



Old comb consists of various sorts of fiber and other sub- 

 stances of an absorbent nature, and as soon as the -mass 

 reaches the melting point of wax these substances take it up. 

 To get it out, the mass is squeezed ; but until you can squeeze 



a sponge dry, do not expect to press all the wax from a mass 

 of old comb. When melted underwater the absorbent sub- 

 stances take up much of it, affording better opportunity for 

 more wax to be secured ; but even the mass must be agitated 

 in order to permit the wax to escape, and to make the opera- 

 tion complete some device must be used to break up every 

 particle of the comb. 



Besides these features, some device must be had for 

 skimming off the wax as it rises, so that when all is extracted 

 the refuse may be immediately removed and the machine re- 

 charged. 



A machine properly constructed embodying these features 

 will secure all the wax, and do it rapidly and easily. 



Providence Co., R. I. 



-"\ 



Conr^cntton 

 Proceebings 



Report of the Texas Convention 



rJ 



BY LOUIS H. SCHOLL, SEC. 



The 5th annual meeting of the Texas Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation was held at College Station, July 25, 26 and 27, 1905. 



The meeting was opened at 9 a.m., July 25, by President 

 W. H. Laws, with a few words welcoming the bee-keepers 

 present. 



Louis H. Scholl. the secretary-treasurer, was instructed 

 to take down tlie proceedings, as a stenographer was not ob- 

 tained in time. 



Prayer was offered by Mr. J. M. Hagood. 



Mr. W. H. Laws then delivered the following 



PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS 



We have met for the purpose of obtaining knowledge of 

 our beloved pursuit, and to disseminate the same among our 

 bee-keeping friends. These annual gatherings are looked to, 

 as they siiould be, with expectations and delight, where we 

 can again meet, clasp hands, and greet each other as friends — 

 fraternal greetings — men of one pursuit, whose business in- 

 terests should be mutual and identical. I trust that you are 

 here with a full program, and that every one of you will feel 

 that the success of the meeting will depend upon you — it is 

 yours. 



In the first place, we should express our thanks to the 

 various llLes of railroads who have so kindly donated passes, 

 making it possible for so many of us living at remote distances 

 in this great State, to be present at this meeting. These rail- 

 road companies are awakening to the fact that apiculture in 

 all its branches and the interests of the railroads are identi- 

 cal ; that when the farmer and the bee-keeper prosper they 

 likewise prosper; and in order that we bee-keepers, and men 

 of other agricultural pursuits who have met here and are on 

 the grounds by the thousand, representing what is known as 

 the Farmers' Congress, they have issued thousands of passes. 

 They depend upon us to return home and to disseminate to 

 the good of our neighbors the information that we have 

 gained, believing it will result in better methods and increased 

 production, and consequently increased business for their 

 lines. 



There are some things in which we bee-keepers of Texas 

 are interested, and to which I would like to direct your atten- 

 tion. We are proud of the very effective and needed legisla- 

 tion on the diseases of bees; and now that an appropriation 

 has been made by our last Legislature to aid in the eradica- 

 tion of these diseases, whenever they should occur, any and 

 all bee-keepers in the State who should know of the existence 

 of the disease, should at once communicate with the inspector 

 of apiaries, who will either appear in person or render the 

 assistance necessary for the eradication of the disease. So 

 far as known there is little if any foul brdod in the State, and 

 all precautions are used against its introduction. But when 

 known to exist, the most heroic measures should be used for 

 its eradication. 



We are now much in need of a pure lioney law. The Bill 

 which met defeat at the hands of the last Legislature, we 

 take, was a good one and for the benefit of all, producer and 

 consumer alike. It should have become a law. The scarcity 

 of honey tlie present season only opened the door more widely 

 for the vendor of adulterated goods. Indeed, it is so widely 



