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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Nov. 16 190S 



60 far as possible, of the common black bees 

 and of certain strains of Italian bees which 

 seem to have deteriorated. 



Carniolan bees are very prolific and are, at 

 the same time, gentle, and there are records 

 to show that as honey-producers they are ex- 

 cellent. The recently introduced Caucasian 

 bees, which have attracted considerable atten- 

 tion, are the most gentle bees known at the 

 present time, and records of honey-produc- 

 tion now coming in indicate that they are ex- 

 cellent. The Cyprian race, which has been 

 criticised on account of its temper, ranks sec- 

 ond to none in honey-production. 



Of these races, the Carniolans are sold in 

 this country to some extent, and the Cyprians 

 in less numbers; so far no queen-breeder has 

 offered Caucasian queens for sale, and there 

 is, without doubt, an opportunity for a wide 

 sale of these queens, as evidenced by the re- 

 quests which come to the Bureau of Ento- 

 mology. 



The Bureau can do more toward the wider 

 introduction of these races by inducing re- 

 liable men to take up the rearing of pure- 

 bred queens than by a more general distribu- 

 tion. It is not the purpose merely to give 

 away queens, and the future distributions 

 will be limited as follows: 



To any experienced queen-breeder who will 

 guarantee to rear queens and mate them 

 purely in considerable numbers for general 

 sale, the Bureau will send, as far as the sup- 

 ply will allow,one high-grade breedingqueen, 

 purely mated and carefully tested. In addi- 

 tion, several queens whose matings are not 

 known will be sent for drone-production, 

 since drones are not affected by the mating; 

 all queens, however, will be from good stock, 

 the number to depend upon the supply at 

 hand. The breeder 'making the request must 

 give evidence of his ability to rear gcod 

 queens, must agree to offer at least 200 pure- 

 bred queens a year for sale to the general pub- 

 lic, and must not ask for them an exorbitant 

 price. It is the opinion of the Department 

 that 30 percent more than the current price 

 for Italian queens would be fair. It will also 

 be expected that in future years the breeders 

 will do their utmost toward the improvement 

 in honey-production, at the same time main- 

 taining the purity of the races. The Bureau 

 will be glad to aid breeders of this class to its 

 utmost ability, but will not aid in any way a 

 breeder who offers for sale or sells crossed 

 hybrids of the various races, except in the 

 case of untested queens, and even in that case, 

 every possible effort should be made to get 

 pure matings. 



After this distribution, all inquiries to the 

 Bureau will be answered by giving a list of 

 reliable breeders, including those who have 

 received stock from the Government apiary ; 

 and the name of any breeder who knowingly 

 sends out inferior stock will be dropped. It 

 is not the purpose to interfere with the private 

 business of the persons receiving queens, but 

 these precautions are taken to protect the bee- 

 keepers of the country. 



No applications for queens under other cir- 

 cumstances will be considered. All applica- 

 tions will be considered in the order of their 

 receipt. Yours respectfully. 



Approved : L. O. Howard, 



James Wilson, Eidomologist. 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



That Bee. Tanging Business 



The following is from Prof. Bigelow, with 

 reference to an editorial on page 709 : 

 Founded On Fact or On Foolishness? 



Editor American Bee .Jocrnal — 



In your issue of Oct. 12, 1 note that you re- 

 fer to my discussion in Gleanings in Bee Cul- 

 ture as to whether or not noise has any effect 

 on a swarm of bees, or whether the custom 

 known as "tanging" at swarming-time (as 

 practiced for generations by our ancestors) 

 had absolutely no relation to the habits of the 

 bees, but was founded on a forgotten edict by 

 Alfred the Great as to ownership. 



It is evident that you got only an imperfect 

 notion of what I am driving at, for you refer 

 to the article as a " sort of defense of the cus- 

 tom." What I had in mind, and what I sup- 

 posed that I had made clear, has no connec- 



tion of any kind with present-day apiculture. 

 It is evident that I am lookingat bees so com- 

 pletely from the-natural-history point of view, 

 while you and certain other editors are so in- 

 terested in the practical and manipulative 

 parts of the business, that there is danger of 

 our misunderstanding each other. I will try 

 to make my meaning clearer in the future. 



If, for example, I had advanced arguments, 

 in a sportsman's paper, to show that fish have 

 auditory organs, I should be more surprised 

 to see the editor teach, on my responsibility, 

 that it would be possible to attract fish to a 

 net by the use of a bass drum and a cornet, 

 than I am to learn that you and certain other 

 writers think that I am advocating the res- 

 toration of the ancient custom of " tanging " 

 at swarming-times. I am advocating nothing 

 of the kind, so far as practical bee-culture is 

 concerned. 



To return to the illustration: Every prac- 

 tical fisherman knows, for instance, that fish 

 have an auditory sense, but of what use he 

 can make of that fact is for him to decide. I 

 am not a practical fisherman. I am a student 

 of Nature. 



I stated certain facts from my experience 

 that led me to think that the " city chaps " 

 and the funny papers are all wrong in ridicul- 

 ing the custom. The editor of Gleanings in 

 Bee Culture seems not to miss the point, but 

 in an editorial comment cites, from his own 

 experience, facts bearing upon the subject, 

 but you and a writer in his periodical almost 

 ridicule me for " advocating the custom." 



What I want to bring out is not ridicule for 

 advocating tanging (when I am not advocat- 

 ing anything), but facts pro or con from the 

 experiences of practical bee-keepers to show 

 what effect, if any, noise and confusion have 

 on a swarm of bees. We know that bees can 

 be influenced by smoke. Can they be driven 

 or influenced by sound, or by light (such as 

 the flashing of sunlight from mirrors), or by 

 confusion in any form. Is there a central or 

 directing leadership, that such noises, light, 

 or confusion, break up? 



Let us occasionally stop our talking about 

 the production of honey, and thereby the pro- 

 duction of money, and try to know the bee. 

 Yours very truly, 



Edward F. Bigelow. 



Fairfield Co., Conn. 



Prof. Bigelow says there is danger of mis- 

 understanding each other, which is certainly 

 true, but it is equally true that there is no 

 desire to misunderstand or to misrepresent 

 him. His article in Gleanings, page 9.57, was 

 most assuredly understood as a " sort of de- 

 fense " of tanging, and there is just as assur- 

 edly a misunderstanding of Editor Root's foot- 

 note it the latter viewed it in any other light. 

 His opening sentence reads: 



" It is possible that bee-keepers heretofore 

 have not given enough attention to the sub- 

 ject of noises of some kind to drown swarm- 

 ing-notes, either of the queen or of the scouts; 

 but from experiments which I have made my- 

 self I am satisfied that water from a spray- 

 pump, thrown on bees while in tlie air, is 

 vastly more effective than any noise that may 

 be made." 



However he may have understood Prof. 

 Bigelow, Mr. Root certainly seems to be dis- 

 cussing the efficacy of tanging as compared 

 with spraying. 



But Prof. Bigelow's word is suflicient war- 

 rant for the fact that he does not advocate 

 tanging, and it is worth while to consider the 

 questions he raises in the latter part of his 

 communication. Can any one give facts that 

 ha7e a reasonably certain bearing on the case? 

 Such facts will be welcomed. 



National Convention In Chicago 



Secretary Hutchinson writes thus prophet- 

 ically in the October Bee-Keepers' Review 

 about the Chicago convention of the National 

 Bee-Keepers' Association, the dates of which 



have been changed to Dec. 19, 30 and 21, as 

 the annual Fat Stock Show was postponed 

 two weeks, on account of which bee-keepers 

 will secure reduced railroad rates : 



The coming convention of the National, 

 that is to be held in Chicago the third week in 

 December, promises to be well attended and 

 profitable. While its removal to Chicago was 

 a disappointment to the Texans, I have re- 

 ceived several letters from them saying that 

 under the circumstances the change was a 

 wise one. Of course, if all goes well, another 

 year we will feel in duty bound to go to 

 Texas; not only this, but we will be ffJad to 

 go. Since the announcement that the con- 

 vention will be held in Chicago, I have re- 

 ceived many letters from men who are pleased 

 with the change, as it will allow them to 

 attend. 



So far as I can see, the convention promises 

 much. Apparently there are no feuds, no 

 opportunities for squabbles and bickerings; 

 the date comes after the hurry of the season 

 is over; there will be exceeding low rates on 

 the railroads, and low rates at the hotels; 

 Chicago is the railroad center of a great 

 honey-producing region ; the program is not 

 only varied, but it embraces living, practical 

 topics. I predict that the Chicago conven- 

 tion will be a rousing one; harmonious and 

 full of practical discussion ; and one from 

 which men will go home feeling that it was 

 good that they had been there. 



We trust that all of Mr. Hutchinson's fond 

 hopes for the Chicago convention of the Na- 

 tional Bee-Keepers' Association will be rea- 

 lized on Deo. 19, 30 and 21. We see no rea- 

 son why it should not be far ahead of any pre- 

 ceding convention. Surely, as time goes on, 

 and as more experience is gained, there should 

 be a constant progress on the part of all. 



Secretary Hutchinson has done his part to 

 make the coming convention the best ever. 

 It only remains for all the bee-keepers, so far 

 as possible, to attend and unite in producing 

 an individually pleasant and profitable con- 

 vention. 



*■ 



Fined for Selling Impure Food 



A Chicago newspaper of Nov. 4 contained 

 the following item concerning the punish- 

 mant of some violators of the Illinois pure 

 food law : 



Galesburg, III., Nov. ^. — [Special] — 

 Twenty-two grocers, arrested on a charge of 

 violating the pure food law by selling chemi- 

 cal vinegar, spurious butter, and bogus honey, 

 paid their fines of 125 and costs each today, 

 all pleading guilty. The plea is made by the 

 grocers that the goods were represented to 

 them as pure. 



Well, 32 fined in one bunch isn't bad. Let 

 the good work go on. Surely, it is evidence 

 that the Illinois Food Commission is still 

 doing business. The pathway of the adul- 

 terator and the seller of adulterated food must 

 be made as rocky as possible. It is time that 

 the common people— all food consumers- 

 were protected from food frauds. 



Comb Honey Guarantee Circulars. 



— These were gotten up by Ttie Honey-Pro- 

 ducers' League, to be put into shipping-oases 

 before nailing them up for market. They are 

 mailed for only 10 cents for 50— practically 

 cost price. Every bee-keeper who has any 

 honey to sell by the case should use these 

 circulars. They will help to inspire confi- 

 dence in the genuineness of comb honey. 

 Send all orders to this oflioe. 



Maeterlinck's " Life of the Bee."— 



We have a few copies of this book, price, post- 

 paid, .SI. 40; or with the American Bee Jour- 

 nal one year— both for $2.00, as long as the 

 books last. It is a cloth-bound book, and has 

 437 pages. 



