192 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



August 



A letter from Dr. Blanton, July 12, 

 advises that be bad upon tbat date 

 extracted twice, taking 5,500 pounds 

 of bonej% and bives were again full. 

 Every c^omb is taken from tbe bives 

 by tbe doctors' own hands. Conclud- 

 ing, Dr. Blanton writes : "In tbe fall 

 I will write an article on tbe honey- 

 gathering qualities of tbe different 

 strains of bees. So far, the blacks are 

 equal to any of them and more gentle. 

 When possible, I shall eliminate every 

 Cyprian from my apiary. " From an 

 extensive experience with Cyprians, 

 covering but a short period of time, 

 Ave regard it as nothing short of a ca- 

 lamity to have the bees of any local- 

 ity become contaminated with Cypri- 

 an blood, and we do not wonder at 

 Dr. Blanton's desire to be rid of them. 



The American Bee-Keeper desires to 

 secure a correspondent in every state 

 in the union and in every foreign coun- 

 try. We want some one who will be 

 alert for bee-keeping items for publi- 

 cation, distribute sample copies, re- 

 ceive subscriptions, and act generally 

 in the interests of this journal. If the 

 reader is in a position to act as our 

 representative, we should be pleased 

 to enter into correspondence with him, 

 or her, in regard to tbe matter. 



In the treatment of paralysis with 

 sulphur, where results have proven 

 unsatisfactory, there is no doubt that 

 the operator has departed to some ex- 

 tent from tbe rules governing tbe Pop- 

 pleton system of treatment. Now is 

 the time to look into the details of 

 the matter, while tbe article is before 

 the reader, and thus guard against 

 future trouble. 



Arthur C. Miller has pointtd out 

 tbat tbe notorious "umbilical coid" is 

 but tbe last cast of the larva with its 

 silken attachments, and necessarily 

 common to all queens, thus spoiling a 

 pretty theory. Mr. IMiller's srudious 

 habits, relating to things apicultural, 

 have been the cause or upsetting sev- 

 eral cherished pet bobbies. 



While tbe all-metal excluder has 

 the advantage of a great number of 

 openings through which tbe bees may 

 pasfi tbe wood-metal type is more 

 rigid, and less inclined to sag, coming 

 in contact with tbe top-bars of the 

 frames and thus obstructing the open- 

 ings. 



Though there are occasionally ex- 

 ceptions, it rarely pays to rush the 

 honey crop to market. Bee-keepers 

 who are ready and willing to turn 

 over their product to tbe dealer at 

 less than it is worth, will always find 

 buyers equally willing to accommodate 

 them. After the crop is sold, how- 

 ever, it is too late to profit by a ris- 

 ing market. 



Owing to the fact that the author 

 desii-ed to make some changes in the 

 article relating to formalin gas as a 

 cure for foul brood, we were unable 

 to present it in this issue, altbou^'b we 

 bad the manuscript in hand at the 

 time we promised to give it this 

 month. We hope to have tbe revised 

 copy in time for our next issue. 



At ithe time tbe Holyland bees were 

 first imported into tbe United States 

 some twenty-three years ago, it was 

 thought tbat the popularity then ac- 

 quired 1)y the Italians, would necessa- 

 rily be short-lived. As it now appears 

 by tbe twenty-fifth anniversary of the 

 landing of the Holylauds, no one will 

 recall that they ever landed. 



It is occasionally obsei-ved of late, 

 and probably not without some tena- 

 ble ground, that good beeswax is 

 yearly becoming scarcer. It is a fact 

 that while honey prices have dropped 

 heavily, tbe prices of beeswax have 

 not changed perceptibly during the 

 past twenty years. 



"Set a bottle of beer, sugar and 

 water beside each hive to catch 

 Avasps," commands tbe Irish Bee Jour- 

 nal. If Mclntyre, Hetherington, 

 Coggshall and a few other Ameiican 

 bee-keepers were to adopt this sort 

 of wasp trap, Milwaiikee would take 

 on a boom. 



Tbe drug journals of the country 

 quote "strained honey" to the trade. 

 So long as "extracted" is meant and 

 understood, it probably makes no dif- 

 ference as to tbe term employed; how- 

 ever, few bee-keepers would care to 

 take strained honey, even as medicine. 



The old-fashioned glass box, holding 

 14 to 20 pounds of honey has so en- 

 tirely disappeared that it is not im- 

 probable that a limited number of 

 these would find ready sale in the 

 home market, as a decided novelty. 



