1903 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



229 



that only drones of the very best stock 

 are used. This item is taken from the 

 Schweitzerishe Bieuenzeitung anfl 

 quoted in the Rucher Beige. 



Adrian Getaz. 



AUSTRALIA. 



The -ringbarking'' of nectar-yield- 

 ing forest trees, which is done in a 

 wholesale way, as a means of improv- 

 ing the sheep pasture, to the great dis- 

 advantage of apiarian interests, is 

 strongly objected to by bee-keepers of 

 the island continent. 



Mr. Tipper has adopted ruberoid 

 quilts as a winter covering for his 

 hives with very gratifying results. 



The Bee Bulletin says, "Chilian hon- 

 ey often arrives in England dirty, dark 

 and of strong flavor, and sells at 3d 

 per pound. This is generally bought 

 by chemists, after proper treatment, 

 and blended with some good-flavored 

 honey is sold as pure English honey 

 at Is (25 cents) per pound." 



President Bolton, of the Victorian 

 Apiarists' Association, regards bee- 

 keeping interests there as improving, 

 under the efforts of the society. 



is a disease almost, if not quite as in- 

 fectious as foul brood. I should like 

 to caution bee-keepers generally 

 against it. Having had it at one time 

 I can speak from experience. At pres- 

 ent it is decimating a whole district; 

 and to show how infectious it is, two 

 or three years ago a successful bee'- 

 keeper, having a large apiary, was 

 asked to overhaul some stocks suffer- 

 ing from a strange disease. He did 

 so, the consequences being that he 

 carried the infection home. His bees 

 have since died out after all known 

 remedies have been tried, and he is 

 obliged to buy swarms every season 

 to keep up the number of his stocks." 



The Irish Bee Journal gives the fol- 

 lowing statistics, as published by the 

 department of agriculture: The honey 

 produced (in Ireland) in 1901 amount- 

 ed to 718,218 pounds— extracted, 298,- 

 185 pounds, and 420,033 pounds of 

 comb, in sections. In 1891 the total 

 v/as 253,561 pounds, and the average 

 for the ten years, '91 to 1900, was 

 371,986 pounds. 



H. E. H. 



IRELAND. 



Says the Irish Bee Journal for Sep- 

 tember: "Two disastrous seasons in 

 succession are not common, even in 

 such a climate as ours. But, judging 

 from reports to hand from all parts 

 of Ireland, as well as our own experi- 

 ence, we fear that 1903 must be set 

 down as a year even more disappoint- 

 ing to bee-keepers than 1902. * * A 

 similar state of affairs is complained 

 of in England and Scotland, where 

 prominent bee-men declare that the 

 weather has been deplorable, and th§ 

 surplus honey gathering practically 

 nil. * * The disappointment to bee- 

 keepers has been a serious one. And 

 this, Avith the rapid spread of foul 

 brood, and the special advantages 

 which the pest enjoys in continued wet 

 weather, are sufficient to justify some 

 alarm." 



Considered in connection with that 

 which appears upon the same subject 

 in the editorial department of this is- 

 sue, the following, from the same 

 splendid journal, by W. Moroney, is 

 not without interest: "Bee paralysis 



JAMAICA. 



Mr. Leslie Alexander, of Malvern, 

 Jamaica, says the Agricultural News, 

 mentions a simple and effective meth- 

 od of branding robber bees. The en- 

 tire colony that is being robbed is 

 banked with hay which is freely 

 sjtrinkled with a brush dipped in 

 whitewash containing about a table- 

 spoonful of turpentine. Every robber 

 is branded 'white,' and the bee-keeper 

 can then detect the colony from which 

 the robbers are issuing, when the en- 

 trance is forthwith closed. No matter 

 how thickly the hay is placed around 

 a colony, the bees get ample ventila- 

 tion, and at night the covering may be 

 removed. The whitewashing is, of 

 course, superior to dusting with flour; 

 and, since it saturates the hay, the 

 bees get disgusted as soon as their 

 bodies get foul and sticky, while the 

 smell of the turpentine adds to their 

 disgust. 



Mr. Samuel T. Frost, before a meet- 

 ing of the British Chemists Assistants' 

 Association said: 



A great deal of beeswax imported 

 into Britain does not find its way into 

 Mincing Lane, but is shipped direct to 



