THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



1G3 



early in March. I can also rear 

 queens late in the season and thus 

 have my apiary well stocked with 

 fine tested queens not over seven 

 months old, to be sold to custom- 

 ers the next spring. I believe our 

 climate improves the color of Ital- 

 ian bees, and wintering out-of-doors 

 is certainly highly conducive to the 

 hardiness and vigor of the bees and 

 queens. Cessation from laying and 

 brood rearing is not so prolonged 

 and the atmosphere that surrounds 

 them is not stifling or unnatural at 

 any time. The purchaser from a 

 southern apiary may be certain 

 that foul brood or any other dis- 

 ease is not conve3'ed along with 

 the queen or bees to spread its 

 deadly poison. But I will cease 

 my enumeration of advantages for 

 we are far behind our opportunities, 

 lacking the keen intelligence, the 

 universal energy and the homogen- 

 eous population necessary to make 

 scientific bee culture a common 

 pursuit. 



Oscar F. B^^edsoe. 



Grenada^ Ifiss., May 26, 1884. 



BOOK NOTICES AND 

 REVIEWS. 



" Dictionar}' of Practical Apicul- 

 ture" by John Phin. — 



We are ver}' greatly pleased with 

 this admirable little work. It is a 

 tit companion of that valuable vol- 

 ume " How to Use the Microscope " 

 by the same author. Tlie work 

 shows great labor and pains. Not 

 only are all the dictionaries and 

 lexicons consulted but the work 

 sliows intimate knowledge of all tlic 

 old bee-books from that of Mark- 

 ham of 1610 down to those just 

 from the press. 



The book gives a very full list of 

 terms used in apiculture, and its 

 criticisms on improper terms are 



most excellent. It shows the ab- 

 surdity of such terms as metal rab- 

 bets, which are really no rabbets at 

 all, but only supports. The use of 

 the words " hatch " referring to 

 emergence of the imago, and of the 

 word "fertilize" in i)lace of "fe- 

 cundate" and of" drone eggs, "etc., 

 are all very justly condemned. We 

 can hardly conceive how the work 

 could have been better done. In 

 quite a close reading we have yet 

 to find a criticism in the work to 

 which we take exception. 



A. J. Cook. 



Prof. A. J. Cook gives such a fair 

 and just criticism of Mr. Pliin's 

 W'Ork that we take great pleasure in 

 giving it to our readers and endors- 

 ing it so far as we have examined 

 it. 



We are pleased to note the de- 

 scription of " glucose " as given by 

 Mr. Phin. It is timely and well put" ; 

 indeed we heartily endorse what he 

 says, and warn our readers to be- 

 ware of anyone who will either 

 advocate or endorse its use by bee- 

 keepers, as such an one cannot have 

 the interests of beekeepers at heart. 



The price of Mr. Phin's work was 

 wrongfully given in his advertise- 

 ment in our June number ; it should 

 be 50 cents instead of $1.00. We 

 advise our readers to procure and 

 study the work carefully as it will 

 prove not only interesting but in- 

 structive. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



We do not think that we are 

 asking too much of our readers in 

 urging them to send us at least one 

 new subscriber. We desire to 

 make the " Api," if possible, still 

 more interesting as each month 

 passes, and to do this we must 

 have more subscriptions. We are 

 willing to do our part and more if 

 possible and we feel assured that 



