THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



211 



the bees began to pay, and when the 

 people about me saw the shipments of 

 honey going away to market, they be- 

 came gradually enthused, and began to 

 "get bees" — yes, bees of every descrip- 

 tion — "tag-rag and bobtail" — business 

 bees. My apiary built up steadily, 

 and gave reasonable profits from year 

 to year, and the enthusiasm among my 

 neighbors outgrew my bee business, 

 till the country is literally full of bees, 

 all in the sound of a farm bell. These 

 people know precious little about bee 

 culture, but all the same, they have 

 got the bees, and my field is likely to 

 be overstocked, if such a thing can be 

 done, and I presume it is not only pos- 

 sible, but probable that it can and will 

 be done. Well what am I going to do 

 about it? Well just nothing at all. 

 My apiary will stand at the head in 

 way of improvements, and will be 

 pushed steadily on as long as the bus- 

 iness pays, and if the country becomes 

 oveiTun with bees, my apiai-y will be 

 moved to "new fields," with pastures 

 "uncropped." My views are that this 

 problem however important, must 

 "grind itself out," just as other busi- 

 iness matters are obliged to do. I 

 could not drive out the farmer who 

 "keeps bees," and "tills his broad 

 acres," if I wanted to, and would not 

 if I could. 



2. I think not. If it could be pro- 

 duced in this way, I should think it 

 would appear occasionally almost 

 everywhere, where the climate becomes 

 cold enough to chill brood, at times. 

 There have been plenty of cases where 

 brood has been chilled in central 

 Kentucky. But not a case of foul 

 brood was ever known to exist so far 

 as I have been able to learn. 



3. I have no experience with the 

 disease. 



4. My opinion of reversible frames 

 is that they are not necessary to the 

 success of the apiary. In my opinion 

 what may be gained by reversing 

 frames, may be accomplished in other 

 ways requiring much less labor and 

 worry. 



5. I have no reasons to believe that 

 mature bees consume pollen as a diet. 

 In fact, pollen must be elaborated with 

 honey and water before it is possible 

 for bees to swallow it, and this they 

 never do only when preparing it to 

 feed the larvae. Bees will most prob- 

 ably winter better in very long cold 

 winters, without the presence of pol- 

 len as no breeding will occur in that 

 case, but that it is not the "cause" of 

 dysentery is proven by the well-known 



fact that it never causes the disease in 

 moderate climates. I have never seen 

 a fatal case of dysentery in all ray ex- 

 perience. 



With us, plenty of winter stores, 

 honey and pollen, is essentially neces- 

 sary to strong colonies in the early 

 spring. 



6. Have no experience in this line, 



7. I am satisfied that there is not. 

 I should be glad if some one would 

 give a cheaper method equally as 

 good. 



8. Yes, decidedly. 



9. No, provided the wax is not left 

 in the sun any longer than is neces- 

 sary to separate it from the dross, 



ANSWERS BY L. C. ROOT. 



1. We should respect the rights of 

 any person who has established a loca- 

 tion. There is plenty of good, unoccu- 

 pied ground all over the country. 

 Except in extreme cases there is no 

 excuse for intruding upon the ground 

 of those already established. We 

 should not fail to recognize the rights 

 of residents to establish a home apiary. 

 If I have an apiary of long standing in 

 a location away from home and a resi- 

 dent near it desires to establish one, I 

 think it my duty to yield the location 

 to him. Usually in such cases, it is 

 only necessary for all parties to use a 

 little good judgment when satisfac- 

 tory conclusions may be reached. 



2. I think not. 



3. To be just exactly honest about 

 this question, I have to say that in ray 

 opinion this is one of the mysteries of 

 beekeeping which has never been ex- 

 plained. The indications are that, at 

 a certain stage, after being capped 

 over, the brood is killed and poisoned 

 by some insect, and that after a certain 

 period of time, its destroyer overtakes 

 it and the disease disappears as mys- 

 teriously as it appeared. The great 

 question of importance is to be able to 

 detect the very first appearance of it, 

 care for it and prevent its spread in 

 the safest and most economical way. 



i. It has some advantages, yet the 

 raa.sses will not avail themselves of 

 them, 



5. I am very far from being one 

 who believes that a liberal supply of 

 pollen tends to unsuccessful winter- 

 ing. From very close observation, I 

 have come to an exactly reverse con- 

 clusion. 



G, I have had no experience. 



7. I know of no better. Ask J. 

 Van Deusen & Sons and Chas. Dadan u 



