1900 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



93 



There are a few in our ranks who 

 persistently seek to criticise the 

 policy or management of contem- 

 porary bee-journals and to vent their 

 ill will toward some individual of 

 the fraternity through The Ameri- 

 can Bee-keeper. Vindictive 

 personalities are of no interest to 

 the public ; and under the present 

 editorial management will not be 

 given j^ublicity in these columns. 



A 



A beginner s question. 

 subscribe!', who says he has 



just invested in a Doolittle feeder, 

 enquires whether the bees will not 

 be liable to build comb in it, should 

 it chance to run short of feed. 



A feeder is designed only to sup- 

 ply any deficiency in stores which 

 may occur, or for stimulative pur- 

 poses. When the object of its use 

 has been accomplished it should be 

 removed from the hive and frames of 

 comb or foundation be inserted in 

 its place. It would be possible to 

 induce bees to use it, as suggested, 

 only by a good flow from outside 

 sources and intensely crowding the 

 colony. There would be no oc- 

 casion for having the feeder in the 

 hive at the time when comb-building 

 was being pursued with the vigor 

 necessary to cause the bees to util- 

 ize such a narrow space, separated 

 from the othei" combs by walis, as 

 it would be. 



ARRANGE.MENT OF COMBS IN THE 

 BROOD CHAMBER. 



A long talk on the subject of se- 

 lecting suitable combs for the brood 

 nest would hardly prove of interest 

 to the bee-keeper of ordinary expe- 

 rience; yet, some observations of 

 gross negligence in this respect 

 lead us to believe that a few sug- 

 gestions would not be altogether 

 amiss. 



Worker bees are necessary to 

 gather the honey crop, and they 



cannot be reared in drone combs. 

 It is of the utmost importance that 

 an ample supply of good worker 

 comb is accessible for the use of the 

 queen; and the time frequently 

 wasted — to the absolute detriment 

 of the colony — by the beginner, in 

 "looking for the queen," might be 

 profitably employed in arranging 

 the brood combs to the best advan- 

 tage, and otherwise assisting the 

 development of an adequate force 

 of workers for the harvest. 



If, for any reason, combs con- 

 taining a quantity of drone cells are 

 found in the brood nest, they should 

 be placed at the outside, raised to 

 the upper story or entirely removed 

 fi"om the hive. The drone cells 

 may be cut from such combs and 

 pieces of worker comb neatly 

 fitted in. 



It is not alone by the exclusion 

 of drone comb from the brood-nest 

 that the colony's wellbeing is ad- 

 vanced, but by the exercise of 

 careful thought in ascertaining 

 the needs of the case in hand, and 

 a practical application of that 

 thought. 



A GOOD WORD FOR THE CARNIOLANS 



ONE ADVANTAGE OF THE CYPRIAN. 



The following extract from a 

 letter dated April 9, 1900, from 

 Mr. H. M. Jameson, Corona, Cal., 

 reveals a possibility of utilizing to 

 advantage the fiendish trait of the 

 Cyprians. Mr. Jameson, with us. 

 seems to have acquired the notion 

 that Cyprians will sting. Sure they 

 are not Syrians, Mr. H. ? How- 

 ever, here is his new idea: 



Say, Mr. Hill, theCarniolan bee seern.s 

 to do extra fine here. They breed up 

 strong, and catch the orange bloom. 

 They do not wait for warm weather, 

 like the Italians. They even start their 

 brood-nest in cool weather on the north 

 side of the hive. We are to have a bad 

 season again; but I am rather favorably 

 located. I have mountain and valley 

 range. Tlie orange now and alfalfa all 



