104 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



June 



from worker comb evidence of sperm 

 was found. This, of course. Is a point 

 against Dickel: but, if it is possible, 4f 

 one does succeed in. producing both 

 queen and drone from what is termed 

 unfertilized eggs, or what amounts to 

 the same, from fertilized eggs, then the 

 result of the above examination amounts 

 to nothing. All the scientists with all 

 their microscopes cannot disprove a 

 fact! Naples, N.Y., March 10, 1900. 



COLD WEATHER PREVENTS 

 BROOD-REARING. 



BY M. F. RKEVE. 



COMPLAINTS of the backward 

 spring and losses by continued 

 cold winds were made at the 

 meeting of the Philadelphia Bee-keepers' 

 Association. The extremes of weather 

 were so great as to make it severe upon 

 the bees, very few colonies coming 

 through in prime shape. And then the 

 cold, backward spring had made brood- 

 rearing almost impossible. The gen- 

 eral concensus was that there was not 

 enough brood-rearing to replace the 

 natural losses of old bees, and that 

 when, after a warm rain, the buds burst 

 into bloom, there would be so few bees 

 that the nectar would not be harvested. 

 Vegetation was now up to date: but 

 bees were a month behind. 



"Spring management" was the main 

 topic; one of the questions was: "Given 

 a Queenless Colony and a Weak Colony 

 with a Qu(U)n, What?" It was agreed 

 that queens at this time of tiic year 

 were either oki or from the Soutli, and 

 worthless for this latitude without a 

 honey flow; it would be dilUcult to get 

 the workers to accept a qu(((!n of any 

 kind. The oldest manipulators said it 

 would be best to unite thcun, alternating 

 the frames. An expert said it was a 

 mistake to rob the strong to build up 

 the weak until after the strong colony 

 had cast a swarm, wiien there would he 

 bees to spare. 



Field meetings were arranged for May 



36th, at Milmont ; June 26th, at Pen- 

 dleton's apiary, Germantown; June 23d, 

 at Sonner's apiary, Palmyra, N. J.; 

 July — , Rehn's apiary, Collingdale, 

 Pa., and sometime in September at the 

 veteran Mark Schofield's place, at 

 Seventy-first Street and Woodland 

 Avenue, Philadelphia. 



These outings are always enjoyable 

 and the occasion of valuable experi- 

 ence to the amateur as well as profes- 

 sional. Mr. Schofield and Mr. Kruger 

 are near neighbors and both are experts, 

 and each has his own peculiar method 

 of manipulation, extracted honey being 

 their source of revenue ; although each 

 has a distinct business outside of the 

 apiarian line. The former is attached 

 to the leather-colored breed of Italians, 

 and has quite a demand for his queens 

 from this strain. "Keep your colonies 

 strong,"' is the watch-word of each; and 

 their hives are run on the "double- 

 decker'" principle. Their bees are cross; 

 but they get there when the fall flowers 

 are in bloom. 



The weather became showery on the 

 17th and 18th, starting everything into 

 growth, and bees into activity gather- 

 ing pollen, although they had been fly- 

 ing oflf and on for two weeks past. It 

 remains to be seen whether the buds will 

 burst into bloom and there will be 

 enough bees to garner the nectar har- 

 vest from the fruit trees. They have 

 been around inspecting the gooseberry 

 bushes. 



Riitledge, Pa.. Apr. 19, 1900. 



CEMENT COATED NAILS. 

 A Simple Process Briefly Explained. 



HY H. M. JAMESON. 



Many readers of The American Bee- 

 KEEFER, especially those living in local- 

 ities remote from large towns, have at 

 times been in need of cement-coated 

 nails. Even in the larger cities it is 

 at times difficult to obtain just what 

 is desired, while the sizes you may 



