112 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



Jane 



except as given by Mr. Poppleton in his writings 

 on the subject. The only case I had last season I 

 changed to the place of a healthy colony and put 

 the latter on its old stand to see if the incoming 

 bees would communicate the disease. They did 

 not do so, and the diseased colony was apparently 

 cured and gave quite a crop of honey. 1 noticed 

 about ten days ago that there were a few shiny 

 bees in the same hive and since then a few have 

 died in front of it with symptoms of the old trouble. 

 I wish that the southern bee-keepers would report 

 to you On this trouble, so that we may learn 

 whether the South is really entitled to be called 

 the home of bee-paralysis. 



If Dr. George Mackie is correctly quoted on page 

 iU, he is surely wrong. I was instrumental in 

 curing almost instantly, and for at least two years 

 (have not heard from the party since the expira- 

 tion of that time) one of the worst cases of rheu- 

 matism I have known, after months of suffering 

 and many dollars had boen spent in seeking a 

 cure through Chicago's best physicians This ease 

 I reported through (ileanings some years ago. It 

 is but one of several that I have known in which 

 there could be no possible mistake as to the cer- 

 tainty of the bee stings having effected the cures. 

 On the other hand. I have known cases that were 

 not effected in the least, so far as I could see, by 

 similar treatment. 



I am glad the processes of rendering wax from 

 old combs are being improved upon, for in the past 

 there has beer a great waste not only of that 

 readily saleable product but of patience as well. 

 I£ we can learn to save both— sell the former and 

 keep the latter — great progress will have been 

 gained. Yours sincerely, W. S. Hart. 



'Think not in circles, but straight ahead. 



CLIPPING QUEENS' WINGS- 

 SUPERSEDING, ETC. 



Several Suggestions ^X'^hich, if Heeded, 

 Will Tend to Promote Desirable Char- 

 acteristics in Our Stock. 



BY DR. C. C. MILLEK. 



IN giving' the reasons for clipping 

 queens' wings, G. M. Doolittle gives 

 one item that he says is rarely 

 spoken of. I think he might have said 

 "never" in place of "rarely;" at least 

 I dou't remember ever to have seen men- 

 tion of the greater ease of finding a 

 clipped queen. I've known it for years, 

 but T wasn't smttrt enough to tell of it. 

 In this connection it may be well to 

 mention the difference between cutting 

 one or both wings on oi\(( side. If vou 



cut off only one wing, the large one, the 

 queen is just as safe from Hying as if all 

 four were cut, and it scarcely spoils her 

 looks in the least, for at a hasty glance 

 you cannot see whether she is clipped 

 or not. Just for the very reason, how- 

 ever, tluit cutting one wing changes her 

 appearance so little, I want both wings 

 on one side clipped, and left pretty short 

 at that. One of the first tilings in over- 

 hauling the bees, somewhere about the 

 first of May, is to make sure that every 

 queen is clipped. It frequently happens 

 that when you lift out a comb you will 

 see the queen on the next comb, while 

 it is in the hive, but only for an instant, 

 for she immediately passes out of sight, 

 and it may take some time to find her 

 again. lioth wings should be clipped, 

 so that in that short glance you may at 

 once determine whether she is clipped 

 or not. 



L. E. Kerr, on page (>:j, introduces a 

 matter that is wortliy of consideration: 

 "Shall honey-producers buy or rear their 

 own queens?" A good many questions 

 thrust themselves forward that have a 

 bearing upon the whole subject of 

 queen-rearing, and th(!y should all be 

 well considered before coming to a hasty 

 conclusion. Should a honey-producer 

 do much in the way of furnishing queens 

 for his colonies, either purchased or of 

 his own rearing? There are some whi> 

 think it best to put a certain limit upon 

 the age of queens, furnishing a new one 

 to replace those of a certain age, say 

 two years or less. But a larger number 

 of the veterans say it is best to leave to 

 the bees the matter of supersedure. G. 

 M. Doolittle, in American Bee Journal. 

 strongly endorses J. li. Hall when he 

 says: "I want longevity in my bees; I 

 want that first and foremost; that is 

 why I don't want to replace my queens 

 every year, because if I do, I must kill 

 them: and I don't know what to kill. If 

 I keep them three or four years, and 

 they have done good work for four years, 

 wintered well and given me comb-honey 

 in good shape, that is the kind of queen 



