lis 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



Jane 



garcLthis somewl^at- iiv tlie- same 

 light as all "combined" devices — 

 better than none, perhaps, but far 

 shiprt of. the actual requirements. 



The Bee-keeper has recently re- 

 ceived very kind and complimentary 

 mention in the editorial columns of 

 the Bee-Keejyers' Revievj and in 

 Gleanings in Bee Culture^ two of the 

 world's leading apicultural publica- 

 tions. We are not un appreciative 

 of such courtesies. 



In the Austriul Culturist^ ihe of- 

 ficial organ of the National Bee- 

 keepers' Committee of Victoria, Aus- 

 tralia, under date of October, 1 900, 

 "a plentiful supply from Jamaica" 

 is given as a cause of the dull mar- 

 ket for honey in Europe. Geo- 

 graphically Jamaica is small, but it 

 is making itself known iu the api- 

 cultural world. 



Smoke is a necessary commodity 

 in the apiary and is sometimes very 

 essential to the comfort of the ope- 

 rator; but there are times when its 

 use should be strictly avoided. In 

 the treatment of a case of robbers, 

 or in handling swarms, a spray of 

 water is safe and usually effective; 

 while a blast from the smoker is 

 liable to result in the loss of a 

 swarm or colony. 



' The recent discussions in these 

 columns relating to paralysis, has 

 ^iven rise to much inquiry as to 

 whether it is a fact that the disease 

 is so much more prevalent in the 

 South than in the northern coun- 

 tries. How many of our readers in 

 the Northei n States have had ex- 

 perience with this malady? Per- 

 sonally, we do not remember to 

 have seen a case of genuine paral- 

 ysis in the North; while we usually 

 have more or less of it each season 

 hei'e in the far South. 



Last season we used a large num- 

 ber of blocks in which to have 

 queen-cells built, and reported that 

 in no case had a cell been destroyed 

 when introduced in these wood- 

 protected blocks. This plan is de- 

 scribed on page 227 of The Bee- 

 keeper for December, 1900. This 

 season we have had a number of 

 cells attacked and destroyed from 

 the base, and would, therefore, ad- 

 vise those who have the blocks in 

 use, to protect the base by placing 

 a small piece of tin or wood over 

 the opening at the top, when plac- 

 ing the cell in a new colony. 



E. F. Atwater, in American Bee 

 Journal^ says he has hud experience 

 in using both theDoolittle and the 

 Pridgen methods of transferrin ir 

 larvae to the artificial cell-cups, 

 and that he prefers the Doolittle 

 plan ; giving as the chief reason his 

 ability to transfer the tiny larva 

 without mutilating the comb. It is 

 not always possible to induce the* 

 breeding queen to lay in "any old 

 comb '' which has been hacked and 

 cut bef ore, ' j-ust at the desired time: 

 hence, the frequent necessity of re- 

 sorting, to our valued brood-combs 

 for suitable larvae. We have for 

 some time regarded this as the 

 greatest objection to the practice 

 of "baby, cradle and all" method. 

 Ifs hard on the brood combs. 



Among bee-keepers, the strongest 

 incentive to the exercise of invent- 

 ive genius is, undoubtedly, inexpe- 

 rienced enthusiasm. Visions of 

 labor-saving, automatic and elec- 

 trical devices usually haunt th(^ 

 mind of the tyro. It is not improb- 

 able that the study, which is a 

 natural outgrowth of such concep- 

 tions, yields its indirect reward; 

 and it is equally improbable that 

 any phase of the profession shall 

 ever be revolutionized through 



