1901 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



185 



is in a hive, with only a short acquaint- 

 ance. The effort of robbers to enter 

 arouses a belligerent spirit in the bees, 

 and while in that mood they may attack 

 a queen not yet firmly established in her 

 position. Indeed, they may ball a fully 

 established queen, the latter being soon 

 released, while the stranger will be 

 hugged to death. 



A few years ago I received from John 

 Hewitt, of England, some Punic queens. 

 He stipulated that they must be intro- 

 duced to bees that had been utterly and 

 hopelessly queenless for forty-eight 

 hours, and quietly dropped in from 

 above after bees had ceased flying. The 

 introduction was entirely successful. 

 Some importance attaches to this when 

 it is remembered that these queens had 

 made the long trip across the ocean, 

 being thereby not in the best plight for 

 introduction; that they were virgins, and 

 especially that they were old virgins. 



I do not see that there is any chance 

 for a settlement or compromise between 

 you and the editor of the American 

 Bee Journal unless you will agree to 

 stand on the same ground while 

 taking view. Your view-points are 

 different, and I believe each is right 

 from his view-point. You are yie\y- 

 ing the matter from the view-point 

 of an expert, while he puts himself in 

 the place of the beginner. Here's a 

 cake of bright, yellow wax, which con- 

 tains particles of dirt. You ask me 

 what I think of the color of that wax. 

 Knowing you to be well informed in such 

 matter, I waste no time with explana- 

 tions, but say: "The color is all right; 

 get the dirt out.'" If a beginner should 

 ask me, I should say: "It is the dirt in it 

 that gives the dingy color to that cake 

 of wax. When in the liquid condition, 

 allow it to cool very slowly so as to give 

 abundant time for the particles of dirt 

 to settle, and you will then find the color 

 all right." A question of this kind is not 

 likely to come from any but a beginner, 

 and dealing, as I so constantly do, in 

 making replies to beginners, my sympa- 



thies are strongly with them; and while 

 Mr. York's position may not bear the 

 closest scrutiny from the view-point of 

 an expert, you will pardon me for saying 

 that his reply will be a very useful one 

 to tliose most likely to ask the question. 



Referring to the matter of introducing 

 queens after a fast of thirty minutes, I 

 cannot now say how I first got the idea; 

 but I have used it for years; and, 

 although it is one of the things about 

 which it is difficult to be positive, I 

 think it is a good thing. 



Marengo, 111., May 16, 1901. 



[Enough has already been said upon 

 the matter of slow cooling of wax and 

 its influence upon its color. It is an im- 

 poi'tant subject which ought to be un- 

 derstood by anyone who has ever 

 handled beeswax. The claim that slow 

 cooling is the secret of bright, yellow 

 wax, is either a truth or an error, 

 whether considered from the standpoint 

 of an expert or a novice. Mr. York is 

 eminently right in advocating that wax 

 should be cooled slowly; but his claim as 

 to the effect it will have upon the color 

 is unquestionably erroneous. — Ed.] 



"In some countries, lime-tree honey has 

 a turpentinish taste when new. With age 

 this rather rank taste softens into a most 

 delicate flavor." 



Boy a Victim of Bees. 



Bloomsburg, June 3. — A young son of 

 Millard McBride was almost killed to-day 

 by a swarm of bees. The lad was play- 

 ing in the yard when the bees settled 

 upon him. His cries attracted his 

 mother, who swooned upon seeing the 

 child in agony. Regaining consciousness, 

 she rushed into the swarm and carried 

 the lad to a place of safety. — Philadel- 

 phia Ledger. 



Want Relief from Busy Bees. 



Residents of Haddonfield, N. J., 

 appealed to the Borough Council on 

 Wednesday evening, June 5th, for relief 

 from a plague of bees. They averred 

 that the busy honey gatherers, owned by 

 Samuel V. Reeves, a fancier, made life 

 almost unbearable for them. The Coun- 

 cil decided that the bees were a public 

 nuisance and must be taken outside the 

 borough. — Pliiladelphia Record. 



