182 



THE AMERICAN A PICUL TURIS T. 



The American Apiculturlst. 



Published Monthly. 



MANAGER, 



TEBMS: $1.00 PER YEAR. 



SEE INDUCEMENTS TO SUBS0EIBEE5. 



Wenham, Mass, July 1, 1887. 



THE MANAGER'S CORNER. 



W. Z. Hutchinson's Book has hiin 

 on our tal)le some lime, but owing to 

 pressure of spring work In our apiary, 

 to which we have to attend, we have 

 not been able to review it sooner. We 

 have read the very flattering reviews 

 ■ of this work, and are sorry to say we 

 cannot quite agree with them. We in- 

 tend to express our views fully and 

 freely on bee matters and shall en- 

 deavor at all times to do exact justice, 

 and in the present instance shall live 

 up to that rule. 



The meclianical and typographical 

 part of the book is good, the cover 

 quite unique, and the style excellent. 

 The price, twenty-five cents, seems to 

 us rather high for the small amount of 

 matter it contains; and when we rec- 

 ognize the fact that it is largely a 

 compilation, or in other words, an ex- 

 pression merely of the best thoughts 

 of our best writers, it strikes us that 

 the general public will be inclined to 

 think they are paying dear for what 

 they have already read in the bee 

 journals. From the reviews we have 

 read we supposed we should find some- 

 thing original at least; but when on 

 reading we found the gi'ound travelled 

 over was the same that Townley, 

 Doolittle and others had worked over 

 and over again during past years, we 

 could only say to ourselves, how easy 

 it is to write a book if one has an en- 

 cyclopoedia to fall back upon ; and 

 then again, we must say we don't like 

 to see any book, not intended as an 

 advertisement, start out as does this, 

 with a clean-cut certiticate in favor of 

 some hive. Advertisements are all 

 right in their proper places, but Mr. 

 H. has in our judgment overstepped 



the bounds of propriety in this respect. 

 We wish it distinctly understood 

 that we consider the ideas contained 

 in the book to be valuable; and were 

 they original with Mr. H. we should 

 have no fault to tind, other than with 

 the price. Mr. H. as a writer gener- 

 ally is terse and vigorous, and many 

 of his articles are of value to beekeep- 

 ers. We hope all our readers will read 

 the book, as it will prove to them when 

 they tind nothing that has not already 

 been told in our journal, that the "Api" 

 still leads, as we shall always endeavor 

 to make it. 



Close Attention should now be 

 given the bees. Do not relax in the 

 least till you have secured every ounce 

 of comb honey it is possible to secure. 

 When one set of sections is a little 

 over half filled raise them up and 

 place another set under these. When 

 the first set is nearly capped over re- 

 move it to a colony too weak to work 

 in the sections and let them finish it 

 and at the same time place another 

 new set of sections on the hive from 

 which the full set were taken. If 

 dull weather sets in for a few days, feed 

 the bees with thin syrup made of su- 

 gar and honey; this will have a ten- 

 dency to keep the bees from desert- 

 ing- the sections. 



A Curious Fact.— One of the 



queer things about wintering bees 

 last winter is the fact that colonies 

 that were weak in the fall came 

 through in splendid condition, wliile 

 the strongest colonies in manj' apia- 

 ries died. Now, here is a chance for 

 Mr. Heddon, Professor Cook, J. E. 

 Pond and some others to give us their 

 ideas as to this very singular condi- 

 tion of things. It looks to me as 

 though these eminent apiarists liave a 

 problem that will for a long time puz- 

 zle them. Take right hold of it, broth- 

 ers. 



Preserving Empty Combs.— 



Empty combs may be kept in good 

 condition by placing them in a dry, cool 

 cellar. If possible, arrange it so that 

 there will be a free draught of air 

 through the cellar at all times. The 

 temperature will be kept so low that 

 the moth eggs will not hatch, and the 

 ventilation, as above advised, will pre- 

 vent the combs from moulding. 



