214 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



liked the Bay State hive the best, 

 nevei'tlieless lie so expresses himself. 

 We liave so improved the construction 

 of the Bay State Reversible liive tliat 

 they can be sold for about $;^ for a 

 siuijle one, the coming season. 



Perforated Zinc. — T)i: G. L. 



Tinker lias certainly succeeded in mak- 

 ing perforated metal that is as near 

 perfect as can be. "We have some of it 

 on several drone and queen-trnps, and 

 have watched the bees as they pass 

 through it. They do so with perfect 

 ease; and the metal does not seem to 

 obstruct tlie entrance in the least. 



This perforated metal is different 

 from any other in several important 

 points. Tlie slots are longer than 

 those in any other that we have 

 used. The lines between the perfo- 

 rations are very narrow which not only 

 provides more passage room for the 

 bees to pass out and in, but much bet- 

 ter ventilation, also. Nor does the 

 zinc have that rough edge on one side 

 as most metal of this kind does, caused 

 by the dies when the slots are made. 



Ill order to get suitable perforated 

 zinc for his celebrated honey-ljoards, 

 Dr. Tinker found that he must manu- 

 facture that article himself. The price 

 of this metal is about the same as it is 

 sold for bj' other manufacturers. 



Supersede old Queens.— If a col- 

 ony has a (lueen two years old, it is 

 good policy to remove her and intro- 

 duce a young one. An old queen may 

 give out during the winter, or early in 

 the spring. In either case, it would be 

 ruinous to the colony unless the fact 

 could be known and a new queen pro- 

 cured before April 1. 



It is rather difficult to introduce a 

 queen to a colony that lias been queen- 

 less from six to eight weeks, as lertile 

 workers get possession by that time, 

 and if the queen is accepted, the fertile 

 worker bees continue to fill the cells 

 with eggs, thus interfering greatly 

 with the rearing of brood. 



When fertile workers have once ob- 

 obtained possession of the brood 

 combs, a queen should not be intro- 

 duced. The better plan is to destroy all 

 the bees and later in the season use the 

 combs for a new swarm. 



A few days ago we read a long arti- 

 cle in an e.xchange "How to get rid of 

 fertile workers." It is nonsense to 



write about such matters, as every- 

 body who has kept bees knows that a 

 few quarts of old bees are as worth- 

 less as so man}' grains of sand. 



Prepare for Winter.— Early in 

 Auyust is the time to prepare bees for 

 Avinter. Thehivesneed notice packed, 

 l)nt see to it that each colony has a good 

 fertile queen and that tlie food is in 

 full supply. Colonies short of stores 

 at this season should be fed a sufficient 

 amount of syrup to keep up breeding, 

 as it is the bees that are hatched be- 

 tween August 10 and Oct. 10, that will 

 compose the colony during the winter. 

 Early in September every colony that 

 has not stores suflicient to carry them 

 through the winter should be supplied, 

 either frpm the fall flowers or by a 

 feeder. • 



Do not feed much in October, as then 

 the bees should be at rest, which is- 

 one of the most important conditions 

 necessary to successful wintering. 

 The less bees are disturbed from Oct. 

 1 to April 10, the better. 



Behind the Times.— The July is- 

 sue of the American Agriculturist con- 

 tains an article on "Transferring Bees." 

 Any experienced beekeeper will notice 

 that the author of that article is behind 

 the times. The use of sticks, pieces of 

 tin and wire in fastening combs in 

 frames is an old time arrangement. 



If a great imblication like the Amer- 

 ican Agriculturist cannot aflbrd to 

 employ competent persons as teachers 

 in bee culture, it ought to drop "Bee- 

 Notes" altogether. Think it would be 

 a good idea for that publication to 

 again employ Mr. L. C. Koot. 



National Beekeepers' Union. — 



The report of the general manager 

 of the National Beekeeper's Union 

 has been received. We have on 

 several occasions called attention to 

 the importance of every beekeeper be- 

 coming'a memiier of this organization. 

 The report of Manager Newman seems 

 sufficient to convince all who keep 

 bees that they are liable to be prose- 

 cuted. — perhaps persecuted is the more 

 proper term to use — at any time. A 

 man with plenty of means can stand 

 the expense of a lawsuit, a poor man 

 cannot; hence the necessity of joining 

 the Union. Manager Newman can sup- 

 ply the proper papers. 



