118 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL. 



[Nov., 



miijht add in extenuation of tliis blunder, that the 

 1870, a decision in Mr. Kidder's favor was obtained 

 in a trial against a Mr. Traslv, who was using tlie 

 Langstroth. Hive. We stated at the time, and now 

 repeat, tliat the case was not fully tried ; that the 

 defendant was in collusion with the plaintiff; that 

 there was, practically, no defence; and that this 

 decision should not have the slightest weight M'ith 

 any one. Mr. Langstroth and his agents have pub- 

 licly guaranteed to save all users of their hive from 

 any loss in consequence of any decision of the courts 

 against them. We understand that they will consider 

 it a favor if Mr. Kidder will commence a prosecution 

 against any one — if they are informed of the fact. 

 We have heard of many threats of prosecution by him 

 and his agents, but no case, except the one referred to 

 above, where such prosecution has been carried to a 

 trial. We do not know whether the Clark patent is 

 valid or not. We do not know whether persons using 

 the Langstroth Hive should pay Mr. Kidder or not. 

 But we do know that the decision relied on by them. 

 as a means of frightening people into making such 

 payments, proves notliing, and should not be 

 regarded. The experience of the past seems to show, 

 also, that the man who refused to make any payment 

 when dcmauded is not further troubled — at least not 

 by prosecution." 



A Test of the Dzierzon Theory. 



The Baron of Berlepsch, in the late revised edition 

 of his work on " J3ces and Bec-culUire,'" speaks of the 

 evidence of the correctness of the Dzierzon Theory as 

 to the production of drones, as follows : 



" If the male or drone egg does not require impreg- 

 nation, all Italian queen beeS, of pure race, must 

 certainly produce pure Italian males or drones ; and 

 all queen bees of the common or black race, must as 

 constantly produce black males or drones — even 

 though such queen bees were fertilized by males or 

 drones of the opposite race. And such, too, is found 

 to be the fact. I will not, however, refer ,to the 

 Italian queen bees for proof of this, because here we 

 may easily be deceived, by regarding as a pure Italian, 

 one in which tliere is, from birth already an admix- 

 ture of black blood. But the pure black or common 

 queen bees, fertilized by an Italian drone always fur- 

 nish xmmistakable and conclusive evidence of the 

 truth of this statement. Of more than thirty such 

 queens which I have had opportunity to observe, 

 there was not among all the (?ro7ic.s produced by them, 

 a single one to be found that bore any resemblance to 

 an Italian drone. All of them were obviously of the 

 pure lilack or common race ; whilst the vorkerft pro- 

 ceeding from the eggs of those queens showed diver- 

 sities of marking and coloring. To which of the races 

 a drone belongs is distinctly shown by the central or 

 lower side of his abdomen. If that be yelloimnh in 

 color, tiie drone is either a pure Italian or a hybrid ; 

 if it be whitinJi, he is a pure black or common. The 

 dorsal or upper side of the abdomen is deceptive, as 

 some pure common drones show brownish rings." 



Cure for Bee Sting. 



On this topic, of such poignant interest to many, 

 ■whether beekeepers or not, Mr. S. Way, of Batavia, 

 Ills., writes to us, as follows : 



To cure a bee sting, let the patient drink half a 

 tumbler of whisky as soon as stung. This will keep 

 the poison from going to the lunge. A wet sheet or 

 pack is good after tlie whisky. I have used this and 

 the pack for years in my family with perfect success. 



We fear that if this remedy be popularly accepted 

 as a specific, some inveterate topers might find it 

 agreeable to get into a habifof being stung. 



We have the following remedy also from Mr. F. J. 

 Dougall, of Stouffsville, Canada. 



"I find the best thing for the sting of a bee is 

 alcohol. Bathe the part stnng with it immediately. 

 It will kill the pain and stop the swelling. It has 

 proved itself to be the best thing I ever tried. It was 

 by accident I found^ would give relief." 



Another correspondent recommends the immediate 

 application of pure spirits of turpentine. 



OOERESPONDENOE OF THE BEE JOUENAL. 



Charleston, Ills., Sept. 14, 1871. — We have to 

 report again another very unfavorable season for bee- 

 keeping in this locality. Since the 1st of July the 

 drouth has prevailed to such an extent that few colo- 

 nies have stored any surplus honey, and many 

 will require feeding to carry them through the winter. 

 Thus we have had two poor seasons together for bee- 

 culture, in this section of country, and this will, 

 of course, discourage many in the pursuit of bee- 

 keeping. — J. Davis. 



Henderson, Ills., Sept. 15. — Bees are doing very 

 well here this season. They are storing honey so 

 fast- that there will not be room to keep up enough 

 brood, and we will have few bees, .per hive, to pass 

 the winter. — A. McDill. 



Cedar Creek, N. J., Sept. 15. — I think it has been 

 too wet in this vicinity for bees to do very well. To- 

 wards the last of July my bees were almost destitute 

 of honey, and commenced to drag out the young. I 

 fed them with candy, which seemed to put a stop to 

 it. They have been busy at buckwheat lately, which 

 is their only hope, except feeding. — E. Kimpton. 



Cincinnati, Ohio, Sept. 22. — The honey season 

 has been very poor in this vicinity, on account of late ' 

 frosts last spring, and the white clover being burnt 

 out by the drouth last season ; still our bees have 

 given us a net income of fully one hundred percent, on 

 the investment this season. The white clover is unu- 

 sually luxuriant at this time, giving a fine prospect 

 for honey next season. — M. Nevins. 



Ltnchbdrg, Ohio, Sept. 22. — My stock of bees is 

 small — only nineteen colonies, all in the Langstroth 

 hives ; but have not made honey enough to pay for 

 the Journal. Bees in this section have not done 

 anything. — J. Stevens. 



Excelsior, Minn., Sept. 25. — Enclosed find two 

 dollars lor current volume of the Journal— sliould 

 have sent it sooner, but waited until I went to the 

 city, where I could obtain a money order ; and waited 

 also to include report for the season. 



Yon may as well consider me a life subscriber, as 

 the Journal is simply indispensable ; a single number 

 frequently being worth more than the Journal ever 

 cost me. 



This has been a good season for bees ; better than 

 usual. The linden season was very fine. All our 

 surplus honey is linden honey, and 1 never saw any 

 finer. I do not think anything in the honey line can 

 surpass it — combs white as snow, and extracted honey 

 the color of the clearest, finest amber. But there 

 has only been a slight secretion of honey since the 

 linden season. I rather overdid the extracting busi- 

 ness during the linden season, retarding brood pro- 

 duction, and giving the bees a backset generally. I 



