48 



TLTE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL. 



[August. 



his appearance. Of course we must have a few 

 drones in " our large family " to make its har- 

 mony complete. 



We think the value of bassword is not 

 overestimated, and we can hardly see how it 

 could be, for we regard it as being of the great- 

 est value for bee-pasturage. 



We think that the case of "successful de- 

 struction " could not be well improved upon, 

 for it came nearly being complete. "Impru- 

 dence of bee-keeping ! " Surely, we did not know 

 befure how imprudently we had been acting for 

 the past three or four years. We had not even 

 thought of how we were working against our 

 own best interest by advising others to engage 

 in bee-keeping, and endeavoring to tell them 

 how to be successful. We can now plainly see 

 that in doing unto others as we would wish to 

 be done by, that we have been guilty of the 

 " most supreme folly." Instead of letting our 

 light shine, let us hereafter keep it securely 

 covered with a bushel, for fear that some one 

 else may find pleasure and profit in our lovely 

 pursuit. 



But here comes " Gallup " with his one story 

 hive. Surely, friend "Novice," you must see 

 this time. 



We too are sincerely sorry to see such hard 

 and unkind words pass between friends Price 

 and Dadant. Can they not come to some ami- 

 cable settlement of their difference ? We trust 

 they may. And here is "Novice," just as 

 interesting and agreeable as of old. We some- 

 times wish, and no doubt others do also, that 

 he would be a little more explicit about some 

 things, especially, for instance, he does not tell 

 us hulf enough about his prolific queen. We 

 should like to kuow if her workers are the most 

 industrious ? Or, in other words, does her hive 

 collect the most honey ? We usually find that 

 the worker progeny of an extra prolific queen to 

 be models of industry, but not always. We 

 often see equally strong colonies, one of which 

 will far exceed the other in gathering honey, and 

 that too under precisely similar conditions. 

 Nor do we always find the strongest colonies 

 storing the most honey, any more than that the 

 largest cow yields the most butter. Do not 

 think that we are condemning strong stocks ; 

 for as a rule they are decidedly the most profit- 

 able, but then there are exceptions to this rule 

 as well as others. 



And "Native " is going to effectually destroy, 

 at a single stroke, the fair reputation of our lit- 

 tle yellow "imported" pets. Why we should 

 as soon think of dispensing with the aid of the 

 movable frame as to throw them overboard. 

 Have they not been fully and fairly tested? 

 And are they not "superior to the native?" 

 Have they not received the emphatic endorse- 

 ment of our best and most successful beekeepers ? 

 Can any one tell us what has become of Alley, 

 Argo and Beckford, Nesbit and Quinby, and 

 many others who used to delight our readers 

 with their sensible and interesting articles? 

 Can they not be induced to let us hear from 

 them once more ? 



Well, Mr. Editor, we find that we have over- 

 looked many interesting items, and have not 



said all we should like; but we, like "Novice," 

 are so tired and sleepy that we cannot write any 

 more, for we too have had " fun " to-day. Good 

 night all ; and now for fair visions of mel- 

 extractors and sweet dreams of the basswood 

 honey harvest. Herbert A. Burch. 



S iuth Haven, Mich., July 15, 1872. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Mr. Editor : — I hope I do not take too much 

 liberty by asking you a question or two in re- 

 spect to bee-culture. 



One year ago I wintered about 40 swarms of 

 bees and most of them came out light last spring. 

 Last spring or summer I had 14 or 15 new 

 swarms which I put in the Quinby non-swarmer 

 hive. The swarms came so late that they just 

 had honey enough to last till buckwheat, and 

 then gathered quite a quantity of buckwheat 

 honey and capped but little. I filled the space 

 (filled with boxes in the honey season) with 

 clear wheat straw, and left them on their sum- 

 mer stands. 



On examining them a short time ago, I found 

 all but three or four of the swarms dead, and the 

 remaining ones nearly so, and all having more or 

 less honey, but dying apparently with dysentery, 

 the honey and hives giving evidence of it. 



I had two old swarms that were wintered a 

 year ago that have died, one hive that has, I 

 should think, 40 lbs. of capped honey at the en- 

 trance of the hive, and some of the honey giving 

 evidence of a very bad stage of dysentery. 



Now through your paper I should like to 

 know, what was the cause of this loss? What 

 the remedy, if any, and how to prevent a like 

 occurrence? A. Hemstead. 



Waverly, Tioga Co., N. T. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Mr. Editor :— On June 17th, whilst I was 

 engaged making an artificial swarm, about 5 

 o'clock p. m., my baby boy. sixteen months old, 

 stirred up a stock of bees, and was stung very 

 badly. His sufferings were so severe as to almost 

 throw him into spasm ; he had a wild look out 

 of his eyes, and I was fearful that he had poison 

 enough in him to kill him. I at once determined 

 to strip him and wrap him in a wet sheet. 1 did 

 this after extracting all the stings. In two or 

 three minutes he was asleep, and slept twelve 

 hours, seemingly sweet sleep, awaking only twice 

 to be nursed. The wet sheet was put under and 

 over the child, just leaving it room to breathe 

 freely. The child perspired profusely, and thus 

 threw the poison out of its system. It made a 

 complete cure with but little swelling. 



N. P. Allen. 



Smith's Grove, Ky., July 3, 1872. 



Walter P. Bean, of Maysville, kept thirty-two 

 swarms of bees through last winter. He kept 

 them in his cellar, the hives standing over 

 potatoes, which took up the moisture, so that 

 no mould troubled the bees. Maine Farmer. 



