March 22, 1906 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



253 



trying to have each and every section weigh exactl} <>ne 

 pound. I am only advocating a change from the present siifl 

 — ir.jx4 T 4xl7s section, which, when fairly well filled with 

 separatored honey weighs (on an average) only 142-3 ottnee^j 

 or 22 pounds per case of 24 sections — to one enough larger sa 

 that when filled as above, it will weigh (on an average) 16 

 ounces, or 24 pounds per ea^e of 24 sections. These sections 

 may range in weight from IS to 17 ounces each, but should 

 average 1<> ounces, or not less than 24 pounds net ( weight of 

 sections included) per case of 24 sections, for "No. 1." m'p- 

 aratored honey. Sections weighing From 13 to nearly IS 

 ounces should be graded as "No. 2." as to weight, and should 

 average 14 ounces per section or not less than 21 pound-, per 

 case. Sections weighing from 11 to nearly 13 ounces should 

 be graded as "No. 3" as to weight, and should average 12 

 ounces, or not less than IS pounds per case. 



Mr. Hasty says that with him occasional ones arc over one 

 pound weight now. Those occasional ones are the sticking 

 point; how easily our conscience will permit us to sell hun- 

 dreds of sections weighing only 14 or IS ounces as pound sec- 

 tions, but when it comes to an occasional one weighing 16J4 

 or 17 ounces it pinches us, and we squirm. 



He says that it is hardly right to balance off extra-weight 

 ones against scant-weight ones in the same case, and so push 

 the difficulty onward to the grocer. Is it not better than to 

 balance off scanty weight ones against scantier weight ones, as 

 is being done at present? 



If all were like Mr. Hasty — who prefers to sell by weight 

 instead of by the section, and even deducts the weight of the 

 wood in the section — there would have been no use of writing 

 this article. For many reasons (some of which are stated on 

 page 695 (1905). I consider the 4 , _ t x4\sxl^j bee-way section 

 by far the best size to use. An ideal outfit for the production 

 of comb, extracted, or chunk honey, or all in the same apiary, 

 is either the 8 or 10 frame Langstroth hive (according to 

 locality, etc.), with supers of the same length and width as 

 the hive, and 5% inches in depth. A super of this depth is 

 just right for the 45/g-inch tall section when used with section- 

 holders having bottom-bars % inch thick, and allowing a 54- 

 inch bee-space above the section. 



This super will hold frames 4~<J inches in depth, and allow 

 a X"'nch bee-space above the frames. These frames are suit- 

 able for the production of either extracted or chunk honey; 

 and the super and frames will serve as a shallow or separable 

 brood-chamber, which, for those preferring such a hive, is 

 convenient indeed. Thus, as stated in a previous article, we 

 have a super for extracted, section, and chunk honey produc- 

 tion, as well as a shallow or separable brood-chamber, all 

 in one. 



That it pays to work for both comb and extracted honey 

 in the same apiary, there is no doubt in my mind. By the use 

 of the outfit above mentioned, one is enabled to run an apiary 

 with much less expense for supplies than when a different 

 super is used for extracted than for section honey. It is the 

 intention of the writer to use the above-described outfit in a 

 limited way during the coming season, and to use it exclu- 

 sivelv hereafter. Pullman. Wash. 



Odors Among Bees— Some Observations 



BY ARTHUR C. MILLER. 



THERE appeared an interesting article from the French 

 of Mons. L. Forrestier, translated by Mr. Dadant. and 

 dealing with odors among bees, on pages 567 and 632 

 (1905). The first point wdrich arrests attention is that the 

 author did not approach his experiments with an unbiased 

 mind. He was at the start convinced of wdiat he set out to 

 demonstrate, and naturallj saw in his experiments only those 

 facts supporting his preconceived ideas. 



Among his recorded experiments he says he repeatedly 

 washed his hands to remove all trace of human odor -an im- 

 possibility to start with. Next he smeared his hands with the 

 juices from crushed drones, and in some cases the bees of the 

 colony from whence the drones were taken failed to sting him, 

 and in other cases they stung. Nothing positive there. Again! 

 in two or three instances when hands so smeared were pre- 

 sented to a colony alien to the drones, stings resulted ; hut 

 while be attributes the painful reception to the presentation 

 of alien drone odor, he seems to forget that living alien 

 would have been well received. 



He cites the harsh inception in their homes of bees washed 

 in alcohol, which treatment he assumes removed the home 

 odor. The painful and tight-inducing effect of such a bath he 

 entirely overlooks. But he says that after a sufficient time has 



elapsed bees so treated having, he assumes, recovered their 

 natural odor were favorably received by their sisters. Such 

 reasoning is hardly worth noticing had it not been so widely 

 copied. 



Let me cite some facts falling under my own observation: 



Hands coated with a solution of propolis from one hive 

 will pass unscathed in every line. Where is the home odor? 

 'I"he human odor is scaled in by the varnish. Sometimes the 

 bees will assail the moving hands but will only strike, and not 

 sting. 



A bee slightly injured by the moving of a frame is not in- 

 frequently set upon by her sisters. Surely she has neither lost 

 nor acquired an odor. But she often shows a fighting spirit. 



Queens caged in a colony to which they are to be given 

 are often killed, and queens given without caging are no more 

 frequently killed. 



Bees often freely pass from colony to colony. Often wc 

 can unite bees of different colonies without difficulty, and 

 again bees from one colony separated from their sisters for a 

 few hours, even though on their own combs, sometimes fight 

 to a finish on being reunited. This is notably so with Cyprians. 

 Confined bees accept aliens without trouble. Cannot confined 

 bees smell? All evidence points to the possession of bees of 

 an acute sense of smell and a strong antipathy to many for- 

 eign odors, but it does not consequently follow that odors 

 govern their attitude toward each other. Because certain 

 animal and other odors greatly excite them we cannot con- 

 clude that the odor of an alien bee is the cause of her some- 

 times killing reception. It is far more rational to say that 

 the alien recognizes the strangeness of the surroundings, and 

 acting on the defensive soon finds a sister read} to knock the 

 metaphorical chip from her shoulder. 



There is as much, or more, evidence against the "odor 

 theory of queen reception" as currently taught, as there is for 

 it, as will be seen if it is only looked for without prejudice 

 or bias. Providence, R. I. 



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lttt\ pasty's 



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The " Old Reliable" as seen through New and Unreliable Glasses. 

 By E. E. Hasty, Sta. B. Rural, Toledo, Ohio. 



Binding Volumes of Papers. 



The binding proposed by Mr. Ross is capable of making 

 a nice volume, evidently. If you don't care for looks it's a 

 much quicker way to drive a few wire nails through the 

 backs. If the contemplated volume is thin, choose nails 

 that will go clear through and clinch. If the volume is 

 thick, choose nails that will not go quite through, and drive 

 some from each side. Page 119. 



Somewhat High Bee-Keeping. 



Bee-keeping on the Alps, 3300 feet up, looks very nat- 

 ural and Yankee-like— as well as interesting. I'll play that 

 the keeper knows better than to shake a swarm into a hive 

 direct— only using the empty skep as if it was a basket, 

 from which he will run the bees into one of those nice 

 frame hives. Front of No. 6. 



Prolificness and Honey-Production. 



C. P. Dadant is a little bold in saying that prolificness 

 and large honey-production always go hand in hand. 

 " Usually " would be a more conservative word. I think we 

 do hear sometimes of bees that habitually come out strong 

 in the fall, but with almost no honey till it is given them 

 from other colonies. 



Very interesting to hear of the long, long struggle to 

 find out how to import queens direct from Italy. 



And so too much in-breeding produces blind drones. 

 Queer. Page 120. 



Something More About "Mouses." 



Doolittle on the mouse (big man on small beast) is just 

 as interesting as Doolittle on a section of honey. The mice 

 of Northern New York and those of Northern Ohio seem to 

 be about the same. No. 2 among mice is like the white 

 man among men— goes round the world. My impression is 

 that most of our corn-shocks and stumps are peopled by the 



