(Entered at the Post-Office at Chicago as BecoDd-Class Mail-Matter.) 

 Published Weekly at $1 .00 a Year, by George W. York & Co., 33-1 Dearborn Street. 



GEORGE W. YORK, Editor 



CHICAGO, ILL., OCTOBER 18, 1906 



Vol, XLVI— No, 42 



editorial .Aotes 

 and Comments 



Fewer Bees and Better Care 



It seems just a little strange to find in the 

 Bee-Keepers' Review, whose editor faithfully 

 preaches the doctrine of keeping more bees, 

 an article headed, " Keep Fewer Bees and 

 Give them Better Care," in which H. A. 

 Smith says: 



" I am convinced that if some men would 

 try the experiment of replacing one-half of 

 the number of colonies with a proportionate 

 amount of attention, they would secure as 

 much honey of a better quality and a better 

 race of bees, and such things as foul and 

 black brood would not gain such a foot-hold. 

 The matter of attention is similar to that of 

 overstocking a locality. If you have any 

 more bees than you have attention and care 

 to bestow, your bees are bound to suffer." 



Size of Larva at Different Ages 



It is a matter of importance— sometimes of 

 great importance— to be able to make a clo6e 

 estimate as to the age of a larva by its appear- 

 ance in a cell. Some bee-keepers, especially 

 those who do much at queen-rearing, may 

 have a practical knowledge of the matter, but 

 up to the present time, it is doubtful if any- 

 thing has gone into print that would be of 

 very great service in guiding the novice. Dr. 

 E. F. Phillips, the Government expert, has 

 performed a real service by giving data ob- 

 tained from exact measurements he has had 

 made. 



When the little grub hatches from the egg, 

 it lies curved in nearly semi-circular form, of 

 such size that when a straight line is drawn 

 from head to tail the said line is 3-14, or a 

 little more than 1-5, the diameter of the cell. 

 At 1 day old, the larva, although still retain- 

 ing the semi-circular form, is now so much 

 larger that the line drawn from head to tail 

 s 5-14, or a little more than }■,■, the diameter 



/*& 



of the cell. At 2 days old the larva lies coiled 

 in a complete circle, the diameter of which 

 is 6-14, or nearly ' ._,, the diameter of the cell. 

 At 3 days old, it occupies 10-14, or nearly %, 

 the diameter of the cell. 



A practical application of this knowledge 

 occurs in giving larvie from which to rear 

 queens; give those so young that they do not 

 yet form a complete circle. To be sure there 

 is no change in feeding till the larva is 3 days 

 old, but it has been shown that bee6, when 

 left free to choose, do not select larvae 60 old, 

 so no doubt the younger larv;e are better; 

 and by the rule given they will be under 2 



days old. 



♦ 



Nominations for the National 



We learn from the General Manager that 

 the leading candidates for election in Novem- 

 ber, as officers of the National Bee-Keepers' 

 Association, are the 6ame as the present in- 

 cumbents. This includes W. Z. Hutchinson 

 as Secretary. In his Review for September 

 he has this to say: 



So much has been said about the Associa- 

 tion being run and managed in the interest 

 of supply manufacturers, dealers, editors, 

 etc., that I think none of these classes better 

 be placed in nomination. Let the men nomi- 

 nated be producers, pure and simple. As for 

 myself, I positively decline to accept the 

 office another term, and I would like to see 

 .las. A. Green, of Grand Junction, Colo., 

 elected as my successor. He is a thorough 

 bee-keeper, bright, intelligent, well educated, 

 and very ready with his pen, and I feel cer- 

 tain would fill the office with credit to him- 

 self and the Association. 



We are not at all surprised at the position 

 taken by Mr. Hutchinson, in view of what 

 has been said in some localities concerning 

 those who are responsible for the manage- 

 ment of the National Association. There 



never wa6 made a more senseless charge than 

 that the Association was "run and managed 

 in the interest of supply manufacturers, 

 dealers, editors," etc. So far as we know, 

 there has never been one connected with the 

 management of the National Bee-Keeper6' 

 Association that made 5 cents out of it for 

 himself. In fact, we know some of the offi- 

 cers who were out of pocket on account of it. 

 But it is ever so. There will always be those 

 who are either unappreciative, or else they 

 want the offices themselves. 



We wish to join with Mr. Hutchinson in 

 nominating James A. Green, of Colorado, for 

 the position of Secretary. Mr. Green is all 

 right in every way, and, no doubt, would 

 make a splendid officer. So far as we are 

 concerned, we are perfectly willing that all 

 of the offices shall be given to those who are 

 honey-producers, and have no connection 

 either with the manufacture of bee-supplies 

 or publishing bee-papers. Of course, the 

 National will not be managed any better if 

 only honey-producers are at the helm instead 

 of those who have helped to make and man- 

 age it up to this time; but if it will make a 

 few disgruntled members better satisfied, and 

 the proper producers can be elected, we cer- 

 tainly are in favor of it. The American Bee 

 Journal has never had any " ax to grind " in 

 connection with the National, but has always 

 worked for the advancement of the Associa- 

 tion, and expects to continue to do so. In 

 all probability had it not been for the help of 

 the various bee-papers in the past, there 

 would not be any National Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation today, or at least not so large and 

 successful an organization. 



Government Work In Bee-Culture 



We recently received a copy of the "An- 

 nual Reports of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture for 1905," in which appears the follow- 

 ing paragraphs on the work of the Bureau of 

 Entomology of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture, so far as it relates to bees and bee-keep- 

 ing previous to July, 1905: 



With the establishment of the Bureau or- 

 ganization at the beginning of the fiscal year, 

 the working force in bee-culture was in- 

 creased by the addition of an expert, two 

 special field agents and a clerk. This addi- 

 tion to the force has made possible the taking 



