20 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAI.. 



[July, 



fully answering the purpose ; and as I know JNIr. 

 Grimm to be a thorough apiarian, I can scarcely 

 think that others will be more successful with 

 the new device." 



Well, who can stand such a strong, logical, 

 knock-down argument as the above? Friend 

 Grimm, witli a substantially similar invention 

 failed, therefore Dr. Davis must fail, and all 

 o hers who have succes^fuUi/ used it must fail in its 

 use ! But how does Mr. Wolff know tli at my" Pat- 

 ented Queen Nursery" is substantially similar to 

 the arrangement used by Mr. Grimm, since he 

 never saw mine ? Can he testify to facts in tliis 

 case before he knows them '? If we admit such 

 testimony it might be productive of much mis- 

 chief. 



But, again, a little variation in arrangement 

 of similar instruments or machines may entirely 

 change their utility in certain directions. This 

 shows that Mr. Wolff drew his conclusions jire- 

 maturely, before the premise was laid that would 

 overthrow the practical utility of my invention. 



Mr. Woltf proceeds — "Moreover according to 

 the descrijjtion given, though we may secure an 

 ilicreased number of colonies, we shall not ob- 

 tain supernumerary queens for market, unless 

 we rear them speci:.lly, and this with more or 

 less damage to the colony, by depriving it of its 

 fertile queen." 



Where did the description given say that we 

 could not obtain supernumerary queens for mar- 

 ket, unless we rear them specially? This is 

 another cop.clusion reached before the premise 

 is given, by me, at least. Tt is unfair to infer 

 that I had given such a desciiption, when I had 

 not, and assume it as true before the world, and 

 that, too, in public print, where it can never be 

 fully recalled, if ever desired or required. If by 

 my invention I can raise queens to increase colo- 

 nies, will it not hold good ioY-AinQSU'pernumerary 

 queens for market, without throwing in that Avord 

 "especially," to deceive the reader's mind about 

 the value of the Queen Nursery ? 



Where, too, in the description given, did Mr. 

 Wolff find that I said, or represented that the 

 fertile queen, in order to raise supernumerary 

 queens, must be removed from the colony to its 

 damage ? Here is another position inferred and 

 assumed as true, when there is nothing of the 

 kind said by me in that description. Would not 

 true statements and facts be better weapons to 

 destroy my i^atent with ? In the next place, Mr. 

 Wolff proceeds to represent that Mr. Grimm 

 "subsequently employed a process practic;dly 

 much more serviceable" than the Queen Nur- 

 sery-, or the substantially similar arrangement of 

 Mr. Grimm, I s\ippose, of course. But upon 

 this point I sliall neither affirm or deny until I 

 IcnoiD the truth. Then comes the famed counsel 

 of Mr. Wolff, what he would do instead of em- 

 ploying Dr. Davis' plan. 



Well, I give 7im the privilege of "following 

 the counsel of his own will," and let his colonies 

 accept his proffered queen cells as they generally 

 do, or destroy them as they sometimes will. 



But now comes the horror of horrors, that 

 "patenting everything about bee-hives, and par- 

 ticularly tlie process for raising queens. Oh, 

 the fears of "litigation" and "perplexing dis- 

 couragement to bee-keepeis," when shall it end? 



Now, Mr. Editor, I can see no good reason 

 why Mr. Wolff should so particularly pitch into 

 me and my invention, unless it is found in the 

 fact that friend Gallup told him through the 

 May number* of the American Bee Journal 

 that I hod sent him a Queen Nursery gratis, to 

 try. Wonder if friend Wolff would try one, if 

 I should send him one gratis ! 



I see no other good reason for Mr. Wolff's ap- 

 pearing at this particular juncture, unless, it is 

 from his particular horror of patents. It com- 

 pels him, as soon as the circular announcing 

 their existence reaches him, while they are yet 

 a good ways off, to pitch into them ; and that, 

 too, before he has seen them, or knows any- 

 thing about their value, or the truth he finds set 

 forth in the circular about the Queen Nursery. 



Jewell Davis. 



Charleston, III. 



Profitable Bee-keeping- 

 Some time since we gave an account of our 

 visit to an apiary near Springfield, 111. Since 

 then, the proprietors have informed us that the 

 product of surj^lus honey from one hundred and 

 twenty hives, has been aliout three tons and a 

 half. This has been sold mostly in Chicago, St. 

 Louis, and Springfield. One shipment was made 

 to New York, but the returns were very unfavor- 

 able. At the prices obtained for our own honey, 

 averaging about twenty-two cents per pound, 

 we should think that the above was a pretty 

 profitable investment. 



There are several extensive apiaries in our 

 own county. Mr. Salisbury, of Tolono, has over 

 two hundred swarms. Dr. Chaft'ee, of the same 

 place, has a large number. Mr. Porter, at St. 

 Joe, Mr. M. L. Dunlap, at Champaign, and Mr. 

 Cherry, at Slahomet, all have quite a large num- 

 ber of hives : and we believe they find it so profit- 

 able, that they are not yet ready to abandon the 

 business. There are a dozen or more persons of 

 our acquaintance who have from ten to fifty 

 swarms, who intend to increase the number the 

 coming season. 



By artificial swarming none are lost ; and by 

 using the honey-extracting machine, a much 

 larger quantity of honey can be stored in a given 

 time. The honey is thrown out of the comb by 

 centrifugal force, and the empty comb is then 

 returned to the hive. 



Some wise "beeman" has estimated that it 

 requires a consumption of fourteen pounds, of 

 honey to make one pound of comb. If this be 

 true, it is easily seen that a large saving will be 

 made hy using the honey-emptier. 



Much has been said of late years about the 

 value of Italian bees, while there are some who 

 claim that tliey can and do gather more honey 

 th.in the black bees. Our experience does not 

 confirm this. The principal value of their intro- 

 duction, in our opinion, consists in diffusing new 

 blood by crossing. Bees, like everything else, 

 deteriorate by in an in breeding. — Champaign 

 County {Ills.) Gazette, March 9, 1870. 



* It is only jii.stice to Mr. Wolff to state that his com- 

 munication was ill our hands before tlie May number of the 

 Journal was published, though received too latu for insertion 

 in that number. -^Ed. 



