section while I was in the employ of G. 

 B. Lewis, but used none of his time ; 

 he had nothing whatever to do with it; 

 in fact, I had it all completed before I 

 showed it to him. This was several 

 months before C. E. Parks came to this 

 town, from Kansas, which was about 

 June 20, 1878. Then, seeing that it was 

 a nice thing, they commenced to talk 

 " patent." On Oct. 1, 1878, the copart- 

 nership of Lewis & Parks was formed, 

 and from that time they commenced 

 preparations to obtain a patent. I mis- 

 trusted this, and watched their move- 

 ments closely, until I became satisfied 

 that they intended to get a patent on it, 

 if they could. Some time in the winter 

 or spring of 1879, 1 wrote to an attorney 

 at Washington to find out if they had 

 made an application for a patent. ' 



He wrote me that lie could not find 

 out whether they had or not, and fur- 

 ther that he had no right to know, and 

 that it would be a breach of trust for 

 the Commissioner to give any informa- 

 tion in regard to the case, whether they 

 had or not, and the only way to find out 

 was to file an application 'myself, and 

 then, if they had, I would be notified. 

 I did so, and was notified that there was 

 an application there, and then it was 

 put in "■ Interference, " and I proved be- 

 yond a doubt that I was the inventor. 



Just as soon as they found that they 

 were beaten, they claimed that it was 

 old and not patentable. At the same time 

 they were willing to compromise and let 

 me have the patent if I would give them 

 a shop right. They made this proposition. 

 They have turned over every stone in 

 the field to destroy the patent, and have 

 failed, and now Lewis & Parks are out 

 of the fight, which is now between Mr. 

 Delzell and myself. 



The patent was allowed to me as 

 claimed, and was signed by the Exam- 

 iner, and would have been issued but 

 for Mr. DalzelPs application. They 

 have tried to mislead by saying that it 

 has been declared not patentable by the 

 Examiner. Would the Patent Office put 

 it in " Interference " for more than a 

 year if they had declared it non-patent- 

 able V 



What I claimed in my advertisement 

 is this, that the patent has been " al- 

 lowed " to me. I never claimed that 

 it was issued ! Lewis & Parks in their 

 letter ask you to write to the Com- 

 missioner and you will ascertain offi- 

 cially that there has been no patent is- 

 sued to any one. We never claimed 

 that it was", but that it has been " al- 

 lowed," and we can prove it, or any- 

 thing else that we have said in regard 

 to this case. The only way that I could 

 prevent them from getting a patent on 



my invention was to do as I have done. 

 Had I not done it they would have pre- 

 vented me from manufacturing my own 

 invention. 



Mr. Editor : This is as plain a state- 

 ment of facts as I can make, and I think 

 I am entitled to the privilege of giving 

 it to your readers, as long as I confine 

 myself to facts. 



Watertown, Wis., July 17. 1880. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Observations about Bees. 



PAUL DUNKEN. 



The first thing done by a swarm of 

 bees upon taking possession of their new 

 home, is to see that it is free from spiders 

 and other insects which are their ene- 

 mies. They then cement the surface of 

 their new home with propolis, being 

 j especially careful about the top of the 

 I hive. 



The comb-building is next in order, 

 wax for which is formed in the body of 

 the bee, and exudes in thin scales from 

 the segments or ring-like places ob- 

 served under the abdomen. In this 

 work each bee in the hive forming the 

 pendulous cluster contributes its share, 

 while others are already scouring the 

 fields in eager search for honey. 



As fast as the comb is sufficiently 

 built out, the queen and her attendants, 

 by common consent, take possession of 

 the central and lower portions, in each 

 cell of which she deposits an egg, then 

 passes to the opposite side and repeats 

 the operation. The borders of the comb 

 are appropriated to honey storing. The 

 cells first built are very uniform, and 

 average about 25 to the square inch. 

 The eggs deposited in these cells develop 

 into worker bees. Later on, as the bees 

 emerge from the cells, and the colony 

 becomes more populous, much larger 

 cells are built, and in these the queen 

 deposits eggs which develop into drones 

 or male bees. 



When the hive becomes very crowded 

 with bees, so much so that there seems 

 scarcely room for all inside, and the 

 combs are well filled with young bees 

 and honey, an observation of the inside 

 of the hive will reveal the existence of 

 several conical protuberances, not un- 

 like small thimbles, with the apex 

 inclined downward. These are queen 

 cells, and are found sometimes project- 

 ing from the edges of the combs and 

 frequently from the centre or face ; 

 sometimes singly, and again in groups 

 of 2 or 3. The queen cells are an after- 

 consideration, and are not built except 

 to supersede a queen with a new one, or 



