473 



club together and save 50 per cent, on 

 the cost. I do not see what publishers 

 can hope to obtain by this method, ex- 

 cept to estrange their own subscribers 

 from them. The Inter-Ocean abandoned 

 this clubbing nuisance long ago, and 

 now give their paper to all alike at the 

 same price. I respectfully suggest that 

 it is very desirable to have the Bee 

 Journal published at the lowest self- 

 sustaining uniform price. I like the 

 Bee Jourx al, and the good personal 

 feeling it maintains in its discussions. 

 O. B. Curtis. 

 Ulah, Henry Co., 111. 



[Mr. Curtis' points are well taken, and 

 for several years we have been disgusted 

 with the clubbing business. It is neither 

 right, reasonable or just, and we shall 

 continue it no longer than to the end of 

 this year — then we shall inaugurate a 

 new policy, which will be determined 

 and announced in due time. — Ed.] 



Bee Killer.— I send you a block of 

 basswood with a hole and plug, enclos- 

 ing a bug or bee killer. I caught him 

 with a bee on a sunflower. What is it ? 

 J. H. Eby. 



North Kobinson, O., Sept. 7, 1880. 



[It is Phymata erosa, or the stinging 

 bug, which is fully described and illus- 

 trated in the 4th and 5th editions of my 

 Manual for the Apiary, pages 293 to 

 297.— A. J. Cook.] 



Freak of a Hybrid (Jueen.— Last 

 spring I had a colony of fine Italian 

 bees (the queen and workers were beau- 

 tiful), and I concluded to rear some 

 ■queens from her ; some time in May I in- 

 troduced her into a colony of black bees; 

 the queenless colony of course went to 

 work and constructed a lot of cells, 

 which I removed in due time all but 

 one, which was very large. I only suc- 

 ceeded in rearing one queen from those 

 cells removed, which was a line one and 

 quite yellow ; but the one hatched in the 

 parent colony was a little, spindling 

 thing, and as black as tar. What is the 

 cause of that difference ? The queen 

 that formerly produced such fine 3 

 banded workers, produces nothing now 

 but hybrids, with scarcely a sign of Ital- 

 ian blood in them. Now, Mr. Editor, 

 please explain. L. Z. Laxtz. 



West Liberty, O., Aug. 20, 1880. 



[The parent queen was a good Italian, 

 but had been improperly mated, and of 

 course her queen progeny was variega- 

 ted ; since then your attention has been 



more critically directed to her worker 

 progeny, which you find to be hybrids, 

 and which was undoubtedly the case 

 with the workers in the hive from which 

 she was removed. — Ed.] 



A Wash for Foundation. — I take pleas- 

 ure in sending you some root which I 

 use on foundation rollers, also a sheet 

 of foundation made on the 6-inch Olm 

 machine, for you to try in your apiary. 

 To use this root, soak it until you get 

 the root soft, then squeeze the water out 

 of it and use it on the rollers with a 

 brush. If desired you can boil the root, 

 but I think it best soaked. If you like 

 it I can furnish it to bee-keepers. The 

 foundation does not require washing 

 after coming from the rollers. I start 

 the sheet of wax through the rollers, 

 and before it gets clear through, I lap 

 anothersheet, thin end first, on the thick 

 end of the first one, and so on as long as 

 I want to, cutting off as it comes 

 through, so I have but one sheet to start 

 from the rollers. Bees are doing toler- 

 ably well here. I wintered 47 colonies 

 on their summer stands, and lost none. 



1 have lost but 1 in winter for 5 years. 



J. G. Bigler, Jr. 

 Xephi City, Utah, Aug. 8, 1880. 



[It is too late in the season to make 

 a satisfactory trial of the wash, but next 

 summer we will be glad to do so.— Ed.] 



Fierce Stinging.— I have just looked 

 through all of my hives. They are all 

 in good condition for winter, but only 



2 have given me any surplus, and these 

 were stimulated in the spring, and I 

 realized 70 lbs. of comb honey from 

 each of these 2. , My experience teaches 

 that it is better to keep 1 colony in good 

 condition than 100 and give them no 

 attention. The hives I use are \% in. 

 thick, poplar lumber, 10x12 in. wide 

 and 18 in. long, for brood-chamber ; for 

 surplus or upper story just one-half the 

 size of the brood-chamber. The com- 

 mon stock pea gives good forage for 

 bees; it will grow in most any climate 

 or soil. I had a strange occurance with 

 a colony of my bees this morning. A 

 gentleman and lady wished to look at 

 them and see the honey in the hive. 

 As usual I used the smoker, but the 

 mement the cloth was raised, the bees 

 poured out profusely, stinging the 

 parties present fearfully. I was com- 

 pelled to abandon the place entirely ; it 

 was a strong colony and gathering 

 honey nicely. My bees have always 

 been amiable. Can anyone account for 

 it ? J. Smith H*ead. 



Benton, Mo., Sept. 14, 1880. 



