12 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



all the combs over the stultified beefe. This 

 Fall I watched the operation carefully. 

 Every swarm so treated became foul- 

 broody. I do not know of a single excep- 

 tion, which I could say did not become 

 foul-brood3^ 



Did I cage the queen, foul brood did 

 not make its appearance so readil}-. On 

 a former occasion in order to introduce 

 foreign queens, I stupified them with the 

 smoke of a puff-ball, the most of them be- 

 came foul brood}^. To another I gave a 

 queen, and it also became fbul-brood3^ I 

 yesterday destroyed it, bees and hive. I 

 can knowingly tell you of two incidents, 

 where a queen was taken from a hive in- 

 fected with foul-brood and put in a queen- 

 cage, so that not a particle of foul-brood 

 was present, and yet after a time it made 

 its appearance. Dzierzon himself is unable 

 to explain this. 



Mr. Secretary Gros von Arnsburg. It 

 appears to me that Mr. Dorr admits that 

 lialian queens reared in the months of 

 May, June, and July are free from foul 

 brood, while those reared in September 

 produce foul brood. Why not rear our 

 queens in those months? 



President. That is a very natural in- 

 ference, but we must remember that queens 

 reared in the Fall months are much cheap- 

 er, so that the largest number are sold at 

 that period, while those sold in Spring- 

 cost double, yes, three times as much. 



Mr. Gross. But sooner than obtain foul 

 brood, I would willingly pay a larger sum 

 of money. 



President. What 3'ou say is very ra- 

 tional, but one comes in conflict with his 

 purse. I think this question has been suf- 

 ficiently discussed. Should I in a few 

 words give you my practical experience, 

 it would be, that crosses obtained by the 

 union of a pure Italian queen with a com- 

 mon drone, or a queen of the Heath bees 

 impregnated I)}" an Italian drone, are the 

 best bees I have in m}^ apiar}", and I in- 

 vite all Avho wish to be convinced of this 



to visit ra}^ apiary We have been 



too long breeding in and in, and this 

 phlegmatic German blood needs quicken- 

 ing. This is just what is done in improv- 

 ing our breeds of cattle, and why should 

 we not adopt the same measures with our 

 bees? I cannot entii-ely agree with Mr. 

 J)orr. 



Pastor Weber. Mr. Dorr told us that 



he began Italianizing in 1857. He has 

 been breeding queens, then, for 10 years, 

 and only lately has he become satisfied 

 with his bees — and now they are all cross- 

 es. If one procures queens in 100 or 1000 

 different ways, there will be no more of 

 tbe pure German race. In Rheinish Hesse 

 this freshening of the blood has been car- 

 ried on to a great extent. There is, there, 

 no pure race, but everywhere are traces of 

 foreia'n blood. 



For the American Bee Joiirmil. 



The North American Bee Keepers' 

 Association. 



The Third Annual Session of this As- 

 sociation was held in the city of Louisville 

 during the first week in December. 



In the absence of the President, Vice 

 President Hamlin, of Tennessee, took the 

 chair and called the meeting to order, 

 Gen. Adair acting as Secretary. 



Owing to the inclement weather, and 

 the sickness of some of the members, the 

 attendance was not so large as could be 

 wished, but the sessions were full of inter- 

 est. The first morning was devoted to an 

 informal meeting, and tbe afternoon to a 

 free social conference. Letters were read 

 from absent n\embers. Several practical 

 questions were discussed : viz.. The size of 

 brood laid b}^ a prolific qileen ; The cause 

 of foul brood ; Why queens sometimes de- 

 sert the hive, etc. 



The propriety of clipping the wings of 

 queens was talked over at length, disclos- 

 ing quite a difference of opinion on this 

 subject. The proper kind of food for bees 

 was also discussed, after which the meet- 

 ing adjourned until 7 p. m. 



In the evening the respective value of 

 the various honey plants was considered, 

 and the Alsike clover was highly recom- 

 mended. 



The subject of introducing queens Avas 

 also discussed, and the j^ropriety of ex- 

 tracting honey freel}' commented upon. 

 The members were largely in favor of ex- 

 tracted honey, as it leaves the comb intact, 

 and ready to be refilled at once with hon- 

 ey, there bj" saving to the bees more than 

 half their labor. It is also claimed that it 

 is better for the table, having been pre- 

 pared for assimilation by the stock. It is 

 assertetl tliat the only thing which renders 



