lOi^ 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



mention which I would lilte to see continued 

 upon the list of contributors, in fact I 

 would like to have them all continued. — 

 Some who used to write very acceptably do 

 not write as often now as I would like, -such 

 as Grimm, Argo, Price, Nesbit, the Davies, 

 etc., etc., with my quondam friend Tho- 

 mas, who, although he may not be able to 

 convince us that he still has the " best hive 

 in America," I know he can write interest- 

 ing and instructive articles on other sub- 

 jects. His idea about that bee disease, in 

 my opinion, is about the best that has been 

 advanced. 



And will not our sister bee-keepers let us 

 hear from them oftener V What say you 

 Miss Cyula Liuswick, Miss Ella Dunlap, 

 Miss Katie Grimm, Mrs. Harrison, and other 

 sister bee-keepers V I can assure Miss Lins- 

 wick that her delightful sketches are eager- 

 ly read and admired by one, and I believe 

 by all the readers of the Journal. When 

 we have young ladies visiting us and I wish 

 to interest them in bee-keeping, which I am 

 sure to do, I read to them Miss Cyula's 

 narrative of her experiences and Miss Katie 

 Grimm's accouut of her great honey harvest. 



Last but by no means least is the contrib- 

 utions of selections and translations from 

 foreign bee journals, which I hope to see 

 continued. 



It requires variety* in a paper devoted to 

 such a specialty as bee-keeping to make it 

 interesting, and that the numerous corres- 

 pondents of the Amekican Bee Journal 

 have given it, and that is one cause of the 

 strong attachment felt for it by its subscrib- 

 ers. Tiiaddeus Smith. 



Bees Eating Grapes. 



As I have cultivated bees in a part 

 of France where grapes are the main 

 crop, near the hills of Burgundy, cele- 

 brated for the wine produced by the 

 culture of the sugared pineau, a grape 

 I'icher in sugar than all the American 

 kinds, I think I can bring some light 

 on the discussion existing between 

 Prof Riley and my friend Kruschke. 



There has been considerable discus- 

 sion between the wine growers and 

 the bee-keepers, in the above named 

 district, and it is, to say, ver}' well 

 established that bees are uruible to 

 cut the skin of grapes. 



In order to ascertain the fact the 

 most juic}' and sugai'ed grapes, pears, 

 sweet cherries, plums, apricots, etc., 

 were put inside the hives; never have 

 the bees attacked them, if they were 

 not ])r('viously scratched. Tlie ex- 



periment was repeatedly made, it was- 

 discovered also that the first cutting 

 was made by a kind of wasp, or by 

 birds, or caused bj^ the rain falling 

 when the fruit was ripe. (See the 

 seventeen years of the French journal 

 -Zy' Apiculteu?\) 



In Italy the same experiments have 

 led to the same result. 



It is therefore unjust to accuse the- 

 bees of the mischief It is to be re- 

 gretted to see such distinguished meUj, 

 as Prof Riley, bring forward the ac- 

 cusation, and some bee-writers sustain 

 it, who, with a more careful observa- 

 tion would have arrived at altogether- 

 different conclusions. 



It is not the first time that scien- 

 tists have received lessons from prac- 

 tical bee-keepers. At the end of the 

 last century Shirack had to contend 

 with the scientists of his time, to 

 j)rove that bees can raise queens from 

 worker eggs. 



Later, Dzierzon has proclaimed 

 the pai'thenogenesis, in spite of the 

 European scientists, whose ideas were- 

 knocked down by the discovery. 



Later, Langlois, a french scientist^ 

 made an ass of himself in advancing 

 that the cells and the food were able 

 to change the sex of bees. 



Last year, Prof. Agassiz was laugh- 

 ed at by the bee-keeper, for his idea on 

 the building of the cells by the bees. 



It happens too often for the pro- 

 gress of science that, in order to get 

 fame, some writers bring forward as. 

 fixed facts, some ideas altogether con- 

 tradicted by experience. Some year* 

 ago Prof Warro amused the reader* 

 of the American Bee Journal by his 

 theory of procreation in bees. To-day 

 it is Mr. Adair Avho has inherited that 

 situation, with his balanced colonies,, 

 his wings which act as lungs^and pro- 

 bably as nose and ears. Fo'rtunately 

 these hazarded assertions are toO' 

 baseless to obtain credit among the 

 bee-keepers. They show how great 

 is the diversity of minds in the human 

 race. Ch. Dadant. 



Hamilton, 111.. 



East Fricsland, a province of Hol- 

 land, containing 1200 squarp miles, 

 maintains on an average, 2000 colo- 

 nies of bees j)er sqiuare mile- 



