THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



]27 



Novice. 



Deak oi,d American Bee Jouknal : — 

 We iire riglit glad to sec your pleasant face 

 so early in the month, and also to find that 

 your liumble servant is still remembered oc- 

 casionally on its ])a!ies. Toll Argus that 

 "old Syrupy" has got his hat and coat on 

 now, for in fact this 2!)tli day of April has 

 been about as cold as any day in January. 

 The ground is frozen, and snow has been 

 on it ifor two days, yet we are happy to add 

 our Ucenty-Hco colonies stood it without any 

 further diminution of their numbers. If 

 he did call us "old Syrupy," we thank him 

 for his remark that Truth might be found 

 somewhere betwixt Mr. Quinby and our 

 own "hobby," although the "meeting" 

 seems unlikely just now for some time to 

 come, from the tone of Q's letter. 



We are so used to being taken to task, 

 that we think we have become almost har- 

 dened, i. e., in such uway that we can take 

 a "big crack" right square on the top of 

 the head, and look up pleasantly after it, 

 instead of feeling about for something with 

 which to give our opponent a "harder 

 crack " back again, as we have done by far 

 too often^ and thus keep up controversy. 

 We are perfectly willing to leave the matter 

 to the judgment of our readers, and will 

 abide by their decision after having sub- 

 mitted enough from Mr. Q's circular to 

 show just what he does claim for his hive. 

 He says : 



"In consequence of the advantage which 

 this hive enables us to take of the labors of 

 the bees, by preventing their swarming, 

 etc., it is safe in a good season to calculate 

 on an average of one or two hundred 

 pounds of box honey, or two or three 

 hundred when the combs are emptied with 

 a machine — which will sell for more in one 

 season than the price of colony." 



The only question is, whether Mr. Q. 

 is justified in offering Ids hive for sale to 

 novices with so high an estimate, and more 

 especially using the words," on an averaged 



Mr. Q. did make us a present of the hive, 

 and he has our sincere thanks for the same, 

 for we presume he then supposed it would 

 prove profitable in our locality also, but the 

 fact would not deter us an instant from 

 giving our honest opinion of the merits or 

 demerits of anything prominently before 

 the people. 



With Mr. Quinby's full consent and ap- 

 proval, — and it must be given more pleas- 

 antly than in his article alluded to, we will 

 undertake the task of giving full directions, 

 with illustrations, on these pages, for mak- 

 ing a perfect fac simile of his hive for four 

 dollars. After that, if no one can be found 

 to do it, we will make them singly or by the 

 quantity for that price, or 25 per cent. 

 less, packed ready to nail, everything 



furnished. The sample we are to model 

 from, shall be some one that he has sold 

 before this appears in ]irint. 



Mr. Van Deusen did also send us a small 

 bee-feeder, but we wrote him at once 

 (thanking him), and telling him Me Iiad 

 been using the same tiling for some time, 

 and that we were sure a patent would not 

 "hold" on the simple idea of covering any 

 utensil with perforated tin, to be used in- 

 verted, as a bee-feeder. This was some 

 time ago, but long before that the same 

 device had been described many times, (and 

 is now) in the earlier volumes of this very 

 American Bee Jocknal. Instead of using 

 fruit jars and oyster cans, with many holes 

 punched in them, wa- suggested using a 

 whole "teakettle," because it would hold 

 from twenty-five to thirty pounds,— or 

 enough for winter, at once. E. Kretchmer, 

 on page sixty-six, March number, mentions 

 the same thing again, as being patented, 

 and so far as his caution is concerned, we 

 would respectfully invite him to try the 

 "strength "of such a patent on ourselves 

 to commence with, before trying to con- 

 vince the public tliat the very useful and 

 simple device is not free property to every 

 one. If this appears hard on Mr. K., we 

 would say by way of apology, that he is an 

 old offender, and has led many good people 

 to question whether they had a right to 

 make and use such simple^feeders. 



Mr. C. C. Van Deusen, Sprout Brook, 

 New York, has ram a patent on a very sim- 

 ple device, for filling these feeders, and as 

 they are sold at a fair price, "right" in- 

 cluded, it may be many times best to pur- 

 chase them of him. We feel sure he will 

 agree with what we have said in this matter. 

 We respect our patent laws, and would up- 

 hold them when they are not made a pre- 

 text for the now almost obsolete " right "- 

 selling swindle. 



On the contrary, we think quite favor- 

 ably of Gallup's strong stocks for out-door 

 wintering, and agreed with him in thinking 

 they perhaps would not do so well in-doors. 

 Had he and Adair explained in a few sim- 

 ple words that their " New' Idea " was "a 

 long, one-story hive, with lots of bees in it," 

 we should have had no trouble in getting at 

 it. Some way, there always seems to be 

 more of a temptation to "hit back," when 

 Gallup gives one a " clip," than any one else. 

 Why do so many keep tilting at Notice's 

 dollar queens and hives? We only pro- 

 posed that it would be a benefit all around 

 for any one to sell any queen before 

 she was tested, for fl.OO. Would 

 such queens be in any way inferior in 

 fertility? Very many excellent breeders 

 now offer untested queens for $1.(J0, and 

 their customer stands an equal chance of 

 getting the very best. Selling queens 

 known to be poor, for fl.OO each, wou'd 



