THE BEE-KEEPERvS' REVIEW. 



55 



helped me evidenth'; but my weitrht went 

 down frightfully, nine pounds in six days, 

 and I got so weak that it was soon the 

 alternative, quit or not have strength 

 enough to get around and do necessary 

 chores. Presumably that regimen hit me 

 extra hard because I have been an entire 

 vegetarian for a good many years. Mean 

 to try some more things before I get 

 through. 



California has had a bee-keeper in jail 

 for 25 days, for keeping bees where they 

 were not welcome — rather a shock to our 

 free-country nerves. But then he "riled 

 uj) the animals' ' by advertising in a news- 

 paper that he would pay ten cents for 

 every colony temporarily brought to the 

 spot. Pacific Bee Journal, page 13, 

 January. 



Like the Michigan law, the California 

 law, also gives no opportunity to cure foul 

 l)rood; nothing but comjjulsory destruction 

 the next night after I)eing discovered. 

 TI.e act has been on the books (and 

 apparently not often visible except on the 

 books) for 15 years. P. B. J., Page 6, 

 December. 



On page 12, August number, the editor 

 grows righteously savage over the report, 

 freshly brought in, that one of their Cali- 

 fornia apiarists had jiroduced a crop of 

 six tons without using a knife upon it at 

 all — every pound of it green and uncap- 

 ped. Advises that such people be arrest- 

 ed on charge of offering for .sale a food 

 commodity unfit for luunan food. Possi- 

 bly he has set his plane a little too rank 

 to dress the Doard; but I shouhhrt won- 

 der if in the sweet by and by naught\- 

 boards wouid be planed with just that 

 kind of plane. Being a liberal consumer 

 of honey himself, he mentions three 

 recent purchases of his own. Doubtless 

 lie exercised some discrimination in buy- 

 ing; but oidy one 1<»1 out of the three 

 came up to his ideal of what hone\- ought 

 to be. 



'■ HE GENERAL ROUND-UP. 



It seems thai in reviewing llie ISusv 

 Bee ( November Re\ie\v ) I made the rath- 



er stupid blunder of corraling as editorials 

 some ifs and doubts about sweet clover 

 which were not editorial, but at variance 

 with the editor's opinions. When I get 

 arouud to the Bu.sy Bee again, friend 

 Abbott, better I eats ah extra pound of 

 honey to clear my upper story cobwebs 

 out. 



I see in Review 27 that our editor 

 mentions me as one of those not favoring 

 an anti-drone crusade. Perhaps I had 

 better state my position a little more 

 clearly. No donbt drones eat ravenously; 

 and the dictum, the more drones the 

 less hone}-, has good support o>i one side. 

 No doubt the colony is better without 

 drones so long as they voluntarily refrain 

 from rearing them. Also I have small 

 hopes that an}- occult good influence cx- 

 i.sts wherel)}- the drone benefits the hive. 

 He is an indispen.sible element of breed- 

 ing, and not much else. The trouble is, 

 if 1 understand it, that when the bees 

 take a notion to de.sire his presence in 

 the hive they positively zuoti't feel satis- 

 fied without him — won't send out each 

 day the full iieTC addition to the honev 

 gathering ranks. The bees that should 

 make their first trip for honey stay at 

 home and devote themselves rather fran- 

 tically to futile efforts to rear drones — 

 while their keeper devotes himself to fu- 

 tile eflforts to prevent the rearing of drones. 

 Sol would amend the dictum given above 

 into. The more of that "kill my dog and 

 I'll kill your cat" spirit that gets in be- 

 tween bees and keeper the le.ss honey for 

 market. One of the worst results of this 

 unprofitable contest is that the queen will 

 be right into the sections, if .she can pos- 

 .sible get there, in search of drone-comb to 

 lay in; and the bees will be more than 

 willing to get it ready for her. I don't 

 want to be compelled to put perforated 

 zinc between brood and sections; and 

 nianv of our craft arc like minded. I 

 don't w^ant to be compelled to fill every 

 section entirely full of foundation. Not 

 so many of the brethren are with me in 

 that, yet quite a sprinkle of them. With 

 my present practice the amount of brood 



