THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



273 



market gardener and greenhouse man of 

 Medina. And to think that instead of 

 counsehng with us about it six months 

 in advance he kept it from us about six 

 months afterward ! 



Canadian Bee Journal 



The Canadian, being a very staid and 

 steady journal, hardly needs another 

 characterization at this time, but only 

 that ordinary attention to contents which 

 would be better given each month, but 

 which I find a little easier to give all in 

 aheap. Perhaps the advent of "Notes 

 and Pickings" by D. W. Heise should be 

 mentioned as a new and interesting fea- 

 ture. The Canadian reports a fire March 

 3rd which specially damaged the supply 

 and manufacturing department. But the 

 look of the paper is not changed — no 

 blisters on its face — nor flies. 



One of the most noteworthy things in 

 recent numbers is the Canadian experi- 

 ment stations report on Carniolan bees. 

 Get a black eye for their awful comb- 

 building. Photo-pictures are given of 

 the combs of a colony not very excep- 

 tionally bad. Or rather seven combs are 

 pictured, and the other has merely an 

 evil mention as being all drone comb. 

 These bees evidently start about four 

 centers of work on each frame (not un- 

 usual with other bees) and then scandal- 

 ously neglect to join their work together, 

 leaving deep, ugly sinuses, oak-leaf style. 

 Inspecting the six worst combs pictured, 

 we find twelve of these work centers 

 drone comb, and only eleven worker. 

 The one respectable comb has a large 

 patch of drone in a lower corner, and is 

 marred by what seem to be recently half- 

 filled pop holes. The picture is not dis- 

 tinct enough to show unsealed brood. 

 Of sealed brood there is but little, and 

 that little nearly all drones. Although 

 themselves a swarm of the current year, 

 they swarmed again (or repeated) at the 

 point where the pictures were taken. The 

 swarms from r 2 hiore were hived on start- 

 ers merely. It was the latter lot of course 

 that did the bad work. The others not 

 only produced good combs but also re- 



frained from starting a new series of 

 swarms, which is an item that deser\-es 

 being remembered and pondered over. 

 If we had to keep repeating bees — as for- 

 tunately we do not — the relief would be 

 valuable. Still this one test, although 

 extended and official, should not be re- 

 garded final. The year 1897 was an excep- 

 tionally swarmy year. The qneens were 

 all tested queens bought the previous 

 year, and maybe many of them have been 

 too old for the best results. Perhaps 

 Carniolans get aged sooner than Italians. 

 D. W. Heise (Canadian, 292) tells of in- 

 troducing eleven Carniolans bought in 

 the U. S. Six of these were superseded 

 the next year. 



That poem on the Widow of Windsor 

 [Victoria] which the July number carries 

 on its cover front — well, if a British poet 

 can father it, and a loyal British journal 

 can put it at mast head, surely we Yanks 

 needn't do anything but laugh. 



Charles Mitchell got stumped trying to 

 make napthol mix with hone}- ( for bee 

 medicine) and wrote to his friend Cor- 

 neil for help. He, up the same stump, 

 wrote to Thomas Cowan, England. While 

 waiting, Mr. Mitchell ivarmed some hon- 

 ey, and, lo, the stubborn medicine mix- 

 ed in as easily as milk mixes in water. 

 Canadian, 295. Quite a sermon in the 

 above. A new commandment I give unto 

 3'ou, that ye try again— with slight vari- 

 ations. 



C. W. Post sows on his apiary in earl}- 

 spring two barrels of dry road dust (.sav- 

 ed over from the previous fall ) some- 

 times does it twice — and all to make the 

 snow melt off quicker. Canadian, 301. 

 Did you ever see the like of those hyper- 

 borean Canadians? 



The Bee-Keeper's Association seems 

 getting a trifle unrestf ul on the matter of 

 foul-brood — whether with all the in- 

 spection and effort any satisfactory head- 

 way is being made against it from 3'ear 

 to year. Inspector M'Evoy allows that a 

 little more severe burning will have to be 

 done. 



Simple directions about comb honey 

 — not to set it down with a bang, not to 



