1894 



(JLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



733 



unnecessary lime occupied in removing those 

 supers, he says, "' Narrow, thin, and V-shaped 

 top-bars are still in use in some of the large 

 apiaries, for some unaccountable reason, though 

 I know of no one of experience who is making 

 additions to his grief by extending the number 

 already in nse." There are plenty of apiarists, 

 we think, who would be willing to testify that 

 they see no difference in the readiness with 

 which bees enter supers over non-burr-comb 

 frames, or supers over thin top-bars with burr- 

 ■combs, providing, in the case of the first men- 

 tioned, small bee-spaces of )4, inch are used. 

 For such spaces I can not imagine why bees 

 should want " ladders" to climb into the sec- 

 tions, any more than the good wife wants a 

 ladder to get into the pantry. This same 

 Mr. Hill, above mentioned, in telling of his ex- 

 perience in removing SOO or 900 comb-honey 

 supers, tells of the warping and sagging of the 

 top-bars % inch thick, and how the supers 

 '• clung to the top-bars with a deathlike grip," 

 so that a "small crowbar was necessary to start 

 them," and how "each one dragged with it 

 from one to ten brood-frames." And further 

 on he says, "Bees were killed by the thousands 

 by forcing uneven and bulged combs up with 

 the supers. Every thing was drabbled with 

 honey, even the wheelbarrow, and bushels of 

 brace-combs were scraped from the frames and 

 super-slats." This is only the experience of 

 thousands of others. On my recent visit to Dr. 

 Miller's he told me that, if for no other reason, 

 he must have thick top-bars because of the 

 cleaner honey which they give. 



I don't like to take issue with ray friend Mr. 

 Doolittle; but he is recognized as such good 

 authority that many, I fear, would follow his 

 teachings, and only be led into the experience 

 as above given. 



THAT BICYCLE -TRIP. 



Fi'.OM Manistee, Mich., 1 went to Lake One- 

 kama, where I met Walter Harmer, formerly 

 of Manistee, the one famed for his small sec- 

 tions of honey, ranging from one to two ounces 

 in weight. From that point I went by steamer 

 to Chicago; called on Bro. York, of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Jouriuil, and after a visit of two or 

 three hours I pushed the wheel to Marengo, 

 getting lost on the way, and making over 80 

 miles in the afternoon and part of the evening. 

 The actual distance was only 6.5>2 miles. From 

 Dr. Miller's I pushed the wheel again westward 

 and northward, finally arriving at Browntown, 

 something over 100 miles. Here I met J. R. 

 Reed and Harry Lathrop, both of whom have 

 written at various times for these pages. From 

 Browntown I took the train for about 40 miles 

 to E. France it Son's. It was so very hilly and 

 sandy in spots that I was tired out. From 

 France's I came back to Chicago by train, 

 having had enough of the hilly and sandy roads 

 of Southern Wisconsin. Again I met Bro. 



York, continuing the visit of the previous week. 

 Now that I have arrived home I can not refrain 

 from giving the last paragrai)h of a private 

 letter just n^ceived, which I feel sure my friend 

 "(leorge " will not object to having appear in 

 print right here. Such chunks of friendship 

 ought not to be hid under a bushel. 



I've been so g-Iad that you came to see us! I've 

 told Dr. Miller that he fati't have ymi. all to himself 

 any more, for /'/)! going' to claini at least a part of 

 you for myself, " and dun't you foiget it " — 



"By Geokge." 



After leaving York's I took a train for Toledo. 

 From that point I resumed the wheel to Medina 

 — the last day making 110 miles in 9 hours. 



Now, then, you have an outline of my visit. 

 The first installment of Bicycle Notes is given 

 in this issue, and will be continued until I have 

 told you of all the good things I picked up on 

 the way. 



Perhaps it may be well for me to state right 

 here that I felt greatly honored by the cordial 

 and hearty welcome I received at the homes of 

 the bee-keepers where I stopped. I have re- 

 ceived so many courtesies that I do not know 

 how it will be possible for me to ever repay 

 them. I meet with a great many classes of 

 people; but I do not believe there are any nicer 

 folks in the world than bee-keepers. Their 

 study of the works of Nature (and Nature is 

 God) seems to ennoble them, in my humble 

 estimation, above the average of their fellows. 

 I am well aware that I have had to skip the 

 homes of many bee-keepers who would have 

 made my visit just as pleasant and profitable 

 as those where I stopped. But limited time is 

 my only excuse for not stopping at all places on 

 the route; and there are quite a numijer of 

 " leading lights " I had to pass by entirely. 



bee-moth; its ravages; not a serious en- 

 emy IN the united states. 



We have received several copies of the Agn- 

 rultural Gdzette, published by the Department 

 of Agriculture of New S. Wales. Those that 

 have come to our office have contained much 

 of practical value to the farmer. In the April 

 number there is an excellent article on bees- 

 wax-moths, by Sidney Olliff, Government En- 

 tomologist for New South Wales. Along with 

 this is a beautiful lithograph plate showing 

 the work of the moths upon the comb, their 

 larvte, and the moths themselves, etc. As the 

 lithograph was the finest and the truest to na- 

 ture of any thing I had ever seen I had it 

 reproduced in half-tone, and take pleasure in 

 presenting herewith the result together with 

 a part of the article referred to above. 



I find that authorities in this country refer 

 to two kinds of bee-moths — the large and the 

 small. As the scientific names are the same as 

 those above mentioned I feel sure that our 

 own bee-keepers will recognize their "old 

 friend the enemy," in the plate. Of course, 



