1894 



(JLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



901 



who feels like becoming a bee-master can find 

 enongh books, pamphlets, and periodicals to 

 satisfy his needs. 



There is a French bee-paper published even 

 In Afv'i^A—Nahhla (the Bee), an organ of the 

 society of the Algerian apiculturists, and edited 

 by Dr. Reisser. "the high skill of whom in api- 

 culture is well known." 



Among the books are translations of Mr. 

 Cowan's '"Guide," and Mr. Dadant's " Revised 

 Langstroth.'" Mr. Charles Dadant is a con- 

 tributor to the Reiuie, and his articles are well 

 written — indeed, the emanations of a mind 

 which combines fine judgment with great ex- 

 perience. He is held in high esteem by the 

 editor of the -Rev tte as well as the other con- 

 tributors. When mentioning his name they do 

 not spare words like " master," *' celebrated." 

 and the like, and they are quite proud of Mr. 

 D. being their fellow-Frenchman. In fact, in 

 bee-matters he is, to all appearance, the author- 

 ity with them. The French, like any people, 

 may have their faults, but they are far from 

 participating in that hypercritical vein which 

 characterizes some other nations; and when- 

 ever one of them has worked himself up to 

 celebrity they acknowledge it without jeal- 

 ousy, and treat him with that respect which is 

 due him. 



The French language has some quite happy 

 expressions. For instance, "'la ruche " means 

 hive; "la ruchee," colony; " le rucher," apiary 

 —all words that are based on the same root. 

 " Les fixistes " are those bee-keepers who use 

 gum, skep, or box hives; "les mobilistes," those 

 who use hives with movable frames — two words 

 we well might adopt. " Le bourdon" means 

 the drone; and when a queen is a drone-layer 

 they call her "bourdonneuse;" so a colony or a 

 hive which has either such queens or fertile 

 workers is called "bourdonneuse" or " bour- 

 donneux." Could we not likewise use the short 

 word "dronish '■ for such queens, colonies, or 

 hives? The French bee-keepers (also those of 

 the other continental nations) do not call each 

 other " friend " or " brother " or " sister," as is 

 customary over here. With them these words 

 mean a great deal, and people there are very 

 careful in addressing another person by such a 

 name. Therefore they call each other "col- 

 legues (colleagues), thus indicating that it is a 

 like pursuit that connects them. 



In France and Switzerland, bee-keeping is 

 not so advanced as in the United States, the 

 number of the fixists* being much larger there: 

 yet the mobilists, by incessant private as well 

 as public agitation, are gaining more and more 

 ground. There are, however, several depart- 

 ments of France — even Mr. Bertrand admits it — 

 where the box hive is preferable. Reason: " the 

 honey is mediocre, red, thick, and so gummy 



* Those wlio use skeps or hives without frames, in 

 Contradistinction to " mobilists," who use movable 

 flame hives. — Ed.] 



and dense that it separates from the wax with 

 the greatest difliculty. In order to extract it, 

 it is absolutely necessary to break the combs. 

 Its sale is difficult, and one does not like it, even 

 where it is produced. Its shipment is very 

 troublesome and painful (on account of the 

 geographical condition of the country), and its 

 price is very low." Therefore the production 

 of honey does not pay there at all, while the 

 production of ivdx does, the latter being excel- 

 lent, and selling at a good profit. 



Of the hives with movable frames, the two 

 most used are the Dadant hive— either pure or 

 more or less modified -and the Layens hive. 

 There are also in use the Langstroth, the Cowan, 

 the Sagot, the Burki-.Teker, the Berrichonne, the 

 Wells, and other hives— quite a symposium, it 

 seems, to suit the most divergent tastes. As no 

 description of those unknown to us is given, I 

 can not enter into any discussion of their re- 

 spective merits and demerits; but perhaps the 

 one or the other of them contains a feature or 

 features we could add to our hives, and so it 

 might be worth while for us to inquire into this- 

 matter a little. 



THE WEI.LS HIVE. 



The Wells hive is of English origin (unless it 

 be an imitation of that renowned German bee- 

 keeper Dr. Dzierzon's twin hive). What it is, 

 Dr. C. C. Miller told your readers in Glean- 

 ings, Aug. 15, p. 643. I send you an engraving 

 of it, which you may copy, and which explains 

 the whole plan sufficiently. The correspon- 

 dents of the Revue are divided as to its merits. 

 Some are pleased with it, some displeased, and 

 the last word has not been spoken yet. 



Over two pages of the Revue are devoted to 

 an article of Mr. Dadant, on the Layens hive. 

 Mr. Fourcassie, the secretary of " La Society 

 d'Apiculture du Tarn," had, in a bulletin of the 

 same, remarked that Mr. Layens' methods were 



