324 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



May 27, 



a steamship, an electric telegraph, or any work of architec- 

 ture. If any doubt this, let him ponder the history of those 

 breeds of animals which have made C'rreat Britain the stock- 

 nursery of the world to-day. Let him note the patient in- 

 dustry, the genius and application which have been put forth 

 during this century, on this continent, to bring them to the 

 condition they have attained, and their doubts must cease. 



Such a field is certainly open for the improvement of our 

 bees. Scarcely a paper comes to hand but contains something 

 encouraging on this line. I congratulate Prof. A. J. Cook for 

 that masterly article on page 759 of the Bee Journal for 

 1896. Such articles invigorate and renew our courage, mak- 

 ing us more willing to wait, and go on unmindful of what the 

 public think or the market desires, looking for our reward in 

 the away-off future. Ontario, Canada. 



LConcluded nejt week.] 



Bee-Escapes— Reasons for and Against. 



BY DR. C. C. MILLKB. 



Mr. Editor: — On page 289, your interesting South Afri- 

 can correspondent raises the question as to why there should 

 be such wide divergence of opinion among bee-keepers, illus- 

 trating it by pitting Mr. Simmins and myself as at opposite 

 extremes concerning bee-escapes, practically saying that I 

 laud them sky-high. I don't know just what I may have said 

 in some unguarded moment that should have given Mr. Deacon 

 such an Impression, but as a matter of fact I do not use a bee- 

 escape upon a hive. I know that many of the best bee-keep- 

 ers — I think a large majority of them — think highly of them, 

 but they don't suit my circumstances. 



Mr. Simmins gives as one of the most forcible arguments 

 against their use the fact that the bees, frightened by the lift- 

 ing of the super, make countless pin-holes in the cappings. 

 This affords another illustration as to difference of opinion, 

 for after considerable experimenting with them I insist that 

 bees do nothing of the kind. Now I'm not going to make 

 faces at Mr. Simmins, or call him names, because his state- 

 ment does not agree with actual facts in my experience. I 

 have high respect for him as a bee-keeper of ability and 

 veracity. Because I have seen no holes gnawed in the cap- 

 pings, I have no right to say he has never seen anything of 

 the kind. Very likely the explanation Is the difference in our 

 bees. I aim to keep Italians. I think he does not. 



My reasons for not using escapes are different from his. I 

 can't wait for them. When I go to an out-apiary I want to 

 take home with me the honey I take off that day. I don't 

 want to be obliged to make an extra trip next day to go back 

 after the cleared supers. Even in the home apiary I want to 

 finish up the same day, for most likely I want to start off 

 early the next morning for a full day's work In an out-apiary. 

 If It suited me to do the work on parts of two different days, 

 I should not like to leave the escapes on a hive over night, for 

 all the boys In my neighborhood don't go to Sunday-school, 

 and the temptation to carry off a super emptied of bees would 

 be much greater than if the same super were defended by a 

 thousand poisoned javelins. McHenry Co., 111. 



California Again — Blanketing Bees. 



BY F. A. GEMMILL. 



I see that Messrs. Brodbeck and (iallup — who are among 

 my California friends — contribute occasionally to the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal. I liked California when there, and like it 

 still. 



I observed In the California Cultivator for April, which 

 was kindly sent me by Dr. (lallup, that I am reported as 

 blanketing bees here In Ontario, Canada, where It Is cold 

 enough for a bear to wear overshoes ; that the outlook for a 



good crop the coming season is promising; and that I also 

 sigh for a re-visit to the land of perennial flowers, where milk 

 and honey flow. Yes, Mr. Levering, that is correct; but I 

 am not so " dead struck " on Califurfjia that I cannot make a 

 success of apiculture here, although I am accused of blank- 

 eting bees in winter ! 



Say, Mr. Editor, just you whisper in the ears of those 

 milk-and-honey bee-keepers, through the columns of the 

 American Bee Journal, that this Canadian tenderfoot expects 

 to have " just a lovely time " this summer among his bees, 

 and also procure a No. 1 crop of comb honey from his 92 col- 

 onies, which wintered without the loss of a single colony, and 

 without blankets, either ! They were of course packt with 

 forest leaves, and each colony had a good supply of well- 

 ripened, sealed stores, with slight upward ventilation through 

 a propolized quilt, or a %-inch pine board for a cover, over 

 which was 18 inches of leaves, well prest down. There was 

 an air-space between the top of the leaves and the cases to 

 the outside packing case. The hive entrances were % by 3 

 inches. That was the secret with me, and any one can do the 

 same thing if he tries. 



By the way, why did those Californians send Mr. Alpaugh 

 home? Yes, he has actually returned to Canada, and paid 

 me a visit a few days ago while on his tour prospecting for a 

 location to again settle in his native clime. Was it the poor 

 seasons of late in California that discouraged him ? My in- 

 quiry only brought out a submerged reply, to the effect that 

 fleas, scorpions, rattle-snakes, tarantulas, lizards, lions and 

 grizzly bears were numerous. Said information seemed to 

 please my wife so much that she at once said, " Now, Frank, 

 I thoudht there was something there besides oranges, fruits, 

 flowers, and perpetual sunshine ! I don't care, I won't go one 

 foot to such a country !" I am, however, hoping that she will 

 some day go, and take both her feet with her, if it is only to 

 see the country. 



Of course, I saw a lion and a bear, too, but they were in 

 cages on the top of Mount Lowe, and all the other things 

 were on card-boards, sold in curiosity shops, and could not 

 bite a little bit — for they were dead. 



Ontario, Canada, May 3. 



New Union and the Bee Journal.— In order 

 to help our subscribers, and also the United States Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Uniou at the same time, we have decided to offer a year's 

 subticriptioo to the American Bee Journal and a year's mem- 

 bership dues in the New Union, both together, for §1.75. 

 But it must be understood that in order to get this rale, all 

 arrearages of subscriptions must be paid, and the $1.75 rate 

 to apply on advance subscription. 



Now send us your orders, and we will attend to turning 

 over the . 151. <J0 membership fee to the New Union, on each 

 subscription to the Bee Journal as per the above offer. This 

 ought to add 500 members to the New Union by June 1. If 

 it does, our contribution will be just .$125. 



Now, If you want to see the New Union succeed In its 

 grand work, in the interest of (ill the bee-keepers, come on 

 with your cash. General Manager Secor is just aching to do 

 his part whenever he sees sufficient funds in the treasury to 

 pay the bills. 



Xlie Horse— How to Break and Handle.— 



This Is a pamphlet of 32 pages, giving complete instructions 

 for breaking and educating colts, teaching horses to drive, 

 and for use under the saddle, together with many instructions 

 which have never before been publisht, and which are the re- 

 sult of the author's experience covering a period of 20 years. 

 By Prof. Wm. Mullen, with whom the editor of the Bee Jour- 

 nal Is personally acquainted. Price, postpaid, 20 cents ; or 

 given as a premium for sending us one new subscriber to the 

 Bee Journal for the rest of the year at 50 cents. 



Every Present Subscriber of the Bee Jourrs' 

 should bo an agent for it, and got all others possible to sub- 

 scribe for It. See offer above. 



