1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



631 



BEEDDM BOILED DOWN. 



The "L,ong-Idea" Hive, or the plan of giving 

 room by adding a lot of frames horizontally instead of tiering 

 np two or three stories high, is objected to by G. M. Doolittle. 

 lie says it is back-breaking business to reach over so many 

 frames, but the worst thing is that after trying it for several 

 years he couldn't make a success of wintering in such hives. — 

 Gleanings, page til-ii. 



Clipping t*> Control Mating.— L. A. Aspinwall 

 clips a sixteenth of an inch or more from the wings of his 

 virgin queens before mating. This makes it harder for them 

 to fly great distances, ensuing a goodly nmmber mated with 

 drones from their own apiary. This year one in four of the 

 unclipt princesses were mismated, against only one in twelve 

 of the dipt. — Review, page 231. 



Ants Storing- for Winter.— The Progressive Bee- 

 Keeper quotes Globe-Democrat as saying there is no basis for 

 the superstition that ants store food in summer for winter use. 

 Wonder if that isn't a case where "a little learning is a dan- 

 gerous thing." Isn't it true that if the Globe-Democrat had 

 known all about ants It would have known that some kinds 

 lay up for winter? Perhaps Prof. Cook can tell us whether 

 Solomon was off in his entomology. 



The California Exchange.— Prof. Cook speaks 

 very hopefully in Gleanings as to the prospects of the Califor- 

 nia Bee-Keepers' Exchange, while the Review hints at some- 

 thing like the bee-keepers being " sold out " by having the 

 whole business thrown into the hands of one commission 

 house. We'uns up this way will watch for the outcome with 

 much interest, and if kind wishes will do any good, the Golden 

 State bee-keepers will come out all right. 



Xravel-Stained Honey Best.— E R. Root says 

 at their house they like well-ripened honey. Travel-stained 

 honey won't sell, but it will eat. And that raises the question 

 whether it would not be an act of kindness to the consumer 

 as well as of profit to the producer, if said consumer would be 

 educated that the whitest combs don't enclose the best flavors. 

 A certain amount of travel-stain knocks a cent or two per 

 pound off the price, whereas it's really better honey for eat- 

 ing. Worth thinking over, isn't it ? 



Bee-Paralysis Cured by Mixing Ibe Bees. 



— Monnier's cure for bee-paralysis is strongly endorst by 

 Earl C. Walker, in Gleanings. The theory of the cure is that 

 in a diseased colony workers have too much sisterly affection 

 to cast out a diseased member of their own family, but said 

 diseased member will be promptly cast out by one not near of 

 kin. So all that's necessary is to mix adiseased and a healthy 

 colony together. Mr. Walker says he has tried it, and it's a 

 sure cure. When a diseased colony swarms, he hives it in a 

 hive from which a diseased colony has swarmed. That mixes 

 them, so that no diseased bees are left in either place. 



Xlie Ne-w Dra-wn Foundation.— A number 

 have reported very favorably as to the new drawn foundation, 

 but Mr. Doolittle found it no more quickly accepted by the 

 bees than ordinary foundation, nor finisht sooner, and found 

 more fish-bone to it. Editor Root accounts for the different 

 results by the fact that Doolittle used the foundation as the 

 season was waning, and not liking the flat base, and having 

 time to change it, they added wax to the base so as to shape 

 it like the natural comb. Those bees which used it early in 

 the rush of honey, had no time to remodel it. The conclusion 

 is that it will be best to have the natural base, aud thus not 

 tempt the bees to increase the weight of the base. Our own 

 experiment showed that it was no better — neither any worse — 

 than the ordinary comb foundation. 



Rules Tor Grading Honey.— Oh, but Hasty, in 

 the Review, does go for the grading rules. Hear him : 



" It Isn't truth to grade the bulk of an ordinary crop as 



'fancy.' Thai's not what language is for I believe 



there are left in the United States Israel 7,000 men (not all 

 bee-keepers, I fear) who cannot look upon a self-evident lie 

 without eager plotting and planning for some one to wreck it. 

 Let No. 1 be so described as • embrace the bulk or an ordi- 



nary crop. Have as many lower grades as the brethren want, 

 but let them be clearly and frankly named and described." 



And then that unsophisticated young man goes on to say 

 that whatever goes under the label of "fancy" should really 

 and actually be/uJiciy. Others have exprest the thought that 

 calling the bulk of the crop " fare " was not In entire accord 

 with strict Ideas of truth, but perhaps no one has used quite 

 so terse language in speaking out his mind. Now, who's ready 

 to act as lawyer in defense of what Hasty attacks '? Not this 

 writer. 



The Two Unions Should Unite.— Something 

 of a discussion has been going on in Gleanings between Man- 

 ager Newman aud Prof. Cook. Prof. Cook thinks those who 

 voted didn't fully understand what would be the result of their 

 votes, and says we now have two organizations, one tied (pos- 

 sibly by vote of its members, but certainly by the views of its 

 Manager) to one limited, and as It seems to him, rather un- 

 important line of work at the present time, while the other is 

 ready to attack any evil that really threatens beekeepers, and 

 he thinks it would be wise to merge the old Union into the new. 

 Prof. Cook is not the only member of the old Union that thinks 

 in that way. 



The Rietsche Foundation Press.- A pretty 

 war of words between the editor of Gleanings and p. L. 

 Thompson has been waged as to the merits of the Rietsche 

 foundation press. Thompson thinks bee-keepers might make 

 good wages by making their own foundation with such a press 

 — Editor Root thinks not— convincing figures on each side. 

 Eleven thousand in use across the water shows somebody likes 

 ttiem, but American bee-keepers have the advantage that they 

 can always be sure of buying foundation of pure wax, while 

 foundation badly adulterated is only too common in Europe, 

 some firms even advertising different degrees of adulteration 

 on a sliding scale of prices ! 



Bee-Keeping in Tunis.— In the French bee-jour- 

 nal. Revue Internationale, appears a report to th6 government 

 of Tunis (the country from which the Punic bees came) from 

 the well-known English bee-keeper, Thomas B. Blow, who 

 spent some lime in that country. According to Mr. Blow, 

 Tunis is one of the finest honey countries in the world, and 

 has the right bees. He advises that stringent measures 

 should be taken to prevent the importation of bees from any 

 other country, as foul brood is yet unknown in Tunis, and im- 

 ported bees might introduce it. He estimates an average of 

 55 to 66 pounds of honey per colony. Advises beginners not 

 to start with more than 10(3 colonies ! 



"Melted DO'wn Combs have been reported quite 

 frequently this year. This is the result of allowing dark-col- 

 ored hives, or those with a small entrance, standing in the 

 sun unshaded. I never knew combs to melt down in a white 

 hive having an entrance clear across the front, even if it did 

 stand in the sun, but I believe it pays to shade hives during 

 the hottest weather, as the heat will otherwise practically 

 drive the bees out of the supers in the middle of the hottest 

 days. Much depends upon the location of the aoiary, that is, 

 whether it is surrounded by trees or buildings that prevent a 

 free circulation of air. In an apple orchard where the trees 

 are so large and the branches so long that the twigs can shake 

 hands with one another is an ideal spot for an apiary. There 

 is then shade both for the bees and their keeper, and nothing 

 in the way. Where shade must be provided for each individ- 

 ual hive, a light board two by three in size is the most practi- 

 cal thing. 



"Since the above was written, I visited my friend Koep- 

 pen, and in passing through his apiary, while under an apple 

 tree, he remarkt that the bees standing in the shade of that 

 tree had done much better than those standing out in the sun. 

 He had several small losses from combs melting down where 

 the hives stood in the sun, and colonies were very strong." So 

 writes Editor Hutchinson, in the Bee-Keepers' Review. 



Back lumbers Since Jan. i.— We are able to 

 supply complete sets of the Bee Journal since Jan. 1, 189 i, 

 to any who may desire, at two cents per copy. There are a 

 number of new readers who perhaps would like to get some of 

 the first numbers of this year, to complete their volume for 

 1897. We shall be glad to furnish them as long as they last, 

 at two cents each. 



See " Bee-Keeper's Guide" offer on page 640. 



