

-/L .-/N AMERICA J«^'^ 



42dYEAF. 



CHICAGO, ILL, AUG, 28, 1902, 



No, 35, 



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^ Editorial Comments. 



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Change in Going to Denver.— We find that the Chicago 

 & Northwestern train on Tuesday, Sept. 2, at 10 a.m., which 

 we reported that Dr. Miller and others of us would take 

 from Chicapo, does not make very g^ood connections, so we 

 have decided to leave on the b:oO p.m. train out of Chicaffo, 

 on Monday, Sept. 1. This is a fine train, and arrives in 

 Denver at T:50 p.m. the nest day — only about 25 hours. 



We trust there may be others who will join our party 

 on the way. 



The Government Chemist on Glucose. — Prof. Wiley 

 was quoted as saying : 



"A mixture of glucose with food products, I maintain, 

 is not injurious to health, neither is it a fraud." 



The editor of the Modern Farmer and Busy Bee wrote 

 him and received the following reply : 



Dear Mr. Abbott : — You are right in supposing that I 

 am incorrectly quoted in regard to a mixture of glucose. 

 My argument before the committee was all to the effect that 

 glucose when sold under any other name is a fraudulent ar- 

 ticle, but that I had no objection to glucose being sold 

 under its own name. I illustrated particularly the matter 

 of honey, where glucose was added without informing the 

 customer, I considered to be an unmitigated fraud. 



I will send you copies of the testimony both before the 

 Senate and House Committees, as soon as I can get hold of 

 them. The Senate report has been already published, but I 

 have been able to get but two copies so far. The House re- 

 port is still in the hands of the printer. 



There is greater opportunity now than ever before to 

 secure legislation, and a little influence brought to bear 

 upon the Speaker and your Senators and members of Con- 

 gress would prove of wonderful effect. 



With sincerest regards, I am, faithfully, 



H. W. Wiley, Chief. 



Bee-Keeping as a Department of Study. — This country 

 rather prides itself in its advanced educational methods, 

 but so far as the matter of education in bee-keeping is con- 

 cerned, other nations can be found much in advance. There 

 are among other nations schools for special instruction in 

 the science and art of bee keeping, the government provid- 

 ing free tuition under experienced instructors, and in some 

 of the common schools elementary instruction in bee-keep- 

 ing is given. At Vienna a building has been erected solely 

 as a place of instruction in bee-keeping, equipped with all 

 necessary conveniences for such a school. 



Michigan took the lead in putting bee-keeping in the 

 curriculum of study in Michigan Agricultural College, but 

 not more than ,? or 4 other States have followed her exam- 

 ple, among which is Texas. Why should not the young 

 man or woman who goes to an agricultural college have an 

 opportunity for instruction in bee-keeping as well as in 

 other departments usually taught ? Is there any reason 



other than the very unsatisfactory one that such a thing 

 has not been done in the past? It might be an interesting 

 thing to have a symposium giving the reasons of the presi- 

 dents of the different agricultural colleges for leaving bee- 

 keeping out of their courses of study. The columns of this 

 journal are open for any of them, or indeed, for any one 

 else, to give some good reason or reasons why it is not the 

 proper thing to instruct the students of agricultural col- 

 leges how to care for bees as well as other farm stock. 



Referring to the apiary at the Agricultural and Mechan- 

 ical College of Texas, Mr. Louis H. Scholl has this to say :j 



"This is an apiary that not every State has, and we 

 Texans are real proud of ours. I have had charge of it for 

 some time, and we have fixed it up just like the good books 

 say. Bee-keeping will now be taught the students who at- 

 tend school here, and it is certain that some will go away 

 with a good knowledge of apiculture, and will make suc- 

 cessful bee-men when they launch out for themselves. ]/ 



"We have had a grand meeting, and some more good 

 things to advance the interests of bee-keeping in this 

 State." 



Amount of Brood in a Langstroth Frame.— Editor 



Root and Dr. Miller are having a set-to as to the amount of 

 brood in a Langstroth frame, the former believing there is 

 a border of honey at the-upper part which bees are loth to 

 cross to reach the sections in the super, the latter claiming 

 that his bees have brood nearly to the top-bar, and he thinks 

 Mr. Root is out of the way in estimating that a Langstroth 

 frame will be filled only about two-thirds full of brood. Mr. 

 Root referred the matter to their queen-breeder, Mr. War- 

 dell, a bee-keeper for over 30 years. Mr. Wardell was asked, 

 " How full are the average Langstroth frames filled with 

 brood in our apiaries ?' He replied : 



" That depends on the time of year. Before the honey- 

 flow, when the bees are breeding strongly, the brood will be 

 much closer to the top-bar than during the honey-tlow. 

 During the swarming season there will be on an average 

 about two inches or more of honey circling over the brood. ' 



A Comic Book on Bees is mentioned by Albert Gale, 

 in the Australasian Bee-Keeper, and a number of extracts 

 from the book are given that seem funny enough to one 

 familiar with bees and their habits. Of the extracts a very 

 few may be repeated here : 



Speaking of drones : " One by one they sail off into 

 space, irresistible, glorious, and tranquilly make for the 

 near.est flowers, where they sleep till the afternoon freshens 

 and awakens them." That the drones must sail off into 

 space to reach the nearest flowers is amusing ; that drones 

 visit flowers at all is decidedly so ; that they fall asleep 

 upon the flowers till the refreshing afternoon awakes them 

 is irresistibly funny. 



Of the queen : " During the slight spasm that visibly 

 accompanies the emission of an egg, one of her daughters 

 will often throw her arms around her and appear to be 

 whispering to her." " Is it not funny ?" says Mr. Gale. 



Of the nurses: "The nurse-bees feed nine or ten 

 thousand eggs, the eighteen thousand larvje, and the thirty- 



