vSept. 11, 1902. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



585 



and both (jueens died before spring. They were probably 

 reared the season previous, and consequently died of old 

 ape. Mr. H. Alley sent nic two queens as a present the 

 same season — they were his Adel strain — and both colonies 

 peiered out before sprinjj. 



Most people dislike tiiKlinR- fault with a queen-breeder 

 to his face, and so do I, but now we arc tryin(,' to get at 

 facts. My motion is that queen-breeders, as a class, arc as 

 honest as I am, and I never had the least fear of beinff 

 hunjf for my honesty. Mr. Doolittle and Mr. Alley both 

 comply with all the neces.sary conditions but one for rear- 

 ing queens, consequently their (jueens do fairly well the 

 first season, but almost invariably fail the second season. 

 There are exceptions to all general rules, I admit. 



Now, gentlemen, if you can invent any plan in trans- 

 ferring common larva' to the cell-cups, whereby you can 

 attach that umbilical cord, you will then come up to Na- 

 ture, otherwise your ((ueens will lack longevity. Look this 

 matter up thoroughly, and see what conclusion you arrive 

 at. Don't find fault with me for coming to the conclusion 

 that I have. 



Mr. Greiner went into a trifle of ridiculousness about 

 Gallup's long-lived queens. I wish to ask him one ques- 

 tion : Mr. Greiner, are you aware that ridicule is not argu- 

 ment ? Neither you nor any one else can overcome facts 

 by ridicule. 



That colony of mine that sent out the extra-large swarm 

 which filled three standard hives with bees, was not the 

 only one I had, it was only one out of seven, all buiit on the 

 same plan. I have said before that ray colonies in extra- 

 large hives all swarmed from 1 to 10 days before those in 

 the standard hives, and I am foolish enough to attribute it 

 to the fact that their queens were all reared in extra-large 

 colonies, and on the superseding plan, as the previous sea- 

 son they did not swarm, and I honestly thought I had made 

 a non-swarming hive. I know that longevity of both 

 queens and bees were above those in the standard hives. 



When I started bee-keeping in this State, the bees were 

 in 10 frame Langstroth hives, and, as I have before stated, 

 I selected two colonies to rear queens from. I stimulated 

 them to have them rear natural queens early. One reared 

 17 and the other 19 queens ; all had had 20 frames, and each 

 had 16 frames fully occupied with brood, and 2 more frames 

 in each hive partially occupied. I managed to save every 

 one of the 36 queens, and all turned out extra-good in every 

 respect. They were good not only the first season, but 

 good for four seasons. 



Now, here is another thing : I do not know how many 

 letters of inquiries I have received in regard to queens, 

 prices of queens, etc., since commencing those articles, and 

 I wish it distinctly understood that I never have reared 

 queens for sale, and never expect to do so. So no one can 

 truthfully say that I have an ax to grind, other than to 

 benefit bee-keeping. Orange Co., Calif. 



i ^ The AfterthouSht. ^ | 



Tbe "Old Reliable" seen through New and Unreliable QlasgCB. 

 By B. E. HASTY, Sta. B Rural, Toledo. O. 



H.\STY ON A HOP, SKIP AND JUMP. 



With a hop and a skip and a jump a number of weeks 

 have got to be gone over. (You see, I've been playing 

 truant ; but the teacher kind 'o intimated that he wouldn't 

 whip me, and so I'm back again.) The writers in those 

 numbers are lucky, or unlucky, just as they view things. 

 If they deem it a favor to be reviewed, their case is sad. If 

 they consider my reviews as a traveler considers the atten- 

 tions of the custom-house officer, let them chuckle that 

 their baggage has slipped through untouched. 



A. PIPING QUEEN. 



We might guess that a queen piping up and down the 

 hive would stop laying; but it is better than a guess to 

 have so careful an observer as Doolittle tell us such is the 

 fact. And a being-introduced queen, as long as she pipes, 

 is not safe from attack. Page 423. 



A SW.\KM-PROMOTER. 



So Mr. Davenport "prevented" a considerable number 

 of colonies from swarming by putting all brood above an 



excluder -and every one swarmed. To my mind that ought 

 to be expected. It /oois just as if a lot of f|ucen-cell», where 

 the queen can not get at them, would bo an almost sure 

 swarm-promotcr. Page 397. 



HINTS ON IlISII.I'IfirjE Ol' CAHBON. 



lilsulphide of carbon, as described to us by Prof. Cook, 

 on page 39(i, is not the stuff some previous writers caused 

 us to think that it was. Pon'l pour it upon your food, or 

 your clothes, or your person. I may add, from the book of 

 my own foolishness, don't pour a lot of it into a well, think- 

 ing to sweeten up its ill-smelling water. 



THE UTERAHV FIGHTEK. 



The picture of the home and apiary of Thaddeus Smith 

 (page 417) has a melancholy interest now that he has passed 

 over to the other shore. His antagonism to one of our most 

 cherished ideas —well, we are glad now that on our part 

 the antagonism was no sharper than it was. A twinge of 

 somelliing (can it be regret ?) comes when I remember that 

 he thought I was a little too severe. Paul indeed said, " So 

 fight I, not as one that beateth the air;" but we must also 

 be able to say, " So fight I, not as one that smiteth his fel- 

 low servants." 



THAT PAPER HONEY-HOUSE. 



Apparently F. L. Thompson's paper honey-house has to 

 be tried — and condemned, and accepted and laughed at, and 

 praised, and be put through all the chequered experiences 

 common to novelties. For some locations and uses I in- 

 cline to think well of it. Light it by having one or more 

 sections of the sides made of muslin — double, with air- 

 spaces between, if a specially warm shanty is desired. So 

 much easier to keep it bee-tight than a board shanty, is one 

 prime good point. Still, if you trust honey in it at an out- 

 apiary it will get punched, and the bees will carry all away 

 in your absence. Page 428. 



KONKV OF CIVILIZED AND N.\TIVE BEES IN BRAZIL. 



Honey of the civilized bee to eat, and honey of a little 

 native bee to make medicine of, is the way they fix things 

 in Brazil, it seems. Said little native is kept to some ex- 

 tent. We get to thinking that quality in honey all comes 

 from the flower; but in Brazil, where they have a dozen or 

 more species of nectar-storing insects, the influence of the 

 gatherer is too plain to be ignored. The honey is good, 

 bad, or indifi'erent, according to the little paws and pipes it 

 has come through. Page 438. , 



THE GASOLINE CAN FOR WORMS. 



One of the very best little inventions of recent j'ears — 

 is the way I incline to put it. And all about^ what, sure ? 

 Why, Miss Emma Wilson's oil-can full of gasoline for 

 worms. We (at least I) have been inspecting combs for 

 years ; have been picking out, or smashing in, or cutting 

 away, as the case might be. Slow, disgusting, unsatis- 

 factory work, and very apt to leave many of the larva; 

 alive, even when we had killed 'em our prettiest. The gaso- 

 line slaughter-machine promises to make clean work where 

 it goes, and to go much more rapidly than fingers and forks. 

 Page 437. 



BISULPHIDE OF CARBON TO PREVENT GRANULATION. 



Yes, Mr. Davenport, find out, for it is an important 

 thing, whether treating honey to bisulphide of carbon vapor 

 does actually prevent granulation in the combs, or whether 

 the one case you experienced was fortuitous. Seems to me 

 we have had complaints that the vapor damaged flavor. Or 

 is my memory at fault ? Must not expect to transform the 

 character of a thing without at least the possibility of trans- 

 forming the taste also. 



Why Not Help a Little — both your neighbor bee-keep- 

 ers and the old American Bee Journal — by sending to us the 

 names and addresses of such as you may know do not now 

 get this journal ? We will be glad to send them sample 

 copies, so that they may become acquainted with the paper, 

 and subscribe for it, thus putting themselves in the line of 

 success with bees. Perhaps you can get them to subscribe, 

 send in their dollars, and secure for your trouble some of 

 the premiums we are constantly offering as rewards for 



such effort. 



.*-•-• 



The Premiums offered this week are well worth working 

 for. Look at them. 



