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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Nov. 13, 1902. 



that Mr. Hambaugh may get the benefit of their good judg- 

 ment and experience, and that he ma3- carry their sanction 

 and approval with him as he presents the matter at the In- 

 stitute. 



We see, from the above, how important a matter it is, 

 that all sections of our country become organized in just the 

 way referred to. Most professions have a great vantage 

 ground in such organizations. Thus the lawyers, doctors, 

 railroad magnates, etc., can bring such force to bear upon 

 any proposition that they are almost certain to gain their 

 desires. I can but believe that the two most important 

 things now before not only our farmers, but also before all 

 working men, are organization and co-operation. Southern 

 California is leading in both these directions. May all other 

 parts of our country soon wheel into line, so that all our peo- 

 ple who labor with their hands may be able to hold their 

 own with those of all other classes of laborers. 



Los Angeles Co., Calif. 



Shading and Ventilating Bee-Hives. 



li*<('l at Iht: Minnfmta Jjt'f-Ktqit'r.^' Coni't'iition. 

 BY W. R. ANSEtl,. 



IT is with great diffidence that I advance my ideas on 

 shade and ventilation before this experienced gathering. 

 My remarks will be few, will not be dogmatic, but may 

 contain some novel suggestions on the value or inutility, of 

 vphich I am perfectly open to conviction. 



The title of n;y paper may seem ambitious, so let me at 

 once assign its limits: "Shading the hive from the sun, 

 and ventilating it in summer and cellar." 



When on the subject of shade, I shall confine myself to 

 two propositions : Do we want our bees shaded ? and what 

 is the best form of shade ? 



We do not want them shaded in the early spring nor in 

 the late fall; we do not want them shaded during the early 

 hours of the day, nor at any time when the weather is not 

 very warm. Therefore the natural shade derived from trees 

 or shrubs is not the best form of shade. 



I fancy I hear some of my friends, who know the loca- 

 tion of my apiary, say, " Sour grapes I " and I know how 

 deliciously cool and comfortable their yards are to work in 

 on a hot day. I do not underrate the value of personal com- 

 fort and artistic surroundings in the bee-yard, but I think 

 better results can be obtained by jilacing our bees on an 

 open plain than in the most beautiful Garden of Eden, if 

 there are always to be apple-trees there. 



I remember one apiary down in a dismally-shaded dell, 

 where my friend considered he had an ideal location, be- 

 cause his swarms (he never clipped his queens) always hung 

 about the trees, until he had leisure to hive them. His bees 

 were late risers, judging by results. 



We want our hives to be as warm during a honey-flow 

 as is consistent without distressing the bees, so that the 

 honey may ripen quickly. 



For this reason I am of the opinion that a removable 

 shade-board is the best device for us. Of the one I use my- 

 self, I present to you a few illustrations, showing its con- 

 struction and manner of use. and I venture to recommend 

 it to those who desire a cheap and effective article. It is, as 

 you see, made of shingles nailed to a skeleton, gabled frame 

 of lath. There is no waste in the use of either material, 

 and 100 shade-boards will cost you only S4.00, including a 

 boy's time nailing them up. They are heavy enough to 

 stay on the hive during ah ordinary wind, and light enough 

 not to do any damage if blown off in a gale. 



They should be tilted toward the sun two or three times 

 a day, and can be placed on the ground if a storm ap- 

 proaches. I can change the position of 100 in S or 6 minutes. 



Ventilation of the hive during the honey-flo%v and dur- 

 ing very hot weather must, I think, conduce to the comfort 

 of the bees and ripening of the honey. For this purpose I 

 have found nothing better than the much-practiced plan of 

 placing a small piece of section at each corner under the 

 cover. Perhaps a little thinner might be better, if the bees 

 would not seal up the opening with propolis. 



In the case of a newly-hived swarm, I have found it 

 advisable to give even more ventilation than this for the 

 first day ; but for the second and third days to close the top 

 down tight. Afterwards the hive may be ventilated as 

 usual, if the bees have started work in the super. 



My concluding suggestion will, I think, be a novel one. 

 Considerable loss may sometimes be experienced, during 

 the winter, through oondensation on the under sides of the 



covers, and consequent dripping on the cluster. Several 

 devices are in vogue to obviate this, among others that of 

 slightly raising the cover so as to allow the moisture to 

 escape before condensation. This plan of ventilation may 

 be all right in the case of a very strong colony, or of one 

 which has a superabundance of stores. But I cannot help 

 thinking the cover should be kept closed in most cases, so 

 as to avoid waste of heat. 



Last winter I experimented on 27 colonies in a cellar, by 

 piling them against the wall at an angle of 45 degrees ; my 

 idea being that all condensation must of necessity fall down 

 one of the inclined planes, and thus find an exit from the 

 hive, without falling on the combs or cluster, and without 

 the necessity of any top ventilation. Dead bees also fall, 

 etc. I may mention that a couple of 2-inch slats of wood 

 traverse the tops of each tier of hives; the hives above rest- 

 ing on these slats. Of course, the bottom-boards are re- 

 moved. Hennepin Co., Minn. 



Rearing Long-Lived Queens and Bees. 



BY HENRY ALLEY. 



WHEN reading Dr. Gallup's article, on page 584, I 

 couldn't help thinking he must have had more trouble 

 in getting good queens than any other man in the 

 bee-keeping line. Now, had everybody who purchased 

 queens had the same trouble that the Doctor has had, where 

 would the queen-breeders of the present day be ? Does Dr. 

 Gallup liave an idea that one poor queen represents all the 

 queens any dealer sends out ? I wonder if Dr. Gallup al- 

 ways introduces his queens so that their fertility is not de- 

 stroyed at the start ? Hundreds of queens are ruined in the 

 very act of introduction, and I really believe Dr. Gallup has 

 spoiled many a good queen by his method of introducing. 

 Many bee-keepers do this thing, and then put up a kick 

 against the queen dealer. Does any one suppose that where 

 a queen-dealer presents Dr. Gallup with a queen that an in- 

 ferior queen is sent him ? Dr. Gallup says in his article 

 (page 584) that he received two queens from some one in the 

 month of August, and in the fall both colonies that the 

 queens were introduced to dwindled down very low in num- 

 bers. Now, I believe those two queens were just as good as 

 Dr. Gallup could rear, or they never would have been sent 

 to him. The two queens which I sent Dr. Gallup were per- 

 fect in every way, yet he had the same bad luck with them 

 as with all others. I believe the trouble is with the Doctor, 

 and not with the queens. 



I am sorry I did not get "on to" this queen-business 

 earlier in the season. I tell you what I'll do. Doctor: You 

 rear half a dozen queens as good as you know how, in 1903, 

 and mail them direct to the A. I. Root Co. I'll do the same. 

 If my queens don't turn out betterthan yours, I'll guarantee 

 to go out of the bee-business. 



Dr. Gallup says on page 585; " Mr. Doolittle and Mr. 

 Alley comply with all the necessary conditions but one — 

 their queens do fairly well the first year, and fail the 

 second." Speaking for myself, I deny the statement, and 

 if this were my paper I would deny it in as strong terms as 

 the charge is made. Not one of the queens in SO that I send 

 out die the second year. One customer wrote me he had 

 one of my queens that lived si.x' years. I now have two 

 queens in my yard that have gone through two years, and 

 they are the strongest and heaviest colonies in the State of 

 Massachusetts. 



Dr. Gallup has made some most marvelous statements 

 concerning queen-dealers. So far as I am concerned, I deny 

 them all. The idea of judging a man's goods by one small 

 sample I Just accept the challenge above, and that will set- 

 tle the matter, whether the queens I send out die inside of 

 one year or not. Dr. Gallup has made such terribly wrong 

 statements that I begin to question his judgment on queen- 

 bees. I really believe he destroys the vitality of the queens 

 sent him when they are introduced. 



The nonsensical talk about the " umbilical cord," 

 " missing link," etc.. is out of place. The meanest, half- 

 starved, half-nourished queens I ever saw were the ones 

 that appeared to be fixed up with what some people call the 

 " umbilical cord." 



Further on Dr. Gallup says, "Ridicule is not argu- 

 ment." Doctor, let me remind you that some of the state- 

 ments you make are not argument. 



Good queens, long-lived queens, a'nd prolific queens, are 

 reared under proper conditions. What are those condi- 

 tions? The entire thing lies with the nurse-bees. No ar- 

 rangement of cell-cups or eggs has the least to do with the 



