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'N AMERICA J^-^ 



42dYEAR. 



CHICAGO, ILL, NOV, 20, 1902. 



No, 47. 



Editorial Comments, i^ 



DEATH OF DR. A. B. MASON. 



On Thursday, Nov. 13, we were shocked to receive the 

 following' letter, telliag of the death of Dr. A. B. Mason, 

 one of the oldest and most active bee-keepers in the United 

 States, and for years Secretary of the National Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association : 



Toi,KDO, Ohio, Nov. 12, 1902. 

 Mr. George W. York, Chicag^o, 111. — 



De.-^r Mr. York : — One week ago last Thursday, Father 

 Mason met with a very serious accident. An explosion of 

 natural gas occurred in the 

 summer kitchen at his home, 

 and he was badly burned 

 about the head, face, and 

 hands. From the first we 

 were very anxious about his 

 condition, knowing how diffi- 

 cult it is for one of his years 

 to overcome the nervous 

 shock of such an accident. 

 For a few days he seemed to 

 do nicely, but last Monday he 

 began to fail, and died this 

 morning at 7:55. 



We knew that father would 

 wish you to know the circum- 

 stances of his death, so I have 

 taken the liberty of address- 

 ing this letter to you. 



Very respectfully. 



His daughter, 

 Mrs. Ellis E. Mason. 



DR. A. B. MASON. 



The foregoing sad notice 

 came too late to permit of a 

 biographical sketch appearing 



in this issue of the American Bee Journal, but next week 

 we hope to be able to place be fore our readers an extended 

 resume of Dr. Mason's life. 



All will unite with us in extending sincerest sympathy 

 to the bereaved family, in their untimely loss. 



Uniting Colonies should have been done before this, 

 but if you have unfortunately neglected it till now, you 

 may as well take what comfort you can out of the thought 

 that there is at least one advantage in late uniting— bees 

 are not so much inclined to fight when it is too cool for 

 them to fly. All you need to do is to put into one hive 

 enough bees and enough honey, and there is not likely to 

 be any fighting. It is better if the queen of the colony to 

 be united has been killed a few days before uniting, but 

 still you can leave that to the bees. Just take of the colony 

 to be united the combs to which they are to be united, hav- 

 ing first removed from this latter a sufficient number of 

 combs for the purpose, making sure that you have enough 



stores for the united colony. It is a good plan to do this 

 removing a day or two in advance, brushing down upon the 

 top-bars the few bees that may be on the removed frames, 

 and it is also well to prepare in advance the bees to be 

 united, by spreading the frames a little apart and moving 

 them away from the side of the hive, so as to have the bees 

 on as few combs as possible. 



But don't count on doing this next fall, for it is better 

 to do the work early and allow the bees plenty of time to 

 arrange their brood-nest in the best possible manner. They 

 can beat you all out at arranging a winter broodnest. 



Concrete Hive-Floors are spoken of considerably in 

 the Australasian Bee-Keeper. They have the advantage of 

 durability, and perhaps of economy. Their weight, of 

 course, makes them objectionable, if they are to be moved. 



Hive=Covers are having some discussion in the Aus- 

 tralasian Bee Keeper. Sitrgle board covers are in less re- 

 pute there than here, because of the great heat, combs 

 melting down under them. Preference is given to a cover 

 having an air-space, as a gable cover, or a telescope cover, 

 allowing some kind of a covering beneath, and the editor 

 thinks protection should be given against the sun on the 

 sides as well as the tops of the hives. 



Alfalfa in the Future — Some apprehension has been 

 expressed as to the future of alfalfa, because of the ten- 

 dency of ranchmen to cut it for hay before the time of 

 bloom. M. A. Gill thinks this an idle scare. He says, in 

 Gleanings in Bee-Culture, that intelligent cattle-feeders un- 

 derstand that the best results are to be obtained from hay 

 cut when in full bloom, and earlier cutting is only made at 

 a loss. H.D.Watson, the "alfalfa king," assured Editor 

 Root that we need not be alarmed about the ranchers cut- 

 ting their hay before it bloomed. 



Don't Waste Pollen. — It is not an uncommon thing to 

 see combs of pollen going to waste in the hands of those 

 who are careful to save the smallest quantity of honey. 

 Indeed, there are probably many who attach no money- 

 value whatever to pollen. The bees, however, set a high 

 value upon it. Without pollen, no brood-rearing. " But 

 the bees gather more than they need, and there is no pos- 

 sible good to come from having a store of pollen in the hive 

 when the bees can get plentj' of it in the fields." Are you 

 so sure of that ? Do you know to a dead certainty that a 

 colony which has a good store of pollen in its combs will 

 bring in just as much pollen from the fields as it would with 

 no pollen at all in the hive ? 



Probably few have made sufficiently careful observa- 

 tions to realize the great amount of pollen used by a colony 

 of bees in the course of a year. During the great brood- 

 rearing period, early in the season, a close observing will 

 show that the store of pollen left over from the preceding 



