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Vol. XXVI. 



JUNE I, 1898. 



No. 



II. 



May 18, in apple-bloom, I counted 188 bees 

 in a minute entering a hive, and some got in 

 without being counted. A weak colony had 

 30 in a minute. 



F. A. GemmilTv reports in C. B.J. that he 

 wintered a very strong colony on four L. combs 

 of sealed honey. They wintered extra well, 

 showing little desire to fly after 8^ months' 

 confinement. 



Sweet ci^over grows luxuriantly at the 

 marble quarries in Vermont on heaps of waste 

 where it's nothing but marble to the depth of 

 20 feet, says J. E. Crane, in Reviezv. No 

 wonder lime is recommended for sweet clover. 



J. E. Crane thinks the swarming propensity 

 can be bred out of bees \\'ith less labor and 

 time than it has taken to get non-sitting hens. 

 Review, 136. The simple fact that bees differ 

 greatly as swarmers makes the case look hope- 

 ful. 



Hasty says in Revieiv he won't have his 

 picture taken, because when he did the picture 

 always looked sleepy. The idea of a man 

 looking sleepy who writes so wide-awake ! 

 Say, Hasty, you'll have to show us the picture 

 if you don't want your reputation for veracity 

 shattered. 



A screwdriver is too thick and blunt to 

 take off supers. I had one ground sharp, the 

 bevel running back more than an inch, and it 

 is tiptop. But I'm ready for a better general 

 tool. [Such a screwdriver would be far better 

 than one with the regulation point, I am very 

 sure. — Ed.] 



" The indications are that there is to be a 

 return of good seasons," says Editor Hutchin- 

 son. Quite possibly, my esteemed friend; but 

 you don't know a thing more about it than 

 when you thought they were gone for good. 

 [But, " allee samee," we will hope friend 

 Hutchinson is right. — Ed.] 



Full eight days after a queen is shut 

 away from a brood-comb, every cell of brood 

 is sealed, says Aikin, A. B. /., 277. That 

 doesn't agree with the common statement that 



bees are fed G days ; but some of the best 

 authorities now give 5 days as the time of 

 feeding. 



When trying to explain how a queen 

 can see to lay in the right place on the oppo- 

 site side of the comb, why not decide that she 

 simply takes the warmest spot for her laying ? 

 [There may be something in this. — Ed.] 



"The man who rides hobbies and runs 

 after fads in bee culture will have a lean bank 

 account," says L,. W. L^ghty, in American 

 Gardening. Well, yes, if he does too much 

 at it; but if he .steers entirely clear of hobbies 

 and fads for the space of 20 years, his bank 

 account may be still leaner. 



German-Americans who prefer to read in 

 their beloved native tongue will be glad know 

 that a bee-book with American methods has 

 been written and published in the German 

 language by J. F. Eggers, Grand Island, Neb. 

 Except the statement that a queen takes 1(> to 

 17 days from the egg, it is up to date. 



" Our GIRLS will fill an Ideal in less time 

 than they will a T super." — Footnote, p. 388. 

 Would you mind telling us, Mr. Editor, how 

 long it takes them to fill a T super? [We 

 have not kept any record, doctor. All we 

 know is, one may be filled in less time than 

 the other. I will ask them to keep track next 

 time. — Ed.] 



B. A. HODSELL says it is a sad mistake to 

 cut alfalfa before it blooms, A. B.J., p. 285. 

 About 20,000 steers are brought into his Ari- 

 zona valley annually, to be fed on alfalfa hay, 

 and stockmen agree that the hay fattens best 

 when cut a week after blooming. When cut 

 in bloom it is eaten greedily, but is too washy 

 to fatten satisfactorily ; and if cut when the 

 seed is nearly ripe it is too woody. 



I am asked by the editor, p. 378, to explain 

 why sugar and honey, when eaten, produce 

 different effects upon the mucous, membrane 

 of the nostrils. I should hardly have the 

 spirit of a true bee-keeper if I were not willing 

 to impart information, and I'm glad the day 

 is past when the medical profession think it 

 necessary to surround themselves with an air 

 of secret mystery. I would just enjoy, Mr. 

 Editor, taking up the space to explain the 

 whole matter, but really I don't know, myself. 

 [Doctor, you are provoking. — Ed.] 



