1899 



CLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



603 



have any thing to do with it. [No, sir. I 

 firmly believe I was right in using the ex- 

 pression " generality of cases" Last winter 

 I went over personally several thousand 

 pounds of honey in our honey-room that had 

 been bought from several different parts of 

 the country; and if I remember correctly 

 three-fourths of the so-called travel-stained 

 faces showed on examination that the stain 

 went clear through the capping. I believe 

 that the average dark faces in comb are dark 

 because they are dark all through; and yet I 

 am willing to acknowledge that there is prob- 

 ably a travel-stain such as you speak of, the 

 discoloration of which is only on the surface. 

 That reminds me that Byron Walker was go- 

 ing to tell how to remove travel-stain — -in 

 other words, give us the secret of making a 

 box that sells for 12 cts , sell for 14. He has 

 already given me an inkling of the secret, but 

 I prefer to let him give it himself when he 

 gets to it. I will say this much: I think his 

 plan will work — Ed.] 



You're on the right track, p. 582, in 

 offering a premium for good working stock, 

 Mr. Editor. If the same pains had been tak- 

 en in that direction that have been taken for 

 color, the average yield would now be more 

 than it is throughout the country. The right 

 way is for each bee-keeper to breed from his 

 best stock, and in the whole lot there will be 

 some great improvements. I've one queen 

 whose bees have filled, in this year of failure, 

 100 sections, and are still pegging awa)'. You 

 may count that queen will be a breeder next 

 year if we both live. [I believe that two- 

 thirds of the queen-breeders of the country 

 pay more attention to color and uniform mark- 

 ings than to honey -gathering qualities. I 

 know this from correspondence I have had 

 with the different breeders who, in extolling 

 the merits of any one queen, will say, for in- 

 stance, that she will breed large yellow 

 queens of uniform markings. While I like 

 to have beauty, and should be glad if we could 

 combine it with utility, vet, after all, utility is 

 what we should seek. You say vou have one 

 queen whose bees have filled 100 sections in a 

 poor year, and are " still pegging away." Say, 

 what will you take for that queen ? I do not 

 care whether she is leather-colored or yellow; 

 but in order to reproduce her kind she ought 

 to be pure Italian, pure Carniolan, or pure 

 something, otherwise her queens would some- 

 times take after one progenitor and sometimes 

 another. While you are about it, tell us how 

 old she is, her pedigree, temper of her bees, 

 their markings, and how they appear to win- 

 ter. Any one who has a queen that is away 

 ahead of the others for honey, and is still 

 "pegging away," would do well to write me. 

 —Ed] 



J. IV. B., Va. — The purity of Italian queens 

 is judged wholly by the markings of the work- 

 er-bees. Drones from pure queens vary so 

 that they form a poor criterion by which to 

 judge the purity of the queens themselves. 

 Three weeks would give enough time to test 

 the purity of a warranted queen. 



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<hr/!OM OUR NEIGHBORS FIELDS. 



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The days grow short, the nights grow long, 



The harvest passes by ; 

 The crop is short, and drones mmt move, 



Lest all the workers die. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



The first page of the issue for July 27 has a 

 view of the Dadant family — Mr. Chas. Dadant, 

 his son Camille P., and three of the latter's 

 sons, Louis C, Maurice M., and Henry C. 

 It is a pleasure to look at even a picture of 

 such a household, and we all owe Mr. York 

 more than a vote of thanks for producing it 

 so well. By the way, where are those girls 

 Mr. Dadant told me about once ? 

 \*/ 



Rev. L. J. Templin contributes a sermon on 

 the need of taking bee-papers. It is an ex- 

 cellent summing-up of the way in which old 

 methods are superseded by new ones. I have 

 been so much interested in this talk that I 

 dare not quote from it lest I take it all. A 

 nickel can't be spent to better advantage than 

 to send it to Mr. York and get a copy of his 

 journal containing it. I wish Mr. Templin 

 would tell us if there is not less reading done 

 now, in the true sense of the word, than when 

 he was a boy. Isn't it harder now to get peo- 

 ple to read a paper that calls for thought than 

 ever before ? I believe it is. A good picture 

 of Mr. Templin is given. 



ili 

 AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



Mr. Hill continues his interesting letters 

 from Cuba. The insects of that island lead 

 me to believe that a hybrid climate like ours, 

 where Jack Zero reigns a good deal of the 

 time, is preferable to one of perpetual heat. 

 \»/ 



C. Davenport says he does not attempt to 

 sell honey-dew, as it would ruin the market. 

 Nor does he feed it for winter stores, as it is 

 unsafe food for winter ; but for brood rearing 

 in the spring and summer it answers as well 

 as the best white honey, and by its use brood- 

 rearing is advanced, and a larger crop of honey 

 secured. 



»»/ 



Hon. John Ruffin, U. S. C, in writing from 

 Paraguay, South America, has the following 

 to say relative to the bees of that country : 



There are several kinds of wild bees in Paraguay, 

 some of which build in subterraneous holes, the rest 

 in hollow trees. Two years ago a colonist made a 

 trial to improve one of the latter by gathering them 

 into a proper hive, apparently without satisfactory 

 results. If not all, at least some kinds are said to be 

 without a sting ; but one, a black bee of medium size, 

 attacks the intruder by clipping the hair as if cut 

 with scissors. 



Some years ago a German, von Gulich, introduced 

 the European bee, and succeeded well, using modern 

 hives according to Dzierzon's methods. His widow 

 has continued this industry, and a few colonists fol- 

 lowed with more or less success. Honey finds ready 

 sale at good prices, likewise the wax, which is used 

 extensively for making candles and matches. 



