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\.bii5hedy THE>l1^oo1' Co. 

 i£5 PER Year'^'X® "Medina-Ohio • 



Vol. XXVIII. 



JULY I, 1900. 



No. 13. 



Will the friends who think bees of choice 

 select too ol 1 larvae for queen-rearing please 

 make some careful observations regarding the 

 matter, and report ? It is not a matter of rea- 

 soning, but a matter of fact. 



Please understand that cell-cups with 

 small bottoms may be just as large as those 

 with large bottoms. Very soon the larva is 

 floated out of the small part, and then it makes 

 no difference how small it had been. 



In discussing shade for hives, p. 474, the 

 comfort of the b;e only is considered. I care 

 something for that, but my chief reason for 

 wanting shade is to have a comfortable place 

 for the bee-keeper when working at the hives. 



In his view that it is better to let a swarm 

 build its first five combs without foundation, 

 G. M. Doolittle is supported by no less an au- 

 thority than the lamented C J H. Graven- 

 horst. But that's a new wrinkle of Doolit- 

 tle to set off the five frames not till two days 

 after hiving. No doubt he has a good reason 

 for it. What is it, Bro. D.? 



Those "goblet" cell-cups of Pridgen's 

 are all right. He fastens them on the cell-bar 

 by pressing them down upon two headless 

 nails projecting jig inch. In " this locality" 

 we make a good and rapid job by dipping the 

 bottom of the goblet in melted wax and set- 

 ting it on the bar. [Those goblet cell-cups 

 are as near perfection as any thing can be. — 

 Ed.] 



Some say apple-bloom honey is good in col- 

 or and flavor ; others say not. It is possible 

 these latter have cherry and plum mixed with 

 their apple honey. [There is a possibility 

 that honey from cherry and plum has a strong 

 bitter taste that honey from the apple-tree has 

 not. This might account, as you say, for the 

 variety of opinions as to the quality of such 

 honey. — Ed ] 



Uncle Tisha has taken up an exceedingly 

 important theme, "breeding for improve- 

 ment," and he's handling it well. A point to 



1 e emphasized is that it is not merely profes- 

 sional queen-breeders that should be working 

 for improvement bj^ selection, but every bee- 

 keeper that has more than one colony of bees. 

 [A great deal can be done by selection. See 

 editorial in this issue on red-clover and long- 

 tongued bees. — Ed ] 



" I do not believe a particle of nectar is 

 deposited in the daytime," says A. J. Wright, 

 p. 479. How about those who say they have 

 seen it? For example, A. I. Root, in A B C, 

 under "Figwort," says he saw the tiny drop 

 of nectar form over and over again after being 

 licked clean by the bees. [So have I seen it, 

 not only on the figwort but on the spider- 

 plant. — Ed.] 



An epidemic seems to prevail nowadays in 

 the way of getting up new bee-diseases. Foul 

 brood and diarrhea used to hold full sway ; 

 now we have at least two new diseases that 

 are named, with one or more not yet christen- 

 ed, and dear knows how many more are to 

 come. [We have had these same bee-diseases 

 before, but now we are getting to know our 

 friends the enemy. — Ed.] 



If Philo Woodruff had known before- 

 hand of that picture on page 474 he probably 

 would have put those hives in straighter rows. 

 [Tell Philo that I am liable to come around 

 with a camera at almost any time ; but, serious- 

 ly, I like to catch our bee keeping friends off 

 their guard — not fixed up for the occasion, 

 but in their every-day year-in-and-year-out 

 way of doing things. — Ed.] 



Speaking of robbing, many times the very 

 best thing is to do nothing. When robbers 

 get started on a week queenless colony, it is 

 about as well to let them finish up first as last. 

 If there is much honey in the hive it can be 

 taken out, leaving just a little for the robbers 

 to finish up. If the colony is strong enough 

 to be worth saving, givingit a queen will make 

 it pluck up courage to defend itself. 



The season has been remarkably cool. 

 Clover bloom yielded nothing till four weeks 

 after first bloom, but is now yielding slowly, 

 beginning about June 18. [It is a comfort to 

 know that clover is not an entire failure in 

 your locality, for I am afraid it is so in many 

 places. The clover in your vicinity has a fash- 



