1899 



GIvEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



719 



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oSiSc^fe: 



fpICKlJWGS 



t//lOM OUJt /NEIGHBORS riELDS.:^ 



I schvets by day uiit schibbers py night, 



Unt trows on von extree qvilt; 

 But vc n de sun's ope, I vear dat shirt-vaist, 



Unt tinks py colly I'm kilt. 



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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



A great change in the appearance of this 

 journal has been made by Mr. York. A new 

 heading, very tastily designed, graces the first 

 page ; and instead of reading-matter a half- 

 tone of Mr. Eugene Secor fills the rest of the 

 space. It seems there will be no more read- 

 ing on the first page, but a picture of some 

 prominent bee-keeper. Some might think 

 the change would effect a saving ; but the ex- 

 pense of the cut is fully equal to that of the 

 reading-matter. The idea is an excellent one. 

 The issue for this week gives a half-tone of 

 E. R. Root. 



lb 



Almost an era in apicultural literature is in- 

 troduced by Prof. A. J. Cook, who is writing 

 a series of reviews of bee-books — this time 

 taking up Langstroth Revised. In speaking 

 of Mr. Dadant's ability to undertake so great 

 a work, Mr. Cook says : 



Mr. Dadant, as one of the ablest bee keepers of the 

 United States, and one conversant with the bee-litera- 

 tuie of the world, was, without doubt, just the person 

 to undertake this important work. I doubt if he has 

 a rival in his ability in the direction of extracted 

 honey and the production and use of comb founda- 

 tion. 



In the next paragraph, in speaking of Mr. 

 Cheshire, he siys : 



It is to be regretted that he gives Cheshire credit for 

 illustrations which the latter took without credit from 

 such authors as Sfhiemenz, Wolff, etc. But, of course, 

 he can not be blamed for this. He also g ives Che- 

 shire credit for ideas which the latter also plagia- 

 rized. A copyist is always likely to run into error, es- 

 pecially a copyist who gives no credit. It is always 

 dangerous to fo low such a one. Mr. Dadant could 

 not know regarding this, and so is not blaniable for 

 the blemishes. It seems questionable to criticise so 

 excellent a book, but the mistakes as I have seen them 

 are so few that [ am bold to do so. 



This whole review, even from the standpoint 

 of physiology, forms the best reading of the 

 kind I have found for a long time, and I think 

 every bee-keeper should read it. In this line 

 of writing in particular, Mr. Cook is a genius. 

 A fine view of Langstroth goes with the ar- 

 ticle. 



\i/ 



On the harvesting, storing, and crating of 

 comb honey, Mr. F. A. Snell says : 



To have the honey in the best shape to sell, it 

 should be removed from the hives as soon as all is 

 capped over. The beautiful cappings are then white 

 and very inviting. If allowed to remain long after 

 being capped in the hives the cappings become dark- 

 ened by the bees, and the appearance is injured. 



The United States consul-general at St. 

 Gall, Switzerland, in speaking of the adulter- 

 ation of honey in Europe, says : 



The "dishonoring of honey," as it is called, is a 

 growing art, and several successful establishments are 

 now in operation, producing large quantities of this 



artificial honey for the market, and the product is in 

 popular demand. The people seem to like it. It is 

 cheap, and the sales are large. All .sorts of ingredi- 

 ents enter into its manufacture, among which may be 

 mentioned syrups, malt extracts of the lowest giades, 

 meal of different kinds, a-id corn.starch. 



From a pound of bee-honey 5 to 10 i^ounds of " dis- 

 honest honey " are made so successfully that it some- 

 times requires an expert to discover the deception. 



J. H. Martin's article, read at the California 

 State Convention, on the necessity of new in- 

 ventions in apiculture, is worth perusal. He 

 says, "While working for extracted honey, 

 our present method of removing each frame 

 separately, and brushing the bees therefrom, 

 and stirring them up to a high state of anger, 

 may be classed as a primitive way of manage- 

 ment. ... A shallow super is required. 

 If the cover is quietly removed from such a 

 super, and a cloth saturated with a .'solution of 

 carbolic acid is spread over it, the bees, hav- 

 ing a dislike to the odor, will soon leave 

 the super, and it can be removed." Mr. Mar- 

 tin says he expects the automobile to play an 

 important part in the apiculture of the future. 

 It can be used for a great variety of purposes 

 in the way of furnishing power, and is not of- 

 fensive to the bees as horses are. In s]jeak- 

 ing of suitable packages for small amounts of 

 honey, Mr. Martin says he saw one lately that 

 worked like a charm. The containing medi- 

 um was made of sausage-stuffing, but he thinks 

 this was evidently unfit. He says bee-men 

 need a machine that will extract 100 lbs. of 

 honey as quickly as 10 lbs. can now be ex- 

 tracted. 



\)/ 



Mr. France uses auger-holes instead of com- 

 mon entrances because they are easily made, 

 and are mouse proof. 



^S0smm. 



PRIDGEN'S SYSTEM OF QUEEN-REARING. 



The Successive Steps by which he Developed his 

 System. 



BY W. H. PRIDGEN. 



My experience in modern apiculture began 

 abotit nine \ears ago. At that time I bought 

 fixtures and made hives at once, using steam 

 power to cut them out. As soon as I got the 

 bees into frame hives the queen rearing fever 

 ran high. I secured the leading Ijooks treat- 

 ing on the subject, and all other information I 

 could. After yetting my bees Italianized, as 

 well as those of my neighbors, I reaed queens 

 for dealers to some extent for a year or two, 

 and then commenced advertising. 



After trying the different methods I finally 

 adopted Mr. Doolittle's, which I succeed well 

 in carrying out, although it always took quite 

 a while to do the transferring, having to adopt 

 some means of marking the cups as the larvae 

 were put in, to avoid having more than one in 



