1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



221 



should be Americanized as soon as possible, 

 it onlj' goes to show that the bee-keepers on 

 the other side recognize that Dzierzon did 

 not go far enough. — Ed.] 



J. M. GouTTKFANGEAS, in Revue Eclec- 

 tique, says ventilating bees work tail down, 

 and calling bees tail up. He thinks the 

 call, as when a swarm is entering a hive, 

 instead of being a sound of joy is one of 

 fear or alarm. Among the proofs he cites, 

 is that this same call, tail up, is given by 

 bees whenever disturbed, and even by 

 chilled bees when warmed up. But it's 

 hard to give up the notion that a swarm 

 marches into its new home with a note of 

 joy. [I had never noticed there was any 

 difference in the position of the tail when 

 the bees were fanning. I had always sup- 

 posed it was up. I shall be interested in 

 making this a matter of observation the 

 coming summer. Like yourself I do not be- 

 lieve it is true there is no joy on the part of 

 the bees when they march into their new 

 home. If there is* any difference in the ele- 

 vation of the tails it must be due to the 

 idiosyncrasy of the particular swarms or 

 colonies. — Ed.] 



In reply to a question, p. 168, I can't 

 look the matter up now, so can not say pos- 

 itively, but I think that several bee-keep- 

 ers' organizations in Europe have done more 

 than our National in securing legislation, 

 etc. They get more from the public crib 

 than we do. The Central Union in Aus- 

 tria, last year, got grants of $2788, and its 

 balance-sheet shows a total of $7753 re- 

 ceived and disbursed. This year it has 

 set itself the task of providing for any or 

 all of its 8088 members at a low cost of in- 

 surance against fire, thieves, damage done 

 by bees to others, flood, avalanche, earth- 

 quake, and foul brood. Isn't that dusty? 

 [I give it up; but, just the same, I am glad 

 now I threw in those question-marks, as 

 we are now in possession of certain infor- 

 mation that otherwise we might not have 

 had, and we will make a strong effort 

 to make our own National as strong finan- 

 cially as those that have government aid. 

 I will insist on this, however, that there 

 is no organization without government aid 

 that has "kicked up so much dust "as 

 the National. If you have any evidence to 

 break down this statement, trot it out. — 

 Ed.] 



Stamp outfit for making number ing- 

 tags at 75 cts., and brass stencils for 35 

 cents, page 156. Good! that helps. Now 

 please go a step further and tell us what 

 you'll furnish the tags for. A further sug- 

 gestion: Packing- boxes have printing on 

 them that stands the weather. Why can't 

 you print wooden tags }i thick the same 

 way? I'd like a lot of them running from 

 1 to 100. Fastened on the center of the 

 front of the hive, a number means just what 

 it says: at the right the number 25 would 

 mean 125; at the left, 25 would mean 225; 

 and so of other numbers. Higher numbers 

 could have other locations. I've used them 



that way successfully; but unless costing 

 less I'd rather have the full numbers print- 

 ed. What'll you take for such printed 

 wooden tags? Or could you print zinc tags? 

 [We have been furnishing manilla tagboard 

 numbers up to 100 — tags immersed in lin- 

 seed oil — at $1.00 per hundred. We could 

 furnish the numbered wooden tags >4 inch 

 thick, and the width of a section, for about 

 $2. 00 per 100. They would cost more to 

 print, as we can print the tags in large 

 sheets, and then cut up. We can furnish 

 the plain strips of wood, not numbered, for 

 $3 00 per barrel. This would be cheaper, 

 and the bee-keeper can do his own number- 

 ing with a 35-cent stencil. When these be- 

 come soiled he could make new at a small 

 expense. — Ed.] 





Again the warlike shot and shell 



Against our kind are hurled ; 

 The long-expected fight is on 



That may involve the world, 



BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 

 The appearance of the B. B. J. has been 

 greatly improved lately by a dress of new 

 type. 



Active measures are being taken by the 

 Germans to develop bee-keeping in South- 

 west Africa. Several colonies have been 

 carried there from Germany. 



Radium is just now commanding a de-^ 

 gree of attention that is in an inverse ratic 

 to its scarcity; but from what we do know 

 of it, it is entirely safe to say it is destined 

 to revolutionize the science of medicine so 

 far as bacteriology is concerned, and add 

 immeasurably to human life and comfort. 

 It really seems as if we were on the thresh- 

 old of an advance in science that will 

 change for the better all conditions of hu- 

 man life. The exceeding scarceness of this 

 substance is at present the only drawback 

 to a rapid acquisition of knowledge as to 

 what it can and will do for man. But that 

 objection once applied to aluminum; for 

 some of us can remember when it was as 

 valuable as gold, even while we drink tea 

 made in cups of that same metal. A very 

 well-informed writer in the British Bee 

 Journal has this to say about it as a cure 

 for foul brood. His last sentence will sure- 

 ly be the hope of all of us. 



In experiments made it has been found that the rays 

 of radium have proved fatal to all kinds of bacteria. 

 A great many tests have been made in treating differ- 

 ent kinds of germ disease, and in almost every case ex- 

 posure to the rays destroyed the germs, so that on 



