1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



331 



boards are put over the trench, resting- on 

 rails laid on top of the hives. Then straw 

 is put on, or other trash, and the bees are 

 buried exactly as they bur3' potatoes in 

 that region. A little ventilation is allowed 

 through the trench; and under the snows of 

 Northern Michigan the bees winter perfect- 

 I3'. Even during this past severe winter, 

 the vegetation in the woods and in my ra- 

 vine garden shows every evidence of not be- 

 intr frosted at all. I dug half a bushel of nice 

 potatoes while cultivating around my peach- 

 trees, and they were just as good as they 

 were last fall. Many of them were not more 

 than an inch below the surface of the 

 ground. They never felt 28 below zero at 

 all. ]n such a locality it is a simple thing 

 to fix the bees so they will be perfectly safe 

 from the time the snow falls until it goes off 

 in the spring. 



WORKING OUT-APIARIES FOR COMB HONEY 

 WITH ONLY FEW VISITS. 



Friend Townsend has not tested this plan 

 as much for ccinb honey as for extracted; 

 but he thinks it can be managed. It will 

 take about one visit a week to look after the 

 production of comb honey properly; and as 

 the comb honey season does not usually 

 last more than six or seven weeks he thinks 

 about double the number of visits will be 

 required. One man without any help, ex- 

 cepting when you come to extract, ought to 

 be able to care for four apiaries of 100 col- 

 onies each, situated say six or eight miles 

 apart. If I remember correctly, putting up 

 bees for winter and taking them out of the 

 pit in spring is a separate matter. 



At one time during the convention I arose 

 and asked the president if I could be grant- 

 ed the privilege of interrupting the proceed- 

 ings of the convention for about five min- 

 utes. He said that, although such a re- 

 quest might generally be out of order, he 

 thought (under the circumstances) the con- 

 vention would grant it. Then, pointing out 

 of the open window, I begged to ask if the 

 winged crafts scattered over Traverse Bay, 

 and flitting from side to side and from end 

 to end like seagulls, were ice-boats or fly- 

 ing-machines. A big laugh ensued, and 

 the friends assured me that they were ice- 

 boats; and after the convention adjourned I 

 was promised an ice boat ride. But man 

 proposes and God disposes. When the con- 

 vention was over it was raining, and I did 

 not have mj' ride. On Monday, April 4, 

 however, as there had been a brisk freeze 

 the night before, the ice-boats were flitting 

 again; and it was my privilege for the first 

 time in my life to handle an ice boat. I 

 was going to say they went like the wind; 

 but that is not half of it. They go faster 

 than the wind. Why, when we looked out 

 of the window that day during the conven- 

 tion they would go from one side of the bay 

 to the other, up and down, and everywhere. 

 It seemed to me like a glimpse from the 

 Arabian Nights. An ordinary sail boat, 

 even under the influence of a good wind, or 

 even a gasoline-launch, makes slow prog- 



ress when seen two or three miles out on 

 the water; but these things just skimmed 

 and flew. When I took my ride there was 

 hardly wind enough; but it was about the 

 most exhilarating sport I ever experienced, 

 to see the craft mind the slightest pressure 

 on the rudder. Unlike the autom jbile, there 

 is scarcely a sound or a jar. I have heard 

 tell ever since my boy hot d about "greased 

 lightning;" and this seemed to express it 

 more than any thing else. I then found 

 that, with practice, you can go in any di- 

 rection, no matter which way thel wind 

 blows, and one way almost as well as 

 another. Besides, the thing is not at all 

 expensive. The one I rode in cost only 

 about $30, canvas and all; and the little 

 ones, to carry only one person, can be'made 

 for less than half that. 



In my next I will tell you of some of the 

 inconveniences in that land of snow and ice 

 during winter as well as some of the grand 

 things, and also a little more about the con- 

 vention. 



BACILLUS ALVEI VS. BACILLUS MESENTERICUS. 

 Why the Two Can Not be^the.Same. 



BY ADRI^-^J GETAZ. 



I can not yet accept the conclusion of Dr. 

 Lambotte, p. 1012,1902, concerning the iden- 

 tity of Bacillus alvei and Bacilhis mesenteri- 

 cus vulgaris. His arguments, briefly stat- 

 ed, are the following: 



1. The two bacilli are apparently of the 

 same size, shape, etc., when seen under the 

 microscope. 



2. Their development in cultures is simi- 

 lar, both producing a gluelike substance 

 similar to the one found in foul- broody col- 

 onies. 



3. Their sensitiveness to specific serums 

 is the same. 



The points above certainly look conclu- 

 sive; and unless positive proof to the con- 

 trary is given, the identity of the two ba- 

 cilli should be accepted. Still, they may be 

 different things after all. Bacilli are very 

 minute objects. Only their general fea- 

 tures can be seen under the strongest mi- 

 croscopes. It is alm3st like looking at a 

 group of men at a distance of a quarter of a 

 mile. The differences between them might 

 escape the observer. 



The gluelike substance observed may not 

 be the same in both cases; but even if it 

 were, it would not be impossible that two 

 different kinds of bacilli could produce the 

 same substance. 



Let us now take up the discrepancies. 

 According to Dr. Lambotte's theory, the 

 spores of Bacillus niesentericus are every- 

 where present in the atmosphere, but they 

 have no action on sound colonies, while, on 

 the other hand, they produce foul brood in 

 unhealthy colonies. That is very near Mr. 

 McEvoy's position. 



But if that were true it would necessarily 

 follow that sound colonies would never con- 



