JRHAlJ 



• To'E 



•ANbHoNEY 

 •AND HOME! 



•IMTE.P?EST»S 



PubiishedyTHE'A-l^ool'Co. 



i^°PtRrEAR""'\@ riEDINA-OHIO- 



Vol. K <XII. 



SEPT. I. 1904. 



No, J 7 



mR/Dr.CCMiLLER. 



A PLURALITY of eggs in a queen-cell is a 

 reliable indication of the presence of laying 

 workers. For the first time I found an ex- 

 ception the other day— two eggs in a queen- 

 cell with a laying queen. But that happens 

 only once in forty years. 



Something new all the time. I enclose a 

 sample of pollen that was coming in plenti- 

 fully some days ago. It is dull now; but 

 when fresh it was a distinct bright green. I 

 wonder what it is from. [The pollen has 

 been examined, but it is a little greener 

 than any thing we have here. Perhaps you 

 have a little nephew who can chase the bees 

 up to see what they are getting it from. — 

 Ed.] 



Phacelia doesn't come up to expecta- 

 tions. I have a patch about ten feet square 

 that I've been watching closely. The bees 

 don't work on it as thickly as I expected, 

 from having seen them on a few plants 

 years ago. Possibly that was in a time of 

 dearth. A patch of buckwheat would have 

 more bees on it. Horses will eat it, but do 

 not seem to hanker for it; neither does a 

 bed of it look as pretty as I expected— don't 

 believe it's worth booming in this locality. 



How DID IT turn out when you made a 

 colony queenless? How old were the larvae 

 chosen by the bees? If you haven't tried it, 

 it will take only two days to do it, and you 

 can hold the footnote to this Straw that 

 length of time. It won't kill me if you say 

 at Medina they choose larvge just before 

 they're big enough to be sealed. [The bees 

 will at the start take larvae of the right 

 age, but later on keep on building cells for 

 larvae that are too old. So far I think your 

 contention has been sustained. —Ed.] 



Just now I'm enjoying the luxury of 

 pain. Propped up with pillows at the type- 



writer, to which I could sit down only with 

 knife-thrusts of exquisite pain in rry back, 

 with the same prospect before me on aris- 

 ing, I think I was never more filled with 

 gratitude in my life, as God has given me 

 so many years all through my life when I 

 was free from such suffering. [The fore- 

 man of our printing department once said, 

 during a fit of sickness, "Be happy when 

 you are well." I have thought of that a 

 good many times, both when I was sick and 

 well; but when we can be happy with knife- 

 thrusts and exquisite pain in our sides and 

 backs we have to have a great deal of the 

 grace of God in the heart; and I congratu- 

 late you, doctor, on that state of being. 

 But we sincerely hope this knife-thrust you 

 speak of is more painful than serious. We 

 are not quite ready to spare you, and trust 

 that, by the time you read these lines, the 

 pain will have all disappeared, and that you 

 will be happier still if possible. And I am 

 sure I am voicing the opinion of all of our 

 readers when I say, " Blessings on you, and 

 may the Lord restore you to your usual 

 health. ' ' We will even go so far as to fore- 

 go the pleasure of Straws if the rest will 

 hasten that recovery. — Ed.] 



That preliminary voting for candidates 

 of the National— see p. 821— is an excellent 

 thing; but it is to be feared that there will 

 be some misunderstanding. The names of 

 the two men receiving most votes will be 

 published, and the November ballot "will 

 decide which of the nominees will hold the 

 oflfice. " Some will understand from that 

 that no other votes of the November ballot 

 will be counted except for these two men. 

 Surely any member should be allowed to 

 vote for whom he pleases. Even if Mr. 

 France is required to publish the two high- 

 est names, there's no law against his pub- 

 lishing others, and it would be a good thing 

 to publish at least the five highest. Possi- 

 bly the third or fourth highest might be the 

 successful one. It would also be a help to- 

 ward deciding on candidates in future elec- 

 tions. [Of course, it is understood that any 

 one can vote for any one he likes. Whether 

 it is best to increase the number of candi- 

 dates in the field is a question I am not able 



