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Publishedy THE^ 1^001' Co. 



SiL2P[RYiAR. "X® Medina- Ohio- 



Vol XXXII. 



DEC. 15, J 904. 



No. 24 



The report of the Central Association of 

 German Bee-keepers for 1903 gives a mem- 

 bership of 37,242, and the present member- 

 ship is about 40,000. Talk about our Na- 

 tional being the largest in the world ! But 

 ought it not to be so ? 



I've been reading with much interest 

 the 1904 edition of Simmins' Modern Bee- 

 farm, and a number of new kinks have paid 

 well for the reading. [I have had an op- 

 portunity only to glance at this hastily; but 

 I came to the conclusion that it is a practi- 

 cal and interesting work, and I hope to give 

 it an extensive review. I desire to say in 

 this connection that Mr. Simmins was the 

 originator of one or more methods or de- 

 vices that have been exploited in this coun- 

 try as new. — Ed.] 



G. M. P. wants to know if there's some 

 way he can deal with sections troubled with 

 worms, other than to resort to sulphur or 

 bisulphide of carbon, only a few of his col- 

 onies being Italian, and also asks whether 

 he did right to pick out all the infested sec- 

 tions, supering them, and putting on the 

 Italian colonies to clean up. No; when you 

 have all colonies Italian or hybrid you'll 

 have little or no trouble with worms in sec- 

 tions, and till then when eggs have been 

 laid by the moth in sections there's nothing 

 for it but to use sulphur or bisulphide, ex- 

 cept the plan you have taken, which, so far 

 as I know, is original and bright. 



When the first installment of Rocky 

 Mountain stuff from the pen of J. A. Green 

 appeared in Gleanings, I said, "That's 

 good, but can he keep the pace?" Now 

 that he's been four months on the track I 

 don't see that he's a bit jaded or winded, 

 and he's making just as good time as ever. 



Yes, Jimmie's all right. [We are very well 

 pleased with Mr. Green's work. His exten- 

 sive travels over the country, his habits of 

 close observation, and his fearlessness in 

 speaking out his mind, make him indeed a 

 valued contributor. —Ed.] 



The question is raised, p. 1099, whether 

 the food elements contained in honey and not 

 in sugar are necessary. Necessary for 

 what ? They are most emphatically neces- 

 sary for the continued existence of the col- 

 ony. Not a single larva can be reared on 

 sugar alone, if I am rightly informed. [I 

 arise to a point of order, doctor. We were 

 not talking about whether the food elements 

 contained in honey and not in sugar were 

 or were not necessary for brood-rearing. 

 Where the matter came up in the first 

 place, p. 1056, you will see we were talking 

 about whether those food elements were 

 necessary for a winter food. See your own 

 Straw on p. 1055. There can not be any 

 possible question but that honey does con- 

 tain some food elements not in sugar neces- 

 sary for brood-rearing. —Ed.] 



Arthur C, of the Miller family, p. 1112, 

 raises doubts as to the tenability of the ob- 

 scure-vision theory holding bees at home 

 two weeks, and the editor says possibly ob- 

 scure vision and general weakness, together 

 with Dr. Phillips' suggestion that young 

 bees may follow their older sisters by scent. 

 I think you'll cut out that "general weak- 

 ness ' ' business when you remember the 

 miles and miles that nurse-bees will go with 

 a swarm. Neither will the following-scent 

 nor the obscure-vision theory carry in the 

 case I mentioned, p. 923. Bees five days old, 

 with no older sisters to follow, were strong 

 enough, and could see well enough, to bring, 

 in good loads of pollen. What objection is 

 there to the old explanation that bees, 

 either by instinct or necessity, divide up the 

 work according to age? [You are probably 

 right, but I arise to ask how you know the 

 bees were only five days old. —Ed.] 



J. M. H. asks my opinion of the following 

 way of dealing with laying workers: Fasten 

 in a hive one to three frames of hatching 

 brood (presumably with adhering bees) and 



