Sept. 1, 1911 



517 



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Wesley Foster, Boulder, Colo. 



THE HONEY CROP. 



The crop of white honey has been good in 

 places. Tlie lower Platte Valley in Colorado 

 has had a good return, as has also the 

 Arkansas Valley. The Arkansas A'alley 

 west of Pueblo, a district where bees have 

 never gained much surplus, seems to be 

 improving, and the crop this year will be of 

 some importance. Northern Colorado, hav- 

 ing lost from 25 to 75 per cent of its bees, 

 will not have a crop of any shipping import- 

 ance, though the bees ha\ e done well where 

 water was abundant and grasshoppers and 

 frost not too severe on the alfalfa. 



The western-slope crop will be fair — good 

 in places and poor in others. This part of 

 the State will probably ship more honey 

 than the eastern section. Taking it all to- 

 gether the crop will be larger than for two or 

 three years. 



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THE RELATION OF THE BEE-KEEPER TO THE 

 FOUL-BROOD INSPECTOR. 



It may not be out of the way to remark 

 that the bee-keeper who knows foul brood 

 and its treatment, but who waits for the 

 inspector to look at his bees, should be ap- 

 ])rised of the "cost of something for no- 

 thing" in this case. The bee-keeper is the 

 greatest loser, his neighboring bee-keepers 

 coming next. It is gratifying to know 

 there are not many such, though there is a 

 certain type of individual who has a wrong 

 idea of his personal resijonsibility for his 

 own bees and the duties of the inspector. If 

 all the bees were kept by a specialist there 

 would be small need of inspection; but as 

 this is a land of equality of opportunity for 

 all, even to the extent of having the right 

 to blunder, I suppose we shall have foul 

 brood with us continuously. And then the 

 ranks of veteran bee-keepers have to be 

 recruited from among the host of beginners, 

 so we should not feel too badly toward the 

 uninformed individual. 



THE NEW COLORADO INSPECTION LAW AND 

 THE OLD ONE. 



Some new developments have taken 

 place, and have been heard of since writing 

 last. Governor Shafroth vetoed $3000 of the 

 $5000 appropriated for the biennial period, 

 which leaves S2000 to do the work until 

 November 30, 1912. The county inspection 

 law is not repealed exeejit where it conflicts 

 with the State inspection law. The inspec- 

 tor for the State is the writer, who will act 

 under the direction of Prof. Gillette, State 

 Entomologist. It is desired to cooperate 

 with the county inspectors, and aid them in 

 every way possible. It will not be jiossible 

 to take up work in counties where the 

 county will not support its own inspector. 

 The funds for this work will not permit. I 

 should like to hear from bee-keepers in Col- 

 orado where insjjection is needed, so that 



arrangements can be made to cooperate 

 with the county inspectors, and all interest- 

 ed bee-keepers for the thorough prosecution 

 of the work. 



Dr. Phillii)s, of the Bureau of Entomol- 

 ogy, will be with us in September; and if 

 your county would like to arrange a meet- 

 ing of the bee-keepers and county inspec- 

 tors. Dr. Phillips, Prof. Gillette, and myself 

 will probably be able to attend if we can 

 arrange dates. 



THE CASE OF THE DOUBLE-TIER CASE. 



Dr. Miller has been about the only cham- 

 pion of the double-tier case east of Colorado 

 who has spoken his viCM's in the bee-jour- 

 nals; and now to think that the reasons he 

 has for preferring the case are not tni/ rea- 

 sons ! He likes the double-tier case because 

 of the greater amount of honey shown, and 

 asks for the three-inch glass, t like the 2}4- 

 inch glass far better than the three-inch; 

 and the two-inch glass is wide enough for 

 any market conditions. A double-tier case 

 with three-inch glass can not have the front 

 strips more than one inch wide, and that is 

 not strong enough, Dr. Miller to the con- 

 trary notwithstanding. He must remember 

 that his Straws are blown bj'^ the wind fur- 

 ther than Marengo or Chicago or Illinois. 

 One can not expect a freight-handler or 

 express-driver to know the exact amount of 

 jar which a case of comb honey will stand. 

 I will conflict with the editor when I say 

 the object of the glass is not for the benefit 

 of the handlers, but to display the honey 

 to the customer. There is not one freight- 

 handler in five but would drop a case just 

 as far whether he knew the contents o- not, 

 unless he was warned by a caution-mark. 

 The bulk of the comb -honey product is 

 shipped in carrier-crates, where the glass is 

 not exposed, and in car lots where the load- 

 ing is done by men familiar with the goods, 

 and is unloaded under the buyer's super- 

 vision. Comb honey does not ship any 

 more safely, if as safely, in glass-front cases 

 with glass exjjosed as where crated, or the 

 glass protected and so covered up. If the 

 glass is exposed, a foot is more likely to be 

 put through the glass accidentally, or the 

 corner of a box crushed through the glass. 

 A large percentage of the cases where the 

 glass is exposed will be turned glass side up 

 by careful but inexperienced (with honey) 

 ex])ress and freight men. 



I Mould* vote for a half-inch-thick cover 

 and bottom before I would vote for three- 

 inch glass. Two-inch glass will admit of 

 wide and strong strips, and 2>^-inch glass is 

 as wide as should be used. I would prefer 

 the appearance of a two-inch glass, double- 

 tier ease, to one of three inches. I have seen 

 the two-inch glass and the 2^-inch glass in 

 double-tier cases, but I have never seen the 

 three-inch. Have you. Dr. Miller? 



