APRIL 15, 1914 



283 



flour such as we make bread of, yet it was 

 easy to see that the natural product was far 

 superior. 



Said Mr. A. B. Marehant, whom we regard 

 as one of the best authorities on bees in the 

 United States, "I believe, Mr. Root, the 

 reason why natural pollen is so much more 

 effective is because the bees get a small 

 amount of nectar at the same time. If we 

 can furnish nectar or sweetened water along 

 with our artificial pollen, we may be able to 

 gpt practically the same result. But some- 

 how we do not know yet how to make the 

 combination." 



Mr. A. B. Marehant discovered that com- 

 mon white wheat flour would be taken by 

 bees about as readily as any other artiftcial 

 substitute. He spread some old combs out 

 in a sheltered location, and then sprinkled 

 common flour over them. The smell of the 

 combs attracted the bees, and both he and 

 his son Ernest have discovered that the bees 

 will take the flour from these old combs far 

 more readily than they will from pans or 

 trays. Mind you, the combs are not put in 

 any hives, but placed outdoors where all the 

 bees of the apiary can have access to them. 

 Mr. Ernest Marehant, at our suggestion, 

 tried the experiment of mixing flour and 

 thin sugar syrup ; but he soon discovered 

 that the bees would daub themselves up 

 with the sticky paste. Notwithstanding he 

 was feeding thin sugar syrup in Boardman 

 feeders at the entrance of the hives, the 

 pollen substitute on the combs did not yield 

 the results of the real article. 



Mr. A. B. Marehant's idea is that thin 

 nectar should be fed to the bees in such a 

 way that they will get a supply of nectar 

 and flour both at the same trip. We know 

 that bees require saliva or nectar to mix up 

 pollen and stick it in their pollen-baskets. 

 Now, who is there who is going to solve the 

 problem of making an artificial combination 

 of the two that will yield the same results 

 as natural pollen? 



vs. Wagon or Auitomoljile Trucks. 



During our recent trip to Florida we had 

 an opportunity to compare the two methods 

 of transportation between yards of bees. 

 In Florida, especially yards near rivers. 

 bays, and lakes, a gasoline-launch is the 

 prevailing means of going to and from 

 yards, carrying stuff back and forth, and it 

 is a very nice way. It is free from dust 

 and dirt, bad roads or mud, scaring horses, 

 and punctured tires. There is nothing more 

 imdgorating or delightful than to go tuppy, 

 tuppy from yard to yai'd in a gasoline- 



launch; and, conversely, there is nothing 

 more aggTavaling than a boat out in mid- 

 bay or river that will not go. If out in a 

 lai'ge body of water, the wind and waves 

 rising, there is no particular delight in 

 monkeying with a motor that positively re- 

 fuses to mote. Some of these two-cycle 

 motors are an aggravation in this respect; 

 but as a general thing an experienced boat- 

 man will overcome all of these difficulties. 

 One disadvantage of the boat is slowness 

 of travel. Unless one owns a high-power 

 boat, wliich would be too expensive, the 

 speed will not be much over six or eight 

 miles an hour, while an automobile would 

 double or treble that rate of travel. But 

 one of the gi'eat advantages of the boat for 

 outyard work is the smoothness of running. 

 There is no jar or jolt, no puncturing of 

 tires, no slipping or sticking in the mud, no 

 delay or stoppage on account of rain, but 

 an abundance of fresh air, so necessary in 

 moving bees up and down the river or bay. 

 Still again, a motor boat that wiF carry 

 forty or fifty colonies will not cost over 

 $200 to $300, and a second-hand boat can 

 be obtained for half these figures, while an 

 automobile would cost four or five times 

 these amounts. The only possible trouble 

 from the boat may be leakage and motor 

 trouble; while in an automobile truck there 

 are a hundred and one things that may go 

 wrong, any one of which may stop the 

 machine on the road. Unfortunately, how- 

 ever, most of the good locations are remote 

 from rivers, bays, and lakes, and the great 

 majority of beekeei^ers wiU have to submit 

 to the cost and inconvenience of wagons 

 and motor trucks. 



More and, more the value of bees is be- 

 coming recognized in the agricultural papers 

 of all kinds. The progi-essive fruit-jour- 

 nals, most of them at least, have given the 

 bees their rightful credit while the farm 

 papers voluntarily run editorials telling of 

 the value of bees for pollenizing blossoms. 

 It indicates the beginning of the end of this 

 wholesale spraying of blossoms. 



The Connecticut Farmer and New Eng- 

 land Farm in their issue for January 31 

 have a splendid editorial that is right to the 

 point. We quote here a few sentences at 

 random : 



We have long been blinded to the beneficent offices 

 of these little creatures. V\'ithout them horticulture 

 in all its departments would perish. * * * Strange 

 to say, there are any number of fruit-growers who 

 make all sorts of wild claims that bees puncture the 

 skin of fruit. There is no evidence on record suffi- 

 cient to convict the bees of any such depredations. 

 * * * In one of Mr. VanPelt's addresses at the 



