DECEMBER 15, 1914 



969 



Dr. C. C. MiUer 



ITMAY 



Marengo, III. 



The yeak 1914 was the worst honey year 

 ill 50 years in Germanjr. Same here in a 

 good many places. [The year 1915 will be 

 another bad year, not only for beekeepers 

 of Germany, but for all Germany, unless 

 this awful war lets up. — Ed.] 



T. B. Terry tells about the warm drink 

 lie uses, Practical Farmer, 206, and says: 

 " I use extracted honey instead of sugar, as 

 it is more wholesome." I wonder how many 

 beekeejDers are as wise as Terry. If all the 

 people used honey in hot drinks it .would 

 lake tons and tons of it. 



" The temperature at the center of the 

 cluster increased as the outside temperature 

 decreased, due to the crowding together of 

 the bees in cold weather," p. 903. Isn't it 

 increased activity and consumption rather 

 than crowding? Incidentally, tliis fact that 

 the colder outside the warmer the center of 

 the cluster explains why it is that breeding 

 begins earlier outdoors than in cellar. 



Right 30U are, Mr. Editor, in saying that 

 beekeei^ers are constantly inventing things 

 that are old, p. 877, and one instance occurs 

 on the next page. I saw quadruple winter 

 cases used on a large scale 25 years ago 

 within 25 miles. [The quadruple winter 

 case was not mentioned because it was nerv, 

 but because it was an old device that had 

 been coming into prominence during late 

 years. The late Edwin France and some 

 before him used quadruple hives; and the 

 old files of the American Bee Journal, if we 

 remember correctly, show the modern four- 

 hive winter case. — Ed. 



Dr. Bigelow, I believe I'm your friend, 

 and I want to offer a word of advice. Don't 

 you ever again run the risk of such a fool 

 thing as you describe page 930. [We have 

 done nearly the same thing, and we believe 

 we can do it again. We always caution our 

 audience, and make sure that the bees are 

 thoroughly disorganized. Throwing bees 

 into the air will do that to perfection, espe- 

 cially if their hive is obscured by a big 

 crowd. All that Dr. Bigelow said is possi- 

 ble, but we would not go quite so far as he 

 did with the average bunch of girls. We 

 sometimes select two or three people to show 

 that they can do the same stunts we do. — 

 Ed.] 



Jacob Alpaugh, you don't tell us the 

 thickness of foundation you use in putting 

 in splints, p. 941. I sliould suppose it must 

 be pretty heavy to bear such cutting. If 

 you can get combs l)uilt to tlie bottom-bar 



with splints only two-thirds length, there is 

 a saving, and i^ainting with wax helps. But 

 what I can't understand is your " spoiled 

 row of cells " when using the Miller plan. 

 In all the years I've used the plan, in all 

 the thousands of cells I've seen built over 

 the splints, I don't remember seeing a single 

 spoiled cell. Looking close at a frame of 

 sealed brood, you will see a slight elevation 

 of the cappings over the splints, but never a 

 cell missing or imperfect on account of 

 them. What can possibly make the differ- 

 ence between us? 



G. M. DooLiTTLE^ you say, p. 841, that 

 where queenless bees are made to start 

 queen-cells from brood given, "■ they gener- 

 ally err by selecting one or more larvae for 

 the purpose that are too old to produce the 

 best queens." I wonder if your queens have 

 really so much poorer judgment than mine. 

 I'm sure that my bees do not generally err 

 in that way, and I very much doubt that 

 they ever do. I've tried about all the 

 different ways of rearing queens, have rear- 

 ed hundreds by allowing the bees to make 

 their own selection from brood of all ages, 

 and these last have given just as good re- 

 sults as any of the others, and I think just 

 a wee bit better. For me to destroy all 

 sealed cells in four or five days would be 

 only at a loss. I wonder what's the shortest 

 time ever known from dequeening till the 

 hatching of the young queen. 



The Editor tells, p. 919, about my being 

 caught with my bees outside and wishing 

 the}^ were in, yet hoping against hope a 

 warm spell might come. Yes, day after day 

 it was 4 to 20 above, with the hope of a 

 warm day growing fainter every day. Nov, 

 21 a very few bees flew. Nov. 24, 10 :15 A. 

 M., it was 44 degrees with hazy sunshine. I 

 went the lengih of the apiary and saw one 

 bee flying. Oh! but I felt good. I knew 

 there was " more to follow." It went up to 

 52, and the bees had a glorious flight. Next 

 day it was 58, and the next 61, and there 

 wasn't another cold day in November. To- 

 day, Dee. 1, it is 59 and rainy. So by leav- 

 ing my bees out I came out a long way 

 ahead. But — but, if the warm spell hadn't 

 come ! If it were to do over again — well, I 

 don't know which way I would decide. 

 [You have described our situation exactly, 

 only that our temperature did not drop 

 down as low as 4 above. Like yourself we 

 have been having beautiful weather, and the 

 bees have had good cleansing flights; but 

 just as soon as it turns cold again those bees 

 will go into the cellar with a hustle.— Ed.] 



