APRIL 1, 1916 



ly, " Make the infected colony queenless, 

 and unite as many together as will make 

 one strong' colony ; and then introduce 

 choice queens after a ten-day period ; but 

 firet make sure of destroying all queen-cells 

 started by the colonies." He commences 

 treatment at the beginning of the clover 

 hai'vest. 



Another crumb of comfort for Mr. Hol- 

 termann is that European foul brood will 

 eliminate all the black colonies and the old- 

 fashioned beekeepere who do not and will 

 not keep up with the times. This will give 

 him a larger field for operations, and, of 

 course, more honey per colony, as there will 

 not be the overstocking as a result of old- 

 time neighbors keeping a few bees and cut- 

 ting prices. Cheer up, Bro. Holtermann ! 

 Don't you see the silver lining in the skies? 



The Beekeepers vs. the Smelting Com- 

 pany in Canada Again 



On page 215 we stated that this ease had 

 been continued to some time in May. We 

 are now advised that it will come off May 

 17. It is to be presumed, of course, that 

 the company against whom the action is 

 taken will leave no stone unturned to prove 

 that the gases from their plant or plants 

 are not the cause of the death of the bees 

 in that locality. At all events we are in- 

 formed that they are taking testimony in 

 Utah, Washington, and California. 



It will be remembered that the smelter 

 people in a similar ease in Salt Lake Val- 

 ley, Utah, are said to have settled with the 

 beekeepers in the sum of $60,000. Of 

 course the attorneys for the beemen will 

 use this case as a precedent. 



The beekeepers interested in the case are 

 desirous of hearing from other beekeepers 

 in the United States, particularly the Salt 

 Lake Valley, who can give any information 

 regarding this settlement. If they have 

 anything to offer they are advised to corre- 

 spond at once with Lewis Minor, Smith- 

 ville, Ontario. 



Regarding the case, Mr. Minor writes : 



The smelter people evidently intend put- 

 ting us in a position to state whether the 

 bees get the poison from the flowers when 

 they ask for particulars, or how else do they 

 come in contact with the gas from their 

 plant? We contend that the bees are killed 

 by flying in contact with their gases in 

 search of honey. 



The first summer the smelter was operat- 

 ing, and all the bees were yet in the dis- 

 trict, there were over 1000 colonies more 

 than I thought there were, until I looked 

 them all up this winter. Those closest to 

 the smelter died as soon as they began work- 



257 



ing in the spring. Further away they lived 

 until the season was over. As soon as the 

 honey quit they likewise were all dead in 

 two weeks. There seems to be something in 

 the gases that attracts bees. 



Since the first summer there have been 

 only a few colonies in the place, only what 

 swarms came in from the outside, and what 

 we have taken in for a test. Their flight is 

 always in the direction of the smelter when 

 they are dying. Lewis Minor. 



Smithville, Ont., Can., March 11. 



Slightly Exaggerated, Again 



The average reporter, especially if he be 

 a " cub " reporter, in writing about bees, 

 often gets the facts horribly twisted. There 

 has been going the rounds of the press from 

 Los Angeles to New York, and from Port- 

 land to Jacksonville, a story to the effect 

 that " E. R. Root, the bee expert," while 

 giving a lecture on bees, was " stung on the 

 mouth " by one of his " untrained bees," 

 and that his " mouth swelled so horribly " 

 that the lecture Avas " brought to an abrupt 

 close." With almost every newspaper story 

 there is almost always a scintilla of truth; 

 so in this case. While giving a demonstra- 

 tion before the students of the short agri- 

 cultural course of the Ohio State Univer- 

 sity, a bee did sting us on the mouth. We 

 brushed it off, scratched out the sting, and 

 went on. The incident was noted by a stu- 

 dent who sat in the front seat, and he 

 happened to be a cub reporter for one of 

 the afternoon papers. 



The facts are, there was no swelling 

 beyond a slight welt, and we continued our 

 talk and demonstration until the lecture 

 closed. The aforesaid cub reporter added 

 to the other statement that the bees stung 

 Mr. Root and the audience so that there 

 was a " grand rush for the door." 



After the lecture had closed, and perhaps 

 two-thirds of the audience were gone, a 

 bunch of boys jammed around the platform 

 and tried to get a taste of granulated honey 

 or honey butter. The jam was so tight that 

 some of the outsiders could not get inside, 

 and one of the outsiders picked ui? our hat, 

 which contained about a pint of bees, and 

 threw the bees all over the other boys that 

 were fast absorbing the butter. They im- 

 mediately scattered and a few rushed for 

 the door ; but no one was stung. After the 

 laugh was over, some of the outsiders got 

 a taste of granulated honey. 



At first we thought we would pay no 

 attention to this oft -repeated yarn; but it 

 is being copied eveiywhere, in a dozen dif- 

 ferent versions, presumably as a good joke 

 on the aforesaid " bee expert." 



