APRIL 15, 1910 



331 



Heads of Grain From Different Fields 





The Backlot Buzzer 



Our neighbor who moved out from the city says 

 there was a hive of pesky blacks on the farm when 

 he bought it, and they were living in an old cracker- 

 box back of the wagon-shed. He read in the papers 

 that bees were good for fruit bloom, but he's afraid 

 to move them. He wants to know whether it would 

 be all right to move his apple-trees. 



Illinois State Civil-service Commission In- 

 spector of Apiaries May 6, 1916. 



On May 6, 1916, the Illiuois State Civil 

 Service Commission will hold competitive 

 examinations at Anna, Carbondale, Charles- 

 ton, Chicago, DeKalb, East St. Louis, Elgin, 

 Jacksonville, Kankakee, Lincoln, Macomb, 

 Mt. Vernon, Normal, Olney, Peoria, Pontiac, 

 Rockford, Springfield, Urbana, and Water- 

 town for the position of Inspector of Api- 

 aries. 



This examination is open to men over 21 

 years of age who are residents of Illinois. 

 The salary is $4.00 a day and traveling ex- 

 penses while work;ing. 



The duties of the position are defined by 

 statute, and may be briefly described as 

 involving the inspection of bee-farms thru- 

 out the state in order to prevent the spread 

 of foul brood and other contagious diseases 

 found among bees. It is the duty of the 

 inspector, when such foul brood or other 

 contagious diseases are found, to serve notice 

 on the bee-farm and to have such infected 

 apiaries, hives, and bees destroyed or do it 

 himself, making a report of pecuniary dam- 

 age done to the owner. The position, there- 

 fore, demands a thoro knowledge of diseases 



peculiar to bees and considerable experience 

 in breeding and caring for them. 



Successful applicants will not be employ- 

 ed continuously, but will be notified as occa- 

 sion demands it, to inspect certain bee-farms 

 in their neighborhood. Accordingly, liabil- 

 ity to notification will be restricted to the 

 six or seven warmer months of the year. 



The examination will consist of the fol- 

 lowing parts weighted as indicated: 



Training and experience, 4; special sub- 

 jects, covering treatment of foul brood, the 

 habits and general care of bees, 6. 



The candidates must make a grade of 65 

 or more on special subjects. 



Applications will be received at Spring- 

 field until 5 p. m., Saturday, April 29, 1916. 

 Address requests for application blanks to 

 the State Civil Service Commission at 

 Springfield, Illinois, or at Room 904, 130 N. 

 Fifth Ave., Chicago. 



Persons receiving a copy of this notice are 

 requested to bring it to the attention of 

 those qualified. 



This circular contains all the information 

 wliich the Commission has to give out con- 

 cerning the above examination. 



A New Use for the Hot-water Bottle 



The other day, the weather having turned 

 mild, I was taking a walk thru the beeyard, 

 and noticed before one of the hives an un- 

 usual number of dead bees — an almost sure 

 indication that something was wrong — 

 starving, I suspected. I hastily removed the 

 packing and found the bees just quivering- — 

 quite past taking honey unless something 

 was done for them. It suddenly occurred to 

 nie that the hot-water bottle would be the 

 most convenient thing to apply. Returning 

 to the house I filled the bottle, took it out, 

 and placed it o^•er the almost dead cluster, 

 and drew the packing over it. The effect was 

 magical. The gentle heat revived every bee 

 that had any life in it, and they were soon 

 filling themselves with honey from the card 

 1 had slipped in. The Ijot-water bottle 

 warmed up the bees with no loss whatever; 

 and a day or two later, when the sun was 

 shining brightly, they were flying as freely 

 here as at any of the other hives. 



Denfield, Ont. Ethel Robson. 



100 Colonies from Nothing to Start with 

 I have 100 colonies, all in eight-frame 

 hives, which I made myself. Five years ago 

 my brother and I were pumping an oil-well; 

 and so, having considerable extra time, we 

 began catching wild bees. The result was a 

 nice yard of 100 colonies, all hybrids, but 

 workers. 



I have never had a cell of foul brood so 

 far, and I have never fed on.3 pound of any- 

 thing. The lateness of the tarweed bloom 



