MAT 1, lyK 



343 



get a copy (or, better, several of them) of 

 the issue for April 8 and show it to their 

 farmer friends. In this way sweet clover 

 can be introduced in their locality, and 

 make it much more valuable for their bees. 



Sweet clover mixed with white clover or 

 any other clover makes a very fine table 

 honey; and the probabilities are that, as 

 sweet clover becomes more and more popu- 

 lar among the farmers, white clover and 

 sweet clover honey will be mixed by the 

 bees, and thus most of our clover honey will 

 be a combination of the two. Speed the 

 day ! 



But that day will come sooner if our sub- 

 scribers will take these articles that appear 

 in the agricultural ijapers and bring them 

 to the attention of their farmer friends 

 within Hvinii' range of their bees. 



Missouri Bulletin on Farm Beekeeping 



SoiiK bulletins put out by State Experi- 

 ment Stations, while valuable to a beginner, 

 are copied quite largely from other bulle- 

 tins or from standard works in apiculture, 

 hence are less interesting to tlie advanced 

 beekeeper. Bulletin No. 138 issued in No- 

 vember by the State Experiment Station of 

 College of Agriculture (University of Mis- 

 souii), is not of this kind. The writers, E. 

 E. Tyler and L. Haseman, have done a con- 

 siderable amount of original work in the 

 prepai'ation of this bulletin, which, as stat- 

 ed in the introduction, is not intended for 

 experienced beekeepers. 



A discussion of the queen, drone, and 

 workei', with something of the natural his- 

 tory of bees, is given in the fore part. On 

 page 7, under " Races of Bees." the term 

 " Goldens " and " Italians " are used sy- 

 nonymously. We do not believe that the 

 authors intended this, for, obviously, while 

 all goldens are supposed to be Italians, not 

 all Italians are goldens. 



For an uncapping-ean a five-gallon or 

 larger stone jar or crock is recommended, 

 with a notched board across the top for a 

 frame-rack. If a cracker-barrel supported 

 over a galvanized-iron washtub had been 

 recommended instead, it would have been a 

 more practical outfit, in our opinion. No 

 would have to be used. A stone jar would 

 mention is made of a screen, altho one 

 be a rather unwieldy affair to handle when 

 filled with honey or cappings. 



A very good frame-nailing guard or rack 

 is illustrated; and to make the handling of 

 frames somewhat more convenient and to 

 lessen the danger of killing bees, the au- 

 thors advise the use of a bottom-bar -W: of an 

 inch shorter than the top-bar. This "draws 



in" each end-bar Vs of an inch inside of the 

 irerpendicular. This is a good, practical 

 idea, altho if full sheets of foundation are 

 put in, the sheets will have to be cut a little 

 shorter than usual, or better still, the ends 

 of the sheet should be clipped off to fit the 

 shape of the frame. 



Practical instructions are given on han- 

 dling bee.s, hunting bees, transferring, etc. 

 For weak colonies in the spring a modifica- 

 tion of the Alexander plan is given, con- 

 sisting of placing the weak colony over a 

 strong one, with the entrance in the oppo- 

 site direction and a screen between the two 

 colonies. 



Methods of making increase are dis- 

 cussed, and for beginners natural swarming 

 is recommended. 



On pages 30 and 31 some selected recipes 

 are given, then follow some uses of bees- 

 wax. In this connection it may be well to 

 point out an error in the illustration of the 

 top and bottom starter. The lower starter 

 is shown to be perhaps an inch and a half 

 wide. It should not be over % of an inch. 

 A wider starter will almost surely topple 

 over when the bees cluster on it. 



General instructions are given for the 

 different seasons, which, with a brief para- 

 graph on honey-plants, robbing, etc., com- 

 pletes the bulletin. 



A Cheap Cold-water Paint for Beehives 



It is not often that we make an editorial 

 mention of any article advertised in our 

 columns; but when we believe that by so 

 doing we can do a real favor to our sub- 

 scribers we are glad to do so. But this is 

 not because the advertiser requests it. 

 Many of them, doubtless, would be willing 

 to pay a good round price for an editorial 

 space. But this is not for sale at any price. 



In the case of the cold-water paint adver- 

 tised by A. L. Rice, Adams, N. Y., we feel 

 like saying a favorable word. A few days 

 ago one of our subscribers complained bit- 

 terly, saying that this " powdrpaint " was 

 not " good," and that we ought to take it 

 out of our advertising columns. As we had 

 seen quite a number of favorable reports 

 concerning it we wrote our correspondent to 

 that effect, and in the mean time sent a copy 

 of our letter to Mr. Rice, the manufacturer. 

 In reply he sent us a large number of let- 

 ters from his files that he had recently re- 

 ceived, speaking in the highest terms of his 

 cold-water paint — how, in some cases, it had 

 outlasted lead-and-oil paint, how that it had 

 been used for several years, and Avas still 

 looking bright. The fact that these testi- 

 monials were unsolicited, and all of them 



