344 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



autofiiaph letters from the writers them- 

 selves from all parts of the United States, 

 leads us to believe that our correspondent 

 who made the complaint either must have 

 extraordinary conditions or did not use it 

 right. As it was, Mr. Rice sent him an 

 equal quantity of pure linseed-oil paint, as 

 he wants all of his customers to feel satis- 

 Hed. But in spite of this our correspondent 

 complained. 



There are a good many beekeepers living 

 in hot climates who feel that perhaps they 

 cannot afford to use lead-and-oil paint. 

 Some among them, like Dr. Miller, believe 

 that the mosture in the hives cannot pass 

 thru the walls when the hive is covered with 

 an oil paint. It occurred to us that we 

 might be doing our subscribers a real favor 

 air over the country by telling them of a 

 water paint that has none of the objections 

 referred to by Dr. Miller. 



There is nothing that will improve the 

 value of a farm or residence like bright 

 white fences and buildinss ; and if Mr. Rice 

 has an article that is cheap and good, 

 we feel like giving him a boost. We have 

 cariied his advertising for some time, and 

 this is the first complaint we have ever had. 



Years ago A. 1. Root used on his old 

 original American hives a sort of cement or 

 sour-milk paint. As we remember, it gave 

 good service, was cheaper than lead and 

 oil, and the hives gave good service until 

 he abandoned them in favor of the Lang- 

 stroth dimensions; for in these days he was 

 experimenting with different hives and 

 frames, and after carefully testing out these 

 hives he came back to the Langstroth. 



Our Foreign Exchanges; What the 

 Great War has Done to Beekeeping 

 in Europe 



If anything were needed to cause us to 

 realize that tilings are out of joint in Eu- 

 i-ope it is the almost complete cessation of 

 the bee-journals of Germany, Belgium, and 

 France, which for so many years have 

 graced our table. We find none here dated 

 later than January, 1916.* The British Bee 

 Journal (England) comes to us regiilarly as 

 before. Tlte Irish Bee Guide has been cofn- 

 ing also. Several of the fiiends have asked 

 u.s lately for the addi'ess of the " best Ger- 

 man " or "best French" bee-journal; but 

 in each instance we have felt that any 

 journal we could refer to might be out of 

 print by that time. The demoralization of 

 the beekeeping fraternity of all Europe 

 seems to be complete. If that continent 



* Most of them suspended early last year. 



were to be compared to a strong colony of 

 bees knocked ovei' by accident it would give 

 one a fair idea of the horroi-s now taking 

 place in 



" — thy corntieULs groeii, and sunny vines, 

 O pleasant land of Prance!" 



The thunder of cannon and the liiss of 

 shell have silenced the peaceful hum of the 

 bee, and, in many cases, the coo of the babe 

 in its mother's arms. 



As indicative of the state of things in 

 France even a year ago, we quote the fol- 

 lowing from our valued exchange L'Apicul- 

 teur for March, 1915; but in doing so we 

 do not wish to jjlead the cause of one side 

 as against the other, for it is a battle of the 

 giants — diamond cut diamond, and a lot of 

 them at that. 



" Wherever they have passed, the German 

 armies have left nothing behind but rains. 

 The bees have not escaped the common fate. 

 It even seems that, in the invaded regions, 

 the apiaries have been destroyed systemati- 

 cally in conformity with orders from su- 

 periors." 



The last copy we have had of that jour- 

 nal was dated November, 1915, and we fear 

 it has at least temporarily suspended. 



Even in Switzerland, a neutral country, 

 the people feel the stamp of red Battle's 

 foot. L'Apiculteur says, Jan. 1, 1916 : 



" What a sad New Year's Day ! For 

 nineteen centuries it has been sung from 

 our cluirches, ' Peace on eaiih, good will to 

 man;' and yet, oh bloody wrong! the Chris- 

 tian people of Europe have been massacr- 

 ing each other. The flower of these nations 

 are cut down by hundreds of thousands; 

 and, as if the slaughter did not go on fast 

 enough, the Turks and pagans are called in 

 to help. What opinion will these heathens 

 form of Christianitv when they see these 

 things?" 



The wiiter of the above was tlie celebrat- 

 ed Ulrich Gubler, whose death we noted last 

 year with his picture. 



More than a year has passed since the 

 above extracts were written ; and, sad as is 

 their tone, the condition there has steadily 

 grown worse till tlie bees seem to be left to 

 their own resources while the entire nation 

 has gone to war. 



The bee-journal in question speaks of 

 a former Paris manager of the A. I. Root 

 Company's branch office in that city as 

 serving as an officer in the front ; and 

 his wife lately wrote us of her experience 

 in trying to caiTy on his business alone. 

 Tliomas Wm. Cowan, at the age of 70, is 

 even reported as serving as a railroad 

 guard. Truly the time has come when 

 " nation shall rise against nation," 



