AUGUST 15, 1910 



745 



advanced 1 ct. per lb. to cover the weight 

 of the section lost by the beekeeper, so really 

 he is getting the same price as before. We 

 do not believe it has been customary for 

 beekeepers as a rule to sell their honey by 

 weight, including the weight of carton and 

 section, as we infer you had been previous 

 to the enactment of the net-weight law; so 

 in reality you will lose only l^^ lbs. per case. 

 So long as the law stands, there is only 

 one way left open, and that is to comply 

 with its requirements, regardless of what 

 others may do. — Ed.] 



Bees Drifting into the Wrong Hive. 



I have my bees arranged in two rows at 

 right angles to each other in my backyard, 

 a space of about 60 feet square, one row 

 facing the south and the other facing the 

 west. The hive nearest the angle facing the 

 west, T have noticed for the past month, 

 shows at all times a lot of dead and dying 

 bees in front, with fighting bees on the en- 

 trance-board. This seems to go on when the 

 yard is brisk with honey-gathering. The 

 colony has a good queen, and is full of brood 

 in healthy condition. The hive is now light 

 in bees, and has gathered but little increase 

 in honey. 



My solution of the matter was that the 

 location of the hive was such that bees from 

 other hives entered it by mistake, until this 

 hive has really worn itself out trying to 

 drive out the innocent invaders. I have 

 now moved it away, and today it seems 

 quiet, but so weak in bees that all but few 

 seem busy inside attending to the brood, 

 with just a few coming and going. 



Youngstown, O. Dr. C. E. Blanchard. 



[Very often a colony will ball a queen for 

 no apparent reason, and the only thing to do 

 is to cage the queen and let them try it over 

 again. 



Your solution of the trouble of the one 

 colony nearest to the angle is correct. The 

 bees made a mistake; and, during the height 

 of the honey-flow, the alien bees were not 

 welcome, and, of course, were killed one 

 after another. The probabilities are that the 

 bees in the angle hive drifted to the other 

 colonies, resulting in a constant decrease in 

 the strength of the hives. You did the right 

 thins: in moving the hive to another location. 

 —Ed.] 



Polk County (Iowa) Field Meeting. 



The Polk County Beekeepers' Association 

 held its third annual field meet at Union 

 Park, Pes Aloine;^, on Friday, July 28. 



The attendance was not large, partly be- 

 cause it was intensely hot, and partly be- 

 cause the meeting had not been sufficiently 

 advertised. All present joined heartily in 

 the picnic spirit and dinner and were pleased 

 and profited by the program. 



Good talks were given l)y A. L. Clinite, 

 of the Des Moines School Board; by Hamlin 

 B. Miller, of Marshalltown, and by Editor 

 Jarnagan, of the Iowa Farmer. A splendid 



reading was given by Miss Crow, of the Des 

 Moines schools, and folk dances by children. 

 J. W. Schlenker, of Ankeny, gave demonstra- 

 tions in handling bees. 



Following the program a business session 

 was held and officers elected for the coming 

 year. Dr. C. L. Wright, of Des Moines, is 

 the new president. The doctor is a live one, 

 and great things are expected for next 

 year's meeting. 



Charles E. Dustman. 



A 7 — 30 Increase and a Ton of Honey. 



We had a very late and cold spring here. 

 The main honey-flow from white clover start- 

 ed June 25, and we got our first new swarm 

 June 28. To date (July 27) this swarm has 

 produced 84 finished sections. 



There has been a letup of a few days in 

 the honey-flow, but it has started big again 

 today, and the yard once more is a perfect 

 roar. 



We started a year ago last spring with 

 seven colonies. We now have thirty. We 

 got 800 pounds of good honey last year, and 

 we expect a ton this year. 



We live on the river, and there is much 

 timber here (basswood), and acres of waste 

 land. Our principal honey-plants are white 

 clover, alsike, basswood, goldenrod, hearts- 

 ease, and buckwheat. My wife is also learn- 

 ing the business. 



We started all of our new swarms this 

 year on full sheets of wired foundation. We 

 also use full sheets in sections. We find that 

 it pays us big to do this. We do all of our 

 hauling with a "tin flea" (Ford). We went 

 to a neighboring city, 80 miles away, the 

 other day with a load of honey, and got 

 there for breakfast, sold our honey, and were 

 back for dinner. 



I must clore and go to the woods and find 

 the source of this honey-flow. I think it is 

 basswood. 



Osage, la. G. D. Nelson. 



But the Queen Comes from a Worker Egg. 



When Mr. Doolittle, p. 474, June 15, will 

 remember that the female bees or queens, 

 u! others of the worker bee, are not the prod- 

 uct of a special egg, but the product of a 

 worker larva, made fertile by the special 

 work of the nurse bees, then he will under- 

 stand how this worker larva made fertile 

 "can transmit to a greater or less degree its 

 habits, faculties, peculiarities, and desires to 

 its progeny of worker bees." 



Luis R. Casablanca. 



Bayanion, Porto Rico. 



A Correction. 



Ill n!y article, page 611, July 15, I noticed 

 that I made it say i\ve frames in each brood- 

 chamber. It should be nine frames, both the 

 full depth and shallow brood-chambers. 



Stanton, N. J. . L. K. Cole. 



[We find that the mistake is ours, 

 original copy read nine frames. — Ed.] 



The 



