SEPTEMBER 1, 1916 



811 



In the ease of sections the wording sbould 

 lie, "Not less than ■ ounces." The ordi- 

 nary section honey-boxes now in use will run 

 all the way from 10 to 14 ounces minimum 

 net weight. The average of them will run 

 about 121^ ounces. The usual rule is to sort 

 the sections into various weights, each 

 weight in excess of some minimum net 

 weight. It is not practicable to mark upon 

 every box the exact net weight, and there- 

 fore the sections are graded according to 

 weight. All in excess of a certain minimum 

 are put in one class; those in excess of an- 

 other in another class and so on. After 

 they are put in classes by themselves thej^ 

 are marked with the appropriate rubber 

 stamp. 



Whether there is a net-weight law in 

 operation within the state, it is always ad- 

 visable to mark all packages of food with 

 their net weight or minimum net weight as 

 t)ie case may be. — Ed.] 



Annual Field Day of the Worcester County 



Beekeepers' Association and Eastern 



Massachusetts Society of Beekeepers. 



This year, at the invitation of the Worces- 

 ter County Beekeepers' Association, the 

 Eastern Massachusetts Society met with the 

 Worcester County Association at the home 

 of Mr. W. E. Parker, West Boylston, on 

 Saturday, Aug. 5. From 11 to 5 the air 

 hummed with the sound of bees — not the 

 insects themselves entirely, but with dis- 

 cussion and genial talk about them. The 

 day was rather overcast, but pleasant, and 

 there was a good gathering. All enjoyed 

 the kindly hospitality of the host. Dinner 

 was on the basket-lunch plan, after which 

 came the speaking. 



The special guest of honor, Mr. C. P. 

 Dadant, of Hamilton, Illinois, editor of the 

 American Bee Journal, spoke delightfully 

 and instructively on prevention of swarm- 

 ing. He was followed by Arthur C. Miller, 

 Providence, E. I., on "What to Do Now." 

 Mr. Allen Latham, Norwich, Ct., and Dr. 

 Burton N. Gates,-Amherst, Mass., followed. 

 Dr. Gates spoke particularly of the symp- 

 toms of bee paralysis which has appeared 

 lately in different parts of the country. 

 Later he demonstrated the proper method of 

 opening and inspecting a hive, with valuable 

 practical advice. Mr. W. E. Winter, of Eoss 

 Bros. Co., Worcester, had a good display of 

 Falconer's supplies, while Mr. Jepson had 

 sent some of Eoot's supplies from Boston. 

 Josephine Morse, Sec. 



South Lancaster, Mass. 



Easy Enough to Clean Out the Grooves. 



Dr. C. C. Miller says, page 521, July 1, 

 that the wedge and saw-kerfs in brood- 

 frames are fine the first time when used, but 

 the second time they are no good. Last 

 spring I had about 50 old frames that I had 

 cut the combs out of on account of foul 

 brood. I just boiled them in lye and water; 

 and as fast as I took them out of the water 



1 took out tlic wedge and took a little stick 

 and cleaned out the saw-korfs. When I was 

 ready to put in foundation they worked as 

 nicely as when new. 



E. G. Baldwin, page 524, July 1, says that 

 he would like to have others report who 

 have tried the honey method of introducing. 

 I have tried it on five queens, and have not 

 lost any. It works finely. One colony I 

 tried it on had been queenless so long that 

 they had nothing but a little drone brood 

 that was ready to hatch. 



Lake Cicott, Ind. T. C. Johnson. 



They Didn't Need Any Queen. 



I have a swarm that filled every frame 

 with brood, and produced a rousing colony 

 and filled one super of honey. When I took 

 the honey off I examined the brood-chamber. 

 They had no brood. They had been queen- 

 less for a month. They started no queen- 

 cells and have no laying workers, and have 

 filled combs with honey and bee-bread. There 

 is no place for a queen to lay. Now, will 

 they accept a queen? I gave them a frame 

 of young brood and punched a hole in it to 

 provide a place to start cells, but they re- 

 fused to do so. 



Eardin, 111., July 19. W. F. Shafer. 



[It is a little unusual for a colony to 

 produce so much honey when the bees have 

 no queen. They gather pollen and some 

 honey, but it is not common that they pro- 

 duce as much as a super of surplus honey, as 

 you say. 



We would suggest that you hive a comb 

 of young unsealed brood and see whether the 

 bees will start queen-cells. If they will, 

 then it will be all right to destroy the cells 

 started and introduce a queen in the regular 

 way. The fact that the bees refused to 

 start cells from the comb of brood you gave 

 them rather indicates that they would not 

 accept the queen, altho we cannot be sure. 

 —Ed.] 



Honey at the Missouri State Fair. 



We had the best exhibits last year of any 

 previous year. We shall have more space 

 this year for a finer and larger exhibit than 

 ever. I have induced the fair board to in- 

 crease their premiums, and shall try to get 

 them to increase more in the future. I 

 make an exhibit of both comb and extracted 

 honev, also bees. E. G. Eobertson, 



Marshall, Mo., July 22. 



[See complete premium list on page 824. — 

 Ed.] 



Why Those Workers were Dwarfed. 



I have just noticed the reference, \>. G16, 

 July 15, to a freak worker bee. This is no 

 freak to me, for it is very usual where there 

 is European foul brood. The dwarfed work- 

 ers are due to climatic conditions and lack 

 of stores for the nurse bees to feed them 

 properly during the first few days of their 

 larval state. This lack of attention of the 

 nurse bees causes the larva to be starved. 



Chico, Cal. S. J. Morrison. 



