E 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



1 



EDITORIAL 



AS mentioned last month we expect to pub- 

 lish the list of donors to the Dr. Miller Me- 

 morial Fund 



The Miller Memorial 



Library Fund. 



in the April 



issue, making 



it complete up 

 to the time of going to press. This will en- 

 able us to include the amounts donated by 

 the various beekeepers' associations during 

 the winter, either as associations or as in- 

 dividuals, who made their contributions 

 tliru the secretary of an association. Glean- 

 ings has not heretofore published a list of 

 donors to this fund, chiefly because the list 

 has been constantly growing. 



The committee liaving charge of this pro- 

 ject have not set a time limit for contribu- 

 tions, but we have definitely decided to pub- 

 lish the list next month. In order that this 

 list shall be as large as possible all con- 

 tributions should now be sent promptly in 

 order that the names may reach this office 

 in time to be printed next montli. The 

 funds are in charge of C. P. Dadant, Hamil- 

 ton, 111., who is chairman of the commit- 

 tee, but contributions may be sent to any 

 member to be forwarded to Mr. Dadant. 

 Tlie other members of the committee are 

 Dr. E. F. Phillips, Bureau of Entomology, 

 Washington, D. C; E. G. LeStourgeon, San 

 Antonio, Texas; B. F. Kindig, East Lansing, 

 Michigan, and E. E. Root, Medina, Ohio. 



We understand that this committee will 

 soon make some important announcements 

 in regard to plans for the Dr. Miller Me- 

 morial Library, now being considered. 



In order that the names shall reach this 

 office in time to be printed in the April issue 

 it will be necessary to send them early in 

 the month, especially those which are not 

 sent direct. All names should be here not 

 later than the middle of March, if they are 

 to apjjear in the list. 



SINCE the editorial comment on aluminum 

 combs Avas made in the February issue of 

 this journal, sev- 

 The Aluminum eral letters have 

 Honeycombs. been received scold- 

 ing the Editor for 

 not discussing more fully the advantages 

 and disadvantages of these combs. 



Our readers may rest assured that if these 

 combs prove to be certainly advantageous 

 in honey production. Gleanings in Bee Cul- 

 ture will point this out immediately. 



The stand that the Editor takes at this 

 time, judging from his own experience and 

 from reports received, is that aluminum 

 combs are still in the experimental stage, 

 and may never get out of that stage. They 

 are accepted hy the bees and filled with 

 honey, altho the bees show a decided pref- 

 erence for natural combs. Brood is reared 

 in them, but under some conditions only a 

 part of the brood will develop, the combs 

 often having a spotted appearance as if the 

 queen was failing. Probably this is par- 

 tially responsible for the difficulty experi- 

 enced in the attempts to winter colonies on 

 these combs in the North, tho no doubt the 

 rapid conductivity of heat by the metal is 

 the chief cause of this trouble, aluminum 

 being one of the best conductors. 



It now seems that if these combs should 

 ever come into general use it will be for 

 extracting combs instead of for brood- 

 combs. They are not easily broken in the 

 extractor, yet they require careful handling, 

 for, unlike natural combs, the bees are not 

 able to repair them when the cells are in- 

 jured by rough handling. The larvae of 

 the wax moth are not able to destroy these 

 combs, but when they are exposed these 

 larvae spin their cocoons in fhe spaces be- 

 tween the metal and the frame, sometimes 

 destroying the frames by cutting away 

 wood, besides injuring the combs otherwise. 



Perhaps these difficulties can be overcome 

 after further experiments, and, no doubt, 

 aluminum combs will give better results in 

 some climates than in others. It would cer- 

 tainly be unwise for any beekeeper to in- 

 stall an extensive ec^uipment of metal combs 

 without first trying them out thoroughly on 

 a small scale for his conditions. 



ACCOEDING to reports of the Bureau of 

 Public Roads of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agricul- 

 Good Eoads and ture 11,930 miles 

 Beekeeping. of roads were con- 



structed under the 

 joint supervision of the Federal Govern- 



