» IN BErH*C^LTURE: 



A Journal Devoted to Bees, Honey, and Home Interests 

 Illustrated Semi-monthly One Dollar per Year 



Published by The A. I. Root Compimy, Medina, Ohio 



Vol. XXXIV. 



FEB. J, 1906. 



No. 3 



Louis Scroll advises a flight after haul- 

 ing before cellaring, p. 73. Do they cellar 

 bees "in the Southwest"? [Perhaps he is 

 giving some good advice to his friends in the 

 North.— Ed.] 



Caucasian blood is said to be the hard- 

 est kind to get rid of when once introduced, 

 and that seems to be used as an argument 

 against Caucasians. Let's be fair. That 

 fact alone is rather in their favor— shows 

 they have staying qualities. 



I've read Hutchinson's new book. It has 

 the fine quality of being readable, and has a 

 lot of good stuff in it. As might be expect- 

 ed from one who is almost daft in that di- 

 rection, the excellent typography and the 

 fine pictures in the book make it a thing of 

 beauty. 



Dr. Brunnich says, p. 86, that a fertile 

 queen will fast two hours without injury, 

 while a virgin will starve in an hour. One 

 would suppose just the reverse, for the lay- 

 ing queen has the extra draft of furnishing 

 eggs. Yet as I try to recall cases of starv- 

 ation, it does seem that the doctor is right. 



"Advanced Bee Culture" is said to 

 contain 330 pages, p. 71. It has only 230; 

 but by some curious mistake the last six 

 pages are numbered wrong. [Thanks for 

 the correction, doctor. I looked at the last 

 page, saw the number 330, and supposed it 

 was, of course, correct. There was not 

 much harm done, because this book can not 

 be judged by the number of its pages as to 

 its intrinsic merits.— Ed.] 



Here's how Mary Wood, p. 97, can safe- 

 ly poison roaches : Take two small thin 

 boards, and on one of them spread the poi- 

 soned food within half an inch of each side. 

 Tack the other board over this; but instead 

 of letting it lie flat down have a piece of 

 section between the two boards at each end, 

 thus keeping them i inch apart. Lay this 

 on the floor of the hive. The roaches can 

 get in, but the bees can't. [That is an ex- 

 cellent plan provided the roaches can get 

 into a space of | inch. —Ed.] 



G. M. DooLiTTLE doesn't know why a can- 

 dle disturbs bees in a cellar less than a lamp, 

 page 80. Is it not because the light of the 

 lamp is so much stronger, Bro. Doolittle? 

 Let me suggest this: Take the cover of cor- 

 rugated paper in which you frequently buy 

 a lamp chimney, cut a hole an inch or so in 

 diameter in one side, put this on the chimney 

 so it will make a sort of dark lantern, turn 

 down the light till it is no stronger than a 

 candle, and see if you don't like it better 

 than a candle. 



Improvement in bees by "breeding queens 

 on an island with selected drones" is men- 

 tioned, p. 76. Good thing. I wouldn't say 

 a word against it, but the thing that's most 

 needed is not so much some great improve- 

 ment made by one man as even a little at- 

 tention to the matter of selection on the 

 part of all. My next-door neighbor may 

 keep the best or the poorest cows, and it 

 makes no difference in the yield of milk from 

 my cows; but if his bees are not as good as 

 mine my honey crop will suffer for it so long 

 as I can not control mating. 



W. K. Morrison makes some points on p. 

 84 that I'll settle with him for if I ever catch 

 him out alone; but his last remark has set 

 me to thinking. If I wanted to try a novel- 

 ty in sections it would be something like 

 this: A section less in height than width, 

 two beeway. If, and without separators. I 

 am sure the bees would make more even 

 work than upon thicker combs, and would 



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