Vol. XXXIV. 



OCT. 15. 1906. 



No 20 



In reply to Geo. W. Deyo's question as 

 to poor wax-makers not entering the supers, 

 tell him I agree with the editor. 



That Doolittle shade-board, p. 1253, is 

 a fine thing. I wonder, however, if nearly 

 the same I'esults can not be obtained with 

 less expense and trouble by the right kind 

 of double covers. 



In Europe there is general complaint of a 

 bad year. [The year has been bad every- 

 where except in localities. Considerable 

 honey was produced in York State, but ap- 

 parently it was disposed of locally, for there 

 was not enough to overtiow into the great 

 markets. — Ed.] 



Please tell Dr. Aulick, p. 1254, that we 

 have no trouble with f-in. bottom starters 

 toppling over (we use thin, not extra thin, 

 foundation), and there has never yet been a 

 case of burnt fingers in putting them in with 

 the regular Daisy fastener as rapidly as they 

 can be handled. 



In spring " a whole lot of dirt, dead bees, 

 and often mold and fifth," are not generally 

 found on my bottom-boards, especially since 

 the furnace is in the cellar. Some of them 

 are just as clean as in the summer; the oth- 

 ers are cleaned out just as soon as set down 

 outdoors in a very short time by scraping 

 loose and tipping up. Say, Bro. Doolittle, 

 weren't you just a bit carried away by poetic 

 frenzy when you talked about stimulating 

 brood-rearing by the "sweet summer side " 

 of a board? 



Deutsche Imker advises a correspondent, 

 who complains of brittle foundation, to mix 

 with his wax one per cent of honey, stirring 

 thoroughly before pouring into the mold. 

 The bees show special preference for such 

 foundation. [There may be something in 

 this, but I doubt it. — Ed.] 



"The piping sound is generally attribut- 

 ed to young queens anxious to escape from 

 their cells ' — Irish Bee Journal, p. 51. There 

 is some confusion as to terms. Better say 

 the piping is made by the free virgin, and 

 the quahking by the virgins still in their 

 cells. [You are correct. But sometimes 

 correspondents and editors alike mix the 

 terms. — Ed.] 



How MANY can tell the age of a larva by 

 looking at it in the cell? When just hatched 

 it lies curved in the bottom of the cell, a 

 straight line from head to tail, being a little 

 more than \ as long as the diameter of the 

 cell. At one day old it is still in the form of 

 a semicircle, but has grown so that the line 

 from head to tail is a little more than i the 

 diameter of cell. At two days old it lies 

 head touching tail, forming a complete cir- 

 cle whose diameter is nearly ^ the diameter 

 of the cell. At three days old it o(rcupies f 

 of cell-diameter. At four days old it tills the 

 entire diameter of the cell. These impor- 

 tant data 1 got from Dr. E. F. Phillips. 



R. Haworth asks where I got that "fire- 

 less stove." Didn't get it — made it. Any 

 one can make one. Take an old trunk or 

 box; paste paper over any cracks, and it's 

 not a bad plan to paper it all over; pack in 

 hay or excelsior, three or four inches deep 

 in the bottom; set in the vessel or vessels to 

 be used, and pack in solidly all around them 

 hay or excelsior, packing clear to the top of 

 the vessels. Now make a cushion the size of 

 your box, stuffed solid to lay over the vessels 

 to fill completely the rest of your box. The 

 cushion should be at least three inches thick 

 — the thicker the better. Over all must be a 



