American Hee Journal 



two books on the bee and on bee-keep- 

 ing are standard in England, and his 

 work on the natural history of the bee 

 is classic. 



Of the bee-editors who have been 

 here at some time or another, we can 

 perhaps claim to have had the W'hole 

 bunch here to learn " how doth the 

 busy bee " in the Golden West; also to 

 get acquainted with our strenuous bee- 

 ranchers. One of these editors came 

 from far-off Australia and visited the 

 State several times. He liked Ameri- 

 can bee-methods, and Californian prac- 

 tices in particular very much. 



So now ye historians and publishers 

 of " promotion literature." don't forget 

 to make a note of the fact that the 

 honey-bee has done her full share to 

 make a big niche in the commercial 

 life of the State, and has also caused 

 the printing press to send forth works 

 to swell our literary fame ; and last but 

 not least, she has brought many good 

 citizens here to enjoy our delightful 

 climate, and, at the same time, build up 

 the commonwealth. 



The Plague of Hornets 



Perhaps some of mj- readers have at 

 some time or another been "up against" 

 a lot of hornets. I remember once 

 when I was quite a youngster coming 

 bang up against a hornets' nest and a 

 multitude of stings which such close 

 proximity to a hornets' habitation en- 

 tails. After that I "swore off" on 

 hornets, and like the Australian who 

 went armed for the extermination of 

 Duky snakes, I never lost an oppor- 

 tunity thereafter to get in my deadly 

 work on all hornets that I found on 

 mischief bent. This year these insects 

 seem to be more plentiful than usual. 

 They seem to persist in getting into 

 the honey-house, and they even try to 

 effect an entrance into bee-hives. I 

 have seen them engaged in a hand-to- 

 hand tussle, if I may so put it, with 

 a honey-bee, and sometimes they 

 w.ould be the victors, much to my dis- 

 gust. They are bad on the fruit, so 

 whenever I see a number of them eat- 

 ing away for dear life on a fruit upon 

 the ground I would squash the aggre- 

 gation under one of my feet, much to 

 my pleasure, though I am rather chick- 

 en-hearted when it comes to taking the 

 life of anything. 



Recently I saw in the Pacific Rural 

 Press where Frank Swett, the well- 

 known grape-juice maker of Contra 

 Costa county, gave a plan which never 

 fails in trapping hornets. Briefly it 

 consists of a shallow pan of soapy 

 water over which is placed a narrow 

 board so that it is about an inch above 

 the liquid. On the underside is tacked 

 a small piece of fresh meat. The latter 

 attracts the hornets, and in their mad 

 scramble to get at the meat they are 

 constantly pushing the other fellows 

 off, and before they can get up suffi- 

 cient wing-power, they are landed in 

 the water never to get out. Just try it; 

 I have, and it works splendidly. 



K. M. Henneken, Bee-Inspector 



I was particularly attracted at the 

 Monterey Bee-Institute last winter by 

 two or three persons who were present. 



One of these figures was more con- 

 spicuous than the others, owing to the 

 fact that it is a rarity ever to see one 

 of his race present at a bee-meeting in 

 America. I refer to the Celestial bee- 

 keeper, Sem Ling, of Monterey. But 

 of the personality and so forth of Sem 

 Ling I shall not attempt to sing at this 



INSHECIUK K. M. HKNNEKEN. 



time. But the most picturesque, as 

 well as the most enthusiastic, person 

 at the meeting was K. M. Henneken, 

 the foul brood inspector of the county. 

 This gentleman takes his position very 

 seriously, so much so that many of the 

 bee-keepers of the county, I was told, 

 seem to think that he tries to be the 



"It "of that portion of the State. In 

 this particular I feel that they make a 

 mistake ; they do not sufficiently un- 

 derstand the temperament of their in- 

 spector, otherwise they would hold a 

 diflferent opinion of him. He is a man 

 of strong convictions — perhaps too 

 much so. He has the courage of his 

 convictions, and will carry them out at 

 any sacrifice to himself. This he showed 

 at an early age, as was illustrated very 

 strongly when he took opposite sides 

 with his family, and joined the North- 

 ern army in the Civil War. 



]\Ir. Henneken was born in Missouri 

 in 1840, where his father ranched and 

 kept a few colonies of bees in skeps. 

 .Vfter seeing active service in the war 

 he went to California and remained 

 there ever since. He has shifted about 

 tlirough the northern portion of the 

 State, engaging in mining, farming, 

 and for a time at his trade of machinist 

 at the Navy Yard at Mare Island. 



His first attempts at bee-keeping in 

 this State were not successes. Since 

 ;;oing to Monterey county he has 

 secured better results ; at this time he 

 has about 175 colonies at his apiary 

 south of the city of Monterey. Three 

 years ago he was made foul-brood in- 

 spector of the county. He tells some 

 interesting stories about his experience 

 in his chase after the foul-brood 

 microbe. His way from apiary to api- 

 ary has not always been strewn with 

 roses. On one occasion when he called 

 to straighten out an infested apiary, 

 the proprietor made him " hike " on 

 the double quick o'er the hills and far 

 away. He did not fear the confederates 

 when he was shouldering a musket for 

 Uncle Sam, but he did have a dread of 

 a loaded gun in a bee-general's hands. 

 He says a foul-brood inspector is not 

 any too well compensated for the job 

 he has to perform. 



Mr. Henneken lives with his wife and 

 family close to Monterey bay, a short 

 distance east of Hotel Del Montey, his 

 apiary being well inland, where the 

 bee-pasturage is good. 



Canadia 



Conducted bv J. L. B YER, Mount Joy, Ont. 



Use of Pollen-Filled Combs 



As a rule, there is no need of advis- 

 ing bee-keepers not to melt up old 

 combs, as generally speaking there are 

 not enough of combs put into wax. 

 However, I am convinced that many 

 good apiarists often melt up brood- 

 combs that are filled with pollen under 

 the mistaken notion that such combs 

 are valueless. Now when those combs 

 are straight, well wired and perfect in 

 every way, barring the pollen, I hold 

 that it is a positive waste to put such 

 combs into wax. That this is often 



done was shown to the writer several 

 times during the past season, hence 

 my reason for mentioning the matter 

 at this time. What shall we do with 

 them? Why, simply give them in small 

 numbers to swarms, or even nuclei 

 with young queens, and in a few weeks, 

 at most, the combs will be free from 

 pollen, I will warrant. This has been 

 my practice for some years, whenever 

 any combs like this were found, and 

 they will be more or less in all apiaries, 

 especially if a lot of bees are looked 

 after with but little help. 



