THE A ME RICA N A PIC UL TUB IS T. 



a "Combination Patent." Whv does 

 tiie great government of the United 

 States do business in that way? The 

 officials who granted the "combination" 

 claim well knew that it was not worth 

 the paper it was written or printed on. 

 Now in order to get rid of the " com- 

 bination'' patent, the person granted the 

 original must go into court, conduct an 

 expensive suit to prove his claim of pri- 

 ority of invention. The patent laws of 

 this country are such that anyone can 

 iiitch any sort of a worthless arrange- 

 ment to the most valuable device al- 

 ready patented, and get a "combina- 

 tion ' claim allowed. Said combination 

 will be claimed an "im[)rovement" and, 

 though a tletriment, the claimant will be 

 granted a patent. In some cases the 

 improvements claimed in the combina- 

 tion were considered and thrown out 

 by tlie original inventor. Patent laws 

 need revising. 



CnESHIRE AND FOUL-BUOOD. 



Every person in North Americ), who 

 lias any [xn'sonal experience with foul- 

 brood, knows tluit tlie honey from a foul- 

 broody colony will spread the contagion 

 far and wide, if this honey is placed wiiere 

 the bees have access to it. There is no 

 iruessworic about their being "death in 

 the honey," and yet Clieshire says, "the 

 popular idea that honey is the means by 

 ■which it is carried from liive to hive, and 

 that mainly thi-ough roiibing, is so far in 

 error, that only occasionally and casually 

 can honsv convey it from colony to col- 

 ony."— [(7. li. •/. 



The writer of the above is correct. 

 It mav be said that foul-brood is spread 

 by the introduction to a healthy colony 

 of queen taken from a foul-broody stock, 

 but this is by no means the most fruit- 

 ful method of spreading the disease. 

 One ounce of honey from a diseased 

 colony exposed to the bees will destroy 

 in time all the apiaries in the country. 



Beekeepers in districts where foul 

 brood abounds sh(juld be constantly on 

 the watch for the disease. It is next to 

 an impossibility to check its spread if 

 it is in the apiary of any but the most 

 careful person. 



RED-CLOVER BEICS AHEAD. 



Red-clover Italian baes, 100 lbs. comb 

 houey in sections per colony. YeUow Car- 

 niolans, per colony, 80 lbs. i-n section hon- 

 ey. Italians, per colony, 60 lbs. comb 

 honey. Blacks, per colony, 28 lbs. comb 

 honey. The bees are booming at present. 



The above extract is from Gleanings 

 Oct. I. It will be seen that the yellow 

 Carniolans come in second in gathering 

 honey. The question is, Where did 

 this man get the yellow Carniolans ni 

 season to test their working qualities in 

 the season of 1S91. 



His name does not appear on the 

 books of the Api as a customer for a 

 queen of this race ? 



If yellow Carniolan bees wilt gather 

 80 lbs. honey per colony, there is no 

 doubt that they will soon gather as 

 much as any race of bees. It is im- 

 portant to know that others besides 

 Alley have yellow Carniolan bees. See 

 the point? 



THE ALBANY CONVENTION. 



The North American Beekeepers' As- 

 sociation's 22nd Annual Convention 

 opened session at Agricultural Hall, 

 Albany, N. Y., at 9 o'clock, Dec. 9. 

 There were about one hundred twenty- 

 five ladies and gentlemen present from 

 all over the country. 



An informal meeting was held at the 

 ball and hotel on the evening of Dec. 

 8. Mr. P. H. Elwood opened with an 

 address of a few well chosen words out- 

 lining many thoughts for the best inter- 

 est of American beekeepers whicJi will 

 be published in full by Bro. Newman 

 of the A. B.J. 



Mr. Elwood is a modest, unassuming 

 gentleman and one of the most exten- 

 sive beekeepers in the state of New 

 York, a careful speaker and a brainy 

 man. 



After the appointment of the com- 

 mittees and routine business, Mr. G. 

 M. Doolittle delivered an address on 

 "The Bees, the Location and the Apia- 



