128 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



not be overlooked. Here is a point that 

 should interest all purchasers of self- 

 hivers and drone-traps. As far as I am 

 able to judge, all swarmers now in use 

 are an infringement of my drone- trap, 

 or of the self-hiver patented 1890. As 

 soon as the heavy work of the season 

 is over, I shall look after some of those 

 who are now infringing my rights. 



In speaking of self-hivers in Glean- 

 ings of July I, the editor says I con- 

 demned certain paits of the Pratt swarm- 

 er, and then adopted them. This is 

 not correct, friend Root. If you will 

 show that I have adopted any part of 

 the Pratt swarmer, or any other per- 

 sons', I will go out of the "swarmer" 

 business, and leave the whole field 

 to other parties. On the contrary, I 

 can show that all those who are now 

 claiming they have invented self hivers, 

 have adopted the main and principal 

 features of my invention, and, after at- 

 taching a lot of useless fixtures and 

 clap-trap to them, claim the whole thing 

 as their own. The parts of the Pratt 

 swarmer that I condemned in a late is- 

 sue of the Gleanings,! still condemn. 

 By the way, friend Root, if I was not 

 correct in condemning certain parts of 

 the Pratt swarmer, why did you and 

 Pratt at once discontinue their use and 

 make a radical change in the whole ar- 

 rangement? Please reply, I notice 

 you do not use them as first illustrated in 

 Gleanings some months ago, and I 

 understand you do not like tliat way, 

 either. 



I do not believe any swarmer is prac- 

 tical where the bees are compelled to 

 pass through two rows of ])erforated 

 metal every time they go in and out the 

 hive, in order to reach tlieir combs ; 

 that is the thing I condemned. One 

 piece of metal is bad enough, we all know. 



I am ready to send my swarmer to 

 any person competent to test it in com- 

 parison with any other in use. If mine 

 does not prove to be the better and more 

 practical in all respects, let those who 

 test them say so. 



One man who has adopted my drone- ' 

 trap and placed it between two hives 1 

 for catching swarms, claims that his ' 

 is the best swarmer presented to the \ 

 public. Yet in the same article he also 

 says his swarmer will catch only a few 

 of the bees, and remarks that those who i 

 claim they have a swarming device that 

 will catch and hive all the bees that 

 issue witli a swarm, should be investi- 

 gated. I 



All right, my friend, I am ready to be 

 investigated, and to have the swarmer i 

 investigated, also. I make you the same 

 offer of $5, Mr. Dibble, that I made \ 

 others in the July Api. If my swarmer | 

 fails to catch any swarm and all the bees ; 

 that issue, the ^5 is yours. Come on : 

 with your mvestigation. . 



It requires a good deal of cheek for : 

 a man to claim the best swarming de- 

 vice, and in the same breath acknovvl- ; 

 edge that it will not hive a swarm. I 

 Why, Mr. Dibble, how much better is j 

 your drone-trap as a self-hiver than the | 

 drone- trap I have sold and also been us- 

 ing for years ? My trap has never f.iiled | 

 to catch the queen when a swarm issued, i 

 as well as at least a quart of bees, or as i 

 many bees as the trap would hold. 

 Make the trap larger, friend D , and ; 

 you will catch all the bees that issue 

 with the swarm. That is how we do it. 



Will say to those to whom swarmers 

 were sent for trial, that I was obliged 

 to go to a common box factory for the \ 

 material used in them, except the queen- 1 

 trap part. That accounts for the coarse ' 

 material used in their construction. I - 

 shall soon get time to saw them out , 

 myself, and shall have swarmers that will 

 do the manufacturer credit. 



Try our five-banded Italians. 



C. H. Dibbern, Milan, 111., who has I 

 been working over my swarm hiver a long ; 

 time says he expects by another year to I 

 get it so it will catch swarms. I think \ 

 I have seen tlie same statement by Bro. 

 D., a good many times within a year, ! 

 and also that he had perfected one that 1 

 never had failed to hive any swarm, j 

 Later on he owned up to the foct, that it 



