190 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



Mr. Geo. Sprague describes an auto- 

 matic hiver in Gleanings for November 

 I. I hold a patent on tliat same device 

 granted me two years ago. Of course 

 there are a few sliglit alterations from 

 tlie svvarmer I devised ; but the only 

 principal feature that makes it in any 

 way practical or valuable, was patented 

 by me. Brother Root did not even 

 hint that several others had described 

 almost the same thing. 'Tis a wonder 

 that Brother R. did not say the Sprague 

 hiver is not as good and as practical as 

 the Pratt hiver. It must be that the 

 foot-note was crowded out. 



Ground corncobs are recommended 

 by a writer in Gleanings as a good ab- 

 sorbent to use as a winter packing for 

 bee-hives. It strikes us as being a 

 good thing. More than twenty-five 

 years ago, corncobs were used in the 

 Bay State apiary as a winter packing. 

 Many beekeepers use them now, and 

 I know of several who have the same 

 corncobs now, and use them too, that 

 they did some thirty years ago. 



I have used the new Hoftman frames 

 this season, by w:iy or trial, in 15 liives, 

 all transferred colonies. I am alraid tliey 

 will not do for tiiis latitude. Dr. Miller's 

 prophecy is fulfilled very exactly. That 

 sliding of friimes, and handling thPin in 

 groups, of which I had pleasant vi-ions, 

 has gone whei-e other dreams go. — Fvum 

 Gleanings. 



That's it ! I well knew a howl would 

 come up against the Hoffman frame as 

 soon as beekeepers had a chance to test 

 them. Some dozen years ago I pro- 

 nounced them a nuisance and never 

 have seen any reasons to change my 

 opinion. In fact, I am more strongly 

 convinced than ever that they are the 

 worst possible frame that anyone can 

 adopt. They are removed from the 

 hive at any time in the year with the 

 greatest difficulty, and there is not a le- 

 deeming feature about them. The plain 

 Langstroth brood frame is the frame for 

 the beekeeper who expects success in 

 keeping bees. 



KOTES AND COMMENTS. 



BY HENRY ALLEY'. 



MATING CHOICE QUEENS TO CHOICE 

 DRONES ON HANLON'S ISLAND. 



A short time ago, says Gleanings for 

 Nov. I, 1892, a firm in Canada adver- 

 tised that their queens were mated to 

 hand-picked drones on Hanlon's Island. 

 A resident of Toronto (he has moved 

 away now) wrote us shortly afier, that 

 there were no bees on Hanlon's Island, 

 and that the mating of queens there was 

 all a myth. We promptly wrote to the 

 parties in question, for an explanation. 

 They assured us that it was a fact, and 

 referred us to the names of several par- 

 ties as pi oof — among them Mr. John 

 McArthur, 881 Yonge St., Toronto, who 

 bred the queens for them. 



It seems that Mr. M. has had in 

 mind the mating of choice queens to 

 choice drones on this island for ten 

 years or so back ; but until 1889 it was 

 so barren that bees could not be sup- 

 ported there except at an expense. At 

 that time the city of Toronto spent over 

 a hundred thousand dollars in beautify- 

 ing and improving the island ; and it is 

 now stated that it blossoms like the rose, 

 and will support a large apiary. Mr. 

 McArthur took advantage of the situa- 

 tion and put upon the island some choice 

 stocks, and has been exj^erinienting for 

 three years back with the matter of 

 mating queens to drones of his own 

 choosing. 



The island itself is two miles from 

 the city, by a bee-line, while the bees 

 that have been used for experimental 

 purposes were a mile and a half farther, 

 on the other side of the island — quite 

 a safe distance for mating. Mr. M. 

 proposes to raise queens there the com- 

 ing season : and as it is a great pleasure 

 resort, ferry-boats go back and forth 

 every thirty minutes, and hence orders 

 for queens can receive prompt atten- 

 tion. This may seem like a little free 

 advertising ; but when a beekeeper has 

 enterprise enough to take advantage of 

 a good thing we feel like encouraging 



