150 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



mands only 4>.2 cents per pound in Los 

 Angeles. My increase is 130 per cent. 



All my colonies were transferred last 

 fall and spring, and had only 4 to 5 

 combs to the colony to begin the season, 

 and by dividing the number of new 

 combs built, by the number of old colo- 

 nies, it is found that they have built 25 

 new combs each from }4 inch foundation 

 starters ; but I think they gathered just 

 as much surplus as they would with 

 plenty of surplus combs, built as the 

 new combs were built before the open- 

 ing of the harvest. 



California bee-keepers are great for 

 "keeping in their shell," and it is hard 

 to find out by them what the crop has 

 been, but I am able to keep my honey 

 until they come out without coaxing. 



The dealers say there has been a great 

 crop, but it is almost all in some other 

 locality, or county, and I don't put much 

 confidence in that kind of " taffy." 



Pasadena, Calif., July 5, 1893. 



Value of Bees to Fruit-Orowers, 

 Farmers, Etc. 



BY THOS. D. BAIRD. 



There seems to be quite a difference 

 in the views of fruit-growers, as well as 

 apiarists, as to the value of bees. Many 

 fruit-growers claim that bees are very 

 destructive to ripe fruits. I have been 

 watching the bees in my garden for sev- 

 eral years, and from my observation I 

 think bees are the fruit-growers garden- 

 ers, and the farmers best friends, for I 

 find when bees are scarce, my fruits and 

 many vegetable crops are rather sorry. 



It seems to me that any observing, 

 thinking man would find that bees per- 

 form important functions in the propa- 

 gation of vegetable life. Indeed, they 

 are the means by which certain plants 

 continue their existence. Besides fruits, 

 the clovers have no means of fertiliza- 

 tion, except by bees carrying the pollen 

 from one plant to another ; and in the 

 case of red clover, only the large bumble- 

 bee is adapted to this work, on account 

 of the length of its proboscis. 



Besides clover, a certain class of vines, 

 such as cucumbers, melons, squashes, 

 and all of that family, are totally de- 

 pendent upon bees for their propaga- 

 tion, as they are too close to the ground 

 for the winds to do much in this way. 



Since bees perform such an important 

 part in the economy of nature, it would 

 naturally be supposed that farmers and 

 fruit-growers would encourage the keep- 



ing of bees, and preserving the bumble- 

 bees. But instead of this, while the 

 various bees are busy carrying pollen 

 and fertilizing the boy's melons, he is 

 busy hunting their humble home to de- 

 stroy it ; and not only the boys, but the 

 farmers, hunt and destroy every bumble- 

 bees' nest they can find, until they are 

 very scarce. 



Observation, the past season, has 

 taught us that apple-orchards near large 

 apiarists were well laden with fruit, 

 while those at a distance from any api- 

 arist were a sorry crop, or none at all. 

 The scarcity of apples is thought to be 

 caused by so much rain last season, 

 washing the pollen off. This is good 

 doctrine, but much of it should be cred- 

 ited to the bees, which couldn't be out 

 while it was raining, to carry on pollen- 

 ization. I, for one, believe the fruit- 

 grower and apiarist should be good 

 friends, and encourage each other, or 

 combine the two into one business. — 

 Exchange. 



■ I w 



Don't Use Foul-Broody HiTes, 

 Etc., Without Disinfecting. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY E. E. PARCHER. 



I was muoh surprised upon reading 

 Mr. McEvoy's article on foul brood, hav- 

 ing waited patiently for it, and expected 

 something different, and I am sure many 

 others did. I was disappointed. 



Having had considerable experience 

 with the disease, I have taken great in- 

 terest in all I have seen in print regard- 

 ing it. The article, on page 48, by Mr. 

 S. Cornell, sets me right; he treats Mr. 

 McEvoy and his article fairly and can- 

 didly, I ^ink. 



The advice I now offer to those who 

 have foul brood in their apiaries is given 

 from my own experience, and such facts 

 and conclusions as I have been able to 

 pick out of bee-literature. You can 

 safely use Mr. McEvoy's method, but 

 do7i't use the old hive until it has been 

 thoroughly cleaned and boiled (or scalded 

 with boiling water). I scrape off all 

 wax and propolis, and use a tea-kettle 

 of boiling water to each hive. The only 

 method that has never failed me, is this: 



In the middle of the day, whten the 

 bees are flying lively, open the diseased 

 hive and find the queen and cage her; 

 move the hive to a new stand some dis- 

 tance away, and place a clean hive on 

 the old stand with two or three clean 

 combs or sheets of foundation, and the 



