9« 



THE AMKHICAX BEiC-KKEPEU. 



Maj\ 



ers for help in the uiMtter. I h;ive been 

 watching for something on the suhjeet, 

 but so far have not seen anything. 1 

 am satisfied that at times I ]o,se (jueens 

 at tlie mating period, in considerable 

 numbers, by the attacks of these in- 

 sects. Fortunately it is the general 

 habit of the moscpiito hawks in this 

 locality to fly only iu the early morn- 

 ing and evening and on dull or cloudy 

 days, and this is a partial safe-guard. 

 but occasionally they will be about 

 in hundreds. I might almost say thou- 

 sands, upon days which the queens 

 find good enough for Hight. and at 

 such times my i)ercentage of loss is 

 always heavy. It is true I have never 

 seen a queen taken by one of these 

 hawks, but I have had workers snap- 

 ped from my hands and have caught 

 the robber with the bee fast in its 

 jaws. 



These moii(iuito hawks ari' always 

 numerous during the season of bay 

 bloom and I have sometimes doubted 

 if the nectar secured from it compen- 

 sated for the accompanying loss of 

 bees. Bay bloom does not open until 

 late in the afternoon, unless the day 

 be cloudy, and then the whirring of 

 wings and snapiiing of the powerful 

 jaws of these air pirates in the apiary 

 is to me a very distressing sound. I 

 have never found any way of combat- 

 ting them. 



Holly Hill, Fla., Nov. 26, 1903. 



NEW INVENTIONS. 



747.0.3."). Comb Foundation for Bee- 

 hives. Hugo A. Feldmann, Holyoke, 

 Mass. Filed April 27. 1!)03. Serial 

 No. 1. ■"14,472. 



Claim. — A comb foundation for bee- 

 hives consisting of a wa.x cellular 

 comb-sheet of rectangular form and a 

 fi'anie having witnm one end member 





Writing under date of Ajiril 21st 

 Mr. D. H. Coggshall, of Groton, N. 

 Y., says: "I think we shall lose fully 

 one-half of our bees. In fact, I 

 think one-half are dead at this writ- 

 ing, and I believe it will be so all over 

 the state." 



a groove, the frame having grooves 

 within the inner faces of its opposite 

 side members, and having a slot 

 through its other end member extend- 

 ing from near one end to the other of 

 such member, the end portions of 

 which .slot match with the grooves in 

 the adjoining side members, said 

 comb-shfeet having marginal support- 

 ing engagements in said grooves and 



slot. " ' 



ONE "BOY ON THE FARM." 



Our stall' contributor, Mr. Adrian 

 Getaz, writing April 22d. tells of a 

 disastrous freeze which visited this 

 State on the 20th. idtinio.. utterly 

 freezing young iieaches and pears al- 

 ready formed, and also the apple 

 bloom. He says the honey cro]) ^y\]\ 

 be almost a failure there. 



A Youthful Bee-keeper of the Pine-Tree State Who 

 is an Interested Subscriber to The Bee-Keeper. 



Whatever may be the extent of the 

 honey crop, present Indicajtions are 

 that an excellent market awaits it. 



Can you use a few sample copies? 

 We'll be pleased to send them. 



By Rev. C. M. Herring. 



THE mother here introduced— 

 Mrs. A. F. Cromwell — is a wid- 

 ow, of character and influence, 

 whose home is on a farm in a rural 

 district in the town of Topsham, Me. 

 The farm is quite remote from 

 neiglibors, partly surrounded by for- 

 ests, having a rich and jn-oductive soil. 

 It is a home of beauty, having a large 

 supply of fruit trees, vines, white clo- 

 ver, and other sources in which is 

 stoi-ed the iirecious nectar ,so invint- 

 ing to the labors of the bee, while 

 the surrounding forests are inter- 

 .spersed with wild berries, motmtain 

 ash, and basswood, all of which make 

 the farm a rich one for the production 

 of honey. Besides, there is one other 

 source of supply which Is not common. 



