124 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



June, 



• OFF FOR DORSATA. 



By the time this number of The Bee- 

 Keeper is in the hands of the reader 

 Prof. Benton will be oft" for a trip 

 around the world in quest of new 

 races of bees which it is proposed to 

 test and inti'oduee into the United 

 States. 



The American Bee-Keeper ha,s stood 

 alone among the bee journals of Amer- 

 ica in advocating this step, and our 

 readers will doubtless be kept in touch 

 with Prof. Benton's operations during 

 his trip, which will encircle the globe. 

 The first article will appear in our 

 July issue. 



DURING PROF. BENTON'S AB- 

 SENCE. 



In a private letter, dated May 24, 

 Prof. Benton wrote: 



During my absence the immediate 

 supervision of the experimental work 

 and conduct of the correspondence of 

 the office here will be in charge of Dr. 

 E. F. Phillips, late of the University 

 of Pennsylvania, who has recently 

 been appointed, at my request, a« one 

 of my expert assistants. Mr. Lesfie 

 Martin, of Tennessee, and Miss Jessie 

 E. ;Marks, of New York, remain in the 

 office to assist in the work here; while 

 Mr. J. M. Rankin has gone to Cali- 

 fornia to conduct, under the direction 

 oif this office, the sub-station we are 

 about to establish at Chico, in the Sac- 

 ramento valley. Part of the steno- 

 graphic work is also ably handled by 

 Mr. E. C. Wood, who wrote this letter. 



anywhere near four doJlars a day^ 

 How many of the Foul Brood laws 

 now in effect provide for any attempi 

 to ascertain the fitness and ability ol 

 the to-be inspector for the work? Th( 

 officious gentleman with his arbitrarj 

 powers may know far less about bees 

 and their diseases than bee-keepers 

 whose bees he may choose to condemn 

 but they can make no effective protesi 

 againet aught that he may choose tc 

 do. 



Here is an example of the loss ignor 

 ance or arbitrary action may cause 

 "In another there are three hives lef 

 and if they catch the disease thej 

 must go." Must they forsooth? Thii 

 ignorant inspector decrees that anni 

 hilation is the only course he wiJ 

 allow. But to continue the quotatioD 

 "Just think of fifty-four hives, all ful, 

 of bees and honey, stacked up thre 

 feet wide, six high and six long an< 

 you have the lot that were destroys 

 last night, a lot the owners said cos 

 them ^250." Comment seems unneft 

 essary. 



GOV. FOLK'S VETO OF THE MIS- 

 SOURI FOUL BROOD BILL. 



Despite the unpleasant feelings and 

 harsh remarks against Gov. Folk and 

 his veto of Missouri's Foul Brood Bill, 

 it contains one passage of particular 

 value, one which the bee-keepers 

 will do well to bear in mind when seek- 

 ing legislation to control bee diseases. 

 The clause is this: "The inspector is 

 authorized to go to anyone's home and 

 if he should not like the way bee hives 

 are conducted he could, for some real 

 or imaginary disease, annihilate the 

 whole brood, leaving the owner with- 

 out remedy, but for all of which the 

 inspector would receive four dollars 

 a day!" This feature was quite 

 enough to justify the governor's action. 



How many of the men who are itch- 

 ing for the post of inspector can earn 



MISSING ESSENTIALS. 



Mr. Massie's comments in the Ma 

 Bee-Keeper, on divisible-brood-chan 

 ber-hives are worthy further attentioi 

 Such hives if improperly constructe 

 permit drafts between chambers an 

 are then about as bad as any hive ca 

 be. Mr. Massie's hive is believed to t 

 so constructed as to avoid that an 

 hence has proved satisfactory. Of 

 times some slight and obscure fact( 

 spoils the proper working of tools ( 

 systems, whereupon the principle 

 condemned. 



If Mr. McNeal will use such hivt 

 as Mr. Massie does, or will protect hi 

 hives with cloth telescope-covers lit 

 Mr. Bingham's, he will probably fin 

 reason to modify his opinions. 



b 



U 



SOPHORA JAPONICA. 

 Sophora Japonica, the autum 

 blooming tree mentioned in L'Ap! iU) 

 cu'Jteur belolngs to the gi-eat orde fcjii 

 Leguminosae, the one which contaii 4 s 

 so many good honey plants such as tb 

 clovers, locusts, etc. Its common nam 

 is Japanese Pagoda Tree. It groT? iiif 

 rapidly, attaining a height of 50 to 6 !t 

 feet and is very ornamental, the woo fc) 

 is hard and valuable, and the flowei 

 and pods enter into commerce. LJS 

 the rest of the Sophorae it is a natlT 



