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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Septemier 22, 



Moisture in Bee-Hives in Winter is avoided by Ed. Frey- 

 hoff, editor Praktischier Wegwelser, by the use of cushions 

 filled with powdered or slalied lime placed over the frames. 



Self-Uniting. — In Le Progres Apicole a case is reported 

 in which an Italian swarm with a young queen entered the 

 hive of a black colony with an old queen. The old queen was 

 killed and cast out, leaving the young stranger on the throne ! 



Elevated Lands for Honey are best, according to Val. 

 Wuest In Deutschen Bienenzucbt ; and that explains why red 

 clover — whose blossom-tubes must be a third or a half filled 

 before the bee can reach the nectar — yields so much oftener 

 in elevated than in low situations. 



Drone-Combs for Extracting are Undesirable, says 

 Lehrer Schunke, in Leipzg. Bzte. The bees cannot be made 

 to understand that the queen will not occupy them for brood, 

 no matter how much excluders are used, so except in a time of 

 very heavy flow they will be left more or less unoccupied. 



To Prevent Mould in Hives, the editor of Revue Inter- 

 nationale says a plan that has proved satisfactory to all who 

 have tried it is to have an opening at the back as well as front 

 under the hive, allowing the air to pass through. In this 

 country the same object is attained by those who cellar their 

 bees, by having a front entrance two inches deep, or by re- 

 moving the floor entirely. 



Milkweed Honey. — From a limited experience, the editor 

 of American Bee-Keeper had formed the opinion that milk- 

 weed honey was of a dark, rather reddish color, good body, 

 with pronounced but not unpleasant flavor. J. F. Eggleston! 

 who has lots of milkweed within range, is positive it can only 

 be told from white clover by its sulphur-colored cappings. 

 Editor Hill is now on the fence watching for daylight. 



Red Clover with Short Flower-Tubes is a desideratum 

 for beekeepers, and the "Societe d'Apiculture de la Haute 

 8avoie" has recommended that the State Agricultural Society 

 offer a prize of several thousand francs for a fixt variety of red 

 clover having along with desirable qualities as a forage-plant 

 flower-tubes short enough to be easily reacht by the honey- 

 bee. Whether such prize will actually be offered is another 

 story. — Revue Int. 



" Emerge " vs. " Hatch."— Editor Hill quotes Doolittle 

 in American Bee Journal, saying " Emerge, not hatch; the 

 larva3 hatch," when speaking of a queen leaving a cell ; agrees 

 that "emerge" is the better word, but says there's no lack of 

 authorities to justify the use of " hatch." among others the 

 author of " Scientific Queen-Rearing." But Editor Hill ought 

 to know that Doolittle has more age and experience than the 

 man that wrote "Scientific Queen-Rearing," hence should 

 have a better command of proper bee-terms. 



Objections to Hives Raised on Blocks.— The editor of 



Gleanings thinks that when a hive is raised on four blocks, 

 the operator will be in the way of the bees' flight, assuming 

 that they will fly out all around. Dr. Miller says one might 

 think they would do so, but as a matter of fact they don't. 

 They seem to have settled upon the front as the right place 

 for the entrance before the hive is raised, and they continue 

 their entrance at that part after the hive is blockt up. But 

 he says it's troublesome at swarming-time with dipt queens, 

 for the quepn is just as likely to come out at the side or back 

 as at the front. 



The Answers to Query 75, page 427, have secured the 

 attention of the critic of the Bee-Keepers' Review, being given 

 as an example of " careless reading of a question," and the 

 American Bee-Keeper quotes in full the query and replies, 

 saying between the lines, " You bee-keepers that are afraid to 

 write for print, just look at this. Here's the work of some of 

 the veterans in the business, and you may easily write as well 

 as this with one hand tied behind your back." Several of the 



repliers make out that a queen Is not usually fertilized till 

 after she begins to lay, and Critic Taylor lets them down softly 

 by saying it Is a curious instance of failing to catch the mean- 

 ing of a question, but aside from that there's a somewhat rad- 

 ical difference in the views held, making it appear that some 

 of them have givec the matter no attention, or else It's one of 

 those things that vary according to " locality." 



Are Clipt Queens Superseded Sooner than Others P — 



"A common notion seems to be that clipt queens are super- 

 seded sooner than others. Isn't that because you can always 

 tell when a clipt queen is superseded, and with whole wings 

 you can't easily tell whether there has been any change ? If 

 the average age of queens Is three years, then a third of the 

 queens are superseded every year. [That 'common notion,' 

 like many other common notions, is not founded on facts. 

 Queens clipt or not clipt live out their best usefulness In three 

 years, and some think in two. — Ed.1 " — Stray Straw, in 

 Gleanings. 



Working on the Two-Story Plan. — Dr. Miller says he 

 uses only one hive-story in winter, on account of convenience 

 In cellaring, but if he wintered his bees out-doors he would use 

 two stories in winter. In the spring the extra story is given 

 when convenient, usually some little time before the extra 

 room is actually needed. He takes away the extra story at the 

 time of putting on supers, as with the two stories on at that 

 time comb honey Is not a success. Editor Root, however, seems 

 to favor keeping the two stories running throughout the sea- 

 son, even for comb honey, providing the two stories are 

 crammed full of bees from bottom-board to cover. — Gleanings. 



The Essential Points in a Hive-Cover are thus given by 

 the editor of the American Bee-Keeper : 



"It must be a 'lawful' roof — one that Is in fact a pro- 

 tection from storm — a roof that will shed all the rain, all the 

 time. It should be close-fitting, in direct contact with the 

 hive all around, and yet so constructed that it may be adjusted 

 without force or jar. It should be a non-conductor of heat, 

 and afford a ready means of providing ventilation through the 

 hive when desired. As with all else about the apiary, It should 

 offer no secluded harbor to vermin. When used over sections, 

 it is of importance that an accurate bee-space be maintained, 

 hence the necessity of a rigid and substantial cover, one that 

 will not spring and warp out of shape, inviting propolis at this 

 time, and at other times tempting robbers as well. 



Starters vs. Full Sheets. — Editor Root has been paying 

 especial attention to different lots of honey from various quart- 

 ers, and he thinks that when a small starter Is used in a sec- 

 tion at least one-third of the sections will be filled out with 

 drone comb. Regarding the appearance of this he says : " I 

 have just been looking over several lots of comb honey that 

 have coma in. Quite a number of the sections are built out 

 with droue-comb, and are In every way inferior in looks and 

 whiteness to the worker. I do not see how anybody can think 

 one looks as well as the other. I askt one of our men, who did 

 not know what I was driving at, to point out those boxes that, 

 in his estimation, looked the prettier. He placed his finger on 

 the worker-cell comb every time. I askt him why. ' Why,' 

 said he, ' I do not like the looks of those great big cells.' 

 There is another thing that may have something to do with 

 the matter. Cappings of worker-comb are apt to be a little 

 thicker, and therefore whiter. The capping of drone-comb is 

 quite liable to be water-soakt or thinner. 



Cultivating the Home Market. — In a very sensible arti- 

 cle in Gleanings, R. C. Aikin explains why he prefers to sell at 

 a low price in the home market rather than to ship off his 

 honey. In the first place, he lives In a community where the 

 people are in very moderate circumstances, and if the price of 

 honey is high they can afford to use very little. That has de- 

 cided him to produce extracted rather than comb. The cus- 

 tom of the locality leading In that direction, he trades honey 

 for any article he needs. If he ships to Denver, his honey will 

 net him about 5 cents. So he sells in the home market at 6 

 cents, strictly net weight, charging extra for the package 

 when customers don't bring their own packages. He had bills 

 printed and scattered broadcast, and used a lot of honey-leaf- 

 lets. His crop of 5,500 pounds of extracted was all sold at 

 home and he had to buy more. He feels sure of regular cus- 

 tomers at 6 cents who have previously been using syrups at 3 

 cents, and many who have not previously used honey now say 

 they cannot do without it. He favors the Idea of educating 

 the people to know what to do with granulated honey so as 

 not to object to It. 



