794 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



December 15, 



position in which nature has never placed them ; and In their 

 inexperience it is not surprising they should make mistaljes. 

 Henry W. Brice, who has devoted many years to queen-rear- 

 ing, saysin the British Bee Journal that he has proved beyond 

 a doubt that if the bees are left to work their own sweet will 

 in a case of deprivation of their queen, the successor will — 

 saving accidents— be a queen of inferior quality. 



Number of Worker-Cells to the Square Inch.— E. G. 



Money, In Southland Queen, pokes fun at L. Stachelhausen 

 for carefully showing how to figure the exact number of cells 

 to the square inch, intimating that the amount of honey in a 

 square inch will be the same, no matter what the size of cell. 

 Mr. Stachelhausen replies that the amount of bees reared will 

 not be the same. It is a fact that for many years 50 worker- 

 cells were counted to the square inch, just because no one 

 took the pains to figure out carefully that about 57 cells 

 would be in a square inch of comb, counting both sides. This 

 would make a difference of about 1,000 in the number of 

 brood that could be reared in a frame. It is a good thing to 

 be somewhat exact in our knowledge. 



Buckweed of South Africa.—" The peculiarity of this 

 plant is that it only flowers at intervals of seven years, or 

 thereabouts. Its scientific name, for which I am indebted to 

 a botanist friend, is Ecteinnnthus orlganoides, order Acan- 

 thacea, and it grows in the bush along the coast, and, under 

 ordinary circumstances, serves as food for buck and cattle, 

 and hence, no doubt, its name. The flower somewhat resem- 

 bles the nettle in shape, and is white toucht with purple, and 

 Is so plentiful that the brush has the appearance of being 



covered with a slight fall of snow, extending for several hun- 

 dred miles. The pollen is quite white ; the bees, catching it 

 in the head and thorax, pour in as white as millers, and the 

 cappings of sections are very fine. The plant dies off com- 

 pletely after flowering, coming up the following spring as 

 quite a small weed, and gradually enlarging until the seventh 

 year, when it is a good-sized shrub, when the flowers again 

 appear. The honey is of excellent quality, being a fine am- 

 ber, very clear and thick."— British Bee Journal. 



Small Hives. — While Mr. Dadant Is singing the praises 

 of large hives in Gleanings, Mr. Djolittle comes to the de- 

 fence of small hives in the same paper. The latter uses a 

 Gallup hive with nine frames, these nine having the capacity 

 of 6% Langstroth frames. With these he secured each year 

 between 1872 and 1883 from each colony, spring count, an 

 average of nearly 100 pounds of comb honey, a record that 

 he thinks was never equaled by any of the large-hive advo- 

 cates. While it takes more labor with the small hives, the 

 extra yield pays well for it. He had no more swarming than 

 with 10-frame Langstroth hives, and there was no material 

 difference in the size of the swarms. Sections are put on as 

 soon as any honey comes in from the field, and the combs are 

 manipulated till the whole nine are solid full of brood and 

 pollen. Thus the bestqueen is entertained to her full capacity, 

 and no larger colonies could be obtained with 100 Langstroth 

 frames. The editor suggests that locality makes a difference 

 as to mangement, and quotes S. A. Niver, 17 miles distant 

 from Doolittle, as saying, " Doolittle's methods may be all 

 right for his locality, but they would not answer at all in this 

 vicinity." 



TO BE GIVEN to OUK READERS 



$150.00 IN PRIZl 



FOR GUESSING THE MUMBER OF DOTS BELOWZ 



To tHose 

 Wlio are Paid Up 



To January i, 1899, 

 or beyond. 



As an offer to you, until 



B Jan. 1, IM99. you may pay 



one year in advance on your 



subscription (send $1.00). 



This will entitle each one of 



you to guess on the number 



of dots in the diagram, and 



thus compete lor the $150. 



New pubscribers for 1899 



: can also come in on this 



I offer, by sending the full 



subscription price for 1899— 



To lHose who 

 Are ill Arrears. 



As an offer to you until 

 Jan. 1, 1899, you may pay us 

 what you owe ou your buck 

 subscription, and add $l.ot) 

 for next year C1899L This 

 will entitle you to guess on 

 the number of dots in the 

 Puzzle Diagram and com- 

 pete for the $150.00. 



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Copyrighted 



In these days of Gifts and Bargains there is no reason why a bee-paper shouldn't be as liberal as other concerns, and 

 the American Bee Journal has determined to show that it means just what it says. We are going to step right to the front 

 with the biggest and best offer that we can make our subscribers. It means that we will give outright to those guessing the 

 number of dots on the above diagram (as above noted) $150 in cash and other prizes. 



THE $150.00 WILL BE DIVIDED AS FOLLOWS : 



To the one guessing the exact, or nearest the exact, number of dots in the above diagram, -^ve 'will give S50. 



To the one making the next best guess we will give §25.00; to the next, §10.00; to the next, §5.U0. And to the next 60 

 we will give each a Globe Bee-Veil, valued at §1.00. In case two or more guesses are exactly the same, we would 

 divide the cash prizes between or among them. The names of the winners will be publisht in the Bee Journal, and receive 

 their prizes, as soon after Jan. 1, 1899, as they can be determined. 



RemembGr, the time Expires Jan. 1, 18QQ. 



