1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



225 



upon common sense. [I have for some time 

 back held that we have too much constitu- 

 tion. It is impossible to prescribe a set of 

 limitations in advance that will cover 

 all conditions and circumstances that 

 may arise in the future. I would be 

 in favor of having- less constitution, with 

 broader powers delegated to a Board of Di- 

 rectors, of men selected for their fitness and 

 wisdom, and who shall not be elected year 

 after year, simply' because the membership 

 does not know who else to vote for. I would 

 further favor having a nominating commit- 

 tee composed of three men who are familiar 

 with the capabilities of the best men in the 

 Association. That committee should pro- 

 pose a set of names, and let the membership 

 select from that set. A Board of Directors 

 composed of wise men having broad powers 

 delegated to them could proceed along the 

 lines of common sense and expediency rath- 

 er than have to run up against an unconsti- 

 tutional limitation. But the time to talk 

 about this matter is not now, but some three 

 or four months before the next election. I 

 will endeavor to open the question if nobody 

 else does at that time. In the mean time, 

 let us make the best of circumstances, and 

 get down to business. — Ed.] 



E. F. Atwater, in American Bee-keeper, 

 gives an explanation which is new to me, 

 and is probably correct, as to the difference 

 in the observations of Editor Root and my- 

 self concerning brood being built clear to 

 the top-bar. He says: " Dr. Miller's 

 frames are filled with combs built from full 

 sheets of foundation stayed with splints; no 

 sagging there; so brood is much more likely 

 to extend to the top-bars. Root's combs are 

 built from foundation starved with horizon- 

 tal wires, consequently sagging all along 

 the top-bars, and bees dislike to rear brood 

 in cells ever so slightl}' elongated." [When 

 I first read this over it seemed like a rea- 

 sonable and probable explanation; but I 

 said I would go out into the honey-house 

 and look over some hundreds of our combs, 

 and I did. Well, I did not find one in a 

 hundred that had elongated cells; and in 

 a great majorit_v of the combs the cells with- 

 in one inch of the top-bar were exactly the 

 same size as those four or five inches down; 

 and yet by holding these combs up to the 

 light I could easily see where the brood had 

 been reared, b}' the darkened shading. In 

 most cases it was two inches down from the 

 top-bar. There is a little knack in wiring 

 horizontTlly to prevent sagging of founda- 

 tion. Wires must not be drawn too tight 

 nor too loose. If you ask me to describe 

 just how to get the right degree of tautness, 

 I can onl}' say this is a matter of feel. But, 

 " allee samee, " there is a tendency toward 

 a light-weight foundation in the brood -nest; 

 and ere many years roll by we expect to 

 use foundation as light as super, in which 

 case we shall be compelled to use splints or 

 perpendicular wires, or, better still, per- 

 pendicular wires alreadj' incorporated in 

 the foundation. The amount of brood in a 

 brood-frame depends largely on the strain 



of the queen. A little Syrian, Holy Land, 

 Cj'prian, or even black blood results in full- 

 er frames of brood, I think. I suppose 

 your bees are not as pure Italians as ours 

 are, and this may account for the partial 

 difference in the brood line. 



^rowOuy 



?J 



winter's reign at last is o'er ; 



He yields to Spring's tnild sway ; 

 Her scepter clothes the fields with green, 



And strews with flowers our waj'. 



The French have a very large apicultural 

 literature, each journal seeming to be well 

 supported, and tilled with up to- date arti- 

 cles. Without any attempt to describe 

 them all separately, I give their names and 

 addresses. If I were called on to name any 

 one of them which I should think occupies 

 the most prominent place it is Mr. Ed. 

 Bertrand's Revue Internationale, Geneva, 

 Switzerland. Mr. Bertrand's place as an 

 editor and bee-inan is such as to make him 

 well known all over Europe. He was inti- 

 mately associated with the elder Dadant 

 up to the time of the death of the latter; 

 and among the chief contributors to-day is 

 Mr. C. P. Dadant, whose writings consti- 

 tute a perennial charm for those interested 

 in bees and who can read his articles in 

 the French language. 



Here are the names of the most of the 

 other French bee journals : 



Rucher Beige, Liege, Belgium. This is a 

 splendid journal every way, both in con- 

 tents and printing. 



L' Abeille, Huy, Belgium. Very progres- 

 sive. 



Bulletin de la Societe d'' Apiculture d' Al- 

 sace-Lorraine. Mundolsheim, Alsace, Ger- 

 many. This is German and French. 



Bulletin de la Societe de la Somme. 

 Amiens, France. 



Revue Eclectique. Sainte-Soline, France. 



Gazette Apicole, Montfavet, France. 



Progres Apicole. This is edited by Mr. 

 S. Thibaut, of Mont-sur-Marchienne, Bel- 

 gium. This journal is widely' quoted, and 

 occupies a high place. 



L'Apiculteur, 28 Rue Serpente, Paris. 

 This is a very old journal — the oldest I 

 know any thing about, and a large one. 

 Before Mr. Hamet's death it was a vigorous 

 opponent of movable frames, favoring the 

 old style of hives. It seems to have lost 

 this peculiarity, and is a thoroughly good 

 journal. 



If any of our readers can make use of a 

 bee journal in Danish, Dutch, or Bohemian 

 I should be glad to hear from them. 



