1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



481 



Bee-keepers, if you fail to take in a trip 

 of this kind (and it is the opportunity of a 

 lifetime) you will be niissinf;;- one of life's 

 greatest pleasures. 



The round trip from Chicago is $50.00. 

 Rates in the tourist sleeper will be very 

 low. I do not remember just now what 

 they are; but particulars can be obtained, 

 I think, by applying- to Sec'y G. W. York, 

 144 Erie St., Chicago. 



NKW MEN ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF 

 THE NATIONAL. 



Mr. W. a. Selser, of Philadelphia, Pa., 

 the expert honey analyist and chemist, and 

 Mr. Udo Toepperwein, of San Antonio, Tex- 

 as, one of the leading bee-keepers of that 

 section, have been appointed on the Board 

 of Directors of the National Bee-keepers' 

 Association, to fill the vacancy caused by 

 the death of T. G. Newman and the resig- 

 nation of A. I. Root. No better men could 

 have been selected. A. I. Root has felt for 

 some time that younger men, more in touch 

 with the bees, and more interested in the 

 work of the Association, should be on the 

 Board; and with that end in view he sent 

 in his resignation, to take effect as soon as 

 his successor should be appointed. 



THE DROUTH IN THE EAST. 



There has been a protracted drouth in 

 some sections of the East — notably in New 

 York and New England. The following 

 letter from a correspondent in New York 

 will explain itself: 



Mr. E. R. Root: — This is our 45th day without rain — 

 the longest rainless period since 1791. Clear and cold 

 to-day. May 2i>. Honej' prospects, none. Clover is all 

 dried up. and bees barely living ; soil too dry to pre- 

 pare for buckwheat. A few scattering swarms dur- 

 ing fruit-bloom. Unless rain comes soon we must feed 

 or move. J. D. Bixbv. 



Guilderland Center, N. Y. 



The condition of Mr. Bixby's locality 

 seems to be more severe than in most places; 

 but at all events, the rain has held off 

 west as well as east for such a length of 

 time that the amount of clover honey will 

 probably be cut down very considerabl}-. 

 But the drouth is broken now, east as well 

 as west. The fearful storms that have pre- 

 vailed in the West seem to be working east- 

 ward: and if it is not too late there will 

 be a fair crop of clover honey in some local- 

 ities. Clover has not been injured in Ohio. 



"parthenogenesis" and its unsolved 



PROBLEMS under SCIENTIFIC INVES- 

 TIGATION AT MEDINA. 



The Home of the Honej'-bees is especial- 

 ly favored in having with us Mr. E. F. 

 Phillips, of the University of Pennsylva- 

 nia, a thoroughly trained student in zo- 

 ology, to work out a little more fullj' the 

 problem of parthenogenesis, for there are 

 still some unsolved points about it. 



He has studied the subject of partheno- 

 genesis more thoroughly in relation to oth- 

 er insects, and bees in particular, than 



perhaps anj' other man in the country. He 

 comes highly recommended, bringing with 

 him the best apparatus that the University 

 affords, for pursuing his scientific investi- 

 gations. We, in turn, have placed at his 

 disposal bees, nuclei, observatory hives, 

 and told our men to give him every assist- 

 ance possible. He is taking nothing for 

 granted,' but takes a nucleus hive and sits 

 down and watches the bees hours at a time. 

 That you may know a little more about 

 him, and something of the importance of his 

 work, I am placing before you an extract 

 from a letter from Dr. E. G. Conklin, 

 Professor of Zoology in the University of 

 Pennsylvania. He writes: 



Air. E. R. Root: — Permit me to recommend to your 

 favor Mr. K. F. Phillips, one of my graduate students, 

 and the holder of ovir Fellowship in Biology for the 

 coming year. Mr. Phillips has undertaken, at my 

 suggestion, to go over the whole subject of partheno- 

 genesis in the honey-bee in the light of new theories 

 and observations, eliminating, if possible, certain 

 sources of error which are found in the works of the 

 older students of this subject, and considering many 

 features of the problem from new points of view. Mr. 

 Phillips is a clear-headed, well-trained man, and I 

 consider it highly probable that his work will yield 

 valuable results He proposes to offer this work, if it 

 should result favorably, as his Ph. D. Thesis, in which 

 case it will be published in full. 



Philadelphia, April 20. E. G. Conklin. 



Mr. Phillips is desirous of securing some 

 drone-laying queens; but fertile workers 

 caught in the act would be regarded by him 

 as a special prize. In order to work out 

 this problem of parthenogensis he needs 

 material. While he is drawing on our 400 

 or 500 colonies, yet he needs more than our 

 bees at present supply. Fertile workers, 

 virgin queens that lay drone eggs, drone- 

 laying queens — any thing in this line — will 

 be most thankfully received. Any of our 

 readers who have any thing of this nature 

 will please report to me immediately, and 

 I will let you know whether it is something 

 he can use in his scientific investierations. 



MOVING BEES TO OUR OUTYARDS. 



As many of our readers know, we have 

 something like 1000 colonies, all told, 500 of 

 which are in Cuba, and 500 in and about 

 Medina. To keep them secure from the 

 depredations of thieves or miscreants bent on 

 mischief, the bees at our outyards are 

 hauled home in the fall. Early in the 

 spring or during the early part of apple- 

 bloom thej' are taken back. The illustra- 

 tion on page 495 shows one of our loads of 

 bees going to the Harrington yard, about 

 lf4 miles directly south of the home yards, 

 where it will be run primarily for honey 

 and for testing certain of our breeders for 

 honey. Those queens that show up the 

 best out of our selected stock will be reserv- 

 ed for the next season for queen-mothers 

 for the great bulk of our queens. Last 

 year one breeder having only a nucleus to 

 start with filled four stories of extracting- 

 combs with honey and bees. Considering 

 the start that she had, she so far outstrip- 

 ped the other colonies that I marked on the 

 hive-cover, "S50 queen. E. R. R. says do 

 not sell." 



