1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



89 



/VjTjoi^g \\)€ Bee-Papers 



Conducted bj- " GI.EA2VER. 



A " BEE-SPACE" CONSIDERED. 



"A ?8 inch space is not a bee-space. Just half that room 

 is a bee-space. When more than 3^ 16 of an inch space is 

 allowed, then the bees will utilize the room for drones or what 

 is called brace-combs." — Apiculturist. 



For a long time % was the orthodox thing, then it got 

 worked down to U, and the " AB C of Bee-Culture" called it a 

 scant }-4, but this is the 6rst time I remember to have seen it 

 called 3/16. If bees will not plug propolis into 3/16, then 

 Alley's space is best. 



SEALED COVERS DEFENDED. 



E. France comes to the defense of sealed covers, in Glean- 

 ings. He has used them successfully for 30 years. Recovers 

 the hive with an inch board, then puts over that straw i to 

 inches deep in the upper chamber, throwing away the straw 

 in spring. 



EIGHT OR TEN FRAME HIVES — WHICH? 



The discussion as to size of hives doesn't seem settled. 

 E. France says in Gleanings that he's on the fence. He runs 

 his bees in hives three stories high, some of them having 2-4 

 frames, and some of them 27. He hardly knows which he 

 likes best. He keeps the lowest story tilled with brood, 

 extracts from the upper two, and if he finds brood above he 

 puts it down, or uses it to make new colonies. 



BEE-KEEPING IN CUBA. 



200 to 500 colonies can be kept in one location ; one man 

 can manage TOO or 800 colonies by having an assistant 

 during extracting time ; but buyers pay only 20 to 50 cents a 

 gallon for honey, or 2 to 5 cents a pound. So says Fred L. 

 Craycraft in Gleanings. 



THE EUCALYPTUS OF CALIFORNIA. 



Prof. Cook is quite enthusiastic in Gleanings over a tree 

 in California that he has found his bees at work upon during 

 the many bright warm days of October, November and Decem- 

 ber. It is Eucalyptus longifoUa, has very showy and beautiful 

 flowers that are creamy white, and continues in bloom ten 

 weeks. Another eucalyptus, probably E. rostrata, is said to 

 be very fatal to bees, Mr. L. L. Pond having taken gallons of 

 dead bees from beneath the blooming trees. 



SCOTT'S super LIFTER. 



Geo. G. Scott's arrangement for raising supers (see page 

 34) will work nicely with little power, but why doesn't he go on 

 and finish up telling what is to be done? For with the super 

 raised above the hive we are still to do all the work that we 

 would have to do without the lifter. What's the rest of his 

 plan ? On the whole, isn't it lietter to have something lighter 

 than a super with 56 sections? And yet I know that some 

 good crops of honey have been harvested with those same 

 seven wide frames, of eight sections each. 



BEE-PARALYSIS AND THE DRUG CURE. 



Adrian Getaz treats the matter (see page 34) as though 

 quite familiar with his subject, and leaves it in rather a hope- 

 less condition, sinless it be that he thinks some drug maybe 

 efficacious to cure both paralysis and foul brood. Good 

 authorities have said that it is useless to look to drugs, but 

 cures from drugs have been reported, and if enough of them 

 come well authenticated, we may still put some trust in them_ 



Mr. Getaz objects to formic acid, because bees always 

 have it, " and if it was such a good cure bees never would be 

 sick." But the very fact that it's a staple article with bees is 

 used an argument by others that it's good for foul brood, and 

 that there may be a shortage of the supply, and then comes 

 disease, when the bee-keeper can set things to rights by 

 making good the deficiency. 



.STOPPING FURTHER SWARMING. 



Jas. Poindexter's essay (on page 36) is a model essay, 

 packed and compact. I'm sure a good many will want him to 

 answer the following questions: 



How many cases have you treated in the way you describe 

 after the bees have swarmed ? What per cent, swarmed again 

 after the treatment? What per cent, killed the old queen 

 after her release, and sent out a swarm with a young queen ? 



Conductetl ;>v " linU-MASTER." 



The Ontario Bce-Kecpers' Convention. 



The Ontario Bee-Keepers' Association held its annual 

 meeting in Stratford, Jan. 22, 23 and 24. A large attend- 

 ance had been expected, but, owing to stormy weather, many 

 were prevented from coming who had fully intended being 

 there. Those present, however, entered heartily into the 

 spirit of the occasion, and the proceedings were full of in- 

 terest. 



The retiring President, Mr. A. Pickett, of Nassagaweya, 

 in his opening address, reviewed the past honey season, which, 

 owing to great heat and prolonged drouth, had not been a 

 prosperous one. On the whole, not more than half a crop had 

 been obtained. Feeling reference was made to the lamented 

 death of Mr. S. Cornell, of Lindsay, the able Secretary of the 

 Association. Much benefit had been reaped by the honey in- 

 dustry from Provincial legislation, especially the Foul Brood 

 and Spraying laws. Regret was expressed at the rejection by 

 the Dominion Senate of the Pure Honey Bill. There had been 

 much dissatisfaction at the non-receipt of the prizes won by 

 Ontario bee-keepers at the Chicago World's Fair, but the as- 

 surance had been given that they would not be delayed much 

 longer. 



CONVENTIONS — MAKING THEM MORE SUCCESSFUL. 



A. W. Sherrington, of Walkerton, read an essay on "Con- 

 ventions, and How to Make Them More Successful." He ad- 

 vocated bringing new men to the front and infusing fresh life 

 into the proceedings. A discussion on the essay resulted in a 

 resolution to appoint a committee on programme, and to make 

 earlier arrangements. 



SPRAY'ING FRUIT-TREES. 



Prof. Fletcher, of the Ottawa Experimental Farm, spoke 

 on the subject of spraying fruit-trees. The results of his ex- 

 periments had proved that bees are liable to be poisoned if 

 fruit-trees are sprayed with arsenical compounds while in 

 bloom ; that the danger is increased if the weather is propi- 

 tious for activity on the part of the bees ; and that spraying 

 is no benefit to the fruit-trees until after the bloom falls. The 

 spraying law, now in force in Ontario, is therefore in the in- 

 terest both of bees and fruit. 



FOUL BROOD — FUTURE OF BEE-KEEPING. 



Mr. Wm. McEvoy, Foul Brood Inspector, gave a report of 

 his year's work. He was glad to say that the disease had 

 almost wholly disappeared in many localities where it form- 

 erly prevailed, but it was breaking out in other places, and 

 needed a constant exercise of vigilance. 



Mr. W. Z. Hutchinson, of Flint, Mich., read an essay en- 

 titled : " Will the future of bee-keeping be different from the 

 past?" He held that it would. It would not, so much in the 

 hands of specialists, many of whom had found it dilBcult to 

 make a living out of bee-keeping alone, owing to a succession 

 of unfavorable seasons. It was likely to become more of a 

 side-issue and to be combined with other branches of rural 

 industry. In the discussion that followed, the opinion seemed 

 to prevail that the outlook for Canadian bee-keepers was 

 brighter than that in the United States, owing to there being 

 less trouble in this country from glucose adulteration. 



DIFFICULTIES IN BEE-KEEPING. 



A long and well-sustained discussion sprung up on an es- 

 say by Mr. J. K. Darling, entitled, " Some Difficulties." There 

 were winter losses to contend with ; spring dwindling; when 

 bees were taken out of the cellar there was apt to be a mix-up 

 and much confusion ; some hives got crowded, others were de- 

 populated. There was balling of the queens, and when in- 

 crease was wanted, hives were queenless. Then when the 

 honey-flow came, it was difficult to make the bees go to work 

 in the upper stories. These and other difficulties opened up 

 a wide field for discussion, embracing cellar and out-door win- 

 tering, the best way of putting out bees in spring that had 

 been cellar-wintered, and the advisability of packing as a pro- 

 tection against backward spring weather. Great stress was 

 laid by some on putting bees wintered in the cellar on the 

 same stands occupied by them the previous season, to prevent 

 the mixing and confusion described by Mr. Darling. Out-door 

 wintering was advised to prevent spring dwindling and mix- 

 ing of colonies. Mr. Pettit and others were strong in advocacy 



