344 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



May 30, 



expect too much at the beginning. The brood and store 

 chamber must first be filled, then it becomes a bank, from 

 which you can draw surplus year after year, and your dividend 

 will not be diminished. 



Some one has objected to so much honey being in the 

 brood-chamber. All the better. This surplus that must ac- 

 cumulate in the outside combs of these large brood-chambers 

 is priceless capital ; and is to the bee-keeper what life-boats 

 are to the sailor. It will bring fruit a hundred-fold. 



On June 2, 1S93, by reference to my scale hive record, 

 one of these large colonies gathered 22 pounds from poplar. 

 I think I have one of the best localities in the world — a vast 

 region of poplar and basswood, among the mountains of west- 

 ern North Carolina: a description of which I will give later. 



Dark Ridge, N. C. 



Golden Oueeas — Comb Foundation. 



BY EDWIN BEVINS. 



After protesting a good many times, and with consider- 

 able emphasis, that I never, never would do it, I have been, 

 and gone, and done it. I have just ordered from the South 

 one of those golden queens which it is said the St. Joseph con- 

 vention sat down upon. The pressure didn't seem to press 

 the life out of them quite, and it is probable that they will do 

 business at the old stand for a season or two yet. 



I have recently been reading a part of the discussion 

 that has been going on about these yellow bees as compared 

 with the 3-banded or leather-colored bees. The writers who 

 have a preference for leather-colored queens seem to be in the 

 majority, and also to have the best of the argument. It may 

 be some satisfaction to them to know that they have the 

 President of the United States on their side. Quigley and 

 some others have been crying out that they burnt their fingers 

 with the golden bees, but their burns didn't hurt me, and I 

 am not going to be satisfied until I burn mine, or find out 

 whether there is anything scorching about them or not. 



I am half sorry that I did not send to Doolittle instead of 

 sending South. Next spring, if I live until then, and am able 

 to handle bees, I shall send to him for a queen or two, 

 to enable him to buy a hat for the chap who does the 

 talking for him in the American Bee Journal. He is such a : 

 handsome-visaged, well-proportioned fellow, that it seems to 

 me to be a shame that Doolittle does not get him some good 

 clothes ! He has, too, such a persuasive, expectant look and 

 attitude that I believe it will be impossible for me to resist his 

 appeals for more than another year. 



Somehow, Mr. Editor, I have been saying things that 1 

 did not start out to say at all. What I intended to say is, 

 that I have lately received samples of foundation from differ- 

 ent makers. Some of these samples have the natural odor of 

 beeswax. Other samples, lighter in color, have this odor con- 

 spicuously absent. I would like to have your corps of experts 

 tell me what makes the difference in odor and color, and also 

 which kind each one would prefer for his or her individual 

 use. Leon, Iowa, April 10. 



Frames or Hives— Which Shall We Handle ? 



BY WM. S. BARCLAY'. 



In these days of progress in bee-keeping, it has been fre- 

 quently suggested that instead of handling frames singly, as 

 has been the usual manner of manipulating our colonies, that 

 all this inconvenience can be avoided, and much valuable time 

 saved in the apiary, by simply handling the hives which con- 

 tain the frames holding the bees of the colony to be operated 

 upon. 

 * Reading up the many plausible reasons given for this 



radical change in our labor, we find many things which at a 

 casual glance would appear quite attractive. It is not neces- 

 sary here to again go over the ground which has already been 

 well traveled by those who have an interest in such hives as 

 can be handled in such manner as will indeed save much labor, 

 but we would suggest that a more prudent course would be to 

 meet the question half way ; by this we mean that we can use 

 such hives as will permit us to handle the hive when neces- 

 sary, and at the same time we can take out any frame we 

 think it necessary to examine. 



For many years past I have advocated the use of hives 

 which contained no observing glass in any part of the hive. 

 Almost any expert bee-keeper will tell you that he can almost 

 always tell when anything is wrong within the hive, by a close 

 inspection of the entrance as the bees pass in and out of the 



hive. He may not be able to explain this fact so plainly to 

 you that you will understand it, but he has seen enough to 

 arouse his suspicions, and he then inspects the colony, frame 

 by frame, and thus finds out just what is the matter. Now, 

 did his hive have a back or side glass, it might look so favor- 

 able within that he would not take the trouble to inspect the 

 colony, comb by comb, and would thus fail to find out any- 

 thing wrong until the trouble had gone so far that it was be- 

 yond remedy. 



To many of our young bee-keepers, the assertion that any 

 trouble within will be suspected by a careful look at the en- 

 trance, may be very mysterious, and yet if they will talk to 

 old and expert bee-keepers, they will certainly justify me in 

 the position I have taken. 



Another matter in relation to handling hives instead of 

 frames, if I understand it properly, we will have to give up 

 our suspended frame. I mean the frame which hangs from 

 the rebate, as in the use of the "Langstroth system." This 

 I should be very loth to do, but would rather, in case I found 

 it necessary to invert a frame for any purpose whatever. I 

 can easily construct a suspended frame in such a manner that 

 I can invert the fram.^s, or combs of a full colony, in less than 

 half an hour, and still have a lighter, but much stronger, 

 frame than the one which has only a single triangular top-bar, 

 and with but little if any additional cost ; and this course will 

 avoid the handling of a heavy colony of bees at a time when it 

 is not convenient so to do. 



But as this article has already grown too long, and as the 

 suggestion of this frame opens a new question, which I may 

 explain in the near future, I will draw it to a close. 



Beaver, Pa. 



Report of the Utah Convention. 



The Utah Bee-Keepers' Association met in Salt Lake City, 

 on April 4, 1895, with Pres. Lovesy in the chair. The Sec- 

 retary's report was read aud approved. 



The committee to confer with the railway authorities re- 

 ported, aud their work was approved, and the committee con- 

 tinued until the next meeting. 



Xhe Address of the President. 



Pres. Lovesy's address followed. He counseled a more 

 thorough organization, to be strengthened and extended 

 throughout the Territory. " United we stand, divided we fall ;" 

 hence it is essential as bee-keepers that we should unite and 

 organize for self-preservation. 



DISPOSING OF THE HONEY' CROP. 



Referring to markets, and disposing of the honey crop, 

 he said bee-keepers should adopt some practical method for 

 collecting and disposing of the product of the honey-bee. 

 Something of this kind appears to be the only course left to 

 prevent the utter demoralization of our home market. He 

 also said that transportation unfair charges, and excessive or 

 discriminating rates have been a cause of much complaint in 

 our Territory. This matter should be agitated until fair or 

 reasonable rates are secured. 



EFFECT OF THE FOUL BROOD LAW. 



He asked whether the foul brood law filled the conditions 

 necessary for the protection of the bees. If not, it should be 

 altered or amended so as to make it a benefit, or at least a 

 protection for the bees and bee-keepers. The law in its pres- 

 ent form seemed more of an annoyan;:e than a benefit to bee- 

 keepers. He thought the law should be amended, not to make 

 the bee-industry profitable, but as a protection against con- 

 tagious disease. 



THE SPRAYING OF FRUIi'-BLOSSOMS. 



With reference to bees and fruit-tree spraying in the blos- 

 som, he said this was a subject that every bee-keeper should 

 bo interested in, as the very existence of the bees is threatened 

 by spraying the bloom. Even the fruit-growers themselves 

 should recognize the fact that they often suffer greater loss 

 than the bee-keepers, as many fruits, plants, seeds, etc., can- 

 not be grown profitably without the bees fertilizing them. 

 Many seeds, even if grown without fertilization, if sown, they 

 will not grow and produce their kind. It should be apparent 

 to all that a fraternal feeling should exist between the bee- 

 keepers and fruit-growers, that the two industries should 

 harmonize for the general good. 



The following letter from Prof. A. J. Cook, the originator 

 of the spraying system for fruit-trees, who was employed by 

 the government to write ufk the subject in the United States 



