26 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1 



part of bee inspection. The dilficult part 

 lies in handling the bee-keeper, and, without 

 antagonizing him, get him to comply with 

 the law because he sees the advantage it 

 brings him in so doing. 



The practice of carrying an instrument 

 with which to test the dead brood is not a 

 good one. Such an instrument in the hands 

 of an ordinary man is bound to spread in- 

 fection. The best method is to carry a pock- 

 etful of wooden toothpicks, and, after testing 

 a diseased cell, either push the toothpick into 

 the comb to mark the spot, or drop it down 

 the mouth of the smoker and dispose of it. 

 "1 do not yet know of one single inspector," 

 said Mr. Rankin, "who is in the work for the 

 money he is getting out of it. They have the 

 good of the industry at heart, to the very 

 last man. Some of them make mistakes, but 

 they all deserve the hearty support of every 

 bee-keeper and every journal. No one has 

 a right to criticise them publicly. If he is 

 incompetent, the law provides for his remov- 

 al from office, and this should be done; but 

 to publish criticisms on the mistakes of an 

 inspector is to harm the industry willfully." 



Mr. L. H. Scholl gave a talk on inspection 

 in Texas and the methods employed. Shak- 

 ing has not pi'oved satisfactory, and the line 

 they now work on is to sulphur the diseased 

 colony at the entrance with a smoker and 

 then burn the infected combs. Mr. Smith, 

 inspector for Illinois, described his method 

 of treatment which was, briefly, that of shak- 

 ing once on starters of foundation, being care- 

 ful not to allow any robbing or dripping of 

 honey. He stated that, in nine out of every 

 ten yards treated, he had been successful. 



Mr. George W. York, editor of the Amer- 

 ican Bee Journal, then offered a motion that 

 a telegram of thanks be sent to Dr. L. O. 

 Howard, Chief of the Bureau of Entomology, 

 as an expression of gratitude felt by the In- 

 spectors of the United States for the assistance 

 of his Bureau in the investigation of bee dis- 

 eases. The motion was unanimously carried. 



Dr. Phillips summed up the meeting in a 

 few very interesting and instructive remarks. 

 He stated that he thought it had been clearly 

 demonstrated that no one treatment could 

 be successful in all localities and under all 

 circumstances. The treatment must be adapt- 

 ed to the locality and the surrounding con- 

 ditions. 



All who were privileged to attend the meet- 

 ing felt that it was a day most profitably 

 spent, and that such meetings should con- 

 tinue. Bee inspection must become a science, 

 and the contact of one inspector with anoth- 

 er, comparing methods and conditions, can 

 not but broaden him and better fit him for 

 one of the most important of all branches of 

 apicultural work. J. M. R. 



Chico, Cal. 



[The intention of those in charge of this 

 meeting was, I believe, to start a permanent 

 organization of bee inspectors who should 

 draw up a constitution, and hold regular 

 meetings. The good resulting from such can 

 hardly be estimated. Gleanings offers its 

 columns for the use of the organization. — Ed.] 



HOW • TO CONVERT A VENTILATED 



COVER INTO A CHAFF-PACKED 



COVER. 



BY L. W. DAKBY. 



The ventilated gable cover, having only a 

 |-inch board over the bees, with cold air 

 passing through, is not warm enough in win- 

 ter; the space between upper and lower 

 boards also affords ideal homes for spiders 

 which prey upon the bee. These objections 

 can be easily overcome by filling in the space 

 with chaff or other packing. When the cov- 



ers are already nailed together it is a prob- 

 lem to get the chaff into them through the 

 opening at the sides. I managed mine in the 

 following way: First, nail a narrow strip of 

 wood over the opening on one side. Then 

 with a little trough made to fit the mouth of 

 the cover, proceed to sift in the chaff; and 

 as it chokes in the narrow opening, press it 

 through with a thin board. A, about 24X6X1 

 inch. When one half is full, slide the trough 

 along and fill the other partition. Nail a 

 strip of wood over the opening, and the op- 

 eration is complete. 

 Hahndorf, South Australia. 



[The plan here shown would be perfectly 

 feasible, and it would make the cover warm- 

 er in winter, no doubt. Whether it would 

 be any better or worse in summer I could 

 not say. — Ed.] 



