1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



333 



apiaries at Jenkintown, near Philadelphia. 

 G. M. Doolittle is represented by two arti- 

 cles. We highly appreciate the compliment 

 intended, and hope our young contemporary 

 will long live to champion scientific bee-keep- 

 ing in Denmark. The Danes have the repu- 

 tation of leading the world in dairy matters, 

 and we do not doubt they will soon excel in 

 honey-production. 



DENATURED ALCOHOL FROM THE GLUCOSE 

 FACTORIES. 



It is announced on pretty good authority 

 that something like 8000 barrels of denatured 

 alcohol were shipped to New York from Pe- 

 oria The cost price of the product is said 

 to be 31 cents per gallon, f. o. b. factoiy or 

 still. The price asKed is 37 cents in New 

 York The fact that the product comes 

 from Peoria, where the big glucose-factories 

 are located, would seem to indicate that the 

 glucose people are converting their starch, 

 not into glucose, but into alcohol. If this is 

 true, this is a good piece of news. 



While the general subject of alcohol and 

 its production has no particular interest for 

 the bee-keeper, yet we are immensely inter- 

 ested when the product that has been for- 

 merly a serious competitor to honey by rea- 

 son of its cheapness is converted into some- 

 thing else really useful. Verily the day is 

 coming when our swords will be turned into 

 pruning-hooks and plowshares. 



FOUL-BROOD LEGISLATION FOR CONNECTI- 

 CUT. 



Two bills may possibly be presented to the 

 Connecticut legislature for enactment this 

 winter, one of which, it appears to us, is very 

 defective. Among other things it provides 

 that "the inspector shall give two days' no- 

 tice, and is required to get written permis- 

 sion before proceeding with inspection." 

 We talked with a number of prominent bee- 

 keepers in regard to the practical working 

 of this section, among them Dr. E. F. Phil- 

 lips, of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture, and Mr. Chas. Stewart, of York 

 State, one of the best bee-inspectors in the 

 United States. They all stated it would be 

 very difficult to carry out this provision, and 

 that, moreover, it might defeat very largely 

 the object of the law, for • the reason that 

 some bee-keepers, if given notice of this kind, 

 might remove certain diseased colonies, leav- 

 ing the inspector to see only those that were 

 healthy, allowing such bee-keeper a clean bill 

 of health when, of course, he had no right 

 to have it. Again, if an inspector happened to 

 arrive at a bee-yard ahead of time his hands 

 would be tied until the time limit had ex- 

 pired. 



Another section provides that no bees can 

 be destroyed without the payment of one- 

 half their value by the inspector. This will 

 bring up the complication of what the bees 

 are worth, and, furthermore, might entail a 

 large cost on the State. This of itself might 

 defeat the passage of the bill, as we happen 

 to know how the average law-maker looks at 



anything that will pull very seriously on the 

 State treasury. 



Mr. Stephen J. Griffen, of Bridgeport, Ct., 

 who, by the way, is very much intei'ested in 

 getting a good law, believes that such pro- 

 visions would "so hamper the inspector" 

 that he will be "unable to cure foul brood." 

 He has offered another bill (without these 

 provisions) that, in our opinion, is most ex- 

 cellent. It appears to be founded on the 

 New York and Wisconsin laws, with some 

 additional provisions that the York State 

 people will probably incorporate in their 

 own law later on. 



Mr. Griffen is very anxious to hear from 

 the bee-keepers of his State, especially those 

 who would be willing to write to their legis- 

 lators, or, better, go down to Hartford at 

 the proper time and work for some good bill. 

 It would be very unfortunate to have two 

 bills presented, and the bee-keepers of Con- 

 necticut should agree on one or the other, 

 and have only one offered. Copies of Mr. 

 Griffen's proposed law can be obtained of 

 him direct. 



THE BEES OF WHITE AFRICA. 



U Apiculhire Nouvellc for January 1.'5 has 

 a very interesting article relative to bee-keep- 

 ing among the Kabyles, a race of white Af- 

 ricans conquered by the French in the coui'se 

 of their acqiiisition of the greater part of 

 Northern Africa. These primitive people 

 have two distinct species of bees which they 

 cultivate in a domestic state — the common 

 bee with which we are all familiar, and 

 another species much smallex', and which 

 they tex'm the "wasp bee," from its color, 

 and possibly, also, from its irascible temper, 

 which causes all who have to do with it to 

 be careful how they approach their hives. 

 This, probably, is the Aj^h Adansonii of the 

 entomologists. It is one of the most beauti- 

 ful of all our honey-bees. 



The principal source of good honey with 

 the Kabyles is the African sulla clover 

 ( Hedysamm Jfexuosum), a very valuable per- 

 ennial clover on the alfalfa order. 



The bees are kept in long cylinders, or 

 pipes, nearly live feet long, and the combs 

 are cut out from time to time. There is a 

 marked difference between the honey pro- 

 duced by the two species of bees. 



The article was prepared from a book writ- 

 ten by Mr. Hanoteaux, on the Kabyles and 

 their customs. It is a pity we can not secure 

 further information about these bees, from 

 the pen of an expert bee-keeper. 



PRICES AS A RESULT OF THE PURE-FOOD 

 LAW. 



Mr. Louis Scholl, in the American Bee 

 Journal, gives it as his opinion that it is not 

 the pure-food law which has produced what 

 he terms higli prices. He says it is the de- 

 mand stimulated by a short crop. But what 

 created the demand ? We have had short 

 crops before, but the price did not rise on 

 that account. It does not seem to us the 

 price of honey is high; on the contrary, it is 

 far below the European standard. The peo- 



