ML CULTURE 



Published by The A. 1. Root Company, Medina. Ohio 



E. R. Root, Editor A. L. Boyden, Advertising Mgr 



H. H. Root, Asst. Ed. J. T. Calvert, Business Mgr 



A. I. Root, Editor of Home Department 



Vol. XXXV. 



AUGUST 1, 1907. 



No. 15. 



Minute details are given by Dr. Bruen- 

 nich, Schweiz. Bztg., 221, of a case in which 

 there seems no possibility of mistake where- 

 in larvte were removed from Doolittle cups 

 and put in cells of the bees' own construc- 

 tion. 



Referring to large entrances, page 970, I 

 may say that my entrances are two inches 

 deep, and there is no trouble about the front 

 row of sections being well finished. And I 

 don't have any winter case over the super 

 either. 



Dr. Bruennich says [Bienen Valcr, 12) it 

 is better to breed from colonies which super- 

 sede queens in their third year, while still 

 young and vigorous, than from colonies 

 whose queens continue a year longer, but 

 doing poor work in the last year. 



Mr. Editor, please tell us how Mr. Alex- 

 ander gets two or more queens to work to- 

 gether in the same brood-chamber. [Mr. 

 Alexander promised to write this matter up 

 fully after he had had one more season to 

 test it. We may reasonably hope that by 

 fall he will tell us more of his findings. — Ed.] 



Possibly the common expression, when 

 two queens, mother and daughter, are found 

 together, that they a?'e laying side by side, is 

 not true as often as we think. Devauchelle 

 {Apiculteur, 144), reports a case in which 

 were only eggs and a few hatching drones, 

 showing that the old queen had ceased lay- 

 ing 21 to 24 days previously. 



E. W. Alexander has made a good job in 

 showing up the advantages extracted honey 

 has over comb honey. Surely he is wise to 

 extract if he can get three times as much ex- 

 tracted as comb. How many can say the 



same ? Might it not be added that a sufficient 

 reason for his preferring extracted is 'his 

 great buckwheat yield? 



Prof. Cook, p. 955, referring to autumn 

 foliage, says hard maple is a close rival to 

 soft maple. Here it is just the oth^r way, 

 only the rivalry is not close. Hard maple is 

 transcendently beautiful, soft maple falling 

 very far behind it. [In our locality the soft 

 maples are much more beautiful, and earlier 

 to furnish pollen. — Ed.] 



As POSTSCRIPT to what Prof. Cook says, p. 

 954, it might be added that views in Germany 

 vary as to the value of phacelia. Some praise 

 it as fodder for stock and for nectar, and 

 some condemn it. A patch that 1 tried did 

 not show any value for either purpose. As 

 it is a native of California, Californians ought 

 to tell us of its value there, and I have made 

 several calls for such information, but with- 

 out response. Prof. Cook, what is the value 

 of the plant with you? 



The NULLIFICATION of the Illinois cigar- 

 ette law, as mentioned by you, Bro. A. 1.. 

 p. 947, while regretable is only partial, and 

 I'm not sure but the best part is left intact. 

 It is still a crime for any one in Illinois un- 

 der 18 years of age to smoke in public, and 

 boys who are not allowed to "show off" in 

 public before that time will in very many 

 cases have sense enough at 18 to let tobacco 

 alone. Besides, the great probability is that 

 the next legislature will enact the law with- 

 out any such flaw in the title. 



Desire Huillon (Ajncultctir, 134) reports 

 an interesting series of experiments to deter- 

 mine the weight of nectar. Some just de- 

 posited in cells at 11 A.M. weighed 1310 grams 

 to the liter. A sample taken 90 minutes 

 later was precisely the same density. At 5 

 A.M. next morning a liter weighed 1353 grams. 

 Have we not generally been taught that 

 evaporation went on more I'apidly? Of 

 course, it is not always the same. [These 

 figures seem a little strange in view of the 

 fact that the bees, after gathering in a good 

 supply of nectar, are busy all night, suppos- 

 edly evaporating it down, it would seem. 



