THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



629 



comb. The Carniolaus have the same 

 habit. The remedy is to change the 

 stock, or cut out the dioue-comb and 

 supply worljer-comb in its place. — G. 

 L. Tinker. 



Out out the combs that are largely 

 drone, and till the empty frames with 

 worker foundation. The combs which 

 have smaller pieces of drone-comb 

 may be saved in this way : Cut out 

 the drone-comb and fill up with pieces 

 of worker-comb taken from the combs 

 that have been cut out of the frames. 

 — C. C. Miller. 



Supersede the queen, and replace 

 the drone -comb with worker-comb 

 foundation.— The Editor. 



(^oxxcspioindtntz. 



This mark © indicates that the apiarist is 

 located near toe center ot the Estate named; 

 6 northotthe center; 9 south; Ot east; 

 ♦O west; and this r{ northeast; ~o northwest: 

 0> southeast ; and 9 southwest of the center 

 of the State mentioned. 



For the American Bee JouraaL 



Secflring Apicnltnral Statistics. 



JOHN H. LAEKABBE. 



The article which my question on 

 page 581 brought out, has greatly in- 

 terested me. I know that many 

 kinds of statistics were of necessity 

 somewhat incorrect, but that they 

 should be as grossly so as intimated 

 by Col. Wright, was somewhat of a 

 surprise to me. The statistics as to 

 population, and a few other promi- 

 nent points of the census, appear to 

 be about all there is approaching 

 accuracy in the whole system. 



The desirability of obtaining ac- 

 curate statistics is not to be disputed, 

 but the ways and means of obtaining 

 them do not, from appearances, seem 

 to be known. The census interests 

 all classes. The merchant is inter- 

 ested in the imports and exports, and 

 in the growth of trade here and there, 

 or upon this and that commodity. 

 The contractor and builder is watch- 

 ing the lumber and brick trade. The 

 M. 1). wants reliable and immediate 

 reports of births, deaths, and the 

 various diseases, epidemic, constitu- 

 tional and circumstantial. The farmer 

 needs reliable crop reports ; and the 

 bee-keeper wants to know how much 

 honey, how many colonies of bees.etc. 



In England reforms come slowly. 

 The English constitution was built 

 up by centuries of experience and 

 growth. The Constitution of the 

 United States was evolved at one 

 grand sweep, yet Gladstone remarked, 

 in effect, the other day, in declining 

 an invitation to be present at the 

 Centennial of the signing of the Con- 

 stitution, that " he knew of no greater 

 or more perfect stroke of statesman- 

 ship brought forth at one time in all 

 modern ages, than this same Con- 

 stitution." It is thus with the Ameri- 

 cans now. Everything is done upon 



the impulse of the moment, yet God 

 has so far graciously favored us, and 

 our growth has been substantial. 



The census will doubtless in a few 

 years be the envy of foreigners. Bee- 

 keepers must be on hand with a plea 

 for their fair share of recognition. 

 In any other year I should have said 

 that we needed a Producer's Associa- 

 tion. Among the first labors of such 

 an association should be the securing, 

 as far as possible, a reliable census of 

 bees and honey. The hoto to bring it 

 all about would come with the effort, 

 for " where there's a will there's a 

 way." 



The existing statistics, so meager 

 and so manifestly incorrect, are a fit 

 subject for ridicule. Bee-keepers are 

 an intelligent fraternity, and very 

 nearly accurate reports could be ob- 

 tained, could all be interrogated. 

 Could printed questions be presented, 

 through secretaries, to all the bee- 

 associations in the United States, and 

 such reports be collected and com- 

 piled, a much more valuable record 

 than any existing would thus be ob- 

 tained. 



I hope that the question will be 

 agitated until some system is inaugu- 

 rated tending to the obtaining of 

 accurate reports of the progress of 

 apiculture in this country. 



Larrabee's Point,«o Vt. 



[By request of the Commissioner 

 of the Census in 1880, the editor of 

 the American Bee Journal pre- 

 pared for the Census Reports an arti- 

 cle showing the value of the crops of 

 honey and beeswax, and the impor- 

 tance of having correct statistical re- 

 ports thereof every year. The article 

 was acknowledged, and it was stated 

 that it would be incorporated in the 

 Census Reports— but, alas, it never 

 appeared. Perhaps Col. Wright will 

 do better next time, now that he sees 

 the injustice he has been doing to the 

 public in the past in such matters. 



As to what the proposed Producers' 

 Association could do in the matter, 

 we are not prepared to state. That is 

 yet an unknown and untried measure. 



The great drawback about getting 

 correct reports from secretaries of 

 local societies, is that not one-tenth 

 of the bee-keepers, even in the ter- 

 ritory occupied by a local society, 

 ever attend its meetings, or report in 

 any way to it. 



This is another question which we 

 may well consign to the North Ameri- 

 can Bee-Keepers' Society's meeting 

 next November. It is worth while to 

 give it a thorough investigation, and 

 if possible evolve a valuable method of 

 obtaining correct statistics. 



Perhaps Dr. Miller, the President, 

 can give us light on the " how " of it. 

 lie has had lots of "experience" in 

 trying to get full and correct statis- 

 tics.— Ed.] 



For tbe Amerloan Bee JoomnL 



Hives for Oliseryatioii. 



E. D. KEENEY. 



Mr. Editor :— In the editorial col- 

 umns of the AMEitiCAN Bee Jour- 

 nal for Sept. 21, 1887, you mention 

 some Observation Hives which Iluber 

 never saw ; which you call '' uni-comb 

 glass hives." Now, I want to see an 

 engraving and description of such 

 hives in the American Bee Jour- 

 nal. What do they cost? Where 

 can they be obtained ? I think many 

 others will be interested in this mat- 

 ter, and desire the information as 

 much as I do. 



Arcade,K> N. Y., Sept. 23, 1887. 



[The questions of our correspondent 

 are answered with pleasure, for we 

 want to see Observation Hives more 

 common at Fairs, Expositions, and 

 Shows. In that way we can educate 

 and encourage the people to consume 

 more honey. 



It is our aim to make honey a staple 

 product. To this end we have en- 

 deavored to popularize the consump- 

 tion of honey by the masses, as well 

 as to raise the standard of production, 

 by applying correct principles and 

 progressive art to the management of 

 the apiary. 



Public manipulations with bees,and 

 magnificent honey exhibits are the 

 most attractive features of State, 

 County and District Pairs. There are 

 many good reasons for recommending 

 such, but the chief one, perhaps, is 

 that those who produce honey for the 

 market may be induced to present it 

 in the most marketable shape ; for the 

 new methods and new ideas of prac- 

 tical management must take the place 

 of the old and undesirable ones. 



Bees and honey are already the 

 great attraction at such Fairs as have 

 given prominence to this industry — 

 and this will become more apparent 

 each successive year. Michigan, Ne- 

 braska, Missouri, and some other 

 States, having tried small Bee and 

 Honey Shows, and finding the results 

 so satisfactory, they now have them 

 on much larger scales. 



When in Great Britain, during the 

 summer of 1879, we found that the 

 most attractive features of the Fairs 

 were the public manipulations with 

 bees, and the very large exhibition 

 of honey of captivating beauty. For 

 exhibiting bees, observation hives 

 were used — those having glass sides, 

 through which the bees may be seen 

 at work— the hives being inside the 

 exhibition building, with a tube cov- 

 ering the entrance, and running 



