AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



749 



prominence that you have given to his 

 articles. 

 London, Nov. 13, 1891. 



[We had no idea that any of our cor- 

 respondents would dare to • quote, as 

 proof of a position taken, and credit to a 

 periodical, anything that it did not con- 

 tain. Not suspecting any such dishon- 

 orable work, we have never taken any 

 steps to verify quotations. 



We have now examined the copies of 

 the Record and British Bee Journal sent 

 to us by Mr. Cowan, and find that his 

 statements in the foregoing article are 

 correct. But from our knowledge of 

 that honorable gentleman we might have 

 been sure of that, without examining the 

 proof he has offered. 



Probably Mr. Pratt has relied upon 

 the statement made in the London 

 Journal of Horticulture of Sept. 3 ; but 

 as that paper has withdrawn the charges, 

 made a public apology, and submitted to 

 the destruction of all copies of that paper 

 containing the libelous article — that 

 proof is null and void. 



We have now sent to Mr. Pratt the 

 marked copies received from Mr. Cowan, 

 and await an explanation. — Ed.] 



Nortliwesterii Bee-Keejers' Coiiyeitloii, 



W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 



Finding Queens. 



The question was asked : " How long 

 will take to find the queens in 50 colo- 

 nies early in June ?" 



J. A. Green — Four hours. 



A. I. Root — If the frames were metal- 

 covered, and the colonies not too strong, 

 such as we use in queen rearing, I could 

 find the queens at the rate of one in two 

 minutes — perhaps one in a minute. 



M. M. Baldridge — I have a way of 

 finding queens without taking out a 

 comb. I rap on the hive, then raise the 

 cover, and find the queen on top of the 

 frames. By using a hive with a raised 

 cover, such as Mr. Root makes for the 

 Simplicity, I can drive the bees up into 

 the cover, where they will cluster. By 

 waiting a little while most of the bees 

 will go back, and only a little cluster 

 will remain, but the queen will be found 



in the cluster. The old bees go back 

 first. 



Wax Secretion. 



M. M. Baldridge said a certain man 

 in Wisconsin told him that bees do not 

 build comb from the scales that are 

 found between the abdominal rings. He 

 asserts that these little scales are simply 

 waste material. If the wax was made 

 from these little scales there would 

 naturally be an occasional scale left 

 hanging, or partly detached. This is 

 never seen. The combs are always 

 smooth and complete. This man thought 

 that the combs might be made from a 

 sort of oil. 



Messrs. Abbott and Mason stated that 

 they had often seen the bees using these 

 scales of wax in comb-building. One bee 

 would stick on a scale, another would 

 come along and give it a pat or a pinch, 

 then another, etc., etc., and the wonder 

 was that comb could be so accurately 

 made as it is with such helter-skelter 

 work. 



President Miller — It looks to me as 

 though this matter is not worth discuss- 

 ing. If such a communication as this 

 should be sent to one of the bee-periodi- 

 cals I think it would go into the waste- 

 basket. How is it, Brother Root ? 



A. I. Root — Unless it came from 

 some scientist, or one in whom we had 

 confidence, I think that would be the 

 fate of such an article. 



President Miller — The whole matter 

 reminds me very much of a man by 

 the name of Cox — a Dr. Cox — who 

 went about selling a hive in which 

 he claimed that comb would groiv. 

 If we would only keep the bees in 

 this hive, and put them in a warm cellar, 

 the comb would (jroiu, even in Winter. If 

 it is a fair question, and you have no 

 objection, Mr. Baldridge, I wish you 

 would tell us who this person was that 

 made such assertions. 



M. M. Baldridge— Dr.. Cox. 



There was silence for a moment, then 

 there went up such a shout of laughter 

 that the cooks from the hotel kitchen 

 heard it, and peeped slyly in at a side- 

 door to see what caused the merriment. 



Are Division-Boards Necessary ? 



E. T. Abbott— I have used them, but 

 can see no advantage in their use. 



W. Z. Hutchinson— What better is a 

 division-board than a comb ? 



A. B. Mason — There is a space around 

 the outside of a frame that allows the 

 heat to escape. 



W. Z. Hutchinson— True, but much 

 depends upon the material of which a 



