AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



823 



Cross Bees arc very undesirable 

 at all times and in all places. .Dr. C. C. 

 Miller, in the SiockDuni, very mirthfully 

 writes thus ; 



It seems pretty well settled that Italian 

 bees are best. 



The proof is that nearly if not quite 

 all extensive honey-producers use them. 



I have done with hybrids. They are 

 too cross, and they make me cross. 



Cyprian and Holy-Land bees promised 

 great things, but very little is said about 

 them now-a-days. Their general repu- 

 tation is very far behind that of the 

 Italians. 



Carniolan bees have the boom on just 

 now. But the boom is so much in the 

 hands of those who have queens to sell, 

 that it is hard to tell much about the 

 real merits of the bees. 



The latest boom is for the Punic bees. 

 But that they are any better than the 

 Italians, it will be. difficult to make 

 apiarists in general believe. The 

 descriptions heretofore published have 

 shown much exaggeration. 



Spraying- Trees. — This subject 

 is presented by Prof. Gerald McCarthy, 

 in Bulletin No. 76 of the North Carolina 

 Experiment Station. He speaks of using 

 paris green, london purple and bordeaux 

 mixture, and adds : 



To spray one acre of grape vines once, 

 takes about 66 gallons of this mixture, 

 and usually six treatments are required 

 for each season. This gives a total of 

 about 400 gallons per acre, containing 

 about 180 pounds of copper sulphate. 

 All of this copper eventually finds its 

 way into the soil. 



Copper salts are a deadly poison to all 

 absorptive plant tissues, and therefore 

 to the roots of cultivated plants. Is there 

 not danger then that the accumulation 

 of this substance in the soil of our 

 gardens and orchards, if persisted in for 

 a series of years, may eventually affect 

 the fertility of the soil ? There i^ very 

 great danger ! 



And let it be understood that when 

 once the soil is sterilized by this poison, 

 not all the guano on the coast of Peru 

 can ever restore an acre to its former 

 state, or make it fit to bear one blade of 

 grass ! 



The possible clanger of using such 

 poisons has already occasioned consider- 



able alarm in Europe. It came up for 

 dis(!ussion at the last meeting of the 

 German association of naturalists. It 

 was shown that copper sulphate in the 

 soil soon becomes copper oxide, which is 

 practically insoluble, and remains in the 

 upper stratum of the soil. 



The sulphuric acid combines with the 

 potash and lime in the soil, and with 

 them forms more or less soluble com- 

 pounds, which are washed into the 

 drains, or so far below. the reach of most 

 plants as to be practically lost. 



Its deleterious action is therefore two- 

 fold : It destroys the young roots of 

 plants, and causes the useful potash and 

 lime in the soil to leach away. 



When lime is given to the copper 

 before it is sprayed, the baneful effect 

 of the latter upon the potash and lime in 

 the soil is largely prevented, but its evil 

 effect upon the growing pi ant- roots still 

 remains. 



The horticulturist must, therefore, 

 bear in mind that the fungicides he uses 

 are by no means friends to be depended 

 on without limit. They are necessary 

 evils, to be used with caution and the 

 greatest economy. 



The utmost care is necessary when 

 using these poisons. There* is danger to 

 the vegetation, danger to the soil, and 

 danger to the bees, if it is done before 

 the blossoms fall. The caution of Prof. 

 McCarthy is therefore, timely and 

 appropriate. 



Dextrine may be used for gumming 

 honey labels, and for pasting labels on 

 wood, tin, etc. It will stick and dry 

 instantly. It is the substance used on 

 postage-stamps, and by express compa- 

 nies for putting on their labels, etc. To 

 use, dissolve it in a little hot water, and 

 apply with a brush, brushing the gum 

 over the label, as well as under it. 



Beginners must not expect us to 

 give space to all their questions. Such 

 would be very uninteresting to older 

 apiarists. Buy a Manual and study the 

 nature and habits of the bees, and the 

 simple methods of management. Then 

 expect in the Bee Journal only such 

 as will be of interest to the majority. 



