AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



833 



hundred the privilege of experimenting 

 with the proceeds of all ? Why not 

 have an Inspector to see that bees do 

 not starve for want of food, when it is 

 well understood that a thousand colo- 

 nies of bees die of starvation to one of 

 foul-brood ? Would this not be as 

 reasonable ? 



I would be obliged if some one would 

 tell us how many colonies of bees have 

 perished in the State of Illinois from 

 foul-brood during the last year. Did 

 any one ever see a colony of bees in a 

 box-hive infected with this so-called 

 "dreaded disease ?" 



I only give some of my objections to 

 one section of this bill. Had I a colony 

 of bees diseased with foul-brood, I would 

 dip the combs (hive and all, if necessary) 

 in strong salt brine, and that would end 

 the matter. 



State Line is partly in Indiana and 

 partly in Illinois, but the postoffice is on 

 the Indiana side of the line. From the 

 tone of the editor's note to my last 

 article on this subject, I judged that he 

 was riled ; but I hope I was mistaken in 

 this. 



I, for one, am in for reducing the 

 taxes in America instead of burdening 

 the people with more. If the Illinois 

 Bee-Keepers' Association wishes to 

 impose a tax upon itself, I am willing it 

 should do so ; but to ask other people to 

 carry forward the work of that society, 

 I regard as being down-right cheeky. 



State Line, Ind. 



[To attempt by law to eradicate foul- 

 brood in bees, as is done with pleuro- 

 pneumonia in cattle, is a praise-worthy 

 act. It entails labor on the officers of 

 the Bee-Keepers' Association, for which 

 they get no pay. The insinuation of 

 Mr. Faylor is exceedingly ungenerous 

 about "experimenting " at the expense 

 *of 99 for the benefit of 1 out of the 

 100 ! 



For bees to have a contagious disease 

 is very different to simply letting them 

 starve — the former is a menace to the 

 neighborhood, the latter is simply a loss 

 to the negligent owner. 



Public interest does not center in a 

 comparison of the number of colonies 

 having died of starvation and of foul- 

 brood ! The just complaint is that a 

 sufficient quantity of diseased colonies 

 have not died, and the law contemplates 



their death to save the remainder, and 

 stamp out the disease ! 



No, Brother Faylor, the editor was 

 not "riled." He only desired to defend 

 the Illinois association from an unrea- 

 sonable and unjust attack. — Ed.] 



Bees Sf ariing on Sundays, 



MKS. I.. HARRISON, 



It always appears to me that bees 

 swarm more on Sundays than on other 

 days, but it may be only owing to the 

 fact that we notice it more. This 

 morning at a little past five, a neighbor 

 called, saying, " There is big bunch of 

 bees on a stake in the lower part of your 

 vineyard, and they were there yesterday; 

 I thought I would come and tell you 

 before they left." 



If it had not been for the kindness of 

 this neighbor, we might not have seen 

 them, and, when they again took wing, 

 no power on earth could stop them. 



There they were in a compact cluster, 

 the outside ones overlapping each- other 

 like shingles upon a roof. A hive was 

 brought but of the cellar, full of combs, 

 where they had been put, to preserve 

 them from the ravages of the bee-moth. 

 The hive was placed near the post with 

 a smooth board in front of it, and the 

 bees were dipped from the cluster with 

 a dipper and placed before it. 



After passing a night upon a post, 

 they were glad of a shelter, and marched 

 into it "double quick." Before the 

 early morning scouts had returned, the 

 hive was carried to a permanent stand. 

 Therefore, the first swarm of the season 

 of 1891, in our apiary, issued on May 24. 



This incident shows that it is well for 

 bee-keepers who have near neighbors to 

 be on good terms with them. Lately, in 

 the city of Canton, Ills., a bee-keeper 

 has been arrested and fined one dollar 

 and cost of prosecution, and ordered to 

 remove his bees. The case has been 

 appealed to the Circuit Court. 



This apiarist is an active prohibi- 

 tionist, and the opposition concluded 

 that if they could not sell their liquors 

 he should not keep bees. O, join the 

 Union, the Union, all ye bee-keepers! 

 and then if your neighbors have any 

 spite against you, you can call to your 

 assistance an army, good and strong, well 

 equipped with ammunition, in the way 

 of prior suits, decisions of the Supreme 

 Court, etc., and a band of bee-keeping 

 lawyers. — Prairie Farmer. 



