fitt] BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



225 



sively shown that August is not too early. 

 Stocks have been so fed to the greatest ad- 

 vantage while others having stored them- 

 selves early in August, have removed much 

 of their brood to make room for the incom- 

 ing store, have ceased breeding before the 

 end of the same month, and were among 

 the best the following season. 



The bees were of those varieties of which 

 it is often affirmed that they consume all one 

 can give them for winter stores in rearing 

 more brood. The fault is not in the bees 

 but in the keeper, who does not understand 

 how to close down the brood nest. 



In all your calculations consider pollen as 

 the first element of success, without it the 

 finest queen is of no avail. Feed when ne- 

 cessary, but feed judiciously." 



All who read the above must remember 

 that it is written from an English stand- 

 point. Unless we have been misinformed, 

 English winters are not the winters of north- 

 ern United States. English winters are 

 more mild, and the opportunities for flight 

 more frequent. In unr winters, where severe 

 cold confines the bees three or four months 

 without a cleansing flight, combs loaded 

 with pollen mean death: as many of us 

 know to our sorrow. 



The advice given in regard to feeding is 

 all right, but combs loaded with pollen upon 

 the approach of winter are a very undesirable 

 article in Michigan. 



The flora of Michigan may differ materially 

 from that of England, as regards the fur- 

 nishing of early pollen. Here pollen can be 

 gathered as soon as the weather is warm 

 enough for the bees to fly. We have several 

 times selected combs in the fall that were as 

 free from pollen as it is possible to find 

 them, given them to the bees in exchange 

 for their combs of natural stores, and then 

 fed the bees a syrup of granulated sugar. 

 Colonies so prepared have always wintered 

 well, without a trace of dysentery, and have 

 always proved good colonies the succeeding 

 season. Of course, very little brood was 

 reared until pollen was gathered in the 

 spring, but that is exactly what suits us. 

 The vitality of the bees is not wasted in 

 rearing bees under difficulties. When flow- 

 ers begin to bloom brood rearing begins and 

 "booms" right along. When the honey 

 harvest arrives, the colony without pollen 

 the previous autumn, is the equal of any and 

 the superior of many. 



As Mr. Cushman says, we ought to take 

 broad views of these matters ; and, in so 

 doing, we should not forget that what may 

 be desirable in one country, under certain 

 conditions, may be exactly the opposite in 



another country and under other conditions. 

 Let us thoroughly understand the conditions 

 of our locality, then conform to those condi- 

 tions, and success shall be ours. 



From the Guide, 



Lock Jointed Hive Corners. 



The editor of the Guicle has this to say 

 about the so-called Dovetailed Hive : — 



" It is a bad corner to paint, with the ends 

 sticking out. It takes more lumber. No 

 one complained about the strength of cor- 

 ners of hives. They have stood the test of 

 twenty years without a complaint, but Mr. 

 Root must have something that no one can 

 make without buying expensive machinery, 

 and that will catch the notices. * * » 

 Come to think about it reallv the hive is not 

 dovetailed at all, it is lock jointed. Like 

 the Simplicity, its very name is false and 

 gives a wrong impression. The dovetailed 

 corner is a flne and difficult piece of work 

 and is the delight of good mechanics, while 

 the lock-corners are considered a cheap, 

 botch job, and as the wood becomes old it 

 shrinks, becomes loose, and will warp apart 

 unless well nailed. Neither the dovetail nor 

 lock-joint is ever used by good mechanics on 

 wood work that is exposed to the weather. 

 It is only fit for furniture or inside work 

 that is glued." 



We have no disposition to criticise Mr. 

 Root's motives in making the corners of 

 hives on the lock-jointed plan, but we do 

 agree with the editor of the Guide in his 

 criticisms of this joint for the corners of 

 hives. To say that it is a useless expense, is 

 putting it mildly. 



From Gleanings, 



Taking Notes of Commission Men. 



Mrs. L. C. AxtelJ says : " Unless you are 

 personally ac(iuainted with a commission 

 man, never take a note from him after the 

 honey is sold. If he has used your money, 

 and says he cannot pay you, it is a criminal 

 act : for it is criminal to sell on commission 

 and use that money to carry on his business." 



Be Original— Think. 



( )f all the advice that Mr. G. M. Doolittle 

 ever gave, we think the following from 

 Gleanings, Nov. 1, is a little the best : — 



"Right here I wish to say that no one 

 should follow any of our writers blindly, 

 that is, without having some thoughts of 

 their own, thoughts which will lead them 

 out in all directions from the beaten path 

 of a Langstroth, a Quinby, a Root, a Dadant, 



