246 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



world, but there is such a dislike, perhaps it 

 is a prejudice, against having anything to 

 carry around the apiary, to have to look it 

 up and bring it where wanted each time it is 

 needed, that I have never attempted any- 

 thing of the kind. When rearing queens I 

 often felt the need of a seat. I would get 

 down on my knees, then sit on my feet, and 

 finally sit flat down on the ground just as a 

 baby sits on the floor, and finally, rather 

 than be bothered with carrying around a 

 seat, I put all of my queen-rearing hives up 

 on stilts or tall legs, and thus was able to 

 manipulate them in a standing position. I 

 once made a sort of stand, with a handle to 

 carry it by, to use in hanging frames on 

 when examining a colony. I used it a little 

 wWile when it was "new," but time soon 

 found me setting the first frame removed on 

 end or edge by the side of the hive, and the 

 stand went into the rubbish heap. I have 

 always felt that a seat would share a similar 

 fate. I will say, however, that I have just 

 read the description of a seat that almost 

 tempts me to make one another year. It is 

 given by C. W. Dayton in the Progressive, 

 and reads as follows : — 



"First get a good strong box about ten 

 inches in measure of each of its lateral di- 

 mentions. It needs a back which is sloping 

 like that of a rocking chair. Cut an inch- 

 thick board, eight inches wide at one end 

 and taper to three inches at the other. Put 

 the wide end down and nail firmly to the 

 lower edge of the box. As it passes the up- 

 per edge of the box it is nailed again, but an 

 inch-strip is put under to maintain the back- 

 wark pitch. 



The back should extend above the box 

 about twenty inches and the upper end con- 

 tain a two-inch hole as a handle to carry it 

 by and grasp without stooping. The upper 

 half of the front side is left open to hold 

 tools which may be tossed into it while sit- 

 ting. I also bore a hole in the upper end of 

 the back to receive the handle of an umbrel- 

 la after the crook has been screwed off. 

 Then, to secure stability, four pieces of 

 three-eighths rod iron are inserted into cor- 

 res[)onding holes in the bottom, so that 

 placing a foot heavily upon the seat the rods 

 are driven into the ground. These rods, 

 when not needed, are carried inside." 



Starvation Not the Cause of Bee Paralysis. 



" I see on page i:>7 of the American Bee 

 Journal that Prof. Cook thinks that starva- 

 tion is partly or wholly the cause of bee- 

 paralysis. Now, I don't like to dispute such 

 good authority on bee matters as the Pro- 

 fessor is, but I know that starvation is not 

 the cause of the disease known as ' paralysis' 

 in this part of the country, for I have col- 



onies that have from .W to 75 pounds of hon- 

 ey now, that are badly afl'ected with that dis- 

 ease, and it is almost always my strongest 

 and best colonies that are affected first. Of 

 course feeding will check it, but it will reap- 

 pear almost as soon as the feeding is stop- 

 ped, or if there should come a sudden flow 

 of honey, it will always check it. 



I have had this disease in my apiary ever 

 since I came to this county (Lampasas), four 

 years ago, and from what I can find out, it 

 had been here for several years before I 

 came, for several of the old-time bee-keep- 

 ers told me when I came here that I could 

 not keep bees in this county, saying that the 

 ants and moth-worms would destroy them. 

 All said that the bees would gather lots of 

 honey, but that ants would eat the bees in 

 the summer after the weather became hot, 

 and leave the hive full of honey. But I had 

 come to this country to make bee-keeping a 

 speciality, and would not believe such fool- 

 ishness, and the ants and moths have given 

 me no trouble, but the disease known as bee 

 paralysis has, and I am sure it was this dis- 

 ease that was causing the trouble instead of 

 ants and moth-worms, for I have had several 

 of those old-timers to come into my apiary 

 and say to me, ' Why, see here, Smith, the 

 ants are carrying them off ?' When the 

 truth was, it was only the dead and sick bees 

 that the ants were carrying off." — L. B. 

 Smith in A^n. Bee Journal. 



Why the Subscription Price of Class Jour- 

 nals Must be Hip^h. 

 A month or two ago this subject was intro- 

 duced into bee journalism by some subscri- 

 ber of the American Bee Journal complain- 

 ing of the poor quality of paper used. The 

 explanation was that the price of the journal 

 would not allow of a better grade being used. 

 The Review commented on this and advised 

 a raise in price or the addition of a supply 

 trade. Bro. York quoted what the Review 

 said, but declined to engage in the supply 

 business— doesn't wish his readers to have a 

 chance to say that he recommends an article 

 simply because he has it to sell. As to a 

 raise in price — well, he has asked his readers 

 to say what they think of it. Commenting 

 on this topic, the Progressive Bee-Keeper 

 says : " When one tries to give two dollars' 

 worth for a dollar, he has lost sight of busi- 

 ness interests, and a reaction will come 

 sooner or later." And then Bro. Leahy goes 

 on to advise against the addition of a supply 

 business to an unprofitable publication, or 

 vice rersa, with the hope that success will 

 follow. I think he is correct. I doubt if a 

 journal ever became a permanent success 

 that had for its prime object the booming of 

 its owner's supply trade, or a supply trade 



