46 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



February 



PUBLISHED MONTHLY AT 



Firs^Natn Bank Bldg., Hamilton, 111. 



Entered as second-class matter at the 

 Hamilton, Illinois, Postoffice. 



C. P. Dadant, Editor. 



Dr. C. C. Miller, Associate Editor. 



Frank C. Pellett, Staff Correspondent. 



IMPORTANT NOTICE 



THE SUBSCRIPTION PRICE of this lour- 

 nal is $1.00 per year in the United States of 

 America and Mexico; 3 years, $2.50; 5 years, 

 si 00; in Canada, 15c extra, and in all 

 other countries in the Postal Union, 25 cents 

 a year extra for postage. Sample copy free. 



THE WRAPPER LABEL DATE indicates 

 the end of the month to which subscription is 

 paid. For instance, "declS" on your label 

 shows that it is paid to the end of December, 

 1918. 



SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS.— We do not 

 send a receipt for money sent us to pay sub- 

 scription, but change the date on your ad- 

 dress, which show that the money has been 

 received and credited. In case of errors, 

 please write us. 



(Copyright: 1917, by C. P. Dadant.) 



THE EDITOR'S VIEWPOINT 



Federal Supervision of 

 Queen Breeders 



There has been much complaint of 

 the spread of foulbrood and other 

 diseases through the purchase of 

 queens. A few years ago a new pos- 

 tal regulation required that all queen 

 breeders secure a certificate of health 

 from some authorized inspector. 

 This provision was waived when it 

 was shown that many States had no 

 inspector. However, the provision 

 requiring the boiling of honey for 

 thirty minutes, from which candy is 

 made to stock the cages is not suf- 

 ficient protection. Apparently it in- 

 sures safety from the spread of 

 American foulbrood, but there is 

 much evidence to show that Euro- 

 pean foulbrood or paralysis may be 

 spread by queens and their attendant 

 bees shipped through the mails. The 

 late O. O. Poppleton attributed his 

 difficulties with paralysis to the pur- 

 chase of queens and found it neces- 

 sary to re-queen with different stock 

 to eliminate the disease. He felt 



doubly sure of the source of infec- 

 tion when lie brought the disease to 

 his yards the second time with 

 queens of the same stock bought 

 from another breeder. 



Most of tlie queen breeders do the 

 bulk of their business outside the 

 Statt in which thej are situated. Be- 

 ing an interstate business, queen 

 breeding should have federal super- 

 N'ow that the department is 

 adding a number bei kei p 



ers for the extension service, some 

 plan might lie worked out wherebj 



di ■ ; inspei 1 ii m 1 ould be secured 

 I lie total number of queen breeders 

 engaged in comin< nol 



large, and greatly increased confi- 

 dence on the part of the purchasers 

 would result from such a plan. 



While several of the States main- 

 tain rigid inspection of queen yards, 



.several States have no such inspec- 

 tion, and those which have do not 

 have uniform regulations. The safe- 

 ty of the future of the industry de- 

 pends much upon placing proper 

 safeguards about the shipping of 

 bees and queens. 



Comb Honey Losing 

 In Popularity 



The high price of extracted honey 

 is having the effect of leading many 

 beekeepers to give up the production 

 of comb honey. Of late we have 

 heard of several well-known comb- 

 honey specialists who have already 

 made the change, or who are prepar- 

 ing to do so with the next crop. At 

 present, the difference in price be- 

 tween comb and extracted honey is 

 slight, as compared to the increased 

 cost of producing a fancy article of 

 comb. The confidence of the public 

 in extracted honey is largely the re- 

 sult of the pure food laws. Since 

 adulteration is no longer possible to 

 any large extent, we look for ex- 

 tracted honey to displace comb 

 honej in many markets. So many 

 beekeepers are making the change 

 that the shortage of comb honey 

 may be so pronounced that the price 

 will advance sharplj . f< ir t hei 1 an 

 many consumers who will take it in 

 no other form. 



Under present conditions there is 

 more profit to be made in tin- pro- 

 duction of extracted honev. 



Advance of Beekeeping 



Everyone sees e\ idence oi 1 lie 

 dawning of a new day for beekeep- 

 ing. 1 tonej pn >duction is de\ eli iping 



fn ■m a fad into a 1 1 immeri i.i I enter- 

 in ise, which is rapidlj gi 1 iwing in 

 importai 1 



Wherea >, ten \ ears agi 1 two or 

 threi agricultural colleges ga 1 • 

 courses in beekeeping, now mon 

 than twenty arc giving attention to 



the subject and some of them give it 

 the prominence of a separate depart- 

 ment. This indicates a greatly in- 

 creased interest and demand for in- 

 formation on the part of the public. 

 I he U. S. Department of Agriculture 

 has greatly increased the staff of 

 men engaged in the beekeeping 

 work, with a prospect that still more 

 men will be added to meet the in- 

 creased demand for help from every 

 section of the country. 



The agricultural press is devoting 

 far more space than formerly to bee- 

 keeping subjects, and the newspapers 

 give more prominence to the doings 

 of the beekeepers. Everywhere new 

 organizations of beekeepers are 

 springing up, until it is difficult to 

 keep in touch with t-hem all. Bee- 

 keepers' conventions and field meet- 

 ings are now held in so many locali- 

 ties that there are few beekeepers 

 no longer within reach of the bee 

 meetings. 



Honey is higher in price than for 

 many years past. This is due to the 

 war, in large measure, but thou- 

 sands of people are learning to use 

 honey who have not been in the 

 habit of using it in the past. This 

 insures a greatly increased demand 

 for years to come. The prospects 

 for beekeeping were never so bright. 



Isle of Wight Disease 

 Another Remedy 



S. II. Smith, in the British Bee 

 Journal for November 29, mentions 

 another remedy for Isle of Wight 

 disease that we had not yet read 

 about. It is "acriilavine" (diamino- 

 methyl-acridinium chloride). A quar- 

 ter grain of the drug dissolved in a 

 quart of water was sufficient for a 

 dozen colonies, sprayed over the 

 bees, combs, floor and brood-chambei 

 walls, as well as over the crawlers 

 around the hives, A week later the 

 treatment was repeated. "Those 

 bees were not treated again. All sur- 

 vived and gave surplus." 



The Master of Beekeeping 



The first issue of the American Bee 

 Journal, which appealed in January. 

 1861, contained the following: 



"He maj be regarded as a master 



in bee culture, who knows how to 



winter his slocks in a health} condi- 

 tion, witli (lie least loss of bees, the 

 smallest consumption of stores, and 

 with the combs unsoiled." 



The same is still true, foi in the 

 Northern States wintering is the 

 most serious problem which the bee- 

 keeper has to meet. 



