48 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



February 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



=0 Established by Samuel Wagner in 1861 G= 



The oldest Bee Journal in the English language. Consolidated with The 

 National Bee Journal in 1874. 



Published monthly at Hamilton, Illinois. 



Entered as second-class matter at the postoffice at Hamilton, Illinois. 



Subscription Rates— In the United States and THE STAFF 



Mexico, »1 per year; three years. $2.60; five r p n n Fditnr 



years, $4. Canadian postage 15 cents, and "- r " UADANT Editor 



other foreign countries 25 cents extra, per Frank C. Pellett Associate Editor 



year - C. C. Miller Questions Department 



All subscriptions are stopped at expiration. Date . 



of expi.ation is printed on wrapper label. Madrice G. Dadant Business Manager 



(Copyright 1919, by C. P. Dadant.) 



THE EDITOR'S VIEWPOINT 



Our Cover Picture 



We are reproducing a cover pic- 

 ture which we used several years ago, 

 because it is a characteristic view of 

 a California apiary. The background 

 of mountains is familiar to every vis- 

 itor to the Golden State. The series 

 of short courses in beekeeping has 

 brought California prominently to 

 the attention of beekeepers every- 

 where just now. 



Microscopic Studies 



In this number, Dr. Brunnich, of 

 Switzerland, gives us some very in- 

 teresting microscopical studies, with 

 an opinion concerning the use of the 

 organs described. The description of 

 these 6 glands, in the rectum, is not 

 entirely new, as it was given on page 

 106 of Dr. Snodgrass' famed work, 

 "The Anatomy of the Honeybee," 

 with a cut, on page 103, showing a 

 similar arrangement of the glands. 

 Dr. Snodgrass simply writes: "Noth- 

 ing is known of the function of these 

 organs, and their glandular nature is 

 entirely conjectural." 



Dr. Brunnich goes a little farther. 

 He gives a little more detailed de- 

 scription and boldly finds a use for 

 the glands. Whether he is right or 

 not, our thanks are due to the in- 

 vestigator. Every day the advance 

 into the problems of nature goes a 

 little farther and, although many 

 steps have to be retraced, it is only 

 through such investigations that we 

 will continue to go forward in the 

 immensity of the unknown. 



Save Your Bee Journals 



There is an ever-increasing demand 

 for back numbers of the bee journals 

 by students of beekeeping who desire 

 to complete their files. There is a 



wealth of valuable information in the 

 back issues which is of every-day 

 value to the beekeeper who will make 

 use of it. In every number are valu- 

 able articles which do not seem to be 

 of immediate interest, and the only 

 way to make the most of such matter 

 is to preserve the periodicals for fu- 

 ture reference 



Preserving Royal Jelly 



To provide a supply of royal jelly 

 at the time of starting a new lot of 

 queen-cells is sometimes a problem 

 to the beekeeper. There are times 

 when extra queen-cells are present in 

 considerable numbers, so that an 

 abundant supply could easily be se- 

 cured for future use. J. W. George, 

 of ElCentro, Calif., informs the 

 writer that it is an easy matter to 

 preserve royal jelly for a considera- 

 ble period of time by placing it in 

 a small bottle and corking it tight. 

 He often keeps it for weeks at a 

 time in this way. He finds that jolly 

 that is slightly hard is easily soft- 

 ened by diluting slightly with water 

 and that it \s apparently as good as 

 ever. 



Too Much Law 



Since the legislatures of many 

 States are now in session, the usual 

 grist of bills relating to all subjects 

 arc under consideration. There is 

 entirely too much ill-advised legisla- 

 tion, and legislation relating to bee- 

 keeping is no exception to the rule. 

 In this issue the associate editor has 

 an extended article, the result of five 

 years of experience as a State bee in- 

 spector. Beekeepers should consider 

 very carefully the possible result of 

 per administration before ask- 

 ing for stringent laws. In sonu 



States where good results are now 

 being secured because the officials in 

 charge are sensible men, it would be 

 possible to paralyze the whole indus- 

 try should an incapable man be 

 placed in charge. It is dangerous 

 business to centralize too much au- 

 thority in one man. 



In almost any line better results 

 can be secured by education than by 

 force. The short cut to eradication 

 of foulbrood is by educating the mass 

 of beemen in the proper treatment. 

 One good teacher is worth a dozen 

 policemen. Get after the extension 

 departments of your agricultural 

 colleges to put expert beemen in the 

 field. 



Are Queens More Prolific 

 Than Formerly? 



In the December number of 

 Gleanings, page 725, A. C. Miller 

 states that he prefers the deeper 

 Jumbo frame to the regular Lang- 

 stroth and gives as one of the rea- 

 sons that "our queens have outgrown 

 our present hives." Well, that may 

 be the case in some instances, but 

 we wish to state emphatically that, 

 for SO years, we have found our 

 queens capable of filling the brood- 

 combs of the large hives. 



True, we have often found some 

 queens that were incapable of doing 

 this; but we have considered such 

 queens inferior. The queens which 

 we use at the present day are pur- 

 chased from southern breeders; the 

 queens of the old days were of our 

 own breeding, all Italians, of course. 

 We are very much of the opinion 

 that the large, deep frames are the 

 main cause of the difference in breed- 

 ing results with others. Greater 

 ease in finding cells secures more 

 speed in laying and apparently 

 greater prolificness. Give your 

 queens a chance. 



Beekeeping in Chile 



Since the attention of our people is 

 more than ever drawn to interna- 

 tional questions, it may be interest- 

 ing to learn how the honeybees were 

 first introduced in Chile. 



We understand that bees were 

 brought to the North American con- 

 tinent by the Spaniards, in Florida. 

 previous to 1763. They were the com- 

 mon black bees of the European con- 

 tinent, but we know nothing of the 

 men who brought them. Not so with 

 the importation of bees into Chile. 

 This was not done until 1844, when 

 Don Patricio Larrain Gandarillas 

 bought, in Milan, 50 colonies of bees 





