242 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



the Irishman said about drinking 

 whisky, "not so much an education 

 as it is a gift." 

 North Lonsdale, B. C. 



Microscopical Studies 



IN the Amei it an B< e Journal for 

 February, 1919, Dr. Brunnich, of 

 Reuchenette, Switzerland, offers 

 an interesting explanation for the 

 rectal glands of Chun, both regarding 

 construction and function. Their his- 

 torical features permitted him to con- 

 clude that they are possibly con- 

 cerned with the excretion from the 

 blood of excessive water absorbed 

 through the lining membrane of the 

 honey sac from the nectar gathered, 

 and that they appear to be capable oi 

 double filtration. Developing this 

 idea, one may consider them, so to 

 speak, the "kidneys" oi the bee, which 

 indirectly help in concentrating the 

 nectar during its transformation into 

 honey, and directly aid in "washing" 

 the blood. Supposing this explana- 

 tion is correct, it would be feasible 

 to presume also that an additional 

 benefit from the dilution of the blood 

 is to raise its pressure, and thus help 

 the bee to carry her load to the hive, 

 since a higher blood pressure would 

 presumably aid the bees in her heavy 

 flight. Following this line of argu- 

 ment, it is feasible again to suspect 

 that probably some irritation, or 

 lesion of these glands occurs in the 

 pathological diarrhoea of bees, and 

 that by excessive secretion of fluid 

 the blood pressure is abnormally low- 

 ered, indirectly causing disability of 

 Might. The apparent dislocation of 

 the wings might be either accidental, 

 from fruitless attempts at flight, 

 apart from being a sign of debility 

 in old bees which are not otherwise 

 diseased, or might be the result of 

 loss of muscular tone, and partial 

 nerve paralysis, resulting from meta- 

 bolic toxaemia. The same theory of 

 blood pressure which I suggest would 

 hold equally well with normal, but 

 chilled bees that are unable to fly. 

 Since the blood pressure is depend- 

 ent on the rates of the heart beat 

 and respiration, apart from the vol- 

 ume of the blood, and since the rap- 

 idity of these rates is governed by 

 i ature, it follows thai the blood 

 pressure of a chilled bee is bound to 

 be low. This theory is further ca- 

 pable of explaining certain phi i i 



ena which I shall incorporate in my 

 on 'Isle oi \\ ight' Disi a i " ! ! 

 the British Bee Journal.— A. Z. 

 Abushady, in British Bee Journal. 



Paste for Tin 



We have tried many things to make 

 a paste that would always stick on 

 tin. Mere it is. This was given to 

 us by a traveling man for the Stand 

 ard 'id Co., who told us it is what 

 they use. and you know their labels 

 stick. ii I ions as givi n hei e 



are for small quantities 

 more starch to make thi 

 thicker, but this is about what we 

 right for general use: 



Take two heaping ti 

 corn starch Ive in a small 



amount of cold water. In another 

 i : dissolve one teaspoon of Lewis 

 ... or any good concentrated lye, 

 mix with the dissolved corn starch. 

 If this makes the starch too strong 

 of lye, it can be reduced, but if too 

 little is used the label will not stick 

 to the tin. If too strong, it may turn 

 the label yellow. When thoroughly 

 mixed the paste is ready for use Ap- 

 pl- paste to back of labels with a 

 brush or cloth. If labels wrinkle 

 when putting them on, wet both sides 

 with water, so they are thoroughly 

 dampened, before applying the paste. 

 This is a good paste for anything to 

 which paper is to be attached. 



J. R. SANDERSON. 



Yellow Jackets 



In the March number of the Bee 

 Journal someone in the State of 

 Washington expresses a "wish to 

 learn some way to help the bees to 

 handle yellow jackets." Dr. Miller's 

 advice is excellent, but, unfortunate- 

 ly, we cannot always keep every col- 

 ony strong, and it is very difficult to 

 find all yellow jackets nests. 



Two years ago we had a scourge of 

 yellow jackets in this locality and 

 some lost whole colonies of bees. 

 Last year wc had comparatively few. 

 I heard of no one finding and de- 

 stroying the nests. Following is the 

 plan adopted by some of us very suc- 

 cesfulh- : 



Get fly traps, the kind made of 

 wire netting, where the insects enter 

 at the bottom and cannot get out 

 because they fly upward, where there 

 is no escape. Get a large one— they 

 arc made a foot and more high. Put 

 a bit of meat or fish in the trap and 

 set it out and the yellow jackets will 

 flock to it. When it is full of yellow 

 jackets, put it in boiling water, empty 

 it and reset it. One person told me 

 she had to empty hers twice, and 

 even three times a day, and it was a 

 large trap. 



EMILY D. SMITH. 

 Los Gatos, Cal. 



ing, to encourage intelligent beekeep- 

 ers to increase their number of colo- 

 nies, to stimulate local organizations 

 and field meetings, and in general to 

 do everything in their power to help 

 build up the industry. When law en- 

 forcement is the obvious duty, then 

 the law is enforced without the as- 

 sistance of constable, sheriff or any 

 other officer who doesn't know a bee 

 from a yellow jacket. We are now 

 enforcing the law against box hives 

 and other nuisances in which bees 

 are sometimes kept. 



During the coming year we will 

 have several short courses given 

 jointly by the College and the office 

 of the State Inspector. County bee- 

 keepers' schools will be continued, 

 and within the year every county 

 having a beekeeping industry will be 

 visited. Publications will be contin- 

 ued, and it is hoped to enlarge some- 

 what upon the Beekeepers' Letter. 

 We shall continue to co-operate with 

 the State Beekeepers' Association, 

 for it has shown itself 'o be a power 

 for good among Michigan beekeep- 

 ers. The distribution of Italian 

 queens for the control of European 

 foulbrood will be tried out in a 

 small way this summer. Field meet- 

 ings and demonstrations started in 

 May and will continue all summer. 

 Appeals for individual help with dis- 

 ease will be cared for as heretofore. 

 Our present law is broad enough so 

 that it is possible to cover any activ- 

 ity which is really beneficial to the 

 industry. 



B. F. KINDIG. 



Inspection in Michigan 



Two acts, which are of interest to 

 Michigan beekeepers in particular, 

 have been passed by the recent Leg- 

 islature. One make, ci :i tain i hanges 

 in the law relative to quarantining 



Oi diseased districts and the Othei 

 being an appropriation of $10,160 foi 

 ng on the work of the offii i oi 

 the State Inspector of Apiaries. 



I he appropriation bill was pa ed 

 as a budget bill and specifies thai 

 the State inspector and Chief Deputy 

 shall serve throughout the J ear. 



Other deputies are to be used only 

 during a part of the spring and sum- 

 mer. The corps of men have already 

 i lected for the work and w ill 

 begin their dun. s on Julj 1. It _ is 

 unusual for an inspei tor to i 



ii the authority which has been 

 rred Upi ill him, When authority 



ed, he has all that is 



h i the understanding of all 



li.il their duties are to be 



bi ekeeper with 



conn i ontact, to en- 



lgl better methods of beekeep- 



Queen Lost in Mating Trip 



In the answer given by Dr. Miller, 

 on page 238, on the above subject, to 

 the second enquirer, the doctor prob- 

 ably misunderstood the question, for 

 there are numerous instances in 

 which the bees have no resources left 

 in the matter of brood or young 

 queens, when the virgin queen is 

 lost in her mating flight. The first 

 queen hatched usually destroys the 

 others, unless the colony wishes to 

 swarm again, when the bees prevent 

 her from doing so. 



The only remedy to apply when the 

 queen gets lost in her wedding flight 

 is a new queen or a queen-cell ready 

 to hatch. Every queen breeder 

 watches closely the colonies that have 

 queens to be fertilized. 



New York Field Meets 

 A field meet of the Western New 

 Vork Honey Producers' Association 

 is to be held July 26, at the home 

 apiary of Adams & Myers, Ransom- 

 ville.'X. Y. Another meet, of the 

 New York State Association oi Bee- 

 keepers' Societies, will be held Au- 

 gust 1, at the home apiarj oi I >ei i ij 



Taylor. Newark. N. Y. If it is possi- 

 ble for s.niie one of the American 



Bee Journal staff to be present, he 

 will attend both of these meets. 



Southern Queen Breeders Swamped 



The queen-breeders of the South 

 probably never had as busy a season 

 as this.' The weather has been ex- 

 tremely unfavorable for shipping 

 bei , on acci iunt of numerous rains. 



