THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



179 



stand the method it is .simply this: At the 

 appro ich of the'honev season, or, per- 

 haps, rather about the time swarminj^ 

 would naturally commence, the laying, 

 (]ueens are removed." (I was about to 

 add "sic, "but fur the doctor's benefit 1 

 shall say, instead, that I have quoted 

 correctly. ) What an enticing prospect 

 that presents ! First the hunting of the 

 laying (jueens, then the rearing of a lot 

 of inferior queens from grubs of all ages, 

 and then the swarming of the entire apiary 

 for several days from morning till night; 

 impelled by virgin queens. Pardon the 

 slang, but pandemonium wouldn't be "in 

 it." Vet the editor says "As Mr. Cxctaz 

 now explains the method in detail, it 

 does not seem to be so objectionable as it 

 did at first. In fact, I feel strongly in- 

 clined to give it a trial this coming sea- 

 son." Brother Getaz, from sad expe- 

 rience, I kr.ow what it is; and you have 

 my profoundest sympatln-. 



H.AP-HAZ.\RD QUEENS. 



If one is to rear queens at all — I mean 

 in any way except the natural one — the 

 utmost effort should be made to produce 

 good ones; for good queens are the veiy 

 first requirnient of success. Mr. Somer- 

 f< r 1 (Gleanings, 260 1 h;;s a scheme for 

 the multiplication of colonies by which 

 the queens required are produced in 

 precisely the same way as they would 

 be by the ])lan outlined by the editor 

 of Gleanings referred to in the pre- 

 ceding paragraph. ''Mie queen is remov- 

 ed, and the bees are allowed to have their 

 own way in the selection of larvu.'. It 

 cannot be made too eni])hatic that by 

 this method a con.siderable proportion of 

 poor queens is sure to be reared. All the 

 more is this ( the neces.sity of emphasis 1 

 true because so well known an apiarist as 

 Dr. Miller teaches that this method is 

 not objectionable. I have understood 

 that the editor of Gleanings was opposed 

 to the doctor in this, but, as he says Mr. 

 Somerford's plan "commends itself as 

 practical," his position seems to become 

 ambiguous. While I believe boiling the 

 spores of foul brood fifteen minutes in 



hone\- will destroy their vitality, 1 would 

 not go so iar as to say that I ktiozv'xX. will; 

 but I ^wort'that Mr. Somerford's method 

 will produce many miserably inferior 

 queens. If at any time one is compelled 

 to make use of queens thus produced he 

 should prevent the maturing of the poor- 

 est ones by examining the cells about the 

 fourth day and removing the larger and 

 the more poorly fed larvae from the 

 queen cells, leaving the royal jelly to be 

 used in better supplying those that re- 

 main. 



THE DICTIONARIES. 



Stenog. (Gleanings, 255), referring to 

 my criticism of "bring to a boil" says 

 "The doctor defends his usage by refer- 

 ring to the Standard Dictionary, the 

 latest and by far the best of its kind ever 

 printed." Shades of Johnson ! In an 

 item a little above the one from which 

 this is taken, Stenog. asks "Why can't 

 hives and machinery be discussed as 

 calmly as the weather?" Well, mainly, 

 I suppose, because such reckless state- 

 ments as this one, for instance, about 

 dictionaries are not made about the 

 weather. 



TAKING BEES OUT FOR A FIJGHT. 



Dr. Miller, writing shortly befor March 

 2otli, says, (Gleanings, 253), "I'm get- 

 ting ready to report a case of bad winter- 

 ing. I'd give fco for a bright day at 50° 

 on or before March 20th." I venture to 

 guess that, if he intended to take his 

 bees out for a flight and then return 

 them to the cellar, he is now well satis- 

 fied that such a day did not come. If he 

 intended to leave them out, I still think 

 he would have gained nothing, consider- 

 ing the character of the weather up to 

 nearl)' the middle of April. 



GLEANINGS AND (;R.\MMAR. 



Some time since Gleanings eschewed 

 grammar and "such like things" for the 

 pursuit of apiculture, but the little foxes 

 continue to spoil the vines. In the May 

 15 No., about 25 per cent, of the space 

 occupied b}- the doctor's Stray Straws is 

 aken up with granmiar, spelling, etc., 



