274 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



time, but the contrary was the fact, for 

 at least a month sufficient nectar was 

 coming in to keep brood-rearing flourish- 

 ing. 



RE-HASHING. 



The doctor is persistent. I think 1 

 may say, without exaggeration, that he 

 has recently discussed in a dozen differ- 

 ent articles and items the quality of 

 queens reared by colonies in a natural 

 way on the removal of the existing 

 queen. Now he is entering upon a simi- 

 lar campaign against the opinion of 

 Doolittle that the color of Italian 

 bees is not properly called yellow. 

 Several other evidences of the same trait 

 might be mentioned. Persistence is a 

 good thing if thereby some new fact or 

 argument is brought to light. 

 CRITICISM. 

 F. Iv. Thompson, in the Progressive 

 Bfe-Keeper, for August, makes some 

 sharp "comments" on the teachings of 

 sundry editors and leading lights. They 

 are very readable, and are well cal- 

 culated to bring out the truth, but it 

 would be well for brother Thompson to 

 have a care to the character of his langu- 

 age, otherwise some one's feelings may 

 be hurt. He should give more attention 

 to the cultivation of a spirit of bi'otherly 

 love. Of course, truth is a good thing to 

 get, if it can be done without disturbing 

 anyone's complacency, but the main thing 

 is to avoid wounding the self-esteem of 

 prominent writers. The editor of Glean- 

 ings, 6i8, says "some bee-keepers are, 

 unfortunately, sour — soured on particular 

 people who for some slight cause have 

 gained the ill-will of that person. This 

 thought came to me after reading a com- 

 munication The writer 



of said article — a chronic pessimist — seems 

 to be leaving no stone unturned to say 

 some mean thing of some one person," 

 etc. I am at a loss now whether it was 

 Mr. Thompson or Dr. Miller the editor 

 had in view in this item. 



FOUL SMOKERS. 



In the article just referred to Mr. 

 Thompson is inclined to ridicule the ad- 



vice to clean the smoker, which Dr. Mil- 

 ler gives an inquirer who complains that 

 his smoker drops inky-looking stuff, say- 

 ing that he (Thompson), having just 

 cleaned his smoker, went out and tried it, 

 and that it dripped that black stuff more 

 copiously than he ever knew it to do be- 

 fore. This locality is like Mr. Thomp- 

 son's — cleaning the smoker is no remedy 

 here. The cause of the dripping is the 

 use of fuel not thoroughly dry. I'uel, if 

 pieces of wood, should be kept under 

 cover for two or three years in a dry 

 place; and even then it may be improved, 

 when prepared for the smoker, b\- being 

 kept for a few days in the hot summer 

 sun, care being used to protect it from 

 dew and rain. If the supply must be re- 

 plenished quickly, thorough toasting 

 in an oven is the best way 



REMOVING HONEY WITHOUT HEE- 

 ESCAPES. 



F. A. Snell makes this broad as.sertion 

 ' Before the invention of the bee-escape 

 there was no wa}' to take off honey with- 

 out demoralizing the bees, unless one 

 waited until cool weather. " This, if true, 

 would be deplorable, but I have not 

 found it to be true. If all unnecessary 

 handling of bees during times of a dearth 

 of nectar is avoided, all necessary hand- 

 ling with judicious management may be 

 done without educating the bees up to 

 the point of making annoying attempts 

 at robbing. Rapidity is the key. Two 

 do the work much more advantageously 

 than one. One loosens the cover and the 

 case, and raises the case, turning it up in 

 a convenient position for brushing the 

 bees off its lower side. The other re- 

 moves the cover, sends a few puffs of 

 smoke into the top of the case, and with 

 a large quill, or other brush, by two or 

 three passes removes the bees from its 

 bottom, when it is turned up. The cases 

 must not be exposed for a minute. They 

 maybe removed at once to the honey 

 house where the remaining bees may es- 

 cape through the windows; or they may, 

 for the time, be piled securely in the 



