."^£ BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



251 



ficial comb as a non-swarmer that. I made 

 live or six more hives of comb, three of 

 which 1 placed iu the apiary of my frieud, 

 Mr.^Heury (lephart, of Three Rivera. Al- 

 though both of us were almost certain of its 

 success, we were disappointed. We found 

 that uot ouly were droues welcomed from 

 other colonies, but also workers possessed 

 with the swarming impulse, which resulted 

 in restoring the colonies iu wooden combs 

 to a normal condition for swarming. How- 

 ever, I was and am still persuaded that the 

 three years test of isolated colonies was suf- 

 ficient to prove the success of wooden comb 

 as a non-swarmer ; and that an apiary of ;">0 

 or more colonies on such combs exclusively, 

 would also prove a success. 



As a further proof that drones are an in- 

 centive to swarming, I made a special test 

 this season in connection with the dummy 

 combs which I am now using exclusively in 

 my apiary. Some half dozen colonies were 

 allowed combs which were one-half or more 

 drone cells, together with patches of them 

 in many of the other combs. As a result, 

 these colonies, and these only, with tlieir 

 thousands of drones swarmed. I made this 

 test to prove the efficiency of the dummy 

 combs— to ascertain whether further ex- 

 periments were required to reduce it to 

 practice. 



I believe a thorough practical non-swarm- 

 er must prove successful even with a multi- 

 tude of drones, and to that end I am work- 

 ing. My latest improvements tend in that 

 direction, and if I can be guided by my ex- 

 perience in other lines of inventiou, cer- 

 tainly, the progress in this art has been 

 more rapid than the Potato Planter and 

 Digger. 



My new dummy comb far transcends those 

 I have been using, and will necessarially be 

 the subject of another patent. 



I have made further experiments by using 

 the dummies with artificial combs. Al- 

 though having but one colony on wooden 

 combs, still, with the combination no 

 swarms have been forthcoming for two 

 years. 



With artificial comb and dummies to 

 overcome the crowded condition, the minor 

 factors would be lessened, and doubtless the 

 prevention of swarming iu apiaries whether 

 large or small would be absolutely complete. 



Having made great improvements in arti- 

 fici^l comb this season, both as to lightness 

 and utility, I am inclined to believe in the 



possibility of a cheap production in that 

 line. It would certainly prove a boon to 

 queen breeders. Selected colonies from 

 which to rear drones, would give better con- 

 trol in the mating of (lueens, and insure 

 greater improvement of the race. 



Referring to the season. I will endorse the 

 statement of Hon. R. L. Taylor that it has 

 Vieen one of excessive swarming, and al- 

 though my colonies have been exceptionally 

 strong since early in April, still swarming 

 has been almost practically restrained. In 

 the neighboring apiaries nearly all colonies 

 have swarmed. 



Jackson, Mich. July 27, 1896. 



A Reply to Mr. Pettit. 

 K. m'knight. 



(^IR: The Re- 

 k9 view of July 

 has just reached 

 me. In it I find 

 a long letter from 

 Mr, Pettit in re- 

 ply to a former 

 communi cation 

 from the late Mr. 

 Pringle. If Mr. 

 Pringle was living 

 I should allow 

 him and Mr. Pettit 

 to "have it out" without any doubt as to 

 who would ultimately be /io;\s de combat. 

 The gentleman's four column letter is not, 

 nor was it intended to be, a reply to Mr. 

 Pringle. That letter supplied the Belmont 

 Legislator with a convenient pretext to make 

 another attack upon your humble servant, 

 and with characteristic vigor he "wades 

 right in." Now, sir. I recognize the fact 

 that neither you nor your readers care a 

 straw what Mr. Pettit thinks of me, or what 

 I think of him, and that it was really some- 

 what presumptions of him to ask you to 

 "setup" and print my name twenty-one 

 times in one communication. Distasteful 

 to you as it may be I ask your indulgence 

 for a brief space in which to say a few 

 words in reply, promising that it is the last 

 time I shall employ Mr. Pettit'suame in any 

 communication of mine to your paper. In- 

 deed, he is not a pleasant opponent. He is 

 too much given to charging those who differ 

 from him with lying, and misrepresenta- 

 tion. He is not impressable either — once he 



