I drop these few lines to you to ascertain whether the “Apiculturist” is
opposed to publishing opinions of beekeepers in regard to certain hives,
in certain localities, their good and bad qualities, etc.
I sent A. I. Root my opinion of the chaff hive, in my locality, how I
lost my bees very nearly all one season, by using them; and I proved the
cause to be the fault of the hive.[7] I must have been right, or he
would certainly have published the article. At least I thought I was,
since he didn’t publish it, which is about two years ago. Now he ought
not to have been opposed to publishing my article, because I have
already read in the _Gleanings_, where he said he was always glad to
have the children write pieces for it, because, as he says, they
generally speak their mind right out, no matter whom it hits.
Now, I am no child, nor am I a professional writer; but I consider that
my article was as well gotten up as any child could get one up, and it
was just as plain spoken too, as any article a child ever wrote for
_Gleanings_, but it must have hit in the wrong place.
Now, Mr. Editor, if the “American Apiculturist” is conducted and run on
such selfish motives, I would rather have my money returned than be
considered a subscriber.
You are at liberty to publish this if you choose.
Sometime since I saw an article in one of the bee journals, in answer to
an inquiry as to the reason why a certain gentleman’s bees tore down
their worker brood and dragged it out.
The answer that he received was this: in case the honey flow ceases
suddenly, the bees will tear down their worker brood and rid themselves
of it to prevent starvation which, so far as my experience goes, I have
never found to be the case, although I have known the honey flow to
cease very suddenly and very often with me.
When the honey flow suddenly ceases it is a very common thing to see the
bees dragging out drone brood; but whenever I see any of my bees
carrying out their worker brood I know that that colony is troubled with
the moth (or wax) worm.
I then open the hive and assist the bees in ridding themselves of the
pests, and I have never yet failed to find the latter travelling along
just under the cappings of the brood, where their presence is easily
detected by white streaks which are easily followed with the head of a
large pin or the point of a knife and the worm removed without injuring
the brood in the least.
I suppose that the bees, in their efforts to secure and remove the
worms, tear out some of the worker brood.