The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1881-12-21
Toys Toys NJ Bossats next to the Post Office Sacon
MOTH TRAP HIVES.

The following criticisms in SoutI,
ern paper is from the pen of a veteran
oil patent moth-trap vende,:
have noticed in the LOUISIANA DEN
ocR Vt letter of Judge Andrews, of Nc.
Kinney, Tex, copied from the dme
rican Bee Journal, in which very lu
dicrous comparison is made between
the depredations of buzzards upon cat
tie, and those Of moths upon bees. He
says: "Can We manage cattle so the
buzzards will not destroy them1'
answer, yes; give them good rasturct
in summer, spring aud fall, and supply
them with all abundance of forage dur.
ing winter. Keep them fat, and there
is little danger of buzzards. Now it il
trne that the Judges so-caled harm.
less moth seldom attacks the strong
and healthy colony of bees; but unlike
tie buzzards, they do not wait for
their prey to die. Wren the bees be-
come weak, they are liable to be at
tackled by moths, while the buzzard
feeds only upon carrlon. The mott.
feeds upon the wax, depriving the col
ony of a receptacle for honey, and the
queen of the. cells in which to lay hel
eggs. The duration of life of a work.
ing bee is bit 20 days, consequently,
If the queen has no place in which to
deposit her eggs, the colony soon will
be extermnated in the. natural order
of things. When the hive is guarded
by "reliahle moth trap protection
is afforded against these invaders Of
the hive, and as any impartial or un
biased mind will see, and admit, they
may continue their operations unmu-
Tested. j. F. VAN HORN.
Alex'a, La, Sept. Is, 1881.
In reply, l have this to say
The Captain quotes, Gas question
proponnded by mel, "Can we manage
cattle so that the buzzards will not de-
stroy thenIP' And he answers yes"
and proceeds to tel us how it can be
done. Now the course of the Cap
tain's position is that unless cattle are
thus managed the buzzards will de-
stroy them. Destroy cattle, Captain.
ar only eat up their comparatiy.l,
worthless carcasses9 But the Captain,
says: ''Keep them (the cattle) fat,
and there is little danger Of buzzards. :"
Then Captain, there is some danger,
though our cattle are STRONG and
healthy" Now, you have travelled all
over Texas, and likely know wherein
this changer" though little it be, con-
sists. Tell US.
The Captain says further. "Now
it is true that the judges, so. called,
harmless moth seldom attacks the
strong and healthy colony of bees, but
unlike the buzzards, they do not wait
for their prey to die"
ger of buzzards," and if the "moth sell
dom attacks the strong and healthy
colony of BEES" take it that the buz-
yards and the moth are about alike,
Comparatively harmless"
But the buzzard does not always
"wait for his prey to die" Ihave seen
him pluck the gleamy, sightless eye
from its socket while the COW was
yet alive; but this was only an inno-
cent mistake on his part, for he thought
she was dead-he thought she was
surely "carrion." The Captain is
right when he says "the buzzard
feeds only upon carbon" and so he is
when he says in the next sentence,
"the moth feeds upon wax" etc, and
he might have~added, land wax only"
So l Prove by the Captain, upon Cross
examination, that it is absolutely true
that the wisest cattle man of Texas
cannot manage cattle so that the
buzzard will not destroy tLeni," for
the reason that "the buzzard feeds
upon carrlon," not upon cattle, and in
like manner, | prove that even Mr..
Langstfoth could not "manage bees
so that the moth will not destroy
them," for the reason that "tbe moth
feeds upon wax" not upon bees, any
more than the buzzald feeds upon the
yamboling, believing OK.
And prove also that the moth is
only bee moth, $50 Called" for it
ioes not feed upon bees, but "upon
'he wax" and I will add, whether
'the wax" be inside of bee live or
." Inv toP VI CautSH SpIo.
The Captain says: "The moth feeds
lpon the wax depriving the colony of
receptacle for honey, and the queen
If the cells in which to lay her eggs"
Now, with full confidence in my DO
'ition, and due respect to all, chal-
enge Captain Tan Horn, and all the
,ther itinerant moth-trap vendors of
North America, to show that the moth
'ver trenched upon the precincts of
he brood chamber, or even encroached
lpon the confines of the comb occu
lied by the colony.
The Captain says: "When the hive
8 guarded by reliable moth
to-" do not desire to infringe upon
he right of the patentee of this state
nent, unless it be an Infringement to
ay that the great Creator of all things
except moth traps) in His infinite
wisdom, ordained before the tounda-
ion of the world that no such thing
IS "a reliable moth-trap" shonld ever
'e invented, much less, patented.
w. H. ANDREWS.