UMASS/AMHERST ir. 'Ill 31^066 0333 2647 3 ''^^i »' ....^ '^: m .. --^^ %.:-> 'M ^.^. r^-;^-*- w. -^f^: >^^,.m^: "^y V ,,ti^.^ i >m »i ■^^i. ^^ r*.*r. r*.- W rP^j %i3je?«3ei*-/ -,^ . ^>- I- )#•*;».•"■ ■jxij^ a if^^ ..y., nDDDDDDnDDDDDDDaDDDDDnDDDDDDDDnD nDDDaDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDnDaDD (WZ .-i'^ OLDEST BEE PAPIRT^V AMERICA ^A-' I" DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO PROGRESSIVE BEE CULTURE. VoL XVIIII. Ohicago, 111., January 3, 1883. No. 1. PUBLISHED nv THOMAS C. NEWMAN, Editor Axn PROPKiETOit, 925 WEST MADISON ST., CHICAGO, ILL. Weekly, $S a year ; Monthly, Sll. t3^ Any person sending a chib of six Is entitled to an extra copy (like tbe club) sent to any address desired. Sample copies furnished free. FOREIGN POSTAGE, EXTRA : To Europe-Weekly, 5U cents ; Monthly, 12 cents. To Australia-Weekly.^! ; Monthly, 24 cents. George Neighbour & Sons. London, England, are our authorized agents for Europe. Entered at the Chicago Post Office as Second Class Matter. TOPICS PRESENTED THIS WEEK. Another Step in Advance 6 Apiary Register 12 Bee-Keeping in the South 3 Bees In a Snow Drift 11 Bees Packed on the Summer Stands II Brood Killed by Orer-heating, etc 11 Con mention Notices 4 Do Bees Hear ? 11 Eastern Indiana Convention 6 Eastern Michigan Convention 8 Editorial Items 1_4 Gathering the Statistics 2 Good Showing H Honey and Beeswax Market 3 Honey as Food and Medicine 13 International Fair at Hamburg, Germany.. 3 Local Convention Directory 4 Management of Bees in Winter 6 My Report _,__ H My Season's work for 1882 11 New Jersey and Eastern Conventton 9 Notice to Subscribers 4 One-half Pound Sections for Honey 5 Our Premiums for 1883 13 Report for 18.S2 n Sections too small 1 1 Separators a Necessity 8 Small Sections for Honey 8 The Oldest Bee Association 1 Well Pleased with Progress made 11 Who are our best Breeders 9 Wintered without loss in the Cellar 11 Winter Ventilation of Bees 7 p\TO^^^ inaisir The Oldest Bee Association. In an editorial on tbe benefits of apiarian exiiibits at fairs, in the Bee Journal for Dec. 13, 1S82, we re- marked as follows : The Michigan State Bee-Keepers' Association is the oldest in America, and we are pleased to say that it has been among tlie first to realize the im- portance of appointing a committee for tlie purpose of conferring with the officers of the State Fair, relative to giving the bee-keeping interests their due shareof attention and prominence at the Fair. Mr. E. Rood, ex-President of the Michigan State Bee-Keepers' Associ- ation, sends us the following criticism for publication : Mr. Newman : 1 see, in the last two numbers of the Bee Journal, that Michigan is credited with having organized tlie first bee convention in the United States. This is a mistake. A convention of considerable num- bers of bee-men was held at Cleve- land, Ohio, in March, 1860, at which Prof. J. P. Kurtland was President. Mr. L. L. Langstroth and others were present; the first question discussed was on wintering bees. Two subse- quent conventions, at least, were held at Cleveland in 1861. The first Mich- igan convention was held a few years after, and was suggested and gotten up by the late A. F. Moon, as was also the American Bee- Keepers' Con- vention, of which he was the first President. It was held at Indianap- olis, Ind. See Volume 1, pp. 67, 116, 281, 282 of the American Bee Jour- nal, 1861. I'or history and date of first Michigan convention, I respect- fully refer you to Prof. A. J. Cook, of Lansing, Mich. E. Rood. St. Paul, Minn., Dec. 26, 1S82. Mr. Rood makes the mistake of sup- posing that we said that the Michigan society was the fimt bee convention. We well knew that it was not the first bee convention held in America ; but we reiterate that it is the oldest Asso- ciation. The convention in Cleveland was a transient affair, convening a few times and then dying entirely, while the" Michigan State Association "has just held its seventeenth regular annual meeting, and is the oldest Association; the North-Eastern (New York) comes next, which holds its thirteenth an- nual meeting at Syracuse next Tues- day, Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 9-11, 1883. We thank Mr. Rood for the courtesy of calling attention to the matter, but the error is entirely his own — he meant one thing, while we said another. 1^ Our thanks are due to those who have renewed their subscriptions for the coming year — and they have so generally done this, that we believe our efforts to publish an acceptable weekly bee paper are appreciated, and our labors are rewarded. Our corres- pondents as well as advertisers also have our thanks. 1^ The Indiana Farmer begins its new volume with a quarto size, which is far more convenient for reference and preservation. It is an able and well-conducted paper for the farm, and has a good bee department. ^F When writing to this office on business, our correspondents should not write anything for publication on the same sheet of paper, unless it can be torn apart without interfering with either portion of the letter. The edi- torial and business departments are separate and distinct, and when the business is mixed up with items for publication it often causes confu.sion. They may both be sent in one envelope but should be written on separate pieces of paper. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Gathering the Statistics. A committee was appointed by the "North American Bee-Keepers' Soci- ety," at its late meeting in Cincin- nati, Ohio, for the purpose of securing statistical information relative to bee culture in North America. The mem- bers of this committee had a meeting last month, and elected Dr. C. C. Miller, chairman, and authorized him to issue a call for information through all the bee papers of America, and directed him to receive, assort and tabulate them, and then to offer the Tabulated Statistical Table for publi- cation, in all the papers devoted to apiculture in particular, and agri- culture in general,as well as to present that table and report to the next meeting of the North American Bee- Keepers' Society ,to be held at Toronto, Canada, next fall. In accordance with these instructions. Dr. Miller has is- sued the following notice, and asked the editors of all the bee papers to publish it, simultaneously, in the first issue of January, 1883 : Mk. Editor :— At the last meeting of the North American Bee-Keepers' Society, a committee was appointed to obtain statistics relating to bee cul- ture. Upon consultation, the com- mittee have decided to ask, through the various papers devoted to the in- terests of bee culture, for information directly from the bee-keepers them- selves. Will you, therefore, please request each bee-keeper to report his name, postofflce. State, the number of colonies he had m the fall of 1881, the number in spring of 1882, the number in fall of 1882, the number of pounds comb honey taken in 1882, the number of pounds extracted, and the number of pounds of beeswax. Let it be writ- ten on a postal card, like the following : F. Torrens, East Liberty, Pa. 21 colonies, fall, 1881. 18 colonies, spring, 1882. 2-5 colonies, fall, 1882. 400 lbs. comb honey. 300 lbs. extracted. 3 lbs. beeswax. No date is needed ; send the postal to Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo. 111., and as soon as they can be obtained, the results will be given through the pa- pers making this request. Let each bee-keeper send in the re- port of any other bee-keeper who does not send in his own report. C. C. MlLI,ER, Chairman Statistical Committee. "We would respectfully request every reader of this notice to sit down at once and send a postal card to Dr. Miller, Marengo, 111., and give the six items he requests, as above. By doing this small share in the work every one will be benefitting him or herself, as well as aiding the cause of bee culture generally throughout the country. Please do not think because you have reported to some bee paper, that such will do in place of this, but stop right here, before reading any further, and ^ WRITE TO DR. MILLER, .^i Now, having written the postal card as requested, let us talk the matter of statistics over a little. Here is a letter from Mr. H. L. Jeffrey, Vice President of the N. A. B. K. Society for the State of Connecticut, who wants to have a chat with you upon THOSE STATISTICS. I have been deeply interested of late in the articles on obtaining a correct statistical report of bees, honey and beeswax in the United States. I most heartily wish it may be obtained, though I very much doubt that it will be. during 1883. While reading the letter from Prof. Cook, ex-President of the North American Bee-Keepers' Society, I' could not help smiling to think how much help could or would be obtained from the town or State supervisors, as I have had a slight experience in try- ing to obtain any amount of informa- tion from that source. During the census taking, I found just one willing to give any aid out of over thirty that I had conversation with, and he was a bee-keeper. Through him I ob- tained, as we afterwards found out, just Hve-sixths of the number of colo- nies in his town. In the year 1880, if I remember cor- rectly, you, Mr. Editor, sent me a card asking an effort to obtain, as near as possible, the statistics of Connecticut. Ever since then I have used every available means to obtain it, and [ find that it is next to an impossibility to find out very much. In the first place, the number of colonies in the spring should be stated. 2. The increase, the amount of sur- plus honey, and the amount of bees- wax, etc. 3. The number of colonies to be put into winter quarters, saying nothing of the hive used, the method of win- tering, etc. Now comes the trouble. There are so many box-hive men to be looked up, whose separate productions for the market supply may be compared with one mill to a dollar, though it should be known to make the whole com- plete, and their wax product is pro- portionately greater than that of the practical apiarist. In oider.to obtain the information in my last annual report to the North American Bee-Keepers' Association, 1 have worked for three years, and I honestly do not believe it "is anywhere near correct, though I worked faith- fully for it, and used every means in ray power, and my memoranda shows it cost nearly $100, to say nothing of the time spent in writing or visiting bee-keepers, or the amount used for postage on letters or cards I received from parties furnishing me with in- formation. Scarcely any one ever thinks of the magnitud'e or such an undertaking, except those having tried it, and, worse than all, is the amount of fault- finding there is to withstand from those thinking they could have done better, though, in reality, the hardest amount of work they do is with their tongue. Mr. J. S. Terrill's plan is qufte worthy of a trial if the vice-presidents have either ambition or curiosity enough about them to push it through ; and there is another trouble, if they have too much push they will not get any information, because it takes time and some trouble to make out even a small report. The greatest trouble ia to try to get a report within a stated time, because no man will do anything till he gets ready, and the more you drive the more he holds back ; never- theless, it can be worked at, year after year, until a nearly correct statistical table will be the result. Let the Committee on Statistics ap- point a man in each State, giving him a specimen blank ; furnish him a list of all the bee-keepers, and allow him three months in which to do his best, then call for a report ; then call for another final report, in time for the National Convention. I know that a fair result can be obtained by that plan. Nearly every State has either an agricultural paper or a principal paper of some sort, and its columns can be used by some one to a very sat- isfactory result. Write a few articles for it, then make a call through its columns, and he will hear from more than he thinks ; then, two or three more articles, another call and another response ; each time he will obtain a wider field. I have tried this plan and I find it is better than anything ex- cept a regular,thorough canvass. Try not only the papers, but solicit aid of all the "farmers' clubs and the agri- cultural societies. H. L. Jeffrey. Woodbury, Conn., Dec. 23, 1882. The reader will please notice the fact that Mr. Jeffrey has worked for three years and spent nearly $100 in money, in his endeavor to get the cor- rect statistics of his State on bees and honey. Now, shall we ask another favor of you V Of every bee-keeper you can obtain an interview with, no matter whether he has .5 or 500 colo- nies of bees, just make a memorandum of his name, post oflice and State (so that it may be classified), and then send to Dr. Miller a postal card con- taining the reports, from your memo- randum book, of the season's work of every one who has not himself al- ready reported. This is but a trifling matter, but will tell wonderfully on the general result. Instead of costing you $100, as it has Mr. Jeffrey, it will cost you but a tew cents, and you will be fully rewarded in the general re- sults which will certainly follow the attainment of correct figures concern- ing the honey crop of America. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. ftof . Cook very aptly remarks that " the magnitude of the business once known, it will be better appreciated as one of the important industries of the country." But few Can fail to recognize the importance of full and accurate statistics of the present con- dition of Apiculture in the United States, both as to the number of colo- nies of bees and the honey product, and we hope, as a result of this en- deavor, to obtain them. If we fail, the failure will be justly charged to the bee-keepers themselves through- out the country. The International Fair at Hamburg. From Washington we have the fol- fowing in reference to the General Stock Fair at Hamburg, Germany. We should very much regret it, if the American bee-keeping interests are not fully and creditably represented. A dispatch from Washington, a few days ago, published in the daily papers, is as follows : The assistant secretary of state is just in receipt from the United States consulate at Hamburg of full informa- ation in regard to an international ex- hibition of domestic animals, fish, etc., to be held at Hamburg in July, 1883. The committee of this exhibition are exceedingly desirous of calling the at- tention of the people of the United States to this matter, and solicit their participation in the exhibition. The committee having charge of the exhi- bition is composed of the leading and most distinguished citizens of Ham- burg, together with representative men from other countries. The spec- ial programme will have many novel features. The exhibition will begin on .July 3, 18S3, and will be closed on July 11. The following departments will be fully represented : Horses and mules, cattle, sheep, swine, bees, with appli- ances for their keep and culture, with their products ; fish and poultry, stalls and other places for the keeping of animals, as well as machinery and im- plements directly connected with the breeding, keeping, or culture of do- mesticated animals, and lastly, scien- tific researches and results, with the literature relative to the breeding of animals. For each of these sections there will be a special committee act- ing under the order of the general committee and the board of general directors. All applications for space or place must be received by Jan. 30, 1883. As no duties exist in the district of the free city of Hamburg there are no custom-house complications. The prizes to l)e awarded in the several sections will consist of cash prizes, medals, certificates of merit and va- rious honorary prizes. Cash prizes may be exchanged for articles of silver of an equivalent value. The commit- tee is composed of the following per- sons : Albertus von Ohlendorf , pres- ident ; Syndic Dr. Leo, vice president; Consul General Emile Notting, treas- urer, and Richard Seeleman, secretary. The committee have made arrange- ments with the Hamburg-American Packet company for special reduced rates for the transportation of animals, etc., from New York to Hamburg, and also for their return to New York. C. B. Richard & Co. are the agents at New York. Bee-Keeping in the South. The following is a very reasonable article, which we notice in The South, and will be read with interest by those who contemplate removing their bees to some southern climate, diiring the present winter or coming spring : It is claimed that honey is one of the most healthful sweets that can be found. As the honey bees feed on the pure juices of healthy plants, it is clear that the honey must partake of the quality of the blossoms from which it is extracted. The sugar in honey is of a highly nutritive character. It is a sweet of rare purity, and it has been regarded with peculiar favor from the remotest antiq uity. That the South is highly adapted to bee-keeping is evident from the natu- ral condition of the country. The climate is promotive of rare exuber- ance of vegetation and of a flora varied, rich, and abundant. In the South the bees finds not only this abundance from which to gather de- licious sweets, but there are many plants, shrubs, and trees, such as bass- wood, poplar, persimmon, holly, black gum, blackberry, wild cherry, etc. In addition to these there are numerous honey-producing perennials. Again, the season of labor is much longer than at the North. Neither does the bee suffer from the severity of the weather to the same extent as at the North. The economic aspects of the subject are largely in favor of the South as a place for the success- ful pursuit of the business. In all sections of the South bee-keep- ing obtains. A Florida bee-keeper states that he started the season of 1881 with 35 colonies, which increased during the year to 86. During the same season he took from them 6,600 lbs. of honey. He attributes his suc- cess more to the natural advantages of the country than to any skill on his own part. To insure success, bee-keeping re- quires intelligent attention and apti- tude for the business. Those who undertake it without applying the proper means are likely to fail in this pursuit as in others. Theoretical knowledge is valuable, but practice is essential to a true comprehension and to t,he best results. The bee is endowed with wondeiful instincts, the study of which is replete with interest. While reaping large profits from the pursuit, the beekeeper may, at the same time, acquire a store of knowl- edge of the mysteries of nature. Honey and Beeswax Market. Office op AaiEKicAN bbk Journal, ( Monday, Ml a, m., January 1. 188:^. t The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Qaotatlons of Cash Bayers. CniCAQO. HONBY-The supply of extracted honey is fully up to the demand. My quotations are : 7c. for inTk and 9c. for liKht. 'delivered here. BEESWAX— It is quite scarce. I am paying 27c. for good yellow wax, on arrival ; darli and off col- ors, 17@22c. Al,. H. Nkw.man, 923 W. Madison St. CINCINNATI. HONEY— The demiind is good for extracted in barrels as well as in ulaya jars and tin buckets ; ar- rivals are fair. The demand is fair for comb honey, which, however, is not cheap enough to mnke trade lively. l<:xtracted brings 7(i®l5c. Extracted— White brings from 9^iuc.: dark, 8@9c.; kegs, half- barrels and casks bring about same price. BKESWAX-Choice Yellow, 30c.; dark to med- ium, l8@25c. R. A. Bdhnbtt, 161 South Water St. SAN VKANCISCO. HONEY— No business worthy of note is reported. Offerings of dark honey, either comb or extracted, are neglected. White comb. 17@20c; dark to good. ll@13!^c; ex- tracted, choice to extra white, 8>^@9J^C. ; dark and candied, 7(5j8c. BEESWAX-We quote 25»28c. Stearns ,.1 Smith. 433 Front Street. ST. I.OUIS. HONEY— Dull. Comb, at 16c. for large or hard to IMCi«20c. for choice bright in small packages : ex- tracted at 8@yc. : strained, 6i^(3i7c. ; choice, in smaller quantities, brings more. BKESWAX— Prime bright steady at 27®28c. W. T. ANDERSON & CO., 1 17 N. Main Street. CLEVELAND. HONBY-Has changed in price a very little, we find it necessary to sell all grades about I cent per lb. less. Best white, in 1 m sections, 20{a21c. per per pound ; in 2 lb. sections. i8^20c. Extracted is very dull indeed, hardly any sale. BEKSWAX-Scarce, 2H(g;*)c. A. C. Kendel. 115 Ontario Street. NEW YORK. HONEY— There is only a moderate supply of choice to fancy white clover honey, and prices are still held firmly, though the demand is not large. Buckwheat and extracted honey continue slow. Wequote: White clover, first quality, 1 lb boxes, 25c; 2 1b. bo.xes, 23;&2.'>c. ; buckwheat, 1 lb boxes, 2nc. : 2 lb. boxes, 16c. Extracted, white, 12@13c.; dark, 9(a inc. BKESWAX— The supply has been llghtand prime lots held a shade higher. Western pure, .306^/31 c: southern, pure, 31@32c. D. W. Qi'iNBY, KID Park Place. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is fairly active. We quote: V^ lb. sections at 30c. : l lb. sections, 22fai25c. ; 2 1b. sections, 20@22c. Extracted. lOc. per lb. Good lots 01 extracted are wanted in kegs or barrels. BBBSWAX-:ioo. Crocker A Blake. 57 Chatham Street. i^May we ask you, dear reader, to speak a good word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at least one new subscription with your own V Our premium," Bees and Honey," in cloth, will pay you for your trouble, besides having the satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bee Journal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL,. Local Convention Directory. 1883. Time and Place oj MeeUma. Jan. 2-4— Eastern N. Y., at Albany, N. Y. E. Quakenbush. Sec. Barnervtlle, N. Y. 9.— Cortland Union, at Cortland. N. Y. M. C. Bean. Sec. McGrawville, N. Y. 9.— Ohio State, at Columbuti, Ohio. I). Spear. Sec, CardinKton, Ohio. 9-II, Northeastern, at Syracuse. N. Y. G. W. House, Fayetteville, N. Y. 10, n.— Indiana State, at Indianapolis. Dr. J. H. O'Rear. Prea. U, Nebraska State, at Wahoo. Neb. Geo. M. Hawlcy, Sec. 10,— N. W. 111. and S. W. Wis. at Kreeport. J. Stewart. Sec. 18, Chamolain Valley, at Micidleburg. Vt. T. Broukins. Sec. 19, 20.— Mahoning Valley, at Berlin Centre. O. \j. Caraon, Pres. 20.— S. W. Mich., at Ann Arbor, G. J. Pease, Sec, Ann Arbor. Feb. 3.— Northern Ohio, at Norwalk, O. 8.— Maine State, at Dexter. Wm. Hoyt, Sec. 14, l.'i.— N. K. Ohio and N. W. Pa., at Anrtover C. T. Leonard. Sec. April 5.— Utah, at Salt Lake City. Stevenson, Sec 17, 18,— Texas State, at McKinney, Wm. H. Howard, bee. May II.— Iowa Central, at Winterset. J. B. Pryor.Sec. — , —Texas State Convention, at McKinney. Dr. W. K. Howard. Sec. Oct. 17, 18.-Northwe8tern.at Chioafio. 111. TbomasG. Newman, Sec. 9, 10.— Northern Mifih. at Slieridun. Mich. O. R. Goodno, Sec. Caraon City. Mich. Dec. 5-fi. Michigiin State, at Flint. H. D. Cutting, :?ec.. Union, Mich. |y In order to have this table complete. Secre- taries are requested to forward full particulars of time and place of future meetiuiis.- Kl>. Convention Notices. t^ The Northeastern Ohio and Northwestern Penn'sylvania Bee- Keepers' Association will meet at Andover, Ohio, to liold tlieir annual convention, on the second Wednes- day and Thursday of February, 18S3. C. T. Leonard, Sec. i^° The annual meeting of tlie Cort- land Union Bee-keepers' Association will be held in Cortland, N. Y., on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 1883. M. C. Bean, Sec. McGrawville, N. Y. 1^ The annual meeting of the Cliamplain Valley Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation will be held at Middleburg, Vt., on Thursday, January 18, 1883, at 10 a. m. T. BuooKiNS, Sec. 1^ The Northeastern Bee- Keepers' Association will hold tlieir thirteenth Annual Convention in the City Hall, at Syracuse, N. Y., on the 9lh, 10th and 11th days of January, 1883. Business of great value to every bee-keeper in the State will be brought before the meeting. Every memuer is requested to attend and bring their friends, that all may be benefited by tlie action there taken. The question drawer will be opened each day, and questions answered and discussed. All are invited to send (piestions. Appropriate diplomas will be awarded to successful exhibitors of iinplements, etc. Let all attend. Geo. W. House, Sec. ^- The Texas State ]5ee-Keepers' Association will hold its Fifth Annual Convention at McKinney, Collin Co., on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 17th and 18lh, 1883; at the residence of Hon. W. H. Andrews. The following committees have been appointed, and the programme arrang- ed for the next meeting, by the execu- tive committee; viz : on Resolutions; Apiarian Supplies and Exhibits ; Subjects for Discussion ; and Arrange- ments, to receive and entertain those in attendance from abroad. Froijramme. —President's Address. Subject— State and National Conven- tions. Subjects for general discussion : £'ssaj/s.— The " Coming bee," W. H. Andrews. Honey plants. Native Ilorseraints, different varieties, Wm. R. Howard. "Extracted vs. Comb Honey," W. K. Marshall, D. D. " Bee-Moth," W. H. Andrews. " The Queen Bee, her nature and habits, Wm. R. Howard. "The different races of bees in America; their relative value to apiculture," W. K. Marshall, D. D. Other essays are promised, and a general good time is anticipated. Ample arrangements are made to ac- comodate those from a distance. Those wishing to place anything on exhibition or correspond with the com- mittee of arrangements, will be promptly attended to, by addressing, W. H. Andrews, President, McKinney, Collin Co„Texas. All othercorrespon- dence to the Secretary. We would be pleased to have any one propound questions of interest for discussion, as we have found great interest, as well as valuable information gained hy the discusssion of questions con- tributed to our " Question Box." Wsi. R. Howard, Sec. Kingston, Texas. 1^" The annual meeting of the Northwestern Illinois and South- western Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' As- sociation will be held in Temperance Hall, Freeport, Stephenson county, 111., on January 16 and 17, 1883. Jonathan Stewart, Sec. Rock City, 111. 1^" The Eastern New York Bee- Keepers' Union will hold their 11th Semi-Anuual Convention on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, January 2hd, 3d. and 4th, 1883, at the State Agricultural Rooms, State Street, Albany, at 10 o'clock, a. m. All inter- ested in bees are invited to attend. C. Quackenbush, iSec. W. L. Tennant, Pres. 1^ The Nebraska State Bee-Keep- ers' Association, will hold its annual session in Wahoo, Saunders county. Neb., commencing Thursday, Jan. 11th, 1883. Arrangements have been made with the railroads to -secure 134 fare for the round trip. The Saunders county Bee- Keepers' Association will furnish entertainment free to all visiting apiarists. Bee-keepers from neighboring States will be welcomed. T. L. VonDorn, Pres. Geo. M. Hawley, Sec 1^ The Southeastern Michigan Bee- Keepers' Association will hold their annual meeting in the court- house at Ann Arbor, Jan. 20, 1883. All are invited. H. D. Cutting, Pres. G. J. Pease, Sec, Ann Arbor. i^" The Ohio State Bee-Keepers' Association will meet in Columbus, in the rooms of the Ohio State Journal, on Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 9 and 10, 1883. A full attendance of mem- bers, and all interested in bee-culture, is requested, as matters of interest and importance will be discussed. Dr. H. Besse, Delaware, O., Pres. Daniel Speah, Cardington, O., Sec. i^The annual meeting of the Ma- honing Valley Bee-keepers' Associa- tion will be held at Berlin Center, Mahoning Co., O., in the town hall on Friday and Saturday the 19th and20tb of January, 1883. All bee-keepers are invited to attend and send essays, pa- pers, implements, or any thing of in- terest to the fraternity. A full at- tendance is requested of all who are interested. In fact, the meetings wiD be so interesting that you cannot afford to miss them. We expect a lecturer from abroad on the evening of the 19th. L. Carson, Pres. ^" The Indiana State Bee- Keepers- Association will hold its annual meet' iiig at Indianapolis, Ind., on Jan. 10 and 11, 1883. AH are invited. Dr. J. H. O'Rear, Pres. .,^ The quarterly meeting of the Marshall County Bee-Keepers' Associ- ation will meet in Marshalltown,Iowa, on Siturday, Jan. 6, 1883, at the Sheriff 's ollice, in the Court House, at 10:30 a. ni. The subject for discussion being " Winter and Spring Care." J. W. Sanders, Sec. Subscription Credits.— After send- ing subscriptions to this oflfice, we would respectfully, ask every one to look at the label on the wrapper of the next two papers, and there they will find the credit indicated thus : Those who have paid for the first six months of next year will find " June 83 " after their names. Those who have paid for the whole year will find " Dec. 83 " on their papers. The credit runs to the end of the month indicated. If the mark is " Dec. 82," it means that the subscription is paid until the end of the present year. Please remem- ber that the credit given on this label is a sufficient notification of subscrip- tions due and receipt for payments made. If not so indicated within two weeks after sending money to us, you may be sure something is wrong, and should write to us about it. It will save annoyance and trouble if our subrcribers will give this matter due attention. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. #^ For the American Bee JoumaL One-Half Pound Sections for Honey. JAMES HEDDON. For sometime Boston honey dealers have been quoting half-pound sections of lioney iit prices about 5 cents per pound higher than those quoted for the one-pound package. Ttiese ligures have set hundreds of producers to thinking about auotlier change, wish- ing, as all progressive men do, to "keep abreast of the times," and reap the protits that always accrue by so doing. They also do not forget that ■changes cost money, patience and time, and they dislike to step out from the beaten path, without some sort of certainty that they are moving in the right direction. Atourlate Michigan State convention this subject was taken up and discussed at considerable length. I was reported as saying that I was intending to adopt the half- pound size. This was a mistake. What I said was that my neighbor bee-keeper (Mr. W. H. Shirley), to whom I sold my Glenwood apiary, finds 2-lb sections too large, and thinks of jumping the whole distance at one leap, and going, not to the one-pound, but to the half-pound sections ; and that we had been holding private con- ventions of two, over the matter for some considerable time. Since the report appeared I have received several communications re- garding my opinion about the matter. It has been said that" a man will give his opinion when he will not give a cent in money ; " that " advice is cheap," etc., etc.; but the truth is, these friendly letters of inquiry from brother bee-keepers are gettmg too many, not for my inclination, but for my ability to answer, so I will try to satisfactorily reply to all in this article. My opinion is, that it is of great im- portance that we should all use an uniform section, if any, of this size ; that it will pay to have some of this size on our markets ; that we should try to get to the best size and shape, as soon and with as little expense as possible. Just here let me make some statements that, I think, are settled facts. 1st. Thin comb foundation, if good, is used at a profit, even at $1.00 per pound. 2d. The thinner a card of honey is, the more surface and look of " quan- tity " it presents, in proportion to its weight or real amount. 3d. The thinner the comb is to be built the straighter it will be, all other influences being equal. 4th. Tlie thinner it is the sooner the honey will be ripened, fit to seal, and the sooner sections will be finished, ready to come off. These thin combs would, without the use of comb foundation, cost more in proportion to their capacity than thicker ones ; but, with its use, prob- ably less. But, again, nothing but perfectly-made foundation will be fit for combs as thin as would weigh only one-half pou"d, yet made in 4ix4i sec- tions. I have some other reasons to make me fear to cut the combs down to this tliinness, as was mentioned at our State convention. 5th. If tbe weight be reduced one- half by thinning the 4ix4i sections alone, they will be extremely tliin,and we who use the case method will have no alterations to make, and only to order sections 9 or 10, instead of 7 to the foot 6th. If the same reduction is made by cutting down the size of tlie square of the section alone, and this being done only horizontally, leaving the thickness (2 inches) the same, thus adapting the new standard one-half pound section to the present broad frames in use, fitting the present form of the tin separators, as they would, making a section 4i inches high by 2 thick, and say 2 wide, tlien this size would necessitate no clianges to those who use broad frames, and while they would loose the above-named advan- tages of thinner combs, they would gain one, viz. : that thissmallersquare section would ship more safely. Thin combs will do away with any n^ed of separators by even the least adept and experienced, I think, and also give us richer honey. Cutting down the perpendicular width will make our space greater up and down, than horizontally, and bees prefer this shape and in it fasten their combs more securely to the section,as 1 found out when I used the two sizes, 4ix6| inches on its side, and 5x6 on its end. ^ow, remembering that there is often " danger in extremes," I am of the opinion that a reduction in both the directions named, will be best, and that experiments will bring us to a section (without separators) about H inches thick by 4i high x 2i inches wide, standing on end. These will not fit any of the frames~er cases now most in use, without remodeling, but the truth of their appropriate shape will still remain the same. In adopting this new standard small section we cannot afford to have more than one size, and we cannot afford to sacrifice the best shape the least parti- cle, to accommodate any fixtures that any or all of us may have now on hand. I know that actual experiment, on no small scale, and by many apiar- ists of good judgment and no preju- dices, is the best method by which to solve almost any problem in a branch of science, but theory may bring us pretty close to tlie true standard if we reason carefully from facts already well proven by our past experience. We who use the new case method will have to knOck our cases apart and add three more division spaces, prop- erly spacing all, and nail together as before. Those who use broad frames, if they still presTtrve that system of surplus storing (I would abandon it, I assure you, if I did), will have to cut down the width of their frames merely. 7 frames, 2 7-16 inches scant, will just fill the place of 4 frames, 4i. Such a frame, viz. : 4ix2 7-16x11, used without separators, will. I think, come as near one-half pound gross as we can get it. I deem it a great advantage, as re- gards the passage of the bees,straight- ness of the combs, convenience of the bee-keeper in examining the cases (enabling one to see the condition of the combs better), as well as driving down the bees when removing the same,and handlingthe sections inand out of the cases and shipping crates, tliat the narrow piece be not less than I narrower than the wide piece, and that this narrowness extend entirely throughout the length of both top and bottom piece of the section. We want no corners or closed tops, and all the above holds good for any section of any size. It seems that no size of section, whether filled in company with sepa- rators or not, can be relied upon re- garding any particular weight ; that is, close enougli tomakethesale-with- out-weight system an honest one. So let us expect our half-pound sections to be sold by weight, and not by the piece. With separators to hold the same amount of honey, the sections should be i inch wider. Tliese " sep- aratored " sections of honey have, like "yon fellow, Oassio," "a lean and hungry look," a look of much " tare," that combs born without their inter- ference do not have. WHO SHOULD ADOPT HALF-POUND SECTIONS FIItST V My idea is like that of Dr. C. C. Miller's, expressed by him at our con- vention, that all the sizes will be more or less in demand, and he said if he knew every one but he were going to use the pound and half-pound sections he would use the two-pound, as some larger ones would be in demand. Now this is a true system of reasoning. Now, my own opinion is, that we shall find that many more one-pound sec- tions will be demanded than two- pound ; many more of one-half pound than of both the others together. There are, no doubt, a large number of beekeepers who ought, and are go- ing to change from the two-pound section to something smaller ; a larger number, who have not as yet got much of any fixtures of value. Then there are those who are yet to enter our ranks, and out of these three classes we will get enough of that size of sections to fill the demand to come, without any changes on the part of those who, like myself, have a regular all-one-size and style of sur- plus arrangement, all in working oper- ation on a scale of considerable mag- nitude and of medium size (one-pound) o p p ^" ] Of] Q For the good of those who are young in the pursuit, let me warn them not to encumber themselves with the great inconvenience of two sizes of sections, unless the demands for a total change are imperative, and the two sizes are not to be allowed to keep company longer than the entire change neces- a if ji fpQ Since penning the above, ITind Mr. Forncrook's circular on my desk. In it I find quoted two sizes of halfi)ound sections of the following dimensions, viz.: one to he used in the regular THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 2-incli broiul fnime, with separators ; three tiers of live sections each in each frame, size, 3|x2 13-16 plump, x2. The adoption of this size would neces- sitate the changing of the separators, placing 3 narrower ones in the place of the 2 wider ones,would it not V For sections of this size square, I tliink Mr. F. has i inch too much. I thinlj I see great advantage in having snch a size section If with separators or H without them. The second size he proposes is 4ix3| plflmp, xl %. This section, I fear, is too large a square,and necessitates too much thinning to get the gross weight down to one-balf pound. I tliink the dimensions given will give us a sec- tion of about 10 to 12 ounces. I have just cut a paper model of my proposed size, viz., 4ix2 7-IGxH without separa- tors, and it looks quite out of propor- tion ; it is too long and narrow, yet if I knew that the bees would work as satisfactorily (to themselves and our- selves) in so narrow a space, I think I can see more advantages in this than any other form. If tliis should prove too narroiv to suit the bees (and its narrowness is advantageous in every other respect), then I am in favor of Mr. F.'s 3fx2 13-16 in the section, only I want it 1* inches instead of " If with- out separators," as he has it. This size will have a few minor advantages over any other mentioned, and, no doubt, siiit the instincts of the bees well. I think it will weigh the plump one-half pound. I liope.in a few days, to h:!ve the opportunity of talking with one of our brightest apiarists, one who has had experience in the narrow section matter, and if he favors the one point of the narrow- ness, as mentioned above,I shall stand firm for the 4ix2 7-16xIi, as the com- ing one-half pound section. Do not confound the words, narrow and thin. By thin, we mean that which decides the thickness of the comb. Let us hear the opinions of all who think their experience has told them something bearing i\]iim the subject, and let your ideas of the best shape work without any bias because of any fixtures or pet theories you may have on hand. * Ttie truth will soon come uppermost and he who gets there first will have the honor he justly deserves. Let us settle this, in theory, atonce, so that we can resettle it in practice during the season of 1,S83. Dowagiac, Mich., Dec. 19, 1882. For the American Bee Journal. Eastern Indiana Convention. The bee- keepers of Eastern Indiana met at Richmond, on the 20th of I)ec., and organized an Association to be known as " The Eastern Indiana Bee- Keepers' Association." Dr. E. H. Thurston was called to the cliair, and stated the object of the meeting and the advantages to bee-keepers and all interested in bees and honey, of such a bond of union. He appointed S. N. Replogle, Hagerstown ; and William Kitran and E. Parker, of Richmond, as a Committee on Constitution and By-Laws. The officers for the year were elected as follows : President, Dr. E. H. Thurston, Hagerstown ; Vice Presi- dent, Dr. L. C. Johnson, Fountain City; Sec, M. G. Reynolds, Williams- burg ; Treasurer, Jacob Norris, Rich- mond, Ind. The Constitution and By-Laws re- ported by committee after some dis- cussion were adopted. Various topics of interest were discussed, viz.: " The Best Bees," " Which is the Most Profitable, Comb or Extracted Hon- ey ?" and " The Best Method of Win- tering." S. N. Replogle said he formerly win- tered his bees in a cellar (built for the purpose), but now had his 72 colonies all in chafE hives ; had tried both methods for three years and found that the chaff hives gave the best re- sults. He did not think there could be anything better. He said tliat the 2i acres of sweet clover, planted six years ago, bloomed the second year, and after the third year had continued to bloom each year ; the bees worked on it from morning till night; and said that he should increase the acre- age and advised all to try it. Adjourned to meet at Richmond, on Wednesday, April 1, 1883. M. G. Retkolds, Sec. • For the American Bee JoumaL Another Step in Advance. DR. H. BESSE. In my opinion, bee culture should, in its present advanced condition, b.e reduced to a science founded upon knowledge, comprehension, under- standing, and a collection of the gen- eral principles anci leading truths relating to apiculture. It is expected that all advanced api- arists are prepared to do their work scientifically and in order, but this " advanced step " would stimulate and prepare young men, and those begin- iiing tlie business, to qualify them- selves, so that they would be prepared to readily enter into tlie labors of a large apiary at once. To be qualified for this they should be " graduates " in bee culture in all its branches ; and in order to secure such honors tliey should possess the following qualifications, at least, and furnish good evidence of the same — to wit : a good character in all respects and an experience of at least one year in all the manipulations of tlie apiary ; for all of which they should furnish certificates from some well-known apiarist, stating their qualifications and adaptability to the business. After passing a satisfactory exami- nation before a Board, that should be appointed by the North American Bee- Xeepers'Society, they should receive a diploma, signed and sealed by tlie president and secretary, as well as the judges that examined the applicants. Such a diploma would be a first-class recommendation in any part of the world, and any apiarist would feel safe to employ and trust such a graduate. I repeat that none should so graduate except those that have earned their degrees by honest toil, study and ex- perience in the apiary, and of snch qualities as to do iionor to the " North American Apiarian College." This institution should be a corpor- ate body, to give it stability and per- manence, with power to act in a judi- cious manner. Applicants for honors should attend the sessions of tlie North American Bee-Keepers' Society, and be examined during such meetings. All graduates should pay, say $10 or more, and be constituted life members of the society. All present rriembers of said society that could pass an examination ana comply with the above rules, should be graduated, and then our profession would rank second to none as to re- spectability. Now, let us talk this matter up, through the Bee Journal, and see what can be done at the next meeting of the North American Bee- Keepers' Convention. My object in writing these few scattering thoughts is to get the subject into more compe- tent liands, and thus assist in my fee- ble manner to elevate to a still higher standard our beloved calling. Delaware, Ohio. Prairie Farmer. Management of Bees in Winter. MRS. L. HARBISON. We think it is best not to disturb bees in cold weather ; provision them in fall with an abundance of stores to last until warm weather ; protect them against cold, according to the climate they are in, and then let them alone; both bees and their master resting. These industrious little insects, that have toiled so faithfully all summer, should have all the good honey they want to eat. Many bee-keepers found out to their sorrow, that it " didn't pay " to rob bees of their winter provisions, and substitute a diet of glucose. They saved their honey, but the bees were nonest. Some advocate removing the honey from the hives in the faU, and then feed a syrup made from coffee and sugar, until they have a suffici- ency for winter. This may be neces- sary when the honey flow is cut off by early frost, and bees work on the re- fuse of cider and sugar-cane mills, as this substance is not honey and sours when unsealed, breeding disease and death ; but, when bees have noth- ing but good honey in their hives, let them enjoy it, for it is the food their Creator provides for them. Many small after-swarms perish during winter with starvation. All such colonies have young queens, and might be the very best their owner had, the next season, if provided with food. It, through oversight or neg- glect, any such swarms have not been provided for, they might yet be saved, if living, by inserting alongside of the cluster, frames of honey. If this cannot be done (as all bees are not in frame hives), a food composed of lioney and sugar made as follows might be given : Good sugar and honey are mixed together thoroughly until it ia THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. thick enough to make into cakes, or roll into sticks like candy. A cake of tliis kind could be laid over the cluster, or a stick of candy inserted into it. In cold weather, bees might perish with plenty of it in the hive, if it was not close to them. We know a lady who fed liquid food to bees all winter, by giving them just enough each day for their wants, and they came through all right. But such feeding as this does not pay, as it entails too much care and thought ; and if they should be neglected or for- gotten for a day or two, they would die, and all the food previously given, would be lost. In feeding, great care should be given, lest cold draughts are made, that would be fatal to tliem, and in feeding liquid food, many bees ■would perish in the feeders by getting chilled, if everything is not snug and warm. Peoria, 111. For the American Bee Journal. The Winter Ventilation of Bees. DR. G. L. TINKER. In the consideration of the winter- ing problem tliere will be few to dis- claim the statement that the only really troublesome factor which bee- keepers now have to contend with, is the best mode of winter ventilation. To this extent then, it may be well said that the problem has been fath- omed. In presenting this paper, it is with the hope that it may soon lead to a solution of the last remaining ques- tion. No bee-keeper of experience has failed to notice the fact that bees wintered on the summer stands by the old, unprotected method, require far greater ventilation than is usually given. Few colonies survived the winter of 1880 81, that were not well ventilated ; and those that came through strongest generally liad free ventilation at or near the bottom of the hive, the top being sealed up as tight as the bees could make it. Several remarkable instances of win- tering in box hives raised from the bottom-boards % inch, or provided with very large entrances, came to ray knowledge, in one of which the space allowed was nearly 50 square inches. It has been stated that colonies have been wintered in hives without bot- tom-boards, giving aventilating space of over 100 square inches (see article by Mr. R. Corbett, page 21.5 of the Bee Journal). It is my opinion that, in wintering in the unprotected hive, no upward ventilation should be allowed even through a chaff cushion. If the inside capacity of the hive be small the entrance sliould be quite large, not less than 24 square inches of space, if no upward ventilation is allowed. Butif tlie hive be very large, or if there be a large air-tight space above the bees, the entrance may be as small as ^ inch by 10 to 12 inches, according to the strength of the colonv. It does not appear that moisture col- lects in a large hive as it will in a small one with the same size of en- trance. It is the instinct of the bees to seal up air-tight every part of a hive but the entrance, the object being appar- ently to provide against the loss of heat. They are especially particular to seal up the upper parts of the hive. The conclusion is therefore unavoid- able that the natural mode or ventila- tion is at the entrance or near tlie bot- tom of the hive. We must further conclude that if we regulate the size of the entrance to meet their necessi- ties and give tlie hive proper protec- tion, we cannot fail to have success in wintering, either in clialf hives, cellars, bee-houses, or clamps. We have the statistics, moreover, to show that the latter conclusion is not ill-founded. That the natural mode of ventilation, however, will give better results than any that the ingenuity of man can devise, remains for further experimentation to decide. If we change the conditions in which bees are usually found in a state of nature, if we enclose a colony in a small space upon a few combs and give proper protection, we shall un- doubtedly change their necessities in regard to ventilation. "Heat is life," or one of the essentials of life, which the i nsti net of the bees has taught them to carefully conserve. If we conserve it by the above means, or any other means, then upward ventilation be- comes of possible and advantageous utility, otherwise not. " The prime object to be obtained by any method of wintering, other things being equal, is to prevent the accumu- lation of dampness in the hive," ac- cording to Mr. Poppleton, whose views on this subject will stand the test of time. The natural mode of ventila- tion which may be depended upon to prevent an accumulation of damp- ness in a hive has been given. There are two other modes that have been successfully practiced, each having distinct features, but providing for upward ventilation to carry oil the dampness. These modes are often greatly varied or blended into each other. Their distinctive features are as follows. We will take the old Langstroth hive for illustration. First mode: The hive is left with the bees upon all the 10 frames of comb containing from 30 to .50 lbs. of honey. The honey-board is left on with two Ua inch holes through it and sealed to the hive air-tight. Nothing whatever is placed in the cap which tits loosely, or it may be raised slightly by small nails at the corners. No opening in the caps, or auger holes, to iiermit free move- ment of air, is allowed, but the small crevices permit a very gradual but certain egress of the dampness from the hive. The entrance is left open the full width of the hive, or not less than % inch by 10 inches. This is es- sentially the mode practiced by Mr. Ileddon, who varies it only as follows : He leaves off the honey-board and places burlaps over the inverted honey- rack, leaving a space of ?4 inch above the frames. A case 4 inches deep is put on top and filled with chaff, planer shavings or leaves. The cover of the case is raised at the corners by small nails, and the entrance left % inch by 10 inches. Only forest leaves or other loosejjadking over tlie burlap is prQpBr»b% (jprs mode, for the reason^thaw'^^iolouy of bees in a lafgd^ /-lapace do no^ generate heat «ioiii|li5*JtQ-, force thejr-.^^ dampness upwaMs thfovig'JJ r heavy^/>^ packing. If hea!t^ ipcking dver the ^■'' frames is desiredNifh^& all of the , brood combs are to be"" leitiii the hive, the ventilation could be secured by two \% inch tubes to connect with -the openings in the honey-board. These would permit the dampness to pass upwards into the cap as in the typical mode. A ease to hold the packing would be required, in addition,the cap to be fitted over it. It will be noted that the ventilation is free as in the natural mode, but no draft of air through the hive is possible. That it is any improvement over the natural mode is very doubtful. The second mode is as follows : In- stead of leaving the bees upon 10 frames of comb they are crowded upon only 5 by division-boards, the space between the division-boards and the sides of the hive are well packed, as well as the outside of the hive. The honey-board is left off, and a few J^ inch square pieces of wood are placed over the frames crosswise. Stout, porous cloth is laid over them and a case 10 inches deep is set on top to be filled with chaff or dry sawdust. The cap, with a 2 inch auger hole in each end, allowing a free movement of air through it, is placed over all, and the entrance left )4 inch by the distance between the division-boards. By this mode- the heat of the bees will drive the dampness out of the hive and up- ward through the packing most effec- tually. Upon passing the hand down into the packing next to the frames it will be found sensibly warm and dry all winter. That it is the heat alone that forces out the dampness it seems to me most probable. At all events, a colony of bees prepared in this man- ner arein a most formidable condition to withstand cold and dampness, wliich are the primary causes of dysentery. It is provided, "in this mode, as well as the others, that the colony has plenty of young bees, plenty of stores, and winter passages through all of the combs ; and also that high winds are prevented from striking the entrances of the hives by suitable means. That tlie latter mode above described is the best for out-door wintering ad- mits of little doubt, but it requires more labor in preparation for winter. The plan of "crowding the bees upon a few combs " is recommended by Mr. D. A. Jones, Mr. Foppleton,aiida number of other prominent bee-keep- ers, the former holding that in in-door wintering it is advantageous also. I have many very interesting statistics obtained in 1881 that demonstrate the advisability of crowding a colony of bees upon a few combs in out-door wintering. But it is deemed unneces- sary to give them, as the measure is well nigh self-evident, if we place any considerable packing over the bees, with the expectation to get upward ventilation. But all this will apply only to those plans of wintering which involve a THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. low temperature, or a point below 50'^ Palir., and a seuii-doruiant condition of tlie bees. In some northern locali- ties, wintering by the " liigh pressure plan " ot Mr. Ira Barber {see page 72.5 of tlie Bee Jouknal) in which the bees are liept at a temperature not much below 70 ' Fahr., do their own ventilating, and eat pollen witli im- punity all winter, may be very desir- able. Mr. Barber and his neiglibors have wintered their bees for many years by the plan given, with very trifling losses. It also has tlie sanction of the very learned Dr. Dzierzon (see translation of Mr. Kolnike, page 153 of the Bee Journal), who says : '" It is my conviction that tlie average temperature which bees enjoy during their working season, which is from 60^ to 7(P P^ihr., is most conducive to their well-being in winter also." While a large quantity of bees are lost by running or flying out of the hives (about 8 bushels io 100 colonies), it is likely that as m uiy would be lost in a given time liy any other method of wintering. The plan would be salu- tary in one respect, it would not be hampered by differences of opinion on the best mode of winter ventilation at high temperatures. New Philadelphia, O. For the American Bee JoumaL Eastern Michigan Convention. The Eastern Michigan Bee-Keepers' Association met in Detroit, Michigan, Si pt. 26, 18S2; as the meeting was not the annual one, no business of impor- tai I IB was brought up, and topics for discussion were immediately brought forward. Among them were : How large should the lower story be? Not, less tlian 2,000 square inches. What is the best absorbent to use in the upper stories V Sawdust, short shavings, chaff, or hay seed. What is the best plant to grow for bee pasture, when its other qualities are considered V Alsike clover ; it is a good honey plant, and makes excel- lent hay; it prefers a damp soil. Mr. Hunt sows 4 pounds of seed to the acre. Mr. Cottrell esteemed raspberries very highly. What is the best plant for honey alone V Figwort first, and tlien motlf- erwort. Mr. Mooihouse thought that certainty of yield should be considered. How often should hives be exam- ined V Several thought at least live times a season, but that surplus honey should not be allowed to accumulate. How much food is necessary for ■winter? From 20 to 80 pounds. When the construction of hives was spoken of. Mr. Higgins said he made the ends of his U inches thick ; this, beside securing greater protection, was a convenience vv'hen handling the frames, as it admitted of wide rabbets. Several other questions of minor im- portance, were also discussed. A great deal of interest was taken in the meeting, and the attendance, which was larger than at any previous time, has been steadily increasing since the organization of the society. Delegates were appointed to attend the national convention to be held in Cincinnati. Adjourned to meet at the call of the secretary in the spring of 1883. A. B. Weed, Sec. In looking over some papers I found the above Report ; by an oversight 1 neglected to send it to the Jouunal immediately after the meeting. I send it now, hoping tliat it may still be of use. I was mucli interested in the article on wintering bees, by S. Cornell, which appeared lately ; it contained very in- teresting facts, and was without the personalities which are contained in the communications of some apiarists. I think that the enterprize of the Jouunal is one of its most prominent characteristics. A. B. Weed. For the American Bee JournaL Separators a Necessity. J. V. CALDWELL. The use of separators having be- come to me "a necessity," and as some prominent apiarists seem to think " they are a useless appendage " in the modern bee-hive, a little discus- sion, pro and co?i, will not be out of place, to all who have the good of the profession at heart. Now, in the first place, let me ask will it pay to use them, counting the extra cost. That we can have tine straight combs, that can be crated and sliipped without damage, and consequent loss, and yet have them built without sep- arators, I am not ready to admit. In the Bee Jouunal for Dec. 20, tlie opinion is advanced that, at least in tlie production of honey in one-half pound packages tliey will notbe need- ed ; but as the reason is not made apparent, perhaps some one will rise and explain. It is just possible there may be cer- tain conditions in which we may get good combs without them, but I have yet to' find them. It has been said the hive must be full of bees, and honey coming in fast, then, with sections filled with good thin comb foundation, no trouble would be experienced. Well, during the past season I de- termined to give this matter a fair trial, and so prepared six good colo- nies, with upper stories filled with wide frames, all being filled with one- pound sections, and each containing a full sheet of thin foundation; thus giving them such good facilities for comb building, that I thought, if evei" good combs could be had without sep- arators, I would have them. The re- sult proved e.xaetly the reverse. The honey season being a good one, the bees soon built tiiem but and filled them with honey, but when I came to crate these same boxes for market, more than one-half had to be laid aside for the home market ; — and even then, they are a " bother and vexation of spirit," as they are sure to crowd against each other and start the honey to leaking ; and these corahs, be they bulged ever so little, are likely to have tlie caps of the cells broken, if they but touch each other. Jt seems to me the only advantage we could gain in discarding them, lies in the fact that more honey can be stored in the same box ; but this is of little account when we sell the wood in the box at the same price as the finest honey. Sup- posing, then, we must use separators, shall we use wood, tin, or paper V I have never used anything but tin, thougli 1 am assured by a friend of mine, who uses wood entirely, that it is just as good as tin. However, an- other important item comes in here. Will as much honey be stored with, as without them V I have thought some seasons the bees were reluctant to work among ttiem ; then, again, they seemed to pay no attention, but worked as busily as though no separators were present. Let us hear from others on the subject. Cambridge, 111., Dec. 23. 1882. For the American Bee JoumaL Small Sections for Honey. F. C. BENEDICT. By the report of the Michigan State convention, I see that the above sub- ject was discussed, and seemed to gain favor with some of our producers. As was remarked, bee-keeping is progres- sive, but let us be careful not to pro- gress in the wrong direction. The small sections meet with ready sale, in limited quantities, at fair prices, but as soon as we place them upon the market in quantities that shall reduce the price below a fancy figure, then will the producers become losers. A prime colony of bees will produce one-third more honey in pound than half-pound sections. To obtain 1,000 pounds in half-pound packages, you must liandle and make double the amount you would to get the same in one-pouiid packages, besides one-third more work while upon the hives. In order to obtain the same amount of money one must get one-third more in price for the half-pound sections than for pound sections, and the extra work of making and handling the smaller ones must not be taken into consider- ation. I speak from three years' ex- perience with the different-sized pack- ages, and I write this article to place the subject in its true light, so that those who are going to use the small packages may not be disappointed in the result, for I know that half-pound packages cannot be used in large quan- tities with profit to the producer. While progression is our motto, we do not want to progress in a direction that shall cause our purses to get any leaner than by producing large pack- ages, for the sake of supplying an "un- necessary demand. Tlie "small pack- age should be used as a dessert, to give our product a little more variety, when placed upon the market. No producer can afford to use half- pound packages exclusively. I think I am safe in saying that J. C. Newman & Son, of Peoria, N. Y., were the first to place the half-pound sections upon the market in any amount, in 1879. They took well. In 1880 thev used 4,000 half-pound .sections, and I used the same amount'; but we found we THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. were the losers by using so many, for we could have obtained double the amount in 2-i)ound sections. Newman & Son, W. S. Benedici, and myself are the only ones that have used the half- pound sections to any extent, and we would advise, from experience, to use but few, to help make a variety. When we get below one-pound pack- ages, generally, we get below what is practical or proli table to the producer. Perry Centre, N. Y., Dec. 22, 18S3. For the American Uee Juumal. Who Are Our Best Breeders 1 G. W. DEMABEE. The article of Mr. James Heddon, on page 773, vol. 18, of the Weekly Bee Journal, is calculated to excite much inquiry into the numerous meth- ods employed to collect, select and breed up tlie honey bee to the highest standard of excellency. It should not be forgotten, however, that, like the most of us, Mr. H. has adopted a theory of his own, and is therefore, not likely to look favorably upon the plans and methods of others, whose views and plans differ materi- ally from bis own. With my imperfect mental vision, I can see, in these numerous plans, views and methods going on all over our land, the greatest possible promise of success ; while, on the other hand, if all should accept the views of Mr. Heddon or Mr. Briggs, or any other breeder, the consequences would be that all would succeed or all would fail together, and, in the latter case, leaving nearly the whole lield unex- plored, much valuable time would be lost. Speaking for myself, I rejoice to see the good work going forward, know- ing this — that time, the greatest of all arbiters, must pass the final j udgment. Mr. Heddon says : " If a popular vote could now be taken as to who our best queen breeders are," etc. Perhaps I have as much faith in the intelligence of our " popular voters " as most people have, but I would not give much for a decision obtained in that way, simply because it is impos- sible that the popular voters could know, from their personal knowledge, the qualifications of each breeder. Those persons who turn out hun- dreds of queens by means of the " lamp nursery " and weak nuclei, on the same principle that the compost heap sends forth swarms of flies, are not " breeders," they are simply mul- tipliers of bees. To be a breeder worthy of the name he must be some- thing of a physiologist, must know something of the laws of cause and effect. He should be well acquainted with the methods employed and fol- lowed by the. master stock-breeders of the past and present. Thus equipped, he pursues his course, not without chart or compass, and if he succeeds in controlling the drones or male bees in his vicinity, he is bound to succeed in his undertaking or prove toliis own satisfaction that the honey bee is an exception to all the rules of past ex- periences. The modern laws of breeding point out but two great objects to be gained by following them. The one object is to breed from stock, improving the same by careful selection— the experi- ment being applied to one or a dozen races by the breeder if he chooses, keeping each separate from the others. The other is to breed up and establish a thorough-bred race or races, the re- sult of combination of blood and best qualities of several races concentrated in one fixed type or race. This is the modern idea of " thor- ough-bred " stock. Originally the term "thorough-bred," as applied to stock-breeding, meant no more than perfectly or thoroughly bred stock. It evidently now means more than that. It means a judicious cross of the blood of several races, bred up to a Hxed type by careful selection. I believe it is an admitted fact that no breeder has ever succeeded in es- tablishing a fixed race by crossing the blood of just two pure races. Hence, Mr. Heddon's experiments, however, strongly he may insist upon the cor- rectness of his premises, will come to grief, sooner or later. A cross between the Italian and German races will give mongrel hy- brids, without fixedness of character or uniformity of any kind, no matter how far the experiment may be car- ried. Those of us who remember how this class of hybrids looked twenty years ago, see tliem to-day just as we saw them then. " CHIDB ME GENTLY." A short time ago, Mr. Heddon's " dark bees " could gather greater quantities of honey where the light Italians could get none. Now, he sees OHly a " good season " as an explana- tion of Mr. Shuck's good report. Also, the secretary of the Michigan State Convent'on reports him as saying that the light bees are more gentle than the "dark bees" are. "Who'll be the next y " If Mr. S. A. Shuck will look on page 1, volume 17, American Bee Jour- nal, he will see that the pole and thread experiment was tried two years ago, and the actions of drones noted. Christiansburg, Ky, NewJersey and Eastern Convention. The fall meeting of this society was held in New Brunswick, N. J., on Wednesday, November 1, 1882. Mr. G. W. Thompson, the President, on callingtiie meeting to order, delivered a stirring extemporaneous address. Delegates were received with an address of welcome by the President, from the Philadelphia Bee-Keepers' Society, and were made honorary members. Prof. Geo. H. Cook, Ph. D., L. L. D., of Rutgers College, State Geologist and Superintendent of the New Jersey Agricultural Experimen- tal Station, was also elected honorary member. Dr. Townsend, of Phila- delphia, and Prof. Kroek of Hoboken, were appointed to (ill the vacancies in the committee on question drawer. Mr. Rue, of Manalapan, chairman of executive committee, reported a programme of exercises, first on which was a paper on " Clamp Wintering " by C. J. Robinson, of Richford, N. y., which was read by the secretary. Mr. King highly disapproved of Mr. Robinson's plan. Bees, he said, needed a great deal of ventilation to carry off the carbonic acid generated in breathing ; and it was his opinion that it would ruin bees to confine them in such a clamp without ventilation. A theory was started a number of years ago, that bees needed so little air, that they could be corked uptight in a bot- tle and live for months. He had tried the experiment, and had found, that after remaining in the bottle one night, the sides of the bottle were covered with moisture, and that the bees did not survive twenty-four hours. He thought the best way to winter bees was on their summer stands in chaff packed hives. Another consideration was, that bees in such a clamp, would not breed so as to be ready for the early harvest ; while bees on their summer stands commenced to breed by the middle of March, and are strong >vith young bees by the time the bees from the clamps are set out. Mr. Cook, of Caldwell, thought that bees might be wintered successfully in this way, but they would suffer from spring dwindling when set out, as from any kind of in-door wintering. Besides the plan' was too expensive. Mr. Rue thought the plan might do well enough in cold localities, but that it was entirely unnecessary in New Jersey, as bees wintered well here on their summer stands. The Secretary thought that the sub- ject of wintering was yet the most important that bee-keepers could dis- cuss. He had wintered his bees always out of doors, far north, in New York State, and also in New Jersey, and while, with plenty of honey, he could keep every colony alive, yet from the opportunities he had had of study- ing bees wintered inside, be had con- cluded not to winter longer out of doors. At every warm -spell, in the middle of the day, the bees out of doors leave the cluster and go to the outside of the hive to carry honey into the middle of the cluster. It soon grows cold enough to chill a great many so that they do not return. Thus the strength of the hive is decimated worse in New Jersey than in higher latitudes. Mr. Robinson's plan seemed the most practical way of protecting bees in winter. Many persons in this age are greatly troubled by carbonic acid, more in imagination than in reality. He thought the bees could stand all the carbonic acid generated all winter in their semi-torpid state. It was idle to talk of the bees being ruined in this plan of wintering, as it has been practiced for years by Mr. Robinson ; and he reports that he can winter successfully very small colonies and that he hiis never lost a single colony in the clamps. Mr. Hutchin- son, a prominent bee-keeper of the West, had tried the plan last winter, under Mr. Robinson's direction, with a part of his stock, and had not ruined his bees ; but was so well pleased, as he reported to Gleanings, that he ex- pects to winter largely in this way the coming winter. 10 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Mr. King said lie learned from neigbbors of Mr. Robinson, that his theories of wintering bees were better than his practice. Prof. Kroek thought that it would do no good to theorize as to whether bees would winter in this way; no the- ory could stand against a fact, and as bees have been wintered in that way, that settled that it could be done, and now it remained for us to explain how they were able to live, without the air seemingly necessary to support life. He would suggest that Mr. Robinson did not exclude the ventilation as ef- fectually as he thought. Quite proba- bly the air penetrated the covering. Dr. Townsend said, that as a physi- ologist, he believed that a constant supply of fresh air was necessary to the support of life, and he thought that air undoubtedly penetrated the covering. The President said that he too believed that air came tlirough the covering. Air would get through lately moved earth for a great distance. A neighbor of his had been building a silo, and had made one side of it by a bank, six feet thick, of ground dug out of the pit. He believed air would penetrate the bank, enough to spoil the fodder. Next on the programme, was a paper by Prof. Cook of the Michigan Agri- cultural College, on a " Plan for Gath- ering Bee Statistics." Mr. King said that accurate statis- tics of the honey product had never been gathered. Mr. Poole inquired why they could not get all the statistics required from the census reports i* Mr. King answered that those re- ports were worthless, as far as bees and lioney were concerned. Mr. Lan- dreth, when at the head of the Agri- cultural Bureau, had told him that, although the census reported a honey crop of 1.5,0(10,000 lbs., he had data in his possession showing a yield of at least 35,000,000 lbs. On motion of Mr. Cook, the associa- tion adopted the plan of Prof. Cook, and Mr. Rue wasappointeda commit- tee of one to put himself into commu- nication with the National Association for the purpose of endeavoring to carry out this plan. The next paper on the programme was by the Secretary, on " Too many Eggs ni One Brisket." Mr. Cook said in one light the paper was right ; but in another it was wrong. Men to succeed in anything, must focalize their energies, and learn one business well, and do tliat in a proper manner. Mr. King said that the Secretary was unfortunate in keeping his bees in a poor location, or from practicing too closely Mr. Robinson's theories, or from too much carbonic acid, and hence spoke in a discouraging manner. He said he could name multitudes of specialists who had made a great deal of money in bee-keeping — among whom were G. M.Doolittle, Harbison, and Jas. Heddon. He said bee-keep- ers were a good deal like miners stand- ing around a hole, who, when others were around, acted as if there was nothing in it, but when they got a chance, just raked out the gold dust. Mr. Betsinger had told him that he had made an average of 100 pounds from every colony ever since he had been in the business. Mr. Poole said he had been enticed into the bee business, by supply deal- ers, especially by the President, Mr. King, and the Secretary. He had taken a great deal of honey the last season, but yet he agreed with the paper, that the bee business, like the poultry business, was not adapted to be carried on on a large scale. He did not value it for the money there was in it, but for the pleasure it afforded him and for the valuable lessons he could get from it. The report of the committee on question drawer was next in order. The first question—" Can Virgin Queens be Introduced Successfully V" —was answered by Prof. Kroeh. Yes; by putting them into the hive when less than one hour old, without a cage. Mr. King could introduce a virgin queen several days old, by spraying her and the bees with peppermint water and making them all crawl some distance to the hive. The question—" How can Nuclei be United for Wintering ? "—was an- swered by Mr. King. He said that he took frames from at least three nuclei and set them close to the hive he wished to use. Then he put them quickly into the hive and closed it. The bees from so many hives were too much confused to quarrel or injure the queen. The question-" Are Winter Pas- sages Through the Combs Necessary V" —was answered by Dr. Townsend in the negative. He said that the holes mutilated the combs too much— that the same end could be attained by small sticks laid across the tops of the frames. Mr. King said he stretched canvas on sticks, so as to liave an open space above the frames. On this he placed the cushion. Prof. Kroeh said he used to put sticks over the tops of the frames, bent in the form of a bow, by putting the ends against the sides of the hives, thus making an open space above the combs, where the bees could cluster ; but upon reflecting that there was no. honey for the bees in this space, where they were made to cluster by the warm air all ascending there, he had aban- doned the plan. Mr. Cook said that in visiting Capt. Hetherington's apiary he had seen little coils of tin, permanently fastened near the middle of each comb, for winter passages. Mr. Poole said that he put a frame, covered with wire cloth, over each of his hives, so that he could lift up the cushion and see what the bees were doing, without their being able to see too much of him. He considered this an excellent plan, although the worthy President had told him that he would not have the things on his place. On examining his bees in winter, he ob- served a constant current of bees over the tops of the combs. He kept a couple of colonies in a bay window, in a parlor. The heat in the parlor in winter did not go above 45° and the bees were quiet and did not fly out when the weather was unfavorable. Thenextquestion — " How Long will a Queen Remain Profitably Prolilic V" —led to a lengthy discussion on a the- ory of Ulivi, that queens are fertilized inside the hive and frequently. Prof. Kroeh, altliough undecided as to the truth of the theory, gave an account of some of Ulivi's observations and defended his conclusion. Mr. King said that the theory could not be correct, as they sent Italian queens to Dakota, New Zealand and other places where Italian queens had never before been sent. They were put into hives of black bees and con- tinued to produce pure Italian bees, when there could have been nothing but black drones, if any, in the hives, for a long time. The Secretary pronounced Abbe Ulivi a " crank." His theory was against the most ordinary facts con- stantly observed by every bee-keeper. Nothing was more common than to see a queen from a black colony filled up with black drones becoming fertile by an Italian drone from a neiglibor- ing apiary, and the opposite. This cannot be explained on the theory of Ulivi. Every bee-keeper has seen his young queen fly off unincumbered and return in a short time with something attached, which Ulivi says is excreta. If all his pretended microscopical in- vestigations are of the same kind as this, they are obviously worthless, as any one can see with the naked eye that they are the copulative organs of the drone. He had examined them carefully un- der the microscope and always found the appendage to be torn parts of the drone. He and several other persons had seen this copulation take place before their eyes, and always saw a lacerated and dead drone as the result. He had, in conducting some experi- ments, kept six young queens shut up in nuclei, well supplied with drones, till after they had been laying several weeks, when it was found, in every case, that they apparently had not been fertilized in the hive, as all the eggs they laid produced drones. Prof. Kroeh said that to show what chance there was for loop-holes in ob- servations, he would say, that Ulivi had found with his microscope that the vagina of the queen was entirely too small to be entered by the organs of the drone. Several members were on their feet to explain how the copulation was ef- fected, but as many members had to take the train then nearly due, a mo- tion to adjourn prevailed. New York city being selected as the place for holding the spring meeting. — See- Keepers'' Exchange. 1^ The time for the usual winter rush of correspondence is here, and w© wish to impress upon all our patrons the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give ns the ad- dress we already have on our books. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 11 C>y-^ '*i;yL /kj**^ (?^^7y;^=gj^~cJ^^^^^^^=-=^^ — ^ Well Pleased with Progress Made. The Bee Journal is full of interest. I have been pleased by the progress made by bee-keepers in apiculture and hope that this science will eventually be fully developed. I had 2 colonies of bees last spring, one of which swarmed twice ; the second swarm escaped while being hived. From the first swarm and parent colony 1 took about $18 wortli of honey in 2-pound boxes. The other stored none and did not swarm. The 3 colonies are packed with timothy chaff, on their summer stands, with plenty of bees and plenty of honey for winter. Wm. a. Brundage. Lodi, N. Y., Dec. 22, 1882. Do Bees Hear ? On page 803, of the Bee Journal for Dec, 1882, reference is made to certain remarks of Sir John Lubbock, and tlie influencing of bees, when swarming, to settle by making loud noises, etc., etc. I am decidedly of the opinion that it is not to the sense of hearing on the part of the bees, that the custom of beating tin cans, etc., took its rise, but to tlie sense of hear- ing in the human family, and why ? For the simple reason that the ancient laws relating to bees, vested the own- ership in a swarm only to him from whose grounds they departed, pro- vided he followed them, and kept them in sight until they alighted. Now, what more natural than to " kick up a row " for the sole purpose of letting others know that the bees seen in flight were being followed. I regret that I cannot at present consult my library of bee books and give the words of the ancient laws. I think the word- ing would go far to prove my hypothe- sis correct. Arthur Todd. Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 25, 1882. Brood Killed by Overheatiug, etc. Owing to changing my location and moving my bees, last spring, my suc- cess has not been as great as it other- wise would have been. I sold a part of my bees ; moved 21 colonies ; lost 1; bought 20; increased to 67; ob- tained about 1,600 lbs. of comb honey, and 400 lbs. of extracted honey. I miglit have extracted from 600 to 800 lbs. more, but was called away on other business at the proper time for extracting it. The most ot my swarms came out late but gathered an abun- dant supply of honey to winter on, and many of them some surplus. One swarm came off the 20th of Aug. ; on the 25th of Sept. I took 23 lbs. of comb and 24 lbs. of extracted honey and left six nice frames for them to winter on. I thought that doing well, but when I read in the Bee Journal of colonies giving from 400 to 600 lbs. each, of surplus (which, by the way, looks a little " fishy "), I feel like having noth- ing to say. Would it not be well to have themocZu^ operandihy which such yields are obtained ? Or would there be danger of glutting the market V You will perhaps recollect, Mr. Editor, that 1 wrote you in July last, asking your opinion and advice in regard to what I feared was foul brood, but which proved, as you surmised it would, to be " parboiled or overheated brood," caused by not giving proper ventilation in moving. If agreeable, I will, at another time give you my experience in getting rid of the dead brood and building up the colonies, which 1 succeeded in doing very suc- cessfully. I do not want to miss a single number of the Bee Journal ; it is indispensable. Reuben Havens. Onarga, Ill.,Dec. 26, 1882. My Report. I commenced the spring with 5 good colonies and one that was queenless ; increased to 25, by natural swarming ; all in good condition. I obtained 1,032 pounds of comb honey. L. Fatzinger. Janesville, Wis., Dec. 20, 1SS2. Wintered withont Loss in the Cellar. In December, 1881, 1 put 29 colonies in my cellar, and did not disturb them till spring. They came out" with fly- ing colors " on the 15th of the follow- ing April, all in good condition, with- out the loss of a colony or a queen. I sold 15 colonies at $10 each, which left me 14 to commence the season's work. By natural and artificial swarming they increased to 60 colonies during the season. I also realized about3,000 lbs. honey, being about equal parts of extracted and in the comb. \Ve had an abundant flow of honey for about six weeks. Bee-keepers are greatly encouraged in these parts. Long life to the Weekly Bee Journal. I would not do without it for ten times it cost. G. W. Stark. Holmesville, Neb., Dec. 25, 18S2. Packed on Summer Stands. My season's work with the bees has beeii satisfactory. 1 started with 55 colonies on June 7, 1882 ; increased to 250 colonies; had 3,.50O lbs. of comb honey and 500 lbs. of extracted ; total 4,000 lbs. I have sold about one-half up to date, at an average of 17 cents per lb. My bees are all packed in leaves, on their summer stands, and look comfortable. H. S. Hackman. Peru, 111., Dec. 21, 1882. Sections too Small. Our bees seem to be wintering nicely so far; the winter has been favorable, up to the present time ; we have had but little cold weather ; the mercury was down to 10 below zero, on the morning of Dec. 7th, but the cold wave was of short duration. I have just read the article on the size for the half-pound sections, or "• The Section for the Future," 1 give it as my opin- ion that the size or the section will have to be reduced, making allowance for the comb to be the usual or nearly the usual thickness. I think it will be fo>'nd impracticable to retain the usual sized section and force the bees to build thincomhs. However, I think If it is done, that separators will have to be used ; if sections are put on the re- " quired thickness. Allowing the combs to be % of an inch thick, supplied with foundation (without separato.s) it will be found that some of the combs will be about the usual thickness, while others will be very thin ; perhaps only drawn out on one side. I merely give it as my opinion that when the object sought is accomplished separators will be used, allowing just the space re- quired, and I fear that bees will her slow to commence work in such small spaces. L. G. Purvis. Weston, Mo., Dec. 22. 1882. My Season's Work for 1882. I commenced in the last spring with 30 colonies ; 25 fair and 5 weak ones, (Italians and hybrids). I have in- creased 100 per cent.; taken 110 lbs. of extracted and 20 lbs. of comb honey, per colony, spring count. I am sellmg the honey, in the home market, for $1.2.5 for 10 lb. tin pails, and 65c. for 5 lb. tin pails. We had honey dew for about six weeks, mostly on hickory leaves, which seemed to be dripping wet with the dew. The leaves finally died, apparently from the effects of the dew. The "bees visited the dew quite lively, early in the morning. We had but one light rain during the honey dew flow. A. S. Edson. Martinsville, Mo., Dec. 20, 1882. A Good Showing. This is my statement of what I have done, the present year, with the aid of the Journal : I took from 14 colonies, 2,400 lbs. of honey, in one and two- pound sections. My best colony gath- ered 400 pounds, in one-pound sections, and 150 pounds in frames, 9}4x\T% in- ches. From four of my best I took 1 ,930 pounds in one-pound sections. I use the Parker chaff hive, improved by myself, which I think is the best hive in use for winter or summer. I have in winter quarters 36 colonies in good condition. I have sold all of my surplus honey for 20 and 22 cents per pound. W. H. Will. Bloomington, 111., Dec. 26, 1882. Report for 1882. I put into winter quarters 16 colo- nies in Hiram Roop's winter-protector and lost 3 light colonies. I com- menced the spring of 1882 with 13 col- onies and increased to 30. My crop of honey is 1250 poinids of comb honey in 2-pound sections, and 555 pounds of extracted. The bees are in splendid condition for winter, except two light colonies. I. J. Lucas. Staunton, Mich., Dec. 26, 1882. In a Snow Drift. I dug 7 colonies of bees out of a four- foot snow drift, under which they have been for three or four weeks. They were all lively, and had a little fly, but they did not fly far. ^ C.W.Young- Stratford, Ont., Dec. 22, 1882. 12 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. ^^is^m? ADVERTISING RATES for 1883. 20 cents per line of space, each insertion, For either the Weekly or Monthly Editions. A line of this type will contain about 8 words; TWELVE lines will occupy ONK-INCH of space. Transient Advertisements pnyable in advance. Editorial Notices, 5U cents per line. SPKCIAI^ KATES.- Advertisements will ■be inserted in both Weekly and Monthly editions, ^t the following prices, if wholly paid in advance : SPACB. One Two Three Six One month mo'thB mo'ths mo'ths year. 1 In. 12 lines 10.00 18.00 2.5. Ofl 38.00 ,50.00 12 In. 24 lines 20.0fl 32.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 3 In. :i« lines 2.'>."() 40.r)0 .50.00 75.00 lOO.I.K) 4 In. 4S lines :i2.nn ."^0.00 tr».oo 90.00 125 oo 5 In. liO lines 40.IK1 HO.CMI 75. (K) 110.00 150.IX) 6 In. 72 lines 4.5. IKJ 70.(.B ao.oo 130.00 175.00 FortheTVeekly alone, 20 per cent, less than the «bove rates. On yearly advertisements, payments miay be made quarterly, but must be in advance. Advertisements withdrawn before the expiration of the contract, will be charged the full rate for the time the advertisement is inserted. THOMAS G. NEWMAN. »S5 West Madison Street.. Chlcaso, III. CLUBBING LIST. ^:pecial IJotices. ) American Express Company money order system is the cheapest, safest and most convenient way of re- mitting small sums of money. Their rates for $1 to $5 are 5 cents ; over $5 to $10, 8 cents. They can be pur- •chased at any point where the com- pany have an office, except Canada, and can be made payable at any one ■of the company's 4,000 offices. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one •dollar. Local checks are subject to a ■discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. We supply the Amerlcun Bee «Iournnl and any of the following periodicals, one year, at the prices quoted in the last column of HKures. The first column gives the regular price of both. All postage is prepaid by the publishers. PublUhers' Price. Club The Weekly Bee Journal t'.i 00. . andGleaninK8lnBBe-Cnlture(A.l.Root) 3 00. . 2 76 Bee-Keepers' Magazine (A.J.King). 3 25 . 3 00 Bee-Keepers'Bxch'nge(Houk&Peet)3 00.. 2 75 Bee-Keepers' Guide (A.G.HIll) 2 60.. 2 35 Kansas Bee-Keeper 260.. 2 40 The 6 above-named papers (135.. 550 The Weekly Bee Journal one year and Prof.Cook'sManuaKboundin cloth) 3 25.. 3 00 Bees and Honey, FKEE a fine Illustrateil circular of supplies, to any who desire it. Send for one. Address S. C. A J. P. WATTS. Lumber City, Clearfield Co.. Pa. HIVES & SECTIONS. We have just put in several new machines and alsiia larger engine in our factory, consequently we are in belter shape to fill orders than ever for Bee Hives, Sections, Ship|)ing Crates, etc. We make a specialty of our Boss" One-Piece Sec- tions. Patented June Jf^th, I8HI. We can make the "Boss" One Piece Sections any size or width desired. Send for Price List. a AS. FORNCROOK UNHAM, 2:im4t DePere, Wis. BARNES' PATENT Foot Power Machinery CIRCULAR AND SCROLL SAWS,. Hand, Circular Rip Saws for general heavy and light rip- ping. Lathes, Ac. These ma- chines are especially adapted to Hive Mnklnif. Itwlll pa^ every bee-keeper to send for our 48-page Illustrated Cata- logue, W. F. & JOHN BARNES, No. 2017 Main street, Rockford, Winnebago Co. III., Friends, if you are in any way interested in BEES OR HONEY We will with pleasure send you a sample copy of the Monthly Oleaiiln|^« In Bee-Culturet with a descriptive price-list of the latest improve- ments in IliveM, Honey ExtructorM, Corab FoDiidutlon, Section lloney BoxeN.all books and journals, and everything pertaining to Bee- Culture. Soothing Patented. Simply send your ad- dress written plainlu.to A. I. llitOT, Medina, O. HEADQUARTERS IN THE SOUTH For the manufacture of BEE-KEEPERS* SUPPLIES. Dunham and Root Foiinduilon a specialty. Italian Queens and Bees from March to November. l^Send ffir my Illustrated Catalogue. r>mtf PAUL. L<. VIALiLON, Bayou Goula, La. Fruit Evaporators, To be used on a common cooking stove, capacity :( to -S bushels per day. Price, complete, *in ; Id the fiat, partly put together, fur *(:. A fen agentft wanted. For particulars and prices for Evapora- tors. Queen Bees, etc., aridress JOHN H. MARTIN. 98mly Hartford. Wash. Co., N. Y. 14 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. A. SSMT IMPOKTATION OF BOKHARA Glover SEED has arrived and is for sale cheap. Apply to GHA.R1.es F. MXTTH, 49sm4t CINCINNATI, O. BIND YOU JODMALS AND KEEP THEM NEAT AND CLEAN. The Emerson Binder IS THE NEATEST AND CHEAPEST. Anv one can use them. Directions in each Binder. For Monthly Bee Journal SOc. For Weekly Bee Journal ^oc. Address, TH01IIA.8 a. SIEIVMAK, 923 West Madison Street, ChlcuKo. III. SliVFET CtOVEK SEED New and clean, ■25 cts. per lb. Ben Clendenon, QrinnelMoa 50W13 DtTNHAM COMB FOlTNUATION-lOc. per pound : e.\lra thin and brii/ht, I" sq. ft. to the lb. 48c. Send lor sHiuples. W;i,\ worked lOc. per lb. F.W. HOLMES. Coorersville, Mich. 13wly Cheap ! Cheaper !! Cheapest !!! SOO COl^ONIES OF BEES for sale, in movable frame hives. Also, Queens, Nuclei. Bees bythe pound. Hives. Sections, Smok- ers, Heeds for Honev Plants. and eveiything a live bee-keeper needs. Send for circularand price list to E. T. Fr.ANA.eAN, Box 819, Belleville. St. Clair co.. III. (Proprietorof Rose Hill, Cahokla.FalllnK Springs And Lake Apiaries. iwmly FLAT - BOTTOM COMB FOUNDATIOH, Vg^^^^gjaai,^ highsidp-walla. 4 to Ih' square feet t" l^^^^^*" the pound. Circular and sampled troti- j^^SJa J. VAN DEUSE.V & SONS, Ji^^^^^ Su!c Manufacturers, 'r ~ _a Sprout Brook, Mont. Co., N. y. LAXOSTROTH AND SIMPLICITY CHAFF HIVES, with movable upper etory, section boxes, metal-cftrnered brood rrames, wide Lanestroth frames and comb foundation. Bend for Price List. A. B. MILLER i SON, «wtf Wakarusa, Elkhart Co., Ind. fieesfor 5© Colonies of Bees, in Gallup frames, cheap. SOO Colonies of Bees, in Lnngstroth frames In prime condition. «r. B. ROBERTSON, 36wtf Pewamo. Ionia Co.. Mich, LIVE BEE-KEEPERS WANTED, to introduce the new lime cushion, the only pro- tection yet discovered that will carry the bees safely through winter and sprinK without fail. Send $"'0, for right to retail this cushion in vour county, or send *5 for one apiary riaht to patentee. Remit by registered letter or P. O. order. K. DELLA TORRE. 74 Chariea-Bt. Avenue, Baltimore, Md. Patented April 25, 1882. No. 254,932. 45wl3t C< B.SD TAPE T" The Orlclnal EIKOHAU Bee Smoker Who will be the first to copy 1 25,000 IN USE. If you buy the Origi- nal Patent Bingham Bee Smoker, you will aid the inventor of improved bee smok- ers—get the best, that never go out— always please— never is com- plained of— thestand- ard of excellence the world over — better and handsomer this season than ever be- fore. Price per mail, postpaid, from 6.5 cts. to $2. Our patents cover all the smokers that will burn sound stove-wood, or do not go out. If you buy our smokers and hon- ey knives first, youp„*p„tpj IRTR will have to buy no^^^®^^®°' ^^**' others. PRICES: Handed to By Mail, Customer. Postpaid, Wide shield Conqueror, 3 inch |i 75 Large Bingham Smoker (wide shield), jH inch l 50 Extra Bingham Smoker (wide shield), L» inch Plain Bingham Smoker, 2 inch. . . . Little Wonder Bingham Smoker, \H inch Bingham & Hetherlngton Honey Knife, 2 inch 1 25 1 00 50 $2 00 1 75 1 50 1 25 65 I 00 To sell again, apply for dozen or half-dozen rates. Send for free description and testimonials, to BINGHAM & HETHERINGTON. 17wtf A^broniii, Mich. Muth's Honey Extractor, Square Glass Honey Jars, Tin Buckets, A Langstroth Bee Hives, Honey Sections, etc.. Apply to C. F. MUTH, 976 and 978 Central Ave., CINCINNATI, O. tySend IOC. for Practical Hints to Bee-Keepers. iwly ENGRA VINGS. The Horse BY B. J. KEND ALL, M. D. A. TREATISE giving an Index of diseases, and the symptoms ; cause and treatmentof each, a table giving all the principal drugs used for the horse, with the ordinary dose, effects and antidote when a poison ; a table with an engraving of the horse's teeth at different ages, with rules for telling the age of the horse ; a valuable collection of re- cipes, and much valuable information, Frlce S5 cents-- Sent on receipt of price, by THOMAS G, NEWMAN, 925 West Madison Street, CUICAGO IILL. BE SURE To send a postal card forour Ulustrutetl Catalogue of Apiarian Supplies before purchasingelsewhere. U containslllustrationsand descriptionsof every- thing new tind valuable needed in an apiary, at the lowest prices. Italian Queens iind Bees. Parties intending to purchase bees in lotsot 10 colonies or more are invited to correspond. J. C. SAYLES. 5lsml5t Hartford, Wis. THIS PAPER ?t"I;^ef,.'?!"ifoS?i,'"l Co.'s Newspaper Advertising Bureau (10 Spruce St.). where advertising contracts may be made for itin NEW YORK. C. Olm's Comb Foundation Machine. J^~ Send for Sample and Circular. ISmtf C. OI>M. Fond du Lac, Wis. A NEW BEE BOOK! Bees&Honey Management of an Apiary for Pleasure and Profit ; by THOMAS C. NEWMAN. Editor 0/ the Weekly Bee Journal. It contains 160 profusely illustrated pages, la "fully up with the times" in all the various im- provements and inventions in this rapidly devel- oping pursuit, and presents the apiarist with everything that can aid in the sucjessful manage- ment of the honey bee. and at the same time pro- duce the most honey in its best and most attract- ive condition. • Chief among the new chapters are "Bee Pasturage a Necessity," " Management of Bees and Honey at Fairs," " Marketing Honey," etc. Price, bound in cloth, 75 cents; in paper covers, 50 cents, postpaid. OSS yV. MadlHon Street, Cfalcaffo, 111. Appreciative Notices. beginners.- Farmers Carefully prepared for Cabinet, Amherst, N. H. A very valuable work to those engaged in bee- raising.— News, Prairie City, Iowa. We advise all who keep bees to send for this ex- cellent work.— Journal. Louisiana, Mo. Its chapter on marketing honey is worth many times its cost.— Citizen, Pulaski, Tenn. Carefully prepared, and of vast importance to bee-raisers.- Indianian, Clinton, Ind. A neat and abundantly illustrated hand-book of apiculture.— American Agriculturist, N. Y. New and valuable, and embellished with 109 beautiful engravings.— Democrat, Salem, Ind. Much practical useful Information, in a cheap form.— Daily Standard, New Bedford, Mass. Contains all the information needed to make bee-culture successful.- Eagle, Union City. Ind. Just such a work as should be in the hands of every beginner with bees.— News. Keithsburg, 111. A valuable work for all who are Interested in the care and management of bees.— Democrat. Alle- gan, Mich. The most perfect work for the price ever yet pro- duced onthesubjectof bee-culture.— Anti-Monop- olist, Lebanon, Mo. The engravings are fine. It is gotten up t» the very best style, and is cheap at the price.— Farmer, Cleveland. O. It comprises all that is necessary for successful bee-culture, wave experience and good Judgment. —Daily Republican, Utiea, N. V. A manual, containing all the newest discoveries in the management of these little workers. — Plain Dealer, St. Lawrence, N. Y. Full of practical instruction, that no one who contemplates keeping bees can do wtthout.-Far- mers' Journal, Louisville, Ky. Gives minute details for the management and manipulations necessary to make bee-keeping a success.- Col. Valley and Farm. It embraces every subject that can Interest the beginner in bee-culture. The engravings perfectly illustrate the text.— Farm and Fireside, Spring- field, O. Embraces every subject of interest in the apiary, giving very thorough details of the mauiigement and manipulations necessary to make bee-keeping a success.- Farm. Longmont, Colo. Written in an interesting and attractive manner, and contains valuable information for all readers, even though they be not directly interested in the care of bees.— Sentinel, Home, N. Y. It is a valuable and practical book, and contains a complete resume of the natural history of the little busy bee. as well as of all that one needs to know in their care and management.— Chicago Herald. Describes all the newest discoveries in the art, by which the production of delicious and health- giving honey is obtained, aswell as how to prepare it for the market in the most attractive shape.— Signal. Napoleon, O. Contains a vast fund of Information in regard to bee-culture. He who wotild keep abreast of the times must beep posted in all the improvements in his line. We advise all interested ui get a copy of this book.— Daily Times. San Bernardino. Cal. It embraces every subject that will interest the beginner. It describes all tht- newest discoveries in the art by which the production of delicious and health-giving honey is obtained, as well as how to prepare It for the market in the most attractive form. It isembellished with beautiful engravings, and is the most perfect work of the kind, for the price, that has ever come under our notice.— Far- mer, Lancaster, Pa. A Libei-al BlNcennt to Dealer* by the Dozen or Hundred. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 15 BEESWAX WANTED. State Quantity, Price and Quality. CHAS. DADANT & SON, Hamilton. Hancock Co. III. THE CONQUEROR. Large Smokers need wide ahieldB. Bingham's nave them, and sprlnns that do not ruat an ■ break, and bellows that sparks and smoke do not enter. The Conqueror has all Improvements made to date, and a 3x7 inch stove, and 5x7 inch bellows. Sent postpaid for f'2. Address, BINGHAM & HETHEBINOTON, I3wtf Abronia. Mich. I buy and sell Honey for Cash only. As I do no Commission business. I will not accept shipments without previous correspondence. Excelsior Dunham and Vandervort FOUNDATION. OwinK to the large advance in the price of wax, I now quote prices thus : Dunham, lo to 50 lbs., 4i;c., over 50 ibs..4lc., less than lo lbs., 44c.; Vander- vort, 10 sq. feet to the lb.. 1 to 10 lbs.. 57c., 10 to 50 lbs., G4c. No discounts. Circular free. J. V. CALDWELL, 3wly Cambridge. Henry Co., HI. mmm honey ^r Send 15 CENTS for Dadant's pamphlet on " Harvesting, Handling, and J^arketing Extracted Honey." — You will get many times the value of your 15 CENTS in the hints and ideas that it will give you. Address, CHARLES DADANT & SON, Hamilton. Hancock County, 111. AGENTS WANTED ™T LIVES '"'™ MARTYR PRESIDENTS. Abraham I..incoln, " From Pioneer Home to White House," and JumeM Abraiii Oa,rfieldt *' From Log Cabin lo White House." In KnKlish and German. Illustrated with fine steel engrav- ings. By an eminent author. Also, for the OKLY larice steel portrn.lt or Garlleld. Send for extra terms. THE HENEY BILL PUBLISHING CO., 50w8t NORWICH, CONN. PLANTERS' JOURNAL OFFICIAL OKG^VN OF National Cotton Planters' Associa- tion of America. VICKSBURC, MISS. Which has been proniiunred, bv ;i united press, ■"The must important mnveiuent of mnriern times for the South." The ATLANTA EXPOSITION assumed shape from its ideas. Planters' Journal is Standard Au- thority on Southern Farming. Single Subscription, per yesir %i oo Club of two subscribers, per year 3 no Club of tive subscrtbera, per year 6 r>o dub of ten subscribers, per year 12 50 Sample Copies, 10c. Regular Price. 20c. Address PLANTERS' JOURNAL, 50w4t VICKSBUKG, MISS. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL AND BEE-KEEPEE'S ADVISEE. The Bhitish Bee Journal Is published month- ly, and contiiins ihu best practical information tor the time beinj;. showinu what to do, and when and how to do it. Rev. H. R. PflEL., Kdltor. We send the Weekly American BKEJotiRNAi. and ihe British Bee Journal, both for $3.50 a year. BEESWAX. I pay 37c. per pound delivered here, for yellow Beeswax. To avoid mistakes, the shipper's name should always be on each paeUaKe. Ar.FRED H. BTfiVVMAN. t»23 West Madison Street, CHICAOO. ILL. The Bee-Keeper's Guide; OR, MANUAL OF THE APIARY, By A. J. COOK, Of Laneing, Processor of Entomology in the State Agricultural College of MichigazL 3SO PoKea ; i:i3 Fine JlluMtriitloas. This is a new edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, enlarged and elceantly illustrated. The first edition of S.OCO copies was exhausted in about 18 moDtiis— a sale unprecedented in the ann:ilsof bee-culture. This new work has been pru>,iuced with great care, patient study and per- sistent research. It comprises a full delineation of the anatomy and physiology of the honey bee, illustrated with many costly wood eneravings — the products of the Honey Bee ; the races of beea; full desccriptiona of honey-producing plants.trees, shrubs, etc.. splendidly illustrated— and last,thouKh not least, detailed instructions for the various manipulations necessary in the apiary. This work is a masterly production, and one that no bee-keeper, however limited his means, can afford to do without. Itlsfully "up with tlie times" on every conceivable subject that can interest the apiarist. It is not only instructive, but intensely interesting and thoroughly practical. Read the following opinions of the Book; All agree that it is the work of a master and of real Viiiue.—L' Apiculture, Paris. I think Cook's Manual is toe best of our Ameri- can works.- LEWIS T. CoLBV. It appears to ha^e cut the ground fronr under future book-makers.— iJn(ii/i Bee Journal. Prof. Cook's valuable Manual has been my con- stitnt guide in my operations and successful man- agementot" the apuiiy.— J. P. West. I have derived more practical knowledge from Prof. Cook's New M;inual of thi? Apiury than from any other book.— E. H. WY.vii.OOP. This book is just what everyone Interested in bees ought to have, and which, no one who obtiiins it, will ever retiret having purcnased.- 3iic/i. Far. To all who wish to engage 'n bee-culture, a manual is a necessity. Piot. Cook's Manual is an exhaustive work.— iferaici, Monticeilo, 111. With Cook's Manual I am more than pleased. It is fuily up with the cimes in every particular. The richest rewaial awaits us author.— A. K. Wknzel. My s\iccess has been so great as to almost aston- ish myMelf. :md nnich of it is due lo the clear, dis- interested inturm:ttion contained in Cook's Man- uiii.— W.M. Van Antwerp, m. D It Is the latest book on the bee, and treats of both the bee and hives, with their implements. It is of value to ail bee-raisers.- Ky. Live Stock Record, It is a credit to the author as well the publisher. I hiive never yet met witlia work, either French or foreign, which 1 like so much.— L'AEBE |)(J BoLS, eUitorof the BuLttin D' Ap-icult^ur^ France. It not only gives tlie natural history of these In- dustrious insects, but also a thorough, practical, and clearly expressed series ot directions for tlieir management; aboa botanical description ot honey producing plants, and an extended account ol the enemies oi bees.— i>e77iocra(, Pulaski, N, V. We have perused with great pleasure this ivide mecii/H ot tlie bee-keeper. It is replete with the beat information on everything beiouging to api- ( uiiure. Q'o al taking an interest in this suigect, we »i:v, obtain this valuable work, read it caieluUy and practice as advised.— ^loricuUuruf, Quebec. This book is pronounced by the press and leading bee-men to be the must coniplcie luid prjictieal tiea'ise on bee-culture in Europe or America; a scieniiilc work on ujodern bee management that everv t'xperienced bec' man wiJl welcome, and it is e.-^st'htiul to every amateur In bee-culture. It ie hun(jslvldlnir and Feeding Bees.— Bints to Beginners, by Thomas G. Newman. Price & cents. Bees In ^^Inter, with instructions about Chaff-Packing. Cellars and Bee Houses, byThomas 6. Newman. Price 5c. Qneen-Rearlns:. hy Henry Allev — A full and detailed accountof TWENTY-THREEyears' experience in rearing queen bees. The cheapest, easiest and best wav tn raise queens. Never before published. Price ^l.OO. Feod Adalteratlon ; What we eat and should not eat. This book should be in every family, and ought to create a sentiment against adulteration of food products, and demand a law to protect the consumer against the numerous health-destroying adulterations offered as food. 200 pases SOc. Scrlbner*H L 9Rc5ijttt — Don JftomaS '^-SJcromnn. 3)ie)'e6 enttjdit cine tlnve bnrfteUiing iiber iBtencn unb J>onig be§ 3[(tert()uinS ; bie Sefd)affcn^cit, Oualilcit, Quellen unb 3iibcreitung bc§ .^ionig6 fiivben Jjanbet ; .^onig n(§ 9ca()vnngomittc[, nngcbenb roie man §onigfud)en, g-ovrntiidjcldjen, 5pubbing§,Sd;aiimtonfec{,23eine,u.f.ro juberoitcn fnnn ; ferner .^(onig n[§ JDJebijin mtt oielen Stejepten. (S§ ift fiiv ben (Jonfiimentcn beftimmt, unb follte Dieltaufenbffiltig iibcr bn§ ganjc i^onb uerbrcitet njerben. $rci§ f> 6ent§. 25a^ »Pfct» tttti> fcinc ^rattf»Kitcn— i^o" 93.3-.ScnbaII, ilR. 5)., ent(}altcnb ein atpbnbetifci^ georbncte§ 3}ev5ei(^nii'j ber Der[d|iebenen ^fevbctvanf^eiten, fammt ben Strfnc^en, S:)mptomcn unb ber rid)tigen 23e[)anb: lung bcrfetben ; ferner, cine ©nmmlung roertljDoUer Stejepte. ^rei§ 25 SentS. THOMAS C. NEWMAN. 925 West Madison c^lreet, Chicago. 111. MEHDELSSOHK ' ^iaNo Cos. '^ Pianos $850 Square Grand Piano for only $245. PI Alin CJYI C 01 Magnificent rosewood- rinllU 0 I I LL 02 case elegantly hnished, 3 strings. 7 1-3 Octave", full patent cantante- agrafles. our new patent overstrung scale, beauti- ful carved legs and lyre, heavy serpentine and large fancy moulding, full iron frame, French Grand Action. Grand Hammers, in fact, every im- provementwhich can in any way tend to the per- fection of the instrument, has t>een added. t^~Oitr price Tor this instrament. boxed and delivered on board cars at AiewTTork*. with fine Piano Cover, Stool ti^O/l ^C and Book, only tJpZi'TfJ. Reduced from our late wholesale factory price^ a$20.>, for f!o day-- only, to have this beautiful Piano introduced. This is now, by far. the irreat- e»l bargain ever offered the musical public. Un- precedented success I Tremendous demand for this style ! Order atoncp. This Piano will be sent on 15 days' test trial. Please send reference if you do not send money with order. C"sh sent with nrdemnll be refunded and freight charges paid bji us bntli icnys if Piano Is nnt ju^t as represented. Several other special bar- gains: Pianos. ."SIBO up. Over ir».iKM.i in use, and not <'ne dissatisfled purchaser, Handsome- Illustrated Catalogue raniled free, giving the high- est testimonials ever awarded any manufacturer. Every Piano fully warranted for 5 years. SHEET MUSIC M price. Catalogue of 3,0(» choice pieces sent for yc. stamp. M£\bje:l.ssou.^ pi.anoco., 2lsmlT Box 2958, New York. EARS FOR THE MILLION ! FooChoo's Balsam of Shark's Oil Positively Restores the Hearing, and is the Only Absolute Cure for Deafness Known. This Oil is abstracted from a peculiar species of small White Shark, caughtin the Yellow Sea, known as CaTcharodon Rondeletii. Every Chinese tisherman knows it. Its virtues as a restorative of bearing were discovered by a Buddiiist Priest about the year 1410. Its cures were bo numerous and many soHeemlnirly mlracalon*. tbatthe rem- edy was ofBcially proclaimed over the entire Em- pire. Us use became so universal that for over HOO y*-ars no Deafness has existed atnonff the Chinese people. Sent, charges prepaid, to any address at *l.ixi per bottle. HEAR WHAT S DEAF SAY! It has performed a miracle In my case. I have no unearthly noises in my head, and hear much better. I have been greatly benefited. My deafness helped a great deal— think another bottle will cure me. **lts virtues are UNQUE.'iTIOJf ABLE and Its CURA- TIVE CHARACTER ABSOLUTE, AS THE WKITEKCAX PERSONALLY TEBTIFV. BOTH FROM EXPERIENCB ANi> UBPEKVATIUN'. Write at once to Haylock Jt JENNEY.7 Dey Street.New Y..rk. enclosing $1. and you will receive by return a remedy that wlH enable you to hear like anybody else, and whose curative effects will be permanent. You will never regret doing so."— Editor of Mercantile Re- view, j3?~To avoid ]os«in the mails, please send money by IlEGlSTBKED LETTER. Only Imported by HAYLOCK & JENNET^ •^ (Late Haylock & Co.) I Sole Agents for America. 7 Dey St.,NewT'ork- l -jowly 4 would be the extra ex- pense of foundation, and the combs being so very thin. Would the bees work out tlie wax as well, or would they leave the (so-called) lish bone in the center ? And, also, would not the time occupied by the bees in capping 80 large a surface, for so little honey, be a more serious objection y After an experience of four years with the half-pound sections, and for the benefit of those who are about to begin their use, we will say that the coming season we shall again change our package, which will be ;U4x4xl% for the following reasons : It would give a better-sized comb for cutting up, and the combs, being thinner, the bees would hll out better around the outside, next to the wood. Unless properly adjusted to the hive, and very particular attention is given, the yield per colony, will be very much less than if larger-sized packages were used. If any of the brother bee-keep- ers used half-pound sections before 1878, let him report through the columns of your rery valuable Bee Journal. Peoria, N. Y., Jan. 1, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Bee-Keeping in Nebraska. WM. STOLIiEY. I started " Apiculture " here. 150 miles west of the Big Muddy (Mis- souri River), three years ago, with but two rather weak colonies of black bees, without having at that time the slightest knowledge of them. As was to be expected, under such circum- stances, I blundered in my first sum- mer's management, viz.: increasing from 2 very weak, to 3 still weaker colonies in the fall, but with very lit- tle honey for winter stores. Then I got hold of the excellent Bee Journal and found how far I was missing the mark. But, following strictly its teachings, I succeeded in providing, in time, my bees with the required winter stores, by feeding night and day with coffee A sugar syrup; and, in the spring of 1881,1 found to my great satisfaction that every colony was alive, although seri- ously afflicted with dysentery ,and two of the old queens dead. So I com- menced the season of 1881 with 6 colo- nies, and, aided by the use of comb foundation, I increased to 14 colonies that season, and obtained 230 pounds of extracted surplus honey. Meanwhile, I procured, of Rev. A. Salisbury, 4 tested queens, three of them Italians and one pure Cyprian ; all of them were properly introduced before cold weather set in, in 1881. Only 2 of these queens proved suitable for breeders ; and, in particular, the Cyprian queen outstripped all the rest. She proved to be, not only exceedingly prolific, but her worker bees are also amiable and the best honey gatherers. From these 2 qipeens I have reared 20 queens in 1882, of which 17 are Cypri- ans and but 3 Italians, allowing no drones to be reared in my little apiary but in the Italian colony; hence, all my Cyprian queens were mated with Italian drones. Ttie spring of 1882 found me as the owner of 12 good colonies of bees, viz.; 1 Cyprian, 1 Italian, and 10 black and hybrids ; since 2 colonies had lost their queens during winter, and I had to unite the queenless ones with other colonies. With the aid of 4 additional Italian queens bought, one from G. M. Doo- litle, one from Chas. Dadant & Son, and two from Scovell & Anderson, the aid of 70 lbs. of foundation, and the pasturage of one acre of melilot clover, I increased to 38 strong colo- nies in the fall, and obtained .520 lbs. of extracted, and 80 lbs. of comb honey, in 2-pound sections, which I readily sold at 2.5c. per pound. Towards the close of the season I lost my Uoolittle queen, after I had reared 4 queens from her. I also reared 4 queens from the Dadant, and 2 from theScoville& Anderson queen. I have superseded all my black and hybrid queens, except 3, which proved to be the best of that race of bees, as I desire to winter them once more, and compare results next spring. About the middle of October I fin- ished packing my bees (inside the hives) with woolen blankets and chaff, and about the middle of November I moved them back to the rear wall of my bee-house, and packed them in prairie hay, sheltered the entrance with slanting boards, and then coi'ered the whole 2 feet thick with prairie hay. On December 17 my bees had their last flight, and I hope that they will pull through the winter all right. Whether bee-keeping can be carried on successfully, in this, the so-called "Desert of America," I consider prac- tically solved. At least, I have got the requisite confidence to persevere, and my little success has already inspired others, who will try their hand at it during the coming season. I have partly sold, and partly ordered 12 colonies at from $12 to $15 per col- ony, the risk of wintering to rest with the purchaser.and, with the proceeds, I propose to build a honey-house in ad- dition to my bee-house, 80 feet long. Our lands are cheap, and melilot, matrimony vines and borage will always do well with us, hence, what should hinder us from becoming suc- cessful apiculturists ¥ I now have 114 acre of matrimony vines well estab- lished, which will feed my bees from early spring till frost. Near me, are about 20 acres of melilot [Melilotus Al- ba) which are entirely devoted to bee pasturage and also 1 acre of borage. We are preparing another bee-farm on a larger scale, on the Loop River, where 50 acres or more will be sown with melilot, and as many acres with matrimonv vines as can be grown with plants obtainable ; and as soon as ready, we propose to put the bees there, and do not care much about white clover, basswood, etc. I predict that " the Desert of Amer- ica," willcountbig, in the near future, as a honey-producing section of this land of plenty, and the American , 24 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Bee Journal will count its subscrib- ers from the " far West " by hundreds. I will send you the names of parties who become practically interested in apiculture as fast as the nucleus api- aries originate here. Grand Island, Neb., Dec. 28, 1882. For tbe American Bee Journal The Folly of Too Small a Section. L. II. SCUDDEK. I have read with care the remarks of Mr. T. F. Binfiliam, the editor, and others, on page 802 of the Bee Jour- nal, and will try and give you some of tlie reasons why I think we, as honey-producers, should not advocate the use of a continually decreasing size of package for honey. In the lirst place, neither dealer or consumer would require us to go below a one- pound section, if we did not induce tlieni to by placing it before them; but we, in our anxiety to outstrip our neighbor in the production of an arti- cle which will appear nicer and, by that means, sell more rapidly and for a shade higher price, continue to re- duce the size of sections until (if this folly is continued) honey cannot be produced with sufficient prolit to jus- tify a person of ordinary intelligence in engaging in the business. We know from experience thathoney consumers will not be willing to pay a high price, because of the novelty of the package, ^Vhat was more attractive in appearance tlian the glassed sec- tion, and still, how short-lived it was? Glass at 2.5 to 30 cents per pound was more expensive food than consumers could afford ; and buying wood at similar prices will become burdensome when we get to using about as much w^ood for one-half or one-quarter of a pound of lioney as we are now using for one pound. I cannot view it in any other light, than that honey-producers are working against their own interests, in advo- cating the use of a smaller package. Let me give you a few reasons why I think so. 1st. We must discard all our mate- rial left over from last year, which to some of us is a considerable item. 2nd. Malcenew supers, which means money, whatever style we see lit to adopt. 3d. Double or quadruple our ex- penses for comb foundation. 4th. Compel the bees to use double the amount of material for capping, and requiring additional time to per- form the labor. 5th. Doubling or quadrupling the labor in the manipulation of the sec- tions from the preparation to the final packing for market. Is it not clear that this additional labor will compel many of us to carry a decreased number of colonies V I see no other way, for the very impor- tant reason that competen t help caimot be obtained ; at least, that is the case in my locality, and I presume it is so in many others. Now, taking this view of the case, how are we, as bee-keepers, to manage to win bread for our families? Some times, for years in succession, the crop will be light, and our profits small, barely sutlicient to maintain our fam- ilies; then, perhaps, a perfect deluge of nectar will Some, every shrub and flower bending beneath its weight, and as our busy little workers come rustling home, laden to their utmost capacity with their precious freight, would it not be interesting to watch us '■ Progressive Apiarists " undertake to measure and store away the fruits of their labor in half-pound sections. Truly, the prospect is not tlattering; it seems to me that it would be a hopeless task, and I, for one, cannot see my way clear to undertake it. Call this " croaking " of an old fogy, if you see lit ; I care but little ; if ttie busi- ness ceases to be profitable, dearly as I love it, I will turn my hand to some- thing else. New Boston, 111., Jan. 1, 1883. Resifi before the Maine Convention. Bee-Keeping for Ladies. ISAAC F. PLUMMER. I have thought perhaps it would not be out of place to give you a few thoughts on bee-keeping as an em- ployment for ladies ; as I know there are a number of ladies in our State who are interested in bee-keeping, and I have often thought that bee- culture and its benefits have never been properly or fully presented to ladies as a light and profitable em- ployment. The subject of bees and flowers is so inexhaustible, so full of interest, indispensible to each other, and each so well adapted to the care and culti- vation by ladies, that a few hints on this interesting subject may lead to others still greater. Bee-culture, like all sciences, is full of opportunities for research, and I think, even more interesting ; and, in fact, there is a certain mystery about the habits of bees that forever keeps the imagination waiting for some new discovery or development. Tlie great drawback to bee-keeping has been stings, but modern improve- ments'^in bee-culture, such as bee- veils, gloves and bee-smokers properly used should be sufficient to forever dispel every fear even of the most timid. Bees have been spoken of from the earliest history of the world, and we often see them alluded to in the Bible, and bees and honey in those days were spoken of as possessing wonderful virtues. Some of the greatest writers in the history of our world mention tlie honey bee as being a gift of the gods, and so I am led to believe that many a silent lesson in the economy of the world has been learned from the wonderful bee. We never forget that sweet and simple song : " How doth the little busy bee •, Improve each shining hour." It teaches us that the sweets of this life are offered to us all as freely as the svi'eets of the Howery kingdom to tlie virtuous and industrious bee. If we but imitate these virtuous habits our coffers will overflow with the sweets of life. In fact, the whole study and juactice of bee-culture is refining, ennobling and elevating. Ladies are certainly adapted to bee- keeping, because, as a general rule, . they love and cultivate flowers, the very perfection of virtue and inspira- tion ; and bees and flowers seem in- separable. Where flowers are, bees are ; even in the deserts where the foot of man has never trod. In the cliffs, on the hills, and in tlie valleys may be found the industrious little bee, sip|)ing the sweets from the many flower that are " horn to blush unseen. And waste their sweetness on the desert air." What a wonderful mission these lit- tle workers seem to perform while gathering honey, which the Bible de- clares is "sweet to the soul, and health to the bones." They spread from flower to flower the germs of life of the sweetest things of earth's broad bosom. Let us provide abun- dant forage for our bees, fill our gar- dens full of flowers and thus invite them to come and taste of the nectar which the flowers produce within our bowers. I would not advise all ladies to keep bees ; but to those who have time, inclination, and wish all the benefits, including the profits of bee- keeping, I say, try a few colonies. Give them the same care and atten- tion you give flowers, and I am sure the results will exceed your most san- guine expectations. Some of the smartest bee-keepers we have in this country are ladies, and I see no reason why the ladies of Maine cannot be as successful in this branch of business as ladies are in other States. Sinartweetf and Hearts-ease. The past season has been the best of the past four years with us. My bees gathered pollen from the hazel nut, ami, perhaps, from soft maple as early as February. During April and May bees could do but little, on account of cold and wet weather. I fed mine; had I not, many of them would have starved. The principal flow of honey in Southeastern Ne- braska was from the smartweed or hearts-ease, of which there is an abun- dance growing up among the corn after the farmer has finished culti- vating it; also growing thick on wheat and oat stubble, after harvest, or by the way side, everywhere, nearly, except on the prairie. Tliere are sev- eral varieties of this weed which yield an abundance of honey superior in flavor to the well-known basswood. I have both kind, and most of my cus- tomers prefer the hearts-ease honey. This plant blooms from the 1st of August till frost. My bees commenced swarming in August, and continued to swarm until late in September. One swarm of Cyprian bees came out the last of August. I hived them in the Oatman Modest Ilive, gave them 1 frame of brood and the THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 25 remainder of foundation. I put on surplus boxes, and closed the hive. Tliis swarm gave me about 30 lbs. of comb honey, besides building out and filling the brood-chamber completely. Cyprian bees color tlieir combs more than the German bees. 1 think they work over all the old comb they can find ; besides, tliey are not careful about the quality of propolis they use. One colony used black paint from barbed wire fences, and their combs were as black as pitch, and had the odor of coal tar. P. Bohngeh. Salem, Neb., Dec. 22, 18S2. An Ayerage of 57 Poiiuds per Colony. It has been a very hard season here for bees, a year ago this fall I packed 29 colonies in sawdust, with cliaff over the frames ; when spring came they were all alive, but one was queenless, which was united with another weak colony. I succeeded in bringing the 28 colonies through the cold, late spring by feeding a little over 100 lbs. of coffee A sugar. My increase was from 28 to 44, mostly by natural swarming. I also had two swarms leave for parts unknown. I took from them 850 lbs. of comb and 750 lbs. of. extracted lioney, which gives an average of a little over 57 lbs. for each colony in the spring. My honey was sold here in Scranton, the comb for 16 cts. per lb. and the extracted for 14 cts. C. E. Miller. Industry, Fa., Dec. 20, 1882. Paste for Honey Labels. Please state, through the Bee Jour- nal, how to make mucilage or paste that will hold labels on new tin. I have tried a mucilage of gum arable, but it is not a success. \Vm. Roberts. Vaughansville, Ohio. [This question has been overlooked for some time ; we will now answer it. Mr. C. Haucke, of Kentucky, gives the following, which he avers will be successful : " Make a thin batter of best buckwheat flour, stir this in boil- ing water, on a slow fire; when cooked, or thick, take it from over the lire, and, to each quart, stir in 2 oz. of New Orleans sugar or molasses, while hot. Keep in a cool place. This paste will stick as well to a non-porous surface as to a porous one. — Ed.] Last Season was the Best in 5 Tears. The season of 1882, after fruit blos- soms came out, was the best for the past 5 years, for bee-keeping, in this locality. Bees commenced swarming and gave one swarm each all round, during fruit bloom, which was the most profuse bloom ever seen in this section of the country. After fruit blossoms had gone, white clover came out in great abundance, yielding well. I obtained, on an average, 40 lbs. per colony of comb honey, in 1-pound sec- tions, from white clover; and 20 lbs. Eer colony in 1-pound sections from asswood ; making 00 lbs. per colony of white honey in the comb. The fall yield was equally as good ; my colo- nies storing 40 lbs. each, from buck- wheat and goldenrod. I notice that some apiarists think buckwheata poor honey plant; my experience is that it is one of the best lioney plants we have. Last fall there was a held of buckwheat about a quarter of a mile from uiy apiary, the road being be- tween the field and the apiary. I have repeatedly had people stop and tell me that the bees were swarming, such a roaring tliey made going to and fro from the buckwheat field. My bees are now all packed on the plan given by Mr. Ileddon, except 12 colo- nies which I put in the cellar, for an experiment, having generally win- tered on the summer stands. I think either Mr Ileddon 's or Mr. Doolittle's writiTigs are worth twice the subscrip- tion price of the Bee.Iouhnal to any one keei)ing bees. E. W. Wales. Disco, Mich. Receipts for Cooking' Green and Dried Fruits. Please publish the following receipts and add to the pamphlet ou " Honey as Food and Medicine." Green Fruit.— If mellow, use only extracted honey, it being the only liquid, it holds the fruit firm and gives a very rich flavor, sweeten or season with "spices, to suit the taste. Cook slowly until done. Dried Fruit.— Cook same as above, only add water enough to swell the fruit, after which add the extracted honey and spices, to suit taste. Cook slowly until done. Bray & Seacord. Warthan, Cal. A Good Showing. The past year has been one of the most laborious I have ever experi- enced, having the sole care of my apiary, and an orchard of 15 acres, of both large and small fruits, adapted to this clime ; also superintending and working occasionally in an excavation for a tish pond, in my orcluird, where there is a number of small living springs of water, affording a constant flow the year round. I am in hopes to finish it this winter, and shall stock it with the German carp in the spring. I commenced the season with about 40 colonies of bees, and by natural swarming, increased to 160; sold off 20 in the summer, and secured about 3,000 lbs. of surplus comb honey, leav- ing the hives with honey in store. Hiram Craig. Fort Calhoun, Neb. Italians vs. Native Bees. As I have now got all of my bees into winter quarters, I will hand in my report. I had 175 colonies last fall ; lost none ; wintered on the summer stands, mostly black bees. I obtained 13,000 lbs. of honey, nearly all ex- tracted. I have now 295 colonies ; have 22 queens reared in 1881 from an imported Italian ; got 1 imported Ital- ian queen of Mr. Dadant, early in 1882 and I have about 40 queens reared from her ; a part of them, I think, are purely mated. I think that I will weed all of the blacks and hybrids out of my home yard, next spring, and run it with Italian bees. I think that I can rear them very nearly pure there, as there are no other bees within 4 miles. But I am not yet satisfied that the Italian bee is better than the blacks,taking all points into considera- tion. I intend to have one yard of them pure, and then watch them close- ly. 1 want to know which is best, as 1 think of going more extensively into the bee business. 1 shall make some chaff quadruple Langstroth hives, tliis winter, two stories high. I have one now that I made last year ; it has 4 swarms of bees in it and I like it very well, it is the only Langstroth hive I have. E. France. Platteville, Wis., Dec. 4, 1882. Strong Colonies Necessary for Success. The spring was very backward, sa that owing to chilled brood and other causes, my colonies were, if anything, weaker on the 1st of June than they were on April 1. This is my season's work : April 1st, 7 weak and 2 strong colonies, 9 ; Nov. 15, stored into win- ter quarters, 14 strong colonies with an abundance of stores. My crop is 600 lbs. extracted white clover ; 200 lbs. extracted fall honey; 350 lbs. comb honey ; total 1 ,1.50 lbs. My experience, like that of many others, is that the number of colonies is of less impor- tance than their strength ; and 1 have resolved hereafter to keep only strong colonies, if I can have but a single one. F. P. BOUTEILLER. Belle River, Ont. Wintering in Chaff Hives. I had 98 colonies to start with in the spring of 1881 ; increased to 204 ; all in good shape for winter, and packed them on from 5 to 7 frames, in chaff hives with division-boards, with the open space filled with chaff, and a chaff box over the frames with muslin bot- tom and from four to six inches of dry oats chaff, and the whole hive, except the front, covered with dry hay. The winter was very open; the entrance being open all the time. They came through with less than 5 per cent, of loss. Now, then, I had two extremes of temperature, with bees put away just the same way, except that in one case tlie snow and ice effectually blocked up the entrance and in the other it was open. Now. my opinion is that chaff hives and chaff packing give a more even tem- perature and that the chaff box on top absorbed the moisture so that the bees were kept in a healthy condition. I have packed 58 colonies this winter in chaff hives with chaff division- boards 2 inches thick, with muslin on one side and % inch boards on the other, with the muslin next to the bees. G. Rouse. Wahoo, Neb., Dec. 21, 1882. Glassed or Not. Please state whether the small sec- tions (1 or 3-2 lb.) are expected to be glassed, for market. A Subscriber. [No. The crates should be glassed,. but not the sections,— Ed.] 26 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. (Packed in Sawdust. I commenced the season with 7 col- onies, blacks and Italians (4 blacks and 3 Italians); increased to 27 colo- nies, and have tliera all Italianized ; took 250 lbs. of extracted and 100 lbs. of comb lioney in 2-poiind sections. I use the Langstroth hive and pack them in sawdust.on their summer stands, similar to the plan of James Ileddon. J. VV. Sears. Harrodsburg, Ind., Dec. 27, 1882. 'Thickness of Wood of Small Sections. In No. 51, page 802, of the Bee Jour- nal, Mr. T. F. Bingham gives the proper size to make half-pound sec- tions ; in doing so he did not give the thickness of the section," or inside measurement. Please give this in the Bee Journal ; I am only a beginner, but wish to keep pace with the most modern ways of bee-keeping. As this is the time for hive-making I also wisli to get the best plan ot making the top bar of the frames for fastening the foundation. I am making mine 1x1 M inches, with JJg above tlie sides and running a cut in the bottom J^ deep, and bevel from the top % to the bot- tom groove and then cut off one-half, thus leaving an open space in which to lay the foundation and tack on the piece that came out. I used them last season and found them to work very well. Geo. Rogers. Ilollin, Ont., Jan. 2, 1883. [The thickness of the wood for the small sections is one-eighth of an inch. Many bee-keepers make the top-bars of broad frames as you suggest, and like them. It makes but little differ- ence, so long as the top bar is stiff, and the foundation strongly fastened. Any way that will accomplish this, "will do. — Ed.] Satisfied. I had, in the spring, 9 colonies of hybrids and Italians ; increased to 27, -or 200 per cent., and obtained, of nice comb honey, 396 lbs., or 44 lbs. per colony, spring count, and did not buy a queen nor use any empty comb or foundation, and lost but little time out of my shop, attending to them. I sell all my honey at 20 cents per pound. I think there are about 200 colonies of bees in Wabash, and about one-half are blacks, kept in the style of our grandfathers ; the other half are Ital- ians and hybrids, kept in different sorts of movable frame hives, by dif- ferents sorts of men, and I am the only one, as far as I know, that takes any bee paper. J. Copeland. Allendale, 111., Dec. 27, 1882. A Question— Why Is It 5 We are wintering 240 colonies of bees — 80 colonies out doors in cliafE Lives, and the rest in an underground ■cellar. Those in the cellar are win- tering well. The colonies out of doors are located in four different places ; 18 at our home apiary, 10 three-fourths ■ of a mile northwest, 14 two miles south, .and 38 four mile south of home apiary. These colonies were all prepared for winter in the same manner, were strong in numbers and well supplied with honey. The flora of the four lo- calites is tiie same. The colonies in three of the localities mentioned are in a tine condition. The .38 colonies four miles from the home apiary are suffering badly with dysentery, and we shall probably lose "nearly all of them. I would like to have you make the above statementin the columns of the Journal, and ask the bee masters to give a reason why the 38 colonies are affected and not the rest. S. F. Newman. Newark, O., Dec. 29, 1882. A Satisfactory Showing. My bees in good order for winter. I have now 80 colonies, packed in chaff. I started in the spring with .50 colo- nies; they gave me 48 pounds of comb honey per colony. Those run for ex- tracted honey, gave me 100 pounds per colony ; which 1 sold at from 12J^ to 16 cents per pound and the comb honey at 16 to 20 cents per pound at home. The weather is mild; just right for bees. J. H. Kennedy. Little York, N. Y. Dec. 28, 1882. In 6ood Condition. I began, in the spring, with 17 colo- nies ot' black bees ; obtained 1,0.50 lbs. of extracted honey and 200 lbs. in the comb, in one-pound sections, and in- creased to 38 colonies, all in good con- ditiork for the winter. Wm. Coleman. Devizes, Ont., Dec. 21, 1882. Over 100 Pounds to the Colony. I commenced in the spring with 54 colonies ; increased to 80 and obtained 5,500 lbs. of honey, of which 4,500 was comb and 1,000 extracted. Our bees were in splendid condition for winter. L. D. Ormsby. Pierpont, Ohio, Dec. 26, 1882. Bees Enjoying Their Warm Quarters. It has been a very poor year in this section for apiarists, bees having gath- ered no white honey and but a light yield of dark honey. But, neverthe- less, I must have the Bee Journal for 1883, all the same. I have 26 colo- nies in the cellar, evidently enjoying their warm quarters. J. H. Sheldon. Dorset, Vt., Dec. 22, 1882. Mexican Clover for Bees. My report for 1882 is as follows : Spring count 39. increase 28, total 67 ; sold 17. The average per colony for honey was about 30 lbs., in all 2,000 lbs. Owing to the cold weather, dur- ing the spring and summer, they did not do well. Cupalo gum yielded splendidly, but red rod was a failure ; these are' the only flowers that amount to anything. I have moved them across the river to where there is an abundance of white clover and poplar. I will try some sweet clover on the soil we have here, which is black loam. I have also some Mexican clover seed. which is said to bloom luxuriantly, the season through. Has anyone ever tried the same, and is it a good plant V We will test it this season and report. Head & Brown. Thebes, 111., Dec. 20,1882. Likes to Work with Bees. I like to work with bees, but, as for getting any prolit out of them, we in central Ohio are far behind. I started last spring with 18 colonies, increased to 35; took about 175 lbs. of honey, mostly extracted ; this makes a man feel as though he was a small potato, after reading some of the bouncing reports. Some of them certainly look a little ^,s/h/. John M. Parson. Tippecanoe City, Ohio, Dec. 22, 1882. Packed in a Bee Cellar. I started in the spring with nine colonies, and have increased to 19, by natural swarming, and have obtained 500 lbs. of comb honey, and 500 lbs. of extracted. I realized 15 to 20 cents per pound in my home market, i have them all packed for the winter in a bee cellar. F. A. Gibson. Racine, Wis., Dec. 23, 1882. Packed with Buckwlieat Chaff. I put into winter quarters, last year, 13 colonies, on the summer stands; one starved, leaving 12 to start with, last spring; they increased to 32. I took 800 lbs. of extracted and 200 lbs. of comb honey. I winter 3i of them in the cellar and the others on the sum- mer stands, packed with buckwheat chaff. They appear to be all doing well. S. J. Church. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Dec. 27, 1882. Good Prospect. I have been quite successful the past year, liaving averaged 100 lbs. of comb honey, per colony, spring count, and increased from 70 to 121 colonies. My honey was all gathered in the prize section, the largest number from any one colony that I remember was 106, which is about 200 lbs. I .sold it at from 14 to 18 cts. per lb., mostly at Indianapolis. Our prospects for next year are good at the present time. B. Z. Smith. Tuscola, 111., Dec. 27, 1882. Centralizing the Honey Market. Bee-men ought to be combined and have but one wholesale house or dealer. The honey should be' in a salable condition and all should be shipped to him. One dealer can handle allot our produce to advantage. Then the merchants will know where to send to get the lowest price, and we shall know where to ship our produce and get what it is worth. Then the market quotations will be alike in all the papers. I have 112 colonies in good condition. Bees have not gath- ered much surplus here for two years, but mine have been on the gain. There are some 400 colonies of beesia this county, yet we cannot supply the market. There has been some ex- tracted honey sent here and sold for 20 cts. per lb. Chas. Follett. Osage, Iowa, Jan. 2, 1883. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 27 200 Pounds from One Colony. I shall pay more attention to mar- keting my honey hereafter, and want to adopt the newest metho !s for doing it. I could not get along at all with- out tlie Bee Journal. Had it not been for, it I should have made a poor show at bee keeping, but, as it is, I have taken 9,000 lbs. of extracted and 110 lbs. of comb honey, as well as 200 lbs. of beeswax from 70 colonies in the spring and increased them to 130, iu good condition, by natural swarm- ing. They could have been increased to 200, had I tlie hives to put them iu. The largest yield from one colony, was 220 lbs. of honey. W. H. McLendon. Lake Village, Ark., Dgc. 20, 1882. One Continued Flow of Honey. I commenced the season of 1882 with 20 colonies; 10 in Langstroth hives and 10 in box hives ; transferred those in box hives to Langstroth hives on May 1. It being wet and cold, I had to feed until June 3, when the white clover blossoms began to " nod their heads at the bees," which are the Ital- ians, hybrids and blacks. They soon took the hint, and we had one con- tinued flow of honey from that time on. I increased to 45 colonies, ob- tained 2,000 lbs. of comb and 1,000 of extracted honey. The bees are in a good dry cellar, waiting for the balmy days of spring to come. Wm. IIealb. Mt. Sterling, Iowa, Dec. 22, 1882. Bees Pay Well. I began the season with 14 colonies, 4 of which were transferred in May. one colony did nothing during the whole season , consequently I can really count but 13 available. 1 ran 8 of the colonies for extracted honey, witli sections for side storing in several of them. I now have 30 colonies all put into winter quarters on the summer stands, packed in hay, and sheltered entirely from rain or snow, and pro- tected on the west and north by a board fence. I had 10 swarms and in- creased 6 by division. Introduced un- tested 12 queens, 9 of which were successful, ail producing apparently so far an excellent offspring. My honey product foots up, 781 lbs. one-pound sections; 234 lbs. bulk; 1,000 lbs. ex- tracted ; in all 2,015 lbs. really from spring count of 13 colonies. You re- member, 2 seasons since, of selling me a queen ; she produced lieautif ul bees and active workers. This season that colony gave me 284 lbs. of honey, and an increase of 5 swarms, the last of which came out on Aug. 27, filled the brood chamber and gave 22 lbs. of nice surplus comb honey. I think my net results would have been at least 1,000 lbs. larger had I given strict atten- tion at the proper time. This does not near compete with some of the reports, but when coming from one who is not a practical bee-keeper, it gives you an idea what a man of average intelli- fence may do, even with the pressing uties of another business. I believe I can, in localities iu this county, buy land cheap, and with 150 or 200 colo- nies, that have pasturage intelligently prepared, make $1,.500 to $2,000 clear money yearly, besides paying some at- tention to stock or poultry. r. A. GUOVE. Kirksville, Mo., Dec. 30, 1882. Size of the Half-Pound Sections. After spending a few days with two of the brightest and most experienced boe-keepers in this country, I have settled, in my own mind, the size of section that I shall use to hold one- half pound gross, viz. : 4}4x2 13-16 inches plump, by 1^, or, more exactly, 7 to the foot for separators, or 1^4 without. This measurement, 4y, is adapted to the old length of fixtures, cases, broad frames, etc. The 2 13-16 piece is such a width as makes 3 fill the place of 2, 4}^, thus, 6 of them fill a broad frame in length. The IJf with, and 1}4 inches without separa- tors, is such a thickness as will fit my case, 8 to tlie foot, but necessitates a change and addition of cases and par- titions, using 5 instead of 3. For the broad frames it simply means cut them down 3.4 in thickness and use separators. If I used broad frames at all I should surely use the separa- tors. While this section is not adapted to either case or broad frames, just as they are, it requires an alteration that costs but very little in either capital or l^bor, and the comb it will contain will be one well adapted to storing and finishing rapidly, shipping safely and selling quickly. Do not be in a hurry to change from the one-pound section where you have them all in working order. You may be sorry if you do. Wait and see what the market says when plenty of both are there. James IIeddon. Dowagiac, Mich., Jan. 1, 1883. Bees in Good Condition. My 58 colonies of bees are in good condition. Some gave me 28 lbs. of comb honey, and some 50 to 60 lbs. of extracted honey. I think any number of the Bee Journal is worth to me all it costs for a year. G. W. ASHBT. Valley Station, Ky. Abnndantly Satisfied. Just received the last number of the Bee Journal for 1882, and I have it in the Emerson Binder, and on looking over the numbers, I cannot tell you how well satisfied I am, to think I have them all in, clean and snug. Without the binder, there would have been great risk of soiling the numbers, to say nothing of them being laid aside ; but with the binder, all this is avoided. To all bee-keepers who do not take the Bee Journal, I would say, take it for one year ; you do not know the loss you suffer by not taking it ; and to all who take the Journal, and not the binder, I would advise, take it, you will never regret it. It will do more than merely satisfy you ; if you have any phrenological bump of order, you will be compelled to say and do as I advise ; you will be com- pelled to acknowledge that you are abundantly satisfied. Edward Moore. East St. Barrle, Out., Dec. 29, 1882. Queen Born without Wings. In a letter published in the Bulletin B^ Apiculture de la Somme just to hand, there is the following, which is inter- esting to all scientific bee-keepers : " Miss Josephine Chinni, of Bologna, Italy, a distinguished apiarist and queen breeder, has a queen bee which was born without wings, and, for all that, has been a very good layer of drone eggs, and worker eggs also. If you want to know more details, write her, and I do not fear contradiction." Arthur Todd. Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 25, 1882. Correction. On page 809 of the Bee Journal for Dec. 20, in the 10th line from the bottom of the first column, for the word " Heddon's," read Lowmaster's. Wagon Works, O. A. B. Mason. Enticed to Take a Flight. On Christmas day it was so pleasant that our bees came out from the hives. Next morning I found great numbers dead at the entrances. Was it so cold that they died before going back in ? Or what V It would hardly do, would it— to open the hives and look in V M. E. Stevens. Lebanon, Ohio, December 29, 1882. [Of coiuse, they became chilled and could not return to the hives. While the sun was warm— the air was very cold. They were probably old bees that would soon have died. — Ed.] Bees Pay Better than Stock. My apiary, which remunerates for labor spent, is the best of anything yet. My 300 head of feeding steers and 250 head of fat hogs afford me no greater pleasure than my bees. The steers cannot compete with the bees for the amount of capital invested, and one is just as gentle as the other. I have hardly a steer but what I can ride, .and my bees are just as tame, when necessary to get near them. I saw Mr. Jackson Woodward, of Mahaska county, who said that from 40 colonies this year he obtained 90 swarms, put back 60, leaving him 70 colonies, all told. From these he took 2,600 lbs. of extracted and .500 lbs. of comb honey. lie is using the improved Langstroth hive, and is selling off aU he has in the old form, at $10 per colony. My bees fairly swarmed on my cannmg corn, this summer. I think it pays well to plant it for its honey qualities, if nothing more ; but corn brought at the can- ning factory, $12 per acre, after the bees were done with it. My buck- wheat did well. G. B. Olney. Atlantic, Iowa, Dec. 23, 1882. Honey Market at Home. I commenced the season with 60 colonies ; increased to 100 by natural swarming ; obtained 3,000 lbs. comb honey, all stored iu one-pound sec- tions ; sold it for 18 cts.*, wholesale, at home. Wm. Courtney. Bichview, 111., Dec. 20, 1882. 28 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. ADVERTISING RATES for 1883. 20 cents per line of space, each insertion, For either the Weekly or Monthly Editions. A line of this type will contain about 8 words; TWELVE lines will occupy ONE-INCH of space. Transient Advertisements payable in Rdvance. Editorial Notices, 50 cents per line. 8 PECI AL KATES. - Advertisements will be inserted in both Weekly and Monthly editions, at the following prices, if wholly paid in advance : SPACE. One Two Three 1 Six One month mo'tbs mo'tbs mo'ths Vear. 1 In. 12 lines 10. (X> 18.00 25.00 38. (JO 50.00 2 In. 24 lines 2n.(i(i 32.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 3 In. 3(i lines 2.").li() 40.00 50.00 75.00 lOO.U] 4 1n. 4Hlines :i2.t«) 50.00 e.).oo 90.00 125.1« 5 tn. fio lines 411.110 00.00 75.00 110.00 150.00 6 In. 72 lines 45. UO 70.00 90.00 130.00 175.00 For the "Weekly alone, 20 per cent, leas than the above rates. On yearly advertisements, payments may be miide quarterly, but must be in advance. Advertisements witbdrawn beforethe e.xpiration of the contract, will be charged the full rate for the time the advertisement is inserted. THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 935 West Madison Street.. ChlcnEo, III. ^:p^cciffi;28c. STEAKNB It SMITH, -123 Front Street. ST. I.OUIS. HONET-Dnll. Comb, at 16c. for large or hard to l;K.t,2f)c, for choice bright in small packages ; ex- tracted at 8i«)9c. ; strained, (i^(5i7c.; choice, in smaller quantities, brings more. BEESWAX-Prime bright steady at 27®28c. W.T. ANDERSON &Co,. 117 N. Main Street. CLEVELAND. HONEY-Has changed in price a very little, we find it necessary to sell all grades about 1 cent per lb. less. Best white, in I H) sections, 2n(aJ2Ic. per per pound : in 2 lb. sections, ]8taj20c. Extracted is very dull indeed, hardly any sale. BEESWAX-Scarce, 2S(a,:*lc. A. C, Kendel, 115 Ontario Street. NEW YORK. HONE V— There is only a moderate supply of choice to fancy white clover honey, and prices are still held firmly, though the demand is not large. Buckwheat and extracted honey continue slow. Wequote: White clover, first quality, 1 lb boxes. 2.'jc: 2 lb. bo.xes, 23@25c. : buckwheat, 1 !b boxes, 2nc : 2 lb. boxes, 16c, Extracted, white, ll@12c.: dark, 8 (/DC, BEESWAX- Thesupplyhasbeenlightandprime lots held a shade higher. Western pure, 3t)(a<:nc: southern, pure, 3trti32c. I). W. QuiNBl', 10.) I'ark Place. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is fairly active. We quote: H lb. sections at Site: 1 lb. sections, 22f*25c.: 2 1b. sections, 20(.ic*2c, Extracted, loc. per lb. Good lots of extracted are wanted in kegs or barrels, BEESWAX-30C. Crocker & Blake, ftl Chatham street. ^" Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra. Special Notice. It gives me pleasure to announce tliat Dr. A. X. Illinski, of East St. Louis, 111., and myself, have formed a co-partnership in bee-keeping, queen- rearing and supply furnishing. The Doctor is well known as an enterpris- ing, progressive, and enthusiastic bee- keeper, of ample means. The style of the new firm will be " Flanagan & Illinski," and the management of the business will be conducted by myself as heretofore. E. T. Flanagan. Belleville, 111., Jan. 3, 1883. Catalogues Received.— We have re- ceived copies of the following price lists for 1883 : James Forncrook& Co ,Watertown, Wis.—" One-Piece Sections," etc. Merriain & Falconer, Jamestown, N. Y.— " Apiarian Supplies " of all kinds. J. S. Tadlock, Luling, Texas. — " Bee-Keepers' Supplies." J. V. Caldwell, Cambridge, 111.— " Supplies for the Apiary." A. C. Nellis, Canajoharie, N. Y. — Catalogue of " Garden, Field and Flower Seeds." Preparation of Hone; for the Mar- ket, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey, instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. It Pays. — I have sold all of my sweet clover seed. Advertisements in the American Bee Journal pay. I. R. Good. Nappanee, Ind., Dec. 24, 1882. The AMERICAN Bee Journal ts the oldest Bee Paper In America, aud has a larpe circulation In every State, Terntiiry and Province, amone farm- ers, mechanics, prufessional and buj»lnew8 men, and Is, therefore, the best advertising medium. pLrWuTHJocFs Iroquois Strain. Four Yards. Correspnniipce cheerfully an^iwered Prices reflsonable. W. H. BUSSEY. 131 Lake Sti-eet, ChicBj;0 SWKET CI.OVER SEED.-New and clean, 115 cts, per lb. Ben Clendenon, GrlnnelMoa .'il,rWl3 DITNUAIH COIUIt FOir»IDAT10N-40c. per pound : extra thin and bright, 10 sq. ft. to the lb, 4HC. Send for samples. Wax worked 10c. per lb. K.W. HOLMES. Coorersville, Mich. 13wly Bees for Sale. so Colonies of Bees, in Gallup frames, cheap. 800 Colonies of Bees, in Jjangstroth frames In prime condition. J. U. UOB£RTSON. 3f!wtf Pewamo. Ionia Co.. Mich. STUDENTS IN BEE-CULTURE. Having had such Kood siicccsa for two years past in teaching tbe theory and practice of honey-pro- ducina, 1 liave now made arransementH t*t accom- modate a large class during the coming season. I shall aim to give a tlve months' instruction, at the end of which time I hope and expect to turn out bee-keepers competent to profitably cngiige In the pursuit, or such as will be sought for as assistants, at wages above common laborers. All interested. write Tor terms. BEE-K£KP£RS* SXJPPI^IES on hand, as usual. Dowaglnc, Mich. Beeswax wanted. JAMBS UEDDON. 30 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. "USD TAPS The OrlKlnal BINGHAM Bee Smoker Who will be the first to copy ^ 25,000 IN USE. If you buy the Origi- nal I'fitetit Binp;haui Bee Smoker, you will aid the inventor of improved bee sniok- ers— get the beat, that never go out— always please— never is com- plained of— the stand- ard of excellence the world over— better and haiitlHoraer tljis season than ever be- fore. Price per mail, postpaid, from (ir> cts. to S2. Our patents cover all the smokers that will burn sound Btove-wood. or do not go out. If you buy our smokers and hon- ey knives first, you p„ *.(,-♦ g^ 1070 will have to buy no *^^^®^''®" ■'°'** others. PRICES: Handed to By Mail, Customer. Postpaid. Wideshield Conqueror,3inch ....?1 75 $2 00 Large Bingham Smoker (wide shield), J"^ inch 1 50 1 75 Extra Bingham Smoker (wide shield), 2 inch 125 150 Plain Bingham Smoker, 2 inch — 100 125 Little Wonder Bingham Smoker, IH inch .. 50 60 Bingham & Hetherlnglon Honey Knife. 2 inch l 00 l 15 To sell again, apply for dozen or half-dozen rates. Send for free description and testimonials, to BINGHAM & HETHERINQTON, 17wtf Abronla, Af Ich. Muth's Honey Extractor, Square Glass Honey Jars, Tin Buckets, A Langstroth Bee Hives, Honey Sections, etc.. Apply to C. P. M IT T H , 976 and 978 Central Ave..CINCINKATI. O. |y"Send 10c. for Practical Hints to Bee-Keepera. @S £:NORAriNGS The Horse BY B. J. KENDALL, M. D. Ill I I I Cheap ! Cheaper !! Cheapest 300 COLONIES OF BEES for sale, in movable frame hives. Also, Queens, Nuclei, Bees by the pound. Hives, Sectinns, Smok- ers. Seeds for Honey Plants, and eveiy thing a live bee-keeper needs. S>end for circuUirand price list to FLANAGAN «fc ILLINSKI, Box tsl9, Belleville. St. Clair co., 111. (Proprietors of Kose Hill, Cubokia, Falling Springs and Lake Apiaries. Iwmiy FLAT . 150TT0.U COMB FOUNDATIOl^ high side-walls, 4 to IR square feet t- the pound. Circular and samples tree J. VAN DEUSEN & SONS, Sole Manufacturers, Sprout Brook. Mont. Co., N. Y, Given'sFoundationPress. A TREATISE giving an index of diseases, and the symptoms ; cause and treatment of each, a table giving all the principal drugs used for the horse, with the ordinary dose, effects and antidote when a poison ; a table with an engraving of the horse's teeth at different ages, with rules for telling the age of the horse ; a valuable ciiUectton of re- cipes, and much valuable information, Price 85 cent*.— Sent on receipt of price, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 925 West Madison Street. CHICAGO ULL. LANG8TROTH ANB SIMPLICITY CHAFF HIVK8, with mi.v;ible upper Btory, section boxes, metal-cornered brood frames, wide Lant-'strotti frames and comb foundation. Send for Price List. A. B. MIl.LEK & SON, 44wtf Wakarusa. Elkhart Co.. Ind. LIVE BEE-KEEPERS WANTED, to introduce the new lime cushion, the only pro- tection yet discovered that will carry the bees safety through winter and spring without fail. Send $!'iO, for right to retail tliis cushi4)n in your county, or send $5 for one apiarv right to patentee. Remit by registered letter or P. O. nrder. K. DELLA TORRE. 74 Chanes-st. Avenue, Baltimore, Md. Patented April 25, 1882. No. 2ri4,932. 4owi3t riiTTTC TD A 1I>T?T> maybe found on file 1 Jllo Jl Ar IMV at lony, y frames, Prize Queen 9 00 BefureJuly I. add $1 each. Cash Order." filled In rotation. Address E. I... BRIGGS, l*ly Wilton Junction, Iowa. Send to I. R. GOOD For Price List, for iHSi:i, of HOLY-LAND AND ITALIAN BEES And " Given " Comb Fonndation. He will give satisfaction or refund the money. l*5t Nappanee. Elkhart Co., Ind. I buy and sell Honey for Cash only. As I do no Commission business. I will not accept shipmenta witliout previous correspondence. \ \ 9 \ ^ i TJ1\ N CO .1 c 0 b C3 CO ^j w- c X (i> UJ It) X (1) cts 3 -C3 0 CO ^M.« re a> 0 ■0 S (0 3 BEESWAX. I pay a'Jc. per pound delivered here, for yellow Beeswax. To avoid mistakes, the shipper's name should always be on each pacbaKe. ALFRED n. NET^HAN. ^23 West Madison Street, CHICAGO. ILL. The Bee-Keeper's Guide; OR, MANUAL OF THE APIARY, By A. J. COOK, Of Lansing, Projeasor of EntomoloQy in the State Agricultural College of Michigan.. 3dO Paeres ; 133 Fine IlUiMtrution«. This I3 a new edition of Prof. Cook's Manual oC the Apiary, enlarged and eleeantly itlustrated. The first edition of 3,000 copies was exhausted In about 18 months — a sale unprecedented in the annals of bee-culture. This new work haa been produced with great care, patient study and per- sistent research. It comprises a full delineation' of the anatomy and physiology of the honey bee^ illustrated with many costly wood euEravmss — the products of the Honey Bee : the races ot bees; full desccriptions of honey-producing planis,trees» shrubs, etc.. splendidly Illustrated— and last,ihouch- not least, detailed Instructions for the various- manipulations necessary in the apiary. This work is a masterly production, and one that- no bee-keeper, however limited his means, can- aflord to do without. It is fully "up with the times" on every conceivable subject that can Interest the apiarist. It Is not only instructive, but intensely interesting and thoroughly practical. Head the JoUoiiAim opinions of the Book ; All agrree that it Is the work of a master and oi' real value.—L'ApiciUture, Purls. I think Coo'-:'8 Manual is toe best of our Ameri- can works.- Lew IS T. Colby. It appears to ha^*e cut the ground from undee future book-makers.- Brifush Bee Journal. Prof. Cook's valuable Manual has been my con- stant gnide in my ttperations and successful man- agement uf the apiary.— J. P. WEST. I have derived more practical knowledge froua Prof. Conk's New Miinual of the Apiary than trom any other book.— E. H. Wynkoop. This book Is just what everyone Interested 10 bees ought to have, and which, no one who obtain* It, will ever regret havmg purcnased.— iUic/i. Far. To all who wish to engage 'n bee-culture, a- manual Is a necessity. Piut. Cook's Manual Ih an* exhaustive work.- Herald, Monticello, 111. With Cook's Manual I am more than pleased. It is t'uily up with the times in every particular. The- richeat rewiiru awaits its author.— A. E. W enzel. My success has been so great as to almost aston- ish myself, and much of it is due to ihe clear, dis- inteiesipd intoruiation contained in Cook's Man- ual.—WM. Van Antwerp, M. U It is the latest hook on the bee, and treats of both* the bee and h ives. with their implemeulsi. 1 1 is of value to all bec-raieers.— Kt/. Live Stock Record, It Is a credit to the author as well the publisher. I hiive never yet met with a work, either Frencb ■ If lureign, which I like so much.— L'Abbe Dlt iJois, editurof the BuUetin D' Avicnlteur^ France. It not onty gives the natural history of these in- dustrious insects, but also a thorough, practical, and clearly expressed series ot directions for their management; alsoa botanical description ot honey oroducing plants, and an e.'itended account of the- enemies of bees.— £>t7uocrat, [*uluski. N. Y. We have perused with great pleasure this vndt mecum of the bee-keeper. It is replete with the- best intormation on everything beloncing to apl- <-*uiiure. To ul taking an Interest in thissubject^ we ■A-AV, obtain this valuable work, read It carefully and piaciice as advised.— .*4(7ncaiti(rii(, Quebec. This book Is pronounced by the press and leading: bee-men to be the nn.ist complete and practical' tiea'ise on bee-culture in Euinpeor America ; » scientiHc work on modern bee management that ever>' experienced bee man will welcnme, and it is essential to every aniuteur in bee-culture. It is- banasomely printed, nt-ntiy bound and la a credit to the Vi ; in paper cover„ Sil.OO by mail prepaid. Published by THOMAS G. X£WIIIAN» West Madison Street, CHICAGO, UJ* 32 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. B O OK S , Sent by mail, on receipt of price, by H2.-> West Madison Street. CUICAGO. ll^L, Bee-K.eeper's GHlde ; or. Cook** Mauuul ■or the Apiary. — Entirely re-wrltten. elegantly Illustrated and fully " up with the times " on every subject of bee-culture. It is not only instructive. but Intensely intcreatinK and thoroughly practical. The book Is a masterly production, and one that no bee-keeper, however limited his means, can afford todowlthout. Cloth. Sil.as ; paper cover, SI, Qulnby*8 New Bee-Kee|»lnBr. by 1j. C. Root— The author treats the subject of bee-keeping so that it cannot fail to interest all. Its stj'le is plain and forcible, making all its readers realize that its authorls master of the subject.— »1. SO. XoTlce'a ABCof Bee-Cnitnre.by A. I. Root —This embraces "everything pertaining to the care of the honey-bee." and is valuable to begiuners and those more advanced. Cloth. JSl. 85. KlDK** Bee-Keepers* Text-Book» by A. J. King.— This edition is revised and brought down to the present time. Cloth. S1*00. I^angstroth on the Hive and Honey Bee. —This is a standard scientitlc work. Price. *3. Blessed Bees, by John Allen.— A romance of bee-keeping, full of practical information and contagious enthusiasm. Cloth. TSc. Bees and Honey, or Management of an Apiary for Pleasure and Protlt, by Tnomas G. Newman.— Third Edition. "Fully up with the times." including all the various improvements and inventions. Chief among the new chapters are : " Bee Pasturage a Necessity." " Management of Bees and Honey at Fairs." "Marketing lluney," etc. It contains i6o pages, and is profusely illus- trated. Price, bound in cloth. Toe.; in paper covers, SOc, postpaid. Blenea Kultnr, by Thomas G. Newman, in the GEK.VIAN lang\iage. Price, in paper covers. 40 cents, or *3 per dozen, postpaid. Bzlerzon Theory ;— presents the fundamen- tal principles of bee-culture, ana furnishes the facts and arguments to demonstrate them. 15 c. Honey, as Ftod and Bledlctne, by Thomas G Newman.— This pamphlet discourses upon the Ancient History of Bees and Honey , the nature, qualitv, sources, and preparation of Honey for the Marke't : Honey as foco. giving recipes for making Honey Cakes, ('ookies. Puddings. Foam. Wines.etc: and Honey as Medicine, with many useful Recipes. It is intended for coiisumffs. and should be scat- tered by thousands, creating a demand for honey everywhere. Published in English and Oernian. Price for either edition. «c. ; per dozen, SOc. 'Wintering Bees. — This contains the Prize Essays on this subject, read before the Ceniennial Bee-Keepers' Association. Price. lOc. Preparation of Honey for the Market* Including the production and care of both comb and extracted honev, and instructions on the ex- hibition of bees and honey al Fairs, etc.. by T. G. Newman. Price lOc. The Hive I Use— Being a description of the hive used by O. M. Doolittle. Price, 5c. Foul Brood; its origin, developmentand cure. By Albert K. Konnke. Price, aSc. Extracted Honey; Harvesting, Handl- ing and MiirkeiliiK.— A i:4-page pamphlet, by Ch. & C. I*. Dadant, giving in detail the methods and management adopted in their apiary. This contains many useful hints.— Price l^c. Bee Pastnrnge a Necessity, by Thomas G. Newman— Givinc advanced views on this impor- tant subject, with suggestions what to plant, and and when and how : -^6 engravings. Price, lOc. Practical Hints to Bee-K.eepers, by Chas. F. Muth; :Ji3 pages. It gives Mr. Miith's views on the management of bees. Price. lOc. Swarming, Dividing and Feeding Bees.— Hints to Begiuners, by Thomas G. Newman. Price 5 cents. Bees In Winter, with instructions about Chaff- Packing. Cellars and Bee Houses, by Thomas G. Newman. Price 5c. Oueen-Kearing, hy Henry Alley — A full and detailed accountof TWENTY-THREE years- experience in rearing queen bees. The cheapest, easiest and best wav to raise queens. Never before published. Price Sl.OO. Food AdMlteratlon ; What we eat and should not eat. This book should be in every family, and ought to create a sentiment against adulteration of food products, and demand a law to protect the consumer against the numerous health-destroying adulterations offered as food. 200 paees SOc. Scrlbner** l.timber and I^og Book.— Most complete book of its kind publisbed. Gives meas- urement of all kinds of lumber, logs, and planks by Doyle's Rule, cubical contents of square and round timber, staves and heading bolt tables, wages, rent, board capacity of cisterns, cordwood tables, interests, etc. Standard book throughout United States & Canada. Price 115 c. postpaid. Kendall's Horse Book. — No book could be more useful to horse owners. It has 'Sii engravings illustrating positions of sick horses, and treats all diseases in a plain and comprehensive manner. It has recipes, a table of dosea, and mud' valuable horse information Price 2.kc. fur either the English or German editions. Aloore's TTnlversal Assistant, and Com- plete Mechanic, contains over l,mittcl, nngebenb luie uinn i5>onigfiid;cn, 5-ormfud;c(cI)en, *}3iibbing§,Sd)iuimfoiifect,iE>ciue, ii.f.ra jubcvcitcn fnnn ; fevner ^onig nf5 2)2ebijin luif uielcn 9te5cptcn. G^ iff fiiv ben (Sonfuiiicntcn bcftimint, unb foUtc oicltnufenbfiiltig liber bn6 gnuje Sanb Bcrbrcifct luevben. ^4>i'ci6 (j 6cnt§. 2irt§ *^fctJ> u»i) fcinc .«ranfJ)cltcn— «on 23.:^.j?cnban, SJJ.'J)., entfjattcnb e i ii nlpl)nbctil'd; gcovbnctcS Serjcid^nifj bcr t)ev|4iebcncu $fevbefranf()citcn,iammt ben 3(vfncf)eii, ©ijmptoincu unb bev vid)tigen Sef^anb; lung bevfelbeu ; fevnev, cine ©nmiutung tuevt^Dotrev Oiejcpte. ^vci§ 25 GcntS. THOMAS C. NEWMAN. 925 West Madison Street. Chlca«to, III. .NDElSSOHii T>iAiTo Cost. ^ Pianos $850 Square Grand Piano for only $245. PIAMn QTYI C Ql Magnificent rosewood rinllU 01 I LL 02 case elegantly finished, 3 strlnffs, 1 l-IS OctaTeM, full patent cantante agraffes, our new patent overstrung scale, beauti- ful carved legs and lyre, heavy serpentine and large fancy moulding, full iron irame, French Grand Action, Grand Hammers, in fact, every im- prnvementwhich can in anv way tend to the per- tection of the instrument, has been added. ^fOiir price for this Instrument, boxed and delivered on board cars at New York, with fine Piano Cover, Stool 4t'>J_'^ and Book, only ijp^^fJ, Reduced from our late wholesjile factory price, SS39.?, for 60 day-i tmly, to have this beautiful Piano introduced. This is now, by far, the irreat- e»t bargain ever offered the musical public. Un- precedented success ! Tremendous demand for this style ! Order atonce. This Piano will be sent on 15 days' test trial. Please send reference if you do not send money with order. Cyons; 5th, Miss F. A. Bellamy, Ionia. It was resolved that the office of sec- retary and treasurer be embodied in one. O. R. Goodiio, of Carson City, was elected secretary and treasurer for the ensuing year. The convention waived the order of discussion and listened to an interest- ing speech from a Mr. James II. Eaton, of Bluffton, Allen Co., Ohio, who had come some miles out of his way to at- tend the convention and could stay but a short time. lie gave us some very interestingideas upon foul brood, and that the use of rock salt was a good, if not an effectual, remedy for the same ; to be given to the bees where they could have free access to it, and that rock salt was better than any other, being more pure, and when used no bees were effected by foul brood. We all regretted his short stay as much more might have been learned from him. "Prospects of Bee-Keeping" was the next subject taken up. JVlr. Rob- ertson said that we had encouraging prospects tor the future ; our honey was being sought for, and purchasers come to us to buy, while in the past we had to liiid our market ourselves; honey was being used by many fami- lies who had not heretofore used it, and lie advocated extracted honey to be put up in 50 or 100 lb. kegs, and that his orders are increasing for that sort of package ; he had no honey on hand,so great was the demand for such packages. He had realized S10..50 for 100 lb. packages, and $6.50 for 50 lb. packages. W. S. Pierson s;iid that at these meeting was the place to learn how to put up our honey and how to market it, and all should labor to drive out the cheap honey and all try to get honey up in better shape, whether it be ex- tracted or comb. He has been engaged in the business several years and tries to produce good honey and has been able to sell his extracted at 15 cts.; he thinks we ought to make it a point to place honey, implements, and every thing used in our business, on exhibi- tion at conventions, that we may com- pare, note, and profit thereby. Let each one bring the plants of his section that produce honey. O. R. Goodno had found new and desirable market for his extracted honey to be used in the manufacture of tobacco, and, if it proved successful, would be used to a great extent in the place of glycerine which cost the man- ufacturer of tobacco 28 cts. per lb., while the honey, at, say 10 cts., which would be much more profitable, as it retains its weight while being manu- factured, and being double or treble its cost after being placed in the goods, cannot help being more profitable to the consumers of the tobacco. Also inquiries are being made for extracted honey to sweeten grape wine, and, if it produces the flavor anticipated, they will be able to use all the honey that Michigan can produce. He thinks that in the near future, extracted honey will be what all will try to pro- duce, and that the prospects never were better for bee-keepers than at present. The subject of " Wintering " was then taken up. Mr. Robertson, antic- ipating a severe, cold winter, advocates cuttingdown or doubling up and make all colonies strong. He winters in the cellar and looks after the bees every day during winter, and has water in cellar all the while, and all his bees have to winter on is June or July honey ; but little or no fall honey. Mr. Goodno gave his method of chaff packing, but should try wintering both in and out of doors. He thought bees, as a general thing, were in good condition for wintering ; all prepara- tion for wintering ought to have been made by this, though his had not been prepared as yet. As several of the members were soon obliged to leave on the train to reach home on the same day, and desiring to know where the next convention would be held, it was -voted that the next convention be held at Sheridan. Montcalm Co.. Mich., on the secona Tuesday and Wednesday of October, 1883. Further, on preparing bees for win- ter. Mr. Giwdiio does not like to have bees disturbed after this date. Mr. C. Case gave his method, and said his bees were already prepared for winter; he puts them in cellar early, and crowds the combs so closely that the honey cannot granulate, owing to the warmth of the bees. Mr. Pierson had some bees already prepared in chaff for winter. No one doubted but what all bees should be prepared early for winter. " Best Method of Securing a Large Crop of Honey, Weather Permitting." Mr. N. S. Pierson had been rearing bees many years and had invested in several patent hives, but all have been too complicated, and worthless. Since the invention of the extractor some have tried to extract all the honey the bees made, and it has given the ex- tractor a bad name. The extractor is all right in its place, but do not rob the bees ; give them a plenty, and, be- fore extracting, let the bees cap at least two-thirds of the comb. He had 43 colonies this spring, and ran 8 of them for extracted honey and got 657 lbs.; found 2 upper stories with brood in them, and made colonies of them. He obtained in all 2,000 lbs. of honey. Others spoke upon the subject but nothing practical was brought out. The convention took a recess for dinner. At 1 p. m. the convention was called to order by Vice Pies. J. H. Robert- son, Pres. Roop not having appeared. L. S. Benham, of Alma, Mich., sent in his report for the year, with regrets that he could not attend, which was as follows : Spring count 28, increase 43, queens reared 75, honey extracted 1,800 lbs., honey in comb 200 lbs. Mrs. A. M. Sanders, of Sheridan, Mich., reported as follows : I had 50 colonies in the spring and sold one, leaving 49 for the summer's work ; I increased to 80 and obtained 3,000 lbs. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 39 of comb honey, mostly white, and 500 lbs. extracted. I worked my bees on Mr. Doolittle's plan of spreading the brood and stimulating with uncapped honey in the spring. It was very late in the season before I could safely dis- turb the brood combs, but when rasp- berries were in bloom, the hives were crowded with brood and bees and they went immediately into the crates. We had no basswood and at no time dar- ing this season has there been a flow of honey, but they got enough from clover to keep them at work in the crates until the buckwheat bloomed ; the fall run lasted about 10 days. Mrs. Sanders has invented a bee-feeder which met with favor by all present. It is hoped that she will put it in use and give us further reports. Mr. Goodno reported that he had 2-5 colonies in the yard in spring, in- creased by early nuclei 13 ; natural swarms 1; boughtlO colon iesin August, set up 5 nuclei on Sept. 16, for exper- iment, other parties added 2 colonies, late in fall, to the yard, so there are 62 hives with bees in under my care, and have secured 2,000 lbs. of honey, really from the 2-5 colonies in the spring. Mr. Robertson gave his plan of working bees in upper stories, by tak- ing 2 cards from the lower story and placing in the second story, tilling the lower with foundation, and then ex- tracting from upper story. lie strong- ly advocated extracted, instead of comb honey, which is demonstrated by the fact that he has not secured a single crate of comb honey this season. G. M. Barney reported his success, starting with 34 colonies in the spring and increased to 66 ; had many more swarms but put them back ; he could have had 100 colonies had he not put the swarms back; had secured 30 crates of comb honey, which would average 30 lbs. each and 2 bbls. of extracted honey. The question drawer was then opened. The first question was " The Best Method of Rearing Queens," asked by some one who was not pres- ent at the time Mr. Robertson gave his plan. As there miglit be others present who did not hear liis explana- tion, he gave it again, which was ap- preciated by all present. Second question : " What Will be the best Method of Marketing our Sur- plus Honey in Future V" was replied to by Mr. Goodno by referring to the openings lately found and by exhaust- ing our home market first, which is yearly increasing. Third question : " Wintering Bees by Burying in the Ground." Replied to by Mr. Robertson, who had much experience in that way, and considered It more expensive than by preparing a cellar, and not so safe a plan. The hour having nearly arrived at which it was necessary to adjourn, the secretary was requested to make a note of such articles as were placed on ex- hibition, which consisted of a smoker from Scovell & Anderson, of Colum- bus, Kas., one each of 3 sizes of T. F. Bingham's smokers, and a fine collec- tion of honey-producing plants exhib- ited by J. H. Robertson and Isaac A. Balch, including a fair specimen of the noted Simson honey plant, and it was resolved that each member of this society, at the next meeting, bring something in the way of bee-keepers' supplies, honey, honey-plants, wax or fixtures, to place on exhibition. The convention was liberally at- tended, there being from 25 to 60 per- sons present at all its sessions, and our roll gives upward of 20 active members. Before adjournment it was unani- imously resolved, that this convention tender its thanks to Mr. and Mrs. J. II. Robertson, Mr. and Mrs. Isaac A. Balch and others, for their generous hospitality. Resolved, That the thanks of this convention be extended to Mr. J. II. Robertson for the use of the hall for this meeting. Adjourned to meet at Sheridan, Montcalm Co., Mich., on the second Tuesday and Wednesday of October, 1883. O. R. Goodno, ISec. For the American Bee JoumaL Prevention of After-Swarms. R. DART. To prevent my bees from casting but one swarm each during the season, has caused me to try about everything recommended in this line of bee-keep- ing. You advised me, Mr. Editor, last summer, to change hives, giving the old colony a new stand, leaving the new one on the old stand. Out of 19 changed in this way, 4 cast second swarms ; the next 10 that swarmed I served in this way : I moved the old colony a few feet from the stand and placed a new hive on the old stand, ran in my swarm, from the swarm- catcher, then drew my frames from the old swarm, shaking them iu front of the new hive, thereby getting all the young bees that could not fly out with the swarm, leaving only bees enough in the old colony (say one pint) to protect tlie brood ; set the old hive oft on a new stand. Out of ten served in this way, not one cast a second swarm, but became strong and did fine work in the sections. I do not stop to clip queen-cells, when the first queen is hatched ; in 8 days there is not bees enough to send off a second swarm, the other cells are destroyed, and the swarming is over. You may say this is too much work, but it is only a few minutes' work, and if your other work is driving you, put the old hive to one side and shake out tlie young bees any time of the day, or next day ; it keeps allot the colonies strong and does not reduce them with after swarming, when the young brood is all hatched out. Another experiment I have tried, with perfect success in this line, is, if you wish no further increase of colo- nies, when you are shaking out the young bees in front of the new colony, shake them all out, cut out all of the queen-cells, put on the sections, and hive the next swarm in it, and keep on in this way. I am using the Bailey swarm- catcher. It is quickly placed in posi- tion, in front of the hive, at the start- ing out of the swarm ; and in a very few minutes the swarm is all in, ready for hiving. By using the catcher, you can keep your bees from acting cross, through the swarming season. No trees to climb and no limbs to cut off. A swarm-catcher saves more than one-half of the work, if you let bees swarm naturally. We are expected to give our bees care and attention through the swarming season and honey harvest. If we do not, we get but little or nothing in return. Ripon, Wis., Jan. 5, 1883. Scott Co., Iowa, Convention. The Davenport Deniocra^ of January 7th contains the following notice of the meeting : The largest meeting of bee-keepers ever known in this county, was held at the Court House yesterday after- noon. It occurred in pursuance of a small meeting held a fortnight since. Thirty-two persons who are interested in the production of honey as a busi- ness were present when the meeting was called to order. After some dis- cussion, it was decided to organize a Society forthwith and elect permanent officers, which the meeting proceeded to do, as follows : President, I. V. McCagg ; Vice President, George L. Gast ; Secretary, J. J.Nagel; Treas- urer, Israel Hall; Executive Commit- tee, Enoch Mead, Ed. R. Wright and Philip Earhart. A letter from B. F. Little, of Fayette county, was read. In it the writer gave his summer experience with bees, and then strongly urged that the as- sociation be organized so as to cover Eastern Iowa, and that meetings be held in different places for the conve- nience and benefit of members. This letter brought up the question as to whether the society should be a local one or a district one ; and at last it was decided to make its jurisdiction local, christen it the Scott County Bee- Keepers' Association, and fix the initiation fee at fifty cents per mem- ber. Then the roll of membership was signed by the following named apiar- ists : I. V. McCagg, Israel Hall, J. J. Nagel, E.R. Wriglit, John Madden, Enoch Mead, P. Earhart, Geo. L. Gast, Emil Magnus, H. O. Stacy, Wm. Goos, Wm. Gromoll,C. Rock, John D. Fish, Fred T. Fish, Phil. Osborne, R. J. Osborne, N. C. Wilson, Wm. Rigg. John L. Ciimeron, C. L. Newberry, C. M. JImeis, Joseph W. Churchill, M. A. Collins. Twenty-four members is a goodly number for a beginning, especially as about every section of the county is represented in the muster-roll. An experience meeting was then in order. Mr. Phil Osborne made a statement concerning the apiary of Osborne Brothers, at Le Claire. The spring count was 73colonies, which produced 5,000 pounds of comb honey and 800 pounds of extracted honey. The bees increased to 140 colonies. They win- ter one-half in the cellar, and the rest on the summer stands, protecting them a little with straw. Mr. Earhart had 15 colonies in the spring of 1882, and has 40 now. He secured 1,600 pounds of honey. 40 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Mr. J. J. Nagel had 90 colonies last spring, and has 165 now ; and the yield of honey has reached 10,000 pounds ; lialf of which is sold and half is on hand, but there is demand for all. The question was here raised upon the keeping qualities of honey, Mr. Gast and Mr. McCagg both stating honey did not spoil on their hands, but was good from one to three years, which covered their experience, after taking from the hives, or when first gathered. Mr. E. 11. Wright had 70 colonies in spring and 183 in the fall, with a crop of 6,430 pounds of comb honey, in two- pound sections. He favored natural swarming, and winters his bees alto- gether on summer stands. Mr. C. M. Emeis stated that he had 41 colonies in the spring, which yielded 1,605 pounds of comb honey. He fa- vored the black bees over the Italian bees. The secretary was requested to cor- respond with Mr. Newman, the editor of the Bee Journal, Chicago, for a lecture to be delivered at the next meeting of the association. The meeting adjourned to Wednes- day, February 21st, for a two days' ses- sion, the objectjbeing an exchange of views and getting hold of the best methods of bee culture. Connecticut Farmer. Popular Interest in Bee-Keeping. H. L. JEFFREY. The interest in bee-keeping is in a growing condition. The meeting of the Connecticut State Board of Agri- culture has given by its helping hand an influence to the elTorts of the bee- keeping fraternity that is not only an encouragement to try to spread prac- tical information on apiculture.butthe movement has inspired hesitating bee-keepers with confidence tliat the present method adopted by the prac- tical apiarist is not to be classed among the patent humbugs of the many patent hives and impracticable appliances of most of the past thirty years. The inquiries of the many waking up bee-keepers present plainly showed that the earnest taking up of apicnl- tnral pursuits would soon supply the local market with one of the richest and most healthful delicacies of vege- table production. Not only as a deli- cacy is honey considered in many places but it is used nearly as freely as butter. This one fact shows that before long it may be considered in our own .Slate as much an object of industry and equally as profitable as either tlie growing of small fruits or any other article of food not consid- ered to be a staple article like flour, meat or potatoes. Many will doubtless say, I do not be- lieve it. But look at this fact. In 1881 two and one-half tons of honey (not guess work, but actual weight) were produced in a part of Litcliheld and Fairfield counties, where in 18S0 there was not 2.50 poumls— that is a marketable article. The yield was more the past season than 1881, and to-day not a pound is left on hand and the demand is yet unsupplied in those localities and in every place I know of the demand is greater than the sup- ply, and as the supply increases the demand also increases in a perceptibly greater degree than the increase. If those keeping bees do not want to have apiculturists from abroad run in their product and thereby shut out the local producer, if the watch- word is to be Nutmegs first, then we Nutmegs must grate out a greater supply than has been grated in the last fifty years. Just let's hear you go to grating immediately and get all ready for an early spring beginning. Woodbury, Conn. Western Michigan Convention. The Western Michigan Bee-Keep- ers' Association met at Supervisors' Hall, Grand Rapids, Nov. 29, 1882, at 1:30 p. m. President W. H. Walker in the chair. The secretary being absent, L. S. Benham read the minutes of the last meeting, which were approved. The election of officers for the en- suing year resulted as follows : President, W. II. Walker, Berlin ; Vice Presidents, J. J. Dodge, of Ot- tawa ; T. M. Cobb, of Kent ; Silas Remington, of Ionia ; George C. Younge, of Muskegon ; Treasurer, Mrs. F. S. Covey, of Coopersville ; Secretary, F. S. Covey, Coopersville. On motion of Willson Millard, the meeting discussed the subject of win- tering Dees, with the view of deter- mining the best methods, out-of-doors or cellars. Then followed a discussion on the different honey plants ; perforated zinc as a division-board, and tlie width of sections; nearly all agreeing that 15£ inches would be wide enough where separators are not used. The discussions on the different subjects were interesting and instruc- tive, but as many could not attend the following day, on account of Thanks- fiving, on motion of the secretary, '. M. Cobb was elected delegate to the State convention, and tlie Associ- ation adjourned to meet at the same place in the last week in April, 1883. F. S. Covet, Sec. Coopersville, Mich. For the American Bee Joumal- Comb or Extracted Honey. J. L. STRONG. This is a question that has inter- ested me for a number of years past, and, although my experience ditfers somewhat from that of most of my fellow bee-keepers, as to the relative amount of comb and extracted honey produced, never having been able to obtain twice as much extracted as comb honey in a season. In the season of 1S78 I obtained 175 lbs. of extracted honey from one col- ony, and 98 lbs. of comb from another. The comb honey was sold at 20 cents per lb. and the extracted at 10 cents, making a difference of §6.65 in favor of the extracted honey. The bees had to build their combs in both instances, that being before I used comb founda- tion, simply using starters of natural comb.- But, with the free use of foundation during tlie past season, the result has been different. This season I have taken, from one of my best colonies, 199 lbs. of comb honey, and from another colony, worked for extracted honey, I have taken 152 lbs. of ex- tracted and 25 lbs. of comb honey. This, at the present retail price, 20 cents for comb and 15 cents for ex- tracted honey, would make a differ- ence of $12 in favor of the production of comb honey. Now, admitting the cost of each to be the same, which I think to be about right, when we offset the extra labor of extracting with the cost of sections to hold the comb honey, this is hardly a fair example of the relative amount, for the colony thatproduced the comb honey was located on the river bot- tom, with groves of natural trees all around them, covered with honey dew, while the one that produced the extracted honey were located in the town and had to work on white clover or fly over half a mile to reach the timber. There is one thing that I have no- ticed, to my great delight, and that is the greatly increasing demand for extracted honey in my home market. I think that the day is not far distant when extracted honey, in its purity, will be a staple article and command as good a price in our home markets as comb honey. To this end all apiar- ists should labor, and use their utmost influence ; for it is so much more desirable to handle, in every way, and is much better for the consnmer. Clarinda, Iowa, Jan. 4, 1883. For the American Bee Journal Introducing ftueens, Honey Crop, etc. J. M. A. MILLER. On the 1st of May last, I had 22 good colonies of Italian bees. In May and June they hardly held their oven ; on the 1st or July they commenced swarming, and, on the 20th of August I liad sold two swarms, retained 8, several had gone to parts unknown, and I had, then, on hand, -56 good colonies. On July 6, a swarm came out about 9 o'clock a. m. and settled on an apple tree while I was busy getting ready for harvest; at 10, they left; wasgone till 12:15 ni., when they returned and went into the parent hive. A few days later a swarm came out about noon and settled on an apple tree. While I was preparing a hive (as my supply was now exhausted), they went off. Next day, about the same time, they returned and went into the parent hive. I do not know whether this is an uncommon occurrence or not. I bought of L. J. Diehl, of Butler, Ind., six dollar queens, which came in good condition. All did well and pro- duced a nice lot of well-marked bees. One queen came about the 10th of July, and was introduced the same THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 41 day. On August 15 she came off with a large swarm, that filled the hive full. As there is much said about caging queens, I will state my plan for doing it ; first, prepare a phial of some liind of essence, say, peppermint, and odor- izer on liand. I take tiie frames, all or nearly all, out of the hive; or enough to find the queen, dispatch her, odorize all remaining in the hive, if any ; and as you place the frames with the accompanying bees, back in the hive, spray them with the odorizer thoroughly, until all are returned to the hive, then spray the queen in like manner, and let her crawl down from the top, among the bees ; shut up the hive and put it on the stand, and the job is done. I have never lost one in this way. My crop of honey this season, from 22 colonies, spring count, is 2,500 lbs.; all comb lioney, and all but about 200 pounds in one-pound sections. I find I can secure fully one-third more honey from a colony facing the north than if facing the south ; I find, also, that it makes a great difference what kind of a hive I use. With tlie Acme hive (my own invention) I can secure at least three times the amount of surplus that I can in the American hive. My hive is two stories, brood- nest below, surplus directly on the top, fitting the lower story nicely, and holding 36 one-pound sections. 1 have taken as high as 150 one-pound sec- tions of honey from a colony that was a swarm hived as late as June 10 of the same year. Although I am par- tial to the Italian bee, I am sure the hive has more to do with the amount of honey received, than the kind of bees used, especially if faced to tlie north. I winter my bees in the cellar only, and seldom lose any ; I give no up- ward ventilation, ail open below, as in the summer. I keep the room as dark as possible, and never disturb them after putting them away in No- vember until the last of March or first of April, as the forwardness of the season may be. Galva, 111. Prairie Farmer. A Few Practical Suggestions. MRS. L. HARRISON. It is well at the close of the year, to review the past, and investigate the causes that led to success or failure of a project. Before undertaking a new venture, a person should be well posted in theory, and better yet, have some practical knowledge of its routine. In conversing lately with a young man who had been engaged several years in the cattle business in the far West, he remarked, " I have paid so dearly for the knowledge I have gained, that I want now to return, and engage in it again, and profit by what I have learned." A lady once said to the writer, " I have spent $600 during the past sum- mer in the bee business, and liave had no returns, and all I have to show for it, is hives filled with foundations, a queen and a handful of bees, and they will all be dead before flowers bloom." This lady had read " Blessed Bees," a charming novelette, snd became in- fatuated with the business, and was wiser in her own conceit, than old vet- erans, the recipients of many stings, while engaged in a hotly contested battle with infuriated bees. In Web- ster's spelling-book of our scliool-days, we used to read " experience keeps a dear school, but fools will not learn in any other." The hand should be educated as well as the head, and practical lessons should be given in bee-culture, at all the agricultural colleges, as is now done in Michigan. Girls as well as boys, should be the recipients of in- struction in bee-culture, poultry, dairy work, and also in the care of green- houses, and raising small fruits. Let them choose the one they prefer, and then be taught it theoretically and practically, in all its bearings. Girls educated thus, will develop into inde- pendent, self-reliant women, and will never shiver in a city's garret, if mis- fortunes overtake them. How often do we meet women, fash- ionably educated, who cannot earn enough to keep soul and body to- gether. They can play on the piano, embroider, paint china, etc., but can- not produce what is in demand in the world's market. Luxuries are en- joyed by the few, while all seek to obaiu necessary comforts, such as honey, butter and small fruits, etc. VVe were at a church fair lately, and looked over the articles for sale, hop- ing to find something that we needed, but discovered nothing but an iron holder— all fancy, fancy. " All is vanity, saith the preacher." There was plenty of darned lace, and a few mittens, but the backs of them and wrists, were all open work, and would be of little use on a cold day. One zero day last week, we met on the sidewalk a lady and a little girl, who was a foundling left at her door some five years ago. The lady said, " this child is not old enough to go to school, and I want to give her a chance, so I am taking her to the dancing academy to learn to appear well, for it is all in appearance now-a-days you know." Peoria, 111. Convention Notices. 1^ The annual meeting of the Northwestern Illinois and South- western Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' As- sociation will be held in Temperance Hall, Freeport, Stephenson county, 111., on January 16 and 17, 1883. Jonathan Stewart, Sec. Rock City, 111. 1^ The Northeastern Ohio and Northwestern Pennsylvania Bee- Keepers' Association will meet at Andover, Ohio, to hold their annual convention, on the second Wednes- day and Thursday of February, 1883. C. T. Leonard. .Sec. ^" The Texas State Bee-Keepers'" Association will hold its Fifth Annual Convention at McKinney, Collin Co., on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 17th and 18th, 1883; at the residence of Hon. W. H. Andrews. The following committees have been appointed, and the programme arrang- ed for the next meeting, by the execu- tive committee; viz : on Resolutions; Apiarian Supplies and Exhibits ; Subjects for Discussion ; and Arrange- ments, to receive and entertain those in attendance from abroad. Programme. — President's Address. Subject— State and National Conven- tions. Subjects for general discussion : Essays.— The "Coming Bee," W. H. Andrews. Honey plants. Native- Horsemints, different varieties, Wm. R. Howard. "Extracted vs. Comb Honey," W. K. Marshall, D. D. "Bee-Moth," W. H. Andrews. " The Queen Bee. lier nature and habits, Wm. R. Howard. "The diffeient races of bees in America; their relative value to apiculture," W. K. Marshall, D. D. Other essays are promised, and a general good time is anticipated. Ample arrangements are made to ac- commodate those from a distance. Those wishing to place anything on exhibition or correspond with the com- mittee of arrangements, will be promptly attended to, by addressing, W. H. Andrews, President, McKinney, Collin Co ,Texas. All othercorrespon- dence to the Secretary. We would be- pleased to have any one propound questions of interest for discussion, as we have found great interest, as well as valuable intorraation gained by the discussion of questions con- tributed to our " Question Box." Wm. R. Howard, Sec. Kingston, Texas. le annual meeting of the Ma- honing Valley Bee-Keepers' Associa- tion will be held at Berlin Center, Mahoning Co. ,0., in the Town Hall on Friday and Saturday the 19th and 20th of January, 1883. All bee-keepers are invited to attend and send essays, ija- pers, implements, or any thing of in- terest to tlie fraternity. A full at- tendance is requested of all who are interested. In fact, the meetings will be so interesting that you cannot afford to miss them. We expect a lecturer from abroad on the evening of the 19th. L. Cakson, I'res. 1^- The annual meeting of the Champlain Valley Bee-Keepers" Asso- ciation will be held at Middleburg, Vt., on Thursday, January 18, 1883, at 10 a. m. T. Brookins, Sec. .^ The Southeastern Michigan Bee- Keepers' Association will hold their annual meeting in the court- house at Ann Arbor, Jan. 20, 1883. AH are invited. H. D. Cutting, Pres. G. J. Pease, -Sec, Ann Arbor. t^ Articles for publication must be- written on a separate piece of paper from items of business. 42 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. SEl£^&^&>At mri Bees Buried in the Snow. My bees had a nice flight on Novem- ber 20, after I liad them snugly packed in prairie hay, and they went into winter quarters with an abundance of stores, and, for the past three weeks, they have been under a big snow drift ; nearly the entire 11 colonies are cov- ered out of sight. I have adopted the plan of Mrs. Harrison, of Peoria, 111., and am letting them remain entirely quiet until the warm rays of the spring sun shall call them out. 1 did not work for honey last season so much as I did for increase of bees, so I only took off a small amount of honey, but as I have mentioned once before 1 had II good healthy colonies ready for winter quarters, from 1, commencing ■one year ago last August. Our win- ter, so far, has been very pleasant and favorable for bees, and we hope to see the little fellows come through all right. W. W. Eastman. Yankton, Dakota, Jan. 6, 1883. Jlees Winter Better than Otiier Stock. I commenced last spring with 50 colonies ; increased to 90, and obtained 3,000 lbs. of honey, one-half extracted, I might have obtained one-third more, could the bees have had full attention. I use the premium section box. After reading .James Heddon's article, I think, from my experience, he is nearly right. I tind by cutting the premium section box down to 4x.5>4XlJ4; inches, outside measure, I can use my honey racks without much loss in changing them. My bees seem to be wintering well. I have thus far lost but few in wintering, say about 3 per cent, since 1 have been keeping bees. I winter them in the barn cellar ; have about as much ventilation as I would give a ■calf or pig, to make tliem comfortable. I have everything stripped from the brood chamber but tlie blanket, and pile them up .5 feet deep ; in fact, if I ■could winter my otlier stock as safely and cheaply as the bees, I would do much better. Jos. Wood. Anamosa, Iowa, Jan. 9, 1883. He Lived with His Bees. I put into winter quarters 33 colo- nies ; one queen proved to be a worth- less drone layer. I lost 2 queens, which gave me 2 queenless and weak colonies, and 20 in fair condition. The season was uncommonly wet and Gold up to June 28, at which time " the silver lining of the clouds " made themselves visible, and, at that time, I had the blues in earnest, but when the season had ended and I could count 48 colonies, and over ■1,000 lbs. of honey, of which three-fifths atleast was comb in 2-lb. sections, I could say from experi[nental knowledge that honey (especially in large quantities) is good for the blues. I did not get anything like all that could have .been taken, for money matters were Tery close with me, in one sense, but not in the other; I could not quite reach it, therefore my bees were idle, considerable of the time, and then it cost me considerable of honey to as- certain that my drones were not of that kind that actively participated in tlie building of comb and tlie sealing up of honey. For my success the past season 1 want to extend both hands to Mr. Doolittle, for I attribute much of it to his series of articles, which I followed as closely as I could, and the balance to a hard season's work ; in fact, as some one as remarked, "I lived with my bees," and I could add that I can do that better than most men, for I have no one else to live with, but, for the fear that it would be taken as an advertisement, I will omit it. I have three objections to the Bee Jouknal, : 1st, it does not come often enough ; 2d, there is not enough of it, when it does come ; and 3d, when I get it, I have to stop every- thing else until I have read it. E. F. Cassell. Illinois City, 111., Jan. 9, 1883. Poor Locality for Bees. I am located in a very poor section of country for bees. My surplus honey in the comb was 390 lbs., ex- tracted, 110 lbs. The beeswax I have not weighed. I had 10 colonies in the spring, and 29 this fall. Several colo- nies are short of stores. B. H. Westlake. Sycamore, 111., Jan. 10, 1883. The Past Season's Returns. Statement of past season's returns from my 116 colonies, spring count: Increase 24, mostly by dividing, and obtained on an average, spring count, 30 lbs. per colony. 1 nave 138 colonies now nicely tucked up in chaff, for their long winter nap. J. M. France. Auburn Corners, Pa., Jan. 4, 1883. From a Lady Bee-Keeper. From 43 colonies, spring count, we took 4,1001bs. of honey, about one-lialf comb honey in 1 and 2poMnd sections, and increased to 84, mostly by natural swarming. They are in good condi- tion for wintering. We winter in the cellar and have good success ; it is dry and well ventilated. The flow of honey was great, and the amount would have been far greater could they have been run for extracted honey. A great deal is said about tin and wood separators for surplus honey. I use starters and have the hive set right and have no use for them. S. L. Vail. Coal Creek, Iowa, Jan. 7,-1883. A Good Market for Honey. I have taken, this poor seasouj over 3,000 lbs. from less tlian 30 colonies of bees. I retail at the following prices : White clover comb, in 2-lb. sections, glassed, 26 cts. per lb.; raspberry and golden rod, same ; buckwheat, 20 cts. Extracted, of all kinds, 20 cents. I get the sections back again, free of cost. They are kept so clean that they can be used again another season. Honey is very scarce in the city of Troy. I think I may safely say that there is not 500 lbs. outside of my honey in the city. It is very cold here, 5 degrees below zero to-day. My bees, 85 colonies, are in winter quarters, in- sured for $8-50 against tire. Troy, N. Y. G. II. Adams. Amateur's Report. I am an amateur in bee-keeping. I had 2 good colonies last spring ; in- creased to 5, and obtained 200 lbs. of extracted honey. I sold all I had to spare at 18 cents per lb. I think this is doing well. R. Crawford. Patterson, K. J., Jan. 6, 1883. Value of Good Comb Foundation. In the spring of 1882 1 had 5 colonies of Italian bees and obtained from them 25 swarms and about 820 lbs. of surplus honey, all in sections. This gives me 30 good colonies, all in good condition, for winter and spring ; every hive being well supplied with honey, bees, and bee-bread. The above result being obtained by supplying every swarm with combs, saved from colonies that I lost in former years, and the above was wliat convinced me more than anything else, of the value of good comb foundation. C. F. Neubert. Bryant, Iowa, Jan. 6, 1883. Are Bees Taxable J Please answer the following ques- tions through the Bee Journal.— 1 . Are bees taxable property V 2. Do assessors generally assess bees ? Last year mine were assessed, while those in other townships were not. I). M. DiEHDORFF. Waterloo, Iowa, Jan. 10, 1883. [If bees are property of value, there can be no doubt of their being taxable PiOperty. However, quite a number of assessors omit them, and hence they are not uniformly taxed. — Ed.] An Average of 100 lbs. per Colony. The year just closed has been favor- able to the bee-keepers here. The honey crop has been good, making an average yield of 100 lbs. of extracted honey to the colony in my apiary. The early part of the season of 1882 was very disastrous on account of rains and cold weather in May ; many colo- nies of bees starved and there was an almost total destruction oi the brood. But soon after, sweet clover came into bloom, and this, with the honey dews, again gave the bees a start, and they were in good condition when the fall bloom came on and gathered honey rapidly. Bees went into winter quar- ters in good condition. Lee Em kick. Harrisville, Mo., Jan. 10, 1883. How to use Small Sections. In reading the various opinions about the best way to get half-pound sections of honey, the thought came into my mind, why not have the comb built in a large frame and capped over ? Then, cut into pieces the right size and shape to exactly fill the sec- tion, put them in a frame or case and give them to a good colony of bees to THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 43 clean up and make fast to the section. This would be no more work than to put the foundation into the sections, and all nice combs of honey could be used up in this way. If 1 have any sections made for one-half pound, they must be 4>4 one way so they can be put into the same clamp on hives, and the same crate for market— with pound sections. This will save any extra (ixtures. The extra amount of labor to get the half-pound section will absort) a large share of tlie extra receipts. Yours for progressive bee- keeping, L. C. Whiting. East Saginaw, Mich., Jan. 11, 1883. Which Race of Bees 1 I send you a bee in this letter and would like you to state in the Bee Journal to which race it belongs. I bought a colony last spring from a farmer in a box hive ; they are all about this size, some a little thicker. But I do not think they are very good, for they have not obtained any surplus honey since I had them. Ed. LaSallb. Champaign, 111., Jan. 11, 1883. [The bee was all mashed up and it is difficult to say, yet it looks very much like one of the large brown bees of the South.— Ed.1 Colorado nud Bee-Keeping. I clip the following from Pomeroy's Democrat, issued at Denver, Col., Jan. 6,1883: " The second annual meeting of the Colorado State Bee-Keepers' Association will convene in the rooms of the Horticultural Society, next Sat- urday, for the purpose of electing offi- cers and the transaction of other important business pertinent to the occasion." Colorado, the youngest commonwealth in the American Union, the centennial State, proudly boasts of her wealth in minerals, yet lias leisure to cultivate bees. The flora of her mountains and canyons must be utilized, as well as her deep, hidden treasures. Mrs. L. Harrison. Peoria, 111. My "Bee Business" in 1882. In April, 1882, 1 had 61 colonies and by inserting empty combs in center of the hives every few days, I succeeded in getting all colonies very strong by ^ay 1st. But the most precious •queen of all in the world tome (my wife) was taken sick at tliat time, so, of course, the bees were neglected. Many colonies had limited supplies, Hud, when I stopped feeding and car- ing for them, they dwindled rapidly. ■One colony starved todeatli. My wife died on May 21st, and for a few days after tliat I still paid no attention to the bees, so, in reality, my bee season began June 1st, with 60 colonies in only ordinary condition. They were not so strong on the last day of May as they were on the last day of April. Prom June 1st I gave my whole time to the bees and as they had no " gap" in their business, I had no holidays till frost came. I had a great many swarmsbut" doubled up " persistently all through the season. I hived as many as 6 swarms that clustered to- gether all in one hive, or rather in 3 hives tiered up. By doubling, and tiering up for room, I only increased from 60 to 130. I obtained 2,773 lbs. of comb honey, and 7,402 lbs. of ex- tracted honey, making a total of 10,17.5 lbs. I only used 30 lbs. of comb foun- dation and paid $18 for hired help. C. VV. McKowN. Gilson, 111., Jan. 8, 1883. Frames across the Entrance. Mr. Editor :— Please give me your views, through the Bee Journal, on the plan of placing frames crosswise of a hive instead of lengthwise ? Where can we obtain half-pound sec- tions ? I have my bees packed on a summer stand, in sawdust, and, so far, they are doing splendidly. I see some objection to the Syrian bees on account of their restless disposition. I have one colony of Syrians and I find them quieter than any others. Days that other bees will fly, they re- main perfectly quiet. E. W. Thurston. Hagerstown, Ind., Dec. 29, 1882. [The half-pound sections can be ob- tained of the dealers in apiarian supplies. Within a few weeks you will find many of such, advertised in the Bee Journal. Some like to have the frames across the entrance, but nearly all bee-keep- ers prefer the ends to come to the entrance. It is more convenient for the bees coming home loaded to get to the desired place of deposit. It, how- ever, is quite an unimportant matter, and, but for the sake of uniformity, might be subject to the notion of the apiarist.— Ed.] A Swarm Filled its Hive in 9 Days. I had 6 colonies in 1881 ; bought 4; and lost 1 by queenlessness in March. They have increased to 29. Several gave 3 swarms each, and one gave 4 swarms. A swarm tliat came out on July 18, filled its hive in 9 days. I ob- tained from them 500 lbs. of honey besides the increase. D. Watterson. Roscoe, 111., Jan. 8, 18;j3. The Use of Separators. Seeing that there is a diversity of opinion in regard to tlie use of sepa- rators, in obtaining comb honey, I will give what little experience I have had in trying to obtain comb honey in marketable shape, without the use of separators. In 1881, 1 tried two hives without the use of separators. One of them has twenty-four sections filled full of foundation. I got four boxes that could be glassed, the rest of them were either bulged or the comb built into each other so badly that the sec- tions could not be separated without breaking the honey bad'y. Of the other hive, 27 sections, only 8 could be flassed and tit to be put on the mar- et. In the .season of 1882 I had no better success than the year before, so I do not want any more box honey without using separators. I have al- ways used tin separators until the last season. In the spring of 1882 I bought a very nice lot of wooden separators of C. Van Eaton, and I believe they are a great improvement. They make the entrances to the boxes larger and the bees enter the boxes more readily, and being wood they are warmer than tin, and the bees will cluster in the sections in cool weather a good deal quicker than they will where metal is used. Such has been my experience during the past season. I shall give them a more thorough trial next sea- son, and shall use the wood separators almost exclusively. L. Dunsmore. Livonia, N. Y., Jan. 9, 1883. Feeding In Winter. Last fall I bought a colony of bees in a bee hive ; they did not have much honey and I commenced to feed them. Cold weather came on soon after, and I put them in the cellar ; the ther- mometer standing about 40^. I put some honey over them in the hive, but they do not move around, and their honey is almost gone. Now, how will it do to put them in a warm room V A Subscriber. Nashua, N. H., Jan. 9, 1883. [It might do to put the colony in a room just above the freezing temper- aturf", and feed the bees with some hot syrup made of coffee A sugar. This they will store in convenient cells for use, as they need it. — Ed.] Another Step Higher. In reply to that article in the Bee Journal on "Another Advance Step," to prepare young men who de- sire to become scientific apiarists. For a young man to do this, he should work in the apiary at least three years, in order to quality himself in all the branches and be able to handle any apiary. I was an apprentice 3 years and have made several mistakes that have cost me from $300 to $")00 each, besidescoming very near discouraging me in bee culture. If a man wants to qualify in the business he should work under some of the best talent in the country for awhile, and, after that, they should continue to practice and study. Practice is better than all the book learning a man can get. I would not take an apprentice for less than three years, and a man that cannot spend that time should not handle bees at all. It has taken me six years to get where I am, and I consider that I am in advance of my instructor, Mr. J. W. Lindley, who had a large apiary when I commenced and my means were limited. I have 112 colonies of bees in good condition. I advise all to commence business right and they will then know what they are doing. Chas. Follett. Osage, Iowa, Jan. 7, 1882. Advertisements intended for the Bee Journal must reach this office by Saturday of the previous week. 44 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. ADVERTISING RATES for 1883. 20 cents per line of space, each insertion, FOT either the Weekly or Monthly Editions. A line of tbtstype will contain about 8 words; TWELVE lines will occupy ONE-INCH of space. Transient Advertisements payable in advance. Editorial Notices, 50 cents per line. SPECIAL. KATES. — Advertisements will be inserted in both Weekly and Monthly editions, at the following prices, if wholly paid in advance : SPACE. 1 in. 12 lines 2 in. 24 lines 3 In. 'sa lines 4 in. 4.S lines 5in.«) lines 6 In. 72 lines One Two Three Six month mo'tbs mo'tbs mo'ths 10.00 18.00 25.00 38.00 20.00 32.00 40.00 60.00 20.00 40.00 50.00 75.00 32.00 .50.00 65.00 90.00 40.00 00.00 75.00 110,00 4.5.00 70.00 90.00 130.00 One Tear. 50.00 80.00 100.00 125.00 150.00 175.00 For the Weekly alone, 20 per cent, less than the above rates. On yearly advertisements, payments may be made quarterly, but must be in advance. Advertisements withdrawn before the expiration of the contract, will be charged the full rate for the time the advertisement is inserted. THOMAS G. NEWMAN. •2S West Madison Street.. Chlcaso, III. ^:pecial IJoticcs. ^"The American Express Company money order system is the cheapest, safest and most convenient way of re- mitting small sums of money. Their rates for $1 to $5 are 5 cents ; over $5 to $10, 8 cents. They can be pur- chased at any point where the com- pany have an office, except Canada, and can be made payable at any one of the company's 4,000 offices. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of anv kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. Emerson Binders — made especially for the Bee Jouunal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for 7.5 cents, for the Weekly ; or for the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. ®" Attention is called to our new and liberal advertising rates for 1883. Local Convention Directory. 1883. Timt anil Place of MeeUns., Jan. 16,— N. W. 111. and S. W. Wis. at Preeport. J. Stewart, Sec. 18, Chamnlaln Valley, at MiddleburK. Vt. T. Brookins, Sec. 19, 20.— Mahoning Valley, at Berlin Centre, O. L. Carson, Pres. 20.— S. W. Mich., at Ann Arbor. G. J. Pease, See., Ann Arbor. Feb. 3.— Northern Ohio, at Norwall,, O. 8.— Maine State, at Dexter. Wm. Hoyt, Sec. 14. 15.— N. E. Ohio and N. W. Pa., at Andover C. T. Leonard. Sec. March 13.— Lorain Co., at Elyria, Obio. O. J. Terrell. Sec, N. Ridgeville, O. April 5.— Utah, at Salt Lake Cit.T. E. Stevenson, Sec. 17, 18,— Texas State, at McKinney, Wm. R, Howard, Sec. May 1 1.— Iowa Central, at Winterset. J. E. Pryor.Sec. — , —Texas State Convention, at McKinney. Dr. W. R. Howard, Sec. Sept. 12-14.— Tri-State. at Toledo, Ohio. Dr. A. B. Mason, Sec, Wagon Works, O. Oct. 17, 18.— Northwestern, at ChioaBO, HI. TbomasG. Newman, Sec. 9, 10.— Northern Migh. at Sheridan. Mich. O. R. Goodno, Sec. Carson City, Mich. Dee. 5-6, Michigan State, at Flint. H. D. Cutting. Sec, Clinton, Mich. ^" In order to have this table complete. Secre- taries are requested to forward full particulars of time and place of future meetings.— ED. Subscription Credits.— After send- ing subscriptions to this office, we would respectfully ask every one to look at the label on the wrapper of the next two papers, and there they will find the credit indicated thus : Those ,who have paid for the first six months of this year will find " June 83 " after their names. Those who have paid for the whole year will find " Dec. S3 " on their papers. The credit runs to the end of the month indicated. The credit given on Til AT LABEL is a sufficient notification of subscrip- tions due and receipt for payments made. If not so indicated within two weeks after sending money to us, you may be sure something is wrong, and should write to us about it. It will save annoyance and trouble if our subscribers will give this matter due attention. i^" Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra. James Tick. — From the appearance of Fict's Floral Giiid£, which is on our desk, we should judge that the young Vicks are " chips of the old block," as the Floral Q-uide with its lithographed cover is handsome enough for the parlor table. It is printed on the best of paper, has three colored plates of fiowers and vegeta- bles, and full of useful information. Those who send 10 cents for it cannot be disappointed, as the plates alone are worth the amount. Address, as in past years, James Vick, Roches- ter, N. Y. CLCBBESG LIST. We supply the American Bee JoariiAl and any of the following periodicals, one year, at the prices quoted in the last column of figures. The first column gives the regular price of both. Ali postage is prepaid by the publishers. PubHthera' Price. Club The Weekly Bee Journal $2 00.. and GieaningsinBee-CuItureCA.LRoot) 3 00.. 2 75 Bee-Keepers' Magazine (A.J.King). 3 2li 3 00 Bee-KeeperB'Exch'nge(Houk4Peet)3 00.. 2 75 Bee-Keepers' Guide (A.G.Hill)...:.. 2 60.. 2 36 Kansas Bee-Keeper 2 60.. 2 40 The t) above-named papers 6 35. . 6 50 The Weekly Bee Journal one year and Prof. Cook's ManuaKbound in cloth) 3 26.. 2 75 Bees and Honey, (T, G. Newman) " 2 75. . 2 PO Binder for Weekly Bee Journal 2 75.. 2 50 Apiary Register for 100 colonies . . . . 3 .M. . 3 OO Apiary Register for 200 colonies 4 00. . 3 50 The Monthly Bee ^c; ex- tracted, choice to extra white, 8>^@9J^c.; dark and candied, 7<3j8c. BEKSWAX— We quote 25®28c. Stearns-* smith, 423 Front Street. ST. LOUIS. HONEY— Dull. Comb, at ICc. for large or hard to I£t(i20c. for choice bright in small packages ; ex- tracted at H@9c. ; strained, 6!^(S7c.; choice, in smaller quantities, brings more. BEKSWAX-l'rIme brlghtsteady at 27®28c. W. T. ANDERSON & Co.. 117 N. Main Street. CLEVELAND. HONEY -Has changed in price a very little, we find it necessary to sell all grades about 1 cent per a. lews. Best white, in lib sections, 20ruj21c. per per pound ; in 2 lb. sections, 18(ai20c. Extracted is very dull indeed, hardly any sale. BEESWAX- Scarce, 28®;Mc. A. C. Kendkl, 115 Ontario Street. NEW YORK. HONEY— There Is only a moderate supply of choice to fancy white clover honey, and prices are still held firmly, though the demand is not large. Buckwhe;it and extracted honey continue alow. Wequote: White clover, first quality, I ifc boxes, 25c: 2 lb. boxes, 23(a»25c. ; buckwheat, l tt. boxes, 20c. ; 2 lb. boxes, 16c, Extracted, white, ll®12c.: dark, siasic. BEESWAX— The supply has been light and prime lots held a shade higher. Western pure, 3()(gJSlc: southern, pure, 31@32c. D. W. QCINB Y, 105 Park Place. BOSTON. HONBY— Our market Is fairly active. Wo quote: HIb. sections at 30c.: lib. sections, 22@25c.; 2 1b. sections, 2n(«.22c. Extracted, 10c. per lb. Good lors ot extracted are wanted In kegs or barrels. BEESWAX- 30C. Cbockku & Blake, 57 Chatham Street. ^" Attention is called to a few changes in our clubbing list for 1883, as given on this page. Tliose inter- ested will please take notice The AMERICAN Bee Journal is the oldest Bee Paper In America, and has a large circulation Id every State, Territory and Province, among farm- era, mechanics, professional and buniness men. and Is, therefore, the best advertising medium. STVF.ET CL.OTER SEED New and cleaiT. 25 cts. per lb. BEN Clendenon, GrlnnelMoa ,50wl3 DUNBAM COMB FOUNDATION- 40e. per pound : extra thin and bright, 10 sq. ft. to the lb, 4HC. Send for samples. Wax worked lOc. per lb. F.W. HOLMES, Coorer8Ville,Mlch. 13wly Sample Copies of the Amebic an Bee Journal will be sent free to any per- son. Any one Intending to get up a club can have sample copies sent to the persons they desire to interview, by sending the names to this office. ^■Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1882 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. Bees for Sale. 50 Colonies of Becs« in Oallup frames, cheap. 800 Colonies of Beea, in Langstroth frames In prime condUlon. J. H. KOBERTSON, 36wtf Pewamo, Ionia Co.. Mich. STUDENTS IN BEE-CULTURE. Having had Buch good success for two years past In teaching the theory and practice of honey- pro- ducing, I have now made arrangements to accom- modate a largo chis.^ during the coming season. 1 shall aim to give a tlvo months' instriKtion, at the end of which time 1 hope and e.xpect to turn out hee-keepers competent to profitably engage in the pursuit, for one aptary right to patentee. Kemit by registered letter or P. O. iirder. F. DELLA TORHE, 74 Charies-st. Avenue, Baltimore, Md. Patented April 25, 1882. No. 254,932. 45wl3t THE CONQUEROR. Large Smokers need wide shiehls. Bingham's nave them, and springs ihat do imt runt an. break, and bellows that sparks and smoke do not enter. The Conqueror has all improvenients made to date, and a 3x7 inch stove, and 5i7 inch bellows. Sent postpaid for if2. Address, BINOHAM & HETHERINGTON, Abronla. Mich. ANEIV IMPORTATION OF BOKHARA Glover SEED has arrived and is for sale cheap. Apply to 4e8m4t CHARI.es F. MITT0, CINCINNATI, O. BE SURE To send a postal card forour Illustrated Catalogue of Apiarian Supplies before purchnsingelsewhere. It contains Illustrations and descriptl»»nsof every- thing new and valuable needed in mi apiary, at the lowest prices. Italian Queens and Bees. I'arties intending to purchase bees in lots of 10 colonies or more are invited to correspond. a. C. SAYLES. SlsmlSt Hartford, Wis. 46 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. USD T^FE!' The Orlelnal BINGHAM Bee Smoker Who will be the first to copy 1 25,000 IN USE. If you buy the Origi- nal Patent Bingham Bee Smoker, you will aid the inventor of improTed bee smok- ers— pet the best, that never po out— always please— never is eom- plalned of— thestand- ard of excellence the world over — better and handsomer this season than ever be- fore. Price per mail, Eiostpaid, from 65 cts. o *2. Our patents cover all the smokers that will buin sound Btove-wood, or do not go out. If you buy our smokersand hon- ey knives first, youp„f(.„*pfi 1070 will have to buy no*^^^®^^®^' *^'°' others. PRICfS: Handed to By Mnil, Customer. Postpaid. ^2 (.to 1 75 Given's FoundationPress. The Bee-Keeper's Guide 1 50 1 25 65 1 15 Wide shield Conqueror, 3 inch 1 1 75 Large Bingham Smoker (wide shield >. I'H; inch l 50 Extra BinKham Smoker (wide shield), :; inch 1 25 Plain Bingham Smoker, 2 inch 100 Little Wonder Bingham Smoker, IW inch 50 Bingham & Hetherington Honey Knife, 2 inch l 00 To sell again, apply for dozen or half-dozen rates. Send for free description and testimonials, to BINGHAM & HETHERINGTON. 17wtf Abronla, Mich. HIVES — AND- SECTIONS. 1^^3^EE We have just put in several new machines and also a larcer engine in <,>ur factory, consequently we are in better shape to till orders than ever for Bee Hives. Sections, Shipping Crates, etc. We make a specially of our "BOSS" ONE-PIECE SECTIONS, Patented June 28th. 1881. We can make the " Boss" One- Piece Sections any size or width desired. Send for Price List. We make the Half-Pound Section any size desired. fTAS. forncrook: « found on file J-XIXO -r/\-ri!jXV at Geo. P. Kowell & Co.'s Newaoaper AdvertlsinR Bureau do Spruce St.), where advertlsiriK contracts may be made for It in NEW YORK. I buy and seil Honey for Cash only. As I do no Commission business, I will not accept siilpments without preyious corrVApondence. Hi •^ H N *> ._ 0 •*- r A J .j CO ^r. 0 M m H a- n lc ■= CO 0 ta H R C/3 V 0 09 < ■ i>^ t o ^= (3 0 _2 To 0) (0 o n ig I r' ^ W a _ N 0 o 4) c (/> 0) 3 o CO O •a « *■• S2 ♦." (A 3 BEESWAX. I pay 270. per pound delivered here, for yellow Beeswax. To avoid mistakes, tiie shipper's name should always be on each package. ALFRED H. NEYFMAN. V423 West Madison Street, CHICAGO. ILL. A NEW BEE BOOK! Bees & Honey Management of an Apiary for Fleasnre and Profit ; by THOMAS C. NEWMAN. Editor of the Weekly Bee Journal. It contains 160 profusely illustrated pages, i& "fully up with the times" in all the various im- provements and Inventions in this rapidly devel- oping pursuit, and presents the apiarist wttb everything that can aid In the sueoessful manage- ment of the honey bee, and at the same time pro- duce the most honey in its best and most attract- ive condition. Chief among the new chapters are "Bee Pasturage a Necessity." " Management of Bees and Honey at Fairs." " Marketing Honey," etc. Price, bound In cloth, 75 cents; in paper covers, SO centH, postpaid. 925 ^V. MadUon Street, Chicago, III. Appreciative Notlcea. Carefully prepared for Cabinet, Amherst, N. H. beginners.— Farmers A very valuable work to those engaged in bee- raising.— News, Prairie City, Iowa. We advise all who keep bees to send for this ex- cellent work.- Journal. Louisiana, Mo. Its chapter on marketing honey Is worth man^ times its cost.— Citizen, Pulaski, Tenn. Carefully prepared, and of vast Importance to bee-raisers.— Indlanlan, Clinton, Ind. A neat and abundantly illustrated hand-book of apiculture.- American Agriculturist, N. Y. New and valuable, and embellished with 109 beautiful engravings.— Democrat, Salem, Ind. Much practical useful Information, in a cheap form.— Daily Standard, New Bedford, Mass. Contains all the information needed to make bee-culture successful.— Eagle, Union City, Ind. Just such a work as should be in the hands of every beginnt;r with bees.- News, Keithsburg, 111. A valuable work for all who are Interested In the care and management of bees.— Democrat, Alle- gan, Mich. The most perfect work for the price ever yet pro- duced onthesubjectof bee-culture.— Anti-Monop- olist, Lebanon, Mo. The engravings are fine. It is gotten up in the very best style, and is cheap at the price.- Farmer, Cleveland, O. It comprises all that is necessary for successfn) bee-culture, save experience and good judgment. —Daily Republican, Utica, N. V. A manual, containing all the newest diecoverles in the management of these little workers.- Plain Dealer, St. Lawrence, N. Y. Full of practical instruction, that no one who contemplates keeping bees can do wlthout.-Far- mers' Journal, Louisville, Ky. Gives minute details for the management and manipulations necessary to make bee-keeping a success.- Col. Valley and Farm. It embraces every .subject that can Interest the beginner In bee-culture. The engravings perfectly illustrate the text.— Farm and Fireside, Spring- field, O. Embraces every subjectof intprest In theapiaryf giving very thorough details ui the management and manipulationsnecessury tomake bee-keeping a success.— Farm. Longmonl, Colo. Written In an interesting and attractive manner, and contains valuable information for all readers, even though they be not directly interested In the care of bees.— Sentinel, Rome, N. Y. It is a valuable and practical book, and contains a complete resume of the natural history of the little busy bee, as well as of all that one needs to know in their care and management.— Chicago Herald. Describes all the newest discoveries in the art, by which the production of delicious and health- giving honey is obtained, aswell as how to prepare it for the market in the most attractive shape.— Signal, Napoleon, O. Contains a vast fund of Information in regard to bee-culture. He who would keep abreast of the times must keep posted In allthe improvements In his line. We advise all Interested to get a copy of this book.— Daily Times, San Bernardino, Cal. It embraces every subject that will interest the beginner. It describes all llu' newest discoveries in the art by which the production of delicious and health-giving honey is obtained, as well as how to prepare it for the market in the most attractive form. It Is embellished with beautiful engravings, and Is the most perfect work of the kind, for Ine price, that has ever come under our notice.— Far- mer, Lancaster, Pa. A Liberal Discount to Dealers by the I>ozenor Mundred. 48 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. BOOKS! Sent by mall, on receipt of price, by Tiiois^-A-S C3-, isr:Ewavi:-A.3sr, 925 West Madison Street, CHICAGO, ILL., Bee-K-eeper'a Oalde ; or, Cook*s Munual ■of the Aplury. — Entirely re-wrltten. eleKantly illustrated and fully "up with the times" on every subject of bee-culture. It is not only Instructive, l)Ut intensely InterestinR and thoroughly practical. The book is a masterly production, and one that no -bee-keeper, however limited his means, can afford to do without. Cloth, *1. 85 ; paper cover. »1, Quinby's New B ee-K.ee p I nir. by L. C. Root— The anihor treats the subject of bee-teepinR so that it cannot fall to interest all. Its style Is plain and forcible, malting all its readers realize that Its authorls master of the subject.— #1.60. Novice** ABC ofBee-CuIture, by A. I. Root —This embraces "everything pertaining to the care ■ol the honey-bee," and is valuable tfl beginners and those more advanced. Cloth, JSl.SS. Kins*" ll.OO. I^uniEatroth on the Hive and Honey Bee. —This is a standard scientific work. Price, »». Blessed Bees, by John Allen.— A romance of bee-keeping, full of practical information and contagious enthusiasm. Cloth, 15c. Bees und Honey, or Management of an Apiary for Pleasure and Profit, by Thomas ti. _Newman.— Third Edition. "Kully up with the limes." including all the various improvements and inventions. Chief among the new chapters are : " Bee Pasturage a Necessity." " Management of Bees and Honey at Fairs," "Marketing Himey." •etc. It contains HH> pages, and is prcifusely illus- trated. Price, bound in cluth, TAc; in paper covers, .lOc, postpaid. Blenen Kiiltnr, by Thomas G. Newman. In (GERMAN language. Price, in paper covers, 40 cents, or $3 per dozen, postpaid. Bzlerzon Theory ;— presents the fundamen- tal principles of bee-culture, ana lurnisUes the facts and arguments to demonstrate them. 15 c. Honey, us F'«od und Medicine, by Thonia:- lvldlnK and Feeding Be*es.— Hints to Beginners, by Thomas G. Newman. Price ^ cents. 'Vees In IW^lnter, with Instructions about CnSff- Packing. Cellars and Bee Houses, by Thomas G.IWfmnn. Price 5c. Qn;Ai-Rc(^>*l"fft ^y Henry Alley.— A full and dSfcled nccountof TWENTY-THREE years' experience in rearing queen bees. The cheapest, easiest amj best wav to raise queens. (.Never before pubtlshed. Price Sl.OO. Food Adulteration ; What we eat and should not eat. This boob should be In every family, and ought to create a sentiment agalnstadulteratlon of food products, and demand a law to protect the consumer against the numerous health-destroying adulterations offered us food. 2O0 pages 50c. Scrlbner's I^amber and I^otc Book.— Most complete book of its kind published. Gives meas- urement of all kinds of lumber, logs, and planks by Doyle's Rule, cubical contents of square and round timber, staves and heading bolt tables, wages, rent, board capacity of cisterns, cordwood tables. Interests, etc. Standard book throughout United States & Canada. Price 35 c. postpaid. KendalPs Horse Book. — No book could be more useful to horse owners. It has 35 engravings illustrating positions of sick horses, and treats all diseases In a plain and comprehensive manner. It has recipes, a table of doses, and much valuable horse information Price 25c. for either the English or German editions. Moore's Universal Asslst«nt, and Com- plete Mechanic, contains over l,(X>0.(K>i) Indus- dustrial Facts, (Calculations, Processes, Trade Se- crets, Legal Items. Business Forms, etc.. of vast utility to every Mechanic, Farmer and Business Man. Gives iJfMt.iKx.i Items for Gas, Steam, Civil and Mining Engineers, Machinists, Millers, Black- smiths, Founders. Miners, Metallurgists. Assayers. Plumbers, Gas and Steam Fitters. Bronzers, Gild- ers. Metal and Wood Workers of every kind. The work contains ],oi6 pages. Is a veritable Treasury of Useful Knowledge, and worth its weight In gold to any Mechanic, Business Mas, or Farmer. Price, postage paid, SS8..'50. Fl8her*s Grain Tables for Farmers, etc. — I9:i pages, pocket form ; full of useful tables for casting up grain, produce, hay ; cost of pork, inter- est; wages tables, wood measurer, ready reckoner, plowing tables and more miscellaneous matter and useful tables for farmers and others than any similar book ever pubtlshed. Ask your bookseller for it. Sent post-paid for -lO cents. Chicken Cholera, byA. J. Hltl.—A treatise on ts cause, symptoms and eure. Price, 85c. geutsclic ^uecltev^ fSicnen ^Ultut, obcr erfolgreid^e SBe^aiibtung ber Siencii, Don if)o3. ®. DJeroman. '3)iei'e^ ^ampfjlet cnttjalt 93c(ef)riingcn iificv fotgcnbc ©egciiftaiibe — Oerttic^ f ei t bc^ Siciienftniibe'j — .^ontg pflanjen — (Jrjiefiung berjl'oiiigtn — Jiittern — ©cljrcavmeu — ?lblegcv — i^erfet^en — 3i t n I i e ii i fi v c n — 3i'l't''?er Boii J^oniginiicii — 9(ii§5ic[)cn — 33icneit bcfjanbcln uitb bcniliigcii ; lucitcv entfiiilt e§ ciiiilnpitc[,nioviit bie neucfteSJ?et[}obe fiir bie Jperridjtuiig beg .Jioiugg fiir ben Jpanbel befc^iiebenift. 5^vei§ 40 gent^. ^oniQ aU 9taf}vuna un'» 9Kc5i}in — von 'JftomnS '^^-Sieromnn. ©iefcS cnt()iilt eiue flare bnvfteniing iifier SBiencn unb Jponig bc6 ?(ltevt^um§ ; bie 93e|'(^nffen[}cit, duatitrit, OneUen unb 3ubevettnngbc6,!P>ouigSfiivbcn Jpanbel ; .iTjontg Ills Dfa()vnng'jmtftel, nngc&cnb itiie mnn i^onighidjcn, 5ornifiid;e[cl)en, ^ubbiugg,'3(^aumtonfect,QSeine,u.f.n) jubeveiten fann ; fevncr .^Dnig al tttti* fflnc jRranfljcitcn— 2]on S.^.^enball, 2R. 'J)., entljnUcnb cin atpljnbefifd) gcorbneteS iurjeic^nifj ber oerfc^tebenen H$fevbctranff|eiten,lamint ben Slrfaci^en, (St)mptomen unb ber ricfitigen SBe^anb= [ung berfclben ; ferncr, eine ©aminlung roertt;DoUe,r Stejcpte. ^^rci§ 25 gentS. ^HOMAS C. NEWMAN. iWest Madtson Street, Chicago, 111, mm^ Pianos $850 Square Grand Piano for only $245, PIAKin QTYI F 01 Magnificent rosewood rinliU 01 ILL U2 case elegantly finished. 3 strings. 7 l-SOcta-ve*. full patent cantante agraffes, our new patent overstrung scale, beauti- ful carved legs and lyre, heavy serpentine and large fancy moulding, full iron frame, French Grand Action, Grand Ifaniniers. in fact, every im- provementwhlch can in any way tend to the per- fection of the instrument, has been added. fS^Our price Tor this Instrument, boxed and delivered ou board cars at .Vew York, with flue Piano Cover, Stool (11;'^J_^ and Book, only t^^'XfJ, ReAiced from our late wholesale factory price, $S95, for till day- only, to have this beautiful Piano introduced. This is now, by far, the (great- est bararnln ever offered the musical public. Un- precedented success : Tremendous demand for this style ! Order atonce. This Piano will bo sent on 15 days' test trial. Please send reference if you do not send money with order. Ciish sent ivith order tvill be refunded and freight charges paid by us both luays if Piano is not juat ns represented. Several other special bar- gains: Pianos. a^l60 up. Over I.Vhkj in use, and not one dissatisfied purchaser. Handsome Illustrated Catalogue mulled free, giving the high- est testimonials ever awarded any manufacturer. Every I*ianii fully warranted for 5 years. SHEET MUSIC }i price. Catalogue of 3.000 choice nieces sent for 3c. stamp. MEXl>£l.SSOUN PIAXO CO., Box 2958. New York. EARS FOR THE MILLION ! FooChoo's8alsani of Shark's Oil Positively Restores the Hearing, and is the Only Absolute Cure for Deafness Known. This Oil Is abstracted from a peculiar species of small "White Shark, caught in the Vellow Sea, known ii» Cnrchnrndon Rondeletii. Every Chinese Hrtbernian knows it. Its virtues as a restorative of hearing were discovered by a Buddhist Priest about the year i4io. Us cures were so numerous and cnanv so"eeinlnffly miraciilou*. that the rem- edy was ofBoiatly proclaimed over the entire Em- pire- Its use became so universal that for over :{00 yars no Deafness has existed anionff the Chinese people. Sent, charges prepaid, to any addre*ts at tl.W per bottle. HEAR WHAT THE DEAF SAY! It has performed a miracle in my case. I have no unearthly noises in my head, and hear much better. I have been greatly benefited. My deafness helped a great deal— think another bottle will cure me. "Its virtues are rN'QtJKSTioN ABLE and Its cura- tive CHAKACTEK ABfiOLrXE, A8THE WRITERCAM PEKSONALLY TESTIFV, BOTH PROM EAPEHIENCB AND OBSERVATION. Write at once to Haylock Jk Jennkt, 7 Dey Street, New York, enclosing |l, and you will receive by return a remedy that will enable you to hear like anybody else, and whose curative effects will bepormanent. VouwllI never regret doing so."— EorrdR op Mercantile Re- view. |3n*o avoid lossin themalls, please send money by Registered Letter. Only Imported by HAYLOCK & JENKKY, (Late Hayxock X Co.) Sole AgenU for America, T Bey St., New York, 20W1T ..) of " several races,'' there may be a chance for me to " get there " yet. Mr. Shuck accounted the impover- ished, honeyless condition of his bees, at one time of year, to the season, and then a result, with a?];/ bees, proved a honey shower, and credited the latter result all to the stock. His first state- ment disproved the last, and the last proved too much, or nothing. Did it not? Mr. Demaree tells us that crosses sport so much that they are liable to fall back to worthlessness (if they do not fall below the worth of the brown German strain I started with, I will stand it, well), because they are not (like the pure races) " fixed," yet Mr. Shuck proposes to breed up his coming bee out of this Jixedness. I will leave Messrs. Demaree and Shuck to settle this between themselves. In the tenth paragraph of Mr. Shuck's reply to me, he says that my "theory (it isreally my practice) looks well on paper, but in practice it pre- sents quite a different picture;" and then, to prove it, cites us to hisfailure with a pure queen, imported from Italy, selected at that, during the years 1880-81. Several have written me to ask if I should reply to Mr. Shuck. Mr. Sny- der, of Clarksville, writes me : " Shuck is right after you ; I think yoii will have to give up your coming hybrid bee," and, in the next line, he says : " I am quite a poultry breeder, and I am producing a cross between two distinct pure breeds, which I think much superior to either pure race, and I coiild give good reasons for my com- ing fowls ? " Mr. Demaree will please correct Mr. Snyder. Had he not better add a blue jay or red fowl to his crosses ? Well, the reason I had not replied to Mr. Shuck was because I could see no argument to reply to. When his ar- ticle came, I was entertaining an old queen and bee breeder and honey- producer (second to none in America, inmyopinion),and we read the article togetlier and neither of us could see what I was going to "hit at," and it lames my muscles to strike into the air and hit nothing. But, really, is it not a matter of demonstration V Must we not let the utility of the bees by all who use them, decide the matter ? I fancy I hear an accord from Messrs. Hutchinson, Oat- man, Miller, and a whole host of men, who are known to " get ttiere " early and often, saying, with our worthy editor, " the coming bee will have the right number of yellow bands, be it one or many ? " I may be too grossly practical, but I feel something like the practical old lady, who, after doing her full share of amassing a fortune from the dairy, hennery and farm, took her big, awk- ward son " Eli " to the fair, to run to a 20 rod post and get off the $0 gold piece first. When on his race, and nearly been led by numerous competi- tors, the old lady, who stood by in breathless suspense, cried out, " do not jump so high, but git there, Eli." Please excuse me if I put more con- fidence in the opinion of bee-keepers who get iliere than in those who do the high jumping. T,Jie ink of imagina- tion has no affinity for the ear of ex- perience. Dowagiac, Mich., Jan. 5, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Wood Separators for Surplus Honey. C. R. ISHAM. Mr. Editor :— By to-day's mail I send you a few wood separators, the same as we have used in our apiary during the past season, and of stand- ard thickness, one-sixteenth of an inch. I put one or two into the pack- age, which have been in use, that you may the better judge as to their prac- ticability for the purpose of securing straight combs with smooth, evea surface. In an article published in your Jour- nal a short time ago, Mr. F. C. Ben- edict gives the experience of himself and neighbors who have used wood separators, more or less, for several seasons past, all of whom are among our most experienced and successful honey-producers, and follow bee-keep- ing for profit more than pleasure. Mr. Benedict's article on " Half- Pound Sections," marks him as a writer possessed of good judgment and who knows what he is talking about. 54 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. He has liud experience with wood separators and half-pound sections, and those contemplating a change in their surplus arrangements to conform to what just now seems to be a '' popu- lar idea." may do well to pause and consider awhile, before making the proposed general alteration. I will here remark (although we have high authority to the contrary) that for us to think of dispensing with separators for surplus honey would be likegoing-backtoold box hives, minus brimstoning the bees. I will now give a few brief reasons as to why I am strongly in favor of using some kind of separator for sec- tional boxes. First, When wood is used, the bees do not travel as much over the honey, preferring to cling to the separator, especially when the nights are cool and honey is coming in slowly ; conse- quently the combs do not get so badly soiled, as when used for runways or to cluster upon. Secondly, We can get just as much honey witli, as without them, and have the sections evenly tilled, giving them a much nicer and more attractive ap- pearance, which is always appreciated by the connoisseur. Thirdly, If we are in the habit of glassing our honey,— they are simply indispensable. Fourthly, That those of us who like to take off the tilled sections as soon as capped, and move the unlinished ones to the center of the rack, would have a troublesome job without sepa- rators between the sections, for, while some combs would rub against each other, others would be too far apart, making the whole operation a trying ordeal. Fifthly, Upon general principles to have tlie combs built just as we want them, believing that straight combs are more attractive than crooked ones, whether or not we may wish to use glass— and that the cost of separators are nothing in comparison to beneUts received. We want our honey in shape to com- mand tlie highest market price and give the best satisfaction to the con- sumer—believing that a white bass- wood section, well and evenly tilled with honey, is an article of " beauty" and a " joy " to possess— better than wheat, for it can the more readily be exchanged for gold or greenbacks and at a far more remunerative price. Peoria, Wyoming Co., N. Y. [The samples of separators are re- ceived, and some of them look as though they had done excellent service. We do not believe that tliose who are producing a fancy article of comb honey can afford to dispense with the use of separators. We think they are indispensable; with very careful work some may do without them for a time, but, for producers of comb lioney in general, they cannot be dispensed with, — without costing more for extra time and care, not only while sections are on the hive, but in crating for market, than their entire cost, each season. For many reasons wood is prefera- ble, and when cut so nicely as are those sent by Mr. Isham, we can see no objection to their use. — Ed.] For the American Bee Journal. Bees Removing Eggs. O. E. COOLEY. "Do bees remove eggs from one cell to anotlier V" Yes ; and from one comb to another, sometimes. A col- ony of mine lost its queen, about July 1st, and after waiting a sufficient length of time for them to have reared another, I gave them a frame of brood, containing brood in all stages, from the egg to luitctiing bees. I let it remain until all of the brood had been capped, at least two weeks; in fact, most of it had hatched out. but there was no queen cells built on it, and no queen in the hive. Again I exchanged frames, putting back the frame first taken from the qiieenless hive, which was now again full of brood in all stages, but still the bees built no queen cells on that frame, nor on the frame next to it, on either side. I thought it useless to do anything more with them, and thought I would wait, and, perhaps, Mr. Alley would liU an order for a queen that I sent liiui, and paid for, over three years ago, but the queen did not come. About six weeks after giving the last frame of brood, I dis- covered that the hive had a queen, and was filled with brood. The bees must liave moved an egg and built a queen cell in some other part of the hive, or the queen could not have been there. Eidgeway, Iowa. Jan. 2. 1883. For tbe American Bee JoumaL Our Honey Resources. W. H. STEWART. Some are of the opinion that 100 colonies of bees are as many as can be made profitable within a radius of five miles, while others believe that each inhabitant of the rural districts might keep 100 colonies to advantage, as far as pasture is concerned. We are not aware that any one has ever demonstrated practically, that either opinion is well founded. You can- not expect me to give my views, in full, on this question, in one short cliap- ter, but I will just give a hint, and leave the matter for further consid- eration. I hold that all animate life is gov- erned by tlie same universal law, from which there is no divorce. The law that dictates that one class of beings shall live by the sweat of their brow, is just as arbitrary to every other class of living ci'eatiires. Veiy much of the work of the bee is done in tlie night ; much is done in tlie swamps, on the mountains, and in the forests, and even that portion of her work that is done in our imme- diate presence is by us, by no means fully understood. Her cut is so slight, her blow srj li._'ht, And ifiven in such rapid succession. Our nerve is so slow, 'tis but littie we know. By our most labored observation. The two planes of life, occupied by the honev-bee and the human family are widely separated, and in the na- ture of things we can comprehend about as miicti of her plane of life as she can of ours ; very little more. Yet, as both are subject to the same law, when we learn how we can ob- tain from the nectar-secreting plants, a portion of their choice sweets, then we have obtained a reliable key that unlocks the dark mystery that would otherwise conceal very much of the labors of the honey-bee from our vision. If we would know the re- sources of the honey-bee, we must first learn our own resources tor ob- taining wealth. We have learned, by experience, that our stores are only born of labor, and that the measure of stores cor- responds to the amount of labor that we are able to accomplish ; and, further, that the better and more ad- vantageous our surroundings are the more labor are we able to accomplish in a given time. As man is able to accomplish more under favorable con- ditions, even so is it with the honey- bee. If we allow them to increase their number of colonies bv natural swarming, then it is highly" probable that much of their time in' the height of the honey season is consumed in preparing a new home in some old hollow tree. And, again, if we de- tain the swarm, and give them no better home than a straw basket or empty rough box. they must labor throiigh the whole season to prepare their rude home for the coming winter. But if they are properly divided, and the new colony given a good frame hive, filled with sheets of brood-comb, or even sheets of comb foundation, they are often found able not only to prepare for winter, but to give us large yields of surplus honey. Thus we perceive that favorable conditions inside of then- home is, in reality, a honey resource. The life of the bee in the working season is only six weeks, and it has been proven during the last season. by Jerome Wiltse, Falls City, Xeb., that she is able, and does gather honey from the field at the age of six days after hatching, if surroundings are favor- able ; and then she has but five weeks more that she can work. Kow, we come to a most important question, viz. : " Wliat is the bee to work at during this five weeks ?" Is she to build combs for brood and stor- age V Is she to stand guard at her door to protect what little she has against robbers V Is she to be tor- mented out of her wits, by being stified with smoke, and having her nest all torn to pieces every day or two, by unwise bee-keepers ; or will we prepare and protect her home, and let her gather hone); all the remaining five weeks of her life y I have stated that human life is a key to the life of the bee. If we were THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 55 in want of maple sugar, how would we act ? We would liist prepare storage and means of evaporation, and, when all was ready, we would cut the liber or cells of the tree, to make it leak its sap. Tlien we would gather the sweet sap as it leaked from the wounded tree, evaporate the water from it, and have the desired amount of sugar. If we desire to obtain cane sugar or syrup, when our storage and evapor- ating fixtures are in order, and the cane is in proper condition, we cut jiud 80.00 100.00 125.00 150.00 175.00 For the Weekly alone, 20 per cent. less than the abuve rates. On yearly advertisements, payments may be made quarterly, but must be in advance. Advertisements withdrawn before the expiration of the contract, will be chareed the full rate for the time the advertisement is inserted. THOMAS G. NEWMAN. 925 West Madison Street., Chlcaico, III. i®°The American Express Company money order system is the cheapest, safest and most convenient way of re- mitting small sums of money. Their rates for $1 to $5 are 5 cents ; over $5 to $10, 8 cents. They can be pur- chased at any point where the com- pany have an office, except Canada, and can be made payable at any one of the company's 4,000 offices. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local. checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. • » » # * ^" The Bee Journai, is mailed at the Chicago post office every Tuesday, and any irregularity in its arrival is due to the postal employes, or some cause beyond our control. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 61 Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1883, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with |10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New 13ee-Keepiug, Root's ABC of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jouk- NAL for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Jouknal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. Honey as Food and Medicine. A new edition, revised and enlarged, the new pages being devoted to new Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price of them low to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 6 cents, postpaid; per dozen, 50 cents; per hundred, $4.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, " Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alO!ie will pay him for all his trouble and expense— enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Local Convention Directory. 1^ The time for the usual winter rush of correspondence is here, and we wish to impress upon all our patrons the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. ■ I ^^ I — ♦^ 1^ When writing to this office on business, our correspondents should not write anything for publication on the same sheet of paper, unless it can be torn apart without interfering with either portion of the letter. The edi- torial and business departments are separate and distinct, and when the business is mixed up with items for publication it often causes confusion. They may both be sent in one envelope but should be written on separate pieces of paper. Time and Place of Meeting. Northern Ohio, at Norwalk, O. [883. Feb. 3, 8.— Maine State, at Dexter. Wm. Hoyt. Sec. 14, Iri.— N. E. Ohio and N. W. Pa., at Andover C. T. Leonard. Sec. March 13.— Ijorain Co., at Elvria, Oliio. O. ,1. Terrell, Sec, N. Kidgevillo, O. April 5.— Utah, at Salt Lake Cit.T. E. Stevenson. Sec. 17, 18,— Texas State, at McKinney. Wm. R, Howard, Sec. 118.- Western, at Independence. Mo. S. W. Salisbury, Sec. May 1 1.— Iowa Central, at Winteraet. J. E. Pryor,Sec. — , —Texas State Convention, at McKinney. Dr. W. R. Howard, Sec. Sept. lJ-14.— Tri-State, at Toledo. Ohio. Dr. A. B. Mason, Sec, Wagon Works, O. Oct. 17, 18. —Northwestern, at Chicaeo, 111. ThomasG. Newman, Sec. 9. 10.— Northern Mifjh. at Sheridan, Mich. O. R. Goodno. Sec, Carson City, Mich. Dec. 5-6, Michigan State, at Flint. H. D. Cutting. Sec, Clinton, Mich. fW In order to have ibis table complete. Secre- taries are requested to forward full particulars of time and place of future meetinKs.- ED. Subscription Credits.— After send- ing subscriptions to this office, we would respectfully ask every one to look at the label on the wrapper of the next two papers, and there they will find the credit indicated thus^ Those who have paid for the first six months of this year will find " June 83 " after their names. Those who have paid for the whole year will find " Dec. 83 " on their papers. The credit runs to the end of the month indicated. The credit given on THAT LABEL is a sufficient notification of subscrip- tions due and receipt for payments made. If not so indicated within two weeks after sending money to us, you may be sure something is wrong, and should write to us about it. It will save annoyance and trouble if our subscribers will give this matter due attention. CLUBBING LIST. 1^ Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations 12.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra. ^^ Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1882 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. Emerson Binders— made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for 7-5 cents, for the Weekly ; or for the Monthly, .50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. We supply the American Bee tjournal and any of the following periodicals, one year, at the prices quoted In the last column of figures. The first column gives the regular price of both. All postage is prepaid by the publishers. Publishers' Price. Club The Weekly Bee Journal |2 00. . and Gleanings InBee-CuItureCA. I. Root) 3 00. . 2 75 Bee-Keepers' Magazine (A.J.King). 3 23.. 3 00 Bee-Keepers'Exch'nge(Houk&Peet)3 00.. 2 75 Bee-Keepers' Guide (A.G.Hill) 2 50.. 2 35 Kansas Bee-Keeper 2 60.. 2 40 The 6 above-named papers 6 35. . 5 50 The Weekly Bee Journal one year and Prof. Cook's ManuaUbound in cloth) 3 25.. 2 75 Bees and Honey, (T. G. Newman) " 2 75. . 2 50 Binder for Weekly Bee Journal 2 75. . 2 50 Apiary Register for 100 colonies 3 60. . 3 00 Apiary Register for 200 colonies 4 00. . 3 50 The Monthly Bee Journal and any of the above, f I less than the figures in the lastcolumn. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) f 1 00 " 100 colonies 220 pages) 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. i^May we ask you, dear reader, to speak a good word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at least one new subscription with your own y Our premium, " Bees and Honey," in cloth, for one new sub- scriber to the Weekly, or two for the Monthly, besides your own subscrip- tion to either edition, will pay you for your trouble, besides having the satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bee Journal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. i^Postage stamps, of one, two or three cent denomination, accepted for fractional parts of a dollar; but money is preferred. i^Renewals may be made at any time ; but all papers are stopped at the expiration of the time paid for, unless requested to be continued. IS" One of the largest seed estab- lisliments in ttie United States is located at Marblehead, JIass., and is owned and managed by James J. H. Gregory. Mr. Gregory lias earned a reputation second to none througliout every State in the Union, of selling the most reliable seeds that can pos- sibly be obtained. 62 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Honey and Beeswax Market. Office of amekican Bee Journal, ? Monday, id a. tfi., January ii2. 1882. i The following are the latest quota- lions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Quotations of Cash Bnyera. CHICAGO. HONEY— The supplv of extracted honey is fully up to the demand. My quotations are : 7c. for dark and ;tc. for liiiht. delivered here. BEESWAX— It is qu.te scarce. 1 am paying '27c. for good yellow wax, on arrival ; dark and off col- ors, 17^220. Al. H. Newman. 923 W. Madison St. CINCINNATI. HONEY— The demand is good for extracted in barrels as well as in glass jars and tin buckets ; ar- rivals are fair. The demand is fair for comb honey, which, however, is not cheap enough to make trade lively. Extracted brings 7(gtlUc. on arrival : comb honey, \■^w■^Oc. BEESWAX— Is scarce and brings 20®27c. on arrival. Chas. F. Muth. QnotatloDH or Commission HKerchauts. CHICAGO. HONEY— January month, and still there is a large surplus of comb honey on the market. Prices are weak owing to large olTt*rings. and anx- iety on the part of j-hippers and holders here to realize on the pru'iuct. Extracted honey is steady, but the demand is light. We quote: white comb honey, in l@2lb. sections, 17^1Hc. Dark comb honey, hardly anydemand. It is held at iii^(silOc. Extracted— White brings from 9@l(ic.; dark, 8<-i.9c.; kegs, half- barrels and casks bring about same price. BEESWAX-Yellow, 30@32c.; dark. 27@2ac. R. A. BuiiNETT. 161 South Water St. SAN FRANCISCO. HONEY— Nothing of consequence is at present doing. There is no special inquiry, and no selling pressure, unless it is on off qualities. White comb, l7(gJ20c; dark to good. lI@13Hc; ex- tracted, choice to extra white, SJijCsy^c. ; dark and candied, 7®8c. BEESWAX— We quote 25®28c. Stearns & smith. 423 Front Street. ST. LOUIS. HONEY— Strained, at 6<§.7Hc., was salable— one lot of 17 bbls. bringing inside flgure ; but comb, very dull at 16c. to I8c.: and extracted do.. 8(s.bc. BEESWAX— Prime bright steady at 27t4iJHc. W, T. Anderson & Co.. I17 N. Main Streec. CLEVELAND. HONEY— Has changed in price a very little, we And it necessary to sell all grades about 1 cent per ftt. less. Best white, in i ft sections, 20'a21c. per per pound ; in 2 lb. sections, I8@20c. Extracted is very dull indeed, hardly anv sale. BEESWAX-Scarce. 28(tta'Jc. A. C. Kenuel. 115 Ontario Street. NEW YORK. HONEY— Strictly choice to fancy white clover honey, continues in light supply and prices held tlrmly. Buckwheat and extracted honey quiet and unchanged. We quote: White clover, first quality, 1 ft boxes. ii4(gi25c; fair to good, 22(s!23c.; buckwheat, I5@l7c. Extracted, clover. l(.)(©13c.; buckwheat, 9(§)10c. BEESWAX— There isonly a moderate demand for wax, but the supply is not large and prices llrmly held for prime lots. Western pure, 3tXS32c; southern, pure, 3l@.33c. D. W. QuiNBY, 1U5 Park Place. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is fairly active. We quote: ^ lb. sections at 30c. ; 1 lb. sections, 22(s.'-*5c.; 2 1b. sections, 20(3j22c, Extracted, lOc. per lb. Good lots of extracted are wanted in kegs or barrels. BEESWAX— 30C. Crocker & Blake, r," Chatham Street. Send a postal for circular. It lelis you about the handiest clamp and most perfect sections and cold-blast Smoker. F. Boomhower,Gallupville,NY Bees for Sale. so CoIonlesorSees, in Gallup frames,cheap. 900 Colonies of Bees, in Langstroth frames In prime condition. r> for one apiary right to patentee. Remit by registered letter or P. O. order. F. DELLA TORRE. 74 Charies-st. Avenue, Baltimore, Md. Patented April 25. 1882. No. 254,932. 45wi3t THE CONaUEROR. Large Smokers need wide shields. Bingham's nave them, ana springs that do not rust ani break, and bellows that sparks and smoke do not enter. The Conqueror has all improvements made to date, and a 3x7 inch stove, and 5x7 inch bellows. Sent postpaid for |2. Address, BINGHAM & HETHEKINOTON, Abronia, Mich. BIND TOUR JOURNALS AND KEEP TUBM NEAT AND CLEAN. . of r * /pat. B/NDCRfl.^PERIOD/CALSl The Emerson Binder IS THE NEATEST AND CHEAPEST. Any one can use them. Directions in each Binder. For Monthly Bee Journal SOc. For Weekly Bee Journal ISc, Address, THOMAS 6. NE^V^MADr, 925 West Madison Street. Chlcaco, III. S'WKET CtOVER SEEIl.-New and clean, 25 cts. per lb. Ben Clendenon. Grinnell.Ioa 50W13 DTTNHAM rOMIt FOITNDATION— 40e. per poun.l ; extra thin and bright, in sq. ft. to the lb, 4SC. Send t'lr samples. Wa-X wtirked 10c. perlb. F. W. HULMEy.CnopersYille, Mich. 13wly PATENT FOUNDATION MILLS .^Zk 1]^ 4''t>tp "\V. C. PELHAM. Ma'-srille, Kv. My Tesetable and Flower Seed Cataloffue far 1888 nnlT be sent Free lo all who apply. Luslomersof last season need not \% rite for it. Allseed sent from my establishment warranted to be both fresh and true to name, so far, that should it prove Otherwise, 1 agree to retill the order gratis. My collection of vegetable seed is one of the most extensive to be found in any American catalogue, and a large p^rt of it is of mv own growing. A« the origriiiat Intrndiicer of Early OHio and ISurbuiik Potatoes. Murblehoad Early Corn, tlie Iliibbard ^quaHb, Marbleht-ad Cabbaee* J'hInneyV Melon, and a score of other new Vegetat-les, I invite the patron- age of the publio. In the gardens and on the farms of those who plant mv seed (I ill be found my best advertise- ment. James J. H. CregOry, Marblehead, Mass. msmw The Bee-Keeper's Guide; OR, MANUAL OF THE APIARY, By A. J. COOK, Of Lansinij, Professor of Entomology in the State Agricultural College of Micliigaa 3ZO Foffea i 133 Fine Illuatrattooa. This Is a new edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, enlarged and elegantly illustrated. The first edition of 3,000 copies was exhausted In about 18 months — a sale unprecedeBted in th'- annals of bee-culture. This new work has been produced with great care, patient study and per- sistent research. It comprises a full delineatiori of the an:it<.>my and physiology of the honeybee, illustrated with many costly wood engravings — the products of the Honey Bee ; the races ot bees , fuildesccriptions of honey -producing plants.trees, shrubs, etc.splendiJIy illustrated— and laat.ihougli not least, detailed instructions for the various manipulations necessary in the apiary. This work is a masterly production, and one that no bee-keeper, however limited bis means, cao afford to do without. U is fully "up with the times ' on every conceivable subject that can interest the apiarist. It is not only instinctive, but intensely interesting and thoroughly practical. Head the Jollowino opinions of the Book ; All agree that it is the worli of a master and of real value.— L'AjrUaUure, Paris. I think Cook's M;tnual is tne best of our Ameri- can works.— LEWIS T. Colby. Itnppearsto have cut the ground from undei future bouU-makers.— Brt(i.-/i Bet JnurnaL Prof. Cook's valuable Manual hns been my con- stanipuide in my operatiuus iind successful man- agementof the apiary.— J. P. West. I have derived more practical knowledge from Prof. Csity. Pivt. Cook's Mauuul is an exhaustive work.— iferafd, Monticello, 111. With Cook's Manual I nra more than pleased. It ia fuily up with the times in every particular. The richest rewMiTi awaits us author.— A. K. Wenzei.. My success has been so great as to almost aston- ish myself, and imicli uf it is due to itie clear, dis- Inteiested inlurm:ition contained in Cook's Man- ual.—VVai. Van A-NTVVEXiF. M. D It is the latest book on the bee. and treats of both the bee and hives, with their implements. It Is of Value to all bee-raisers.— Ky. Live Stock Record. It is a credit to the author as well the publisher I have never yet met with a work, either French or turpiyn, which 1 like so much.— JVAbbe Dv Bois, editor of the BuLetin D' A^iculteur, France. It not only gives the natural history of these in- dustrious insects, but also a thorough, practicaU and clearly expressed series of directu>ns for their management; also a bolanica 1 description ot honey producing plants, and an extended account of the enemies of bees.— i>tntocr«t, Pulaski, N. V. We have perused with great pleasure this vadb mccuiuof the bee-keeper. It is replete with the- best information on everything belonging to api- culture. 'I'o al takingan inierest m this subject, we say. obtain this valuable work, read it carefully and practice as advised.— .ttyrituidiriiit, Quebec. This book Is pronounced by the press and leading bee-men to be the most complete and practical treatise on bee-culture in Euiopeor America ; a scientitlc work on un-iiern bee management that every experienced bee m;io will welcome, and it is essential to every ani;ilpur in bee-culture. It in banasomely printed, neatly bcmnd, and ia a credit to the West.— irt6ltr7l-4yricu/u[ifij.(. This work is undoubtedly the most cOTpIete- manual lor the instruction of bee-keepers whiGii has ever been published. It gives a full explana- tion regarding the c;ireand management of the apiary. There is no suOject relating to the culture tif bees letf untouched, and in the compilation of the work Prof. Cook has had the advantage of all the previous knowlede of apiarists, which he usea admirably to promote and make popular this most interesting of alloccupa'tions.— j4«iencan Inventor, tot Pricic— Bound in cloth, SI. 25 ; in paper cover* Sl.OO by mail prepaid. Published by THOMAS G. NEWMANv . West Madison Street, CUICAGO, UAa. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Send to I. R. G-OOD Kor Price List, for iwa. of HOLY- LAND AND ITALIAN BEES And " Given " Comb Foundation. He will give satisfaction or refund the money. l*5t Nappanee, Elkhart Co., Ind. PRIZTpEST Tested Prize Queen, in a 2- franie nucleus. MxI7, each, f4 Od Same in nucleus, 4 fra., yxt<, 4 i>0 Tested Prize Queen, by mail, 3 00 PrizeQueen, warranted pure- ly fertilized 2 00 Queen, not standard size — 100 FullCjIony, Hframes, Prize Queen it 00 BeforeJuly i.add |l each. Cash Orders filled in rotation. Address E. L. BRIOGtS, l*ly Wilton Junction, Iowa. OF AGENTS WANTED jr LIVES MARTYR PRESIDENTS. Abraham I^liicoln, " From Pioneer Home to White House," and Jsinies Ahi-iiin Gurfielcl, "From Log Cabin to White llmise." In Entilish and German. Illustrated with flue steel enyruv- ings. By an eminent author. Alsn, for the OXL.Y larize Kteel |koi'trsi.I( or Gai-fleld. Seud lor extra terniH. THE HENRY BILL PUBLISHING CO., 50w8t NOUWICH, CONN. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL AND BEE-KEEPER'S ADVISER. The British Bee Journal is published month- ly, and contains the best practical infurmMtinn for tne time being, sliowina what to (0 a> 3 Oil 0 re +.* 05 O BEESWAX. 1 pay 37c. per pound delivered here, for yellow Beeswax. To avoid mistakes, the shipper's name should always be on each package. Ar.FREI> H. NEIVMAN. 923 West MadlBon Street. CHICAGO, ILL. A NEW BEE BOOK ! Bees&Honey Management of an Apiary for Pleasure and Profit ; by THOMAS C. NEWMAN. Editor of the Weekly Bee Journal. It contains lOu profusely illustrated pages, to "fully up with the times" in all the various im- provements and inventions in this rapidly devel- oping piirsuit, and presents the apiarist with everything that can aid in the successful manage- ment (if the honey bee. and at the same time pro- duce the most honey in its best and most attract- ive condition. Chief among the new chapters are "Bee Pasturage a Necessity," " Management of Bees and Honey at Fairs." " Marketing Honey," etc. Price, bound in cloth, 75 ceuts; in paper covers. 50 ««iitH, postpaid. 925 IV. Madison Street. Chlcavu, 111. AppreclntlTe Notices. Carefully prepared for beginners.— FannerB' Cabinet. Amherst, N. H. A very valuable work to those engaged in bee- raising.— News, Prairie City. Iowa. We advise all who keep bees to send for this ex- cellent work.— Journal, Louisiana, Mo. Its chapter on marketing honey is worth many times its cost.— Citizen, Pulaski, Tenn. Carefully prepared, and of vast Importance to bee-raisera.— Indianian, Clinton, Ind. A neat and abundantly illustrated hand-book of apiculture.— American Agriculturist, N. V. New and valuable, and embellished with lOP* beautiful engraving*.— Democrat, Salem, Ind. Much practical useful information, in a cheai- form.— Daily Standard, New Bedford, Mass. Contains all the information needed to make- bee-culture successful.- Eagle, Union City, Ind. Just sueh a work as should be in the hands o* every beginner with bees.— News, Keithsburg, 111. A valuable work for all who are interested in the care and management of bees.— Democrat, Alle- gan, Mich. The most perfect work for the price ever yet pro- duced on the subject of bee-culture.— Anti-Monop-- olist. Lebanon, Mo. The engravings are fine. It is gotten up in the very best stvle, and is cheap at the price.— Farmer- Cleveland, o. It comprises all that is necessary for successfus bee-culture, save experience and good judgment, —Daily Uepublican, Utica, N. V. A manual, containing all the newest discoveries in the management of these little workers.- Plain Dealer, St. Lawrence, N. Y. Full of practical instruction, that no one wh!> contemplates keeping bees can do without.-Far- mers' Journal, Louisville, Ky. Gives minute details for the management and manipulations necessary to make bee-keeping » success.- Col. Valley and Farm. It embraces every subject that can interest the beginner in bee-culture. The engravings perfectly illustrate the text.— Farm and Fireside, Spring- field, O. Embraces every subject of interest in the apiary r giving very thorough details of the management and manipulations necessary to make bee-keeping: a success.— Farm. Lungmont, Colo. Written in an interesting and attractive manner, and contains valuable information for all ^eader8^ even though they be not directly interested in the care of bees.— Sentinel, Kome, N. Y. It is a valuable and practical book, and containa a complete resume of the natural history of the little busy bee, as well as of all that one needs to know in their care and management.— Chicago Herald. Describes all the newest discoveries In the art, by which the production of delicious and health- giving honey is obtained, aswell as how to prepare it far the market in the most attractive shape.— Signal, Napoleon, O. Contains a vast fund of information in regard to bee-culture. He who would keep abreast of the times must keep posted in all the improvements In his line. We advise all interested to get a copy of this book.— Daily Times, San Bernardino. Cal. It embraces every subject that will interest the begiijner. It describes all the newest discoveries in the art by which the production of delicious and health-giving honey is obtained, as well as how to prepare it for the market in the most attractive form. It isembellished with beautiful engravings, and is the most perfect work of the kind, for the price, that has ever come under our notice.— Far- mer, Lancaster, I'a. A lilhera.1 Discount to Dealers hy the Uozenor Hundred. 64 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. BOOKS! Sent by mall, on receipt of price, by 925 West Madison Street. CHICAGO, ILL, Bee-K.eeper*fl Oulde ; or, Co«k*» manual of the Apiary. — Entirely re-wrltten, elegantly Illustrated and fully " up with the times " on every subject of bee-culture. It is not only instructive. but intensely interestinR and thoroughly practical. The book is a masterly production, and one that no bee-keeper, however limited his means, can afford todowithout. (^loth, iSil.SS ; paper cover, Wl, Qnlnby*8 Ne^v Bec-Keeplng:, by L. C. Root— The author treats the subject of bee-keepiuK so that it cannot fail to interest ail. Its style is plain and forcible, making all its readers realize that its author is masterof the subject'— !S1.*>0. Novice's ABC of Bee-Culture, by A. I. Root —This em braces "everything pertaining to the care ol the honey-bee," and is valuable to beginuers and those more advanced. Cloth, i$l.2ii. KlnffN Bee-Keepers* Text-Book, by A. J. King.— This edition is revised and brought down to the present time. Cloth, il^l.OO. IjangTHtroth oa the Blve and Honey Bee. — This is a standard scientiflc work. Price,"!S2. Blessed Bees, by John Allen.— A romance of bee-keeping, full of practical information aod contagious enthusiasm. Cloth, 7i>c. Bees and Money, or Management of an Apiary for Pleasure and Prodi, by Thomas G. Newman.— Third Editinn. "Fully up with the times." including all the various improvements and inventic. Font Brood; its origin, developmentand cure. By Albert R. Kohnke. Price, 3Sc. £xtracted Ho^ey ; Harvesting:, Handl- Idk and Marketlnic-- A iM-page pamphlet, by Ch. & C. P. Dadanl, giving in detail the methods and management adopted in their apiary. This contains many useful hints.- Price 15c. Bee Pasturagre a Necessity, by Thorn aeG. Newman— Giving advanced views on this impor- tant subject, with suggestions what to plant, and and when and how : :26 engravings. Price, lOc. Practical Hints to Bee-Keepera, by Chas. F. Muth : 32 pages. It gives Mr. Math's views on the management of bees. Price. lOc. SvParmlngr^Blvldlnff and Feeding Bees.- Hints to Beginners, by Thomas G. Newman. Price 5 cents. Bees In "Winter, with instructions about Chaff-Packing. Cellars and Bee Houses, by Thomas G. Newman. Price 5c. Queen-Rearinc, by Henry Alley.— A full and detailed accountot TWENTY-THREE years' experience in rearing queen bees. The cheapest, easiest and best wav to raise queens, t Never before published. Price Sl.OO. Food Adulteration ; What we eat and should not eat. This book should be in every family, and ought to create a sentiment against adulteration of food prodHCts, and demand a law to protect the consumer against the numerous health-destroying adulterations offered as food. 200 pages SOc. 8crlbner*8 Lumber and IjOV Book.— Most complete book of Its kind published. Gives meas- urement of all kinds of lumber, logs, and planks by Doyle's Rule, cubical contents of square and round timber, staves and heading bolt tables, wages, rent, board capacity of cisterns, cordwood tables, interests, etc. Standard book throughout United States & Canada. I'rice 35 c . postpaid. Kendall's Horse Boob. — No book could be more useful to horse owners. It hasy.T engravings illustrating positions of sick horses, and treats all diseases in a plain and comprehensive manner. It has recipes, a table of doses, and much valuable horse information Price 25c. for either the English or German editions. Moore*s Universal Assistant, and Com- plete Mechanic, contains over I,00C).(K)0 Indus- dustrial Facts. Calculations. Processes, Trade Se- crets, Legal Items. Business Forms, etc.. of vast utility to every Meclianic. Farmer and Business Man. Gives 2(X),imk> items for Gas, Steam. Civil and Mining Engineers, Machinists, Millers, Black- smiths, Founders, Miners, Metallurgists, Assayers, Piumbei-H. Gas and Steam Fitters. Bronzers, Gild- ers. Metal and Wood Workers of every kind. The work contains i.'Mn pages, is a veritable Treasury of Useful Knowledge, and worth its weight in gold to any Mechanic, Business Man, or Farmer. Price, postage paid, St3..^0. Fisher's Grain Tables for Farmers, etc. —1^2 pages, pocket form ; full of useful tables for casting up grain, produce, hay : cost of pork, inter- est: wages tables, wood measurer, readv reckoher. plowing tables and moremiscellaneousmatter and useful tables for farmers and others than any similar book ever published. Ask your bookseller for it. Sent post-paid for 40 cents. Chicken Cholera, by A. J. Hill.— A treatise on ts cause, symptoms and cure. Price, S5c. Deutsche ^xuchtv^ Uebtv Sicttenstid)t. SBicncn AJuItur, obcrerfoIgvctcI;e SBefjanblung ber Siencii, uoii itjoS. @. Slcromnn. "Sicfe^ $ampl)(et euttjdlt SSeletjrungen ii&er folgenbe ©egenftcinbe — Oertlirfj f ei t bc§ 23iciicnftaiibc§ — .^oiiig pftanjcn — (Srjieljung berj?6iiigtn — g-iiftern — ©rfjiucirmen — 3(6lcger — 3Serfel)en — 3 1 n t i e it i fi r c u— ^iife^er Bon Jlonigtiiiu'ii — SdiSjictjeit — SBicnen bcfjciubelit iinb boni[)igcii ; ractter ciitljatt e§ einfi'npitcl,iuovinbie neuefteSOtctljobe fiir bic Jpcrridjtung bc§ JjonigS fiiv ben J^nnbcl befc^riebenift. ^rct^ 40 (S'entS. ^onig aU 91 a I) rung un'o 9Wci>ijitt — Bon Iftomn^ •S5.9;etumnn. S)icfc§ entf)iiU eine f Inve bnvfteUiing iiber ©iciicn unb J^onig be§ 9lltert()uiii§ ; bie 23ef(f|nffent)eit, Qunlitat, CliieUfit unb 3ub(reitung he§ JponigS fiiv ben Jpanbel ; |)ontg nl6 9k()rung6mittel, angcbenb roie ninit .Jionigfudjen, gormfiicf)eld)en, 5}.subbiiig§,i3iiiiuimfonfect,iBeine,u.f.ro 5ubcvcttcn fnnn ; fevnev Jponig a[§ 3}Jcbi,5in mit niclen SRcjepten. (S§ ift fiir ben gonfumenten beftinimt, unb fotite tjiettaufenbfdttig iiber ba§ ganjc Sanb nerbrcitet roerben. $ret§ 6 EentS. 5)a§ qsferJt «ut> fcine Strait fJ)CitCtt—iSon S.^. jlenball, 9K. jD., entljnitcnb ein alp^nbetifc^ georbnete§ iser5cid;nif5 ber nerfc^iebenen ^ferbefranffjciten, fanunt ben 9lrfad)cn, ©timptoiTten unb ber rid)tigcn S3ef)anb= iung berfciben ; ferner, eine ©ammtung roert[;oo[[er 9}e3epte. ^^Jrei^ 25 6ent§. THOMAS C. NEWMAN. 925 Wait Madison street, Chicago, lU. "RED TAPS!' The Orldnal BINGHAM Bee Smoker Who will be the first to copy f 25,000 IN USE. If you buy the Origi- nal Patent Bingham Bee Smoker, yi>u will aid the inventor of improved bee smok- ers—get the best, that never go out— always f please— never is com- plained of— thestand- ard of e.xcel!ence the world over — better and handsomer this season than ever be- fore. Price per mail, postpaid, from «r> cts. to *i2. Our patents cover all the smokers that will burn sound stove-wood, or do not go out. If you buy our smokers and hon- ey knives flrst, youp„4.p,„*«ri 1070 I will have to buy no^^^®^*"®^' ^**'*'' I others. PRICES: Handed to By Mall, Customer. Postpaid. Wide shield Conqueror, 3 inch $1 75 Large Bingham Smoker (wide shield). liH inch l 50 K.xtra Bingham Smoker (wide shield). 2 inch Plain Bingham Smoker, 2 inch.... Little Wonder Bingham Smoker, I9iinch Bingham & Hetherington Honey Knife, 2 inch 1 00 To sell again, apply for dozen or half-dozen rates. Send for free description and testimonials, to 1 25 I 00 50 f2 00 1 75 1 50 1 25 65 1 15 BINGHAM & HETHERINGTON, .A-bronta, Mich. Given'sFoundationPress. PUBLIC SENTIMENT affirms that the PRESS is SUPERIOR for making Comb Foundation either in Wired Frames or for SECTIONS, and insures straight and perfect combs, when drawn out by the bees. Send for Circular and samples. ». 8. OIT£N <<2 CO.. I Htf HOOPESTON. ILL. Cheap ! Cheaper !! Cheapest !!! »00 COJL.ONJES OF BBES for sale, in movable frame Jiives, Also, Queens, Nuclei, Bees by the pound, Hives, Sections, Smok- ers, Seeds for Honey Plants, and evei ything a live bee-keeper needs. Send for circular and price list to Fr.AXA.GJLN A II^I^INSKI, Box 819, Belleville. St. Clair co.. HI. (Proprietors of RoseHill,Cahokia, Falling Springs and Lake Apiaries. iwmly bTcInts FOR THREE MONTHS. The new volume (nineteen) of DEMOREST'S II- t-t:stkated Monthly Magazine for 1883 is the best and the cheapest Family Magazine published, printed on the tlnest tinted paper, size 8^^ x li!^ inches. The three numbers now ready of volume 19 weigh 1^ pounds and contain 2i0pages of large, clear print." New Novelettes, Stories. Biographies, Poetry, Travels, and valuable information of the day and for the household. In demand by every family. 144 Illustrations, H Plioto Plates and 4 Oil Pictures. W. JENNINGS DEMOREST, Publisher, 17 East 14th Street, New York. Single copies, Twenty Cents ; yearly subscription. Two Dollars. l"ff2tp IMPORTANT TO BEE-KEEPERS. Send your Htldress for our Circular and Prospec- tus oi our NEW BOOK on QUEEN REARING. HENBY Atl-ET, l«1[tf WBNHAM, MASS. ii.at-ijotto:j COMB FOUNDATION. high ?''if-walts.4 to 16 square feet to the poQud. Circular :iud samples frea J. VAN DEUSEN & S(^NS, Sole Manufacturers, Sprout Brook, Mont. Co., N. Y, ESTABLISHED^^ IN 1861 VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., JANUARY 31, 1883. Ko. 5. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, Bees as Fertilizers of Flowers. In fructifying the various flowers bees act as Nature's marriage-priests, and present us with a field of study as boundless as the gorgeous realm of Nature's bloom. But for the oft- repeated visits of the bees, many a a beautiful flower would, in a short time, cease to bloom — aye, and also to live ! Many plants absolutely require the visits of bees or other insects to remove their pollen-masses, and thus to fertilize them. Hence, Darwin wisely remarks, when speaking of clover and hearfs- ease : " No bees, no seed; no seed, no increase of the flower. The more visits from the bees, the more seeds from the flower ; the more seeds from the flower, the more flowers from the seeds.-" Darwin mentions the fi)llowing ex- periment : " Twenty heads of white clover, visited by bees, produced 2,900 seeds ; wliile twenty heads, so protected that bees could not visit them, produced not one seed." Prof. Beal, of the Michigan Agri- cultural College, has been conducting experiments, for the past .six years, with bumble-beesand red clover. The sixth experiment, during 1882, he de- scribes as follows • Two fine bunches of the first clover crop, apparently alike, were both covered with mosquito netting. No insects were seen about either, except wliat are mentioned below. On .June 29tli, a bumble-bee was placed inside of one netting and .seen to work on the flowers; July lOtti, tvvoBQore were introduced and seen to work, and on the 12th, more were put in and ob- served. On July 31st, fifty ripe heads were selected from each plant and the seeds carefully counted. The fifty heads on the plants where bees were excluded yiel-^ed twenty-five seeds. The fifty heads im the plant where the bumble-bees were inserted under tlie muslin, and seen to work, yielded ninety-two seeds. Thiis is nearly four times as many as were produced by heads where the bees were excluded. In all instances, the heads were seen to be unopened, when they were covered with muslin or paper sacks. In the last experiment, as well as in the others, perhaps the bees did not visit all the flowers. Insects, even in the most favorable seasons, are not always to be relied on to transfer | pollen enough to fertilize all the pis- tils. Prof. W. W.Tracy has found in several seasons, where he has raised Hubbard squashes on a large scale, that he increased his crop of fruit quite largely by artificially trans- ferring pollen with his ow'n band, every day or two, during flowering. To see bow tlie uncovered heacls of red clover from different plants varied in the number of seeds produced. I selected fifty heads from five plants near each other, where each had plenty of room. This was the second crop of clover. Fifty heads from each plant yielded as follows : 1.260, 1.27.5. 1,46(1, '1,48.1. l.,820 seeds respec- tively. In another place, fifty heads yielded 2.290 seeds, or nearly twice as many as plant number one in the lots iust above noticed. It is a fair conclusion that bumble-bees are of considerable value in fertilizing the flowers of red clover. Statistical Reports. Dr. Miller writes us that he is daily receiving " a steady stream of postal cards " covering the whole ground, '■from Canada to Texas." As each one helps to swell the aggregate, we hope they will continue, until all are sent in. The Doctor adds : A correspondent asks what should be the report of wax, from one vs'ho uses his wax in making foundation. I suppose each one should report all his wax, whether he uses or sells it. Sev- eral say they will send in reports of others, if desired. By all means, let us have all we can. Certainly ; all honey and beeswax should be reported, no matter whether used by the bee-keepers themselves, or sold and used by others. Dr. Miller assures us that " from present appearances we shall get fuller statistics than ever before." This is very encouraging ; but, probably, some are neglecting the matter, think- ing it will make but little difference about one report ; others may think, because they have given a report in some bee paper, or at a convention, that such is sufficient. A moment's thought, however, will dispel these delusions. The many, even if com- paratively small, will swell the grand total. Some have asked "if we send in the reports of onr neighbors, may they not be duplicated y " No ; the reports are all classified by States and each person's name is recorded, so that duplicates are impossible. If you have neighbors, that you have good reason to think have neglected it, send in the reports for them, and, in this way, aid the work all in your power. As this is our LAST CALL, please attend to it at once. Do not send to us, but address them to •' Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, 111." 1^ Our readers will notice that the Bee Journal is this week " made up" with a cover, whioli may be removed or retained in bindingthe year's num- bers, to suit the wishes of the owner of the volume. We have found that a great majority prefer this plan, and so have adopted it permanently. O" The Eev. Thomas Pope Hod- nett, pastor of St. Malachy's Church,, Chicago, has placed a neat pamphlet, of 64 octavo pages on our desk. It contains a variety of " matter for fam- ily reading and instruction,"— several sermons, poetry, facts, figures, letters,. etc., by " Father Hodiiett," who is an enthusiastic and zealous Catholic priest, by whose exertions a very handsome church has just been erected on the corner of Walnut Street and Western Avenue, only a few blocka from our oflice. We have read several portions of the pamplilets with more than ordinary interest, and have laid it away for a more thorough perusal in the future. 66 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. The Paraffine and Glucose Story. Wo have received tlie following letter from Mr. .J. W. Torter, Char- lottesville, Va., dated Jan. 18, 1883 : Dear Editor :— In yesterday 's Cin- cinnati Commercial Gazette, weekly, appears a remarkable editorial article on "Food Adulteration." I have, by this mail, written them a letter, which, if published, will tend to cor- rect the impressions such an article would produce, when the public mind is so sensitive on the subject of adul- teration. 1 take the ground that comb honey is almost the only unadulterated sweet on the market, and such, be- cause the cupidity of man has devised no way to prolitably substitute a counterfeited article. Let us, one and all, labor for legislative protec- tion against food adulteration,until we get as full protection as the law gives the Englishman. The following are the paragraphs referred to by Mr. Porter, contained in the editorial article of the Cincin- nati paper : " It used to be considered safe to use honey in the comb, but now nearly all this is manufactured." " At first pure honey was extracted from the comb, and the bees were fed on glucose, from which the comb was rapidly refilled, but now. artificial combs are produced, and bees being fed on glucose, so-called honey is turned out in comparatively large quantities, and bees, at the same time, are being demoralized." The editor of the Commercial Gazette has been imposed upon by that man " Wiley," who invented the " parafflne comb and glucose " story as " a joke," as he stated in the Indiana Farmer last June, which was copied into the Bee Journal of June 14, 1882, and commented upon. Mr. Wiley's own version of the ori- gin of the story [lie], and our remarks, are as follows : Perhaps it may be well enough to give here the origin of the " parafflne comb " story which has appeared, I believe, in almost every publication in the country, The original ajipeared in the Popular Science Monthly for June, 1881, in an article entitled ■' Glucose and Grape Sugar," which I contributed to that number, and on page 254, occur the following words : " Bees eat glucose with the greatest avidity ; or rather, they act as funnels by which the glucose is poured into the comb. For it is quite true that the honey made by bees which have free access to glucose differs scarcely at all from the glucose itself. But the quantity of honey wliich a bee will store away when fed on glucose is truly wonderful. This gluttony, however, rapidly undermines the apiarian constitution, and the bee rarely lives to enjoy the fruits of its apparent good fortune. In commer- cial honey, which is entirely free from bee mediation, the comb is made of parafiine. and filled witti pure glucose by appropriate machinery. This last clause which, when writ- ten, was meant for a scientific pleas- antry, came near throwing tlie wliole bee world into epilepsy. It appears that persons who devote themselves to Bee Journals undergo a certain cerebral inspiration which renders them incapaljle of seeing a jol^e. The only point which they can appreciate seems to be the sting of a bee. The rejoinder reminds us of an an- ecdote we heard many years ago, lo- cated in a rural district in Indiana. A well-to do-farmer lost a very fine filly from his pasture-lot, and after several days' search found it snugly tied in the log barn of a distant neighbor of doubtful repute. The neighbor was indicted, tried, and found guilty of larceny ; when the Judge asked what he had to say, why sentence should not be passed, he put in a plea that the animal was only taken fora joke. The Judge inquired how far his barn w.^.s from the past- ure lot, to which he replied, " about •5 miles.'' " Well," said the Judge, " that is carrying a joke too far ; hard labor in the penitentiary for seven years." The writer above says he contributed to the Popular Science Monthly his " parafiine comb " story [lie] about a year ago, " which has ap- peared in almost every publication in the country." The latter part of the article, however, was only meant for a scientific pleasantry. Do scientific men indulge in pleas- antries which will cast a gloom over thousands of honest producers througliout the country, and depre- ciate the value of their product by creating a prejudice against it V For nearly a year this scientific joker saw his fabrication published in nearly all the papers in the country, and reiter- ated from across the ocean, and yet he lacked the manhood to affirm it a joke until the " Bee Journal man " counteracted its influence by showing the falsity and absurdity of the arti- cle. Whether it be true, as has been often intimated, that the story was instigated by parties interested in the glucose traffic, in retaliation for the hostility of the bee men to their frauds, we cannot affirm ; but we do believe it originated with no honest intention. Iowa State Convention. 1^" We have a few copies of our pamphlet entitled " Bee Culture " left, and have reduced the price from 40 to 2.5 cents each, or S2 per dozen. Mr. M. Sorrick, Des Moines, Iowa, has written us as follows concerning the practicability of holding a State Convention, and getting up a good Bee and Honey Show at the next Iowa State Fair in that city. He says : Mr. Editor :— Ought there not to be a State Convention in Iowa y It seems as if we were getting behind in the matter of not having a State Con- vention. As the State Fair is located at Des Moines, for 18S3, 1 should like to see a State Bee-Keepers' Convention some time during the Fair week, if not sooner; as this is a central point. At that time there will be a good many bee-keepers here from all parts of the State, as well as other States. VVould not that be a good time to get the bee-keepers together? I really think there ought to be an organiza- tion sooner. I should like to hear what the other bee-keepers of Iowa think of the matter. We have had steady cold weather since December 25, with good sleigh- ing ; tlie snow is two feet deep, on the level. Half of my bees are under a snow drift, where I shall leave them, without disturbing them until the weather moderates. Then I will dig them out and clear out the entrances. M. Sorrick. Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 18, 1883. As Iowa is a grand field for bee- keeping, and as it contains a large number of wide-awake, progressive apiarists, we see no reason why it should not have a State organization, and a very large and creditable dis- play of lioney and bees at the forth- coming State Fair. The very interesting lecture lately delivered by the Rev. O. Clute before the State Agricultural Society, should have made that body favorable to the bee and honey interests, and we hope to see very liberal premiums offered by the Board. Mr. Clute is one of the best of public speakers — interesting and eloquent — and he is, withal, a thoroughly practical and pirogressive bee- keeper. If he can be enlisted to labor with the Board, we have no doubt but that he can secure premiums, as lib- eral as have Mr. Cutting and Prof. Cook, of the Board of the Michigan State Agricultural Society. We think all it needs is a little united action among apiarists, and they can secure all the premiums that they can con- sistently ask for. " Ask and ye shall receive " is a promise, trite but true. Try it. i^°Renewals may be made at any time ; but all papers are stopped at the expiration of the time paid for, unless requested to be continued. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 6-7 Bee Culture in the Rockies. There are many inquiries now about bee-culture in Colorado. In order to reply to the many, all at once, we give the following from the AmeTican Ag- riculturist for January : Apiculture is an established Indus- try in Colorado. A recent tour through all the valley lands, in search of agricultural statistics, gave the writer full evidence that both in Northern and Southern Colorado more or less attention is being paid to that pleasant and prolitable industry ; and that, if it increased in the same ratio for the next ten years, at that time the market could be supplied with the home product to the entire exclusion of that now brought from Kansas and California. We are inclined to believe that at least five thousand colonies of bees, mainly Italian, are in the State ; that Colorado is as well adapted to profitable bee-keeping as California ; that the honey produced is full as white, as pure, and as sweet as any in- troduced into the market; that there is hardly a farm or garden where bees will not thrive, and that the toot-hills are peculiarly adapted for extensive apiaries. In the East, warm weather, with oc- casional storms, is necessary to a good honey season. A continual drouth is fatal to the bees' harvest. Looking at Colorado from this point of view, it would seem as if its arid climate would be unfavorable. But the belief now prevails, that the hot days, followed so invariably by cool nights, facilitate the secretion of honey in tlowers and blossoms better than any other state of weather. In the East, days of drouth are usually followed by warm nights, which is fatal to honey pros- pects. Occasional showers cool the atmosphere, which is favorable ; therefore, the temperature is of more importance than dampness. Again, continual rains destroy the honey crop, and deprive the bees of an opportunity to go upon the wing. Taking these things into consideration, we see why bees do so well in the dry climate of Colorado. Its hot days, following by cool nights, give to nature an abun- dance of sweets. With no prolonged rains, bees have an ample opportunity to improve the shining hour, which in Colorado means from sunrise to sun- set, one day after another, week in and week out — as a rule. Where a canyon or gulch is open or wide, and the hills are low, a dry side gulch with a southeastern exposure would be a good situation. In the early spring the bees go to the lowest foot-hills to get the earliest-blooming flowers, and as the same varieties blossom at higher altitudes, they fol- low them np, and as the season ad- vances, still keep following them up higher and higher. Then, as new va- rieties bloom below, they repeat the process during the entire season of bloom. But it is also to be said that bees will do well upon the plains, in the valleys, and wherever land is under cultivation ; for the face of nature here is covered from early spring-time to late fall, with flowers that afford honey in great abundance. Trees, wild blooms, vegetable blossoms, wild grasses, cleome, alfalfa, corn blossoms, all offer their store of sweet treasure to the ever busy bees. In considering this source of constant supply, it is a fact of great importance to know, that from the early part of March, gener- ally, bees begin to gather pollen and honey from willows on southern hill- sides and sunny slopes, and from this time to October, there are very few days that honey is not gathered from some source. Now contrast this with a season in the Eastern, Middle, or even Western States, where the honey season sel- dom lasts three months, and it willjbe seen that Colorado is one of the best States in the Union for bee-culture. Pasturage is profuse in its abundance. With the willow blossoms comes a species of Delphinium, pushing its head up through the snow, and cover- ing foot-hills and plains with its bloom. Roses and red raspberries abound in the foot-hills. On the plains, with the willow and Cottonwood, comes a little weed called the "hog potato," growing flat on the ground. It has a purple bloom. Then there are fruit blossoms and wild roses in May and June ; milkweed and immeasurable wild Howers also appear. Alfalfa is in its first bloom and is favorite for- aging ground for the busy bees. In July the wild grasses and wild flowers tempt the roving fancy of the bees, while melon, squash, and other vines invite the winged seekers after sweets. During August and September, corn tassels, alfalfa, amber cane, furnish abunant food. At this time, too, the prairie, in spots, are covered with cleome, or the Rocky Mountain bee- plant, with its wealth of purple flow- ers, in which lies hidden an amount of bee-food one little dreams of, which the bees transform into the choicest honey that can be found. In October, there grows on dry prairie land, a weed, the shape and size of sage brush, having a yellow bloom. This is not the best bee-food known, but it is used when other things are not to be had. There is one drawback to bee-cul- ture which must be mentioned. It comes from too much warm, sunny weather in winter. This causes bees left on summer stands to fly out, and doing this day after day, many are lost and never return to the hive, and as they do not begin breeding until February, and then very slowly, the numbers rapidly decrease, and often the entire swarm is lost from this cause. The remedy for this is a good cellar, well ventilated, and so arranged that the temperature will be kept at 40^ to bOf^ Farenheit. It is to be said, in addition, that perfect darkness and the greatest degree of quiet that can be secured must be maintained. Special Notice. — We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bee Journal for 1883 and Cook's Manual in cloth for .$2.75, or the Monthly and Manual in cloth for $1.75. Attractive Packages of Honey. The following, from the Amaiican Agriculturist, is such advice as we have often given to bee-keepers, about hav- ing honey attractive, when marketing it for the retail trade. It cannot be too often stated, nor too persistently urged. If we want to popularize its consumption, it must attract the eye, and, by its neatness, captivate the purchaser. This " advice is good and timely," and bee-keepers should " ever remembei'" it : Winter is a good time to build up a market. For extracted honey , use at- tractive pails and jars, with neat la- bels, which state the kind of honey, and the name of the person that pro- duces it. Neat pyramids of these packages, in the stores, will attract buyers. The size of the vessels should vary from one-half a pound to those that will hold five pounds. The label should state that the granulation is no injury, and, indeed, is the best as- surance of purity. It should also tell how to restore the liquid condition, without harm to the honey, by apply- ing heat, not to exceed 180° F. Comb tioney should be put in a neat case, so as to show off to the best ad- vantage. The case ought to bear the name of the producer, and the kind and grade of the honey. Bee-keepers cannot be too careful about grading their honey. In creating a market, nothing will take the place of neatness and care in putting up the honey. If it properly arranged, every dealer will be only too glad to give it a showy place in his store. 1^ We wish to thank the many who have not only renewed their subscrip- tion to the Bee Journal for 1883, but who have also sent on one or more new names with their own. The multitude of expressions of fraternal good-will and kind wishes for the suc- cess of the Journal also call for our acknowledgment. We cannot And time to write to each one personally, and hope that all such will take this acknowledgment as though personally addressed to those who have so kindly aided us in our work. i^ Mrs. Martha Adams Winder, wife of Mr. John W. Winder, recently from Tliibadoux, La., died at Uvalde, Texas, of dropsy of the heart, on Sunday the 7th inst., in her .52nd year. Mrs. Winder is reported to us as a sincere and consistent Christian, and that, during her illness, she often ex- pressed a wish to recover, so that she might be more useful in the church. Our sympathies are with the luisband and the two sons, for truly the very heart of the home life departs when the mother is taken away. 68 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Dampness and Bees in Winter. Prof. Cook, in an exchange, refutes the idea that dampness is a cause of mortality of bees in winter. lie says : A writer on bee culture calls atten- tion to the fact that l)oney,the winter food of tlie bees, is almost i)urely a hydro-carbon, and so needs little digestion, before it is absorbed into the nutritive fluid from the stomach. Then it is assimilated, and passes otf as water and carbonic acid. Thus the excretion, in winter, is by respira- tion. That this may go on freely, the air must be dry. The writer then asserts, that in those winters most re- markable for the bee mortality, the air has been very moist. An examination of the condition of tlie atmospliere as to the point of saturation, from accurate records taken tluee times daily, for the past twenty years, shows that there is not the least evidence in favor of the Idea tliat excessive moisture was in any single case tlie cause of the great losses of bees. It also appears that in all the seasons of bad wintering, severe cold was experienced. It is further shown tliat when the cold oc- curred early in the winter, the mor- tality commenced at an early period. If late, the bees did not appear dis- eased until near the end of winter. 1^ " Spence's Select Social Read- ings" is the title of a pamphlet of 126 pages, by Jacob Spence, Toronto, On- tario, Canada. This is an excellent manual of Readings, Recitations, and interesting Selections, admirably suit- able for those who are desirous of giv- ing readings, recitations, etc., at sociables, or gatherings for spending a pleasant evening. It covers tlie ground from " grave " to " gay," with rich and rare selections. Mr. Spence is one of Canada's progressive apiarists and a constant reader of the Bee JOUKNAL. i^^May we ask you, dear reader, to speak a good word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at least one weio subscription with your own V Our premium, " Bees and Honey," in cloth, for one neio sub- scriber to the Weekly, or two for the Monthly, besides your own subscrip- tion to either edition, will pay you for your trouble, besides having tlie satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bek Journal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. j®" Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 18S2 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. ITew Catalogues and Samples. We li.ive received Catalogues for 1883 from T. L. VoiiDoni, Oiiialia, Neb., and I. R. Good. Naiipaiifi', Iiul. The foUowhig have sent us new Seed Catalogues : J as. J. II. Gregory, Marble- liead, Mass.; amlj. W. Manning, Reading, Mass. The Philadelphia, Pa., Kecorr Almanac for 1SS3 is received, and is full of statistical and useful intVn-mation. J. V. Caldwell, Cambridge, 111., and D. S. Given & Co., Hoopeston, III., have sent us very nice samples of comb foundation. 1^ " There's no Time like the Old Time," is the title of a new song by Oliver Wendell Holmes, music by J. J. Roe. and published by W. W. Whitney, 111 Summit St., Toledo, O., a copy of which we have received, marked " With the compliments of the author." ^^ Attention is called to our new and liberal advertising rates for 1883. Convention Notices. 1^ The Texas State Bee-Keepers' Association will hold its Fifth Annual Convention at McKinney, Collin Co., on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 17th and 18th, 18S3; at the residence of Hon. W. H. Andrews. Wsi. R. Howard, Sec. Kingston, Texas. ^" The bee-keepers of Xortheast- ern Michigan are hereby requested to meet at the Davton Hotel, in Flint, at 10 a. m. on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 1883, for the purpose of organizing a bee-keep- ers' association. All bee-keepers are earnestly requested to come, and to bring with them any apiarian articles of interest that they may possess. A free room, and reduced rates of board have been secured. W. Z. Hutchinson. Rogersville, Mich., Jan. 22, 1883. i^° The Tuscarawas Valley Bee- Keepers' Association will hold a meet- ing in the Town Hall in Coshocton, O., on Feb. 14, 1883, at 10 a. m. Every bee-keeper is wanted at this meeting. Every one interested in bees or honey IS requested to be present. J. A. BuCKLEW, Sec, Clarks, O. ^" The next meeting of the Ilaldi- niaiid, Ont., Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at Nelle's Corners on Sat- urday. March 31, 1883, at 11 a. m. II. Campbell. ^° The second annual meeting of the Colorado State Bee-Keepers' As- sociation will be held in Denver, on February B, and continue two days. D. S. Grimes, Pres. 1^ The next meeting of the Maine Bee-Ki'epers' Association will be held at Dexter, February 8th and 9th, 1883. A large attendance of bee-keepers from different parts of the State is ex- pected, and it is hoped that it may be one of the most interesting meetings ever held by the Association. A large exhibit of hives and implements, used in the apiary, is expected ; and all at- tending the meeting are earnestly requested to bring something to help make a good display. Any article sent to the Secretary will be placed on exhibition, and cared for, free of charge. The following is an imperfect outline of the programme for the two days : First day :— Secretary's report ; Treasurer's report ; reports of Vice Presidents of the different counties represented ; President's address ; choosing committee to award prefer- ences on articles exhibited ; reading of essays and discussions. Second day : —Election of otiicers ; report of com- mittee on articles exhibited ; reading of essays and discussions. Essays are expected on the following subjects — Feeding Bees ; How to make Bee- keeping Profitable ; Artificial Pastur- age ; The Coming i3ee, etc., etc. Ripley, Me. Wm. Hoyt, Sec. ^° The annual meeting of the Northern Ohio IJee-Keepers' Associa- tion will be held in Whittlesey Hall, Norwalk, O., Saturday, February 3, 1S83. All bee-keepers are invited to attend and participate in the exercises. Subjects for discussion : Size of Frame ; Size of Section ; Best Method of Obtaining Surplus Honey, and va- rious other matters of interest to all bee-keepers. S. F. Newman, Sec. ^" The Western Bee- Keepers' As- sociation meets at Independence, Mo., April 28, 1883. S. W. Salisbury, Sec. 1^" The Northeastern Ohio and Northwestern Pennsylvania Bee- Keepers' Association will meet at Andover, Oliio, to hold their annual convention, on the second Wednes- day and Thursday of February, 1883. C. T. Leonard, Sec. A $20.00 Biblical Reward.— The publishers of Eutkdge''s Monthhj offer twelve valuable rewards in their Monthly for February, among which is the following : "We will give S20.00 in gold to the person telling us which is the middle verse in the Old Testament Scriptures by February 10th, 1883. Should two or more correct answers be received, the reward will be divided. The money will be forwarded to the win- ner February 15th, 1883. Persons try- ing for the reward must send 20 cents in silver (no postage stamps taken) with their answer, for which tliey will receive the March MontMiu in which the name and address of tlie winner of the reward and the correct answer will be published. This mny be worth S20.00 to vou. Address Rutledge Publishing Company, Easton,Pa. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 69 Beautiful Flowers. S. W. DtrPFIELD. Ye are the eyes of the world. With which the spirit divine Looks, from a thousand nooits. Full into mine ! Ye are the breatli of the world. With which the spirit divine Breathes, through these fragrant wreaths, A perfume tine. Come from the ends of the world. Ye lio wera in waves of light ! Brealc on the souls that ache ThrouRh alt the night. Kor the American Bee JournaL The Carbonic Acid Oas Question. S. COKNEIL. The direction taken by the carbonic aciJ produced by the respiration of a cluster of bees is often a leading sub- ject for discussion at bee-keepers' con- ventions. A large majority of those taking part in such discussions seem to be of the opinion ttiat because the specific gravity of this gas is about one-and-a-half times that of atmos- pheric air, it falls to the bottom and accumulates or runs out at the lowest 'aperture, like so much mercury or water, some going so far as to assume that they can run it off from the cel- lar through the drain or ventilating pipe, while at the same time a cur- rent of pure air Hows in the opposite direction. We are further told that it is necessary to raise our hives at least 10 inches to keep the bees out of the stratum of this gas, which will accumulate at the floor before spring. On the other hand a few bee-keepers, amongst whom 1 recollect the names of Dr. Southwick and F. II. Elwood, hold that this gas does not fall to the bottom, but tliat it is uniforaily dif- fused through tlie air of the hive or repository. ""The detection of this gas , and an exact determination of the amount of it contained in air, re- quire skill, careful attention, and in- struments and materials of analysis of much perfection." Fortunately, it is not necessary for bee-keepers to make original inquiries to decide whether it accumulates at the floor or becomes diffused through the apart- ment, because very careful experi- ments have already been made by some of the most prominent scientists ■of the present age, and the results of their investigations are such as to leave no ditliculty in finding out the direction taken by the carbonic acid evolved by respii'ation. The quantity of carbonic acid in air, " as pure as it blows on the hill tops," is on an average about 4 vol- umes in 10.000. The standard for ?:ood ventilation, fixed l)y the late Dr. 'arkes, is that the ratio of carbonic acid shall not exceed 6 volumes in 30,000. The air exhaled contains one hundred times the natural quantity. In the following table, it will be no- ticed that the proportion of carbonic acid is in most c;ises excessive. The variations at floor and ceiling are likely caused by currents of cooler air from outside. TABLE OF .VNALYSES FOB THE DETERMI- NATION OF CAKBONIC ACID. Locality. Observer's name follows each lo- cality. ■6 2 a o c i 3 a < B ll Where Air Was Taken From. Opera Comique, 1000 lao 15.04 28.12 22 4 2B.C 62. 55. 49. 43. 46.3 53.6 12.13 12.76 33.05 32.53 23.90 24.69 26.96 29.49 13.82 16.84 26.37 32 12 55 4.8 5.7 4. 4.6 4.8 LeBlanc Very full mom, At ceiling. Pettenkoffer Lecture room af- ter a lecture... Do do do.:. Las-'^ai^iie Lecture room af- ter a lecture... Do do do... Lassaigne cubic met's 280 28U 280 2S0 52 62 52 At the ceiling. At the floor. At ceiling. At floor. Do do Lappeus Small dwelliug... Do do ... Roscoe School room Do do Koscoe School room Do do Koscoe School rooDi Do do Roscoe ■Wellington Bar- feet. 940 940 4640 4610 4640 46^0 22140 22140 7920 7920 9 S TO 70 70 70 1611 160 20 20 From gallery. ll in. below ceili'K 2,ii>ft.abovefloor 6 in. below celli'g 3 ft. above floor Rir.below ceili'g ii!.6:t.abovefloor 6 in. below ceili'g 3 it. above floor 3 in. below ceili'g Do do Roscoe 3 ft. above floor Do Roscoe House of Reps., 34 ft. ab. Do lio ... DeWetherill Do DeWetherill Do DeWetherill ed. The following quotations are also to the point : "Carbonic acid is so heavy that when quite pure, it can be poured like water from vessel to vessel, and yet, if a vessel of it is left open to the air, it will soon pass off and disap- pear. This is very important to ns, otherwise the amount of this heavy gas produced would make the con- tinuance of life impossible." — Harts- home, in " Our Homes." Dr. Mattson, author of '• Facts for the People Concerning Health," says : " This carbonic acid being heavier than common air, it is often supposed that it is precipitated to tlie floor as fast as it escapes from the lungs dur- ing the process of resiiiration. It would be unfortunate if tins were true. Nature has proviiled against this difficulty through the well-known law which regulates the diffusion of gases." " It is conceived by some that the carbonic acid of the breath, from its greater weight, must be chiefly at the bottom of the room, but this is a mis- take. The heated breath ascends in- stantly, because it is, as a whole, lighter than the air around it, and the carbonic acid in it does not tend to separate from it and fall down by its own superior weight, but by the law of the diffusion of gases seeks to spread itself equally all over the room, and would do so though it were lying at first on the Roor.^'— Chambers' JSncy- clonmdid. Dr. VVetherill, speaking of Loppens' experiments upon tlie air of uuventi- lated rooms, says : "These experiments, like those of Lassaigne and others, establish the fact that the carbonic acid of an un- ventiiated room, is uniformly diffused therein, the slight difference being iu favor of the ceiling, and not of the floor, as was formerly iguorantly as- sumed from the superior specific weight of this gas." The following very important state- ment is taken from the final report of a board of United States officers, con- vened by request of a special com- mittee, on the ventilation of the Cap- itol at Washington. Great weight attaches to it, because they had placed before them all that could be said in favor of the downward theory, and had fully considered the question in all its bearings. " This carbonic acid gas, like all other gaseous impurities derived from respiration, is present in about the same proportion at all heights iu the room, the percentage being nearly the same in samples of air taken from the top and from the bottom in ordi- nary apartments. In the hall the car- bonic acid is slightly in excess at the top. It is a gross error to suppose that this gas falls to the floor of the Louse, for, although when pure, it is heavier than atmospheric air of the same temperature ; yet air expired from the lungs, is higher than the surrounding air at ordinary tempera- tures, and the law of the diffusion of gases effectually prevents any sep- aration." The report is signed as follows : Josepli Henry, Secretary of the Smith- sonian Institution, President of the Board ;Thos. l.,incoln Casey, Lieut. Col. Corps of Engineers, JVIember of the Hoard ; Edward Clark, Member of the Board ; F. Schumann, Civil En- gineer, Member of the Board ; and J. S. Billings, Surgeon U. S. Army, Sec- retary of the Board. I trust the foregoing will be of some assistance to our friends in deciding for themselves what becomes of the carbonic acid. I propose having something further to say on the other principal product of respiration, aqueous vapor, at a future time. Lindsay, Jan. 25, 18S3. For the American Bee Journal. Catnip as a Honey Plant. T. KLLICOTT. I believe little is known as to the amount of honey liees get from it, and it is not strange that it is so, when one thinks of the quantity growing, and the number of bees to work oh it. I think it is never neg- lected (while in blossom) by tlie bees; at least, I never have see'n it when bees did not visit it from mm-ning until night. The amount grovving is far less than one would suppose. Let THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. any oue take up all the plants grow- ing in an old village, and I think he will lind there is far less than he sup- posed. I tried getting plants in that way to set in a piece ot ground which I had prepared to receive them, and was much disappointed in the number I found, but was not at all disappointed (luring tlie past season, with those I set out, when I found them thronged with bees from morning until night, all the time they were in blossom ; and then in the fall they blossomed a second time, and were worked on by bees until the frost killed them. Let any one devote a small piece of ground to catnip, and watch the bees work on it, and I believe any one who does so, will be satisfied that there is not a plant that grows that has more attraction for bees, and one must sup- pose that bees do not work on it for nothing, when, if they watch other plants, they see them deserted as soon as the "honey flow ceases. Much is said about buckwheat for bees ; it is often neglected by them. and I think they never work on it all the day long, and therefore I conclude that bees get some honey from catnip all the time. There is not enough of it in any one place for them to get quantity enough to be observable as cattiip honey, but I have no doubt it adds to the yield we get, and is excel- lent for the bees ; therefore, I say, plant and spread it as much as pos- sible. I take a great deal of pleasure, seeing bees work, and much interest in the cultivation of honey plants. I like to see the bees enjoy themselves, which I believe they do, far more when at work ; for, when not at work, they are always cross. JTeutonville, Mich., Jan. 20, 1883. Indiana State Convention. According to programme, the fourth annual meeting of the State Bee- Keepers' Association commenced at the rooms of the State Board of Ag- riculture, Indianapolis. Injl., Jan. 10. On account of the inclemency of the weather, the members came in slowly ; but the meeting was called to order a few minutes after the time set, 10:30 a. m., Mr. Cotton in the chair, with all the otlicers present. After some preliminary work the society settled down to business. Mr. Bmitain said he was a beginner, had come to the meeting for the pur- pose of learning. He was full of young America, and wanted to learn to handle bees without having to wade through the sloughs which had been traveled by the pioneer bee- keepers present, and hoped the older members would take hold of the work and push it right along. The president called attention to the death of Mr. Bellman, a former president of the Association, and ap- pointed a committee to take action on the matter, consisting of Messrs. O'Rear, Robinson and Mrs. Robin- son, after which the meeting ad- journed until 2 p. m. On re-assembling after the dinner hour, the secretary read a communi- cation from Prof. A. J. Cook, Lans- ing, Mich., on clipping queen's wings, in which he said, I have practiced this method of bee management now for vears, and liave yet to see the tirst evidence that the bees take umbrage at the proceeding. In the matter of statistics, he hoped the Society would agitate the matter and do all it could to assist the committee, appointed by the Xorth American Society. He hoped this and all other State Asso- ciations would strive to assist the J^orth American Society. Happily, civilization is opposed to selHshness ; we are all interested in our neighbor's success. Let tlie Los Angeles bee- keeper put up his honey in a slip-shod shape, and the Maine bee-keeper loses by the act. The subject of the paper was discussed at some length, and it seemed to be the voice of the con- vention, that the clipping of the queens' wing was no hlnderance in the management of the bees. The following, from the question box, brought out a lively discussion : " Are queens reared under the im- pulse of the swarming fever, superior to those reared from the egg arti- ficially V" Many of the members had tried both plans extensively, and while some very poor queens were produced artificially, with proper care, equally good ones could be reared as those produced under the impulse of the swarming fever, and this seemed to be the voice of the Society. The question : " Are Cyprians more vindictive than the Italians V" occu- pied the time of the meeting at some length, and led to some very amusing incidents in the handling of bees, and while some of the members claimed to have very gentle Cyprians, all of those who had them, of known purity, testified to their ability to hold their own with any bee-master, regardless of smoke, sweetened water, or even chloroform. However, it was concluded that they had some very good qualities which were to give material assistance in producing our great expectant — Apis Americana. "Dividing, or Natural Increase" was the next question of importance inider discnssion. Mr. Muth thought that the first ob- ject to be sought was the honey crop, and the increase made after- ward, and that very much depended on condition and circumstances. For people who paid but little attention to their bees, he thought it best to allow the bees to increase naturally, but, to those who gave the necessary care to them, the plan of a gradual in- crease artificially was the best plan. After some further discussion the matter was passed for the present to allow the president to deliver his ad- dress. PRESIDENT cotton's ADDRESS. Ladies and Gentlemen of the In- diana Bee-Keepers' Association : This is the fourth annual meeting since our organization ; each year increas- ing in interest ; each member being ready to give a reason for the faith that "is in him, in regard to the little busy bee. Our Society is organized on philanthropic principles for the general dissemination of knowledge of the mysteries of this busy insect. A few years ago the masses would have thought if miraculous to have seen bees handled with impunity, as we now handle them ; and yet we are not satisfied with our progress, nor should we be, so long as we can save the life of another colony, or cause them to produce another pound of honey. While the winter of 1880-81 will long be remembered by the apiarist, the question that arises is, have we been benefited by our experience to the extent that we may reasonably expect to avoid another such disaster '■* If we have not, we have not taken the lesson that nature has offered us. While the old elm-peeler hog could bury himself in the ground beside a log,"and winter through, without much comtort to himself or profit to his owner, the improved Berkshire or Poland China cannot stand such treat- ment, but needs to be well housed, to give his owner a good profit, and the same may be said of all the domestic animals, and the honey bee is not an exception to this rule. We no longer expect to get profit from the bee in tlie old log hive, left standing exposed to the cold north- westers withont protection, no more than we would expect that the old brindle cow, that has to shelter under the leeward of a rail fence, would give profit to her owner. Then, as true humanitarians, let us investigate in the light of science and experience, and especially the subject of wintering, for this is the i"eef that we have wrecked upon. In wintering, some attribute their success to venti- lation, others to the extracting of bad, unripe honey, others to the tempera- ture, and so on. !N"ow% without en- tering into a discussion of this sub- ject in this address, I prefer to leave the discussion of this subject, with all others, to this convention, merely hinting at a few subjects which I may think of importance to bee-keepers. Some of the things necessary in win- tering, in my experience, are a hive of proper size, contracted according to the number of bees, and plenty of good, ripe honey, or sugar, wath Mod ventilation, and well protected from the cold. ]3ut the question arises, what is the proper size of the hive,, how shall we ventilate, and how shall we protect from the cold ? with nu- > merous other questions which this As- sociation may discuss with profit. I would advise all beginners to study the physiology and habits of the bee, which may be done by read- ing Quinby, Langstroth or Cook ; and without the study of .some such stan- dard work on bees, our bee periodicals must sound much like the German does to the man who cannot speak German ; but if he has studied all that has been written on the bee, he none the less needs to read some good bee paper to keep up with the progress of tlie age. We cannot expect every family to take interest enough in bees to supply themselves with honey, when they, with plenty of garden room, fail to THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Tl exert that energy necessary to raise the common vegetables to supply the family table, and are satistied to live on " hog and hominy the year round." The race is not won by the sluggard, but by him who is ever on the alert and ready to exert both his physical and mental powers. While much has been accomplished by our leading apiarists in the science of bee-keeping, there are hundreds of smaller lights scattered throughout the country with a few colonies, with their untiring zeal and energy, who have added much to the knowledge and progress that have been made in bee-keeping ; and the result is, that the sweet-silvered voice of the patent hive vender with his moth-trap is no longer heeded in our land, except by liini who reads not. In our discussions I have observed that we are more inclined to speak of our success than our failures, when often our best lessons are from our failures ; then let us not fail to give our experience, wherein we have failed, that others may benefit thereby. In my observations, there is no in- dustry in this country in which thei'e has been more progress made in a de- cade, both scientitically and practi- cally, where the product comes from the soil ; and if a majority of our citi- zens could be induced to keep a few colonies of bees, there would be much wealth gathered annually which now is lost, to say nothing of the effects that a good dish of honey has upon the family, socially, for we are all prone to get a little sour at times, and need sweetening up, and if it could not be done with honey, a few stings would make us forget ourselves for the time being. I would call to remembrance the death of the Rev. J. C. iJelhnan, the first president elect of this Associa- tion, hoping that this Society will re- member him with appropriate reso- lutions. While the Agricultural College of Indiana, Purdue, is experimenting ■with all the domestic animals, and has so far omitted the bee, I think it would be well for this Association to call the attention of the Board to the fact. For the financial condition of the Association I refer you to the report of your treasurer, Mrs. E. Stout. And for the general work of the Associa- tion to the report of your secretary, Frank L. Dougherty, who has labored industriously for the up-building of the Association. There has been a move in some of the other industrial associations of tills State, as well as this one, to ob- tain an appropriation from the State, that they miglit be able to give their discussions to the masses, fresh from their meetings. I would, therefore, recommend co-operation with these societies in an effort to procure such an appropriation. In conclusion, let me congratulate this Association on the great stride that has been made toward tlie im- provement of the honey bee, and while we have not been able yet to breed them without » sting, or with a tongue long enough to reach the honey in the red clover on our deep rich soils, we have lessened the propensity to sting, and are increasing the past- ure by tlie cultivation of many honey- producing plants ; and, considering the time since the experiments com- menced, I think the improvements in the bee have been equal to the im- lirovements in any of the domestic animals. The several particulars mentioned in the president's address were dis- cussed at some length, eliciting many tacts of direct interest to those present. A committee, consisting of Mrs. Cass Robbins, Dr. J. H. O'Rear and J. M. Robinson, reported a series of appropriate resolutions on the death of the Rev. -J. C. Bellman, a foimer president of the Society. The subject of " Dividing, or Nat- ural Increase " was again taken up, the subject leading to a discussion of the best plan of handling natural swarms. The prevailing opinion seemed to favor a basket or box in which to secure swarms that have settled. Mr. Mutli described a device which he had seen in use at Mr. Hill's, near Cincinnati, consisting of an oblong, perforated box, which could be quickly adjusted to a pole. He thought any shaped box, holding not more than a half-bushel, bored full of one-half inch holes, and leaving both ends open, would answer all practical purposes. Tlie opinion of the majority seemed to be that, in divisions of all kinds, the main object should be to keep all of the old bees together, that the largest amount of honey might be se- cured. The meeting adjourned for supper. Tlie evening session was called to order promptly at 7:30. The first question being that of " Wintering." Dr. O'Rear was a strong advocate of indoor wintering, pi ef erring a house above ground. Mr. Sliaw also sided with the Doc- tor, believing that the difference in the amount of stores consumed would more than compensate for the trouble and cost of the building. Mr. Muth, Mr. Dougherty, and many others had wintered on the sum- mer stands for years successfully. They thought that, while indoor win- tering had some advantages in the Northern States, it was not preferable in this latitude. Providing pasturage for the bees was discussed with an interest which bodes good for the future honey crops of Indiana. The value of all the honey-producing plants which grow in oiir climate was fully discussed. Alsike and sweet clover {(/ieJ/Jot) be- ing the favorites. Mr. Thompson, president of the State Dairymen's Association, said he was not a bee-keeper, but the thorough discussion he had just heard called up a new line of thought to him. The dairymen are directly interested in the clover, and he thought there would be no need of scattering the seed in the fence corners and waste places, as some member had sug- gested, but each could greatly assist, the other in the planting process, for, quoting Prof. Cook, " happily, civili-. zation is opposed to selfishness." Mr. Mason had not succeeded in getting a good start with meliloti thought alsike preferable. Mr. Learning had visited Mr. Salis- bury, in Illinois, who had many acrea of it sown, and who pronounced it a decided success, after trial on a large scale. The hour having become quite late,. the meeting adjourned until the morning. The second day's meeting waa called to order promptly at 9 a. m., with increased attendance. The elec- tion of otlicers became the order of business. All the old officers were re-elected for another term, as fol- lows : For President, Hon. I. N. Cotton, Traders' Point ; Secretary, Frank L. Dougherty ; Treasurer, Mrs. E. Stout, both of Indianapolis. On motion of Dr. O'Rear, a committee was appointed to confer with the State Board of Agriculture, on the subject of larger premiums and better accommodations for the bee-keeping interest. A communication from Dr. A. B. Mason, Toledo, Ohio, in reference to. the Tri-State Fair, of Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, was referred to a special committee, consisting of Messrs. Muth, Davis and Johnson. The^ recommended the sending of Presi- dent Cotton as a delegate to said Fair, with power to act for the Society, in the best possible manner, for the in- terest of the bee-keepers. Prof. Cox, formerly State Geologist, now of California, entertained the Society with a description of bee- keeping in that State. Prof. Collett also spoke a few minutes, in his happy style, of the instruction and moral influences of the honey bee. The rest of the morning session was consumed in discussing minor subjects con- nected with tlie business. The afternoon session opened with, a discussion of the merits of comb foundation, the secretary describing the particulars of its manufacture in different torms, including tlie wired frames as made on the Given press, samples of which he had present. Gov. Porter being present, waa called on to address the Society, which he did. He complimented the- Society on its increased attendance each year, and on the intelligent man-- ner of its discussions ; he referred to. his former meeting with the Society, and of the general information he had gained during his short stay. He- was greatly interested in these indus- trial meetings of the several State societies, and believed that they should have all the encouragement, possible, as they were destined to place our State in the very front rank of industrial States. He spoke of the great improvement in the several in- dustries ; thought the Legislature should make a sm;ill allowance for each society to enable it to send our reports of the proceedings of the meetings to all parts of the State, so as to place the knowledge of the spec- ialist into the hands of those who ar© 72 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. ■unable to attend the regular meetings. Mr. Miitli informally replied to tiie tJovernor, showing that a growing ■demand for liquid honey was spring- ing up— being now largely consumed in manufact\iring. Among manu- facturers using honey are the pork packers, for sugar-cured hams ; to- bacconists, bakers, confectioners, manufacturers of printers' rollers, etc. I. K. Cotton, Dr. O'Rear, J. Kin- dey, Mrs. Kobbins and Mrs. Stout "were appointed delegates to the North American Bee-Keepers' So- ciety, with instructions to ask the Society to hold its next session in Indianapolis. After some appropriate resolutions for favors conferred on the Society, the meeting adjourned to the call of the Executive Committee. — Indiana -Farmer. For tile American Bee JournaL Best Way to Use Small Sections. DR. G. L. TINKER. That the readers of the Bee Jour- nal may know why it is proposed to have the new small sections only ]j?3 inches tliick, it may be well to explain how they are to be used. I think that every bee-keeper can ■see that it would be a great ad vantage if the sections could be set down at ■once upon the brood frames so that the passage ways would be continuous into the sections. With broad frames or racks holding the 2-inch sections it is necessary to raise them at least }4 inch above the brood frames, in order to admit the bees into all the passage ways between the sections. This y inch space I believe to be a hindrance to the bees entering the sections and affords a place for the bees to build comb, which often interferes in lifting out tlie frames. It is also no little trouble to cut away these bits of comb after the section cases are taken off. Some colonies are worse than others about building comb in tliis space and can hardly be induced to go above it, into the sections, to work. If the pas- sage ways between the brood frames and the sections were contin nous, there is no doubt but that it would facilitate the bees in their work and result in a larger surplus. iSTow, with a thin section to be used With or without separators, this space is unnecessary and the section case or rack can be set upon the brood frames so that all of the passage ways will be continuous. If a rack is used it may contain 36 to 40 sections, according to the length of the brood frame ; 36 can be used on 9 Gallup frames, and 40 upon 8 Langstroth. After the bees iiave one rack of sections partly filled it may be lifted oil and an empty rack of sections put on. The upper rack is then slid over the other one, endwise, and no bees need be killed. ]>y tier- ing up in tills manner. 120 half-pound sections can be used at once to ad- vantage. If wood separators 1-16 inches thick be used between sections l-''s inches thick, 9 bro id frames can be evenly spaced 1 7-16 inches from center to center, in a hive just 13 inches wide, so that when the rack of sections is slid over the frames, the spaces will all bn continuous. But if the section be \}4 inches thick, the frames would liave to he spaced 1 9-16 inches from center to center, but the hive would have to be just 14 inches wide to hold 9 frames where 10 are ordinarily used. This would be spacing the frames too far apart, and I think would not work satisfactorily. Hence, if the sections are to be set upon the frames in the manner here proposed, the section ought not to be over 1?^ inches thick. If used without separators, a section 3?8x3;'|jxl?8 will hold just one-half pound. If separators be used, tlie size maybe S^^xS^lxl?^, which will hold very near one-halt pound. To prevent the killing of bees, the brood frames must be brought up on a level with the top of the body of the hive, so that the rack of sections can be slid over the frames, endwise. As I have used a similar arrangement to the above, I can speak from experience as to its practicability. There may be some danger of the queen moving up into the section department, but I do not think it would often occur, espec- ially where the deeper frames are used. Since most bee-keepers will only use a few of the half-pound sections, the first season, on trial, it would not be much trouble to prepare a few hives and fixtures for the purpose, making, of course, the hives to fit the frames in use, and then, sometime in May, set the frames and bees from some of the old hives into them. New Philadelphia, O. For the American Bee Journal, The Forncrook Patent Section. M. M. BALDRIDGB. I have received Mr. Forncrook's catalogue for 1883, in which I find the following lansruage : " We intend to prosecute manufacturers who in- fringe upon our rights to manufacture a one-piece section of any descrip- tion." Also the following: "We do not intend to molest bee-keepers for using the one-piece sections they may have bought of other parties previous to Dec. 1, 1881, but caution them against buying any not bearing our stamp." The latter quotation is equivalent to saying that bee-keepers will be prosecuted for infringement of the Forncrook patent for using one-piece sections '■ of any descrip- tion " made by outside parties since Dec. 1, 1881. As the above is misleading, for- bearance any longer to dissect the Forncrook patent, ceases to be a virtue. llnving had more or less experience during the past 2-5 years in overhaul- ing specifications and claims on " pat- ent hives," it enables me to under- stand the points in Mr. Forncrook's patent. Having in my possession the Forncrook specilic-itions and claims, I will now give the latter, which are as follows : I claim " as a new article of manufacture, a blank for honey- frames formed of a single piece of wood having transverse angular grooves c. longitudinal groove d, and recesses h, al 1 arranged in the man- ner shown and described." The above is what is known as a " combination " claim, being made up of parts, as follows : One (1) strip of wood; three (3) transverse angular grooves; one (1) longitudinal groove; and two (2) recesses or passage ways for the bees, with both ends of the strip " dentated " so they will " inter- lock when brought together." The specifications and drawings must al- ways be referred to, to get at a proper understanding of the claims and what is meant by the following words: " All arranged in the manner shown and described." The following en- graving illustrates the entire claim : czzn^gi^^LZZi Now, it must be apparent that, the omission of any of the parts enumer- ated destroys the" combination," and renders the patent null and void. I will now introduce three illustra- tions, as follows : 1[ 11 E^ 1 L As none of the above sections pos- sess all the parts of the "cimihina- tion,"they evidently do not infringe upon the Forncrook patent. And now let me suggest another destructive element, to-wit : The omission of simply the " longitudinal groove!" In other words, the sec- tion can be made all in one piece, with both ends dentated, with the 3 transverse angular grooves, and with tops and botf(mis narrower than the sides, and still not infringe the Forn- crook patent ! And why not omit the " longitudinal groove," inasmuch as the section is just as good without it V For my own use I always omit said groove ; in fact, I would as soon use a^latitudinal groove as a " longi- tudinal one !" As a rule, any " combination " pat- ent can be easily evaded ; in other words, it is not very difficult to drive a " span of horses " or a " yoke of oxen" right through one! I have yet to find a " combination " patent, on bee-hives, that cannot be evaded, and still retain all the essentials. The Langstroth patent was the most difficult to evade, but even that could be done and still make the hive very practical. Now, if Mr. Forncrook lias as good sense as I give him credit for, he will never prosecute the makers, vendors, or users of the one-piece section for infringement, so long as they omit any of the parts of his "combination," as i indicated in his patent, and as set ' fortli in this article. 1 For one, I would like to hear from i Mr. Forncrook through the Bee ! Journal in rei)ly to my analysis of THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. ^3 his patent. I have no desire to mis- lead the readers of the Bee Jouunal, nor have I any desire to injure Mr. Forncrook, linancially or otherwise. My only desire is simply to state facts as'I lind them, and without fear or favor from any one. St. Charles, 111. [The Bee Journal believes in the old maxim : " Right wrongs no one." In dealing out '■ exact justice to all," it will neither countenance exlorlion on the part of an inventor, nor allow an "'evasion^'' of a legitimate patent, in order to defraud its owner, without an earnest protest. To do so, wonki only impede "progress" and dis- courage " invention." The one-piece section now enjoys a well-earned pop- ularity, and, as its inventor has spent much time and money in bringing it to its present state of perfection — is he not entitled toa?rrt.so)!a&fe reward V We believe that all right-minded per- sons will cheerfully assent to this, but will not, willingly, submit to extortion on the one hand, nor countenance dis- honesty on the other.— Ed.] For the American Bee JournaL My Bee Cellar and Management. REUBEN HAVENS. My cellar is 22x44 feet, divided into three rooms. The first room is but half underground, which I use for a shop and store room. , There is a large out-door opening into this room ; also one opening from the kitchen. The other rooms have heavy stone walls, plastered ; it is also lathed and plas- tered overhead. It has a tile run- ning around the bottom, just inside the wall, cement floor; and two four light 12x14 windows in each room. My bee room is the one fartherest from the outer door. On the north side, I have a 4-inch pipe 8 feet long ; on the south side, a 6-inch pipe with a cross, or T pipe, on the outside for ventilation. Upper ventilation is given by a flue running to the bottom of the cellar ; pipe hole near the ceiling. If the room becomes too warm, which it often does, I ven- tilate by opening the outside door, and letting the fresh air pass in through the other two rooms. In this way I can keep an even temperature. In putting the bees away for winter. I place the hives on racks ; tlie tirst tier 2 feet from the floor, and every hi''e is pbieed so that it can be moved ■without disturbing the others. After placing the hives, I remove the tops and leave no covering, except the quilts. By the way, I bought a lot of hives last summer with enamel cloth covers, ■which I left on, wlien I put them into winter quarters, and on examination, a few days since, I found the moisture had condensed on the quilts and run down through the combs and out at the entrance of the hives, causing the bees to become very uneasy. I im- mediately stripped off the enamel covers and replaced them with covers made of worn ingrain carpet. This is the best material for covers that I have ever used. If worn, then make them double. I think keeping an even temjierature and good upper ventilation, are the main things in successful wintering. There seems to be quite a differ- ence of opinion in regard to the right temperature, varying from 32 to 44 degrees. I lind when the tempera- ture gets above 40 degrees, the bees become very uneasy. Onarga, 111., Jan. IS, 1883. For the Americun Bee Journal. Sections, Separators, Apprentices,&c. JAMES HEDDON, ]7?-500. After reading a few more thoughts from others, I wish to say a little more about the half-pound sections. On page 8, Mr. Benedict, in his second paragraph, says " a prime colony will produce ^^ more honey in one-pound than in half-pound sections." Whij they will, he does not say; and, why they will not, is too long a story to tell here. Now, I am quite sure that if I could have Mr. Benedict in my yard three days next summer, I could convince him that more comb honey can be pro- cured in pound or half-pound sections, than in any larger receptacles. If he is correct, then I am wrong, and half- pound sections will soon be among the " things that were." I shall use a few of them next season. I think that extra cost and manipulation is the main objection to their use. But, as I can use them on the same hives with my pounds, and in the same size crate, I shall feel bound to make some com- prehensive tests, regarding them, next season. On page 18, the editor tells Dr. Tin- ker that this section " requires extra capping, and comb foundation ; per- haps too much to be profitable." My experience \\\i\\ combs, down as thin as % in. has convinced me that (some how or other) the bees finish sealing the thinnest combs tirst, and apparent- ly easiest. Also, I have demonstrated that the more foundation I can crowd into use, the better for my yield of comb honey, to an amount far exceed- ing the extra cost. Dr. Miller (one of those who " get there") can imagine the queen mak- ing her home and " nest " in the sec- tions, if they are so thin as would be needed for half-pounds, of 4}4x4i4 square. I would tell the Doctor to go ahead, and fear no brood in the sec- tions, of any thickness ; but I oliject to sucli thin comb, fbr reasons I iiave already given on pages 5 and 27. I wish I was as sure of a good crop in 1883, as that, with any thing like rea- sonable management, we shall have no brood troubles. Let me say to Dr. L. C. Whiting (see page 42) that if he will try the process of putting up honey in large frames, and then cutting up and tit- ting into sections to be properly fin- ished up by the bees, he will want to forget the day the thought first entered his mind. Try it, Doctor, (justa little) and report. Mr. Caldvi'ell (p. 8) says, that in some seasons bees were reluctant to work among separators, and wonders if as much honey will be stored with, as without them, and yet the same arti- cle is headed " Separators a Necessi- ty." Dr. Miller and Capt. Scudder, (page 20) are of the same opinion. I have no fears about straight combs, but two bee-keepers (who also "get there," and in whom I place great con- fidence,) assure me that my fears of their damaging my crop, is groundless. One of them presents the best argu- ments [ have ever heard, and presents a little different manner of their use and manipulation ; and, while I am putting considerable money into such experiments, as I deem essential to the proper instruction of my class of students for 1883, 1 shall add $10 for tin for separators, and make one more test on a broad and improved scale. If I find my former views changed in any way, I shall be (mly too glad to tell all about it. If not, I shall con- sider a $10 box of tin, a solid perch upon which to crow, "I— told — you — so." On page 36 Dr. Miller tells us some t thing about " Who should Keep Bees." When I read that, " I threw" up my hat," and shouted. My wife asked " What fs upV" I replied, " A pen picture of real life ; an article worth twice the price of the Bee Journal for a year, to every reader ; an antidote for Blessed Bees." Every one should read that article and not get discour- aged, for the article is the best of en- couragement to all who should embark in the business, and who understand the article rightly. On page 6, Dr. Besse points out " another advance step," as one very desirable to be taken. That there is a great demand for the services of competent apiarists, I very well know, from the numerous applica- tions which come to me. All are will- ing to pay high wages, if they can get the right sort of a man. The Doctor maps t)ut a plan by which he thinks the right man can be detected from the wrong one. From all that I know of the apiarian student-apprentice business, together with diplomas and seals of presidents, secretaries and whole societies, committees and all included — all these seals arid signa- tures, with all the expense and trouble of the red tape circumlocu- tion, mentioned by the correspondent, would only throw suspicion upon any one who might apply tome. I should say. Where did you practice, honey- producing y With Mr. G. T. Success. Good. What recommendations can you giveV This paper. It reads: " The bearer, Mr. Henry Goodwin, has spent five months in my apiary of 200 colonies, having passed through the season's operations, from unpack- ing the bees in the spring to repack- ing them for winter quarters. I have found Mr. G. a young man of integrity and tact. lie has studied the theory of apiculture under my supervision, and has been with me in practice 14 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. through spring preparation, queen- rearing, surplus storing of botti comb and extracted honey, transferring nat- ural and artiiieial swarming, etc., to- gether with all the mechanical labors connected with the production and fitting for market of iiO,00() pounds of surplus honey. While he has yet more to learn, I consider him fully competent to successfullij manage an apiary of 100 colonies, spring count. Signed, " Get There Success." The above is the sort of diploma I ■want. Is this the firm of Capable & Rich ? Yes sir. You have advertised for a salesman, I believe V Yes sir ; we need one badly. I am here to make application for the place. What tes- timonials of character and ability can you give V lie takes out a document, covered with the seals and signatures of all the officers and committees of a popular commercial college, avowing that the bearer, "Studious S. Slow- motion " is everything that a college professor imagines a young commer- cial man ought to be. It is all lined and trimmed with red tape. The pro- prietor drops his head, looks disap- pointed, and says, I will consult our head salesman, and give you an an- swer in a moment. John ; here is a young man seeking the place, where we so much need help, and here is his testimonials. John reads a little ways, and says : "There is no use to try any more of those commercial col- lege graduates; they usually have less than one-fourth of the native tact of a boot-black, and they have it all to learn after they get here. We don't want any more stupid appren- tices; we want an experienced man, one who has had practice, and is not all theory." About such dialogues as this occur daily in our large cities, I am credi- bly informed. I like the Doctor's ideas, all but the diplomas and signa- tures, which I think entirely useless. The results would show that a bee- man is a bee-man " for a' that, and a' that," and that a failure coulii pass the examination, get the signatures and yet be a failure " for a' tliat." On page 43, Mr. Chas. FoUett gets up " another step higher." I like the solid metallic ring oi: " his " short re- ply. I believe he has reached a point where he can defy failure ; but his article gives conclusive evidence of at least two points ; first, that, if after 3 years of apprenticeship, he blundered to a loss of $300 to S500, either he did not become a student as well as an apprentice, during the time, or else his teacher was incompetent. Sec- ondly, in any case, it shows the great value of experience before we invest our capital. In chemistry, 3-7of A, and 4-7 of B, mixed together, make a healthful nutritive food, but 3-7 of B, and 4-7 of A are together a deadly poison ; so apicultural success will be reached only by a proper mixture of thought and labor. The apiarist, in the back- woods, with no teacher, no reading matter, no thought to clash with and sharpen his own, will fail ; so the commercial student, who is buried under a mass of books and teachers. having no store or fabric of merchan- dise with which to practice, soon for- gets even how to " swap jack-knives." Any apiarist, to do justice to student apprentices, must invest a few hun- dred dollars in experimental fixtures; the extra labor, thus incurred, the stu- dents will perform, and should, in jus- tice to them, have that extra labor supplied them. Mr. FoUett will think five months (which constitutes a season here, as we unpack about May 1st, and re- pack tlie last days of September) rather a short time to become profi- cient in the art of honey production. My limited experience with students proves that this five months of study and practical experiment puts them on the right track, and prepares their minds for receiving all new truths right end foremost. All of my stu- dents, wht) have commenced bee- keeping, are to-day succeeding; two will begin in apiaries of mine, on shares, this spring. My faith is thus great; with these five months instruc- tion, any reasonably apt man can have of me an apiary of 100 colonies on shares, a position which will pay him more than high wages, one year with another, and one in which he can " blunder " and finish his educa- tion at my expense. Of course I will direct the operations. I shall get bet- ter results than to sell the bees. It will not take five months to convince him that comb-honey production, when properly pursued, pays much better than extracted. Dowagiac, Mich., Jan. 22, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Small Sections, Best Bees, etc. DR. J. R. BAKER. We are a great people, but. withal, a little eccentric ; and I think I never saw the latter characteristic crop out more prominently — at least in bee- keepingcireles— than in the half-pound section business. Because two or three honey-produc- ers, who believe in the grand principle of ever marching forward, and who like to experiment and indulge in novelties, put a few half-pound sec- tions of honey, in nice shape, on the market, and foimd a good sale for it, why, about half of the bee-keeping fraternity seem to have gotten half- pound section on the brain I It seems to me that Capt. L. H. Scudder, of New Boston. 111., Mr. F. C. Benedict, Dr. Miller, James Hed- don and others, in the week or two last past have taken the sensible view of the matter, as expressed in the Bee Journal, and now comes, in the last issue of the Bee Journal, Mr. Frank L. Ripley, of Boston, Muss., with a clincher," which it is hoped will act as a sedative on the over-anxious victims of the half-pound section craze. It is contrary to good judgment to expect the half-pound sections to ever become universally in demand : for, there are a few who always seem to think that acting ridiculously is the displaying of wisdom, the majority of honey" consumers will prefer to buy just as little wood as possible, at from 20 to 30 cts. per pound. The Irishman said that he wanted just as much whisky as possible and as little qui- nine in his prescription as would make it legal. So the most of tlie honey buyers will want as much honey as possible and as little wood for the money. In view of this fact I think the ma- jority of bee-keepers had better stick to the one and two-pound sections, for awhile yet, at least. I know one that will, at all events. I have looked on with a good deal of interest in the discussion as to the merits of the different varieties of bees, that has been indulged in with so much ability and warmth by some of the apicultural gladiators in our country; and the result of the discus- sion, to my mind, has been a complete routing of the three-band advocates. While the thorough-bred Italians, with their beautiful yellow bands, are, as a rule, very docile, and always pleasing to the eye of one who loves the beau- tiful, I am fully persuaded that for honey-gathering the dark-colored (or hybrids, if you please) are much supe- rior, as a general thing, to the golden beauties. While this seems to be the experience of a majority of our ex- perienced apiarists, it is most decidedly mine. That this is true, I very much regret, for if there is anything that I love to look upon, it is a colony of beautiful yellow bees. Now, while what I have said as to the superiority of the dark bees as honey-gatherers, I am much inclined to think there is a remedy for it, and that is, in the selection of the good honey-gatherers from among the yel- low bees as breeders, and the merciless beheading of every queen whose prog- eny prove to be indifferent workers. No difference, if her bees have forty gold bands, let her goto the " block," unless the bees are good for business. I am quite certain that it is the in- breeding of the American Italians for bands, instead of for workers, that has wrought the mischief in the ranks of yellow bees. If the yellow bees are expected to keep abreast of their more homely and irascible neighbors as business insects, they must be judic- iously selected. There are good workers among the most beautiful yellow bees, I know, and if the breeders of these would breed from nothing but such, there would soon be lessto say about the yellow bees being inferior to the dark as workers. The trouble has been, that if a queen breeder of Italians had a golden queen whose progeny were a beautiful yellow, she was valued very highly, wi'thout reference to tlie busi- ness qualities of her bees at all. All this must be speedily changed, if the golden-banded beauties are to hold a place in the affections of our best apiarists. Let some man well- fitted for queen- breeding give us a good strain of gold- en Italians and he shall be called blessed, by one lover of the beautiful, at least. There is no better locality for honey production than near the upper Mis- sissippi. I believe the honey reports THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 75 of the country will prove this assertion. But while this is true, 1 am n victim I of chronic, maliirial poisoninff ; iuul I am fully persuaded that I must tind another Held. I must go to some point -where malaria is a stranger; hut, while this is true, I must also so where bees do well. To rob me of the pleasure of keeping bees, on quite an extensive scale, would be to deprive me ot a •world of pleasure, to say nothing About the pecuniarv consideration. I flatter myself that I am a successful bee-master ; and I am looking for a pleasant locality, good for bees, and entirely free from bilious difficulties. Dr. F. A. Grove, of Kirksville, Mo., ;seems to have the right notion about keephig bees for profit. He keeps -bees, poultry, a little other good stock, raises a little small fruit and culti- vates a good vegetable garden. I am quite certain this is better for the ma- jority of bee-keepers than to keep bees alone. My advice to all beginners is : go slowly, and learn as you go. He who rushes into a business up to his «yes, of which he knows comparatively nothing, is apt to get his profits all on the debtor side. Keithsburg, 111., Jan. 20, 1883. enough for 2, stretch and tack this down tightly, aud it will turn rain or wind as good as boards. It is much cheaper and more quickly di)ue. They get all the fresh air they need at the entrance. As it is the same size as in the summer, with a small tube or box from the entrance to the outer case, the bees can fly whenever a warm day comes, although mine have not had a flight since about Nov. l-5th ; they are taking a good rest, to awake during the first warm davs of spring to come forth with the eaily fiowers, with their glad hum, ready for another year's labor. S. C. Frederick. Coal Vale, Kansas, Jan. 22, 1883. Swarms Went to the Woods. I have 27 colonies ; 19 on the sum- mer stands and 8 in the cellar. I wish to try both plans, and report in spring. They gave me a very poor yield last year, owing to the cold late spring. During August, I was in the West, and lost 6 or 8 swarms. I will try and do better during the coming sea- son, if I can. J. Bishop. Greenwood, Ind., Jan. 20, 1883. The 2-11). Sections Good Eiioiiarh. We have been very much interested in the half-pound section question, l)ut have decided to adhere to our 2- Ib. sections, for the present at least. Taking everything into considera- tion, the change does not prouiise to termiaate in a success financially. Gkeiner Bros. Naples, N. Y., Jan. 11), 1883. Jtty Way of Wintering Bees. I always winter ray bees on the summer stands. This is my third winter, and I have not lost any yet. My plan of preparation is as follows : After the boxes are taken off, I put on Mr. Hill's device ; then cover the frames with a piece of as thin factory as.I can get (large enough to come outside of the hive, after the cap is on). On the top of this, I place a cushion, 4 inches thick, filled with chaff, and give plenty of ventilation above the cushion. They are on their summer stands, and have a good roof for shade, supported at each corner by a small post, the outer case is ■easy put on. For the case, I take best •canvas, 40 inches wide ; this is wide Statistics— Planting for Honey, etc. I have been trying to ascertain the number of bees in Lucas Co.. Iowa, this winter, and this will show how well I have succeeded. I have found 28 men that keep bees; they represent 661 colonies ; 72 of them have bees in box hives and log gums ; the remain- der in frame hives, 90 per cent, of the latter in Langstroth hives ; 6 of the latter take a bee paper and represent 448 colonies of bees, and have taken the past season between 9 and 10 tons of honey. I have made out my report, the best I could, and sent to Dr. C. C. Miller. Bees are wintering well, so far ; there is one thing that bothers me a little. In 3 or 4 of my hives I find thin honey running out at the entrance. What is the reason ? Mice cannot get in. Tell me the cause and remedy. It is too cold to open the hives to see. I sowed 3 lbs. of catnip seed, last fall, along the creek banks, in ditches and waste places. Will it pav V Will sweet clover come up this spring, if sowed in February ? Wm. Ma lone. Oakley, Iowa, Jan. 16, 1883. [The "thin honey running out at the entrance " is probably condensed moisture that could not escape at the top. In running down over the combs it came in contact with honey and be- came sii-eet water. This will make the bees uneasy, and during the first warm weather you should place some good absorbent over the frames. This is about all you can do, until an exami-' nation can be made in the spring. Of course " it will pay " to plant forage for bees. Sweet clover planted on the snow in early spring will do well; freezing' the seed is beneficial to it.— Ed.1 Do the Drones Accompany a Swarm % 1 have just finished reading the pamphlet entitled " Dzierzon's The- ory." I appreciate the theory of Dzierzon (and indorse it) for its val- uable instructions, but I want to ask whether drones (male bees) issue with the first swarm in " natural swarm- ing V" Dr. H. R. DOKR. Worden, 111., Jan. 19, 1883. [This is governed by the circum- stances. Usually the old queen and workers, old and young, compose the swarm, and therefore they have no need of drones. In such cases the drones remain in the hive to fertilize the young queen, whose "wedding flight " occurs in a few days after the swarm leaves. If the old queen is unable to fly (from her wings being clipped, or some other cause), then the bees, after returning to the hive, will sometimes take the young queen with them, when Ihey issue again. Then drones, being necessary, wil also go with the swarm.— Ed.] Dnty on Beeswax. It is within my knowledge that in view of the great rise in price of wax in the United States that arrange- ments were being made by a large firm of merchants in London, to place considerable quantities of beeswax on the American markets. The only ob- stacle, I believe, was the duty. Thomas B. Blow. Welwyn, England, Jan. 10, 1883. [As wax is so much used in Europe, we did not tliink that there would be a chance of getting any there.— Ed.] My Years' Work. I commenced the spring of 1882 with 2 colonies of bees and increased to 12 strong colonies, and got 150 lbs. of comb honey, in 1-pound sections, and 150 lbs. of extracted honey. I sold the comb honey for 20 cts. per lb.; the ex- tracted for 15 cts. at home. I use the Langstroth hive, of my own make. My bees are wintering on the summer stands, packed in clover chaff. George N. Marsh. Huntley Grove, 111., Jan. 24, 1883. A Continuons Blizzard. We are having a blizzard here at present ; averaging 10'^ below zero, during the past few days ; but my bees are in a sawdust bee-house and doing well. We have had continuous sleighing since the last of November. No practical apiarist can afford to do without the American Bee Jour- nal. A. BURRILL. Cuba, N. Y., Jan. 24, 1883. Half-ponnd Sections. I am sorry to see the half-pound sections favorably spoken of by any one. There may be a demaiul for them in some places, but I am quite sure that in the Western States they are too small. J. J. Tucker. Arrow Rock, Mo., Jan. 20, 1883. Trying Theories on Wintering Bees. Saturday night it thawed and rained a little with the mercury at 38^ F., but early on Sunday morning the wnid changed to the west, blowing a perfect gale, which has been kept up ever since. The mercury dropped below zero and this morning it was 12° below. Since Nov. 11 the mercury has not been above 42^, so that the bees have had no chance to fly. All seem to be wintering well so far, but if our winter 76 THE AMERICAlir BEE JOURNAL. keeps on till April, as it has begun, all will know of how much value their Eet theories are, regarding wintering ees. G. M. Doolittle. Borodino, N. Y., Jan. 23, 1883. Bees Quiet Yet. I fear that unless the bees have a flight before long tliey will not winter well, although many of them are quiet yet. Fay Kennell. South Gates, N. Y'., Jan. 20, 1883. Best Hive for Cumb Honey. Dear Editor : — As a new sub- scriber to your very valuable and in- structive Bee Journal, I want more light. Will you please give your opinion which is the best form of frame — the deep or shallow, when we have in view to obtain the most comb honey only V My purpose is not to get extracted honey, but the most protit from the use of sections. H. B. IIA3I3ION. Bristolville, O., Jan. 22, 1883. [We prefer the Langstroth hive and frame for all purposes, and more es- pecially is it well-adapted to the pro- duction of comb honey. With a shal- low frame, the bees are more easily induced to work in sections, over the frames. For side storing, the Langs- troth broad frame is just the right size to hold 8 one-pound sections. Other sizes can be used, just as well as in any other liive. — Ed.] Bees in the Cellar Wintering Well. Messrs. Crocker & Blake, of Bos- ton, have kindly sent me a half- pound section measuring 31^x31-16x2. I'm afraid Mr. Heddon is mistaken. I suspect there will always be a larger market for one-pounds than for the half-pounds ; and if, the latter is over-stocked, the one-pounds will bring the highest price. Bees are wintering nicely in the cellar, .so far. C. C. Miller, 174-202. Marengo, 111., Jan. 9, 1883. Bees Doing Exceedingly Well. Bees did remarkably well last year ; one man got about 13,000 lbs. "from 100 colonies in the spring, and in- creased to 200 ; another got 37.5 lbs. from 2 colonies in the spring, and in- creased to 19 ; another told me he had cleared S800 en 60 colonies, in honey alone. B. T. Baldwin. Oskaloosa, Iowa, Jan. 22, 1883. Poor Season for Honey. We have thus far had quite a pleas- ant winter, although it is pretty cold, and growing colder, with a steadily increaing depth of snow. Last season was a very poor one here for honey ; there was an abundance of clover, but the weather was too cold for it to secrete honey. I obtained only about 3,000 lbs. of comb honey from 90 colonies, and increased them to 106. My bees are wintering nicely, so far; 1 winter them in a large cellar under the dwelling house ; the cellar is very damp, having in it a large open cistern, but I keep it well ventilated. Bees went into winter quarters pretty light in stores, therefore, I look for a favorable spring for them. Perhaps I shall be disappointed, but I shall make observations in this direction. Last winter they were unufsually heavy, and the spring was one of the coldest and most Viackward I ever saw. B. T. Davenport. Auroraville, Wis., Jan. 20, 1883. Honey and Beeswax Market. OFFICE OF A.1IEHICAN BEE JOrKNAL. } Monday, Hi a. m.. January 129. 1882. J Tlie following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Quotations of Cnsh Buyers. CHICAGO. HONEY— Extracted, dark 7c. llKht, 9c. here. BEESWAX— It is qu.te s(tiirce. 1 am payint: 30e. for good yellow wax, on arriviil : dark and off col- ors, I7(g*:i5c. AL. H. Nkwjiax. una W. Madison St. CINCINNATI. HONEY— There is no excitement in the honey market, but sales are tair to our regular trade. Offerings are plentiful of extracted and comb honey. Extracted brings 7&Je. on arrival. The sales of comb honey are very slow, although there is a large supply of tlrst-clasa quality on the mar- ket. It brings l2(fl:l.sc. on arrival. BEESWAX— Comes in slowly and brines 2(J(Si30c. per lb., according tu quality. CuaS. F. MUTH. Quotations of C'omntlsHluu Aferchnnts. CHICAGO. HONEY— January month, and still there is a large surplus of comb honey on the market. Prices are weak owing to large offerings, and anx- iety on the part of shippers and holders here to realize on th-* prtnuict. Extracted honey is steady, but the demand is light. We quote; white comb honey. in l@21b. sections, 17(i^I8c. Dark comb iioney, hardly anydemand. It is held at l^Hfajl.^c. Extracted— White brings from y^ioc: dark, k(,iiic.; kegs, half- barrels and casks bring about same price. BEESWA.X-Vellow, aiKT^.-ijc; dark, 27(ru2Sc. R. A. BfH.METT. liu South Water St. SAN KRANCISCO. HONEY— Nothing of consequence is at present doing. There is no special inquiry, and no selling pressure, unless it ia on off qualities. White ctioib. ny^UOc; dark to good. ll@13^c; ex- tracted, choice to extra white, H^r/yJ^c. ; dark and candied. 7(5.8c. BEBSWA,X-We quote 2.')(« 2,8c. SteakNs & SMITH. 42.3 Front street. ST. i^OUIS. HONEY— Strained, at fi(5i7^c., was salable— one lotof 17 bbls. bringing inside figure: but comb, very dull at lOc. to 18c.; and extracted do., .Sficyc. BEESWAX-Steady; choice, 27fe27!.2C.; dark. 20£o22c. W. T. ANDERSON & Co.. 117 N. Main Street, CLEVELAND. HONE Y -Has changed in price a very little, we find it necessary to sell all grades about 1 cent per It', less. Best white, in I Bi sections, 2n(./i2Ic. per per pound ; in 2 ib. sections. l8^2Uc. Extracted ia very dull indeed, hardly any sale. BEESWAX-Scarce, 28(is30c. A. C. Kendel. lir> Ontario Street. NEW YORK. HONEY— There is very little stock here and the movement only of a peddling ctiarai'ter. We quote: White clover, first quality. 1 lb boxes. 24^*250: fair to good. 22('t2;(ii>17e. Extracted, clover. lo,.i,l:Jc.: buckwheat, ygiluc. BKESW,\,\— The supply is not large and prices firmly held for prime lots. "Western pure. :_iOi<';i2c; southern, pure, 31(3i33c. D. W. (jlilNUY. luo Park Place. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is fairly active. We quote: V^ Ib. sections at 30C.: l lb. sections. 22, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $,S, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For live subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's ABC of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. Emerson Binders — made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for 75 cents, for the Weekly ; or for the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. S.imple Copies of theAMERiCAN Bee, Journal will be sent free to any per- son. Any one intending to get up a club can have sample copies sent to the persons they desire to interview, by sending the names to this office. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., FEBRUARY 7, 1883. No. 6. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Puoprietor, moving Bees in Winter. As we have quite a number of queries ;iboat moving bees, and the best method of preparing them for shipment, we will give some direc- tions, as we have often done before, but which seem not to have been seen by those who now send in questions on the subject. Mr. T. F. Kinsel, Shiloh, O., writes thus : I am wintering my bees in the cel- lar. I expect to sell some, and move 6 to 8 miles soon, if it can be done with safety. How shall I proceed V We have good sleigliing, and they could be drawn on a sled. Would it be better to wait until spring '{ Ought they to be placed in a cellar after re- moving, etc. y Will the unavoidable jotting in moving hurt them V We cannot advise the removal of bees, in any manner, during a season, when tliey cannot have a good flight immediately afterward. We would much prefer running the risk of breaking down combs, in the early spring, over rough roads, than to risk their disturbance in winter. It miqht do to move them on a sled over the snow,butall the chances are against it. Here is another letter, asking simi- lar questions, from Mr. M. E. Buck, McLean, 111. : Bees have done well here during the past summer. The spring was very cold and backward. I com- menced with 23 colonies, spring count, and increased to.50, by natural swarm- ing. My bees are the natives, mixed somewhat with tlie Italians. I am us- ing the Mitchell hive. I have taken 1,600 pounds of comb honey; a good part of it in one-pound sections. The greatest yield from one colony was 90 pounds in one-pound sections. For wintering, I am trying tlie plan of covering my hives over with hay or straw, on the summer stands. I want to ship my bees to Kansas. Would it do to sliip by freight V Which is the best way to pack or fix them, where there are .50 or 75 colonies put on one car V Would it do to pack or heap them together V Is Kansas a good place for bees ? I intend to go there and go into the business. Some parts of Kansas are good for bees, as shown by reports from some bee-keepers there. The best time for shipping bees is in April, or quite early in May, before the combs are too heavy with brood ; but with proper care in preparing them and ordinary usage in handling, they may be shipped at any time with comparative safety, except in cold weather, if properly prepared for the journey. The first work of preparation is to go through the hives and extract about all the uncapped honey, as the least daubing will prove fatal to the bees ; then procure a block 1 inch square, and as long as the hive is wide, in this cut notches and tack in the bottom of the hive, in which to place the frames to keep them steady ; now select the new combs and tliose heavy with brood or sealed honey, secure them well in the frames with strip- binders, and place in the hive ; tack the ends of the frames firmly to the rabbets on which' they rest ; dip the blanket in clean water, lightly wring, fold about six thicknesses, and lay on the fi'ont ends of the frames. If the hive has no portico, leave off the cover, and use wire cloth instead, nailing on top of that, three one-inch strips, two inches wide— one across the center, the others across each end, to insure ventilation when piled on each other. Now tack wire cloth over the entrance, and your bees are ready for shipment. If the hive has a portico, prepare in the same manner as above, except to bore a 1 14 inch hole in each side of the brood chamber, and also in the cover, which will be used in place of the wire cloth over the frames ; the holes to be covered inside and outside with wire cloth, to admit of ventilation. Leave the entrance open the full size, but cover the entire portico securely with wire cloth, leaving free access to it from the interior of the hive ; care must be taken, however, to bore a IJ^ inch hole under the roof-board of the portico, and left open, to allow free ingress to the interior of the hive, as the entrance beneath may become choked up, and the cluster of bees, with the queen, die of starvation through inability to get at the honey in the hive. Hives made with porticoes are much better for shipping bees, for it allows them to drag out the dead, cleanse the hive, and, to a great extent, pre- vent dysentery. Prepared in this manner, full colonies may be shipped at all seasons, from May 1st until Aug. 10th, with perfect success. They should be sent by freight, and loaded with the frames running lengthwise of tha car — the end of the frames pointing • towards the engine. If packed in the car the other way, the "bumping" may break the frames down. Old and tough combs are best for shipping. Express charges are too high, usually, exceptfor short dis- tances. Mr. G. Damkohler, Clarence, Mo., remarks as follows : I intend to move to Florida in March, and as it may be quite cold here at that time, will you please to five some directions, in the Bee OURNAL, how to prepare bees for shipment in winter 'i 1 tj^ard, a few days ago, that a whole car load of bees passed through here, on their way South. Perhaps you know something about that shipment. The trouble will be to prepare them for the journey so early. In Missouri there may be some warm days when you can do so, but here in the North, it would be too much to expect. To the foregoing general directions for shipping bees, we direct attention. Here is another letter of inquiry from Mr. T. Thurlow, Lancaster, Pa., ■78 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. who asks about moving bees by rail in winter. He says : I am going into Maryland in Feb- ruary, a journey of 200 miles. My 14 colonies of bees are in double-walled hives, with chaff cushions on top. The question with me is, whether to leave the cushions on, or to fasten down the frames, take the cushions off and give them the whole cap to roam around in, with holes through the cap, covered with wire cloth. Which ? The answer given to the preceding questions will apply to this. We do not think it reasonable to expect weather warm enough to prepare bees for shipment during this month. If the weather was warm enough not to chill the brood, if they have it, it would be best to give the bees the cap to cluster in ; especially would it be desirable, if the combs should break down, to give them space to cluster in, and thus, perhaps, save the entire colony. The Sting of the Honey Bee. A correspondent has sent us the following descriptive article on the above subject, takei>-from an English periodical entitled Oood Words : If we press the abdomen of a bee, so as to cause the sting to protrude, we should naturally think that the sharp, dark-colored instrument was The Sting of the Bee. the sting itself. This, however, is not the case. The real sting is a very Blender instrument, nearly transpar- ent, keenly pointed, and armed on one edge with a row of barbs. 8o exactly does the sting resemble the many- barbed arrow of certain savage tribes that, if the savages had possessed mi- croscopes, we should certainly have thought that they borrowed the idea of the barb from the insect. What we see with the unaided eye is simply the sheath of the sting. Many savages poison their spears and arrows, and here also they have been anticipated by the insect. But the sting is infi- nitely superior to the arrow poison. No poison that has yet been made, not even the terrible wourali, or cu- rare, as it is sometimes called, can re- tain its strength after long exposure to air. The upas poison of Borneo, for example, loses its potency in two or three hours. But the venom of the sting is never exposed to the air at all. It is secreted by two long, thread-like glands, not nearly so thick as a human hair, and is then received into a little bag at the base of the sting. When the insect uses its weapon it contracts tlie abdomen, thereby forcing the sting out and compressing the venom- bag. By the force of the stroke which drives the sting into the foe, its base is pressed against the venom-bag and a small amount of poison driven into the wound. The barbed weapon can- not be withdrawn, and the whole ap- paratus of sting, poison-bag and glands is torn out of the insect,thereby causing its ultimate death. The Honey Market in England. The following letter will be very interesting to our readers : There is not much English honey to be found on the market, even the largest producers, the most promi- nent bee-keepers, have had none to sell this winter. Mr. Cowan wrote me the other day, saying he had some in 1 lb. jars to offer at Is. 3d. (30 cts.) per pound. English comb honey in sections of 1 lb. to 2 ib., bring from Is. 6d. (36 cts.) to 2s. (48 cts.) per pound ; but, even at these prices, it is very seldom 1,000 lbs. can be found in one parcel, or in even one neighborhood, so that if a Arm contine themselves to English honey alone, they must, of necessity, be content with very small operations. West India, Mexican, Chilian, etc., honey, in barrels containing from 250 lbs. and upwards to 600 lbs., have been selling at auction, upon Mincing Lane, at from 28s. per 112 lbs. (6 cts. per pound) to 46s. 8d. (10 cts. per pound). A parcel of 73 barrels of about 600 lbs. each, were shipped from Tuxpam, Mexico, to New Or- leans, thence to Liverpool, and from Liverpool to London, by rail,consigued to Messrs. Geo. Hooper &Co., upon whom the shipper drew a 90 diiys draft through Messrs. Baring Bros., at the rate of 2.5s. per cwt., about 5% cts. per pound, but the honey was simply lilthy with dead bees, etc., so that Messrs. Hooper very properly declined to accept the draft. Messrs. Baring Bros, have, through their brokers, been hawking this honey about, and would, I think, be glad to close it out at 5 cts. This class of cheap, foreign honey has rather im- proved the market for finer grades, because buyers are getting so that they will not have the poor grades, at any price. California honey has been in good demand ; one sale, a large one, of Wilkins' honey, sold in Liverpool at 18 cts. per pound. There never was but one parcel of California comb honey brought over here, and that was a parcel of 100 cases by Messrs. Thurber & Co., but they sent it all back to New York two years ago, be- cause it was badly broken, and had to be repacked, which only could be done there. We would gladly pay cash for the grade known in California as " Extra C," 20 cts. per pound, net here. California strained, in 5-quart tins, and barrels of about 250 pounds, bring from 10 to 18 cts. per pound. There has been but very little Western honey imported here, as yet. Nor has there been any honey without comb imported from the Eastern States. Before Christmas, we had about 1,200 cases in all ; 700 from Boston, at 23 cts. per pound ; 450 from Philadelphia, at 22 cts. per pound ; and 50 from New York at 21 cts. per pound. It was all very satisfactory, and arrived safe and sound. We are now entirely out of the glass-sided boxes, and could sell many more cases, at from 28 to 30 cts. per pound, if they were to be had. We have been obliged to go to Hamburg, and buy from those fellows you have seen go around with a wooden tray upon their head, sell- ing honey. We buy it from them in straw supei-s, and cut out the combs, for repacking in jars. I wish you would come over next summer. We are to have the Interna- tional Fisheries Exhibition here un- der the patronage of the Queen and the presidency ot the Prince of Wales, and at Amsterdam, they will have a great International Exhibition under the patronage of the King of the Netherlands. At the latter there is to be a great honey show from all parts of Europe. You must come ; you have been appointed one of the judges, Mr. Editor. Now when you come, this time, you can arrange it to make some money. Bring over a consignment of comb honey, any shape, so it is white and nice. I will sell it all for you, so that you can take the money back in your pocket, and at a good profit. W. M. HoGE. London, England, Jan. 11, 1883. We should be delighted to do as Mr. Hoge suggests, but with a Weekly Bee Paper on our hands, it is impos- sible. Our last visit cost us over a thousand dollars, in money, besides months of valuable time, but we have the consolation of knowing that it was well spent in developing the mar- ket for American honey ; now, some one else may go and reap the harvest. We would, were it possible. i^" Attention is called to our Jiew and liberal advertising rates for 1883. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 79 Bee-Keeping in Egypt. During the past year Egypt has been brought into prominent notice by the events of the war. It is one of the oldest countries, and is the " bridge " of three continents, Asia and Africa it links by land, and by the Suez Canal it lets European com- merce through to the Indies and Aus- tralia. In it, the haughty Pharaohs have erected proud structures to per- petuate their names and deeds throughout all ages. But what a sad contrast, between the land in its era of monuments, and Egypt of to-day ! How fallen, since the time that Joseph sat on its throne next to Pharaoh. What shadows have cast their gloom over the land since that time ! Perpetually under the domination of foreigners : the Assyrian, the Persian, the Mace- donian, the Roman, the Arabian, the Georgian and Tartar slaves, and the indolent Turk. But its fertilizing waters still are pouring into the many tributaries of the White and the Blue rivers, to be wafted down and de- posited by the Nile, in Lower Egypt. The once fertile valley of the Phara- ohs, with its 4,000 towns and cities, can yet produce as perfect a flora, ■when properly irrigated. It is still the Eden of flowers. A correspondent, who has visited that country, says: As a commercial country, it pos- sesses many advantages : bees and honey still forming an important arti- cle of trade. The verdure of Upper Egypt generally withers at the end of four or five months, and commences earlier than in Lower Egypt. In con- sequence of this, the Lower Egyptians collect the bees of several villages, in large boats ; each hive having a mark by which the owner recognizes it, they commence the gradual ascent of the Nile, stopping whenever they come to a region of herbage and flowers. At break of day the bees issue in thou- sands ; and busily collect the sweets of the flowers, which are spread in luxuriant profusion around them, re- turning to their hives laden with honey, and issuing forth again in quest of more, several times during the course of a day. Thus, for three or four months, they travel in a land of flowers, and are brought back to the place whence they started, with the delicious product of the sweet orange-flowers, which perfume the Said, the roses of Eaioum, and the jessamines of Arabia. Nature still possesses her charms in the historic Valley of the Nile, which has always been the great magnet of the human race, as the land of nat- ural resources. But the inhabitants are poor indeed— no better than slaves. The correspondent adds : They not allowed to make use of corn and rice for food, since all that they can raise is demanded by their masters. Indian millet, forming a coarse bread, water, raw onions, some- times a little honey, cheese, dates, and sour milk, form "their constant, and only food. A shirt of coarse linen, dyed blue, and a black cloak, a cloth bonnet, with a long red handkerchief rolled around it, form their costume. Such a population, dwelling in mis- erable hovels, moving among the monuments of ancient grandeur, awaken in the mind of the stranger a painful interest. The bees and their owners, like the pyramids, defy modern civilization, and, for manage- ment, as relentlessly point us back three thousand years ago. With their clay cylinders for hives, their keepers but mock at modern bee culture, and laugh to scorn the progressive ideas of the nineteenth century. Judicious Use of Comb Foundation. Mr. Sylvester Marshall, of Pratts' Fork., O., propounds the following questions : Which is the best kind of comb foundation to use for getting extracted honey — drone or worker ? How thick should it be to obtain the best results V Drone comb foundation has been used, to some extent, but now it is entirely discarded ; the worker-cell comb foundation answers every pur- pose, and as drone cells in a hive is a temptation to drone-rearing when such are not wanted, it is preferable not to have it there for any purpose. Experience has demonstrated that comb foundation, for the brood cham- ber and extracting, should be about 43^ feet to the pound, with a thin base and heavy side walls. This is the most desirable for economy in the use of wax and rapidity of comb building by the bees. Considering the start given to a col- ony of bees, by a j udicious use of comb foundation, the certainty of having the combs all built straight, the ease with which the number of drones pro- duced by a colony may be controlled, no one can justly intimate that we are not making prodigious strides in plac- ing bee-culture among the scientific and profitable occupations of the pres- ent progressive age. Sample Copies of theAMERicAN Bee Journal will be sent free to any per- son. Any one intending to get up a club can have sample copies sent to the persons they desire to interview, by sending the names to this oftice. Letter from Switzerland. The talented and gentlemanly edi- itor of tlie Bulletin D^Apiculteur, pub- lished at Nyon, Switzerland, Mons. Bertrand, writes us as follows : I have sown at Nyon, on some land I purchased, 2J^ acres of Bokhara clover seed, and nearly as much at my Mountain Apiary ; so you see that I am following your advice in the edito- rial articles in the Bee Journal. We could not do without your able Jour- nal, and this is the universal opinion. We are sorry to learn that our friend and co-laborer has been unwell from excessive labor and cares, and hope he may speedily be restored to his accus- tomed vigor and health. 1^ We have received the initial copy of the New England Apiarian, published by W. W. Merrill, Mechanic Falls, Maine. In it we are assured tliat the publisher " is in no way con- nected with a former short-lived jour- nal published in that place." Had this announcement not been made, it would generally have been considered but a revival of that paper which a year ago issued one number, but never suc- ceeded in publishing another. As several of the Maine bee-keepers seem to be giving it their influence, we hope it may succeed. It seems to have pro- gressive ideas, and the Bee Journal wishes it prosperity, and extends its 1^" of welcome to the infant. 1^ The January number of the Kansas Bee-Keeper is on our desk, in an enlarged form. The "Question Department " is in charge of Mr. James Heddon, of Michigan, and Dr. Howard, of Texas, has become as- sistant editor. How Birds are Deceived.— The woodpeckers in Norway bore into tele- graph posts, being misled by the humming sound, to the belief that there are insects in the wood. The bears sometimes scratch away the heaps of stones put to support the pole, thinking that the noise proceeds from a nest of bees. ^f May we ask you, dear reader, to speak a good word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at hast one ?)€m subscription with your own y Our premium," Bees and Honey," in cloth, for one )i«o sub- scriber to the Weekly, or two for the Monthly, besides your own subscrip- tion to either edition, will pay you for your trouble, besides having the satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bee Journal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. 80 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For tbe American Bee Journal. Profitable Use of Foundation, or Old Combs, when the Supply is Limited. G. M. DOOLITTLE. It often happens that the apiarist wishes to give each swarra. vvlien hived, a start, in the way of frames tilled with comb or fomidation, but does not have enough of sucli to give a hive full to all the swarms he expects will issue, hence lie wishes to give four or hve frames to each, or near tliat amount. To this end he places his four or live frames of comb in the center of the hive, and iills out each side with empty frames, and places his swarms upon them. As the queen has plenty of room to lay in tliese combs without the bees building more, she goes to work de- positing eggs. As honey is coming in at the time, the bees must have a place to store it, so they lill the empty frames with stores, which are always of the drone size of cells, the same as they would build if hived in an empty hive with an old unprolitic queen. Hence, the apiarist becomes disgusted witli the use of old combs, and declares that they are of no use to swarms, as a colony not helped at all will accomplish more than does the swarm he has tried to help. This was about the decision I came to, when first trying to use a limited number of combs for a swarm. Therefore, I decided to use a hive full of comb, or none at all. I soon found that these swarms hived on full sets of combs, so far surpassed those not helped at all. that I wished for a way to help all alike, if possible. I had also noted that by the use of the division board I could generally get from four to five frames tilled with nice straight worker comb, after which 1 would get more or less drone comb built by a swarm having no help at all by way of frames of comb. I studied on this matter during the winter, and the result was that the next season found me placing ten frames, each having a nice starter of worker comb along tlie top bar. in each hive ; 1 placed a division board in the center, thus leaving five frames on each side. Tfiis division board did not come quite to the bottom of the hive, but allowed room for the bees to pass under it, as they desired. Into these hives I placed my swarms, and in whichever side the queen chanced to go, there the bees com- menced work. As fast as the bees could build comb it was filled with eggs, hence, nothing but worker comb was built. After the swarm had been hived 48 hours, I put on the boxes or sections, which were immediately taken pos- session of, thus securing the five frames tilled entirely of worker comb ; for if any drone comb was built, it was in the sections. As soon as these five frames were filled (which was readily ascertained by the bees com- mencing work in the vacant side of the hive), the frames in tlie vacant side of the hive were taken out and the division board moved to side of hive. I next spread these combs apart, and put in each alternate space a frame of comb, thus securing a full hive of nice, straight worker comb. As I used only nine frames to the hive, this gave the swarm four empty combs. I thus secured two objects, a hive full of all worker comb, and the bees taking possession of the sections in the shortest possible time. I have been so well pleased with it, that I have used it for years, and find it works equally well in using comb foundation where the apiarist does not feel able to buy enough to have a full hive of it for each swarm. Borodifio,N. Y. For the American Bee Journal. Central Kansas Convention. On Thursday, Jan. 11, 1883, some of the bee-keepers of Kansas, met at Manhattan, to form an Association. Many were prevented from attending on account of the severe cold weather. Mr. Marlatt was called upon to pre- side; and on motion, the following persons vvere appointed a committee on permanent organization, with in- structions to report at 12 p. m. on Sat- urday, Jan. 20, 1883, viz. : R. Cor- bett,"Ed. Kimball and M. D. Waters. On Saturday, Jan. 20, another meet- ing was held, and the report of the committee was made by its secretary, M. D. Waters, who presented a Con- stitution and By-Laws of the Central Kansas Bee-Keepers' Association, which was. on motion, adopted. An election of officers for the en- suing year was then held, with the following result : President, D. B. Himes. Vice-President, E. Kimball. Secretary, Thomas Bassler. Treasurer, R. Corbett. After some interesting discussions on several points of progressive bee- culture, the Association adjourned to meet at the call of the secretary. TnoMAS Bassleb, Sec. for llie American Bee Journal, Chaff Hives andUpwardVentilation. T. C. DAVIS. It gave me much pleasure to see an article from the pen of Mr. Uoolittle, on page 52 of the Bke Journal, on this subject, because 1 am fully con- vinced that our safe wintering prob- lem is to be solved by the chaff hive and its proper ventilation. In the wintPr of 1880 and 1881, 1 had five of the A. I. Root chaff hives, and five others, of my own make, of the same size as the Simplicity, with fixed bottoms, and the ends double, with 3 inches of space tilled with chaff. Ttiey had also double stories, put on the same as the Simplicity. From the 20th of June until the first week ill October of 1880, 1 was in Europe, and had no one to feed the bees during the dry spell we had in the early fall, so when they were ex- amined in October, I found them rather weak and deficient in young bees. I had nothing to do but to pack them for winter, the best way I could, on their summer stands, in those hives. They were all put on four frames, in the middle of the hives, and the sides filled with division boards and chaff. Passages were made in all the combs, and passage ways were provided be- tween the frames and the coverings, by laying small sticks across tlie frames. The coverings were made of an old ingrain carpet, that was once a good and thick one. Above that there were six inches of loose oat chaff, and a good chaff cushion, so that the upper stories were nearly full with chaff. Four of those in the Root chaff- hives, wintered excellently, and came out, in the spring, strong and healthy without any help, except about a pound of candy made of sugar and tiour, that was laid on the frames about tlie mid- dle of March. In the other Root hive, they dwindled badly. They were un- easy and flew out continually, when the weather was not intensely cold, and died on the snow. It puzzled me greatly to know why this colony acted so different to the rest. 1 thought they were all packed exactly the same, and the entrances of all were closed the same, to about four inches. After many fruitless examinations, I noticed that the carpet on this one, was not exactly the same as on the others. The other four were cut ex- actly the size of the hives, and they had raveled some at the ends. After putting them close to the front parts of the hives, they were rather short at the other ends, but not short enough to let the chaff fall in. The carpet on this one was an inch longer than the hive, and both ends were closed tight. When I found this difference, the car- pet was turned back about }-4 of an inch, and a little straw laid on the opening under the chaff. From that moment the bees became more easy, and did not fly ont as before. They came out all right, but 1 Ind to put them on two frames and helped them with some brood from other hives. When the other five hives were ex- amined, I found the carpets packed close, the same as the last mentioned, and a considerable dampness in the hives. I turned these carpets back, also, and filled up as before. The en- trances of these were not more than an inch, and they were enlarged to 4 inches at once. They showed some signs of dysentery, and they dwindled some, but after this, the hives dried out some, and all came out strong and in good condition by the end of May. During the winter of 1881-82 I had 15 of Root's chaff hives, and 3 of the others, packed in the same way, with the carpets turned back about 34 of an inch at the back part, and the en- trances of all the chaff hives left wide open. They all came out in splendid condition. This winter, I have the 15 chaff hives, and 2 of the others, on their THE AMERICAJSI BEE JOURNAL. 81 summer stands, packed exactly in the same way, except that tliey are all on 5 frames, on account of their being very strong last fall. They are doing well so far, and there is not a particle of frost inside the entrances of any of them, in spite of the " cold snaps " we are having. I have also 8 others in a small, dark and well- ventilated cellar, doing well so far. I never tried coverings of porous cloth over them, and it seems to me that Mr. Doolittle's experience speaks against it. But I believe that my ex- perience with a warm quilt, or a car- pet over them, proves that no upper ventilation will not do. It may be all right as long as the weather keeps really cold ; but in my neighborhood, where we have sudden changes, and spells of moderate weather, in the coldest winters, it will not do. I do not know but ^i of an inch of an open- ing to the chaff at the back end of the hive, would be sutlicient, but I am confident 34 of an inch is plenty. In this locality, bad honey in the fall, and pollen in the hives, does not trouble me in the least, and if I have all the Root chaff hives I need, and have my bees packed as I said, I have no fear of loss. The difference I Hnd between the Root chaff liive and those I make myself for wintering, is, mine are more apt to get damp in the bot- tom, when the others are always dry, and that of course is greatly in their favor. There may be other hives quite as well as they are, but I have not seen them yet. Pittsburgh, Pa., Jan. 26, 1883. For tbe American Bee Journal. Lorain Co., 0., Convention. The bee-keepers of Lorain County, Ohio, met in the Probate Court Room of the Court House at Elyria, Dec. 20, at 10 a. m. and organized a society under the name of The Lorain Co. Bee-Keepers' Association. A constitution was adopted, similar to one in general use by other socie- ties of the kind, with the following officers : President, Joseph Hudson ; Vice President, C. I). Bennett ; Sec- retary, O.J. Terrell; Treasurer, M. R. Bennett. T. C. Crilly and C. D. Bennett were appointed a committee on statistics. Adjourned till 1:30 p. m. President Hudson called the meet- ing to order at 1 :30 p. m. Mr. Jump was called for but did not respond. O. J. Terrell, being called for, made a few remarks in favor of organized work ; he also spoke of the manner in which his bees were packed for the winter, namely, in clamps, with clover haff ; also, that he would rather have our inches of clover chaff than ten nches of any other packing he could ithink of. B. P. Worcester described a bee- house which he built, years ago, at the East, wliicli wintered" bees successful- ly, although the winters were very severe. It was made with very tight single walls, with ground lloor, and ventilation at top and bottom. He considered the ventilation a very es- sential thing. Mr. Tompkins said he weighed his bees in the fall and again in the spring, and the average loss per colony was about 7 pounds. One small nucleus, fed 20 pounds of granulated sugar- syrup, had srained 5 pounds. The merits and demerits of the chaff hive were quite thoroughly discussed, the majority being in favor of the chaff hives. The committee on statistics sub- mitted the following table : m m 0^ .s P^ 'a ^■ '3 1 3 50 23 7 14 120 24 0 0 50 . . • . 25 1 3 45 26 4 6 'lO '366 27 100 125 4,000 28 7 11 60 29 13 18 822 '2.56 30 6 11 154 31 20 20 500 32 5 13 '800 33 5 15 '266 34 1 2 35 8 8 "75 .... 36 13 7 278 ^ 37 79 75 3,300 '266 38 0 6 140 39 4 4 90 40 22 49 112 1,466 668 948 21,784 5,510 The question being asked whether it would pay to plant for honey alone, Mr. VV. C. Sutliff replied tliat it would not, but there were plenty of crops that would yield botli honey and good hay. He preferred alsike clover to anything he had tried. L. L. Sears claimed something good for mignonette. It lasted till cold weather and was a wonderful plant to secrete honey. J. E. Squires said, in speaking of the different races of bees, tiiat he did not want anything to do witli the Cypri- ans. Had had one large colony, and they were so cross that he gave the queen away, and divided the colony into four small nuclei, giving them Itahan queens, which he claims are good enough for liim. The question was asked by a mem- ber, if it Daid to keep bees V This brought forth a lively discussion, and it was thoroughly proved by several that bees, rightly managed, did pay. Some effort was made to establish uniform prices for honey, but this was a vexatious question and will be more thoroughly discussed at the next meeting. Mr. Geo. H. Purple exhibited a novel machine, which he makes use of, in taking a swarm of bees from a tree. The machine is so arranged that he can hang in it a frame of brood comb, so that the bees readily take to it. The Association passed a resolution of thanks to tlie Probate Judge, for the use of his court room, and also to the county papers, which so kindly in- serted the notice of the meeting in their columns tlie previous week. On motion of B. F. Worcester, the meeting adjourned to the second Tuesday in March, 1&S3. O. J. Terrell, Sec For tlic American Bee Journal- Wintering Bees in the South. FRANK THIAVILLE. Wintering bees in the South is no trouble, if the bees are in proper con- dition, with plenty of bees and honey. A populous colony tliat has 25 pounds of honey on the Ist of November, will winter well on the summer stand, and be ready for the honey season when it comes. An ordinary colony may winter well with 8 pounds of honey, provided the honey season opens early, say by March 1 ; but if the spring is cool and backward, they will perish, unless fed. During tlie period of repose, bees con- sume au average of 2 pounds of honey per month ; but when breeding time comes, they require at first 2 pounds, then 3 and 4 pounds per week, accord- ing to the strength of the colony, and the quantity of brood that is being reared. A critical time for our bees is when the honey season opens early, and is cut off, by frost and cool weather ; our hives being then full of bees and brood, they must have honey, or the barrel of sugar must be ready. Colonies well supplied with honey will remain quiet at home, and there is no spring dwindling; but, if they have not honey enough, they will fly out during the cool days, get chilled and perish, and the colony will dwin- dle, and even, if it can pi'ill through, it is worthless for the season. In the winter of 1S80-81, no bees perished on the summer stands, so long as they had honey ; butthe spring was cool and backward, and a great many periShed by the last of JNIarch, and first part of April, just at the eve of the honey season. We are located between 34^ and 35° north latitude. In the winter of 1880- 81, the thermometer seldom went 82 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. down to zero ; it was several times at 3° and 5° above at daybreals, but at noon it liad raised to 29°. It was, for several weeks, at 10° and 12° above at daybreak, and 30° and 40° at noon ; and about every week or ten days the bees liad a flight. Last winter, the thermometer did not sink much below 25° above zero at niglit, and at noon fiO° to 75°. Last Sunday, Jan. 21, was the cold- est of the season ; at daybreak it was at 9° above zero; and at noon 30°. Yesterday it was uioderating ; at day- break 16°; and at noon 45°. To-day is pleasant.and bees fly if they want to. In cool, hard winters I put my bees into a bee-house, or pack them with leaves and straw, for about 6 weeks, from Dec. 10 to the middle or last of January, and it saves honey. There is very little breeding at this date. This is an indication that we will have a late spring. Forest City, Ark., Jan. 23, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. How to Market Honey. Q. W. DEMARBE. Mr. James Heddon " publicly in- vites " me to write an article on the above subject. Of course he does not expect to be benefited by it himself, because he has already " got there." It is presumable, however, that he wishes to " prove me " as to whether I know anything about practical mat- ters pertaining to bee culture. I write, then, in the hope of benefiting those who have had trouble to es- tablish a market for their honey. I believe that there are many such, judging from the private inquiries I have received in the past. Before I take up the subject, how- ever, I wish to say that the article of Mr. Heddon, which contains the invi- tation before mentioned, though pur- porting to be a " clear " statement of his " position," shows " confusion worse confounded." His " second " proposition which, in fact, is the text of his discourse, is replete with error, and is marvelously superficial, when viewed from a historical and scientific standpoint. Of our native bees, un- contaminated with the blood of other races, I have noticed at least four varieties. Wliile, of the Italian, the variety is " legion," hence, to con- fine the "long" or "shorter-bodied " specimens of the Italian to any im- aginary variety of the race, is not only an error, but is an egregious blunder. The truth is, the long, slender-bodied specimens of the Ital- ian race are superior to the short, thii^k -bodied specimens, no matter whether they are " dark " or " light." As far as my observation extends, the length of the body is in no way inlliu'uced by the color. Mr. II. has not attempted to con- trovert a single important proposition that I have laid down, exeei)t in the way of argumentum ad ccu?)ie>! am— ar- gument to tlie purse, "bread and butter." Is life a great "tread wheel," with its perpetual creaking under an unceasing tread V Even though the inevitable trough be filled with bread and butter, such a life is the meanest bondage tliat ever bowed the neck of man. If all of us should write on " bread and butter," who would be left to do the scientific thinking and writing V In the " long ago " I kept some bees to supply our table with honey ; and, even then, when I knew but little about bees, I loved to watch them as they bore their precious loads of nec- tar to their home—" sweet home." After the modern system of bee-keep- ing became a reality, I purchased some Italian bees and began to study their habits and natural history. Time went on, and my bees multi- plied under good management, and soon we had honey for our own use and plenty to spare, and of this, I would send around to our neighbors, each a nice package, every once in a while. When a person wanted a "bucket" of honey I .sold it to him. I bought an extractor and produced both comb and extracted honey. I felt some anxiety to introduce the ex- tracted article, but the chances looked bad at the start. My customers, wlien they came for honey, would say, " I want honey just like that I got from you last." I would sliow them the one- and-a-lialf-pound sections, and show them the article of extracted, and ex- plain it all to tliem. It was all " won- derful and nice," but they must have it just like that they got from me be- fore. Very well, then, I would say, just leave your buckets here and I will fill them in a few days. To fill these orders my nice section honey was cut out and the buckets were filled without bruising the combs more than could be avoided, and then the very best quality of extracted honey was poured into the buckets till every nook and corner was full. Put up in this way, a three gallon bucket will hold 35 pounds of our best white clover honey. Tiiese packages gave perfect satisfaction, and when these customers returned for more honey, they were pressing in their re- quests that the honey must be just like what they had been getting from me. On one occasion, a good customer sent in 4 three-gallon buckets, and ordered them filled with honey " like he had been getting from me." At a venture, I filled 3 of them in the usual way, and the other I filled with the very bestarticleof extracted white clover, so thick that it would nearly " stand alone." Being a pleasant fel- low to deal with, he said nothing and paid the bill— 20 odd dollars. The next season, his buckets came back with an order for 1 or 2 hundred pounds of honey like" that one bucket that had no wax in it." He had " put that bucket full aside till winter, and it was simply splendid, there were no pieces of hard wax to get into his teeth ;" others were induced to try it, and it " took " every time. Well, by and by, my little honey house became stored with more honey than my good little home market de- manded, and I began to look out for a city market. I put some samples of nice section in the " show case." in a fancy grocery, in Shelbyville, and they stood there several weeks. They were " very nice," but nobody seemed to think that honey, in that shape, was made to eat. I then corresponded with a firm in Louisville, proposing to send them some sample crates of sections ; also some extracted honey ; explaining the whole thing to them, and setting a price on the honey, war- ranting the honey to be just as I de- scribed it, or they might return it, at my expense. They wrote me to send it on, and I sent them one crate of 32 sections and 2 sixty-pound kegs of ex- tracted honey. In a few days I re- ceived a check for the price of the honey, and an order for more. I now had an outlet for all the crop that was not taken by the home market. It is unnecessary to pursue the sub- ject further, all large things have small beginnings. It takes skill and patience to create a demand for honey, in any locality, where the business Is new. "but when once the trade is es- tablished, it is as easy to sell honey as any other product for consumption. I insist that our local markets should be cultivated to the fullest extent, for we thereby lessen the competition in the city markets. The subject, per- taining to the " size of the packages," is interesting ; but to create a demand for honey as daily food in the stead of the vile table syrups on the markets, is a matter of more interest. Christiansburg. Ky. Nebraska State Convention. The Nebraska State Bee-Keepers' Association met at the Court House in Wahoo, and was called to order by T. L. VoiiDoru, President, on Jan. 11, 1883. Quite a large number of the members from various portions of the State were present. Secretary Hawley read his annual report, which on motion was recived and placed on file. The treasurer, F. F. Caldwell, made his annual report, which on motion was referred to a committee on finance, consisting of Messrs. Trester, Rose and Jordan. The bill of the Allen Printing Co., of Omaha, for 250 copies of the By- laws of the Association, amounting to $7.50, was allowed, and an order drawn on the treasurer for the amount. Quite a number joined the Associa- tion, and members paid their dues. The election of officers was post- poned until 9 a. m. to-morrow. On motion, the president was in- structed to appoint a committee of one on statistics, and M. L. Trester, of Lincoln, was appointed as such committee. Mr. Corbett, of Plattsmouth, called for a report from persons who had cultivated forage for bees. This led to a spirited and lively discussion re- garding the successful growing of clovers and tame grasses in Nebraska, which was of great interest to farmers and slock raisers, as well as apiarists. Mr. Stark, of Beatrice, said : I have sowed about 40 acres of red clover and it is doing well, and I have a good pas- ture. I plowed the ground, harrowed it until vvell pulverized, then sowed THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 83 the seed and rolled it. It blooms well and tlie bees work on It well. I pas- ture the liekl with cattle, and do not think there is any question but what clover can be grown successfully in Nebraska. I also sowed two acres of sweet clover, six pounds to the acre ; seed cost 30 cents per pound. Mr. Muir, of Brownsville, said : I have been in Nebraska since 1856, and my experience and observation leftd me to conclude that the new soil of Nebraska will not produce good clover and tame grasses, but that as it be- comes cultivated, and is cropped for several yertrs, it will produce good tame grasses. As the soil becomes ■cultivated, it beonmes more solid, the clover does not so easily winter-kill, and grows more thrifty ; I consider ■white clover the best forage for bees. Mr. Fletcher, of Wahoo, said he thought there was no doubt about raising clover in this State. He sowed 10 pounds of seed, two years ago, and now had 20 acres of good clover. He pastured the field, and thought that was the best way to insure a growth. Dr. McAllister, of Columbus, said: A few years ago, white clover was sown in a few of the lots of that city, and was now spreading all over the streets and adjoining lots. He con- sidered sweet clover the best honey- producing plant. Mr. Myers, of Bellevue, said : Two years ago I sowed 20 pounds of clover seed on prairie sod, and on the north slope of a hill, the soil was new and had never been cultivated, and I have had a good field of clover there ever since ; I tliink white clover would grow anywhere, if hogs were kept out of it. Mr. Trester said : I have sown tame grasses and clover in Nebraska every year since 1862, and have never failed of getting a good crop but once, and tnen it was poor seed. My plan is to harrow the ground down smooth, then sow three or four kinds of tame grass seed mixed, and in about double tlie quantity that is recom- mended by the seed men. Then I harrow it tlioroughly, and, when the first crop is ripe, I movv it and leave it upon the ground, and I have no trouble in getting the ground matted with clover by the second year. I have sown on sod and on cultivated land, and, I have no doubt but what tame grasses of all kinds can be successfully grown in this (State. Mr. Bouse, of Wahoo, said : Three years ago there was a pasture lot near my residence seeded to red clover, and, in a little, wliite clover appeared with it, and now it had nearly run the r^d out. I think all that is needed, to get forage for our bees, is to scatter white clover seed. I find tliat it even spreads on the prairie, where it has not ever been bi'oken. I think that white clover always secretes honey in moist seasons, but in dry seasons does not. G. M. Hawley said : I sowed white clover, seven years ago, and it winter- killed. Some has since been sovyn in the cemetery lot, which is growing and spreading ; 1 think that, as the country becomes older and more cul- tivated, tame grasses will do better. Mr. Corbett, of Plattsmouth, said : I am glad to see the turn this ques- tion has taken. I think clover will grow well in Nebraska. I have al- ways had success, even when sown on the open prairie, without any prepara- tion whatever ; I have watched it in drv seasons, and do not see that it kills out. I think white clover does best when not shaded, and if it does kill out, some winters, it will return jigain. I think it secretes honey only in moist seasons. It was nearly the unanimous de- cision that tame grasses of all kinds would grow well in this State, and that they were profitable crops to grow, and that white and sweet clover were excellent forage plants for bees, and could be easily grown. After the the close of this discussion, the Con- vention adjourned until 7 p. m. The Convention was called to order by the president at 7:15 p. m. Quite a large audience of the citizens of Walioo were present, besides the members of the Association. Mr. T. L. Whitbeck, a member of the Saunders County Bee-Keepers' Association, made a very terse and well-timed speech of encouragement to the Convention, and the Hon. M. B. Reese, on behalf of the citizens of Walioo and the commissioners of Saunders county, extended to the Con- vention a hearty welcome. Both speeches were responded to in a happy manner by the president, after which the Convention was favored witli some excellent instrumental and vocal music by Miss Stocking, of Wahoo. The question box furnished the fol- lowing questions, which were dis- cussed at length : How far will bees go to pasturage ? Various members gave it as their ex- perience that they would go from three to seven miles, but all that was over two miles was lost labor. How much honey will one bee gather in a life time V A bee lives but forty days, and it is estimated that one bee will gather a teaspoonful of honey during that time. Their average load is from 1% to 3 grains. Is it necessary to handle queen-cells carefully ? It is. They should be handled very carefully, and always kept in their original position, head down. Why do bees of queenless hives kill their young queens V Several rea- sons were given by bee-keepers, but it was thought that it was only a rare occurrence that they did so. Will Alsike clover always produce honey V Mr. Rouse said that it did not, the lir.st year of its bloom ; but Mr. Hawley and Mr. Corbett thought that it did. and they had seen their bees working on it. When bees are wintered in a cellar, is light an injury ? Mr. Hawley did not think it was, if the cellar was kept at the right temperature, which, in Ills o|)inion, was 45 degrees ; but he preferred a dark cellar, because the bees kept more quiet and did not con- sume so much honey as in a light one. Mr. Baird and Dr. McAllister had se- cured the best results in dark cellars. Mr. Turney, of Ceresco, wintered his bees in a light cellar, with screen over the portico of the hive, and always witli success; he preferred a light cellar. Mr. Stark thought the darker the cellar and the more quiet they were kept, the better. Mr. Whitbeck had wintered bees in cellars, for 15 years, in Wisconsin ; he kept the cel- lar dark, but well ventilated. At 20 degrees the bees consumed more honey, but it was less work to take care of them ; at .30 and 40 degrees it was more work, but they consumed less honey. The general sentiment of the Conventiqn was in favor of win- tering in dark cellars, if cellar win- tering was the method adopted. With what and how would you feed a colony of bees that have no honey ? To feed with candy was decided the best. A few moments of conversation was held, when the Convention ad- journed until Friday morning, at 9 o'clock. Convention was called to order at 9 a. m. by the president, when the fol- lowing were elected officers for the ensuing year: President, T, L. Von- Dorn, Omaha; Vice-President, S. L. Thomas, Plattsmouth ; Secretary, M. L. Trester, Lincoln; Treasurer, F. E. Caldwell, Bellevue ; Finance Commit- tee, C. L. Speice, Dr. McAllister and J. N. Heaton, all of Columbus. The report of the finance commit- tee on the treasurer's report was read and adopted. A communication from the Hon. D. H. Wheeler. President of the State Agricultural Society, was read, and in compliance with a request therein, T. L. Von Dorn and D. H. Wheeler were appointed a committee to meet with the State Agricultural Society at Lincoln, to make arrangements for exhibits and premiums on honey at the next State Fair. It was decided that it was not best to accept the invitation extended to hold the annual meeting of the Asso- ciation with the annual meeting of the State Agricultural Society. On the question of holding the next annual meeting, Lincoln received 12 votes, and Fremont and Nebraska City 8 each. The Executive Commit- tee will decide upon the time and place of holding it. The secretary was instructed to notify all bee-keep- ers in the State by postal card of the place and date vifhen decided upon, and invite them to attend, also to issue a call for statistics from the bee- keepers of the State, said call to be published in the newspapers of the State ; also to notify delinquent mem- bers of the amount of arrearage in annual dues. The president then delivered his annual address, as follows : president's address. I am glad to extend to yon a kindly greeting. Another year, with its cares and labors, its joys and sorrows, its attainments and its failures, has passed, and been added to that long procession of the departed ages. We have again assembled to counsel to- gether, to exchange experiences and thoughts, to lay plans for future ac- tion. We have a common interest, an 84 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. interest in each iind every one of our co-laborers, an interest in keeping up apiculture to the liighest standard. Let us, therefore, be prompt to advise, ready in council to advance our cher- ished pursuit. Theie are but few things to which I shall call your especial attention this session, and these I hope will receive your careful consideration. Owing to a season, exceptionally good, during the last half, in most of the Western States, a large surplus has been gatliered, and large quanti- ties have been thrown on the market by persons desirous of realizing at the earliest date. In consequence, prices have fallen, until they are less than the situation warrants, especially for comb honey. Added to this, there have been frequent shipments of in- ferior honey, and honey dew, which the shipper unable to sell at home, sends abroad to be sold at any price. This has still further demoralized trade and disgusted consumers. With a view to freeing our markets from undue pressure, I have corres- ponded with several of the large deal- ers of this country, and also sent sam- ples to England. The replies are here tor your information. In this connec- tion I feel warranted in saying, tliat if each producer would briiig or send average samples of his honey to our State Fair for exhibit, that much might be done to market at that place. I believe that a conference with the State Board of Agriculture would be of benefit to the producers and State at large. An agent for the sale of honey, in one or more of our largest towns, to retailers or jobbers, would also, in my opinion, beneht us all, in as much as one jierson could, by pru- dent measures, obtain fairer prices than a number making promiscuous sales, as is the practice now. Next to injudicious sales, no one thing operates so much against the sale of good honey as the glucose traf- fic. This vile stuff, allowed by law to destroy health and sound business principles, is in one form or another upon the tables of the majority of American families. Never sold under its own name to the consumer, and ignorant of its effect upon health, its consumption is enormous. There is plenty of imimpeachable testimony, proving its total unfitness as an article of food, and 1 think we should leave no stone unturned to expose its true character. I believe much can be done by our Associatiou to place the facts before the people. But tliat wliich would deal it the deadliest blow, would be plenty of cheap wholesome honey. I am satisfied we can afford to sell our extracted honey at 10 cents per pound, and at thatpriceit is within the reach, owing to its vastly superior flavor and sweetening qualities, of even the com- mon laboring man. We can render no greater service to our State than to place a wholesome sweet within the reach of all its citizens. While the exhibit at the last Fair was an improvement over all former ones, I am sorry to say it was by no means commensurate with our pres- ent status in apiculture. 1 am aware that to make an exhibit, necessitates an expenditure of both time and money, yet after attending three con- secutive" fairs, must unhesitatingly pronounce it a paying investment for any bee-keejier who produces for sale, even for a liome market. Some prac- tical measures, looking to a more gen- eral exhibit, would be very desirable. I believe the State Board of Agricul- ture will do all in its power to make our exhibit a success. They certainly merit our most sincere thanks for what they have already done. With this communication, the sec- ond term of my ofBce as presiding officer closes. Allow me to thank you, each and every one, for the very many kind words, wishes and deeds, you have bestowed upon me. Let me as- sure you that I thoroughly appreciate you all, and in the years to come the re- membrances of these days will always be those of sincere and unalloyed pleasure. T. L. VonDokn. Louis Trester, a youth of about 14 years of age, read the following report of juvenile bee-keeping : Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : My Pa told me if I would write my experience in bee-keeping during the past summer, I might go to the bee- keepers' meeting— so here it is : Sometime in June (about the mid- dle, I think it was), I bargained with Pa for four frames covered with bees and filled with brood, for which I was to pay $1.00 apiece. When I went to get them. Pa said I might take one frame with a queen-cell on, as he had several of them. I took three frames, one with a queen-cell on, and left the fourth one, thinking, perhaps some- thing might possibly happen to my cell or queen after she hatched, and I might want another. I took the three frames and put them in a hive and closed them in as small a space as pos- sible, by means of a division-board. All went well, notwithstanding! took a peep into the hive every day to see that nothing happened the all-impor- tant object of the hive. In due time the cell was opened and a beautiful, yellow queen came fortli, but my anxiety was not over yet, I still kept peeping into the hive nearly every day, to see if my treasure, as I deemed it, was still there. About tlie fourth or fifth day, I looked in my hive one evening, and could not find my queen. It was late, about sundown, and I thought such a young bird as she ought to lie at home. I waited until dark and then closed the front of the hive, so she would not get out earlier than I. and, in the morning, when I looked, I found her ladyship as com- posed as if she had alvVays been lay- ing, and then I got my fourth frame and commenced to build up, by add- ing one sheet of comb foundation at a time, putting it in the middle of the brood chamber. When honey season began I had as strong a colony of bees as my Pa had in his apiary. I bought the top story containing boxes, which cost me $1.00, making a total cost of SB.35 for bees, hive, foundation, sec- tion boxes, and all complete. When I put on the second story the bees seemed to have no inclination to work in the boxes, so I put two frames with section boxes down in the brood chamber, and put four brood frames in the place the others occui)ied, and left them there about a week, and found that they were working in boxes both above and below ; then changed all to their proper places, and then they worked readily, but after all my luck, and being a beginner in the bar- gain, I took from my four frames of btes, that I began with in the spring, 47 pounds of comb honey, and 53 pounds of extracted honey, leaving about 40 pounds to winter on. I sold my honey for $15 cash, leaving me a gain of $8.65 on $6. .35 invested. Remember,that I still have my bees, they are yet alive. Count them at what you please, if they come through all right, in the spring, my profits will be at least double, tor I have not counted my bees at all in my report. Louis TUESTEU. M. L. Trester read a paper on " Single-walled vs. Double-walled hives," which contained much for in- teresting thought by apiarists. Adjourned until 2 p. m. The meeting was called to order at 2 p.m. The president read some correspondence from abroad in regard to marketing and shipping of honey. Shall we use separators V Not, for narrow sections. Is it more profitable to run for comb or extracted honey V Extracted. Will chaff hives pay ? A difference of opinion. Will bass wood groves grow here? Yes. Will the Rocky Mountain bee plant grow here V It will. Resolutions were adopted thanking the citizens of Walioo, and the rail- roads for courtesies, and then the Convention adjourned. For the American Bee Journal. Feeders and Wired Foundation. JAMES HEDDON. In response to Mr. Williams' inquiry regarding my feeders, and several private inquiries in relation to wired foundation, allow me to append the following : To describe the mechani- cal construction of my feeders, would be simply to make confusion worse confounded. Whoever has faith in it being the best sliape and style of make-up, to embrace the vital points most desirable for a bee-feeJer, and who may wish to make simie like it, should by all means make from a sam- ple. Just so with any article of mer- chandise in the bee-keepers' line. When you get a sample, do not be too fast to make "just a little alteration," because you think such change an improvement, or may not have just the rigtit stock to work from, and " guess it will make no difference." Recollect, that while no one claims perfection, and that you might im- prove any apicultural article of mer- chandise, you will hardly, in a single day, get ahead of one who has pon- dered long over, and experimented for years, peniaps, with it. Let me illustrate. My style of hive THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 85 and surplus case is, perhaps, as simple as any form now in use. It requires more thought to reduce complication to simplicity, than tnce versa. Several farmers about here luive taken sam- ples of my hive and himberto the shop where I hire my lumber cut, and by the samples hired theirs gotten out in the flat, then taken home and made up. By and by, I was solicited to go and make a bid on their bees, as they were positively " going out of the business." (They were never in it much.) I was glad to buy bees " in hives just like mine." I did buy them, and I, in every case, threw away the hives. In one case, the frames also had to go. I could not use anything about the bolched-up concern. One man came 30 or 40 miles and left a sample and an order for 40 hives, all to he made up by the linn who does my cutting. Happening in, one day, and seeing them all up and painted, I removed the cover, and found that the owner had left orders so to do, and they had made all of them 2 inches deeper than tlie frames. That bee- keeper had a bottom air chamber theory, while the real practical air chamber was " on top," just under his hat. Well, the stock boards used were hardly wide enough, so, to make sure and have this new " air cham- ber " fully large enough, (so that the bees could build waste comb in it) the mill men stole % inch (only %, that is not much) from the space above the frames. This reduced that space to less than bee height, and a yoke of oxen would be needed to pull off a cover, by and by. The owner was reported afterwards, when using these hives, to call on a name " more frequent than some would advise." Please excuse me from the futile at- tempt to give a description of my feedei s sutticiently clear to enable one to make them accurately by it. The Patent Office experts deftiand compre- hensive drawings or models. In the first place, he wlio makes only a dozen or two, makes them at a greater cost than to buy them. He who wishes to make many, for sale or otherwise, should, and can well afford to pay five prices for a sample, and then make them just like thatsample. My fetter does, and I think all feeders should, embrace the following principles : It never leaks. It never daubs a bee. No rubbing is caused by its use. No heat is lost. No coming in contact with the bees when relllling, or ascer- taining the progress of the bees, or emptying it. It can be used equally well at the entrance, but with a feeder properly made and adjusted, ''top feeding" is much to be pre- ferred. It holds about '2 pounds, and works very well for feeding full stores for wintering. When so doing I used 4 of them (which just covered my 8 frames, Langstroth hives), and 2 fill- ings (16 lbs.) I find ample to last from Oct. 1st to May 1st. I feed this amount in from 24 to 48 hours. The bottom of the feeder is a solid block, 23^x0x12,14, with saw cuts I4 inch, cut into it, to hold the feed. The bees come up through one that is cut clear through, round over a lower partition, and till up and retire below. These cuts are divided by thin partitions (that prevent daubing of trie bees), and they are all connected by 3 holes crosswise at the bottom, so that as fast as you fill one space, all must fill. The whole is covered with a wire cloth, frame and board cover over all ; and is well painted on the outside. Basswood is the best to make them of. As a bee-feeder for general use, they are good. As a supply, they are hardly worth bothering with. If feed- ing ever becomes a wholesale prac- tice, something on the same princi- ple of four times the size, will be used, I think. There is no patent on them. All tears of damage to brood by fine tinned wire running through the base of the foundation, are now at an end. The use of such wire holds the full sheets in perfect position, while being drawn to perfect combs. The Given is our choice of all comb foundation. To make full sheets right, in previously wired fmmes, the press is a gem. A thing $500 would not tempt me to be without. An excellent article of brood foundation can be made with No. 36 tinned wire incorporated in it, vertically, every 2 inches, with the ends sticking out so that they can be put through holes, in, or on hooks previ- ously attached to the frame, and all in apple pie order. But I Ltiink the better way is for each bee-kFeper who has too few bees to own a press, to bore and wire his frames with No. 30 (coarser) tinned wire, and fasten the sheets of any unwired foundation to these wires, by the button hook pro- cess, which I may hereafter more fully describe. We have found the Given to be the best style of foundation for this hand pressing onto wires; also the best utilized by the bees. Our bees flew some yesterday, and just a wee bit to-day, and the pros- pects now are good for this time of the year ; for the sun, the glory of earth, is now " returning on his silver wheels." He is coming to us again, with the old certainty ; and whose eyes will he gladden more than those of the bee-keeper. VVe know he will raise the mist, cause the rain, grow and paint the nectar-laden flowers. His genial rays will not only warm our bodies but our minds. In the lan- guage of Southey, I marvel not, O Sun ! that unto thee In atloratlon, man should bow the knee. And pour the prayer of minKled awe and love ; For like a Nod thon art, and on thy way Of t:lory, sheddest with benignant ray, Beauty, and life, and joyance from above. Dowagiac, Mich., Jan. 29, 1883. . For the American Bee JoutdeiL Kentucky State Convention. Owing to the poor health of ex-Sfec- retary Williamson, which prevented him from attending the last annual meeting of the Kentucky State Bee- Keepers' Association, but a very mea- ger report of the meeting was pub- lished in the Farmers'' Home Journal (and I have never seen that), and was not present at the meeting myself, but I understand that G. W. Demaree, of Chrisliansburg, was elected President and E. Drane, of Eminence, Secreta- ry ; W. Cook, Vice President ; J. B. Nail, Treasurer ; N. H. Lettell, Mr. Hofstatter and A. Snider, Executive Committee. The meeting stands ad- journed to meet in Louisville at a- time to be fixed by the executive com- mittee, and not knowing the post of- fice address of the committee, I take this plan to call their attention to the matter, hoping this may meet their eye and that they will take steps im- mediately to fix the time so that notice may be given in the papers. It is to- be hoped that the bee-keepers in Ken- tucky and those in adjoining States will see to it that we have a rousing meeting. Let all bee-keepers attend, for it is to their interest to do so, and let their light shine ; let all novices- and beginners attend, that they may learn to make bee-keeping a success. E. Drane, Sec. Eminence, Ky., Jan. 29, 1883. For the American Bee JoumaL Do Bees Wound the Blossoms? KBV. M. MAHIN, D. D. In the American Bee Journal of Jan. 24, 1883, I find an article by W. H. Stewart containing some things that should not be allowed to pass without some criticism and inquiry. He holds " that bees wound the bloom of clover, buckwheat, linden, and in fact all other plants, before they are able to extract from them the desired sweet." But he does not offer any proof of his faith in this new doc- trine. He does not tell us how the bee wounds the clover blossom. I have watched bees by the half hour, at least, gathering honey from clover, and I never yet saw one insert any- thing in the flower except its tongue ; and any one who has ever seen a bee's tongue knows that it cannot wound anything. The idea that bees wound the flowers to get the honey is con- trary to all observations of the struc- tures of the flowers, and of the bees, and of the process of gathering the honey. Mr. Stewart furthersays : " Mr. H. M. Morris, of Rantoul, 111., lives where there is more corn than any other honey-yielding plants, and his bees store large quantities of corn honey each year. He finds that bees work very lively at the base of every leaf, and at every joint from top to root of the stalk. The truth is, that the rind of tlie stalk is the most tender at that point, and the bees mutilate the rind, making the stalk bleed, and then gather the sweet fluid." I not unfrequently see something in the bee papers and elsewhere about " corn honey." But corn honey is a myth, except so much of it as is made at the glucose factories. People see bees working on corn tassels, and take it for granted that they are gathering honey ; but they are not. There is no honey there to gather. I have some- times watched bees working on all the varieties of corn grown in this coun- try and I never saw a bee apply its tongue to the flower. The corn tassel has no organs for the secretion of nectar, and it is impossible for it to yield honey. Such at least is my firm 86 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. •conviction, and will be, till proof of the contrary is presented. But ttie bees mutilate the rinds of <;orn stalks ! Well ! well ! ! If that is so we will have to acknowledge that they can break the skin of a grape, and confess that we are liable to the grape growers for the damage to their crops, which we have claimed was done by birds, wasps, and, more than all, by the weather. But the thing is too ab- rsnrd to be treated seriously. Surely, Mr. Stewart must be joking. If Mr. Morris ever saw bees sucking at the joints of corn stalks (I never did, and I was raised among corn-lields and bees,) the corn was infested with ■chinch bugs, or some species of plant lice. In very dry weather I have seen bees among the foxtail grass when tlie chinch bugs were working on it, but only one season. Huntington, Ind., Jan. 24, 1883. forties below zero ; the snow is about 2 feet deep, and somewhat drifted. As the cold dreary days and long evenings of midwinter pass storraily by, would not a bee-keeper have a thought occasionally about the wel- fare of his stock y I miss the little bees greatly, during the long term of their imprisonment. O how I should like to live in a land of (lowers, where the music made by their tiny wings could be heard from the first to the last day of tlie years, as they come and go— time would glide so sweetly by. John Morris. Mauston, Wis., Jan. 2-5, 1883. Size of Hives and Frames. How many square inches should there be in the brood chamber V What Is the right distance between the frames (in the brood chamber), the frames being % in. wide? What is the size of sections that will hold 2, 3 and 4 lbs. of honey with separators. Morven, Ont. W. R. IIbnwood. [The brood chamber of the hive should be about 2,000 cubic inches, un- less a smaller breeding apartment is required for the purpose of driving the bees into the boxes above, when running for comb honey. The distance between frames, from centre to centre, should be a little less than IJ^ inches. The one-pound section for honey is 434x4>4x2 ; the two-pound section measures 5}4^G}4x'2. Larger ones are now entirely out of date.— Ed.] Trial of Packing: in Different Ways. Some of my bees flew a little on Dec. 24th, and I swept the dead bees off of the bottom boards ; on some there were more than I desire to see so early in the winter. I hope they will be able to have a cleansing flight before many more weeks. In my two-story hives there are no dead bees. I have 20 hives of bees, packed in different ways, on the summer stands. Those that have the honey above are now in the best condition. Matteson, 111. A. Wicherts. Rearing of Drones. I started this spring with 5 good col- onies, and increased to 15, by natural swarming. One swarm, coming out on June 17th, gathered 218 lbs. of sur- plus comb honey ; all the others did well. In the Bee Journal for Dec. 20, Mr. Morse speaks of taking frames of honey away and replacing them with frames of foundation. Do you consider that a good practice V What would be the consequences to use all foundation in the brood chamber V Where would they raise lirones ? Please anewer through the Journal. Toledo, Iowa. H. L. Fisher. [Mr. Morse mentions the plan of taking frames of honey from the hives, and putting in frames filled with comb foundation in their place. These are readily filled with eggs or honey, as the case may be, and the practice is a good one. The bees will be sure to make drone cells enough on the edges to ob- tain all they need. This plan is pur- sued to prevent, as much as possible, the rearing of drones.— Ed.] but I have had this same honey at the same time (June) for 3 con.secutive years. This honey candies as white as the best lump sugar when extracted, but will not candy at all in the comb. Dysentery has commenced to show itself, but in hives with the lime pro- tection I have failed to discover a trace of the disease. I should be pleased to have yon try some experi- ments witli the lime idea this winter (gratis). I do not claim a cure, but a preventive for dysentery, and if it is not what I claim, I want to know it at once, or as soon as possible, as I hope to solve the problem of " wintering on the summer stands " before I give it up. F. Della Torre. Baltimore, Md. [The honey is candied solid, as white as cream, and very pleasant to the taste, but we cannot state definitely the source from which it was gath- ered ; the white clover flavor seems to be oveipowered. so that but little of its taste can be discovered in it. We shall be glad to publish the experi- ments of Mr. Della Torre with lime ; we are not situated so that we can ex- periment with it now. — Ed.] The Forties Below Zero. We are having some very cold weather now. The temperature has been very low, continually, since the first week in December, but I shall not venture to tell you just the exact depth that has been reached ; suffice it to say that it did go down to the Home Market for Honey. As there was an error in my report, I will give it as it should be : I started last spring with 9 colonies, and have increased them to 29 by natural swarming. I have obtained from them 500 pounds of honey in the comb, and also extracted 500 pounds. I realized from 15 to 20 cents per pound for it in my home market. The bees are all packed for the winter in a bee cellar. F. A. Gibson. Bacine, Wis., Jan. 25, 1883. I A Sample of Peculiar Honey. I left with C. H. Lake a small bottle of honey to be forwarded to you to identify, if possible. Tlie sample sent is }^ clover honey, which does not alter the taste, but I had to add something to darken the shade, before the honey would sell. This honey is, when pure, about as clear as water— the lightest honey in the world, and, to uiy taste, the best. I took a small sample to the Cincinnati convention, hoping to get some information as to the source from wlience derived, and was sus- pected of putting up " a joke on the convention '"with "rock candy syrup." Dr. Miller said, "glycerine and sugar," Mr. Bingham proposed " honey dew," Wood Separators,— Thin Boxes. I have used wood and tin separators during the last 7 years, and now pre- fer the wood. Would like Mr. Ripley to give us more on the size of honey- box and also any others that wish, un- til we get a size that suits merchants, consumers and tlie bees. What thickness is best for the box V If boxes are 5 or 6 inches high, and 1 or 1>4 thick, hold- ing 1 pound, would they be liable to fall down in handling, in retailing, etc. Has any one had experience with such thin boxes ? If so, please report on the practicability of them. At pres- ent I use boxes 2 inches thick. P. MOYER. Havtstown, Pa., Jan. 29, 1883. Comb Foundation a Great Help. Uiad 18 colonies last spring, and I piit into winter quarters 34 colonies. They did nothing till the middle of July ; since that I obtained from them $100 worth of comb honey. I could not get along without comb founda- tion. I think it pays well to use it, as it saves the expense of separators. I have Italianized part of my bees, and like them much better than the blacks. Alfred Gale. Shelby, Ind., Jan. 23, 1883. Two Queens in a Hive. The hive was occupied by a colony of pure Italians, with a queen two years old, having her wings clipped. 1 had been giving my bees a good deal of attention, honey was coming in fast, and the bees were showing signs of swarming. About August 2.5th, I was passing the hive, when my attention was called to it, by seeing quite a large ball of bees on the alighting board. I pushed theui apart and discovered the clipped queen in a dving condition. I took her to the THE AMERICAJSr BEE JOURNAL. 87 house, but could not save her. I thought I would try and find out what was the trouble, so I opened the hive and examined it thoroughly. I found the colony in good condition, with plenty of eggs, brood in all stages, and also a young, lively {and I believe fertilized) queen. Cato, Mich. S. J. Youngman. Buckwheat for Honey. It is customary for farmers, in this section, to " summer tallow " a field intended for wheat the next year. This is done to enrich the land and clean it of foul weeds. How would it do to sow such a field with buckwheat as early as possible after putting on it the usual barn yard manure ? Would it give the bees "a lift" in time to plow under about the middle of Au- gust, or would the hot weather kill the flowers for honey i* Would it help smother out the thistles, etc.? Tak- ing all together, would it be a good way to get honey, and yet help the field for a wheat crop V The experi- ence of bee men is solicited. John Yoder. Springfield, Ont. [Buckwheat, if sown about the mid- dle of June, may be made to bloom about the middle of July, instead of in August as it usually does, but the honey is inferior both in flavor and color, and is generally undesirable for market. It would be far better to plant sweet clover for the bees, and it would not interfere with farming op- erations—as it can be sown iu waste places, such as fence corners, road sides, etc.— Ed.] Double-Walled Hives. The colonies of bees that survive the last week's blizzard are entitled to a chromo. For four days, last week, the mercury stood between 2.50 and 30° below zero. I am wintering 16 colonies out of doors, in double- walled hives, with dead- air spaces be- tween the walls, made with ■ building paper. If I have any success with them, I may give you a description of the construction of these hives, but if I succeed in freezing the 16, I shall doubtless remain as dumb as an oyster. John Couscot. Madison, Wis., Jan. 26, 1883. Good Results. I started, in the spring of 1882, with 8 colonies of hybrid bees. I increased them to 9, and took 375 lbs. of comb honey. L. W. Gray. Bushville, 111., Jan. 22, 1883. Yellow Sweet Clover. Six weeks before the white variety bloomed, I noticed in my stack yard some of the yellow sweet clover in bloom. Like the white, it does not blossom the first year; but it com- mences to bloom about May 10th, while the white does not bloom until about June 20th. It gives twice as many blossoms as the white, and the bees work on it freely when the white is blooming by its side. I suppose the wild pigeons must have brought the seed to my yard. S. P. Sowers. Dunlap, Kansas. Bees Wintering Finely. The bees are wintering finely, in the cellar, although it was the coldest weather we have had many years. L. E. Welch. Linden, Mich., Jan. 24, 1883. Comb Honey Rack. Please describe, in the Bee Jour- nal, bow to make a comb honey rack. L. A. Lowmaster. [It;would be very difficult to describe it so as to be understood by the ordi- nary reader. It will be far more sat- isfactory to get a sample and examine — — — °- f engraving shows one used with cor^'jTQ^-nva rin t}ic» T aTifraf v/itli it. The It. i-ue engravuig snows one useci with separators on the Langstroth hive.— Ed.] Sweet Clover, etc. What parts of the country are the best for the production of honey ¥ What proportion of advantage has a good timbered district over a prairie pastural region for bees and honey ? Will sweet clover form a permanent sward, or does it die out when two years old, as I have heard y Will it continue in bloom nearly the year round in our most Southern States V W. M. Woodward. Wilmington, 111. [Any place near bass wood timber, or where white clover abounds, would be good. In the absence of these you would have to depend on planting for honey, such as sweet clover, alsike clover, mignonette, cleome, figwort, etc. Sweet clover should be planted on the same ground two successive years, in order to obtain a continuous bloom. It blooms from June till frost, and will thrive on any soil and in any climate. A good timbered district has the advantage of being better protected from winds, and from many of the trees the bees obtain honey and pollen.— Ed.] Water Scarce and Wells Dry. We are having the driest winter in Maine for many years ; the rivers and lakes are very low, many small streams and shallow wells are entirely dry, and people are obliged to melt snow and haul water for daily use in house and barn. The weather is very cold and dry. Bees wintering nicely, so far as I know. We are reading up' and getting ready for next year's, work. I am reading " Langstroth on the Honey Bee." This book can never go out of use among bee-keep- ers. Why can it not be revised, and some additions be made, so as to bring it down to the present condition of apiculture ? J. A. Morton, M. D. Bethel, Maine, Jan. 26, 1883. [Mr. Langstroth has commenced a revision, but his health is so poor, that he may never finish it. It is an invaluable work, and will always find a place in every good library.— Ed.] Wintering Without Bad Symptoms. I now have 500 colonies of bees ; 460 out of doors, packed, and they have no bad symptoms, so far. It was 20° below zero, once, here. James Heddon.. Dowagiac, Mich., Jan. 26, 1883. Honey Plants of Florida. What are the principal honey plants of Florida, and what part of the State, is best adapted to bee-keeping. Gardiner, Me. O. L. Sawter.. [The principal honey plants are saw palmetto, cabbage palmetto, sweet gum, snow vine, sweet bay, basswood, mangrove, etc. Many portions of the northwest are good, but the south coast, a little north of the 29th paral- lel, is said to be unsurpassed for bee- keeping.— Ed.] Bees Packed are Doing Well. Bees are wintering well so far, both in the cellar and out of doors, al- though we have had a very cold winter so far. I have some packed with clover chaff, on the summer stands. They are all right so far. I took a peep at them, one morning, when the thermometer was down to 280 below zero. They were dry and comfortable, with no ice inside of the hives. D. G. Webster. Blaine, 111., Jan. 29, 1883. Honey as Food and Medicine. A new edition, revised and enlarged, the new pages being devoted to n6r« Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price of them low to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 6 cents, postpaid; per dozen, 50 cents; per hundred, $4.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense — enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profits 88 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Convention Notices. 1^ The Texas State Bee-Keepers' Association will hold its Fifth Annual •Convention at McKinney, Collin Co., .on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 17th and 18th, 1883; at the residence of Hon. W. H. Andrews. Wm. R. Howard, Sec. Kingston, Texas. ^" The bee-keepers of Northeast- ern Micliigan are hereby requested to meet at the Dayton Hotel, in Flint, at 10 a. m, on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 1883, for the purpose of organizing a bee-keep- ers' association. All bee-keepers are earnestly requested to come, and to bring with them any apiarian articles .of interest that they may possess. A free room, and reduced rates of board .(have been secured. W. Z. Hutchinson. Rogersville, Mich., Jan. 22, 1883. ^" The Tuscarawas Valley Bee- Keepers' Association will hold a meet- ing in the Town Hall in Coshocton, O., .on Feb. 14, 1883, at 10 a. m. Every bee-keeper is wanted at this meeting. Every one interested in bees or honey is requested to be present. J. A. BUCKLEW, Sec, Clarks, O. ^° The next meeting of the Haldi- mand, Ont., Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at Nelle's Corners on Sat- urday, March 31, 1883, at 11 a. ra. H. Campbell. 1^ The Western Bee- Keepers' As- :Sociation meets at Independence, Mo., April 28, 1883. S. W. Salisbury, Sec. 1^ The Northeastern Ohio and Northwestern Pennsylvania Bee- Keepers' Association will meet at Andover, Ohio, to hold their annual convention, on the second W^edues- .day and Thursday of February, 1883. C. T. Leonard, Sec. Examine the Date following your jiame on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one .dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 2-5 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for :f 5, or less, can be obtained for .5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, And carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail flt another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. Honey and Beeswax Market. OFFICE OF AMKKICAN BEK JOHRNAL, { Monday, l(i a. m., February 5. 1882. ( The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Qiiotatlons of Cash Buyers. CHICAGO. HONE V-Bxtracted, dark 7c. llrtl, 9c. here. BEESWAX~lt 18 qu.te scarce. 1 am payins 30c. for Kood yellow wax, on arrival ; dark and off col- ors, I7(»25c. Al. H. Newman. 923 W. Madison St. CINCINNATI. HONEY— There is no excitement In the honey market, but sales are fair to our regular trade. Offerings are plentiful of extracted and comb honey. Extracted brings 7(3iyc. on arrival. The sales of comb honey are very slow, although there is a large supply of tlrst-class quality on the mar- ket. It brings IJiojlHc. tm arrival. BEESWAX— Comes in slowly and brings 20(a30c. per lb., according to quality. Chas. F. Moth. Quotations of Commission Merchants.. CHICAGO. HONEY— The past month has not reduced the stock of comb or extracted honey, the receipts having been larger than the amounts taken for consumption. Prices are weak and irregular, ranging from I6c. to 18c. for white comb in the smaller frames; dark, very little selling, oflTered at IJ^c. to 14c. Extracted, 8c. to luc, according to coI<»r. BEESWAX— 32@33c. per tt. for good. K. A. BURNETT, 161 South Water St. SAN FRANCISCO. HONEY-The market is at present stagnant. Offerings a'-e not large, but they are receiving no attention from buyers. Whitecomb, 17(aj2nc; dark to good, ll@13^c: ex- tracted, choice to extra white, 8).^ia9>^c.; dark and candied, "(i^Jrtc. BEESWA.X— We quote 25®28c. STEARNS & Smith, 423 Front Street. ST. LOUIS. HONEY— Strained, at <>'Si7^c., was salable— one lot of 17 bbls. bringing inside Hgure : but comb, very d'lll at 16c. to ISc. ; and extracted do., Hr'525c.: 2 1b. sections. 20(«J22c. Extracted. lOc. per lb. Good lots o' extracted are wanted in kegs or barrels. BEESWAX— Our supply is gone; we have none to quote. CROCKER & Blake, 57 Chatham Street. i^" If you want the earliest, largest and most prolitic of any corn seed in America, write to the famous seed grower, H. C. Beebe, Canton, 111., for explanatory circulars and engraving. *. -».-^^-.*- -^ Ribbon Badses, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 per 100. C. Olm's Comb Foundation Machine. %W~ Send for Saniple and CircuUir. 18mtf C. Or.IM(. Fond du Lac. Wis. Bees for Sale. so Colonies of Bees. In Gallup frames. cheap. SOO Colonies of Bees. In Langatrotb frames In prime condliion. J. H. ROBERTSON, 36Atf Pewamo, Ionia Co.. Micb. A NE'W IMPORXATION OF BOKHARA Glover SEED has arrived and is for sale cheap. Apply to CHARLES P. MUTH, 49sm4t CINCINNATI, O. BE SURE To send a postal card for our Illustrated Catal-ttnie of Apiarian Supplies bef()re purchasing elsewhere. It containalilustrutionsMnd descriptionsof every- thing newiind vahrtble needed in an apiary, at the lowest prices. Italian Queens and Bees. Parlies intending to purchase bees in lotaof iU coloniesor more are invited to correspond. a, C. t^AYLES. 5l8ml'>t Hartford. Wla. HIVES, SECTIONS, &c. . Langstroth, Simplicity, and other hives. LZ] The Lewis One-Piece Section. p n i^ 1=11 The Leivis Two-Piece Sections. We make the one-pipce, two-piece, or four-piece dovetailed or nailed Sections, any size, from half- pound ti> t;xiix2 inches, or any other SUPPi-.lES for Bee-keepers, mad" of wood. 4V^x4'i of any of the above kinds of sections, $4.50 All other sizes, larger to 6x6, 5.00 Hall -pound sections, 3.50 Send 'or Price List and illustrations of our NKW HIVK for comb honey — something new. just out. Price Lists will only be sent to those thsit write for tbem. G. 15. LK-WIS- Watertown. Jeff. Co.. Wis., Jan. i. lHy:j. Ittf Friends, if you are in any way interested in BEES OR HONEY We will with pleasure send you a sample copy of the Monthly Gleanines In Bee-Culture, with a descriptive prii-e-lisiuf the latesi improve- ments in Hives, Honey Extractor", Comb Foundutton. Section Honey Boxes. all hooka and journals, and everything pertaining to Bee Culture. Nothing Patented. Simply send your ad- dress lurittcn p/ain/]/. to A. I. RnOT. Medina. O. HEADQUARTERS IN THE SOUTH For the manufacture of BEE-KEEPERS' SUPPLIES. Bunlinai and Root Fonndalion a specialty. Italian Queens and Bees from March to November. J^Send for ray lllii.'^trated Catalogue. .Smtf PAtJt. L. VIACLON. Bayou Goula, La. Fruit Evaporators, To be used on a common cooking stove, capacity s to .'» bushels per day. Price, complete, ^^h' ; in the flat, portly put tog^ ther. for ^fi. A few agents wanted. For particulars and prices for Evapora- tors, Qaeen Bees, etc. :i. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., FEBRTTARY 14, 1883. No. 7.. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editob and Proprietor, Students of Apiculture. Dr. Jesse Oren, La Porte City, Iowa, thoroughly endorses the prop- osition of Dr. H. Besse, on the subject of preparing young men to become practical apiarists, by requiring them to serve an apprenticeship with some experienced bee-keeper, and pass a satisfactory examination before some of the best apiarists of the country, and to such " graduates " a certificate should be awarded by the National Association. This Association to ap- point the Board of Examiners, and take charge of the whole business. Here is his letter : I desire to offer my thanks to Dr. H. Besse, of Delaware, Ohio, for his article on the " North American Apiarian College." It just fills the bill. We want you, Mr. Editor, to give this matter an editorial consid- eration. The North American So- ciety are sure to approve of the move- ment. Why not urge the officers of that organization to take ail necessary advance steps to have all consum- mated at our next meeting at To- ronto y Will you speak right out in the Journal ? Jesse Oren, M. D. La Porte City, Iowa, Jan. 12, 1883. The idea is a good one. What is needed to advance the interests of progressive apiculture is a company of young men, thorougly practical and progressive, who can be employed to take charge of Apiaries ; and such would be in constant demand all over the country. The apiarists of Eng- land have adopted this system, and, sooner or later it will be adopted in America. On page 73 of the Bee Journal for Jan. 31, Mr. James Heddon points out some obstacles in the way of success- fully carrying out the plan mentioned by Dr. Besse. But Mr. Heddon thor- oughly endorsed the necessity of stu- dents obtaining information and practical experience, in order to be- come adepts in the art, and adds : My limited experience with students proves that this five months of study and practical experiment puts them on the right track, and prepares their minds for receivmg all new truths right end foremost. All of my stu- dents, who have commencecl bee- keeping, are to-day succeeding ; two will begin in apiaries of mine, on shares, this spring. My faith is thus great; with these five months instruc- tion, any reasonably apt man can have of me an apiary of 100 colonies on shares, a position which will pay him more than high wages, one year with another, and one in which he can " blunder " and finish his educa- tioH at my expense. Of course I will direct the operations. I shall get bet- ter results than to sell the bees. It will not take five months to convince him that comb-honey production, when properly pursued, pays much better than extracted. The only obstacle worth mention- ing now, to the carrying out of Dr. Besse's proposed method of " gradu- ating," is the unfortunate lack of united action among bee-men, and the " petty jealousies " that are some- times allowed to mar, in some way or another, the beauty of design, or harmonious working out of the plans proposed by the National Associa- tion. We regret that this is so, but shall not here attempt to discuss the " why " and the " wherefore " of such a state of things— we simply admit the fact. We believe that the officers and members of that body, have, to their utmost, done all that they could to make it a success, and to build an in- stitution which would endure, and be handed down to future ages as an honorable " worker " in the cause of the progressive apiculture of the pres- ent century. Should it fail of attaining this proud position, it will be either be- cause its foes will be too zealous, or its friends may become disheartened ' and give up a war, which is quite dis- tasteful to those whose only object is ■ that of rearing a temple to scientific ■ bee-culture, where its best interests • maybe discussed and guarded, and i its devotees meet to confer on the •■ issues of the moment, and the themes ■ of the ever-progressing present. Could this obstacle be overcome,, then a plan might be devised for suc- cessfully carrying out " another ad- vanced step," as proposed by Dr.. Besse. Time alone will determine: this point. Migrating Apiary. In last week's Bee Journal, ok page 77, Mr. Damkohler, of Clarence^ Mo., said that a car load of bees passed through that place on its way south,^ and said perhaps we could tell him all '■ about that shipment. We had not' then heard of the matter, but by the ■ Atlanta, Ga., Constitution, of January 9, we obtain the information, and here' it is : A Car Load of Bees.— On Satur- day a car was switched on the East '• Tennessee & Virginia Railroad, and moved south. It was filled with bee-hives. One ' hundred and forty of the latest styles of bee-hives, piled systematically on top of each other, and, to the fore- f round, a philosopher with his bed and ' card. " Where are you going to take your bees V" " To Florida for the winter. My ' name is Thomas McFarland Jackson, . and I live in Northern Missouri, t have large apiaries that are forced to • lie idle in the winter. I am going to ' take this car load of hives to Florida;, where they can get honey every day in the year. As soon as the clover is out again in Northern Missouri 1 will take them back there." " Will it pay you to move them V " I think so. It costs me less than a dollar a hive for transportation, and each hive will have from f 6 to $7 worth of honey in it when I bring them back. That is what Italian bees, I sent to Florida last year, did last winter. Only Italian bees will thrive in Flori- •90 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. da, as the moths eat up the common " Will you live in the open air ■there V" " I am going to camp around with my bees. I believe I will bring back about $1,000 worth of honey in hives that would otherwise lie idle all the winter and be empty in the spring. This migratory bee-keeping has been practiced from the earliest ages. In Egypt it has kept up for thousands of years, as we stated in the last issue of the Bee Journal. Mr. T. F. Bingham, of Michigan, and others 'have practiced it ; but nearly all have abandoned it, because it did not pay them. Mr. Perrine, of this city, some years ago, lost several thousand dollars in a similar manner. He had a floating apiary, arranged to run up the Missis- sippi river from New Orleans, follow- ing the bloom till he was to reach Minnesota ; but it did not work. Too many bees were lost, and the projector ds wiser now, and $10,000 less rich. California Honey Crop. The California Qrocer of Jan. 27, 1883 is on our desk, with an article " marked," criticising the statement made by Mr. McCaul, that the honey crop of California of last year was only •180,000 pounds and then adds : The ©rocer has taken pains to collate the data of last year's honey product tfrom the best available sources. These figures are very nearly, if not abso- lutely, correct ; a statement that will •be guaranteed by the fact that they •were furnished by Messrs. Geo. W. Meade & Co., of this city, who are well known as the principal handlers of 'California honey : •San Diego county— Comb 300,000 Extracted.. 315,000 Los Angeles county— Comb 2-5,000 " " Extracted.. 170,000 Ventura county— Comb 5,000 " Extracted.. 180,000 Santa Barbara county— Comb . . 6,000 Extracted.. 30,000 San Bernardino county— Comb 20,000 Extracted.. 80,000 ■San Benito county— Comb 10,000 :Sacramento county— Comb 8,000 San Joaquin county— Comb — 11,000 Scattering (both kinds), say. . .. 10,000 Total 1,170,000 Making a handsome allowance for any possible over-estimate, we, there- fore, find that California's honey pro- duct for 1882 will considerably exceed 1,000,000 pounds which compares rather favorably for us with the 180,- ■ 000-declaration of our late guest, Mr. McCaul, of New York. The Qrocer then proceeds to correct Mr. McCaul's statement concerning the honey crop of California for the year 1878, in the following language : In his before-mentioned published report he states the California honey crop of 1878 to have been 720,000 pounds, when in fact the phenomenal crop of that year, by far tlie greatest ever produced in the State, reached the enormous figures of between 2,250,000 and 2,.500,000 pounds. The light crop of last year paid fairly well after all, the average prices obtained being very good ; for extracted, ^% and comb 13 cents per pound. Cali- fornia has been, and we believe will continue to be, the most prominent honey-producing section of the world. We are glad to have this statistical information concerning the California honey crop. It will be very useful, and Dr. Miller ■mil no doubt be able to use it to good advantage, in his forthcoming " Statistical Table " of the honey production of America. To take these figures and the table we have already published of the " Honey Crop of Illinois," as ofticially reported by the assessors, and compare them with the reports that have been received by him, will give a good cri- terion by which to multiply the whole —and thus give the approximate re- sults of the country at large. Realizing the difficulties under which Mr. McCaul labored, we can at- tach no blame to him for his incorrect figures. He could give only such as were reported to him. If his informa- tion was only partial (and we do not see how it could be otherwise), his re- port must be necessarily incomplete, and, therefore, erroneous. The Grocer impugns his motive and deals out in- vectives, but would it not be better to take a charitable view of the matter ? All will be thankful for the correction, and cheerfully give our sister State due credit for all that it can show it is entitled to. Two years ago we endeavored to obtain correct statistics of the honey crop of California (as well as other States) and were unable to give more than a partial statement, for the rea- son that those interested did not re- spond to our call. We published what we did obtain, and then one of her champions roundly abused us for be- littling its crop, and "applied the lash" to us in a most unmerciful manner ! To show that California needs a re- form in this matter, we notice on the same page of the Grocer, as the article above referred to, the following edito- rial, which fully sustains all that we claim. It is headed " A Reform in Grain Statistics ; " but the reform should evidently go far enough to in- clude " honey " and other industries. The editor of the Grocer says : In the matter of collecting and sup- plying to the public oflicially-corrected statistics of her agricultural, commer- cial and manufacturing interests, Cali- ifornia is certainly not a progressive State. Such statistics, and especially those referring to agricultural indus- tries, are of great importance to the business community. Our grain in- terests, already large, are destined ere many years have passed to become a strong feature in the annual product of the country, and it would be well if we inaugurated, in the now compar- ative infancy of the industry, some system by which reliable data could be furnished to the public as to the results of each harvest during the pe- riod of its tlirashing. Such a system has been adopted in almost all, if not all, of the great grain-bearing States to the east of us, and has proven of immense value to tlie manifold inter- ests that are devoted to the culture and sale of, and manufacture from, the cereals. What would be the best system we do not pretend to say, but would suggest the adoption of some such plan as the one now in force in Michigan, which is based upon regular reports, sent to the Secretary of State, from every thrashing machine at work in the State. Let some properly-con- stituted authority at the beginning of each season supply to every thrashing machine in the State, blank forms, upon which must be noted daily the number of sacks thrashed by each ma- chine; and let those forms be returned to the statistical oflicer, or bureau, at stated intervals, daily or weekly, as may be thought best. By this means an accurate knowledge can be had of all grain thrashed in the State, to the great benefit of merchants and the public at large ; and our annual sta- tistics, which are too often of a highly speculative character, can be correctly built upon a basis of satisfactory in- formation. To the Legislature now in session we recommend this sugges- tion as one worthy their careful con- sideration. Bee-Keeping in North Carolina. There is some stir now in the high- lands of North Carolina about bee- keeping, and the Blue Ridge Enter- prise, of Jan. 25, 1883, remarks as fol- lows, on the subject : If there is any special industry which this mountain region is partic- ularly adapted to, it is that of bee- keeping. Tons of lioney ought to be gathered and shipped from these mountains every season, while at present there is not one pound sent out, nor one-fourth of the supply gathered which home-demand re- quires. But in order to make bee- keeping profitable, or even worth pur- suing, the old gum and box liive must be abandoned, and the modern frame hive and improved implements now necessary to successful apiculture, THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 91 adopted. Preceding these, however, one of the text-books on bee-keeping should be procured, and one of the journals which make bee-keeping a specialty be subscribed for and care- fully studied. Two or three dollars invested iu this kind of literature would pay an intelligent man or woman, who has a half dozen bee- gums, managed in the old, shiftless style, a hundred-fold on the outlay, the first season. The American Bee Journal, is accorded the tirst Elace in the catalogue of bee papers y the leading bee-keepers through- out the country. Being issued weekly it is always in advance with every- thing new and interesting in bee- keepmg. There is no better or more thoroughly practical publication on bees and honey in the world, and all who keep bees and aim to keep them in a practical and intelligent manner, for eitlier prolit or pleasure, should subscribe for either the weekly or monthly edition of this paper. Collapse of Another Glucose Factory. Mr. A. B. Weed, of Detroit, Mich., has sent us a Detroit paper, and refer- ring to an article itcontained announc- ing the collapse of the " Michigan Grape Sugar Company," says : " All bee-keepers must be pleased to note the decadence of the glucose business. I have been much interested in the exposures which tlie Bee Journal has made from time to time. I have also been interested in the subject of small sections.'' Summed up, the article in question says that the works cost 1300,000 and $100,000 more have been sunk in run- ning expenses. The high price of corn, the remarkable sugar and molasses crop in Louisiana,last year, the decline in the demand for the product for ex- port, and expensive alterations in their factory are assigned by the manage- as the principal causes of the compa- ny's collapse. Remedy for Dysentery. Mr. J. M. Hicks, Battle C4round, Ind., writes as follows to the Grange Bulletin, concerning this disease and remedy for it : Dysentery is usually brought on by the bees feeding ui)on sour or impure honey. It is also frequently produced by being disturbed in some way just before a sudden change in the tem- perature, which, if very cold imme- diately after they have filled them- selves, you maybe quite sure your bees will have dysentery. We sug- gest the following remedy : Take of good granulated sugar. 4 lbs., and just enough of water to make it into a mush (not syrup) and add 40 drops of carbolic acid, stirring, so as to incorporate all thoroughly, and then mould into cakes so as to feed your bees, by laying two or three of the cakes of the candy on their brood- frames, and your bees will, in a few days, have relief. This is the best remedy I have ever found after the disease has thoroughly set in. It is a well-known fact that carbolic acid is one of the most powerful disinfectants we have in chemistry. And now I wish to further say, I have at all times believed that an ounce of prevention was worth at least a pound of cure, and in order to be more successful in the future in preventing this malady, we recom- mend a free use of rock salt to be placed in a small trough, a few yards from your bees, and fill with water and cobs so that the bees will visit it without danger of drowning. This remedy I have found to be a sure pre- ventive for dysentery as well as the dreadful disease called foul-brood, which has proved to be with some, very dithcult to manage. Free Advertising. Nothing is more embarrassing to a publisher than to receive articles in- tended for the reading columns, with matter woven into it, advertising some particular hive, section, founda- tion, extractor, etc. We have re- ceived quite a number of such articles lately, from correspondents, and must here kindly say to all, that such are not acceptable. Our advertisers, who pay for their notices, would consider it unjust to them, if we were to admit such, and would have reasonable ground for complaint. Our advertis- ing columns can be used for all such matter at 20 cents per line, and in that department no injustice will be done to others. This will explain to some why such advertising matter is omitted from their articles, and to others, whose articles would be point- less without the advertising portion, why they do not appear at all. American Honey vs. German. The following I have copied from the American Journal of Pliarmacy^ February, 1883, page 98 : " Honey.— Eugene Dietrich has re- peatedly observed that good Ameri- can honey may be more easily ob- tained than German honey of good quality, the latter, on keeping, becom- ing acid by fermentation, at the same time acquiring an unpleasant taste, and when clarified, of a dark color and a caramel-like taste; but fresh German honey yields, on clarification, an excellent product. Tlie cause for the better keeping qualities of Amer- ican honey has not been ascertained. —Rundachaii, 1882, page 662." Thinking that it may be of suffi- cient interest to appear in your val- uable Journal, I take pleasure in sending it, though possibly it may neither be new to you or the older patrons of your Journal. Ferd. Rbppebt. Muscatine, Iowa, Feb. 7, 18a3. Separators of Wood. What is the address of C. Van Eaton, mentioned in connectio7i with wooden separators, on page 43 of the Bee Journal of Jan. 17 V Wm. Roberts. It is Charles J. Van Eaton, York, Livingston Co., N. Y. Honey and Beeswax Market, OFFICE OP AMEKICAN Bee JOUKNAl-. V Monday. Hi a. m.. February 12. r>^2. S The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Quututlons of Cuiih Buyfrs. CHICAGO. HONEY— Extracted, dark 7c. llKht, 9c. here. BEESWAX— It is qu.te scarce. I am paying 30C... for good yellow wax, on arrival ; dark and off col- orfl, 17@25c. Ai,. H. Newman. 923 w. Madibon St. CINCINNATI. HONEY— There is no excitement in the honev market, but sales are fair to our regular trade- Offerings are plentiful of extracted and comb honey. Extracted brings 7(a9c. on arrival. The sales of comb honey are very slow, although there- is a large supply of tlrst-class quality on the mai^ ket. It brings l2(!(j]Kc. on arrival. BEESWAX— Comes inslowlyand brings ^(Ks.30c.. per lb., according to quality. Chas. F. Muth. (luotutlons of Commission Sfercbanta. CHICAGO. HONEY- The past month has not reduced the stock of comb or e-vtracted honey, the receipts having been larger than the amounts taken for consumption. Prices are weak and irregular, ranging from 16c. to lyc. for white comb in the smaller frames; dark, very little selling, offered at 124c. to 14c. Extracted, sc. to lOc, according to color. BEESWAX— 32@33c. per lb. for good. K. A. Burnett, ibi l^outh Water St. BAN FRANCISCO. HONBY-The market is dull, particuliirly so for comb. Only nominal quotations can be given. White comb, 17(gJ2(>c: dark to good, llMlSJ^c; ex- tracted, choice to extra white. HH(iis^c.; dark and candied, 7Cv^c. BEES WAX- We quote 2r,(gl28c. Stearns & smith. 42a Front Street. ST. LOUIS. HONEY— Strained, at 6®7^c.. was salable— one- lot of 17 bbls. bringing inside Hgure ; but comb, very dull at 16c. to If^c; and extracted do., 8@9c. BEESWAX-Steady; choice, 27(a27>«c.i dark, - 20vii '^.l.i liSiVi^ THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 96 1,000 lbs. of extracted, about one-half clover honey, and the rest was fall honey ; sold the extracted for 20 cts. and the comb honey for 22 cts. per lb. Voted that Mrs. Jennie Gulp had produced the most honey, for the number of colonies she had, of any member of the Society. A vote of thanks was tendered the Ohio State Journal Co., for the use of their parlors, in which the Bee-Keep- ers' Convention was held. Voted to adjourn to meet at the call of the secretary, at some place in Columbus. Daniel Speak, Sec. Report of the committee appointed by the O. S. B. K. Association, to pe- tition the Ohio State Board of Agri- culture for a building, in which to ex- hibit bees and apiarian productions : Columbus, O., Jan. 11, 1883. To the Honorable Directors of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture : Gentlehen — We, the committee appointed by the Ohio State Bee- Keepers' Association, in convention assembled in Columbus, O., on Jan. 9 and 10, 1883, to represent to your hon- orable body the interest in apiculture and the demand for our productions, and urgently request that you erect, upon the Oliio State Fair grounds, a suitable building, with about one- fourth acre enclosed ground attached, in which to exhibit bees and apiarian productions. Plan and approximate specifications herewith attached for Apiarian Hall. We believe the size of this hall, 25x50 feet, to be sufficient for our pres- ent use, with space left at one end for extension of hall, if our interest in the future should require it. Samuel L). Riegle, Daniel Spear, C. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., FEBRUARY 21, 1883. No. 8. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor. A Severe and Cruel Winter. The snowstorms, blizzards and very severe weather of the past five or six weeks, has now given way to a less rigorous atmosphere, accompanied with rain, and the results are, destruc- tive floods and inundations all over the country, by the rapid rising of the great rivers and tlieir tributary streams. The reports for weeks have been about delayed and blockaded trains, terrible snow drifts, with the temperature so cold that steam could not be maintained, and hundreds of men and thousands of animals have perished. Now, the song changes — of those animals that are left many more are drowned with inundations, and men are robbed of their habita- tions ; thousands being made home- less and destitute. This state of things not only ob- tains in America, but also in Europe. England has been visited by storms more severe than for many years ; her coasts have been lashed with the furious waves ; many of her stately oaks and pleasure bowers have been leveled to the ground, and much of her shipping has been destroyed. On the European continent, floods and storms of unusual severity have destroyed and laid waste many large tracts of country, and the cry for help from those made homeless and destitute, ascends to Heaven from thousands of those wlio, before this calamity, were in pleasant circumstances. One of our exchanges, speaking of the terrible disasters thus far, asks : " Is 1883 to be a year of calamities V " Well, surely, it seems already to have made a terrible record in that line. including fires, floods, snow-blockades, sleet-storms, blizzards, shipwrecks, train disasters, financial failures and earthquakes. Of course, the bees have suffered as well as other stock. For nearly two months, here in the North, those win- tered on the summer stands have been imprisoned by storm and tempest ; and, finally, their hives were envel- oped in an icy winding-sheet, or else carried away on the wild waste of waters, and the poor bees drowned by the mad element, if they still sur- vived the rigors of the Northern wintry blast. In some places, disease has set in, and many may yet die of that fearful bee malady— dysentery. This winter will try, to the utmost, all kinds of out-door wintering. What the final results may be, can, as yet, only be conjectured. Those in more favored localities, where the floods have less power, will be able to have a " flight " soon, and the threatened damage by disease may be averted. Many already have asked us, AVhat effect all these troubles will have on the bee industry ? We reply : .lust the same as it does on the farmer, manufacturer, merchant and stock- men. The floods have destroyed the stock of thousands of merchants, stopped the " busy wheels" of manu- facturers, and carried away thousands of dollars worth of their property. Will they become discouraged and give up ? No ! with redoubled energy they will start anew and retrieve their losses ! Because the storm king has de- stroyed thousands of vessels and many cargoes, will the mariners forsake their calling ? No ! but with daunt- less courage they will pursue their labors and bid defiance to the elements. Mr. L. James, on page 111, says that the fruit trees, in his neighborhood, are nearly destroyed, and the outlook for fruit is discouraging. Will the fruit culturist cjit down his trees. " cast them into the fire," andlookfor some business that has no drawbacks ? No ! he will plant again, watch, culti- vate and hope for the best ! Millions of acres of land, by the re- cent inundations, have been robbed of fences and buildings, and many winter crops destroyed— will the farmer cease to plow and build barns and houses for his cattle and herds, and repair the damages V No ! To- morrow's sun will illumine the skies, earth will smile in gladness ; her fields will soon be covered with verdure, and her gardens with flowers ; luscious fruit will gladden the heart of " the sons of toil," and fill the pockets of those whose dauntless courage impels them to labor for the desired end ! The bees have been compelled to fight for existence, with disease on the one hand, and winter's fiercest bliz- zard, ending in floods and tempests, on the other. Is it any wonder that, in this unequal contest, they have suf- fered to a greater or less extent, gov- erned by their location and the sur- roundings, together with the care and protection afforded them by their keepers V Instead of being discour- aged over tlie situation, we should feel that our sympathies are needed by the poor bees, who have been thus tortured, and beset on every side with warring elements in a mad career of desolation. We should admire their pluck, energy and endurance, instead of being cowardly enough to try to find an entrance for ourselves to that dungeon over whose portals are writ- ten the stinging motto—" Blasted Hopes." There are no such words as " blasted hopes !" in tlie vocabulary of men of true worth. Reverses only stimulate " progressive men " to further diligence. When the fruit grower, the farmer, the merchant, the sailor and the man- ufacturer become discouraged and " give up the battle," it will be time enough for the bee-keeper to think about being discouraged ! Until then. 102 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. give no heed to such a bugbear as " Blasted Hopes," but, by persever- ance, phick and energy, hold on; for the average years, for bee-keepers, make as good a showing for " bees and honey," as for any business a man can engage In. The Forncrook Patent Section. The following, from Mr. Baldridge, is due as a correction, concerning the illustrations given in his previous ar- ticle on this subject : I regret exceedingly to find the wrong cut used in the fourth ilhistra- tion, on page 72, in my article on the Porncrook Patent Section. The fol- lowing cut 2 ir- is the one used, which correctly repre- sents the section covered by the Forn- crook patent ; the one I desired to be used is the following : t II II I which shows a one-piece section with- out the recesses or passage ways for the bees, and likewise without the " longitudinal groove." This style of one-piece section is public, and not private property ; so are all sections having 2, 3 or 4 pieces. The one-piece section, having a top as wide as the sides, and a bottom so narrow as to give ingress and egress to the bees, is also public, and not private property ; in other words, there is no style of section, whether in one, two, three or four pieces, that is private property {that is, covered by a patent), except the one style made precisely like the section shown in the first cut in this article. Now, I trust the explanations will not be misunderstood. In the preparation of my article, as it appears on page 72, 1 did not dream that an enigma would be attached thereto, to wit : That the one-piece section was invented by Mr. lorn- crook, that it has been patented to him, and that it would be dishonest and fraudulent to evade said patent. At this date, I have no proof that Mr. Forncrook was the first and original inventor of the one-piece section " of any description," nor that his patent covers anything of the kind; nor that it is wrong, dishonest or criminal to evade anybody's patent, by making what is or should be public property y What right has Mr. Forncrook or any one else to frighten bee-keepers, by threats or otherwise, from making, using or selling property that already belongs to them? Why should bee- keepers pay a tribute of $1 toS2..50for each 1,000 one-piece sections to Mr. Forncrook, on what is public prop- erty, or on what they have a perfect right to get elsewhere at lower figures? M. M. Baldridge. We desire neither to add to nor take from our editorial note, appended to Mr. Baldridge's article, on page 73. We believe the position there taken is invulnerable. The patent has been issued to Mr. Forncrook, and that, too, after a prolonged and tedious fight. As to its invalidity, let the courts of law decide, as is suggested in the following from Prof. Cook : Dear Mr. Newman :— I send you the following article which I wrote to the N. Y. Tribime, and I hope you will give to our friends in the Ameri- can Bee Journal : Perhaps no class has suffered more from imposition in reference to pat- ents than bee-keepers. The whole art, as practised to-day, rests on the use of inventions. Take away our hives, sections, extractors, and foun- dation machines, and apiculture would be bereft of all that gives it prominence. Unscrupulous persons may invent attachments to some of these valuable instruments, which at- tachments may be wholly worthless, and, in combination with other inven- tions which have long been in use, get a patent. Then by threat they induce those who use the article, often with their invention wholly omitted, to pay them money. The sale of the Mitchell hive and the collection of money by threats of prosecution, extensively carried on by its inventor, illustrates the point, and it seems to me that we have just now a case exactly in point in refer- ence to the one-piece sections. I know of several dealers who sold from 1,000 to 500,000 of these the past year. Now, if bee-keepers are forced to pay ?;6..50 or S7..'50 per 1,000, when, with no patent hanging over us, $4.50 per 1,000 would be deemed a good price, we see a serious wrong is committed, unless, forsooth, the patentee has a clear right to liis claim. In 1877, I used one-piece sections witli transverse cut to enable me to bend them, with a recess on one side cut by a chisel, made U-shaped. At the same date, many were selling dove-tailed sections with a longitudi- nal groove in which to insert founda- tion. In 1878 Mr. Lewis, Watertown, Wis., made one-piece sections, with oblique transverse cut. the recesses such as I made the previous year, and longitudinal groove. May 19, 1880, James Forncrook, foreman in Mr. Lewis' shop, applied for a patent on just this style of section. The patent was secured. In a prosecution of Mr. Lewis for infringement in the summer of 1881, Mr. Forncrook, at first, as I under- stand, failed to make a case, but, upon a rehearing, won on the ground of the recess, on the side ef the section, which permits the bees to pass up into the section. These recesses I cut one year before they made the section at all. Now, as I understand Mr. Forn- crook's patent, it is a combination. Unless a section is in one piece, with oblique transverse cuts, the longitu- dinal recess, and the longitudinal slit for foundation, it does not infringe on his patent. Omit any single feature and we do not trespass. Practical suggestions : Believing that Mr. Forncrook has no rights in this matter, I suggest that a friendly suit be brought to test the question. Each bee-keeper who uses sections can af- ford to pay SI to bear the expenses of the suit, and then save much money. Again, if I understand the matter, any one can manufacture a one-piece section, with the recess and trans- verse cuts, if he only omit the longi- tudinal groove, which is really of no importance, and run no risk at all. I can see no equity in our paying $2 or $3 for every 1 ,000 sections that we use to Forncrook, when he really has done nothing to give us this important in- vention. A. J. Cook. Lansing, Feb. 6, 1883. Prof. Cook's " practical suggestion" is a good one, and is the only Jiorwrable way to test the matter ; that is, by a friendly suit to decide it, in a legal way. Until it is decided, however, by legal means, an evasion of the rights of the patentee is a crime, recognized by law as such. We do not propose to occupy many pages of the Bee Journal to discuss a matter which must be decided by law ; we will, however, give the fol- lowing, from Mr. E. J. Scofieldon the subject : I have just read the opinion of M. M. Baldridge, on page 72 of the Bee Journal, in which he desires to set aside the patent of James Forncrook, or dodge it in some way. The two- piece section is, I think, a gross in- tringement on the Forncrook patent; it may not be in the eye of the law, but, nevertheless, it is a piece of wood for storing surplus honey, with trans- verse angular grooves, to be bent to- gether in the manner of the Forncrook section, with the fourth piece to be dentated at both ends. He leaves out one of the transverse angular grooves in the patent section ; otherwise it is an exact copy of the patent section. I am no lawyer, but I like to see honor and justice bestowed, where it is due. A section is being manufactured now, exactly like the one illustrated by Mr. Baldridge, at a lower price per thou- sand, but I prefer the one-piece, for two reasons : First, it is a handsomer package than the two-piece one, and it is stronger. Secondly, I would not use the two-piece section and thus encourage its manufacture. I was all through the factory where this sec- tion is made, as well as through the factory where the Forncrook section is made, about two weeks ago, and talked with the proprietors of both establishments. The proprietor of the two-piece box admitted that the two-piece section was intended to evade the Forncrook patent. James Forncrook has spent both time and money to secure what was rightfully his, in the first place, as all bee-keep- ers well know, who have read the Bee Journal for the past five years. I will copy the following from page 10 of Forncrook & Co.'s price list for the year 1880 : THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 103 "A word of explanation. As bee- keepers, no doubt, think it a little strange that we advertise and claim to be the inventors of the Boss One- Piece section, heretofore called the Lewis section, we think it necessary to explain the situation. I worked for G. B. Lewis, and Lewis & Parks, as their foreman, for the past 11 years, and in the spring of 1878, 1 invented the Boss section. On tlie first of Oc- tober, 1878, the co-partnership of Lewis & Parks was formed, and they, thinking it a good thing, made an ap- plication for a patent without my knowledge or consent, thinking to get a patent before I would know it, and then let me whistle. I mistrusted what they were up too, but said noth- ing to them about it, but wrote to a lawyer in Wasliington, asking him if there was any way to find out ? He wrote me tliat the only way to find out and prevent them f rorn getting a patent, was to make an application myself. I made an application and found that they had also, and would undoubtedly have had a patent al- lowed them in a short time. Then it was put into interference, and we had to prove who was the inventor, which I proved to the satisfaction of the Ex- aminer in the Patent Office, and the commissioner of patents awarded me Sriority of invention March 12, 1880. Tow, after they And they cannot get a patent, they are trying to prove that it is an old thing, and not patentable. I will leave it with bee men to judge whether it is new or old. I propose to have a patent on it now, as it has gone so far, but probably I should never have applied for a patent if Lewis & Parks had not tried to beat me out of it.— James Fobncrook." Now, I think it is our duty, as bee- keepers, after all that has been done about it. not to encourage an infringe- ment; if the one-piece does not suit us, let it alone, and use either the dove-tailed or nailed sections. I used to manufacture dove-tailed and nailed sections for my own use and my neighbors at S8 per 1,000 ; I have the machinery now, but will make no more ; for L shall use the one-pound, one-piece section as long as I can get it, made of white basswood, planed and sand-papered on outside and edges for $G per 1,000. I have no axe to grind ; no interest in bee fixtures of any kind ; Forncrook & Co. are no personal friends of mine ; I never saw them until about two weeks ago, when I went thei'e to see about getting supplies, etc., for the coming season ; but when I see a fel- low bee-keeper, as Mr. Forncrook is, in danger of being defrauded of his rights, 1 want to let my fellow bee- keepers see how it looks to me. E. J. SCOFIELD. Hanover, Wis., Feb. 3, 1883. To the above may be added the fol- lowing, which takes still another view of the matter : I know the Bee Journal is not published for the discussion of patents in general, but the article from Mr. Baldridge, on page 72, may mislead, and needs correction. Any person making use of a patented invention, in whole or in part, without the own- er's consent, is infringing, and lays himself liable ; even if a person wants to make an article for his own use, it is not allowed, and a patent cannot be evaded by simply leaving off a por- tion of the invention, as stated by Mr. B. If it could, our patent laws would be no protection to an inventor. I think the two-piece section is an in- fringement on the Forncrook patent, but the question is : Can the Forn- crook patent be lawfully sustained V I think not. Mr. A. I. Root, on page 98 of Gleanings, 1882, says : " Before us is a copy of a patent, granted in 1874 to H. W. Hutchins, East Liver- more, Maine, for a plan of making boxes of one-piece of wood, precisely like the Forncrook sections, even to the V-shaped groove, dove-tailing the ends, and all. The drawings malce it so plain that it is difficult to conceive that Forncrook's was not copied from it." I am not personally acquainted with the party manufacturing one-piece sections ; but I endorse what the editor says on page 73, that the in- ventor is entitled to a reasonable re- ward for bringing the section to the present state of perfection, but I do not like his advance on the price of sections over what others can make them for, just because be has a pat- ent on them. A. J. Hintz. Lamont, 111. The assertion that the price has been increased since the issuance of the patent, is not sustained by the facts. By consulting old price lists, on file in this office, we find that they were sold before the granting of the patent at from $1 to $2 higher than tlie price now asked by the patentees, and at the same time they are made vastly better. Before the patent was issued we were summoned by Messrs. Lewis & Parks before a commissioner, directed by the Patent Office, and for 3 days we were questioned and cross-ques- tioned by opposing lawyers, and did all we could to defeat the patent. With all the facts obtainable, the pat- ent was issued, and now should be re- spected by all law-abiding citizens. There are points in all four of the communications that we do not ap- prove, but it is unnecessary to state them— the whole matter must be de- cided by the technicalities of law, and it will be useless for us to discuss a thing we have no power to decide. " To the Law and to the testimony," must the appeal be made — that is au- thority, decisive and final. The Queen that ;Did Not Come.— In the Weekly Bee Journal, page 54, Mr. O. E. Cooley, while trying to prove that " bees;move eggs from one cell to another, mentioned the fact that he had been waiting for a queen for tliree years from Mr. Alley, but it did not come." This allusion to a business transaction, so woven into the article, passed unnoticed till it was published. In justice, now, we admit the following from Mr. Alley : Mr. Editor :— Please allow me space in the Bee Journal to say, in reply to the article of Mr. Cooley, that his claim has long been in dispute. I am not satisfied that he did, or did not, send me the £3 he claimed. How- ever, rather than do him an injustice, the amount was sent him sometime before his article appeared in the JouiiNAL. Henry Alley. W ham, Mass. Tht' I5ee Journal has nothing to do wii . settling disputes over busi- ness cu.jplications, and we hope not to be troubled with any more of such. i^ Many bee-keepers, as well as thousands of others, have been swin- dled by some bogus " brokers," hail- ing from this city. It is the old " con- fidence game" played over again. Some of the " certificates " have been sent to us, asking if we can collect anything on them. Of course, they are worthless, and we would, again, warn all our readers against sending money to irresponsible persons, for anything whatever. The parties we refer to have been doing [a cheating] .business under the names of Flem- ming & Merriam, R. E. Kendall & Co., Charles J. Henri & Co., Cud- worth & Co., and Bennett, Koltzman & Co. The principal man, Flemming, has gone to Canada with many thou- sands of dollars of booty. Special Notice.— We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bee Journal for 1883 and Cook's Manual in cloth for $2.7.5. or the Monthly and Manual in cloth for $1.75. Size of Standard Langstroth Hive. —Since reading the article on the standard Langstroth hive, I have made considerable inquiries, and I can find no two factories making them of the same dimensions. If there is a standard size it ought to be duplicated and everywhere used of the same size. Charles Norris. Traverse City, Mich. It is to be deplored that so many will vary the size of a frame or hive from the standard size, justfor a sim- ple notion. It is high time for a re- form to be made in this particular, and a standard size of frame be adopted and unvaryingly adhered to. i^° Several catalogues are received, but, our pages being crowded, notice of them is deferred until next week. 104 THE AxMERlCAN BEE JOURNAL. For the American Bee Journal. Eun for Right Race of Bees. That coiuinp bee, we want to see, Coming to near perfection ; Of true specttlcscientitic, Well-deviaed selection. In choice of kind, and use of mind. In aKe of vast projiression ; 'Tls now l)eliuoved, to have improved, Yet genuine succession. That bee that we. can ali agree. Shall come to be the leader ; Take all tbe sons, home ami imports. We pray, great chieftain breeder. Italians bright, may well delight. Gold dollars Indicating : Then strong, plain blacks with well-filled sacks. Deserve not underrating. Smart Cyprians, too; wonders may do. Of vast, prolitlc nature: And Pale-stine may much combine. Of extra valued feature. Albino pure. or. not so sure. Cross'd, mix'd. or various races; From all select, to main effect, Suited to sundry places. Knowing and wise: study, devise. To have petition granted ; And lieing about, beyond a doubt. The special bee that's wanted. To winter live, and summer give. Large stocks and lots of honey: Pure nectar piles, and fancy styles, Uenoting piles of money. Breed beauteous rings, ane hive, and they will all go in and losses by this process are few. Mr. Newton applied sulphur in small quantities, by raising the blanket and scattering it over the bees. He has used salt with good results. Mr. Simon thought dampness and close confinement the cause of dysen- tery. A remedy for this difliculty ^yas proper ventilation and close attention to the bees. Mr. Carson thought that the Ital- ians were preferable to any other ; they were strong, vigorous workers ; the queens were prolific, and they are gen- erally easy to handle. Mr. Newton thought one or two hives enough for an amateur to com- mence with. He should not put too much money in a business he is not familiar with. Mr. Simon considered five or six none too many ; a man would have to pav considerable attention to that many, and would take better care of them. Mr. Carson said, it will pay to plant pasturage for bees ; sow sweet clover (melilot); flg-wort has great merit. 1 would advise the planting of basswood and the golden willow along the highways. January 20th, a short forenoon ses- sion was held, discussing the manage- ment of bees, in general. The inclemency of the weather kept many from attending the afternoon session ; the election of oflicers for the following year resulted as fol- lows : President, Leonidas Carson, Milton ; Vice-President, H. A. Simon, Lordstown ; Secretary, E. W. Turner, Newton Falls ; Treasurer, Geo. Car- son, Berlin, O. Mr. G. A. Newton, of North Ben- ton, O., exhibited and explained the working of his drone trap, for catch- ing black or hybrid drones. Mr. Eadler exhibited some of Gray's bee feeders. Mr. Frank King showed some of his improved wired frames for ex- tracting. Mr. Simon said, if honey is to be shipped it is necessary to use sep- arators. Mr. Carson : I would advise all bee- keepers to try and sell all their honey at home, even if you sell for 2 cts. per pound less. 1 consider it one of the healthiest sweets, and excellent for canning fruits. We use it in our family, and never have any fruit spoil. Mr. Simon suggested that we create a market for extracted honey at home. Mr. Simon said, I moved some 30 colonies of bees last spring, about the first of May. I removed the cap, covered with wire cloth, and moved them on a spring wagon. Box hives I invfvt, and cover the same way. Mr. Simon said, I use the Peet cage for introducing queens. I sometimes coat the queen with honey and in- troduce at the top of the frames. I generally have good success, either way. I always feed the bees when I introduce a queen, if there is not a good flow of honey. The question of our future meeting came up for discussion. It was sug- gested that we have a picnic dinner, bring our wives and children, and have a good social time, and that we have a general display of bee-keepers' supplies. Adjourned to the first Saturday of May, 1883, at the Center of Berlin. E. W. Turner, Sec. For the American Bee Journal. Best Bees— Reply to Mr. Demaree. JAMES HEDDON. The discussion of the question of which are " the best bees," has been before the general bee-keeping public for some time. They have, no doubt, heard about all they desire to hear on that subject, at least from Mr. De- maree and myself, who seem to be the chief disputants. My last article was an endeavor to sum up as clearly as possible, not only what I believed to be vital trnths connected with the subject, but what I believed were gen- erally accepted as facts. I was incorrectly reported to have said, at our State Convention, that light Italians were more gentle than the dark ones. Like a drowning man catching at a straw, Mr. Demaree used this " phantom " with wliich to open controversy on a worn-out sub- ject. That it is worn out with him, is evinced by the fact that his article on page 82, says nothing about it; the afterpart of it being, " how it market honey," while the forepart consists of a series of assertions regarding my in- ability, etc. These points should be left with the readers to judge for themselves ; should they not V This acting as chief disputant and judge, is again repeated by Mr. D. Is he afraid to leave it to the readers V Is he disheartened by the statement of Dr. Baker, in his article on page 74, 6th paragraph V Mr. Demaree must know that I am not the author of the term, "long leather-colored Italians." He says it is an " egregious blunder" for me to confine the term long, to the darker Italians. I will try to show why it is not. I have never seen any Italians of the light hue as long as the average of the darker ones. I have always heard leading breeders, that I have met with, speak as though they never had. Never having seen, heard or read of such lengths and colors combined, as Mr. D. mentions in his second paragraph, where does the blunder come in y If Mr. D. has seen such, we are both consistent, and no one has blundered. Mr. D. asks, "Is life a great tread wheel V" to which 1 reT)ly, too much so with many of us. He infers that I am a "bread and butter writer." Good. If I have written anything which has even helped to lessen the struggle for bread and butter, that is, to make the getting of it more simple and easy, be it ever solittle, I shall be at any time proud to compare my record with his, as an apicultural writer. About his ability as a honey vender, I will not imitate him, but leave each reader to judge for him- self. In the remainder and forepart of his article, he says, that I am not only a " blunderer," but a " confus- ser-" that my articles " are replete witii errors," " marvelously superfi- 106 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. cial,""do not attempt to controvert a single important proposition, except in the way of unscientific bread and butter arguments," etc., — as though " science " (known facts) is something separate from bread and butter get- ting. If " science " has naught to do witn our " dollar and cent" success in bee-keeping, let our future scien- tific articles be few and far between . The above assertions regarding my- self, and disregarding the subject, re- minds me of the following : Por.— Why, man. what's the matter ? Don't tear your hair. Sir HuKh.— I have been beaten in discussion, overwhelmed and humiliated. For.— Why didn't you call your adversary a fool ? Sir Hugh.-My God ! 1 forgot it. Dowagiac, Mich. [Any controversy that descends to personalities is not only unwise, but is generally distasteful to the average reader. Mr. Demaree had the first article, and with this rejoinder of Mr. Heddon, we will, for the present, at least, dismiss the subject. Both dis- putants have " had their say," and anything more will be but a repetition, or drift to side issues and personal allusions.— Ed.] For the American Bee JoumaL Nebraska State Convention, [Concluded, from page 84.] The remainder of the time was de- voted to discussions and informal proceedings. Question: "Where, in the hive, do bees cluster most y" Mr. Turney said, his bees invariably clustered in that part of the hive nearest the entrance. M. L. Trester thought they clus- tered at that point in the hive where the temperature, ventilation, honey, etc., came the nearest to meet their requirements, therefore, in different hives the cluster varied in its location. The size of section boxes, was then discussed, and Dr. McAllister thought that we must supply the demand ■whatever size it may require— half- pounds or otherwise. Mr. Corbett would use wooden sep- arators, and \}ix'^}4yi\^i boxes. Mr. Kouse sdid, thrt we could not afford to use the half-pound sections for the extra pay that was in them. Dr. McAllister said, that the bees were apt to build their cells of an un- even length in any size of section, and Mr. Meyers concurred with him, al- though he has dispensed with sep- arators. M. L. Trester believed they pre- ferred an even lengtli in the brood nest, but outside of it they would run to both extremes of long and short cells. The president said, they preferred a certain length, that he should return to the sections IJ^ inch wide. If he found that he had more sections on than the bees could occupy, he would exchange those inside for the outer ones. Mr. Rouse : As yet I cannot get along without separators. C. A. Speice asked, which was most profitable, comb or extracted honey V O. Meyers believed it depended on the market ; that he could get three times as much extracted as comb honey. Mr. Speice was of the opinion that there was no trouble in marketing, if the people were only educated up to a point where they had confidence in the producer and dealer. The president knew that some peo- ple liked the flavor of wax, spoke from experience ; he also favored a trade mark on honey packages. Dr. McAllister said, that very few people knew that wax was indigestible. Several members thought that the glucose trattic was illegitimate, and ought to be crushed. Mr. Trester believed that it was cruel to kick a dying man, and as the glucose business was at {)resent in a very unhealthy condition, it would be humane to let it die in peace. The question of a State trade mark for honey was discussed at length, without any very definite conclusions. In regard to single and double- walled hives, Dr. McAllister said, the former are the hive. T. L. Whitbeck had used chaff hives, but did not like them ; he be- lieved they were too warm, thought bees were thermometers, and the chaff hive would become so warm that they would fly out and be lost, in the cold weather ; he puts his hives close to the ground, and makes a tele- scope for them, but did not think it paid ; he thinks bees require a great deal of ventilation. Mr. Rouse : A chaff hive, if prop- erly made, is a ventilator of itself. The cost is no more than the cost of protection, in any other way. He has failed to keep bees too warm, out of doors. He said he took charge of the Omaha apiary in February or March, 1881, in the cold winter, and found that the bees had been put on to five or six frames, in chaff hives, with chaff cushion, and some hay thrown on top. There were about 2 feet of snow, and the hay had become full of melted ice, so that it had to be chopped away ; the entrances had become en- tirely filled with ice, so that they had to be opened with a small chisel ; the hives were close to the ground, and in spring they only lost 9 out of 107. In the winter, he found the top of the chaff cushion covered with frost, that looked like snow, but it was warm in- side the cushion. Two inches of chaff is about right. In winter, he ex- amined and found the bees lively, and the sides of the hive were dry. They consumed only 4 or 5 pounds of honey. Dr. McAllister used to think that several auger holes were necessary for ventilation ; now he thinks the crevices about the top of a hive suf- ficient ; he believes that gluing is evi- dence against top ventilation. Mr. Speice strongly believes in chaff hives, wants 2 inches under, 3 inches on the sides, 5 inches in front, and a 3-inch cushion on the top. He puts a kind of a hood over the front of his hives, so that the bees can take a promenade if they wish, when the weather is too cool to fly. The president does not believe in late manipulation. R. V. Muir wanted to know the rel- ative cost of cellar and out-door win- tering. N. Pierson believes that drone eggs are often laid by workers while the queen is present in the hive, while Mr. Hawley was of the opinion that the queen lays all of the eggs, from the fact that as soon as slie is re- moved laying ceases. Fertile work- ers are undeveloped females ; they are detected by seeing several eggs in a cell, in irregular and improper posi- tions. The president said, that they will consume double the amount of honey out of doors than they will in the cellar. It is advisable to keep them in the cellar until there is honey to gather, if you can. Mr. Fletcher asked if basswood will grow in any soil. Mr. Speice : No, it will only thrive in a damp soil. I have some on high land that hardly grows at all. I have not mulched any. Mr. Muir : I think they will thrive anywhere. G. M. Hawley : I have some on sec- ond bottom, and they grow very fast. Mr. Meyers stated that the Rocky Mountain bee plant would grow in Nebraska. Mr. Corbett : I know that it has been growing west of Omaha for the last four or five years. It is also known as "Texas bee plant;" it has magenta or purple blossoms ; the seeds grow in pods like mustard seed, only dark and rough. How many bees can be kept profit- ably in one hive, was inquired and an- swered by the secretary ; the number that can be kept in a hive, under favorable circumstances,without their desiring to swarm ; but when they want to swarm, you might as well let them have their way, to a limited extent. The president did not desire such large colonies, to get comb honey, as was considered necessary by most bee- keepers. What shall we do with lazy queens, was asked. The president said, pinch their heads. The secretary stimulates in various ways, such as strengthen- ing, or exchanging combs, with ad- hering bees, with enthusiastic colo- nies, and finally pinches her head if all other means fail. C. H. Rose had a lazy queen last year ; but this year she is good. Is " honey dew " good honey V was asked. The president said, that from aphides is certainly not. G. W. Stark had seen honey dew on all kinds of leaves, but saw no aph- ides. This dew came in July, and was all consumed by bees. Mr. Muir : We have a large yellow willow that the bees worked on for a week, then I noticed glistening sticky leaves ; this was from the plant louse, and the honey was of fine flavor and good color. The Convention having been in al- most continuous session for two-and- a-half days, a committee on resolu- tions consisting of C. L. Speice, Jos. Baird and Miss Ada Hoyt was ap- THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 107 pointed, and during their absence a general visit was indulged in, all ap- pearing to enjoy themselves, and seeming to regret that they would not be likely to have an opportunity to meet again until the second Thurs- day in January, 1884. The committee reported the follow- ing resolutions which were adopted : Resolved, That the thanks of the Association be, and are hereby ten- dered to the people of Wahoo for their kind hospitality so generously ex- tended to tlie members of the Con- vention, and be it further Besolved, That we hereby tender our thanks to the B. & M. and the U. P. railroads for the encouragement given to apiculture by reason of fur- nishing reduced rates of fare to our members. Adjourned. M. J. Trester, Sec. For the American Bee Journal. Figuring up the Large Yields. GREINER BROS. On page 58 of the Bee Journal for 1883, we find this: " 1 like the Bee Journal, but 1 do not take much stock in those large yields published. I will give these parties $500 in cash to instruct me how to obtain one-half that quantity, and pay all expenses besides. I suspect that it was not weighed on standard scales." Our reply is simply this : If Mr. F. will guarantee or produce annually such honey seasons as we had in 1881, we will guarantee him the same large yields. It is only necessary for him to take the position of scholar and accept Mr. Doolittle's writings as instructor ; this he can have witliout love or money, except $2.00 yearly subscrip- tion for the Bee Journal. Perhaps Mr. Heddon, or, in fact, almost any experienced veteran of the fraternity could lead him to success ; the reason we mentioned Mr. D. is because we happened to take him for our guide, and a good one it was, too, for we feel indebted to him for the 400 lbs. we took from one colony (spring count), a year ago. It is true, we used no standard scales to weight it, for it would be almost impossible, or, at least, a great loss of precious time to run to the scales with every section, and weigh, and record it, when we have all we can possibly do to take finished sections and replace empty ones, which is tlie case in a good honey flow. We use 2-lb. sec- tions exclusively, and the only way of keeping account of yield we find prac- tical, is, to record the number of sec- tions taken from each hive, and this we do with pencil, on each cover. When the season is past and the honey all handled and weighed, it is an easy matter to figure the average per colony, of the season, and if we wish to ascertain the yield of any par- ticular one, all we have to do is to raise the cover and add the number of sections taken, which, multiplied by 2, will give a very correct report in pounds. To be sure, sections will vary some, according to the filling of the bordering cells, but what differ- ence does it make in a report to call 99 sections 200pounds,when, by actual weighing they might have overrun or fell short a pound or two, as long as it is the best we could do. The reason we give our yields in even pounds is, because it is easier to say 400 lbs. than 399 lbs. 14JI oz., and, besides, the lat- ter is just as liable to vary a trifle as the former, unless obtained by actual weighing, which, we think, no exten- sive bee-keeper can afford to do in the hurry of the season. We do not blame Mr. F. in the least for doubting these statements, for we were troubled in the same way until the summer of 1881, when our own eyes witnessed what our reason had tried to disbelieve. It taught us the lesson to be very careful about doubt- ing tlie veracity of our fellow men, especially when these doubts were publicly expressed. On page 60 we find " A Candid Re- quest," with an additional remark by tne editor. As an explanation to these, we will give a short account of the way we obtained 400 lbs. from one colony, spring count. The colony was divided in proper time and the queenless half at once supplied with a laying queen. Soon after, one of these divided colonies gave us a natural swarm, which was hived on a set of empty combs and the mother colony again supplied with a laying queen. The one that did not swarm, filled and finished B half stories, each containing 15 two-pound sections, and the seventh was all built out and nearly filled, with quite a number of sections finished, so that we estimated (not weighed) the con- tents to be equal to 8 or 10 finished sections. The whole yield of this one- half of the original colony being thus, 99 sections or 200 lbs., as given in our report. The other half, which cast a swarm, finished 3 half stories and about one-half of the fourth one, so that the yield of this one was figured at 52J^ sections or 105 lbs. The natu- ral swarm was hived in our absence and could not be traced, so we took the average yield of our natural swarms as a report for this one, which was 41 sections, or 82 lbs.; they all worked pretty near alike and we were not far from a correct result by doing so. The sum of sections taken from these (now 3 colonies) footed up to 192?.j sections or 385 lbs. We used no foundation to obtain this amount ex- cept a starter of about 3^x3 inches in each section. When putting up the honey for market, our crates, of 20 sections, averaged from 41 to 42 lbs. net, on account of their being well filled and capped clear to the wood of the sec- tions, and from this we figured IJ^lbs. additional for every 20 sections, or 143M llJS. in all, making an aggregate of 399?ij lbs. from the original one col- ony, and this we called, in our report, 400 lbs. Now, if there is anything wrong in our figuring the number of pounds, as stated, or, if the swarms were doub- led to more than the capacity of one ordinary hive, by giving them all the section room they saw fit to use, then we are at fault, and would be pleased to be corrected. Our report for 1882 is very different to that of the year previous ; whilst the latter was the best season we ever had, the former was the poorest. One apiary of 60 colonies gave about 40 lbs., and another, of the same number, about 34 lbs. per colony, and hardly any increase at that. Mr. F. claims to be the first person who adopted wood separators in this country ; we have used them since 1877 and recommended them years ago, through Gleanings and the Bee Journal. Several others have also given their experience lately on the same subject, and their points of ar- gument in favor of wood seems almost like a repetition of what we wrote at that time. We were opposed in argu- ment bv much better informed bee- keepers" than we claimed to be, and withdrew from the contest. Still, we continue to use them to this day, and have now no surplus arrangement without them ; we can endorse all that Mr. Isham claimed in their be- half on page 54. N. Y. For the American Bee Journal. Trying Ordeal for the Bees. L. JAMES. Bees that are on their summer stands, in this section, are passing through a severe ordeal this winter, and just now their endurance is being put to the test. After a long, cold spell, on the 2d inst. it moderated a trifle and began snowing, in the morn- ing ; later, turned to a light rain and a northwest wind sprung up in the afternoon, and freezing as fast as it fell, coating every object with which it came in contact. By midnight, the limbs of fruit and shade trees began giving way from the weight of accu- mulated ice, and the crashing and snapping from that time until 10 o'clock next morning, was terrible, and the damage to our trees is great. I was unable to visitmy apiary until to-day, it being a mile from town. The sun shone clear and bright just as if nothing was wrong about here, and, I must sav, that the sparkling and glittering of the icy diamonds in his clear, cold rays, as they swayed to and fro, was a splendid sight to be- hold, hut when I walked out to the orchard where 39 colonies of my bees were, I thought the thing was entirely overdone, and I saw nothing beautiful in the prospect before me, for there they were, buried up in a wilderness of icy limbs and brush, glued fast at eve'rv point wherever they came in contact with any object— bee hive, cover or ground. While standing there and looking at the damaged fruit trees, and studying how to get to the almost inaccessible hives, I was very nich impressed with the belief that ;hen the thermometer stands at Ho" in the shade, an apple orchard is a very goo! place for bees, but in such times as these it does not appear so. I was able to get at nearly all of them, and found the entrances, in nearly all. 108 TEte AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. completely closed with frozen snow, ice and dead bees ; the covers frozen fast to the hives, limbs of the trees, and long icicles pendant from the cov- ers and porticoes, all round them. I opened the entrances as well as I could, and, in most of them, the bees seemed lively and in force, coming out as soon as relieved. The honey boards being off and cushions or quilts being on the frames, saved them from being smothered. Three colonies, 1 think, are dead, and more probably, will be if such a state of tilings continue much longer. I have over 120 colonies in a cave that I do not feel much anxiety about, but could not get to see them as the outer door ■was frozen fast. Atlanta, 111., Feb. 5, 1883. For the American Bee JoumaL " Why I am a Novice." B. F. WOODCOCK. I can recollect of no period of my boyhood when I did not long for a col- ony of bees. My aspirations ran no higher, at first, than one colony ; but I wished for that more than any other earthly possession. My father was a lover of honey, but a despiser of bees. The latter propensity predominating, he chose to buy his honey, much to my discomfiture. When about 15 years of age, I con- cluded to have a colony of bees, at all hazards. A visit to the apiary of D. Z. Kagarice (a disciple of Langstroth, and a resident ot Bedford, Co., Pa.), confirmed me in this resolution. 1 made a conditional contract, and went home highly elated with my prospects, while visions of an abund- ant supply of nature's choicest nectar, passed through my mind. As my exchequer had never risen to half the amount necessary to pur- chase a colony of bees, I was obliged to make my wants known to my father, who positively declined fur- nishing any specie for that purpose. I then proposed to work out until I earned the sum required, but was re- fused the privilege. My ardor ex- ceeding my judgment, I continued to importune him about the matter, un- til he, one day, gave me very dis- tinctly to understand that he was running that ranche, and that while he did there would be no bees buzzing around his ears. My air castle crumbled, the pros- pective bee yard vanished, and I threw up the sponge. I'ermit me to say (without intending the least re- flection upon my father), that cold water of this kind has dampened the aspirations of many a boy, and turned him from a vocation for which he was naturally adapted, to one for which he had neither inclination or adapta- tion. I have neglected to state that, at the age of 10 or 12, 1 was the possessor of a miniature apiary of bumble-bees. I secured the nuclei in the fields, early in the summer, and transferred them to box hives about (ixfi inches square and 5 high. I placed these on a broad board, elevated about a foot from the ground, and put a good roof over them. I did not divide for in- crease, neither did they swarm. In tlie fall I used brimstone to secure their treasure, and was as happy over my pint cup full of honey as is Mr. Heddon over his thousands of pounds. To atone in part tor my " blasted hopes," I paid frequent visits to Mr. K. and his apiary, and would sit, for hours, an attentive listener to bis plain practical exposition of the habits and instructive wisdom of the honey bee. After attaining my majority I again applied for the privilege of starting an apiary on the old homestead, prom- ising to buy the bees myself and share the surplus honey with the family, but my father could not be persuaded that he would not be a target for their javelins (as he terms them), and kindly refused. Having selected a partner for life, who, by the way, is an apiarist of no mean pretensions, I, or rather we, came to the Hawkeye State, and in the fall of the same year (1876), pur- chased two colonies of black bees. Of my subsequent experience I shall have something to say in the future. I am very much pleased with the Weekly Journal, and prefer it to a monthly. Felix, Iowa, Jan. 7, 1883. For the American Bee JoumaU Half-Pound Sections and Separators. A. J. FISHER. Mr. Heddon requests all to give their opinion on the half-pound sec- tions. It is my opinion that they are too small to be profitable to the bee- keeper. It is true that some may de- mand them, but are they willing to pay the extra price above the one- pound sections to make them profit- able to the bee-keeper? I say, no ; considering the extra expense of con- struction and the less amount of honey obtained in them, my opinion is that the bee-keeper that put his honey up in half-pound sections will never compete with that one who uses sections from one to two pounds. Those who are contemplating using the half-pound sections during the coming season should take the advice of F. C. Benedict, on page 8, who, I think, talks squarely on the half- pound sections. As for separators, I think I will have no use for them in the future. I use a section box 13^ inches and 1 11-16 inches thick, and have eight and nine of them combined together, as one solid box, without separators, making a capacity of about 9 pounds. And I am one of those who claim that honey will be stored in a box of that style, where the bees can assemble in a large cluster and keep up the re- quired beat for comb building, much faster than if each box was separated with a piece of tin or wood, besides the expense of construction, to use tin or wood. Economy is the road to wealth. I Those tin separators, with kinks in I them, filled up with bee glue, are dirty and sticky things to handle. In the above style of box I have no such dirt or traps to work with, and I ex- pect to crate my honey too. Am I riglit or wrong in regard to more honey being stored without, than with separators V What does Mr. Heddon say to this question ? I predict that the time will come with " the knowing ones," that tin separa- tors will be ■' things of the past." Can we not have, from the knowing ones, more discussion upon the ques- tion of how to get the most honey in a given time in the most marketable shape (not in half-pound sections), and benefit all concerned 'f East Liverpool, O. For the American Bee Journal. A Eeport from Kansas. HIRAM J. WARD. After keeping bees 14 years I am going to try and make my first thor- ough report, at least as far as amount of surplus honey and marketing the same is concerned. Ttie forepart of the year 1882 was very backward, be- ing cold and wet, and as I am situated where there is no basswood, nor white clover, my bees were compelled to live on fruit and wild tlowers, until alsike clover began to bloom. They gathered no perceivable surplus until the middle of June, and then for only a few days, and not enough to fill any sections. For about six weeks they only gathered enough to live upon, but I had a lot of old combs partly filled with honey from the bees that died in the winter of 1880-81, and I gave them to the bees, to stimulate breeding, hoping for a change in the weather, and sure enough, it came about the first days of August. On the 7th, I had a natural swarm, and others on the 8th, 9th and 10th. I had given up all hope for the bees, and turned my attention to the farm, and marketing early apples (for I have a large orchard), but as soon as they began to swarm, I knew there was honey, and so on Aug. 8, I extracted my first honey from an eight-frame Langstroth hive, without top story, emptying a few combs only, to give the queen room, and put on the top story full of sections. From that time until frost, I had all I could do to take the honey and keep them from swarming. This being my first year with Langstroth hives and sections, I had some trouble to get the sections evenly filled, for I have never used any sep- arators yet. I have used three kinds of hives; the original American, the Quinby and the Langstroth, but I am putting all of my increase into Langs- troth hives now, and shall change all from the American into them, by degrees. » I commenced in the spring with 17 colonies, and increased to 25 by nat- ural swarming, and took 437 pounds of comb honey in sections, and 872 pounds of extracted, and have sold all of the comb at 22^^ cts., and nearly all of the extracted at 14 cts., at home. Total. $220.40 ; an average of $12,963^ THE AMEBIC A:S BEE JOURNAL. 109 per colony, spring count ; all done in just seven weeks. Besides, I liave about 300 pounds in brood frames that I did not extract, for feeding next year. 1 have never fed a pound of anything but lioney, and have been successful. I am seeding pastures of clover and otlier honey plants, so as to give my whole attention to bees and apples, but as soon as I get enough bees to iceep me busy I will turn the apples over to somebody else. Farmingtou, Kans., Feb. 5, 1883. For the American Bee Journul. Large Yields— A Review. J. V. CALDWELL. On page 60, present volume of the Bee Journal, Mr. S. J. McKennie wishes bee men to be candid and let their readers know from how many colonies they obtained their large yields of honey, and also says it would be better to exaggerate less. Mr. F. II. Finch, on page .58, also wishes to pay some one a pile of gold to instruct him how to get one-half sucli crops. Now, in all candor, gentlemen, would it not be better to acquaint yourselves with the facts in the mat- ter, before intimating that some over state the results 'f Let us look at the matter a little. On page 59, Mr. McKennie says he be- gan with 5 colonies and increased them to 17; he took -150 pounds of honey from them, and admits he lost 200 lbs. of honey as the result of queen- lessness, and his bees were put away with 50 pounds to the hive. Now, suppose he had concentrated the honey-gatliering powers of the bees in the original 5 colonies. Might not the result of his summer's business have stood something like this V Leaving out 5 colonies, we have 1:2 with 50 lbs., making 600 lbs.; with the 200 lbs., making 800 lbs. This, with the sur- plus he obtained, making 1,250 lbs. This, divided by 5 (the original num- ber), would give him 250 lbs. to each one, spring count, which, at 18 cts. per lb., makes the nice sum of $45 per colony. Which, Mr. McKennie would say, no doubt, looks like an exaggera- tion; but as a matter of fact, is not. Now, for one short item of personal experience, and which lean prove be- yond a doubt. Last season I had one colony, which, without any help, and although the forepart of the season was very cold and wet, (they were not fed an ounce of honey or sugar), gave me 285 well-filled one-pound sections, and 10 lbs. of extracted honey. They did not attempt to swarm, and they did more than tliis. I had my bees sit- ting on brickbats, close to the ground, and, although they did not cluster out, a lot of them went under the hive and built comb enough to store sev- eral pounds of honey, where I could not see Them. These bees were what I call Italian-hybrids, a ijure queen probably mated with a hybrid drone. I entirely agree with Mr. Ileddou, on page 53, and although I would pre- fer the pure Italian if it had all the good qualities we desire, yet, I shall certainly breed from my best honey- queens, let them be yellow, black or mixed. During my early days in the business, ray great ambition was to get the yellowest and handsomest Italians. Now, the same ambition leads me to obtani the greatest amount of honey from the least number of colonies. Who will rear queens that will pile up the honey, or rather, infuse the energy into their progeny, to roll in the honey without rrittering their time away in swarming and idling ? I should be glad to pay $5 each for such queens. 1 have several queens that I could not be induced to part with at double that figure. In saying this I have no "axe to grind," as I do not rear any for sale, and do not expect to. We who are putting our time and talent in apiarian pursuits must look at these things from a strictly business point of view. Cambridge, 111., Jan. 24, 188.S. For the American Bee Journal. Honey and Bee Show in Nebraska. T. L. VON DORN. Editor Bee Journal: — Please let me call attention to the Premium List of tlie Nebraska State Board of Agriculture : Class %%. Best col- ony of bees, 1st premium, $25; 2nd, $10; 3rd, $.5. Comb honey, 1st, $25; 2nd, $10; extracted, $5 ; 2nd, $3. Best display of honey, in marketable shape. $10 and $5 ; apiarian implements, $10 and $5 ; foundation, full to partly drawn, $5 and $2. Open to the world, except on honey, which is limited to Nebraska. Now, I think we have secured a fine premium list, and we are anxious that our neighbors compete at least for the premiums on best bees. The test is, net gain in stores, for two weeks, and will commence the latter part of Au- gust and end during our State Fair. The superintendent is a practical apiarist, and a man who enjoys the confidence of every one who knows him, and every precaution is taken to ensure accurate and just results. 1 have taken the premium on bees for two consecutive years, and I pro- pose to do so again, if I can ; but if any one else can show us better stock or management, he will find a hearty welcome to the prize, and a good mar- ket for some stock. The conditions are that all the bees in the colony shall be the progeny of the queen and colony on exhibition. That they shall also show the usual docility or amiability of pure Italians. I voice the feelings of the Nebraska bee-keepers, wlien I extend a cordial invitation to all those who haveclioice stock to come and get the $25, if they can. I shall be glad to give any further information desired. Omaha, Neb., Feb. 5, 1883. [We congratulate the bee-keepers of Nebraska on their success in ob- taining such an excellent Premium List for the Bee and Honey Show, and sincerely hope it will have the desired effect.— Ed.] «l^S^5i^^. W^ statistics for New Jersey. After correspondence with Dr. Mil- ler, I find that I can best carry out the auxiliary purposes of our Associa- tion, by requesting the fraternity in New Jersey to forward their reports at once to Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, 111. Give facts on a postal. Do it now. C. W. Bue, Committee, N, J. & I. B. K. A. Bees and Grapes. For ten years, or more, I have had very fine Virginia grapes in front of and very near my apiary, and, to my great surprise and deep regret, the bees do not "injure" my grapes. I wish I could get them to " go for " the grapes, peaches and all other fruits. Last summer I had as fine grapes as I ever saw, but the bees sucked none but those which were " injured " by geese, chickens, wasps, etc. The story about the " Honey in the Rocks," belongs to California in- stead of Virginia. E. C. Jordan. Stephenson's Depot, Va. ' My Wintering Troubles. Last January I purchased 10 acres of land at Ilagerstown, Md., intending to put up a building early in the spring, and be located there by harvest. I commenced in April, but the weather being so very unfavorable for building and bees, being disappointed in labor, etc., I found it would be impossible to go on with my building, and fill my orders ; so I postponed the building until after harvest. Aug. 1, 1 com- menced building again and my time was so much taken up during the fall that I thought I had no time to look after my bees, and I thought they were all pretty well supplied with stores, except those at Ilagerstown, so I con- gratulated myself that my bees were strong in number, with plenty of stores, and did not need special atten- tion, and out door wintering might do pretty well after all. Cold weather set in about Nov. 20. I still expected some warm weather, but it did not come and about the middle of Decem- ber I put the weakest of those at Ha- gerstown in the cellar, and thought the rest of them might go through out of doors, but by Jan. 10 I found it would be a failure, so I moved them into the cellar, and they are doing well. I have spent the most of my time this winter at Hagerstown ; lam at Double Pipe Creek, to-day, mak- ing arrangements to move next week, and thought I had better look after my bees, and, to my disappointment, find them in a very bad condition. Ten colonies had already perished ; a few may have starved for want of honey year the cluster, but most of them had the dysentery. My bees at this place have consumed an unusual amount of honey already, and are generally bloated, and if it does not get warmer soon, I fear the loss will be heavy ; no THE AMERICA!^ BEE JOURNAL. there is an unusual amount of dead bees in the iiives. As the weather is too cold to disturb them, out of doors, I did notliins more than to put a well- filled comb of honey, having a passage cut through it, over the cluster, wliich will be sufficient for them until the middle of March, if dysentery does not kill them. 1 shall move part of them to the cellar and give them plenty of upward ventilation, and ex- periment with tliem and report later. I cannot say how my bees are winter- ing in Virginia and W. Virginia, as I have not seen them since the fall ; then they had plenty of stores. We have not had extremely cold weather this winter, but it has been continuous for over 2 months, and damp, with no chance for a flight. S. Valentine. Hagerstown, Md. How the Bees are Doiiiir. This is another very severe winter. The weather has been very cold ever since Dec. 1. Old bee men think we will have another grand disaster, like the season of 1880-81. However, I hope they are mistaken. My bees had been confined since Dec. 1 until Jan. 27, when a portion of the bees had a flight. Those in two-story hives came out the most. When I say two-story hives I mean 2 hives, one on the top of another, with both entrances open. They seemed to be dry and bright. Those in one-story hives did not come out as much, although similarly lo- cated. Very few dead bees were under the clusters of the two-story hives, but considerable more in the single ones. The snow is over a foot deep ; the thermometer, in the shade, sliovvs 2° below freezing point. Compara- tively few bees remained on the snow, considering the chilly air. The bees are packed in leaves, on the back and between, and the front open to the sunny side. The bees spotted the snow some, but not much. II. S. Hackman. Peru, 111., Jan. 31, 1883. Sundry Questious. My 35 colonies are all packed on their summer stands in straw, chaff, leaves and cobs, as an experiment. They had a good cleansing flight on Dec. 2-1 and Jan. 28. They seem to be strong and healthy, so far. The index for 1882, is a great convenience. I have been looking over and review- ing some of the articles written last year. I intend to try Prof. Cook's plan of preventing increase, on page 474, July 26, 1882, and if it works well with my bees it will be worth more to me than the price of the Bee Jour- nal for a year. Mr. Heddon's honey board is new to me. When the sec- tions are all on and full of lioney, will not those ^g inch slats sag in the cen- ter with the weight, or how is it pre- vented V Will Mr. Ileddon tell us? Do yon think the one-piece dove- tailed sections as good as nailed ones V Do you know anything about Low- master's drone trap, referred to on page 313 of the Bee Journal for May 17. 1882 V I want one of some kind. Does not Prof. Cook and others teach that the brood combs must be 3 inches from centre to centre ? That is what I understand ; if so, how can you get ten frames in a hive of 14% inches, as the Langstroth hive is de- scribed on page 55, Jan. 24, 1883, by M. M. Baldridge ? I have been taught and practising with a hive 15 inciies wide for ten frames, and 12 inches for eight frames. I never handled the movable frame hive much, and I want to be sure I am right ; " then go ahead." D. S. Kalley. Mansfield, Ind. [We believe the one-piece sections are as good as any, and are supersed- ing all other kinds. We know noth- ing more of the drone trap than is mentioned by Mr. Lowmaster. You are mistaken about the dis- tance between brood frames. Prof. Cook, as well as all others, state that the distance should be about IJ^ inches from centre to centre. — Ed.] Hard Wiuter— Bees Dying. Bees are beginning to die, here. A good many colonies, with chaff and similar protection, are dead. I have about 100 colonies in a well-ventilated bee-cellar, that begin to show symp- toms of dysentery. The cellar has been of uniform temperature, about 35°, with all other conditions favor- able, but present prospects of success- ful wintering are not promising. Leonidas Hubbard. Waldron, Mich., Peb. 12, 1883. Last Season's Work. Last spring we had 14 colonies ; in- creased, by the middle of July, by natural swarming, dividing and nu- clei, to 24, and there we set our stakes. But bees, like many others, are whimsical. On the last of July they commenced swarming. Nearly every pleasant day out came a swarm, and when threshing ; while I, with the as- sistance of a young girl, was getting dinner for 19 men, one day, two swarms came out ; the next three, be- tween 10 and 12 o'clock (bee-keeping and farming makes lively work ; no time for blues, dyspepsia, and other luxuries of that kind). Well, I drop- ped all, to help hive or return them. One swarm, of our best Italians, the largest I ever saw, had come out, two days previous, and had been returued. The third time they clustered on an apple tree, near by. We hived them under it, and when I saw them going in nicely I skipped to that dinner. 1 never forget the old adage, •' The way to a man's heart is through his stom- ach." I think it was my nice bread and butter that made such a big hole in my husband's heart (and I really believe honey has a tendency to make it larger every day). In the hurry, instead of putting on the cover, the "gudemon" laid aboard on top of the hive. Well, the swarm left, and the question is, was it for want of ventilation, or had its conduct of the two previous days something to do with it. We should learn from fail- ures. They kept up their swarming till Sept. 1. Some we hived, returned some, and 8, to our knowledge, ab- sconded. On Sept. 1, 2 came out ; the first we hived ; it lilled the body, and gave 20 lbs. in sections ; the others we returned ; hives were exhausted, so they stand 39, a very nnromantic number. While extracting, during the middle of September, we found 5 colonies without queens. We im- ported 3 Italians, and introduced them safely. The others we gave larva), and, on Oct. 5, they had queens. They are all on their summer stands yet, with chaff cushions and quilts over them. They were not fixed for winter when the blizzard came, and I am fearful. Does anybody ever get quite ready for winter? A word about that delinquent nuclei. They reared a queen about Sept. 1, and filled the body of the hive ; we got about 1,000 lbs. of honey. Our best colony of the three, tliat did not swarm themselves to death, gave 125 lbs. of comb honey. Last year, comb and extracted honey sold readily for 20 cts. There is so much fruit here, this year, that honey is a drug. Egypt might be called, this year, if not the granary, the fruitery of the East. Thousands of barrels of apples have been hauled by our house one mile to the depot. There are two orchards in our vicinity of 150 and 160 acres re- spectively. There were hundreds of busliels of black or rather dew ber- ries, picked from those orchards and shipped to Cincinnati and other points along the O. & M. road. We have sold 200 lbs. of honey at 20 cts., and 100 lbs. shipped away at little less. Many producing honey in the old way, bring it to town and sell at 12 and 13 cents. Mrs. C. J. Allison. Noble, 111. Cellars and Summer Stands. Time with his sickle is mowing the days and hours. Seasons come and go ; days and months, like the sea- sons, succeed each other. Summer, with all the joyous anticipations that could be produced by the warm and genial rays of the sun, and change of the season, has given place to au- tumn, and this to cold bleak winter. We are all anxiously waiting for spring-time to come, hoping for the best results with our bees. The bees I put in the cellar seem to be doing finely ; the thermometer registers from 40'- to 44° ; they remain so quiet you can hardly hear a hum ; most of my bees are packed on their summer stands in sawdust, as recommended by Mr. Heddon, and all seem to be doing well, except one colony, which seems to be afflicted with the dysen- tery. On Jan. 7, when the nieicury registered 20'^, the bees from this col- ony flew out and stained the snow badly, and many died. I am not able to attribute the cause of this colony being affected, while the resf seem to be doing well packed in the same way. Perhaps it is owing to their long con- finement, as they have not been able to fly out since Nov. 20. I am very much pleased with the Weekly Bee Journal, its value has greatly in- creased, and it is now indispensible. Disco, Mich. E. W. Wales. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Ill Queen-Rearing in Small Nuclei, etc. Allow me to ask a few questions through the Bee Journal, which may benefit others as well as myself. First, 1 have been binding the Jour- nals and other valuable papers myself with glue, which is not good. Will you or some of the readers of your Bee Journal give a receipt that book-binders use to paste the book cover to the book, so that it is durable. 2. On page 741 of Vol. 18, Bee Journal, Mr. G. M. Doolittle, says : " After using it a few years I ascer- tained that a winter that was favor- able for outdoor wintering was not as favorable for cellar wintering, and vice versa, thus proving that the plan of mixed wintering was a good one. Again, if any one could tell just what the winter would be beforehand, I would place ray bees in the cellar for a cold winter, and leave them out dur- ing a mild one." Will G. M. Doolittle ten us through the Bee Journal what the thermometer will record for a mild winter, and what for a cold winter ; as I notice in the Bee Jour- nal that there is from 6 to 8 degrees difference in the temperature between Mr. D.'s and here. The mercury was down to 6^ below zero in the fourth week of January ; for only two days. 3. On page 280 of Vol. 16, Bee Journal. "No one ever found fault with (juinby's queens, reared in boxes, containing 3 or 4 frames, 5x6 inches square. Is the rearing of queens in Quinby's method a safe and sure way to rear queens ?" Joseph M. Wismbr. Jordan Station, Ont. [1. Book-binders use glue, but of much thinner consistency than that used by carpenters. 2. Mr. Doolittle is invited to reply to this. 3. No ; the writer of that article dis- tinctly states that these small nuclei were abandoned on " account of the liability of the bees to abscond, and the amount of attention required to keep them in fitness. " You should have read the whole paragraph.— Ed.] showing for my bees. The cell pro- ducing this queen was obtained from a strong colony of bees which started only this one cell, during basswood harvest. Could I have another such a season (which was very poor at the commencement), and such a queen, I think that I could get 800 or 1,000 lbs. of honey. If cold weather kills bees fas I think it often does), we may look for considerable mortality among our pets next spring. The lowest tem- perature noticed here, so far, is 35° below zero ; it was 29'J below on Feb. 2, at sun rising; and away below, every morning since. My bees all an- swered to the roll call a few days ago, and seemed in good condition. I have them in a good dry cellar, with about 5 iucties of leaves packed above most of them. W. C. Nutt. Otley, Iowa, Feb. 7, 1883. caps from the hives, to let the sun shine in, to dry out the dampness as mucli as possible, and the bees are now in pretty good condition for another very cold snap. The weather here has not been so very cold, but steady, with no thaws until this week ; there is not a great quantity of snow, but we have had some very good sleighing. I call it one of the most healthy winters, thus far, for a long time, and hope it will prove so for the bees. R. Downs. Naugatuck, Conn., Feb. 2, 1883. 500 Pounds from One Colony. I commenced the season, about June 1, with 30 colonies, almost destitute of honey ; increased to 65, in fine con- dition for winter, and obtained 4,.538 lbs. of honey (807 of comb, in 2-lb. boxes, and 3,731 of extracted) ; I have about 300 lbs. besides, stored away, and not counted in my report. My best yield from one colony was 486 lbs. of extracted. I think that I took enough comb honey from it, not in- cluded in count, to make over 500 lbs. I fed about 3 lbs. of sugar in spring, but the bees received no other help ; fot no increase. Time of extracting : uly .5, 42 lbs. ; 15, 26 lbs. ; 21, 68 lbs. ; 28, 75 lbs. ; Aug. 24, 90 lbs. ; Sept. 7, 105 lbs. ; 19 and 20, 80 lbs. Had I used three instead of two stories for surplus, I think I could have obtained at least 600 lbs. I was crowded too much with other work to attend to it, as I should, or I could have made a much better A Smart Three-Year Old. " It's a daisy; it's a daisy." Such were my exclamations on taking the wrapper off my Bee Journal, dated Jan. 31. My wife wanted to know what was a daisy, and after drawing her attention to the new coat the Bee Journal had assumed, she said it was " a pink." My little boy, 3 years of age, came running up and asked me what was a daisy, and after show- ing him the Bee Journal, said it was " real nice." By-the-by, you are not acquainted with my little son ; well, when he was 2 years and 8 months old he could find a queen when caged. I claim he is the youngest bee-man known. He asks after his Journal weekly, and I have to read to him. I think now you have a Journal to suit the most fastid- ious. I, therefore, move a vote of thanks to you for the improvement. S. G. Holley. New Hamburg, Ont., Feb. 1, 1883. [We are glad that now all are pleased with the .Journal cover. But that " boy " is the brightest juve- nile specimen yet heard of, and will " make his mark," as the years roll along. We were hardly prepared for " the news," that we were preparing reading matter to interest one so young as "under 3 years of age," as well as many who have seen over 80 summers. Give the little " chubby " a kiss for the editor.— Ed.] Perfectly Satisfied. I shall be perfectly satisfied in what- ever way the editor " makes up " the Bee Journal. I bind my own Journals, and have just finished the volume of 1882. It is a nice work, and I would not sell it for $10.00, if I could not get another. Wm. Bolling. Dunkirk, N. Y., Jan. 26, 1883. Bees in Kentucky all Right. Bees are wintering very well here. The coldest weather we have had since the first week in December, was 6° above zero, and the warmest was 64° above zero. J. T. Wilson. Mortonsville, Ky., Feb. 10, 1883. Honey Used by Bakers. Have you noticed the fact that the bakers are using large quantities of extracted honey, in their business, lately V It is news to me. I see our bakery here has been buying largely from Mr. Muth, of Cincinnati. G. B.Lewis. Watertown, Wis., Feb. 13, 1883. [Yes; they use it for cakes and pastry, of the best quality.— Ed.] Feeding Bees in Winter. In an article in the Bee Journal, the writer explains the way he feeds his bees in winter. I would like to know whether it is advisable to feed that kind of food in winter or not. I was afraid my bees would not winter very well, so when we had a thaw, the other day, I opened them and put un- der the sheet on the frames a cake of candy, made of the best white sugar, and which I think, with the honey they have in the comb, will last them until spring. I would like to know which is the best food for winter, syrup or candy 'i* When I opened them they appeared to be in first-class condition, although I never saw them flying since the first cold snap in the fall. I winter them in the Jones hive, with inside packing. Wm. H. Weston. London, Ont., Feb. 1, 1883. [We prefer the candy.— Ed.] Bees had a Flight. Tuesday, Jan. 30, was clear and warm for the season, and my bees had a pretty good flight, and they needed it, for they have been shut in since about Thanksgiving day. Two light colonies, that I did not unite, are dead ; the other 24 are in good condition, at present. I removed the Motto— "Push and Progression." I am highly pleased with the change in the " make-up " of the Bee Jour- nal. Mr. Newman, you certainly deserve great credit, and tiie grati- tude of your patrons, for your suc- cessful endeavors to bring the Bee Journal up to the very highest point of excellence. Push and Progression seem to be your motto. May long life and great prosperity be your re- ward. Many of the communications are each worth the cost of a year's subscription for the Bee Journal. Reuben Havens. Onarga, 111., Feb. 2, 1883. 112 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. ^:pccial IJatices. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper ; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Cliicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. Honey as Food and Medicine. A new edition, revised and enlarged, the new pages being devoted to weto Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price of them low to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 6 cents, postpaid; per dozen,. 50 cents; per hundred, $4.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense — enabling liim to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1883, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder tor the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Qiiinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's ABC of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. Honey and Beeswax Market. OFFICE OP AMERICAN BEK JOURNAL, j Monday, 10 a. m.. February 19. I8S2. \ The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : QootatlonH of Cash Buyers. CHICAGO. HONEY— Bxtracted. dark 7c. light, Eic. here. BEESWAX— It is quite scarce. 1 am payiDK 30c. for good yellow wax, on arrival ; dark and off col- ors, !7^25c. Al. H. Newman. 923 W. Madison St. CINCINNATI. HONEY- Thereis no excitement in the honey market, but sales are fair to our regular trade. Offerings are plentiful of extracted and comb honey. Extracted brings 7(*9c. on arrival. The sales of comb honey are very slow, although there is a large supply of tlrst-clnss quality on the mar- ket. It brings rJC«l.sc. on arrival. BEESWAX- Comes in slowly and brings 20@30c. per lb., according to quality. CHAS. F. MUTH. Quotations of Commission Merchants. CHICAGO. HONEY— The past month has not reduced the stock of comb or extracted honey, the receipts having been larger than the amounts taken for consumption. Prices are weak and irregular, ranging from 16c. to 18c. for white comb in the smaller frames: dark, very little selling, offered at I2!^c. to 14c. Extracted, 8c. to 10c. , according to color. BEESWAX— 32@33c. per tt. for good. K, A. BtTRNETT. IKl South Water St. SAN FRANCISCO. HONEY-Marbet is extremely dull. For comb of ordinary quality it is almost impossible to find buyers. Good comb, of sage blossom, is offenngat 13c. White comb, 14@17c.; dark to good, n@l3c.; ex- tracted, choice to extra white, 8J.^@9Hc. : dark and candied, 5@7Hc. BEESWAX— We quote 2.'i®28c. Stearns & smith, 423 Front Street. ST. I.O0I8. HONEY- Very quiet: dull. Comb at 140I6C., strained, at fi!^(§i7H!C., extracted at 7Jtf(g)8^c.— lots in small packages, more. BEES WAX— Steady at 2S®29c. for prime. W.T. ANDEK.SON & Co., 117 N. Main Street. CLEVELAND. HONEY— Is very slow, just now hardly anything selling, stock on hand quite liberal. Sales slow at l9@20c. for best white l-lb. sections : 18@l9c. for 2-lb. Second gnides not Inquired after. Extracted very dull at 9(sloc. in bbls. and ll(*13c. in cans. BEESWAX— Scarce, 28(»:«o. A. C. Kendel, ll.'i Ontario Street. NEW YORK. HONE V— Choice to fancy white clover honey continues scarce and firm, but buckwheat find ex- tracted honey slow and irregular. Wequote; White clover, first quality, 1 lb boxes, 24®25c: fair to good, 22f'iJ23c.; buckwheat,_l5'S17c, Extracted, clover, lo(rt)13c.; buckwheat, 9<.ajlOc. BEESWAX— There is only a moderate supply of beeswax and prime lots held firmly. Western pure, :^032c; southern, pure, 3l@33c. D. W.OuiNBY, 10.5 Park Place. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is fairly active. We quote: ^6 lb. sections at 30C.; 1 lb. sections, 22(«j25c.: 2 1b. sections, L'r :i(Ki colonies, depending on qualifications. For details, apply by letter or otherwise, to M. M. BAI.DRIDeE. St. Charles, III, 1983. 1983. von GET VALUE RECEIVED 1 QUEENS,BEES AND SUPPLIES If you wnnt E-IKI.Y QUEENS from the best improved trenulne stock for business: or if you want Imported Italian Queens or bee?, tn full colonies or nuclei, with tested or untested qupens; If you want DunhHm or Vandervort comb founda- tion, made from pure beeswax: or if you want hivea orapiarian suppliesof any kind, send for my new catalogue. It tells you about introducinK queens, new " Races of Bees," etc. Caah paid for clean beeswax. Address, a. p. H. BKOWX, 5BDl5t AuKUSta. Georgia. (0 ^ OLDEST BEE PAPER -■'^ _ IN AMERICA . dp) (5 OLDEST BEE PAPER -''■ IN AMERICA ' VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., MARCH 7, 1883. No. 10. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, Half-Found Packages for Honey. In the report of the Eastern New York Convention, given in this paper (on page 131), it will be noticed that the meeting deluded itself with tlie idea that the editor of the Bee Jour- nal had conspired with Boston honey dealers, to force bee-keepers to use half-pound sections. Our readers will, no doubt, smile (and perhaps laugh heartily) at the absurdity of that convention " making a man of straw, for the purpose of knocking him over." We, certainly, never had such a thought or desire, and do not see how any one could be insane enough to impute such a thing to us. The facts are these : While attending the Michigan State Con- vention, last December, at Kalamazoo, •when the subject of " Sections for Honey " was being discussed, we made some remarks about conforming to the requirements of the trade, as to the size of sections to be used, and stated that some years ago people were satisfied with six-pound boxes, but in this progressive age they de- manded sections, holding one or two pounds ; and as a fact (or item of news), we stated that a Boston Arm had, during the past summer, sold a lot of honey in half-pound sections— but we did not advocate their use, or request any one to adopt such a pack- age ! That this was the case is proved, beyond successful contradic- tion, by the report of the secretary, as published in the Bee Journal, on page 792 ; which distinctly says : " T. G. Newman remarked that he icas not an advocate of half-pound sec- tions; but, if they were used, they should have a large surface," etc. Again, in an editorial in the Bee Journal for Jan. 10, page 18, we used this language, in reference to the half-pound section : The Bee Journal would strongly advise caution. Let it be thoroughly discussed, and, then, let a few be tried and, if they will increase the con- sumption at good paying prices to the producer, then mcrease the dose, another year ; but do not attempt to glut the market, else it may have the opposite effect. Mr. Ripley (who is alike condemned with us) on page 35, remarks thus : We have noted, with anxiety, the discussion about the half-pound sec- tion, and find that the demand is credited to come from Boston, and we want to set ourselves right with pro- ducers in the matter. In the first place, we want it dis- tinctly understood that we do not advise any one to use the half-pound section exclusively. Mr. F. C. Bene- dict expresses our views on the sub- ject perfectly in your issue of Jan. 3. No producer can afford to use half- pound sections exclusively. One- pound .sections are small enough to please 95 out of 100, and producers must respond in this proportion. Notwithstanding all the caution, our remarks are tortured to mean just the opposite by that Convention, which, in its report, has published to the world " that Mr. Newman, editor of the Bee Journal, should be censured for his ofBciousness, in writing and going about with Mr. Ripley, doing all he could against the interest of those to whom he looks for support." That is sublime ' Not only have we not written in favor of the adoption of half-pound sections, but we have cau- tioned against their general use ! Nor did we go anywhere with Mr. Ripley, (or any other man), doing all we could either for or against any section ! ! If those men had solemnly " Be- solved " that we advocated " a return to black bees and box hives," were " making war upon all improvements in apiculture," defended the adulter- ation of honey with glucose, " to the injury of the producer "—and were sufficiently insane to believe that " the moon is made of green cheese " — they would have been as near correct as the "statement" and "resolution" were, as published in their minutes. Of course, the Bee Journal has published discussions concerning half- pound sections, giving arguments for and against them. This is in the in- terest of progress and improvement, and if they are not to be used, dis- cussion, free and untrammeled, will kill them ; but, if they are desirable all the resolutions of conventions and anathemas of opposers, will be as chaff in the whirlwind, for " Truth is mighty, and wiil prevail." The article on page 802, so strongly condemned by the " resolution," gave the views of Messrs. T. P. Bingham, A. I. Root, James Heddon and Dr. C. C. Miller on the best size to make a section to hold a half-pound of honey. After giving their ideas, we remarked that the small sections (meaning those holding one or two- pounds) and the small pails of pure extracted honey had killed off adulteration, by placing pure honey within reach of the masses, and that " any step that will aid in popularizing the consumption of honey, and bring it into universal demand, will be welcomed by apiarists — no matter if it be a half-pound section for comb honey, or a five-cent pail for the extracted." This was a hint that such packages were among the possi- hilities, in creating a universal demand for honey, but did not in any way advocate their adoption. We cannot see, howevei^how any bee-keeper can object to the sentiment expressed. We are well aware that men of in- fluence or position are often subjected to misrepresentation and malignity (be it in religion, politics or science), but we had hoped (vainly, it seems) that bee men would not indulge in such luxuries! We have assiduously labored to popularize the consumption of honey, and thereby benefit pro- ducers, and to be misrepresented and maligned seems to be our reward ! — Be it so ! We accept it as such ! 126 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Electric Light and Electric Alarm. —We have several times illustrated arrangements for electric alarms for tiie apiary. It now striijes us tiiat the new electric apparatus can be made useful in protecting our apiaries. Concerning this new Lighter, the Neiv York Real Estate Chronicle of Dec. 16, 1882, remarks as follows : At last we can have the electric light where it can do the most good. Tliat is to say we can put it now on our deslis, on our tables, on our man- tel-pieces, anywhere in fact where a clear, bright, sate ligliter is wanted. The portaole electric lighter, patented in 1879 and again in 1882, is now be- fore us, and we look at it with sur- prise and happiness. Surprise, because it is evident how great a progress we have made in the science of electricity; happiness, because it gives us a clear- er, better, more movable light than any we liave ever enjoyed. Here is a lamp, so-called, occupying only the space of tive square inches, which can be carried anywhere, and is besides an ornament. By simply pressing upon the knob to the full extent of the spring (which connects with the bat- tery) an electric current is produced by which the spiral of platinum is heated to incandesence and the light is instantaneous. The material lasts about two months and can then be renewed at a small cost through any chemist. It will not be long before everybody will have a portable electric lighter. The price ($5) is so low tliat it cannot fail to become popular at once. The principal office is at 22 Water Street, Boston, Mass. (^ Correspondence waiting to be published in the Bee Journal has accumulated so much that we now have on hand all that can be accom- modated for the next three months, and give our usual variety. This week several Convention reports crowd our columns so that we cannot give the usual variety. In one of the Conven- tion reports some one intimates that we encourage Conventions in order to get matter to Hll our paper — Instead of this being true, we are seriously con- sidering the necessity of omitting everything in such reports but the discussions that we may consider of value to our readers. iThe business portion is of but little interest to the general reader. We expect to be obliged to do this, to accommodate the growing interest in apiculture and its scientific unfoldment. 1^ Those who have written for the Swede are hereby informed that he has gone to live with Mr. II. H. Over- myer, Lindsey, O. ^g" The California ApicuUurist has been suspended. Flax Culture for the Seed and the Fiber, by Mr. II. Koelkenbeck, a flax grower and manufacturer of twenty- five years' experience in Russia, Ger- many, Belgium, Ireland and America, who is tlius remarkably fitted for the preparation of such a work. American flax growers cultivate an area equal to about one-third of allthe'land planted to flax in all other countries, that is, about 1,127,300 acres. The value of the product is only about $7.10 per acre, because of the shameful waste of the fiber. The value of the entire crop is but $8,000,000, while the value of the fiber, from this area, if properly grown and cured, would be over $40,000,000. Mr. Koelenbeck tells us how this valuable crop may be saved, and the flax industry built up in America, by which we may save to home industry over $200,000,000 per year, now paid to other countries for flax products. The pamphlet gives full particulars on cultivation, seed and saving the crop. 1^" Some are getting impatient on not getting Alley's new book. We are promised a shipment next week. When they are received, all orders sent to this office will be filled at once. Tot the American Bee Journal, How I Prevent After-Swarms. JAIIES HEDDON. He who has learned the laws govern- ing the habits of bees, from practice, as well as from theory,not only knows and owns, but feels the facts he has learned. The habit of swarming has been and is still deplored by many bee- keepers, not only on grounds of extra labor of hiving, etc., but as detri- mental to getting the largest yield of surplus honey. You will notice, at the same time, that it " is not fair " for Smith to put his yield from one colony and its in- crease, against Brown's report of sur- plus taken from one that did not give any increase. This plea was raised In Oleanings when I proposed to pit Mr. Vander- vort's large yield of comb honey from one colony and its three swarms against a lesser yield of honey from Mr. Carroll's one "colony, that did not swarm. Every man who objected, ad- mitted that more surplus honey could be taken with, than without increase. This, I think, is correct, and just what I tried to show, some 8 or 10 years ago, but was then considered a little too " fresh." Too much inclined to opposing the majority. It is a fact, that the discovery of a practical, efficient method of control- ing increase, would be a great boon to the keeper of many apiaries. As far as I know, no such system is known. I will proceed to give you a plain, simple method that I have used suc- cessfully for the prevention of after- swarms. Let us suppose that colony No. 14 swarms June 14. With a non- erasive crayon we mark upon the hive O, June 14, and on the hive in which we put the swarm, S, June 14. Thus, we distinguish the old colony from the swarm at a; glance, as we make these marks in large figures. When we hive the swarm (always on full sheets of wired foundation), we place itclose on the north side (our hives front the east) of the old colony, with the en- trance turned northward, away from the old colony, about 45°. As soon as the swarm is well at work, having their location well marked (say two days), we turn the hive around parallel with the old colony. Now both hives face east, sitting side by side, and close together. Sometimes, however, being governed according to the size of tlie swarm, as compared to the number of bees left in the parent col- ony, we place the newly-hived swarm on the old stand, putting the old colony through the process above described. In fact, we do this most of the time. Now, you will remember, that while each colony recognizes its individual house, they are, at the same time, as regards all other colonies in the yard, practically in one location, or on one stand. Now, the dates on the back ends of the hives plainly indicate that second swarming will take place in about 8 days. In about 6 or 7 days (according to season or weather) after this date on the hives,we remove the old colony to a new location. As we do this at such time a-day as most bees are in the field, this de- populates the old colony, giving the force to the new, leaving too few bees for the young misses to divide, and as they at once recognize this fact, they fight it out on the Tine of the " survival of the fittest." It may be proper, just here, to say a few words regarding how we manipulate the surplus de- partments of these two hives, as it may have sometliing to do with the object in view. Let us suppose that, at the time of swarming, that the old colony was working in three 28 one- pound section cases. Suppose the upper one to be ,?4 completed, the middle one about }i, the lower one just started. We win put two (which two, only the minor circumstances in the case can decide) on the swarm when first hived, leaving one, and, sometimes, we get another to put with it, on the old hive. Perhaps this surplus room on the old colony also has a tendency to prevent swarming. I fancy I hear some one say, "What ! all this surplus room over a swarm just hived ?" Yes, you see, but this article is not on how to produce comb honey, but the prevention of after-swarms, and while we think the success of the THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 127 above method will lie quite clear to those who are familiar with the in- stincts of the bee, it will be further understood that the proper manipu- lation of the details is an important part, and can only be gained by expe- rience. The success of this plan we know by experience, and its strong points are that it can be safely, surely and practically manipulated without hunting queens, or queen-cells, or even opening a hive. It only needs to be properly executed to be thoroughly appreciated. Dowagiac, Mich. For tbe American bee Journal. Robbing the Inventors. DR. B. B. SOUTHWICK. I notice in the Journal much talk about the " one-piece section," sug- gesting ways and means to get rid of paying the man that has introduced them, anything for his time and money spent in bringing them before the public, which is always more trouble than getting it patented. Prof. Cook also suggests that bee-men club to- gether and have a friendly law suit, to see if the originator can hurt them if they do rob hiiu. (I thought better of the Professor than that.) The action of these men remind me of the boy that stole the apples. He saw a basket of nice apples in the corner of the fence. He saw no one near. He had nearly filled his pock- ets when a man, near by, asked what he was pocketing those apples for. The boy said he not know whose they were. The man replied, "you know whose they are not." So with all these men ; they know that they have no right; the introducer lias the right that is allowed to all nations, the right of discovery ; and no man has any moral right to the thing, unless by agreement with the one that dis- covered it and brought it forward. Suppose you unite and have a friendly (V) law suit, and beat; you will have the pleasure of congratulat- ing each other on having the longest purse, being able to hire the biggest lawyers to pull the wool over the eyes of a jury. But that will be the pleas- ure of tyi-ants, in grinding down their subject's, because they have hired sol- diers to do it. I have no interest in, and I sincerely hope I may never become so insane as to desire to use the one-piece section. Tliose who wish to manufacture or use the section, should take the advice of a man (who is not a Christian, but believes in doing right, because it is right): unite together and give Mr. F. a small royalty (say 25c. on a thousand more or less), for all that are manu- factured in the next five years. That would give him a fair remuneration for time and money spent. How much better yon would all feel if you were using a section that you knew had no dishonesty or injustice connected with it, anywhere ; and that you were not liable to be drawn into a suit that would cost ten times what your sec- tions were worth V Mendou, Mich. For tbe American Bue JournaL Bees in a Cellar Flooded with Water. HARRIS PEARSON. For the benefit of those who have wet or damp cellars to winter their bees in, I will give my experience. On Nov. 1.5, 1880, 1 put 40 colonies of bees into my cellar, which is very damp, with water standing in places around the bottom. The hives were put into a room 13x8 feet, and were raised from the ground 16 inches. The cellar is ventilated by a 3-inch tile drain, running 3 rods to its mouth, and a m inch pipe passing from the bee room through the top of the cellar wall and up 12 feet on the outside of the house. The cellar was damp tliro' Dec. and Jan., and I feared the result. About the middle of February we had a heavy rain storm, which caused all low places to fill up with water. The mouth of the cellar drain is near a sluiceway, which crosses the highway, which, being frozen up, the water could not pass through ; conse- quently it backed up, the cellar drain filling the cellar to a depth of 16 inches, reaching to the bottoms of the lower tier of hives. After about .30 hours the sluiceway thawed out,and the water disappeared, leaving the cellar as wet as it could possibly be. The hives remained standing as when put in, until April 15, 1881, when I carried them out, and found all colonies in good condition but two, and they had been destroyed by the mice. 1 have now 65 colonies in my cellar ; they have been in since Nov. 15 ; they are all quiet, and wintering finely. Gouverneur, N. Y., Feb. 26,1883. For the American Bee Journal. Sweet Clover not a Noxious Weed. L. H. SCUDDER, 63-148. At the Northwestern Convention at Chicago, last fall, it was stated that the laws of Illinois made it a penal offense to introduce or plantinelilotor sweet clover, and after some discus- sion in regard to the matter, Mr. M. M. Baldridge and myself were ap- pointed a committee to investigate, and if we found any such laws in ex- istence to try and secure the repeal of the same during the present session of our legislature. I do not understand that any formal report was required of us, certainly not until the next meeting of the So- ciety, therefore I will report what action I have taken in the matter, and will ask Mr. Baldridge to give us, through the Bee Journal, the re- sults of his investigation. I have examined the statutes of Illi- nois carefully and cannot find the name mentioned. There are only two plants named, viz. : Canada thistles and castor beans, which, by the laws of Illinois, are declared "noxious weeds." It is true that the law seems to imply that there are other noxious weeds and fixes the same penalty for introducing as those above named It is evident that the burden of proof would rest on the complainant, and if he failed to establish the fact of the noxious character of the plant, tlie case would fail. Therefore, I con- clude that if sweet clover is as valu- able as we believe it to be, we should have no hesitancy in giving it a fair trial. I have not been able to find any conclusive evidence to convince any one that the introduction of sweet clover could be objected to by any reasonably disposed person. The Farmers' Practical Encyclope- dia speaks of it as a good honey plant, but " spreading as a persistent weed." If that is the worst that can be said of it, let us raise as much of it as we .see fit, trusting that the good will over- balance the evil, enough to make all feel friendly towards it. New Boston, 111. For the American Bee Journal* Comb Honey Rack. JOHN T. SMITH. I send to the Bee Journal a sam- ple of my improved honey rack for holding the 4^x414 sections. I send two racks ; they cover one hive ; one full of sections in place, and one, empty. 1. I can use one rack at a time on light colonies or box hives ; 2. I can tier up, one upon another, on strong colonies, without adding more than one at a time ; 3. By having each tier J4 inch apart I can get the honey off as fast as it is finished, as I can work in between the other tiers ; 4. By taking off honey as fast as finished the combs are nice and white, the bees keep at work all the summer, and do not get the rack completed, but have partly finished ones to keep them en- couraged ; 5. Tiie shape of the rack is such that the bees cannot glue the sections fast or soil the same ; 6. By being J^ inch inset for sections to set in the rack, separators can be used resting on the top edge of the rack, leaving % inch space below the sepa- rators, for bees to pass through ; 7. By using the rubber cord to hold the sections in place it holds all tight in dry weather or damp, and the cord is not in the way when tiering up; 8. I can take the sections out of the rack and turn one of the racks upside down on the top of the hive, for winter use, that forms the best of winter passage over the top of the frames. I like it as well as " Hill's Device " for that purpose ; 9. In taking out and replacing sections, the bearing is so small that I do not kill as many bees as with other racks, where the bearing comes on the entire bottom of the sec- tion. In tiering up I do not raise the rack, but raise one tier, 6 sections, at a time ; putting the empty ones at the bottom, and partly filled ones on top. I have 83 colonies of bees in winter quarters ; part of them are packed in chaff, on the summer stands, and part are in the cellar. I used the rack on them last summer with the best of satisfaction, as have all the bee-keep- ers in this vicinity. Bellevue, Mich. [The rack is placed in the Museum for the inspection of visitors.— Ed.] 128 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. muT£sM For tbe Americiin Bee Journal. Northeastern Michigan Convention. In inirsuance to a call, the bee- keepers of Northeastern Alichigan met at Flint, Tuesday, Feb. 13, and organized what will henceforth be known as " The jSfortheastern Michi- gan Bee-Keepers' Association." A constitution and by-laws was adopted, and the following oflicers elected : President, R. L. Taylor, Lapeer; Vice-President, Dr. L. C. Whiting, East Saginaw; Secretary, W. Z. Hutchinson, Rogersville ; Treasurer, Ijyron Walker, Capac. The next an- nual meeting is to be held on the first Wednesday in March, 1S84, in Lapeer. After the election of officers, the appointing of acommittee on exhibits, and the decision as to the place of next meeting had been arrived at, and the president and secretary liad been instructed to call a special meet- ing just before the meeting of the State Association next December, the convention adjourned until 1:30 p. m. At 1:30 the meeting was called to order by President Taylor. The first subject for discussion was that old, but ever interesting one, of Winterinq Bees. Dr. L. C. Whiting : I would have a good colony ; a good queen, good brood, and an even temperature. Dr. Rulison : 1 would feed plenty of granulated sugar, and winter in the cellar. Would have the cellar well ventilated and diy; the temperature between 32^ and 35^, and keep no veg- etables in it. Prof. Cook : Why would vou have the cellar dry '? Dr. Rulison : Because the water at one time leaked into my cellar. Where the water came in, a colony died, and the combs were very moldy ; at the dry end of the cellar the bees wintered best. Prof. Cook : I have wintered bees five years successfully in a cellar, in which the water stood one foot deep, what do you think of that ? W. Z. Hutchinson : Within the last few days I have had the pleasure of visiting Mr. J. il. Robertson of Pewa- mo. He has 350 colonies in an out- of-doors cellar. There is a spring in the cellar, but, when I was there, the water had not yetcomraenced to flow, and Mr. R. was shoveling snow into the cellar by the bushels. The snow gradually melted, and the atmosphere was so damp that it could be almost felt. The bees were in splendid con- dition. 1 have no hesitation in say- ing that they were the finest lot of bees that I have seen this winter. Clark Simpson : Poor honey often causes dysentery. Bee-ket^pers often make a mistake in extracting their early-stored, well-ripened lioney, and letting the bees fill their combs with fall honey, which is often of poor quality. I think the walls of chaff hives are usually made too thick. Byron Walker : I would like the ex- perience of Mr. Simpson that induced him to think that chaff hives should have thinner walls. Clark Simpson: When the walls are thinner, tlie bees receive the benefit of the sun's warmth. Dr. L. C. Whiting: One winter I had hives facing in different direc- tions. The only ones that survived the winter were those with tlieir en- trances facing towards the south. Probably the sun kept the entrances thawed open. Dr. Rulison : I have known bees to winter well, buried deeply in snow. J. L. Wilcox : I have kept bees 25 years ; I fasten them in the hives dur- ing the winter, and have never lost many colonies. Byron Walker : I think the protec- tion that bees liave, may have some- thing to do with whether they can be fastened in without harm. When bees were heavily covered with chaff, and they became uneasy, I have re- moved the chaff, and the bees soon quieted down. The kind of winter stores that the bees have, has much to do with how they winter. T. C. Pollock : I do not advise shut- ting bees into their hives. I leave a space above the bees in the cap. My bees winter best in the dampest part of my cellar. I would not advise bee- keepers to take away the best honey and compel the bees to winter on late gathered honey, that may be of poor quality. L. E. Welch : 1 consider it of the greatest importance that the bees should be kept in an even temperature. Prof. Cook : I agree with Mr. Welch, but there are many other things be- sides temperature that must receive attention. I once poured water over every opening in the hive. This was during freezing weather, and the bees were completely frozen in, or sealed up with the ice. Snow was then shoveled over the hives. The bees came through all right, but I would not advise such methods. L. E. Welch : Although I consider an even temperature of great impor- tance, yet I will admit that good food is also important. Prof. Cook : I have visited the bee cellars of D. A. Jones, of Beeton, Can- ada. The walls are 3 or 4 feet thick, being filled with sawdust. Each cellar is supplied with air through 8-inch tile that are laid beneath the frost line, and reach the open air at a dis- tance of 200 feet from the cellar. The cellars are ventilated at the top. There is also an ice-box over each cellar ; by putting ice into these the temperature can be controlled during the warm spring days. I would not carry bees out during the winter, un- less they become uneasy, and were soiling their hives. R. L. Taylor : Bees sometimes be- come uneasy, and then quiet down again without being carried out of the cellar. L. E. Welch : Perhaps they move about, cluster in a new place, and be- gin to feed upon a better quality of honey, and hence they quiet down. Byron Walker : I have tried sub- earth ventilation, but it failed unless the bees were furnished with proper food. I do not think the late gathered honey is always of the best quality. Prof. Cook : Late gathered honey may not always be natural honey : it may be the product of plant lice. W.Z.Hutchinson: I have 11 colo- nies out of doors. Some of them are now dead from dysentery, and I think tliey will all die except one, which is in good condition. This fortunate colony had all of its honey extracted last fall , and was fed granu lated sugar. Clark Simpson : I would not put more tlian 50 colonies in one cellar. I would have the cellar frost proof, and well ventilated. Would be sure that the bees had good food, and that the hives were so arranged that they would not be jarred. Dr. L. C. Whiting: H my bees needed feeding, I would feed them honey that I have put away for that purpose. Prof. Cook : Yes, doctor, but if we had no honey laid away, then what should we feed V Cxeo. W. Hand : I would feed the best white sugar. I have taken bees that my neighbor was going to brim- stone, fed them upon white sugar, and carried them through all right. Dr. Whiting : 1 can shake the bees off the combs in the fall, extract and sell the honey, go visiting during the winter, buy bees in the spring, and make more money than you can by wintering your bees. W. Z. Hutchinson : And I can scrape up the bees that you shake off, feed them sugar, sell them back to you in the spring, and have more money left than you will. Clark Simpson : I knew of a man who wintered a colony of bees without combs, by feeding them sugar, and occasionally rye flour. The bees filled their hives with combs during the winter. Can the production of honey be overdone f Dr. Rulison : I sell my honey in my home market— have educated the people to eat it. If the people are only educated to eat honey, they will eat all that we can produce. M. D. York : I will sell my honey in my home market. Many people eat honey now who never thought of eating it until it was produced in their neighborhood, and their atten- tion was called to the matter. J^r. Rulison : As long as there are so many losses during the winter, there will be but little danger of the busi- ness being overdone. Dr. Whiting : Now that the mar- kets of the Old W'orld are opened up to us, we can sell all of the honey that we can produce, and that, too, at good prices, if we send the Europeans nothing but good, pure honey. Prof. Cook : C. F. Muth, of Cincin- nati, who has had a very large experi- ence in handling honey, says that we need have no fears of over production if we will only stop adulteration, so that the people will have confidence enough to buy the honey. M. D. York : We have not labored entirely in Viiin ; the people are be- THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 129 comiiift educated ; just let me give an illustration : Last fall, to till out an order, I was obliged to till two jars witli extracted honey that had just been melted up. A week or two after- wards, as I was in the store where the honey was on sale, the proprietor called me to one side and said : " You might just as well carry home those two jars of liquid honey ; no one will buy them ; people are beginning to lind out that pure honey will granulate upon the approacli ot cool weather." I ex- plained the circumstances to him, and the condemned honey was sold before I left the store. The essentials of a (jood location. Byron Walker: I would prefer a location in which the bees can tind honey to gather as soon as it is warm enough for them to fly. Raspberries are excellent honey producers. Fall flowers are more certain to yield honey than tliose that blossom earlier. I would not advise any one to run away from white clover and basswood, but to take in the swamps and fall flowers, if possible. L. C. Whiting : I would like a loca- tion that has willows, soft maples, barb maples, white clover, basswood ; in fact, 1 want a succession of bloom. M.D.York: I have sowed alsike to help furnish a succession of bloom, but tlie honey is of poor quality com- pared to white clover or basswood. Prof. Cook : It seems to me, Mr. York, tliat you must be mistaken ; are you certain that it was alsike cloveV honey that you found of poor quality y M. t>. Y'ork: Yes, I am certain. Tlie bees were working upon nothing else ; and I extracted it before they commenced to work on anything else. W. Z. Hutchinson : I, one year, had 300 pounds of alsike clover honey, and nothing could be Hner. It has a pink- ish color, wliile the flavor, although distinct, is very pleasant. Prof. Cook : Instead of moving to a location near swamps, would it not be better to cultivate honey producing plants V Some have reported obtain- ing excellent results by cutting alsike clover just before it blossoms, thus bringing it into bloom after the close of the basswood honey harvest. D. Shangle : I have sowed alsike clover with wheat. It made such a growth that, when the wheat was cut, tlie clover also was cut. The clover grew up again, blossomed and pro- duced hone v. W. Z. Hutchinson : Mr. J. H. Rob- ertson advises pasturing alsike until the last of .June. By this method he says that two crops can be obtained ; one crop of honey and one of seed. Comb Foundation. Prof. Cook : I have used foundation ever since it was flrst sent out by "John Long,"' or whoever he was. and I am becoming more and more convinced, each year, tliat it is one of the greatest inventions that has ever been given to bee-keepers ; I do not think, however, that drone foundation is going to be used. R. L. Taylor : I consider foundation invaluable. One of its greatest ad- vantages is that it enables us to con- trol the production of drones. I have used the flat-bottomed foundation in boxes, and with this I have found a " flsh bone " in the honey. By fllling the boxes with foundation, the bees build their comb straighter and quicker. I have given the bees a frame of foundation, late in the after- noon, and the next day found it drawn out and tilled with eggs. I have used all kinds of foundation, and, unless it is wired it will sag. In light colonies, or cool weather, it may work very well, but in full colonies, or hot weather, it will sag, warp or break down. If it sags, the top cells are drawn out so large that drones will be reared in tliem. With the Given press the foundation is made directly into wired frames, thus saving all trouble of fastening in the foundation. J. H. Wellington : I have nothing to say against wired foundation or wired frames, but I do wish to say a word in favor of the flat-bottomed foundation. I have used it very thin, and found no " flsh bone " in the honey. Perhaps Mr. Taylor may have used thicker flat-bottomed founda- tion than I did. L. C. Whiting : I wish to put in a word in favor of the flat-bottomed foundation. I have used the Given foundation, but the bees gnawed it out before the honey flow came. It may be because the Given was softer than the flat-bottomed. W. Z. Hutchinson: May not the quality of the wax have something to do with this ? R. L. Taylor : So large a surface of the flat bottomed foundation receives pressure that it makes the founda- tion too hard, and instead of drawing out the wax tlie bees build on it. J. II. Wellington : I have always noticed that tlie base of the cells were worked into a natural shape. Dr. Rulison : I have used a great deal of foundation, and prefer that which is wired. M. D. York : I use the regular Langstroth frame, and have kept the foundation from sagging by using wliat are called Cheshire rakes, but it is a very troublesome method. D. Shangle: I use no wires, and have no trouble from sagging. My hives are 1 inch larger, each way, than the regular Langstroth. Dr. Rulison : I live near Mr. Shan- gle, and I would say that he makes his foundation very heavy. D. Shangle : I dip the boards three times. If tlie wax is very hot I some- times dip once or twice more. H. A. Fenner had used foundation 6 or 7 feet to the lb., and it did not sag. L. C. Whiting : I have used founda- tion in which there was some para- ffine, and it always stretched badly. Prof. Cook : I have used the flat- bottomed foundation, and I must say that the bees did not work it out very readily. Byron Walker : I would not have foundation, for any purpose, made heavier tlian 6 or 7 feet to the pound. Praf. Cook : I have seen them mak- ing foundation at Mr. Jones', and they reverse the dipping board each time they dip it, thus making the sheets of uniform thickness. R. L. Taylor : There is a great dif- ference in wire ; some is " springy " and will tangle up. other kinds give no trouble ; get that, that does not "tangle." I wind the wire around a board, and the board is of such a length that when the wire is cut where it passes around one end of the board, the pieces of wire are just the right length for wiring a frame. Mr. Taylor then had his Given press brought into the room. A dish of water was brought to him. He put one or two pieces of concentrated lye, as large as a kernel of corn, upon the dies, wet an old shoe brush in the water, and with it washed the lye all over tlie dies. Some wired frames were piled beside the press, the small bundle of sheets of wax that had been lying behind the stove were handed to Mr. Taylor, when presto, the wired frames tilled with the beautiful foun- dation were soon being passed about the room amid the clapping of hands and exclamations of delight. A hearty vote of thanks was extended to Mr. Taylor for bringing the press and showing the manner in which it worked. Mr. Shangle had an Olm foundation machine on exhibition, and wished to show how it worked, but had not the proper lubricator there. Overstocking. Prof. Cook : I think it well-nigh impossible to overstock a locality. If there is plenty of honey it is difficult to have bees enough to gather all of it ; if no honey is secreted, it makes little difference whether there are few bees or many. Clark Simpson : The secretion of honey is so rapid that I consider it impossible to overstock a locality. Byron Walker : I have noticed that, wherever a few colonies of bees are kept just out of my range, they al- ways give better results than I get from my large apiary. J. H. Wellington : There was, at one time, 600 colonies kept in the city of Saginaw, and my partner (Mr. O. J. Hetherington) and myself were obliged to move most of our bees out into the country in order to get any surplus. We kept just enough bees at home to show that we were in the business. Different varieties of bees. Prof. Cook : I consider the Italians better than the blacks, and the Syr- ians better than the Italians. The Syrians are more prolitic, and are ex- cellent honey gatherers. Clark Simpson : The Syrians are worse to swarm ; but, for all of that, I like them. ^ , Prof. Cook : It has been reported that they do not seal their honey properlv. Did you notice anything of that kind V , ^ Clark Simpson : Nothing of the kind, they make as nice comb honey as any bees. M D. Y'ork: I had a colony of Syrians, last season, that outstripped an Italian colony that was its equal in all respects that could be discerned. D. Shangle : I have tried blacks, Italians and Syrians, and the blacks 130 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL,. made tlie most comb lioney, except- ing some hybrids that I have had. Dr. Rulisoii : I would not take a swarm of blacks, and keep tliem black, if you would give them to me. Nothing suits me better than pure Italians. I do not want the Syrians, because they swarm so much, and be- cause they are so cross. I do not like the black bees, because the moths trouble them so much, and because they are not of an even " tempera- ment." Neither do I want imported stock ; good, pure, home-bred Italians are good enough for me. Byron Walker : I like the black bees because they do not swarm so much, and because they are the ones that pile up the comb honey ahead of anything else. M. D. York : I have tried the blacks and Italians, side by side, for three years, and have discarded the blacks. 1 think that many discard the Ital- ians because they do not understand them. The Italians and Syrians swarm more, simply because they are more prolific. I practice putting a swarm into a hive from which a swarm has Issued a day or more pre- vious ; there is then spent that en- ergy that a new swarm always has, in making comb honey in the boxes. J. H. Wellington : Our hybrids beat everything in making comb. The committee on exhibits reported as follows : Mr. President, your committee on exhibits reports a very large exhibit. Our president, R. L. Taylor, of La- peer, exhibits a Given press, wired frames, a Chapman press for piercing frames for wires, and comb founda- tion. Mr. Taylor, like all owners of the Given press, is very enthusiastic in its praise. He also showed how the press worked. M. S. West, of Flint, shows crates, comb honey, extractor, hives with Langstroth frame, also one with Gal- lup frame, half-pound sections, and a plan of a bee house presented by his daughter. J. H. Wellington, of Saginaw, pre- sents hives with reversable frames, a Bingham smoker, and a Bingham and Hetherington honey knife. He values the reversible frame very highly. Reversing causes the bees to fasten the combs to the bottom bars, and sets the bees to carrying the honey, that is stored near the top bars, into the sections. Mr. Clark Simpson, of Flushing, ex- hibits side-opening hive with arrange- nient for side-storing and chaff pack- ing; a home-made, cold-blast smoker, combination seat and tool box, and a lamp nursery for hatching queens. In this combs are not put, but the queen-cells are cut out and placed in separate apartments. With no honey accessible, Mr. Simpson says that the young queens will not kill each other. Rulison & Simpson, Flushing, ex- hibit fine samples of extracted honey. D. Shangle, Hazleton, shows the Olm foundation machine. He lubricates the rolls with thin flour starch. L. E. Welch, Linden, shows a Sim- plicity hive with Gallup frame, crate filled with half-pound sections, and wood separators. Byron Walker, Capac, presents one- piece sections, and combined storing and shipping crate. His sections have no recesses, out have, instead, projec- tions on the ends. His section are 1 J| wide, and he uses no separator. His crate can be used at the side, top, or even in the middle of the brood nest. August Koppen, Flint, exhibits a chaff hive with bottom board filled with chaff, and a large extractor with automatic arrangement for turning the combs. W. Z. Hutchinson exhibits several neat pails of granulated honey, to- gether with a stand for holding them while they are on sale in a store, a Bingham smoker, and a cold-blast smoker from Mr. Kemp, samples of all the bee papers, some bee books, and a photograph medley showing about 1.50 bee-keepers. Dr. L. C. Whiting, East Saginaw, shows a Scoville smoker, a section crate, and brood section frame with only three sides, one side of which is sheet iron, which enables the opera- tors to easily remove the sections. A. J. Cook, L. C. Whiting, W. Z. Hutchinson, Committee on Exliibits. Twenty-nine members were en- rolled ; the best of feelings prevailed, and, if the future meetings are as good as the one that has just passed, the Association will be a decided suc- cess. W. Z. Hutchinson, Sec. Eastern New York Convention. The annual meeting of the Eastern New York Bee-Keepers' Association was called to order by President Ten- nant, at Albany, Jan. 2, at 2:30 p. m. The secretary being absent, T. Houck was appointed secretary pro tem. The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved. The president made a very appropriate and interesting ad- dress. Adjourned to 10 a. m. President Tennant called the meet- ing to order at 10 a. m., and Secretary Quackenbush's report was read and accepted, and his bill was ordered paid. Tlie treasurer's report was read and accepted ; showing $15.58 in the treasury. An essay by G. W. House was read, the main points of which were as fol- lows : " The Western bee-keepers labor for their united interests, by protection to their journals ; by the advocacy of their fancied superiority of some work published, or the use of some implement manufactured in the West, and by a unity of action to keep us in the East disunited. Under the existing circumstances, I will venture to say that beyond the meeting and hand-shaking of friends, and the mak- ing of new acquaintances, conven- tions, as generally managed, are not beneficial to tlie specialist. I am now fully satisfied that publishing our minutes works positive injury to the Assocation and its members. It damages the society by driving there- from our most eminent apiarists, who do not care to give to the world their discoveries and inventions, and then be abused and dictated to by novices. They would rather reserve what they know of value, and learn what they can from the publication of our pro- ceedings. The members of the society are injured because many penurious bee-keepers will remain at home, in- stead of giving you their attendance, and assist in sustaining tlw Associa- tion, knowing that they can read the proceedings at their leisure." This essay called out considerable discussion. " Mr. Vroontian favored publishing the proceedings ; also that County Conventions send delegates to State Conventions ; that many bee- keepers would not go so great a dis- tance to attend a State Convention ; that the delegate should be regularly elected at the County Convention, and delegate pay their own expenses. Mr. Tennant thought the delegate should be instructed to the interest of the Association. He opposed all rings and monopolies. There are things on foot that are working injury to our interests. There are many bee-keep- ers who will not come, on account of their being henpecked and forced to tell all they know, to be published. Mr. Wormer : The more knowledge one gets of bee-keeping, the more Be wants to go into the business. He thinks there is sufticient demand for all the honey we can procure, and that if we cannot publish anything, we certainly cannot learn anything. Mr. Markell believes in making true reports and giving it to the public. Mr. Garret said bee-keepers are like bojs that hate to be outdone by others — and make their estimates too high, so as to be up with their neighbors. Mr. Robdell thinks a great deal of our knowledge should not be pub- lished ; high estimates are an injury. Mr. Wright : The proper way to make our reports is by number, as Western men do. Mr. Denton thought we ought to advance new ideas to each other; he is in favor of having conventions; what is practical with one, is not with another; an experimental knowledge is the best- Mr. Haverly : Best posted bee- keepers should tell what they know, for the behefit of inexperienced ones. Mr. Tennant : We ought to have a system to protect ourselves ; bee- keeping is increasing to such an ex- tent that we should be protected by organizations. County and State ; we must have protection by legislation, if necessary. There are no kinds of business but have an organization, to set prices. Many bee-keepers are too penurious to attend the conventions — thinking they can get it all out of the bee journals. If they cannot come and take part in the convention, they are not worthy to be called " Brother Apiarist." Secretary Houck said he had gained his knowledge of bee-keeping by first reading " Quinby's Bee-Keeping," and taking the various bee journals, with his own experience, and he be- lieved tliat they all had gained most of their knowledge in the same way, and is it for us to say that it must stop there i* Suppose Langstroth ana Quinby had been so selfish and not made their experiments and practical experience public, where would api- culture stand to-day V That the bee THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 131 jounicals have done more to work up the deiiiaiici of our products than any- thing else. Because we have gained that knowledge, shall nobody else He offered the fol That we publish this convention in have the chance ? lowing : Resolved, the proceedings of full. Carried. After a lively discussion Mr. Garret offered a motion to rescind the resolu- tion, which was carried, and the question was laid on the table until to-morrow. The convention was called to order at 1 p.m. President Tennant being absent Vice-President Vrooman took the chair. The election of officers re- sulted tlius : President,Sol. Vrooman ; Vice-President, A. Snyder ; Secretary, T. Houck ; Treasurer. H. VV. Garret. The secretary read an article by A. J. King, of New York. [For this essay see page 22. — Ed.] After a lively discussion the con- vention adjourned until 7 p. tn. Meeting called to order at 7 p. m.. President Vrooman presiding. The following questions for discussion were reported by the committee : 1. " What is the Best Method of Starting Nuclei for Queen-Rearing?" 2. " How Long will a Queen Remain ProHtably Prolific y 3. " What Improvements can we Make in Marketing our Products V" 4. " Shall our National Convention be Held Outside of the United States?" The first and second questions were discussed in their respective order. Mr. Adams makes about four nuclei out of one of his strongest colonies. His hives hold eight frames, thus tak- ing two frames of hatching brood for each nuclei. Mr. Tennant : It depends on the season. Considers young bees the best for queen-rearihg. He breeds only from his strongestcolonies— those that winter and make box-honey best. Considers two fiames of hatching brood the best for nuclei. Mr. Uoomhower; Took about 18 colonies and made one nuclei from each. He took the box he used to the hive, found the queen and took a frame of brood— one that has the brood near the centre of the frame- put it in his box, first brushing the bees off of two frames into the box, and in 4 or 5 days he would do the same thing, and so on until he had made about 90, and he has had an original colony swarm the same year. Mr. Adams : My experience with a lamp nursery was very unsatisfactory. Mr. Tennant thought it depended somewhat on how the queen was reared. Preferred one reared under the swarming impulse, and in the forepart of the season. He thought about three years was the extent the queen was profitably prolific, but sometimes longer. Secretary Houck : You could force a queen to lay in two years what would under other circumstances take four. Adjourned to 9 a. m. Convention called to order at 10 a. m. President Vrooman in the chair. This session was opened by a lively discussion on an editorial article in the Bee Journal of Dec. 20, 1882, page 802, on " Half-Pound and Penny Packages, or Packages of the Future." The members thought that it was very important that the convention com- plete the idea of protection, discussed yesterday. They wanted to see the convention placed upon such a founda- tion that it would have an influence at home and abroad. That Mr. New- man, editor of the Bee Journal, should be censured for his oflicious- ness in writing, and going about with Mr. Ripley, doing all he could against the interests of those to whom he looks for support. If Mr, Newman cannot stand by the producers they should withdraw their patronage. That the producers must pay him for everything he does in the way of printing, etc., and at the sflme time he was pushing himself against their interests. And also, as a convention, they should ask that Mr. Newman re- tract and reconsider the article in question. Motion made by Mr. Tennant, and carried unanimously, that the conven- tion resolve itself into a committee of the whole and adopt the following : Resolved, That we ask Mr. Newman, editor of the Bee Journal, to recon- sider the article as printed in the Weekly Bee Journal of Dec. 20, 1882, on page 802, on "Half-Pound Sections, or Penny Packages, or Pack- ages of the Future," together with what he himself has said in the arti- cle, and the influence that he has set forth in conflrmation with that of Mr. Ripley, agent of the firm known as Crocker & Blake, of Boston, and see if the items referred to inure to the best interests of the producer ; also we ask Mr. Newman if he does not consider it officious to publisli or recommend it to the public, to the in- jury of the producer. [For reply to the above, see first page of this paper.— Ed.] A lively discussion followed in re- gard to the proper size of box. Mr. Tennant favored the 2-lb. boxes. That we should not deviate from 1 to 2 inches thick, as it makes the neatest- looking card of honey ; it also was the most natural for the bees to work. Mr. Vrooman prefers one 5>ix5i-ix- 1% thick. Mr. Van Deusen thinks it is a bene- fit for both the supply dealer and producer to have one standard box, then the supply dealer could in the winter time make up a large stock and be ready to furnish his customers without that delay which sometimes causes so much trouble. Mr. Garret was of the opinion that the 2-inch was the most used of any, and that the bees would fill a 2 inch box quicker than one that ia only 1J| thick. Secretary Houck sitid the majority they manufactured were 1 1.5-h; thick, called the prize box ; and thought it was about the right size, and could be made easier, for the reason tliat 2-inch plank, as a general thing, would plane only 1 15-16; if they had to be 2 inch they would have to block up the lumber. Mr. Boomhower said that those manufactured by Mr. Manum were 2- inch excepting the 4>4x43^ dove-tailed, and those were]% thick; he preferred the iJi box. Secretary Houck offered the follow- ing, which was adopted : Resolved, That we adopt as a standard the 2-lb., and nothing smaller than the .5x.53^x2 inch section. Motion was made and adopted that we add the following to " article two " of the constitution : " However we invite exhibition of products and sup- plies, and time will be given between sessions and at proper times appointed for examination." Another motion was made and adopted that the secretary invite ex- hibition of all apiarian supplies at the time of his giving notice of meetings. Where shall we hold our next an- nual convention came under discus- sion. Finally, it was voted to be held at Albany, in Agricultural Hall. Not knowing when we could have the hall, it was left to the president and secretary ; but they were to get it as early in January as possible. Aajourned until 1 p. m. Convention was called to order by President Vrooman at 1 p. m. The president, upon motion, ap- pointed the following members as a committee on questions for discussion at our next annual convention. Ques- tions to be reported to the secretary on or before Dec. 1, 1883 : W. L. Ten- nant, Schoharie, N. Y.; A. Snyder, Clarksville, N. Y.; G. H. Adams, North Nassau, N. Y. Motion made and adopted, that we have a programme, that it contain three essays, that it also contain the motions solicited by the question com- mittee ; and that all be reported to the secretary, by the respective com- mittees, by Dec. 1, 1883, and that the secretary have the same printed and circulated to each member of the Association, and to such other mem- bers of sister associations as the president and secretary shall direct. Secretary Houck then read a paper written by James Heddon, on dysen- tery, or bee cholera and spring dwind- ling. Of the latter he said : " I believe that no colony that was healthy when the days of long periods of con- finement ceased (which we call winter) and the days of oft-repeated flights arrived (which we call spring), ever "spring dwindled." Spring dwind- ling is loss of bees in daily flights, from weakness engendered by a dis- ease of the intestines, called dysen- tery, which had not, at the time of flight, progressed far enough to make any outside show, but was all held within the body of the bees, hence was unobserved by the apiarist. It is dysentery in disguise." Mr. Tennant thinks a cleansing flight will sometimes cure dysentery, if they have not been confined too long ; old bees are more liable to have the dysentery than young bees— mak- ing it quite necessary to go into winter quarters with a good supply of young bees ; he does not believe that pollen alone is the cause of dysentery, but eating it in connection with honey, and continual cold weather without purifying flights. Mr. Vrooman had lost over 100 colonies in one spring, with dysentery ; 132 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. but did not believe pollen alone was the cause. Resolutions of thanlcs to the three writers of essays, and the late presi- dent and secretary, were passed. Shall the National Convention be held outside of the United States, was discussed. Many members held it was a North American convention, instead of National, and, therefore, could properly be held in Canada. There was considerable interest shown in the discussion of what im- provement can we make in marketing our products black bees, and 318 either Italian, Cyprian or hybrids. Number of colo- nies sold during the year, 119; number bought, 106 ; number of queens sold, 17.5; number bought, 73 ; pounds of honey taken, 5,437 ; pounds of wax, 335. Average amount of honey from each colony owned May 1, 1882, \2}^ pounds. The average for the year before was 36 pounds. 97 bee-keepers, not members of tlie Association, had reported, giving the following results : Number of colo- nies owned Oct. 1,1881, 1,092; number May 1, 1882, 863 ; number Oct. 1, 18S2 Mr. Vroonian thinks we ought to! 1,215; 739 of these were black ; 476 hold on longer, and not be in so big a hurry to dispose of our crop ; that October is about the right time to ship honey ; he would not send it off on commission, but sell it right out, and get the money in his pocket. The members were of the general opinion that the best way was to let buyers come and offer, instead of run- ning after them ; also that we were apt to be in too much of a hurry to sell our honey. Exhibiting honey and apiarian im- plements at the State Fair, was discussed, and the following reso- lution was carried : That the presi- dent and secretary confer with the managers of the State Fair, for a suitable place and room for the exhi- bition of honey and implements for the apiarists of the State, and also offer premiums for the same. Secretary reported $12.50 fees re- ceived, of old and new members. The question in regard to the publi- cation of the proceedings came up again. After considerable discussion it was decided to leave it to the dis- cretion of the secretary, what part to publish and what not. At the last moment there was a resolution adopted that we glass all our boxes, both large and small, be- fore sending to market. Convention adjourned to meet again in one veur. Theo. Houck, Sec. were either Italians, Cyprians or hy brids. Number of colonies sold dur- ing the vtar. 164; number bought, 118. Number of queens sold during the year, 133; number of queens bought, 61. Pounds of honey taken, 16,003; pounds of wax, 4.59. Total number of colonies Oct. 1, 1881, 1814; number May 1, 1882, 1,300; number Oct. 1, 1882, 1.024. Of these 1,120 were black bees, and 694 either Italians, Cyprians or hybrids. 283 colonies were sold during the year, and 224 bought. Queens sold, 308 ; bought, 134. 21,440 pounds of honey were produced, and 790 pounds of wax. Of hives used 31 were the Langs- strotli frame, 17 the Colton and other styles, 8 were the Gallup frame, and 8 the Quinby frame, 6 had the Torry and Maine standard hive, and 5 the shingle (Eureka) hive. Several other kinds were used by a few. In wintering, 42 adopted placing the hive in the cellar ; 40 winter on sum- mer stands, and use packing in chaff, straw, sawdust, boughs, etc. A few winter bees in chambers, unoccupied houses or bee-houses built for the Maine State Convention. The fourth annual meeting of the Maine Kee-Keepers' Association was held at Dexter, Feb. 8, 9, 1883. President Addition gave his annual address at the commencement of the afternoon session. He succinctly stated the objects of the Association and the progress it had made. He briefly reviewed the progress bee- keeping had made during the last few years in other parts of the country, and tlie spirit of enthusiasm having been felt here in the Eastern States, bee-keepers were waking up and tak- ing hold of the business in earnest. The report of Secretary Hoyt was in substance as follows : The Maine Bee-Keepers' Association numbers -52 members— 42 male and 10 females, showing a gain during the year of 31. Meetings are held quarterly. 36 mem- bers report as follows : Number of colonies of bees Oct. 1, 1881,772; num- ber May 1, 1882, 4.37; showing a loss during the winter of 281 colonies. Number of colonies owned Oct. 1. 1882, 709 ; of this luimber 391 were purpose. The subject of feeding bees was in- troduced by a paper from Mr. Lucien French. His main points were, that feeding was essential both fall and spring, the latter time with all colo- nies, the former to weak colonies, so as to give them sufficient store for winter. The best feed was the purest sugar we could get. Never feed glu- cose. He had tried it, and it cost him dearly. Believed he was out $100 in conse'quence of the experiment. The best place to feed was inside the hive. To feed outside incited to robbing. To feed for brood-rearing, give a small quantity each day. It feeding for stores give it to them as fast as they would carry it away. A candy made of half a pint of water to four pounds of sugar melted and turned into shal- low tins and laid upon the bars, was a good way to feed in winter. Considerable discussion upon the feeding question followed the reading of Mr. French's paper. The points were that very much of the granulated sugar in market was adulterated with grape sugar. That in some cases bees would not always be incited to fight- ing by out-door feeding. The coffee A sugar was preferable as a feed for bees, especially in spring. Glucose or grape sugar was injurious to bees, and under no circumstances should it be fed to them. To make bee-keeping profitable, was the basis of an essay by Mr. Hutchins. He thought our bees might possibly be superseded by some newer sort, but did not think that kind had been found yet. In winter- ing bees experience seems to prove that the hives packed in chaff were preferable to wintering in the cellar. The spring dwindling, that universal complaint, was due in great measure to wintering in warm cellars. Use frame hives, and examine the bees in the spring to know their condition. Cannot do it with the old box-hive. In dividing, do it so as to have each colony as strong as possible in as short time as may be. To keep bees profitably one must love the business, and make pets of his bees. Take and read some good journal devoted to bees. Keep up with the times, there is much to be learned yet. Keep a record of all the colonies and queens, and their qualifications and attain- ments. Have everything in readiness at the proper time, and never put off doing things which ought to be at- tended to immediately. The question of wintering bees was discussed with a pretty strong leaning to out-door packing in some way. Those that had tried chaff packing had found it satisfactory. Some ad- hered to cellar packing. .SECOND DAY. The election of officers resulted as follows : Mr. F. O. Addition, of Dex- ter, President; Wm. Hoyt, Ripley, Secretary ; J. \V. Hodgkins, Dexter, Treasurer. Vice-presidents from the several counties were elected as follows : Aroostook, H. B. Chapman ; Andros- coggin, L. F. Abbott, Lewiston ; Han- cock, L. S. Brewster, Dennysville; Kennebec, 11. B. Coney, Augusta; Penobscot, J. \V. Hodgkins, Dexter; Piscataquis, VV. A. Cotton ; Waldo, J. W. Linekin ; Somerset, S. W.Crockett. A. B. Coney, Isaac Hutchins and Wm. Hoyt were appointed a commit- tee to confer with the State Agricul- tural Society's officials, regarding future exhibits of honey and bee im- plements at the State Fair. Mr. Isaac F. Plummer, of Augusta, gave bis views and experience in pro- viding pasturage for bees by sowing some special crop for that purpose. His experience had not been great, but he had tried it enough to know that to a certain extent it would pay to plant or sow for bees. Fruit-cul- ture and bee-keeping, he thought, should go hand in hand, for fruit trees in bloom were a source of honey. In extending our orchards we extended the facilities for our bees to gather honey. Every farm has more or less waste land which might be appro- priated to raising some plants for the bees. Where sweet clover will grow it is one of the best honey-producing plants we have. Another honey pro- ducing plant which blooms from July to October is borage. It is an attrac- tive flower for Held or garden. It needs a dry, rich soil in order to thrive. He sowed some last year, and it did finely. The bees worked upon it constantly. He liked the plant so well that he will sow more another season. Other plants with 1 whicli he had had some experience as THE AMERICAJM BEE JOURNAL. 133 honey-producing plants were catnip, motherwort, boiieset, ligwort, spider plant, mif^nonette, Chinese mnstard, clover, golden honey plant, etc. He tliought if more attention was paid to this branch of bee-keeping it would be made to pay better, and he would advise all to plant largely of honey- producing plants, as he believed it would pay in the end. In discussing this subject, the con- clusions were thatof the honey plants, sweet clover (melilot) was as good as recommended, and one of the best to sow for bees. Dutcli clover or white honeysuckle was our best natural plant. Borage, by those who had tried it, was liked for its honey-pro- ducing properties. Jiasswood, in lo- calities where it grew extensively, yielded much and a good quality of honey. The question whether bees would work upon red clover to any great ex- tent was discussed, the conclusion being that if other flowers were blooming in abundance red clover would be slighted, but where honey was short and red clover blossoms abundant, honey bees would visit it. Mr. Reynolds, oil' Clinton, had often observed black bees on red clover, but no Italians. Mr. Iloyt had seen the last named busily engaged upon it. Mr. Addition said we should use great care in introducing new honey plants, not to spread noxious weeds upon the farm The question was asked if it would be judicious to discard the German black bees in favor of the Italians ? None were so fully conlirmed in their convictions regarding the newer races as to risk their success entirely upon them. Many favorable opin- ions were expressed of the Italian, Cyprian and others— pure and hybrid. In stopping absconding swarms Mr. Hodgkins related a metliod which he found successful. He affixed an oblong piece of cloth to a pole and struck this amongst the bees as they circled away towards the woods. Always strike in the centre of the circle of bees, for the queen would be there, and if she was demoralized in her flight the bees would alight. The committees appointed to ex- amine the various hives and imple- ments on exhibit, made their reports at the opening of the afternoon ses- sion. Three patterns of hives were shown ; the Quinby closed end frame, Simplicity with Langstroth frame and the Eureka, carrying the Gallup frame. The committee gave the pref- erence to the Eureka made by Mr. Addition. On feeders, of which there were a number shown, tlie first pref- erence was given to those exhibited byMr. Hoytaud Lucian l<'rench, the two being very nearly alike. Queen cage, to S. M.Crockerand Wm. Hoyt, extractor; 1st "Novice," shown by Mr. Hoyt; foundation machine, 1st to Lucian French ; foundation, il. B. Chapman, lst;L. French, L!nd ; wax, Wm. Hoyt; transferring tools, L. French ; and same on wired trame ; foundation fastener, Win. Hoyt; tongue registerer, Wm. Hoyt; en- trance contractor, E. P. Churchill, North Auburn. Secretary Hoyt had experience in rearing three or four different races of bees, called attention to the com- ing bee. In the first place, to deter- mine the kind we will keep, we should consider the object to be attained. Some keep bees for pleasure, but most of us for the profit they bring. Now, the bees tliat will gather the most honey, are the ones that will give the most profit. How shall we attain the desired result V By a judicious cross- ing of different strains and races, and selecting those which give the best results. Colonies vary greatly in the honey-gathering capacity. Those that are the best should be noted, and from these rear the bees we keep. From what statistics he had gathered, thought the average of honey through- out the State, was not over 2.5 pounds to the colony. Was this satisfactory '{ After four years experience with yel- low bees, was satisfied they were superior to the blacks. As to the dif- ferent races of bees, he thought the Italians very industrious, amiable and beautiful, and better honey-gatherers than the blacks. From his experience thought the Cyprians the best honey- gatherers known. They were very prolific, and the most beautiful bee with which he was acquainted. As to their disposition it was not always to be depended upon for amiability. The Syrian bees he had had limited experience with. It was claimed that they were very prolific and good- natured as the Italians. The coming bee must possess the energy and hard- ihood of the Cyprians, the docility of the Italians, with the prolific qualities of the Syrian bee. He was not pre- pared to point out any particular course for bee-keepers to pursue, but we should not be content witli 2-5 pounds of honey from a colony, when some of the best give 100 pounds or more. One advantage of old-time keeping over the present was the " sur- vival of the fittest," as bees that did not gather sufficient store to winter, died off or were consigned to a brim- stone place. Now, colonies short of stores are fed, and every queen kept alive if possible, whether they possess any good qualities or not. A queen should not be tolerated unless her progeny are possessed of the following qualities : Good honey-gathering ; hardy to winter ; easy to handle ; yel- low bands. Do not be satisfied with anytliing short of these, and thus hasten the arrival of the coming bee. The subject of re-enforcing colonies, by a queen reserve system, was pre- sented by L. F. Abbott, agricultural editor of the Lewiston Journal, en- titled, " Pointingto a Practical Point." He began by saying that the first re- quisite to success in any business was to become acquainted vvith the funda- mental principles upon which the business was based. To rightly un- derstand bee-keeping was to become familiar with the nature and irstincts of the bee. Much study by compara- tively a few individuals during the past few years had brought to light many mysteries of the bee hive. The point of practical importance he de- sired to offer for consideration was that of providing reserve laying queens to beusedat swiirmingtime to provide re -enforcements for both the old colonies and swarms under certain contingencies. When bees are allowed to swarm naturally, much time is lost between the exit of the old queen and the time when the hive will feel the benefit of the progeny of the young queen ; often amounting to tv\'o or three weeks. As the old queen goes out with the first swarm, matters at the old home are left in a sort of tran- sition state ; the women folks all stirred up and the boys fast leaviiig hom^. Some little fellows are con- tinually emerging from the cells, the progeny of the old queen, but they^ by the 21st day after the old queen turns her back on them, are all about house. In the meantime another swarm has gone out with a yoi\ng, giddy and inexperienced queen, who remains with her family, but imable to perform proper duties for a number of days. Tnis occurs at the season when honey is most abundant. Time is honey, and honey is money. What means sliall we adopt to re-enforce these hives and bridge over this delay while these young housekeepers are getting ready to settle down to the real business of life i* The remedy seems to be to partially adopt the sys- tem of artificial swarming in so far at least as to provide reserve queens, which, becoming fertile, will be in readiness to step into the old hive on the exit of the old queen, and also when her daughter leaves, and go immediately about the business of laying eggs. By their exchange the supply ot reserve queens would be kept good, and non-laying queens be replaced immediately by fertile ones. Mr. Hoyt, in reply to a question, re- marked that the extractor could be profitably used in Maine. He believed it one of the most useful inventions of the age. He believed we could ob- tain much more honey by its use than in swarming for box honey. Should practice artificial swarming, if the extractor was used, as we could keep colonies more equalized in that way. Would extract as fast as the honey came in, and if colonies were short in the fall, feed for winter. After some discussion, relative to the matter of place for holding the next meeting, it was left discretionary with the president and secretary. Central Illinois Convention. A convention was held in Bloom- ington. 111., on Feb. 13, to organize » Society. Mr. J. L. Wolcott stated the object, and a committee was appointed, to present a constitution and by-laws. 32 persons signed the roll. The committee on constitution pre- sented its report, which was adopted. The Association is known as " The Bee-Keepers' Association of Central Illinois." The officers constitute a committee to select subjects for discussion, and to apooint members to deliver ad- dresses and read essays. Meetings- are held once in three months. J. L. Wolcott was chosen perma- nent president,and .James Poindexter, 134 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. secretary. Mr. VVolcott spoke briefly of the importance wlilch bee-l2 lbs., just go to work and make it larger. Dresden, Texas. B. F. Carroll. [Mr. Carroll is referred to page 115, where, we think, he will find a satis- factory explanation. — Ed.] Mice as Bee Enemies. On page 96, Mr. H. J. Northrup tells how Mr. O. has wintered his bees successfully tor 12 years. That is good ; but here it would be a " sweet jubilee" for the mice. We have, be- sides the common mouse, a timber or field mouse. It is dark on the back, brown on sides, white throat and belly, with fur on the upper edge, and rather short tail. We also have the mole with its peaked nose ; that pushes its way through on top of the ground under the snow, grass or leaves. Have they those three to contend with in winter among their bees in Lansingburgh, N. Y.'i* Limerick, 111. E. Pickup. Feeding Poor Honey in Spring. I began the season of 1882 with 4 colonies, in box hives ; have taken 440 lbs. of comb honey from them and their increase (mostly from the in- crease) in 1 and 2 lb. sections. I have sold nearly all at about 16 cts. per lb., and increased them, by natural swarming, to 13. But, owing to the lack of experience, they were rather light in stores, the sections having been left on too late to give them stores enough for winter. I had to feed 80 lbs. of sugar. I had every- thing to buy tor working the apiary, most of which will come in use this season. My expenses were $95, and counting the goods on hand at a low price, and cash received from sale of honey, I have made $16 on the invest- ment, without setting any price on the bees ; if they winter through, I shall be that much more ahead. Some of the colonies appear to be wintering all right, packed in sawdust with chaff on top of frames. Two colonies I packed with sawdust on top of frames, as an experiment ; one of which suffered with dysentery, until the 15th, when the weather became warm enough for them to fly with safety. The colonies in the box hives I left on the summer stands, without packing. They have suffered with dysentery, and one is dead. It did not do well last summer, sent out two swarms, but did not gather any honey in sections ; the combs were very wet, and some were a little moldy. There was 12 lbs. of honey in the hive, and 2 combs coutained some capped brood in the centre of cluster. About three weeks before I found they were dead, they seemed to be all right. The weather turned cold, and, on the 14th, I found them dead. I think their death was caiLSed by too much damp- ness in the hive, as it was very wet throughout. Will it do to feed this honey to the bees in the spring y The com bs showed some signs of dysentery, and some are a little moldy. Alfred Gander. Adrian, Mich., Feb. 19, 1883. [I'es ; when the bees have a chance to fly you can teed them almost any kind or quality of honey without danger.— Ed.] Will Freezing Eradicate Foul Brood J I would like to inquire, through the Bee Journal, of Mr. D. A. Jones and others, in regard to freezing hives, combs and honey that contained foul brood last summer. The bees cleaned it out of the comb after they stopped brood-rearing in the fall, and the bees were changed into new iiives. Would it be safe to use them next summer, after being frozen as hard as they have been this winter 'f Mr. Jones claims that boiling will kill it. Is not freezing as good as boiling V O. E. Burden. Birdsall, N. Y.,Feb. 24, 1883.* Wintering Bees in Dakota. I removed the snow from my bees to-day, and found 4coloniesout of the 11 had died; 2 were in Simplicity hives, 1 American, and the other a Langstroth that had no upper story. The rest of the colonies, in Langs- troth hives, were all right, and the day being warm and pleasant, the bees had a good flight, the first since Nov. 20. They seem to be iu splendid con- dition. I do not want any more Simplicity or American hives to win- ter bees in. I am satisfied out-door wintering, with hay packing, in Langstroth hives, is the best way. Wm. W. Eastman. Yankton, Dakota, Feb. 28, 1883. Old Fogy Notions. On page 42 of No. 3, of the Bee Journal, I am made to say 83 colo- nies, when it should be only 28. In the tall of ISSl, at the time when I should have been preparing my bees tor the winter, I had to serve 3 weeks on the jury, but we had a mild, open winter, and, contrary to the general ideas and practice, I worked with them many times during the winter, and with no bad results, and this last tall I was summoned as a witness on two different occasions, and my bees were again neglected. I am anxiously watching for a nice warm day, that I can look after their wants, as they are keeping up a loud roaring in their sheltered location. As we, in this section, have but little else than ignorance to report concerning bee- culture, and believing that none but THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 13S true reports should be made, I will give your many readers a faint ideaot It. When I launched out in the busi- ness I had a partner, and we were getting bees in the timber, and my partner, one day, asked a German boy if he had seen any bees V The boy re- plied that his brother-in-law had some pretty nigh a soda bottle full already ; that he runs and catches them on the flowers, and when he gets that soda bottle full he will make a colony, and then they will make honey in it. An Englishman, about four miles east of me, had some buckwheat, and he dis- covered the bees working on it ; he then hurried down to his neighbor Johnson, that he could learn if they would injure the grain. Johnson told him that he could not see why they would not injure it, that they were certainly robbing it of the substance that formed the grain. He very hur- riedly got a brush and went in to drive them out, he said, but as all can imagine, they were not to be driven. Illinois City, 111. E. F. Cassell. Damag'e to Bees by the Flood. The flood has subsided, and now I know the amount of damage done to my bees. I had 85 colonies drowned outright, besides some damage to the others from taking them out during a cold rain ; the water was 414 feet deep in my bee house. Pretty severe, but I will show you before the end of the year what I can do in the way of building up. L. II. Scuddek. New Boston, March 2, 1883. Bees in Fine Condition. I have 72 colonies on the summer stands, in the Langstroth hive, and 36 in the cellar, and all are doing well ; all alive yet, and not one showmg any signs of dysentery. Will say to S. G. HoUey he has a young apiarist, but I have a little girl of 3 years who can open my observatory hive, and find, and point out the queen, among other bees, to visitors. I suppose they would make a good convention of bee- keepers of themselves. Daniel Whitmer. South Bend, Ind., Feb. 27, 1883. The Prospect in Kentucky. The past winter, with us, has not been as cold as we sometimes have it, but it has been one of the most disa- greeable ones we have experienced for several years. The changes have been frequent and very sudden, con- sequently our bees have suffered severely. It is the general practice with us to winter bees on the summer stands, and often without any packing or protection whatever. The fall was very favorable for gathering in winter supplies, consequently our bees were strong both in numbers and supplies. But few colonies have died, yet all have dwindled very rapidly, and many will be so weak in numbers as to necessitate wintering with others. The 14th and 15th were beautiful days, and warm as May, and our little pets made full use of them. In look- ing through several colonies I found brood in all stages, and queens busy. Since then they have not been per- mitted to fly. The prospect, however, for a good honey crop is very favor- able. As we had but little fruit last year, our fruit trees will be sure to furnish an abundance of bloom. Also, black locust, basswood and other honey producing trees. But most cheering of all is our prospect on white clover. The winter has not in- jured it in the least ; our fields are densely sodded with it, which, even in these few warm days we have had, is showing cheerful signs of starting. Last year, at this time, I could scarcely discover it at all, yet it came out well. With these hopeful signs from vegetation, if we can get our hives strong by the first of May, we hope to roll up a list of statistics which will make Dr. Miller, and that man with his 500-pound colony, " come again." L. Johnson. Walton, Ky., Feb. 25, 1883. Experiments in Wintering. To-day has been nice and warm. Bees all out. I made an examination and found that out of 12, with no pro- tection, 5 had died ; that out of 5, with outside protection, 2 had died; that out of 80, in chaff hives, 1 had died. There are signs of dysentery, but I think to-day's flight will cure that trouble, and, as I do not expect "spring dwindling" in chaff hives, I have commenced whistling 1 How is chaff with you over in Indiana, Mr. Kite y C. W. McKowN, 60-180. Gilson, 111., March 1, 1883. A Profit of $37 Per Colony. I commenced the season with 25 colonies, Italians and hybrids, and have taken 5,000 lbs. of honey, mostly extracted, and doubled the stock. I have sold most of the honey at an average of 16 cts., making me a proUt, the way I figure it, of $37 per colony, spring count. Milo Smith. Greenwood, Polk Co., Iowa. Sawdust Packing Ahead. Our bees flew well yesterday and to- day, for the first time since Nov. 15. From 137 colonies packed in chaff and sawdust, 2 are dead. Nearly all are in prime condition. Sawdust is ahead of chaff for packing. Colonies, with entrances % inch wide by 11, wide open all winter, are in far better con- dition than those with entrances % in- by 4. H. D. BuRRELL. Bangor, Mich., March 1, 1883. The Season in California. Our bees have wintered splendidly. The white willow commenced yielding honey, this winter, November 26, fully 3, if not 4 weeks earlier than usual, and it has yielded most abun- dantly ; so much so, the queens are crowded out (in the strong colonies) and the extractor must be used or we will have light swarms to go into the mustard harvest with. Alfalfa is com- ing into bloom, but will not be at its best for two weeks yet. We are well pleased with our hybrid Holy Lands ; they are rustlers. I speak of tliem as hybrids, for we have the second gener- ation of queens, mated both times with Italian drones, and the progeny (so it seems to us) possess many of the desirable traits so much looked for in the " coming bee." We think we have had rain sufllcient to give us a mode- rate harvest in the valley (rain fall up to date 6 inches), but this will give us no sage honey at all. Last year we had four inches of rain after this time, so we are hopeful yet. A. W. OSBURN. ElMonte, Cal., Feb. 25, 1883. Conventica Notices. i^" The Union Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation will meet in Grange Hall, Em- inence, Ky., on Thursday April 26, 1883. All bee-keepers, and the public generally, are invited to be present. G, W. Demaree, Sec. Christiansburg, Ky. 1^ The Texas State Bee-Keepers' Association willhold its Fifth Annual Convention at McKinney, Collin Co., on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 17th and 18th, 1883; at the residence of Hon. W. H. Andrews. Wm. R. Howard, Sec. Kingston, Texas. 1^ The next meeting of the Haldi- mand, Ont., Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at Nelle's Corners on Sat- urday, March 31, 1883, at 11 a. m. H. Campbell. 1^ The Western Bee-Keepers' As- sociation meets at Independence, Mo., April 28, 1883. S. W. Salisbury, Sec. 1^ The Eastern Michigan Bee- Keepers' Society, will hold its annual meeting in Detroit, April 3, in Ab- stract Hall, commencing at 10 a. m. An interesting meeting is expected, and bee-keepers are requested to send items or questions of interest to the secretary in time, that they may be announced previous to the meeting. A. B. Weed, Sec. 75 Bagg St., Detroit, Mich. 1^" The Central Michigan Bee- Keepers' Association holds its spring convention at Lansing, in the State Capitol building, on Tuesday, April 17,1883,9 a.m. Programme: Presi- dent's address (Prof. A. J. Cook), on Wintering Bees. Essays : S. C. Perry, on Chaff Hives ; C. Case, on Comb Honey; O S. Smith, on the Best Bee; A. D. Benham, on Extracted Honey ; Mr. Harper, on Queen-Rearing ; Mr. Waldo, on Best Method of Wintering Out of Doors, in Single- Walled Hives ; E. N. Wood, on Sections ; and E. Greenaway, on Comb Foundation. All bee-keepers are invited to attend or send essays, papers, implements or anything of interest to the fraternity. A full attendance is reqi'ested. E. N. Wood, Sec. North Lansing, Mich. 136 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Examine the Date following your came on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for -5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. 'Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. Honey and Beeswax Market. OFFICEOF AMEltlCAN BEE JOtTRNAI., I Monday. 10 a. m.. Marcb 5, 1882. i The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Quotations or Cash Buyers. CHICAGO. HONK V— Extracted, dark 7c. light, 9c. here. BEESWA.X— It is qu'.te scarce. 1 am payine 30c. for (iood yellow wax, on arrival ; dark and off col- 'al. H. Newman, 923 W. Madison St. CINCINNATI. HONEY— There is no excitement In the honey market, but sales are fair to our regular trade. Offerings are plentiful of extracted and comb honey. Extracted brings 7<«9c. on arrival. The sales of comb honey are very slow, although there is a large supply of llrst-class quality on the mar- ket. It brings 12eilM. on arrival. „„,„ BEESWAX— Comes in slowly and brings 20@30c. per lb., according to quality. Chas. K, MUTH. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, ■with $4, will be entitled to a copy of j?ees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we •will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we •will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. 1^ Several correspondents ask if it is essential to write only on one side of the sheet of paper when preparing an article for the Journal. For us, it is just as well to write both sides, and saves postage in sending it. Special Notice.— We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bee Journal for 1883 and Cook's Manual in cloth for $2.75, or the Monthly and Manual in cloth for $1.75. Headquartersjn the West Having fitted up our shop with new machinery, we lire prepared to furnish all kinds of APIARIAN SUPPLIES, Simplicity, Chaff, Langatroth and other hives. BEES AND QUEENS. One-PlL'ce Sections, !»;.«. OO per lOOO. Dunham Foundation at bottom prices. Silver Hull Buckwheat, SI. 50 per Bushel. .lob Printing done on short notice. l.AKeE, NEW r,I8T, FKEK. BRIGHT BROS., Uazeppa, Wabasha Co., Minn. AlO, 14, 16 Quotations or CommlBBlon merchants. CHICAGO, HONEY— The past month has not reduced the stock of comb or extracted honey, the receipts having been larger than the amounts taken for consumption. Prices are weak and irregular, ranging from IGc. to 18c. for wliite oomb in the smaller frames; dark, very little selling, offered at vHic. to 14c. Extracted, 8c. to lOC, according to color. BKBSWAx-32®33c. per lb. for good. R. A. BURNETT, 161 Soutb Water St. SAN FRANCISCO. HONEY-Offerings of comb are mostly of ordi- nary quality, and holders are disposed to close out at concessions. Market for beeswax is quite firm, with sti'Cks quite llnuted. White comb, H(»in;.; dark to good, llOlSc; ex- tracted, choice to extra white, SH®Sii<:-; dark and candied, 5@7Hc. BEESWAX- We quote 27Vj'*32>ic. STKAR-vs & SMITH, 123 Front Street ST. LOUIS. HONEY— Very quiet; dull. Comb at 14®lfic., strained, at 6"^®7Hc., extracted at 7X®8)^c.— lots in small packages, more. , . ,^^ BEESWAX— Scarce, firm ; quote choice at 28® 3UC., dark at 22®24c, , ., , „. W. T. ANDERSON & CO., 117 N. Main street. CLEVELAND. HONEY— Is very slow, just now hardly anything selling, stock on hand quite liberal. Sales slow at l!](ui20c. for best white i-lb. sections ; 1S( £3 CD C d paragraph, where Mr. Martin says : " The species of clover I have experimented with is an a7imial." Melilotus alba (sweet clover) is a biennial, and not an an- nual, and hence it must have been another plant entirely. — Ed.] For the American Bee Journal. Are Sections Under 1 lb. Profitable ? F. I. SAGE. I notice by the Bee Journal that the impression seems to be gaining ground among bee-keepers that it is more desirable and profitable to have i comb honey put in half-pound pack- ages. Having bought of the pro- ducers, during the jsast season, up- wards of 50 tons of comb honey, perhaps they may think my views on the subject worthy of notice. Permit me to say (and most emphatically) that I am not in favor of using the half- pound sections, and never advocated the using of them so small as one- pound. Certainly, we want nothing smaller than the pounds. It may be said that I am selfish in this matter, and I admit I am to this extent, viz.: That I believe I can sell more pounds or tons of honey by handling nothing smaller than IJ^ or 2-pound sections, than I can if handling 1 or J^ pounds. What is for my interest, I think is also for for the interest of the pro- ducer, and the merchants with whom Ideal. To illustrate : A buys 5 cases of honey, in 2 pound sections ; to sell this, he makes 60 sales ; B buys 5 cases, containing 24 one-pound sec- tions ; he must make 120 sales ; C buys .5 cases, containing 240 half-pounds, and, of course, must make 240 sales. Which one, do you think, will first sell his stock of honey V Having tested the matter thoroughly, I know the 60 two-pound sections will be sold long before the 240 half-pounds. I know it is said the pounds and half- pounds will be sold to many who would not buy the larger size, but you must remember that there are many who would buy the pounds who would iust as soon take the two-pounds, if nothing smaller was at hand. I deal with many who will not buy so small as the one-pound package of honey, and would laugh at the half-pounds, considering them only as novelties. They would say, at once, when the honey trade comes to this, we want no more of it. Suppose I handle 50 tons yearly of two-pound packages ; 40 tons of one-pounds, or 30 tons of half-pounds would supply this same trade. This, I firmly believe. It is said Boston pays 5 cents per pound more for half-pound sections. For the sake of the argument, we will admit she has, for a very limited quantity, but why did she do itV Simply because it was a novelty ! I happen to know that Boston has been offered half-pound sections for much less than quotations, but she would not buy them for cash, at such prices. If it is for the interest of the mer- chants, and for mine, to handle noth- ing smaller than IJ^ or 2-pound sec- tions, is it not also for the interest of the bee-keeper to use sections of that size, and not strive to cut his own throat by coming down to the " penny- packager"' Of course, if he under- stands his business, he knows he can- not produce a given weight of honey in penny packages for the same price, per pound, that he can in IJ2 or 2- pound sections. If he feels as though he was getting rich too fast, and his conscience troubles him much, let him sell his large packages for the same amount of money that his honey crop would have brought him, had it been in half-pound sections. Let me illus- trate how this penny package business works : I have a trade that has never, until recently, used anything smaller than two-pound sections ; along comes a man who has one-pound sections ; they look nice, are a novelty, and a little persuasion on the part of the seller, induces the merchant to try a case, wliich takes the place of 2 cases of two-pound sections. Next season along comes tlie half-pound sections, and he again buys, which again re- THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 147 duces his sales, but the worst of it is, that alter these small packages have been introduced, the people seem to think they want them, and if they cannot get them, quite likely they will take none, and the merchant be- gins to think the honey trade is scarcely worth bothering with. In fact, I know of a number who have given the honey trade the "goby" altogether, during the present season. Again (yon may laugh at the idea, nevertheless it is a fact), that there are thousands of otherwise intelligent people, who firmly believe that all these small nice cakes of honey are manufactured by man, and will not believe that bees can be trained to do such work. I claim it is for the in- terests of the bee-keeper, the merchant and myself, that nothing smaller than two-pound sections are used, and will try and show how a few bee-keepers can force the many to work at a loss to all concerned. For instance, a bee- keeper in a certain locality uses a few one- pound sections, perhaps gets % as much honey as he would by using two- pound sections, but gets 1 or 2 cents more, per pound, for his lioney. He introduces the small packages ; they are liked arid called for, thus forcing the dealer to buy what his customers ask for. Next season he cuts to the half-pound size, and perhaps gets % or % as much as in pounds, but gets a trifle more per pound after the small size is eitablished, all must come to it, and the bee-keeper gets no more per pound for his honey than if all were in two-pound sections. Then again, how soon will we get to Lj pound and " penny packages." When that time arrives, will be a good time for cash honey buyers to buy a pea- nut stand. Time was, when the 4- pound box sold for more per pound, glass and all, than the half-pound novelty will ever bring. Since Sep- tember I have had a standing order for 1 or 2 tons of honey in 4 and 6- pound packages, but in my travels of several thousands miles, I have not been able to find lOU pounds of such size boxes. How has this change been brought about ? Simply by the bee- keepers themselves. A few enthusi- asts, who want to go a little beyond others, cut the size of box or sections, and in the end all are obliged to adopt that size, and sell their >^ or % crop of honey at the same price, per pound, that it would have brought in large sections, if none had started the use of smaller size boxes. I believe bee-keepers earn every dollar they get, and think those who adopt the half-pound sections, will be obliged to earn two for every one re- ceived, beside doing a damage to all other bee-keepers. At the rate we are progressing now, we will soon have " the penny package," and then will have to throw in a chrorao for each sold. My advice to the bee- keepers is never to use anything smaller than the one-pound sections, and think, if that had never been used, it would not now be called for. I am supprised that so level a headed man as Mr. Heddon, could see anything so small as a half-pound cake of honey. WethersHeld, Conn. For tbe American B^e Journal. Separators of Wood. W. D. WIIIGIIT. On page 58 of the Bee Journal, P. H. Finch, under the above caption, says : " Now I claim to be the first person in this country that adopted the wood separator, which I did five years ago." If Mr. Finch wishes to sustain his claim of priority in the use of wood separators, he will have to go back several years further. They were used by at least one man in this section in 1S67 (some one may have used them even prior to that date, I cannot say); he used them between small frames for surplus, and I used them in the same connection in 1869. In 1876, I used them between two- comb or 4-lb. boxes, in both top and side storing, placing 4 boxes in a row, and glassing the sides after they were filled. In 1877, 1 used them with 2-lb. sec- tions, and, in 1879 and since, 1 have used both wood and tin separators ex- tensively, and have been successful with both, but, for several reasons, I prefer the wood. I have not experi- enced any of the difficulties mentioned by Mr. Gould and others. I believe that I can obtain just as much surplus honey with the use of separators, as without them. In 1881, 1 obtained an average of 100 lbs. comb honey per colony, spring count. I have not had one comb in 500 attached to the separators, unless the foundation had fallen down. I could not entertain the idea of securing a crop of comb honey in marketable shape, without the use of separators of some sort. In reducing the size of our section boxes, there is certainly a limit beyond which we cannot go, and still mak^ them as profitable to the producer as larger packages, and 1 believe the ad- vocates of the half-pound section have gone beyond that limit. Mr. Heddon thinks extra cost and manipulation the main objection to their use. Allowing these to be the only objections (which I think is not the case), 1 believe there are good and sufficietit reasons for their general non-adoption, as both of these items would be increased about fourfold over the 2-lb. section. The item of manipulation may not amount to so much with Mr. Heddon, for he gets his help cheap, but to a person who pays for extra labor it Is no small item. Mr. F. C. Benedict, who has had several years' practical experience with these small sections, tells us in his able article, that he can produce one-tliird more honey in pound than half-pound sections, and double the quantity in two-pound sections, while Mr. Heddon, whom we are led to be- lieve has had no practical experience with the half-pound sections, is ready to convince Mr. Benedict that more comb honey can be procured in pound or half-pound sections than in any larger receptacle. Shall we base our calculations on theory or practice in so important a matter i* The present market quotations on honey in half-pound section is high, but, doubtless, cannot be maintained when a large quantity is placed upon the market. Some say that we must cater to the wants of consumers, but I doubt that they ever made so unreasonable a de- mand as a half-pound section of comb honey. The demand has been created by the producers themselves. The two-pound section suits' both me and my market, and I shall con- tinue its use,let others do as they may. Knowersville, N. Y. Convention Notices. 1^ The Union Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation will meet in Grange Hall, Em- inence, Ky., on Thursday, April 26, 1883. All bee-keepers, and the public generally, are invited to be present. G, W. Demaree, Sec. Christiansburg, Ky. 1^ The Texas State Bee-Keepers' Association will hold its Fifth Annual Convention at McKinney, Collin Co., on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 17th and 18th, 1883; at the residence of Hon. W. H. Andrews. Wm. R. Howard, Sec. Kingston, Texas. 1^ The next meeting of the Haldi- mand, Ont., Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at Nelle's Corners on Sat- urday, March 31, 1883, at 11 a. m. H. Campbell. 1^ The Western Bee-Keepers' As- sociation meets at Independence, Mo., April 28, 1883. S. W. Salisbury, Sec. 1^ The Eastern Michigan Bee- Keepers' Society, will hold its annual meeting in Detroit, April 3, in Ab- stract Hall, commencing at 10 a. m. An interesting meeting is expected, and bee-keepers are requested to send items or questions of interest to the secretary in time, that they may be announced previous to the meeting. A. B. Weed, Sec. 75 Bagg St., Detroit, Mich. J^ The Central Michigan Bee- Keepers' Association holds its spring convention at L;insing, in the State Capitol building, on Tuesday, April 17, 1883, 9 a. m. Programme : Presi- dent's address ; Essays : Prof. A. J. Cook, on Wintering Bees ; S. C. Perry, on Chaff Hives; C. Case, on Comb Honey ; O S. Smith, on the Best Bee ; A. D. Benham, on Extracted Honey ; Mr. Harper, on Queen-Rearing ; Mr. Waldo, on Best Method of Wintering Out of Doors, in Single- Walled Hives ; E. N. Wood, on Sections ; and E. Greenaway,on Comb Foundation. All bee-keepers are invited to attend or send essays, papers, implements or anything of interest to the fraternity A full attendance is requested. E. N. Wood, Sec North Lansing, Mich. 148 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Examine the Date following your oame on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the aionth to which you have paid your flubscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a •discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for f 5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. Honey and Beeswax Market. Office of American Bee .Ioitrnal, I Monday, 10 a. m.. March lii, 1882. i The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Qaotatlons or Cash llnyers. CHICAGO. HONEY— Bxtracted. dark 7o. llKht, 9c. here. BEKSWAX— It ia qu.te scarce. 1 am paying 30c. for good yellow wax, on arrival ; darli and off col- ors, !7@25c. Al. H. Newman. 923 W. Madison St. CINCINNATI. HONEY— There is no excitement in the honev marliet, t)ut sales are fair to our r«^KuIar trade. Offering's are plentiful of extracted and comb boney. Extracted brings 7®sic. on arrival. The sales of comb honey are very slow, although there is a large supply of tirst-class quality on the mar- ket. It brings 12C(;lHc. on arrival. BEES WAX— Comes in slowly and brings 20^'.%c. per lb., according to quality. Chas. F. Muth. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two •subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook"s Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will semi Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for lOOcolonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an -extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. New Catalogues and Price Lists. We have received the following new Catalogues and Price Lists of Bees, Queens or Apiarian Supplies : James Ileddon, Dowagiuc, Mich. Bright Bros., Miizeppa, Minn. A. D. Benham, Olivet, Mich. W. S. Cauthen, Pleasant Hill, S. C. F. A.gnell, Milledgeville, III. E. Kretchmer, Coburg, Iowa. J. P. Moore, Morgan, Ivy. H. H. Brown, Light Street, Pa. E. J. Baxter, Nauvoo, 111. seed catalogues. Edward Gillett, Southwick, Mass. G. L. Miller, Jones Station, O. Jos. Gilbert, Palmyra, N. Y. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on -which are printed a large bee in gold, -we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 per 100. Quotations or Commission Merchants. CHICAGO. HONEY— The past month has not reduced the stock of comb or extracted honev. the receipts having been larger than the amounts taken for consumption. Prices are weak and irregular, ranging from Ific. to ISc. for white comb in the smaller frames ; dark, very little selling, offered at l2i.se. to 14c. Extracted, 8c. to luc, according to color. BEBSWAx-32@33c. per lb. for good. K. A. Burnett, lei South Water St. SAN KKANCISCO. ■ HONEY-Aslde from small lots, off In quality, there is none offering. For the descriptions now in market there is virtually no demand. White comb, 14(i9l7c.; dark to good, lioisc; ex- tracted, choice to extra white, 8>^®9!^c,; dark and candled, .^@7^c. BKE8WAX-We quote 30®33c. Stearns & Smith. 183 Front Street ST. LOUIS. HONEY-Very quiet; dull. Comb at 14®ie.- some inferior sold at inc. : strained at fiH®7c., ex- "acted at 7^@8i.ac., lots in small packages more. BEES WAX— Scarce and wanted at 32(i^33c. W. T. ANDERSON & Co.. 117 N. Main Street. CLEVELAND. HONEY— Is very slow, just now hardly anything selling, stock on hand quite liberal. Sales slow at 19M20C. for best white 1-lb. sections ; isiaisc. for 2-lb. Second griides not inquired after. Extracted very dull at9(sloc. in bbls. and ll®l3c. in cans. BEESWAX— Scarce, 2S@;ioc. A. C. Kendel. 11.5 Ontario Street. NEW YORK. HONBY--The prospect is very poor for selling honey in this market. I think there is all the honey here that will sell this season, unless itsells fugter during the next month than it has this. BKESW AX— There Is only a moderate supply of beeswax and prime hits held flrmly. Western pure, 3o6 lb. sections at 30C.: 1 lb. sections, 22(5i25c.: 21b sections. 2o@22c. Extracted. lOc. per lb. Good °S'i?i!.o''-,?,'r'lS""' ^"^ wanted in kegs or barrels. BUESWAX— Our supply is gone; we have none to quote. CROCKER at Blake. 57 Chatham Street. m- Mr. W. S. Cauthen, Pleasant Hill, S. C, has sent us one of his im- proved queen-cages. The improve- ment consists in the box to hold the candy, and keep it from soiling the mails. It is similar to the Peet cage in other ways, but has a wood slide instead of a tin ; this is an improve- ment, wood being not so cold as tin. Sample Copies of theAMEKiCAN Bee Journal will be sent tree to any per- son. Any one intending to get up a club can have sample copies sent to the persons they desire to interview, by sending the names to this office. FOR SALE I have 3.5 to r.ii colonies of Italians, hybrid and Arkansas brown bees, in A 1 condition, with plenty of stores and brood, which I will sell, on the land- ing, at $3.00 per colony. Addrei-s &. B. PETERS, 1 1 Alw Council Bend, Ark. (Established 1864.) BEE-SUPPLIES. We furnish EVEuVTniNG needed in the Apiary, of practical construction and at the lowest price. Satisfaction guaranteed. Send yo'T address on a postal card and we will send you, free, our large, illustrated catalogue. E. KKETCHItlER, Coburtc, Iowa. llA2t4BIt 100 COLONIES ITALIAN BEES, FOR SALE, also, queens and nuclei. Will exchange for Jersey heifer, pair Poland China pigs, or Plymouth Bock fowls. vVrite for prices. C. WEEKS. llA4t Clifton, Wayne Co., Tenn. IMPROVE YOTJR BEES By catching your inferior drones, by the use of the Acme Drone Trap. Price. $l.oo. Patent ap- plied for. L. A. LOWMASTER. liAlt ^Belle Vernon. Ohio. FflR '{Al F Colonies and Nuclei of ITALIAN I Ull OMLLiBISES, QUKENS. Extractors, Bee Books, and Supplies. Address, OTTO KLEINOW, opposite Fort Wayne. DETROIT, Mich. UAB3t THE CHOICE OF l.OOO SEEDLINeS! MINNIGHS PKACHBLUW. Result of 15 years' experimenting. A perfect potato on all points. Of flrstquulily, yields enor- mously, is never hollow, dot-s not rot, and is a perfect keeper. In form, like its parent, the Peach- blow. Just tlie thing to take the place of the worn-out Peachblow. If LOW per lb., 3 lbs. for Sa.OW. postage paid. Address Wm. MInnleh, SunvlUe, Venango Co.. Pa. llAIt BASSWdOD^EDLiGS Four to eight inches, Wl.oO per lOO : three to fourfeet, Dii^.On pe" lOO. Address. Z,K..aEWETT, Nurseryman. l'A4t Sparta. Wis. DO NOT FORGET to send for Moore's new price list of Italian queens, nuclei and full colonies. 3-frame nucleus and tested queen, Ss.uo. Al.",?'' . J- P- MOORE. "Alt Morgan, Pendleton CO., Ky. 100 Colonies of Bees in Langstrotii Hives, CIark'9 No. I Potatoes, wax worked up on Dun- lijim FoundHtion Mtll. Alsike Clover Seed and Sil- ver Hull Buckwheat, for sale by JEK^ST S. HIKDEMAXN. Ashippun, Dodge ('o. Wis. R. R. Station, Oconomwoc, Wis. llAlt4Blt Given'sFoundationPress. PUBLIC SENTIMENT affirms that the PRESS la SUPERIOR for nuikingCnnUi Koiindaiion either in Wired Frames or for SECTIONS, and insures straight and perfect combs, when drawn out by the bees. Send for Circular and samples. D. S. eiTKN Jtc CO., lABtf HOOPESTON. ILL. 50 Colonies Italian Bees FOR SALE (HEAP. Address, iiAtf W. J. ANUBEVTS, COLUMBIA, TENN. FLAT - BOTTOM COMB FOUNDATION, hish side-walls. 4 to 16 square feet to the pound. Circular and samples frea J. VAN DEUSEN & SONS. Sole Manufacturers, Sprout Brook, Mont. Co., N. Y. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., MARCH 21, 1883. No. 12. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Propkietor, " Friendly " Law Suit. The Bee Jouknal has always de- fended hmiest property in inventions as well as in anything else. For the first seven years of its existence, under the able management of our prede- cessor, the late Mr. Samuel Wagner, it deprecated the war made on our venerable friend, the Rev. L,. L. Langstroth, and his patent, and the consequent annoyance and continual appeal to the courts to defend that patent. His present dependent and helpless condition, is mainly attrib- utable to the war that was made on him, and it is surpassingly strange that some who know all this, now talk of waging a similar war on another inventor. On page 127, Dr. Southwick gave his views of the subject, and now Prof. Cook sends us the following : KIND RE.JOINDEK TO DR. SOUTHWICK. I am quite sure that my good friend, Dr. E. 13. Southwick, and I, do not understand matters alike, lie says he is not a Christian. Now, did he understand Christianity as I do, lam sure he would say, tliiit whatever I am, I desire to be a true, genuine Christian. Which means : I desire to follow Christ's example. He " went about doing good." In his life was no guile. His were the noble words : '• Let him that is vvithout sin, cast the first stone ;" and thatgrandestprayer : " Father forgive them, they know not what they do." Now, my dear doctor, do not you and I desire to copy all this V One thing more : Christ only had words of sharp con- demnation for impostors. Now, I have feared— I almost believe that in this one-piece section business, the im- postor shows his face. If I felt that Mr. Forncrook had studied, labored and spent money to develop the one- piece section, and so had honest prop- erty in it, I would rival my good friend, Dr. S., in my veliement demands, tliat he have his rights. But if, as I surely believe, we would have had tlie sec- tion just as soon if Mr. F. had never been born, and that his claim to invention is not a just one, then, surely, the case is very different. I believe Mr. Muth, because he invented the wire comb basket with inclined sides, has just as good a right to for- bid all parties to make and sell ex- tractors, as has Mr. F. to forbid the manufacture of one-piece sections, as he does. Nay, my friend, there is a principle at stake right here. Let us uphold every true inventor's right to his own invention. Let us denounce as stoutly the collecting of royalty by threats of prosecution, where no right exists. \ ou speak of 25 cents royalty. Why, Doctor ! it is two dollars. It may not be wise to have the friendly suit. I am, however, quite sure that all the apiarists, who use sections of this kind— and tliey are very numemtis — could well afford to pay the $1.00, if the alternative was to buy at the higher price. Of course, this whole question hinges on Mr. F.'s right. If, as I be- lieve, his right is a fictitious one, then " right," which you. Doctor, are proud to worship, demands that his claims be opposed. Such action does not apply to this case only, but to all such cases which are sure to arise in the future. I am now done. A. J. Cook. Lansing, Mich., March 9, 1883. Of course, we are sorry that Pro- fessor Cook (who is, naturally, a very fair-minded and honorable man) has seen fit to use such strong language as impostor. It is not like him; and, we fear, he labored under some impulse or unnatursil influence. Here comes another — from Mr. J. Lee Anderson, who desires to be heard : It seems to me that Dr. Southwick on page 127, has taken the most honest position of any one, as yet. in the pat- ent one-piece section. Prof. Cook suggests that each bee-keeper put in one dollar and have a " friendly " law suit with Mr. Forncrook. I would suggest that bee-keepers put in another dollar, each, to give Mr. Forncrook, with which to defend the " friendly " suit. ^ think all that are honest in their friendship will do so ; for, if Mr. F. owns the patent it certainly would be very wrong for bee-keepers to combine togetlier to beat him out of his rights, tliereby putting him to great expense and a large " section " of trouble. J. Lee Anderson. Lawrence, 111., March 9, 1883. Mr. Anderson is right. If the pat- entee did invent the section, and spend much time and money to develop and make it a success, may we not as honestly appropriate his pocket-book to our use, without his permission, as to combine to beat him out of his in- terest in it ! If it is to be tried legally, and bee-keepers desire to have a thor- ough investigation of the legality of the patent, they should aid one side as much as the other— that is, if they desire to be equally honest and just to the inventor and to the fraternity. We have declined to publish replies sent by Mr. Baldridge, because they contained such ungentlemaidy and untruthful words and expressions as the following : The article is a gross libel, full of lies, and you ought to know it.... You misrepresent for selflsh ends Brace up, and publish my article Just as it is written, and not append remarks thereto Coward — Why, the devil, don't he try to stop somebody from making them?.... You are adrtsiiij bee-keepers to raise a fund to test the validity of the patent, and fee the lawyersdiars) with. ...Cool off.... Publish this.... 's article Is "chock full of lies.". ...Some have written me that you are now interested in the F. patent, and you aided, him with solid cash, in getting the patent . . If you have '■ stock "in the F. patent, take n,y .-idvice and unload, before the bee-keepers " smell a rat." Had the replies been courteous they would have been published, but no good can come of such bitterness and strife. We feel sure that our readers generally will approve of the contro- versy being terminated right here. We have no interest in any patent, or in the manufacture or sale of any apiarian supplies ; nor have we ever assisted any one with money to get a patent. The spiteful intimation to the contrary is without the slightest foundation, and was begotten out of malice and ill-will. 150 THE AMERICAISI BEE JOURNAL. Kor Ihe American Bee Journal. Bee-KeepiLg as a Specialty. G. M. DOOLITTLE. I was very much pleased with Dr. Miller's article, '• Who Shall Keep 15ees y" on page 86 of the 15ee Jour- nal, and also willi one given on page 10 of the Bee-Keepers^ Exchange, which was read before the N. J. B. K. Asso- tiatiou; title, "Too Many Eggs in Our Basket." Both of these articles give the opposite side of bee-culture from what is generally presented, and is just what is needed to guard the beginner against going recklessly into bee-Ueeping. by putting his last dollar into a business he knows nothing of. It is this getting crazy over a business which looks to be a good thing, but with whicli we are not acquainted, and investing all we have in it, ex- pecting to make a fortune, which ruins so many. To be successful in anything, a man must "grow up" into it, l)y years of patient toil and study, till he becomes master of the business, when in 99 cases out of 100 he will succeed. I was brought up a farmer, and educated by my father as such, so that, were I to change my oc- cupation at any time, it would be to that of farming, unless I could have time to study up some business better to mv liking, before I left bee-keep- ing In the winter of 1868-69 I be- came interested in bees, by reading the first edition of King's bee-keepers' text book, which chanced to fall into my hands. Next I subscribed for the Bee Journal, read Quinby's and Langstroth's books, and in March bought two colonies of bees, and the liives I needed for two years paying $30. 1869 being a poor year, I had but one swarm from the two, and had to feed $5 worth of sugar to get them through the winter. In 1870 I received enougn from them to buy all the fix- tures I wished for 1871, and a little to help on my other expenses from the farm. So 1 kept on making the bees pay their way, as I had resolved, at the outset, that after paying the first $35 I would lay out no more money on them than they brought in, believing that if I could not make two colonies pay, I could not 200. In the fall of 1873 I found I had an average yield of 80 pounds of comb honey trom each colony I had in the spring, which was sold so as to give me S559 free of all expense incurred by the bees. I also bought an extractor that season. As I was determined to give my bees the care they needed, and knowing that the time the bees needed the most at- tention came in haying time. I hired a man to take my place in the hay- field It so happened that he com- menced work on the day basswood opened. Previously I had hived a single swarm in an empty hive, and concluded to devote them to extracted honey. The man worked 16 days at $1.75 per day, and I extracted, during tliose 16 days, honey enough from this swarm to pay the man for his work. I state this to showttiatone new swarm of bees was equivalent to myself in the hay-field for 16 days, yet how many keeping 30 to 50 colonies of bees leave them to go into the hay or harvest field, and then tell us bee-keeping does not pay. You can hire a man to take your place in the field, but if you expect to become master of the bee business, so as to make it pay, you cannot hire a man to take your place in the apiary during the honey season. But to return : In 1871 my honey was sold so as to bring $970 free of all ex- pense. At this time I began to think of giving up the farm, but finally con- cluded to hold on to it one year more, to make sure that I could make bee- keeping pay as a specialty. After de- ducting the expense of the bees from the sales, I found that I had the next year (1875) the amount of $1,431, and hesitated no longer, but gave up farm- ing and embarked in the bee business, with nothing else as a source of revenue. As it may be interesting to know how I have succeeded since then, I will carry the report up to the present time. In 1876 my net income from the bees was $774; in 1877, $2,266 ; in 1878. $772 ; in 1879, $-537 ; in 1880, $781 ; in 1881,31.078; 1882, $822; making a total of $9,990 during the past 10 years. The average number of colonies in the spring of each year, worked to produce this result, was about 48. Had it not been for existing circum- stances which required my keeping so limited a number of colonies, I believe I could have taken care of 100 colonies (spring count), and secured nearly double the amount. In the above showing all expenses have been deducted except my time, which you will see gives a salary of $999 a year, as will be accorded by all. But what about the first four years during which I was experimenting, reading and thinking about bees all my wakeful hours, many of them hours when I ought to have been asleep, giving the subject as much or more study than any lawyer ever spent on his profession. To be sure the bees paid their way, but to what shall I look for my pay V To be just I must divide my $9,990 by 14 years, which gives me about $714 a year as the real pay I have received for my labor. Is this enough pay for the labor performed ? Well, many would not be satisfied with it, and multi- tudes would be glad to get such a salary. P. H. Elwood (one of the largest honey-producers of our State, though never ■ heard from of late years) once said to me, " that a man who was capable of successfully man- aging 100 colonies of bees would com- mand $1,000 salary a year in any business." If we accept this state- ment as a fact, then, like Dr. Miller, I can say, " 1 should be better off in this world's goods if I had never kept bees.'' But when I turn my eyes to the thousands who do not get one- half $714 a year, working in factories, in the shop, on the farm, and doing drudgery of all kinds anddescriptious, I turn my eyes back with pleasure to our fascinating and health-giving pursuit (bee-keeping), and say : It is enough; I am satisfied. My advice to all thinking of bee- keeping as a business, would be, get one or two colonies of bees ; post your- self by reading of and experimenting with them, as you can find time to do so from the business you are already in, and thus find out for yourself which is the better for a livelihood, the business you are already in, or keeping bees. If successful after a series of years, you can be able to take bee-keeping as a specialty, and not be obliged to exclaim with the writer of the article in the Exchange, " Too Many Eggs in One Basket." Borodino, N. Y. For tbe American B^e JournaL Will Freezing Eradicate Foul Brood? D. A. JONES. In reply to Mr. O. E. Burden's query, on page 134, as to whether freezing will eradicate foul brood, I would say that I am quite satisfied that freezing will not kill the germs ; honey subjected to a temperature of from 20^' to 35° below zero will not kill the germs. When fed to a nucleus, the following spring, frozen honey gave them the disease. Combs sub- jected to the same test and temperature were not freed. I do not believe that a tin of " foul-broody" houey, kept frozen in a solid cake of ice in the Arctic regions for five years, would be cured of the disease ; nor do I be- lieve that combs can be cleaned by subjecting them to a temperature of from 403 to 6(P below zero. I most certainly should advise all to render the combs into wax, boil the honey and scald the hives and frames. You only lose your own time, which will not amount to more than one hour to each colony. The cost of making up the wax into foundation, should not be more than 10 cents per pound and the freight each way. Beetou, Out., March 10, 1883. For the American Bee JoumaL Small Sections, Honey. Eggs, Etc. DR. J. R. BAKER. In my last communication to the Bee Journal, I referred to James Heddon as one of the apiarists who advised caution in the adopting of the half-pound sections ; but I see in a later article in the Journal that he intends to use the Lilliputian affairs quite extensively, sol must have been mistaken as to what he said on the subject previously. Still, I am of the opinion that the safer plan will be for the majority of honey-producers to be slow in adopting so small a section. I think a reaction will set in before many years in this matter. At all events, I believe the better way is to make the change gradually, and feel our way as we go. Experience is the best test for all untried theories ; but it is not always safe to experiment very extensively in the outset. .THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 151 Mr. Heddon Uiinks that I err in calling the cross-bred bees " irascible insects." My experience has not been so extensive as that of Mr. Heddon ; but, with me, the bees that show from one to two yellow bands have always done the best vifork for me in the way of gathering honey, and have also proved themselves more nervous and ill-humored. That my experience should prove an infallible guide, I do not claim. My handsomest, yellow bees have invariably been my laziest, as well as most docile ones ; but as I said in the Bbk Journal of Jan. 31, I am in- clined to the opinion that if careful breeders would select the very best yellow bees to breed from, and with- out " variableness or shadow of turn- ing," behead every queen whose bees proved to be indifferent worlters, that there could be a magnilicent strain of golden Italians produced. Let it Ce well understood that, no difference how pretty a queen may be, or how many well delined, yellow bands every one of her progeny may show, unless they are good workers in the lield, the queen should be superseded at once. Dr. I. P. Wilson, of Burlington, Iowa, has some very handsome yellow bees, and some excellent workers. I asked the doctor where he got his strain, and he said it was a cross of several strains ; or, to be more ex- plicit, he got Italians from several good breeders, and bred his strain out of the combination. To my mind this tells the whole story. I have no wish to be dogmatical, but I believe I am right in my conclusions; further experience will tell. The bees in my apiary, last season, were the out- frowth, largely, of a cross between talians from Dadant & Son and Henry Alley, and native blacks. From 19 colonies, spring count, I increased to 43 colonies, by natural swarming, and 0 swarms went to the woods, be- cause of my alisence from the a|)iary at the time of their swarming. From this little apiary I harvested 2,000 pounds of nice comb honey and UOO pounds of excellent extracted, and this, too, witliout the use of any comb foundation, except small starters in a portion of tlie sections. But cannot just as good a record be made with a well-bred strain of Ital- ians V I mean, bees that are beauti- fully marked with three yellow bands, and as gentle to handle as the more lazy beauties with which I have had some experience. I purpose getting some of the best Italian queens, the coming spring, from different breed- ers, and breed them into a strain of my own. and see what the ultimate result will be. Mr. Heddon thinks that my advice, or my prescription of honey, eggs, milk and blackberries not a good one. I did not make the suggestion for men like Mr. Heddon, who have op- portunity and ability to make honey- production, alone, a paying business. But there are thousands of people who cannot do as Mr. Heddon and a few others have done, and are still doing. People must be governed by their circumstances, and while but comparatively few can do as Mr. Heddon does, there are thousunds who might procure a few acres of land and raise some small fruit, cultivate a vegetable garden, keep a hundred hens, and a good cow or two, and cap the climax by having a small, well- conducted apiary. If the products of this combination would not tickle the palate of an epicuiean, he would be hard to please ; so it seems to me. Any man or woman who has common- sense can take a good Manual, like that of Prof. Cook and the Bee Jour- nal as guides, and make a success of bee-keeping on a small scale; if not prepared, or disposed, to go into the business exclusively. The course I have suggested may not make people rich, but it will make them happier than if they were rich, that is, if you call money hoarding, riches. If all persons, who keep bees, should make it so large a business as does Messrs, Heddon, Doolittle, Scudder, Miller, and a few others, the best comb honey, in my opinion, would not bring 5 cents a pound in the best markets. Keithsburg, 111. For the American Bee Journal. "Was That Bad Advice?" JAMES HEDDON. Yes, doctor. We still consider your admonition to " set a rack of thin sec- tions down on the brood frames, as the worst kind of advice. You are sur- prised, however, that I should call such manipulation a violation of the instincts of the bees. In the way in which I mean " violation," I will try to show you that it is. Some .5 or 6 years ago I got the idea that I could make top bars to movable frames an- swer the double purpose of top bars and honey-board. I made them thick and just wide enough to leave a ^g space between tliem ; these made the narrow, bottom piece of my section the same width, and arranged the rack to hold sections in such a way that they would rest directly on the top bar, which came flush with the top of the hive. It seems to me that all vvill readily guess the solidity with which the sections will be glued to these bars and the dlfHculty of removing them. 1 found, when putting this sys- tem into practice, that the bees took to the honey boxes no more readily than when they pass through a honey- board and two shallow air-chambers. I found I had been " straining at a gnat," and had now, either to " swal- low a camel," or throw away this ex- periment. Of course, I tlirew it away. When I began bee-keeping, I lost so much by following bad advice, coming from those who wrote up a big tiling before they had thoroughly tested it, I decided that I would not advise the use of methods that I did not know to be best by actual experience. Hence, I passed this experiment into oblivion, from whence I never should liave called upon it, but for the very bad advice given by the doctor. With the case or super method, more especially with the honey-board between the upper and lower stories, there will be no bits of comb or glue connecting the sections Willi thelowei'storvof the hive; the case will liftoff easily an:|jccial Hoticcs. Exainiue the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indic;ites the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal,. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for f 5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully tostate what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for .50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinbv's New Bee-Keeping, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. 1^" When writing to this office on business, our correspondents should not write anything for publication on the same sheet of p-iper, unless it can be torn apart without interfering with either portion of the letter. The edi- torial and business departments are separate and distinct, and when the business is mixed up with items for Dublication it often causes confusion. They may both be sent in one envelope but on separate pieces of paper. Bee Pasturage a Necessity.— We have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. Honey and Beeswax Market. orFicK OF amkkican Bek Journal, ) MODday, 10 a. m., March 19, 1882. t The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Qnotatlons of Cash Bnyera. CHICAGO. HONEY— The nominal price of extracted Is 7c. for dark and 9c. for llKht— here. The supply is abundant and sales are slow. BEESWAX— It Is qu^te scarce. I am paylnt' 3nc. for pood yellow wa-v, on arrival ; dark and off col- ors, 17(*-5c. Al. H. Newman. 923 W. Madison St. CINCINNATI. HONEY— There is no excitement In the honev market, but sales are fair to our regular trade. Offerings are plentiful of extracted and comb honey. Extracted brings 7(ii".K'. on arrival. The sales of comb honey are very slow, although there is a larjje supply of Hrst-class quality on the mar- ket. It brings 12(^lSc. on arrival. BEESWAX— Comes in slowly and brings 20@30c. per lb., according to quality. Chas. F. Muth. Quotations orCommlaaloD Merchants. CHICAGO. HONEY— The past month has not reduced the stock of comb or extracted honey, the receipts having been larger than the anjounts taken for consumption. Prices are weak and irregular, ranging from lijc. to 18c. for white comb in the smaller frames ; dark, very little selling, offered at 12Hc. to 14c. Extracted, 8c. to K'c, according to color. BEESWAx-32®33c. per B.. for good. K. A. Burnett, lei South Water St. SAN FRANCISCO. HONEY-Tbe market is dead and prices are nominal. No choice qualities are offering. White comb, I4(3il7c.: dark n> good, lugiisc; ex- tracted, choice to extra white, 8^(gj9^c.; dark and candied, 5®7J^c. BEESWAX- We quote 30(s33c. STEARNS & Smith. 423 Front Street. ST. LOUIS. HONEY- Very quiet; dull. Comb at 14®ie.— some inferior sold at Inc.: strained at 6J^@7c., ex- tracted at 7Hi(*8Vuc., lots in small packages more. BEES WAX— Scarce and wanted at .32@33c. W.T. ANDERSON &Co., 117 N. Main Street. CLEVELAND. HONEY— Is very slow, just now hardly anything selling, stock on hand quite liberal. Sales slow at l9(a2oc. for best white l-lb. sections : 18(ail9c. for 2-Ib. Second grades not inquired after. Extracted very dull atywlnc in bbls. and 11^13c. In cans. BEESWAX-Scarce, -.'.soaoc. A. C. KENDEi.. US Ontario Street. NEW YORK. HONEY— The prospect is very poor for selling honey in this market. I think there is all the honey here that will sell this season, unless itsells faster during the next month tli:in it has this. BEESWAX— There is only a moderate supply of beeswax and prime lots held firmly. Western pure, 3i)@32c; southern, pure, 3lc5l33c. D. W. QuiNB V, 103 Park Place. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is fairly active. We quote: H lb. sections at 30c. : 1 lb. sections, 22{(*'J5c. ; 2 1b. sections. 20(y)22c. Extracted, loc. per lb. Good lots ol extracted are wanted in kegs or barrels. BEESWAX— Our supply is gone; we have none to quote. 9 CROCKER & BLAKE, 57 Chatham Street. i®° Dr. 11. Besse has sent us a sample of his wooden separators. They are very nice. Advertisements intended for the Bee Journal must reach this office by Saturday of the previous week. COMB FOUNDATION. Owing to the scarcity of bceswiix, the prices of comb loundution will hereafter be as follows : Dunham. Thin. Extra Thin. U) lbs. or less. .55c. «.ic. 72c. 25 " " .. 54 64 71 5t 53 63 70 100 " " .. 52 62 69 A1,FRED H. IVE-WMAX. 923 W. Madison St., Chicago, III. BEES FOR SALE ! Having wintered my bees safe, I will spare 10 or 12 Italian colonies, In Langstroth hives. New queens, butpurity not guaranteed. 1 to 3 colonies, tioeuch; 4toe colonies, $9 each: 7 to lOcolonles, JK..'ioeach; 12 colonies, *hki. In shipping boxes, Jii.50 less for each colony. Addres" B,, JM HBClt :1 AROO, Paint Lick, Ky. WOOD SEPARATORS! PKICE LIHT of the Besae "Wood Separators: I^or the wide Langstroth frame, per hmi, r>nc.: per KXui, f4.(Kj. They are of basswood. ' n'-toxi-i(5. Any size to order, for sample. i2Ayt BR. H, - !-ize \7^x Send \i cent stamp BEE . BE88E, Delaware, Ohio. KEEPERS' SUPPLIES! Simplicity and Chaff Hives, Queens, etc. Send for Circular. Address, HOtf^ARD NICHOI.,AS, 4Blt Etters, York Co., Pa. r A niio'^^"^®'^ ^^^ Eastern buyers. Stamp for rflKiyiXinformation. S. P. BIIOCKWA Y.Times I rmillOuuiijing Chicago, III. 12A4t 100 COLONIES ITALIAN BEES, FOR 8AI.E, also, queens and nuclei. Will exchange for Jersey heifer, pair Poland China pigs, or Plymouth Rock fowls. Write for prices. C WEF^tS IlA4t Clifton, Wayne Co., Tenn. FflR 'JAI F Colonies and Nuclei of ITALIAN I Ull OnLLiBEES, gUKENS, Extractors, Bee Books, and Supplies. Address. OTTO KLEINOW, opposite Fort Wayne, DETROIT, Mich. nAB3t Vandervort Comb Fdn. Mills, Send for Samples loAtfBi J. VANDERVORT, LacyviUe, Pa, CO I Colonies, Nuclei and Queens 00 c» FOR SAI.,E CHEAP. For terms, address 10D4t3Blt COLUMBIA. TENN. 00 00' CO (Established i864.) BEE-SUPPLIES. We furnish EVKKVTBING needed in the Apiary, of practical construction and at the- lowest price. Satisfaction guaranteed. Send yo"r address on a postal card and we will- Bend you, free, our large, illustrated catalogue. E. K.KETCHUSR, CobnrE. Iowa. llAJt4Blt 1883. 1883. YOU GET VALUE RECEIVED ! QUEENS, BEES AND SUPPLlEa If you want EAKl^Y QXTEENS from the- best improved greniilne stock for business; or if you want Imported Italian Queens or bees, in fulli colonies or nuclei, with tested or untested queens; if you want Dunham or Vandervort comb tounda- tlon. made from pure beeswax; or if vou want^ hives or apiarian supplies of any kind, send for my new catali'sue. It tells you about, intniducinj; queens, new " Races of Bees," etc. Cash paid for clean beeswax. Address, a. p. H. BRo\«^Ar. 5BDl5t Augusta, Georgia. THE NEW IMPROVED STEAM POWEE Comb Foundation Factory CHAS. OLM, Proprietor, FOND MU I.AC, WISCONSIN. Best work and pure beeswax is warranted. Send for Sample and Circular, 8Dtf CUT1 b.- lii^tJl, nC„ ,>:nn.vmOnc lute CertaiDl; UT THIS OUT And Tv^turu Uh.l, y>ah TKN CenU, Di^, 1:3 Grttmwich St.. Nl-w Vork- '^' ^ OLDEST BEE PAPER^-^"-^ ^ "i AMERICA .»t». VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., MAECH 28, 1883. No. 13. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor axd Proprietor. " Rational Bee-Keeping." On account of the crowded state of our columns during the past month, we have not been able to find room to notice or review the new book of the great German bee-master — the Rev. Dr. Dzierzon. We will now very briefly do so. The work contains 3.50 pages, and is handsomely printed on good paper, with nice, clear type, and will be read with a great deal of pleasure. The author, in his preface, remarks as fol- lows : " The theoretical part has been treated but very briefly, and with special regard to practical bee-culture — the author's aim being to show how to keep bees rationally and profitably, and at the same time to enable bee- keepers to satisfy themselves and others as to the reason for the different operations in their apiaries ; forheonly is entitled to he called a rational bee-keeper who clearly comprehends ivhy a thing is (lone in a certain way, and not in any other, and who is able and gives the reason for everything he does." Concerning foul brood, the Doctor remarks as follows : " It is well known that, recently, salicylic acid has been recommended as a remedy for foul brood, the most dangerous of all the diseases of bees, and the method of treatment has been made known by Mr. Hilbert. Formerly, he advised spraying with diluted tincture of salicylic acid, but more recently he advises fumigating with refined pow- dered salycilic acid, strewed on a metal plate and heated over a flame. Since this treatment is much simpler than the repeated spraying of the separate combs, and is applicable even to hives with immovable combs; the author thought it ought not to be left unmentioned." The Doctor devotes 8 or 10 pages to a description of this dreadful disease, its symptoms and cure. This great bee master strongly ad- vises providing bees with pasturage by planting for honey, and speaks of the many uses to which honey can be devoted— making pure wines, metheg- lin, honey cakes and pure sweetmeats — instead of depending on adulterated and poisonous wines and sweets ; and be adds most confidently : " There is no need, therefore, to be anxious about what is to be done with honey, even if the pursuit of bee-culture be- comes more general and good bee seasons set in. At a moderate price, there will, even then, be no want of a market." The book is the master-piece of a master mind, and should be in the library of every bee-keeper. The world has produced but few such in- tellects as that with which the Doctor is endowed. He is now the greatest living authority on bee-culture. To him, and the late Baron of Berlepsch, we are indebted for much that is now known in the realm "of scientific and progressive apiculture. We made his personal acquaintance in Germany in 1879, and though there were, at that Congress, the master spirits from nearly all the world, he was infinitely above all; and, to him, they all appeared to look for inspira- tion. He was, and still is, the great living Father of Bee-Culture. 1^ The Courant, Berlin, Wis., re- marks as follows : " Every bee-man should take a wide-awake bee-periodi- cal, and the American Bee Jour- nal of Chicago, is essentially that." r^" Articles for publication must be written on a separate piece of paper from items of business. ^New Catalogues and Price Lists. We have received the following new Catalogues and Price Lists of Bees, Queens or Apiarian Supplies : B. F. Carroll, Dresden, Texas. S. D. McLean, Columbia, Tenn. Geo. W. Baker, Lewisville, Ind. T. S. Hall, Kerby's Creek, Ala. W. S. Pouder, Groesbeck, O. SEED CATALOGUES. J. W. Manning, Reading, Mass. — Fruit Trees and Shrubs. J. H. Walker, Worcester, Mass.— Jersey Cattle. 1^ Several bee-keepers of Eastern New York have written to us express- ing their disgust at the resolution of the Albany Convention on the Bee Journal. Among them, several of those present, including ofiicers of the convention, who say that the matter was persistently forced on them, by the chairman, who, because some op- posed the matter, left the chair in high dudgeon, and then was more highly incensed against the Bee Journal than ever. The conven- tion could hardly have acted more unwisely, or done itself more dis- credit, than to have been so foolish as to pass its insane resolutions. <^ The Lanark, 111., Gazette pays this compliment to a well-known bee- keeper ; "Mr. F. A. Snell, of Mil- ledgeville. 111., has the reputation of being one of the best bee-men in this section of the State." t^ Mrs. Lizzie Cotton's circular is again sent us, showing that she is still looking for investors in her bank, this time it is sent by Mr. Will, of Bloom- ington, 111., who writes on the mar- gin : " What do you think of this V" It is the old story ; tliose who do not wish to lose their money, should heed the many warnings already published, from those who can get no returns (or some "worthless" hive) for their wealth sent to her. i 'iyt4A.^i/^y(_ 162 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For the American Beo JoumaL What Shall I Feed My Bees ? ARTHUR TODD. This question, as spring opens, will interest many bee-keepers. Some will simply seek to feed to keep alive those colonies that have not stored enougli to last until plenty reigns. Others will feed to stimulate the mother bee to active egg-laying, and so, early in the season, have strong colonies. It is to the latter that these remarks are more particularly addressed. I purpose tak- ing it for granted that those I address concede the principle of supplying their bees a spring feed of .some sort, with a view to practising this cardinal virtue in bee-keeping, viz. : " Keep yonr colonies strong." I purpose to point out certain substances that may be employed, and the manner of so employing them, that remarkable re- sults may be obtained by those who chose to give the matter of intensive feeding their careful attention, this spring. This spring feeding is a sort of mild deception, played upon the mother bee, tor feeding being once regularly entered upon, the bees get daily more active, and, literally, force food on the mother bee, making her believe that the time to be " up and doing " has arrived ; a little earlier than usual, she may think, but still it has come. So, as long as the workers keep on as- suring her that spring has arrived, she deposits the eggs which are to be the groundwork of the success of her colony. Now comes in the question, " what shall I feed that shall induce those worker bees to overfeed the mother bee, and force from her a supply of eggs, equal, if not greater than it would be at the most favorable natural period of the year. As spring opens, we see carried into the hives, first, that substance called pollen, obtained from (lowers. It is now known that bees eat pollen, and, moreover, feed it to the young, growing bees, hence its old name of " bee-bread." That pol- len is eaten, the microscope proves, in the hands of a Scotch authority, who writes: " When I examined the ex- crements of bees, even when no brood was being raised, I found them largely consisting of the indigestible husks of the pollen grains." Now, food is of various kinds, but all the constituents of food must be capable of assimilation by the animal eating thereof, and each constituent must go to repair a delinite waste in the animal organism. In animal or- ganisms we have three distinct classes of substances, viz. : mineral, non-ni- trogenous, and nitrogenous. All foods may be classified as follows : Mineral — carbonaceous or respiratory (gene- rally called heat givers) ; nitrogenous or iiutritious (generally called fiesh- formers). All foods are principally composed of the ctiHuiical elements known as carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitro- gen, combined in varying proportions. Under the head of mineral we class water, salts and ashes. A large pro- portion of all animals is water, and of this element of food a supply is re- quired to replace loss by evaporation, and for the changes food undergoes in the body, while being dissolved, and made assimilalile. What we know as salt, and the salts of various minenils, are of great service in facilitating the absorption of water, and building up the framework of the body. The heat given from the non-nitro- genous portions of animals — starch, sugar and fat, are examples. These are highly carbonneeous, and, when taken into the animal system, there unite with the oxygen, "and a slow combustion takes place, evolving what is known as " animal heat ; " portions of these carbonaceous materials un- dergo various changes and are laid up in a solid form in the sliape of fat in the animal body. The flesh formers, or "nutritives," from the nitrogenous portions of ani- mals— albumen, tibrine and caseine are examples. These all contain nitrogen, the element absolutely necessary to the growth and formation of organic tissues, by which all muscular force and nervous force is brought into ac- tion— bones, hair, skin, nerves, all require nitrogen to form them, hence the term " nitrogenous food." Albumen is req\iired by all egg-lay- ing animals. Albumen is that form of nitrogenous food that goes to form nerve substance, and it is through and by the nerves, all animals are put in relation with the world exterior to themselves. By the nerves the senses are governed. Fibrine is found in the blood of all animals, and itconstitntes the whole of their muscular tissue. Locomotion, whether by leg or wing, must spring from the presence of fibrine. Caseine is tliat substance which we separate from milk under the name of cheese, and is an essential of food. These elements of food are all to be found in the vegetable world, and it is plants that have the power of converting inanimate mineral sub- stances into the necessary vital pro- ducts of the whole organic kingdom. At the opening of the year, bees have to provide for the animal heat necessary in the hive, the albumen necessary for eggs, and the growth of animal tissue in the young larvce and bees. Water (often impregnated with salts of the various minerals) is gen- eraily in abundance and easily ob- tained. To the vegetable world the bees go toobtain those heat givers and (iesh formers I have mentioned. Let us return to pollen and analyze it. Analyzed, it shows, in 100 parts : Water 12.7-t Ash 2.72 Albumenoids 21 .75 Sugar 26.20 Nitrogenous organic substances. 36.59 By this we see, pollen eont;iins a portion of sugar essential to the production of animal heat, but the albumen and nitrogenous organic sub- stances are there in large quantities. Egg substance being composed of one-seventh pure albumen, contains,a3 already shown, "nitrogen," and the poor, mother bee, from whom we want to force some 3,000 eggs per day, must be fed nitrogen in ample quantity. From these eggs come the larvK and bees, all in a state of growth demand- ing supplies of Hesh-forming and nerve-forming food. These albumen- oids and nitrogenous, organic sub- stances, shown to bo. contained so largely in the first food tlie bee seeks in spring, are, as you can now readily understand, the most important to supply. "Nitrogenous food," there- fore, is the answer to the question, " what shall 1 feed ? " The seeds of plants contain, in a varying degree, these flesh-forming or nitrogenous foods, and this is why artificial pollen, in the shape of pea, rye, barley, oat and wheat flour, has long been used in the open air as a spring stimulant, only, however,avail- able on open, sunny days. Compara- tively few have known the actual reasons why bees will take one kind of flour in preference to anothei-. It is simply because there is, in some, a higher percentage of the nitrogenous element than in others. Rainy and windy springs, which prevented the bees from getting to the artificial pol- len, gave stimulus to invention, and. at last, it came to be fed inside the hives, where brood-rearing could go on uninterruptedly, in all weathers. The Germans long ago decided that there is an advantage to be gained by speculative, nitrogenous feeding of bees in the interior of the hive. In the spring of 1878, a German reports having obtained the most favorable results, and stated, that in his neisjli- borhood, such was the miseraule weather (cold winds, etc.) that not ten per cent, of swarms were reported, yet those who, including himself, fed the bees with flour inside the hives, increased their colonies .50 and 100 per cent, and had very good harvests of honey. Another renowned bee-keeper reported like good results. Scotch bee-keepers have long been stimulat- ing in spring, by means of cakes, com- posed of rye flour, honey, etc. The composition of these cakes having been communicated to the Swiss Bee- Keepers' Society, that Society went to work in a very practical manner, got a baker to make the cakes, and ever since they have regularly advertised in the Swiss bee paper. " cakes of sugar, with or without flour." In Gleaniix/s, p. 249 (1882), we read : " A iieri' substitute for pollen — cotton seed meal. — We have made a discovery which may be new ; it is in furnishing bees material for pollen, tliey leave oatmeal, rye meal, and everything else for cotton seed meal, and they acr as though they were perfectly happy with it, rolling and tumbling over each other in their eagerness. It may be the sweetness of the cotton seed meal that makes it so attractive to the little beauties. Please give us your opinion.— II. A. Williams & Co." Again in Gleanings, page 302 (1882). "' Cotton s(ed meal again. — My bees prefer cotton seed meal to any other substitute for pollen.— D. S. Hall." THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 163 Mr. Root remarks : " If I am cor- rect, cotton seed meal has once before been mentioned, but if it is really a fact that bees take it better than oats or rye, it might be well to offer it for sale. Who will tell us what it is worth V" I was sorry to see Mr. Root make no effort to fathom the reason why cot- ton seed meal is preferred to any other meal, his only idea seemed to be to tind something to sell. The op- portunity for teaching was there offered, and thrown away. Had Mr. Root Investigated the point raised, he would have found that the proportion of nitrogen in cotton seed meal, to that in other meals, is as follows : Cotton seed meal contains 6.50 per cent, nitrogen. Linseed cuke meal 4.75 Bean luea! 4.00 Pea meal ' 3.40 Oatmeal 2.00 Wheat meal 1.80 Indian meal 1.80 The wonderful instinct of the bee, therefore, guides it to select the food, that analysis shows contains the most "nitrogen," and, therefore, for open- air stimulation, wlien the weather is favorable, the substances, as in order named, will be found the best appre- ciated. For intensive feeding, in the inside of the hive, there are many highly nitrogenized substances that may be employed to advantage. On some of these I experimented years ago, and I will now, having proved, I hope, the value of nitrpgen as a bee food, men- tion some substances that may be em- ployed, and methods of preparing tlie same. Herr Weygandt (of Germany) pre- pared his bee food thus : " Take 1 pound of wheat flour, adding thereto either some salt or a little wine, then with water make this into a batter, by mixing carefully to avoid limpiness. In another vessel put 2 pounds of sugar (or if honey, IJ^ lbs.), and mix this up in 1 or 2 quarts of water. This latter is now intimately blended with the batter, when it is ready for feed- ing." This food can be given thus or boiled. I gave it to my bees unboiled, and can testify to its ready acceptance by them. My advice is to feed it by pouring over an empty comb, and hanging that, thus tilled, in the hive. The bees suck up all the sweet liquor first, and a portion of flour remains in the cells, whicli they continue to dig away at, and, by degrees, carry it all off. It is best to do all feeding at night, then, if the morrow prove tine for flight, those bees, that can, will go out after the natural supplies. Mr. Raitt (Scotland's mostadvanced bee-keeper) writes thus : " Three years ago a Highland lad told me his grandmother used to give her bees a barley bannock (^or cake of barley meal), soaked in honey every spring, and that the bees ate all but the skin ; this was the very idea I was waiting for. I had previously given meal in the open air; now I should try it in the hive. My bannock disappeared, and as soon as the bees began to eat it, brood appeared. Now, when I want breeding, I make easily dis- solved candy cakes, with, perhaps, one-tifth of flour, or pea meal, in them, and as certainly as I give tliem, they disappear, and broocl appears. The bees cannot store away sucli pol- len ; ttiev must utilize it somehow or other. They over- feed the queen, and she lays. They go on brood-raising in all weathers." Of highly nitrogenized foods there are two, viz.: Eggs and milk, which I experimented with. In milk we have all classes of simple alimentary prin- ciples and substances together. It being composed of water, compound of chlorine salts (caseine), fat and sugar, whilst the egg contains six of the alimentary principles, viz.: Car- bon, liydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur" and phosphorous ; all easily soluble and assimilable. All concentrated foods are difficult of digestion, and so we supply a con- diment to assist digestion, in the shape of common salt, either added to the prepared food, or dissolved in drinking troughs. The milk food I prepare thus : The milk is ttrst boiled as soon as possible after being milked, the clot removed, and then, if sugar be used to sweeten it, a pound of sugar is dissolved in each quart of milk. If honey be used, the milk must become cold before the honey (a pound to a quart) is added, and it must not be warmed again. Boiling prevents souring, and coagu- lates tlie excess of fatty matters which would be indigestible, and is best re- moved. In the milk of asses we find a poverty of fatty matters, and an abundance of sugar. Those who keep those interesting and intelligent ani- mals will, I hope, take the hint, and feed their bees with their milk, and report results. The egg-food I prepare thus : When a sufficient number of eggs have been broken into a basin, they are well whisked, and honey added in the pro- portion of double weight of honey to a given weight of egg substance. To eggs I have likewise added a sugar syrup made of 7 pounds of sugar to 4 pounds of water. This milk, or egg food, I used to give at night in tin or glass dishes, either inside of the hive or just at the door, the quantity being regulated by the size of the col- ony. The milk-food I gave every night, and did not observe any ill effects. The egg-food I used to give for two nights, and allow the third to pass without any. At eacti feeding, I gave what I considered adapted to the strength of the colony, increasing the quantity as it grew in numbers. Bees will store milk-food if allowed, so I took care to give only what they would consume. I was interrupted, in a course of experiments I was about making as to tlie relative advantages of feeding the white of egg (which is i)ure albu- men) only, or the entire egg. The entire egg contains a great deal of oily matter, sulphur and salts, the effect of which I had not time to note. Some colleague will. I hope, experi- ment further tliis spring. In 1879, 1 wrote to a journal as fol- lows : " The results are simply these, that by the above means you can start the queen laying at any moment, and as fast as the bees hatch out strong enough to cover the brood, every cell of a fresli frame of empty comb you insert will be found to con- tain a freshly laid egg. I have one colony fed on milk-food only ; six weeks ago it contained simply the queen and a handful of bees ; they now cover four frames, having built out their comb from Raitt's founda- tion, and are busily engaged on a tifth. One noticeable fact is, that whereas tho.se particular bees were weak and puny, never showing fight, the present generation are large, strongly developed bees." From scientific investigation it would appear that tlie bees assist the mother bee's digestion by feeding her half digested, or chymihed food, and thus convey into her system a larger amount of substances that go to form the eggs, than her unaided digestive organs could accomplish. There are, however, two sides to every question, so I join ray warning to that of the German bee-keepers, from whose writings I learned so much, quoting the words of Carl Zwilling, a noted Alsace bee-keeper : '• Although there be apiaries at Lune- bourg of 60 colonies, which, by specu- lative feeding increased, last year, to 300, it must not be forgotten that the men who did this are old hands at the work, that they know how to prepare not only the food, but the colonies to pass the winter, and the when exactly to apply the artificial food. All goes well if the bright, spring sun and mild weather favor the bees in their daily excursions, but if, with a bright sun, there should be sudden gusts of wind, or sudden rain storms, then the bees, tempted out of doors by the thought that the constant supply of nectar comes from the fields, instead of from man's hands, are caught, and chilled, never to reach that hive again, where the animal heat generated by each one is so much needed. A hive in this way may be quickly depopulated, and the brood be chilled." Tersonally, I had ample proof of the wisdom of these remarks (and, if again feeding bees on nitrogenous diet, would place a wire gauze door to my hives, movable of course). Then, if windy weather sets in, with bitingly cold blasts, I would keep the door covered by the wire, shade all light off and keep the bees prisoners until the weather again became favorable ; be- ing careful, however, to see that the bees are not crowded for room, so that no danger from suffocation would arise, if they became excited on finding themselves prisoners. I trust I have now, in some measure, answered the question, " Whatshall I feed my bees V " I assure you, I have but skimmed the surface of this most interesting subject. It is one well worthy of close and diligent study, and I hope some colleagues will experi- ment a little this spring, and, later on, give us the benefit of their experi- ence. If I have, in any measure, suggested " food for thought," I shall be well pleased. Philadelphia, Pa. [The above was read before the Phil- adelphia Bee-Keepers' Association, at 164 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. a meeting held Feb. 12, 1883, when the following resolution was unanimously passed : Besohed. That this Association re- cognizes, in the communication read this evening by Vice President Todd, entitled "VVhat shall! feed ray bees? " many points of great interest to bee- keepers generally, and hereby request the vice-president to furnish the Sec- retary with copies for publication. He did so, and the secretary, Mr. F. Ilahman, Jr., has sent us the above, which, we think, a very valuable and scientific article, and one that will be read with much more than ordinary interest.— Ed. 1 Northern Ohio Convention. The second annual meeting of the Northern Ohio Bee-Keepers' Associa- tion was held in Norwalk, O., Feb. 15, 1883 ; the meeting was called to order at 11 o'clock a. m., by President Samuel Fish, of Milan. Minutes of the last meeting were read and ap- proved. The Society has over 40 members. The election of officers was postponed until the afternoon. The lirst subject discussed was "The size of sections." Mr. Fish said, he was opposed to adopting any smaller sections than those now in use. While there might be a slight gain in price, in favor of the small section, such gain was more than balanced by the loss in tlie amount of honey stored. Mr. Hovt was opposed to the use of small sections on account of the small difference in price be- tween honey placed on the market in small and laree sections. He said, however, that he was not yet satisfied in his own mind, which size was most profitable. W. II. Cole said, the larger the section the faster bees would store honey. He did not think that honey would sell for enough more in small sections to make up the difference in loss of the amount of honey gathered. He would not use the half-pound sec- tion under any circumstances what- ever. Mr. Ilurlbut said, that in his experience there had been no differ- ence in the price of large and small sections. Mr. (Jauff said, that his success had been, by far, the best with large sections. He thought that bees would store, at least, one-half more honey in two-pound sections than in one-pound. Mr. Sanders thought the use of small sections was like fencing a farm into small lots. It took too much time to do the fencing. It took the bees too much time to make the wax for the small sections. Mr. French had not had much experi- ence. He had all his comb honey stored in sections, that would hold .5 or 6 pounds each, and sold it all at home, at a fair price. Mr. Darling said, the sections best adapted to the general market were the ones to adopt. The majority of the members of the convention were in favor of using a medium-sized section, one that would hold about II4 pounds. Adjourned to 1:30 p. m., when tbe following were elected officers for the ensuing year: President, Samuel Fish, Milan ; Secretary, S. F. New- man, Norwalk; Treasurer, Joseph Gibbs, Norwalk. After the election of officers, the president delivered the following ad- dress : It is now one year since this Society was organized. Our meetings have all been pleasantand, I hope, instruct- ive. It is pleasant to meet with old friends as well as to make new ones. As we know each other belter, our ties of friendship will grow stronger and stronger. Bound together by our common interest in bees and honey, we may well greet each other with a smile and hearty congratulations. Anything that increases our knowl- edge of the honey bee and its ways and methods of working, or in any- way increases the amount and quality of its productions, has real permanent value. An association which brings the bee-keepers of a community to- gether and diffuses useful knowledge in respect to their calling, deserves our kindest attention and should be promoted. Tlie past season has not been one of the most profitable on account of the unpropitious weather ; but we should not be disheartened. No, certainly not. We should have no disposition to give up. Does the failure of a crop of wheat, or corn, or potatoes cause the farmer to leave the farm V Such reverses seem only to stimulate the farmer to more energetic courage. Men to succeed in auvthing must focalize their energies, aiid learn that honest industry will be rewarded. I wish to call the attention of this meeting especially to section honey. Bee-keepers who succeed the best are those who get the most honey from their bees. Most of us, I believe, use the Simplicity hive. The sections are placed in this hive in wide frames with separators. Is this the best plan y Are separators actually a ne- cessity V Is thfire no way by which they can be abolished a"nd still get honey in merchantable shape V If we can get 3 pounds of section honey without separators, while now we are getting but 2 pounds with them, we are certainly losing too much. If sep- arators are necessary, would it not be better to discard tin ones and use something else V Some are having success with wooden ones. Bees cer- tainly do not want so much cold metal near them, when they are mak- ing comb. Separators cost too much. After-swarming is another trouble that bee-keepers are afliicted with, especially those who have bees enough already and want a good crop of honey. We all understand that, when bees once get the swarming fever, they abandon the surplus boxes, and we seldom get any more honey from them during that season. We have all felt this very keenly. At one of the conventions in the West, not long ago, the question was asked, "Can swarming be prevented ?" and it was answered by Mrs. Harrison, a lady bee-keeper of Illinois. She said, " when yon can prevent bees from swarming, you may, perha|is,also find out how to prevent the human family from increasing. It cannot be done." As a rule it is best for a colony of bees to cast one swarm, and only one, but the trouble is to prevent it. 1 have controlled them somewhat by cutting out the queen-cells, but that is not a sure remedy. James Heddon says he does not believe in cutting out all the queen-cells but one, and then expect that one to give the future queen with the best results. A writer in the Bee Journal claims he has accomplished this, and gives his method, as follows : " If this inordinate desire to swarm is manifest, there is still a way to satisfy the bees without lessening the work- ing force in the hive. If the bees seem determined to swarm, usually there are several cases ; if there is one, let the first swarm be placed in a new hive. When the second swarm— 1 re- fer to a swarm from some other hive- comes out, it will likely be on the same day ; put this in the hive that swarmed first, after having destroyed all the queen-cells in the hive. This colony is just as strong now as it was before, in brood and bees, and the bees will be satisfied to settle down to work in the sections. A third swarm can be put in the hive from which came the second swarm ; a fourth into the third, etc. It has been supposed that the car- bonic acid produced by the bees in breathing, on account of its being heavier than air, settles to the bottom of the cellar or bee-house. We have been told that it is necessary to raise our hives 10 inches from the floor to keep them from this poisonous gas, and sub-earth ventilation has been largely recommended to run this gas out of the way. The experiments of the scientific board appointed by the United States as a special committee on the ventilation of the Capitol at Washington, after a careful analysis, prove that this gas was quite evenly distributed throughout the building. If there was an excess in any given place, it was near the ceiling. This board of scientific men report it as a gross error to suppose that this gas falls to the floor, for, although when pure it is much heavier than air of the same temperature, yet air expired from the lungs is of higher tempera- ture than the surrounding air at ordi- nary temperature, and the law of the diffusion of gases prevents any sep- aration. This may seem strange and wonderful, but it is no more so than to have the amount of water in the atmosphere in a clear day, determined for us. Fortunately for bee-keepers, this board of scientists have solved the difficulty in finding the direction taken by the carbonic acid evolved by respiration. The detection of this gas and the amount the air contains requires skill, careful attention, and instruments of much perfection. Among them is one of recent date, the spectroscope. Powerful spectros- copes, in their early days, were used almost exclusively to detect, while in solution, the different kinds of metals and minerals. Quite recently this instrument has been simplified and reduced in size so as to be carried in the vest-pocket; but it is so power- ful and true that it will determine for THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 165 us whether there is moisture enough in the atmosphere to produce rain within the next 24 or 48 hours. We can all see, at a glance, what benefits this little instrument will be to all classes of society, especially to the farmer who wishes to secure liis hay and grain in the best condition possi- ble. Bee-keeping of the nineteenth century is notadaptedto theshiggard. That day is past. Let us all investi- gate, in the light of science and ex- perience, as long as we can save one more colony of bees or cause it to produce one more pound of honey. A vote of thanks was given the president for his able and instructive address ; after which the address was discussed by nearly all the members present. The secretary said, that the only sure method of preventing second swarms was the introduction of a queen immediately after the first swarm liad left the hive. Every bee- keeper should have on hand, daring the swarming season, extra queens for this purpose. Not only would the successful introduction of a queen prevent second swarms from issuing, but would largely increase the amount of surplus honey. The newly in- troduced queen would occupy the cells in the broodchamber from which young bees were constantly hatching, with eggs, thereby preventing the bees from storing honey in those cells, and compelling them to store it in surplus boxes above. If the colony from which a swarm has issued is left to raise a queen for itself, it will gen- erally be queenless aboutthree weeks, and consequently would contain about 40,000 less bees during the rest of tlie season than it would have contained if given a good queen as soon as the swarm issued ; for the good queen will lay not less than 2,000 eggs every day during the honey sieason. Mr. Iloyt said, that he would have young queens to give colonies that had swarmed, if for no other purpose than to prevent the loss in bees tliat would occur by not having them. Mr. Fish thouglit that the secretary's plan of introducing queens would not pre- vent second swarms. It had not, in his experience. The secretary iiicio that it would prevent abnormal swarms. It the second swarm was normal, there was no loss resulting from it. Mr. Beebe asked how to keep bee.s in the hives when they were wintered in-doors V Mr. l<'ish : Bees will not leave their hives if the cellar or bee- house is kept perfectly dark, and at the right temperature". Mr. Mackey said, bees should not be wiTitered in- doors except in a frost-proof recepta- cle. Mr. Iloyt: Bees should never be confined to their hives. If they were, for any length of time, they would become uneasy and would collect about the entrance in such numbers as to smother the whole colony. Mr. Parkhurst ask%d if anything except bad honey produced dysentery in bees V The Secretary : Long con- finement without flying, dampness, cold and hunger sometimes caused bees to have dysentery. Mr. Hoyt asked how much chaff should be placed in the second story of hives in wintering bees V Mr. Cole : The more chaff the better for the bees. His colonies, which had the most chaff in the cushions above them, were in the best condition. Mr. Fish : When too much chaff is used it is likely to become damp and moldy, and thus cause the colony to become unhealthy. A thickness of 4 inches is sufhcient. The Secretary : Chaff cushions should not be less than 10 to 12 inches in thickness. If they were only 4 inches thick they would not re- tain sufficient heat to keep the colony in a healthy condition. Thick cush- ions allow the moisture to pass off as readily as thin ones. While it is true that the upper side of a custiion is frequently quite wet, the lower side, which is next to the bees, is always warm and dry. The moisture on the upper side is produced by the warm air from the bees passing through tlie cushion and coming in contact with the cold air above it. Mr. Cole: Mr. Fish was mistaken ; a constant cur- rent of warm air was slowly passing through tlid cushion and driving out the moisture contained in it, thus preventing it from becoming wet. Mr. Darling : Did not know any- thing about chaff cushions, but was successful in wintering. Ilis hives did not have upward ventilation. After a vote of thanks to the City Council of Norfolk for the use of the Council Chamber the convention ad- journed to meet sometime during the month of April. 1883; day to be fixed by the secretary. S. F. Newman, Sec. For tbe American Bee JournaL Wintering, Ventilation & Dysentery. DU. O. L. TINKER. It has been slated that every plan of wintering fails at times, that what may succeed in one locality, or one year, may fail in another locality, or the next year. All of which, were it true, would be very unpleasant to the investigator, and discouraging to the bee-keeper. But, happily, every effect must have an adequate cause, and if one plan of wintering succeeds in one case, and apparently not in another, it is because the conditions have not been exactly the same. Of one thing we may be certain, that nature does not change her moods, and that, when we shall understand the right way to winter bees, it will be found neither complex, difficult to execute, or un- certain of result. The great object to be sought in wintering has been well stated by Mr. Doolittle. It is, that we should know, and be able to place our bees in '■ the most favorable conditions." Beyond this we may not go, but to secure these conditions is to meet with undoubted success in wintering. Tlie writer has stated that " cold and dampness are the primary causes of dysentery." Now, the causes of this disorder may exist in varying degrees in different cases. We may have dysentery result in one case, spring dwindling in another,or simply, imperfect wintering in others. The affected bees may survive tlie winter and spring, but not in that vigorous condition which is the evidence of perfect wintering. Thousands of colonies go into winter quarters in fine order every year and survive in this way, the outcome of " unfavorable conditions," and become of little profit to those who own them. If bees become restless in their hives, and are seen to fly or run out in unsuitable weather, if they become torpid or exhibit signs of abdominal distension, or if, when they do have a good flight, after a month or two of confinement, they spot their hives badly, they have not had favorable conditions, and cannot, therefore, winter perfectly. It is considered a very great mistake to suppose that the bees that are sometimes to be seen coming out of their hives in winter, become chilled and die, are, as has been often stated, only old bees that were about to die. According to my observation, bees seldom fly out when it is too cold, if all is right within the hive, and the old bees are just as good as any, until they begin to take active exercise on the wing. A colony of bees, wintering in good order, does not become restless, or fly out at improper times. Neither have they occasion to fly out for long periods, since they void their feces in the hive in the form of the so-called " dry powder," which falls to the bot- tom of the hive. Upon taking a flight they spot their hives only slightly, if at all, and are never seen in a distended condition. To secure these desirable results it is only necessary that a colony be placed in such condition that it may easily maintain a temperature in any part of the hive outside of the cluster, of not less than 10 J Fahr., in the cold- est weather, while the temperature of the cluster itself should remain stead- ily at about 93 , which, from many tests that I have made at low general temperatures, seems to be the normal point in winter. The temperature, just above the bees, in the chaff, should average about 50^ or a little above. If from any cause the tem- perature within the hive should fall much below these points, we shall then get unfavorable conditions, and the effects of dampness at once makes itself apparent. There is a degree of temperature within a properly ventilated and pro- tected hive of bees, outside of the cluster, at which the dampness arising will be forced outward, and beyond the reach of harm. This degree may be as low as 40=, but it is thought to be nearer 50 , from a table that! have prepared of tests conducted on six hives at once during the first eight days of February. It is believed that at 50^ and above, the heat of the cluster, under proper conditions, is ample to force all dampness out of the hive. At this degree of tempera- ture, the chaff above the cluster will alwavs be found dry, except a portion on top, which may often be found quite wet or even moldy. This is to be removed once or twice during the 166 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. winter and replaced by dry chaff. I also believe that the state of the chaff over the eliisler is, at all times, a re- liable index of the state of the colony. If, on passing llie hand down next to the frames tlie chaff is fonnd to be sensibly warm, tlie temperature will range 5(P or above, when we may know that all is right. As the temperature in a hive out- side of tlie cluster recedes towards the freezing point, the hive becomes damp, imtil moisture accumulates on the outside combs and the hive. From this excessive dampness and a rapid fall of the temperature of the cluster, the bees are forced to exercise their wings and to consume more largely of their stores, to keep within the limits of life. The air of the Iiive, being both cold and damp, rapidly takes the heat of the cluster, on the well-known principle that any warm- blooded animal more readily parts with its lieat in a damp atmosphere, at a given low temperature, than in a dry one at the same temperature. Add, now, to this state of things the great dilliculty in the exhalation of vapor from the air tubes, or respira- tory apparatus of the bees, which has been so admirably demonstrated by Mr. S. Corueil (see page 7iS of the Bee .JouitN.\L for 1882), and we have the primary causes of dysentery de- veloped in full force. The normal exhalation of a vapor being arrested by a low temperature in a damp atmosphere, we have necessarily an accumulation of liquid in the intes- tines of the bees, and. being endowed with an instinct not to pass the un- natural excrement in the hive, they become distended often to bursting, and many may be compelled to void within the Iiive. Soon the entire colony becomes more or less wet, filthy, weak and cold, until all become extinct. Now, if there is anything else to bee dysentery, it is of secondary ori- gin. Changing states of the honey, as by acetic formentation, from the development of some one of the many forms of bacteria, might thus act, and unsealed honey, as well as sealed, may absorb dampness until quite liquid, if tlie hive becomes cold within, and thus add immediately to the difficulty of exhalation. Last of all, it might be supposed that the consuming of pollen could have something to do with it, but I have been unable to see how it CdUld. Pollen, being a nitrogenous food, is chiefly of service in the repair of the tissues of the bee, and is little con- sumed or required by a colony in a state of rest. If, however, a colony, owing to severe and protracted cold, or insufficient protection, or both, is forced to exercise to keep up the tem- perature, they would probably con- sume more pollen than at other times. But, even in such case.it would be very difticidt to sliow wha*; relation, if any, it might have to the disorder. It will be safe to remember the pollen tlieory as one of the curious explanations of the suppo.sed cause of dysentery. But, with proper ventilation and jirotection, the secondary causes may be reduced to a minimum, if not en- tirely overcome. In at least one ca.se of a late swarm, which was fed upon unsealed honey, in partly-tilled sec- tions, until there were nine frames nearly full of unsealed lionet as late as Nov. 10. the colony has so far win- tered in prime order. The great mistake that has been made in wintering, is in giving too much upward ventilation. The prac- tice has been to permit the escape of the heat of the cluster, in the effort to get rid of the dampness, by provid- ing too many or too large openings in the cover. In permitting the loss of heat we have unwittingly failed of our design, since the heat is essential to force out the dampness. In fact, we have got up a condition to bring about the very thing we had sought to get rid of. Proper ventilation of bees, in chaff hives, may be had as follows : Across the brood frames, place 6 or 7 pieces of wood, % i'lch square, and apart about 1 inch. A single thickness of new cotton cloth is laid over them and the frames. The cap, which should contain about 1,000 cubic inches, is then tilled with loose chaff (timothy hay chaff preferred), and gently pressed down until 7 inches deep. All holes for ventilation in the cover, which should tit tight as possible to the hive, are to be stopped with pieces of muslin or other cloth. Ttie en- trance should be ^ inch by 8 inches, or an equivalent space. To prevent high winds from driving into the en- trance, leave a board, 8 inches wide, up against the front of the hive. In very cold sections of the country, the bees should be crowded upon 5 or 6 combs, by a division board. Several of my colonies, prepared as above, did not get a flight for nearly three months. After so long a confinement, I was surprised that some of them did not spot their hives at all, while the others dropped only tiny specks, which were quite unlike the spotting of those colonies having exclusive lower ventilation. In a letter just at hand, Mr. Doolit- tle conlirms the results of my experi- ments as follows : " I believe you are quite right regarding lower venti- lation, in connection with chaff and a tight cover, for I have some colonies in that condition, and they :'.re the best of any." A colony of bees, in a chaff hive, on 9 Gallup frames, with strips of wood between each, and all sealed up per- fectly tight on top, have wintered in fair condition with an entrance only }4 inch by 2}^ inches, but the bees seemed too warm and are flying out, which, if they did much too often, would spot the hive badly. So also, anothercolony witha larger entrance, 1)2 inch by 13 inches. From this it would appear that dampness interferes with exhalation, even in a very warm hive, where the bees are unable to ven- tilate it. But if a slight amount of air can pass upward, through chaff, the benefits of both upward and lower ventilation can be easily secured. New Philadelphia, O., March 7, 1883. For the American Bee JoumaL How to Use Bee Papers. U. J. KENDALL. The article by Mr. G. M. Doolittle, entitled : " The use I make of the bee papers," in your issue of Feb. 14, 1 read with a great deal of interest, as I do all his articles. I set considerable store by his articles, and to index them in a memorandum book which I keep for the purpose of noting these subjects, and to speak of it, is one of the objects of this letter. The article alluded to, suggested to my mind tliat I might add a word on this subject, supplementing Mr. Doo- little's remarks. When the Bee Jour- nal comes, I get a blue pencil and sit down to read it. marking it as I go along; sometimes pretty fully, some- times s|)ariiigly. When I have finished reading it, or a few days after, I go over it again, and index, under com- prehensive or particular headings, some of the articles and paragraphs in it. I had not hit upon Mr. Doolittle's plan of indexing for times and sea- sons, but I shall at once lake his hint and do so, for I see a valuable advan- tage in it, and excellent addition to my own plan. Mr. Doolittle's article gave me considerable comfort, too. I seem to forget so much that I do read, when compared with the little I re- member. Dr. Johnson once said that " knowledge is of two kinds, the knowledge we have in our heads, and the knowledge we have on our shelves and know wliere to look for ; and of the two kinds, when quantity and quality is considered, I do not know but what the shelf knowledge is the best." I liave often thought of the doctor's remark, and. I confess, have tried to utilize it, with advantage, and it was just this that led me to index- ing my bee papers. I want an index before the one at the volume's end comes. I believe much in theory, and Mr. Doolittle's remark that while he had gained considerable knowledge from conventions and visiting other bee masters, yet he obtained more from bee papers, fit me exactly. I can read the Bee Journal for 10 or 15 min- utes after my dinner, when I cannot visit an apiary, and can get out of it good matter, if it is there ; and this leads me to make this remark, that any man who cannot make his busi- ness pay, had better quit the business on his own account and go to work for wages; the odds are against his suc- cess. An apiculturist who does not take a bee journal is to me a problem. There is, however, one more thing I want to say and suggest, and it is this : Why do not local bee men form minor or sub-associations or clubs, never mind how few, and even if the clubs are (like Artemas Ward's regi- ment, which was all generals) all of- ficers, they ma^ still do tliemselves, I tliink, much good. Suppose there are one, two or four only in a district ; if these met for a chat and " experi- ence meeting," once in every two weeks, I think it would pay. They could unite on a plan of supplying THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 167 the local market orshippingto distant markets. These local clubs again <;onki be units of district associations, and altogether a common plan of shipiiing or marketing honey could be adopted, that would enable them to unite, and, by their unity, work for the <;ommon good. They could resolve, for instance, on supplying such and such quantities of comb or extracted honey ; they could educate the home market to either. Suppose, for instance, the local market would take nothing but comb honey, and the bee-keepers in that locality wanted to introduce extracted. They could keep coinb entirely out of the market, but supply and talk ex- tracted, till the dealers and their cus- tomers, finding they had only Ilob- son's ciioice, " that or none," would try the extracted. I live at Austin. Texas, and if there are any l>ee-keepers near, who agree with my idea, I shall be glad to hear from tlieni. Austin, Texas. For the American Bee Journal. Bee Notes from Mississippi. OSCAR F. BLEDSOE. We have had an unusually severe winter on bees. Last season my bees gathered pollen in January. This season they have gathered it only at times during February. With It i\- ians, swHrniing usually commences here during the last week in March. I do not expect any swarms now be- fore the middle of April. I lost a number of nuclei and small colonies from starvation and robbery, owing to want of care, caused by uiy pro- tracted absence during the fall and winter. The conclusions 1 have reached about wintering bees in this latitude, is that with plenty of honey and a well covered hive, even very small nuclei can be wintered safely, out of doors — that the full amount of stores needed must be provided in the fall, — or the robbery of weak colonies will always attend, by any method of feeding in the spring, and that strong colonies, in large hives, winter best, «ven comparatively. I have observed, with great satis- faction, that all the colonies in my Jarge hive are in the highest degree of vigor. It has a short Langstroth frame, is 33 inches long, from right to left, containing nearly 4,000 cubic inches in the lower story, with a half story added, i^4 inches high, to con- tain sections. As a rule, I put on 8.5 sections at one time, immediately above the brood nest, leaving 4 frames on each side of the sections at the ends of the hive, easily accessible for manipulation at all times. I place the sections across the frames and prevent them from being glued to frames by a tin device of my own in- vention. I use wooden separators, purchased in Memphis, being the material cut out of poplar, used for making straw- berry boxes. They are much better Mid cheaper than tin. 1 chisel small holes in them, so that, with the tin device, there is perfect intercommuni- cation between sections and brood nest, and of the sections with each other. I think it very desirable not to be compelled to use brood frames. On raising the cover I can see what sections are completed, and take such out, one at a time, without disturbing the rest, and put others in their places. I leave the sections on, all winter. If I can make each of my large hives yield an average of 100 pounds of comb honev up to Aug. 1 (a point I am trying to attain), I will consider that I can make bee-culture a profitable branch of agriculture. Grenada, Miss. For the American Bee Journal. Nebraska State Conveution. The following is a statistical report of bees and honey represented at the Nebraska State Bee-Keepers' Conven- tion, which met at Wahoo, Saunders countv, January 11, 1883. As our As- sociation is but in its infancy ,we have >; m ^ di ^^1 .ici o 02 Is o a ^ "o - O o CD P O a a o en x' < •^ ^ 'i^ o W W 1... 2 13 85 60 7 2.. . 10 9 43 845 .... 3 .3... 10 10 33 1,.500 , , 4... 7 . . • . , 5... 13 13 21 1,.500 6... 10 22 >o 500 2,.566 25 7... 12 3 21 300 .... 10 8... 42 42 56 2,600 400 5 9... 3 o 6 35 125 3 10., 29 29 60 1,500 1,.50O 10 11... 20 11 32 1,000 4.50 20 12... 22 16 61 300 300 15 13... .5 11 62 2,200 8 14... 17 12 72 250 300 6 1.5... 3 3 25 100 Ifi... 9 7 18 600 17. . 16 12 30 1,200 18... 68 68 124 3,500 1,.500 i.5 19... 6 6 26 500 500 5 20... 4 4 9 100 200 21 , . . 9 4 100 .... QO 82 48 05 700 1,400 is 23... 1 1 5 30 60 24... 7 10 24 1,100 400 2.5... 170 170 320 1,000 5,000 50 Total 5.59 513 1192 19,195 16,895 200 been unable, as yet, to obtain a com- plete table of the whole State, but would estimate that there is between 18,000 and 20,000 colonies in the State, this year they produced not less than 50 lbs. of honey per colony. The next annual meeting will be held on the second Thursday in Jan- uary, 1884, at which time we expect to obtain a fuller report. M. L. Teester, (Sec Lincoln, Neb. For the American Bee Journal. The Ventilation of Cellars. ALLEN FUINGLE. In a late Bee Journal, Mr. J. B. Mason, of Maine, asks for informa- tion on the above subject. lie wants a " rousing article on how to venti- late a damp cellar," with " plain^ simple instructions how to do it." Now, if iny article proves to be a " rousing " one in the sense of arous- ing people to tlie imperative necessity of thorough cellar ventilation for the preservation of their own health as well as that of their bees, I will feel repaid for the little precious time spent in writing this. The amount of sickness, doctors' bills, and even death resulting from the foul air and poisonous gases of cellars without ventilation, would be quite appalling, were it adequately realized. The disease engendering blood-poison- ing gases arise into the pantry and kitchen, and spread themselves through the whole house, to be taken into the lungs and blood of the occu- pants thereof, producing impaired health, sickness, and in many cases death, which, instead of being ascribed to the cause, is usually as- cribed to a " Mysterious Providence !" Such, still, is life in this latter half of the nineteenth century. Intelligent people, who are fairly educated, and well posted in the ordinary sense of the word in all that pertains to bu.si- ness, etc., are lamentably ignorant of the very elements of physiology and hygiene. Of the laws and conditions upon which health and physical well- being depend, they know but little. Now, when we consider that such knowledge is really the most impor- tant of all knowledge, this is certainly a very bad state of things. And tor its existence our educational institu- tions are primarily to blame. Self- knowledge should stand first on the curriculums of our schools and col- leges instead of, as now, last, or not at all. Every parent should be com- petent to instruct his or her child in the elements of physiology and hy- giene—in the laws and conditions governing life and health. But now. as to the best methods of cellar ventilation. There are various plans, but the very best 1 have been able to find, and \vhicli is at the same time inexpensive and practicable, is as follows : There is, at least, one stove in every house, and sometimes two or three, standing over the cellar. We will begin with the cooking stove, which, in winter, is kept burning most of the time, night and day. Get a tin or zinc pipe, made from previous measurement, to tit, and put it up from the cellar through the house floor, just behind the stove, and close to it, where it will be out of the way. Let this enter the stove-pipe by means of an elbow just above the top surface of the stove. Have a damper placed in this pipe near where it enters the stove-pipe, so that you can turn the draft on or off at pleasure. As to the size of this pipe you can have it made from 3 to 6 inches or more in diameter, according to the size of your stove- 168 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. pipe. You now have a simple, con- venient, and most effective upward ventilator, which is greatly superior to one leading directly outside, for the reason that. In consequence of the draft of the stove, tlie upward rush of air is greatly increased, and hence a 3-inch ventilator, in such a position, is more effective tlian one twice as large in tlie ordinary position. If your cellar is large you can repeat tliis arrangement .in the other stove or stoves standing over the cellar. If you have but one stove standing over your cellar, and are wintering your bees in the cellar, put them directly under the stove where the ventilator will go up from about their centre. If Mr. Mason will adopt this plan of upward cellar ventilation, together with the following method for the in- gress of fresh air, I will stake my reputation he will winter liis bees successfully in his cellar, even though it have half a dozen springs of water in it. Of course, in cases of wet cel- lars, the bees must be elevated 2 feet or more from the cellar floor. I have had this arrangement for cellar venti- lation in use fi dozen years, and am perfectly satisfied of its great superi- ority over other methods. Although I have an outside bee-house (illed in with sawdust, 1 always, of late years, winter my bees in my cellar, with ex- cellent results. This winter, which has been unusually long and severe, they have now been in winter quar- ters nearly four months, yet they are still quiet and healthy with the ex- ception of one or two colonies, which were slightly out of order two or three weeks ago. The weather is still, at this writing (March 17), cold and raw, with no prospect of getting bees out to fly for some days yet. As to under cellar ventilation for the introduction of pure air from without, tlie subterranean convey- ance of the air for some distance to raise its temperature in transit is un- doubtedly the best method ; but unless this matter has been attended to when the cellar was being built, it is scarcely practicable in most cases. The next best plan then is to intro- duce the air through a pipe leading from the outside through the cellar door near the bottom, to be also pro- vided witli a damper. If there is no door leading from the cellar outside, the pipe may be put tlirough a cellar window ; or there may be a little door on hinges put in place of one of the window lights to be opened warm days. Let every reader of this ventilate his cellar if it is not already done. Let him do it for the sake of his family as well as his bees. At this particular season of the year, cellar air is proverbially impure, and taken into the lungs and blood is disease- producing. We are more careful to guard our bees from disease than our- selves and our families. Let us guard both, but first our families. I hope that every reader of the Bee Journal, who neglects cellar venti- lation, will mark this article and read it again next fall, before he puts his bees in the cellar. Selby, Ont. For tlie Anierlcan Bee Journal. Honey Rack for Sections. H. LAMPMAN. I send to the Museum a sample of my improved comb honey rack, complete. It is very simple, easily adjusted, and cheap. One rack holds 8 sections 5x6 xl?|, which are tlie size I use, and 4 cover a hive. They are put on the hive crosswise. In the spring you can put on one or two tiers of sections or more, as may be desired, by turning the quilt back enough to admit them. In tiering up, one can be set directly on the other, and when they are filled, they are crated for the liome market, and are as cheap as anything you can get ; and, using them for crates, sepa- rators are not needed. When any rack is finished, it can be removed without disturbing the rest. They are made like this : Take 2 pieces of heavy tin, 16 inches long and 1 wide, bend at right angles ; cut a J^ inch slot in the end, bend so as to make a square cor- ner ; now take a piece of wood J^ inch thick, 3 wide and .5 long, place it in the corners and nail with small nails. Cut a slot in the tin, % inch long, 23^ from the end, and a little slanting, so as to run % inch beWw the top of the end piece ; now, take a piece of tin }4 inch wide, put it through the slot", clinch and nail to the end piece. This brace is to stay the top so as to key the sections in. Cut two pieces of glass, the same size as the sections, and place one at each end, and key all together. It would be necessary to watch, in case of damp weather. I have shown it to a number of my brother bee-keepers and they all think it a good thing and will use it. Rockton, 111. [The section rack is not a new one. We have had one of them in our Museum ever since 1877, which was made and used by Mr. O. J. Hether- ington, of East Saginaw, Mich., for several years before that. They were mentioned in the Bee Journal at that time, and the engraving used in this article was the same one then made to describe them, the only differ- ence being the four stays across the corners to strengthen them. — Ed.] For the American Bee Journal. Bees in Florida vs. Iowa. O. O. POPPLETON. I see, by late numbeiS of the Jour- nal, that our homes in tlie Northwest are actually surrounded by cold weather, snow, ice, blizzards and dead bees, but it is hard for us, who happen to be stopping in this far- away corner of the world, to realize that such things can be. Here it is considered extremely cold when the thermometer marks the freezing point ; it ranging at present from about 55^ in the morning to 80-* in the afternoon. Bees are booming; one of my colonies cast a natural swarm Feb. 2.5. and a .second swarm ten days later, tilling up their hives with honey and brood, in fact, are in the same condition now that I hope my bees in Iowa will be by the middle of next June. I am heartily in favor of organizing an Iowa State Bee-Keepers' Associa- tion, and should have done what little 1 could toward that object had I not been so far absent from the State, both last winter and this. The plan of holding the first convention during our next State Fair at Des Moines, seems the most feasible, and I hope some bee-keeper, living in or near that place, will take the responsibility of calling a convention and making the necessary local arrangements. On page 104, Mr. Demaree says that his bees " rarely ever supersede their queens during the early and late honey harvests." The exact reverse of this has been true in my apiary, nearly all the superseding being done during the late harvest, usually dur- ing the month of August. Difference of localities is, of course, the cause of our different experiences. He says further, on same page, " that hedoes not remember of ever liaving had a queen to survive two whole seasons whose wings had been cropped in the usual way." This is also directly contrary to my experi- ence, as I liave had scores of them retained through their second and third seasons, and some through their fourth. I do not believe that clipping a queen's wings has a particle to do with their being superseded, or with causing natural swarming. I have practiced clipping queens' wings for several years past, and have not been able to see a particle of harm result from the practice, but do know that it has been quite a help. I hardly think that mere theoretical reasoiis will induce me to change my light Italian bees for hybrids, or dis- continue clipping queens' wings so long as, by their aid, I can keep my average production of honey away up among the best. I used to catch queens while clip- Iting their wings, between thumb and forefinger, but have lately used a pair of jeweler's tweezers for that purpose. I think all who give the tweezers a trial will continue their use. Tampa, Fla., March 12, 1883. Emerson Binders — made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-pnid, for 75 cents, for the Weekly; or for the Monthly, SO cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. i THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 169 ANSWERS BY James ffeddon, Dowagiac, Mich. Transferring Bees. 1. In your new method of transfer- ring, how do you unite the second forced swarm witli the first one, without danger of their fighting 'i 2. VVill not a good portion of the second driven swarm return to the old gum and be lost V 3. Will not a consider- able lot of black or impure drones be let loose from the old gum by the time the second drive is made 'i Myersville, Md. VV. R. Young. 1. I never knew any fighting to take place, because the bees are all of one queen and the second queen is only just out. 2. The " old gum " is split up for kindling, and they, therefore, will hardly lind it to return to. The new hive, whether increase is made or not, is practically in the place of the " old gum." 3. Supposing that the old colony is not of the blood you wish, you will have to put up with them, or guage them out, and kill them as fast as they liatch. (jiiestious. 1. Will it do to arrange supers with sections at right angles with the brood frames, or ought they to run parallel V 2. What space ought to intervene be- tween brood frames and the sections ? 3. What point must the temperature reacli to make it safe to lift brood frames and examine them 'i 4. I find by measuring, that sections purport- ing to be 2 inches wide are only IJg wide. Is this the rule, or are they meant to be 2 inches? 5. My brood frames are made of plain, flat pieces, without rib or wire on top bar, lO.xli;-^ inside measure. How snail I fasten foundation in them V 6. Is it proper to put full sheets of foundation in frames, of the above size and shape 'i 7. What foundation do you prefer V Northboro, Iowa. O. E. Moore. 1. For convenience in handling, and the position of hives, and getting straight combs, I much prefer to have all combs run parallel. 2. 5-16ths where there is no honey board between them. Where there is, the same between the board and each. 3. That depends entirely on how long you keep them out. I handle them any time when the bees can fly, and often, quickly, when tliey cannot. 4. They are usually scant 2 inches. Thinner combs are best to produce. 6. I should wire them with No. 30 tinned wire. If I only wished to put on foundation guides 1 or 2 inches wide, I would see that the under side of the top bar was dressed smooth, and " mash " on with putty knife, or Parker foundation fastener. 6. Most assuredly ; and I should be sure to do it, but not without the use of wires. 7. Given, Vandervort, Dunham and Root, and, in fact, all kinds are worth more than $1 per lb. to any one who will use them properly. I have had the best success with the Given, both for brood and surplus departments. sM^MiMMPM, OUn LE' '^35 P©rX^ Making Comb Foundation. I packed 6 colonies of bees with chaff and straw, in clamps, and they did not have a cleansing flight from the last of November until the mid- dle of February, but they have come through, so far, all right ; less than two teacupfuls of bees have died, in all of them. Please describe the utensils necessary to make founda- tion with a roller mill. T. J. Pigg. Riverside, Iowa. [The necessary utensils for making comb foundation, and their use, (with other useful hints), are thus described by a manufacturer : Make the dipping tank 4x12 in., and 2 feet deep; set it in a larger one, with water between, to regulate the tem- perature. Melt your wax in another boiler (a common wash boiler will do), have water in, to prevent burning the wax ; dip into the deep tank as fast as the wax is melted. Make 4 or 5 thin boards of seasoned basswood, the exact width, when dry, that you want you sheets. Nail cleats on top, to prevent warping, and make a handle. Have them thor- oughly water-soaked before using ; the boards will swell as much as the sheets will shrink. Wet the boards before dipping, but shake off all the water you can. Put the board in the wax as' deep as the length you want your sheet, repeat as soon as the wax stops dropping, dip 3 times for brood foundation and once for boxes ; hold the board perfectly plu7nh while cool- ing ; as soon as the wax stops drop- ping after the last dip, set it to one side and take another board. By the time you have dipped four, the first will be ready to peel off. If the boards are smooth and edges perfectly square, your sheets will need no trimming. When the wax begins to scum around the edges of the tank, tlie tempera- ture is right. If sheets crack in cool- ing, your wax is too hot. By the above plan the sheets will be tapering. //' started with the thin end of the sheet in the mill, you will never have no trouble, and the sheet will be long enough to cut off the thin end. Thin paste made of cheap starch makes the best lubricator for the rolls. Dipping plates, as described above, made from clear straight-grained bass- wood, tor any width, costs about 3 cents per inch in widtli. If your tank is wide enough to take a 12-inch dip- ping-board, you can dip narrow strips for starters, 6 at a time, by liaving a similar board divided into 3 parts, by broad saw-cuts. Each board will then be about 3% inches, and every dipping makes 6 narrow slieets. The manufacturers furnish direc- tions for using when you buy a ma- chine, mill or press.— Ed.] A Section too Small. Mr. Editor :— You will remember, when we were at Toledo, at the Tri- State Fair, among a crowd of bee- keepers, I stated tliat " the one-pound section was a curse to tlie producer, a curse to the retailer, and a curse to the consumer," and gave my reasons. The sneering, silent laugh pronounced me the fool of the crowd. At the Michigan convention, I stated the same thing, with tlie same decision. Now, comes Mr. F. I. Sage, of Wethersfield, Conn, (who handles over •50 tons of honey a year), with an arti- cle verifying my statement fully, and Mr. Wright, of Knowersville, N. Y.- too, must be reckoned with us. I write this to remind the readers of the Bee Journal that 1 am not the only foolish one left. E. B. SOUTHWICK. Mendon, Mich., March 16, 1883. Large Yields of Honey and Increase. When I see reports of large yields of honey and great increase of bees, I always know what I think of it. I think, or rather know the party mak- ing said report, has had a good, long, regular flow of honey. In his book — " Tlie Hive and Honey Bee,"— Rev. L. L. Langstroth says tliat a large in- crease of bees and a large yield of honey cannot be had at the same time, and I am satisfied if the dear old man is spared to revise tliat classic bee book, you will find this statement cor- rected, for he has too much faith in his fellow bee-keepers to think they would intentionally tell a bee yarn about it. If tlie good old man could be in my bee-yard, this beautiful Sab- bath morning, he would exclaim, no wonder Texas rolls up such big re- ports ! My bees are fairly crazy over the Cottonwood, Judas tree, wild plum, fruit trees, and a host of other blooms. One continual bloom from now until July, if we can only have a good shower of rain every 15 days. B. F. Carroll. Dresden, Texas, March 20, 1883. Feeding Flour in Spring. 1. What is best for early feeding in the spring V 2. How sliould it be given y P. Reakdon. Jamestown, Colo. [You will find an excellent article on this subject in this number of the Bee Journal.- Ed.] 170 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Failures Throug-h Mismana^eiiient. It is stilted here by a man who pro- fesses ii practical experience, that bees cannot do well here, because the pasturage is grazed too close. My experience is exceedingly limited, but in no book or bee paper have I ever seen such a statement. There is an abundance of poplar, ash, locust, and other bee trees here, plenty of white clover, fruit trees and fall plants, and in a radius of 5 miles there are not 100 colonies of bees. I think that a fail- ure is owing to mismanagement. It is true that the meadows here are closely grazed. Can that be the rea- son that the old-fashioned bee men have so little honey V E. H.GAiTnER. Harrodsburg, Ky., March 17, 1883. [Ordinary grazing helps some bee pasturage. Probably mismanagement has as much to do with the lack of honey as anything,— Ed.] Half-Pouud Sections Not Wanted. This is a cold winter. My bees are packed in sawdust, on the summer stands ; they are now in good condi- tion. I lost one colony by dysentery ; the rest all clean and bright. Much has been said and written about in- troducing the consumption of honey in place of syrups, and now some turn around and work on the contrary to make honey a luxury, which it surely is when half-pound sections are adopted. It is not the consumers that demand small sections, but some bee-keepers that do it. George Castbllo. Saginaw, Mich., March 17, 1883. Xarge Increase and Honey Crop. I am satisfied that if I had read Mr. Ileddon's article on 'How to f)revent after swarms," in time for ast season's work, it would have been worth a year's subscription of the Bee Journal to me. Mr. Roberts says on page 137, that he does not be- lieve in large yields of honey and bees in the same season. I have sold 3,(500 lbs. of last season's crop, " all the ■same," and I have 65 colonies alive at present (6 dead), besides what honey a family of ten could use, and there are full 30 lbs. to the colony, at this ■date, in the hives, besides the 100 ex- tra combs of honey that are reserved for use, if needed, which I doubt. If Mr. Roberts will visit me, this spring, I think I can convince him that "these are facts." All of the honey and in- -crease was produced by 1!) colonies, that did not have one pound of sweets in any of them on June 4, 1882, and 3 of them were four-frame nuclei, ■shipped to me May 1, and transferred May 4. Bees are in fair condition, and healthy at present. S. H. Moss. Colchester, 111., March 16, 1883. Bees in Good Condition. After almost 4 months confinement I took 1.5 colonies out of my cellar on the 13th ; all in nice, clean condition, and having plenty of honey and brood. On the day following 1 took the rest out of the cave ; 1.50 in all, and one dead ; the rest were heavy and had plenty of bees. So, out of 145, 144 came through in as healthy condition as I ever saw them in the spring. I had 16 on the summer stands, with no protection, and lost 4. We have had a pretty severe winter, and a good many bees are lo.st, where iki protec- tion was given them ; while others, that were packeil in chaff, or put in cellars, came out without much loss, as a rule. J. E. Hastings. Carlisle, Iowa, March 16, 1883. Bees Strong and Healthy. My bees, to all appearances, have wintered splendidly ; I put 100 colo- nies in bee-house, and took out 101 hives, with bees in them. I had a hive of nearly empty comb in the house, and the bees got so hot, the day before I took them out, and crawled around and got into this hive, enough to make a swarm, but, as I had no queen, I had to put the bees in other hives again. I fear the effects of the sudden change on the 18th ; the bees were flying out pretty freely, when a gale struck us from the northeast and it began to freeze ; the bees were scat- tered, and I fear there is a large loss to each hive by their getting chilled. I never had my bees come through as strong and healthy, when taken out, as they were this spring ; but I expect to lose some that I will have to break up, by loss of queens, as I did not get all my old queens changed last fall. R. R. Murphy. Garden Plain, 111., March 21, 1883. Shipping Crates for Honey. What size of shipping crates is the most popular in the great honev mar- kets of the United States V M. Blanchard. Sherwood, Wis. [Those holding one dozen two-pound sections or two dozen one-pound sec- tions of honey.— Ed.] Gathering Pollen and Honey. Bees came through the winter finely ; have plenty of honey vet ; are breeding up rapidly, gathering pollen and honey from peach and plum blooms. We have splendid weather, and all early vegetables are up and growing finely. I have 40 colonies to start with. E. P. Massey. Waco, Texas, March 14, 1883. Looking for a Good Honey Harvest. It has been a very poor winter for bees here, they have had no flight since Nov. 11, worth mentioning. Dysentery is prevailing here, whicli seems to be caused by bad honey gathered last fall ; some that were fed with sugar are not affected. I have 8 colonies in chaff liives, and packed 63 in a chaff bin ; those in the bin had the dysentery, and some, I fear, are passed their troubles. The loss around here will be very heavy, tliis spring. We are looking for a good honey harvest, as we always have a good one after a hard winter and lots of snow. My bees are all Italians and Syrians. I use the Gal- lup frame, but have two in the Quinby frame, which is far stronger than the rest, and always winter and come through stronger than the rest. Honey sold readily at 1.5c. per lb. for extracted and 25c. per lb. for comb. I believe dampness is worse on bees than cold. I could not get along without the Bee Journal. Arthur Russell. Millbrook, Ont., March 14, 1883. Corrections. I find some blunders in my article on the standard Laugstroth liive, on page 116 of the Journal, which I de- sire to correct, to wit : The figures 1838 and ISSg, given in 3d and 4th lines, should be 17% and n%—one inch out of the way, in that place, might make lots of trouble. In line 35. next col- umn, drop first comma and " hives," and insert mills instead. The word "former" in 36th line should be farmer. M. M. Baldridge. St. Charles, 111. [The " blunders " in the figures were in Mr. B.'s copy ; the loords were not very plainly written and were an over- sight of the printer, who also omitted a figure "4," in Mr. B.'s article on page 102, in the second line after the last engraving. It should read : " the 4 recesses or passage ways." — Ed.] Bees in Georgia. Bees that have been properly cared for have, thus far, wintered well in Cherokee, Ga. The honey flow was light, in this section, during the latter part of last summer ; hence, many late colonies, that were not fed, died of starvation. Bees are in- variably wintered upon their summer stands, in the Southern States, and if kept dry, with plenty of good,available food, are never seriously affected by cold. It would seem that the above conditions are all that need be ob- served in any honey-producing coun- try, since to suppose that bees freeze and die under such circumstances, is to suppose a physical inconsistency contrary to the laws of nature. Our bees have been gathering pollen for the past three weeks. Wm. Farell. Rome, Ga., March 9, 1883. Out of the Woods Again. The middle of March has come, and my bees are all alive but two nuclei, which died of starvation. My bees have been bringing in pollen for a month from the elm, and have from 1 to 3 frames of brood in each hive. I consider that good for the middle of March. In answer to the question asked by Mr. C. W. McKown in the Bee Journal for March 7, 1 would say I have a few chaff hives, but my bees are in no better condition in those than in my single-walled hives. I do not want any more chaff hives in my yard ; they are too unhandy for trans- portation and are more expensive than single liives. I place my hives in a row and pack sawdust all around them, except the front, and cover them well. My therinometer reached zero THE AMERICA2J BEE JOURNAL. 171 only twice last winter, and I do not WiUit any better hive than the single- walled Langstroth hive for this part of the country. J. F- Kight. Toseyville, Ind., March 15, 1883. Bees ('arrjing iu Flour Lively. Our hees are booming. We have 88 colonies. They are rearing young bees very fast. They have carried in nearly 200 "lbs of flour. C. J. Lohmann. Cauieron, Mo., March 19, 188.3. Substitute for Pollen. Corn meal is the best I have tried yet. If you want to see bees circling, just take 3 or 4 cotton grain sacks, spread tliem on some boards, and lay bricks on the corners, to keep the wind from blowing them off; now spread the meal on them. Just try it. Rees are working on soft maples, to- day. My 30 colonies wintered all right, and all have hatching brood. J. S. Hoffman. Madisonville, O., March 19, 1883. Bees packed in sawdust wintered well. I packed 40 colonies, on the summer stands, in sawdust; tliey appear to be in good condition, so far. I have 16 colonies in a summer and winter house. Those on the north side show signs of dysentery ; those on the south side seem to be in good condition. The weather has been very cold this winter, and now it is 5° above zero ; on the 20th it was down to 5^ below. Oakfleld Centre, Mich., Mar. 22, 1883. Blasted Hopes. 140 days, and not a day in which I could set a colony out. I had 44 in fine condition, on Nov. 5, 1882, and to- day I have only 12 left ; there is from 2 to 4 feet of snow all over my yard, and the mercury was down to 11'^ be- low zero last night, and is 10^ below to-night. " Blasted Hopes," sure enough, for 44 colonies of as hand- some bees as ever flew. Discouraged, is no name for it ; but as Adam Grimm said, " If I do lose all, I will show you how soon I can fill those hives up again, with so many good combs as I liave." Nearly all the bees around here are dead. C. F. Greening. Grand Meadow, Minn., Mar. 20,1883. Convention Notices. 1^ The spring meeting of the Western Michigan I5ee-Keepers' As- sociation will be lield at Supervisor's Hall, Grand Rapids, April 26, at 10 a. m. F. S. Covey, Sec. Coopersville, Mich. 1^ The semi-annual meeting of the Western 15ee-Keepers' Association will be held at Independence, Jackson County, Mo., on Saturday, April 28, 1883, at 10 a. m. Papers prepared for the occasion by the president, sec- retary and others will be read, and matters of general interest to bee- keepers discussed. A general attend- ance of persons interested in bee- culture is requested. The present membership of this Association con- trol 2,000 colonies of bees. S. W. Salisbury, Sec. Kansas City, Mo. J. A. Nelson, Pres. Wyandotte, Kas. 1^ Tlie Texas State Bee-Keepers' Association will hold its Fifth Annual Convention at McKinney, Collin Co., on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 17th and 18th, 1883; at the residence of Hon. W. H. Andrews. Wm. R. Howard, Sec. Kingston, Texas. t^ The next meeting of the Haldi- mand. Ont., Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at Nelle's Corners on Sat- urday, March 31, 1883, at 11 a. m. H. Campbell. 1^ The Union Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation will meet in Grange Hall, Em- inence, Ky., on Thursday, April 26, 1883. All bee-keepers, and the public generally, are invited to be present. G, W. Demaree, Sec. Christiansburg, Ky. ig|° The regular meeting of the Farmers' and Gardeners' Club, will be held April 2, at A. Z. Madison's oflice, Fredonia, N. Y. Question : " Bees, Fish and Poultry." Mr. IT. E. Dodge will open the discussion with a lecture on " Bees and Bee-Culture," giving practical manipulations of the hive, showing the various improved imple- ments, devices and terms used in bee- culture, iliustrating the lecture with a colony of bees. Bee-keepers are es- pecially invited to spend the afternoon at Sunshine Apiary, where Mr. Dodge will try and entertain them. Mr. Dodge "is a thoroughly practical apiar- ist, and this will be a rare treat for bee-keepers in Western New York. Means will be taken to form a Bee- Keepers' Association for this part of the State. A, Z Madison, Sec. U. E. Dodge, Fres. t^ The Eastern Michigan Bee- Keepers' Society, will hold its annual meeting in Detroit, April 3, in Ab- stract Hall, commencing at 10 a. m. The following subjects will be brought up for discussion : What is the best means of extending the honey market? At what price can honey, either comb or extracted, be afforded '? Is there danger of over-production V Has glu- cose affected your market, and if so. how ? What is the best test for glu- cose V In judging queens, what points are to be considered, and what is the order of their importance V Foul brood, and its prevention and cure. An interesting meeting is expected. A. B. Weed, Sec. 75 Bagg St., Detroit, Mich. 1^ The Central Michigan Bee- Keepers' Association holds its spring convention at Lansing, in the State Capitol building, on Tuesday, April 17, 1883, 9 a. m. Programme : Presi- dent's address ; Essays: Prof. A. J. Cook, on Wintering Bees; S.C.Perry, on Chaff Hives; C. Case, on Comb Honey; O. S. Smith, on the Best Bee; A. D. Benham, on Extracted Honey ; Mr. Harper, on Queen-Rearing ; Mr. Waldo, on Best Method of Wintering Outof Doors, in Single- Walled Hives; E. N. Wood, on Sections ; and E. Greenaway, on Comb Foundation. All bee-keepers are invited to attend or send essays, papers, implements or anything of interest to the fraternity A full attendance is req"ested. E. N. Wood, Sec North Lansing, Mich. 1^" The spring meeting of the Cortland Union Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation will be held in Cortland, N. Y., on Tuesday, May 8, 1883. M. C. Bean, Sec. Honey and Beeswax Market. OFFICE OP AMERICAN BEE .IlM'HNAI.. > Monday, 1" a. m., March ;;ei, IfW2, i The following are the latest i] nota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Qnotatlons of Cash lluyers. cmcAuo. HONEY— The nominal price of extracted is 7e. for dark and 9c. for liKht— here. The supply is abundant and sales are sl(tw. BEESWAX— None in the market. Al. H. Newman. y23 W. Madison St. CINCINNATI. HONEY— There is no excitement in the honey market, but sales are fair to our regular trade. Offerings are plentiful of extracted and comb honey. Extracted brings 7(*iic. on arrival. The sales of comb iioney are very slow, althoueh there is a larue supply of flrst-class quality on the mar- ket. It brines 12c«lHc. on arrival. BEESWA.X— Comes in slowly and brines 20®30c. per lb., according to quality. CnAS. P. MUTH. Qaotatlons of Commlsiilon Merchants. CHICAGO. HONEY— The past month has not reduced the stock of comb or extracted honey, the receipts having been larger than the amounts taken for consumption. Prices are weal{ and irregular, ranging from Ific. to I8c. for white comb in the smaller frames; dark, very little selling, offered at l2Hc. to 14c. Extracted. 8c. to luc, according to color. BEBSWAx-None in the market. R. A. BUKNETT. 161 South Water 8t. SAN KRANCISCO. HONEY-Quotations for choice are merely nom- inal, as there are none of that quality offering. Common qualities are in light supply and ttill ligliter demand. White comb, H%l7c.; dark to good, u@I3c.: ex- tracted, choice to extra white, 8^(ft9>^c.; dark and candif^d, o@7^c. BEKSWAX-We quote 30®33c. STEARNS & SMITH. 423 Front Street. ST. LOCJ18. HONEY-Very quiet; dull. Comb at 14016.— some inferior sold at loc; strained at 6H(§j7c., ex- tracted at 7^("->^M>c., lots in small packages more. BEES WAX-Scarce and wanted at 33(3i34c. W. T. ANDEKSON & CO.. 117 N. Main Street. CLEVELAND. HONEY— Is a little lower, and at the lower price It has moved off a mtle better of late. 1-lb. sections of best white sold at iH^iWlsic.; second grades, 1-lb., 17c.; li-lb. sections u little slow at 17@18c. Extracted very dull altl'ii.llc. BEESWAX- None in market. A. C. KENDEI.. 1 1.5 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is fairly active. We (uote: 1^ ib. sections at :)lic.: 1 lb. sections, 221'' ;.'>c. ; 2 1b. sections. 2(Kw22c. Extracted, inc. per lb. Good lots of extracted are wanted in kegs or barrels. BBBSWAX—Our supply is gone; we have none to quote. CROCKER Jk BLAKE, .57 Chatham Street. 172 THE AMERICAl^ BEE JOURNAL. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it inilicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to ■this office get either a post ofiice or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 2.5 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for f 5-, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post oihce, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for .50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, w'itli $10, we ■will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's ABC of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. 1^ When writing to this office on business, our correspondents should not write anything for publication on the same sheet of paper, unless it can be torn apart without interfering with «ither portion of the letter. The edi- torial and business departments are separate and distinct, and when the business is mixed up with items for publication it often causes confusion. They may both be sent in one envelope but on separate pieces of paper. Bee Pasturage a Necessity.— We have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. ^g" And still, we are obliged to say that the books on Queen-Rearing, by Henry Alley, have not been received. As soon as they do, the orders we have on hand will be filled. In order to appease those who are impatient, we may say that Mr. Alley has writ- ten us that the book will make 2.5 or 30 more pages than he anticipated; and adds : " We had no idea that there would be so many pages. I think all will be well pleased with the extra amount, and feel compensated for long and patient waiting." It is all right, except announcing it '"ready for delivery " a month before it is act- ually printed and bound. As this is Mr. Alley's firstexperience in publish- ing, we shall have to overlook it on the ground of inexperience. Old publishers know better. 1^ The stylograph ic pen is one of the necessaries of our modern civili- zation. If Hood's song had been" Dip, dip, dip," instead of " Stitch, stitch, stitch," it would have lost its text at the hands of Mr. Livermore, who has given his age this perfection of pen, penliolder, and case, and ink, all in one, handsome, and always at hand and ready for use. The inventor has put some new improvements into it, and now what remains but for every scribe and letter writer to tind it on his desk. Ink, tiller and cleaner, all go with it. And, to crown all, the price has been reduced to $2. Send that amomit to tlie sole agent, Mr. Louis E. Dunlap,290 Washington St., Boston, Mass., and the return mail will bring you this most perfect pen.— Contributor, Boston, Mass. Honey as Food and Medicine. A new edition, revised and enlarged, the new pages being devoted to new Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We liave put the price of them low to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 6 cents, postpaid; per dozen, .50 cents; per hundred, $4.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, " Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense— enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Preparation of Honey for the Mar- ket, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey, instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. Tbe Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies (220 pages) 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. i^"Postage stamps, of one, two or three cent denomination, accepted for fractional parts of a dollar; but money is preferred. WOOD SEPARATORS! PRU'E List' of the Besse Wood i^eparatnrs : For the wide Langstroth frame, per ]o*), 5nc.; per KMwi, f4.oo. They are of basswood, ^ize iT^^x ;^^xi-iH. Any size to order. Send 3 cent atamp for sample. 12A:it I>R, H. BESSE. Delaware. Ohio. Dci; ^M ^H^n ^i^plicity and ChatT Hives, Queens. ^^^^^™ etc. Send for Circular. Address, HOWAUD NICHOI^AS. 12A4t 4Blt Etters, YorkCo., Pa. KEEPERS' SUPPLIES! Wanted for Eastern buyers. Stamp for information. S. P. BR'^''^'^*' ^ ^ 'ri™«. Ming, Chicago, III. FARMS'nformation. S. P. BRO'CKVV AT. Times I nil"lv>Bnilding. Chicago. 111. 12A4t 100 COLONIES ITALIAN BEES, FOR SAI>£, also, queens and nuclei. Will exchange for Jersey heifer, pair Poland Cl.ina pigs, or Plymouth Rock fowls. Write for prices. C. WEEKS, llA4t Clifton. Wayne Co., Tenn. FDR '^ A I F Colonies and Nuclei of ITALIAN I Un OnLLlBKES, QUEENS. Bitractors, Bee Books, and Supplies. Address. O'l'TO KLEINOW, opposite Kort Wayne, DETROIT, Mich. nAB3t Vandervort Comb Fdn. Mills, Send for Samples & Reduced Filce-I^Ut. lOAtfBi J. VANDERVORT, Lacyville, Pa. 60 Colonies of Bees for Sale. I have (30 colonies of bees in improved double portico LangBtroth hives for sale. i:jAU C. H. UIBBERW, Milan, III. Our desciiptive catalogue and price list of bee hives, full colonies, Italian bees, Italian queens, honey extractors, smokers, hive openers, bee veils, etc., to any address, upon application. Address K. A. SNELL, 13Alt4B3t Milledgeville,Ci.rrollco..IlL CEND POSTAl. for my 20 page price list of Kj Italian, Cyprian and Holy Land bees, queens, nuclei and apiarian supplies. H. II. BROWN, 13l>:jt Light Street, Col Co., Pa. COMB FOUNDATION. Owing to the scarcity of beeswa.\, the prices of comb foundation will hereafter Ite as follows : Dunham. Thin. E.xtra Thin. 10 lbs. or less. 55c. fi.'ic. TJc. Ud " " .. .54 B4 71 50 " " .. 53 63 TO 100 " " .. 52 62 69 AI.FRED H. NEWMAN, SJ23 W. Madison St.. Chicago, 111. TTJST OTJT! New circular and price of Bees and Queens. Also, STENCILS for bee-keepers' use. JOS. M. ICRUOKS, 4B6t Columbus, Ind. c UT THIS OUT And Ri;Luru to t.s, wiih TEN Cents, nn-i you'll recelM by mail, a Gold<;D BoKorGi»>ds, that will bring jou In mort n^ODev in One Month than anvtbing else in AineHcv AbaO- lute derUinty. M. Youds, 173 GreeDwich St., N«w Yort ^(Z OLDEST BEE PAPER -^ IN AMERICA .<»». VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., APRIL 4, 1883. No. 14. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Propkietor. The Eyes of a Bee. " The eyes may meet above as in drones (Fig. 1), most two-winp; flies and dragon-flies, or tliey may be con- siderably separated, as in tlie worker- A correspondent, wbo had read our brief reply to Mr. C Theilmann on tbis subject, sends the following re- quest : Mr. Editor : — Please describe more fully, in detail, the simple and com- pound eyes of the bee. It is a subject of interest to us, who do not under- stand all about bee optics. Tell us what simple and compound eyes are, in the Bee Journal. J. W. B. Suwanee, Ga., March 10, 1883. We cannot do better than to quote, from Prof. Cook's "Manual of the Apiary," the following, on this very interesting subject : "The eyes are of two kinds, the compound, which are always present in mature insects, and the ocelli or simple eyes, which may or may not be present. When present there are usually three, which, if we join by lines, we will describe a triangle, in the vertices of whose angles are the ocelli. Rarely there are but two ocelli, and very rarely but one. "The simple eyes [F F F) are cir- cular, and possess a cornea, lens and retina, which receives the nerve of sight. From the experiments of Reau- mur and Swammerdam, which con- sisted in covering the eyes with var- nish, they concluded that vision with these simple eyes is very indistinct, though by them the insect can dis- tinguish light. Some have thought that these simple eyes were for vision at slight distances. Larvse, like spiders and myriapods, have only simple eyes. " The compound eyes are .simply a cluster of simple eyes, are situated one on either side of the head, and vary much in form and size. Between or below these are inserted the an- tennae. Sometimes these last are in- serted in a notch of the eyes, and in a few cases actually divide each eye into two eyes. Fig. 1— Head of Drone. mMKnitied. bees (Fig. 2). The separate facets or simple eyes, of each compoinid eye, are hexagonal, or six-sided, and in the microscope look not umlike a section of honey-comb. The number of these is prodigious — Leeuwenhoek actually counted 12,000 in the eye of a dragon- fly—while some butterflies have over 17,000. The compound eyes are mo- tionless, but from their size and sub- spherical shape, they give quite a range of vision. It is not likely that Fig. :J.— Head of Worker Bee, niitgnifled. they are capable of adjustment to accord with different distances, and it has been supposed, from the direct darting flight of bees to their liives, and the awkward wcuk they make in finding a hive when moved only for a short distance, that there eyes are best suited to long vision. " Sir John Lubbock has i)roved, by some interesting experiments with strips of colored paper, that bees can distinguish colors. Honey was placed on a blue strip, beside several otliers of various colors. In the absence of the bees he changed the position of this strip, and upon their return the bees went to the blue strip rather than to the old position. Our practical apiarists have long been aware of thiii fact, and have conformed their prac- tice to the knowledge, in giving a variety of colors to their hives. Apiarists have frequently noted that bees have a rare faculty of marking positions, but, for slight distances, their sense of color will correct mis- takes which would occur if position alone was guide." Our correspondent should get a copy of the Manual. Its perusal will repay him a hundredfold its cost, as well as be a ready book of reference on every subject connected with bees. Clubbing with Cook's Manual.— A subscriber, who has already paid 12.00 for the Weekly Bee Journal for 1883, wants to know if we will send a copy of Cook's Manual or Bee-Keep- ers' Guide, in cloth, if he sends us 7.5 cents more. Certainly, we will ; the only requirement being that the full price for the Journal, either weekly or Monthly, has already been paid to lis, and no other premium has akeady been sent. All such may send us 7.5 cents in postage stamps and get the Manual, bound in cloth, by next mail. The Manual, bound in paper covers, will be sent for 50 cents, extra to the price of subscription. This offer will be good only until the seventh edition, printed last year (1882), is exhausted, and no more will be printed in paper covers. This offer will, therefore, only last for a very short time, and those who wish to avail themselves of it, should order at once. ^g" Some persons, having sent us a club of subscribers through a club- agency, have written us to send the premium for getting up the club. To do this would be doubling our premium . The club agency gets their commis- sion, and then we can send no prem- ium. Please remember, to be entitled to the premiums we offer, the full amount of the subscriptions must be I sent direct to this office. 174 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. I For the American Bee Journal, Reply to J. W. Merrifield. G. M. DOOLITTLE. On page 100, present volume of the Bee Journal, J. VV. Merritiekl asks why the plan of giving each colony a laying queen immediately after swarming, had not proven a success with me. That is right. If you do not understand anything, ask ques- Uons, and 1 will explain, if I know Bow ; if I do not, I will frankly say so. For years, we have been told that no colony should go without a laying queen a single day, if it were possible to give them one, and plans of intro- ducing queens, which required that the hive should be queenless a few days previous, have been severely criticised. We have also been told, for years, that the bee-keeper who wished to secure the best results from his bees, should have a laying queen ready to give each old colony as soon as they swarmed, as the time lost to them, by rearing aqueen, was equiva- lent to a swarm of bees. Being eager to know, for myself, all the plans which would give the best results, I have experimented largely, and the truth of the statement that the time lost to the bees by rearing a queen in natural swarming, was equivalent to a swarm of bees, is the first reason it has not proven a success. If it were bees I was after, the case would be different. With me, white clover yields enough honey to keep the bees breeding nicely, and prepares them so that they mainly swarm from June 20 to July 1. Our honey harvest is from basswood, which blooms from July 10 to 16. Now, all who are familiar with natural swarming, know that the bees are comparatively few in numbers in spring, and increase by the rapidly increasing brood produced by the queen, which, in due time, hatch into Dees, until a swarm is the result. By giving a laying queen to a colony immediately after it has cast a swarm, we bring about the same result (swarming) as before, for we place the bees in the same condition. The only difference is, that having plenty of brood, they build up quicker, and are prepared to swarm in a shorter ttme. As this second swarming, brought about by giving the laying queen, comes right in our basswood honey harvest, it cuts olf the surplus honey, for it is well known that bees, having the swarming fever,do little or no work in the section boxes, and if allowed to swarm, the object we have sought after (section honey) is beyond our reach. Having given the result of my ex- perience on this point, let us look at how the same colony would work, had we not given the bees a laying queen. Eight days after tlie swarm has is- sued, the first young queen will have emerged from her cell, as a rule, lyhen the apiarist should remove all the other queen-cells from tlie hive, so that second swarming is entirely pre- vented. In ten days more our young queen is ready to lay, which is about the time the ba.sswood begins to yield honey largely. During this period, between the time the swarm issued and the young ^ueen commences to lay, the bees not having any brood to nurse for the last half of the time, consume but little honey ; hence, as fast as the young bees emerge from the cells, they are filled with honey ; for bees, not having a laying queen, seldom build comb in the sections. Tlius, whan the young queen is ready to lay, she finds every available cell stored with well-ripened honey. At this point, the instinct of the bees teach them that they must have brood or they will soon cease to exist as a colony, and a general rush is made for the sections, the honey from below is carried above, so as to give the queen room, and, in a week, we have, as a re- sult, the sections nearly filled with honey. I have often had such colo- nies fill and complete 30 two-pound sections in from 8 to 12 days, while those to which I had given the laying queen immediately after swarming, did little but swarm during the same time. Bear in mind we are talking about (iroducing comb honey, not extracted. Different locations may give different results, still I think that nearly all sections give a large How of honey at a certain period during the season, rather than a steady, continuous honey harvest the whole season. To such sections these remarks are especially applicable. My second reason is, that after basswood we have a honey dearth, hence, the bees from the introduced queen are of no value, but, on the contrary, become consumers. On an average, ittakes21 days from the time the egg is laid, to the perfect bee ready to emerge from the cell. Then, if the colony is in a normal condition, this bee does not commence labor in the field till 16 days old ; hence, the eggs for the honey-gathering bees must be deposited in the cell 37 days before the honey harvest ends, or else they are of no value as honey- producers. As the basswood is all gone before the eggsof the introduced queen become honey-producing bees, and as the larger part of them die of old age before buckwheat and fall flowers yield honey, it will be seen that a great gain is made by letting each old colony, having cast a swarm, rear their own queen, for, thereby, we save the expensive feeding of the larvse, which are to become expensive consumers of the honey of the hive. Also, the chances are, that when the colony rears its own queen, they will be stocked with younger bees for wintering in November, than where a queen was introduced immediately after swarming. The one point worth knowing above all others in bee-keeping, is a thorough knowledge of the location we are in, as to its honey resource, and then getting the largest amount of bees possible at that or those times to gather the honey, having just as few at all other times as is consistent with the accomplishing of this object. A prominent apiarist advised.a tew years ago, using artificial heat to get our bees strong so that they would swarm in April, while others, like L. C. Root, was advising keeping theiD in the cellar till pollen was plenty, to pre- vent early and useless brood-rearing. The advice of the first would be to bee-keepers the same as my sending four men and teams 12 miles to the railroad for a carload of lumber when I did not know it was there for cer- tain. They went and came back, but no lumber. The part which particu- larly had a bearing on me was, I had to pay them the same as if they had found the lumberand brought it back. Just so with getting bees out of sea- son. We have to pay the same price for them that we would to get them, so that each one became a produce! in- stead of a consumer. If all who read this article will study their location, and then rear their bees in reference to that location, I think they will find their bees will do as well as their more successful neighbors. Borodino, N. Y. For the American Bee Journal. Wintering, Ventilation, Etc. DR. I. P. WILSON. Dear Editor :— After spending an hour very pleasantly in reading the Journal, I desire to say that the ex- tracts you have published from Mr. Baldridge's letters are quite sufficient to convince any candid mind that right is n6t on his side. Yes, your readers, " certainly," will approve of the controversy being terminated right here. The columns of the Jour- nal are too valuable to be occupied with such wrangling. My bees have wintered tolerably well. I had SO colonies last fall, and, for the first time for many years, I left all but 12 colonies on their summer stands. One of the 12 placed in the cellar, died of diarrhoea, and 8 of those left out died of the same disease, while 3 colonies starved. For a number of years I have made a practice of ventilating each colony so that a circulation of air can be had through the hive. Those that died of diarrhoea were not so ventilated. My method of ventilation is as follows : The cap on top of the hive has two auger holes, covered with wire screen, directly opposite each other. The strip covering the front (or back) opening in the honey-board is left off. The entrance of the hive may be left entirely or partly open. Thus they are ventilated through the entire winter. When it is waim etiough for the bees to commence flying in the spring, the houey-board should be closed. The circulation of the bees will cause a circulatio" of the air. If an inch auger hole is made a little above the centre of the front of the hive. I do not find it necessary to leave the honey- board open. I refer now to bees left'on their summer stands. 1 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 176 A number of years ago, I had one of my apiaries in the country. I went out hite in the fall to prepare them for winter. The only ventilation I in- tended to give them was through the entrance to tiie hive. I accidentally left the honey-board open in one liive, after taking off the surplus boxes, also left the entrance entirely open, and, iu addition to this, there was an auger hole in the centre of the front of the hive. I did not visit the apiary again until spring. To my surprise, the hive I had accidentally leftopen was in, by far, the best condition of any of them ; the comb being clean and free from mold, and scarcely any of the bees dead. The others were all, more or less, moldy ; about one-third of the bees were dead, and all in a tilthy condition. Since then, I have been more particular about ventilation, and bave had much better results. Experience has taught me another thing, and the 3 colonies that died from starvation, last winter, is only a repetition of my experience on former ■occasions. There were supplies in the hive, but the bees could not reach them. In the fall, the brood, and, consequently, the cluster of bees, were in the centre of the hive. The outside frames were lilled with capped honey. As the winter advances the bees shift their location to one one side or the other, and in doing so they leave large supplies behind them, and when they have exhausted the honey on one side of the hive, they are too far from the bountiful supply on the other, to reach it during the cold winter. The lesson to be learned, then, is this : The brood should be transferred in the fall from the centre of the hive to one side, and then their supplies will be accessible to them. 1 hnd it pays well, at this time (in the fall), to cut a small hole in the centre of each ■comb, that the bees may pass through, and not be compelled to pass around the frame. Burlington, Iowa. Colorado State Convention. [Mr. Phil. Reardon, Jamestown, Colo., has sent us a report of the con- vention held at Denver, Colo., March 1.5, from which we make the following extracts.— Ed.1 In the absence of Mr. D. S. Grimes, the president of the Association, Mr. DeVinney called the meeting to order at 10 a. m. The morning session was informal. Dr. (Godfrey gave his experience in the care of bees. Among other things he spoke of the quietness of motion necessary. These insects hated quick motions, and the least betrayal of nervousness or fear, on the part of the keeper, would cause a disposition in the bees to sting the attendant, and it would be impossible for him to go near them. Kiiidnessand gentleness, on the other hand, had a reciprocal effect on the inmates of the hives, and one could go among them and handle them without molestation. The afternoon session convened at 2 o'clock, with Mr. D. S. Grimes, the president, in the chair. The election of officers resulted as follows : For President, Dr. Godfrey ; Vice-Presi- dent, E. Millison; Secretary, J. L. Peabody ; Treasurer, Mrs. O. Wright. A committee, consisting of the president, vice-president and secre- tary, was appointed to draft a new constitution and by-laws, the old reg- ulations having been lost in the de- parture of the former secretary for California. A resolution, to incorporate the As- sociation under the laws of Colorado, was unanimously carried. It was also decided that the bee- keepers, in connection with the Horti- cultural Society, should have an ex- hibit at the National Mining Exposi- tion next summer. An adoption of a motion then fol- lowed to the effect, that under the re-organization of the Association the fees of the old members, wliich were $1 a year, should be considered as paid, as the future tax of the Society will only be 50 cents per annum. Mr. Peabody was appointed to con- fer with the Horticultural Society re- garding a suitable exhibit of honey at the Colorado Exhibition, in August. Mr. Millison said, at one time the people preferred imported honey to honey obtained from the Rocky Moun- tain bee plant, found so abundantly in Colorado. Time, however, had re- versed the choice, and now the article obtained in this State was richer and purer than that found in any other part of the country. It was only now that people'ln Colorado were waking up to the fact that such excellent bee- food existed in the State. Something which might be cultivated more than it is here, was sweet clover. Under the intluences of the climate it could not be surpassed for honey. Buck- wheat, the gooseberry blossoms, wheat and oat bloom were fair, but did not do so well in the West as in the East. Another member suggested that a wonderful thing about bee-food in Colorado consisted in a more flourish- ing existence in alkali soil than in other kinds of earth. Although Irri- gation was necessary for perfect growth, it was not needed so much in the cultivation of clover or other bee- food, as in the East, where a plant would dry up. from want of constant watering. Clover could also be sown at any time. A very curious and wonderful phenomena In Colorailo was the lioney dew, found on tlie leaves, branches and stalks of the box-elder, maple, and, especially, the Cottonwood. Moisture, brought to bear on the dew, had a strange effect iu bringing bees to the tree for food. Some explained the origin of the dew to the kind of insect, which, by its pecking, brought the juice of the tree all over the leaves and stalks, and some asserted the fact was due to a certain influence of the atmosphere in bringing fluid deposits from other shrubs and plants. This honey dew was found on every tree In a greater or less quantity, and under proper conditions formed an excellent bee- food. Taking it altogether, no State in the Union equalled Colorado as a region vfor successful bee-culture. A resolution to prepare a herbarium of bee-food, for exhibition next sum- mer, and for permanent reference, was carried. A motion was also carried to elect the president of the State Agricul- tural Society to honorary membership. The secretary then read a list of • colonies of bees, owned by members, with a comparison of colonies last fall and this spring : Fall. Spring. William Davis 15 15 W. H. Davis 7 7 DeVinney 15 14 E. Millison 65 D.S.Grimes 30 30 J.H.Love 29 24 J. L. Peabody 16 14 J.M.Clark 25 C. M. Chilcott 40 36 Dr. King, Boulder 100 L.Brock 20 19 J. W.Tallcott 6 6 J. W. Lamb, Durango 7 7 Adjourned to meet at the call of the president, next summer. J. L. Peabody, Sec. For the American Bee Journal. " The Worst Kind of Advice." DR. O. L. TINKER. Hazardous language that, for a little friendly criticism. But Mr. Ileddon proclaims it, and, as a matter of course, he is infallible on things apper- taining to the honey bee ! Mr. Heddon cannot mean that his experiment " settles it," that a rack of the thin sections may not be set down on the brood frames and made a practical procedure V For it was not the same as the advice given, see page 151. Then, again, is it not strange that in his" experiment " the sections were glued to the bars of the rack so solid as to be removed with difliculty, with stings and dismay, when other bee-keepers have been, for years, taking off sections without trouble from racks having bars the width of the bottom piece of the sections i* But stranger still, Mr. H. found that the bees did not enter the sections " more readily " by direct passage- ways than " through a honey-board and two sliallow air-chambers." His conclusion on this point, as on several others, looks " to a man up a tree" very like an argument for (if not an advertisementof) Mr. Heddon's " case or super method." I have a number of hives now made on which to test the half-pound sec- tions. To prevent soiling the tops of the sections, and to keep the racks perfectly clean, I shall use a perma- nent rack on the frames, to be left on during the honey flow, but which may be easily removed at any time If the frames on which it rests are straight and true on top as they should oe. As Mr. Heddon did not make it clear whether the supposed difficulty he alluded to was in removing the sec- tions as staled, or in taking off the rack, will he undertake to explain again V 1T6 THJi' AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Concerning the use of section racks in connection with a permanent rack, a noted bee-keeper, who has had large experience with tlie half-pound sec- tion, writes as follows: "It is the fastest, easiest and simplest way of handling comb honey we have ever seen." By the plan advised, the shallow spaces usually allowed beneath the sections of from 40 to 60 cubic inches, that in any case, must be constantly filled with idle bees before and after the sections are occupied, can be dis- pensed with and an iindonbted advan- tage secured in obtaining surplus in the small sections, i'et, iMr. H. con- demns the procedure, wliich looks to a larger, cheaper and more attractive production of comb honey, as " the worst kind of advice." Finally, Mr. H. calls for the "apiar- ist who now adjusts his sections as advised." There are quite a number who practice a similar measure; among others, Mr. A. G, Hill, who places a row of sections " directly on the frames, saving the expense of a honey rack." Mr. Heddon can now send for that " missionary." There may be a prospect that he be not only reclaimed from intidelic doctrines, but that he may be able to place a higher value on that good old precept, " i'irst cast out the beam from thine own eye, then thou shaltsee clearly to castthe mote outof thy brother's eye." New Philadelphia, O. For the Araerlfan Bee Journal. How I Wintered My Bees. F. A. BOHL. 1 wintered my bees in the cellar on the following plan : My cellar is per- fectly dark and well ventilated. I raise my hives off bottom boards, but not enough to let in the mice. I keep a barrel with ice, in the cellar. I took my bees out, on Peb. 28, and lost less than ever before, as I put a fresh lot of ice in the cellar the night before, which kept them quiet, and they did not come out and perish as usual. I use the Gallun hive, 12x18 inches, inside measure, containing 12 Gallup frames, 10x11)^ inches. I use honey- boards on top of frames, leaving about one-half inch space between them and the frames. I have never used cloths on top of frames, as I can see no advantage in them ; if there is any advantage in them, I wish some one would mention it in the Bee Journal. I obtained 1,100 lbs. of honey, last summer, from 17 colonies, spring count, besides increasing to 38. My colonies are all stronger in bees now than they were in the fall. Ttie hives are full" of honey yet, and I in- tend to extract it as soon as the weather is titting. One swarm came out on Aug. 26, which tilled its hive, and is as heavy as a man can carry now. One swarm came out, on .June 1.5, which tilled its box and yielded 100 lbs. of nice comb honey. I thought that was a large yield, but it does not compare with some reports in the Bee Journal. I intend to use sections, this sum- mer, and sow alsike and sweet clover, as bee pasturage, 1 consider them the best for honey production. Summum, 111., March 8, 1883. For the American Bee Joumai. Honey and Bee Show at Toledo. DU. A. B. MASON. Dear Journal :— I have just been throwing up my old hat and giving the regulation number of cheers, etc., r in my mind,") for the officers of the Tri-State (Ohio, Michigan and Indi- ana) Fair Association, because they have adopted the following premium list for the bee and honey department, to be awarded at the next Tri-State Fair, to be held at Toledo, O., com- mencing September 10, 1883, and con- tinuing one week. BEES, HONEY, ETC. DR. A. B. MASON, Superintendent. ENTRIES IN THIS DEPARTMENT ARE FREE TO ALL. I8t Pr. Display comb honey in most marketable shape, product of 1 apiary in ist83 $10 15 Display e.xtracted honey in most market- able siiape, product t>f 1 apiary in 1883.. 10 5 Display comb lioney in most marketable sh.ipe. by a lady, product of her own apiary in 1S83 '. 5 3 Displa, e.xtiacted honey in mostmarket- able shape, by a lady, product of her own apiary in 1883 5 3 Comb honey, not less than 20 lbs., quality toyovern 4 2 Extracted honey, not less than 20 lbs., quality to K'overn 4 2 Crate comh honey, notlessthan 20 lbs., in best shape for shipping and retailing... 4 2 Colony vl bees 5 3 Colony 01 Italian bees 5 3 Colony of Syrian bees 5 3 CoUniies of bees must be the progeny of one queen, and exhibited in such shape as to be readily seen on two sides. Purity of race, docility, size of bees, and numerical strength to be considered. Display of queens, to be put up in such shape as to be readily seen by visitors (blacks not to compete} f3 $2 Greatest variety of queens, put up in same shape as for display of queens.... 3 2 t^ueens and colonies cannot compete for more than one premium. Bee-hive, for all purposes, in the apiary, may be represented by model, not less than half size $3 f2 00 Bee-hive, glass 2 100 Wa.\ extractor 2 100 Honey extractor 2 100 Foundation mill 5 300 Foundation press 5 3 oO Beeswax, not less than 10 lbs 2 100 Comb fountlution for brood chamber, not less tlian r> lbs 2 100 Comb foundation for surplus honey, not less than 3 lbs 2 I 00 Comb foundation machine, making best foundation for brood chamber, on the grounds 8 4 00 One-piece sections, not less than riii 1 .oo Dovetailed sections, not less than .''.0 1 50 Package, with labels, for retailing ex- tracted honey 1 50 Bee smoker i 50 Honey knife 1 50 Package, for shipping extracted honey in bulk 1 50 Machine for making holes in frames for wiring 2 1 Of) Machines for wiring frames 2 1 tKi Oisplav of apiarian supplies 3 100 Quinces preserved with honey 2 100 Peaches preserved with honey 2 1 00 Apples preserved with honey 2 100 Pears p'-eserved with honey 2 100 Largest and best collection of bee-Jitera- ture 2 100 Largest and best display of honey- bear- ing plants, properly named and labeled, 10 5 00 Queen cage, such as is admitted to the mails by the postal laws 1 50 Honey vinegar, not less than 1 gallon 2 100 Honey cakes, withreceipe for making... 4 2 00 Last year, the amount of our pre- mium list was $100, and this year it amounts to $208..50. The othcers of the Fair assneiation were so well pleased with our exhibit last year,that they adopted this list (prepared and ^^ staid hij,''' by the committee ap- pointed by the Tri-State Bee-Keepers' Association) without a dissenting vote. They have also granted all ex- hibitors in our department the privi- lege of selling anything they may wish belonging to our specialty and ia any quantity. The Fair association offered to put' up a building on purpose for our de- partment,but the committee "declined the honor," believing it better to have our department among other appro- priate exhibits, where the people are sure to go by thousands, than in a building by itself, where but few would go. We expect to have one or more tents on the grounds for the ac- commodation of such bee-keepers as come from a distance, and want to stay several days, where they can " camp out," and if they bring food ready cooked to last them during their stay, and a blanket, they can be " at home " at very slight expense. We worked hard last year to make our exhibit a success, so we did not have to urge the Fair association very much to adopt what we considered a good premium list. I believe, if bee- keepers would do their part, there need be no fears but the different Fair associations would do theirs. Of course, the county Fairs cannot offer such inducements to our specialty as can these district and State Fairs, where thousands are in attendance every day. I felt like congratulating Prof. Cook and his co-laborers over their success in getting the Michigan State Agri- cultural Society to adopt such a good Sremium list as was published in the lEE Journal of January 24th last, and I am sure they will not feel hurt and give us " the cold shoulder " be- cause we have " succeeded beyond our most sanguine expectations." It is all for the " common good." A new feature that we have intro- duced is the offering of a premium for comb foundation machine, making best foundation on the grounds. I have invited Mrs. Dunham, Messrs. D. S. Given & Co., J. Vandervort and W. C. Pelliam to be here with their foundation machines, and all have promised to be here, if possible. A. I. Root has also been invited and promi- ses to be here if possible, but is not sure that he can bring a mill. I have also asked C. Olm to be here with one of his mills, but it is not time to hear from him yet. The prospects now are for a tine display, and a pleasant time among the bee-keepers. Messrs. T. G. Newman, C. F. Math, and James Heddon have promised to be here, and the Hon. 1. N. Cotton, President of the Indiana State Bee- Keepers' Association, will represent Indiana on the awarding committee. Dr. Besse, President Ohio Bee-Keep- ers' Association, and Mr. Dougherty, Secretary , Indiana Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation, will " try to be " here. I will gladly answer all inquiries in regard to our department, and send a premium list, with rules and regula- tions and entry blanks, as soon as printed, to all applicants. They need not " enclose stamp for reply," but should write name and address plainly. Wagon Works, O. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 171 For the American Bee JoumaL Simpson Honey Plant— Figwort. T. ELLICOTT. For the American Bee Journal. A great deal of bloom can be ob- tained from it the first year, by start- ing tlie plants early in the spring, in a greenhouse or hot-bed. A great many plants can be grown in a small space. I had some started in a green- house, last spring, and found that a thousand plants could be grown in a box 20 inches square, until large enough to transplant. It grows rap- idly, some of mv plants were over 6 feet high, the tirst season, and had a great many branches, from 2 to 3 feet long. I counted over 2,000 seed balls on a plant. I set the plants, 2 feet apart each way, and think they require that much room, to do well. I sowed some seed in the fall and some early in the spring, in the garden, but none of the plants grew more than 2 feet high, and only had a few blossoms on them. I believe, from the length of time bees remain on each blossom, and their eagerness to work on them, that it is a splendid honey plant. The Developing a Home Market. A. J. HATFIELD. Simpson Honey Plant. shape of the blossom and its natural position on its stem, is such that it cannot be penetrated by rain, conse- quently the nectar cannot be diluted or washed out, and bees will work on them almost immediately after rain. They work on tliemallday long, when the weather is such that they can work, which indicates a continued tlow of nectar, and I think adds a great deal to the value of tlie plant. It is easy to transplant, but requires a good deal of moisture to make the seed grow. I have no seed or plants to sell. Fentonville, Mich. [This plant, tig wort {Scrophularia nodosa), is often called carpenter's square, because it has a square stalk. It is also known as rattle weed, as the seeds will rattle in the pod ; heal-all, etc. It blooms from the middle of July till frost. Mr. .J. A. Simpson, Alexis, 111., first called attention to it as an excellent honey producer, and that gave it the name of " Simpson honey plant." — Ed.] Myself and son, having, at the close of tlie honey season of 1S82, about 6,000 lbs. of honey to dispose of (4,S00 lbs. being extracted), which would net us from 7 cents to 9 cents, as reported in Chicago, thinking we could do bet- ter by selling our own honey at home than to ship it, we determined to make an effort to do so, but later changed our plans somewhat, in that we ar- ranged with several of the grocers of South Bend and New Carlisle to sell for us on commission, and in doing which have saved a nice profit above selling at wholesale. To carry out our plans, we first or- dered several hundred tin cans and pails, ranging in size from II4 to 2V^ and 5 lbs., and after neatly labeling, we filled them with No. 1 extracted honey, preparatory to attending our county fair, to be held at South Bend. Assisted by a good brother apiarist, we made an "exhibit of comb and ex- tracted honey, bee-hives, extractors, etc., that gave general satisfaction, as well as' to put in five days of hard work. We had hoped to have the privilege of selling honey at the fair, but could not do so, until the last afternoon, but our display and the few sales we were able to make, assisted in making many sales afterwards. We next pro- ceeded to canvass the town, selling samples, which we had been disap- pointed, to a great extent, in doing at the fair. Our friend above referred to, selling his comb honey, while our sales were almost exclusively extracted (our comb honey being sold by the crate, or left on commission with our grocers), and as sales were made, families were directed to our grocer where more honey could be had, and at same prices, when wanted. When putting up honey in pails, full weight was given, and, in selling, the wholesale price of the pails was added to that of the honey. We also made arrangements with our grocers to pay ttie same prices for them if re- turned in good condition. This ar- rangement added materially to our sales, although but few were returned, still they expected to return them, at the time the sale was made. This, of course, could not be done in a distant market very well. After selling up to Feb. 1, and sup- plying our grocers with what they might be able to sell, the remainder o( the season, we still had some hundreds of pounds on liand. We concluded to try what could be done selling to the farmers in our vicinity, and our suc- cess has been very gratifying. When extracting we stored the honey in stone jars, mostly 2 gallon jars ; these we have been selling to the farmers at a little less price per pound than we sell in pails, it being something of a wholesale trade, and saved the trouble of liquefying the honey, to get it into pails. At this time we have but little honey on hand, and I am satisfied we have laid the foundation for good sales in the future, and have intro- duced the use of honey into very many families that had not previously used it, and others, that had used it spar- ingly, have been using it quite largely, this winter. Our experience has demonstrated that a pretty general effort in this direction would add very largely to the consumption of honey, and we should not read of overstocked mar- kets, as at present. My friend, above referred to, in his canvass, probably sold some 200 lbs. of comb honey. New Carlisle, Ind., March 7, 1883. [This is tlie way to create a market, and lays the foundation for a large and increasing trade in honey every year. By getting a few hundreds of " Honey as Food and Medicine," and having the producer's name and address on the first page, will greatly add to the efficiency of the plans. Were bee- keepers to follow this plan of creating a market, we should hear no more of overstocking the markets with honey, and we should not only be blessing our fellow-beings by giving them a pure sweet, but be obtaining a much larger profit for the labor and care of the bees during the season. Let all try it.— Ed.] For the American Bee Journal. Clamp Wintering and Ventilation. WM. BRADFORD. In November last, I visited a neigh- borhood in Ontario, where the keep- ing of a few bees was quite common among the farmers. Tlie modern system of bee-keeping, with its ac- companying bee books and journals, had not penetrated the locality, and to have talked of brood frames and sections or foundation, queen-rearing and extracting, would have been like speaking in an unknown tongue, but burying bees for winter was quite a common practice, and, in one case, I saw the manner of doing the work. The usual plan is, to dig a trench about a foot deep, and a little wider than the hives. Where I saw the work done, the soil was gravelly hard- pan, and a pick was used to make the excavation. In the bottom of this trench, a couple of rails orpoles. about 6 inches in diameter, are laid, with some t) or 8 inches of space between them. The hives I saw, in use, were common box liives; some of them very large. The season, I was told, had been a very poor one for honey, and no boxes had been used on top for surplus, and it may be inferred that they were .sealed tight at the top, and that there was no upward venti- lation. They were placed on the poles as close together as they would stand, and without bottom boards. Straw is then packed on all sides and the top of the hives, and the whole covered with dirt. Provision is made for drainage, but none for ventilation. 178 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL,. My informant did not fear the attack of mice. He thouRlit a mouse would have a hard time of it if he meddled with a hive. I was assured that the loss of bees, wintered in this way, was trifling, and that the consumption of honey was very small. The party re- ferred to above, thought that o pounds would winter a colony. The question of winter ventilation seems to be receiving a large amount of attention from correspondents. The views of Mr. C. J. Robinson, as to clamp wintering and ventilation, have gone the rounds of the bee papers, and I note with some surprise, the ardor with which his theories have been attacked by various writers. I assume that in saying, that in liis clamps there was a partial vacuum, he means partial absence of oxygen, and not of all air or gas ; and looking at what, I think, was the meaning of the writer, rather than at what he says, it appears to me that, possibly, prolitable inquiry may be made in this direction. I do not know what the power of a bank of earth is to ab- sorb carbonic acid, and to furnish oxygen in its place, and I have no authority to which I can refer in the matter, but I sliould not like to be shut up for many minutes in such a clamp as I have described above, after November rains had saturated the sur- face soil and frost had congealed and sealed it tight. I do not think that the air can long remain, such as an animal, requiring a full proportion of oxygen, could breathe with impunity. It is iipparent that in the matter of the proportion of oxygen and carbonic acid in the air they use, that the re- quirements of bees are ditferent from tuose of most larger animals. Give a colony of bees a box, with from I to 2 cubic feet of space in it, and a round hole an inch in diameter for entrance, and they will seal up every other ap- erture air-tight. Then, with the circulation of air within impeded by the compartments into which the space is divided by the combs, and with these compartments tilled with the living insects, they cannot only exist in a quiescent state, but they work, eat and breathe, and rear their young. The queen, with the tremen- dous strain upon her vital powers, in- volved in the performance of her functions, never seeks the stimulus of the purer outside air, but works contentedly in the midst of her clus tering subjects, as do her progeny for days after they emerge from the combs. The growing young, in their cells, sealed and unsealed, are still farther excluded from the pure air, which we are disposed to think is as necessary to them as to us. The in- ference is plain, that they work with- out detriment, in an atmosphere highly charged with carbonic acid. That they can winter in an atmos- phere similarly impure, needs no Eroof. The questions for inquiry are, ow large a proportion of oxygen is necessary to their safety, and what influence, if any, has a large propor- tion of carbonic acid in reducing tlieir activity, and the consumption of honey and conserving their vital forces. That there is proof that it does or can do this, I do not claim, but only that the negative is not es- tablished, and that it is not so im- probable as to be dismissed without consideration. Bees, we have all seen reduced to a quiescent state by cold, and revive again without appar- ent injury. Frogs, and some other cold-blooded animals, in their winter quarters, furnish us examples of a torpid condition, witti very trifling consumption of oxygen for long peri- ods of time. This subject, of upward ventilation, is a question of the safe disposal of the watery vapor expired by the bees, not of the carbonic acid. If all were known that can be known about the proper adjustment of a current of air through the hive for this purpose, it would still be a difficult matter to regulate properly in every case, with the varying strength of colonies, and would change outside temperature, and require great care, experience and skill. If a safe way of wmtering can be secured, better approximating the natural method, by dispensing with this upward current, it would be worth searching for. St. Lawrence, N. Y. For the American Bee Journal. Best Way to Market Comb Honey. MRS. L. HARRISON. Mr. E. B. Southwick expresses my feelings exactly, with reference to the one-pound section. Before this insignificant package was put upon the market, honey changed hands faster than it does now, and ata better price per pound, a Bve-pound package sold as readily. I do not know what suits Eastern people, for I never interviewed them on tiie subject, but Western people, with their expansive views and capa- cious stomachs, desire a good square meal. A one-pound section is be- neath their notice; cannot see it; their optics are too large to take it in. When they used to order their sup- plies, a box of honey included, it amounted to something ; it could be cut out as needed, but they would be afraid that those little mites of honey would get lost— the children would carry them off to their play house. I interviewed the dealers when they were selling the prize box, in this shape, a number of them were fast- ened together with little wooden strips, forming a long box, and the ends glassed. The reply was, " We do not want it in any better shape than that ; it is good enough ; a customer can take a whole box, or part, just as he likes." We have always sold our honey in this shape, mostly to families, with this exception, our boxes are larger, seven of them weighing about 15 |)ounds. Consumers can take out the glass and cut out the honey as needed, and the remainder is safe from dust and insects. 1 saw a shallow box of one-pounds, in a grocery, this week ; it was uncov- ered, and someone had run against it, knocking the tiiiy things over, break- ing them badly. If producers persist in putting i)ounils upon the market, they had better nail two of them together, then a consumer would be ashamed to ask a dealer to take off one. Peoria, 111. Northeastern, N. Y., Convention. The thirteenth annual convention of the Northeastern Bee- Keepers' As- sociation was held in Syracuse, N. Y., Jan. 9-11, isas. After the regular routine of busi- ness, the topic, " Different races of bees," was introduced and discussed by Mr. Jones, his choice being the Holy Land bees. They are not so cross as the Cyprians, and they are better breeders than the Italian. He has had too few pure Cyprians to breed from to make a fair test of them. The Holy Land bees winter better, and are in every way superior to Blacks or Italians. They also gather honey earlier. The pure Holy Land bees, or cross between them and the Italian, using a Holy Land queen, produce one-third to one-half more honey than the pure Italian. Some may think the Holy Lands are too cross to handle, but they show the same determination to gather honey that they do to protect their stores. They are scarcely as large as the Ital- ian bee, are quicker in their move- ments, and their hair is greyer ; their color is lighter also than the Cyprian, and their rings are more of a lemon hue. All pure Holy Land bees were brought from Mount Lebanon and the Valley of Sharon. The Cyprians were nothing more than Holy Lands, brought about by being isolated. Italians came from Holy Lands originally. Mr. Hoffman described a variety he imported from Germany, called the Caucasian. The docility of these bees is remarkable. Their comb and honey are far whiter than ordinary, and winter as well as any. They are rather dark, have silver-grey hair and narrow yellow stripes, and are not as thin and pointed as the Cyprian bee. Mr. Jones, in answpr to a question, stated that Holy Lauds will not run off the combs like black bees. They will (ill their cells full of honey, and are swifter and make longer journeys than any others. They will ily in 13 minutes the same distance that it takes the Italians to traverse in 17 and Cyprians U minutes. Mr. Doolittle said he wanted to live in peace with his friends and bees, but found it impossible to keep on good terms with the Cyprians. He thought the Holy Lands as easy to handle when they had a queen as the Italians, but did not want any more Cyprians ; his Holy Land bees made whiter honey than his Italians. Thought them detrimental, in breed- ing out of season. Air. Vandervort said the foreign races were too cross, and he got rid of what he had. Mr. Houck said, the most he knew about the foreign bees was from re- ^ ports received, had but very few re- ports favorable to Cyprians, and some J THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 179 good reports from the Holy Lands. Found the Holy Land bees nearly as gentle as the Italians. Mr. .Jones said he never saw any bees tliat could rob the Holy Lands ; found they were no worse to rob others than other bees. Thought the Holy Land bees quite as hardy as the Italian or black bees. He said that queens reared in small nuclei did not give as good satisfaction as those reared in Targe colonies. He thought the time would come when a cent's worth of chloroform would serve for introducing a queen in any hive and at any time of the year. Mr. Peet had seen queens introduced by tirst dropping them into honey and then putting them into the hive, and that the success of the method had given good satisfaction, as a queen was seldom lost by this process. Mr. Jones explained his chloroform process as follows : Put one-lialf tea- spoonful of chloroform on a sponge, place in a smoker, puff a little of the smoke into the entrance of the hive, and then drop tlie queen into the hive. He never lost a queen by this method. The question of using half-pound boxes was warmly discussed, and a resolution was passed, "That it is the unanimous opinion of the Association that half-pound sections are not prac- ticable or proKtable to the producer at anything less than 40 cents a pound." The topic of " Marketing our pro- ducts," was taken up for discussion. Mr. J. M. McCaul, of New York, addressed the convention. He wanted to interest every bee-keeper in the matter of awarding prizes, with tlie view of getting the producer to im- prove on the grading of his honey. lie thought the paper boxes, used by Mr. Schotield, a great improvement, and the very best manner of putting up the one-pound packages of comb honejf. The two-pound boxes should invariably be glassed and crated, 12 to a crate. The one-pound packages should be put up 24 to the crate, llis opinion of the half-pound, boxes was decidedly unfavorable to them. He did not want the trade to become so contracted as that, and advised bee- keepers not to use them, under any circumstances. Upon the whole, he thought the syx-S inch box the best for the bee-keeper to use. Extracted honey for the New York market should be put up in firkins or small barrels, weighing from 1.50 to 175 pounds. They had no trade for ex- tracted honey put up in small pails, but had a trade for glass bottles and jars. He would advise bee-keepers to put up their extracted honey, for home consumption, in small packages or pails. Mr. Jones thought the best manner for putting up honey for the home trade and to increase the consumption of extracted honey, was to put it up in small packages. We must educate the people to use our honey in prefer- ence to the adulterated sweets, found on the market to-day. Mr. Root thought that the Western bee-keepers had greatly injured our markets by putting their comb honey on the market without glassing. The Association should pass a resolution asking Western friends to glass what comb honey they put upon the New York market, lie related his experi- ence in selling extracted honey direct to the consumer. Mr. L. C. Root read an able paper on " Extracting and curing honey," which was listened to attentively. He said that honey from Pompeii, 8,000 years old, was now in the British Museum, and is in a perfect state of preservation. Mr. Jones said, there was not a doctor living who could produce a better remedy for colds and hoarse- ness than honey. An eminent Roman priest had found that Jamaica rum and honey mixed and taken in doses of one teaspoonful, taken very often, would cure the worst cold, coughs and consumption in its worst stages, which baffled our best physicians. Mr. Jones also gave the following recipe for preparing any kind of pail or bucket, no matter" how musty, or of what material made of, so that it would keep honey perfectly : Take pure hot paraffine and coat the inside of the vessel. It would more than pay for all the trouble and expense. The cost was very little. Aside from the formal proceedings common in all deliberative bodies — and short remarks from many differ- ent individuals, commenting on the essays read— the above contains about all the proceedings of interest to our readers, so far as we hate received them. When the essays come to baud we shall classify them and pub- lish through the year such as are best adapted to the immediate wants of our readers, and thus endeavor to give them " meat in due season." — Bee and Poultry Magazine. Convention Notices. 1^" The Southeastern Michigan Bee-Keepers' Association will hold their next meeting at Adrian, Mich., April 18, 1883. All are invited. Re- duced rates at hotel. II. D. Cutting, Pres. Clinton, Mich. H. C. Makkham, ISec. Ann Arbor, Mich. ^" Thesemi-annual meetingof the Western Bee- Keepers' Association will be held at Independence, Jackson County, Mo., on Saturday, April 28, 1883, at 10 a. m. Papers prepared for the occasion by the president, sec- r(?tary and others will be read, and matters of general interest to bee- keepers discussed. A general attend- ance of persons interested in bee- culture is requested. The present membership of this Association con- trol 2,000 colonies of bees. S. W. Salisbury, Sec. Kansas City, Mo. J. A. Nelson, Pres. Wyandotte, Kas. 1^ The spring meeting of the Cortland LInion Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation will be held in Cortland, N. Y., on Tuesday, May 8. 1883. M. C. I'.EAN, Sec. 1^" Quite a number of the leading bee-keepers of Missouri and Kansas met at the Court House, in Independ- ence, Mo., December 23, 1882, and or- ganized a bee-keepers' convention, which was named the " Western Bee- Keepers' Association," by electing the following officers for the ensuing year : Jas. A. Nelson, of Wyandotte, Kans., President; L. VV. Baldwin, of Inde- pendence, Mo., Vice-President; S.W. Salsbury, Kansas City, Mo., Treasurer. The Association passed a resolution to invite all bee-keepers within a con- venient distance, to meet with us at our next meeting and lend us their councils. Adjourned, to meet again at Independence, on the last Saturday in April next, at 10 o'clock, a. m. J. D. Meador, P. Baldwin, C. M. Crandall, Committee. 1^ The Central Michigan Bee- Keepers' Association holds its spring convention at Lansing, in the State Capitol building, on Tuesday, April 17, 1883, 9 a. m. Programme : Presi- dent's address ; Essays : Prof. A. J. Cook, on Wintering Bees ; S. C. Perry, on Cliaff Hives; C. Case, on Comb Honey ; O S. Smith, on the Best Bee ; A. D. Benham, on Extracted Honey ; Mr. Harper, on Queen-Rearing ; Mr. Waldo, on Best Method of Wintering Out of Doors, in Single- Walled Hives; E. N. Wood, on Sections ; and E. Greenaway, on Comb Foundation. All bee-keepers are invited to attend or send essays, papers, implements or anything of interest to the fraternity A full attendance is requested. E. N. Wood, Sec North Lansing, Mich. 1^ The spring meeting of the Western Michigan Bee-Keepers' As- sociation will be held at Supervisor's Hall, Grand Rapids, April 26, at 10 a. m. F. 8. Covey, Sec. Coopersville, Mich. 1^ The Texas State Bee-Keepers' Association will hold its Fifth Annual Convention at McKinney, Collin Co., on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 17th and 18th, 1883; at the residence of Hon. W. H. Andrews. Wm. R. Howard, Sec. Kingston, Texas. i^ The Union Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation will meet in Grange Hall, Em- inence, Ky., on Thursday April 26, 1883. All bee-keepers, ana the public generally, are invited to be present. G. W. Demaree, Sec. Christiansburg, Ky. Emerson Binders — made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for 75 cents, for the Weekly ; or for the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. 180 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. m^ Moldy Combs. I have some combs badly mildewed, can you tell me how to get them in good condition asrain V A party, who has kept bees for 6 years in Colorado, told me that he took off 7 tons of honey from 150 colonies, and that the average is 200 lbs. per colony. Fhil. Rearden. Jamestown, Colo., March 17, 1883. [The bees will clean up the moldy combs, if given them, one at a time, in spring.— Ed.] Bees Confined 130 Days. The bees have been confined since Nov. 13. I put 23 colonies in the cellar, and left 7 out, 3 of them were floated some distance by water being dammed up, in the snow. about the ttrst of February. I expect some loss from those that have had no flight yet ; the thermometer is down to zero every morning, and we have snow drifts from 3 to 1.5 feet deep. Those in the cellar seem to be all right, yet some are getting a little uneasy. 130 days without a flight, who can beat that? Perry McKay. Spofford, N. Y., March 23, 1883. Matrimony Vine, Etc. Last season was a pretty good sea- son for our " pets ;" crops of all kinds have yielded well; but just how well bees could have done, cannot be said, from the fact that there are no prac- tical bee-keepers, to my knowledge, in this section of country, thfe bees being kept by farmers, in box hives or the cottage bee-hive, a patented concern, worse than a box hive. I have 2 colonies, one good and strong, the other rather weak from the effects from dysentery. I put my bees in the cellar, Dec. 1, 1882. One colony be- came very uneasy the beginning of February; every few days a large quantity of dead bees accumulated on the bottom board; the hive became very damp. 1 bored a hole in the top of the hive, and they became more quiet (after boring the hole. I laid a bunch of wool on the top, to keep the bees in), with fewer dead bees, till Feb. 1-5, when we had a uleasant day, but much snow was on the ground. I brought the affected colony up, let them fly out, and returned them to the cellar ; this cured them ; tliere were no more dead bees nor dysen- tery, but the colony is weak from dis- ease, and bees perished on the snow, the day 1 let them liy. The bees are the common black bees, which I cap- tured iri the woods last August. I found 4 bee-trees ; the bees I united into 2 colonies, let them build comb, then bought "wild honey" and fed them up for winter quarters. I now have them on their summer stands, doing well. The elms are yielding pollen at present. I think I will make a practical apiarist, for I " fill the bill " exactly, as given by Dr. C. C. Miller, in February number of the Bee Journal. Yes, I not onlv lay awake at night; talk about bees so much, that my wife and chiklren also talk about bees in their sleep, and take as much delight in the lioney- bee as I do. When the proper time arrives, I shall transfer them to some movable frame hive. In the mean- time I will content myself with read- ing the Bee Journal and the A B C in Bee-Culture, etc., and build u\> an apiary as fast as my means and experience will admit. Please give a description of tlie matrimony vine, as spoken of by \Vm. StoUey, of Ne- braska, in the Bee Journal, and give its botanical name. Fulton, Mo. D. R. Phillipps. [The matrimony vine, Lycium har- barum belongs to the order Solanaceie, which includes the potato, tomato, night shade, horse nettle, ground cherry, bitter sweet, egg plant, etc. It is easily propagated by layer- ing.—Ed. 1 A Long Winter, but Bees AH Right. Bees have had a long winter, but mine are all right yet, and I think it is the same in this vicinity generally. L. M. Roberts. Fort Atkinson, Wis., March 28, 1883. Used 80 Bi?fehels of Chaflf. I have kept bees for 30 vears, and once thought I knew all about them, but have since found that I knew but little. Wintering bees battles me yet. 1 tliink Mr. Heddon is riglit in his pollen theory. If one tries all the plans of wintering, he will have no time for anything else. I have used SO bushels of chaff this winter, and have bees prepared in five different ways ; some are in the cellar, some in cold frames, some with pollen and some without it. One colony, having no honey. [ fed till Feb. 10, when the' bees all died, as it was too cold to feed, 10 degrees below zero. Nineveh, Ind. W. D. Smyser. All Hopeful— Bees have Wintered Well. Bees have generally wintered well, and we are all hopeful, but can hardly expect another such honey season as the last. J. L. Wolcott. Bloomington, 111., March 27, 1883. Lady's Report for Two Years. The terrible winter of 1880 made sad havoc with bees here, as elsewhere, and of the 47 fine, strong colonies, so carefully packed in the fall, June 1, 1881, found us with beesinliut 9 hives, and of these, only 5 colonies were tlirifty. We equalized bees and brood, and felt we had but a pom- start for the season. Were not discouraged, though things went somewhat askew. I did my work alone for a family of 7 to 9, till the middle of September. Mr. Parsons was seriously ill the en- tire month of October, and a part of November, and Nov. ], the "cham- pion queen " of the county, our daughter Mabel," took up her abode in our home. " Blessed bees "' failed to receive all the attention they could have endured that summer, but our expenses were only 75 cents,and recom- pense 278I4 lbs. of salable comb honey, and 175 lbs. of extracted honey ; the wax I had to let go. We obtained 20 cents per lb. for comb honey, and 15 cents for extracted honey. Some of the 1.S80 crop also brought 20 cents, thereby bringing the average price of that year's crop to 18 cents per lb. I packed the bees, which had increased to 13 colonies, on the summer stands, in building paper and boards ; they were left in summer hives, with sec- tions at sides and above them. (We were too ill to do more for them.) Ttiey came through the winter, 9 colo- nies being strong and thrifty. Our expenses, this year, were $6.25, and recompense 1,1133^ lbs. of salable comb honey, 354 lbs. of extracted honey, and 10 lbs. of beeswax. The stock increased, by natural swarming, to 23 colonies. They are on summer stands ; some in summer hives with straw in ends of hives and covers; some in winter hives with division- board at each side of the frames, and straw in the covers. All are encased in building paper and boards, and are well banked at the front and back; have good board roof with tar paper roof over it, lapped well over the edge of the roof boards at each side ; have 35 lbs. and upwards of early made, well-capped honey, and we hope for the best. All are now quiet, and I find no indication of frost at the en- trances of the hives. We have had steady, cold weather and good sleigh- ing since Thanksgiving day ; the mer- cury having fallen as low as 16° below zero ; that is the extreme. Mrs. MyraL. Parsons. Linwood, Mich., Feb. 6, 1883. Red Clover, Italian Bees, Etc. In the report of the Maine conven- tion, in the Bee Journal of March 7, page 123, 1 am made to say that I " iiad often observed black bees on red clover, but no Italians."' It was not me, but another man who said that. I have been looking, during the last three summers, to find bees gath- ering honey from red clover ; having partially Italianized my black bees, with that end in view, there being lots of red clover about here, with piles of honey, as well as money, in it ; yet, never have seen the first h|xlli.^ in the clear. The top bars of the frames fill the hive, over the top, leavings inches closed at each end of the frame, then cutting 3 inches, »s of an inch in width, at eHch side of hive, leav- ing 2 inches closed in the centre ; then the quilt is placed on top, pressed down with a thin board, till the time of putting on my racks, which hold 12 two-pound sectiiiiis. And as this rack of sections is filled, I raise it up and put another under, and as long as there is a flow of nectar, the bees keep filling them ; here is one advantage of the closed frames, concentrating the heat and throwing it immediately into the surplus box, where you cannot get too much, as long as it arises from the bees ; the next advantage is in economizing the labor of the bees, in regard to gathering propolis, where they could as well be gathering honey, and would be, if you had frames with closed top bars for 3 inches at each «nd. I have never handled open or narrow top frames till within the last two years ; in this length of time I have handled quite a number, for iny neighbors, and in those I have opened, I find more propolis in one hive than in ten of mine, that have closed frames. I believe if the labor of the propolis-gathering was spent in honey- gathering, it would make from -5 to 10 pounds of honey to each strong colony, which would be of some account, while the propolis is of no account to you or to the bees, while packed be- tween the frames. R. Coubett. Manhattan, Kans. American Hive, Honey Vinegar, Etc. Please give the proper dimensions of the American hive and frame, as I find there are several sizes in use in this vicinity. Also please give the dimensions of frame to fit extractors marked for 13x13 inches. My frames are 12^^x11 inches, with 14 inch top bar, with cross bar in the middle, con- sequently are built down to from 12 to 13 inches, and I find the long ones are set on the bottom of the basket, and slip about at the top, ^id occasionally the top bar strikes the can. In the Bee Journal, page 143. Mi'. W. Z. Hutchinson gives us Mr. IJing- ham's plan for making honey vinegar, which he says was good. We made some last fall from the washings of vessels, after extracting. The honey was first-class, smartweed honey, but the vinegar had a sickening taste about it, and the only way we could use it was to mix it with sorglium vinegar, the kind we were using. Does honey vinegar usually have such a taste i* Joseph Beath. Corning, Iowa. [The American frame should be 12x12 inches, but that hive has had so many changes, and been varied by so many that use it, that it would be difficult now to determine a standard size for it. Mr. King does not give any size for it in his new Text Book. As your frames are 12i-^ with a 14 inch top bar, an extractor, with comb basket 13x13 inches, is just the thing; the ends of the top bar will rest on the top of the comb basket. We never heard of honey vinegar having a sickening taste, though we have used considerable of it.— Ed.J (Jueens Reared in the Soiitli. On page 141, G. M. Doolittle writes that he has a colony of bees to which he gave a Texas queen last Jnjie, that they were the first to show signs of dysentery, that they were nearly all dead, and what remained were in a deplorable condition. As I have been thinking of sending to Texas for queens, this spring, I would like to ask Mr. Doolittle if he thinks bees, from a queen reared in the South, are as hardy and well able to stand the long^cold winters of the North, as those from a queen reared here y It seems to me they are not. but I may be wrong. I merely ask for informa- tion. It is true we can get queens earlier and cheaper, but will it be ad- visable to send there for them ? I would like to hear from any others who have liad experience with .South- ern queens. T. S. Johnson. Bogart, O. Hints About Rearing Drones, Etc. Professors Siebold and Leuckhart were right; drone and worker eggs are not alike, yet they iire all fertilized by the male bee. The queen has nothing to do in fertilizing her own eggs, when laying. A queen is like all other winged insects; not like frogs and fish. The drone does not accompany the queen when she is laying. When they want drones, the whole colony engage in the work ; the same in rearing queens. Bees make drones and queens, when they want them ; it is the workers that reg- ulate the laying, not the queen alone. Bees never eat nor remove eggs from one cell to another ; they can destroy eggs when they desire, but never eat them. Bee-men should be careful about importing new kinds of bees, and not let the drones fly, until proved to be better than any we now have, for they may do a great deal of dam- age. Cyprian drones fly faster and farther than Italians. I think Italians are better then any I have yet seen, for honey-gathering. Delhi, K. Y. John McCandlish. Bees Strong and Healthy. I removed my bees from the cellar, where they have been confined for 135 days, and they had no flight for 10 or 15 days before they were put in the cellar. The bees never wintered bet- ter. J. J. HURLBERT, 40. Lyndon, 111., March 30, 1883. tSIIxat mitX goxu. ANSWERS BY James Eeddon, Dowagiac, Mich. Transferring Bees, Etc. Will Mr. Heddon please answer the following questions through the " How and What " department of the Bee Journal : I have 8 colonies of bees in box hives, which I wish to transfer to frame hives, this spring, according to your " Progressive Method " (published in No. 28 of the present volume of the Bee .Iournal), but I do not understand the method fully. You say : " With smoker, drum box, etc., drive a colony from the ' old gum ' into the frame hive, filled with found:ition. After 21 days the worker brood is all hatched, and a new queen, just begun to lay, in the ' old gum.' " " Now, I can unite with my first drive." 2. How do you manage to catch the young queen, to keep her from going into the frame hive and raising a row with the queen already there ? If I can catch the young queen, I would much prefer this method to the old one. Do celonies, so transferred, have to be fed for a few days V 3. What are the distinguishing THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 183 marks of a brown German queen ? 4. Can a queen-cell be safely in- troduced to a colony rendered (jueen- less, and how shoidd it be done V ROBEKT L. FltBDEItlCK. Riverton, Va., March 26, IHU'i. [1. After the bees are above in the drum-box, Ijefore you put them with the first drive, shake them down on a flat board or sheet, and while tliey are running into the box, or a decoy hive fixed for the purpose, lools tliem over, find and pick out the queen and kill her. There is no easier method of finding queens than this. '2. We do our transferring during a honey flow, and have never yet fed the new colony. Were we com- pelled to do it at other times, we should feed, of course. 3. The brown bee differs from the smaller black bee physically, to the observation, as follows : She is larger every way, lighter-colored, and more hairy or downy, than her smaller black cousins. In qualities, her points of superiority are vastly more marked and numerous. Queens differ from each other in appearance mucii the same as the workers, though not to as great a degree. 4. About six hours after making the colony queenless, insert the cell, by cutting a V-shaped hole in one of the central combs, in which insert the cell, which is held in place by the V- shaped piece of comb attached to it, if you cut it out properly. 1 have stuck the butt of cells to a piece of section honey box, and hung them down between the top bars with suc- cess, but the first named plan is the safest.— James Heddon.] About a Location. 1. Allow me to ask about the right kind of a location to keep bees. Would a prairie place do, say 1 mile from timber, with no running creek or branch in IV^ miles, but weak springs of water nearer, with well on the premises V 2. Do bees require an abundance of water, and do the winds blowing, on the prairies, disturb their working or destroy them ? 3. Will bees do well with land in cultivation, a mile in each direction V 4. Everything else being desirable, or even suflicient as a location, would 1.5 miles from market or railroad be too far to succeed well, where one wants to make the business profitable y Bear in mind this is Texas, with sometimes long, dry summers, and high winds in the spring, especially. Salado, Texas. W. P. Hancock. [1. Yes; many succeed with far greater disadvantages. 2. Bees use considerable water, but will find plenty in your locality. High winds are unfavorable, but not enough so, as to prevent success in windy locations. 3. Yes. 4. No ; honey is a commodity that possesses much value in small com- pass, and weight. Tiering up Sections, Etc. 1. I am a beginner, and would like to know how to put on sections ; hori- zontal or " flat " as quoted in price lists of Bee-Keepers' Supplies V I use 4 lb. boxes, 5x6x2 in cases ; 18 sections in 8 frame, or 21 in 10 frame Langs- trotli hive. 2. What is the best way of using more than one high, or tiering up V 3. Is there more than one method, horizontal and perpendicular ; how are tlie sections held, and how many tiers high ? 4. xVre wood separators better than tin ones ? J. Shortt. Oak Centre, Wis. [1 and 2. I would first advise the use of one-pound sections, in cases similar to the one illustrated on page 6-59 of the Bee Journal for 1882. The tier- ing up process is then very simple and practical. There are other methods, but the one referred to is my choice, which is the reason why I now use it ; .5x6 sections could be adjusted in the same manner. 4. A majority seem to think they are minorities, and very small ones at that, have so often been found to be correct, that I shall test the matter of tin vs. wood separators thoroughly the coming season. — James Heddon.] Shipping Crates. What is the best size for shipping crates for the large markets ? , Meritt Blanchard. Sherwood, Wis. [In answering the above question, I shall differ from many. I use, and prefer, a small crate, which holds 12 sections, 4)4x4|^x2 ; 14 sections, 4I4X- iUxl9i ; 21 sections, 43-4x2 IS-iexl?^ ; 24 sections, 41^x2 13-16x1 J^. The last two being half-pound sections, to be used with and without separators, respect- ively. I have found the advantages of a small crate to be these : The honey is not as liable to be broken in transit ; they take in a large proportion of retail trade, and in a wholesale way.— James Heddon.] Errata.— On page 156, in my answer to Mr. ScoQeld's questions, 3d reply, make a full stop at •' disease," and thus change the meaning. It is a double reply. In 5th answer, between " for " and " advertising," put the little word not, and thus reverse the meaning. Dowagiac, Mich. J. H. [The errors were in ttefi copy.— Ed.] Honey and Beeswax Market. OFFICE OF AMEHICAN BEK JOCHNAL, i Monday, 10 a. m., April 2, 1882. i The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Qnotatlohs of Cash Buyers. CHICAGO. HONEY— The nominal price of extracted is 7c. for dark and 9c. for light— here. The supply is abundant and sales are slow. BEESWAX— None in the market. Al. H. Nkvv.iiak. a23 W. Madison St. CINCINNATI. HONEY— There is noe-xcitement in the honev market, but sales are fair to our regular trade. Offerings are plentiful of extracted and comb honey. Extracted brings 7(y.lic. on arrival. The sales of comb honey are very slow, although there is a large supply of flrst-class quality on the mar- ket. It brings rj(^ijl.sc. on arrival. BEESWAX— Comes in slowly and brings 2O@30c per lb., according to quality. Chas. F. Muth. Qnotfttlons of CommlsBlon Merchants. CHICAGO. HONEY— The past month has not reduced the stock of comb or extracted honey, the receipts having been larger than the amounts taken for consumption. Prices are weak and irregular, ranging from Ii;c. to fSc. for white comb in the smaller frames; dark, very little selling, offered al IL'MiC. to 14c. Extracted, 8c. to lOc. according to col<)r. BEESWAx-None in the market. R. A. Bdknett, lui South Water St. SAN KRANCISCO. HONE Y— All stocks of choice honey in this mar- ket, either comb or exract-'d, have been closed out. Present offerings are confined to second and third grades, and are not large. Were there any desir- able qualities now here, they would doubtless meet witli ready sale. White cipmb, 14(<ize iT^x 'SHxl-iH. Any size to order. Send 3 cent stamp for sample. 12Aat I>R. H. BESSE, Delaware, Ohio. KEEPERS' SUPPLIES! ^J ^^^^ Simplicity and CbafT Hives, Queens. ^^^^^^ etc. Send for Circular. Address, HOW^ARU NICHOLAS, r2A4t 4Blt EtterB, XorUCo., Pa, r 1 n»lo^*^nted for Eastern buyers. Stamp for rAnlVlo-'"™'"'-"' ^' P-BKOCK WAT. Times 'Building, Chicago, III. 12A4t 100 COLONIES ITALIAN BEES, FOR SALE, also, queens and nuclei. Will exchange for Jersey heifer, pair Poland China pigs, or Plymouth Rock fowls. Write for prices. C. TrEEKS, lIA4t Clifton, Wayne Co., Tenn. CXZSAF! CIIB,^F! LANGSTKOTH HIVES! SIMPLICITY HIVES !| All kinds of hives and surplus comb foundation, etc., etc. Having superior advant:iyes for the manufacturing of hives and uf procuring lumber low, 1 can furnish very low rates. Send for descriptive circular. A. n. BENHAM, lOAtfBit Olivet, Mich. SEND POSTAI* for my 20 page price list of Italian, Cyprian and Holy Land bees, queens, nuclei and apiarian supplies. H. H. BROWN, I3D3t Light Street, Col Co., Pa. COMB FOUNDATION. Owing to the scarcity of beeswax, the prices of comb foundation will hereafter be as follows : Dunha m. Thin. Extra Thin. 10 lbs. or less. 55C. 72c. 25 •• 54 64 71 50 " " .. S3 63 70 100 " •■ .. 52 62 69 ALFRED H. JfEITMASr, 923 W Madison St. Chicago, III. BEE KEKI*KRS. before ordering your APIARIAN-SUPPLIES send for our large illustrated cata- logue, sent free to anv address. £. Kretchmer, Coburg:, lovra. WISE people are always on the look- out for chances to increase their earnings, and in time be- come wealthy ; those who do iiiijjrove theiropportnnities re- main in poverty. We offer a great chance to make money. We want many men, women, bovs and Kiria to work for us right in their own localities. Anv one can do the work properly from the tirst start. The business will pay mure than ten times ordinary wages. Expensive outllt furnished free. No one who engages fails to make money rapidly. You can devote your whole time to the work, or only your spare moments. Full information and all that is needed, sent free. Address Stinson «t Co., Portland, Maine^ sAlv Cheap ! Cheaper !! Cheapest !!! 300 COLONIES OF BEES for sale, in movable frame hives. Also, Queens, Nuclei, Bees by the pound. Hives. Sections. Smok- ers. Seeds for Honey Plants, and eveiv thing a live bee-keeper needs. Send for circular and price list to rr^AXAOAN IA4t Sparta. Wis. "RED TiiPE!" Wio will be the <^ The Original first to copy 1 lA BINGHAM 25.000 IN USE. 11^ Bee Smoker If you buy the Origi- nal Patent Bingham Bee Smoker, you will aid the inventor of improved bee smok- ers—get the best, that never go out— always please— never Is com- plained of— thestand- ard of excellence the world over — better and handsomer this season than ever be- fore. Price per mail, postpaid, from *i^ cts. to |;2. Our patents cover all the smokers that will burn sound Btove-wood, or do not go out. If you buy our smokers and hon- ey knives first, youi>«*«.«*„j ioto will have to buy Do^3.tented, 1878, others. PRICES: Handed to By Mail, mt^ I.- ,^ ^ Customer. Postpaid. Wide shield Conqueror, 3 Inch ....$i 75 * $2 1X) Large Bingham Smoker (wide shield), 2H inch i 50 1 75 Extra Bingham Smoker (wide shield). 2 inch i 25 1 50 Plain Bingbam Smoker, 2 inch.... 100 125 Little Wonder Bingham Smoker, 1^ in Jh 50 65 Bingham & Hetherington Honey Knife, 2 inch 1 oo l 15 To sell again, apply for dozen or half-doxen rates. Send for free description and testimonials, to BINGHAM & HETHERINGTON. 17ABtf Ahronia, Mich. IMPORTANT TO BEE-KEEPERS. Our new circular and price list of queens for 18S3 contains :rj pages and is illustrated to show our new way of rearlng-queens. Send your address on H postal card for it. Ournew book (175 pages) on QUEEN REARING is now ready. Bound in cloth and sent by mall for $i.(Hi. Those who desire may remit on receipt of book. HEMST AI^LEY. 13Atf WBNHAM. MASS. Given'sFoundationPress. PUBLIC SENTIMENT afflrms that the PRESS is SUPEKIOK lor making Cnmb Foundation either in Wired Frames or fur SECTIONS, and insures straight and perfect corabs, when drawn out by the bees. Send for Circular and samples. D. a. eivEN 4%c CO., lABtf HOOPESTON. ILL. W. Z. HUTCHINSON, RogrersTille, Genesee County, Mich., has made arrangements to receive Italian queens from the South, early in the season. The queens will be bred from imported mother.-*, reared by a thomughly compt'tent and reliable breeder, and. up(>n their arrival, they will be introduced to nuclei, until needed in fll ling orders. These queens will be whipped as s0(m as it is warm enough in this latitude, probably about Mav Isi, and they Will be used in filling all orders for untested queens until about June loth, when queens reared in the home apiarvwill be ready to ship. Before June 1st, untested queens will be fl.sn each : dur- ing June, single queen $1.25. or six for$t5.(>ri ; after July 1st. sinyte queen fl.oO, six for $.^.5U. twelve for $10,00. Tested queens (reared last season in the home apiary), before June 1st, *3.iio each; during June, t:^.. '.(I each ; after July 1st. $2.00 each. Safe arrival t:uar;inteed. Make money orders payable at Flint. Mich. UDtf The Excelsior Smoker Co.'s Cold Blnst gets away with all of 'em. You can handle the moat vindictive colony without veil or gloves. Send us $1 and try it. By mail, postpaid. Address W. C. R, KEMP. Manager. Orleans, Ind. I4l>:it FLAT -BOTTOM COMB FOUNDATION, high side-walls, 4 to 16 square feet to the pound. Circular and samples free, J. VAN DEUSBN & SONS, Sole Manufacturers, Sprout Brook, Mont. Co., N. r. (f^(^ OLDEST BEE PAPER -'=■ IN AMERICA /'^^tT^T^ ,^m VOL. XIX. CHICAQJO, ILL., APRIL 11, 1883. No. 15. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, Apis Dorsata, the Bee of Java. Mr. Jacob Kefmer, of Lowel, Mich., on March 26, 1883, writes as follows : "I send you a slip from a local paper with the following description of a new kind of bees, which I would like to learn more about, and if they would do in this country. Please an- swer through the Bee Journal." "In perusing a late publication on the Eastern Arcliipelago, we find that the writer describes as one of the curi- osities of the Island of Timor, distinct species of wild bee, the Apis dorsata, as abounding there in great numbers. He says : "Tliese bees construct the most remarkable and colossal honey combs, suspending them from the under side of the loftiest branches of the highest trees. In shape tliey are semi-circular, and their diameter is frequently 3 or 4 feet. Their wax is one of the principal exports of the island." Here is information for the American apiarists to act upon ; for an importation of the above might be found very advantageous to their in- dustry. The Timor bee might prove to possess a longer proboscis than even the Italian, or some other quality which would make it more profitable to be kept than any of the various species we now possess." We have very often described the bees found in the Islands of Timor and Java in the East Indies, but as our correspondent, with many others who are reading the Bee Journal this year for the first time are not familiar with them, we will give a very brief description. Mr. Wallace, the celebrated traveler and author of "The Malay Archipel- ago," thus relates his experience in those Islands with the Apis dorsata ; "On examination I found them half as long again as Apis meUifica and their brood comb proportionably thicker. They were, in fact, a variety of the magnificent Apis dorsata, which is described as flourishing abundantly throughout the great Indian peninsu- la, from Cape Comorin to the Hima- layas, as well as in Ceylon." "In Borneo and Timor the wax forms an important article of com- merce. The combs hang on the under side of horizontal limbs of lofty trees, often 100 feet from the ground. I have seen three together as above, and they are often 4 feet in diameter. The natives of Timor I have seen take them. They climb up a tree car- rying a smoke torch made of a split creeper bound up in palm leaves, and hanging by a rope from their waist. They cover up their body and hair carefully, but their arms and legs are bare. The smoke directed on the the East is one at Malacca ; the na- tives hang up bamboos and hollow logs for it, but it is, I believe, not a true Apis, as it makes clusters of large oval shells of black wax." Mr. Frank Benton in 1880 visited the Islands of Timor and Java in search of Apis dorsata and Apis Zonula but was not rewarded by securing any to transport to America. A very in- teresting detailed description of his journey was published in the Bee Journal for May 11, 1881. We have no idea, however, that they would prove of any value to American apiar- ists ; the only result would be the securing of a novelty ; their ferosity and ability to inflict terrible wounds Manner in which Bees in Borneo and Timor build their combs. comb makes the bees fly off in a cloud as the man approaches. He sweeps oft the remainder with his hand and then cuts off the comb with a large knife, and lets it down to his com- panions below by a thin cord. He is all the time surrounded by a cloud of bees, and though the smoke no doubt partly stupefies them, he must be severely stung. While looking on from a considerable distance, a few came down and attacked me, and I did not get rid of them till I was half a mile from the place and had caught them all, one by one, in my insect net. The sting is very severe. I should imagine that in Timor the dry season answers to our winter, as the drought is very severe and much of the foliage is deciduous. Eucalypti are the most common trees, and their flowers, I sus- pect, supply the bees with their honey. In Borneo combs are placed in a somewhat similar manner, perhaps formed by the same species. The only bee I have seen domesticaled in by means of their enormous stings, is horrible to contemplate. 1^ The thoughtful and prudent apiarist will now be making arrange- ments to provide pasturage for his bees, if he is not already in possession of it. The time will soon be here to sow seeds of honey producing flora of all kinds, and to plant out basswood trees. Let no time be lost in making full provision for the bees, and then we shall hear no more of "blasted hopes ;" but instead of it, the songs of the apiarists and the "merry hum" of the " busy bees " will vie with each other in making glad thousands of homes, scattered all over the country. This is a " seasonable hint," and one that should be heeded at once, for this is •• the accepted time." 186 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For the American Bee Journal. Stimulating^ Bees in Spring. G. M. DOOLITTLE. I am requested to write an article for ttie Bee Journal on " Stimulat- ing bees, so as to get ttiem ready for the white clover honey harvest." In my opinion tliere is nothing gained by commencing too early, as from six to eight weeks is suliicient time to build np a fair colony in spring, to one suf- liciently strong to store lioney to the best advantage. As clover usually begins to yield honey, in this locality, about June 1-5 or 20, the tirst of JVIay is soon enough to commence to stim- ulate brood-rearing. Some think it does not pay to change the brood combs, byway of reversing them, put- ting combs of honey in the centre of the brood nest, etc., but after years of experimenting, I am satisfied it pays me, whether it does others or not. Before telling how I manage, I will describe one experiment. I tried, to see if it paid to try to build the bees up in spring faster than they would naturally do it themselves ; for, on this matter of pay rests nearly all tliere is of bee-keeping, to the average apiarist. One spring, several years ago, I set apart 10 colonies, all of which had plenty of honey, and were as near alike as possible, to obtain 10 colonies of bees. After seeing that all were in proper condition, 5 were left to themselves, and the other 5 worked according to the plan I shall describe. The 5 let alone were 2 weeks behind the others in swsrming, and, upon footing up in the fall, I found they only gave an average of % as much honey as the other .5 which were stimulated. From tliis and many other experiments I have tried, I conclude it pays, and so attest my faith by adhering to that which gives me the greater profit. About the first of May I go over the whole yard and examine each hive to see how much brood tliere is, and all colonies which do not have an equiva- lent to 2}4 frames full, are shut up upon the "frames of brood they do have, by means of a division- board; while those which have that amount, or more, are allowed the whole hive. At this time these last-named colonies have their brood nest reversed by put- ting those frames, having the least brood in them, in the centre of the cluster, and those having the most at the outside, thus causing the qneen to fill these centre combs witli eggs as fully, or more so, than those were which were in the centre before ; while the brood in those now outside is not .allowed to decrease at all. Thus quite a gain is made, with little danger of cliilling any brood. In about a week I take a frame having considerable sealed honey in it, and break the sealing to the cells, by pass- ing a knife flatwise over it; then, after spreading the frames apart, place this in the centre of the brood nest. The removal of this honey by the bees, causes them to feed the qneen, and stimulates brood-rearing, equally as much (in my opinion) as any other method of feeding. If I did not have the frames of honey I would fill empty combs witli sugar syrup, and use the same as frames of honey. As the honey is removed, the queen fills the cells with eggs, and at the end of another week another frame is added in thfjsame way. The next time over, the brood is removed as at first, while, at the ei^d of the fourth week, two frames instead of one, are placed in the centre of the brood nest, leaving one or two frames of brood between them. This brings us to near the first of June, and if one colony lias brood in four frames at the time of commencing, and we use 9 frames to the hive, we have but one more frame without brood iu it in the hive. The next week this is placed in the centre, and as soon as the bees get any honey, more than to feed tlie brood, the boxes are put on. Tliose weaker colonies shut upon the frames, having but little brood, are left so till the frames are well filled with brood, when they are given a frame of honey in the centre, and then manipulated as were the otiiers, till they are in the same condition. If I wish as many colonies as possible, I begin to take brood from those hav- ing their hive full first, and give to the strongest of these weak ones, and later, to tlie next strongest, till all are built up to strong colonies. I formerly gave these frames of brood to the very weakest first, but after losing several frames of brood, I learned that to give a frame of brood to a very weak colony of bees, before settled warm weather, was almost always sure to result in loss. If I wish honey instead of increase. I work all the weaker colonies till they have .5 frames of brood each, when 4 frames of brood, bees and all, are carried to anotlier and united witli it, while the frame having the queen upon it, is placed back in the hive again. Tlie o frames in the hive we wish to unite the 4 frames of bees with, are spread apart, and the 4 frames placed iu each alternate space, so as to prevent any quarreling, as bees, thus mixed, seldom quarrel or harm a queen. In two weeks this united colony will be as strong as any in tlie yard, while the frame having the queen, can be used for a nucleus, or various other purposes. In tliis time of high prices of comb founda- tion, they could be made very profit- able by setting them to building comb, for they are almost always sure to build nice straight worker comb. In places where pollen is scarce, it might be well to feed rye meal, early in the season, but, as long as plenty of pollen remains in the comb, I do not think it pays. To feed, place in a shallow box and drop a few drops of honey on the meal, when you will put a bit of comb on a hot iron to make a smudge, to draw the bees. Use only a tew drops of honey, or you may ex- cite robbing. I would invite all those who do not think that the above will pay, who live where a crop of clover honey is to be secured, to try a few colonies, and see if they do not change their minds. Borodino, N. Y. For the American Bee Journal. Comb vs. Extracted Honey. A. W. STITH. There seems to be quite a diversity of opinion in regard to producing comb and extracted honey. I have had some experience iu producing both, and can probably say something that may be a benefit, especially to the amateur. The idea, that honey extracted before being capped by the bees, has all the good qualities of honey that is capped before extract- ing, does not meet my approbation. I am so thoroughly convinced that honey extracted while green, is in- ferior to honey capped before extract- ing, that I do not expect to extract any more green honey, unless in cases of emergency, when bees are gather- ing rapidly and have not sufficient combs to store their precious sweets ; and right here let me say, that a too free use of the extractor is one reason why many bee-keepers complain of not having surplus combs. All apiar- ists know that bees will not tjuild comb, to any great extent, only as in- stinct teaches them it will be used for storing honey, therefore, bee- keepers should not expect their bees to build comb, and at the same time keep the combs they already have empty, by the use of the extractor. The judicious use of the extractor is more than merely to learn how fast you can sling the honey, and leave the bees to starve the following winter ! While I am free to admit that the ex- tractor is indispensable in an apiary, I do think that, all things considered, extractors kill as many bees as they help to produce. Do not understand me to accuse an experienced bee-keeper of such blun- ders as to kill bees in such a manner, but as there are many persons just embarking in the business, I thought a word of caution would not be out of the way and may be appreciated. VVhen we examine an apiary in autumn, worked for extiacted honey, where we use a two -story hive, and when we wish to supply our bees with food for their long winter nap, we find the honey in bad shape for win- ter, the combs in the brood-chamber often being destitute of honey, and contain much pollen, while those in the top story are sure to be full frofn top to bottom, or nearly empty. Such has been my experience. I learned, several years ago, to be rather timid with the extractor, and settled down on the following plan : VVhen white clover, which is our main dependence for surplus honey, fairly opens, I select, in the top story (for I seldom bother the brood-chamber for surplus), .5 or 6 Langstroth frames of the best worker combs, if they can be obtained ; if not, a tew drone combs can be used, and mark the letter W THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 187 (which signifies winter) on the top bar ; put those combs near together, and do not extract from them. As soon as the honey in those combs are sealed nearly half way down, I spread them apart, and insert in each alter- nate space an empty frame, or one partly filled with comb or foundation, and the frames thus inserted can, as fast as completed, be extracted at pleasure. I thus secure three objects : A hive full of straight comb ; the queen is forced below, on account of the frames marked containing much honey and being far apart, and the rest of the combs, as fast as com- pleted, are tilled with honey, having a nice lot of sealed clover honey for winter. But here comes the trouble. Empty combs will not do to winter bees on, neither do I believe full frames of honey, without some empty cells, much better, in this latitude; but when we produce comb honey, the honey in the brood-chamber is in a much more desirable shape. I be- lieve I am the only one in this part of the country that produces comb honey, and being requested, by some of my neighbors, to write my plan of manipulating sections without separa- tors, I cheerfully make the effort. I use the Langstrotli hive exclu- sively, have used both 8 and 10 frames, but have no use for 10 frames beneath a rack of sections, as I use a rack similar to a crate, with partitions be- tween the rows of sections. The first thing, after the sections are on, is to get the bees to work in them ; for Italian bees are very loath to enter boxes. The best method that I have ever practiced, is to use 10 frames in the brood-chamber until the bees are strong in number, and ready for the boxes; previously to adjusting the boxes, 1 remove all but 7 or 8 frames, and use a division-board on each side of the frames, so arranged as not to allow bees behind them. The hive having, heretofore, been crowded with bees to its fullest capacity, and by contracting the hive inside, the bees are compelled to take possession of the boxes immediately, or cluster outside the hive. As the bees are not desirous of swarming yet, and as the honey harvest has just commenced in earnest, they are most likely to work in the sections. Now, having the boxes on, with a starter of comb or foundation in each section (the former preferred), and after the bees have been at work in them a few daj's, probably they may need some atten- tion. I usually examine each section twice a week, and this is the main secret in obtaining straight combs without separators, for we are sure to find some probably half finished, whilst others near them are just com- menced. Take out all the sections that are nearest completed, and put them together, and thus always keep- ing the fullest together, and the ones least worked in near the lean end of the row. I think I got that " lean end " from Mr. Ileddon (thanks toMr.Hed- don). If any of the sections are nearer completed on one side than on the other, put them with their fullest sides together, or near the glass at the end of the row, but leave space be- tween the honey and end of the box, sufficient for the bees to pass, or tliey will empty the honey from the outside and carry it to the other sections, which is only a loss of time, and the hives are level from right to left, and if I follow the above plan, I seldom have to bend or cut a piece of comb, although if I cut a bit of comb out, it is not lost, but will make a nice starter for another section. If not quite so cheap as foundation, it is much better. Perhaps some may think that honey produced "vvitliout separators would not be nice enough for the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition. But I will say that, with my experience in the pro- duction of comb honey, and a few acres of (melilot) sweet clover, I was able to procure just such honey as Dr. Miller and others saw there last fall. I believe my honey was all the comb honey that was there. What in the world is the matter with bee-keepers around Cincinnati V If correspond- ents of the various bee papers would write less about half-pound sections, yellow bees, etc , and more about practical experience in the production and sale of pure honey, and try to create a better demand at home by making better displays at their county fairs, and sell only such honey at home or abroad as they can fully war- rant, we would certainly do the great- est good to the greatest number. Dividing Ridge, Ky., Feb. 23, 1883. For tlie American Bee Journal. Description of My Bee Room. V. B. DODGE. I have 42 colonies in the cellar, and 19 packed on the summer stands. Those on the summer stands had a flight on Feb. 17, the first since Nov. 15. The thermometer showed 6.5° in open air. 48'^ at the top, and iFp at the bottom, in the cellar. No signs of dysentery in the cellar or on the sum- mer stands. The lowest range of mercury, this winter, was 9^ below zero. Last season was poor, in this locality ; no surplus, and very little natural increase. This is my first year's experience in cellar wintering. My arrangements were as follows : I have a room, 10x12 feet, partitioned off in one corner of the main cellar, which is thoroughlv plastered, on two sides and bottom, with hydraulic cement ; the other two side walls are made of matched boards and battened. I have a tight-fitting door from the main cellar, and in close proximity to my outside cellar-way. through which I enter the cellar below, down five stone steps to the cellar bottom. From the bee room, I have a 3inch glazed tile pipe, running through the "cellar wall, 3 feet under ground, running horizontal about 8 feet ; on the end of this pipe, I have an elbow which turns the pipe up, at right angles with the pipe, that runs through the wall, from the cellar, leaving the end of the el- bow sticking out of the ground about 6 or 8 inches. I have a wooden tube, 6 inches square and 8 feet long, made of matched pine boards and painted, with galvanized iron, one-half circle, on top, to keep out the storm and give room for free circulation of air, with a damper to shut off the outside air, when desirable. This wooden tube 1 place over the end of tube-pipe, in a perpendicular position, holding it in place by hooks and staples, attached to the outside covering of the cellar door, and earthed up snugly around the bottom or base of the tube ; the damper completely controls, and I find I can add or diminish the volume of outside atmosphere at pleasure, which gives complete control of the tempera- ture of the bee-room, at any time, when the weather outside is colder than the ordinary temperature of the cellar. To control the inside atmos- phere of bee-room, I have a 2}>4 inch tin pipe, connected with the room, on the opposite side from the tile pipe, and running through the floor of the sitting room, which is directly over the bees, connecting with the stove pipe above, in that room. In the pipe is a tight-fitting damper, which I can use at will, checking or increasing the draft of air from the room through the chimney. I have two thermometers in bee cellar, one hung near the bottom and one near the top. It has not, this winter, been lower than 42°, nor higher than 49°, since Nov. 15, the day I put the bees in the cellar. In the sitting i*ooni and directly over the bees, stands an anthracite coal fire, constantly burning, night and day. To further control the temperature of the bee-room, as the weather be- comes warmer and spring advances, should the bees show signs of uneasi- ness, I have secured a quantity of ice and propose to remove the upright wooden tube which fits over the end of tile pipe, leaving the end of tile sticking above ground, about 6 or 8 inches. Over this I propose to set a box with a hole in the bottom, just fitting over the tile, leaving the end of the tile tube sticking up inside of the box ; this box is supplied with a tight- fitting lid, that may be opened or shut, at pleasure. In this box I in- tend to put ice from day to day, as re- quired, in sufficient quantities to cool the air that passes through the tile pipe into the bee-room, to obtain the desired temperature from day to day, until I deem it proper time to set my bees upon their summer stands, say about the blooming of soft maple. There does not seem to be the sligh test moisture in the bee-room ; the quilts seem as dry as the same material would be in an ordinary room. The bees seem perfectly at home, and, to all appearance, in a happy and contented mood. How long they may so continue, is a problem that I am unable to solve at present; but the prospect is certainly flatter- ing, and I hope reflections from " the silver lining," may penetrate and cheer the hope of every genuine apiar- ist of the land. If ihe theory and practice of damp cellar wintering is correct, I am cer- tainly on the wrong track, and in the opposite extreme. My cellar is so dry 188 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. that I can hardly brush the floor with- out raising quite a dust. There has not been three days in succession, this winter, that I have not seen my bees in tlie cellar, making my obser- vations quite short, but, most invaria- bly, turning back the quilt of one or more colonies, which does not seem to disturb them in the least. My experience in out-door winter- ing, in tlie past, has led me to believe that one important factor in success- ful wintering, is to keep the bees dry, and I fail to comprehend why remov- ing to a cellar should so much change the nature and constitution of tlie bees, that it should require an entirely opposite state of things. To admit, when convinced, is one of the most noble traits of character, and should I And, by more extended experience, that I am pursuing the wrong theory, to the injury of the bee-keeping fra- ternity, then I shall acknowledge the error. My ice proposition is merely theor- etical, and should I be on the wrong track, and in danger of injuring my bees, will some one notify me through the BisE Journal before it is too late, and tlie injurv is done. Also state the extreme limit that it will do to keep bees in the cellar, when put in Nov. 15. I wish to keep mine in as long as possible, and not overdo it. I have a quantity of candy, ready for putting on my hives, if necessary. Can I put it on in the cellar, should any need feeding 'i Fredonia, N. Y. [If the bees remain quiet, when the maples, willows, etc., furnish pollen, will be time enough to put them out on the summer stands. You can put candy over the frames, at any time it may be necessary, and they will readily take it.— Ed.] For the American Bee JournaL The Half-Pound Sections. JAMES HEDDON. It seems to me that some of our fraternity are losing faitli in the prac- tical good sense of bee-keepers. One says, if we adopt the half-pound section, it will ruin the business. Well, then, my faith in our folks is thus great that I really think they will not adopt them, or do anything else, that will ■' ruin " ourselves. If half-pound sections have connected with them, and their use, an expense which costs more than the consumers' increase of demand is worth, then those who tempt the little Tarantulas, will be the first ones to be bitten. Mr. Baker speaks as though it were inconsistent for me to have first cau- tioned against their use, and then assert that I was going to use a few thousand of them. I made up my mind to this : if there is a demand for this size, no individual or organized efforts can stop a catering to that de- mand. 1 put in a word of caution, hoping to induce others to touch them lightly, and in a less expensive way, than last New Year's boom might lead many to do ; that boom is now over. A corresponding reaction has taken place, and I think it expedient that some, who are the best situated so to do, and whose experiments are sought after from time to time, should experiment with and settle the ques- tion, here in the West, by the argument of experiment between the producer and consumer. I have carefully read all the articles I have seen on the subject (I take nearly all the bee papers), and. as yet, I have gotten little" light regard- ing the wisdom of producing comb honey in half-pound packages. I fancy I discover an under o»irrcnt of a fear of competition, in many articles. This argues in favor of the adoption of the half-pound section. When I changed from two to one-pound sec- tions, I was told by many writers that 1 need not expect as many pounds of honey. I have taken no less with one than with two-pound sections, when using them side by side. I think I know the reasons why. These rea- sons give me full assurance that I will realize just as many pounds with the use of half-pound sections as witli any larger size. My bill for sections will be doubled, and the labor of manipulation will be increased. Be- tween this and the extra price, and sure, safe transportation of the small sections. I shall be left to decide. Does it not seem strange that bees cannot work readily in a space 4i-4X- 2 13-16x12, in the half-pound sections when they ■' do not object " to a space 4Mx-H4'x2, with tin side walls at that? Have they an idiosyncracy against the sound of " half-pound V" I first said, and say now, -'go slow." Do not go to any undue expense to rush into the new, till you have more rea- son to think it enough better than the old, to pay for so doing. I shall not adopt the small sections to the dis- placement of my one pounds. I can mix tliem with one-poumls in my ex- perimental supers, and in my ship- ping crates, and use or refuse them without any alteration or fixtures, and I mean to be able to truthfully talk more positively upon this subject ere another year rolls around. Please let me say to Mr. Newman, of Ohio, that I -ivill " unload " regard- ing our winter diseases of bees as soon as my last chance for 1882 and 1883 experimenting is over. Perhaps a short item will do for the subject of " Light in bee repositories," referred to on page 140, by yourself and Mr. A. P. Fletcher. Please tell your mechanical acquaintance that death is as natural as life. That na- ture, with her infinite arms, embraces all that can be imagined by the mind. Nature is at war with itself. Most things thrive at the expense of other's premature death, and man is found in either class, viz.: the consumer and consumed. Animal and vegetable beings thrive better, when assisted in the struggle, by the wisdom of man ; whatever bees " naturally " do, may or may not be the very best or worst thing they can do for tlie perpetuation of their existence. Evolution is the only key tliat can unlock the many mysteries just coming into view. It is the great truth that underlies all other truths, and is now dawning upon tlie common mind throughout the world. It has been demonstrated that bees can, in cellars as in "trees in the woods." winter well with light enough to tell potatoes from apples, but it has also been found out that an advantage is gained by changing this " natural " condition of affairs, and keeping them free from all irritating influences ; among which is light, as well as the activity forced upon them from the extreme low temperatures of our winters. None of these are, how- ever, the real cause of dysentery. Dowagiac, Mich., March 30, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. My Observation Hive. W'. HARMER. I use the Heddon hive, as will be seen by the engraving. As an obser- vation hive, it can have any number of Langstroth frames, from one to seven ; the sides are movable, and can be taken out, as they slide down in grooves, and glass can be put in HeddoiVs Observation Bive. the grooves instead of the wooden sides, making an observation hive. It is a very simple hive to make, and I think every bee-keeper should have an observation hive. I would not be without mine for considerable. It is an endless source of pleasure to me. Manistee, Mich. Western Maine Convention. The bee-keepers in Southwestern Maine met at the residence of Mr. J. B. Mason. Mechanic Falls, Maine, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 1883, at 1 o'clock p. m., for the purpose of forming an Association. The meeting was called to order at the appointed time, and \V. W. Dun- ham, of North Paris, was chosen tem- porary chairman ; after which, com- munications w'ere read from Messrs. Win. Hoyt. of Ripley, secretary, and F. O. Addition, of Dexter, president of the State Bee-Keepers' Association ; also from Mr. U. B. Cony, of Augusta. Following tliese, Mr. J. B. Mason, of Mechanic Falls, presented a paper, and it was voted to have it published in the Apiarian. These communica- tions were read carefully and consid- ered by all present. A permanent organization of the Western Maine Bee-Keepers' Associa- tion was made, and the tollowing ofli- cers were elected for tlie ensuing year : President, Dr. J. A. Morton, Bethel ; Vice-President, J. B. Mason, Mechanic Falls; Secretary, W. \V. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 189 Merrill, Mechanic Falls ; Treasurer, VV. W.Dunham, North Paris. Com- mittee on Constitution and By-Laws, VV. W. Dunham, J. A. Morton and J. B. Mason. A constitution and by-laws were adopted. The lirst article of the con- stitution dehnes its name as the West- ern Maine Bee-Keepers' Association. An article in the by-law provides, that any person can become a member by signing the constitution, and pay- ing the sum of 2.5 cents ; ladies, simply by signing the constitution. The Association starts out witli 20 members, 18 males and 2 females, representing l-t-5 colonies of bees. The object of forming this Association was to advance bee-culture in this western part of Maine, and in no wise to injure the State Association, and we would like all to join this, as well as the State Association. A vote of thanks was tendered to Mr. Mason and family, for the kind- ness bestowed by them. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 25, 1883, at the resi- dence of W. W. Dunham, North Paris, Maine, at 1 and 7 p. m. W. W. Mekrill, Sec. For the American Bee Journal Narrow vs.Wide Frames for Sections. J. G. STEER. On page 144 of the Bee Journal, for March 14, T. E. Turner writes concerning wide frames for holding sections ; in which he gives some very plausible objections to their use, as "I have fully learned from experience. The principle one, namely, the diffi- culty in removing the sections from wide frames, I have been trying to overcome, and as a result have made a narrow frame botli to hold sections and to answer the place of a division- board, in winter, for chaff. 1 do not know that I can make the description of it plain to the readers of the Bee Journal, but I will try. The frame 1 use is tlie Gallup, to hold 4 sections, .5>4x.5l4 ; inside meas- ure, IO^bxIO?^ ; outside, ll.yxllij. Instead of the wide frame, 1 make a frame to fill the whole space of the inside of the hive, viz. : 12 inches, and only }4 inch wide. I cut tlie side bars out of ^., inch stuff, and 11-16 thick, and reaching clear to the bot- tom of the hive. The bottom bar is the same, and 12 inches long; to be nailed to the side of the side bars even with the bottom ends of the same, in- stead of to the end. I use an ordi- nary top bar of the frame, for the top, letting it project over ij inch, on one side, and the otlier being even. On the side which projects over, I nail tlie bottom bar, which will also project ^ inch, and is to hold and support the sections. Previous to nailing, I slot the in- side of side bars, the wliole length, with a ly inch slot, 3-16 deep, and ^ inch from the edge. Be careful in nailing to make these slots come nearest to the edge of ttie side of the frame that is even. Tlie slots are for % inch wood separators. These can be slipped in at bottom of the frame after it is nailed, as will be seen, the bottom bar being on the other side, it will not interfere with their insertion. The separators will stay just where you put them. Now you have a frame, with bottom bar reaching nearly half-way, or J4 inch across the bottom of the section, which, with I4 inch at the sides, and ?4 at the top, is sufficient to keep the sections in their places, and allow of their removal with ease. Set the frame, tilled with sections, in the end of the hive, with the naked edge of the sections next to and close against the end of the hive ; then the separa- tors will come next to the brood. If desired to put two cases or frames of sections at the side of the brood, the second set of sections will slip up against the separators, and into the frame of the first set, as will be seen, ifj of inch. The advantages of this frame are: It allows of easy manipulation, as it fits neatly in the hive ; it will stay in its place, and prevents the bees from getting at the outside of the sections to stick them over with propolis. It serves as the very best kind of a division-board for chaff packing, as the thin separators and bee spaces admit of a more ready absorption of moisture. They can be used in the upper story in the same manner as two at the side. I would say to Mr. Turner I always make my upper story to admit divis- ion-board, after being tilled with frames of sections, which, when re- moved, allows of free access to the frames of sections. If I have succeeded in making the principle plain, any one can adopt it to their different size of hives. Some may prefer a wider bottom bar, to support the sections. Such can use % or ?:£ inch lumber, which will still allow enough of section to project for a " finger hold." I prefer about Sg. If there is any merit in the thing, all may freely use it. Barnesville, O., March 20, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. ftueen Rearing— The Lamp Nursery. W. Z. HUTCHINSON. Queens having now become quite a staple product of the apiary, perhaps two or three articles devoted to the subject may not be amiss ; although, as Mr. Doolittle said in regard to the excellent articles that he gave us last year upon comb honey ; " what I write will necessarily be somewhat of a repetition of what I have already written."' The first step for the would-be queen breeder is to Italianize not only his own bees, but all the bees within, at least, three miles of his own apiary. The demand, at preisent. for pure Italian queens, that are purely mated, is such that a queen breeder cannot allow black bees in his neighborhood. In regard to the strains of Italians that he will breed from, each one must decide for himself. I prefer the dark Italians. I do not wish to say that there are no good honey gather- ers among the light Italians, but, among the several different strains of light-colored Italians that it lias been my fortune to try, none have equalled any of several different strains of dark Italians that I have owned. Honey production, hardiness, amiability, and color should be bred for, in the order named, but I fear that some breeders have bred in the reverse order. I say nothing about the Cyprian and Syrian bees, because, from experience, I know nothing of them. Por breeding stpck from which to rear queens, no pains nor expense should be spared to obtain the best; and, as probably the majority of the queens will mate at the home yard, equally as much care should be taken in obtaining stock for the protection of drones. Selection of stock for the protection of drones is a point that, I think, has been too much neglected. After the apiarist has furnished his own apiary, and that of his neighbors, with choice stock, he is ready to com- mence the rearing of queens for others. Although objections have been raised against the hatching of queens in a lamp nursery, yet the majority of breeders hatch their queens in this manner ; in fact, it would be well-nigh impossible to rear queens at the pres- ent popular prices without the aid of the nursery. During the [last five years I have had queens hatched both in the hives and in the nursery, and I have never been able to discover that hatching a queen in a lamp nursery enfeebled her constitution or anything of the kind. I can detect no differ- ence between queens hatched in a nursery and those hatched among the bees. A lamp nursery need not be a complicated affair — jiist simply a box with double walls of tin, and large enough to allow several frames to hang inside. A hole should be made at one of the upper corners to allow the space between the walls, which should be about ?^ of an inch, to be filled with water. A round hole, per- haps an inch in diameter, should be made through the walls of the bottom, at the centre, and also through the side walls of each side, and a tube of tin soldered in each hole, thus fasten- ing the walls together so that they will not bulge when filled with water. The tin tubes can be covered with pieces of tin, so that the queens can- not crawl out and become lost. The nursery should be fastened in the top of a tall box. the top of the nursery being level with the top of the box. In order that the heat from the lamp below may circulate all around it, there should be a space of an inch be- tween the sides of the nursery and the inside of the box. Strips of wood, an inch square, can be crowded in be- tween the upper edge of the box and the nursery, and the nursery furnished with a wooden cover hinged to one side of the box. To obtain the best effect, the box, in which the nursery is placed, should be of sucli a height that the bottom of the nursery is about a foot above the top of the lamp chimney. A thermometer should be kept in the nurserv, and the tempera- ture kept between 90^ and 100=. If 190 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. the box is too tight or close, the lamp will not burn well. To save oil, and to protect the nursery from sudden changes of temperature, it is better to keep it in some building. If it can be placed in some room that can be dark- ened, and the light admitted through a small aperture, it will greatly facili- tate the examination of queen cells about to hatch ; as, by holding them up before the aperture, even embryo queens can sometimes be seen, es- pecially when the cells are constructed of new wax. When there are many cells in a nursery^ it requires close attention, otherwise a newly-hatched queen will destroy several cells. I nave a brood frame, similar to those used for holding sections, divided into apartments about 2 inches square. This brood frame is covered with a sheet of glass on one side, and upon the opposite side, each apartment is furnished with a glass door tliat is hinged fast by pasting on a strip of cloth for a hinge. Each door is kept closed by a little latch made by driv- ing a common pin part way in, and then bending it over, so that it can be turned around over the door, or turned away when I wish to open it. This brood frame of apartments is kept hanging in the mirsery, and about 9 o'clock in the evening, I ex- amine each cell by holding it up be- fore the lamp, and when I And a cell, the occupant of • which appears nearly ready to commence biting her way out, I place it in an apartment by itself. Some breeders have only one nu- cleus in a full sized hive, while others make a small hive for each nucleus, and use it for no other purpose, but, to my mind, it is better to use full sized hives, putting two nuclei in each hive, and keeping them separate by using division-boards. These division-boards can be made very cheaply by using % lumber, tacking a strip of wood across each end to pre- vent their warping, and then tacking a strip of enameled cloth over the edges, not drawing it uptight or close against the edges of the boards, but allowing it to point out so that it will form a sort of tube all around the edges of the boards, and tliis yielding tube will fit any inequalities there may be in the sides of the hive. For a stand for the hives I use a board a little larger than the bottom of a hive, with two cleats nailed un- derneath each end to prevent it from warping and to raise it from the ground. .To furnish each nucleus with an entrance, I turn the hives around upon its stand until two diagonally opposite corners project beyond the edge of the stand or bot- tom board sufficiently to allow the bees to pass under the edge of the hive. Three-eighths of an inch below each entrance, to the edge of the bot- tom board,! nail a small piece of board, 3 or 4 inches square, to furnish the bees with an alighting board. Queen registering cards are a necessity, as they show, by the position of the pins upon their dials, the date of the last examination, and the condition of the nucleus at that date— something that the memory could not do. Queen rearing nuclei need to be ex- amined quite often, and when the hives are placed upon the ground, so much stooping becomes tiresome ; for this reason I have a large share of my nucleus hives perched upon stakes, at such a height that they are conven- ient for manipulation while I am standing upon my feet. I also have the covers hinged, so that they can be turned back, thus forming con- venient shelves for the smoker, queen cages, box of comb containing larvie, etc., etc. There are also two sticks tacked to the sides of each hive, and these sticks project a few inches be- yond the end of the hive ; and upon these projecting ends I can hang combs while caging queens. Kogersville, Mich. For tlie American Bee Journal. New Device for Sections. THOMAS CANNY. I send you a drawing of a section that I shall use this season. This kind of section originated with me, I believe, as I have never read or heard of such being in use. It is cheapness, utility and convenience combined, in obtaining surplus honey in one-pound or half-pound sections, doing away with extra cases, racks, brood frames. etc. The apiarist can obtain his sur- plus honey in either half-pound or one-pound sections, and the honey stored in both at the same time, by this device. If you want to get pounds, cut only one kerf on both top and lower bar, of either top or lower tier of sections. With a nailing apparatus it can be put together asquickly as 3 one-pound sections. Please put it in the Bee Journal for the benefit of all bee- keepers. It is not patented. East Poultney, Vt. For tlie American Bee Journal. Inspectors of Apiaries. J. E. PLEASANTS. Dear Editor :— Inclosed find a bill introduced in our State legisla- ture at its last session, and which has become a law. What is your opinion of such a law ? I favor it. The rain- fall up to date is 6^^ inches. Carbondale, Cal., March 24, 1883. A bill has been introduced in the Assembly, by Mr. Reeves of San Bernardino, to authorize the Boards of Supervisors of the several counties of this State to appoint inspectors of apiaries, and provide for their com- pensation, and defining their duties, and for the further protection of bee- culture. The bill has the concurrence of the representatives from San Diego county. It provides as follows : : Section 1.— The Board of Super- visors of any county wherein bees are kept, are hereby authorized to appoint one or more persons as inspectors of apiaries, to hold ofHce during the pleasure of said Board. Sec. 2.— The Board of Supervisors shall fix and determine the compensa- tion of the inspectors of apiaries to be paid out of the funds of the county, not otherwise appropriated. Sec. 3. — Upon complaint being made to the inspector, to the effect that, in complainant's opinion, the disease known as "foul brood"' exists in any apiary in that county, it shall be the duty of such inspector to in- spect such apiary as soon as practica- ble, and direct the person in charge thereof to destroy all hives ascer- tained to be so affected, together with the combs and bees therein, by burn- ing or burying the same in the ground the following night. Sec. 4. — If the owner or person in charge of an apiary, by his own in- spection or through any other source, discovers foul brood iii any hive in said apiary, it shall be his duty to de- stroy such hive and contents in the manner provided in section 3 of this Act. Sec. .5. — Any persons failing to comply with the provisions of the last section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than 5 dollars nor more than 2.5 dollars for the first offense, and by a fine of not more than .50 dollars for each such subsequent offense. Sec. .5.— This Act shall take effect from and after its passage. [We think such inspectors will be beneficial, if they attend to their duties. — Ed.] For the American Bee Journal. Getting Candied Honey Out of Combs. I have been experimenting, for sev- erat years, to find out the best way to fet candied honey out of the frames, n fact, I have experimented away many dollars, for I wanted to get it out in a hurry, and I have made sev- eral things for the purpose, which it is useless to describe, and wasted more than a few combs. About one year ago I thought I would try once more, and I was successful. I had a boiler made J^ inch longer than my longest frame, Jj inch wider than my shortest frame, and .5 or 6 inches deeper than the deepest frame. This will just let the longest frame in, lengthwise, and the shortest frame in crosswise. If you have an intermediate frame, you can lay a stick across the boiler ; in- side the boiler put a piece of tin. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 191 doubled in the shape of an eaves- trough, and solder the edges to tlie boiler, just low enough to let the frames down below the top of the boiler. Then place the boiler on the stove and put in about 2 inches of water ; make a hot tire and commence to nncap the honey ; as fast as un- capped, set the frames into the boiler. When it is full, the first frames will be ready for extracting. If the honey should be very cold or frozen, or the honey is very hard, it may need to be set into the boiler the second time. With this boiler I can extract nearly as fast as when the honey is liquid. I use the boiler to carry the frames in ; in the summer, to store frames in ; also, in case of emergency, it comes handy to store unripe honey in. The boiler should be made of galvanized iron, so that it will be strong to handle. Gazenovia, N. Y., March 31, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. How to Introduce ftueens. A. R. KOHNKE. Onion ! Asafetida ! ! Whew ! Next comes stale eggs. I wonder that the bees did not leave their master and go to the woods where they had, at least, pure air, if nothing else. When I read the above suggestions in the Journal, I intended to give the rem- edy I have used for several years, with perfect success, but other business preventing until I got the latest batch of German papers, in one of which {Deutsher Bienenfreund), is described a method by a German bee-keeper, Mr. Scheuerle, identical to my own, of which I give a condensed translation : " After having lost and sacrificed many a nice and valuable queen, in order to discover a safe method of introducing them, I have, at last, hit upon a plan which has proven en- tirely successful. In order that a colony may accept a strange queen, five conditions must be fulfilled: 1. The colony must be queenless, nor should there be any queen-cells with brood or even eggs in them. 2. The new queen and the queenless colony must have the same scent. 3. The colony must be confused or bewild- ered. 4. All bees must be present at the operation. 5. The colony, with the introduced queen, must be kept in a dark place, say 24 hours. " Some may think that the fulfill- ment of these conditions are very troublesome, which, in fact, is not the case. In order that you may not be detained, get everything you may need ready before hand. You will need the following : 1. Essence or extract of balm (Melissa officinalis), a small quantity to be had at the drug- gists. 2. A piece of woolen cloth, the size of a hand, and a small piece of cotton cloth, as also a strong quilt. 3. A tumbler. 4. A small piece of comb honey, but having no running honey about it. -5. A room with one window, which may be darkened. " If you get the queen sent fi-om a distance, she and the accompanying bees should be liberated in a warm room, to void themselves ; if the room isnotwarm enough,itmustbe madeso. "Now, suppose the shipper of the queen has sent you a notice of having mailed or shipped by express the queen you have intended to give to a certain colony, you will know about what day to expect her arrival. The evening before, when all the bees are home, take that colony into the room spoken of above, and see that no bee belonging to the colony leaves or flies off. Having received your queen and given her and the accompanying bees a flight, in another room, always keeping an eye on her, catch her again and put her with some of her companions under a tumbler, then take a piece of cotton cloth, put some of the extract of balm on it, and wipe the inside of a tumbler with it. Now take the bit of honey comb ; put the queen and some few of her bees with her under the wiped tumbler, and let them remain there for sometime, or rather until you are ready to intro- duce her. If the colony, which is to receive the new queen, has an old one, that one should be taken away about noon, on the same day you wish to introduce another ; but as soon as you get the colony into the room, moisten the piece of woolen cloth with essence of balm, and push it into the entrance of the hive, which is kept in the darkened room. If you get the new queen early in the morning, and, without delay, exposed her to the es- sence of balm, she will have acquired the scent by evening, otherwise she must remain under the tumbler till the next day. " In order to better find the old queen, and also to confuse the bees, transfer the bees, comb and all, to another hive, looking carefully over each comb, as you remove it from the old hive, until you have found the old queen, which must be caught and caged, and then finish transferring the bees to another hive ; the bees re- maining in the old hive must be brushed out before the entrance of their new hive, and when they are seen to move in, the new queen is also put before the entrance, and will go in w'ith the rest. Having done this with open shutters, and as near the window as possible, darken the room as soon as you see the queen enter the hive, to cause all the bees flying about the window to join the colony and let them stay there 24 hours, after which you may put them on their stand in the apiary. '■ To re-queen queenless colonies, the apiarist must take such precau- tion as will suggest themselves, viz. : There should not be left any queen- cells in the hive, nor should there be a laying worker, which might cause trouble. " The main principle is that the colony and new queen have the same scent, hence the perfume must be taken from one, and the same bottle for both. And to have something agreeable to the bees, is certainly preferable ; hence, the odor of balm is better adopted to this purpose than anything else, for balm and a queen- bee have both the same name in the Greek language, viz.: Melissa; and this, perhaps, on account of both hav- ing the same odor." REjrARKS BY Translator: — Three years ago last summer, while making new colonies by dividing, I got two queens into one hive, getting an old queen by accident, or rather oversight, into a nucleus which I strengthened with some frames of brood and bees, spraying them with water of balm, as also the bees and laying young queen introduced into the nucleus. Both were laying the next day, when I discovered my old colony acting queenless. Youugstown, O. For ttie American IWe JournaL Eucalyptus for Honey in Australia. A. VERGE. In a late number of the Bee Jour- nal, a bee-keeper, somewhere in California, reported a quantity of his honey crop to be derived from eu- calyptus. It was a pleasant surprise to me to hear that one of our Austra- lian trees had been recognized as valua- ble in that respect, in a country pro- ducing so many plants and trees of world-wide reputation ; and though I do not suppose it will anywhere be found to yield such returns as are re- ported to be derivable from basswood, yet all its varieties will be found to be good honey producers, and valuable beside on account of the durability of their wood, which is especially well suited for the purpose of fencing, wharf piles, railway sleepers, etc., etc. They will not, I think, flower much before the tenth year, but considering how very serviceable such wood will be, there is no tree, in my opinion, more deserving of being extensively cultivated, especially out in the prairie regions. For both purposes, probably the best varieties are iroubark (E. panicu lata) ; red or large leafed ironbark (E. siderophloia) ; ur silver-leafed iron- hark (E. melanophloia) ; bloodwood (E. corymbosa); stringy-bark (E. ob- liqua) ; blackbutt (E. popularis) ; and a species hereabouts called box, but the title of which I am ignorant of. It is the most, in fact the only, orna- mental one of all, and is a flue shade tree, being frequently planted around Sydney in ornamental grounds ; its timber, however, is not durable, being liable to dry rot. Blackbutt, again, does not grow beyond a few miles from the sea coast. The honey .secreted in the flowers of these trees has a fine flavor, though it is strong. There are still other varieties of the tribe indigenous to western Australia and south Aus- tralia, but I know nothing of their qualities. Here in latitude 31 - south, they do not all bloom at or near the same time of year ; ironbark and tallow-wood (another variety) begin in October, while bloodwood blooms from January to March, and near the sea coast where the frost is less severe, the country there being more thickly timbered, and consequently warmer. They begin a month earUer, and con- tinue nearly a month later in flower. 192 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. I am but a novice in the use of the bar-frame hive, and, of course, I meet with frequent difficulties. 1 began only, last year, with 12 colonies of bees in Langstroth hives, procured of A. H. Newman, Chicago, at the sug- gestion of Mr. MacDonnell, of Sydney, to whom I am indebted for much val- uable information on the mystery of the system. I had not used comb foundation long before I discovered that the adhesion caused by pressing the alternate strips cut in the edge of the sheet against the side of the tri- angular upper bar, after both strips and bar had been heated, was not suf- ficient to enable the sheet to support the mass of bees ; as the bees invari- ably build out the middle and lower garts lirst, which were then tilled with oney or brood before the top liad been worked. I now fasten with hot wax, and have no further trouble. 1. Why do not the bees workout the sheet of foundatiou to the lower bar and attach it thereto ? Is it because the frames hang too low ; some of them leaving barely y of an inch 'i 2. Why do they destroy the newly hatched brood V A great many were destroyed last month, though there was an abundance of clover and other honey plants in bloom ; so many, in fact, that the ground below each box was quite covered with dead ones, and the smell of the decaying bodies might be felt at a distance. All the young bees that I saw being worried, were healthy looking and well formed ; the destruction seeming to be com- mon in tliose hives with wired foun- dation, and from which I had been taking cards of brood and cutting queen-cells in order to stop swarming. Two small colonies, wtiich had re- ceived cards of brood, did likewise, although they had no queen-cells. Had it not been so in the latter case, I should have supposed that the slaughter was owing to my check on their attempts to swarm. Two otlier swarms, which have built out their own comb in empty frames, and which have not had their frames transposed, have not destroyed any. 3. What should I do towards the close of the honey yield witli a hive having ten frames, chiefly of brood, and on which I have section boxes. If I remove the sections altogether, there will be little else than brood in the brood-chamber, and consequently no store for the hatching bees. Quiuby, at page 173, on boxing, says that " six combs are all that a hive requires when boxed ;" but I have ten frames with eggs and brood in all. Ought I to remove some frames and confine to six only, as recommended, and then supply combs or foundation to the brood-chamber to be filled for their own use as the sections are removed. We have only frost here in winter, but flowers are guite scarce. My boxes are placed 10 inches apart, on a frame covered by a flat roof 6 feet wide ; the frame is 15 inches from the ground, and rests on supports protected by pots of mixed tar and grease, without whicli, in this land of vermin, the black ants alone would kill every colony. They have sunshine before 9 a.m. and after 3 p.m. From previous experience with bees in common boxes, I am quite certain that we shall get very satisfactory re- turns under the new order of things, in this locality ; and I am, therefore, desirous of preparing to extend opera- tions, and dealing with tlie industry as a business, though I have other means of dependence. In this view of the case, an assistant, at least, would be an absolute necessity ; but the difliculty of meeting with any one possessing tlie requisite knowledge — no such person being obtainable in this country — is insurmountable. Though I had always, hitherto, doubted it, I have now become satis- tied that maize, too, must be included among the honey producing plants ; by the direction of my bees flight, I know that a large proportion of tlie stores, now rapidly coming in, must be derived from it ; besides I have watched them on its tassels when they were certainly searching for honey and not collecting pollen. Mr. Editor, I send you some seeds of Australian trees ; they are : 1. Blackwattle (acacia decurrens). the bark of which is valuable for tanning purposes. 2. Wattle (acacia). 3. Wat- tle (acacia), -t. Ornamental evergreen shade tree, a variety a pittosporum, a lioney producer, o. Eucalyptus, or box referred to before. 6. Australian forest oak ; the wood of which was once extensively used for shingles. All of them will grow readily on ttie bare, hard ground, or on an ash bed that has been moistened and made solid by rain, provided they be drop- jied on'top and pressed close ; the soil being well shaded till they take firm hold, and kept moist when the air is dry. They will grow (except probably No. 4) on any poor clay or stone land ; in fact, they are the hardiest trees known to us here ; and will certainly not meet with more severe conditions of existence in America than in this country. I am not aware, though what extent of cold they can endure. East Kempsey, New South Wales. [Having no place suitable for test- ing the seeds sent us by Mr. Verge, we have sent them to Mr. Heddon, who will, doubtless, plant them and report the results in due time. He also answers the questions thus: — Ed.] As I sit here at my desk, on April 6, and the mercury nearly at the freezing point outside, my imagina- tion carries me to the home of Mr. Verge, all sunshine and flowers, sur- rounded by the numerous blessings and evils that his more torrid climate affords, and I feel stealing over me a fear of incompetency to answer his queries as I wish I could ; but from what I have learned by my experience here, I will say : 1 . The bees partially recognize the bottom bars of the frames as bed- rock, and thus propose to pass over them when passing under their combs, and thus leave the space referred to instead of recognizing the space be- low the bottom bars as a proper pas- sageway. There should be )4 inch space below your bottom bars, and we always make % in our new hives, as Jg is allowed for shrinkage. 2. There are a number of reasons why bees often drag out their pupa. If the surplus receptacles are not as they should be, they often do it to make room to store below, during an excessive flow of nectar. Again, you may have so placed the frames of brood you manipulated as to force the bees to cut a passageway between them, and thus destroy the pupa, I have used wired comb foundation for all the combs I have had built, for three or four years, and can assure you the wires do not in any way in- terfere with the success of the coming generation of bees. I have had (by careless handling) the wires rust and stain the foundation for inches each way, but all went as rapidly and suc- cessfully as before. 3. You should, in such cases as you mention, feed your bees with the cheapest wholesome food you can ob- tain. Cane sugar syrup is excellent. The dearth of the brood-chamber is more than made up by the increased amount of comb honey in the sections. The feeding is a very simple, safe, and practical procedure, when you once understand it, and are properly equipped. I would not encumber ray system of management with any such removal of brood, and giving of frames of foundation. I not think it at all necessary. The unsupplied and unsuppliable want of efficient help, you mention, is much realized in this country ; also since honey production has reached its present proportions. My practical working school for apicultural student- apprentices, was inaugurated for the purpose of aiding in supplying that want, which, it is hoped, will be of mutual benefit all around. Of course, most of those who thoroughly and practically learn the business, will embark in it on their own capital ; but some there are who must walk before they run, and some love travel and scenery in foreign lands, and by a year or two more we can send you a man who will not only " assist " you, but be of much service in bringing the latest practical " kinks " from the land of "Yankee invention." One who can manage your capital at a profit while you can do as you please. I will do the best I can with the seeds. Many thanks to you and the editor.— James Heddon.] J THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 193 Honey Vinegar and Cider. lu the Bee Journal, page 143, Mr. W. Z. Hutchinson gives us Mr. Bing- ham's plan for making honey vinegar, which lie says was good. We made some last fall from the washings of vessels, after extracting. The honey was Hrst-class, smartweed honey, but the vinegar had a sickening taste about it, and the only way we could use it was to mix it with sorghum vinegar, the kind we were using. Does honey vinegar usually have such a taste? Joseph Beath. Corning, Iowa. [The honey vinegar we have made has not only been vinegar of the best kind, but it has also, while becoming vinegar, always been a palatable sub- stitute for cider, and not distinguish- able from it. It usually requires a year to mature so as to be a " tip top " article, and if very sweet, more time will be required, and better vinegar obtained. Mr. Beath may not have made liis sufficiently sweet. — T. F. Bingham.] My Valentine. The past season was too wet for ob- taining much honey. My bees did moderately well. I commenced the last season with 7 colonies, spring count, and increased to 13, and all are doing well, except 2 very late swarms, which are weak. I winter them on the summer stands. All but 1 are in box hives ; that one hive is my own make, and the bees in it are doing better than any of the others, and I intend to transfer all the others, in the spring, into Langstroth hives, and would you use the old comb or foun- dation y What is the best time and plan of doing it V I send you a sam- ple of my bees ; are they the German or black bees, or are they hybrids V They show the yellow bauds pretty plainly. My valentine was a swarm of bees. My wife being sick, leaving me to do all" the house work as well as out-door work, confining me closely to the house, causing me to notice my bees more particularly. Two late swarms were weak, and I fed them syrup made from coffee A sugar, and yesterday, being very warm, I discovered a swarm of bees about 75 yards away, coming toward the house ; they passed over it a little distance, and whirling round and round, came down, and tried to enter four or five hives ; tiiially entered one having a weak colony. 1 have been feeding them since, and they seem very quiet and well satisfied. Where did they come from ? And why did they come in such a manner ? I neyer saw such a winter as this, with incessant Hoods ; even the little creeks overflowed their banks, and the Ohio river was never known so high ; it was almost from hill to hill, sweeping corn and hay stacks off by wholesale ; making al- most a clean sweep. Xow, the weather is sultry ; the thermometer stood at 70"^ at 7 o'clock this morning, and at 80^ at noon. Hot or cold I welcome the Bee Jouknal ; it is a weekly treat. I would be lost without it. Frank B. Rife. Malaby, O., Feb. 15, 1883. [The bees sent are hybrids. We have already published several good plans of transferring, and will give several more before the time to do it arrives, which should be during fruit bloom. We cannot say where the bees came from, but they left some place that was distasteful to them or unfit for their longer abode, and sought and found some better place. — Ed.] What harvest follows a severe winter J There is more mortality amongst bees, in this locality, than there were two years ago. One large apiarist, in this town, is losing very heavily, and losses are the rule. Many did not have fall pasturage, and hail to be fed for winter stores; there was not much surplus last summer. Mr. Doolittle says the largest surplus, in this State, has followed severe winters ; that has not been the case here, as a rule. 1868, 1870, 1874, 1876, 1878 and 1880 here were good seasons, while 1869, 1871, 1873, 1875. 1877, 1879 and 1881 were not so good, all following hard winters. The winters previous to the first named were mild with the exception of 1867 and the winter of 1870-71. The seasons of 1872 and 1882 were failures here. My average amount of extracted honey, per colony for 12 years, is 75 lbs. W. H. S. Grout. Kennedy, N. Y., March 30, 1883. 200 Lbs. of Wax from 70 Colonies. In the Bee Journal for Feb. 28, page 121, Mr. N. B. Tindall wishes for more light as to how I obtained 200 lbs. of wax from 70 colonies of bees, spring count. In my report I did not state that about -3 of my bees were in odd sizes of frames, some of which I transferred on Mr. Heddon's plan, rendering up all of the old combs ; those old combs and the cappings from 9,000 lbs. of extracted honey, is the way I obtained my 200 lbs. of wax. I should have stated in my report that had my bees all been in Langstroth hives, my report would have been much larger. I think another season will see all of my bees in standard Langstroth hives; then do not be as- tonished at any report I make. Last year I had one continuous and heavy flow of lioney from June 7, until Sept. 15, and after I had finished extracting on Sept. 20, tliev filled their hives, both lower and upper stories ; con- sequently they are very strong now. I will probably give my method of making vinegar in my next, which would be hard to beat. W. G. McLendon. Lake Village, Ark., March 29, 1888. Hard Winter In Canada. This has been a very hard winter on bees ; I think fully one-half the bees around here are gone. They have been confined 130 days, and are now very uneasy, and many suffering from dysentery. We have about 4 feet of snow on the ground yet, and it is freezing hard to-night. Geo. Garlick. Warsaw, Ont., March 28, 1883. Corrections. Please make the following correc- tions in my article on page 166 of the Bee Journal, and oblige : " The cap, which should contain about 1,000 cubic inches," should read, 7,000 cubic inches. The cap, or surplus depart- ment of all my hives, is large, and 1 do not think the case and cover to- gether should contain less than 4.000 cubic inches to winter well. Also, the sentence, " but the bees seemed too warm, and ai-e flying out, which, if they did much too often," should read, but the bees seemed too warm, and on flying out, which they did much too often. Dr. G. L. Tinker. New Philadelphia, O., Mar. 29, 1883. [The figures 1 and 7, in writing, are made quite similarly, and there the 7 is blotted and indistinct. It occurs in the eighth line of the second para- graph in the second column on page 166. The other errors in the 12th and 13th lines from the bottom, were caused by carelessness in the compos- tor.— Ed.] • Cheap Power for Saws. As I have seen some inquiry, of late, in regard to a cheap power for running saws for hive making, I thought I would mention that the Buckeye mowing machine is about the best ; for one that is rather •■ played out " can be bought for from $2 to $5. To use it, tip the machine up on one wheel, brace it up, and by digging a hole in the ground the size of the wheel and letting it down so that the tumbling rod can be attached about level with the ground, and run it out any length desired, to attach a pully wheel. To attach to it. take the tongue of the machine to fasten to the top wheel, and hitch a horse at the end to go around in a circle. This makes a good power as well as a cheap one. I wintered 25 colonies on the summer stands, with chaff inside the hive, and lost only one ; the rest are in fine condition. Dr. J. S. McAllister. Columbus, Neb. Wintered Snceessfnlly. I wish to record the fact that 1 have wintered bees, for two winters, on sec- tions, 8 inches square, two in a frame, wintered on from 4 to 7 frames in each hive, with the most perfect suc- cess. I arranged the sections, with their contents of honey and pollen, to suit myself. These frames are about the size of the Langstroth, and hang the long way up and down ; thus hold- ing one section above another, and are 194 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. movable at will. The hives that holds these frames are chaff hives, and are protected in tlie usual manner, ex- cept that the entrance is nearly at the top of the frames, which is an impor- tant point ; it lets out all dampness, and lets in the bees at a point where it is warm. These frames can be handled in warm weather about as easily as the Langstroth, and bees will work in boxes as well as any other hive. John L. Davis. Holt, Mich. Qneenless Colonies. Please inform me, through the Journal, the best method of treating queenless colonies in the spring. Shirley, Ont. M. Stonehouse. [Either give each queenless colony a fertile queen, or a frame of eggs and brood from which to rear one, early in the spring. The fertile queen is safest and best. Later, when drones are reared, the frame of eggs and brood will do. Or, it you have a weak colony, with a fertile queen, unite the queenless colony with it.— Ed.] Meeting of Bee-Keepers. I put 88 colonies in winter quarters, on the summer stands ; and left the cloth on the frames. I put a box over the hive, packed around with hay, and covered all with a good roof. Those packed thus came out strong on April 2, as they were when put there, as far as I could see. Some, left without any outside packing, carried out from a half to a pint of oees. after the cold spell. The bee men of Joplin and adioining country meet at Joplin, May 5, 1883, for the purpose of organ- izing a Society forthe advancement of bee-culture, and to establish a uniform price for the products of the apiary. All who are in anyway interested in apiculture, are invited to meet with us at that time and place. The Society will hereafter meet at such times and places as may be determined. Dr. J. T. Bruton. Joplin, Mo., April 3, 1883. When to take Bees out of Cellars. When I read reports like the one in the Bee Journal from J. E. Hast- ings', Carlisle, Iowa, page 170 (and others similar to it which the reader will call to mind), I must say I am puzzled to understand them. If I should say to the Dairymen's Associa- tion I put 20 cows into the stable on Nov. 1 and on March 1 or 16, 1 turned them to pasture all in good condition, what would northern farmers think of me y I can easily guess that they would say, to themselves : "If he has any left May 1 they will be a slim lot indeed, especially in sucli a season as this." It has been a howling month ; the ground is frozen solid yet, with but very few days that bees can fly. I infer that it is very similar in Mr. Hasting's vicinity. In short, I would like to know, as long as the bees are in fine condition in their winter quarters, and considering the state of the weather, why not leave them there, even until May 1 or 15, if there should be nothing for them to do out- side until that time. I think the opinion prevails among bee-keepers that cellar-wintered bees are liable to dwindle badly when set outside, in fairly good weather ! I would like to see Mr. Hastings' report on May 1. I expect that he will wish that his bees had remained in the cellar and cave another 4 weeks. I packed 25 colonies in October in clover chaff, bottom, top, and sides ; all are living, but 1, which was dead Feb. 15. P. F. TWITCHELL. Andover, O., April 2, 1883. Large Increase and Honey Crop. I have no doubt but what there is a difference in locality for honey ; the best we can do here is the average of 30 lbs. of honey to a colony. I would be glad to have large increase and lara;e honey crop, as Mr. Moss says he had (from "l(i colonies and 3 nucleus, y.OOO lbs. of honey, and .52 increase, and all that a family of ten could use for a year); that stumps the world. I am 76 years old, but never witnessed such a thing, as the above, in my life. William Roberts. Vaughansville, O., April 3, 1883. Convention Notices. 1^ The Mahoning Valley bee-keep- ers will hold their 13th meeting in the Town Hall, at Berlin Centre, Ohio, on May 5. All bee-keepers, and the pub- lic in general, are invited to attend. Do not forget to bring your wives, children, and a well-filled lunch basket. We expect a grand meeting. L. Carson, Pres. H. A. Simon, Sec. pro tern. i^ The Iowa Central Bee-Keepers' Association will hold their semi- annual meeting at Winterset, Iowa, on Friday, May 11, 1883. All inter- ested in anything pertaining to bee- culture are invited to attend, and bring anything that will be of interest to the bee fraternity. J. E. Pryor, Sec. A. J. Adkison, Pres. i®° The semi-annual meeting of the Western Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at Independence, Jackson County, Mo., on Saturday, April 28, 1883, at 10 a. m. Papers prepared for the occasion by the president, sec- retary and others will be read, and matters of general interest to bee- keepers discussed. A general attend- ance of persons interested in bee- culture is requested. The present membership of this Association con- trol 2,000 colonies of bees. S. W. Salisbury, Sec. Kansas City, Mo. J. A. Nelson, Pres. Wyandotte, Kas. ^f The spring meeting of the Cortland Union Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation will be held in Cortland, N. Y.. on Tuesday, May 8, 1883. M. C. Bean, Sec. 1^ Quite a number of the leading bee-keepers of Missouri and Kansas met at the Court House, in Independ- ence, Mo., December 23, 1882, and or- ganized a bee-keepers' convention, which was named the " Western Bee- Keepers' Association," by electing the following officers for the ensuing year : Jas. A. Nelson, of Wyandotte, Kans., President; L. W. Baldwin, of Inde- pendence, Mo., Vice-President; S.W. Salsbnry, Kansas City, Mo., Treasurer. The Association passed a resolution to invite all bee-keepers within a con- venient distance, to meet with us at our next meeting and lend us their councils. Adjourned, to meet again at Independence, on the last Saturday in April next, at 10 o'clock, a. m. J. D. Meador, P. Baldwin, C. M. Crandall, Committee. W The Central Michigan Bee- Keepers' Association holds its spring convention at Lansing, in the State Capitol building, on Tuesday, April 17,1883,9a.m. Programme: Presi- dent's address ; Essays: Prof. A. J. Cook, on Wintering Bees ; S. C. Perry, on Chaff Hives ; C. Case, on Comb Honey; O S. Smith, on the Best Bee; A. D. Benham, on Extracted Honey ; Mr. Harper, on Queen-Rearing ; Mr- Waldo, on Best Method of Wintering Out of Doors, in Single- Walled Hives ; E. N. Wood, on Sections ; and E. Greenaway, on Comb Foundation. All bee-keepers are invited to attend or send essays, papers, implements or anything of interest to the fraternity A full attendance is reqi'ested. E. N. Wood, Sec. North Lansing, Mich. 1^ The spring meeting of the Western Michigan Bee-Keepers' As- sociation will be held at Supervisor's Hall, Grand Rapids, April 26, at 10 a. m. F. S. Covey, Sec. Coopersville, Mich. 1^ The Texas State Bee-Keepers' Association will hold its Fifth Annual Convention at McKinney, Collin Co., on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 17th and 18th, 1883; at the residence of Hon. W. H. Andrews. Wm. R. Howard, Sec. Kingston, Texas. li^ The Union Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation will meet in Grange Hall, Em- inence, Ky., on Thursday, April 26, 1883. All bee-keepers, and the public generally, are invited to be present. G. W. Demaree, Sec. Christiausburg, Ky. 1^ The Southeastern Michigan Bee-Keepers' Association will hold their next meeting at Adrian, Mich., April 18, 1883. All are invited. Re- duced rates at hotel. H. D. Cutting, Pres. Clinton, Mich. H. C. MARKHA3I, Sec. Ann Arbor, Mich. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 195 ^'^h'd\ mul S^OAU. ANSWERS BY James Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich. Sections, Honey Board, Etc. Will Mr. Heddon please answer the following questions through tlie Bee Journal y And oblige a reader of all your articles, and one that thinks a great deal of them. 1. In using one-pound sections, is it best to use one or two tiers, in surplus- chamber, same as in brood-chamber V 2. What is the best time and way to fasten brood comb from larger frames into the Langstroth frame V 3. Pleiise describe the lioney board that you use between the brood and surplus-chamber V A. H. Given. Elgin, 111., April 3, 1883. [1. Whether I used a case or brood frame super, I should never use either more than one tier high. 2. In these days of comb perfection, I should never transfer combs unless they were all worker, perfectly straight, and large enough to com- pletely fill the frames, and then if you have a flat top bar, nothing is neces- sary if you cut and press in the comb properly. Thorns put through bradded holes, in the top bar, are good to se- cure the combs till the bees make them fast. 8. My honey board is described on page 201, Weekly Bee Journal, 1882.— James Heddon.] Preventing After-Svvarnis. I liked your article very much on "Preventing After-Swarms." I un- derstand from it that you did not give the old colony a laying queen imme- diately, forcing tliem. Is it not advis- able to do so y DWIGHT FURNESS. Furnessville, Ind. [In back numbers of the periodicals and in conventions, I have always contended against the plan of rearing and fertilizhig queens to be used for the queenless part of a divide, or in natural swarming. A cessation from egg laying is just fitted to the condi- tion of the mother colony at the time when the natural division does, or ar- tificial division should occur. There is uo better place in which to hatch cells than this old colony ; none any where near as cheap. Do not let us get ahead of the old farmer any faster than will pay. Let our advancements be real. Mr. Doolittle's article on page 174 of last issue contains most of the arguments that I have used. I differ with him regarding the point of the introduction of the new (jueen to the old colony, producing further swarming. It will not, here, or any where else, that I know of, for nothing tends more to prevent the swarming impulse than the introduction of a young queen. The real objections are that it is a useless expense, of time, for the cessation of laying is just to our advantage at that season of the year. This is another point on which the " advanced " ones used to " churn" me upon —James Heddon.] Chocolate for Pollen. ' As a suggestion, what do you think of sweet ciiocolate as a substitute for pollen y My bees are highly pleased with it. Wm. D. French. C4rand Rapids, Mich. » [I have never heard of chocolate as a substitute for pollen before. You must find out by experimenting. Here in my location, and I believe the same is true in yours, there is nothing gained in early breeding. I am satisfied that all the sacks of flour I ever fed were worse than wasted. —James Heddon.] Keeping Honey In Summer. How can I keep extracted honey from souring in summer ; and also comb honey from candying y N. S. Dean. Hooper's Valley, N. Y. [Do not extract your honey till it is capped over, and there is no danger of its souring. If you do extract it in a thinner state, store it in 1 gallon stone jars, piled 8 or 10 high, with sticks between them, to allow a cir- culation of air across the top surface of the honey. It can thus be stored in a very small compass, in proportion to quantity. The room containing it should Ije dry and airy. To keep comb honey from candying, have all capped before removing from the hives, and keep it in an airy and warm room. Keep warm in cool weather.— James Heddon.] 1^" On page 183, center of middle column, answer 4, read : "A majority seem to think so, though minorities," etc. No matter where the error was made, let us have it as near correct as possible. I have to write on the run. [It was not so written. — Ed.] I must refuse to answer questions not pertain- ing to business, except through the Question Departments I have agreed to. 1. Because I cannot get the time to do it. 2. Answers in the Depart- ments save an endless repetition of the same questions. If they are re- peated, I can refer to former an- swers.— James Heddon. Honey and Beeswax Market. Office OP AMERICAN BKK JOtTRNAL, i Monday. 10 a. m., April ii, 1882. f The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Quotations of Cash Buyers. CHICAGO. HONEY— The nominal price of extracted is 7c. for dark and 9c. for liKhl— here. The supply is abundant and sales are slow. BEESWAX -None in the market. AL. H. Newman. a23 W. Madison St. CINCINNATI. HONISY- There is noexcitement in the honey market, but sales are fair to our rnKular trade. OfferinKs are plentiful of extracted and comb honey. Extracted brings 7@9c. on arrival. The sales of comb honey are very slow, although there is a larfje supply of tlrsl-class quality on the mar- ket. It brinjis ii2(5j1hc. on arrival. BEESWAX— Comes in slowly and brings 20®30c per lb., according to quality. Chas. F. Muth. Quotations of Commission Merchants. CHICAGO. HONEY— The demand is light and it is not now probable that all of the comb honey can be sold before a new crop comes. Prices are very irregular and generally low: 15(al6e.for white, and dark un- salable. Extracted, very little trade is being done in it. 7@yc. is about the market. BEESWAX-3,3&:j«c. K. A. BURNETT. 161 South Water St. SAN EKANCISCO. HONE Y-Buyers are readily obtained for choice comb or e.Ytracted at full figures, but ofl" qualities meet with slow sale. White comb, 14c., lots in small packages more. BEES WAX— Scarce and wanted at 33(a34c. W. T. ANDERSON & CO., 117 N. Main Street. CLEVELAND. HONEY— la a little lower, and at the lower price it has moved off a little better of late. 1-lb. sections of best white sold at ]8H<&i9c.: second grades, 1-lb., 17c.: 2-lb. sections a little slow at ]7@18c. Extracted very dull at 9®llc. BKESWAX-None in market. A. C. Kendel. 11.5 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is fairly active. We quote; H lb. sections at 30c.: I lb. sections, 22(si25c.; 2 lb. sections, 2(»®22c. Extracted, 10c. per lb. Good lots ot extracted are wanted in kegs or barrels. BEESWAX— Our supply is gone; we have none to quote. Crocker & Blake. 57 Chatham Street. Emei"son Binders — made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for 75 cents, for the Weekly ; or for the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. 1^ We carefully mail the Bee Journal to every subscriber, but should any be lost in the mails we will cheerfully send another, if notified before all the edition is exhausted. Advertisements intended for the Bee Journal must reach this oflSce by Saturday of the previous week. 196 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. ^p^ccial 1|otices, Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. "We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. Honey as Food and Medicine. A new edition, revised and enlarged, the new pages being devoted to new Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price of them low to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 6 cents, postpaid ; per dozen, 50 cents ; per hundred, $4.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense — enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. i^Postage stamps, of one, two or three cent denomination, accepted for fractional parts of a dollar; but money is preferred. • Bee Pastnrage a Necessity.— W e have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts each, or $8 per 100. 1^ We have a few copies of our pamphlet entitled " Bee Culture " left, and have reduced the price from 40 to 25 cents each, or $2 per dozen. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $G, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For.flve subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the'above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. 1^ " The Bonheur des Dames ; or, TheShopGirls of Paris." Euiile Zola's new novel, just published by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, is his greatest, most finished, and most absorbing romance. It opens up an entirely new field in fiction, and will be seized upon with avidity by count- less hosts of readers. In nothing Zola has written is his vivid natural- ism so pronounced. The scene is laid in the "Bonheur des Dames" dry goods store, an immense Parisian es- tablishment, employing a whole army of girls and men. Zola pictures this store from its modest beginning, showing how it grew day by day, ruining rival houses, and gradually monopolized all the business of a vast quarter of Paris. The daily life of the shop-girls and salesmen, their trials, troubles, temptations and triumphs are depicted in the most graphic and realistic fashion. The heroine is one of the shop-girls. She goes through the same experience as the others, but differs from the ma- jority of Zola's heroines in preferring purity to dissipation and its gilded allurements. She is, in short, a good girl ; pure, guileless and innocent. Snares are set for her, but her very purity enables her to escape them all and come out unscathed from many a trying ordeal. She ultimately reaches a suitable social position, attaining fortune and happiness. Price 75 cts. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies (220 pages) 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. Bees for Sale I 20(1 or 3fMi colonies of Italian bees, in LanKBtruth hives, in good condition. Price : Single colony, $ii.5'i ; ten or more, ?I. BALDUIDGE. During 1882 the " boys," in various parts of the country, had "lots" of "fun" telling "yarns" about big crops of honey and immense profits by "fooling with bees." Those " boys " in Texas rather got the start of the rest of us and carried off the belt. It is rather early to begin those " yarns " for 1883, but I don't propose to let the Texas " boys " get the start this year, so I will head the list with what one of our " boys " did, as long ago as I860, to wit: A True Bee Story.— On the 1st of February, 1860, the Rev. Hiram Hamilton had 35 colonies of bees near Stockton, California. Twenty-five were in small Langstroth hives, con- taining about 1,400 cubic inches, and the balance were in larger hives con- taining about 2.000 cubic inches. At the above date all the bees were moved from Stockton to Santa Clara, California, and they remained there till July 1, just fivemonths— at which date they had increased to 270 colo- nies. I'he honey season having closed at Santa Clara, the bees were moved back to the vicinity of Stock- ton, whence they started, and by Oct. 1,1860, there were .500 colonies ! The 10 colonies in large hives increased to 7.5 and gave 4,.500 lbs. comb honey. The 25 in small hives increased to 425 colo- nies and gave 16,275 lbs. comb honey! From the 35 original colonies there were at the close of the honey season in 1860, 20,775 lbs. of comb honey, and an increase of 465 swarms, and all of this was secured without purchasing any bees or any feed ! They were simply managed skillfully and intelligently, by following the teacliings laid down in Mr. Langstroth's excellent book, aided by a magnificent harvest in two very fine locations for honey. As honey was worth, in California, about $1.00 per pound in 1860, and as colonies of bees were then in good de- mand, at about §100 each, let us see how this figures : 465 swarms, at |KiO each 20,775 lbs. ol comb honey at $1.00 per lb. Total 167,275 This, divided by 35, gives a profit (V) of SI ,922 per colony! Now divide 20,775 lbs. of honey by 35 and we have an average of 594 lbs. of comb honey per colony ! It will be seen that the 10 colonies in large hives gave an average of 6>^ swarms and 4.50 lbs. of comb lioney per colony ; also, that the 25 colonies in small hives gave an average, per colony, of 16 swarms and 651 lbs. of comb honey ! The above discloses the important fact that the small hives were the most profitable for both swarms and honey, which accords with the ex- perience of the best bee-keepers of to- day. The fact is also disclosed that it does pay sometimes to move bees from one honey range to another. Inasmuch as I have headed the foregoing as " A True Bee Story." it may now be well, lest some of the " boys" may have s(ime doubts about . $46,SWl . 20,775 it, to cite my authority : Many of the facts enumerated will be found re- corded on page 126, first volume of this Bee .Journal. Now " boys " don't let this " yarn " discourage you "one bit," but press on and let us see who will be the first to equal or even surpass, in honey and swarms, the extraordinary success of Mr. Hamilton— for I have my doubts of its having vet been done. St. Charles, 111. For tbe American B*;e JournaL How to Transfer Bees. A. RICE. one side of the hive. I can ordinarily transfer a colony while others are drumming the bees. From taking the hive from the stand and replacing it, as little time as possible should be lost. It is, therefore, very necessary that every- thing be in readiness, and all done as quickly as possible. It will be ob- served, that by keeping a box or re- ceptacle on top of the hive, during the transferring, it is nearly or quite im- possible to lose the queen, which is of first importance. Davis Junction, 111. When it is settled and warm weather, and bees are working finely, take the hive containing the bees to be transferred, to some shady place, or to a work-house away from its own stand, as bees do very little fighting away from home. Immediatley place an empty hive or box in the place of hive taken away, to receive the re- turning bees, thereby keeping the bees from going into a neighboring hive, that might be standing near. Turn the hives to be transferred, bot- tom side up ; notice carefully the con- dition of the comb, selecting the side of the hive from which the comb can be most readily removed, after which place some box, nail keg, pail, or any- thing that will partly or fully cover the hive. With hammer and chisel remove the side of the hive selected. Having given the bees a little smoke, a few moments before removal, after removing the side of the hive, a little more smoke may be given, to drive the bees from the first comb, which may then be removed to the frame ; return to the hive and proceed as before, until the last piece of comb is taken from the hive, at which time the bees will have transferred them- selves to the box or hive at their original home, or have passed up into the box that you placed on the top of the hive. After the best of the comb (leaving most or all of drone comb out) is transferred, take the hive to its original stand, and shake the bees from the box or boxes, on a sheet in front of the hive, as in the swarming season. Very thin splints, from pine or cedar, such as will split finely, should be in readiness, 30 to 40 to the hive, securing two splints to 6 or 8 frames, with small tacks, that they may be easily removed, and ready to receive the comb. After placing the comb,tack two splints on opposite sides of the frame. From one to three weeks after the bees have secured the comb to the frames, the splints should be removed ; after this work is finished, close the hive, so that very few bees can go into tlie hive at once, lest the bees may be robbed. Where several colonies are to be transferred, change the transferring stand to a new place, after trans- ferring each one, to keep away from robber bees, which, at times, are very troublesome. Do you ask when I did the drnni- mingy I did all the drumming nec- essary in cutting nails and removjng For the American Bee Journal. Selling Honey in My Home Market. W. C. NUTT. I have taken quite an interest in the discussions in regard to the merits of the different size of sections. I think we, as producers, should be very careful about changing to a smaller sized section. I have had some experience in furnishing grocery- men with both comb and extracted honey. I have not, as yet, used less than the two-pound section. I was thinking of trying some one-pound boxes this season, but have about concluded to continue with the two- pound sections for the present. In conversation with a merchant, last fall, I remarked that, perhaps, I would furnish my honey in a little nicer shape the coming year, as I thought that I should use some one- pound sections. He remarked that two-pound boxes were small enough for him to handle. I should expect to sell in my market a two-pound, one- pound, or half-pound section for about the same price per pound. I use the one and two-pound glass jars for extracted honey ; I sell at 15 cents per pound; charging 10 cents extra for jars, and taking them back at the same price. Grocerymen gen- erally sell for me on 10 per cent, com- mission where cash is paid me after the honey is sold ; or even trade, if paid in goods. My two-pound jars seem to have the preference. I am quite sure that the half-pound sec- tions would not pay in my market, and will never be called for unless put on the market. I examined my bees yesterday ; all answered to the roll call, and most of them are apparently in good condi- tion. Some four or five, out of the 6& colonies, show signs of dysentery. I have taken up a considerable number of bees from the floor. I attribute so great a number of dead bees on the floor to the colonies being so strong when put into winter quarters. The cellar is very dry, and is kept dark. For ventilation the outside door is opened occasonally. The winter still hangs on. Otley, Iowa, March 31, 1883. 1^ The spring meeting of the Cortland Union Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation will be held in Cortland, N. Y., on Tuesday, May 8, 1S83. M. C. Bean, Sec. 204 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Convention Notices. ®" The Mahoning Valley bee-keep- ers will hold their 13th meeting in the Town Ilall, at Berlin Centre, Ohio, on May 5. All bee-keepers, and the pub- lic in general, are invited to attend. Do not forget to bring your wives, children, and a well-tilled lunch basket. We expect a grand meeting. L. Carson, Pres. H. A. Simon, Sec. pro tern. 1^" The serai-annual meeting of the Western Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at Independence, Jackson County, Mo., on Saturday, April 28, 1883, at 10 a. m. Papers prepared for the occasion by the president, sec- retary and others will be read, and matters of general interest to bee- keepers discussed. A general attend- ance of persons interested in bee- culture is requested. The present membership of this Association con- trol 2,000 colonies of bees. S. W. Salisbury, Sec. Kansas City, Mo. J. A. Nelson, Pres. Wyandotte, Kas. 1^ Quite a number of the leading bee-keepers of Missouri and Kansas met at the Court House, in Independ- ence, Mo., December 2.S, 1882, and or- ganized a bee-keepers' convention, which was named the " Western Bee- Keepers' Association," by electing the following officers for the ensuing year : Jas. A. Kelson, of Wyandotte, Kans., President; L. W. Baldwin, of Inde- pendence, Mo., Vice-President; S.W. Salsbury, Kansas City, Mo., Treasurer. The Association passed a resolution to invite all bee-keepers within a con- venient distance, to meet with us at •our next meeting and lend us tlieir councils. Adjourned, to meet again at Independence, on the last Saturday in April next, at 10 o'clock, a. m. J. D. Meador, P. Baldwin, C. M. ■Crandall, Committee. ®" The spring meeting of the Western Michigan Bee-Keepers' As- sociation will be held at Supervisor's Hall, Grand Rapids, April 26, at 10 a. m. F. S. Covet, Sec. Coopersville, Mich. i^° The Union Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation will meet in Grange Hall, Em- inence, Ky., on Thursday April 26, 1883. All bee-keepers, and the public generally, are invited to be present. G, W. Demaree, Sec. Christiansburg, Ky. ^ The Iowa Central Bee-Keepers' Association will hold their semi- annual meeting at Winterset, Iowa, on Friday, May 11, 1SS3. All inter- ested in anything pertaining to bee- culture are invited to attend, and bring anything that will be of interest to the bee fraternity. J. E. Pryor, Sec. A. J. Adkison, Pres. Bees in Fine Condition. I imagine all bee-keepers wish to know how bees have endured the past almost unparallel winter. My bees are in flne condition, only two having died, and only one weak. T. y. Bingham. Abronia, Mich., April 6, 1883. A Bee Hive (50 Years Old. I put into winter, last fall, 29 colo- nies of bees ; and they are all right yet, but March has been very hard on bees in this part of the country. It has been cold and freezing nearly all the time. On June 14, 1881, 1 drove a swarm, for a neighbor, out of a box hive that was 60 years old; it had been put in when the box was new ; and when I drove the swarm, it was so rotten I could hardly handle it; there were cracks and holes from top to bottom ; it stood the hard winter of 1880-81, without any protection, and the bees were very strong in numbers when I drove the swarm. I cut out a lot of sealed comb out the bottom, and nine days after I had taken the first swarm, it cast a second, and on the eleventh day, it cast a third ; tliis hive had never been known to give a swarm in all the 60 years before. Now, if you have an older bee hive than this one, I would like to hear from it. That bee hive would hold about 2 bushels. The bees are alive and doing well yet, and, of course, that colony will be 62 years old this spring. Wm. Ashcom. Digonier, Pa. Working on Elder and Maple Blossoms. My bees had the dysentery this win- ter, but we had a few very nice days here, and they were all out, and it has cured them. I had 12 colonies last fall, bought 2, and I found 4 colonies dead this spring. The bees are work- ing on elder and maple blossoms. O. Parker Baker. Woodberry, Md., April 4, 1883. Bees in Florida. Bees are hard at work bringing in a bountiful harvest of saw palmetto honey. Tliis harvest will last for two or three months yet; then comes an even better flow from tlie cabbage palmetto and mangroves, as fine honey as was ever extracted. The prospects are that we will have a very good sea- son this year. I know one "bee-keeper here who has extracted over 5 barrels of 4.5 gallons each from only 23 colo- nies of black bees, already this year. How does that compare with what bees have done so far this season up North y I consider this region the " Ne plus uUra " for bee-keepers. We do not discuss " wintering," " dysen- tery," etc., but " Where can I get bar- rels to put my honey in." The Jour- nal is a most welcome visitor here. Harry G. Burnet. Myers, Fla., April 2, 1883. Bees Strong and Healthy. Bees, in this section, have wintered very well, to this date, considering the long confinement to their hives (from Nov. 2.5 to March 1), and the severe cold weather, 10° to 12^ below zero occasionally. The loss of bees on summer stands to April 1, will not be over one-tenth per cent. On Satur- day morning, March 31, there was 4 inches of snow, and it was 12^ above zero. I have never before known such cold weather on that date of March. I think many bees will need feeding, to save them till blossoms open. They have carried no flour in, to this date. Most of the colonies are strong in bees. H. H. Brown. Light Street, Pa., April 2, 1883. Bees in the Woods. Again my bees are on scaffolds and benches on account of the floods. They seem to be in splendid condi- tion, and are bringing in honey and pollen Willi a rush. I expect soon to have swarms coming out. I would say a word about bees in the woods in Arkansas. While in the woods, a short while back, I found 4 bee trees within .50 yards of one another, and among them was a swarm of well- marked hybrids. This was 12 or 14 miles from my own apiary. I am the only one that has Italian bees in these parts ; it would be surprising to any one that has never been in the bot- toms of Arkansas, to see the number of bees in the woods. I have found as high as 9 bee trees in a single day. They are mostly yellow bees, with oc- casionally some hybrids. I intended to say that one of the 4 that I lately found, had built outside of the hollow 2 feet long and about a half dozen sheets, and the bees seemed to be working in it, and also in a hole by the side of the combs. W. G. McLendon, Lake Village, Ark., March 27, 1883. Bees in the CeUar All Right. I put 21 colonies in the cellar, last fall, and they are all right, so far. I gave them a flight in March, and then carried them back to the cellar again, where they are still, and will remain for some time yet. I have practiced the above plan for three winters, and never lost any in wintering yet. All my losses have been from robbing in the fall. H. H. Hasijiond. Pre-emption, 111., April 9, 1883. Bee-Keeping in Tennessee. Scientific bee-culture is not known in this country, but a considerable in- terest is expressed by a few men here. Mr. Wm. Anderson keeps 1-50 colo- nies, David England has 24, Elija England 1.50, Dr. O. G. Broyles 25, Geo. Cole 30, Crocket Lowry 30, Frank Cope 20, myself 16, Most of them in some kind of movable frame hives, but none of them are manipulated very ranch. There are a great raany others who keep bees in log gums. No raore honey was gathered, last season, than was consumed, and mine consumed 120 lbs. of sugar, extra. Our principal source of honey here. ,THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 205 for surplus, is poplar from April 25 to May 15; blackberry from April 22 to May 20; June not giving much ; then comes sourwood, a great yielder of honey, clear as crystal, during July. Along our mountain caves, linden or bassvifood comes in June 20, lasting only a veeek or ten days ; on some farms white clover g'-ows profusely, but in my little experience, not much honey has come from it ; it blossoms April 30 to Sept. 30. Last year 1 kept a record of the time of blossoming and and of honey yield, of all the different kinds of plants and trees upon which I saw bees at work. The articles of Messrs. Heddon and Doolittle, in the Journal, are just splendid, but tliey have collided on the building up or stimulating early breeding question. J. A. r. Fanchek. Fancher's Mills, Tenn., Mar.29, 18S3. Swarming in Tennessee. The honey crop in this section, last year, was a failure ; less honey being produced than iiny year since I liave been in the business, which dates back to the year 1874 ; and, consequently, the loss of colonies, this winter, has been very heavy. Many have lost half; the average loss, I think, will be about one-third. When the winter set in, I had 185 colonies; this spring I still had 140, some of them not doing well, but the most of them in good condition, working finely, bringing in pollen and some honey from peach bloom, and it looks as thougli the swarming fever was beginning to run over them. One of my neighbors had a fine swarm on the 3d inst. J. VV. Howell. Kenton, Tenn., April 7, 1883. Bees All Right So Far. I placed 80 colonies of bees in the cellar on Dec. 7 (a part with top, and apart with bottom ventilation) ; but as they have all come through with- out the loss of a single colony, it does not prove anything on that point. My cellar is 22x30 ; the fire flue extends to the bottom in the centre, with a 6 inch ventilating tube. The thermom- eter has ranged from 32'-' to 35°. The loss of dead bees was about ?^ of a bushel ; our coldest day was March 5, when it was 8'^ below zero. Those who have wintered their bees on the summer 'stands, without protection, have lost about 50 per cent, of them. My bees have consumed a very small amount of honey, and are in splendid condition. C. H. France. Erie, Pa., April 9, 1883. Planting for Uojicy. I notice in, the Bee Journal, that Jolm H. Martin has made a failure of one of the best honey plants there is (in my opinion), viz.: sweet clover. Having liad some experience in sow- ing, 1 will give it to the readers of the excellent I5ee Jcjurnal. In the fall of 1881 I sowed an acre on fresh-plow- ing, harrowed it over lightly, and awaited the results. In the spring of 1882, not seeing enough young plants to insure a good stand, 1 sowed the same ground again with the same amount of seed ; also, about ^^ of an acre as Mr. M. says, gravelly loam ; the result is as good a showing of plants from 6 inches to 2 feet high as any one could desire. It will grow in almost any place, that anything else will grow ; even in the fence corners where the soil is never disturbed. I also have had some experience with the Simpson honey plant. Last year I sowed it with catnip, mustard and motherwort, and I have a showing of all of them. The ligwort growed 3 or 4 feet high, and after the other bloom had almost entirely failed, the bees were swarming on it until frost stopped them. J. E. Pryor. Arbor Hill, Iowa. Success in Wintering. I put into winter quarters, on Nov. 23, 170 colonies of bees (lOS in two bee houses, and 62 in the cellar). I took them out of the bee houses on March 1 ; those in the cellar, on March 9 ; all in splendid condition except two, which were queeuless. Nearly all ap- pear as strong as when put into winter quarters ; all have plenty of honey. I use lioney-boards,and till the caps with tine shavings ; and give no direct up- ward ventilation. 1 have an inch auger hole in the front of the hive, a little above the centre, which is kept covered with perforated tin. I give the same ventilation at the bottom of hive, as I do in summer, and keep the temperature at 42^, as near as possi- ble. I have always had good results when I have wintered in this way ; but this winter better than ever. I prefer indoor to outside wintering, and I have tried both. H. F. Putnam. Galesburg, 111., April 4, 1883. Good Work for an Amateur. We could not do without the Bee Journal ; even at three times its cost. We had 2 colonies of black bees in the spring of 1882; increased to 7 by natural swarming and. division ; have now also 1 colony of Italians. We have lost none this winter (pretty good for an amateur, thanks to the Bee Journal and Cook's Manual), although they wei'e imprisoned for months without a flight, which they enjoyed yesterday and to-day, to the fullest extent. We took 200 pounds of coinb honey. We intepd to fill 15 hives the coming season. We win- tered in a clamp, packed with shav- ings. A. C. Parfey. Richland Centre, Wis., April 9, 1883. "Saved the (jneeu." As I am one of the many " bee mourners," I am not discouraged yet. I put into winter quarters 18 colonies of Italians, with good stores of honey. Up to date, I have lost seven of that number, and, all but one, left " good estates " of honey. Among the number lost, was my choicest Italian. The queen I pur- chased from II. A. Burch & Co., in 1881. The 2d of this month I cleaned them up. anil in " removing the dead " bees, I found the remains of ray prize queen. I carefully removed her to a shelf in a warm room ; after a few hours, to my great surprise, I noticed her crawling up on a pile of papers. I at once made ready to save her, by fitting up a nucleus hive, with three frames, in which I found quite a "good showing" of larvse and young bees ; and, to-day, I examined the hive and found a nice supply of eggs. H. B. IIammon. Bristolville, O., April 9, 1883. (fathering Pollen and Honey. Our bees are gathering an abund- ance of pollen and some honey ; soft maple, willow and elm are the sources. The condition of our bees are just the reverse of what it was a year ago, at this time. Our 53 colonies all win- tered well ; with not even a missing queen, so far. The number of weak colonies is small (4 or 5), but all have hatching brood. S. A. Shuck. Bryant, 111., April 10, 1883. Wintered Bees on the Summer Stands. The winter just over, has been a very cold one. I wintered my 30 col- onies on the summer stands. About half of them are weak ; the rest of them are strong. V. Fischer. fronton. Wis., April 7, 1883. Evaportion of Honey. 1. Has the California honey evap- orator, mentioned on page 405 of the Bee Jorunal for 1882, or something similar, been used in the Northwest, and with what success V 2. How long can extracted honey be exposed to air without injury? Should it be bunged up tight to re- tain its excellence V 3. Can the rank flavor of fall honey be diminished by evaporation, or any other method. H. W. Funk. Bloomington, 111., April 9, 1883. [1. Not, that we are aware of. 2. Almost any length of time. It is better to give it air. 3. No.— Ed.] A Lady's Apiary. I have 39 fine colonies of Italian bees that I manage all by myself. My place covers a half-block. I have my hives all nicely arranged along on one side of the lot, except some few along the grape arbors. I find it a most de- lightful pastime for a lady ; so much pleasanter and healthful than doing nothing, all the time, in the house. The swarming season is just begin- ning. Mrs. Dr. E. II. Mason. Vmcennes, Ind. Bees Carrying Pollen. Bees have wintered with but little loss here. In the fall of 1880 I put 100 colonies in the cellar ; I lost all, by dysentery, but one, and that came through in a very weak condition. The cause was poor honey and long confinement. In 18S1 I built up 9 good colonies, which I wintered with- out loss. I sold two last spring, leav- ing 7, which I increased to 25 last sea- son. I obtained about 400 pounds of 206 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. honey. I lost three, tlie past winter ; they were on the summer stands, un- der a slied, with straw packed behind and between them, and chaff in top story. They carried in their first pol- len on the 6th inst. P. D. Johnson. Bellmore, Ind.. April 11, 1883. Bees Moved in Winter. I have examined my bees and lind them all in good condition ; all liave laying queens and brood, and some have drones flying. It will be remem- bered that I shipped them over 200 miles last fall ; then I moved them half a mile on a wagon on Jan. 15, and about March 20, 1 moved tliem about 05 miles on a wagon. I sold one and have 17 left, out of 18, in good con- dition ; they are all right, except a few broken combs. L. G. Purvis. Oregon, Mo., April 10, 1883. Got the Wrong Paper. I am much pleased with the Weekly Bee Journal, and I think it the best paper published. Wishing to get the Monthly Bee Journal for a friend, I subscribed through a news agent here, and not having your monthly on his list, he sent my dollar to the Amencan Bee-Keeper published in Mo. I had to send another dollar to you for the monthly for my friend, for the Mo., paper is utterly useless as a bee paper. Can you not see to it that these sub- scription agents get your Monthly on their lists as well as the Weekly y Please mention this in the Weekly, and it may save some one else trouble and expense. R. J. & Phil Osburn. Leclair, Iowa, April 10, 1883. [Perhaps the best way is to send subscriptions direct to this office. "Subscription agents" often get things mixed, and some of them are perpetual annoyances to publishers by their carelessness in giving addresses, sending the subscriptions to the wrong papers, etc. It is but just to say that there are honorable exceptions. We do not remember a single mistake made by Mr. Doolittle of Borodino. N. Y., or the Subscription News Com- pany of this city. If by chance, a mistake should be made, any honora- ble publisher would correct it without delay. Our Montlily is on the lists of the principal subscription agents.— Ed.I Almost Discouraged. Sometime ago, being anxious to see how my bees were (as I had 3 colo- nies last fall), as soon as I thought it was warm enough, about the middle of the day, I opened the hives to know how the bees were, and found one colony dead, and in tlie other two I saw no queens ; neither am I, at present, able to purchase either queen or colony, and yet, although it is try- ing. I do not like to say." class me among tlie blasted hopes," for I must try again as soon as I am able, which will not be till sometime in the sum- mer. We have had a sharp winter, sometimes .SO^ below zero ; however, delightful spring is again close at hand, and I trust a beautiful summer will follow. Edward Moore. Barrie, Ont. Offensive Personalities. Mr Editor.— I protest against the manner of discussing questions per- taining to bee culture employed by some correspondents. Friendly con- troversies upon points of interest to bee-keepers are proper and desira- ble, but when I read such discussions I w^ant arguments instead of person- alities. Nothing can be added to the force of an argument by petty flings respecting the religious opinions of an opponent. It cannot make tlie slightest difference with the weight of an argument whether the author of that argument believes in this, that or the other "ism," or no "ism" at all. Such methods of discussions are illiberal and unmanly, and serve only to betray the narrowness of the writer and disgust all candid and fair-minded readers. When a writer has ex- hausted the facts and arguments on his side of a question he ought to stop, and not rob w'hat he has said of its value (if it has any) bv descending to personalities. It "he has no facts or arguments to otter, let him leave the space he would otherwise occupy to those who have. Wm. H. Francis. Frankfort, Mich., April 9, 1883. [True ; one of the most disagreea- ble things an editor has to contend with is the alarming proneness of human nature to run to "offensive personalities. This is the outcome of a too broad an application of the prin- ciple of a "free press." Public men are daily misrepresented and their characters defamed without stint, simply because they are public " tar- gets " for the populace to " shoot at." " Your advice is good and timely," let all remember that while it costs noth- ing to be polite and kind, it adds much to the comfort and unity of the fra- ternity.— Ed.] Bees Without a Flight 1 45 Days. My 65 colonies of bees are removed from the cellar all in good condition ; they were in it 136 days in all ; they were without a flight for 145 days. F. A. Snell. Milledgeville, 111., April 12, 1883. Abiiormal Swarming. I have had quite a number of bees swarm out, and go in with other colo- nies during the past day or two ; what is the cause ? Tliey left lots of honey, a nice batch of sealed brood, larvre and eggs ; the combs were nice and clean ; in every case, it is about the same. I have captured afew of tliem, and returned them ; one swarm lost its queen, but proceeded immediately to prepare cjueen cells, and now have a nice lot of them started. The rest proceed as usual, and are contented. If you can give me some light on this subject, it will be much satisfaction. A. J. NORRIS. Cedar Falls, Iowa, April 10, 1883. [The causes of abnormal swarming are many ; but it is the weak colonies that leave their hives. In this case, we imagine, it is the fact that the frames are too full of honey, which are colder than partly empty combs. Sometimes they can be kept from swarming out, by giving them combs containing pollen, if they have none. They would not go away, if there were not some things distasteful about the hives or their • surround- ings.—Ed.] M Bees Packed in Dry Sawdust. I purchased, in the spring of 1882, 3 colonies of Italian bees ; increased by dividing to 9, and extracted a little over 500 pounds of honey. We have had a long severe winter, but all have come through in good condition. I packed tliem in dry savsfdust on their summer stands. Wm. E. Harris. South Bay City, Mich., Apr'l 10, 1883. Southern vs. Northern Queens. In reply to T. S. Johnson, on page 182, I would say that, last spring, I got two queens from Tennessee, one from Kentucky, and one from Michi- gan. As far as wintering is con- cerned, I can see no difference ; they are all strong and healthy ; the hives are as clean and dry as they were last November. I have about a dozen colonies that have soiled their hives some. I find it the same this spring, as usual ; the more pollen in the cen- tre of the hive the more dysentery. Martin Emigh. Holbrook, Ont., April 11, 1883. Prospect in California. On the 28th and 29th of last month, we had 2 inches more of rain, making 8}i inches for the season. Our bees are in tine condition ; no swarms up to this time, but I expect them every day. The weather is fine, and there seems nothing in the way for a mod- erate valley harvest. A. W OSBUEN. El Monte, Cal., April 3, 1883. Best Report on Wintering. I set my bees out on the 5th inst.. Have wintered 241 colonies, without the loss of a colony, all are in fine condition. The hives are mostly full of bees. If any one has a better re- port on wintering, let them stand up. H. R. Boardman. East Townsend, O., April 13, 1883. ig^ Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1882 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 207 at imtX IJotir. ANSWERS BY James Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich. stimulating Early Breeding. I would like to have Mr. Heddon answer the following questions : 1. On page 156, Bee Journal, in regard to stimulating early breeding, please explain tlie proper arrangement of hives necessary to early breeding V 2. What kind of honey board or cover over the frames is best V and of what goods or material made V 3. I use a board made of % inch poplar, leaving % space between it and the top of the frames. Could I successfully use the feeders you de- scribe, on the top of my hives V My covers are made large enough to come % inch down all round the outside of hive, and deep enough to cover 6 incli surplus box. 4. My experience with sweet clover seed has been no more satisfactory than that of Mr. John H.Martin, page 146, Bee Journal. I sowed some early in spring and some late, about April 10 ; the Brst on rye, and the last on freshly plowed ground ; the latter came up finely and grew till about Aug. 1, after which time I could see no more of it. Give your advice in regard to growing it. J. A. P. Fancher. Fancher's Mills, Teun. Answers.— 1. Have none but good, normally prolific queens. Such are, in my apiary, the rule. You must not harbor the exceptions. If you use a frame not deeper than the Langs- troth, and not more than 8 of them, and keep off all cloths, placing on a board cover with an air space be- tween the cover and the top bars of the brood-frames— with this condi- tion of things no stimulative manipu- lations are advisable. 2. Do not confound the words " honey-board " and " cover." A honey-board is a perforated board or rack, which supports the surplus honey receptacles, while being filled. A cover is a solid piece, and, as above stated, I prefer a solid board. We use a % inch board, and cleated at each end as shown in Fig. 2, letter H, on page 659, of the Bee Journal for 1882. Cover E., as shown in Fig. 1., is about the size, but we have adopted the style of cleating, as shown on shade-board H, Fig. 2. The board is painted all over, and is reversible. 3. Certainly, you can ; any of the three feeders I use. 4. I do not feel that my experience with sweet clover, or any other plants, make ine the fit person to answer this question. All I can say is, that I should sow melilot clover in early spring ; early enough so that the frost will crack the hard shell, and thus in- sure more perfect germination. I sow on all sorts of land, and the bees act as though I had done well, when the blossoms appear. Tiering up Sections. 1. Will the bees bridge from the honey rack to the bottoms of the sec- tions in the case 'i 2. Will the tops of the sections be soiled, when tiered up V 3. VVill the covers blow off V 4. Will not the heat melt the honey in so thin a case ':* 5. Do you wedge the sections to one side of the case V J. J. Hurlbert. Lyndon, 111., April 5, 1883. Answers.— 1. There will be scarcely any bridging between the sections and the honey-board, and the sections and each other. 2. There will be no noticable soiling. 3. We have no trouble with covers blowing off. We use a 15-pound stone on each shade-board. 4. The shade-board above referred to, breaks the sun's rays from the cases. All hives should be shaded. 5. I do not ; wedge all you please, and yet all sections need scraping be- fore crating. When and How to Use Sections. Will Mr. Heddon please answer the following questions : 1. When should sections be put on, with reference to beginning of honey season, and strength of colonies V 2. Do you put on a full case of sec- tions at first V 3. Should a case of sections be put on as soon as a swarm is hived V If not, when V 4. Do you use, and deem essential, any other hive cover than the solid honey-board you use ? W. H. Francis. Frankfort, Mich. Answers.— 1. A good guide for all locations, is when you see new pieces of comb being built between the top- bars and the cover of the hive. This occurs here, generally, when the white clover begins to yield, but sometimes during the flow from cherry, apple and locust trees. 2. Certainly ; we put on a full case of 56 pound sections the first thing ; the idea that giving the bees a little more room than they will use at first or a little too early will do harm, is not borne out by experiment. 3. When I have a large prime swarm hived on full sheets of foundation, I usually put on one case at once. There is no danger of brood in the sections if the hive and whole arrange- ment is properly arranged, and often great advantages accrue from so do- ing. If the swarm is small, the sec- tions will not be needed for 48 hours, and if the frames are empty, or have only foundation starters, usually not before the sixth to eighth day after hiving. Be careful about adjusting the surplus arrangement when you hive the swarm, unless foundation is used iu the frames below. 4. I do not use a solid honey- board. There is, and can be no such thing. It is a contradiction in terms. A honey-board is something that the surplus honey rests on while develop- ing, and is always perforated. I use the same cover over the cases that covers the hive,— a " solid board." Over this I use a 2x3 feet shade-board (see cut, Fig. 2, letter H, on page 659, Bee Journal for 1882), and on this a 15 pound atone. Correction.—" How and What " department for April 11. , In my first answer, on page 195, 1 wish to be un- derstood as saying " no more than one tier high " in the same super or case, but not on the same hive. I be- lieve in and practice the tiering up method, but only one tier of sections in any one case. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper ; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for f 5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. "We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post oflice, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- ress we already have on our books. i^"Mr. James Heddon announces on another page that he cannot supply any more Hives, etc., in the flat. All interested should notice the adver- tisement.— Adv. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts each, or $8 per 100. 208 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. I Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New iJee-Keeping, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the"Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. Honey as Food and Medicine. A new edition, revised and enlarged, the new pages being devoted to new Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price of them low to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 6 cents, postpaid; per dozen,. 50 cents; per hundred, $4.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, " Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense — enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. ^^ On the next page may be found the advertisement for a "comb foun- dation fastener," by D. C. Talbot, of Elroy, Wis., to which attention is invited. — adv. <^ Farmers, buy for your daugh- ters one of the celebrated McTam- many Organettes that plays any tune. Price only $S. It will make your home a paradise, and you will never regret it. See illustration in another coliimn. — adv. WANTED— A situation to worli with Bees,etc. AddresB.C. R. Hill, care Bee Jo(7RMAL.Chicago SEND POSTAL, lor my 20 page price list of ItaiiaD, Cyprian and Holy Land bees, queens, nuclei and apiarian supplies. H. H. BROWN. 13D3t Light Street, Col Co., Pa. The Excelalor Smoker Co. 'a Cold Blait gets away with all of 'em. You can bandletbe most vindictive colony without veil or gloves. Send us II and try it. By mail, postpaid. Address W. C. R. KEMP, Manager, Orleans, Ind. 14D3t Motherwort & Catnij) Seeds I wish to buy a quantity of the above seeds, and invite correspondence with any who can supply them. ALFRED H. NEWMAN. ii23,West Madison St., Chicago. Honey and Beeswax Market. Office of American bek Journal. ) Monday, 10 a. tn., April IH, 1882. S The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Quotatlous of Cash Buyers. CHICAGO. HONEY— The nominal price of extracted is 7c. for dark and 9e. for light— here. The supply is abundant and sales are slow. BEESWAX— None in the market. Al. H. Newman. y23 W. Madison St. CINCINNATI. HONEY— There is no excitement in the honev market, but sales are fair to our regular trade. Offerings are plentiful of extracted and comb honey. Extracted brings 7®Hc. on arrival. The sales of comb honey are very slow.although there is a large supply of flrst-class quality on the mar- ket. It brings I2<*18c. on arrival. BEES WAX— Comes in slowly and brings 20@30c per lb., according to quality. Chas. F. Muth. Quotations or Commission Merchants. CHICAGO. HONEY— The demand is light and it is not now probable that all of the comb honey can be sold bef<»re a new crop comes. Prices are very irregular and generally low: I5ral6c. for white, and dark un- salable. Extracted, very little trade is being done in it. 7@9c. is about the market. BEESWAX-35(a'36C. R. A. Burnett. 161 South Water St. SAN FRANCISCO. HONEY-Buyers are readily obtained for choice comb or extracted at full figures, but off qualities meet with slow sale. White comb. I4<3ii7c.; dark to good, n@13c.; ex- tracted, choice to extra white, 8i^@9!^c.; dark and candied, 5(§;7^c. BEESWAX- We quote 3()®33c. Stearns & Smith. 423 Front Street. ST. LOUIS. HONEY— Very quiet: dull. Comb at 1 4® 16c.— some inferior sold at inc. : strained at ei^@7c.. ex- tracted at 7?^(isi-5c., lots in small packages more. BEESWAX— Scarce and wanted at 35c. W.T. Andekson &Co.. 117 N. Main Street. CLEVELAND. HONEY- Is a little lower, and at the lower price it has moved off a little better of late. l-!b. sections of best white sold at I8>^@l9c.; second grades, l-lb., I7c.; 2-lb. sections a little slow at 17@18c. Extracted very dull at 9@lic. BEESWAX— None in market. A. C. Kendel. 1 15 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is fairly active. We quote: ?^ lb. sections at 30c.: l lb. sections, 22@25c.; 2 1b. sections, 20@i;2c. Extracted, lOc. per lb. Good lots of extracted are wanted in kegs or barrels. BEESWAX— Our supply is gone; we have none to quote. Crocker & Blake. 67 Chatham Street. Vandervort Foimdatioii Mill. 6 Inch, Price, $25.00. It makes the anest e.xtra thin Foundation for comb honey. For Sale by .A.XiT'i^EziD 13.. ]srE]"wiwrA.3sr, U23 "West MadlBou-st., CHICAGO. - - ILLINOIS. IF YOU WISH TO PURCHASE The BEST KEE HIVE in the world, send for descriptive circular to ISAlt C. H. FRANCE, ERIE, PA. ■% ■■ ^^ ^^m not, life is sweeping by, go and ■ ■ W^ ■■ ■ dare before you die, something ^J L ^^ ■ mighty and sublime, leave be- ^^ ^ ^ ■ hind to conquer time." $66 a ■ ■ ^^ M.M ■ week in your own town. f5out- ■ ■ ^" ^^ ■ fit free. No risk. Everything new. Capital not required. We will furnish you everything. Many are making fortunes. Ladies make as much as men, and boys and girls make great pay. Reader, if you want business at which you can make great pav all the time, write for particulars to H. Hallett & Co Portland, Maine. 8Aly IMPORTANT TO BEE-KEEPERS. Our new circular and price list of queens for I8Ha contains 32 pages and is illustrated to show our new way of rearing-queens. Send your address on a postal card for it. Our new book r lioo pages) on QUEEN REARING is now ready. Bound in cloth and sent bymail for *l.fM'. Tho^e who desire mayremit on receipt of book. HEART ALI..ET. i;iAtf WENUAM. MASS. Headquartersjn the West Having fitted up our shop with new machinery, we are prepared to furnish all kinds of APIARIAN SUPPLIES, Simplicity. Chaff, Lnngstroth and other hives. BEES AND QUEENS. One-Piece SFctlonx, ai.'i.OO per lOOO, Dunham Foundation at bottom prices. Silver Hull Buckwheat, SI. 50 per Bushel. Job I'rintin^' done on short notice. I.AReE, NE'U' I^IST, FKEP. BRIGHT BROS., Mazeppa, Wabasha Co., Minn. Aio, 14, ii; ■ BE^IJRE To send a postal card for our Illustrated Catalogue of Apiarian Supplies before purchasing elsewhere. It cnntainslllustratirms and descriptionsof every- thing new and valuable needed in an apiay, at the loweFc prices. Italian O^ueens and Bees. Parties intending to purchase bees in lotsof lOColonies or more are invited to correspond. 5lDl5tB5t Hartford, Wis. 18S3. 1883. VOU GET VALUE RECEIVED ! QUEENS,BEES AND SUPPLIES If you want EAKLY tilTEEXS from the best improved trenulne stock for business; or if you want Imported Italian Queens or bees, in full colonies or nuclei, with tested or untested queens; If you want Dunham or Vandervort comb founda- tion, made from pure beeswax: or if you want hives or apiarian supplies of any kind, send for my new catalogue. It tells you about introducing queens, new " Races of Bees," etc. Cash paid for clean beeswax. Address. J. P. H. BRO^VN. 5BD15t Augusta. Georgia. THE NEW IMPROVED STEAM POWER Comb Foundation Factory CHAS, OLM, Proprietor, FOND HXJ r-AC, VPISCONSISr. Best work and pure beeswax is warranted. Send for Sample and Circular. sDtf W. Z. HUTCHINSON, Koerernvllle. Geut-eee County, Mich., has made arrangements to receive Italian queens from the South, early in the season. The queens will be bred from imported mothers, reared by a thoroughly competent and reliable breeder, and, upon their arrival, they will be introduced to nuclei, until needed in fll'ling orders. Thesequeens will be sliipped as soon as it is warm enough in this latitude, probably about May 1st, and they will be used in filling all orders for untested queens until about June I5th. when queens reared in the home apiary will be ready to ship. Before June 1st, untested queens will be $I.5n each : dur- ing June, single queen f 1.2^, or six for ffi.oo ; after July 1st. single queen f i.w, six for *n.50, twelve for $10.00. Tested queens (reared last season in the home apiarv). before June 1st, f3."0 each; during June. $2.50 each ; after July l at, $2.00 each. Safe arrival guaranteed. Make money orders payable at Flint, Mich. l4Dtf ^ ?) 'Q OLDEST BEE PAPER "AMERICA ^ae^ VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., APRIL 25, 1883. No. 17. fW^me^^-§^' StlCV rx^^^^^sfw ^cT^^*^r^/=rifli/ Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, " Paraffine Comb " and " Glucose." , It is trite but true, tliat while " Falsehood rides on horseback, truth .travels very slov*'ly on foot." We are forcibly reminded of this upon look- ing over the last annual volume of Appleton's Cyclopoedia, published by D. Appleton & Co., of New York. It is very evident that the compiler of that volume has been imposed upon by the notorious Professor Wiley, who, in June, 1881, originated the preposterous falsehood about " comb honey " being sold in New York, the combs of which were " made of para- ffins, and filled with pure glucose, by appropriate machinery," etc. On page .51, of the Cyclopedia men- tioned, while enumerating the uses to which glucose had been put, we find the following: " Glucose is used chiefly for the manufacture of table syrups and can- dies, for brewing, as food for bees, and for artificial honey Glucose is very extensively fed to bees, which eat it with great avidity, and store it away unchanged as honey. It is also put up directly in trade as honey— with which bees have had nothing to do— being put up by means of appropriate machinery into arti- ficial combs made of paraffine." When this pernicious falsehood first appeared, it was extensively copied by many papers all over this country, and quoted by men of learning and influence, and we endeavored to counteract it, by showing its falsity and absurdity, and calling upon its author for proof. Being hard pressed, this scientific joker admitted the ab- surdity and falsity of his " story," but consoled himself with the idea, that people in general were too thick- headed to see the " joke," as he stated in the Indiana Farmer last June, which was copied into the Bee Jour- nal of June 14, 1882, and commented upon. Mr. Wiley's own version of the ori- gin of the story [lie], and our remarks, are as follows : Perhaps it may be well enough to give here the origin of the " parafiine comb" story which has appeared, I believe, in almostevery publication in the country. The original appeared in the Popular Science Monthly for June, 1881, in an article entitled " Glucose and Grape Sugar," which I contributed to that number, and on page 2.54, occur the following words : " Bees eat glucose with the greatest avidity ; or rather, they act as funnels by which the glucose is poured into the comb. For it is quite true that the honey made by bees whicli have free access to glucose differs scarcely at all from the glucose itself. But the quantity of honey which a bee will store away when fed on gluco.se, is truly wonderful. This gluttony, however, rapidly undermines the apiarian constitution, and the bee rarely lives to enjoy the fruits of its apparent good fortune. In commer- cial honey, which is entirely free from bee mediation, the comb is made of paraffine, and filled with pure glucose by appropriate machinery. This last clause which, when writ- ten, was meant for a scientific pleas- antry, came near throwing the wliole bee world into epilepsy. It appears that persons who devote themselves to Bee Journals, undergo a certain cerebral inspiration which renders them incapable of seeing njoke. The only point which they can appreciate seems to be the sting of a bee. The rejoinder reminds us of an an- ecdote we heard many years ago, located in a rural district in Indiana. A well-to-do-farmer lost a very fine filly from his pasture-lot, and after several days' search found it snugly tied in the log barn of a distant neighbor of doubtful repute. The neighbor was indicted, tried, and found guilty of larceny; when the Judge asked what he had to say, why sentence should not be passed, he put in a plea that the animal was only taken for a joke. The Judge inquired how far his barn was from the past- ure lot, to which he replied, " about 5 miles." " Well," said the Judge, " that is carrying a joke too far ; hard labor in the penitentiary for seven years." The writer above says he contributed to the Popular Science Monthly his " paraffine comb " story [lie] about a year ago, " which has ap- peared in almost every publication in the country." The latter part of the article, however, was only meant for a scientific pleasantry. Do scientific men indulge in pleas- antries which will cast a gloom over thousands of honest producers throughout the country, and depre- ciate the value of their product by creating a prejudice against it? For nearly a year this scientific joker saw his fabrication published in nearly all the papers in the country, and reiter- ated from across the ocean, and yet he lacked the manhood to affirm it a joke until " the Bee Journal man " counteracted its influence by showing the falsity and absurdity of the arti- cle. Whether it be true, as has been often intimated, that the story was instigated by parties interested in the glucose trattic, in retaliation for the hostility of the bee men to their frauds, we cannot affirm ; but we do believe it originated with no honest intention. Now we would respectfully call upon Messrs. Appleton & Co., to make the correction in the next annual vol- ume of their Cyclopjedia, not only in justice to themselves, but for the sake of truth and right, and thereby aid, as far as possible, to counteract the injury they have already done the honey producers of America, by giving publicity to the fabrication of the self- admitted inventor of the pernicious falsehood ; which he says he intended as a "joke" or "scientific pleas- antry," but which has been taken in earnest, and copied and quoted as sober facts throughout the world. 210 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. When papers like the Popular Science Monthhi, and books like " Appleton's Cyclopasdia" are imposed upon, and unwittingly publish to the world as a fact, what this man, Wiley, well knew was an impossibility, and only the "silly imagination " of an unbalanced mind— is it to be wondered at, that ordinary papers and the common peo- ple should be " incapable of seeing the joke V" Evidently Wiley intended the story to make him famous, and cause a sensation ! Has he not suc- ceeded, in making fame? Surely; but it is, and should be, written— m- famous! His "scientific pleasan- tries" are but falsehoods, both un- scientific and myjZenscmt/ While his "jokes" bear the closest aflflnity to the senseless jests of odiocy, and the foolishness of a maniac. Postage and Money Orders. According to the new Postal Laws, important changes are to be made during the next few months. In order to save a multitude of questions we will give the main features of the new regulations, which should be studied by all interested. On and after Oct. 1. 1883, letter postage will be 2 cents for each half ounce or fractional part thereof, be- tween all points in the United States. The rate will then be the same on drop letters and all others. No changes are made in rates on other classes of matter. On and after the 1st of July, 1S83, you can obtain at any money order office, postal orders in sums of §5 and under, by paping a fee of three cents. These postal notes will be made payable to bearer without correspond- ing advices. They will be payable at any money orderoiiice within 3 months of the date of issue. After the lapse of that time the holder can obtain the par value, only by applying to the Postoffice Department at Washington. On and after the 1st of July, 1883, you can obtain a postal money order for as large a sum as $1U0. The present limit is S50. The fees on and after that date will be as follows : Not exceeding f 10 Scents From SKI to $15 10 cents From »15 to«.10 15 cents From »3(> to $40 20 cents From f4ii to *50 25 cents From »5n to *60 30 cents From »fiO to *70 35 cents From »70 to *80 40 cents From $80 to *100 45 cents The postal notes will be found more convenient in one respect than the fractional paper currency was. since they can be obtained for any number of cents under So. There will also be less liability to loss by theft than there was when fractional notes were used for transmission through the mails, especially if the department uses judgment in prescribing the size and form of the notes, and in selecting the paper on which they are to be printed. After the 1st of October the cost of sending any sum under S5, by postal note, will be 5 cents— 2 cents postage and 3-cent fee. This will be a great advantage to our subscribers, making a cheap and safe method of sending money in let- ters for subscription or advertising. Transferring Bees.— Mr. G.B. Jones, Brantford, Ont., thus describes his method of transferring bees. The special feature of his hive is the ar- rangement of entrances, which are three in number — one in front, and one at" each side, the former being twice as long as the latter. The front one is, of course, essential. The ad- vantages of the others are by him described as follows : In aid of transferring from an ob- jectionable hive, proceed thus : Place the old hive 3 to 6 inches from the new, with its entrance opposite either side-entrance of the new ; construct a closed passage between the two hives ; place a piece of D. A. Jones' perfor- ated queen metal over the inner side of the same side-entrance ; close the other, leaving the front open ; put in the necessary number of combs or foundation for the new hive. Now, drum the bees up from the old hive until the queen leaves it ; shake them into the new hive; and, covering both hives, leave them for 21 days. The queen will be unable to get back to the old hive, and will settle down on the new combs, and the bees with her, excepting those which go back to care for the brood. As the brood hatches, it will come forward, and in 21 days all will be out. When honey is scarce, they will take it forward also. Now, remove the old hive, close the side entrance of the new ; shake any bees remaining in the old hive in front of the new ; and melt the old combs into wax, after extracting what honey they contained. This method has been practised by me with success one summer, and on as late as Sept. 20. Colonies may be doubled much the same way; for having the one common entrance they will soon unite, if scented alike artificially. The Bacteria. We have received a pamphlet of 65 pages,!on this subject, by T. J. Bur- rill, Professor of Botany and Horti- culture in the Illinois University. It is a very interesting treatise on tlie nature, organization, effects and clas- sification of Bacteria. The following extracts from"it will give a good idea of the subject matter : " It is the object of this paper to present, in language freed as far as possible from technical terms, the principal and most interesting facts now known about these silent work- ing denizens of the earth, the air, and the water." " We swallow them with our food, and at least some kinds sometimes re- tain their activity in the somach and intestinal tube. It now seems cer- tain that the latter is always inhab- ited by special kinds which have to do with the activities there in operation. In health the blood is usually quite free from them, but in certain dis- eases this too, as it rapidly courses through the arteries and veins, sweeps along in the current myriads of the minute but living and developing, ever active things, inappropriately called " germs." " There is now. in certain cases, just as good evidence that bacteria cause diseases as there is that hawks destroy chickens, and the evidence is as inductively rigid in the one case as in the other." We can supply it to any who may desire it at .50 cents. i^ Reports from all the States are assuring. The past winter, though severe, has not been a disastrous one. But few losses are reported, and the prospect for a full honey crop is ex- cellent. There is a good sward of clover, having been protected by the liberal amount of snow, and, with a fair amount of propitious weather, there need be no fears of having a poor honey harvest. ^° Mr. AV. H. Furman, for 28 years a resident of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and during that time one of tlie most en- terprising bee-keepers of Iowa, has taken up his residence in Dakota. Virginia for Bee Cnlttire. It will be remembered that some- time since Mr. E. C. Jordan, at the White Sulphur Springs, Va., advised I bee-keepers to try that locality before going further South or West. A cor- respondent wrote him for particulars, and the reply was sent us for publica- tion, and we have made the following digest of the questions and answers : Improved farms here are worth from Slo to SI 00 per acre; the main crops produced are wheat, corn, oats, hay, potatoes, fruits, vegetables, etc.; the soil is slate, and there are iron mines here ; the Shenandoah Valley is not subject to droughts, and we have no malaria ; all kinds of small fruits do first rate here ; tliousands of cat- tle, hogs and chickens are raised here, and are shipped to Baltimore, Wash- ington Philadelphia and New York ; the best of butter, cream and cheese are produced here ; bees obtain sur- plus here from March to November, and our honey is marketed in Win- chester, AVashington, Baltimore, Phil- adelphia and at /(ome, and sells at from 20 to 25 cents per pound. Advertisements intended for the Bee Journal must reach this office by- Saturday of the previous week. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 211 Rural New Yorker. The Influence of Food. PROF. A. J. COOK. We often hear farmers remark that food has more to do with fine stock than does pedigree. While we do not think this is true, yet we must con- fess that good feeding is no mean factor in successful stock breeding. Long and careful ■ breeding, indexed by a valuable pedigree, insures sus- ceptibility, which makes great re- sults possible, but only with proper care. A 50-horse power engine pos- sesses great potency, but on one- fourth rations of fuel it would accom- plish less than a 10-horse power. Yet It would be foolish to argue that fuel was more important than the style of the engine. Among higher animals we have no evidence that food produces rapid structural changes. Food, selection and time will change the form, car- cass, and even the habits, but only after long years of modification. Among lower animals we have some startling facts that show most graphi- cally that food is sometimes a most powerful agent, able to effect a radi- cal structural change in a very brief time. We all know that, in the main, the animal functions are very simi- lar, even though studied in animals which are structually wide apart. The now generally accepted philosophy that all animals have a common an- cestry should lead us to give wise consideration to the peculiarities of lower animals, even in our treatment of the higher forms. If, then, we can show that food is potent to substan- tially modify the entire organism and life habits of bees, it should serve to exalt our estimate of its value and influence as affecting the higher ani- mals. The same egg may, yea will, produce either a worker bee or a queen, the character of the progeny depending solely upon the character and quantity of the food consumed. If the food is rich and abundant the result is a queen bee. If it is less nourishing and stinted in qiiantity, a worker bee is the result. Even after the egg hatches, the young larva may be fed for three days in the meager way, then fed the richer food in ample supply, and a queen will re- sult, though not so valuable a one as though fed the rich royal pablulum in generous quantities from the first. Now, let us see what the changes are that are wrought by these im- proved good rations. The queen is longer and slimmer than the worker bees, and her ovaries are feebly de- veloped, capable of growing daily from 2,000 to 3,000 eggs. On the other hand, there is a more feeble develop- ment of sucli organs as are used in procuring food and performing the various operations of the hive. Thus the queen has no pollen baskets, her jaws, as compared with those of the workers, are weak, her tongue short, and her glandular system and stomach are more fully developed. Thus a simple modification of the food regi- men produces sterility in the workers, which are only sterile females, while the organs that are more intimately connected with nutrition are more strongly developed. It would seem that the food is too slight to stimulate the growth of the ovaries, which is appropriated in a more decided de- velopment of the special organs which minister to nutrition. If food can do all this with bees, it certainly may be regarded as a very important element in tlie development and care of our higher animals. Lansing, Mich. For the American Bee Journal. Racks for Surplus Honey. J. W. POKTEIl. I notice some attempts are still being made to get over the difficulty I suc- cessfully accomplished years ago, and my plaii was illustrated on page 1^40 of the Bee Jouknal for 1878. Mr. Whitford's plan on page 56, I see is referred to by Mr. Heddon on page 95. The purpose was to have a case that would be bee tight ; one that could be readily tiered up (a point of great value here), and one that would hold the sections lengthwise of the hive {no other would do for me), and come right down on to the brood combs, with only bee space between sections and brood ; one, too, that would ad- mit of long separators of wood. All Hack for Surplus Honey. of these points are attained, and the continued use of this rack, for years, have been so satisfactory, that I think a real service will be done to republish the cut of it. It was freely contributed to the fraternity. I had experimented much, and have seen nearly all, including Mr. Ileddon's latest; which, while it has some val- uable points, is open to serious ob- jections. Mr. Whitford's mistake is in making hisTsupportssolid. Made of X or XX tin, and so bent as to have them thus n, standings^ inch high, all the strength needed is ob- tained, and the space permits them to rest on a nail inserted at the apex. Mr. Heddon asks about bee space. The tin angles are flush with the bot- tom of the case, and the case rests on strips % wide, by % thick, placed one at each end, transversely across the brood frames, tight to the ends of the hive. Now, with this arrangement it matters not if the bees build wax bridges in bee space, prying between the case and transverse stick, separ- ates all without displacing or lifting a comb below. They can be made to fit any hive. Atone time I considered it a good advantage to use the deep, wide frame, with hanging separators, and with some bees. Much more can be done with them than with any case. Because of their use in Langstroth frames, I adopted the size of 4J:|x5%x2 sections ; six Just fill the frame. My cases are made to take 18 of them. The separators are notched to let down in the middle tins to bee depth. Five separators only to 18 sections, and each one movable, and of wood or tin may be used. I much prefer wood. The T should be stamped not ham- mered. That is done by slitting an oak or hard wood block, strips of tin, IJs inches wide, are cut and bent slightly into the slot. Then reversed and forced by a lever into the next slot, and they are finished in the shape of this U- An iron or steel square blade of equal thickness is used under the lever. Tinsmiths can form them, but false bends damage the strength greatly. Charlottesville, Va., Feb., 17, 1883. Translated from Bienenvater by A. R. Kohnke, Wax— Tests for Proving its Purity. PROF. P. F. RESCH, S. J. What is wax y To the uninitiated this may seem a very superfluous question ; but the fact that there are a number of natural products going by that name, demands accurate de- termination of the kind. For in- stance, in some churches the ritual directions are to use wax candles at certain ceremonies ; the ordinance also specifies of what kind of wax such candles must be made. viz. : " bees- wax ;" but that is as far as the ordi- nance specifies. Hence, it is cus- tomary to use the product of the na- tive bee, in the different countries where such candles are used; in Eu- rope, it is the common or German bee, or the Italian ; in Syria, the Syrian ; in Cyprus, the Cyprian ; in the East Indies, ^4p«,s dorsata. jloreajndica ; in South America, the species Gothuir, Melipona, which furnish the wax. It appears that the wax from all the different species of bees possesses the same chemical and physical prop- erties. For the sake of convenience it has been found necessary to classify wax under the following heads : Bees- wax, vegetable wax, and animal wax. On comparing the elementary con- stituents of the different kinds, we find them to be composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) in the following average proportions : Beeswax. . . .C, 81.70, H, 13.26, O, 5.04 Veg. wax... C, 71.61,11, 12.38, O, 16.01 Min. wax. . .C, 85,70, H, 14.30, O, 00.00 As beeswax, to a great extent, is adulterated, the discription of a few handy tests may not come amiss. Pure beeswax has the following properties : At 30° C, it may be kneaded ; between 69° and 70-' C, it melts. Its specific gravity is between 0.960, 0.969. A higher or lower spe- 212 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. citic gravity indicate adulteratlous witli foreign substances. Pure wax. when melted, appears as a clear, slightly yellow liquid, and, if put into hot water, slionld not dis- solve the same, nor leave any sedi- ment. This is one of the most im- portant tests, and in order to better observe clianges of transparency, or a sediment, should be made in a test tube. But it does not follow that the wax is pure, if no discolored water or sediment is noticed ; hence, we have to apply other tests. Take a piece of caustic lime and slack it in about four times its bulk of water. After it has well slacked, and been well stirred, it must be filtered through filter paper, using a glass funnel for this purpose. Of the now clear lime water obtained, add some to the still molten wax, stirring it well all the time. If now the water becomes whitish or cloudy, or even a sediment is noticed, it indicates adulteration by stearic acid, which combines with the lime, forming an insoluble precipitate of stearate of lime. A still more delicate test may be performed by dissolving some of the wax in ten times its weight of chloro- form, and then adding some of the clear lime solution. The above are the principal tests. To detect other impurities, which are added to increase the weight and bulk of the wax, but do not combine with it, will not be difficult, and will show themselves by melting the wax. The following substances have been found to be added, to increase the ■weight : Water, starch, phosphate of lime, sulpliate of lime, carbonate of lime, ochre and sawdust. To adulterate wax the following in- gredients are used : Stearine, para- ftlne. tallow, ceresine (or ozokerit), gali- pot, and vegetable wax. To detect water, it is necessary to submit quite a large quantity of the wax to the test of melting, and keeping it at the boiling point, for sometime, to evaporate the water, without burning the wax, of course. Any decrease in weight indicates an admixture of water, the amount of which may be determined by the scales. In the same manner, viz. : by melting, other impurities may be de- tected, as most, or all of them, will be found as a sediment, either in the wax on the side next to the water, or will even sink entirely to the bottom. Tallow causes wax to feel fatty or greasy to the touch. One cannot write on such wax with a piece of chalk, while on pure wax it can be done. A little piece of such adulter- ated wax thrown on a red hot stove, or other iron or burning coals, will emit a heavy, very disagreeably- smelling smoke. For paniffine, the test Is as follows : Take a small piece of the wax, put it into a watch glass, and pour sulphuric acid on. Pure beeswax will be charred, and the paratfine remain without being changed. The same test is applicable with reference to any kind of mineral wax, as ozokerit or ceresine. If pure wax is put into either, about half of it will be dissolved, whilst vegetable and mineral wax is entirely soluble in it; with this difference, that the latter, in part, forms jelly flakes. If wax, on being dissolved in either, loses more than half, it con- tains either vegetable or mineral wax. i'oungstown, O. For the American Bee Journal. Spring Management of Bees. FAYETTE LEE. I am located 60 miles west of St. Paul, on the Manitoba railroad. I have been in the bee business six years ; the average yield, per colony, spring count, is 92 pounds. Our sur- plus honey is from basswood and golden rod. I do not claim that the way I manage bees is perfect, but by putting our experiences together we can learn something. When I first began keeping bees, I borrowed all the bee papers I could find, besides subscribing for three others. I use a two-story hive with a loose bottom-board. I believe they are the best. I use the American hive, nine frames in each story. Early in April, I put the bees on their summer stands, and raised up every hive and cleaned the dead bees from the bot- tom board, and closed the entrances half an inch. The next thing is to know if they have honey. I take off the cover and roll back the quilt ; if they have capped honey in sight, I close the hive and mark it : " honey for ten days." All hives not having honey in sight, I mark, " short of honey." Beginners should not open a hive when bees need feeding,and tear out all of the frames to see the queen, or ascertain if they have brood. The way I handle weak colo- nies is : I only take out one frame of comb, just as close to the brood as possible, and in its place I put a frame of honey from some heavy hive, or till a comb" with honey, or syrup made from sugar. Careless handlingisthecause of weak colonies swarmingout in early spring; you disturb the bees and queen by handling the brood combs too much ; it causes robbing, and out they go, to be killed by trying to enter other hives; tuck them up, warm, till there is plenty of honey and pollen coming in, and then it will do no harm to iiandle the combs, or look for the queen. I get all the brood possible by the time that fruit and dandelions bloom ; by spreading the brood in strong colonies, and taking out now and then a frame of brood, to build up the weak ones. The best moth-trap is a few young turkeys or a pair of ducks ; try them and see. As the bees get strong, give them wider en- tances ; it will not pay to unite weak colonies in early spring ; do not think, because they are weak, that the queen is poor ; give them brood and bees, and you will see plenty of eggs in a short time. Early in May I want every hive full of brood, in order to get a large yield of honey from every hive, and a good increase. I want nine frames of brood in every hive by May 2.5 ; and the way to get it done is by s'preading the brood combs. I take the outside comb and put it in the centre of the brood-nest; I do this every seven days, until I get Jiine full of brood. I handle the brood very carefully. In April I have all hives full of brood. If honey is coming in, I get some swarms in May and June, but' more in July. I put on the top-story as early as June 1. I have surplus combs in the top story, from the last season, and what I lack is filled by frames of foundation. The increase that gives me the most honey is one swarm from two. I put one frame of brood in the upper story, when I put it on ; this causes the bees to go up there to work. I save the queen-cells from the first colony that gives a swarm. In seven days after, I take out all but one frame, and make as many nuclei as I have cells, and take two frames of brood and put with them from other hives. I do this every six days , until they are full of brood ; as fast as they swarm I return them to their own hive, and take three frames of brood from them, give them a new location, put the three frames of brood in an empty hive, and put it on the old stand. In this way 1 keep all strong colonies by adding brood. I do not like too much swarming in July ; it spoils the honey harvest. By returning them, giving them a new location, and removing some brood, I keep them just where they will give us a large yield of honey. Jime swarms always pay me best. A swarm will fill its hive with comb in two weeks in June. Cokato, Minn. For the American Bee JoumaL Are Half-Pound Sections Desirable ? E. N. WOOD. As much has been said about the size of sections, I have taken some pains to find out how our bee-keeping friends felt about the matter, in this section of the country, and I have not heard from one that favors the half- pound section, from parties that have a home market for all their product. We all ought to strive to hold to the present sizes of boxes and hives, as changes mean great expense and trouble. It seems to me that a gen- eral change in the size of honey boxes will soon bring new styles of hives that will be supposed to be better adapted to the use of the new box, and these new styles will catch many who are young in the pursuit, and as first im- pressions are strong, many of them would never change ; many more sizes would be added to our now standard sizes of hives, frames and boxes. There are four general or standard sizes of boxes, 4'4x4i4, 5,14x514, 5J^x- 5%, 5i4'x6i4- The few sizes of boxes now in use has enabled the manufac- turers to bring the prices down to the present very low rates, as they make large quantities of each size at a time, whereas, if the half-pound section comes into general use, I think the THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 213 E rices of them all would be somewhat igher than at present ; for get the craze (if I may so call it) once started and it will sweep over the country, and nearly every bee-keeper, no mat- ter what the size his hive may be, will think he must come to the half- pound section as near as possible, and there would be as many sizes of half- pound boxes as there are different sizes of hives at present, and I fear more, as some would reduce their boxes in one way and some in another. I think, perliaps, for a season or so, the half-pound sections may take well in the market, it being new, and some- what of a novelty, but it will become a drug upon the market and be driven out of use, to the sorrow of those that have made expensive changes. Again, I think one-pound is as small a quantity as most people want to buy. It is about the right size to put upon a plate without cutting in two, and if a pound or more of honey is to be bought they would certainly pass by the half-pound lots (for they have the appearance of too much tare) to tlie 1, 1}^ and 2-pound boxes, and, again, I am afraid we cannot get near as large a yield per hive with these small boxes. Let us hear some- thing of this from those tliat have used them. North Lansing, Mich. For tbe American Bee Joumal- Queens Reared in the South. THOS. C. DAVIES. had their hives well stocked with bees and brood, and fully equal to the one from New York, in fact, those 20 colonies, except one, have wintered admirably, and they are now so equal that I cannot tell which of them is the best. Of the 8 in the cellar, 6 came through well, but the other two are rather weak, and queenless. One of the queens died last week, and the other, three weeks ago. I united these two, and have sent to the South- ern breeder, four days ago, for a queen to give them. I do not know what has been the experience of others with Southern queens, except that of Mr. Doolittle's with his Texan queen, but I must say that I am well pleased with them so far. I believe with Mr. Doolittle, that " there is a difference in bees about wintering," but can hardly be- lieve, at present, that it is due to the part of the country where they are reared. I sincerely hope that the bee-masters, by " studying and ex- perimenting," will succeed in getting more light on this inequality of dif- ferent colonies regarding wintering, before another cold winter comes. Pittsburgh, Pa., April 11, 1883. On page 182 of the Journal for April 4, Mr. T. S. Johnson, of Bogart, O., asks Mr. G. M. Doolittle and " any others who have had experience with Southern queens, if he thinks bees from a queen reared in the South are as hardy and well able to stand the long, cold winters of the North, as those from a queen reared here ?" Being one of the " others " who have had some experience with Southern queens, I would like to give the fol- lowing details : In April of last year I received a dollar-queen from a Southern breeder, and in a few weeks after, a selected tested queen from the same person. I also received a selected tested queen, and a Syrian queen from a New York breeder. From those two se- lected queens, several tine queens were reared during July and August, and when preparing my bees for the winter, my queens were as follows : Two from the South, two from the State of New York, and 24 reared at home. Several of those were reared the season before the last, and one of them was reared in July, 1879. She had been such an excellent queen, that I had not courage enough to kill her last fall, and she was allowed to live as long as she could. About three weeks ago she died, I suppose of old age. Twenty of those, including the two from the South, and the selected one from New York, were wintered on their summer stands, well packed in chaff. On April 3, they were all ex- amined, and the two from the South For tbe American Bee J ournal. Bee-Keeping in Florida. C. H. LAKE. As many bee-keepers throughout the country are turning their atten- tion to this State, and being in com- munication with several prominent bee-keepers already located there, through wliom I have gathered the information herein contained. I give it, thinking it might be of service to those about to locate there. For the past three years I have been thinking of removing there permanently, owing to the fact I am of a consumptive family, and suffer extremely with lung difficulty, especially in cold win- ters in this latitude. There is a belt of coimtry along the east coast, rightly termed the " Bee Belt." Ten years ago bee-keeping was an unknown industry there, and scarcely a dozen colonies could be found among the few families who then inhabited tliatportion of Florida. This "belt" commences about oppo- site Port Orange, extending South as far as Oak Hill, a distance of 12.5 miles, or thereabout. Thousands upon thousands of acres of marsh are there covered with the black mangrove, the best and greatest honey producing plant known in Florida. Within this radius the black mangrove predominates, while above the head of Indian river, the red man- grove grows almost exclusively, which, 1 believe, is not a honey-producing shrub. This " belt " offers superior induce- ments to bee-keepers, and when the fact becomes known, bee men will not be backward in availing them- selve.^ of the opportunity, by moving in and locating at favorable points. From recent letters from Mr. O. Olson, of New Smyrna, who is, with- out doubt, the most experienced and successful apiarist in Florida, making bee-keeping his exclusive business, he informs me that it is " impossible to overstock thecountry." Mr. Olson makes the study of honey-producing flowers a portion of his business, and from "careful microscopic examina- tion of the flowers of the black man- grove," he Hnds they contain "one- fourth of a drop of honey." When it is taken into consideration that this shrub bears thousands upon thou- sands of blossoms each season, one can get some idea as to its honey- producing qualities. It is asserted that 90 per cent, of the surplus honey gathered during the season (which lasts usually about ten weeks), is from black mangrove. While there are a great variety of the other honey- producing flowers, blooming at dif- ferent periods throughout the year, among which can be enumerated the " saw and cabbage palmetto, gallber- ries, sweet bay, wild sunflowers, yel- low jessamine, golden rod, orange bloom, snow vine, basswood, sweet gum, etc., etc." There is no reason whv the honey cannot be gathered. With all these natural requisites of building up the colonies to perfec- tion, by the time when the mangrove season opens. There seems to be a great diversity of opinion among the Florida apiar-' istsin regard to the cabbage palmetto. Some assert that "the bees neither gather honey or pollen from its bloom," while others are equally con- fident that '• it equals in every respect the mangrove, as a honey producer;" while others affirm that " it yields pollen only." Different situations probably accounts for the varied re- sults, like many of our own honey- producing shrubs, trees, etc. Florida has its disadvantages, like all other great honey-producing States, and will, till the tide of immigration is sufficient to establish railroads and water conveyances. New Smyrna is 125 miles from the nearest express office, and for transportation the in- habitants have to " depend on schoon- ers along the coast." A small steamer has been put on between Jacksonville and New Smyrna, for the winter, but is taken off in the spring ; this steamer makes one trip a week, but all this will be removed as soon as business springs up, and the country becomes more settled. Besides " being out of the world," we have the bear, dragon fly, several bee birds, and scores of other ene- mies to the bee to contend with, and, for that reason alone, we wish the entire country was settled up, while the bee moth reigns supreme, which is owing to the fact that what bees were kept by the old inhabitants, were in the old " gum or moth har- bor." A few more interesting items may not be amiss. W. S. Hart, of Hawks Park, has nearly 100 colonies of bees, and has the best out-flt, consisting of the improved machinery for carrying on the business, foundation machine, evaporating machinery, etc., that there is in Florida. A. J. Packwood has started with 20 214 THE- AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. colonies, and has, during last season, taken several thousand lbs. of honey. II. Olson and Mr. Wilson, from Ohio, seven miles south of New Smyrna, have 184 colonies, the largest apiary in Florida. They make bee- keeping their sole occupation, and are supplied with machinery for the man- ufiicture of hives and everything per- taining to them, and work up an im- mense amount of lumber during the year. Their bees are mostly Italians, with some liybrids and a few blacks. This seasons crop foots up 25,800 pounds of the best honey we ever sampled. In regard to the quality of Florida honey, Mr. C. F. Muth, of Cincinnati, who has handled most of the crop produced by these gentlemen, says " he considers their honey the finest ever placed on (lie market, and that it sells more readily than the white clover honey of the North." L. H. Bivens, of Glencoe, has 37 colonies, and has shipped, this year, 2,000 pounds. M. B. Rolfe, also of Glencoe, has 8, which has produced 600 pounds. R. S. Sheldon is one of our oldest bee-keepers. He has, for years past, shipped tliousands of pounds of ex- cellent honey, and last year his suc- cess was very satisfactory. In the spring he had 53 colonies, increased by artificial swarming to 84, and took thus far, Oct. 1 , 6,300 pounds. From a natural swarm hived April 15, 328)^ were taken, up to Aug. 15. Mr. Morrison Lewis, of New Smyrna, is the pioneer in bee-keeping in Flor- ida ; that is, he was the first to make bee-keeping pay. He commenced in 1868 with one wild swarm, which he found in the woods, which did finely, increasing to several colonies, be.sides producing a large amount of honey, the second year, which showed Mr. L. what they were capable of doing, when properly cared for. He received 25 to 30 cents per pound for all his honey, for some eight years. He in- troduced the first movable comb hive and the first lioney extractor into the State, and shipped the first barrel of honey, gathered in Florida, to New York, in 1876. From his 30 colonies, he has shipped, up to Oct. I, 1882, over 3,000 pounds. From a private letter received re- cently from Mr. O. Olson, he states : "I made six swarms from one colony, this season, and took from the old colony 440 pounds of extracted honey. I have, at last, found a climate where I like to stay, in spite of all the in- sects, which is a great drawback on this coast during June, July and Au- gust. A more pleasant and healthy climate cannot be found on earth, and I have lived in Europe and several of the States of America. Smyrna is a place of twelve families, and six miles distant, are twelve more." I could continue this article to a greater length, but have given the important information sought after by those thinking of going into the business, in Florida. Any further in- formation will be cheerfully given as far as in my power, or by addressing any of the above named gentlemen. Baltimore, Md., Feb. 12. 1883. For tbe American Bee Journal. Experienced Students of Apiculture. JESSE OllEN. I cannot see the force of the ob- jections made by Mr. Ileddon, page 73, against the views advanced by Dr. Besse in his " advanced step," in recommending diplomas to be given by the North American Apiarian Col- le'ge. It seems to me that Dr. Besse requires of the applicant for honors all that Mr. Heddon requires, and a little more. Mr. Heddon's diploma and " red tape circumlocution," as he calls it, would pass current with the society, and entitle the young man to an examination. Dr. Besse demands an experience of one year in all the manipulations of the apiary. Mr. Heddon, five months, or a bee year, if you please so to call it. Both men are on the same plane in this period of preparation. If Mr. Heddon was one of the examining committee, as he probably wo\ild be, and his line of students, with their"red tape," signed " Get there Success," should file into line before the committee, would he not approve them V Would he pro- test against Dr. Miller's, Doolittle's, Dadant's, Jones", Dr.Besse"s,Grimm's "Get there Success V" We believe he would admit all the names to his ad eundem list of red tape. They are all well known to the bee world. I am glad they are known, and that they have spoken out. Red tape from any of them would pass a young man into my yard. Still I should prefer the combined red tape of alias being better than of any one alone. One might be all extracted, the other all comb, and half-pound sections at that, too. I might be suited with a mixed husbandry. Some men are born poets, and must sing ; others are born mutes, and cannot sing. There is this dif- ference, also, among bee men. Some few miles from me lives a man who has been "getting there annually" with his 15,000 to 2,000 pounds of honey. He is a local phenomenon, and only known at home. His name is " Get there Success ;" but the North American Society knows noth- ing of him. He has paid $100 per month for an apiarian assistant ; and any red tape he should adopt would pass the owner into my yard as com- petent. We do not want a private monopoly of red tape, but rather, a good Jsupply from every part of the country. In this way, many who are mutes, will come out of their holes and hold up their hands to be seen. We hold that red tape does mean something ; and that if Mr. Heddon has any. he is proud of it, and would not readily part with it. A graduate of Yale or of Ann Arbor does not im- ply an illiterate person by any means, but, on the contrary, snch graduation is i3rima facie evidence of scholarship, the United States over. We do not expect to make such men as Sir Isaac Newton, Kepler and Leverrier by diplomas, nor, perhaps, such apiarist as Mr. Heddon either ; yet this ad- mission does not diminish the signfi- cation of diplomas. We are friendly to Dr. Besse's " advance step," and believe the Society will so look upon the matter, wlien it meets in Toronto, next autumn. I liave just given Mr. Heddon's and Mr. Jones' address to a young man wlio wishes to learn our business. I have given him a hope that he may be able to meet us at Toronto and pass examination next autumn. With the hope of success, he is going to work tiie ensuing sum- mer. But like many lawyers and doctors, he may graduate and after- wards make an honorable living haul- ing manure and digging potatoes. La Forte City, Iowa. For tlie American Bee Journal. Haldimand Bee-Keepers' Association The Haldimand Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation held its third meeting on Sat- urday, March 31, at Nelles' Corners, Ontario, pursuant to adjournment. Members present, E. DeCew, Presi- dent ; and Alessrs. James Armstrong, R. Buckley, Robt. Coverdale, Eph- raim Gee, VVm. Abbott, Joseph Car- ter. Fred. Mehenbacher, E. C. Camp- bell, R. Anguish, Ambrose Gloyd, James Gloyd, William Harrison, A. Vanderbugh, Wm. Kindree, David Byers, Henry Smith, Elijah Kindree, R. W. Beam, David Anguish. Minutes oi^ previous meeting read and approved. The president gave a short address, after which the first question was taken up. Two iStoy Hives.— M.I. Armstrong said it depended on the depth of frames ; if the frames were shallow, two stories were an advantage ; if deep, one story or Hi stories was about the right thing. Mr. Buckley thought that when extracting, a double story was not necessary. The Desirabk Style of Hue Cover.— The president exhibited one which met with the approval of the mem- bers. It was very similar to those now used by D. A. Jones, and is deep enough to allow for a chaff cushion in winter. ZJoMoiJi Boards— Caused considerable discussion. A number of members favoring loose bottoms ; others pre- ferring tight bottoms ; the majority ■ being in favor of the latter. Spring Feeding.— The president said the nest plan of spring feeding, was that of D. A. Jones, and explained how it should be made. Mr. Byers advocated feeding syrup strained through a cloth ; it had worked well. Mr. Van- derburgh thought the best plan of spring feeding was to feed in the fall. Mr. Buckley gave his plan, viz : mak- ing a syrup of sugar and flour, pour- ing it into an empty frame, and put- ting it in the hive between the cluster. The secretary recommended linseed- cake meal as one of the best substi- tutes for pollen. Is it BeM that Bees Should Swarm?— Mr. Vanderburgh advocating divid- ing, as did Messrs. Armstrong and Buckley, and recommended having queens on hand for new colonies. Mr. Kindree thought if the object was to increase, natural swarming was best; if for honey, dividing was best. The THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 215 majority gave their opinion in favor of artificial swarming. Messrs. Wm Kindree and VVm. Abbott gave their plans for securing swarms. How to Bear Good Queens.— Mi. Arm- strong preferred rearing queens in a full colony, on full sized frames, and explained his method at some lengtli. Hoiu to Introduce Queens. — Mr. Arm- strong recomemded the Peet cage, keeping the queen confined until the bees became reconciled to her. The secretary mentioned the plan adopted by Mr. Simmins, of England, who in- troduced the queen on a frame of bees, with good success. HoiB to Secure Comb Honey. — Mr. Buckley advocated the use of metal division-boards and section boxes, in the body of the hive. Mr. Gloyd also spoke in favor of that plan, and said it was recommended by prominent bee-keepers. Mr. Kindree was in favor of section boxes in the upper story, leaving the lower story undis- turbed. Register of Each Hive — Its Value. — The president recommended the use of a register for each hive, so that he could tell the condition of his hives without the trouble of examining them every day. Books and Periodicals. — The secre- tary advocated the reading of books and periodicals devoted to bee-culture, and thought no progressive bee-keeper should be without one or more good bee papers. In one number of the American Bee Journal lie had ob- tained information worth more than the subscription price for a whole year. Moved by Mr. Armstrong, seconded by Mr. Campbell, thateach bee-keeper give a correct report of the number of colonies kept, and the number of pounds of comb and extracted honey from each colony, and what kind of bees. It was resolved that the next meet- ing be held on June 16, at 10 a. m., at Cheapside, Ont. The following statement will show the loses sustained during the past winter : Nov. 1882. April 1883. Edmund DeCew, 15 5 Robert Buckley, 38 33 James Armstrong, 32 31 Wm. Harrison, 2 2 Ambrose Gloyd, 16 15 Wm.Jack, 8 4 Joseph Carter. 10 9 Robert Coverdale, 6 5 R. VV. Beam. 12 9 Wm. Kindree, 15 11 Henry Smith, 2 2 A. Vanderburgh, 9 9 F. Mehleubacher, 1 1 David Byers, 13 12 Robert Anguish, 37 25 Ephraim Gee, 1 1 E. C. Campljell, 35 32 David Anguish, 4 3 Daniel Rose, 15 7 E. C. Camprell, Sec. P. S. By the above table it will be seen that the loses during the past .severe winter have not been very high, and was caused principally by want of stores. I took mine out of cellar April 9, having been confined for over five months, without a fiight. Three colonies were dead for want of stores ; the rest are in good condi- tion, with the exception of two or three, affected with dysentery. — E. C. For the American Bee Journat Remarks on Various Matters. J. O. SHEARMAN. The wintering problem seems to be pretty well worn ; but not finally set- tled yet. My hobby has been pack- ing in chaff, in which way I have been ordinarily successful. I wintered over 100 colonies, last winter and this, witliout the lo.ss of a colony so far. I had all of my weakest colonies in the cellar, including some that were intended for doubling up ; but the weak and strong all seemed to stand, in the cellar, about alike, except a weak one that had the dysentery ; an examination showed that they had only uncapped honey left, though they had sealed honey in the fall. Also two nuclei, with reserved queens, starved. The temperature of the cellar was as near to freezing as 1 could keep it ; it was below only once. I found that when the thermometer in- dicated near 40-' (as often advised through the papers), they would be- come uneasy. 1 had only 27 in cellar. Those out of doors, packed in chaff, did well, so far, set close to the ground, on a little bed of straw, for under packing. That goes to show that it is not quite sure death. I once thought that I had a good thing on them, if only they were cov- ered by snow, and said the deeper the snow the better, with a sloping board over the entrance, of course ; but now I have got bravely over that. The winter of 1880-81 was our test on that point. Those deep under the snow were very uneasy, while others sit- uated on the south side of a hill, where the wind blew the snow all away from the front of the hives, came out bright, strong and healthy. That was a damp conHnement, while, this win- ter, though snowed under, 2 feet or more, they came out nearly dry, with much better results. My conclusions are that a number of causes may in- duce dysentery : 1. Extreme changes of temperature, particularly if damp. 2. Thin honey, more especially if soured by changes of temperature. 3. Long confinement, if in conjunction with either or both of the above un- favorable conditions. 4. Undue breed- ing while confined, or anything that disturbs them while unable to fly. On the half-pound sections, my ad- vice is to put a variety of packages upon the market, to supply all kinds of customers ; the half-pounds are well enough for part of the supply, but if all the honey was put up that way, it would be no higher in price than if all were in one-pound pack- ages. The novelty helps the price at first. During the past season I increased only from 00 to 107 colonies; though it was a noted season for swarming, for over two months. I did it, partly, by putting one swarm into another liive, from which a swarm had lately issued, increasing the surplus room ; and partly, before they got so feverish, by gradual extension of the brood- chamber; at the same time, giving more surplus room. The hive I use enables me to do the latter more readily, as the back of the brood- chamber is movable, the same as a division-board, and I can set them to work in three old-fashioned boxes, with two brood frames, or use 18 of the same sized boxes on the top of 12 brood frames. I have run 12 colonies all through an entire season without swarming, increasing them to 18 by division, and giving them plenty of surplus room. That was four years ago, in a fast- swarming season ; but it takes too much time for a large stock to increase a little at a time. I had the above mentioned 12 colo- nies in a location where they gathered plenty of the red raspberry honev, while it was too wet for them to do much on the white clover. It was of very fine quality and flavor, though not so light in color as the white clover honey. New Richmond, Mich., Mar. 6, 1883. For tlie American Bee Journal. Water for Bees in Winter. EUGENE SECOR. I suppose some of our Southern brethren, who have been basking in the sunshine for two months, and whose bees have been " out to pas- ture" so long that they have forgotten the past winter, will shrug their shoulders and thank God that they do not live in this borean land, when we tell them that we are just taking our hives to their summer stands. Well, I suppose the South is a delight- ful place to live in, but 1 have yet to learn that they accomplish more in any of the departments of industry during their long summers, than we in the North do in our short ones. A small portion of Texas came to the front last year in the production of honey, but year by year, the North supplies our leading honey markets, with as fine a quality as can be found this side of California. So, while we can successfully compete with them in the production of honey, perhaps we ought not to be so modest in dis- cussing the wintering problems, which, undoubtedly is anything but interesting reading to them. I have, to-day, taken my bees from the cellar, where they have been since Nov. 13. The last flight they had last fall, was on Nov. 10. This is the longest period I have ever kept them confined without a flight. My experi- ence, to-day, seems to indicate that they could have endured a much longer night. I never before saw bees so cross in the spring. They are usually so glad to get out and fly, to void their feces, that they did not attempt to sting; but, to-day, I was compelled to don bee-vail and gloves, and, in spite of both, I am now far from " spring poor." There are no signs of dysentery. They did not " spot " .their hives during the 21G THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. winter, nor anything around the yard, in tlieir flight to-day. My cellar was perfectly dark, without any ven- tilation, and ranged, in temperature, during the winter, from 32-" to 48°, usually standing at about 4.5°. It was quite dry. From March I, I have, several times, watered a part of them, a thing that I never practiced before, but it had the effect to keep them more quiet, and many of them were "just booming" to-day. Now as to the results : One colony had starved to death. Four out of six, that were on the bottom tier, one foot from tlie cellar bottom, that had not been uncovered since putting in, and that had had no water, were dead. Only in one hive were the combs moldy, and all had sufficient stores. Those colonies wliich had been watered since March 1, were strong and healthy, and began to rob in less than an hour after having been set out. Soft maples, willows, cotton woods, and elms are in bloom. The prairie anemones have been out for some days. The past winter has been one of the coldest known since the early settlement of tlie State. For about nine weeks from the 20th of Decem- ber, it hardly thawed on the south side of the house, and the mercury hugged the zero point most of the time, occasionally dropping down to call on numbers 35 and 40. And for fully three months it was too cold for even a healthy bee to venture far from the warmth "of the cluster. Fruit trees, in many parts of the State, have been injured ; though in this locality we have not suffered in that respect. Bees have also wintered usually well. Forest City, Iowa, April 16, 1883. For the American Bee JoumaL Are Bees Taxable ? JESSE OBEN. Mr. Editor:— On page 42 of the Bee Journal for 1883, you are asked, '' Are bees taxable V" Your answer, as given, is in accordance with the facts ; but your conclusion is wrong, viz. : property of value is taxable property in Iowa. The statute of a State tixes and names the kinds of property on which a revenue shall be raised. In Iowa, bees are exempt by statute, and about all your patrons here are anxious that you snail so answer. Of course I know that it is not reasonable to expect you to know the laws, etc., of all the States. I have made this matter a special study years ago, and the matter was de- termined by the Attorney General about 15 years ago, when' a special bill was got up by a member of the Legislature, exempting bees, etc. He said that bees were already exempt. But year after year we put in asses- sors and boards of supervisors who are ignorant of the law, and who rea- son that all property ought to bear its share of the public burden — good rea- soning—but not Iowa law. But who knows any better than you do that the average assessor's judgment as to the value of a colony of oees on the first day of January is a very poor judgment. He cannot set true values. Enclosed you will tiiid a spicy digest of the subject written by a lawyer of Black Hawk County, Iowa. He had my assistance in the matter. We must, however, fight the battle over and over, year after year. The ques- tion is not, " Should bees be taxed in Iowa'?" but, "Are bees taxable un- der our laws V" Please, hereafter, wlien asked that question, answer, " Not by the laws of Iowa, etc." The Bee Journal, with tliat answer, will become notorious property, and will be preserved for the eye or the new assessor. La Porte City, Iowa, Feb. 5, 1883. ARE BEES TAXABLE 'i Mr. Editor : — Allow me to ask yourself and readers why it was that the board of supervisors of Black Hawk County, on Friday, Jan. 10, adopted Mr. Jenney's classification of taxable property for the year 1879, without first revising it so as to make it legal y I trust that they acted con- scientiously in the matter. But will you please, or will somebody please, explain how and where they goti their authority for placing bees upon that list y Perhaps our board did not know that they were exempt from taxation in Iowa V Perhaps they have some authority unknown to out- siders y Will somebody please rise and explain V Now, Mr. Editor, "let us reason together," and see if we can find a little law which is, and ought to be plain, to every reasonable being, at least after it has been pointed out to them. I believe I can show by statute that bees are as plainly exempt as if they had been written in gilt letters at the head of the chapter of exempt property. First, what are bees ? Are they vegetables V Are they minerals V Or, are they animals V To which of these kingdoms do they belong V Of course, you and everybody else will say that they are animals, of the in- sect order. Now, since they are ani- mals, then, as animals, they are twice exempt under the statute. Exempt from taxation, first, by section 797 and 801 of Code of Iowa, 1873. Section 797, division 4, exempts from taxation " animals not hereafter specified." Section 801 enumerates the animals, viz. : "Horses, cattle, mules, asses, sheep, swine." Now, we see that it does not mention bees, nor does it intend for bees to be listed, or it would have mentioned them. At a glance we can see that to have men- tioned all the animals exempt would have been an endless task, and when completed would have been a volume of itself, and only merited our ridicule. It might have read like this, viz. : From the animal kingdom there shall be exempt 20 species of the quad- rumania, viz. : The buffalo, the elk, tlie deer, the cat, tlie dog, the mouse, etc. Of cetacea species, the oyster, the clam, etc. Of birds, the wren, the robin, the swallow, etc. Of rep- tiles, the lizzard, the garter snake, the bull snake, etc. Of insects— 30 spe- cies—viz. : The hornet, the wasp, the asp, the bee, the bumble bee, and so on, adinfinitum. But the cobra- copella, the rattlesnake, the grizzly bear, the parrot, the seal, the golden fly of South America, owing to the vast amount of money invested in them for show purposes, shall be listed and taxed at twice their ap- praised value. Such might have been the form of the section liad the Leg- islature attempted it. But they chose a wiser plan, and only enumerated those animals which were to be taxed, and exempted by section 797 all others —bees with the rest. Again, according to Langstroth and other standard authority, the average life of a working bee, in summer sea- son, is only six weeks, while it is a mooted question whether any worker ever fives to so great an age as seven months. Now, a bee being an animal, under section 821 (last clause), under "classification of prop- erty" for taxation, we find that " no entry shall lie made on said books of any animal under the age of one year, except swine." The queen-bee is the only bee which lives to so great an age as one year. Her market value is 75 cents, and thousands are annually sold to A. I. Root, of Medina, O., at that price. We find by this section (821) that bees are again exempt. " VVell," say some, " it is not the bee, it is the value." To this we again fall back on section 797, where we find " farm produce harvested within one year previous to the listing thereof," is exempt from taxation ; and since all that is valuable in a colony of bees, except the 75 cent queen-bee, is har- vested " within a year previous to the listing thereof," and comes in exempt along with thousands of bushels of wheat which the farmer may have in his granery or stack, the thousands, yes millions of dollars worth of wear- ing apparel, including valuable house- hold furniture, thousands of dollars' invested in swine under six months old, calves, colts, chickens, and the like, even down to a $5,000 shawl, such as Mrs. L is said to wear, and other articles of a wardrobe pro- portionately expensive. From the list of exempt property, it is plain to be seen th.at it is not the intent of our law to tax all valuable property, for if it did, why exempt so many millions of valuables y In conclusion I would say that I have not talked with any lawyer, who, after a little reference, did not see the exempt condition of bees under our law. I might refer to Clark & Curtis, of Lemars, Ordway, of Waterloo, Judge Gilchrist, of Vin- ton, the two law firms in our own city, viz. : Bishop & Sharon and Chas. Bishop, and many others whose names I will not occupy time and space to enumerate. Now, Mr. Editor, please excuse this space-consuming article, as my object in penning this is to aid in the sup- port of the Constitution of the United States and the laws of the State of Iowa. S. A. O. [We are very glad to make the cor- rection requested. Certainly, on this showing, in Iowa, bees are not taxa- ble property.— Ed.] THE AMERICAl^ BEE JOURNAL. 217 Are Bees Taxable in Iowa I Will you please state whether the laws of Iowa exempt bees from taxa- tion y All aarree here that if bees are animals they are then exempt. Some think they are insects. Peter S. Tbiem. Mt. Auburn, Iowa. [We are informed that the Attorney General, some 15 years ago, decided that in Iowa bees are not taxable, and according to the laws of that State, they are not assessable. Apiarists In Iowa should show this to the new assessors.— Ed.] Honey Flow in Louisiana. There has been a fine flow of honey ; the bees are in splendid condition. I have been running for increase, and yet from 100 colonies I liave taken 3,.i00 pounds of good honey. I stall start for the North about April 25, with a lot of colonies. E. T. Flanagan. Kenner, La., April 16,1883. A Beginner's Experience. My father kept bees as long ago as I can remember, and I was always fond of them. About 5 years ago, I and a neighbor procured about a dozen each, and as we had heard of the new way of dividing, we divided them again and again, expecting to get rich in that way, but the winter cleaned us out of the bee business. Taking the advice of a friend, I sub- scribed for the Bee Journal and bought Cook's Manual, and concluded to try agaui, after learning more about bees. I sold enough honey to pay for my bees, and all that I had over spent on them, and still have the bees left. They are in good condition now, and will be ready for the harvest when it comes. Casey. 111. D. R. Rosebkough. Wintering Bees, etc. As dry sawdust is hard to get in the fall, I procured it dry, after harvest, and had plenty in the fall. I have tried chaff with success, but do not want it any more ; it harbors mice, and gets damp very quickly. I must either clip the queen's wings or run a great risk of my neck, so I choose the former. I like a deeper frame than the Langstroth, for Canada. I want my frames crosswise ; I think a divis- ion-board as needful as the hives. I use an outside box about 6 inches larger than the hive, with the en- trance bridged, and packed around and on top { with movable side), pressed tight on sawdust. In frosty morn- ings, in the fall, I remove all outside combs, which can be done very fast, and feed up, on from 5 to 7 frames. Where do bees cluster in the fall and winter ? Below the honey ; the only place for them, and just where they should, to give heat for sealing ; they have warm honey all winter. I have yet to lose the tirst good colony pre- pared in the above manner. I have no carrying to do, in the spring, and bees are packed all the spring, and are not coaxed out, with every sunbeam, to get lost. Two colonies starved, in Langstroth hives, with honey in the hive; sometimes bees cluster in the centre, and getting to the end of the frames in a cold spell, they will starve with honey at the other end. Some of my bees have not down for 147 days ; neither do they seem to want to They are in excellent condition, with about 5 inches of sawdust on the top. For such a terrible winter, bees that are packed have wintered well. My experience will not agree with that of Prof. Cook, as stated on page 85 of his Manual. In every case, with me, the Held bees have decided what shall be done. Last summer I found them keeping the queen from drone cells, and even using violence to stop her from laying drone eggs. I learn from them as to whetlier there should be a second swarm or not. Chas. Mitchell. Molesworth, Ont., April 9, 1883. Willows for Pollen. I send a shoot taken from a bush or tree, for identitication. I find it lit- erally covered with bees, for the sake of the profusion of its pollen. lean liken their labors upon it to nothing else except what we have all witnessed at the rye meal basket. I take it to be a species of the willow, of which Br. Barrett (1850) enumerated 100 species growing in North America. Wm. S. Barclay. Beaver, Pa., April 17, 1883. [It is one of the willow family, as you have surmized.— Ed.] My Experience With Bees. I have liad bees for more than 30 years, but never paid much attention to them until the spring of 1879, when I concluded to give them my atten- tion (having quit active business), and to that end, I procured a book on the subject, read the science up, and tliought I was master of the situation. Having 5 colonies of black bees I divided them according to instruc- tions in King's Text Book, and suc- ceeded beyond ray expectations; in the fall I found myself possessed of 10 colonies in good condition for winter, and got some surplus honey. I put them in the cellar, and they came out all right in the spring of 18H0. I again divided and had 20 in the fall, and got a small amount of surplus ; all being heavy and in good condition for win- ter, I thouglit I would try out-door packing, and packed 10 in oat straw and chaff (after Mr. Ileddon's plan), and 10 put in the cellar. March being so pleasant I set set them all out, and unpacked those that were out, all be- ing in good condition, so far as I could see ; but April and part of May being wet, cold and windy, they com- menced to die off very I'apidly, leav- ing nice clean combs full of honey, so by the middle of May I had but one weak colony left, which died in tlie fall, after all my nursing. With over 100 frames full, or partly full of honey, I concluded to try itagain, and bought 12 colonies, part hybrids and part blacks, and got one colony from Mr, King, of New York. Increased them to 26, and got 335 lbs. of box honey, which I sold at 20 cents per pound, which paid for the 12 colonies bought. I put them away for the winter, packed in the summer stands, as be- fore, all in good condition. They came out in the spring of 1882 with^ out the loss of a single colony. Ex- pecting big things, I bought $47 worth of supplies, and increased my stock to 48, by my former method a little modified. Upon examination Oct. 1, I found them nearly all short of win- ter stores, some not having 5 lbs. of honey, and I got no surplus, except from one colony, and that gave me about 25 lbs. of inferior honey. I did not like to see them die, if I could help it, so I bought two barrels of cof- fee A sugar, and made it into sryup and fed them, so they averaged in weight from 18 to 30 lbs. I have packed them in plainer shavings. I suppose there never was a worse sea» son for honey in our county before. . Wm. B. McCormick. Uniontown, Pa. Queen Nursery, Observing Hives, Etc. Please answer the following ques^ tions in the Bee Journal : 1. Seeing that queen nurseries are required for the purpose of having a supply on all occasions when needed, and few bees can be spared for such nurseries, how are they to be protected through the winter ; it being neces- say to have them strong to keep up heat for winter protection ? As high a temperature being as necessary for a weak colony as a strong one, and the natural heat will not be sufficient, how is more heat to be created V I have never seen anything giving in- structions on this subject, although Prof. Cook so strongly urges rearing queens. 2. In the observatory hive, as de- scribed by Prof. Cook, page 113 of the present volume of the Bee Journal, which, of course, is intended to be in the house, study, or some such place, should not the alighting board be at; an open window, for the egress and ingress of the bees, to prevent them coming into the room, where it is de- sired to see them V I suppose that, during the winter season, the observa- tory hive may become a queen nursery. 3. What plan must be taken to stim- ulate late breeding, as urged in Cook's Manual V He gives the advice, but not the information which is neces- sary to many ; in fact to all who have not had the experience in that way. If the bees have plenty of honey, ia there something else better for that purpose V Edward Moore. Barrie, Ont. [Prof. Cook replies to the above questions as follows :— Ed.] 1. I suppose Mr. Moore means by queen nurseries the small colonies or 218 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. huclei in which the queens are reared. Judge Andrews, of Texas, says queens can 1)6 kept caged indelinitely by put- ting tlie cage in strong colonies. He Bays even thougli tlie otiier colonies have queens, the bees will always feed the caged queens. Mr. Alley says in his booli, the queens may be thus caged for long weeks, but that there must be feed in the cage ; that the bees will not feed them. I have al- ways kept tlie queens in the small hives or nuclei, by exchanging combs frequently, giving empty cells, the queens are kept active. \Vith a good cellar nuclei can be kept over winter as well as full colonies. The chamber containing them must be small ; either a small hive, or, better, the regular hive, with brood-chamber contracted by use of adivision board. My brother has kept several nuclei in his cellar the past winter. All but one came through strong. Tliat died of starva- tion. 2. My observing hive is on a board just outside the wMndow. It is just high enough to be convenient. By lowering the upper sash 1 can lean on it and study the bees for hours with- out fatigue. My window is a dormer, so it shades the bees in summer and protects them from storms. 2. I think stimulative feeding is fully described in my Manual. We only need to feed a half pint a day, by the use ofany of the feeders described. I think the Smith feeder, illustrated and described in mv new Manual (just out) is the best.— A. J. Cook. The Season in Oeorgia. Spring has fairly opened with us at last, but bees are in a backward con- dition. February was mild and pleas- ant, and breeding progressed rapidly, March set in cold, and continued so with wet and inclement weather all through. Bees could do nothing, but dwindled fearfully ; so by the 1st of April colonies, on an average, were not in as good condition as they were the last ot February. Box hive bee- keepers have lost heavily. J. P. H. Brown. Augusta, Ga., April 20, 1S83. How to Press and Monnt Flowers. In the Michigan State Fair pre- mium list (apiarian department) is ot- tered a premium for the best collec- tion ot honey-bearing plants pressed and mounted, or in bloom. Will some one who knows please tell the readers ot the Bee Journal how to press and mount llowers V W. Z. Hutchinson. Rogersville, Mich. Bees Still in Winter (Juarters. In the spring of 1881, I had 4 weak colonies, and 2 queenless; they in- creased to 10, and 1 nucleus, fall count ; all were packed in chaff. The spring count of 1882, was 9, and 2 queenless. I had from them 500 lbs. ot comb honey, and increased to 28 ; they were all packed in dry goods boxes, with clover chaff. The spring count of 1883, is 27 in splendid condi- tion; I lost one, caused by old bees and dysentery. My bees are still packed ; I expect to leave them so until about May 1, or until the weather becomes settled and warm. My bees are all Cyprians, Italians, and albinos, and I am well pleased with them. I use the A. G. Hill hive, and think it a good one. We have some old fogies here, who keep bees in box hives and brimstone them, etc., and .some of them have lost heavily this winter. I could not do without the Bee Jour- nal. H. Hance. Biyon, O., April 16, 1883. Bees All Right. I have iust unpacked my bees, and find nearly all in booming condition. My loss for the winter has been light. I packed, in my usual way, 165 colo- nies, and, to-day, I lind 160 in good condition. Never did I ever see bees in better condition than mine now are. The hives are nearly full of bees, and in some I lind brood in four and live frames, with capped drone brood. The weather has been Hue for nearly three weeks. I anticipate a line crop of honey. The white clover has never looked more promis- ing than it does this spring. Success to the Weekly Bee Journal. L. J. DiBHL. Butler, Ind., April 17, 1883. Nortli Carolina Bloom. Apples are in full bloom, and clover soon will be. I lost 15 out of 100 col- onies, last winter. My bees are very strong at this time, and promise great things, if we have a good season. J. W. Hinsdale. Raleigh, N. C, April 13, 1883. Bees are Just Booming. I wintered 42 colonies in the cellar, of which I lost 1 ; of 19 wintered on the summer stands, packed with saw- dust, I lost none ; leaving me 60 out of 61 colonies. I put them into winter quarters on Nov. 15, and removed them from the cellar, April 10, mak- ing about 145 days in the cellar with- out a flight. There is but little spot- ting of the hives ; all are in flue con- dition and strong, excepting about 6 which are a little weak, but still are from fair to good colonies. All are gathering natural pollen, to-day, from willows ^c.; dark and candied. 5(5i7Hc. BEBSWAX-We quote 3l-l®33c. STEARNS & SMITH. 423 Front Street. ST. LOUIS. HONEY— Very quiet; dull. Comb at 14®16c.— some inferior sold at inc.; strained at 6H(3i7c.. ex- tracted at 7^(«;-^M»c.. lots in small packages more. BEESVTAX— Scarce and wanted at .15c. W.T. ANDERSON & CO.. 1I7N. Main Street. CLEVELAND. HONEY— Is a little lower, and at the lower price It has mitvedoff a little better of late, l -lb. sections of best white sold at is>i;@l'*c. ; second grades. X-lb., 17c.: 2-lb. sections a little slow at 17®18c. Extracted very dull at u® lie. BEESWAX— None in market. A. C. KENDEI.. 115 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is fairly active. We quote: i^ lb. sections at 3nc.: 1 lb. sections, 22(a.'J5c.: 2 1b. sections, 2n®22c. Extracted. lOc. per lb. Good lots 01 extracted are wanted in ke(A or barrels. BEESWAJC— Our supply is gone: we have none to quote. CROCKER & BLAKE. .ST Chatham Street. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of thia paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents, W e wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad-, ress we already have on our books. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weeklyj with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper^ Emerson's Binder tor the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For Ave subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 20O colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Joubi NAL for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. ^"Mr. .Tames Heddon announces o\\ another page that he cannot supply any more Hives, etc., in the flat. All interested should notice the adver- tisement.—^Icfu. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts each, or $8 per 100. ^°Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1882 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. ^" Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in ths blanks for 50 cents extra. 220 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. t Honey as Food and Medicine. Anew edition, revised and enlarged, the new pages being devoted to new Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price of them low to encourage bee-keepers to scatter Ihem far and wide. Single copy 6 cents, postpaid; per dozen, 50 cents; per hundred, $4.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense— enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. An Instantaneous Light. Such in a word is the unique apparatus vn exhibition at the rooms of the Portable Electric Light Co., 23 Water Street, Boston. It occupies the space of only .5 square Inch- es and wcitfhs but .5 poumls, and can be t?arried with ease. Tlie light, or more properly lighter, requires no extra power, wires or connections, and is so constructed that any part can lie replaced at small cost. The chcuiicals are placed in a glass retort ; a carbon and zinc a|iparatus, with a spu-al platinum attaclnucnt, is then adjusted so as to form a battery, and the light is ready. The pressure on a little knob produces an electric current by which the spiral of idat- inum is heated to incandescence. The Portable Electric Light Company was re- cently incorporated, with a capital of »100,0(K), under the laws of Massachusetts. The usefulness of the ajmaratus and the low price (five dollars) will no doubt re- sult in its general adoption. Some of the prominent bushiess men of the State are identified with this enterorise. In addition to its use as a lighter, the apparatus can ftlso be used in connection wifli a burglar- ulami and galvanic battery. — " Boston ^Transcript," Dec. 30. Tlie Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in Iheir work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies (220 pages 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a lew colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. i^Postage stamps, of one, two or three cent denomination, accepted for fractional parts of a dollar; but money is preferred. 1^ Will the various manufacturers of t be Standard Langstroth hive please send circulars giving accurate dimen- sions, as made by them, to S. X. Clark, Delavan, Wis. The result as to the different sizes will be published in the American Bee Journal.— adu. Xew Catalogues and Price Lists, We have received the following new Catalogues and Price Lists of Bees, Queens or Apiarian Supplies : G. B. Jones, Brantford, Ont. Elvin Armstrong, Jerseyville, 111. Geo. W. Baker, Lewisville, Ind. Dr. Wm. R. Howard, Kingston, Tex. W. G. Russell, Millbrook, Ont. J. H. Tilley & Bio., CastleHill, Me. Thos. J. VVard, St. Mary's, Ind. C. R. Mitchell, Hawkinsville, Ga. G. H. Knickerbocker, Pine Plains, N. Y. A. C. Kendel, Cleveland, O.— field, garden and flower seeds. 1^ In Mr. S. Cornell's excellent article on " Ventilation of Bees," in last week's Journal, on page 200, an omission was made, when putting it in type. In the second column, 28th line from the top, after the period, add the following sentence : " It is just so with the air." Sample Copies of theAMERiCAN Bee Journal will be sent free to any per- son. Any one intending to get up a club can have sample copies sent to the persons they desire to interview, by sending the names to this ofiBce. ®° On the next page may be found the advertisement for a "comb foun- dation fastener," by D. C. Talbot, of Elroy, Wis., to which attention is invited. — adv. Special Notice.— We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bee Journal for 1883 and Cook's Manual in cloth for $2.75, or the Monthly and Manual in cloth for $1.75. As this offer will soon be witlidrawn, those who desire it should send for the book at once. Golden Italians Again! One Golden Italian Queen, warran- ted purely mated. :^i.'in. One pure- ly muted and tested, $^.50. One pure Queen, not warranted, $l.(Kl. Alt the above Queens are of the tliu'st stock in the country. I sold (ivtT :!(wi last season, and had but line complaint. Full colonies ready to divide, for $10.(_)0 ; safe arrival guaranteed. l7Atf I^. J. DIEUL, BUTL.ER, IND. E.T. LEWIS & GO. Joledo, Ohio, Manufacturers of the U. 8. STANDARD Honey Extractor (new improvements), and all other Apiarian Supplies. Send for circular. 17A 5Btf BEE KEP:pp:rs. before ordering your APIARIAN-SUPPLIES send for our large illustrated cata- logue, sent free to any address. E. Kretchmer, Coburg, Iowa. 1883 ITALIAN QUEENS. 1883 still they go -IJees for business all ready to ship. Send for our new Circular of Queens, full colo- nies and nuclei ; it tells how to introduce queens. T. S. HALL, leAi't Kirby's Creek, Jackson co, Ala. Bee-Keepers' Handy Book, Or, 22 Years' Experience in Queen Rearing. Oi>intnns of Eminent Apiarists o/ its vtiUte: From Geo. W. House, Fayetteville, N. Y.~"The information gained by u careful study of the new method of Queen Rearing, I consider worth ♦HXJto me. It supplies a long- felt want to every Queen breeder and dealer, and is invaluable to any bee- keeper. From James T. Norton. Winsted. Conn.— "I have read your book with much satisfaction and prodt; it Is written concisely and to the point. It should be in the hands of every bee-keeper." From Rev. D. D. Marsh. Georgetown, MasB.— "Your book on Queen Rearing has been received. I am very much pleased with it. It is refrcshingto see how frankly you have divulged the hard- earned secrets of your long experience. Your book contains a great deal of that information, which those who have already taken the 'first lessons' in apiculture will Und new and valuable." It will be remembered that Mr. E. T. Flanagan, of Bellville. III., went to Kenner, La., in March last to rear early Queens. After receiving the bocik be wrote me thus.— "I would have cheerfully given t.^)M.(Xi to have had your book and apparatus here when I first came. I am rearing 3<>J Queens." From L V. Root, Mohawk, N. Y"., and one of the most prominent apiarists in America.— "Your book has been received. Its title. 'Twenty two Y^eaks Exi'EiuENCE IN Queen HEAitiNt;.' is enough to convince any bee-keeper that they cannot afford to be without it. Good Queens is the rock upon which bee-keeping rests. 1 predict a large sale for the work." From J. M. Hicks, editor of the bee department. American Grange Bulletin. Mr. Hicks is well known to nearly all bee-keepers in the west.— "Bo^ were taken, up to Aug. 1.5. Mr. Morrison Lewis. of New Smyrna, is the pioneer in bee-keeping in Flor- ida ; that is, he was the first to make bee-keeping pay. He commenced in 1868 with one wild swarm, which he found in the woods, which did finely, increasing to several colonies, besides producing a large amount of iioney, the second year, which showed Mr. L. what they were capable of doing, when properly cared for. He received 25 to 30 cents per pound for all his honey, for some eight years. He in- troduced the first movable comb hive and the first honey extractor into the State, and shipped the first barrel of honey, gathered in Florida, to New York, in 1876. From his 30 colonies, he has shipped, up to Oct. I, 1882, over 3,000 pounds. From a private letter received re- cently from Mr. O. Olson, he states : " I made six swarms from one colony, this season, and took from the old colony 440 pounds of extracted honey. I have, at last, found a climate where I like 10 stay, in spite of all the in- sects, which is a great drawback on this coast during June, July and Au- gust. A more pleasant and healthy climate cannot be found on earth, and I have lived in Europe and several of the States of America. Smyrna is a place of twelve families, and six miles distant, are twelve more.'' I could continue this article to a greater length, but have given the important information sought after by those thinking of going into the business, in Florida. Any further in- formation will be cheerfully given as far as in my power, or by addressing any of the above named gentlemen. Baltimore, Md., Feb. 12. 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Experienced Students of Apiculture. JESSE OUEN. I cannot see the force of the ob- jections made by Mr. Ileddon, page 73, agaitist the views advanced by Dr. Besse in his " advanced step," in recommending diplomas to be given by the North American Apiarian Col- lege. It seems to me that Dr. Besse requires ot the applicant for honors all that Mr. Heddon requires, and a little more. Mr. Heddon's diploma and " red tape circumlocution," as he calls it, would pass current with the society, and entitle the young man to an examination. Dr. Besse demands an experience of one year in all the manipulations of the apiary. Mr. Heddon, five months, or a bee year, if you please so to call it. Both men are on the same plane in this period of preparation. If Mr. Heddon was one of the examining committee, as he probably would be, and his line of students, wiih their "red tape," signed •'Get there Success," should file into line before the committee, would he not approve them 'f Would he pro- test against Dr. Miller's, Doolittle's, Dadant's, Jones', Dr.Besse's.Grimm's "Get there Success 'i"' We believe he would admit all the names to his ad eundem list of red tape. They are all well known to the bee world. I am glad they are known, and that they liave spoken out. Red tape from any of them would pass a young man into my yard. Still I should prefer the combined red tape of alias being better than of any one alone. One might be all extracted, the other all comb, and half-pound sections at that, too. I might be suited with a mixed husbandry. Some men are born poets, and must sing; others are born mutes, and cannot sing. There is this dif- ference, also, among bee men. Some few miles from me lives a man who has been "getting there annually" with his 15,000 to 2,000 pounds of honey. He is a local phenomenon, and only known at home. His name is " Get tliere Success ;" but the North American Society knovi's noth- ing of him. He has paid §100 per montli for an apiarian assistant ; and any red tape he should adopt would pass the owner into my yard as com- petent. We do not want a private monopoly of red tape, but rather, a good Isupply from every part of the country. In this way, many who are mutes, will come out of their holes and hold up their hands to be seen. We hold that red tape does mean something ; and that if Mr. Heddon has any, he is proud of it, and would not readily part with it. A graduate of Yale or of Ann Arbor does not im- ply an illiterate person by any means, but, on the contrary, snch graduation \s prima facie evidence of scholarship, the United States over. We do not expect to make such men as Sir Isaac Newton, Kepler and Leverrier by diplomas, nor, perhaps, such apiarist as Mr. Heddon either ; yet this ad- mission does not diminish the signfi- cation of diplomas. We are friendly to Dr. Besse's " advance step," and believe the Society will so look upon the matter, when it meets in Toronto, next autumn. I have just given Mr. Heddon's and Mr. Jones' address to a young man who wishes to learn our business. I have given iiim a liope that he may be able to meet us at Toronto and pass examination next autumn. With the hope of success, he is going to work the ensuing sum- mer. But like many lawyers and doctors, he may graduate and after- wards make an honorable living haul- ing manure and digging potatoes. La Forte City, Iowa. For tlie American Bee JournaL Haldimand Bee-Keepers' Association The Haldimand Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation held its third meeting on Sat- urday, March 31, at Nelles' Corners, Ontario, pursuant to adjournment. Members present, E. DeCew, Presi- dent ; and Messrs. James Armstrong, R. Buckley, Robt. Coverdale, Eph- raim Gee, VVm. Abbott, Joseph Car- ter, Fred. Mehenbacher, E. C. Camp- bell, R. Anguish, Ambrose Gloyd, James Gloyd, William Harrison, A. Vanderbugh, Wm. Kindree, David Byers, Henry Smith, Elijah Kindree, R. W. Beam, David Anguish. Minutes of previous meeting read and approved. The president gave a short address, after which the first question was taken up. Two IStoi-y Hives. — Ml'. Armstrong said it depended on the depth of frames ; if the frames were shallow, two stories were an advantage ; it deep, one story or V.^ stories was about the right thing. "Mr. Buckley thought that when extracting, a double story was not necessary. The Desirable Style of Hive Cover. — The president exhibited one which met with the approval of the mem- bers. It was very similar to those now used by D. A. Jones, and is deep enough to allow for a chail cushion in winter. Bottom jBoards— Caused considerable discussion. A number of members favoring loose bottoms ; others pre- ferring tight bottoms ; the majority being in favor of the latter. iSpiiny Feeding.— The president said the best plan ofspring feeding, was that of D. A. Jones, and explained how it should be made. Mr. Byers advocated feeding syrup strained through a cloth ; it had worked well. Mr. Van- derburgh tliought the best plan of spring feeding was to feed in the fall. Mr. Buckley gave his plan, viz : mak- ing a syrup of sugar and tlour, pour- ing it into an empty frame, and put- ting it in the hive between the cluster. The secretary recommended linseed- cake meal as one of the best substi- tutes for pollen. Is it Best that Bees Should Sicarmf — Mr. Vanderburgh advocating divid- ing, as did Messrs. Armstrong and Buckley, and recommended having queens on hand for new colonies. Mr. Kindree thought if the object was to increase, natural swarming was best; if for honey, dividing was best. The THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 215 majority gave their opinion in favor of artificial swarming. Messrs. Wm Kindree and Wm. Abbott gave their plans for securing swarms. Hoie to Rear Good Queens.— Mr. Arm- strong preferred rearing queens in a full colony, on full sized frames, and explained his method at some length. How to Introduce Queens.— Mr. Arm- strong recomemded the Peet cage, keeping the queen confined until tlie bees became reconciled to her. The secretary mentioned the plan adopted by Mr. Simmins, of England, who in- troduced the queen on a frame of bees, with good success. Hcno to Secure Comb Honey. — Mr. Buckley advocated the use of metal division-boards and section boxes, in the body of the hive. Mr. Gloyd also spoke in favor of that plan, and said it was recommended by prominent bee-keepers. Mr. Kindree was in favor of section boxes in the upper story, leaving the lower story undis- turbed. Register of Each Hive— Its Value.— The president recommended the use of a register for each hive, so that he could tell the condition of his hives without the trouble of examining them every day. Books and Periodicals.— The secre- tary advocated the reading of books and periodicals devoted to bee-culture, and thought no progressive bee-keeper should be without one or more good bee papers. In one number of the American Bee Journal he had ob- tained information worth more than the subscription price for a whole year. Moved by Mr. Armstrong, seconded by Mr. Campbell, that each bee-keeper give a correct report of the number of colonies kept, and the number of pounds of comb and extracted honey from each colony, and what kind of bees. It was resolved that the next meet- ing be held on June 16, at 10 a. m., at Cheapside, Ont. The following statement will show the loses sustained during the past winter : Nov. 1882. April 1883. Edmund DeCew, 15 5 Robert Buckley, 38 33 James Armstrong, 32 31 Wm. Harrison, 2 2 Ambrose Gloyd, 16 15 Wm.Jack. 8 4 Joseph Carter, 10 9 Robert Coverdale, 6 5 ■R. W. Beam. 12 9 Wm. Kindree, 15 11 Henry Smith, 2 2 A. Vanderburgh, 9 9 r. Mehlenbacher, 1 1 David Byers, 13 12 Robert Anguish, 37 25 Ephraim Gee, 1 1 E. C. Campbell, 35 32 David Anguish, 4 3 Daniel Rose, 15 7 E. C. Campkell, ^'ec. P. S. By the above table it will be seen that the loses during the past severe winter have not been very high, and was caused principally by want of stores. I took mine out of cellar April 9, having been confined for over five months, without a Higlit. Three colonies were dead for want of stores ; the rest are in good condi- tion, with the exception of two or three, affected with dysentery.— E. C. For fhe American Bee JournaL Eemarks on Various Matters. J. o. shearman. The wintering problem seems to be pretty well worn ; but not finally set- tled yet. My hobby has been pack- ing in chaff, in which way I have been ordinarily successful. I wintered over 100 colonies, last winter and this, without the loss of a colony so far. I had all of my weakest colonies in the cellar, including some that were intended for doubling up ; but the weak and strong all seemed to stand, in the cellar, about alike, except a weak one that had the dysentery ; an examination showed that they had only uncapped honey left, though they had sealed honey in the fall. Also two nuclei, with reserved queens, starved. The temperature of the cellar was as near to freezing as I could keep it ; it was below only once. I found that when the thermometer in- dicated near 40-' (as often advised through the papers), they would be- come uneasy. I had only 27 in cellar. Those out of doors, packed in chaff, did well, so far, set close to tire ground, on a little bed of straw, for under packing. That goes to show that it is not quite sure death. I once thought that I had a good thing on them, if only they were cov- ered by snow, and said the deeper the snow the better, with a sloping board over the entrance, of course ; but now I have got bravely over that. The winter of 1880-81 was our test on that point. Those deep under the snow were very uneasy, while others sit- uated on the south side of a bill, where the wind blew the snow all away from the front of the hives, came out bright, strong and healthy. That was a damp confinement, while, this win- ter, though snowed under, 2 feet or more, they came out nearly dry, with much better results. My conclusions are that a number of causes may in- duce dysentery : 1 . Extreme changes of temperature, p;uticularly if damp. 2. Thin honey, more especially if soured by changes of temperature. 3. Long confinement, if in conjunction with either or both of the above un- favorable conditions. 4. Undue breed- ing while confined, or anything that disturbs them while unable to fly. On the half-pound sections, my ad- vice is to put a variety of packages upon the market, to supply all kinds of customers ; the half-pounds are well enough for part of the supply, but if all the honey was put up that way, it would be no higher in price than if all were in one-pound pack- ages. The novelty helps the price at first. During the past season I increased only from 90 to 107 colonies ; though it was a noted season tor svi'arming, for over two months. I did it, partly, by putting one swarm into another hive, from which a swarm had lately issued, increasing the surplus room ; and partly, before they got so feverish, by gradual extension of the brood- chamber; at the same time, giving more surplus room. The hive I use enables me to do the latter more readily, as the back of the brood- chamber is movable, the same as a division-board, and I can set them to work in three old-fasliioned boxes, with two brood frames, or use 18 of the same sized boxes on the top of 12 brood frames. I have run 12 colonies all through an entire season without swarming, increasing them to 18 by division, and giving them plenty of surplus room. That was four years ago, in a fast- swarming season ; but it takes too much time for a large stock to increase a little at a time. I had the above mentioned 12 colo- nies in a location where they gathered plenty of the red raspberry honev, while it was too wet for them to do much on the white clover. It was of very fine quality and flavor, though not so light in color as the white clover honey. New Richmond, Mich., Mar. 6, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Water for Bees in Winter. EUGENE SBCOR. I suppose some of our Southern brethren, who have been basking in the sunshine for two months, and whose bees have been " out to pas- ture" so long that they have forgotten tlie past winter,' will shrug their shoulders and thank God that they do not live in this borean land, when we tell them that we are just taking our hives to their summer stands. Well, I suppose the South is a delight- ful place to live in, but I have yet to learn that they accomplish more in any of the departments of industry during their long summers, than we in the North do in our short ones. A small portion of Texas came to the front last year in the production of honey, but year by year, the North supplies our leading honey markets, with as fine a quality as can be found this side of California. So, while we can successfully compete with them in the production of honey, perhaps we ought not to be so modest in dis- cussing the wintering problems, which, undoubtedly is anything but interesting reading to them. I have, to-day, taken my bees from the cellar, wheie they have been since Nov. 13. The last flight they had last fall, was on Nov. 10. This is the longest period I have ever kept them confined without a flight. My experi- ence, to-day, seems to indicate that they could have endured a much longer night. I never before saw bees so cross in the spring. They are usually so glad to get out and fly, to void their feces, that they did not attempt to sting; but, to-day, I was compelled to don bee-vail and gloves, and, in spite of both, I am now far from " spring poor." There are no signs of dysentery. They did not " spot " their hives during the 216 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. ■winter, nor anything around the yard, in their fliKht to-day. My cellar was perfectly dark, without any ven- tilation, and ranfjfed, in temperature, during the \vinter, from 32^ to 48°, usually standing at about 45P. It was quite dry. From March 1, I have, several times, watered a part of them, a thing that I never practiced before, but it had the effect to keep them more quiet, and many of them were "just booming " to-day. Now as to the results : One colony had starved to death. Four out of six, that were on the bottom tier, one foot from the cellar bottom, that had not been uncovered since putting in, and that had had no water, were dead. Only in one hive were the combs moldy, and all had sufficient stores. Those colonies wliich had been watered since March 1, were strong and healthy, and began to rob in less than an hour afterhaving been set out. Soft maples, willows, cotton woods, and elms are in bloom. The prairie anemones have been out for some days. The past winter has been one of the coldest known since the early settlement of the State. For about nine weeks from the 20th of Decem- ber, it hardly thawed on the south side of the house, and the mercury hugged the zero point most of the time, occasionally dropping down to call on numbers .35 and 40. And for fully three months it was too cold for even a healthy bee to venture far from the warmth "of the cluster. Fnnt trees, in many parts of the State, have been injured ; though in this locality we have not suffered in that respect. Bees have also wintered usually well. Forest City, Iowa, April 16, 1883. first day of .January is a very poor judgment. He cannot set true values. Enclosed you will find a spicy digest of the subject written by a lawyer of Black Hawk County, Iowa. He had my assistance in the matter. We must, however, fight the battle over and over, year after year. The ques- tion is not, '■ Should bees be taxed in Iowa?" but, " Are bees taxable un- der our laws?" Please, hereafter, when asked that question, answer, " Not by the laws of Iowa, etc." The Bee Journal, with that answer, will become notorious property, and will be preserved for the eye of the new assessor. La Porte City, Iowa, Feb. 5, 1883. ARE BEES TAXABLE V Editor : — Allow For the American Beo JoumaL Are Bees Taxable ? JESSE OREN. Mr. Editor :— On page 42 of the Bee JouRNALfor 1883, you are asked, " Are bees taxable V" Your answer, as given, is in accordance with the facts ; but your conclusion is wrong, viz. : property of value is taxable property in Iowa. The statute of a State fixes and names the kinds of property on which a revenue shall be raised. In Iowa, bees are exempt by statute, and about all your patrons here are anxious that you shall so answer. Of course I know that it is not reasonable to expect you to know the laws, etc., of all the States. I have made this matter a special study years ago, and the matter was de- termined by the Attorney General about 15 years ago, when a special bill was got up by a member of the Legislature, exempting bees, etc. He said tliat bees were already exempt. But year after year we put in asses- sors and boards of supervisors who are ignorant of the law, and who rea- son that all property ought to bear its share of the public burden— good rea- soning—but not Iowa law. But who knows any better than you do that the average assessor's judgment as to the value of a colony of Dees on the Mr. Editor :— Allow me to ask yourself and readers why it was that the board of supervisors of Black Hawk County, on Friday, Jan. 10, adopted Mr. Jenney's classification of taxable property t'or the year 1879, without first revising it so as to make it legal? I trust that they acted con- scientiously in the matter. But will you please, or will somebody please, explain how and where they got their authority for placing bees upon that list ? Perhaps our board did not know that they were exempt from taxation in Iowa? Perhaps they have some authority unknown to out- siders ? Will somebody please rise and explain ? Now, Mr. Editor, " let us reason together," and see if we can find a little law which is, and ought to be plain, to every reasonable being, at feast after it has been pointed out to them. I believe I can show by statute that bees are as plainly exempt as if thev had been written in gilt letters at the head of the chapter of exempt property. First, what are bees ? Are they vegetables ? Are they minerals ? Or, are they animals ? To which of these kingdoms do they belong ? Of course, you and everybody else will say that they are animals, of the in- sect order. Now, since they are ani- mals, then, as animals, they are twice exempt under the statute. Exempt from taxation, first, by section 797 and 801 of Code of Iowa, 1873. Section 797, division 4, exempts from taxation " animals not hereafter specified." Section 801 enumerates the animals, viz. : "Horses, cattle, mules, asses, sheep, swine." Now, we see that it does not mention bees, nor does it intend for bees to be listed, or it would have mentioned them. At a glance we can see that to have men- tioned all the animals exempt would have been an endless task, and when completed would have been a volume of itself, and only merited our ridicule. It might have read like this, viz. : From the animal kingdom there shall be exempt 20 species of the quad- rumania, viz. : The buffalo, the elk, the deer, the cat, the dog, the mouse, etc. Of cetacea species, the oyster, the clam, etc. Of birds, the wren, tlie robin, the swallow, etc. Of rep- tiles, the lizzard, the garter snake, the bull snake, etc. Of insects— 30 spe- cies— viz. : The hornet, the wasp, the asp, the bee, the bumble bee, and so on, ad infinitum. But the cobra- copella, the rattlesnake, the grizzly bear, the parrot, the seal, the golden fly of South America, owing to the vast amount of money invested in them for show purposes, shall be listed and taxed at twice their ap- praised value. Such might have been the form of the section had the Leg- islature attempted it. But they chose a wiser plan, and oiriy enumerated those animals wliich were to be taxed, and exempted by section 797 all others — bees with the rest. Again, according to Langstroth and other standard authority, the average life of a working bee, in summer sea- son, is only six weeks, while it is a mooted question whether any worker ever lives to so great an age as seven months. Now, a bee being an animal, under section 821 (last clause), under "classification of prop- erty" for taxation, we find that " no entry shall be made on said books of any animal under the age of one year, except swine." The queen-bee is the only bee which lives to so great an age as one year. Her market value is 75 cents, and thousands are annually sold to A. I. Root, of Medina, O., at that price. We find by this section (821) that bees are again exempt. " \vell," say some, " it is not the bee, it is the value." To tliis we again fall back on section 797, where we find " farm produce harvested within one year previous to the listing thereof," is exempt from taxation ; and since all that is valuable in a colony of bees, except the 75 cent queen-bee, is har- vested " within a year previous to the listing thereof," and comes in exempt along with thousands of bushels of wheat which the farmer may have in his granery or stack, the thousands, yes millions of dollars worth of wear- ing apparel, including valuable house- hold furniture, thousands of dollars invested in swine under six months old, calves, colts, chickens, and the like, even down to a $5,000 shawl, such as Mrs. I^ is said to wear. and other articles of a wardrobe pro- portionately expensive. From the list of exempt property, it is plain to be seen that it is not the intent of our law to tax all valuable property, for if it did, why exempt so many millions of valuables? In conclusion I would say that I have not talked with any lawyer, who, after a little reference, did not see the exempt condition of bees under our law. I might refer to Clark & Curtis, of Lemars, Ordway, of Waterloo. Judge Gilchrist, of Vin- ton, the two law firms in our own city, viz. : Bishop Ji: Sharon and Chas. Bishop, and many others whose names I will not occupy time and space to enumerate. Now, Mr. Editor, please excuse this space-consuming article, as my object in penning this is to aid in the sup- port of the Constitution of the United States and the laws of the State of Iowa. S. A. O. [We are very glad to make the cor- rection requested. Certainly, on this showing, in Iowa, bees are not taxa- . ble property.— Ed.] THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 217 Are Bees Taxable in Iowa J Will you please state whether the laws of Iowa exempt bees from taxa- tion V All agree here that if bees are animals they are then exempt. Some think they are insects. Peter S. Trieji. Mt. Auburn, Iowa. [We are informed that the Attorney General, some 15 years ago, decided that in Iowa bees are not taxable, and according to the laws of that State, they are not assessable. Apiarists in Iowa should show this to the new assessors.— Ed.] Honey Flow in Louisiana. There has been a fine flow of honey ; the bees are in splendid condition. I have been running for increase, and yet from 100 colonies I liave taken 3,o00 pounds of good honey. I shall start for the North about April 25, with a lot of colonies. E. T. Flanagan. Kenner. La., April 16, 1883. A Beginner's Experience. My father kept bees as long ago as I can remember, and I was always fond of them. About 5 years ago, I and a neighbor procured about a dozen each, and as we had heard of the new way of dividing, we divided them again" and again, expecting to get rich m that way, but the winter cleaned us out of the bee business. Taking the advice of a friend, I sub- scribed for the Bee Journal and bought Cook's Manual, and concluded to try again, after learning more about bees. I sold enough honey to pay for my bees, and all that I had over spent on them, and still have the bees left. They are in ^ood condition now, and will be ready tor the harvest when it comes. Casey. Ill, D. R. Rosebrough. Wintering Bees, etc. As dry sawdust is hard to get in the fall, I procured it dry, after harvest, and had plenty in the fall. I have tried chaff with success, but do not want it any more ; it harbors mice, and gets damp very quickly. I must either clip the queen's wings or rnn a great risk of my neck, so I choose the former. I like a deeper frame than the Langstriith, for Canada. I want my frames crosswise ; I think a divis- ion-board as needful as the hives. I use an outside box about 6 inches larger than the hive, with the en- trance bridged, and packed around and on top ( with movable side), pressed tight on sawdust. In frosty morn- ings, in the fall, I remove all outside combs, which can be done very fast, and feed up, on from 5 to 7 frames. Where do bees cluster in the fall and winter 'f Below the honey ; the only place for them, and just where they should, to give heat for sealing ; they have warm honey all winter. I have yet to lose the first good colony pre- pared in the above manner. I have no carrying to do, in the spring, and bees are packed all the spring, and are not coaxed out, with every sunbeam, to get lost. Two colonies starved, in Langstroth hives, with honey in the hive ; sometimes bees cluster in the centre, and getting to the end of the frames in a cold spell, they will starve with honey at the other end. Some of my bees have not flown for 147 days ; neither do they seem to want to They are in excellent condition, with about 5 inches of sawdust on the top. For such a terrible winter, bees that are packed have wintered well. My experience will not agree with that of Prof. Cook, as stated on page 85 of his Manual. In every case, with me, the field bees have decided what shall be done. Last summer I found them keeping the queen from drone cells, and even using violence to stop her from laying drone eggs. I learn from them as to whether there should be a second swarm or not. CnAs. Mitchell. Molesworth, Ont., April 9, 1883. Willows for Pollen. I send a shoot taken from a bush or tree, for identification. I find it lit- erally covered with bees, for the sake of the profusion of its pollen. I can liken their labors upon it to nothing else except what we have all witne.ssed at the rye meal basket. I take it to be a species of the willow, of which Dr. Barrett (18.50) enumerated 100 species growing in North America. Wm. S. Barclay. Beaver, Pa., April 17, 1883. [It is one of the willow family, as you have surmized.— Ed.] My Experience With Bees. I have had bees for more than 30 years, but never paid much attention to them until the spring of 1879, when I concluded to give tliem my atten- tion (having quit active business), and to that end, I procured a book on the subject, read the science up, and thought I was master of the situation. Having 5 colonies of black bees I divided them according to instruc- tions in King's Text Book, and suc- ceeded beyond my expectations ; in the fall I found myself possessed of 10 colonies in good condition for winter, and got some surplus honey. I put them in the cellar, and they came out all right in the spring of 1880. I again divided and had 20 in tlie fall, and got a small amount of surplus ; all being heavy and in good condition for win- ter, I thought I would try out-door packing, and packed 10 in oat straw and chaff (after Mr. Ileddon's plan), and 10 put in the cellar. March being so pleasant I set set them all out, and unpacked those that were out, all be- ing in good condition, so far as I could see ; but April and part of May being wet, cold and windy, they com- menced to die off very rapidly, leav- ing nice clean combs full of honey, so by the middle of May I had but one weak colony left, which died in the fall, after all my nursing. With over 100 frames full, or partly full of honey, I concluded to try itagain, and bought 12 colonies, part hybrids and part blacks, and got one colony from Mr, King, of New York. Increased them to 26, and got 335 lbs. of box honey, which I sold at 20 cents per pound, which paid for the 12 colonies bought, I put them away for the winter, packed in the summer stands, as be- fore, all in good condition. They came out in the spring of 1882 with- out the loss of a single colony. Ex- pecting big things, I bought $47 worth of supplies, and increased my stock to 48, by my former method a little modified. Upon examination Oct. 1, I found them nearly all short of win- ter stores, some not having 5 lbs. of honey, and I got no surplus, except from one colony, and that gave me about 25 lbs. of inferior honey. I did not like to see them die, if I could help it, so I bought two barrels of cof- fee A sugar, and made it into sryup and fed them, so they averaged in weight from 18 to 30 lbs. I have packed them in plainer shavings. I suppose there never was a woi'se sea- son for honey in our county before. Wji. B. McCormick. Uniontown, Pa. Qneen Nnrsery, Observing Hives, Etc. Please answer the following ques- tions in the Bee Journal : 1. Seeing that queen nurseries are required for the purpose of having a supply on all occasions when needed, and few bees can be spared for such nurseries, how are they to be protected through the winter ; it being neces- say to have them strong to keep up heat for winter protection V As high a temperature being as necessary for a weak colony as a strong one, and the natural heat will not be sutticient, how is more heat to be created V I have never seen anything giving in- structions on this subject, although Prof. Cook so strongly urges rearing queens. 2. In the observatory hive, as de- scribed by Prof. Cook, page 113 of the present volume of the Bee Journal, which, of course, is intended to be in the house, study, or some such place, should not the alighting board be at an open window, for the egress and ingress of the bees, to prevent them coming into the room, where it is de- sired to see them V I suppose that, during the winter season, the observa- tory hive may become a queen nursery. 3. What plan must be taken to stim- ulate late breeding, as urged in Cook's Manual V He gives the advice, but not the information w'hich is neces- sary to many ; in fact to all who have not had the experience in that way. If the bees have plenty of honey, ia there something else better for that purpose? Edward Moore. Barrie, Ont. [Prof. Cook replies to the above questions as follows :— Ed.] 1. I suppose Mr. Moore means by queen nurseries the small colonies or 218 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. huclei in wliicli the queens are reared. Judge Andrews, of Texas, says queens can be kept caged indefinitely by put- ting tlie cage in strong colonies. He Bays even thougli tlie otlier colonies have queens, the bees will always feed the caged queens. Mr. Alley says in his book, the queens may be thus caged for long weeks, but that there must be feed in the cage ; that the bees will not feed them. I have al- ways kept the queens in the small hives or nuclei. By exchanging combs frequently, giving empty cells, the queens are kept active. With a good cellar nuclei can be kept over winter as well as full colonies. The chamber containing them must be small ; either a small hive, or, better, the regular hive, with brood-chamber contracted by use of adivision board. My brother has kept several nuclei in his cellar the past winter. All but one came through strong. That died of starva- tion. 2. My observing hive is on a board just outside tlie window. It is just high enough to be convenient. By lowering the upper sash 1 can lean on it and study the bees for hours with- out fatigue. My window is a dormer, BO it shades the bees in summer and protects them from storms. 2. I think stimulative feeding is fully described in my Manual. We only need to feed a half pint a day, by the use of any of the feeders described. I think the Smith feeder, illustrated and described in my new Manual (just out) is the best.— A. J. Cook. The Season in Georgia. Spring has fairly opened with us at last, but bees are in a backward con- dition. February was mild and pleas- ant, and breeding progressed rapidly, March set in cold, and continued so with wet and inclement weather all through. Bees could do notliiiig. but dwindled fearfully ; so by the 1st of April colonies, on an average, were not in as good condition as tliey were the last ot February. Box hive bee- keepers have lost heavily. , ^ „ J. P. H. Brown. Augusta, Ga., April 20, 1883. How to Press and Mount Flowers. In the Michigan State Fair pre- mium list (apiarian department) is of- fered a premium for the best collec- tion ot honey-bearing plants pressed and mounted, or in bloom. Will some one who knows please tell the readers ot the JJEE Journal how to press and mount (lowers v o .„ ^^- Z. Hutchinson. Rogersville, Mich. feees Still In Winter Qnarters. In the spring of 1881. I had 4 weak colonies, and 2 queenless : they in- creased to 10, and 1 nucleus, fall count ; all were packed in chaff. The spring count of 1882, was 9, and 2 queenless. I had from them 500 lbs. or comb honey, and increased to 28 ; uiey were all packed in dry goods boxes. With clover chaff. The spring count of 1883, is 27 in splendid condi- tion; I lost one, caused by old bees and dysentery. My bees are still packed ; I expect to leave them so until about May 1, or until the weather becomes settled and warm. My bees are all Cyprians, Italians, and albinos, and I am well pleased with them. I use the A. G. Hill hive, and think it a good one. We have some old fogies here, who keep bees in box hives and brimstone them, etc., and some of them have lost heavily this winter. I could not do without the Bee Jour- nal. H. Hance. Bryon, O., April 16, 1883. Bees All Right. I have just unpacked my bees, and find nearly all in booming condition. My loss for the winter has been light. I packed, in ray usual way, 165 colo- nies, and, to-day, I tind 160 in good condition. Never did I ever see bees in better condition than mine now are. The hives are nearly full of bees, and in some I tind brood in four and live frames, with capped drone brood. The weather has been tine for nearly three weeks. I anticipate a tine crop of honey. The white clover has never looked more promis- ing than it does this spring. Success to the Weekly Bee Journal. L. J. DiEHL. Butler, Ind., April 17, 1883. North C.iroliiia Bloom. Apples are in full bloom, and clover soon will be. I lost 15 out of 100 col- onies, last winter. My bees are very strong at this time, and promise great things, if we have a good season. J. W. Hinsdale. Raleigh, N. C, April 13, 1883. Bees are Just Booming'. I wintered 42 colonies in the cellar, of which I lost 1 ; of 19 wintered on the summer stands, packed with saw- dust, I lost none ; leaving me 60 out of 61 colonies. I put them into winter quarters on Nov. 15, and removed them from the cellar, April 10, mak- ing about 145 days in the cellar with- out a flight. There is but little spot- ting of the hives; all are in fine con- dition and strong, excepting about 6 which are a little' weak, but still are from fair to good colonies. All are gathering natural pollen, to-day, from willows and soft maples, the first this season. The thermometer indicates from 78° ro 82-', and it is raising quite briskly this evening, at 8 o'clock. U. E. Dodge. Fredonia, N. Y., April 15, 1883. How to use Bee Papers. I think the printers have scarcely followed " copy," or I have made a strange blunder in my communica- tion, published in the Bee Journal, March 28, page 166, third paragraph. I intended to have written: "Any man who cannot make his busine&s pay for a good journal published in the interest of that business, had better quit the business, etc.," or words to that effect. It now, how- ever, reads : " Any man who cannot make his business pay had better quit the business, etc." You will at once see the difference. The latter quo- tation, I presume, goes without asking by the necessities of the case, and does not need a special communica- tion to state it, but while the former may be equally as true, yet it is so often in practice ignored as to need a reminder. R. J. Kendall. Austin, Texas, March 30, 1883. [It was printed as written in the copy.— Ed.] Bees Confined 159 Days. On page 180, Mr. McKay says who can beat 130 days without a flight ? Well, I can. My bees have been in the cellar 159 days withouta flight,and have some 10 days more to remain, at least. All answered to the roll call to-day, " 21 in number ;" loss, thus far, none. The dead on the floor can all be put into a two-quart measure. The above success is due, in a great measure, to the American Bee Journal, of which I have been a constant and interested reader for three years, and never expect to do without it as long as I keep bees. I use chaff mats, and am a strong be- liever in cellar wintering. D. L. Herrick. Brattleboro, Vt., April 15, 1883. A Swarm Went to the Woods. I had 4 colonies of bees in boxes and barrels. Three of them I trans- ferred more than a month ago, in the ordinary way. The boxes broke, and induced robbing, and I had so much trouble that I determined I would let the fourth wait and swarm. But see- ing Mt. Heddon's plan, I concluded to try it, especially as the weather was warm, apples, clover, etc., bloom- ing, and several colonies of my neigh- bor's bees had swarmed during the last few days. I very soon drove the bees into the hive filled with comb founda- tion ; Uiey remained several hours, and took their departure to the woods, I hope others may profit by my ex- perience. A Subscriber. Omega, La. Stinging and Dislike of Bees. The bees have a natural dislike to me ; they come for me quickly, even when walking in the yard, but not at work with them. One sting will sometimes almost cause me to faint. The rule, that the more a person gets stung, the less it hurts, does not hold good with me ; the pain is as severe as it was five years ago. I wear veil and gloves, and have a Bingham smoker, but I get stung often. To allay the pain, after the sting, wet clay is the best thing I have ever tried. The best antidote I have ever tried is whisky ; two teaspoonsful be- fore I go to work with the bees. I am not used to whisky, and do not want to be ; I hate it. Will some of the readers of the Journal tell me what, ^if anything, I can put on my clothes to pacify them ; and what is the best antidote besides whisky, and oblige one who cannot follow hard labor, and do not want to throw away what it has taken 15 years to learn. Riverton, Iowa. J. H. Stephens. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 219 Convention Notices. 1^ The Mahoning Valley bee-keep- ers will hold their 13tli meeting in the Town Hall, at Berlin Centre, Ohio, on May 5. All bee-keepers, and the pub- lic in general, are invited to attend. Do not forget to bring your wives, children, and a well-Hlled lunch basket. We expect a grand meeting. L. Carson, Pres. H. A. Simon, Sec. pro tern. ^g" Thesemi-annual meeting of the Western Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at Independence, Jackson County, Mo., on Saturday, April 2S, 1883, at 10 a. m. Papers prepared for the occasion by the president, sec- retary and others will be read, and matters of general interest to bee- keepers discussed. A general attend- ance of persons interested in bee- culture is requested. The present membership of this Association con- trol 1!,000 colonies of bees. S. W. Salisbury, Sec. Kansas City, Mo. J. A. Nelson, Pres. Wyandotte, Kas. 1^ Quite a number of the leading bee-keepers of Missouri and Kansas met at the Court House, in Independ- ence, Mo., December 23, 1882, and or- ganized a bee-keepers' convention, which was named the " Western Bee- Keepers' Association," by electing the following officers for the ensuing year : Jas. A. Nelson, of Wyandotte, Kans., President; L. \V. Baldwin, of Inde- pendence, Mo., Vice-President; S.W. Salsbury, Kansas City, Mo., Treasurer. The Association passed a resolution to invite all bee-keepers within a con- venient distance, to meet with us at our next meeting and lend us their councils. Adjourned, to meet again at Independence, on tlie last Saturday in April next, at 10 o'clock, a. m. J. D. Meador, P. Baldwin, C. M. Crandall, Committee. 1^ The spring meeting of the Western Michigan Bee-Keepers' As- sociation will be held at Supervisor's Hall, Grand Rapids, April 26, at 10 a. m. r. S. Covey, Sec. Coopersville, Mich. 1^ The Union Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation will meet in Grange Hall, Em- inence, Ky., on Thursday, April 26, 1883. All bee-keepers, and the public generally, are invited to be present. G. VV. Demaree, Sec. Christiansburg, Ky. ^" There will be a meeting of the bee-keepers of Western New York and Western Pennsylvania, to adopt a constitution and by-laws, elect of- ficers, etc., for the Western New York Bee-Keepers' Association, on April 28, 1883, at Fredonia, N. Y., opening at 10 o'clock a. m. All bee-keepers are cordially invited to attend. Dis- cussions on bee-culture, etc. Suitable rooms will be provided. U. E. Dodge, Aclinq Sec. 1^ The Tuscarawas Valley Bee- Keepers' Association will hold their next meeting in the Town Hall, Cos- hocton, O., on Wednesday, May 2, at 10 a. m. All bee-keepers are re- quested to be present. J. A. BucKLEW, Sec, Clarks, O . 1^ The spring meeting of the Cortland Union Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation will be held in Cortland, N. Y., on Tuesday, May 8, 1883. M. C. Bean, Sec. i^ The Iowa Central Bee-Keepers' Association will hold their semi- annual meeting at Winterset, Iowa, on Friday, May 11, 1883. All inter- ested in anything pertaining to bee- culture are invited to attend, and bring anything that will be of interest to the bee fraternity. J. E. Pbyor, Sec. A. J. Adkison, Pres. Honey and Beeswax Market. Office of American Bee Journal. \ Monday, 10 a. m., April 23, 1882. ) The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Quotations of Cash Buyers. CHICAGO. HONEY— The nominal price of extracted ia 7c. for dark and Oc. for lieht— here. The supply is abundant and sales are slow. BEESWAX— None in the market. AL. H. New.man. a-a W. Madison St. CINCINNATI. HONEY— There is no excitement In the honey market, but sales are fair to our regular trade. OITerint-'s are plentiful of extracted and comb huiiey. K.xtracted brinjjs 7@l)c. on arrival. The sales i>f coTiih honey are very slow, although there is a lar^e supply of llrst-class quality on the mar- ket. It briiiKs l"2(a<18c. on arrival. BEES WAX— Comes in slowly and brings iOQSOc per lb., according to quality. Chas. V. MUTH. QtiotailoiiB of CommlBSlon Merchants. CHICAGO. HONEY— The demand is light and It is not now probable that all of the comb honey can be sold before a new crop comes. Prices are very irregular and generally low: 15{al6c.for white, and dark un- salable. Extracted, very little trade is being done in it. 7@9c. is about the market. BEESWAX-35IS3BC. R. A. BURNETT. 161 South Water St. SAN FRANCISCO. HONE Y— Buyers are readily obtained for choice comb or extracted at full Sgures, but off qualities meet with slow sale. White comb, I4(6@9^c. ; dark and candied, T-^l^^c. BEESWA.\-We quote 30a;33c. Stbarns & SMITH, 423 Front Street. 8T. liODIS. HONEY— Very quiet; dull. Comb atUOiec- some inferior sold at 10c. : strained at fihj^7c.. ex- tracted at 7Mi(ii8Hc., lots in small packages more. BEES WAX— Scarce and wanted at 35c. W. T. ANDERSON & Co.. 117 N. Main Street. CLEVELAND. HONEY— Is a little lower, and at the lower price it has movednfTa little betterof late. 1-lb. sections of best white sold at I8!.a(rt-l9c. : second grades, l-!b., 17c.; 2-lb. sections a little slow at 17@18c. Extracted very dull at y@llc. BEESWAX— None in market. A. C. KENDKL. 11.5 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is fairly active. \Ve quote: li! lb. sections at 30c.: 1 lb. sections, ■JJlg.-'.^c. ; 2 lb. sections, l'o(,_i.-jjc. Extracted, loc. per lb. Good lots ot extracted are wanted in kegs or barrels. BEESWAX-Our supply is gone; we have none to quote. CROCKER 4 BLAKE. 57 Chatham Street. Special 1|oticcs. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad-, ress we already have on our books. Onr Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy or Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with |10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiuma for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, an^ the same amount of money. r. .Tames Heddon announces on another page that he cannot supply any more Hives, etc., in the flat. AH interested should notice the adver-i tisement. — Adv. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts each, or $8 per 100. ij^ Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1882 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. 1^" Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra. 220 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Honey as Food and Medicine. A new edition, revised and enlarged, the new pages being devoted to neio Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price of them low to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 6 cents, postpaid; per dozen, 50 cents; per hundred, $4.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, " Presented by," etc., 'giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense— enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. An Instantaneous Light. Such hi a word is the unique apparatus ■on exhibition at the rooms of tlie Portable Electric Light Co., ;J3 Water Street, Boston. It occupies the space ot only .5 square inch- ■es, and weighs but .5 pounds, and can be •carried with ease. I'lie liglit. or more properly liglitcr, rcqiiires no extra power, wires or comici'tiniis. and is so r(>u--tnii'ted that any part can be replaced at small cost. The chemicals are placed in a glass retort ; ■a carbon and ziuc apparatus, with a spiral platinum attachment, is tlien adjusted so ■as to form a battery, and the light is ready. The pressure on a little knob produces an lelectric current by wliich the spiral of plat- inum is heated to incandescence. Tlie Portable Electric Liglit Company was re- ■cently incorporated, witli a capital of tlOO,000, under tlie laws of Massatliusetts. Tlie usefulness of the apparatus and the low price (five dollars) will no doubt re- sult in its general adoption. Some of the prominent business men of the State are ideiititied with this enterprise, hi addition to its use as a lighter, the apparatus can also be used in connection witli a burglar- alarm and galvanic battery. — " Boston Transcript,"I)ec. 30. New Catalognes and Price Lists. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a •copy and commence. to use it. FoT 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies (220 pages 1 50 " 200 colonies {420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase •of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. i^'Postage stamps, of one, two or three cent denomination, accepted for fractional parts of a dollar; but money is preferred. i^ Will the various manufacturers of the Standard Langstroth hive please send circulars giving accurate dimen- sions, as made by them, to S. X. Clark, Uelavan, Wis. The result as to the different sizes will be published in the American Bee Journal.— ady. We have received the following new Catalogues and Price Lists of Bees, Queens or Apiarian Supplies : G. B. Jones, Brantford, Ont. Elvin Armstrong, Jerseyville, 111. Geo. W. Baker, Lewisville, Ind. Dr. Wm. R. Howard, Kingston,Tex. W. G. Russell, Millbrook, Out. J. H. Tilley & Bro., Castlellill, Me. Thos. J. Ward, St. Mary's, Ind. C. R. Mitchell, Hawkinsville, Ga. G. H. Knickerbocker, Pine Plains, N. Y. A. C. Kendel, Cleveland, O.— field, garden and flower seeds. 1^" In Mr. S. Cornell's excellent article on " Ventilation of Bees," in last week's Journal, on page 200, an omission was made, when putting it in type. In the second column, 28th line from the top, after the period, add the following sentence : " It is just so with the air." Sample Copies of the American Bee Journal will be sent free to any per- son. Any one intending to get up a club can have sample copies sent to the persons they desire to interview, by sending the names to this oflice. i^ On the next page may be found the advertisement for a " comb foun- dation fastener," by D. C. Talbot, of Elroy, Wis., to which attention is invited. — adv. Special Notice.— We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bee Journal for 1883 and Cook's Manual in cloth for $2.75, or the Monthly and Manual in cloth for $1.75. As this offer will soon be withdrawn, those who desire it should send for the book at once. Golden Italians Again! One Golden Italian Queen, warran- ted purely mated.*!.. XI. One pure- ly mated and tested, $2.ri(i. One pure Queen, not warranted, |:].(m. All the above Queens are of the finest slock in the country, Isold 'over yiHi last season, and had hut one complaint. Full culoniesready to divide, for *10.(.h) ; safe arrival euaranteed. 17Atf r.. ,J. DIEHL, BUTIjBR, IND. E.T. LEWIS & CO., Toledo, Ohio, Manufacturers of the U. S. STANDARD Honey Extractor (new improvenienta), and all r»ther Apiarian Supplies. Send for circular. 17A oBtf BEE - KEEPERS, before ordeiinK your APIARIAN-SUPPLIES send fur our lar^je illustrated cata- logue, sent free to any address. E. ]i.retchiiier, Cobui-g, Iowa. 1883 ITALIAN QUEENS. 1883 still they Eo-Bees fur business all ready to ship. Send for our new Circular of Queens, full colo- nies and nuclei ; it tells how to introiluce queens. T. S. HALL. l(>Ai;t Kirby's Creek, Jackson co, Ala. Bee-Keepers' Handy Book, Or, 22 Tears' Experience in Queen Bearing. Oiyinions of Eminent Apiarists of its value: From Geo. W. House, Fayetteville. N. Y.— "The information gained by a careful study of the new method of Queen RearinR, I consider worth $IW to me. It supplies a lonK felt want to every Queen breeder and dealer, and is invaluable to any bee- keeper. From Jame8 T. Norton. Winsted. <_'onn.— "I have read your book with much satisfaction and protlt; it is written concisely and to the point. It should be in the hands of every oee-keeper." From Rev. D. D. Marsh. Georgetown, Mass.— "Your book on Queen Rearing has been received. I am very much pleased with it. It is refreshing to see hi>w frankly you have dlvuljzed the hard- earned seeretd of y.mr lonu experience. Vour book contains a Kreat deal of that information, which those who liave already taken the 'first lessons' in apiculture will find new and valuable." It will be remembered that Mr. E. T. Flanagan, of Beliville. III., went to Kenner. La., in March last to rear early Queens. After receiving the book he wrote me thus.— "1 would have cheerfully given $.50.(.K.t to have had your book and apparatus here when I first came. I am rearing acxi Queens." From L C. Root, Mohawk, N. Y., and one of the most prominent apiarists in America.— "Your book has been received. Its title, 'Twenty-two Years ExpEKiENtE IN Ql'KEN Rea Ki.vi.;.' 18 enough to convince any bee-keeper that they cannot afford to be without it. Good Queens is the rock upon which bee-keeping rests. 1 predict a large sale for the work." From J. M. Hicks, editor of the bee department. American Grange Bulletin. Mr. Hicks is well known to nearly all bee-keepers in the west.— "Book received. I pronounce it the best w(_>rk of the kind, of American publications. I consider it a perfect gem for the practical bee-keeper, and should be in the hands of every apiarist." Until May lat the book will be sold for $1.00 per copy. After that date, $1.25 per copy, handsomely bound in cloth, and $l.Ou bound in paper. Frac- tionable parts of a dollar can be sent In postage stamps. Our new circular and price list of Queens for 1883 contains 32 pages, and is illustrated to show our new way of reuringQueens. Send your address on a postal card for it. HENBT ALLEY, Wenham, Mass. FOR EXCHANGE. Comb Foundation Machine for pure Italian Bees. Address, S. LONliLEY, CINCINNATI, O. Uf In perfect order. 17A it. The Bee^Keepers' Guide, OR, MANUAL OF THE APIARY. 9,000 SOLD IN SIX YEARS. lOth Thousand *Tu8t Out. More than 50 pages, and more than .50 fine illus- trations added. The whole work lias been thor- oughly revised, and contains the vt-ry latest in re- spect to bee-keeping. It is certainly the fullest and most scientific work treating of bees in the World. 1 had hoped and expected to make the price one dollar, and it has been so advertised by Mr. James Heddon and in Alley's new book; but owing to the increased size and expense, this is impossi- ble. PRICE, BY MAIL, $1.25. I P Cn M 05 05 0300I COW No. of Colonies Spring, 1882. 0 02 00 OOO^Cn No. of Colonies Fall, 1882. 1— ' C5CK OOl to Swarms Lost. o lOOOOW Pounds of Extracted Honey. 0 4 2 00 00 — 1— lO OOOOUJ Pounds of Comb Honey. OCD -^ Ci'— ' 00 I—" a: *- Ml h^ — OOi GO tOOOOOi Total Pounds of Honey. S loco )— ' C5 to O OGo c;i 00 Pounds Per Colony. g O O O Cii 00 Pounds of Wax. $ 2 lo <* Ol -J Ol (X '— ' 10 a: 0 *] CO »^ 0 0 en 10 Total Proceeds. " toco 0 ^ CO .— ^ a; oco -3GO COCOOCOrf^ Proceeds Per Colony. 4 to CO a-. 005 to CO l-» to 0 01 -J to No. of Increase of Colonies. M CO i o o 00000 00000 Value of Increase. HI ■ 1 to '^ "00 CO -^ CO *-■ CO ^OCn »^ 00 O Ol 00 CO CO Ol .*- t consider it safe to keep a valuable col- ony of bees in the Langstroth hive (tlie year round). As far as surplus honey is concerned, either comb or extracted, I believe that there can be as much secured with side storing as top storing, with the proper sized frame and hive to hold tiiem, and I think of all the sizes in use, the "American " comes the nearest to the most practical size. Witli a plain hive, about 2 ft. long, a bee-keeper can have 8 frames tor a brood nest, and room at each side for 18 one-pound sections, making 38 at a time, by placing them in edgeway to the brood frames, and leaving room on tlie top for as many more as he may wish. I like but very little upward ventilation. The past winter I win- tered 24 out of 25, the brood nest being sealed and packed nearly as tight as a drum, except that the entrance was open about 2 inches ; the colony that died was ventilated the most. I use tight top-bars and winter on the sum- mer stands. On page 001, of Septem- ber number for 1882, bended an Amateur's Success, is a partial report for what I done with 3 colonies. The full increase was 27, and with the honey to take out of the hives this spring, will make the surplus honey the product of tlie 3 colonies and in- crease, nearly 500 pounds. I. like many others, have the pure unadulter- ated Italians, and 1 am starting an apiary at a point where there are no other bees kept for more than 20 miles, in any direction, for the purpose of keeping them pure. Columbus, Neb., April 20, 1883. Practical Farmer. Making Ready for the Harvest. W. G. PHELPS, M. D. Nothing goes so far towards assur- ing success in bee-keeping as a state of preparation for the forth coming honey season. This preparation con- sists not simply in having surplus hives ready for expected swarms. To be prepared in every sense of the word, means, 1, well-populated hives ; 2, accessible surplus department ; 3, the use in boxes of starters or comb foundation ; 4, right management at the right time. Taking up these essentials, in the order named, let me explain. A well populated hive means a hive well crowded with bees at the opening of white clover bloom. This can be accomi)lished best by the stimulative method, and by feeding up. You may ask, ■' does it pay V" Yes, tenfold ; particularly if your bees are short of natural stores, and are gathering none from without. Not th:it tlie bees convert the sugar fed them into honey, but rather into bee muscle, which, taking wing untiringly, gather na- ture's sweets, to store it, in more than compound ratio, for the owner. A normal colony of bees contains not less than 20,000 of these industrious insects. The younger portion of these assume the duties of nurses and wax-workers, while the other workers become the veteran honey gatherers. A less number of bees than above stated will store up for their owners much less honey, in proportion, than if up to or in excess of that. Wliat I mean is thus illustrated : Two colo- nies, each consisting of 12,000 bees, would, as ordinarily kept, store no honey in the caps. The same bees combined in one colony, would yield, even by the simplest management, from .50 to 100 pounds. The reason is this, about so many bees are neces- sary to keep up the required heat of the hive and do the " chores," or household work, so as to speak. They will not enter the surplus boxes, un- less conditions as regard heat, wax- working, etc., are all right. They are less able to defend their house against THE AMERICA]^ BEE JOURNAL. 241 robber bees, and many stay home for this purpose who would otherwise be- come honey gatherers. 2. Accessible surplus department.— Let our bees be ever so strong, if the depository for the surplus comb honey be not accessible, the bees will be loth to enter it. To work and transform the wax (a secretion of their bodies) into the wondrously-formed honey comb, requires a heat of at least 85 degrees. 3. Use of "starters" or comb foun- dation.—"Starters'' are simply pieces of nice natural comb fastened with melted wax to the top of the box. In the absence of combs,comb foundation may be fastened to the top, in the same manner. The use of it can be relied upon to increase the yield of honey from at least 25 to 50 per cent. It encourages bees to commence work in the boxes, and saves them a vast amount of work in comb building. 4. Ri'a.l6c. for white, and dark un- salable. Extracted, very little trade is being done in it. 7@9c. is ab<-iul the market. BEESWAX— 35(a;30c. R. A. BUKNETT. 161 South Water St. SAN FRANCISCO. HONEY— Buyers are readily obtained for choice comb or extracted at full figures, but ofi qualities meet with slow sale. White comb, ]4('i'i7c.; dark to good. ll@l3c.; ex- tracted, choice to extra white, 8}^@9j^c. ; dark and candied. 56*"Hc. BEESWAX— We quote 30cgt33c. STEARNS & SMITH. 423 Front Street. ST. LOUIS. HONEY-Dull; light jobbing sales only. Comb at KHsiUc — Strained and extracted at 7@7!^c. Couple lots of pO'jr Comb sold at 10c. BEESWAX-Sold lightly at 35@36c. W.T. ANDEUSON & Co.. 117 N. Main Street. CLEVELAND. HONEY— Is a little lower, and at the lower price it has moved off a little better of late. 1 -lb. sections of best white sold at I8^@l9c.; second grades, 1-lb., 17c.; li-lb. sections a tittle slow at I7@18c. Extracted very dull at 9@1 Jc. BEESWAX— None in market. A. C. Kendel. U.5 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONE Y— Our market is fairly active. We quote : !-6 lb. sections at 30C.; 1 lb. sections, 22(st25c.; 2 1b. sections, liotgi-jiic. Extracted. lOc. per lb. Good lots ot extracted are wanted in kegs or barrels. BERSW.\X— Our supply is gone; we have none to quote- CROCKEK & BLAKE. 57 Chatham Street. ^prjedal notices. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank di-aft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 2-5 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. \V e wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very .specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. Preparation of Honey for the Mar- ket, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey, instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. Honey as Food and Medicine. A new edition, revised and enlarged, the new pages being devoted to «e(o Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price of them low to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 6 cents, postpaid; per dozen, .50 cents; per hundred, $4.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense— enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. ' The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies 220 pages 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. 244 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weeklyj with $4, will be entitled to a copy or Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder tor the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. ^° Our stock of back numbers of this volume are now getting very low. Please look over your numbers, and if any are lacking, send us a postal card, giving the date of those you want, and we will send them, if not all gone. We give this notice, be- cause, last year, several left it until the end of the year, and then re- quested us to send the missing num- bers. Then it was too late, the num- bers being all gone. Look them over «o«;, and you may get them completed. Foul Brood Pamphlet.— Wishing to be relieved of sending out my pamph- let on Foul Brood, I have made ar- rangements with Mr. T. G. Newman to supply them to the bee-keeping fraternity desiring them. A. R. KOHNKE. Youngstown, O., April 2.5, 1883. Bee Pasturage a Necessity.— W e have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- ' gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. H^ Mr. Alley's new book on Queen Rearing will hereafter cost $1.25 We have received his Circular and Price List for 1883, which contains 32 pages, and make a nice appearance. Emerson Binders — made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for 75 cents, for the Weekly ; or for the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. Convention Notices. i^ The Iowa Central Bee-Keepers' Association will hold their semi- annual meeting at VVinterset, Iowa, on Friday, May 11, 1883. All inter- ested in anything pertaining to bee- culture are invited to attend, and bring anything that will be of interest to the bee fraternity. J. E. Prtor, Sec. A. J. Adkison, Pres. 1^" The Southwestern Iowa Bee- Keepers' Association will hold its annual meeting at the apiary of L. E. Mercer, Lenox, Taylor county, Iowa, May 26, 1883. Meeting called at 10 o'clock sharp. Forenoon : Election of officers. Afternoon : Work in the apiary, when any question, with re- gard to handling bees, will be practi- cally explained. Accommodations will be provided for visitors from a dis- tance. W. J. Oliver, Sec. i|^ There will be a meeting of the Northwestern Illinois and Southwest- ern Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' Associa- tion on Tuesday, May IS, 1883, at Mr. E. Whitlesey's, two miles south of Pecatonica, Winnebago County, ID. J. Stewart, Sec. Rock City, Stephenson County, 111. 1^ We have a few copies of our pamphlet entitled " Bee Culture " left, and have reduced the price from 40 to 25 cents each, or $2 per dozen. Cyprians Conquered. All summer long it has been " which and tother " with me and the Cyprian colony of bees I have— but at last I am "boss." Bingliam's " Conqueror Smoker" did it. If you want lots of smoke just at the right time, get a Conqueror Smoker of Bingham. G. M. DOOLITTLE. Borodino, N. Y.. Aug. 15, 1883. 18A4t 5Blt 1^ We carefully mail the Bee Journal to every subscriber, but should any be lost in the mails we will cheerfully send another, if notified before all the edition is exhausted. WAXTEB, by one who has had quite a con- siderable experience in bee- culture, to enKape with a practical apiarist for the present season. No corresptintlence solicited but by those who are masters of the business. Cimipensation required according to services rendered. My ape is 64 — health good. Can (to anywhere on short notice. Address, L. N. TONGUE, Box 43, Blroy, Wis. IHA It 1883. JOSEPH D. ENAS, 1883. (Sunny Side Aptarj',) Pure Italian Queens, Bees, Colonies, Nuclei, E.XTRACTORS, COMli FOUNDATION, &c 19c6t Address, Sunny Side Apiary, NAPA, CAL. A SPLENDID OFFER! We will send our NKW BOOK ON QUEEN REARIN(; and Prof. COOK'S new edition of his MANUAL (both contuin .'■>r)i) solid papes of reading matter) by mail, on receipt of tii.'Jfi; or both Books, and a tested Queen of any race, for $3.75. HENRY ALLEY, Wenhani, Mass. 19A 2t J. V. CALDWELL, Cambrtdsre* Henry Co., III. Manufacturer of Comb Foundation and Dealer in supplies for the apiary. New circular now ready. Send for it. 7Al2t BEE - KEEPERS, before ordering your APIARIAN-SUPPLIES send for our tar^e illustrated cata- logue. sent free to any address. £. K.retchnier, Cobiirg:, Iowa. Given'sFoundationPress. PUBLIC SENTIMENT affirms that the PRESS is SUPERIOR for making Comb Foundation either in Wired Fr:imes or for SECTIONS, and insures straight and perfect combs, when drawn out by the bees. Send for Circular and samples. ». S. GITEAT 4Sl CO.. lABtf UOOPESTON, ILL. E.T. LEWIS & CO., Toledo, Ohio, Manufacturers of the U. S. STANDARD Honey Extractor (new improvements), and all other Apiarian Supplies. Send for circular. I7A .sBtf Sweet Glover AND OTHER SEEDS. Having a large stock of the new crop of Sweet Clover Seed, I can fill orders at 80c. per pounds S»4 per peck, or 91& per bushel. Also, all other SEEDS for HONEY PLANTS. ALFRED H. NEWMAN, 923 West Madison Street, ChicaKO, 111. CIZSiiF ! CSS AF I r.ANGSTROTEI HITES ! SIMPLICBTY HIVES! All kinds of hives and surplus comb foundation, etc.. etc. Having superior advantages for the- manufiKturing of hives and of procuring lumber low, I can furnish very low rates. Send for descriptive circuliir. A. D. BEKHAM. lOAtf Olivet, Mich. B M ■ n ^^ ^B people are always on the look- ■ ■■ ■ m% ^^out for cbances to increase ■JBI I ^ ^ their earnings, and in tiaie be- HH ■ ^^ p come wealthy ; those who dO' HH ■ M.m m improve their opportunities re- ■ ■ I ^0 BBmain in poverty. We offer a. great chance to make money. We want many men, women, boys and girls to work for us right in their own localities. Any on& can do the work properly from the first start. The business will pay more than ten times ordinary wages. Expensive outHt furnished free. No one- who engages fails to make money rjii>id]y. You can devote your whole time to the work, or only your spare moments. Full information and all that is needed, sent free. Address Stia"«on o. One pure- ly mated and tested. jiiJ.r.e. One pure Queen, not warranted, $1.W. All the above Queens are of the finest stock in the country. I sold over 3lisher. In bidding adieu to the old publisher, I wish publicly to express my high ap- preciation, and deep sense of obliga- tion for the able manner in which Mr. Newman has performed his share of the work. I shall still hope for his wise counsel and advice, from which I shall surely prolit in the future as in the past. ' For this, as also for the able opinions of many other of the first apiarists of America and Europe, I wish to express most grateful acknowledgments. It is the desire and determination of the author that this work shall con- tinue to be the exponent of the most improved apiculture; and no pains will be spared, that each succeeding edition may embody the latest im- provements and discoveries wrought out by the practical man and the scientiist, as gleaned from the excel- lent home and foreign apiarian and scientific periodicals. ' It is, perhaps, needless to say that this Manual covers the entire ground of apicultural research, and that it is practical and progressive throughout. Prof. Cook is an entomologist, a bot- anist, a passionate lover of the lioney bee, and his Manual is an admirable work for all — valuable alike to the beginner and the more advanced apiarist. "Artificial Honey." Mr. E. C. Jordan, of White Sulphur Spring, Va., has sent us the following from Mrs. Dr. Loockerman, of Alexan- dria, Va., describing the methods of making "artificial honey," as given in the Receipt Books of that State : It is a well-known fact to those even of a small degree of experience in the matter, that honey, taken from the hive in warm weather, soon deterior- ates ; that it loses its finest qualities, by the separation of its sugar and the fluid composing it, the resut of vinous fermentation. The honey collected by bees is sometimes found to be actually iioisonous (see numerous au- thors), while the honey we present to the readers of the Old Dominion is so complete a concentration of pure sac- charine as to be entirely removed from all liability of becoming acidu- lous. It is not known to be subject to any other change by age than that of becoming granulous or candied. And, hence, in the estimation of those who have been favored with this re- ceipt, it deserves the title of Superla- tive Honey. Put one pint of water and a quarter or third of an ounce of alum into any nicely cleaned kettle, over a bright fire, and bring to a brisk boil. Set the kettle off, and into the solution therein put four pounds of number-one crushed or granulated sugar. Stir together, place over the fire and bring it to a sharp, brisk boil- ing for one or two minutes ; remove from the fire and strain through a light cotton cloth. In cold weather use a little more water. When cool and flavored, let it stand two days be- fore using. Flavoring for Superaltive Honey. — Into a pint bottle put one ounce of Jamaica ginger, pulverized, some 1:2 or 1.5 drops otto of rose, and one pint best alcohol or New England rum ; shake well once or twice a day for two or three days. A medium sized teaspoonf ul of the clear extract to five pounds of the honey gives it a most exquisite flavor. And after all it is but Knimitaiionot the pure article, though it costs as much or more than the genuine. ^g" The Fremont, Mich., Indicator says that Mr. Geo. Hilton laid a couple of boxes of nice honey on its editorial desk last fall, and adds: "It is re- markably fine, and a dish of it will make a man forget almost all his troubles." That is the way to do it. Neic honey will soon be here, and a nice box taken to the editor of the local paper will tell others where to get it. The Time of Honey Bloom. Mr. Alfred Mottaz, Ottawa, 111., sends the following request : "Will you please give in the Bbe Journal, the usual time of the blos- soming of. F. MARKS. There seems to be a move among bee-keepers to adopt a standard frame, which I believe to be a grand idea. I have been making my hives, this spring, of the Simplicity, two-stories high ; but as Mr. Heddon says some have different sized Langstroths, and by comparing his figures with my frames, 1 find that my frames are U inch too long. This I very much re- gret, for I have quite a number of hives made, but I made mine by the instructions laid down in Root's ABC Book. , . ^ Mv bees are just " on a big tear;" I have had 8 swarms already— some of my colonies have swarmed twice ; my first swarm came out April 6th ; the next on the 9th or 10th. -I have 16 colonies spring count, two are weak ; they are all hybrids, or mixtures of various grades, from the black to a bright yellow. I only lost one in wintering, and it starved through lack of attention. 1 1 Such a thing as wintering bees in a THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 253 cellar Is unknown here, only by read- ing of it in the papers. What swarms have issued are the largest I ever saw. I hived the last and largest one, as usual, in the lower story only of tlie 9-frame Simplicity Langstroth hive, and it lacked about a quart of holding all the bees after they got on the frames. Probably I should have divided it into two, giving one an extra queen ; but I just set on the other story, raising the duck on top of the other frames. The bees are gathering honey from what we call tlie primrose, of which our prai- ries are white, during April and May; also from a blue blossom resembling the common sage. This is the first year I ever knew bees to lie out in early spring ; even our earliest swarms lay out for several days, but all are at work now, except some old ones in box hives which have not swarmed yet. South Bosque, Tex., May 6, 1883. Fnr the American Bee JoumaL How to Read Works on Bee-Culture. W. H. STEWART. I have owned and handled bees, more or less, for the last 40 years, and I have read many works on bee-cul- ture during that period. I have ever experienced a peculiar delight in see- ing bees work, and in handling them ; although the handling of bees 30 or 40 years ago was attended with more pain than pleasure. I have ever found that bee-keepers were of an inquiring turn of mind. Whenever two or more of them met in conversation, some bee talk would have to be passed around, each inquir- ing of the other how they managed to get along with the bees and avoid mishaps and drawbacks, and, as the conversation led on, the art of bee- keeping would often be discussed in all its various ramifications (as far as then understood), and as we were about to part, I have often put a bee- book or paper in the hand of a friend, telling them, at the same time, that they would derive from it very much valuable information, if they would read it carefully. When we met those persons again, we would inquire how they liked the books. Of course we got various an- swers. Some seemed much delighted, and said they had found very much valuable instruction in them. Others that seemed to view the subject at a shorter range, would say : " 1 hardly know whether I like that magazine very much or not. Why, the truth is, that the more I read it, the more I got mixed, and when I had read it all through, I made up my mind that I didn't know a thing about bees, and the book didn't know half as much as I did." Now, the truth is. that many who have made tlie latter answer, were men of very sound minds, but as they seemed to overlook one fact, the whole work was to them confusion. For in- stance, the article was, perhaps, writ- ten by an author living in Southern Ohio, who had given his experience in bee-culture in that locality, and he would recommend to others the modus operandi that seemed to work well in a mild climate. The reader lived, we will say, in Northern New York or Canada, and he found that bee-cul- ture, as laid down in the book, was j ust the opposite of his own experience. During all these many years, bee- culture has become wider spread, and has also taken a higher stand, and a magazine like the Ajiekican Bee Journal is found to contain letters, giving the experience of the most im- portant bee-keepers of every State in the Union. Not only so, but of Can- ada,England, France, Italy, Germany, Scotland, and, in fact, all parts of the civilized world. Now, suppose an amateur bee- keeper should read, in the Bee Jour- nal, the experience and success of a bee-keeper in Texas, who used a hive that would hold about half a bushel, and had plenty of swarms in the month of March ; wintered all on the summer stands, without any other protection than a simple plain box of inch boards ; and extracted honey in April. Suppose this amateur bee-man lived in Vermont or Canada, and engaged in bee-culture on the Texas plan, he would be sure to meet failures on every hand, by overrlooking the fact that bee-culture in Texas is not at all like bee-culture in any Northern climate. On the other hand, if this beginner had discriminated between bee-cul- ture in Texas and bee-culture as prac- ticed by Mr. Jones, of Canada, and had been governed by the experience of the latter, he might have met with success. Let us suppose that a man should cast anchor in Northern Wisconsin, in the month of November, with his wife and five or six robust children, and propose to let the children sleep on the ground, and himself and wife in the Dlanket-clad wagon, through the tliree or four months that he wished to remain. Suppose you re- monstrate witli him, and tell him of his imprudence, and he should reply that he often did in that way in Louisiana, where he came from. You might post up notices that there would behalf a dozen second-class funerals at that camp within four weeks, and you would be safe in doing so. The truth is, that all warm-blooded animals require a certain amount of warmth, or they are not in a comfort- able condition. If they are not com- fortable, then they cannot be healthy. Animal lite is shortened up just in proportion to the ill-health of the in- dividual. As vvith children and our domestic animals, even so with bees ; they all need different care in differ- ent localities. Thus, all will see, that in order to get a "portion of meat in due sea- son," it becomes necessary that we glean from our bee paper the most important items as deduced from ex- periences of our own locality, and as the American Bee Journal em- bodies the experience of the most re- liable bee-keepers of the civilized world, it is very easy for all to find in it that which will do them good in their localities. Then, scan we keen the A. B. Journal, Met in f rlenly council there : Sisters, brothers, all fraternal, Strength in union everywhere. Strenntli In union, Ite inches longer than the hive, packing the space at the sides and on the top of the hive with dry forest leaves ; he much preferred this method to cellar wintering. E. Moon, of Moon's Station, said it was 40 years since he bought Ids first colony of bees, and he had more or less bees ever since, sometimes as high as 30 or 40 colonies ; he has honey on bis table 2 or 3 times a day, the year round, and divided liberally with the needy around him ; he had never sold but 14 lbs. of honey during the 40 years he had kept bees ; he had 18 good colonies last fall, but only had 3 very weak ones this spring ; yet be was not discouraged ; he had just bought 12 colonies, and was prepared to start anew and make bee-keeping pay ; what he wanted to know was how to winter bees successfully, and advised beginners to go slow. President Dodge sjioke very favor- ably of cellar wintering ; although he had only one year's experience in that method of wintering; if he could succeed as well every winter as he had during the past one, he could hardly ask anything better, losing only one weak colony out of 42 wintered in his cellar. He had compared closely the condition of those wintered in the cellar and those wintered on the sum- mer stands ; he thought the indica- tions were very much in favor of cellar wintering. Speaking of hives, he said it makes but little difference what pattern we use, provided it be so con- structed as to be easy of manipulation at all times, and susceptible of thor- ough packing and protection to the bees, with surplus arrangements both for comb and extracted honey. He would not advise bee-keepers to win- ter their bees all in one way ; would winter some in the cellar, some on the summer stands, and, perhaps, a few colonies, each winter, in clamps. He was asked by C. E. Gates what books on bee-culture he would recommend for beginners. He replied that this was a delicate ciuestion to answer. Should he give his honest opinion, it might hit some one's corns. He bad Quinby's New Bee-Keeping. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, ABC in Bee- Culture, Dzierzon's Rational Bee- Keeping, Newman's Bees and Honey, Alley's Handy Book for Bee-Keepers, etc.— all works of the highest merit. He would advise beginners to pur- chase one or more of these, and sub- scribe for some good bee paper, and start with a few colonies. He thinks the Langstroth hive, for beginners, as good as any. He feeds all colonies, short of stores, with good granulated sugar syrup ; he prefers it to anything except the very best sealed honey ; he feeds for winter stores during the latter part of September or early in October. J. A. Benedict, of Brocton, liad made bee-keeping pay ; he wintered his bees on the summer stands ; sets the hives in a compact form, and builds a tight board fence around them. He would hardly like to take the chances of wintering in his cellar ; thinks it is too damp. He spoke very highly of Mr. Moon's benevolence, and would be glad if there were more of such men. He thought if there were, that the world would be much better than it is now, and the needy would fare much better. \Vm. Bauling, of Dunkirk, winters his bees in the Quinby iiive, packed with oat chaff; he builds a storm house over the entrances, with lath ; inserts a hollow elder or sumac into this storm house, which gives plenty of air, and acts as an ear trumpet; he could put his ear to the end of this tube, which is above the suow line, any day during the winter, and hear with ease what is going on inside of the hives. He is located in the midst of 10 or 15 acres of sweet clover, and proposes to sow more ; he thinks it the best substitute for basswood, where that is scarce. On the whole, it was very pleasant and profitable meeting ; a general good feeling prevailed, and the in- terests of apiculture seemed to take a step in advance. Adjourned to meet May 18, at Fre- donia, in T. W. Gleason's otlice, at 10 a. m. All interested in bee-culture are invited. T. A. C. Everets, Sec. U. E. Dodge, Pres. Convention for Northern Iowa. There seems to be a number of bee- keepers in the northern counties of Iowa. ^V^hy could not a meeting be held at some central point on the C. M. & St. P. R'y. y How many vole ayey J. G. Bennett. Emmetsburg, Iowa,April 27, 1883. 1^" Tliere will be a meeting of the Northwestern Illinois and Southwest- ern Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' Associa- tion on Tuesday, May 15, 1883, at Mr. E. Whitlesey's, two miles south of Pecatonica, Winnebago County, 111. J. Stewart, Sec. Rock City, Stephenson County, 111. mWt£W Uf i^° Quite a number of the new sub- scribers, who have begun to take the Journal this month, ask if we can supply the numbers from Jan. 1, 1883. We would say that we can supply a few more sets, and if any want them they must be sent for soo)i,orthey cannot be obtained. We can supply no more numbers of 1882. They are all gone. How Bees Wintered in New York. My 156 colonies of bees were win- tered in the cellar, and came out in tine condition. In cellar No. 1, 155 were wintered with the loss of one nucleus ; in cellar No. 2. •IIS, with the loss of one colony, which starved. The prospects for a good honey sea- son were never better in this county, if the weather becomes favorable. Bees have had but little chance to fly yet ; it has been so cold and windy. They are working finely , to-day, on the soft maples and willows. In the cen- tral part of this county there is only about one colony of bees now, where there were three one year ago. Ira Barber. DeKalb Junction.N. Y.,May8,1883. The Season in California. Through sickness last season, I lost most of my bees, after extracting 2,500 pounds of good honey. I saved only 10 pure Italian queens ; I bought some blacks, and now have, with in- crease of 16 swarms, 39 colonies of Italians, to-day. I have to extract, this week, to keep down swarming. Young queens have been laying a week or ten days. The weather is cool at nights, and we liave late spring rains. The honey crop is not very encouraging. The rain fall is light. The mountain streams have only been full once this season. Most of the time there has been but very little more water running than througli the summer ; that is, where the streams riui the year through. Late rains have revived the flowers. Bees have made a living and a little more. It is too cool for comb honey. J. D. Enas. Napa, Cal., April 23, 1883. The Old Fogy Bee-Keeper. I am not an expert in the art of bee-keepin", by any means, but I have a neighbor living about one-half mile from my place, who, seeing what I had done, last summer, with my bees, thmking, I suppose, to get rich, has embarked in the business. When visiting, I would tell some little ex- perience that I had from working with my bees, and what I had learned from the Bee Journal ami Cnok's Manual, etc. ; it seems natural f t bee-keepers to talk and tell all they know of the art. I tried to get him to take the Bee Journal. I told him if he would take the Journal I would send the order with mine and he could have the premium. Bees and Honey, in cloth. He took home some of my Journals to read. Next time I saw him, [ asked if he was going to take the Journal '^ He said. No ; he did not believe one word of it ; he did not want it ; but I see he has lost one or two colonies of bees this spring, be- sides lots of brood, trying to build up weak colonies. In such cold weather the brood would get chilled, before THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 255 this master of the art could do what lie did not believe men of 20 years ex- |)erience was doing right. Of course I do not wish him bad luck ; that is not my make-up ; I would ratlier see him do well and make money, if there is money in it, but when a man tells me he does not believe what men of experience says, it makes me feel sorry for the bees that he may own. I shall not talk with him any more about bees. I like to be told what I ^(3)9!.4c. ; dark and candied. r><^7\ic. BKESWAX— Wholesale. 27(a28c. STEARNS & SMITH. 423 Front Street. ST. LOUIS. HONEY— Dull; light jobbing sales only. Comb at 10(gjl4c. — Strained and extracted at 7{3l7>is to send the missing num- bers. Then it was too late, the num- bers being all gone. Look them over now, and you may get them completed. Foul Brood Pamphlet. — Wishing to be relieved of sending out my pamph- let on Foul Brood. I have made ar- rangements with Mr. T. G. Newman to supply them to the bee-keeping fraternity desiring them. A. R. KOHNKE. Youngstown, O., April 25, 1883. ^" Mr. Alley's new book on Queen Rearing will hereafter cost $1.25 Cyprians Conquered. All summer long it has been " which and tother " with me and the Cyprian colony of bees I have— but at last I am " boss." Bingham's " Conqueror Smoker " did it. If you want lots of smoke just at the right time, get a Conqueror Smoker of Bingham. G. M. DOOLITTLE. Borodino, N. Y., Aug. 15, 1883. 18A4t 5Blt ^g" We have a few copies of our pamphlet entitled " Bee Culture " left, and have reduced the price from 40 to 25 cents each, or $2 per dozen. 1^ We carefully mail the Bee Journal to every subscriber, but should any be lost in the mails we will cheerfully send another, if notified before all the edition is exhausted. Emerson Binders — made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for 75 cents, for the Weekly ; or for the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. Bee Pasturage a Necessity. — We have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. Special Notice. — We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bee Journal for 1883 and Cook's Manual in cloth for $2.75, or the Monthly and Manual in cloth for 51.75. As this offer will soon be withdrawn, those who desire it should send for the book at once. 1^" Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1882 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. i^°May we ask you, dear reader, to speak a good word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at least one new subscription with your own ? Our premium, "Bees and Honey," in cloth, for one nev) sub- scriber to the Weekly, or two for the Monthly, besides your own subscrip- tion to either edition, will pay you for your trouble, besides having the satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bee Journal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. THOSE WHO want Hybrid or Black Queens, TAKE NOTICE. We have bought a larpe number of Hybrid a.ud Black CMlonleit of Been) which hiive fine Queens. These Queens we will sell at '>0 cts. for Blacks, and 7r> cts. for Hybrids. Notice our adver- tisementbf ALBINO AND ITALIAN QUEENS. etc., in the April or Mav numbers. Address S. VALENTINE ««r SOX, L'dC 2t HAGERSTOTVN, MD. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL AND BEE-KEEPER'S ADVISER. The British Bee Joi'UXAL is published month- ly, and contains the best practical information for tne time bein^. showing what to do, and when and how to do it. Rev. H. K. PEEL.. Editor. We send the Weekly American Bee Journal and tUe British Bee Joutiia] Lhoth forlS-Oo a year. 1000 ^ COLONIES of Italian and Hybrid bees for sale in Langstroth and Simplicity hives. Three-Frame Nuclei a specialty. Safe delivery euarantfpii. T\rite for particulars and special lates to ■FLANAGAN & ILLINSKI, Box 819. 17A4t 5B2t BEI.LEVILLE, St.Cliilr Lu., ILL. A NEW BEE BOOK! BEES and HONEY, OK THE ' Management of an Apiary for Fleasnre and Profit ; by THOMAS C. NEWMAN, Editor of the Weekly Bee Journal. 935 ^Vest Af adleon Street, Chicago, 111. It contains 160 profusely illustrated pages, is " fully up with the times" in'*11 the improvements and inventions in this rapidly developing pursuit, and presents the apiarist with everything that can aid in the successful manaKement of the Honey Bee, and at the same time produce the most honey in its best and most attractive condition. Appreciative Notloes. A neat and abundantly illustrated hand-boolt of apiculture.— American Agrriculturist, N. Y. Its chapter on marketing honey is worth many times its cost.— Citizen. Pulaski, Tenn. Contains all the information needed to make bee-culture successful.— Eagle, Union City. Ind. Just such a work as should be in the hands of every beginner with bees.— News, Keithsburg, III. Valuable for all who are interested in the care and mana^'ement of bees.— Dem., Allegan, Mich. Engravings are fine, (iotten up in the best Btyle> and is cheap at the price.— Farmer. Cleveland, O. . It comprises all that is necessary for successful nee-culture, save experience and good Judgment. —Daily Republican. IJtica. N. Y. Written in an interesting and attractive manner, and contains valuable information for all readers, even though they be nut directly interested in the care of bees.— Sentinel, Kome, N. Y. It is a valuable and practical book, and contains a complete resume of the natural history of the- little busy bee, as well as of all that one needs to know in their care and management.— Chicago Herald. Contains a vast fund of information in regard to bee-culture. He whn would keep abreast of the- times must keep posted in all the improvements in Bis line. We advise all interested to get a copy of this book.— Daily Times, San Bernardino, Cal. It embraces every subject ihat will interest the beginner. It describes all the newest discoveries- in the art by which the production of delicious and health-giving honey is obtained, as well as how to prepare it for the market in the most attractive form. It is embellished with beautiful engravings,. and is the most perfect work of the kind, for the- price, that has ever come under ournotice.- Far- mer. Lancaster, Pa. PRICE— Bound in cloth, tS cents ; in paper covers. SO cents, postpaid. THOMAS O. NElpVMAJr, ;er> AV. Madison St.. Chicago, HI. 1S83. 188S. YOU GET VALUE RECEIVED ! QUEENS,BEES AND SUPPLIES If you want EAKI-Y QUEENS from the best improved srenulne stock for business; or if you want Imported Italian Queens or bees, in full colonies or nuclei, with tested or untested queens; if you want Dunham or Vandervort como founda- tion, made from pure beeswax; or if you want hives or apiarian suppliesof any kind, send for my new catalogue. It tells you about introducing queens, new " Races of Bees," etc. Cash paid for clean beeswax. Address, a. p. H. BKOW^N. 5BDl5t Augusta. Georgia. BE SURE To send a postal card for our Illustrated Catalogue of Apiarian Supplies before purchasing elsewhere. It contains II lustrations and descriptions of every- thiny new and valuable needed in an apiay. at tlie lowe I prices. Italian Queens and Bees. Parties- intencingto purchase bees in lots of lo Colonies or more are invited to correspond. J. c. sayi.es, 5lDlr>tB'.t Hartford. Wis. ELECTROTYPES Of Engravings used in the Bee Journal for sale at 2.=. cents per square inch— no single cut sold for less than 60C. THOMAS G. KE"WMAN, 9Z5 West Madison Street Chicago. III. .^. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., MAY 23, 1883. No. 21. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, Adulteration, a Root of Bitterness. One of our correspondents writes us as follows : Prince Bismarck says that Ameri- can pork and lard are the "root of all evil," and that it is fattening the grave-yards with human beings. At East Buffalo, N. Y., are the great hog yards fed on the refuse of the grape sugar factories ; there are others at Lawrence, Peoria, and Des Moines, where the hogs and cattle are covered witli boils. Adulteration is the root of much evil, in America. The California Canner and G-rocer remarks as follows : If some means is not soon devised to check the alarming tendency to food adulteration, there will, in a short time, be but little market for our goods abroad. It is to be re- gretted that manufacturers cannot be made to see that any policy, except tliat which grants a pure article at a fair profit, defeats itself in the end, and that an adulterated article placed upon a foreign market, bearing the label of an American firm, inflicts an irreparable injury upon American manufacturers. This should be made the gravest kind of a misdemeanor, ;ind those driven to such course.? through their inordinate greed, should meet with speedy and condign pun- ishment. With our present manu- facturing interests, we need an Jiuropean market as an outlet for our goods. Increasing as our manufact- ures are, it is of vital importance that foreign markets should be kept open to us. That they will not be, we have every reason to expect, unless some means is soon found of checking the iidulteration of goods, and the coun- terfeiting of brands, to enable the lilacing of inferior goods. The fore- going remarks are suggested by the recent action of the Cuban Govern- ment in reference to importations of American lard into the port of Havana. The Collector of Customs of that port lias been instructed to refuse admit- tance to four brands of this American lard, until they have each been the object of a rigid scientiflc examina- tion. The charge of adulteration is entered against them, and the adulter- ant is thought to be injurious. The Canner and Grocer continues by saying, "Adulteration is the thief of trade. More tempting than Delilah, for it woos with promises of golden gains ; it finds numberless lovers among those who deal in the staple- food articles of commerce, and lures them on from bad to worse, until finally they become hopelessly en- tangled in a net-work of dishonest practices. Under our at-present im- perfect laws for protection against the sale of spurious goods, with but slight danger of detection, and with a cer- tainty of large profit, many a dealer, finding his keener sense of honor dulled by money greed, begins to adulterate the commodities he keeps for sale, and thus enters into a career that is more villainous and more dan- gerous to the community than that of the old-time highwayman; for through it the public are robbed not only of their coin, but of their health as well. " This infamous system has been growing of late with frightful rapidity until one is in almost perpetual fear lest he be eating or drinking some poisonous compound instead of the healthful article which it counterfeits. This vile traffic is confined to no local- ity or country, but is pursued in all the business centres of the civilized world, and from them finds its way into the most distant channels of trade. As an evidence that this evil exists in many of the ramifications of trade, let us glance at ttie report of the New York Board of Health, tfiey having been investigating tlie matter of late: "Out of 236 samples of oils ex- amined, the committee reported that only 32 stood the test provided by law. Seventy-five samples of drugs" were examined, and 32 found to be adul- terated. Samples of food to the num- ber of 119 were examined, 60 of wfiich were found to be in similar condition." Organized efforts are being made in several countries to check or put a stop to this adulteration of food and other necessaries of daily use, but so far they have met with only partial success, excepting in the case of Ger- many, where the good work goes bravely on, and its excellent results are already proven. The English sys- tem is acknowledged to be unsatis- factory. Dr. Wigner, Public Analyst, wrote in 1881 : " These statistics, unfortunately, prove that our legislation is not per- fect, but, on the contrary, that the rate of adulteration prevailing now, although a vastimprovement over the condition of things prior to the pas- sage of the acts, does not show a con- tinued decrease." In referring to this subject Prof. Charles R. Fletcher, of Boston, said: " While in England 17,000 samples of food were analyzed in a year, one finds over 231,000 samples examined in Germany. The German law is rigid, and receives vigorous Govern- ment and individual support, and if anybody would examine an approach to an effective system, I think he should turn to Germany." We are glad to learn that, in New I'ork city, the Board of Health is putting tlie new adulteration law in vigorous force, and the result of its investigations has been the com- mencement of numerous prosecutions against dishonest manufacturers and tradesmen. There are some com- plaints, it is true, that these have been instigated by rival houses, etc., but even if that be so, the public have reason for congratulation. An Ex- change aptly remarks that it " would be better, for instance, that the courts snould punish burglars even to the verge of inquisitorial persecution, and at the same time allow sneak-thieves to go unprosecuted, than that they should, for the sake of ill-named jus- tice, allow both of these rascally classes to go unscathed. Every case of adulteration punished is a victory gained for honest trade in general, no matter from what branch of business the offenders may have been selected." Adulteration of honey, as well as all kinds of food, should be strongly con- demned, until strong, well-defined and rigidly-enforced laws shall give full and permanent relief to all innocent purchasers and consumers. 258 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Bee-Pastures of Mount Shasta. The Century contains the following interesting descriptions of the bee- pastures of Mount Shasta, in the Sierras of the far west : Shasta is a lire-mountain, created by a succession of eruptions of ashes and molten lava, which, flowing over the lips of its several craters, grew outward and upward like the trunk of a knotty exogenous tree. Then fol- lowed a strange contrast. The glacial winter came on, loading the cooling mountain with ice which flowed slowly outward in every direction, radiating from the summit in the form of one vast conical glacier— a down-crawling: mantle of ice upon a fountain of smoldering fire, crushing and grind- ing for centuries its brown, Hinty lavas with incessant activity, ^and thus degrading and remodeling 'the entire mountain. When, at length, the glacial period began to draw near its close, the ice-mantle was gradually melted off around the bottom, and, in receding and breaking into its present fragmentary condition, irregular rings and heaps of moraine matter were stored upon its flanks. The glacial erosion of most of the Shasta lavas produced a detritus, composed of rough, sub-angular bowlders of mod- erate size and porous gravel and sand, which yields freely to the transport- ing power of running water. Under Nature's management, the next marked geological event made to take place in the history of Mount Shasta, was a water-flood of extraordinary magnitude, which acted with sublime energy upon this prepared glacial de- tritus, sorting it out and carrying down immense quantities from the higher slopes, and re-depositing it hi smooth, delta-like beds around the base ; and it is these flood-beds of moraine soil, thus suddenly and sim- ultaneously laid down and joined edge to edge, that now form the main honey-zone. Thus, by forces seemingly antago- nistic and destructive, has Mother Nature accomplished her beneficient designs— now a flood of fire, now a flood of ice, now a flood of water ; and then an outburst of organic life, a milky-way of snowy petals and wings, gurdling the rugged mountain like a cloud, as if the vivifying sunbeams beating against its sides nad broken into a foam of plant-bloom and bees. In this lovely wilderness the bees rove and revel, rejoicing in the bounty of th e sun, clam berin g eagerly through bramble and hucklebloom, stirring the clustered bells of the manzanita, now humming aloft among polleny willows and firs, now down on the ashy ground among gilias and butter- cups, and anon plunging deep into snowy banks of cherry and buck- thorn. * * * The Shasta bees are perhaps better fed than any others in the sierra. Their field-work is one perfectual feast ; but, however exhil- arating the sunshine, or bountiful the supply of flowers, they are always dainty feeders. Humming-moths and humming-birds seldom set foot upon a flower, but poise on the wing in front of it, and reach forward as if tliey were sucking through straws. But bees, though as dainty as they, hug their favorite flowers with pro- found cordiality, and push their blunt, polleny faces against them, like babies on their mother's bosom. Planting for Honey. The value of an apiary is determined not by the number of the colonies it contains, but by the strength of the colonies, and their availability for work. If there is no pasturage the best bees in the world must be idle. If but little honey bloom is provided for the bees to gather from, then but little honey will be the result. Hence the necessity of providing pasturage for the bees during the whole season, "rianting for honey" is the key to the situation. Speaking of the liouey dearth be- tween fruit bloom and white clover, when the bees hardly obtain enough honey for daily use, the Indiana Farmer says : " To our mind this is the most important dearth which the bee-keeper must strive to bridge over by planting. The stimulus given the bees by fruit bloom should, if possi- ble, be kept up until the coming of white clover, so as to have them in the best possible condition when the harvest comes." This is evidently the truth in a nutshell. To obtain something to fill this gap is the one point that should engage the attention of every apiarist. Continuous bloom means continu- ous honey gathering, and a continuous flow of money into the bee-keepers' pockets. A "Good" Man Going South,- Mr. F. L. Dougherty, of Indianapolis, says : " While waiting at the depot a few days since, we happened upon friend I. R. Good, of N4ppanee. Ind. Mr. Good is a queen rearer of some note, but lost heavily of bees during the past winter. Out of 22.5 colonies put into winter quarters only 80 sur- vived, many of them being in a weak condition, those in the cellar suffering as much or more than those wintered on the summer stands. Mr. Good has decided to move his bees south, and after considerable search has picked on a location near TuUahoma, Tenn. He thinks he will not be able to do anything in the way of queen rearing this season, except for his own use. His brother will have charge of the Tullahoma apiary the present season. Queens will be reared here and shipped to Tullahoma for the purpose of fully stocking the apiaries there, while Mr, Good again stocks the home apiary. He is inclined to think the bee and queen trade is turning to the south, as they can there be got into better con- dition so much earlier in the season." "The Doctor."— Another arrival at our Museum is " The Doctor," which is a large bellows bee smoker — the largest we ever saw — consisting of a fire box 3J| inches in diameter. Its gust of wind is tremendous, and the volume of smoke from it would in- stantly subdue the most vicious bees in existence. It is made by Bingham & Hetheringtou, Abronia, Mich, Signs of Swarming.— Mr. F. L. Dougherty, in the Indiana Famur, gives the following on this subject : There is no certain method of judg- ing, from out-side appearances, as to just when a colony is going to swarm. The most general indications notice- able from the out-side of the hive that they are preparing to swarm are the inactivity of the bees, hanging in clusters about the entrances, and pol- len gatherers hanging with the cluster instead of entering the hive. How- ever, they may be prepared to swarm with queen-cells built ; then, because of unfavorable weather, or a slight cessation of the honev flow may sud- denly destroy the cells and give up aU attempts to swarm. Or they may soon again commence preparations, wasting a very great part of the honey crop, for they seldom do but little good gathering honey while the swarming fever is on. Just here is where the knowledge of the scientific bee-keeper comes to his help. As the bees are just in the right condition to divide, he divides them at once with- out farther waiting. Bees will at times, if left to themselves, throw off as many as five or six swar«is, each one smaller than the preceding. The old queen leaves with the first swarm. All after swarms contain young queens. Where honey is the object, colonies should not be allowed to cast but one swarm, as a very rapid in- crease can seldom be accomplished except at the expense of the honey crop. ^Vith the movable frame it is but little trouble to prevent this by simply opening the hive 7 or 8 days later and removing the extra queen- cells. With box hives, the only plan is to place the hive containing the first swarm, on the old stand, moving the old hive to a new location, thus depleting its strength to such an ex- tent that it will not want to swarm any more. Before swarming, bees usually gorge themselves with honey, and while in this condition can be handled almost with impunity, yet care should always be used, that no bees be mashed or they may take the notion to make it very unpleasant for the manipulator. THE AMERICAl^ BEE JOURNAL. 259 The Coming Bee.— The following very amusing sketch of the troubles incident upon removing bees from cellars, is from Gleanings, by Eugene Secor, Forest City, Iowa. On April 17, 1883, he wrote as follows : This subject has been discussed so many times that I should not touch it, were it not from the fact that I have seen it. I saw it yesterday. In fact, I saw several of them. Tliey saw nie, too — I mean some of them did, and the rest felt for me, and they found me. I felt them without feeling for them either. My feeling so pleased them that they called in their sisters, cousins and aunts, fo feel of me also. They came, they saw, they felt.. I felt, too— in fact, I feel yet. This is iiow 1 came to see, And feel tlie points of tiie coming bee. They were in the cellar, where they had been for only the short period of 1.57 days and nights, amiable, gentle Italians, as I supposed when I tucked them in their little beds in the fall. My cellar was dark. They could not see ; so I suppose they had got accus- tomed to feeling. May be that ac- counts for the fellow-feeling they manifested for me. I carried out col- ony Xo. 1, sans hat, sans coat, sans gloves. The "coming bee" at once dawned upon my vision. She felt of my hands, felt of neck, felt of my hair, and felt of my whiskers. She sang a song in bee-sharp which at- tracted all her female acquaintances. They improvised a jubilee concert on the spot. I was the only interested auditor ; and as soon as I could "un- load my stock," I "clapped." They appreciated the cheering, and sang louder. They called in some of their finest Italian opera-singers and per- formers. That music is not usually understood in this country. The clapping is generally done because it is fashionable to applaud everything that is foreign. I5ut 1 understood every demi-semi-quaver. I clapped with the spirit and with the under- standing also. But I felt that they were expending too much talent on such a small audience, so I retired as gracefully as the overwhelming at- tentions being paid me would allow. Intermission of 15 minutes. Curtain drops. It is usually customary for the actors to change costumes while the curtain is down. In this instance, however, the audience changed dress. The next act begins wlien I carry the second colony out of the cellar. This time I am prepared for the coming bee. Armed with straw hat, bee- veil, and gauntlet gloves, I looked like a cross between a knight-errant, a sister of charity, and an honest granger. With my gauntlets drawn snugly around the arms witii rubber cord, and the veil ditto around the neck, now let 'em sing, sang I. They sang again ; and as the wind gently pressed the tarlsttan against my nose, one of the foremost of the Italian singers sat down to rest on the orna- ment part of my face. As I had no one to help me let go of the hive I was carrying, and as I was in somewhat of a hurry, I allowed the Italian miss to keep her seat. All at once she doubled up like a boy who has eaten too many green cucumbers ; and as if afraid of falling off, she drilled my proboscis with her little gimlet. Others of her companions, hearing of her distress, came to see what was the matter, and sat down also. And as there was not sitting room on my front porch for all the sympathizing friends, some of them crowded between my veil and the place where my shirt collar ought to have been, and came up on the in- side for a closer interview. By the time I had reached the yard, my neck felt as if I had undergone treatment for sore throat with counter-irritants. Then if you ever saw a cat trying to pull a mitten off its head with its fore paws, you can imagine how dignified I looked. Instead of being the audi- ence, I was now one of the chief per- formers, while my wife, sitting in the bay-window, was the interested and amused spectator, enjoying the show as much as our boys did Barnum's Hippodrome. I created as much interest as a whole menagerie, when the animals had just been "stirred up." The performance lasted only about an hour, and closed amid the wildest enthusiasm. Don't talk to me about the Apis dorsata. If their gimlets are any longer than the ones I felt, I'll be excused from buying any. Tell Mr. Jones he had better call Frank Benton home. I have lost all interest in the "coming bee." Dzierzon's Rational Bee-Keeping. Oleanings, in bee-culture, gives this book the following notice : Mr. Newman has kindly sent us a work entitled " Rational Bee-keping," by our old father Dzierzon, the origi- nator of the theory bearing his name. The author is not only a thoroughly scientific bee-keeper, but a naturalist. lie has probably made greater strides in scientific apiculture than any one man. His book contains his many discoveries, together with his valua- ble experience and research. In ad- dition to this are foot-notes by C. N. Abbott, the former editor of the British Bee Journal. We thus have the opportunity of direct comparison and verification. As regards the na- ture, the distinctive characteristics and explanation of some of the pecu- liar phenomena noticed in bees, the book seems to stand among the fore- most, if not in the front ranks. I hardly think the implements of the apiary would be at all suited to Ameri- can bee- keepers ; but as for real scien- tific value, it would well repay any bee-keeper whose attention is at all inclined to scientific research, to pur- chase a copy. It contains 350 pages, fully illustrated. We can mail it to any address for $2, bound in cloth, or $1.75 in paper covers. Honey and Beeswax Market. OFFICE OF AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, J Monday, 10 a. m., May 21, 1882. ( The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Quotations of Cash Bnyera. CHICAGO. nONEY— The nominal price of extracted is 7c. for dark and uc. for IlKht— here. The supply is abundant and sales are slow. BBESWAX-None in the market. AL. H. Newman. a23 W. Madison St. CINCINNATI. HONEY.— The demand for extracted honey i& very f.'nod, and arrivals are slow. We pay 7@l0c. on arrival. We sold, sint e last October, more than 6(H.l barrels, and our stock is exhausted, while our customers are rely ing on us for supplies. Hope our friends will supply us. No demand for comb honev. and prices nominal. BEESWA.X.— Arrivals of beeswax are good, and prices range from 3U{Si35c. for a good article. Chas. F. Muth. t^ Articles for publication must be vnritten on a separate piece of paper from items of business. Quotations of Commission Merchants. CHICAGO. HONEY— The demand is light and it is not now probable that all of tiie comb honey can be sold before a new crop comes. Prices a re very irregular and generally low: l5(*16c.for white, and dark un- salable. Extracted, very little trade is being done in it. 7@9c. is about the market. BEESWAX-SSCiiafic. R. A. Burnett. I61 South Water St. SAN FRANCISCO. HONEY-Stocks and tbe demand are both light. More or less difilculty would be experienced in fllling a large order for a straight lot. White comb. 14@17c.: dark to good. ll@I3c.; ex- tracted, choice to extra white, 8^@9^c. ; dark and candied, 5(gt7^c. BEBSWAX-Wholesale, 27®28c. Stearns & Smith. 423 Front Street. ST. 1.01118. HONEY— Dull: light jobbing sales only. Comb at Kt@14c.— Strained and extracted at 7@7^c. Couple lots of poor Comb sold at 10c. BBESWAJC— Sold lightly at 35@36c. W. T. ANDEKSON & CO., 1 17 N. Main Street. CL,KVELAND. HONEY— Stocks of honey are running low with us. l-lb. sections are all sold and there is a very light inquiry for such: would probably sell at 18(gi20c. 2-lb. sections are not In demand, and no sales to quote, asking 17®18c. Extracted no sale at 9w)10c. BEESWAX— Not offering. A. C. KENDEL. 115 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is fairly active. We quote: H lb. sections at 30C.: 1 lb. sections, 22(S25c.; 2 1b. sections, 20@22c. Extracted, loc. per lb. Good lots of extracted are wanted in kegs or barrels. BEESWAX— Our supply is gone: we have none to quote. CROCKER & BLAKE, 57 Chatham Street. t^ The Southwestern Iowa Bee- Keepers' Association will hold its annual meeting at the apiary of L. E. Mercer, Lenox, Taylor county, Iowa, May 26, 1883. Meeting called at 10 o'clock sharp. Forenoon : Election of officers. Afternoon : Work in the apiary, when any question, with re- gard to handling bees, will be practi- cally explained. Accommodations will be provided for visitors from a dis- tance. W. J. Oliver, Sec. Bee Pasturage a Necessity.— We have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. 260 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For tlie American Bee JournaL Bees and Honey in Navarro co.,Texas. B. F. CAKKOLL. The following Table represents the bee and honey interest in Navarro County, Texas, with the exception of those who have only one or two colo- nies of bees : NAME OF APIARIST. * I * la □ ^' c^ o o n; od,^ H. A. Halbert J. K. Love M. M. Morrison. . . . G. A. Treadwell Mr. — Viisa John S. Miller B. F.Carroll Dr. C. H. Hart W.R Melton M. T. Krencb Tank Spivey Dr. W. 8. Eoblnson Dr. Parley Q. W. Ttiomison... Westbrk&MAfee Mrs. Eliz. Melton.. Jas. Davis J. C King Jack Smitli Ben Youni^er Dr. H.B.Kansom.. R. Gowen A. T. Barton Henry Forgey (Jeorfje Acre T. B. Kice Q. W.Cook J. R. HerrinK W.T.Moore Bill Black ■VV. H.Woodard.... J. T. Lancaster A.S.Gill J. M. Trammel Wm.Boykin A.J. Miller James A. Spicer... Thos. Stokes Wm. Stokes 275 500 250 125 600 375 250 200 30(1 360 '760 250 37.50 150 (10 '2511 286 1250 iiiio! 2000' urn m 126 'm (j24 .'20111 . 3tlU Italians Blacks Hybrids Blacks Italians Blacks Cyp. Syr. Ital. Italians Blks.Hvb.Ital. BI.(_'y.Hy.Ital. Hybrids Blacks ital. & Blacks Italians Blacks & (-"yp. Blacks Blacks Blacks Blacks Blacks Hybrids Hybrids Blacks Blacks Blacks Blacks Blacks Blacks Blacks Blacks Blacks Blacks Blacks Blacks Blacks Blacks Blacks Blacks Blacks Dresden, Texas. For the American Bee JournaL Uniting Bees— Spring Management. 0. M. DOOLITTLE. I am requested by several to give, in the Bee Journal, my plan of uniting bees, and I will try to do so ; if I do not make it all plain, I will further explain if necessary. We are often told, that if our bees are weak in March or April, we should unite them at once, putting two or more together, till a fair colony is formed. I formerly adopted this plan until I ascertained from many experi- ments, that colonies thus made were no better at the end of three or four weeks, than each would have been had they been left separated. If I had colonies that would not live till June separately, I found they would not if united. I have put as high as six or seven very weak colonies to- gether, in April, thus making a good large colony at tlie time, and in a month all were dead. Hence, I came to the conclusion that I could not unite my bees profitably early in the season, so I liave adopted the follow- ing, which has proven very successful: About the middle of April, accord- ing to the season (earlier if any early season, and late if a late one), some cold morning I look over all my bees, by taking oft the cap and lifting the quilt a little, and all that do not oc- cupy live spaces between the combs are "marked, and the first warm day I shut them on to as many combs as have brood, by means of a divison- board. Those which are very small, so as to have brood in only one or two combs, and small patches at that, have all their extra combs taken away from them, so as to take precau- tion against robbing ; but if stronger, I leave the extra combs on the other side of the division-board, so that the bees can carry the honey over as they need it for brood-rearing. The entrance to each hive is con- tracted to suit the size of the colony, not leaving more than an inch in length for the best of them, and only space enough for one bee to pass at a time for the weakest. The next work is to increase the brood as fast as possible in these small colonies. 1 keep them on the combs, first given them, till they are filled with brood clear to the bottom, when I give them an emptv comb, placed in the centre. This' will be filled in a week or so, when another is given. I go over them once a week, in this way, till I have five frames full of brood in the strongest. The next time I go over thenij I take a frame of brood just hatcning from those having the five filled, and give it to the next strongest (say one that has four frames), putting an empty comb in the place where it came from, and so keep working until each hive con- tains five frames crowded with brood. .Do not make the mistake of giving the frame of hatching brood to the weakest colonies first, for they may not be strong enough, if the weather should suddenly become cool, to care for it ; when a loss of brood, to the amount given, might occur. By the middle of June, I generally get all in the above condition, when they are ready for uniting. To do this, I go to No. 1 and open it ; look the frames over until I find the queen, when I set the frame she is on out- side of the hive ; then take the four remaining frames (bees and all) to No. 2, spread the five frames apart in No. 2, and put the four frames taken from No, 1 in each alternate space, made by spreading the frames in No. 2. I now close up No. 2. and in 12 or 15 days it will be one of the strongest colonies in the yard. By alternating the frames, the bees are so mixed up that they will not quarrel, and I have never known a queen to be harmed. It will be seen that I use but nine frames to the hive, but the plan is the same with any number of frames. I now return to No. 1, where the frame of bees was left standing outside of the hive, close to one side, and put in an empty frame ; adjust the division-board, and I have a nice nucleus to get a queen from at any time I may need one. 1 1 find also, that such a nucleus will build comb almost as cheaply as foun- dation can be gotten into comb ; for many of the old bees taken to No. 2 will return, thus making a strong nucleus, which will build nice straight worker combs, as if by magic. If I do not wish these for queens or comb building, I build them up to good strong colonies by the fall. UNITING IN THE FALL. If I wish to unite bees in the fall, on account of there being but little honey, fewness of bees, or from what- ever cause, the first thing to find out is, which of the two has the most val- uable queen. Having ascertained this. I hunt up the poorest and kill her, then take this hive to the stand of the one it is to be united with. I now select from the two frames hav- ing the most honey in them, to the number I wish to winter them on, and set them in one of the hives, alterna- ting them, as they are set in the hive. I next shake the bees, which are on the remaining frames, off at the en- trance, taking one frame from one colony, and the next from the other, so as to mix the bees up as much as possible. When all the bees are inside the hive, the work is done. Remove the hive, bottom board and all, from the stand occupied by the united colony, and no loss of bees will occur. What few bees go back to the old stand, re- turn after finding their old hive is gone ; also the mixing up process causes them to mark their location anew, at their first flight afterward. Borodino, N. Y. For the American Bee Journal. Bees as Aids to Fruit Growers. J. F. LATHAM. In the agricultural column of a weekly paper, I find a " clip " credited to another journal, from which the following is an extract : " Honey is a vegetable production, appearing in greater or less quantities in every flower that nods to the breeze, or kisses the bright sunlight. * * * It is secreted in the flower for the purpose of attracting insects, thus securing the complete fertilization of the female blossoms.' The declaration embodied in the last sentence of the foregoing extract, is new to me ; as, heretofore, I have understood the nectar of flowers to be a menstruum, surplus secretion, ex- cess of growth, etc., drawn from the soil and atmosphere, which, after the necessary operations of assimilation, and contribution to the requirements of vegetable growth are accomplished, is conveyed to and lodged in the chalice of the pistillated bloom by capillary process, and can, therefore, be no more or less than w-aste matter, so far as needed to • further enhance the growth of fruit or seed. That the liectar in flowers is an aid to their fertilization (in a general way), by inducing insects to distribute the fecundating element from the staminate blossoms, by conveying it ,THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 261 on their bodies durinff their flights among the flowers, while collecting the exuding sweets, is evident ; that this is the sole object for which nectar is secreted does not seem admissible. Pollen is borne from flower to flower on the breeze as well as on the bodies of insects ; in fact, that ap- pears to be nature's prime method of conveying the fertilizing germs from the anthers of the staininate to the pointals of the pistillate blossoms. Among insects, it seems the honey- bee, in her floral wanderings in search of nectar and pollen, in consequence of her peculiar form and downy cov- ering, should be entitled to a tirst place in the work of direct and cross- fertilization of fruit-producing flowers of all kinds ; and were it not for this generous and disinterested aid to the chances of nature, the loss to fruit growers would be much greater every year from sterile bloom. That the honey-bee causes injury by extracting the nectar from fruit- producing trees and shrubs. Is simply fallacious, notwithstanding the gen- erally entertained and oft-expressed opinion of those ignorant of dame nature's process of reproduction, to the contrary. During the past two following seasons I have observed apple trees loaded with well developed matured fruit in autumn, that bloomed several days earlier than the remainder of the orchard, and were swarming with bees until the bloom from the other trees shared their at- tention. Two of the trees alluded to, stand but a few feet from some of my hives, and have always been favorites with the bees during the season of bloom, but I have yet to note any diminution in their products caused by the bees sipping nectar from their blossoms. The discussion of this subject, of " planting for honey," is receiving a merited attention from contributors to the Bee Journal, but it appears to be too desultory to produce the benefit it might, if in a more concise form. Would not a more favorable influence be exercised by having a space in the bee publications in whicli those wlio have tested the qualities of honey-producing trees, shrubs and plants of various kinds, can be al- lowed to give their experience in de- tail. The names of trees, etc., and their adaptability to location in all sections of our land, from Maine to California, is needed. As the pur- suit of the apiarist is constantly prompting his attention to the sources from which honey is obtained by his bees, who is more favorably situated to observe and reduce the results of his observations to utility V Again, if properly appreciated, a triple benefit may be derived from the result of such a consolidation of ef- fort ; a more general cultivation of food-producing trees, shrubs and plants, a more bountiful return for apiarian enterprise, and the unequaled advantages of studying the illustra- tions of nature from her open book of floral beauty ; for " There are sermons In stones. Music in the trees, Boolts in runnine brooks. And good in everything." For the American Bee Journal. Sundry Matters from Canada. ALLEN PBINGLE. I find, no matter how much one may know about the science of bee- keeping, or even of the art, through experience, the Bee Journal is a great desideratum — a real aid to be de- sired and valued. The varied experi- ence of different bee-keepers contri- buted to its columns, is interesting and valuable, no less to the profes- sional than the amateur apiarist. With one thing, however, I feel dis- posed to find a little fault, or rather kindly admonish those concerned, and in doing so, I hope to give no of- fence, as the admonition is given in no carping or captious spirit, but solely for our common good as bee- keepers. Some of the reports sent in seem, at least, pcMJia facie, to be over- drawn or exaggerated. This, how- ever, may be entirely unintentionally on the part of those who send such reports ; nevertheless they are mis- leading, and tend to lead to evil con- sequences in more than one way. When a correspondent says he has taken so many hundred pounds of honey — an almost fabulous amount — from a single colony of bees in the one season, he may be quite honest in his statement ; but his statement may, at the same time, need much qualifica- tion or, at least, explanation, and this ought always to be given. A hive of bees may be large— much above the average— and it may have one story, on top of another, and it may be kept the whole season gathering honey in- stead of allowing it to swarm or divid- ing it ; and under sucli circumstances, such a colony would, no doubt, during a good season, carry in an immense quantity of iioney.comparti vely speak- ing. But it would be either disingen- uous to say Uiat one colony of bees did all this, without giving any ex- planations. By a colony of bees, the reader un- derstands an average colony, under ordinary circumstances or conditions. Now, please bear in mind, I do wish to impeach the honesty or sincerity of a single correspondent. So far as my experience and obser- vation have gone, bee men, as a class, are proverbially honest and fair- minded men ; and let us not, there- fore, tarnish our fair name by mak- ing statements or reports which have even the semblance of fraud or mis- representation. Let us avoid even the appearance of evil. Let us un- der-state, rather than over-state our exploits in our reports. The amateur apiarist, starting out in the business with great and com- mendal)le enthusiasm, and, perhaps, superadded to that, great expectations of coining money, is only too apt, when he comes with honest pride to write his report, to draw upon the uttermost fraction for presentation. The temptation is strong to draw it at the highest instead of the lowest. But, gentlemen (and ladies too, for we have lady bee-keepers), let us be strictly, severely, honest and fair in our reports, and in our statements of facts in our experience. Sometimes incidents of apiarian ex- perience are given, ^hich seem to be in direct opposition to well-estab- lished principles or hypothesis, which have been well-nigh postulated into laws or principles. I was present, last fall. In Toronto, at the meeting of the Ontario Bee- Keepers' Association the first night, and one gentleman stated on that oc- casion that one of his neighbors had buried the bees from a hive he had taken up in the fall in a hole in the earth, and duly filled it in, and in the spring, upon exhuming them, they were found to be alive and well — in good health. The gentleman im- proved upon this fact (V) by suggest- ing that the plan of wintering bees in a "dormant" condition, without any food, was well worth considering. This sage bee philosophy no one at- tempted to controvert ; albeit Mr. D. A. Jones, our great Canadian bee- king, dryly remarked that he would not mind paying $500 for a queen that would produce such unique progeny. Experience, to be valuable, must be real. There must be no mistake about the facts. Then if they are facts, and are in conflict with certain precon- ceived theories, so much the worse for the theories. A few real, stub- born facts will sometimes spoil a very nice, plausible and time-honored the- ory. But before we discard the cher- ished theory, let us be sure that the opposing statements are facts. It is, therefore, of the utmost im- portance, if the contributed experience of bee-keepers through the Bee Journal, is to be really valuable in helping us forward to ultimate truth, that such experience should be most carefully and accurately stated, and nothing put forward as a fact if there is any uncertainty or doubt about it, especially if such alleged fact militate against a recognized principle. Of course I am well aware that very miusual and even unheard of facts will sometimes arise in our experience, and this, on the other hand, should make us careful about putting any- tliing down as an ultimate principle until it is well supported. The most unexpected things will sometimes turn up in the experience of the prac- tical bee-keeper. As relevant here, allow me to re- late a little incident in mv own ex- perience : Last summer, in clipping the wings of a young, recently fer- tilized Italian queen, in a new colony, I accidently cut off one of the legs of her royal highness. This was un- gallant", but there was no malice pre- pense, as the lawyers say. Not know- ing exactly what the upshot of this surgical misadventure might be, I kept an eye upon her majesty for a few days. I found, however, that stie laid all right, only seeming to experi- ence a little difficulty in locomotion, being a trifle awkward in her move- ments. She was very prolific, and things went on swimingly in her es- tablishment, although the head there- of was minus a leg and without wings. In a short time they began to prepare for swarming, by starting numerous 262 XHE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. queen-cells, all of which I destroyed, or supposed I did ; I examined tiiein af?ain in a week or ten days, but found no new cells, and was not aware that in a sly corner was one just about hatching, of the original ones which had escaped my notice. It so hajjpened that I did not look into this hive again for two weeksor more, when, there I found a young, fertile laying queen, wings, legs and all. I looked around, and upon another frame found No. 1 minus foot and wings. There they were, both in the hive, and no mistake. 1 was a little puzzled ; looked around and found the glace where the cell had been, which ad escaped me, when I was destroy- ing the others. At first thought, I had supposed No. 2 had been but re- cently hatched, and that the two royal rivals had not yet met. But, no ; the young queen was evidently fertile and laying, as I afterwards proved. To test matters, however, and look further into the problem, I closed the liive until the next day, when I ex- amined it again. I still found both queens there on different frames. No. 1, with wings and leg off, seemed, however, to be neglected, and I no- ticed a slight diminution in the size of her abdomen. My theory, whether right or wrong, was this : The workers, being cog- nizant of her deformity, were super- seding her. They were nourishing the young and perfectqueen, and neg- lecting the deformed one, and, hence, she had ceased laying. But this un- gracious business did not happen to agree with my notions of entomologi- cal ethics, and I accordingly put a stop to it. Besides, barring the de- formity of No. 1, she was a fine, hand- some queen, and very prolific. I ac- cordingly took out No. 2, clipped her wings, and put her in another place where she was needed, and left No. 1 to " hold the fort." The usurper being gone, and the bees finding that fact out, turned their attention to their riglitf ul mother, and nourished her as she deserved. All went well, and she is now safely away with her colony in winter quarters, as also the other. Now, whatever may have been the experience of others in this direc- tion, the fact of two fertile queens oc- cupying the same hive together for some days, was, to me, something al- together unprecedented. The winter here (Eastern Ontario) has, so far, been unusually severe, the temperature, frequently dipping much below zero, and we have had continu- ous sleighing nearly three months. As a consequence, some of the old- fashioned bee-keepers, in this section, who leave their bees out during all the winter on the summer stands, without any protection, will, I fear, as Mr. Jones says, be in ' mourning " in the spring. Of course we have some few bee-keepers here in the East who try to keep up with the times and do the business scientifically ; but there is, I believe, a larger proportion of such in Western Ontario, where Mr. D. A. Jones is located, and where his influence in developing apiculture has been much felt, in the past two or three years. Of course every Cana- dian bee-keeper is proud of Mr. Jones, wliom I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time in Toronto, last fall, at the Industrial Exhibition, where he had a splendid display of almost everything pertaining to the art of apiculture. I was very favor- ably impressed with the genuinely progressive and cosmopolitan spirit of Mr. Jones, who, though having made many inventions and improve- ments in apiarian apparatus, patents notliing, but leaves all free to make from his patterns. This admirable trait is as rare as it is generous. Witliout, evidently, having had many scholastic advantages, Mr. Jones has, by his native ability, genius and in- dustry, placed himself in the very first I'ank of eminent apiarists, and has shown more enterprise in the business than any of his compeers. In the eastern part of the Province here, we have recently lost one of our best and most enthusiastic bee-keep- ers. I refer to Hon. Lewis Wall- bridge, of Belleville, who has lately been elevated to the cliief justiceship of the new Province of Manitoba. Mr. Wallbridge was president, last year, of the Ontario Bee-Keepers' As- sociation, and was a very enthusiastic amateur bee-keeper. I fear, however, that he will not be able to enjoy his favorite recreation in the Northwest, as the climate, I understand, is too severe for what he used to call his " little pets," the bees. If these "little pets" failed to let him feel their stings once in a while, he said he felt " neglected." Most people would prefer to suffer that kind of neglect, but not so with the redoubt- able Lewis. In the East here we have anotlier very good bee-keeper, Mr. Wm. 0. Wells, of Thurlow, Hast- ings County. Mr. W. is quite a genus in his way, he makes nearly every- thing he wants in the bee line for himself, even to making foundation comb. Lennox Co., Ont. For tlie American B\iO Journal. Extracted Honey and Extracting. FAYETTE LEE. In my last article I described my plan for getting bees ready for the honey harvest, and that comes about July 6. Last year basswood bloomed on July 19. The bees need all the honey from dandelions to rear their brood. Y^ou may see the comb begin to look wliite, and in a few days it will be all capped over ; but let it stand in the hive until June 2.5, then get the honey extractor ready and a sweet barrel, well waxed, to put the first honey in ; this done, you need a good smoker, screw driver, and a tur- key wing. Take the comb basket and stool to put the upper story on, and commence at hive No. 1, put the screw-driver between two frames and pry them apart, smoking the bees at the same time ; put the upper story on the stool, take out four of the out- side frames, put them in the comb basket, and fill up tlie brood-nest with frames of foundation. Put back the upper story and take out every frame and extract them and return them to the hive. Now, we have four spare frames. Go to No. 2 and take off the top story, as before, take out four frames and put in the extra four, and put on the upper one again and ex- tract the same as No. 1. We take out all the dark honey, so that it will not get mixed with the basswood honey. Do not stop to strain the honey. Put it in a 40 gallon barrel and let it stand a few days, when all the small cap- pings will be on the top. Then skim it and cover it with sheeting. By all means keep each kind of honey by itself. My honey weighs 113^ pounds to the gallon. It is a disgrace to a bee- keeper to have honey sour. The cause of its souring, is that it was extracted before it was ripe. When it is capped, it is ripe, and the bees put their seal on it. If you want to spoil the sale of extracted honey, sell your store keepers unripe honey, and you will do it the first time. It is riot the big yield we want, but good honey. We keep this first honey till September to feed, if we need it. My honey in June is dark in color, sometimes. Goldenrod does not give much honey, and we want this to feed the bees. Having taken all the dark honey out on June 25, the next yield will be from the basswood. Wait about four days from the time the flrst basswood honey comes in, then open all of the top stories, and put the outside frames in towards the centre, and close up the hives. In this way I get all the frames full about the same time, so that I can extract it all at once. In about four days more, the bees will have it capped over. Now we are ready to take the first basswood honey. We will commence at No. 1, and extract four frames from the brood-nest, and all from the upper story. Be sure to take the outside frames in the brood-nest. I only ex- tract two times during the basswood harvest. Now being through ex- tracting for a while, put the honey in tin cans and glass jars for market, and label it " puue honey," giving your name on every can and jar, that you have. I believe every bee-keeper has a riglit to set a price on his honey ; if every one would do so, it would be mucii better for them. I have been in the bee business for six years, and have sold H,757 pounds of honey, and put my own price on it, and it averaged 11 cents a pound. In producing extracted honey we have surplus combs to use from the last year, and bees will store honey when they will not make comb. One year I tried tiering up, with a few hives, and did not extract until the honey harvest was over. I found that the bees had not capped the honey, for they had too much surface room to cover, through August and Sep- tember. Do not extract from the brood-nest, but take all they put in the upper story. There may be better ways to manage bees to produce comb honey, but the way I have managed has given me 92 pounds of extracted honey to the colony, spring count. If THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 263 beginners will follow my way of swiirmingj they are sure to have strong colonies, and tiiat is the sure way of getting a large crop of lioney. Do your best, and the bees will do the rest, if there is any honey to gather. Cokato, Minn. For the American Bee Journal. The Use of Separators. T. E. tui:neb. I confess to becoming " so insane " as not to use separators, and will not charge those who continue their use with insanity ; but will confess that ray e.xperience has made me so saue as to discontinue tlieir use. My ex- perience with tliem lias been varied. I have used narrow strips of tin for separators, and also broad pieces, and find that bees work best with narrow strip separators, if any are used ; but they will build some combs fast to the tin. Witli broad pieces and large passages for bees to enter the sections, combs are built under, out of shape for casing, and witli broad pieces and narrow passages, bees are slow to commence work in the sections. Some may force them into sections with such separators by keeping them in prime condition, but witli all the forcing I can do, they are slow to en- ter sections with narrow spaced sep- arators. That separators lessen the crop of surplus is not a delusion, as is proven by the experience of many leading apiarists. To test this matter, last season, I put a frame of sections in each end of a hive, one witli and the other withoutseparators, and the bees worked in the one without separators, and would not touch the other ; then they were changed in the hive, and new sections put in with the same re- sult. Then sections were put in both ends of the hive without separators, and they worked in both places nearly alike. Now this result, with the fact that bees will, things being equal, work more readily in the space occu- pied by 8 or i) sections than that oc- cupied by one section, proves that as much honey cannot be obtained with as without separators. Now, with the riglit kind of a rack to hold sections, and a little care in putting starters in, I claim that one can manipulate more colonies of bees for comb honey, without separators, than he can witli them, and produce his honey in just as good shape for market. The reason for this is. that he will have to give less time and care while the sections are on the hive, to see that they get sealed, and taking them off, and no more in casing them for market. The tinest section honey in Chicago, at the time of the meeting of the Northwestern Convention, and, per- haps, during the past season, was produced by a bee-keeper in this county, without separators. Seven thousand pounds were produced from 60 colonies, spring count, in that way. Twenty thousand pounds of tirst-elass honey was produced in this part of Wisconsin, last season, with- out separators, and packed and ship- ped to various points with no com- plaint of leakage from combs rubbing each other. Mr. Steer's narrow frame and sep- arators, described on page 189 of the iJEE Journal, for April 11, though he uses a divison-board, will not ad- rait of the speedy removal of the full sections from the hive, and the bees will propolize his section frame to the hive, if it is the same size as the in- side of the hive. Glassing sections is too expensive both to producer and consumer; for the time and cost of glassing is much greater to the producer than he gets returns for, and the glass is useless to the consumer. So separators are dispensible, and bee-keepers are dispensing with them, and also with broad frames, and are adopting suitable racks in their stead. Progressive apiarists here would not think of securing a large crop of comb honey in marketable shape with their use now. You will see from these remarks that the articles on separators, tin or wood, that have appeared recently in the Bee Jouknal, are of but little interest to some of its readers, for they regard them as useless and cum- bersome. Sussex, Wis. Western Michigan Convention. The Western Michigan Bee-Keep- ers' Association held their regular semi-annual meeting at Grand Rapids, Mich., May 3. There were about 20 members in attendance. The meeting was called to order at 10 a. m., by the president, W. II. Walker, of Berlin. Secretary Frank- lin S. Covey, of Coopersville, read the minutes of the last meeting, and they were approved by the association. The treasurer's report was also read, which showed the society to be in a good financial condition. All ex- penses had been paid, and a surplus of a few dollars still remained in the treasury. The forenoon was chiefly occupied with dissusions on wintering bees. T. M. Cobb, of Grand Rapids, intro- duced the subject with a few remarks. Quite a number spoke concerning the matter, and the general sentiment of the convention seemed to be that a good cellar was preferable to any method of out-door shelter. A. B. Cheney, of Sparta Centre, had wintered his bees in a cellar for ten years past, with uniform success. President Walker thought that they should be so protected, if left out dur- ing tlie winter, that tliey would not be compelled to rely upon the rays of the sun for their warmth— that heat- ing apparatus was too variable. Secretary Covey thought that too much pollen was detrimental to a healthy condition in bees. Honey taken by the bees passes off in insen- sible persiration, having no ash in the bowels of the subjects, and they need not tly to void their faices. Pollen is stronger food, and excites breeding in the winter time, when such an act is out of season, thus causing disease and otherwise disarranging the sys- tem of the hive. A. A. Dodge, of Coopersville, pre- sented the next topic for discussion — the subject of foul brood. He had met with good success in using the Jones method of cure. He shakes the- bees of their combs into a box which has been provided with thorough ven- tilation, and places it in a cool, dark place. The bees remain in their com- parative dungeon for two or three days, in a state of absolute fasting. They are then removed to a new hive. He starves the bees until the infected honey of the sacs is all consumed. The use of automizers and salicylic acid had proved unsuccessful in meet- ing the desired end. T. M. Cobb made a few remarks upon the different varieties of bees. He expressed a preference for the Cyprians. They were more hardy and better honey gatherers. They would breed faster, and raise more and bet- ter queen cells ; also, they were less. liable to swarm. The meeting, upon the whole» abounded in features of interest. Although the attendance was not a& large as the merits of the discussions, deserved, yet those who visited the scene displayed the greatest zeal in their work of investigation, and re- tired at the adjournment of the meet- ing fully salistied with the manner in which they had spent the day. The fall session of the association will be held at Berlin, on the last Wednesday in October.— frrand Bap- ids Times. For the American Bee JoumaU Essentials of a Standard Frame. E. B. SOUTHWICK. I notice that every little while there comes up the subject of the " stan- dard frame," and an article giving the writers preference, but seldom the inherent properties, for which the preference is given. It is also frequently asked, " What is the best frame V" And the answer given is, " We use the frame, '^ without giving the merits that frame i%above all other frames. The two classes of frames that their advocates have been trying to have recognized as the standard frame, are, I believe, the long and shallow frame like the Langstioth, and the nearly square ones like the Gallup. Now, I request that some one, fully competent and versed in all the wis- dom and lore of the Langstroth frame, and its every property and merit, will write an article and mention every good feature it has, not leaving out a single quHlity that recommends it to be •• the standard frame," and I will write an article comparing its merits with that of the square frame, and have both articles printed side by side in the same Journal, and copied into other papers, if their editors can be induced to do so. Then when the kind of hive or frame is asked for, the inquirer can be referred to these articles for the reasons for either. 264 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. The advocates of the square frame may think their side is poorly repre- sented, but do not mention that, lest the other side make that an excuse, and keep mum._ If my proposition is agreed to, I will Vrite out my article as soon as I know it, and know who the other advocate is to be. Mendon, Mich., May 10, 1883. ror tho American Bee JoumaL The Great Need of a Bee Boom. JOS. 31. HAMBAUGH. This section is sadly in need of a bee boom. Old fogyism reigns su- preme, and notwithstanding the sur- roundings, will warrant the belief of this being a superior point for har- vesting the nectar, but few of my neighbors use a movable frame hive, preferring to indulge in the old-fash- ioned box, constructed of rough planks, with round sticks through the ■centre, and, perhaps, slats at the top and bottom. This seems, in their es- timation, a broad stride over the old- fashioned mode of hollow bee logs, Bawed up iu about .3 feet blocks, with a roof over one end ; not appearing to see the gist of the new-fangled idea of the movable frames ; and though they keep abreast of the times in other matters, the poor little honey- bee is left to battle with the ignor- ance of the past. The common German black bee is the only kind within 20 miles of this section, if I mistake not ; and yet honey (though of au inferior quality) has always been abundant. To the east and southeast of my residence is spread a vast waste of low lands, four miles in width, reaching to the Illinois river, wtiich is subject to overflow. This region is studded With willow, button-brush, boneset, pond-lily, Spanish needle, and myriads t)f other blossoms, not known to the vmcultured. To the north and west are the bluffs.whose fertile hills, where not disturbed with the woodman s axe, is heavily wood, with linden or basswood predominating. How^many colonies can I have without exhaust- ing the pasturage'? I have 17 colo- nies with which to make a start ; all natives, and I intend to Italianize as soon as all are in movable frame hives. I have 27 Langstroth hives completed for the purpose, and I wish to ask if the perforated zinc, for ex- cluding drones and the queen from the upper story, is a success ? If not, what divice is used, if any V The writer has bad the pleasure of visiting Charles Dadant & Son, of Hamilton, 111., and though we came as a stranger, we were treated as a brother. A glimpse among their bees and foundation manufaetory was W'Orth many times the expense of my trip, and opened my eyes to the on- ward march of scientitic bee-culture. Long may they live as shining lights in scientific bee-culture. Versailles, 111., May 14, 1883. [Your pasturage resources are good, but you will find the 17 quite enough to begin with. As they in- crease, so will your knowledge of the business increase, by the practical knowledge you will obtain in manag- ing them. The zinc excludes are used by many, and are considered in- dispensable by them. — Ed.] Wi\m\ ixntX Boiu, ANSWERS BY James Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich. Sundry (Questions. 1. How long sliould the brood-comb remain in the hive before changing for new ; as some claim that the cells gradually become less • by frequent breeding in them y 2. How old ought a queen to be be- fore she should be replaced with a young one ? 3. Does the old queen leave the old hive with the fir.st swarm in the springy 4. Why do bees lie out on the sides of the hives, so long in spring, before they swarm ; are they waiting for a queen to batch, or is their old queen to come with them, and she is too old ; or what ? D. F. Marks. South Bosque, Texas, May 9, 1883. Answer.— 1. I never destroy a comb on account of its age alone. I saw comb that I was assured came from a hive over 40 years old, and the owner pronounced the colony as vig- orous and prosperous as ever. 2. She ought not to be replaced as long as she proves worthy, by her works. 3. Yes. 4. There are two reasons for such laying out ; first, the neglect to give them full opportunity to work, and sometimes intense heat, and when the master does not do his duty they swallow large drafts of honey and hang outside of the hives in clusters, transforming that honey into scales of wax. Is it Square-Dealing' J In looking over a bee paper (not the Bee Journal), I saw the following : " Square dealing men." We, whose names appear below, do not know that we have a single dissatisfied per- son with whom we nave had dealings ; but if we have, such will confer favor by writing us kindly, and we will do our best to render satisfaction," — Among those names, is one with whom I have had a little " deal," and I fear that little was, at the best, " a deal too much." I will put the case by asking some questions which I wish answered through the Bee Journal, as I have twice written the party and can get no reply from him. 1. Is it square-dealing to advertise a Langstroth frame, and send a Sim- plicity V 2. Is it square-dealing to sell colo- nies of bees that have had or been ex- posed to foul brood 'i 3 Would bees that were healthy and free from the disease in May, be likely to die of it in tlie fall V 4. If you should take frames of brood and bees from a hive and form a nucleus in June, and the old colony dies in the fall, and next fall you find that colony (the nucleus) has the foul brood, would yoti not think it came from the frames forming that nuclei, especially if those frames contained most of the foul brood ? 5. If there were no bees within 4^ or 5 miles, domestic or wild, would there be any probability of their be- coming infected from outside, or wild bees, and dying the same season ? 6. Is there any redress for one who is thus imposed upon, unless through exposure, which most or all dislike to do, but right should supplant right and wrong. O. B, Scofield. Y'ork, Maine. Answers.— When I first saw that " square " department, I thought that it would only serve as a hiding place for some dishonest dealers to lurk in, where they could deceive many be- ginners of our pursuit. In it I found the names of men of whom I had heard grave complaints, and failed to find the names of some of our well- known reliable dealers. It reminded me of the French bastile, prior to the Revolution, where "most that were in, ought to be out, and many that were out, ought to be in." Right here I want to express a long harbored opin- ion, and that is, that he who succeeds in giving perfect satisfaction to all he deals with, will do great injustice to some of his customers or to himself. It is not right, and is an immoral method of seeking patronage to in- dulge the selfish in their unjust de- mands. Some just person must foot this indulgence bill. Besides this, it develops to a higher degree this wrong propensity in the indulged. Each dealer should draw his own line of justice, and in drawing that line, use his imagination with which to place himself in the outside party's place, and then live up to this, his highest conception of justice, and let the people decide by their acts whether or not he has drawn the line well. No man who does this duty, can honestly get into that "square-list" upon the terms it proposes. No man can deal with one hundred customes exactly on the square, and nothing more, and not have one dissatisfied. My advice is, do not try it. " Dare to do right ; dare to be true," and you have nothing to fear. I have dealt in supplies on quite an extensive scale for three or four years, THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 265 as many well-know, and I have three very much dissatistied customers, and I wish it was not out of place to give a history of the origin of their dis- satisfaction; also of their Christian spirit in reporting the same, together with the direful things they are going to do, but never commence. It is also true that some dealers have not aimed to do justice, and under this head I will try to answer the questions, as best I can. 1. The Langstroth and Simplicity frames are calculated by their makers, to be one and the same frame. The words Langstroth and Simplicity apply to the styles of the hives, and not the frames. 2. No, sir. 3. Bees do not die of foul brood. It is a disease of the brood, and the col- ony would " peter out " in the fall if the disease was well under way, and of a malignant type in the previous spring. This is as I understand it ; though I have never seen a case of foul brood. 4. I should. 5. Very little, if any, I should say. 6. I am not a lawyer, but as laws are based upon reason and justice, I would guess that damages could be collected in a civil court, if the parties were collectable. The distance the parties are usually a part, and the financial worthlessness of many small dealers, makes the legal course usually impracticable. The exposure course is in order, but there is no place, except in apicultural periodicals, through which to do it, and the nature of the complaint and defense are incompati- ble with the purposes for which said papers are published and read. not to buy frames filled with founda- tion, but wire their own frames and put the heavy foundation on by the method above referred to ; it is safer and cheaper. Wired Frames. 1. Will bees build comb in wired frames and have the wires in the cen- tre of the combs y 2. Will they do it readily. E. Sanford. Answers.— Yes ; if you properly press the wire into the foundation. If you do not mean to use foundation, do not use wire at all ; it will not work on that plan. 2. Nearly all now know the advan- tages of tlie wires when used with foundation, and I have used them for years, and find them in no way detri- mental. The Given press puts them to place more perfectly and quickly, but the hand method is excellent, and perfectly practical when done as I dis- cribed it in the February number of the Kansas Bee-Keeper. I advise all Shipped His Bees. I left Delta, Ohio, for this place on April 20, with 43 colonies of bees, and arrived here without the loss of a comb. Miles S. Pray. St. Johns, Mich., May 10, 1883. Looking for a (Jrand Honey Harvest. My bees have done well so far, and are in fine condition. I have had one swarm on May 2. Prospect are boom- ing for white clover, hnd we are look- ing for a grand honey harvest. J. G. Norton. Macomb, 111., May 14, 1883. Moving Hees in Cold Weather. My 9 colonies of bees came through the winter all right. I bought 40 col- onies more, which makes me 49 to commence with. Those which I win- tered came through very strong. They had drones flying on the 10th of May. The 40 which I bought are not so strong, covering from 6 to 9 of my frames, which are IQ'^^xVi^ inches, outside measure. A neighbor of mine bought S colonies of bees in what is termed the "patent" hive; he put them into a cave last fall. They were doing very well in the cave. Mr. M. told him that his bees would all be dead before spring, if he did not take them out of there ; so he took them out and hauled them on a sled one-quarter of a mile, in the coldest part of winter, to an old house, and there buried them up with oats, as if they were ice. Long before spring, his bees were dead, and now he has only the old boxes and combs (for some one stole the honey) for the $20. The fruit trees are in bloom, and we expect a full crop of honey. J. F. Sellers. Reynolds, 111., May 12, 1883. Apiary Destroyed by a Tornado. May 9, about .5 p. m., this section was visited by a terrible tornado, which laid my apiary in ruins. I had 40 good colonies, and not a hive es- caped the fury. They were carried up in the air, through the woods, and the hives smashed into "kindling- wood," combs and frames carried over a mile and dashed to atoms, and the bees drowned. You can imagine my feelings, for there is nothing I think so much of as my bees (except my family). I was just starting an apiary anew, after my disaster in Iowa. This was my first season here, and my apiary is my only dependence. I have 17 queens left, that I picked up, and bees enough for 5 or f> colonies ; the unhatched brood was nearly all chilled in the combs I saved, so it is dead and the bees are dragging it out. The tornado also damaged my house, twisted it out of shape some, and took about 20 feet off one of the side walls out of my bee cellar, so I had to get help and prop up the house, to keep it from falling over. The house is a frame one, just built, last Octo- ber. I think the elements have been hard on me, but it might have been worse as none of my family were killed or hurt. E. J. Scofield. Hanover, Wis., May 12, 1883. Parasitic Bees. Enclosed I send a specimen of a fly, which I discovered among my bees. Please describe and explain through the Bee Journal what they are. They seem very lively among the bees. I think they destroy eggs, and do mischief. Geo. D. Freshour. Canandaigua, N. Y. [The insects are parasitic bees. Three specimens were received, of which one belonged to a distinct species from the other two. I should be glad to get more of each. These cuckoo- bees have not been known to infest the cells of the honey-bee, so far as I am informed, but are well-known dep- redators upon various wild bees. Their eggs are laid in the cells, and the strange larvas are fed like those belonging to the host. It is not at all probable that these adult bees destroy the eggs already laid by the hive queen ; though careful observation on this point would be valuable.— T. J. Burrill, Champaign, 111.] Bee-Keeping in Florida. I have spent the past winter in Florida, and will hazard the opinion that bee-keeping in that State will not be a success to any great extent, except in a very few localities where there is a plenty of mangrove, palm- etto, etc. A few bees could probably be kept in almost any locality. Bonair, Iowa. G. W. Webster. Bees Prospering. My bees came through the winter with very little loss, and are now doing well, notwithstanding the cold and backward spring. G. W. Zimmerman. Napoleon, O., May 15, 1883. That Apiarian CoUege. I noticed an article on page 6 of the present volume of this Journal, en- titled " Another step in advance." The writer. Dr. Besse, says that it would be advisable to start an apiar- ian college under the auspices of the American Bee-Keepers' Society ; each graduate to pass an examination be- fore that society. I would like to ask the Doctor or Mr. Ileddon to sug- gest a number of the leading ques- tions for a person just starting to keep bees to ask himself, and be able to 266 THE- AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. answer, so that he may be thorotighly acquainted with the science of bee- culture. Mr. Heddon says in an arti- cle on page 73, tlia* tlie art is acquired by the majority. Of course it is, but I thinlt it would be a great deal easier to acquire the art after or when a person is studying the science with the art. A very large number start to keep bees every year, and 1 might say that a large number of them never get past the first year or two, unless they just swarm them in boxes, and let them have their own way. I think a great deal of good could be done if some one that is more able than my- self would take up the subject and do it justice. Wm. H. Weston. London, Ont. Cannot be Beat. I think the Bee Jouhnal cannot be beat. I would not lose a number for the price of it a year. F. M. Taintok. Elm Grove, Mass., May 15, 1883. Bees Wintered Without Loss. My 35 colonies of bees were packed, last fall, by putting chaff cushions in the caps, and they wintered all safely ; I did not even lose a queen. Tliey are now doing well, and there is a good prospect ahead. My experience teaches me to keep a laying queen in the hive, if possible, all the time, Mr. Heddon to the contrary, notwithstand- ing. Isaac Sharp. Waveland, Ind., May 16, 1883. 3. What do the experienced apiarist think of Alley's new method of queen- breeding V I have -a colony engaged in the business already. I think it will be a grand success. S. J. YOUNGJIAN. Cato, Mich., May 15, 1883. [1. In the excellent article on page 260, by Mr. Doolittle, will be found instructions for spring management, building up weak colonies, etc. 2. It is too early in this latitude to think of shipping queens, even if they were ready for shipment. The nights are cold ; and the exposure they would get would be detrimental. 3. As you are rearing queens accord- ing to the plan given in Mr. Alley's book, of course there is no necessity of further answers in detail. We re- fer you to the book, which meets with very general approval by apiarist everywhere. — Ed.] had no queen-cells, but some brood. I emptied them in front of the hive ; they did not go in the hive very good ; some of them crawled over to the other hive, which was about a foot away,, and clustered on the hive in large bunches. I brushed them down in front of the hive, but they would not go in. I left them there all night, still they would not go in ; so the next day I took the cover of the hive, placed the boxes over the chambers and drammed and smoked them up' and dumped in front of the other hive, which, by the way, had but few bees, in it, so they went into the hive (at least some of them did) and staid in. I do not understand why they acted so. To-day. which is about a week since I transferred them, the strong colony gave a swarm. I hived it in good time ; in ten minutes they were back to the same hive they came from. C. Vanculin. Delaware, Del. Spring Management, etc. I have a few questions which I would like to have answered in the next number of the Bee Journal. They are of great importance to bee- keepers at this time of year, especially those that have several hundred combs and but very few bees ; which is the case here with several. One man at Mecosta, Mich., put in the cellar 54 heavy natural swarms in the fall ; on the lirst of May he had only 10 weak ones left ; another at Coral, Mich., packed 38 natural swarms in straw ; he has only 7 weak ones left. These men want to know how to build up these little handsfuU of bees, so as to make use of these combs. 1. Is it any advantage to feed this honey back to them, the combs can be placed in the caps of the hives, so that the bees can have access to them very easily, and those on the outside be none the wiser, and will take all of the honey out of the combs and clean the combs up some too ; but is it any gain ? Will the bees breed any faster for having plenty of honey in the hiveV 2. For all of the advertising of queens, none can be found for sale at present ; although all queen breeders are willing to receive your orders for queens, wliicli will be lilled in the or- der received, sometime in June or July. IIow early can queens be reared in tliis latitude? IIow soon should queen-rearing be commenced, when there is such a demand for them y Cannot queens be reared suc- cessfully at any time, when drones are plentiful '? I have drones in any quantity at this date. Splendid Honey Harvest Expected. My colonies are in splendid condi- tion ; full of brood, andstrong in bees. The locusts are just opening, and the surplus arrangements are placed on ; the hives have a surplus of fruit bloom honey ; the first of the kind in three years (that is, surplus above what they needed for rearing brood). It is fine weather now, but we had cool weather up to last week ; some days it has been too cold for bees to fly. We hope, and have the indica- tions of a splendid honey harvest; white clover looks well, and basswood trees are full of buds. J. W. Sturwold. Raymond, Ind., May 18, 1883. Troubles in Transferring. I had 2 colonies in box hives ; I transferred them, last week, into movable frame hives, according to your instructions, and succeeded be- yond my expectations, without any bee-vail, and received no stings, but I do not understand the way they acted. The first hive was very strong ; a peck of bees, at least, and five queen-cells, and one was capped over, and two others with larvoe in them. I put eight frames in the hive with most all the brood, and very little honey. I placed the new hive on the old stand, in the same place, and dumped the bees in front of the liive,. which were about a peck in bulk ; part of them went into the hive, and some of them raised in the air and clustered about 30 yards from the hive. There v*'as about a quart of them. I hived them at once; went into dinner, and when I came out they were clustered in one corner of theliive; in about half an hour they were gone, perhaps to tlie old hive. They would not go in the hive, so I raised the hive in front and they went into the chambers outside of the division-board, and staid there until I took them out. The next colony I transferred acted much like the first ; it had about a half-peck of bees ; they A Degenerated Langstrotli Hive. Mr. Editor:— Will you please to give me your reasons for calling the Simplicity hive a '■ degenerated Lang- stroth hive ?" I am only a beginner in the art of bee-culture. I want to learn all I can, and do not like to start with the wrong hive. I read your Journal with great interest, and could not do without it. Please answer through the Bee Journal. O. H. Carpenter. Camanche, Iowa, May 17, 1883. [Our correspondent has evidently been dmmiing. The Simplicity hive is to all intents and purposes a Lang- stroth hive. It uses the Langstroth frame, and only gets its name by the manner of making the outer box. We have never used any such language, either in the Bee Journal or in public speaking. Our correspondent should have designated the place in the Journal where it might be found, or given the time and place, if we were reported to have used such a phrase in public speaking. We sus- pect that Mr. Carpenter has been dreaminy, and this time is "caught napping."— Ed.] Ho w the Bees were Prepared for W inter. We packed 5 colonies of bees in chaff and 5 with planer shavings, 4 inches in the bottom and sides, and 10 inch chaff cushions, on A. I. Boot's plan. On October 27, the snow drifted over them ; we shoveled them out in Feb- ruary, during a thaw, and some of the bees Hew out. We examined them and found them all right. In April, we found some wet in the bottom of the hive ; the cushions were moldy on top, but the bottom was dry and warm, and 4 showed signs of dysen- tery. We cleaned the hive of dead bees, but we lost 4 colonies, and 4 more are weak. At this date they have brood. I think if we had put them up out of the snow, they would have been dry ; the snow is so heavy THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 267 liere, with a damp atmosphere, it will not flo to let them be covered up in snow as they do in the west. We put 38 colonies in the cellar on November 15, and took them out May 3. They were»contined 109 days ; 4 wer^ead; 2 of them starved witli plenty of honey on the outside combs, the mat laid close down on the frames. I did not cut holes in the combs ; 2 had ■dvseutery, and several showed signs ■of it. Some of them were stronger wlien they came out, than when they went in. Others were weak ; all had plenty of honey. Since putting them •out, 2 more have died, and we doubled up two more ; most of them had brood, and some liad frames, capped over. They are bringing in pollen, but it is very cold and windy. Our •cellar is under the house we live in ; the thermometer stood at 36 ' to 40-; tlie hives were put up over the pota- toes ; some of them were as bright as they were last fall. We think that the cellar was too cold. We put a small stove in, to dry out the moisture. We had a pipe under ground to let in air, some 60 feet from the house, l)elow the frost. The bees were in Root's Simplicity hives, with the bot- tom board up-side-down, with half- inch opening ; burlap mat to cover the frames ; cover up-side down. The bees in the cellars came out strong and better than last year. The bees that were wintered out on the sum- mer stands in summer hives are all ■dead. JAS. H. Tilley & Bros. Castle Hill, Me., May 14, 1883. Will they Rear a (Jiieeu 1 I liave a light colony that became queenless a week ago ; I shall unite it to another. 1. If I give the queenless colony brood with eggs and larvae, or if they have it already, will they rear a queen before drones have appeared i* 2. If I give them a frame of brood with eggs, larvse, and filled drone comb, will they rear a queen V 3. Will a colony rear a queen when its own hive contains neither drones nor drone comb, but when drones i^re in other colonies near V 4. In forming a nucleus, is it neces- sary to place drone combs in the nu- cleus hive ? Chas. F. Willcott. Exira, Iowa, May 5, 1883. [If you have no prospect for getting a queen soon, it will be better to unite the queenless colony with any other weak one having a queen. 1. Drones will be on hand by the time the bees have reared a queen. Many have them now. 2. Of course they will immediately rear a queen, if you give them the means of doing so. 3. Yes. 4. No.— Ed.] have taken the Held yet, which is 8 months and 10 days ; therefore I will not be very uneasy after this if I do not get any breeding in September. My Italians will be ready for the honey flow, if we get fair weather. They are not so nervous as blacks, and pull through bad weather better. I have tested the two distinct races pretty well, and can give their pedi- gree any time. I kept a standing offer, last year, of $5 for any person being attacked with an Italian bee ; if it had been in favor of the blacks, I should soon have been in poverty. To explain the above, we got no fall crop here,and the way I fed up was on 6 frames; there was no breeding; neither could be. I was afraid, but appar- ently without cause. Chakles Mitchkll. Molesworth, Ont.. May 12, 1883. Backward Spring iu Maine. Four Indies of snow fell here to- day. It has been one of the most backward springs that we have had for a long time. My bees are quite vveak, owing to the cold backward spring. G. W. Dunbar. North Anson, Me., May 1.5, 1883. 1^ The Marshall County Bee-Keep- ers' Association meets at !Marshall- town, Iowa, Saturday, May 26, at 10..30 A. M, The place of meeting is at the Sherilt's office. Subject for discussion: "Summer Care." The meeting of March 24th was one of much interest. Five new members were admitted into the Society. All present seemed to realize it was "'good to be there '' and the general feeling was to build up a good first-class society. J. Sanders, Sec. BOOK CLUBBING LIST. We will supply tbe American Bee Journal one year, and any of the following Books, at tbe prices quoted in the last column of figures. The first column gives the regular price of both. AH postage prepaid. Price of both. Club The Weekly Bee Journal $2 OU. . and Cook's Manual, 7th edition(in cloth) 3 25. Cook's Manuiil, (in paper covers) 3 00. Bees and Honey (T.G.Newman)cloth 2 75. All Old Bees. I have been testing late and early breeding. My bees are all 8 months old ; they bred none after August, last year, and very few young bees Bees and Honey (paper covers) 2 50., Binder for Weekly Bee Journal 2 75. . Apiary Register for loo colonies 3 50. Apiary Register for 2iX) colonies .... 4 00. , Dzierzon's New Bee Book (cloth) 4 00. Dzierzon's New Book (paper covers) 3 50. Quinby's New Bee-Keeping t3 50. Langstroth's Standard Work 4 00, Root's A B C of Bee Culture (cloth) 3 25. Alley's Queen Rearing 3 25. Scribner's Lumber and Log Book 2 35. Fisher's Grain Tables 2 40. Moore's Universal Assistant 4 50. Honey as Food j£ Medicine, .'>OCopiea 4 00. Honey as Food cS: Medicine, lOO.Copies (> 00. Blessed Bees 2 75. King's Text Book 3 OO. 2 76 2 50 2 50 2 25 2 60 3 00 3 50 3 50 3 00 3 36 3 76 300 300 2 25 2 25 4 25 3 75 5 50 2 50 2 75 The Monthly liee «Jeurnal and any of the above, ¥1 less than the figures in the lastlcolumn. J^p^ccial notices. Examine the Bate following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 2.5 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $.5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. i^Renewals may be made at any time ; but all papers are stopped at the expiration of the time paid for, unless requested to be continued. Preparation of Honey for the Mar- ket, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey, instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. Honey as Food and Medicine. A new edition, revised and enlarged, the new pages being devoted to neto Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price of them low to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 6 cents, postpaid; per dozen, 50 cents; per hundred, $4.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense— enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For .50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies 220 pages 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. 2G8 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cork's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keepmg, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. 1^ Our stock of back numbers of this volume are now getting very low. Please look over your numbers, and if any are lacking, send us a postal card, giving the date of those you want, and we will send them, if not all gone. We give this notice, be- cause, last year, several left it until the end of the year, and then re- quested us to send the missing num- bers. Then it was too late, the num- bers being all gone. Look them over now, and you may get them completed. Foul Brood Pamphlet.— Wishing to be relieved of sending out my pamph- let on Foul Brood, 1 have made ar- riingements with Mr. T. G. Newman to supply them to the bee-keeping fraternity desiring them. A. R. Kohnke. Youngstown, O., April 25, 1883. t^ Mr. Alley's new book on Queen Rearing will hereafter cost SI. 25 ^' We have a few copies of our pamphlet entitled " Bee Culture " left, and have reduced the price from 40 to 25 cents each, or $2 per dozen. Bingham Smoker Corner. I Larjje Smokers need wide shields. Bingham's have them, and sprlnKS that do not rust und break, and bellows that sparks and smoke do not enter. The Conqueror has all improvements made to date, and a 3x7 inch stove, and 5x7 inch bellows. Sent post-paid for SI. t5. Address. BINGHAM & HETHEEINGTON, Abronia. Mich. All Excelling. — Messrs. Bingham & Hetheringtou, Dear Sirs :— I am now selling your Smokers almost ex- clusively. " You are excelling your- selves in smokers all the time. Respectfully, J. G. Taylor. Austin, Texas, May 10, 1883. ^- We carefully mail the Bee Journal to every subscriber, but should any be lost in the mails we will cheerfully send another, if notified before all the edition is exhausted. CyprLins Conquered. All summer long it has been " which and tother " with me and the Cyprian colony of bees I have— but at last I am "boss." Bingham's " Conqueror Smoker " did it. If you want lots of smoke just at the right time, get a Conqueror Smoker of Bingham. G. M. DOOLITTLE. Borodino, N. Y., Aug. 15, 1883. Special Notice.— We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bee Journal for one year, and the seventh edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, bound in fine cloth, for $2.75, or the Monthly Bee Journal, and the Manual in cloth for $1.75. As this offer will soon be withdrawn, those who desire it should send for the book at once. Will Make It an Even Dozen .—Mr. W H. Brearley, of the Detroit (Mich.) Eveninq News, who has personally conducted $22,000 round trip excur- sions " from Detroit to the Sea." everv year for the past seven years, and who is to take three more this year in June and July, has made the ascension of Mt. Washington nine times, and. this year, proposes to make it an even dozen. — Adv. Emerson Binders— made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for 75 cents, for the Weekly ; or for the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. THE HANDY BOOK. Rend the opinion of one of the most eminent writers on bee matters; Bound Brook. N. J., May 4, 1883. FttlESn ALLEY :— Handy Book received, I am hiippv C*hrt.ay that I consider that it tells more on tlie vital subjects of rearing Queens and manalfinff bees so as to take honey, than jtny book now before the public. It seems to be tilled with just those thinu's which practical men find out about their business in a lifetime of work, but which they generally don't tell the dear public. J. Hasbbouck. The HANDY BOOK has received from those most coiupetent to judge of its value, more praise than any book now in print. Send forour Circular and get their opinions. HENKY ALLEY, Wenham, Mass. 21Atf i^'May we ask you, dear reader, to speak a good word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at least one new subscription with your own V Our premium, " Bees and Honey," in cloth, for one )ie«) sub- scriber to the Weekly, or two for the Monthly, besides your own subscrip- tion to either edition, will pay you for your trouble, besides having the satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bee Journal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. E.T. LEWIS & CO., Toledo, Ohio, Manufiicturers of the U. S. STANDARD Honey Extractor (new improvements j, and all other Apiarian Supplies. Send for circular. 17A 5Btf A NEW BEE BOOK ! BEES anTHONEY, OK THE Management of an Apiary for Pleasure and Profit ; by THOMAS C. NEWMAN, Editor of the Weekly Bee Journal. 925 ^We»t Madison Street. ChtcnKO, 111. It contains 160 profusely illustrated pages, la "fully up with the times" in all the improvemente. and inventions in this rapidly developinR pursuit, and presents the apiarist with everything that can aid in the successful management of the Honey Bee, and at the same time produce the most honey- In its best and most attractive condition. Appreciative Notices. A neat and abundantly illustrated hand-book of apiculture.— American Agriculturist, N. Y. Its chapter on marketing honey is worth many times it3 cost.— Citizen, Pulaski. Tenn. Contains all the information needed to make bee-culture successful.— Eagle, Union City, Ind. Just such a work as should be In the hands of every beginner with bees.— News, Keithsburg. 111. Valuable for all who are interested in the care and management of bees.- Dem., Allegan, Mich. Engravings are fine. Gotten up in the best style, and is cheap at the price.— Farmer, Cleveland, O. It comprises all that is necessary for succcBSfuli bee-culture, save experience and good judgment. —Daily Republican, Utica, N. Y. Written in an interesting and attractive manner, and contains valuable information for all readers, even though they be not directly interested in the care of bees.— Sentinel, Rome, N. Y. It is a valuable and practical book, and contains a complete resume of the natural history of the little busy bee, as well as of all that one needs to know in their care and management.— Chicago Herald. Contains a vast fund of Information In regard to bee-culture. He who would keep abreast of the times must keep posted in all the Improvements In his line. We advise all interested to get a copy of this book.— Daily Times, San Bernardino, Cal. It embraces every subject that will Interest the beginner. It describes all the newest discoveries in the art by which the production of delicious and health-giving honey is obtained, as well as how to nrepareit for the market in the most attractive form. It is embellished with beautiful engravings, and is the most perfect work of the kind, tor the price, that has ever come under our notice.— Far- mer, Lancayter, Pa. PRICE— Bound In cloth, 7& cents; in paper covers, 50 cents, postpaid. THOMAS a. BIJEWMAN. 925 W. Madison St., Chicago. 111. Morphine Habit Cured In lO to ao days. No pay until cured. J. L. Btephens, M. D., Lebanon, O. PATENT FOUNDATION MILLS ^^.L-Ict |1^:S: ]sA«t W. C. PELHAM. Maysville, Ky. OPIUM W. Z. HUTCHINSON, BogersTlUe. Oeiiesee County, Mich., Is now receiving Italian Queens from the Simth (for particulars see advertisement In the BEl, Jol'RNAL of April 18). and can send them bv return mall at the following prices: Belore June 1st, untested queens will be »1. 50 each : dur- inBJune,BinBlequeen|1.2.'i, or SIX for »6(H.i; after Julv 1st. sinBle queen »l.(X), 9i.\ for J.-j.SO, twelve for'*l"i«' Tested queens (reared last season in the home apiaryi, before June Ist. «3:™ ea<;,n. = during June, $:;.r.n each : alter July ist, *2.00each. Safe arrival Buarnnteed. Make money orders payable at Flint, Mich. iVeow tt (?r(5 OLDEST BEE PAPER -•'' IN AMERICA - VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., MAY 30, 1883. No. 22. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Bditob and Pboprietok, The New National Chemist. Prof. H. W. Wiley, of Purdue Uni- versity, has resigned the chair of chemistry there, to accept the position of chemist in the National Agricul- tural Bureau at Washington. Prof. Collyer was removed by Commissioner Loring, in order, it is alleged, that a more intense sorghum sugar man might be placed in charge of the chemical laboratory. So says an ex- change. He must remember that there are other equally important interests re- quiring the attention of the National Chemist, and give these due credit, as well as that of sorghum-sugar ! This Wiley is the one who invented the " paraffine comb and glucose " story, as a "scientific pleasantry," and, with it, deceived Gov. Porter, of In- diana, who, in his addresses before the Farmers' Institutes held at Co- lumbus and Crawfordsville, reiterated the fraudulent fabrication, supposing, of course, that he was backed up by some authority, instead of being de- ceived by a wily, cunning and crafty unscientific joker, the sound of whose very name is a suggestion. Webster thus defines the word "wily:" "Full of wiles, tricks, or stratagems ; using craft or stratagem to accomplish a purpose ; mischiev- ously artful ; subtle ; as, a wily adver- sary." There was no need of adding an "e" to that word ! Any one who could invent the lie about " paraffine comb " being made and " filled with glucose by appro- priate machinery," and most likely laugh in his sleeve at those, who. being deceived by it, were telling it as a sober fact, and then enjoy the Joke for months, without doing the least thing to undeceive his dupes, is unworthy the name of man — for he lacks both manhood and integrity 1 Yet this is he who is now National Chemist, in charge of the National Chemical Lab- oratory, and what for V An exchange says it is because he is a " more in- tense sorghum-sugar man " than his predecessor. Is he so " intense " that he must distort facts, manufacture a story, and publish a lie about honey, in or- der to serve his sorghum-sugar in- terest ? Is this the key to his bold attack on comb honey V Is he such an " intense sorghum- sugar man " that it becomes neces- sary to calumniate, by false reports, that God-given and pure sweet — honey — in order to make him the Na* tional Chemist? If that is the meas- ure of his " intense " ambition — Heaven pity his poor contracted soul I It matters not what station such an one may occupy, all honorable men vifill unite in execrating him. "Go ! mark him well ! For him no minstrel rapture Bwell [ High though his titles— proud his name- Boundless his wealth, as wish mlghtclalm— Despite those titles, power, and pelf ! The wretch, concentered all in self. LiTlng, shall forfeit fair renown: And, doubly-dying, shall go down To the vile dust from whence he sprung- Unwept, unhonored, and unsung !" The Senses of Bees. Sir John Lubbock, whose very in- teresting book we noticed in the Bee Journal last fall, has recently read to the members of the Linnean Society an account of his further observations on the habits of iusects made during the past year. The two queen bees which have lived with him since 1874, and which are now, therefore, no less than 8 years old, are still alive and laid eggs last summer as usual. His oldest workers are seven years old. The American Naturalist for April has the following particulars : Dr. Muller, in a recent review, had courteously criticised his experiments on the color-sense of the bees ; but Sir John Lubbock pointed out that he had anticipated the objections sug- gested by Dr. Muller, and had guarded against the supposed .source of error. The difference was, moreover, not one of principle, nor does Dr. Muller question the main conclusions arrived at, or doubt the preference of bees for blue, which, indeed, is strongly indi- cated by his own observations on flowers. Sir John also recorded some further experiments with reference to the power of hearing. Some bees were trained to come to honey which was placed on a musical box on the lawn close to the window. The musical box was kept going for several hours a day for a fortnight. It was then brought into the house and placed out of sight, but at the open window, and only about 7 yards from where it had been before. The bees, however, did not find the honey, though when it was once shown them they came to it readily enough. Other experiments with a microphone were without re- sults. Every one knows that bees when swarming are popularly, and have been ever since the time of Aristotle, supposed to be influenced by clanging kettles, etc. Experienced apiarists are now disposed to doubt whether the noise has really an effect ; but Sir John suggests that even if it has (with reference to which he expressed no opinion), it is possible that what the bees hear are not the loud, low sounds, but the overtones at the verge of or beyond our range of hearing. As regards the industry of wasps, he timed a bee and wasj), tor each of which he provided a store of honey, and he found the wasp began earlier in the morning(at4a. m ),and worked on later in the day. He did not, how- ever, quote this as proving greater industry on the part of the wasp, as it might be that they are less sensitive to cold. Moreover, though the bee's proboscis is admirably adapted to ex- tract honey from tubular flowers, when the honey is exposed, as in this case, the wasp appears able to swallow it more rapidly. This particular wasp began work at four in the morning, and went on without any rest or in- termission till a quarter to eight in the evening, during which time she paid Sir John 116 visits. 2 TO THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Putting on the Sections. Among beginners and amateurs the inquiry is often heard, "When shall we put the sections on our hives V" Mr. Dougherty answers this question as follows in the Indiana Fm-mer : There can be no fixed time for put- ting on the surplus box. only as the season develops itself showing a surp- lus of honey coming in, and the necessity of giving room for its stor- age. The bees will seldom commence in the sections so long as there is any available space in the brood chamber in which to put the honey, and where the combs are not well filled with brood, the better plan is to occupy the extra space with a division-board, in- creasing the brood space as the queen becomes cramped for room in which to lay. Usually the first indications that the bees are gathering a surplus of honey, is the filling of the combs next to tlie top-bars of the frames, lengthening out the cells, showing the white, new comb which they are add- ing to fill in all of the unnecessary space. Bees seldom get a surplus of honey before the coming of white clover, although where locust is abundant they sometimes get quite a surplus from this source. Too much room should not be given at first, as too much space at first may lower the temperature to such an extent as to retard brood-rearing. The better plan is to give but little room at first. After they have commenced in this nicely, then give more room, as re- quired. They are at times loth to commence work in the boxes, and where a colony shows a hesitancy in occupying the boxes, some induce- ment should be given them ; such as a section well filled with comb. We usually have a great many sections left over from one season to another, with which to encourage them, but have had to resort to the plan of cut- ting out a small piece of board and fastening it into the center section. We seldom bother with anything of that kind now, for where we find a colony that does not enter the sections at once, we lift them off, and hang on a fuU set of empty combs for extract- ing. After they have got well started to going above, they will most gener- ally enter the boxes at once on there being replaced. Apis Dorsata Coming. — Mr. A. Schroeder, one of our subscribers in Trieste, Austria, under date of May 2, 18S3, writes as follows: "Mr. G. Dathe, of Germany, has arrived in Joppa with 4 colonies of Apis-Dorsata. He is very much disappointed in the (act that those bees will not build combs, neither will they stay on them. One colony decamped, and he was obliged to cut the queen's wings. I hope he will reach Europe with his bees alive, to bare them to experiment with for the sake of science. I do not believe the bees are worth anything for bee-keepers. Bees are doing well here. Strong colonies wintered well, and are in swarming condition now, if the weather would permit. I will build up nuclei into strong colonies, etc. We havenever very cold winters here." Seasonable Hints. Mrs. L. Harrison gives the follow- ing directions in the Prairie Farmer for the management of bees at the present season : Eggs and young larvaj disappear very mysteriously at times when there is a cessation in the flow of honey, and also when there are too few bees to hover and nourish it. A few days ago we gave a weak colony a frame of comb containing eggs, larvse, and hatching bees. On examining them a few days afterward we found sealed brood, and voung downy bees crawl- ing around," but the cells were empty where the eggs and larvie had been. The bees had been playing cannibal, breakfasted on the eggs and dined on the young larvie. Itiey had plenty of stores, but were lacking in bees necessary to produce warmtli and nurses for the young, and so utilized them by devouring them. If chipping brood is given to weak colonies first, and as soon as it is hatched, eggs and larvoe are put in, there will then be bees of the right age to nurse and care for it. Great care should be taken lest we injure our bees more than we do them good by meddling with them. If brood is taken from strong colonies, reducing them to the condition of the weak ones, great harm is done, for the brood given to the weak colonies may be entirely wasted. When the warm weather has come to stay, we may take brood with impunity, and not before. In the interim we must take care that the weak have plenty of honey in their hives, and feed the strong whenever they will accept it. Bees are now carrying a great deal of water, and venture out for it when the mornings are quite cool. It will save the life of many a bee if drink- ing vessels are filled with warm water. We have some small kegs in the apiary whicli are filled with water, and some old muslin is put into them with a portion hanging over the sides, serving the purpose of syphons, and ttie bees suck the water from the muslin on tiie sunny sides of the kegs without danger of drowning. 1^- We notice that quite a number of local papers have copied our article on " Bees and Honey in Ancient Times" from No. 19 of the Bee Journal. It will help to educate the mas.se3 on the uses of honey, and if there are any more persons who think they can prevail upon local editors to get it inserted, we can send them extra copies free for that pur- pose. Just send a postal card for No. 19, and it will be sent at once. Be sure to give your name and address. Chickens Eating Drones. Mr. Dadant, says the Prairie Farmer, "once had an apiary located on the side of a hill and fenced. He also had, at the same time, -500 chickens occupying the some enclosure with the bees. He had his hives raised from the ground, and at night the hens brooded their chickens under them. He also taught his chickens to eat drones, by feeding them brood and hatching drones. He says he has seen a rooster pick them off as they were clustered closely together for mutual protection against their female prosecutors, as all bee-keepers have seen them do, until he could swallow no more, then rest a bit, stretch up his neck, and go for them again — and if corn was thrown to him he would not notice it." ®' The weather for the past few days, in the whole Northern States, has been cold, windy and wet; but with a warm sunshine added to the well-watered ground, the flow of nectar will be abundant. It is true that the colonies of bees have become weaker, and in some cases "spring dwindling" has been severely felt, but, on the whole, an abundant honey harvest is to be expected. ^" The Annual Exhibition of the Nortfiamptonshire Bee-Keepers' As- sociation of bees, hives, honey, and bee appliances, will be held in connec- tion with tlie Northamptonshire Hor- ticultural Society, on Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 6 and 7, 18S3, in the grounds of Delapre Park, Northamp- ton, England. Practical illustrations of mauipulating with live bees, show- ing tlie best method of driving bees, making artificial swarms, transferring combs from straw skeps to bar frame hives, finding the queen, extracting the honey without injuring the bees or combs, etc., will be given at inter- vals during the show days, in a tent specially constructed, so that visitors can see the whole manipulations with- out any danger of being stung. Prizes will be awarded amounting to over $.50.00. Entries will be received, and further information given, on appli- cation to Mr. James Davies, 33, Semi- long, Northampton, by sending stamped addressed envelope. Entries close on July 31, 1883. (^ Mr. Alley's new book on Que Bearing will hereafter cost $1.2S THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 271 Bee-Cnltnre in India. The London Times gives the fol- lowing information respecting the bee industry in India, gathered partly from the Indian Agriculturist. The details were obtained by Mr. John Douglas, superintendent of telegraphs, from Mr. Morgan, deputy conserva- tor of forests, and are noteworthy from the light they throw on the modes of collecting wild honey: The best tioney producing flower of Southern India, is the strobilanthes, which not only forms the principal undergrowth of the sholas, both tem- perate and tropical, but spreads over the grassy slopes of the higher eleva- tions. Tliere are immense numbers of species in this genus, and they almost all (lower once in seven years, dying down entirely, and afterward a fresh growth springing up from seed. Whenever any species of strobilan- thes flower, colonies of bees migrate from all parts of the country to feast on the honey, and rear their young brood. At such times lioney becomes plentiful and cheap, and as the strobi- lanthes honey is of the finest quality atd flavor, rivaling that from the famous Mount Ilymettus, it is eagerly sought after by the Todas of the JSTeil- gherry Hills, and, in fact, by all ab- original tribes. The year 1879 was sucn a season for honey that it sold at the rate of four annas per imperial pint, whereas its usual price is from eight to ten annas. This honey, in the cold climate of the Neilgherries, crysializes in from a fortnight to three weeks, when tlie flavor becomes richer wnd finer. In the Wynaad, as soon as the moon has waned sufticiently, great prepara- tions are made to take the honey. Bamboo and rattan ladders are con- structed, sometimes of astonishing length, and at nightfall, after 9 p. m., for the bees do not go to rest until then, as you will find to your cost it you disturb them, the jain (honey) kurumbars proceed to theburray, and and having erected their ladders, if they have to climb upward or suspend them downward, arm themselves with torclies and knives, and sever the combs from the rocks or branch. The disturbed bees, meanwhile, roused by the glare of the torches, desert the combs and buzz aimlessly about, even on the persons of those engaged in taking the combs, but never attefript to sting unless crushed or hurt. The combs are then lowered down in bas- kets, the karumbars feasting on the larv;e, which tastes something like cream, while the fish, which swatm in thousands when the hives are built over a river, have a glorious feed on the grubs and bees that fall into the water and float helplessly down the stream. The Coorgs make some attempt at bee-culture, and practice the industry to some extent in their own homes. The bees are domesticated, and the hives, which are of a very primitive description, made merely of the hol- lowed out trunks of trees, are placed near the houses. The Coorgs have, however, no notion of collecting the surplus honey by any of the contri- vances now in use. In Cuddapah wild honey is collected also from the cliffs and ravines of the district. The process adopted in both is perilous and exciting, and the Yan- adies alone are able to climb into the difficult and apparently inaccessible places over perpendicular cliffs, in some places from 100 to 200 feet in height. They do this by the aid of a plaited rope, made of young bamboos tied together. This rope sometimes gives away, the result being a terrible accident. It is a very nervous sight to watch tjie men climbing up these frail suppTTrts, and it reminds one of the egg-collecting process in northern latitudes. The men from below look like little babies hanging midway, the rope being fastened on the top of the cliff above by means of a peg driven into the ground, or to the trunk of a tree, the man swinging midway with 100 feet or so above and below him, and armed with a stick and a leather basket. The Yanady first burns some grass or brushwood under the hive, by which he pokes with his stick, holding out his basket at the same time to catch the detached portions of comb. Wlien the basket is full he shakes the rope, at which signal his comrades above draw him up. The bamboo ropes are left to hang often for years, until they rot away, for a rope of this kind is never used twice, a fresh one being made on each occa- sion, and at each place. South Canara is also a great honey district. Tlie honey and Wax have, however, but little local value, a mound, about 25 pounds, only fetch- ing R. 2 and R. Ifi. It is thought that much might be done to open up the industry by exporting the honey and wax to England, the latter being a valuable product, and one for which there is always a demand. The trade, at present in Indian honey, is almost entirely confined to wild honey ; but as the keeping of bees is an industry requiring little or no capital, it is es- pecially adapted to the people of India. Should the returns obtained from the inquiries now made and set on foot by Mr. Douglas, show that it is worth while to introduce this industry in a practical form, then Mr. Buck, the whole subject having been placed under his department, may possible see his way to making a decided ef- fort to interest the people in syste- matic bee-culture with a view to the trade in honey and wax becoming ul- timately a profitable one to the country. FMladelphia Bee-Keepers. Mr. John Shallcross, of Philadel- phia, sends us the following item of news from the Herald: The Philadelphia Bee-Keepers' As- sociation met at the residence of Dr. Townsend, the President, 1514 Vine street, on Monday evening. May 14. An interesting essay upon the bee and honey, from the earliest times, was read bj[ Dr. Townsend. Questions of a practical nature were read from the question box, and were answered and discussed by the members. Two hand- some charts of the "anatomy and physiology of the honey bee, and its relation to flowering plants," by Mr. Frank R. Cheshire, recently procurred from England by the Association, were exhibited and explained by the. President. An observatory hive, with a nucleus colony of bees in full opera- tion, was also exhibited by Dr. Town- send. Bee-keeping in Philadelphia is making considerable progress. Ladies as Bee-Keepers. ^g" Do not send coins in a letter. It is dangerous and increases the postage unnecessarily. Always send postage stamps, for fractions of a dollar, and, if you can get them — one-cent stamps ; if not, any denomination of postage stamps will do. Prof. A. J. Cook, of Lansing, Mich., gives the following on this subject in the New York Tribune : Mr. Heddon constantly complains of over-praise of bee-keeping. He says they all do not "get there"— to success, I suppose he means. Of course ft is not all sunshine in api- culture. Severe winters mow down the colonies. "Foul brood" devas- tates and unfavorable seasons, not infrequently, make the profits micro- scopic ; while, worst of all, many lack true persistence to "overcome" till delayed success has chance to crown their efforts. Yet I could name hundreds, amateurs and specialists, who get pleasure and no small gain from bees, and they include many ladies. For instance, Miss West, of Flint, Mich., whose father owns 100 colonies, is a teacher in the public schools. Last Juno Mr. West was prostrated with typhoid fever, and his daughter took the whole care of the apiary during this most active season, and with success, though she cared for her father besides. A fiiend of Miss West taught a district school, and for recreation cared for a few col- onies of bees, which in no wise inter- fered with her duties as teacher. The income from the bees exceeded that earned as teacher. Of course, manj will not succeed in bee-keeping— only those who are punctual and observing of the needs of the myriad laborers whom they oversee. But to use this as an argument against the business, would be virtually to condemn every employment. Bee Pasturage a Necessity.— We have just issued a new pamphlet giving onr views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. 272 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For tbe American Bee Jouroal. Bees and Honey in Lucas Co., Iowa. A. KEUSCH. Tlie following Table represents the bees and honey in Lucas Co., Iowa : E < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 o In Cave Sum. Stand Sum. Stand Cellar Sum. Stand Sum. Stand Sum. Stand Sum. Stand House I Cave (Sum. Stand 16|Sum. Stand 17 Sum. Stand 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 2.5 26 Cellar Sum. Stand a 200 ion 19 18 14 13 8 14 14 .5 4 8 7 11 4 3 4 3 5 5 3 3 1 3 5 3 ox I" iiOO 88 19 17 14 11 8 10 14 5 2 8 6 9 3 3 4 3 .5 5 3 3 1 3 2C^ •fa 170 132 .56 23 30 .35 8 18 35 12 19 22 13 28 9 8 16 9 7 17 6 7 5 7 3 7 477 448 702 .5950 39,380 1800 1240 1150 600 375 "60 48 2.50 150 2&5 12 O 3 ■ccq 15,000 10,000 2,200 775 1,600 1,500 1,400 400 375 7.50 640 700 615 600 .500 300 3.50 .500 485 135 200 120 100 65 70 Kftr the American Bee Journal. The Standard Langstroth Frame. JAMES HEDDON. If I am not misinformed, Mr. Laugstroth, after inventing his hive, Issued a book, in which he gave the exact dimensions of his hive and .frame. Tliis was Mr. Langstrotti's standard. The booli did tiie worli of introducing that hive and frame. Tliat book gave the dimensions that I claim are the standard. Soon after, the National Bee-Hive factory was started at St. Charles, 111., and ni,ade and sold these hives on the most extensive scale of any house in the United States, thousands of bee-keepers bought them, and have patterned after them, or, at least, the frame, ever since. Mr. G. M. Alves. of Kentucky, submits the following propositions why 17%, and not \1% inches, should be universally accepted as the stand- ard length : 1. There are more Langstroth frames in use of tliat length than any other. 2. The largest manufacturers of hives, and the greatest number of them, have adopted this size. 3. This size will exactly take eight standard one- pound sections — a very important consideration witli tliose who prefer to take their honey in frames. 4. Tlie editors of the principal bee periodicals have, and do now, give this size as the standard, and (on tlie autliority of the Editor of the Ameri- can Bee JouitNAL,), Mr. Langstroth himself has approved the change. See American Bee Journal for 1882, page 251 . In reply, I will say: First, Mr. Alves is undoubtedly mistaken about there being very many more of the altered Langstroth frames in use than of the old standard. I have been agreeably surprised to find a much larger num- ber of the true standard in use than I expected. But if the question of what is the true standard frame rests with numbers of them, then I will build a large " brick factory " run by an " en- gine," and make enougli of tlie 17?8 to make that once more the true stan- dard frame. I had heard that this principle applied to lying, that is, a man could tell a lie so many times that he would finely believe it himself, but until now I did not know that the true standard frame could be made the false one by making enough frames of an odd size. I dislike to make so many of these frames as to make Mr. Alves change all of his, but I see no other way to avert the trouble of changing my hundreds of hives and the thousands t have sold to others. 2. I admit that the largest manu- facturers of hives have adopted the mongrel size, and for aught I know, originated it, but large folks are often in the greatest error, and " truth is often on the scaffold, and wrong often on the throne." This proves nothing but the mistaken method of Mr. A.'s reasoning. The question is, " What is the .stan- dard Lnngstrotli frame V" I^ot Smith frame, or Brown frame, or Jones frame V Let us stick to the subject. 3. Mr. A. tells us that the new mongrel size will exactly take 8 stan- dard one-pound sections. In reply to this, which has no bearing upon the question under discussion, I will say that the Langstroth brood frame does not take sections at all. A broad frame can be perfectly titled to the true standard, and the 4I4 sections at the same time by just making the end pieces a trifle thinner. Further, tliat this style of adjusting sections is now doomed, and is rapidly being super- seded by much better methods. 4. This simply proves that editors can be mistaken ; and further, Mr. Langstroth can no more change the standard frame than any one else; when he changes the dimensions, he simply gives us another frame ; this second frame might become the stan- dard, but it has not as yet. There is this one thing in our favor; where- ever we find the true standard, we find the measurements accurate. Of I this mongrel, we find a great varia- tion in depth, as well as lengtli. The " large manufacturers " seem to get in too great a hurry to keep their ma- chinery from varying, often times more than the difference over which we are discussing. If Mr. L. had made a few frames 17^ and then abandoned them for 17%, and booked this latter size, then I should say Mr. A. was right, but I find that he, after much figuring and experimenting, settled upon, and gave publicly to the world, the 173^ ; and until he notifies us in the same manner that 17% is not the standard, we shall insist on it, that it is the standard Langstroth frame. Mr. L. may now " prefer" the 17^, but to entertain any such preference is scarcely based upon any laws in nature, but rather favoring some ones convenience in the matter ; is it not ? As regards the two lengths, we can- not believe that any one would realize any difference in them, except where fixtures were to be exchanged from one hive to the other, and in this case, many of us have done it successfully. Dowagiac, Mich. [The inventor of the frame, and author of the book, Mr. Langstroth, has publicly given his sanction to the frame 17% inches long. No amount of discussion vi'ill be able to change the thousands of both sizes now in use, and we fear none of the manu- facturers will be willing to change unless an agreement can be entered into to make a new standard frame for America. This, in many ways, would be desirable if all would con- form to it. — Ed.] For the American Bee JuumaL Central Illinois Convention. In answer to a call for a meeting of bee-keepers of the association of Cen- tral Illinois, 22 members assembled at the Surveyor's office in Burlington, Iowa, April 11, 1883. The forenoon session, which was a short one, consisted in the reading of the minutes of the previous meeting, the report of financial standing of the association, and giving some experi- ences in working with bees. In the afternoon session the subject of " hives and sections " was taken up, and President Wolcott thought more depended on proper manage- ment than the kind of hive, for success. Mr. Cox believed if we had a stan- dard hive it would be much better, but did not expect such a hive would, very soon, become universal. Mr. Butler asked what kind of frame was best to winter on V Mr. Cox : A deep frame. Mr. Corbett thought bees worked better in surplus frames at the sides. Mr. Butler used the Langstroth hive, with frames running crosswise, and was decidedly in favor of the chaff hive for wintering, and the 43^- x4J^ section for surplus. Jas. Foindexter considered large THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 273 flumes better for finding the queen or manipulation, as a less number are required in a liive, and it did not take as much time, as if the frames were smaller and more of them. Mr. J. Knran thought short frames more easily manipulated ; he liked single-walled hives better than chaff hives; they were more easily handled. Mr. Smoot preferred the American hive with the cap to slide down over the lower hive, in winter. He was very successful in wintering, but gave no upward veiililatiou. Mr. Funk used tlie chaii hive for winter, and let the snow remain around the hive until it began to thaw ; then remove it to keep the hive dry. The next subject was " swarming," and Mr. Hayes made artificial swarms by taking three frames of brood and bees from the old colonies as often as they could be spared, and in this way, last season, increased from 2 to 13 colonies. The next subject was " bee pastur- age,'' and Mr. Wolcolt thought there was a marked difference in bees kept in ttie city and tliose in the country. Mr. Cox thought that, in good sea- sons, if the honey was taken away as fastsas collected, there would be but little difference. Mr. Funk was asked if he noticed whether his bees gathered any honey during the first part of last August. He said there were but few days that his bees did not get some honey, and that was during stormy weather. " Different races of bees " was next discussed. Mr. Kiiran : Holy Land bees were very prolific, but no better honey- gatherers than Italians ; he could tell the Holy Land bees by their peculiar motions ; they were worse about rob- bing. Black bees were bothered more by the moth. Mr. Funk said the Holy Lands were very sensitive, and took some time, after being handled, to become quiet. They did notproperly seal their honey. The next subject was " queen-rear- ing," and Mr. Kuraii liad not noticed any difference between artificial and natural queens. Question by the President. — " Are im- Eorted queens any better than those omebred V Answer by Mr. Kuran : He could not see that tliey were better in any respect. The next subject was " marketing honey." Mr. Cox said he could get twice as much extracted as comb honey, and, with him, it was the most profitable. He sold extracted clover honey at 10 cents, and fall honey at 9 cents per pound. He thouglit it best to cultivate a home market, by retailing at wholesale price. Mr. Wolcott said if people were ac- quainted with the real value of honey all that could be produced would easily be disposed of . Adjourned. Jas. Poindextek, Sec. ror the American Bee Journal. Clipping ftueens' Wings. DU. G. L. TINKER. t^ The Central Kansas Bee-Keep- ers' Association will meet at Manhat- tan, Kansas, on June 30, 1883. Thos. Basslbr, Sec. A few bee-keepers, including Mr. G. W. Deuiaree, think tliat the clip- ping of queens" wings is liable to injure tlie wiiig-powerof worker bees. As this is a question of much im- portance to all bee-keepers, it should liave thoughtful consideration. For myself, I should dislike greatly to liave my queens go luiclipped. But if it could be shown that there is danger from the practice, it would be dis- continued. The fact that a colony in a very large hive, in some instances, never swarm, is evidence that some queens do not again take flight after the time of mating. It is exceedingly rare, if it ever occurs, for a fertile queen to leave the hive except with a swarm. Hence, in a non-swarming hive, the queens' wings could be of no use to her after fecundation, and it would not matter whetlier her wings were clipped or not. Probably, Mr. Dem- aree, nor any one else, would venture to assume that because the laying queens of non-swarming hives rarely or never take flight, ttiat eventually the worker bees would, in consequence, suffer a loss of wing-power. As the clipping of queens' wings is never practiced except upon the fe- cundated queen, it seems to me that there is nothing analogous about it to the domestication of fowls, which, from ages of confinement, has re- sulted in a loss of their wing-power. If, iiowever, a plan of artificial ferti- lization could be devised by which the mating of queens could take place without having to take flight, then we would have, no doubt, an analogous case to the domestication of tlie com- mon fowl, and, after many years of such practice, we might have worker bees going " on their bellies " after nectar. The question therefore arises : Is not the fact that the virgin queen is rarely, if ever, mated except upon the wing, a wise provision of the creator against the possible loss of the wing- power of the worker bees, either through natural processes, or the hand of man in securing artificial fertilization V I take it that Mr. Uemaree's sug- gestions are applicable, not to the clipping of the wings of fecundated queens, but to the proposed and at- tempted practice of artificial fertiliza- tion, which would necessitate more or less of confinement of virgin queens. In view of the possible dangers indi- cated by Mr. D., may we not be thankful that it has never been ac- complished in a practical manner, and hope that it never will be. But the proper clipping of the wings of laying queens cannot, in my estimation, be considered in any sense injurious, and I sliall continue the practice for the many well-known reasons that liave been given. HIVING SWAKMS. After the swarm is out and the queen found and caged, tlie old hive is moved back and covered with a sheet, the new hive to be set in its place with the caged queen near the entiHuce. To juevent the returning swarm irom going into the adjoining hives, I take off the covers and set up ill front of them, or sheets may be thrown over them. After the bees get well started into the new hive the queen is liberated. Tiie swarm is readily hived, and when set upon a new stand, will work just as well as if a great din had been made upon the dinner-horn and a lot of tin pans, before clustering in some tree-top to be hived in the ordinary manner. By the way, there is less danger of a swarm going to the woods at once where the queens" wing is not clipped, than of its bidding good-bye to the new hive and the bee-keeper a few hours after hiving. By having the queens' wing clipped, this annoying dilemma is avoided. now TO CLIP THE QUEEN'.S WING. The comb on whicli the queen is found, is lifted out and hung on a re- volving stand for the purpose, or it may l)e leaned against a hive. With the thumb and finger of the right hand, lift gently the queen off from the comb by the wings— not one wing. With the thumb and finger of the left hand, take hold gently of the queen by the thorax, or middle part of her body. Do not let go of tlie wings un- til she is held firmly, but very care- fully, in the left hand. Then with the right hand take a pair of sharp-pointed scissors and steady the lower blade upon the second or third finger of the left hand. About one-half, or nearly one-half, of the thin edge of only one of the large wings is cut lengthwise, or nearly so, of the wing. By this means the deformity can be hardly noticed, which is a matter of some moment to me, since I believe it to be cruel to cut more than is necessary, and injurious to cut the wing squarely off. By the method here given the queen goes about her duties as if nothing had happened, and I have yet to see that it is in any way detri- mental. With bee-keepers having large or stiffened fingers or who are very nervous, it might not be safe to handle queens in the manner here given. In such case, the lady of the house could perform the operation as dexterously as any one. New Philadelphia, O. For the American Bee JuunuU. The " Strained " Bees. W^. H. SHIBLEY. After reading Dr. E. B. South- wick's remedv for the small section craze, on page 256 (May number of Gleanings), I commenced to take his remedy, and it has made me feel so much better that I have sent to the Doctor for a prescription for "the strained bees." We take the Doctor to be a home- opathic physician, and if we under- stand rightly, their way is to test the strength of all medicines on them- selves before giving to their patients. 274 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. That is why we put so much faith in the Doctor. • I believe Mr. Iledilon was the first to cross dark leather-colored Italians with brown German bees. From this cross sprung the famous red-clover strain. From Mr. Otman's report, backed up by sales of honey, we should say wnite-clover strain for Mr. O. B. F. Carrol, of Texas, must have a new strain ; and now Henry Alley, of Wenham, Mass., is out with a win- ter strain — needing but little honey to winter them. Next, some one will have a strain that lives all the winter without eating any honey. Followed by another strain" that gathers from 100 to 200 pounds of nice white honey where our common bees would starve. Believing in the old adage, "An .ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,'' we sent to the worthy Doc- tor of Mendon to be prepared for the "coming" Apis-Americana. Could we have had the next to the last named strain of bees, during the past winter, we should have been 20 colo- nies better off, as our fancy strain were perfect gormandizers, and the 20 colonies died for want of food. Kow, we are longing for the last- named strain ; particularly the honey part. As the truth must be told, (I have just taken another dose of the Doctor's medicine), our golden strain only gathered 20 pounds of surplus, per colony, spring count, last year. Not much of the ring of gold about that, except the ring of truth ! But, if the Doctor's prescription, sent for, does not make us sick, fol- lowed by too big a honey shower, we hope to speak better of our dark ring- sters ; for they are stronger in num- bers, at this time of year, than we have ever seen them before. And, Mr. Editor, if we make a re- port of a large honey crop, we will back it up by showing bills of sales. Last winter I wintered my bees on something of a new plan (to me at least), and as 1 never saw it in print (although it may have been there a dozen imies, as I have not time to read one-halif that is written), perhaps I will try my pen at a description, when in season, and safe from being called a winter crank. Glenwood, Mich., May 17, 1883. For the Americiin Bee Journal. Northern Ohio Convention. The Northern Ohio bee-keepers held their spring meeting at Korwalk, O., May 2, 1883. The president not being present at the hour appointed for opening the meeting, Allen Bar- tow, of Milan, O., was chosen tem- porary chairman. The secretary's re- port of the last meeting was read and approved. The treasurer's report slinwiug a balance in the treasury of $10.45. C. D. Bennett, of Elyria, O., B. P. Whitney, of Kipton, O., and Peter Biermacher, of Avon, O., joined the Society, which now numbers 43 mem- bers. After the enrollment of new members, the president having ar- rived, took the chair and called for the reading of the first essay, which had been assigned to Allen Bartow, of Milan, as follows : PRODUCING SURPLUS COMB HONEY. Having been assigned the task of writing an essay on the subject of comb honey, or how to obtain the largest crop of the same, I sliall state th;it we must have the largest crop of working bees in each hive to obtain it; now, how sliall we obtain the bees? If we commence in the spring with good, healthy bees, either blacks or Italians (for I ignore all •others), we must first learn their exact condition as to strength and numbers, then use good judgment in building them up to full strength or capacity of hive (movable frame of course), and by manipulation hold them up to this ; now comes the all important question, how shall we do thisV Each bee- keeper must decide for him or herself ; but I suppose I am expected to give some plan, and sliall do so to the best of my knowledge of the subject, which is the following : Treat your bees as you do your other farm stock, encourage breeding by giving them warm quarters and plenty of food ; it is not enough that there is plenty of honey in the hive, any more than it is enough that your cow has plenty of hay or straw — spring having arrived, both bee and cow re- quire a change of food, if they are to successfully bring forth and rear their young, and give you a profitable sur- plus; then I would say, stimulate your bees in every possible way to breed and rear bees for the time maples are in bloom until fruit goes out of bloom, and white clover comes sufficient to give full flow of honey. Now, how is this to be done V If the colony is light, reduce the size of brood-chambers (by means of division boards or otherwise), to the number of combs upon whicli the bees cluster, removing the other combs beyond or behind the division-board, leaving room underneath the division-board for the bees to pass and get the honey from them, not forgetting to narrow the entrance to the hive to prevent robbing ; now prepare feed of thin syrup of granulated sugar, or sugar and honey, and feed it on warm even- ings in front of the hive at sundown, in a feeder that prevents drowning of bees, and remove your feeder in the morning, replacing entrance block to narrow the entrance, and prevent rob- bing. The feeder should be made to fit the entrance, while feeding the colony. Now, when combs become crowded with bees, move back the division-board and make room in cen- tre of cluster foranotherempty comb, put it in, and when again crowded, repeat as before until the hive is crowded with bees with full combs and board removed. In a day or two prepare for surplus, in this way : Remove from the hive a frame of comb filled with honey ready to cap, and put it at side of surplus box, putting next to it a frame of sections filled with foundation, put in division-board next to surplus frame and cover down the brood-chamber. As soon as bees get crowded, and are working in sections, add more surplus frames until your surplus chamber is full of frames, then as each frame is filled with honey remove it and put in its place empty frames of sections. Look to your brood-chamber, removing all queen- cells, and keeping your queen supplied witli empty comb in which to lay. If you lose your queen, replace by intro- duction a fertile one at once. In conclusion I would say, that the treatment would be proper in case tlie colony is a strong one. Milan, O. The president said place a comb filled with liquid food between two coml>s tilled with brood, and it would stimulate brood-rearing better than any other method he had ever tried. Must be careful not to spread brood combs too often. The brood might become chilled. Mr. Smith said he used a mixture of granulated sugar and buckwheat flour for stimulating, with good success. Mr. .lohnson said, he fed in a feeder placed on the top of brood combs with cushion placed over it. Mr. Whitney said, he had a colony in his cellar which he found floating in 18 inches of water during tlie win- ter, which was now in good condition. Mr. Boardman said, he would not spread brood combs at this season of the year, as bees now are reduced to their smallest numbers, and there is great danger of brood being chilled. Mr. Whitney asked if spring feed- ing had proved successful when prac- ticed during cold weather. Mr. Fish said, he would not feed during cold weather if bees had an abundance of stores. He would feed those only that were destitute. Mr. Bartow said, he would reduce the space occupied by each colony to such size by the use of the division- board, as would enable the bees to cover all the combs all the combs, and thus the requisite amount of heat could be kept up. The next essay was by H. R. Board- man, as follows : THE MOST PROFITABLE RACE OF BEES. One of the most prominent objects of my early boyliood recollections, is the old box bee-hive out in the gar- den, under an old apple tree, with its inhabitant, the black bee. By the hour have I laid on the grass under this old apple tree, and watched with eager interest, those mysterious little workers. Many wonderful things had I been told about them, and the economy and government of the multitudes within their well-guarded home ; which, to me, was shrouded in the deepest mys- tery, and their well-kept secrets, guarded with a dignity and honesty which I had never presumed to ques- tion. I had been told that they had a form of government like a nation of people, and had a king who sat upon a tlirone, and all his subjects paid im- plicit obedience to his commands and rendered the utmost respect to his sovereign wish, and I had noticed upon all combs, that had been re- moved from the hive, undoubted proof of this. The throne upon which the king sat. I have since learned, were THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 275 old queen-cells. I had been told that these conmiunites were systematically divided, and that each division had its particular work to perform, and leaders or overseers were placed over them to superintend the work in each department; and some were assigned the position of guards at the entrance of the hive, and did not have to gather honey. I w'Htched them swarm with more than idle curiosity, and [ heard older people say that when the swarm Is- sued they followed the king out, and wherever he went they followed — and if the king died in a colony, they would all stop work and would never do anything more, and would tinally all die. I watched them toil the sum- mer through to accumulate their sweet stores of food to provide for the coming winter, only to he robbed of them and cruelly murdered in the fumes of the foul brimstone pit. I said it was cruel and wrong, and that there ought to be some other way, and if their stores must be procured in that piratical way, although honey to me was a tempting luxury, I pre- ferred for one to forego the pleasure of such luxury. How did any one learn these won- deful thingii, I said, unless by patient and caiefnl watching, and if others had discovered these wonderiul things, why not I, by patient observation, penetrate the mysterious precincts of these wonderful little insect people 'i And 1 did watch with all the energy awakening curiosity could arouse, and I listened often with my ear close to the hive, to their mysterious bee talk ; but their secrets remaind un- told, and their every movement re- mained a dark, unsolved enigma. But a new era came, light dawned. There came the movable frame and the new bee, the yellow bee, with its wonderful reputation for penetrating the depths of the rich red clover. And what then ? Then came a knowledge of those mysterious things within the hive; improvement and progress in bee-culture ; old superstitions van- ished, new and startling truths were brought out, until that mysterious hive of 20 years ago is to-day a thing of practical fact, within the compre- hension of the veriest novice. Italian queens were introduced into our colo- nies of black bees, and in an incredi- ble short time the whole colony was changed from black to yellow bees, discovering the startling fact to even old bee-keepers, of the brief, almost ephemeral existence of the honey-bee during summer. So readily was this change made, and so apparent the benefits gained thereby, that Italian queens were rapidly imported, queen breeders sprung up over the land everywhere, and the queen has become a common article of trade in the market of bee- keepers' supplies, and the superiority of the yellow race of bees over the black, became almost universally ac- knowledged. But a mountain of dif- ficulty arose in the pathway of queen venders, especially importers. A stan- dard of purity was necessary to pre- serve the reputation of the imported stock, and distinguish it from the plebeian race, but in attempting to establish this, it became apparent that even the imported stock would not stand any single test, so various were their markings and characteristics. Suspicions were awakened among un- prejudiced bee-keepers that the race of bees from which we were receiving importations, were not a pure race, and this suspicion has been strength- ened into fact, by the knowledge that black bees are found in Italy. As a result of these variations, different strains of bees began to be brought to notice, each possessing particular, valuable qualities as set forth by their particular champions ; and many a sharp contest has been carried on in the bee papers, by the advocates of some particular stripe, or tint, or tinge in his favorite strain, and now we have almost as many strains of bees as there are breeders. Who that has read the bee literature has not a vivid recollection of the sharp criticisms upon the dark queen, sent out by Messrs. Dodant ; even un- kind reflections upon their integrity. They have outlived it all, and float successfully now above suspicion. Some breeders take pride in publish- ing what they no longer hesitate themselves in believing— that they are breeding a cross of the black and yel- low race, and no longer consider yel- low bands a test of excellence, or a guarantee of purity, and that although beauty and amiability maybe desired, they are too often obtained unwisely, at a sacrifice of more sterling qualities. The reports of large yields of honey coming from colonies not possessing the requisite number of yellow bands to entitle them to a certificate of roy- alty, has become too frequent to be accidental, and the wise apiarist will hesitate long before superseding the queens of such colonies with those having the regulation markings. We are, without doubt, largely in- debted to the introduction of the yel- low race of bees into this country, for the knowledge and improvements in modern bee-culture. But while Mr. A., and B., and C. have made a paying business rearing queens, and have made a hobby of yellow bands and golden tints, we, as practical bee-keepers, are looking to a different source for our revenue, and are only anxious how we may obtain large yields of honey. Beauty and pleasure are secondary considerations. Honey gathered by the black or hybrid bees, brings as much money in the market as that obtained by the most beautiful golden Italians— and in fact, it is claimed that honey comb made by the black bees is whiter and more delicate in appearance than that made by the yellow race. But what shall we say of the new races more recently introduced into this country by Mr. D. A. .Jones, of Canada, at such great expense both in time and money ? The Cyprians and the Holy Land bees, what can we say of them V except that they are an experiment, and like all experiments in bee-culture, .should be tried with much caution. There is an old maxim, " Let well enough alone," not alto- gether a noble one, yet for all that. successful for the moderately ambi- tious, and perhaps a very safe one for the average bee-keeper. We can but admire the enthusiasm of Mr. Jones, which has prompted him to such un- tiring energy, and to make such sacri- fice of time and money in his search for some superior race of bees, by which he might benefit mankind. And Mr. Frank Benton, too, his as- sistant, has done much to command our esteem and admiration. But all great enterprises of this character are measured by their ulti- mate success or failure. The reports that have already been received from his importations", seem to promise but little or any improvement upon tlie yellow races of bees already so uni- versally diffused over this country, of which I prefer to consider them only a strain — and. indeed, the Cyprians have already gained a reputation of being very un-amiable in disposition ; and orten becoming angry without provocation. By what name, then, shall we know the coming bee V We might adopt the phrase used by Mr. Heddon, and applied not to bees, but to bee-keepers, " Get there success," as it is very comprehensive of the qualities we think essential, but we prefer that other, more beautiful and more sig- nificant name, already heralded forth among progressive bee-keepers : Apis- Amencana. Townsend, O. C. E. Newman asked if Cyprians or Holy Land bees had proven more profitable than the Italians. Mr. Boardman said, he thought the Italians were the most profitable. S. F. Newman said, he had tried both Cyprians and Italians, and in his experience the Italians had proved to be fully equal to the Cyprians as honey gathers, and were not as irritable. At times it was almost impossible to handle the Cyprians unless they were chloroformed. Mr. Bartow said, he preferred hy- brids to Italians ; they protected their stores better than other bees. Mr. Bartow asked whether Holy Land bees were more likely to be pure than the Italians. Mr. Boardman said, he thought the Holy Lands as likely not to be pure as the Italians. The President :— We are ignorant as to the fact whether the Cyprians are indigenous totheislandof Cyprus, or whether they were Italians modi- fied to a certain extent by climate and other causes. The important ques- tion to be decided is, which race of bees will give us the largest amount of honey, and thereby fill our pockets with money. He wanted no pure bees, but preferred hybrids. Mr. Whitney asked Boardman which produced the best workers, an Italian queen mated with a black drone, or a black queen with an Italian drone. Mr. Boardman: did not know which would produce the best results. The facts are that Italian queens generally mate with black drones. Mr. White : an Italian queen mating with a black drone produces better workers than the reverse. 276 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. The next essay was by D. White, as follows : PRODUCTION, CAKE AND SAI,E OF EX- TRACTED HONEY. I received a notice from Mr. New- man, a few days .since, saying we shall depend npon you for that part of the programme, namely: "Tlie Pro- duction, care and sale of extracted honey." I believe this subject should be discussed freely, and, no doubt, some one else could have been selected that could come nearer doing justice to the subject than myself. For the past three years it has been my hobby to procure' almost entirely extracted honey. The first season I took all my honey from brood-cham- ber. Second season, from brood- chamber, and some from surplus chamber. At the commencement of the season, or when I commenced ex- tracting, would take all I could get from each colony, but after that com- menced, being careful by taking about half each, so on until the last work was to take only one side comb from each colony ; this I would keep up as long as they were able to fill the empty comb. This was my plan of working safe, and in case the honey How should shut off (as it frequently does without any warning), I would have plenty of honey left for winter purposes. I fancy a great many who have used an extractor, have done so without using any judgment. Hence, their bees were compelled to go into winter quarters with nothing but late un- sealed stores, and the consequences were heavy losses during the winter. The honey procured during the two seasons mentioned, was about 7.5 pounds to the colony, on an average, each season. I was obliged to work ■very hard, and compelled to visit a hive too often ; but had no notion of going back to comb honey. I use chaff hives that take Langstroth frames, 10 frames below and 13 above, and, last spring, 1 was ready with enough wired frames filled with foun- dation to fill the surplus chambers to 80 hives. We must take into consideration the amount of comb work that had to be done ; about 1,000 sheets of foun- dation was worked into comb. My extracting, last season, was entirely from above, and I procured enough honey so that I sold 8,000 pounds with enough left to winter— and 1,000 pounds held in the combs to use this spring, if needed — I call this a reserve, and expect hereafter to have plenty of honey in the same shape every spring. "The bees gathered it, and if they fail to need it to carry them until the honey comes again, they will cer- tainly have enough, so that the first day's work they do will be done for me. I weighed what I extracted from one of my strongest working colonies and it gave me 213 pounds, and I think I had several that did equally as well. My theory, to procure plenty of ex- tracted honey, is first, strong colonies; second, plenty of room for the bees to work, and the next thing is for the bee-keeper to roll up his sleeves and work too. It is no place to put a man that does not like to work. I was en- tirely alone with my 80 colonies last season, and I worked hard enough so that only 3 colonies cast natural swarms. 1 do not tell this, wanting you to think that 1 like to work so dreadful well — for 1 do not — but, last season, I was forced. 1 think I am safe when I say I could have procured at least 1,000 pounds more honey than I did, had I had good help ; that is. I lacked that much of working the bees for all there was in them. This loss came from not getting around to extract the second and third times as soon as I should, by from three to four days, which makes a great loss, when be- hind that way on a large apiary. I believe we all want to make this business as remunerative as possible. I read and hear a great many splendid leports from men that produce en- tirely corab honey ; am glad to know that such is the case. I believe it our duty to supply the demand for both comb and extracted honey. It would be too much like all belonging to one church for us all to procure one kind of honey. We that procure extracted honey must get about double the weight that our brother bee-keepers do that pro- cure comb honey. If we fail to do this, they will get more money than we do. Then another thing we must make up our mind to do ; we must work harder than they do, for while we are working early and late, carry- ing heavy combs 'and wielding and uncapping knife, they are doing what I call put:ering around, hiveing now and then a swarm, and the rest of the time waiting for section boxes to be filled and completed. We do not want to make them feel bad, and do not think we shall, but I believe we have got a large per cent, the advantage over them in a short honey flow, and I believe it the characteristic of this section of the country to usually give us short seasons. Now, suppose we have plenty of nice straight combs in wired frames (and they must be wired for we do not want the combs tumbling out and smashing to pieces), and we have filled our surplus room, ready for the first honey to be found in white clover — all our bees have to do the en- tire season is to gather honey and de- posit it in our empty combs — then I believe bees will work stronger on large combs than on small combs in section boxes. It must be an ex- tremely short season if we cannot ex- tract, at least on an average, 75 pounds to the jolony of good, ripe honey — 13 combs once filled will more than do this. Now, how would it be with SO pound sections in one of these hives ; a few completed out of the number ready for market, and the rest all the way from not being touched at all to half and two-thirds completed, and a lot of unsalable nubs, I call them 'i This is in a short honey flow, under- stand, and season shut off, leaving everything as I have tried to explain it. I may be wrong, but we are here to learn, if possible, from each other, and if we can tread on the toes of our brother bee-keepers that procure cotub honey, it may be the means of fetch- ing out something that will be a benefit and do us all good. I believe there are too many men that keep bees that think they know it all. Any how, it seems to be my lot to run across such men ; especially men that have always kept bees and will not try to learn what they call new-fangled things. I'ou will see these men with a rag rolled up for a smoker and drum- ming a tin pan when a swarm is out. I mention this, for I believe we are never too old to learn. When I first conunenced with bees I learned to play quite well on a tin pan, cut ofiE virgin queens' wings, and several things that I do not do now. Care of extracted honey occupies but little of ray time. I have tin cans, capacity about -500 pounds, with large gate to draw out the honey. I tie over cans securely, cheese capping cloth, letting it bag enough to hold a large pail full ; and when that much comes from extractor, I carry it into a dry honey house and empty into cheese cloth to strain, while I am filling the next pail of honey. I believe it a good plan to store in 10, 15 and 25 pound cases ready for market. Ex- tracted honey will candy in from 4 to 6 weeks after extracting, and I be- lieve it will not be very long before it will sell best in a candied state, es- pecially when people learn that c.mdy- ing is a positive proof that it is pure unadulterated honey. We know of no other liquid sweet that will candy. Candied honey can be put back to a liquid state by warming gradually, as often as desired, without injuring the flavor, but must not come to a boiling point. The sale of extracted honey seems to be the great trouble with some, but I believe it can be more readily sold than comb honey, and in very much larger quantities, for the following reasons : It is sold for about half the price of comb honey, and comes w-ith- in the reach of every family. But the most important thing of all is, never to sell a poor article. Never extract a comb unless it is sealed as nice as any section-box honey. It takes elbow grease, and will give most anybody the backache. But we must come to it, if we expect to build up a trade on extracted honey. It is very easy work to empty combs of thin, unsealed honey, and not a very hard task to extract when only half of the combs have to be gone over with an uncapping knife ; but my opinion is to not sell such honey. I do not believe any one can build up an extensive trade with such stuff, and know he cannot if he comes up in my territory. I have built up a good trade, and have done so with a first- class article. About 4,000 pounds were taken from my door, last season, by customers that came with pails, cans, crocks and jugs to carry it in, and they kept com- ing long after my honey was all gone. I had a wagon on the road peddling about one week, and could dispose or about 300 pounds a day in this way. Go where you will, you will find more or less peo))le down on strained honey, as they call it ; but my plan from the THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 277 start was to give such people a saucer of honey if I could not persuade them to buy, and in nearly every instance it has made rue a steady customer; some that were so p.ejudice on the start, now buy, each season, from 50 to TOO pounds. I have a host of cus- tomers that work by days' work for a livelihood. They can afford it, and will buy at 11 cents a pound, while but few of this class will look atcomb honey at from 18 to :22 cents per pound. I think I gave this a fair test last fall, with all classes, when peddling. I had comb honey in section boxes, letting any one "take their choice, 11 cents for extracted and 18 cents for comb, and I had a few sections left out of 100 pounds while I was dispos- ing of about 1,800 of extracted. There would not have been as mucli difference as this had I not put more force on the extracted, telling them all the difference there was, the ex- tracted was out of the comb. I told them facts, and after tasting and ex- amining for themselves they would conclude to take all or part extracted. I have a great many customers that want a little comb honey each season. They want it for special occasions. One steady customer of this kind is my wife, and I am ready to agree, when we take looks into considera- tion, we must fetch out the comb honey. I will close by saying we can keep a strong colony of bees under control, scarcely one will cast a swarm if at- tended to in the proper time, that is, combs taken out and extracted as fast as they are sealed and ready, and if increase is wanted it can be done after the honey How, and to make it safe, save plenty of good sealed stores to give the colonies we build up. I, last season, increased from 80 to 120. In my home apiary, I now have 100 rousing colonies, did not lose one, and not a weak one at the present time. I lost 4 out of 20 two and one-half miles from home. Cause, not properly cared for. I did not fix them for winter as I should. I used the old- fashioned way too much — guessed at it. Guess work will not do in the bee business, any more than any other. New London, O. Mr. Bartow : How many times do you extract from the same colony dur- ing one season ? Answer : As many times as two or more combs in the upper story are perfectly sealed. Mr. VVhitney : How do you prevent the queen from laying in the upper story y Aiiswer : I do not prevent it, and it is not necessary, as it does no harm. The comparative profit of produc- ing comb and extracted honey was thoroughly discussed by nearly all the members present, without arriving at any definite conclusion. The Berlin Fruit Box Company had on exhibition some very tine one-piece sections, and Newman Bros., of Nor- walk, some Quinby smokers. James Gibbs, the treasurer, having resigned, Edwin Gibbs was chosen to fill his place, and Miss Eliza Moon of Milan, was chosen vice-president. After a vote of thanks to Norwalk City Council, the convention ad- journed to meet at the call of the sec- retary, sometime during the month of October, 1883. S. F. Newman, Sec. at and Jtoiu. ANSWERS BY James Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich. Queries About Extractiug Honey. Will Mr. Heddon please answer the following questions : 1. Will it do to extract honey the next day after it has been deposited in the cells by the bees '! 2. Are one-story hives as good for the production of extracted honey as two-story hives? 3. How many 12x12 inch frames should there be in hives, when only of one-story V 4. How can we ripen the honey after extracting, to make it keep well V .5. Is there any way to ascertain a good day for honey-gathering, by the indications in the morning 'i Nineveh, Ind. W. D. Smyseb. Answers. — 1. Not if the honey is intended for sauce. If for manufac- turing purposes, it will, if the nectar is of good quality. 2. Not for my use. I have tried both thoroughly, and much prefer the 2-story system. Some experienced and successful producers differ with me. but I must answer from my own ex- perience. 3. I .should want as many as 25 at least. 4. I have tried all plans, except sun evaporation, and I find no method equal to the old-fashion one of letting the bees ripen and cap it, when it will be rich and oily, and not nearly as liable to grain or sour. The best methods I have used, is to store the honey in one-gallon crocks of stone- ware, and pile them up, with sticks between them, and keep in a dry room, with screened windows and a free circulation of air. All double- walled or cool rooms will be damp. 5. Electricity, that great mover of all that stirs, that other name for heat, light and motion, is the honey producer's friend ; when the morning indicates a day of electric conditions. I look for a good secretion of honey. The Lje Process. Mr. Heddon, in some of the back numbers of the Bee Journal, you speak of the lye process for making the sheets of comb foundation, let go of the press, etc. Do you still use it ? How do you prepare the lye V Do you rinse the sheets afterwards V V. W. Kenney. Shirland, 111., May 22, 1883. Answer.— Of all that slips and slides, lye is the "slickest." Get the best concentrated lye— poor stuff is no go. Louis Menzes Co. is the only good kind we can get out of many brands. Put 2 tablespoonfuls into a quart of water. With a brush made of a handful of broom corn, wound with stovepipe wire, lye the book thoroughly. Now don't be afraid of the effects of the lye on the book. It will not injure it nor the foundation. Drop a piece of foundation in this strong lye solution ; leave it there a week, and notice that it does not effect it at all. The lye solution, when on the foundation in large quantities, precipitates and losses its strength, so that the white powder it leaves can be tasted on the tongue, and only a brackish taste is perceptible. To put to the bees it is perfectly harmless. We use a cheap brush because the lye eats up a brush in three or four hours. The dies must be cleaned of the par- ticles from the eaten brush, every two or three hours. To keep the fingers from being eaten through the skin, dip them every few moments in strong vinegar. Do not get any vinegar (not a drop) on to the dies. You will omit to dip your fingers into the vin- egar often enough, at first, but you will soon have a gentle reminder, in the shape of a sore, that will sting like a bee when lye touches it. With some die books, and on certain days, we run off 100 sheets with once using the lye on the book; but, at other times, only two or four sheets without having to touch the book in places with the saturated brush. The above is the general outline. Convention Notices. Convention in South- Western Iowa. All who are willing to help support a convention in the South- Western counties of Iowa, will please drop me a postal card. Who will be first '? T. A. HOUGAS. Henderson, Iowa, May 21, 1883. 1^ The Warren County, Kentucky, Bee-Keepers' Association, meets at Smith's Grove, Ky., on June 2. A large attendance is expected. N. P. Allen, Sec. ^■Renewals may be made at any time ; but all papers are stopped at the expiration of the time paid for, unless requested to be continued. 278 THJi AiMERlCAISf BEE JOURNAL. Bees Gathering Honey. Bees are doing well— taking in honey fast from black locust; white and red clovers are coming into bloom. I have 03 colonies. Wm. Hamilton. Louisville, Ky., May 17, 1883. Bees Biiihllng' New Comb. My bees built some new comb in the small sections from apple tree bloom, but did not complete any. My colonies are now very strong, and have mostly nine full frames of brood. There will be a great amount of swarming in this section, this year. Dr. G. L. Tinker. New Philadelphia, O., May 21, 1883. What Became of His Bees ? Neighbor A. had two colonies of bees last fall ; this spring one was dead, the other good and strong. He cleaned out the hive in which were the living bees, and wliile doing so set the frames (and bees) in the hive tliat had contained the dead bees. After having nicely cleaned up, he thought the bees might as well stay where they were and save the trouble of replacing them in their own hive. So lie placed them on their own stand and took their own hive away. After a few days he opened the hive, when, lo ! not a hundred bees were found. New, he is anxiously inquiring of his neiglibors, who are amateur bee-keep- ers, " What became of my bees V Can vou tell T J. B. Craig. Beatrice, Neb., May 21, 1883. [It is a case of abnormal swarming. The hive was distasteful to the bees, and they " left for parts unknown." Perhaps it was quite dirty, much be- spattered by the diseased bees that finally died in it, and the bees placed there against their will, concluded to " take to the woods," rather than re- main in a hive that was too highly perfumed for their comfort. — Ed.] Bees in Good Condition. I have 36 colonies of bees now, in good condition ; I lost 8 in the winter; 5of them by neglect, on account of being away from home. E. S. HOVET. Swanton, Iowa, May 17, 1883. A Cold Wave in Kentucky. Notwithstanding the weather here has been very changeable, the season so far has not been altogether un- favorable. My bees have built up rapidly, and have done well on fruit bloom, dandelion, etc. Locustopened on the 13th inst., and gave a deluge of nectar till cut short off by the cold wave of the 21st. We had a skift of snow (a sight never before witnessed here at this season of the year), on the night of the 21st. The bees were housed for 3 days. White clover is wasting. I have been feeding a swarm that issued just before the present cold, rainy, gloomy spell. The pros- pects look better to-day (23d). I notice that the three dismal, cold, rainy days just past, have afflicted some of my nursing nuclei wiih dysentery. The weather has been unfavorable to queen rearing— too changeable. G. \V. Demarbe. Christianburg, Ky., May 23. 1883. Phacelia for Houey. I send you a bee plant for name. It is an early bloomer, and the bees swarm on it. The plant is a native of this country. • E. E. Ewing. Highlands. N. C, May 8, 1883. [This is Phacelia pusilla, a plant with no other common name than that of the genus or, first part of the scientific name here given. It is a peculiarly Southern species, though the genus is well represented through- out the United States, and are all im- portant honey producers. Most of the members of the family (Waterleaf Family), grow in shady places, but this and a few others thrive in the open sunshine on prairies, etc. They often clothe the banks of railroads, etc., on particular soils, and this, no doubt, might giveahint as to their cultivation, should this be desirable. The ilowers are almost wholly de- pendent on honey - loving insects — especially bees— for fertilization, as the stamens and pistils of the same flower mature at a different time. The at- tractions for the bees are, however, such, that there is little loss in seed production on this account; the pollen is abundant, and the nectar copious and easy of access. — T. J. Burrill, Champaign, 111.] Cold, Cold, Cold. We have not had 5 days so far this year, warm enough to open the bee hives without danger of chilling the brood, of which there is but little. It freezes nearly every night. On the morning of the Htli, ice was found y inch thick. Bees are getting poor in numbers and short of stores. G, M. DOOLITTLE. Borodino, N. Y., May 17, 1883. The Spring in Texas. The spring thus far in Texas has been cold and backward. We are three or four weeks later than usual. Our spring crop of honey will be short. On the prairies, the bees, as yet, have gathered but little honey. I have moved my bees from Shreveport, to Arlington, west of Dallas, to take advantage of the horsemint. This is the great honey-producing plant of Texas. My bees wintered well, as they always do when they have plenty of honey. Without an unusual sum- mer, and fall, we will not have so good a honey season as the last. Our State Bee-Keepers' Convention met at Mc- Kinney, on the 16th of Api-il; we had a good turnout, and considerable en- thusiasm. The business of bee-culture is largely on the increase in Texas, and bids fair to be, in a short time, one of our largest industries. We. of the South, hope that the bee papers will have nothing more about winter- ing bees in them, this year. This is a subject that does not interest us ; in fact, we do not read the articles on that subject. We would Tike, at least for the summer, to have the periodi- cals filled up with matter relating to the general interest of bee-culture. I am glad you. Mr. Editor, are dis- posed to exclude personal matter, and personal crimination from the Bee Journal. W. R. Marshall. Marshall. Texas, May 18. 1883. Still Snowing. Byron said, "The moon is up, and yet "it isn't night." We can say, "It snows yet. but still it is not winter." Bees were never so weak and poor in stores at this date in my apiary. I have lost 125 out of 350, and the loss will amount to 150, ere warm weather arrives. As the law of supply and demand governing prices has not yet entirely deserted apiculture, every dead colony enhances the value of all the living. All bloom is 2 weeks be- hind time. James Heddon. Dowagiac, Mich., May 22, 1883. Prospect Good. The bees are doing well, in spite of the weather. We had a white frost last night, and the night before, and a big swarm of bees to-day. White and alsike clovers are coming on finely, and the prospects are good for a large honey crop. J. V. Caluwell. Cambridge, 111., May 23, 1883. Cyprians Ahead. Last fall I had 55 colonies (5 being weak ones) ; and, out of the 55, I lost 11 ; one starved, 3 swarmed out this spring, and seven died with the dys- entery. The Syrians and Cyprians wintered the best of all, with few ex- ceptions, and the Cyprians are ahead of all, for they have more brood and honey than any of the rest ; the out- side combs are filled up with new honey, and sealed up two-thirds of the way down, and last Saturday (liith) one of them swarmed. How is that, for Cyprians, for a wet and cold spring ? I think the Cyprians are the hardiest race of bees in America. I handle mv Cyprians without gloves or veil, and "do not get stung very often either, I think the man that is disposing of his Cyprians is fooling his time away. The snow is 2 inches deep this morning, and is melting fast, and it is raining now. This has been the worst spring for bees I ever saw, and it does not look very favora- ble this morning. I do not think my Cyprians will swarm to-day, and yet I expect them to swarm as soon as it gets warm again. L. A. LOWMASTEK. Belle Vernon. O., May 22, 1883. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 279 A Wrong Righted. In my article, on page 252, headed, " That ' Three-Ring ' Fancy," in try- ing to riglit myself, perhaps I wronged Mr. Ueddon ; if so, 1 apologize, for I had no such intention ; far fiom it. As I am a believer in short sermons, perhaps I did not make things clear. Some may think I was trying to cast a reflection on Mr. Heddon's way of breeding, but I had no such thought. Honestly, I believe his way of cross- ing the dark leather-colored Italian with the brown German bee, will, in time, bring forth the true Ajyis- Aniericana — the "bread and butter" bees. W. H. Shirley. Glenwood, Mich. A Snow Storm in Indiana. We have had the worse snow siorm ever known for this time of year, in Indiana. It commenced with a cold rain, and yesterday, about 10 o'clock, it turned to snow, and snowed until night; although it melted very fast, there was about 2 inches of snow on the roofs, boards, etc. It snowed more last night, and fruit trees are bent to the ground, and the timber is mourning under its heavy burden. I think there has fallen quite one foot of snow, since yesterday morning. Bees were doing extra well ; their brood-chambers are full of brood and honey, and some were storing honey in the boxes. White clover is begin- ning to bloom, and is as plenty as I ever saw it, and everything looked favorable for a good harvest, but it looks dismal this morning. A. Fbazer. Bloomingsport, lud., May 22, 1883. In Good Spirits. Bee-keepers are in good spirits — having prospects of a rich, white clover harvest. Bees are in fine con- dition, and are gathering honey rapidly from the clover. N" T* A T T T^'N" Smith's Grove, Ky., May 23, 1883. ' Some Corrections. Dear Journal:— In an article written by me on the 17th of March, and published on the 16th of May, on pages 248 and 219, you make me say : I purchased 2 colonies of bees in December, 1883." I meant to have said 1863. And on page 249, in my 3d rule, " To cool off the cellar, when the weather outside is colder than 4(f^, let in as little air as will keep the bees alive, and keep ice in the pipe." 1 meant to have said : To cool off the cellar, when the weather outside is below 40°, let in more air ; and when the weather outside is above 40 '. let in as little air as will keep the bees alive, and keep ice in the pipe." And in the 1st rule, same page, the " have them." etc., should be, having tliem, etc., making the cushioning and other- wise keeping them warm, one of the requisite conditions to late breeding. If you will kindly make this correc- tion, my meaning will be better un- derstood. H. V. Tkain. Mauatou, Wia., May 19. 1883. Honey and Beeswax Market. Office op American Bek Joctknal, { Monday. 10 a. m.. May 28, 188-j. t The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Quotations of Cuah Bay«rs. CHICAGO. HONEY— The nominal price of extracted is 7c. for darit and 9c. for light— here. The supply ia abundant and sales are slow. BEBSWAJC— None in the market. al. H. Newman. 923 W. Madison St. CINCINNATI. HONEY.— The market for extracted honey is lively, and the demand exceeds the arrivals. Our stock is small and we are in danger of having sold out every day. We pay 7(Sll0c. for pood honey on arrival, the latter price for choice clover. There Is a small demand for comb honey, and prices nominal. BEESWAX.- Arrivals of beeswax are plentiful. We pay 35c. for a good article on arrival. CHA8. F. MaTH. Quotations of Commission Merchants. CHICAGO. HONEY— The demand is light and it ia not now probable that all of the comb honey can be sold before a new crop comes. Prices are very irregular and generally low; I5(itl6c. for white, and dark un- salable. Extracted, very little trade is being done in it. 7(rti9c. is about the market. BEESWAX— 35^@9J.6c. : dark and candied. .'j(§(7!^c. BEESWAX— Wholesale. 27@2Sc. 8TEAKN8 & SMITH. 42,1 Front Street. ST. LODIS. HONBY—Dull; light jobbing sales only. Comb at 10(«il4c. — Strained and extracted at 7@7^c. BEES WAX-Sold lightly at 32@34c. W. T. ANDEKSON & CO.. 117 N. Main Street. CLEVELAND. HONEY— Stocks of honey are running low with us. 1-lb. sections are all sold and there is a very light inquiry for such; would probably sell at l8@20c. 2-lb. sections are not in demand, and no sales to quote, asking l7@18c. Extracted no sale at9Ol0c. BEESWAX- Not offering. A. C. Kendel, ll.'i Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is fairly active. We quote; H lb. sections at 30C.: 1 lb. sections, 22@25c.: 2 1b. sections, 2nfSi22c. Extracted, uic. per lb. Good lots of extracted are wanted in kegs or barrels. BEESWAX— Our supply is gone: we have none to quote. Crocker & Blakb. 57 Chatham Street. A $20.00 Bible Reward. The publishers of Butledge's Monthly offer twelve valuable rewards in their ilonthly for June, among which is the following : We will give $20.00 in gold to the person telling us which is the shortest verse in the Old Testament Scriptures by June 10th, 1883. Should two or more correct answers be received, the reward will be divided. The money will be forwarded to the winner June 15th, 1883. Persons trying for the re- ward must send 20 cents in silver (no postage stamps taken) with their an- swer, for which they will receive the July Monthly, in which the name and address of the winner of the reward and the correct answer will be pub- lished, and in which several more valuable rewards will be offered. Address, Rutledqk Publlshinq CoMi'ANT, Easton, Peniia. ^ipecial IJotices. Examine tlie Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for f 5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. Preparation of Honey for tlie Mar- ket, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey, instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. Honey as Food and Medicine. A new edition, revised and enlarged, the new pages being devoted to iiew Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price of them low to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far arid wide. Single copy 6 cents, postpaid; per dozen, 50 cents; per hundred, $4.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense — enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Tlie Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies 220 pages 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. 280 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. BOOK CLUBBING LIST. We will Bapply the A-inerlcua Bee dournal one year, and any of the following Books, at the prices quoted in the last column of tlgurfls. The first column Rives the regular price of both. All postage prepaid. Price of boWi. Olub The Weekly Bee Journal, 12 00.. and Cook's Manual, 7th edltiondn cloth) 3 Z5. . 2 lb Cook's Manual, (In paper covers) 8 00. . 2 50 Bees and Honey (T.O.Newman)cloth 2 75. . 2 50 Bees and Honey (paper covers) 2 50.. 2 25 Binder for Weekly Bee Journal 2 75. . 2 60 Apiary Keglster for 100 colonies 3 60. . 3 00 Apiary Register for 200 colonies .... 4 00. . 3 60 Dzierzon's New Bee Book (cloth) 4 00.. 3 50 Dzlerzon's New Book (paper covers) 3 50. . 3 00 Qulnby'sNew Bee-Keeping [3 50.. 3 26 Langstroth's Standard Work 4 00 . 3 76 Root's A B C of Bee Culture (cloth) 3 '25. . 3 00 Alley's Queen Rearing 3 25. . 3 00 Scribner's Lumber and Log Book — 2 35. . 2 25 Fisher's Grain Tables 2 40. . 2 25 ■Moore's Universal Assistant 4 50. . 4 25 Honey as Food&Medlcine,50Copie8 4_00.. 3 75 Honey as Food i in. fire tube, 12.00 The conqueror (wide shield)— 3 In.firetube, 1.75 Large (wideshield)- 2^in. tire tube, 1..50 Extra (wideshield)— 2 in.firetuhe, 1.25 Plain (nar. shield)- 2 In.tlrelube, l.oo Little Wonder, .(nar. shield )—l?Jin.tiretul)e, .65 Bingham & Hetherington Uncapping Knife. . 1.15 With thanks for letters of encour- agement, and the absence of complain- ing ones, we tender to our thirty-flve thousand patrons our best wishes. Very Respectfully Yours, BiNGHAJi & Hetherington. Abronia, Mich., June 1, 1883. Foul Bi-ood Pamphlet.— Wishing to be relieved of sencling out my pamph- let on Foul Brood, 1 have made ar- rangements with Mr. T. G. Newman to supply them to the bee-keeping fraternity desiring them. Price 2.5c. A. R. KOHNKB. Youngstown, O., April 25, 1883. SPLENDID QUEENS, by Mail. »l each: « for »-..5n. F, 1, -WKIGHT, Plainfleld, Mich. 22A3t6Blt Read the opinion of one of the most eminent writers on bee matters: Bound Brook, N. J., May 4, 18K3. Friend Alley:— Handy Book received. 1 am happy to say that I consider that it tells more on the vital subjects of rearing (Queens and manauing bees so as to take honey, than tiny bt-'oknow before the public. It seems to be tilled with just those things which pntetical men find out about their business in a lifetime of work, but which they generally don't tell the dear public. J. Hasbrouck. The HANDY BOOK has received from those most competent to judge of its value, more praise than any book now in print. Send for our Circular and get their opinions. 21Atf HENRY ALLEY, 'Wenham, Mass. A NEW BEE BOOK! BEES and HONEY, OR THE ^ Management of an Apiary for Fleasnre and Profit ; by THOMAS C. NEWMAN, Editor of th( Weekly Bee Jourrml. 92S West Madlaon Street, CtalcaKo, in. "VyO MORE BEES TO SB1,L.-I cannot fill any i.1 more orders for bees. I have already sold my- self short. TV. H. BALCH, ORAN, N. Y. QUEENS! During June find Julv. 1 nhiill be prepared to furnish the CHOlCEfeT OK yUEKNS, both tested ' and untested, from two different strains, i. From my new strain, viz: a ernsa between the Brown, | German, and dark leather-colored Itiiliiin. u. Pure i Italians reared from imported mottiers. With my hives of all worker combs, usin*: drone comb , where I desire it only, isolated from otherapiaries. i I have the best of opportunities to control the I matinKof my Queens. 1 rear Queens under the I swarminK impulse only, and upon the true plan of i getting the best and most vigorous stock. All j orders filled in turn, and it is useless to burry us. PRICES : Tested Queens (all selected) each, $ S.vo Untested before July I. each 1.50 i Uuntested after July l, each, i.ihi These are bottom prices in any quantity. Send for descriptive Catalogue to JAMES ll£I>I>ON, Oowiiglac, Mich. It contains 160 profusely illustrated pages, ta '* fully up with the times" in all the improvements and inventions in this rapidly developing pursuit, and presents the apiarist with everything that can aid in the successful management of the Honey Bee, and at the same time produce the most honey in its best and most attractive condition. Appreciative Notices. A neat and abundantly illustrated hand-boofe of apiculture.— American Agriculturist, N. Y, Its chapter on marketing honey Is worth many times its cost.— Citizen. Pulaski, Tenn. Contains all the information needed to make bee-culture successful.— Eagle, Union City. Ind. Just such a work as should be in the hands of every beginner with beea.— News, Keithsburg, III. Valuable for all who are Interested in the care and management of bees.— Dem., Allegan, Mich. Engravings are fine. Gotten up in the best style, and is cheap at the price.— Farmer, Cleveland, O. It comprises all that Is necessary for succcBsful bee-culture, save experience and good judgment. —Daily Republican. Utlca. N. Y. Written in an interesting and attractive manner, and contains valuable information for all readers, even though they be not directly interested in the care of bees.— Sentinel, Rome, N. Y. It Is a valuable and practical boob, and contains a complete resume of the natural history of the little busy bee. as well as of all that one needs to know in their care and management.— Chica*ro Herald. Contains a vast fund of information In regard to bee-culture, lie who would keep abreast of the times must keep posted in all the improvements In his line. We advise all Interested to get a copy of this book.— Daily Times. San Bernardino. Cal. It embraces every subject that will Interest the beginner. It describes all the newest dlacoverieo in the art by which the production of delicious and health-giving honey is obtained, as well as how to prepare it for the market in the most attractive form. It is embellished with beautiful engravings, and is the most perfect work of the kind, for tne price, that has ever come under our notice.— Far- mer, Lancaster, Pa. PRICE— Bound in cloth, 75 cents t in paper covers, SO cents, postpaid. THOMAS G. NKW^MAN. y-'.'j W. Madison St., Chicugo. 111. OPIUM Mnrphlne Habit (^ured In lO to 20 da:ps. No pay until cured. J. I.,. Stephens. M. D., Lebanon, O. PURE ITALIAN BEES AND QUEENS, Tested and untested Queens, nuclei in Langs- troth sie frames, full colonies, queens by the half dozen, hees by the pound. Send for prices and particulars. A. B. MILLER ^k SON. 44Atf Wakarusa. Elkbart Co.. Ind. ELECTROTYPES Of Engravings used in the Bee Journal for sale at 25 cents per square inch— no single cut sold for less thanSdC. THOMAS O. NEWMAN, 9ZS West Madison Street Cblcavo. III. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., JUNE 6, 1883. No. 23. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, The Clouds of Adversity Departing. The pipoent Spring, if it deserves that name, has been one of severe trial for the bee-keeper. Winter, as an unwelcome guest, lingered in the lap of Spring so long that his presence became irksome and disgusting. We have the following wail from Mr. Heddon : Still Snowing. Byron said, "The moon is up, and yet it isn't night." We can say, " It snows yet, but still it is not winter." Bees were never so weak and poor in stores at this date in my apiary. I have lost 12.5 out of 3-50, and the loss will amount to 1.50, ere warm weather arrives. As the law of supply and demand governing prices has not yet entirely deserted apiculture, every dead colony enhances the value of all the living. All bloom is 2 weeks be- hind time. James Heddon. Dowagiac, Mich., May 22, 1883. And Mr. Doolittle wrapped himself In his overcoat and sighed : Cold, Cold, Cold. We have not had 5 days so far this year, warm enough to open the bee ihives without danger of chilling the brood, of which there is but little. It freezes nearly every night. On the morning of the 14th, ice was found i| inch thick. Bees are getting poor in numbers and short of stores. G, M. Doolittle. Borodino, N. Y., May 17, 1883. While Mr. Demaree records the fact of having A Cold Wave in Kentucky. Notwithstanding the weather here has been very changeable, the season so far has not been altogether un- favorable. My bees have built up rapidly, and have done well on fruit bloom, dandelion, etc. Locustopened on the 13th inst., and gave a deluge of nectar till cut short off by the cold wave of the 21st. We had a skift of snow (a sight never before witnessed here at this season of the year), on the night of the 21st. The bees were housed for 3 days. White clover is wasting. I have been feeding a swarm that issued just before the present cold, rainy, gloomy spell. The pros- pects look better to-day (23d). I notice that the three dismal, cold, rainy days just past, have afflicted some of my nursing nuclei with dysentery. The weather has been unfavorable to queen rearing — too changeable. G. W. Demaree. Christiauburg, Ky., May 23, 1883. And Mr. Frazer is not at all pleased with A Snow Storm in Indiana. We have had the worse snow storm ever known for this time of year, in Indiana. It commenced with a cold rain, and yesterday, about 10 o'clock, it turned to snow, and snowed until night ; althougli it melted very fast, there was about 2 inches of snow on the roofs, boards, etc. It snowed more last night, and fruit trees are bent to the ground, and the timber is mourning under its heavy burden. I think there has fallen quite one foot of snow, since yesterday morning. Bees were doing extra well ; their brood-chambers are full of brood and honey, and some were storing honey in the boxes. White clover is begin- ning to bloom, and is as plenty as I ever saw it, and everything looked favorable for a good harvest, but it looks dismal this morning. A ^^^T? A7FT? Bloomingsport, Ind., May 22, 1883. Mr. G. W. Ashby grows despond- ent over his Sad Case of Spring Dwindling. I send the discouraging news of my sad disappointment in my bees. I doted upon my 66 colonies which I had in the fall of 1882. Now I have 56 ; they wintered well enough, but dwindled awav in the springy till my loss is ten ; and nearly one-half of the others are to-day nothing more than nuclei. If I unite them, or wait until they build up, I shall get no honey this season, from a part of them. VVe are now in the loctist, poplar and white clover bloom, etc. The bees all have a good quantity of brood. It has been a very bad spring here ; it was too cold during peach and apple bloom. On May 15, we had almost a blizzard. We had to wrap up as in winter. Now it is too windy and dry; the bees cannot stick to the locust blossoms ; they are blown and tossed about in every direction, and many are lost in the pond. It is awful to see my pets have such a time, I fondly anticipated a glorious harvest, this season, of several thousand pounds of honey. I ordered a lot of bee supplies and foundation to aid them, but all my fond hopes are blasted. Not a swarm yet, and but few colonies look likely to make a surplus. I have one colony in the Cunningham hive, which seems to outstrip all the others. They are at work in four boxes of 5 pound weight; more than one-half built out, and partly filled with honey. The others are in the Langstroth hive. If you ever saw any one have the blues, I am the one. I have quit looking after my farming interest, and gone wild on the bee, that wonderful insect. I will have to give up, and keep one or two to study their mysterious ways. My whole thoughts were centered on the bee, but, alas, I must look after some other business for a livelihood. I got all kinds of seeds to sow for my bees ; last year I had a tine lot of sweet clover. My bees went wild over it ; this year there are only about 100 plants to the acre, all told. Alsike is in tolerable condition ; Simpson honey plant, line; Rocky Mountain bee plant, none ; spider plant, none. My grief is past endurance. G. W. Ashbt. Valley Station, Ky., May 17, 1883. Judge Andrews gives a cheerless account of The Spring in Texas. There never has been such a spring for bees in South Texas before ; my bees have not swarmed as much up to this date as they did last year by the 27th of March. They have not in- creased 3 percent, yet, and the pros- pect for more thaii 25 per cent, is poor ; but I confess that we are sailing in " unknown waters." W. H. Andrews. McKinney, Texas, May 27, 1883. And Dr. H. M. Williams reports discouragingly that it is Still Cold in Georgia. We are having the latest spring here I have known in 20 years. For the last three mornings the thermom- eter stood at 42^, and we have had considerable frost. Bees have done nothing in the way of storing honey in the upper story. My bees are 282 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. swarming some, and I am hiving them on full combs, where my bees died in the winter. When I put a swarm in a hive full of empty combs, they go back and rob the old hive, so I have to move the old one. I expect they rob the old one because the honey flow is small. I have 60 colonies; some pure Italian, some hybrid, and I am satisHed my mixed bees, with the pure blacks and Italians are the best bees I have, for honey ; though not so easy handled. I am always glad when the Bee Journal comes ; I could not do without it. H. M. Williams, M. D. Bowden, Ga., May 24, 1883. These letters are anything but en- couraging ; truly, in the language of Thomas Paine, " These are the times that try men's souls." We do not wonder why some may become dis- couraged, as they view the unten- anted hives and soiled combs which are left, as the sequel to tlieir cher- ished hopes for the future. However, none should be too hasty in passing judgment. With the hives and combs already provided, more than one-half the original investment is saved, and with a propitious season for the pres- ent, our losses will be made good with a credit in our favor on the balance sheet. We cannot expect bee-keep- ing to be unvaringly prosperous, any more than any other special branch of industry which is dependent upon natural causes, but we can, with fore- thought, industry and systematic perseverance, make it as reliable as any other. Were it only the lesser bee-keepers, or the novices, who had suffered losses, it might, perhaps, be attributed to ignorance or negligence ; but when we take into account the losses by specialists and scientific bee-keepers, we cannot but look upon such a charge as an insult to intelligence. The fruit-grower expects frequent failures in his crops, and is thankful that his trees survive without injury ; the farmer's wheat winter-kills, when he plows up the ground in the spring and plants anew in corn or something else, and replants if frost kills that ; the stock-raiser who loses part of his flock, gives the remainder better at- tention, and patiently toils two or three years to repair his losses ; the merchant has his seasons of loss, but with renewed push and activity makes up for the dull times when the " good time coming " has arrived ; and the energetic bee-keeper, although many bright dreams may have vanished, will not despond, but without taking time to count the untenanted hives, begins immediately to estimate the number he can refill, working with a will to retrieve his losses ; and while keeping time with the musical hum of his bees, in the " Sweet by-and-by " will reap a more than commensurate recompense for his vexations and dis- appointments. As we write this the air has again become warm, the sun shines out as cheerfully as it ever shone on a sum- mer's day. The robin's cheerful pip- ing, and the bluebird's merry song can be heard in the early morning, as the golden sunshine tips the hill-tops, and the hills and valleys are arrayed in gorgeous robes of emerald green. The trees, plants and shrubs have commenced to bloom here in the North, and soon the heavy basswood will enrich the hives, making them to overflow with the rich nectar. Let all, therefore, take courage and pre- pare for a vigorous season's work— the sunshine already succeeds the storm, and chases the gloom away. Be cheerful and hopeful— there is no time to lose. Nature now awakens to life ; the far-stretching fields clothed in emerald green, the lawns and lanes with their grassy carpets, the air laden with the sweet perfume of the blossoms in garden and orchard, the trees in forest and grove animated with the feathered songsters whose little lives seem an incarnation of happy melody — all these combine to help us forget the dreary hours of the past, and with keener zest enjoy the future. " Into all lives rain must fall. Over all lands the storm must beat. But when the pain and the storm are o'er The after-sunshine is twice as sweet. Through every straight we have found a road. In every grief we have found a song. We have to bear, and have had to wait. But think how well we have got along." 1^ We have received from Mr. Wm. Sims, Secretary of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, at To- peka, a pamphlet entitled " Kansas, its Resources and Capabilities," which is being printed in the English, Ger- man, Swedish, and Danish languages, for gratuitous distribution, and will be sent to any one upon application, or will be mailed to any address fur- nished, either in this country or Eu- rope, the person sending address to indicate the language desired. It contains a map of the State, and sev- eral views of farms, cattle, ranches, etc., and is full of useful information concerning that State. <^ Mr. Alley's new book on Queen Rearing will hereafter cost $1.25 Honey and Bee Show in Canada. Mr. A. Robertson, of Carlisle, in the Canadian Farmer gives the following list of prizes offered in the Honey and Bee Department of the Hamilton Central Fair : As the directors of Hamilton's Cent- ral Fair had a meeting on April 24, I am now able to present our prize list. I feel like giving three cheers to the directors, tor the way they used us ; they gave us nearly everything we asked for. Last year we were mixed up with the fruit, such as turnips and cabbages, and the prizes altogether amounted to about $20. This year we are to have a class by ourselves, and they are offering prizes to the amount of $70. They also allow us to appoint our judges, and we will endeavor to get practical bee men, who each use a different size frame and hive. Frizes offered by the Central Fair Association : 1st. 2d. For best Comb Honey, not less than 10 pounds 15.00 |3.no For Best Extracted, not less than 10 lbs. 5.00 o.oo ForBest display of Comb Honey 8.00 4.00 For Best display of Extracted 8.00 4.00 For Bt-st and largest display of both kinds Medal and Diploma For Bnst Exhibition and management otBees 10.00 5.00 For Best Hive for Comb Honey 4.(X) 2.00 For Best Hive for Extracted Honey — 4.0i> 2.(X> For Best Hive for all pu rposes. . Medal and Diploma The following are by our Bee As- sociation and Specials : Best display of Apiarian Supplies 910.00 95.00 Specials given by D. A. Jones, Beeton, Ont. : Best display of Extracted Honey, put up in the most pleasing and marketable shape, best imported Holy Land Queen.valued at »I5.00 Best display of Comb Honey, in the best marketable shape, beet imported Cyp- rian Queen, valued at $10.00 In both of the above classes, exhibi- tor must be producer. Special by Green & Robertson, Carlisle, Ont. : Best Bee Hive for all purposes. Chaff Hive complete, for Comb Honey, valued $5.00 Roofs Simplicity Hive complete, for Ex- tracted Honey 2.00 Special by J. M. Knowles, Presi- dent of the Association : Best Observatory Hive 15.00 Special by Canadian Farmer: Best display of Wax. CatwdiaTi Farmer for one year LOO Best Honey Crate, Canadian Farmer for 1^ Ants are sometimes troublesome in an apiary. They can be destroyed by sprinkling salt around the hives and in the ant-hills. i^"Renewals may be made at any time; but all papers are stopped at the expiration of the time paid for, unless requested to be continued. ^"Postage stamps, of one, two or three cent denomination, accepted for fractional parts of a dollar; but money is preferred, for larger amounts. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 283 How to Foretell the Weather. A. J. DeVoe, of Hackensack, N. J., sends to the Farmers' Club of the American Institute, the following nine rules by which, it is said, a person in any part of the Northern Hemisphere (north of 15° of latitude) can form an accurate opinion of the wind and weather for a hundred miles around him ■ 1. When the temperature falls sud- denly, there is a storm forming south of you. 2. When the temperature rises sud- denly, there is a storm forming north of you. 3. Wind always blows from the re- gion of fair weather toward a region where the storm is forming. 4. Cirrus clouds always move from a region where a storm is in progress toward a region of fair weather. 5. Cumulus clouds always move to- ward a region where a storm is raging. 6. When cirrus clouds are moving rapidly from the north or northwest, there will be a cold rain storm on the morrow ; if it be winter, there will be a snow storm. 7. The wind blows in a circle around a storm, and when it blows from the north, the heaviest rain is east of you ; from the south, the heaviest rain is west ; from the east, the heav- iest rain is south ; from the west, the heaviest rain is north of you. 8. The wind never blows unless rain or snow is falling within 1,000 miles of you. 9. Whenever a heavy white frost occurs, a storm Is forming within 1,000 miles north or northwest of you. A few Seasonable Hints. As there has, during this spring, been so much cool and wet weather, the bees are suffering for food. Mr. Oatman, who was in our office a few days since, says he is systematically feeding his bees every day in order to keep them strong in numbers, and ready for the honey harvest. Mrs. L. Harrison, in the Prairie Farmer, re- marks as follows : Those who are desirous of increas- ing their colonies, sliould feed lib- erally, whenever tlie honey flow fails, either by reason of cool or rainy weather, so that brood-rearing will not be retarded. Large quantities of stores are consumed in brood-rearing, as a bee eats more in a larvse state, than during tlie remainder of its life. New swarms sometimes, perish dur- ing long continued rainy weather, by starvation. It is good management to feed during intervals of honey- gathering, as the queen lays, not ac- cording to the stores on hand, but in ratio to her income. Some colonies have too much honey, so that the queen has not room enough to lay ; when this is the case, it should be removed, and may be ex- changed for empty comb, from a less provident stock, and both be bene- tited. Diluted honey, or syrup made of either brown or white sugar, can be fed almost any way, at this season of tlie year. Great care should be ex- ercised, lest robbing is induced, by dropping the feed around the hives. The feed sliould be thin, and the ves- sels holding it should contain cut straw or little floats to prevent the bees drowning, or a piece of thin cloth can be spread over the surface. Where two story hives are used, the feed can be placed in the upper one, and a small aperture made to allow the bees to come up from below ; or if a division-board is used, it can be placed back of it. Anyway that does not admit bees from the outside, or let the warmth from the cluster es- cape. Bee-Keeping in Florida. Mr. J. M. Lisenby, of Cedar Key, writes to the Florida Journal as fol- lows concerning bee-keeping : As the interest in Florida and its various resources are attracting con- siderable attention, I will try to give some facts in regard to bee-keeping — an industry that can be made success- ful in quite a large portion of the State. It is true that a great deal of the interior — especially the high pine lands— is not adapted to bee-culture, while the Atlantic coast, south of St. Augustine, and the Gulf coast, south of Cedar Key, certainly are rich honey-producing sections. In the best bee pastures of the State the season for storing surplus honey only lasts about two months ; but in this short lime they will store from 100 to 150 pounds per hive, and the re- mainder of the year they will gather enough for their support. At Cedar Key the bees commence breeding in January, and continue to breed until November. They usually commence to swarm in March, and continue until about the Hrst of June, when the work of storing surplus honey begins. The mangrove is the principal honey-producing plant, and the honey gathered from it cannot be excelled in appearance, even by the white clover honey of Vermont, and the superiority of the mangrove over other honey-producing plants, is that, growing as it does in the marshes, it is never affected by the floods or drouth. The honey produced from the palm- etto is also of good appearance and flavor, yet it is not so reliable as that from the mangrove. I have never been in any country where I had as little trouble to man- age bees as this. They are never troubled by worms or bee-moths, if they are kept in anything like good condition. 1^ Mr. Joseph D. Enas, Napa, Cal., has issued a six-paged circular and price list for Queens and Supplies for the Paciflc Coast. Honey Production in Canada. I enclose an item of bee news, clip- ped from the Montreal Witness of May 9, containing an inquiry and reply by D. A. Jones, of Beeton, Out., who edits the bee department of that paper. I think Mr. Jones' reply does American honey producers an injus- tice. 1 have lived in Canada for 40 years, and my experience and obser- vation have been the very reverse. What is your opinion V Marlette, Mich. Wm. Shier. In answer to the inquiry, Mr. Jones makes the following very extravagant assertions : I strongly I advise yourremainingin Ontario. You will lind that the peo- ple of Canada are better educated to the use of honey — and especially ex- tracted honey, which is more protit- able than comb. Packages for put- ting up honey are cheaper in Canada than the United States, and we seem to be farahead of our neighbors in the style of putting them up. The labels which are being used by the United States' dealers now so extensively are made here in Canada, and the duty they pay is high. Above all these considerations there are localities in Canada which are superior to any in the United States. For large yields of honey the West is second to no country in the world, and our bee- keepers are at the present time more than equal in the race as regards su- premacy for fine bee-keeping. Many of the new devices and improvements emanate from Canada's bee-keepers. Many persons think their own bees, hives, utensils and locations are the best, and, perhaps, this individual and local pride dictated the reply of Mr. Jones. Of course no one on this side of the boundary will agree with him. Honey for the Children.— The Farm- ers' Review thus comments approv- ingly on a late editorial in the Bee Journal: Editor Newman, of the Bee Jour- nal, wisely suggests that those par- ents who feed their children on candies and syrups, because they want some- thing sweet, to the great injury of the children, would And their child- ren growing healthy and happy too, if given good honey instead of candies that are so fearfully adulterated. iS^ The number of the Bulletin D' Apiculture pour la Suisse Romande, for May, has a full-page illustration of Mr. Chas. Dadant, of Hamilton, 111. It is a lithograph, and is quite natural. 1^ The American Apindturist is the title of a new monthly just started by S.M.Locke, at Salem, Mass. It con- tains 32 pages, and makes a very cred- itable appearance. 284 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For tlie American Bee JouraaL Systematic Breeding, etc. G. W. DEMAREE. On page 236, present volume of the Bee Journal, Mr. ileddon ap- proaches the old subject, " Best bees, etc," with apology and apparent trepi- dation ; but still he approaches the subject and conies prophesying. The subject is " unpleasant " just now, but there are " millions in it." "Three-fourths" of the bees sold hereafter will be hap-hazard-hybrids. I only take the liberty to put it in plain English. I mean nothing but good to the cause of apiculture. I write this article not because it is Eleasant or " unpleasant " to me, but ecause I wish to raise the standard of systematic breeding rather than to trail it in the dirt, and rather because as a breeder, I do not seek to be re- leased from responsibility as to the character of my queens and bees. I protest against the present ten- dency— mercenary tendency — to lower the standard of bee-breeding below the standards adopted and approved by all breeders of domesticated ani- mals. I can see no reason why bee- breeding should not be entitled to as much dignity as a business as other like occupations. "Bees for business" may be sug- gestive to some people of the hasty- made dollar, but to me it sounds like a clap-trap, cheap advertisement. Let us suppose that a prominent breeder of farm stock should breed his "breed- ing stock " for " business," ignoring pedigree and purity of blood. Could any one doubt the result of such a course V He would soon tind himself "ignored" as a breeder, and justly too, because the very necessity of the case demands, that, in breeding stock, some distinguishing features must be adopted as a test of the purity of the stock, and as a guarantee of good faith on the part of the breeder. So important is this matter considered by the stock interest in Kentucky, that the Legislative department of the State have enacted statutory laws to Eunish fraudulent, and protect honest reeders. A prominent stock breeder has sug- gested that the reason why the mule has been a perpetual success is, be- cause he is a " mule," and, therefore, cannot be deteriorated by unlimited crossing by those who are ignorant of the laws of scientiHc breeding. It has occured to me that it would be better for the future good of api- culture if the hybrid bee (the word " hybrid " in bee lore means a cross between the Italian and German races) was, in fact, a mule, in which case they might justly and properly be called " bees for business." The first cross between the two races make good business workers, but they are utterly unlit tor breeding stock. I insist that every honorable breeder of bees should be able to give a de- scription of his stock sufliciently com- prehensive to enable any one to iden- tify them, and distinguish them from other races and strains of bees. The transparent attempts, of late, to render rediculousthecliief features by which the Italian or yellow race of bees is most easily identiiied, is the severest blow of all toscientitic breed- ing. All who have cared to read my articles on the subject of the three- band test, are aware of what my views are concerning that matter, and I need not consume time and space to go over the grounds again ; but 1 do say that there is no such a thing as Italian bees without the yellow bands, and those who sneer at " bands " and " stripes " simply sneer at the Italian bee. I have no controversy with those who prefer native or mixed bees to the Italian, but they should stand to their position. Let us look for a moment at this matter of "bands" and "stripes." Most breeders are able to describe the stock sold by them so clearly that they can be identified as a distinct race or variety. Some insure their tested queens to produce workers that will show the three-bands, if filled with honey and placed in a window. Some insure them to show the bands while standing on the combs ; others sell " golden " Italians. If these last know what a golden Italian is, the workers must show the beautiful golden plumage in addition to the bands. Pure Albinos must have the white or silver bands, whicli consist of plumage, in addition to the regular bands. Other distinguishing features may be named. My favorite strain of bees may be deseabed as slender in form, the second band conspicuously broad, while the corslet and posterior bands are rather narrow, but finely cut and distinct. As a general rule they have but little plumage on their bodies, and that little is of a light, but not of a golden hue, as is the case with the golden variety. I would describe them generally as slender, orange-banded bees. If there are any bees in the country that can beat them as honey-gatherers, I have a reasonable number of dollars which I would like to exchange for a few colonies of them. It will be seen that the several strains of bees de- scribed above may be identified wherever seen by the description given. Xow, apply the test to the " busi- ness bees " about which we have heard so much of late. It will be ad- mitted that Mr. Ileddon is good au- thority on the subject, and if there is a man living who can give an intelli- gent description of the " business bee," Mr. II. is the man to do it. Well, I have been reading his articles on " Business get-there bees " in nearly all the bee papers for two years past, and the most that I can make of it is, they are " larger " than some "shorter" bees are, and "darker" than some " lighter " bees are, and may or may not have " stripes." The description is wonderfully accommo- dating. No one, I presume, but Mr. ileddon, can indentify them. Christiansburg, Ky. For the American Bee JonmaL Texas State Bee-Keepers' Convention The fifth annual meeting of the State Bee-keepers' Association was held in the apiary of Judge \V. H. Andrews, at McKinney, Texas, on April 17 and 18, 1883. After the routine business wa# done, the president addressed tlie meeting upon the subject of " Conven- tions." The address, though well- timed and interesting, but we have tliought best not to send for publica- tion, as we fear we may overtax the space of our valuable Journal. Dr. VV. K. Marshall, of Marshall, then read his admirable essay on the "Different races of bees." [As soon as I am furnished a copy I will tor- ward for publication. — Sec] The question ' was asked, " Are Cyprians remarkable as workers ¥" to which Dr. Marshall replied : They are swift on the wing, and as indus- trious as any bees he ever handled, and gave as good results. In answer to a question as to the temper of the Cyprians, the Doctor said they are cross, very easily an- gered, and when aroused, would sting everylihing on the yard, from chicken to king ; and would not " down," but they were not a ghost. Judge Andrews said he could not speak from a satisfactory trial, having handled but 3 colonies, which were enough to do him " the rest of the way." It was asked if it is true that their queens are so wonderfully prolific as iney are said to be V Dr. Marshall said they are great breeders, and that he had thought they had too much at certain seasons. Judge Andrews said that Dr. Dzier- zon says they breed so late in the fall that in bad honey years they often come out rich in bees, but poor in honey. It was asked of Dr. Marshall, what are dark Italians y He replied that he regarded them impure bees, whether home-bred or imported. E. H. West, of Tarrant county, asked Judge Andrews if he thought Italian bees swarmed more than blacks V He replied that he could see no difference as to that. Are Italians better honey gatherers than the blacks 'f Dr. Marshall said he could not say that they were, but that they possessed some valuable traits peculiar to their race. Judge Andrews said he did not know what those traits are, but that he claimed but two points for the Italian over the blacks and all others ; those are beauty, most exquisite, and amiability; that he could manipulate two colo- nies of Italians to one of the other races ; he says the queens of the other yellow races are not near so beautiful as those of the Italians. Judge Andrews was asked if he thought that hybrids are more iras- cible than blacks, as taught in our leading books on bee-culture? And THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 285 be replied, that his bees bec.ime good- mannered in proportion to tlieir Ital- ian blood, and ^ice versa. It was askf d, " Can we, by the co- rn ingling of races and careful selec- tion, reach the ' coming bee ?' " Judge Andrews said he would try to give his " say " on that subject in his essay on the coming bee, that aint coming. Convention adjourned till '2 p. m. FIKST DAY— AFTERNOON SESSION. An essay of B. F. Carroll, of Dres- den, Navarro county, was read by the secretary. [I will send it as soon as transcript is obtained. — Sec] Judge Andrews was asked if he could approve Mr. Carroll on the bee moth V To which he replied that he could not ; that the so-called bee moth, more properly the comb woi-m, is not an enemy to the bee ; that no colony of bees was ever destroyed by the bee- moth larvse ; they never infest combs used by the bees ; that abandoned combs only became a prey to those worms. He was then asked why the books taught this fallacy V To which he replied that our books do not all teach it ; that they had been read through the " glasses " of a barbarian tradition; he then opened Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, page 228, and read as follows : " Let it be distinctly un- derstood by all beginners that the moth is not the cause of the decline of a once healthy stock. It simply takes advantage of the weakness induced by other causes." Dr. Howard said that the so-called bee moth subsisted wholly upon the comb as constructed by the bees; that foundation made from pure wax was not attacked ; that comb constructed upon it was infested only for the sake ot the additional natural comb. He said that Judge Andrews called his attention to this a year ago, in a re- mark that the moth larvai could not subsist upon pure beeswax. M. H. Davis, of Grayson county, asked if these worms could subsist upon bee- bread ? Judge Andrews said bethought not, but could not speak from a satisfac- tory trial. Dr. Howard said, that they could not ; that they must have comb. J. H. Manlove, of Fannin county, asked, " How long do fertile workers liveY" Dr. Marshall said, that he thought they partook of the nature and longevity of the queen ; that in their development they, perhaps, ob- tained a portion of royal jelly, the food intended for the queen larvae, which caused a greater development of the reproduction organs. Judge Andrews thought that laying workers live just as long as other worker-bees. Is there more than one fertile worker in a hive at one time, was asked ? Dr. Marshall said, that the number of eggs were not more than would be laid by one queen, but the manner in which they were deposited indicated the work of a plurality of fertile workers. Judge Andrews said, that he had seen six workers laying eggs in one comb, at the same time. Can we know when a hive is in- fested with fertile workers without opening it, was asked 'f Dr. Howard said, that the appear- ance of dwarfed drones was evidence. Judge Andrews said, that unfertilized laying queens would produce dwarfed drones the same as fertile workers winild. It was asked, " Is there any differ- ence in the appearance of the eggs of a fertile workers and those of fertile queens V" Dr. Howard said, there was no dif- ference, except that the workers de- posited a multitiide of eggs in one cell, and that often without changing her position ; and again, they are at- tached carelessly along the cell-walls from extremity to base. What is the best method to get rid of fertile workers, was asked by Judge Goodner 'f Dr. Marshall said, give the colony a fertile queen. Judge Andrews ap- proved the Doctor's plan, but pre- ferred to give small quantities of young worker brood, at short inter- vals, and a young queen will soon suc- ceed the worker pests. Horace Welch, of Marion county, asked how long .worker-bees live y Judge Andrews said they live 75 days in this latitude, the average life. Will it pay to plant here, for honey, asked by Dr. Marshall ? This was considered, by the convention, an important subject, and deserved our best attention ; but as the secretary announced that an essay upon this subject was soon to be read, the mat- ter was dropped. Then came the question, by E. P. Massey, of Waco, will bees do as well in dense shade as they will where the sun reaches them most of the day ¥ Judge Andrews said, that the ques- tion embodied the extremes, that in the sun would be preferable in the early part of the season, and shade during July, August and September; that he preferred the sun to shine upon the hive till 9 o'clock a. m. and after 4 o'clock p. m. What one fact, if generally known, would advance the cause of bee-cul- ture more than any other, not now so known, was asked by Judge An- drews ¥ Dr. Howard said, that one of the greatest stumbling stones was the common idea that " bees work for nothing and board themselves." Dr. Marshall thought that if the masses could be taught that honey is purely a wholesome and health-giving diet, while the fine, extravagantly high-priced syrups of to-day are a chemical compound, contaminated with glucose, which is daily under- mining the health of the people ; that the demand for pure honey would so exceed the supply, that many more persons capable of cultivating bees, would be induced to fall into our ranks. Judge Andrews thought that the greatest drawback to the growth of this great source of wealth, health and pleasure, is the fear of the sting; tliat if the people could be taught that by the judicious use of the " smoker " the caiise for this palsying horror can be banished forever, that thousands of the brightest sons and daughters of Adam, that are now out in the cold world, would be brought happily into our fold. Mr. W. T. Pryor, of Farmersville, wished to know the proper time to transfer bees from box hives. Mr. W. R. Graham, of Greenville, an- swered, " Whenever you find them in box hives." Dr. Howard said, " Bro. Graham, you handle that subject most admir- ably." Dr. Marshall said that during fruit- bloom was the time usually chosen, and he thought there were many good reasons for it. The president appointed W. K. Marshall, G. K. Cooper and T. C. Goodner committee on resolutions, and W. R. Howard, H. Pearce and E. M. Wise committee on apiarian sup- plies and exhibits. Adjourned till 9 o'clock, second day. MORNING SESSION— SECOND DAY. Dr. Marshall read an essay on " Ex- tracted honey." [Will send essay on when I get a transcript. — Sec] H. VVelch asked, " When bees gather pollen are they likely gather- ing honey ?" Dr. Howard responded that many plants yield pollen when there is no lionev to be gathered ; not being se- creted by the flowers, at such times the bees gather pollen alone. H. Pearceasked, " Is a superabund- ance of pollen in a hive, in the spring, detrimental to bees i"' Judge Andrews replied, that there is no such thing as superabundance of pollen, in the South. Judge Goodner asked, " Do any benefits accrue from natural swarm- ing that cannot be secured by artifi- cial swarming or dividing y" Dr. Marshall said, that he had in- creased successfully by dividing, but that when the production of lioney is the object, natural swarming is pref- erable ; division is often attended with losses that ordinary foresight would not anticipate. Judge Andrews said, that there were thrift and vigor attending nat- ural swarming that could not be had in dividing; a new swarm does a land- office business ; artificial swarms never get ready for our harvest, the horse- mint ; they do not have just such a point in the North. Mr. A. R. White, of Dallas county, inquired, " Can horsemint be culti- vated here with profit V Dr. Howard said, that it could be cultivated with the greatest ease, but, thought it would hardly pay in this country to do more than scatter the seed on waste land. W. R. Graham gave some interest- ing experiments in planting horse- mint for honey. Judge Goodner asked, whether set- tlement and cultivation of our prai- ries tend to decrease our honey re- sources V The discussion here took a wide range with some difference of opin- ion, but the prevailing opinion was, that our volunteer resources are de- 286 TUK AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. creased by reducing our prairies to cultivation. Convention adjourned till 2 o'clock p. m. SECOND DAY— AFTERNOON SESSION The secretary read an essay from Dr. J. P. II. Brown, of Augusta, Ga., on " Marketing honey." Dr. Howard read bis essay on " Honey plants in Northern Texas." Judge Audrevi's read an essay on the " Bee-moth," which excited con- siderable attention and discussion, and also some feeling. Dr. Howard read las essay on the " Queen bee — her nature and habits." Judge Andrews, being called out, stated how, by accident, a few years ago, he made the discovery which led to the fact mentioned in Dr. Howard's essay that, " The queen must become tranqualized with the bees instead of the bees with the queen," and that the workers will receive a dozen queens as readily as one ; in other words, if we cage a number of queens in one colony at the same time, we may liberate any one of them as though she were the only one there, the reigning queen being present up to the time of the liberation. The election of officers for the next year resulted in tlie election of W. H. Andrews, of McKinney, President ; W. K. Marshall, of Marshall, Vice- President ; W. R. Howard, of King- ston. Secretary ; E. M. Wise, of Wax- ahachie, Treasurer. W. H. Andrews was elected to rep- resent the Texas association in the convention of the North American Bee-Keepers' Society at Toronto, Can- ada, next October. Tne committee on exhibits reported a large number of all kinds of bee- keepers' supplies, honey and bees. ■Besolutions were passed, thanking Dr. J. P. H. Brown, of Georgia, and Mr. B. F. Carroll, of Dresden, Texas, for their essays; and to Judge An- drews and the citizens of McKinney, for hospitality, etc. After which the convention ad- journed to meet in McKinnev, Collin county, on Thursday, April 24, 1SS4. W. R. HowAKD, (Sec. For the American Bee Journal. The Standard Langstroth Frame. G. 31. ALVES. Mr. Heddon admits (page 224), that the majority of hive makers, and (page 272), that the largest of them makefile Langstroth frame 17^8 inches long, but at the same time denies (page 272), that the majority of Langs- troth frames in use is of that length. Now in view of these facts, we must conclude tliat Mr. Heddon is driven to the position, that bee-keepers make their own iiives and frames, and that those made by our manufactories do not represent tliose used by our bee- keepers. Is such a position tenable V Mr. Heddon in substance makes this declaration— tliat even though the large majority of bee-keepers use a frame 175g inches and call it the standard Langstroth, that thougli the largest manufactories and the greatest number of them make that size and call it the standard Langstrotli — tliat though our best authorities, the edi- tors of our bee periodicals, and even Mr. Langstroth himself, declare tliis size to be the standard Langstroth — tliat thougli all of these be facts, still they have no weight in deciding the question. Certainly, if there are any meanings to words, tliey must be those attached to them by the sovereignty of popular and authoritative usage. Mr. Heddon objects to the fact of a frame n^g inches in length, taking eight standard one-pound sections, being used as an argument for that length as the standard. He surely should not object to this length because it will do so, as by reason of this fact, it will suit a large number who prefer to take their honey in broad frames— a fact which was doubtless the chief reason for the change to \T% inches as the standard. Mr. Heddon says Mr. Langstroth wrote a book in which he gave 17?8, and until he writes another and gives 17^8, he will insist on the former. Yet he admits Mr. Langstroth has since given his preference for tlie latter in a prominent periodical. Does Mr. Heddon hold that it is necessary to write a book in order to maintain or establish a preference ? ' By reference to Mr. Langstroth's work (page 331 of last edition), it will be seen that he "prefers" a given size hive, and adds: "Mr. Quinby prefers to make my frames longerand deeper." It will thus be seen in his book that he was not particular as to the precise and exact shape, but in general, undoubtedly thought best of frames or hives that approximated his ; and hence when a frame was af- terwards submitted to him '4 of an inch longer, and which would afford advantages not given by his, he cheer- fully and unhesitatingly gave it his preference. If Mr. Heddon will call his frame the old Langstroth, or the twenty- years-ago Langstroth, or the obsolete Langstroth, we will acquiesce, buc we cannot submit to its being called the present Langstroth, or the standard Langstrotli. We maintain that the standard Langstroth is I4 inch longer. That it is so taken and accepted by Mr. Langstroth ; by the editors of the prominent bee papers ; by the large majority of bee-keepers, and by the largest inanufacturies, and the great- est number of them. We also main- tain that the addition of the I4' of an inch is a decided advantage, as it sub- serves an important use that the obsolete frame does not. I am unable to see that I can make our case any stronger than I have done in this and my previous article, and submit the subject to the candid and informed readers of the Bee Journal. In dropping the subject, I wish to say to Mr. Heddon, that I am always interested in and instructed by his articles, and regret to lind him " off " on so important a subject as the " Standard Langstroth Frame." Henderson, Ky., May 31, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. The Weather in Illinois. s. a. shuck. Mr. Doolittle says (May 17), " It freezes nearly every night," and Mr. Heddon .says (May 22), " It snows yet, but still it is not winter." Although we are situated much south of Messrs. Heddon and Doolit- tle, we have but little if any better weather than they have. On the morning of the 22(1, we had a very heavy frost, and codsiderable ice. Corn, potatoes, and, in fact, every- thing green showed the effects of Jack Frost ; and this is not all, the weather continues cloudy, wet and cool ; on the 27th it was partly clear, but cool ; on the 28th it rained all day ; on the 29th it was mostly clear ; tem- perature 70^. It was a pleasant day. To-day it rained hard from 5:30 a. m. to 1 p. m. Mr. Heddon says, " Bees were never so weak and poor in stores, at this date, in my apiary." He will please remember the reply he gave my re- port, last fall. As I judge, from his present report, that his bees are in a very similar condition to that of mine a year ago ; however, I sympathize with him, and it is most discouraging, indeed, to have all our bees in such a deplorable condition just at the time when we want them in the best con- dition. My bees are as honeyless as they were a year ago to-day, but they are very strong in numbers. I shall feed some 30 pounds of sugar this evening. White clover is blooming sufficiently to support the bees, if tliey could get out. The prospects from white clover and basswood are equally as good, if not better, than at this time in 1882. Red clover, which, on account of being winter-killed, did not bloom in the forepart of last season, promises finely at present. Our bees have al- ways worked on the first crop. Bryant, 111., May 30, 1883. For tbe Ajnertcan Bee JoumaL Southern vs. Northern-Bred Queens. A. B. WEED. The subject of Southern vs. North- ern-bred queens, which is just now receiving the attention, is an impor- tant one, or, at least, it will become so if there is shown to be foundation for controversy. It is commonly held that an animal succeeds best in the exercise of its powers, if kept in the locality where it was bred, because it is combated by no adverse climatic influence. This theory seems to be a very reasonable one, but it would be well to look at such facts as we may have which bear on the case. In late numbers of the Bee Jour- nal, we have had reports of some Southern-bred queens which com- in the North. These latter state- pared unfavorably with those reared ments can hardly be said to prove anything, as the queens in question died before their lirst winter in their THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 287 new home, and so were not put to the test of cold weather. Their untimely failing must have been caused by sometliing else than climatic influ- ence. I have Ivuown queens bred in the North to do tlie same. On the otiier hand, I have had queens from Georgia which were unexceptionable in every respect. The charge of inability to stand our severe winters, must apply with equal force to queens coming from Italy ; while for other reasons I prefer home- bred queens, 1 believe that tliis com- plaint has never been made of im- ported ones. If it is a fact that Southern-bred queens are inferior to those reared in the North, the result will be an injury to the business of Southern breeders, and a loss to Northern apiarists who wish to buy early queens. I cannot speak of the Bee Journal except in praise; the avidity with it seizes new subjects, and the ability with which it discussed them, makes it invaluable to those who would keep up with the times. Detroit, Mich., May 21, 1S83. For fhe American B,;e JournaL Bee-Keepiug in Canada. JAMBS SHANNON. I have been interested in bee-cul- ture for a number of years, but like many others, was content with the old box-hive and the old methods, and the result was a limited supply of honey for home consumption, and sometimes a little to spare. But about three years ago my attention was accidentally called to the sientitic methods of bee-culture, and I at once became an enthusiast in the business, and went to work in good earnest to learn the principles of this pleasing occupation. While studying, I have been practicing, thus demonstrating the advantages or difficulties of differ- ent methods. After reading the standard works on bee-culture, I sub- scribed for the Bee Journal, which has been a welcome visitor every week since. I have wintered 7 colonies, 6 of which are in excellent condition, but one has dwindled badly. The weather here has been very cold and back- ward since the winter protection was removed. I think they should have remained in winter quarters until now. It seems to me that double- walled hives are almost a necessity to provide against this lingering cold in the spring, which so often prevails here ; until this date, and even after, cold waves that greatly retard opera- tions in the hive unless they have al- most winter protection. I am experi- menting in this matter. I have been greatly interested in the discussions about the coming bee. Surely, we should be as wise as the old iiatriarch who cared not whether his cattle were ring streaked, speckled or spot- ted ; and, if we can bring out the good points by careful breeding, none need care about color or bands. I am trying to unite two valuable traits in my bees ; one part are superior honey- gatherers ; the others, having a slight dash of Cyprian blood, have shown remarkable powers of building up. The only difficulty I have is the near- ness of other bees. I have sown 12 pounds of Bokhara clover, this spring, and intend trying other plants, believing pasturage to be a necessity. We have, however, good natural pasturage consisting of white clover, abundance of raspber- ries, and some basswood and golden- rod, and other plants upon which the the bees work vigorously. There is a growing interest in bee- culture here, and a good demand for colonies. I hope to report progress, from time to time, with the result of my experiments. VVolverton, Out., May 15, 1883. If'or the American Bee Joamal. How I Get Bees into the Sections. W. H. BALCH. Years ago it used to be a hard job, sometimes, with some colonies of bees, even when all seemed propitious; while others, no stronger in numbers, were working with a will in sections, these would lay around for several days. Now, as soon as I get the hive tilled with brood, I begin to open or ventilate the hives as fast as the bees will bear it and not chill the brood ; I open the entrances a little each day, turn back the quilt, a little at a time, and soon. When the honey begins to come in, put on the sections, close all ventilation and the entrances as small as not to hinder them working. The liive is not cooled so much but that they have some bees to spare, and these will immediately go into the sections and begin work. Have one or more sections fliled with natural comb, or foundation that was drawn out the previous year, and if you do not care for very much increase, watch the sections, and as soon as the hrst are hlled, take them off and replace with empty ones ; as the bees increase, give more ventilation. In this way I have prevented one-third of my bees, in a good honey season, from swarm- ing; and many that did swarm, swarmed but once, and those that did not swarm, averaged a little over 300 pounds per colony, of honey in the comb. Oran, N. Y., May 24, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. How to Make Out Reports. W. H. STEWART. There seems to be a general desire expressed by leading bee-keepers to collect and publish full and reliable statistics on bees and honey. Bee- keepers can never know their relative standing with other producing classes until they can obtain such statistics. To us it seems impossible to get a full and correct statement of our condi- tion, products and prospects in any other way than to first get a full and correct report from each individual engaged in the business. To do this, under the present condi- tion of affairs, is no small matter. If each bee-keeper was taking a bee paper, and was able and ready to make out a full and correct report each year, then a committee could, by com- paring those papers, approximate very nearly to the truth. But, unfortu- nately there are many bee-keepers who do in)t take a bee paper, or even take the trouble to borrow one to read ; therefore, they cannot be ex- pected to report ; tience, it would have to be the business of some other person to pump a report from such men, and report for them. It appears to be useless to depend upon assessors to gather these statis- tics, from the fact that in some States no account is taken of bees in the as- sessment. Again, if assessors and town boards sliould undertake to col- lect and report the full and correct condition of bee-culture in their re- spective towns, not one in one hun- dred of such officers know anything of bee-culture, and, consequently, could neither frame, ask or answer an im- portant question on the subject. There is yet another impediment in the way of getting even a correct re- port from those that do take and read bee literature. Many get a good crop of honey, and seem to be so overjoyed that they rush into print with the re- port, not stopping to ascertain at the year's end, whether or not bee-keep- ing has paid, all things considered. Others get discouraged when the year is, perliaps, half-passed, and report their discouragements, and then, may be, we hear no more from them. Others seem to be ambitious to ex- cel in making outward show, and they double up as many bees as can be made to work together, and then take all their stores, and leave the bees to perisli for the sake of report- ing big yields from one colony, and, perhaps, a fair, aggregate report would show that the same man is losing money on his bees, all things consid- ered. Others report good and honest as far as they go, but their reports not being full, are of but little value. Allow me to give some examples of reports, and my reasons for thinking that such reports are in the end worthless. First, let me say that what I write on bee-cultute, is only calculated for this northern latitude. Even in this region of long, cold win- ters, almost any one can manage bees safely and prolitably through the sum- mer seasons, but then comes the win- ters, during which the law of natural selection proves that the only road to successful bee-keeping is a well- arranged and closely-followed system deduced from reason, observation and experience. To be useful, a report should em- brace an experience for at least one whole year; not only so, but that year should begin and end at such dates, that we could learn from it what ef- fect such and such management through the spring, summer and fall had on the bees during the winter, and the manner they were wintered. I believe that all well-posted bee- keepers are agreed that if we begin in the spring with two colonies of bees 288 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. in equal condition, and from one take all the early honey, leaving only the late, unripe and inferior honey for winter stores, and give the other well- ripened and capped basswood or clover honey for winter food, the condition of the two colonies, in the spring, would be far different, whether out- door or cellar wintering were tried. But to the reports. In the Bee Journal, page 59, Mr. H. Gripe re- ports as follows, under date Jan. 18, 1883 : " Last spring I had 4 colonies of Italian bees (two strong and two very weak), they increased to 10 strong colonies, by natural swarming. The increase all came from 2 colo- nies, and I took 120 pounds of comb honey from them. I could have taken a quantity of extracted, but I had no extractor, so I thought I would keep it for spring feeding. After the honey season was over, I sold 2 colonies and bought 16 Italians and hybrids in Simplicity hives. * * * I packed 10 in sawdust and 6 in chaff ; the other 8 I put in the cellar. They are all alive (Jan. 18). but I cannot tell how they will come out. * * We have had a solid winter since Nov. 23." Now, in giving tlie above report, we wish to cast no slir, or find any fault with Mr. C, but we want all to see how reports could be made of lasting good. He says on Jan. 18, " all are alive, but I do not know how they will come out." If this report had been held until next June, he could have told us how they came out ; but as it is, we will not be likely to ever know how they came out, and even if he tells us next spring, then we must find this report and compare it with the spring report (which course is not as yet being pursued, that I know of) ; and even if we compare the two reports, this one, at least, does not tell whether the 2 Italian colonies that gave 6 swarms were the two that he sold, or whether they are packed in sawdust, or in chaff, or in the cellar, or whether the cellar is under his dwelling, where the light is often car- ried, or whether the cellar is made in a sand-bank expressly for bee-winter- ing, and how ventilated, wliat kind of hives the first 4 colonies were in, what kind of hives he put the 6 swarms in, and whether the 6 were out or in- doors. Will Mr. 0. please report in this month and finish out what he has begun in the above partial report. In another report by Mr. D. II. Hop- kins, the same page, gives us to under- stand about how he managed his bees last summer, and that on Jan. 9, they were all very quiet in the cellar, with no dead bees on the floor, but that there were more than a bushel of dead bees on the floor the year before at the same date. Now, if Mr. H. had told us how he managed his bees through the sum- mer of 1881, then we might, perhaps, figure out the reason why bees, in the same hives and same cellar (we infer that they were the same) should win- ter so "differently in two different winters. The management through the summer, and mortality the fol- lowing winter, should have been given in a report by itself ; and in the spring the summer management and winter- ing that followed should be given, then the two reports could be com- pared, and the results deduced there- from. In the report of the New Jersey and Eastern Convention, on page 10 of the Bee JouiiNAL, it will be noticed by Mr. King's remarks, that it was the next thing to impossible to get any re- liable statistics on bee culture. Again, on page 772 of the Bee Journal for 1882, in the remarks by the editor of Bee-Keepers'' Magazine, he says that no reliance whatever could be placed on certain statistics, that he had found erainating from the Depart- ment at Washington ; and in his clos- ing remarks, urges the necessity of some plan which shall give accurately the facts, and so enable beginners to enter on the business understand- ingly. I am of the opinion that it would be a good plan for our editors to furnish their patrons with printed blank reports about May 1, request- ing the bee-keepers to fill out by an- swering the following questions, or a similar list of questions could be ar- ranged by the editors counseling to- gether : 1. How many colonies on May 1, 1883 ? 2. What strain of bees ? 3. In what condition 'i 4. In what kind of hives ? 5. What is your locality ? 6. How did you manage them through the month of May ? 7. How through June 'i 8. How through July ? 9. How through August V 10. How through September y 11. How through October ?' 12. How did you prepare them for winter in November, and what kind of stores, and how much surplus through the season V 13. How did they appear to do through each winter months 'i 14. If in cellar or clamps, on what date did you set them on summer stands in the spring of 1884? 1.5. How did they do from the time set out until May 1, 1884 ? It seems to us that a tolerable good and reliable system of management could be deduced from a few years' report as above, but that one-half or one-third of the reports made at ran- dom, will result in very little good. Orion, Wis. For the American Bee Journal. Essentials of a Standard Frame. J. W. rORTER. Replying to Dr. E. B. Southwick's letter, on page 263, as an advocate of the Langstroth frame, I would state the reasons why very many have adopted it, above all other frames : 1. It affords a very much larger sur- face on top, than any deep frame. The largest surface for comb honey on top is the main point, for many of us have no success in side-storing. It favors the internal economy of the hive, in- asmuch as bees can reach their stores sooner by climbing a less distance, in the many thousands of loads daily carried in. 2. The same superiority is claimed for extracting from the second story, over deep frames. 3. It disturbs the bees far less, to draw up from a hive the frames filled with honey or brood, nine inches deep, than twelve inches deep. 4. If queen-cells are formed, they are less liable to accidents. 5. In case of a slight deviation from the perpendicular in setting the hive, there is less danger of the combs be- ing fastened to the sides. So much has the first points been esteemed, that many ciforts have been made to carry it still further and make the frames less deep, but it appears that the standard Langstroth frame is a sort of happy-medium be- tween the two extremes of shallow and deep frames. That it sufticiently meets the re- quirements for concentrating the cluster in winter and spring is clear, judging by the great success of the army of bee-keepers who use it. It will be admitted by most of the apiar- ists, I doubt not, that the square frame, " American " or " Gallup," has advantages for winter-clustering, but we claim not enough to compensate for the reduced superficies on the top of the brood. Where are the returns from such that can equal the reports we have from those using the Langstroth frame V Mr. Doolittle comes the near- est to it, but I forget the dimensions of his frame. But he has been greatly surpassed, as the records show. While it is my practice to confine frequently to eight Langstroth frames, for comb honey, I wish the space for ten frames above, and have it oy inserting dum- mies below, on each side. Even then I have to tier up, in " the season," the honey racks. Having used both kinds, I have given such reasons as my own experience suggests. Charlottsville, Va., May 24, 1883. BOOK CLOBBDiG LIST. We will supply the Amerlean Bee .fonrnal one year, and any of the folIowinB BoobB, at the prices quoted in the last column of dRures. The first column gives the retrular price of both. All postafEe prepaid. Prici of both. Olub The Weetily Bee Journal, t2 00. . and Cool£'s Manual, 7th edilion(in cloth) 3 35. , 3 76 Cook's Manual. (In paper covers) 300.. 2 50 Bees and Honey (T.Q.Newman icloth 2 75. . 2 50 Bees and Honey (paper covers) 2 50.. 2 25 Binder for Weekly Bee Journal 27.i.. 2 60 Apiary Register for ITO colonies .... 3 50. . 3 00 Apiary Register for aw colonies .... 4 00. . 3 50 Dzierzon'sNew BeeBook(cloth).... 4 00.. 3 50 Dzierzon's New Book (paper covers) 3 50. . 3 00 Quinby'sNew Bee-Keeping [3 50.. 3 25 Langstroths Standard Work 4 OO 3 75 Root's A B C of Bee Culture (cloth) 3 25. . 3 00 Alley's Queen Rearing 3 23.. 3 00 Scribner'B Lumber and Log Book 2 35. . 2 25 Kisher's Grain Tables 2 40. . 2 25 Moore's Universal As-istant 4 50.. 4 25 Honey as Food & Medicine, TiOCopies 4.0O. . 3 75 HoneyasFoodAMedlcine.lOO.Coples 6 00. . 5 50 Blessed Bees 3 75.. 2 50 King's Text Book 3 00.. 2 75 The Monthly Bee tlanrnal and any of the above, f l less than the figures in the last column. THE AMERICAJSI BEE JOURNAL. 289 tSIItat and maxu. ANSWERS BY James Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich. Letting Out Bees on Shares. 1. When bees are let out on shares, what are the conditions of the con- tract i 2. Who furnishes the new hives nec- essary for the increase ? 3. Does the rentA furnish all ap- pliances for preparing the honey for market, or for only his share 'i 4. For what length of time are they generally let out for V Mr. Heddon will confer a favor by answering the above through the " What and IIow " department of the Bee Journal. As a rule, the bees wintered well in this county (Clinton). llEKBEUT R. Thomas. Clarksville, O. Answers.— The "Bees on Shares" question, is one that I have studied considerably. In answering the above, I do so with a prejudice in favor of the laborer vs. the capitalist, a princi- ple herein involved, though on ever so small a scale. Here are two facts : 1. Bees are to some considerable ex- tent a risky property ; their life and the amount of their stores being an unknown quantity. One should have a larger per cent, of income from such property, by three or four fold, than from a good, safe real estate mortgage. 2. On the other hand, the laborer should have an average income in advance of the " going wages." All this can be realized from the manipu- lation of bees, provided the bees are in proper hi>'es, in a good location, and the work done by a faithful and learned man, and directed by experi- ence and tact. I will lay down the following terms as those which seem to me the nearest to being just, and the best adapted to both parties. Tlie one owning the bees shall furnish the place to establish the apiary. He shall furnish all the fix- tures in ever respect. The laborer shall furnish himself nothing more. The lazleBt tramp can turn and mend, And be a man " for a' that." The capitalist furnishes bees, apiary, tools, new hives for increase, comb foundation for surplus and brood de- partments, in full sheets ; sections, shipping crates and everything, in- cluding his riper experience (which, it is supposable, he possesses). He shall have the diction of the general plan of management, while the renter does all the work, and is dictator of the detail manipulation. The division shall be as follows : Each party shall have one-half of tlie surplus honey, and when it is sold, each one shall pay one-half of the cost of sections, ship- ping crates and surplus comb founda- tion that is sold with that season's crop. The capitalist shall have dic- tion over the whole crop, merely divid- ing the money for the same, unless the laborer give security for the pay- ment of his half of the sections, foundation and crates, when the honey may be divided, and each sell his own as he chooses. The bees should be managed for securing the greatest amount of surplus possible, and dis- couragedfrom swarming, all that such management tends to do, but when they do swarm, they are to be hived and managed as Hre the old colonies. The increase belongs to the apiary, always ; and any system that gives a share of the increase to the laborer, will defeat itself, and prove in the end damaging to both parties. The old system of half the honey and half the increase, and the lessee or laborer furnish everything, is illy adopted to modern apiculture, and would give the capitalist " the lion's share." Of course the surplus from the increase is divided equally, the same as that from the old colonies. All the reasons for settling on the above terms as the nearest just and best, all around, are too many for the room I wish tO' oc- cupy now. about % at the sides, and }i^o%aX the bottom. 2. I fasten my foundation to the top bar, and on to the wires woven vertically, eight in each Langstroth frame. I think you have had success with sections, but needed wires in the brood frames, 3. As far as the passage of the bees is concerned, I would not care for any run-way at the sides, only at the bot- tom, but I do not get as straight combs when the piece of foundation is fastened to the sides of the sections. 4. I have never had any chilled brood that I remember of. I think it will turn brownish a few hours after chilling. 5. 1 do not approve, as a general thing, of such exchanging at all ; but where I do it, I shake off all the ad- hering bees and put in only brood about ready to emerge from the cells. Sometimes very young bees will kill a strange queen, and that, too, after much precaution. Foundation in Frames and Sections. 1. How full should frames and sec- tions be filled witli foundation y 2. Should the foundation in frames be fastened only at the top V I have been in the habit of fastening it in frames and sections only at the top, and leaving % to % inch space at the sides and bottom. 3. Would it do to fill the sections so full of foundation that bees could not pass through '{ 4. How soon, after the brood has been chilled, can it be detected by an amateur, and how 'i •5. In taking frames of brood from strong colonies to build up weak ones, should the adhering bees be shaken off, or could they be safely put in, bees and all, by smoking or confusing the weak colonies ? Bees in this vicinty are doing well. A neighbor has had one swarm come off already, and reports other colonies liable to cast swarms soon . Prospects are good for an abundant honey flow from white clover. J. M. Bubtch. Morrison, 111., May 23, 1883. Answers.— 1. In filling the brood frames I leave a space of Ja to 34 inch at the ends, and about % at the bot- tom. In one-pound sections I leave ''':::^' m^x Bloom Promises Well and Fruit is Safe. Here, in Belmont county, O., we have escaped the late terrible weather, with the exception of a few light frosts and 3 or 4 days of cool, cloudy, wet weather, which was pretty trying on the bees. The white clover and locust bloom promise well, and the fruit is still safe, as far as I have noticed. R. M. Denham. St. Olairsville, O., May 24, 1883. , Bee and Honey Show in Kentucky. After along silence as a correspond- ent to the Bee Journal, I again pen a few lines. Our prospects for white clover honey was never better. Bees were storing honey and breeding comb up to May 19, when we had a big rain storm from the northwest, turning cold after tlie rain, with a severe blow for 48 hours. It was a cold blast, making us shiver with cold, and our bees could not get out, even for water. My apiary is in the best condition possible, and with one of Pelham's foundation machines, we are making beautiful foundation. We have the very finest of Italian bees, and the clover is very nice. Bees are beginning to build comb and store honey. Mr. Craycraft, of Salem, Ind., has my bees in charge, and we shall run them for both comb and ex- tracted honey. Mr. Craycraft is well posted in scientific bee-culture, and is working my beesin a very satisfactory manner. Our State Society meets in Louisville next fall, and we want to make as fine a display of bees, honey and bee-fixtures as possible. We hope 290 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. honey producers and manufacturers of supplies (who will take an interest in the show) will write us what they desire to exhibit, so that we can se- cure space iu the Industrial Exposi- tion, whicli opens Aug. 1 and closes Nov. 1. As secretary of Kentucky State Bee-Keepers' Association, I will do all 1 can to make the exiiibit a success. Every bee-keeper in Ken- tucky ouglit to have something on ex- hibition, and bee-keepers and manu- facturers in other States are invited to help us. N. P. Allen. Smith's Grove, Ky., May 23, 1883. Cyprians, Motherwort, etc. I have 53 colonies of bees ; one be- ing a Cyprian, which gives the most honey, and are as gentle as any other bee. I have not been stung by them yet, and I have had them nearly a year. A friend of mine says, " Give me Cyprians after this;" some say that Cyprians are hard to manage, but I cannot see it. Motherwort grows very easily. I have some of it, atid will plant it all the time, as it blooms always ; as fast as the old stock dies down, younger ones take its place, and I think it worth planting. It can be planted any place, or along the fences. G. E. Sonnemann. New Iberia, La., May 25, 1883. Fruit Trees Blooming. My bees have wintered very well. I only had 49 colonies in the fall, when put in the cellar ; I lost two, by being queenless. We have had a cold spring, and I have had to feed some. Apple blossoms are just out ; the first ones opened yesterday, and if it keeps warm, they will strengthen up pretty fast. D. S. McCallum. Big Creek, N. Y., May 26, 1883. Bees in Fine Condition. Our bees are in fine condition. The white clover is very thrifty, and with good weather will be apt to yield well. F. A. Snell. Milledgeville, 111., May 27, Ism. Prospects Favorable in California. Our propects are very favorable. vve have fine late rains, and the bees are booming. K. Strathearn. Scenega, Cal., May 20, 1883. (Jone to the South . As frost, ic§ and cold winds had been tlie order of the day, up to May 15, 1 made up my mind to come South at once, and on the 17th inst., I char- tered a car to Tullahoma, Tenn., and loaded on 67 colonies of my bees with household goods and started them South. On the 22d inst., with my family, I left Indiana ; when we left, it was snowing and cold. We arrived here on the evening of the 23d, and found it pleasant and warm weather. My bees came through in splendid condition. I. R. Good. Tullahoma, Tenn., May 26, 1883. Prospects Flattering. The bees are booming and prospects flattering. W. H. Stout. Pine Grove, Pa., May 28. 1883. Destroying the Queeu-Cells. No doubt many have read in the books that when bees are making preparations to swarm, because of unfavorable weather or other causes, the cells will be at once destroyed. This has not always been the case witli my bees. I found by experience, that sometimes (though not always) the young queens are allowed to hatch ; and when such is the case, the first queen that emerges will destroy the remaing cells, and in a majority of cases, kill the old queen too. As this generally happens when our queens are needed the most, I think it is poor policy to let any capped cells remain in a colony when the condi- tions for swarming are not favorable. Although when the bees wish to supersede their queen, the young queen will seldom kill her mother ; but in swarming, this is not the case ; at least such has been my experience H. J. SCHROCK. Goshen, Ind., May 29, 1883. Correction . In my letter on page 261, the printer, in mistaking the word rather in my manuscript for "either," and leaving out a word altogether in another sen- tence, spoils both. Allow me, there- fore, to give the two sentences here as they were written in my manu- script, italicising the two words left out : " But it would be rather disin- genuous to say that one colony of bees aid all this, without giving any ex- planations. * * * * Now, please bear in mind, I do not wish to impeach the honesty or sin- cerity of a single correspondent." Allen Prinqle. Selby, Ont., May 25, 1883. Swarmed in a Hurry. I wintered 20 colonies in Langstroth chaff hives. They wintered well, and came out very strong. Henry Alley reccommends raising up the hives, a foot or more from the ground, so that they will not get snowed under. My experience is, that bees will do better if they are under a snow bank, then they would if they were elevated and exposed to the wind and cold. My bees were covered with snow, or nearly so, from the early part of the winter until early in March, then I shoveled out their entrances, and they had a splendid fiight, and showed little signs of dysentery. I gave them a thorough examination about April 10, and found from 2 to 4 frames of honey that had not been touched in each hive (I gave them 7 Langstroth frames to start on). On the 26th of this month I lost a large swarm of bees, and as it was a little out of their common way of doing business. I will describe it. The queen was a hybrid, and very prolific. I had taken 4 frames of capped brood from it, to build up nuclei, but the hive was full of bees. I examined the hive the day before the swarm issued, and found several queen-cells started, 3 or 4 con- taining eggs, but no hatched eggs or larvae ; so 1 felt sure the bees would not swarm in 7 or 8 days, so I left home at 8 a. m.; the swarm came out at 8:20 ; I returned at 9:15 a. m., and met the swarm a few rods from home, on their flight to the woods. There was no one to hive them, or I would not have lost them. I examined the hive, after they left, and found no eggs hatched yet, and I do not know how to account for their hurry. Can any reader of the Bee Journal explain it y J. A. MURPHEY. Sterling Station, N. Y., May 26, 1883. Dysentery. I have a colonji of bees in my apiary that seem to me to suffer from dys- entery, or rather from the fact of being unable to discharge their feces. The hive is surrounded daily, on the ground, with a quivering mass of ani- mated bees, but unable to walk. In the morning they are all dead, and the process is repeated. Their bodies are distended and filled with a large amount of yellow matter. The col- ony is appa<'ently in fair condition. What is the cause and the remedy ? F. C. Gastinger. Ada, O., May 31, 1883. [It is evidently a case of dysentery. It might have been caused by poor honey, or something of that nature. As the summer is now upon us, fine weather and new honey will remedy it all. If they are not gathering honey, give them some good white clover or basswood honey ; or if you have none of that, some sugar syrup, made as indicated on page 283.— Ed.] Report for 3 Tears. I have kept bees for about 16 years ; all of the time, except the last 3 years, being in Ontario. During all that time I never exceeded more than 25 colonies and 200 pounds of comb honey, once or twice, and thought my- self lucky at that. I moved here (Michigan) in March, 1880, bringing with me 2 colonies with dollar queens. I moved them 28 miles from the rail- road here on a lumber wagon ; still they increased by natural swarming to 10 good colonies, and gave some surplus comb honey. I wintered them on the summer stands, and all came out strong in the spring of 1881 ; and during that summer they in- creased to 25, and produced 700 pounds of comb honey. Again they were wintered on the summer stands, with the loss of 2, wliich I think were queenless, which left me 23 in the spring of 1882. During that summer they increased to 63, besides 7 that left for the woods, and gave me 2,200 pounds of surplus comb honey. I again wintered them on the summer stands, and now May 22, they are re- duced to 50 colonies ; the past winter, and especially this spring, has been very hard on bees ; several of my neighbors have lost heavily. I use the Fisher deep-framed hive, and fill the walls with sawdust. Bees do well here; there seems to be a constant flow of honey from early spring till frost. Wm. Shier. Marlette, Mich., May 22, 1883. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 291 Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. ■We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. Honey as Food and Metlicine. Bee Pasturage a Necessity.— W e have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. I®" Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra. 1^ The Central Kansas Bee-Keep- ers' Association will meet at Manhat- tan, Kansas, on June 30, 1883. Thos. Bassler, Sec. A new edition, revised and enlarged, the new pages being devoted to new Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price of them low to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 6 cents, postpaid; per dozen, 50 cents; per hundred, $4.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense— enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies 220 pages 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. ^" On page 261,33d line from top of first column, instead of " follow- ing," iBAd^" preceding seasons." Special Notice.— We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bee Journal for one year, and the seventh edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, bound in fine cloth, for 12.75, or the Monthly Bee Joiunal, and the Manual in cloth for $1.75. As this offer will soon be withdrawn, those who desire it should send for the book at once. Honey and Beeswax Market. Emerson Binders — made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for 75 cents, for the Weekly ; or for the Monthly, .50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. Preparation of Honey for the Mar- ket, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey, instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. Sample Copies of theAMERiCAN Bee Journal will be sent free to any per- son. Any one Intending to get up a club can have sample copies sent to the persons they desire to interview, by sending the names to this office. OFFICE OF AMKKICAN BKK JOURNAL, ( Monday, 10 a. m., June 4, 1882. ( The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Qnotatlona of Cnnh Bnrers. CHICAGO. HONEY~The nominal price of extracted 1b 7c. for (lark and Oc. for lis:hl— here. The supply Ib abundant and Bales are alow. BEBSWAX-None in tlie market. Al. H. Newman, y2;i W. MadisoD St. CINCINNATI. HONET.— The nfarket for extracted honey is lively, and the demand exceeds the arrivals. Onr slock Is small and we are in dancer of having sold out every day. We pay Ttaioc. for good honey on arrival, the latter price for choice clover. There is a small demand for comb honey, and prices nominal. BEES WAX.— Arrivals of beeswax are plentiful. We pay 35c. for a good article on arrival. CHA9. F. MUTH. Qaotatlons of Commission Merchants. CHICAGO. HONEY.— I sold, of the comb honev crop of 18«2. up to the first of JanuHry, l-'^N;i. nearly rjo.OdO lbs; since January 1st to April 1st. sales have been slow, and vet 70,(khi pounds have been diflpoaed of. There is, perhaps, a few tons of dark and buck- wheat comb honey on this market that will not be consumed before the new crop comes into market. There has been 3 pounds of comb honey crop of IBH-J offered in this market, to one of the crop of IS.'ll. Extracted honey has afrgregated in sales 140,000 pounds. There is, perhaps, a good deal to carry over, vet on the market. Prices since the t3rst of December, 1Hs2. have gradually declined until the present date. At this late hour, holders are anxious to sell: hence prices vary very much. BKBSWA,X-3.'i&3(;c. R. A. BDHNETT. 1(51 South Water St. SAN FRANCISCO. HONEY— Stocks and the demand are both light. More or less difficulty would be experienced in filling a large order for a straight lot. While comb, 14@17c.; dark to good, ll@13c.; ex- tracted, choice to extra white, 8!^@9^c.: dark and candied, 5@7Hc. BEESWAX- Wholesale. 27(a2Sc. STEARNS & SMITH. 423 Front Street. ST. LOUIS. HONEY— Bull; light jobbing sales only. Comb at lli<FN. 5BDl5t Aufzusta. Qeorfiria. 1883. JOSEPH D. EN AS, 1883. (Sunny Side Apiary,) Pure Italian Queens, Bees, Colonies, Nuclei, E.XTRACTORS, COMB FOUNDATION, &c 19D6m Address, Sunny Side Apiary, NAPA. CAL. W. Z. HUTCHINSON, Boffersvllle, Genesee County, Allch., is now receiving Italian Queens from the South (for particulars see advertisement in the Bee Journal of April l>^). and can send them by return mall at the following prices: Before June 1st, untested queens will be 1^1. 5o each : dur- ing June, single queen $1.25, or six for |ti.(Hj ; after July 1st. single queen $l.fK). six for $->.5(i, twelve for $in.tM.i. Tested queens (reared last season in the home apiary), before June 1st, f3."o each ; during June. *2.rj0 each ; after July 1st, $2.00 each. Safe arrival guaranteed. Make money orders payable at Flint. Mich. i7eow tf SECTIONS. We have just put in several new machines and also a larger engine in our factory, consequently we are in better shape to All orders than ever for Sections, Shipping Crates, etc., etc. We make a specialty of our "BOSS" ONE-PIECE SECTIONS, Patented June 2>.i»(). a. X. WILSON. Mortonsville, Woodford Co., Ky. cBCtf PURE ITALIAN BEES AND QUEENS, Tested and untested Queens, nuclei in Langs- troth si/e frames, full colonies, queens by the half dozen, bees by the pound. Send for prices and particulars. A. B. MILLER & SON, I 44Atf Wakarusa. Elkhart Co.. Ind. QUEENS! During June and July, I shall be prepared to furnish the CHOICEST OK QUEENS, both tested and untested, from two different stralDs. l. From my new strain, viz: a cross between the Brown, German, and dark leather-colored Italian. 2. Pure Italians reared from Imported mothers. With my hives of all worker combs, using drone comb where I desire it only, isolated from other apiaries, I have the best of opportunities to control the mating of my Queens. I rear yueens under the swarming impulse only, and upon the true plan of getting the best and most vigorous stock. All orders filled in turi^ and it is useless to hurry us. PRICES : Tested Queens (all selected) each % a.oo Untested before July I, each 1.50 Uuntested after July l, each i.oo These are bottom prices in any quantity. Send for descriptive Catalogue to JAM£S HJEDSON, Dowa^ac, Mich. 1^ I cannot supply any more COMB FOUNDATION during 1883; my stock is exhausted. .^ Muth's Honey Extractor, Square Glass Honey Jars, Tin Bucbets, LangstToth Bee Hives, Honey Sections, etc. Apply to C. F. MTTXH, 976 and 978 Central Ave., CINCINNATI, O. |^"Send 10c. for Practical Hints to Bee-Keepers. @@ ENGKAVINGtS. THE HORSE, BY B. J. KENDALL, M. D. A TKEATISE giving an Index of diseases, and the symptoms ; cause and treatment of each, a table giving all the principal drugs used for the horse, with the ordinary dose, effects and antidote when a poison ; a table with an engraving of the horse's teeth at different ages, with rules for telling the age of the horse ; a valuable col lection of re- cipes, and much valuable information, l*rlce 35 cent*.— Sent on receipt of price, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 92.5 West Madison Street. CHICAGO. ILL. ^W BB ^Bk ^ week made at home by the in- wn jr Sn^ dustrious. Best business now be- wL m ^m fore thepublic. Capital notneeded ^k A m We wilt start you. Men, women, MJB I JM boys and girls wanted everywhere ^1^ H HB to work for us. Now is the time. ' You can work in spare time, or give your whole time to the business. No (»ther busi- ness will pay you nearly as well. N_» one can fail to make enormous pav, by enaatring at once. Costly outfit and terms free. Money made fast, easily and honorably. Address True & Co., Augusta, Maine. 8Aly V.__-^;~t_ liiB" atue-waiis. < to in sqi 1^^^^^^ the pound. Circular and sa jfS^^v^a J. VAN DEUSEN & i fc^S2£^*i Sole Manufa FLAT- BOTTOM COMB FOUNDATION, high side-walls. 4 to 16 square feet tC 1 samples frea ; SONS, 3 Manufacturers, Sprout Brook, Mont. Co., N. Y, Given'sFoundationPress. PUBLIC SENTIMENT affirms that the PRESS is SUPERIOR for makingComb Foundation either in Wired Frames or for SECTIONS, and insures straight and perfect combs, when drawn out by the bees. Send for Circular and samples. B. S. eiVEX «fe CO.. lABtf HOOPESTON, ILL. CXXB AP ! CXZB AF ! LANGSTKOTH HIVES! SIMPI^ICITY HIV£S! All kinds of hives and surplus comb foundation, etc., etc. Having superior advantages for the manufacturing of hives and of procuring lumber low, I can furnish very low rates. Send for descriptive circular. A. I>. BEN HAM. lOAtf Olivet, Mtoti. ESTABLISHED ^(^^ IN 1861 VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., JUNE 13, 1883. No. 24. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor. EuropeanHoney & Waxlmportation. Some time ago we noticed an item in an English paper that, at a sale in Lisbon, Portugal, sixty tons of beeswax had been sold. This shows what an extensive sale and use it lias in Europe. The Beutscher Bienenfreund for May contains a table showing the amount of honey and beeswax received at Hamburg from foreign countries dur- ing 1881 and 1882. The amount of honey was as follows, from 1881. 1882. Havana lbs -d.^O.OOO .52.5,000 Mexico " 1,100.000 835,000 Chili and Peru. " 1,320,000 1,105,000 California " 48,000 — Domingo " 450,000 270,000 Total, 3,468,000 2,735,000 Of beeswax the amounts received were as follows, from 1881. 1882. Chili lbs 90,000 .54,000 Venezuela " 14.5,000 63,000 Angola " 14,000 — Madagascar " 48,000 33,000 West Indies " 38,500 12,000 Total, 335,.500 1 62,000 Honey is extensively used in Europe in the manufacture of honey wine, iiietheglin and cakes; for preserving fruit, and preparing medicine, as well as for table use, tor which it is more generally used than in America. One firm (Messrs. Field & Co.), in Paris, use ten tons of American bees- wax per month m making candles for Catholic altars. The religious pa- geantry of Roman Catholic countries owe much of its spendorand influence to its altar-candles, eacli the tribute of a thousand flowers, collected by millions of bees, leading the thoughts back, perchance, to the sweet and pure origin. Its other uses are very numerous and important. The New York Grocer enumerates the following : Its property of preserving tissues and preventing mold or mildew was well known to the ancients, who use serecioth for embalming, and wax for encaustic painting, as in the wall pic- tures of Pompeii, wax candles and tapers play an important part in the processions and ceremonies of the Roman Catholic church. Wax is used by manufacturers of glazed, ornamen- tal wall papers, and on paper collars and cuffs for polishing the surfaces. It is used in varnishes and paints, and for the " stuffing" of wood which is to be polished, as pianos, coach work. Hue furniture and parquette floors. Electrotypers and plasterers use wax in forming their molds. Wax is an important ingredient in preparations for covering surfaces of xiolished iron and steel to prevent rust. Combined with tallow, it forms the coating for canvass and cordage to prevent mil- dew, as in sails, awnings, etc. Arti- ficial flowers consume much wax, and, despite the introduction of paraftine, ceresin and mineral wax, its use ap- pears to be extending. One of the oldest of its applications is in the laundry, and in polishing wood-work. Bees and Fruit. A correspondent in the Prairie Farmer remarks as follows on this sub- ject, giving the results of some ex- periments. " The much-discussed question whether bees injure fruit ,was attempted to be solved by a com- mittee of the Warsaw Horticultural Society. The work was begun, but finally neglected and never finished. How much and what was shown is the purpose of this paper:" A committee of three was appointed in the summer of 1881, of which the writer was one— and on July 9th of that year, in conjunction wilii a noted bee expert, they began their experi- ments, with early peaches. Their first experiment was as follows : They took three peaches of equal ripeness— two of them with the skin slightly punctured, by insect or bird, and one width the skin entirely sound and unbroken. The punctures in the skin of the two were small, say about the size of a pin-head. These tliree peaches were carefully handled, and were taken and placed in a hive with a strong swarm of bees. Eesult.— The next day, which was Saturday, and just 24 hours after- wards, the hive was opened and the peaches examined. The two punc- tured ones were found to be partly eaten by the bees, while the one with unbroken skin remained whole as at first. They were all replaced again in the hive. On Monday, at the same hour— which was 48 hours from the last examination, and 72 hours since the peaches had been taken from the tree— they were again examined. This time the two were nearly con- sumed, and the one was considerably eaten. The query here presented itself to the committee : Did the bees begin on the third peach while its skin was yet intact, or did they wait till it, by its decay, became broken V That single experiment could not decide that important point. At the period of the first examination, that peach was still whole and seemingly sound, but as two more days intervened be- fore it was examined the second time, it is quite possible that it may have decayed so far as to open the skin be- fore the bees began their work on it. It is aflirmed by bee physiologists that the bees have no teeth or other in- strument by which they could per- forate the skin of a sound ripe peach. And they stoutly maintain that bees do not originate the trouble, but only follow after some other depredator. This single exjierimentof the Warsaw committee, though not conclusive, goes far to prove that this theory of the bee men is the correct one. Kumerous other experiments and examinations were made subesquently by individual members of the commit- tee, in regard to peaches; but none worth reporting in reference to other fruits. In one case, five peaches were desig- nated as they hung on the tree. One of them was nearly eaten up by the bees, one about half eaten, two others less so, and with no sign of decay about any of them. The fifth was en- tirely whole, with the exception of one little round puncture the size of a pin's head ; and another the size of a grain of rye. These were both located at the ripest and softest side of the 294 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. fruit. No evidence of rot was visible. Tlie origin of ttiose punctures was un- known, but as at the time of the selec- tion the bees were busy on the whole five, it was only a question of time— an hour or two— till they would all be consumed. It may be mentioned, that in these experiments the big black ants were generally observed on the trees ; and it has been suggested that they may be the depredators which make the original punctures, and open the way for the bees. These experiments, however imper- fect and unsatisfactory they may be regarded, taken in connection with otlier known facts, have convinced the writer thus far in the matter of the main question : That bees do not eat ripe peaches that are, if not to say absolutely sound, at least marketable. Future experiments, it is hoped, will be made by that committee, as well as others, as to their depreda- tions on other fruits. What the Weather Will Be. Prof. Bcerner, of Vevay, Ind., trans- lates for the Indiana Farmer the fol- lowing from the Latin, showing observations gathered from the most reliable sources in England, embrac- ing years from 1677 to 1799, being 122. as follows : 1. When the vernal equinox is not preceded or followed by the usual equinoctial storms, the succeeding summer will be dry at least live times in six. 2. If easterly storms occur on the 19th, 20th or 21st of May, the ensuing summer will likewise be dry; the same characteristic applies to storms, from whatever direction, on the 25th, 26th or 27th of March, viz., a dry summer will follow. 3. When storms happen from or between tlie 17th and 23d of March, having directions from the west south- west, the succeeding summer will be wet five times out of six. In England, when both winter and spring are dry, they are always cold, but when these two seasons are wet, they are usually warm : on the contrary, dry summers and autumns are most always hot, and wet summers cold ; hence, if the humidity of any special season be de- termined, an approximately correct idea may be formed what the prevail- ing temperature will be. 4. A wet autumn, succeeded by a mild winter, is generally followed by a dry and cold spring, which will be unfavorable to the growth of vegeta- tion. 5. A wet summer is almost always succeeded by a severe cold winter, because the terrestrial heat has been carried off by evaporation ; it has also been observed that wet summers pro- mote great proticiency on the white thorn, so that an unusual fruitfulness of the shrubs is considered a presage of an intensely cold winter. 6. A severely cold winter is also in- dicated by the early departure in the autumn of cranes and other migratory birds, because these birds never leave for a southern climate until the cold has commenced in the higher north- ern regions. 7. When the month of September is showery, it seldom rains during the coming month of May, and, the con- trary, should September pass without showers, the following May will be rainy and wet. 8. When, in summer and autumn, the preponderating wind is from the southwest, or when the temperature is unusually low, profuse raiti may certainly be expected at the end of the season. 9. Tempestous storms and other vio- lent commotions of the clouds, produce a crisis in the atmosphere, which is followed by a succession of several months of fine or boisterous weather, of whatever the incoming change may be. 10. A mild and rainy winter is al- ways followed by a profitless summer. 11. When rainy weather prevails during a moon, the change succeeding will be fair weather for several days, after which rain will again set in ; but when fair weather prevails during the moon, and the succeeding change be rain, fair weather will again return after the fourth or fifth day of the moon, and continue as before. 12. The most decided indication for fair weather, is the apparently great elevation of the celestial concave, and an evident disposition of the clouds to dissolve and vanish away. Keystone Convention. The "Seed Time and Harvest" gives the following report of the above named Convention : We had the pleasure of attending a meeting of the Keystone Bee-Keep- ers' Association at Scranton, a few days ago. This is the only society of the kind in Xortheastern Pennsylva- nia, and much interest was manifested by those present. The society num- bers some tifty members, owniugfrom six to two hundred colonies of bees. The questions discussed were : The Production of Surplus Honey, Winter- ing Bees, and Rearing Queens. Mr. J. Vandervort. of Laceyville, Pa., the inventor of the Vandervort Foundation Machine, was present, and exhibited some of the finest sheets of foundation we ever saw. All present agreed that a much larger yield of surplus honey could be secured by the use of foundation, than without it. It was generally agreed by those who had tried it, that the foundation for the lower frames or brood cliamber, should be secured by fastening with fine wire drawn through the frames several times from top to bottom. These wires stiffened the frames and kept them from sagging, a fault which is quite common in unwired frames, and results in the breaking down of combs in hot weather. For the section boxes, small triangular pieces of thin foundation were recommended. Different methods of wintering were described by the members present, and, as most of them had lost more or less bees, it was agreed that no per- fect method had been discovered yet. Mr. George C. Green, of Factoryville, who had lost a very small percentage ror the past four years, advocated the use of the chafiE hive, as also did several others. There appeared to be no professional queen breeders pres- ent, but a few chapters from Mr. Alley's new book on Queen Rearing were read, and proved to be very in- structive. It was decided to make a Society Exhibit at the next Lackawanna County Fair, and we presume that some fine specimens of the work of the industrous little Insects, will be exhibited. Prizes for Honey. Messrs. H. K. & F. B. Thurber & Co., have issued the following Cir- cular to bee-keepers : First-class, uniform, well -packed honey, always sells quicker and for more money than honey of irregular grades, and it is, therefore, important for both dealers and producers to liave honey marketed in the most desirable form. To interest producers, and in- duce them to attain this result, we have decided to offer the following prizes : For One-Pound Sections.— For the best average crop of white honey, put up in one-pound sections, one first prize, consisting of a set of Appleton's Encyclopedia, 17 volumes ; value, $85.00. For the second best, one sec- ond prize, consisting of a complete set of Chambers' Encyclopedia, 10 volumes ; value, $30 00. For Two-Pound Sections. — For the best average crop of wliite honey, put up in two-pound sections, one first prize, consisting of a set of Appleton's Encyclopedia. For the second best, one second prize, consisting of a com- plete set of Chambers' Encyclopedia. The requirement will be a uniform grade of white honey, well fitted around sides of sections, neatly capped over, glass thoroughly glued to sec- tions, and packed in clean, smooth, neat crates, as well as sections. Where parties do not send us their crop, judgment will be rendered from a sample of five (5) crates, accompa- nied by an afiidavit of the producers that it represents the fair average of his crop, and for these we will pay the New York market price for this grade of honey. The judges are to be the editor of the New York Bee and Poultry Magazine, the secretary of the Northeastern Bee-Keepers' Associa- tit)n, Mr. P. H. Elwood, of Starkville, N. Y., Mr. C. G. Dickinson, of South Oxford, N. Y., Mr. W. L.Tennant,of Schoharie. N. Y., and Mr. McCaul, who has charge of our honey depart- ment. This competition is to be open to any bee-keeper in the United States at Canada, and is to take place Octo- ber 18, 19, and 20, 18S3. t^ The Central Kansas Bee-Keep- ers' Association will meet at Manhat- tan, Kansas, on June 30, 1883. Thos. Bassler, Sec. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 295 A WeU " Timed" Mark of Respect. Mr. C. N. Abbott, who nine years ago started the British Bee Jouinml, was, in January, succeeded by the Rev. Herbert R. Peel, as previously stated in this paper. It is with pleas- ure that we record the fact that the bee-keepers of Great Britain have presented hiui with a substantial " souvenir," showing that they are not unmindful of his labors In behalf of progressive and scientific apiculture. The British Bee Journal informs us that " the testimonial took the form of a handsome black marble dining room clock, designed after the style of the temple at the foot of the Acropolis at Athens, with bronze has relief figures representingpriests sacri- ficing to Minerva. Affixed to it was an inscription-plate stating that the clock had been presented to Mr. Ab- bott from a few well wishers and friends, as a token of their apprecia- tion of the services rendered to bee- keeping by his establishment and edi- torship, for upwards of nine years, of the British Bee Journal. Also a framed Illuminated Address on vel- lum, with the names of the subscrib- ers to the fund arranged in alphabeti- cal order." The Rev. Herbert R. Peel, his suc- cessor, in the editorial chair, made the presentation with the following remarks : "He had been informed that this clock was called the 'Acropolis' clock, and the Arcropolis was not very far distant from Mount Hymettus. Mil- ton is his 'Paradise Regained' says : 'There flowery hill Hymettus, with the sound Of bees' industrious mummur oft invites To studious musing.' And he had been led to some musings in connection with the classic temple just referred to. Eighteen centuries ago there stood under the shadow of the Acropolis, a man striv- ing to convert a city to the Christian faith. This man had to contest against a great mass of ignorance and superstition ; and it had struck him that Mr. Abbott stood out, to some extent, as a similar example of a man working liard and single-handed to enlighten the ignorant and combat superstition. Their zealous friend had undertaken to teach the whole British nation on the subject of bee-keeping when he started the Journal. At the commencement of this task he was alone, as St. Paul had been. He had a number of difficulties to contend against, mostly those of apathy and want of sympathy. Even after 6,000 copies of the Journal had been sown broad-cast over the length and breadtli of England, and .5,000 circulars dis- tributed, only 200 subscribers came forward to assist. This result was quite enough to make any one despair. However, Mr. Abbott did not yield to the adverse wave, but fought on un- flinchingly, and, after a considerable time, had the satisfaction of seeing his endeavors rewarded by the forma- tion of the British Bee-Keepers' As- sociation, and the establishment of metropolitan shows, which have been held, with one exception (in 1877), in London annually, for several years past." "Mr. Abbott said that he felt some- what embarrassed by the exceedingly kind and flattering remarks of Mr. Peel. All that gentleman had said of his early experience in regard to the cause they all felt so much interested in, came back on his mind with double force. There were difficulties, but having put his hand to the work, he determined to overcome them, feeling sure that in a good cause, with truth for his guide and honesty for his in- tention, he was sure of at length win- ning the support of the better class of bee-keepers in the country. "In selecting a clock for him, they could not have chosen anything more suitable for a presentation. He looked upon a clock as he looked upon an honest man, because if it be a good clock, it always shows a face that one is pleased to look on, that is, a face that alwavs tells the truth. This beautiful "time piece would be his future companion, and whenever he looked on it, his memory would recall the excellent friends that he had made by a consistent course of conduct which he had always maintained in the British Bee Journal. "There was not a single motion in the clock, but what was measured, from the second to the minute, from the minute to the hour, and from the hour to the day ; and there was not in the British Bee Journal a single mark that flowed from his fingers, from the letter to the word, and the word to the sentence, but what was also meas- ured, and measured by himself in the hope that it would be understood and appreciated as being strictly true, and written for the honest purpose of benefitting his fellow creatures. "A clock, however, sometimes gets wrong, owing to its machinery being out of joint ; so also he feared there must have occasionally been some little things out of joint in his con- duct of the British Bee Journal, of which no one could be more sorry than himself. He was proud to see so many friends around, to welcome him on the present occasion, because he felt assured of their sympathy and acquiesence in the honor which had been done him that day. He could but express his heartfelt gratitude for their extreme kindness, which would always live in his memory." In commenting on this, the Bee and Poultri/ Magazine, of New York, says that it " shows American bee-keepers how greatly the Europeans excel us in their courtesy and kindly wishes to those in the same profession. We hope the day is not far distant when American bee-keepers may feel to- ward each other the same generous, hearty good will." These are our sentiments exactly. Nothing is so disagreeable and disheartening, as the jealousy and strife persistently in- dulged in by a few bee-keepers and conventions in this country, trying to antagonistically array the East and the West. Such should learn a lesson from the above, and hereafter strive only for harmony, unity and fraternity. Southern Exposition at Louisville. This Exposition, which commences Aug. 1, promises to be of the greatest importance to the South. Bee-keep- ers should avail themselves of the opportunity to have a grand Bee and Honey Show there. Mr. Elias Thom- asson, who lives at 101.5 H Avenue, Louisville, Ky., writes us as follows, on the subject : Louisville is a city of 150,000 in- habitants, but it has no depot for bee- keepers' supplies. We would wel- come a good man here, to meet the wants of Kentucky and the whole South, to supply everything needed for the trade. He will meet a hearty welcome. Doubtless you have learned, by the newspapers, of our proposed Exposi- tion to commence the 1st of August next, to last 100 days. The building, covering 13 acres, is already far ad- vanced, and will be ready to receive goods, the 1.5th of .luly next, for exhi- bition. Two New York City bands get $3.5,000 for their services, and also a $10,000 organ has been bought for the occasion. No man has made application for an exhibit of apiarian supplies. Who will come V Send to me and 1 will forward the blanks necessary to make application, by return mail. There is no charge for exhibiting honey ; any quantity of it; but I think $25 will be charged if manufactured articles are offered for sale, but that is not yet positive, as the superintendent could not give me an answer on his own re- sponsibility. Our people are expecting 1,000,000 of strangers to visit the Exposition, and, I will add, 1,000 men, who keep bees, in some sort of hives, will be here. What a chancel Who will take itV I am on crutches, but my heart is very full. ^ The Bee-Keepers' Exchange has again changed hands. Messrs. Col- grove & UUery are now the publish- ers. And a change has been made In the proprietorsliip of the Magazine. It is now published by King & Aspin- wall. The American Bee Jouknal gives friendly greetings to the new pub- lishers all around. 296 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Kdr the American Bee JoumaL Ventilation of Bee Cellars, S. CORNEIL. Mr. Allen Pringle's article, on page 167 of the Bee Jouunal, pretty fully meets the requirements of " a rousing article on how to ventilate a damp cellar." He says it is scarcely practi- cable to put in a sub-earth pipe after the cellar is built, but I found no dif- ticulty whatever. We just carried the excavation up to the cellar wall, and then broke a hole through for the pipe. After the stones were again ijuilt in, and the earth replaced, all was close. If possible, sub-earth pipes should be laid as much as 5 feet below the surface, because it is said that at that depth the thermometer ceases to show the daily fluctuations of tem- perature. The temperature is prob- ably nearly .50^, which is said to be the uniform temperature of springs of water after running forj some dis- tance under ground. It will be read- ily seen how much easier a uniform temperature can be maintained in a cellar, the walls of which are sur- rounded by soil, a little below 50^, than in a room above ground whose walls are exposed to strong winds and the temperature constantly varying. Mr. L. C. Root, who winters from 100 to 200 colonies with uniform suc- cess, takes the supply of fresh air from a warm room above. To do this successfully there should be a strong exhaust current from the cellar to the stove pipes or chimnies above, and the only opening forj the ingress of air should be through the floor, as far as possible from the point of egress. The ventilation of repositories not connected with artificial heat is often very faulty. Air has weight, and it requires force to lift or move it out of an apartment in order tliat pure air may take its place. Perfect ventila- tion is never automatic. I think if the particulars regarding Mr. Doolit- tle's new wintering cellar, for in- stance (see page 741 Bke Journal for 1882), were submitted to a com- petent engineer for an opinion, he would be likely to say that under some circumstances the current would move in the desired direction, under other circumstances there would be nocurrfiitat all, and again, that the current might flow in the opposite direction from that desired. I have long held the opinion that Mr. Doolit- tle's bees were either killed or half poisoned by their own breath, in his old "mud hut." The idea has been recently thrown out that while bees are in their semi-torpid state, it is bet- ter thiil the surrounding air should be foul, because they will not live so fast, and will come out younger in the spring. I think this "i)osition is un- tenable. It is true the respiration is lower while they are apparently dor- mant, but if supplied with pure air. they will make the fewer respirations per minute. They, at all times, con- sume some food, and for the purpose of combustion some oxygen is re- quired. If the air only contains a re- duced proportion of tliis, they will be obliged to breathe faster to get the necessary quantity, like the traveler who said he had to drink a great deal of water in order to get a little tea, only in tlie case of the bees, the extra q^uantityof foul air re-breathed is posi- tively injurious. In regard to supply- ing bees with pure air, it is like what the squaw said about the whisky on being remonstrated with for having taken a little too much. Her reply was that a little too much is just enough. So with the bees, we need not be afraid to give them, if possible, a little too much pure air. The want of an exhaust current in such cellars as Mr. Doolittle's, may be very simply remedied by placing a large lamp in the pipe leading to the outer air. Some of the best engineers recommend using lamps or gas jets, as a make- shift, to ventilate small apartments, and I see by the report of the Board of Health for Ontario, that such an arrangement is used successfully for ventilating a part of the General Hos- pital at Toronto. Those who may de- sire to get all the details will find them in Gouge on Ventilation, pub- lished by D. Van Nostrand, N. Y. My observations on the condition of the air in my cellar during the past winter, have led me to the conclusion that if we are to have the dampness as well as the temperature under our control, the sub-earth pipe must be of a material which is impervious to moisture. The pipe bringing air into my cellar is of pine plank, having a cross section of 36 square inches, and running 140 feet through a wet soil. I found that the air, as it entered the cellar, was excessively moist when it should have been comparatively dry, on account of the increase of tempera- ture as it passed through the pipe. The relative humidity was generally from 90- to 95^, but sometimes the air was completely saturated as it en- tered the cellar. For instance, on the Sth of March, when the air outside was 2- above zero, the air entered the cellar at 30^, and was fully saturated with vapor. N"ow, air at 2^ is capable of containing nearly six-tenths of a grain of vapor per cubic foot when saturated, but the air outside was not saturated, and consequently contained less than that quantity. Saturated air at 36 contains about 2>2 grains of vapor per cubic foot. Therefore, in passing through 140 feet of wooden pipe, tlie air must have acquired at least 2 grains of vapor per cubic foot. Again, on the 8th of April, the air outside was wai'mer than that in the cellar, but the nights were still cold. In the evening, as the temperature was falling, I watched till the ther- mometer outside and in the mouth of the pipe in the cellar, showed exactly the same temperature, 42^. The rel- ative humidity should also have been the same, but there was a difference of 23^, the relative humidity outside being 67'-', and that of the air as it en- tered the cellar 90°. My conclusion is that for sub-earth ventilation, we require vitrified sewer pipe securely cemented at the joints. In this way only can we have damp- ness under control and exclude foul gasses. It is possible that with such a pipe the air might be found to be too dry. The exact degree of humid- ity at which bees can be kept in a cellar for six months in the best health has, I believe, yet to be determined, but until we have more information on the point, I think it will be safest to aim at about the average relative humidity of summer ; in Ontario this is 74-' of moisture out of a possible 100^. Your readers may desire to know how my bees wintered in such a moist atmosphere. I am pleased to be able to report that they did pretty well. On the 3d of November last, I put in 65 colonies, and on the 16th of April, I carried out 64 alive. One had starved, three were weak, and another has since been found to be queenless. There was not a square foot of moldy comb in the whole lot. There was a little spotting in some of the hives, but so little that it need not be taken into account. When they were set out, the discharges were not copious, nor yellow and watery, but small and dark colored. I had no swarming-out or other troubles, although they were set out promiscuously between seven and nine o'clock in the morning. Possibly some one will say that this experience is rather against the theory I have been advocating, that a damp atmosphere is one of the main causes of dysentery, but wait a little; the above is only a partial statement of the facts. Evaporation will take place in an atmosphere having a rela- tive humidity of 90- or 95°, provided the air in contact with the evaporat- ing surface is constantly changed. The wash will dry in such an atmos- phere it there is a wind. My bees were in very moist air, but they had very good ventilatiDii, and had the means of keeping as warm as they required to be. My cellar is small, the cubical contents being only 660 feet, or when the hives are in, say 500 cubic feet of air. There are two ex- haust pipes connected with stove pipes above, changing the air very fre- quently. Two colonies of bees in closed-end Quinby frames were placed side by side separated by a thin ve- neer of wood, and these were tiered up three in height.. The frames were raised 2 inches above the bottom boards, and one side of this space was left open. The hives were cov- ered with thick quilts of sheep's wool over a " Hill's device." A peep under these quilts at any time would find the bees quiet, dry, snug and cosy. On account of the heat being so well conflned by the quilts and of the heat from the adjoining cluster, many of the colonies clustered out in the open space between the bottom board and the frames, the greater part of the winter; some of them for 120 days. Some bee-keepers would probably call this " high pressure " as to the tem- perature of the air in the cellar, but it was not, for a thermometer placed midway between the floor and ceiling, averaged about 40^. Early in the THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 297 winter, in a few liives, tlie dead bees began to drop from between the combs to sucli an extent tliat soon the lieaps reached to tlie frames, and these heaps of dead bees were removed two or three limes. If the frames had not been raised, the ventilation of the hives would have been effectually stopped. The bees dying thus were not distended, and showed no signs of dysentery. I increased from .39 to 65 after the 1st of August, last season. Possibly some of my bees were pre- maturely old. I fed 1,02.5 pounds of loaf sugar last fall, and did not dis- criminate against combs containing pollen. I thiifc my past winter's ex- perince shows that bees may, with very good ventilation, be wintered in a very moist atmosphere, and that they may be so " clotlied " as to clus- ter out in an atmosphere at 40^. 1 at- tribute my success to extremely good ventilation. I lost extensively in the same cellar during a previous winter through want of ventilation. I may give the particulars at a future time. Lindsay, Ont.. May 12, 1883. Errata— In the 12th line from the top ot the second column, puce 2ixi, there should be ji minus slpn before 'S^. The want of it mnltes an error of 16''. Then the fliiures 54-f and Jljii, a little further on, are made a thousand times too ^reat by the omission of a del itoal point before the tlrstrj, in the drst case, and tlio snhslitution of a comma for a decimal point, bctwot'ti the Qr-t'2 and the 1, in the second case. There are other typographical errors of minor importance. S. C. Read before the Western Maine Convention. Bee Pasturage in Maine. DR. J. A. MORTON. I do not know much of this shrub •which is referred to by Mr. Alley in his lately published " Bee-Keepers' Handy Book," unless it is our com- mon white alder, found growing wild so plentifully on low lands. If it is, yon are all familiar with it. It is a clean little tree, bearing an abund- ance of bright red berries, of a swfeet- ish, bitter taste. I do not know about its nower, but think you had better take observation of it this season, and govern yourself in regard to it, as it proves itself pleasant to the bees. It would make a good hedge row. The basswood, or American linden, is the most important honey-yielding tree in the whole State. It is well known to all bee men, and I only call attention to it, for the purpose of urging you to stop cutting it for tim- ber at any price. Let something else take its place in the lumber yard, and keep it growing for the bees ; also propagate it by setting out trees in low places, and along the numerous little streams in pastures, and along streets and roadsides and by fences, and even in woods where the growth is scattering, or the ground is cum- bered by dwarfed spruces or other evergreens. Where nothing but trees can grow there set the basswood. The locust mingled with it or in close loxmity. on woody pastures, on the more barren ridges and sandy knolls, will grow quite fast, and soon bear flowers and become valuable for timber. In the last part of the honey season the wild bloom is quite plenty and useful. Fireweed on the meadows and river banks ; and goldenrod on the dry, worn out sandy plains, in lields and pastures where nothing else will grow, are quite good honey plants and help out the bees nicely— still I am not very partial to them, for no stock eats them, and they are only useful for their honey, and the syrup from granulated sugar is as good if not better for wintering, but in this matter let every man suit himself. The wild aster and frostweed are tlie last honey plants of the year, if we accept sweet clover and motherwort, which last from the first flowering till the severest frosts kill them down. Motherwort, catnip and some few others are good weeds to sow in waste places not tit for other flowers, but they should be sown in considerable quantities to be of any benefit. A little patch of these plants are an in- .jury because the bees are quite fond of them, and are diverted from a larger extent of other flowers not so pleasant to them but yielding much more honey, and more profitable to the bee master. To those different trees, shrubs and plants, you can add such as you find by experience good for the purposes intended. Buckwheat is a good grain for feeding, and generally pays for cultivation in its yield, but is quite uncertain for honey. To some it will be profitable to raise, to others it may not. Try it. if you like. I wish now, having mentioned in detail the leading honey plants of our State, to give a rational, easy and economical method of renovating any of these exhausted and worn out lands to which I have called attention, which will enhance their value year by year, and at the same time give you a fair percentage on the invest- ment by an immediate return in the increased production of lioney. If you are the fortunate or unfortunate, Just as you may please to think it, owner of such property, not worth the trouble of repairing the fences every spring, for what it will produce through the summer, and, perhaps, turned out to common, go and " sur- vey the landscape o'er " and decide that you will do something for the cause of agriculture and apiculture, for they go hand in hand in this en- terprise. If you have several pastures take the one nearest to the bees, first. If quite small, and you can possibly do so, exclude all stock from it for a year at least:. If it is large and you cannot lose the use of the whole of it for the season, partition off a part of it by fencing in more or less, but as much as you can ; and by using the loose rocks for this piu'pose, you gain two points, you have a substantial fence and get rid of the rocks. It pays to snug up rocks in pastures as well as in fields. Should there not be rocks which can be easily handled in suf- ficient quantities to complete this fence, finish it with the scattering spruces, firs, and other stunted ever- greens within the enlosed part, whicli are only a damage, as they only poison the laiid for grass. Stumps and logs can be used for this purpose also. Now go over it and cut every stunted evergreen from them — for nothing will grow under the shadow of such trees— dig up root and branch, run- ning junipers, sweet ferns, hard hacks, brakes and all ; removing stumps if convenient, and either pile up in small heaps to burn ; or what is better, leave them to decay on the groundj for a cord of rich rubbish left to rot, fertilizes ten times as much as its ashes after being burned. Should there be scattering red or rock maples, elms, willows or other trees produc- ing nectar bearing flowers, especially basswood or locusts, by all means let them stand, and if they are not in sutticient quantity, draw on the woods or other sources for enough to fill the complement. Or, if the soil is suit- able, and sheep are to occupy the land, it would be a more excellent plan to set native grown apple trees of the hardy winter varieties, and in a few years, by a little extra pains, you will have a nice young orchard. None of these trees need be set in a regular line or order, but single or in clumps in very rocky spots or places where the grass will not grow or is in- accessible to the stock. Of course, be- fore setting these trees the land must be plowed, if it can be done even poorly, and smoothed off, with some dressing, the more the better, such as stable manure or muck, or ashes, or even plaster will help it some, but be as generous as you can, and you will never regret it. Having got the land all ready for the seed, be liberal with that also, for you can well afford it, and, if you wish to make the bees happy, sow from 5 to 10 pounds of sweet clover to the acre, or its equivalent of White Dutch or Alsike. I should prefer to have them sown separately, but you may like to mix them— do as you please about this. To ttiese clovers you may add the seeds of good pasture grasses, if you wish to favor the stock which is to occupy the pasture, rather than the bees; but remember one thing, herds grass is not good for this pur- pose, the cattle soon kill it out. Now, perhaps, some will say it is too late to do all this when there is scarcely time to set in the regular crops. That is all true ; but try to get in an acre or two of sweet clover, or White Dutch, or Alsike, and make the bees happy, and you can leave the balance of the pasture to work on by odd jobs through the whole season, and, by fall, you will be all ready to sow the seed, or at least by early spring. But in that case the cattle must be kept out next year instead of this. All I have said of the small pastures will apply equally to the large, whether mostly clear of woods or partly in forest growth ; but let the forest be divided off from the cleared portion as much as it can be, for woods are not good pastures, except- ing basswood tor bees, the grasses and tender plants will not grow there, particularly is this true of evergreen woods. All worn-out pastures, old orchards and mowing fields, may be treated in the manner above indicated with variations to suit each particular case, only be free with the manure 298 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. cai t, and do not draw on the bank till line or two years' interest has accrued, and do not let tlie cattle in during spring and fall. Perhaps some may wish to try buckwheat in order to get immediate returns for their outlay, and because they can sow it later in the season than clover. There is no objection to this, if they plow it under after the bees have worked it, or let lay on the gromid aud decay. But the latter plan is liable to the danger of the ripened grain re-seeding the ground ;ind coming up next year and clioking the clover out. This will not pay. If turned under, the ground must be smoothed off and well seeded with the clover, and will need a little fiue dressing, ashes, plaster or phos- pliate as a starter. But some will say : " This is alto- gether too expensive ; no man can afford to go over his pastures in tliis way; it would cost a fortune." I think no man can afford to let his pastures go on as they have for the last oO or 100 years. As the man said in the storm at sea, " something has got to be done." One great disadvan- tage of the pre.sent condition of pas- tures is this : There is no fence be- tween forests and cleared land, or what is usually denominated cleared land, and the stock drop most of their mainu-e in these woods or along the little streams in out of the way places, and it is lost for fertilizing purposes. If these fences were put up, they would be kept in the best grazing, and leave the dressing where it would do the most good. The growing forest would not be fed down, and the suioother places would be enriched, and, perhaps, by a little attention in keeping down shrubs and weeds, the forage would be sweet and tender. But there is a cheaper method, though it is not so thorough, and I (hiubt whether it would be much cheaper in the end. That is, to go over tlie pasture by odd jobs, and with a heavy, rough harrow, tear up the knolls or shave tliem off with a plow, throwing the turf bottom up over some rocky hollow, tear up any roots, St umps or spots of moss ; rake up the leaves, cut stunted trees close to the around, scatter the seed and fertilizer, aud as you go on so. it will be done as far as you go. This will give you a chance, durius the year, to do a great deal, but the cattle will injure it if it is in the open pasture, and they are let in there. Still another method is to fence off half, or a part of the field, and let the cattle have that and fence in a corresponding breadth of some pasture most convenient and appro- Ijriate. and work it for crops, allowing a liberal supply of manure. If not too far from the house, build cheap hog pens, and put half a dozen shoats in a small yard connected with it— plant beets, sow peas, turnips and some fodder corn, and feed tliem in the yard supplying them plentifully with leaves tor a nest, and muck if it can be got. This will give you more dressing riglit 'Ml the ground, and save hauling so sii far. Or a flock of sheep can take the place of hogs if thought best, but whatever stock is put there it must be fed extra besides what is grown upon the land. Many advise putting sheep into a run-down pas- ture to fetch it up, there is surely some conceivable argument in favor of this, that is the supposition they will forage on the woods and leave their droppings on the cleared parts, which is contrary to the facts. 1 think they will be more likely to re- verse thething— feed down what little grass they can find in the green places and clefts of the rocks early in the morning, and return to the woods to digest and discharge it. Any man who puts a flock of sheep into such a pasture, will be convinced in a few years of the truth of the adage from nothing, nothing comes, and find him- self in position of the boy who went whaling. At the end of three years the captain settled thus with him : " O's an 0, and 2's a 2 ; not a cent com- ing to you. I will ask you to closely observe through the season, in regard to the various plants and trees named to you, as to their time of flowering, the preference of the bees for them, the amount of honey and its quality, so far as you can, from the different species, and carefully note all down that you may correct any misstatements I have made, and have a more accurate knowledge in the future. This plan will tend to make us all more observ- ing and more successful in our fasci- nating employment. Above all let us keep one fixed rule constantly in mind, never to be so selfish as to hide any light we may have. Let us con- sta'ntly seek more light and knowl- edge, and be as ready to impart it to our bee-keeping brothers, as we are to ask it of them. The most humble member of our fraternity may, by honest endeavor, become the most useful or us all, a bright and shining light in the firmament of the apiarists. That we all strive earnestly, honestly, and unselfishly in this cause is my earnest wish. For the American Bee JoumaL Frost Bitten Bees. W. H. SHIRLEY. A queer heading for an article on bees I hear some one saying. Wait ! let me explain a little. Stimulative feeding in the spring to induce rapid breeding, is, I believe, advocated in all bee books and by many writers. That idea cost me quite a little item, in the way of dead brood, 5 years ago. The same thing occuring again this morning (on a smaller scale— one hive only), put me in mind of old times. I always winter the bees out of doors, with chaff protection ; I have found it the best, so far. I unpack them generally from April 20 to May 10. I have unpacked only 14 this year. At the time of this writing, 4 years ago, we unpacked them earlv. Bees were in good condition, except that quite a number lacked stores. Here was a chance to try stimulative feed- ng. As the w'eather was warm .about 50- most of the time), things moved oil nicely ; and brood-rearing increased rapidly. We were having I visions of early swarms, and liad al- ready divided 5 colonies (dividing for increase, and I have quarreled since that time too). But, alas! the mer- cury dropped down to freezing; and 2 or ,S frosts followed. The bees had to contract their cluster in order to keep warm. All around them were patches of dead brood ; enough to double their numbers. Stimulative feeding, and I had a quarrel then and there, and never made up, until this spring. Our new way of wintering gives a chance to examine the bees often, with little trouble. We could fe»d them when the mercury was down to freezing, with ease, and thought we would try stimulative feeding again. Success crowned our second trial, except the one colony spoken of above. On the ISth, we commenced to unpack, as the weather was promising ; on the 21st the mercury went down to tlie freez- ing point again, and the old story of dead brood in one hive, prompted us to write our little experience in stim- ulative spring feeding. The bees in the one colony becom- ing discouraged, killed their queen, thinking, perhaps, that a young queen would bring warm weather and a " honej; shower." I am in favor of stimulative feeding now, but I want protection from sud- den changes in the weather. Glenwood, Mich., May 22, 1883. Mahoning Valley, 0., Convention. The quarterly meeting of the Ma- honing Valley Bee-Keepers' Associa- tion was held at Berlin, May 28. The attendance was good, the dis- play of apiarian appliances first-class, and the basket picnic dinner was en- joyed by all. The forenoon session was called to order by the president, Mr. Laundus Carson. The minutes of last meet- ing were approved. The chair ap- pointed the following committee on apiarian fixtures on exhibition : Mr. Page, Mr. Hall and Mr. H. A. Simons. One of the most interesting features was the question box. " Is it possible for an Italian queen to fertilize by a black drone? Mr. Carson said, " I believe that all the different breeds of bees will mix more or less." " What is the cause of my queens getting balled at the entrance of the hive y I lost several this spring ; I found them dead on the floor of the hive." Mr. Simons thonghtit a weak colony, virtually starved out. Mr. Carson said, " I got some queens of Mr. -Heddon. and lost some of them by getting balled. By a close" exami- nation I found them with insufticient food." Mr. Hall said, " It only hap- pens in weak colonies where they have more brood then they can sup- port." " What is the cause of spring dwind- ling y" Mr. Carson said, " the Italian bees are more venturesome in cold weather, and perish by cold." Mr. Simon said. '• the black bees, with me, are more venturesome than the Ital- ians." THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 299 " Will h.uulling bees in the spring niateriiilly injure them V" It was thought to be a matter of how rough they were handled. "Will bees swarm in the spring if they have plenty of honey ?" It was thought they would when the liives became full of young bees. Mr. Simon said, " he thought one cause of dwindling was a lack of young bees to take the place of the old ones in the spring, and would advise breeding as late as possible in the fall. I winter out of doors. I use as young queens as possible for late fall lireeding. After the bloom is gone, I feed melted sugar in the hives. This spring 1 noticed a dwindling of my bees ; the cause being the lack of young bees." Mr. Kinney said, ■' I have had queens whiolilaid eggs and tlie work- ers destroyed them. What is the cause y " Are Italian bees longer lived than the black bees V" Mr. Carson said, " I do not know. It is a fact that the black bees are short lived in the spring." " What sized frames would you ad- vise to get the most lioney from, long or short frames V" There was a dif- ference of opinion. Mr. Simon used the long frame, and thinks it prefer- able. 'Mr. Carson uses the Union frame, and is well pleased with it. " The best way to preserve empty combs'?" Mr. Carson said, " I clean out my hives and hang them in such a way"that mice cannot get at tliem." Mr. Simon said, " I keep mine in my liive. under a shed, when it is cool." Mr. Carson said, " if worms get into them, fumigate with brim- stone, not too strong." " Will the drones produced by fer- tile workers on virgin queens perform the office of drones V" Mr. Simon said " I prefer young queens fertilized by a good drone. " How is the best way to get rid of fertile worker bees ?" Mr. said, "I unite them with a good strong nucleus. Mr. Simon said, " I take the liives that have fertile workers and shake them on the ground, and the fertile workers never crawl back." " Will it pay to put on sections for the bees to draw out foundations for apple bloom V" Mr. Hall said, "yes." Mr. Winnery thought that if the body of the hives is full of honev it would pay. '■ Which is the most profitable to produce, comb or extracted honey?" Mr. Carson said, "extracted." "Do you prefer drones from the parent colony for a cross V" I think it would be preferable. " A queen from a pure Italian mother, that meets with a black drone, what will her drones be ?" Mr. Page said, "tliey are his best work- ers, and are, as a general thing, less quarrelsome." Mr. Hall says, " I wish to breed from the best, let tlie breed be what it may. I should cross with those drones whose record is good." " Do bees ever swarm on apple bloom ?" Mr. W. said, " I have known of such instances, but do not think it advisable." Mr. H. said, "I would build up weak colonies by giv- ing tliem a few sections of brood." Committee report : We lind placed on exhilaition tlie following : Mr. Eadler, a novice extractor, also a new hive which attracted considerable at- tention. Mr. George King, a Sim- plicity hive. Mr. L. Carson, a Union iiive, a combination of several. The matter of where and when to hold our next meeting came up for action. It was the inianiraous voice of the meeting to hold our meetings at different points in the Mahoning Valley. Adjourned to meet at Newton Falls on the third Saturday of August, 1883. E. W. TUBNER, Sec. For the American Bee JournaL Shall Separators be Used ? F. I. SAGE. I noticed by the Bee Journal (page 263) that Mr. T. E. Turner con- fesses that he is becoming "so in- sane " as to dispense with the use of separators. I consider it pretty good evidence that he has become insane on this subject, and as he admits it, we will take it for granted that such is a fact. But, really, I hope he v»ill not induce New York State bee-keep- ers to adopt this plan of securing sur- plus honey. The bee-keepers of New Tork have the reputation of securing their comb honey in the very best shape for market, and all use separa- tors, except, perhaps, a few who are away behind the times. Of the 50 tons of York State comb honey I have hand- led during the past season, not a sin- gle lot have I bought except where separators have been used ; nor would I buy any such, unless at a discount. Every pound of honey I buy must be secured by the use of separators, and every section must be glassed, except the small amount of one-pound sec- tions I use — those should not be glassed. Mr. Turner says glassing sections are too expensive to the producer ; this remark will make some of our York State producers " smile." I al- ways supposed this glassing was the most profitable part of bee-keeping ; to be sure, it is some work to glass sections enough to nse up one or two tons of glass, but I guess the bee- keeper works many hours for less pay then he gets for glassing his honey. We know it is nonsense to say it does not pay the producer to glass his honey, but whether it does pay or not, our more-advanced bee-keepers, those that get their honey in the most de- sirable shape and secure the highest price, know it must be glassed for our Eastern trade. I have had Michigan, Illinois and Missouri honey, which was secured without the use of sep- arators, and hence, could not be glassed, but I want no more of it. Although the quality was all right, the style of putting it up was not sat- isfactory to the consumer, the mer- chant, or the honey dealer. I could go on, and lengthen out this article, by giving various reasons why this is so, with our Eastern trade, but take it for granted that New York State bee-keepers are too shrewd, and too far advanced in their profession, ta dispense with the use of separators and glass, in order to secure their honey in the most remarkable antl profitable shape. WethersHeld, Conn., May 28, 1883. Read before Central Michigan Convention. Cellar vs. the Chaff Hive- J. T. MATTHEWS. Among the many ways of winter^ ing bees, which are adopted generally by the people of this country, but two are wortliy of notice. These are " cellar wintering," and "chaff hive wintering," the other, leaving the bees out of doors, to " come through " as best they may, is not worthy of men- tion, for the simple reason that it does not pay. We have then a single hand-to-hand combat— cellar vs. chaff hive. The question we are trying to decide is, " How to winter bees the cheapest, and have them come out healthy and ready for work in the spring." "Things seen are mightier than things heard." I can do no better than to give a retrospective view of some things brought to my notice within the past year, at the College apiary. On the 5th of last October, we com- pleted our preparation of the bees for- winter. We had 17 colonies of Syr- ians put up for winter as described by Prof. A. J. Cook, each colony oc- cupying 8 combs of honey, or about 1 cubic foot of space; each colony had about 30 pounds of honey, and from all hives, except one, pollen was care- fully excluded, in looking them over. All hives alike had a sack, made for the purpose, filled with very dry saw- dust over them, to absorb moisture from the hive and to assist in keeping out the cold in the fall and spring. Four were chaff hives to be left out of doors through the winter, and these, in addition to the sacks before re- ferred to, had sacks extending so as to fill the entire space between the division-board and the end of the hive, thus surrounding the bees on all sides by cushions of chaff. The bottoms were protected by keeping the snow banked under them. Our chaff hives were complete. On the 14th of November, all the hives were carefully weighed, and the weight of each set opposite to its re- spective number. On the same day, ten of our commoii hives {i.e. single- walled hives holding 18 frames) and three chaff hives were carefully re- moved to the cellar. The object of chaff hives in the cellar was to test chaff hives on an equal footing with single-walled liives, to see the effect upon "spring dwindling." The tem- perature of the cellar, for the winter, ranged from 38= to 42= F. Of the temperature outside you can judge for yourself; suffice it to say it was very cold. On the 5th of April we returned to our old friends, after an absence of 142 days, and find them as familiar as ever. To complete our expert- 300 I'HE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. tnent, we commenced by weighing the outdoor chaff hives (four in nuinber), and found an aggregate loss of 08 pounds, or an average loss of H^i i)ounds to the colony. One colony was dead, and, as one standing by re- marked, they died •' in the midst of plenty," for they were dead, clustered ■on frames at one end of the hive, and the honey was gone from those frames, but the frames at the other Bnd of tlie hive had plenty of honey. The theory is tliat they became so cold that they could not change their cluster, and they froze to deatli. The 13 colonies came from the cel- lar with a loss of but 56 pounds, or an average of 4'^^ pounds to the colony. The greatest amount of loss, in any colony in normal conditions, in the cellar, was 6 pounds, and the least amount, 1 pound. One colony, which was put up for the cellar with the usual amount (30 pounds) of honey, was found dead, and their honey entirely gone, the Weight showing a loss of only 10 pounds. We cannot account for "this, except to say that they must have been robbed last fall, after giving them their winter supply of honey, before removing them to "the cellar in November. The colony in which the pollen was left had very badly dwindled. Their queen being dead, they were united with another colony. Tlie colonies wintered in the cellar, with two ex- ceptions, (the one containing pollen and the one supposed to have been robbed in October), show very little loss in numbers, by the dead bees found in the hives. In fact, in look- ing them over, we Hud many of them apparently as strong as they were last October, while those wintered in chaff hives out of doors (judging from the same source of information) are very weak indeed. On,examining the bees, a few days after removing them for the cellar (April 7), we hhd eggs in nearly everv hive, showing that they are in first- class condition, and will have a full force ready for work when the flowers come ; and we think from the general appearance of the bees, that (leaving out the two principal points in favor of cellar wintering : namely, safety and amount of honey consumed dur- ing the winter) the bees which have been wintered in the cellar, are in better condition to go to work this spring, than tliose wintered in chaff hives. We often hear the objection raised to cellars that they leave the bees in poor condition to stand the changes of spring, but we candidly believe that the fault is rather to be found with the condition of the cellar or the method of treatment in the spring, than with the method of preparing for wintering. We would conclude then by saying that cellar wintering seems to us to be, at least, the most economic way to winter bees. We believe it, for three reasons : First, it is safer ; secondly, it saves honey ; and third, it leaves the bees in better condition in the spring. Michigan Agricultural College. For the American 15ee JuumaU Old and New Rhymes. EUGENE SECOK. A swarm of bees in May. is worth a ton of hay. A swarm of bees in June, is worth a silver spoon. A swarm of bees in July, is'nt worth a tiy. That's the way the rhyme ran, in the days of our "boyhood, among the hills of eastern New York. These old sayings, like some of the weatlier-wise prophecies of a later period, may be of more value in the region where they originated, than when transplanted into this continental prairie soil. At least I thought so, the otiier day, when the first swarm of bees issued in May. A ton of hay is worth, in this land of plenty, about S2.50, while an early swarm of bees ought to yield as much profit as a cow worth S30. The latter part of the '• saw " is as far from the truth as the first. A swarm in July will often fill its hive in 2 weeks, and store a large surplus for its proprietor. August swarms, which did not elicit even a passing notice from the ancient rhymer, will make a hive feel like a chunk of lead when you attempt to move it in the fall. I think in some cases a September swarm might gather honey enough to winter on. We need a revised edition of those old "sayings," to meet tlie new con- ditions of things— at least here in Iowa. If I could grind out rhymes, I would attempt the work myself. I would make it read something like this : A swarm of bees In May is a "hip, hip, hooraa!"— iin lowal. A swarm of bees in June, is in the same tune,— (in lowal. A swarm of bees in July,] you nced'nt be afraid to try,— (in Iowa). An August swarm, as the weather is warm, Is all O. K.— don't fool it away,— (in Iowa). A swarm of bees in September is rare. But even that can be saved with care,- (in Iowa). AVarm weather has been slow in coming this spring. Only on a very tew days has the thermometer indica- ted above 60-'. There has been no frost to damage fruit in this part of the State. Everything is coming along ■finely, except corn, wtiich was planted late. We have had an abundance of fruit bloom, and white clover is just beginning to blossom. We anticipate a prosperous year. I'orest City, Iowa, June 2, 1883. For the American Bee Journal- Italian and. Hybrid Bees. J. O. SHEARMAN. On page 2.36, of the Bee Journal, I notice Mr. Hutchinson's question in regard to best hybrids, etc. That re- minds me of some of my own experi- ence, which, I think, it would worth while to make known, at this time, as it may throw a little more light on the subject under inquiry. Some may in- cline to ridicule " Heddon's hybrids " as being no better than all others, but there certainly is a great difference in hybrid bees. When I lirst started in keeping bees as a business, I used to wonder at so many people (and those wtio seemed to be posted, too) wlio spoke and wrote about the black bees being so much crosser than Italians, while I had large brown bees (called blacks) that were so quiet and easily handled that I opened the hives without smoker or protection of any sort, and when I got mv first Italians, I found they were quicker in their movements, and more liable to sting upon sliglit provocation than those I had before. These brown bees were excellent breeders and workers also. 1 in- creased one colony to five, and had a fair surplus too, from four of them. But two years ago this spring I found out the difference between brown and black bees. We all have in mind that severe winter and spring. I lost over 60 colonies, and to help fill up my empty combs, soon enough to be able to obtain some surplus, I bought 20 colonies (19 of them tjlacks), and they u-ere black too, black as an old boot, and as cross as a setting hen. I left them at a neighbor's, IJ^ miles away from home, so as not to mix with my Italians. I then Italianized what I did not tradeoff. 1' ears pre- viously I had tried different strains of Italians, mostly light ones, but they would swarm when I tried to crowd them into the honey boxes, while my old brown bees would fill a set of boxes, then notify me they wanted more room, and take what I gave them in a contented sort of a way, and " stick to their knitting." Well, in looking over the papers one spring, I noticed that Heddon had been Ital- ianized, so I sent to him for a colony of dark Italians, requesting him to send me one of the old queens he had received from Mr. Oatman.if he had them booked, and I believe he sent it, for though she did her work com- pletely that season, she played out the next ; but not until she had supplied me with a race of bees that excelled anything I had yet tried, for they would go up freely into the boxes and did generally fill all, or nearly all the room I gave them, before swarming, unless crowded in the brood-cham- ber. And, I could put off swarming by giving more room in the body of the hive, at the same time giving more surplus room, in the same way I had previously practiced with my brown bees. Kow, I come to the hybrid point of the matter. I crossed some of the young queens with the drones of the brown bees, and they produced such good bees for work, that I have never got rid of them all yet. Some of the best of those dark Italians survived the hard winter of two years ago, and I was able to run part of them through last season even, without swarming at all, with a good surplus, and they were always strong in bees. My hobby has been, and is, to run for surplus, without much increase, to avoid the impression that these bees would not breed fast enough for profit. I will state that I had one of them (two years ago) fill two sets of brood comb, at the same time keeping both well supplied with brood ; but I THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 301 consider that bad practice, as a queen soon wears out with such manage- ment. In this connection (though off of tlie subject) I will say that I am con- vinced I have had a queen do good business through a whole season when she was 5 years old. Last year (1882) I had several colo- nies of those first-class hybrids (Ital- ian queens fertilized by brown drones), and they fairly took the lead of any- thing I had, for surplus, and breed- ing at the same time. They had 11 brood frames, 8x20 inches, and 75 pounds of surplus room in the height of the season, and all full of bees and work. Kew Richmond, Mich. *i inch. Use the cheap, soft, No. 2 pins, which cost 5 cents per paper ; they are better than the higher priced pins. To drive them straight, we use a little square block, with a crease cut square across it, which the pin lays in wiiile being driven. Now, bend the pinto a right angle, and a dial is formed. We use two styles of paper, one of thin white writing, which we paste on the north back corner of the su- per, and one of manila straw-colored tag board, which we tack on. I use and prefer the paste plan. Now, sup- pose you put on a case or super, either for comb or extracting. If you do so on June 2, put the left hand pin at "2," the right hand at " R," in the word " Renewed." Now, if you look at this super to see how business is developing, and find no commence- ment made on June 6, set the left pin at " 6," and the right one at " D." " R " and " D " both denote an empty super, but " R," that it has not been examined since put on ; " D," that it has one or more times. On the " 12 " you find it M ^"11 ; P"t the left pin at " 12 " and right one at " M-" If ^3 Ijetween " U " and "J^," and thus for any proportion your eye tells you is correct, from just started to nearly finished. With our tiering up system, we use one on every case, and you see we can tell just how mat- ters stand, and just where an hour's work is needed at once. We need no month dial, as he whose memory is a month " off," should not try to manage an apiary. We know just how practical and useful these registers are, by how we chafe when we come to one that we made the error of not tagging with the register. Our style of arranging the figures in the dial is much better than Mr. Root's ; the square form with all the figures upright, shows off at a glance a long way off. lost but one colony since they were set out, and that was deserted when I was away. Bees are in line condition, for quite a large number of them are preparing to swarm, and, if the weather should be favorable for a week, general swarming may be looked for. There is every prospect for a large crop of lioney, in this lo- cality, to those that have bees ; for the fields are covered with clover, which will begin to bloom about the middle of this month. I5asswood is budding as full as I ever saw it, and, with fa- vorable weather, bees must have a lively time. It has been exceedingly wet ever since the snow disappeared in this locality, until the last 4 days, which have been warm and pleasant. Ira Barber. De Kalb June, N. Y., June 4, 1883. Cheering News from Kentucky. Our Convention on the 2d inst., was a grand success — a tine turn-out of practical bee men. Our white clover harvest is immense, and the largest crop of honey will be gathered in Ken- tucky that we ever harvested ; the clover fields look as white as snow, and bee men are worked down, and are in clover. N. F. Allen. Smith's Grove, Ky., June 4, 1883. Bees and the White Clover. We have rather abad season for our pets; cold and raining some now. Near me, we have a great crop of white clover, but hardly a bee have I seen on it. Dr. N. P. Allen says, in the last Bee Journal, that the bees are working on white clover in his neighborhood. 1 walked through a large field of beautiful clover, and I saw only two or three bees on it. We have fields literally white with it ; and near us hundreds of acres of it. I have had only one swarm as yet, and that went back to the parent hive. G. W. ASHBY. Valley Station, Ky., June 3, 1883. Texas Honey Crop. The honey crop in this district promises badly. So far, there is little or none coming in, and colonies are dwindling very much. I have been feeding rhine, and am doing so now ; and, instead of dividing, it becomes a question of uniting weak colonies. With no honey coming in, queens stop laying, and colonies are fast getting in such a condition that, if there was to come a honey flow, the bees could not fairly gather it. Last year there was a good crop ; this year appears to be an " off year." R. J. Kendall. Austin, Texas, June 3, 1883. Honey Prospect in New York. Up to this date bees have had a cold, windy spring; and where they were not in good condition wlien set out, they have " gone up." I have Cross Bees. Why are my Italian bees so very cross this spring ? One colony gave a swarm on the 9th of this month, which went back to the old stand without clustering. The weather set in cold and rainy, and they did not come out again until the 17th, They clustered on a little willow, close to the ground, so that I could not saw it off. I set the liive close up to the cluster, and took a turkey wing and commenced to brush them on the alighting board. I had only made one stroke of the brush, when about a quart went into the liive, and about two quarts into my face and hair. You may judge the result ; as many stun" me as could gef a chance. A neighbor of mine had been wantiug for several days to see the bees swarm, as it was a new thing to him. He was standing close by—they made a dive for him, and gave him a fearful stinging ; he had a little dog with him, and the bees gave them both a fight. My neighbor ran away and the dog followed ; both were covered with bees. He ran into a milk house, and so did the dog. Such a fight I never witnessed before. The 302 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. few I got in front of the hive induced the balance to go in all right. I was waiting for them to quiet down, so as to move the hive where I wanted it to remain. All at once they came rusli- iug out and went back to their old stand again. It commenced to rain that evening, and kept cold until Sunday ; about noon the sun came out and out came the bees ; they soon clustered on the bottom of a little apple tree, down close to the ground, with a good many on the ground and in the grass. I took a dipper and my turkey wing and commenced business again, but was prepared for them that time. I made a veil and had it on, and a pair of gloves. So I got them all in, without receiving a sting, but I should have got a great many, ex- cept for the protection. They have been in the hive 3 davs without a fly. The weather has been cold and rainy ever since; only stopping a little while at night to get a good start for the next day. I would have had 4 or 5 swarms this month, if the weather had been favorable. I have fed the new swarm to-day ; they keep up a constant roar, as though all was right. I have heard a queen piping in the old hive ever since the swarm came out, but only hear one. Is that anv indication of swarming soon again? I am a beginner in the business, and want to learn all I can. I have read Quinby's and Cook's Manuals, and, with the aid of the Bee Journal, I think I can get through. R. A. Ros.SER. Nelsouville, O., May 23, 1SS3. [We expect the bees were hybrids, notwithstanding you call them Ital- ians. Several have reported similar results when hiving hybrids under certain conditions. You should have had a good smoker at hand, and, by its use, saved such a calamity as the one you have described above. The unpropitious weather which had kept them prisoners so long, with no chance to be gathering honey, had doubtless made them angry, and ready to fight at the least provocation. Some bees seriously object to being brushed even with a turkey wing, and, when they are thus excited, will show their anger by acting just as your bees have done. The piping of the queen, which you mention, indicates that a "second swarm" is determined upon. Upon this decision, the bees prevent the first queen that issues from killing the rest, and place a strong guard over their cells, and when she comes with murderous intent, she is repulsed by the bees. This offends her majesty who utters these shrill notes of anger. If this piping is not heard within a few days after the first swarm issues, it is because the queen has no rivals, and swarming may be said to be over with that colony for the season.— Ed.] Bees Near a Roadway. Please answer the following ques- tions through the Bee .Journal : 1. Will the law compel me to move hives of bees that are standing near a line fence. 2. Will the law compel me to pay damages, if ray bees sting horses that are driven on the opposite side of the fence. I have had my bees where they now stand for the past 13 years, and with- out any trouble. But, this year, a drive-way has been made close to the fence, for the purpose of getting to a back lot. The fence is a tight board fence between 6 and 7 feet high. Neighbors also use this drive-way to work land on another farm. I am doing all that I can to control the bees, having moved some of the Grossest from near the fence a dis- tance of two miles. Jas. B. TujnJER. Warren's Corners, N. Y. [Not being a judge, the law points we cannot pass upon, but if we owned the bees, and had any land elsewhere, they would be moved as soon as pos- sible, so as not to have them annoyed and " worked up " all the time by passing teams, horses that are .sweat- ing, etc. — Ed.] Fully Appreciated. The Weekly Bee Journal is, to me, worth all the other bee papers put together ; may you, Mr. Editor, live to see its full worth appreciated, not only at home here, but in thousands of foreign homes where the •' busy bee " is kept, and where every flower is fanned by its silvery wings. D. W. Fletcher. Lansingville, N. Y., May 21, 1883. Experience of My Friend and I. Perhaps the readers of the Bee Journal would like to hear some- thing of a friend of mine, living in the same house, who being fond of bee- culture, in the old country, continued in the new world to keep bees ; not so much to make a trade of it, as to ren- der his pastime pleasant. Accord- ingly the Bee Journal never comes into his hands without being perused with great interest, from the begin- ning to the end. He tells me, that he received much information from it, especially about feeding and winter- ing. Last winter, making use of the hints given in the Bee Journal, he succeeded in wintering his bees with but an insignificant loss of one weak colony, which he received too late in the fall to make a trial in feeding. The bees then clustered all on one side, leaving the other frame yet con- taining honey enough untouched, and finally died. 1. Why did the bees all gather on one side, and not move to the combs filled with honey V My friend covered the hives, in the beginning of winter, partly with straw mats, and partly with blankets ; around them he constructed a wall of chaff, a few inches in width. The hives, having straw mats kept dry ; theothersnot, foroutof the inlet often water was flowing. I concluded that the moisture inside was absorbed by the straw mats, but not by the blan- kets. On the 19th of May, in one of the hives, there was much noise, and many of the bees clustered all in one pile outside of the hive. Now, I thought, they would swarm. My friend laughed first at me, but in the end he prepared a hive for any event- uality. Yet the cold weather from the 20th to the 23d checked them. We had a north wind storm and rain, with snow, and it was very cold ; fires was started in the stoves once more. 2. Do bees really sometimes swarm in the end of May ? A Bingham smoker gave full satis- faction to my friend, who was over- joyed with it and the Bingham & Hetherington honey knife. Our bees are very " gentle and good-natured ;" they never sting me, though I watch them closely in their busy movements. Once, my friend was in danger. One swarm of bees, which he had received from a neighbor, and wliich were not attended to properly, was to be trans- ferred into a new hive. But the frames were all connected by combs, which the bees had constructed, mak- ing the replacing diflicult. My friend, nevertheless, was determined to sep- arate them. In cutting the connected combs asunder, he destroyed some brood ; then there was humming about the ears. Hence, my friend re- ceived a few stings. Not so I. As we could not use the smoker— there was straw, etc., near— we smoked to- bacco, and this so much, as to make us quite dizzy. Alas 1 never shall we do that again ; we shall certainly use the Bingham smoker. Frank. Seneca Co., O., May 23, 1883. [1. The bees clustered on one side in order to utilize the heat of the cluster; then, as they were few in numbers, it became too cold for them to go to the honey, and hence starved, with " plenty " close to them, but out of their reach. 2. Yes ; if the weather is propitious, and they are strong in numbers. — Ed.] The " Big Damp," by the Floods. We have had some very valuable yet unprofitable experience during the late " big damp " in the Ohio Val- ley, by the washing away of almost all the bees in the neighborhood. Sev- eral boxes and hives were caught dur- ing the flood, though quite cold weather, with bees clustered at the edges of comb out of the water, wet and chilled, but with little care they were saved. One man saved 2 out of 8 colonies, after they had been float- ing in the water four days. Another saved 8 out of 18, after floating six days, and only kept from floating away entirely by houses and high fences surrounding them ; some were right side up, some bottom up, and others on their sides ; yet almost all these are now in good condition, hav- ing built up rapidly on our abundant early spring fruit-bloom. Some of THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 303 tliem I have transferred for the par- ties to get rid of ttie badly soiled combs, the ceils of which were well Hlled with mud and sand. My bees were saved 1)V first placing them on tlie roof of the bee house, which sub- sequently floated away, but not until after 1 had transferred my bees to tlie roof of my office, where 1 saved them all, in good condition. All colonies taken from the water were more or less damaged, by depletion in num- bers, and soiling of combs. Bees in Southern Ohio, above high water mark, and those kept out of the water, are in excellent condition. They win- tered well, coming through, well stocked in bees and capped brood, and have built up fast during the spring, on early fruit bloom, which was very abundant. Now we have a most flattering prospect of white clover blossoms, scattered with un- sparing liand by a wise, over-ruling Providence. Our honey harvest, this year, cannot be other than excellent. I look for my Bee Journal as for my breakfast, with a keen appetite. R. A. MOLLTNEAUX. New Richmond, O., June 1, 1883. Peculiar Season for Bees. The past month has been the worst May I have ever known for bees, and as a consequence, bees are in poor condition. Mine are in fully as bad shape, if not worse, than they were last year at this time, and vegetation is at least a week later than then ; and we thought last year was as bad as a season could be. The season will have to be a very peculiar one from this time on, to allow us to obtain an average crop of honey. O. O POPPLETON. Williamstown, Iowa, June 1, 1883. Cold and Backward Season. The season is very cold and back- ward here. We had another frost last night. Fruit is much injured. Fruit and early forest bloom have amounted to almost nothing for the bees, on account of continual cold and rain. Feeding is now the rule, in my apiary, to ward off starvation, though the hives contained very ample stores in the fall. The colonies, however, are nearly all very strong ; most of them having clustered outside. Have already had 4 swarms. Winter and spring loss is less than 10 per cent. The season is about two weeks late. H. D. BURKELL. Bangor, Mich., June 1, 1883. ^p^ecial notices. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. W e wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. Honey as Food and Medicine. A new edition, revised and enlarged, the new pages being devoted to iiew Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We liave put the price of them low to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 6 cents, postpaid; per dozen, 50 cents; per hundred, $4.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense— enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good prolit. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies 220 pages 1 .50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. " Bees and Honey," for Beginners. The majority of those who buy bees of me, depend upon me to get them a reference book. " liees and Honey " more nearly '" Alls the bill " than any work I know of, especially for those who buy ihat they may supply their own family with honey, and not to make a business of it. It combines cheiipness, quality and quantity in the right proportions. To one who has purchased several colonies, 1 usually have donated a copy of it. Lincoln, Neb. \i. M. Hawley. BeePasturageaJiecessity.— We have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. Special Notice.— We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bee Journal for one year, and the seventh edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, bound in flne cloth, for $2.75, or the Monthly Bee Journal, and the Manual in cloth for $1.75. As this offer will soon be withdrawn, those who desire it should send for the book at once. ^f Do not send coins in a letter. It is dangerous and increases the postage unnecessarily. Always send postage stamps, for fractions of a dollar, and, if you can get them— o?ic-ce«t stamps ; if not, any denomination of postage stamps will do. t^ Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra. Emerson Binders — made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for 75 cents, for the \Veekly ; or for the Monthly, .50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. Preparation of Honey for the Mar- ket, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey, instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. Sample Copies of theAMEKiCAN Bee Journal will be sent free to any per- son. Any one intending to get up a club can have sample copies sent to the persons they desire t(> interview, by sending the names to this office. 292 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Bingham Smoker Corner. Large Smokers need wide shields. Bingham's have them, and springs that do notrust and breali, and bellows that sparlis and smoke do not enter. The Conqueror has all improvements made to date, and a 3x7 inch stove, and 5x7 inch bellows. Sent post-paid for SI. 75. Address. BINGHAM & HETHERINGTON, Abronia Mich. All Excelling. — Messrs. Bingham & Hetherington, Dear Sirs :— 1 am now selling your Smokers almost ex- clusively. You are excelling your- selves in smokers all the time. Respectfully, J. G. Taylor. Austin, Texas, May 10, 1883. Cyprians Conquered. All summer long it has been " which and tother " with me and the Cyprian colony of bees I have— but at last I am "boss." Bingham's " Conqueror Smoker " did it. If you want lots of smoke just at the right time, get a Conqueror Smoker of Bingham. G. M. DOOLITTLE. Borodino, N. Y., Aug. 15, 1882. During the following three months, Bingham Smokers will be sent post- paid, per mail, on receipt of the fol- lowing prices : The "Doctor". . (wide shield)— 3}^ in. Are tube, f 2.00 The Conqueror (wide shield)— 3 in.flretube, 1.75 Large (wide shield )—2H in. Are tube, 1.50 Extra (wideshield)— 2 In.flretube, 1.25 Plain (nar. shield)- 2 in.flretube, !.«) Little Wonder, .(nar. shield)— l^iin.flretube, .65 Bingham & Hetherington LTncapping Knife. . 1.15 With thanks for letters of encour- agement, and the absence of complain- ing ones, we tender to our thirty-five thousand patrons our best wishes. Very Respectfully Yours, Bingham & Hetherington. Abronia, Mich.. June 1, 1883. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee m gold, we send for 1* cts. each, or $8 per 100. i^"Do not let your numbers of the IJee Journal for 1882 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are verv valuable for reference. i^May we ask you, dear reader, to speak a good word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at least one ?ie«t) subscription with your own 'i Our premium, " Bees and Honey," in cloth, for one jiew sub- scriber to the Weekly, or two for the Monthly, besides your own subscrip- tion to either edition, will pay you for your trouble, besides having tlie satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bee Journal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. Honey and Beeswax Market. Office OF AMEKICAN BEB JOURNAL. { Monday, 10 a. m., June 11, 1K82. i The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Qnotutlons or Cash Buyers. CHICAGO. HONEY— The nominal price of extracted Is 7c. for dark and 9c. for light— here. The supply is abundant and sales are slow. BEBSWAX-None in the market. Al. H. Newman. a23 W. Madison St. CINCINNATL HONEY.— The market for extracted honey is lively, and the demand exceeds the arrivals. Our stock is small and we are in danger of having sold out every day. We pay 7@lnc. for good honey on arrival, the latter price for choice clover. There is a small demand for comb honey, and prices nominal. BEESWAX.— Arrivals of beeswax are plentiful. We pay 3oc. for a good article on arrival. CHAS. F. MUTH. Qnotatlons or CommlsMlon Merchants. NEW rORK. HONEY.— Best clover In 1-lb. sections (no glass) 22(§i23c. ; in 2-lb. sections (glassed) I8(§i20c. Fair quality. I and 2-lb. sections. 17(fl.l8c Extracted, white, in small barrels. lO(sc. H. K. & F. B. THnRBKR & Co. CHICAGO. HONEY.— Prices declining. Holders are anxious to sell, and the prices vary very much. BEKSWAX-35rd,3(ic. R. A. Burnett. 161 South Water St. SAN FRANCISCO. HONEY— Stocks and the demand are both light. More or less difficulty would be experienced in fllling a large firder f0 profusely illustrated pages, is "fully up with the times" in all the improvements and inventions in this rapidly developing pursuit, and presents the apiarist with everything that can aid in the successful management of the Honey Bee, and at the same time produce the most honey in its best and most attractive condition. Appreciative Notices. A neat and abundantly Illustrated hand-book ot apiculture.— American Agriculturist, N. Y. Its chapter on marketing honey is worth many times Its cost.— Citizen, Pulaski, Tenn. ■ Conttilns all the information needed to make bee-culture successful.— Eagle, Union City, Ind. Just such a work as should be In the bands of every beginner with bees.— News, Keithsburg, III. Valuable for all who are Interested In the care and management of bees.— Dem., Allegan, Mich. Engravings are fine. Gotten up in the best style^ and Is cheap at the price.— Farmer, Cleveland, O. It comprises all that is necessary for successful bee-culture, save experience and good judgment. —Daily Republican, Utica, N. Y. Gives minute details for the management and manipulations necessary to make bee-keeping & success.— Col. Valley and Farm. Written in an interesting and attractive manner^ and contains valuable information for all readers, even though they be not directly interested in th& care of bees.— Sentinel. Rome, N. Y. It is a valuable and practical book, and contains. a complete resume of the natural history of thft little busy bee. as well as of all that one needs to- know in their care and management.— Chicago Herald. Contains a vast fund of information in regard to bee-culture. He who would keep abreast of the times must keep posted in all the improvements In his line. We advise all interested to get a copy of this book.— Daily Times. San Bernardino. Cal. It embraces every subject that will interest the beginner. It describes all the newest discoveriefi' in the art by which the production of delicious and health-giving honey is obtained, as well as how to prepare it for the market in the most attractive- form. It isembellished with beautiful engravings,, and is the most perfect work of the kind, for tne' price, that has ever come under our notice.— Far-- mer, Lancaster, Pa. PRICE— Bound in cloth, 7S cents; in papei- covers, 50 cento, postpaid. THOACAS O. NEIVMAAT, 925 W. Madison St.. Chicago, III. $4.00 $4,00 One Huiulred Colonies Bees. As our store busine.ss demands ail our time, we- have decided V.i close out our apiary at S4.00 per colony. Will extract most of our honey, and commence shipping about the istof August. Beea in my double wall hive, size of frame, I4xi2, with side and tO|> storage for 75 pounds of honey, also 2.^ 3-comb nuclei double wall, takes hive frame, at |;2.C)o each. Orders booked and tilled in rotation. Send by Registered letter. 24Alt Address. J. E. MOORE, BYRON.N.Y. E.T. LEWIS & CO., Toledo, Ohio, Manufacturers of the U. S. STANDARD Honey Extractor (new improvements), .and all othei'^ Apiarian Supplies. Send for circular. 17A 5Btf BEE ■ KEKI'ERS. before ordering your APIARIAN-SUPPLIES send for our large illustrated cata- logue, sent free to any address. E. Kretcbtuer, Cobnrvt loiva,. .^*. Jfi) (^ OLDEST BEE PAPER 1 AMERICA VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., JUNE 20, 1883. No. 25. 1 mm Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editok anli Proprietor, The Standard Langstroth Frame. Mr. M. M. Brtldridge, St. Charles, 111., sends us the following for publi cation in the Bkb Journal : It has been sliown on several occa- sions, by the very best of evidence, that the correct length, outside meas- ure, of the "standard Langstroth frame," is n%, and not 17% inches. The evidence is the 3d revised edition of Mr. Lanestroth's book ; and, I will now add, all sKbsequent editions of said book. As an attempt has been made by some to show that Mr. L. * has stated somewhere, in print, that the •• standard Langstroth frame " is \7% inches long, outside measure, 1 will at present simply deny the truth of such an assertion. And, while I am on this subject, I may as well also deny that Mr. L. has given, "in a protninent periodical," any reasons ('/) for changing the outside length of the standard Langstroth frame from 17% to 17^8 inches. Now, if any one thinks otherwise, please come right along witli the proof. . In an editorial note on page 272, we stated that " Mr. Langstroth had pub- licly given his sanction to the frame 17% inches long."' And, on page 2.51, Mr. Alves states that" Mr. Langstroth himself has approved the change to 17% inches. As these statements can be so easily sustained, and to save any labored arguments, we will here give the proof : In the Bee Journal for December, 1878, page 427, we published an article written by Mr. Baldridge on this sub- ject, in which he says : " The outside length of the [Langs- troth] frame is 17% inches, instead of 17% inches, as given by Messrs. New- man and Root. This is an important mistake, as it destroys the inter- changeableness of the frames." Desiring to have Mr. Langstroth decide the point, we sent him an ad- vanced proof sheet of the article, for his decision. His answer was un- equivocal, and as follows : •' Mr. Baldridge is in error in sup- posing that such slight variations as he notices, destroy the iuterchangea- bleness of the frames. Considering the accuracy which may be obtained in making the frames stiff and per- fectly square, I prefer ilte measurements of Messrs. Newman and Boot." As before stated, we said "Mr. Langstroth has given his sanction to the frame 17% inches long;" and Mr. Alves asserted that " Mr. L. had him- self approved the change." If the quotation given does not " sanction " and "approve" the change, we do not know what language Mr. Langs- troth could have used to have approved and sanctioned it ! Mr. Langstroth's attention was called to the change of )4 inch in the length of his frame, from the ligures given in his book, and he promptly endorsed the change, and wrote for publication in the American Bee Journal : " I prefer " it. The arguments against the change, and Mr. Baldridge's assertion that it was " an important mistake," because " it destroys the interchangeableness of the frames," were also submitted to Mr. Langstroth, and he immediately wrote the reply for publication in the Bee Journal (vol. 14, page 427), " Mr. Baldridge is in error !" If this emphatic language of " the author of the book" and " inventor of the frame " does not settle the point — then it cannot be settled ; and to further discuss the matter is but a farce ' The last edition of Mr. Langstroth's book (the fourth) was published about 2.5 years ago ; since then, some have thought that a modilication of 3-4 of an inch in the length of his frame was to be desired, and Mr. L. has publicly endorsed that change. Now, there- fore, to ignore this, his latest decision, made in 'the light of the ever-living present, and to persistently appeal to a book (be it one ever so valuable) a quarter of a century old, and there- fore, " behind the times," not even hinting at many of the grandest inven- tions and improvements inaugurated during the past 2.5 years, is unpro- gressive ! Such a course is something akin to that of going back to the " dark ages of the past," to define the courses and size of the planets, while ignoring the discoveries of more recent astromomers, made in the light of the present progressive age ! Salt for the Apiary. The Orange Bulletin has the follow- ing advice about the generous use of salt in the apiary : Use salt freely about your hives. Sprinkle a little water with plenty of salt outside, and in the hives, when the bees are troubled with ants. Good salty brine is of much value in destroy- ing moth eggs about hives. Rock salt is good to make brine of, to prevent foul brood, which sometimes destroy whole apiaries, and is to be much dreaded by the apiarist. It is better to use an ounce of preventive than a pound of cure. Use small troughs for the brine. Backwardness. — Complaints are now quite numerous about persons not re- ceiving hives, sections and queens after ordering them of many of our most reliable dealers and breeders. The backward spring weather has pre- vented queen rearing, and isasufficient excuse for not receiving queens. And the backwardness of bee-keepers in notordering hives and sections earlier, is the cau.se of much inconvenience to them and others. Many rush in orders for such at the same time (some even by telegraph), till the capacity of all supply dealers is exceeded. This should teach a valuable lesson for another season — to get such things early — in time to prevent the possi- bility of waiting for them. 306 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Bees, Fruit and Flowers in Virginia. In the Winchester, Va., Times, we notice the following concerning Vir- ginia's bee-master, Mr. E. C. Jordan : "We have received some very tine strawberries from Mr. E. C. Jordan, the proprietor of Jordan's White Sul- phur Springs. He regrets that his mammoth variety is not yet ripe, but if they are any larger than tlie tine ones he sent us, strawberries can no longer be classed among the small fruits. 'In the course of a few days,' he writes us, 'we will have them by the bushel. Come out and see us, our bees, tlowers, and strawberries.' Thank you, sir, ' if we know our- selves, and we tliink we do,' we will be there to see the place so well- known for its beauty, and to partake of its equally famous hospitality." The editor of the Bee Jouknal would be delighted to spend a short time at the "White Sulphur Springs," this summer, for recreation, but we fear he cannot be spared from his "desk" and everlasting round of duties. Nothing would give him greater pleasure than to accept of Mr. Jordan's many pressing invitations to spend some time among the Bees and berries. Plums and cherries; Birds and bowers, Fragrant flowers ; In the sunny. Vale of honey: With birds that sing, At Sulphur Sprina - In '■ Old Vlrginny !" When we we retire from the tripod, Mr. Jordan may expect us to settle down in that locality— to enjoy "old age" with the birds, bees and flowers of the sunny South— that is the iieiglit of our ambition. Humble-Bees and the Clover. Prof. C. H. Fernald has written the following article for the Maine Farmer on the "Humble or Bumble-bees, their habits and uses," which will be of much interest to many of our read- ers. The fertilization of flowers, both by these bees as well as by the Ajjis Melijica, or honey bees, and other insects, is a subject of considerable interest to farmers as well as to bee- keepers. Prof. Fernald remarks as follows : " The Humble-bees, or Bumblebees as they are sometimes called, are among the largest and most showy of our Maine Hpinenoptera, and are ex- tremely useful to the farmers for the work they do in cross fertilizing red clover. It is well know tliat the flower tube of this plant is so long that few insects have a sutticient length of tongue to reach the nectar in the nectary, and, therefore, it is not often frequented by honey bees and otiier nectar-loving Hymenopterous insects. We are, therefore, greatly indebted to the Humble-bees, for their visits to tlie clover, their great hairy bodies become more or less powdered with the pollen, and when they visit other clover heads their flowers are fertilized by the pollen which the Humble-bees have brought from the flowers previously visited. It has been claimed, and witliout doubt correctly, that unless cross fer- tilization is effected in some way, the clover will run out. Darwin covered 100 flower heads of red clover with a net to keep the insects from them, and not a single seed was developed, but from 100 heads on plants grovving outside, which were visited by bees, there were obtained 2,720 seeds. Ex- periments, of a similar character have been repeatedly performed both in Europe and in ttiis country, and with like results. In all my observa- tions I have scarcely ever seen any other insects visiting red clover than Humble-bees. These insects are pretty generally distributed over the world, being found in both North and South Amer- ica, in Europe, Asia and Africa, but not in Australia and New Zealand. It is in northern latitudes that they thrive best, and they even occur in the most northern regions to wliich man has penetrated. In Australia there are no native in- sects adapted to the cross fertiliza- tion of red clover, and it has been at- tempted to introduce Humble-bees into that country for this purpose, but with what results I have not yet learned. There are four different kinds in a colony of Humble-bees, the large fe- males or queens, the small females, the workers and the males. Only the queen lives over the winter, and she hibernates either in the nest or under fallen leaves, or in some protected place. When the warm days of spring come, these large females, or queens, may be seen flying from place to place, crawling in andoUt of places, around and umler stumps and stones, hunting for some place in which to make their nests. When one of -these queens linds a suitable place, as a deserted nest of a field mouse, or some hole under a stone or stump, she at once collects a small amount of pollen, which she mixes with honey, making a more or less sticky mass which she sticks into the pollen basket on the outside of the hind leg, and in which it is carried to the nest. As soon as a small mass of this food is collected, the queen deposits several eggs in it without or- der, and without even constructing any cells, but she continues the work of collecting pollen and laying eggs until the first brood emerges. As soon as the eggs hatch, the young be- gin to eat of the mass of food which surrounds them, thus enlarging their cavity gradually until thay reach their full growth as larvse, when they spin a silken wall around themselves, lining the cavity which they have ex- cavated in the pollen mass. The old bees close up these cells with a thin layer of wax, and the young trans- form into pupae, and in due time change into the perfect stage and cut their way out, wlien they are ready to assume their duties as workers, small females, males, or queens, according to their individual formation. In the spring and early summer, only the large females are to be seen abroad on the wing, but the first brood consisting of workers only, as soon as they emerge, at once take upon themselves the work of the nests and the collecting of poUen and honey, while the queens remain in tlie nests. After this time, only small bees are to be seen visiting the flowers, and these are the workers. As the queen continues prolific, mote workers are added, and the nest is rapidly enlarged. About midsum- mer, eggs are laid which produce both small females and males. It is sup- posed that they pair near the end of the season, and as a result, these small females lay eggs from which the queens are developed. It has been proved that all the eggs laid after the first of September, produce the hirge females or queens, and as the males are still in the nest, the queens are impregnated in the air after the man- ner of the honey bee. On the ap- proach of cold weather all the Hum- ble-bees die except the queens, of which there are now several in each nest. These queens hibernate during the winter, and in spring they revive to repeat another cycle as described. Twelve different species of Hum- ble bees belonging to the genus Bom- bus, are known to inhabit New Eng- land, and of these I have taken five in Orono. I am not aware that these insects are in any way injurious, but from the above showing they are of im- mense value in cross fertilizing plants, and should be protected. Mowing machines and horse rakes destroy their nests when run through them, but this should be avoided when pos- sible. It is true that they sting upon severe provocation, as when one at- tempts to destroy their nests, but who wouldn't fight for their own homes and firesides '? Jiauieless.— It is surprising that any one should be so careless as to forget to give their name when sending money in a letter. We have a bundle of such letters in this office (each one containsmoney for books or Journals), and, as they have no name signed, it is impossible to fill the orders or com- municate with the writers. When we have some clue, either by post mark or post ofiice address given, we usually find out by writing there either to some subscriber, or to the post master —but with these in this bundle we have no clue, and must wait until the writers shall give us their names and addresses. To all we would say— be careful to sign your names, and give your Post-Office, County and State. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 307 Bees in Africa and the Kafirs. The bees of Africa, especially of the Southern portion, near the Cape of Good Hope, are as much more vicious than the Cyprian bees, as the Cyprians are Grosser than tlie Italians, if we may credit the testimony of a c(jrrespondent of the London Nature, who relates the experience of himself and his two servants (one a Kafir and the otiier a colored Malay), which he describes as follows : I keep two apiaries at a considerable distance from each other, to one "of which my gardner, a colored Malay, attends, and to the other a Kafir la- borer. At first they were generally stung when passing too near the en- trance of a hive, but now they pass and repass with impunity. They work with the bees more frequently than I do, and yet when either of tliem assists me in his own api;iry, he receives more stings than I do. This I ascribe to the gardner's using snuff in his mouth very freely, and to the Kafir's very pronounced odor. To test the recognition of the beea, I once requested the Malay and tlie Kafir to change clothes with each other, and wear thick veils over their heads and faces. They did so, and assisted ine first in the apiaries to which they were respectively in the habit of iitLending, with the result that they received no stings, but when either began to work with the bees in the apiary he usually did not attend to, he was so stung about the hands that he had to beat a hasty retreat, while I remaiiied uninjured, although not veiled. The two men are almost of the same size and build, so that if the bees had any power of general recognition, they would probably (as some of the other servants did) have mistaken the one for the other. lean, therefore, only account for the con- duct of the bees by the unpleasant, and to them strange, odor. At my re- quest the gardner discontinued the use of snuff in his mouth for some time, and during that time he was not stung more than I was, while working with the bees ; but if the Kafir stands before the entrance of an unaccus- tomed hive, he is remorselessly stung. I may add that Cape bees are very much more vicious than European ones seem to be, and that, if not skill- fully handled, they will unmercifully sting their most familiar friends. On one occasion, a bunch of carrots was left near the gardner's apiary, which so enraged the bees that they stung him and everyone else they came across, and very nearly stinig a cow to death at a distance of about a hundred yards from the apiary ; and on another occasion a horse, still wet with swe.-it, trespassed too near a hive, with the result that the whole apiary was in uproar, and some of my children and servants were stung, the chief victim being a Malay girl, who used to apply quantities of scented pomatum to her nair, and who was severely stung on the head. Mr. Romanes continues his narra- tion thus : " Again, many instances might be quoted, such as that given by Guer- ingius, who allowed a species of wasp, native to Natal, to build in the door- posts of his house, and who observed that, although he often interfered with the nest, he was only once stung, and this by a young wasp ; while no Kafir could venture to approach the door, much less pass through it." It does not appear whether any white stranger was ever stung, and the only inference that could be reasonably drawn from the conduct of the wasps, is, that they disliked the odor of Kafirs, which, as is well-known, is peculiarly disagreeable. If a particular Kafir had been in the habit of passing through the door, the wasps would probably have become accustomed to his scent, in the same way as a colony of bees, upon the testimony of Sir John Lub- bock, became accustomed to the scent of eau-de-cologne repeatedly dropped at the entrance of their hive. queen. Tlie combs of honey and brood can be given to small colonies. Keep the Bees at Work. There is at present every indication that the honey harvest this year will be very large. Honey - producing plants, trees and shrubs are full of liquid sweetness, and with fair weather the crop will be an exceedingly large one. Mrs. L. Harrison in the Prairie Farmer remarks as follows on this and other important subjects : No one can now tell what the har- vest will be, but there is a great growth of white clover, and if the clerk of nature's laboratory works in our favor, we shall secure an abundant harvest, for the workers are many and the fields white. But the watchmen must be faithful and see that every tenant pays his rent ; no " loafing " must be allowed, and " hanging out " stopped instanter. Some bees will wax fat, and loaf for weeks, getting ready to swarm, if allowed to do so. There is no need of waxing fat, when they are to be supplied with founda- tion for their combs. There sliould at all times be plenty of surplus room, not too much, but enough to accommodate all the bees. Sometimes bees hang out because there is too little ventilation, or they are too warm. They should be cooled by shading, given more air and surpUis room. If all these fail, smoke them in, and if they cluster out again, pour honey on them, stir them up with a spoon, and then run for life, for they will be on the rampage. As a last resort, prepare a hive with frames of comb or foundation, and lift off the surplus boxes on to it, remove the hive and place the prepared hive where the old one stood. AH the bees returning from the fields enter this, and the bees on the combs brushed in front of this, together with the Honey and Beeswax Market. OFFICE OF AMERICAN BEE JOLTHNAL. { Monday, 10 a. m., June 18, 1882. ( The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Quotations or Cush Buyers. CHICAGO. HONEY— The nominal price of extracted is 7c. for dark and He. for linhi— liere. The supply is abundant and sales are slow. BEESWAX— None in the market. AL. H. Newman, h23 W. Madison St. CIN<;1NNAT1. HONE v.— The market for extracted honey is lively, and tlie demand exceeds the arrivals. Our stock is small and we are in danger of having sold out every day. We pay 7ij^l0c. for good honey on arrival, the latter price for choice clover. There is a small demand for comb honey, and prices nominal. BEESWAX.— Arrivals of beeswax are plentiful. We pay 35c. for a good article on arrival. ChAS. F. MOTH. <{uotall«tiiit on'omrolHslon Herchunta. NEW YORK. HONEY.— Best clover in I-lb. sections (no glass) 22(flj23c. : in 2-lb. sections (glassed) 18(S*20c. Fair quality. 1 and li-lb. sections, 17Sil8c Extracted, white, in small barrels, loigil IXc; buckwheat, 8(^9c. BEESWAX.- Is more plentiful. Prime yellow H. K. & P. B. Thurber & Co. CHII'AQO. HONE Y.— Prices declining. Holders are anxious to sell, and the prices vary very much. BEESWAX— 3.=i(Si36c. R. A. Burnett, 161 South Water St. SAN FKANCISCO. HONEY-Stocks and the demand are both light. More or less difficulty would be experienced in filling a large order for a straight lot. White comb, 14(!ol7c,: dark to go d,ll@l3c.i ex- tracted, choice to extra white, 8^@9^c. ; dark and candied, 5®7>^c. BEBSWAX-Wholesale, 27.328c. Stearns i smith. i'iS Front Street. ST. i.OUIS. HONEY.— Strained salable at 7@7Hc; comb sold in a lobbing wav only— old 10(3il4c, and new 15c. BEESWAX.- Sold mainly at 33(!«34c— latter for CLEVELAND. HONEY.— There is amoderalesalefor best white 1-lb. sections at I8c, occasionally 19c, but 2 lbs. are not called for. Extracted Is no sale at all. BEESWA.X- Not offering. A. C. Kendel, 1 1.5 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONEY- Our market is fairly active. We quote: i^ lb. sections at 3I1C.: 1 lb. sections, 22(6:250.; 2 1b. sections, 2ii(a22c. Extracted, inc. per lb. Good lots ot extracted are wanted in kegs or barrels. BEESWAX-Our supply is gone; we have none to quote. Crocker & Blake, s" Chatham Street. 1^ When writing to this office on business, our correspondents should not write anything fiw publication on the same sheet of paper, unless it can be torn apart without interfering with either portion of the letter. The edi- torial and business departments are separate and distinct, and when the business is mixed up with items for Dublication it often causes confusion. They may both be sent in one envelope but on separate pieces of paper. Advertisements intended for the Bee Journal must reach this office by Saturday of the previous week. 308 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For tlie American Bvje Journal. At What Age Do Bees Gather Honey ? G. M. DOOLITTLE. The above heading may be tlKnight by some to be of little interest, but as it has much to do with the surplus honey we get, I thought a few words on the subject would not be ainiss. Many seem to suppose that the bee is capable of going to the (ields to gather honey as soon as hatched, or in three or four days at least, but some facts prove that I liey do not do so. Bees may be forced to go to the fields for pollen and honey at the age of 5 or 6 days old, but when the colony is in a normal condition, as it always should be to store honey to the best advan- tage, the bee is 16 days old before it gathers honey. If we take combs of bees just hatching, and place them in a hive without any bees, as is fre- quently done to introduce a vahiable queen, we will see young bees not over 5 or 6 days old go to the fields, losing compelled to do so for water, pollen, etc., because there is none of older age to go ; but this does not . prove that bees of that age usually do so any more than the experiment of feeding 20 pounds of honey to bees confined to the hive before one pound of wax was produced, proves that it always takes 20 pounds of honey to produce one pound of comb. I have conducted .two experiments since I kept bees, to ascertain the age at which bees gather the first honey, and as each proved the same. I be- lieve 16 days to be the time when the bee brings her first load of honey, when the colony is in a normal condi- tion. The experiment which I tried was this : A black queen was removed from a colony, and an Italian queen introduced in her place about the middle of June. The date was marked on the hive, and as the 21st day thereafter arrived, a careful watch was kept to see when the first Italian bee hatched. When the first Italian had emerged from the cell, a careful watch was again kept of tlie hive to see when the first Italian took its flight. This happened about 2 p. m., on the eighth day after the first Italian was found hatched, when a few came out for a play spell, but in an hour all had returned, and none but black bees were seen going to and from the hive. As the days passed on the numbers increased at each Elaj^ spell (about 2 o'clock), but none aving the Italian markings were seen, except at these play spells, till the 16tli day after the first Italian hatched. At this time a few came in with pollen and honey, commencing to work at about 10 a. m. After this, the number of Italian honey gatherers increased while the number of blacks decreased, until on the 4.5th day after the last black bee was hatched, when not a black bee was to be found in or about the hive. If the above is cor- rect, and I believe it is, it will be seen that the eggs, for our honey gatherers, must be laid by the queen 37 days be- fore our main honey harvest, if we would get the best results from our bees; as it takes 21 days from the time the egg is laid to the time the bee emerges from the cell, and this added to the 16 makes the 37 days. The above is applicable to any por- tion of tlie country, where a certain fiora produces the "larger portion of the honey crop. To be sure, the bees from the time they are three days old, help to perform the labors in the hive, such as building comb, feeding the larvae, evaporating nectar, etc., hence are of much value toward securing the crop of honey, if we have plenty of bees besides, over 16 days old, but otherwise all hatching after the middle of the honey harvest are of little use. Another thing 1 ascertained by these experiments, which was that the bees which gather the honey are not the ones which deposit it in the cells. I was reading in a bee paper, not long ago, how the loaded bees from the field carried their honey easily to the top of a four story hive. This was used as an argument in favor of placing the empty combs on top of the full ones, instead of raising up the second or third story and plac- ing them between full combs, on the tiering up plan. As far as the loaded bees are concerned, it makes no dif- ference, as will be seen when I state that on the loth day after the first Italian hatched, when none but black bees were going in and out at the en- trance, 1 found by taking off the cover and examining the sections, that scarce a black bee was in them, but all were Italians, which were at work there, building comb and de- positing honey. After this I used an observatory hive containing but one comb. In this I also had black bees as field bees, and young Italians for the inside work. By watching the entrance through the glass, I could see the loaded bees come in, and when one came on the side next to me, I could easily see what it did with the load of honey. The bee would pass along on the comb till it came to a young bee, when it would put out its tongue toward the young bee. If this bee had no load, it would take the honey, but if it had, our field bee must try again till one was found that could take the load, when it was given up to it. The field bee then rested a little while, when it would go for another load. Thus it will be seen that any entrance leading direct to the surplus arrangement, as was formerly made in the Langstroth hive, is of no use, but, on the contrary, a positive damage, as in cool nights it causes the bees to leave the boxes, from allowing too much cold air to enter them. To secure the best re- sults, it is necessary to be fully ac- quainted with all of these minor points of interest about the bees, so that we may combine them all, and bring them all to bear on that which will produce us the most honey. Borodino, N. Y. Country Gentlenan. Using a Standard Frame. W. Z. HUTCHINSON. One can now scarcely pick up a bee paper without finding an article with the above heading, and, although all the writers do not agree as to which frame should be taken as the standard, they do agree as to the desirability of all bee-keepers using a frame of the same size. The traffic in bees is be- coming quite large, and with so many different-sized frames as there are now in use, the purchaser of bees fre- quently not only has to perform the disagreeable fast of transferring them, in order that they may be in hives like his own, but the discarded hives and frames are seldom of any value, except for kindling wood. Were some frame adopted as the standard, and used by all bee-keepers, the supply business would be greatly simplified and made more profitable, both to the manufacturers and the consumers. Hives, frames, etc., could be manu- factured in large quantities, and, at a corresponding lower price, and the delays caused by having to wait while some odd sizes are being manufac- tured, would be entirely avoided. Ex- periments, especially those in regard to wintering bees, would be more con- clusive and satisfactory, were all frames of the same size, as success or failure could not be attributed to the difference in the size or shape of the frames used. As the majority of bee-keepers use the Langstroth frame, it is not to be wondered at, that nearly all writers upon this subject, advocate the adopt- ion of the Langstroth frame as the standard. I have always used the American frame, which is about 12 inches square, and I have nearly 100 hives, yet I shall, this season, com- mence using the Langstroth frame, and another season shall discard the American frame entirely. If I cannot sell the hives and combs to some one who uses that style of hives, I shall transfer the best of the combs, melt the remainder into beeswax, and have the wax manufactured into comb foundation. I will knock the hives to pieces, and use what I can in making Langstrotli hives. Heretofore I have reared queens and extracted honey, and for these purposes 1 regard the American frame as good as any. Now, I shall give the production of comb honey a trial, and, for this Ijusi- ness, I am convinced that a shallow frame is preferrable. Since the Langs- troth is a shallow frame, and is used by a majority of bee-keepers, I shall adopt it. It has been manjr times asserted that the Langstroth frame is too shal- low for wintering bees successfully in our cold, northern climate. It is as- serted that in order to pass the winter safely, bees should cluster beneath their stores— as the heat arising from the cluster keeps the honey warm and in proper condition to be used. It should be remembered that when the warm air arising from a cluster of bees strikes against the covering over the frames, the heat spreads out in a THE AMERICAIT BEE JOURNAL. 309 lateral direction ail over the upper portion of the hive, and that bees in search of food, in cold weatlier, move in a lateral direction between the combs just as readily as they do in an upward direction, and much more readily between combs than they will pass from comb to comb. If any one thinks differently, let him, near the close of tlie honey season, raise tlie baclt end of his Langstroth hive until the hive stands at an angle of 65 ', when by the time that cold weather comes, the bees will practically be in a tall hive witlr their stores above them. Two years ago, just after the close of a very disastrous winter for bees, the editor of the American Bee Jourt NAL requested his readers to send in reports of how their bees were pre- pared for winter — whether tliey were wintered in tlie cellars, or out-of- doors ; the kind of hives used, etc , — and liow the bees wintered. From these reports a statistical table was prepared, and one of the facts brought out, was that bees vs'intered witli the least loss in Langstroth hive'i. Among other remarks the editor made the following : "Those who have contended that that the Langstroth hive is too shal- low for winteriijg, will be surprised to learn that the figures compare very favorably for it. Thus the percentage of losses in all kinds of frame hives is 46; exclusive of the Langstroth hive It is 51, leaving only 43 for the Langs- troth, being 8 per cent, in its favor. Again, this report records the results of wintering in -521,830 hives ; 211,732 of which were in box hives, leaving 309,598 for all kinds of frame hives. Of the latter, 195,957 areLangstrotli— i. e., shallow frames— and 113,561 of all others combined. We really think these figures settle the matter of ' the coming frame.' Had the deep frames been shown to have the advantage, the Bee Journal would have been ready to advocate their universal adoption, for it has no desire to favor any but the most successful methods, hives or implements." The reason that a shallow frame is better adapted to the production of comb honey, is that the capacity for top-storing is so increased, tliat the troublesome and vexatiousside-storing is avoided, and the honey boxes are brought near the center of the brood nest, which induces the bees to enter more readily. Now, as a shallow frame is best for obtaining comb honey, and equally as good as any for extracted honey, and, as the Langs- troth is a shallow frame, and is cer- tainly as good a frame as any upon which to winter bees, and Is now largely in the majority, I shall adopt it and do all that I can towards making it the standard fra»e. There is some dispute as to the ex- act dimensions of the Langstroth frame, but tlie majority of the frames in use are 9}i inches deep and 17^8 inches long. The largest manufact- urers of hives, and the greatest num- ber of them, have adopted this size, as have the editors of all of the principal bee periodicals. In Mr. Langstroth's book published 20 years ago. the length of the frames was given as \7% instead of \7%, but the introduc- tion, several years ago, of the one- pound section, which is i}4^'^H inches square, eight of which just till a Langstroth frame when made 17,^8 inches in length, outside measure- ment, is a good reason for making them of that length, and Mr. Langs- troth, long ago, publicly indorsed tlie change to 17^-8. Rogersville, Mich. For the American Bee Journal Size of Frame— Bees for Business. .lAlLES HEDDON. In reply to Mr. Alves, let me say : 1. Tlie large majority of frame hives used in this country «,re "made' by the users. 2. Mr. Langstroth has never, to my knowledge, pronounced 17^8 the stan- dard, and if his fiat will make a stan- dard at any time, I will write to him and possibly induce him to call it nysx9%. 3. I did not object to the mongrel being well adapted to taking the oiie- pound sections. I only objected to that fact being used as an argument in its favor, asserting that the true standard size 17% would do the same, and that the two-story broad frame system was fast falling into disrepute. 4. I maintain that when a man lays down a system in a book, and gives dimensions of all the parts of his hive connected with that system, together with good and valid reasons for such measurements, spreads that book far and wide, which results in thousands copying after his directions, that such established standard is not to be al- tered by wrenching from him his as- sent to a fractional change that can serve no purpose for the better, only annoying bee-keepers with the dis- astrous results of odd sizes of hives and frames. 5. What Mr. L. says on page 331, has reference solely to princiisles with- in the realm of the adaptability of the hive to the instincts of the bees, and not to the convenience of bee masters. 1 am not willing to cover the fame of this greatest of apicul- tural inventors with the veil of ignor- ance that would be thrown over him to suppose that he saw no inconven- ience in the size of 40 and 9 different forms and sizes of hives and frames. lie wished to impress the minds of the ignorant, that his inventions and patents did cover frames of various sizes. 6. I am in the habit of calling things by their right names, and will call the 17% Langstroth the "obso- lete " Langstroth frame when it be- comes so. Please do not count the chickens until the eggs hatch. On one point Mr. Alves and I agree, and that is that we both fajl to see that he makes his case any stronger than he did in his tirst attempt. I thank Mr. A. for his enlogestic words in his closing i):vratrraph, and hope my views on this subject may in the end serve to strengthen his former good opinions. QUALITIES IN BEES. In reply to the published questions of Mr. Ilutehiusou, 1 little thought of arousing my old antagonist, Mr. Demaree. It seems to me that Mr. D., in his article on page 284, merely repeats the arguments of his former article. This effort strikes the ear like a wail from the tomb of Gui- teau : "Not guilty." Bee-keepers are turning attention to the new system of breeding bees for their qualities, regardless of color or the number of tlieir rings. Mr. Hutchinson sees the point; Mr. Alley says, " that's so ;" neighbor Shirley, a breeder of close observation, feels almost out of patience with me that I • slKuild have erroneously inferred that he places any special value upon " the gold rings;" he says that he "has been through the mill," and is a tirm believer in bees for business ; quali- ties which are not necessarily insep- arable from any special number of bands. Such old and excellent breed- ers as E. A. Thomas, are advertising a strain tested for qualities ; and my orders for hybrid queens bid fair to go beyond my ability to supply. And right or wrong, the decision of bee- keepers of to-day is. " Give us bees tested for qualities." It is no wonder that Mr. Demaree considers it higk time to " protest against the pre.sent tendency " of breeding for qualities, viewing the matter as lie does. I hardly thought after the late edi- torial scolding, that Mr. D. would again try to blacken the character of those who honestly differ from him, by using such a term as " mercenary tendency." Such statements, as well as the whole article, seem to me en- tirely uncalled for ; and as before stated, I had no idea of again calling out the unchangeable opinions of Mr. Demaree. " t had supposed the shattered string Would prove, by now, a silent thing; But. touch it liphtly as ye will. It drives a mournful echo, still." Now, let US look at the mistakes in Mr. D.'s argument. The mule argu- ment, to begin with. Let me quote from that comic philosopher. Josh Billings. He says: "The mule is half horse and half donkey, and then comes a full stop ; nature evidently having discovered her mistake." Again, " I have known the mule to behave tirst rate all the week for the sake of get- • ting a good fair crack at the driver Saturday night." Again," The best way to make a mule stay in pasture, is to turn him into an adjoining lot, and let him jump out." This animal ranks as he does because of his un- changeableness. Let us have no mule bees. I take it that Mr. Demaree, in his experience with hybrids, has never gone beyond the first cross, or if so, merely in a hap-hazard way. The after-crosses judiciously directed by a skilled master, is where we develop as well as retain nianv superior traits of the character of both races, at the same time doing away with vicious qualities. Three of my present stu- dents are bee-keepers of some years exi)erience with Italians. I propose they be consulted upon the points 310 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. just referred to, as found in my apiary. Mr. Demaree believes that every honorable breeder should be able to give a description sufficiently compre- hensive to enable any one to identify his bees, and distinguish them from every race or strain of bees. Mr. D. uses the word " strain," can he, roaming the fields, distinguish bees from his apiary, from those of other strains of the same race 'i I can do this with mine. Mr. D. thinks I sliould give a des- cription of my bees. I did so, and it was so plainly given, and so well de- fined a de.scription that he held it up to ridicule, and sought to make fun of the terms " long-bodied," and " leather-colored ;" forms and colors well known to modern bee-keepers. Kow he has the audacity to come for- ward with bees of " plumage," "white silver bands ;" ''slender in form," and " second-band conspicuously broad," and " generally wearing but little plumage," but that little of a " light silver rather than a golden hue." " Form slender, inclining towards orange banded." Why, if we had not known that Mr. D. was a lawyer, and were we inclined to look upon every new and novel movement as a " mer- cen.iry " dodge, I should be induced to believe that Mr. Demaree was about to advertise " Queens for Sale !" The Legislature of Kentucky is now working on conservative ground. Kentucky always did think that her stock had readied the end of perfec- tion ; and consistent with that view, demands '' purity of her stock." But will Kentucky and its able lawyer please to remember that their short- horns and blooded horses were not handed down to us from on high, but were produced by the efforts of some one who said : "Let us have better horses and better cows ; let us cross this one with that one ; let us breed for qualities." Some Legislatures al- lowed men to bring forth the setter from the spaniel, the pointer from the setter and hound. This was not the Legislature of Kentucky. Nature has done for the mule what Kentucky would do for all stock, and the uuile stands in the stoclc world just wliere Kentucky will in ttie api- cultural world, if she passes any such laws regarding bee-breeding, as Mr. .D. alludes to in his "aforesaid" article. Dowagiac, Mich., June 8, 1883. [As both disputants have now had another " round," let the subject rest. Neither party can be convinced, and no good can come of a mere wordy war ; so "give us a rest."— Ed.] IS" The bee-keepers of Fulton and adjoining counties, are requested to meet at the Commercial House, in Astoria, Fulton, Co., 111., on Satur- day, June 30, at 2 p. m.. for the pur- pose of organizing the Fulton County Bee- Keepers Association. By order. Committee. Rural New Yorker. ftueen-Rearing— A Review. PROF. A. J. COOK. For some time it has been known that this work was in process of prep- aration, and from the long and suc- cessful experience of the author as a queen breeder — an experience cover- ing more than a score of years — the work has been eagerly looked for bv all those engaged in "breeding bees. Nor will its study disappoint these ardent expectations. The following is only a brief synopsis of some of the most noteworthy points : Mr. Alley believes that the same rules of breeding apply in the rearing of bees that should govern in higher animals. Thus he urges stoutly the most careful selection of the queen and drones. He keeps his selected queen iu a small hive, so that he can get eggs at once upon adding a frame of bright empty comb. Corahs that have contained one or two broods are to be preferred. The queen-cells should only be formed in very strong colonies. Such are drummed from their hives and kept queenless in an empty tiive, in a cellar for ten hours. This fits them better, as Mr. A. thinks, for feeding the queeus. To procure queen cells, Mr. Alley cuts the strips of comb which are filled with eggs, so narrow as to contain only one i-ow of entire cells and two rows of half cells each. On one side, the eggs in each alternate cell of the row of uncut cells are des- troyed by the use of a common match. By "dipping the opposite face of this strip into melted wax and resin mixed, the comb is fastened to a frame of comb and given to the bees, which have been ten hours queenless. No other brood is given them that is uncapped, and so they form beautiful cells, in a regular row, equally spaced, and as the eggs were all laid at a known date, it is known precisely just when the queens will come forth. He never permits more than ten cells to be formed in a single colony. The bees are made queenless in the morn- ing and given the eggs at night. ]\Ir. A., in letting the bees escape from the hive where they have been shut in, to enter the new hive where the queen cells are to be formed, which now rests on the old stand, prevents the drones from leaving, if they are undesirable, and so gets rid of the inferior drones. If the bees cannot gather, they are fed one i)int of syrup or honey twice a day. The cells are cut out on the eighth day from hatchinj^, or the eleventh from the laying ot the egg. The cells are put into a queen-nur- sery like that described years ago by Dr. Jewell Davis. A single colony can care tor 100 of such cells. A colony is kept purposely for it. Mr. Alley condemns the lamp nur- sery, though he confesses he never used it. He says it is unnatural. The same argument would condemn his whole method. He has improved upon nature. Some of our best queen breeders, like Viallon, Hutchinson and Hayhurst, use tlie lamp nursery and think it excellent. He says if we feed young queens in a queen nursery, they will remain there safely several weeks. But what of Ber- lepsch's theory that a queen unmated for three weeks is ruined V Mr. Alley introduces the queens as virgins. But the old colony or nucleus must have been queenless three days. He uses tobacco to smoke them, and thinks this is a sine qua non. He also advises dropping a virgin queen into honey and then into the hive. He sometimes introduces these virgins by use of a cage, stopping the entrance— a half inch hole an inch long — with the " Good candy." The bees eat the candy, liberate the queen and accept her. Mr. Alley never uses a colony twice ill succession to form cells. After they are used once, he gives them the uncapped brood and queen of another colony which is to be used, and con- siders them ready again in four weeks. Thus queens are always reared from eggs ; tew are reared in each colony ; these have all the attention, and " are almost sure to be superior queens." The nucleus or colony receiving a vir- gin queen should not be near the col- ony which is forming cells at the time, or the young queen, as she re- turns from mating, will enter the hive and destroy all the ceHs. If a queen is " balled " as she returns from mat- ing, it is a very sure sign of the pres- ence of fertile workers. Mr. Alley's instruction as to intro- ducing virgin queens is very valuable, if the method will work in other hands. In this case the colony, or nucleus, must h-ave been queenless three days. Not so with a cell. This he says (our experience hardly sus- tains iiim) may be introduced safely immediately upon the removal of the queen. The cell need not be fastened in a comb, but held by slight pressure be- tween two adjacent combs. Late queens will ofteii fail to fly unless fed a little euch day. Mr. Alley is surely right, in saying that queens mate only once. He tliinks a queen is al- most sure to be purely mated if there aro no impure bees within half a mile. I wish we were sure of this. Caged queens. Mr. Alley says, will not be so fed by the bees, and these must be fed in the cage. Judge An- drews, of Texas, says they will always be fed. Bees in a nucleus, unless fed, will frequently swarm out. Mr. Alley secures his selected drones in this wise : He places empty drone combs in the midst of the brood nest of his best colony. As soon as eggs are laid in the cells, he gives these combs to queenless colonies. Good queens lay regularly in cells, and cut the caps from the queen cells as they come forth smoothly. aij»d do not leave a ragged edge. He makes the strange assertion, that Italians are not a dis- tinct race, and, further, states that they are poor nurses. M. Alley quotes wrongly, I think, from our books. I think all advise getting eggs of a known date. It is stated that worker bees never destroy a queen cell. In handling queen cells, they must never be over-heated. They will stand cold better, but ought never to be chilled. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 311 Mr. Alley thinks it is dangerous to ship a queen right froiu active laying — she may be ruined. It is much safer to «ige her a few days lirst. Cheap queens are vehemently condemned. Mr. Alley adds to the usual rules in respect to robbing, that we ought not to feed honey but syrup. The honey odor incites to robbing. It is stated that by giving a colony brood, and a queen cell, fertile workers may be dis- posed of. Mr. Alley advises, none too strongly, to displace impotent qneens. He remarks as wisely that most queens become unprofitable after two years. I am also glad to see that the value of spring feeding, which I have so often demonstrated in our College apiary, is fully recognized. It is no exaggeration, I think, when he states that at least ten days are thus saved. The greatest error, I think, is made in reference to wintering. He favors out-door wintering; says we must have a double-walled hive, 25 jjounds of honey and a February hght. But, how often we get no Feb- ruary flight. With a proper cellar we may Keep the bees in the hives safely from Nov. 1 till April 1. Mr. Alley thinks that although the laws of parthenogenesis are certainly true in respect to the production of drones ; yet the fact that queens are pure, he "thinks not a guaranty that their drone progeny will be. His only reason given is that it is not true of birds. From very close and long observation, I believe that it is true of bees. Lansing, Mich. )r the American Bee JoumaL Honey from Corn— A Reply. W. H. STEWAKT. On page 8-5, Feb. 7, 1 tind a criti- cism by the Rev. M. Mahin, D. D., on my article as published in the Bee Journal of Jan. 24, 1S83. The science of bee-culture (if it may properly be called a science) is yet in its infancy, and its growth must be step by step, as new discoveries are made. No new discoveries, mean no development of truth. A statement supported by facts is scientific. A denial without proof is just the oppo- site. He who attempts to set up a negative case by mere denial, unsup- ported by proof, lands himself in in- consistency. I do not hold that my work is ex- empt from trial at the bar of reason, observation and experience. Nay, I court criticism. It leads to investi- gation, and investigation evolves truth. The art of bee-culture is not confined within the walls of limita- tion. It has had a beginning, but it can have no ending. The sons of men that come and ko. Each have a special work to do; These works just suited to their time And place, are steps by which we climb. One forward step ; one higher stand. How wide, how vast the tields expand ; Where suns of men may ply anew, Their hand and brain some work to do. Criticism should be conducted seri- ously, having but one object in view, viz. : truth, but Mr. Mahin says that my work is too absurd to be treated seriously. Let us see. Do bees wound nowers V In A B C of Bee-Culture, pagel()8, Mr. Root tells us that he dis- covered how the bees got so covered with pollen while working on the wild touch-me-not, and on page 169 he says : " A year or two after this I took a friend'of mine to the spot to show liim my wonderful discovery, but lo ! and behold ! the sharp witted Italians had taken the short cut to the honey by biting through the spur and inserting their tongues without the laborious operation of crowding down into the flowers." Mr. Mahin chides me for not giving proof that bees wound blossoms. Here is proof that bees are able, and that they did in this case, bite holes through the flower and got at the honey mechanically from the outside. In my article I stated that " if bees would have honey they must Hnd where the plant had by accident or otherwise been wounded, or it must hunt out some tender point and in- flict the wound as best it could." I do not hold that bees must, like men, chop holes in the trunks of maple trees to get the sap, but I do know that after men haye thus set the sap leaking, the bees gather it. But in regard to bees hunting out some ten- der points to inflict the wound itself. The tenderest portion of the blossom is as much a portion of the plant as is the trunk. Now, in regard to the corn honey, Mr. Mahin says that " corn honey is a myth." When I quoted Mr. Morris, in regard to corn honey, I did not give his statement verbatim, as it was lengthy. I will now give the state- ment of Mr. Morris from Oleanings, of December, 1882 : " Sometime in August * * * when white clover was about played out, the bees took a spurt, and for several d^ys we failed to And what they were working on; heartsease andgoldenrod were not in bloom. My wife called my atten- tion to it Hrst. She had followed the line of bees, and found the corn Held swarming with bees. At first you would suppose a swarm was going over, and wonder where they were. StanjJ still a moment, however, and you will see a bee come from under the base of a corn leaf, then one from between the stem of an ear and the stalk, then some from way down by the roots, and by that time you will begin to see where they are getting the honey, not from the silk, not from tlie blossom, but from the stalk, at the base of every leaf at each joint, and on every stalk, and on every hill. We obtained 500 pounds of extracted, same of box, of this same corn honey, and you will see by the sample it is nice. Bees worked on the corn about two weeks. Field corn begins to yield honey about as the kernel begins to form, and continues until the kernel is well formed. At least it did here this year I think it always yields honey, some every year, but you can- not always tell what is going to yield honey. H. M. Mokris." At the close of the above letter from Mr. Morris, Mr. A. I. Root re- marks : " Many thanks friend M. for your valuable contribution to our stock of facts, and also for the sample of honey. The corn honey will rank with the best we have, both in color and flavor I would strongly in- dorse the point you make, friend M., about the honey coming from unex- pected sources. We little know now where the honey we may get next .sea- son will come from, while the honey comes from so many hitherto un- known sources, and there is such a broad lield of knowledge yet unex- plored." Mr. Morris says in the Bee Jour- nal, page 145 : " Mr. Stewart quotes me from Gleanings a little wrong. I said : I think bees gather some honey each year from corn. His statement is that my bees gather large quanti- ties of corn honey each year. 1 know that they did this year. Corn honey has such a peculiar quality that if one ever gets a yield, he will be apt to know it if he ever gets another, and I am quite sure I have had corn honey before." Mr. Mahin says that " if Mr. Morris ever saw bees sucking at the joints of cornstalks the corn was infested with chinch bugs, or some species of plant lice." Mr. Morris and his wife would most likely have noticed chinch bugs if they had been on the corn in such numbers as to produce the effect that he reports. Mr. Mahin says, " that he has watched bees by the half hour gather- ing honey from clover, etc." If he has, and has read a corresponding amount of modern literature on bee- culture, he must know that honey gathered after plant lice is of an in- ferior quality. Mr. Morris and Mr. Root both testify that the above men- tioned corn honey was a fine article. And yet, again, Mr. Mahinsays, "that if bees can work on corn, as we be- lieve they can, they would break the skin of grapes, and we would have to acknowledge that we were liable to the grape growers for the damage to their crops, which we have claimed was done by birds and wasps, etc." Mr. Mahin has based liis hyper- criticism on a misconception. Did I not show that our choice fruits, etc., all came by cutting, pruning and up- rooting of the plants, and also that white clover thrived best where it was most severely pruned 'f He should know that plants and fruit are subject to a law of growth, and they may be wounded to a certain extent without producing any perceptible injury. Growth is continually laying off old conditions and building on new, changing acid to nectar, healing wounds, supplying waste, increasing dimensions, changing form, etc., and yet the health of the plant remains. If Mr. Mahin will experiment one- half an hour in June and July, he will find that fruit may be pricked with a fine needle through the skin, (if done carefully), and the fruit remain healthy. Orion, Wis., May 4, 1883. t^ The Central Kansas Bee-Keep- ers' Association will meet at Manhat- tan, Kansas, on June 30, 1883. Thos. Bassler, Sec. 312 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. White Clover Bloom. The boom is here on white clover. The ground is literally covered with bloom. The bees are busy from morn- ing till night. The battle opened th'is day week, and the hives are now full of honey, and the bees are working in the boxes. It is the tinest flow I ever saw. I. H. SHI3IEK. Hillsboro, III, June 7, 1883. Good Prospeet for Honey in New York. My 30 colonies wintered without loss, but I lost 2 by spring dwindling. They are now in good condition for the honey liarvest. for which the prospect is good. Charlie W. Bradish. Glendale, N. Y., June 10, 1883. Discussion on tlie Best Frame. I have had some letters concerning my article on i>age 2B3 ; they speak of it as a challenge to discuss the frame subject. I ask all to read the article once more. Generally discussion soon merges into contention ; and then long articles are written on both sides, to show that what one asserted is ture or false, when, whether true or false, is of no consequence ; for in- stance, of what use is it to know if they have got the Langstroth frame }4 inch too large, to a sensible man tliat uses a sensible frame. J. W. Porter's style, on page 288, is what we want. E. B. SOUTHWICK. Mendon. Mich., June 8, 1883. Not at all Discouraged. I put 112 colonies of bees in the cellar last fall, and took out 108, all in good condition. The spring has been cold and windy. The bees consumed more honey this spring, than during all the winter. I never lose any bees unless I was to blame for not liaving them in proper condition for winter. I can manage 300 colonies alone, with some cheap help to make hives and boxes, and to assist in swarming time. Chas. Follett. ' Osage, Iowa, June 8, 1883. May 2-5, and lasting from 4 to 5 weeks, during which time it is entirely cov- ered with bees. The leaves are al- most hid by (lowers. F. A. Bohl. Summum, 111., June 4, 1883. [It is mock orange (FhikuUlphus coronari(i) ; an exotic shrub, very com- monly cultivated.— T. J. Burrill.] Mock Orange for Honey. Bees, in tliis vicinity, are swarming, very lively. I have had 9 swarms ; one colony having given 3 swarms, viz.: May 26, June 1, and June 4. Another one, an Italian, has swarmed twice. My bees Inive stored no honey in the surplus boxes yet, but I expect to receive some soon, as the Alsike, wliite clover and locust ai'e in bloom. The ants are very troublesome, mak- ing their nests in the upper story, around the surplus boxes, and run- ning into the lower story when I open the hives, irritating the bees so that it is impossible to work with them. Basswood, which commences to bloom about July l,is very full of bloom, this year. I enclose a flower and leaf for name. It is an ornamental shrub commencing to bloom about Swarminjr and Storing Honey in Ark. I started the spring with 30 colo- nies ; and have already taken over 2,000 pounds of pxtracted and 60 pounds of comb honey. Had it not been for the recent cold weather and the last few days of rain, I should have done much better 1 have an increase of 1.5 good strong swarms. I would nc* be without the Bee Jour- nal for any price. I shall work a large number of oolonies. another season. R.J.Adams. Lakeport, Ark., June -5, 1883. Good Outlook for Honey. 1 put into winter quarters 4.5 good strong colonies, and 44 came out. My bees are in tine condition, and are booming, giving from one to Ave swarms every day. My section boxes are almost ready to take off. White clover is abundant, and the outlook is good. Wm. Taylor. Sinclair, 111., June 11, 1883. Long, Cold Spring Weather. We have had a long, cold winter ; and even since the spring quarter has appeared, we have had only sometimes a day which we rejoice to see. as a summer day. but the day following, and for several days, the old cold gloom again. One day in May, .it commenced to rain, then turned to snow, and snowed the whole after- noon ; however, at present, and for some days past, it appears like settled summer weather, and plum trees are in full bloom. There is an abund- ance of dandelion bloom, apple trees also are coming in nicely, and I hope we shall have a good season yet. Edward Moore. Barrie, Ont., June 5, 1883. National Convention. Providence permitting, I shall go to the National Convention at Toronto, if the time is made to suit. For my own part, and 1 believe the majority of Southern bee-keepers, would prefer the last of September, as the most suitable time for holding the meeting, or not later than the 10th of October. The reason I prefer September is, there are more opportunities then of- fered for the purchase of " excursion tickets " to the North. I hope the committee of arrangements will select the time at as early a day as possible, so as to give bee-keepers ample time to effect all necessary arrangeements to go. J. "P. H. Brown. Augusta, Ga., June 7, 1883. Too Mnch Rain. We have had rain. rain, rain, for the past two weeks, till everything is flooded with water. It became warm about May 2-5, but since then it has been so wet that the bees could do little or nothing. I am feeding my bees to keep them from starving. White clover promises well, and with good weather I hope the bees will soon get a living. My best colony gave a swarm on the 9th. owing to extra care, as I wished to get queen- cells produced by natural swarming as early as possible for queen-rearing. G. M. DOOLITTLE. Borodino, N. Y., June 12, 1883. Wonderful Honey Plant. The winter before last I procured a small package of sweet clover (meli- Jot) seed, and sowed about 6 square rods in March, 1882, for a test. It grew last year, and sent its roots well in the ground. The past spring it shot up from the roots quite early, and. although from the lirst week in April to the present time, a good rain has not fallen on it, it put on a wond- erful growth, and much of it is 6 feet high. It began to bloom about the middle of May, and is now a perfect mass of flowers, swarming with bees. I do not know how long it will last, but it certainly is one of the finest honey plants I ever saw. I think an acre of it would supply a large apiary. It is certainly worth trying in Texas, as it seems to resist the effects of dry weather so well. The spring has not been a favorable one for bees ; but little swarming; doing well now, how- ever. W. P. Hancock. Salado, Texas, June 7, 1883. Perpetual Bloom. On April 1, 1883, I sold off what bees I had in Southern Nebraska, and I made up my mind to find a milder climate for myself, and also a place that my bees would not have to re- main housed for from 5 to 6 months in the year. Here, near Trankeyone, we are locating an apiary of 200 colo- nies, some of which have, at tliis writing, 70 pounds of as fine honey as I have ever saw. The honey flow has every appearance of being good for 6 to 7 weeks yet. This is a land of al- most perpetual bloom, as I am told by the oldest inhabitants, the climate being so mild that it scarcely ever freezes, and at the same time never becomes extremely hot ; it is rarely above 70^ Fahr. All kinds of fruit grow to perfection here. Apple, pear, peach, apricot, plum, cherry, grapes, oranges, lemons, prunes, figs and al- monds, and small fruits, such as cur- rants, raspberries, blackberries, etc. The wheat and barley crop promises a big yield. Trankeyone is a signal station on the coast range, in Southern California. Joseph Sayler. Santa Barbara Co., Cal.. June 1.1883. Bees Doing Lively Work. We have had a very cold, wet spring here ; but, in spite of the cold and wet, my bees are doing finely. I had the largest natural swarm, to-day, that I ever saw. I could hardly get them into a one-story simplicity hive. They have been storing lioney from the willow. Basswood will not bloom till late ; the bees of this locality are nearly all black. Chas. Harrold. Onawa, Iowa, June 3, 1883. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 313 Sweet Clover. I enclose a part of a plant ; will you give the name, and also please Ift me know if it is a honey plant y Bees seem to like it very well. It comes early in the spring, and grows about 3% or 4 feet high, when the bloom comes. A great many limbs or sprouts come from the same root. It blooms the second year from seed. L. R. Williams. Paris, Texas, May 28, 1883. [It is riielilotus alba, or sweet clover, and is an excellent houey plant. — Ed.] Bees ill Louisiana. Bees, in this locality, are doing poorly, owing to the late spring and cold rains. Most of us have finished dividing, and are now waiting for a little sunshine, so that we may com- mence extracting. In this parish are about 2,500 colonies of bees, wliich are contained in about 15 different "apiaries ; all of whicii are run exclu- sively for extracted honey. Of course, scattered all through the country, are a few hives of bees, kept by the farm- ers' wives for their own use ; tliese I did not count. I should like to know whether it is infringing on a patent to repair a patented article when it is broken '? Please tell us something about Florida, Colorado and New Mexico through the columns of your valuable paper, for we Louisianians are tired of being flooded every spring, and are thinking seriously of emi- grating en masse. T. M. Hines. Point Coupee, La., June 4, 1884. [Of course you can repair, or do any- thing you like with a patented arti- cle, after you have purchased it, ex- cept to make others like it. Our cor- respondent will find considerable in the Bee Jouknal about the locali- ties named, especially in relation to their adaptability for progressive bee- keeping.—Ed.]' Magniflceiit Flow of Honey. My bees have gone crazy on the honey question. I never saw such a flow of honey before. Joseph E. Shavek. North River, Va., June 8, 1883. Basswood Promises Well. Please find enclosed a leaf that I would like to know the name of, and its importance as a honey producer. I only know of a little of it along the roadside, and it is alive with bees from morning till night ; blooming at the time it does, between fruit tree bloom and basswood, it might be val- uable for bees if it has no objection- able qualities to over-balance the good. My bees are strong ; have been start- ing queen-cells, but a scarcity of honey and unfavorable weather caused them to destroy tlie cells. There is very little white clover here, and I expect I will have to feed some be- tween now and basswood bloom, which promises to be good. Almost every one seems to be giving their preferences in regard to a standard frame, and all seem perfectly willing to adopt a standard, provided they adopt their preference. I think a compromise between a deep and shal- low frame would be the best to unite on. I tliink it would be easier to unite, if the advocates of both deep and shaUow frames would give a little, and 1 would endorse the frame recommended by Mr. P. P. N. E. Pellissier, on page 240, 10 inches deep by 15 inches long, inside measure. I am not using that size, but would be willing to adopt it. L. G. Purvis. Oregon, Mo., May 28, 1883. [The leaf is not recognized. It is hard to determine plants from the leaf alone. Send part of the stem and es- pecially tlie flower.— Ed.] Excellent Prospects for Honey. I put into winter quarters 46 colo- nies, and 43 came out in fair condi- tion ; but I have lost, up to date, 5 more, leaving 38 now, all but 5 are ready to go into sections. I had hard work to keep them up, but I am sat- isfied to have them in this condition, after such a severe spring. 1 expect; a good honey yield ; white clover has commenced to yield honey, and there is as good a stand of it as I have ever seen. Our bees did not get enough, up to date, to keep breeding;! had to feed them largely, but hope now it is all right. I will report my experi- ments on wintering before fail. A. WiCHERTS. Mattison. 111.. June 8, 1883. Mountain Maple for Houey. Will yon please name, in the Bee Journal, the enclosed plant. It grows on a tree something like the maple, and the roaring of the bees upon it to-day, attracted my atten- tion. Fruit bloom is just done, and and if this is a good honey plant, as the working of the bees seems to in- dicate, it may be made to fill an im- portant gap ii\ the honey flow. I could not find another tree like the one from which I picked these leaves and flower. James MgNeill. Hudson, N. Y., May 29, 1883. [This is the mountain maple (Acer spicatum), a small native tree, widely dispersed through the heavily- wooded portions of the United States and Canada.— T. J. Burrill.] Backwardness of the Season. The cold and backward spring has been ])retty hard on the weak colo- nies of bees in this section, but strong colonies are booming. Geo. C. Green, of Factoryville, 1% miles from here, had a large swarm about two weeks ago. He winters his bees in chaff hives; has some 30 colonies, and lost none. I have 8 colonies in plain Sim- plicity hives ; 6 of them I packed with chaff cushions, and the other 2 I left to tliemselves, as they were weak ones, and 1 thought it was not worth while to bother with them. Did they live through the long cold winter V Yes sir ; and came out just as well as the rest, having quite as large a pro- portion of their number ready for business as the others had. Why "this was thus," I cannot say unless, as the old gentleman remarked at the convention the other day, " It was just their contrary way." I wish you, Mr. Editor, would stir up those who advertise queens to sell, etc., to be a little more prompt in filling orders, or say plainly that they cannot imme- diately do as they advertise. Some- times those who call themselves '■ square men," get a bad reputation by not being prompt. I ordered some queens some two weeks ago from a breeder who wrote me that he could send them on five days notice, but not a queen is here yet, although a letter w'ill reach liim in less than two days. I ordered more, from another breeder in the South, who claims, in his cir- cular, to be able to fill orders in April, but not a queen do I get. In his ac- knowledgement of my order, he said it was cold there, and he was afraid they would die in the mails. That was three weeks ago. The mercury now stands at 8.5^ to 88° in the shade, and he is only two days and half away. Are they all alike V I think not ; but, from the little dealings I have had with some of them, I fear a majority belong to the three-handed army; that is, they have a right hand, a left hand, and a little behind-hand. " Connoisseur." La Plume, Pa., June 5, 1883. [The weather, this spring, has been such, not only in the North, but also in the South, that queens could not be reared and fertilized, much less shipped to fill orders. Our corres- pondent should remember that the circulars were gotten out in Uie win- ter, and no one could then foresee the terribly backwardness of the spring. Beeders calculated on the usual weather, but have been treated to some very unusual, this spring. All must exercise patience, eat a little more honey, and keep sweet-tem- pered.—Ed.] Toads — A Dangerous Bee Trap. A few evenings since I went out to my apiary, and in front of the en- trance to one hive I discovered a large toad. I watched him a few moments, and saw him catch bees as they ven- tured out on the alighting board. The toad would twist bis month and turn from one side to another after swal- lowing a bee. I caught the toad and made an investigation. First cutting off his head, I examined the inside of the mouth, w^here was found several stingers in the jaw and roots of the tongue, where the bees had stung him when lie closed his mouth upon them. I then opened the body and pressed upon the stomach, when nine nice Italian bees came out, lifeless. Others remained in the stomach, enough, I think, to have made the number 18 or 20. In answer to the question, " Will toads catch bees ?" I can certainly answer, they will. W. A. Shewman. Randolph, N. Y., June 9, 1883. 814 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Brin^in^ in the (ioldeii Nectar. I think I can say that I am " out of the woods " for this season, and will report, success. I put into winter quarters 68 colonies, and never had them do better, until 1 gave them a flight late in February. I put them on their summer stands, in the first days of April, when I had lost 2 colo- nies. There was ten times as many dead bees on the cellar floor, on the first day of April, as there was on the first of March. I should like to have a reason for this, as they were kept as nearly as possible in the same condi- tion througli March as though the three preceding months. I have lost 3 colonies by dwindling, since the first of April, leaving (53 colonies in good condition ; some of them very strong, hanging out, and giving strong indications of swarming. Mr. Layer, of Gilman, reports a fine swarm on the 23d of May. White clover is beginning to bloom, and for the last two days, they are working lively, bringing in the golden nectar, and their busy hum, to me, is sweet music. The more I am with the pets, the better I understand their lan- guage, for a language they have, most certainly, and it is well to understand and heed their words, or they may use something sharper. Reuben Havens. Onarga, 111., June 4, 1883. at and ^axu. ANSWERS BY James Eeddon, Dowagiac, Mich. ^° Will my friends please send their questions to the Editor of the Jour- nal, and not to me ; they will be an- swered just as promptly. I now have a short-hand reporter who can take down my answers as fast as I can think them, which enables me to "talk back" with great satifaction, so send along your questions, but to Mr. Newman and not to me, please. Queen Rearing. Will Mr. Heddon give us his opin- ion of Mr. Alley's book, "New Method of Queen Rearing ?" 1 have seen the same method of obtaining queen-cells practiced three years ago, in a large apiary, in a neighboring county. C. W. Green. New Orleans, La., June 7, 1883. Answer. — I regret very much that I am unable to give my opinion upon Mr. Alley's " New Method of Queen- Rearing." Mr. Alley kindly sent me a copy, asking for my opinion, but I have been too busy to read it. I must fill my engagements and answer busi- ness letters, and this takes all of my time, and overtaxes me ut that. I did read Mr. House's chapter on ■' Comb honey production," and also Mr. Locke's on the " Races of bees," therein contained. I disagree en- tirely with the tenets of both these chapters. Drum Box and After-Swarms. I would like to have Mr. Heddon answer these questions : 1. How does he prevent after- swarming V 2. Explain his drum box ; is it in any wise dlfierent from a common box made to fit the top of the box hive he is transferring V 3. I have had s swarms from 3 colo- nies already. Bees have been storing surplus since April 1. Geo. E. Lytle. Flat Bayou. Ark., May 28, 1883. Answers.— 1 . We very rarely have any attempt at after-swarming. If such are cast, we hive the after- swarm in a hive of comb foundation, and put it by the side of the old box. When the 21 days have passed, we then drive the bees in the old box into the hive with the after-swarm, and, at the same time, all three can be put together if you were driving on the non-increasing plan. 2. My drum box is simply a box of about the size of the hive to be drum- med, but I think it would be an im- provement, one I thought of 7 or 8 years ago, but have never made, to have a drum box contain numerous thin light division-boards, to enable the bees to readily ascend from all parts of the old hive. Antiquated Management. Will Mr. Heddon kitidly answer the following questions through the American Bee Journal, for a friend : 1. If a man is doing all his own work, can he manage more bees for comb honey production, or for ex- tracted honey ? 2. Which way can he produce the greatest number of pounds, by using sections or extracting 'i 3. Can comb lioney be shipped safely to market in the Langstroth frame, and would it find ready sale 'i 4. Would there be any market for comb honey in 10 or 20 pound boxes, such as were used 20 or 25 years ago V 5. I write this for the benefit of a \ friend. The questions being fully ! settled in my mind, and he being will- ing to abide by your answer. G. C. Vaugiit. Greenville, Miss. Answers.— 1. We must understand that less colonies are required to gather the honey of a given area, when they are working for extracted honey than when working for comb honey. With proper fixUires in both cases, there is not much difference, if any, in the amount of labor required. 2. If he is getting extracted honey for sauce, and takes out a ripe article, he will get but little more extracted then comb honey, provided he thor- oughly understands the lavv* govern- ing the production of comb honey. 3. To this question I answer No. The smaller the frame or sections honey is put up in, the safer it will be during transit. The full-sized Langs- troth frame would be unsafe, besides there are hundreds of other objections against using it. It would not find ready sale in packages of that size. 4. Occasionally some odd genius might demand it in that shape, but as a rule there would be no market for it. The honey would have to sell at several cents per pound lower. .5. I hardly thought any reader of the American Bee Journal would be apt to ask such questions. The small sections are not only more sal- able at the present time, but the most transportable packages, and the most economical, labor and prices both considered. Fertile Workers, etc. The season is from two to three weeks late here, but we escaped the snow storm of May 21, that was so destructive through Ohio and further South. We also have had but little frost, and fruit propects are good for apples and cherries, and all kinds of small fruit ; clover has wintered well, and has an enormous growth for this date ; wheat promises to be above the average through this section. 1 . How soon, after a colony becomes queenless, will fertile workers make their appearance V 2. Cannot queens be induced to lay to their utmost capacity in a single season, and thus become worthless after, by removing and replacing combs ; the queen being in a strong colony y 3. What objection would there be to crossing the Holy Land bees with the pure Italians ? Are they as irritable as other hybrid bees V S. J. YOUNGMAN. Cato, Mich., June 7, 1883. Answers.—]. There is no definite time. I have known them to appear in a few days after becoming queen- less ; at other times, several weeks after. 2. I have found that queens can be stimulated to lay such an amount of eggs in one or two seasons that they seem to have exhausted their fertility. 3. The main objection to crossing the Holy Land bees with Italians, is that they have not the valuable quali- ties possessed by the Italians, which every comb honey producer so THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 315 much needs, but the brown Germans have, and this is why the very best honey-gatherers can be procured by judicious crossings of leather-colored Italian and brown German bees. There is no need of losing any amia- bility in such crossing: as the one last referred to. It is the sitnplest and easiest thing in tlie world to iiR-r"ase it. The Holy Land bees have two traits of character, which must for- ever keep them from the apiaries of wise honey-producers. First, they are terribly irascible ; secondly, they do not ripen their honey properly be- fore sealing it, which causes it to press against the capping and ooze out. I have never had them in my apiary, I am happy to affirm ; but good reliable parties, who have tested them thoroughly, furnish me proof of the above statements. The brown German bee excells any bee in the v^orld, in the much desir- able point of building white comb, and doing it readily and rapidly ; also in ascending to the upper story early in the season, and in not crowding the brood-chamber with honey. These valuable traits no wise honey pro- ducer will ignore. Another valuable point about them is, they are not nearly as much inclined to swarm as the yellow races of bees. Transferring. I have been transferring bees from American hives into others, but have not yet finished. Would you advise me to tinish now V Please answer through the Bee Journal and oblige. Silas Kemington. Lowell, Mich. Answer.— We practice transferring either on the old system or the new, all through the season, when conven- ient, and see no reason why you should not finish the job at ence. Separators with Broad Frames. Several correspondents have asked me if I considered it advisable to use separators with broad frames. I will reply that I do. When I run 34 broad frame supers, I tried omitting the separators. I find that while the "case" seems not to need separators to get reasonably straight combs, the broad frames are almost a total fail- ure without them. Bees are just beginning to swarm and store in cases here. The pros- pects are qood. " After clouds, sun- shine." We are now transferring .iHveral colonies on the new plan, which the students think "the boss." J>pecial IJottces. Examine the Date, following your name on the wrapper label of this paper ; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for 15, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending ns a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy or Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. Bee Pasturage a Necessity .—W e have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. ^^ Do not send coins in a letter. It is dangerous and increases the postage unnecessarily. Always send postage stamps, for fractions of a dollar, and, if you can get them — one-cent stamps ; if not, any denomination of postage stamps will do. 1^" Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra. Honey as Food and Medicine. A new edition, revised and enlarged, the new pages being devoted to 7iew Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price of them low to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 6 cents, postpaid ; per dozen, 50 cents ; per hundred, $4.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense — enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies (220 pages 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. Special Notice.— We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bee Journal for one year, and the seventh edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, bound in fine cloth, for $2.75, or the Monthly Bee Journal, and the Manual in cloth for $1.75. As this offer will soon be withdrawn, those who desire it should send for the book at once. Sample Copies of theAMERicAN Bee Journal will be sent free to any per- son. Any one intending to get up a club can have sample copies sent to the persons they desire to interview, by sending the names to this office. To Europe and Return for 30 Cents. If you eau't afford to pay $22 for one of W. 11. Brearley's round trip excursion tickets "From Detroit to tlie Sea," with which you could leave Detroit . I une 27th, July llth or July 25tli, for a 2,200 mile pleasiue tour to the White Mts. aud Sea Shore, the "next" best thing would be to send ten 3 cent stamps to W. H. Brearley, of the Detroit (Mich.) "Eveuius News," for a copy of his new C8-page Olustratt'd excursion guide book, it also ccjiitaiiis particulars of :! clieaii excursions "From Detroit across the Sea to Liverjjool. Tlie book is graphic in its descriptions, and affords for tlurty cents an excellent substi- tute tor an excursion to Eiu'ope, with the advantage that calm weather anil exemption from sea sic-kucss may be relied upon. One (if tiiese guide liooks has been rccelve(l at the oliice of tliis paper, where it may be examuied by any one interested. 316 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Bingham Smoker Corner. Liirge Smokers neeii wide shields. Blnsham's have them, and springs that do not rust anil break, and bellows that sparks and smoke do not enter. The Conqueror has all improvements made to date, and a 3x7 Inch stove, and sx7 inch bellows. Sent post-paid for SI. 'J 3. Address, BINGHAM & HETHEEINGTON, Abronia Mich. All Excelling. — Messrs. Bingham & HetheriiiRton, Dear Sirs :— 1 am now selling your .Smokers almost ex- clusively. You are excelling your- selves in smokers all the time. Respectfully, J. (t. Taylor. Austin, Texas, May 10, 1883. Cyprians Cou«niered. All summer long it has been " which and tother " with me and the Cyprian colony of bees I have— but at last I am "boss." Bingham's " Conqueror Smoker" did it. If you want lots of smoke just at the right time, get a Conqueror Smoker of Bingham. G. M. DOOLITTLE. Borodino, N. Y.. Aug. 15, 1882. During the following three months, Bingham Smokers will be sent post- paid, per mail, on receipt of the fol- lowing prices : The "Doctor".. I wide shield)— 3!.^ in. Are tube, $2.aJ The Conqueror(wide shield)— 3 in.flretube, 1.75 Large (wirteshleld)—2mn. Are tube, l..)0 Extra ...(wideabield)— -' in.flretube, 1.125 Plain ' . .(nar. shield)-2 in. Bretube, l.UD UttleWonder. .mar. shield )-lM in. are tube, .65 Bingham & Hetherington Uncapping Knife.. 1.15 With thanks for letters of encour- agement, aiuUlie absence of complain- ing ones, we tender to our thirty-five thousand patrons our best wishes. Very Respectfully Yours, Bingham & Hetherington. Abronia, Mich., June 1, 1883. BEES and HONEY, OB THE Management of an Apiary for Pleasure and Profit ; by THOMAS C. NEWMAN. Editor of the TTeeWl/ Bee Journal. »%S West Madtson Street, Chlcuco, III. Ribbon Badses, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 per KX). i^- Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1882 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. It contains l*iO profusely illustrated pages, is "fully up with the times" in all the improvements and inventions in this rapidly developing pursuit, and presents the apiarist with everything that can aid in the successful management of the Honey Bee, and at the same time produce the most honey in its best and most attractive condition. Appreclutlve Notices. A neat and abundantly illustrated hand-book of apiculture.— American Agriculturist, N. V. Its chapter on marketing honey is worth many times Its cost.— Citizen, Pulaski, Tenn. Contains nil the information needed to make hee-culture successful.- Eagle. Union City, Ind. Just such a work as should be in the hands of every beginner with bees.— News, Kelthsburg, 111. Valuable for all who are interested in the care and management of bees.-Dem., Allegan, Mich. Engravings are fine. Gotten up in the best style, and is cheap at the price.- Farmer, Cleveland, O. It comprises all that is necessary for successful hee-culture, save experience and good judgment. -Daily Republican, Utica, N. Y. Gives minute details for the management and manipulations necessary to make bee-keeping a success.— Col. Valley and Farm. Written in an interesting and attractive manner, and contains valuable Information for al I readers, even though they be not directly interested in the care of bees.— Sentinel, Rome, N. Y. It is a valuable and practical book, and contains a complete resume of the natural history of the little busy bee, as well as of all that one needs to know in their care and management.— Chicago Herald. Contains a vast fund of information in regard to bee-culture. He who would keep abreast of the times must keep posted in all the improvements in his line We advise all interested to get a copy of this book.-Daily Times, San Bernardino, Cal. It embraces every subject that will interest the beginner. It describes all the newest discoveries In the art by which the production of delicious and health-civina honey is obtained, as well as how to prepare it for the market in the most attractive form. It is embellished with beautiful engravlnas, and is the most perfeot work of the kmd, for the price, that has ever come under our notice.— !• ar- mer, Lancaster, Pa. PRICE— Bound in cloth, T5 centa ; in paper covers. oO cent", postpaid. THOMAS G. NBWMAN, st'o W. Madison St., Chicago, 111. bIesure To send a postal nard for our Illustrated ratalogue of Apiarian Supplies before purchasing elsewhere. Ucontainslllustrationsanddescnptionsot every- thing new :ind valuable needed in an apiay. at the lowest prices. Italian ,3ueens and Bees. Parties intei.i.ingto purchase bees in lots of liKMonies or more are invited to correspond J. C. SAYI^ES, oiDlJtBS ' Hartford, Wis^ 1883. ITALIAN AND HOLY LAND QUEENS! The Handsomest Queens for BUSINESS the World Produces. BUSINESS, BEAUTY and Wintering (Jualities t'oinbined. We CHALLENGE the WORLD to EQUAL them. Every Queen WARRANTED perfect, and reared under the swarming impul.-^s frame, that Doolittle winters bees poorly, while a certain man using the Quinby frame winters every time. Again, I ask does this help the Langs- troth frame any V Where does A. I. Root and J. Ileddon stand regarding successful wintering as a plea for your lauded style of frame. Another thing, let me just whisper, if I am correctly informed, that persons said to have wintered bees with his Quinby frame every time, has brought more bees in the spring (since I kept bees) to replace his loss than Doolittle ever owned. Just .one more point and I have done. A. I. Root often tells us, in Gleanings, that there are more Langs- troth hives and frames in use than of all othe;rs put together (I saw a report of a convention not long ago, where but two used that frame out of 13 of our largest bee-keepers, which did not look as if Mr. Root's assertion would stand the proof), but for the sake of argument I will admit that there are. Now, I ask Mr. Root, in all candor, liow came such a state of affairs to be brought about V Was it not because he had machinery all rigged to turn out the Langstrotli hive, and then told all,' through Oleanings, that all ordering the Langstroth hive and fix- tures for it, would get " the regular goods " at once, while if they wished odd sizes their orders must be delayed till the others were filled. And did he not tell all the beginners that they should fall into (that) line ? Now, if Prof. Cook had edited Gleanings, and been as strenuous for the Gallup frame as Mr. Root has been for the Langstroth frame, and L. C. Root had been editor of the Bee Journal, and was pleading for the Quinby frame, would the Langstroth frame been in the ascendency V I trow not ! I am willing that any one in the world should use a frame n%x9}i, if they so desire, but I do like to see the advocates of such a frame come out square and honest before the world, and let the people know the whole truth regarding what caused the state of affairs, which now exist. Borodino, N. Y., June 11, 1S83. Mr. Doolittle is quite unfortunate in the latter part of his argument. At first, he claimed that " nearly all (if not quite) of the frames in use in the United States, to-day, are Langs- troth frames, to all intents and pur- poses"—the principle and not the size, being the distinctive feature of this deservedly-popular frame. Then towards the close he chides Mr. A. I. Root for claiming "that there are more Langstroth hives and frames in use than of all others put together," notwithstanding that Mr. Doolittle had made a more sweeping assertion even than that, in the first paragraph of his argument. This shows that Mr. Doolittle is not quite clear about what the dis- tinctive feature of the Langstroth frame is ! or, perhaps, he became so heu-ilderecl by the magnitude of his own argument, that he lost his balance, and tumbled to the other side of the question. His assertion is doubtless true as given in the first paragraph— but, this admitted, proves also that Mr. A. I. Root is correct in his assertion, which Mr. Doolittle chides him for making ! There is no escaping this conclusion I Prof. A. J. Cook also takes the same view of the matter. In his THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 319 Manual he eulogizes the Langstroth hive and frame, and then adds : " Though I prefer and use the size of frame first used, I believe, by Mr. Gallup, still I me the Langstroth hive." Mr. M. Quinby also entertained the same ideas. In Quinby's New Bee- Keeping, page 97, Mr. L. C. Root, its author, says : " In tlie previous re- vision of this work, in 1865, Mr, Quinby fully recognized the merits of Mr. Langstroth's invention, and des- cribed the modified form of his hive." This modified form was called the "Quinby," Prof. Gook's "varied size " of it, is called the "Gallup;" Mr. King's variation was named the " American," and other modifications bear names by whicli to designate the varied size of the Langstroth frame and liive. Hence, Mr. Doolit- tle was particuhirly correct in his first paragrapl), in stating that "nearly all the frames in use in the United States to-day are Langstroth frames." As to the desirability of having the sizes in use as few as possible, there can be no two opinions. With the sizes used by Quinby, A. I. Root, King, Gallup, etc., there certainly are enough for all climates, and the prac- tice of varying the sizes of any of these, just a little, to suit a notion, is very reprehensible. Tlie variations made by Mr. A. I. Root, from ITSg to 175^ we regard as an exception, be- cause it was done to accommodate the use of the one-pound sections In cases in the brood-chamber, inter- changeably witii brood frames. If all cannot unite on one size, all can unite in agreeing to use one of the standard sizes before enumerated. Another point made by Mr. Doolit- tle is quite correct — more depends on the management than on the size of the frame used. This we have so often argued and asserted, that it is not now necessary to do more than to endorse most unreservedly Mr. Doo- little's statement. We grant tliat, for convenience, the size nSgxDJs is usually called the Langstroth to distinguish its si::e— but when we indulge in an article on the movable irame principle, they are all to be included in the same class. Hence, it is clear that even it (as Mr. Doolittle agrees) Prof. Cook had been editor of Qleanings, and Mr. L. C. Root had occupied tlie editorial chair of the Bee JouRNAi^.even then, the deduction made by Mr. Doolittle is tol(dl)/ umcnrnmted, viz. : that the Langstroth frame would not have been in the ascendency ! Prof. Cook and Mr. L. C. Root both claim to use the Langstroth frame in a modified form, and hence they would have ad- vocated its use— and it would " have been in the ascendency," even though the size may have been a little varied, one way or the other I The Order of the Honey Bee. In an interesting notice on French orders of Chivalry, past and present, a writer in the Journal des Dehats men- tions, among many other extinct Or- ders, the " Order of tlie Honey Bee," and gives the following very interest- ing scrap of its curious history : The last named has a curious his- tory. The medal of the order had on one side a hive with the motto, " Picolasi, ma fa pur gravi le ferite," (Small, no doubt; but it inflicts a sliarp wound), while upon tlie reverse were the head of the Duchess du Maine aud tlie following inscription in capital letters, " Anne Marie Louise, Barrone de Sceaux, derec- terice perpetuille de 1. Ordre de la Mouche-e-Miel ;" underneath, " Se- ceanx, 11 Juin, 1701." This was the date of the foundation of the order by ttie Duchess du Maine, a grand daugliter of the famous Priuce du Conde, whose husband purchased the Cbateux de Seceaux in 1700. The duchess, who was very fond of amuse- ments and ceremonial, made Seceaux the rendezvous of the most brilliant wits of tlie day, and in 170.3, she insti- tuted the order of chivalry, to which the youth of both sexes .were eligible. The members of tlie order were ex- pected to appear at the entertain- ments given at Seceaux, the men wearing a tight fitting costume of clotli of gold sprinkled with silver bees, and a bead-dress made to imi- tate a hive, while the costumes of the ladies consisted of a dress of green satin embroidered with silver bees, a mantel of cloth of gold, and a dia- dem formed of emerald bees. The oath of fidelity which had to be taken by each new member was as follows : "I swear, by the bees of Mount Ilyme- tus, fidelity and obedience to the per- petual mistress of the order, to wear all my life long the medal of the bee, and to comply to the statutes of the said order. If I am found false to my oath, may the honey turn to venom, the wax to tallow, the flowers to nettles and may hornets and wasps sting my face." After her husband's death, the duchess did not name any fresh members; but when conversing with Fontenelle, who, together with Vol- taire, Marivaux, and other wits of the time, used to visit herat Seceaux, she expressed her regret that he had not been among her earlier friends, as she would have liked to -have conferred her order upon him. Fontenelle remarked that he would have been ill at ease with a hive on his head, as it must have been very much in the way of the chevalier and of the flower about which he was flirt- ing. To which the duchess rejoined, "Not so much as you may imagine; for surely the flowers bend down to the kiss of the bees." Honey and Beeswax Market. OFFICE OF AMEKICAN BEK .lOrKNAL. } Monday, 10 a. m.. June 20, 1882. S The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : Quotations ofCnoh Buyers. CHICAGO. HONEY— The nominal price of extracted is 7c. for darit and tie. for liKlit— here. The supply is abundant and sales are slow. BEI^SWA.X— None in tiie market. AL. H. NEWMAN. 9-ja W. Madison St. CINCINNATI. HONE v.— The marltet for extracted honey la lively, and the demand exceeds the arrivals. Our stoclt is small and we are in danper of having sold out every day. We pay TC'i-loc. for good honey on arrival, the latter price for choice clover. There is a small demand for comb honey, and prices nominal. BEESWAX.— Arrivals of beeswax are plentiful. We pay 35c. for a good article on arrival. Chas. F. Muth. Qnotailons of CommlsNlon Merchants. NEW YORK. HONE Y.— Best clover in I-lb. sections (no glass) 22W23C.; in 2-lb. sections (glassed) I8{3i20c. Fair quality. 1 and 2-lb. sections, i7(3!l8c Extracted, white, in sm.-i 1 1 barrels, loffi) 1 1 Xc. ; buckwheat, 8^9c. BEESWAX.— Is more plentiful. Prime yellow sells at 37H(a3Ki4c. H. K. & F. B. ThDIIBER & Co. CHICAGO. HONEY.— Prices declining. Holders are an.xiou8 to sell, and the prices vary very much. BEESWAX-3.ii.>3i;c. B. A. BL'HNETT. 161 South Water St. SAN FRANCISCO. HONEY.— Nearly 30(> cases new, mostly extrac- ted, arrived per Southern steamer on Monday. June l.'i. Sales of part of the same in a wholesale way were made at i:c. Retail transfers were made at a little higher figure. Quotations for comb are nominal. There is a little choice new comb offer- ing, but DO sales reported. One buyer offered 12^c. for six cases, but insisted on being allowed about 3 lbs. extra tare. White comb, new crop, 12]^®\6c. Extracted, choice new, iM^VAc. BEES WAX- Wholesale. 27i«28c. Stearns a, smith. 423 Front Street. ST. LOUIS. HONE Y— Strained salable at nVoi»7!*c; combsoM in a jobliing wav only— old I0@l4c, and new 15c. BEESWAX.— Sold mainly at 33 cents— latter for CnKVELAND. HONE Y.— There is a moderate sale for best white 1-ib. sections at 18c, occasionally liic, but 2 Iba. are not called for. E.xtracted is no sale at all. BEKSWAX-Not offering. A. C. Kendel. 115 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is fairly active. We nuote: M lb. sections at 30C.: 1 lb. sections, 22(rt25c.; 2 1b. sections. 20f!i22c. Extracted. Hie. per lb. Good lots oi extracted are wanted in kegs or barrels. BEESWAX— Our supply is gone; we have none to iiuote. Crocker & Blake. 57 Chatham Street. ,^ The bee-keepers of Fulton and adjoining counties, are requested to meet at the Commercial House, in Astoria, Fulton, Co., III., on Satur- day, June 30, at 2 p. m., for the pur- pose of organizing tlie Fulton County Bee-Keepers Association. By order, Committee. Preparation of Honey for the Mar- ket, includinglhe production and care of both comb and extracted honey, instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. 820 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For the American Bee Journal. Separators or no Separators. L. C. WHITING. Can we dispense with them ? This question must be answered by each Dee-keeper for himself. If he lias only a few colonies, and expects to sell his lioney to his neiglibois, he may get more honey with less labor without separators ; but when he has to go into the market and compete witli others, the straisrht combs and well cleaned sections, well crated, will sell first at a remunerative price. I experimented with a few colonies last season, and out of 700 pounds stored without separators, at least 100 pounds was so bulged that it could not be crated, and much of the balance liad to be worked in with that stored with separators. To get rid of this 100 pound^ cost me more time tlian live times the amount of straight combs. Some of our merchants bought a lot of honey in the cap, just as the bees stored it without separators. They did not know how to get it out ; they pulled the tops of some off in doing so. Many sections were at- tached more or less to others, and honey was on every thing. The bees soon found it out, and made it lively for a time. The result was that they did not care for honey, especially in that shape. One ot our best bee-keepers, a few days since, said if had only honey put up in that shape to compete with, he should be sure of his success. The way that suits me the best is, to put on a part of the sections at first witliout any separators. After the bees have these well started, divide them, putting a part in each row of sections, and put in the separa- tors. This induces the bees to work in each row of sections. I also change partly filled sections, bees and all, to other colonies, if they are slow in en- tering the sections. If the How of honey continues, they are almost sure to work in the sections and leave the room below for brood. One of my neighbors, who has great success in getting a large yield of honey in sec- tions, does not use the extractors, but changes the brood combs, putting those filled witli honey in the centre of the hive, and the uncapped brood to the outside, and changing it back to the centre wlieu it is ready to hatch, always keeping open brood in the outside combs. He certainly has strong colonies, and secures a large yield of honey. Success in all these manipulations de- pends largely on the good iudgment ot the bee-keeper. " The right thing at the right time," is what is wanted. The queen, during the How of honey, should have no more brood combs than she can keep full of brood and eggs. East Saginaw, Mich., May 26, 1883. ror the American Bee JoumaL Fastening Comb Foundation. J. S. DUNCAN. After trying many of the various methods of fastening comb founda- tion in sections, that has been des- cribed in the Bee Journal, they be- ing slow and tedious, and not suituig me, I have constructed a fastener that has worked witli perfect satis- faction, and will try and describe it so that others can make one. It is constructed as follows : A board about 7x12, with holes mortised near the centre, 3 inches apart; two standards are tenoned to fit these mortises, and wedged tightly. The front or presser standard is 3 inches high ; the lever standard 2 inches high. These standards are dovetailed on top, and have holes bored for joints of levers; two levers are fitted to these dovetails and fastened with bolts ; one lever 9 inches long, and a hole 2 inches from one end ; one lever •5 inches long, and a hole in the cen- tre, and a tenon on one end to take the presser, the long lever lifted to the short staiulard and applied under the end of the short lever; a rubber band or spring, from the board to the Comb Foundation Fastener. short lever, brings it back to place, when the pressure is removed. The presser is 3x4 inches (or any size to suit the section used), with a hole mortised near one side, and fastened on tenon, with a pin, and so fitted that when a two-inch section is under the presser and gnaged against the stan- dard, the presser will strike about ;s on the section, or so that the founda- tion will hang in the centre of the section when inverted. The bottom of the presser being rounded so as not to cut the foundation, and made of soft wood to hold moisture. In using grooved sections, place the founda- tion just over the groove; press slightly, to make it stick; slide under the presser, till the section strikes the standard ; i)ress on the lever and the job is done. I prefer sections not grooved ; in using them, make a foundation gauge with two pieces of sections ; one projecting over the other, and tacked to a board ; slide the section under the projection, and lay on the foundation to the guage. This press is very convenient, as it requires no clamps or screws to fasten it to the table, as the pressure is applied at both ends at the same time. With this machine you can fasten foundation just as fast as you can handle the sections. Tlie foun- dation sticks best when it is firm enough to handle good, and is not soft ; keep the presser well wet with soap water or honey, and you can fasten .50 starters without any stick- ing. Apiece of tin, with the edges folded up, and several folds of cloth in it, makes a good pad for wetting the pre.sser. Browning. Mo., June 12, 1883. Read at the Maine Bee-Keepera' Association. Spring Management of Bees. H. li. CIIAP3IAN. In presenting this [laper, I shall en- deavor to give only an outline of the subject, for, if I should go into all the points and particulars, it would take too much time ; besides I do not feel capable. In a well managed apiary, spring management will include 3 months- April May and June. If bees are properly cared for in the fall, they will need but little attention before April. Examine all your bees the first warm day in April, to see if they have suflic- ient stores. I would notadvise having much honey in the center at this time of the year, as the queen will be crowded for room. The tw'o middle combs should be empty, or nearly so, and if the bees go into winter quarters as strong as they should, such will be the case. If any colonies are found sliort in stores, give them a comb of honey saved the fall before, or sugar. Take away all unnecessary combs, confining the bees on as few as they can cover. Make the entrance small ; many leave it open the whole width ; this is wrong. What would you think of a nuui who insisted on having a door half the width of his house and twice as high as his head, and open all the titne V Bees must be kept warm during the chilly weather of spring. Examiiie your locality to see when the flowers blossom that pro- duce an abundance of honey, then have every colony in the best working condition possible ; to accomplish this, feeding should be resorted to. Outdoor feeding is preferable if you are not troubled with other people's bees, but if you are, then feed in the hive. Maple syrup has proved excel- lent for out-door feeding, as it does not stimulate robbing. To start them to work on it, put a little honey on the feeder, and it will make you laugh to see the little fellows carry it off. Keep the feeders full ; the bees will not carry off more than they want. If you wish to feed in the hive, place two strips three-eighths thick upon the feeder : in this cover, insert a tube made of wood— place the feeder across the ends of the frames, then lay on your quilt and chaff, and it is ready for use. I do not like sugar candy for feed, as the bees will tear down and carry out a large part of it. When the combs become well filled with brood, they should be spread and an empty comb inserted, taking care not to spread too fast. Every colony should have a good laying queen. C2uinby said, "The introduc- tion of a mature fertile queen to a colony two weeks sooner than when they swarm naturally, is an advantage sutiicient to pay for the extra trouble. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 321 The time gained in breeding, is equi- valent to a swarm." If such is the case, it will pay well to buy queens. When the brood chamber is well hlled with brood, and the young bees begin to hatch rapidly, put on one tier of boxes. I think a few pounds of sugar syrup fed at night after the boxes are placed on, will give much aid in starting them in. The swarming season de- mands the close and prolonged atten- tion of the bee-keeper, hives, boxes, frames, and feed should all be ready. The new hives containing comb or comb foundation, should be placed upon the stands where they are to remain through the summer, if natural swarming is followed. Do not give your new swarms too many frames of foundation or combs; the best results will be obtained with live or six frames. If honey Is coming in well, Eut on one tier of boxes within 12 ours after swarming ; when these are three-quarters full, raise them up, putting under another set. If you have a colony rounding off the corners of the combs before the boxes are plump full, they think they have done enough, and the best way to keep them at work is to make an artificial swarm from tliem. It re- quires a very clear mind to keep the bees prolitably at work all of the time. For the Americiin Bee Journal. Management of Bees in the Spring. ALLEN PRINGLE. . The past winter and spring has been the hardest season on bees, in this latitude, 1 have ever witnessed. Upon making diligent inquiry within an area of many miles in the eastern counties of Ontario, I 11 nd that of the bees wintered outside without protec- tion, almost all are dead ; of those protected outside, two-thirds are dead ; and of those wintered in bee- houses and cellars, on an average, one -half. To those who wintered their bees properly indoors, the spring has been much worse, and more fatal than the winter. It has been exceedingly un- favorable up to about the lirst of June. Iruleed, some of mine are still protected with extra warm stuffed guilts. The fruit bloom was only at its height two or three days agcf (8th) ; is fully two weeks behind other years, and almost everything else proportionally backward. The corn was only planted, in this locality, the past week, and the potatoes are yet to plant. My own bees were taken out of winter quarters about the first of April, in very good condition ; all alive. I have since lost two colonies by dysentery or " spring dwindling," and two, whose queens were acci- dentally lost just after being put out. But I certainly would have lost two- thirds of my stock of bees had I not stirred my wits to circumvent the most unpropitious weather, and fight against most adverse circumstances. When old bees are set out in the spring, and begin to exercise ton the wing, their pilgrimage in this world is exceedingly short ; and unless you can, in spite of the frowning and un- friendly elements, promptly induce the breeding of young bees to take the place of the old ones, your hives soon become still— not the stillness of snug winter quarters, but the stillness of death. Now, according to my experience, the best way to accomplish this pur- pose— to induce sufficient breeding to preserve the colony— is this : Keep them warm from the time you set them out ; and after their cleansing fiight, the very first day warm enough to open the hives, examine them, thoroughly clean out the dead bees, etc., atid diminish their room accord- ing to their strength, crowding very weak ones up on two or even one frame, and others into three, four or more frames, according to strength. The next thing to be done is to keep them warm, by extra quilts on top, and keeping the entrances closed, ex- cept when it is warm enough for the bees to come out. The next thing is to feed them a little honey, or good syrup, every day, in the evening; and, whether there is natural pollen to he had outside or not, give them the artificial article inside thehive, in the shape of cakes rich in nitrogen and soaked in honey. This regime with other little matters which the com- mon-sense of every experienced bee- keeper may suggest, will carry the bees through adverse spring seasons if anything will. One or two other important matters occur to me which I will also men- tion : Sometimes, even after the bees have had a cleansing flight, if the weather is such that they cannot get out for many consecutive days (as happened two or three times this spring), they will become badly af- flicted with the dysentery. In such cases, I give them a little carbolic acid in their honey, or in their cakes, with uniformly good results. The other point occurring to me is this : After you begin the stimulation of feeding in the spring, tlie old bees are mucli more apt to venture out in un suitable weather ; and in high cold winds they are lost, and never get back. It is, therefore, expedient to be on the look out, and shut them in during such weather. In many cases it would be better to carry the bees back to the cellar or other winter quarters, after they have had their flight, then to entice them outside by feeding, only to be lost. The intelligent apiarist must use his own judgment and govern himself accordingly ; and, above all things, lie must watch his bees and not neglect them. As you are passing that way, it may be to other work, take a look at your bees, for you may see some- thing wrong— something needing your attention. In bee-keeping, as in other things, "eternal vigilance" is the price of success. The prospects here for an abundant honey harvest are excellent ; indeed, almost unprecedented, so far as we can recollect. Clover of all kinds has come out this spring in a better condition than I ever saw it before ; and the fruit bloom is proverbially exuberant. The trouble is, however, that bees generally are not yet strong enough to take advantage of the abundant fruit bloom. It will take to near the end of this month to get them thoroughly built ui>. Mean- while, during the interval between the fruit bloom and white clover, I would suggest to the inexperienced bee-keeper the wisdom of feeding his bees a little every day, to keep up the strengthening process now going on. Selby, Ontario, June 11, 1883. For tbe American Bee Journal. The Rearing of ftueens. E. A. THOMAS. Having received several inquiries regarding my method of rearing queens, I will" now give a description of it. The groinid work of my method is doubtless familiar to the reader, and I shall, therefore, give more at- . tention to the smaller points which many consider of but little conse- quence, but which I consider all im- portant, and to which I attribute much of my success in queen-rearing. I commence operations by hanging in a clean comb into the colony which I wish to breed from ; this colony must be strong and vigorous. Having several breeding queens, I use the strongest one first. Several days previous to hanging in the comb, I begin feeding the colony and continue to do so until I obtain the eggs. I crovi'd the brood nest together as much as possible, removing all empty " combs, so that the queen must lay in the comb prepared, if she lays at all. In this way I get a frame filled with eggs in a very short space of time, the advantage of which will appear further on. At the same time that I hang in the empty comb into the first colony, I deprive another strong one of its queen, at tlie same time commencing stimulative feeding, and by the time the eggs are ready, they are in the best possible cnnditiou for building^ cells. I then deprive this colony of all unsealed brood. Taking the comb of eggs, I cut (jut stri|)S, aboutan inch wide, from top to bottoui. leaving two inches of comb between ; these I fit into other empty frames of comb, fit- ting them in diagonally, cutting out about an inch of comb under each piece. These frames I hang in the center of the hive prepared to receive them, and continue feeding them as before. When it is time for the cells to be sealed over, I examine the combs, and all cells that are just started and , not se.iled over, I cut off ; and it is to this fact that I attribute much of my success. All the eggs being laid at very near the same time, 1 can tell just when the cells ought to be sealed over, if started from the egg when it first hatches. After this time, all unsealed cells must have been started late from lar- va;, and therefore are destroyed. This is how I get my cells started from the egg when it first hatches. 322 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. The reader cannot fail to appreciate the fact that, placing a comb of eggs in a colony, will not insure all tlie cells started from the egg or young larviB, as bees will continue to start cells until the larvie gets too large to develop into queens ; but liy knowing when the lirst cells ought to be sealed over, and destroying all after-cells, we are sure of obtaining what we desire, viz : queens reared from larvse, fed, from the time they hatch from the egg. upon tlie royal jelly. I let the cells remain in the colony where they were reared until nearly ready to hatch, and here is the advan- tage of having the eggs laid at nearly the same time, as itenables me to tell, within a few hours, when the cells will hatch. When nearly ready to hatch, I cut them out carefully and insert in the nuclei, cutting out enough comb with each cell to be sure and not press the cell in any way. Nuclei will very rarely destroy cells when just ready to hatch, even if put in soon after their queens are taken from them, and I am seldom troubled with loss of queens ., in this way. As soon as each queen hatches, I hunt her up and examine her care- fully, to see that she is all right. If there is anything about her "that is not perfect, her head gets between my thumb and finger. I save only the perfect ones, as I want no others. Now how do I mate ray queens ? I will tell you. I select early in the season a number of colonies which produce the best drones, and keep them continually stimulated by feed- ing, and give them all the drone comb they will use. These colonies will. therefore, rear an immense number of drones, and by keeping the drones in the other hives cut off, I reduce the danger of mating with poor drones to a minimum. To some, my method of queen rear- ing may seem laborious, with too much attention given to small matters, but it takes labor, time and attention to small matters, to rear good queens. Another important element to suc- cess, is care and skill in selection. I aim, in selecting, to combine all the characteristics of a good strain of bees, breeding from beautiful, prolitic mothers, and rearing drones from the most hardy and industrious colonies. Such a queen, mating with such a drone, cannot fail to produce fine offr spring. And by continual selection from each generation, I am all the time raising my bees to a highei- standard of excellence. Coleraine, Mass. For the American Bee Journal. Preparing for Winter. L. R. JACKSON. Successful wintering of bees, in the North, is one of the most important subjects with bee-keepers. This, 1 think, is any easy thing to do. if we commence in time to prepare for the coming winter. 1 have always com- menced in June to prepare for winter, and have always been successful in my S years experience, having never been troubled with "spring dwind- ling " but one year, and'that was when I fed the bees with rye flour early in the spring. Honey contains sugar in two forms : Cane sugar and grape sugar. Clover honey contains more cane sugar than fall honey, and is more easily and more thoroughly digested than "grajie sugar, or fall "honey, and should be used for winter stores. Our bees now have honey enough to winter them, with all the increase we shall have, and, as soon as it is well ripened, we will put away 2,000 pounds for winter. Then we can take honey with no fear of our bees starving next winter. I have never known as good a pros- pect for a large crop of honey as we liave this year, or known bees in a better condition for gathering it than they are now. Nearly all our bees are working on 20 Langstroth frames, and are crowding the queen, in spite of all we can do, unless we extract the honey before it is ripe, which it will not pay to do. We have rain about three days in the week, yet it does not seem to stop the flow of" honey as it usually does. I had prepared to run the bees for in- crease until I saw what the harvest was going to be, when I changed ray plans, and it has crowded me with work, so that I have had to hire extra help, and work from 4 a. m. until 8 p. m. to keep up with the bees. I have given a few hints for winter- ing, which can be understood by any who wish to profit by them, arid in September I will give my plans for packing. Urmeyville, Ind., June 11, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Honey Plants of Louisiana. J. A. SMYTHE. I see by a late copy of the Bee Journal, that apiculturists, in gen- eral, have the blues ; in this section we are all trying to excell each other in blueness. The spring was very late, and was followed by cold rains. Most of us made our increase dur- ing March and April, while the willow and oak trees were in bloom ; since then, bees have not gathered enough to support themselves. Our bees all have to cross a lake a mile wide, to a willow bank, for their principal sup- ply of honey ; the contrary winds and cold rains have caused thousands of them to fall into the water to rise no more. As June. July and August are our great honey mouths, and as no one has taken honey yet, most of us have lost all hope" o"f making more then expenses. One of my neighbors, who has nearly 400 hives, has spent S500 upon them, this year, in improve- ments ; he does not even expect to make expenses. For the benelit of Northern readers, I give a list of our best honey plants with date of commencing and end of bloom. It i^the result of two years observation, and is n;eiierally accepted in this section. Plum, apple and peach, from Feb. 1 to 27. Willow, Feb. 1 to April 10. Oak. March 1-5 to April 1. Orange and China trees commence blooming Marcli ISand last two or three weeks. Clover and dew- berries bloom in March, but cannot be depended upon. Bees seldom ob- tain much honey from fruit trees, owing to the cold" rains. The willow and oak are our stand-bys. Orange trees are rather scarce ; China only yields honey early in the morning. For the summer months we have corn, elder, sweet bay, crape myrtle and clover, besides countless vines and swamp plants whicli produce more or less honey. Corn, elder and clover are our best honey plants ; bees work- ing upon them allday long ; sweet bay only produces honey after a rain ; crape myrtle give large quantities some years, while in others it is per- fectly barren. I have seldom seen bees upon cot- ton, although Prof. A. .1. Cook classes it among honey-producing plants. During the swarming season, our bees (Italians) seldom wait for cap- ped queen-cells before swarming ; sometimes swarming without leaving even a sign of a qeen-cell. Hermitage, La., -June 11, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Wood Separators. F. M. REEDS. I have been waiting for some one to give his experience with Dr. Besse's wood separators, but as none have reported their success or failure with them, I thought I would write a few lines concerning my own failure. I had for sometime, before noticing his article, been reflecting in regard to wooden separators, and, in fact, had sawed out some by hand, which, by the way, is a very particular job, if sawed as thin as should be ; but as soon as I saw his article, I thought I had struck a bonanza, for chea)) sep- arators ; so I sent an order for 350, which were received all riarht and in due time. But with me, they have proved a complete failure ; they hav- ing been cut out of green elm, like all elm lumber, warp and twist as soon put in between the boxes, in such a manner as to render their use impos- sible ; and while I do not doubt that the Doctor is still, and has been all the time, honest in his effort to sup- ply the long-needed cheap separator, I have no doubt, in my own mind, that he has made a sad failure; as tliey are cut out of elm timber. The boards were nicely cut, and would, no doubt, have made flne separators had they been cut of timber which would not warn, and if some one will get them up as nicrly as those I received, of some kind of "lumber that will not warp, I will try some more, for I be- lieve the day is not far distant when they will be the only separator used. I am now cutting some by hand from pine lumber, which does not warp. I see a great many notions in re- gard to deep and shallow frames. Now, I have used two kinds or two widths of combs, 7 and S inches, with hives THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 323 19J^xl5 inches, usiiis 10 fi-ames to the hive, and I prefer the 7 inch frame, and am cuttincf all my cmiibs to that width. I find they are easier to handle, contain an abundance of sur- face for brood-rearing, with plenty of honey for wintering, and it gives, [ thinlf, superior advantages in honey gathering. The season has been very cold and backward here, up to June; since then, we have had too much rainy weather. White clover is abundant, and bees are doing well, when they can, they work strongly and store some surplus, but are not swarming. Hinesborough, 111., June 11, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Antidote for Bee Stings, etc. E. H. THURSTON, M. D. The sting of the honey bee malies cowards of many brave, strong men. Were it not for this, the army of bee- keepers would liave many new re- cruits each year. The bees, though small compared with man, but few are willing to meet in combat. There has been some inquiries for an antidote for the poison of stings. Some bee-keepers laugh at the idea of an antidote, while others make very earnest inquiries for it. I have been experimenting with various arti- cles, and have found, 1 think, a true antidote. It may not be new to many, but I feel contideiit, all who are af- fected by the poison, will appreciate its value. It is carbonate of amonia. It should be powdered and kept in a tightly-corked bottle. I always carry a small phial of it in my pocket, which I use in my practice. When I receive a sting, I wet the surface over the sting, and apply a small amount of it. The pain is relieved imme- diately, and it never swells. I was called a few days ago to see a child, about 3 years old, who, in child- ish play, put a stick into the entrance of a strong colony of bees. They stung him very badly on the liead, face and neck ; there were not less then 100 stings. I had him bathed with a strong solution of carbonate of amonia, and gave him a solution of some of it inwardly. The next day one could not tell that the little fel- low had been stung at all. Did you, Mr. Editor ever hear of roast chicken as bee feed ? We have a box-hive bee-keeper, in this county, who says that every winter he cool^s a chicken and puts it in Ids hives for the bees to feed on ; that they eat it all up clean, not leaving anything but clean bones. This is new to me. Bees are just beginning to work on white clover. May was a hard month on them. The cold, snow and rain prevented them from- building up, but they are now doing well. Hagerstown, Ind., June 9, 1883. [Yes ; we have heard of such before ; some cook eggs and puts in the hives ; others give them whisky — but all these notions belong to the superstitions of the past, with that of " telling the bees of a death in the family," and refusing to sell them, because it is imluck!/ to do so, etc. — Ed.] Read before the Te.xiia Convention. A Few Thoughts on Marketing. DR. J. p. H. BROWN. That there is a pleasure associated with the production of an article, whether it be a thing of beauty or something that administers to our health or happiness, cannot be denied. The amateur tiorist goes into ecstacy as he watches some" rare flower bud and unfold its petals and display its gorgeous tints. The fruit culturist glories in the production of a s|>eci- men of some rare apple, pear, peach, grape or berry; while the apiculturist prides himself in his bees and in the production of tons of honey. lie loves to see the product of liis little pets. ]5ut aside from the mere pleas- ure of production, there is probably a greater pleasure to know that we can dispose of the product for dollars and cents, and be thereby rewarded for our labor. True, the production of honey is much easier than it is to finda market for it, still I am satisfied from my own experience and from the experience of others, that markets can often be made where before there were com- paratively none. As a general thing, the nearer home the market is. the better it is for the producer. High freights and commissions are pretty certain to eat up the profits. There is not a town nor village in the South where a trade in honey cannot be established if the proper means are taken to introduce it. There can be no excellence without labor and exer- tion, and there can be no honey mar- ket without the right kind of efforts. Up to witiiin a few years past, our Southern honey went to market in the worst possible condition— mashed and messed along with pollen, dead bees and juicy larvpe, in old buckets and tubs, presenting everything but an inviting appearance to the purchaser. Such stuff, instead of inviting the buyer, has a tendency to engender disgust. But with our modern appli- ances for obtaining honey, there is no longer an excuse for any such bad- conditioned honey to come on the market. It has been pretty well set- tled by the largest honey producers of our country, that honey put up in small packages sells the most readily, particularly at home markets. Com- pactness, neatness and attractiveness are essentials to be observed on the part of the producer. Many persons who may at first buy a small package, will soon return and want a larger. When we cannot sell our honey directly to the consumer, then we have to send it to the middle-man or commission merchant. And right here it should be remembered that not one grocery merchant in fifty knows how to handle honey. The ex- pert salesman, like the expert pro- ducer, must have a natural fitness for the position. When a merchant is willing to undertake it, and displays the necessary tact and ability to introduce the commodity to his custo- mers, the bee-keepers of the neighbor- hood should sustain him; because there would be a likelihood of his better being able to keep up the price and exteiKl the sales, then if it was put in the hands of half dozen groceryraen of the town to sell at all sorts of prices, and to be offered in all sorts of shapes. Although honey was one of the first articles of sweetening tliat man knew anything about, and the exclusive article for thousands of years, still at the present day the majority of people know comparatively nothing of its properties, and the multitudinous uses to which it can be applied. The people should know of its remedial qualities ; they should know that it is pure, and the syrup that God prepares in the laboratory of the flower, and that it would be far better to use it in their families to the exclusion of the adulterated and glucosed syrups that breed disease and death. Bee-keep- ers' wives should go to the conven- tions, associations and fairs and dis- play their honey-cakes and their tioney preserved fruits. This would attract attention, and give honey a prominent place in the culinary art. If bee-keepers were to distribute pamphlets calculated to educate the people upon these questions, great good would result in the increased con- sumption of honey ; and I know of nothing better for this object then a little book entitled : " Honey as Food and Aledicine," published by Thomas G. Newman, of the Ameri- can Bee Journal, Chicago, 111. When it becomes necessary to ship honey long distances it had always better be extracted, well cured before barreling, put up clean, and the bar- rels shouid be secured against leak- ing. It is very annoying to a honey merchant to find a consignment of honey come in a leaking condition — the car floor covered with it, and a stream of it running across the depot — all owing to the carelessness of the shipper. If bee-keepers desire good markets and good prices for their honey, they must encourage concert of action among themselves, be faith- ful and vigilant, and offer their pro- duct in the neatest, most attractive and secure manner. Augusta, Ga. Local Convention Directory. issa. Time and Place oj Meeting. June 30.— Fulton County Iowa, at Astoria, Iowa. June yC'.— Central Kansas, at Manhattan, Kas. Thos. Uassler, Sec. Aug. 29.— Iowa Central, atWinterset FairGrounds, Z. G. Cooley. See. Pro tern. Sept. 12-14.— Tri-State, at Toledo. Ohio. Dr. A. B. Mason, Sec, WaKon Works, O. Oct. 9, 10.— Northern Mich, at Sheridan, Mich. O. R. Goodno, Sec, Carson City. Mich. Oct. 17, 18.— Northwestern, at Chicaco, ni. ThomasG. Newman. Seo, Oct.— Northern Ohio, at Norfalk, O. S. F. Newman, Seo, Dec. 5Hi, Michigan State, at Flint. U. D. Cutting. Sec, Clinton, Mich, tW In order to have this table complete, Seore^ taries are requested to forward full particulars time and place of future meetinus.— KD. 324 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. at uud |toi\). ANSWERS BY James Ecddon, Dowagiac, Mich. 1^ Several liave asked questions upon the following topics, which I hereby endeavor to answer : Introducing Queens. I practice two methods. If I have a very choice one, and wish to talie very little risk, I operate as follows : 1 kill the reigning queen, and put the new one to be introduced into a wire cage between the combs, and atfer 24 hours I open the hive, and if I see the bees " balling " the cage (that is, 2 and 3 deep upon it, savagely trying to force an entrance), I close the liive for 24 hours more, and so on till I see the bees crawling over the cage iu an unirritated manner, then I pull the stopper to the cage, the open end placed close to the entrance, and with smoker in hand, smoke the queen in, and smoke the bees, by puffing right in after her. If the queen is of only ordinary value, I smoke her right in without any of the previous caging. I have had almost uniform success with the latter method, what little I have used it. Two points of caution are in or- der. Never introduce any workers with the queen— just the queen alone. Never open or otherwise disturb the colony under live days from the date of introduction. Using Comb FoiiiKlntioii. In using comb foundation I al- ways use it in full sheets above and below. Any person who has ever used a Parker foundation fastener, will never mention melted wax or any thing of the sort. Next to the Parker fastener is a good strong putty knife. Beeswax at a temperature of about 100^ can be mashed on to smooth wood much firmer than it can be melted on. Good comb foundation, to use in brood frames and sections, is worth to the user §2 or §3 per pound. As guides and starters it is worth more than $5 per pound, which, if granted, shows how much they lose who fail to use it in full sheets, and how much tnore they lose wlio do not use it at all. One word of caution here too. Never fail to use foundation, full size, in sections resting upon a liive that has all worker combs below. If you do, and thus give the bees a chance to build drone comb in the sections (one that they will surely improve), there being no chance for drone brood below, you will be almost sure to be annoyed with it there. Capping Honey, Ants, Feeding, etc. 1. Please tell me what I can do to make my bees cap their comb V They are dravvn out. until they are all out of shape and joined to the separators. What can I do to make them cap it V 2. Will salt, to keep off ants, injure the bees at all y 3. Shall I feed any now, in New England States '? I am a beginner, so please answer questions which seem simple to others, but not to me. Helen L. Richards. Longwood, Mass., .June 15, 18S3. 1. Never having seen such a case, where all was normal, I can hardly tell you how to proceed. I think if I knew all the conditions, I could advise what to do. 2. No ; it will not injure bees ; and, I fear, not keep off the ants eitlier. 3. I would advise you not to feed except at times when stores are needed to prevent starvation. Such can hardly be the case with you, after the date of your question. Wliere is the Old (Jueeu J On April 10, 1883, my Italian colony No. 1 swarmed, and I hived the swarm in hive No. 2. Colony No. 1 has swarmed twice since ; I put them in hives No. 3 and 4, as they came off. Now, colony No. 2 has swarmed twice also, which"! put in hives No. 5 and (3 as they came off'. What I wish to know (as I am an ABC scholar), where is my old queen y As she is very prolihc, I wish to rear queens from her to Italianize my blacks with, as I think it probable that the young queens became fertilized by my black or hybrid drones. Colonies No. 3, 4 and o will, from present indi- cations, swarm in a few days. The gentleman whom I bpught my hive of Italians No. 1 from, last year, had only 2 colonies, in the spring of 1882, which were in patent hives, and they were glued up so that the bees were allowed to swarm as they thought best. They began swarming in April, and continued, they and their in- crease, until Aug. 15, at which time they had increased to 27. Seven of them went to the woods. This is no hear-say or exaggerated bee tale, but is a positive fact, and I would say (lest some one should think tliis a cheap advertisement), that the gentle- man or myself either have no bees to sell, nor do we rearqueens to sell, but we wish to keep our stock for rearing as near their present condition as pos- sible. I have several colonies of blacks and liybrids that have not swarmed this year. Some I divided, but I prefer to let them swarm them- selves, unless I had a gnod Italian queen to give them. I found 4 colo- nies of bees in trees lately, one of which was yellow bees, and the most peaceable colony I ever handled, and the queen was the largest insect I ever saw in the shape of a honey bee. Almost all the trees I cut, were very rich in honey. Mr. Ileddon's answer to my 4th question in the Bee .Journal of May 23, is not exactly correct, for the bees liad plenty of room inside, for some of the colonies were new swarms that had been hived but a few days ; nor was it hot weather that caused the bees to lay out, for, on the contrary, it was moderately cool. Try again ; I confess I cannot tell. Wehaveplenty of rain; wheat andoat harvest is almost over, and we are expecting a continued honey harvest, from the buckwheat, as well as the wild flowers, which are kept bloom- ing by the bountiful seasons, D. F. Marks. South Bosque, Texas, June 11, 1883. Your queen went with your first swarm from No. 1 to No. 2. When colony No. 2 swarmed the first time, your old queen went into No 5, where she now is, if no mishap has occurred. My answer to your 4th question, which I have just re-read, is the best I can give, unless perhaps I were on the ground and looked more closely into details. Why is This J I have a first swarm of Italian bees with a fine 2-year-old queen, came off the middle of May ; her young brood that she is hatching, is as black as any black bees I ever saw. They were as fine looking Italians, when I hived them, as I ever saw, I know it was a first swarm, for in 9 days I got a second swarm from the same hive. How do you account for it ? Frank A. Eaton. Bluffton, Iowa. By some "hook or crook," either in hiving or otherwise, your "2-year-old" Italian queen got displaced by a black one, and this black one can hardly be the daughter of the "2-year-old," or some "bands" would show upon her workers. A Diseased Colony. I have a colony of bees in my apiary that are sufferiiig from some cause which I am unable to help. Young bees, unable to lly, crawl out of the hive and die ; their bodies are dis- tended and apparently filled with honey. My bees are working well on white clover, and liave been tor a week ; still there is no change in this colony. What is the cause, and what the remedy ? W, 1). Simonds, Augusta, Mich., June 12, 1883, Having never had a case of the kind mentioned, from all I can imag- ine, by the symptoms given, I am unable to say what the trouble is. Were the case mine and I had confl- THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 325 • dence that the trouble was more than temporary, which you seem to liave, I would fall back to my favorite remedy, namely, destroy the queen and re-queen them from one of my very best colonies— best for qualities. Magnificent Honey Harvest. We are in the midst of a magnifi- cent honey liarvest. Bees are just booming, and everybody who has bees are happy. Isaac Sharp. Waveland, Ind., June 20, 1SS3. Bloom Lute, but Welcome. I do not complain of the weather. Providence controls that; if man controlled it, it probably would not be as good as it is. My bees, that I had packed in sawdust,' came through all right, except one brown German col- ony, which was queenless. They were strong in bees, and I sent to South Carolina for a queen ; she ar- rived on May -5 ; I introduced her on the 6th, and in U days, when I opened the hive, slie had 7 combs tilled with brood and eggs, and now the young Italians are Hying, when the sun shines. Of ray bees in my summer and winter house, those on the South side, came out strong ; tliose on the North side are weak, and 2 colonies swarmed out. White clover is bloom- ing in abundance ; the lields and road- sides look white. It is late, but welcoQie. I.N. Becker. Oakfield Centre, June 14, 1S83. White Clover Xever Better. Bees have done well during the past two weeks ; they are storing surplus honey very fast, and swarming still faster. Some of my neighbors, who work " on the old fogy plan," have a great deal of trou))le with swarming. One man had four swarms from one colony in a month. The great trouble is, they wait until fall before putting on surplus arrangements, and as we have such an abundance of clover bloom, this season, the bees want room. Tlie white clover crop was never better. Emil Nebel. High Ilili, Mo., June 15, 1883. Honey from Black Walnut Trees. The prospect for a crop of honey in Lucas County, Iowa, is better then an average, at this season of the year. Bees never wintered better. I had drones flying on March 12, and had to give 12 colonies their upper story on April 27, to prevent swarming. I took off 200 pounds of buckeye and crab-apple honey. The bees never commenced killing the drones until June 1 ; and then but few. White clover is now plenty, and I have com- menced to extract again. Everything that has bloomed this spring has fur- nished an abundance of nectar. I never knew before that black walnut furnished honey ; the bees worked on it equal to linden, and I extracted some 50 pounds of walnut honey ; it is dark and strong, and hardly lit to eat ; the bees left the clover for the walnut. We have had lots of rain and some cold spells, but that " silver lining" is seen, and we shall have another big honev crop in Iowa, this year ; it is so wet that the smartweed has possession of corn fields, and smartweed never fails. Last year I had to feed the bees until July 1 ; this year bees swarmed on May 1, and have kept it up ever since. I have 5 from], all natural swarms ; the after swarms I divided, to save the young queens ; 1 swarm had 3 queens. Lin- den promises well, and my bees are strong. We cannot help getting a big crop of* honey, as soon as the linden blooms. White clover was never as good, but there was too much rain tor clover. Wji. Malone. Oakley, Iowa, June 18, 1883. Average Crop of Clover Honey. Since I wrote last, we had floods of rain ; our honey crop is cut short ; white clover is about done, but we have already secured better than an average crop of nice clover honey. I hope some of our Northern bee-keep- ers will exhibit honey, bees, and sup- plies, at tlie Louisville exposition. We have secured space, and will ex- hibit. It will be opened the first week in September. N. P. Allen. Smith's Grove, Ky., June 21, 1883. Bees Transferring Eggs. The fact that bees sometimes move eggs for queen-cells has been thor- oughly tested and positively proved in my apiary this spring. On the 23d of May I removed the queen and one frame of brood from a colony, and inserted a frame of foiuidation. On one side of the new frame was a nail wliich projected about an inch. On the head of tliis nail was built a large line queen-cell which contained an egg. In a few days it was hatched and capped over. On the third ex- amination it was, as all may know, much to my regret, accidentally bruised. Although I have believed for a long time that bees will some- times move the eggs or larva\ yet I have never before seen it so plainly illustrated. T. A. IIongas. Henderson, Iowa, June 14, 1883. Honey Harvest Prospect Never Better. The prospect for a good honey crop in this vicinity, was never better. The cool weather about the 21st of May, did us no harm, though fires and thick clothing were not uncomfortable for two or three days. I commenced the season with 89 colonies; and during April and May I had 30 swarms. I look for a big swarming spree in a few days, as the hives are well-stocked with bees and brood, and I notice a few have queen-cells started. I have already taken 600 pounds of comb honey and 410 gallons of extracted, and will take out about 2 pounds (or 90 gallons) more next week. From the crossest colony of hybrids I ever saw, I took, yesterday, i}.^ gallons of extracted honey. The hybrids have given me more honey to tlie hive, than the pure Italians. As honey gatherers they far exceed the pure Italians; but they are crosser even than the blacks. I have a colony of blacks I would not exchange for the best Italians I ever saw ; they are very gentle, and are good workers. Last season they gave me 184 pounds of fine comb honey, in one-pound sec- tions, which I sold for 20 cents per pound, S33.12. 1 use the Langstroth frame so far as length and depth goes ; in the upjier story, for extracting, I use 8 frames 1?8 inches wide, which, after 5 years of trying other kinds and sizes, I find to give the best results. I extract often. Chas. H. Kincade. Sterling, Ark., June 16, 1883. Bee-Keeping in Utah. Since I wrote you last Thos. W. Lee and myself have been down to Grantsville to organize a branch as- sociation of the Territorial Bee-Keep- ers' Association. Grantsville is sit- uated on the west side of the Tooele Valley, and boasts of the tirst bee- keepers in the county, but for all that, Tooele city is a little ahead of them in bee-culture ; for out of 17 bee-keepers, they have only one extractor ; most of them getting comb honey without the section boxes. The swarming season IS now in full blast, with myself it is aboutover. John Dunn. Tooele City, Utah, June 14, 1883. Everything is Booming. Our bees are tiring their big guns. They wintered well. There never was such a line prospect for white clover; bees are filling up the sections finely. Our rains are just right, and poplar is just blooming; linden will bloom this month, and soon after comes the sweet clover. Our honey crop is very good, and everything is booming. C. S. Newsom. Athens, O., June 13, 1883. Rain, Rain, Rain. The bees in this part of the country are having a hard time, on account of the excessive rain. Hives are full of bees and brood, and a great deal of w'hite clover is in bloom, but we have rain nearly every day, and streams are high most of the time. Our honey crop was an entire failure last year, owing to continuous rains during clover bloom, and our hopes of a honey crop, this season, grows less, day by day. Clover is the main de- pendence in our locality, and there is not an ounce stored in surplus boxes yet. W.J.Davis. Youngsville, Pa., June 20, 1883. Bees Strong in Numbers. Bees in this neighborhood are doing finely, considering the cold wet spring we had. They are not storing any surplus honey yet, but are increasing in numbers amazingly. The hives are all crowded full of bees, and there has been several line large natural swarms already. We expect a good harvest of honey. J. M. Ross. Tecumseh, Neb., June 15, 1883. * 326 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Well Done. On page 300, Mr. J. O. Sherman gives a candid, clear report of what he lias done by crossing bees, and what stock he used to do it with. Mr. S. is recognized by those who know him at all, tn be a man of scien- tilic turn of mind, as well as nn- doubted integrity. lie did just what I have been doing for several years past, and any one who does thus', will become another witness to the living truth. May I be so impertinent as to ask Mr. F. I. Sage to give us the names of the Michigan bee-keepers whose honey he has handled, and the amount handled from each person named. Such statistics might throw much light on the separator question ; at least, as far as Michigan producers are concerned. James IIeddon. Dowagiac, Mich., June 15, 1SS3. Profusion of Basswood Bloom Expected. We have a few colonies that have stored 32 pounds of comb honey from apple blossoms. Bees are in tine con- dition. Alsike clover, white clover, and raspberries are in full bloom, but it is too rainy and cold. Basswood gives evidence of great profusion of bloom. Please tell us, through tlie Bee -Journal, if you have had any experience with the honey ))lant known by the name of det lira alni folia or white alder. I see it recommended by some bee-keepers, but would like your opinion of its merits. A. W. OSBURN. Water Valley, N. Y., June 18, 1883. [Personally, we have not. It blos- soms from July to September, when there are are few other flowers. The honey from it is " about white, thick, and of tine flavor." It will grow in any soil, and is perfectly hardy ; but it does best in a moist, rich loam. Several have reported, in the Bee Journal, its excellent qualities for honey.— Ed.] Letter from Whitley County, Ind. I am a beginner in the new method of bee-keeping (with movable frames), though having some experience in the old way with box hives. Last fall I purchased a colony of Italians of a neighbor in a Qui'nby hive. I kept them out during the winter, protected ■with chaff matting in the upper story and wraped with strips of carpeting on the outside ; they wintered splend- idly, and came out all right this spring, casting a large swarm on the 1.5th, which was hived in a Quinby hive, and are doing well so far. We have a great abundance of white clover in bloom now. and the " little busy bee improves each shining hour, from early dawn to dewy eve,"' on its fragrant bloom. We have another plant here that I have not noticed anything mentioned by any corres- pondent of the Bee Journal as a honey-producer ; it is known here as ground ivy, the botanical name I do not know. It is a trailer, and grows from 7 to 10 inches high ; blossoms about the middle of ^lav, and con- tinues for a long while in bloom ; and, at the present writing, its vines are full of blue blossoms, on which the bees literally swarm from morning till night, almost forsaking all other blossoms ; it grows spontaneously, and we farmers have considered it a great nuisance, on account of its tenacity of life, spreading through our meadows and yards, almost taking possession ; but if it is a great honey plant, we, who keep bees, will be able to tolerate its pre.sence on account of its honey secretions, if it possesses them. Please say if it is known to you as a valuable honey plant. We have also here in northern Indiana, a great amount of the linden and bass- wood, which bloom here about the middle of July. Our spring has been wet and cold, and bees have had a hard time, but the last few days have brought us warm, if not sultry weather, and now they are getting ready for business. A bee-keepers' convention or association has been formed in Whitley county, and its members meet once a moiith to dis- cuss apiarian subjects. Among its members who have given it much attention. I will mention the names of Levi Mosher, H. H. Lawrence, Wm. Kelsy, and Joseph Sumners ; the last named is. perhaps, the best posted, in reading and experience, of any man in the county ; he has about 80 colonies of the Italian, and uses extensively the improved Quinby hive, and thinks it the best for all purposes ; the only objection being the depth of the brood-chamber for convenient handling. W. II. W. [Ground ivy has many excellent qualities. It will grow almost any- where, and under the most adverse circumstances. It is a proverbial bloomer, and yields excellent honey in abundance. — Ed] Bee-Culture in Nebraska. Bee-culture is fast becoming one of the leading industries in this State, and all we need is correct knowledge to make a grand success of it, having all the other requisites all ready fur- nished by nature. John IIammitt. Wahoo, Xeb., June 15, 1883. Heavy White Clover Bloom. We are having a heavy crop of white clover, but bees have had but little good of it yet. Out of the last 78 days it has rained, more or less, 41 days ; some days all day, and all night too. I have had no swarms yet, out of 79 colonies. By feeding, I have kept my bees in good condition, and hope to have some honey yet. S. L. Vail. Coal Creek, Iowa, June 19, 1883. The Season in Scotland. The vveather has been very severe all winter, and the spring has been exceedingly cold and bitter, so that our bees, throughout the whole coun- try, are in a very backward state. As far as the season has gone there is no great prospect of us having a good harvest. We are busy preparing for our annual show, which takes place at the end of July, in Inverness, in the North of Scotland, a good dis- tance past " Perth." I will send you one or two schedules, and will be very glad if you or any friends could send any exhibits to it. John D. Hutchinson. Glasgow. Scotland. May 31, 1883. Rearing Pure (Jueens. I have 4 colonies of hybrid bees (a cross between the black and Italian) in moveable frame hives, into one of which I introduced an Italian queen about a month ago, and the young Italians are now beginning to be seen at work. I should like to Italianize the other 3 colonies, but do not know how to go about it, owing to the fact that black drones are found in all 4 hives. Will you please inform me in the Weekly Journal, when and how I can manage so as to rear queens and have them fertilized by Italian drones, and greatly oblige ? J. F. C. Xew Orleans, La., June 16, 1883. [It cannot be done with any degree of certainty. The oidy way will be to obtain fertilized queens.— Ed.] Work I Have Accomplished Alone. As all the reports I see published are rather discouraging, as regards the honey crop, I will give my report for this season, so far. My bees started off vi-ell in tlie spring, and carried in the tirst pollen on Jan. 28. I had my flrst swarms on JSIarch 2. Linden commenced to bloom on May 15 ; then wild China and horsemint; and now elder is blooming. I com- menced extracting on June 4. I have now extracted 5.-500 pounds, and have 1,000 pounds of honey in one-pound sections, and I did all the work my- self, except the winding up of my buckets and drawing the" honey from a large tank into small vessels, which my better-half did for me. I started with 125 colonies ; and extracting and attending to the swarms, kept me stepping about iiretty lively. I have reports from all the principal parts of our State, and nearly all are feeding their bees. My lioney is pronounced by all as equal to white clover honey, and weighs a little over 12 pounds to the gallon. J. W. Eckjian. Richmond, Texas, June 18, 1883. Too Much Wet Weather. Bees are doing splendidly this spring, considering the kind of weather we have had. White clover has been in bloom since the latter part of May, and the flelds are white with it, but the bees do not get more than three days in a week in which they can work. When it is not raining, it is so cloudy and cold that the bees cannot get out ; they have not been out now for three days. I 'extracted about 75 pounds of honey, and liave some of them working in sections. Last year I got no surplus before Aug. 1 ; that is our regular time for surplus. I could not consent to do without the Bee Journal, or miss one number. Richard Gunsell. Baden, Mo., June 18, 1883. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 327 Fuel for Smokers. Some writer in the American Uee Journal ouce said lie had found out a good use for old almanacs, by sat- urating the leaves in a strong solution of salt-peter, then dry and use with cotton rags in the smokers. I have always been troubled about fuel for smokers till I tried this. Take two pieces of print paper, about the size of almanac leaves, prepared as above, which should be rolled with the cot- ton rags and ignited and put in the smoker. This will make a good, en- during and constant smoke. The salt-peter is a good disinfectant, and is a positive benefit through its use. Try it, brother bee-keep'ers, and re- port. 1). HiGBEE. I lAvoca, Iowa, June 16, 1883. How Bees Wintered In Wisconsin. I have traveled over four towns, and have made a careful inquiry of every bee-keeper I have met, and I am now satisfied that the losses dur- ing the last six months amount to not less than one-third, nor more than one-half of all the bees in this county. The losses are about equal to the losses of two years ago. As to the causes, it is very diflicultto determine exactly. A long, cold winter, followed by a cold spring, is the ttrst thought ; but that some have wintered their bees without loss while others have lost all, proves that there are other causes than the cold. I have lost more bees during the past winter, than in all my life before, and I have kept bees for ten years. I have lost 60 out of 120 colonies. I left 5 colo- nies out ; 3 well packed in chaff hives, and 2 with no protection. All died. The balance were stored in three cellars. Cellar No. 1 was very cold ; everything froze solid ; and three- fourths of the bees died. Cellar No. 2, under my house, was dry; tempera- ture from 34° to 40^; generally about36^. Bees suffered badly, but were much better than in No. 1, In botli these cellars, both upward and downward ventilation was given freely. Of 90 colonies put in these two cellars, 1 have 48 left. Cellar No. 3, under another house, contained 26 colonies ; 22 of them are alive ; 20 of them are strong and about to commence swarm- ing. These were given little or no upward ventilation. Were put in the cellar before freezing. 1 shall venti- late my cellars to keep the air purer, and make them a little warmer the next cold winter, and, if possible, use ice to keep the temperature down dur- ing a winter thaw. F. Wilcox. Mauston, Wis., June 18, 1883. ^^jeciaX Jloticcs. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less tlianone dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 2.5 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for' f 5, or less, can be obtained for .5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. Piling in tlie Honey. I have 90 colonies doing well, and piling in the honey ; I hnd the Bee Jouknal of great benefit in their management. J. McConnbll. Clay Village, Ky., June 14, 1883. Fine Flow of Honey. We are having a fine flow of honey now in this part of our State from white clover. Dr. J. Cooperider. Taylorsville, Ind., June 18, 1883. Honey as Food and Medicine. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. A new edition, revised and enlarged, the new pages being devoted to new Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cookingin which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price of them low to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 6 cents, postpaid; per dozen,. 50 cents; per hundred, $4.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense — enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Bee Pasturage a Necessity.— We have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. 1^ Do not send coins in a letter. It is dangerous and increases the postage unnecessarily. Always send postage stamps, for fractions of a dollar, and, if you can get them— one-cenJ stamps ; if not, any denomination of postage stamps will do. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies 220 pages 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. I®" Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.0u per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra. Special Notice.— We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bee Journal for one year, and the seventh edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, bound in fine cloth, for $2.75, or the Monthly Bee Journal, and the Manual in cloth for $1.75. As this offer will soon be withdrawn, those who desire it should send for the book at once. Sample Copies of theAMERjCAN Bee Journal will be sent free to any per- son. Any one intending to get up a club can have sample copies sent to the persons they desire to interview, by sending the names to this office. ^" We carefully mail the Bee Journal to every subscriber, but should any be lost in the mails we will cheerfully send another, if notified before all the edition is exhausted. Emerson Binders — made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for 75cents, for the Weekly ; or for the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. 328 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Bingham Smoker Corner. Large Smokers need wide shields. BiOKbam's have them, and springs that donotrust anil brealt, and bellows that sparlis and smolio do not enter. TheOonqueriirhasall improvements made to date, anda:ix7inch stove, and ryx7 inch bellows. Sent post-paid for )S1.T5. Address. BINGHAM & HETHERINGTON, Abronia Mich. All Excelling. — Messrs. HiiiKham & Iletherington. Dear Sirs:— 1 aiu now selling your Smokers almost ex- clusively. You are excelling your- selves in smokers all the time. Respectfully, J. G. Taylor. Austin, Texas, May 10, 1883. Cyprians Conquered. All summer long it has been " which and tother " with me and the Cyprian colony of bees I have— but at last I am "boss." Bingham's " Conqueror Smoker " did it. If you want lots of smoke just at the right time, get a Conqueror Smoker of JJiugham. G. M. DOOLITTLB. Bororiino, N. Y.. Aug. 15, 1882. During the following three months, Bingham Smokers will be sent post- paid, per mail, on receipt of the fol- lowing prices : The "Doctor". . (wide shield)— SW in. Are tube, t2.nn The Conqueror (wide shield)— 3 in. tire tube, l.T.s Large (wide shield)— 214 in. tire tube. 1..50 Extra (wideshield)- 2 in.Hretul»e, 1.25 Plain (nar. shield)— 2 in.flretube, l.(K) liittle Wonder. .{nar. shield)— iJi-iin. Ore tuiie, .6t Bingham & Hetherineton Uncapping Knife.. 1.15 With thanks for letters of encour- ageraeut. and the absence of complaiu- iug ones, we tender to our thirty-live thousand patrons our best wislies. Very Respectfully Yours, Bingham & Hetherington. Abronia, Mich., June 1, 1S83. 1^ We have received a photographic view of " Rose Hill Apiary," Belle- ville, 111., " with the compliments of E. T. Flanagan, proprietor." It pre- sents a nice view, and hangs on our office wall. ^"Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1882 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. i^May we ask you, dear reader, to speak a good word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at leust one new subscription with your own V Our premium, " Bees and Honey," in cloth, for one new sub- scriber to the Weekly, or two for the Monthly, besides your own subscrip- tion to either edition, will pay you for your trouble, besides having the satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bee Journal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. 1^ When writing to this office on business, our correspondents should not write anything for publication on the same sheet of paper, unless it can be torn apart without interfering with either portion of the letter. The edi- torial and business departments are separate and distinct, and when the business is mixed up with items for Dublication it often causes confusion. They may both be sent in one envelope but on separate pieces of paper. ^ The Centrr.l Kansas Bee-Keep- ers' Association will meet at Manhat- tan, Kansas, on June 30, 1883. Tnos. Bassler, Sec. Advertiseineiits intended for the Bee Journal must reach this office by Saturday of the previous week. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 per 100. t^ Articles for publication must be written on a separate piece of paper from items of business. TO ADVERTISE OVER THE WHOLE COUNTRY ^'ITH A SMAI.!. I,IST. Advertisers desiring to reach every section of the country, without investing a very large amount of money, will and the following ugood listot papers: Price per line. BOSTON, MASS. .Journal Weekly* 15 Congreeatiunlist Weekly 25 American Cultivator.Weelilv 30 Youth's Companion.. Weekly 20O NEWYOKKCITYSun Weekly 50 Times Weekly 50 Tribune Weekly 100 Christian Advocate. .Weekly 50 Harper's Weekly Weekly 150 Observer Weekly 30 Witness Weekly 75 Philadelphia. Pa. .Times Weekly 25 Press Weekly 25 BALTlMORE.Md. American Weekly 20 LOU IS VILLE.Ky. Courier-Journal Weekly (10 CINCINNATI, O.. Times Weekly 50 Enquirer AVeekly 75 Commercial-Gazette.Weekly 0.j TOLEDO, OHIO.. Blade Weekly 50 CHICAGO, ILL... Inter Ocean Weekly 75 News Weekly 40 Tribune Weekly 25 ST.LOUIS, MO. ..Republican Weekly 50 Globe- Democrat Weekly 50 San Franciscn.Cal. Chronicle Weekly 37 TORONTO, ONT.. Globe Weekly 25 Price per line in all the papers Sil4 47 Ten lines, one time, costs S144 TO. A. BEFIXITE OFFEK. For ISI140 net cash we will insert lO lines, iigate space, one time, in all the above 2G papers, and (7irf one insertion, without further charge, of tlie same advertisement in :srtO country weeklies, with a guatanteed circulation of more than 175.ikio copies. For l/^ia we will insert ii lines once, or 3 lines for iUiuO. Catalogue of thf weeklies sent on applica- tion. If the advert vsenient is already appearing in any of the above papers, we will substitute others of similar circulation and value. Address, OEO. P. HOWELL & CO., NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING BUREAU, 10 SPRUCE STREET, NEW YORK. 25A4t 1883.. NOTICE. 1883. No more bees for mile in nucleus orfull cokmies, or pound**. VVe are about up with orders for Queens. AVe will be able to sendQueeiia by return mail after July 1. T. S. HALL, 2(!A2t KIRBVS CREEK, Jackson Co., Al^A. ITALIAN AND HOLY LAND QUEENS! The Handsomest ftueens for EtJSINESS the World Produces, BUSINESS, BEAUTY and Wintering (Jnalitios Coiiibiiied. We CHALLENGE the WORLD to EQUAL them. Every Queen WARRANTED perfect, and reared under the swarminn impulse. Tested Queens of either race, each *2.imi ; with "Handy Book." il^'2.50. Queens wurrantcd a^ Kood as tested and "Handy Book," $J.Li.".. Speclul rittei by the quantity. Send tor our :iJ-page Circular. 22Atf IIEXnX Ar.L,EY, WENHAM, MASS. BEES and HONEY, Management of an Apiary for Fleasnre and Profit ; by THOMAS C. NEWMAN. Editor o.f the Weekly Bee Journal. 925 TPest MadlHon Street. Chlcavo* Hi* It contains 100 profusely illustrated pages, la "fully up with the times" in all the improvements and inrentions in this rapidly developing pursuit, and presents the apiarist with everything that can aid in the successful management of the Honey Bee. and at the same time produce the most honoy in its best and most attractive condition. Apprecliitlve Notices. A neat and abundantly illustrated hand-book of apiculture.— American Agriculturist, N. V. Its chapter on marketing honey is worth many times its cost.— Citizen, Pulaski, Tenn. Contains all the information needed to make bee-culture successful.— Eagle, Union ('ity, Ind. Just such a work as shoxild be in the hands of every beginner with bees.— News, Keithsburg, III. Valuable for all who are interested in the care and management of bees.— Dem., Aliegan, Mich, Engravings are fine. Gotten up in the best style, and is cheap at the price.— Farmer, Cleveland, O. It comprises all that is necessary for successful bee-culture, save experience and good judgment. —Daily Republican, Utica, N. Y. Gives minute details for the management and manipulations necessary to make bee-keeping a success.— Col. Valley and Farm. Written in an interesting and attractive manner, and contains valuable informatitin for all readers, even though they be not directly interested in the care of bees.— Sentinel, Rome, N. Y. It is a valuable and practical book, and contains a complete resume of the natural history of the Utile busy bee, as well as of all that one needs to know in their care and management.— Chicago Herald. Contains a vast fund of information in regard to bee-culture. He whu would keep abreast of the times must keep posted in all the improvements in his line. We advise all interested to get a copy of this book.— Daily Times. San Bernardino. Cal. It embraces every subject that will interest the beginner. It describes all tlip newest discoveries in the art by which the production of delicitmsand health-giving honey is obtained, as well as how to prepare it for the market in the most attractive form. It is embellished with beautiful engravings, and is the most perfect work of the kind, for the price, that has ever come under our notice.— Far- mer, Lancaster, Pa. PRICE— Bound in cloth, tS cents; in paper covers, SO cents, postpaid. THOMAS O. NETVMAX, 9J5 W. Madison St., Chicago, 111. ELECTROTYPES Of Engravings used in the Bee Journal for sale at 2fi cents per square inch— no single cut sold for less thanf.(ic. THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 925 West Madison Street ChlcnKo. III. rpTTTC T> 4 T>T7T> maybe found on file I 11 lo X Ax -TjiV at Geo. P. Rowell & Co.'s Newspaper Advertising Bureau (10 Spruce St.), where advertising contracts may be made for it in NEW YORK.. (W ^ OLDEST BEE PAPERK^y -^^ 'N AMERICA -•i^'- VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., JULY 4, 1883. No. 27. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, What to do with the Honey. The honey crop, this year, will be simply immense. Mr. F. L. Dough- erty, in the Indiana Farmer, says : "From daylight, to dark, yes, away after darlc, too, honey is coming at a fearful rate." And this state of things is corroborated by hundreds of letters from all over the American Continent. Not only is this so in America, but we hear that it is also true of England. The British Bee Journal for June 1.5, says : "A month's uninterrupted tine weather hasamptly repaid those who were careful to get there stocks in order for the drst honey glut, which, from reports that have come to us, has been a very heavy one. We hear of the extrac- tor being at work and supers being tilled with marvelous rapidity." As the crop will be an exceedingly large one— the question at the head of this article is very pertinent. The markets of the large cities will be glutted— and, unless bee-keepers come to the rescue, by creating a home market, the prices will be run down very low, and sales, at the,same time, will be exceedingly slow. Every bee-keeper must take the matter in hand, and create a home market for his honey, by putting it up in attractive shape, both comb and extracted, to entice the lovers of pure sweets, making many more con- sumers. By the aid of small packages of comb honey, in one and two-pound sections, and small pails of extracted honey, containing from 1 to 10 pounds, an immense amount can be sold in every town on the American Conti- nent, if the right methods are em- ployed for creating a market. We know of no better plan than to spread information on the uses for honey, its healthfulness and medi- cinal qualities, among the people in every town adjacent to your apiary. We have given this matter much serious thought, and have concluded, in order to assist honey consumption, in the present emerg^iicy, to revise and condense our pamphlet on " Honey, as Food and Medicine " to 16 pages, so that it may be scattered like autumn leaves throughout the length and breadth of the country at a small cost to bee-keepers, and thus CREATE a market for our honey. Twenty thousand copies have already been sold, and we will have another edition of 10,000 copies printed by the time this paper is in the hands of its patrons, ready for immediate work. They will be printed in English and German, and may be had in either language as may be desired, or some of the German may be put in an order for 100 or more, if requested. On the first page we will print a card, free of cost (when 100 or more are ordered), something like this : PEESENTED BY JOHN SHORT, Swaneetown, Qa. Producer of Comb and Extracted Honey. Orders by Postal Card promptly tilled. These pamphlets will retail at 5 cents each, or 50 cents per dozen. 100 copies (with Card printed free of cost) 3 cents each ; 500 copies at 2}i cents each, or 1,000 copies at 2 cents each by mail postpaid. If these pamphlets are properly distributed, they will become salesmen through whose in- fluence every pound of honey that is produced, v^'ill lind a ready and re- munerative sale, and will prevent a Jioney glut in our large cities, as well as make both producer and consumer happy. Hundreds of bee men have already tried this plan, and found it to "work like a charm." If twenty thousand of these silent " salesmen " have already wrought wonders in creating a market for honey, what will a million of such faithful " workers " accomplish in the " hive of nature?" Just try it, and astonish yourselves with the results! The Rev. L. L. Langstroth. Again, after a lapse of nearly two years, we have received the following note from the greatest American bee- master, the Eev. L. L. Langstroth : The Weekly Bee Journal is reg- ularly received, and abounds in matter both interesting and valuable to every bee-keeper. After being laid aside from the use of my pen for almost two years, I am able again to take interest ill bee matters, and hope to send you an article shortly. I am trying to induce a neighbor to send you a cor- respondence between himself and one of the glucose manufacturers. He wrote for terms of grape sugar for feeding bees this last spring, and the glucose was sent instead, as a good thing to mix with honey ! With sin- cere thanks for your many acts of kindness, I remain, as ever, very truly your friend. L. L. Langstroth. Oxford, Ohio, June 28, 1883. The whole apicultural world will be glad to learn that this veteran is again able to use his pen, and will read his articles with the greatest avidity. We do not think he intended his private note to us, for the public eye, but knowing how great is the desire still to hear from our common friend, we take the liberty of pub- lishing it. If strength of mind and body are still retained, our readers will doubtless hear from him as opportunities may present themselves. New Music— We have received two new pieces of music from the author Mr. W. Chitty, St. Jolins' School, Pewsy, Wilts, England. They are new and popular Marches, and very pretty. Mr. Chitty is one of our English subscribers, and is very en- thusiastic on bee matters. He will send these Marches, to any address for 25 cents each. 330 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Honey and Bee Shows. The season for these shows is ap- proaching, and, as they do more in educating the people concerning tlie uses of honey and its consumption than almost anything else, we liope that bee-keepers throughout ttiecoiui- try will take special interest in them, and make an exhibit at every Fair open to them, which will be alike creditable to them and the Fairs whose managers show a desire to foster the honey exhibits. Last fall, Mr. C. H. Lake made an exhibit atthe Virginia State Fairthat was tlie. qrcat attraction, and aided much which was sent to this office by Mr. Lake last fall, and is now in our office album. The lirst person shown on the right is Mr. Lake, the manager of the apiary, the others being some friend and assistants. In this tent he had a large display of bees and hives, as well as a quan- tity of honey, both comb and extrac- ted. A correspondent remarks as follows concerning this exhibit : "'He took the premium on a lot of button- bush lioney that was the whitest I ever saw. He also showed the three races of bees, and one imported Ital- ian queen tliat breeds bees with the white bands like the so-called albinos ; append two extracts from the Rich- mond dailies of last November. They are as follows : The exhibit of the Sunny Side Api- ary, of Baltimore, deserves more than what the newspapers have said about it. Mr. U. II. Lake is the manager, and was very busy yesterday showing the workings of his new hives, which are considered by bee-keepers to be the best made. Mr. Lake exhibited Cyprian, Holy Land or Syrian, and the two species of Italian bees. From one colony '2i0 pounds of honey was obtained in six weeks.— Dcuij/ Whig. One of the attractions at the Fair is tlie exhibition of Mr. Charles H. Lake, manager of the Sunny Side Apiary at Baltimore, Md. This gen- LUit ' n.< llul I jiiiiiiiiiaBaaiiia BEE TENT OF C. H. LAKE'S APIARIAN EXHIBIT AT BALTIMORE, MD. in bringing honey and bees to the pub- lic notice. Concerning this exhibit the following from the secretary of the Fair will speak for itself : I cannot avoid thanking you for the extremely interesting exhibit you made of bees and everything relating thereto, which I believe has done more to excite interest in and to cause an appreciation of tliat department of produce and industry among our peo- ple, than all presentations and exhi- bitions heretofore made at oiu' fairs. Geo. W. Mayo, Sec, Virginia State Agricultural Sodet;/. This bee tent is shown by the en- graving on this page, a photograph of so it showed that the albinos are not an American race." Mr. \V. A. Hammond and Mr. J. \V. Porter also exhibited honey and bees. It was generally admitted that the interest shown in theapiarian exhibits was very great, and that the exhibits themselves we^e far ahead of any that had ever before been made there. This shows what can be done at every Fair in the country if the bee- keepers will make the necessary exhibits. In order to show how the daily papers view these exhibits, we will tleman has a large tent, under which he shows a case of over two hundred pounds of honey made from one hive ; has several colonies ot Italian bees, one of Cyjjrian bees, and also other foreign bees. Every appliance used in this business is shown by Mr. Lake, lie is running seven hundred hives this season. — iJaibj Dispatch. While on this subject we would in- cidentally remark that a matter of much impcntance, is the making out of a good Prize List, to attract exhib- itors. The smallness of such have heretofore been a great hindrance to apiculture. We are pleased to see a very marked improvement in this THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 331 matter of late, and have no doubt but these evils will, in time, correct them- selves, especially if bee men will call the attention of the Fair managers to the matter. Theexhibition to be held at Toronto, Ontario, from Sept. 11 to 23, 18S3, will be an important one for Canadian bee-keepers, and the directors have issued the following Prize List for Honey and Apiarian Supplies, open to all bee-keepers : I8t. 2nd. 3d. 3 3 U Largest and best display of extracte* honey ?10 fis $3 Largest and best display comb honey, 10 5 3 Largest and best asBortment of differ- ent kinds of extracted honey, not less than 2 lbs. of each variety 5 8 2 Beat assortment of comb honey in sec- tions, not less than 20 lbs 3 2 1 Best style and shape of section, or sec- tions of comb honey Best beeswax, not less than lu lbs... . Best mode of marketing extracted honey Best mode of marketing comb honey.. Best comb foundation for brood chamber Best comb foundation for section or honey boxes Best and most scientific mode of win- tering out-doors in any bind of hive. Best hoyse for wintering bees, and of most use for apiarian purposes in summer— workintj mudel to be on ground, represented by a scale of not less than one inch to the foot. . . Best mode of securing the largest yield of box lionev from si single hive Best mode of securing the hirtiest yield of extracted honey from a single hive Best form of Hive Best winter and summer hive Best stand to place under hives for ordinary use Best wax extractor Best honey extractor for general use. Best style o' comb-basket for extract- ing from pieces of comb Best arrangements for uncapping..... Best bee smoker Best honey knife Best bee tents Best bee veil Best hat where the veil is not used. . . . Best queen nursery 3 2 — Best labels for extracted honey 3 2 — Best labels for comb honey 3 2 — Best style and assortment of tin for holding extracted honey Bronze Md'l Best section frame for bodv of hive.. . 2 1 — Best section crate for top story and systeoi of manipulating '>- i — Beat System of manipulating section in section frames Best machinery for nailing frames. . . . Best exhibit of curiosities 3 2 — Best collection of honey plants 3 2 — Best system of transferring, illustrated 3 2 — Best and largest display of apiarian supplies ui n — Best and most practical and new in- vention for the apiarist 3 2 — Best exhibit of bees and new nices of bees 5 3 — Open only to B«»e-K.eeper» who have not had OTei* 2i» colonies daring the Heiisou or 1983. 1 $50 Beet 10 lbs. of clover honey (extracted ) $2 Best 10 pounes of basswood honev (extracted ) ' . 2 Best 10 lbs. of Canadian thistle honey (extracted) 2 Best 10 lbs. of golden rod honey (extracted ) 2 Best 10 pounds of bone et honey (extracted) 2 Best 10 lbs. of Aster Honey (extracted) 2 Best 10 lbs. of any other fall-fiower honey (extracted ) 2 Best 10 lbs. of comb honey in sections. 2 The Canadian Farmer remarks as follows concerning the National Con- vention to be held there at the same time: ''The Annual Convention of the Bee - Keepers' Association of America, will be held at Toronto during the second week of this Exhi- bition, at which bee-keepers from all parts of Canada and the United States will be present. This show and the convention, with the lectures to be delivered in connection therewith, will be of special interest to all engaged in this now important industry." Those who can, should make arrangements to attend both the Convention and Bee and Honey Show. Later.— Just as the Journal is ready for the press, we have received a few lines from President D. A. Jones saying that the Convention will be held on Sept. 18, 19 and 20, 1883, at Toronto. Further particulars hereafter. The Glenwood Apiary.— We have received from Mr. \V. H. Shirley a nice view of his apiary at Glenwood, Mich., and have placed it in our office album. Mr. Shirley describes it as follows : By this mail I send you a small picture of your humble servant, and part of my apiary, as it looked, June 16,1883. The small building in the centre of the apiary is a house fixed to take colonies in, to handle, in time of robbing. I also use it for taking off honey in the fall (getting the bees out of it). The larger building shown is the house apiary Mr. Heddon built and kept bees in two years, 1 believe. I use it as a work shop, supply room, etc. The picture shows about four- iifths of my bees. Perhaps you will think it worthy of a place in your museum. White clover is yielding first rate here now. W. H. S. Care of Comb Honey. — Relative to this important matter, the Indiana Fanner gives these timely hints : If you have not got the time to sort out the sections and brush off the bees, set the sections or boxes in a clean barrel or box, and spread a white cloth over the top. The bee* will leave the honey and crawl up to the cloth. Turn it over at intervals and let the bees out. Keep the honey removed in a warm place, and keep a lookout for worms. If the honey shows signs of being worked, fumi- gate the infected sections with sul- phur. Too much will turn the combs green. ''The Poulterer's Guide, for treat- ing diseases of poultry, with symp- toms and remedies for their treat- ment," is the title of a new pamphlet of 24 pages, by C. J. Ward, editor of the Poultry Journal, Chicago, 111. This is very valuable for those who keep poultry, and the small price at which it is published (15 cents), as well as the name of its author, will cause it to have a large sale. It covers all the diseases in poultry, and prescribes reliable remedies. We can furnish it to those who may desire it. A Swarm of Bees. B hopeful, B cheerful, B happy, B kind, B busy i)f Body, B modest of mind, B eai nc^-t, B truthliil. li Arm and B fair. Of all Aliss B llavior B sure atid B ware. B think ere vou stumble of what may B fall ; B truthful to yourself and B faithful to all. B brave to B ware of the sins that B set ; B sure that no sin will another B yet, B watchful, B ready, B open. B Irank, B manly to all men whate'er their rank. B just and B f^eneroua, B liunest, B wise, B mindful of lime, and B certain it flies. B prudent. B liberal, of 6c. H. K. & F. B. ThprbER & Co. CHICAGO. HONE Y.— The demand for extracted is good, and the market hare of all unfermented honey. Prices range from 8c. to lOc. Comb remains lifeless and will until the new crop comes, or until Augnst. Sales of comb are being made at 8c. to 15c. BEESWAX— ;35(5:i6c. B. A. BUKNETT, Ifil South Water St. SAN FRANCISCO. HONEY.— Nearly :i(JO cases new, mostly extrac- ted, arrived per Southern steamer on Monday, June Uj. Sales of part of the same in a wholesale way were made at *^c. Retail transfers were made at a little higher figure. Quotations for comb are nominal. There is a little choice new comb offer- ing, but no sales reported. One buyer offered IiiJ^c. for six cases, but insisted on being allowed about 3 lbs. extra tare. White comb, new crop, 12^6@15c. Extracted, choice new, 0@7Hc. BEESWAX— Wholesale, ■JTfii-.iSc. Stearns & Smith. 423 Front Street. ST. LOUIS. HONEY.— Very little call. Occasionally barrels of strained and extracted s(dd at a'^c to 7*4, but nothing worthy of mention done In comb. New quotable at i4c, and old nominally less. BEESWAX.— Easier, at 3J(^i33c.— one lot sold at iJyMiC. . W. T. Anderson & Co.. km N. 3d street. OLEVEL,AND. HONEY.— There is a moderate sale for best white l-lb. sections at I8c, occasionally i:ic, but -2 lbs. are not called for. Extracted has no sale at all. BBESWAX-Not offering. A. c. Kendek. I i.s Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is fairly active. We quote: 1-^ lb. sections at 30c. : i lb. sections, 22((*2.')C.; 2 1b. sections, 2(Kractical apiarists in the country. It is endorsed by our leading bee-masters everywhere. The July number will contain the description and history of the BAY STATE API ART. from wliich has eminated Alley** new methiid of (|ucen Rearlii({:, as given in the "Handy Book," together with an excellent portrait of Mr. Alley and his apiary. Those wishing to secure this number will please Bend their subscription for three months. Sample copies sent free. Do not fail to read t»ur unparalled offers to subscribers. Subscription Price : Iffl.OO per year, payable In advance ; sent on trial '.-i ninnths for 35 cents ; 6 months lor 60 cents. Address. SILAS M. lOCKE, Editor and Fablisher, SALEM, MASS. 1863. 16S3. VOU GET VALUE RECEIVED I QUEENS,BEES AND SUPPLIES If you want EARLY <|UEENS from the best improved gfeiiuliie stock for business; or if you want Imported Italian Queens or bees, in full colonies or nuclei, with tested or untested queens; if you want Dunham or Vandervort como tounda- tion. made from pure beeswax; or if you want hives or apiarian supplies of any kind, send for my new catalogue. It tells you about introducing queens, new " Races of Bees," etc. Ca«h paid for clean beeswax. Address, a. p. H. RROTTX. 5BDl5t Augusta. Georgia. The Bee^Keepers' Guide, OR, MANUAL OF THE APIARY. 9,000 SOLD IN SIX YEARS, lOth Thousand tluftt Out. More than 50 pages, and more than 50 fine illus- trations added. The whole work has been thor- oughly revised, and contains the v«'ry latest in re- spect to bee-keeping. It is certainly the fullest and most scientific work treating of bees in the World. Price, by Mall, $1.2.5. IjiWeral diecoaut to dealers and te clubs. A. J. COOK, i7Ctf Author and Publisher. Ijansing, Mich. 1883. JOSEPH D. ENAS, 1883. (Sunny t^lde Apiary,) Pure Italian Queens, Bees, Colonies, Nuclei, EXTRACTOK8, COMB FOUNDATION, &c lODHm Address. Sunny SldeApiary, NAPA, CAli. TXJST OXJTI New circular and price of Bees and Queens. Aiso, STENCiLS for bee-keepers' use. JOS. M. BROOKS. 13C6t Columbus. Ind. SECTIONS. CZIB We have just put in several new machines and also a larger engine in our factory, consequently we are in better shape to fill orders than ever for Sections, Shipping Crates, etc., etc. We make a specialty of our "BOSS" ONE-PiEGE SECTIONS, Patented June 28th, ISHI. We can make the "Boss" (>ne-Hiece Sections any size or width desired. Send tor Price List. We make the Half-Pound Section any size desired. fTAS. FORNCROOK A CO. iBCtf Waterlown Jefl'. Co. Wis.. Jan. 1. 1883. TO ADVERTISE OVER THE WHOLE COUNTRY WITH A SMALL. I^ISX. Advertisers desiring to reach every section of the country, without investing a very large amount of money, will find the following agood iistof papers: Price per line. BOSTON. MASS. .Journal Weekly* 15 t'ongregationlist Weekly 25 American Cultivator. Weekly 30 Youth's Companion.. Weekly 200 NEWYOHK CITY Sun Weekly 50 Times Weekly 50 Tribune Weekly 100 Christian Advocate. .Weekly 50 Harper's Weekly Weekly 150 Observer Weekly 30 Witness Weekly 75 Philadelphia. Pa. .Times Weekly 2.") Press Weekly 25 BALTIMORE.Md. American Weekly 20 LOUIS VILLE.Ky.Courier-Journal Weekly 00 CINCINNATI, O.. Times Weekly 50 Enquirer Weekly 75 Commercial-Gazette. Weekly 05 TOLEDO. OHIO. .Blade Weekly 50 CHICAGO. ILL. . -Inter Ocean Weekly 75 News Weekly 40 Tribune Weekly 25 ST.LOUIS, MO... Republican Weekly 50 Globe- Democrat Weekly 51) SanFrancisco.Cal.Chronicie Weekly 37 TORONTO, ONT.. Globe Weekly 25 Price per line in all the papers Sil4: 4:7 Ten lines, one time, costs S144 TO. A DEFIXITE OFFER. ForSil40 net cash we will insert lO lines, agate space, one time, in all the above 2f) papers, and give one insertion, without further charge, of the same advertisement in S^O country weeklies, with a guaranteed circulation of more than IVS.iKWcopies. For !ft'75 we will insert 5 lines once, or 3 lines for ItK.'SO. Catalogue of tht* weeklies sent on applica- tion. If the advertisement is already appearing in any of the above papers, we wili substitute others of similar clrcul-'^tion and value. Address, GEO. p. HOWELL & CO., NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING BUREAU. 10 SPRUCE STREET. NEW YORK. PLYMOUTH ROCKS Iroquois Strain. Four Yards. .^orrespnndece cheerfully answered Prices reasonabl- W. H. BUSSEY. 131 Lake Street, Chicago. 2BCIy W. Z. HUTCHINSON, Rog^erHvllle. Genesee County, Mich.. Makes a specialtv of rearing dark, leather-colored ITAHAK UVTJEENS. Untested Queens. $ I. Dtf BE SURE To send a postal curd for our Illustrated Catalogue of Apiarian Supplies before purchasing elsewhere. It contH ins Illustrations and descriptions of every- thing newiind valuable needed in an apiay. at the lowest prices. Italian Queens and Bees. Parties intending to purchase bees in lots of 10 Colonies or more are invited to correspf)nd. J. C. SAYI-ES, 5iDl5tB5 Hartford. Wis. ITALIAN AND HOLY LAND QUEENS! The Handsomest Queens for BUSINESS the World Produces. BUSINESS, BEAUTY and Wintering Qualities t'oinbined. We CHALLENGE the WORLD to EQUAL them. Every Queen WARRANTED perfect, and reared under the swarming impulse. Tested Queens of either race, each t'l.w ; with "Handy Bonk," »2.50. Queens warranted a» good as tested and "Handy Uook," |2.'2.5. Special ratea \*y the quantity. Send for our 32-page Circular. 22Atf HENRY A1.E.EX, WENHAM, MASS. FARM, HERD and HOME. A First-Class Monthly of 24 pages, devoted to AGUK'ULTUHE, HORTI- CULTURE, STOCK RAISING and kindred interests. Published at ndianapolis, Ind., by BROWN & ABROMET. Terms, $1.00 a Year, in Advance. Send for it and give it a trial. 18C4t QUEENS! Scientific Breeding Tells. If you want the best and most beautiful Queens, try our strains which we have obtained by lung and skillful breeding. Orders tilled promptly and satis- faction guaranteed. Send fur circular and testi- monials. E. A. THOMAS A: CO., ISCtf Coleraine. Kraukiin eo, Mass, Friends, if you are In any wuv interested in BEES OR HONEY We will with pleasure seed you a sample copy of tbe Alonthly Oleaningrs in I&ee-Culture* with a descriptive price-list of the latest improve- ments in Hives* Honey E3:trac*torii, Comb Foundat:on, Section Honey Boxes, all books and journals, and everything pertaining to Bee Culture. Nothing PaUnied. Simply send your ad- dress written plainly, to Ctf A. I. ROOT. Medina. O. HONEY.: wish it distinctly understood that I will not accept shipments of HONE V unless bought by me by previous correspondence. A. H. NEWMAN, 923 W. Madison, St., Chicago. HEADQUARTERS IN THE SOUTH For tne manufacture of BEE-KEEPEBS* SUPPr.IES. Dunham and Root Foiinda.tlon a specialty. Italian Queens and Bees from March to November. J^~Send for my Illustrated Catalogue. .'^Ctf PATTX. r.. "VIAL1.0N, Bayou Goula, La. 1883. 1883. ITALIAN QUEENS. I am now booking orders for queens. I cull my queens as they hatch, is the reason my custom- ers were so well pleased last year. Send me your address on a postal, and get circular. Six Queens f..r (;5.0(i. J. T. WILSON, Mortonsvllle. "Woodford Co., Ky. eBCtf THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL AND BEE-KEEPER'S ADVISER. The British Bee Journal is published month- Iv, and contains the best practical informntion for tne time being, showing what to do, and when and how to do it. Kev. H. K. PEEI... Editor. We send the Weekly American Bee Journal and the Britisli Bee Journal hoth for *3.uo a year. BEES Send to Chicago. III., for sample of AMERICAN BEE JOITRNAI. Monthly, SJ a year. Weekly.sa. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., JULY 11, 1883. No. 28. THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, Adulteration of Sweets by Glucose— "They Make Money Out of it." The manufacturers of that vile trash, glucose, are ever on the alert to find new excuses for adulteration. They now assert that pure honey when analized is found to contain " 76 per cent, of pure glucose," and then fool- ishly advise the addition, perhaps, of 76 per cent, more of their impure trash to it, so tliat some one dishonest enough to take their advice, should "make money out of it." Failing any longer to make it profit- able for the " mixers, " in the large cities, to continue their vile trade, they now desire to enlist bee-keepers to dishonestly feed it to the bees to store it, so that it may be sold for honey, and encourage them to do it, because they can "make money out of it." What do they care if it does poison millions of bees while carrying and depositing it in their combs V Why should they have any com- punctions of conscience about its effect upon millions of human beings, wearing out their stomachs, entailing disease and death, if thev can " make money out of it ?" The one result, " making money out of it," is the excuse as well as the reward for dishonesty. The following communication from the able pen of tlie Rev. L. L. Langs- troth on this subject, will be read with more than ordinary interest : My friend Mr. D. A. McCord wish- ing to test the value of grape sugar, as a bee-feed, wrote to a glucose manu- factory asking their prices. This reply came : Feb. 21, 1883. Dear Sir :— Yours of the 13th to hand. We will quote you glucose at 4J^ cts. per hundred lbs,— in 100 pound kegs. You will find it tine food for producing honey, as pure honey anal- izes 76 per cent, pure glucose. Yours Respectfully, The Grape Sugar Co. Mr. McCord wrote again, stating that he wanted grape sugar for a spring bee-feed, and not glucose, and received the following : Feb. 26, 1883. Dear Sir :— Yours of the 24th re- ceived, and shall have attention. We think if you will try it, you will find that you can produce lioney very fast, and of fine quality. They feed it very largely in California, and make money out of it. Would like to hear from you after you try it. Yours Truly, The Grape Sugar Co. Following this letter came glucose instead of the grape sugar ordered. It was about as thick as good honey, and almost as clear as water. As tlie bees stuck fast to it and died, no use was made of it as a bee-feed. Its taste was sweetish and decidedly bitter. No name was given in the above letters but that of the Company, called after the place where their establishment is located. Prof. Marsh, of the Miami Univer- sity Training School, furnishes the following analysis of that glucose : Oxford, O., July 5, 1883. Dear Sik :— I have tested the sam- ple of glucose syrup which you handed me for analysis, and find that it con- tains large quantities of sulphuric acid and sulphate of lime. The sample of pure honey was found to have a slightly acid reaction. Very Respectfully, B. F. Marsh. L. L. Langstroth, Oxford, O. Lime and free sulphxiric acid ! no won- der it has a bitterish taste. In order " to see what would come of it," Mrs. McCord used it in the making of some gingerbread. The product was poor stuff indeed— not having the ordinary sweetness of corn bread. It puffed up remarkably — a Ihnig easily accounted for wiien the analysis showed how rich the glucose was in sulphui'lc acid. Syrups, etc., increased in volume by glucose mixtures, are no more to be commended than this expanded gin- gerbread. " Pure honey analizes 76 per cent, pure glucose." One would think that if honey was so largely glucose, it would be scarcely necessary to add more to it ! It has never yet been made to appear that glucose as pure as that contained in honey or fruits can be cheaply produced. If the time shall ever come when it can be, it would still be a fraud to use what has so low a sweetening power (only about one-third that of cane sugar), for adulterating molasses, maple syiup, sugars, candies, etc. A friend of mine was told by the captain of a boat on which lie was travelling, that he carried many bar- rels South to be used in adulterating their sweets. Another friend informs me that he saw 40 barrels of glucose at one rail- road station, all of which was to be used in adulterating maple syrup 1 Mr. Chas. F. Muth, of Cincinnati, O., perhaps the largest dealer in boney in the West, and who has done so much, both by precept and exam- ple, to discourage the sale of adultera- ted honey, has had glucose recom- mended to him by laree dealers in it, as a good thing to mix with boney, so as to " make m a. m„ July 9, 1883. t The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. HONE Y— Extract, honey has commenced to come In freely, and a larKe crop Is reported from all quar- ters. The demand is very bood. and keeps pace with the arrivals. For choice extracted honey I Eay 7t&lOc ; the latter price for choice clover. I ave received several nice lots of.comb honey, for whicn we paid iswiecon arrival. BEESWAX.— Arrivals of beeswax are plentlf uL We pay 3:ic. for a good article on arrival. CHA8. F. MUTH. NEW YORK. HONEY.— Best clover In 1-lb. sections (no glass) 20®21c.; in LJ-lb. sections (Klaased) 18@200. Fair quality, 1 and 2-lb. sections, 16v^l7c Extracted, white, in small barrels, n)Q Discouraging Weatlier In New York. Wlien I last wrote we had been having three days of fair weather, so the bees were getting a little more honey than they consumed. We had one more tine day, then it commenced to rain again, and it has now rained three days. Farmers are nearly dis- couraged. The ground had got dry enough the four fair days, so they had just begun to cultivate their crops, and now it is soaked and water stands on the driest ground. Clover is likely to pass by without giving any surplus honey. G. M. Doolittle. Borodino, N. Y., June 28, 1883. An Insect— Leaf Cntter. I enclose an insect, which I found working in great numbers with my bees, upon the Mammoth Russian Suullower. Upon examination under a common microscope, I found all of the main points visible on a bee, but on a coarser scale ; the head, wings and legs seemed to be out of all pro- portion to the rest of the body. They possess stings which they know how to use. I watched several of them for some lime, but only saw them gather- ing pollen, which they did in a similar manner to the bee. Please inform me through the Bee Journal. 1. Their name. 2. IIow and where they build their nests. 3. Whether they store away honey or not. Bees are doing very poorly. M. T. IIewes. False River, La., June 17, 1883. [The pretty little bee is a leaf cutter, Megachile hrevis. Unlike the hive bee and several other species, this one does not live in colonies, but each female makes and provides for her own nest. The latter is made of bits of leaves cut in circular shape, and wonderously regular and workman- like. The nest is placed in some sheltered position, under balconies of houses, rails of fences, limbs of trees, etc. Xo honey is stored, the larvae being fed on pollen. Set some of the young folks to watching the curious operations and interesting habits of this busy worker. Look for circular cuts from leaves, especially of rose bushes.— T. J, Burrill, Champaign, lU.l Honey Gathering in Connecticut. My 90 colonies and 40 nuclei keep me busy. The first swarms here were on May 18, about 10 days earlier than usual. White and red clover bloom is abundant ; I never before saw so much. Bees are working strongly on both. There is a heavy basswood and sumac budding. Honey is com- ing in rapidly. The losses of the past winter are more than repaired, and swarms are issuing daily. Many of the early swarms are casting swarms and working in boxes too. TJ T r TT TJ" F I-i W V Washington Depot,Ct., June 30,1883. Rolling in the Honey. Times have changed greatly since the 19th. We have had no rain for 12 days. My bees are just rolling in the honey, and in spite of all the sections one can pile on, they will swarm. S. L. Vail. Coal Creek, Iowa, June 30, 1883. Honey Crop a Failure in Texas. Our honey crop, so far, is a failure. I have had bees in such condition as to surplus but once in 4 years. It will not make half a crop this season. Horsemint is in bloom, and there is plenty of it, but tlie weather has been so unfavorable that the flowers secreted no nectar. Every hive is full of bees, but we have no swarms (not over 5 per cent.) and no honey. Wm. R. Howard. Kingston, Tex., June 29, 1883. A Bee Killer— and a Flower. I enclose an insect upon which I should be glad to have you give me some information. I find a great many of them, late in the evening, in my apiary, and have just discovered that they catch bees. This insect, as you see, has one in its mouth, partly eaten, and it held another in its claws, when I killed it. I also send you a bunch of flowers, with a twig from a bush that grows in my yard. The bees swarm on it all day. My bees have not swarmed much, but they have gathered a great deal of honey, filling up the combs every two or three days since April 15. It is all that I can do to take the honey from them. All the bee-keepers in this vicinity report a bountiful harvest. W. G. McLendon. Lake Village, Ark., June 20, 1883. [The bee-killer is what is very com- monly called a dragon fly, sometimes darning needle, mosquito hawk or snake feeder. The scientific name is Eschna heros. This is by no means the first time the large insect has been known to catch bees, though they more often capture other, and es- pecially smaller prey. They are ap- propriately called mosquito hawks. In the larval or young condition the wingless, strange looking things are called water tigers. They live in the water and catch living prey in their powerful sharp-pointed jaws, which they can thrust out, by a peculiar appendage, with the rapidity and effectiveness of a steel trap. They live about a year in the water, then transform into the winged insect 35U THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. and continue their predaceous habits in the air. Probably they do no very serious damage to the bee colonies, yet in special cases the loss might be considerable. I do not know any elTective preventive. The shrub is known to botanists as Myginda latifolia, a native of our Southern States. I am not acquainted with any common name, neither do I know anything of its nectar-produc- ing value — probably not great. — T. J. BtTRKiLL, Champaign, 111.] White Clover Thicker than Ever. I had 7 colonies of bees in the spring 1 mc^t of them in common hives ; but reading the Bee Journal induced me to transfer 5 of them to frame hives. I liave been successful, and have now 15 colonies. The white clover is thicker than ever known here. Henry Erbrodt. La Harpe, 111., June 29, 1883. Sot Snow, but Clover. The whole earth hereabouts is white with bloom, and our bees are fairly bursting with their loads of honey, as they return from the helds ; and such honey, so thick, it almost stands alone, and the combs are as " white as the driven snow." I saw Prof. Hibbard at his South Bend apiary, the other day, with honey fairly drip- ping from ills garments, and a glow of gladness all over his face. Tell Mr. fleddon to roll up his sleeves, and Mr. Doolittle to take off his over- coat. Tell all the boys to get out their honey pots, for this is the great honey year of the century. Let the horse- mint State, and the Pacific Slope take back seats, and the Buckeye State will come to the front, for it is " our turn to be sweet."' This sounds, I know, a good deal like buncombe, but it is nevertheless solid gold, for we are just reveling in it. J. W. Bayard. Athens, O., June 28 18&S. Magnificent Clover Bloom. It has been a very showery season, 80 far. We have a magnificent bloom of clover, but bees scarcely gathering a living, to date. At present it is clear, with northwest winds, which looks favorable for honey fiow. II S See Geneva, Pa., June 30. 1883. My Visit to Arkansas. I returned from Arkansas one week ago, and found my bees working nicely on white clover and the last of red raspberries. My wife had man- aged them very nicely ; to avoid swarming she had tiered them up, and to-day the upper stories are full, and for the first time in my life, I have raised the second story and placed another under it. I have plenty of dry combs for the purpose. The honey in the upper stories is too thin to ex- tract. While in Arkansas I met Dr. W. W. Hijjolite, of De V^all's Bluff (the first wide-awake bee man I met in the State). He is very genial, but for tihe last year or two has had too much to do to give his personal at- tention to the Lees; he has a son, Walter H., who is looking after the bees. I am quite taken up with tlie country round about De Vails Bluff, so much, so, that I think of going there to live, if all goes well. Wnen I left them, on June 17, their bees had all done swarming, and they liad com- menced taking oU capped honey. They have no fears of winter ; their greatest difficulty is to keep swarming down to what tliey can handle. I have had my first swarm to-day ; others will issue to-morrow, if the weather will permit. Mr. Ross has had 2.5 or 30 new colonies. Tiering up has pre- vented ours. O. R. GooDNO. Carson City, Mich., July 1, 1883. Honey Very Thick. The honey season is very satisfac- tory here. The quality of the honey is the finest that one could imagine- so thick that it " piles " when running from the extractors. The comb honey in sections is exquisite in every re- spect. G. W. Demareb. Christiansburg, Ky., June 29, 1883. Recovered from Spring Dwindling. My bees have been affected with spring dwindling, and have recovered very slowly ; they are just beginning to swarm, while some are storing little honey. White clover is very abundant now. The spring has been too cold. T. X. Marquis. Woodland, 111., June 30, 1883. Honey from Dog Fennel. Mr. Xewman, is the honey from dog fennel poisonous V I am aware that the seed will kill ducks; and it is reported to kill chickens. The honey from it is very bitter, disgust- ingly so, and if you like fun at otliers' expense, just coax them to taste some of the honey. One dose is sufficient. Two years ago, by using two extrac- tors, I got two 5-gallon cans of the bitter honey, thinking to feed it to bees, if necessary, but had no occasion to, as they did not need it. The fol- lowing season, in ftuit time, in looking over honey for putting up fruit with, and tasting the honey, there was not the slightest taste of bitterness, and honey oeing scarce, one of my custo- mers insisted on taking a can of it, though at a reduced price. He after- wards spoke of it as being all used up, and found nothing unpleasant about it. We used the balance in preserv- ing our fruit. It was dark, but that really was no objection for home use. The fruit turned out well ; some kept over a year, and was as good as any. No one could tell that it came from dog fennel. Of course there must have been other honey with it. Since then I have cut the dog fennel. The buckeye is in bloom, and has been now for some time. Why I wish to know about the flower being poison- ous, is this : I find, during tlie last few days, young bees coming out of the hives to die ; they do not appear to be cleaned off, and are just hatched. On opening the hives I find unsealed honey, so they do not seem to be short of stores (there is plenty sealed). The queen seems all right, and laying. The Tione, or bear bush, is just coming in bloom, and it may be that the honey from this does not agree with the young bees. The bees work very lively on it. The honey from it has a tart taste. I only noticed a few of the hives in that condition ; the rest ot them are in a normal condition. I iiave no disease among my bees. All the colonies are strong. I have increased from 23 in the spring to 70. All have honey enough to go through the season with. Comb honey will amount to but little with me. AH I get is extracted from the brood apartment, to give the queen room, and keep down swarm- ing. I depended on natural swarming this season, but see no advantage over dividing at the proper time ; no swarms got away. Some young queens swarmed out, with full colo- nies. The honey crop is short, owing to continued cold rains and long spells of northerly winds, which driea up the late bloom or stopped the secre- tion of honey. J. D. Enas. Napa, Cal., June 2.5, 1883. [We have never seen any honey from dog fennel, that we are aware of, and, therefore, do not know whether it is poisonous or not. If any have had honey from it, they wiU please report.— Ed.] A King Bird's Meal. I send you a box by mail contain- ing the contents taken from a king bird's crop, which I shot to-day. Please give it a microscopic examina- tion, and see if you find worker bees or drones. I shot two, to-day, and by examining their crops, I have about concluded that they catch nothing but drones. Bees in this locality are in fine condition, and are storing surplus honey quite rapidly. W. W. Sherwik. Warsaw, N. Y., July 4, 1883. [We have examined the poor bird's meal, and find nothing but drones in it.— Ed.] Presistent Swarming. Bees are on a big boom here. I have taken something over 5,000 pounds of honey, up to date, from 97 colonies to start with. For 12 days, when swarming was the rage, I had not a single brood frame or comb not in use, and Mr. Muth could not sup- ply me. I was having from 6 to 12 swarms a day, and my bees in two apiaries, 1 'I miles apart; had all the old queens' wings clipped. I had a black woman at the largest apiary who would catch and cage the queens when ttie swarms came out, and lay the cage in the portico, or in front of the hive, as many of my hives are somewhat like Mr. Heddon's, without porticos. I added sections, supers, cut out queen cells, distributed the bees around (a quart to one hive, a wash pan full to another) until I got THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 351 everything full. I kept some queens caged, just lying in the portico for a week. I am a queens' wing " clipper," henceforth. 1 formerly said I did not let my bees swarm. 1 now take it all back. Several nucleus colonies swarmed. I had to stuff them full of bees by dividing up my colonies, and they started other cells, and when the queen hatched in the cell I gave them, out they came, and in some cases, leave with a swarm, when the old mother had to stay at home. The bees are swarming now, and I must see about it. E. Drane. Emenence, Ky., June 27, 1883. Bees are Doing Well Here. There are four times as much white clover, this year, as there has ever been in this part of the country. Hugh McCormick. Pellsville, 111., July 5, 1883. Best Season for Many Years. Bees are doing well here, this sea- son. It is the best season that we have had for many years. There are not a great many bees in this county. Comb honey sells readily at 20 cents per pound. I am running my bees tor comb honey, this season. Joseph E. Shaver— 15. North Eiver, Va., June 29, 1883. Too Rainy. It has been too rainy for bees ; for the last two days they are doing well, but I am afraid of more rain shortly. I have but 8,000 pounds of extracted honey up to date. I have about 600 colonies, 500 in good condition. L. LiNDSLY. Waterloo, La., July 2, 1883. The National Convention. The National Bee - Keepers' As- sociation, will hold its Annual Con- vention in the City Hall and Council Chamber in the city of Toronto, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the 18th, 19th and 20th days of Sep- tember, during the second week of Canada's Great Fair. All the rail- roads in Canada will issue tickets during this week, good to return, up to Saturday night 22d, at single fare for the round trip. Special excursion rates will be arranged from various parts of the United States, of which due notice will be given. Those who intend being present may be kept posted on the latest excursion rates, etc., by addresssng me, and also that I may arrange hotel accommodation. Private lodgings will, if possible, be secured for those who desire it, and every effort will be made to make everybody comfortable. A grand meeting is anticipated. D. A. Jones, President. 1^ The bee-keepers of Haut Coun- ty, Texas, will meet at Dr. Wm. R. Howard's apiary, on the 19th of July, for the purpose of permanently or- ganizing a County Association. Wm. R. Howard. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this otlice get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. Bee Pasturage a Necessity. — We have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. Special Notice.— We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bee Journal for one year, and the seventh edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, bound in fine cloth, for $2.75, or the Monthly Bee Journal, and the Manual in cloth for $1.75. As this offer will soon be withdrawn, those who desire it should send for the book at once. How to Create a Market for Honey. We have now published another edition of the pamphlet on "Honey as Food and Medicine," with more new Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price still lower, to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 5 cents, postpaid ; per dozen, 50 cents ; per hundred, $3.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, " Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense — enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Try it, and you will be surprised. How to Advertise Judiciously. This is what Robert Bonner, the New York publisher, and one of the most extensive advertisers in the country, has to say on the very in- teresting subject of advertising. Its application is general enough to cover the entire field : " One of the points of good advertis- ing, is to address the same people over and over again. For instance : Sup- pose you were introduced, with about 500 others, to the President, the chances are that the President would not remember you. But if you had an opportunity of seeing him again, and said, ' Mr. President, I am Charles Wolsey, ef Brooklyn ; Senator So-and- so did" me the honor of introducing me to you,' and you did this two or three times, you would be sure to be remembered. In the same way an advertisement presented once is for- gotten, while one presented over and over again makes an impression." Tlie Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies 220 pages 150 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. i^" Do not send coins in a letter. It is dangerous and increases the postage unnecessarily. Always send postage stamps, for fractions of a dollar, and, if you can get them — one-cent stamps ; if not, any denomination of postage stamps will do. 352 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Bingham Smoker Corner. Large Smohers need wide sblelds. Bingtaam'B taave them, and springs tbat do not rust and break, and bellows that sparks and smoke do not enter. The Conqueror has all improTements made to date, and a 3x7 inch stove, and ."ix? Inch bellows. Sent post-paid for S>1. 7 5. Address, BINGHAM & HETHEEINGTON, Abronla Mich. All Excelling. — Messrs. Bingham & Hetherington, Dear Sirs: — 1 am now selling your Smokers almost ex- clusively. You are excelling your- selves in smokers all the time. Respectfully, J. G. Taylor. Austin, Texas, May 10, 1883. Cyprians Conquered. All summer long it has been " which and tother " with me and the Cyprian colony of bees I have — but at last I am "boss." Bingham's " Conqueror Smoker " did it. If you want lots of smoke just at the right time, get a Conqueror Smoker of Bingham. G. M. DOOLITTLE. Borodino, N. Y., Aug. 15, 1882. During the following three months, Bingham Smokers will be sent post- paiti, per mail, on receipt of the fol- lowing prices : The "Doctor". . (wide shield)— 3>i in. Are tube, J2.00 The Conqueror(wide shield)— 3 In.flretube, l.?."! Larpe (wide shield)- 2!^in. Are tube, L.'iO Extra (wideshleld)— 2 in.Iiretut'e, 1/25 Plain (nar. ahleldi— 12 in.flretube, l.oo l,lttle Wonder. .(nar. shield)— iS^in.flretuue, .6?> Bingham & Uetherington Uncapping Knife. . 1.15 With thanks for letters of encour- agement, and the absence of complain- ing ones, we tender to our thirty-five thousand patrons our best wishes. Very Respectfully Yours, Bingham & Hetherington. Abronia, Mich,, June 1, 1883. Sample ("opies of theAMERiCAN Bee JoxjKNAL will be sent free to any per- son. Any one Intending to get up a club can have sample copies sent to the persons they desire to interview, by sending the names to this office. ^" Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra. ^' When writing to this office on business, our correspondents should not write anything for publication on the same sheet of paper, unless it can be torn apart without interfering with either portion of the letter. The edi- torial and business departments are separate and distinct, and when the business is mixed up with items for publication it often causes confusion. They may both be sent in one envelope but on separate pieces of paper. Advertisements intended for the Bee Journal must reach this office by Saturday of the previous week. Queens! Queens! Queens! We are now prepared to send you by return mail the handsomest and best Queens, bred from our best honey-patherlnK strains of ITALIANS and ALBINOS. Purity and safe arrival guaranteed. Tested queens each t S-fX) Warranted queens, each 1.00 '• " per ^ doz... 5.50 per 1 doz... lO.oO Untested " each 90 perj^doz.... 5.00 perl doz.... 9.00 If you want (Queens for BUSINESS, send ub an order. We are breedinji from an entirely new strain this season, which bids fair to outstrip anything we have ever had before for honey. Address, WM. W. CAKY & SON, Coleraine. Mass, The Oldest Queen Breeders In America.. YANDERYORT FOUJiDATION no square feet or lolbs. for fT.iKt. In strips 5x1 5 to 30 inches lonp. Less Ih .n Hi lbs., 74 cts. per lb. Cutanysize. H. W «AKRETT, COEVMAN'S HOLLOW, Albany Co., N. V. DUNHAM COMB FOUNDATION. Twenty-flve lbs. or less, Ttf^r. per lb.; over 2riIb8.5L;c per lb. Extra thin and bright ( lu sq. ft. to the lb.) 58c. Wax worked Inr mc. per pound. 24A5t F. W. liol^M£Sl, Cuopersville, Mich. HONEY.: i wish it distinctly under.stood that 1 will not accept shipments of ilONEV unless bought by me by previous correspondence. A. H. NEWMAN. 923 W. Madison. St.. Chicago. TO ADVERTISE OVER THE WHOLE COUNTRY IVIXH A SMALL. LISX. Advertisers desiring to reach every section of the country, without investing a very large amount of money, will find the following a good hstuf papers: Price per line. BOSTON, MASS. .Journal Weekly* 15 Congregation list Weekly 25 American Cultivator.Weekly 'AQ Youth'sCompanion. .Weekly 20U NEW YORK CITY Sun Weekly 50 Times Weekly 50 Tribune Weekly 100 Christian Advocate. .Weekly 50 Harper's Weekly Weekly 150 Ob^erver Weekly 30 Witness AVeekiy 75 Philadelphia. Pa.. Times Weekly 25 Press Weekly 25 BALTlMURE.Md. American Weekly 20 H'UISVILLE.Ky-Courier-Journal Weekly tiO CINCINN ATI. O.. Times Weekly 50 Enquirer Weekly 75 ('ommercial-Gazette. Weekly to TOLEDO. OHIO.. Blade Weekly 50 CHICAGO. ILL... Inter Ocean Weekly 75 News Weekly 40 Tribune Weekly 25 ST. LOUIS, MO... Republican Weekly UO Glube- Democrat Weekly 5U San Francisco, Cal. Chronicle Weekly 87 TORONTO. ONT.. Globe Weekly 25 Price per line in all the papers SI 4 47 Ten lines, one time, costs SI 44 70. A DEFINITE OFFER. For S140 net cash we will insert lO lines, agate space, one time, in all the above M papers, and give one insertion, vrithnut furttier chargp. of the same advertisement in H.'iO country weeklies, with a pua-anteed circuiatinn of morethan 175.iKKicopies. For JS>^& wf will insert S lines once, or 3 lines for a>50. Catalogue of thp weeklies sent on applica- tion. If the advertisement is already appearing in any of the above papers, we will substitute others of similar circulation and value. Address. GEO. p. KOWELL & CO., NEWSPAPER ADVERTISINU BUREAU, 10 SPRUCE STREET, NEW YORK. 25A4t THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL AND B£E-E££P£R S ABVISEB. The BitiTisH BtcE JuuuNAi, is published month- ly, and contains the best pnicticul information for the time being, showing wliHt to do, and when and how to do it. Rev. H. K PEKl... I-Ulltor. We send the Weekly a-meuican Bke Juuknal and UiB British Bee Journal.holh for|3.uO a year. BEES and HONEY, OR THK Management of an Apiary for Pleasure and Profit ; by THOMAS C. NEWMAN. Editor of the Weekly Bee Journal. OSS Welt MadUon Street. Chicago, 111. It contains 160 profusely illustrated pages, la "fully up with the times" in all the improvements and inventions in this rapidly developing pursuit. and presents the apiarist with everything thai can aid In the successful management of the Honey Bee, and at the same time produce the most honey in its best and most attractive condition. A^ppreclatlve Notices. A neat and abundantly illustrated hand-book of apiculture.— American Agriculturist, N. Y. Its chapter on marketing honey is worth many times its cost.— Citizen. Pulaski, Tenn. Contains all the information needed to make bee-culture successful.— Eagle, Union City. Ind. Just such a work as should be in the bands of every beginner with bees.— News, Keithsburg. 111. Valuable for all who are Interested in the care and management of bees.— I>em.. Allegan, Mich. Engravings are fine. Gotten up in the best style, and is cheap at the price.— Farmer Cleveland, o. Carefully prepared for beginners.— Farmers' Cabinet, Amherst, N. H. Avery valuable work to those engaged in bee- raising.— News, Prairie City. Iowa. We advise all who keep bees to send for this ex- cellent work.— Journal. Louisiana, Mo. Carefully prepared, and of vast Importance to bee-raisers.- Indianian. Clinton. Ind. New and valuable, and embellished with 101^ beautiful engravings.— Democrat, Salem, lad. Much practical useful information. In a cheap form.— Daily Standard. New Bedford. Mass. The most perfect work for the price everyet pro- duced onthesubjectof bee-culture.— Anti-Monop- olist. Lebanon, Mo. A manual, containing all the newest discoveries- in the management of these little workers.- Plain Dealer, St. Lawrence. N. Y. Full of practical Instruction, that no one who contemplates keeping bees can do without. -far- mers'Journal, Louisville. Ky. It comprises all that is necessary for successful bee-culture, save experience and good judgment. —Daily Republican, Utica, N. V. Gives minute details for the management and manipulations necessary to make bee-keeping a Buccess-—Col. Valley and Farm. Written in an Interesting and attractive manner, and contains valuable information for all readers,. even though they be not directly interested In the care of bees.— Sentinel. Rome. N. Y. It embraces every subject that can Interest the beginner in bee-culture. The engravings perfectly illustrate the text.— Farm and Fireside, Spring- field. O. Embraces every subject of interest in the apiary,, giving very thorough details of the man.igement and manipulations necessary to make bee- keeping a success.- Farm. Longmont, Colo. It Is a valuable and practical book, and contains a complete resume ui the natural history of the little busy bee, aa well as of all that one needs to know in their care and management.— Chicago Herald. Contains a vast fund of Information In regard to bee-culture, lie wh' would keep abreast of the^ times must keep posted in all the improvements Id his line We advise all interented to get a copy of this book.— Daily Times. San Bernardino. Cal. Describes all the newest discoveries In the art, by which the production of delicious and health- giving tioney is obtained, aswell as bow to prepare it for the market in the most atti active shape.— Signal, Napoleon, O. It embraces every subject thai will Interest the beginner. It describes all th-- newest discoveries In the art by which t tie production oi delicious and health-giviny honey ts obtained, as well as how to prepare It for the market in the mtitit attractive form. It is embellished with beautiful engravings, and is the most perfect work of the kind, for the price, that has ever come under our notice.— Far- mer, Lancaster, Pa. PRICE— Bound in cloth, TS cents ; in paper covers. SO c«>nts* postpaid. THOMAS O. KETVAfAN, 925 W. Madison St., Chicago, 111. A X^lbernl Discoant to Dealers by the Dozenor Hundred. .^. £)' (^ OLDEST BEE PAPER^ - ^■^ " IN AMERICA VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., JULY 18, 1883. No. 29. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editoh and Proprietor, Bee-Keepers' Week ! This sounds rather new and some- what novel. Perhaps it is not yet set down in the Calendar, to be observed as a feast, but it is to be observed at the great Southern Exposition at Louisville, Ky., as we see by the Louisville Courier -Journal of July 8, a copy of which has been sent to us by Mr. W. Hamilton, of that city, with this paragraph marked : While every day during the E.xposi- tion, from Aug. 1 until the closing, will be full of the most interesting features, certain days have been set apart for special attractions, which will be of direct interest to a large number of people. The programme on the opening day will be very elab- orate ; business throughout ihe city will be suspended during the day, and the Exposition will be opened by the President of the United States. On Tuesday, Aug. 2S, begins a week to be known as Bee-Keepers' Week and Horticultural Week. Prizes will be awarded, and arrangements have been made by the Kentucky Bee As- sociation to have many hives of many kinds of bees within the grounds. The Kentucky apiarists are evi- dently at work in the right direction, and we would encourage them by every means in our power to make thorough work of it. It will be re- membered that President Demaree issued a card to bee-keepers, which we published on page 339 of the Bee JouKNAL for July 4, and we would here call especial attention to it. Every bee-keeper within a reason- able distance of the Exposition, whether in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas or Ten- nessee, sliould see to it that there is a grand display of bees and honey, and everything to be made of honey, and that the "Bee-Keepers' Week" may be made notorious by the magnitude of its exhibit. There will be plenty of honey. This is " a year of plenty," the like of which has not been known for a very long time 1 Let the display then be commensurate with the honey harvest, and it will advertise the honey crop far and wide, and cause a corresponding demand for the sweet product. When that 180 tons of comb honey was sent to England, and was dis- played like a huge mountain at the "British Agricultural Fair," with the words " AMERICAN HONEY " painted in large letters on canvas at its top, with American flags arranged in graceful folds on each of its sides, the people of that " beautiful garden spot," opened their eyes and gazed with admiration ! The result was that ton after ton of it was quickly sold, and it graced the tables of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, and aristoc- racy and nobility vied with each other in appropriating its sweetness, being captivated by its beauty and the mag- nitude of its display. It is safe to assert that now the demand for honey in Great Britain is ten fold greater than ever it was before that display was made, and year by year this de- mand increases. Why may not this teach us a lesson V for the Bee and Honey shows of Europe now lead us, both in their magnitude and educa- tional results. The year 1883 will long be remem- bered as America's Great Honey Year, let it also be recorded as the year of its Grand Honey Shows— the Year of Jubilee for the thousands who are being poisoned by the glucose frauds and adulterated sweets. Let the " Bee-Keepers' Week " in- augurate a new era— when " Feasts " may be spread at hundreds of Fairs, all over the country, inviting all man- kind to come and partake of God- given sweets, distilled in Nature's own laboratory, and gathered under heaven's smiles by the "blessed bees," both for man's sustenance as food, and for its health-giving properties as medicines. Let the invitation be given to all- Let the apiarist and exhibitor say. Come ! Let him that heareth say. Come ! and whosoever will, let him Come, and partake of the Honey Feast — it will create a sweet disposi- tion, and produce a bright intellect ! The Balsams as Honey Producers. . Dr. L. Knorr, Savanna, Ga., has sent us a copy of the Rhode Island Wochenblatt of June 16, in which it is stated that in Germany they are very enthusiastic about a new honey-pro- ducer— the giant balsam— and that it is being cultivated extensively near Berlin for the bees to work on. The balsams of America yield honey, but we do not think they are as good honey-producers as many others. Mr. A. A. Fradenburg stated at the Na- tional Convention held in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1889, that he had cultivated them for that purpose, and they yielded honey well. The balsam poplar, and the variety known as "balm of gilead" yield propolis also, in good quantities. Labors of the Bee.— As a sample of the labors of the bee in gathering honey, an exchange remarks as fol- low^s : The bee has long been a type of the industrious worker, but there are few people who know how much labor the sweet hoard of the hive represents. Eacli head of clover contains about 60 distinct flower tubes, each of which contains a portion ■ of sugar not ex- ceeding the five-hundreth part of a grain. The proboscis of the bee must, therefore, be inserted into 500 clover tubes before one grain of sugar can be obtained. There are 7,000 grains in a pound, and, as honey contains three-fourths of its weight of dry sugar, each pound of honey represents 2,500,000 clover tubes sucked by bees. 354 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Bee and Honey Show in London. The London Journal of Horticulture, speaking of the annual exhibition of the Bee-Keepers' Association, to be held July 5 to 9, 1883, says : The date of the show has been fixed nearly a month earlier than usual, in order to give those who are staying in London for the season an opportunity of visiting this interesting and in- structive exhibition ; no better date could have been selected. The present season has been one of the best on record for the production of early honey, the warm sunshine of the past few weeks tending to the secretion of honey, and large quantities have been gathered by the bees from the fruit blossoms, earlv clover, and other sources. Unusually large entries have been made in the honey classes, and the present exhibition will fully illustrate the advantages to be de- rived from keeping bees in an intelli- gent and humane manner. The old-fashioned bee-keeper who lets his bees look after themselves until the months of August or Sep- tember, and then "takes 'em up," consigning the industrious bees to the brimstone pit, will look on with wonder and astonishment at the great display of comb honey in one and two- pound sections, and extracted honey in neatly labelled glass jars, the whole of which has been secured by the third week in June, or even earlier in some districts. The exhibition will contain an interesting collection of bees confined in observatory hives. No bees will be at large ; the most timid may, therefore, visit the show in perfect safety. No pains have been spared by the committee to make the proceedings of a thoroughly in- teresting character. Practical in- struction in the art of bee-keeping will be given at intervals on each day, the modern methods of manag- ing bees during the spring, summer, and winter months being fully ex- plained by the most advanced bee- masters. Special addresses will be given by Frank E. Cheshire, Esq., on Saturday, July 7, on "Structure of the bee in relation to fertilization,' and on Monday, July 9, on " Bees as hybridizers and fruit-producers, or the dependence of orchard crops upon bees." These addresses will be given at 4 p. m. each day. Swarms Selecting a Location. ^- The new two cent rate of pos- tage for letters goes into effect on October 1 . Three cent postage stamps will then be but little used. For all fractions of a dollar sent to us here- after we should prefer either ojie-cenf, or else five or ten-cent postage stamps. Do not send coins in any letter. ^- Do not let your numbers of the Bese Journal for 1883 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. In proof that the bees do select a place in advance, by sending out " scouts," Mr. Geo. Yeomans, Shed- field, England, gives the following in the British Bee Journal : In an outhouse, hid under trees and amidst other buildings, I had a few days ago put a number of old straw skeps, one of which contained old comb. Seeing the bees visiting this house, I put the old hive witli the comb near the window, and on the next day, June 8, a swarm took pos- session of it. 1^- The Grange Bulletin s&y a: "One of our patrons has taken 220 pounds of nice extracted honey from 6 colonies of bees in one day; and still they have all their combs returned and are refilling them with a fresli supply." This is only a small straw— but "straws show which way the wind blows." I®" The White County, Arkansas Fair will be held at Judsonia, Oct. 10 to 12, 1883, as we are informed by Mr. C. M. Forbes, the secretary. We hope that a good exhibition of honey will be made by the bee-keepers of that section. Rough on Vermont. We have sung the praises of old Vermont for many a year, but this rather disheartens us. Editor Cheever of the New England Farmer, has just been buying " pure Vermont maple sugar," and finds it to be chiefly glucose. We did not suppose that Chicago influences had extended so far and so rapidly. We have known Vermont farmers who put a false 2 inch birch plank bottom inside their butter tubs ; one who accidently let drop a 2 pound brook cobblestone into the firkin as the butter was being packed ; of one whose " artful wicked" hired man put water in the milk can before starting for the cheese factory ; of one whose " hired girl " carelessly turned over the salt box upon the butter worker ; of another who forgot and skimmed the milk before sending it to the factory ; but that the old State of Ethan Allan, Brigham Young, W. Pitt Kellogg and Stephen A. Doug- lass should put glucose into its sugar is too much for us. If Vermont maple sugar is to be diluted at home, the world is about done for. Ver- monters, shame on you. — Farmers'' Beview. Sample Copies of theAMEKiCAN Bee Journal will be sent free to any per- son. Any one Intending to get up a club can have sample copies sent to the persons they desire to interview, by sending the names to this office. The National Convention. The National Bee - Keepers' As- sociation, will hold its Annual Con- vention in the City Hall and Council Chamber in the city of Toronto, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the 18th, 19tli and 20th days of Sep- tember, during the second week of Canada's Great Fair. All the rail- roads in Canada will issue tickets during this week, good to return, up to Saturday night 22d, at single fare for the round trip. Special excursion rates will be arranged from various parts of the United States, of which due notice will be given. Thosd who intend being present may be kept posted on the latest excursion rates, etc., by addresssng me, and also that I may arrange hotel accommodation. Private lodgings will, if possible, be secured for tliose who desire it, and every effort will be made to make everybody comfortable. A grand meeting is anticipated. D. A. Jones, President. Honey and Beeswax Market. Office of American Bkk journal, { Monday, 10 a. m.. July 16, 1883. > The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. HONEY— Extract, boney has commenced to come In freely, and a large crop is reported from all quar- ters. The demand is very good, and keeps pace with the arrivals. For choice extracted honey I Eay 7(3*10c ; the latter price for choice clover. 1 ave received several nice lots of comb honey, for whicn we palil 15(^160 on arrival. BKKSW AX.— Arrivals of beeswax are plentiful. We pay 32c. for a good article on arrival. Chab. F. MnTH. NBW rORK. HONEY.— Best clover In I -lb. sections (no glass) 20®2lc.; in -J-lb. sections (glassed) l8i.«)-JUc. Fair quality, I and 2-lb. sections, I6<3l7c Extracted, white, in small barrels. lOcsJl I c; buckwheat, 8ia>8>:)j^cial Notices. li^ Articles for publication must be written on a separate piece of paper from items of business. Bee Pasturage a Necessity.— We have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. Preparation of Honey for the Mar- ket, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey, instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. t^ Do not send coins in a letter. It is dangerous and increases the postage nnnecessarily. Always send postage stamps, for fractions of a dollar, and, if you can get them— cme-cenf stamps ; if not, any denomination of postage stamps will do. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy or Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. Examine the Bate following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impre^ upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. 364 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Bingham Smoker Corner. Large Smokers need wide ahlelde. Bingham's have them, and Bprlngs that do not rust and break, and bellows that sparks and smoke do not enter. The Conqueror has all improvements made to date, and a 3x7 inch stove, and 5x7 inch bellows. Sent post-paid for 81.75. Address. BINGHAM & HETHEEIMOTON, Abronia Mich. All Excelling. — Messrs. Bingham & Hetherington, Dear Sirs :— 1 am now selling your Smokers almost ex- clusively. You are excelling your- selves in smoljers all the time. Respectfully, J. G. Taylor. Austin, Texas, May 10, 1883. Cyprians Conquered. AH summer long it has been "which and tother " with me and the Cyprian colony of bees I have— but at last I am "boss." Bingham's " Conqueror Smoker " did it. If you want lots of smoke just at the right time, get a Conqueror Smoker of Bingham. G. M. DOOLITTLE. Borodino, N. Y., Aug. 15, 1882. During the following three months, Bingham Smokers w-ill be sent post- paid, per mail, on receipt of the fol- lowing prices : The "Doctor". . (wide shield)— 31^ in. Are tube, t2.oa The Conqueror (wide shield I— 3 in.hretube, 1.75 Large (wide 6hleld)-2'<. in. Are tube, l.so Extra (wldeshield)— 2 in.tiretulie, 1.25 Plain (nar. shield*— 2 in.firetube, l.'K) I-lttieWonder. .(nar. shield)- iMin.liretulje, .e.-i Bingham & Hetherington UncappinR Knife. . 1.15 With thanks for letters of encour- agement, and the absence of complain- ing ones, we tender to our thirty-five thousand patrons our best wishes. Very Respectfully Yours, BiNonAH & Hetherington. Abronia, Mich., June 1, 1883. Advertisements intended for the Bee Journal must reach this office by Saturday of the previous week. WANTED— 2,0(Xl lbs. of Exlracted Honey at once ; clover or basswood. Please stale lowest price. "Cash with the order." Address, J. KITTHERFOKS, 29A2t 104 K. B'erry Street, BUFFALO, N. T. W. Z. HUTCHINSON, Boffersvllle, Gentraee Coniity, MIrh., Makes a speclRltv of rf arlnp dark, lenther-colorod ITAr.lAN QtJEEXS. Untested Queens, fl.oi each, or six for fi.fin; twelve fur f iii.(xi. Tested Queens, ti2.00 each. Safe arrival Riiaranteed. Make money orders payable at Flint. Mich. 25Dtf BE SURE To send a postal card for our Illustrated Catalogue of Apiarian Supplies bef ore purcbaaing elsewhere. It containBlMustratlons and descriptions of every- thing nevF and valuable needed in an apiay, at the lowest prices. Italian Queens and Bees. Parties interiGing to purchase bees in lotsof lOOolonles or more are invited to correspond. E», 5iDlritB5 Hartford, Wis. THE FLORAL INSTRUCTOR. Twenty-eight octavo panes, monthly. Fifty Cent* per year. Valuable Premluma to every •ubsoriber. Sumplea Fr^e. Address, SPAl^BINO UISVILLE,Ky.Courier-Journal Week ly m CINCINNATI, O. .Times Weekly 50 Enquirer Weekly 75 t'ommerciai-Gazelte. Weekly 65 TOLEDO, OHIO.. Blade Weekly 50 CHICAGO, ILL. . .Inter Ocean AVeekly 75 News Weekly 40 Tribune Weekly 25 ST. LOUIS. MO. . .Republican Weekly 50 Globe- Democrat Weekly 50 San Francisco,ral. Chronicle Weekly 37 TORONTO, ONT. .Globe Weekly 25 Price per line in all the papers R14 4*3' Ten lines, one time, costs S144 TO. A DEFINITE OFFEK. For 914rO net cash we will insert lO lines, agate space, one time, in all the above lit; papers, and (fire one insertion, wiihout further charge, of the same advertisement in SnO country weeklies, with a guaranteed circulation of more than 175,'«x)copiea. For 3S76 we will insert 5 lines once, or S lines for 9oO. Catalogae of the weeklies sent on applica- tion. If the advertlseD7ent is already appearing in any of the above papers, we will substitute others of similar circulation and value. Address, GEO. p. ROWELL & CO., NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING BUREAU, 10 SPRUCE STREET, NEW YORK. 25A4t 18S3. 1883. YOU GET VALUE RECEIVED '. QUEENS,BEES AND SUPPLIES If you want EARLT QUEENS from the best improved genuine stock for business; or if you want Imported Italian Queens or bees, in full colonies or nuclei, with tested or untested queens; If you want Dunham or Vandervort ciimo founda- tion, made from pnre beeswax; or if you want hives or apiarian supplies of any kind, send for my new catalogue. It tells you about introducing queens, new " Races of Bees," etc. Cash paid for clean beeswax. Address, J. P. H. BKOTTX. 5BDl5t Augusta, Georgia. 1883. JOSEPH D. ENAS, 1883. iftunny Side Apiary,) Pure Italian Queens, Bees, Colonies, Nuclei, EXTRACTORS, COMB FOUNDATION. &c I9D6m AddresB, Sunny Side Apiary, NAPA, CAX,. s EXD P08TAI. fnr my 20.paRe Price Llat t Italian. Cyprinn and Holy L.an<1 Beva. Queen*, Nuclei and Apiarian Supplies. H. H. BKOWN. 29D2t eBlt Light »t., Columbia Co., Pa. BEES and HONEY, Uanagement of an Apiary for Fleasnre and Profit ; by THOMAS C. NEWMAN. Editor ef the Weekly Bee Journal. 99S "West Madlawn Street. Chlcu«o, ItU It contains KJO profusely illustrated pages, la "fully up with the times" in all the improvements and inventions in this rapidly developing pursuit, and presents the apiarist with everything that can aid in the successful management of the Honey Bee, and at the same time produce the most honey in its beat and most attractive condition. Appreciative Notices. A neat and abundantly illustrated hand-book of apiculture.— American Agriculturist, N. Y. Its chapter on marketing honey is worth many times its cost.— Citizen, Pulaski, Tenn. Contains all the Information needed to make bee-culture successful.— Eagle. Union City, Ind. Just" such a work as should be in the hands of every beginner with bees.— News, Kelthsburg, 111. Valuable for all who are interested tn the care and management of bees.— Dem., Allegan, Mich. Engravings are fine. Gotten up in the best stylOr and is cheap at the price.— Farmer, Cleveland, O. Carefully prepared for beginners.— Farmers*' Cabinet, Amherst, N. H. A very valuable work to those engaged in hee- raistng.— News, Prairie City, Iowa. We advise all who keep bees to send for this ex- cellent work.— Journal. Louisiana, Mo. Carefully prepared, and of vast importance to bee-raisers.— Indianian. Clinton, Ind. New and valuable, and embellished with 109 beautiful engravings.— Democrat, Salem, Ind. Much practical useful information, in a cheap form.— Daily Standard, New Bedford, Mass. The most perfect work for the price eVer yet pro- duced on thesubjectof bee-culture.— Anti-Monop- olist. Lebanon, Mo. A manual, containing all the newest discoveries in the management of these little workers.— Plain Dealer. St. Lawrence, N. Y. Full of practical instruction, that no one who contemplates keeping bees can do without.— Far- mers' Journal, Louisville, Ky. It comprises all that is necessary for successful bee-culture, save experience and good judgment. —Daily Republican, Utica, N. V. Gives minute details for the management and manipulations necessary to make bee-beeping a success.— Col. Valley and Farm. Written In an Interesting and attractive manner, and contains valuable information for all readers, even tln>ugh they be not directly interested in the care of bees.— Sentinel. Rome, N. Y. It embraces every subject that can interest the beginner in bee-culture. The engravings perfectly illustrate the text.— Farm and Fireside. Sprlng- fleld, O. Embraces every subject cif interest in the apiary, giving very thorough details of the management and manipulations necessary to make bee-keeping a success.— Farm. Longmont, Colo. It is a valuable and practical book, and contains a complete resume of the natural history of the little busy bee. as well as of all that one needs to know in their care and management.— Chicago Herald. Contains a vast fund of Information in regard to bee-culture. He whn would keep abreast of the times must keep posted in allthe improvements In his line. We advise all interested to get a copy of this book.— Daily Times, San Bernardino, Cal. Describes all the newest discoveries in the art^ by which the production of delicious and health- giving honey is obtained, aswell as how to prepare it for the market in the most attractive shape.— Signal, Napoleon, O. It embraces every subject that will Interest the beginner. It describes all the newest discoveries in the art by which the production of delicious and health-giving honey is obtained, as well as how to prepare it for the market in the most attractive- form. It is embellished with beautiful engravings, and Is the most perfect work of the kind, for the price, that has ever come under our notice.— Far- mer. Lancaster, Pa. PRICE— Bound In cloth, "Jfi centa ; in paper covers, SO cent*, postpaid. THOMAS G. N£TVMAN, 925 W. Madison St, Chicago, lU. A r.lberal Dlaconnt to Bealera hy the Dozenor Hundred. .^. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., JULY 25, 1883. No. 30. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, Rectangular vs. Square Frames. In this issue of tlie Bee Journal, will be found two articles on the ad- vantages and disadvantages of square and rectangular frames. The former finds an able advocate in Dr. E. B. Southwick, of Mendon, Mich., while the latter obtains competent support by the pen of Mr. G. W. Demaree, of Christiansburg, Ky. This is a good way of ascertaining the strong as well as tlie weak points of each shape of frame; and, in order to bring out the full arguments on each side, we shall allow one more article to each advo- cate, and then the matter will be left for the readers to decide, individually, as to which is the best frame for all purposes. We do not intend to take any hand in the argument, at this time, for these two gentlemen are quite equal to the task, and will do justice to the subject. But a few remarks of Dr. Southwick, on page 369, bearing on the editor of the Bee Jouunal, demands atten- tion. The Doctor remarks as follows : " I think that the editor of the Bee Journal is as unfortunate as Mr. Doolittle, when he tries to excuse Mr. A. I. Root for such assertions, but I suppose he wanted to keep up the reputation of the editors fortrulli and veracity. I really believe that not one-fourth of those that use movable frames, use what is to-day considered the J^angstroth frame, and that num- ber is silently growing less in pro- portion." The point in controversy is the statement said to have been made by Mr. A. I. Root, that " more Langs- troth frames are used than all others put together." We certainly did not intend to offer any excuse for Mr. Root, or any one else who might make a statement similar to the above, for its correctiiess is certainly its fortifica- tion. Two years ago. just after the close of a very disastrous winter for bees, the editor of the American Bee Journal requested its readers to send in reports of how their bees were prepared for winter — whether they were wintered in the cellars, or out-of-doors ; the kind of hives used, etc. From these reports a statistical table was prepared, and one of the facts brought out, was that " more shallow frame hives (Langstroths) were in use than all others put to- gether."' Among other remarks we then made the following : "■ Those who liave contended that the Langstroth hive is too shallow for wintering, will be surprised to learn that the figures compare very favor- ably for it. Tlius the percentage of losses in all kinds of frame hives is 46; exclusive of the Langstroth hive it is .51, leaving only 53 for the Langs- troth, being 8 per cent, in its favor. Again, this report records the results of wintering in 521,330 hives; 211.782 of which were in box hives, leaving 309.598 for all kinds of frame hives. Of the latter, 195,957 are Langstroth— i.e., shallow frames— and n3..56t of all others combined. We really think these figures settle the matter of ■ the coming frame.' Had the deep frames been snown to have the advantage, the Bee Journal would have been ready to advocate their \iniversal adoption, for it has no desire to favor any but the most successful methods, hives or implements." According to the statistics then obtained of 521,330 hives, only three- fifths were in frame hives, and, of these, two-thirds were in the shallow frame or Langstroth hives. In other words— so far as any information has been obtained— more Langstroth (or shallow) frames are used than all others put together ! ! Now, so far as our trying to " keep up the reputation of the editors for truth and veracity '" is concerned — we accept the situation. Editors make mistakes as well as other mortals ; none are perfect ; but it is pleasant to think well of others' opinions- to feel that they have a " reputation for truth and veracity." We do not endorse the opinions of Mr. Root, Dr. South- wick, "or any other man," unless they commend themselves to our judg- ment ! But we hope never to indulge in uncharitable words or feelings against any one for a frank statement or opinion, and, hence, we shall ex'- ercise this generosity towards Dr. Southwick, when he states that " not }4 of those that use movable frames, use what is to-day considered the Langstroth frame, and that number is silently growing less!" The Doc- tor's statement is so far from the facts, as settled by the only statistics available, that we have here an ex- cellent opportunity to let ''charity cover a multitude " of errors ! The remark about Mr. Root's judging from the orders he receives for regu- lar sizes of frames and materials, is exceedingly thin. If there were so many who use the square frame, some one would surely start a " factory " and supply the demand, as Mr. Root, and others, have done for the shallow frames. The Doctor is, naturally, jolly and companionable, and we cannot think he means one-half of all that his lan- guage might imply— at least we choose to take that view of it, — while we imagine that we discover the same "twinkle of fun " in his eye that he discovered in Jiis good wife's, as she removed the stings from his face, and soothed his burning temples, with her loving hands. 1^ We acknowledge the reception of a season Ticket to the Southern Ex- position, to be held at Louisville, Ky., during the month of August, and also a pressing invitation to attend the Kentucky State Bee-Keepers" Conven- tion, and though it is very ditlicult for us to leave the office, we intend, if possible, to be there at least for one or two days. 36G THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. The Rev. Dr. John Dzierzon. Mr. C. J. H. Gravenhoist, a celebra- ted German writer, has given the following sketch of the life of the greatest living German bee-master, the Rev. Dr. John Dzierzon, in the Bee and Poultry JIagazine : The subject of this sketch was born on the 11th of January, ISll, at Lob- kowitz, in Silesia. Prussia, v,'here his father was a farmer. Dzierzon s father was an apiculturist, and it can be rightly said : Parson Dzierzon ob- tained his love for bees in the milk of his mother. Even in his boyhood, bees fettered his soul. From 1822 to 1833, he studied in Breslau. In 1834 he took the office of the chaplain at Schalkowitz. In 18.35 he was ca led as a Catholic priest to Carlsniarkt, in Silesia, where he worked in blessed activity until the summer of 1869. Since that time he has retired from his clerical duties in order to devote Uimself thereafter entirely to his bees. He immediately founded an apiary in the garden of the parsonage at Carls- markt. The number of hives here soon grew too large, and then he erected additional apiaries in the neighboring village, so that he soon had 12 apiaries, occupied by 400 to ■500 hives, and they called him " the Duke of Bees, of Calsraarkt." In February. 1853, he introduced the Italian bee. He succeeded in propa- gating this race pure, and to diftuse it Sver all lands. At first he reared bees in ordinary hives. He invented the really most perfect habitation for bees, the hive with movable combs. After many attempts, Dzierzon built a hive not so long and higher, to make up for It, with a fixed top and floor, and a door at the side. Now he could easily take out and put in again the combs built in chambers; the hive with movable frame work was discovered. and as long as bees are reared the name of Dzierzon must and will re- main, in honor of this discovery. By means of tlie hive with movable frame work, tlie bee became a domes- tic animal in the full sense of the ■word. Dzierzon became, by means ot his hive, unlimited master of his col- onies, for it allowed him an insight into the inmost portion of the lite ot bees, and, gifted by God, with a re- markable understanding, and with an unusual and keen observation and power of combination,- he very soon perceived the wonderful life and mo- tion of the bee hive. Dr. Dzierzon set up a new and true theory of bees, which endured the fiery ordeal of practice and science, and in a short time became the healthy and solid foundation of a care of bees rational and comformable to nature. With the help of the Italian bees, the gifted master succeeded in silencing the last doubters of his theory, or m making them defenders of the same. His theory is briefly this : There are in a normal colony of bees, 3 kinds ot creatures, queen, drones, and workers. The queen is the only perfect female in a colony ; is impregnated only once in her life ; and lays the eggs for ail the forms of bees. She impregnates the eggs in the very laying, or else does not impregnate them at all. In the first case, queens and workers are hatched from them, in the other case, drones. These, the males, are virgin- born, i. e., they are hatched from eggs that the queen lays unimpregnated, which she allows to pass contact with the drone sperm from her receptacu- lum seminis. The workers, that are hatched from impregnated eggs, are imperfectly developed female beings, which, in spite of these imperfectly developed organs, which admit of no fertilization by a drone, still under certain circumstances, can lay eggs. from which, without exception, drones only are hatched. The parthenogene- sis is the doctrine of the virgin-born in the bee hive. Dzierzon 's name has penetrated to all parts of the' earth, and he is every where acknowledged a great master, as is shown by the great number of domestic and foreign diplomas. Since 1848, Galsmarkt has become the goal of pilgrimages of bee-keep- ers. What Dr. Dzierzon has accomp- lished for the cause of apiculture, can be learned from his books ; but only Dr. Dzierzon himself can set the ex- ample of how we must love and inves- tigate the bees. In no way has he done more for bee-culture than in this, that he had formed scholars, in whom his apicultural spirit, the spirit of observation and investigation, has been roused. His life remains sacred to his scholars and friends. The National Convention. The National Bee - Keepers' As- sociation, will hold its Annual Con- vention in the City Hall and Council Chamber in the city of Toronto, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the 18th, 19th and 20th days of Sep- tember, during the second week of Canada's Great Fair. All the rail- roads in Canada will issue tickets during this week, good to return, up to Saturday night 22d, at single fare for the round trip. Special excursion rates will be arranged from various parts of the United States, of which due notice will be given. Those who intend being present may be kept posted on the latest excursion rates, etc., by addresssng me, and also that I may arrange hotel accommodation. Private lodgings will, if possible, be secured for those who desire it, and every effort will be made to make everybody comfortable. A grand meeting is anticipated. D. A. Jones, President. Kentucky Bee and Honey Show. The Kentucky State Bee-Keepers' Association will hold its annual meet- ing in Louisville, Ky., Aug. 29 and 30, at the Southern Exposition building. We hope to have a large attendance of the bee-keepers of the State, and also of other States, both North and South, as the convention will be in session during the week of the Honey and Bee Exhibit. And premiums amount- ing to S60 are offered by the commis- sioners of agriculture of Kentucky, for Kentucky honey, and $40 by the Exposition, for the finest Italian bees in Observatory hives. The premium on bees is open to the world, and we hope to see a fine display. The Bee-Keepers' Convention and Honey and Bee Show will be held in the same week of tlie great exhibi- tion of fruit, for which over 82,000 in cash premiums will be paid. We extend a cordial invitation to all bee-keepers' societies, to editors of bee publications, to honey-pro- ducers, and queen breeders, and all who are interested in apiculture, to be with us. We hope to have the father of modern bee-keeping with us, the Rev. L. L. Laugstroth, to whom a cordial invitation has been given. Reduced fair on all railroads, both North and South, will be offered to all who attend the Great Southern Exposition. It will doubtless be the grandest exposition ever held in the United States, in magnitude, and nearly equal to the Centennial. N. P. Allen, Sec. Honey and Beeswax Market. OFFICE OF AMEKICAN BEE JOURNAL. ) Monday, 10 a. m., July 23, 1883. i The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. HONE V— Extracted honey commences to come in freely, and a JarKe crop 13 reported from all quar- ters. The demand is very eood, and keeps pace witli the arrivals. For choice e.^ctracted honey 1 pay 7(3)loe ; the latter price for choice clover. I nave received several nice lots of comb honey, for whicn we paid 15@16c on arrival. BEESWAX.— Arrivals of beeswax are plentiful. We pay 32c. for a Rood article on arrival. Chas. F. MnTH. NEW rOBK. HONE Y.— Best clover in 1-lb. sections (no glass) 20@21c.; in 2-lb. sections (Rlassedl 18®20c. Fair quality. 1 and 2-lb. sections, 16@17c Extracted, white, in small barrels, lit^ lie: buckwheat, «(3H^>^c. BKESWAX.— Is more plentiful. Prime yellow sella at 36Hc. „ _ „ H. K. & F. B. THURBER & Co. CHICAGO. HONBY-New crop of comb honey is being of- fered, and some safes of it have been made at lH<ft'.fK TniAVILLE. Forest City, Ark., July 3, 1883. [It is the horsemint (3Ionarda). and yields an excellent quality of honey. It is the principal honey-producer of Texas.— Ed.] Clover Honey Harvest Over Now. The clover honey harvest is over now, and a busy one it was. We had good weather, with the exception of five days last week, which were too hot. and killed the last clover that would have kept the bees at work a little longer. But when I look at my honey, I am well satisfied for this year. I commenced with 23 colonies ; devoted 3 for experiments, and, of course, the result was, not much sur- plus from them. I devoted 7 for comb honey; the result was about 250 pounds, in one-pound sections, an average of 36 pounds ; not a very good result. Swarming is the cause; could I control it, I could do much better. From one Cyprian colony, devoted to comb honey, I obtained 5 swarms, but only about 12 one-pound sections filled nicely, and the honey in the brood department was well used up. From one colony that did not swarm. I got 66 pounds in one-pound sections; that is the best I ever did with one colony devoted to comb honey. Give me the cross of Italian and German bees for all purposes. From the 13 colonies devoted for extracted honey, I took 85 gallons, and can easily get 15 gallons more, to make it 100 gallons ; but to do this I must take up the in- crease, for 25 colonies is about all I can keep here, in the city limits. But here 1 run against B. F. Carroll, on page 336 of the Weekly Bee Journal. What does he call one who kills bees ? He may say advertise and sell your queens. But I think after purchasing cages and paying postage, there would be very little left for my work. I might unite the bees, and board them until October, when they may die a natural death, from old age. Is it not strange that those sbmdard frame advocates have not stated the great- est score against the Langstroth frame, namely standing the frame on end, when extracting ? Louis HOFSTATTER. Louisville, Ky., July 13, 1883. Bees Reveled in Clover. Basswood is just coming into bloom. Bees have done well on white clover, considering their condition in April and May. I have now 282 colonies, and 18 more to hear from. I could not run an apiary of that size without clipping queen's wings. I have taken 70 pounds of fine honey from one hive of Italians, and think they have about 20 pounds more. I am extracting all clover honey, and marking the barrels so as to avoid mixing. I do not think it a suitable pursuit for an invalid to follow. Wji. Lossmo. Hokah,Minn., July 13, 1883. Houey from Dog Fennel. Mr. Enas, of Napa, Cal., asks if honey from dog fennel is poisonous V We get a good de^l of honey here from wild camomile, which resembles the dog fennel of Tennessee, which is very bitter, but not poisonous. It loses the bitter taste, to some extent, but not entirely, after several months keeping. E. P. Massey. Waco, Texas, July 13, 1883. Bees in Alabama. We have had a perfect drouth al- most eversince April 1. Until the last 10 days, bees have scarcely gathered enough honey to keep up brood-rear- ing. But now the sourwood is just in, and it brought honey with it ; bees are booming, and the honey is very white. Some ask when we can rear the best queens? We can rear just as good queens in one month as another, from April to September, provided our rules are carried out, viz. : plenty of pollen, plenty of honey, and plenty of bees. This has been one of tlie coldest and most backward seasons we ever experienced. We had frost in May. If there are any bee-keepers who wish to move South, there is room enough among our mountains ; thousands of pounds of honey are wasting for the, want of bees to bring it in. T. S. Hall. Kirby's Creek, Ala., July 2, 1883. Basswood Opening. Bees have done very well up to the present week ; this week has been too cool and wet. Basswood is just opening. J. I. Parent. Charlton, N. Y., July 14, 1883. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 375 Comb Foundation. Mr. Editor :— I send you by this mail samples of foundation made on the Given press, in answer to Messrs. Bray & Seacord, of Warthan, Cal., on page 338 of the Bee Journal. For thin foundation the only difference is the sheets are thinner ; the work is the same after being sheeted. There is no change in machinery from heavy foundation to thin foundation. It works thick and thin simultaneously. Bees here are just waiting for some- thing to turn up ; just making a living. Thus far, the honey harvest in north- ern Texas might be represented numerically as follows: 000 pounds; if we have no change, two more naughts may be added, making it 00.000 pounds, surplus honey for 1883. We hope our Kentucky friends will remember us kindly at their coming convention. I am happy to greet America's greatest bee-master, Rev. L. L. Langstroth, again. He is our father in bee-literature. \Vm. R. Howard. Kingston, Texas, July 10, 1883. [The samples are received ; both the thick and thin foundation have very thin bases to the cells, and as both were made on the same mill, this full answers the query of Messrs. Bray & Seacord.— Ed.] ^:pccii\l polices. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when -sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for |5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. ■\Ve wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. How to Create a Market for Honey. We have now published another edition of the pamphlet on "Honey as Food and Medicine," with more net« Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price still lower, to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 5 cents, postpaid ; per dozen, 50 cents ; per hundred, $3.00. On orders of 100 or more, we print, if desired, on the cover-page, " Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense— enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Try it, and you will be surprised. Honey from Bine Thistles. Our prospects for a good crop of honey were never better. The spring was late, but since settled weather came, the bees have built up rapidly. Swarming is in full blast. On Friday of last week, one of our box-hive-bee- men had 8 swarms in one bunch. He hived the first swarm that came off on that day ; seven others came out and clustered on the hive in which the first had been hived, thus making 8 swarms together. They were divided and put in 3 or 4 boxes. Have not heard how they were doing. My bees are storing honey rapidly from blue thistle. This honey is very white and of fine flavor. T W^ C A TJ.T'T'' R. Pleasant Dale, W. Va., July 11, 1883. 1^ Articles for publication must be written on a separate piece of paper frofia items of business. Bee Pasturage a Necessity.— We have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. Our Premiums for Clubs. Dog Fennel Honey. Last year I had some very late swarms that mthered a great deal of honey from dog fennel. The honey is unfit for use, having a bitter.taste ; one dose was enough for me. Two colonies had nothing but dog fennel honey to winter on, and came throush as strong as any. Bees will not gather honey from dog fennel when there is anything else to work upon, though it blooms from June until October. There is an immense quantity of it in tliis country, making the fields look perfectly yellow. W. S. Douglass. Lexington, Texas, July 16, 1883. Preparation of Honey for the Mar- ket, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey, instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with |(>, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. ^" Do not send coins in a letter. It is dangerous and increases the postage unnecessarily. Always send postage stamps, for fractions of a dollar, and, if you can get them — one-cent stamps ; if not, any denoiSination of postage stamps will do. Died.— My little son, Wm. R. How- ard, died of congestion, after a short and painful illness, on the 3d inst. Aged 3 years, 8 months and 26 days. Wm. R. Howard. Kingston, Texas, July 12, 1883. 1^" When writing to this office on business, our correspondents should not write anything for publication on the same sheet of paper, unless it can be torn apart without interfering with either portion of the letter. The edi- torial and business departments are separate and distinct, and wheu the business is mixed up with items for publication it often causes confusion. They may both be sent in one envelope bvit on separate pieces of paper. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies (220 pages) 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. ^" Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 188:5 be lost. The best way to preserve tliem is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send tor 10 cts. each, or $8 per 100. 376 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Bingham Smoker Corner. Large Smokere need wide shields. Bingham'B have them, and sprlnes that do not rust ami break, and bellows that sparks and smoke do not enter. The Conqueror hasall improvements made to date, and a 3x7 inch stove, and 5x7 inch bellows. Sent post-paid for JSl. 75. Address, BINGHAM & HETHERINGTON, Abronia Mich. All Excelling. — Messrs. Bingham & Hetherington, Dear Sirs :— I am now selling your Smokers almost ex- clusively. You are excelling your- selves in smokers all the time. Respectfully, J. G. Taylor. Austin, Texas. May 10, 1883. Cyprians Conquered. All summer long it has been " which and tother" with me and the Cyprian colony of bees I have— but at last I am "boss." Bingham's " Conqueror Smoker " did it. If you want lots of smoke just at the right time, get a Conqueror Smoker of Bingham. G. M, DOOLITTLE. Borodino, N. Y., Aug. 15, 1882. During the following three months, Bingham Smokers will be sent post- paid, per mail, on receipt of the fol- lowing prices : The "Doctor", .(wide shield)— 3!^ in. Are tube, $2.no The Conqueror (wide shield)— 3 in.flretube, 1.7.5 Large ( wide shield )—i;!-i In. Are tube, 1.50 Extra (wide shield t—D in.tlre tul'e, 1.25 Plain (nar. shield)- 2 in.flretube, l.lHi Little Wonder.. (n:tr. shield)- l-^iin.flretube, .fi.T Bingham & Hetherington Uncapping Knife.. 1.15 With thanks for letters of encour- agement, and the absence of complain- ing ones, we tender to our thirty-five thousand patrons our best wishes. Very Respectfully Yours, BiNGHAJi & Hetherington. Abronia, Mich., June 1, 1883, Advertisements intended for the Bee Journal must reach this office by Saturday of the previous week. ^" We carefully mail the Bee Journal to every subscriber, but should any be lost in the mails we will cheerfully send another, if notified before all the edition is exhausted. ^" Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra. Special Notice.— We will, hereafter, supply tfie Weekly Bee Journal for one year, and the seventh edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, bound in fine cloth, for !}-2.75, or the Monthly Bee Journal, and the Manual in cloth for $1,75. As this offer will soon be withdrawn, those who desire it should send for the book at once. Subscription Credits.— We do not acknowledge receipt of each subscrip- tion by letter. The label on your paper, or on the wiapper, shows the date to which your subscription is paid. When j'ou send us money, if the proper credit is not given you, within two weeks tliereafter, on your label, notify us by postal card. Do not wait for months or years, and then claim a mistake. The subscrip- tion is paid to the end of the month indicated on the wrapper-label. This gives a statement of account every week. ■^"May we ask you, dear reader, to speak a good word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at least one new subscription with your own V Our premium, " Bees and Honey," in clotli, for one new sub- scriber to the Weekly, or two for the Monthly, besides your own subscrip- tion to either edition, will pay you for your trouble, besides having the satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bee Journal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. The New York and Lake City Mining Company. A prominent engineer, who is well acquainted with Mines in all parts of Colorado, was recently invited to ex- amine the property of this Company. He gave it as his opinion, and he is perfectly disinterested, that the pro- perty is the richest he had ever seen, and is worth $5,000,000,— ^du. HOLY LAND QUEENS BY RETTTKN MAII.. Untested, single (.)ueen, fl.oii; « for $.5.50; or 12 for $10.00. Warranted Queens 25 cents more, each. I. ^l- G-OOID, 30A2t SBIt TTJI^liAHOMA, XESTSf. Queens! Queens! Queens! We are dow prepared to send you by return mail the handsomest and best Queens, bred from our best honey-patherinK strains of ITALIANS and ALBINOS. Purity and safe arrival guaranteed. Tested queens, each $ 2,no Warranted queens, each \MO per ^ doz... 5.5 \ T>T?T> °i«^ t'** found on file 1X1 iO X Ax iM\ at (ieo. P. Rowell & Co.'s Newspaper Advertising Bureau (lo Spruce St.), where advertising contracts may be made for it in NEW YORK. Appreeliitlve Notices. A neat and abundantly illustrated hand-book of apiculture.— American Agriculturist, N. Y, Its chapter on marketing honey is worth many times its cost.— Citizen. Pulaski, Tenn. Contains all the information needed to make bee-culture successful.— Eagle, Union City, Ind. Just such a work as should be in the hands of every beginner with bees.— News, Keithsburg, II]. Valuable for all who are Interested in the care and management of bees.— Dem.. Allegan, Mich. Engravings are Une. Gotten up in the best style, and is cheap at the price.- Farmer. Cleveland, O. Carefully prepared fc»r beginners.— Farmerb* Cabinet, Amherst. N. H. A very valuable work to those engaged In bee- raising.- News. Prairie City, Iowa. We advise all who keep bees to send for this ex- cellent work.— Journal, Louisiana. Mo. Carefully prepared, and of vast importance to bee-raisers.- Indianian, Clinton. Ind. New and valuable, and embellished with 109 beautiful engravings.— Democrat. Salem, Ind. Much practical useful information, in a cheap form.— Daily Standard. New Bedford, Mass. The most perfect work for the price ever yet pro- duced on the subject of bee-culture.— Anti-Monop- olist. Lebanon. Mo. A manual, containing all the newest discoveries in the management of these little workers.— Plain Dealer. St. Lawrence. N. Y. Full of practical instruction, that no one who contemplates keeping bees can do without. -Far- mers" Journal. Louisville, Ky. It comprises all that is necessary for successful bee-culture, save experience and good Judgment. —Daily Republican. Utica, N. V. Gives minute details for the management and manipulations necessary to make bee-keeping a success-- Col. Valley and Farm. Written in an interesting and attractive manner, and contains valuable information for all readers, even though they be not directly interested In the care of bees.— Sentinel. Rome. N. Y. It embraces every subject that can interest the beginner in bee-cu Iture. The engravings perfectly illustrate the text.— Farm and Fireside. Spring- field, O. Embraces every subject of interest in the apiary, giving very thorough details <»f the management and manipulations necessary to make bee-keeniug a success.- Farm. Longmont, Colo. It is a valuable and practical book, and contains a complete resume of the natural history of the Utile busy bee. as well as of all that ona needs to know in their care and management.— Chicago Herald. Contains a vast fund of information In regard to bee-culture. He who would keep abreast of the times must keep posted in all the improvements In his line. We advise all interested to get a copy of this book.— Daily Times, San Bernardino, Cal. Describes all the newest discoveries in the art, by which the production of delicious and health- giving honey is obtained, aswell as how to prepare it for the market in the most attractive shape.— Signal. Napoleon. O. It embraces every subject that will interest the beginner. It describes all the newest discoveries In the art by which the production of delicious and health-giving honey is obtained, as well as how to prepare it for the market in the most attractive form. It is embellished with beautiful engravings, and is the most perfect work of the kind, for the price, that has ever come under our notice.— Far- mer. Lancaster, Pa. PRICE— Bound in cloth. 75 cents; in paper covers. SO cents, postpaid. THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 925 W. Madison St.. Chicago, 111. A Llbernt UlNcount to Se&lers by the Dozen or Hundred. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., AUGUST 1, 1883. No. 31. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, Detecting Glucose Adulterations. We have received from the Rev. L. L. Langstroth, the following letter concerning the recent discovery of the new phase of the glucose abomi- nation : Oxford, O., July 20, 1883. Friend Newman :— I enclose you what I hope will prove a good way of detecting glucose adulterations. I have the promise of some glucosed maple sugar bought in the open mar- ket, which will be soon tested. We propose to move all along upon the enemies' lines. I am aware that these exposures must, for a time, to a cer- tain extent, injure the honey trade; but they are necessary, and in the end will help it. If bee-keepers kept silence, where would these frauds stop ? The good old Ameuican Bee Journal has done mucli honest work in this matter. IIow long will it take to excite a State or the whole country if a President, or even a Sen- ator or Governor is to be elected, so that vast sums can be raised for election expenses, and yet the people rest almost passive upon the immense frauds of adulterators, who are often destroying health and even life ! It is hard to move us in this matter, but the steam of a righteous indignation is making, and its power will be felt. Please correct the only important error of the press in my last com- munication. 1 said, "for we do not believe that this company is a sinner above all others," etc., and the types made me say, " we do believe," etc. Mr. McCord and myself do not wish to make personal attacks upon any one, or to single out any one concern. If any of the many glucose manu- factories feel agrieved by our ex- posure, it conuot lie helped." Again, I challenge them, or any of their ad- vocates, to name for what legitimate purposes the immense quantities of glucose products are used. I ask them if they dare to say to what uses they are actually put. We wish " the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." L. L. Langstroth. The letter referred to by Mr. Langs- troth, with the method of testing honey, syrups, etc., by Prof. B. F. Marsh, of the Miami University Training School, is as follows : Oxford, O., July 18, 18S3. Dear Sir :— In answer to your re- quest that I should indicate some easy method by means of which impurities in glucose, syrups, etc.. could be de- tected, I submit the following. The impurities most common in manufactured glucose are calcic sul- phate, known as sulphate of lime, and sulphuric acid. Calcic sulphate is in- soluble in alcohol. If, therefore, a drop of glucose containing any of the above salt be thoroughly mixed by shaking in a glass vessel with four or five tablespoonsfuls of strong alcohol, a white precipitate of calcic sulphate will appear and make the solution milky. The above test is generally all that is necessary to detect the presence of the sulphate of lime. It may be necessary, sometimes, to add a drop or two of sulphuric acid to the solution before the precipitate will appear. For the detection of sulphnrie acid, a drop or two of the suspected glucose is to be placed in a glass vessel and dissolved in two or three tablespoon- fuls of water. Add a few drops of chloride of barium to the solution, when, if sulphuric acid is present in considerable quantity, a white precip- itate will appear and make the solu- tion milky. This test will generally be all that is necessary to inmcate the presence of sulphuric acid in glucose. When the acid is present only in mi- nute quantities, it will be necessary to add to the solution of glucose and water, a drop or two of dilute chlor- hydric or muriatic acid before adding the chloride of barium. In making the tests, rain water should be used. It is hardly necessary for me to add that pure honey contains no lime or sidphuric acid. There is, however, in all pure honey, a slight trace of formic acid which is secreted by the bee ; but this acid will not interfere with the tests which are indicated above. With great respect, I am. Yours Truly, 15. F. Marsh. Rev. L. L. LANGSTROTii,Oxford,0. It will be remembered that the glucose manufacturers wrote to Mr. McCord that " tliey feed it [glOfcose] very largely in California, and make money out of it." Mr. Wm.Muth- Rasmussen has sent us the following very emphatic denial of the accusa- tion : Mr. Editor :— I have just read Mr. Langstroth's article with your comments on page 341, AiiERiCAN Bee Journal. Allow me to say, that during my 14 years' experience in the bee business in California, I iiave never seen glucose, nor have I among my large number of bee-keeping acquaintances found any who ever had. I know of bee-keepers, who in seasons of drouth bought honey in San Francisco to feed to their bees to save them from star- vation. They paid 7 cents and freight* for honey which they had sold the previous year for 5 cents. Others bought grapes at the vineyards and hauled load after load to the moun- tain apiaries to save the bees. I never heard of grape sugar being used for that purpose, though it is not impossible. But the assertion, that '• they feed it (glucose) very largely in California, and make money out of it," I shall not hesitate to pronounce in the meaning it is intended to con- vey, as an umnitigated lie. I doubt that glucose or grape sugar either can be found in this State out- side of San Francisco. I believe it is used there by packing firms, as it is but a short time since I saw in one of the stores here a small can of honey which had been there for 6 years, and was still liquid. The "honey" was rather dark, of inferior flavor, and thinner than good honey ought to be, still it was labeled " Orange Blossom Honey," " Warranted Pure." Two bare-faced lies on each can. Every one fainiliiir with southern California knows that bees never get orange- blossom honey to amount to anything. The orchards are too far from the apiaries, and the orange tree blooms in the winter and early spring, when bees never fly far in search of food. The price of honey in California is governed by the price in tlie eastern States, deducting freight, commission and other incidental expenses. Any one can, tlierefore, by looking at the quotations in the bee papers see that a man is not liable to grow rich by the bee business here You cannot, Mr. Editor, more than I regret that another drawback should be added to the often precarious living of the 378 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. California bee-keeper, by the false assertions of this " Grape Sugar Co." I enclose a clipping from the Pacific Rural Press, March 24, 1883, by which you will see that a new sweetening compound lias been invented, and is going to be used to adulterate glucose with. Can you, or any of our scien- tific bee-keepers, tell us anything further about this "benzoic sulphide y" Wji. Muth-Rasjiussen. Independence, Cal., July 19, 1883. The following is the new compound for adulterating glucose, mentioned by Mr, Muth-Rasmussen : A New Swebt Compound.— C. Fahlberg, in a paper read before the Franklin Institute, Jan. 17, furnishes some interesting particulars in rela- tion to his discovery of a certain sweet compound in the hydrocarbon of the coal tar group. lie describes the sweetness as being very intense. As soon as he made the discovery, he pro- ceeded at once to determine whether it was poisonous to take it in larger quantities or not. At Hrst a cat and then a dog were subjected to experi- ment, but they remaining alive and apparently not in the slightest degree affected by it, the discoverer decided to take several grammes of it himself. The result was not the slightest incon- venietice experienced from it. A chemical test of the urine, made the next morning, showed that almost the «ntire quantity taken could be thus recovered. . The compound obtained, and which contained the sweet principle, forms salts with any carbonate of the alka- lies, alkaline, eartlis or metals and all of which taste sweet. It is, how- ever, not an acid, but belongs to a class of bodies to which the name "Sulphines" has been given ; the com- pound in question being benzoic sulph- ide. It is very readily soluble in alco- hol, more so than in cold water, in which it only dissolves readily when it is hot. The discoverer says: "I am making the attempt now to pre- pare it in larger quantities, and by cheaper methods, and have no doubt that it will find extensive use in med- icine and for techinal purposes. One experiment made was to sweeten glu- cose, whicli, as you all know, tastes only faintly sweet, and the result was a complete success. As soon as I shall have found the method by which to prepare it on a manufacturing scale, I shall come before you again, and as I trust and hope, with larger samples than now, ready to give an- swer to all questions in regard to its price, application, etc." This " benzoic sulphide " is new to us, and, if its career is to be anything like its twin-fraud— glucose— it were better if it should be consigned to eternal oblivion. ^"Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1883 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. Bee and Honey Show at Toledo, 0. The Tri-State Fair (Ohio, Michigan and Indiana) will be held at Toledo, O., Sept. 10 to IS, 1883. The follow- ing is the list of premiums in the Apiary Department, of which Dr. A. B. Mason, of Wagon Works, O., is the superintendent : I8t. 2(1. Preni. Prem. Display comb honey in most marketable shape, product of one apiary in 1883 $10 $o Display extracted honey in most marketable shape, product of one apiary in 1883 10 .5 Display extracted honey in most marketable shape, by a lady, product of her own apiary in 1883 •') 3 Display comb honey in most marketable shape, by a lady, product of her own apiary in 1883 5 3 Comb honey in most mark- etable shape, not less than 20 lbs., quality to govern. 4 2 Extracted honey in most marketable shape, not less than 20 lbs., quality to govern 4 2 Crate or case comb honey, not less than 20 lbs., m best shape for shipping and retailing 4 2 Colony bees 5 3 " Italian bees 5 3 " Syrian bees 5 3 Colonies of bees must be the prog- eny of one queen, and exhibited in such shape as to be readily seen on two sides. Purity of race, docility, size of bees, and numerical strength to be considered. Display of queens, put up in such shape as to be reaaily seen by visitors ; blacks not to compete 3 2 Greatest variety of queens put up as in display of queens 3 2 Queens and colonies cannot com- pete for more than one premium. Bee hive for all purposes in the apiary, may be repre- sented by a model not less than half size 3 2 Bee hive, glass 2 1 Wax extractor 2 1 Honey extractor 2 1 Foundation mill ft 3 Foundation press 5 3 Beeswax, not less than 10 lbs 2 1 Comb foundation for brood- chamber, not less than 5 lbs 2 1 Comb foundation for surplus honey, not less than 3 lbs. 2 1 Comb foundation machine making tlie best founda- tion for brood -chamber on thegrounds 8 4 One piece sections, not less than 60 1 50c Dovetailed sections, not less then .50 1 oOc Packages with labels for re- tailing extracted honey. . . 1 50c Bee smoker 1 60c Honey knife 1 oOc Package for shipping ex- tracted honey in bulk .... 1 oOc Machine for making holes in frames for wiring 2 1 Machine for wiring frames. 2 1 Display apiarian supplies. . . 3 1 Quinces preserved with honey 2 1 Peaches preserved with honey 2 1 Apples preserved with honey 2 1 Pears preserved with honey 2 1 Largest and best collection of bee literature 2 1 Largest and best display of honey bearing plants, prop- erly named and labeled. . . 10 5 Queen cage, such as is ad- milted to the mails by the postal laws 1 0 Honey vinegar, not less than one gallon 2 1 Honey cake, with recipe for making 4 2 Bee and Honey Show.— The twenty- third St. Louis Fair opens Monday, Oct. 1, and closes Saturday, Oct. 6, 1883, and offers premiums, $50,000. The following are the premiums for Bees and Honey : Best display of Italian bees $20 " displav of black native bees....' 20 Best imported queen 10 " display of comb honey 25 lbs Dip.and 10 Best crate of honey in comb L.S. Med. " bee hive for all purposes Dip. " honey extractor Dip. " wax extractor Dip. " bee smoker Dip. " lioney knife Dip. " bee veil or face protec- tor Dip. Best display of apiarian im- plements 1st Dip. & $25 2d L. S. Med. The secretary writes us as follows : " We make no charge for entry or space, and will allow the sale of pro- ducts, provided a neat display is made, and stock is replenished, during the entire week. We contemplate allotting a building exclusively to this department." 1^ Mr. J. F. Tearman, of Lincoln, 111., has sent us a copy of the Premium List of the Fair to be held at Lincoln, 111., on Aug. 27 to 31 . The following are premiums for" bees and honey "— just three ; no more and no less— the whole amount of premiums being but just $18. Let us hope that heretofore they have offered none, and that this is their first effort : m. 2d. Bee hive containing colony of bees $5 00 $2 50 Display of apiarian supplies 5 00 2 50 Five pounds of honey in comb 2 00 1 00 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. :i79 Bee and Honey Exhibition. There will be held, at the Southern Exposition, August 28 to September 1, under the direction of the Agri- cultural Comnaittee, an exhibition of Dees and honey, when the following premiums will be awarded : 1. For best exhibit of Italian beea In obser- vatory bive First I 25 00 Second 15 00 2. For best .'tO to I'K) pounds of comb honey produced in Kentucky in best shape for retail trade or for family use First 20 00 Second 10 00 3. For 50 to 100 pounds of extracted honey produced in Kentucky in bevt shape for retail trade or for family use First 20 02oc. for 1 lb. sectbms; 2 lb. new 17(^lHc.: old, l.'i'rt;lrtc. No extracted has been re- ceived, and none seems wanteu in our market. BB ES W A -X - 320350. A. C, KBNDBL. 115 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HO.SE Y— Our market is fairly active. We quote: H lb. sections at 30C.: 1 lb. sections. 22(^:i5c.: 2 1b. sections. 2m«22c. Extracted, loc. per lb. Good loTs ot extracted are wanted in kegs or barrels. BEESWAX— Our supply is gone: we have none to quote. CROCKER & Blakg. 5T Cbatbam Street. 880 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Fur the Amerlcun Bee Journal. That "Long Idea" Hive. G. M. noOLlTTLE. On page 223, A. W. R. asks why I do not adopt and practice the method used in getting tlie 506 pounds of ex- tracted lioney spoken of on page llo. Ten or more years agoD. L. Adair, of Kentucky, was quite a prominent bee- keeper and writer for the bee papers. He used and advocated a long liive to be used on the principle of spreading the frames out horizontally instead of tiering one hive above the other, claiming that, thereby, a colony of bees could be kept in a normal condi- tion, and wliile in said condition no swarming would be the result. This hive lie termed the " long idea" hive. Being always ready to test all the " new ideas," I made two hives four feet long, during the winter of 1873, but did not put them in use until the summer of 1877. One of these 1 worked for extracted honey, as given on page 11.5. and the other for comb honey, on Mr. Adair's plan. The one worked for comb honey swarmed, and after repeated trials to keep them at work in the 4-foot hive, I let them 'lave their own way wlien they had swarmed for tlie fifth time, and hived them in an empty hive. The one worked for extracted honey did splendidly, but anotlier worked on the "tiering up" plan did nearly as ■well, and by practical knowledge I learned that I could work a two or three story hive much more easily than I could this long one. To take the frames out, the person's back must be bent just enough to make it the l|ardest kind of work, and the bees which were shaken off the combs would crawl all over the sides and top of the hive in such numbers as to make it almost impossible to close it again. With the two story hive the bees could be shaken on top of the frames in the lower hive, when they would crowd below until the hive was closed, and tlie operator could stand erect while at work attheliive. But the worst thing about it was that I lost both colonies during the next winter, after fixing them in good shape for winter, as I considered. I have tried the hives since with no better success, so have torn them to pieces and made others of them. A. \V. R. fiuther wants to know " what became of the 70,000 workers in winter." As tlie honey season drew to a close, or about the first of August, the queen ceased to lay in all but about six of the central frames, so that by the first of Novem- ber the hive contained no more bees tlian others having only nine frames during the season. The worker bee lives but about 4.5 days during the summer months, hence it comes to pass, as soon as the queen ceases her extra proliticness, that the workers rapidly diminish, till but an ordinary colony exists for winter. He tliat over-rules all things made the honey bees so that as summw approaches their instinct leads tliem to usher a host of bees into existence to gather the honey about to be secreted, and as tills passes by, the same instinct leads them to piepare for winter, by decreasing their numbers. In this, as well as in many other things, we see how perfect was the work of the Creator. Borodino, N. Y. Mlchlifun Farmer. Selecting Location Before Swarming. rilOF. A. J. COOK. I send you this interesting letter of Mr. F. E. Delano's, one of our grad- uates, and a farmer at Oxford, Mich. A case almost identical is reported from England. This seems to prove that scouts are sent out before swarm- ing to pre-empt the future home, and that clustering just after the swarm issues, is not to give time to look up a home, but more probably to give the queen, which has not tried her wings for months — probably years — a brief rest after tlie short flight, from hive to cluster, before the longer one is commenced. OxFOKD, June 24. 1883. To Prof. A. J. Cook. As you are now interested in im- parting what is known about the " little busy bee " to those who are still nervous about shaking hands with them, and still more so about having them tenants of the same house. I will tell you of an interest- ing occurrence that has taken place here, and in which a swarm of bees are especially interesfed. We are en- gaged in rebuilding a part of our house ; the upright has not been torn down, and on the side where we are putting up the new part the joists run througli the wall. There happened to be some holes next to the ends of two or three. Friday afternoon it was very warm ; for a long time I had noticed that there were bees around the house, and had made some casual remarks concerning them, but paid no attention otherwise to their cim- tinual hmn. Finally we looked around, and found that to all appear- ances a swarm of bees had gone into the house under the chamber Hoor. As a swarm of bees make considerable noise when tliey fly, and as we had heard no unusual or increased amount of humming, we concluded that they must have come when we were at dinner. Again, we could hardly credit that conclusion, for it was halt- past three before we had heard a bee at all. That night all we could do was to make conjectures concerning their arrival. The mystery was sat- isfactorily explained about 9 o'clock Saturday morning. About half-past eight we noticed that there was not a bee around, so did not know but that they had left. Well, they had, but not for good, for about nine the swarm really came, and this time they made noise enough. It was a big swarm, too. Now, for the con- clusion : The bees that came Friday were either a scouting party sent in advance, or else they came to clean out and make ready,' which, I do not know ; but think probably the place had been selected before, and that this regiment had been sent on to make ready for the swarm, for they were very busy until nijjlit. Then Saturday morning the regiment went back and piloted the swarm to the new found home. Whether the swarm came direct here from the hive or not, I do not know. • There are bees kept three- quarters of a mile south of here. I shall go and see if a swarm left there Saturday morning. This is positive proof in this case, and I suppose it is so in all, or most at least, that the place is selected be- fore the swarm go to it. I have been minute in my description because the circumstance was interesting, and I never remember of reading or hear- ing anything positive in regard to the matter before. Fred E. Delano. For tlie American Bee JoumaL The Traffic in Queens. JAMES HEDDON. Some 20 years ago a new race of bees was introduced to American apiarists. This race was called Ital- ian. They were plainly and distinctly marked physically, and possessed also distinct traits of character. Some of their characteristics were, when com- pared with our old-time tried Ger- mans, found to be superior, and some inferior. The common voice of the majority of apiarists pronounced them best, all points considered. Then came a demand for these bees. It was found that they readily lived and mingled with our Germans, and that to put an Italian queen in the place of a German queen, would change the whole colony in a few weeks. Then there came a demand for queens. The rearing of queens to fill that demand was the next effect. The breeder began to select colonies of pure Italians to breed from, and as lie had more than one pure colony, lie began to look about for some way to decide which colony he should use. There is not on record a case where a cent was thrown up, " heads or tails," to settle on the colony to select eggs or cells from. Quicker than a flash the master's good sense said, " this one gathers the most honey, and be- haves the best, and, of course, I shall use it." Then and there a new sys- tem of breeding was born. "Spon- taneous generation." Breeding for qualities began, never to cease as long as man and bees remain in iiartnership in the production of iioney. Years rolled on, and no one thought of improving any race of bees except the Italian. Quite often controversies came uf as to which race was, " taken all in all," the best. Then the go»d and bad qualities of both were ably shown THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 381 up. When looking at this picture, thoughtful bee keepers carefully weighed the good and bad points, and struck a b;iTance; some said "the Germans are the best," more said " the Italians are best." Acquisitive honey-producers said, " Why can't we combine tlie good qualities of both races ?" determined breeders said, " We can and we will," and now. queens bred for qualities, and not for the purity of any race, are pouring tlirougli tlie mails like streams tlirough a desert. At last, in s|)ite of all mistaken and interested opposition, the time has come when the leading honey-pro- ducers of this country can use and sell tlie same stock— the bees of their choice. I have private means of accurately estimating the popular public sentiment of to-day regarding this subject; also its growth during the last few years. I predict a glo- rious future for the development of '■ ^lp(s-^4»icn'cfnia." At last, in the traffic of queens, the breeder finds honesty and interest together. Before I close I wish to say a few words regarding what kind of queens are best for purchasers to buy. If one is so well satistied that he has his eye on the strain of bees he is going to possess, I know of no way better than to buy untested queens and put one at the head of each colony. I did tliis with 40 colonies in lS7l,and paid $2 each ; but if, on the other hand, the purchaser wishes to test the strain before changing to it, or tor any reason sees fit to rear his own queens, he should by all means order one. or as many more as he can afford, of tested queens. They will prove much the cheapest in the end, as ■every breeder very well knows. The idea of purcliasing one untested queen to test a strain by, is preposterous in itself. I am of the opinion that the more tested and less untested queens are purchased, the faster we shall march toward that coming bee. No man should ever breed from an un- tested colony. Dowagiac, Mich., July 16, 1883. For tlje American Bee JoumaL Combs Built in Wired Frames. T. A. HOUGAS. In regard to the impraclicability of wiring frames exce|)t for foundation, is fully settled in my niitid. I should not do so, as I consider it but a waste of lime and money. This spring I expeiimented on this in two ways. 1. I placed wired frames, and frames with full sheets of foundation alter- nately. 2. With nothing but wired frames in the hive. In the former they built the combs from top to bottom of the frames in strips, not averaging over IJ.3 inches wide. The wire was preciselv in the centre of the C(unb in each and every ■case. They did not seem to want to unite these combs (there was two or three of these combs in each frame), so as to make the frame solid, but would leave large openings in them. In the latter they seemed to be bewildered. Some combs tlipy built properly, while with others the wires seemed to be in the way. In one case they built exactly at right angles witli the frames. In one case a line of drone cells was built on either side the wire the full length of tlie comb. in another instance I wired a frame and lilled it with foundation just half way down from the top-bar. They drew out the half sheet and a full sheet on the outside of a division- board before they completed the half- lilled frame. After thus experimenting, I have concluded that it would be utterly useless, if not more than useless to wire a frame unless you lill it with foundation. I agree with Mr. Iled- don, that it is impractical. Henderson, Iowa, July 16, 1883. For the American Bee JoumaL Experiences of a Novice. BY A NOVICE. This article is headed thus, so that old bee-keepers may skip over it. It is written by a novice for novices. I bought a colony of bees late in the spring; a strong colony. The hive was called a Langstroth, or I should not have bought the bees. Not liking the old unpainted hive, I sold it to the man who sold me the bees. After a fortnight, according to agree- ment, I attempted to transfer the bees to a new Langstroth hive, when I found the bar of the frames half an inch too long to set in my hive. 1, however, succeeded by putting one end of the bar in its proper place, and allowing the other end to rest on the top of the brood-chamber. .The combs were very thick and irregular, and were half full of honey. After a while the hive became too full of bees, and not being able to secure an experienced hand to divide them, I placed a new hive about 8 feet from the full colony, and then exchanged their places. Took tvi'o thick-combed frames of bees from the full colony and put them into the new witli a frame of foundation on each side, and a division-board. I could not lind the old queen, so I chose a frame with a queen-cell, and left in the other hive a queen-cell. In a few weeks the old colony seemed again to be in need of being divided. I had replaced foundation frames where I had taken the frames of bees. These had cells, and were covered with bees. This time I secured the services of an experienced bee-keeper. He took the full hive about '2^i rods away, and put the new hive where the old one had stood, and put with it two frames of bees, and a frame of foundation on each side; but he could lind no queen. The next day not more than 200 bees remained In the new hive, the rest returned, I think, to the old one, so now I propo.se to put the two new colonies together. VVIieu the last division was made, I found the honey all gone, and com- menced feeding tliern, near the en- trance, with syrup from granulated sugar, but the flies took half of it. On inquiry I found a better way was to soak a slice of corn bread in the syrup and put it on the frames under the cloth and cap. Yesterday, I tiied the plan, and with such benevolent intentions I thought I need not take the veil nor smoker, but I carelessly irritated the bees, and three of them felt called upon to teach me to be more gentle. I had, before this time, put into my vest pocket a vial of carbonic ammonia, and was now anxious to try its virtues. I did so, but this morning I have a very large fat hand. I am now ready" to try another prescription. The veil and smoker soon set things all right. By the way, 1 had prepared 40 sheets of paper with nitre, and rolled up with one sheet some cotton rags and wood, put it into the smoker and lit it with a match, but being in a hurry my match fell down upon the rest of the paper, which I threw upon the ground to stamp out the tire, but did not succeed. I have since pre- pared more, and thank Mr. lligbee for his information in the Weekly Bee JouiiNAL. These experiments have taught me several things : 1. Always treat the honey bee gently and respectfully. 2. Always use a smoker and veil when handling bees. 3. Prepare the smoker as recom- mended by D. lligbee. 4. Never depend on powdered car- bonic ammonia. Steele City. For the Amerlcau Boe JournaL Bees in "Washington Territory. • C. THEILMANN. I have just come home a trip from Medical Lake, Washington Territory, the great bathing resort of Spokane county, where hundreds of people have restored their health by the waters of Medical Lake, of which lam one that was cured of many years' billiousness. Traveling considerably in the Ter- ritory, I have only found bees in the vicinity of Walla Walla. They seem to do siilendidlv, and are gathering a good deal of honey there, but the bee-keepers do not manage them very well. I only saw one (an Iowa man) that had some kind of movable frames in his hives, though very poorly gotten up. All the rest tliat 1 saw, had their bees in box hives, and did not know how to get any honey, unless they brimstoned the"bees in the fall. Walla Walla vallev seems to be well adopted for bee-keeping,asthey hardly ever lose any colonies in winter, for the winters are generally very mild. I purcliased 2 colonies, the only two the man had whicli would not offer to sting in handlins;. and transferred them 150 miles North, to the lake above mentioned , and are the lirsl bees that have ever lieeu taken North of Snake river; they are gray-looking bees, different from the rest I saw around Walla Walla, but I saw such bees last year while traveling through Arizona. How those gray bees reached 382 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Walla Walla I cannot ascertain ; all 1 know is tliat t liey do not offer to sting, for all tliat, they have stings as well as other bees. I would like to get some information about tlie gray Ari- zona bees, through tiie Bee JouuNAL, about their liabits, etc. My bees here are doing well. White clover has been better than ever here- tofore, and Ijasswood has just com- menced to bloom a day or so ago, and promises a large yield. I have just received a letter from my sou, written lOdays after 1 left Medical Lake, sayiiu; that these gentle bees are doing nicely, ile is liviug at tlie Lalny of bees. I was a reader of the American Bee Journal for a few years, when printed in Washington, I). C. When I learned that it had become a weekly journal, I subscribed for it again, and 1 expect to take it as long as I have one colony of bees. With one or two exception's, I never wrote a line for it or any other bee paper. As a goodly numljer of our pi'ofessed bee-keepers give us their best ideas and new dis- coveries, I thought I would write a few lines and let the bee fraternity discuss what I believe to be entirely new, at least I never saw a line on the subject. I would like to apply to a practical use a discovery I made. It is this: I succeeded in making a number of swarms to come out of the parent colonies like a natural swarm does. 1 have done it as late in the day as 4 o'clock. By applying my process thev swarm and cluster as any natural swarm does. I would like Mr. Heddon to consider this, and give the readers of the Bee Journal the advantages that could be derived from it. I now have 78 colonies — spring count 25. Most of them in the surplus boxes. I use side and top surplus arrangement. I am not experienced in extracting, but will try it this week. I use a frame 11x12. which, I think, is 1 or 2 inches too deep. I believe a frame 9 inches deep by 12 long about the right size. I wintered on the summer stands last winter, and lost 60 colonies. I blame myself (as I believe all who lose heavily ought to) for losing so many, because I did not give them the proper winter protection. Allow me, in this connection, to ask whether there is among your many readers a person who has ever driven a swarm of bees as mentioned in this item. J. II. ROEUUCK. Burton City, Ohio, July 14, 1883. Answer. — Any cheap and practi- cal method by which a colony can be made to cast a swarm at will, would be of great value to the frateriuty. In answer to your last question, I will say that several bee-keepers have reported causing their bees to swarm by inserting a queen-cell in the hive. This result, however, is only a possi- ble one, and cannot be relied upon with any degree of certainty, and, un, and more is nearly ready to take away. H. L. Jeffrey. Washington Depot,Ct., July 23,1883. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 387 Special Notices. Examine tbe Bate following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 2.5 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for .5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. How to Create a Market for Honey. We have now published another edition of the pamphlet on "Honey as Food and Medicine," with more new Eecipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price still lower, to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 5 cents, postpaid ; per dozen, 40 cents; per hundred, $2.50. 500 will be sent postpaid for $10.00, or 1,000 for $15. 00. On orders of 100 or more, we will print, if desired, on the cover-page, " Presented by," etc., {giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense— enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Try it, and you will be surprised. Our Premiums for Clubs. Bee Pasturage a Necessity.— W e have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. I®" Do not send coins in a letter. It is dangerous and increases the postage unnecessarily. Always send postage stamps, for fractions of a dollar, and, if you can get them — one-cent stamps ; if not, any denomination of postage stamps will do. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $ lilttle Wonder., (nar. shield)— 11I4 in. tire tube, .65 Bingham & Hetherington UncappinK Knife.. 1.15 With thanks for letters of encour- agement, and the absence of complain- ing ones, we tender to our thirty-five thousand patrons our best wishes. Very Respectfully Yours, Bingham & Hetherington. Abronia, Mich., June 1, 1883. The New York and Lake City Mining Company. A prominent engineer, who is well acquainted with Mines in all parts of Colorado, was recently invited to ex- amine the property of this Company. He gave it as his opinion, and he is perfectly disinterested, that the pro- perty is the richest he had ever seen, and is worth $5,000,000.— ^dt;. Advertisers' Opinion. The queen bu.siness is ncshing, and we think the Bee Journal deserves much credit as an advertising medium. E. A. Thomas & Co. Coleraine, Mass., July 18, 1883. Advertisements intended for the Bek Journal must reach this office by Saturday of the previous week. 388 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. The Bee-Keepers' Guide, OR, MANUAL OF THE APIARY. 9,000 SOLD IN'SIX YEARS. lOth ThouNuud J uHt Out. More than r>n paaei*, and more than sn fine lllua- tratiuns udded. The whole work has been tbur- ouEhly revised, and cuntuins the vt-ry Uitest tn re- spect to bee-keeplnK- It is certiiinly the fullest and most scientitlc work troatinjf of bees in the World. Prlc*-, by Mall. AfilSo. l,lberal discount to dealer)* and to clubs. A. «I. COOK^. iVCtf Author and PubUsher. Lansing, Mich. TTJST OXJTl New Circular and price of Bees and Queens. Also, STKNCILS for bee-beepers' use. tlOS. AS. BKUOKS, 13C6t Columbus, Ind. Farm, herd and HOME. A First-Class Monthly of 24 pages, devoled to AGRICULTUKE, HORTI- CULTURE. STOt'li RAISING and kindred interests. PubllBhedat ndianapolis, Ind. , by BROWN & ABBOMET. Terms, $1.00 a Year, iu Advance. Send for it and give it a trial. 18C4t SECTIONS. We have just put In several new machines and also a larger enuine in our factory, consequently we are In better shiipe to fill orders than ever for Sections. Shipping ('rates, etc., etc. We make a specialty of our "BOSS" ONE-PIECE SECTIONS, Patented June L'Mth. issi. We can make the " Boss" One- Piece Sections any size or width desired. Send tor Price List. ^Ve make the Halt-Pound Section uiiy size desired. JAS. FOKNCKOOKdbCO. iBCtf Watertown Jeff. Co. Wis., Jan. 1. 1883. Friends, if you are in any way interested In BEES OR HONEY We will with pleasure send you a sample copy of the Monthly Oleaulntps In Bee-Cn»ture, with a descriptive price-list of the latest improve- ments in Hives, Honey Extractors, Comb FoundHtkou, Section Honey Boxes. all books and Journals, and everything pertaininK to Bee Culture. Xnthing Patented. Simply send your ad- dress written plainly, to _ Ctf »- " ^ J j^QOT, Medina. O. HEADQUARTERS IN THE SOUTH For tne manufacture of BEE-ItEKPEKS' SVPPHES. Dunham and Root Foundation a specialty. Italian Queens and Bees from March to November. |3?~SenQ for my Illustrated Catalo^tue. .'iCtf PAUL L. VI ALLON, Bayou Goula, La. 1883. JOSEPH D. ENAS, 1883. Pure Italian Queens, Bees, Colonies, Nuclei, EXTRACTORS, COMB FOUNDATION, &C i9D6m Address, Sunny Side Apiary, NAPA, CAL. PLYMOUTH ROCKS Iroquois Strain. Four Yards. ^orre-^pondefp ciieerfuMy nn^wured Prices reasonabl' W. H. BUSSEY, 131 Lalce Street, Chiea«o. 2BUly HOLY LAND QUEENS BY RETURN MAII.. Untested, single Queen, f I.Ui; n forf.).50;or 12 for |10.(_Kj. Warranted Queens 25 cents more, each. I. IR- G-OOHD, 30A2t 8Blt TUI.I.AeOMA, TENN. Cheap ! Cheaper !! Cheapest !!! 300 COLONIES OF BEES for sale, in movable frame hives. Also, Queens, Nuclei, Bees by the pound. Hives, Hecti Same in nuceus, 4 fra., hx.s, 4 oO Tested Prize Queen, by mall, A CH] PrizeQueen, warranted pure- ly fertilized 2 W Queen, not standard size — 1 ttt^> FullC >lony, H frames, Prize Queen ^ <^^ Before June li.'i. add fi each. Cash Orders tilled in rotation. Address E. L, BKIOOS, lAly Wilton Junction. Iowa. FRANCES DUNHAH, Inventor and Sole Manufacturer of THE DUNHAM FOUNDATION MACHINE Patented Aug. 23d, 1881. Your machines are undoubtedly the very best \vt existence for iieavy foundation. Chahles Dauant & Sox, Ilamllton, III. Nov. 24th, 1882. And the following from the President of the North American Bee-Keepers' Association; I am quite positive that your Foundation Mills are ahead of anything yet invented. D A. JONES, Beeton, Ont., Canada. Jan. 29th, 1883. I send you samples of Foundation which I am. manufacturing on one of vour machines, in sheetfr •txi8, which measure llM feet to the pound. I think it superior to any samples of thin founda- tion I have seen. J. G. WHITTEN, Aug. 14th, 1882. Genoa, N. Y. Send for description and testimonials to 8ABtf FRAKCES D17XHAM, DB PEBE, WI8. 1883. 1883. ITALIAN QUEENS. I am now bonkine orders for queens. I cull my queens as they hatch, is the reason my custom- ers were so well pleased last year. Send me your address on a postal, and get circular. Six Queens f r fr>.(Ni. J. T. WILSON, Mortonsville, Woodford Co., Ky. bBCtf ITALIAN BEES FOR SALE CHEAP. On account of ill health. I offer for sale 12rted queens, and from the purest and best home-bred Queens, and the fflls built in full rolonies. No black bees In the vicinity. Customers can huve either llpht or dark Queens. Orders Hlled Proniplly. 8 n^le queen $i.ik.i: six queens for %bs*)\ twelve or more, 75 cents each. Tested queens, *! r»o each. Safe arrival g» ar»nteed. Make Money Orders payable at FLINT. MICH. BEES and HONEY, Management of an Apiary for Pleasure and Profit ; by THOMAS C. NEWMAN. EtHtor of the Weekly Bee Jomnial. &85 "West Madison Street, Chlcaso, Ill» It contains ifiO profusely illustrated pa^es. Is '* fully up with the times" in all the Improvement* and Inventions in this rapidly developinK pursuit, and presents the apiarist with everythinji that can aid in the successful manapement of the Honey Bee, and at the same time produce the most honey- in its best and most attractlre condition. It embraces every subject that will Interest the be^rinner. It describes all the newest discoveries' tn the art by which tbe production of delicious and healtb-tfivine linney is obtained, as well as how to prepare it for I lie market in the most attractive form. It Isembellished with beautiful enKravlngs,. and is the most perfect work of the kind, for the- price, that has ever come under our notice.— Far- mer, Lancaster, Pa. PRICE— Bound in cloth, 75 centa t In paper covers, 50 centn, postpaid. THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 92o W. Madison St, Chicago, IIU A Liberal Discount to Dealers the Vezenor Haudred. ■^. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., ATJQUST 8, 1883. No. 32. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, EDITOB and PKOPHIETOn, The Hive and Frame Controversy. The Bee Journal for July 25, con- tained an article by Dr. E. B. Soutli- w'ick, setting forth the advantages of square frame hives, and one from Mr. G.W. Deraaree, giving tlie arguments in favor of rectangular frames. It was not the intention of the edi- tor of the Bee Jouunal to take any part in the aryument, and had he not been singled out for a personal thrust by Dr. Southwick, no word of comment would have been made. Our remarks on page 365 were Sooth- ing and courteous, but even kind words seem to have irritated him. After giving positive proof of the correctness of Mr. Root's assertion that " more shallow- frame [Langs- troth] liives were in use than all others put together," we remarked as follows: We do not endcse the opinions of Mr. Root, Dr. Southwick, "or any other nmn," unless they commend themselves to our judgment ! Butwe hope never to indulge in uncharitable words or feelings against any one for a frank statement or opinion, and, hence, we shall exercise this generosity towards Dr. Southwick, when he states that " not 14 of thsse that use movable frames, use what is to-day considered the Laugstroth frame, and that number is silently growing less !" The Doctor's statement is so far from the facts, as settled by the only statis- tics available, that we have here an excellent opportunity to let -'charity cover a multitude "of errors ! The above was intended to pacify, but it evidently had the opposite ef- fect ; at least we should think so, by the following from Dr. Southwick : Mr. Editor :— On page 369, of the Bee Journal, I notice an error that puts me in a rather odd position, in the last column near the bottom. It reads thus : " Containing white clover comb, made to order by my bees, last fall." Who ever heard of white clover in the fall ? The word clover should be drone, to make sense. I see in your editorial that you allow one more article from each on the subject ; thanks for your gener- osity, but that was not in my proposal, as 1 consider these long discussions which appear in the Bee Journal, the greatest bore the readers have to endure. I, therefore, made my propo- sition so as to avoid anything like a discussion. Mr. Demaree can take the advantage of your generosity if he chooses, but I respectfully decline. I did not expect that you would at- tempt to prejudice the reader against me and my article, before they had a chance to read it, by trying to show that what I said I believed (not stated as you have it) was not the fact, and indicate to them tliat I did not believe what I wrote ; that it was for fun, etc. I did hope to get two articles before the readers of the Bke JouRNAL.setting forth the qualities of the two frames without any editorial influence accompanying them, but your criticism on Doolittle's article^ and now on mine, convince me tliat I cannot. Mr. Demaree is fully com- petent for his side of the question, and the Langstroth frame men cer- tainly will not suffer from my incom- petency, and if the two articles could iiave gone out untrameled, an im- partial decision might have been arrived at by some. As I have done with the frame question, you will, no doubt, allow me a little space to reply to your edi- torial, and let me first state that I mean every word thafcl say, and just what I say. If I understand you correctly, you endorse Mr. Root's statement, by speaking of its correctness being settled, etc., and, as your proof, you bring forward statistics, and state they were gotten from reports of the readers of the Bee Journal. In or- der to get at the reliability of statis- tics, we must go lo the source from which they were obtained ; you say, from the readers of the Bee Journal; now, as the Bee Journal has ad- vocated, and always recommended the use of the Langstroth frame, is it not reasonable to conclude that a much larger number in proportion would be of that faith than where some other, or none at all, were rec- ommended V Again, what portion of the bee-keepers read the Bee Jour- nal'i* If one in twenty took it, I think the number of your subscrib- ers would be increased ; but we will say one in ten read it, and now what portion of its readers made a report ? I think it you count your subscribers, and then your reports, you will find that the reports would have to be in- creased four or five times before it would equal the other, but we will admit that one-half report, and which one-half is thaty I think it much more likely that the one-half that has advised with you, and obey you in using the Langstroth frame, would be the tirst to report ; while such as myself and many others would con- sider the utter impossibility of getting anytliing reliable from it, would pay no attention to it. Now, as we "admit one-tenth of the bee-keepers read the Bee Journal, and one-half of them reported (I think I have been very generous in so doing), we have one- twentieth that reported, and as nearly one-half of them use the box hive, we have a little more than one- fortieth of the bee-keepers to use for statistics, and those are tiiey that you have brought up and educated in the theory that the Langstroth frame is the " ne plus ultra " of all frames, and as you hnd a majority of these use the Langstroth frame, you declare that there is a majority in the whole United States. As well might Brig- ham Young have declared that there were more Mormons than all other religions put together, just because there were in Utah ! I think I discover a twinkle of fun behind those glasses, and an expres- sion on your face that says : "Ain't I soft-soaping the Doctor good, with my statistics !" Oh my; what statis- tics 1 In the last column you say you will "exercise generosity." Now, Mr. Editor, just hold on ; keep your gen- erosity until you can quote my article as it is. If you made that quotsition, thinking what you did, it is down- right meanness, after what I had • written a few lines before. I hope the readers will take the article and not the quotation. You say that " my statement is so far from facts." Now, if I have made a statement that is not a fact, I am a liar, and I do not want it covered up with chairity— tliat fertilizer of hypocrisy and rascality ! That licenser of villainy, and all kinds of meanness ! That which covers up a man's sins that he may commit more I No, do not cover up my errors with charity. You hint that 390 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. they are many— expose them to the world, tliat others seeing may avoid them, and I, knowing them, may im- prove by such knowledge. You say my excuse for A. 1. Root " is exceed- ingly thin." Well, it is the thickest I coiild find, and if that does not ex- cuse him, I do not know what will. But it does not begin to be as thin as your statistics ! Now, as I understand you to convey the idea to your readers, it is about thus: "The Doctor's statements are far from the facts; his errors are multitudinous; but he is jolly fellow and we won't mention them ; he does not believe half he writes !" Why do you throw out these hints? Do you think you readers are fools, and can- not understand as well as you V Now, I defy you, or any one else, to show that one statement that I have made in that article is not in accordance •with facts. What I state to be facts are, with me, known facts ; and what I believe are not known facts to me, for if they were known facts, they would be no longer subjects of belief, but of actual knowledge. I explained this in my article, 1 thought, so plain that " a wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err therein." I do not thmk I ought to blame you, for it appears to be a second nature for Langstroth men to state what they think, as actual facts ; but when :you lug me into triat association, I assure you that it hurts, for if "Jolly" I have some regard for the truth of what 1 say. Now I will give the reasons for be- lieving what I said I believed, and as vou think so much of statistics, I will give some in that form. There are in this vicinity, 36 bee-keepers that I know of; and I think there are none that I do not know, and these all use frame hives; there is not a box-hive among tliem. Out of this number 3 claim to use the Langstroth hive ; one of these has increased the height of his hive so as to use a frame 12 inches deep ; another has made his frames to go crosswise of the hive; the other is a man that knows but little about bee-keeping, and gets another man to take care of them, and that man condemns the Langstroth hive every time he has anything to do with "* Now the statistics : 36 bee men, 3 Langstroth hive men, 33 that use hives taking tlie square frames, 2 of the Langstroth hive men have changed their frames from the long and shal- low to the short and deep frame, so these 2 will have to be reckoned on the side of the square frame, wliich will make our statistics toot up thus : 35 square frame men, 1 shallow frame man 36 in all. These statistics, I claim are much more reliable than yours, for they come from a more enlightened set of men, as shown by their having no old box hives ; while almost half of the community from which you get your information are back in the heathen darkness and ignorance of the old box hive and Again, I read a report a short time ago of a convention, and 1 think there were about 30 present, and only 2 used the Langstroth frame, but say there were 24 present and 3 used the Langs- troth frame, their statistics would show only }i using the Langstroth frame, which is only half of what 1 had it. Now, do not these statistics " settle it" that the Langstroth frame is a small minority, and that minority is gradually growing less V and the neglect of the square frame neighbor, who cares for the Langstroth frame ; many bees would soon drive the last one out to sea. Another reason is, I think, many of our oldest, most experienced, most scientific, and most successful bee men who use and recommend the square frame, say but little about it ; bul; I have frequently noticed that the greatest noise generally comes from the biggest fools. I mi^ht add many more reasons for my belief, but I do not wish to occupy the space, nor have I the time at present. Mr. Demaree will please accept my thanks for the candor he has exhibited in his article. He has written me that he is satistied that he "■ holds the fort." I wrote him there was but little danger that he would not hold it, when he has so strong a corps of editors to guard it ; but I advised him to withdraw while his laurels were fresh, lest the people " arise in their might," demolish the fort,destroy him and his guard, and tread his laurels in the mud. Now, hoping that what has been said may not disturb our former friendship, I remain yours truly, E. B. Southwick. It is useless to attempt a discussion of any subject, when a mild and kind- ly-worded argument calls out such a fierce reply as the foregoing. Such harsh words as liar, fools, downright mean- ness, hypocrsiy, rascality, villiany, etc., are not calculated to induce an impartial decision of any question ! The discussion of tlie comparative merits of the ■' square and rectangular frame hives " will, therefore, cease, for the present, in the Bee Journal, with the exception of one article from Mr. Demaree (if he should desire to reply) as promised, two weeks ago, and one from the Bev. L. L. Langs- troth, which he is now preparing, by request. Our "correspondents will please " take due notice, and govern themselves accordingly." When it can be discussed impassion- ately will be time enough to resume— until then, let us take up some other questions, from a review of which some good may result. The National Convention. 1^" The summer meeting of the Cortland, N. Y., Union Bee-Keeper's Association, will be held at Cortland, N. y., on Tuesday, Aug. 14, 1883. M. C. Bean, Sec. The National Bee - Keepers' As- sociation, will hold its Annual Con- vention in the City Ilall and Council Chamber in the city of Toronto, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the 18th, 19th and 20th days of Sep- tember, during the second week of Canada's Great Fair. All the rail- roads in Canada will issue tickets during this week, good to return, up to Saturday night 22d, at single fare for the round trip. Special excursion rates will be arranged from various parts of the United States, of which due notice will be given. Those who intend being present may be kept posted on the latest excursion rates, etc., by addresssng me, and also that I may arrange hotel accommodation. Private lodgings will, if possible, be secured for those who desire it, and every effort will be made to make everybody comfortable. A grand meeting is anticipated. D. A. Jones, President. f^ Mr. E. T. Flanagan informs us that at the St. Louis Fair, the privi- lege has been granted of selling honey on the grounds, during the exhibition, to all bee-keepers that make a first- class exhibit and keep their exhibits intact. This will aid honey con- sumption very much, and should pre- vail at all fairs. Fairs.— To any one exhibiting at Fairs, we will send samples of the Bee Journal and a colored Poster, to aid in getting up a club. The Premiums we ofEer will pay them for so doing. For a club of 8 subscribers to the Monthly Bee Journal, or 4 we will present Dzierzon's Rational Bee-Keeping, price $2.00. 1^ Articles for publication must be written on a separate piece of paper from items of business. Postage 'on Queens to Canada.— On any package of merchandise sent to Canada,of 8 ounces or less, the postage is 10 cents. Queens, therefore, cannot be sent for less than 10 cents each. Canadians ordering queens from the United States, should add 10 cents for each queen, if they are to be sent by mail, for that extra 10 cents will usually eat up all the profits on queen bees, if they are reared as they should be. _ 1^ The pamphlet, " Honey, as Food and Medicine," is in such de- mand, that we find it necessary to print them in still larger quantities, and can, therefore, still further re- duce the price, as noted on page 399. Let them be scattered like " autumn leaves," and the result, we feel sure, will fully reward honey-producers for both the labor and the small expense. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 391 Local Convention Directory. 1883. Time and Place oj MetUng. Aug. 11.— Cortland, N. Y. Unicm, at Cortliind, N. V M. C. Bean, Sec. AuH. 29.-S. W. Iowa, at Red Oak, Iowa. K. C. Alkln, Sec, AuR. 29.— Iowa Central, atWinterset Fair Grounds, Z. G, Cooley, Sec. Pro tern. Aug. 29, 30.— Ky. State, at Louisville. Ky. Dr. N. P. Allen, Sec, Smith's Grove, Ky, Sept. 12-14.— Trl-State, at Toledo, Ohio. Dr. A. B. Mason, Sec, Wagon Works, O, Sept. 18-2<:i.— North Americanrat Toronto, Ont. A. 1. Root, Sec, Medina, O. Oct. 9, 10.— Northern Mich, at Sheridan. Mich. O. R. Goodno, Sec, Carson City, Mich. Oct. 17, 18.— Northwestern, at Chicago, III, Thomas G. Newman, Sec. Oct.— Northern Ohio, at Norwalk, O. S. F. Newman, Sec, Dec, 5-6, Michigan State, at Flint. H. D. Cutting. Sec, Clinton, Mich. ty In order to have this table complete. Secre- taries are requested to forward full particulars of time and place of future meetings.— Ed. From Deep to Shallow Frames. Mr. J. B. Mason, of Mecliauics' Falls, Maine, gives the following rea- sons, in the Home Farm, for changing from the deep to the shallow frame : My prejudices have for a long time led me to favor a deep frame, and so strong were they that I would not ^ive the standard Laugstroth frame a tair trial. This prejudice arose, 1 suppose, from accepting the theories of the opponents of the Langstroth frame, which theories seemed so plaus- ible that I was led to acce|)t them without proof, and adopt them as being absolutely correct. I suffered a large per cent, of loss with tlie deeper frames, but this I laid to various causes and any, as it proved, but the right one. At last, after seeing so many accounts from various sources of the success that disinterested bee- keepers met with in using the stand- ard Langstroth, I was led to try it, and as a matter of fact it proved a success with me. Now I claim to be honest in the matter of apiculture, and as I am not interested pecuni- arily in the success of the Langstroth or any other frame, consequently I cannot be accused of self-interest in adopting it for myself or advising its use by others. I have in the last two years transferred over 50 colonies from the deep frames to the standard Langstroth, and paclced away the old hives which are worthless to me, and as James Heddon said, two years ago, I think I liave saved money by so doing, and to show how the tendency is for the Langstroth frame, I will say that out of over 70 orders in the State of Maine for bees, all but 4 were for the Langstrotli frame. Again, I have not as yet attained that profound knowledge of apicul- ture which would lead me to think that I know it all, and that no one can teach me anything ; neither am I ashamed to admit errors, when by study and observation I find my pre- vious opinions, deep-seated tliough they are, to be incorrect. I had a deep battle with myself before I was willing to admit, to myself even, that the Langstroth frame would and did winter better than deeper ones, but the results in my own apiary, and not only in mine, but in apiaries generally throughout this State, forced me to change my mind, and having so changed, in justice to those who had been taught differently by me, caused me to give my new views to the pub- lic. So far from being changeable in matters of bee-culture, I have here- tofore clung to my pre-conceived ideas with great tenacity, and have been led to change them only by proof of tlie most solid character. He who sticks to his opinions does well, but he who changes when he is fully proved in error does better, and 1 trust to always stand among those who are ready to give up an opinion when proved to be wrong. Having stated my position and the reason that led me to change my views in regard to the relative merits of deep and shallow frames, I will say, that while all open-top, movable, sectional, hanging frames are Langs- troth, and were fully covered by his patent, the term " L." frame, for con- venience sake, was given to tlie par- ticular form, that Mr. Langstroth ad- vised ; while those of different form were called after their originators. Alley's Shipping Cage Food.— Mr. Henry Alley, of Wenham, Mass., has sent us a black queen and some bees in a cage supplied witli his new kind of food. They came in excellent con- dition, and we returned them to him to see how they stand the journey of 2,000 miles. The food is soft, but does not run, and there is not the slightest chance for its " daubing the mails," and it does not have the dis- agreeable feature of crumbling and rattling about the cage. The bees ate it with the greatest avidity, and with apparent relish. We hope it will prove to " just the thing " we have long been wanting for use in shipping cages. 1^ The Fremont, Mich., Indicator says : " Gleorge Hilton says you can take your dish to his apiary and get pure extracted honey for a sliilling a pound. This is almost as cheap as the adulterated syrups of commerce, and a great deal better for the child- ren." That is the way to say it. It gives health ; not disease like the vile syrups ! and yet costs no more than the adulterated trash I 1^ The Rev. \V. F. Clark, who went to AVinnepeg, last summer, is about te return to the States, and possibly may locate in Chicago, as an attache of the agricultural press here. Honey and Beeswax Market. OFFICE OF AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, { Monday, 10 a. m., Aug. 6, 1883. > The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. HONEV— The honey harvest in this neighbor- hood is over, and was very satisfactory every where. Largo crops were oroduced in my Imme- diate neighborhood of bulk extracted and comb honey, and our Kentucky neighbors seem to belong to that favored class of mortals with whom there is no such wf»rd as failure. While we hud very poor seasons for '1 years in succession, they harvested medium to good crops every time, and this season eclipses all previous ones with them, in quantity. Their quality cannot be excelled. We have bad very large arrivals, and, our commission houses being well supplied, the market Is overstocked at the present. Tliere was almost no demand for the last 3 or 4 weeks for our small packages— 1 iind 2 lb. jars. We sell for table use, and there is a very slow demand for such qualities as are used in barrels for manu- facturing purooses. Honey being pushed on the market in sucn quantities, Is sold at all prices, and our friends have the best show in the world for running prices down to a point from which they may be hard to recover. Our prices, of late, for extracted honey, have been *r(3i9c. on arrival, and for choice comb honey 14fa)16c. BBKSWA.X- Hasbeenin fair supply, and sold at 30®32c. for good, on arrival. Chas. F. Muth, NEW YORK, HONEY— We take pleasure in quoting the fol- lowing prices on honey, obtainable in our market : Fancy will tec lover, 1 lb. sections (no glass) 2()®2Ic; fancy white clover, 2 lb. sections (glassed) 18(S20c: fair white clover, 1 and 2 lb. sections (glassed) lii@ 17c.: fancy buckwheat, 1 lb. sections (no glass) 15c.: fancy buckwheat, 2 lb. sections (glassed) l3(a 14c.; ordinary buckwheat, 1 and 1 lb. sections (glassed) ll(ii)13c.; extracted clover honey In kega or barrels 9<" IOC. ; extracted buckwheat honey in kegs or barrels 7'^(d.sc. BEESWAX— Prime vellow beeswax 31@33c. H. k. & F. B. ThUUBER & CO. CHICAGO. HONEY— New crop of comb honey Is being of- fered, and some sales of It have been made at ](i(ti)l.sc in 1 and l**! frames. The receipts of ex- tracted are liberal, and there la a good deal of complaint about unripe honey; consumersholdlng off. Market, ;)(.i)li)c for white. Very little dark left, and some Inquiry for It. BEESWAX-30(!i35C. H. A. Bdhnett, 161 South Water St. SAN FRANCISCO. HONEY- Gloomy accounts continue to be re- ceived from the Southern coast counties regarding the honey crop. In the region of Tulare there is a good yield. Some Tulare comb, crossed and mixed, was placed at l.'-t'.'jc., and extracted of the crop of IMSl sold at 7i^c. White to extra white comb 16(§;20c.: dark to good KKjiiiav^c: extracted, choice to extra white 7iSi9c. ; dark and candled e]4@-. BBBSWA.X -Wholesale, 27(5l2Sc. Steabnb & Smith, 423 Front Street. ST. LODIS. HONBY-New, In liberal offering, but little sold in quantities— held higher: e.xtracted or strained at 7'^''tfi'i>c., and comb at lfangstroth. Appended to that article are remarks, credited to Mr. Langstroth, wljich do not deny the correctness of my position, namely, that the standard Langstroth frame should be 17^8 inches long, out- side measure, but simply that Mr.-L., at that date, preferred a frame I4' inch longer ! J5ut what Mr. L. pre- ferred, at that time, was foreign to the point at issue, as was fully ex- plained by me in an article on the same topic, on page 163, April Bee Journal for 1879, to which the reader is referred for details. As Mr. L. has never responded to that article, I have a right to assume that he be- came satistied that he did not fully underhand my position when he re- plied, as is clainjed, to my previous article. Now, let me examine the " reasons (?)" credited to Mr. Langstroth, why lie prefers a frame "^ '"ch longer than the standard : "Considering the ac- curacy which may be obtained in making the frames stiff and perfectly square, I jirefer the Hoot and New- • man measurements." Now, if any one can explain how the Langstroth frame can be made "stiff and perfectly square" with less trouble, or greater "accuracy," by making it simply >4 inch longer than the standard, he can do more than I or any one else whom I have talked with on this subject I If it be true that a longer and larger frame can be made stifler and squarer, and with less difficulty, than a shorter and smaller one, and that, for such " rea- sons (V) " simply, we should adopt the longer and larger frame for the stan- dard, then why not adopt the size and shape of the Langstroth frame pre- ferred by Mr. QuinbyV But this is also foreign to the subject— the text being, What are tlie correct dimen- sions of the standard Langstroth frame V and not what anybody "pre- fers," nor what shall we adopt as the standard. On page 163, April Bee Jouunal for 1879, the " Ed." appended some remarks to my reply to Mr. Langs- troth, from which I now quote : "Many will vary the size of the frame from y inch to 2 inches just to suit a notion, which should never be done. Nothing is more annoying than to have frames vary just enough to be useless for interchanging." I can endorse every word in that citation. I am satisfied that the frame n% inches long, now known to some as the "Root and Newman frame," was never made that length " to suit a notion," nor for any valid reasons whatever, nor for the purpose of ob- taining any advantages over the standard Langstroth, but simply be- cause it was copied after a blunder in the making of the standard frame, the blunder having Hrst been made by old man Blunderer himself ! The pretense that the length was changed from 17^8 to 17^8 inches so as to fit the one-pnund section is sheer nonsense, as Mr. Root made the blundered frame several years before a one-pound box was even thought of — in fact, the blunder was made more than ten years ago ! Mr. Langstroth is credited with saying that " Mr. Baldridge is in error." But in what respect V In re- gard to the correct length of the standard Ijangstroth frame V ]5y no means. 15ut simply "in error" that y inbh in the length of the frame destroys its " interchangeableness." Now, is that true V As the inside length of the box that holds the 1733 inch frames is IS'ii inches long (see page 381 of Mr. L.'s book), this would leave a space of only 14 inch between the ends of the \1% inch frames and the box. Now, is that sufficient space for a good practical hive V It may be for some, but it wont do for me. And if the frame, as well as the hive, are each made }4 inch too long, the pro- jections of the top-piece will also be 3.4 inch too long, and these must be cut off before such frames can be used in a box, properly made, to hold the n% inch frames. So it will be seen that the proper " interchangeable- ness" of the frames is very disagree- able to say the least. The 3il revised edition of Mr. Langstroth's book is dated March, 1859, over 24 years ago. But since that date there have been several editions published, and, I i)resuuie. one or more have been issued since Mr. L. is credited with what appears on page 427 in December Bee Jour- nal for 1878. In the 3d revised edi- tion, and iu every edition of that revised edition that I have examined, full and explicit directions are given for making what has become known as the " standard " Langstroth frame and hive, and I am not aware that any change has been given therein by foot note, or otherwise, in the length of the frames from 17% to 17% inches, nor in the dimensions of tlie boards that enter into the construction of the box that holds the frames. It is true that the book is " stereotyped," but that is no excuse for not calling atten- tion to the change in the length of the frame and the liive by foot note, or otherwise, if Mr. Langstroth thought such change was really to be desired. Now, when a writer of iiiHuence, like Mr. L., "prefers " a change, and es- pecially one of so much importance as a change iu the dimensions of a " standard " frame and hive for bee- keepers, he should not only give at least one or more valid reasons, in case he attempts to give any, for making such a change, but he, or his publishers, should likewise give jiroper notice of such change in his only authorized work on bees, so that the purchasers of the book will not be misled by its teachings. Either this should be done or else the sale of the book should be discouraged by the advocates of the " blundered " frame, which, perhaps, should iienceforth be designated as the Root and Newman " progressive " frame ! St. Charles, III. [" Mr. Baldridge is in error " in "presuming" that there have been "one or more" revised editions of Mr. Laugstroth'sbook published since the item from him was printed in the Bee Journal for 1878, page 427. No revision has been made since March, 1859. At our request Mr. Langstroth is preparing an article on this subject for the Bee Joubna-l, and one, we hope, that will forever settle this un- profitable controversy.— Ed.] For the American Bee JoumaL A Few Conundrums on Bees. A. E. foster. Wliv is honey like liberty ? Because eternal vigilance is the price thereof. Why is the bee business like a iioor man's purse 'r' Because there is no money in it; or to suit everybody, Why is a well kept apiary like an old cheese 'r' Because there are millions in it. Why are bees, during the honey season, like clowns "t' Because they are pleasant aii4 dark leather-colored Italian, as my experience leads me to think that black bees have % of the " bread and butter" qualities. 2. I select young queens to breed from that are "from 1 to 2 years old, as a rule,.with exceptions. 3. I do not like old combs to rear bees in, as I have seen combs old enough to dwarf the bees, that were hatched in tliem. If a good deal of age in combs will make smaller bees, will not a little help do the same thing ? 4. Before God gave the honey bee the command to gather honey from flowers, perhaps they lived on manna, buckwheat flour, maize, etc. I guess now almost any bee will gather tlie honey if God will furnish the shower. I for one will take my cliances on it. Dr. South wick's letter is as follows : The Careful Breeding of Bees. E. B. SOUTHWICK. Concerning the different strains of bees— the coming bee, the yellow, the leather-colored, the blacks, or this man's peculiar kind, or that man's extra bred, I never have expressed an opinion. There are so many writing on that subject, that there appears to be scarcely room for one who is as contrary as I am in everything ; but my ideas and opinions are always free when I have time to give them. It is my opinion that men, animals and insects (the bee included), are just what they are, through the force of circumstances ; that is, a family of man and its decendeuts can be brought to a high state of intelligence or size and strengtii, by circumstances, or they may be brought down to idiots or pigmys by circumstances. So it is with everything that has life, either animal or vegetable. The Italian bee, when brought to this country, had peculiarities that the blacks had not ; they were more docile and easier handled, and some other things that they were noted for, and puffed very highly, and sold at high prices, and the breeders and dealers gave them every chance to improve in the very qualities they were noted for, and the purchaser fave them the same extra chance, 'or instance, all the visitors were taken to see the new bees — the hive slowly approached, the cover carefully removed, the nice little fellows exhib- ited and carefully shown, witli their beautiful yellow rings and their mild disposition. But the blacks are ap- proached in a hurry, the hive jerked open, the smoke puffed in, the frames jerked apart, and everything done in a rough manner, for they are nothing but cross blacks, — not thinking that that is just what makes tliein cross. The same can be said of all other bees, that I have said of the Italians and blacks. 1 do not wish to be un- derstood that the foreign bee has no qualities superior to tlie blacks. I tliink they have, and I think the blacks have qualities superior to the Italians. I think that if either kind are taken, and in every respect given the best chance, they will become the best bees. In proof of that I will cite a case : When the Holstein cattle were first imported, a man bought a two-year-old heifer ; his neighbor had a common one of the same age ; they both came in at the same time. The neiglibor thought he would see what he could do with his, so he fed his stock plentifully with the best milk- producing articles he could get, which so increased the power of their milk- secreting organs, that the third gene- ration beat the Holstein in milk and price. But, of the particular strain, differ- ent men have, some one color, some another, and each contending that his or her yiarticular color is the best. To explain all. I will give you my opinion of Mr. Heddou's strain. He bought some black bees that were large and great honey-gatherers. The question is, how came they such ? My opinion is, that their race had, at some previous time, been located in a place where there was a continual flow of honey during the entire sum- mer, and, as they had continual work to do, they acquired the tiabitof steady industry, and, as they were continu- ally at work, their size, strength and ability to gather honey increased also, until they would outdo all others not under as favorable circumstances. Had they been light-yellow Italians, they woiild have been just as good and no better. His crossing with the Italians, I should care but little about. Others having extra strains of bees may have those that have been im- proved by some peculiar circumstance, and are really better than the com- mon bee. Bees that have good qualities that are the resultof long-continuedusage, are worth more, as it takes as long to breed out a good quality, as it does to breed it in, and they will retain these good points as long as circumstances will permit. You will perceive that in bees I have no respect to color or nationality; my bees are mostly Italians, but I have some blacks, and I would not ,wish to part with them, for I am alit- 'tle more certain to find comb honey with them, and I can make a little better exhibit of nice white comb honey from them than the Italians. Perhaps you would like to know what I think on the condition that will insure an improvement in any kind of bees. Well, I believe that a locality where there is an even and plentiful flow of honey from pussy willows in sprinsr, until frost kills the goldenrod and hearts-ease in the fall, is the best. This, witli even weather and light winds, I think, would insure improvement, without any orosses ; and did I wish to buy bees and knew of such a locality, and of bees that had been bred in-and-in there, for the last 10 years. I would buy, with my eyes closed to color or pedigree. You may ask if I think importation has done any good to the business ? I will say that I think it has much, and the importers are worthy of much credit for what they have done. Did. not the introduction of the Holstein heifer intothatneighborhood improve the milking qualities of the cows there ? Mendon, Mich. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 395 For the American Bee Journal. To. Michigan Bee-Keepers. PROF. A. J. COOK. We Michigan bee-keepers are un- foitunate this year, as the Toronto meeting of the North American Asso- ciation and our State Fair come at the same time. The American Associa- tion oilers great inducements. It is the first meeting held in Canada, and everything will be done to make it a grand success. The hope and pros- pect of having our great and vener- able Mr. Langstroth with us will give this occasion a rare prestige. I near of delegates coming from Flor- ida, Texas, and many from the States nearer by. Who will want to miss it '{ Our State Agricultural Society have done everything we have asked to make our State exhibition a glory to us and to the State, so we have extra inducements to remain at home. Some, of course, must do the one, and some the other. Now I wish to appeal most earnestly for all to do the one or the other. I would ask with equal emphasis that oiu' Michigan bee-keepers send to me quite accurate reports of the season's harvest, that I may carry up to Toronto a report that will do Alicliigan credit. The vice-president in each State should receive full reports from the various apiarists. Let me then urge all bee-keepers in every State to pay most earnest heed to these two valuable points. See that your own State Fair is grand in its honey exhibit, and that your vice- president goes up to the North Ameri- can meeting with a hat full of valua- ble statistics. In both these ways, apiculture will be greatly advanced. Lansing, Mich., July liS, 1883. For the American Bee JoumoL Size of Standard Langstroth Frame, w. p. T. I have been looking on at the con- trovesy on this question, and being somewhat interested in it, I have not failed to form my own opinion on the matter. It is true that my first knowledge of bee-keeping was re- ceived from the perusal of " The Hive and Honey Bee," which you will, per- haps, say " rs something akin to going back to the dark ages of the past." There appears to be something defi- nite and positive in the assertions and quotations of Messrs. Baldridge and Heddon, whereas there are doubt- ful and inaccurate statements on the otaer side ; thus " the last edition of Mr.Langstroth's book (the fourth) was published about 2-5 years ago ;" on reference, however, I find that the thml edition was published in 1863. In commencing I tried to make ray hives from Mr. Langstroth 's descrip- tion, but in 1869, I sent to Messrs. Langstroth & Son for a pattern. This, when received, I found to be some- whar different from the hive de- scribed, the back and front were of 1% inch stuff, which admitted of deeper rabbets for frame ends. Thin strips of hard wood were put in for the frames to rest on, and instead of the large triangular top-bar, a small piece was worked out of the top-bar for comb guide. In fact, it might be said to be " the improved Langstroth hive." But with all these clianges the dimension of the hive ISig, and the outside dimensions of the frame 17?8 were preserved. With this model I went to work and made hives and frames, and it was not until some years later, when I got a supply of frames from a dealer, which were made up and used without measur- ing, that I discovered that the bees would almost invariably stick these last named frames fast, and that they were I4 inch larger than those received directly from Mr. Langs- troth. I look upon it that the 4I4X4I4 section had nothing to do with the maker, being of much more recent introduction, and again, the frame as sent out by its inventor, was only \&% inside (vide third edition, page 372). I have now a lot of the M^^ frames on hand, which I will not make up, finding that it does as stated by Mr. Baldridge, " destroy the intercliange- ahleness," and if any one doubts it, let him try to use a 'il% inch frame in 18^8 inch hive, for I do not see that it has been asserted that Mr. Langs- troth has sanctioned a change in the size of the hive. Ontario, Canada, June 25, 1883. [The only thing worth commenting upon in the above communication, is the mistake made by W. P. T. about tlie third edition of Mr. Langs- troth's book being published in 1863. If he will take the trouble to look at page viii. of the " Preface," he will see that Mr. Langstroth's Preface to his last edition is dated " March 1859 !" The date on the title page is the date when a fresli supply was printed from the old plates. It is therefore not an "inaccurate statement" to say that " the last edition of Mr. Langstroth's book, (the fourth) was published about 25 years ago"— the full 2-5 years being up next March. — Ed.] For the American Bee Journal. Side Storing Sections a Failure. J. CBAYCRAFT. The controversy between Dr. South- wick and Mr. Demaree is very inter- esting, and each can and will be sus- tained by the voices of many bee- keepers. I take sides with the shal- low frame for this latitude, but not so long as the standard Langstroth ; greatly preferring a frame of the same depth, 9%xVSl4^ as being far better for the prodiiction of comb honey and building u|), in the spring ; tlie space being more compact, requiring a less number of bees to keep a given space the proper degree of temperature, at a time wlien all the working bees are needed in the fields ; and for success- ful and economical queen-rearing, it is far ahead of the standard Langs- troth. I think the Doctor's digres- sion, on page 369, fits the experience of many bee-keepers that use the broad section frame. I have tried both to my sorrow and loss, this sea- son, here in the apiary of Dr. Allen. I find it almost impossible to get bees to work above in a 10-frame Langs- troth hive, until you have sections drawn out in the broad frame below, on either side of the brood, first re- moving three frames, and then you will find pollen, and sometime eggs and brood, in them, when you remove them above, and by the time you have had all this work done, and the three frames replaced, and the bees at work, you will have lost the best part of the season (at least here, where clover is our crop). I do not think I could ever make a success in the produc- tion of comb honey, in the broad hanging frames for sections. I have removed all of them from my hives, and will pile them up as relics of the dark ages, in bee-keeping. I hope many of the readers of the Bee Jouknal will take the advan- tages offered on page 366, to attend the Kentucky State Bee-Keepers' Convention to be held at the Exposi- tion building in Louisville, Ky., Aug. 29 and 30, and also avail themselves of the opportunity of exhibiting their bees there. This will be a grand opportunity for queen breeders to show their stock. The secretary. Dr. N. P. Allen, Smith's Grove, Ky., ex- . tends a cordial invitation to all bee- keepers to come and be with us, and help to make this a grand show of our little industrious friends. The honey season is about over here, with the exception of some of our finest colonies, that are still building comb and storing honey in sections from the red clover, of which there is an abundance here. I wish our bees were only all " red clover' bees ;" they are " the coming bee." Smith's Grove, Ky., July 30, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Changing a Standard. S. GOODRICH. The question of a standard frame has been agitated through the columns of the Bee Journal for sometime, and each advocate of a standard frame would, no doubt, be very glad to have the fraternity adoi)t a stan- dard frame, provided "it should be his particular "pet frame,'' but how many would be willing to make a cliange. Take the class of men who have several hundred colonies, or even 50 colonies, it would be attended witli considerable expense ; then if the " standard " should happen to be a larger or longer frame than the one they were using, the real expense would be greater than to the party that is now using a larger or longer frame than what would be decided as a standard. In the former case the lumber in the hives might be a total loss, where, in the latter, much of it could be worked over. 396 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. I imagine there are but few of us who would feel that we could stand the expense and trouble of changing, and should a standard be adopted just after a poor honey season, then to have this expense stare us in the face, I doubt whether there are many of us that would be zealous enough in the cause to make any change, but let us look at the otiier side of the picture. Apiculture is but in its in- fancy in this country. Every practi- cal apiarist can see at a glance the advantages to be derived from the use of a standard frame, both to themselves and the fraternity in gen- eral, to manufactories, supply dealers, and all who want a dollar's worth of fixtures. I would suggest that this matter be brought up before the coTivention at Chicago, this fall. Let there be a committee appointed to hear the arguments in favor of each frame, by its friends, and select one as a stan- dard. Let this decision be tinal. Let every member of the society work for this frame to bring it into general use. It is natural for every man to tliink he has the best frame, and has his reasons forthinkingthusly. Let such put in an appearance at the conven- tion in Chicago, this fall, and satisfy this committee that he has the best frame, all points taken into considera- tion, and he will, undoubtedly, have the tionor of introducing tlie " stan- dard frame of America." 1, for one, hope that some of the leading apiarists of the country will take up and push this matter of a " standard frame " to a tinal settle- ment, and d»• ■ Subscription Credits.— We do not acknowledge receipt of each subscrip- tion by letter. The label on your paper, or on the wrapper, shows the date to which your subscription is paid. When you send us money, if the proper credit is not given you, within two weeks thereafter, on your label, notify us by postal card. Do not wait for months or years, and then claim a mistake. The subscrip- tion is paid to the end of the month indicated on the wrapper-label. This gives a statement of account every week. i^May we ask you, dear reader, to speak a good word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at least one new subscription with your own '/ Our premium, " Bees and Honey," in cloth, for one neiv sub- scriber to the Weekly, or two for the Monthly, besides your own subscrip- tion to either edition, will pay you for your trouble, besides liaving the satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bee Journal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. 400 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Bingham Smoker Corner. Large Saiokers need wide shields. BiDKtiam'B have them, and sprlnifs that do notrust and break, and bellows that sparks and smoke do not enter. The Conqueror has all improvements made to date, and a 3x7 inch stove, and 5x7 Inch bellows. Sent post-paid for SI. 75. Address. BINGHAM & HETHEEINOTON, Abronia Mich. The Very Best. The Bingham "Conqueror" smoker is the very best thing 1 have tried in that line. M. M. Lindsay. Fulton, Tenn., July 24, 1883. All Excelling. — Messrs. Bingham & Hetherington, Dear Sirs : — I am now selling your Smokers almost ex- clusively. You are excelling your- selves in smokers all the time. Respectfully, J. G. Taylor. Austin, Texas, May 10, 1883. Cyprians Conquered. All summer long it has been " which and tother " with me and tlie Cyprian colony of bees I have — but at last I am "boss." Bingham's " Conqueror Smoker " did it. If you want lots of smoke just at the right time, get a Conqueror Smoker of Bingham. G. M. DOOLITTLE. Borodino, N. Y., Aug. 15, 1882. During the following three months, Bingham Smokers will be sent post- paid, per mail, on receipt of the fol- lowing prices : The "Doctor"., (wide shield)— 3mn. Are tube. J2.00 The Conqueror (wide shield)— 3 in.flretube, 1.7.S LarKe (wideshiekl)- ".^Hln. Are tube, 1.50 Extra (wldeshteld^u in.Ijretube. 1.25 Plain (nar. sliieldi— 2 in.flretube, l.tKi Little Wonder, mar. shield)— liiln.tiretube, .65 Bingham & Hetherington Uncapping Knife.. 1.15 With thanks for letters of encour- agement, and the absence of complain- ing ones, we tender to our thirty-five thousand patrons our best wishes. Very Respectfully Y'ours, Bingham & IlExnEKiNGTON. Abronia, Mich., June 1, 1883. Special Sotice.— We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bek Journal for one year, and the seventh edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, bound in fine cloth, for $2.75, or the Monthly Bee Journal, and the Manual in cloth for $1.75. As this offer will soon be withdrawn, those who desire it should send for the book at once. ®" Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra. Sample Copies of theAMERiCAN Bke Journal will be sent free to any per- son. Any one intending to get up a club can have sample copies sent to the persons they desire to interview, by sending the names to this office. Emerson Binders — made especially for the Bek Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-pnid, for 75 cents, for the Weekly ; or for the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. 1^ The new two cent rate of pos- tage for letters goes into effect on October 1. Three cent postage stamps will then be but little used. For all fractions of a dollar sent to us here- after we should prefer eitlier one-cent, or else live or ten-cent postage stamps. Do not send coins in any letter. ^" Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1883 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. Advertisements intended for the Bee Journal must reach this office by Saturday of the previous week. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on whicli are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 per 100. BOND & PEARCH, (ESTABLISHEU 1860.) 163 S. Water Street, CHICAGO, COMMISSION MERCHANTS, Make a Specialty in HONEY. Consijjnments solicited. "Will make liberal advan- ces on shioments. fW~ Refer to Hide itnd Leather National Bank. 32A4t TBtf BEF8 FOR SALE .-](«) colonies of Bees In Modeet fruniea (size I ixii'L^i, niuai ly Hybrids. Also 1:^0 Modest Hives citniplete. Price, fa.ifi. A. E. WUOI>WARI>, GKOOM'S CORNKHS. Saratutia Co.. N. Y. PRIZE PENS. Tested Prize Queen, in a 2- frame nucleus, ;txi 7, each, f4 (iTi Same in nucleus, 4 fra., 8x8, 4 ealer« tne Iknzenur Hundred. ¥ (^ OLDEST BEE PAPER^ IN AMERICA ^m^^&. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., AUGUST 15, 1883. No. 33. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, A Few Seasonable Hints. The usual dearth of honey in Au- gust set in a few days earlier than usual, and caused a stoppage of the honey flow in many localities- strong colonies have been gathering barely enougli to supply the daily wants— and others have been living on their stores already collected. Sweet clover, catnip, mustard, etc., have been in bloom, but only yield sparingly of honey as yet— tlie weather has been too cool to allow the nectar to be abundant in them. In some cases, through carelessness in opening hives, robbing has been induced. In other localities but little cessation has been observed in the honey flow. Mr. Dougherty thus describes the matter in the Indiana Fanner: It is encouraging to know that we have escaped the drouth which usually occurs during the latter part of July and first of August, while, of course, the bees ceased to gather a surplus, they have secured suflicient to keep them breeding right along. This en- ables the weak colonies to grow in fine condition, and putting the small after-swarms in fair condition to take advantage of the fall flow of honey, which, in most localities, promises to be exceptionally good, while in others insures a good supply of winter stores. Weak colonies or nuclei can be built up very fast now. If you have empty comb or foundation to give them, they will build up rapidly on a moderate yield. Good colonies can spare a frame of brood and honey every few days which, if given to nuclei, will build them up very fast. And just now is the time to begin to prepare tor winter. See that all colo- nies have good laying queens, and that the queen has room to lay. If you have more colonies than you want double up the weak ones, making one good one, selecting, of course, the fullest and best frames, for the one hive. The honey market is developing— and there is some call for honey, but it is too early yet for a very extended sale. We hope that bee men will see to it that the local markets are well worked up, and then there will be no fear of overstocking the large markets, and thus running the prices down. A beekeeper, who called at our oflice last week, reported having worked up a nice trade in a city near by, and he confidently expected to sell not only his own crop in that way, but also the crops of all his neighbor- ing bee-keepers. The pamphlets on " Honey as Food," that he had dis- tributed to those he interviewed, had made mucli inquiry and consequent sale of honey. That is the way to do it— work up the local trade, and see that the surrounding towns are fully supplied. ®° Mr. W. Chitty, organist at Pewsy, Wiltshire, England, has sent us a copy of his newly-arranged music for the " Te Deum Landamus." It is partly founded on an air from Mendelssohn, and chiefly composed by Mr. Chitty, who will send it by mail for 12 cents, to any address. It is an excellent piece of music. 1^ The new two-cent postage stamp is to be of a metallic red color, with a vignette of Washington. It will supersede the present three-cent stamp on the 1st of October. 1^ The pamphlet" Honey, as Food and Medicine "is an excellent thing to give away at Fairs, where a good exhibit is made. A thousand copies will sell almost a fabulous quantity of honey, if judiciously given— say jfjyem to every one who buys a package of honev Try it. 1^ Articles for publication must be written on a separate piece of paper from items of business. Trial Trip-25 Cents. As the season for Fairs has arrived, and wishing to be able to reach S6.veral thousands of the old-fashioned bee- men, and by the aid of the Uee Journal to lift them up to higher ground, adopting newer methods and progressive ideas, we make the follow- ing very liberal offer : We will send the Weekly Bee Journal t/iree ?noH«/w 0)1 trial, for 25 cents. In order to pay for getting up Clubs, we will give a copy of Fisher's Grain Tables, or Scribner's Lumber and Log Book, to any one who will send us five trial subscriptions (with $1.25) ; for a club of ten we will give a cloth copy of Bees and Honey ; for a club of 15, a cloth copy of the 7th edition of Cook's Man- ual of the Apiary ; for a club of 25, we will present both the Manual and Bees and Honey. If any one wants these Books for nothing, here is on excel- lent opportunity to get them for a little exertion. 1^ It is unwise to rush the honey into the market as soon as it is gath- ered, for it will cause a temporary glut in the market, and run the prices down. As soon as the fruit season is over, it will sell more readily. 1^ Speaking of the usual August dearth in honey, an exchange remarks as follows : There is, during August, a notable scarcity of honey flowers. This dearth commences sometimes in July. When this absence of bloom occurs, the bees are idle, and with this comes a conse- quent indolence of the queen. It is desirable to provide artificial pasturage. By proper planting, we may have nectar-secreting bloom all the season, and there will be no need of supplemental feeding. The Syrian bees seem to breed on all the same whether there are flowers or not It IS probable that in the desert regions of Syria, natural selection has pro- duced this race, well fortified against those famous famines which, of old sent the patriarch to Egypt for bread and corn. 402 fHE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Local Convention Directory. 1883. Time and Place oj Meetint. Ami. 14.-CortlHnd, N. Y. Union, »t Cortland, N. Y M. C. Bean, Sec. Auli. 29.-S. W. Iowa, at Ked Oak^Iowa.^^^_^ ^^^ AUK. 29.-Iowa centra,. am^nter,et^Fair^Gronnd». Aiii? •^\ so —Kv. State, at Louisville. Ky. Aug. -J, JJi. jivj; ^^^^^ ^^^ amith's Grove. Ky. Sept 4 -N. W. Iowa & S. W. Wis., at RIdot, III. aeiu. ■». jonatbau Stewart, 8eo. aant l-'-14—Tri-State, at Toledo, Ohio. Sept. 1- ^.^ ^fg Mason, Sec, Wagon Works, O, Sent 18-20.-North American, at Toronto. Ont. aept. lo ^". ^ I Root, Sec, Medina, O. Oct. 9, lO.-Northern Mich, at iiherldan Mich OR. Goodno, Sec. Carson Ulty, Mich. Oct. 17, 18.-Northwestei-n,j5t Cn^ca^go^Ul.^^ g^^ Oct.-Northern Ohio, at Norwalk, 0^^^^^_^ ^^^_ Deo 5-6, Michigan State, at Flint. ueo. o-o, miv. ^ j^ Cutting. Sec, Clinton. Mich. B?" In order to have this table complete. Secre- taries are requested to forward full particulars of time and place of future meetings.-KD. Posey County, Ind,, Honey Show. The twenty-fifth annual fair of the Posey County Agricultural Society, to be held at New Harmony, Ind., on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Sept. 11, 12, 13 and 14, 1883. The premiums for bees and honey are as follows : Stand of Italian bees $2 00 $1 00 Stand of native bees 1 00 50 Imported or Italian bred queen .- • J, "0 5U 20 pounds of honey,in comb 2 00 1 00 20 pounds honey, extracted 2 00 1 00 5 pounds beeswax 1 00 so Beehive ■■ ■ 1 ^ ^0 Display of apiary imple- ments j- Foundation for brood- chamber 1 00 50 Display of comb and ex- traded honey 2 00 1 00 5 pounds honey in comb. . . 1 00 50 5 pounds of honey, strained 1 00 50 Each exhibitor to arrange and take care of his own exhibit. We understand that Mr. J. M. Hyne, of Stewartsville, Ind., will make an exhibit, and sve hope others will do so, and that the display will be very sweet and enticing. ^- The new Postal Note will be obtainable in a few days at the Post- offices all over the country. Then any sum from one cent to Ave dollars can be sent in a letter, by obtaining a Postal Note, costing only 3 cents. After October 1, small sums can be easily sent to this office for 5 cents (3 cents for the Postal Note and 2 cents postage on the letter), and there will be no need of sending postage stamps in letters, which often get »till stuck together by the damp weather, or being handled while perspiring. Mailing Uneens to Canada, It has been the practice, for some- time, for breeders to send quetiis by mail to Canada, and usually they are never heard from after, on account of their being unmailable. A breeder suggested, a few weeks ago, that the rate of 10 cents on samples of mer- chandise should be paid on queens, and to satisfy him we made a state- ment in the Bee Journal to that effect. Now, we have an official letter from Joseph H. Blackfan, Esq., superintendent of foreign mails, on the matter. It was written in reply to a question from Mr. J. Rutherford, of Buffalo, N. Y., relative to sending queens by mail to Canada. Mr. Ruth- erford placed the letter on our desk, for the information of breeders gen- erf«lly. It is as follows : Washington, D. C, July 17, 1883.— Sir: In reply to your letter of the 14th inst., relative to the refusal of the postmaster of Buffalo, N. Y., to receive, for mailing, a package con- taining queen bees addressed to Can- ada. I have to inform you that the transmission of articles of merchan- dise by mail between the United States and Canada is limited, by the postal arrangement in force between the two countries, to bona fide trade patterns or samples (specimens) not ex- ceeding 8 ounces in weight ; and that articles of merchandise, such as queen bees, sent for sale, in execution of an order, or as gifts, are not bona fide samples, and are not transmissi- ble by mail from one country to the other. If queen bees have been forwarded by mail between this country and Canada, except as bona fide trade sam- ples, they have been so forwarded either througli inadvertence, or in disregard and violation of the postal arrangement referred to. I am, very respectfully, your obei- dent servant, Joseph H. Blackfan. Supt. of Foreign Mails. Fairs.— To any one exhibiting at Fairs, we will send samples of the Bee Journal and a colored Poster, to aid in getting up a club. The Premiums we offer will pay them for so doing. For a club of 8 subscribers to the Monthly Bee Journal, or 4 Weekly, we will present Dzierzon's Rational Bee-Keeping, price $2.00. Houey Wanted ! ! —That sounds well. Two weeks ago an advertiser wanted some tons of extracted honey. This week an advertisement may be seen on page 412, calling for tons of comb honey. It can easily be obtained, and the honey this season is magnilicent. That is universally conceded. Dividing Colonies. The Indiana Farmer remarks as follows on judiciously dividing colo- nies, and the effect of such dividing on honey gathering : Artificial swarming or dividing is much preferable to that of natural swarming, when rightly understood ; but by those who will not stop to think or learn the laws of instinct by which the bees are governed it cannot be successful. Only yesterday we were called upon to hear the griev- ances of a brother bee-keeper, who had lost almost the entire honey crop of this season, by his manner of dividing. The first principle, the key to success, is in keeping the old bees and the old queen in the new hive. That is where the work is to be done, and where the working bees and queen should be put. In making divisions not more than one frame of brood should be taken from the old hive ; then move the old hive to the new location, leaving the new hive on the old stand, thus throwing all the working bees in the new hive where the work is to be done. The few bees left, and those hatching, will be able to do all the work necessary in the old hive until the advent of the new queen. Our friend mentioned above took exactly the opposite plan, and the old hives with all old bees commenced throwing off swarms as fast as the young queens hatched. Nebraska Bee and Honey Show. I desire to call the attention of the members of the Nebraska State Bee- Keepers' Association, and all others engaged in apiculture, to the liberal premiums offered by the Nebraska State Agricultural Society in Class VII., entitled " Bees, honey and apiarian goods," and especially the premium of $25 offered for the best colony of bees. The test of colonies will be net gain, and will be weighed and sealed Aug. 28, and weighed again Sept. 11. Each colony must be the progeny of the queen and colony on trial. All shipments -in this de- partment can be made to the Hon. B. E. B. Kennedy, superintendent of Class VII.; and the bees should be on the ground on or before Aug. 27. All other articles may be entered, up to noon of Sept. 10. M. L. Trester, Sec. N. B. K. Association. Greenwood, Neb. J 1^ The pamphlet, "Honey, as Food and Medicine," is in such de- mand, that we find it necessary to print them in still larger quantities, and can, therefore, still further re- duce the price, as noted on page 411. Let them be scattered like " autumn leaves," and the result, we feel sure, will fully reward honey-producers for both the labor and the small expense. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 403 Bees and Honey at Louisville. Under this heading Mrs. L. Harri- son, of Peoria, HI., makes the follow- ing pertinent remarks : It is comforting to know that in some parts of this coinitry at leas>t, if not in Illinois, the production of honey is worthy of a place among other industries. During 1881 and 1882, acing as viee-presiclentr of the North American Bee-Keepers' So- ciety for this State, we interviewed the Board, requesting a building, or a separate apartment, for the honey exhibit, also that special premiums be allowed. The prominent bee- keepers of this State, with one excep- tion, responded liberally to the application for special premiums, as did also the editor of the American Bee Journal, and those of other States. The request was denied, but a mollifying ointment given instead, by more than doubling the premiums ever before offered for this exhibit. As the present incumbent is a man endowed with a vote, greater things were expected ; but in looking over the catalogue for the coming fair, it is apparent that the old ground is maintained, but no more territory is acquired. The great Southern Expo- sition at Louisville, Ky., (as we see by the Louisville Courier Journal of July 8), apprecicates the importance of honey production. It says: "While ever day during the Exposition, from Aug. 1, until the closing, will be full of the most interesting features, cer- tain days have been set apart for special "attractions, which will be of direct interest to a large number of people. The programme, on the opening day, will be very elaborate. Business throughout the city will be suspended, and the Exposition will be opened by the President of the United States. On Tuesday, Aug. 28, begins a week known as ' Bee- Keepers' and Horticulturists' week.' Prizes will be awarded, and arrange- ments have been made by the Ken- tucky Bee Association to have many hives of many kinds of bees within the grounds." Horticulture and api- culture are Columbia's twins, united by inseparable ties, the severance of which would result in the death of both. Then let the devotees of each worship at the same shrine, regardless on the one hand of the grub in the core, as well as the sting in the narra- tive of the other. We were rather astonished when Mr. J. Rutherford, of Buffalo, N. Y., called on us last week, and said he had started for the Louisville Expo- sition to make an exhibit of honey, but owing to having received the fol- lowing letter, he had concluded not to go. The letter was in reply to an application for space, and is from the general manager, and reads as follows: J. RuTHEUFOKD, EsQ.— Zlear Sir: We cannot accept your exhibit unless you pay $25 and lo per cent, of the gross proceeds. J. M. WRionT. Gen. Manaqer. The Basswood or Linden. The following parody, says the B. K. Magazine, was read at a national con- vention at Cleveland, Ohio, about ten years ago. The wonderful yields of honey from basswood (linden) taken for three successive years by J. W. Hosmer, Esq., of Janesville, Minn., has made his fame as a bee-master proverbial, and the recital of the facts by Mr. Hosmer himself, •so worked upon the poetic feelings of Mr. Whit- ford, that he at once transformed a sublime poem, recounting the results of the conflict of mighty armies at war into that of a more numerous host busily engaged in pursuing the arts of peace : On Linden when the sun was low (All ready were the combs of snow) The bees began a feat to show, Of honey salhering rapidly. 'Twas noon— and yet the July sun Was half bd crops every time, and this season eclipses all previous ones with theiu. in quantity. Their quality cannot be excelled. We have had very large arrivals, and. our commission houses being well supplied, the market is overstocked at tlie present. There was almost no demand for the last 3 or 4 weeks for our small packages— 1 and 2 lb. jars. We sell for tsble use, and there is a very slow deiiiand for such qualities as are used in barrels for manu- facturing purposes. Honey being pushed on the market in such quantities, is sold at all prices, and our friends have the best show in the world for running prices down to a point from which they may be hard to recover. Our prices, of late, for extracted honey, have been 7(«,ttc. on arrival, and for choice comb honey I-t(«il(lc. RKKSWAX-Hasbeen in fair supply, and sold at 30&32C. for good, on arrival. CHA8. F. M UTH. NEW VORK. HONEV— We take pleasure in quoting the fol- lowing prices on honey, obtainable in our market ; Fancy white clover, 1 lb. sections (no glass) 2(i(^!'.21c: fancy white clover, 2 lb. sections (glassed) IHdluoc; fair white clover. 1 and 2 lb. sections igliissed) ie(^ I7c.: fancy buckwheat, 1 lb. sections (no glass) 15c.: fancy buckwheat. 2 lb sections (glassed) 13® 14c.: ordinary buckwheat, 1 and 1 lb. sections (glassed) iKrtJlsc: extracted clover honey in kegs or barrels 0(c. for prime lo pure yellow. B. A. Bdrnett. nil South Water St. BAN FRANCISCO. HONEY— Gloomy Accounts continue to be re- ceived from the Southern coast counties regarding the honey crop. In the region of Tulare there It a good yield. Some Tubire comb, crossed and mixed, was placed at 13)i>c., and extracted of the crop of l«Hi sold at 7Hc. White to extra white comb 16(«2(ic.: dark to good lfi&i3Hc.: extracted, choice to extra white 7c., and comb at iHc. Lots in fancy pack- ages bring more in a small way, while old and inferior sells less. BBKSWA.X— Inactive and easy. at27(328c. W. T. ANDERSON 4 Co.. 104 N. 3d Street. CLEVELAND. IIDNEV— New honey contituies In good demand at IHi't'ltto. for choice 1 lb. sections, and such are reanily placed as fast as received: 2 lbs. not so ac- tive, at ll>(«(lHc. Sec-ml quality sells I4(aiI7c. Ex- tracted not in demand, BBBSWA.X— None in Market. A. c. KENDEL. 1 15 Ontario Street. BOSTON. We quote our market prices, as follows : White clover, tine II). combs 2O((022c : white clover, 2 lb. combs IM^.'j'ic: extracted t'roiu H'ditle. HI':i<)S\VA.\ -Our supply Is gi)ne: we have none to quote. CKOCKEH & Bi.AKK, 57 Chatham Street. 404 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For the American Bee Journal. Miscellaneous Experiments. FRANK R. ROE. 1. Some aie in doubt as to whether a swarm of bees will issue from a hive and go off without settling ; but they undoubtedly will, sometimes, and that, too, oftener than some esti- tuate, as it has been placed at not more than one in every hundred. For several years past, we have had a swarm or two (out of no more than 2o or .SO) to " try it," and they suc- ceeded pretty well this season, as we had a large swarm to come out, and I saw them issue ; I watched for the queen, but did not get her, and they started off immediately. I succeeded in cutting off about one-third of them bv throwing part of a " potato patch " at them, but the rest seemed determined to go, and I was just as determined to see where they were going; so I followed after them two miles, over fences, through flax, oats, barley, corn, woods, logs and brush, and had to ford a river besides, and then did not get them, but 1 found out that they did not intend. to just go a little ways, and then settle before going to their new home. The en- trance to the hive they came from is % of an inch wide by 8 inches long. Ttiey had a pure Italian laying queen with them. Oh, yes I I must tell how long it took me to go the four miles- two there antl two back — it took just three-quarters of an hour. The rea- son I came back in such a hurry was, I had left a swarm hanging on a limb in the bee-yard, and the bees I had cut off from the swarm that went to the woods, settled with. them. I had only been back about a minute when they began to come off the cluster. I grabbed a basket, rushed up the ladder, which had been placed tliere before ; shook what few remaining bees tliere were in it, then poured them in the hive they came from, and by throwing water at the remainder, while they were low, and clubs after they had got out of the reach of water, we succeeded in settling them again. Moral.— When a swarm tries to go off, it does not pay to give up until the last minute. 2. 1 had a queen to hatch, after which the cap to the cell sprung back, the bees tlieu sealed it up and swarmed. There was no other cell, and no larvaj in the hive. 3. After a queen had hatched from another cell, a worker bee was sealed up in it, and I had anothercase where a colony was buildingcellsand sealed a worker up in one. Why did not those workers gnaw out, the same as a queen V They were both dead when I found them. If I had not peeped into the hist inenlioned cell, I would have inserted it in ii nuclei, and waited for a queen to hatch. 4. When I am in doubt as to whether a cell is good, or do not know when it will liatch, I open it on the side with a sharp knife and look in, then seal it up again, and if a good job is done, the occupant will never know the difference, but a good job must be done, or the bees will tear the cell down. It can be done by warming a knife blade and running it over the place. I have taken queens out into my hands three or tour days before their time to hatch, and then put them back and sealed them up, and they hatched as if they had never been disturbed. 5. I had two swarms issue at once and settle together, and as they settled on the body of a tree, I smoked them into a nail-keg and tied burlap over the top, so that I could bring them down. As dinner was ready, I set them in the shade, and when I came back, you may just guess the tempera- ture was " up " in that nail-keg. The most of them sought refuge in the bottom, without tinding it. When I 'poured them out they were wet all over with honey, and the honey also ran out of the keg in a stream. They had taken it from the hive before swarming, and when they began to get too hot, they disgorged it. There was scarcely any of them dead when I opened the keg, but they nearly all died soon after. 6. The reason why some swarms will sting, and others will not while swarming, is this : If the hive from which they issue is well tilled with honey, they will Hll themselves before coming out, and a bee, gorged with honey, will not sting from choice; while upon the other hand, if there is scarcely any honey in the hive when they swarm, they will not be filled, and are in perfect trim for stinging. Joidan, Ind., July 2-5, 1883. Read before the Te.xas Association. Comb or Extracted Honey. W. K. MARSHALL. The question whether comb or ex- tracted honey will pay best, is one that is attracting the attention of bee-keepers. To decide this question we must take all the surrounding circumstances into consideration. It is admitted that comb honey will sell higher than extracted. In a locality convenient to market, where the honey would not have to be trans- ported any distance, or handled often, it might be doubtful which would pay best. It is admitted that bees will gather more extracted honey than comb; with comb foundation, how- ever, the amount would not vary so much. Say that a colony would pro- duce 100 pounds of comb honey, and that it would bring 20 cents per pound, making §20, it would require the same colony to produce 200 pounds at 10 cents to bring the same amount. The expense in producing the comb honey is greater than that of ex- tracted. The sections and cases in which to pack it, would cost say 2 ci'iits jier pound. The difficulty in transporting comb honey any distance to market, is so great that for those at a distance from market it amounts almost to a prohibition. I have never been able to transport comb honey any distance without having it broken and injured, so as materially effect the sale. I believe the only way to market comb honey safely is to go with it, and handle it yourself. Taking into consideration the additional ex- pense of produoiug comb honey, and the difficulty of getting it to market, I am convinced tliat our true policy is to work for extracted honey. There may be exceptions to this rule ; there may be localities where there is a de- mand for comb honey, and not much for extracted honey. The demand for extracted honey has been largely oil the increase, and there has been more and more demand for it every year. I believe ihe demand for it will very soon be unlimited. The ease and comparative cheapness of send- ing it to market, and the fact that a colony will produce decidedly more honey, all combine to point us to ex- tracted honey as our principal produc- tion. We can, for the present, And a market for all we will produce near home. Extracted honey, at present prices, will pay. Anything like a good colony ought to produce 100 pounds, which, at present prices, would be $10. This, after deducting all expenses, ought to clear $5. This is a moderate calculation, and I think could be realized with anything like good management. Marshall, Texas. For the American Bee JuumaL Italian and Hybrid Bees, etc. S. A. SHUCK. I have found bees in the timber in Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. Seven years ago last April, I purchased my first colony of bees for the purpose of studying and prac- ticing modern apicujture. Tliey were the so-called brown bees, in box hives. My first young queen mated with a hybrid drone, giving me bees that, one in every 25 or 50 showed the so-called second yellow band. Since then, I have had hybrids of every grade, from black and brown queens to Italian queens. I have owned black, brown and Italian bees, that at certain times in the season I could, without ditficulty, handle without smoke, while many of the same bees, at other times, were intolerably vicious when disturbed. I have to-day, in my iipiary, Italian bees, or those showing all the necessary markings in color, and that, too. without the window or " stufiSng " tests ; that with honey coming in, as it is, in abundance, can be called amiable and well behaved, but under destitute circumstances, it is almost out of the question to handle them without pro- tection. I have others, Italians, that in all weather that is fit to handle bees at all, and from the point of starvation to honey in the greatest abundance, can be handled without smoke or protection. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 405 In 1881, 1 had as fine hybrid bees as could have been found anywhere. They were excellent honey-gatherers and comb builders, produced in the same way that the " celebrated red clover strain," mentioned in the Bee JouKNAL not long since, was pro- duced, by crossing the large Italians with the brown bees ; that is, I guess, they came in this way, as they were the Italian queens, producing very large hybrid bees that were gentle and " boss " workers when there was plenty of white clover and basswood. The stripes on tliem were very dark, and much smaller tlum "kittens," and they did not have very long hair on their " hind legs,"' and when the extremely hot and dry weather set in, they " sat " in (their hives) ; while our Italians that did not appear to do near so well during clover and bass- wood, went far and near visiting every nook and corner in search or tlie scanty bloom ; maintained their stores and gained a moderate supply for winter. These hybrids consumed their stores in brood-rearing, and for winter supplies had plenty of bees and empty combs. Tliis was not all, shortly after the bloom failed, two of those hybrids swarmed, another two balled and killed their queens, but tire Italians "toiled leisurely on." In 1880, a friend and I purchased a selected imported queen, that I have mentioned before in the Bee Jour- nal. She was one of the most pro- litic queens I have ever seen, but her bees, which were gentle and excellent workers, spent nearly all their ener- gies in the early part of the season, in brood-rearing. They were the most excessive builders of drone comb I ever saw, and while other queens in my apiary refused to lay drone eggs until their hives were crowded with bees, this queen would occupy every available cell. For these reasons I discarded the imported stock. Besides the qualities of the imported stock, the bees were small and the drones very dark. I made the discovery in June, 1881, that I was losing ground by breeding from imported stock, and during the remainder of the season I disposed of all the daughters of the imported queen but three. During July and August, 1881, 1 reared several queens from the best home-bred stock I had, for the express purpo.se of producing my drones in 1882. In the spring of 1882, drone combs were excluded from the few colonies of hybrids and imported stock, and supplied in abundance to tliose from which we wanted drones. Our queens of 1882 were all reared from four home-bred queens. About 10 per cent, of our queens mismated. Tlie hybrids were all destroyed last fall. Two queens were superseded late in the fail, and the young queens both mismated, one of which was destroyed this spring, so that, to-day, in 56 colonies, we have but one hybrid queen. For two reasons I have given the above short history of my efforts in breeding for good bees. 1. To give the reader some knowl- edge of my experience with bees. 2. That a comparison of ray experi- ence with that of those whose ex- perience appears from time to time in the Bee Journal, and who are advocating hybrid bees may be had. It is not my intention in this com- munication to discuss the merits or demerits in a definite way of either hybrids of Italians, but I wish to drop a few hints tliat may tend to encour- age apiarists to think solidly for themselves, and not allow others to tliink too much for them; and to do tliis in a practical way, I will in- troduce a question here. If such a happy hybrid cross can be " hit upon " so easily as some of our bee-keeping friends are contending for, why is it that, with Italian bees in this coun- try for more than 25 years, our most prominent beeders have never made the discovery i And, again, if such hybrids are so easily produced, why is it that younger apiarists like myself and hundreds of others wlio are read- ers of the Bee Journal, cannot pro- duce the same results, especially when we have the instructions how it is done repeated over and over again, to us y Tliese hybrids have been represented as the " celebrated red-clover strain," and " the coming iiee;" yet the re- ports in honey from those having this "celebrated" stock are no greater than the reports of novices. Italian bees from my apiary, numbering 100 colonies or more, have worked on red clover every season since I pur- chased them. I have not had time yet this season to visit the fields, but some of my neighbors told me yester- day that the yellow bees were work- ing on the red clover " thickly." Hybrids from our bees, as would be expected, work largely on red clover, and I do not see why hybrids from any other good strain of Italians should not work on it. One tiling about red clover, but few apiarists seem to have realized, and that is its failure to secrete nec- tar. Our bees have worked on it best when the weather is warm both day and night, and making the most thrifty growth. Cool nights stop the secretion of its nectar, and there are but few plants that fail as quickly in dry hot weather aT red clover. Bryant, 111., June 18, 1883. For the American Bee JoumaL The Humidity Question. s. corneil. The relation of the humidity of the atmosphere to the mortality of bees in winter, is referred to by the writer of " Bee Notes " in the American Ag- riculturist for January and February last, and quotations thereform appear on page 68 of the present volume of the Bee Journal. After very fairly summarizing some points in an arti- cle of mine on page 728 af the Bee Journal for 1882, he says : "The writer then asserts that in those winters most remarkable for bee mortality, the air has been very moist. We have the data whereby this can be determined, as in this place the condition of the atmosphere as to moisture has been recorded daily for 19 years. We will compare the figures with the loss of bees, and give itto the readers of the American Agri- culturist mY^hvyvAxy. If this be true, it shows well why sub-earth ventila- tion has been so successful, as by that method the air is kept from getting moist. The appearance of the bees that die of dysentery is also favorable to this view. They look dropsical, and seem fairly oozing with liquid excreta." In his " Notes " for February, he says: "An examination of the con- dition of the atmosphere, as to the point of saturation, shows that there 13 not the least evidence in favor of the idea that excessive moisture was in any single case the cause of the great losses of bees. It also appears that in all the seasons of bad winter- ing, severe cold was experienced. It is further shown that when the cold occurred early in the winter, the mor- tality commenced at an early period. If late, the bees did not appear dis- eased till near the end of the winter." I find no fault with the criticism, but the records examined must have been very different from those of the Signal Service in connection with the War Department at Washington. The Chief Signal Service Otiicer of the United States Army has, at the expense of a great deal of trouble and labor, very courteously supplied me with data from which I have com- piled the accompanying table, an ex- amination of which will show that at most points the humidity, as well as the cold in the winter of 1880-1, was ex- cessive. The temperature for each mouth of that winter has been com- pared with the monthly average at each station since it was established, and so with regard to the relative humidity. In the columns for tem- perature the tigiires preceded by the minus sign indicate that the tempera- ture was so many degrees colder tlian the average. Those having the plus sign signify the reverse. In the col- umns for humidity, the figures pre- ceded by the plus sign indicate that the moisture was so much in excess of the average, dry air being repre- sented by 0, and the point of satura- tion by 100. Those having the minus sign show th;^.t the air was so much drier than the average. The way in which cold and mois- ture affect bees injuriously in winter, I conceive to be somewhat as follows. But tirst let me say that I tliink it is fully established tliat the tempera- ture of a cluster of bees is not con- stant, like that of mammalia and birds, but varies, through a consider- able range, with the temperature of the surrounding air, yet never falling as low, as in some of the lower orders of the cold-blooded animals, without producing death. It is also estab- lished that bees do not hybernate per- fectly, but are at all times more or less active ;uh1 consume food, and that this activity and consumption of food are increased by severe cold. Since severe cold reduces the temperature of the bees, the air permeating the cluster will also have a lower tempera- ture, and will, in consequence, have 406 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. TABLE — Showing tlie average Temperature and Relative Humidity during the Winter Months, also the Monthly difference from the average, and the total difference for the winter months at the respective Stations durmg the winter of 1880-81. c o NAME OF STATION. O h ^ =:? = < Deg. Denver, Col.... '32. 5 51. NewLonclon,Ct;31 .571 . Bismarck, Dak. !l4. 180. Dead wood , Dak 26 . 2 63 . Pembina, Dak.i 6.4 91 Yankton, Dak. 122.2 67. Cairo, 111 J40.8 72. Champaign, 111. 130.8 69 Chicago, Ill....'30.0-" Ind'napolis,Ind 34.4 DesMoines, Ioa:28.0 Dubuque, Iowa26.5 Keokuk, Iowa. '31.1 DodgeCity,Kasl33.9 LeavenVth,Ks*32.9 Eastport,Me... 24.2 Portland, Me .. 28.0 Boston, Mass . . 29.7 Spr'field, Mass. 130.0 Detroit, Mich.. 28.4 Escanal(a,Michll9.2 GrHaven,Mich28.3 Marquett, Michi21.2 Pr.Huron,Michl26.2 Dulutli, Minn.. 118.1 Mooreird,Minn|10.7 St. Paul, Minn. 20.6 72 FAssimb.Mont 20.9:60 F.Benton,Mouti20.9 68 DECEMBER, 1880. 2- to as Deg. - 0. - 3. -10. - 4. - 3. .3!— 6. .4— 5. 8 — 7 7i— 5. 6— 8 0-4 6-7 ol 4 el— 6 5-4 ffi !:0 S^UARY, H > o + 8.0 0.2' + 5.4' 4.8 + 3.1 1.6 0.7 4.8 — 3. — 1.6 0+ 1.2 rt.Keogh,Mont Helena,N,Mont N.Platte, Neb. . Omaha, Neb. . . Albany, N.Y.. Buflfalo, N. Y . . New York.N. Y Oswego, N.Y. . Cincinnati, O. . Cleveland, O... Columbus, O. . . Erie, Pa Philadelpha.Pa Pittsburg, Pa. . Newport, R. I.. Burlington, Vt. La Crosse, Wis. Madison, Wis. 20.968. 24.4!64. 27.864. 27.7,70. 27.269. 27.7,77. 32.9i75. 28.872. 38.2 67. 30.076. 34.6170, 31.0 77, 34.8 33.8 33.3 24.6 24.1170 25.7i73 — 0 — 2 — 4 4 5 3 4 — 3 5 4 Milwaukee, WiS|25. 5 Cheyenne, Wy. 28.7 Toronto, Can ..125.2 77.8 — 1 2 — 7 — 0.7 + 1.3 + 1.5 + ~ " — 4.8 + 9.0 — o —13 —12 — 7 —13 — 7 — 6 — 3 — 6 — 5 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7 — 7 — 5 — 5 — 4 — 4 — 6 — 7 — 5 + 0 — 4 Deg. - 1 - 4 - 8 - 7. - 5 -10. - 7. - 4. - 6. -» 6. FEBRUARY, 1881. d; to 6g Deg. 0+ 7.3— 3.: &— 2.9+ 0 6:+ 8.6— 3 «a £s Sa 7+13.9 - 0.7 + + 5. 0. 4+ 6. — 7.2 6 7 3 0— 1.0 9+8,5 ,6+ 7.2, 4+ 7.9 4!— 18 3 3 0 0 4 3.61 - 1.7! + 1.7 -- 1.4 -- 0.6 -- 2.6 4!-- 2.5 .8— 1.8 .7-1- 3.7 .5— 0.8 .2+ 0.6' .51^ 1.3, 3+ 5.01 7 7 - 6 - 2 - 1 - 4 - 5 - 7 - 8 - 6 - 7 - 6 - 7 - 4 - 7 - 5 - 3 -11 - 5 - 7 -10 - 3 - 6 - 4 - 5 - 4 - 6 - 7 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 8 - 9 - 5 - 1 - 6 2 + 3 4.4 0.5 3 11— 6.3 — 0.6 — 0.3 3.7 — 2.5+12. + 2.' — 7, 2.5 — 1.8 + 0.3 — 3.0 — 3.2 — 5.2 — 3.7 + 0.6 + 4.2 — 1.7 — 1.4 81— 1.7 3+ 2.1 2—13.7 4— 0.1 6+ 4.8 MARCH, I88I. Eg ta 0 O C »- fflis ^ CD £2 da 5 + 1 + 2 0 1 0 4 3 5 3 2 5 ,7 ,5' ,3l .7-0 .9+1 .1I+ 4 .Oj+ .9 + :St ■5 + .31+ ■7 — •7 + ■3 + 0,+ -5.5- + + -2.6 + Deg. — 1. + 1-7| + 1.5 2— 1.3 0+ 5.2 — 7.31 + 2.5 — 4.2' 3^3 3.8 7.0 3.3 4.5 2.5 4.0 + 4.3 + 5.1 + 1.9 + 1.1 + 0.9 + 1.0 — 0.9 — 0.4 — 1.4 + 3.0 — 0.3 + 3.11— 0 + 7-4i— 1 + 9.8+ 0 + 3.8:— 10 0.9+ 2 1.0— 3 1.8;- 1 1.3— 1 WINTER OF 1881. 03 S - o,ti» OJ 0) C CH >2, |£ Deg. 7—1.7 5—1.8 0—5.2 — 3.8 + 7 + 9+13 2+10 2.1 + 2.7 + 1.2 + 5.5 — 0.1 + 4.1 — 0.5 — 2.1 + 4.6 '^l- + 0.2 - 1.3;- + 2.0I- + 3 1 -- 3 o 2 5 4 1 .0 .1 .1 .3 .91+13.3 .9 + 4.5 .61- 4. .2|— 1.8 7;— 8.2 7I+ 3.9 3 0 + 2 5 2, 3 5, 3 3, 4 2 8, •2+4 8+0 5+3 •1+1 0+ 4 •7+ 3 .2+5 .3+2 .8!+ 4 1.4 + 0, 5.4 + 3 — 5 + 1 -- 7, --12 --11 — 2 — 4 — 3 + 3 1 — 2.4 + 0.8 — 2.3 — 2.7 — 4.0 — 2.2 — 1.2 — 1.8 + 0.5 + 2.1 — 1.9 — 5.1 — 1.3 + 0.3 + 0.9 + 4. +n 6, +8. +0. +5- +7. 0. K +0. —5.2—1. ■5.8!+2, ■7.2 -1-3. +1. +0 —3.8 —0.3 —7.8 —4.6 —5.7 ■Zss. " Binnham s •'Conqueror Smoker ' did it. If yciu wHiit lots of smnke just it tlie riKht time. iZfi i C'lnquerur Smoker f Bin^ihum. G. M. DOOLITTLE Borodino. N. '^ Aug. 15. 18Hi. ExCELMNG All — Messrs. Bin^'hiim &■ Hetherington. Dear Sirs:— I am nt)w sell in B your Smitkers al- most excluslvel v Y 'lu are excelling yourselves In smuk ers all the rime. •""Tg't^vVor Patented, 1878 Austin, Texas, May 10. 1N'?3. The OrlElnal BINGHAM Bee Smoker The Very Best.— The Bincham "Conqueror" Smoker Is the very best thing I have tried in that line. M. M. Lindsay. Fulton, Tenn., July 24, 1883. During tbe following three months, Bingham Smokers will be sent post- paid, per mail, on receipt of the fol- lowing prices : The "Doctor". . ( wide shield)— aH in. fire tube, fS.nC) The Conqueror (wide shield) — 3 In.flretube, l.T^ Large (wideshield)- 2^in. Are tube, l.-'io Extra (wldeeliteld)— :! In. tire tuhe, 1.125 Plain...* (nar. shieldi— 12 In.flretube, J.ih' Llttlevv'onder. .(nar. shield)— 1?| in. flretuije, .Ht BinKhum & Hetherington Uncapping Knife. . 1.15 With thanks for letters of encour- agement, and the absence of complain- ing ones, we tender to oiir thirty-five thousand patrons our best wishes. Very Respectfully Yours, Bingham & Hetherington. Abronia, Mich., June 1, 18S3. Special Notice.— We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bee Journal for one year, and the seventh edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, bound in fine cloth, for $2.75, or the Monthly Bee Journal, and the Manual in cloth for $1.75. As this offer will soon be withdrawn, those who desire it should send for the book at once. ^r Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra. Sample (Jopies of the American Bee Journal will be sent free to any per- son. Any one intending to get up a club can have sample copies sent to the persons they desire to interview, by sending the names to this ollice. Emerson Binders — made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-pnid, for 75 cents, for the \Veekly, or for the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. ^" AVe carefully mail the Bee Journal to every subscriber, but should any be lost in the mails we will cheerfully send another, if notified before all the edition is exhausted. Advertisements intended for the Bee Journal must reach this oflice by Saturday of the previous week. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 per KXI. GOHBHONET WANTED. We are prepared tu purchase liirjie lots of Fancy COMB HONE V in 1 and 2 lb. sectioi s, or Harbison frames, for which we will pay an advance nf 5 ete Ser pound ovpr New Vork prices. CASH OK >fc:r.lVERT' in sound condition in London; the price of extrar-ted honey will be paid for all broken combs. This is an excellent opportunity for bee-keepers wishini? to visit Europe, ('orre- spondence solicited. W. M. HOOE *fe CO., The Apiary, Leconfleld, Rd. N., 33Atf LONDON. BNaLAND. JOB PRINTING. HONEY LABELS A SPECIALTY. SE:isriD 'S'o:r fuxce: list. GEO. M. GRAY, 33ABlt MEDINA, OHIO. ITALIAN BEES AND QTTEENS.-One Queen, not tested, f l.a.); tested, *2.W). Bees, one colony, tT.'ni; five colonies or more, f6.50 each. S. A. 8H1TCK, 33D2t BRVANT. Fulton Co., ILL. W. Z. HUTCHINSON, RoKersvIlle, Geuesee County, Mich., Makes a Specialty of rearing tine ITALIAN QUEENS. All Queens bred frt>ui imported queens, and from the pureist and best home-bred Queens, and the cells built in full colonies. No black bees in the vicinity. Customers can have either light or dark Queens. Orders tilled Pi-omptly. Single queen $i.(n.); six queens for frt.oo; twelve or more, 75 cents each. Tested queens, $\.50 each. Safe arrival guaranteed. "All Queens sent out are reared by himself." Make Money Orders payable at FLINT, MICH. aiDtf THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL AND BEE-KEEPER'S ADVISES. The BUITISH Bee Journ.-H, is published month- ly, and contains the best practical inforniHtion for tne lime being, sliowinw what to do, and when and how to do it. Be%'. II. R. PEEL. Editor. We send tlie Weekly A.mekk'an Bee J^hthn'al and Uie lintisti BteJourrml. Utih tor$3.oo a year. BEFS FOR SALE.— 1(K) colonies of Bees in Modest frames (size 11X12!.^), most I v Hybrids. Also 1:20 Modest Hives complete. Price, $3.<.t0. A. E. WOODWARD. 32A6t GROOM'S CORNERS, Saratoga Co., N. V. BEES and HONEY, Management of an Apiary for Fleaanre and Profit ; by THOMAS C. NEWMAN. Editor of the Weekly Bee JourrulL 9S5 treat Madison Street, Chlcafo, III. Mrs. J. F. Upton gives the follow- ing notice of this book in the Bath, Maine, Sentinel : A guide to the management of the apiary for profit and pleasure, by Thomas G. Newman. This work is designed to initiate beginners in bee- keeping in all the secrets of success- ful bee-culture. Beginning with the different races of bees, the author takes his readers along step by step, carefully explaining the different kinds of bees, illustrating each kind with the eggs and brood, explaining tlie terms used, the production of wax and comb, and the work done by these wonderful insects. The estab- lishment of an apiary is next con- sidered ; the best location, time to commence, how many colonies to be- gin with, what kind of bees to get, how to care for a lirst colony, keeping bees on shares, changing the location, all of which it is indispensable for a beginner to know. It is also impor- tant to know which kind of hive is the best, how to procure the best comb honey, how to procure it for market, how it should be marketed, what to do with candied comb honey, and how to extract honey. The scientific man- agement of an apiary is then entered into, and illustrations of all the nec- essary applicances introduced. There is a chapter devoted to the honey ex- tractor and its use, and another to comb foundation and its use. The various honey-producing plants and trees are named and illustrated. Various methods for exhibiting bees and honey at county and state fairs are described. The best and safest plans for wintering bees are discussed, the book closing with some general advice to beginners. The author says of his book on Bees and Honey, " it was not designed to supersede or sup- plant any of the valuable works on apiculture already published, but to supply a want for a cheap work for the beginners." We most cordially rec- ommend this work not only to begin- ners, wlio will find it invaluable, but to all who are not already familiar with the lives and movements of these industrious and intelligent little workers. The information to be gained as to their habits, manner of breeding, intelligence, energy and wonderful instincts, by reading this book alone, is enough to make one regard the bee with admiration and amazement. PRICE— Bound in cloth, 7S cents ; in paper covers. SO cents, postpaid. THOMAS e. NEWMAN, 9'25 W. Madison St.. Chicago. 111. A Liberal Discount to Dealers hy the Dozen or M undred. .^. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., AUGUST 22, 1883. No. 34. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, Canada Thistles for Honey. Dr. J. C. Thorn, of Streetsville, Ontario, has written to the Canadian Farmer, wondering why the Canada thistles should not be ipentioned in the newest bee books among the honey-producers. It has often been mentioned in the Bee Journal as such, but as it is an objectionable pest, and should not be encouraged, even if it is a good honey-producer. The Doctor says : I can only account for the omission of any notice in these works of a very important source of honey in Canada by the supposition that it is rare in in the United States. As the States of Michigan and Kew York are our immediate neighbors, 1 am at a loss to understand why it has not yet crossed the borders and taken the oath of allegiance, it being essentially aggressive, migratory and tenacious in its characteristics. It is now naturalized over the large extent of country, extending from Quebec to Sarnia. Its flowering season extends from the latter end of June to the same time in August. It may be fairly relied upon for a continuous flow of honey. It ranks, in my esti- mation, scarcely second to clover and basswood. During the season of 1882, when all other sources of honey seemed to fail in this region (even clover and bass- wood), the thistle came to the rescue of 100 starving colonies in my apiary, and in the space of 1.5 days they had accumulated from that source alone sufficient winter stores. The present season, with an abundant flow from clover, and a partial one from bass- wood, the thistle has as usual made its delicious aroma perceptible in the extractor, making glad the hearts of bee-keepers. The honey from this source is rather thinner than that from clover, clear, not inclined to granulate, of a delicious flavor and aroma, only to be recognized by those who have passed through tields of ripening grain purple with thistle heads nodding to the breeze. Beeswax.— Concerning the boiling of beeswax and preparing it for the market, an exchange remarks as follows : It is found that the larger the cakes of wax are the better it keeps, and the higher price it brings. Also, that the more gently it has been boiled, the better it likewise is ; for too hasty boiling renders it hard, and this in- creases the difficulty in bleaching it. The Premium List of the Maine State Agricultural Society is received. It shows premiums amounting to $60 on bees and honey. Any one inter- ested can get a premium list by sending to Mr. A. L. Dennison, Sec, Portland, Maine ; or to Mr. Horace B. Cony, Augusta, Maine, who writes us as follows : " While our premiums are small compared with other States, still it issomething,andif bee-keepers will attend and exhibit, we can do better hereafter. This is our first attempt, so we could not expect much." Ontario Convention. The third annual general meeting of the Ontario Bee-Keepers' Associa- tion will meet in the City Hall Toronto, on Tuesday, the 20th day of September next, during the second week of the Industrial Exhibition. As the North American Bee Keepers' Covention meets at the same time and place, it has been arranged that the two bodies hold joint meetings in discussing matters pertaining to our common interests, as the leadmg bee- keepers of America are to be present. This will, undoubtedly, be the most interesting meeting of apiarists ever assembled in Canada. The venerable Mr. Langstroth and all the prominent bee-men of the United States are ex- pected to be present. A profitable time is anticipated, and a good turn- out requested. The convention will last three days. A meeting for the purely business work of our associa- tion will be held sometime during the convention, of which due notice will be given. R. McKnight, Fres. Ontario Bee Association. Preparing Bees for Winter. In the American Agriculturist for September, Prof. Cook writes thus : The apiarist should prepare his bees for winter as soon as the frost makes all farther gathering of honey im- possible. Examination will show whether there is sufficient honey stored to winter the bees. If the frames, just as they are taken from the hives, containing bees, honey and comb, weigh 30 pounds in the aggre- gate, then the^jp is enough honey. If not, good thick honey, or thick syrup, made by dissolving granulated sugar, should be fed at once, so that all cells may be capped over before the cold days of October check the labors of the hive. It is best that the honey be so abundant in the frames that we need not give the bees all the frames used in summer. It is better to use not more than 7 or 8 Gallup or Ameri- can frames, and not more than 5 or 6 Langstroth frames These are con- fined by division-boards. It is best to carefully exclude pollen. Frames of pollen are set aside, to be returned when breeding is resumed the suc- ceeding spring. The bees may easily change the position of the cluster in the cold days of winter, and it is desirable to cut small holes the size of a thimble through the combs, an inch or two above the centre. Cover above the bees with sacks of dry sawdust, which should be long enough to reach over the division-boards and to the bottom of the hive. These protect the bees from the extremes of heat and cold, and promote bealthfulness. Thus prepared, the bees to be wintered in chaff hives on their summer stands, will need no further care until the succeeding April. If the bees are placed in the cellar, they need not be touched again until just before winter comes, when they are to be taken in. W Mr. E. F. Smith, Smyrna, N Y., writes: "I should have been more explicit about my report. The colony, and its increase, have given 761 pounds to date. My apiary report will soon be forthcoming, and will show more than an average of 200 pounds per colony. 414 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Another Bee Paper Dead. It is but a year ago that we cbroni- cled the death of the Bee-Keepers'' In- structor, which died for the want of sufficient support; now the Bee- Keepers' Exchange has died from the same cause. Tlie Bee and Poultry Magazine of New York City will fill out the unexpired subscriptions, and thus none of its subscribers will suffer pecuniary loss. Mr. T. O. Peet, the late editor of the Exchange, in the Bee and Poultry Magazine for August,says: We remember writing, when the Instructor collapsed, that it was, per- haps, a victim to the law of the " survival of the fittest," and made our braes that the Exchange stUl lived. We did not think then that ere a year had elapsed we should be writing the obituary of the " -Bx- c/iauge," but so it is, and it corrobor- ates the fact that we know very little of the future, and should be very careful how we talk and presume upon it. and join in the bonds of unity the bee-keepers of the entire country, and thus aid the advancement of apicul- ture every where — for unity is strength ; division is death. Good.— The Fremont. Mich., Indica- tor, of Aug. 9, says : George Hilton has taken 1,833 pounds of suriAis honey up to Aug. 4, from his 3.5 colonies of bees, spring count, ile says, judging from the amount now on hand, that they will double the amount before the season closes. His apiary now contains 58 colonies. On Aug. 11, Mr. Hilton wrote us as follows: "I have to-day taken 383 pounds more of as fine comb honey as I ever saw, making 2,216 pounds up to date. Bees are still doing some- thing on white clover. Our fall fiow has not commenced yet." Trial Trip-25 Cents. "One comes and another goes." During the past year two bee papers have ceased to exist, but still the number remains the same as then, for two more have been born during that time— the Apiarist in Maine, and the Apiculturist in Massachusetts. For some years there has been a mania for starting bee papers, which live but a few months or years, and then *e for want of support. Which one is next to succumb, we know not, but we expect " the survival of the fittest." The two that have lately died were selected to receive the support of the "co-operatives;" whether this was " the last straw that broke the camel's back," we do not know, but certain it is that they gave up the ghost in rapid succession. We learn that the co- operatives are casting around to make another selection for their or- gan-but it will be wisdom for the papers so approached to beware, and profit by the fate of those tliat have preceded them as organs of discon- tent. Bee-keepers generally have no relish for such elements of discord, and will surely stamp their disappro- bation by withdrawing their support from papers that encourage discord and malevolence. It will be far better not only for their personal comfort, but also for the public good— if these men will cease their efforts to set the bee- keepers of the East and West at variance, and unite heartily in every good work to extend the usefulness of the bee periodicals now existing. As the season for Fairs has arrived, and wishing to be able to reach several thousands of the old-fashioned bee- men, and by the aid of the Bee Journal to lift them up to higher ground, adopting newer methods and progressive ideas, we make the follow- ing very liberal offer : We will send the Weekly Bee Journal three months on trial, for 25 cents. In order to pay for getting up Clubs, we will give a copy of Fisher's Grain Tables, or Scribner's Lumber and Log Book, to any one who will send us five trial subscriptions (with SI. 25) ; for a club of ten we will give a cloth copy of Bees and Honey ; for a club of 15, a cloth copy of the 7th edition of Cook's Man- ual of the Apiary ; for a club of 25, we will present both the Manual and Bees and Honey. If any one wants these Books for nothing, here is on excel- lent opportunity to get them for a little exertion. Bee'Convetion at Toledo, 0. The next annual meeting of the Tri-State Bee-Keepers' Association will be held en the 12, 13 and U of next Sept., during the week of the Tri-State Fair at Toledo, Ohio. It is customary to say that Messrs. So and So, " and other prominent bee men will be i*-esent," etc., etc. Well, we have quite a number of " prominent , bee men " (prominent at home) in this region, and they know how to raise the bees, get the honey, cure foul brood, and winter the bees too ; but if Mr. Heddon is well enough to be at the meeting and the fair, we will pump him on wintering, and Mr. Math on foul brood, and Novice, if here, on general principles, and the the editor of the Bee Journal to fill in where the rest lack. We do not expect to have any long essays or speeches. It being the week of the fair, we expect the great attraction for bee-keepers will be the Bee and Honey Show, and such bee-keepers and their friends as desire to stay several davs can bring their " eat- ables" and blankets with them, and camp on the fair grounds. One or more tents will be provided for such as make application to me a few days before the fair, at a cost that will pay for the use. of the tents, but we hope to be able to borrow tents and so save expense. A premium is offered for the foun- dation machine making the best foun- dation for the brood-chamber on the grounds, and two mills have already arrived for that purpose, and the makers of three other machines have promised to be here if possible. A premium list with entry blank rules and regulations, railroad fares, and freight rates, etc., will be sent free to all applicants. Dr. a. B. Mason. Wagon Works, Ohio. 1^ The Mendota Union Fair will be held at Mendota, 111., Sept. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and Sth, 1883. In the department for the apiary we notice the following premiums, Mr. H. W. Wixom being Superintendent : Best and ereatest display of honey. ...... .15 $3 BestBamiileof honey, not leaa than 5 lbs. 3 2 Best awariD of bees ■ -• 3 - Best bee hive for all purposes, combined.^ l Best display of bees.hives and surp. honey. Diploma Committee— M. S. Tinker, Mendo- ta ; Andrew Winters, Mendota ; Jos. Lewis, Arlington. ^- Articles for publication must be written on a separate piece of paper from items of business. 1^ The new two-cent postage stamp is to be of a metallic red color, with a vignette of Washington. It will supersede the present three-cent stamp on the 1st of October. Fall Catalogues.— We have received Catalogues of Strawberry Plants, etc., for the autumn of 1883, from B. H. Haines, Moorestown, N. J., and Ell- wanger & Barry, liochester, N. Y. Fairs.— To any one exhibiting at Fairs, we will send samples of the Bee Journal and a colored Poster, to aid in getting up a club. The Premiums we offer will pay them for so doing. For a club of 8 subscribers to the Jlonthly Bee Journal, or 4 Weekly, we will present Dzierzon's Rational Bee-Keeping, price $2.00. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 per 100. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 415 A Clergyman's Success with Bees. The Iowa City Eepuhlican has a long article concerning the apiary and management of the Rev. O. Clute, in that city, from which we extract the following : Our townsman, Rev. O. Clute, has for several years made bee-keeping a recreation. Many gentlemen get re- laxation and amusement with the horse, the gun, or the lishing-rod. Mr. Clute gets it among his bees. And in his case the pleasure brings profit also, for he makes bee-keeping a financial success. , A year ago he began the season with no colonies of bees, 80 in his apiary, and 30 in charge of Mr. Ed. 1 ouiikin on College Hill. The spring and early summer, last year, were most unfavorable for bees. The weather was cold and the rain was excessive, but by daily feeding he kept his bees rearing large quantities of brood, so that they were very strong in bees. After the middle of June the weather became favorable, and the wliite clover bloomed in great profusion. The constant rains of spring and early summer had satur- ated the ground so that the clover re- mained in bloom a long time. It yielded honey well ;"and the linden or basswood also yielded well. From these two sources an excellent harvest was secured. In favorable seasons there Is a good flow of honey here from the fall flowers, including asters, golden-rod, ligwort, boneset, sunflowers, Spanish- needle, heart's-ease, and some others. In this locality heart's-ease is found in large quantities. Last tall it seemed especially abundant. The Irost held off until late, so that the season was long. The clover, the linden, and the fall flowers combined, gave a splendid honey yield. When the season was over, the crop from the no colonies was found to be a little over 17,000 pounds, an average of 1.54 pounds per colony, spring count. In addition to this yield of honey, the stock of bees was nearly doubled. A part of this excellent success was due to the good management given by Mr. Ed. Younkin to the 30 colonies in his care. From these he obtained more than 6,000 pounds of honey, a little more than 200 pounds per colony. He doubled the stock of bees also. Mr. Younkin had for his share one- half of the honey and one-half of the increase of bees, which gave him a very good return for his summer's work. Mr. Clute manages his apiary mainly for extracted honey, which he thinks is more protTtable in this locality than comb honey. Not nearly so many pounds of comb honey can be obtained per hive, and it is more dif- ficult to store it after taken from the hives, to prepare it for market, and to send it to market in good condition. The extracted honey is simply thrown out of the combs, run from the extractor directly into nice kegs or barrels, bunged up, rolled into the store room, and gives no further trouble. When time for marketing comes, it can be weighed, loaded on a dray, sent totlie railroad station, and go thence around the world with no loss for broken combs and mussed honey. Within a few years the production of extracted honey and the demand for it have assumed large proportions. It can never supersede comb lioney, for the latter has excellence and beauty which will always be in de- mand. But the demand for extracted honey will, in a few years,' be im- mensely greater than it is now. Peo- ple are learning that it is a delicious, healthful, and cheap article of food, and are beginning to use it in place of the inferior and unhealthy syrups with which the market has of late years been flooded. Visit to a Scientific Apiary. The Bloomington Pantagraioh of the 9th inst., contains the following ac- count of a visit to Mr. H. W. Funk's apiary : A party of bee-keepers, about 15 in number, "left Bloomington about 8:30 a. m. yesterday for a visit to the apiary of II. W. Funk, 9 miles north- west of Bloomington. Arriving about 10 o'clock, they met a cordial recep- tion from Mr. and Mrs. Funk and their two daughters. The apiary con- sists of about 140 colonies of Italian bees. These are placed on a level plat of ground some 60 or 80 feet square, completely covered with saw- dust, and as clean as a house floor. Not a sprig of grass is allowed to grow on the plat. The hives are all painted white and set in straight rows running north and south, each row covered with an awning high enough for a person to stand under it. Mr. Funk opened hive after hive, showing beautiful Italian queens. Some of them he values as high as f 20. A visit to his honey-house was the next in order, where the visitors saw some 6,000 or 7,000 pounds of nice honey, mostly comb honey in sections aiid extracted, in packages of from small sizes to barrels of 5o0 pounds; also a foundation pres.s, large quantities of wax and every appliance required for an extensive apiary. They then visited the vineyard, about two acres, with a great variety of grapes, the vines looking splendidly, but some of the grapes blighted. Dinner was now announced. And such a dinner ! The reporter will not attempt to describe it, but the company will bear him out in .saying that there was nothing lack- ing in the substantials and delicacies of the season. The company then ad- journed to the parlor and had a bee- keepers' meeting, at the close of which a committee was appointed to draft resolutions of thanks to the members of the family for tlieir hos- pitality. But we must not omit the visit to the flower garden, wliere the guests saw an immense variety of flowers and a great variety of honey- producing plants. The last thing was sampling Mr. Funk's wine, but the reporter not being a good judge in such matters, will not attempt a com- Elete description. The visitors finally ade adieu to the family, with pleas- ant recollections. ^° Do not send coins in a letter. It is dangerous and increases the postage unnecessarily. Always send postage stamps, for fractions of a dollar, and, if you can get them— o«e-cent stamps ; if not, any denomination of postage stamps will do. Honey and Beeswax Market. OFFICE OF AMERICAN BEB JOURNAL, ( Monday. 10 b. m., Aug. 20, 18«3. f The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. Our prices, of late, for extracted honey, have been 7@9c. on arrival, and for choice comb honey Hffillfic. BR ESWAX-Haa been in fair supply, and sold at 30®32c. for Kood, on arrival. Ohas. F. Mdth. NEW VORK. HONEV— We talte pleasure in quotlnn the fol- lowing prices on honey, obtainable in our market : Fancy white clover, 1 lb. sections (no glass) 20@21c; fancy white clover, 2 lb. sections (glassed) 18(g)20c: fair white clover, 1 and 2 lb. sections (glassed) I(3@ 17c.: fancy buckwheat, 1 lb. sections (no glass) 15c.: fancy buckwheat, 2 lb. sections (glassed) 13(^ Mc. ; ordinary buckwiieat, 1 and 1 lb. sections (glassed! il(<))13c.: extracted clover honey in kegs or barrels ()'('; IOC. : extracted buckwheat honey in kegs or i^arrels 7^'i^(($— : BEESWAX— Wholesale 27(3280. Stearns & Sjiiith, 423 Front Street. ST. I.OUIS. HONEY— New. in libera) ofTering, but little ^-old in quantities— held higher: extracted or strained at 7vi:<',H^c., and comb at IBc. Lots in fanfy pack- ages bring more in a small way, while old and inferior sells leas. BKESWAX— Inactive and easy, at 27(a2fic. W. T. ANDERSON i Co.. 104 N. 3d Street. CLEVELAND. HONEY'— New honey continues in good demand at lHirt)l:tc. for choice l lb. sections, and such are reariily placed as fast as received: 2 lbs. not so nc- tive, at liKiilMc. Secnnd quality sells 1-I(ijil7c. Ex- tractetl not in demanil, BKESWAX— None in Market. A. C. Kendel, 115 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONEY— We have had a shipment the past week from J. E. Crane, and a good sized shipment from J. v. Caldwell, of Cambridge, 111., whose honey we, had last year. We quote our market prices, as follows : White clover, one lb. combs 2(Ktti22c ; white clover, 2 lb, combs IH(.«20C,; extracted, Oft^iuc. BEESWAX— Our supply Is gone: we have none to quote. Crocker & Blake, 57 Chatham Street. 416 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For the American Bee JoumaL My method of Introducing Queens- G. M. DOOLITTLE. By referring to page 344, the reader will see how I made my nuclei by placing a frame of hatching brood in a wire cloth cage, so made that it would hang in a hive like a frame. After the cage had been left in tlie hive 5 or 6 days it was found well filled with young bees, whicti would always stay when put. Then by E lacing a queen-cell nearly ready to atch in the cage at the same .time, with the frame of hatching brood, this nucleus would have a queen 4 or 5 days old when the nucleus was formed. This was as far as 1 had got at that time, but the next trial proved that 1 had not yet found out all the good points of my cage. About this time I made.a queen nursery according to the description given in Alley's book, and had therein several young queens three days old. By tiie way, the Alley nursery is tlie nicest of anything of the kind 1 ever saw, and is well worth several times the cost of the book to any one who desires to rear from 50 to 100 queens. As soon as your cells are sealed, they can be placed in the nursery, and the queens kept until you wish to use them, by simply placing the nursery in any hive having sufficient bees in it to keep up the desired warmth. But to return : At this time, as I placed frames of hatching brood in my cages, I let one of those young queens three days old run into the cage. In G days the frames and cages were taken out of the hive in which they were placed, and put in hives where I wished my nucleus to stand, by withdrawing the frame from the cage and hanging it in the hive. This was done near sunset, so but few bees would take wing, for I find tliat if done in the middle of the day, one- half or more of the bees will tly while the frame is being lifted from the cage, they are so anxious to get at liberty. "This causes them to take their markings at other places besides the entrance, which makes quite a confusion before they lind their way into the hive through the entrance. The next day all these queens went on their bridal trip, and in two days more were laying. Thus I had a lay- ing queen in each nucleus in three days after forming them. Soon after this I received a choice queen from a distance, which I did not want to lose, so I went and got a frame of hatching brood, put it in one of the cages, turned my queen and her attendants into the cage, hung it in. a hive, and left it for five days. Upon getting it at that time, I found the cage well crowded with bees, and the cells, wherever the bees had hatched, were filled with eggs. I now placed a hive where I wanted it to stand, put the frame, bees, and all in it, together with a frajpe of honey, and drew up the division-board. In three days I gave it another frame of hatching brood, and in a week two more, when I had a colony readv for anything in a short time after. Here at least we have one plan by which any queen can be safely introduced at any time when there is brood in the hive ; and tlie beauty of it is, that the merest novice can do it and know no failure. Repetitions of the above have been equally successful, so I know whereof I affirm. Borodino, N. Y. For the American Bee Journal. Dysentery, its Cause and Cure. A. L. KEAE. No satisfactory explanation has been given by any one on tlie much- discussed question of bee dysentery. Theories are advanced and experi- ments explode the same, and each year brings with spring the report of great mortality among bees ; and yet if we deduce from this and that theory we may learn, we trust soon, the cause and cure of tlie disease. In addition to what has been said, I will give my experience, this spring, with dysentery in making up a nucleus in the latter part of May, from which something may be learned on the subject. Being in a hurry on making up nu- clei, to save some valuable queen cells, I put 2 frames of brood, with the usual amount of bees, into a hive from which I had in March taken a queen- less colony of bees, which spotted the hive, showing unmistakable signs of dysentery. The combs were all taken out in March, but the usual refuse was left in the hive. I closed the bees in the hive, as usual, in making up nuclei, until dusk, when I opened it and found that the bees had spotted the hive, the same as the bees did in March. The next morning the bodies of the bees were swollen, and the bees were in a stupor. I then proceeded to cleanse the hive, and found the refuse to be verv offensive. After the hive was cleaned out, the bees soon com- menced to move about more briskly, and a normal condition was soon as- sumed. From the above, and numerous other experiments, I am of the opinion that the greatest trouble lies in the refuse on the bottom-board of the hives. We are asked why it is that two hives exactly alike should be dif- ferently affected, under the same treatment ? It is certainly easily ex- plained ; one colony may so cluster that the refuse may fall in a part of the hive that is poorly ventilated, and therefore become very poisonous by the damp accumulation of the same ; the other may drop the same in a dry part of the liive, and produce no bad results. And again, any one who will take the trouble to observe, that col- onies with pollen in excess, after win- tering, will lind the refuse having a bad smell, being worse than in case of less pollen, hence the refuse assumes a more offensive form, if it is wet. I am of the opinion that if we could cleanse the bottom-board without dis- turbing the bees, during the winter, we would not have any cause for dys- entery, or so manage the bees that the refuse would be dry, the same result would be attained. For some years past I have not had dysentery in my apiary, and this spring only in a very limited way, having carried all of my bees through (92 colonies) in sawdust hives, made porous, so as to be as dry as possible and yet warm. I made my hives from plasterer's laths (no patent) and cover- ed the bees over with sawdust. Bees have done but very moderately here, this spring. We had too much rain. It rained 26 days in June ; that is, it rained some time in every 24 hours, for 26 days, during the month. Pana, ill., Aug. 8, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Many Fertile Workers in a Hive. B. F. CARROLL,. In reading the questions and an- swers in the " What and How" de- partment of the Bee Journ,\l, I see some one wants to know why there are such a variety in drones in a colony of a mismated pure Italian queen. I do not remember Mr. Heddon's re- ply, but I am satisfied I have found out the " why " long since, and I now have a colony of pure Cyprians that have a very fine young queen in it, and there are not less than 100 laying workers in there, too, .and had been there a long time before I gave them a queen cell. I have seen 20 or more workers laying as regularly as if they were laying queens, but it takes them a little longer to perform the opera- tion. I have seen tliem, after laying an egg in a drone cell, try to turn around in the cell, and often they would bend back their wings against their head. Now, what 1 want to say is this : 1 have long claimed that any bees (workers) are capable of laying eggs, and I earnestly believe a goodly portion of the drones in all hives are from the eggs of workers. The idea advanced by some that a fertile vi'orker is a bee raised near queen cells, and received a portion of royal jelly cannot be true, for in the above mentioned colony, I believe over 1,000 bees were laying eggs ; queen cells started would have 10 and as high as 16 eggs; drone cells would have 3 to 10 ; worker cells the same. I have watched this colony for an hour at a time, and the bees would lay while I held the comb in my hands, and would pay but little attention to me. I would open the hive several times per day, using no smoker, raise a comb and hold it up before my face and the bees would always be busy laying eggs, attending to tlie young larvse, and would seem too busy to notice me. I have seen this before, and have introduced laying queens to these fertile worker colonies, and I am satisfied that the bees would con- tinue to lay drone eggs while the queen would be busy laying worker THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 417 eggs, and this is why I came to doubt the"Dzierzon drone theory." That is, "a pure queen mismated will pro- duce pure drones;" it may be true, but the colony containing this queen will not have all pure drones, if any. I wish Mr. Heddon, or some able bee master, could have had this col- ony to have made observations from, for the benettt of us more illiterate bee-keepers. It seemed from the color of the bees that appeared to do the most of the laying, that they were bees not over three weeks old. I could not find one of those old, shiny, black-tail fellows at the egg business. Our honey flow that promised us a good thing about the middle of July from the cotton bloom, is over on account of drouth ; not a particle of rain have we had since June 12 until to-day, when we had a good rain ; the thermometer averages from 96° to 104° in the shade. The cotton plant, and every other green plant, had about petered out. Dresden, Texas, Aug. 6, 1883. For the American Bee JoumaL A Report for One Year. W. H. STEWAKT. I will now try to give a report of my bee-keeping for one year, begin- ning May 1, 1882, and ending Mayl, 1883. As I liave never before given a report in the Bee Journal, it may, perhaps, be proper to preface this one with a mere hint as to the reason why my bees were all very weak in the spring of 1882. I have always wintered my bees on the summer stands, until the last two winters. In the fall of 1880 I had 85 colonies in first-class condition. In the spring of 1881,1 had but 14 left alive. I ran them through the sum- mer for increase, and increased to 4.5, but they were all quite light and weak when I put them in the cellar. This explains why they were weak in the spring of 1882. As the weather was wet and cold in the spring of 1882, 1 was compelled to feed them regularly, and give them extra attention up to June 10. I use a very simple hive, one that I would not like to exchange for any of the so-called standards. It is just a plain box of inch boards ; top and bottom both movable ; box 17x17 out- side, and 13^^ deep. I use 10 frames 12x12 inside measure ; end-bars %x%, and 12 inches long (these end-bars ad- mit of strong nailing) ; top-bars ^xfl inches ; bottom bars %x}4 inches ; the bottom bars being narrow, allow dead bees to fall down between the combs without cloying the spaces. The grooves on which 1 hang the frames are % deep ; this gives % passage over the frames, both summer and winter. The space between the end bars of the frames and the sides of the hive is^^ inches; this allows the handling of such deep frames with perfect ease and without danger of crushing the bees, and I have never found comb built between the frames and the side of the hive. The space be- tween the bottom bars of the frames and the bottom board is % inches, which gives ample room for dead bees to be carried along on the bottom, towards the entrance, without cloy- ing under the frames. 1 use no division boards. I consider them worse than useless. I never give the bees but two combs more than they can cover, and I always chose to keep weak colonies in the back part of the hive. I find that they will build towards the entrance much more readily than they will build back. I hang the frames with the sides towards the entrance. Cold winds do not drive in between the combs as bad as when the ends of the combs are towards the entrance. My way of feeding is to go after dark and lift off the top board; lift out the empty comb on the back side of the cluster and pour into it thin syrup, or honey thinned up with thin flour starch. I give only enough to last one or two days. I then hang the comb in again, put the cover carefully on, and pass on to the next hive. This work may be done after dark without smoke, as the bees will not leave the combs when they cannot well see to get home again. A lan- tern may be used if it is not held too near the bees. Robbers are more apt to make trouble if fresh feed is placed on the side of the cluster nearest the entrance of the hive. I found on June 10, 1882, fresh clover honey in these feed combs, and from that time we had rather a good honey season. We extracted 1,000 pounds of white clover honey up to July 14; then came basswood bloom, and we extracted 2,000 pounds ; then we took of buckwheat and other late honey 1,000 pounds; making 4,000 pounds in all. I use the hives 2 stories high during honey season, and in the last week of August, the upper stories were nearly full of capped honey, and the lower stories were full of brood. I then divided the bees, making two colo- nies of each one ; giving each colony (as near as I could) one-half of the brood that was below, and of the capped honey that was above. The queenless colony had to rear a new queen, and it only gathered about what they consumed during the balance of the season. I put them in the cellar on Nov. 16, after dark. I do not use the bottom boards of my hives in the cellar. The top boards are made 17x17, the same width of the hive, and do not project over. I nail a cleat on each end to prevent warp- ing. This cleat is 3 inches wide, and sets up edgewise, and is on top of the cover. I lay down some loose boards on the bottom of the cellar, and then lay a top board on the loose boards. When these top boards are thus arranged all around the cellar, I set the hives on top of them, and then another tier on the top board cleats of this first row, and so build them up 4 or 5 hives deep. You will under- stand that each hive thus arranged has a bottom ventilation 3 inches deep and 15 inches wide, both front and rear of the hive, which, all counted, makes 90 square inches of bottom ventilation. How is that compared with i4 inch blocks, Mr. Doolittle y I give not a particle of upward ven- tilation. No quilts, no chaff, no enameled cloth, or any such flumeries, but just the naked smooth hive board, and it is nicely made to fit close. I calculate for the vapor from the breathing of the bees to condense on the top board and keep a constant supply of water for the bees. I can at any time go into the cellar (and I go about once a week) with a tallow candle (a lamp gives too strong a light) and look under each hive and up among the combs, and see the bees as bright and lively as in sum- mer. I can use a wing, or even my hand, and reach clear across under each hive, and brush off all the dead bees that have fallen from the frames of one liive down on top of the next one below it without making any jar or disturbing the bees in the least. I kept 85 colonies through this last hard winter in a cellar just large enough to contain them by building them 4 deep on each side, and 5 deep at the back end ; and, in the spring, there was not more than 3 quarts of dead bees on the cellar bottom, and no dead bees or mold at all among the combs. All came out of the cellar Marah 10 (after dark) in flrst-class condition (except 2 nucleus that starved), and have done splendidly up to the present date. On May 1, at the expiration of the year for which I am now reporting, . the bees were in better condition than in the middle of June, 1882. My bees are Italians, hybrids and blacks, about an equal number of each kind, and I must say that the hybrids are by far the best workers ; the blacks the best breeders; the Italians the best to keep out moths, and I think that one kind is just as good on a sting as the other, but I use no veil for either. The only great advantage that I am able to see in keeping the Italians is to get the hybrids. How sweet this Maj morning, Iruit trees all In bloom. Prophetic of summer, and a harvest to come. All nature is crowned with her fl.iral bouquet. O'er flowing with nectar, this bright morn in May. But what of the nectar, and what of the bloom? What "f the sheen of the May morning sun? And what of the spring time: no harvest could come. Of unfertilized flowers to gladden our home. Then liie away bees, sweet treasures bring home, Gi», scatter the pollen, o'er pet -I and bloom, Go, make sure of the promise of a harvest to come, O, grand is the lesson we learn in thy bum. Orion, Wis., May 20. 1883. Frankford, Pa., Herald. Robbing— Words of Caution- JOHN SnALLCROSS. Young bee-keepers will, in their early experience, be freauently re- quired to call a halt, while they inquire into the nature or remedy tor some existing trouble. A few days ago there came a sudden cessation of the honey supply. The dry weather, the hot sun and the advanced season, had deprived the white clover bloom of its nectar-.secreting properties. The lin- den blossoms had yielded to the en- 418 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. croacliinents of the incipient fruit. The ho 'yhocli and the sunflower had not vet ent their cards of invitation to the insect world, and the bees, in consequence, lounged idly in front of their hives waiting for something to turn up. Such a condition of ailairs is always a season of anxious watch- fulness to the apiarist, for "Satan finds some mischief still For iule hands to do." And, when he has that kind of an enterprise in contemplation, the bee is an active and pliant instrumentality in his hands. Suddenly, in a certain locality in our neighborhood, the bees were in commotion. Something un- usual had taken place. The strong colonies were raiding the weak ones and robbing their stores. Each colony seemed to be testing the courage of the neighboring colony, until every thing was in indiscribable commotion. What could have started this tumultV The cause was soon ascertained. A young man, utterly ignorant of the first principles of bee-keeping, had witnessed the transfer of a colony a few weeks previous, by an experienced manipulator. He had seen him cut away the superabundant honey and hand it over for family use, while the empty comb and the young brood were carefully fastened in the frames, and placed in the new hive for the use of the bees. The colony soon repaired 4lamages, built additional combs, and the young man, supposing that he knew just how to get the profits out of that hive, proceeded to take the honey by cutting out the well-filled cells, throwing away the brood and empty comb as worthless, and leaving the yard well smeared with the spilled sweets. The bees were left to get back to the hive as best they could, and to prepare, as he supposed, for a similar onslaught a few weeks hence. In place of so doing, they swarmed in disgust, from their ruined home, clustered under the porch of the house, and indulged their stinging propensi- ties with uncomfortable prodigality, until the practical man was sent for who, amid many unorthodox thoughts, subdued and re-hived them. In the mean time, the warm sun had carried the odor of the spilled honey into the air, and attracted tlie bees from several squares around. There was a grand carnival over this free lunch, and the revelry kept up until the last platter of the feast had been licked clean. The sudden failure of this bonanza left the bees wild with ex- citement. They were ready for any thing but honest labor, and into mis- chief they went, by robbing their more helpless neighbors. For a few days the bee-keepers were kept busy in cor- recting the trouble. Wire screens had to be placed over the entrances to the weak colonies, and the hives moved to other stands. Entrances to still stronger colonies had to be partly closed to enable the bees better to de- fend their treasures, which they did with good effect. Feeders were brought into requisition for the nuclei and marauders, who lingered late around ihe wire screens, were thor- oughly syringed with cold water. These remedies, actively adminis- tered, put a stop to the mischief, until some ignorant or careless fellow shall treat the bees to another unearned feast. In this, there is a valuable lesson for the beginner. While the fields are yielding their stores of honey, bees will give strict attention to business, but when nothing is to be gathered, they are easily led into temptation. When once they have fairly entered upon a system of thieving, it is almost impossible to control them until many of the weak colonies have been hope- lessly ruined. In working about tlie hives, in the times of scarcity, the young apiarist, and the old ones as well, should be provided with sponge and water to instantly wash up every drop of honey which may be spilled. Pieces of comb should be carefully picked up and carried away, and every thing be kept scrupulously clean. Hives should be opened as little as possible, and only toward evening, when the bees have gathered to their respective hives. Careful watchful- ness should be observed to detect the first indications of stealing,and prompt means should be introduced to stop it. Feeding in the open air, in times of scarcity, or, in fact, at any time, is an exceedingly reprehensible practice, as it is sure, sooner or later, to lead to trouble. Remember, that bee-keeping requires the earnest application of well-matured common sens*. For the American Bee JoumaL Successful Honey Production. J. M. SHUCK. The main object for which bees are kept is to obtain honey. " Bee-keep- ing for protit," as that great gardener and florist, Peter Hinderson, would say. Why do we desire a standard frame ? Is it so that we may produce more honey ? Or, is it that we may produce more bees, and, therefore, more honey 'i To the trial, bee-keep- ers ; the proof of the pudding is in the eating, not in theories as to whether that pudding is round, square, shal- low, deep, tiered-up or stored at the sides. Honey is the word that sweetens all the rest. Who has it, and who sells it, and who has the profits V Is it a lawyer, a doctor, a clerk, a writer of beautiful books, a teller of delightful stories, a lecturer, an editor, or a plain untitled producer of honey — a bee-keeper ? What hive does he use? What frame is provided to hold the combs for his myriads of workers ? How many of these master producers do you know who annually make a large average production of honey ? Ask them what frame they use in their bee yards. Do not ask, how they winter the bees, or whether they store at the sides or top, or underneath, but how much honey V Do not ask if he ever wrote a book, or contributes weekly or monthly to the papers, but how much honey V Ask if he is in the business, and has been for years ; if he does no other business, and pro- vides well for his family, and do not forget to ask how much honey. Get the data, figure the result, make your hives, and he happy. We will never see a standard frame. We do not want it ; the individuality of the bee-keeper crops out in his work oftener and larger, and he is happier in it, than any one else in any other calling. He would not be happy with a frame like everybody else. He would have it different, and if in no other way he would paint it red. Let him alone. Des Moines, Iowa, Aug. &, 1883. For the American Bee JoumaL Sweet Clover in Danger ! ! ! M. M. BALDRIDGE. "A little learning is a dangerous thing." This is exemplified by the following item which recently ap- peared in a paper of very limited cir- culation published in this city : " From all around us come com- plaints of the sweet clover which fills the highways and makes of itself an unmitigated nuisance. In the streets of St. Charles, and out upon the country roads, and in all the waste places, it grows heavy and rank, choking out grass and becoming an unsightly, tangled masSj through which it is almost impossible to push one's way. But for the travel along the roads, even the wagon tracks would be choked full ! To be sure it makes fine food for bees, but there are plenty of honey-producing sources without it, and it is a mistaken idea to consider it a necessary part of our vegetation. Let the great nuisance be in some way abated." The above makes a tip-top text for a lengthy and interesting article, but at present I willsimply say that sweet clover, inasmuch as it '^ makes fine food for bees,''^ may as well occupy "highways" and "waste places," as the worthless and " unsiglitly " may- weed ! One way to abate the " great " and "unmitigated nuisance" would be to kill off the birds that feed upon and scatter the seed ! Another way would be to stop the wagons and carrages from traveling the sides of the roads, in muddy weather, thereby picking up the seeds upon their wheels and distributing it for miles along the highway ! I might suggest other ways to abate the " great nui- sance," but at present the above must suffice. While attending the Bee-Keepers' Convention in Chicago, last fall, I was under the impression that the legislature of Illinois had passed an act making it a penal offense to sow the seed of sweet clover, or to allow the \)lant to grow upon one's premises; that it was regarded and stigmatized as a noxious and dangerous weed, being classed with castor beans and Canada thistles ! Being thus im- pressed, I thought it my duty to call special attention to the matter to the Convention, whereupon L. H. Scud- der and the writer were appointed a committee to examine the special acts of the legislature to ascertain whether THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 419 that impression was correct or other- wise. After considerable time spent, as directed, the writer is pleased to report tliat he has not yet been able to find any mention whatever of sweet clover as a noxious or pernicious weed, and imagines that the enemies to this wonderful honey plant would have their hands full to make it ap- pear, upon a proper investigation, that it really belongs to such a bad family. To conclude, it may be well for those interested in the growth and culture of sweet clover to keep a close watch of our legislators, pending their sessions at Springfield, that some one does not slip through an act that may give us more or less trouble in the future, for its enemies are already upon the war-path I St. Charles, 111. For the American Bee Juumal. My Experiments in Wintering Bees. H. S. HACKMAN. The weather is once more warm, and the bees are again working on sweet clover, and also some are still at work on white clover. Bees com- menced working on white clover on June 5, this season, and until then there was no honey laid up. The sea- son was cool, with the exception of a few hot days ; but bees have done well until the latter part of July, when it turned cool again for 10 or 12 days, but it has now become warm and dry, so that the bees are in good humor and gathering honey. I started with 105 colonies on June 15, 1883 ; I had but a few natural swarms ; I divided a few, and have now about 140 colonies. I have taken from 70 colonies 2,500 pounds of comb honey, and 180 gallons of extracted honey, all white clover. The balance, 35 colonies, have not yet filled their cases. So far, my Holy Lands, Ital- ians and Cyprians are not doing much in storing surplus comb honey ; it is the hybrids that are doing the busi- ness. This has been, with me, a very busy season. I never knew that less than 500 colonies could keep me busy, but I found my mistake. I began winter with 230 colonies of bees packed in oak leaves, on their summer stands. Bees are in rows, east and west, 2 feet from centre to centre, and packed on the north side and between only ; the south, fronting the sun, areopen. The caps were nearly all filled with honey, except the one-story hives,and all were packed to the top, except that the one-story hives were packed over the top and all. Now for the result : 125 colonies in one-story hives all died but 23 colo- nies; 105 in two-story hives were all alive but 5, although from the middle of April until the middle of June, I lost 18 more, mostly in two-story hives. What killed my bees in the one-story hives V and what saved them in the two-story hives V My hives are 12 inches deep, and 14x14 inches wide, and long entrance (^5^x4 inches). By two-story, I mean two brood-chambers on top of one another, Where I had two-story, both upper and lower entrances were open all the winter. In most cases the bees were clustered in the upper story ; and I imagine the air space for the foul air to settle to, and the two entrances to circulate through and carry off the foul air, is what saved my bees. The above conditions, as far as packing is concerned, was not always the same in the bees that lived. In at least one-third of the colonies, the surplus racks were left on ; some empty, some partly filled, some with a flat cap, and cover the same as the one-story hives ; so the upward venti- lation was about the same in all cases, single or double story hives. Much has been said and written on the wintering of bees ; and what I have read, and what little experience I have had, I must say I am still lost for want of certainty, hoping, how- ever, that the last winter's experience is worth something to me. I was much pleased with Mr. South- wick's article on the best style of frame and hive. I think my success in wintering in the two-story hive, coincides with his ideas. Reason teaches us that bees can protect and reach their property and stores much better in a tall than a flat hive of the same capacity. Peru, 111., Aug. 12, 1883. For the Ametican B«;e JournaL Bees Removing Eggs. DR. A. DREVAB. Dear Editor : — By the same mail that this will go by I send you an empty queen-cell, from which a very beautiful Italian queen hatched yes- terday. My reason for sending it is, that it proves that bees do sometimes remove the egg from one cell to another. The eggs, which it was intended to raise queens from, were taken from a hive containing a beau- tiful queen which I got from Henry Alley, and placed according to his method in a hive from which all brood and eggs had been removed. Twenty eggs only were given in alternate cells, cut down to }4 inch in depth. You will perceive by the peculiar broad and deep neck to this cell, that the bees added quite a quantity of wax to the strip of comb before commencing to build the cell proper. The cell is very large, and the queen which emerged from it, is also very large, though not larger than others which 1 have reared from the same mother. I keep bees only on a small scale, to supply our'own household with a pure sweet, and I believe honey is the only pure sweet which we can now get. Ttie public, as well as the bee-kee|)ers, owe you a debt of gratitude for the stand you have taken against that fearful fraud, glucose, which has al- ready sent many a man to his grave. Although we are only a very small family (three), we manage to get away with about 500 pounds of honey in the year. We use it three times a day at the table, besides preserving apples, peaches and grapes with it. What we do not want to use, we sell in quart glass cans at 15 cents per pound, and at that price I have found ready sale for all we have to spare. Another thing I wish to remark : It has often been said in the bee books and journals that it does not pay the small bee-keeper to make his own foundation. There I quite differ, as I think nothing relating to the man- agement of my bees has paid me bet- ter than the Pelham foundation mill. The great advantage of owning a mill is to have the foundation fresh, and when one wants it ; that is im- possible when trusting to dealers. Our honey season here has been a good one, the yield from locust was immense; the white clover came in before the locust was done, and there are still a few flowers of it. The bees are now working on the Alsike, and I have noticed more bees on the red clover, this year, than ever before. Annapolis, Md., Aug. 10, 1883. The queen cell is as described, and the comb foundation good, for that made by plates.— Ed.] Translated from the Bienen Zeitung. A ftueen with Crippled Wings Impregnated. rev. dr. dzieezon. "Is it not a contradiction or a re- traction of your opinion, when you formerly made the assertion that a young queen could only be impregna- ted in the air, and consequently must be able to fly, and now to speak of the possibility of the fertilization of a queen which had left the cell with crippled wings 'i"' This thought might naturally occur to people, and such a remark be made in reading the heading of this article. In explanation of this apparent con- tradiction, I will relate to you my ex- perience with a young queen last summer. In one of my queen-breed- ing boxes, a beautiful and strong Italian queen was hatched, which, on account of one of its left wings being considerably shorter than the corre- sponding right wing, was unable, in spite of all exertions, to rise up into the air, and immediately fell to the ground in an apparently perpendicu- lar direction. I should not have hesi- tated to destroy her at once, if I had had anotlier queen or a royal cell at my disposal ; but this not being the case, I allowed her to remain in the hive. Two days later I examined the colony again, and tried the queen once more, thinking she might, in the meantime, have gained strengtii, and perhaps be able to fly ; but the result was the same. The queen was, and evidently would remain, incapable of keeping on the wing. It then occurred to me that I might be able to restore the power of the flight to the queen by shortening the longer wing a little, in order to establish symmetry and the equilibrium. This enabled tlie queen to keep on the wing for a short time, after which she again fell to the ground. But when I had cliptjed the wing still more, and made it almost like the 420 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. other, the queen was able, though evi- dently with very great exertion, to fly some distance in a horizontal direction until she had reacbed the hive, in front of which the experiments were made. I allowed her to enter, placing against the hive a shutter reaching to the entrance, and I waited to see what the result would be. About noon on one of the following days, I noticed some excitement among the bees of a neighboring col- ony, and when I looked for the cause, I discovered the queen I had operated upon imprisoned by the bees, but for- tunately she was unhurt. There can be no doubt she had been for her wed- ding trip, and on her return had missed the entrance of her own hive again, and a few days after she began to lay eggs, and proved to be normally fertile. Whether she had been im- pregnated on the occasion referred to, or during a subsequent excursion, it is, of course, impossible, for me to say. Woidd it not, after this, be possible to restore to a queen hatched with crippled wings, the power of flight by leugtliening the shorter wing? Es- pecially where the latter is very short indeed, instead of shortening the longer wing V A solution of this problem does not appear to me impossible, and 1 would suggest, that a wing of another queen should be fixed by means of a well- adhereing and quickly-drying glue or cement, to the stump of the crippled wing, which, of course, should not be too short. The experiment might be worth trying by bee-keepers who are pos- sessed of some very beautiful and strong Italian or Cyprian queens, which are unable to fly. I should be glad if bee-masters who consider themselves capable of performing such delicate operations, would attempt the experiment, and give us their ex- perience, although very problemati- cal, are incomparably greater than the reported impregnation of a young queen in a glass globe, or a cask with a hole at the top. Kalsmarkt, Germany. ^tiioTm^i, When and How to Feed tlie Bees. Extracted honey sells here, for home consumption, at 15 cents per Eound, and granulated sugar can be ought for 10 cents per pound, and the Western bee-keepers say that sugar is better to winter bees on than honey. I mean to extract all the honey from the brood-chamber and feed sugar syrup. Which is the best time to extract and feed the sugar ? The honey harvest winds up the last week in August, with the exception of some goldenrod and celandine; the latter has a bitter taste, and sometimes sour, which, we think, is bad honey to winter bees on. Would it be the right time to feed up the first week in September? That month here is a mild one, but the nights are cool. About how much .sugar to a 7-frarae Langstroth hive, full of bees ? What is the best way to feed, and how long to do the feed- ing V Please answer the above ques- tions in the Bee Journal. Henry Tilley. Castle Hill, Maine, Aug. 4, 18S3. [As soon as the honey harvest is over, you can safely feed sugar syrup for winter stores. In the evening is the best time (except when it is too cold for the bees to be out), so that it will all be taken away by the bees be- fore the next day, for if it be exposed in the day time, robbing will be the result ; on account of the absence of honey flora, the bees will eagerly search for any substitute, and become crazy over it. The bees will be better satisfied to have their winter stores capped before cold weather comes. For how to prepare the feed, see page 422.— Ed.] Giant Hyssop and Milk Weed, I wintered safely 15 colonies and nuclei together in sawdust packing, and lost 3 by spring dwindling. 1 had 7 effective colonies to extract from at the beginning of the season ; alto- gether 12 run for honey. I obtained 673 lbs. of extracted and about 50 lbs. of comb honey. My largest yield of honey from one colony was 226 lbs., and enough left for wintering. They are hybrids. We have had a remark- ably good season, although old fogy- ism did not get much honey, on account of two much swarming and bad management. I have two honey plants for you to name. No. 1, with pink flower, blooms from the 1st of July, and is still blooming some; bees work well on it, and considerable of it is in our section of country, but, as to quality and quantity of honey, I know nothing. No. 2 is a rare thing here, but bees love to work on it wonder- fully well ; the time of blooming is about the same as the above specimen. The bloom is about gone. E. M. CosrBS. Memphis, Ind., Aug. 1, 1883. [No. 1, is Giant Hyssop (Lojihanthus iwpetoides), one of the Mint family, all of which have nectar of good qual- ity. No. 2, Milk Weed {^sctepi'as pur- puTciscens), allied to the milk weed, which kills bees by the sticky pollen masses.— T. J. BurKill.] Short Honey Crop. The past spring was one of unusual cold, rain and wind, and I do not think that white clover ever promised better, but, after the first week's flow, it gradually slackened up. Mr. Doo- little says that the linden was on its last legs ; it had no legs here to get upon. I have not, at this time, one- half as much honey from 32 colonies, spring count, as 1 had at this date last year from 22 colonies, spring count. We have been suffering badly for the want of rain, but lass week we were favored with a beauti- ful rain, though not half as much as we needed. Should everything be most favorable, our corn' crop will only be a partial one, which will be the fourth successive light crop in this vicinity. Our hay crop is good ; oats, good, and rye, fair. I doubt if there are 200 acres of wheat in two townships here ; what little there was, was good. It is probable that I get more consolation out of a small corn crop than any of my neighbors, as I burn cobs in the smoker, and do not have to split them. Mr. Doolittle gives his method of forming a nuclei ; and also tells of some one who has trouble with his. I will, at some future time, give the plan which I have practiced this summer with per- fect success. E. F. Cassell. Illinois City, 111., Aug. 13, 1883. Wood Sage. Please give the name of the en- closed bloom and leaf, and state its merits as a honey plant. I never noticed it here until this season ; there are lots of it in the low lands. It commenced to bloom July 10, and is 4 feet high. The bees pay strict attention to it all day long. Kane, 111. R. M. Osborn. [American Germander, or Wood Sage (Teucrium Canad^nse). This is a very common plant in low, wet grounds, occurring throughout the Northern portions of the United States. It is another member of the Mint family, and, like its relatives, produces an abundance of excellent honey.— T. J. Burrill.] Legion of ({iieens iu a Hive. I see by the Bee Journal of July 25, that Mr. Shirley found two queens in one hive. I am 13 on my slate. I have practiced returning the most of my swarms after the first issue, but before doing so I would " go through " the hive and remove all of the queen- cells in this hive. I took out 12 nice yellow queens, and left one to manage the affairs of the family. Can any one of the bee fraternity tell the cause of such a freak of bee nature ? What does Mr. Heddon think ? H. B. Hammon. Bristol ville, Ohio, Aug. 1, 1883. A Bug — Water Boiitman. I send you a bug ; please report its name. W. Thoughten. Martinsville, III. [The large bug is called by entomo- logists Belastoma grandis, and some- times is known by the common name of " water boatman." It lives in the water, feeding on living prey, but also flies through the air in search of other streams, ponds, etc., or to find com- pany. It has a stout, sharp beak, capable of inflicting severe wounds. — T. J. Burrill.] THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 421 My Experience with Sweet CloTer. I sowed it with Alsike and mam- moth clover ; tliey all bloomed this season ; in the same range is timothy and blue grass. Calves, hogs and sheep (my stock rams) were allowed to run on it, and the hogs were fed. The mammoth and Alsike were eaten down close to the groimd, while the sweet clover is from 4 to 6 feet high ; nothing eating it. In case of the ad- vise given to Mr. F. M. Cheney, to feed it down with pigs, it might be a benefit to bees, but it would be death to pigs. My stock eat rag and hog weeds in preference. I shall not sow any more of it, and will destroy what I have, if I can. I regard it as a weed useless only for bees, and a positive damage to the farmer and stock grower. J.A.Johnston. Green Hill, Ind., Aug. 11, 1883. [Your experience is very different to hundreds of others, who give the very opposite, as their experience. But we give all sides to every ques- tion, and all may strike a balance for themselves. — Ed.T Bees on a Strike. Since the 27th day of last month the bees through this section have been on a strike, so to speak, when white clover gave out. It has been so very dry that other flowers have failed to yield nectar. Melilot clover is doing but little, and smartweed is, this year, a failure. Buckwheat is but little sown, so we may calculate but a small yield of honey for the balance of the season. Our corn, for this season, will scarcely produce naif a crop, and fruit of all kinds is almost an entire failure. H. W. Wixom. Mendota, 111., Aug. 14, 1883. That Glucose Slander on Bee Men. It is but justice to the bee men of the world, that I add ray testimony to that of Mr. Wm. Muth-Rasmussen, of California (page 377), against the foul slander up6n the bee men of California, "that they feed glucose very largely, and make money out of it." Such a statement has not a particle of truth to back it. I spent six years in California, and did noth- ing else but care for bees and produce honey. In that time I have seen both sides of the bee business ; I have seen the time when honey flowed as it flows in no other country ; then I have seen many more seasons when there was scarcely any honey, and we had to feed the bees to keep them from starving, but we did not feed glucose ; we did the same as Mr. Kasmussen ; bought honey at a much larger figure than we had sold it for, and fed it to the bees. Such a base fabrication has its origin in the cor- rupt brain of the glucose manufac- turer, and has no other foundation for truth than the satisfying of an un- principled desire to steal the good name that pure honey has gained, by palming oft their foul stuff upon the inexperienced ; thereby making money for themselves, but aiming a deadly blow at the honest and hard-working honey-producer. Mr. Editor, " tire not " in the good work you- are en- gaged ; in nor give the enemy any quarter until the popular verdict of an outraged people shall place the heel of disapprobation upon the head of this venemous reptile, glucose. A. W. OSBURN. Water Valley, N. Y., Aug. 3, 1883. Little Increase and Surplus. My bees (41 colonies) have not boomed any yet. I have had but lit- tle increase and very little surplus. I am out of the reach of basswood, and cannot make the seed grow. Sweet clover has also twice failed to grow for me, but I shall try again. M. E. Darby. Dexter, Iowa, Aug. 13, 1883. Honey Crop of New York. Do not condemn the New York honey crop until you hear from more of us. The weather has been rather too wet, but bees here have done pretty well between showers. After rather a moderate yield from clover, basswood came in bloom, on July 19, and was very sweet for 18 days. From 40 weak colonies I have taken 3,000 pounds of very choice capped honey, with the extractor. Although I use a frame 11x13, 1 think Mr. Demaree is ahead in the frame argument. \V. H. S. Gkout. Kennedy, N. Y., Aug., 18, 1883. No Honey. The honey season here has been the poorest I have ever known. No honey wave or honey shower came this way. Honey dew has made its appearance again this season in abundance. II. R. Boardjian. East Townsend, O., Aug. 13, 1883. What the Bees Gathered in 30 Days. The following is what an average colony of bees gathered from white clover, by weight, without swarming, on full frames of wired foundation, in 30 days : June 15, 1 lb. ; IB, 2 lbs. ; 17, 4 lbs. ; 18, 5 lbs. ; 19, nothing ; 20, 3 lbs. ; 21, 2 lbs. ; 22, 3 lbs. ; 23, 1 lb. ; 24, 1 lb. ; 25, nothing ; 26, nothing ; 27, 1 lb.; 28, 8 lbs.; 29, 9 lbs.; 30,5 lbs.; July 1, 6 lbs. ; 2, 3 lbs. ; 3, 1 lb. ; 4, 2 lbs. ; 5, 5 lbs. ; 6, 3 lbs. ; 7, nothing ; 8, 4 1bs. ;9, lOlbs. ; 10,1 lb.; 11, 4 lbs. ; 12, 3 lbs. ; 13. 1 lb. ; 14, nothing ; 15, 1 lb. ; total, 84 lbs. The above shows that not every day do the bees gather honey. In the heighth of the season, I only took on an average of 25 pounds from 40 colonies, to date, mostly in ^^ inch sections,or7 to the foot. I use the Hed- don case, and my honey is built in as good shape as when I used wide frames and tin separators, and I can empty a case of 28 sections in less time than it required to take out the 8 sections in one wide frame. I would almost as soon think of going back from a movable frame hive to the old box hive, as to go back from a case to wide frames and separators ; they are relics of the past. J. J. HUItLBERT. Lyndon, 111., Aug. 5, 1883. Horse Mint. Enclosed I send a specimen of a plant that grows on old, worn-out, sandy land, and blooms in July. It yields considerable honey of fine qual- ity. What is it V F. Wilcox. Mauston, Wis., Aug. 3, 1883. [Horse Mint [Monarda Bradburiana). There are three other species of Horse Mint, all of which are good honey plants. — T. J. BuRRiLL.] Vervain, Red Clover, etc. Bees are doing well here this sum- mer. There has been no honey drouth here at all. The fall flowers are com- ing in. Our bees are working very strongly on a plant which I have never seen mentioned in any publication I have ever read. This is the blue ver- vain (or vervine). I never saw them work on any thing any stronger, un- less it is bass\yood. It seems to rival the spider plant, for they work on it all day, and I have seen a dozen on a single plant, and as quick as one bee leaves, another comes, and thus they keep at it all day. It grows in rich, moist land (not wet), along the creek bottoms. There are about 4 acres in this patch, and there are millions of bees on it. I would like to know if this has been recognized before as a honey plant V Will Italian bees gather honey from red clover i* Or, will any strain of Italians or hybrids gather enough to depend on it for a crop of surplus honey ? If any of them will do this, they will be the "coming bee" for this section, regardless of all else, for from June until September there is plenty of red clover. An Amateur. Wayne Co., Ind., Aug. 14, 1883. [Vervain has often been mentioned as an excellent honey producer. See pages 537, .540, and 569 of the Bee Journal, for last year. Occasionally bees gather honey from the red clo- ver, but it cannot be "depended upon for a crop of surplus honey" — not by any means. — Ed.] ' Local Convention Directory. 1883. Time and PLace oj Meeting. Auk. 29.— S. W. Iowa, «t Red Oak, Iowa. K. C. Alkin.Seo. AuE 29.— Iowa Central. atWinterset FairGrounds. Z. G. Cooley. Sec. Pro tern. Aug. 29, 30.— Ky. State, at Louisville, Ky. Dr. N. P. Allen, Sec, Smith's Grove, Ky. Sept. 4.-N. W. 111., & S. W. Wis., at RIdot, III. Jonatlian Stewart, Sec. Sept. 12-14.— Trl-State. at Toledo, Ohio. Dr. A. B. Mason, Sec, Wagon Works, O. Sept. 18-20.— North American, at Toronto, Out. A. 1. Root, Sec, Medina, O. Oct. 9, 10.— Northern Mich, at Sheridan. Mich. O. B. Goodno, Sec, Carson City, Mich. Oct. 17, 18.— Northwestern, at Chicago. III. Thomas G. Newman, Sec. Oct.— Northern Ohio, at Norwali(. O. S. F. Newman, Sec. Deo. 5-6, Michigan State, at Flint. H. D. Cutting. Sec, Clinton, Mich. tS^ In order to have this table complete. Secre- taries are requested to forward full particulars of time and place of future meetingB.— KD. 422 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL,. Wmx. M. D It is the latest book on the bee, and treats of both the bee and liivos, with their iiupiementa. It is of value to all bec-ruisers.- K y. Ltve Stock Record. It is a credit to the author as well the publisher. I have never yet met ^\itha work, either French or toreiMn, which 1 like so much.— L'Abbe JJU BOIS, editor of the BuLetin D' Afuculteur^ France. It not only gives the natural history of these in- dustrious iusecta, but also a thorough, praciical, and clearly expressed sei ics of directfons for their management; also a boumiritt descri[>tion ot hi'ney producing' ptanis, and an extended account oi the enemies of bees.— X»t»i(/cr(jr, I'uiuski, Js'. Y. We have perused with great pleasure this vndt meciunot the bee-keep»?r. It is replete with the best intonuation on everything belonging to api- culture, 'i'o al taking an intere?t in this suhject, we say. Obtain this valuaDle work, read it careiuily and practice aa advised.— J, oncu/tun^e, Quebec. This book is pronounced by tbe press and leading bee-men to be the most ct.>nipleie and praetieal treatise on bee-culture in Kuropeor America; a BCientiilc work on nnui<-rn bee management that every experienced bee man will welcome, and it is essenliaf to every amateur In bee-culture. It is hanasomely printed, iRMtiv hound, and is a credil to the Yi eau—Wicitern A\jricuUuruit. This work is undoubtedly the most coTiplete manual tor the Instrmtioii of iKiC-keepers whieh biisever t-een publislitHl. It gives a full e.Tplana- tion regarding tbe mieand management of the apiary, 'ftiere is no suhject relating to the culture of bees lefr unioucheil. aiul in the compilation of the work Prof. Cook has bad the advantniie of all the previous knowiede ot apiitriats, which he uses admirably to prom«.)te and make popular this most Intevestiugof alloccupaiions.- .4»iertcan Inventor. ■ toj Prick— Bouod in cloth, S1.S5 ; In paper cover, 8>1.00 by mall prepaid. Published by . TnOMAS G. METTMAN. West Madison Street, CHICAGO, ti.i^ <1». VOL, XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., AUGUST 29, 1883. No. 35. :^^^^^A^Bi^j^-^'^^ PubUshed every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, Creating Local Markets for Honey. The California Orocer makes some comments on the suggestions we made sometime ago about scattering information about the uses of honey, and its value both as food and medi- cine, and while thoroughly endorsing the plan, it remarks as follows : If it be acknowledged that an adoption of this means will be at all ■effective, why not make it generally so V If the suggestion of the Bee Journal is worthy of adoption at all, it is worthy of being adopted to the fullest extent, as it is one of those propositions the remunerative quality of which is in exact ratio with the amount of energy and enterprise ex- pended upon It. The information, published in an economical form, flhould accompany every sale, whether to wholesaler or retailer, in order that when the goods reach the consumer's market, the retailer might be enabled to send this information broadcast among his patrons to induce the pur- ■chase of this delicious household luxury. ^" The Indiana State Fair com- mences .Sept. 24, and promises to «xcel all former ones. Bee-keepers should see to it that there is a large display of honey, both comb and extracted. ^- Mr. W. F. Clarke, Guelph. Ont., will attend the North American Bee- Keepers' Convention at Toronto, next month, and represent the Bee Journal as well as make a report of the proceedings. ^' To give away a copy of " Honey as Food and Medicine "Jo every one who buys a package of honey at Fairs, will sell almost a fabulous quantity of it. Caledonian Apiarian Society. Mr. John D. Hutchinson, of Glas- gow, Scotland, has sent us a short report of the Bee and Honey Show of Scotland, from which we extract as follows : Tlie tenth show of this society was held in a tent inside the showyard of the Highland Society. For various reasons it was not expected that the show would be a large one. The weather had been very much against the bees. Nearly all the exhibitors are from the southern portion of the country, and the existence of the society was only made known to some north-country persons yesterday, when they were told that bees were actually being shown. As a whole, the show, though small, was worth a visit. Among the most successful of the competitors is Mr. Angus Cam- eron, of Blair Athole, the winner of the Queen's Prize at the Wimbledon Rifle meetings in 1866 and 1869. Considering the difficulties we have had to contend with this year, our sliow has been very successful both flnancially and otherwise. The bee- keepers are now getting their colonies removed to the " Heather," so with good weather {such as we have at present), I have no doubt but that we shall have a good harvest of heather honey. There has been little or no honey as yet, owing to the bad weather we have had. Everything connected with bee-keeping has been very quiet for sometime past. Preserve the "Wax. Mrs. L. Harrison gives the follow- ing advice in the Prairie Farmer : All hives containing honey, in which bees have died, should be fastened up securely so that no bees can enter, for if they are permitted to carry it off as soon as it is all gone they will try the strength of all weak colonies and many will be destroyed. We prefer to brusli off the bees from combs and store them in a room, in- stead of fastening them in hives where they have no ventilation, as they become damp and moldy, and the pollen sours. We put our combs into clean hives and pile them one upon another in the honey house, where they are secure from bees, and will remain dry. It is not necessary to pick out dead bees from combs for, the bees will do it, and work cheaper than we can if one comb at a time is given to a strong colony. Comb is a bee-keeper's stock in trade ; better than money in the bank ; and should be preserved, for while be^s are building a pound of it they will store 20 pounds of honey. All bits of re- fuse comb should be made into wax, as it is very scarce at present, brings a good price, and is in demand for foundation. Bee Tent for Fall Work. The American Aqriculturist remarks thus about the use of a bee tent for manipulating bees in the fall : As is well known, bees become irritable if handled after gathering ceases in the autumn. To take out extra combs, extract the uncapped honey, and prepare for winter as directed above, is often the most dreaded work of the season. The bees seem cross at the failure to ob- tain labor, and cannot endure dis- turbance. By using a bee tent, made of wire gauze or mosquito netting, and large enough to set over the hive and operator, all this danger and trouble is avoided. The bees are apparently frightened into good be- havior, and are as amiable as though in the midst of the honey harvest. The bee tent also prevents robbing, which is quite likely to be induced if we work with the bees when they are irritable from enforced idleness. ^ The Keithsburg, 111., News is growing eloquent over the fact that the grape sugar refineries are gather- ing up old bones, rags, etc., to make its villainous stuff from. It says : Smith's team has been hauling bones from the slaughter houses and putting them in cars for a Burling- ton market. These bones are u.sed in the sugar refinery. Just think ! bones in your sugar ! the nasty, stinking bones. Honey, fresh from the •' blessed bees " is the only pure sweet. The bees are now working on the sand mint. They have pretty much left the corn tassels. The sand mint will last till fall, and makes most excellent honey. Thank goodness there is plenty of sand mint here in the bottom. More than can be util- ized by the numerous colonies kept by our several apiarists. 426 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Apis Melliflca in Java and Ceylon. The followiug article concerning the bees taken to Ceylon and the is- land of Java, by Mr. Frank Benton, was written tor the Biemnzeitunq, by Mr. A. Schroder, of Trieste, Austria, and translated by Mr. A. Neighbour, of London, England, for the Journal of Hofticulture, and it will be read with interest by the bee-keepers of America: The gentleman in charge of the Imperial (ierm n Consulate of iiaia- via, who has lor years pasl been kind enough to keep lue mlormed of all that Lakes place iu the island of Java as regards bee-keepiug, sent me re- ceull> a cutting from a native paper which contains some notices of the bees introduced lulo Java by my friend Mr. i" . Benton. Thinking that any inlormation on the acclimatiza- tion 01 bees in Java may be of interest 80 tar as the history of bee-keeping is concerned, 1 have translaied the article referred to, of which the fol- lowing is an extract : '• Au American bee-keeper, Mr. F. Benton, who visited Java in order to study Apis dorsaia, and, if possible, to introduce this bee into Cyprus, and theuce into Kurope and America, brought 9 colonies of bees with him, 7 being from Cyprus and i; from Fales- tine. -New h"ives were procured iu order to try once more to acclimatize bees in Java after the Hist attempt to introduce the i^uropean bee, which was made in IbTs. had proved a fail- ure. The trial was made at Tjikeu- meuh under the direction of Mr. Messink. •• The bees were placed in the Botanical Gardens under the superin- tendence of Mr. Benton, who looked after them personally tor ii days. When he left,! queens had commenced to lay eggs, and the other colonies, incluuiug their queens, were in tol- erauiy good condition considering the long voyage they had made. During the hrst tortuiglit alter their arrival the bees were ted with sugar dissolved iu water. After this time the workers from four hives began to Uy out and returned laden with honey. The queens continued depositing eggs for about the three months alter their arrival in Java. After that, egg laying diminished, and at last tne bees quite ceased to leave the hive. ■■'ine number of worker bees be- came smaller and smaller, and hnally some of the colonies dwindled down BO much that only the queen and a tew worker bees were lelt. With a great deal of trouble one colony was kept alive till the end of the year. But wlieu the western monsoon set in iu lasl, the population of this colony also uwiudled away, and the workers flew out no longer, probably on ac- count of the dampness of the atmos- phere. " it is to be regretted that the sec- ond attempt to acclimatize the bee in Java has also turned out a failure, in spite of all the precautions that had been taken to make the experiment a success.' The loss of all the colo- nies was probably caused by the worker bees not finding sufficient food during the hot season, the conse- quence being tliat the queens did not receive the proper amount of food, and, therefore, discontinued laying eggs. ■' The experiment to domesticate tlie East Indian bee (Njiroean) has given a better result than a previous attempt in 1877 and 1878. For the last eight months tliere have been two colonies of these bees in Tjik- eumeuh with very large populations. The bees fly out and collect a great deal of honey. Eggs are deposited regularly, and without interruption. The honey of tliis bee is generally considered inferior in flavor, while the wax is said to be of excellent quality. " A swarm given off by one of tlie colonies a short time ago has been secured, but it was no easy task. In Europe a swarm generally settles on a branch of a tree near the apiary, from which it is easy to remove the bees ; but the Indian bees fly high up into the air, and do not settle till some time after.*" Mr. Benton's attempt to acclima- tize Apis mellifica in Java has un fortunately proved a failure, and I fear there is but little prospect of this bee becoming domesticated there, although I consider it quite possible if the bees, after tlieir arrival in Java, are made to rear young queens, be- cause the vitality of tlie imported queens becomes impaired during the long voyage. It would be necessary in that case to increase the popula- tion of the colonies and their stores quickly by feeding. In Ceylon the bees that were im- ported by Mr. Benton have been more successful than those in Batavia. During the rainy season from May till September, the colonies were sup- plied with food, but in the remaining months of the year the bees collected sufficient honey from the flowering palm trees and other tropical plants for their own wants, and had even some to spare for their master. One colony swarmed three times, but, un- fortunalely, during the absence of the bee-keeper, the bees had been left in charge of the servants, who neg- lected to attend to them, so that all the three swarms flew away and settled in the jungles, where they probably perished during the rainy season. , For the last few years, experiments have been made to acclimatize the Vanilla in Ceylon, but only by arti- hcial fertilization was it found pos- sible to get these phints to produce mature fruit. The Tropical Agricul- turist calls special attention io the numerous visits of Apis melliflca to the Vanilla blossoms, and adds that the owjier of the plantation has for this reason entirely discontinued the fertilization of the Vanilla flowers by artihcial means. In case the culti- "* It may be assumed that Apis indlca Is the bee referretl to above. 'I'he IndiKenr.us Apie indica of .?avK was dearrii ed by l-mreille ("Annutesdu Muaeuiii d' H 1st, Nat.. ' v.. p. 17o, No. 4) as Apis Peionii. Itifthardlyto be supposed tbat expcri- njents should have been m ido to domesticate the small East Indian bee. Apis floreB.-EjJlTOK." vation of Vanilla in Ceylon should prove successful, the importation of Apis melliflca will have largely aided to bring about this result, and it would be quite worth while for this purpose alone to keep bees in Ceylon, even if they had to be supplied with food during the rainy season. ^ Prof. A. J. Cook, who each summer during several years has worked in the Michigan Agricultural College apiary, with a class of from 20 to 40 students, all entirely unused to bees, says he has found no proof of the statement that bees know their master, and are more likely to sting a stranger. — Exchange. Bee Convetion at Toledo, 0. The next annual meeting of the Tri- State Bee-Keepers' Association will be held ©n the 12, 13 and 14 of next Sept., during the week of the Tri-State Fair at Toledo, Ohio. It is customary to say that Messrs. So and So, " and other prominent bee men will be present," etc., etc. Well, we have quite a number of " prominent bee men " (prominent at home) in this region, and they know how to raise the bees, get the honey, cure foul brood, and winter the bees too ; but if Mr. Heddon is well enough to be at the meeting and the fair, we will pump him on wintering, and Mr. Muth on foul brood, and Novice, if here, on general principles, and the the editor of the Bee Journal to fill in where the rest lack. We do not expect to have any long essays or speeches. It being the week of the fair, we expect the great attraction for bee-keepers will be the Bee and Honey Show, and such bee-keepers and their friends as desire to stay several d<»vs can bring their " eat- ables" and blankets with them, and camp on the fair grounds. One or more tents will be provided for such as make application to me a few days before the fair, at a cost that will pay for the use of the tents, but we hope to be able to borrow tents and so save expense. A premium is offered for the foun- dation machine making the best foun- dation for the brood-chamber on the grounds, and two mills have already arrived for that purpose, and the makers of three other machines have promised to be here if possible. A premium list with entry blank rules and regulations, railroad fares, and freight rates, etc., will be sent free to all applicants. Dk. a. B. Mason. Wagon AVorks, Ohio. 1^" The Northwestern Illinois, and Southwestern Wisconsin Bee Keepers' Association, will hold its next meet- ing on Sept. 4, 1883. at John Swan- zey's, 2 miles South of Ridot, Stephen- son County, III. There will be facilities to take persons from the station to Mr. Swanzey's. Jonathan Stewakt, tSec. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 427 Local Convention Directory. 1883. rime and Place oS Meeting. Sept. 4— Ohio State, at Columbus, O. D. Spear, Sec. Sept. 4.— N. W. III., AS. W. Wia.. at Ridot, 111. Jonathan Stewart, Sec. Sept. 12.— Eastern Indiana, at Richmond, Ind. M. G. Reynolds. Sec. Williamsburg, Ind. Sept. 12-14.— Tri-State, at Toledo, Ohio, Dr. A. B. Mason, Sec, WaKon Works, O. Sept. 18-20.— North American, at Toronto, Ont. A. I. Root, Sec, Medina, O. Oct. 9, 10.— Northern Mich, at Sheridan. Mich. O. R. Goodno, Sec. Carson City, Mich. Oct. 10.— Cass County, at LoKansport, Ind. De Witt Brown. Sec. Oct. 17, 18.— Northwestern, at Chioago, III. Thomas Q. Newman, Sec. Oct.— Northern Ohio, at Norwalk, O. S. F. Newman, See. Dec. 5-6, MichlKan State, at Flint. U. D. CuttinK. Sec, Clinton, Mich. ^" In order to have this table complete. Secre- taries are requested to forward full particulars of time and place of future nieetiues.— Ed. Honey Flora— White Sage- The California Rural Press contains the following description of this great honey-pioducer, the white sage : Not only is California famous for its specimens of vegetable growth of huge proportions, but also for some of much less imposing appearances. Among the latter tliere is no plant that has made this State more re- nowned than has the white or honey sage of southern California. Hardly ten years ago it was looked upon as a useless shrub, scarcely fit for sheep to browse upon. Since then the honey bee has made it famous. When it became known that honey flowed from the flowers of this plant, as it was never known to do in old Greece, and of a quality far superior, thou- sands of colonies of bees were located in the sage region. During ourfavor- able years these bees g.ithered the honey from the flowers about them in such large quantities that many an ocean craft was weighted down with the nectar. To all parts of the world has this delicious article been sent, and every- where it has secured for the place from whence it came praises that no other honey had ever received. Be- sides the good words this State has obtained by its excellent honey, the people have received thou,sands of dollars whicli would never have en- tered the State if the nectar was wasted on the desert air, or if the plant in question did not exist in our midst. It belongs to the genus Audiberatia, of the order Labiatce, to which also the garden and other sages belon^^. These plants are of great value as bee pasturage, as they are of easy growth, will thrive on drier soil than will most other honey-secreting plants, and their season of efflorescence con- tinues many weeks. The writer has cultivated the white sage in Alameda county, near Berkeley, and as a re- sult he finds that it thrives remark- ably, growing luxuriously on culti- vated soil, and producing an abund- ance of bloom. It is a plant of which every apiarist should disseminate the seeds as much as possible, so that in the course of a lew years, large patches of tlie plants may be found in tlie hills and valleys in various parts of the State. By doing tliis, such a thing as a short honey crop will liaidly ever be known. The Rev. J. C. Nevin, of Los Ange- les county, in writing of the sages lately, says : '• Tliere are at le-^st a dozen specimens of Audiberatia on the coast included under tlie popular names of ' white ' and 'black' sage. The ' white ^ Audiberatia Pohjszachya) differs very much in the form of in- florescence from all the others, and fromtliatof the genuine sage. Its whole appearance makes it a rather striking plant, and when once known, to be easily recognized any where. Its range extends from Santa Barbara to San Diego. All lovers of the beautiful white honey gathered from its flowers ought to know and regard it with feelings of gratitude. ' Ball,' ' button,' or ' black ' sage is undoubtedly a common name for several distinct species. Their gen- eral habit is much the same, whilst ordinarily the specific distinctions may not be so obvious. The whole appearance is more nearly like the true sage than is the ' white ' above mentioned. Of the number, A. Stach- y aides, A. Palmeri and A. Clevelandi are very closely allied and most difli- cult to distinguisli. A. Stachyoides ranges from the Contra Costa moun- tains soutliward, while A. Palmeri ■AnA A. Clevdandi are confined to the southern part of the State. Just what precise form prevails around Los Angeles has not as yet been definitely settled ; but it is mostly near to, if not identical with A. Palm- eri. the typical form of which is found in San Diego county." Notice to Iowa Bee-Keepers. Quite a large number of bee-keep- ers in our State have expressed a de- sire for the formation of a State Association. A consultation with others has resulted in the decision not to attempt to hold a meeting during the coming State Fair, but if thouglit best to liold one during the time of tlie meeting of the State Agricultural Society at Des Moines next January. All bee-keepers who may be present at the Fair are earnestly requested to report to the Rev. O. Clute, at the Apiarian Exhibit, on or before 1 p. m. of Tuesday, the 4th day of Sep- tember, 188,S, who will give them notice of a meeting for consultation, and also for the selection of a com- mittee of arrangements if one is deemed necessary. O. O. POPPI.ETON, Vice-Pres. N. A. B. K. Society. Williamstown, Iowa, Aug. 10, 1883. Bee Pasturage a Necessity.— We have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. Fairs.— To any one exhibiting at Fairs, we will send samples of the Bee Journal, and a colored Poster, to aid in getting up a club. The Premiums we offer will pay them for so doing. For a club of 8 subscribers to tlie Monthly Bee Journal, or 4 Weekly, we will present Dzierzon's Rational Bee-Keeping, price $2.00. Honey and Beeswax Market. Offick op amekican bee .iournal. \ Monday, 1" ». m., Aug. 20, 1883. i The following are the latest quota- lions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. HONBT- The demand for extracted honey Is exceedingly dull: for comb honey, only fair: arri- vals are plentiful. Stocks are lartze In the hands of corn merchants and others. Our own supply la larger than ever. and. for the present, we cannot compete with commission merchants. We may have to offer lower tigures. Our prices so far were 1& 9c for extracted, and I4@l6c. for comb honey on arrival. BRBSWAX -Arrivals of beeswax are good at 2S@28c., and the demand is fair. Chas. F. Mdth. NEW YORK. HONEY— We take pleasure in quoting the fol- lowing prices on honev. obtainable in our market : Fancy white clover, 1 lb. sections (net glass) ■JOfSiilc: fancy white clover, 2 lb. sections (glassed) 1.4(i520c: fair white clover. 1 and 2 lb. sectii: extracted, choice to extra white 7(S9c; dark and candied (i'-^(fl) — ; BEESWAX— Wholesale 27(^2Rc. Stearns * smith, ia Front Street, ST. nODIS. HONE V— In better demand, but readily obtnina- blo at quotations; oITerinL's plentiful— largest of strained and ex'racted. We quote new at ii!«(5)7ii for strained or extracted, and 14c. for comb. Job- bing sales of choice, in fancy packages, more. Old or inferior, nominal. BEBSWA.X -Easy, with sales at 2(?c. W. T. Anderson & Co.. 104 N. 3d Street. CLEVELAND. HONEY— New honey continties in good demand at IS'SU'C. for choice 1 lb. sections, and such are readily placed as fast as received: 2 lbs. not so ac- tive, at 16(ozeuor lluudred. 436 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. iingham Smoker Corner. Large Smokers need wide shields. Bingham's Laiave them, and sprlnKs that donotrust and break, and bellows tbat sparkB and smoke do not enter. -The Conqueror has all improvements made to date, .And a 3x7 Inch stove, and 5x7 inch bellows. Sent j)08t-pald for Sl.7o. Address. BINOHAM & HETHEBINGTON, Abronla Mich. Cyprians Con- AiUKKED. — All sum- mer long it has been '•which and tuther" -with me and the Cyp- :rtan colony of beea I have— but at last I nm •■ boss. " Bingham's "Conqueror Smoker" .did it. If you want lots of smoke juat at -the right time, get a ^OHt^ueror Smoker of Bingham. G. M. DOOLITTLE. Borodino. N. Y., ,AuK. 15. 1882. Excelling all.— Messrs. Bingham & Hetherington. Dear -.Sirs:— lam now sell- ■ing your Smokers al- most exclusively. -You are excelling yourselves in smok- ers all the time. Resj-ectfuily.^^^ Patented, 1878. Austin, Texas, May 10. 1833. The Orlclnal BINOHAU Bee Smoker The Very best.— The Bineham "Conqueror" 3moker is the very best thing I have trle'1 in that line. M. M. LINDSAV. Fulton, Tenn., July 24, 1883. During the following three months, •Bingham Smokers will be sent post- paid, per maH, on receipt of the fol- lowing prices : ■The "Doctor", .(wide shield)— 3^ in. fire tube, $2.00 -The Conqueror (wide shield)— 3 in.liretube, 1.75 I.arKe (wide shield ) -2"^ in. flro tube, 1 .."iO '^xtra (wideshield)- 2 in.flretube, 1.25 ■Piain.^ (nar. shieldt- 2 in.flretube, l.lKl iLittle Wonder, .(nar. shield)— 1»^ in. Are tube, .65 iBingbam & Hetherington Uncapping Knife. . 1.15 With thanks for letters of encour- ;agement, and the absence of complain- ing ones, we tender to our thirty-five Tthousand patrons our best wishes. Very Respectfully Yours, Bingham & HETHERfNOTON. ' Abronia, Mich., June 1, 1883. 1^ Do not send coins in a letter. It is dangerous and increases the postage lUnnecessarily. Always send postage -stamps, for fractions of a dollar, and, if you can get tliem — one-cent stamps ; if not, any denomination of postage stamps will do. 1^ The new two - cent postage :Stamp is to be of a metallic red color, •with a vignette of Washington. It ^•ill supersede the present three-cent ^tamp on the 1st of October. Sample Copies of theAMERicAN Bee Journal will be sent free to nny per- :3on. Any one intending to get up a ,£lub can have sample copies sent to ihe persons they desire to interview, ^y sending the names to this office. Trial Trip-25 Cents. As the season for Fairs has arrived, and wishing to be able to reach several thousands of the old-fashioned bee- men, and by the aid of the Bee Journal to lift them up to higher ground, adopting newer methods and progressive ideas, we make the follow- ing very liberal offer : We will send the Weekly Bee Journal three months on trial, for 25 cents. In order to pay for getting up Clubs, we will give a copy of Fisher's Grain Tables, or Scribner's Lumber and Log Book, to any one who will send us live trial subscriptions (with Sl.2-5) ; for a club of ten we will give a cloth copy of Bees and Honey ; for a club of 15, a cloth copy of the 7th edition of Cook's Man- ual of the Apiary ; for a club of 2.5, we will present both the Manual and Bees and Honey. If any one wants these Books for nothing, here is on excel- lent opportunity to get them for a little exertion. Books at Fairs.— Those who make an exhibit at Fairs will find that an assortment of Books and Pamphlets would sell and leave them a profit for handling. We will send such, postage prepaid,' at 2.5 per cent, discount; or if the purchaser pays express charges, we will supply any of our own publica- tions at 40 per cent, discount. ^" The new Postal Note will be obtainable in a few days at the Post- offices all over the country. Then any sum from one cent to five dollars can be sent in a letter, by obtaining a Postal Note, costing only 3 cents. After October 1, small sums can be easily sent to this oftice for 5 cents (3 cents for the Postal Note and 2 cents postage on the letter), and there will be no need of sending postage stamps in letters, which often get all stuck togettier by the damp weather, or being handled while perspiring. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 per 100. i^" A Queen and a book on Queen- Rearing for $2. See Henry Alley's liberal offer in his new advertise- ment.— Adv. ^"Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1883 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. The Bee-Keeper's Guide; OB, MANUAL OF THE APIARY, By A. J. COOK, Of Lansing, Projesaor of Entomolotjy in the State Agricultural College of MicMgazL 3SO Pases ; 133 Fine lUustrutlons. This lea new edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, enlarged and elegantly ttlustruted. The first edition of a.OUO copies was exhausted In about 18 months — a aale unprecedented In the annals of bee-culture. This new work, has been produced with great care, patient study and per- sistent research. It comprises a full delineation of the anatomy and physloloey of the honey bee, Illustrated witb many costly wood enaravinKs — the products of the Honey Bee ; the races ot bees-, full deaccnptiona of honey-producing plants.lrees, shrubs, etc. .splendidly Illustrated— and last,thouRh not least, detailed inatructions fur the various manipulations necessary in the apiary. ThlB work Is a masterly production, and one that no bee-keeper, however limited his means, can afford to do without. It is fully "up with the times" on every conceivable subject that can Interest the apiarist. It is not only instructive, but intensely interesting and thoroughly practical. Head the follmving opmiona of the Book ; All apree that it Is the work of a master and of real vu.\\xe.—h'Apicull lire, Paris. I think Coo''"s Manual is tne best of our Amert- cau works.— Lewis t. Coluv. It appears to have cut the ground from under fuiure book-makers.- /in(i,--/i Bee Journal. Prof. Cook's valuable M;mual has been my con- stnni tinide in my operations and successful man- aKemeutof the upiuiy.— J. P. WEST. I have derived more practical knowledge from Prof. Cook's New Manual ot the Apiary than from any other book.— E. Id. VVVNKOOP. Q'his book is just what everyone Interested In bees ought to have, and which, no one who ootaina It, will ever regret huviny puicnased.— A/tc/i. Far. To all who wish to engage 'n bee-culture, a manual is a nece-sity. Piot. Cook's M;iuuul is an exhaustive work.- iifraM. MonticeJlo, 111, With Cook's Manual I am more than pleased. It Is fu.ly up with the ciiues in every particular. The richest rew;ud awaits its author.— A. E. Wenzel. My success has been so preat as to almost aston- ish mysell. and itiuoIi of it is due lo the clear, dis- interested lulorujniinn contained in Cook's Man- ual.-VVM. Van ANTVVEiti'. Al. U It is the latest bonk on the bee, and treats of both the bee and l.ive.s, with their implements. It is of value to all bee-raisers.— A' y. Lire Stock Record. It is a credit to the author as well the publisher I have never yet met with a work, either French i)r liireiun. winch I like so much.— L'ABBE lit' Boiti, editor ot the Jiut.etin D' Atnculteur, France. It not only gives the natural history of these In- d:ibtrious insect,^ but aiyo a thorough, practiCHi, and clearly expressed series of directions for their management; al^oa hotanicjil description ot honey producing plants, and an e.xtended account of the enemies of bees.— i>(;Huc?'ar, Pulaski. N. Y. We have perused with great pleasure this vndA niecuTii of tiie bee-keeper. It is leplete with the beat information on everytliing belonying to api- eulture. I'o al taking an inrere-t in ihis subject, we say, obtain this valuable work, rpad it carefully and practice as advised.— ^IffrituituriAf, Quebec This book is pronounced by the press and leading bee-meu to be the most complete aj3d practical trearise on bee-culture in fciin'openr America; a scientilic work on nioiV-rn bee management thai every experienced bee ii>;in will welct-me, and it is essential to every utnaieur in bee-culture. It is banuNomely prmted, neiuly hfumd and is a credU to the Weal.— WtiyUrtiAijricul^uriiit. This work (3 undoubtedly the most complete manual tor the inatruction ot bee-Ueepers whieh has ever been publi>hed. It j^ives a tull explana- tion regiiriiing the care and nianaj^-ement of the apiary There is no suiiject relating to the culture of bees lelt untoixheii. and in the compilation of the work Prof. Cook has had the advantage of all the previous knowiede ol apiarists, which he uses admirably to promote and make popular this most interesting of alloccupiHinus.—Antencaji Inventor. tot PRiCfi— Bound In cloth, SI. 35 ; in paper cover, SPl.OO by mail prepaid. Published by THOMAS G. NEWMAKv W M, Madison Street, CHICAGO. ll^U .■«1>. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., SEPTEMBER 5, 1883. No. 36. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editok and Pbophibtok, W The Editor of the Bee Jour- nal was prevented from attending the Kentucky State Convention, last week, by an attack of nervous pros- tration. His pliysician prescribes rest from brain labors as much as pos- sible, for a few weeks, in order to effect a complete restoration. i^ The Rev. L. L. Langstroth has been invited to attend the North- western Bee-Keepers' Convention to be held at Chicago, Oct. 17 and 18, and accepts in the following language : " About the invitation to attend the Convention at Chicago, and your very kind invitation to me to share your hospitalities, friend Newman, allow me to say, I accept both with great pleasure, and if nothing unforeseen should prevent, 1 will be glad to make the personal acquaintance of the Northwestern bee-keepers. L. L. Langstroth." 1^ Conventions and Bee and Honey Shows are now the order of the day, and every bee-keeper should arrange to attend these helps to our pursuit, and thus aid in every way possible the advancement of the art. By looking over the columns of the Bee Journal the times and places of such meetings can be ascertained, and arrangements made ahead, so that all may attend them. ^" The new two cent rate of, pos tage for letters goes into effect on October 1. Three cent postage stamps will then be but little used. For all fractions of a dollar sent to us here- after we should prefer either one-cent, or else Ave or ten-cent postage stamps. Do not send coins in any letter. Honey Yield in Wisconsin. The following items are from the Milwaukee Sentinel of last week : Mr. Crain, the owner of a large number of bees at Tyron, in Dunn county, reports an extraordinary yield of honey this season, owing to the unlimited stretches of clover fields. The apiarists of Eau Galla, Waubeck, in that county, are also highly grati- fied with the results of the season. James Nipe, at Spring Prairie, says his bees have stored over 10,000 pounds of honey so far this season. It has been a very good year for white honey, as clover was in blossom much longer than usual. E, A. Morgan, of Columbus, shipped 1 ,000 pounds of honey to Eau Claire last week, his third shipment to that point, this season. The price received was 20 cents a pound. T. L. Wolfenden, of Lake Geneva, recently sold 6,000 pounds of honey to a Cincinnati firm. 1^ Excursion tickets from Cin- cinnati to Niagara Falls, good until Oct. 28, can be bought for $15. Ex- cursion tickets from any part of the South or Southwest to the Louisville Southern Exposition can be had, or from Louisiville or Cincinnati Expo- sition. In this way, if in no other, Toronto, which is only 30 miles from Niagara Falls, may be reached cheaply. ^" The Summer and Fall Cata- logue of E. P. Roe, Newburgh, N. Y., is received. It consists of 20 pages, and describes small fruit plants and grape vines. 1^ We carefully mail the Bee Journal to every subscriber, but should any be lost in the mails we will cheerfully send another, if notified before all the edition is exhausted. (^ To give away a copy of " Honey as Food and Medicine " to every one who buys a package of honey at Fairs, will sell almost a fabulous quantity of it. Bee-Eeeping in Arkansas. The Little Rock, Ark., Gazette con- tains the following : Apiculture or bee raising has be- come a great business in Devall's Bluff, and Dr. W. W. Ilipolite, who is accredited with being the pioneer apiculturist in the State, carries it on extensively. Not the Doctor exactly, but by his son, Walter H. The Doc- tor supervises matters, however, and there are few who are better versed in the natural history of the bee than he. He has 58 colonies, or as they are sometimes called, hives, and although the season does not close until No- vember, he has gathered 3,000 pounds of honey, a great part of which he sends to Little Rock and Hot Springs. The Doctor intends to send some flne specimens of honey in the comb and extracted honey to the Louisville Ex- position. A. W. Sory, another api- culturist, has gathered 5,000 pounds this season, and carries on an exten- sive business. It has been stated by good authority that Arkansas honey stands second to none, and that the State is one of the best locations in the Union for successful operations in apiculture. 1^ A fight recently occurred in Virginia City between a cat and a hive of bees, in which the bees got decidedly the best of it. The cat's attention was attracted by the bees, and thinking them some new kind of game, dabbed viciously at them as they passed in and out of the hive. At last, one day the bees got angry and poured out of the hive by the hundred, and darted for the fur of tabby. Thecal rolled herself into a ball, and bit, sputtered, and clawed with all her might, but with no effect, ■as the bees kept stinging as diligently as ever. After a time she was taken away, and was a week recovering from the effects of the stings. She cannot be persuaded to go near the hive any more. Fairs.— To any one exhibiting at Fairs, we will send samples of the Bee Journal aud a (colored Poster, to aid in getting up a club. The Premiums we offer will pay them for so doing. For a club of s subscribers to the Monthly Bee Journal, or 4 Weekly, we will present Dzierzon's Rational Bee-Keeping. price $2.00. 438 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Immense Yield of Honey. The Clienango, N. Y., IHbune of Aug. 18, contains the following con- cerning an immense yield of honey in the apiary of Mr. F. E. Smith, of Chenango, N. Y. : One of the grandest sights we ever beheld in connection with a display of bees and honey has been witnessed by large numbers of people who have lately visited Sunny bide apiary, located in this village, and owned by E. F. Smith. On the first of May last, Mr. Smith commenced the season with 30 colo- nies of bees, mostly Italians and Cyprians, in improved Langstroth frames adapted to winter chaff-pack- ing hives, having lost 7 during the winter and early spring. The early maple and apple blossoms placed the colonies in fair condition, and the first swarm (Italians) issued May 26, in the midst of apple bloom. White clover was abundant, and commenced blooming about the lOlh ot June, but owing to excessive rains very little nectar was secreted during that month, and consequently the bees did very little up to July 10. After that lime they commenced to boom, and upon the opening of bass- wood blossoms (about July 21), they fairly outdid themselves, and from that time onward until Aug. 10, with very little interruption, honey seemed to rain down. Many of the colonies being so numerous as to bring in upwards of 20 pounds in one day. A record was kept of 2 colonies which we give below. For conven- ience we will number them 1 and 2. For further convenience we will name the parent colony of No. 1, " B," the first swarm " A," and the two frame nucleus " C." All being the outcome of No. 1 colony without any outside help except that frames of foundation were supplied fast as needed. Hecord of colony No. 1, and its increase. ABC June, capped honey lbs. 28 8 " extracted honey 4 July], capped honey 26 "' 18, extracted honey.. 30 " " capped honey 16 " 25, extracted honey. . 49 31 " 27, " " .. 47 30 " " capped honey 19 " 30, " " .... 6 12 " " extracted honey. . 53 42 Aug. 2, extracted honey. . . 54 38 '• 3, Ciipped honey 16 " 6, extracted honey... 66 43 •' 9, '• "... 58 42 " capped honey 8 " 13, extracted honey.. 30 15 Total '. lbs.437 269 55 Summary No. 1, "A," 437; sum- mary No. 1, " B," 209 ; summary No. 1. " C," 55 ; total No. 1 and increase, ■ " C " has also 28 one-pound boxes nearly tilled, and Mr. S. expects to get at least 50 pounds of fall honey each from "A" and " B." If he succeeds, this will bring the amount from the one colony and increase up to nearly 900 pounds. Of the above 139 pounds is comb honey in one- pound boxes, the remainder, 622 pounds, extracted. Reckoning comb honey at 20 cents per pound, and ex- tracted at 15 cents, the result is as follows : 622 pounds of extracted honey, at 15 cents, $93.30 ; 139 pounds of comb honey, at 20 cents, $27.80 ; add for 20^^ pounds of comb honey, at 20 cents, " C." $4.10 ; add for 1 pound of wax, 30 cents ; 1 new swarm of bees, $8 ; 1 nucleus swarm of bees, $7 ; total profits No. 1 colony and increase to date, $U0.50. -Record of No. 2 colony alon^. June, capped honey lbs. 30 " extracted " 33 July 18 " " 20 " " capped" 32 " 25 extracted honey 55 "28 " " 53 "31 " " 51 " " capped " 18 Aug. 3, extracted " 49 " 7 " " 51 " 9 " " 42 " 13 " " '.".".'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 24 " 14 " " from extra frames below except brood-nest of eight frames 34 Total lbs.492 Here we have a grand total of over twelve hundred and fifty pounds of lioney worth over tuco hundred dollars, from two colonies of bees in the spring. One colony, which we will call No. 3. has given no honey or increase. This colony was queenless on the first of June, with only a handful of bees. A queen-cell, and a small patch of brood and eggs were added from another colony, and they are now strong, well alimg in the boxes, and will give a good showing. Consequently, what honey has been taken off, was taken from 29 colonies, spring count. No ho}iey was ex- tracted from the brood cbauiber. Over 6,000 pounds of honey has been taken to dale, and there is over 700 one-pound section boxes on the hives well along, and Mr. S. believes he will get one thousand pounds more this sea- son. This is priibably the largest honey yield on record, being that over 20 per cent, of the above is comb honey in one-pound section boxes. Sunny Side apiary can be seen by calling on the proprietor, who is tliorouglily conversant with the busi- ness, and takes pride in sliowing liis tons ot honey. We have spent some time, and have taken coi}siderable pains to get at these figures, and can vouch for all we have said. Incredi- ble as the above report may seem to some, who know little of bees and their industry, it is true, nevertheless, and can also be substantiated by Rev. A. Eastman, of this village, wlio has been in attendance at Sunny Side apiary during the honey season; and by many of our citizens who have made frequent visits there. People come many miles to see this wonder- ful apiary and get the honey. Many old bee-keepers who are now using the box hive of the Pilgrim fathers, are taking notes on the stand- ard Langstroth movable frame out- door wintering, chaff-packing hive now used by Mr. S., and also of his superior strains of Italian and Cyprian bees for future reference. In the meantime we congratulate friend Smith on having obtained what is probably the greatest honey yield on record from 29 colonies of bees, spring count. He now has 66 colonies in prime condition. Notice to Iowa Bee-Keepers- Quite a large number of bee-keep- ers in our State have expressed a de- sire for the formation of a State Association. A consultation with others has resulted in the decision not to attempt to hold a meeting during the coming State Fair, but if thought best to hold one during the time of the meeting of the .State Agricultural Society at Des Moines next January. All bee-keepers who may be present at the Fair are earnestly requested to report to the Rev. O. Clute, at the Apiarian Exhibit, on or before 1 p. m. of Tuesday, the 4th day of Sep- tember, 1883, who will give them notice of a meeting for consultation, and also for the selection of a com- mittee of arrangements if one is deemed necessary. O. O. POPPLETON, Vice-Pres. N. A. B. K. Society. Williamstown, Iowa, Aug. 10, 1883. Reduced Fare to Toronto Convention President D. A. Jones, under date of Beeton, Aug. 25, 1883, writes us as follows : I have received a letter, of which the enclosure is a copy, from Mr. Ilill, Manger of the Toronto Indus- trial Exiiibition, which is tlie outcome of an application which I made to liim to secure reduced rates for bee- keepers in the State of Michigan. As it would receive publicity through your JouHNAL, perliaps you will be kind enough to give it insertion. There are single fare rates for the whole week of our convention. D. A. Jones. Beeton, Aug. 25, 1883. II. J.Hill. Esq.— Bear Sir: Re- plying to yours of the 15th inst., I would say tiiat we do not wish to ad- vertise any reduction from regular rates, but if there are any on our line who apply to you, and you will refer the applicatioii to rue, 1 will furnish them wilh certificates on which they can obtain tickets to Port Huron or Detroit, and return atexcnrsion rates. Yours truly, D. Edwards. (gf " A tired bee." says Sir John Lubbock, "hums on E, and, there- fore, vibrates its wings only 380 times in a second.'' A brisk little bee hum- ming on A will, on the other hand, increase its vibration to 440 per second. . THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 439 Local Convention Directory. !883. Time and Place o) M««Mn». Sept. 4.— Ohio State, Ht Columbus, o. D. Spear, Sec. Sept. 4.-N. W. III., & S. W. Wis., at KIdot, 111. J*nattian Stewart, Sec, Sept. lli.—EaBtern Iniliana, at Richmond, Ind. M. G. Reynolds, Sec, Williamsburg, Ind. Sept. 12-14.— Trl-State, at Toledo, Ohio, Dr. A. B. Mason, Sec, Wanon Worlia, O. Sept, 18-20,— North American, at Toronto, Ont. A. 1. Root, Sec, Medina, O. Oct, 9, 10.— Northern Mich, at Sheridan, Mich, O, R. Goodno, Sec, Carson (Mtr, Mich. Oct. 10.— Cass County, at LoKansoort. Ind. De Witt Brown, Sec. Oct. 17, 18,— Northwestern, at ChlcaBO, til. Thomas G. Newman. Sec. Oct.— Northern Ohio, at Norwalk, O. S, K. Newman, Sec, Dec, 5-fi, Mlchiean State, at Flint. U. D. CuttinK. Sec, Clinton. Mich. vv In order to have this table complete. Secre- taries are requested to forward full particulars oi time and place of future meetinKs.— ED. Robber Bees and Robbing. Dr. W. G. Phelps, D. D. S., gives the following in the Practical Farmer on the above subject : One of tlie most annoying features of bee-keeping, at this season of the year particularly, is that arising from the presence of robber bees. These are in no respect a distinct race of bees, as some erroneously suppose Iroiii their peculiar black glossy ap- pearance and active movements. They are simply bees with perverted theivish tendencies. In times when tbe bee pasturage is scarce they be- come very troublesome, and much damage and commotion may be caused in an a|)iary by their persistent attacks on weak hives. Robber bees may be found in all apiaries, but more particularly in the one whose owner is careless in leav- ing honey exposed, or daubing sweets about. The propensity to rob seems to gradually develop itself in some bees, and even in whole colonies fre- quently until leaving the pursuit of honest, hard working honey gather- ers, they develop a perfect mania for preying upon the gathering of other bees. No longer satisfied to gather it in minute particles " from every open- ing flower," they seek it after a wholesale style, from the well-filled hives of their neighbors. Thus they may be found sneaking about the en- trance of other hives, endeavoring to slyly gain an admittance. If success- ful in passing the guards and loading up, they will soon return and bring their comrades, until at last with tierce onslaught and overpowering numbers they take forcible possession, seize upon, and transfer the stores tlierein to their own hive. The taste once formed, without diligent care, a whole apiary may be demoralized. As a preventive, where the clover and basswood honey flow is over, it is best to close up the entrances of the hives, particularly the weaker ones, so that but one bee can gain entrance at a time. Thus each hive can be better defended by its owners. In case of robbing having begun, it is well to stand a broad board close up before the entrance around which the robbers shall have to pass ere getting in. If they still persist, close the en- trance entirely for a half hour and dash water upon the robbers that gather at the entrance. It may be, if they still attack it, that the hive will have to be moved to a new stand, or into a cool dark cellar until after sundown, and then taken back. By sprinkling flour on the backs of the robber bees, their hive can readily be ascertained, and I have frequently interrupted and broken up their naughty tricks by giving them a good smoking with the bellows smoker, which frightens them into remaining at home. To get ahead of robber bees when once started, the owner must be up by time In the morning, and closely watch them till after dark. Their propensity to squeeze into the smallest crevices after forbidden sweets (which gives them their glossy black appearance), requires a watch- ful eye to be kept upon them and a careful closing of hives and handling of sweets in their vicinity. Western Bee-Eeepers' Association. The ttrst annual meeting of the Western Hee-Keepers' Association will be held at Independence, Mo., Sept. 20 and 21, 18.s:i. The association being situated in the centre of one of the best honey-producing sections of the country, and easy of access from all parts of the country, it is desirous that as many bee-keepers as can pos- sibly attend will meet with us, and help to make it as interesting and en- joyable as circumstances will permit. In connection with the general busi- ness of such meetings, the members of tlie association have made arrange- ments for a Bee and Honey Fair, free to the world. The following prem- iums are offered. Members of the as- sociation will not compete for prem- iums offered by itself. By the Association. Best display of honey (comb and extracted) not less than 20 lbs. of each, in marketable shape. $2.5 00 Best 25 lbs. of comb honey 10 00 " " " extracted " 10 00 Best queen, with her bees 10 00 Best display of apiarian imple- ments, including all the prin- ciple fixtures used in the apiary 15 00 Special Premiums free to all. By the business men of Independ- ence: Best .50 lbs. of comb honey in the best marketable shape, $-50.00. By tbe Sentinel: Best package of comb honey not over 2 lbs., one year's subscription. Judges not members of the associa- tion : All articles for display or premiums must be entered on the first day of the meeting. Parties from a distance, who may wish, can consign their goods to either of the members of the committee. The members of the association will do their very best to provide enter- tainment for all persons who inajr visit us, J. D, Meadok, L. \V. Baldwin, 0. M. Ckandall, James A, Jones, P. Baldwin. Committee. Honey and Beeswax Market. OFFICE OP AMBKICAN BEB JorHNAL, { Monday, 1" a. m., Sept. 3. 18^:l. t The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. HONE T— The demand for extracted honey is exceedinsriy dull; for comb honey, only fair: arri- vals are plentiful. Stc. for prime to pure yellow. R. A. BCTHNETT, l«l South Water SU SAN FRANCISCO. HONEY- Receipts were comparatively large the past week, mostly of medium qualities, for which the market is not flrni. Transfers are largely of a jobbing character. White to extra white comb, li» (4200 : dark to good, UKoSiaXc: extracted, choica to extra white, T^faiH'^c. ; dark and candied, «bi®— BBBSWA.X -Wholesale, 27(512HC. STEARNS & SMITH, 4^3 Front Street. ST. LOUIS. HONEY— Quiet sale. New comb !4(ai5e.: fancy small packages higher; strained and extracted 7» 7J^c. BBESWAX-Easy, at 24'a2,'',c. for cho'ce. W.T. ANOEHSON i Co., i"4 N. M Street. CLEVELAND. HONEY— New honey continues in good demand at iXfSilHc, for choice I lb. sections, and such ar» readily placed as fast as received : 2 lbs. not so ac- tive, at IHfajiHc, Sec. md quality sella 14^17c. Hl- tracted not in demanH. BEBSWAX-None In Market. A. C. Kknuei., 1 15 Ontario Street. B(^)STON. HONEY— We have had a shipment the past week from J. B Crane, and a good sized shipment from .1. V. Caldwell, of Cambridge, III., whose honey we had last year. i»-i.i.,. We quote our market prices, as follows : While clover, one lb, combs 20i3l22c ; white clover, 2 lb. combs 18raj2ne.: extracted, ;(,®10c. BBESWAX-Our supply is gone; we have none oquo «|jjjp^j.„ jj BLAKE. ,57 Chatham Street, tW According to the American Newspaphu Catai.iiOUE of Edwin Alden & Bro., Cincinnati, Ohio, Jnstpubllshed, contiilnlngoversoo pages, the total number of Newspapers and Magazines pub- ll-hed in the United States and Canada Is 13,1H« (showing an Incroase over last year of l,o2«), lo- till in the Urilteii Slates, IJ.IT'J; Cnoadus, l,i«>7. Published as follows: Dallies. 1,227: Trl-Weeklleu. 7l;Seml-Weeklles, 151; Wceklles.!),:i55: Bl- Week- lies, 23; Semi-Monthlle.s. 237; Monthlies. 1,324; Bl- Monthlles, 12, 440 THE AMERICAi^ BEE JOURNAL. For the American Bee Journal Excessive Humidity in Winter. DU. a. L. TINKEIl. Mr. S. Cornell, on page 405, of the Bee Journal, gives a highly in- teresting table on the comparative temperature and humidity of the winter of 1880-81 with the winters of] other years. The record is complete from 50 stations in the northern and western States, and in a large nnmber extends over a period of i:! years. For these records he is indebted to our Chief Signal Service Oflicer at Washington, to whom bee-keepers generally are under obligations for the time and labor of preparing them. The table indicates beyond perad- venture that severe and protracted cold conjoined with an unusual humid state of the atmosphere were the chief cause.s of the great bee mortality of the late hard winter. It so happened that throughout the greater part of the eastern States, in- cluding New .Jersey and Maryland, that the rate of the mortality was much less than at points farther west. In the State of Maine, as indicated by the table, the cold was not below that of average winters, while the humidity was somewhat less. Mr. Plummer, of Augusta, wrote : " We have not had much snow, which all left about the Istof March." After stating that in his vicinity there were lost only 3 out of 119 colonies, he added: "I think that thi i is a good report for a locality so far north-" And such was the tenor of nearly all the reports from the New England States. Mr. Alley reporting: "Bees never wintered better in this vicinity." There was not the usual snow fall in the eastern States, but the middle States, and the great West were deluged with snow from the 1st of December, 1880, to the 15th of April, 1881. So long as the snow did not melt to any great ex- tent, the bees did not appear to suffer. When February came in the tem- perature began to moderate and the snow to melt. The atmosphere be- came damp, and contniued unusually damp all through Marcli in all of those sections where there had been heavy snow falls. Now came the struggle for existence to the bees. February witnessed a frightfnl mor- tality, but in March it became appall- ing. Whole apiaries were swept out of existence, and when at last sum- mer came, less than half of all the bees in the northern States remained alive. The table of Mr. Cornell indicates what might have been suspected, viz. : that when so great a fall of snow occurs, extending over a great part of tiie country, we are certain to have a very damp atmosphere during the early spring, and, consequently, an unfavorable condition for bees. It indicates, moreover, what the great majority of bee-keepers have long felt, but have been unable to prove, viz. : that in winter excessive damp- ness in the hive, or in the atmosphere outside, is the mosi dangerous thing that can menace a colony of bees. For it appears that cold alone is not injurious to bees, nor is protracted confinement under favorable condi- tions. Nor yet is their normal food (honey and pollen) injurious, if the quality is good. These facts, at the present time, are indisputable. If then, dysentery be the disorder from which so many colonies of bees suc- cumb in winter, we are forced to the conclusion that dampness is the prin- cipal cause of it. THE POLLEN THEORY. It is Mr. James Heddon, I believe, who has the distinguished honor of being the author of this theory which occupied to a great extent the columns of the Bee Jouknal not long since. The agricultural press took up the refrain as if the majority of bee- keepers acquiesced in the strange doctrine, until the general reader has been led to believe that a food pro- vided bv nature for the bees is a deadly thing for them to eat in winter. Mr. Heddon also holds parentage to the " bacteria theory," on which he was " ten to one " for a long time. Well, now, if he had only just stuck to this, his first ideal offspring, he would to-day have been standing upon solid ground, as to the probable cause of many cases of bee dv.sentery that have occurred in isolated apiaries or in apiaries in certain limited por- tions of the country. Now, that the germ theory of dis- ease is quite generally accepted by the most learned men of tlie times, it seems probable ttiat a specific mi- crophyte may gain entrance to the bodies of the bees by means of their food, or in some other manner, and cause dysentery. But no germ theory can be made to account for the mor- tality of bees in tiie winter and spring of 1881. If that winter had been mild, with little snow fall, and there had been great mortality, such a theory might be entertained. But neither can the pollen theory be made to so accounts As stated once before in the col- umns of the Bee Journal, I am unable to see how the eating of pollen in winter can be a cause of dysentery in any of its forms. If it were claimed that the eating of aphide honev was a cause of some cases, the hypothesis would have at least the merit of reasonableness. But to as- sume that pollen, a normal food, may cause it, is quite unintelligible. My belief is, that bees in a normal condition eat pollen all winter, not to any great extent it is true, because much nitrogenous food is not re- quired in a comparatively inactive condition. If bees can be wintered, as they often are, without a flight for five or six months, and come out healthy, I think it must be just as difficult for others to see how pollen may cause the disease. In the early spring of 1881,1 had two hybrid colonies that had failed to gather as much honey the previous fall as my Italian colonies, and about the 1st of March, they became short. They were discovered in time to save both from starvation by the great number of bees that were observed crawling slowly out of their hives as if very sick. Although quite cold, I opened both hives and found that they had no honey, and that they had eaten nearly all their pollen up also, as judged by the marks of their mandibles on the little pollen left. I put unsealed honey over each, and the apparently sick and dying soon revived. About four weeks after- wards they were able to take a flight. They had been gorged with pollen, but had not a sign of dysentery. Ii the consuming of much pollen was a cause, why did not these bees get it V But instances of this kind have been numerous. It appears that Mr. Heddon thinks that because some colonies prepared for winter with no stores but cane sugar syrup, .seem to winter better than other colonies having natural stores, the pollen theory is demon- strated. I would inquire, why not think the honey to be the cause in- stead of the pollen ? Both being the normal food of the bees. If a child should take cholera infantum and die, who had taken no nourishment but milk and bread of good quality, both being normal food, would I be justi- fied in assuming that it was the bread or the milk that caused the disease, or neither ? I think I hear a common answer, neither. And so with the causation of bee-dysentery, it is neither the honey or the pollen, if of ordinary good quality. If it can be proved (which I very much doubt) that bees will winter better on cane sugar syrup than upon their natural stores, it would demon- strate only this, that they are able to hold out longer against adverse con- ditions upon the former food than the latter, not that either kind of food in any case can be acause. For instance, a man insufliciently protected and exposed to the intense cold of the Arctic regions will survive longer on a diet of tallow or animal fat than a diet of sugar, yet both of these agents, and honey also, are hydro-carbons. But cane sugar contains a larger per- centage of neat producing elements than grape sugar, which is the chief constitutent of honey, and animal fat contains a larger per cent, than cane sugar. It would, therefore, ap- pear that if cane sugar syrup is a better diet for bees in winter than honey, that animal fat (if the bees could be made to subsist upon it) would be better than either. It may be assumed that my com- parisons are not parallel, that bees in a state of confinement pass no feces. But my own observation, and that of many other reliable observers is. that they do, so that the question of liquid or solid food can signify nothing for or against the theory. The mere fact that pollen contains more particles that cannot be digested than honey, is no evidence that the indigestible par- ticles in the intestines of the bees mav cause dysentery. Are not the THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 441 intestines of the bees, as well as of all animals, made to carry o£E these same particles '( if bees pass, in conline- ment, under favorable conditions, their feces regularly as there is every evidence that they do, from the time they are put into winter quarters whether they may have llights or not, judging from the amount of the ex- crement that may be raked from the bottom board of a hive every few days during tho winter, in what manner are we to conclude that the indigest- able particles are capable of causing disease 'i Now the fact is just this, bees hold an intermediate place between warm and cold blooded animals. They are more or less active, and develop heat at all times. There is, therefore, al- ways tissue waste, and as a part of the excrement of all animals is made up of this tissue waste, it cannot mat- ter what the bees may subsist upon, there will be formed excrement, and I contend that this excrement is passed regularly by them throughout the winter, and the passage is only inter- fered with by unfavorable conditions to the life of the bees. But if there is tissue waste in win- ter, there is also a necessity for nitro- genous food, and so I believe, as be- fore stated, that bees eat a little pollen all winter,andthat that little is just as necessary for their well-being to eat as is honey. I. therefore, stand for the wise and intelligent provision in nature of honey and pollen for the bees, and hold that they constitute the best food it is possible for them to have under all circumstances, and 1 re-assert that it is no more probable that pollen should be a cause of dysen- tery than that honey should be, and that it is impossible for any one to comprehend how either can be, as- suming that both in any case are of good quality. I had supposed that Mr. Ileddou had abandoned the pollen theory, but from a recent article in the Bkk Journal it appears that he still ad- heres to the old flame. The above is, therefore, very respectfully submitted, for there is no one, perhaps, more de- serving than Mr. H. for the zealous and persistent effort to unfathom the mysteries that have heretofore sur- rounded the causes of bee dysentery in winter. New Philadelphia, O. For the American Beo JoumaL Bees Injured by Heat. M. BRAY. I think that the bees with deformed ©r crippled wings, that Mr. J. D. Enas speaks of, on page 371, must have been caused by over-heating. On July 8, 1882, the thermometer went up to 108° in the shade, in this Elace. This day ruined all of the rood in my apiary. The young bees were very much dwarfed in size, with only rudimen- tary wings, and would leave the hive much as Mr. Enas describes their leaving. The queens stopped laying for some two or three weeks ; the bees, being mostly field hands, during this time Hooded the brood-chamber with honey. When the queens com- menced laying, it was only a small patch of eggs at lirst, and increased slowly, as in early spring. We have had some extreme heat during the present season; the mercury going as high as IKP. By raising the hives from the bottom boards, and keeping them well shaded, I have escaped in- jury to the brood from heat; but the old bees have been injured by heat wnile clustering on the outside, for soon the shiny or hairless bees put in an appearance, in quite large num- bers. There had been no robbing among my bees for the season, and I claim that this smooth appearance was caused by heat. These hairless bees are short lived, about two weeks, and the most of them lie dead in front of the hives. A neighbor of mine has had brood ruined and old bees scalded in the same hives, and now some colonies are very weak. I hear persons say that all "of this talk about wintering in the North amounts to nothing to us in California ; this is a land of per- petual bloom; but I think a little protection from cold in winter, and protection frotii heat in summer, would not be amiss. I am now devising a double-walled hive to secure my bees both from heat and cold. To-day, as I write, the mercury stands at 104°. The bees have come through with a light har- vest, but the bees are in good condi- tion. New Almaden, Cal., Aug. 18, 1883. Heud belore the Maine State Association. Breeding the Best ftueens. I. U. MASON. In no department of animal life is it so easy to make rapid progress to- wards perfection iu breeding, than with the honey bee. With our stock generally, it requires a series of years to add such qualities as are deemed desirable, or to get rid of those we wish to eradicate. This, of course, is owing to the fact that conception and uterine growth is a slow process, when compared with reproduction in the insect class. With the bee, sev- eral generations can be produced in the same time that would he required to bring forth a single specimen among the mammals. Knowing these facts, and imder- standing as we all may, that 16 days only is required to produce a queen from the egg, and only 25 to 30 to have it fertilized and ready to rejiro- duce itself, it will be seen that the possibilities in the matter of perfect- ing our colonies, are incalculable. While in the past considerable atten- tion has been given to matters of queen breeding, the chief attempts have been to work for color ; why it is 1 know not, that a bright yellow color has been considered the type of beauty in the Italian bee, or why a rich, dark brown has not been accepted as the stvle. But such has been the fact. and the aim of queen breeders has been to produce handsome bees, often- times at the sacrifice of those other qualities which alone can make them a source of profit. In a state of na- ture such is not the case; as a rule, the strongest and hardiest become the fathers and mothers, while lb weaker must necessarily go to the wall. The result is invariably, tliat all animals reared in a wild state, are as nearly perfect as it is possible to have them, while it remains with man to produce inferior specimens from superior stock. In the breeding of cattle and stock generally, the rule now is to strive to improve. We first ascertain or determine what particular points we desire to maintain and perpetuate, and to bend our best energies to the work. Al- ready we have made vast jirogress in this direction. As an evidence, I can point to the vast size of our Short- horns, the milk, butter and cheese qualities of our Jerseys, and horses for speed, while ten years ago a mile in three minutes for a horse to travel was considered fast. We now think we are getting a slow rate of speed imless we can drive that distance in 2:25 or less. The time has come, however, when beauty of color alone in our bees is a matter of secondary importance. Bee-keepers are de- manding something more ; they have found out that beauty alone will not secure them a big crop of honey, and as but few keep an apiary for experi- ment only, they desire, regardless of color, such stock as will guarantee them a good surplus crop, not that they object to beauty, but unless they can obtain it in connection with those other qualities which make their bees fairly remunerative, they decidedly prefer to take color as itcomes, rather than to please the fancy at the ex- pense of the pocket. How, then, shall we lear such queens as will prove the Uiost remunerative, and which perpetuate those qualities that will give us bees for business? In the first place, then, we must select for the queen mother such as give us hardy, long-lived, industrious, strong winged and peaceable bees. If such a colony is of the right color for style, so much the better. A queen reared from the egg of such a colony, must necessarily prove a good one, liiid if she becomes ferti- lized by a drone from another such a colony of different strain, we have so far done all that is necessary to im- prove in the rightdirection. Keeping the above points in view, and breed- ing only from strong colonies, we wiU get the best queens possible. If we wish to rear queens, however, at a time when no honey is being gath- ered from the fields, we must feed our bees liberally while cell building is going forward, as there is no doubt that better queens are reared while the bees are getting stores plentifully, either frimi the Held at large, or from the feeder at home. I do not think it makes any difference whether queens are reared umler the swarming im- pulse or not, as regards their value, piovided we supply artificially and in plenty the stoi'es which they naturally 442 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. gather for themselves. In fact, I am rather of theoi>inioii, tliat if we keep close watch and force our bees to use eggs rather than larvie three or four days old, as they are apt to do when under the swarming impulse, we shall get a stock of queens superior to many that remain in the hive after a swarm has Issued. By careful attention to details, and by taking as much care in the selec- tion of the drone mother as of the queen mother, and always selecting strong colonies of business bees from which to procure both queen and fertilizing drones, working for beauty as far as is practicable, yet making that point alone a secondary one, we can soon produce a strain of bees, that are not only capable of bringing us in a handsome amount of profit, but also as beautiful in color as we may desire, amil so peaceable in disposition as to be handled without danger of their stings. All this will cause trouble and care on the part of the breeder, and as a rnle, in order to bring breed- ing to absolute perfection, it must be made a specialty ; the ordinary bee- keeper cannot rear perfect queens and give that time to a honey apiary as will be found necessary to give the best results. Let us look forward then to the good time coming {and it is sure to come) when our bees will be as near perfection as are our horses and cattle. In this article, I have not attempted to give any directions for rearing queens, as they can be found by any one in the various manuals and jour- nals of the day, but have endeavored briefly to point out the necessary re- quirements to make our colonies as perfect as it is possible to liave them, and as the colony depends wholly upon tlie queen, and the drone she mates with, all that we require is to select both male and female parents, from such colonies as possess the most desirable qualities, and by following this plan out in detail, we shall soon be able to accomplish our vmrpose. and that, too, with positiveness and certainty, and in ati exceedingly short period of time. We have the patience to work for a series of years to im- prove our cattle, why not have the patience then for a few months to bring this about with our bees, es- pecially when we know that we shall attain success eventually y Pniirie Kurmer. Bees in Poetry. S. V. COLK. Of the little folks of nature the bees are among the most interesting. Tliey shine not only in the field of flowers, but in the field of letters. Tiiey supply the husbandman with food, and the poet with simile and metaphor. This was especially true of the ancient poets. The Milse, in coming hither from the (JoUlen Age of Saturn, started like the linden in Tennyson's " Ampliion," with all iier bees behind ber. If we ask what has made the bees so interesting, we lind, among other causes, that they are creatures with whom order seems to be the first law. The sluggard may go to tlie ant for lessons in the art of perseverance, but his edutatiou is not complete until he has graduated from the bee in the science of method, economy, and the duties of a good citizen. A bee makes wise plans, and works for the common weal of his nation; and whatsoever he findeth to do he doeth with his might. Even when he uses his sting, he puts his whole soul into it, for he is soldier as well as citizen. This double character has led the poets to compare the bee community to a State, in which every member has his special duty; but in this comparison the bees "nave the advantage. Our systems are the imperfect development of ages, whereas the bees received theirs per- fect in the beginning; so that Virgil says they pass their lives beneath "unchangeable laws." Shakespeare calls them Creatures that by a rule in nuture teacli The art of order to a peopled ItiDgdom. Virgil has sung of the bees in fuller strains tlian any other poet, and has interwoven fact, theory, legend in a most charming manner. The fourth book of the Georics, the most perfect of his poems, is devoted to this theme. Here occurs the story of the shepherd Aristieus, who lost his bees and complained to his goddess-mother " in her chamber in the river-deptli." She directs him to Proteus, the seer from whom he learns the secret of replenishing his hives. In Virgil the bees are minified types of humanity, just as the gods are magnifie.d ones ; and they go about their business, therefore, after the manner of men : Some .seeli supply of food And by agreement labor in the fields; Some in tbelr narrow homes do lay the tear Of the narcissus and tbo pluey »rum From barii of trees, to be their hive's foundations. The contrast between the aged and sedate bees, and their more vigorous companions is very curious : The aped Kuard towns, and build the combs And moid the curious houses: 'tis their charge. But late at night the youuKer ones return Winpr-weary home, tljeir less thicl£-smeared with thyme. One observes that the Latin poet does not forget in his figures to bring the bee-commonwealth under Roman laws and customs. In another place he speaks of their "setting out on their airy march, and pulling up the standards of the camp." Indeed, the Roman bees are soldierly in bearing, though not more so, perhaps, than their English relatives. As, in Shakespeare, some, lAke soldiers armed in tlieir stinKS, Make boot upon the summer'.-* velvet buds, so the Virgil, Some stand like sentinels before the gates. At times the whole nation is roused by an unfriendly challenge. Then it is they show themselves true Romans. Their hearls "throb with the spirit of war," says Virgil. A sound is heard " that mimics the fitful blasts of trumpets." The excited bees " flash their wings," " whet the points of their beaks," throng around the chief's pavilion, and— muo6t7e dictu ! — " with loud shouts defy the enemy !" Then comes the conflict, in which The leaders, midmost of the battle lines. Conspicuous for their wind's, exlilblt how A mighty soul worits In a narrow breast. The analogy between bees and men is seldom carried more dangerously near the verge of the ridiculous than when a bee dies and the survivors bear out the lifeless corpse. And form the mournful funeral train. Time has somewhat dimmed the picture, but with its suggestion of the busts of dead ancestors and other by- gone accompaniments of a funeral, it must have been somewhat vivid in its day. Bees, along with ants, birds, leaves, and hailstones, furnished the ancient poets with convenient similes where numbers were involved. Homer com- pares the Greeks gathering for battle to "swarms of closely-thronging bees, always issuing in fresh numbers from the hollow rock." ^Eneas, looking down on Carthage from a distance, saw the people at work on the new buildings like so many bees in sum- mer. And Milton, whose mind was filled with classic forms, makes Satan's minions swarm to the council at Pan- demonium As Bees In springtime, when tlie sun with 'raurus rides. Tour forth their popolous youth about the hive In clusters. In American poetrv, Emerson's " Humble-bee " and Whittier's "Tell- ing the Bees " are unlike anything the ancient Muse produced, and also differ widely from each other, both in style and sentiment. The former contains the thoughts which arise in the mind of a philosopher as he calmly contemplates the Sailor of the atmosphere making his tiny voyages from flower to flower ; while tlie latter is a simple and very effective appeal to the affec- tions. Mr. Whittier's poem is founded on the curious custom, introduced from England and said to have pre- vailed to some extent in the rural dis- tricts of our own country, of inform- ing tlie bees, in the event of a death in the family, and draping the hives in black. This was supposed to be necessary to prevent the bees from flying away in search of a new home : Under the garden wall, Forward and back. Went drearily sinning tlie chore-girl small. Draping each hive with a shred of black. *• And the song she was singing ever since In my ear sounds on : " Stay at home, pretty bees, fly not hence! Mistress Mary is dead and gone!" As good order is so strikingly exhib- ited in the government of the bees, for the bees, and by the bees, it seems ap- propriate that in Egyptian hierogly- phics the bee should represent royalty, and, in latter times, become the symbol of the French Empire. In France the royal mantle and standard THE AMEBIC A2i BEE JOURNAL. 443 were thickly sown with golden bees, and in the tomb of Ohilderic, in 1053, there were discovered 300 bees made from the same precious metal. For the American Bee Jourcai. Another Dual ftueen Wrinkle. J. O. SHEARMAN. 1 have about come to the conclusion in my own mind that the usual cause for two queeu-ed-ness is an intent to supersede the old queen. And tliis is why : I had a queeu in a full colony which had never gone out with a swarm (and this is her third season). She always kept her hive well stocked with bees which did well on surplus, and was, therefore, a favorite. 1 looked into the brood-chamber in basswood time (forepart), and found queen-cells capped, so 1 set the boys to watch for the swarm that I expected must come the next day or so, but the rain continued to come, with 2 or 3 cooler days, and tlie swarm did not come out. They still crowded the surplus chamber, so JList about the last part of the basswood flow I looked in the brood-chamber for the reason, as I wanted her queen-cells. I found a queen-cell hatched naturally, also plenty of eggs and brood and the queen. Thinking they had torn down tne rest of the queen-cells, and, per- haps, made away with tlie new candi- date, I took the queen out with one comb of brood and bees, and made up a nucleus for the present, as it was a busy time. Then in a few days gave her another comb or two with bees, and noticed soon after that she filled them pretty fairly with eggs. Now, to the point; on the 10th or 11th day after taking out the old queen, 1 went to the old hive after my queen-cells, and found plenty of eggs and brood in all stages. Think- ing, perhaps, that the old queen had gone back {as it was only 10 feet away), I went to her hive and found her doing well enough, for a nucleus, indicating that the old colony (No. 56) had two queens at the time 1 took the old one away. Then I had an after-swarm of hybrids sitting near by for this pur- pose, so I doubled them up with the old queen, and gave another comb of brood in the back part of the brood- chamber. A few days after this, I looked in to see if all was well, and found queen-cells, and the hybrids in the back part of the hive were build- ing drone comb in a frame that was only partly filled at the time of doub- ling up. Censuring the hybrids for murder- ing my S3 queen, I looked through the hive to make sure of the case, and found her in the forepart of the hive among her own bees, and looking rather "slimmed up," as she was also at the time 1 took her out of No. .56 (there had been two days of rather cool weather again). Also I found 4 or 5 queen-cells on a comb that she had occupied. The hive was well stocked with bees at this time, on 8 frames, enough for breeding but not for surplus. Now I thought I had her where she could furnish queen-cells, so I shut them up for six days, and then went for my queen-cells again, and found, instead, a young queen going around among them, and all the queen-cells destroyed. Fearing for my $3 queen again, I hunted her up in the very front of the hive, and doing a good business for this season of the year, and fairly fatted up to a good sized queen again. She had increased the size of her brood-nest 2 or 3 full combs, and ap- peared to be able to fill the hive in another week. The young queen appeared to be unfertile, at least to me, as I believe I can tell by their personal appear- ance, if fertile or not. So I put her in a nucleus to keep till I see how she might "pan out." These are some of my play things. This brings these experiments up to date. Next, if they undertake to supersede old No. 56 queen again, I will see if I can set up a queen-cell establishment with her; take away the cells and put them on the back to try it again, and then see if these queens are as good as others. New Richmond, Mich., Aug.25,1883. For the American Boe Journar. The Honey Season in New York. JAMES MCNEILL. The honey flow thus far in this sec- tion has been only fair. It opened well in the beginning with an abund- ant harvest from fruit bloom, which induced early swarming. The mucii - wanted white clover bloomed prof usely, but the, bees did not get much more than a growing living from it. In fact, my observa- tion during the four years that I have kept bees, leads me to hold white clo- ver in less esteem than any other im- portant honey plant. I have usually been able to count 25 bees on raspber- ries, during the same time that I have been able to find three sipping the nectar from a field of white clover. You can find bees roaring on rasp- berries from " early morn till dewy eve," and a passing shower drives them home, only to return again as soon as it is over. But it is only oc- casionally that I have been able to hear the genuine hum of industry from a field of white clover. They do not take possession of the clover field as they do of the raspberries. The scattering English linden and basswood trees of this section bloomed abundantly, and gave the bees a tine feast. It was from this source that I obtained most of my surplus. I hoped much from sweet clover, as I have never seen a better stand nor a more abundant bloom. But directly after basswood bloom, a period of cool weather set in, which I think must have interfered with the secretion of the nectar. The nights were exceed- ingly cool for the season, and some mornings were actually chilly, still the clover was alive with bees during the day, and they stored some surplus. But a first-class case of robbing could be developed any day ^y a little care- lessness in exposing honey. With the advent of August a dry spell set in, and it looked as if our usual fall drouth was upon us. Hap- pily this has been postponed by a copious rain on ttie night of the 18th. Although buckwheat has been in bloom for two weeks, my bees did not settle down to actual business on this fragrant plant till the 17th. On the morning of that day it seemed as if a ship-load of honey had arrived in port, and my bees were given the con- tract of unloading it, with a forfeit- ure, if the task was not performed witliin a given time. Can you explain why bees start up so suddenly to work on a plant which has been in bloom for many days ? , The late rain will, I think, insure a good fall crop, as we will probably have a fine, warm fall to otfset the cool, wet summer. Two years ago I took half of my crop after tlie middle of August. If I do the same thisyear I will have no reason to complain, although I cannot boast of such yields as are reported from some sections of this State. I do not know but that I shall have to take back, in a measure, ray strict- ures on white clover. The grounds of my apiary are sown to wliite clover, which I have kept closely cut with a lawn-mower till lately. They are now white with bloom. I have just been out to take a look at my busy workers, and the way that they are flitting from flower to flower over my clover lawn, leads me to earnestly wish that I had 100 acres like it. I would then be in clover as well as the bees. Hudson, N. Y., Aug. 20th, 18S3. [Cold weather retards the nectar, and when it does get a chance, it bursts out and has the same effect as though a ship load of honey had ar- rived, as is mentioned above. We well knew you would cliange your es- timate of white clover; it is one of the best of honey producers. — Ed.] Maine Bee-Keepers' Association. The regular quarterly meeting of the Maine Bee-Keepers' Association was held in Augusta, on Thursday and Friday, Aug. 9 and 10. Although it came in a somewhat unfavorable time for a large attendance, farmers being just in the midst of the grain harvest, yet a goodly number were present at all the sessions, and the discussions were animated and inter- e.sting. The meeting was called to order at 10 a. m. by the president of the asso- ciation, Mr. F. O. Addition, who presided throughout the meeting, to great acceptance. The forenoon was chiefly taken up with business of a routine nature, and with brief dis- cussions upon a few practical points which came up. At the opening of the afternoon session, a paper was read by Mr. J. B. Mason.of Mechanics Falls, on the subject of queen-rearing. The remainder of the afternoon was 444 THE AMERICAISl BEE JOURNAL. taken up with a general discussion of that and allied subjects. At the close of the afternoon ses- sion the members, their friends, and a few iuvited guests, by invitation of the editor of the Home Farm, visited Ills lionie and bee-yard, examined his apiary of G or 8 colonies, had a practi- cal bee convention then and there, and were entertained at a little in- formal lawn " spread," whicli it is hoped proved as enjoyable to them as it was gratifying to him and his. Tlie evening was pleasant, and passed off too quickly In the forenoon of the second day, a paper was read by Mr. John lley- nolds, of Clinton, on " Climatic in- fluence in bee management," partic- ularly in regard to ttie spring care of bees, followed by a brief essay from the pen of Mr. O. L. Sawyer, of Gardiner, on tlie occasion of the losses of bees during tlie past winter — a dis- cussion upon the two papers occupy- ing the forenoon At the opening of the afternoon session, the report of the committee appointed to award the preferences on articles exhibited, was lirst pre- sented. Following the presentation of this report there was a discussion in regard to establishing the price of honey, and uniting in its sale, and W. lioyt, F. O. Addition and J. B. Mason were appointed a committee to correspond with producers and buyers in regard to the advisability of such a course. The next session of the association will be held at Lewis- ton on the second Thursday of Feb- ruary next, and J. B. Mason, L. F. Abbott, of the Lewiston JourwU. and Dr. J. A. Morton, of Bethel, were ap- pointed a committee to make arrange- ments for the SAme.—Home Farm. The yield of Judge Harrinian's (80 colonies) and Mr. Robert Adams (80 colonies) exceeded, at that date, iiOO pounds per colony. In November we expect to organize the Mississppl and Arkansas Bee-Keepers' Association. Greenville, Miss., Aug. 23, 18S3. F"or the American lice Journal. A Starter Machine. GEO. E. LYTLE. I send a drawing of a Starter Ma- chine, which is the invention of a bee-keeper near here (D. A. Sailor). There is an awakening interest in bee-keeping here, but there are, as yet, very tew bees kept in anything but box hives, yet we have a good lo- cation. There is plenty of room for enlightened bee-keepers here. Our honev season commences very early — the last of Januai-y and February. We have no trouble in wintering our bees if they have stores in plenty, so as not to starve. Figure 1 shows a top view of the machine, which consists of a board, A, Figure 1. Bee-Eeeping in Mississippi. O. M. BLANTON. are nailed to the underside of the board. A, with a hole at I. A peg is put through these holes, and also through the hole, P, in the post, F, which is between the two blocks in Fig. 3. Let the head of the post, F, when the board. A, is level, be just half the width of the section above the top of the board. Let the two wire springs, one of which is shown at Q, be just 14 or 3-16 below the top of the post, F. These should have the point iu a hole in the post, so they can sink in ; as the section is pressed up against the post, they catch the starter and guage tlie depth that is marked into the wood. The section is placed around the post, F, and the starter dropped against the wire springs with the right hand, brings the lever E, against the block, C, which will mash the sec- tion against the post, and squeeze the starter to the section ; then with the left arm or elbow, shove the end of the board. A, down, which shoves the section up, mashes the starter well into the wood of the section, and bends the starter down right all ready for the hive. This is by far the best ma- chine in use to my idea, as you can do faster and better work with it than any of the others. I forgot to state that the head of the post, F, is covered with a piece of tin to prevent the wax from sticking to the post, instead of the section. Flat Bayou, Ark. Ontario Convention. I After an excellent honey flow of two months, the dry season has well set in, and bees are slowing up in gathering honey. I have taken off, up to date, over 2,200 pounds of honey from 201 colonies. The apiiiries of Washington County, Miss., and Chicot County. Ark., have yielded remark- ably well up to date. Mr. G. C. Vaught and myself visited the bee- keepers of Chicot and Washington counties, last week, and found bee- keeping on the boom ; many making preparations for a large increase of their colonies another year. There were only nine bee-keepers working with movable frame hives, last year, in these two counties, and now there are more than 30. We visited the apiaries of Messrs. McLendon, Walter Davis, Victor and Theodore Johnson, Robert Adams, Judge Ilarriman, and Messrs. Irving & McSiiee, and were much gratified at their progress and success. All work for extracted honey. On account of sickness we failed to call on Mr. Kinckead. We were informed that his apiary was in fine condition. He and Mr. McLen- don both have their own foundation machines, and supply their neighbors. 10 inches wide by about 20 long. This has two pieces, B B, tacked on, which are G14 inches apart. Inside C, is a block, 1 inch thick and i}4 wide, by any convenient length, say 4 or 5 inches, to which is tacked two strips, O 3 The third annual general meeting of the Ontario Bee-Keepers' Associa- tion will meet in the City Hall, Toronto, on Tuesday, the 20th day of September next, during the second week of the Industrial Exhibition. As the North American Bee-Keepers' Covention meets at the same time and place, it has been arranged that the two bodies hold joint meetings in discussing matters pertaining to our common interests, as the leading bee- keepers of America are to be present. This will, undoubtedly, be the most interesting meeting of apiarists ever assembled in Canada. The venerable Mr. Laiigstroth and all the prominent bee-men of the United States are ex- pected to be present. A proUtable time is anticipated, and a good turn- out requested. The convention will last three days. A meeting for the purely business work of our associa- tion will be held sometime during the convention, of which due notice will be given. R. McKnight, Pres. Ontario Bee Associatimi. D D, 1 inch wide and 1 inch thick by 10 long, which just slip between the strips, B B. E is a lever pinned to the board at H,which pulls the block, C, down against the post, F, which comes through a hole morticed in the board, A. Fgure 2 shows the post, F, with a }4 inch hole at P, and a board, R, nailed to the bottom for the ma- chine to stand on. Figure 3 shows the shape of one of two blocks which 1^ The Cass County Bee-Keepers' Association, organized on the 1.5th of August, will meet on the 10th of October, 1883, in Logaiisport, Ind. All persons interested in bees and honey are respectfully invited to come. De Witt Brown, Sec. i^- Articles for publication must be written on a separate piece of paper from items of business. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 445 Well Satisfied with the Haryest. The season is over, and I am well pleased with it. I extracted from about 80 colonies of bees, and realized about five tons of honey. A new dis- covery has been made in this valley, by a well-known bee-keeper named Hugo Sontag, who had about 300 colonies of bees in his apiary, in the last part of May. He found a queen with four yellow stripes on her ab- domen, and the wings are scarlet. This queen he put into a colony of bees, which swarmed twice this sea- son, and he realized 17.5 pounds of extracted honey from it. Mr. Sontag desires to have these queens in his whole apiary. He thinks they are more prolitable than the Italians. A. CORSEN. Cucamonga, Cal., Aug. 22, 1883. Verbenas. Please tell me through the columns of tlie bee-keepers' standard friend, the Bee Journal, the name of the enclosed bloom, and its merits as a honey plant. I never saw but very little of it here, before this season, and at this date it is thick on the road sides and pastures, and green vacant lands. It commenced to bloom about the 10th of July; there are three colors of bloom : blue, purple, and nearly white, and is about 2 to 3 feet high, and looks as though it might bloom till frost. It seems to be a favorite with the bees. They work on it from early morn till late sun down. My bees are in white, red and sweet clo- ver up to their eyes now, early and late, and a 5-acre sheet of silver hull buckwheat bloom to breakfast on every morning at day break. We have a good harvest yet. R. M. Osborn. Kane, 111., Aug. 11, 1883. [This is one of the four quite com- mon vervains {Verbena hastata). It doubtless has been plenty in certain places in the neighborhood before, but escaped observation. It is a very good honey plant.— T. J. Burrill.] My Houey S.ilesnien. The Madison County Fair Associa- tion (held at Ilichmond, Ky.,) did not offer any premiums on bees or honey. I made a display of Italian bees, about .500 po\inds of honey, hives, sections, smokers, knives,' Given foundation press, extractor, etc., and distributed 100 pamphlets on " Honey as Food and Medicine." My display attracted considerable attention, for it was something new to most of the people. I think I attained my ob- ject, viz. : To create an interest in bee-culture, and I am sure the 100 pamphlets on " Honey as Food and Medicine," which I distributed, will sell a great quantity of honey. C. D. MiZB. Cleveland, Ky., Aug. 26, 1883. Too Dry for Buckwheat. The season here has been rather behind the average for honey, as the weather was poor in the best honey season. Bees are getting a comfort- able living now, and enough to cap up unfinished work. Goldenrod is just beginning to show, and they may get something from that, if there should come a shower and warmer weather soon. There is some buck- wheiit in bloom, but it is too dry now for buckwheat to yield much. J. O. Shearman. New Richmond, Mich., Aug. 25, 1883. Tropical Honey Tree. I send bloom and foliage from a branch broken off an ornamental tree 20 to 25 feet high, in one of the south- ern cities of this State, by a neigh- bor who is an admirer of and has a number of fine Italian bees, who was attracted to it by the hum of the bees that were around and upon it, gather- ing the honey. He says that it is the most wonderful attraction for bees that he ever saw ; that a plate of honey out ni an apiaiy in the month of Au- gust would not produce a greater excitement. The property on which the tree stood was occupied by a ten- ant, who could not give any informa- tion about it, only th.it it is a great attraction for bees. Will you please give us the name and nativity of the tree, and oblige. C. C. Richardson. Tipton, Ind., Aug. 9, 1883. [The tree is one of the numerous species of Aralia, natives of Tropical America, allied to the well-known Hercules club, {Aralia spinosa). Nothing is known of the species as honey producers, but from the struc- ture of the flowers, one would be led to suppose they might be very attrac- tive to bees.— T. J. Buhrill.] lutroducing: a Queen in Au!>:ust. The following may encourage some- body. I ordered an early queen in May ; she arrived in August during a rain storm, when I did not want her. I took two frames of brood, etc. with bees adhering and put them in a small hive, smoked them and stopped them in. The next day 1 put the Italian queen in her cage, at the en- trance of the hive, and the day after that I turned her in, smoked them, and shut them up for two days. They accepted her. R. B. Dranb. Edenton, N. C, Aug. 23, 1883. Smart- Weed Honey. The flow from smart-weed com- menced 10 days ago here, and is im- meme. There is only 4 or 5 acres of it, and about 200 colonies of bees working on it. Each colony will gather as much from the 4 or 5 acres, as they would from 100 acres. I firmly believe if there was 400 colonies here, each would gather just as much as if there were but one. If bees were as strong in numbers at this time of the year as they are at the time horsemint blooms, they would gather just as much honey ; yet there are 50 acres of horse- mint where there is one of smart- weed. It seems that every time the horsemint fails here, the smart-weed takes its place. In 1870 the horsemint failed, and there was an immense flow from smart - weed, some colonies gathering a surplus. In 1881 the horse- mint yielded very little honey, and the smart-weed yielded plenty for w'inter supplies. Last year the horse- mint flow was immense, and we got none from smart-weed. W. S. Douglass. Lexington, Tex., Aug. 20, 1883. How is This Z 2,825 pounds of honey from 28 colO' nies, spring count, and the fall honey yet to be gathered. I have increased to 55. I and my better-half extracted 900 pounds in one day. I have sold about 1,400 pounds already ; the bass- wood trees were in bloom 21 days. Some colonies gave 160 pounds. I will send a full report this fall. My honey is No. 1 basswood. Fayette Lee. Cakato, Minn,, Aug. 26, 1883. Bee Balm. Please give me the botanical name of the enclosed. It is some kind of mint on which bees work quite exten- sively, but I do not know its botanical name. J. E. Van Etten. Kingston, N. Y., Aug. 10, 1883. [This beautiful plant is often known by the name of " Bee-Balm," or " Os- wego Tea" (JUbnante diihjma). It is a native of the portions of the United States north of about 41° latitude, or from New England, northern Illinois, northward. It is closely allied to the more common "Horse -Mint," (Mon- arda fistulosa). The plant might be cultivated without trouble, but in na- ture it prefers moist grounds— T. J^ BURRILL.] Honey Season in Texas a Failure. The honey season is over in Texas, and is nearly a complete failuie. Un- less we have rain soon to start up fall flowers, we will have to feed heavily, the coming winter. VVe hope for a mild winter, and, if it comes that way, we are all right, and will be all ready for a boom in 1884. E. P. Massey. Waco, Texas, Aug, 28, 1883. Making: a Local Market. My bees for five weeks have done no good ; they are at work now like little heroes. I do not look for much fall honey, as it is dry, and there is not a large crop of flowers. I have sold all of my white clover honey at 167s and 20 cents per pound, and could have sold as much more, if I had it. I live in a village, and sold all of my honey at home. Bee men must talk it up at home. I go to a family and try to sell them honey, and if I cannot sell them but one pound, I sell it, and 446 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. will not be a week before tbey want wo pounds. I think boney, if man- aged riglitly^ will be readily sold at paying prices. D. 11. Hosebkouoh. Casey, 111., Aug. ^7, 1883. Spiked Loose-Strife Plant. I send a box of flowers which I would like you to name in the Bee Journal. It appears to be an ex- cellent honey plant. It grows in our marshes and low lands, and grows from 6 to 8 feet high. I find the bees working on it all day long. I found fiome growing in the centre of a large Eatch of sweet clover, and as many ees working on it as the sweet clover. It commences to bloom in June, and continues to blooai until frost. Wm. K. Lawson. Cold Spring, N. Y. [This is the spiked loose-strife (Lythrum salicaria). It is an excellent honey plant, and worthy of cultiva- tion for this purpose, as well as for its beauty. The arrangements for cross fertilization by bees are most curious and wonderful. — T. J. Bur- kill, Champaign, 111.] €>ood Season for Honey and Increase. Notwithstanding the very severe winter, and unusually backward and wet spring, we have had a very good summer, both for honey and increase, in this part of Ontario. Some bees here swarmed as late as the 16th of August, and we extracted until the 20th ; then robbing commenced, and we stopped extracting, with most of the hives full of honey. I commenced the honey season with 29 colonies, and will have about 3,500 pounds of extracted honey, when it is all taken off, and increased to about 60 colonies, by natural swarming; and then up to about SO, by taking down top stories. I have not seen any drones killed yet. We had our first frost last night. Bees are working strongly on golden- rod now. W. G. Russell. Millwood, Ont., Aug. 29, 1883. it, I hope some day to indulge myself in the luxury of bee-keeping. I shall not be able to attend the meeting of bee-keepers in Toronto in September next, but I trust our friends from the United States will be generously en- tertained by their bee friends in Ontano. 1 shall be much disap- pointed if the meeting is not of the most pleasing character. Lewis VValbbidge, Chief Justice of Manitoba. Winnipeg P. O., Aug. 16, 1883. [This plant produces little or no honey. The species is not confidently recognized, but it belongs to the great sunflower family (composite), however unlike a sunflower its ap- pearance. Its nearest relative, known to me, is the gi-eat ragweed (Ambrosia tnfida), not uncommonly found almost everywhere along water courses and in rich, low grounds. The amount of pollen produced by this Manitoba plant is prodigious, and it was doubt- less this that attracted the insects. The flowers are, when taken singly, very inconspicuous. — T. J. Buurill, Champaign, 111.] a hole in the end of a stick three or more feet long. On the wire hoop sew a bag-shaped net of mosquito- netting, or some similar stuff. Let the bag be about 12 to 15 inches deep. With this one may soon learn to catch these desperadoes, swinging the net in one hand.— T. J. Burrill, Champaign, 111. Mlhiit and Itoiu. AN3WKR3 Br JSnnitoba Bee Plant. I send you part of a plant which grows here wild, in the streets, and attains from 3 to 4 feet in height. It branches out very largely. If this be a bee plant, it may be of service to bee-keepers, as it will fill up the time between basswood failing and the autumn flowers. If it should be de- sirable as a honey-producing plant, the seed can be had in any quantity. It is a vigorous grower. It seems filled with insects, either sucking trie honey or the juice of the i)lant itself. White clover grows here well, and the prairies are a regular bed of wild flowers. Bees are not kei)t here yet, but I think ought to thrive well. Trees here are very scarce, except along river banks, but the land will produce anything, being very rich and productive. Wheat, at present, is the great staple. I am at present so situated that 1 cannot indulge in my favorite hobby, but I take an in- terest in it, and from the mere love of Robber Flies. Enclosed find two insects which I would like you to give me the name of through the Bee Journal, to- gether with any other information of them you may have. I will give the heaviest and largest as No. 1, which I find to be very destructive to bees, killing them all day long, and it seems that it only kills bees when return- ing with their load. 1 have killed as many as five in one day, among my bees. No. 2, the sharpest, bills a great many, but not as many as the other. The cause may be it does not take so much to do it. Bees have done very well in this country, considering the most of them are in box hives and hollow logs. A neighbor and myself are all that keep bees in movable comb hives, and we began this season, and some of the old bee-keepers tell us we will do no good, as this country will not produce Ihjd honey, but we have many honey- producing plants and shrubs. Br. S. L. Yotiiek. Brush, Tenn., Aug. 4, 1883. [They are both species of robber flies. No. 1 is the one often called the bee killer ( Trupanea apivora). One of these insects, watched during one day, was known to have killed 141 bees. As the juices only of the prey are sucked, the number may not ap- pear so surprising, supposing the purpose of catching the bees is for food. No. 2 is another species of the same family (^si'tes.scncew^), and has similar habits. Make a hoop of wire bent so as to form a circle 9 inches across I with the two ends so bent as to enter James Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich. Bees with Hairy Feet. Enclosed I send you several dead Holy Lind and Italian bees. Please examine them and tell me what you know of bees having such feathery or hairy toes, and did you ever see such bees before V 1 have thousands of them in all my crosses with the Holy Lands, Italians and blacks. They are good workers. I want to know if they have longer tongues than the original or not V They are very docile and gentle. We have had a fine rain for the past 4S hours, 4 inches of water fell, and white clover is blooming again. My bees have taken a fresh fever to swarm. I had one swarm to- day, and all of mv hives are full of bees and honey. "The sun shines very hot, 90° in the shadfe at noon to-day. R. M. OSBORN. Kane, 111., Aug. 26, 1883. Answer.— The bees enclosed in your letter were so mashed that one could discern only that they once bees. None of the peculiarities you mention were distinguishable. li^May we ask you, dear reader, to speak a good word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at least one iieto subscription with your own V Our premium, " Bees and Honey," in cloth, for one neio sut>- scriber to the Weekly, or two for the Monthly, besides your own subscrip- tion to either edition, will pay you for your trouble, besides having the satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bee Journal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. Bee Pasturage a Necessity. — W e have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to anv address for 10 cents. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 447 <^:|jecial gloticcs. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper ; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Ppstage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 2.5 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $6, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. How to Create a Market for Honey. We have now published another edition of the pamphlet on "Honey as Food and Medicine," with more new Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price still lower, to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 5 cents, postpaid ; per dozen, 40 cents ; per hundred, $2.50. 500 will be sent postpaid for $10.00, or 1,000 for $15.00- On orders of 100 or more, we will print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense — enabling liim to dispose of his honey at home, at a good proflt. Try it, and you will be surprised. Subscription Credits.— We do not acknowledge receipt of each subscrip- tion by letter. The label on your paper, or on the wrapper, shows the date to which your subscription is paid. When you send us money, if the proper credit is not given you, within two weeks thereafter, on your label, notify us by postal card. Do not wait for months or years, and then claim a mistake. The subscrip- tion is paid to the end of the month indicated on the wrapper-label. This gives a statement of account every ■week. Trial Trip— 25 Cents. As the season for Fairs has arrived, and wishing to be able to reach several thousands of the old-fashioned bee- men, and by the aid of the Bee Journal to lift them up to higher ground, adopting newer methods and progressive ideas, we make the follow- ing very liberal offer : We will send the Weekly Bee Journal i/iree montlis on trial, for 2.5 cents. In order to pay for getting up Clubs, we will give a copy of Fisher's Grain Tables, or Scribner's Lumber and Log Book, to any one who will send us live trial subscriptions (with $1.2.5) ; for a club of ten we will give a cloth copy of Bees and Honey; for a club of 1.5, a cloth copy of the 7th edition of Cook's Man- ual of the Apiary ; for a club of 25, we will present both the Manual and Bees and Honey. If any one wants these Books for nothing, here is on excel- lent opportunity to get them for a little exertion. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies 220 pages 1 60 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. Preparation of Honey for the Mar- ket, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. 1^ Do not send coins in a letter. It is dangerous and increases the postage unnecessarily. Always send postage stamps, for fractions of a dollar, and, if you can get them — one-cent stamps ; if not, any denomination of postage stamps will do. Special Notice. — We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bee Journal for one year, and the seventh edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, bound in line cloth, for $2.75, or the Monthly Bee Journal, and the Manual in cloth for $1.75. As this offer will soon be withdrawn, those who desire it should send for the book at once. BEES and HONEY, Management of an Apiary for Pleasure and Profit ; by THOMAS C. NEWMAN. Editor ef the Weekly Bee Journal. ass -fVent Madlnon Street, Chlcaso, III. Mrs. J. F. Upton gives the follow- ing notice of this book in the Bath, Maine, Sentinel: A guide to the management of the apiary for profit and pleasure, by Thomas G. Newman. This work is designed to initiate beginners in bee- keeping in all the secrets of success- ful bee-culture. Beginning with the different races of bees, tue author takes his readers along step by step, carefully explaining the different kinds of bees, illustrating each kind with the eggs and brood, explaining the terms used, the production of wax and comb, and the work done by these wonderful insects. The estab- lishment of an apiary is next con- sidered ; the best location, time to commence, how many colonies to be- gin with, what kind of bees to get, how to care for a first colony, keeping bees on shares, changing the location, all of which it is indispensable for a beginner to know. It is also impor- tant to know which kind of hive is the best, how toprocure the best comb honey, how to procure it for market, how it should be marketed, what to do with candied comb honey, and how to extract honey. The scientific man- agement of an apiary is then entered into, and illustrations of all the nec- essary applicances introduced. There is a chapter devoted to tlie honey ex- tractor and its use, and another to comb foundation and its use. The various honey-producing plants and trees are named and illustrated. Various methods for exhibiting bees and honey at county and state fairs are described. The best and snfest plans for wintering bees ;ire discussed, the book closing with some general advice to beginners. The author says of his book on Bees and Honey, "it was not designed to supersede or sup- plant any of the valuable works on apiculture already published, but to| supply a want for a cheap work for the beginners." We most cordially rec- ommend this work not only to iiegin- ners. who will find it invaluable, but to all who are not already familiar with the lives and movenieits of these industrious and intellisent little workers. The iMlormntion to be gained as to their habits, manner of breeiliug, intelligence, energy and wonderful instincts, by reading this book alone, is enough to make one regard the bee with admiration and amazement. PRICE— Bound In cloth, ta cent»i In paper covers, SOc**ntB, postpiitd. THOMAS G. KfWMAN, 9-25 W. Madison St., Cblcago, 111. A. I.lberal Ulscount to Denlera by tbe l>ozenor Hundred. 448 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, Bingham Smoker Corner. Large Smubers need wtde shields. BinKtiam's tiave them. andBprlnKS that do Dot rust and break, and bellows that apurbs and smoke du not enter. The Conqueror has all iinprovements made to date, and a 3x7 inch stove, and 5x7 inch bellows. Sent post-paid for ^l.Q'u. Address. BII7GHAM & HETHEBINOTON, Abronla Mich. (CYPRIANS <"ON- ^ijaEBED. — All sum- mer long it has been "which and tother" with me and the Cyp- rian colony of bees I have -butat last I Hm " boss. " BlnffhamN "Conqueror Snioker did it. If you want lota of smoke juat ut the riRht time. Ker a Conqueror Smokei t Bingham. G. M. DOOLITTLh Borodino. N. ^ Aug. 15, 18Sli. EXCKLMNG A LI Messrs. Bingham & Hetherington. Dear ■Sirs:— I am now sell ing your Smokers al most exclusivel v You are excelluiK yourselves in amuk ers all the time. RespeotfuUy.^^_^ Patented. 1878. Austin, Texas. May ID. 188:t The OrlKlnal BINGHAM Bee Smoker The VERY Best.— The Blnirhani '■ t^onqueror" simoker ts the very best thing I have tried in that jine. M. M.LiNnsAV. Fulton. Tenn.. July 24, 1883. During the following tbree nioiitlis, Bingham Smokers will be sent post- •paid, per mail, on receipt of the fol- lowing prices : The "Doctor", .(wide shieln Extra (wldoshieldi- 2 in.llretube. 1.25 Plain.-^^ (nar. shield)— 2 in.flretube, l.(KJ L,lttle Wonder, .(nar. shield)— iJiin. Are tube, .65 Bingham & Hetheriogton Uncauping Knife. . 1.15 With thanks for letters of eneoiir- agement, and the absence of complain- ing ones, we tender to our thirty-five thousand patrons our best wishes. Very Respectfully Yours, Bingham & IlEXHERrNQTON. Abronia, Mich., .June 1, 1883. Our Fremiams for Clnbs. Books at Fairs.— Those who make an exhibit at Fairs will find that an assortment of Books and Pamphlets would sell and leave them a profit for handling. We will send such, postage prepaid, at 25 per cent, discount; or if the purchaser pays express charges, we will supply any of our own publica- tions at 40 per cent, discount. Emerson Binders— made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee JouENAL as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for 75 cents, for the Weekly ; or for the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. i^"Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1883 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. NOTICE. We have just completed the largest and l>HSt lot of Smokers ever manufactured. Prices by Mall : 2 Inch.... Double Blast ti.'Ji •2 " Bingle *' l.*»»' *.>^ " ....Double •' 1.7.-. 3)a •• ... Single *' 2.00 Special inducements to those who buy to sell again. THE BEST BEE BOOK "Of al 1 the books on bee-keeplng.QUINB V 'S NK W BEE-KEEPINGstandspre-enitnentlT at the head, in my opinion." Sincerely Vours. April II, 1883. Q. M. Dool.lTTLE. Sent by Mall, Poat-psUd. for Sl.SO. L. C. BOOT & BBO., Hohawk, If, Y, 19Atf Don't Fail to Read This ! Only Que impure Queen Out of 050 Sent Out this Year ! The Queen received f rf>ra you Is the finest one I ever saw. She is remarkably proliflc, producing fine large workers, each bearing the tbree bands of gold. W. U. Wkston, London, Ont. 1 have 3 or 4 bee books, but yours goes ahead of all the others. Wm.Flickingkr, Doylestown.O. Book (bound in cloth) and Tested Queen sent for S2.00 during September only. Tested Queen %l 50 Handy Book 1 25 HENRY ALLEY, 36A2t Essex Co. WENU AM. MASS. W. Z. HUTCHINSON, SosersTlUe, Genekee County, M Icli., Makes a Specialty of rearing tine ITALIAN QUEENS. All Queens bred from imported queens, and from the purest and be.'*t home-bred Queens, and the cells built in full colonies. No black bees in the vicinity. Cusitomers can have either light or dark Queens. Orders tilled Promptly. Single queen Sl.ou; six queens for f5.00; twelve or more, 75 cents each. Tested queens, ♦Lot' each. Safe arrival guaranteed. "All Queens sent out are reared by himself." Make Money Orders payable atFLlNT, MICH. SlDtf Any one sending us a club of two ' .subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $G, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four suliseribers, with S8, we ■will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For flye subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's ABC of Bee Culture, or an ^xtra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and ihe same amount of money. REST! not, life is sweepinK by. ro and dare before you die. something mighty and sublinje, leave be- hind to conquer time." fii'i a week in your own town. f5uut- tit free. No risk. Everything new. Capital not required. We will furnish you everything. Many are muking fortunes. Ladies make aa much as men, and boys and girls make great pay. Header, if you want business at which you can make great pay all the time, write for particulars to U. Hallktt & (;o Portland. Maine. HAly Golden Italians Again! One Golden Italian Queen, warran- ted purely mated, *i.-'>n. One pure- ly mated and tested. $:^.;'»o. Ctne pure Queen, not warranted, fl.fni. All the above Queens are of the ttnest stock In the country. I sold over3'X)last season, and had but one complaint. Fullcolonlesready to divide, for f lu.oo ; safe arrival guaranteed. 17Atf r.. J. 1>I£:H1«. BUT1.BK, IND. GOHB HONEY WANTED. We are prepared to purchase large lots of Fancy COMB HONE V in I and :; lb. soctloi.B, or Harbison frames, for which we will pay an advance of .> cts Ser pound ovpr New York prices. CASH ON IKl^lVKKY in sound condition in l^ondon; the pi*lce of extracted honey will be paid for all broken combs. This is an excellent opportunity for bee-keepers wlahlna to visit Europe. Corre- spondence solicited. IV. M. HOOK A CO., The Apiary, Leoonfleld, lid. N.. 3:iAtf l.ONDON, BNOIMND. BINQHAM SMOKERS. I ciin Hell tlie above 8mokera at MANUI''A<'TURKU8' TKICES, by mall or express, at wholesale or re- tall. All the latest improvements, including THE CONQUEROR, and THE DOCTOR. Send for my 3*2-page Illustrated Catalogue of Bee-Keepers' Sup- plies of every description. ALFRED H. NEWMAN, 923 W. Madison, CHICAGO, IliL. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL AND BEE-KEEPER'S ADVISER. The Bkitibh Bee .Iouknal is published month- Iv, and contains the best practical information for tne lime being, showing what to df», and when and how to do it. Rev. n. R. PEEI^. Editor. We send the Weekly American Bee Juctrnal and t\ie British Bee JouTiiaLhoth for $3.(.>0 a year. The Bee-'Keepers' Guide, OK, MANUAL OF THE APIABY. 9,000 SOLD IN SIX YEARS. lOtb ThoUHund Jn«t Ont. More than 50 pattes, and more than 50 fine Illus- trations added. The whole work has been thor- oughly revised, and contains the very latest In re- spect to bee-keeping. It is certainly the fullest and most scientific work treating of bees In the World. PrSe**, by Mall, Sl.SfS. Liberal dlveonnt to tleitlers and to clubs. A. J. COOK., l7Ctf Author and Publisher. Jjanetng, Mich. Friends, if you are In any way interested In BEES OR HONEY We will with pleasure send you a sample copy ef the Monthly Gleanlnva In Bee-Culture, with a descriptive price-list of the latest improve- ments in Hives, Honey Extractors, Comb Foiindnt(on,Seetlon Honey Uoxes,all books and journals, and everything pertaining to Bee Culture. .Wothfnp PaUnted. blmply send your ad- dress written plainly, to Ctf A. I. ROOT, Medina. O. HEADQUARTERS IN THE SOUTH Kor the manulacture of HEE-KEEPERS* SUPPI^IES. Ounhum and Root Foundation a specialty. Italian Queens and Bees from March to November. iaf"8end for my Illustruted Catalogue, -•sctf PAUI* I*. VIALI-OX, Bayou Goula, Ijl I TAIWAN BEES AND QUEENS.-One Queen, not tested, $1.00; tested, $2.00. Bees, one colony, $7.00; Ave colonies or more, $8.50 each. H, A. SHXTCR, 33D2t BRYANT. Fulton Co., ILL. THIS PAPER aT^iro/nfoSS.,"'! Co.'s Newspaper Advertising Bureau (10 8prac« Bt.), where advertising contractu may be made f wr it in SKW TOBK.. .^». VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., SEPTEMBER 12, 1883. No. 37. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor an3> Proprietor, ^- The Editor of the Bee Jour- nal being unable to attend the Na- tional Convention, it will be repre- sented by the Rev. W. F. Clarke, of Guelph, Ont., who is duly authorized to take subscriptions and orders for any of our publications. ^" Mr. James Heddon has been on a tour up imto Northern Michigan, in order to recruit his healtli, and the Dowagiac lYrjies contains a long letter from him concerning his trip, which is interesting and humorous. ®" We have received a catalogue of " Holland Bulbs and Plants for fall planting," from Hiram Sibley & Co., Rochester, N. Y., and Chicago, 111. It is nicely gotten up and beautifully illustrated. ^^ The firm name of Crocker & Blake, under wliich E. E. Blake and F. L. Ripley have transacted business for the past ten years at Boston, Mass., is changed to Blake & Ripley. This is the honey firm of Boston. 1^ "The New Zealand and Austra- lian Bee Journal "is the title of a new bee periodical published at Aukland, New Zealand. It is well edited by a progressive bee - master, and should receive a hearty support by the bee men of Oceanica. It is edited and published by Mr. H. H. Hayr, Month- ly, at 6s. a year, and contains 12 pages and a c*ver. ^Articles for publication must be written on a separate piece of paper from items of business. Reduced Fares to Toronto. We have received from President D. A. Jones, the Programme of the Toronto Exhibition, and Mr. Jones writes us tliat he has had Thursday, Sept. 20, set apart as " American Visitor's Day," in honor of our Ameri- can visitors. We have had several inquiries about excursion rates from Chicago to Toronto, as mentioned by Mr. Jones in Gleanings, as follows : Announce return tickets at single fares on all railroads'in Canada from the 17th to the 22d of September; 1% fares for excursion tickets from the 10th to tlie 22d of September. lam airanging hotel accommod;itions. Urge every one who possibly can get here, to come. There will be special excursions from many points in the United States very clieap, to the Falls and Toronto. I hear of one from Kentucky, Cincinnati, Pennsylvania, New York, Chicago, etc., but cannot get particulars yet. We have made inquiries at the Grand Trunk Railway oflBces in Chi- cago, and they know nothing of it. We can get the regular Excursion Return Tickets from Chicago to To- ronto for $20, but none both ways for one fare, as Mr. Jones mentions. Regular excursion tickets from Cin- cinnati to Niagara Falls, good until Oct. 28, can be bought for $1,5. Ex- cursion tickets from any part of the South or Soutliwest to the Louisville Southern Exposition can be had, or from Louisiville to Cinciimati Expo- sition. In this way, if in no other, Toronto, which is only 30 miles from Niagara Falls, may be reached cheaply. President D. A. Jones, under date of Beeton, Aug. 25, 1883, writes us as follows : I have received a letter, of which the enclosure is a copy, from Mr Hill, Manger of the Toronto Indus- trial Exhit)ition, which is the outcome of an application which I made to him to secure reduced rates for bee- keepers in the Stale of Michigan. As it would receive publicity through your Journal, perhaps you will be kind enough to give it insertion There are single fare rates for the whole week of our convention. B. A. Jones. Tr r Tx BJSeton, Aug. 2.5, 1883. U. J.Hill, Esq.— ^ear Sir: Re- plyuig to yours of the 15th inst., I would say that we do not wish to ad- vertise any reduction from regular rates, but if there are any on our line who apply to you, and you will refer the application to me, I will furnish them with certificates on which they can obtain tickets to Port Huron or Detroit, and return atexcnrsion rates. Yours truly, D. Edwards. We have written to Mr. Jones to try to get an order on the Chicago Oftice of the tJrand Trunk Railway to sell us as many tickets as are needed at the rate for one way for the round trip, and it will pay those who go to either write to us, or call at this office en- route. &• The new Postal Notes are now obtainable, and should be sent in let- ters for all small sums. Each of the 6,500 money-order offices have been supplied with books containing the Postal Notes. New York received 20 books, and the other offices from that number to one book. Each book con- tains 500 notes. In addition, each office has been furnished with a plyer punch and blanks, to be used in the business. A uniform fee of 3 cents is charged for each note, payable at the office of issue. The oflice at which the note is made payable mu,=t be selected by the sender, and the note is payable at that office only. Each note is made payable to the bearer, and in this respect the note is of the nature of a legal tender. It is no more safe than it is to send postage stamps or bank bills in letters. Absolute safety can be had only when regular money orders are obtained. There is now no excuse for sending postage stamps for small sums, except at offices too small to issue the Postal Notes or Money Orders. Be sure to get these Postal Notes drawn on the Madison St. Statioji, Chicago, III. 450 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Hunting Bees in the Woods. Mr. C. Norris, of Traverse City, Mich., writes as follows : Being a reader of your valuable paper, the Weekly Bee Journal, I am very anxious, and desire that some of your readers who have had successful experience in hunting wild honey bees, would give their experi- ence in detail ; what kind of feed to bait them on, and take the bees from their tree and bring them home suc- scessfully, and the best bait te use that bees will come to and carry off when the flowers are giving a flow of nectar, and oblige one wishing to learn to capture wild honey bees. Mr. r. M. Johnson gives his experi- ence in hunting bees as follows : You require a small box, which can be made of any kind of wood. The box is of a slanting shape, and should be made according to the following dimensions: Bottom 4x6 inches; sides, 4 inches at one end beveled down to 1% inches at the other ; end pieces, one, 4x4 inches, the other IM deep by 4 inches long. The top should be a separate piece, and made as fol- lows : Width, 4 inches, whole length 12 inches ; cutting down 4 inches on end for handle, and inserting a glass 3x1 inches, flush with the underside at the other end, as near the end as convenient. The box should contam a piece of honey comb about IM inches in thickness, which should be scented with bee bait (the directions for mak- ing this are given below), covering tlie bottom of the box. Taking the box in the left hand, and the cover in the right, and approaching the bee while at work on the flower or shub, you insert the box under the bee, and quickly putting the cover on the top (in such a manner that the light can shine in), you have the bee secure in the box ; then put the box on a stake 3 or 4 feet high, taking care not jar the box more than necessary. Then shove the cover down so as to shut out the light from the glass, when the bee will sco to work on tlie honey, which can be ascertained by holding the ear to the box, as it will cease its " humming " as soon as it commences on the comb. Then the cover can be taken off and the bee will remain on the honey. Then take a position where you can have an unobstructed view of tlie box and its surroundings, and wait for the bee to come out, which it will do in from one to three minutes, and commence circling in the air, gradually enlarging the circles until it flnds its latitude, at which it will immediately start in a direct line for its home, and here care must be taken to accurately mark the direc- tion it goes. You must now wait for a short time, wlien the bee will return and re-enter the box, which it will repeat as long as the box remains. If the tree should be near by the other bees will accompany it on its second or third return ; if at a great distance it will take a longer period for the bees to " double up." If you have gotten 15 or 20 bees at work on the line you can safely take the box to a point as far distant, in the course the bee has taken, as you choose, being careful not to pass where the bee is likely to tree, as they will not follow the other way. Now, open the box again, and if you are on the line the bees will And it in a very few minutes. If they do not you will know that you are off the line, or have passed the tree, and should move your box to a point that you know is on the line. This is to be repeated until you run the bee to its tree. If you have but a few bees it will be necessary to shut them in the box and move them in this manner from 30 to 60 rods at a time, then open your box and wait for them to go and re- turn. This is to be repeated until you have found the tree. Cross lining is important. If any- thing should prevent you from follow- ing the bee in adirect line from where you first start it, you can move the box a distance to the right or left and start it again, by which means you can center the bee on some prominent object, whereby you can invariably locate the tree within a radius of 5 or 6 rods. Half an ounce of tincture of annis mixed with a half dozen drops of oil of organum, to bskeptin an air-tight- bottle. Instead of using honey in your box, put a quantity of granulated sugar in a bottle and dissolve it with cold water until it becomes a thick syrup, and fill the comb in the box with this liquid, which is better than the real honey. Ontario Convention. The third annual general meeting of the Ontario Bee-Keepers' Associa- tion will meet in the City Hall, Toronto, on Tuesday, the 20th day of SeptenAer next, during the second week of the Industrial Exhibition. As the North American Bee-Keepers" Covention meets at the same time and place, it has been arranged that the two bodies hold joint meetings in discussing matters pertaining to our common interests, as the leading bee- keepers of America are to be present. This will, undoubtedly, be the most interesting meeting of apiarists ever assembled in Canada. The venerable Mr. Langstrotli and all the prominent bee-men of the United States are ex- pected to be present. A profitable time is anticipated, and a good turn- out requested. The convention will last three days. A meeting for the purely business work of our associa- tion will be held sometime during tlie convention, of which due notice will be given. R. Mcknight, Pres. Ontario Bee Association. The Curse of Adulteration. 1^" The Cass County Bee-Keepers' Association, organized on the 1.5th of August, will meet on the 10th of October, 18S3, in Logansport, Ind. All persons interested in bees and honey are respectfully invited to come. De Witt Brown, i@ 8J^C. ; dark and candied. li^(S)— BEESWAX -Wholesale. 27®28c. STEARNS & Smith. 423 Front Street. ST. LOUIS. HONBY— Quiet sale. New comb UffllSC; fanor small packages higher; strained and extracted 7® 7>sc. BBESWAX-Easy, at 24(a25c. for choice. W. T. ANDERSON & CO.. 104 N. 3d Street. CLEVELAND. HONBY— New honey continues in good demand at IH'niUic. for choice 1 lb. sections, and such are readily placed as fast as received; 2 lbs. not so ao- tive. at li,(SJt>^c. Secniul quality sells I4@I7c. Ex- tracted not in domanil. BBESWAX-None In Market. A. c. KKNDKii, IK'S Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONEY— We quote our market at 18(3j20c. for 1 lb. white clover; iHtiaitJc. for 2 lb. white clover. Extracted is in good supply, and selling from 9@inc. BEESWAX— Our supply la gone; we have none to quote. Blake & Ripi.et, 57 Chatham Street. 452 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. ^^Hg For tile American Bee Journal Non-Excellencies of the German Bee. T. A. HOUGAS. Mr. Oabiirn is correct in saying, on page 4U8, " there are few that have the boldness to come forward and ad- vocate the good traits of character of the German bee"' (not the blacks). His next sentence is, " I know that one who has the independence to ad- vocate the good qualities of the Ger- man race ot bees, must expect to call down upon his hiad the scorn, the disapprobation and disgust of the great mass of bee-keepers of today." VVIiile we are notdisposed to " scorn " or " disapprove " any one for their views on any subject, yet we beg to disagree quite frequently. In this case we must disagree upon the good (V) qualities of the German race of bees. " In the first place they excel as comb builders." While we must ad- mit the truthfulness of this statement in a large degree, yet it is not strictly true, all points considered. For an in- stance, take a colony of German bees and place them in an empty hive ; let them till it with comb, brood and honey ; then take a colony of Italian bees, place them in a similar condi- tion. As soon as botli are full of comb, brood and honey, place them in the August sun, and see which combs are the tirst to give^ away. I have seen hives that were tilled by the German bees, standing side by side of those tilled by tlie Italians, and the contents of the former were all melted down, while the latter stood it all right. '•They excel as rapid workers to draw out foundation ;" perhaps they do; but I can see no difference. " They excel as pioneers to strike out from the broud-chamber (and out of the queen's way) to store their honey ;" yes, and they excel in striking straight out for you, when you lift a frame out of the hive. " They excel in keeping their hives full of workers to gather the crop;" this has never jiroved true, in tlie least, under my observation. " AH other conditions being favor- able, they excel as non-swarmers, when you give them plenty of room." " All other conditions being favor- able." 'Tis well said ; they need favorable conditions. " When you give them plenty of room." Again, well said ; who would not excel under such circumstances? In the above mentioned article there is nothing told but the good ( i*) qualities of the German bee, but he does not stop to tell that 100 German bees to every one Italian bee will take wing while handling. Mr. O. forgot to tell tliat an Italian bee will live and grow fat on Howers that a German bee would starve to death on. Per- haps he does not rise early enough in the morning to see that the Italians are at work from one-half to three- quarters of an hour earlier in the morning, and as much later in the evening than the German race. It seems to me tliat this would make considerable difference in a whole season's work. All are too familiar with the bee motli to need any notice. If Mr. O. tries tlie cross he speaks of, I would advise him to lay in a supply of bee veils, gloves and smokers for mutual safety. Henderson, Iowa, Aug. 27, 1883. Rural New Yorker. The Outlook in Apiculture- PROF. A. J. COOK. In the way of g.owth and real pro- gress, bee-keepingcompares well with other manual labor pursuits. It is capable of proof that in the past ten years the number of bee-keepeis, the product in honey, and the cash value of the proceeds of the apiaries in the country have more than doubled. The apiarian apparatus, an'd the methods of manipulation have also, in many respects, been entirely revo- lutionized. The last decade knew nothing of extracting, as practised to- day ; nothing of our exquisite sections for comb honey, nothing of the val- uable comb foundation. The asso- ciations devoted to apiculture number more in single States to-day than they did in the entire country ten years ago. We have nine periodicals" ably conducted, one of which is a weekly. There are four or live excellent books which are selling by thousands. And our agricultural associations, instead of offering a few cents, or, perhaps, a dollar as a premium for honey, and sandwiching the honey in between syrup and sugar, now give most liberal premiums, and in some cases furnish a separate building for the exhibition of honey bees and the varied appara- tus belonging to the apiary. This growth is not the result of over-praise, as some assert. True, as with all pursuits, success finds a seady tongue, while failure hides its head. Still it is true that as many who enter this Held thoroughly pre- pared by study and practice, reach the goal of their aims as in any other business or profession. From" one to two thousand dollars are enough capi- tal to invest in the business. This capital, rightly managed, is sure to give a return of from 100 to 1.50 per cent. One person can care for 100 colonies of bees, and not work hard for more than three months of the year ; while with a competent assist- ant for three months in the year he can care for double the number. I think few apiarists of skill and ex- perience would agree to sell the aver- age product of each colony for $15. We see then, that in the small amount of capital invested and the proceeds from the well managed apiary, api culture takes high rank. It is true that with a large apiary, the labor for May, June and July, and possibly for August and Sejitember, is really arduous ; but when it is re- membered that there are many ladies that successfully manage and care for quite 1-irge apiaries, we cannot doubt but that with wise management the labor may be reduced, so as not to be a grievous burden. Some of the ablest apiarists in our country are quite delicate women, who undertook apiculture to brace up declining health. In it they f(nind health, money and pleasure, surely a worthy trio. Many declaim against apiculture as an avocation. Only the specialist, say they, should keep bees. This would take from our ranks Dzierzon, Langstroth and many others of our first apiarists. One of our graduates who by profession is a preacher, wrote me a year ago that the proceeds of his bees exceeded his salary. Last year his honey brought even more ; and this spring he sold SI, 1.50 worth of bees, and liad 80 colonies remaining. Another graduate has a farm and also keeps bees. I asked him a few days since why he did not sell his bees, as he was speaking of too much work. " I had better sell my farm," he said, " as my bees pay the "best." Apropos of the above, it is said, that if one wishes to learn bee-keep- ing, he had better go to some large apiarist and let the college alone. Reason and statistics argue otherwise. Culture, or a well trained mind, wins in every race. Bee-keeping demands good judgment and trained observa- tion. The college course tends to develop both. Many of our graduates are now keeping bees, and all with marked success. Four of these have a national reputation, and two are known in all bee-keeping countries. For the American Bee -ToumaL The Black Sage of California. A. W.OSBURN. On page 427, of the Bee Journal,, is an article taken from the California Rural Press, on " Honey Flora— White Sage." The writer cannot be as well posted about the honey-producing plants of California as he might be, or he would not have failed to give the black or button sage credit for what is justly its due. The two sages (white and black) stand in about the same relation to one another that the white clover and basswood do to one another. The nice white comb honey that goes on the market is called white clover honey, while in all locali- ties where basswood is plenty, I do not think there is one ounce of white clover to every 10 pounds of bass- wood honey. So in California with the two kinds of sage, bees will not work on white sage on a range where the black sage grows. The latter yields honey in a much larger quant- ity than the former, and of a much finer quality, and yields all day, from daylight till dark ; and I doubt if in the whole world better honey can be produced than comes from the black or button sage ; clear as a crystal ; al- most white, with a good body, and in llavor it is impossible to get anything finer. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 453 The white sage yields honey in the forenoon, but not much in the after- noon. It is thin when compared to that whicli comes from the bhick, and in color and flavor it does not rank in the same class with the former at all. I know whereof I speak. I have seen the two grow on the same bee range, very many times, but not on the same ground. For the habits of the two plants are as unlike as need be. The black sage chooses the sides of mountains and foot hills. It can hardly, if ever, be found on flat land, but the highest peaks of the coast range of mountains in California, seldom get too- high for the black sage to tluive and do well, and this is one of the best evidences of its superi- ority as a honey plant. It is a long and well-established fact, that the best honey producing plants grow on the highest land. The white sage is a lover of the bottom lands of the canyons, along the banks of streams, very rarely getting 200 yards from high water mark. It throws up a number of stalks from the root every spring, that bloom the same season, and then die. It does not resemble a bush or shrub, but has the appear- ance of ii weed. It is a most profuse bloomer,— while the black sage is a bush, a shrub, with hard solid wood, hence the substantial foundation for the best honey in the world to come from. When there is plenty of rain the black sage blooms for six or eight weeks, yielding honey like but very few plants do yield, aud of a quality that is XXX. Water Valley, N. Y. For tlie American Beo JoumaL The Season in Southeastern N. Y- HOWARD T. BUSH. About Aug. 1, it became very dry, and we have had no rain to speak of since ; we have cold nights, so cold that bees cannot work until 8 a.m.; they work while the dew is on, and then lie still the rest of the day. We have had two frosts this week ; the bees just about make a living. I shall not get a pound of buckwheat honey ; goldenrod is coming in bloom, but if it stays dry, I shall get no honey from that source, so I think that my honey harvest is over for this season. I used two-pound, one-pound and half- pound sections. I sell two-pound and one-pound sections for 15 and 20 cents per pound, and half-pounds for 25 cents a pound, in my home market; and I get 10 cents for extracted. I have sold all of my half-pound sec- tions but a few that I want to exhibit at our county fair, on the first of October. I mail a few bees from my apiary. I want to know what kind of bees they are. Are they the brown German or black beesV Tlie queens are very large, about one-third larger than Italian queens. Monticello, N. Y., Aug. 31, 1883. [They are of the brown German race.— Ed.] I began the season with 41 colo- nies, spring count ; it was very cold and wet all the spring. Apple bloom came the last of May. My bees gath- ered some honey from it, and about that time I transferred 23 colo- nies, and I fed them the waste honey that I obtained from those that I stim- ulated to brood-rearing. I worked them on Mr. Uoolittle's plan, and when my honey harvest came, on June 6, my bees were very strong, but it was cold and wet. Raspberry bloomed on June 6, and my first swarm came out on the 9th, and I be- gan to extract on the loth ; and from then until the first of July, I took off 1,000 pounds of honey (700 pounds of comb and 300 pounds of extracted). White clover came in bloom about June 10, but it was so very wet that the bees did not work on it. In the last week in June, sumac came, and I never saw such abloom. The weather became clear, and I never saw bees gather honey so fast. On July 4, my bees began to kill the drones, and in one week you could not see a single drone. On July 15, basswood bloomed, but there is not enough here for bees to make any more than a living, and hardly that, so my bees have been idle from July 20 until about two week ago ; then buckwheat bloomed. Read before the Maine Convention. Profitable Pasturage for Bees. ISAAC F. PLXJMMER. By request of one of the members of this association, I have taken up this subject to give you a few thoughts on my experience and ob- servation in regard to planting and cultivating flowers, trees, shrubs, etc., for artificial pasturage for bees. I have not had great experience in this line, but I have had enough to know that to a certain extent it pays to plant for bees, and when we are planting fruit trees and small fruits, we should remember we shall some day reap a rich harvest of honey as well as a harvest of golden fruit, and thus reap two profits to pay for our labor. I believe, and have always thought that orcharding and the cul- ture of small fruits should go haudjn hand with bee-keeping for the reason of the honey which fruit trees will produce when they are in bloom. So let us greatly extend our orchards, and in a few years we shall see our bees getting more honey, and that we are getting more and better bee pas- turage in our State. There are but few farmers and bee- keepers in our State who have not more or less waste pieces of land around fence corners, roadsides and side hills ; and what better purpose can such pieces of land be put to than by sowing them to sweet clover, which is one of the greatest honey- producing plants we have in this country, and how much better such pieces of land would look to the eye and at the same time have the bees gathering honey, the sweetest of all sweets from the flowers that such places will jirodiice by a little of our time and care spent in such a noble purpose. Who says it will not pay V I for one say it will pay. Another great honey-producing plant, and one that will hold in bloom from July to the first of September or October, is a plant called •' borage." It has a blue flower, and is a very attractive flower for either field or garden culture, but it needs a deep rich soil in order to grow to perfec- tion. I sowed some in my garden last spring. It came up well, made a very fine and rapid growth and bloomed finely. It was just remark- able to see how bees worked on it. Its flowers kept dropping and kept blos- soming until the dry weather dried it all up, and I know it would have kept in bloom a number of weeks longer if it tiad not been for the drouth. I like to see the bees work so well on this plant, that I shall sow a lot another season, if nothing prevents. Of the other honey-producing plants that are highly recommended, somei* of which I know by experience are very good for bees, and will pay to cultivate on a small scale. To go with bee forage may be mentioned the following : Catnip, motherwort, boneset, flgwort, spider plant, mig- nonette, Chinese mustard, cleome, golden honey plant, etc. I think if we give this branch of our business the same attention we give to other branches of bee culture, we soon will see our bees gathering more honey, and if we get more honey we shall "et more money out of our bees. Now let us try and see what we can do to advance bee-culture in our State, and if we can do so by planting for our bees, let us do it ; and if we can do so by improving our hives and honey boxes, let us do so by all means, and I know by improving our bees and breeding them up to higher standard of excellence, and at the same time give them plenty of liowers from which to gather honey, that we must be successful in bee culture in this State and in all other States. I will bring this to a close by saying to Maine bee-keepers, plant largely of honey producing plants, and you will not be sorry for your time, pains and the pleasures it vvill give you, aud the land that you will use for this purpose will be well improved. For the American Bee Journal. Bee-Keepers' Week at the Southern Exposition. G. W. DEMAREE. The Southern Exposition Company is composed of wealthy business men who, of course, know nothing of bee- culture. It was hardly to be expected that they would bestow special favors upon bee-keepers ; hence, it became necessary to apply to the Agricultural department of our State for accommo- dations. The same course was pur- sued by the Horticultural Societies, and nobly did that department re- spond to our wishes. Prof. Todd, chief manager of the Agricultural deiiartmeut of the State of Kentucky, is a man of broad views, and so inter- ested was he in our new (?) enterprise that he gave us special favors and attention. Had we known before 454 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. hand that our enterprise would have been so lightly favored by the mana- gers of the Exposition, and so highly appreciated by the public, we would have gone prepared to surprise the '• natives." As it was, our honey and bee show was a credit to Kentucky apiarists. The table erected for our accommo- dation stood in a conspicuous place ; was about 5 feet wide, and covered with snow white cloth, and was ex- tended in length as needed. Much of the honey was displayed in fancy shape, but the greater part of it was plain, neat, and attractive, and beyond question was admired most of all. People are used to gaudily labeled tin cans, and beautifully colored confec- tions, and have learned to know that the fancy outside gives no guaranty ^ of the purity of the article within. It * seemed to me that the tin cans of all sizes were a failure,especially the very small sizes. These were covered with exaggerations in the form of labels. It was amusing to hear the remarks made by persons in the mighty crowds that gathered about the tables to see the Honey and Bee Show. " Them little tin cans look too much like salve boxes." " O ! ain't that charming honey in those square glass jars." "Those tall glass goblets are beautiful." "Look at that comb honey ; wonder if the bees made it in them cases." " La, if they havu't got bees making honey right in the Ex- position." " Wonder what them bees are making lioney out of." "That's the queen is it? Well, now, where is the king V" " Won't they improve on honey before they are done experi- menting?" This last remark was directed to mc, and I answered : No, God makes pure honey, and the bees gather it from his ocean of flowers. Man makes glucose and calls it honey, and poisons his fellows for a few paltry dollars. These are the facts in a nut-shell. Kentucky apiarists will not soon forget " Bee-Keepers' Week " at the great Southern Exposition. I would like to mention the names of the dis- tinguished bee-keepers from many parts of the United States, who "hunted me up " to grasp my hand, during bee-keepers' week, but I could not do it without forgetting some whose memory is henceforth dear to me. I will be pardoned, howeveij for mentioning the name of W. S. Hart, of New Smyrna, Ela., because he came from the uttermost parts of the Union to visit us. Mr. Hart proposes to be at the Toronto Convention be- fore he returns home. I am sure that all who meet him will not only find him a master in apiculture, but a most congenial friend and gentleman. The sessions of the Kentucky State Society were well attended, and the proceed- ings very entertaining. The assem- bly of bee-keepers was at no time very large, owing to the many things to attract at the Exposition, and from the further fact that many of the members of the society had to look after their honey and bees on exhibi- tion. Still, Dr. Allen was heard to remark that it was the " best meet- ing ever held by the society." I believe I learned something dur- ing " bee-keepers' week " about pre- paring honey for the market. I believe it a mistake to put flashy labels on small honey packages. It is too suggestive of the trashy goods so commonly seen in family groceries. These extravagancies have liad their day, and people are getting tired of being cheated by outside appearances. The trade will have much more con- fidence in a plain label that gives the name of the article and the name and address of the producer. At the honey show the competition for the first prize on comb honey was doubtless very sharp. I cannot see how it could have been' otherwise, as so many fine combs so nearly alike were in the display. There was more difference, tiowever, in the extracted. Extracted honey may be extra good, good, common and "indifferent, just in proportion to the good manage- ment of the apiarist. During the latter part of last June a neighbor of mine informed me that the "yellow uees " were working thick on his red clover. I visited the field and found my bees working busily on the red clover. Bees were gathering rapidly from the white clover at the same time. This led me to observe closely, and I believe that nine out of ten of the bees which were visiting the red clover were of the lightest strain of bees in my apiary. I thought but little about the matter at the time, as I had never got more than 20 pounds at two different times, heretofore, that I knew to be red clover honey, and this was in the comb, and gathered from the second crop of clover, and late in the season. In the former case the work was done on the red clover, in the best of the white clover harvest, and on the first crop of red clover bloom. A short time after this I extracted some SIX or eight hundred pounds of the whitest and thickest honey I ever drew from the extractor. When I saw it was extra white, thick honey, I kept it by itself. From this lot" of honey I made up my exhibit of ex- tracted honey, and it took the first prize at ttie Exposition. Mr. Muth, of Cincinnati, sampled this honey, and expressed ins belief that it was too white for white clover honey, and gave it as his opinion that it was red clover honey. I am able to identify at least 6 colonies that produced more or less of this remarkably white, thick lioney. Although I have seen my bees working on red clover once in awhile, I have heretofore had but little faith in "red clover bees," and I yet suspect that the seasons must be extra good so as to fill the deep tubes of the clover blossoms pretty well with nectar in order that any bees yet imported to this country can reach it sutliciently to obtain surplus honey. Nevertheless these colonies will re- ceive extra care forfuture experiment. The Kentucky Bee-Keepers' Society has set on foot a scheme— if success- ful— which will be of much impor- tance to those who contemplate making honey production a specialty. A committee has been appointed whose duty it will be to collect infor- mation as to the unoccupied fields suitable to the production of honey in our State, and about everything re- lating to the adaptability of the State to tlie bee business. The work will be published in pamphlet form by the society. It is hoped that such a work will be of the greatest benefit to those persons seeking locations for apiaries. The work of the bee-keepers' socle- ties of our country has heretofore been too circumscribed in character. Their proper sphere is too benefit mankind, and in order to do this they must not only be progressive but aggressive in their work. Commit- tees appointed by societies generally do nothing, simply because nothing is expected of them. The fault is with the society. The committee selected for this work is composed of Dr. N. P. Allen, of Smith's Grove, Ky. ; W. C. Pelham, of Maysville, Ky. ; John T. Connley, of Napoleon, Ky., to which the president of the society was added. With the untiring energy of Dr. Allen at its head, this commit- tee will discharge its duties faithfully. We have quite a drouth here now, and the prospects for a fall run are not at all flattering at this writing. At the honey show at the Southern Ex- position, Mr. A. C. Cunningham, of Salvisa, Ky., took first prize on comb honey, and N. P. Allen, of Smith's Grove, Ky., second prize. Your humble servant won first prize on ex- tracted, and N. P. Allen the second. Christiansburg, Ky. For the American Bee Journal, How to Clean Wax. F. L. DRESSER. The great demand for comb foun- dation, and consequent consumption of wax in its manufacture, has so destituted the market that the bee- keeper now finds little trouble in realizing twice the price for his wax that he did a year or two ago. And the prospect is, that unless beeswax is imported to this country in consid- erable quantities, the price will rise still higher, and bee-keepers may, ere long, consider the question of running some colonies for wax as a prime object. But with the present prices and amount obtainable, the care of wax is a question of dollar and cents to those who wish to make bee-keeping pay. With many this is considered "the woman's job," and given no further thought by them : while the women dread this annual job as much as we do the semi-annual house cleaning. Indeed, I think that I should prefer to blister my hands pounding an old dusty carpet than to burn them raw pounding hot wax through an old coffee sack. I know that I would rather eat my dinner spread on a barrel in the woodshed than to have my clothing and un- covered extremities smeared with such immovable stuff. Yet, with a little expense and proper manage- ment, no one need be made uncom- fortable, and the overburdened farmer's wife may be released of the detested duty. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 455 In the first place the bee-keeper should have a box handy into which to throw his old comb ; that which is free from cocoons should be kept separate from the rest. If the millers commence their depredations, a little burning sulphur will disturb their feast and make you master. Next a Swiss wax extractor should be provided (see engraving). For Swiss Wax Extractor. the sake of some who, perhaps, have not seen one of these instruments, I will attempt a brief description. It consists of a can divided a few inches from the bottom by a tin perforated with large holes near the cireumfer- ance, and inclining from all directions toward a snout which protrudes from one side on a level with tlie tin. Above this hang.s a basket m»de of perforated tin, so placed as to hang entirely within the holes punched in the dividing tin. The melting wax will then fall upon the tin and escape by the snout, and not leak through into the water tank below. Connect a tube from the outside with the water tank to enable you to refill the tank without removing the extractor from the stove. Cover the snout witli a tight-fitting jacket open to the in- side. This will prevent tlie wax from hardening in the snout, and save much trouble. Make a tight-fltting cover for the whole, and the thing is finished. You will then want two or three Moulding cans, such as the figure below. Moulding Can. ^ is a frustum shaped can encased in the cylindrical can, b,-cis a tube for filling 6 witli water, and ti,a faucet, is for emptying the can ; c and d con- nect only with the outer vessel. Thus equipped, you are prepared for busi- ness. Select a day in the fall, after the bees are prepared for winter, and you have plenty of time. Drive the women out of the kitchen, and make it as comfortable for yourself as pos- sible. Then prepare your extractor by filling the water tank with water, and the wax basket with comb. Place a moulding can under the snout, allowing the wax to fall into it, at the same time having b filled with boiling hot water. VVlien the can is full remove it, substituting another. Allow the wax to stand 4 or 5 min- utes, then draw off the hot water and fill with cold water. As often as the water around the wax gets warm, re- place it with that which is cold. The larger your extractor, and the more moulding cans you have the faster you can manipulate. When the cake is hard dump it out, and the can is ready to use again. The dirt will Ijave settled to the bottom of the cake you have just taken; tliis you must cut off together with a generous slice of wax, so as to be sure you get it all. You can run the refuse over again and get the wax from that. The cakes are now in a convenient form for shipment, and should be sold in the early spring to some supply dealer. You can continue to get dirt from the wax as many times as you will run it through, but by running it through once it will all be prime yellow. Pure beeswax is pure white, and the slightest color is the sign of the presence of foreign matter ; hence, if all the foreign matter be withdrawn the wax will be white. I have a further addition to the extractor by which I can prove my statement. A cake of the dirtiest, blackest wax that I ever saw was made white by this instrument, and it was not exposed to the sun nor any bleaching substance for a moment. But most of us are satisfied to luive our wax all yellow and in convenient cakes, and this is the easiest method that 1 know, or of which I have ever heard. Hillsdale, Mich., Sept. 1. 1883. Putnam County, Ind. Convention. The Putnam County Bee-Keepers' Association met Saturday, Aug. 18, at Greencastle. The attendance was not large, but it was enthusiastic. After the necessary business had been attended to, the different members reported the condition of their bees, and their prospects. Mr. Tenant, of Greencastle, said that two years ago he started with but one colony. Since that time he had sold over $100 worth of bees and honey, and had six stands left in strong condition, two of them with upper story full of honey. Mr. Homan, of iJussell township, reported tliat his bees had done well, consider- ing the wet weather in blooming time. He had taken 675 pounds of noney, and increased to 2(i colonies. He stated tliat there were large numbers of bees in the woods. Mr. O'Neal stated that his bees were strong, and since honey harvest had been carrying honey from upper stories to brood- chambers. He had caught a stray swarm of bees, apparently full Ital- ians. The president said he was more certain than ever that bees were profitable property, if properly hand- led. His bees had done well. He had sold several stands and quite a lot of honey. The secretary remarked that he had taken some 800 or 900 pounds of honey, and had increased from 20 to 50 strong colonies with but 9 natural swarms. Had sold all hia honey at from 20 to 35 cents. Others reported similar success. W Mason gave an account of a visit to the apiary of W. Smith, of Johnson county, and stated that Mr. S. had sold $500 worth of honey, and had 65 colonies of bees in cliaff packed hives, Mr. S. told him his bees yielded a better income than his 160 acres of good farm land. Our society meets the third Satur- day of each month, the next meeting being Sept. 22. — Indiana Farmer. Tot tne American Bee Joumalo Bees in Shenandoah Valley, Va. A. R. KOHNKE. Having gone there, with the object of finding a better locality for bee- keeping than I have about Youngs- town, O., I tliought I would give to the bee-keeping public what I have seen and learned with reference to our pursuit. Following the most urgent invita- tion of Mr. Jordan, of White Sulphur Springs, I went there the last week in July. Arriving at the Springs, which I made my headquarters, I received a most cordial welcome by Mr. E. C. Jordan, the proprietor. This gentle- man has some 53 colonies of bees in Langstroth hives ; but owing to hia time and attention being required to look after the welfare and comfort of liis guests, his bees are rather neg- lected. There are two springs on this place, a sulphur and an iron spring. 1 have met people wlio were broken down in lieaUh,not being able to obtain relief by any medical treatment, who bad been almost entirely cured within a few months at these springs, which, if it proves anything, proves that that particular place is most conducive to health. Space does not permit me to describe that locality in detail, but Mr. Jordan will furnislivery willingly any information in regard to it. As to the bees, their main honey source is blue thistle, which, to judge by what I have seen, must be one of the best, if not the best honey plant this country produces. The honey from it, if not better, is surely equal to white clover ; it being of the same color and consistency as the latter, but of a milder taste. Besides blue thistle, locust grows there in great abundance, as also the different kinds of berries, especially blackberries. But where blue thistle abounds white clover is scarce and vice versa. One day Mr. Jordan and myself drove down to Berryville, about nine miles from the Springs, to visit some bee-keepers there. One of them, Mr. Diehl, who has been quite sick, hence not able to attend to his bees properly, has an apiary of about 200 colonies, blacks, Italians and Albinos. Ilia crop was about 5,000 pounds of comb honey. Another gentleman, in tlie same town, had 90, blacks, hybrida and Italians, and Mr. Showers, also 456 THE AMERICA]^ BEE JOURNAL. t)f the same place, has about 40. Most of the surplus arrangement had been taken off the hives, in consequence of the honey season having closed, with B, faint hope of obtaining some from iron weed, wliich is said to yield honey some years. Some other day I went to Winches- ter, it being about five miles from the Springs, to see the following bee- keepers : Mr. Brown, Mr. Slagle and Mr. Gibbens ; found none of the gen- tlemen at home on account of a pic- nic excursion, but had access to the largest apiary, kept by Mr. Gibbens, who makes a business of it. I was shown around by Mr. Gibbens' son, a very accommodating young gentle- man. Mr. Gibbens works his bees in a very progressive manner. He has used this year, for the first time, the one-pound one-piece sections, using comb foundation starters of a trian- gular shape, one corner of which nearly touches the bottom of the sec- tion. The idea struck me, that comb foundation used in this shape, might keep the bees from building little bits of comb in between, as they have a better chance of clustering than ■where full sheets are furnished ; be- sides that it would be a saving of foundation to the extent of one-half. I may give right here some more of my experience in my own apiary, and what I have seen in others. The fact that bees need large quantities of honey to produce a small q^nantity of wax, has led to the inven- tion of comb foundation machines and the use of comb foundation in brood- chambers as well as for comb honey. In order to save the honey. This may be best to some extent, when honey is tiot very abundant, but I rather ques- tion the expediency to give full sheets of comb foundation in sections for this reason : 1 have noticed that, ■when honey is coming in slowly, the bees will draw out heavy walled comb foundation a little ; biit when it is ■coming in fast, they do not touch that heavy wall, but build new comb on the foundation given. I used the heavy-walled foundation made on a tJiven press, and the light-walled made on a Vandervort machine. The light-walled was always drawn out, so that the comb foundation could not be noticed when cutting the comb, but with the other Tuore or less " fish- bone " was left, very often the whole of it. Besides this, I found after the comb was finished, the bees had wax to spare, putting it here and there in little lumps in some empty corner, hut especially on the glass at the ends 'or sides of the sections. For the use of full sheets of comb foundation in the brood-chamber, there are other ^nd more important reasons than the saving of honey and wax in its con- struction, which I need notenumerate here, as they are too well known ; but lor sections, I think we can use less to our advantage, using such as can be made on a Vandervort machine only, as far as 1 know. Now back to Mr. Gibbens' again. He also had taken most of his sections off the hives, leaving only a small part of those not yet finished, in hopes of obtiiining some honey from iron weed. On the whole, I think by what I have observed, that the Shenandoah Valley is a very good bee country, but, perhaps, no more so than many other localities where more fruit trees are cultivated, which are in great deficiency where I have been. Youngstown, Ohio, August, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Honey Crop, Marketing, etc. B. T. DAVENPORT. I have been much interested in read- ing the columns of your valuable paper this season, and especially the reports in regard to the present and prospec- tive indications for honey. I like the idea suggested by Mr. Kendall, in last week's Bee Journal, of having a barometer, or honey signal- service, a good one, providing We are careful not to exaggerate our reports, nor make out reports tor the whole season at perhaps the very opening of clover, which, if the weather should be pro- pitious, and the bloom as good as it was this season, are apt to be very flattering. It is well to be hopeful at all times, which, as far as I am ac- quainted, 1 believe is a peculiarity that bee-keepers have, but in our pub- lic reports, we want the facts, and opinions should be given as such only. We too frequently see an otherwise excellent report or letter with no date given, or if a honey report, the kind not mentioned, whether comb or ex- tracted ; such articles I mark down about .50 per cent. This was the cold- est morning of the season — mercury 41°, but saw no frost. Bees have done fairly here, but too much wet and cool weather for a real good yield of honey. The most of our surplus was gathered during the latter part of June and first half of July from white clover; basswood bloomed considerable, but we obtained no honey from it; it rained nearly all the time it was in bloom, and were the heaviest rains known for years, doing considera|)le damage to hay that was cut, both in the stack and field. I have been work- ing two apiaries this season, 5^4 miles apart. I began with 90 and now have 136 colonies, and have taken off 4,200 lbs. of honey in IJ^ lb. sections, all white, and think there is enough on the hives of mixed honey to make out about 6,000 lbs. This is probably one of the best locations for honey in the state. I found a drone in my Carley apiary (the one away from home), with one very red eye; I saw him twice, while looking through the hive. Auroraville, Wis., Sept. 5, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Bee-Keeping in Utah. JOHN DUNN. Bees have not had the attention they should have this year. Some never use an extractor. One bee man told me, the other day, that he had not used one, although he has 6 colo- nies and is among the oldest hands at the bnsiness ; but after I had shown him what I had done with 2 colonies, he said he would get an extractor; but it was like the boy, as I told him, who bought a penny purse to put a half penny in ; it was too late now, to get much benefit from the extractor. Quite a feeling has been made against the use of the extractor, tlirougli the remarks of our assessor, who said that foul brood was caused by extractors, and where they were used, foul brood was sure to exist. I talked with him on this subject, and asked him for his proof. Why, said he, I have read it in a book ; but when questioned in what book, he said he could not tell where, so I told him to come and I would show him, where larvfe was pulled out, that the bees would put it back, when put in the hive ; but I would not advise any one to extract from sections that had much brood in them. I have extracted about 50 gallons of honey from 10 colonies up to date — increased to 20 this season, and if I had got my sections full of comb, I could have done better. I have used a good deal of foundation. We should have a good flow of honey ; almost every one has an or- chard, and own their own house and garden lot, and since the new fence law was passed, almost every one has a patch of clover and lucern, and in the spring, if you take a walk out in the country, you will see the wild flowers, and in the fall, they shine with splendor. I think that many would keep bees if they were not so fond of stinging, but it is the only thing they have to defend themselves with, and it is a wise provision, for, if it was not so, the poor bees would be abused many times just for fancy. 1 found spear mint a good thing to rub over the hands ; they do not like the smell. I did intend to have 1,000 lbs. of extrac- ted honey this season, and I do not know yet but I may get it. Bees work now on clover, squash, lucern and other plants, and are doing splendidly, so far as I have found out in this county. Tooele City, Utah, Aug. 15, 1883. For the American B«e JournaL Cyprian and Syrian Bees. B. F. CARROLL,. The anathamas hurled against the Cyprian bees by many who have not thoroughly tested them will cause many apiarists to dispose of their Cyprians before they find out their good qualities. It is true that the Cyprian bee is a little warlike if not thoroughly un- derstood. I have handled these bees for three years, and I find them su- perior to the Italians in every respect. First, they are more prolific, and hence have their hives always full of bees, and when you have the bees, you can have the honey if there is any to be had. Secondly, they defend their hives better ; it being almost impossible for a strong colony of Cyprians to be THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 457 over-powered and robbed by other bees. Thirdly, when the extractor is used they are far superior to the Italians by being so easily shaken and brushed from the combs. Fourthly, they tty faster and further for stores, and have a longer tongue than Italians or blacks, and they work well on the cotton, and this feature alone ought to bring them into favor with the bee-keepers of the South ; and Lastly, tlie sun never gets too hot for them ; I have seen theui this year, when the thermometer was at 104'^ F. in the shade, wt)rking riglit along, as if it was spring-like weather, and my 3 colonies of Italians and one black colony were not even showing a de- sire to do anything but l>riiig in a little water, and very little of tliat. I have one of G. M. Doolittle's best Italian colonies. The bees are perfect beauties, and as gentle as pet chick- ens, and I have a host of Cyprian colonies just as gentle, and I handle without smoke or gloves. I have about 25 colonies of Holy Land bees, and as this is my first year to give these a thorough test, I am satisfied they are almost identical with the Cyprians, and their temper is not quite so high strung. There is no doubt they will stand the test. I see some grand reports coming in from these bees from different parts of our broad domain, and it is only a question of time when these bees will be the favorites with Americau bee- keepers. Dresden, Texas, Sept. 1, 1883. Prairie Farmer. Apiary Talks— Seasonable Hints. MRS. L. HARRISON. It is well to observe closely during the honey season, and ascertain from what source the supply is obtained. Where 1 am " rusticating," in Con- necticut, near the sea-shore (Aug, 21 ), boneset or motherwort, goldenrod, and a species of wild touch-me-not are in bloom, and bees are apparently doing well. For several days it has been showery, and the sun comes ont very hot, and the nights are warm, insuring the right condition for the secretion of nectar. Where the early potatoes were raised. Polygonum wiil soon be blooming. The sweet clovers (melilot) of the white and yellow va- rieties, are now ripening their seed, and it should be gathered and scat- tered in waste places. 1 saw, lately, the yellow variety which is some- times called Bokhara clover, growing around the edge of a salt meadow and on rocky ledges. Though it is not a bad weed, it will hold its own when it has gained a foothold. In most Western and Northern localities, the three or four weeks preceding frost bring on flowers which often afford the very best pas- turage of the year. During tliis late honey flow, encouragement should be given to the rearing of brood, so that there may be plenty of young bees to go into winter quarters. Sometimes the brood-nest is almost filled with honey, and the queen cannot find a cell in which to lay ; a part of the combs should be extracted and re- turned. Sometimes tliis fails to in- sure brood-rearing, as we have found such combs in a few days (during a big flow) to have every cell glistening with honey. We lose our bees the coming winter, " charm we ever so wisely," but we will stand a much greater chance of preserving them if we look well to them now. Some colonies, although prosperous the past season, have queens whose usefulness has departed, and who are decrepit with old age, and should be super- seded with a young vigorous one, able to withstand wintry blasts. All after-swarms have young queens, and if they are too small to winter, they might be wintered with an old stock, by first removing the old queen Colonies that are found to be queen- less, or have done laying queens, should have queens given them or united. Many people complain of moths destroying their bees, when they only moved in when the house was empty, from defect or loss of queen. l^hat and Baxxj. ANSWERS BY James Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich. Bees Italliiig their Queen. Will .James Heddon please inform me why mv bees balled a virgin queen about "12 days old ; also, why they balled a dollar queen, which I intro- duced about 6 weeks ago, and was laying nicely ever since, and was lay- ing when they balled her V They started queen-cells at the same hive. I took her out and put her in a nucleus, and she was laying the next day. 'Richard Grinsell. Baden, Mo., Aug., 27, 1883. Answer.— Bees ball strange queens and queens that for any cause (and some causes are as yet unknown) they are jealous of. Why they should have been entertaining a " sidewise " feeling toward your 12-days old virgin queen, I do not know enough about the minor circumstances to tell. Per- haps because she was aiming at be- coming a wrinkled, cross old maid. Workers are quite often suspicious of introduced fertile queens for many days after they begin to lay, and often pounce upon and kill them upon the least provocation, such as opening the hive, when if they had been left undisturbed, they would have acted like dutiful children. I should think a week time enough to lay aside all this jealousy. I have found that to suffice as a rule. I have had colonies ball their queens on opening the hive; queens that were mothers to every bee in the hive. I have never known a case of the kind, but what the col- ony was in some way sliglitly out of perfectly normal condition ; a little spring sickness, or clipped queen, or something of the sort. Wide Frames. In a recent number of your Jour- nal Mr. Heddon says the wide frames are being superseded. Will he be kind enough to tell us by what, with details sutiicient to enable a man of ordinary understanding (not a me- chanic) to make them for trial. RUSTICUS. Answer.— The broad frames are, with many of our leading and recog- nized most intelligent apiarists, being laid aside for the case system. I cannot, in this space, fully describe the case that 1 use and prefer, but I will say that the broad frame supers differ from tlie cases, inasmuch as that the cases, instead of taking frames at all, receive the sections be- tween partitions, without the use of frames or separators. I will refer you to cut Fig. 1, Sec. D, page 659, Bee Journal for 1882. OUR L The Fall Crop. Bees are storing honey a few hours in the middle of the day. The hearts- ease and goldenrod bloom is abundant, but the weather is too dry, and the nights too cool, for a large flow of honey. A good rain and warm weather would give us a heavy flow. The honey crop in Ih^s part of the State is not a heavy one, although in a few localities, where strict attention has been given, a fair crop will be secured. Reuben Havens. Onarga, 111., Sept. 4, 1883. Horse Balm Honey. Enclosed find a plant for name. I have exhausted my botanical resources without being able to name it. Bees work on it freely, and it undoubtedly yields a large amount of honey. 1 have a suspicion that the honey is bitter. The plant grows in rich woods. It is not very abundant. M. Mahin. New Castle, Ind., Aug. 28, 1883. [The plant is the widely dissemina- ted Horse Balm [Collinsonia Canadeti- sis). It is hardly possible that the honey is bitter. The plant belongs to one of the most important families (iabictto) of honey producers, and is itself pleasantly aromatic— T. J. B.] 458 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Bees Working on the Spanish Needle. In the spring of 1883, I bad 40 colo- nies of bees, all Italians but 3. I did not get any clover honey, but got about 600 pounds of linden honey, and increased to 72 colonies. I have not obtained any honey since Aug. 1, though the bees are doing well now, on Spanish needle and buckwheat. VVm. T. Scott. Mill Grove, Mo., Sept. 4, 1883. Sand Wasps. I send you a hornet tliat I saw with a fly in its fore feet. I never saw one like it before. Please say what it is, through the Bee Journal. J. M. HiBBARD, Jr. Athens, Ohio, Aug. 10, 1883. [The large insect found holding in its forefeet a bee, is one of the sand wasps [Pompilidtx), which store their nests with insects, to be used as food by the young. Usually a single species of insect or spider is selected by each kind of wasp, but I am not aware that this or any other wasp stores its nest exclusively with honey bees. The most remarkable thing about their method of hunting is that the wasp stings the prey in a particu- lar nerve centre, in such manner that the captured insect 'is rendered en- tirely helpless, but is not killed. In this condition it is packed with others in a hole dug in the ground, accom- panied by several eggs of the wasp. When these eggs hatch the young find in the stung insects food still perfectly fresh, because alive, but entirely at their mercy. Along with the above, in the box, was a dog-day cicada (Cicada canicu- lau's]. It is much like the 17-year "locust," but appears every year. It is quite harmless, except that it bores twigs of trees to deposit its eggs ; as soon as hatched the larvae enter the ground and live on the roots of plants.— T. J. BuKRiLL, Champaign, 111.] 12 with boxes on that have some sec- tions completed, 2 that have the entire 12 two-pound sections nearly full. I have some colonies that have not swarmed this season. I have a record of 3, 4, 5, 6 and even 7 swarms from one colony. The one giving 6. its first swarm cast three, one of which went into another hive and was killed ; but I saved two, making an increase of 8 from that colony. I had combs for all increase. J. E. Cady. Medford, Minn., Aug. 31, 1883. Bee-Keeping' in Minnesota. As I am sending for 100 copies of " Honey as Food and Medicine," I will report something of what my bees are doing, and it is a big report for Minnesota, but not in the least over-drawn. My account shows 317 pails of honey. These pails will hold from 15 to 18 pounds each, making in all about 4,755 pounds of extracted, and I have besides 1,624 pounds of beautiful comb honey. This amounts to 6,379 pounds without taking into account the strainings from the un- capped, which would avenige a pail- ful a day. I began the season with 32 strong colonies, and kept them warm and well fed during the spring. I now have 90 splendid colonies, 40 of which were not looked through during or since bass wood bloom. There are Syrphus Files, etc. Enclosed find three flies and a bee. 1. I found the flies hovering around the hives, evidently persuaded in their own minds tliat, if they had their rights, they ought to live there. The bees did hot appear to mind them much. What are they V 2. Of what race is the bee enclosed ? I am often puzzled about these stripes. How many stripes has this bee ? My bees should be Italians, but I see every once in a while ttie 15th amendment to the constitution there. R. J. Kendall. Austin, Texas, Aug. 26, 1883. [The insects are the prettily-banded, useful Syrphus flies, whose larvpe prey upon plant lice. They do the bees no harm.— T. J. B. After a bee is dead and " mashed up " in a letter, it is hard to tell much about it. If it had " stripes " they are not discernible now. — Ed.] Borage as a Good Honey Plant. You may put down borage as an extra good honey plant. It commences to bloom in June and keeps up till the hard frosts. My bees have worked at it unceasingly since basswood harvest closed, and are still at it. Last year it was green until the end of October. It is very hardyj and is a perfect weed when it once gets into a garden. C. W. Young. Stratford, Ont.. Sept. 6, 1883. A Worker in a (Jiieen-Cell. The Journal is a welcome visitor to our home every week, and while perusing its columns, last night, I found an experience somewhat like one I had not long since. I have ref- erence to a " Curious Freak of Bees," by A. Rickenbacher, on page 433 of the Bee Journal. A few days ago I had a nice lot of queen-cells that I thought would hatch in a day or two. I lifted them out In the sunshine to see how nearly ready they were to hatch, and to rny surprise several had already emerged from the cells, and were walking around on the comb. I cut out all the cells that were not uncapped, and when I had put one in each hive or nucleus that I had pre- pared, there was one left. I cut it open, and found in it a worker bee in tlie prime of life. I think that worker bee crawled into the cell just when the queen gut out ; tlie cap not being cut cleai- off, sprung shut, and the bees sealed it. "A. R. Nisbet. Dobyville, Ark., Sept. 1,1883. Honey Already Candied. I send you a sample of my honey. It has all candied or turned to sugar. VVill you please tell me, in the Bee ' Journal, why it candied so, and can I winter my bees on it y I started last spring with one colony of bees ; the bees swarmed three times, and the four colonies have gathered about 300 lbs. of honey in the boxes, and body of the hive, and it is all candied or turned to sugar. Will the bees win- ter on a syrup made by melting up the outside combs, adding a little water and skinmiing off the wax ? Other bee-keepers living near here, are complaining of their honey candy- ing, like mine. E. Hamilton. Centre Conway, N. H., Sept. 4, 1888. [Some honey will " candy " much more readily tlian that gathered from other kinds of bloom. Linden honey candies very quickly after being re- moved from the hives. You do not say what it was gathered from, but it is evidently caused by the peculiar flowers from which it came. You can use it for wintering, either as it is, or by making it into a syrup, as you sug- gest.—Ed.] Good Honey Harvest in Maine. Bees have done uncommonly well in Maine, this year. I have one swarm that came out in June that has gathered 135 pounds of honey, mostly in one-pound sections. I am 77 years old. LuciAN French. Dexter, Maine, Aug. 30, 1883. Queens with Scarlet Wings. I discovered a new kind of queen (to me) in tlie last part of May. I took the same queen and inserted it in a colony of bees, and the colony swarmed twice, and I received 175 pounds of honey from each. I think that these queens are more profitable than Italian queens. I think that I will transform my whole apiary with these bees ; the queens have three yellow stripes, and their wings are scarlet. Please give me some infor- mation about the same. Prof. H ugo Sontag. Cucamongo, Cal., Aug. 31, 1883. [It is evidently another " case of sporting," many of wtich have here- tofore been reported in the Bee Journal. The regulation " bands" show them to be Italians. — Ed.] A Short Crop. The crop of honey from this section is very short. Basswood was a failure. A colony weighing 6^4 lbs. of bees, gathered but 15 lbs. during basswood bloom. The fall crop, so extraordinary last season in the flow, is about as extraordinary the other way, this sea- son. "In a good season every bean- pole sweats honey, but in a bad one, no flower secrets any ;" so said our German friends across the water; and the two seasons have made the demon- stration here. Jesse Oren. La Porte City, Iowa, Sept 5, 1883. J THE AMERICAJ^ BEE JOURNAL. 459 Western Bee-Keepers' Association. The first annual meeting of the Western Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at Independence, Mo., Sept. 20 and 21, 1883. The association being situated in the centre of one of the best honey-producing sections of the country, and easy of access from all parts of the country, it is desirous that as many bee-keepers as can pos- sibly attend will meet with us, and help to make it as interesting and en- joyable as circumstances will permit. In connection with the general busi- ness of such meetings, the members of the association have made arrange- ments for a Bee and Honey Fair, free to the world. Tlie following prem- iums are offered. Members of the as- sociation will not compete for prem- iums offered by itself. Bv the Association. Best display of honey (comb and extracted ) not less than 20 lbs. of each, in marketable shape. $25 00 Best 25 lbs. of comb honey 10 00 " " " extracted " 10 00 Best queen, with her bees 10 00 Best display of apiarian imple- . ments, including all the prin- ciple fixtures used in the apiary 15 00 Special Premiums free to all. By the business men of Independ- ence : Best 50 lbs. of comb honey in the best marketable shape, $.i0.00. By the Sentinel: Best package of comb honey not over 2 lbs., one year's subscription. Judges not members of the associa- tion : All articles for display or jjremiums must be entered on the first day of the meeting. Parties from a distance, who may wish, can consign their goods to either of the members of the committee. The members of the association will do their very best to provide enter- tainment for all persons who may visit us. J. D. Meadok, L. W. Baldwin, C. M. Ckandall, James A. Jones, P. Baldwin. Committee. 1^ The next meeting of the Tus- carawas Valley Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation will be held at Newcomers- town, Ohio, on Wednesday, Sept. 26, commencing at 10a. m. All interested are cordially invited to come and bring anytliiiig for exhibition that will interest bee-keepers. J. A. Bl'Ckiew, Pres. Claiks, Ohio. Herbert Denman, Sec. Coshocton, Ohio. Bee Pasturage a »cessit).— We have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illiistiHled with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. ^p^tcial Notices. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this oflice get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. How to Create a Market for Honey. We have now published another edition of the pamphlet on "Honey as Food and Medicine," with more new Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price still lower, to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 5 cents, postpaid ; per dozen, 40 cents ; per hundred, $2.50. 500 will be sent postpaid for $10.00, or 1,000 for $15.00. On orders of 100 or more, we will print, if desired, on the cover-page, " Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense — enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Try it, and you will be surprised. Subscription Credits. — We do not acknowledge receipt of each subscrip- tion by letter. The label on your paper, or on the wrapper, shows the date to which your subscription is paid. When you send us money, if the proper credit is not given you, within two weeks thereafter, on your label, notify us by postal card. Do not wait for montlis or years, and then claim a mistake. The subscrip- tion is paid to the end of the month indicated on the wrapper-label. This gives a statement of account every week. Trial Trip— 25 Cents. As the season for Fairs has arrived, and wishing to be able to reach several thousands of the old-fashioned bee- men, and by the aid of the Bee Journal to lift them up to higher ground, adopting newer methods and progressive ideas, we make the follow- ing very liberal offer : We will send the Weekly Bee Journal iftree months on trial, for 25 cejits. In order to pay for getting up Clubs, we will give a copy of Fisher's Grain Tables, or Scribner's Lumber and Log Book, to any one who will send us five trial subscriptions (with $1.25) ; for a club of ten we will give a cloth copy of Bees and Honey ; for a club of 15, a cloth copy of the 7th edition of Cook's Man- ual of the Apiary ; for a club of 25, we will present both the Manual and Bees and Honey. If any one wants these Books for nothing, here is on excel- lent opportunity to get them for a little exertion. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies 220 pages 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. Preparation of Honey for the Mar- ket, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. 1^ Do not send coins in a letter. It is dangerous and increases the postage unnecessarily. Always send postage stamps, for fractions of a dollar, and, if you can get them— orie-ceni stamps; if not, any denomination of postage stamps will do. Special Notice.— We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bee Journal for one year, and the seventh edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, bound in fine cloth, for $2.75, or the Monthly Bee Journal, and the Manual in cloth for $1.75. As this offer will soon be withdrawn, those who desire it should send for the book at once. 460 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Bingham Smoker Corner. Lar^e Smokers need wide sbleldB. Bingham's have them, and sprlnns that do not rust and break, and bellows that sparks and smoke do not enter. The Conquerorhaa all improvements made to date, and a 3x7 inch stove, and r.x.7 inch bellows. Sent post-paid for 9>1.'75. Address, BINGHAM & HETHERINGTON, Abronia Mich. CYPRIANB rON- QUKRED. — All BUra- mer long it has been "which and tother" with me and the Cyp- rian colony of bees I have -but Ht last 1 »ra " boss. " Bingham's "Conqueror Smoker" did it. If you want lots of smoke just »t the right time, get ti Conqueror Smoker of Bingham. G. M. DOOLITTI.E. Borodino, N. Y.. Aug. 15. 1882. EXCELLING All.— Messrs. Binghiim & Hetherington. Dear Sirs:— I am now sell- ing your Smokers al- most exclusively. Vou are excelling yourselves in smok- ers all the time. Respectfully, J. G. Tayluh, Austin, Texas, May 10. Iftft3, The Orlsrlnal BINGHAM Bee Smoker Patented, 1878. The Very Best.— The BinEbam "Conqueror" Smoker is the very be»t thing 1 have trie«1 in that line. M.M.Lindsay. Fulton. Tenn., July 24, 1883. During the following three months, Bingham Smokers will be sent post- paid, per mail, on receipt of the fol- lowing prices : The "Doctor".. ( wide shieUl)—3H in. Are tube. $-2.(Xi The Conqueror (wide Bliield)— 3 in. fire tube. 1.7.5 Large (wide shield)— 2H in. Are tube. I. .50 Extra (wideshieldl— 2 in.flretulie. 1.25 Plain (nar. shield)— 2 in.tiretube, l.DU Little Wonder, .(nar. shield)— lljin.Hretube, .65 Bingham & Hetherington Uncapping Knife. . 1.15 With thanks for letters of encour- agement, and the absence of complain- iBg ones, we tender to our thirty-five thousand patrons our best wishes. Very Eespectfnlly Yours, Bingham & HETHERrNGTON. Abronia, Mich., June 1, 1883. Our Premiums for Clubs. Books at Fairs.— Those who make an exhibit at Fairs will find that an assortment of Books and Pamphlets would sell and leave them a profit for handling. We will send such, postage prepaid, at 25 per cent, discount; or if the purchaser pays express charges, we will supply any of our own publica- tions at 40 per cent, discount. Emerson Binders — made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for 75 cents, for the Weekly ; or for the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. Any one setiding us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $(>, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's IJinder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for UIO colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's Kew 15ee-Keeping. Boot's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bke Jouii- NAL for one year. To get any of the above preuiiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. BEES and HONEY, Management of an Apiary for Pleasure and Profit ; by THOMAS C. NEWMAN. Editor of the Weekly Hec Journal. 9fdS 'West M:adlBon Street, Chicago, 111. It contains 160 profusely Illustrated pages. IB " fully up with the times" in all the improvements and inventions in this rapidly developing pursuit, and presents the apiarist with everythiuK that can aid In the successful management of the Honey Bee. and at the same time produce the most honey in its best and moat attractive condition. ^" The new two cent rate of pos- tage for letters goes into effect on October 1. Three cent postage stamps will then be but little used. For all fractions of a dollar sent to us here- after we should prefer either one-cent^ or else five or ten-cent postage stamps. Do not send coins in any letter. Fairs.— To any one exhibiting at Fairs, we will send samples of the Bee Journal and a colored Poster, to aid in getting up a club. The Premiums we offer will pay them for so doing. For a club of 8 subscribers to the Monthly Bee Journal, or 4 Weekly, we will present Dzierzon's Rational Bee-Keeping, price $2.00. 1^" Do not letyour numbers of the Bee Journal for 1883 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference 1^ We carefully mail the Bee Journal to every subscriber, but should any be lost in the mails we will cheerfully send another, if notified before all the edition is exhausted. 1^ To give away a copy of *' Honey as Food and Medicine " to every one who buys a package of honey at Fairs, will sell almost a fabulous quantity of it. t^ Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association prinleti in the blanks for 50 cents extra. 37Aiy SELLIXn OUT all the Black Qut'ens by mail 2r.c. envh: with I lb. bee?*, bv express, Sl.OO. Hybrid Queen by insiil, -inc.; with 1 lb. bees by ex- press, *i -jr.. ItHlian Queen, fi.im bv mail. E. 8 HILDEMANN. Ashippun, Dodge Co., Wis. Appreciutlve Xotlces. A neat and abundantly illustrated hand-book ot apiculture.— American Agriculturist, N. Y. Its chapter on marlteting honey is worth many times its cost.— Citizen. Pulaski, Tenn. Contttins all the Information needed to make bee-culture successful.— Eagle, Union City, Ind. Just such a work as should be in the hands ot every beginner with bees.— News, Keithsburg, III. Valuable for all who are interested in the care and management of bees.— Dem., Allegan, Mich. Engravings are ttne. Gotten up in the best style^ and is cheap at the price.— Farmer. Cleveland, O. Carefully prepared for beginners.— Farmers* Cabinet, Amherst, N. H. A very valuable work to those engaged in bee- raising.— News, Prairie City, Iowa. We advise all who keep bees to send for this ex- cellent work.— Journal, Louisiana, Mo. Carefully prepared, and of vast importance to bee-raisers.- Indianian, Clinton, Ind. New and valuable, and embellished with 109 beautiful engravings. —Democrat, Salem, Ind. Much, practical useful information, In a cheap form.— Daily Standard, New Bedford, Mass. The most perfect work for the price ever yet pro- duced onthesubjectof bee-culture.— Anti-Monop- olist, Lebanon, Mo. A manual, containing all the newest discoveries In the management of tht^se little workers.- Plain Dealer. St. Lawrence, N. Y. Full of practical instruction, that no one who contemplates keeping bees can do without.-Far- mers' Journal, Louisville, Ky. It comprises all that is necessary for successful bee-culture, save experience and good judgment. —Daily Republican, Utica, N. Y. Gives minute details for the management and manipulations necessary to make bee-keeping a success.- Col. Valley and Farm. Written in an interesting and attractive manner, and contains valuable information for all readers, even thuugh they be not directly interested In the care of bees.— Sentinel, Rome, N. Y. It embraces every subject that can interest the beginner in bee-culture. The engravings perfectly illustrate the text.— Farm and Fireside, Sprtng- tield,0. Embraces every subjectof interest in the apiary, giving very thoroupb details of the management and manipulations necessary to make bee-lieeplng a success.— Farm. Longmont, Colo. It is a valuable and practical book, and contains a complete resume of the natural history of the Utile busy bee, as well as of all that one needs to know in their care and management.— Chicago Herald. Contains a vast fund of information in regard to bee-culture. He wh<> would keep abreast of the times must keep posted In all the improvements In his line. We advise all intere-^'ted to get a copy of this book.— Daily Times, San Bernurdmo, Cal. Describes all the newest discoveries in the art, by which the production of delicious and health- giving honey is obtained, as well as how to prepare it f nr ilie market in the most attractive shape.— Signal, Napoleon, O. It embraces every subject that will interest the beginner. It describes all th.* newest discoveries In the art by whieli the production ot dehciousand health-giving honey is obtained, as well as how to prepare it for the market in the must attractive form. It Isembellished with beautiful engravings, and is the most perfect work of the kind, for the price, that has ever come under our notice.— Far- mer, Lancaster, Pa. PRICE— Bound in cloth, TS cents; in paper covers. HO cenl«» postpaid. XaoMAS G. NE'WMAN, 9^5 W. Madison St.. Chicago, 111. A. lilberal l>lttconiit to Dealer* by the l>ozenor Hundred. ESTABLISHED ^l N 1861 VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., SEPTEMBER 19, 1883. No. 38. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, EDtTOK AND Proprietor, Bee and Honey Show at Toledo, 0. As we proini.seda year ago to attend the above Exhibition, and our health improving some, we concluded to go —the "change," and meeting with companions and friends, with a sub- sequent visit of a few days to friends in Ohio, inviting us to brave the journey. At Toledo we met a host of friends, among whom were Dr. A. B. Mason, Mr. C. F. Muth, Hon. I. N. Cotton, Messrs. Aaron Benedict, H. H. Over- meyer, C. H. Christiancy, P. H. Puhl, Dr. H. Besse, A. Gander, A. I. Boot, H. B. Harrington, £. E. Hasty, J. Forncrook, and J. F. Hart, of Florida, and a host of others whose names we cannot now recall from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and five other States. , The Fair was good, and the exhibit of bees, honey, wax and apiarian supplies all that could be wished. The Convention of bee men was enthusiastic and interesting. As the secretary will give a report of these sessions, we will not forestall that report, but will simply state that a more enthusiastic set of men we have seldom met. » Altogether, the Bee and Honey Show of the Tri-State Fair will be an " educator" of the people of the sur- rounding country, which will tell on the consumption of honey, for a long time to come, and greatly aid in the development of the honey market. ®" Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1883 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference Baltimore Bee and Honey Show. In the Baltimore ISun of Sept. 7, we notice the following concerning the honey exhibit at the Fair at Balti- more, Md. : One of the most attractive exhibits at the Fair is the apiary, in charge of Mr. Charles H. Lake, proprietor of the Sunny -Side apiary, on Green- mount avenue. Mr. Lake has on ex- hibition a lot of fine Italian bees in glass cases or frames, showing the bees at work and the movements of the queen bees, which attract much attention. He has also on exhibition a hive of bees which were allowed the free use of the grounds, and the own- er handles them with all the freedom of pet canaries. He has receptacles for honey in the shape of hearts, shields and stars, and has trained the bees to till them so as to make novel ornaments for the table. The Commercial Advertiser remarks as follows : The apiary, in charge of Mr. Chas. H. Lake, had many visitors, however, in spite of the bees flviiig about. The ingenious idea of making the cells for the bees was illustrated there. Sheets of wax were passed between two roll- ers, and came out with the cells al- ready designed. The bees were all of the Italian variety. In one hive the swarm was free. The glass cases of another were placed upon seperate stands, and all the processes in the life-history of the bee could be seen. The queen, easily recognized from her large size, was industriously deposit- ing eggs in some of the cells ; working bees were preparing other cells for eggs. Some of the young bees, having passed from the larvfe state, were gradually working their way out of the cells in which they had been im- prisoned, fed in the meanwhile by the workers. From one hive of the bees 245 pounds of honey have been ob- tained in a single season. This is the way to aid the sale and consumption of honey. There Is nothing like attractive exhibits to call attention to the honey. ®" To give away a copy of " Honey as Food and Medicine " to every one rvho buys a package of honey at Fairs, will sell almost a fabulous quantity of it. Honey-Producing Plants. Prof. A. J. Cook, in the Btmd New YorJcer, when advocating the advan- tages to be derived from planting for honey bloom, says: There is probably no subject in which the bee-keepers of to-day should take a deeper interest than this one Honey plants are capricious, and only give up the precious nectar at such times as dame nature's mood is agree- able to them. Let it be too wet, too dry, or too cold, and the flowers yield not one drop of the coveted sweets. We see then, that a constant success- ion of honey plants, from the time of the opening of the willows and maples in April, till the frost licks up the last homed secretion from the asters and the golden rods, will not only yield greater profits every year, but often such a succession is absolutely essen- tial to any success. 1^" The Illinois State Fair will be held in Chicago Sept. 24 to 29. Indi- cations are that this year's Fair will eclipse all preceding ones. Almost all the railroads will bring passengers at 1}^ rates. We hope there will be a large Bee and Honey Show there. 1^ It is a fact that glucose will kill bees if you attempt to winter them upon It, either in liquid form mixed with honey, or sugar syrup, or in the form of candy.—Planiers' Journal. 1^ The Editor of the Bbe Jour- nal being unable to attend the Na- tional Convention, it will be repre- sented by the Rev. W. F. Clarke, of Guelph, Ont., who is duly authorized to take subscriptions and orders for any of our publications. ^" An English paper says that "Mr. Firth, a Radical member of Parliament, is the largest bee-master in England. He is the owner of from 80,000 to 100,000 bees." As that is only about two good colonies, we ex- pect there is a "huge joke" some- where about that ambiguous an- nouncement. 462 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Essentials in Wintering Bees. Some time sirfce we noticed tlie fact that J. B. LaMontague, Esq., of Quebec, had published a book in French, on Bee-Keeping. The fol- lowing is a translation of what he has to say on wintering bees : If there be an important subject full of interest to the bee-keeper, it certainly is that of wintering. We have seen whole apiaries, and the best prospects disappear in a single rigorous winter. It concerns us then to consider this question attentively, and to adopt some method which may diminish if not to cause wholly to disappear the numerous losses, to which we are sub- ject every year. The bee-keeper who succeeds in wintering must keep none but strong colonies, and a good colony in the fall should havtj at least four frames literally covered with bees. I do not mean that you should destroy weak colonies, for that is a ruinous position as 1 have elsewhere shown. The latter have not enough young bees, and consume relatively more honey than strong colonies. Are also wintered with difficulty, and when they survive are liable to be robbed in the spring. It is well to unite weak colonies in the autumn, if not before done. As to populous colonies which have not sufficient honey (which may happen from drouth), the bee-keeper should, before taking them in, feed them by means of a bee-feeder. Schuch's bee-feeder is a simple little trough in compartments 12 inches long, and is adapted to the opening so as to permit the access of bees from within and exclude them from with- out. You can use waste honey, maple sugar, or syrup made from sugar, but not molasses. Sugar of the country, v/hich is soft, sown and placed in empty frames, will answer the same purpose, but be on your guard, and do not feed them with inferior sugar, such as glucose or corn sugar. Each colony ought to have from 25 to 30 pounds of sound honey, that is to say, capped over, the combs of which the cells are not closed over in the fall contain unsound honey, un- favorable for wintering— these should be emptied with an extractor, and re- placed by combs tirmly capped over. All the colonies should be taken into the cellar in the month of November, or by the beginning of December, at the latest, if the season be mild, wliich cellar should be dry and perfectly dark ; keep up a temperature from 46° to SO^" Fah. Dry and dark cellars are those in general use in the houses of thefarmeis, and are in general very favorable to the wintering of colonies. It is also necessary to create an air current at the top of the hives by means of openings, or of absorbents, which may draw off the excess of moisture without at the same time, causing a current of air which would prove fatal to the bees. Bees emit during the winter an enormous quantity of watery vapor, which, if it do not find an outlet, penetrates the honey, renders it acid, and causes tliat fatal disease, dysentery — 6 or 8 inches of straw placed directly upon the comb frames are a sufficient ab- sorbent, or you can obtain the same result with sawdust. Some cry out against the ventilation of hives, re- lying upon the fact that they always winter with success without giv- ing ventilation to their hives. It is possible that they then succeed in a cellar exceedingly dry , and where there is not the least moisture, but such conditions are seldom met with, and we affirm that ventilation is an essen- tial thing to successful wintering. If you have no cellar, you can winter your colonies in a cool and dark room where there is a temperature from 40° to 50° Fah., but you must then give greater ventilation to the hives. You should not confine the bees in their hives by closing the openings by means of wire cloth, unless you win- ter them in the house. One would at first sight be led to believe that bees would be more at ease in a warm, than in a cool place, but the fact is otherwise, and one will lose many more by a high temperature than in a low one. 1 have already had proof of that fact. Thus it is necessary as far as possible to winter your colonies in cellars, combining the conditions before mentioned. It is better to put you hives in winter quarters early than late, in a dry time than in a wet, and when they are placed disturb them the least possible. Overstocking a Locality. Mr. G. W. Neihardt writes as fol- lows to the Bee- Keepers' Ouide on this subject : Much has been written by eminent bee-keepers on the subject of over- stocking any locality with bees, some holding that any place capable of sus- taining a few colonies, is also capable of supplying a large number; others claiming tliat a field is capable of fur- nishing only a sufficiency for a definite and limited number. I am not able definitely to settle this question to my entire satisfaction, yet I must confess tliat my inability to secure such un- precedent yields of honey in " poor " seasons as that secured by Mr. Doo- little and others, forces me to conclude location has much to do with the pro- tits arising from the keeping of bees. A locality where only one or two honey-producing plants are the sole reliance for surplus, would certainly be an unsafe one in which to attempt to raise honey as a money-making business. White clover, which is the main reliance in many sections, is liable to be "winter-killed," or the drouth to cut it short, or wet weather to wash the nectar out of it. Fruit bloom is seldom so abundant as to furnish more than an aid to breeding, while the autumn flowers are very un- certain, and likely to be cut off by early frosts. Cool weather very frequently pre- vents the storing of much honey in supers from late pasturage. It is, therefore, of the highest importance to those desiring to engage in bee- culture for profit, to look well to the honey supply in the place they locate. The more diversified and abundant the honey-producing plants, the better the location. Where, however, several of these are to be definitely depended on, the rest may be supplied by culti- vating such plants as produce honey in abundance. It should not be a matter of doubt to apiarists, whether it pays to culti- vate any plant for honey alone. Ex- periments should be made, and that subject settled definitely. If half the time and talent that is now expen- ded inexperimenting with hives, bees, and manipulations of bees, were ex- pended in the production of honey- producing plants, there would be less complaint of dysentery, hard winters and unprofitable seasons. The honey supply should not be made a matter of luck any more than the other matters pertaining to bees, only so far as it should be beyond the bee-keepers' control to furnish it. Any locality al- most could be made a good one. Whether, however, sufficiently so as to make it repay all the cost, experi- ence alone can tell. ®" The next meeting of the Tus- carawas Valley Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation will be held at Newcomers- town, Ohio, on Wednesday, Sept. 26, commencing at 10a. m. All interested are cordially invited to come and bring anything for exhibition that will interest bee-keepers. J. A. BucKLEW, Pres. Clarks, Ohio. Herbert Denman, Sec. Coshocton, Ohio. Bee Pasturage a Necessity . — W e have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid t» any address for 10 cents. 1^ The quarterly meeting of the Marshall County Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation, will be held at the Court House, in Marshalltown, Iowa, on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 10.30 A. M. Sub- ject for discussion, " Fall and Winter Care." All interested, in this and adjoining counties, are invited, for we hope to have a good meeting, and one of benefit to all. J. W. Sanders, Sec. Le Grand, Iowa. l^" Look not mournfully into the past— it comes not back again ; wisely improve the present, it is thine ; go forth to meet the shadowy future without fear, and with a manly heart. — Longfellow. ^S" Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 463 Fertile Workers- We extract the following from the Indiana Farmer on the cause and cure for these pests : Bees should never be allowed to go any length of time without a queen, or without eggs or brood from which to raise one in case their queen gets lost while on her bridal trip. Colonies that have been queenless for any length of time are very apt to contain fertile workers. The evidence that these pests are present, will be found in tlie promiscuous manner in which the eggs are scattered around in the comb, sometimes one, but oftener three or four in each cell. The bees will cap the brood over, but the cap- Eings will be convex as other drone rood is. They will even build queen cells over the brood, but the eggs will produce only drones. There is no way of distinguishing these fertile workers from any of the others, unless you should see them in the act of laying, and should you destroy one or two there is likely to be a half dozen others left in the hive. A colony con- taining fertile workers will neither accept a queen if given them, nor raise one for themselves if brood is given them for that purpose. It is generally better to double up a colony in this condition with one containing a fertile queen. If the frames be taken some distance from the hive, and all the bees be shaken off on the ground, the most of them will go back to the old stand, leaving the fertile workers on the ground, when if a frame of brood is given them they will raise a queen. A better plan is to crowd the bees on as few frames as possible on one side of the hive, and close up with a division board. On the opposite side of the board hang two or three frames of brood and bees from another colonv, and a queen if you have one. They will soon dis- cover ihe better condition of things on the other side, and quickly unite with them. Plan and Foresight of Bees. Prof. A. J. Cook, of the Michigan Agricultural College, has this .in a late number of the New York Tribune on the above topic : The phenomenon of bees swarming is well understood. Most of the worker bees rush out of the hive sometime between 8 a. m. and 4 p m —usually from 10 a. m. to 12 m — circle about in the air for some time, apparently waiting for the queen, which seldom leaves the hive till the bees are well out, and then all alight in a dense cluster on some bush, tree or other support. If the queen refuses to leave the hive to join the bees, or If from defective wings she is unable to joni them, they soon break ranks and return to the hive. After a space varying from half an hour to two hours— I have known swarms to re- mam clustered all night— the bees take wmg and fly rapidly in a straight line to the new home. This is cer- tain, as bees have often been followed in a bee-line to the adopted home. Others have been followed for along distance, always in a right line, when the chase had to be abandoned. Two interesting questions arise : Why do bees cluster 'i and How do they know of the home toward which they al- ways take a bee-line ? It has been argued that bees cluster that scouts may go in quest of the prospective home. It is also more than probable that the queen, whose organs of flight— muscles and wings which she moves— have long been inactive, possibly for more than a year, may need this rest after her brief flight from the hive, before th% longer one, which may reach a dis- tance of miles. This view is strength- ened by the not imcommon occurrence of bees resting midway on their flight after flying a mile or more toward the new home. I tiave known several cases where bees have thus clustered apparently for the queen to rest, after flying a mile or more. This home must have been sought out either before the bees left the hive to swarm, or else while the bees were clustered. A few cases are given by European bee-keepers where a few bees have been observed about a house or tree, going in and out of some small aper- ture, then leaving. The next day, or possibly the next day but one, a full swarm would take possession of the pre-empted quarters. One of our graduates, Mr. F. E. Delano, a farmer of Oxford, Mich., writes me that last Friday, while en- gaged in tearing down a portion of his house preparatory to rebuilding, he noticed, about 3 p. m., bees flying in and out of some holes under the chamber floor. He supposed a swarm had taken possession, but was puzzled to know when they could have come without being heard or seen. The next morning early no bees were to be seen. About 9 a. m. a large swarm came and at once entered the same openings where the bees made ingress and egress the previous after- noon. This seems clearly to prove that scouts do, sometimes at least, go out to seek and prepare the new home before the bees swarm, and strength- ens the probability that clustering is not to give time for this prospecting, but the rather to fit the queen for the l9ng journey, which from her func- tion and habits we must consider her illy-fitted to take. Fall Feeding for Bees. A correspondent of the Home Jour- nal details his method as follows : ^^ The Rev. L. L. Langstroth has been invited to attend the North- western Bee-Keepers' Convention to be held at Chicago, Oct. 17 and 18, and accepts in tiie following language : " About the invitation to attend the Convention at Chicago, and your very kind invitation to me to share your hospitalities, friend Newman, allow me to say, I accept both with great pleasure, and if nothing unforeseen should prevent, 1 will be glad to make the personal acquaintance of the Northwestern bee-keepers. L. L. Langstroth." Each colony should be examined, and, if out of stores, they should be fed about a pint of sweetened water every other day. This should be given them in the upper story of the hive, where other bees cannot get at it, or there will be danger of exciting • robbery. This light feeding should be kept up to the latter part of Sep- tember, and then the colony should be provided with their winter stores. I have found that about 15 pounds of a good article of " A " sugar is sufli- cient to carry an ordinary colony through till the warm days of spring. There are many ways to feed sugar to bees, but I have adopted the fol- lowing plan : Some kind of a feeder is necessary (and there are many kinds in use), and it should be cheap and simple. For handy and rapid feeding tliere is nothing better than a quart fruit jar and a grooved board. Cut a board 6 or 8 inches square, and with a pair of compasses^ strike a circle in its center about 4 inches in diameter, and cut a trench a quarter of an inch deep, similar to an old- fashioned cider platform press, and then cut grooves out to the circular trench, and the feeder is ready. The whole thing can be completed with a pocket-knife in a few minutes. To prepare the sugar for feeding, fill the jar full of sugar, then pour on warm water till the jar is full of syrup ; have the sugar well dissolved by stir- ring it. Now put a piece of oil-cloth, or a piece of drilling will answer, on the mouth of the jar, and invert the jar and board altogether, and then slide the cloth out from under the mouth of the jar, and you have the feed in the best possible shape to be taken by the bees. I usually feed at the entrance of the hive, placing the feeders in position just after dark in the evening, and removing them early the next morning. At the start a little syrup should be strewn from the bees to the feeder, to start them, after which they will rush into the feeder like pigs into a swill pail. Keep up the feeding regularly till they are provided with suflicient winter stores. If the nights are cool, place the feeder in the upper stories of the hives. Some people seeta to think that it is a risky thing to feed $2 worth of sugar to a colony of bees. But if they give 100 per cent, profit, how then ? m" The Central Michigan Bee- Keepers' Association holds its fall meeting at Lansing, in the State Capitol building, on Tuesday, Sept. 25, 1883, at 9 a. m. All interested in anything pertaining to bee-culture are invited to attend and bring anything that will be of interest to the bee fraternity. E. N. Wood, Sec. North Lansing, Mich. I®" Articles for publication must be written on a separate piece of paper from items of business. 464 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For the Amerlcfin Bee Journal. Wintering— The Humidity Question, JAMES HEDDON. After reading Dr. Tinker's " Hu- midity " article on page 440, current voluuie, I am somevvdat at a loss to know why he so carelessly passed by the fact that so many instances are recorded where bees come out of special repositories perfectly drenclied with dampness, and the combs covered with blue mold, but with the bees perfectly healthy, and no signs of dysentery I Then, again, cases like my own, where 48 colonies put into a very dry cellar began to die in less than three weeks with dysentery in its worst form with the hives and combs all dry and entirely free from mold. Bees about here have wintered best in the dampest winters, for these winters were the warmest ones, and the cold and confinement which are the great aggrevations to the cause, were not with us in any great degree. No, the " Humidity " theory is a com- plete misfit for very many known in- stances. Mr. Arad Balch, of Kala- mazoo, claimed that all upward venti- lation was death, that dampness was good for bees, and all the while he made these claims, he wintered his bees with tlie greatest success, with everything moldy and damp ; while ■we " dry " fellows lost ours by scores of colonies. The Doctor's reasoning regarding the natural food and instinct of the bees does not hold good. Sugar syrup is not their natural food, but honey is ; but the unnatural food is here the best. I liave to thank the Doctor for his kind words regarding the object of my researches and re- ports concerning the cause and pre- vention of this trouble, and for calling the attention of bee-keepers to the fact that I am to have the " honors " of fathering the " pollen theory." I wish to call attention to one more fact, which is, that the bacteria theory is much the same thing. My first proposition was that the cause of dysentery was "an over amount of animal or vegetable matter in the food." (I use the words "vegetable matter'" not in the same sense that honey is vegetable.) I did not know whether bacteria was vegetable or animal, but rather thought it was the latter, vihile later developments prove that it is vegetable. Be that as it may, tlie two theories are very closely related, and Prof. Cook, wlio should be one of our very closest guessers upon this subject, yet fails to see so much fallacy in the pollen theory as our friend who sets his sections down flat on the brood frames. To my own ear the Doctor's article savors of that knowledge of chemistry that his profession usually under- stands, but in his application of the same to the cause of dysentery is wliere I disagree with him. The Doctor tliinks pollen, because a " normal food," would not produce dysentery. What is normal is natural. Nature, with her infinite arms, eni- biaces all that there is. Death is as natural as life. Instinct is erring in all animated nature. No animal lias instinct sufficiently unerring to make it always a success. The bee has an instinct to guard against the moth that nature so kindly furnished for its benefit ; still moths do destroy feeble colonies often, and sometimes strong ones. With all the Doctor's instinct and reason combined, to- gether with his experience and mem- ory, I dare say disease will get him Tjefore old age. It seems quite peculiar that the Doctor's instance ot experiment with the pollen theory should be kind enough to kill that and the hybrid theory all at one fire. This is what sportsmen calla" double-shot.'' Well, if it turns out that Dr. Mason's three years' experiments, which have con- vinced him that pollen eating in con- finement is the cause of dysentery, and that the hundreds of producers who have had tlieir hybrids lead all other colonies for surplus honey should be true, then we shall be forced to think that in some way Dr. Tinker is as badly mistaken regarding his pollen experiment as he is regarding setting sections flat down on the brood frames, and that his hybrids were either catch hybrids, or that his parent colonies were not of the right sort to produce the hybrid so much sought after about these days. After all, have we not theorized enough, and is it not now a question of practi- cal experiment ? During the coming winter we shall make the pollen theory a special mat- ter ot experiment, and give it the best test upon the largest scale we have ever heard of. The moment we find we are wrong, if such be the case, we shall get right off from that hobby horse and caution all to keep away from it as they would from the heels of a mule ; and. Doctor, if we find you on our bacteria horse, we shall claim him, if he seems to have any strength, by right of priority, we shall order you to dismount at once and stride your " sections on the brood frame " pelter, one that we feel sure will never "get there." Dowagiac, Mich. GleanloKB. Standard Langstroth Hive & Frame. L. L. LANGSTROTH. Before inventing my movable frames I used bars, in a hive with movable top and bottom, by which the bars could be worked to much better advantage than by side-open- ing doors. My latest style of bar hives were 18^ by ISJg by 6 inches deep, all in tlie clear. At that time (1851) honey, to bring the best price, iiad to be in combs built in neat glassed boxes, and this shape of the hive gave an unusually large surface tor such supers. The walls of these hives were double glass, to give the dead air space, which protected the bees against extremes of heat or cold, and sudden changes of teniperature. Tliat fractional Jg, which has puzzled so many, gave room for two strips of wood, each one inch wide by l-16th tliick, against whicli the double glass could be fastened with glazier's points. One pane of glass, 18 by 12, a common commercial size, covild be easily cut so as to answer for one side. My movable frame hives were first made in the spring of 1S.52, in the city of Philadelphia— some six months be- fore the patent, which was applied for in January, was issued. These hives were 1418 inches from front to rear, and ISig from side to side. Early in 1853 my hives were made in Greenfield, Mass., and the first edi- tion of my book on the " Hive and Honey Bee " was published in May of that year. The present size of hives, 18J^ from front to rear, 14i^ from side to side, and 10 inches deep, was then adopted. The dimensions, ISV^ from front rear, and 10 inches deep, have never been changed ; but that from side to side may vary ac- cording to the number of frames, some preferring 8, some 10, and some even more. I am correctly quoted as having said, in the American Bee Journal, in reply to an inquiry, "Considering tlie accuracy which may be obtained in making the frames stiff and perfectly square, I prefer the Root and Newman measurements." What I meant was, that frames could be made so stiff and square as to allow of their being U of an inch longer than the old standard size, and that the f4 inch (instead of Jg) still left between the uprights of the frames and the front and rear walls of the hive, gave all the room needed for their proper manipulation, it never occurred to me that any one could possibly suppose that I meant my frames could be improved in square- ness or stiffness by making them only ,y of an inch longer ! I then thought tliat it was quite a desirable point to gain this hi incli, as in ten frames it gave an increase of comb surface enough for rearing over 1,100 bees. As such large operators as Heddon, Root and Baldridge, insist that % of an inch space between uprights of frames and hive is the least that can be safely allowed ; and as hives are not unfrequently made, even by good workmen, which vary a little from the true dimensions, and furtlier. as some kinds ot lumber are badly affected by variations in the weather, I am now of opinion that % is better than ^4. Considering the frequency and se- verity of my attacks of head troubles, which not only prevent me from tak- ing any interest in bee matters, but which render any thought upon such subjects both painful and dangerous, it will not seem surprising that it is only within a few weeks that I have learned that the change in the size of the standard Langstroth frame was made to carry with it a change in the si~e of the standard Langstroth hive ! I have no recollection of ever having read the article to which Mr. Bald- ridge thinks I ought to have re- THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 465 sponded, until I saw his reference to it in the Bee Journal of Aug. 8, or I should before this not only have corrected his misunderstanding of the reason I gave for preferring that extra 1-4 inch, but should have expressed my deep regret that tlie size of the standard Langstroth hive had been changed ; not that slight changes in frame and hive are of any special importance, except as they interfere to any extent with the cardinal prin- ciple, that any Langstroth frame ought to lit in every Langstroth hive. Even after I ceased to use the double glass walls, the fractional % was re- tained to prevent confusion by depart- ing even to so small an extent from the size so widely disseminated. It is, however, very easy to exag- gerate the inconveniences which have resulted from these slight variations. One will contend that the standard Langstroth frame cannot be used in the Root and Newman Langstroth hive, and many will actually prefer that size of hive for them, as giving more room for the safe and rapid handling of frames. If both hives and frames are very carefully made, I find no trouble in using the Itoot and Newman frame in the standard Langstroth hive. The great length of the top- bar of the Langstroth frame enables me, after removing one frame from the hive, to take out the others with great ease, thus : When the frame (1) is lifted out, the end (C) of frame (2) is draicn to- ward the operator, without any lifting imtil the angle is large enough to re- move it without danger of hitting the sides of the hive ; so in replacing it the end (2) is first put on the rabbet, and (C) can tlien be moved readily to its place. The long leverage of the Langstroth frames greatly favors such manipulations. I would say here, that a variation of only ig from front to rear, if it is on the side of making the hive smaller (say only 18 inches), is, for divers reasons, a much more serious matter than the extra hi inch; for in such hives it is well-nigh im- possible to have any free manipula- tion of the longer frames. I am using in my own apiary the Root size of frame in the standard Langstroth hive, and find no trouble at all in doing so. I would even prefer, with hives and frames made as accurately as they should be, y inch space, manipulating in the manner above described, to 14 inch, if the frames had to be squarely lifted out. The conclusion of the whole matter seems to me to be this : The stan- dard Langstroth hive is IS^-^ inches from front to rear, and 10 inches deep, all in the clear, and the standard Langstroth frame is 17^8, and not ITJii ; and I advise all who make new hives, if they can do so without too much loss, not to vary at all from these measurements. I certainly have no right to demand that the parties who are using the extra M inch, both for hive and frame, should return to the old standard ; but I hope that, instead of calling their hives the standard Langstroth hives, they will call them tlie Root Langstroth hives, as Mr. Root first used the extra I4 inch. I presume that Messrs. Root and Newman, and other hive makers, if not willing to return to the stan- dard Langstroth, will have no objec- tions to filling orders for Simplicity, chaff, or other styles of hives of the Langstroth standard size. Intending in another article to give in detail my reasons for adopting my standard size of frame, I will close by saying that I no more claim perfec- tion for it now than I did in 1853, when in the full gush of enthusiasm over an invention which I hoped would revolutionize practical bee- keeping. Oxford, Ohio, August, 1883. [As we promised that the discussion of the hive question should stop with the articles of Mr. Langstroth, we refrain from making any comments. We are satisfied that a universal standard frame is an impossibility in America, and, therefore, it is useless to discuss the matter any further. Let all adopt such as they prefer— Ed.] For the American Bee JourniL A Help in Handling Brood Frames. G. A. DEADMAN. Those who have either used, or read of Jones' brood frames, are probably aware that on account of their peculiar construction they can be handled very rapidly, with little danger of killing bees. This peculiar construction is principally in the bot- tom bar, which is simply a narrow strip of wood about J^ by % inch, and being placed edgewise, is made to pass through a groove made at the bottom of each of the side pieces of the frame, and projecting behind them about }4 of an inch, or just suf- ficient to allow it to be placed easily in the hive. The corners are then brought to a point. It certainly has its advantages, as it is only by care- lessness on the part of the operator that any bee is injured when mani- pulating them. Another advantage is, that ic always hangs square in the hive, and, therefore, equi-distant from either side. There is one objection that I find in its use, although I have never inquired of the originator to know whether he has experienced the same trouble. The difliculty with me is this : Theframe, when in position, brings the bottom bar about }4 inch from the bottom of the hive, and as the bar itself is about J^ inch, the bees are compelled to cease building comb one inch from the bottom board, or else build past this narrow strip. This latter alternative they very fre- quently adopt, and are sure to do so if the frame does not hang straight with the full sheet of foundation. I presume some will say that there is no reason why it should not hang perfectly straight, but with a deep frame, % inch is very little from the true, and yet sufficient to encourage the bees to build cells at least on one side of the comb, or rather comb with cells on one side. And worst of all, when using full sheets of foundation of worker cells, the bees will take ad- vantage of the situation and complete it with drone comb, the very worst place they could do so, as far as hand- ling the frames are concerned. Now, the plan I adopt, and possibly tliere are several otliers doing the same, is this : I have the bottom bar the same width as the side pieces of the frame, as is customary with the ma- jority of frames made, and then I procure from the hardware store % inch brass window blind staples, costing 1.5 cents for half a pound, and sufficient for at least 500 frames. I drive one of these in each side of the frame opposite the bottom bar, and allow them to project 34 of an inch, or not more than 516. By using these I cannot see but that all the ad- vantages of that part of the Jones frame can be had without any of the objections as mentioned above, and as you will see the cost is compara- tively nothing. Brussels, Ont. Country Gentleman. Fall Notes About Bee-Keeping. W. Z. HUTCHINSON. The hurrying season is over, but there yet remains much work to be done. Comb honey should be stored in a dry, well-ventilated, and rather warm room, in order that it maybe- come thoroughly ripened, and the honey in any unsealed cells become so thickened by evaporation that it will remain in the cells even though they should be turned upside down. Neat, smooth shipping crates should be made of some ligiit-colored wood, and at least one side of the crate should have a slip of glass to show the honey. Although the crates should be neatly made, vet they should be so cheap that they can be given away with the honey. All propolis, or gum, should be carefully scraped from the sections. All honey should be graded, and that containing even a little dark honey sliould be placed in the second grade, otherwise the wliole lot is liable to be classed as second grade. If extracted honey is to be sold in small pails, now is the time to put it into them, as after it has candied it is a slow, dis- agreeable task to put it into pails. Many bee-keepers err in putting their honey upon the market too early in the season, and at too low a price. After reading a few encouraging re- ports in the bee papers, they fear that there will be a glut in the honey market, and in tlieir efforts to secure the highest price by rushing their honey into the market before there is a demand for it, they often get the lowest price, and help to spoil the market for others. Until the fruit season closes the demand for honey is light, and bee-keepers should govern themselves accordingly. The honey should be well graded, put up in the most attractive packages possible. 466 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. well taken care of, and placed upon the market when there is a demand at a remunerative price, and not be- fore. There is one other point ; before honey is shipped away to a large city, the home market should be well sup- plied. Supply the home market first j and if tliere is any leftover, there will be time to sell it at some distant mar- ket. One who has never tried it will be surprised at the quantity of honey that can be sold in a home market, especially when an energetic man goes at it in the right manner. Each grocer should be furnished with a neat stand for extracted honey ; also a case, with glass front, for comb honey ; and unless sold outriglit to the grocer, he should be instructed to sell the honey at a certain price. As I rear queens, I do not have a great deal of honey. I have at pres- ent taken off about 3,000 pounds, but have not sold more than 100 pounds. I have been too busy to even get it crated, or to put the extracted into pails, but there is time enough yet for that, as October is the best month in which to sell honey. Before selling my honey, I sliall probably exhibit it, together with numerous other bee- keeping articles, at the State Fair at Detroit. For some reason, some colonies at this season of the year are found queenless. Perhaps the large number of eggs laid during the busy season is so great a tax upon the vitality of old queens that they die, and then the young queen that the bees afterwards rear is lost in mating. Of all the methods that I have tried for intro- ducing queens that have been long out of the hive, I have found none better than the following : Make a cage of wire cloth by rolling a pieces or 4 inches square around a round stick ?^ of an inch in diameter. One edge of the cloth should be un- raveled a few wires, and the long ends of tlie wires tlius left sticking out can be thrust through the meshes of the opposite edge, then bent over or " clinched." The cage when linished is limply a wire cloth tube 4 inches long and % of an inch in diameter. One end can be closed by jiineliing it together. The cage in wliicli the queen has been shipped, should be opened in a close room before a win- dow, the queen alone caught and placed in the wire cloth cage, and the cage closed by squeezing tlie end to- gether. Then by moving the frames slightly ajiart the cage can be slipped down between two of them and held in place by pressing the combs against it. For fear the bees might neglect to feed the queen it is better that the cage be placed against sealed honey. In from 24 to 48 hours it is usually safe to liberate the queen. The dis- position of the bees towards tlie queen is the only guide as to when it is safe to release her. It they are " balling " the cage — clinging to "it like burdocks — they would kill the queen ; if they are walking about over the cage in their usual unconcerned manner, they will usually accept the queen, and the cage can be opened by pressing one end in the opposite direction from that by which it was closed. After opening the cage the hive should be closed at once, and not opened or the bees disturbed again for 5 or 6 days. Opening the hives before the queen has entirely recovered from her cap- tivity, and been completely accepted as sovereign of the hive often leads to her destruction. Colonies that are to be united should be united now. Remove the least desirable queen, and in two days take the combs containing the brood of both colonies and put them together with the adhering bees, in one hive, and place it upon the stand occupied by the colony having the queen. At this season of the year robber bees are often troublesome ; hence caution should be used, and no temp- tations, in the shape of exposed sweets or queenless or weak colonies, should be placed in their way. When robbing is once started, it is difticult of control. Once more I would urge ii|)on bee- keepers the importance of experiment- ing in regard to wintering. Extract the honey from a few colonies, and feed them a syrup made from granu- lated sugar, in the proportion of one quart of hot water to 4 pounds of sugar. The syrup should be fed dur- ing the latter "part of September. Rogersville, Mich. For tlie American Bee JournaL Appearances Are Often Deceptive. W. H. STEWART. A truth, often apparent to the ob- serving bee-keeper, is, " we know not what a day may bring fortli." If we could have known that the cold, wet spring of 1882 was a true index to the latter part of the season, we would have concluded that it were better to let the bees go, and get out of the business, as best we could ; but we have all learned that there are " ups " as well as " downs" in life. Thus it is, that, during tlie storm " hope sees a star," as I have stated in my report for 1882. The season of 1882, after June 10, was very good, and we made the bees pay tolerably well. The spring of 1883 (in Wisconsin) was more promising ; we had to feed but little, iiees obtained plenty of pollen and nearly as much honey as they needed, up to June 8, and then came white clover bloom, and we took about 2,.500 lbs. of white clover sur- plus. In the spring of 1882 we did not get .50 lbs. of surplus white clover honey. July 13 (tliis season) basswood began to open its bloom, with which it was lit- erally loaded. Reports were made from" many parts of the country, giving great honey yields, and. as the organ of hope is ever flattering us, by pre- senting the brightest and most pleas- ing side of every question, how natural it was for us all to conclude that the land was sown to " (low with milk and honey " (or at least with honey). But how about the "immense crop?" When basswood began to bloom, dark clouds, somewhat larger than a man's hand, made their appearance, and thunder and lightning, rain and wind was the order of both day and night ' during basswood bloom. Our bees only had half a day of favorable weather for gathering basswood honey. On July 12, we had run all our sur- plus combs through the extractor, and had our sleeves rolled up, ready to take about 6,000 lbs. of basswood honey in, "out of the wet;" but we failed, and the wet came out ahead. July 20. we opened our hives to look for a little basswood honey ; we did not expect much, but we found scarce anything in the supers, except mad, ugly bees. Now, two weeks later, nothing seems to be going on with the bees, except trying to force their way into every door and window, to get at the honey that is being handled, and doing their best to to rob each other of stores. Again the great thunder storm has brought chilling winds and stormy in- dications of frost. If this state of things continues, we will have to feed most of our white clover honey back, for winter stores. Orion, Wis., Aug. 4, 1883. For the Amertcan Bee Journal. A New Bee Enemy. PROF. A. J. COOK. The figure we here present ij of a curious bee-killer received from J.D. Enas, Napa, Cal. Mr. Enas says it goes into the hives and destroys the bees. This strange animal is related to the spiders, and more nearly to that group of the spiders containing the Bee-Kilkr. scorpion and grand-father-gray-beard. The name of the family is Solpulgidse, and they are unique in the possession of very curious jaws. These have two toothed fingers, the lower one of which is movable. On the front mar- gin of the head, which seems small when compared with the enormous jaws, are the small rounded eyes. The jaws move side-wise, while the toothed lingers move up and down. There are eight legs as with all spiders, though the anterior ones have no claws. Tlie sitecies sent by Mr. Enas is possibly Datames Californicus, Simon, though this one does not quite agree with the description given by the late Mr. Putnam in his most admirable monograph of the Solpulgidfe of America. It is nearly one inch (23 TO m) long. The head is brown, with THE AMERICA^} BEE JOURNAL. 467 a light stripe in the centre. The re- mainder of the dorsal surface is lead color. The eyes are black, whiie the jaws and legs are light. The fingers and their teeth are brown, tipped with black. The femurs and tibia are brownish. At the base of each pos- terior leg are flue small scales. The specimen I have is a female. The re- productive slit is on the under side of the first abdominal segment ; the anal one on the last. Mr. Enas has seen several of these animals killing his bees, and I hope soon to have from him more speci- mens. - It is a very interesting group of animals, and it is a sad loss to science that Mr. Putnam did not live to com- plete the admirable work in the study of these animals, which his schorlarly and thoroughly scientific habits fitted him so well to perform. The figure shows the jaws with their toothed fingers, a posterior leg, and the animal with the jaws turned a little to one side, so as to show the teeth of the fingers. Lansing, Mich., Sept. 11, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Robbing, Fertile Workers, etc. JOHN GOCHENOUK. I would say for the benefit of Mr. B. L. Clements, on page 433, that I have successfully prevented my bees from robbing by inverting, or rather turning the entrance blocks end for end, so as to form an entrance 3 inches long and an inch wide, or less, accord- ing to the desperation of the robbers. By placing a small block on top, it makes a gauntlet that no robber can safely run, as they will be caught by the sehtinels before they get half way into the hive. Mr. Clements gives Italians more credit for honesty than I can ; when they find a hive unable to protect itself, they are like rats, and quarrel among themselves. I would be pleased to have some one explain why fertile workers get pos- session of the hive, and the best way to get rid of them. Are they consid- ered hybrids because their product are all drones V I have heard it argued by a man that claims that he has been in the bee business for 12 years, that the fertile worker is a female drone ; which seems very un- reasonable. I would be under obli- gations to any who will answer the above questions fully ; I would like to hear from more than one, as, perhaps, there are different views and theories upon the question. Freeport, 111., Sept. 5, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Iowa State Fair Exhibit. EUGENE SECOR. At the Iowa State Fair, just closed, the finest display of honey and imple- ments pertaining to the apiary was made which we have seen at any ex- hibition in the State. The bee and honey department — assigned to one wing of Vegetable Hall — was under the supervision of Rev. O. Clute, of Iowa City, author of "Blessed Bees." It was a pleasure to witness his enthusiasm, and the willingness and courtesy with which he answered all queries, whether pertinent or not. The eager crowd kept up such a running fire of ques- tions that he was obliged to talk all the time, or dodge the crowd and re- tire to his tent for a few moments rest, I was on the ground three dif- ferent days, and I saw no cessation in the interest taken in this department. Mr. Clute made a very attractive display of extracted honey— of which he makes a specialty— and of bee literature and apiarian implements, hives and bees. J. J. Kiser, of Des Moines, also made a good exhibit, in- cluding comb honey. A Fairfield apiary— we do not now recall the owner's name— took first premium for the largest and finest display of comb honey m section boxes. A meeting was held at Mr. Clnte's tent one evening during the Fair, and H State Association was formed. Mr. Clute'was elected President. We may, therefore, expect to see even a finer exhibition another year. Forest City, Iowa, Sept. 8, 1883. Crop Report. The honey season for this part of the State is past. Bees have gath- ered nothing since the bassvvood honey harvest. The weather is very cold both night and day, and the stores for winter are becoming less. Bees did well for such a cold and wet season. I had 24 colonies, spring count ; increased to 55, and extracted 4,300 pounds of honey from basswood ; some colonies gathering 25 or 30 pounds a day. B. D. Scott. Ovid Centre, N. Y., Sept. 9, 1883. Heavy Frost. Last night there was a heavy frost, which, I presume, put an end to the fall flowers in this part of the coun- try. My bees have been on duty about half of the time in the last two weeks. There are several good buck- wheat patches near my apiary, but last night put an end to progress in that line of business. As soon as my bees began to fly this morning, the Italians commenced war on some of my hybrids. The fight lasted about one hour, and the Itahans drew off in good order. There were several hundred killed and wounded. I did not take time to count them, as they were very saucy. They gave me to understand that I was not needed in the fight. A few of my late swarms I shall have to feed. When is the best time and the best way y Please answer in the Bee Jouunal — some one that is experienced in the busi- ness. I get the Bee Journal regu- larly, and could hardly do without it, as it is just what every beginner wants. I was up to Columbus, last week, and found a nice display of honey and bees. Found Henry Drum, of Adelphi, on hand with all the im- provements of apiculture. R. A. ROSSER. Nelsonville, Ohio, Sept. 9, 1883. The Seasou's Work. I have just got through taking off the surplus. My apiary consists of 32 colonies ; 20 young and 12 last year's qiieens. I wintered 23 colonies in trie cellar ; they all came out alive ; I lost 4 queens in the latter part of April. I have had 2,700 pounds of extracted honey ; it is nearly all sold at 8 cents" per pound, cash ; and about 112 pounds of comb in two-pound sec- tions ; this brings 14 cents per pound in trade. This beat me out of 300 pounds, if not more, of extracted honey. I shall not try for any more. My greatest trouble is in introducing young queens, this fall. I had to make new colonies for this. I only find fault with the Cyprians ; they will not accept a queen, if there is an old bee in the hive, and in 24 hours you will find drone eggs in several combs. This is a hot game for a novice to get over. I have them all right now, and do not fear the winter, whether it be cold or not. I will not have over 50 colonies to attend to next spring ; I had 200 this spring, but this was too much for me to attend to. John H. Guenther. Theresa, Wis., Sept. 7, 1883. Bees in Marshall County, Iowa. Our grand prospect for a large honey yield suddenly came to a close early in August ; since then our bees have only gathered enough to keep up a good stock of brood ; so now our colonies are generally strong and in good condition for a Septemoer har- vest, it we have one, and so far they are making a good start, if lively work is any sign. I think a shower fol- lowed by a few warm days and we would be all right for winter stores. If we do not get it we will have some feeding to do. Some of the best honey harvests I have ever seen have been in the first half of September, therefore, I still live in hopes and shall until frost comes. I met with a number of bee-keepers at our County Fair, and all said they got none, or but little surplus during August. All thought it was almost too cold. It seems that good corn weather makes good bee weather. There was a small show of honey at the Fair. S, W. Keeler took the first premium on comb honey, and the writer got it on extracted honey. The president of the Fair promised us a special depart- ment for a bee and honey show next year, if the bee-keepers of the county would meet with the Agricultural Society at the annual meeting in Jan- uary, and help make out a programme. I hope all bee-keepers of Marshall County, Iowa, who are interested, will respond. J. W. Sanders. Le Grand, Iowa, Sept. 6, 1883. 468 THE AMERICAN BEE JOJRNAL. Gaura as a Honey Producer. I enclose a sprig of a flower that grows wild along the roadside. I wisli you would give, in the Bee Journal, a scientific description of it, and what honey qualities it pos- sesses. John Gochenour. i'reeport, 111., Sept. 1, 1883. [This is a rather common plant, known to the botanist as Gaura bien- nis. The only common name is that of the genus, or first word in italics. It is biennial. The first year the long leaves spread out from a center after the fashion of a turnip ; the second year a branched stem 4 feet high ap- pears, bearing small flowers and close rows of seed vessels. The pollen is stuck together loosely by cob-webby hairs or threads. Bees are sometimes bothered to free themselves from these masses, though there is not nearly the dough that there is in the milk- weeds in this respect. The plant produces some honey.— T. J. B.] An Amateur's Tribulations. In July I sent to Mr. James Hed- don for an Italian queen, which I received Aug. 2. I placed her in an improved Langstroth hive with 4 frames of empty comb, and 6 frames of foundation. I then reversed a box hive and drove the bees (not very suc- cessfully I fear) into thenive with the new queen, and placed it on the stand from which I had taken the box hive. I placed the old hive to one side, and awaited events. The next day 1 found but few bees in the Langstroth hive, and a few or none in the old hive, but a box hive next to the Langstroth was and is overflowing with bees. I then removed the new hive to another part of the yard, bored some holes in the bee board, and put a hive with a late swarm on the top and stopped the entrance, thus forc- ing the bees to pass down and through the Langstroth hive, and commenced feeding. The next day my wife took the old box hive to the lower end of the yard, turned it on its side, and broke out some of the combs which were very black and old. I concluded to extract the wax from the comb in this hive, as it appeared to be strong and heavy, and went to work breaking out the combs, a piece at a time, Hnding a few bees among the combs. As I "ot nearer the top, I found more and more bees, when, as I got to one of the upper corners, I found a score or more of bees, and away flew ray Italian queen ; she sailed off majestically, but gottaugted in some spider web on a neighboring fence. I then procured a glass tumb- ler, but on returning my queen had freed herself and disappeared ; she came back, however, in a few min- utes, to the hive, and I secured her ; fortunately I had Mr. lleddon's queen cage, and put her in, and set the cage in the portico of the before-mentioned Langstroth hive. The cage was soon covered with bees ; in the evening, just at dark, I opened the cage and drove her into the hive ; this (inal act of the drama, occurred some ten days ago. Last Sunday, on returning from a professional call, at or near noon, my attention was called to the hum- ming of bees in a maple tree in the yard, near the bee hives. I looked up and found a cluster of a pint or a little more about 18 feet from the ground. After trying with pail and basket in vain, I broke off the branch ; they clustered close by on another limb. I broke that off, and they circled around for a short time, then followed the bush, which was laying close by the hive, and clustered on it. I shook them off, and they settled on the top of the hive. I tried to drive them in with a Bingham smoker, when they again took wing ; this time they went about 60 yards, and settled in the top of a box elder. I got a ladder, went up, sawed off the top and threw it down, but they held fast. I then cut off the twig with the cluster, laid it on the frames, put on the bee board, and there they are. Two things in- terested me : They never offered to sting, and they are Italians. I never worked with bees so good-natured, not an angry hum from one of them. Where did they come from V There are no Italians in our neighborhood. The Heddon queen is the flrst. Can they be from her ? This does not seem possible, nor do I think there are Italians near enough to have fur- nished this swarm. Thos. Martin. Coal Valley, 111., August, 1883. [To be sure of answering your tribu- lations correctly, one would need to be at the scene of action. I will ven- ture to suggest, however, that your flrst mistake was in not blanketing the box hive to be forced, a few days before driving it, when the blanket could be changed to your Langstroth hive, making that and the driven box look alike, which in your case they did not, which made them go to the other box near by, that looked like their former home. In introducing a valuable queen, do not accompany the job with other un- certain manipulations. Are we to understand that the late swarm you put on the Langstroth hive containing our queen, had a queen of their own V Whether they did or not, the proceed- ing was all wrong and risky to the newly - introduced queen. A little farther on, it seems your new queen is in the old box hive ; this 1 do not understand. How you came by the Italian bees is another mystery. Un- doubtedly a small swarm came to you that you found in the tree. Swarms sometimes travel scores of miles. No, it is not possible that those bees came from the queen I sent you. — James Heddon.] Honey Crop in Nebraska. The honey production of this season has been very light, our best colonies not gathering to exceed 50 to 7-5 lbs. of surplus. Trices are somewhat above the average. Comb honey is selling for 25 cts. per lb., and extracted for 16 cts. F. E. Benedict. Eeynolds, Neb., Sept 11, 1883. ^^Iiat and paw. ANSWERS BY James Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich. Bees in a Garret. My uncle has a house with a ver- andah some 7 feet wide, attached to a two-story house lathed and plastered underside, thus forming the ceiling. The rafters, which project up at a suitable angle against the house, form a roof covered with tin. Of course a little garret is formed between the rafters and the ceiling. A swarm of bees has been discovered which found an entrance by a crack in the cornice, a piece of the moulding hav- ing become loosened. The presump- tion is, that the bees have the whole space of the garret which they can occupy as they choose. The question now is, by what means, if any, these intelligent little insects can be per- suaded to abandon their present domicile and enter a hive,so that their labor may be utilized. At present we we can see no way of collecting rent from the occupants of the dwelling. Please be kind enough to answer in the Weekly Bee Journal. Helen L. Johnson. Middle Haddam, Ct., Sept. 7, 1883. Answer. — As it would require a skillful operator to take the bees, combs, etc., from the garret, and cost in repairing the same and all, more than to buy a colony, why not just let them remain where they are? They may swarm, and then hive them and keep the garret colony for a stock hive. This is how I should manage them, and the novelty and oppor- tunity for "the folks" to exercise their marvelousness regarding the immense stores that " may be in the garret," is worth something, is it not ? If they must come out, tear open the verandah and smoke the bees, cutting out their combs one by one, brush the bees into a hive, transfer any of the combs to the frames of the hive that are large and straight enough, stop up the verandah and place the hive on the ground just below, to be moved after the bees are all quiet. All the the minutia of the work depends upou the condition of the place where it is to be done, and cannot be directed here. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 469 Bees Cleaning Combs. What is the best method of having bees clean the comb, after the lioney has been extracted V H. A. Whittlesey. Newington, Vt., Aug. 27, 1883. Answer. — If you have a good ex- tractor, no siicli cleaning is necessary. But the best way I know of, is to put the combs into a super, or upper story, and place this over a strong col- ony just at night if in times of a honey dearth, and in 4 to 12 hours the combs will be all clean, and the super can be removed iu the usual way. Beautiful Honey. Our Boston, neighboring city and home markets, are yearly lilled with the most beautiful honey. The combs are snowy white, in perfectly clean, white poplar sections, filled to the corners and completely sealed. With the above I am obliged to compete in producing comb honey. My sources of honey are mainly willow, fruit-bloom, locust, raspberries, bass- wood and goldenrod. My bees are Italians. Quantity and quality of extracted honey, per colony. Is above the average. Not so with comb honey except, perhaps, in point of flavor. Now, then, if it is manage- ment that forms the most important part in producing such beautiful white comb honey, what are the details or the fundamental law govening the same ? If fixtures, what influence do they exert on both quantity and appear- ance ¥ If location, how can I best utilize, or if needed, improve the one occu- pied y If bees, must I discard my clean, sprightly, courageous Italians, and notwithstanding the protest within, endure the raothy, lazy blacks ¥ If Mr. Heddon will please answer the above questions through the "What and How " columns of the Bee Journal, he will greatly oblige L. H. Shevenell. Haverhill, Mass., Sept. 7, 1883. Answer.— My advise to you is, just make the raising of extracted honey a specialty, and adhere to tlie bees that you prefer. I know of locations where to raise choice white comb honey is very much more difficult than in other places only 10 miles dis- tant, with everything else except the resource for nectar the same. It is plain to be seen that time and the Yankee will make the production of comb and extracted honey equally profitable, and a choice as to which we will produce should depend upon the fitness of our field and ourselves. If you are going to raise extracted honey for sauce, consult Dadant's little 15 cent book upon the subject. If for mechanical purposes, then a different management is advisable. Believing as 1 do that your flora is the main obstacle, I will not answer your questions until I may know that you are bound to go for comb honey, which I may find out by your next communication. Preparing Bees for Winter. Will Mr. Heddon please answer the following queries iu the Bee Jour- nal in regard to box hives, as there are several around here who liave a few colonies of bees in box hives : 1. In case there was not honey enough in the hive for winter, what would be the best food, and the best way to feed them ¥ 2. How would you advise preparing them for winter, and wliat is.the best material to pack them with ¥ 3. Would it be a good plan;to make a box a few inches larger, each way, than the hive, and set the hive in it, and pack chaff around It ¥ J. S. Barb. Bristolville, Ohio, Sept. 3, 1883. Answer. — 1. If I had such bees in box hives, I should be tempted to take them up, considering the honey they now have, and combs for wax, rather than to feed them more dollar's worth, and then risk their coming through in a condition to make them worth what they will cost you. 2. Properly prepared, pure cane sugar syrup (if it can be got pure, which my investigations throw a great shadow of doubt upon) or honey is good food, and if the box hives have no openings above, they might be in- verted and a feeder placed on the open top (previously bottom) and all removed in the morning, before the bees fly, and fixed at night after they cease flying. Feeding in a successful manner, and properly preparing the food, is one of the fine arts of bee- keeping, and if we are to learn it properly and with certainty, we need to see it demonstrated. There are so many twists and turns to be made — according to the condition of the apiary, the bees to be fed, and the weather. A good feeder is an abso- lute necessity. 1. Do bees gather pollen from white and Alsike clovers ¥ I have seen them at different times working on those clovers, and at the same time they had pollen on their legs. 2. Are queens that leave the hive with second or " after swarms," mated with the drone before leaving the hive with the swarm ¥ 3. How old are queens before they leave ttie hive to mate with the drone or with second or after swarms ¥ Bristolville, O. J. S. Barb. Answer. — 1. As near as my limited time has allowed me to discover, I think white and alsike clover yield pollen in such quantities thatourbees do sometimes gather from it, here, but usually it affords too much honey to tempt them to gather its pollen. 2. No, the queen mates with the drones usually, about 3 to 5 days after the swarm is hived, with all after- swarms. 3. After-swarms often issue a few liours after the hatching of the young queen, or queens, that accompany them. Dzierzon Theory, etc. I am a subscriber of the Weekly American Bee Journal, Gleanings, Exchange, and Bee and Poultry Maga- zine. 1 am also owner and reader of all the books written on the science of apiculture, both in America and Europe. Have had several yeara practice in bee-keeping in the West Indies, and was originally taught by father Dzierzon 's " Rational Bee- Keeping " many years ago ; but still I find there is something yet wanted which neither practice nor theory will ever solve, namely : the proof positive that an uuimpregnated egg laid by a queen bee can, or does produce a drone. This, tome, seems uunatural, for this reason : an uuimpregnated egg will and must always remain an uu- impregnated egg, and could never pro- duce a bee that is capable of impreg- nating, as from nothing nothing must remain ; the greater part of this world thinks that "nothing" really exists, and will try witli strong arguments to prove it ; but the very fact of its being "nothing" would not make it something, therefore would be " no- where," and then, pray, where is " no where ;" just fancy for a moment any thing in existence without length, breadth, width, depth or thickness, this would be " nothing," but this is^ not within the grasp of human imag- ination; therefore, as I have said, " nothitig " does not really exist, con- sequently under this head an uuim- pregnated egg of a queen bee cannot, in my opinion, produce a drone bee. I am afraid that we do not as yet really understand the principle func- tions of her nature, although that baa nothing particularly to do with the dollars and cents part of the bee business ; although if we knew these particular functions mote accurately, we might be able to breed up to a standard of perfection : however, as I like your style of explanations, and your reasonable answers given to all questions put, would you oblige me by answering a few through the Weekly Bee Journal : 1. Are those queen-cells built over drone eggs iu a queenless colony sup- posed to become the drones that im- pregnate the queen ¥ I have had them in tliis apiary on tlie same sheet of brood that had real queen- ceUa built over worker eggs at one and the same time. They are easily known by tlieir smooth surfaces, and the drone conili on which they are built. 2. Why do the bees provide such royal drones (which they must be as they are fed on royal jelly, and pro- 470 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. vided with very expensive cells) when they must know (through tlie use of their live senses) that other legitimate queen-cells are built at the same time ? I have had them hatch in this apiary, and the colony has become very prosperous and strong. I have also seen some torn down as is done even to the bona fide cells. When they hatch before her majesty they get the chance of existence, but if she hatches first, some of them staud a poor chance, and are generally torn down, but not always. 3. If impregnation takes place up into the open air, who, when, where and how have they witnessed it V I think, all things considered, the im- Firegnation question must be going on rora the moment the queen has suf- ficient age for the purpose, or even directly after birth inside of the hive, and the queen takes a trip out for an airing before going properly to work in laying. I do not believe in fertile workers, but I do believe in a drone- laying queen, and I am afraid that they are such as are called fertile workers. 4. Is the queen impregnated " once for all," which lasts her life time, or does she renew the process each time of natural swarming, or is the busi- ness carried on constantly in the hive V I think the latter is much more rea- sonable to believe. 5. How can it be possible that so small a sack of the seminal fluid can prove sufficient for impregnating so many thousands and thousands of eggs laid by her during her life time, if even but of short duration V This, I think, must be constantly renewed in the hive by the drones, for the safe and prosperous keeping of the family or colony. I must beg pardon for occupying your precious time in reading this ; but I hope you will excuse me as I am a very great enthusiast in the science of apiculture, and have, there- fore, applied to your better knowledge and practice on the subject. I am al- ways on the look-out for your articles in the bee papers, and have thought often of asking you the question : Why do you not write a standard work on apiculture, embodying all of your own experience in practice up to the present time and style of work- ing y Such a work would be worth its weight in gold. I for my part would willingly pay $5 for a copy. Try and get up such a one, and let it be in Mr. Langstroth's style, but up to the times in every respect. I hear of Prof. Cook's new book, and have sent for one. but I think you have proven to the fraternity that you " have got there." I am very sorry to hear of your winter losses, but trust you will make it up again soon. Please encourage the bee reading public with something good every time. I am a Dane, so please, excuse my English writing and explanations ; but as a practiciu man, I presume you will understand me. I have now working 80 colonies of the common brown oee. They have been transferred from Palm-logs into the Van Deuzen-Nellis improved (by me to suit this climate) Simplicity hives, and are doing pretty well, con- sidering the bad season we have had this year. I am just through with this lot, and I am going to increase with .50 more colonies just brought in Palm-logs. I am doing all in my power to introduce apiculture scien- tiBcally here, and feel so happy to hear constantly of its progress in the United States and Europe. Lorenzo J. de Sobotker. Santo Domingo, West Indies. Answer.— 1. Prof. Cook is a much better personage to answer your ques- tions than I am, and as you say, truly these things have less to do with our dollar and cent success, and I commenced very poor in the busi- ness, having to make dollars and cents out of it, or go hungry to bed. I have paid most of my attention to the practical part of apiculture. As I understand the Dzierzon theory, drones are always hatched from un- impregnated eggs, whether laid by an impregnated or unimpregnated queen, and that the drones hatched from eggs laid by an unimpregnated queen, whether in queen or drone cells, are in every way a perfect male bee, pos- sessing all the functions of the same. If what we have supposed to be fertile workers were unimpregnated queens, they certainly resemble a worker bee, and may as well be called fertile workers as queens. 2. I think this is the first time I ever heard of " royal drones," and was of the opinion that when drones or workers hatched from queen-cells, it was only another of the mistakes which proves the failure of bee instinct. 3. I know of one reputable man who says he saw a queen surrounded by a whole bundle of droues fall to the earth. This man knew nothing of the modern impregnation theory. Never read a bee journal or book. Twice I have seen a' queen return to a nucleus with what I took to be evi- dent signs of recent impregnation. 4. If queens are impregnated on the wing only, then we know one impreg- nation lasts for life. 5. So wonderful are things in na- ture, when seen by the telescope or microscope, looking into the far-off in either direction, that I am not pre- pared to say that what might look to the naked eye as a small particle might not be divided up into thou- sands and thousands of particles, each efiicient in its nature. All the above has less interest to me than other themes connected with modern apiculture. Very many have asked me the same question, why I do not write a standard work on api- culture, or publish a bee journal. Let me here make my reply. I do not consider myself capable of doing either, and doing it well. I might associate myself with some one and get out a respectable journal, but I have been far enough behind the scenes to fully realize that he who publishes a good journal, is giving his life to his patrons, something that I am too selfish to exchange for honors or money. Regarding a book on apiculture, in my judgment no one man in the United States has or can write a book to meet the present demands of pro- gressive bee - keepers. Once that could be and was done by Mr. Laagstroth, but to - day the de- mands are beyond the power of any one person to supply. I consider Prof. Cook's book worth more than its price, for its treatise on botany and entomology, but in my judgment he should have stopped there, naming his book " The Entomology and Bot- any of Apiculture." • Our " winter losses " are among the forgotten, as we now have 300 colo- nies in good condition, and believe for the first time during our 16 years ex- perience that we are about to master the wintering problem. Thanking you for your eulogistic words, I will say that I am continually making new determinations to make my contributions more pleasant and profitable to the reader. Your good letter needs no excuses. Leather-Colored Italians. Will Mr. Heddon please answer the following questions in the Bee Jour- nal : 1. Are the leather-colored Italian queens of a distinct race, or is the dark color caused by a cross from other strains of bees V 2. Will a colony of bees accept a queen that has fertile workers V 3. Will a fertile worker lay eggs ifi worker comb V 4. How do you manage a colony that has a fertile worker, to get rid of them ? 5. Which is the best, natural base foundation or flat bottom V 6. Where can I get the Parker foun- dation fastener ? Harvard T. Bush. Monticello, N. Y., Aug. 31, 1883. Answers. — 1. The leather-colored variety of the Italian race may be thus dark colored from crossing with the German race far in the past in their native home, Italy. I do not know how that may or may not be. I do not think any one knows. This THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 471 type of bee is brought from Italy, and all have three bands, and duplicate themselves generation after genera- tion. If they are not the original Italian bee, they are certainly a fixed strain, and according to most of our leading honey-producers, the most desirable fixed strain or race of bees known. 2. Sometimes they will, but the un- certainty is too great to risk the life of a valuable queen by attempting such introduction. 3. Fertile workers lay eggs in worker combs, and when capped over the cappings project outwards. 4. In getting rid of fertile workei s, we sometimes try the introduction of some valueless (jueen, which, if we succeed in introducing, we afterwards easily supersede by a good one. It is also advisable to introduce a sheet of brood in all stages at the same time. Many times besides all this, we take all the bees clean from the hive, carry them off 10 to 40 rods and scatter them around on the leaves or grass, that is if the hive has been queenless long enough that the bees all know the way home. The fertile worker is apt to never return, or at least we have no more trouble from her. 5. Our experiments have prejudiced us against the flat-bottom foundation. My impression is that most of our experienced bee-keepers prefer the natural base, though some still adhere to the flat-bottom. 6. Of almost any supply dealer ,and I wish here to say that in my judgment the Parker fastener is yet the best device known for fastening foundation into sections. How to Tell a Fertile Worker, . Will Mr. Heddou please explain the best way to tell a fertile worker, and also the best way to get rid of them, through "AVhat and How" in the Bee Journal. a. H. Groin. Elgin, 111. Answer.— I know no way to dis- tinguish a fertile worker from other workers, unless you catch them in the act of laying, which is very seldom done. " The best way to get rid of them," see reply to Mr. Bush, and I may also add that it helps to change stands of the fertile worker colony and a good one in normal con- dition. I would advise this latter aid, however, only when honey was flow- ing plentifully. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this oflice get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for |5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post oflice, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 per 100. How to Create a Market for Honey. We have now published another edition of the pamphlet on "Honey as Food and Medicine," with more new Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price still lower, to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 5 cents, postpaid ; per dozen, 40 cents ; per hundred, .1)2.50. 500 will be sent postpaid for $10.00, or 1,000 for $15.00- On orders of 100 or more, we will print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense — enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Try it, and you will be surprised. Subscription Credits. — We do not acknowledge receipt of each subscrip- tion by letter. The label on your paper, or on the wrapper, shows ihe date to which your subscription is paid. AVlien you send us money, if the proper credit is not given you, within two weeks thereafter, on your label, notify us by postal card. Do not wait for months or years, and then claim a mistake. The subscrip- tion is paid to tiie end of the month indicated on the wrapper-label. This gives a statement of account every week. Trial Trip-25 Cents. As the season for Fairs has arrived, and wishing to be able to reach several thousands of the old-fashioned bee- men, and by the aid of the Bee Journal to lift them up to higher ground, adopting newer methods and progressive ideas, we make the follow- ing very liberal offer : We will send the Weekly Bee Journal t/weemonto on trial, for 25 cents. In order to pay for getting up Clubs, we will give a copy of Fislier's Grain Tables, or Scribner's Lumber and Log Book, to any one who will send us five trial subscriptions (with $1.25) ; for a club of ten we will give a cloth copy of Bees and Honey ; for a club of 15, a cloth copy of the 7th edition of Cook's Man- ual of the Apiary ; for a club of 25, we will present both the Manual and Bees and Honey. If any one wants these Books for nothing, here is on excel- lent opportunity to get them for a little exertion. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies (220 pages 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. Preparation of Honey for the Mar- ket, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. 1^ Do not send coins in a letter. It is dangerous and increases the postage unnecessarily. Always sen^ postage stamps, for fractions of a dollar, and, if you can get them — one-cent stamps ;' if not, any denomination of postage stamps will do. Special Notice.— We will, hereafter, supply the Weekly Bee Journal for one year, and the seventh edition of Prof. Cook's Manual of the Apiary, bound in fine cloth, for $2.76, or the Monthly Bee Journal, and the Manual in cloth for $1.75. As tliis offer will soon be withdrawn, those who desire it should send for the book at once. 472 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Honey and Beeswax Market Our Premiums for Clubs. OFFICE OP AMERICAN BBE JOtTRNAL, ) Monday, 10 a. m., Sept. 17, 1883. ! The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. HONEY— The demiind for extracted honey is exceedinulv dull : for comb honey, only fair; arri- Tals are plentiful. Stocks are larye in the hands of corn merchants and others. Our own supply is larger than ever. and. for the present, we cannot compete witli commission merchants. We may have to differ lower tijrures. Our prices so far were 7i& 9c. for extracted, and 14(ail6c. for comb honey on arrival. BEESWAX -Arrivals of beeswax are good at 25@28c., and the demand is fair. CHA8. F. MtTTH. NEW YORK. HONEY— White clover and basswood in 1 and '2 lb. sections, 18c. Dark and second quality, 14c.: extracted white clover in kegs and barrels, lie; dark, 8c. BEESWAX— Prime yellow, 3n(S31c. H. K. & i". B. Thcrber & Co. CHICAGO. HONEY— Comb honey has been bought with more freedom this week, and prices of last week have been fully sustained. The cool weather has started up the usual fall trade, and activity is the order of the hour. In selecting out the best con- signments (with the exception of one round lot taken by merchants from Dakota Territory), our demand is chiefly local. Extracted honey has ni:)t been sought for to any extent, yet there is an im- provement over last w, ek in the amount sold. Comb honey, extra white 1 lb. sections, l8c.; comb honey, extra white l*^ to 2 lb. sections, l.'i^lTc. BEESWAX— Steady and quiet, at 25@33c., as to color, etc. B. A. Burnett, 161 South Water St. BAN FRANCISCO. HONEY— There is a moderate supply of comb and extracted of common quality, but offerings of extra choice comb are very light. The sales being effected are within range of unchanged figures White to extra white comb, Hj(*i;oc.: dark to good. 10^13>^c.; extracted, choice to extra white, 7>i@ 8^c. ; dark and candied, ti^ii— BEESWAX -Wholesale. 27®28c, Btsarnb & SMITH. 423 Front Street. BT. LOUIS. HONEY— Some little inquiry for choice comb, from grocers, at 14. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., OCTOBER 3, 1883. No. 40. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, Abuse is Not Argument. Mr. Hamet, the publisher of VApi- culteur, in Paris, is opposed to movable frame hives. Fifteen years ago he wrote that the main quality of such hives was to be pulled to pieces like a pack of puppets. The honey extractor was, to him, a useless toy. He has continued since to fight against every new idea or improvement, and when we were in Paris, he ridiculed every thing in progressive apiculture which we use in America. Mr. Hamet asserts that foul brood is generated hy the use of frame hives. Mr. Chas. Dadant, of Hamilton, 111., who has for years been writing for the European bee papers, has taken the ground that foul brood was propagated by contagion. Last spring Mr. Bertrand, editor of D''Apiculteur, published a lithograph of Mr. Dadant, and was censured by Mr. Hamet for so doing ; at the same time Mr. D. was assailed in the most vindictive manner. In the VApiculteur for August, Mr. Hamet renews the attack, more ferocious than ever, without the least provocation or ex- cuse. We exceedingly regret to see that Mr. Hamet has seen fit to use mali- cious personal abuse instead of argu- ment. He also asserts that Mr. Dadant has been published as a humbug and swindler in Gleanings, and calls him anything but a gentleman. Mr. Root justly denies that he had ever thought of publishing Mr. Dadant as a swindler. To us who have known Mr. Dadant for 10 to 20 years as one of the most gentlemanly, honest and pro- gressive apiarists of America, these insults are very annoying and perfectly unjustifiable. It is a very poor way for any one to resort to malignity instead of using argument, but the use of such is more detrimental to the calumniator, than to the person maligned. We should have taken no notice of this, were it not that Mr. Hamet as- sails him as a representative American apiculturist, and of no reputation for honesty, at home or abroad. How much better it would be to Let all our words be full of truth, Let kindly feelings reign ; Do good to all, and let our smiles Leave blessings In their train. 1^" Mr. A. J. King, editor of the Bee and Poultry Magazine, is going on a trip to Cuba this month— we presume for the benefit of his health. The Bee Journal wishes him a pleasant jour- ney and a safe return. 1^ Several frosts have already occurred in many parts of the country, killing some of the fall bloom, but in other parts, the bees are reported to be at work quite vigorously. 1^ At the Fair just held in Madi- son, Ind., Mr. H. C. White carried off all the premiums except one (which was the second premium on display of honey, and was awarded to Mr. S. D. Mclntyre). Mr. White displayed comb and extracted honey, bees, hives, extractors and supplies for the apiary. We congratulate him on his success. Alsike CloTer. — The Indiana Fai-mer says that Mr. Alonzo Tyner, near Greenfield, Ind., grew several acres the present season in the same field with red clover, and said that the bees worked on it incessantly, and it was in its prime after basswood was over. Upon later introducing the stock into the field, the Alsike clover was eaten to the ground before they would touch the red clover. Honey at the Iowa State Fair. The Iowa Homestead has the follow- ing item concerning the honey ex- hibit at the Fair : The Bee Department was a very attractive feature of the great Fair. Rev. O. Clute, of Iowa City, and J. J. Kizer, of Polk county, who are among the most intelligent and successful bee-keepers of the West, drew great crowds of people around them during the entire Fair, as they patiently and cheerfully explained the interesting processes of bee-keeping and honey producing. No feature of the Fair attracted more attention or awakened more interest. 1^ The total value of the exhibits in the bee department of the Michigan State Fair was placed at $1,088.50, and the amount of the premiums awarded was $189. The building de- voted to bees and honey, at the recent Fair, was well filled with everything of interest to bee-keepers. The exhi- bition of " supplies " was large, and attracted considerable attention from many who were not interested in api- culture. The " Bee-Keepers' Hall " was specially built for the purpose, and was a great attraction. 1^" We have just received from the publishers a copy of the Album Writer's Friend, containing nearly three hundred selections suitable for writing in Autograph Albums. Those of our readers who have been invited to inscribe their sentiments in a friend's Album, will find this little volume a valuable help. It contains 6-t pages, and will be sent by mail, post paid, on receipt of 1.5 cents, by J. S. Ogilvie & Co., Publishers, No. 31 Rose Street, New York. t^ The next regular meeting of the Mahoning Valley Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at Newton Falls, O., on the first Saturday of November, 1883. L. Carson, Pres. E. W. Turner, Sec. 486 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. North American Bee Convention. KEFORTS OF VICE-PRESIDENTS. The first report was from Dr. Miller, of Illinois. The season in that State. he said, was unfavorable. Even when white clover came, the bees lacked energy to go out and gather honey. Those who had fed bees during the winter did very well. The flow of honey from clover closed up earlier than usual, and since then they had none. About three-quarters of a crop had been obtained. Dr. J. P. H. Brown, of Augusta, Ga., gave a fairly favorable report. The last report of the Commissioner of Agriculture in this State showed a product of only 27 pounds per colony. The horsemint, on which they de- pended largely, yielded not a single drop of honey, so far as he knew. A succession of heavy frosts in April had killed the bloom. The honey in Georgia generally was of amber color, and, for some reason which he did not quite understand, it was a few shades fighter this year than usual. Judge Andrews, of Texas, stated that in North Texas the crop was very light, not more than 10 pounds per colony, but the honey was of very superior quality. It was obtained chiefly from rattan and honey locust, which came into bloom early in May. During the horsemint season (that plant yielded little or nothing) there was the most intense excitement among the bees if the hives were opened, or any attempt made to take the honey. In middle Texas there had been on the whole a good flow— a finer crop he had never seen. In West Texas the country had been settled for only three or four years, and few bees were kept. Mr. O. O. Poppleton reported for Iowa. The yield of white clover honey in that State was heavy, but since that, there had been nothing. This was the worst season for robbers he had ever known. Mr. Hart, of Florida, gave a very interesting report of bee matters in his State. The yield was an average one, but was from rather different re- sources than usual. Some of the bees swarmed as early as the 16th of Feb- ruary. In March came a drought, and the honey flow ceased almost en- tirely. In May the bees began to gather from the palmetto, bay and mullberry, but the crop from the last- named was very small. The bees took in the coast counties, took large quantities from the black mangrove which grows along the shore, and the roots of which are covered at high Prof. Cook, of Michigan, reported that so far as he could learn, Michi- gan had got only half a crop. About 50 or 60 pounds per colony would be a fair average, of which one-third was comb honey. The season in the early part of the year was very rainy and very cold, but notwithstanding this the bees were very busy. Mr. Jones— Have you many Cana- dian thistles V Prof. Cook— I am glad to say we have very few. There was a droughty fall, and it seemed there could be no more honey, but still the bees worked hard, and now, even though the frost had come upon them, the honey con- tinued to come in. Mr. W. C. Pelhara, of Kentucky, re- ported on behalf of his State. The yield, he said, was much above the average in the white clover region, but in the mountainous region ot the State, it was rather above the average. Mr. Porter, of Colorado, reported about an average yield, notwithstand- ing that the spring was unfavorable. About a hundred pounds to the colony would be about the figure. A letter was read from J. L. Peabody, of Col- orada, reporting only half a crop. They had snow in June, and frost in July and August. The Rocky Moun- tain bee plant had come along well in the dry, sandy soil, and the bees got a good harvest from it. Mr. C. F. Muth, of Ohio, reported f nllv an average crop, partly from the lociist, but mainly from the white clover. About 130 pounds per colony would be an average. After clover was over, the bees produced no more, in fact, they lost stores. His own bees had not stores enough to winter on, but in the few bright days after the recent frost, they had resumed work. He was sorry to say that honey had been forced upon the mar- ket in Cincinnati. He had been of- fered the best clover honey at 8 cents, or 8J^ cents apound. He had advised the bee-keepers to hold their stocks until the prices got better. Mr. McKnight, of Owen Sound, President of the Ontario Bee- Keep- ers' Association, was called upon to report for Ontario. He cordially wel- comed the representatives from a dis- tance. The Ontario Association had been in existence only three years. He explained the system used by the Association in securing statistics, which was, to send to members of the Association slips with questions re- garding the mortality of bees, in- crease, crop, etc. This year 48 out of 84 members reported. These reports showed a total yield of 211,772 pounds, an average of 106 pounds per colony. The average yield for the three years was 66 pounds per colony. The sea- son this year was a strange one, the spring was backward, but on the other hand, the fall continued three weeks longer, making up for that to some extent. The principal sources of sup- ply were the white clover, basswood, and Canada thistles. Among ad- vanced bee-keepers there was very little out-side wintering. Mr. Vandervort, of Pennsylvania, said he always found it hard to get re- ports. When there was a bad season bee-keepers were too busy to report. The early spring was favorable, but later, the season was wet and pre- vented the bees from working. There was only a half crop of honey, but a fair average of increase. James D. Long, of Granby, supplied the report from Quebec. There had been a yield of fully 100 pounds per colony. Rev. W. F. Clarke reported for Manitoba. Before doing so, he de- sired, as perhaps the only one from Canada who had been present at the foundation of the Association, to ex- press the pleasure it gave him to welcome the delegates to Canadian soil. He had learned since leaving that a few colonies of bees had been kept in the old settlement of St. Boni- face, but had not known anything of them while there. He had seen only one bee while there, a stray Italian who had come from California in a box of fruit. The old friend of the Association, Mr. Wallbridge, was now Chief Justice of Manitoba, and resi- dent in Winnipeg, He had had sev- eral " conventions " with the Chief Justice, and in company with him had examined the flora of thecountry. He had never seen such a magnificent yield of white clover, and was sure the bees would do well on it. Chief Jus- tice Wallbridge was strongly of opin- ion that the steadiness of the climate would be favorable to wintering bees, and he intended to enter upon the practical work of bee-keeping. president's address. At the request of President Jones, Mr. McKnight, of Owen Sound, Presi- dent of the Ontario Association, read the President's address, as follows : It affords me genuine pleasure to meet with you all in this our usual annual gathering— pleasure for more reasons than one. I am pleased to meet with our American friends, who have honored Canada, and honored Toronto by choosing this as the place of meeting of the National Associa- tion. True, it is a " National " Asso- ciation, but the representation from Canada is usually so small, we had scarcely the right to expect, much less enjoy, the pleasure of having Canada chosen as the place of meeting. I am pleased, because our own Canadian Association has turned out in such force to welcome our American brethren. I am also pleased and proud to have, what has always seemed to me one of the things I most desired, and I am sure I only speak the mind and express the feelings of all our Cana- dian brethren, when I say that they have long wished for a chance to welcome to Canada's shores the " Father of Bee-keepers," the great " Huber of America," our venerable friend and brother. Rev. L. L. Lang- stroth. Last winter was an unusually severe one to bee-keepers, but it was severe (with few exceptions) only to those who did not take the proper precau- tions in preparing for winter, at least so it has been with Canadian bee- keepers. I venture the assertion that much more care will be taken this fall to prepare for the coming winter. The spring came upon us unusually cold and wet, and this state of affairs was prolonged until nearly the first of June. Had the season opened as the majority of seasons do, many colonies would liave escaped and come through all safe, though then very weak, but the cold and backward season com- pleted the work which the careless bee-keeper began, and these colonies became victims of •' spring dwind- THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 487 ling." When the season came upon us, the majority were not ready to reap the harvest. The dow at first was only sufficient to supply material for a genuine " swarming fever," and I opine that many allowed too great a number of swarms. Only last week I received a report from one bee-keeper who had one colony in the spring, but who has no less than 15 — an increase of 14. While the other honey-bearing sources supplied a fair proportion of the flow, still, to Cana- dian thistles, Canadians are indebted for the great majority of the crop of 1883. Bokhara clover has also done well, and I am of the opinion that it will become one of the future staple honey plants of the country. On the whole, our beloved pursuit is in a most prosperous and happy condition. During the past season giant strides have been made in api- culture, both in the improved method of manipulation, and in the advanced ideas with regard to placing the pro- ducts of the hive in a pleasing and salable shape before the people. We may ascribe the success and advancement so obtained, in part, to the able manner in which all the sub- jects which tend to this advancement are handled by able and energetic writers in the many journals which the public have the benefit of perus- ing at a small cost, and which are constantly disseminating useful knowledge on matters interesting to bee-keepers. Conventions, such as this, have much to do with its ad- vancement, as it is at these meetings that we learn from each other what each one of us has been doing during the past year, and by thoroughly dis- cussing the various thoughts and ex- periences which are advanced, we are enabled thereby to arrive at correct conclusions regarding many ques- tions which have held doubtful promi- nence in our mind until substantiated by like experiences from others. Honey shows are likewise a great item in giving apiculture a helping impetus. I feel that it is the duty of every bee-keeper to take his entire crop to these places, whether the prizes are large or not, and when once the bee-keepers make the " Honey Department " one of the leading at- tractions of the Fair, the Agricultural and other societies will not long lie dormant in the matter, but each will vie with the other in trying to see which will have the greatest attrac- tions in our department. I cannot close without mentioning the honored dead— of such men as Wagner, Quinby, Colvin, Grimm, and a host of others who have gone before us, and who have done so much for us. I must also refer regretfully to the death of one of our number in the person of Theodore Houck, who has since we last met together departed this life. It will soon be the duty of this Association to select another of their number to till the position which I have so poorly occupied during the East year, and I feel that they will ave little difficulty in selecting some one who will do the honors of the Eosition much more efficiently than I ave been able to perform them. Before closing I must again thank our American friends for their pres- ence in Canada. I feel that this ses- sion will prove one of exceeding benefit to us all in reaping a harvest rich in valuable information, and I trust that it may long be remembered as such. WHO SHOULD KEEP BEES V The following is the address of the Kev. W. F. Clarke on the above subject : " Everybody," was once the current answer. I have given it myself be- fore now. Ten years ago, in my prize poem on "The Honey Bee," I pictured "Each household of an apiary possessed." It was the general idea then, that in a proper condition of society, a bee- hive out-of-doors would be considered as much a part of a well-regulated domestic establishment as a sewing machine in-doors. But we have got bravely over that, and many other crude notions that prevailed, even among bee-keepers themselves, ten years ago, and the time has now fully come for insisting upon it that only those should keep bees who are prop- erly qualified to do so. That same law of division of labor which forbids every man being his own shoemaker, tailor, or blacksmith, prohibits every man from being his own honey-pro- ducer. Among the numerous topics of present and practical interest in the realm of apiculture, this deserves a prominent place, and it is especially fitting that it should come up at a gathering like the present. Every one of our annual meetings is followed by less or more abortive attempts at bee-keeping on the part of some who have attended and become inoculated with a desire to keep bees. There is always considerable enthusiasm awakened at these meetings^ and it would be discreditable to us if there were not. Enthusiasm is contagious, and it is no wonder that people who know nothing of bee-keeping catch the infection,and go away determined, hit or miss, to start an apiary. It is more often a miss than a hit, and thus we become undesignedly the means of seducing our fellow-beings into dis- appointment. As a preventive of this, or at any rate as a check upon it, there should be some words spoken in plain English on these occasions in reply to the question, "Who should keep bees." There is another reason why it is as well to discuss this question here and now. It is about the only good opportunity we have of doing so. It is not a congenial topic for the bee journals, many of which are, more or less, mixed up with the supply busi- ness. Of course the more people who start bee-keeping, the greater will be the sale of supplies. We cannot blame those who are in this business for wanting to make all the money they honestly can at it. It is not the most remunerative business in the world, there are too many in it, and the competition is too keen for it to be very lucrative. So it is natural those who are in it should want to sell as many hives and " bee flxins " as they can. It is not their interest, perhaps it is not their duty to discourage beginners. But we have met, not as supply dealers, or with any personal or selfish ends in view. This is a grand apicultural parliament con- vened in the interest of bee-culture, and it is a part of our duty to do what we can to obviate whatever tends on the whole to the injury of bee-keep- ing. All will agree that it is not de- sirable for people to undertake what is sure to end in failure. Those who start at bee-keeping and make a botch of it are very apt to decry the whole thing as a humbug, a delusion, and a snare. No doubt the interests of bee-keeping, as a whole, have suf- fered from the maledictions of sore- heads, who, if they had been wise, would have never touched a bee hive, except to throw it aside. Bee-keeping maybe justly regarded as having attained the status of a profession, or a business. In any correct view of it, it requires special natural qualifications, and a thorough education. The natural qualifications are not of much account without an education, obtained somehow or other, and the education is a downright im- possibility without the natural quali- fications. I feel myself somewhat at a loss in giving a categorical answer to the question I have taken as a text. It reminds me of the discussions there used to be, and are still, as to what constitutes a call to the ministry ? Volumes have been written on that subject, and I think it would be easy to write a volume on the question, " Who should keep bees y" without, perhaps, throwing much more light on the subject than has been done by some treatises on the other theme. Nevertheless there is such a thing as a call to the ministry, and there is also such a thing as a call to bee- keeping. Many have hit their heads against a pulpit in the mistaken idea that they have been called to be preachers, and just so many have blundered into bee-keeping, under the delusion that they had a call in that direction. Something will be gained if we can impress people with the conviction that it is not wise to fol- low mere impulse. There is less dan- ger of their Dlundering if we can get them seriously to ponder the inquiry, " Am I cut out for a bee-keeper V" In a general way it may be safely said that in order to succeed in this business or profession there must be an aptitude for it. What that is it may be difficult to state in detail, but I am fast coming to think that the true bee-keeper, like the true poet, is born, not made. The great Huber is an example in point. To use a theo- logical plirase, he was predestinated to be a bee-keeper, and not even the loss of sight could prevent the fulfil- ment of his mission. His devoted wife and trusty man-servant were eyes to the blind apiarist, and with their help he took the foremost place among historical bee-keepers. A de- gree of that enthusiasm which in- 488 THE AMERICAISl BEE JOURNAL. spired Huber must influence all who aspire to rank among his disciples. No man succeeds very much in any line of things which does not stir him with lively interest. But this alone is not enough. The true bee-keeper must have keen perceptions, and be at once of an observant and reflective turn of mind. He must be a modern Job for patience, and a modern Bruce for perseverance. No matter what his natural aptitudes may be, he will make serious mistakes at first, and needs to learn thatj as Napoleon was wont to say, " He is not the best gen- eral who makes no mistakes, but he who repairs them as quickly and as thoroughly as possible." He must not be irrascible, for in that quality the bees are more than a match for the most irrascible of mortals. He must have perfect self-control, for if a man cannot control himself, he may rest assured that he cannot control the denizens of the bee-hive. He must be sanguine and hopeful, for he will see many dark days. His motto must be:— "Never give up ; it is wiser and better. Always to hope tuan once to despair." He must have a mind for details, and regard nothing as trivial that has to do with the welfare of a colony or an apiary. " Unconsidered trifles " have often led to important discoveries, and astonishing results, and the man who is naturally prone to be negligent of apparently little things must either conquer that habit or come to the con- clusion that he is not adapted to shine as a bee-keeper. Lastly, at the risk of being laughed at by certain apiarists who can take bees to bed with them and sleep un- disturbed, I shall venture to specify, a certain indifference to stings, which is characteristic of a few of the hu- man family. There is no denying the fact that some people are higiily sen- sative to the virus of the bee, while on others it has little or no effect. Some curious experiences have been had in this line, of which truly in- telligent bee-keepers will take note. It has been a favorite idea with many that when you become accustomed to being stung by bees, you cease to mind it. I was of that opinion at one time myself. I had become hardened to the thing until I did not mind a bee-sting more than a pin-prick. But on a luckless day I got a sting from a furious Italian just on the middle tip of my upper lip, which resulted in several hours' intense agony and a week's sickness. Ever since then, a sting in any part of the body results in a renewal of those painful effects. The virus at once flies to the head, and causes the greatest distress. I am aware that in thus speaking I issue my own death warrant, as a bee- keeper, but I am at the same time stating facts which " nobody can deny." I am precluded from keeping bees except on a small scale, as an amateur, from purely scientific in- terest, and with the use of precautions in the way of gloves and veil, such as thicker-skinned and more hardened bee-keepers despise. But I lay it down as a maxim that unfortunate people who are keenly sensitive to the effects of stinging, had better give bee-keeping, as a business, " a good letting alone." In addition to the natural aptitude which has been imperfectly sketched, an education in bee-keeping must be obtained. It matters little how this is done, provided it be thorough. Let no one rush into bee-keeping imper- fectly equipped with knowledge on the subject. It is positively ridiculous to see how some people act in regard to this matter. They seem to suppose that they have only to get a few colonies of bees and they are com- pletely set up in the business. Their next step is to invent a hive or some wonderful improvement that is to eclipse everything in the market. After a little spluttering and flourish- ing they give up in disgust what they ought never to have attempted. It is no doubt possible for a tyro in bee-keeping to become self-educated in a sense. With the invaluable bee books and excellent bee journals that are available, the theory can easily be mastered. Then comes the practi- cal part, and " aye, there's the rub." To manage bees with an eye to profit from honey production, is an attain- ment far beyond mere theory, how- ever correct. I do not think this can be gained in any other way so quickly or so well as for the beginner to ap- prentice himself to some good practi- cal bee-keeper, and happy is he who has the opportunity of so doing. I am inclined to believe that our best bee-keepers will have to start schools of apiculture, as indeed some have already done. It may be so arranged as to be an advantage to them as well as to tlieir pupils. Besides these private schools, apiculture should be taught both in theory and practice in agricultural colleges. The Michigan Agricultual College has set a good ex- ample in this respect, which ought to be followed by every similar institu- tion on the continent of North Amer- ica. Bee-keeping has now reached such proportions that it ought not to be ignored at those educational es- tablishments which are devoted to the development of rural industries. As a source of national revenue it takes rank with general farming, stock raising, dairying, and similar out-door pursuits. As a science, bee- keeping covers a large field of re- search, and as an art, requires instruc- tion quite as extensive as some other rural industries. This meeting will only be acting in harmony with its design and legitimate functions in making a strong deliverance on this subject. Bee-keeping has quite long enough been left to chance and hap- hazard. It becomes those who are familiar with its wants and possibili- ties to exalt it to a proper position be- side other occupations, and to demand for it suitable educational facilities. What I have said is intended to be introductory to an earnest and thor- ough discussion of the whole matter, and if it secures this my object wiU be secured. Northwestern ConTention. The Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Association will hold its fourth annual convention at Owsley's Hall, N. W. corner Roby and West Madison Sts., Chicago, 111., on Wednesday and Thursday, October 17 and 18, 1883, commencing at 10 a. m. on Wednes- day and holding five sessions. The Rev. L. L. Langstroth (the father of American apicluture) has promised to be present, and many of the most prominent apiarists of the Northwest will be there and aid in the deliberations and discussions. This meeting will be held during the last week of the Inter-State In- dustrial Exposition, and reduced railroad fares may be had on nearly all the railroads. A cordial invitation is extended to bee-keepers every where to attend this annual reunion. Meals may be obtained at the Res- taurant near the Hall at 25 cts. each. Beds may be secured at the Gault House for $1, or at other Hotels at regular rates. Thos. G. Newman, Sec. C. C. Miller, Pres. i^" The sixth annual meeting of the Northern Michigan Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at Stone's Opera Hall, Sheridan, Montcalm county, Mich., on Tuesday and Wed- nesday, Oct. 9 and 10, to open at 10 a. m. of the first day. Evening sessions will be held, which will be interest- ing. At our last meeting it was re- quested that all interested in apicul- ture attend, and all who would, and could, furnish for exhibition apiarian supplies in the way of hives, extrac- tors, implements used in the apiary, honey, honey-producing plants, and anything that would be interesting to a bee-keeper. Ample arrangements liave been made to entertain all who will come. Let us have a general turn out, and see what we can learn one of the other. It will be a dull scholar who cannot profit by such a gathering. Peel assured we shall have an interesting time. Geo. W. Stanton, Pres. O. R. GooDNO, -Sec. AdTertisements intended for the Bee Journal must reach this ofiice by Saturday of the previous week. ®° The Iowa Central Bee-Keepers' Association will hold its regular annual meeting on Friday, Nov. 2, 1883, at the Court House, in Winter- set, Madison county, Iowa. All bee- keepers are cordially invited to attend, and let us have one of the best meet- ings we have ever held in the State. J. E. Pryor, Sec. Arbor Hill, Iowa. i®" Please announce that the Iowa Central Association, will meet at Win- terset, Iowa, Nov. 2, 1883. Z. G. COOLEY, Sec. pro tern. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 489 Bee Battles and Robbing- Mr. A. Pettigrew gives the follow- ing on the above subject in the Lon- don Journal of Horticulture : Thieving scouts and skirmishing parties are common in all apiaries, and hard-fought battles are occa- sionally seen there, and plunder is the object. Robbing bees are watchful and crafty in attempting to enter hives not their own, and experienced bee-masters know them by their con- duct. In watching for an opportu- nity to enter hives unobserved, they fly differently from bees engaged at honest work, and may be seen "stand- ing on wing " in front of and close to the doors of hives they wish to enter, and if their attempts to enter be not resisted and thwarted they speedily accomplish their aims and carry home the honey. As soon as they gain access to it they convey to their own community the idea that a hive has been entered and honey may be had. The way in which the intelligence is conveyed is beyond our knowledge ; all we here notice is the fact. The thieves of London know what " a cracked shell" means (a house broken into), and bees know what is meant by a hive undefended ; and with mar- vellous rapidity the unresisting bees lose all their treasures. Fortunately robbers are generally prevented from entering hives on their first attempt to do so. It may safely be asserted that in every hun- dred attempts to enter hives for plunder, ninety-nine are failures. When hives are weak their doors are often not well guarded, and robbers enter, and sometimes the robbers kill the whole of the small force of de- fenders. Strong hives, during a glut of honey, are sometimes off their guard, and let their hives be invaded, and if the robber bees are permitted to go in and out without hindrance for a short time they, generally speak- ing, take all the honey. Successful robberies of strong hives are not com- mon. The robbers are generally dis- covered before they have done much harm — before tbey have lost the smell of strangers and foreigners, and when the discovery is made the bees of the invaded hive muster in strength to resist the invasion and make a de- termined stand against it. As some of the robbers have tasted the honey and carried off some booty, they are determined to have more, and are difficult to beat back. In their ef- forts to ejiter, the attacking force seems to increase in numbers and energy, and while hundreds of them are hurled back and off the flight- boards, hundreds more take their places, and courageously and per- sistently continue the attempt to take the place by storm. A well-fought bee battle is most interesting. If the door of the hive be rather small, and the robbers successfully resisted for a while (none allowed to enter), they give up the contest and retreat. When a hive is attacked by robbers all the bee master can do is to con- tract the door, and thus make it more easy for the bees to defend it. If he sees the robbers are resisted and re- pelled, he may know that they are so tar unsuccessful, and if he find that robbers have gained access to a hive and are engaged in carrying off its honey without resistance, he should know that it can be saved by removal only to a distance of a mile or two for a time. If the robbing bees belong to the same apiary as those that are being robbed, the suggested manoe- uvre of Quinby may be tried. His plan is simply to exchange the posi- tions of the hives by puttmg the rob- bers on the stand of the hive they steal from, and vice versa, and thus confound the robbers. My opinion is, that bees are too clever to be out- witted by this. Our plan is to remove one of the hives to a distance of one or two miles. Honey and Bee Show at Hancock, Co., Indiana, Fair. The Indiana Farmer gives the fol- lowing report of the above : As per-previous notice the regular monthly meeting of the Hancock County Bee-Keepers' Society, in con- nection with brother bee-keepers from adjoining counties was turned into a regular fair for the benefit of all interested. There was a good dis- play of all the appliances necessary to modern bee-culture, besides a good showing of the products of the apiary for the present season. The President of the society, Mr. Alonzo Tyner, exhibited an extractor, hive, section boxes, frames of wired foundation fully drawn out, a nice lot of honey, botli comb and extracted, also a jar of preserves made with honey, which were very fine. Dr. S. S. Boots showed a hive, ex- tracted honey, and vinegar made from honey. J. W. Jones brought in one of the old style of hives, also a chaff hive made by W. T. Falkoner, of James- town, N. Y ., and a sample of founda- tion from J. Van Dusen & Sons, of Sprout Brook, N. Y. J. T. Cofiin exhibited a fine lot of honey in several shapes best suited to the trade. The best showing was made by Mr. N. D. Coffin, who had on exhibition honey, both comb and extracted, vinegar, wired foundation in the sev- eral stages of being drawn out, and all the necessary tools for use in the apiary, besides a complete selection of all the producing plants native to this part of the country. Mr. Geo. Cole, of Shelby county, showed some very nice queens in cages. Tlie regular meeting of the county society was opened and closed in a very short time to give all present a chance to talk and examine into the merits and conveniences of the arti- cles on exhibition. The meeting was a very enjoyable gathering of bee- keepers, and all seemed pleased at the result. H^ The fall meeting of the Kew Jersey and Eastern Bee-Keepers' Association will be held in the city of New York, at the Cooper Union, on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 1883. J. Hasbrouck, Sec. Bound Brook, N. J. 1^ The Bee-Keepers' Association of Central Illinois will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 10 a. m., at 205 South Main street, city of Bloomington. All interested, in this and adjoining counties, are invited to attend. J. L. WOLCOTT, Pres. Jasies Poindexter, Sec. Honey and Beeswax Market. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee m gold, we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 per 100. OFFICE OF AMERICAN BKE JOUBNAL, ) Monday, 10 a. m., Oct. 1 , 18S3. S The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. HONEY— The demand for extracted honey iB exceedlDKly dull ; for comb honey, only fair: arri- vals are plentiful. Stocks are large In the hands of corn merchants and others. Our own supply is larger than ever, and. for the present, we cannot compete with commission merchants. We may have to offer lower figures. Our prices so far were 7® 9c. for e.vtracted, and 14<§tl6c. for comb honey on arrival. BKESWAX-Arrivals of beeswax are good at 25@28c., and the demand is fair. CHAS. F. M0TH. NEW YORK. HONEY— White clover and basswood in 1 and 2 lb. sections, 18c. Darli and second quality, 14c.: extracted white clover in kegs and barrels, lie; dark, sc. BEBSWAX-Prlme yellow, 30®;ilc. H. K. & F. B. THDRBER & C«. CHICAGO. HONEY- Comb honey has sold freely for the past two weeks, and stocks are at present low. 1 lb. sectionsof white comb are bringing l«c. ; il4 U> 2 lb. sections of same quality, I6(»17c.; variousslzed sections of white comb, L.=.^c. BEESWAX— Wholesale, 27rk on the honey-bee— than whom there is no writer on bee-culture who is higher authority auiong English-speaking people. capped, and If when all bee-work is most pressing, more colonies can be taken care of by piling hive upon hive, filled with empty combs— to be emptied when more leisure comes — then the advantages of shallow hives are easy to be seen. 2. If we do not make the number of frames so small, that to get the re- quisite comb surface, they must be too heavy for easy handling, then for cheapness and other obvious reasons, the fewer frames the better. For this reason, if there were no others, frames of the Gallup size seem to me objectionable. 3. Long and shallow frames are more convenient for most of our necessary manipulations. (o.) In handling them the arms take a natural and easy, instead of a cramped position. (6.) With such frames the eye com- mands the whole surface of a comb, in searching for the queen, etc., with- out that uncomfortable craning of the neck which deep frames compel. (c.) As has been already explained, there is less danger of hurting bees in removing or replacing the shallow frames. (d.) Less motion, and of course less time, is needed to take out or put back such frames. (e.) It is very much easier to make such frames hang true, then deep ones. If their hives had gla^ on their backs, many who use deep frames would be surprised to see how much " out of true " they often are. Whatever may be the case with bee- keepers, in a small way only, those who are manipulating for hours to- gether, in large apiaries, and to whom in the press of work, time saved means more money, than in any other season of the year, will find the above reasons for giving the preference to the long and shallow frame, worthy of careful consideration. They are sub- mitted, however, in no spirit of dogmatism, and I am far from claim- ing that the standard Langstroth is demonstrably the best under all condi- tions, and for all parts of our widely extended country. The time will probably never come, when uni- formity will be as much insisted on as in the standard weights and meas- ures of the same country. If by a simple volition, I could, without pecuniary loss to any one, or violence to any one's feelings or prejudices, change every movable comb hive in America, into the standard Lang- stroth size, I would will no such change. Let the Dadants, Hether- ingtons, and others, have'full scope for testing on the largest scale their different forms, only let there be, as far as possible, uniformity in each style, so that any purchaser will know pre- cisely wliat size, under a given name of hive, he is getting. I am sure that Mr. Root, and others, will be willing, when requested, to make hives of the standard Langstroth size — and if Mr. Root will call his size of frame the Simplicity Langstroth frame, there will in the future be plain sailing, at least before all who use the shallow Lang- stroth frame. Oxford, Ohio, September, 1883. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 491 Read at the Maine State Convention. How to MakeBee-Eeeping Profitable ISAAC HUTCHINGS. To make bee-keeping profitable we should keep the best strains of Ital- ian bees in preference to the black or German bees. Some of the new races of bees may prove equal or superior to the Italians, but they have not been sufficiently tested to warrant a change. The dollar queen traffic, if rightly managed, will be a blessing to the intelligent apiarists, as it will open a market for the small and inferior queens that might other- wise find their way into the class of tested queens. I believe that bees winter better and build up quicker in the spring where they are well packed with chaif or dry sawdust on their summer stands, than they do when wintered in a cellar. Spring dwind- ling, I believe in most cases, is a re- sult of cellar wintering. Those who winter in a cellar use a single-walled hive, and when they put them out in the spring the sun will warm them so that many will tly out when the air is so cold that they be- come chilled and never return. If we have a few days of warm weather, and they have all the brood that they can care for, one cold night will drive the bees into a cluster and leave the brood to die. The bee hive needs protection from the rays of the sun, and the cold storms and winds of early spring, as much as it does in the winter months when there is no brood to chill. We should en- courage breeding early in the spring, remembering that it is the early bees that store the surplus honey. The old box hive is a thing of the past with all progressive bee-keepers. A movable comb hive is indispensa- ble to profitable bee-keeping. As soon as the weather will admit in the spring, we should examine each col- ony so that we may know if they are in need of any of our aid. No. 1 may have lost their queen ; No, 2 may be short of stores ; No. 3 may be weak in numbers and need a frame of ripe brood. It would be very difficult to ascertain the wants of a colony in a box hive without movable comb frames. I should be very sorry to have a colony die for want of food or care after they had survived our cold winter. If our bees are well wintered and well cared for in the spring, they will be ready to divide or swarm before the white clover honey harvest. If we divide it should be done at least ten days before the honey flow com- mences, and the honey sections should be put on soon after, so that the bees may get settled down to business in season to give us good returns. In dividing, leave each colony as strong as it will do, and not induce swarming. Comb honey should be put up in neat and attractive packages, and we should not destroy tlie market by forcing too early sales. Some sold their honey for 20 cents per pound last August, and if they kept it until October it would have sold quick for 25 cents per pound. To make bee- keeping profitable we must have a love for the business, and if we do not love the business end of the bee, we should learn not to fear it. We must become acquainted with the natural laws governing the honey bees. A "Manual of tlie Apiary" will be found in the library of every progressive bee-keeper. We have made great improvements in bee- culture within the last decade, and many more are needed and are con- tinually being made, and unless we subscribe for and read a good live bee journal, we shall be left behind. I frequently find a single article in my bee journal that is worth more to me than the price of a year's sub- scription. Nothing is better calculated to mis- lead us than the idea that bee-culture has acquired perfection, and that we know it all. It is true that Ameri- cans lead the world in this art, but it is in its infancy, and who can tell what the coming bee will be like ¥ We should keep a register of the apiary, so that at a mere glance we can ascertain the age, race, strain and quality of the queen of any col- ony, determine the character of her progeny, the amount of honey stored and the increase. By having a his- tory of each colony before us, we can avoid many mistakes that will occur, if we depend upon a treacherous memory. We should have every- thing needed in the apiary on hand and ready for use at the commence- ment of the season, and we should give our bees all needful care, and supply their wants at the proper time. There should be no putting off until to-morrow what should be done to- day. For the American Bee Journal. Freaks of Queens, Observed by Me. KOBEET CORBETT. I would like to mention, through the Bee Journal, the freaks of queens that have come under my ob- servation. In July, 1882, I opened a hive to introduce a queen in the old way, in a wire cage on the face of the comb ; in the opperation she got away, and flew out of my sight. Three days later I opened the hive to put m another, and there, to my surprise, I found my queen at her daily work, depositing eggs as majestically as if she had been there for months. A swarm came out of a hive on the 18th inst., that I had re-queened last August ; the queen was very prolfic, keeping the hive well filled with brood ; ten days after hiving, I opened the hive to see how she prospered, and to my astonishment not an egg was to be seen ; now, how is this, I would ask, that she is not laying, if the old queen leads the swarm '? Fifteen days ago I had some nu- cleus hives, with virgin queens, for fertilization, and when about .5 or 6 days old, we had 2 or 3 very windy days, from the 25th to the 28th ; at the cessation of the wind, I examined my nuclei, and found 1 had lost 2, and on the first of September I had a hive (No. 22) that threw out a swarm ; 3 or 4 days later I examined hive No. 22, to take out the queen-cells and give it a laying queen. Frame after frame was lifted out, and there was not a queen-cell nor the appearance of one in the hive, but a nice yellow queen was there ; how is this, did not one of my lost queens find her way in there, and, being protected by workers, therefore forced a swarm V that is all the wav that I can account for it. On Friday of last week, I was called upon to help Mr. E. Kimble to extract some honey, with the assist- ance of Mr. Solomon Whitney, and during the opperation of manipula- tion, in one colony that had swarmed a week previous, several queen-cells appeared, as the queen left them, but one that was not open, being larger than usual, our curiosity led us to open, and what did we find, but two queens in one cell ; one was quite as large as usual, while the other was not quite so large, but of fair size ; other cells being hatched first, the bees had pierced this one, therefore they were dead ; is that not some- thing new to the bee men of the age V Manhattan, Kansas, Sept. 10, 1883. For the American Bee JoumaL Michigan State Fair, Bee and Honey Show- W. Z. HUTCHINSON. The interesting, magnificent, un- approachable Bee and Honey Show of the Michigan State Fair, which closed yesterday, was a brilliant success in the highest sense of the word. Such a large and interesting show has never before been made at a State Fair, and one gentleman who has visited the bee and honey shows of Europe, pronounced it finer and larger than those of the old country. Very much of the success of the show is due to Mr. H. D. Cutting, who has labored for years to have the Agricultural Society recognize bee- keeping as an industry, and at last it has been recognized — the officers are very much interested, and will do al- most anything in reason that we may ask of them. To go on and describe, in detail, all the exhibits, would take too much space, hence I will speak in a general way. H. D. Cutting, of Clinton, Mich., showed the largest exhibit of im- plements and bee-keeping literature. He had over 60 varieties of imple- ments, and 50 specimen copies of periodicals and publications. E. T. Lewis & Co., Toledo, Ohio, exhibited implements, and received first premiums on honey extractors and wax extractor. They also exhib- ited a mammoth smoker, 2 feet in height. There was a wiiistle in its mouth, and an organ at the back of the bellows, and was warranted to play six tunes. The instructions on the back were : " Take me out to see your hybriWs." Many was the laugh raised by this smoker. 492 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. James Fry, Leslie, Mich., made a display of fancy cases filled with comb honey, one colony of bees, and a pyramid of wax. August Koeppen, Flint, Mich., had on exiiibitlon a mammoth extractor capable of receiving six combs, or, if only three combs were used, an auto- matic arrangement can be brought into requisition, and the combs turned by a simple touch of the finger. He also had a hive, the walls and bottom board of which were stuffed with tow. C. M. Weed, of the Agricultural College, Lansing, Mich., made a magnificent display of honey-produc- ing plants pressed and mounted. There were more than 50 varieties, and so weW was the work done that the natural colors were entirely pre- served. W. O. Burk, Crystal, Mich., had on exhibition a complicated hive called the " queen home winter protector," and, strange as it may seem, it re- ceived the first premium. The exhibit that had the most " shine " and " show " and glitter " was that made by M. H. Hunt, Belle Branch, Mich. This exhibit occupied one-fourth of the building, and con- sisted of hives, extractors, comb foundation machine, and other apiar- ian implements. His honey was put up in almost every conceivable shape, in glass jars, glass pails, glass bottles, tin pails, tin cans, all labeled with showy labels, and arranged in rows and piled in pyramids ; one pyramid, arranged upon a large stand of circu- lar shelves, was especially fine. The comb was built in fancy sections of wood, glass and mica; some with openings in the centre for placing bouquets. His three pyramids of wax were molded in very fancy shapes, and surmounted with flowers. He also had 2 colonies of bees out-of- doors. Your humble servant ( W. Z. Hutch- inson) also occupied one-fourth of the building, and made the largest and finest display of comb honey, which was piled up in the shape of a pyra- mid until it actually reached the roof. The base of the pyramid was 20 feet. He also received the first premiums on the specimen of 10 pounds or more of comb honey ; this specimen being arranged under a glass case, which was lettered in gilt letters, " Gilt Edge Honey." He also exhib- ited 3 colonies of bees in an observa- tory hive, so arranged that visitors could place their noses right against the glass, and this part of the exhibit was surrounded by a crowd from morning till night. His pyramid of wax was surmounted by an old-fash- ioned straw hive formed of wax. It received the firstpremium. Hisexhibit of pressed honey-producing plants were bound in an Emerson binder, and placed where the crowd could ex- amine it, and I guess he will have to make a new collection. He received premiums to the amount of about $80. Mr. Hunt's premiums " figured up " to somewhere between $50 and $60 ; Mr. Cutting's to $33 ; other exhibitors received from $2 to $8. The city papers gave up excellent notices, and spoke of it as a " new and novel feature." The Governor gave us a call, and was introduced to the exhibitors. The public said, " Why, this is the most interesting thing I have seen." Rogersville, Mich., Sept. 23, 1883, Grange Bulletin. Beeswax and its Production. J. M. HICKS. Wax is a vegetable product deriv- ing its origin from the saccarine prin- ciples existing abundantly in the products of nature. It is found upon the surface of the leaves of many trees in the form of varnish, and possessing all the qualities of bees- wax. The wax bearing myrtle (My- rieau Ceriferi) a shrub which grows abundantly in Louisiana and other parts of the United States, produces wax in large quantities ; and there are also in many parts of the East and West India Islands shrubs that pro- duce wax in great abundance. The myrtle bears a small berry, of which wax forms its outer coating, and when exposed to a flame burns with an agreeable aromatic odor. Dr. Darwin supposes that the de- sign of the waxen varnish which covers the flowers is " to glaze over the fecundating dust of the anthers and prevent its premature explosion from excess of moisture, and ascribes to an unseasonable diffusion of anther dust, the failure of orchard and corn crops in summers of extreme humid- ity. The quantity of wax found in this form is small compared with that which is produced by the honey bee, and also of inferior quality. When pure it is of a whitish color and des- titute of taste, with scarcely any smell ; it grows brown and even black with age. After manipulation it has an aromatic smell, which, however, disappears on exposure to the atmos- phere. The dust of flowers, called pollen or farina, was long supposed to be the element of wax, and it is a curious instance of the tardy pro- gress of the knowledge of natural history, that though the mode in which wax is produced by the bees was ascertained beyond all doubt by Huber over 60 years ago, this fact is yet but little known, and farina con- tinues to have the credit of being what is called " crude wax." Buffon was of this opinion, and, in an edition of his work published as late as 1821, no notice is taken of the recent dis- coveries on the subject, which prove his opinions to be erroneous. Reau- mer was inclined to believe that pollen, by receiving some peculiar elabora- tion from the bees, was converted, in the stomach, to real wax, and dis- gorged under the appearance of paste. Later observers, however, denied that wax was disgorged by the mouth; they affirmed tliat it exuded from the rings of the abdomen in the form of small scales, and that pollen was used for very different purposes. That this last mentioned substance is not the prime constitutent of wax, was a conclusion drawn by repeated and accurate observations by our most celebrated apiarjsts. It has been observed, for instance, that pollen is carried into the hives in great abundance, that were already filled with comb; that it is often of various shades, while new combs are always of pure white ; that new swarms for a few days carry in no pollen, although their first work to be done after being hived, is the building of new combs, which progresses with unremitting rapidity ; and while it has been stated that 100 pounds of pollen have been carried into a hive during one season, the whole weight of the comb in the hive, when separated from the honey and farina,weighs something less than 2 pounds. Huber lodged a young swarm in a straw hive, furnished them with honey and water, and after five days confinement he perceived that they had consumed the whole of their pro- visions, and had constructed several combs of beautiful wax. These combs were removed and more honey given them, and the result was the same. This removal was made five times successfully, and on each occasion being supplied exclusively with honey, they produced new comb, thus put- ting it beyond dispute that this sub- stance effected the secretion of wax in the body of the bee. And, further, to ascertain whether the saccarine principle was the real source of wax, he supplied the captive bees with sugar in the form of syrup, and the result was still the same, wax was produced, and that in a shorter and in greater abundance than from honey, as the reverse of this experi- ment would prove whether pollen had the same property, instead of supply- ing the bees with honey or sugar, he fed them only on fruit or farina. They were kept captives eight days under a glass bell, with comb having only farina in the cells ; yet they neither made wax nor were there any scales of wax on their abdomen, as was the case when honey and sugar were used. It is but justice to the Scotch bee master, Bonner, to remark that amidst the errors that prevailed on this subject during his day, he had a strong impression of the real source of wax and the manner of its secre- tion. In this, as in other parts of bee science, his natural aciiteness and shrewdness of observation led him to the very verge of some of the most important of those facts in the natural history of bees which we owe to the more scientific researches of Huber. " I have sometimes," says he, " been inclined to think that wax might be an excrescent exudation, or produc- tion from the abdomen of the bee, and that the queen can lay eggs whenever she pleases ; so, if required, the worker bees can produce wax from the substance of their own bodies." If this conjecture be right, it will follow of course that all the food which a bee takes contributes to the formation of wax in the same man- ner as all the food a cow eats contri- butes to the nourishment of her body and the production of milk ; (bees consume much more honey or sugar THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 493 when wax is required,) or to adopt a nearer simile from tlie insect tribe, as all the lood a spider takes contributes not only to the nourishment of the animal, but to the production of the substance of the web from its body. Numberless other analogies in na- ture might be cited in proof of the probability of this theory. The silk, for instance, produced from the body of the silkworm, is a substance as different from that of the animal it- self, or the mulberry leaf it feeds upon, as wax is from that of the body of the bee, or of the honey or flower she sucks. And the exudations in the human ear which goes bv the name of wax, is certainly as different from the substance of the body which pro- duces it, as either the one or trie other. Upon the- whole, until we meet with a more probable theory supported by facts, we must give it as our humble opinion that wax is produced only in one way, and in all cases upon the abdomen of the bee in very minute scales, and that wax cannot be pro- duced unless the bee feeds upon honey or sugar, or what honey and sugar is produced from, and that bees do not produce wax continually, but only at such times as comb is needed in the storing up of honey. At such times bees consume a much greater amount of food than when there is no need of comb. We here desire to give the analysis of beeswax, but time and space will not permit, trusting as we do, that some of our readers at least will be- come more or less interested in the science of apiculture, and still extend their research by procuring more elaborate works on the subject, and in this way which, if possible, become more interested in this, one of the most beautiful sciences. For the American Bee Journal. Wintering— the Pollen Theory. PR. G. L. TINKER. Evidently, Mr. Heddon, judging from his reply to my article, does not have a very clear idea of what the " humidity theory " is. Mr. S. Cor- nell, on page 728 of tlie Bee Journal of 1882, gave the first well-defined views on this subject, and to this article Mr. H. is respectfully referred. Other articles on the subject will be found in the present volume on pages 7, 16.5 and 199. Heat is a very important element in the successful wintering of bees, and it is one, moreover, that 'my gen- erous opponent has apparently lost sight of completely. He gives several examples that are grimly supposed to annihilate the humidity theory The first is, where bees have been taken from cellars, " drenched with damp- ness" but in good health. In the same connection, Mr. Balch is quoted assaying " that ail upward ventilation was death, that dampness was good for bees, and that he wintered with great success." All of which may be true, and yet fully accounted for by the humidity theory. For it seems that it does not matter how damp the hive may be, or the air outside, if there is good ventilation, and the conditions are such that the normal heat of the duster can be maintained, no harm can arise from the presence of dampness or moldy combs. Mr. Corneil, nor myself, would undertake to contend that dampness is injurious to a colony of bees except under con- ditions in'which the heat of the clus- ter could not be maintained, owing to the presence of unusual cold and dampness. The theory is " that cold and dampness are the primary causes of bee dysentery." Mr. Balch named conditions that would tend strongly to retain the heat of the colony, a vital point upon which he was justly very emphatic. And again, his bees had undoubtedly good lower ventila- tion. But Mr. H. finds a "misfit" for the theory in the fact that he lost 48 colo- nies all in a few weeks after placing them in a very "dry cellar." And vet he would undertake to dismount ine if I should get on his bacteria hobby (that is, it there should be found " any strength" in it),and claim it as his own! I am not sure but Mr. H. has got this double hobby horse for a sly purpose — if one gets lame he can "get on to'ther," and when that one gets lame he can get back again ! Verily, if there was a show for his bacteria hobby any where, it would be in just such a case as the losing of 48 colonies all within a few weeks after going Into winter quarters. But the humidity theory will account for the loss, if there was insuflScient ventila- lation. I fear that there are yet many bee-keepers who are still undecided that bees need a great amount of winter ventilation. 0 no, Mr. H., do not think that any one will try to get the honor of father- ing the pollen theory away from you. You have a sure thing on that. But I am at a great loss to understand how "the bacteria theory is much the same thing." I can readily understand how a circus performer can ride two horses at once, but did not know be- fore that we had a bee-keeper wlio could perform this interesting eques- trian feat. Your logic on this point is too profound for me. Now it was just possible that I was " mistaken " in regard to those hy- brids. All hybrids liave queer habits. They may have got up some dark night, walked out, evacuated, and re- turned without my knowing it. Cer- tainly, Mr. H., but I was not mis- taken in regard to my way of ajusting sections. It is true that I have de- layed my report on the use of small sections so long that it is not surpris- ing that you should have thought my experiments a failure. I promised to to make the idea advanced last winter a success, and it is accomplished quite beyond my expectations. In this place, I will simply thank Mr. H. for his derisive allusion to " the man who sets his sections down on the brood frames " with the suggestion that he has stumbled upon a Doomerang that will recoil soon enough. 1 am glad to learn that Mr. Heddon will test the pollen theory on a large scale the coming winter. He will find, however, that no little narrow hive like his, can be made to winter bees successfully on the summer stand without more "fixing" than can ever be made to pay. Not only this, but his hive has not enough sur- face on the top, nor enough space in the cases, as illustrated a year ago, for safe wintering. The surplus de- partment of a hive on the summer stand in winter should contain not less than 4,000 cubic Inches of space. I am, therefore, not surprised that Mr. Heddon has poor success in win- tering. He would succeed better with the standard Langstroth hive. In conclusion, I would like to ask by what slip of the pen Mr. H. came to predict that " disease will get me before old age." Of course, that must be a " mistake," or else, " In wonder- ing mazes last," my friend has turned Prophet ! New Philadelphia, Ohio. Penobscot County, Me-, Convention. The Penobscot County, Me., Bee- Keepers' Association met according to adjournment at Burrell Hall, Corinna, Sept. 6, at 10 a. m., with President Judkins in the chair. There was a fair attendance of members. After the usual business of the asso- ciation was attended to, the subject of the relations which the county associations should hold to the State associations was brought up, and all were united that some action should be taken by the State Association to bring us all into working order, as one society, and the following resolu- tion was offered and accepted : Resolved, That the Maine Bee- Keep- ers' Association needs, and should have the support of every county as- sociation in the State ; and that the Penobscot County Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation extend to it, its most loyal support. The afternoon session was opened by a spirited discussion of the follow- ing questions: 1, How to control swarming ; 2. Is it advisable to clip queens' wings; 3. How to feed in the spring, is it advisable V 4. How to make bees swarm ; 6. The differ- ent races of bees, their qualities com- pared ; 6. The best method of Ital- ianizing ; 7. The best method of wintering, the proper temperature for cellars. These and other questions kept the time well occupied until night, and a good interest was shown. The general opinion was that the day had been well spent. Thirteen mem- bers signed the roll book, showing that old Penobscot has not forgotten that she has had the honor of insti- tuting the first bee-keepers' associa- tion in the State— the Maine Bee- Keepers' Association being formed there— and that she means to be ahead as a county association. The next meeting will be held at East Corinth, Thursday, Nov. 1, at 10 a. m.— Borne Farm. ^" Articles for publication must be written on a separate piece of paper from items of business. 494 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For tbe American Bee JoumaL The Xorth western Convention- JAMES HEDDON. Some way or other I have got the the idea into my head that the above named convention is going to lead all other bee associations in the world. Why ? First, because, as Mr. Clarke so ably puts it, " it is conceded that this continent now leads the world in apicultural progress;" secondly, no where is this progress " on such swift-winged pinions as in the West. Especially is this true of that portion of the West easily accessible to that great centre of commerce and science, — Chicago. The rates during this meeting are about one-third the usual, on nearly all railroads. No equally good meet- ing can be gotten up with so little enort and cost as a Northwestern. Father Langstroth is to be at our next Oct. 17 and 18 meeting. Let us greet the faces of hundreds of the " get there " honey-producers of the coun- try, from East, West, North and South, and let us see if we cannot all go away feeling and knowing that we have not only had a good time, made the acquaintance of the veteran Huber of apiculture, but we have learned points regardmg this calling that will many times pay us for the cost and trouble of the attendance, and leave us the fun and frolic more clear gain. I imagine I hear the response now echoing all over the country, " Yes, we'll be dar, suah as your boun." Dowagiac, Mich., Sept. 27, 1883. imixat and gloxu. ANSWERS av James ffeddon, Dowagiac, Mich. Uniting Colonies of Bees. Will Mr. Heddon please give his method of uniting bees, in the Weekly Bee Journal V W. V. Webster. Quaker City, O., Sept. 12, 1883. Answer. — If I have colonies to •unite, I pick out such combs and such number of them as I wish to put the newly -made colony on, for winter, and then shake the bees all into a box together; then empty them in front of the hive, and let them all run in to- gether, removing all but my choice in the queens, and caging her between the combs, as in any case of introduc- ing, and liberate her in the same way. I very seldom have any fighting, and if you wish to prevent that, you might take the extra precaution of sprinkling the bees with slightly- sweetened water, scented a little with pepper- mint, or some other pleasant odor. Put in but little of the scent, and do not let outside bees get a taste of your sweetened liquid, and thus induce rob- bing. If the colonies united stood some distance apart, you might set the newly-formed colony in a cellar for a few days, and then lean a board in front of the entrance when you set them out to fly, just before sun set. Of course, tact is needed to get the minutia of the work done, so as to be perfectly adapted to the surrounding conditions. Local Convention Directory. 1883. Time and Place of Meeting. Oct 3.— Wentworth, Ont., at HamiUon, Ont. Alex. Robertson. Sec, Carlisle. Oct. 4.— Union Kentucky, at ShellyTille. Ky. G. W. Demaree, Sec, Chrlstiansburg, Ky. Oct. 6.— Marshall Co.. at Marsballtown, Iowa. J. W. Sanders, Sec, Le Grand. Iowa. Oct. 9, 10.— Northern MlcbiKan, at Skerldan, Mich. O. R. Goodno, Sec. Oct. 9, 10.— Northern Mich, at Sheridan, Mich. O. R. Goodno. Sec. Carson City, Mich. Oct. 10.— Central Illinois, at BlooralnKton, 111. James Poindexter, Sec. Oct. 10.— Cass County, at LoRansport, Ind. L>e Witt Brown, Sec Oct. 17, 18.— Northwestern, at ChicaKO. Hi. Thomas G. Newman, Sec. Oct.— Northern Ohio, at Norwalk, O. S. F. Newman, Sec. Nov. 2.— Iowa Central, at Winterset. Iowa. J. E. Pryor, Sec, Arbor Hiil, Iowa. Nov. 3.— Mahoning Valley, at Newter Falls. O. L. Carson, Sec Not. 7.— New Jersey and Eastern, at New York. J. Hasbrouck Sec, Bound Brook, N. Y. Dec. 5-6, Michigan State, at Flint. H. D. Cutting. Sec, Clinton, Mich. tr In order to have this tabie complete. Secre- taries are requested to forward full particulars or time and place of future meetings.- Ed. The Fall Crop of Honey. The bee-keepers have been some- what encouraged for a better collec- tion of winter stores than it promised the morning of the frost. The weather has been warm and pleasant most of the time, and our pets have worked pretty well. The frost did not seem to hurt fall bloom very much, so we still hope we will not have much fall feeding to do ; this we will all know, if we will examine when the honey flow is over. I met the vice-president of the Michigan State Society yester- day, in Marsballtown. I find him good in a talk about bees. We would like to have some good men at our next meeting, Oct. 6; if any of them are out this way, or even feel like coming on purpose ; we are expecting a good turn out, for many have ex- pressed a desire to be there then. The bee-keepers' interest is growing very fast in this part of our State. The demand for honey, both comb and extracted, is on its increase. Our people are getting afraid of glucose adulterations. J. W. .Sanders. Le Grand, Iowa, Sept. 27, 1883. A Good Paying Crop of Honey. The weather is very cool and ex- tremely dry. We have had scarcely any rain since June 15. Our bees have plenty of honey, but no brood ; in fact, less brood than 1 ever saw at this time of the year. The goldenrod is in full bloom, but yields no honey ; but why should a Kentuckian com- plain, after such a clover harvest as we have had ? Besides, experience teaches us that the weekly visits of the good old American Bee Jour- nal will brighten the prospects, and give new vigor to those who have to record " blasted hopes." I commenced the season with 75 colonies ; and have increased to 130, mostly by natural swarming. I have taken 7,600 pounds of choice honey, of which 400 pounds were in the comb; the balance was extracted. I have sold, in our home market, the extracted honey, at 123^ cents per pound ; and the comb honey at 16^3 cents. Early in tiie season I sold 12 barrels of extracted honey at 10 cents per pound. The demand for honey is good ; and I have sold all I have taken, and know that bee-keep- ing pays. , John T. Connlet. Napoleon, Ky.. Sept. 26, 1883. Worker Bees in Queen-Cells. On page 433 of the Bee Journal, A. Ilickenbacher mentions a "Curious Freak of Bees," and Mr. Heddon's answer is : "I have never had a case like the one above referred to. I do not know as we have any precedent of the kind." 1 am quite surprised that Mr. Heddon and others have not noticed that workers very often get sealed up in old queen-cells. I have known for several years, that workers very often crawl into the queen-cells after the queens hatch, and some- times get sealed up. A little obser- vation on the part of apiarists during the following season, will reveal the fact that more than one worker in 50 hives will get sealed up in queen-ceUs. R. S. Becktell. Three Oaks, Mich. White Cake Made with Honey. Dear Editor.— As requested I send you the recipe for the cake made with honey on which I took the first prize at the Tri-State Fair at Toledo, last month : One-half teacup of butter, three cups of flour, one-and-a-half cups of honey, one-half cup of sweet milk, one-halt teaspoonful of soda, one of cream of tartar, and the whites of three eggs. Delaware, O. May Besse. Frost Killed All the Flowers. The honey crop in this part of the country is almost an entire failure. Since the middle of July the bees have hardly held their own ; I fear the late swarms will have to be fed, to give them enough stores to winter on. Last night we had a frost that wiped out all the flowers, so that this year will foot up rather short. H. J. SCOLES. Knoxville, Iowa, Sept. 26, 1883. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 495 The " Scarlet Wing" Story. I am quite astonished to rend in No. 36, of the Bee Journal, a ridic- ulous story from a correspondent about my having a queen with four hands and scarlet wings. Although I hardly believe that any intelligent apiarist has believed it, I wish you would publish my formal denial. H. SONTAG. Cucamonga, Cal., Sept. 13, 1883. Parched Ground in Louisiana. We have had no rain for about one month and a half, until to-day when "we had a good one. The bees were really discouraged at the drough. There was hardly any honey secreted, the soil split and left the roots ot many plants bare to the heat of the scorching sun, which ended their honey secreting. Snake root, golden- rod, smart-weed and boneset are opening fast, and the bees are boom- ing with full force to get all of the nectar they can. G. E. SONNEMANN. New Iberia, La., Sept. 16, 1883. Intelligent Work. Bees have done passably well here this season, though it has been very dry, except in August. My 14 colo- nies increased to 32, and I have about 600 pounds of comb honey, which I am selling at 18 cents per pound. This is a large per cent, over my neighbors, and is the result of reading the Bee Journal and the use of comb foun- dation. I hope it will long continue its weekly visits, and directed by its present editor, that its mission may be a successful one. B. H. Holt. Adel, Iowa, Sept. 19, 1883. 6,000 lbs. of Houei from 30 Colonies. I have now 70 colonies of bees ; in- creased from 30 in the spring; have taken 6,000 pounds of honey, mostly extracted, and of an excellent quality; it is all basswood and clover honey. I wintered my bees, last winter, in an out-door cellar, built for the purpose, and lost none in wintering, but lost 4 by spring dwindling. My bees were in the cellar nearly 5 months. I have Italian bees, and think them far bet- ter, in every respect, than the native bees. A. C. Sanford. Ono, Wis., Sept. 10, 1883. (^ The Cass County Bee-Keepers' Association, organized on the 15th of August, will meet on the 10th of October, 1883, in Logansport, Ind. All persons interested in bees and honey are respectfully invited to come. De Witt Brown, 6'ec. ^' The quarterly meeting of the Marshall County Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation, will be held at the Court House, in Marshalltown, Iowa, on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 10.30 A. M. Sub- ject for discussion, " Fall and Winter Care." All interested, in this and adjoining counties, are invited, for we hope to have a good meeting, and one of bene (it to all. J. W. Sanders, /Sec.,LeGrand, Iowa. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your .subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this ofiice get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for f 5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every oufi the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. How to Create a Market for Honey. We have now published another edition of the pamphlet on "Honey as Food and Medicine," with more rieto Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price still lower, to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 5 cents, postpaid ; per dozen, 40 cents ; per hundred, $2.50. 500 will be sent postpaid for $10.00, or 1,000 for $15.00. On orders of 100 or more, we will print, if desired, on the cover-page, " Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense — enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Try it, and you will be surprised. Subscription Credits.— We do not acknowledge receipt of each subscrip- tion by letter. The label on your paper, or on the wrapper, shows the date to which your subscription is paid. When you send us money, if the proper credit is not given you, within t\ "o weeks thereafter, on your label, notify us by postal card. Do not wait for months or years, and then claim a mistake. The subscrip- tion is paid to the end of the month indicated on the wrapper-label. This gives a statement of account every week. Trial Trip— 25 Cents. As the season for Fairs has arrived, and wishing to be able to reach several thousands of the old-fashioned bee- men, and by the aid of the Bee Journal to lift them up to higher ground, adopting newer methods and progressive ideas, we make the follow- ing very liberal offer : We will send the Weekly Bee Journal till Dec. 31, on trial, for 25 cents. In order to pay for getting up Clubs, we will give a copy of Fisher's Grain Tables, or Scribner's Lumber and Log Book, to any one who will send us five trial subscriptions (with $1.25) ; for a club of ten we will give a cloth copy of Bees and Honey ; for a club of 15, a cloth copy of the 7tli edition of Cook's Man- ual of the Apiary ; for a club of 25, we will present both the Manual and Bees and Honey. If any one wants these Books for nothing, here is on excel- lent opportunity to get them for a little exertion. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 60 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies (220 pages) 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. Bee Pasturage a Necessity.- We have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid t© any address for 10 cents. ^" When writing to this office on business, our correspondents should not write anything for publication on the same sheet of paper, unless it can be torn apart without interfering with either portion of the letter. The edi- torial and business departments are separate and distinct, and when the business is mixed up with items for publication it often causes confusion. They may both be sent in one envelope but on separate pieces of paper. 1^" To give away a copy of " Honey as Food and Medicine " to every one who buys a package of honey at Fairs, will sell almost a fabulous quantity of it. 496 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Our Fremiuins for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's A B C of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. Preparation of Honey for the Mar- ket, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. Emerson Binders— made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for 75 cents, for the Weekly ; or tor the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. Books at Fairs. — Those who make an exhibit at Fairs will find that an assortment of Books and Pamphlets would sell and leave them a profit for handling. We will send such, postage prepaid, at 25 per cent, discount; or if the purchaser pays express charges, we will supply any of our own publica- tions at 40 per cent, discount. 1^" The new two cent rate of pos- tage for letters went into effect on October 1. Three cent postage stamps will now be but little used. For all fractions of a dollar sent to us here- after we should prefer either one-cent, or else Ave or ten-cent postage stamps, or a Postal Note. Bo not send coins in any letter. WT. B. Peterson & Brothers. 306 Chestnut St.. Philadelphia. Pji., publish this day, "The Bkide OF LAMMEKMOOH," being the second volume of their new and cheap edition of "The Waveklev Novels." BY SiK Walteh Scott, which will be completed in Twenty-six Weeitly Volumes, each volume beinfj a novel complete in itself, and one volume will be issued every Saturday until the whole are published. Eai;^ book will make a lartje octavo volume, uniform with "Ivanhoe," and "The Bride of Lammermoor," have on it an Illus- trated Ctiver, and will be sold at the low price of Fifteen Cents a volume, or Three Dollars will pay for the full and complete set of Twentv-six vol- umes, and coplesof any of the novels, or complete sets of the edition will be sent to any one, post- paid, at these rates. SECTIONS. nzizi^H We have just put in several new machines and also a larger engine in our factory, consequently we are In better shape to fill orders than ever for Sections, Shipping Crates, etc., etc. We make a specialty of our "BOSS" ONE-PIECE SECTIONS, Patented June 28th, 1881. We can make the "Boss" One- Piece Sections any size or width desired. Send tor Price List. IVe make the Half-Found Section any size desired. «r AS. FOKXCROOK Monday. 10 a. m., Oct. 8, 1883. i The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. HONEY— Our prices are 7@9c. fore.-ttracted.and HffOlfic. for comb honey on arrival. BEESWAX -Arrivals of beeswax are good at 25{s2sc., and the demand is fair. CHAS. F. Muth. NEW YORK. HONEY—White clover and basswood In 1 and 2 !b. sections, 17^21c. Dark and second quality, 14(§.15c. ; extracted white clover in kegs and bar- rels, 9((ilOc.; dark, 8c. BEESWAX-Prlme yellow, 27®29c. H. K. & F. B. ThDRBEH & Co. CHICAGO. HONEY— Comb honey has sold freely for the past two weeks, and slocks are at present low, lib. sections of white conib are bringing iHc; IH to 2 lb, sections of same quality. UJ(ij>17c. ; various sized sections of white corah, l-?tg»li5c. Extracted honey from 8(0,10 cts, per pound, according to body and flavor, BEESWAX- Yellow. 32a33c,; dark, 25c,; me- dium, 30c, R, A, BURNETT. 161 South Water St. SAN FRANCISCO. HONE Y— There is a fair Jobbing trade. Offerings are not large. Choice qualities command extreme figures. White to extra white comb, Itiigi^oc.: dark to good, ln(c. BEESWAX— We have none to quote, BLAKE Si RIPLEY, 57 Chatham Street, KANSAS CITY. MO. HONEY— A large part of the local crop in this section has been marketed, though considerable remains yet in the hands of producers. Very little California honey in this market this season, except extracted, which IS in fair supply at loi/olic. for choice new, and SViSilnc, for dark or candled. Choice bright comb 2 lb, sections, 18«j^l9c.: 1 lb. secti'>ns, iy@2oc. Demand is fair for the better grades, JEROME TWICHELL, .^3fi Delaware Street. 1^ Tne next regular meeting of the Mahoning Valley Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at Newton Falls, O., on the first Saturday of November, 1S.S3. L. Carson, Pres. E. W. Turner, ^'ec. 1^ The Bee-Keepers' Association of Central Illinois will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 10 a. m., at i20.5 South Main street, city of Blooniington. All interested, in this and adjoining counties, are invited to attend. J. L. WoLCOTT, Pres. James Poindexter, Sec. ' 500 THE AMEPvICAN BEE JOURNAL. For the American Bee Joumat, The New Races of Bees. G. JI. DOOLITTLE. About a year ago I gave my opinion resaidiiig tlie Cyprian and Syrian bees, stating tliat I sliould not "have anything more to do with the Cyprian on account of its vindictive disposi- « tion. and although not favorably im- pressed witli the Syrian, I should give them a more thorough trial during the season of 1883. To this end I pro- cured queens of the Syrian or Holy Land race of three different breeders during the fall of 1882, so I could have full colonies of those bees in time for tliF honey harvest. The result of this season's vyork wiih them proved the same as that of 1882, which is, that for this locality the Holy Land bees are practically good for nothing as honey gatherers. With a locality where there was a steady flow of honey the case might be different, but here we get little or no honey until basswood, and these bees seem to think that a large flow of honey should mean lots of brood, so at brood-rearing they go, the result of which is, nearly all tlie honey they gather is used up rearing an extraor- dinary amount of brood, which hatch so late in the season that the bees from said brood are too late to gather honey, hence become consumers of the little honey already in the hive. Therefore, when fall arrives, we have a hive overflowing with bees, with little or no honey, and scarcely a pound of surplus to recompense the owner. All are aware of my views regarding the secret of honey-produc- ing, lying in, getting the bees Justin the right time for the honey harvest (neither too early or too late),that being of more moment than any one other thing pertaining to honey producing. That the Syrian bees cannot be thus managed in this locality is the reason of my saying they are practically good for nothing. Then they liave another exceedingly bad feature, which is, that before the young queens are fertilized in the present hive, which has cast a swarm, fertile workers spring up. and the result is a queen- less colouy,unless great pains are taken to introduce a laying queen. This, with me, as I allow natural swarming, would be a very serious drawback, but might be got along with it they were enough better honey-gatherers to warrant an extra outlay of time in looking after tlie young queens. However, as in all respects, unless it is in wintering, they are inferior to the Italians. I felt warranted in doing away with them entirely, and to-day hud's my yard without a Holy Land bee in it. After deciding a year ago that I would have nothing more to do with the Cyprians, I thouglit,. perluips. I had been a little hasty, as I had up to ttis time but one queen of that race in my yard. Asa whole, I was pleased with them, except their great disposi- tion to sting whenever the hive was opened. AVhen spring opened I found that my Cyprian colony had wintered the best of any colony I liad except the old Holy Land colony, and hear- ing so many favorable reports of the Cyprians. 1 concluded to give them a further trial. Consequently I pi-o- cured a queen of B. F. Carroll and E. T. Flanagan, as they seemed to pre- fer them to any other bees. These, with my old one. made 3 colonies, and as far as getting the bees in the fleld in time for the harvest, I am well pleased with them ; as in fact I am with all other points about them except the " stinging point." If I could call the queen I had from Mr. Flanagan pure, I should think there was some prospect of getting peaceable Cyprians, but she evidently is not pure, for her queen progeny is of a mixed multitude, being all the way from jet black to as golden yel- low as I ever saw an Italian queen, while the daughters of the Corroll queen, and from my old colony, are nearly duplicates of the mother. The bees from the Carroll queen are the worst to sting of any bees I ever saw, and I thought the original colony was bad enough. Mr. Carroll says, in a late number of the Bee .Journal, that he has Cyprian bees whicli he can handle without smoke, veil or gloves, but he does not tell us whether he considers them pure or not ; neither does he tell us how many colo- nies he has of the stamp produced by the queen I got of him. Xow. Mr. C., in all candor, and de- siring information, I ask how you manage such bees as the queen you sent me produces.^ That you knew they would sting is proven by your saying when you sent her, that if she proved too •• tirey." I could send her back. Perhaps 1 may do so in the spring, when even the Cyprians can be handled quite comfortably, but I would not open that hive to-day to get that queen for all the queens of like stamp there is in the world. Mr. T. S. Bull, a large bee-keeper of Valparaiso, Ind., called on me not long ago, and I told him of these bees. As he wished to see them, I took off the cover to the hive and raised the quilt a little, smoking them all the while, but for all that a cloud of an- gry bees rose in the air, crawling into our pockets, under veils, and where ever they could get, all the time sing- ing such a sweet tune, like an angry bee can when he gets in your hair. They seem to care nothing for smoke, and how any one can manage them for extracted honey, is more than 1 can understand. I worked them for comb honey, and to say that I was glad when I had the sections off that hive does not half express it. In shaking the sections to rid them of bees, nearly all the bees vvould take wing and come for me like so many angry hornets; and, although I care little for stings. I confess that my flesh fairly crawled at the sound of a quart or more of angry bees hissing about my bee-veil, and occasionally stinging through pants and shirt. Xow, if any one can tell how I can manage these Cyprian bees from the lime the honey harvest commences until winter, I shall be glad to keep a part of Cyprians in my apiary, but if they cannot. I shall have to bid them adieu, for their stinging qualities more than over-balance all their good traits. Borodino, X. Y. For the American Bee JoumaL Winter Ventilation and Protection. DK. G. L. TINKER. The experience of bee-keepers ap- pears to be widely different on the proper size of the entrance of a hive in out- door wintering. One will tell you to make it not larger than % by 4 inches ; another % by 8 inches ; and still others recommend % by the width of the hive inside. My own recommendation for a full colony is to make the entrance 3| by 8 inches. To keep out mice, set the hive on a stand made as follows : Make a box 4 inches deep, just the size of the bot- tom of the hive, out of heavy boards 4 inches wide. If the side boards are 5 inches wide, the bottom can be nailed inside into rabbets made in the lower edge of the front and rear pieces. The stand looks better if the bottom is nailed inside. Lastly, nail four pieces 3 inches wide by a foot long to the front and rear corners. These pieces should be planed smooth, and all ought to be painted. Now set the stand on four bricks let into the soil on a level, and Hll quite full of dry sawdust. Sit on the hive and move about until it tits firmly. There is very little danger from mice to a colony on such a stand, and besides, it is far more convenient for the bee- keeper. Xo sawdust or other material need be put around the hive to keep down weeds, for the weeds will grow anyway, unless the sawdust is often removed. The scythe is the best thing to keep down the weeds and grass. The stand also keeps the hive up from the ground, so that there is less danger from dampness. Again, a lot of hives set on these stands pre- sents a very neat appearance. Here- tofore I have had my hives set near the ground upon bricks, and I find that there are many disadvantages in having them set so low down. My reason for so large an entrance is, that bees require a large amount of fresh air in winter, and the most natural point for the air to reach them is through the entrance. There is nothing more certain than that a very small entrance, % by 4 inches, is too small for tiie bees either in winter or summer. The proper size of en- trance for a strong colony in summer, according to my mind, is ?^ by 13 inches. When the bees are breeding in the spring, and the nights are cool, then the entrance should be small, but at no other time of the year. AVilli a large entrance, there should be a very small amount of upward ventilation allowed, and that through not less than 7 inches of chaff gently pressed down. Some fine chaff like THE AMERICA]^ BEE JOURNAL. 501 timothy is tlie best. It is thought that the cracks where the cover fits to the hive will let out sufficient air, unless very tight, but no large open- ings should be allowed in the cover. If put in loosely, the wet chaff on the surface, over the cluster, can be re- placed with dry, three or four times during the winter; otherwise it will be liable to get moldy and create a bad odor. I do not, on this account, recommend a chaff cushion over the bees, because it would become quite foul before spring, unless more air was allowed to pass in and out of tlie cover than would be advisable. The point is, to allow no more upward ventilation than is necessary to per- mit the dampness coming from the bees to arise to the surface of the chaff. I should say, that if the chaff over the cluster was, after a time, found dry, that the ventilation through the cover was too free. For, in my opinion, the only benefit to be de- rived from upward ventilation is in allowing the dampness to pass up- ward at the same time that the heat of the bees is effectually retained, which it can be if there are no large openings in the cover. The spaces between the frames should be covered with a cloth, a clean \yoolen cloth preferred. Sticks about % of an inch square should be placed crosswise of the frames to hold the cloth up so that the bees can pass over the tops of the frames. But I think that the bee-keepers will find to their cost that any device to hold the cloth up from the frames, so as to leave a large space, is a bad thing. However, a large space above the chaff is quite necessary. Again, with so large an entrance it is necessary to leave a board against the front of the hive to keep out sun- shine and wind. Or an alighting board 8 inches wide may have pro- jecting arms 2 inches wide nailed to each end and fastened to the sides of the hive by two nails or wooden pins on each side, which can be taken out and the board lifted up and fastened to the body of the hive, so as to keep out sunshine and wind. This is a de- vice that all bee-keepers will appre- ciate, and it is free for all to use. It will be attached to my new hive which I shall shortly introduce to bee- keepers. In out-door wintering, all sides of the hive should be protected by 3 or 4 inches of sawdust or chaff, or the combs should all be taken out but five, and these should have passage ways cut through them and wooden tubes inserted. If this is not done the bees will often close up the openings made before winter sets in. Put a division board each side of the five combs, and fill the spaces between them and the sides of the hive with loose cliaff. It will be found cheaper to do this than to make chaff cnsliions for the pur- pose. This latter method of protec tion is not easily carried out excpt in shallow hives, but it is believed to be cheaper than to use an outside case for a hive to be filled in with packing. The five combs should be spaced one-half inch apart, and con- tain not less than 5 lbs. of honey each Bees can be wintered in ordinary winters by various methoSomd of them are almost persuaded to take the Bee Journal and adopt the Langstroth hive. Morgan, Texas, Sept. 27, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Bee-Keeping in Bucks County, Pa. J. E. For the American Bee JoumaL Central Michigan Convention. The Central Michigan bee keepers held a meeting in the Pioneer room, in the State Capitol building, on Sept. 25; about 20 members were present. President xVsh worth occupied the chair. S. Hilbert, of Lansing, was made a member. In discussing the best methods of wintering, J. M. Harper, who had looked upon the celler, as the best plan, confessed to a change of mind. He found it difBcult to secure proper ventilation in the cellar, and would winter a part of his bees in chaff hives; he believed, upon the whole, that For the American Bee JoumaL Experiments in Introducing ftueens. A. M. HOGLE. I bought 2 colonies of black bees to . manipulate while learning my first lessons in bee-keeping, transferred them to Langstroth hives in May, 1883, which were the first movable frame hives that I ever saw. In June I tried to Italianize them ; 48 hours after I put the first Italian queen in the hive, I let her out of the cage, and the natives balled her ; I re-caged the queen, but in 24 hours more they had cut under and killed her. The second Italian queen arrived dead ; for the third, I selected 5 frames of hatching brood (brushed the old bees off), put them in a new Langstroth hive with my fine queen, and the ants destroyed the queen and colony. The fourth and last (aueen came in a 3- frame nucleus colony. I have 8 fine queens from her, and 3 queens from my 2 blacks, which make me 1 Ital- ian, 8 hybrids, and 5 black colonies, making 14 colonies in all; increased only 11. My box hive and log gum neighbors have done well. Mr. B. had 4 colonies, increased to 5 ; Mr. R. 1 colony, and no increase; Col. B. 2-5 colonies, increased to 26 ; Mr. M. 1 I enclose a flower and stem of a weed that grows in our fields at this time of the year, and has several shoots. Yesterday I counted 16 Ital- ian bees working on a bunch at the same time, and the humming of the bees among the flowers of that weed, sounds like it does in May. "What is its name ? Does it produce honey abundantly, and of what quality ? as the bees seem to work on it from early morning until late in the evening. Bees in this section of the country, as far as I have heard, have done well for the season. The forepart was very wet. the latter part very dry. Surplus comb honey has been taken abundantly, and retails at 25 cents readily ; but no extracting is done in this neighborhood, where box hives are mostly used ; some have reported an average of 50 pounds to the hive. I cannot report, this season, anything on my apiary, as I have transferred my bees from old hives to movable frames, and introduced bees from the apiary of D. A. Pike, of Smithsburg, Md.. and I think they are the best and gentlest bees to handle, and are as good honey-gatherers I ever saw dur- ing my 25 ye^rs of keeping bees. I procured over 30 pounds from one hive, from May 1, 1883, to June 1, 1883, after turning them upside down. These last two months being so dry, the bees do not seem to store any surplus from fall flowers, but seem to have plenty of sealed honey in the body of the hive, and take what they gather at present for brood-rearing, as there seems to be more for this month than I have seen in several years, for the same month. The Italians have not been clear of drones this season ; they are flying every day, while the blacks disap- peared in July. Fallsington, Pa. [It is an aster; it yields honey abundantly, and of fine quality.— Ed.] For the American Bee JoiumaL Desiccated Foul Brood. H. L. JEFFREY. I send, by mail, a sample of that species of foul brood that I have tried so hard for the past five years to ob- tain some information about, from other bee-keepers, without any result. The larvse turns yellowish bro\\Ti, and then dries up aiid leaves a dirty sediment in the cells. Jly attention was called to it on Monday, Aug. 3. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 505 It is not usually noticed till the col- ony has all dvvindleil down. The queen keeps laying in the combs nearly as well as usual, but the third or fourtli lot of brood does not ma- ture as much as the preceding ones, and if a comb is talien from the hive and given to healthy colony, every comb will be more or less affected with it iu two or tliree mouths, and it wijl spread all througli the apiary iu one or two seasons, according to the number of colonies. The infection seems to stay in the hives unless they are thoroughly washed inside with salt and vinegar. In 18S0 and 1881 I saw 25 colonies in one yard ruined by it. I have known of its ravages since 1878, in different parts of this State. I never have had but three or four hives troubled with it, and those were in an isolated apiary for the purpose of experimenting, but it lias shown itself in several apiaries where there has been a large amount of bare- headed brood, during the previous season. I have been as far as 35 miles, by request, to examine colonies that I have found it in, and found it the cause of the colonies being depleted to a serious extent. I am sure it is as much to be dreaded as the malignant foul brood, because it is not as easily detected in its tirst stages, and for that reason it easily and surely gets the upper hands of the novice, and its ravages get a good foot hold. Please to examine the specimen as closely as possible, and call the atten- tion of the best informed apiarists to the subject. I am ready to give all the information I possess on the sub- ject, and would like the opinion of others. Perhaps if the specimen was examined by some competent apiar- ists, it would be more thoroughly in- vestigated. Washington Depot, Ct. [We have had no experience with foul brood in any form, but will try to get the opinion of those who have, at the Convention here next week. — Ed.] For the American Bee JournaL Bees Injured by Heat, etc- J. D. ENAS. Under the heading of " Bees Injured by heat," Mr. M. Bragg seems to think that my bees suffered from not being properly shaded. Most of my hives are not shaded, though I am not opposed to shade for hives ; I have planted some trees for that purpose, and have used the live oak for shade, but do not observe any difference in the result. When bees cluster at the entrance, I lind out the reason at once, and attend to it. My hives are the Muth-Langstroth, with false ends, for the frames in the second story, which gives an air space at the ends of frames, and prevents the combs from melting, and the over- heating of the brood. It is a longtime since I had any combs to melt from heat. I use a piece of burlap on the top of the frames, which absorbs moisture, and keeps the top of the hive cool in warm days. I also raise the top and also the hive from the bottom board, if needed. On the last of December, 1882, we had a down-East snow storm; snow was six inches deep on a level, with frost in the evening. Previous to that our season was warm, and fruit buds were nearly in bloom. One could see the pink lining to the cherry buds. Many of our fall and winter flowers were in bloom ; even blue sage, which was killed by the snow and subse- quent frost. The snow did not last 48 hours. The Manzanita, which was in full bloom, was cut short. Fruit buds that were about to burst were checked, and none too soon, for every thing would have been killed. All tender plants were killed to the ground ; even the live oaks shed their leaves, some entirely, which is un- usual, and which I have not seen be- fore, during a residence of more than 31 years in this State. Jn February again, during a warm spell, the Sage bloomed, to be again caught by frost, which checked the rearing of brood. Having plenty of combs of sealed honey, I uncapped it and gave it when it was most needed. We had a good many cool and sudden showers until May, when the bees were booming again, though the weather was very bad for queen rear- ing most of the spring, as it seemed to rain just when one expected a lot of queen cells to hatch, or a lot of young queens to be fertilized. Early in .June we had north winds whichdried up vegetation, injured the bloom and young fruit, and put another check on the honey flow, and the effect was felt the balance of the season throughout the State. Our climate is not the same as at Mr. Bragg's place, which is probably 100 miles, or so, further south. The highest marked by the thermometer was 102^, and that for one day only. That was the only time that the bees left the combs; but by raising the hive from the bottom board, they soon went inside. I used the entrance of the whole width of the front of the hive. I am of the same opinion as Mr. Bragg, that a double-walled hive will suit this climate. I think the dead-air space an improvement, to guard against over-heating. Queens stopped laying from -1 to 6 weeks, but are building up, at the present. I had to feed 100 pounds of sugar. They are doing better now, and prospering. The frost stopped the supply of pollen. At the time my bees were getting reduced, they did not seem to be bringing in pollen, and by feeding them honey liquefied, I induced rob- Ijing more than I cared for (although I had a bee tent). After using all means to stop robbing without suc- cess, I made a lower story to the hive, only m inches high, well ventilated with double-wire cloth over the ven- tilators, with a trap for entrance, so tliat the bees could go in, but not get out. I set the hive on that, and closed all the openings except the entrance. I had a hole one-half way up, in front of the hive, and closed with a plug. When the robbers were very thick at tlie entrance, I opened the upper hole, and they would stream in, in a solid body; when most were in, I closed the hole. In this way I got a strong colony. I then placed an empty hive on the stand, and removed the hive with bees, shaded ttiera for several days, and put them on their stands after dark. The next morning they were ready to defend what they had before robbed. I think the other hives were more than the loser. This is the worst season I have seen since 1877. Xapa, Cal., Sept. 17, 1888. For the American Bee Journal, Ohio Convention. The Ohio Bee-Keepers' Association held a meeting at Columbus, O., from Sept. 3d to 7th inclusive, during the Ohio State Fair, at which time several questions of importance were dis- cussed, among which was the subject of Queen Bearing and Managementi by A. Benedict, of Benington, O. Also by S. D. Riegel, of Adelphi,0., on Bearing Queens from Larvae, Rearing Queens in Small Nuclei, and Putting Queens with Swarms at Swarming Time, etc. A question was asked and not satis- factorily answered. Will a Colony Swarm without Drones V ilany other questions of importance were discussed. An interesting lecture was deliver ed by Dr. Besse, of Delaware, O. I must not close this report without thanking the Ohio State Board of Agriculture for the Interest they have taken in the advancement of bee-cuU ture, by the liberal premiums paid, and suitable buildings provided for the display of honey and all kinds of bee appliances, of which there was a very good display by Dr. Besse, S. D. Eiegel, A. 15euedict, Mr, Drum and many others. The meeting adjourned to meet some time duringthe winter, of which due notice will be given. C. M. Kingsbury, Sec. 1^ The fall meeting of the New Jersey and Eastern Bee-Keepers' Association will be held in the city of New York, at the Cooper Union, on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 1883. J. Hasbkouck, Sec. Bound Brook, N. J. 1^ The Lorain County Bee-Keep- ers' Association will meet at Oberlin, Ohio, on the last Tuesday in October, 30th. O. J. Terrell, -Sec. Advertisements intended for the Beh Journal must reach this oflice by Saturday of the previous week. i^Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1883 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them iu. They are very valuable for reference. 506 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Wihiii and ^oxo. ANSWERS By James EeMon, Dowagiac, Mich. t^ It I understand correctly, this department is not expected to occupy very much of each number of the Weekly. It is, in my judgment, in- tended to be filled with these ques- tions, that are of such a nature that . Short answers may be full and com- prehensive. There is an old adage that makes the following new one true. A moment may ask questions that hours cannot answer. For in- stance, "A Friend's"' first question is exactly adapted to the department. His second will do. Mr. Tongue's, in my opinion, is out of place here. It would take a long and comprehensive article for me to reply to it satisfactorally to Mr. T., and then some one else would call it all moonshine. None but the author should dictate the subject for articles. Arti- cles to be of most value, should have Borne inspiration about them. Inspir- ation (excelerated circulation), will not bear dictation. How is this, Mr. Editor, am I not correct V You made this department, and had it all before my eyes, in print, before I dreamed of such a thing. J. H. [Mr. Heddon is quite correct. The department was intended for terse replies, of general interest, and not for a special description of articles, used by Mr. Heddon, or for captious questions regarding any of his " hob- bies," for every man has more or less of them.— Ed.] Spaces Between Tiers of Sections. Will Mr Heddon please answer? 1. How much space do yon allow be- tween the tiers of sectiens in your case V 2. About what per cent, of your sec- tions can you get straight enough to glass y A Friend. Answers.— 1. Scant % of an Inch. 2. "Without separators, we can get 5-6 of our sections straight enough to glass, if we glass them on the outside of the wide pieces, a la Moore ; but if on the outside of the narrow pieces, and within the'wide side pieces, then only a small portion, and were I bound to glass my sections in this style (prize), I should use separators. How to Successfully Winter Bees, Will Mr. Heddon please tell how to winter bees successfully in the "What and How." It will be a favor thank- fully received. Please give modus operandi in detail. L. N. Tongue. Hillsborough, Wis., Sept. 22, 1883. Answer.— While I appreciate the fact that Mr. Tongue values my knowledge of the wintering problem, I wish to say that the best I can do for him now, is to refer him to my illus- trated article in one of the October numbers of the Weekly for 1WS2. I am now making some extensive ex- periments in wintering, but of these cannot report much yet. Sections and Cases. Will Mr. Heddon please answer the following question in the Bee Jour- nal : 1. Is your section 2 inches wide or 1?4 inches V 2. How is the Heddon section case made i* 3. Can the section be glassed as easily as if separators were used V J. F. Sellers. Reynolds, 111., Sept. 11, 1883. Ans WER.— 1 . We are this year exper- imenting with sections l}4, l?i and 2 inches wide ; they please us just in proportion to their width — preference being for the narrowest. 2. Our case is a shallow box, with open top and bottom, i^i high, of the length and breadth of the hive they are to be used on, with partitions and a tin strip on the bottom to support the sections. The minutia is out of place here, and you should not attempt to make any number without a sam- ple. 3. The sections cannot be glassed as readily as those built between separa- tors. StlJCT/OXMROM "nuR'tEvuEnmox- Best Honey Season for Tears. We have not had time to take off all our honey yet. There are at least 2.000 pounds yet in the hives. "We have had the best season for honey that we have had for some years. Bees are now working briskly. Our bees will be in splendid condition for win- ter quarters- S. Valentine & Son. Hagerstown, Md., Sept. 28, 1883. Fall Honey in Texas. We have had a very good rain down here, and grass has started up. The bees are doing very little, working on scattering wild flowers. M. C. Graneerry. Austin. Texas, Sept. 30, 1883. Good (Qualities in Bees. On page 480. I noticed the following list of qualities which should be sought in bees : 1. Good honey gath- erers. 2. Ilard^ to winter. 3. Easy to handle. 4. Yellow bands. Please tell us of what value is the fourth re- quisite to these perfect bees. It seems to us that to the three first qualities should be added, good comb builders, and the instinct to protect themselves from robbers, moths, etc. There may be many other valuable qualities, such as proliflcness, but we can see no possible use of " yellow bands," Had the writer said " iron bands." we might have thought he wanted them to keep the over-loaded bees from bursting. If these " yellow bands " are something of that kind, we hope tlie phenomenon will be ex- plained. .John King. Fowler. Ohio, Sept. 28, 1883. [The remarks about "iron bands" are. of course, simply "irony " — noth- ing more. Yellow bands merely add to the beauty of the bees ; and, though this is always a welcome feature, the qualities named above, for comb building, proliflcness, etc., are more essential. — Ed.] Those Large Yields. Please ask. through the Bee Jour- nal, of those giving large yields from one colony, to give a description of their hive, the surplus honej;. kind of bees, if doubled in the spring, how much, whether fed or not, if fed, when and how much ; also the treatment from Xov. 1, 1882, to the time of their report. T. J. Tiffany. Brooklyn, Pa., Sept. SO, 1883. Asters as Honey Plants. I send a sample of one of our honey plants, and would like for Prof. Cook to give us the name of it through the Bee Journal. It generally grows about 4 feet high, and sometimes 6 feet. It has been in bloom ever since Sept. 1, but it is about out now. The bees have worked on it splendidly, and stored a nice lot of honey, putting them in fine condition foi' winter. A. E. XlSBET. Dobyville, Ark., Sept. 29, 1883. [It is one of the innumerable asters, which are among our most excellent honey plants. The honey is also of excellent quality. — A. J. CooK.j Satisfied witli Honey Crop. I have just taken off the last honey of the season, and put my bees into winter quarters by putting a large chaff cushion in my chaff hives, as I remove my crates." It may seem a little early, but ray experience is, that it does not hurt them to have plenty of time to arrange for their " long winter nap." I found an unusual amount of brood and honey in the brood-chamber, for the time of year. Our fall honey was cut short by the drouth and early frosts, but my sea- THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 507 son's report is as follows, and I am satisfied : Spring count, 35 colonies ; in winter quarters, 57 colonies ; coiub honey, 2,008 lbs. ; extracted lioney, 1,114 lbs.; total, 3,122 lbs. I hope to be able to attend the Chicago Conven- tion. Geo. E. Hiltok. Fremont, Mich., Oct. 3, 1883. Fall Honey from the Asters. Please lind enclosed a Mower that is just in full bloom now. It has been in bloom for about ten days ; the frost does not seem to injure it. Bees are working on it very lively, and they are storing honey in good style yet. Please give it a name through your welcome Bkk Journal. D. B. Bko'vvn. Des Moines, Iowa, Sept. 27, 1883. [It is one of the asters— all are ex- cellent honey producers. — Ed.] Bee and Honey Exhibit. We had quite a nice honey exhibit at the Portage County Fair. Jilr. Page, of Streetsborougli, and Mr. Converse, of Ravenna, were the ex- hibitors. Mr. Page had a tent made of wire screen covering his bees. Mr. Converse took out the side of his hive and put in glass, so that they could see the bees. He took the prize for a hive ; also, on the best colony of bees ; also on some honey. B. Harding. Kent, Ohio, Oct. 1, 1883. Bee Killer. I send a specimen of fly caught with a bee in its forceps. They are exceedingly swift on the wing, and cannot be kept sight of more than a couple of rods away. Are they the " bee killers " spoken of in the Bee Journal y .Jas. Poindexter. Bloomington, 111. [Yes ; it is the Asilus Missouriensis, or bee killer. — Ed.] t^ The sixth annual meeting of the Northern Michigan Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at Stone's Opera Hall, Sheridan, Montcalm county, Mich., on Tuesday and Wed- nesday, Oct. 9 and 10, to open at JO a. m. of the first day. Evening sessions will be held, which will be interest- ing. At our last meeting it was re- quested tliat all interested in apicul- ture attend, and all who would, and could, furnish for exhibition apiarian supplies in the way of hives, extrac- tors, implements used in the apiary, honey, honey-producing plants, and anything that would be interesting to a bee-keeper. Ample arrangements have been made to entertain all who will come. Let us have a general turn out, and see what we can learn one of the other. It will be a dull scholar wlio cannot profit by such a gathering. Feel assured we shall have an interesting time. Geo. W . Stanton, Pres. O. R. Goodno, tSec. Special ^aticcs. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this ottice get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. W e wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if tlaey live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. How to Create a Market for Honey. We have now published another edition of the pamphlet on "Honey as Food and Medicine," with more neio Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price still lower, to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 5 cents, postpaid ; per dozen, 40 cents; per hundred, $2.50. 500 will be sent postpaid for $10.00, or 1,000 for $15.00- On orders of 100 or more, we will print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense— enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Try it, and you will be surprised. Subscription Credits. — We do not acknowledge receipt of each subscrip- tion by letter. The label on your paper, or on the wrapper, shows the date > to which your subscription is paid. When you send ns money, if the proper credit is not given you, within tv.'o weeks thereafter, on your label, notify us by postal card. Do not wait for months or years, and then claim a mistake. The subscrip- tion is paid to the end of the month indicated on the wrapper-label. This gives a statement of account every week. Trial Trip-25 Cents. As the season for Fairs has arrived, and wishing to be able to reach several thousands of the old-fashioned bee- men, and by the aid of the Bee Journal to lift them up to higher ground, adopting newer metliods and progressive ideas, we make the follow- ing very liberal offer : We will send the Weekly Bee Journal till Dec. 31, on trial, for 25 cents. In order to pay for getting up Clubs, we will give a copy of Fisher's Grain Tables, or Scribner's Lumber and Log Book, to any one who wdll send us five trial subscriptions (with $1.25) ; for a club of ten we will give a cloth copy of Bees and Honey ; for a club of 15, a cloth copy of the 7th edition of Cook's Man- ual of the Apiary ; for a club of 25, we will present both the Manual and Beea and Honey. If any one wants these Books for nothing, here is on excel- lent opportunity to get them for a, little exertion. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic iij their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies 220 pages 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. Bee Pastu rage a Necessity. — We have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid te any address for 10 cents. (^ When writing to this office on business, our correspondents should not write anything for publication on the same sheet of paper, unless it can be torn apart vvithout interfering with either portion of the letter. The edi- torial and business departments are separate and distinct, and wlien the business is mixed up with items for publication it often causes confusion. They may botli be sent in one envelope but on separate pieces of paper. 1^ To give away a copy of " Honey as Food and Medicine " to eve-ry one who buys a package of honey at Fairs, will sell almost a fabulous quantity of it. 508 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two Subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, ^ith $4, will be entitled to a copy ot Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $6, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder for the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we Will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we Will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Qinnby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's ABC of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums tor the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. Preparation of Honey for the Mar- ket, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey instructions on the exhibition of bees and houey at Fairs, etc. This is a new ]0 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. Emerson Binders — made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-pnid, for 75 cents, for the Weekly; or for the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. Books at Fairs.— Those who make an exhibit at Fairs will find that an assortment of Books and Pamphlets Would sell and leave them a protit for handling. We will send such, postage prepaid, at 25 per cent, discount; or if the purchaser pays express charges, we will supply any of our own publica- tions at 40 per cent, discount. I®" May we ask you, dear reader, to speak a good word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at least one new subscription with your own V Our premium," Bees and Honey," in cloth, for one ?iew sub- scriber to the Weekly, or two for the Monthly, besides your own subscrip- tion to either edition, will pay you for your trouble, besides having the satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bee Journal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts. each, or $S per 100. ^" The new two cent rate of pos- tage for letters went into effect on October 1. Three cent postage stamps will now be but little used. For all fractions of a dollar sent to us here- after we should prefer either one-cent, or else live or ten-cent postage stamps, or a Postal Note. Do not send coins In any letter. CHOICE ITALIAN (jUEENS ! Breed for BUSINESS and Beauty ! Daughters of proliflc and flne-colored mothers. pro'Jucine large and beautilul drones and workers, Tested Queens, selected with care, each f2 00 Untested " choice in color and size, each, 1 00 Nucleus of S-Langs. frames and tested Queen 4 oO Additional frames, each 50 If you want the BEST, send your orders for QiieeuB unti Bees to JAMES E. WHITE, iBtf KNGLBWOOD, CookCo.,ILL. BOND & PEARCH, I ESTABLISHED ISfiO.) 163 South Water St., CHICAGO, GOMMISSiON MERCHANTS Make a Specialty in HO'EY. Consignments snlicited. Will make liberal ad- vances on shipments. Refer to Hide and Leather National Bank. lOBtf Sweet Clover AND OTHER SEEDS. Ilavinsz a large stock of the new crop of Sweet Clover Seed, I can fill orders at 30c. per pound 94: per peck, or JSlii per bushel. Also, all other SEEDS for HONEY PLANTS. ALFRED K. NEWMAN, 923 West Madison Street, ('hicneo. 111. '^■. Fairs.— To any one exhibiting at Fairs, we will send samples of the 15ee Journal and a colored Poster, to aid in getting up a club. The Premiums we offer will pay them for so doing. For a club of 8 subscribers to the Monthly Bee Journal, or 4 Weekly, we will present Dzierzon's Bational Bee-Keeping, price S2.00. !l^:fA'iJ:t.W;]i|i| BARNES' PATENT Foot Power Machinery CIRCULAR AND SCROLL SAWS. Hand, Circular Rip Saws for general heavy and litiht rip- piDK, Lathes, &c. These ma- chines are especially adapted to Hive Maklnir. I twill pay every bee-keeper to send for our 48-page Illustrated Cata- logue. W. F. & JOHN BARNES, No. 2017 Main street, Rockford, Winnebago Co., 111. KEGS AND PAILS FOR EXTRACTED HONEY. These KEGS are deslsmed to answer the popular demand for honey in small packages, and when compared with large barrels holding from 30(i to stMi lbs. each, they are fully as cheap and often cheaper. They need no waxing, but should simply be thoroughly scalded with boiling water before used. The leakage so often occurring in the large hard-wood barrels can be entirely prevented by using this size of packages. Considering the cost and trouble of waxing, the loss of honey by leak- age, and the ease with which these Kegs can be handled and shipped, with an actual saving In Original cost, it is apparent to all that tbey are the beat. Prices: 5 gallon Kegs, holding a trifle over 50 lbs 40c 10 " " " " '• 1001b9....60c 18 " " " '* " 190 lbs.... 800 When 25 or more kegs are ordered at one time, a discount of 10 per cent, given on the above prices. These new kegs are designed and manufactured with special re'erence to luy experience and sug- gestions from those who have used the dsh, lard and syrup kegs of last season. The staves are Norway Pine; the heads are Oak; and the hoops are Hickory, and, as will be noticed by the accom- panying illustrations, they are well bound. If the heads are painted, I will guarantee these kegs not to leak. It is not essential to paint them, but I believe it will pay to do so. THE BRITISH IJEE JOURNAL AND BEE-KEEPER'S ADVISER. The BHiTisH Bee Journal is published month- ly, and contains the best practical information tor the time being, showing what to do, and when und how to do it. Kev. H. K. PJEEI.., KtlUor. We send the Weekly American Bkk .Iothnal and tlieiJri(is)i Bef hmrnai^hoxM for t^i.' '.' a year. These PAILS have a full cover and are excellent for selling honev in a home market, and after the honey is candied, thev can be shlpoed an vwhere. All sizes, except thesiuallest.havea bailor handle, and when emptied by the consumer will be found useful in every hnuseh.ild. A^^iirted tramples of the four sizes put inside ot one another as a nest, price. .^>n cts. by express. The following are the prices in quantities : Perdoz. PerlOO. Gallon, holding 10 lbs. of honey. . .*1.80. . .»12.00 Half Gal., " 5 " ijuart, " 2!-^ " " Pint, " iM " ALFRED H. NEWMAN, 923 West Madison Street, CHICAGO. ILL. 1.50.. 9.00 1.20.. 7.00 .75... 4.00 BEES Send to Chicago. 111., for sample of AMEKICAX BEEJOURXAI. ' Monthly, »1 a year. Weekly, «S. 'IM 1 T C T) i 1)17 t> may be found on file I 11 lo X Al tjiV at Geo. P. Kowell 4 (o.'s Newspaper Advertising Bureau (lu Spruce <\. ), where advertising contracts may be made for it in XEW YORK. .<8». VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., OCTOBER 17, 1883. No. 42. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, EDITOR AND Proprietor, Honey Producing Plants. Speaking of the apiarian exhibit of the Micliigan State Fair, the Country Gentleman says : One of the most interesting features of the exhibition, was a collection of honey-producing plnnts, pressed and mounted by C. M. Weed, a student at the Agricultural College. vSo well •was the work done that the natural colors of the flowers were perfectly preserved. There were more than 50 specimens. We have purchased the whole col- lection, and have them bound in a volume and placed in the Bee Jour- nal Museum, for the convenience of visitors. 8^ We have received a copy of a new Bee Book, in German, by C. J. II. Gravenhorst, of Germany. It is published at 5 marks ($1.25), by C. A. Schwetschke & Son, Biaunschweig, Germany, and contains 2.50 large oc- tavo illustrated pages. Mr. Graven- horst is one of the most progressive of German apiarists, and his articles have been published in the Asierican Bee Journal from time to time, on all the most interesting topics of the day. Honey at the Indiana State Fair. Alley's New Feeder. — We have re- ceived one of these new bee feeders, and placed in the Museum. It is new, novel, and thoroughly practical. ®" Our honey-producers who have an eye ujion a European market for honey, will be pleased to learn that several late shipments of comb honey from tliis country to Europe has re- sulted successfully. The Indiana Farmer has the follow- ing concerning the honey exhibit at the recent State Fair : While the honey show at the State Fair was creditable to those who made the exhibit, nevertheless, it was a dis- grace to the bee-keepers of Indiana ; especially so after the bounteous yield of the past season. Several parties had written us to the effect that they would make a display of apiarian products, but failed at the eleventh hour. Yet it may be taken as a sign of encouragement that we were not permitted to walkaway with the entire list of premiums. Mr. A. Cox, of White Lick, Ind., did himself credit, securing first premium on comb honey in the most market- able shape, also on best display of honey from one iipiaiy, and second premium on retail packages of ex- tracted honey. Mrs. Cox carried off the red ribbon for the best honey cake, wliile visiting bee-keepers carried off the cake ; we can testify, from personal knowledge, that it was very eatable. J. Hutchinson, of Worthington, Ind., showed some nice honey, the shape, however, being objectionable on account of the size of the boxes. In the ladies' department, Mrs. Brown, of this city, secured the first on comb honey, and Mrs. Ilobbins second on extracted. I®" The Northwestern Farmer says that Mr. II. K. Beecham, of Acme, Mich., commenced the season with 40 colonies of bees, increased to 57, and took from them 4,000 pounds of honey, 700 pounds of which was comb honey. One colony gave 170 pounds of well ripened extracted honey, and another 70 pounds of comb honey. «^ Honey that will not candy is to my mind very dangerous for winter stores, as my experience proves. If your combs are filled vi'ith honey from honey dew, it will pay to extract it all and feed sugar syrup. As the extrac- ted honey can be fed in the late spring and summer months for brood-rearing with impunity, there will be no loss of honey. — Indiana Fanner. Died, at Augusta, Wis., Oct. 4, 1883, after a long and lingering illne.ss, Lovina, wife of Dr. Ij. C. Spencer, aged .50 years. A life-long earnest Chistian, a devoted wife and mother ; ■' her end was peace." The above notice is sent us for the Bee Journal. Mrs. Spencer was for several years a successful and pro- gressive apiarist, and many who at- tended the National Convention in Cliicago, in 1879, as well as several other meetings, and formed her ac- quaintance, will receive the intelli- gence with profound sorrow, and wiU join us in condolence with Dr. Spencer in his sad bereavement. 1^" The Chicago Western Rural has been enlarged to nearly double its former size. This improvement in the Rural which evidently places it at the head of any other paper of its kind in this or any other country, is only indicative of the rapid develop- ment of our agricultural and live stock interests. 1^ T. J). Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa„ publish this day "Guy Mannering," being the Third Volunie of their new and cheap edi- tion of " TiiE Waverley Novels," BY Sir W'alter Scott, which will be completed in Twenty-six Weekly Vof- umes, each volunie being a novel complete in itself, and one volume will be issued every Saturday until the whole are published. Price 15 cts. New Catalogues.— We have received the following : Catalogue for 1883-84 of Pleasant Valley Niirseries of John S. Collins, Moorestovvn. N. J. D. A. Jones, Beeton, Out., Circular and l^rice List containing a revised essay on the wintering of bees. Annual Catalogue of the State Ag- ricultural College of Michigan, at Lansing. Price List of the Fruit-Land Nur- sery of T. J. Ward, St. Mary's, Vigo County, Ind. 510 XHE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Bee-Keeping on this Continent. In the Toronto Qlobe for Sept. 28, we notice the following editorial arti- cle on the recent North American Bee-Keepers' Convention in that city: At the recent meeting there were representatives from the extreme points of the " sumiv South " and the •'frozen North." Florida and Mani- toba were in conclave over the ques- tion of honey- prod iictidii. In the bounty of nature, all over this broad continent there flows, in greater or less profusion, the luscious nectar of flowers, which only awaits the labors of the "busy bee," to be utilized for the service of man. Although South- ern bee-keepers have some advanta- ges over their Northern brethren, especially in the matter of wintering bees, yet, strange to say, in the honey yield the North excels the South. As though Providence would infuse extra sweetness into the lot of those who are subjected to the rigors of our northern winters, it is in these higher latitudes that the largest crops of honey are taken, and Canada, though pictured by many in more southern climes as a region of snow and ice, is the banner country of the world as to the production of honey. One has only to survey such an ex- hibit of honev as was presented at the Toronto Industrial Exhibition, to realize the possibilities of bee-culture in this and other countries. Tlie dis- play which has been made comprised about $30,000 wortli of honey. If every county throughout Canada were made to yieid say $10,000 worth of honey annually, it is easy to see that an ad- dition of one or two milliou dollars would thus be made to the national revenue. This is an exceedingly modest and moderate calculation, be- cause there is hardly a county in the Dominion that is not capable of yield- ing ten limes that amount of honey. It would appear from the statements made at the recent Convention, that what is needed in order to harvest the vast honey crop which is going to waste year after year in this and in other countries, is a sufficient number of properly qualitied bee-keepers. Bee-keeping is like other occupations, aptitude and education are essential to success in it. Persons unfamiliar with bee-keeping, will doubtless have been astonished on reading the re- ported proceedings of the recent Con- vention, to find how many details enter into the business, and what a large amount of skill is needed in or- der to its successful prosecution. The necessity of a thorough educa- tion in bee-culture of tliose naturally adaped to it was a prominent point brought out at the recent convention, and the best way and means of secur- ing it were thoroughly discussed. As the outcome of these discussions it was resolved that the time has fully come for the claims of bee-culture to be recognized by its being taught in all the agricultural colleges through- out North America. The Michigan Agricultural College is the only one in the United States that has a profes- sor of apiculture. Prof. Cook, who ably lills tliat office, was present at the meeting wliich has just closed, and added greatly to the interest of the occasion. lie has, the present year, a class of 40 students, and were every other agricultural college on tlie North American Continent to follow the example set by Michigan, a large amy of bee-keepers would be in train- ing for this important rural industry. It may be stated that instruction in apiculture w'as contemplated by the founders of the Ontario Agricultural College in the original plan of tliat institution. It was provided in the programme of study that " there should be a bird and bee department," and without doubt it might be made a very valuable and useful one. The Ontario Bee-Keepers' Association, it is understood, intend to urge this matter on tlie attention of the Gov- ernment, and wo trust it may be found practicable to comply with their wish, and thus make our Agri- cultural College in this, .as it is in most other respects, the peer of the one in the adjacent State of Michigan. To the Bee-Keepers of Kentucky. We are requested to publish the fol- lowing Circular, a copy of which Dr. N. P. Allen will send to any one who will till out the blanks and return to him : We were appointed a oommittee by the Kentucky Bee-Keepers Associa- tion, which met at Louisville, August 29 and 30, to collect information in regard to bee-culture and honey pro- duction in Kentucky, the ultimate object being the development of the honey resources of the State, and the best location for apiaries. — N. P. Allen, W. C. Pelham, J. T. Conley. Every bee-keeper is requested by the Conimittee to fill out the following blanks, and forward the same to me at Smith's Grove, Ky. N . P. Allen, Chaii-man Coin. Kind of Hives used and kind of Bees No. of Colonies No. of Swarms No. lbs. Comb Honey No. lbs. Extracted Honey Price Comb Honey sold Price Extracted Honey Sold When Marketed Give name of Flowers from which Crop of honey is gathered Fruit blossoms Black Locust Poplar White Clover Red Clover Linden Smart Weed Golden Rod Aster Other Sources Remarks Beginning of honey flow Length of honey flow Remarks Signature Address. Seasonable Hints. Prof. A. J. Cook gives the following on feeding and preparing bees for winter, in the Bural New Yorker of last week : The bees should now be prepared at once for winter. If not already done, we should see to it at once that every colony has at least 30 lbs. of capped stores. If to secure tliis we need to feed, it is just as well to feed granula- ted sugar syrup as to feed honey. If feeding is necessary, let it be done at once, so that the bees may get it capped over before it is too cold to do it. I have found by actual experi- ment tliat bees do better when the pollen is mostly excluded from the hives, and so would advise that frames containing much pollen be left out of the hive. They will be very valuable if returned when breedingcomniences next spring. Let all see, too, that only as many frames are left in the hive as the bees will cover. Use a division-board, or two division-boards, so as to make the chamber for the bees only large enough to contain these frames. All these frames should be covered by a piece of factory *',loth, and this by an ample sack of chaff or dry sawdust, which may come well down over the division- boards. It may be thought that repetition in these matters is the order of the day ; but it is called for, as neglect in these points is the rock on which many— and some of them our ablest bee-keepers — split. In working with our bees at this season, after gathering is over, we can hardly fail to observe two things- first, the propensity of the bees to rob ; and secondly, the even greater tendency to sting. To prevent rob- bing, we should liandle the bees no more than is absolutely necessary ; we should leave no honey where they can get at It, and if we see that any colony is being robbed, we should close the entrance so that only one or two bees can pass at a time. The last precaution is also wise, as during the cold nights of October less heat will escape. Newspapers in America. 1^" For seven years past Edwin Alden & Bro., Cincinnati, Ohio, have issued annually their Ammcaii News- paper Catalogue, but never duplicated it. To secure accuracy and reliability they have corresponded directly and through agents with every accessible Editor, Publisher and Post-master in the United States and Canadas. The number of newspapers and magazines published in the United States and the Canadas as herein cata- logued is 13,273 (an increase over the number last year of 1,115). Total, in the United States, 12,607 ; in the Can- adas, 666. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 511 For the American Bee Journal. Sending ftueens by Mail. G. M. DOOLITTLE. Having had considerable experience this season in sending queens by mail, as I have sent ont several hundred without loss (with a single exception, and that being chargable to an accident occurring before the queen left my place), I thought perhaps the readers of the Bee .Journai, might be inter- ested In a description of the cages used, and the mode of making the food for the bees during tiie journey. The cage is a block of soft wood, either pine or basswood, three inches long by two wide by IJ4' thick ; 5-16 of an inch from one end is bored a '}£ inch hole, going nearly through the block the iJ-inch way, and 5-16 of an incli from the other end is bored a 13>3 incli hole, going nearly through the block the \}i way, which brings the two holes within 1-16 of an inch of eaciL otiier. By having the holes run through tlie block from two different sides, the block has more strength than it otherwise would, and it also gives room tor nearly double the teed in the J^ inch hole, which could be got in a hole running the same way as the IJ2 inch hole does. Into the JJy! inch hole is poured melt- ed beeswax, so as to coat the wood with wax, and thus prevent the moisture being absorbed from the candy. After being waxed, a % inch hole is cut so as to join the two auger holes, for a passage-way for the bees to their food, which is to be placed in the ^ inch hole. After the food is in the hole, a cork made of iiiiie % inch in diameter by }4 thick. fv;i by a punch which can be purchas d .a any gun store, is driven in, afitr being previously dipped in melted wax. Thus we have, as it were, a minature barrel, full of food, and the bees are admitted thereto through the bung hole. The wax -coating allows no moisture to escape, and the form of the hole and the way the bees are ad- milted, keeps the food in place, so that it cannot possibly get loose and kill the bees. Over the' It^a inch hole is placed a 1>8 inch square piece of wire cloth, wliicli is nailed down after the queen and bees are in. Next, a piece of a section honey box, 3 inches long, by 2 wide, by 3-16 thick (having for ventilation a j4 inch hole bored in it so as to come directly over the 1% inch hole), is nailed over the side of the Ijlock having the wire cloth on it, and we have oui- cage completed. The candy is very easily made, and will keep moist and in good condition in the above described cage, forayear at least. Take about 2 lbs. of pulver- ized sugar, which can be obtained at any grocery story, and put it into an ordinary tin pan ; make a little hollow in the sugar and put therein 3 table- spooutuls of good, clover or basswood honey. Now mix with the spoon till it gets quite thick, when tlie spoon is laid aside and the batter is kneaded, as a woman would knead dough for bread. This kne;iding is kept up till you can roll the candy in your bands, as boys roll snowballs. When it is so hard that it will retain its round shape when placed on a flat surface, except to flatten somewhat on the underside, it is ready for use. To put it in the hole in the cage, get a stick ?/8 in diameter, and pound it in (keeping your finger over the feed hole), till the barrel is full, lacking ^s inch. Now drive in your waxed pine cork, and you have it secure. In driving in the cork, I generally use a clamp on the cage to prevent the split- ting of it, as the wax on the cork and that on the hole makes it go in rather snug, as it should do. With this food and the cages above described, I have sent queens safely to Texas, California and Oregon, as well as to nearly all the other states in the United States. The postage required is but 2 cents. Sometime last February, Mr. Cam- eron, of Scotland, wrote me to send him one of my best queens by mail, if 1 was willing to try the experiment, sometime during the summer. I re- plied that I would do so, although I had little faith that I could get a queen to him by mail alive. Accord- ingly, on Aug. i, I made a cage twice as long as the one described above, of a block 2 inches square. Instead of using a ?4 inch feed hole as in the above cage, I used two 1 inch in diam- eter (one at each end) and bored two 1}4 inch holes in the center so they cut together, which gave a larger bee apartment. This cage gave room for nearly four times as much candy as the other, so I placed with the queen 2.5 worker bees as attendants, instead of 10, as I usually do in the other cages. I The bees and queen were placed in the cage at 11 a. m., Aug. 1, and the cage placed, wire cloth down, on two ijj strips, being thus left till the next morning, so iluit the queen could rid herself of eag^^. tnd the workers clean out the cage of anything therein which tliey may dislike. In selecting bees to send with a queen, 1 take those as near to 6 or 8 il,iys uld as I can, and catch them as ttiev are tilling themselves with honey, waiting till they have their honey sacs nearly full. Having tried bees of various ages together with those whicli liave not filled themselves with honey, I find that such bees give the best result. But to return : At 6 a. m., Aug. 2, I nailed the cover over the face of the cage, wrapped it up in strong manilla paper, except the two % holes (one over each of the IJ.^ incli holes), tied it up with good strong twine, and tied thereto a tag bearing the address. As queens are not supposed to go in the foreign mails, I took the precaution to register the package, so as to be sure it should be forwarded after it left the confines of the U. S. At 7 a. m., her majesty started for her home in the old world. On the evening of Sept. 4, I received the following letter : Blair Athole, Scotland, Aug. 18, 1883.— "Y(ui have done it, my friend; you have done it ! Shortly after 8, on the morning of the IBih inst., I re- ceived the package containing the queen bee. You may be sure I very quickly peered inside, and as quickly had the satisfaction of seeing probably the first ' live queen that ever crossed the Atlantic' I delayed as little as possible before I opened the cage or royal palace, for such it seemed to be — clean, sweet, and in perfect order. On opening, I found the queen in splendid trim, and so was her attend- ant bees. Two only of the bees were dead. Tlie candy was not half eaten, and it had kept its place in the cage. No spots of dysentery ; in short, everything was first-class. This morn- ing, while I held the frame in my hand, I saw her depositeggs. Success to her. With kindest regards and many thanks for sending her majesty, I am yours, etc., Angus Cameron." I have given the above with the hope that the plan may be so improved upon, and our postal laws so arranged, that the time will not be far distant when we can receive queens from Italy through the mails, and thus save the heavy expense now attending the importation of queens from that and other foreign countries. I firmly be- lieve that queens can be so put up that they will stand a month's journey in the mails, and perhaps longer. For 3 years past I have sent many queens to Canada by mail, and since the first year I have had no more trouble with their going safely, than in the U. S. I see by a late Bee .Journal that the Supe'rintendent of the Foreign Mails gives notice that it is not lawful to send queens by mail to Canada. This could have been known by any person having access to tlic Postal Guide, without appealing to the Superintendent. The Postal (iiiide distinctly states that samples niih/ of merchandise are mailed at 10 ceiits postage for every 8 oz., or less; ii.-iice the sending of merchandise of every kind to Canada, by mail, is Illegal. llowever, all are aware that custom often has more weight upon the minds of the people than does certain laws. For instance, we have a law against working on the Sabbath, yet liow many go into the field and labor regardless of the law. So of our laws against adulteration, we can say to our sorrow that customs are stronger than the law. In the time of slavery, custom said the law allowing the mas- ter to capture the slave, when he had escaped, was not a righte(Mis law, and many a bold man helped the slave to escape. So it seems to have become a custom with the most of the post- masters in the United States and Canada to look upon queens as mail- able between the two countries. The first vear I mailed queens to Caui^la, I los't several by their being held by po.stmasters in Canada. Finally, Mr. Williams, of Nixon, Out., wrote 'me if I would put on the cage, " Queen bee for the improvement of stock," that there would be no trouble regarding their safe delivery. Since 512 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. then I have done as he advised, and have not lost a queen in a siugle in- stance ; althougli this was evidence plain to every postmaster that the package contained merchandise in- stead of samples. I have always, however, stamped every package with 10 cents worth of stamps, althous^h most of our Canadian friends forget to add that to the price of the queen. As the queen trafliic is assuming large proportions between the two countries, I would suggest that a bet- ter way than the above would be for some of the bee-keepers of either country having intluence with the Postotlice departments to see if a law cannot be obtained allowing queens to pass in the mails between the two countries, thereby avoiding the "very appearance of evil. Borodino, N. Y. For tbe American Bee Journal. Kentucky Bee-Keepers' Convention. The Kentucky bee-keepers met in convention Aug. 29, at Louisville, Ky. The meeting was called to order by President Demaree. Calling tlie roll and reading tiie minutes of the last meeting were dispensed with. President Demaree, Chairman of Committee on "Fertilization and queens in confinement,'' reported lliat nothing had been accomplished, and, on motion, report was received and committee discharged. The following new members were enrolled : J. L. Smith, Horse Cave, Ky.;Wm. C. Pelham, Mavsville ; J. L. Wilson, Mortinsville ; Dr. W. M. Rogers, Shelbyville ; C. H. Dean, Jett; C. W. Buck, Midway ; W. L. Stewart, Eminence ; J. T. Conly, Kapoleon ; L. P. Moberly, Hardin County; John Craycraft, Smith's Grove ; W. P. Gib- son, Sherman ; C. D. Mizze, Cleve- land, Fayette County ; B. A. Barlow, Richmond; W. S. Vandyke, Orr, An- derson County ; G. W. Jenkins, New Liberty ; G. W. Ashley ,Valley Station. On motion tlie following persons present from other States were made honorary members : W. S. Hart, New Smyrna, Fla. ; C. F. Muth, Cincinnati; W. E. Preston, Iowa City, Iowa ; R. Grindel. Biulen, Mo. ; W. C. Henly, Knoxville, Tenn. ; AV. C. Kemp, In- diana ; H. C. White, Madison, Ind.; Miss Emma Sharpe. Waverly, Ind ; J. Sharpe, AV'averly, Ind. ; C. B. JMer- kin, Eddyville, Ind. ; W. Cheney, Ed- dyville, Ind. ; Mrs. Aug. Knoefel, New Albany, Ind. ; E. Rockenback, New Albany, Ind. ; ^NlasterFred Cray- craft, Salem, Ind. ; JSIrs. E. Rocken- back, New Albany, Ind. Reports from members and visitors were called tor. Allen & Craycraft, .56 colonies in the spring ; 40 were run for comb honey and gave 3,000 lbs. in one and two- pound sections; 10 were run for ex- tracted, and stored 1,200 lbs.; about 1,000 comb yet to be taken; increase 26 colonies. W. Cook, 26 colonies, 1,200 lbs. comb honey ; increHse 31 colonies. G. 'W. Ashley, 36 colonies ; 2,000 lbs. comb honey ; 600 lbs. extracted ; 34 increase. J. L. Smith, 6 colonies ; 4.50 lbs. of comb honey ; no increase. W. II. Howlett, 75 colonies ; comb honey, .500 lbs. ; extracted, 7,000 lbs. ; 320 lbs. largest yield from one colony ; increase, 55 colonies. Dr. A. W. Kaye ; 5 colonies ; 500 lbs. comb honey ; increase 11. Dr. L. E. Brown, 14 colonies; 1,000 lbs. comb honey ; increase 36 colonies. J. T. Wilson, 80 colonies devoted to queen rearing ; had sold $1,007 worth ; 800 lbs. honey. W. C. Pelham, 65 colonies ; 12,000 lbs. extracted honey. C. II. Dean, 12 colonies; 1,400 lbs. honey ; increase 32 colonies. S. W. Buck, 21 colonies; 2,406 lbs. honey ; increase 14. J. F. Conly, 75 colonies; 500 lbs. comb honey,aiid 5,500 extracted honey; increase 55 ; sold S800 worth of honey. W. C. Cunningham, 31 colonies; comb, 200 Iba. ; exlractod, 4,000 lbs. W. L. Stewart, 60 colonies; 4,000 lbs. comb honey ; 650 lbs. extracted; increase 66 colonies. L. P. Moberly, 53 colonies ; 1,800 lbs. comb ; 200 lbs. extracted honey ; in- crease 29. Rev. L. Johnson, 42 colonies ; comb 800 lbs. ; extracted 500 lbs. ; increase 40. G.W. Demaree, 49 colonies; 4,000 lbs. comb and extracted honey ; in- crease 30; 6 colonies gave 600 lbs. of extracted honey. Report of Visiting Bee-Keepers. — W. S. Hart, New Smyrna, Fla., 76 colonies ; 10,000 lbs. extracted honey ; increase 88; said iiis neighbor had 176 colonies; increase 200 colonies; took 18,000 lbs. extracted and 500 lbs. comb honey ; said tlie black mangrove was the best honey-producing flower they had ; said palmetto gave large yields of honey in May ; swarming com- menced in February, and the best honey flow was in May : they shipped honey to Boston, New York and Cin- cinnati ; the native bees were large, brown bees, very gentle and easy to handle ; the average profit was $15 to $20 to the colony. AV. C. Ilenly, Knoxville, Tenn., re- ported large crops of honey in that State. Mr. Kemp, Orleans, Ind., 17 colonies ; 1,200 lbs. of comb honev, 300 lbs. extracted ; increase 6 ; W. C. Preston, Iowa City, Iowa, 37 colonies ; 2,000 pounds of extracted honey. On motion the following committee were appointed to report questions for discussion at afternoon session : Dr. Wm. M. Rogers, W. T. Stewart and J. Craycraft. President Demaree then delivered his annual address, which was well received. On motion of Dr. Brown, the con- vention adjourned till 2 p. m. EVKNIXG SKS;:!ION. The convention was called to order at 2 p. m. Committee on questions for discussion reported the following : 1. Spring management of bees. 2. Methods of preventing natural swarming. 3. The character and practical uses of comb foundation. 4. What are the best and cheapest packages for marketing honey in bulk? 5. Can benefit be derived from the new races of bees V On motion, report of committee re- ceived and committee discharged. On motion the election of officers for the ensuing year was held with result as follows : G. W. Demaree, President ; J. Craycraft, Vice-Presi- dent ; N. P. Allen, Secretary ; I. B. Nail, Treasurer. Vice-Presidents. — E. Drane, Shelby county; J. L. Smith, Hart county; Wm. Cook, Warren county ; G. W. Ashley, Jefferson county. Theconvention then discussed the following questions : 1. Spring management of bees, dis- cussed by C. II. Dean, C. F. Muth, G. W. Demaree, AV. C. Preston, and C. W. Buck. 2. Methods of preventing natural swarm ing,discnssed by G.AA^. Demaree, C. F. Muth, and N. P. Allen. Conclusion.— That swarming could be prevented by giving the queen plenty of room to deposit eggs, and the workers plenty of room to deposit honey. Mr. Dean gave his method of preventing swarming. Mr. Cook said he pinched off the head of the queen, and returned the swarms, and gave them a good smok- ing. 3. The character and practical use of comb foundation. AV. C. Pelham said 5 feet to the pound was most de- sirable for brood comb. President Demaree said bees did not build on the wall of the cell, but drew it out, and that the cells ought not to be so deep that the bees could not reach the bottom, as the base of the cell would be too thick. Mr. Muth illustrated how to arrange wire in foundation, and said it should not touch ends or bottoms of frames by l{ inch. "Dr. Kaye said, when foundation sagged and was crooked, he put a board on the comb, pressing it down level with frame, first cutting founda- tion loose from frame, and always got straight comb. G. W. Demaree and M. Buck had tried it, but did not like it. Dr. Allen said foundation should be absolutely pure beeswax with no mix- ture of parafline or other wax. ^Ir. Pelliam cautioned bee keepers against using paraffine in tlie smallest quantity in beeswax for foundation. Adjourned to meet at 7 p. m. EVEXIMG SESSION. AV'hat are the cheapest and best packages for marketing extracted honey in bulk V Mr. Muth said, he preferred cypress, or any soft wood for barrels ; pre- ferred barrels and half-barrels, or smaller ; said 90 out of 100 oak barrels would leak; can afford to pay more for soft wood barrels ; can buy cypress barrels in flat for $1.65 at the factory ; said he desired four wire nails in the bungs to secure them from being re- moved ; in smiill packages, sellS one pound better than two pounds ; is not in favor of fancy or gaudy labels for cans or buckets.' Mr. Hart prefers 40 gallon barrels, soft wood. Dr. Allen said, oak barrels, no mat- ter how well seasoned, would shrink after being filled with honey, and the hoops should be driven up from time to time. THE AMERICA]^ EEE JOURNAL. 513 Can benefit be derived from the new races of bees V Dr. Allen said, he did not think we werebeneiitted so far by the new rnces. G. W. DpniMree said, he donbted if there was a pure race of bees in the world, and could not see at present that we were beiietitted by the new races introduced, but thought the time might come wlien a more valua- ble race would be developed. On motion, the President appointed the following committee to prepare questions for discussion at the next annual meeting: C. II. Dean, Wm. Cook and W. T. Stewart. Adjourned to meet at 9 a. m. Aug. 30.— Convention mat at 9 a. m. The following commitlee was ap- pointed to collect information as to the conditions of bee-culture in Ken- tucky, and to the adaptability of the State to lioney-production, giving the sources from which honey is gatliered in the State in different localities : N. P. Allen, W. C. Peiham, and J. L. Con ley. The committee to draw upon the treasury of the society for stationery and printing circulars. On resolutions : Dr. Kaye, J. T. Conley, and J. T. Wilson. On exhibits: C. F. iluth, W. S. Hart, and A. C. Cunningham. On motion, it was decided when this convention adjourns it should adjourn to meet at Eminence, Ky., the time to be li.xed by the executive committee. ^^^^ Resolutions vierej^^^^ by the comm^^HUMjdMH^^^PMfuiking the Tagers ofth^[^T"sition for cour- tesies and the liberal preuiiums ; the press, for notices ; and requesting the papers of the State to publisli the pro- ceedings. The committee on exhibits of honey and bee-keepers' nteusils reported about 20 exhibits, which made a very attractive show. N. P. Allen, Sec. For the American Eeo Journiil. Pasturage for Bees. A. K. IvOHNKE. Having experitnented quite exten- sively with honey-producing plants this summer, I will contribute my mite toward improving bee pasturage. I must join with Mr. .J. F. Plummer in pronouncing borage Tliic plant 2Xir excellence. Bees will leave everything else if they have that. The iioney is as light as white clover honey, but of better taste and liavor. Next year I intend to sow several acres with this plant. If sown three weeks before white clover comes into bloom, it will be at its best when that plant begins to fail. I sowed some as late as .July 1, after which a drought set in, in consequence of which it was very slow in coming up. But it is bloom- ing now, and the heavy frosts we liave had this month have not injured it in the least ; the bees improving every shining lionr on it, especially the Italians. The latter will be out working even when quite cool ; the blacks would not. Oil mignonette they worked, very little ; last year, not at all. Last year, and the year before, I sowed some sweet clover, but it never came up ; but I have seen the roadsides in Vir- ginia covered with it, but no bees working on it, though there was no other plant in bloom, except, perhaps, red clover, which is very extensively cultivated ; but no bees did I see on that either. Then I received also some 20 differ- ent kinds of seeds from Switzerland, among which were a few kernels of the giant balsam (not giant lady slip- per, as some one wants to have it, as it is not related to the lady slipper family or species). I am sorry to say, the seed did not come up, as also many other kinds did not make their appearance. Some proved to be bi- ennials, not tliiwering the lirst year ; among those which bloomed, i)liaselia was visited the most. All the others the bees treated with indifference. But one other thing, I have noticed that bee-pasturage improves where bees are kept ; perhaps on account of a more extensive fertilization of the plants by bees, causing a more abund- ant seeding. Yonuerslown, Ohio. Tor the American Bee Journal. Doubling up for Winter. MRS. E. H. MASON. As this is the season fordoubling-up colonies, I will give my method, for the beneht of the bees, as it prevents lighting : Take a canvas or honey cloth a lit- tle larger than will cover the frames ; cut out a piece in the center 4 or 5 inches square, take a piece of wire net, place it over the opening and wax it down good and strong around the edges, then cut anolheropeningin the side of the honey cloth an inch sq\iare ; lay over that a strip of canvas, leaving the end long enougli to hang on the outside of and between the hive and top box ; wax that slightly over the inch opening, yet so tiiat it can be readily drawn off ; take your new cloth and go to the hive that you wish to give the swarm to, lift out a frame of brood with eggs and larva, brush the adhering bees back into the hive, spread on your prepared cloth, lay on the cushion and cover tip till needeii, then take an open box or hive, that will lit snugly to your prepared hive ; hang in your frame of brood, carry it to the hive you wish to break up, lift that to one side, or a few feet away, set your box on the same honey board, and cover with a thick cloth ;'lift out a frame of bees and roll the cloth back, and iu-ush them into the box and cover up quickly, to keep out rob- bers. The rest of the frames may be brushed off in front on the alighting lioard, leading to the entrance, which must be contracted to keep strangers from running in. Always have your honey box close by you so as to hang the honey frames hi, and cover the canvas down closely as fast as you hang tlie honey in, that the odor may not escape and attract robbers. Pick up the old hive and jar or brush the adhering bees in front of the box, and carry the old hive quickly away — put away the honey box, sprinkle a few tansy leaves in front of the box, and set lip a shingle in front and leave theui until in the cool of the evening, then take the top and cushion off of the bee hive, lift your box of bees as gently as possible from the honey board, and carry them steadily to the hive and set them close down to the honey cloth. If the hives do not fit closely, wind a strip of cloth two or three times around the crevice, or cork it up. Let them stand that way for two or three days, so that they will forget the old stand, then slide out the strip of cloth from the inch opening, in the dusk of the evening, and leave the bees to mix themselves. At any time after a day or so, lift off the box, take out the frame of ad- hering Isees and set it back into the hive where it belongs; spread on a tight honey cloth and cushion, and cover up for winter. Shake the rest of the bees that adhere to the box in front of the hive. Those who will try this method will lind their colonie.s doubled up "just too lovely for any- thing." I have not told you how I catch and cage the queen, for I never double up a swarm that lias a queen. My bees have done splendidly. I have 83 colonies, all strong and health- ful, line workers, gentle and good natured. I have attended and man- aged all these bees entirely alone, and by myself. "Viucennes, Ind. For the American Bee Journal, Bees & Honey atWestern, Out , Fair. W. H. V^ESTON. The exhibition of honey in connec- tion with our Western Fair, which has just been held here, was remark- ably good this year, being the largest ever shown in this city, amounting to about 10,000 pounds, in all shapes and sizes, from the half-pound section of comb and the 5 cent can of extracted, to the large crate of one-pound sec- tions ready for shipment, and the largest size can of extracted, for the same purpose. I will just give a short account of the exhibits as they appeared in tlie hall appointed for the display of this healthful and toothsome article of food. Mr. .Jos. Aches makes a very good show of honev, both comb and ex- tracted ; also a cage of Holy Lands, which were admired by the many visitors who were anxious to know more about bees. Dr. Nugent shows the largest amount of honey in the building, and makes quite a i. K. W. Ilartwig, and Secretary C. ¥. Ernst, are deserving of great jiraise for the very liberal and excellent ar- rangemenis offered exhibitors to dis- play every thing pertaining to " bees and honey " to the very best advan- tage. They evidently appreciate the growing interest this valuable indus- try is developing throughout out entire country. The apiarian department was under the charge of Mr. D. G. Parker, who acted as superintendent, and was to be found at his post night and day. He resides about seven miles south of this city, where he has SO colonies of bees, and is provided with all the modern apiary appliances. He has made the subject of bee-cuture a study for more than eight years, and while well-versed in the art, is an en- thusiastic admirer of fine bees and honey. He also has quite a large class of amateur bee-keepers that are progressing finely under his teach- ings Mr. Parker had several colonies of bees, also a large amount of mag- niticent honey on exhibition, but being superintendent of the depart- ment, did not make any entries. The exhibition embraced nearly 3,000 lbs. of honey and 20 colonies of bees, also queens in wire cage, nuclei in obseva- tory hive, in which the bees could be plainly seen at work aboii^ the comb. These are all familiar to bee-keepers, but to those not initiated in the art. they call forth expressions of great surprise and delight, and show that the spirit of progress is abroad in the land. Among the prominent exhibitors, were Mr. J. L. Smith, Lawson,Mo.; Mr. Ernst Shuman, Breckenridge, Mo. ; Miss Pateet, St. Joseph, Mo.; Mr. J.B. Stancliff, Brookfield, Mo.; Mr. J. Madinges, St. Joseph. Mo. ; Mrs. Rov, King Hill, Mo. ; Mr. D. A. Pike, Siiiithburg, Md. ; Mr. II. Sco- viUe, Columbus, Kans. ; Mr. E. F. Gordon, St. Joseph, ilo. Mr. Scoville's exhibit was a very interesting one. consisting of a bee library and apiary appliances of every description used in modern bee keeping, including 30 varieties of seeds of honey-produing plants, also sample copies of 18 bee periodicals from all parts of the world. Large crowds visited this department during the entire week, and Mr. Parker was indefatigable in explaining everything to the specta- tors. The premium's were awarded as follows : Rest display of bee-keep- ers' tools, implements and tixtures, best bee feeder, best honey knife, best bee smoker, best comb founda- tion, best bee veil, wax extractor, largest assortment of honey-produc- ing plants, and best display of Ital- ian queen bees, to Scoville & Ander- son. Best and largest display of honey in comb, E. Shuman, Breckenridge Mo., 2d premium, J. B. Stancliff, Brook- field, Mo. Best and largest display of extracted honey, J. L. Smith, Lawson, Mo. Best colony of bees in hive, includ- ing handling and subjugation, E. F. Gordon, St. .Joseph, Mo. Best foundation machine, Ernst Shuman, Breckenridge, Mo. Best honey extractor, also best dis- play of honey. Miss Pateet, St. Joseph, Mo. Best and largest display of comb honey, J. L. Smith, of Lawson, Mo. Best display of Italian bees, E. Shuman, Breckenridge, Mo. The brilliant success of this exhi- bition v.ill undoubtedly add many new recruits to this pleasant, inter- esting and profitable industry. II. St. Joseph, Mo., Sept. 29, 1883. For the American Bee JoumaL Section Hacks Again. T. E, TURNER. It is a little out of season for an article upon surplus arrangements, as the season for surplus honey in most localities has closed, but my surplus time was all occupied looking after bees, honey, and other things, when an article on section racks would have been most appropriate. But it is never too late to " do a good act." I have no ax to grind, and I trust your readers will bear in mind that I am not a supply manufacturer and dealer, and have no personal interest in any particular rack, but that I have an interest in whatever will be for the advancement of apiculture. Inquiries have been made in the Bee Journal of Mr Ileddon, about his r.ick, how he gets tlie sections out of it, and how iie can tell when they are full '^ Now. if we look at it. a rectangular box, the right size to hold a certain number of sections, with a bottom board to place on top of tlie hive with % inch space under it over the brood frames, and the same space oil top under the sections, we will not think it strange that the ordi- nary bee-keeper should ask such questions. Some years ago I was ready to ask tlie same questions of a Wisconsin apiarist, manufacturer and dealer in bee keepers' supplies, about a similar rack, biit the portable -sided rack with glass views put a stop to such in- quiries. An ingenious fellow can master the situation and meet the necessities of the case by a process of underpinning the racks inverted, and knocking the sections down and out, but others set about to improve the rack itself with portable sides, so the sections could be removed with ease without any knocking and jarring, and with glass in the sides so the sections could be seen when full without removing the honey board. Kow, I need not ask any one how to remove the sections and how to tell when they are full ; but can look through the glass and see into the sections without disturbing the bees, and take away the racks from three or four sets of sections per minute, if desired, and leave them on the table ready for casing. This is three or four times as tast as Mr. Heddon claims li^an remove them from his rack by^Bj^toost ingenious under- pinning iffl^^^^mi^^own process. Then his rack^BPI^Pffit? too much space between the bottom of the sec- tions and the brood-chamber, Jg inch under the honey board, and % inch above it, and f^ inch for it (liouey board), will make ly inches between. It is universally admitted that the nearer the sections are to the brood- chamber, the quicker the bees will occupy them, and hence the more honey they will put in them. Then in tiering up there is % inch between each set of sections when there should be none at all. The r.icks should be no deeper than the sections, 414 inches, and then one tier will set right on another, leaving no space be- tween tiers, and but % inch space over the brood frames under the honey board. The sections should stand on a honey board with slats the same dis- tance apart as the bee-passages be- tween them, which will protect thera from propolis and any waxing in the top or bottom. Experience has taught that bees will wax the bottom and tops of sections more or less when they are exposed, and I believe bee- nature under the same conditions is the same the world over. This would be a great improvement in the way of keeping the sections clean, and would be far in advance of the old broad frame system. The broad frames for holding sec- tions with its inconveniences is fast giving place to the new racks, just as fast as bee-keepers are becoming en- lightened in the best modes of hold- ing sections in place 011 top of the hive. Tliestatiouery-sided rack with- THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 515 out glass is inconvenient if only a part of the sections are full and to be re- moved, for a whole tier must be taken out to get one full section out, or run the risk of breaking the capping in shoving it by another one. The portable-sided rack has all the advantages of tiering up and of re- moving sections by the rack, instead of one at a time, that the stationery- sided rack has ; and then it has the advantage of removing apart of the surplus honey, one or more sections, without disturbing the others, if de- sired, in case of a shortening up of the honey How, or danger of coloring up of the combs. Separators can be used in the one as well as the other, but I regard them as worse than use- less in either. The glass to view the sections to tell when they are ready to remove from tlie hive, I regard as a very convenient arrangement, but the rack may be made either with or with- out glass, to suit the taste, in that re- spect ; but the portable-sides in a rack I regard as very necessary and im- portant. The portable-sided rack certainly has aJl llie advantages of any othei' kind of a rack, andnone of their dmalvantages as far as my knowledge extends on section holders. Sussex, Wis. For the American Jiee Journal. My Fourth Annual Eeport. ICUOENE BECOK. 1 belong to the amateur list. I keep bees because I like to ; in fact, because I cannot help it, and not merely for the dollars and cents it brings me. I belong to that number who believe in occupying their leisure moments in a prolituble industry, rather than with fast horses, dog and gun, billiards or base ball. Hence I have drifted into those delightful employments of culti- vating fruits and keeping bees as a recreation, and as a means of fiu-nish- ing the family those luxuries which money cannot always buy in the mar- kets of a small inland town. My love for the fascinating art, made practical by the immortal Langstroth, increases with my years, and some day I may make it my specialty. Tlie past four years have been ex- ceptional in many respects. A great deal of cool and wet weather during the summers, and at least two very trying winters, have militated against the highest achievements in the apiary. The season just closed has been very cool. There has been frost about every month, and only a short time when the niglits were warm enough for the bees to venture far froui the brood nest; comb-building in surplus boxes was, therefore, slow. Frost came and killed the llovvers about two weeks earlier than usual, and cut short the best honey How of the season. "White clover bloomed freely, but gave hardly any surplus. Basswood appeared to be plentiful and full of nectar, but as it rained ne:aiy all the time it was in bloom, we obtained no honey from it. Sumac has again this year proved to be one of the best honey i)lant3 among our mid- summer blossoms. Some section boxes lilled with this kind of honey, present a wonderfully clear and beautiful ap- pearance. Tlie fall llowers were plen- tiful and yielded generously until the freeze, Sept. S. I began the season with 14 colonies, all in hne condition except one. They increased by natural swarming to 26. I devoted three colonies and their in- crease to extracted honey from upper stories, and the remainder to comb honey in 134 1'^- boxes. They began swarming in May and kept at it at in- tervals till late in August. All but the tirst swarins were returned. The first surplus removed (box) June 29. I kept a strict account with each col- ony, as well as every important fact in "its history, by means of a card on the top of each hive. Total number lbs. comb honey, 758 ; extracted, 4i0 ; total, 1,208 lbs. Great- est amount of extracted from one colony and its increase, 151 lbs Least amount of comb honey from one col- ony, 2," lbs. Cjreatest amount of comb honey from one colony, 114?^ lbs. Average, comb and extracted, per colony, spring count, 86 2-7. This is not as well as I expected to do, nor as well as I should have done, had the season been a little more propitious ; but, as none of my neighbor bee-keep- ers liave done as well, I ought to feel somewhat reconciled. I shall never be satisfied until I can make my colonies average a hundred pounds or over, of comb honey. I be- lieve such possibilities are in the bus- iness, and if I can only reduce that possibility to a certainty, you may then write me among the happy mor- tals who " giet there.'" Forest City, Iowa, Oct. 1, 1883. For the American Bee JoumaL Drone-Laying Worker Bees- GUST. MAKHARD. Having noticed some articles in the Bee .Jouh'NALon drone-laying work- ers, I tlioiighl I would send you my experience with them during the 30 years of my handling bees. The lirst case was a strong black colony, which haid little or nothing until .June 10, and then the flow, wliich was very great, lasted only .30 days, and our freat expectations were blasted, rom July 1 until Aug. 15, there was no honey to be had, and war among the blacks began, and the loss was great. Some of my neighbors, owning black bees, have not received 15 lbs. per colony, spring count ; not getting any surplus after the .June liovv. My bees being all Italians, have done fairly ; the average being 100 lbs. per colony, spring count. I say spring count, for tlie flow stopped witti the swarming fever in June. My best colonies gave IfiS lbs. of surplus per colony, and ttie poorest 40 11)S. I pre- fer Italian bees and Langslroth hives. J. G. Norton. Macomb, 111., Oct. 4, 1883. Poor Season iu Texas. I send an insect I captured in the act of carrying off one of my bees. I have noticed several this season ; they pounce on a bee while resting on a shrub, plant or tree, and fly off with it. Please name it in the J3ee Jour- nal. This has been a very poor sea- son in this locality; no surplus, except sufficient to winter on. Bee-keeping has cloudy as well as bright sides, but to the experienced bee-keeper a dull season this year indicates a bright one next year. The monthly visits of the Bee Journal are a source of pleasure to me. And though I am here, on the Texas frontier. With my bees and my Journal on b.ind; I hear from them all, both great and small Bee-keepers, over the land. May the Bweet honey bee.ai I our hearts full of glee, Our minds with sweet prospects store; Let biciierings cease, and knowledge incre ise. By the aid of the Journals lore. Annie Sutcliffe. Weatherford, Texas. [The insect is the bee killer called Asilus Missouriensis, which has often been described in tlie Bee Journal of late.— Ed. 1 Not a Good Locality for Bees. I had 8 colonies of bees to commence in the spring, 5 strong and 3 weak ones. They gave me about 30 lbs. of honey in all, and I made two new swarms from the five strong ones. It took the other three all summer to fix themselves for winter. White clover yielded no honey here; it lias not for the last 3 years, at least. I think this is a very jioor place for bees. Two of my neighbors that live in the timber, 3 and 4 miles from here, say they got a l)ig crop. 1 have 10 colonies uiiw to try to winter. That is all the good I can get out of them, and I generally loose oue-lialf before spring. Hugh Williams. Kacine, Wis., Oct. 6, 18So. Another Aster. Enclosed you will find a stock with Uowers, on which the l)ees are work- ing from morning until night. Please name it. J. W. Sturwold. Ilaymond, Ind„ Oct. 5, 1883. [It is an aster— its value is shown by the preference of the bees for it.— Ed.] 100 lbs. of Honey to the Colony. My bees wintered all right. I began the spring with 7 colonies— increased to 18. I have taken .'335 lbs. of extrac- ted honey, and 375 lbs. of comb honey. My bees are mostly hybrids. I have one colony of Syrian bees. I do not know how I like them yet. I use the Simplicity liive, holding 10 frames. I use the 1 lb. sections and winter my bees on from 4 to 0 frames, with chaff division boards at the sides, and then set the hives in cases, holding from one to three hives, and fill all around with chaff. Prepared in this way they will winter with but little loss. B. W. Peck. Kichmond Centre, O., Oct. 2, 1883. Unseasonable Weather in Mass. The weather has been unusual un- seasonable for over a month. It caused a loss to me of over 200 queens. I now have 50 fine ones that I will destroy in a few days, as they will not mate this fall. Up to Aug. 1, the weather was splendid for queen rear- ing ; since that date it has been the worst I ever knew. Henry Alley. Wenham, Mass., Oct. G, 1883. Honey and Beeswax Market. OFFICKOF AMERICAN BEE JOUR.NAL. ( Monday, l"a. m., Oct. 15, 1883.) The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. HONEY— Our prices are 7(3)9c. for extracted, and 14(^c. : dark and candied. t^^&lUc. BEBSWAX-Wholesale, 27«jsc. STSARNS & SailTa. *.., l-^ront Street. ST. LOUIS. HONEY- Quiet. Salable at appended flgiires, but generally held higher. Strained and extracted at 6Vi'.^7c.: cnib at 14c. . BEESWAX -Ready salable at2o®26c. for prime. W. T. ANDERSON & CO.. 104 N. 3d Street. CLEVELAND. HONEY— Comes very slowly and sells as fast aa it comes at 18(iiii9c. for best white in l ib. sections, and 17@18c. for 2 ib. sections. Second qualify is very slow. Extracted usually sells very slowly in our market. BEBSWAX-None in Market. A. C. KENDKL. 115 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONEY- We quote our market at is®20c. for 1 Ib. white clover; 18(§i2uc. for 2 lb. white clover. Extracted, 8® I Oc. BEESWAX-Wa have none to quote. Blaee & KIPLEY, 57 Chatham Street. KANSAS CITY. MO. HONEY— A large part of the local crop in this section has been marketed, though considerable remains yet in the hands of prot^ucers. Very little California honey in this market this season, except extracted, which is in fair supply at 10@!lc. for choice new. and 8^'._,'iri loc. for ilark or candied. Choice bright comb 2 Ib. sections, 18(.>jl9c.; 1 lb. sections, l9(t>.20c. Demand is fair for the better grades. Jerome Twichell. 536 Delaware Street. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 519 ^:|jccial Jloticcs. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of" this paper ; it indicates the end* of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post oflice or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts le'fes than one dollar. J^oeal checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for J5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. How to Create a Market for Honey. We have now published another edition of the pamphlet on "Honey as Food and Medicine," with more new Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price still loicer, to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 5 cents, postpaid ; per dozen, 40 cents ; per hundred, $2.50. 500 will be sent postpaid for $10.00, or 1,000 for $1500. On orders of 100 or more, we will print, if desired, on the cover-page, " Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense— enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Try it, and you will be surprised. Subscription Credits.— We do not acknowledge receipt pf each subscrip- tion by letter. The label on your paper, or on the wrapper, shows the date to which your subscription is paid. When you send us money, if the proper credit is not given you, within tv.o weeks thereafter, on your label, notify us by postal card. Do not wait for months or years, and then claim a mistake. The subscrip- tion is paid to the end of the month indicated on the wrapper-label. This gives a statement of account every week. Trial Trip, until Dec 31.— 25 cents. Wishing to be able to reach several thousands of the old-fashioned bee- men, and by the aid of the Hee Journal to lift them up to higher ground, adopting newer methods and progressive ideas, we make the follow- ing very liberal offer : We will send the Weekly Bee Journal till Dec. 31, on trial, for 25 cehts. In order to pay for getting up Clubs, we will give a copy of Fisher's Grain Tables, or Scribner's Lumber and Log Book, to any one who will send us five trial subscriptions (with $1.25); for a club of ten we will give a cloth copy of Bees and Honey ; for a club of 15, a cloth copy of the 7th edition of Cook's Man- ual of the Apiary ; for a club of 25, we will present both the Manual and Bees and Honey. If any one wants these Books for nothing, here is on excel- lent opportunity to get them for a little exertion. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages! fl 00 " 100 colonies (220 pages) 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. Bee Pasturage a Necessity.— W e have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for 10 cents. t^ When writing to this office on business, our correspondents should not write anything for publication on the same sheet of paper, unless it can be torn apart without interfering with either portion of the letter. The edi- torial and business departments are separate and distinct, and when the business is mixed up with items for publication it often causes confusion. They may both be sent in one envelope but on separate pieces of paper. I8^ To give away a copy of " Honey as Food and Medicine " to every one who buys a package of honey at Fairs, will sell almost a fabulous quantity of it. Our Premiums for Clubs. Any one sending us a club of two subscribers for 1 year, for the Weekly, with $4, will be entitled to a copy of Bees and Honey, in cloth, postpaid. For three subscribers, with $(!, we will send Cook's Manual, in paper, Emerson's Binder tor the Weekly, or Apiary Register for 50 colonies. For four subscribers, with $8, we will send Cook's Manual in cloth, or Apiary Register for 100 colonies. For five subscribers, with $10, we will send the Apiary Register for 200 colonies, Quinby's New Bee-Keeping, Root's ABC of Bee Culture, or an extra copy of the Weekly Bee Jour- nal for one year. To get any of the above premiums for the Monthly Bee Journal send double the number of subscribers, and the same amount of money. Preparation of Honey for the Mar- Itet, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. Emerson Binders — made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for 75 cents, for the Weekly ; or tor the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. Books at Fairs.- Those who make an exhibit at Fairs will find that an assortment of Books and Pamphlets would sell and leave them a profit for handling. We will send such, postage prepaid, at 25 per cent, discount; or if the purchaser pays express charges, we will supply any of our own publica- tions at 40 per cent, discount. i^ The new two cent rate of pos- tage for letters went into effect on October 1. Three cent postage stamps will now be but little used. For all fractions of a dollar sent to us here- after we should prefer either one-cent, or else five or ten-cent postage stamps, or a Postal Note. Do not send coins in any letter. Fairs.— To any one exhibiting at Fairs, we will send samples of the Bee Journal and a colored Poster, to aid in getting up a club. The Premiums we offer will pay them for so doing. For a club of S subscribers to the Monthly Bee Journal, or 4 Weekly, we will present Dzierzon's Rational Bee-Keeping, price $2.00. 520 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Northwestern Convention. The Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Association will liold its fourth annual convention at Owsley's Hall, N. W. corner lloby and West Madison 8ts., Chicago, 111., on Wednesday and Thursday, October 17 and 18, 1883, commencing at 10 a. m. on Wednes- day and holding five sessions. The Eev. L. L. Langstroth (the father of American apiculture) has promised to be present, and many of the most prominent apiarists of the Northwest will be there and aid in the deliberations and discussions. This meeting will be held during the last week of the Inter-State In- dustrial Exposition, and reduced railroad fares may be had on nearly all the railroads. A cordial invitation is extended to bee-keepers every where to attend this annual reunion. Meals may be obtained at the Res- taurant near the Hall at 25 cts. each. Beds may be secured at the Gault House for SI, or at other Hotels at regular rates. Tnos. G. Newman, Sec. C. C. MiLLEK, Pres. ^" Please announce that the Iowa Central Association, will meet at Win- terset, Iowa, Nov. 2, 1883. Z. G. CoOLEY, Sec. pi-o Urn. i^° The fall meeting of the New Jersey and Eastern Bee-Keepers' Association will be held in the city*of New York, at the Cooper Union, on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 1883. J. IlASBKOUCK, Sec. Bound Brook, N. J. ^" The Lorain County Bee-Keep- ers' Association will meet at Oberlin, Ohio, on the last Tuesday in October, .SOth. . O. J. Terrell, Sec. li^ Tne next regular meeting of tlie Mahoning Valley Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at Newton Falls, O., on the first Saturday of November, 1883. L. Carson, Pres. E. W. Turner, Sec. ^" We carefully mail the Bee Journal to every subscriber, but should any be lost in the mails we will cheerfully send another, if notified before all the edition is exhausted. Advertisements intended for the Bee Journal must reach this office by Saturday of the previous week. ^"Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1883 be lost. The best way to j)reserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. i^May we ask you, dear reader, to speak a good word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at least one new subscription with your own V Our premium," Bees and Honey," in cloth, for one new sub- scriber to the Weekly, or two for the Monthly, besides your own subscrip- tion to either edition, will pay you for your trouble, besidesjliaving the satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bee Journal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 per 100. FOR SALE — WishinK to enter into other blia- iness. I offer for sale my stock of selpct Italian Bees, at a very reaHoniitile tigure. Tiiese bees were selected to rear queens from, and are of the very best quality. Also a number of blark and hybrid bees for sale. ADIN A. SMITH, ST. JOHNSVILLE, Mont. Co., N. V. ITALIAN BEES AND QUEENS. Send for Price List to ». B. BROTVX, DES MOINES, IOWA. 4:2Ant One 4-Horse-I*QTi'er ENGINE ANDIBOILER. And (.)ne 6 -Horse -Power Portable Engine and Boiler, FOR 8AI.K CHEAP. Description, Prices and Cuts, sent on application. Address, O. H. TOWBTSEND, 35D3t KALAMAZOO, MICH. 1883. JOSEPH D. ENAS, 1883. (Sunny Side Apiary,) Pure Italian Queens, Bees, Colonies, Nuclei, BXTKACTORS, COMB FOUNDATION, &c 19D6m Address, Sunny Side Apiary, NAPA, CAL. BINGHAM SMOKERS. I can sell the above Smokers at 5IANUFACTUREU8' I'KU'ES. by mail or express, at wholesale or re- tail. All the latest inipruvemente, includine THE CONQUEROR, and THE DOCTOR. Send for iny 32-pase Illustrated Catalog"ue of Bee-Keepers' Sup- plies of every description. ALFRED H. NEWMAN, 923 W. Madison. CHICAGO, ILL. Sweet Clover AND OTHER SEEDS. HavinK a LARGE stock of SWEET CLOVER SEE1>. I can fill orders at Sac. per pound Si3.e5 per peck, or !S12 per bushel. Also, all other SEEDS for HONEY PLANTS, ALFRED H, NEWMAN, 923 West Madison Street, ChlcaBO, 111. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL AND BEE-KEEPER'S ADVISER. The BuiTlsH Bee Jot'KKAL is NOW published SEMI-MONTHLY, at Seven Shillings, per annum, and contains the best practical information for the time being, showing wliat to do, and when and how to do it. Kev. H. R. FEEL., Editor. We send the Weelily A.merican Bee Journal and the Brtlish BeeJournal, both for f 3.i)o a year. BARNES' PATENT Foot Power Machinery CIRCULAR AND SCROLL SAWS. Iland, Circular Rip Saws for eeneral heavy and light rip- ping. Lathes. &c. These ma- chines are especially adapted to Illve Mitkinie. Itwillpay , every bee-keeper to send for I our 4H-page Illustrated Cata- ' lo^'ue. W. F. & JOHN BARNES, No. 2017 Main street. Rockford. Winnebano Co.. 111. KEGS AND PAILS FOR EXTRACTED HONEY. These KEGS are desismed to answer the popular demand for honey in small packages, and when compared with large barrels holding from .SOo to 5(.KMbs. each, they are fully as cheap and often cheaper, 'i'hey need no waxing, but should siraply be thoroughly scalded with boiling water before used. The leakage so often occurring in the large hard-wood barrels can be entirely prevented by using this size of packages. Considering the cost and trouble of vayng, the loss of honey by leak- age, and the ease with which these Kegs can be handled and shipped, with an actual saving in original cost, it is apparent to all that they are the best. Prices: 5 gallon Kegfl.holding a trifle over 50 lbs 40c 10 " " . ** " '• io(.nb8....60c is " " " *' " I901ba....80c When 25 or more kegs are ordered at one time, a discount of 10 per cent, given on the above prices. These new kegs are designed and manufactured with special re erence to my experience and sug- gestions from those who have used the fish, lard and syrup kegs of last season. The staves are Norway Fine; the heads are i>ak; and the hoops are Hickory, and, as will be noticed by the accom- panying illustrations, they are well bound. If the heads are painted, I will guarantee these kegs not to leak. It is not essential to paint thera. but I believe It will pay to do so. These PATLS have a full cover and areexcellent for selling honey in a home market, and after the honey is candied, they can be shipped anywhere. All sizes, except the snjallest. have a bail or handle, and when emptied by the consumer will be found useful in every household. Assorted samples of the four sizes put inside of one another as a nest, price. 50 cts. by express. The following are the prices in quantities : Per doz. Per 100. Gallon, holding lo lbs. of honey. ..*l.80.. .$12.00 HaifGal., " 5 " " ... 1.50... 9.00 Quart. " 2^" *' ... L20... 7.0 A T>T?T> maybe found on flle 1 11 iO rJxrrjlX at Oeo. p. Kowell & Oo.'s Newspaper Advertising Bureau (10 Spruce St.), where advertisinK contracts may be made for It in NEW YOKK. n^jV' ffieeMg §«e Journal, DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF THE PRODUCERS OF HONEY. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., OCTOBER 24, 1883. No. 43. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, The Northwestern Convention. The annual re-union of bee-keepers in this city, which lias just closed, was one of the most enthusiastic gather- ings ever held in America. The pres- ence of the Rev. L.L.Langstroth, tlie father of American apiculture, made it the more interesting to many who had never before seen that grand in- tellectual giant. We cannot better express the character of the Conven- tion than to quote the following from the secretary's report of one of the speeches of Mr. Langstroth, when he saidt "I believe that this Conven- tion represents the largest number of large, practical and successful honey producers of any Convention that I have ever visited." The language of all who attended the meeting was : " It is good to be here." There was no stiffness or re- serve; no pet theories to propagate, nor personal antagonism to parade- only " a feast of reason and a flow of soul"— which was enjoyable, as well as highly instructive. When Mr. Langstroth was invited to speak of " tlie honored dead, he grew eloquent, and for half an hour he paid a tribute of love and esteem to those who were his co-laborers while introducing the movable-frame principle to the American bee-keep- ers, which will never be forgotten by those who lieard him ! The secretary's report of this may be found on page 527. The daily papers of Chicago had reporters pres- ent, and the following is what the Inter-Ocean of the next morning gave to its readers, on the subject : Mr. Langstroth made a few remarks on the subject of hives, combs, and other honey appliances. lie said that they gave him too much credit for what he had done for the business, lie spoke of other inventors, among them Major Ilruschka, who invented the extractor, and what a help he was to the bee-keeper ; also of the way he had invented the present movable- comb hive, Oct. 31, 1851. He referred to the honored dead who had done much for the bee-keep- ers of this country. Samuel Wagner, founder of the American Bee Jour- nal in 18C1, had translated several foreign works which proved of vast help to the bee-keepers. Moses Quinby, of Mohawk, N. Y., who had done so much to instruct and help others. Adam Grimm, of Jeilerson, Wis., who was the great German bee-keeper. Eichard Colvin, of Cleveland, Ohio, a man who had practically demon- strated the advantage of movable frames. R. C. Otis, of Kenosha, Wis., who had worked hard to demonstrate the success of the movable frame hive. Mr. Geo. Grimm arose and thanked the Rev. Mr. Langstroth for the elo- quent remarks he had made on his (Mr. Grimm's) father. A rising vote of thanks was exten- ded to the venerable minister. Amid the utmost, feeling the vote was passed unanimously. President Miller, after putting that vote, attempted to make some re- marks, but lie was too much overcome by his feelings to do more than to assure Air. Langstroth, that the proof that bee-keepers were conscious that they "owed him a larger debt of gratitude than they could ever pay," was evidenced by the rising vote of the entire Convention, and the tears which welled up into the eyes of nearly every one present. Mr. Langstroth thanked the Con- vention for their manifestation of love and sympathy not only for himself, but also for his co-laborers who had passed away. The number of members for this year is 97, showing a steady increase, year after year. Quite a number of ladies were present, and appeared to enjoy the meeting as much as the men, and when the time came for ad- journment, it was so diflicult for bee men to say " Good by," that they con- sumed a full hour in "social talk" and "parting words." The next meeting, in October, 1884, will be looked forward to about as a child looks and longs for the holidays ; and we have every reason to expect that meeting to be even a greater suc- cess than the present one. Chicago is the great centre of the West, and it is exceedingly easy to come to a meet- ing of this kind fr«m all the sur- rounding States. Home Market.— Mr. T. S. Bull seems to know how to sell honey at home. We And the following item in the Vidette, at Valparaiso, lud. It is an excellent way to advertise honey : Mr. T. S. Bull, the honey man, has put in an elegant glass case filled with honey in Mr. Dillingham's grocery store on Main street. Mr. Bull's honey is a household word in every family in our city, and its excellence is well known. Drop in Dillingham's and look at the case. ^" In the matter of paging the Bee Journal cover, our readers will notice that we shall be obliged here- after to page the entire paper through, consecutively. The following item from a Washington despatch will ex- plain it. We have been notified by the Post-Office Department that if we continue to page the cover separately, we shall have to pay four times the amount of postage : The Post-Offlce Department insists that periodicals shall be numbered and paged consecutively, and the law is being enforced in this city, all mat- ter not so numbered being classed as third class and charged at the rate of eight cents per pound. 1^ We regret to learn that Mr. E. F. Cassell, of Illinois City, 111., was recently killed by attempting to get on the cars at JNIuscatine, Iowa. 1^ We carefully mail the Bee Journal to every subscriber, but should any be lost in the mails we will cheerfully send another, if notified before all the edition is exhausted. 524 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Honey Crop of niinois. We have received the ofHcial Circu- lar No. 104, from the Crop Reports returned to ttie Department of Agri- culture Aug. 1, 18S3. From it we learn that the colonies of bees reported for 1881, were 86,633; for 1882 they num- bered 131,633. The number of pounds of honey produced in 1881 were 618,947 ; in 1882, it had increased to 2,791,301, or over four times as much as in 1881, while the number of colonies had not even doubled. We shall look with interest to the official statistics for 1883. The statistics, by counties, for 1882, are as follows : COUNTIES. Number of Colonies. Adams 1,385 Ale.xander 260 Bond 624 Boone 454 Brown 794 Bureau 2,308 Calhoun 485 Carroll 273 Cass 990 Champaign 2,975 Christian 2,773 Clarlc 1,486 Clav Clinton 1,204 Coles 1 ,438 Cook 170 Crawford 1 ,516 Cumberland 1,408 DeKalb 580 DeWitt 752 Douglas 1,461 Du Page 87 Edgar 1,914 Edwards 701 Effingham 1,683 Fayette 1.651 Ford 715 Franklin 124 Fulton 3,009 Gallatin 500 Greene 1,262 Grundy 894 Hamilton 949 Hancock 2,492 Hardin 349 Henderson 880 Henry 2,027 Iroquois 2,767 Jackson 946 Jasper 1,566 Jefferson 1,665 Jersey 551 JoDaviess 219 Johnson 842 Kane 618 Kankakee 1,323 Kendall 514 Knox 2,050 Lake LaSalle 2,278 Lawrence 1.405 Lee Livingston 2,256 Logan 2,84.5 Macon 2,168 Macoupin 1,919 Madison 1,024 Pounds of Honey. 24,704 1,960 8,420 11,623 12,460 59,813 5,720 5,695 16,680 57,745 103,262 18,728 14,259 42,029 4,420 15,070 17,784 22,420 30,8.50 49,503 1,785 30.220 6,839 22,420 33,239 16,213 1,580 71,461 5,600 23,694 27,832 20,174 53.301 690 27.143 56,681 65.306 6,764 21,674 19,879 12,581 7,650 4,544 14,614 28,400 18,695 70,667 85,891 22,755 58,732 74,673 4S,.591 46,263 19,240 Marion 3,736 23,011 jSIarshall Mason Massac 282 2,242 McDonough 1 ,913 47.528 McHenry 725 2:^,809 McLean 3,987 142,165 Menard 1,205 3,573 Mercer 1,705 54,330 Monroe 208 Montgomery 2,292 61,116 Morgan Moultrie 1,32,5 26,012 Ogle 741 21,349 Peoria 1,.504 48,723 Perry 376 4,548 Piatt 1,.522 36,110 Pike 1,249 18,483 Pope 412 1,925 Pulaski 7.32 5,451 Putnam 713 27,685 Randolph 846 9,042 Richland 1,244 10,403 Rock Island 880 16,032 Saline 1,070 6,4.54 Sangamon 3,689 71,193 Schuyler 1,488 18,424 Scott 395 9,080 Shelby 3,604 57,914 Stark 711 25,185 St. Clair 1,874 30,750 Stephenson 1,146 35,718 Tazewell 1,461 31,721 Union 1,165 10,201 Vermilion 2,564 43,934 Wabash 812 12,208 Warren 2,123 109,707 Washington 1,180 13,447 AVayne 2,675 42,793 White 2,119 11,304 Whiteside 2,931 61 ,590 Will 915 20,959 Williamson 989 7,275 Winnebago 592 22,163 AVoodlord 1,004 17,.308 Total 131,633 2,791 ,301 Foul Brood Investigations. Prof. T. J. Burrill, of Champaign, 111., proposes to make a thorough ex- amination of the subject of foul brood, its cause and cure, and requests us to make the following announcement : I am prepared to make some such study, and in the first place would like numerous specimens from different apiaries and localities to ascertain whether the same organisms are to be found in all or not. A small piece of the infected comb, together with any information as to the nature and vir- ulence of the disease will be a con- tribution to the investigation. After finding what is the probable parasite, this must be separated and cultivated in a state of purity, and then try the effect on healthy brood. Doubtless this cannot be fully accomplished be- fore sometime next year, but a be- ginning may be made now. I wish you would insert a note in the Bee Journal, asking for specimens and information as to the nature and vir- ulence of the disease, to be sent by mail to me at Champaign, 111. A half dozen or so infected cells will suffice, and any small wood or tin box may be used. I have no bees, hence do not fear the infection. T. J. Burrill. I I®" By the Canadian Farmer we learn that Mr. G. B. Jones' apiarian supply factory has been entirely burned up. The Bee Journal ex- tends its sympathy. 1^ We regret to learn of the death of Mr. J. Oatman, of Dundee, 111., which occurred early in this month. He was the senior of the late firm of J. Oatman & Sons, well known to our readers. The sons now carry on the- business from vhich the father retired some time ago. Honey and Beeswax Market. Office op American Bee Journal, > Monday, 10 ». m., Oct. 22, 1888. 1 The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. HONEY— The demand for honey is extremely- slow, and our commission houses are too well sup- plied to expect anything else. Prices rule low. Manufacturers complain of slow business. Ex- tracted honey brings 7@yc. on arrival. I hare bought for less. Combhoneyin good order, 12@]5. BEESWAX— Good yellow beeswax brings 27@28 cts. ; offerings few. CHAS. P. MtlTH. NEW YORK. HONEY— White clover and basawood in 1 and 2- lb. sections, 17(ay3 to raise them. Wm. Camm : After liarvesting a crop of oats, I have plowed the (ield and sowed it to buckwheat, from which I have obtained a crop of honey more than sufficient to pay the ex- pense. S. N. Black : And I have sowed buckv/heat in a corn field, after it was cultivated the last time, and received from it enough honey to make it pay. T. L. Von Dorn : I have a neigh- bor who has had large crops of honey from rape. James Ileddon : I have a student from Nebraska, and he says that his father regards matrimony vine as a great honey producer. T. L. Von Dorn : I agree with this gentleman. The meeting adjourned to meet at 9 a. m. MORNING SESSION. The Convention met at 9 a. m. ac- cording to adjournment. President Miller announced for discussion •' Sur- plus receptacles.'- As the subject seemed a little slow in starting. President Miller said : Who raises extracted honey V Up with your hands. Now, who raises comb comb y Two-thirds of the members made a specialty of comb honey. Dr. Miller : Now, who uses sep- arators? To the surprise of some, it was found, upon voting, tliat three- fourths of the members could get along without separators. Mrs. L. Harrison : If we sell at home, there is no necessity of using separators, but if we have to crate and ship our honey, it is a different thing. I have my honey stored in boxes. W. Z. Ilutcliinson : In regard to crating and shippinghoney built with- out separators, please allow me to say that I, this season, raised 2,600 pounds of comb honey without separators, crated every pound, shipped it by freight to the State Pair at Detroit, shipped it back by freight, and carried it 12 miles in a lumber wagon to our County Fair witliout the loss or break- age of a single comb. As Dr. Oren came in at this point, the President thought it best to re- sume the subject of pasturage, in or- der that Dr. Oren might tell more about a honey plant of the helianlhus order, which he had on exhibition. It blossomed in September, and con- tinued in bloom until cold weather, while the amount of honey gathered from it was very great. Geo. Grimm : I have had consid- erable experience with the same plant. It grows along the river bank, and we often haul our bees 30 or 40 miles in order that they may work upon this plant. Wm. Camm: I have had experi- ence with this plant, and lind it valua- ble. I have tried Dr. Tinker's golden honey plant, and with me it is worth- less. The question of surplus receptacles was again taken up. .Tames Ileddon : No one considers sections cratable unless the combs do not touch, but the thicker the combs, provided that they do not touch, the better, for the reason that thick combs are not so easily broken out. Honey raised without separators is thicker, and better fastened to the wood around the sides. I want no sections with closed tops, but those with open top-bars clear across. With closed top-bars the bees have no guide, and do not know where to have the edge of the comb. With open top-bars they do have a guide. AVhere the open- ings in tlie top and bottom bars do not extend clear across, those little projecting corners are liable, in crat- ing honey or taking it from the crate, to gouge into the sides of the neigh- boring coinbs. To get straight combs the sections should be lilled with Given foundation, the hives should stand level, except slightly raised at the back. Bees having a dash of German blood are a great help in getting straight combs. To get sec- tions holding half-pounds, I reduce them in width and thickness. Half- pountf sections ship better, because they are smaller. One of my custo- mers found the half-pound sections very salable; other sizes were a drug as long as they lasted ; the same was not always true. I have tried wide frames, and the case method upon a large scale, and I expect to burn up the wide frames, and use the cases exclusively. F. Wilcox : In some colonies I can get straight combs, in others not. Strong colonies build straight combs, weak ones are not so apt to. Dr. Miller : Too thin foundation sometimes causes crooked combs. Foundation made upon a press is less liable to warp or bend than that made upon a roller mill. I do not like the Van Deusen foundation ; it is too thin, and curls too much. I wish to make a point, that the kind of foun- dation made has much to do with the success of crating sections. Rev. L. L. Langstroth : I believe that this Convention represents the largest number of large, practical, successful honey producers of any Convention that I have ever visited. Mr. Langstroth here gave a long and interesting account of how the inven- tion of the movable comb hive was brought about, and then spoke with much feeling of THE HONORED DEAD. Mr. Samuel Wagner was first men- tioned. He told how Mr. Wagner had taken him by the hand aiul helped him. How fair, square and liberal he was. His library was full of bee- keeping w'orks, and free access was given to all who wished to read them. Moses Quinby and Mr. Langstroth published their works at about the same time, and it was a great source of pleasure to know tliat they so nearly agreed. Mr. Quinby had learned how to make money at bee- keeping, even when using box hives. Mr. Quinby had told Mr. Langstroth that the happiest moment of his (Quinby 's) life was when he read to bis family, from Mr. Langstroth's work, couimendatory words in regard to himself. Adam Grimm had done very much for bee-keeping, had shown that a fortune might be amassed in the busi- ness. Mr. Grimm had once visited Mr. Langstroth, and his greeting was: ■■ Hail, great American bee-keeper 1" Kichard Colvin had spent thousands of dollars in helping forward bee- culture. K. C. Otis had, perhaps, been the most instrumental of anyone in dis- 528 THE AMBRICAlf BEE JOURNAL. seminatiiig movable combs through- out the country. Had it not been for him, movable comb hives might now be but little known. He v^as a kind- liearted man, and would leave every- thing else and care for his old mother. At the close of Mr. Langstrotti's ad- dress, Mr. Geo. Grimm, Adam Grimm's son, arose and thanked him for the eloquent words spoken of his father, and moved that a vote of thanks be given Mr. Langstrotli for ]iis loving words in regard to those who were dead and gone, which was nnaniraously carried, while heartfelt tears welled up in many eyes. While a statistical table (wlrtch ap- pears elsewhere) was being prepared, ^Ir. Langstrotli exhibited to the mem- bers a bottle of alcohol containing a drone and two workers of Apis-Dor- sata, which had been given him by Mr. D. A. .Jones. While the workers were larger thaii our queens, the drone was not larger than our drones, and ;Mr. Langstrotli expressed a hope that it might be possible that a cross might be obtained by the mating of ail Apis-Dorsata drone with one of our queens. After the statistical table had been prepared, the Convention adjourned to meet at 1:30 p. m. AFTERNOON SESSION. Meeting called to order at 1:30 p. m President ^Miller in the chair. The subject first taken up was "Foul brood." Dr. Miller said, that the disease could be discovered by the odor, and by the appearance of the dead brood. There were three remedies. First, cremation ; secondly, the starvation plan, and thirdly, the use of salicylic acid. Mr. Marvin and others advocated total destruction as the only sure remedy, and all agreed that great care was necessary that the disease might not spread. The subject of ""Wintering" was then taken up. J. E. Hunter : I put my bees in the cellar when steady cold weather comes, and winter without loss. I take them out when it becomes so warm that I cannot keep the bees quiet. I have both upper and lower ventilation, and aim to keep the tem- perature at 4.5^. Dr. Miller: Thermometers vary; bee-keepers should look out for this. E.J.Baxter: I wintered 110 colo- nies, last winter, out-of-doors without loss. jMy hives are not shallow. I always try to have good, strong colo- nies, and plenty of good honey for stores. I leave in only eight combs, filling up the empty space with dry leaves, spreading a mat over the top of the frames. E;. 3. Oatman : I shall winter 600 colonies out-of-doors, and 11 in the cellar. I put those 11 in the cellar be- cause they are in shallow hives. I prefer out-door wintering with the hives protected by chaff; and I do not unpack them until all danger from cold: is over. I prefer confec- tioners' A sugar to all other stores for wintering. We are not always cer- tain that the liouey is pure ; it may be BEES AND HONEY FOR 1883. COLONIES. HONEY C Extr'td JROP-lbs Comb. HONEY I Extr'td JNSOLD. NAME AND ADDRESS. Sprng Fall. Comb. Dr. C. C. .Miller, Marengo, 111. . 172 251 11,000 9,000 .JamesHeddon, DowagiacMich 130 300 4,666 4,000 4,000 3,.500 Geo. Grimm, .Jefferson, Wis. . . 350 500 400 7..5OO 700 J, M. Marvin. St. Charles, 111. . . 120 300 6,000 5.000 2,000 Oatman Uros., J)undee, 111 408 611 27,000 10,000 L. H. Scudder, New Boston, 111 6.5 170 , 6,000 5,200 W.Z. Hutchinson, Rogers', Mich. 75 100 2,666 2.600 500 T.S.Bull & Sons,Valparaiso,Ind 140 200 10,000 500 7,000 366 T. L. VonDorn, Omaha, Neb. . 33 37 4.50 2,000 300 E. Lucas. Kirklaud, III 85 130 1,000 5,000 Mrs. L. Harrison, Peoria, 111.. . 47 112 1,000 5,000 5,000 .Jos.Ivuhles Howard 111 10 16 32 31 240 700 173 700 Dr. S. M. Slade, Elgin, 111 350 Wm. Camm, Murrayville,Ill. . . 50 100 1,500 1..500 1,666 1,000 Wm. Burrows 70 62 140 125 566 3, .500 4,.500 1,500 Wm. Blake, Buchanan, Mich.. . 1,200 Rev.L. L. Langstroth,Oxford, O L.A. Secrest 3 14 200 16 20 150 20 60 Wm. A. Carmack, Marengo, 111 3 7 5 100 II. D. Burrell, Bangor, Mich. . . 118 148 200 4,000 100 500 Philip I^. Nelson, MantenOj 111. 34 52 500 1,800 200 340 Richard Hyde, Alderly, Wis. . . 85 125 10,000 2,.500 2,500 Geo. Bischoff, Burlington, Iowa 26 60 600 400 366 100 Frank McNay, Mauston, Wis. . 78 140 1,.500 4,000 1,000 1,-500 .J. C. Gould, Paw Paw, Mich. . . 9 23 1,200 J. J. Hulbert. 35 20 70 34 300 1,900 7.50 100 P. J. England,Fancy Prairie, III S. E. Vanneter 35 80 68 130 500 1,700 800 6,200 i',666 400 S. E. Gernou, Waukesha, Wis. 3,000 J. Hodgson, Jr., Pewaukee, Wis C. Schrier, Peotone, 111 28 76 800 2 000 29 108 48 145 2.50 2,000 2,000 2.000 "" 666 500 J. E. Hunter, Wyoming, Iowa. 500 Jas. Forncrook,Watertown,Wis 6 21 200 200 Robert Cisna, Ilageman. Ind. . . 54 98 900 600 100 S. N. Black, Clayton, 111 24 60 1.800 300 C. W. McKown, Gilson, 111 80 120 4,000 3,100 300 John A. Jensen, Channahon,Ill 64 104 9,800 4,666 F. II. Hannah, Hinsdale, 111 . . . ]2 28 366 66 C. L. Sweet, Glen wood, 111 90 135 L.566 300 500 200 Chas. Anderson 43 48 91 95 4,090 800 2,000 700 J. M. Ilyne, Stewartsville, Ind. 100 G. H. Shibley, Richmond. 111. . . 100 190 1,000 5,000 400 3,500 D. S.McKinstry,GrantPark,Ill 24 42 1,0511 1,200 900 800 E. F. Schaper 45 26 100 62 1,800 100 200 900 500 75 50 L. C. Wemple, Rogers Park, 111. 500 M. L. Trester, Lincoln, Neb. . . 78 135 5.300 300 2.600 200 T. D. Ward, Lawton, Mich. . . . 34 65 600 1,200 300 800 J. L. Harris, AVheeler, Ind 26 80 1,-500 Jolm Hoover. New Boston, 111. 55 100 300 3.000 366 3,000 R. Johnson, Valparaiso, Ind. . . 22 47 2.000 400 400 A. Wicherts, Mattison, 111 38 80 1,000 1,000 300 400 W. T. F. Petty, Plttstield, 111. . 37 105 3.000 1,500 D. G. Webster, Blaine, 111 140 190 50 .5,.566 5,666 Jacob Ebersole 54 8 76 20 766 1,500 50 X. Caverno, I^ombard, 111 266 A. P. Lanterman, Chicago 4 7 200 20 H. W. Lee, Pecatonica, 111 180 200 1..500 3. .500 i.666 500 E. Whittlesey, Pecatonica, 111 . 50 70 500 2,000 200 1,000 J. S. Ilooton, New Carlisle, Ind 20 30 700 300 500 E. S. Hovey, Swanton, Iowa. .. 35 55 1,050 1.600 300 Dr. Jesse Oren, LaPorte Clowa 140 167 2,700 4.-500 266 1,000 F. A. Snell, Milledgeville, 111 . . 90 115 2.700 1 .600 200 200 James A. Green, Dayton, 111. . . 137 175 6,500 2.-500 5,000 1,-500 H. Newhaus, Burlington, Wis. 25 103 2,674 1.349 2,674 949 Albert Potter, Eureka, Wis 43 93 2.-500 2,500 Otis J. Gaudy, Churubusco,Ind 55 80 100 5.000 i66 1.500 Dr. J. A.Walker, MasonCity,Ill 45 72 2.000 1,000 H. O. Morris, Tiskilwa, 111 42 68 1,600 1,6-50 300 550 R. G. Ardrey, Oakdale, III 35 56 1,.500 300 700 200 W. D. Angell,Odell, 111 17 >^1 800 600 A. S. Ilaskins, Lawrence, ]\Iich 11 *33 200 500 1-50 400 Emil J. Baxter. Nauvoo, 111... 123 185 22,000 1,000 21,000 800 F. AVilcox, Mauston, Wis 85 125 300 4,100 300 2.500 Mrs. A. C. Starkweather 50 80 400 1.000 . 800 T. F.I>ingliam, Abronia, Mich. 60 92 5,000 3j566 Total, 4,877 7,970 138,529 178,112 65,359 78,899 -THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 529 gathered from cider mills or some- thing of that sort. The syrup should be made in the proportion of live ■quarts of water to twenty pounds of sugar, and it is better that it be fed In time to be sealed over before cold ■weather. I began feeding Sept. 11. I would commence feeding as soon as the honey flow is over. I would not feed iu winter unless as a last resort to prevent starvation. Wm. Camm : I never lost a colony that went into winter quarters in proper condition. I never extract honey from the brood -chamber. I do not want any sugar ; think honey good •enough. I do not care for pollen ; give the bees room enough to store plenty of honey, and they are all right. Dr. Oven : AV^hat would be the re- sult of coutining bees to a diet of pollen ? E. J. Baxter: Mr. Dadant has never tried to avoid pollen, and has always had good success. S. M. Slade : During three or four years I wintered my bees without loss in a cellar, but one year 3 or 4 colo- nies became restless and ate up all their stores and died of starvation. At last their came a winter in which my bees and those of my neighbors died. It followed a season in which we had no surplus honey. Dr. Oren : I had a weak colony of blacks that had no queen in August. When I put them in winter quarters there was not more than a pint of bees, but I gave them an Italian queen. In the spring all the black bees were gone, and in their places ■were Italians ; plenty of them. They wintered well. E. J. Oatman : I think that pollen is at the bottom of much of our win- ter troubles. One reason for feeding sugar is to cover the pollen, so that the bees cannot get at it. James Heddon : All our losses are nothing compared to that caused by dysentery. Kow, what causes dysen- tery V Does any body know ? Has laying a little stick over the frames got anything to do with itV Has turning back the quilt one-eightfi of an inch at the back of the hive any- thing to do with it V lias a little chaff here, and a little chaff there anything to do with itV lias ventilatioii any- thing to do with it y Do not bees die out-of-doors and in the cellar, when they are ventilated and when they are not ventilated, when they are kept dry and wlien they are kept in a damp cellar, and do not tliey live sometimes under just these same cir- cumstances? Confinement is not the primary cause of dysentery, neither is cold, nor coufiuement. Xow, what is it ? It is my opinion that the trouble is in the food. Pollen is what causes the trouble. Grains of pollen are often floating in the honey. Pollen is a needed food in building up tissue, as in rearing brood or repairing the waste tissue when bees are laboring in the field, but it is not needed when bees are quietly clustered in the hive dur- ing the winter. A heat producing food is then needed, and for this pur- Eose pure cane sugar is better than oney. It is also more completely digested, leaving a smaller amount of residue. This pollen theory is the only one that will tit all cases. A man puts his bees in the cellar, or in a clamp, and leaves them there five or six months, and they come out in fine condition ; the confinement did not bring on the dysentery did itV The nexc winter, with even a less amount of contjneraeut, they may all die. Dampness does not cause dys- entery ; if it does, why did it not kill that man's bees who kept them in so damp a cellar that the hives were dripping with moisture, and a large number of combs blue witli mold? If cold causes dysentery, why is it that bees often winter best in a long, steady, cold winter where the mer- cury often goes down below zero, and stays down a long time. Cold, damp- ness, and confinement may be aggra- vating, but they are not primary causes. Pure cane sugar is the remedy for their troubles. E. J. Baxter : I have quieted rest- less colonies by giving ttiem more ventilation. Rev. L. L. Langstroth : I cannot think that the Creator would make things so antagonistic to each other. The instinct of the bee teaches it to gather, store and eat pollen ; hence, it should be healthful. Cold does not always cause dysentery. I have known bees winter successfully, iu a severe winter, when the hives were raised from the bottom-board, and iu some instances where the bottom- board had fallen off entirely. I liave had persons experiment by hanging up a colony, combs and all, of course, i)ut without; any liive, in large boxes, or in a smoke house, and, although the winter was severe, they wintered perfectly. James Heddon : I would say to fattier Langstroth, that I do not claim that tlie bee will eat pollen, during the winter, from instinct, but they are sometimes compelled to eat it. The next topic of discussion was " Comb foundation." E. J. Oatman : I prefer the Given to all others. Think 7 square feet to the pound about right. James Heddon : I prefer the Given foundation ; for sections I would have it about 8 feet to the pound. For put- ting foundation in brood frames, the Given has no competitor. E. J. Baxter: That Mr. Dadant has, the past season, made 45,000 pounds of Dunham foundation, is something in its favor. Geo. Grimm : I have laid aside the Dunham mill for the Given press. I prefer the Given foundation both for surplus and for brood combs. The base of the cells are always thin, even in a heavy sheet of foundation, and as it is the base only that receives the pressure, the side walls are soft. Dr. Miller : I like the Given foun- dation best, but I have noticed that it is not always of uniform tliickness, some parts of the same sheet being thicker than others. James Heddon : The base is so very thin in the Given, tliat any dif- ference is more perceptible. T. F. Bingham : As the bees are obliged to add some wax in order to tinisu the comb, what material differ- ence does it make if some parts are a trifle thicker than others ? I think that the excessive pressure of some mills makes the foundation too hard ; and the bees are thus liable to thin the base if it needs it. The next subject was "Fastening Foundation in Sections." E. J. Baxter : I fasten it in by pressing it in with a knife. Dr. Miller : I prefer the Clark fast- ener. F. Wilcox: I never tried the Parker fastener — use the Clark. In removing the section, I pull out one corner first, which answers the same purpose as the sliding-back movement of the Parker. I fasten foundation in the brood frames with a putty knife. Dr. i\Iiller : I do not twist the sec- tion in removing it from the Clark fastener, and the starters do not fall out. James Heddon : No other fastener except the Parker has that sliding- back movement, and, without that, I consider no fastener as perfect. Geo. Grimm : I fasten mine with melted wax and a brush ; I keep the wax at the proper temperature by means of a lamp. Upon the subject of " Purifying Wax," Mr. Black said : Melt it with large quantities of water ; let it cool slowly while upon the water, and all impurities will settle to the bottom. The question was asked : Is it profitable to prevent after-swarming? F. Wilcox : Yes. My. Black : It depends upon cir- cumstances. Second swarms are often the best ; especially is this so if they come during a good flow of honey, when they can build up quickly. The succeeding year they are the very best of colonies. James Heddon : Some, to prevent after swarming, cut out tlie queen- cells. I object to this. There is something in nature that hatches the best queen first. Now, I will tell you how I manage second swarns. I hive them upon frames of wired founda- tion, and place the hive containing them by the side of the old colony. As soon as the queen is fertilized and laying, I shake the whole swarm down in front of the old hive, and put away the drawn-out foundation for future use. All the bees being the offspring of one queen, they do not quarrel. I have tried uniting" bees ; some seasons they did not quarrel, others they did. Geo. Grimm : I hive an after swarm, and place it by the side of the old colony, and then a"t evening shake it down in-front of the old hive. James Heddon : Yes, I have tried that plan, but the next day out came the swarm again. "Prevention of robbing and unit- ing bees." Rev. L. L. Langstroth : If it is in order, I should like to tell how Mr. I). A. Jones manages robber bees. He has found tliat one dry bee can con- quer a large number of wet ones ; hence, when there is any fear that robbers may over-power a colony, he piles hay in front of the entrance, then wets some hay and puts over this, and the result is, that the rob- bers become wet and are easily over- 530 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. powered. Mr. Langstroth had also successfully united colonies that were inclined to quarrel after he tried to unite them, and it was done by wetting with sweetened water, tl)e colony that was at home. The in- truding colony had no desire to light. The Convention adjourned to meet again in Chicago upon the Wednes- day and Thursday of the last week of the Exposition, when heid.in 18S4. W. Z. Hutchinson, Sec. For tile American Bee JoumaJ. Worker Bees in ftueea-Cells, etc. G. M. DOOLITTLE. On page 433, 1 see that Mr. lleddon is puzzled by that " Curious freak of bees," given by JSIr. Rickeubacher. Mr. 11. says that, while cutting out queen-cellsi one of them fell to the bottom-board unnoticed, and in it lie afterward found an old dead worker bee. As he says he did not notice it at the time it fell to the bottom- board, I take it for granted that it did not fall there, but that the bees built it there, for I have frequently found queen-cells built by the bees in all sorts of places in the hive, some of which was more strange than a queen- cell on the bottom-board to the hive. Mr. R. further states that, at the time he cut out the queen-cells lie grafted in a cell from an Italian col- ony, the queen from which went out with a swarm a few days afterwards. He then asks why the bees sealed the cell with the dead worker in it, and then swarmed. Here again I take it for granted that the queen-cell with the dead worker in it had nothing to do with the swarming of the bees, for a swarm of bees know whether a queen-cell contains an embryo queen which is alive o'r not, just as well be- fore it is opened as Mr. R. knew what was in the cell after he had opened it. I have seen this verified in many instances, when queen-cells have been chilled so as to kill the young queen. The way the worker came in the cell was this : As soon as the young queen emerged from the cell, the worker went in to partake of a royal jelly diet, as bees always will do. While the bees were in the cell, the cap to the same was pushed shut by some of the bees, when it was fastened there, thus securing the unfortunate worker a prisoner, after which she died ; hence was found dead. Many of such cases havecome under my notice. Now, why did tlie bees swarm with the Italian queen ? Probably from one or two reasons, the most likely of which is that this queen from the "cell on the bottom -board hatched about the same time that the Italian queen did (from the cell inserted). Of course one must be killed, and the bees saw fit to keep the Italian and kill the Other. The Italian queen became old enough to take her wedding flight, and the bees (a swarm) went out with her, which is no uncommon occur- rence, by any means. The other rea- son would be, I hat tliis queen from the cell on the bottom -board hatched and was killed as before, while, in some out-of-the-way place, was a queen-cell not so "nearly mature, wliich escaped the notice of Mr. R. As this cell came to maturity later, tiie bees swarmed after the few days, under the same conditions as a second or third swarm issues, and both queens went with the swarm, as is often noticeable, especially with third swarms, as the parent colony is often left queenless by all the young queens going out with a third swarm. In any event there can be no question but what a queen had hatched from the cell in wliich the dead worker was found. IS SMOKE INJURIOUS TO BEES? On page 483, 1 am asked " Whether the very pungent smoke from the use of sound wood in bee smokers has no deleterious effect on the delicate larviB and eggs of the bees." I have smoked a patch of eggs and larvse thoroughly, and marked the same by sticking wire nails around it, but have never found any of the brood removed by the bees, but all were sealed over and came out perfect bees ; hence I conclude that smoke from any kind of wood is not deleterious to the bees or the brood. CHILLED BKOOD. Not so with unsealed brood when it is exposed to a temperature which is below 55^ to 60^ F., for I have often marked patches of brood as above, from whicli the bees had withdrawn when the frames were handled in a low temperature, and I have invari- ably found that the bees removed all such brood as was exposed, even for a few moments at a time, outside of the hive. In the spring of the year, when the weather is generally cool, and the bees are few, considerable loss is likely to occur in this way, unless the operator is very careful. Especially is a cold wind liable to in- jure the brood, for the cold air is forced into the cells at such a time, while if the day was still, the few bees which were onthe comb might protect it for a short space of time. In a still day, no harm will result, as long as the bees keep spread out evenly over the brood ; but as soon as tliey begin to draw together, thus leaving apart of the brood exposed, you may know that you will lose much if you proceed with your operations. At such times it is best not to open the hives, but if such is necessary to be done, and the hive is full of frames of comb, I select such as has no brood in it, setting it outside of the hive. This will give room to manipulate the others easily, and by being as expeditious as pos- sible, I rarely get any brood chilled, since I have "found out how to guard against it. In early spring, brood is of much value, and he who can so work his bees here at the North, so as to get the greatest amount of brood during the month of May, will be the most certain of success. Borodino, N. Y. Rural New Yorker. A New Bee Enemy. rUOK. A. .J. COOK. It has long been known to chicken fanciers that our poultry often suffer serious injury from a small mite. I have seen these little pests, red with the internal juices, so thickly clus- tered on boards, etc., in the poultry house, tliat to grasp the board meant death by crushing to thousands of these inlinitesinial pests. It has long been known that other mites attacked others of our domestic animals, like the cow, the horse, the sheep, etc. Other mites attack sugar, flour and cheese. The little red spider —also a mite— so thrives in a dry at- mosphere that house plants are often destroyed by its blighting attacks. I have known the tidy housewife to be seriously annoyed by mites which had come from birils that had nested just above her window. The little vital specks fairly swarmed on the window panes. Other mites take up their abodes between tlie bases of the human lingers, while others still smaller inhabit the face pimples even of the graceful belle. That insects are often preyed upon and destroyed by mites is a well known fact. Newport described a mite which he found on the larvae of a wild bee ; but that our honey bee is A New Bee Enemy— from life. attacked and even destroyed by these little living particles is recent and most unwelcome news. During the past spring a lady bee- keeper of Connecticut discovered these mites in her hives while investi- gating to learn tlie cause of their rapid depletion. She had noticed that the colonies were greatly reduced in number of bees, and upon close obser- vation she found that the diseased or failing colonies were covered with these mites. The strong and proser- ous colonies were exempt from the annoyance. 8o small are these little pests that a score could take posses- sion of a single bee, and not be near neighbors either. Mrs. S. feels cer- tain that she found the same kind of mites on the church window where she resides. Upon request she sent me some of these latter which were lost in the mails. The lady states that the bees roll and scratch in their vain attempts to rid themselves of these annoying stick-tights, and finally, worried but, either fall to the bottom of the hive or go forth to die outside. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 531 Mites are not true insects, but are the most deRiacled of spiders. The sub-chiss Arachnida are at onee rec- ognized by tlieir eight legs. The or- der of mites (Accariiia) wliich in- cludes the wood tick, cattle tick, etc., and mites, are quickly told from the higher orders— true spiders and scor- pions—by theirrounded bodies, which appear like mere sacks, with little ap- pearance of segmentation and their small, obscure heads. The mites alone of all the Arachnida, pass through a marked metamorphosis. Thus the young mite has only six- legs, while tlie mature form has eight. The bee-mite is very small, hardly more than Hve m. m. (1-50 of an incli) long. The female is slightly larger than the male, and somewhat trans- parent. The color is bhick, though the legs and more transparent areas of the females appear yellowish. As will be seen by the figure, which shows the form and structure very accu- rately, the anterior legs are the long- est. All the legs are flve-jointed, slightly hairy, and each tipped with two hooks or claws. Each of the moutli organs is tipped with a tuft of fine hairs. The eggs which show tnrough the body, as seen in ttie drawing, are mere specks of a red color, and from the fact that there are several sizes in the gavid females, indicating separate crops, it is probable that these females are not creatures of a day, but possess quite a longevity. Tlie mites were sent me in a bottle, and when they arrived there were very numerous eggs and several of the yotmg six- legged mites occupying the vial with the more mature forms REMEDIES. The fact that what would be poison to the mite would probably be death to tlie bees, makes this question of remedy quite a difficult one. I can only suggest wliat Mrs. Squire has tried — frequent changing of the bees from one hive to another, after which the hive can be freed from the mites by scalding. The trouble with this cure is the rapid increase of these Liliputian pests, and the fact that many would adhere to the bees, and so be carried along with them, and so escape the hot- water bath. Or course, the more frequent the transfer, the more thorough the remedy. IMPORTANT SUGGESTION. I would suggest placing pieces of fresh meat, greased paper, etc., in the hives in hopes to attract the pests, which when massed on these decoys could easily be killed. If thought bestj the traps could be screened by placing them in a box made of tine wire gauze so that the bees could not reach tliem. In such screens I should try placing paste- board smeared with a thin coat of thick syrup, to see if the mites had a sugar tooth to lure them to destruction. On such a sticky surface it would be well to sprinkle flour, sugar, etc. If we can find in this manner some substance that will attract these little destroyers, and call them off of the bees, the battle is won. Lansing, Mich. si£^ms^Mm WS^'Se tiiffiR^WP The Michigan Convention. Dear Mji. Editor :— May lask you to call special attention to our next annual meeting to be held in Flint, Dec. 6 and 7, of the Michigan Bee- Keepers' Association. We expect to have by far the best nieetinfj ever held in the State. It is expected that the Rev. L. L. Langstroth will be present. To see and hear him will pay any one for the trouble and expense incident to the journey. We also expect D. A. .Jones, A. I. Root, C. F. Muth, and hope to have C. C. Miller and T. G. Newman. From wliat I hear, Michi- gan bee-keepers are to be out in force. Hotel rates are to be $1.00 a day. Far- ther particulars as to programme, will be given soon. We expect to get re- duced rates on the railroads. To aid in this, and that I may know how many certilicates on railroads to ask for, will every one in this or other States who expect to come, drop me a card at once to that effect V A. .1. Cook, President. Lansing, Mich., Oct. 15, 1883. The colony at Mr. Lincoln's should! be burned at once, hive and all. Other colonies in the neighborhood should be examined, and if the disease shows itself, it will be most wise to burn all such colonies. It may be best in a large apiary to try to cure by the salicylic acid method, as explained in my book, or by the starvation plan ; but with but a few afflicted colonies, a man owes it to himself, and surely to his neighbors, to burn at once. I have given such advice to several suf- ferers this summer, and all who have tried it seem to have succeeded well. This stampingout process should be prompt, for let the " foul brood " once get into the trees in the woods (and what is to hinder), and it will be like Banquo's ghost, " it will not down." Foul brood seems to have a wide range. Within a week I have received a sample of it from Louisiana, where it is creating sad havoc— A. J. Cook.] Foul Brood. Prof. Cook, Sir: Hearing of the case of foul brood in Mr. Rider's apiary, at Howell, Mich., I gave an account of it at tlie Northern Michi- gan Bee - Keepers' Convention, re- cently held at Sheridan. Another man present gave an account of a case thought to be foul brood near Grun- ville, where the man had destroyed them. He also thought that there was a disease of the brood at a Mr. Lincoln's, near the same place. I being appointed one of a committee, I will try and tell you what I found, j went to Mr. Lincoln's accompanied by Hiram Rossman, a friend of II. M( on. We found a colony of bees in an old style of hive, badly diseased. Brood- rearing was in progress to quite an extent, but nearly all of the capped brood was dead, and in most all of them was a dark, ropy substance, and very offensive in smell. I will mail vou a sample of the same. Mr. Ross- inan told me that in 1876, 17 years ago in the spring, that he and Mr. Moon, while transferring a colony from a box hive for a Mr. Taylor, that they came across wliat Mr. iloon said was a case of foul brood ; there was a large amount of brood, and it was a mass of corruption, and the smell was bad. jSIr. Rossman says the two cases are identical. Please send this with your answer to tlie Bee Journal, and oblige many bee-keeping friends. S. J. YOUNGMAN. Cato, Mich., Oct. 13, 1883. [The sample sent is plainly " faul brood." The characteristic odor, the concave cappings,the central puncture to the cap, and the decaying brood, which, when drown out, is brown and stringy, all indicate but too plainly that the full destroyer is at hand. The Cure of Foul Brood. How about foul brood, and who is bothered with it among their bees ? If any there be that have thus been troubled, we suggest that a doctor be sent for at once. But not that doctor who had it in his own apiary for ten years, tusseling and testing in his way many remedies, and linally made a failure. (This happened in Cincin- nati, Ohio.) How does this sound coming as it did from a bee-keeper who thus reported last fall at a North American Bee-Keepers' meeting ? [Editor Bee Journal : — Above please find a slip from the Orange Bulletin, of Sept. 20, which please re- produce. It sounds so mucli like a slur that it requires a reply. You know I have never charged a cent for giving my experience to otiiers. We all know that the greatest ig- norami are the most apt to exagger- ate and to belittle others. There are such folks among bee-keepers, but I do not wish to put Mr. Hicks in that class ; will rather take it for granted that he meant a goo. I can flII orders at 2oc. per pound V3.S5 per peck, or !tf>lS per bushel. Also, all other SEEDS for HONEY PLANTS, ALFRED H. NEWMAN, 923 West MadisoD Street, Chicago, 111. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL AND BEE-KEEPER'S ADVISER. The BRITISH Bkk Journal is NOW published SEMI-MONTHLY, at Seven ShlllinBs, per annum, and contains the best practical information for the time being, showing what to do, and when and how to do it. Kev. H. K. PEEI>, £dItor. We send the Weekly American Bee Journal and t\ie BritUh Bee Journal. both for$3.(H^ a year. FL.^T- BOTTOM COMB FOUNDATION, ^■^__ja. high side-walls, 4 to 16 square feet tc Ij^^^^^S' the pound. Circalar and samples free. |;^-^2^^v^| J, VAN DEUSEN & SONS. "'"** " S^'le Manufacturers, Sprout. Brook, Mont. Co., N. ?. Vandervort Gomb Fdn. Mills, Send tot* Samples Az Reduced Prlce-!LT?T> maybe found on file lllio X Al rjlX at Geo. P, Howell & Co. '8 Newspaper AdverltsinK Bureau (10 Spruce St.), wbere advertising^ contracts may be made for It In MEW TfOKK.. C^J^' DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF THE PRODUCERS OF HONEY. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., OCTOBER 31, 1883. No. 44. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, Home Markets for Houey.— It is en- coiuaging to know that our advice about making home markets has been so generally followed. In the Secre- tary's report of the Northern Michi- gan Convention, on page 543, this language occurs : " Much more lioney has been sold in our home markets than in previous years ; nearly every one had found ready sale for all that had been produced." Yes; and by working the markets up there will be no trouble in selling ten times the amount that is now being produced. Let the good work go on. i^ Vice-President W. Z. Hutchin- son reports the following arrange- ments : " The Michigan State Con- vention meets at the City Hall in Flint at 10 a. m., on Dec. .5, and con- tinues in session two days. The Presi- dent and Secretary may be found at the Dayton Hotel; excellent board can be obtained for $1.00 per day." Suddenly Killed.— Mr. Henry Alley writes as follows: Mr. E. F. Cassell, of Illinois City, 111., a prominent and enthusiastic bee-keeper, was killed Oct. 6, while attempting to board a moving train of cars, Mr. Cassell has been one of my best customers for the past 10 years, and I regret his sud- den, sad, and untimely death. 1^ The feeder sent to our Museum by Mr. Alley, which we noticed on page 509, should have been called the " Locke Perfection Bee Feeder." Mr. Alley did not mention this at the time, and we innocently called it the '• Alley's Feeder." Drones from Worker Larva;.— In the report of the Northern Michigan Con- vention, in this JouKNAL. on page 542, Messrs. Youngman and Trussell state that their bees have "reared drones and queens from worker eggs and larvse." That queens can be reared, at will, from worker eggs and larvaj, is true, because both are fe- males, but that drones, being males, may also be reared at the will of the bees, from worker eggs and larvae, will be very generally disbelieved. Messrs. Youngman and Trussell should make further experiments, and report at the next meeting of the society,for, if we catch their meaning, their theory invalidates all the known facts in relation to the development of drones. But, perhaps, we do not get their idea, and hope to hear from them in the Bee Journal concerning the matter. Careful investigation may reconcile it. Surplus Honey Racks.— The Rev. A. Salisbury, of Camargo, 111., sent one of his honey racks to be examined at the Convention, and then to be placed in our- Museum— all of which has been done. He describes it as follows : As I cannot be present at the North- western Convention of Bee-Keepers, I send one of my honey racks and a set of sections, showing my method of storing comb lioney, and the ease with which the bees have access to all parts of the lioney chamber. My rack is only the top story of the hive. I am not apprised that any one uses the same rack in the same way, except bee-keepers here who have adopted it this season. If you think it will throw any light on progressive bee- keeping, please show it to the friends at the Convention, after which place it with your collections of improve- ments. A. Salisbury. Camargo, 111., Oct. 13, 1883. 1^ It must be understood that, should an advertiser desire to cancel an unexpired contract, he can do so only by paying regular rates for the number of insertions his advertise- ment has had. Hilton's Apiary.— Mr. Geo. E. Hil- ton, Fremont, Mich., has sent us a view of his apiary, intended to be ex- hibited at the late Convention, bui it did not come till after it closed. It is placed in our office album. He de- scribes it as follows : " As my business matters are as- suming a shape that I shall not be able to consistently attend the Con- vention and see you all, as I should dearly love to, and had expected to I mail you an 8x10 photograph of my home and the portion of my apiary that IS not hidden by the house and trees. You will recognize me near the tront row of hives ; the person in the rear is a friend, and the parties in front of the dwelling, are my brother and his family, who are doing all they can to make home pleasant for me since the death of my dear wife, last May. ^° Mr. Moses Bailey, Winterset, Iowa, writes thus of our book " Bees and Honey," after he had read it : "I have perused your book entitled 'Bees and Honey; or the Management of an apiary for pleasure and profit,' and I (ind it to be ' just splendid.' Thanks for sending it to me." A cloth bound copy will be presented to any one sending one neio subscriber for the Weekly for 1S84, or two new subscri- bers for the Monthly for 1884. W Another Bee Paper is dead— the Illustrated Bienen Zeitung, published in German at Zurich, Switzerland. After struggling for 19 months for an existence, it succumed to the inevita- ble. ^ Mr. J. S. Barb, Bristolville, O., sends us a plant for name. It is cleome— an excellent honey-producing plant. 1^ To all new subscribers for the Weekly Bee .Journal who send us $2.00 for 1884, we will send the re- mainder of this year free, from the time the subscription is received. So, the sooner they subscribe, the more numbers they will get free. 540 fHE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. The Use of Honey as Food. Dr. W. G. Plielps, in the Practical Farmer, gives tlie following on the use of honey, both as food and medi- cine : In the minds of many persons there exists a prejudice against the ordinary use of honey as food. We hear it sometimes asserted that honey is an unwholesome sweet inducing cohc, dyspepsia and various other disorders of the system. Such assertions are groundless. Honey in its purity is a God-given sweet, and, in its proper use is conducive to health and strength. Indulged in immoderately, and only then at rare intervals, it may, likemaiiy other excellent articles ot food provoke an attack of colic or in- digestion. Used however frequently and in connection with other food, it has a tendency to produce pure blood and give tone to the human system. Like all other sweets, it has also a tendency to fatten, and its use is said by medical writers to improve the beauty of the complexion. Sir John More, as early as 1707, was aware of the medicinal and beneficial effects of honey as a food, for he speaks as tol- " The bee helpeth to cure all of your diseases, and is the best little friend a man has in the world. Honey is of subtle parts, and therefore doth pierce as oil, and easily passeth the parts of the body It openeth obstructions and cleaneth the heart, and lights of those humors that fall from tlie^ head ; it uureeth the foulness ot the body, cureth phlegmatic matter and sharp- eueth the stomach ; it purgeth also those things that hurt the clearness of the eve breedeth good blood, stirreth uu the natural heat, and prolongeth life It keepeth all tilings uncorrupt that are put into it, and is a sovereign medieant-both for outward and in- ward maladies, etc." Experience with the use of honey m my own family,! believe,,fully verifies Sir John-s' excellent opinion ot this delicious substance. The question has been asked me by several of your readers: "Is not the comb taken into the stomach injurious V I think T can safely answer, no 1 In otnei articles of food we often take into the . stomach similar, i'wligest.ble substan- ces without injury, and otte i with benefit. Who, for instance, takes the trouble to seeci every gi'aPXiL' indl' or qtjine every cherry i* These mdi- gestible .articles pass through the Bodv without ill the least injuring it. So with wax, as eaten in moderation in comb honey. The uses to which honev can be put in cooking .and m medicine, indicate it as ot prime im- portance in the economy of life. Used Instead of sugar for preserving rasp- berries and other fruits, I know of not ling its equal, as to many such compounds ii imparts a peculiarly delicious flavor. For sore throats, ulcers of the mouth, and manv other diseases honey forms a valuable rem- rAv To tlie rare individual f..r whom the temperate use of honey may pro- duce functional disorders, I would say try heating honey before using it, and 1 see if all such trouble is not remedied. Honey can really no longer be consid- ered one of the mere luxuries of lite. For the poor, it has become a cheap and wholesome substitute for the too frequently impure butter. Millions of pounds are to-dav consumed by rich and poor alike, when 10 or 15 years since, but a few thousands were used. The severe stab which the manufac- turer of the miserable glucose has re- ceived is due to a great extent to the production of extracted honey. This being the pure article, and produced, even at a profit, for 10 cents per pound, has virtually gained the mas- tery in competition with t)ie above falsely so named " cheap sweet." Eat pure honey therefore, so that you may grow strong and handsome, fat and jolly, and— best of all— healthy and wise. Honey Crop in Saginaw Co., Mich. A correspondent in the Saginaw Co., Mich., Eveninq News of last Thursday, contains the following con- cerning the honey crop of that sec- tion, and as that is the home of Dr. L. C. Whiting, Ileatherington & Welling- ton and Mr. James Ure, it will inter- est our readers to know how the " sweet work " proigresses there : I have made inquiries of bee-keep- ers, and made a careful estimate of the yield of honey in Saginaw County, and" find that tliis year's product is but one-fourth of what it was last year. The season opened with prom- ising prospect, bees increased rapidly in numbers and swarmed about the close of the white clover blossom. The new swarms have gathered no honey, and must be fed, or they will starve, during the winter. Some bee- keepers have already bought honey and sugar in equal parts and fed their bees for winter. It has been a question with some whether it would be economy to shake the bees out of the combs and save what stores they have, or buy S3 worth of feed for each colony, to feed them, and run the risk of losing them after all, during the winter. All col- onies are light in bees, whether they have stores or not, but this is espec- ially the case with those with little or no honey. This is usually an unfa- vorable condition for a cold winter. The best that can now be done is to see that they have plenty of stores, and are packed so as to keep out the cold, or placed in a cellar that does not freeze. ^° Mr. J. D. Enas writes that the name given in his communication on page 505 of the Bee Journal for Oct. 10, as " Mr. M. Bragg," should be Mr. M. Bray. Of course it was an oversight of the printer. ^5" Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra. ^- We have received a copy of the Swine Breeders" iSIanual, or how to breed and manage improved swine, published by P. M. Springer, Spring- field, 111., at 25 cents. The Swine Breeders' Manual presents the subject in some of its details in a plain, brief way. Even those who have never kept any other than common hogs, may find in it much that will aid them to secure better results than are usually reali- zed in the rearing of ordinary stock, and which may lead them to a trial for themselves of improved swine. Honey and Beeswax Market. OPPICB OF AMEKICAN BKB JOCTBNAL. } Monday, 10 ». m., Oct. 29, 1883. i The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. HONEV— The demand for honey is eitremcly slow, and our commission houses are too well sup- plied to expect anything else. Prices rule low. Manufacturers complain of slow business. Ex- tracted honey brinKS -®ac. on arrival I hare bought for less. Comb honey In good order, 12@15. BEESWAX— Good yellow beeswax brings nUM ct».;otrerlngsfew. CHA9. F. MOTH. NEW TORE. HONET— White clover and basswood In I and 2 lb. sections, 17w'21c. Dark and second quality, uaisc; extracted white clover In kegs and bar- rels, aoioc: dark, Sc. „,^.,„„ BEESWAX— Prime yellow, 27®29c. "•^ H. K. &F. B. THUBBEB*C». CHICAGO. HONEY-The demand forhoney is good. Choice 1 lb sections ot white comb, well fllled, brings 189 ■'oc • IW to 2 lb. sections, ItiOlSc. No demand for dark comb honey. Extracted honey is bringing 8 ®loc. per pound, according to body, color and "^BBESWAX-Prime yellow, 33c ; medUim,28®30. K. A. BPK.VETT. 161 South Water Bl. BAN FRANCiaCO. HONBY-There is a fair jobbing trade. Offerings are not large. Choice qualities command extreme figures. White to extra white comb lfi™20c. ; dark to good, imimc: Extracted, choice to extra white 8(ivaHc.; dark and candled, cjkicavXc. BEBSWAX-Wiiolesale, 27(a2HC. a..„, BTEABN8 S SMITH. 423 Front Street. ST. LOUIS. HONBY-Chotce in better demand, but un- changed. Sales chlehyin a small way. We quote strataeS and extracted at 6^..s.7c. Comb at 12X® uic • choice, in fancv packages, higher. BBBSVVAX-Kendil%ala..leat2«427forchoice. W.T. ANDERSON 4 CO.. 104 N. 3d Street. CLBVBLAND. HONEY-Comes very slowly and sells as fast as lt"onies at IRMUlc. for best white In 1 lb. sections, and ™^jlHc. for 2 lb. sections. Second quality Is ?ery slow. Extracted usually sells very slowly In our market. BBESWAX-No^ne^in Market.^ Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONE Y-We quote extracted honey at W®uc.. with agood demand. We have sold easily four Sies n"s much extracted as we ever did before. nwicsw AX— AVe haye none to quote. "™ b15ke A KIPLEY. 57 Chatham Street. KANSAS CITY, MO. HONKY-Market continues active, anif eve^- thiiiB in the way of comb honey is taken up on irnval at naiHc. for choice 1 and 2 lb. 'ectfons. Kxtractcd honey Is In light demand, though some good site, were made last week at a concession «M®'iic 1 latter price for strictly choice honey In llSion square tin cans with screw top, which Is a rtBstrftble ahHPe for this market. desiraD^e^snm « Twichbll. 536 Delaware Street. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 541 For tlie American Bee JournaL My Report for 1883. G. M. DOOUTTLE. By turning to page 218, of the pres- ent volume of the Bee JournaLj the reader will there find in what condition my bees were on May 2 of this year. About this time the weather began to warm up, and new flowers to produce pollen, so that brood soon began to be reared quite abundantly. About May 25, apple blossoms opened ; but, as it rained the most of the time, little honey was obtained, so that most of the brood was reared from old honey still left in the hive. White clover bloomed very profusely, but as it was cold and wet all the while, the bees did not get a li^'^ng, and, to keep them in good conditi<;in to gather honey when it came, I fed them from 2U0 to 300 pounds of old honey, which I had on hand. Whitewood, sumac and wild mustard came and went, but yielded no honey, and, although there was a merry hum in the locust trees while in bloom, when it did not rain, still scarcely enough honey was ob- tained to keep up brood-rearing, even while the trees were white witri blos- soms. It was rain, rain all the while, till every one longed for a few days of dry w'eather. On July It), the basswood blossoms opened, and, although, it still rained nearly every day, yet between the showers the bees worked as I never saw bees work before. While the blossoms to most other flowers are so formed as to catch the rain when it falls, and thus dilute the nectar in them, or wash it all away, the bass- wood blossom stands like an inverted dish, causing the rain drops to glide off witliout touching the nectar, thus allowing this flower to afford the bee an opportimity to secure the coveted sweet, even in a rainy time. To this peculiarity of the basswood flowers I owe most of my lionev crop, for it rained nearly every day while the' basswood was in bloom. On .July 2.3, it became cold, so that for three days scarcely a bee left the hives, and the bee yard was nearly as silent as in winter. About noon on the 27th, it warmed up enough so that the bees again went to woi-k, and for the next week they labored assiduously when it did not rain. At this time the bloom was gone near the apiary, but on the hills, some si.x miles dis- tant, it was still in its prime. As no long rainy spell had made a " gap " in tlie flowers, the bees followed up, as the flowers receded, till this dis- tance was reached, while a long rain of three days would have allowed the bloom to have failed at a point two miles or so from home, for a mile or so in width, over which the liees would not have passed to find the flowers which were in bloom beyond. Thus fortunate, the bees still labored five or six days on the hill tops which helped them to finish up many sec- tions which would otherwise have been left unfinished. Many claim that bees do not work so far from home, or if they do, it is of little or no advantage, but I could see but little if any difference as to the gain made at this time, when compared with the week previous. But, to return, with Aug. 13, the supply on the hills seemed to fail, and when I opened the hive on the 14th, I soon saw that the honey harvest was over, as robber* began to appear. For the sixth time, in succession, buck- wheat failed to give any honey, and the season of 18SS passed without a single pound of surplus except from basswood. By loss in wintering, as given on page 2tS, and sale of bees and early queens, my stock was reduced to 5.5 colonies, 40 of which were fairly good and the remaining 15 were from weak to very weak. I decided to work the 40 good ones for honey, and the 15 weak ones were to be devoted to queen-rearing. By footing up the re- sult, I find that the 40 worked for honey, gave a surplus in comb honey of 2^388 pounds, and of extractecl honey 1,922 pounds, making 4,310 pounds in all, or \01% pounds, as the average yield per colony, spring count. Aly comb honey was sold at 16 cents per pound, delivered at our nearest railroad station to a buyer for the Boston market, and my extracted is selling readily at 10 cents. By adding the sales of bees and queens to the product of the honey, and deducting expenses, I find I have $1,021.30 left as the net proceeds from the bees. As I have 80 colonies of bees at the time of the writing, in as good condi- tion as were the 80 a year ago, this gives me a salary of SI ,021 .30 for caring for 80 colonies of bees one year, during which there was no honey yield, except from basswood. I am frequently asked why I do not keep more bees, and why I do not at- tend conventions, etc. I wish here to reply to all, that I have a beloved father who is entirely helpless, from " creeping palsy," who depends upon me (an only son) to lift and care for him. So long as he lives my duty is plainly at home, which reason is suf- ficient excuse tor a small number of bees kept, and a close confinement at home. Borodino, N. Y. For the American Bee Journal. Northern Michigan Convention. The Xorthern Michigan Bee-Keep- ers' Association met at Sheridan, ]Mich., at 10 a. m. Called to order by the President t4eo. W. Stanton. The proceedings of tlie last meeting were read and approved. The roll of mem- bers was called, and a fair number found to be present. The meeting adjourned until 1 p. in. At 1 p. m. the meeting was called to order by the President. The Secre- tary's and Treasurer's reports were read and approved. The enrollment of members was then made, which numbered 29. The reports of the standing com- mittees were then in order. The First Vice-President, F. A. Palmer, re- ported his success in bee-keeping as follows : In 1880, I bought 2 colonies, and, in Itlay, I brought them home, and that season doubled them in niun- ber and took 135 pounds of honey, .35 of which was comb, and the lialance extracted. I wintered them in Roop's winter hive, packed in sawdust, suc- cessfully. In 1881, 1 increased to 12 colonies, and took 775 pounds of honey, mostly extracted, which I sold for $99.27. I" wintered again success- fully as before, on the summer stands, and' in 18.82, I increased to 30 colonies, and took out one ton of honey, 100 pounds of which was comb, and the balance extracted. In the fall, owing to a pressure of oflTicial duties, I neg- lected to prepare my bees for winter, and lost all but one colony ; I have increased to two, this summer, and shall buy more in the spring.'' Our Fifth Vice-President, Miss F. A. Bellamy, of Ionia, makes the fol- lowing report : "I received notice from our Secretary, as I was one of the ofllcers, that I should make a re- port of my work this season. This is my third year in the apiary. I con- sider myself a novice. I have learned much, but I think I have very much more yet to learn. We began this spring with 13 colonies ; now we have 40 strong colonies in good condition for winter, and have secured 2,4.50 pounds of honey, besides what our family have used on the table ; that I have no account of. We have some neighbors that keep a few colonies, but with a few exceptions they are doing but very little with them. I have solicited their attendance at this meeting." No other Vice-Presidents being present, we listened to the President's address, giving an account of his summer's w(n-k in the bee yard. Not meeting with the best success, he did not care to have it appear in print, lie has 48 colonies, mostly strong; 8 or 10 may need help ; his bees were not yet prepared for winter. The following subjects were then discussed : " The cause and disposal of fertile workers;" and "The in- troduction of fertile queens to colo- nies that have just swarmed." Thirty- six bee-keepers were then present. The subject of "Foul Brood" was brought up, and enlisted a lively in- terest, as two or more cases were re- ported as existing in the county, hav- ing been brought here from Ilowell, JNIich. ; the facts of vyhich were well known to Mr. S. J. Youngman, of Lake View, and W. W. Trussel, of Colby. A committee of three were appointed to investigate the same, and if it be found that foul brood ex- isted ill our county, to take the neces- sary steps to 'destroy the same. The Pre'sident appointed the following members as a committee : S. J. Youngman, Lake View ; W. W. Trus- sel, Colby ; 11. M. Hoop. Carson (Mty. The subject of "Comb Foundation " was then taken u)), and the different makes and (jiialities discussed ; each giving their preference to some par- 542 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. ticular make, Imt the general impres- sion was : that made on the Dunham machine by Dadant. was as good as any made. No one favored the use of old foundation carried over from the previous year, but would advise it being melted and made over. Some (experiments made by Mrs. A. M. Sanders, during the past season, showed great advantage in favor of foundation made by Dadant & Son. Many thought much of the difference was owing to the material used as a lubricator in its manufacture ; others in the manufact>u-e of the wax ; wlietlier it lie rendered with a wax extractor bv the process of steam, or the old way of the wash boiler and rag process. Mr. AV. O. Burk being present, who is engaged in the manu- facture of foundation, says he has seen no wax that was burned that was gotten out with the wax extractor. The subject of " Robber Bees " was discussed, as to tlie process of pre- venting and bi-eaking up robbery. Many devices were given. " The care of eijipty combs " was then taken up. No device was given that had been successful except by making a large box or cupboard, closely" made, and by placing the combs therein and fumigating with sulphiu'. "The process of rearing queens" was then taken up. Mrs. A. M. San- ders practices Doolittle's plan. Much favor was shown for the plan as given by Mr. J. H. Roliertson, and the read- ing of this plan was called for. and the Secretary read the same, as given last >ear, from the minutes of the last convention. S. J. Youngman gave us his plan of removing the (pieen and all unsealed brood, aiid after twelve hours he took a card of drone comb and cut it on a circle, then selecting the larvse from a colonv from which he wished to rear queeils, taking a strip of the same and cutting off the cells one-half or two-thirds their length, and with wax or glue fasten it on the under edge of the comb, cut on a circle, and with a match or quill remove every other one of the young larvoe, leaving suffi- cient room "to cut the queen-cells from the combs when ready to hatch, and placiiig them in a nuclei. In this way lie has increased from 12 colonies to do, tlie present season, and extracted 8(X) pounds of honey ; 8 colonies went to the woods, and he lias sold 12 queens. bi" Drone brood, how disposed of,'' was then discussed, and it was unani- mously approved that it should be well pruned out with a knife, leaving a reasonable amount in each hive, anil in black or hybrid colonies their own brood should Ite all removed and other substituted from more desirable colonies. "The different methods of feed- ing '' was then discussed. No new way being devised, many of the old ways being satisfactory ; but all agreed that fall feeding should be done early to prevent too late brood-rearing. If feeding must be done, let it be done as earlv as possible. W. W. Trussell says he has had a colony that had no drone eggs or drones, and the queen was destroyed, and the bees reared drones and queens from worker eggs. Mr. Youngman says he has had queens, drones and worker cells all from the same larvse ; they were all capped, but he does not know what hatched from them. During the above session upwards of (JO persons were present. Adjourned to 7 p. m. The evening session was called at 7 p. m.. with all the officers present. The first subject taken up was the " Best method of increase." There was a diversity of opihion, but much favor was shown toward the plan given by Mr. Youngman, of starting early a nucleus with one or two frames of brood, and adding otliers as fast as the bees can care for them, by taking one or two frames from strong colonies when they could spare them, shaking the bees off at the old hive. Messrs. Wood. Benham and others favored artificial swarming. A. L. Entricon had wintered drones and had queens fertilized very early, at a time when he thinks no other drones were in the yard ; the queen was reared in the colony in which the drones were. ■' The use of old combs ; how long to be used." All admit that very old combs Avill produce smaller bees, but no one was able to tell whether those bees would ever attain full size after hatching. ^Nlr. Youngman would not discard old combs, if perfect, for 10 or 15 years use. Mr. Goodno approves of their use as long as perfect, as they are much bet- ter "to ship bees in. No time could be agreed upon as to when to discard them. The subject of " Bee pasturage " was then discussed. Much was said in favor of Alsike clover, the seed of which was furnished free by some of the members to their neighbors, who would sow it ; also buckwheat in the same way, botli of which could not be too highly spoken of. Other valuable bee plants were spoken of, which were of value besides for bees. Among them the English mustard and teasel. The Secretarv had placed upon ex- hibition seeds of the Kocky Mciuutain bee plant, borage, English mustard, sweet clover and flgwort, which he f reel v distributed among the members, lie was favorably impressed with the cultivation of all of them, placing them in waste places where now rag- weed and dog-fennel occupy the ground. The cultivation of honey plants seems more necessary in older countries. The choice for a bee loca- tion is surely where it is just being cleared up, where raspberries, boneset, flreweed. asters, goldenrod, Spanish needle and the many wild flowers have not been subdued. Adjourned luitil 9 a. m. A\'ednesdav, Oct. 10, at 9 a. m., the convention was called to order by President Geo. W. Stanton. " The use of the telephone in the bee-yard" was discussed, and much valuable information was given by F. A. Palmer, of McBride's, who made the discovery as to its use two years ago. and communicated the facts to A. I. Root, who now sells the instru- ments. Marketing honey was a topic of much interest, and showed that much more honey had been sold in our home markets than in previous years ; nearly every one had found ready sale for all they" had produced. The ladies present gave details of the use they had made of honey in preserving fruits, especially black- berries, and much preferred it to sugar. Some of their neighbors hav- ing bought honey in preference to sugar, considering it cheaper. The greater part of the honey produced by those present being extracted, and the price varying from 10 cents to 14 cents at their doors, and when placed in the stores for sale, had been put in jellv cups, one pint, one quart, and 'two (piart fruit jars ; and where it was to be retailed, Mr. L. S. Benham, of Alma, had had calls for it put up in large sizied jugs, letting it candy in the jugs, and when it reached its place of destination, it could be placed in a pan of hot water on the stove to liquefy, and make it convenient to retail. Mr. Palmer preferred Japan pails holding -50 pounds. Mr. " Yoiuigman was favorable to canvassing the eountv, and if neces- sary sell ill small quantities, and after- wards make larger sales in conse- quence, and when they would not at first buy, leave a sam'ple, and in that way make new customers. The Secretary thinks, no doubt, that we would receive ample reward for the expense of buying the pamplilet on " Honey as Food and Medicine," in lots of "500 or 1,000, and distribute them fully, while canvassing, as Mr. Youngman suggests. Mr. Benham said his experience was very unsatisfactory, in shipping honey in tin cans without coopering or crating. The comb honey reported by mem- bers present had all been sold at from 15 to 25 cents per pound. A short dis- tance showing a wide variation in prices in lioth extracted and comb honey, which is hoped will be regu- lated" in a few years to that of a uni- form price. The subject of "Wintering" was the all-absorbing topic, and there was no one present but had something to say. All of the old plans and theories were revived, and verbal reports made of past experiences : many of which were sad, but still hopeful to secure the patent for wintering bees. Many favoralile reports were given on ex- periments tried last year in burying them in trenches under ground. Others were inclined to try Mr. Den- nison's plan, who places them in cel- lars, removing the bottom-board and setting the hives on scantlings so that dead bees can di-op away from the bottom of the hives and frames. ISIr. Dennison has been very successful in wintering in that way. The subject was thoroughly discussed, and no one could go awav" without gaining some new ideas, aii"d all will be left to figure out its solution. ' The officers for the ensuing year were elected as follows : President, THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 543 S. J. Yoiingman, of Lake View ; Sec- retary and Treasurer, F. A. Palmer, of M'cBride's. 1st Vice-President, L. S. Benliam, of Alma ; 2d Vice-Presi- dent, Edward Hunt, of Sheridan ; 3d Vice-President, L. L. Bissell, of Lake View ; 4th Vice-President, Mrs. A. M. Sanders, of Slieridan ; oth Vice- President, J. IL Robertson, of Pewamo. The next annual convention will be held at Alma, Gratiot Comity, Mich., on the 2d Tuesday and Wednesday of October, 1S84. Adjourned until 1 p. m. The Secretary suggested that a semi-annual convention be held, dur- ing the working season, at some bee- beeper's apiary^ accessible by all, that we may get practical ideas,'aud that the same be made a basket picnic, and all have a good time. The suggestion was approved, and the President, Sec- retary, Treasurer, and 1st Vice-Presi- dent were made a committee to name the time and issue the call 'for the basket picnic convention. Miss F. A. Bellamy made the request that the fatlieri'ng be held at her liome near onia, which was cheerfully agreed to. There being a little time before the trains were due, the subject of hives and frames was discussed, there being 722 colonies represented by member's present, of which 539 were square or deep frames, and 183 Langstroth frames. It showed a preference for the square or deep frame. Mrs. A. M. Sanders could say nothing against the Langstrutli franie, though she had both the shallow and the square frames, but considered the square frame the most convenient to handle. Bees wintered well, and possibly bet- ter in the shallow frame than in the square, last winter. Mr. Goodno's experience had been aliout the same ; like all other discussions upon this subject, all did not agree. There was placed upon exhibition at this convention an improved winter bee hive for the shallow frame, by Wm. O. Burk, of Crystal, which at- tracted much attention, and met with favor. He also had a simple though convenient device for fastening foun- dation in sections of his own make. The Secretary also placed upon the table the eighth edition of Prof. Cook's Manual, Thos. G. Newman's " Apiary Register " for 200 colonies, a supply of Weekly and Monthly Bee Jouk- ISTALS, and general catalogues of liter- ature for the apiary, which was freely distrilnited. Others placed copies of A. I. Root's A B C of Bee-Culture. Quinby"s New Bee-Keeping bv L. C. Root, A. J. King's Text Book, and some fine comb honey by E. S. Collins, of Cedar Lake. This feature of the convention was interesting and in- structive, but it is hoped a'larger ex- hiljit will be shown at our next con- vention. The list of colonies with size of frames were as follows : L. L. Bissell, Lake View, 23 colonies in Langstrutli frames ; F. A. Palmer, ^IcBride's, 2 colonies in 10x10 frames ; S. J. Young- man, Lake View. 6o colonies in Lang- stroth frames ; F. O. Johnson, Chaii- wich. 32 colonies in 9x10 frames ; A.L. Entricon, Westville, 30 colonies in 10x12^ frames ; N.Kendall, McBride's 13 colonies in 10x10 frames ; E. E. Thayer, 4 colonies in 10x12 frames ; n. Peck, Saranac, 12 colonies in llx- 113-4 frames ; Geo. W. Stanton, Sheri- dan, 48 colonies in 10x12 frames ; O. R. Goodno, Carson City, 46 colonies in 10x10 frames, and Hi colonies in Lang- stroth frames ; Mrs. A. M. Sanders, Sheridan, 20 colonies in Langstroth frames, and 44 colonies in 10x12 frames; Mrs. Francis Miller, Sheridan, C colo- nies in 10x12 frames ; Miss F. A. Bel- lamy, lona, 40 colonies in Langstroth frames ; Wm. O. Burk, Crystal, 3 col- onies in Langstroth frames and 16 colonies in 10x10 frames ; Mrs. A. Bradley, Sheridan, 7 colonies in 10x12 frames ; W. M. Penny, Shilo, 39 colo- nies in 91^x10 frames ; E. S. Collins, Cedar Lake. 12 colonies in 10x10 frames; O. F. Mason, Crystal, 12 col- onies in 10x10 frames ; J. W. Mitchell, Carson City , 3 colonies in 10x10 frames, and 16 colonies in Langstroth frames ; W. W. Trussell, Colby, 33 colonies in 10x10 frames ; V. Hallett, Colby, 12 colonies in 10x10 frames ; M. Foster, Sheridan, 6 colonies in 10x10 frames ; L. S. Benham, Alma, 81 colonies in 10x10 frames ; Clias. Cross, Carson City, 63 colonies in 10x10 frames ; D. A. McLean, Stanton, 6 colonies in 10- xlO frames ; Mrs. G. L. Lean, Sheri- dan, 12 colonies in 10x12 frames. Total, -539 in square or deep frames, and 183 in Langstroth frames. A vote of thanks was tendered to Mr. Stone for the gratuitous use of his hall ; also a vote of thanks to Geo W. Stanton, E. Hunt, Mrs. A. M. Sanders, E. E. Thayer, and others, for gener- ous hospitulity. A vote of thanks was extended to the retiring Secretary for his service for the past six years, and for the in- terest he has always manifested in the welfare of the association. Ad- journed. Ol'HIR R. GOODNO. Betiring ib'ec. For the American Bee JoumaL Labeling Packages of Honey. W. Z. HUTCHINSON. Of late quite a number have tried to out-do somebody else in getting up showy honey labels. Such enterprise is commendable, but tlie honey label has not yet been invented. I fear the inventors are working in the wrong direction. Take a clean, smooth, white section box, fill it with snowy- white tempting comb honey. There ; does that need a fancy label V Will a showy label add to its' beauty V Will it not rather deti'act V Is a beautiful woman more beautiful when over- dressed with gaudy attire V Does a rich, ripe strawberry need a strip of colored paper wrapped around it before it is fit for market V If not, then why desecrate the virgin purity of our white combs of honey by pasting around them gaudy hibels V All, yes, says one, but these labels hide the propolis, mildewed sei^tions, and un- sightly holes left by the bees at the corners. Very true, but would it not be better to use smooth, white, well- seasoned sections, pursue such a method of management that the sec- tions will be well filled, scrape off all propolis, and then the lioney would be V)eautiful in its simplicity. Hundreds of people, upon seeing my exhibit of comb honey at the State Fair, exclaimed : " Tliat is the finest lot of honey that I ever saw !"' Tliat the honey was nice, is a fact, but there was an added attention of which, perhaps, no one tliought, and that is, the honey was stored in smooth, white sections, crated in crates made from smooth, white lumber, and the reflection of the light from the smooth white surface of the surrounding wood, gave to the honey an added whiteness. There was an entire absence of labels, and. as the cases were piled up, tier ujion tier, in the form of a pyramid, the exhibition was grand and beautiful in its sim- plicity. Pure, white comb honey cannot be adorned, but if any producer desires to have consumers know whose honey they are eating, and hopes thereby to gain fame and sell much honey, let iiim use a small, neat, unobtrusive rubber stamp bearing his name and address, and stamp each section before ]3utting it upon tlie hive. How about extracted honey V Well, if it is put in glass, and kept in a liquid state, what is the first thing that a would-be purchaser does ? He holds the package up to the light and exclaims: "'Ah, how fine!" That is, he does if the package is not co-\-- ered with a gaudy label, if so, how- can he V A neat, attractive, but small label is the liest for glass packages. When lioney is put up in tin. there is some excuse for adornment by the way of labels, but even then I do not approve of highly colored, flaming labels ; they give to the honey a tin- can, bar-soap, groceryfied appearance. Let the packers of fish, fruit, and vegetables adorn their wares with gaudy " chromos " if they please, but the product of the apiary requires nothing of the kind. It is beautiful in itself. " Beauty unadorned is most adorned." Rogersville, Mich. For the American Bee JoumaL ftueen Cages, Introducing, etc. W. DEJIAUEK. While reading Mr. Doolittle's article on page 511, Weekly Bee .Journal. concefning " sending queens by mail,'' it occurred to me that those persons who have received queens from my apiary, tlirough the mails, in the past season, and have read Mr. Doolittle's description of the cage used by him, will be puzzled to know which has stolen ■■ tother's thunder." Mr. D. or myself. Tlie cage described by Mr. J)', is •' point blank '" the same in ever\' substantial feature as the one I ha've used for sending (lueens by mail for more than a year past. In September, 1882, 1 sent a queen and her suite of l)pes to Rev. E. h. Briggs, of Iowa, and he returned the cage to me witli a iiueen and liev escort fi'ora his apiary without replenishing t!ie 544 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. food in the cage, as I luulerstood it from him, ami l)oth qiu'ens ami bees were found in tlie vei-y best eomlition when leaching the " end of their journeys. I. at first, used a tin tube in the form of a miniature barrel, which was filled with the soft candy and in- serted in the transverse hole in the cage, and the " bimg hole "" in the tin barrel was brought in line with the opening between the queen's apart- ment and the transverse food apart- ment. My idea for using the tin bar- rel was to prevent the soft wood block friim aliscirbing tlie moisture of the candy, and tn exclude the air as much as possible from the same. After testing this method of pro- visioning the cage to my own satis- faction, iinding it far superior to the old plan of boring one or two sliallow holes in the top of the block, leaving the fciod exposed to the air, I conceived the idea of waxing the transverse hole and thus secure all the advantages of the tin tulie without its extra expense and troid^le. I wax the food apartment of the cages by means of a " swab," which nearly tills the hole. This is dipped in hot wax and inserted into the hole and passed closely to every part, thus filling completely the pores of the wood. After tlie candy is passed into the hole, the latter is corked tightly with a common bottle cork, which is cut off, smooth with the block. A few words about soft candy for provisioning queen cages will riot be considered improper here. Doubtless some will remendier that several years ago I experimented considerably with a candy made by mixing pow- dered sugar "with a thiii paste made of hot water and flour ; my idea was that the paste would give adhesiveness to the mixture, and the " rawness " of the sugar would give the moisture. This candy proving to be seriously defective, though lietter than boiled candy. I commenced experimenting with candying honey. A good article of white clover, as i:horoug;hly granu- lated as I could get it. was enclosed in a thin cloth bag and washed in cold water until most of the glucose sub- stance was separated from the mass, after which the residue was tempered with granulated sugar until it was quite firm and stiff. I found this a success in every respect. I used this mixture liefore I ever heard of Mr. Giiod"s mixture of unprepared honey and powre than discussions on the wintering problem ; and though I would not for the world come between the cross-fire of two such sharp- shooters as ^Ir. Ileddon and Dr. Tinker, yet I like to stand beliind the fence and see the fun. Yesterday I got out my old volumes of bee journals to see how much pro- gress we have made in the last few years, and this is what I found in the American Bee Oazette under date of April 15, 1866 : " How to winter bees l)est in a cold climate, is one of the questions that has never Ijeen decided and probably never will be, as differ- ent apiarians have different methods of wintering them ; but a few princi- ples can be laid down that all will ad- mit to be correct, as follows : 1. To keep them in an even temper- ature, cool, but not cold enough to cause the dampness of hives to congeal to frost. 2. To keep them as quiet as possi- ble, and if placed in a room or winter bee house, to be in complete darkness. 3. To afford them a free ventilation of pure air under all circumstances." Will some one please answer how much more we have learned since then ! In searching through those old vol- umes, I found on a piece of old yellow paper, an article from my father's pen. which apparently has never been published, and as it bears somewhat upon this wintering question, and on the y and 10-frame Langstroth hive, I will copy it verbatim : Jefferson, Wis., April, 1870. " Langstroth vs. Square Hives. —I use three kinds of movable comb hives in my apiary. One is the com- mon one-story Laiigstrotli hive, 10x14- xl8 with 10 frames ; the second is lOx- 12x18 with 8 frames ; the third is llj^- xl3}^xl6 with 9 frames. I have used these hives for the last four years, but got up only hives of the second and third kind the last three seasons. I put my surplus honey boxes mostly directly on top of the frames, and let most of my hives swarm naturally. Now, for the result ; From No. "l, swarms came averaging not as often as from No. 2 and No. 8. and I got, so far. but little surplus honey. The col- onies in those hives, however, are usually very strong and heavy in the fall. From No. 2 (the 8-frame hive) I get more swarms than from No. 1, and nearly all my surplus honey. From No. 3 I get uiore swarms than THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 545 from either of the two other kinds, but had not a single pound of surplus honey last season from (Hi good colo- nies, and about i5 had not swarmed. The colonies in those hives are usually very strong and heavy in the fall. Bees in those three dinerent kinds of hives winter well if wintered in the cellar, better than in common box hives, all of which had more or less moldy combs this spring. All things considered, I prefer hive Xo. 2, and so much am I convinced of its superi- ority, that I made 300 of them last winter, and am now making o(iO more; while I make but 30 hives of No. 3 this season." One line is here skipped, then comes the following without date, but ap- parentlv written soon after : "From Nov. 9 to 12, last, fall, I stored away my 305 colonies of bees in my home apiary into the cellar and they remained there till the 20th of March, when I commenced taking them out. I finished on the 31st ; only 3 of the 30.5 colonies had died, .and they had been over-looked last simi- mer, having been queenless ever since swarming. Of the 362, only 3 appeared to be queenless. This is the best success I ever had in wintering bees. The bees in my outside apiaries are yet in their win- ter quarters. A. Grimm. Let me add^ that if,, as Mr. Heddon claims my father was very successful in winte'riug bees, and I have not a doubt on that point, then it is an es- tablished fact that lie was siiccessful ichile using the 8-frame TMngstroth hive ; because at the time when he kept the " large numbers of colonies" he had discarded nearly all oth^r styles ex- cept the S-franie Langstroth. Jefferson, Wis., Oct. 12, 1883. For tlie American Bee Journal. The Trial of the Small Sections. DK. G. L. TINKER. After much delay, I am able to make a report on the use of the small sec- tions. We had so much cold and wet weather in June and July, followed by a severe drouth in August, that the amount of surplus honey is below the average in this locality. In con- sidering the experiments here given, these facts should be taken into ac- count. The small section, 3J^x3%xl%, was used on 1-t colonies on an improved plan, the principle involved being, continuous passage ways and contin- uous combs. The plan proved to be a complete success, and might have been tested upon one hive as well as on the 14. I also found that the use of sections without separators could be made, with a little care in the man- agement, entirely satisfactory. But the use of separators with a small section will be found unprofitable on account of the extra labor and expense involved. When it was seen that the lialf- pound section without separators would be a success, one colony (a new swarm) was tried on the same plan with a section of larger size, i%x-i%\- 1}4. Twelve of these were nicely capped over, and tlieir weight found to average about 14 ounces, or not far from the average weight of the 4I4X- 4>4x2 section used with separators. •The plan worked as well witli this size as with the smaller. Other sizes larger were made, as samples, but they looked to be so much like a frame that the smaller size was adopted. With this size of section operated on my new surplus arrangement, it is believed that the utmost capacity of comb honey production by a colony of bees can be easily attained. But even with the smaller'size of section, oper- ated on the new plan, it is thought that considerably more honey can be obtained than by any other" plan of section arrangement now in use, and with less labor and less trouble! The tests were as follows : On seven hives the small section was tried with wood separators sawed ex- ceedingly smooth out of white poplar. The bees entered the sections readily enough, but not to cluster and begin comb building for several days, and then the progress was slow. In each case the honey was principally stored in the body ot the hive to the exclu- sion of brood, or the colony swarmed. That the separators were an olistruc- tion was plainly evident. The largest yield was only 40 pounds, wiiich amount was about 15 pounds above the average production of the 200 colo- nies in town. The average weight of the sections was 7 ounces. On seven hives, the small sections were used without separators. Three were old colonies and four were swarms. Two of the former were good colonies, but no stronger than a dozen others. The other one was a nucleus last fall, and the sections were not put on until late. Neither of the three swarmed. One gave 72 pounds and 5 ounces, one 51 pounds and 2 ounces, and the nucleus nearly 25 pounds. The new swarms yielded from 10 to 15 pounds each. Founda- tkm was only used for starters, aver- aging about one inch wide. The average weight of the sections was 8 ounces, and they were pronounced tlie handsomest sections that were ever sold in our market, commanding a ready sale at 25 cents per pound. Four colonies were worked upon two pound sections, which were all nearly filled witli clean white comb made last year. Each colony was worked to the best possible advantage on the old plan. Three were worked with sec- tion racks and one with section cases, side and top st for the book, we will, on receipt of 3iie. in stamps, mail one of Locke's Perfection Bee- Feeders. Handy Bnok and Feeder, by mail, J^i.riU. Send the money atnjy risk. Do not pay loc. to register it. Prospectus and special circulars describing three new and useful articles for the apiary, sent to any address. Make Postal Notes and Money Orders payable on Salem, Mass.. P. O. HENRY ALLEY, 44D2t M^ENHAM, MASS. ITALIAN BEES AND QUEENS. Send for Price List to B. B. BR01VN, DES MOINES, IOWA. 42Allt ^ BINGHAM SMOKERS. lean sell the above Smokers at MANUFACTUUERS' PKICES, by mail or express, at wholesale ur re- tail. All the latest improvements, includini: THE CONyUEROK. and THE D()rT(.>R. Send tor my :i2-pape Illustrated Catalotrue of Bee-Keepers' Sup- plies of every description. ALFRED H. NEWMAN, 923 W. Madison, CHICAGO. ILL. ANEW^HIVE Arranged for continuous passage ways and con- tinuous combs, so that greater ease and r.nptdily in the handliuK of strtions is gained, also a laryer production of comb honey. Although patented, a legal right to makeand use will be aecnrdt^d to any one purchasing a sample hive, the right onlv to manufacture to sell or convey to others being with -held. A stand, alighting board, entrance blocks, two division boards, ten brood frames, sj. 1 lb. sections and the improved section fixtures, all packed in the hive. Price of first hive, including the above paits and a special circular (»n the mode of management. :f7.(Hi. A tine Photo sent for 8 two-cent stamps. Orders filled in turn. Reference : Exchange Bank. New Philadelphia. Address, DR. O. I.. TINKER, ■HAtf NEW PHILADELPHIA. O. Sweet Clover AND OTHER SEEDS. Having a LARGE stock of SWEET CLOVER SEKD, I can flII orders at 2Sc. per pound W3.85 per peck, or *13 per bushel. Also, all other SEEDS for HONEY PLANTS, ALFRED H. NEWMAN, 923 West Madison Street, Chicago, UL THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL AND BEE-KEEPER'S ADVISER. The British Bee JouHXAL is NOW published SEMI-MONTHLV. at Seven Shillings, per annum, and contains the best practical information for the time being, showing what to do. and when and how to do it. Rev. H. R. PEEIL., Editor. We send the Weekly American Bee Journal and the British Bee Journal, both for $3.W a year. :M:/:ViJ:t.iaMVii|il FLAT ■ BOTTOM COMB FOUNDATION. high side-walls, < to lii square feet M the pound. Circular and samples frea J. va:< deusrn & SONS. Sole Manufacturers, Sprout Brook, Mont. Co^ N. T* Vandervort Comb Fdn. Mills, Send lor Su-iu|»Ie« A: Reduced I'rice-Llst. 32ABtf J. VANDERVORT, Lacyville, Pa. cyj^' tt Jotrrnal, DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF THE PRODUCERS OF HOiNEY. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., NOVEMBER 7, 1883. No. 45. The Effect of Frost on Foul Brood. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, Ripen the Honey. We have just had a jar of honey brought to us to see if it was pure. Tlie owner being fully satisfied that it liad been " doctored " with glucose. AVe examined it and found that it had fermented, and the top of it was all a " ropy mass." A case of sour honey. Another correspondent has sent us a sample, and asks us to analyze it, because he thinks it is adulterated. We are not a chemist, and cannot af- ford to hire these specimens analyzed "just for the fun of the thing." It would cost from $10 to $2-5 to do so, every time. One of our exchanges very truthfully remarks that " the nectar gathered from the flowers cannot be called honey nntil the evaporation and ripen- ing process has so far gone on that the bees have commenced capping it over. If it be extracted before it is capped by the bees, as some apiarists recom- mefid, on account of the quantity be- ing thereby greatly augmented, then it should be ripened before it is placed in tight packages or shipped, or it is liable to ferment and sour. The bee- beepers of California find it necessary to extract the honey as fast as it is gathered, but they thoroughly ripen it after gathering." Mr. Heddon uses crocks, piled over one anotlier, with small sticks between them, allowing the air to pass freely over the honey, and to ripen it. These occupy but little space, and prevents the very disagreeable matter of honey souring, after it has been extracted. It is the duty of the producer to see that his honey is ripened properly. No excuse is sufficient for neglecting this important matter. Prof. A. J. Cook says in the New York Tribune, that " experience has proved that it is impossible to destroy germs of foul brood by freezing. Ob- sarvation among the lower life forms, as well as research with organic tis- sues and licjuids, prepares us for the answer. ]Many of the lower organ- isms, which are speedily destroyed by great heat, will simply remain fimc- tionally inactive when subjected to cold. Yet their vitality is simply held in abeyance, not destroyed, for upon the return of heat comes func- tional activity and all tlie phenomena which attend life. The same thing is noted in experiments with organic liquids. Gastric or pancreatic diges- tion will proceed as well in a test tube as in the stomacli of intestines, if the requisite conditions of heat, digestive liquids, etc., are present. Subject the material to a boiling temperature, and digestion is not only stopped, but the digestive liquid is forever impotent. Cold, on the other hand, while it stops digestion does not impair the gastric or pancreatic juice. With the return of the proper heat, digestion at once begins again. Thus we see that pro- toplasm or organic cells will endure cold which only stays action, whUe heat utterly destroys." &" We have received the drawings of Dr. G. L. Tinker's new hive and comb honey arrangement. As it is designed for the sections to sit parallel with the brood frames, he secures continuous passage ways, and to the bees what appears to be continuous combs. This is, of course, secured by using thin sections without separators. These large-faced thin sections have been approved by honey dealers,and are more enticing to consumers. Nonsensical Stories. — Sensational stories about bees and honey are quite frequently seen in the papers. Some- where in the rocks (says one) may be found " a large lake filled with honey !" In the South " they say " that bees will store no honey because they have discovered that there is no need of winter stores where Nature requires no winter ! A lot of such foolish stories are being peddled around by the local papers. This reminds us of an item we saw some time ago in the Farmers^ Beview, of which the follow- ing is a paragraph : When anything sensational gets into the papers, how it does go 1 I presume that niany readers of the Farmers'' Review read the story about artificial eggs, but I doubt it any of them saw any of the eggs. Closely following the eggs story, was the highly flavored one of artificial comb honey— combs molded from paraffine, filled with scented glucose and the combs sealed over tmtli a hot iron ! We shall have artificial strawberries yet ! AVhere, and how. such absurd stories originate, it is often impossible to say. About a year ago, an item in regard to managing bees bj; electricity, went the rounds, and now it goes around again. 1^ See how the subject of " pro- ducing pasturage for bees" progresses! From an agricidtural exchange we clip the following advice : " If honey is the principal desideratum in plant- ing, then harrow in sweet clover this fall, and as you will derive but little if any honey from it next season, in early spring harrow in some mammoth mig- nonette on the same soil, which will bloom in June, and astonish you with the excelleuce of its honey." 1^ When in earnest is is quite sur- prising what a man can do. Dr. B. F. Hamilton, a well-known physician and surgeon of Henderson County, Illi- nois, has sent us 27 new subscribers. If all those who have a little leisure whould do as much in proportion to the busy Doctor, what a " boom " we should have ! The Doctor has re- ceived as premiums quite a number of excellent bee books. Those who want to add to their libraries, will now be able to do it, for a few hours work in getting subscribers for the Bee Jour- nal. Who will try ? Later.— Mr. D. G. Parker, one of the wide-awake bee men of Missouri, has sent us 89 new subscribers. They are rolling in at about a hundred a day. All those who are thus devoting a little time to the matter, have oiu- thanks as well as the premiums. See a new List of Premiums on another page. 556 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. More Experiments. The Canadian J'armer says more ex- periments are called for in connection with the pursuit of bee-iceeping, and then remarks on the subject thus : \fter all the numerous important improvements realized in bee culture, still the more advanced investigators seem disposed to proceed, under the impression of not having yet fully ap- prehended all the conditions and ele- ments of attainable success. While the many experimental failures seem to almost suggest doubt as to the desirableness or prudence of proceed- ing in this direction, yet it may be asked, how else can we reasonably liope to attain to the knowledge essen- tial toward placing our beloved bee- keeping as to result above a peradven-, ture y In fact, sometimes from even a grievous failure much may be gained in discovery of what may have been the mistake causing the disaster. We •would be loth to admit that most of the worst cases of failure and " blasted hopes" might not have turned out under other conditions very differ- ently. ^ . Surely there are for instance certain laws and conditions of safety in win- tering which, if only well enough known andpossible to fulfil, we might ■with ample confidence, count on the number to be brought through all right. Now facing winter, must we look wintering in the face. However, it does look rather humil- iating to admit that with all tlie skill and experience here employed hither- to, yet so many of us are earnestly asking one another (and feeling need to ask), "how are you deciding to ■winter y" Now this is just what we are driving at. We do well to more fully and freely than ever inform each other, and every time give the why and the wherefore. Whatever may be the seeming confusion and conflict of theories, still we are evep so on the hopeful way in the search for the better. Thus as we cautiously pro- ceed, keenly watch results, and can- didly admit errors, may we all become ■wiser and more successful. _ Jr. Miller will feel flattered by the announcement in an agricultural paper that at the Chicago Convention he led off the discussion on "foul breeds," claiming that the most effec- tual remedy as well as the "most heroic, being total destruction." Oh! doctor, " liow could you so cruel be ?" This mixture of "foul breeds "and heroism is truly refreshing 1 ! but it shows about the amount of intelli- gence possessed by the average agri- cultural writers when they "dabble in bee lore." ^- The Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Society will meet in La Crosse, Wis., Friday, Nov. 16, in the City Hall. E. Makkle, Pres. Oleomargarine Must Go. The National Farmer and Stockman has this to say about that fraud oleo- margarine : The Georgia Legislature has taken the initiative in forcing oleomargarine out of the market. That body has passed a bill which requires all manu- facturers of the vile stuff to plainly label their product; all dealers to notify customers when it is offered them ; and all hotels, restaurants and other places of public enterlainment, where it is used, to put the notice on their bills of fare and post the sign in their dining-rooms, " tliis house uses oleomargarine." We sincerely trust that all of the legi.'latures in the States of the Union will adopt such a measure as Georgia has, and If our readers in the various States will visit their members of the legislature and insist on them offering such a bill and their supporting it with their best efforts, it then will be brought into prominent notice, which will stir the legislatures to speedily pass it or some other law equally as effective in abol- ishing it from all markets in America. Just so ; the frauds must go ! But let the acts of legislature also include that greater fraud — glucose. Let it strike a death-blow on all the adulter- ations of the age, and their name is legion. It is high time that the adul- terators were driven to the wall. The Michigan Coiireution. Dear Me. Editor :— May I ask you to call special attention to our next annual meeting to be held in Flint, Dec. .5 and 6, of the Michigan Befe- Keepers' Association. We expect to have by far the best meeting ever held in the State. It is expected that the Rev. L. L. Langstroth will be present. To see and hear him will pay any one for the trouble and expense incident to the journey. We also expect D. A. Jones, A. I. Boot, C. F. Muth, and hope to have C. C. Miller and T. G. Newman. From what I hear, Michi- gan bee-keepers are to be out in force. Hotel rates are to be $1,00 a day. Fur- ther particulars as to programme, will be given soon. W'e expect to get re- duced rates on the railroads. To aid in this, and that I may know how many certificates on railroads to ask for, will every one in this or other States who expect to come, drop me a card at once to that effect V A. J. Cook, President. Lansing, Mich., Oct. 15, 1883. P. S.— I got the date of the above Cenvention wrong, in the notice of last week. The date should be Dec. 5 and 6. A. J. Cook. ^" We carefully mail the Bee JouBNAL to every subscriber, but should any be lost in the mails we will cheerfully send anothef, if notified before all the edition is exhausted. Honey and Beeswax Market. Office of Amekican Bee Journal, { Monday, lo a. m., Nov. 5, 1HR3. ( The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. HONEY— The demand for honey is extremely slow, and our coniniission houses are too well sup- plied to expect nnythiiiK else. Prices rule low. Mnnufaclurers complain <:if slow business. Ex- tracted honey brings 7(.»/HC. on arrival. I have bought for less. C<)mb honey in Rood order, 12^15. BEESWAX— (iood yellow beeswax brings 27@28 cts. ; offerings few. CHAS. F. MtTTH. NEW VOKK. HONEY— White clover and basswood in 1 and 2 lb. sections, 17(i5.2lc. Dark and second quality, 14fai.')c.: extracted white clover in kegs and bar- rels, 9® inc. ; dark. He. BEESWAX— Prime yellow, 27(a'29c. H. K. & F. B THCBBER 4 Co. CHICAGO. HONEY— The demand for honey is good. Choice 1 lb. sections of white comb, well tilled, brings 18@ Hoc: 1)-^ to 2 lb. sections, lti(*i8c. No demand for dark comb honey. Extracted honey is bringing 8 (giloc. per pound, according to bojy. color and finvor. BEESWAX- Primeyellow, 33C.1 medium, 28@30. R. A. BUKNKTT, 161 South Water SI. 8AN FKANCISCO. HONEY— Market is well stocked with ordinary qualities. Inquiry for the same is not active. For fancy comb it is an easy matter to secure custom. AVhi'.e to extra white comb, J6(iiii8c.; dark to good, 12(*l4c. : extracted, choice to extra while, "HtaSH; dark and candied. 6V^(gi7c. BEES WAX- Wholesale, 27®28c. Bteauns & SMITH, 423 Front Street. ST. l.ODIS. HONEY— Choice in better demand, but un- changed. Sales chiefly in a small way. We quote strained and extracted at 6^4'rt.7c. Comb at 14® inc.: choice, in fancy packages, higher. BEES W AX— Readily salable at 2im21 for choice. W. T. ANDEKSo.N 4 Co.. 1U4 N. 3d street. CLEVELAND. HONE Y— Choice honey is in excellent demand now. Every lot received thus far in good order, has been sold on arrival; best 1 lb. sections bring- ing 18c. quickly, occasionally Ulc: 2 lb., 17c. with an occasional sale at 18. Second quality and brok- en lots are very hard to sell. Extracted honey not in demand. BBESWAX-28C. A. C. KendeL. 115 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONBY-We quote extracted honey at in®llc., with a good demand. We have sold easily four limes as much extracted as we ever did before. BEESWAX— We have none to quote. Blake & Riplev, 57 Chatham Street. KANSAS CITY, MO. HONE Y— No change to note since last week's re- port. All sbipments seem to be taken up as fast as received at Uit^sinc. for comb, and 7@9c. for ex- tracted in 5 gallon square tin cans. JEROME TwicHELL, 536 Delaware Street. ®" It would be a great convenience to us, if those sending us Postal Notes or Money Orders, would get the issu- ing Post-master to make them pay- able at the " Madison Street Station, Chicago, HI.," instead of simply " Cliicago." If they are draw^l on Chicago, they go to the general office, and -we have to make a trip of six miles to get tliem cashed ; when if they are drawn on the Sation as above, it is only a few steps from our office. When sending us money, if you will please remember this, you will much oblige the publisher. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 557 For the American Bee Journal. Humidity, Cold, Confinement and Pollen— their Relation to Wintering. S. COKNBIL. Ill replying to some of Mr. Heddon's observations on tlie above matters, I shall be as brief as possible. On page 464 of the present volume of the Bee Journal, ilr. Heddon states that bees have often been taken out of special repositories perfectly drenched with dampness, and the combs covered with blue mold, but with the bees perfectly healthy. I doubt the correctness of the latter part of the statement. I think Mr. S. P. Newman is right when he says," If the . hive becomes damp and the combs moldy the colony cannot be healthy." Mr. Heddon frequently refers to an occasion when Mr. Balch'g bees were taken out as described above, The probability is .that they were removed just in time to save them by giving tliem an opportunity to dry out, in dry air. Mr. Balch is "represented as be- lieving that moisture is good for bees and that ventilation is death. In the winter of lSSO-1, owing to steady coW and consequent co)!ji»e»nejit they had no chance to gecdried out all winter, and, in consequence, he had lost 149 out of 1.50. Mr. Heddon states that Mr. Balch's damp cellar, where the bees did not die, was colder than his own dry one where 4-5 out of 48 did die. Had he given us the accurate temper- ature and humidity of both cellars, the facts would have been of some value. As it is, he proves nothing. He states that the dampest winters were the warmest ones. The records of the Signal Service show that the winters of 1874-5 and 1880-1 were both the coldest and dampest of any during the last decade. They were also the most disastrous to bee-keepers, in wintering. He says that "cold " and " continement " as causes of dysentery have both fallen to the ground, and that when he lias shaken up the " humidity " theory a little more, it will tumble with them. Will it, in- deed? We shall see. "Humidity," " cold " and " continement " as factors in wintering bees are based on facts in physical science, ascertained and established long before Mr. Heddon or myself appeared on the scene, and will remain unshaken long after we have passed away and are forgotten. On page 391 of the Bee Journal for 18S2, Mr. Heddon correctly shows how the water produced by the assimi- lation of food taken in winter is elimi- nated by the bees, except that he attributes it all to transpiration, when in reality the greater part of it escapes by exhalation. This is the Hrst fact, and I remark in passing, that just there Mr. Heddon was at the very verge of discovering the root of the whole matter. One step more and he had it. The step which he did not take is my second fact, viz : that in a saturated atmosphere of the same temperature as the bee, there can be no evaporation, consequently no ex- cretion of moisture, either by trans- spiration or exhalation. This is where humidity comes in as a factor. A lit- tle bit of tlieorv deduced from this fact and from what is known regard- ing other animals, is that since the bees cannot eliminate the water pro- duced by the consumption of food, they will be in an abnormal condition, and we have Mr. Heddon as authority for saying that it is when bees are " out of liormal condition " that they eat pollen to excess, (if they ever do so). The third fact is, if the temperature of the colony be say 88, and the humid- ity 80, out of a possible 100, a sudden drop in the temperature of 7 degrees will cause saturation of the air and condensation of vapor in the hive, and the air will remain saturated at the new temperature as long as the condi- tions continue unaltered. This is where cold comes in as a factor. Dr. Wetherill, of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, says : " The rapidity of the evaporation of the body depends principally upon the low relative humidity of the air at a high temperature and upon the maintenance of this condition in the neighborhood of the body by the action' of currents of air. In an atmosphere saturated with moisture the evapora- tion would be reduced to a minimum and would be practically nothing in such air having the same temperature as the body. Although we may bear with impunity these extremes for a short period, a pemstence in such con- ditions would be fraught with danger." In the same way bees may bear such conditions for a short time without apparent injury, but when they come to be confined for several months with- out a chance to get dried out, it is not surprising that they have to succumb. This is where confinement comes in as a factor. When ventilation is imperfect there is undoubtedly another factor in the case, namely, carbonic acid gas, but owing to the difficulty in detecting it, ordinary observers cannot know much about its proportion in the air. A superabundance of it acts in about the same way, in preventing the escape of carbonic acid, as aqueous vapor does the escape of water from the body of the bee. Here is what Kuss, a German author, says on tlie matter : " If an animal be shut up in a conHned space, and a sufficient quantity of oxy- gen be admitted while the carbonic acid produced by respiration is allow- ed to accumulate, the animal will die as soon as the proportion of this gas be- comes toogreat. Not that carbonic acid is poisonous, only that the excess of this gas, or its toogreat pressure in the air, hinders the egress of that which is in the blood ; the blood is then pre- vented from collecting the gas evolv- ed from the combustion of the tissues, and the respiration of the latter be- comes impeded." Want of oxygen also probably plays a part, but if we bear in mind that "the essential point of good ventilation is constant change of air," and make our arrangements accordingly, we need have no fears as to the supply of oxygen. The degree of humidity is taken by the most care- ful writers on ventilation to be a cor- rect measure of the purity or the air of an apartment. This can readily be determined by the careful use of a hygrometer, which anyone of ordinary intelligence can soon learn to use with sufficient accuracy. Pollen. — One miglit reasonably expect that after discussing this ques- tion for nearly three years, its advo- cates would surely have shown beyond doubt that bees sick with dysentery have consumed excessive quantities of pollen. There is plenty of asser- tion but nothing approaching a proof of the fact. But suppose bees do at times eat unusually large quantities of pol- len, the next enquiry is, why do they sometimes eat too much and at other times none or only enough for good health ? Mr. Heddon's answer is that they eat it either because they do not like their li(iuid stores, or, on account of the pollen floating in the honey, consuming it is unavoidable; or else they are confined by cold till the honey within reach is consumed and they must eat it or starve. Ttiis the- ory will not cover the facts of ordinary observation, as I shall presently show. Then, too, it should be shown that excessive eating of pollen causes dys- entery. If it were agreed on all hands that the " dry feces " theory is a mis- take, and that bees discharge their feces only in a liquid state, it might be considered as giving a certain dis- tance in that direction. But I think, notwithstanding Prof. Cook's investi- gation of the matter, there is a pretty general belief, amongst bee-keepers, that bees do void their feces in a dry state, when in perfect health, while in winter quarters. In the following case, pollen as the primary cause of the loss is entirely out of the question, and yet it is only one out of hundreds of similar cases occuring all over the country every winter. , , ,„ In the fall of 1879 I purchased 10 colonies, in box hives, from a Mr. Webster, residing some seven miles out of town. I brought them home in the latter part of October, and after sitting in my garden a few days, during which they Hew, they were stored in my cellar with about twenty other colonies of my own. Mr. Web- ster had in all 42 colonies, and my 10 were about equal to the remaining .32. He advised me when placing them in the cellar to raise the hives an inch or so above the bottom board and to pull out one of the plugs of rags which stopped the holes in the top, stating that he had always done so and suc- ceeded well. I had read a very inter- esting and instructive essay on " In- sect Respiration and Bee Culture," in which everything seemed so plain and reasonable that when the writer said, before winding up, "our bees will need scarcely any air, and hence no ventilation, either upper or lower," I adopted that as my ci-eed on ventila- tion of hives and held to it for several years. Another writer, too, advised 558 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. that the heat of the bees be confined, consequently I set ray box hives on tlie bottom boards in the cellar as they stood in the yard, without any ventilation, except a small three-cor- nered notch, for a flyhole, in the edge of the hive. Mr. Webster's cellar was an ordinary one for household pur- poses, but roomy and frost-proof. Mine should have been tlie better of the two because I had an exhaust pipe and a short sub-earth pipe for fresh air. Now for the result : In the spring, 8 of my 10 colonies in box liives were dead, and the remaining 2 died before the 1st of June. The bees vpere a wet moldy mass ; the combs daubed with discharges and dripping with wet, and the honey, of which there was plenty, thin and soured. My other 20 colonies in the same cellar covered with a quilt, and in hives having 2 sides of straw, wintered well, as my bees had done in the same cellar for several years before. Mr. Webster's 32 colo- nies came out every one in good con- dition. Now what was the cause of the diilerence in the results 'i It could hardly be in the honey, for even if colonies in the same yard do sometimes gather from different sources, it is extremely improbable that I should happen to get only those having bad honey, and that Mr. Webster should get all the others. For the same rea- son it will not be contended that I got all those having pollen in the middle of the hive or floating pollen in the honey. They were not selected on this basis, for the pollen theory had not then being "guessed," and the bees had as good access to their stores in the one case as in the other. The true explanation is that my bees were killed by their own breath, while Mr. Webster's, having similar conditions in every respect, except as to ventila- tion, kept dry and came out in good order. In the " Bee-Keepers' Instructor " for April, 1882, Mr. Heddon says: " When I see a colony of bees that have nothing to eat but pure sweet cane syrup, of proper consistency, have the dysentery, I will of necessity change my mind, and honestly say so, publicly, at once." A few days ago I asked him to put a colony on combs of best cane sugar syrup without a grain of pollen and place it in a hive covered outside with pitch, bottom, sides and top, the joints to be made air-tight, the fly-hole to be reduced to half an inch by one quarter or three-eighths, and sealed after the bees had cluster- ed ; the hive to be placed in a cellar so that the bees could not get into dry air till next spring. If he follows those directions I think he will have a case of dysentery without pollen. I also asked him to supply several colo- nies with combs discarded from others on account of having too much pollen, but containing also plenty of honey. Tlit'se hives were to have the entrance open full size and the back end of the frame exposed, leaving an opening across them as large as the entrance, the same as is done with such good success by Mr. Geo. Grimm. Ijut for fear the old bees should die and stop the circulation, I asked him to bore two auger holes, one at each end of the frames, two-thirds of the way up. The hives were to be placed in a cellar having a steady temperature of from 44^' to 50° and a relative humidity of from 55 to 75 ; and about the latter two conditions there was to be no guesswork, but accurate determina- tion by proper instruments. If I were running an insurance company I would insure bees put up in that way to live for a premium of 5 per cent, and have a margin for profit. Lindsay, Out., Oct. 14th, 1883. For the American Beo Journal. Section-Storing Cases- JA3IES HEDDON. Ere some of the less experienced be led, what seems to me, astray, I will comment upon Mr. Turner's article on page 514 of the current volume. Since I have kept bees, I have made and tested as many as a dozen differ- ent devices for holding sections on the hives and to their sides, and gen- erally made these tests upon quite an extensive scale. I am well aware that no one system of surplusage embraces all the good points, but of all the most impractical and objectionable ones, two mem- tioned by Mr. Turner are the worst, viz. : " glassed " and " movable side " cases. Movable sides render a case not only more expensive, but imprac- ticable and less durable. A movable- sided case was on exhibition at our late rousing Northwestern Conven- tion. Of course there were no divisions in the case, such would not be adapted to the movable side. The dependence was upon clamping the sections, to prevent their falling through, and as long as there is any variation in the shrink and swell of "wood, this method of supporting sections will ever be dangerous and impracticable, and used only by inexperienced bee-keep- ers. Such a case is weak, and incapa- ble of enduring some of the most important manipulations. " Glass " is one of the most objec- tionable materials that can be placed next to bees. They sorely neglect those combs that are next to glass. It may be true that the novice may learn more by looking through a glass at the outside of the outside comb of a range of 6 or 8 than he can by look- ing between the ranges of all the combs (both at their topsand bottoms) of a properly-constructed case, but the experienced producer will discover the condition of all the sections in a case in less than half the time con- sumed in peeking through glass at their sides, and with four times as great accuracy. I can remove any one section up out of my case as quickly aa any mov- able-sided case gentleman can do the same job. Admitting that any one of my sections require more time for re- moval than does his, after his side is removed, yet the fact that this remov- ing and re-adjusting of said side re- quires time, it leaves the speed of the removal of any one section in favor of the solid case. Now, as regards the total emptying of all the sections in a case, the " knock down " process will discount the movable-side plan. I can empty a case in less time than Mr. Turner can open and re-adjust the side of his case, I think. We can more than doubly discount the time required to take the same number from broad fraaies, and all who have ever seen the case manipulated here, agree that no system admits of the rapid and easy removal that we enjoy with the case. Mr. Turner's statement that the sections should rest flat on the slats of the honey board, and flat on each other, is certainly laughable, and brought out a hearty laugh from three or four of our large honey producers who read it in the Journal office at the time of the Northwestern Conven- tion. Certainly, Mr. Turner never had a large apiary to attend to. The idea of the practical and ready manipula- tion of tiers of sectionSj that set flat down upon each other, is something that I cannot conceive that any prac- tical producer can entertain. Now, as regards any advantage of any such a bee-smashing arrangement, there is none whatever. Bees will not put as much glue upon the face of a sec- tion that is % from any other surface, as they will squirt in between two pieces that do not fit each other per- fectly tight, which is the case with all sections that lie together. Regarding these spaces interfering with the work in the surplus recep- tacles, we find they do nothing of the kind ; nearly every year we have had a portion of our bees without honey boards, thus leaving off the thickness of the board and one bee space, and no one can detect any difference in our surplus success, between the two methods. Mr. Turner's mention of shoving one section past another, thus " run- ning the risk of breaking the capping," proves that he does not understand our system ; that he does not know that we use % spaces between the tops and bottoms of our sections ; that with our foundation and method of using the same, we get our combs nearly as straight as with separators ; that when we push out our sections, we push them six at a time, which makes the entire row, leaving no chance for breaking the cappings, were the combs ever so crookedly built. I am willing to leave the mat- ter now to the coming practice of honey producers ; the same offer I made regarding the Dean case, two years ago. Dowagiac, Mich., Oct. 25, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Central Illinois Convention. The Central Illinois J5ee-Keepers' Association met at Bloomington, 111., Oct. 10. President Wolcott in the Chair. On motion of Mr. Vandervort. a re- port from each member is requested to be made, and returned by Dec. 10 ; blank reports to be sent by Secretary to members. THE AMERICAI^ BEE JOURNAL. 559 The first subject called for discus- sion, was " Wintering." The President said that the most important matter is in the preparation of bees, in the fall, for winter. They should be let alone, and not disturbed. Sometimes he shoveled snow around the hives. Mr. Vandervort wintered his bees on the summer stands with straw in the caps, holes in the honey boards, and the hives let down close to the bottom boards, lie had one experi- ence in wintering bees in the cellar. The hives and combs came out, in the spring, wet and moldy, and the bees in bad condition. lie did not want any more cellar wintering. Mr. Cox used cloth over two strips, placed across the frames, with chaff packing at the sides, and was success- Mr. Butler put about one-half of his bees in the cellar, and left the rest on the summer stands two years ago ; and in the spring those from the cellar were moldy, and in very unsatisfac- tory condition. Those outside were in much better condition. Last win- ter he packed 27 colonies in chaff, on the summer stands, and they all came through nicely. Geo. Poindexter was decidedly in favor of cellar wintering ; he thought the two essential points to success were : " Put the bees in a frost proof repository, and give plenty of upward ventilation to allow the dampness to escape from the bees.'' Last winter he lost 3 colonies out of 200 so win- tered. Mr. Cox found the moisture escaped much better with 4 inches of chaff, than twice that depth over the bees. President Wolcott used V4 inches of sifted coal ashes over the bees with satisfactory results. It was asked which was preferable- passages over the frames or holes through the combs ? The opinions differed according to each one's ex- perience. " On Marketing Honey," Jas. Poin- dexter thought tliat honey put up in two-pound packages could be pro- duced at less figures, and suit regular honey consumers as well as smaller packages. Sections of two-pounds each, holding 1,000 pounds of honey, cost but little more than half as much as one-pound size to hold the same amount; less sizes required much more handling, both for the producer and retailer. That the cost of produc- tion in small and fancy packages would have the tendency to keep honey regarded as a luxury, while in larger and cheaper packages, it would tend to make it a staple article, and bring it into more general use. Mr. Cox had trouble in disposing of honey in larger packages than one- pound. Jas. Poindexter thought that de- pended on the way grocerymen were educated by bee-keepers. Mr. Fell asked if honey in combs, placed on the top of the cloth, would be removed by the bees for winter use V Answered : If the weather is warm, they would. " Do bees mark their location from the color, or the surroundings V" Mr. Jordon transferred bees from an un- painted box to a white hive. .In shak- ing the bees in front of the new hive on the old stand, they were loth to enter, until a piece of tlie old hive was placed in front and against the new hive, when they entered readily, which he thought indicated they were at- tracted more by color than the hives on either'side of the new one. Jas. Poindexter said that a part of the hives that he had taken from the cellar in the spring were closed ; after the other hives were placed out, and the entrance open, in a few minutes the bees, in considerable numbers, were noticed hovering around the closed hives, 25 feet away, which occupied the same relative position to the trees as the one fresh put out ; some of these hives were of different colors. There were closed hives of the same color on either side, much nearer to the hive newly set out. He thought that bees marked the sur- roundings more than the color. Mr. Funk noticed that swarms sometimes entered the wrong hive when returning, entering a hive simi- larly located to the one from which they issued ; he was of the opinion that the relative position of the hive was marked more than the color ; all his hives are painted white. " Which is preferable for honey, black, hybrid or Italian bees?" An- swered by Messrs. Funk and Keeran in favor of hybrids. Adjourned to the second W^ednesday in January, 1884, when the regular aimual meeting of the association in Bloomington will be held. Jas. Poindexter, Sec. For the American Bee JoumaL Wintering— the Pollen Theory. DR. G. L. TINlvER. Since Mr. Heddon has given us to understand that he has no "confi- dence " either in his twin theories or his little prophecy, there is little for me to say in reply to his last article. It is to be remembered, however, that Mr. H. is a man of undoubted liberal views — one who is ever ready to aban- don anything that will not comport with the evident facts of nature ; so we find him saying, almost mechan- ically, in " What and How :" " While it may prove true that pollen-eating may be the cause of dysentery, in every case it may turn out a fact that under most favorable conditions bees ca?i consume bee-bread during confinement and yet remain healthy." The uprootingof cherished views finds expression only in a lingering doubt oti the last proposition. This is en- couraging. The pollen theory must go! Mr. Heddon intimates that I believe the " bacteria theory " will account for some of the cases of dysentery. No; I have simply suggested it as a more plausible one than the pollen theory, and so applied it to the loss of the 48 colonies alluded to. A very reasonable hypothesis in the few iso- lated cases that now and then occur is to be found in the use of aphide honey. However, no one has been able to give positive evidence that any kind of nectar or sweet that the bees naturally collect, such as cider, the juices of various fruits, &c., may cause dysentery. Of the unnatural agents, it is well known that chemical glucose will kill bees if wintered upon it, probably by a poisonous action. Thus, we have gone over the proba- ble and improbable causes of bee- dysentery, and the preponderance of evidence rests with the humidity the- ory ; or in other words, that dampness in the hive, conjoined with a low tem- perature, is the probable cause. This is no new statement of the theory, as Mr. H. would infer. It was assumed from the first that dampness and cold were co-operative causes ; not by in- ducing an inflammatory state of the in- testines, or even perhaps an irritation, but by causing an interference with the exhalations of the bees through the act of respiration, resulting in an accumulation of liquid in the intes- tines that under more favorable con- ditions would have escaped by the breath in the form of aqueous vapor. The remaining question between Mr. Ileddon and myself is in regard to the proper size of the brood and sur- plus department of the hive in winter. His experience that 8 Lang- stroth frames are safer to winter upon than 10, is no doubt correct. But I consider that to leave even 8 frames in the hive would be unsafe in a very hard winter. Better by far to reduce the number to 4 or 5. My choice of the standard L. hive in preference to a very narrow one was with this view; since, by placing a div- ision board each side of the 4 or 5 frames, there is room left to put at least 3 inches of loose chaff on each side, and in the cap to place a large cushion. But with Mr. Ileddon's hive there is not room for sutticient pack- ing dose up to the bees. This want of space Mr. H. would make up by a cumbrous outside case holding 6,000 cubic inches. Beyond question if a colony in an 8 frame hive were put in such a case it would be far less safe than inthestandard L. hive, prepared as above, with no outside case at all. I believe that with a long, shallow frame there is no real necessity for double casing of the hive at the ends of the frames; hence, my statement that so much " fixing" would not pay. No reference was made, or even thought of, to Mr. Ileddon's hive iu the production ot comb honey. That would have been too great a diversion to appear under the heading of these articles. As for out-of-door wintering in an 8 frame hive, doubtless Mr. Grimm would have no better success than Mr. Heddon has had. The latter, therefore, gets credit for making the best possi- ble use of a hive unsuited to success- ful wintering on the summer stand. In an article on page 7 of the Bee Journal, present volume, I stated that Mr. Ileddon's method of winter- ing was " very doubtful " as compared with the others given, and, in a letter to Mr. Doolittle about the same time, predicted that lie would meet with 560 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. heavy loss if the winter continued at all severe. Yet our friend had just assured ns that he could now winter bees as safely and surely as horses, cows and other farm stock could be wintered. New Philadelphia. O. Read at the Somerset County, Me., Association. Swarming vs. Dividing for Comb Honey. ISAAC HUTCHINS. If we allow bees to swarm they will cast their first swarm at or about the commencement of the honey season, and in about twelve days we may ex- pect the second swarm and in four clays more the third — I think this is the average time of swarming ; there- fore it is sixteen days from the time the old queen leaves the hive with the first swarm until the third swarm issues. Then the young queen will commence to lay in about ten days more, making twenty-six days that no eggs have been deposited in the old hive and twenty-six days tliat no bees will hatch. Each of the three swarms have taken a large portion of the old field bees so that the old colony will be deficient in worker bees during all the time from the going forth of the first swarm until they raise them from the young queen, which v/ill be at least fifty-five days. Fifty-five days being the extreme length of our honey sea- son, excepting the fruit and fall flow- ers, the old colony will do well if it stores honey enough to carry it through the winter. The first swarm commences house- keeping under more favorable condi- tions, nearly all of the worker bees are old enough to go into the field to gather honey, and they have a laying queen which will occupy the brood chamber, and they will readily go into the surplus boxes to store their lioney; but as it will be nearly thirty-five days before the young worker bees will hatch and be old enough to take their places in the field, nearly one-half of the worker force will die before the young will take tlieir place, so this colony will not do as well as it would if it had a few sheets of brood in all stages when they first commenced, so as to keep their numbers good all through the best part of the honey flow. The second swarm issues about twelve days later, and the young queen will not commence laying until the second week. They will hatch no worker bees before the basswood honey harvest is over, and nearly two- thirds of the worker bees will die be- fore the young bees come forth to take their place ; and as more than one week will pass before the queen will occupy the brood combs, the bees will commence to store honey in them and they will not readily go into the boxes afterwards, and our experience is— usually no surplus honey from second swarms. The third swarm will be very much smaller than the others, and uidess we nave an extra honey season it will have to be fed if we winter it. There- fore, if we allow our bees to swarm as they please,we shall get surplus honey from only the first swarm, and not so much from that as we should if we kept them strong in numbers all through the honey season. How shall we prevent our bees rrom swarming and keep all our colonies strong to store surplus honey ? I answer by dividing in such a man- ner as to have each new colony as strong as possible and keep them from swarming, giving each a portion of the brood and a laying queen, being sure to give them room enough, and each division will be as good as the first swarm. Then they will have the ad- vantage of having bees continually hatching, so there will be no dwind- ling during the honey harvest and we may expect better results from each division than from the first swarm, thereby giving us double the amount of surplus honey with only one-half of the increase. Wellington, Me. For the American Bee Journal. Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Society- A. R. KOHNKE. The knowledge conveyed in the re- port of the meeting of this society is well worth a year's subscription to the Bee Journal to any bee-keeper. Speaking of races and strains of bees, there seems to be a preference for crosses, especially to overcome the aversion of the Italians to go into sec- tions. I tliink there is a difference in this trait of character between colonies of pure Italians. Since sucli differ- ences exist, may not this aversion be bred out and still preserve purity of race V The prolificness of queen and the industry of colony do not necessarily go together. I have an Italian colony the queen of which is very prolific, having kept the hive and 48 sections full of bees ever since .June 10th. The proceeds from that colony at the end of the season were 9 pounds of comb honey, and of extracted, about as much from unfinished sections; and on examination before putting them up for winter, I did not find more than 9 pounds of honey in the brood cham- ber. The bees look like what Mr. Heddon calls the "Golden Italians." The Germans have done better for me, (for comb honey). The fact that bees try to supersede not only old queens but very prolific ones also, has led some bee-keepers in Germany to suppose that extraordi- nary prolificness may be a reason for bees to supersede the queen. Bee-keepers should try to profit by Mr. Burnett's experience in regard to the size of sections. Sections in which the sealed comb is or cannot be much thicker than sealed comb in the brood chamber, would perhaps be more read- ily taken to by the Italians, while those two inches wide may seem to them out of all proportion in comparison to their lower apartment. "Jane, take this honey down cel- lar," said a lady to her servant girl, after I had sold her a crate of nice clover honey. Of course, I stopped them right there, giving some sound advice as to where to keep that honey. Dysentery.— If Mr. Ileddon had omitted one word in his reply to the Rev, L, L. Langstroth when he savs : " but they are sometimes compelled to eat it," (pollen,) he would have given the sole and only reason for bees dy- ing with it. Drop the word "some- times" and you have the whole thing in a nutshell. AVhenever a large amount of pollen is covered with honey or sugar syrup, bees clustering on that will get the dysentery, if they cannot readily leave that, when they get to the pollen, " which is at the bottom," as Mr. Oatinan expresses himself; but I think this latter gen- tleman is mistaken if he tliinks cover- ing pollen with honey or sugar syrup will prevent the malady. Bees will not cluster on dry pollen because they cannot live on it, but should it be cov- ered, they will. Result, dysentery ; unless mild weather permits them to move. As to the new bee enemy, described by Prof. Cook, I would suggest treat- ing the affected colony to a good dose of tobacco smoke — not enough to stupefy, and after ten minutes or so, transfer them to a clean hive and scald the one they were in. It may be necessary to repeat the treatment after a week or ten days. Youngstown, Ohio, Oct. 30, 1883. Fnr the American Bee JoumaL Equalization of Colonies of Bees- J. E. POND, JR. I presume that every intelligent bee-keeper that gives his own time to the care of his apiary, has noticed that of a dozen colonies, all apparently in like good condition, 1 or 2 will give exceedingly good results comparative- ly, while the balance will hai-dly come up to mediocrity in the amount of surplus obtained from them ; and I myself have noticed one thing fur- ther, (which I presume is not excep- tional,) that, of a dozen colonies, the 1 or 2 that gave the best results last year, would be this year among the majority from which a poor yield is gained. This has been my experience for years. At first I concluded it must be owing to superior strains in the superior colonies, and endeavored to remedy it by making such changes as would — theoretically, at least — equalize the matter, but when, the next season, I found the best colony of the previous year showing a decid- etily poor state of affairs, I concluded that something besides poor stock was the cause of the trouble. My aim in my own apiary is, not to raise 1 or 2 colonies which would store an excep- tional amount of surplus, but to put my whole apiary into a condition such that each colony would give a fair amount of gain, and the average would be nearly equal in each colony also. This I have found it impossible as yet to do; no matter how careful I am in choosing queens, or how much attention I pay to equalizing the con- dition of my stock, the result in the THE AMERICAIT BEE JOURNAL. 561 tall inevitably is that 1 or 2 have far exceeded the others in the amount of honey gathered. I have studied the matter to some considerable extent, but have not as yet fully solved the problem of why this is so ; still I have formed an opinion in regard to the matter and will venture to give it, hoping that it may not be looked upon as the chimera of a visionary, or the vagary of a disordered intellect, but instead will create enough interest in the matter to start an amicable dis- cussion in regard to it. My idea is tliat each colony chooses a foraging ground, wliich may vary from year to year, and consequently the amount of stores gathered will vary also, depending upon the amount of honey-producing flowers growing thereon. It is supposed that a radius of three miles from an apiary com- prises the ground usually covered by its bees. I conclude that while all this territory may be, and pDobably is, covered by a large apiary, tlie individ- ual colonics that compose such apiary have their own favorite localities, which may change somewhat, but which will be visited so long as any amount (no matter how small,) of honey is found; and that this locality is not abandoned so long as any honey can be gathered therefrom. If my reasoning is not correct, it certainly is possibly so. and ^until someone gives better, I snail stick to my opinion. The remedy, if any there is, and I admit that a remedy is al- most impracticable, is to plant honey- producing flowers in every direction from an apiary, as a means of aiding nature to counteract her own sterilty. With a small apiary it will make little difference, but with a large one it will, I think, make enough to be fairly ap- preciable. At any rate some good will result from efforts made in this direction, the difficulty being to per- form the labor in a manner such as will bring about the best results. Who will give the subject some atten- tion, and the readers of the Bee Jour- nal their views upon it y SHALL WE HYBRIDIZE OUR BEES? Mr. Ileddon claims to have made such progress in crossing his bees as to have obtained a new strain, with characteristics so fixed that they are invariably reproduced, and that from the strain so obtained, to gain the best results. Hybrids have always been considered valuable as honey gatherers, their exceeding fero- ciousness being the principle objec- tion brought against them. I myself have made some attempts in this direction, but I admit I have most signally failed, and that too where my own bees are the only ones within probable flight-range of any apiary ; some five miles being the nearest dis- tance at which any bees are kept. I have crossed the black drone with an Italian queen and "vice, versa" but have never been able to fix any qual- ities save crossness. Stripes of all kinds, from 3 to none, and of all shades of color have been found, but nothing have I been able to produce in the matter of equalizing either color or number of bands. I am a lover of beauty in everything, but do not carry it in my apiary to the extent of sacrificing other qualities to the maintenance of beauty alone. I liave had Italians for 17 years, and more, and have found them far supe- rior to the blacks, and as a rule, far superior to any hybrids. I have occa- sionally found a hybrid queen whose workers were the best of workers, but have not been able to fix those quali- ties so desirable to retain, but have been able to do so to my satisfaction with the Italians. I do not say it is impossible so to do, but it does seem difficult to create a new strain (using tlie term strain for all it implies,) from hybrids (the Italians are now admitted, I believe to be hybrids, us- ing the term hybrid to mean a cross,) when it has taken so many years to make them what they are. I have no doubt Mr. Ileddon has produced excellent bees, but will they stand the test, as do the Italians, of, being kept alone for a term of years? That question as yet remains to be answered, and my advice to beginners (the old ones can take care of them- selves,) is to go slow in the matter of running after new things. The Ital- ians have been fully tested, and stand the test too; their record is made, and it is a good one ; so I say be careful in selection; take nothing upon credit in making a start, and as you become older in the business and gain in ex- perience, you will be better able to judge of the value of making experi- ments in new fields and with untried instruments. I do not wish to be un- derstood as detracting from the value of Mr. Heddon's new strain, far from it ; he is a bee-keeper of experience and honesty, but I do wish to deter any beginner from leaving the old beaten track until he fully knows the new paths and can safely follow them. Foxboro, Mass., Oct. 26, 1883. Rend at t,he Maine Convention. Mortality of Bees— Winter & Spring. WM. MCLAUGHLIN, M. D. Adversity and losses often teach us more important lessons and produce greater range of thought than pros- perity and gain. So the usual mortal- ity of bees during the winter and spring may be an incentive for us to make further investigations, learn more important facts, and yet dis- cover some means to avert or prevent this fearful drawback on bee-keeping in our State. And when we consider what enormous losses have been sus- tained, year after year, it behooves every one who has any interest in the success of apiculture to " help, aid and assist " all those means and measures designed to bring about so desired a result. It is no part of wise men to say that our present attainments are suf- licient, that we know all about bee- keeping or that we should settle down on a standard frame for all sections and climates, but rather by experi- mentation and practical research try to discover other and belter methods of carrying our bees through our severe and long winters and springs. I took considerable pains last spring to canvass at least one town, the town of Harmony, in order to accurately estimate the death rate of bees and the causes that led thereto. And I believe when we know the particular cause we may apply the treatment or prenventive measures, and thus attain our desired results. There were 1& bee-keepers in this town the past year and the whole number of colonies put into winter quarters was 80. Three colonies were in the Torrey hives, 10 were in box hives and the rest were in the Gallup hives or some modifica- tion of it. A very few were wintered in cellars, some in house chambers, while the most of them were left on the summer stands. Those left out doors were protected by an outside hive or house with a 6 inch space filled with chaff and a chaff cushion over the frames. Now out of the 80 that bid fair to winter, only 50 came tlirough alive, making the loss by death 37Ja per cent., a fearful loss indeed ! Upon careful examination I found those that died in cellars starv- ed to death with no honey in the hive, which showed that they would have lived if there had been food enough in the hives ; while 20 colonies died on the summer stands in Gallup hives and protected with chaff and outside hives, and honey in one or both ends of the hives. Twenty colonies died of starvation with a plenty of honey in the .hives. Honey'to the right of thetu. Honey to the left of them, Honey by side of them, But none above them. Suffered and hungered, Died tliere unnumbered, Some one had blundered; 'rlieir'8 not to make reply, Thelr'a not to reason why, Their'B but to do and die, A BCore of awarm8 in eighty. The treatment or preventive meas- ures, it seems to me, are self evident. We must either winter in cellars or so construct our liives that they may winter safely on summer stands. If we could liave the temperature in the hive above the freezing point all the time, and have a plenty of sealed stores, we should not lose our bees to any material extent ; but so long as we cannot expect to do that, it is nec- essary to ward off all the cold we can. But this packing is inconvenient, and results are so uncertain that they will die unless we adopt the natural means which the bees would claim if they were able to speak. We all know that bees cluster on the approach of win- ter beneath their winter's store in the middle of the hive, and when the air within is too cold for them to go side- ways, they naturally approach the upper partof the cluster, tor the lieat of their bodies and breathing keeps their combs immediately above them in a condition for their occupation. They cannot go across or sideways for it may be frosty and contrary to their nature when the air is cold ami chilly. Now if we can so construct a hive or frame that shall give depth of honey above the cluster, we shall have an additional assurance that our bees will not starve in winter or perish with cold. And further we must pro- tect our colonies to such an extent that the temperature within the hive may not fall below the freezing point. 562 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For tbe American Bee JoumaL My Experience with Foul Brood. R. C. nOLSIES. lu July. 1S82. the flow of honey he- iiig good". I noticed that the bees of one of niv colonies were idle and list- less while the other colonies were at work. I had only to take off the cap of the hive, and 'lift out a frame, to find both by the odor and appearance a case of "foul brood." The concave brood caps, with perforations, the dead brood, dark-colored and ropy, and bad ^mell. all being present. I had read so much about it. that my heart grew sick within me. and I felt as I once did. after working half an honr in en- deavoring to land a two-pound trout. and finding that it was only a "sucker."" I put the frame back and left the bees uutil near dusk. I then set a box beside the hive, and after smok- ing the bees pretty thoroughly .brushed them off the frarnes into the" box. put- ting on a cover (in which was a hole about 6 inches square, covered with wire cloth), and fastened it on. I then set the box away in a dark stall in my barn, and let it "stand fi-om 36 to 40 hours. I then took a clean hive, put it on the same stand, put in it frames of foundation, and emptied the bees out of the box into it. I put on a feeder containing some granu- lated sugar svrup with a little salicylic acid mixed with it. The colony drew out the foundation, stored nearly enough honey to take tliem through the winter, and I had no more " foul brood "" there. I then proceeded to examine my other colonies, of which I had 20 in all. I found 6 other colonies infected with the disease, i only slightly, and 2 seriously. I determined to try some experiments, and having read your valuable Jourx.\l for a "year or two. and kept the numbers o"n file, also owning A. I. Roots " Bee-Keeping."" Cook's Manual. King. Quinby and I>angstroth books. I had quite a library to draw from. I took the worst case left, and phiced a clean hive on the stand, in which were new frames with foundation, and brushed the bees im- mediately from the infected combs on to the foundation, and put on a feeder with syrup and salicylic acid as before. The colony also built out the founda- tion, stored enough honey for winter, and has showed no signs of the dis- ease since. The other -5 colcuiies not being as seriously affected. I determined to try and save the combs if I could. I pro- cured a solution of salicylic acid, ac- cording to the recipe given. I think bv C. F. Muth. also by A. I. Root, and 'a sprayer, and sprayed the combs and bees" thoroughly every week, and some- times oftener. until I thought the dis- ease eradicated. It certainly decreased, and seemed to disappear. " On looking over my bees in October. I found that it was not eradicated, and in one hive it was quite bad. I brimstoned the liees in that hive, and buried the combs, as I also did those of the first two colonies mem- tioned. The other -i colonies were in brick hives, with a cement lining in- ry them. I sent to L. C. Root & Bro. for some emptv combs, having none my- self, and "transferred the combs to some new frames, took the bees out of each hive, washed out the hives, every crevice and corner with salicylic acid, filled the comlis as well as I could with svrup. and brushed the bees on to them. I have never seen any " foul brood "" since. As it is now a vear since I saw the last of it. I feel tliat I eradicated the disease from my apiary with the loss of onlv one colony. I did not burn or destiw a hive. "I waslied them out thoroughly with the acid, let them dry in the sun", and have since used some of them. The query with me was. where did the disease" come from, as it is said only to proceed from some other diseased colonv. I kept verv quiet about it, only my wife and oldest son knowing ot the trouble. I have several neighbors who keep bees. one. only a few rods distant, who has a colony in a cup- board, or large box in the attic of his shop. About the first of May last. I asked him hcnv his bees were doing. He rephed that they died out in the winter. I asked him if he had re- moved the combs, and he replied that he had not. I suggested to him that he had better do so soon, or the moths would destroy it all. . A week or two later I asked him again if he had removed the comb, to which he replied that he had, that a few of the outside combs were nice, and had nice honey in them, but that the inside ones were all rotten, and stunk so that it most made him sick taking them out. I then guessed I knew where my " foul brood "' came from. The yield of white clover and bass- wood honey here, this year, was bet- ter than for the three previous years, but of fall honey not enough to safely winter on, and" I have been feeding several colonies. West "Winsted, Ct. For the American Bee Journal. How about that Foul Brood 1 J. M. HICKS. I see on page o.31 of the excellent Bee Journal, a short note taken the apiary department of the Ameri- can Grange Bidkiin. of September 20; and which it seems lias been the cause of Mr. C. F. Muth asking tlie Bee Journal to reproduce it. and says, "it lo«ks so much like a slur," &c,; and then by way of reply he offers to stake S-50 against SIO of Mr. Hicks' money that I (Hicks.) cannot cure foul brood witliout using what lie calls his remedy. &c. ; and still to make the matter more showy. Mr. Muth offers to wager S5 against SI of Hicks' money that he (Hicks.) cannot pi-ove ever to have seen a colony of bees affected with malignant foul brood. Xow, Mr. Editor, let me say if I were so inclined, or ever had been a gambler, I might very easily relieve the gentleman of his S->5; but having been reared under different inlluences. I must decline Mr. Muth's special proposition. But if Mr. Muth has really taken umbrage at that note, and thinks that I intended it as a slur on him or any otlier member of the the Xorth American Bee-Keepers' Society, I am sorry, as it was not so intended, but merely a question asked and reference made to the long and labored reports by certain members of the convention on foul brood, and after all no definite conclusion arrived at, except a banter by 2 or oj of the members to stake SoO as a fund for the benefit of Mr, Langstroth in case the cure was, or was not, affected in 1 or 2 different ways, as mentioned by C. F. Muth and 1). A. Jones, each of whom had a pet theory of their own, of which I need not mention now. I thought so little of either process as mentioned by the gentlemen ; es- pecially so when it was to be tested on a wager of SoO and to be the special fund of an old and honored bee-keep- er as well as a minister of the gospel. So far as I am concerned, and as be- ing weighed in the balance with any man who desires to judge my capacity and ability of knowing what foul brood is and curing the same, I shall only say I was quite well acquainted with the disease in 1S70, and lost sev- eral colonies of bees at that time, until I stopped its ravages and further spread among my Dees, which has been over 13 ago; to-day I have no signs of tlie dreaded epidemic diseases known to bees. Further, here let me say that I stated (when I had an opportunity so to do.) at the Xorth American Bee- Keepers' Convention, in 1882, that an ounce of preventation was better than a pound of cure, and gave my plan of same ; and that, too, without favor or reward, and have never charged a cent for giving the knowlede of same to any who so desire it. Further, let me say, so far as Mr. Muth's plan and use of salicylic is concerned, it is no new thing, and has been known for many years as a remedy, only as a failure, for foul brood. I claim no special honors for using rock salt as a preventive, which I know it to be from many years of experience, and trust it may do much in preventing such a loathsome disease as foul brood from spreading. I am well aware that I do not know it all yet, nor do I make such preten- sions, but hope to be able to guide my little pets, the bees, safely through, and reap my reward accordingly. Battle Ground, Ind., :N'ov. 1, 1883. (^■May we ask you, dear reader, to speak a good word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at least one neio subscription with your own ";' Our premium, " Bees and Honey," in cloth, for one neto sub- scriber to the Weekly, or two for the Monthly, besides you'r own subscrip- tion to either edition, will pay you for your trouble, besides having the satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bee Journal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 563 WihiiX iXniX Boxu. ANSWERS BY James Eeddon, Dowagiac, Mich. Putting Bees in the Cellar. At about what time should bees be put into tlie cellar V Monroe, Wis. N. Stainingek. ^\.NSWER.— At that time when you think the season is going to give them no more chance to fly. We usually wait until snow comes apparently to stay, and we do not fear to carry any amount of snow into our cellar. siki^4S^^imM if"S#' No Surplus from Fall Flowers. Bees have done very well in this section of country, "except in fall honey ; the bees have not stored any surplus this fall. JosiAH Eastbuen. Fallsington, Pa., Oct. 28, 1883. How was it Done 1 In the Bee Journal for Oct. 31, J. H. Kennedy, Little York, N. Y., states that liis crop is 75,000 lbs. from 60 colonies, spring count, but he does not state the increase. I commenced the season with that number (60) ; in- creased by aid of empty combs to 141, and took 14, .5.59 lbs., which might, by close extracting, have been made 20,000, possibly. Now, an average of 1,2.'50 lbs. is something that I am not quite prepared for, without knowing how it is done ! Will Mr. Kennedy instruct a novice through the Bee Journal ? J. C. Tnoai. Streetsville, Ont., Xov. 1, 1883. My Best and Poorest Colonies. The following is my report for 1883 of my best and poorest colony : Best colony, No. 9, cyprian, gave of comb honey, in one-pound sections, 282 lbs ; extracted honey, 48 lbs. ; in hives, 157; total, 487 lbs. Increased to 5 colonies. Poorest colony, No. 11, Italian, gave of comb honey, in one-pound sections, 80 lbs. ; extracted honey, 25 lbs. ; in hives, 105 lbs. ; total, 2i0 lbs. In- creased to 3 colonies. Fkitt's Cottage Hiv:e Apiary. Niles, Mich., Oct. 29, 1883. My Season's Work. My report for this season is, spring coiuit, 8 colonies ; 2 were qneenless, and had to rear their own queens, by giving them eggs. I increased by artifleial swarming to 27 good colonies. I reared many of my own queens ; but had some sent me from Ilenry Alley, James Ileddon and A. I. Root. I ob- tained 717 lbs. of honey (693 lbs. of ex- tracted and 24 lbs. of comb honey). I have on hand 35 frames of good sealed clover honey for spring reeding, if they need it, and each colony has from S5 to 30 lbs. of good honey to go into winter quarters with. I sold 2 colo- nies (hybrids) for $}0. I am going to winter my bees in three different ways. I am leaving some on their summer stands, in double-walled hives, packed with paper and saw- dust ; some in a repository, and some in clamps. I am using the standard Langstroth frame. I used the Ameri- can frame before, but I like the Langstroth the best for handling and for winter use. Wm. Seitz. Hustisford, AVis., Oct. 27, 1883. How I Started to Keep Bees. I have long contemplated writing a short note for the Bee Journ.\l, ex- pressing in a feeble way my indebted- ness to the Editor and his able corres- pondents,for much instruction, benefit and pleasure. It was by the merest accident I became an apiarist, and by chance a reader, yea, a student of the Bee Journal. A swarm of bees settled near my place. I took them in very handsomely. In a few days an agent for a moth-patented hive came along, explained its excellence, as an agent knows so well how to do, especially to one who had not been enlightened upon the hive, by reading the Bee Journal. I then thought it the hive; took the bait. SIO worth, for a farm right. And, again, by chance, I, this spring, became the possessor of an apiary of 30 colonies — a bold step, I hear you say ; true, it was. However, by studying ; by simply devouring the Bee Journal and the Manual, I have been equal to the emergency. When I met rocks, shoals and quicksands, I immediately turned to my file of Bee Journals, and there found the needed light. I got my bees all moved by the last of January. On the first day of February they were on the wing, bringing in pollen— there, I will leave for the present. Jno. a. Esiison. Mission Valley, Texas, Oct. 12, 1883. Pollen or No Pollen. In Bruce, Ontario, the past season was, upon the whole, favorable for bees. The early part of the spring was very backward ; cold and wet con- tinued very long, so the white clover began to appear only about June 20, but it then became very abundant and healthy, and was followed by the basswood blossoms which were very plentiful. I see that lively discussion regard- ing pollen or no pollen in wintering bees is still going on. The non-pol- len theory seems to me to be contrary to nature. Bees, in spite of our theo- ries gather it wherever and whenever they can, and with very great care and skill, store it up for future use. This is taught by a law which man cannot ignore. We know also that they need pollen earlier in the season than they can gather it in the fields. Bees shut up for five months will be of little value the following season if for want of pollen they are prevented from breeding till they are placed on their summer stands. The success of the bee-keeper in northern climes depends very much in having liis hives full of young bees when placed on their summer stands ; but tills cannot easily be got if pollen is excluded from their winter stores. I say, then, let the bees have their pollen which they have so indus- triously gathered and stored under their honey. But let tliem have plenty of ripe honey with their pollen, or good syrup, which will do just as well; then they will not injure themselves by eating pollen, but will use it only when they need it. The want of liquid food drives them to the pollen, and too much of it will sicken and destroy them. J. Anderson. Tiverton, Out,, Oct. 27, 1883. Kansas Bee and Honey Show. Mr. Newman : As I have not seen anything from anyone about it, I will say that they had a very nice Bee and Honey Show at Hiawatha. Brown Co., Kansas, Fair. The officers were well pleased with the display and said they would encourage that department more another year. I. W. Margrave had a nice display of comb and ex- tracted lioney, bees, queens, hives, &c. John Witschy had some nice honey and queens ; the writer had 2 colonies of bees and honey, wtiich was most all spoiled by the express agent; also, an extra fine queen was shown by D. A. Pike, Smithburg, Maryland. The premiums were on comb and extract honey, best hive and tools for apiary, J. W. Margrave, Hiawatha, Kansas ; best queen, D. A. Pike, Smithburg, Md. ; best colony of bees, D. O. Park- er, St. Joseph, Mo. D. G. Parker. St. Joseph, Mo., Oct. 30, 1883. Questions for Mr. Doolittle. I wish to ask Mr. Doolittle what style of frame, how placed, what size, 1 or 2 stories, would he adopt if start- ing anew into bee-keeping, for ex- tracted and comb honey V C. M. Molksworth. Building Comb Upwards. I am an amateur bee-keeper. Two years ago I started with one colony of Italian bees and an observation hive. I have been very much interested in the working of the bees, and have watched them closely this spring. I took off my observation hive, which was full from last year, and gave them room to work. I noticed that, contrary to what I expected, they did not commence to build from the top downward, but built the comb up- wards from the bottom. They seemed to pay no attention to the frames and built it diagonally across the hive. What I want to know is, if filling a hive in that manner is of frequent occurrence V Although they built comb upwards they did well. I have now 10 colonies and have all I can attend to. Edgar L. Gross. Springfield, 111., Oct. 28, 1882. [Bees do sometimes build their combs in this manner, but not often. — Ed.] 564 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Alsike Clover. I have raised alsike clover for five years in succession, and I find it to be one of tlie best honey phmts, wliile it lasts, that I can raise ; bees will work on it by the side of white clover. I have been to old pasture fields tliat were lined with white clover and would scarcely Hud a bee, and then go back to the alsike and found it booni- iner with bees. Besides, it makes the best pasture and better hay than red clover. It does not get as dusty as red clover hay, and rain does not pile it as soon. A. B. Miller. Wakarusa, Ind. Sowing Mignonette Seed. Will the Bee Journal please ask Prof. Beal to answer the following questions through the Bee Journal in regard to mignonette : 1. Which does Prof. Beal consider the best for bees, reseda odorata, rese odorata grandiflora, ameliorata, Parson's new white and new hybrid spiral V 2. Can i)iignonette be sown in drills in the fall V 3. How much should mignonette be sown in drills to one acre V 4. How wide apart should the rows bey 5. How wide apart should mig- nonette be planted in drills ? 6. How often sliould mignonette be sown V 7. Will mignonette, after sown, re- main permanently ? A SUBSCRIBEB. Indianapolis, Ind., Oct. 14, 1883. In reply to the above queries, I give the following answers : 1. They are all very good. I should sow for the main crop the most com- mon kind, and sow small plats of the newer kinds, and in this way ascer- tain which is the best. 2. No. 3. I should sow at least one seed to every inch in the drill. 4. About 9 inches. 5. Thinned to 4 inches. 6. In March (in hot-beds) and in May. 7. No. W. J. Beal. Lansing, Mich., Oct. 29, 1883. Not a Good Season. The season for 1SS3 has come to a close, and I can by no means call it a good one. My 30 colonies of bees win- tered without loss, although in May and June it was cold and rained most of the time. When clover was in bloom it rained some most every day, and very little honey was gathered from basswood. In September we had two hard frosts that killed all of the fall bloom, so I had to feed one-half barrel of A sugar. AVhen the honey season began I had 25 strong colonies and 3 weak ones ; they increased to 02 strong ones, and I have taken 1,182 pounds of comb honey in prize boxes, and the most of it is sold for 18 and 20 cents per pound. I have them all packed, sides and top, with fine oat straw, and will put them into the cellar some time next month. Charlie W. Bradish. Glendale, N. Y.. Oct. 29, 1883. Moving Hives for Winter Packing. I have my hives scattered all over the yard, about 6 feet apart; will it do to move them all in one row, about 6 inches apart, so that I can cover them, except the front, which I wish to face to the east ? Some tell me that if I move them, the bees, when taking a flight, will return totlie place their hive stood before moving, and will perish. I wish your opinion. John W. Stukwold. Haymond, Ind., Oct. 26, 1883. Thickness of Sections. I have heretofore predicted that wide frames and separators for sec- tions would, in the near future, be discarded by our best honey-producers. If we take the Chicago Convention for an example, three-fourths of the members present producing their honey without separators, we may ex- pect to see the time soon, wlien they will be discarded. I get straight combs with closed-top sections, and straighter combs with small starters than with whole sheets, Mr. James Heddon to the contrary notwithstand- ing. In regard to the proper thick- ness of sections, without separators, for combs, say from 4 to 5 inches square, I would suggest 1 Jg inches ; is this too thick or too thin ? As we will soon have our bees packed away for winter, and will be preparing for another year's crop, can we not have some discussion on the above su'oject from those of experience, such as James Heddon, C4. M. Doolittle, W. Z. Hutchinson. C. C. Miller and others. There are many who are undecided as to how they will secure their honey another year, and views from those of experience would certainly prove very beneficial. The experience of R. A. Burnett shows that thin combs of the same weight sell better than thick ones. Is the queen more liable to enter the boxes and deposit eggs in thin combs than thick ones 'i AVill not the combs be built straighter when thin than when thick 'i Who will explain first, and benefit those to whom it may concern ? A. J. Fisher. East Liverpool, O., Oct. 27, 1883. Chaff Hives Wintered in the Cellar. Mr. J. T. ^Matthews, in an article entitled "Cellar vs. Chaff Hives." read before the Central Michigan Conven- tion and published in the present vol- ume of the Journal, page 299, reports having placed "3 chall hives in the cel- lar " to test them on an equal footing with single-walled hives, to see the effect on " spring dwindling." As there is no further mention made of them in the article, and as there are several points besides "spring dwind- ling " to be taken into account in the adoption of a method of winter pro- tection, will :Mr. :Matthews kindly in- form the readers of the Bee Journal how many pounds those colonies in chaff hives decreased in weight while in the cellar; also tlieir condition when removed and at the begimiing of the honey season. Franklin P. Stiles. Haverhill, Mass., Oct. 26, 1883. Make a Note of it. Bees have done very well for the kind of season ; they average about 55 pounds of honey to the colony ; in- crease, SO per cent. They go into winter quarters in this unusual condi- tion ; no fall honey ; no fall bees ; no fall pollen— all old bees, with pure clover honey. Xow, please remember what the result of the wintering will be, and make a note in your calendar of philosophical beedom. I speak only for my own locality. E McNiTT. Harlem, Ohio, Oct. 26, 1883. Open Letter to Mr. F. L. Dresser. Dear Sir.— On page 4.54 of the Ajierican Bee Journal, is an arti- cle under your signature, headed " How to Clean Wax." After giving us your method of using the Swiss extractor for that, piu'pose, vou state in the latter part of the article that you have a further addition to the ex- tractor, by which you can render the wax white as originally made by the bees. Your article, as far as it went, was very good. Now% please state how this instrument is made, and how you use it, and then your article will be much better, and your bee brothers will find it doubly interesting. L. Jajees. Atlanta, 111.. Nov. 1, 1883. One-third of a Crop of Honey. So far as I have been able to learn, bee men in this vicinity have had a small yield of honey,' this season. Perhaps one-third of an average crop ; all. or nearly all of wliich will find a home market. A fair number of swarms was secured, and nearly all colonies are in good condition for the coming winter. L. Jasies. Atlanta, 111., Nov. 1, 1883. Sook Notices. i^There is no better companion for man than a good wife, but next comes a good book, and if it is instructive as well as entertaining, the time in read- ing it is well spent. Dr. Foote's " Plain Home Talk and Medical Com- mon Sense" is held in high esteem by the judges of good literature, and all classes of readers praise its clear style, enjoy its variety and profit by its in- struction. Thousands have bought it and more have borrowed it. but every family should have one of its own now that the price is only SI. 50, and it can be had by mail, prepaid, from the Murray Hill Publishing Co., 129 E. 2Sth St., N. Y. City. igr Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations S2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 565 ^:pecial Notices. Examine the Date following your name on tlie wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. "VVe wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. How to Create a Market for Honey. We have now published another edition of the pamphlet on "Honey as Food and Medicine," with more neio "Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price still lower, to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 5 cents, postpaid ; per dozen, 40 cents; per hundred, )t!2.50. 500 will be sent postpaid for $10.00 ; or 1000 for $15.00- On orders of 100 or more, we will print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense — enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Try it, and you will be surprised. Subscription Credits. — We do not acknowledge receipt of each subscrip- tion by letter. The label on your paper, or on the wrapper, shows the date to which your subscription is paid. When you send us money, if the proper credit is not given you, within tv,o weeks thereafter, on your label, notify us by postal card. Do not wait for months or years, and then claim a mistake. The subscrip- tion is paid to the end of the month indicated on the wrapper-label. This gives a statement of account every week. Our New List of Premiums. Getting up Clubs for 1884. To increase the number of readers of the Bee Journal, we believe, will aid progressive bee-culture and help to elevate the pursuit. We, therefore, offer the following premiums for getting up clubs : While no subscription to the Bee Journal will be taken for less than the regular advertised prices (viz. : Weekly, $2.00; Montlily, $1.00),— any one getting up a club of two copies, or more, may select from " Our Book List " anything therein named, to the amount of 15 cents for every dollar they send direct to this office, to pay them for the trouble of getting up the club ; and these books will besent, postpaid, to any address desired. For a club of 3 Weekly or 6 Monthly and $6.00, we will make an additional present of a Pocket Dictionary, bound in cloth, containing 320 pages. For a club of 5 Weekly or 10 Monthly, (or a mixed club of both,) with $10, we will, in addition to the 15 per cent, present a copy of the American "Popular" Dictionary, comprising every word in the English language that enters into speech or writing ; it contains 32,000 words and phrases,670 illustrations and 512 pages; it is nicely bound in cloth, and will be sent by mail, postpaid, to any address desired. For a club of $20,-10 Weekly, or its equivalent, we will present, besides the 15 per cent, a tested Italian queen. Announcements for larger clubs will be made hereafter. Subscriptions for two or more years for one person, will count the same as each year for a different person. 1^" When writing to this office on business, our correspondents should not write anything for publication on the same sheet of paper, unless it can be torn apart without interfering with either portion of the letter. The edi- torial and business departments are separate and distinct, and when the business is mixed up with items for publication it often causes confusion. They may both be sent in one envelope but on separate pieces of paper. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 per 100. Trial Trip, until Dec 31.-25 cents. Wishing to be able to reach several thousands of the old- fashioned bee- men, and by the aid of the Bee Journal to lift them up to higher ground, adopting newer methods and progressive ideas, we make the follow- ing very liberal offer: We will send the Weekly Bee Journal till Dec. 31, on trial, for 25 cents. In order to pay for getting up Clubs, we will give a copy of Fisher's Grain Tables, or Scribner's Lumber and Log Book, to any one who will send us five trial subscriptions (with $1.25) ; for a club of ten we will give a cloth copy of Bees and Honey ; for a club of 15, a cloth copy of the 7th edition of Cook's Man- ual of the Apiary ; for a club of 25, we will present both the Manual and Bees and Honey. If any one wants these Books for nothing, here is on excel- lent opportunity to get them for a little exertion. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies (220 pages) 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. Bee Pasturage a Necessity. — VV e have just issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to any address for ten cents. i^ The new two cent rate of pos- tage for letters went into effect on October 1. Three cent postage stamps will now be but little used. For all fractions of a dollar sent to us here- after we should prefer either one-cent, or else five or ten-cent postage stamps, or a Postal Note. Do not send coins in any letter. Preparation of Honey for the Mar- ket, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. 566 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. g^diicvtiscmcnts. ITALIAN BEES AND QUEENS. s 42A1I Send for Price List to B. BKO\¥N, DBS MOINES, IOWA. L.IFE IN8UKAIHCE THAT ISTSUKES. THB MUTUAL RBSERVB FUND LIFE ASSOCIATION! SS I^lbertT St., ST.W YORK, and 113 Adiima St., CHICAOO. BDWABD B. IIARPEB, Prrsidmt. THE Centkal TuiST Company, of New York, Trustfe iij thf Rfsfrve Fund. O. I>. Bali>win. President Fourth Nat'l Bank, N. y.. Auditor of Death Cttiim Account. MEMBERSHIP NUMBER, 16,000. Total Business. Seventy Mlllionsof Dollars. $100,000 to the Credit of the Reserve Fund. Reserve Fund— Selected Risks-Grnded Rates— An open Ledner— A Trust Company as Trustee. jy ARents wanted in Illinois. Address, «T. H. KNOX, Gen'l Agt., 46D3t 113 ADAMS ST., CHICAGO. FLAT - BOTTOM COMB FOUITOATION, high side-walls, 4 to Ifi square feet tc tho pound. Circular and aamples free J. VAN DEUSEN & SONS, Sole Munufacturers, Sprout Brook, Mont. Co., N. Y. A NEW HIVE Arranged for continuous passage ways and con- tinuous ccimtis, 8u that greater ease and rapidity in the handlinK of sections is gained, also a larger pro'^uetion (if comb honev. Although p«tenttd. a legal right to makeand use will he acccirdetl to any one purchasing a sample hive, the right only in manufacture to sell or convey to others being with -held. A stand, aligbtins board, entrance blocks, two division boards, ten brood frames, yj 1 lb. sections and the improved section flxturea. all packed in the bive. Price of ttrst hive, including the atiove paits and a special circular un the mode of management, »7.oo. A tine Photo sent for fs two-cent stamps. Orders filled in turn. Reference : Exchange Bank, New Philadelphia. Address. BK. G. I-. TINREK. 44Atf NEW PHILADELPHIA. O. BARNES' PATENT Foot Power Machinery CIUCULAR AND SCROLL SAWS. 'Hand. Circular Rip Saws for general heavv and light rip- ping, Lathes, &c. These ma- chines are especially adapted to Hive Mnb-Sntc. Itwillpay every bee-keeper to send for our 48-page Illustrated Cata- '''^ V F. & JOHN BARNES. No. JoiT Main street. Rnekfnrd. WinnebaK*^ Co., III. Honey! Honey!! Frnit!!! Twenty nice black Tartiirian CHERRY' TREKS, by express, for $1.1X1. These are a feet— ovei and under: can send 20 small ones by mall, post-paid, lor*MX:i. CHAS. K1KGS1.EY, 45A2t GREBNEVILLE, Greene Co., TBNN, PATENT FOR SALE. The undersigned intend to sell the patent on his Honey-Comb Uncapplmc Machine - a new invention. Ftpr further information, apply to JOHN BOURUMEYER, 45Alt FOND DU LAC. WIS. SECTIONS. ^E^31Z^ We have just put in several new machines and also a larger engine In our factory, consequently we are In better shape to fill orders than ever for Sections, Shipping Crates, etc., etc. We make a specialty of our "BOSS" ONE-PIECE SECTIONS, Patented June 2Sth. ihhi. We can make the " Boss" One- Piece Sections any size or width desired. Send tor Price List. yVe make the Halt-Poiind Section any size desired. ,JA9. FORNCROOK. a^ CO. iBCtf Watertown Jeff. Co. Wis.. Jan. I, 1883. P^. roquois Strain. HOCKA Four Yards. ^orrespnndeoe cheerfully answ«red Prices ruasonabl- (V. H. EUSSEY. 131 Lake Street, ChicaEO. 2BCly Sweet Glover AND OTHER SEEDS. Having a LARGE stork of SWEET CLOVER SEEft. I can till orders at aSc. per pound »S.8.'> per peck, or J»13 per bushel. Also, ail other SEEDS for HONEY PLANTS. ALFRED H. NEWMAN, 923 West Madison Street. Chicago, 111. Yandervorl Coml) Fdn. Mills, Send Tor SampleH «%! Reduced Prlee-l..l8t. 3JABtf J. VANDERVORT, Lacyville, Pa. CHOICE ITALIAN (jUEENS ! Breed for BUSINESS and Beauty! Daughters of prolific and fine-colored mothers, producing large and beautiful drones and workers. Tested yiueens, selected with care, each $2 w Untested " choice in color and size, each, i no Nucleus of 2-Langs. Irames and tested Queen 4 50 Additional frames, each 50 If you want the BEST, send your orders for Queens and Beea to JAMES E. WHITE, 9Btf ENQLB WOOD, Cook Co., ILL. Choice Queens! I am now up with my orders, and can send QUEENS by RETURN MAIL. I am now culling them down to the very best. J, T. WILSON, Mortonsville, Woodford Co., Ky. BBCtf FRANCES DUNHAM, Inventor and Sole Manufacturer of THE DUNHAM FOUNDATION MACHINE Patented Aug. 23d. 1881. Vour machines are undoubtedly the very best in existence for heavy foundation. CHARLES Dadant & SON, Hamilton, III. Nov. 24th, 1882. And the following from the President of the North American Bee-Keepers' Association: I am quite positive that your Foundation Mills are ahead of anything yet invented. D. A. JONES, Beeton, Ont., Canada, Jan. 29th, 1883. I send you samples of Foundation which I am manufacturing on one of your machines, in sheets !'xlH, which measure liM feet to the pound. I think it superior to any samples of thin founda- tion I have seen. J. G. Written. Aug. 14th, 1882. Genoa, N. Y. Send for description and testimonials to FRANCES I>UNHA]lf, 8Ctf DE PERE, WIS. Friends, if you are in any way interested in BEES OR HONEY We will with pleasure send you a sample copy of the Monthly GleanlnKS In Bee-Culture» with a descriptive price-list of the latest improve- ments in IllVft*. Honey Extractor*, Comb Foundiitlon, Section Honey Boxes, all books and journals, and everything pertaining to Bee Culture. :^oi}xin(3 PaXtnUd. Simply send your ad- dress written piuijUj/, to Ctf A. I. ROOT, Medina, O. The Bee-Keepers' Guide, OK, MANUAL OF THE APIAKY. I0,000 SOLD IN SIX YEARS. 11th Thousand JuhI Out. More than 50 pages, and more than 50 fine Illus- trations added. The whole work has been thor- oughly revised, and contains the very latest in re- spect to bee-keeping. It is certainly the fullest and most scientific work treating of bees in the World. Prlc*^, by Malt, itfil.Sa. Liberal dlBCOunt to dealers and to clubs. A. fj. COOI£. l7Ctf Author and Publisher, Lansing, Mich. HEADQUARTERS IN THE SOUTH For trie manufacture of BEE-REErERS' SUPPLIES. Dunham and Root Foiindallon a specialty. Italian Queens and Bees from March to November. ^"Send for my Illustrated Catalogue. 5Ctf PAUL L. VI ALLON, Bayou Goula, La. 1883; JOSEPH dTeNAS, 1883. (Sunny Side Apiary.) Pure Italian Queens, Bees, Colonies, Nuclei, EXTRACTOUS, COMB FOUNDATION, &c 19D6in Address, Sunny Side Apiary. NAPA, CAXi. ted intimately with the effect of atmospheric changes over the secretions of honey m flow- ers this may seem a trifling matter. Bee-keepers though, know too well, and oftimes to their sorrow, the dire- ful consequences of such. Be the bloom ever so fair and brilliant, it takes certain conditions of tlie weath- er to enable the flower to secrete honey in abundance. W ith occasional showers, plenty of sunshine, warm nights, and southerly biee/.es the apiarist's heart will be gladdened by a generous flow of honey. It contrary conditions prevail, the reverse will certainly be the case To some c^ I have found over an acre ot red rasp- hen v vines upon my place, a great advantage to my bees. The honey fmn the raspberry bloom exc-eecls in flavor and appearance even the t ai tened white clover honey. My acie oT^ore of sweet clover and alsike will neS year •• come in pat for liee-yias- turage, even after the white clover is gone. My bees, this year, have averaged over 4.5 pounds per colony, with which result, considering the nature of the season, I have every reason to be sat- isfied. Moreover, they are well pro- vided with ample stores for their ow-n use— a fact that is calculated to make the bee-keeper feel peaceful about the region of the heart. If asked " Does l,ee-keeping pay V" I should answer, in the light even of this year's experi- ence, (wliich may be termed only ordi- nary,) '' yes, 100 per cent, on the m- vestmenl." Beeswax, that " Wiley" Story, etc. Tlie following is taken from the Indiana Farmer, and concerns bee- keepers generally : Editors Indiana Farmer -.—The following is taken from the Indiana- polis Journal of Oct. 17 : " Do you know where I can get some beeswax "i"' inquired a wholesale druggist of the reporter. The Journal man didn't know. "It's mighty scarce, continued the druggist. I want genuine wax, suitable for phar- maceutical purposes. Honey is plenty and cheap, never was cheaper than now. Honey men now pour out the mellifluous product and put back the comb. Then there's a practice of making artificial comb out of P»ra- ftine, which is growing in favor. This saves the bees the labor of making comb, and they put in all their time making honev- They don't have to go out' and rckm around, hunting up flowers, either, as the practice now is to feed them on glucose. As the yield of wax is light, there are a num- ber of sophistications. Japan wax is the chief of these. It is white m color, and a vegetable product." The question is, does the Journal man know anytliing worth speaking of ? How much do you think this item helps genuine bee-keeping? I wisli you would try and enlighten the reporter a little. F- R- Tlie Journal man is not so much to blame, for he has seen this same in- formation going the rounds of the press, in some form or another, for the past two years. Prof. Wiley originated it as a " scientific pleasantry."' It has proved anything but pleasant to bee- keepers. However, it seems very strange that a wholesale druggist should be led into the same error. The paiatthie - comb - filled - with - glucose- story has done the bee-keepers a vast amomit of injury. But the immense amount of honey beuig consumed each year is a fair indication that the peo- ple at large are becoming pretty well posted in the matter. ^ Make all Postal Money Orders and Postal Notes payable at the Madison St. Station. Chicago, 111. Are the Bees Prepared for 'Winter!— The Indiana Farmer remarks as fol- lows about the necessity of seeing to the matter at once : It is to be hoped that all of our bee- keeping friends have their bees nice- ly prepared for the winter before this, but if any yet remain uncared for, let them be attended to at once. At least see that they have plenty of stores. Xlie indications are that the winter will be an open one, and if such is to be the case, colonies with plenty of stores will stand a fair chance of coming through safely, thoueh other- wise neglected. In many localities the fall drouth cut the honey crop short, leaving many colonies short of stores. Such must be fed or they will surely perish. We would deem it much more humane to brimstone such colonies, than to allow them to die of slow starvation; besides, the honey saved from one, might save the lite of another, if given before the weather becomes too cold. 1^ Mr. Jerome Twitchell, of Kansas City, Mo., has worked faithfully for severa years in the interests of the honey trade, and has created a market for that health-giving article, in sec- tions where it has scarcely been known as a merchantable commodity before. By his untiring efforts he has built up a trade in honey that agregated, last season, some 75,000 pounds. His sales, for the present season, already foot up quite large, though he says he has been unable to get as much comb honey as he wants, and he says that he is now largely behind his orders. He has been netting his shippers 16 cents to 17 cents per pound for choice comb honey in one and two-pound sections, and making his returns in a very few days after receipt. We note that his weekly market reports show a better demand and better prices than any other Western mar- ket. The cashier of the Citizens' N ational Bank recommends Mr. Twitchell as a thoroughly-reliable, straight-forward and honorable business man. We know that he takes great interest in the honey business, and we are as- sured that any shipments made to him, or business confided to his care, will receive prompt and careful atten- tion, and meet with quick returns. AVe take pleasure in encouraging such enterprise as Mr. Twitchell has shown. The producer is compelled to look to some good business-man to market his products profitably for him, and we think that Mr. Jerome Twitchell, of Kansas City, Mo., will fill the bill. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 573 For tlie American Bee JouroaL Heddon's Report for 1883. JAMES HEDDON. As nearly all of the readers of the IJee Journal know, I have run my apiary more largely to experiments than ever before. To the greater benefit of my class of student- ap- prentices, and to settle in my own mind some unsettled questions, I have, in fact, made my whole apiary one of experiment upon several differ- ent mooted questions. Beginning with 133 colonies and ending the sea- son with 298, 1 have made most of these experiments upon a scale large enough to avoid falling into errors in forming conclusions. The cost in cap- ital and labor, chargeable properly to this experimenting, would reach into the hundreds of dollars ; yet I feel paid for that outlay, and if the follow- mg report of my conclusions proves of value to the readers of the Bee Jour- nal, I give it cheerfully, and shall feel that I am receiving an additional payment. My "long term" class, or those who came to stay the 5 months, number 4 men, H of whom had already had 3 or more years' experience with bees and modern fixtures before coming here. This class being picked from many applicants, I need not say that all were highly capable of making experiments and forming correct conclusions. To avoid any prejudice that might rest with me, gathered from results of former less extensive experiments, I placed this department in the hands of the class, and the fol- lowing is their unanimous decision, if I have made no mistake : The best manufactures of comb foundation for brood and surplus are : 1st, Given ; 2nd, Pelham ; 3rd, Da- dant's Dunham ; 4th, other Dunham ; 5th, Root. Late experiments with the honey, show the Given superior in regard to the delicacy of the combs in surplus honey. Just here 1 will add, that justice to all, demands that I say, to my own mind, the experiments with comb foundation among the bees was not on a scale large enough to make the decision certain, but the reports given at the Northwestern Convention by Messrs. Oatman, Grimm and others, force me to the conclusion that we are correct in regard to the superior qualities pos- sessed by the Given foundation. Hives. — We are unanimously oppos- ed to double walled or chaff hives, and in favor of wired frames filled wi h foundation ; also in filling sec- tions completely with it. Old vs. New Foundation.— We find that bees work new foundation far more readily than that a year old. Bees. — We consider the proper crosses of the leather-colored Italians and brown Germans to be the best bees for honey production. Sbparator.s. — We prefer tin to wood, as being best and cheapest in the end. We prefer the non-separa- tored case to the broad frame and separator system. I will here men- tion that, for the sake of a comprehen- sive experiment, we made 300 one- story broad-frame supers (all admitted them to greatly excel the two-story broad-frame super, possessing advan- tages that no other style of surplus receptacle does,) and used them with 3.50 of our cases, yet, all in all, we pre- fer the cases and the non-use of any separators. Surplusage.— We prefer the top of the hive, and consider it the only place where it is best to place surplus receptacles. We find the tiering-up system to work admirably, and prefer it to all others. Sections.— We greatly prefer all dove-tailed sections to any other. Honey Boards.— After giving this matter a radical and careful test, we find that the bees pass into the supers and cases through the skeleton honey board and double-spaces as readily as where no honey board is used ; the sections coming within bee-space of the brood frames. We favor the honey board as greatly assisting in the easy manipulation of the cases. IIalf-Pound Sections.— We find that we can get as many or more pounds of honey stored in half-pound as in pound sections, used either with or without separators. Our experience is that the bees finish them up faster than the largei; sizes. Regarding this system of teaching apiculture, we believe it to be the best extant, viz : to learn, by practice, the ways and means of practical and suc- cessful bee-keepers. In this locality we have not had an average honey season for 3 or 4 years past ; the one just passed being the poorest of them all. I do not remember ever witnessing so cold a summer and fall. Not only this, but at one time of year the rain badly over-did the busi- ness, while our fall crop was a total failure on account of drouth. Could I have had tlie season mapped out to me in advance, I would have proph- esied— " no honey." Notwithstanding all, bee-keepers in this section have some, and by im- provements in methods of manipula- tion, we have a crop as good as any of the 3 years past. Our crop report may be found in round numbers on page 528 of the current volume, and it is just that we here add that the fall shortage made room for the fall-feed- ing of 2,000 pounds of sugar, leaving our credit from the 133 colonies rather a large and healthy increase and about 2,000 pounds of extracted and 4,000 Eounds of comb honey, about one- alf in one, and the other half in half- pound sections. We expect to use only h^lf-pound sections the coming season, except the finishing up of the pounds now on hand and partly com- pleted. Our experiments in wintering, which will be made upon an extensive scale and radically tested, are of course still before us and must be left to the decision of my class of 1884 and myself to report June 1, 1884, when a full description of the tests and results will be given through the Bee Jour- nal. The season's experiments have not reversed any of my conclusions, but one test has very much modified one of my decisions, which I take pleasure in frankly stating to the reader. We find that separators retard the work in the sections but little, and I now see where my assistant and myself miscalculated when experimenting with separators some 4, 5 and 6 years ago. We used a row of six 6x6x2 sec- tions, with tin separators between each section, and glass at the outside. Like Mr. Turner, we then thought the glassing method a good one. Well, as most of you know, bees are slow to finish off honey next to glass, and when a tin separator stands on the one side and a pane of glass on the other, the foundation between them is often deserted and hardly touched, when many of the inner combs are nearly completed; you plainly see the difference between the sight that pre- sented itself when we peeKed through the glasses of the non-separatored and the separatored sections. The glass was more at fault than the sep- arators, though we learn by this, as well as by other experiments, that sep- arators can in no case be any advan- tage to work in sections, and in most instances a disadvantage of greater or less amount, according to the other conditions surrounding the apiary, hives and bees. Advanced apiarists have tested and discarded glass in all forms as con- nected with the storing of surplus honey, and, I predict, never to return. " History repeats itself," and no less so in apicultural appliances; and long after false and abortive methods have been proven so and laid on the shelves of oblivion by advanced bee-keepers, some of the less experienced, ignoring all that has gone before, dig open the grave and resurrect some of these old errors and ask us to use glass and the complicated, expensive and worse than useless outer cases, that necessa- rily goes with it, to shut off the day- light. To throw aside the Langstroth space above the frame, that invented and patented claim, which above any other gave us apiculture as a business, deserves the highest condemnation. Dowagiac, Mich , Nov. 1, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Losses of Bees in Winter. JAMES POINDEXTER. History and time often bring to light facts which scientific investiga- tion fails to reach. What do the records of the losses of bees for the last ten years show V First, that the mortality has been greater or less ac- cording to the cold or warmth of climate in which they were situated; and secondly, that the losses have been much greater during cold win- ters than in moderate ones. Commencing with the winter of 1872 and 1873, a very cold one, great mor- tality of bees was reported ; next, 1874- 574 THE AMERICAJS BEE JOURNAL. 75, a similar winter as to temperature, with similar reports of losses ; and we might go on and select the cold win- ters by referring to the Asieuican Bee Journal and noting when the losses of bees occured. It has been urged that the excessive humidity of the atmosphere during cold winters was the cause of the losses ; if so, then why are there ex- ceptions of those who invariably win- ter their bees witliout loss, or nearly so ? Would not the natural damp- ness affect all the colonies alike V While we admit that dampness has much to do in disastrous wintering of bees, we regard cold as being the root of the trouble; by preventing the moisture which emanates from the bees from escaping outside the hive. Pollen has been mentioned as the cause of losses of bees in winter. If it was, why do some colonies of bees winter successfully, without remov- ing a frame on account of the pollen in it, in preparing them for winter ? We pronounce cold the prime cause of the general losses of bees in winter. Is it not a fact that those who winter bees most successfully keep them warm, either by cellar, packing, or otherwise ? Has their been substan- tial evidence offered to prove that cold was not the cause of bee mortality in winter '? Bloomington, 111., Oct. 15, 1S83. For the American Bee Journal. The Pollen Theory and Dysentery. N. M. CAKPENTEK. From a rational point of view, the theory that pollen is the cause of dys- entery is entirely unreasonable ; it is inconsistent with the laws of nature. It Is well known tliat animal instinct leads to those habits which result in the perpetuation of existence, and when man interferes to divert any animals from their natural instincts, the usual result is to weaken the power of self-perpetuation, and the honey bee is no exception to this rule. If it were not for " the good of the bee " to gather and store pollen in the hive, they would not do it. The inter- ference of man with the natural habits of any animal ner-er results in an in- crease of their power to live. In every department of animal life it seems to be the primary object of nature to give just those instincts, which if not interfered with, will most surely secure and perpetuate animal exist- ence. The idea that the honey bees makes the eggregious mistake of put- ting into their hives just the thing to destroy themselves, is not only a great absurdiity, but contrary to all natural law. Now it is too often the case that when one fancies that he has develop- ed an important theory, every seeming fact which may be made to support that theory is quickly seized upon, while those having an adverse bearing are ignored. In the earlier years of bee-keeping, what bee-keeper has fail- ed to find, when " taking up " an old colony in a box hive, a most disgusts Ing abundance of pollen; and it is well known that if such hives were let alone, they were likely to winter well and throw out an early and bouncing swarm. It is a significant fact that some of those who are the most ardent advocates of this non-pollen theory are not remarkable for tlieir success- ful wintering. With my views of the question, I have not hesitated to test tlie matter in my own practice ; and perhaps it would not be out of place to relate a little of my own experience. Last fall for some reason the broad frames of my hives had the greatest amount of pollen that I have ever seen in a 20 years' experience in bee- keeping. The frames were about one- third full of well-capped honey, and the space below the capped honey, in a large majority of the frames, was from one-half to two-thirds filled with pollen. The size of my frame is 10x13, and in preparing my bees for winter, I gave them only .5 of these frames. I removed no frames on account of the pollen they contained, consequent- ly most of the colonies in my 76 hives were clustered directly upon the pol- len. Now, if this pollen theory was correct, I ought to have expected to see my hives pretty well daubed in the spring ; but tlie consequence was that only 5 out of the 76 had dysentery at all, and only 1 of those had it badly ; and it is well known that there was a very gi-eat tendency to the development of the so-called dysentery all over the country last winter, "This is, of course, only one fact; but it bears pretty directly upon the question. I have others of the same nature but will not detail them at this time. Now, with my views of the ques- tion, and with tliese facts in view, I do not take any stock in the theory that pollen is the cause of the so-call- ed dysentery, which in a majority of cases, is no dysentery at all, but sim- ply a diarrhoea; and I am perfectly willing that Mr. IIeddon,or anyone else, should have all the honor there is in fathering this most unreasonable, and I think, unsupportable theory. Ellington, N. Y. For the American Bee JonmaL The New Races of Bees. B. F. CAKKOLL. As Mr. Doolittle can enjoy a good thing when he gets it, and can shake his sides in a good hearty laugh at the expense of the ignorant, I want to tell him how much fun I had with a col- ony of Cyprian bees, presided over by a sister of the queen he has. Last spring I had a young man to help me divide some bees, and this Cyprian colony was one. Putting on a good veil and a pair of heavy gloves, he thought he was proof; so he shouldered a Bingham "conqueror" smoker, filled with cotton seed that emitted a cloud of smoke, forgetting there was a small hole in his hat. I had got fairly to work when I saw the young mail was ready to stampede; see- ing a host of angry bees crawling into that hole, I encouraged the young man to stand Arm, but they not only found the hole but were using their darts freely on the young man's head ; down went the smoker and off goes the young man to the house with a train of bees after him. I enjoyed this finely, for not a single bee paid any attention to me. I worked on with- out smoke rmtil I had finished the division. The queen I let Mr. Doolittle have was from a fine imported queen from D. A. Jones, and was mated by drones from the old A. I. Root Cyprian queen. As these were the only drones in my yard, and as Mr. D. wanted a pure Cyprian, I sent him one of four queens reared in the fall of 18S2 (November,) from this D. A. Jones' queen— all 4 were about equal, so far as temper is concerned. From the Doolittle reared I queen 20 queens ; 10 of these are now in my yard, and these are as gentle as Mr. D.'s or any other Italians. I liave another imported Cyprian that has a somewhat better temper. I now have only 3 colonies of Italians, over 80 colonies of pure Cyprians, and shall keep in my own home apiary none but Cyprians. I opened the colony several times from which Mr. D. got his queen, without smoke, and brushed the bees off the combs to cut ont the queen cells, and did not get a sting ! I use but little smoke in hand- ling my bees, and I think if Mr. D. would use little or no smoke, he wiU get along better. I can send him an- other queen that I think is pure, tliat is of the gentle kind, but think daugh- ters and grand-daugliters from his " Carroll " queen will be an improve- ment every time. I know these bees to be superior to the Italians, and want no others. My wife assisted me to extract from all, in July and Aug- ust, without gloves or veil, and did not receive a single sting until we came to the colony of Italians. As before stated, Texas is the home of the Cyprian bee ; they may not do for New York. Syrian bees are, with us, considered good— better than Ital- ians ; being a hardier race, they stand our windy springs better. I have tried these bees two years and can say that they are good for Texas. It will not do to handle these bees (cyprians,) in damp or cold weather. I have opened and carefully examined nearly all of my hives to-day and yesterday, and not an angry bee did I see. 1 would rather be stung by a bee than to be bitten by a flea. Tlie latter swells my flesh and hurts for hours ; a bee stmg seldom swells, and in 2 minutes afterward I do not know it. Hang on, Mr. D. ; try them one more year. Dresden, Texas, Oct. 17, 1883. ror the American Bee Journal. One Thing Lacking. DK. W. Q. PHBLrS. The '■ make-up " of the average periodic bee literature lacks one con- spicuous and importaut feature— sim- plicity. Of the editorial matter we have little fault to find, but the aver- age contributor seems to delight either in combatting some real or imaginary opponent with ponderous words and scientific phrases or to air histheoreti- THE AMERICA!^ BEE JOURNAL. 575 eal knowledge with a lot of high- sounding — bosh. Editors, as I take it, aim to publish bee papers that shall be acceptable to the beginner, as well as to the average reader. Who con- stitutes the average reader 'i Is he a scientist ¥ Is he a professional man ¥ No ; the average readers are plain common sense farmers, artisans and laborers. In saying this I say nothing disparagingly of them, for though own- ing a professional title, I am proud to class myself among the average readers. What do we want, therefore, as we look eagerly over the pages of the different publications V Do we " hanker " after a " set-to " between Mr. Find-fault and Mr. Cross-grain about the infinitesimal portion of an inch which the yellow bands should be apart on the golden Italians i* Are we "almost dying "to know whether a specific microphyte is an existing fea- ture of modern hives V I trow not. If, therefore, the average reader is not;what shall we say of the beginner i* I have seen able practical bee-keep- ers turn with disgust from the tire- some argumentative articles that too frequently grace ( V) the pages of cer- tain bee papers. Not tliat they failed to imderstand them, but that they desired more practical matter. When first entering the ranks, some 12 years since, I well remember how eagerly and thankfully I perused such plain and common sense articles as occa- sionally greet our eye in the columns of the bee papers. Stripped of useless technicalities and scientiffc terms, they seemed as oases in the desert of matter served up as bee literature. We need more just such practical talk, that will actually teach the beginners and still prove acc_eptable to those farther advanced. This Is not to be understood as a plea for simple "childish twaddle" in bee papers; but what we do want is tlie cultiva- tion in writers of that happy faculty of writing wisely, yet in plain every- day .language, so that a man, though a beginner, may not err therein. I believe in this that I only emphasize the voice of many readers, and that if the above suggestions were acted upon, several well conducted bee papers would become doubly inter- esting. "A word to the wise is suf- ficient. Galena, Md., Oct. 10, 1883. Kor the American Bee JoumaL Discussion, a Valuable Means of Arriving at Truth. J. E. POND, JR. Discussions on matters of interest and importance are considered valua- ble in most questions where differ- ences of opinion arise, and. as a rule, are conducted amicably and in accord- ance with logical and parlimentary rules. In matters connected with apiculture, more than in any others, it would seem that such discussions might be carried on, but I am sorry to see that such is not tlie case. There always have been and always will be, I presume, differences of opinion ex- isting on theoretical matters, and the only way I know whereby truth can be evolved and correct notions estab- lished, is by full, fair, free, amicable and impartial discussion. Opinions are of more or less value, depending upon the amount of practical experi- ence behind them and the mental calibre of the experimenter. Bee-keeping as a science can be only learned by study and experiment, and as a valuable aid to the study, come the various reports we find in the Bee Journal from different localities throughout the country. Reports alone of what is done simply,— the amount of honey gathered and the number of colonies kept — amount to but little as an aid ; what is desired is to know the process by which this or that result is brought about, the style of hive, form of frame, &c, Kight here, however, is where we " run against a snag." If one gives a report claiming the results are owing to a certain frame, or if an argument is made showing up the valuable qual- iti(": of the frame, the next issue of the B.,1-; .Journal is full of articles whicli iiistead of being argumenta- tive, seem written for the sole purpose of venting spite ; and why V Simply because the frame praised does not meet the approbation of the writers. The idea some seem to carry is that certain frames ought not to be used, no matter how good results are ob- tained from them. One writer informs us that a certain frame will not win- ter bees safely ; and when he is in- formed that bees are wintered safely in them, he says I don't care if they are, they ought not to, be ; and I once tried to open a hive containing those frames and got stung, while I did not get stung at all in opening a hive containing frames of different style. So goes the battle. I don't know why it is that bee-keepers cannot discuss a question of apiculture fairly ; I sim- ply know they do not. I am sorry that such is the case, as beginners sliould know what is the best, and the only way to determine that, is to take the statistics and as- certain from them. The discussion does not end with frames, either; else the matter would not be as bad as it is. No matter what question comes up, there are found plenty to oppose ; and that too with a vehemence worthy of a better cause. Suppose a beginner wishes to know the best plan of win- tering y He naturally looks over a file of the Bee .Journal to ascertain the advice given therein, supposing very naturally that he will learn some- thing of value to him ; but does he ? The poor fellow finds one giving advice in a certain direction ; another opposing it at a terrible rate. One advising upward ventilation, another claiming that directly at variance with natural laws, etc., till at last he sits down in despair, saying : " I don't see as it makes any difference ; all are wrong and all are right. But what shall 1 do to save my bees V " There are matters connected with V)ee culture on which there is no dis- pute ; there are other matters which are disputed, and which should be dis- cussed in order that the truth may be discovered. These are matters of real importance, and should be discussed freely and fully. There are still other matters in dispute (and these seem to be the ones on which the most venom is displayed,) which are simply mat- ters of opinion, and are of little value, as one way is fully as valuable as another, the question being more one of convenience than of practical utility. These latter questions need no particular discussion or explana- tion. One man can best operate with one style of extractor because he is most used to it ; another prefers a cer- tain style or form of section-case, or wide frame, because he can manipu- late it more easily than another ; and really it will make but little difference to the beginner which style he does use, but when it comes to the question of what frame shall I use, or what plan shall I adopt for wintering, it strikes me that there is still room for argument. There is a best style of frame, and there is a best plan for wintering. Now let us discuss the mal^ter with all fairness and in an amicable manner, and try to get at the truth, if possible; drop prejudice and opinion, as opinion simply. If you have any arguments, present them, and give others the same privilege, and at last we shall ascertain more nearly the truth than by any other means I know of. Foxboro, Mass., Oct. 31, 1883. For the American Bee JoumaL Essentials of the Coming Hive. A. WEBSTER. I have felt a lively interest in the improvement of bee-hives ever since I have kept bees, which is over 25 years. There are many natural laws that have an important bearing on bee-hive construction, but inventors are apt to give undue prominence to one or more points, which are made much of, to the neglect of others which are, perhaps, or equal or even greater importance. Nearly all who have written on " the coming hive," "astandavd hive," "standard frames," etc., seem to take it for granted that some one of the hives or frames now in common use should be adopted as such. I think that advanced bee-keepers in the latter part of the 19th century sliould do better than that ; and look for a liive constructed on a new and scientific plan, and a new system of manipulation and management, that by its adaptation to the natural in- stincts of bees and the requirements of bee-keepers, shall commend itself to enlightened ininds, and not need the formal endorsement of conventions and societies. Those who do not ap- preciate applied science will, of course, be free to keep bees on Adam's, Samson's, or any other plan they may choose. Of the improve- ments of the past, movable comb frames must be retained, l)ut of an entirely different construction from those liow in common use ; and shoiUd be fixed, and reversible as well as movable. Extracted honey has become a staple article, and its production must be provided for. 576 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Section boxes for comb honey are so convenient and popular, tliat the best possible system of usins^ them should be adopted ; and be of a sufficient number of different sizes to meet the requirements of all — for home use and market— which should be of such pro- portionate dimensions as to be usable m the same hive without change or alteration of liives. Comb foundation of pure wax iu botli brood and surplus departments are too valuable to be neglected, and interwoven wires to hold it lirmly in place in the center of frames for brood and extracting, are too useful to be rejected until something better is provided. D Cushions or packing of chaff, saw- dust, moss or other porous std)stances, or confined air, may be used to econo- mize heat in cold seasons and climates, and occupy space on the top and on all sides of the brood chamber, used for surplus storage in the honey season, or gained by reducing the size of the brood department to correspond tg the contracted size of the cluster of bees in winter and spring. I will here summarize some of the essential points as follows : It must be perfectly adapted to either large or small colonies of bees, at all seasons and in all climates. To secure this the brood department must be deep and capable of any required amount of contraction or expansion, on all sides alike, by removing or adding comb frames. It must supply abundant room for surplus storage as closely as possible to the brood combs, with free continuous passages. It must be equally adapted to comb or extracted honey"; using sections or frames for surplus, as may be reciuired, without change or alteration of parts. It must be easy to manipulate for all purposes, with the least possible danger of hurt- ing or angering the bees. It must be of simple construction, rejecting all unnecessary parts and complications, such as "entrance blocks, second stories, division boards, separators, honey boards, cases, clamps, racks, crowders, etc. There are several minor points that I will not stop to enumerate, but all are in harmony with the above. I am looking for the " coming hive." and shall continue to do so until it appears. To show that looking with me is not idle watching and waiting to see what others are iloing, I may be allowed to state that I have at several different times devised, constructed and tested hives that embodied my best ideas at the time, and now have hives in use that seem to be right in plan, and only require to be perfected in the details. South Northfield, Vt. For the American Bee JournaL Shall we Clip our Queens' "Wings? W. H. STEWART. It may, perhaps, be thought by some that enough has already been written on the subject of the coming bee, but when we consider that the question of financial success or failure m bee cul- ture must eventually turn on this one point, we realize that we cannot in- vestigate the matter too closely. Wliat is the coming bee V It cannot be the common brown bee ; the im- portation of the Italian, and other races of queens in such vast numbers has fixed the fate of the old brown bee. W]\i\t is left of the pure brown blood must soon be superseded by the various mixed breeds, and soon will only be known in history. We are of the opinion that it will not be the pure Italian, from the fact that the 'new broom" has become somewhat old and fails to "sweep clean." The fever for bright yellow stripes is fast cooling dbwn, and honey producing bee-keepers are be- ginning to leani that a cross between the different races gives better workers and more honey. Some (jueen breed- ers are already awake on this import- ant point, and are putting into the market queens that are bred for pay- ing (pudities rather than fancy colors ; and there can be no doubt but the coming bee will be much superior to any that we now have, if we manage wisely. It will be well, however, for us all to be mindful that after all the most careful and judicious crossings have been made, we may, by other improper management, defeat the very purpose for which we are laboring. If the bees were left to manage their own affairs, in their own natural way, then the law of natural selection would dictate that none l)ut the fittest would survive ; and that " survival of the fittest " means " improvement of the stock." That improvement would be slow, yet it would be sm-e— all the same. "The most prolific queens would produce the most voung swarms, and the best winged drones would meet the most queens ; and also, the best workers, would produce more combs and store more honey for breeding and winter supplies. But when we take control of them and dictate what shall be their conditions and sur- rovmdings, then it is better that we go a little slow and careful, lest we in our eagerness to advance our own present interest or convenience, do a great injury to the bees ; for when bees are injured, then it is that api- culture suffers at a corresponding rate. Longevity is a most desirable qual- itv in the coining bee, and anything tliat shortens up "the working days of the bee is all the while sapping the very foundation of bee-keeping. It is well understood that our present bees live from September until April or ;May following, and be it understood that it is during these cold months that bees in the northern climate are subject to disease consequent to cold and confinement ; and yet while strug- gling against these unfavorable con- ditions, they are found living tJ or even 8 montlis, yet in June and July, and a part of Slay and August, they only live about a weeks. Now, why is this great difference in the longevity of bees during the different seasons of the year V it cannot be that proper exercise in the open air is what shortens up their life in summer, for we know that when they are diseased in winter a good fly in the open air restores health ana (juietude. This fact alone is ample proof that out- door exercise is not what shortens up the life of the bee in summer. One writer has expressed his belief that bees in summer work themselves to death. I cannot agree that this can be true from tlie fact that natural law dictates that all animals live by their own efforts ; and we find them pros- perous just in proportion as they are able to surmount obstacles and over- come difficulties that they encounter. Labor promotes health, but indolence weakens it. Each creature is endowed with fac- ulties or members, the functions of which are adapted to the performance of the work ot procuring a livelihood, and it any one or more of these mem- bers are by accident or otherwise dis- abled, then the creature labors to a disadvantage, and its life is shortened just in proportion to that disability or inability to procure a livelihood. A proper exercise of any one or more of these members increases their strength and dimensions, but inac- tivity renders them weak and dwarf- ed ; and long continued disuse reduces them to mere rudimentary conditions. While the above is true, it is equally true that over-work or exces- sive strain would injure any member of the bee or any other animal. I hold that incompetent wings and wing power is the chief cause of the sliortness of the summer life of the bee. The first indications that such bees are failing in summer, is the torn and ragged condition of their wings. It would appear reasonable to any rational man that if one bee having perfect wings, and another having its wings torn and ragged were at the same locality and a long distance from home, each equally loaded and having to face an opposing wind, there would be a survival of the fittest, while the other would perish. We have no proof that the general health of the worker bee, at the age of .5 or 6 weeks in summer, is more im- paired than that of the bee of the same age, in inactive life, in fall or winter ; or that the former would die any yoimger in summer, if it could have perfect wings, than would the latter in confinement. It is true that the former is exposed to birds and storms, but it is equally true that the latter suffers equally as much from confinement and its attendant results. Let us consider for a moment what we are doing with our bees. Some are expending thousands of dollars and years of valuable time in breeding up bees that show the greatest num- ber of and most brilliant stripes. Others are striving to produce large bodies; others trying to produce tongues long enough to work on red clover ; others trying to produce a red clover having shallow tubes to fit the tongue of the bee ; others (more prac- tical) are working for the production of bees that manifest the greatest honey-gathering qualities. All seem to be hopeful that they will attain to those desirable ends. . Now please allow me to ask : What would we think of a man that would THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 577 advertise that he was trying to raise a superior stock of yellow queens and using black queens and black drones for starters V What of another who was striving for the development of long tongues, and all the while de- priving the mother-queens of their tongues V What of another that was woiTcing for large bodies, and all the while using the smallest queens for breeding stock V We would pronounce them all crazy, or at least most woe- fully inconsistent. Are not many bee- keepers (and some who claim to be teachers,) virtually acting just as in- consistent V All will agree with me that a bee may have bands, (or stripes,) color, long tongue, large body, and ever-so-much energy, and yet with fee- ble wings, or no wings, all these fac- ulties or qualities would be unavailing. I have thus led the readers along this pathway, over which I felt assured they would willingly accompany me, until we have arrived at our present stand-point. See how hard we are trying to improve our stock, and then what next do we do V Why, we just allow our young queens 5, or perhaps 1-3, minutes to" meet the drone, and then cut off her wing, or wings, and never allow her to fly again. We thus throw her flying members into disuse, and as I have shown, continued disuse renders a member or faculty rudimen- tary. Again, all will agree with me that a mother can by no possible means transmit tliat which she doee not pos- sess; and furthermore, that the off- spring cannot inherit that faculty or quality which the parent was unable to transmit. If it be asked : How then can the stock be improved 'i I would answer : An individual, after birth, may, by proper management, have its members or faculties devel- oped to a higher and better condition, and that improvement may be trans- mitted to its offspring. The improve- ment of the race can also be made, to a certain extent, by the crossing of the diflereut breeds. If a faculty or member of the individual becomes weak by disuse, then that condition of weakness may be transmitted to the offspring. Disease may be trans- mitted from parent to offspring ; weakness is only another name for disease. I would ask bee-keepers a question, which they will please answer through the Bek Jouknal. In view of the above tru'hs, which queen do yon think would tiansmit to her offspring Hie greatest amount of wing power i The one that is deprived of her wings, and those members all through her life being in a dormant state, or the one that is allowed to retain her wings and compelled to fly as often as cir- cumstances would justify V If I were offering queens for sale, as superior stock, I would compel the brood mothers to fly often, even if I had to toss them up to give them a Orion, Wis., Sept. 14, 1883. For the American Bee JoumaL Comb Honey without Separators. Alfred Gale and Wife. We will here give our experience in producing comb honey, with and with- out separtors. We got our first one- pound sections in August, 1880, and used separators ; about one-half of the combs were more or less fastened to them, and we had to put all that touched the separators back into the hive to be finished up without separa- tors. We tried a few racks the next summer without separators ; there was at least »ne-fourth of them which we could not crate. Tliese we sold at home. This season we had 1,200 pounds of marketable honey, and 200 pounds not finished up, which we kept for home use ; and of all this there was not 20 pounds which we could not crate. Now for the way we did it. We take thin comb foundation, cut in a triangular shape, large enough to go the length of the groove in the sec- tion, and kept watch of them after they were ou the hive to see that none of them bulged into the others. If there were, we cut it oft evenly, and put it next to one with a smooth face. The hollow one, if some of it was capped, we cut the caps off, and put it next to a smooth one, and the bees filled it up nicely. We have sold all our honey ; at home we could get only 1.5 cents per pound. We took the first honey off on July 10th, and sent a few sample crates to a merchant on South Water street, Chi- cago, on the 1.5th ; and for this we got 22 cents per pound, and from that to 17 cents, the lowest. We sent 10 crates per week. Just when it was nearly all gone, he wrote to us to send 30 crates per week, as he had places to sell it. We put our honey in twelve- pound crates, having a label on each section ; the crates were neatly made, with glass in front, and wedged tight on the back. We had no honey dam- aged in shipping. Jf we had 3 tons more we could have sold it all " like hot cakes." Shelby, Ind., Oct. 18, 1883. 1^ The Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Society will meet in La Crosse, Wis., Friday, Nov. 16, in the City Hail. E. Markle, Pres. For the American Bee Journal. The Cause of Fertile Workers. J. B. MASON. What apiarist of any note is there who has not been troubled with fertile workers V and which of them can give an absolutely correct solution of their cause V Many theories have been ad- vanced, from time to time, in regard to them, none of which, I apprehend, satisfied their author any more than those who read them. Why, again, is the term "fertile" applied to these egg-laying pests? A "drone-laying queen " is called unfertile, then, why call a "laying worker" fertile when we know it is impossible for it to be- come fertilized? I trust the term " fertile " will be dropped entirely, and the correct terra, viz. : ''laying worker" will hereafter be use4 what Mr. A. J. Fisher says about the thickness of sections, and will give my experience. Several years ago I tried the wide frames, to hold 6 or 8 two-inch pound sections, with separa- tors, but I soon found tliat they were fcoo much bother and would not pay, so I have been using a " case " with a bottom in it, though I prefer a case like Mr. Heddon uses. I also wanted to use, during the past season, thinner sections, so that the combs would be built straighter. I have used 8,000 sections 4%x4%xl J^. I like them very well, but hnd that they weigh, when filled, 18 ounces. As I prefer 1}^ inches for the thickness of the sec- tions, I would suggest that the size be 43^x4J^xl3^ for those who can use them on their hives ; those who use Langstroth hives are all right, with the Heddon case of 7 sections to the foot, 434x43^x15^, scant. If 13^ inches is the proper thickness, the sections might be made 43^x5x1!^ ; the Heddon case would then hold 32 one-pound sections, or the 8-frame Langstroth hive. I find that foundation that is made thin enough will sag and warp, so I use guides 1}4 inches by the full width of the sections. I do not con- sider the Given foundation thin enough to use full sheets in the sec- tions ; it will not be as thin and nice as natural comb. I fear it will by- and-by be worth less in the market, if people know it. R. S. Becktell. Three Oaks, Mich. (xoue to Florida. I came to Florida via sailing vessel from New York to this place, thence to Palalka, Astor, Ft. Mason, Eutis, Tavares, in Orange Co. Built a sail- boat, came the entire length of the Ocklawaha river to the mouth of tlie St. John's, and then hack to this place. I secured 80 acres in Marion Co., near Orange Spring, the only place in the interior that I found honey plentiful and bees common and clieap, with palmetto and other honey-producing plants in alnnidance. Having traveled by water about 400 miles, from the head of Lake Dora to tlie ocean, camp- ing out during the entire journey, I have suffered less from the heat and insects than at the north, with good health since my arrival. Jko. Y. Detwiler. Jacksonville, Fla., Nov. 5, 1883. My Report for 1883. As I could not be present at the late Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Conven- tion, and add my report to the others, I will do so now. I commenced tlie honey season with 80 colonies, but few of them being in an average condition. I had about 3 weeks good flow from white clover, none whatever from basswood, and less than a week's good yield from buckwheat and fall flowers. The season, on the whole, was less than an average. I now have 155 col- onies in winter quarters ; I have taken 9,S00 pounds of honey, mostly extract- ed ; about 3,000 pounds of it being on hand. In addition to the above, I have about 30(J pounds stored away in frames for feeding next spring, if needed. My honey has nearly all been disposed of at wholesale, bring- ing from 7J^ to 12 cents per pound, net ; averaging fully 10 cents net. As 1 have been to no expense for new hives or other supplies, it leaves nearly all my income as profit. This makes a fair show for the poorest season I have had in 4 years. O. O. POPPLETON. Williamstown, Iowa, Nov. 2, 1883. Large Oaks from Little Acorns. I was much pleased to notice in the Bee Journal of Nov. 7th, the item concerning the good work Dr. B. F. Hamilton, of Terre Haute, Henderson Co., 111., had done for the Journal. About one year and a half ago I had business in the village of Terre Haute, and met, for the tirst time, Dr. Ham- ilton. At that time I discovered that the doctor had an attack of " bee fever," and for a favor which he did me, I proposed to send him the 'Bee Journal, free, for 5 or 6 months. My proposition was cordially accepted, and the Journal was sent on its mission of love and usefulness. Short- ly after I ordered the Journal sent to the doctor, he wrote me telling me how much pleasure he experienced in perusing its well-tilled columns, and I relt certain that the doctor was enlist- ed for life in the good cause. I am happy to learn of Dr. Hamilton's suc- cess in securing subscribers to the old reliable, and can only say to others, " go and do likewise.'" There is my 1^, doctor, for a fraternal shake, with the hope that one of the happiest hom's of your life was when you be- came a subscriber to the Bee Jour- nal. J. R. Baker. Warsaw, Indiana. Bees in Good Condition for Winter. I am preparing my bees for winter. I have 31 colonies and the most of them are in good condition. This has been a very bad season for honey ; I got plenty of increase, but only about 200 pounds of honey. Wm. Ashcom. Ligonier. Pa., Nov. 6, 1883. The Michigan Convention. Dear Mr. Editor :— May I ask you to call special attention to our next annual meeting to be held in Flint, Dec. 5 and 6, of the Michigan Bee- Keepers' Association. We expect to have by far the best meeting ever held in the State. It is expected that the Rev. L. L. Langstrotli will be present. To see and hear him will pay any one for the trouble and expense incident to the journey. We also expect D. A. Jones, A. I. Root, C. F. Muth, and hope to have C. C. Miller and T. G. Newman. From what I hear, Michi- gan bee-keepers are to be out in force. Hotel rates are to be $1.00 a day. Fur- ther particulars as to programme, will be given soon. We expect to get re- duced rates on the railroads. To aid in this, and that I may know how many certificates on railroads to ask for, will every one in this or other States who expect to come, drop me a card at once to that effect 'f A. J. Cook, President. Lansing, Mich., Oct. 15, 1883. P. S.— I got the date of the above Convention wrong, in a previous no- tice. The date should be Dec. 5 and 6. A. J. Cook. It certainly seems reasonable that a specialist who gives his constant at- tention to chronic diseases, should ac- quire a valuable experience and a proficiency which should make his opinion of especial value. Therefore, those who have long suffered from ill health, or merely felt themselves "out of sorts," and have failed to get relief from advice of home physicians, should take advantage of the liberal offer of free consultation and advice made by Dr. E. B. Foote, of 120 Lex- ington Ave., N. Y. City. A practice of over thirty years, enables hira to discover at once the nature of obscure affections, and to offer suggestions for cure or relief which are sure to be plain and direct to the point.— Ado. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 581 c. : extracted white clover In kega and bar- rels. 9Winc.; dark. 8c. BBESWAX-Prlme yellow, 27(a29c. H. K. & F. B. THDKBKB & Co. CHICAGO. HONEY— The demand for honey Is good. Choice 1 lb. sectiona of white comb, well fliled. brings 18(^ 20c.; IH to 2 lb. sections, Ifii8c. No demand for dark comb honey. Extracted honey la bringing 8 @loc. per pound, according to booy. color and flavor. BEESWAX- PrimeyellQw, 33c.; medium. 28@30. K. A. BUKNETT. 161 South Water St. BAN FRANCISCO. HONEY— Market la well stocked with ordinary ?ualitiea. Inquiry for the same Is not active. For ancy comb It is an easy matter to secure custom. While to extra white comb, 16@18c.; dark to good. 12^140.; extracted, choice to extra white, 7H's8H; t. 32ABtf J. VANDERVORT, Lacyville, Pa. Sweet Glover AND OTHER SEEDS. Haring a LARGK stock of SWEKT CLOVER SEKII, I can fill orders at £Sc. per pound I13.S5 per peck, or SiaS per busbel. Also, all other SEEDS for HONEY PLANTS, ALFRED H. NEWMAN, 023 West Madison Street. Chicago, III. APIARY FOR SALE. ErerythtriK complete; ST* Colonies In LaoKstroth hives, well t-t'jr'). Send the money atmy risk. Do nut pay luc to reBister it. Prospectus and special circulars descrlbluK three new and useful articles for the apiary, sent to any address. Make Postal Notes and Money Orders payable on Salem, Mass., P. O. HENRY ALLEY. 44Dn 'WENHAH, MASS. ANEW^HIVE Arranged for continuous passage ways and con- tinuous combs, so that greater ease and rapidity In the handling of sections Is gained, also a larger production of comb honey. Although patented, a legal right to makeanduse will be accorded to any one purchaslnKa sample hive, the right only to manufacture to sell or convey to others bein^ with -held. A stand, alighting board, entrance blocks, two division boards, ten brood frames, 32 1 lb. sections and the improved section tlxturee. all packed in the hive. Price of tlrsl hive, including the above parts and a special circular on the mode of management, |7.(X». A fine Photo sent for 8 two-cent stamps. Orders tilled In turn. Reference : Kxchange Bank. New Philadelphia. Address, 1>R. O. I.. TINB.EK. 44Atf NEW PHILADELPHIA. O. Boney! Honey!! Fruit!!! Twenty nice black Tartarian CUKRRV TREKS, byexpress. for tl.io. These are :t feet— over and under; can send IM) small ones by mall, post-paid, foril.iX). CBA8. KISreSI.KY, 45AJ>1 GKEENKVILLK. Greene Co., TKNN. cyj^' C^- DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OE THE PRODUCERS OF HONEY. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., NOVEMBER 21, 1883. No. 47. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Phopriktor, ^' From a recent letter, we learn that ]\Ir. Frank Benton, late of the Michigan Agricultural College, but now residhig at Munich, Germany, intends to make another journey to Cyprus, Syria, etc., for the purpose of obtaining pure bees from tliose coun- tries, for breeding purposes. He leaves Munich in -January next, and intends to return there in April, 1884. ^" We have received one of Mr. T. J. Cook's new bee bruslies, intended for brushing the bees ofi the combs, which we have placed in our museum. A letter just received from Mrs. Cook states tliat Mr. Cook died on Monday, Nov. 5, 1883, but giving no particulars. The Bee Journal condoles with the bereaved in tlieir affliction. 1^ The Florida Enterprise thinks tliat the happiest set of men in the vicinity of New Smyrna are apiarists, and says : "Olaf Oleson has extracted over 40 barrels of choice honey, and was compelled to stop for want of barrels, and is now gathering it in neat one-pound sections. R. S. Sliel- don comes next, while his neighbor. Dr. Goodwin, has been busy building up his apiary for the coming season. Messrs. Rowly, Hart, Brown, Lewis, and ottiers have no reason to com- plain." ^° "Trichinae; their microscopy, development, death, and tlie diagnosis and treatment of Trichinosis," by W. C. W. Glazier, M. D., assistant Sur- geon, Marine Hospital Service. This is the title of a pamphlet publisliedby the Illustrated Medical Journal Co., a copy of which is on our desk. Mr. King's Visit to Cuba. The '"Bee and Poultry Magazine " for November makes tlie announcement that Mr. A. J. King, its editor, has gone to Cuba for his health, and to establish an apiary in the Island of Cuba. The following is an editorial on the subject in that papaf : The steamer which carried Mr. King southward, also carried on board 100 full colonies of Italian bees, and all the parapliernalia of an apiary. There was also on Ixiard tlie able apiarist — Mr. Osburn — wlio is to take charge of them on Cul)ian soil, and manage the apiary for Mr. Casanova, who believes firmly that it is a paying thing to keep bees, and we agree witli him. Mr. King is going to set out the grounds for the apiary, and see that every tiling is working as it should, before he leaves the sunny land. He will be gone two months or more, and will return by way of the Southern States, visiting soiiie of the principal apiaries below tlie Dixie line. The following is a letter from Mr. King, since liis arrival, and will be in- teresting to onr readers : San Mignel, Oct. 23, 1883. After quite a rough-and-tumble journey, fraught witli much incon- venience and full of incidents, which I choose to relate at some future time; we are here 20 miles southeast of Ha- vanna, witli tlie bees, all of which came safely with the loss of 4 colonies, and these were lost since leaving Havana. This is truly a wonderful country, and one which, to all appearances, seems to enjoy one continuous honey flow. The iiiimber (if flowering trees, shrubs and plants are simply over- whelming, and far beyond my powers of classification. The soil is wonder- fully fertile, and produces abundantly froni year to year without manure. The face of the' country is diversified with hill and dell, and running streams of pure spring water are plentiful. The climate is lovely ; no fogs, no frost — but one everlasting spring. Flowers are continuous. Tlie palm, orange, banana, lemon and many other fruit trees producing largely cif both honey and pollen. Fruits in all the different stages of development, from the flower to the rijie fruit, are contin- uous throughout the year. The inhabitants are, as a rule, rather indolent ; as nature iiroduces, unaided, all they need for eating and wearing apparel. Rains of short duration are frequent, so that everything looks fresh and inviting at all times. Of course there are disadvantages which I will relate in future letters, when I shall have had time to write up the " ins and outs " of cuban bee-keeping. A. J. KiNCi. 1^ Frank Leslie's Illustrated Week- ly gave a full page engraving, on Aug. 26, of a Bee Farm in Brookfield, Conn. This shows that the " sweet pursuit " is rapidly coming into notice. Count Robert of Paris.— T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Pliiladelptiia, publish this day, " Count Robert of Paris," being the Fifth Volimie of their new and cheap edition of " Tlie Wa- verly Novels," by Sir Walter Scott. 1^" The Bee-Keepers'' Magazine is after the first of next January to be the title, and SI the price of the Maga- zine, published by King & Aspinwall, in New York. The Poultry part is then to be dropped. ^' The Kansas Bee- Keeper is on the first of January to be raised in price to $1 a year. Shipping' Receipts.— Mr. J. O. Todd, of Richmond, Iowa, asks as follows : " When you ship honey, or any freight on the railroad, and the agent gives you a receipt that they have received your goods, do you hold the receipt or send it to the party you sliipped the goods to 'i* Answer , through the Weekly Bee Journal." Of course it should be sent to the consignee, so that lie can obtain the honey of the railroad company. Some Railroad companies will not deliver goods until the receipts are produced. 1^" We need the numbers of the Bee Journal for August, 18(36, and April, 1876. Any one having tliem to spare, are requested to send us a Pos- tal Card. We will give 2.5 cents for eacli. Do not send them without writing, for we want only one of eacti ; and, if we are not already supplied, we will take them. 588 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Honey as a Medicine.— Recipes, The following recipes, in wliicli honey is one of the principal ingredi- ests, are translated from a recent number of the Bienenvater aicsBohmen, by Mr. A. K. Kohniie : Constipation.— Honey, especially the solid parts of the granulated, eaten on bread, instead of butter, will liave the desired effect. That part of honey which does not granulate, possesses this property in a much less degree. A sauce made of prunes, boiled and sweetened with honey, is an excellent remedy. In dangerous cases apply an injec tive of milk and honey, having the temperature of the blood, about 97° or 98° Fahr. Suppressed Peespieation. (Tak- ing cold. — Barley soup sweetened with honey, drank before retiring; or oat- meal soup with honey, drank warm. Asthma. — Grated horse radish mix- ed with honey ; one tablespoonfull taken before going to bed. Consumption.— Physical exercise, especially horseback riding before breakfast ; the body to be rubued thor- oughly with a woolen cloth, night and morning ; bedroom, an upper story, with a window partly open day and night; retiring and rising early ; main diet to consist of farinaceous food and vegetables ; for drinking, nothing bnt milk and honey, mixed half and half, either warm or cold. Ceoup and Hoaeseness.— a gar- gle made of sage tea, sweetened with noney, or pills made of mustard flour and honey. Whooping Cough.— A decoction of wheat bran mixed with milk and honey, drank frequently, gives relief. Worms. — Before breakfast lake a tablespoonfull of honey, or a tea made of peppermint sweetened with I3 to J^ its bulk of honey. To Remove Fish Bones and simi- lar hard objects which have become lodged in the throat. — Make a large Eill of wax, (as large as can possibly e swallowed,) dip in honey and let the patient swallow it. To Cure a Burn oe Scald.— Cov- er the the same instantly with honey, keeping it so until the pain ceases. ^" From the Bienenvater aus Boeh- men we learn that at the census taken in 1880 in the Empire of Austria (ex- clusive of Hungary), it was found that 926,312 colonies of bees were kept, which produced 38,412 metric hundred weights of honey and wax (about 7,682,400 lbs.) representing a value of 2,134,272 florins, or about $1,067,136. There are IS large apicultural societies, with a membership of 7,100— and 11 bee-papers are published. The exports exceeds the imports by 4,300 metric hundred weights of honey, and 800 metric hundred weights of wax. Preventing Honey from Granulation. Prof. J. W. Colcord, of the Ameri- can Pharmaceutical Association, gives the following on the above subject, in the Scientific American : Having for several years had con- siderable trouble and loss in keeping pure extracted honey, on account of its tendency, in a short time (particu- larly in warm weather), to crystalize, I have been ready for any remedy that was feasible. One lot that I purchased in the comb and strained myself, soon became almost worthless from this cause. Some two months ago I had a small lot that I found crystallized when wanted for use, although I had taken the precaution to cork tightly and put in a cool place in the cellar. It occurred to me to see what would be the result from melting and adding a small amount of glycerine. Placing the bottle in a water bath, I soon bad it melted, and added one ounce of glycerine to about l}{ pounds of the honey, setting it aside to cool. It has shown no sign of re-crystallization as yet, and I am just using the last of it. I can see no objection to this on the score of adulteration, or any harm from its use. In making simple syrup, I have occasionally found it crystal- lized in tiie bottom of the bottle, causing some trouble to remove, and several times have found some chem- ical change, which has caused an un- pleasant odor, which I have not at all times been able to obviate, although using distilled water and the purest sugar obtainable. I have not, as yet, had an opportunity of trying the effect of glycerine, but think it might prove beueticial, and in no way objectiona- ble. I have been accustomed to add a small amount to my beef, iron and wine for a long time, and find it pre- vents scouring, and, in a large meas- ure, percipitation. The Michigan Convention. Deae Mr. Editor :— May I ask you to call special attention to our next annual meeting to be held in Flint, Dec. .5 and 6, of the Michigan Bee- Keepers' Association. We expect to have by far the best meeting ever held in the State. It is expected that the Rev. L. L. Langstroth will be present. To see and hear him will pay any one for the trouble and expense incident to the journey. We also expect D'. A. Jones, A. I. Root, C. F. Muth, and hope to have C. C. Miller and T. G. Xewman. From what I hear, Michi- gan bee-keepers are to be out in force. Hotel rates are to be $1.00 a day. Fur- ther particulars as to programme, will be given soon. We expect to get re- duced rates on the railroads. To aid in this, and that I may know how many certificates on railroads to ask for, will every one in this or other States who expect to come, drop me a card at once to that effect V A. J. Cook, President. Lansing, Mich., Oct. 15, 1883. We are sorry to say that we shall be unable to attend.— Ed. Honey and Beeswax Market. OFFICE OF AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, ? Monday, 10 ». m.. Not. 19. 1883. i The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. HONEY— The demand for comb honey is fair with a fair supply. Offerings of extracted honey are plentiful, and there is a large supply on the market. The demend is slower than last season, but appears to be improving gradually. Choice comb honey brings r2@15c., and extracted 7((i«9c.lon arrival. BEESWAX— Is of ready sale at 28®30 on arrival. CHAS. F. Muth. NEW YORK. HONEY— White clover and basswood in 1 and 2 lb. sections, 17fii;2lc. Dark and second quality, 14(air,G.; extracted white clover In kegs and bar- rels, iltomc.; dark, 8c. BEESWAX-Prime yellow, 27(?i29c. B. K. & F. B. THDRBER & Co. CHICAGO. HONEY— The demand for honey is good. Choice 1 lb. sections of white comb, well Ulled, brings 18® 2nc.; 1^ to 2 lb. sections, I«@i8c. No demand for dark comb honey. Extracted honey is bringing 8 @utc. per pound, according to bojy, color and flavor. BEESWAX— Primeyellow, 33c.; medium, ^SOSO. R. A. BURNETT. Itil South Water St. SAN FRANCISCO. HONEY— Market is well stocked with ordinary qualities. Inquiry for the same is not active. For fancy comb it is an easy matter to secure custom. While to extra white comb, ]6@l8c.: dark to good, I2(<*'l4c. ; extracted, choice to extra white, 7H<»8>^; dark and candied, 6^l37c. BEBSWAX-Wholesale. 27@28c. STEARNg & SMITH. 423 Front Street. ST. 1,0 CIS. HONEY— Choice in better demand, but un- changed. Sales chiefly in a small way. We quote stnilned and extracted at 6'4(607c. Comb at 14@16. BBESWAX-Ueadily salauleat 26«27 for choice. W. T. ANDERSO.V & Co., 104 N. 3d Street, CLIBVBL.ANO. HONE Y— Choice honey is in excellent demand now. Every lot received thus far in good order, has been sold on arrival; best 1 lb. sections bring- ing inc. quickly, occasronalty 19c.; 2 lb.. 17c, with an occasional sale at 18. Second quality and brok- en lots are very hard to sell. Extracted honey not in demand. BBBSWAX-28C. A. c. Kendel. 115 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONE Y— We quote extracted honey at 10®nc., with a good demand. We have sold easily four times as much evtracted as we ever did before. BEESWA.\— We have none to quote. Blakk & KiPLEV. 57 Chatham Street. KANSAS CITY, MO. HONEY— The demand for comb honey Is still largely in excess of receipts, and prices fully sus- tained. Choice 1 and 2 lb. sections, 17159 IHc. Some extra line loLs have brought l!t©20c. On extracted honey the market Is well supplied, sales ranging frota 7(§i9c.. according to quality and condition. Jerome twichell, 636 Delaware Street. i^ It would be a great convenience to us, if those sending us Postal Kotes or Money Orders, would get the issu- ing Post-master to make them pay- able at the " Madison Street Station, Chicago, m.," instead of simply •'Chicago." If they are drawn on Chicago, they go to the general office, and we have to make a trip of six miles to get them cashed ; but if they are drawn on the Station as above, it is only a few steps from our office. When sending us money, if you will please remember this, you will much oblige the publisher. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 589 For the American Bee Journal. How Far Apart Should Bees be Kept to Insure Purity 1 G. M. DOOLITTLE. If any of us have a particular strain of bees we wish to perpetuate, the question will naturally arise, IIow far must I keep them from other bees, so as to insure that the queens of tlie de- sired strain sjiall not mate with the drones of another kind of bees, thus despoiling all our plans ? That such thoughts are in the minds of the apiarist, is proven l)y the ques- tion often being asked, " How far will a queen go from her hive to find a mate," and other questions of similar import. Keplying to such a question as the above, I find this answer given by one who should be authority. " Queens are supposed to go a distance of 114 to 2 miles if necessary ;" but as he says, " are supposed," it is taken for granted that the supposition is based more upon what others think, rather than upon any definite conclu- sion arrived at by the writer. In this case, however, there is nothing said as to how far the drones may fly, and if we allow the drones to fly as far as the queens, a distance of from 3 to 4 miles would be the distance bees must be kept apart to insure purity. Another writer who is considered authority on the subject of queen- rearing, makes his views very plain by say nig, " There are some who en- tertain the idea that a race of bees cannot be kept pure unless they are kept isolated several miles from all other races. I have tested tliis matter carefully and pretty thoroughly dur- ing the last 20 years, and have found that one-half mile is as good as a much greater distance. He then goes on to state the length of time the queen is gone from her hive on her wedding trp, from which I supposed he arrived at the above conclusion. He gives this time as five minutes, from which I conclude that it is supposed that a queen cannot fly over one mile in that time (J-^mile and return), but as will be seen, nothing is said of how far the drone may be able to fly during that five minutes. Regarding the flight of drones, he says the " drones will sometimes fly a mile or more, but the queens will not," but about how long it takes the drones to fly that mile, nothiiig is said. But what is to hinder those drones from being that mile from home when the queen gets at the end of her one-half mile. As I see notliing to yirevent, it looks as if the author would have to admit that he drew his conclusions blindly, and that he has also left a very weak point in his argument. Kow let us look at some facts, which are always stronger than theories, or anything based upon supposition. Some 20 years ago my father planted a piece of com on the top of a high hill, and as the season was quite wet during June and the forepart of July, the weeds were quite rank in the corn during the forepart of August. As soon as through haying, we went into this corii-fleld to cut the weeds. Every afternoon from about half-past twelve to three o'clock it would sound as if there was a swarm of bees in the air, and at first we looked often to see if we could not see a swarm, but as none was discovered, we concluded it must be flies of some kind, which congre- gated there to play. At this time there were no bees nearer than two miles from this hill, unless, pereliaiice, a stray swarm might have been in a piece of woodland not as far off. Previous to this my father had kept bees, and had often pointed out the queen to me as a swarm was going into the hive when he hived them, and I knew a drone as well as a worker bee. One day I was sent to the corn-field alone, and as it was a very warm day, along about two o'clock, I got ex- tremely tired (or, perhaps, lazy), and so I lied down partially in the shade of the corn to rest. As I remained there, listening to the hum of the flies, as I supposed, I thought I would try to ascertain if I could see anything ; so, shading my eyes by placing one hand each side of them, and looking steadily up into the clear sky ; after a little I could see thousands "of living creatures circling in all directions, so swift that at times they looked like a streak of black, shooting across the sky. As I was looking at them, I saw a dozen of these shooting objects give chase after another, and soon over- took it, when their flight was less rapid. Circling around, they came near the ground" and stopped on the tassel of a stalk of corn, which stood about a rod from where I lay. I got up at once and proceeded to the stalk of corn, but before I was half way to it, one flew off, which looked to me like a queen honey bee, and the other fell to the ground. Upon picking it up, I found it to be a dead drohe. Al- though at that time I knew little of bee lore, still I had solved the mys- tery of the humming noise, no longer believing it to be flies which made the noise, but knowing it to be made by the drones of the honey bee. I now believe that this was a place where the drones and queens congre- gated, but the facts only show that drones are numerous which fly two miles from home, and from the next fact which I give, I believe that there were drones there from hives five or more miles away. When I first kept bees there were no Italians nearer than five miles distant, yet occasionally I found that some of young queens would produce " now and then " a yellow bee. My bees were all black when I bought them, and the Italians were introduced five miles away, after I had bought the blacks. The next season a man four miles distant Italianized his whole apiary, and the year following I found nearly one-third of my young queens producing from one-twelfth to one- third of their bees with yellow bands. Being pleased with the work done by these hylirid bees, I introduced the Italians into my apiary the next year, which, of course, put a stop to my observations, as to the distance queens will mate. From the above facts I am positive that queens of one race will mate with the drones of other races of bees, un- less such are kept more than five miles apart. Nature has so ordered things that the best results possible to be secured are accomplislied by the instinct which she prompts, and thus the queens from one apiary are fertilized by drones of a distant apiary, whicli se- cures a cross that prevents in-and-in breeding, and gives us a race of bees capable of doing the best of work. Tl»at it would be more to the queen- breeders' interests if it were other- wise, I am well aware ; but for the honey-producer and for the perpetua- tion of a hardy race of bees, the Crea- tor has ordered things aright, in this as well as other matters. Borodino, N. Y. For tbe American Bee Journal. Iowa Central Convention. The Iowa Central Bee- Keepers' As- sociation met at Winterset, Iowa, on Nov. 2, at 10.30 a. m. There being but few of the members in yet— adjourned to 1 p. m., when the Convention was called to order by the President, A. J. Adkison. The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved. The roll of members was called, and a fair num- ber responded to their names. The Secretary's and Treasurer's re- ports were read and approved. Then came the President's address on Inprovements in Bee-Culture ; and then the enrollment of members was made, which now numbers 28. The election of officers resulted in the re-election of all, viz : A. J. Ad- kinson. President; J. W. Graham, Vice-President; J. E. Pryor, Secre- tary, and Mrs. Mary Pryor, Treas- urer. The reports of the different mem- bers were given. Although there was not reported as large a honey yield as last year, the bee-keepers of Central Iowa have nothing to discourage them. From 327 colonies, spring count, there was an increase of 148, and these col- onies produced 8,115 lbs. of extracted^ 1,551 lbs. of comb honey, and 92 lbs. ot beeswax. The plan of wintering was discussed to some extent. Mr. Thils. Chantry, of Casey, Iowa, being present, was called on to give his plan of wintering in clamps, which was very interesting to all present. He has had very good success so far, win- tering on this plan. Motion was made that our next meeting all bringtheir dinner baskets, well-filled, and have a general good time, socially. Adjourned to meet at the Court House in Winterset, on Friday, April 18, 1884. J. E. Pryor, Sec. 590 THE AMERICAN BEE JOJRNAL. For the American Bee Juurnal. Pollen Theory, Bees in Winter, etc. JAIEES HEDDON. Ill reply to Mr. Pond, on page 560, I will say that I never meant to claim, when using the word " strain," that I had a " fixed " race or strain of bees. I do not think I have, and I will say here to all, that I am constantly fixing and trying to improve my stock, and always expect to be doing so, whether I use German blood with my dark Italians, or the latter alone. For the production of extracted honey, the dark Italians are good enough, and, all in all, perhaps are excelled by none, but in the production of comb honey I cannot think of parting with a mix- ture of the German blood. There is no need whatever of bringing in any ill-temper by any such mixture, if properly directed. I fully appreciate Mr. Foiid's honest earnestness. I have been right there myself. I can see no propriety in carrying the pollen discussion any farther. I am, at present, preparing such tests as will satisfy me perfectly in regard to the correctness or incoiTectness of the theory, and trust that my simple reports, next May or June, will be all the reader will care to hear from me further upon the subject. Every one can experiment for themselves. Dr. Tinker opened an attack upon this theory. I see nothing new in his last article worthy of muc'ii argument and space. As I am entitled to the last word, I claim the right to correct his mis-statements, etc. Regarding my replies in " What and How," 1 confine my tone of answers more to what I know than any theory, belief, or hypothesis of mine which I may argue strenuously in favor of. for the sake of getting at the facts underlying our winter disasters, while most bee-keepers are still spending their time telling how many laths they lay over the frames, and which way tliey are laid, etc., etc. Should the pollen theory prove the correct one, I pre- sume the Doctor will be sorry he lias found out the truth, simply because it was not his theory. I have never fed glucose to bees, but if I am rightly informed regarding the results realized by those who have, it has had no influence toward killing bees by any poisonous action, but has produced dysentery, and according to my theory, glucose ranks as much below honey as honey does below sugar syrup, in point of its greater proportion of nitrogen or vegetable substance compared with its oxygen or heat-producing powers. Kegarding packing inside or out- side of hives, I have tried both, several times. Neither one prevents dysen- tery, but the heavier out-side packing giving much better protection, has that much more tendency to prevent and alleviate the disease, and saves lugging about such useless loads all summer. Yes, I have said for years that I believed that I could winter any one colony of l)ees with as much certainty as my cow, but cost and trouble being greater than the risk, I have pref erreii trying to find out the true cause of dysentery, and then is the time to de- vise cheap and practical methods of wintering bees successfully with cer- tainty. I have read, re-read and studied Mr. Corneil's last effort, and think that lie deserves the greatest credit for that article. I am of the opinion that he is wrong, and that I am right, and I am further of the opinion that if I am wrong, he is certainly right. I greatly rejoice in feeling that at last we are coming to knowledge of some value. After first admitting that by observation and reading, we are con- versant with many facts that seem to coincide with Mr. Corneil's theory, yet I wish to append a few that look rather dark. Now, first, regarding Mr. Balch's bees, I think he will agree with me that this dampness had been with them for weeks, and that they showed no signs of disease whatever, and from what we know of getting bees out "just in time to save them," we would say these bees could have staid in another month with, perhaps, no signs of dis- ease whatever. I think Mr. Cornell makes a weak point when he ignores our ability to tell the difference be- tween extremely damp and dry cellars "without instruments." Knowing the extreme dampness of Mr Balch's cellar containing the perfectly healtliy bees, I will venture to say," without knowing, that the 140 colonies dying out of 150 were better ventilated than the healthy bees above referred to. AVe are simply after facts, and through them success. ISIr. Balcli, will you not let us hear from you upon the subject. If I am mistaken in regard to the humidity during our warm winters, here is something I am not mistaken about. AVliile bees are dying by whole apiaries in this and other sec- tions of the country, there were dotted here and there individual colonies and whole apiaries that wintered perfectly, showing no signs of disease, without any upward or excessive lower venti- lation whatever. Does the " signal service records " show that humidity thus runs in streaks through apiaries and districts 'r* The quality of and bad position in which polleii may be placed in hives, does vary in districts and apiaries. Mr. Cornell says. " that humidity, cold and confinement, as factors in wintering bees, are based on facts in physical science ascertained and es- tablished long before he and I ap- peared on the scene." If he means these are main causes, which he must, does it not seem strange that we have not yet learned to winter our bees ':* Pollen as a factor in producing dysen- tery, was not ascertained and estab- lished before Mr. Cornell and I ap- peared upon the scene, neither is it yet, but I propose to agitate it till I find out whether it is a factor or not, and if it is, establish it ; if not, drop it at once and continue the search farther. Regarding the moisture passing from bees by transpiration and exhal- ation, perhaps Mr. Cornell has justly corrected me. I took my cue from the writings of professed scientists, or, perhaps, I may say older writers upon the subject. However, this point does not alter the correctness of either theory, as far as I can discover. When I said that bees " would not eat pollen when in normal condition " I meant that their instincts would guide them to the proper food for the season, provided they were not en- vironed by opposing influences. To illustrate one such influence : Bees will eat the honey from over and among bee-bread, and leave the nitro- genous tissue-making food and pass on to the more heat-producing food, lioney, if too much influence lie not brought to bear against such removal. But let cold, intense and steady, sur- round the cluster, tlius making such removal painful or impossible, then, when hunger begins to gnaw, a lesser instinct gives way to a greater one, and bee bread is eaten. This con- sumption takes into the system mat- ter that rapidly loads the intestines. A strong instinct not to void in-doors, causes the bees to hold this feces until the return of warmth will per- mit them to go out, and if it does not come disease ensues. I beUeve that honey contains veget- able matter in such shape that if cold forces consumption of greater quanti- ties, and confinement prevents fre- quent voiding that dysentery may re- sult from its consumption alone. Honey differs in that respect, and glucose, no doubt, is worse tliau any honey. Humidity plays the part of conducting heat, and thus assists the cold (so to speak) in intensifying its effects. The carbonic acid gas question, I know but little about, but I have known bees to winter so perfectly crowded into little, poorly ventilated apartments that I am of the opinion that that question is our " gnat," and that the " camel " is something else entirely foreign to it. Does it not seem strange that Mr. Corneil should demand immediate experimental proof that the pollen theory is correct, when his theory, that is older than he or I, should have been as yet of no practical value to bee-keepers gen- erally ¥ We now come to the case of the 10 colonies dying while the 32 left behind all lived. If my pollen theory is cor- rect, the agitation of moving these bees just at that time started them to breeding, which, according to my ob- servation, would be productive of dysentery, because it would rear a lot of young bees late in the season, which would be more inclined to con- sume pollen, and repeat the fatal mis- take of breeding out of season, and would also consume stores that ought not to be consumed. But some one savs, " I moved my bees in the fall, and they wintered ivell." Moving bees does not always stimulate them to breeding, but in some cases it does. In regard to the excessive dampness found in colonies having died of dys- entery, it will be found, upon close exam'ination, together with more ex- tended observation, that the wet, moldy condition is the effect of the death, and not the cause. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 591 The excessive death rate which oc- curred in my dry, well-ventilated iind capacious cellar, as before narrated, occurred alike with bees that had and had not upward ventilation. The atmosphere in this cellar, however, ■was so dry that no wet or moldy combs were found in any of the hives, not even those with the least ventilation. Several hives of bees were tried upon the plan of no upward, but excessive lower ventilation ; every one of those died ; the only one that came through in perfect, or even good condition, of the three survivors out of 4f), was one summered at a distance, and brought into the cellar in mid-winter. This colony sat on a large box with three others, in the same kind of hive, with precisely the same kind of ventilation; and while the other three died with dysentery in its worst form, weeks be- fore spring arrived, this colony came out in perfect condition, with about one-half dozen bees dead on the bot- tom board. I cannot yet see how the humidity theory can cover this ease, and maiiy others well-known to the readers and myself. Have our readers not noticed that dysentery and breeding are very apt to keep company with each other ? Does humidity, cold and continement, " producing dysentery " and " moldy €ombs," induce bees to breed in win- ter V Is it not reasonable to suppose that the handling and consumption of pollen might induce breeeding, or that a disposition to breed, necesitating the manipulation of pollen, would be productive of dysentery ? Mr. Cornell slurs my use of the term " guess." Is it not as modest to use that term as to assert that his theory of the production of dysentery is old and well established, and yet we all lose our bees with that disease when- ever it rages in our locality V Should he, or both of us, turn out to be mis- taken, would it not be as well If he had used the same expression V Mr. CorneiFs request to put the bees on combs of sugar, came too late, and after my bees were all prepared for winter, "but, fortunately, I have over 40 colonies prepared just in that way, and if one of them have the dysentery that will end the matter with me, and I will cheerfully join Mr. Cornell in •doing all I can to find the disease am- bushed on the road he is following. Last winter, with some i5 out of 50 liives, some 14 inches deep, I tried the experiment of boring holes in the back end, producing a circidation of air across the bottom-board, placing the hives above snow level. 1 succeeded in getting the circulation, but it seemed to make no difference regard- ing disease — some had dysentery, and some had not. For more than eight years I experimented on no small scale with different methods of venti- lation, both in-doors and out, and «ould never see that that was the cue to the malady. Dr. Southard, of Kalamazoo, a clear- headed, close-observing, and quite ex- tensive honey-producer, experimented two or three years with out-door pack- ing, between leaving the board cover tight upon the hives, packing over this with straw and chaff, and removing the cover, in its stead using burlap with the same packing over this. There is quite a difference in the hu- midity in the interior of shallow hives where in the one case it has only loose cloth and chaff to obstruct its egress, and in the other an inch of wood, two coats of paint, and bee-glue promis- cuously distributed over its surface and to seal the joints. The Doctor is radically in favor of the tightly sealed hives, and so uses them. Two or three years before I tried the same experiment during two winters, and while colonies died both ways, I fanced I preferred the up- ward ventilation. Does it not look as though these experiments on our part missed tlie true cause altogether'? I would be pleased to hear from the Doctor on the subject. The ordinary reasoner will see at a glance that comparing one man's success with another in a different field, must be short-sighted or unfair. In this lo- cality, bordering Indiana and the marshy region, we have an excess of bee bread m our hives nearly all the year around, and especially in the fall, from various fall weeds, and dysentery rages in its worst form, there having been but one season in fifteen when our apiary was entirely clear from it. This has given me a good chance to study its nature, though, after all, I may be mistaken. Mr. Corneil's article, like its pred- ecesssors, is prized by me, for whether he has the true theory or not, I al- ways feel as though I know some- thing more of the laws govening human health and proper ventilation after reading them. Dowagiac, Mich., Nov. 12, 18S.3. K»ir the American liee JoumaL The Cause of Swarms Absconding. W. H. STEWART. Under different circumstances, how different is the behavior of honey bees. At times, it would seem that their knowledge was almost complete. At other times, and under the most favorable circumstances, it would seem that they were void of even the least degree of discretion. For many years, many of the most careful and and close-observing men have studied their wants, habits and mode of living ; and have prepared for them almost every conceivable form and size of hive, in some, of which the bees find more and greater advantages than they can find in any hollow tree, or among the rocks ; yet we often see them leaving a hive of the moat approved style — turn fugi- tives, and abscond for the woods or caves in the rocks, where we often find them laboring under the most discouraging conditions. Sometimes we notice that young swarms of bees seem to gladly accept of an old box or nail keg, and at other times will, in a few hours after being hived in one of our best hives, come whirling out with a perfect rush, and leave in spite of all that we give them. Now, the question is, why do they thus behave 'f I will give a little of my experience with bees, and in doing so, will give one reason why bees thus behave— a reason that I have never noticed in bee books or papers. I began to try to keep bees about 40 years ago, but many times I failed to keep them. When we only knew how to increase by natural swarming, and using only the box hive, many times two or more young swarms would cluster together on the same limb of a tree, and all would have to be hived in the same box together. That, of course, would fill an ordinary hive. That style of hive usually had two, or perhaps three cross- sticks through near the center of the hive— not for the purpose of supporting this heavy mass of bees, but for a support of the heavy combs that were to be built from top to bottom of the box, which were sometimes quite tall. But hold ! here comes a fine young Italian swarm rushing out of a Langs- troth hive, in which they were hived yesterday. Well, we went to stop them, and thought we were smart enough to do so ; I have detained other swarms in days of yore, by get- ting to them before the queen had got out, and lifting the hive from the bottom-board, and setting it down, tight on the grass, and thus detaining what remained in the hive, until those that were out began to come back pretty lively ; then I put the hive in place again, and all would go well. But this was a young queen with wings not clipped, and she was out before I got the hive closed (as above), and away she went for the woods with her half of the swarm, and I put the half that I detained in their old origi- nal home. They were hived on one frame of young brood from their orig- inal home, 4 frames of empty combs, and enough more frames of foundation to fill a one-story Langstroth hive, new, clean, nice, shaded, and with plenty of ventilation at the bottom ! Why did they leave V Had they a plurality of queens ? I was going to tell why young swarms leave their new home, and, as I am writing here on my porch and watch- ing the bees at the same time (doing double duty), out comes those crazy bees— the first swarm that I havetlius lost in the last 16 years. This is the first swarm that has ever left a hive that I had furnished with a full set of combs of foundation, and I was about to express an opinion that they would not leave a hive thus furnished. I never had one leave where all the frames were filled with foundation, but this had one brood comb. Sometimes we think that we have became masters of the situation, and then some little circumstance turns up that satisfies us that there are some things that we have not yet learned. But I have learned one reason why young colonies leave their hive, and i will tell it. Some 16 years ago, on .Tuly 4, 1 stood near a colony of young bees that I had hived the day before. It was very hot weather, and I was fearful that my bees would leave. It was a very large colony, and I had found that those 592 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. large colonies were much more apt to leave a hive, than lighter colonies. I had only been watching them about 5 minutes, when down came a mass of bees (about a quart), making quite a thump on the bottom-board, which was hung to the lower end of the box hive with wire hooks, and open % an inch all around, similar to the Oliver lleynolds Vermont hive. As the bees struck the bottom-board they came rushing out, and I thought they would leave ; but they soon went back andbecamequiet. I stood watch- ing about 10 minutes longer, wneii down came the whole colony at once, and out they went with a perfect rush, and tliis time they left none behind except the queen, whose wings were clipped at tlie time that I hived them ; she came hopping around on tlie edge of the bottom- board. I caught her and held her about 5 minutes, while the swarm were gone, quite out of my sight and hearing. I began to think that they had another queen, and had gone to the woods for sure ; but they missed tlieir queen, and back they came, and entered the hive again. I gave them their queen, and then all went well. I began to study over the matter, and came to the conclusion that it was for the want of proper support, which caused the bees to fall from the top of the hive, and that the fall friglitened them and made them leave. Only one tier of bees could come in contact with the top- board, and they must start the first comb-building, and at the same time, sustain the weight of the great mass of bees that hung to them, and, as it was very warm, the task was more than they could endure ; and when their strength was exhausted, they let go, and all came down to- gether. I made up my mind that if bees had ample support until they had plenty of combs to hold to. they would stay in almost any kind of hive. I then got some green bushes, stripped off the leaves and filled the top half of the hive so full, that there was no place but that the small twigs came within 2 or 3 inches of each other. I fastened the buts of the brush to the sides of the hive with small nails. 1 hived the next swarm in a box thus rigged and all went well; also, the next, and kept it up until I had, in after years, thus hived over 300, and had no further trouble with absconding swarms. When foundation came into use, I obtained a mill and began using frame hives. I gave full sheets of founda- tion, and, as I had no trouble witli swarms leaving, I concluded that foundation answered the same pur- pose in supporting the cluster, that the brush did. Since I began writing this, I have read a letter in the Gleanings for August, by Mr.Doolittle, in which he gives it as his opinion ; and also that of Mr. Betsinger, that bees are more apt to leave a hive having a card of brood, than one having only founda- tion. Before I used the brush, I had for 20 years lost a majority of my heaviest swarms by absconding, and now, if the trouble is to come up again, it will be rather a serious matter. Has any one lost bees that were hived on a full set of full slieets of foundation V Let us hear from them. Orion, Wis. For tile American Bee JournaL The!Improvement of Bees. L. C. JOHNSON, M. D. Previous to the introduction into England of the Godolphin and Darley Arabian horses, the breed of English horses was as celebrated for its worth- lessness as it has since become (by judicious crossing and selecting) for its splendid qualities. By breeding from that "rand horse. Eclipse, who never was ijeaten, and whose power of speed seemed un- limited, the English brought up their sluggish breed to be a race of "racers." By careful crossing, and selecting frorii the hardy and strong, though not large, Suffolk Pinich breed, they have produced the monstrous draft horses of London, which are the wonder and admiration of lovers of horses the world over. By a long course of careful selecting and crossing from the old domestic cattle of Europe, whose best steers weighed but little more than 1,000 pounds, cattle men now rear steers weighing 3,000 pounds and more. And what is true of horses and cattle, is equally true of other kinds of do- mestic stbck. The magnificent Cochins, the beautiful Spanish, and the tender, luscious Dorking, attest the success of intelligent skill in the crossing and select breeding of the barn-yard fowls. Xo successful farmer could be in- duced to feed for market the long- legged, slim-nosed, slab-sided, elm- peelers, formerly sold for hogs. Turning to our fruits and vegeta- bles, we find that high culture, with careful selecting and crossing, has produced marvelous results. From the Solaneum lycoperseeum, common wild tomato, we have developed the magnifieen': garden tomato which is so justly regarded as one of our very finest fruits. Likewise tlie potato has been brought up from a worthless hard-woody tuber, to be a food- staple for millions of Earth's people to almost live upon. The strawberry, from a berry no larger than the end of a finger, has developed the monstrous Sharpless, and many other varieties, measuring six inches and more in cir- cumference. These results have been obtained, not by opposing Nature's proeesses,but by selecting and perpetuating her best products. The very essence of im- provement in either animals or plants, is to develop the good points and banish bad ones. There is neither animal or plant tliat offers greater facilities for this tlian does the honey bee ; for, if we have a single choice queen, we may, in a few short weeks, have the entire apiary to consist of her offspring. To accouiplish this, we have only to de- stroy queens whose bees possess bad qualities, and substitute queens reared from our better strains. If we are to improve our bees, we must first have clear conceptions of the qualities to be desired, in our ideal or perfect bee. Then, bearing in mind tlie character and qualities of the different races we have to begin with, we are prepared to so manage our apiaries as to produce a better strain of bees than any we now possess. The " ideal queen " should be large, strong, active, and very prolific, as it depends upon her to keep up a popu- lation of from 40,000 to 70,000 insects, whose average life is less than two months during the working season. A strong colony sliould have at least 60,000 bees, during the June and July honey harvest, and, if their average life is two montlis, the queen must lay 1,000 'eggs per day to keep up the strength of the colony, to say nothing of the thousands that are to "be reared for swarming. The " ideal bee,"' that such a queen should rear, must possess, in the highest degree, the qualities of energy, liardiness and gentleness. Energy sufficient to induce it to gather and store hoiiev, whenever and wherever it is to be found. But some may ob- ject, that if we g;et bees full of energy and vim, they will pounce upon and rob their wealier neighbors. I tell you, nay ; for it is not the busy, ener- getic colonies whose workers go to the fields early and late, and wlio store up for us 100 pounds and more of nice comb honey who do the robbing. The danger is from those colonies which have thousands of idle bees, lying around all day long. They, like idle people, find some mischief still to do. Hardiness is an essential quality for this typical bee ; its life is a life of labor ; joyous and happy it may he, flitting ifrom flower to flower, sipping nectar, " the food of the Gods," from the beauteous cups of Nature's own laboratory, yet the labor is severe and constant," taxing the powers of the insect to the utmost, during the honey harvest. Bees, weighing liut 114 grains, often carry hoine to the hive 2 grains of honey, dropping almost ex- hausted at the portal of home, only tcf rest for a moment, then to hasten in, unload and again go to the fields to renew the burden. Gentleness is a quality only neces- sary for man's convenience ; it is true, we can handle them in spite of their crossness, but it is so much more pleasant, and more conducive to a serene frame of mind, to handle kind and gentle bees. So much for our "ideal bee." Let us now consider some of the qualities possessed by the different races of bees. There are now, in this country, at least five distinct races of our common hive bee, the Syrian, Italian, black or German, Egyptian and Cyprian. The Syrian queens are wonderfully fertile. 1 "have known them to lay nearly 6,000 eggs in 24 hours ; on one occasion, I placed a frame of foundation in a Syrian colony, at 9 a. m., and at 5 p. m. of the same day, I found the cells drawn out, but no eggs ; at 2 p. m. of the next day, I removed it and placed it in a queenless nucleus, where it was proven to contain no less than 5,.500 eggs, all deposited by one queen THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 593 in less than iil hours ! These queens are exceedingly strong and liardy, often being able to fly from the cell as soon as they cut their way out, which occurs in from 12 to 14 days, or from 2 to 4 days earlier than the Italian or German bees. Their bees come out of the cell in 17 days from the time the eggs are de- posited in the cell, or 4 days earlier than do Italians or Germans. This, I think, to be due more to the abund- ance of food furnished to the larvie, tlian to any essential difference in their natural time of development. These bees give food in such abund- ance to the larvje, as almost to cover them, like the queen larvse is covered and floated in the royal jelly, so pro- digally supplied in the queen-cells. The tiermans and Italians are poor nurses, leaving the larvie to become hungry, until at times they may be seen with their necks stretched and mouths gaping, mutely pleading for more of the food which brings them life. The Syrian bees are possessed of wonderful energy, working early and late, flying far and wide in search of stores ; they come rushing from the hive, and are off like a flash to the fields, returning heavily burdened from the fields of toil, they hasten past the thresliold of home as though the fate of nations depended upon their speed ; and this tremendous activity is kept up all day long. This race has the reputation of being more cross than Italians. This, I tlunk, to be due to their being more irritable on the first opening of the hive, and to the fact that they are more sensitive to any jarring of their hives or frames than are the Italians. The latter stick closely to their combs after a jar, which would send dozens of the Syrian bees upon the war-path. If proper care and gentleness is used in opening the hive and handling the frame, they are not, I think, any more irascible than are the Italians. In rearing queens, they will often build from 30 to 50 cells upon a single frame of brood. Their fighting qualities abolish all danger of robbing, as they not only seize an intruder before he gets inside of the hive, but they will often dart upon an intruder while a foot or more from the entrance. The Cyprians are very similar in every respect to the Syrian bees, ex- cept they are, possibly, a little more irritable and nervous. They have the same intense energy and combative- ness. When once aroused, it is almost impossible to subdue either of these races by smoke. They are, I think, longer-lived than the otlier races. The Egyptians are quite similar in appearance to the Italians, only they are somewhat smaller and lighter- colored. Their queens are wonderfully fertile, "breeding all tlie year around," and, without very judicious manage- ment, their owner will get all bees and no honey. The Italians are the beautiful golden bees which revolutionized our bee- keeping, and, by their gentleness and docility, made scientific apiculture pleasant and proHtable. Their queens are more fertile than the Germans, but less so than the Syrians. Tlie same is true as to strength and hardiness, they, in common with the Syrians and Cyprians, being able to drag out and fly off with the larva of the bee-moth, which was formerly such a pest to bee- keepers. As honey - gatherers, they are almost equal to the Syrian and Cyprian bees ; that is, a full colony of Italians and a full colony of Syrians or Cyprians would probably gather nearly equal amounts of honey, but the greater fertility of the Syrian queens give them the • advantage by enabling them to have a full hive at the beginning of the honey harvest. In gentleness, the Italians are un- doubtedly ahead of any other race, yet this gentleness has a limit, and they may be aroused into a perfect frenzy of ungovernable rage. If at- tacked by robbers, they form a cordon of guards about the entrance, which effectually bars it. As to the German or black bees, it is difficult to name any one point in which they excel tlie yellow races, and yet there are men of no small expe- rience in apiculture, who maintain that they are equally as good as any yellow race. It is claimed by their friends that they are less apt to win- ter-kill, and that they are better comb builders and make finer -appearing comb honey. Now, as to the method of securing the "ideal bee " from these different races, I should recommend that a pure Syrian queen be fertilized by a hybrid drone from the Italian and German races ; that is, the drone should be from the egg of a queen whose mother was a pure Italian, mated with a Ger- man drone. This would produce a bee one-half Syrian, one-fourth Italian, and one-fourth German. I would have this much of the Ger- man blood, not because I think the German superior or even equal to the yellow races, but because I believe it to be demonstrated fact, that, other things being equal, this admixture of the German blood greatly increases the honey-gathering qualities of our bees. Another point of equal or even greater importance than the race we breed from, is the character of the queen from whose brood we rear our cjueens; she should beourvery clioicest in every respect : size, beauty, fertil- ity, strength and activity ; her bees should be tested and proven to be strong honey-gatherers, good comb- builders, full size, and gentle, (the color Is a matter of no importance, tliough I must confess that, other things being equal, I greatly prefer the beautiful golden-banded fellows.) The drones with which our queens are to be mated, is a matter we cannot absolutely control, unless we succeed in getting queens fertilized in a closed room, which I intend giving an exten- sive experimental trial next summer; without this, we can, by careful man- agement, control it to a very large ex- tent, unless we have neighbors within a very few rods who have bad bees. My plan is to select a choice queen or queens such as I desire to breed from, and very early in the spring to place a section of drone comb in the center of the brood chamber of their colonies, (and I usually have no diffi- culty in getting them filled with drone eggs.) I then remove them and put some sections in such colonies as I do not want drones from. The bees in this colony now care for the drone larva;, and in due time the drones are hatched and the sections removed. The colony is thus supplied with the right kind of drones, and are satisfied without rearing drones from their own queen. If they attempt to do so, their drone larvai are removed, and more drone brood given to them from a selected queen. I thus have my apiary supplied with selected drones, and very rarely have I had a mismated queen, although there are dozens of black colonies within half a mile of my apiary. I think if an apiary is properly supplied with drones, a very large majority of its young queens will find their mates from the home yard. In rearing queens, I place a strip of foundation in a frame, and hang it in the center of the colony containing the queen I wish to breed from, and allow it to remain until drawn out and par- tially filled with eggs. In the mean time I prepare a strong nucleus of four frames of young Syrian bees, with plenty of honey and pollen, but no un- sealed brood. In the center of this nucleus I place the frame of eggs from my choice queen. I thus get the whole attention of my nucleus concentrated upon a comparatively few eggs, and the queen larvie are kept abundantly sup- plied with royal jelly, from their hatch- ing and before, until they are capped over. On the 11th day from the laying of the egg. I remove the frame of cells, without any bees, to a lamp nur- sery, where, if I happen to be unable to attend to the queens as fast as hatched, they will live peaceably to- gether for several hours. The young queens are at once introduced to queenless nuclei, previously prepared for them, where they remain until fertilized and ready for use. All the small, sluggish and feeble queens are destroyed, and I think I thus secure the best possible results. If this weeding- out process were rigorously persisted in, other things being equal, I think we would get more uniform results from our colo- nies, and not have one colony yielding 100 pounds or more of surplus, while another by its side gives only 10 pounds, or even nothing ; in other words, perfect, strong, active queens should give us strong, active honey- gatherers. Finally, whatever race or races of bees we keep, let us breed both our queens and drones only from our very best queens. Fountain City, Ind. ^"Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1883 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. ^5" Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra. 594 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For tbo American Bee JoumaL Straight Combs without Separators. W. Z. HUTCHINSON. The width of the sections lias much to do with getting straight even combs. To get straight even combs in sections 2 inciies wide, separators are needed. The nearer combs approacli to tlie thickness that bees naturally build them, the more perfect they will be. Why are not separators needed be- tween brood combs ? Instead of at- tempting to answer, let producers take a hint and make their sections accordingly. It is my opinion that 1^ inches is about the best width for sections used without separators : that is, to obtain the straightest combs. The sections that I used last season were 1 11-16 inches wide ; no separators were used, yet every section was crated. Let no one suppose, however, that every sec- tion was perfectly true, and would lit anywhere, as would sections built with separators ; occasionally a comb would be " plump " or " bulged." but, of course, the adjoining ones would be " thin " or concave ; hence, by the ex- ercise of a little care, all was crated without trouble. If a plump section was found finished, and the adjoining ones unfinished, the plump section was removed and its place tilled with a partly_ finished section, or a section filled with foundation, and. in crating, a lookout was kept* for " lean " sec- tions ; by thus putting together the thick and thin sections, there was no ti-ouble. Xine-tenths of the sections would fit anywhere, and truth com- pelled me to"say that the " bulging " was done by pure Italians. The sec- tions filled by hybrids were like so many " bricks," no crookedness, no bulges, no bear combs, while the cap- pings were of a snowy whiteness. So marked was the difference in the workmanship of the Italians and the hybrids, that, after the cases of sec- tions had been removed from the hives, and stacked up, my brother or myself could look them over and tell which cases had been filled by hybrids and which by Italians. I use an fs-frame Lan^troth hive, and the Ileddon case. The sections stand parallel with the brood frames, and I am careful to have the liives stand perfectly level, except that they are slightly raised at the back end. I have tried putting a small piece of foundation in each section as a " starter," have filled the sections partly full, and have filled the sections entirely full, and I am decidedly in favor of filling the sections full, leav- ing J^ of an inch at each side of the foundation, and }4 of an inch at the bottom. When the section is filled full of foundation, the cells are drawn out full length next to the wood, and the comb is well fastened in all around the outside. Vteiug built out nearly even with the edge of the wood ; while, if the section isonly partly filled, the cells decrease in depth as they ap- proach the side of the section, and are fastened with only a thin strip of bear comb that is easily broken. The top and bottom bars of sections sliould be % of an inch narrower than the side bars, instead of only M, as usually made. This is a greater help in secur- ing straight comljs without separators than one would suppose. It seems to induce the bees to leave a greater space between the combs. There is one other point. The bees should be given the proper amount of room, neither be crowded nor given too much room. When too much room is given, the bees are liable to work first upon one side only, of some of the foundation, and, as a result, it warps and bends. By the way. Dr. Miller, at the Northwestern Conven- tion, said that he thought foundation made upon a roller mill was more liable to warp or curl than that made upon a press, and I am inclined to agree with liim. I used the Given foundation, last year, and ask for nothing better. In regard to the queen being more liable to lay in thin than thick combs, I would say that there is a stay in the growth of even the thickest comb when the queen would be able to lay in it, and if she enters the surplus de- partment, she makes it her business to be on hand with eggs just as fast as the combs are drawn to the proper depth, and it should be remembered that she is capable of laying in a cell that is not much more than Vg of an inch in depth. It is my opinion that the width of sections lias nothing to do with inllueucing the queen in re- gard to her entering the surplus re- ceptacles. i?o recapitulate : Have dark Italians with a dash of the brown German blood, use narrow sections, fill them with Given foundation, have the hives level, and keep the surplus depart- ment full of bees. Rogersville, Mich., Nov. 10, 1883. For the American Bee JoumaL One of My Experiences. C. THEILMAN. they were all in the hive, the expected fight had commenced ; tlieretore I re- newed the same " shaking-oft " per- formance, without better results ; then I gave them a good spray in the hive and let them be, as I had other things to do. The next day t looked for the Cyprians, but found the hive empty with two pieces of worker comb of the size of a hand ; one of them was nearly filled with eggs, so I put a swarm, that had just issued, into this deserted hive. The new colony seemed to be contented, as they were working lively. About eight days after hiving them, I examined and found no brood, except ill the piece above described, where there were three queen cells and about 2.5 capped drone cells (enlarged worker cells), and about 150 to 200 worker cells nicely capped over. About two weeks after, I looked into the hive again and found the bropd all hatclied ; at least the cells were empty and a young queen had just commenced laying. Now, I leave this case of experiment to the readers of the Dee Journal to judge, whether or not bees can, at their will, rear either workers, drones or queen bees from the eggs laid in worker cells, for the possibility of other eggs being deposited in this piece of comb, other than from the queen of the first swarm, is almost ex- cluded. The last swarm, of course, was queenless, and therefore provided for a queen and drones. Thielmanton, Minn., Nov. 7, 1883. On page 542 of the Bee Journal, Messrs. Youngman and Trussell state that their bees have reared drones and queens from worker eggs and larvas, upon which the editor remarks that " it will be very generally disbelieved, that bees can and will rear drones from worker eggs." I have had this summer (for the first time in 14 years of bee-keeping), an experience which I will give, and which satisfies my own mind, that some theories do not always prove correct. One day in .July, I hived a large swarm of pure Cyprians, but on the next day I found that a good many of the bees went back to the old hive, wtiieh left the colony weaker that I wished to have them ; so I concluded to strengthen them with a second swarm that came out on the next day, knowing that the Cyprians would not be willing to accept them, as I had some sad experience before. On ac- count of their being in the hive for 2 days, I used peppermint, giving them a good spray after shaking them from the frames in frontof the hi"e, uniting the second swarm with them. Before For the American Bee Journal. Description of My Bee-Feeder. DK. J. S. MC ALLISTER. As there has been several descrip- tions of bee-feeders published in the Bee Journal of late, I thought I would describe one of mine, which I think is very practical, and one that cau easily be made by all, especially those who use the American or square frame, with tight top-bars, or bars 1}^ inches wide. It can be made either one-half the depth of the frame, or use the whole frame, which I think is best, and then let the bees build comb or draw out foundation in the same, and fill with honey for winter use, the same as any other frame ; place it in the center of the brood nest for winter, and use it at any time a feeder is needed. To make the frame and feeder complete, nail a bottom-bar about one- half way up the frame or a little more, which is the same width at the end- bar, which is generally made of Ji stuff. Then take two top- bars and shorten them a little, and nail one on each side of the middle-bar, to form a trough the length of the frame ; now bore a hole (about one-half inch hole will do), through the top-bar, and in the hole place a hollow tin tube, long enough to reach very near the bottom of the trough, and your feeder is com- plete. Very thin stuff for the sides of the trough is the best, as it will not take up as much room. I like it the best of any device that I have ever seen. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 595 By placing a funnel in the hollow tube when filling the feeder, there is no need of spilling a drop. It can be made a ventilator or corked up, when no ventilation is needed, by having the tube run close to tlie bottom of the feeder ; the bees will not pass through it. There seems to be no need of any float, and the bees will not till the trough with comb. I think I was the originator of what is now known as the pepper- box feed- er, and had some gentleman (I do not remember liis name), take one to the Vermont Bee- Keepers' Association, about 15 years ago. I used it with a rim that fit over wire gauze that had been stamped to tit upon the rim, so when used over a hole In tlie honey board, the feeder could be removed without letting out the bees, similar to the Van Dusen feeder. Allen Pringle's article on Wintering Bees (page 547) gives many good ideas, and I often wonder why so many rec- ommend doubling-up in the fall, unless they have too many bees or more wealth tlian they know what to do with, for I never tliink of destroying a nice Italian queen, if I can find at least four good, full frames of bees to winter lier in. I live in so much of a honey district, that I hardly ever feed. I have in- creased from IS to 40 this season, and took about 2,000 lbs of honey. I shall winter on the summer stands, as usual. Columbus, Neb., Xov. 9, 1883. For the American Bee Journal, The Best Bees, Winter Packing, etc. E. P. CHURCHILL. This has been one of the best honey seasons here for years, though rather wet and cold in the spring, yet with proper care in early stimulative feed- ing, I got my bees strong for apple bloom, wliich they improved ; and, as I am in an orchard section, they took in a good quantity of nice honey. One very important question (which is often asked), is how to control swarming ? I know of but two ways, and that to only a certain extent ; first, get away from Italians, and work for extracted honey ; for when we ap- ply the sections to the Italians, out they go, even often witliout cells, and when they once get on a swarming rage, who can stop them V And when we come to extract from Italians, they cling to the combs so closely that it is no small job to go through a number of them. Does it not look as though we had gone a little too much for color? I think it has been over-done, many times, though I would not com- demn the yellow bees, for they have some desirable points. They are so gentle to handle, beautiful to look at, and stay on the combs remarkably ; 'et, when we come to shake them over he hive, what then V Instead of dropping off (as some complain that the blacks and hybrids do), they scat- ter all around tlie hive, and will not gather in half as fast as otliers. It is claimed by some that they breed later in the season tlian others, but I ^1 fail to see any difference in that re- spect. Again, the honey capped by them is not as nice as by others (even it they.stay to cap it). So, why can any one say they are so far ahead of others? I have reared queens for my own use from mv best liybrids, and until I am more dissatisfied with them, I shall uphold them for their good quali- ties. The bees are easy to handle, and when I give them a case of sections, I am quite sure to know where to find them. I believe we are working to disad- vantage by using such wide boxes, and also too light foundation. If any one doubts this, let him try a few sheets of thin foundation in brood frames, and see if they will not leave it until tliey are obliged to use it or go without, i have experimented con- siderably in this matter, and shall use thicker foundation for boxes, in the future. I shall also try a few cases with sections only a little more than one inch. I do not believe we know what can be done, any more than Mr. Sco- ville did, before he tried feeding bees all winter, and reported that they came through wonderfully well, for it has been the old story that bees must not be disturbed in winter. Who knows but that the Italians have more good reasoning powers than to think of accepting tliose thin sheets of foun- dation. This mav be the reason that the other bees do the best in boxes. I have been told by a large breeder and dealer in bees, etc., that he paid $8.00 for a queen, and, after testing her, sold her and a good strong colony for $9.00, and said they were the lazi- est bees he ever saw, and the yellow- I started with 11 colonies last spring; took 200 lbs. of extracted honey, and as much or more of comb honey, reared .S4 queens, and now have .33 good colo- nies. I have packed most of my bees in a new manner, and will tell you how it is. I slant a good shingle or board, not more than 10 inches wide, in front of the hive, so as to reach up about to the upper story ; then I shake bedding or meadow hay all up about the hive, most in front ;" then I stand a few ever- greens, not much taller than the hive, about this ; then I tie the buts of two long, slim sticks together, then take these around the whole, and have the tied cords come at one corner of the hive, and then tie the tops together. Now, I have a stay for the whole. I tuck under more broughs, and hay enough to make it perfectly dark, then roll in a few clusters of hay about the upper part, below the cover, and I feel that I have one of the best packings extent. No cold can get into the en- trances ill windy weather, nor snow to clog the entrance, nor is it so close as to smother them. I open the entrance about 3 inches. I am using mostly leaves for packing over the bees, and instead of a crooked stick over the frames. I make a rack of two pieces across the frames, one inch from the ends of the hive, then I nail strips on these, so as to hold up the packing. The end strips are about an inch high. These will not throw the division boards out of place. I al- low the one in at each end for room to crowd down packing, as it is always coldest at tlie ends, in a movable two- story hive, but I use mostly two-story chaff hives of my own make, and like them best of all. In this way of packing we can take off the covers, feed the bees, etc., if we wish, and it does away with the great loss of bees by flying, for they are so ct)ol that they do not know what the weather is outside. I think it next to a snow drift, only better, and the pack- ing will hold some of that when it comes. I do not say I know this to be an improvement, but I certainly think so. North Auburn. Me., Nov. 5, 1883. imixat and Boxu, ANSWERS BY James Heddon, Bowagiac, Mich. W In reply to Mr. A. J. Fisher, on page .564, 1 will say that after consid- erable experimenting the past season, we prefer our sections 1J| inches wide to be used without separators, es- pecially with the smaller-sized sec- tions. No doubt half size starters or pieces of foundation will guide them in sections as straightly as pieces of full-size, but no more so, if the full- size pieces are properly adjusted. A great reason for using full-size pieces in sections, is to prevent the building of drone comb there, in which the queen is very apt to lay, if we have none, or very little comb in the brood chamber, which is the case now with more progressive bee-keepers, who are using full sheets of worker foun- dation in all the brood frames. I do not think there is much, it any more danger of the queen breeding in thin than in thicker sections, as she de- posits her eggs at or previous to that point in the growth of the comb, when it is % thick. What prevents her from occupying it, is the tendency on the part or the bees to fill it with honey as fast as built. Yes; we find the thinner combs built straighter. Cellar Ventilation. I intend to winter my bees in a room partitioned off in the cellar, and intend to have a 2}^ inch pipe to go through the floor and connect with the stove-pipe. Will Mr. ■ Heddon please answer througli the " What and IIow " department of the Bee Jour- nal if it would be better to have a branch from the main pipe in the room, and have the main pipe go within a foot of the floor, and the other near the ceiling of the bee room, 596 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. so as to warm the air from the bottom and top of the bee room V Hamilton, Ont. A Subscriber. Answer. — Your stove above your cellar will not " warm " the air in any part of your bee room at all. Should that word warm not be draw ? Changing it thus, I would say that I would not use any branch to the main pipe ; I would run the main pipe to the bottom of the cellar, resting it up on legs, 5 or 6 inches, and I would prefer a pipe 5 or 6 inches in diameter. Good Qualities ©f Cyprian Bees. As they are often condemned for stinging so readily, I will enumerate their good qualities: 1. They never volunteer an attack on anything. You can pass the hive, and thev may alight on you. but they do not sting, i. They are superior honey-gatlierers. 3. Tliey winter better than any others. AVHien at the St. Louis fair, all thought them "the coming bee." When thev are pure, you can handle them with pleas- ure by using a little smoke. This is the second year that I have kept pure Cyprians, and I think them ahead of all others. I started the last season with 26 colonies — increased to 53, mostly by natural swarming. Though there was no fall honey, they go into winter quarters in good condition. On Oct. 7, two swarms of bees came to my apiary from a neighbor 4 miles away, wlio kept them on the old-fogy plan. I bived them and they are doing well. What caused them to swarm V Casey, 111. D. R. Kosebrough. [They were evidently dissatisfied with their surroundings, and, being disgusted with their condition, they concluded to seek other quarters.— Ed.] Bees Buried in a Clamp. My bees have done very well, this season. I have 33 colonies in fair condition. I am burying them in a clamp. W. W. Trussel. Colby, Mich., Nov. 12, 1883. Wintering Bees in Northern Kentucliy. The way I winter my bees, here in northern Kentucky, has proved a per- fect success every time, so far. I simply make a slied long enough to hold my bees, and about 6 feet wide, three sides sided up as tightly as pos- sible, leaving the side facing the southeast open. I then place on the ground about 3 feet of straw, then set the bench on top of the straw, which will sink down about level with the top of the straw, in a short time ; I then put on the hives, with tlie en- trance facing the southeast. This may not do in a colder part of the country, but here in Kentucky it does well, or at least it has done so with me. I have 3 colonies as good Ital- ians as I can get ; the rest in my apiary are liylirids ; although I am partial to the Italians, I must confess that the hybrids are the best honey gathers ; at least, mine are. Adron B'IIymer. Kenton Co., Ky., Nov. 11, 1883. Special Premium. Your correspondent H., in his re- port of the St. Joseph Inter-State Ex- position, omitted to mention the special premium for the best 30 pounds of comb honey on exhibition (J29.00), which was awarded to me. I think the report, as it stands, is hardly just to me. The entry upon which i took a second premium required quantity as well as quality. J. B. Stanclift. Brookfleld, Mo., Nov. 7, 1883. Too Large. At our Fair a " Monarch " bee hive was exhibited, but it is not a practical hive at all. 1. It is too large to be carried aroinid — and would require 2 men to move it at all. 2. It is too large for one colony to keep up the re- quired heat. 3. A man should be made of iron to manage an ajiiary of such. 4 The brood-chamber is large enough for 2 colonies ; it has apart- ments for extracted honey on top, and at one side of the brood-chamber it has 144 sections, quite enough for 2 hives. Beginners should be careful not to use such a hive. W. R. Stirling. Fairfield, Out., Nov. 12, 1883. Lath Hires. ^ly bees are all packed in sawdust in hives, which neighbor Clow and I use ; we make them of laths, and put 2 colonies in a hive. We use the Gallup frame, and can extend the hive, when the packing is removed from the sides, making room for 13 or 14 frames. Wlien the honey season is over, we take out the side frames, iind put in tiie division boards, which are made of laths, to make the hive porous; that leaves the hive 12x14 inches in- side. I leave 9 frames for winter, and crowd the liees on to them. I tlien put some % inch strips on the top of the frames, and cover all with burlap, then put sawdust on the top of the whole hive, to the depth of about 3 inches. The hive is 2 feet high, to receive surplus boxes. The space is all open up to the roof, which is made of shingles, which makes a good roof. Bees did not do very well this season ; we only had about half a crop. Two of my colonies gave' 1.50 pounds of comb honey in one-pound sections ; the others did not do so well. One of these qneens was a cross between the Cyprian and Italian ; the other a cross between the Cyprian and German or brown bee. They are both tolerably firey. Tlie one with the German blood makes the whitest coml)s ; tlie other has the most delicate and docile bees. I have but 22 colonies. I might have had more if had let them swarm. I use racks holding 30 pound boxes in each, which fills the top of the brood- chamber. I have no trouble in know- ing when sections are full, and no trouble to speak of in taking them off. D. C. McLeod. Pana, 111., Nov. 14, 1883. Honey Crop, Red- Headed Drones, etc. My bees are hybrids from Syrian, Italian and blacks. This year 1 com- menced with 28 colonies ; increased to •54, and extracted 2,800 pounds of honey. The least, from my poorest colony, being 30 pounds ; and "the most, from my best, a pure Syrian colony, was 160 pounds. This is the best I have ever done, with any kind of bees. The most serious drawback to the Syrians, is that it takes about 10 days before the young queen begins to lay. The bees go into the sections with "a will. Syrian queens need 2 more brood frames than any others. I could have had .5,000 pounds, this summer, if I had extracted every 4 days ; I only extracted 3 times in as many weeks. During the basswood bloom, I took 900 pounds in one day, just what the boxes held. I have 62 colonies in the cellar in good condition. I have sold my honey at home at an average of 11 cents per pound. I have a number of colonies which had red-headed drones. Where did they come from V I had 2 with white eyes. The queens are from a pure Syrian colony, and have half black and half red heads. F'ayette Lee. Cokato. Minn., Nov. 7, 1883. fRed-headed drones, as well as grey- headed ones, have been often men- tioned. It is simply a freak of na- ture.— Ed.] The Independent. The ablest religious and literary newspaper published. One-quarter to one-third larger, but the same price as its contemporaries. It has twenty-two distinct depart- ments, all good, many of them of superior excellence. Its literary department, embracing reviews, criticisms and notices of all new books published, contains 10 or 12 columns weekly, and has no superior in journalism. During the next few months The Independent will publish stories by William D. Howells, author of "Their Wedding .lourney," " A Modern In- stance," etc. ; W. E. Norris, author of "Matrimony," "No New Thing," etc. ; F. Marion Crawford, author of " Mr. Isaacs," "Dr. Claudius." etc.; J. S. of Dale, author of " (iuerndale"; Edward Everett Hale, author of "Ten Times One is Ten," etc. ; Julia Schayer, author of " Tiger Lily and Other Stories " ; Rebecca Harding Davis, Sarah Orne .Jewett, Fred. D. Story, Kate Upson Clarke, and others. Our readers who do not now subscribe for it should read the advertisement in another column, which gives sub- scription rates in full. Every one should at least send 30 cents for a month's " Trial Trip," and make its acquaintance. Address The Inde- pendent, New York City. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 597 Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. How to Create a Market for Honey. We have now published another edition of the pamphlet on "Honey as Food and Medicine," with more new Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price still lower, to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 5 cents, postpaid ; per dozen, 40 cents ; per hundred, $2.50. 500 will be sent postpaid for $10.00 ; or 1000 for $15.00. On orders of 100 or more, we will print, if desired, on the cover-page, " Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense — enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Try it, and you will be surprised. Subscription Credits. — We do not acknowledge receipt of each subscrip- tion by letter. The label on your paper, or on the wrapper, shows the date to which your subscription is paid. When you send us money, if the proper credit is not given you, within tv,o weeks thereafter, on your label, notify us by postal card. Do not wait for months or years, and then claim a mistake. The subscrip- tion is paid to the end of the month indicated on the wrapper-label. This gives a statement of account every week. Our New List of Premiums. Getting up Clubs for 1884. To increase the number of readers of the Bee Journal, we believe, will aid progressive bee-culture and help to elevate the pursuit. We, therefore, offer the following premiums for getting up clubs : While no subscription to the Bee Journal will be taken for less than the regular advertised prices (viz. : Weekly, $2.00 ; Monthly, $1.00),— any one getting up a club of two copies, or more, may select from " Ouu Book List " anything therein named, to the amount of 15 cents for every dollar they send direct to this office, to pay them for the trouble of getting up the club ; and these books will besent, postpaid, to any address desired. For a club of 3 Weekly or 6 Monthly and $6.00, we will make an additional present of a Pocket Dictionary, bound in cloth, containing 320 pages. For a club of 5 Weekly or 10 Monthly, (or a mixed club of both,) with $10, we will, in addition to the 15 per cent, present a copy of the AiNiERicAN "Popular" Dictionary, comprising every word in the English language that enters into speech or writing; it contains 32,000 words and phrases,670 illustrations and 512 pages; it is nicely bound in cloth, and will be sent by mail, postpaid, to any address desired. For a club of $20, for 10 Weeklies, or an equivalent in Monthlies, we will present, besides the 15 per cent, in books, a tested Italian queen, by mail, postpaid. Announcements for larger clubs will be made hereafter. Subscriptions for two or more years for one person, will count the same as each year for a different person. ^F To give away a copy of " Honey as Food and Medicine " to every one who buys a package of honey, will sell almost any quantity of it. 1^ Have you ever thought how much entertainment might be had at home evenings, if you could only find some way to use your chromo cards, photographs, scrap pictures, etc., in a magic lantern, instead of the old fa- miliar stock of glass slides V It seems almost like wishing for the impossible, and yet a cheap instrument has been invented for the purpose, called the Polyopticon, and you can learn all about it by enquiring of the Murray Hill Publishing Co., 129 E. 28th St., New York City. Hope for the Deaf.— In another col- umn will be found an advertisement with the above head. We have seen the descriptive book coming from this house, and judge from the testimonials therein contained that it is a very suc- cessful device to restore hearing. The book is sent free. It will well repay a perusal. Send for it. Bee Pasturage a Necessity. —We have issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to anyaddress for ten cents. THE AMERICAN POPULAR DICTIONARY. ^'0.\TAININ(J EVERY USEFUL WORD IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, With Ita Coriett SpelUne, Proper Pro- Dunclutloii, itiitl Xi'ue MeaniDK. ALSO, A VAST AMOUNT OF ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY INFORMATION UPON Science, Mythology, Biograpliy, A7nerican History. Constituti07is, Laws, Gro^vth of Cities, Colleges, Army and Navy, Rate of Mortality, Land Titles, Insolvent and Assignment Laws, Debts, Rates of Interest, and other Useful Knowledge, BEING A PERFECT LIB KARV OF REFERENCE IN ONE HANDY VOLUME. &1Z pages ; Cloth ; Utlt ; IlluBtrated. This Dictionary is our Premium for a Club of 5 subscribers to tlie Weekly (or its equivalent to tlie Monthly), in addition to other Books selected from our Catalogue to the amount of S1.50 ; all by mail, postpaid. A POCKET DICTIONARY Containing 330 pages, and over 25,000 Words, Rightly and Plainly Defined. To make the pronunciation easily understood every word is phonetically re-spelled, and the syl- lables and accents made perfectly plain, so that no one who consults this book can misa the proper word to use, and giving it proper pronunciation. This Dictionary is our Premium for a Club of 3 subscribers to tlie Weekly (or its equivalent to the Monthly), in .iddition to other Books selected from oiu Catalogue to the amount of $1.00 ; all by mail, postpaid. 598 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 1876. 0^lO""s7^1sr 1882. The best arranged IllVK fur all purptises in exietence. Took flrat premium at Si. Jjouis Fair in 1882 and IK-^S over all competitors. Descriptive Circular sent froe m all on applicatiim. Address. EL VI IV AKMSTUONG, Prop'r. of tbe Crown Bee Hivi' I'jictiirv and Apiary, JEKSKYVILI-E, ILL. APIARY FOR SALE. Evervthine complete; 55 Colonies in LanKstroth hives, well stored with honey, also new hives, sec- tions, frames, foundation, extractor, smoker, etc. Good location; abundant home market for honey from 5no colonies. Siatica compe'ls ine to sell. Address, A. U. UOLCOMB. 46A4t Bit WINNEBAGO. ILL. -fo:r BEES, aUEENS APIARIANIMPLEJIENTS, SEND FOIt CIRCULAR TO F1.ANAOAN < pages, bound in doth, by mail, post-paid, for S^il.OO per copy. Send for prospectus and our special Circulars describing three new and useful articles for the apiary. 47Atf HENRTAr.L.EY.WENHAM.MASS. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL AND BEE-KEEPKE'S ADVISER. The British BEE JouHNAi. is NOW published SEMI-MONTHLY, lit Seven Shillinii.t, per annum, and contains the best practical information tor the time being, showing what to do, and when and how to do it. Rev. H. K. P££L., Kditor. We send the Weekly American Bee JoruNAL and the British Bee Journal, both for I3.W a year. 1,IF£ INSXTRASICS THAT INSCKES. THE MUTUAL RESERVE FUND LIFE ASSOCIATION ! 55 JLIberty $tt., NEW^ YORK, and 113 Adums St., CHICAGO. Edwakd B. Harpeh, President. The CENTRAL Trust Company, of New York, Trustee "/ the Resen^e Fund. O. D. Baldwix. President Fourth Nat'l Bank, N. Y., Auditor of Death Claim Account. MEMBERSHIP NUMBER, 16,000. Total Business. Seventy Millions of Dollars. $100,000 to the Credit of the Reserve Fund. Reserve Fund— Selected Risks-Gnnded Rates — An open Ledger— A Trust Company as Trustee. ^" Agents wanted in Illinois. Address, J. H. KKOX, Oen*l Agt.. 45D3t 113 ADAMS ST., CHICAGO. The Bee-Keepers' Gnide; Or, MANUAI- OP THE APIARY. ID, GOG SOLD SINCE 1876. 11th ThMusnnd Just Out ! 10th Thousand Sold in Just Four Months ! More than .'So pages, and more than .">'> tine illus- trations were added in the >, I can UN orders at eSc, per pound •3. as per peck, or »1!S per bushel. Also, all other SEEDS for HONEY PLANTS. ALFRED H. NEWMAN, 923 West Madison Street, Chicago, III. To Every TO THE FIRE3I Subscriber PEOPLE'S JOURNAL Tlie TEOPLE'S FIRESIDE JOURNAL of New York. now In ita SIXTH ykar, la determined to lead the race Ir |ii-t;niiinii9. as It always lias done. In plvlnj; the best papei fur the money. In order to get the paper into every liomt .n the land, we give an luilucenient wlik-h canuot fail t( iccumplish our object. We have decided to make th( "ollowlng princely and magnificent offer to each and everj f^jaik-r of tliis paper. It is the connnon practice oftht cold and silver refiners of England and Switzerland tc purchase from the pawnbrokers of their respective coun tries all the gold and Bllver ■watches which have beet Unredeemed, simply fur the sake of the gold and silvei laacs. The works are then sold to a celebrated watct firm who have made a specialty of this bnalness. The fim places the works In the hands of BklUful workmen, whi Ket tn work and put tliem In as gund cnntlltlon ai ItnsBlble. These works cmbraro every variety of move m'?nt, some of them being very fiiio and perfect time keeper.s, all handsomely cased. We havk just purchasei THK KNTiRR STOCK ('25,000) of a bankrnpt concern of th< above described watches at less Xhan the first cost of th\ raw material. Ok UECKIPT OFj2.50wewni Bend TnK rEOPr.E's Fire sinB Journal for one year, and one of these wiitches prepaid to anyaddre^B In the United States or Canada W.\TCHE3 ANDFAFKH MAILED SAME PAY AS ORDIIR IS RE CKiVED. These wiitchrn are iiotBun dials or solar watchee but GKNDINE, GOOD TI.ME-KEKI'ING WATCHES, aild tllCJ will only be supplied to subscribers to the Firesidi Journal. Only one watch to each subscriber, anc you must cut out this advortlsooen t and send It to us at h voiiiher that you are entitled to the same. If you senc &i} ceiiis extra, wa will send you a handsome chain an( cliarm. We have thousands of testimonials, buthavi no splice to print them. Our reliability is undoubted, ai t'lo paper has been well and favorably kno^vn for sli vears. ifyou are not ENTIRELY satisfied when you ge the paper and watch, wo will return you the money or >uu can send 50 cents, and have the balance collecte( C. O. 1). if you choose, Ifyou will get n a 16 subscribers a $2.GJ eai-li, all of whom will get the above watch, we wU in addition send you n handsome GOLD watch for you) trouble, either for lady or gent. Our profit In this transaction la not going to come frort this trade, as we lose money on It ; but when we get sub •crlbera to our paper they like It so well they will alway; take It. Send postal note. Address, FZOFLE'S FIRESIDE JOUBITAL, Kc7 York Vandervort Comb Fdn. Mills, Seud for Suinples t.t: Seduced Prlce-l, and extracted has been dull so far. not only because of the large supply, but because manufacturers complain of dullness in their busi- ness. Consequently, we have reason to believe that the present slow market is temporary. The present state of the honev market gives our bee-keeping friends another chance for a disap- pointment, to-wit; That of over-production of comb honey another season. This is merely an idea of my own, and our friends may take it for what it is worth. Extracted honey brings 7@9c. on arrival. Best comb honey. 16^17c. in small sections. BBESWAX— Is of ready sale at 28®30 on arrival. CHAS. F. MCTTH. NEW YORK. HONEY— white clover and basswood In 1 and 2 lb. sections, 17®21c. Dark and second quality, H^l.sc. ; extracted white clover in kegs and bar- rels, aaioc; dark, 8c. BEBSWAX-Prime vellow, 27®29c. H. K. &F. B THURBERiCo. CHICAQO. HONEY— The market remains without change from that of last week. Dealers and retailers buy only enough to supply the demand for present use. It is impossible to place lots, or entire shipments, owing to the reluctance of dealers to buy in ad- vence of Immediate wants. Prices obtained for white comb in 1 lb. sections, 18@20c.: 1^ and 2 lb., l.scajisc, according to beauty of same. Extracted honey, M(»lOc. per lb., according to color, body and flavor. BEESWAX— Yellow, 330,; medium, 28®30c. B. A, BURNBTT, 161 South Water St. SAN KBANCISCO. HONEY— Market Is well stocked with ordinary ?ualities. Inquiry for the same is not active. Kor ancy comb it is an easy matter to secure custom. White to extra white comb, !6@IHc.: dark to good, 12@14c.: extracted, choice to extra white, 7^"i8^; dark and candled, 6Vi)(*7c. BBESWAX-Wholesale, 27O280. Stsarnb & Smith. €i3 Front Street. ST. LODIB. HONEY— Choice comb in light supply— fair de- mand and firm, at 15@17c,; dark, broken and poor- ly handled, dull at less. Strained and extracted steady at 6!,^(q)7!^c. ; choice In fancy packages more. BEESWAX- Better, at 28c. for prime. W. T. Anderson & Co.. lOt N. 3d street, CLBVELAND. HONE Y— Choice honey is in excellent demand now. Every lot received thus far In good order, has been sold on arrival; best 1 lb. sections bring- ing 18c. quickly, occasionally lite: 2 lb., I7C, with an occasional sale at 18. Second quality and brok- en lots are very hard to sell. Extracted honey not In demand. BEESWAX-28C. A. C. KEKBEL. 115 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is very quieton honey. We quote Ui('!;lHc. for iiest 2 lb. sections — lN4 by 3 inches, and labeled " Cobalt " was accompanied by a letter which I am sorrv to say has been mis- placed without" reply. The indica- tions are that in this latter there is genuine foul brood. Should be pleased to know again the corres- liondent sending the specimen. So far there is nothing to indicate a differ- ence between so-called malignant and mild types of the disease. Private re- plies have been sent to most of the receipts, but I here return many thanks for the specimens sent. T. J. Burrill. Champaign, 111.. Nov. 17, 1883. 612 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Bee-Keepers Produce the Beeswax. They are now the greatest consum- ers of "tliis one of their own produc- tion. In getting their wax to the foundation mills and back home, does it pay them to have the grocer, ped- dler," commission merchant and gen- eral dealer in wax, etc., each take a ' margin out of them ? Just tliink the matter over, and form correct conclu- sions. Jasies IIeddon. Dowagiac, Mich., Nov. 17, 1883. Poor Season for Bees. This has been a poor season tax bees here. We have had only a quarter of a crop of honey, and very little in- crease. It was so very dry that bees could get no nectar. Enclosed I send a plant on which bees work every morning. What is it V G. Hill.jie. Sohnlenburg, Tex., Nov. 17, 1883. [It is figwort, or the Simpson honey plant. — Ed.] Strange Bees. A negro man lately came to me and asked me to buy a bee tree he had foimd, near my "house. I bought tlie tree for 50 cents, and went to cut it. As bees had done so poorly, and had so little honey, I thought the combs would not break down, but every comb broke down, being so full of honey, and, to my astonishment, I noticed they were a strange kind of bees, being'larger than the common bee, and having one and two yellow bands around their bodies, and had between 30 or 40 lbs. of honey ; nearly twice as much as my home colonies have. I put them in a clean hive, and I am feeding the honey back to them for winter. They must be splendid honey-gatherers to get so much in such a year as this. They were no nearer the swamp than my bees. I know that bees have gathered all their honey from the swamp, this year. W. S. Douglass. Lexington, Tex., Nov. 10, 1883. Explanation, and Report for 1883. On page -548, of the present volume, you will see that I obtained 75,000 pounds of honey from 60 colonies of bees, spring count. That is a mis- take, omit one cipher and you will have the correct amount. That Dr. J. C. Thorn, of Streetsville, Ont., on page 563 of the present volume, did not understand how that was done, is no wonder. I can only say it was done, by adding a cipher. I will give my brief report for the season, just passed. After coming through the spring, by loss and selling, I found myself the possessor of 60 colonies of bees, most of which were in good con- dition. By the last of May, some of the hives were filled with bees to overflowing, and ready to swarm. Not being in favor of swarms on fruit blossoms, I commenced to equalize them by taking from the strong and giving to the weak ; in this way I kept back swarming until -June 15, wlien out came four swarms, followed by from one to five swarms a day, initil June 28, when I made what swarms I thought best by dividing. July 4 found me with 100 colonies, 90 of which were given sections, and 10 prepared for extracted honey (4 new and 6 old). The bees worked hard on clover, but the nectar was very thin) and they did not gain very fast. On July 20, basswood blossomed, and then the bees worked early and late, rain or shine, for 24 days, when all was over ; after which they hardly got as much as they consumed. Sept. 1, honey all taken". I find that I have 2,500 two-pound solid sections of white honey, and 2,500 pounds of ex- tracted, making a total of 7,-500 pounds of honey from 60 colonies in the spring. "This fall, I made by doubling my nuclei, 6 more. So that now, in all, I have 106 colonies in good condi- tion, packed in chaff for winter. J. H. Kennedy. Little York, N. Y., Nov. 19, 1883. My Report for 1883. As I did not make a spring report, perhaps it would not be out of place now. The first of June found me with .30 fair colonies, out of the 45 put in the cellar on Nov. 20, 1882. The second day of March was the only day between Nov. 20 and April 5 that the bees could fly. At that time every colony I had was suffering badly from dysentery, and a number of them were dead. As the day was warm and pleasant, I set them all out, and such a mess ! In a few minutes the snow was completely discolored, and you could smell it 10 or 15 rods from the yard. After an hour's flight, I began feeding them sugar-syrup, whicn I prepared and warmed by tipping up the front of the hive and pouring it in at the entrance, giving each colony 5 lbs. of syrup, which was all taken up before I set them in, in the evening. I saw no more of the disease during the rest of the winter. I set them out on April 5. Now for the results of my season's work : I took 2,000 lbs. of comb honey, in two-pound sections, and 1,2-50 lbs. extracted ; all from the Alsike clover and basswood. I in- creased to 56. The honey is mostly sold in my home market, at 15 and 20 cents per pound. My queens are all bred from Mr. Doolittle's best strain. Wsi. Beretsian. Geneva. N. Y., Nov. 18, 1883. My Surplus Arrangement. I have been a reader of the Bee Journal for one year, and think every one that keeps bees should have it, for it will more than pay. I see that most of the bee men use a case to hold sections. Some say I have the case, and no doubt of it ; others seem to doubt it considerably. I do not use a case at aU, nor separators either, and I have not had enough crooked or bulged sections for table use, this season. I do not say that I have the best surplus arrangement in existence, but one that is cheap, and any one can test it for themselves. I use a slot honey-board. Langstroth hive, and one-pound sections. The honey-board prevents the bees from gluing the outside of the section, ex- cept at the entrances. I place seven sections in a row. I have glass cut the size I use, 4i^x43^ ; I place one at each end of the row ; then take a com- mon rubber band or cord and stretch it around a row of sections and glass, and you have the arrangement com- plete. I use four rows or 28 sections tor one tier, and I tier them up 2, 3, and 4 high, using 112 sections on a hive at once, it needed. Bee men from several counties have visited my apiary this season, and iill like the arrangement first rate, and went home and tried it. One said, " It is the nicest thing I have ever tried." Another said, " I will never use another case, as long as I keep bees." Frank E. Thompson. Tiskilwa, 111., Nov. 16. 1883. From 8 to 20, and 500 lbs. Comb Honey. I commenced the season with 8 col- onies of black bees ; increased to 20, and got .500 lbs. of comb honey in two- pound sections ; for which I found ready sale at from 15 to 18 cents per pound, near home, and could have disposed of much more at the same price, if I had it to sell. I procured a tested Italian qiieen from Henry Alley ; introduced her early in July, and Italianized one-half my colonies later.iii the season. J. A. Black. Pleasant Mound, ni., Nov. 19, 1883. A Question for Mr. Stewart. On page 576 of the Bee Journal, is a very interesting article by Mr. W. H. Stewart, entitled, " Shall we Clip our Queens' Wings V" at the close of which he says : " If I were offering queens for sale as superior stock, I would compel the brood mothers to fly often, even if I had to toss them up to give them a start." I wish to ask him a question to illustrate the matter in a different light. Suppose that he had a brood mare from which he wished to rear colts noted for speed, would he consider it necessary or advisable, during foal, that she be driven at a high rate of speed, with a view of transmitting that quality to the offspring ? W. N. Howard. Derby, Vt., Nov. 19, 1883. The Michigan Convention. Dear Mn. Editor :— May I ask you to call special attention to our next annual meeting to be held in Flint, Dec. 5 and 6, of the Michigan Bee- Keepers' Association. We expect to have by far the best meeting ever held in the State. It is expected that the Rev. L. L. Langstroth will be present. To see and hear him will pay any one for the trouble and expense incident to the journey. We also expect D. A. Jones, A. I. Boot, C. F. Muth. and hope to have C. C. Miller and T. G. Newman. From what I hear, Michi- gan bee-keepers are to be out in force. Hotel rates are to be $1.00 a day. Fur- ther particulars as to programme, will be given soon. We expect to get re- duced rates on the railroads. To aid in this, and that I may know how many certificates on railroads to ask for, will every .one in this or other States who expect to come, drop me a card at once to that effect V A. J. Cook, Preside^U. [Sorry we cannot attend.— Ed. | THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 613 ^pf^cial gloticcs. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 2.5 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. How to Create a Market for Honey. We have now published another edition of the pamphlet on "Honey as Food and Medicine," with more new Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price still lower, to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 5 cents, postpaid ; per dozen, 40 cents; per hundred, $2.50. 500 will be sent postpaid for $10.00 ; or 1000 for $15-00. On orders of 100 or more, we will print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense— enabling him to dispose of his honey at honie, at a good profit. Try it, and you will be surprised. Our ^ew List of Premiums. Subscription Credits. — We do not acknowledge receipt of each subscrip- tion by letter. The label on your paper, or on the wrapper, shows the date to which your subscription is paid. When you send us money, if the proper credit is not given you, within tv o weeks thereafter, on your label, notify us by postal card. Do not wait for months or years, and then claim a mistake. The subscrip- tion is paid to the end of the month indicated on the wrapper-label. This gives a statement of account every week. Getting up Clubs for 1884. To increase the number of readers of the Bee Journal, we believe, will aid progressive bee-culture and help to elevate the pursuit. We, therefore, offer the following premiums for getting up clubs : While no subscription to the Bee Journal will be taken for less than the regular advertised prices (viz.: Weekly, $;2.00; Monthly, $1.00),— any one getting up a club of two copies, or more, may select from " Our Book List " anything therein named, to the amount of 15 cents for every dollar tliey send direct to this office, to pay them for the trouble of getting up'. the club ; and these books will be sent, postpaid, to any address desired. For a club of 3 Weekly or 6 Monthly and $6.00, we will make an additional present of a Pocket Dictionary, bound in cloth, containing 320 pages. For a club of 5 Weekly or 10 Monthly, (or a mixed club of both,) with $10, we will, in addition to the 15 per cent, present a copy of the American "Popular" Dictionary, comprising every word in the English language that enters into speech or writing ; it contains 32,000 words and phrases, 670 illustrations and 512pages; it is nicely bound in cloth, and will be sent by mail, postpaid, to any address desired. . For a club of $20, for 10 Weeklies, or an equivalent in Monthlies, we will present, besides the 15 per cent, in books, a tested Italian queen, by mail, postpaid. Announcements for larger clubs will be made hereafter. Subscriptions tor two or more years for one person, will count the same as each year for a different person. ®° To give away a copy of " Honey as Food and Medicine " to every one who buys a package of honey, will sell almost any quantity of it. Bee Pasturage a Necessity. — We have issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to anyaddress tor ten cents. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 per 100. A Chance for Fun.— The " latest thing out " in the way of something to afford home amusement for winter evenings, or a side show for church fairs, consists of a sort of Magic Lan- tern that does not require pictures on glass. The Polyopticon, as it is called, because it will show up so many different things, makes use of ordinary newspaper pictures, family photographs, chromo cards, home- made sketches, etc., and thus affords a new use for the collections of pretty cards, which so many have been in- dustriously making. Though pat- ented, it can be made and sold at one- fourth the price of a good Magic Lantern. Descriptive circulars can be ob- tained of the Murray Hill Publishing Co., 12f» East 2Sth St., New York City. t^ It would be a great convenience to us, if those sending us Postal Notes or Money Orders, would get the issu- ing Post-master to make them pay- able at the " Madison Street Station, Chicago, m.," instead of' simply "Chicago." If they are drawn on Chicago, they go to the general office, and we have to make a trip of six miles to get them cashed ; but if they are drawn on the Station as above, it is only a few steps from our office. When sending us money, if you will please remember this, you will much oblige the publisher. ®" Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra (^ We need the numbers of the Bee Journal for August, 1866, and April, 1876. Any one having them to spare, are requested to send us a Pos- tal Card. We will give 25 cents for each. Do not send them without writing, for we want only one of each ; and, if we are not already supplied, we will take them. i^Speak a word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at least one new subscription- with your own V Our premium, " Bees and Honey," in cloth, for one new sub- scriber to the Weekly, or two for the Monthly, besides your own subscrip- tion to either edition, will pay you for your trouble, besides having the satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bee Journal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. ^° It must be understood that, should an advertiser desire to cancel an unexpired oontract, he can do so only by paying regular rales for the number of insertions his advertise- ment has had. 614 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. SPECIAL PREMIUM! A NEW HIVE. Arranged for continuous combs and couttnuous passage-ways. Will bo found a pleasure to work with, and can be easily nnd rapidly managed. For comb honey it is without a rival, and as an inven- tion, is second only in that of movable brood frames. Guaranteed to Give Satisfaction. SEND FOE PRICE LIST AND CIRCULAS. Address, DR. O. 1.. TINK.EK, +4Atf NEW PHILADELPHIA. O. DR. FOOTE'S HAND BOOK OF HEALTH, Hints and Ready Recipes. Is the title of a very valuable boolc that gives a great amount of information of the Utmost Im- Eortance to Everybody, concerning their daily abits of Eating. Drinking. Dressing, Sleeping, Bathing. Working, etc. It Coels only TWEXTY-FIVE CENTS. and contains 38 pages, and Is seat by mall* post-paid, on receipt of price. This Is just the Book that every family should have. IT TELLS ABOUT Five Octaves, foiir sets of Reeds of two aud one-lialf octaves each, eight hand and two knee stops, as follows : diapason. mei^-ooia, ceiTeste, echo UORN. trebx^e fort, bass fokte» vior.A. DULCET. KNEE SWE1.I*, ORAND OROAN. Height, 5 feet 11 inches; width, 4 feet 2 inches; depth, 3 feet; weight, boxed, 350 lbs. This Organ is unexcelled for purity of tone, durability and beauty, and is fully war- ranted for five years. 1^° This Organ will be shipped to the order of any person sending us a Club of One Hundred Subscribers to the Weekly Bee Journal, accom- panied by $200.00 Cash, or its equivalent of Monthly and Weekly Subscriptions combined. This liberal offer will remain open until June 1, 1KS4, and presents a fine opportunity to energetic persons to secure a handsome Organ without cost. Subscriptions and remittances may be sent in at any time, and will be credited to this Premium, when so stated. What to Eat. How to Eat it. Things to Do, Things to Avoid, Perils of Summer, How to Breathe, Overheating Houses, Ventilation. Influence of Plants, Occupation for Invalids, Superfluous Hair, Restoring the Drowned, Preventing Near-Sight- edness. Parasites of the Skin, Bathing— Best way, Ijungs ix Lung Diseases, How to Avoid them. Clothing— what to Wear, How much to Wear, Contagious Diseases, How to Avoid them. Exercise. Care of Teeth. After-Dinner Napa, Headache, cause & cure, Malarial Affections, Croup— to Prevent. Barnes' Combined Foot-Power Saw, Gift Saw. 2 Mandrels. 2 Emery Wheels, 3 Cutter Heads. Total cost. $52. (ki. I will sell at 4ii per cent, discount. Also one Mandrel, for power. |.'i. V. W. KEENEY, 48A2t SHIRLAND. ILL. Vandervort Goml) Fdn. Mills, Send for Sample. ;i W. Madison, CHICAGO, ILL. SAMPLE SECTION RACKS. -In answer to many inquiries. I will furnish samples of the section I rack I use for 7-ic. T. E. TURNER. Sussex, Wis. IT TELLS HOW TO CURE Black Eyes. Boils. Burns, Chillblains, Cold Feet, Corns, <^oughs. Cholera. Diarrhoea, Diphthera. Dys- entery. DandrutT. Dyspepsia. Ear Ache. Felons. Fetid Feet, Freckles, Headache, Hiccough. Hives. Hoarsness. Itchins, Inflamed Breasts. Ivy Poison- ing. Moles, Pimples. Piles. Rheumatism, Ringworm, Snoring. Stammering. Sore Eyes, Sore Mouth. Sore Nipples. Sore Throat, Sunstroke. Stings and Insect Bites. Sweating Feet, Toothache. Ulcers, Warts, Whooping Cough, Worms in Children. It will Save Doctor Bills ! Price only 25 Cents. Sent by Mail, post-paid, by THOMAS O. NE'WMAIV, 925 West Madison Street, CHICAGO, ILL. THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. A Practical Journal for Aiiiat«iirs. Tells about work of all kinds for Boys and Girls- Lathes. Scroll Saws. Microscopes, Telescopes, Boats, Athletic Sports, Experiments, Pets, Bees, Poultry, etc., etc. Finely Illustrated. $1.00 per year. Specimens Free. The followinK Books are New, Therongrb. Reliable and Cheap. They contain as much matter as most of the books which sell at 12.50 and $5.00. Practical Carpentry. By F. T. Hodgson. Over 300 Illustrations. The best book on the subject ever issued $1.00 The Steel Square and Itn U»ei>. By F. T. Ilodtrson. Over 7-> Enf^ravinKS. Shows how the Square may be used for Solving almost every Problem in Carpentry 1.00 Hand Sawn; Their Use. Care, and Abuse. How to Select and How to File Them for all kinds of Work. By F. T. Hodgson. Over 75 Engravings LOO Plaitter and Plaaterlne ; Mortars and Ce- ments. How to Make and How to Use Them. With a Glossary of Terms. Numerous En- gravings and .i Fine Plates. By F. T. Hodgson 1 .00 The Builder's Guide and E»llmator*« Price Bonk. By F. T. Hodgson. The most Complete Work of the Kind Published 2.00 Any of the above Mailed Free on Receipt of Price. Send for Laroe Descriptive Catalogue. INDUSTRIAL PTTBLICATION CO., 48A0t S»4 Broadway, New York. csiy Jourital, DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF THE PRODUCERS OF HONEY. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., DECEMBER 5, 1883. No. 49, PnbliMhed everj Werlnnsday. by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor anp Proprietor. Northwestern Convention— Hints. We liave received the following letter from Mrs. L. Harrison, the Vice-President of the Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Society, offering a few hints concerning tlie next Convention: Dr. Newman. — Dear Sir: I feel as though I was indebted to yon for the pleasure and profit deri\ed from the late Northwestern Convention, The air of the hall, at one time during the first day, became so impure that I was obliged to leave the room, and I thought, as I had seen Mr. Laiag- strotli, I would take the first train for home, and say nothing about it, as I would only lie lauglieil at, and calletl hystericy if I did. i^ou then opened the windows, and relief came. It miist be apparent to you, as well as others, that after discussions have been prolonged from an-hour-and-a- half to two-hours, that the audience becomes dull and lifeless, but if a re- cess of 1.5 minutes occurs, and the door is opened, which forms an ex- cellent draught, the hall is cleared of impure air ; and wlien business is again resumed, all engage in it with a keen zest. On the second day of the Convention, the air was as pure in the hall as it was out of doors. Permit me to say to those who were not in atttendance, that they missed a rare treat, by not being there. All present seemed to have come to get and impart information, and a univer- sal good-fellowshi[i prevailed. More ladies were present than at any Bee Convention I ever attended ; and it is to be lioped that all those who were not able to bring their wives and daughters with them this year, will keep a few more bees another season, for the express purpose of paying their expenses to the re-union of 1884. When we are having blanks printed —for to save time in' the election of officers— would it not be well, to have some printed for statistics '? LuciNDA Harrison. Peoria, 111. The points made by Mrs. Harrison are well taken. On the second day of the Convention we liad one or two of such recesses, and noticed their good results. It will be well for the oHicers of the many Conventions, whidi will be held within the next few weeks, to take the hint. A few minutes for recreation and social conversation among those present, in every hour during the sessions,, will be iiroduc- tive of more good than long and con- tinuous sessions, without such a re- cess. We second the motion for Ijlanks to be circulated in the meeting upon which the statistics can be taken from all in attendance. Several were not present at the session when the sta- tistics were taken at the last meeting in Chicago, and they were not, there- fore, included in the table. This sug- gestion, if carried out, will enable the Secretary to obtain all the statistical information desired, from all those who are in attendance. Pure ' saying that we li.v.d claimed too much "for the Italian bee, Imt yet, in his opinion, the Italian still stands at the head of races. The principal reason was, that tliey had been improved in this country by great (!are in breeding them. Ilis ex- perience witli Cyprians had not been good. Tliev lireed so late in the fall, and hold drones so late, that they used up too much honey uselessly. The tendency to late breeding, in bees, was good, but the Cyprians over- did the business. He had no doubt that the introduction of tliis new blood, crossed with Italians, might re- sult in improvement. Mrs. Thomas was quite in sympa- thy with the views of the last speaker. Tliere was something good in each race. She felt an attachment to the black bee, but not for honey. She had learned, in a visit to Mr. Alley, that he considers tliem best as nurses for queen-rearing. She thought the Ital- ians, Cyprians and Syrians were very similar. She liad seen the Italians in their own homes, and slie had noticed that they do mucli better in this country. She reported that she had taken an average of 100 lbs. to the hive, the past season, and 1.'50 pounds from each of 2 colonies. She thouglit the honey industry in its infancy, and thought that its importance ought to be brought to the attention of the public, particularly at fairs. She said the managers of fairs needed to be in- formed, so that they might know what arrangements to make to insure proper exhibitions of bees and honey. She had been judge for a long time in tlie Department of Industrial Insects and their Products, such as honey- bees and silk-worms, of the Pennsyl- vania State Agricultural Society. Everything has more attention given to it than bees. To illustrate the want of knowledge in the managers of this industry, she said there was a premium offered for the best honey extracted in the presence of the com- mittee. The Secretary said that he was much interested in the President's report, and inucli surprised at it. He had liad (piite extensive experience with the two new races of bees, but found that they could carry only about half tlie load of honey of an Italian ; that tlieir tongues were shorter, and that they were exceed- ingly unpleasant to handle on account of their stinging ability. His queens were imported ones, direct from Mr. Jones. He believed that most of the stock sold for Cyprian or Syrian bees, were extensively crossed with Ital- ians, and that they were gooil and de- sirable in proportion to the Italian blood in them. Mr. Cunkey could substantiate the statement tliat the Syrians were easy to get oft' the combs, but they all went into the air, and directly for your face. Mr. Cook had exhibited bees at the New Jersey State Fair at great trouble and expense, and loss of bees, with little competition, and without much encouragement. He had come to the conclusion that it was impracticable to exhibit bees at fairs. Mr. Tompkins said th.at if the busi- ness were properly presented to the managers of the State Fair, he had no doubt but that the proper arrange- ments would be made by them for ex- liibits, that would be satisfactory and advantageous. He had read of bees being an annoyance, at a fair in Ohio, to those who kept confectionery staiuls. Provision ought to be made by the exhibitors of bees to avoid such things. The v>td)lic ought to be instructed about the honey industry. Statistics ought to be gathered, and could be, and ought to be circulated so as to give the industry its proper influence. Mrs. Thomas said it was perfectly practicable to exhibit bees in the midst of an exliibition, if the bees were given an outlet through a long tube, as she had seen it done, and it formed the most interesting part of the fair The President said the greatest dirticnlty in the way of proper encour- ageinen't by the agricultural societies, was that the business is not appre- ciated by the public. Tlie managers would provide for anything in which the people were inUn-ested. The rea- son that liorse-racing was the princi- pal jiart of agricultural fairs, was be- cause the public demanded them. We must begin with tlie people ; we must educate them. Mr. C'ook moved that a committee of three be appointed by the Chair, to G22 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. draft a list of premiums and present them to tlie managers of desirable agricultural societies and endeavor to get them incorporated into the cata- logues of those societies Passed. The meeting then adjourned, for lunch, till 2 p. m. AFTERNOON SESSION. Tlie following new members were enrolled : P. F. Reiman, I'edrick- town, N. J. ; C. AV. M. Burroughs, Hillsboro, N. J. ; E. K. Dean, Amenia Union, N. Y. ; W. B. Treadwell, Riv- erdale, N. Y. The following was then read by Mr. J. II. M. Cook, of Caldwell, N. J., on THE SPEING MANAGEMENT OF THE APIARY. I select the subject of spring man- agement because I believe that this is the season when our bees reqiure the most careful attention, and that our crop of honey will depend very much on the skillful management of the apiary at this season. I use the term apiary because I think that a large number of colonies can be man- aged to better advantage than a few, and if I can be the means of eliciting your hearty discussion and severe criticism, I will not have written in vain. I will state that the object to be obtained, and for which the meth- ods described directed, is the produc- tion of comb honey. I advance no idea, but such as I have put to a prac- tical test, and proven successful. A\^e will suppose that our bees have been wintered on their summer stands, as is the usual practice in New Jersey, and are in fait condition. We cannot expect tliat they will all be in equally good condition — at least, I have never found tliem so. There are numerous causes to create this difference in our colonies, which we cannot control ;is we would like, and we must take facts as they fire. I would make a general inspection of the colonies, about the 20th of March, or as soon as the weather is warm enough to allow the bees to fly and I'e- tiirn to their hives, without being chilled, and ascertain their condition, making a note of it for future refer- ence. :md remove all drone comb, if any lias Ijcen allowed to remain. If any arc found short of stores, they should be supplied. This can be done by removing the empty combs, and replacing theni with full ones, or combs tilled with s;igar syrup. If any are queenless, they must be supplied with queens in soine manner, being careful to I'eturu the chafi' or other pac'king to keep out the cold wind. I do not think much of upward \ en- tilation at this season. If we are sure that all have plenty of stores, we need not visit them again until the weather is settled and "warm enougli to remove the packing, and otherwise clean the hive, which we can generally do about the middle of April. AVe are then ready to commence the cam- paign. The old adage of the plow- man, "To make liasle slowly," is equally aiiplicable to the bee-keeper, as it is very injurious to expose our bees to cold in early spring. We should now examine each hive about once a week, .spread the brood and place a comb of uncapped honey in the centre, which will cause the bees to feed the queen, and induce her to lay more eggs, and also give her an opportunity to lay in the centre of the brood-nest." Butthe spreading of the brood must lie done with care and judgment, as the brood will get chilled, if the colony is not strong with bees. I would not advise spreading it if there is not brood in four frames, and then not to place in more than one comi) in tlie centre. The stronger the colony, the faster you can increase it. " Ifnto him that hath shall be given.'" By this means we will get our large colonies strong enough to receive liie surplus boxes in fruit-blossom time. As the fruit-blossoms are beginning to open, I would put the sections oh all colonies that have the brood-cham- ber three-fourtlis full of brood, and well-fllled with bees. Place sections only on top, using only those sections tilled with comb remaining over from last year, as we must not expect them to biiild much comb thus early in the season. If we feed a little just before fruit blossoms, it will be w-ell, as the queen will lay faster, and the bees will fill the empty cells of the brood-cham- ber, and be compelled to store all the fruit-blossom honey in the sections. I have, .in this way. secured 2-5 pounds per hive of choice fruit-blos- som honey in sections. If the pros- pect of fruit-bUissom honey is good, it will, perhaps, pay to double up some colonies which are too weak to go into the sections. This I would do by taking one frame each from several strong colonies, and adding them to the weaker ones, that we wish to box, but. unless the prospect is good, it will not pay as it weakens the others very materially. During the last of fruit blossoms, we may expect our first swarms from the stronger colonies, and I W'ould al- low tiiem to swarm naturally at this season, as I wish to secure all the queen-cells fully matured as early as possible, in order to form nuclei for queens. When the early swarms is- sue. I hive .them upon the old stand on frames of foundation, or, which is better, on combs, putting the surplus sections from the old hive upon the swarm, and removing the old colony, and I divide the brood and remaining l)ees into as many nuclei as possible, giving each a (|ueen-cell and two frames of brood, and place them wliere we wish our increase to stand. In this way I would manage all my earl>- swarms until I have about as maiiy nuclei as I expect increase of colonies, and as there is generally a scarcity of honey till white clover, it is well to feed tlu' nuclei ; and I will say here that I would not attempl to increase to more than one-half the number of old colonies, as we must keep our colonies strong if we would have l)ox honey. When I have about enough nuclei formed, I continue to hive upon the old stand, placing the sections upon the new swarms as before, but instead of forming nuclei, I divide the brood among the stronger of the weak colonies, and if I have queens that are old and useless, I de- stroy them and introduce my best queen-cells. The addition of the brood to the weaker colonies will pre- pare them for boxing. As soon as my old hives are all well- tilled with brood, I would continue to hive upon the old stand as before, and divide the brood among the nuclei, which, by this time, will have young laying queens, and if we add brood, we can build them up very fast, and soon prepare them for box- ing also, and from these young queens and hives filled with brood, we may expect a fine yield of honey. As the clover season is just open- ing, we should look over all hives which have not swarmed, and swarm all which have started queen-cells with eggs in them preparatory to swarming, putting on the sections, and dividing the brood among the nuclei. After the fruit blossoms have past, I would not put the sections on until the colony had swarmed, or. at least, until the clover season is well ad- vanced, for if we keep the sections oft, they will sw;u'm sooner, and I like to get the swarming done up be- fore the height of the clover season. The Secretary asked Jlr, Cook if he was reallt/ sure "that he had ever seen a great advantage to a colony whose brood was "spread" in the "spring, over an ecpially good colonv having plenty of honey, but which liad been allowed to have its own way with arranging its brood. Mr.'Cook replied that he very de- cidedly had. The Secretary said that he could not be sure that he ever had, although he had practiced the plan of spreading brood. He had no doubt that uncapping honey in the hive, hastened the production of early brood. Mr. Root was desired to give his opinion on this matter, and he said, that although we were sometimes apt to be too anxious to hasten bees in the spring, everything must be done that can be doiie judiciously to get the colonies very strong by the time tlie harvests comes on. This was the most important part of bee-keeping. He could winter bees well enough. He did not ask to be able to do it better, but it was a sub- ject of most anxious inquiry to him, how to get his bees strongest as soon as he needed them. The hive must be adapted to this purpose. He did not "leave in all the combs, and the hive must be able to be closed up warmly to what was left.. Here was the great imi)ortance of a correct size and shape of frame. There was a great disadvantage in the long shal- low frame, now attempted to be forced uimhi the bee-keeping public as a standard. The frames must allow the bees to arrange the brobd within a spherical cluster. The cause of the distinguished suc- cess of Julius Hoffman, who was one of the most aide bee-keepers in the country, was largely due to his frame, his division-boards, and his enameled cloth spread tightly over the tops of the frames. He uses a frame 11 or 12x14 inches, and eight of them in a hive — a grand hive. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 623 A great disadvantage in tlie old Langstroth liive was, the shallow % inch air-chamber over the top of the frames, allowing a circulation of air over the tops of the frames. Bees wintered better in box hives, and we ought to make movaVile frame hives resemble their good features as far as possible. In the box hive every comb makes a division-board, tightly fitting at the sides and top, so as to allow no circulation of air anmnd or over the liees. To a question, asking if Mr. Hoffman left the enameled cloth on during winters, he answered that he did. He wintered in a very peculiar manner in a depository so warm that the bees hung out over the outside of the hive all the time. He said, if Prof. Ilasbrouck had asked him the same question he put to Mr. Cook, he would have answered, uiKjuestionably he had seen very freat benefit from spreading the rood. But it must be done with treat care. If the bee-keeper could now certainly just when he would need the bees, there would be little difficulty by manipulating the brood to have "jus't what he wanted on time. If one could see the pile of waxed barrels which he had prepared for buckwheat and fall honey, which were still empty, he would have some idea of the uncertainties of bee-keep- ing. He said honey ought to be kept in frames to feed in the spring. The ■capping should be broken, and then the frames should be placed between the brood. There had been much talk about cheap food for feeding bees. Bee- keepers ought to step on the idea of feeding glucose. The public would get the impression that it was fed to make honey. A good thing about it was, that it does not pay to feed glu- cose. It does not pay to feed honey back, and he was glad it did not. He next referred to the position of Mr. (look's paper on natural swarming. He said the box hive was years in ad- vance of natural swarming, and if he used the box hive, lie would not allow Ills bees to swarm naturally. Much was said about the extra eiiero;y of natural swarms. This reason of this was. that they had nothing else to do but to store honey. If you accept the motto, "give every liive a good prolific queen," you kill natural swarming. To a question by Mrs. Thomas, he said, that honey just gathered con- tained 70 per cent, of water, and that if this was evaporated artificially, it was exactly the same as honey evaporated by the" bees in the hive, while the bees w'ere saved much labor. That Mrs. Cotton's feed undergoes no change in the process of its being stored by the bees. If the bees gather molasses, they store molasses. If glucose, they store glucose. It seemed a sad thing to him. when the editor of a bee paper of considerable influence said that by feeding glucose you olitain honey — not something like honey— it was honey." Being asked to explain further aViout his experience in the artificial evaporation of honey, he said tliat when Mr. Quinby first heard of cen- trifugal force applied to honey combs, he improvised an extractor imme- diately, from parts of a fanning mill. At first they had practiced extracting from a small hive, and then letting it stand till it was again filled, and the honey capped. They next tried a large hive with many combs, allowing the bees to spread out the honey, over a large surface, with but little in a cell. They found that in that way they obtained a decided increase of honey. They next concluded that all the bees did "to ripen the honey, was to evaporate the water which they noticed would be left hanging to th"e cover of the hives in large drops. The next step was to prepare an ar- rangement by which the honey taken from the hive as soon as gathered could be spread out to the air, while it was raised to a high temperature by an oil stove, so that the bees would be saved the great labor which was wearing them out rapidly. He found that he could thus secure a much greater quantity of honey. His ma- chine was much in construction like the evaporators of maple syrup. He keeps the water under it at 7.5^. He runs it twice over the machine. He has honey thus evaporated which has been kept 2 years without candying. Dr. Phin, editor of the Journal of Microscopy, asked in what way honey evaporated this way was less artificial than maple syrup evaporated in an evaporating pan 'i* Mr. Root replied, that this honey was in no respect dif- ferent from that ripened in the hive by the bees. Prof. Cook had said that the bees add an acid in ripening the honey, but had finally admitted that ripening was only a process of evaporation of the water contained in the honey. Although he had great respect for the opinion of Dadant & Son, yet he l)elieved that his honey evaporated by his plan was not inferior to any produced by their system. Mr. Cook asked how he would pre- vent swarming V He answered that there was no trouble in preventing natural swarms, when bees were run for extracted honey. When taking box honey, his aim is to have all the increase of bees he can in the hives without an increase of colonies, and prevent the desire for swarming. He accomplishes this by removing a card of brood and supplying its place with empty comb or foundation. A good prolific queen, one not already ex- hausted by laying, is a preventive of swarming. jS^o system of practice in taking box- honey" will prevent swarm- ing. He was glad that Mr. Cook ad- vised allowing natural swarming at first to obtain queen-cells. Mrs. Thomas, in speaking of the paper, said she never put on surplus boxes till the hive was filled with honey. Swarming comes to bees as blossoms to flowers. In contracting brood-nest in tlie spring, she used division-lioards of card-boards, cut by machinery to fit the inside of the hive closely. Mr. 'Hutchinson said tliat allowance must be made in adopting the prac- tice of others, for the difi'erence of locality, which was illustrated by the fact that the canal near Mr. "Root opened May 10, while the one near himself opened on March 20. The next paper was then read by the Secretary, on HANDLING BEES. This 'term is significant of the dif- ference between the old bee-keeping and the new. formerly there was no such thing as liandling bees while alive, except to set them over the brimstone pit, but with the introduc- tion of movable combs, bees have been •' handled " and " handled," and often handled to-death. I think I am safe in saying that " handling bees " is, in itself, always a detriment to them— more or less— and that a hive of bees should never be opened unless there be a positive necessity either to learn' its condition, or to perform some operation which, in its effect, will benefit them more than the handling will do them injury, or to take away the surplus for which they are kept." Moreover, handling bees takes time and labor, and the bee- keeper must economize these by spending none which necessity does not demand. From considerations of this econ- omy of labor, if for no other reason, I woiild prefer natural swarming to any system of artificial increase. I am not a believer with Mr. House, in his part of " Alley's Handy Book," that a bee-keeper must be able to tell the condition of every colony from the outside appearance. I must con- fess that after a pretty extensive ex- perience, my opinion passed in that way would be about as valuable as my estimate of the quantity of money in a trunk, by looking at the cover. While I believe a man must look inside to see how it is with a colony, yet any man who is cut out for a bee- keeper must be able to tell by a rapid examination in the spring, accurately the condition of every colony then, and what help each needs, and after- wards by means of his record he must be able to judge just when and what kind of attention each colony will again need, and, except for that, I consider it necessary for their great- est prosperity, that they be left abso- lutely alone. It is a fo'rtunate era for the bees of a beginner, when he gets so many colonies, that lie is not able " to go through them " every few days for some imaginary purpose. Admitting that it is necessary that a colony of bees shoidd be over-hauled sometimes, let us consider the whole- some restrictions and limitations of this operation. First, I should say that bees ought not to be opened in cold and disagreeable weather. I am convinced that disturbance at such times, is one cause of that most an- noying of accidents to a colony, the balling and killing of a queen by her own subjects. Several years ago a gentleman came to me one cold dis- agreeable day in April to get me to go and look at llis bees, which he wanted to sell. He opened seven hives to show them. In just a week we had about agreed on the price, and I went to look them over to see that they were yet all right. Six out of the seven colonies liad queen-cells which they had just begun to cap, showing that the queen had been killed on the 624 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. day of the previous examination. Again, early last spring, a gentleman called upon me on much the same kind of a day to get a queen. I opened colony after colony, at least five or six, and every time found the bees balling the queen. These are a couple of a great many instances which I could give, where I have found queens called when the only explana- tion I could give was disturbance in bad weather. Mr. Doolittle has lately said that in exposing brood in cold weather, it is very easily* chilled, so that the Itees remove it. I have never observed the fact, but can readily be- lieve that it is the case. 2. At times when bees are not get- ting honey rapidly, they should not be opened in the middle of the day,- which is the time usually recorii- mended by the books for working with bees. As soon as the frames of a colony are exposed at such times, a number ot bees, industriously forag- ing around to find honest work, are attracted by the smell of honey. The smoke of the operator helps them to gain an entrance into the open hive, and a taste of the coveted sweets, and the mischief begins. Constantly in- creasing crowds follow him around, and force themselves recklessly into every hive he opens, exciting the bees with which he is working to fury in stinging, and going themselves to al- most certain death. The whole yard is soon in an uproar, and a battle is begun which continues, at least, for the remainder of the day, and whose victims lay in piles of thousands at every entrance, and often include queens as well as subjects. I suppose, at such times, a movable tent is a kind of protection against robbing, but I regard it as an encumbrance which is perfectly useless, if a little care is observed to leave all necessary manipulations to the proper times of the day. The evening, I consider the proper time, par excellence, for liand- ling bees. They are strict believers Ib the old adage, " Early to bed and early to rise." When the sun is yet a half-hour high they begin to knock off work and gather quietly at home, and it must be something extraordi- nary which will tempt them away much after this time, unless they are educated to bad habits. Home seems to have a soothing effect upon them as well as upon the human species. Now is the time to do with them what is necessary to be done, and by lively work, everything necessary in seasons of robbing, even in a large apiary, and even where queen-rearing is made an extensive speciality, can easily be done. Of course there would not be time in a large apiary, for putting on boxes and taking of surplus and ex- tracting, but such work is done only when honey is coming in, when one can work at any time of day, without danger from robbers. It is surprising to one who has never tried it, with what ease and success, queens of all kinds, virgin as well as fertile, can be smoked into the en- trances of hives at twilight. Bees are not on the lookout for strangers at tliis time of day, and they are ready to accept anything put into their hives, especially as the smell of all is made alike with a little smoke. I have not caged a queen of anv kind for the last two years, and I have scarcely lost one in this time in in- troducing, and I have not found it necessary to use tobacco smoke either, as Mr. Alley recommends. Bees may also be handled in seasons of robbers, early in the morning. There are few times in the summer when a little honey is not found early in the morning, enough to take the attention of the bees, and keep them away from the bee-master long enough for him to do what he cannot find time to do in the evening. 3. All necessary handling of bees must be done with the utmost rapid- itv, and with Justas little disturbance of the arrangements of the bees as possible. To this end, all racks and boxes should be easily adjusted, so that in removing surplus, the bees may be exposed as little, and for as short a time, as possible. If a hive is kept open for a long time, while com- plicated gimcracks are torn apart and fitted together again, robbing is apt to be induced even in seasons of the best honey flow, and the workers soon find out that their attention is wanted at home, to protect their stores, and to re-establish the destroyed order of the hive, even if the demoralization is not commvniicated to all other colo- nies, and a consequent serious loss of honey is the result. So any extensive mauling of a large colony of bees for so little reason as, perhaps, to find a hybrid queen to put a pure one in its place, should be care- fully avoided. I have been in the habit, for a long time, if any of my neighbors come to me to get some bees, just to raise honey for their own use, to recom- mend them to keep them in a box hive, and to " take them up " in the fall, believing they will get more honey in this way than if their bees were maided over every little while, as beginners are very apt to do. If the above precautions in handling bees come to be generally heeded, I would begin to feel tliat the movable- comb hive is a safe thing in the hands of beginners, but not till then. 'Mr. Cook thought but few colonies coidd 1)6 kept by one man. if all the handling was to be done only in the evening. The secretary replied that when honev was coming in, bees could be handled easily at any time in the day, but in a time" of honey dearth, there should be need, even in a large apiary, of no more handling that could be doiie in the evening. Mr. Root thought that an impression might go abroad from the paper, that would be undesirable. Tliere were many now keeping bees in box hives, who were afraid to have their bees transferred, fearing injury to them, and it wt)uld be unfortunate to have them conlirmed, in such opinion. The fact is, it is worth $1 to a colony to be transferred. It would generally pay to drive bees out of a hive, and wash and scald it, and paint full the cracks, sometimes, to get rid of the parasites which were apt to trouble bees. He had even known them to lurk in the grain of the wood, so minute were some of them. Mr. Ilahman transfers and prevents any trouble from robbing by closing other hives. Vvot. Kroeh had had great trouble the past season in introducing queens. He would like to hear Mr. Root's opinion on the subject. Mr. Root said he was the most suc- cessful in introducing without a cage, lie knew in an instant when a queen would be killed, but could not tell how. He thinks queens are killed, if at all, the instant they touch the combs. There is not much trouble if bees are well-filled with honey. He shakes the bees all out and then puts the new queen with them, and lets them run in. Mr. Hutchinson said he introduces queens by Mr. Moore's plan, with a round cage. He places it between the combs, with corks, for 36 hours. He then takes the cork from one end and closes it with paper covered with honey. In a short time the bees eat through the paper and liberate the queen. Mrs. Thomas objected to that method l)eing called by the name of Mr. Moore, or any other man. She had used that method for 18 years, and never heard it called by any one's name. She never introduces queens to full colonies. Prof. Kroeh preferred to introduce queens to brood, by putting the queen on a frame of brood, and then putting tliat frame into a wire-cloth box, and then into the hive. After a few days, when a quantity of brood was hatched out with the queen, let them out to the other bees. He had succeeded once when he did not expect to, by lifting a frame of bees with the queen from a nucleus and putting it into the middle of a queenless colony. Mr. Cunkey had introduced a great many queens, and had come to the con- clusion that the less troulile taken to^ do it, the better. He always used the Betsiiiger method, and was generally successful. Mr.Hahman had visited Mr. Root, at Medina, Ohio, and had seen the man who introduces queens there do it, as if the bees had got educated to receive strange queens. Mr. Root said, he did not like any method by which the bees liberated the queen. He wanted to see how the bees received her when they first had access to her. He had never seen any reason for thinking that it was danger- ous to examine bees soon after a queen was introduced. Prof. Kroeh asked Mr. Root what " balling " meant. He aiiswered that there was some- thing very mysterious about it. He did iiot know the cause, but could easily tell a queen which had lieen balled. Tliey have a smooth, shining appearance, and were worthless. To a (piestion as to whether he ex- tracted from the brood nest, he an- swered, that he had no hesitation in extracting from combs with unsealed brood in them. He had seen brood started from the bottom of the cells by extracting, but he always found that THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 625 it was soon put into place again by the bees. There was a loss sometimes in extracting, as the bees were dis- turbed, so that they did not go to the fields for the remainder of the day, while other colonies standing on the scales were gaining 4 or 5 lbs. per hour. • The President said that his daughter who managed his apiary, had devel- oped a method of introducing queens which was very satisfactory. She lifts a frame of brood out of the hive and puts the queen on it— puts it into a nucleus box for a couple of days. She then returns it to the rear of the hive (whicli is a Simplicity) with the combs running crosswise, and puts it behind a division board which does not reach quite to the bottom. The Secretary said that he had only alluded in his paper to introducing queens. His method was this : At twilight, after the bees had stopped flying, he put the ([ueen on the alight- ing board of the hive, and let her run in ; at the same time smoking the bees briskly. He had even introduced virgin queens to full colonies, and queens to colonies with fertile work- ers, and he always put them in. with perfect faith that they would be all right, and had never lost one by that method. He used to be enthusiastic over the Betsinger cage, but the " twilight " plan was much superior. Mr. Root said he would be afraid to risk it. Mrs. Thomas asked if any one knew of a successful method of out-door wintering without chaff hives. This fall she had boxes made to put over her hives, and had packed them with leaves, and she wished to have the opinion of the Convention as to its safety. She had got the idea from a florist, who advised a similar method for covering lialf-hardy plants. She always laid over tlie frames of every colony a stick of rock candy. She con- sidered it of the greatest importr ance. President Thompson said that was the method he always used for winter- ing. He had permanent boxes around each hive,which were packed with chaff or a similar non-conductor, and then covered by a single pitch roof. Tliere was no cover to his hives. He found the packing as useful in summer as in winter. The President then announced the special committee to confer with the managers of Fairs. Mr. J. II. M. Cook, Mr. Hutchinson and Prof. Ilas- brouck, to which was subsequently added, by resolution, the President himself. The Treasurer was then directed, by resolution, to have 120 postal cards printed with the notice of the next meeting, one to be sent by the Secre- retary to each member. It was resolved that the executive committee prepare a programme of the next meeting, at least a month previous, and that this lie publisiied with notices of the meeting. A vote of thanks was extended to the visiting delegates from the Phila- delpliia Bee-Keepers' Association for their attendance and participation in this meeting, also to .Mr. L. C. Root for valuable assistance in the discus- sion. , ,, , It was then moved and adopted that the Society hold its next meeting for two days, on the second Wednesday and Thursday of March next, to which time the meeting was adjourned. J. IlASBROUCK, Sec. For tbe American Bee Journal. I'll Never Mind what they Say, J. M, HICKS. I shall not worry or fret, About what people think Of my ways or my means— of my food or my drink. If I linow I am doinK My best every day— With the rlKht on my side, I'll never mind what they say. I'll lay out in the morning Mv rttans for each hour. And I'll never forget That I )ld Tin)? is ii power. This will I also remember, AmonK truths old and new. The w'orld is too busy To think of me and of you. Then I'il jrarner the minutes, That make u|) the hours, And in my piltrimaRe ril plUL'k in tlie flowers; Should Krumbiers assure me, Mv course will not pay— With my conscience at rest I'll not mind what they say. ■rhen let me forpet, as I should, The insensate throng, 'rhat jostles me daily AVhile I'm marchinff alonK: I'll press onward and upward, I'll make no delay. And though the people talk I'll not mind what they say. I shall tru!-t in His cause, .And hope for tlie best, Knowing, as 1 well do. God is holy and just; He gave us good laws Which, if we understand, We shall gather the sweets He placed at our command. Then we will guard and protect. The good honey bee. He so bountifully provided For you and for me. With the right on my side, I'll n"t mind what they say. But pluck in the flowers, Ano make no delay. Battle Ground, Ind. For the American Bee Journal. My Experience with Bees. WM. H. WESTOK. Last year, in my ignorance, I bought what I supposed was a colony of bees, but what I would now call a two-frame nucleus. Of course they did not live through the winter, al- though I fed them plenty, I having bought them late in the summer, and being put into my hive, thej; had nothing to start on ; so, last spring, I had the hive with some empty comb with which to start the year. As we had such a late spring, I did not buy any until May. I then bought a colony of common bees in an old hive, and transferred them on the 24th into the hive I prefer, and which, I think, is the best for this climate : I refer to the D. A. Jones hive. We then had cold, wet weather until the latter part of June ; the bees gather- ing but very little, only enough to keep up breeding. Aboiit June 20, I divided and introduced an Italian queen to one of them. Shortly after that we l:ad sjilendid weather for gathering honey, and the bees ap- peared to realize the fact, by working to their fullest extent, and it being my first year, I had not enough ex- perience to know how much honey a colony could gather, so I was not pre- pared for such a flow. They filled the hives full, and as I had not an ex- tractor, I had to put in empty frames to keep them going until I could hire one. I had previously bought some comb foundation with whicli I filled the frames that I replaced the full ones with ; so, of course, I was not so badly off, after all. About the latter part of July, one of the colonies swarmed while I was away from home. As soon as I ar- rived, my wife informed me of the fact, and'as it was my first attempt at hiving a swarm, I have no doubt I was very awkward about it, but I suc- ceeded 'v^ery well, although I had never seen any person do it. They had swarmed on the trunk of a small shade tree. At last I got them hived, but not knowing whether I had secured tlie queen, and wanting to be sure about it, I gave them a frame or two of brood from my Italian colony. In a day or two I found out that the queen was in the new hive all right, and was laying first rate. So I will winter H colonies. I think, as they are ail strong and have plenty of stores to winter them. I have taken out all the frames, leaving five for each hive, which will crowd them up pretty well. I have packed the hive on the inside. I secured from the one colony and its increase over 100 lbs. of honey^ besides some that we used in the house. The most of it was extracted ; part in one- pound sections, and the balance in frames, which I will feed to tliem in tlie spring. I think I have not done so badlv, for my first vear, with the small amount of time 1 had to spare. London, Ont., Nov. 19, 1883. Ohio State Convention. The Ohio bee-keepers will hold their annual convention in Columbus, O., Jan. 14, 15 and 16, 1884. All in- terested in bee-culture are invited. The following subjects will be dis- cussed ; " How to winter bees suc- cessfully." "Are the new races of bees a success y" " What can we do to prevent adulteration of honey ?" " How to create a home market for honey." " How many colonies can be kept in one locality V" " Can we do without separators V" " Which are best, deep or shallow frames V "What shall we do with second swarms ?" " How many brood frames are neces- sary in a hive y" "Which is the most salable section, one-half, one or two pounds y" " Is it advisable for all bee-keepers to adopt a standard size of frame y" " What is the most de- sirable width of sections y" The above questions will be dis- cussed by eminent men, such as Rev. L. L. Langstioth, Dr. Besse, S. D. Riegel and others, and in addition to the above. Prof. Lizenby, of the Ohio University, will deliver a lecture on " Honey-producing plants :"also Mrs. Jennie Culp will read an essay. C. M. KiNGSBUKY, Sec. 626 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For tbe American Bee Joui*nal. Size and Style of Frame, etc. O. M. DOOLITTLE. On page 5(i3 of tbe Bee Journal, I fliid these words : " I wish to ask Mr. Doohttle what style of frame, how placed, what sl/.e, one or two stories, would he adopt if starting anew into bee-keeping, for extracted and comb honey V"" In answering the above, I could simply give my pref- erence as to frames, how used, etc., but as this would only prove to the reader that Dooliltli' used such and such frames and tiives, without rea- sons for so doing, I prefer to tell why I would and do adopt the style of frame and hive I use botli for comb and extracted honey. This being done, the reader can compare my rea- sons with those of others using dif- ferent styles of frames and hives than I do, and thus, after comparison, come to a definite conchision as to what they w'ill adopt. Mere assertions never help any one to a correct de- cision on any matter, but reasons are always helpful. When I first began bee-keeping, I used the Langstroth frame, that being 17%x9!^. For the reason that my father had been more successful, years before, in producing comb honey while using box hives, when he placed his boxes at the sides of the hive in connection with top boxes, I desired to adopt the plan of both side and top boxing in connection with frame hives. That the above style of frame would not admit of this plan of work- ing to the best advantage, was one reason why I dispensed with it and adopted another. However, even with the Langstroth frame, I was more successful in producing honey on the above plan than I was on the tiering up plan, recommended by many. Next I worked with the American frame, which was at that time (if I recollect aright) 12x14 inches, as )ised about here. Tliis did not prove better than the Langstroth frame, for while the Langstroth hive fave the largest returns from the top oxes, the American gave tlie most at the sides. To avoid these to extremes, I next tried the (iallup style of frame, which is lOJ^xlO?^, inside measure. With this I found the bees would work in about equal proportions in both side and top boxes, and by adopting the single case system when section boxes came into use. and raising the part filled with sections (by the case) from the sides, and placing tliem on the top as fidl cases were removed, I found I could get an average vield of one-third more honey than \>y any method I had heretofore used. Then, again, I reduced the size of the brood-chamber to 9i the size rec- ommended by Mr. Gallup, thus getting the brood in compact form, and close to the sections on both sides and top. The reason why the Langstroth frame is best adapted to top boxing, is be- cause the brood comes nearer to the top than the sides, as a rule, and for the reason that the brood is at the sides when the American frame is used, is why that is best adapted to side storing. The using of so few frames in the brood-chamber, that they shall be literally filled with brood, and then surrounding this brood with sections, is one of the great secrets of success as applied to comb honey, in my opinion. During the past season I worked some hives with only 6 Gallup frames, instead of 9 as formerly used, or 12 as recommended l)y Mr. Gallup ; and met with a success never before attained by me in the production of comb honey. If tliese colonies so worked, prove e(iual to wintering, I shall adopt the plan quite largely in the future. Tliat the Gallup frame al- lows of being successfully worked on the above plan, and that the above plan is the one looking toward the greatest success, is my reason for us- ing it, and the reason why I should adopt it, if I were starting anew into bee-keeping. Some will say that the tiering up plan will dis"tance the abovet as to labor required, by a long ways. Admitted, but wOiich is con- considered the better farmer, the man who employs certain help to work 200 acres of laiid to secure a certain yield therefrom, or the man who uses the same help on 100 acres, and se- cures as large, if not a larger amount than does the other from his 200 acres. The greatest number of colonies kept should not be our ambition, biit the largest yield possible from a given number." As in the above, our 200- acre farmer has double the capital invested on which he is getting only the same returns as the other with 100 acres, so if we secure the amount it would take to keep 100 colonies of bees for a vear as a surplus, where only 50 are 'kept, we get the honey from our field in shape of surplus in- stead of feed for the bees, thus mak- ing a gain in our favor. As it takes at least fiO pounds of honey to keep one colony of bees for one year, this item is worth looking after. But I have digressed. I am asked how the frames are placed. I have them run from front to rear of the hive, or endwise to the entrance, for where side l>oxes are used, the bees would have to travel under or through the boxes to get from the entrance to the brood-chamber. For comb honey I use a cap or chamber to the hive S inches high, so as to cover the top boxes, and also to admit of chaff or sawdust packing for winter. So far I have only spoken of my preference for the Gallup frame as regards comb honey. I have equally good reasons for my adopting it for tlie formation of nuclei, queen-rear- ing, wintering, etc., etc., but time and space forbid my giving them at this time. For extracting, I am as well pleased with the Gallup frame as with any other, and as I use it for comb honey, of course I prefer it for extracting. Were I working for extracted honey exclusively, I should not consider its advantages as great as I do for comb honey. That it can hang in the ex- tractor the same as in the hive, is one reason for preferring it, and that the Langstroth frame cannot so hang in the extractor, is au objection to it, in my opinion. In extracting, I use two different plans, one of which is to use the hive two and three stories high, leaving the combs undisturbed until tlie honey season is over. The other is to place combs in the side storing apartments of my comb honey hive, and extract from them as fast as filled, ripening the honey in a warm room, in open- mouthed vessels. Each plan has its advantages and disadvantages. By the former I get a splendid article of honey with a little labor. By the latter I get nearly double the quant- ity, but it requires more labor, at a time labor is of the greatest value, and the quality of the honey is not nearly as good. If this reply is not satisfactory in all points to Mr. Moles- worth, he will please call again, and I will try and make it so. Borodino, X. Y. The Michigan Conventlen. Dear Mk. Editor :— May I ask you to call special attention to our next annual meeting to be held in Flint, Dec. 5 and 6, of the Michigan Bee- Keepers' Association. We expect to have by far the best meeting ever held in the State. It is expected that the Rev. L. L. Langstroth will be present. To see and hear him will pay any one for the trouble and expense incident to the journey. We also expect D. A. Jones, A. I. Root, C. F. Muth, and hope to have C. C. Miller and T. G. Kewman. From wliat I hear, Michi- gan bee-keepers are to be out in force. Hotel rates are to be $1.00 a day. Fur- ther particulars as to programme, will be given soon. We expect to get re- duced rates on the railroads. To aid in this, and that I may know how many certificates on railroads to ask for, will every one in this or other States who expect to come, drop me a card at once to that effect V A. J. Cook, President. [Sorry we cannot attend.— Ed.1 1^ The annual meeting of the Lorain County Bee-Keepers' Associa- tion will be held in the Court House at Elyria, Dec. 19, IHS^. O. J. Terrell, Sec. North Ridgeville, O. 1^" Owing to the death of our Sec- retary, Mr. T. Brookius, please an- nounce in the Bee Jouhnal that the annual meeting of the Champlain Val- ley Bee-Keepers' Association, will meet in the parlors of the Addison House, Middleburg, Vt., the second Thursday in January, 1884. J. E. Crane, Pres. ^" A meeting of the bee-keepers of Des Moines Co.. Iowa, will be held on th* second Tuesday in January, at 10 a. m., for the purpose of organizing a county bee-kepers' association, at Mid- dleton, Iowa, in R. C. Crawford's Hall. John Xau, Frank Melceler, A. M. Baldwin, W. R. Glandon, Committee. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 627 ^mitat and Moxo. AN8WBR3 By James Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich. Extracted Honey Production. Mr. James Ileddon: Please describe your ^a'-story box for extracted lioney, in tlie Bke JouiiNAL. How wide in- side, how big, etc. 2. Is it necessary to glue sections ? 3. Is glassed honey more preferable than tin boxes for retailing extracted honey in ? 4. Is there any danger of loaf or granulated sugar being adulterated, and is ttie former any better for winter food for bees than the latter V Sutton, N. H. r. M. Cheney. Answers.— To produce extracted honey for sweet sauce, it should be well ripened, capped over before ex- tracted, and I prefer to store it in 14 story frames, otherwise the same size of the hive below, and upon the tier- ing-up system. 2. Xot at all, if they are decently made. 8. I have never seen honey on the market in tin receptacles, where it ■could compete with that stored in glass ; thougli tin is most advantage- ous to the producer, consumers do not like it. ' 4. Sugar agents tell me that granu- lated sugar has been adulterated with grape sugar, but that there are re- fineries that can be relied upon for the pure article. I have little fears, and see no difference between loaf and granulated, though loaf is usually con- sidered a little more refined. Why use a Honey-Board % Will ^Ir. Ileddon please answer, through the Bee Journal, why he uses the skeleton honey-board at' all '? If the right bee space is observed be- tween the brood frames and the bot- tom of the case, is this second space not worse than useless V C H. Dibbern. Milan, 111., Xov. 38, 18S3. Answer.— The objections to the use of my honey-board are three: cost, manipulation, and storage when out of use. The advantages are : there are less bees in the way when ad- justing and removing supers, less opportunity for robbers to get in their work at that time, the sections are much cleaner and freer from bits of comb, and when taken from the hive are never dripping from broken cells which have been built between them and the brood frames. It makes the queen less liable to go above to lay, economizes wax, by preventing these brace combs. When one case is raised up and another one put under, no braces are lifted with the under sections, to be iinisbed out and at- tached to tlie tops of those just put in their place. This In-acing will not take place between sections and each other, but between the lower sections and brood frames, if the honey-board is not used ; hence, only one honey- board is needed to each hive, and does not have to be moved through all the manipulations of the supers, only when we work in tlie brood-chamber, when it is as easily removed as a cover. The honey-board has 9 slats, with % spaces between them ; the centre of each slat comes directly over the space between the Ijrood-frames be- low, and the centre of each top-bar below is directly under the slots of the honey-board. The outer edges of the honey-board are bee-space higher than the top siirface of the slats which forms the second space. You see that the supers of sections fit the hive perfectly without any honey- board, and the same with. You also see by what method we cut off this building of brace combs, and at the same time give perfect egress to the heat, odor and bees. After careful experiment of no small dimensions, I can say that this honey-board is no hindrance whatever to the bees entering the sections. With an upper set of combs for the extractor, it is well-nigh a necessity, and in either case worth many times its cost and trouble. Section Racks & Double- WaHed Hives. I wish those who speak of their honey racks, would describe them in detail, or else advertise them for sale, so that we could get them, or at least a sample for trial. I would also like to know which is the best way to manage bees In the si)ring to get the most comb lioney V Is it to make them swarm early, and l)e ready for white clover? or, to undertake to stop them from swarming uirtil white clover is over, which was the first of July, this year, and tlieu divide them? I have 8 colonies now, and I wish to double them next year, it they winter all right, which tliey will do on the summer stands. I would like tokuow if Mr. Heddon will tell us why he ob- jects to double-walled hives, as we contemplate making ours double, more particularly to keep them cool in summer than to keep them warm in winter, as our winters are not very cold, hardly ever below 10 degrees above zero. S. M. IIicken. Delaware City, Del., Nov. 26, 1&S3. Answer.- How to manage bees in spring to get the most comb honey. though a short question, would demand too long an article for this depart- ment. I will write on that, some future time. Regarding double-wall hives, they can be no cooler, nor as cool in summer, as single-wall hives, shaded with a board. This is plainly seen when once thought of. M njn Bees Prepared for Winter. Bees are in very good condition this fall. One is almost lost to know what to do, as everybody seems to have a different way of vi'intering bees. In Simplicity hives, I turn over the bot- tom boards, fill with sawdust, give six good frames of honey, a division- board on each side, the upper story full of chaff, build a sort of straw- stack over the whole, and give them a good " letting alone " till spring re- turns. C. Weckesee. Marshallville, O., Nov. 20, 1883. Honey Crop in Mississippi. I am moving my apiary of 800 colo- nies 15 miles, and find it quite a job. It has been a poor honey season here, this year. 21,500 pounds from 172 col- onies, spring count ; part comb and part extracted. The worst that I have ever had in this country. G. C. Vaught. Greenville, Miss., Nov. 16, 1883. My Syrian Bees. Heading, in the instructive article on page 592 of the Bee Journal, by L. C. Johnson,- entitled "The Im- provement of Bees," whose experience with the Syrian bees and queens is so near like my own, I will give it to the readers of the indispensable Bee .Journal. On the 1st of July, 1SS3, 1 received a Syrian queen of Mr. Hen- derson, of Tennessee. She was im- mediately introduced into a very light colony of Hybrids, by the smoking method. I never saw bees multiply so fast. As I did not wish to let them swarm, upon the first appearance of queen cells, I removed 4 full Langs- troth frames of brood ; but this only checked them for a few days. Soon after, and while I was entertaining company, I saw the Syrians in the air, and, as they did not cluster soon enougli to suit me, I took a pail of water and threw some on them with a cup as they they were circling in the air, and they soon returned to the liive. I then watched them for a couple of liours, until I had time to attend to them. I proceeded to divide them, and found tivo frames with at least 40 queen cells. I then cut out the cells, and laid them down on the cap of the hive ; before I had done I saw one emerge from the cell and fly out of sight, but it soon returned to the place it started from. I soon missed another, which was gone 628 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. several minutes. I then took the most of the brood, with the old queen and bees, and removed them several feet from the old stand, depending on one of the young queens, and returning bees, to make a colony at the old stand, but the old queen was bound to go, and go she did with a swarm to the woods, when no one sjiw them. Those remaining built another batch of queen cells, replaced their queen and built up to a fair colony, without help, except a little feeding, and I think vfill be as likely to winter as well as any I bave. I would say in their praise, they are beautiful three- banded bees, smaller than the Italian and quicker in. their movements. I have handled them many times with- out smoke, and think them the gentlest bees I have yet found ; I never was stung by one yet. S. J. Youngman. Cato, Mich., Nov. 25, 1883. Irascible Cyprians. I have 67 colonies of bees in good condition. I have done well with them during tlie past season, although it could not be called a good honey season in this section. I have the Cyprian, Italian, German, and Syrian bees. Deliver me from the Cyprians; when disturbed, they tight everything in reach of them. Last summer they attacked a horse hitched to a fence a hundred yards distant, and would have killed it had I not been close by. At another time they attacked a tree standing close by ; they covered it by thousands ; but 1 could not see that the tree sustained much damage. I find them very prolitic, and want to swarm all the time, when they ought to be laying up honey ; but I find the hives all full of honey in the fall of the year. In the spring I expect to move my bees out into the country 3 miles from town, and half a mile from any house or public road, and Italian- ize my apiary as fast as possible. I expect to devote my whole time to my bees hereafter. I find that it pays, if only attended to. Nathan M. Woodman. Bushnell, 111., Nov. 26, 1883. Give a Frame of Brood to Swarms. On page 592, Mr. W. II. Stewart says: -'If any one has lost a swarm of bees that were hived on full sheets of foundation, let us hear from him." I will answer to that call. Sometime during the uionth of June, 1881, I transferred a colony of black bees from a box to a Langstroth hive on a full set of full sheets of foundation, and. as there were moths in the box hive, I did not move any of the old combs. As there was a good honey flow at the time, I considered this the same as a new swarm. The first time I hived them they remained only 24 hours, when out they came and clus- tered in a tree. I examined the hive and found the foundation partly drawn out, and the queen had deposited eggs in it. I again hived them, and they came out again in 24 hours. This time I clipped the queen's wings and re- turned them, and on the next day they came out again, but, as the queen could not fly, this time she fell in the grass, and the bees came back and clustered outside of the hive. I then gave them a frame of brood, and all went well. What then was the cause of the bees absconding, if not for the want of brood V In this case the foun- dation did not keep them from leaving the new hive, and they were only quieted by giving them a frame of brood. J. G. NOKTON. Macomb, 111., Nov. 28, 1883» My Report for tills Year. I had, in the fall of 1882, 27 colonies. I wintered them all on the summer stands, and had 27 last spring to begin with. They increased to 47, by natural swarming ; I sold 3 and have 44 now, with plenty of white clover honey in the hives to winter on, but I only got an average of 27?| lbs. of honey to the colony, spring count ; it was nearly all white clover honey in 1 and 2 lb. sec- tions, as nice as I ever saw. There was a very heavy crop of white clover, and it lasted longer than usual, but while it was in bloom, the season was so wet and cold that the bees were kept in too much to make much head- way, but when there did come a little sunshine, they made use of it. When the clover bloom was gone, the honey season was over ; from that on until frost, it was so dry that the bees merely gathered enough for the time being, so that they did not have to fall back on their stores, and, as I did not extract any, that accounts for my bees having white clover honey to winter on. I may be too much of " an old fogy," but I do not believe in taking the honey all away from them and giving them something else to winter on. Jacob Copeland. Allendale, Ills., Nov. 22, 1883. Damage by a Storm. The storm at Peotone, 111., on Tues- day night, Nov. 20, split in two my 60 feet barn, killing 5 cows, 3 calves, 2 sheep and one fat hog, besides blow- ing over half a mile of board fence. My best colony, and 48 colonies of bees on the sun\mer stands, are all safe. C. SCHRIER. Peotone, 111., Nov. 30, 1883. How I Winter my Bees. I have SO colonies of bees in the cel- lar and 3 outside. My frames are \;i}4 x9)^ inches outside and run crosswise; 13 frames to the tiive. When the honey season is over, I make a box 12x1414 inside to hold S of mv frames which I select for winter. This box will sit inside the hive, making it a complete summer and winter hive. Those wintered in the cellar, have the outside box left on thesummerstands, except the bottoms. I put a % inch stick under .each corner of the hives to give air, or rather to keep them dry. I have a cushion on top for out-doors. I make the tops as tight as possible, and till in around with flax-tow. My cellar is not very dry, but is well ven- tilated by a pipe connected with my kitchen stove, and an air tube of 4-inch tile running 20 feet underground. I have wintered my bees in this way without loss for 3 years. I put the bees in on Nov. 13 and 14, and to-day they are quiet with temperature at 42 to 4.5 degrees F. I have no fear of losing any. With the three outside, I am testing what the bees can stand with open doors and closed tops on deep frames. A. Wicherts. Matteson, 111., Nov. 18, 1883.- Prepared for Winter. The work in the apiary is done once more, and my bees are packed and prepared again for the winter. Last spring I commenced the season with 32 colonies. The spring was cold and wet, and bees did not get enough to carry on breeding, so they had to be fed some. On June 10, white clover bloomed, but yielded less than half a crop of honey. Basswood opened on July 15, and gave a very good yield of honey, but there is very little of it here. With the help of sweet clover, I obtained 300 pounds of comb honey, and 650 pounds of extracted. The comb honey is sold for 20 cents a pound, and the extracted for 12^ cts. 200 pounds of honey I set aside for family use and feeding next spring. Tlie bees increased to 52 colonies. Bees are in good condition for winter. Wm. Bolling. Dunkirk. N. Y., Nov. 29, 1883. Bee-Keeping in the Indian Territory. Never hearing anything from this country, I will write a few lines to let the world know that we keep bees too, but It has been a bad year for bees in the Southern part of this Territory and Texas. The spring was so cool and backward that they swarmed but little, and the balance of the season was very poor for honey. I bought several colonies, an extractor, and six Italian queens ; made new hives and transferred the bees. I use the Mitch- ell hive, single story, for extracted honey. They paid expenses, and I realized a little on them. I will run about 50 colonies for extracted honey next year. I have a ready home mar- ket at 15 cents for all my honey. We had our first killing frost on the 14th of this month, but it did not kill all of the flowers. My Italians and hybrids are gathering a little honey and pollen to-day, from a little white blossom that grows on the creeks, in the woods. It is warm and pleasant to-day ; we have had but two frosts this season. G. P. Grinstead. Oakland, Ind. Ter., Nov. 20, 188;^. 1^ The Northwestern Illinois and Southwestern Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' Association, will hold its annual meet- ing in Temperance Hall, Freeport, 111., on Jan. 15 and 16, 1884. J. Stewart, Sec. Rock City, 111., Nov. 30, 188;!. 1^ The 5th annual Convention of the Northeastern Ohio and North- western Pennsylvania Bee -Keepers' Association, will be held at Jefferson, Ohio, Jan. 16 and 17, 1884. All are cordially invited. C. 11. Coon, Sec. New Lyme, O., Nov. 26, 1883. THE AMERICA!^ BEE JOURNAL. 629 ^p^jetial Slotitjes. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscriptiou on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post ofHce or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 2.5 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for f 5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. "We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what tliey desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. ^- Make all Postal Money Orders Our New List of Premiums. Getting up Clubs for 1884. and Postal Notes payable at the Madison St. Station, Chicago, 111. Subscription Credits.— We do not acknowledge receipt of each subscrip- tion by letter. The label on your paper, or on the wrapper, shows the date to which your subscription is paid. When you send us money, if the proper credit is not given you, within tv.o weeks thereafter, on your label, notify us by postal card. Do not wait for months or years, and then claim a mistake. The subscrip- tion is paid to tiie end of the month indicated on the wrapper-label. This gives a continual statement of account. How to Create a Market for Honey. another We have now published edition of the pamphlet on "Honey as Food and Medicine," with more new) Eecipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price still lower, to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 5 cents, postpaid ; per dozen, 40 cents ; per hundred, $2.50. 500 will be sent postpaid for $10.00 ; or 1000 for $15. 00- On orders of 100 or more, we will print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense— enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Try it, and you will be surprised. To increase the number of readers of the Bee Journal, we believe, will aid progressive bee-culture and help to elevate the pursuit. We,therefore, offer the following premiums for getting up clubs : While no subscription to the Bee Journal will be taken for less than the regular advertised prices (viz.: Weekly, $2.00 ; Monthly, $1.00),— any one getting up a club of two copies, or more, may select from " Our Book List " anything therein named, to the amount of 15 cents for every dollar tliey send direct to this office, to pay them for the trouble of getting up the club ; and these books will be sent, postpaid, to any address de,sired. For a club of 3 Weekly or 6 Monthly and $6.00, we will make an additional present of a Pocket Dictionary, bound in cloth, containing 320 pages. For a club of 5 Weekly or 10 Monthly, (or a mixed club of both,) with $10, we will, in addition to the 15 per cent, present a copy of the American "Popular" Dictionary, comprising every word in the English language that enters into speech or writing ; it contains 32,000 words and phrases, 670 illustrations and 512 pages; it is nicely bound in cloth, and will be sent by mail, postpaid, to any address desired. For a club of $20, for 10 Weeklies, or an equivalent in Monthlies, we will present, besides the 15 per cent, in books, a tested Italian queen, by mail, postpaid. Subscriptions for two or more years for one person, will count the same as each year for a different person. For a club of 100 Weekly (or its equivalent in Monthlies), with $200, we will send a Magnificent Organ worth $150. See description on page 6U of the Weekly for Nov. 28, 1883. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies (220 pages) 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. 1^ When writing to this office on business, our correspondents should not write anything for publication on the same sheet of paper, unless it can be torn apart without interfering with either portion of the letter. The edi- torial and business departments are separate and distinct, and when the business is mixed up with items for publication it often causes confusion. They may both be sent in one envelope but on separate pieces of paper. Bee Pasturage a Necessity.— We have issued a new pamphlet giving our views ou this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to anyaddress for ten cents. Emerson Binders— made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for75cents, for the Weekly ; or for the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. t^ We carefully mail the Bee Journal to every subscriber, but should any be lost in the mails we will cheerfully send another. If notified before all the edition is exhausted. 1^ Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1883 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. ^" It must be understood that, should an advertiser desire to cancel an unexpired contract, he can do so only by paying regular rates for the number of insertions his advertise- ment has had. Sample Copies of the American Beb Journal will be sent free to any per- son. Any one intending to get up a club can have sample copies sent to the persons they desire to interview, by sending the names to this office. (^ Articles for publication must be written on a separate piece of paper from items of business. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 per 100. 630 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Preparation of Honey for the Mar> ket, including the production and care of both comb and extracted honey, instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. i^Speak a word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at least one iieio subscription with your own 'i Our premium, " Bees and Honey," In cloth, for one new sub- scriber to the Weekly, or two for the Monthly, besides your own subscrip- tion to either edition, will pay you for your trouble, besides having the satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bee Journal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. i^° We need the numbers of the Bee Journal for August, 1866, and April, 1876. Anyone having thera to spare, are requested to send us a Pos- tal Card. We will give 25 cents for each. Do not send them without writing, for we want only one of each ; and, if we are not already supplied, we will take them. Advertisers' Opinion. The queen business is rushing, and we think the Bee Journal deserves much credit as an advertising medium. E. A. Thomas & Co. Coleraine, Mass., July 18, 1883. giducrtisctncnts. I.IFI: INSTKANCE THAT IKSVKES. THE MUTUAL KBSERVE FUND LIFE ASSOCIATION ! 55 Liberty St.. NEW TORK, aud 113 Ad»m*t St.. CHICAGO. Edward B. Harper. President. The Central Trtst Co.MPANT, of New York, Trustee of the Resfri'c Fund. O. D. Baldwin. President Fourth Nat'l Bank, N. T., Auditor of Death Claim Accoui}t. MEMBERSHIP NUMBER, 16,000. Total Business. Seventy Millions of Dollars. $100,000 to the Credit of the Reserve Fand. Keaerve Fund— Selected Risks-Graded Rates— An open Ledger— A Trust Company as Trustee. IST" Agents wanted in Illinois. Address, D. M. CALDWELL., Vice Prea., 45D3t 113 ADAMS ST., CHICAGO. BARNES' PATENT Foot Power Machinery CIRCULAR AND SCROLL SAWS, Hand. Circular Rip Sawa for general heavy and tight rip- ping. Lathes, &c. These ma- chines are especially adapted to Hive MaUlnic. Itwillpay every bee-keeper to send for our -iti-page Illustrated Cata- logue. W. F. & JOHN BARNES, No. 2017 Main street, Rockf ord. Winnebago Co., 111. "BOSS" ONE-PIECE SECTIONS. I==|^l]^^LZ] We have again increased ourcapacity formaking the "BOSS" ONK-PIECK SECTION, and are now ready to fill orders un short notice. Wo would ad- vise our customers, and especially SUFl*t."l,' SEALERS, tu OB.IDSB. SliiHZ.'?, And not Wait until the Rush Comes, We will not manufacture Hives and Shipping Crates tbis season, as we have fixed over all our machinery for making the Oue-Piece Sections. J. FORNCROOK & CO. 49Ctf Watertown, Wis., Dec. 1, 1883. PLYMOUTH ROCKS Iroquois Strain. Four Yards, vorrespondeop cheerfully an-^wcred Prices ruasonabl' W. H. BL'SSEY. 131 Laie Strett, ChieaBO. 2BUly MANUFACTORY FOR HIVES, SECTIONS, &c. I am now prepared to supply dealers and con- sumers with Hives, Sections, Broad Frames, Shipping Crates, etc., of all kinds. I make a specialty of LANGSTROTH ANU MODEST HIVES. Correspondence with supply dealers solicited. My Sections are all made from Poplar. Address, OEOROE XATtOK, 49A4t&ICtf 12Btf DUNDEE, Kane Co., ILL. Choice Queens! I am now up with my orders, and can send QTTBBNS by RETURN MAIL. I am now culling them down to the very best. J. T. WILSON, MortoDsville, Woodford Co., Kv. 6BCtf Friends, if you are In any way interested In BEES OR HONEY We will with pleasure send you a sample copy of the Monthly Oleanlnffs In Bee-Culture, with a descriptive price-list uf the latest improve- ments in UiveH, Honey £xtructor«, C'omU Fouutlatiou, Section Hnney Boxes, all boubs and journals, and everything pertaining to Bee Culture. Nothing Patented. Simply send your ad- dress written plainii/, to Ctf A. I. ROOT. Medina. O. HEADQUARTERS IN THE SOUTH For the manufacture of BEE-KEEPJSRS* 8XJPPLIE9. Dunham and Root Foundation a specialty. Italian Queens and Bees from March to November. |^"Send fur my Illustrated Catalogue. .'iCtf PAXII- 1-. VIAI-r.ON, Bayou Goula, La. The Bee-Keepers' Guide; Or, MASIXTAL OF XHB APIARX. lO, coo SOLD SINCE 1876. 11th Thonsuud Just Out ! 10th Thousand Sold in Just Four Months ! More than W pages, and mure than 5n fine illus- trations were added in the ^th edition. I he whole work has been tht)rouKhly revised, imd contains the very latest In respect to bee-keeping. It is certainly the fullest and mopt sclentidc work treating of bees in the World. Price, by mail, »! 35. Liberal discount to dealers and to clubs. A. -I. COOK, Author and Publisher, 47Dl0t ]8C7t LANSING. MICH. FRANCES DUNHAM. Inventor and Sole Manuliicturer of THE DUNHAM FOUNDATION MACHINE Patented Aug. 23d. 1881. Your machines are undoubtedly the very best in existence for heavy foundation. Charles Dapant & Son, Hamilton, 111. Nov. 24th, 1882. And the following from the President of the North American Bee-Keepers' Association: I am quite positive that your Foundation Mills are ahead of anything yet invented. D. A. JONES, Beeton, Ont.. Canada. Jan. 29th, 188.1. I send you samples of Foundation which I am manufacturing on one of vour machines, in sheets 9x18, which measure llM feet to the pound. I think it superior to any samples of thin founda- tion I have seen. J. G. Whitten. Aug. 14th, 1882. Genoa, N. Y. Send for description and testimonials to FRAXC£>$ BTTIVHABI, SCtf DE PERE. WIS. -A. o:r.a.s:e3:i By corresponding with us, you will see that we mean about 15 per cent, off the regular prices on Extractors, Smokers, etc. Also all other Bee Goods very low if ordered soon. O. 1¥. 8TANr.EX A, BRO., 49Alt WYOMING. N. Y. PATENTS MUNN & CO., of the ScTEXTiFic American, con- tinue to act as Solicitors for Patents. Cuveats, Trade Marks, Copyrights, for the United States. Canada, England, France, Germany, etc. Hand Book about Parents sent free. Thirtv-seven years' experience. Patents obtained throncnMUNN & CO. are noticed In the Scientific American, the largest, best, and most widely circulated scientiflc paper. J^.20ftyear, Weekly. Splendid engravings and intprfstlng In- formation. Specimen copy of the Scieiiiific Amer- ican sent free. Address MUNN & CO.. SciENTlFlO American Office, 201 Broadway, New York. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL AND BEE-KEEPER'S ADVISEB. The British Bee Journal is NOW published SBMI-MONTHLV, at Seven Bhillines, per annum, and contains the best practical information for the time being. showinK what to do, and when and how to do it. JBev. H. K. P£EL., Editor. We send the Weeklj American Bee JomiNAL and tiieBritUh Bee Journal, both tor $3.00 a year. BINGHAM SMOKERS. I can sell the above Smokers at MANUFACTURERS' PKICES, by mall or express, at wholesale or re- tail. All tne latest improvements. Including THE CONQUEROR, and THE DOCTOR. Send for my 32-page Illustrated Catalogue of Bee-Keepers' Sup- plies of every description. ALFRED H. NEWMAN, Q'23 W. Madison. CHICAGO, ILL. C^"^' ec Journal DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OE THE PRODUCERS OF HONEY. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., DECEMBER 12, 1883. No. 50. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Puopuietor, Prepare for the Fairs. The article on page 643, by the Rev. O. Clute, is very timely, for the usual January meetings of the Executive Committees of Fairs will soon be here. Public manipulations with bees and magnificent honey exhibits will soon become the most attractive features of State, County, and district Fairs. There are good many reasons for in- troducing such, but the chief one, perhaps, is that those who produce honey for the market may be induced to present it in the most marketable shape ; for the new methods and new idpas of practical management must take the place of the old and unde- sirable ones. We respectfully suggest to all who have the management of fairs, that a day be set apart during the season for public manipulations and explanations on this subject, and soon these indus- trial days wili become as popular and attractive to the public as are now the " speed days " of horses, or the " trial days " of reapers and plows. Bee-keeping should rank one of the foremost, if not the foremost, feature at these great gatherings. The prem- iums enumerated by Mr. Clute may seem slightly extravagant, to persons who have never seen bees and honey ligiu-e to any considerable extent in agricultural and mechanical exhibi- tions and fairs, but to any reflecting individual, who takes into considera- tion tlie magnitude of the bee-keeping interest at the present time, and the Illimitable millions of poundsof honey now "wasting its sweetness on the desert air," from want of the proper encouragement and development of the industry, the figures will seem modest indeed. Sheep and Bee-Keeping. An exchange gives the following reasons why bees cannot thrive on sheep pastiu'es, and insists upon bee- keepers providing pasturage for bees : It is easy to perceive why bees can- not thrive well on a sheep pasture. Sheep eat everything down very closely, and leave nothing in the shape of a fiower upon wliicli bees can subsist. Tliere is no other reason for the popular lielief tliat sheep and bees will n(.)t tlu-ive together. The bees will not hurt the sheep in any way, but the sheep leave nothing for the bees to pasture in ; that is the only difficulty, and where other feeding ground is provided for the bees than the sheep pasture, sheep and bees would thrive very well together. Melilot clover and aromatic plants, such as mints and catnip, are the blossoms upon which bees seem to find the most continuous supply dur- ing the dryest months. Bee-keepers should encourage the introduction of such plants, as they can grow harm- lessly along hedges and fences. It may be thought that a few plants of each kind cannot benefit the bees to any extent. Certainly not. But a few plants here and there will pro- duce seed, and finally make waste places become sources Of the most delightful of sweets. 1^ Last Monday, " our pastoi," the Rev. A. Goodfellow, came to our office for a " call," a'nd with sparkling eyes, said : ''Good morning, Bro. Newman ; I'll give you a conundrum. Here is the latest ; it is rather far-fetched, but good." We remarked that we were more of a punster than a diviner of " conundrums," but that we could en- joy "a good thing" at any time. "Well," he said, " why is a bee - hive like a diseased potato 'i*" Of course we gave it up. He replied, " a bee- hive is a bee-holder, is it not '?" We a^ented, but intimated that we could not see the point. He then added, "a beholder is a spectator." True, we re- plied. He continued, " and 'a specked tater' is one that is diseased, is it not'i*" We remarked that it was very far- fetched, indeed. He smiled, bowed himself out. and adiUd, "put that in the Bee Journal ' and here it is. We have received a copy of Mr. G. M. Doolittle's Club List for 18»4, and Circular of bees, queens, etc. It is a very hondsome pamphlet, and is a credit to him as well as Mr. Root, the printer. His address is Borodino, N. Y. On page 5 we notice the following paragraph under the heading of " Re- marks ": Newspapers are now an actual necessity, and the man who does not take at least one or more papers, is soon behind the times, and is also de- priving himself of one of the greatest blessings of life. In no other calling in life is the knowledge gained from reading, of more benefit than it is to the bee-keeper. The bee-keeper who cannot afford to take a bee paper, is only penurious to his own injury, of many times its cost ; therefore, I urge all into whose hands this circular may fall, to take at least one of the bee papers, that you may gain knowledge which will help you to work your bees to the greatost profit. The Weekly American Bee Journal is now an established fact, and is taken by near- ly all practical bee-keepers. Its weekly visits are those which no bee-keeper can afford to dispense with, for the knowledge gained from one number is often worth many times its cost. The putting in practice of its teachings (and that of the otiier bee papers), is what helped me to secure $1021.,S0 net profit from 60 colonies of bees during the past poor season, when basswood was the only tree or plant which yield- ed honey. The American Beb Jour- nal is published in an attractive form, and it is hardly necessary for me to say that I consider it at the head of all the bee papers in the world. Mr. D. has our thanks for so frankly giving his opinion of the practical value of the Bee Journal. 1^ Mr. George Grimm, of Jeffer- son, Wis., has gone to Europe, and will be absent several months. He is the son of the world-renowned Adam Grimm, who was one of the pioneers of bee-keeping in America. He has our best wishes for a pleasant voyage and a safe return. 1^- The 28th annual i.ieeting of the Illiuoif, State Horticultural Society will be held in Maennerclior Hall, Bloomington,Ill., Tuesd.iv, Dec. 18. 636 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, Local Convention Directory. 1883. Time and Place o.t Meeiing. Dec. 15.— Piatt County, at Monticello. Ills. A, T. Pipher, Sec. Dec. 19.— Lorain County, at Elyria, O. O. J. Terrell. Sec, N. RidKeville, O. 1684. Jan. 8,— DvJ Moines Co., at Middleton, Iowa. Jan. 8.— Cortland Union, at Cortland, N. Y. M. C. Bean, Sec, McGrawville, N. Y. Jan. 9.— Central Illinois, at Blooraington, III. Jas. Poindexter. Sec Jan. 10.— Champlain Valley, at Mlddleburg. Vt. J. E. Crane, Pres. Jan. 14, 15, 16.— Ohio State, at Columbus, O. (.'. M. Kingsbury, Sec Jan. 15, in— N. W. Ills., & S. W. Wis., at Kreeport. J. Stewart, Sec, Rock City, 111. Jan. 16, 17.— N.E. Ohio, and N.W.Pa., at Jefferson.O. C. H. Coon. Sec, New Lyme, Ohio. April 18.— Iowa Central, at Winterset, Iowa. J.E. Pryor, See. Oct. 11. 12.— Northern Mich., at Alma. Mich. F. A. Palmer. Sec, McBride, Mich. |y In order tu have this table complete. Secre- taries are requested to forward full particulars of time and place of future meetinRa.— Ed. Wi\v<\\ and gloiu. ANSWERS BY James Eeddon, Dowagiac, Mich. Cellar Wintering. Will Mr. Heddon please answer the following : 1. Will a pipe 6x4 inches be large enough to ventilate a cellar contain- ing 50 colonies Y 2. Would the above pipe be suffi- cient unjoined to the stove-pipe, but 25 feet high ? 3. Do bees always hum more or less when they are wintered in the cellar ? C. W. Dayton. Bradford, Iowa, Nov. 28, 1883. Ajtswees. — I have never been able to satisfactorily demonstrate that ventilation pipes in cellars and double houses did any good in wintering bees. Perhaps they do ; though I have seen cellarsfull nearly all die with venti- lation pipes attached, and all alive to a colony with no ventilation pipes, and every thing in wet, moldy condition. 1. 6x4 inches would be large enough for the interior of a pipe, either at- tached to a stove-pipe, or I should think if standing 25 feet high, though I have never tried that. 2. Answered above. I would let the bottom of the pipe extend down to within 6 inches of the bottom of the cellar. 3. I have known bees to winter well where a good deal of humming was kept up through their confinement. I have known bees to keep almost per- fectly still during the same time, and they always winter well. I have found that changing the degree of temperature will change the tendency to roar or hiun, but it will not prevent or cure diarrhoea. Another thing. I found that in some winters 10" lower temperature kept the bees stiller than the still temperature of the pre- ceding winter, when the number of colonies and hive ventilation was the same. This is one more of the un- accountables. Frames Standing on tlie ends in Winter. Will ;Mr. Ileddon please answer the following question i Have you ever wintered bees on the Langstroth frame standing on the end in a case, packed with chaff V If so, what were the re- sults ? J. G. Norton. Macomb, 111., Nov. 28, 1883. Answer.— I have tipped Langs- troth hives up iit various angles, from a slight pitch to nearly standing on end, but I have never seen any better results by so doing. You need not be afraid of any derangement by chang-' ing the position of the combs. AVe used to winter box hives upside down with good results, and I have had the queen breed in a comb lying horizon- tal. If I considered it advantageous to make any change at all, my idea would be to give the hive a pitch a little more than 45 degrees, and do so just as soon as the surplus receptacles are removed in the fall. This will give the colony a chance to arrange their stores to their notion, according to the new position of the hive. In the Kansas Bee-Keeper for March 1883, 1 gave my ideas of wintering in shallow vs. tall hives. 1^ Much complaint was made last season of the delay in getting " sup- plies," which were ordered of the dif- ferent " dealers " in the rush of the season. Now, to avoid a repitition, let all order early, and then if a delay does occur, it will not make as much difference to them as if the orders were sent in just as the goods were wanted for use. i^For $2.75 we will supply the Weekly Bee Journal one year, and Dzierzon's Rational Bee-Keeping, in paper covers; or in cloth for $3.00. This is a rare chance to get the latest book of that celebrated German bee- master for a trifle. The price of the book alone is $2.00. 1^ Owing to the death of our Sec- retary, Mr. T. Brookins, please an- nounce in the Bee Journal that the annual meeting of the ChamplainVal- ley Bee-Keepers' Association, will meet in the parlors of the Addison House, Mlddleburg, Vt., the second Thursday in January, 1884. J. E. Crane, Pres. Honey and Beeswax Market. Office of ambhican bee joctrnal, I Mondnr, lu a. m.. Dec. 10. i883. 1 The following are the latest quota- tions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. HONEY— The market is slow; arrivals exceed the demand which, however, has improved some. There is a better detuand for comb honey, and supplies are short, which, no doubt, is temporary, as usual. Last year at about this time, comb honey was at its highest, when our sanguine friends very naturally held on, expecting more. However, large supplies commenced to arrive, and prices kept going down steadily. Bee-keepers in general bent their energies on the production of extracted honey last season, more than ever before. We had a large crop, and e.xtracted has been dull so far. not only because of the large supply, but because manufacturers complain of dullness in their busi- ness. Consequently, we have reason to believe that the Dresent slow market is temporary. The present state of the honey market gives our bee-keeping friends another chance for a disap- pointment, to-wit; That of over-production of comb honey another season. This is merely an ideaof my own, and our friends may take it for what it is worth. Extracted honey brings 7@9c. on arrival Best comb honey, iii(^17c. in small sections. BEESWAX— Is of ready sale at 28@30 on arrival. CHAS. F. MDTH. NEW YORK. HONE Y— White clover and basswood in 1 and 2 lb. sections, 17t"21c. Dark and second quality, 14&15C.: extracted white clover in kegs and bar- rels, 9® inc. : dark. 8c. BEESWAX- Prime vellow, 27ei2flc. H. K. & F. B. ThdrbER & Co. CHICAGO. HONEY— The market remains without change from that of last week. Dealers and retailers buy only enough to supply the demand for present use. It is impossible to place lots, or entire shipments, owing to the reluctance of dealers to buy in ad- vence of immediate wants. Prices obtained for white comb in 1 lb. sections, lS(ffl20c.; l^and^lb., lotoisc. according to beauty of same. Extracted honey, 8(§.10c. per lb., according to color, body and flavor. BEESWAX— Yellow, 33c.; medium, 2S@30c. R. A. BURNETT. 161 South Water Bt. KANSAS CITY. MO. HONEY— Receipts of comb honey has been more liberal for the past week, but the demand still keeps everything that is of fair quality well cleaned up. Choice 1 and ■! lb. sections are taken on ar- rival at I8c.; larger sections and dark honey 16(5^ 17c. Sales of extracted for the past week, about 4,ti00 lbs., mostly at 8 cts. The feeling for extracted is a little better, and I look for a firmer market. JEROME TwiCHELl,, 536 Delaware Street. SAN FRANCISCO. HONEY— There has been some attempts at ne- gotiation in comb honey on Eastern account this week. The market for extracted is dull, and it is doubtful if more than "%c. could be realized for choice water white in a wholesale way. White to e.xtra white comb, l(J@I8c. ; dark to good, 12@14c-: e.xtracted, choice to extra white, 7^s®8c. ; dark and candied, oi^ta>7c. BEESWAX- Wholesale, 27!^(a3nc. Stearns & Suith. 423 Front Street. ST. LODIS. HONEY— Choice comb in light supply, fair de- mand and Arm at 15(§, I7c. per lb. ; dark, broken aad poorly handled, dull at less. Strained and extrac- ted steady at6H®7hc.: choice in fancy pkgs. more. BEESWAX— Salable at isc. for prime. W. T. ANPEHSON 4 Co.. 104 N. 3d Street. CLEVELAND. HONE Y— Honey continues in excellent demand, as reported last; every lot of choice white comb is taken up as fast as it comes at 18c. in quantity for 1 lb. sections, and an occasional sale at 19; in a very few instances only, "JOc. has been reached. Broken lots and second quality is very slow sale. For extracted there is no demand. BEESWAX— Is eagerly inquired for at 28@300., but none to supply the demand. A. C. EENDEL. 115 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONEY— Our market is very quiet on honey. We quote 16@I8c. for beat 2 lb. sections— 18&i20c. for best white 1 lb., and 10c. for extracted. BEESWAX— We have none to quote. Blake & riplet, 57 Chatham Street. ^T Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2.00 per 100. The name of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 637 For tbe American Bee Journal. Readily Movable Hives. JAStES HEDDON. Much of value has lieeii said about movable combs, and while nearly all know of their worth, few give due iroportance to readily movable hives. First let me tell you something about how my hive is made, and then you can better form an idea of what I mean by " readily movable hive." The inside measure is 10 inches deep by 113>^ wide by ISJ^ long, and takes 8 standard Langstroth frames. The depth, 10 inches, we always make 101^ to allow for shrinkage, which will take place in after years, even if we use the most thoroughly seasoned hmiber. The sides of the hive are J^, the ends %, the bottom %, the cover %. Prom these dimensions we do not vary, and any hive that does vary from them, I believe to be just that much " off." I fancy I have more good reasons than I care to take space here to enumerate for using these thicknesses of lumber. Our bottom boards are nailed permanently to the hive, and this fact, and the thicknesses of the lumber thus given, makes our hive easily movable. The foregoing describes the brood- chamber, and the surplus department consists of two to four cases, the sides of which being % of an inch thick, the partitions }4 inch, and each case weighs only about 4 lbs. These and the lioney-board make the hive com- plete. The cases, when on, being covered by the brood-chamber cover, and each having a capacity for about 25 pounds of honey, they are used upon the tiering-up plan, and not more than three are usually used on a hive at one time. We use no outer case, because none is needed, and in three or f oin- ways such a covering is much worse than useless. The reader will observe that my hive, whether wither without the' surplus depart- ment, is very light, and easily handled compared with others. Now, wiien one comes to manage large apiaries, pushing business upon that scale which necessitates dispatch, he will find a hive possessing this easily movable principle of more value than one possessing all the advan- tages derived from cumbersome hives. Our methods of securing increase, de- posing laying workers, preventing in- crease or after swarms, and many other manipulations which we liiid we can accomplish mucli quicker and better witli our peculiar metliods than by any other we know of, demand the use of a light, easily movable hive. Such are not only almost a necessity with the less muscular, but very pleasing to all who carry on business in a practical and profitable manner. It is my opinion that this problem of wintering, or cause of dysentery, is soon to be understood, and it is further my belief that when it is, the next im- portant question will be, " now that I know how to winter my bees with certainty, how can I 'do this the cheapest," and this will lead to cellar wintering ; and here, again, comes in the advantage of the readily mov- able hive." About one-third of the time I have spent speculating and ex- perimenting in the line of apiculture, has been spent in hives and fixtures pertaining to them, once supposing that, hidden in mysterious depths, was an almost automatic hive. I long since found out how mistaken was that supposition, yet the thoughts and experiments were not in vain, for 1 now enjoy a hive much nearer to it than the oiie used in the past time re- ferred to. I am aware that no one liive em- braces, or can embrace all, or nearly all, the valuable features pertaining to hives that oftentimes combine one such feature. Such combination posi- tively necessitates the omission of two or tlni-e others equally valuable, forcing us to make that more difficult selection of the hive combining most worth, in principles, all things con- sidered. Before closing, I wish to state what I believe to be leading principles, which I have faith that the future wisdom and practice of bee- keepers yet to be, will bear me out in. 1. All hives should be easily and readily movable. 2. The stories should move ofl: and on to each other without the necessity of the least upward or downward mo- tion ; that is, no telescoping principle. 3. There should be no dead air space or double covering over the sur- plus room. 4. The sections should never rest on each otlier or the brood frames. With your permission, I will quote from that portion of the specifications of the Langstroth patent, relative to the shallow chamber, or air space above the frames or bars. " The apertures or bee passages in the honey board may be made "with- out being liable to be closed by the bees, as they so frequently are in hives which have not this shallow air space. It will Vie seen that the bees can pass into this shallow chamber from between all the ranges of comb, and from the front and rear walls, d, of the hive, and the sides (c, c, figs. 1, 2 and 3), of the frames without even passing through the combs at all, and .that they can pass from the shallow chamber into any of the honey re- ceptacles, without, as in other hives, losing much time in the height of the honey harvest by crowding through populous combs or contracted pas- sages. "This shallow chamberj while it greatly facilitates the storage of honey in large receptacles, is specially adapted to securing it in small ones, which usually meet with the readiest sale. "1. Thebuilding of comb requires the bees to maintain a high temperature, and they work to the best advantage when they can economize their ani- mal heat,' but this they cannot do in small receptacles, which communi- cate with the hive through such aper- tures as are usually made in its top; such apertures not admitting freely the heat and odor from the main col- ony, and the bees in a small recepta- cle being too few to keep up the re- qinsite temperature. The shallow chamber, however, like the part of a room nearest the ceiling, is in the storing season always full of the warmest air of the hive— thus aiding to keep the small receptacles full of the same. " If large openings or bee passages are made in hives having no shallow chamber, for the purpose of giving a freer admission into small recepta- cles, of the heat and odor of the hive^ the bees often connect the combs or the surplus receptacles with those of the mam hive, making it difficult to remove the surplus honey in a proper condition, and the queen being thus able to travel over the combs into the receptacles is much more liable to enter them for breeding, than she is where the interposition of the shallow air space would require her to leave the combs. "•2. Bees always desire to work in large numbers, so that they can easily intercommunicate with each other, and the common arrangement for in- ducing them to work in small recepta- cles, IS opposed to this instinct, whereas the shallow chamber affords a place of repose for multitudes of bees engaged in secreting the wax to be used in the surplus receptacles, and as a succession of bees are thus constantly ascending and descending, they work in small receptacles witli scarcely more isolation, and with al- most as much rapidity as though they were merely filling the upper part of their main hive." " This shallow chamber answers other highly important purposes : (a) It prevents the bees from cementing the cover or honey board to the tops of the frames or bars, thus enabling it to be more easily removed when access is wanted to the combs. (6) It enables the cover to be put over the frames or bars with much less danger of crushing bees than if it rested di- rectly on their tops, (c) It permits the bees, when the cover is on, to pass from comb to comb above the tops of the frames or bars, (d) It aids to keep a feeder in cool weather filled with the warmest air of the hive, (e) It gives a dead air space between the combs and the cover, thus more etfec- tually guardiu" the bees against ex- tremes of heat and cold. (/) It en- ables us to give the bees better pro- tection against dampness in their hives, as by leaving the apertures in the cover open, in cold weather, there is a much freer escape of moisture than when the cover rests flat upon the frames or bars." Dowagiac, Mich., Nov. 27, 1883. 1^ The 5th annual Convention of the Northeastern Ohio and North- western Pennsylvania Bee -Keepers' Association, will be held at Jefferson, Ohio, .Jan. 16 and 17, 1884. All are cordially invited. C. II. Coon, Sec. New Lyme, O., Nov. 26, 1883. 638 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For tlie American Bee JoumaL Prevention of Swarming. L. L. LANGSTKOTH. Believing that it is right to hive swarms wliich camiot be kept from issuing on Sunday, let me make some suggestions to those who, like myself, wish on this day to have as little as possible to do with bees. 1. By giving the material for start- ing queen-cells on Saturday, there will be no occasion to care for them on' Sunday. |i- 2. Use some proper device for con- fining the ([ueens on Sunday, or any other day wlien you do not wish them to"lead out swarms. This is a point to'which I have given much attention. On page 174 of the third ediiion (1859) of my work, I say, — " As the qiieen cannot get through an opening .5-32 of an inch nigh, wliich will just pass a loaded worker, * if the entrance to the hive be contracted to this dimension, she will not lie able to leave witli a swarm. This method of; preventing swarming requires great accuracy of measurement, for a very trifling deviation from the di- mensions given will either shut out the loaded worker, or let out the queen. These (adjusted) blocks, if firmly fastened, will exclude mice from the hive in winter. AVhen used to prevent all swarming, it will be necessary to adjust them a little after sunrise and before sunset, to allow the bees to carry out any drones that have died.'' In my second edition (1858), page 202, referring to this device, I say : " By this arrangement, all swarm- ing on Sunday, or any other day when the apiarian does not desire it, "may be prevented." Also, page 203,— " It also may be found, on further experiment, that the entrances to all the spare honey-receptacles may be so adjusted that the queens will never be able to enter them for the purpose of depositing eggs." Also, page 202,— " A very important use may be made of blocks thus aiTanged, to get rid of the drones. In that part of the day when they are in full flight, ad- just the blocks so that they cannot enter. Toward dark, or early next morning, they will be found spralwed out upon the alighting-board, or hang- ing ill clusters under the portico, and may be given to chickens, which can easily be taught to devour them. In a few days nearly all the drones in the apiary may be thus destroyed." • Huber does not give the size necessary for con- tlniiig a queen, but he spoke of a gi-ass tube ad- justed so as to pass out a worker, and not a queen. The snjallest queen 1 ever saw could not Eet through my blocks. Althoufjh tlie workers are at first slightly annoyed by them, they soon become accostomed to tbein. as they do not confuse them by presenting the entrance in a new place. The ventilatiim not depending on this contracted en- trance, abundance of air ran be given to the bees when the blocks are adjusted so as to ccmflne the queen. Ill-health f^>r the last two summers has prevnted nie from giving this method of prevent- ing swarming such a full trial that I can endorse it. except fnr tempfirary purp(jses * * * A THEOKV which may seem so plausible as almost to amount to positive demonstration, may be en- cumbered by sonio unforeseen difficulty, which speedily convinces even the most sanguine that it has no practical value. Further experience showing that it was often quite difficult to maintain the .5-32 of an inch by depressions cut in the entrance-regulating "blocks, I fastened a few 5-32 strips with clinch- ing nails between two pieces, each 141^ incli long (the length of the usual entrance), the lower strip having two bevels to facilitate the exit and en- trance of the bees. A central hole, governed by a cork, allowed dead drones to be easily dragged out, or a young queen to fly for mating. Still the bees would worry from having to crawl too far under such narrow di- mensions. At last the 5-32 was cut in a thin metal strip, and such a device enabled me both to prevent my costly imported queens from eloping, or nui- iiing the risk of being destroyed by stray queens. On a recent visit to the large apiar- ies of my friend, Mr. D. A. Jones, of Beeton, Ontario, I saw all the points, on which I had labored so long, car- ried out in a much more satisfactory manner by means or his perforated zinc plates. His bee-guards, made of these plates, allow the workers to pass in the freest possible manner, while the ventilation of the hive is not in the least interfered with. The only improvement in them which I can suggest would be to punch out a cen- tral hole, governed as in my device, by a small cork. These can be adjusted in a few moments, and Sunday swarm- ing, or swarming on any day not con- venient, be prevented without at all worrying the bees. By them, all liad or supernuous drones may lie quietly destroyed, by shaking off the bees from their combs, in front of their hive, the queen, of course, being properly rescued. Some may find this the easiest way, more especially with black bees, for finding a queen, or of making it absolutely sure that there is none in a colony to which we wish to introduce a valuable queen. Mr. Jones uses sheets of this perfor- ated zinc to confine the queen to the lower story of the hive, or to any de- sired part of the brood-chamber, so that she cannot enter the surplus honey receptacles. These sheets also prevent the bees from building small combs between the upper and lower sets of frames — a thing which has often caused so much trouble in liives where more than one story is used. I see no reason why sections for comb honey may not be set to the best advantage' directly on these sheets. Before giving up my apiary, I found that small boxes were much more readily filled by Italian bees,wheii put directly on top of the frames : and that, however admirably the shallow chamber answered for black bees, the Italians plainly wanted nothing to do with it. Howmuch time and money have been spent in trying to contro"l the mating of our queens ! As far as practical results are concerned, have we advanced at all beyond the Kohle process, given so many years ago in the AjiiiiucAN Bee .Journal, by which young queens and drones from a selected colony were made to fly later ill the day th.an the other drones V May we not, by Mr. Jones' bee-"uards, make a still closer approximation to the mating of our queens with om- best drones V If we are not liable to be troubled by drones outside of our owii apiaries, how easily we can shut in those that we do not desire to breed from ! or, if troubled by drones from bees in the woods, or from colonies too near us, we can confine our young queens, and the drones of selected colonies, until it is so late in the after- noon that other drones have ceased to fly ; then by pom-ing a little thin sugar syrup into the proper colonies, we can quickly tempt lioth queens and drones to take wing with the excited work- ers. As the power to control the mating of our queens is fully as im- portant as the control of the same point in our domestic animals, I shall never cease to believe that, sooner or later, we shall obtain the desired re- sult. The care with which queens and drones can be confined by the Jones bee-guards, without at all lessening the ventilation of the hive, and with the minimum of interference with any of the labors of the colony, promises to open a wide field for many impor- tant processes. It may now be pos- sible, in the hands of careful breeders, not only to keep different races or bees pure in the same apiary, but to build up permanently any desired cross between the different races. Few bee-keepers, who keep up vrttli the modern improvements, are ignor- ant of the great services of Mr. Jones, in searching the world, at great ex- pense, to procure the best bees. By his great enterprise he has done more than any one living, to make Ameri- can bee-keeping known in the Old World. We have been much slower, however, to recognize how much he has done for practical apiculture by his many ingenious devices, and, most of all, by the costly experiments and machinery by which he secured for us his perforated metal sheets. Oxford, O., Nov., 1883. 1^ The Ohio bee-keepers will hold their annual convention in Columbus, O., Jan. 14, 15 and 16, 1884. All in- terested in bee-culture are invited. The following subjects will be dis- cussed ; " How to winter bees suc- cessfully.'" " Are the new races of bees a success?" " What can we do to prevent adulteration of honey ?" " How to create a home market for honey." " How many colonies can be kept 'in one locality?" "Can we do without separators ?" " Which are best, deep or shallow frames ?" "AVliat shall we do with second swarms V" " How many brood frames are neces- sary in a hive ?" •'Which is the most salable section, one-half, one or two pounds ?" " Is it advisable for all liee-keepers to adopt a standard size of frame ?" " What is the most de- sirable width of sections ?" The above questions will be dis- cussed by eminent men, such as Rev. L. L. Langstroth, Dr. Besse, S. D. Eiegel and others, and in addition to the above. Prof. Lizenliy, of the Ohio University, will deliver a lecture on " Honey-producing plants :'' also Mrs. Jennie Gulp will read an essay. C. M. KiNGSBURT, Sec. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 639 For the American Bee JoumaL " The Pollen Theory "—Facts. A. R. KOmSTKE. Exactly what we want. Fact No. 1. Colonies affected with the bee diar- rhoea have always pollen in their hives ; fact No. 2, colonies wintered largely or exclusively on sugar syrup escape the disease ; fact No. 3, void- ings of the bees affected with the dis- ease have the same color as pollen, there being no other substance in the hive having the same effect to color. Now, for Mr. Doolittle's experi- ments, as stated in No. 48, page 606. Mr. D. has tried to force bees by starvation to eat pollen, in which he failed. This proves nothing but his failure ; it does not prove that the bees do not eat pollen, for we know they do. Pollen is not, and cannot be the primary cause ; certainly not. Pri- mary causes are those which compel the iaees to eat the pollen when they ought not to ; viz. : out of season, tt Mr. D. had furnished besides pollen and little or no honey, those other conditions necessary to produce the disease, I dare say he would have succeeded. Now, I wish Mr. D. and such other bee-keepers as are interested in it, would experiment as to how to pro- duce the disease, at will, whenever they wish ; than we would arrive at facts and try to avoid such conditions. Like Mr. D., I have also tried to force bees to eat pollen, just one week later than Mr. D. ; viz. : Oct. 19, this fall. I had some very old combs, full of honey, which I did not want to use Bext spring. I extracted the honey, and found two-thirds of the frames filled with pollen and covered with honey. Quite a quantity of the pollen being soaked through with honey, was thrown out. Having some colonies which are rather scant in stores, I fed five of them of this honey, on the above date, which I chose, to avoid robbing, as it was too cold for the bees to fly, as also the 20th and 21st. On the 22d the bees had a chance to fly, and every colony thus fed showed signs of bee diarrhcea. At the same time other colonies, part of which were fed with sugar syrup and part with powdered sugar, made into a dough with clover honey, were not affected. By all means let us have facts. I have drawn conclusions from such as have come imder my observations. Of course, I . tu liable to err ; but, as long as my co'iclusions are not proven to be erroniotis, I think I am justified to consider them correct. To conclude, I will add, that I lost 2 colonies, last winter, by this disease ('?) which had not a particle of brood, hut the honey was gone clean, and part of the pollen eaten. Youngstown, O., Nov. 31, 1883. ®" The annual meeting of the Lorain County Bee-Keepers' Associa- tion will be held in the Court House at Elyria, Dec. 19, 1883. O. J. Terrell, Sec. North Eidgeville, O. For the American Bee Journal. My Experience with Syrian Bees. L. A. LOWMASTER. I will give my experience with Syrian bees, and as 1 do not rear queens to sell, I have " no axe to grind." When I first heard of the Syrian bees. I was anxious to try them, so I sent to Mr. Jones for two queens, which I received in July, 1881, and as it was too late in the sea- sou to test them thorougly, I con- cluded to keep them until I was satis- fied whether they were inferior or superior to other races of bees. In the fall of 1881 , wiien I prepared them for winter, they were stronger in numbers than the rest of my bees. They stood the winter well, and in the spring of 1882, they were more populous than the Italians and Al- binos ; so I thought that I would rear a few queens for my own use, and I succeeded jn rearing some very fine queens, and as I did not put on any boxes in 1882, 1 did not get any sur- plus honey ; but when I prepared them for winter in the fall of 1882, I found nearly every colony had twice as much honey as they needed to winter on, having the brood-chamber full, with the exception of two or three combs, which was about half-full of brood. The winter of 1882-83 was hard on bees in this part of the country, but my Syrians came through in good con- dition ; they wintered better than the rest of my bees, excepting the Cyp- rians, which I had 1>4 miles from my home apiary. Nearly all of the rest of my bees (Italians, Albinos and hybrids) were weak, and in a deplorable condition, so I had to take frames of hatching brood from the Syrians to build up weak colonies, and when the combs were full pf brood, and the young bees commenced to gnaw through, I took them out and exchanged them with the weak colonies the second time. After taking all the brood out twice, it did not seem to affect them at all ; and by the time white clover was in bloom, they were stronger than the Italians and Albinos, and they com- menced to work in the sections two weeks before the Italians (I did not take any brood from the Italians). The SyriaHS cast larger swarms, be- sides gathering more surplus honey than the Italians ever did for me. The young colonies filled 8-frame Langstroth liives, and stored more honey in the sections than did the old colonies of Italians and hybrids, while the Albinos and hybrids only filled the brood-chamber, and only gathered enough lioney to winter on tliis fall. When I prepared them for winter they all had plenty of honey to carry tliem through safely, and more. I find the Syrians splendid honey- gatherers ; they work early and late ; they carry heavy loads of "honey, and there are lots of them. And yet, some say they are no good. The Albino bees are not as good as the Italians. I have had them on trial for three or four years, and I know whereof I speak. I never got as much honey from them during all this time as I did this year from one colony of Syrians. I have " weighed them'in the balance " and " they are found wanting." They liad their day, and must step down and out. I will keep one or two colonies of them just to look at. One WTiter says that he would like to see the man " that can tell the dif- ference between the Italians, Syrians and Cyprians." Now, if there is no difference, why is he afraid to try them, before lie says they are not as good as his strain of bees ? If he will come here, I will show him the dif- ference between the Syrians, Italians and Cyprians. I find no difficulty in telling one from the other, and even queens fertilized by Cyprian drones, produce bees which are readily known from pure Syrians. The general color, markings and movement of these bees, say nothing of their working qualities, are suflicieiit to enable one to distinguish the races readily, but there are also other points in which they differ. Upon opening a hive of Syrian bees, and using smoke, the workers crawl about in a manner somewhat like black bees, but soon become quiet, if carefully handled. The workers fly in a darting manner, and alight quickly when near the de- sired spot, or, perhaps, it cannot be better expressed than to simply say they flit from point to point, wliile the Cyprians and Italians exhibit a more moderate motion. The Syrian bees present a decidedly gray color, though the abdoman has a ringed appearance. The ground color is a grayish-black ; the body, be- fore the fuzz is worn off, being very light ; the gray-colored fuzz is very thick on the thorax, and the latter half on each segment of the abdomen, es- pecially those after the yellow bands, are thickly set with light-colored fuzz, giving them a striking appear- ance. The three yellow bands are very prominent and yellow. The shield between the wings is not as prominent as with the Cyp- rians, though still visible. The Syrian drones are very fine, large and vigor- ous, and have an exceedinly thick coat of whitish and blue-tinged "fuzz" over the greater part of the thorax, especially on the sides, and a very noticeable amount on the abdomen. In proportion to their bodies, I think their wings are somewhat larger than those of tlie Italians or Cyprians. The Syrian queens are wonderfully prolific, laying an incredible number of eggs in a season ; in fact, I would not be surprised if a Syrian queen would lay as many eggs in one season as blacks or Italians'do in a life time. The Syrian ciueens are very small wlien not laying, and some "persons think them ordinary looking ; but give tliem plenty of bees and room, and tliey get very large, and fill a frame of comb with eggs so rapidly that you would imagine it impossible for one queen to deposit them so fast. One Syrian queen can lay eggs enough in 21 days to make from 4 to 0 colonies of bees, if they were all cared for and 640 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. hatched. This may seem surprising, Vmt try it and be convinced. The Syrian bees build less drone comb than the blacks or Italians ; they protect their stores against rob- Viers with such determination that they often catch the robber on the wing, around tlie hive, and punish them before they even get time to alight ; in fact, tliey are robber proof. Their bodies are more telescopic, which enables them to cairy larger loads of honey, and to contract their bodies at other times to quite small proportions. They are swift on the wing, flying so rapidly that only those heavily laden with honey can be secured on the bloom. No race of bees will fly more rapidly, or further (when nec- essary) in search of honey than will the Syrians. They have been known to fly G}4 miles to obtain pasturage. I have seen my Syrians '2}4 miles from my apiary ; how much further they went I ani unable to say. As honey gatherers, they are not excelled, and both the Cyprians and Syrians will make a greater effort to obtain honey when there is a scarcity than the other races, and are valuable for comb honev. My Syrians work on the firs' - '-of red' clover (large heads) ■''^\ .^here was a plentiful flow 01 ite clover honey ; and I never saw bees thicker on buckwheat than I saw the Syrians ou the red clover this season. Mr. Morris, who lives T.}4 miles from my apiary, one day last summer came to see my bees, aiid he told me when he was cutting his red clover for hay. his son remarked : " Father, look at the bees working on the red clover." !Mr. Morris said he got oft the machine to see if they were his bees, but they were not ; they were a different race — his are black bees — when I showed him my Syrians, he said they were the bees" that he saw working" ou his field of red clover, and he said that was the first time he ever saw bees working on red clover. He is a man that can be relied on. The Syrians winter better than the Italians", come out better in the spring, and do not dwindle so badly. Everything considered, I regard ttie Syrian bees as the most superior race ever imported into this country, and that, when they have been subjected to the same careful selection and breeding as have the Italians, they will command more prominence than have the Italians. I would most emphatirally aflh'm that the Syrians have a larger number of the necessary (jualities than any other race or strain of bees. I will admit that I am using strong language, but my experience with this race, regarding queen-breed- ing, honey-gathering and wintering, fully warrant me in making the state- ment. These, with many other ex- periences and facts connected with the Syrians, fully support me in stat- ing that in them' we have the founda- tion on which to build Uie Apis-Av^eri- cana. I am not prejudiced against any race of Viees, and the above is an honest description of the Syrians as I see them. Belle Vernon, O., Nov. 22, 1883. For tbe American Bee Journal. Shall we u^e Old Combs ? C. H. DIBBERN. It has been claimed from time im- morial that pieces of combs are in- valuable to the bee-keeper. I have worked on this line myself for years, but have come to the "conclusion that it is valuable only for the wax it contains to be made into foundation. I usually extract all partly - filled combs in the fall, and save them care- fully to be used again the following spring. After practicing this for vears, I am satisfied it is poor policy. However it may have been, before the advent of foundation, I am satis- fied that, like Mr. Heddon's plan of transferring, it is all changed now. During the past summer I used a good many nice white combs in two- pound sections, that had been built the year before, and as tlie sections were nice and new, thought I liad a bonanza in getting these filled and capped early. .Now, what was the re- sult':* The "bees entered the sections eagerly, and in less than two weeks a good part were capped. By this time 1 was out of empty combs, and was putting on sections" filled with founda- tion. Now. I was beginning to think of taking off some of the secxions that had been filled with empty combs, and what was my disgust aiid disap- pointment in finding the bees uncap- ping it again, and a good deal of it with the caps all burst off. AVell, I could only leave it, and soon com- menced to take off the sections that had been filled with foundation, that were as line as I ever saw. I kept taking oft' some of the sections that were full of empty combs about all summer, and most'of it went into No. 2 honey, while that built on founda- tion, made at the same time, was ex- tra nice. The explanation is very simple. When honey is coming in liberally, the bees wil'l fill comb that is already built too fast, and cap it over before it is ripe and souring ensues. If the bees are compelled to build the comb, or draw out foundation, the cells are filled so gradually that the honey will keep by the time the cells are built out. Every particle of comb should be saved, and carefully melted up and made into foundation. It may look like sacriledge to melt up nice " white comb, but it will pay. Milan, 111.. Nov. 27, 1883. Trenton, Ontario, Convention. A meeting of bee-keepers in the vicinitv of Trenton, Qnt., was held at Trento'n on Oct. 16, 1SS3. P. V. L)emp- sey was elected Chairman, and .J. II. Peck Secretary. Constitution and by- laws were ado"pted, and the following were elected oflicers for the ensuing year : President, P. C. Dempsey ; Vice- Presidents. W. C. Wells. C. \V. Post, S. Powell, J. G. A. Wallace, H. G. Stafford, Edward Caverly, Allen Pringle, John Mitchell, R. A. Brook, A. D. Allen. D. J. Hawley ; James II. Peck, Secretary-Treasurer : H. F. Whittier, Janitor. THE BEST METHOD OF AVINTERING BEES. W. C. Wells winters his bees in a. cellar under his siiop — has a sub-earth ventilation by means of 4-inch tile pipe — prefers' 6-inch tile. When he prepares his hive for winter, takes empty combs out of the hive and crowds the remaining sections up close, by means of division-boards. Makes a frame the size of the top of the hive, and about 2 inches deep, tacks on cotton cloth, and fills with sawdust, which allows the dampness to pass oft', while it retains the animal heat in the hive. Packs his colonies about the middle of October, and puts them into the cellar about the middle of November. Keeps the tempera- ture as near 45° Fahr., as possible. W. C. Post winters his bees simi- larly to the plan of Mr. Wells, but ventilates by means of the cellar windows. S. Powell winters his bees in a cel- lar with caps removed, and nothing but a course piece of bagging pla<'ea over the top of the hive — ventilates his hives by means of a hole in the back part of the hive, covered by fine wire cloth. H. G. Stafford winters his bees sim- ilarly to Mr. AVells— has sub-earth ventilation for his cellar, in which he winters his bees. J. G. A. WalUtfe wintered his bees, last winter, in the stone basement of a barn, and lost -58 out of 66 colonies ; attributes his loss entirely to sour honey. P. C. Dempsey winters his bees in bee cellars, specially built and venti- lated for that purpose. His experi- ence covers a period of thirty years. Thinks the principal cause of failure is bv not putting bees into good win- ter ' quarters before hard freezing weather. D. J. Hawley winters bees in a good cellar, without any special ventilation except from the bottom of the hive. Does not think ventilation from the top of the hive advisable, as it is es- sential to keep up the animal heat in the hive. Rarifled air caused by ani- mal heat will ascend to the top of the nive, while all the foul gases will de- scend to the bottom of the hive. Hence, the necessity of bottom venti- lation. Where a very large number of colonies are kept in the same cellar, teneral ventilation is necessary in ad- ition to hive ventilation. J. II. Peck wintered his bees suc- cessfully from the instructions he re- ceived from the Hon. Lewis Wall- bridge (now Chief Justice of Mani- toba), from whom he obtained his bees. Had no ventilation, except from the bottom of the hive. Thinks if bees are put into an ordinary cellar, with at least 30 pounds of libney to each hive, and caps removed, and cushions of sawdust or cotton batting placed on top of the hives, and that where not more than 10 or 12 colonies are placed in the same cellar, that cellar ventilation is not absolutely necessary, but perhaps advisable. His bees were housed, last year, 1-50 days, THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 641 or 5 months and 9 days. This is a very long period to feed bees, but if the temperature can be kept up and bees have a good supply of pure honey, the loss by this method of wintering bees will be comparatively small. SUN AND SHADE FOR BEES. W. C. Wells prefers apple trees as shade for his bee hives in very hot weather. C. W. I'ost prefers fruit trees and grape vines f(u- bee shade. J. G. A. Wallace jireferred large Missouri currant bushes as bee shade. He had been very successful in tliat way. S. Powell preferred large board caps placed on the top of the hive 6 or 8 in. larger eacli way, than tlie top of the hive. This afforded ample protection against the rays of the sun, and pre- vented the melting of honey hi the sections. INCREASE OF BEES IN THE SPRING. W. C. Wells and C. W. Post agreed that the best plan to get a large in- crease of bees, was to spread the brood frames by removing the division boards and inserting empty cards of combs as fast as the bees are able to cover them. Care should be taken not to spread the brood too fast, as a cold night might chill the brood and produce foul brood. THE BEST TIME TO TRANSFER BEE.S. J. G. A. Wallace prefers the spring when apple trees are in blossom. Messrs. JDempsey, Wells, Post, Haw- ley and Powell all concured in the view. Question by Mr. J. H. Peck,— " Which is the best hive for all pur- poses, a one or two-story hive V" All agreed that a two-story hive was best for all purposes, for the following reasons : 1. All surplus honey, as a rule, was stored in the upper story and the brood-chamber below. 2. The honev above is clearer and free from brood, and can be extracted without injury to the brood, and is more accessible, the lower chamber bemg left almost entirely for brood, and comb honey is cleaner, as the bees do not travel over it in passing out of the hive. COMB HONEY, WITH OR WITHOUT SEP- ARATORS. Mr. Wallace was of the opinion that he could get more honey without separators. Mr. Hawley had tried both plans during the past season, and obtained as much comb honey with separators as without. By the use of the sep- arators his comb honey was in much better condition for shipping in the usual size crates than without sep- arators; about one-eighth of the comb boxes were bulged out with honey, and could not be sent out in the usual sized shipping crates. THE BEST RACE OF BEES. Mr. Post thought the Italians were the best knid of bees, had destroyed his Cyprian and Syrian queens in con- sequence of their stinging propensi- ties, and kept none but Itjilians. Mr. Dempsey did not like Syrian bees, they were such ferocious sting- ers. Was better pleased with Italians and Cyprians. Mr. Hawley preferred a cross be- tween the Cyprians and the Italians. By this means the excellent working qualities of both races were obtained coupled with the proliflcness of the Cyprians. Mr. Stafford preferred the Italians as a class of bees. Mr. Peek got his bees as pure Cyp- rians, but liad been informed that they were Italians. They were pro- lific, and good workers, fighting pro- pensities pointed, but by the aid of a " smoker " liad no trouble to manage them. INTRODUCING QUEENS. Mr. Post makes a cage out of wire netting, an inch and a half wide, 4 inches long, and % of an inch thick, in which he placed a queen and about one dozen working bees, and inserted in the hive between two cards of honey and leave them there for about 48 hours. If the bees are quiet, lib- erate tlie queen, and if not quiet in the hive, leave them for 24 hours longer before letting into the hive. Messrs. Wells and Wallace adopted the same plan. THE BEST HONEY PLANT. All agreed that basswood . is the best honey plant. ARE BEES BENEFICIAL TO FLOWERS ? Mr. Stafford stated that his or- chard near his bees bore far more fruit than any of his neighbors, the past season. Mr. Dempsey said that portion of his orchard near his bees produced a fair crop, while the more remote por- tions bore no fruit worth speaking of. All said that bees were beneficial to flowers. THE BEST PLACE' FOR TSf ARlvETING HONEY. It was agreed that Toronto and Western Ontario afforded the best market for honey, as the people of the Province of Quebec did not con- sume as much honey in proportion to the popnlation as the people of Ontario. H. G. Stafford had an average of IflO pounds of extracted honey from each old colony, and an increase of 3 swarms from each old colony, this being the largest yield reported. The number of colonies represented at the meeting was 1,003. The total number of pounds was ."54.000, being a fraction less than •>> pounds per col- ony. It must be borne in mind that average is based upon the count at the close of the season, and most of our bee-keepers are working to in- crease their colonies of bees instead of for suqjlus honey. AV. C. Wells, seconded by II. G. Stafford, moved that the next regular meeting be held in the city of Belle- ville during the month of February next. Carried. For the American Bee Journals Pollen and Dysentery. W. Z. HUTCHINSON. Away back in Vol. I, of the Amehi-. CAN Bee Journal, on page 2-53, ^ find the following " Analysis of tha Excreta of Bees," by Donhoff. 1. " Remains of Pollen. I boiled tha excrement in caustic potash lye- slightly diluted. After filtering, I washed the residuum in hot dilute muriatic acid. AVhat was left after- again filtering, could from its insolu- bility, be only the remains of pollen. It appeared," under the microscope, like an indistiinct granular mass. 2. " Uric Acid. I immersed the ex- crement in concentrated sulphurio acid, in which uric acid remains un- decomposed. After carefully decant- ing the liquid from the resulting car- bonaceous mass, I added water ; and then washed the precipitated mattei'- in water. I now added one drop of liquor ammoniaci, and one drop of muriatic acid. On heating, the mass, assumed a purplish hue — tlie charac-. teristic reaction of uric acid. 3. " Hippuric Acid. . I boiled some excrement in caustic p l'.'''ie. After ■filtering, I added dilutu .., '^j c acid ; and obtained a precipi*'' . 'which proved to be composed ol uric and liippuric acid. " According to an approximative es- timate, the excreta of bees consists of about one-third uric and hippuric acid, and the residue of indigestible por- tions of pollen." Now, dysentery or bee-cholera ia simply an overloaded condition of the intestinal canal, with no opportunity of flying in the open air to discharge feces ; and if this fecal matter is two- thirds pollen, is it not a logical con- clusion that the more pollen there is. consumed, the sooner will the intes- tines become overloaded 'f Last winter I had colonies die with dysentery, in its worst form, early in January,' before a particle of brood had been reared ; hence, it certainly was not brood rearing that eausetl it ;, and if the fecal matter discharged by the bees is two-thirds pollen, those colonies certainly consumed large quantities of pollen at a time when no brood was being reared. I also had some colonies the same season that wcn> given empty combs in the fall containing no pollen, and were tlien fed a syrup made from pure cane sugar, aiid when the bees from these colonies flew, they discharged so little fecal matter that it was scarcely noticeable, and some of them were kept in the cellar, without a flight, all winter. Thirty-two colonies were buried in a clamp, the same season, and all, except those having sugar stores, suffered, and some died from dysentery. When taken out in April, no brood had yet been reared, but a few colonies had fresh laid eggs. Rogersville, Mich., Dec. 3, 1883. 1^ To give away a copy of " Honey as Food and Medicine " to erertj one wfm buys a package of honey, will sell almost any quantity of it. 642 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. For the American Bee JoumaL Sending ftueens by Mail. FRANK BENTON. The communication on tlie above subject, on page 511 of the American Bee Journal for Oct. 17, conveys the idea that " the first live queen that ever crossed the Atlantic " by mail, was the one sent Aug. 2, by Mr. G. M. Doolittle. The following is verbatim from a letter in my posses- sion. Xotice the date. " Beeton, July 6,1883.— Mk.Frank Benton, Munich, Germany.— Dear Sir : We received a queen from you in a mailing-cage. Most of the bees Were dead. I think there must have been at least double as manv bees as could get food and water. 'The live ones were in fine condition . . .Too many bees are worse than not having enough. I have instructed the boys to send you a cage of bees, and you can report With kind regards to Mrs. Benton and yourself. Yours very truly, D. A. Jones." The queen above referred to was an Imported Syrian, mailed here durhig the month of June. She had pre- viously stood a long journey by mail, having been prepared according to my instructions in Beyrout, Syria, and had come via Alexandi-ia and Trieste to Munich, a distance of about 2,-500 miles, part of which is in a sub-tropi- cal cUmate, very trying to bees in confinement. About 30 workers were sent with the queen ; an experience of several years ni sending queens by mail on sea-voyages of 2,000 to 3,000 miles having convinced me that more than 20 workers give better results than a smaller number. The food was pure sugar candv. Ihe water was in a tin bottle, having a pm-hole, the latter made in the mid- ale of solder to prevent its closing With rust. The cage itself was a stri p of pine .5>^ inches long, 1% wide, and 1/8 thick, containing three auger holes 13-4 inches each in diameter, the bottom of each being left about ig of an inch thick. The middle hole. Which contained the bees, had several small air holes on each side. The candy was in one end, and the water Dottle 111 the other. A wire-cloth and a card covered the open side. This cage was illustrated in the iSntish Bee Journal for July 18.S0, and a comparison shows that Mr. Doolit- tle s cage does not differ in any es- sential point, though he did not Choose to supply water, and used a oifterent kind of food. The queen I sent went from Bavaria (after the long journey from the East) to the western part of Canada, and could not have been less than IG or 17 aays on the way. I had previously sent queens by mail from Cvprus and isyria to various parts of Europe, some of which wcve even 1-t davs— the tune Mr. Doolittle's was on the way to Scotland— and since then I have a good many letters from parties in the LJnited States, telling me of the safe ^^ival of queens that had been IS. and and others 19 days on the way by mail ; one even that states a queen which was 21 days on the way, " ar- rived in fine condition, but two of the workers dead." Thus it is seen that, so far as is now known, the first queen that ever crossed the Atlantic by mail alive did not come from America to the Old World, but went from this side of the water, westward. I have spent too much time, and lost too many queens in testing this matter to resign quietly the claim of having sent out the first queen that ever crossed the Atlantic alive by mail, though Mr. Doolittle and Mr. Cameron doubtless supposed, at the time they wrote, that theirs was resdly the first'. Mmiich, Germany, Jfov. 8, 1883. For the American Bee Journal. Bee-Keeping in Cuba. a. w. osburn. As the sun was hiding itself behind the far-off western horizon on the 18th of last month, we dropped our anchor in the snug little harbor at Havana, and the staunch sea-craft, the steam- ship Niagara was at rest. Night shut down upon us, for the first time, in a tropical country. We left New York on the 13th with 100 colonies of bees, with a complete outfit to begin bee-keeping in Cuba. J. and P. Casanova furnishing the capital for the outfit, myself to furnish what assistance I, could to place the enterprise on a working basis, and it is to be the first apiary established on this island, managed after the modern American style. Oiu' bees stood the voyage well, although they were rolled and tumb- led for five days and nights, and many times had more than they wanted of salt water, for they were stored on the second deck, and when the old ship could no longer stand erect, she would lay over on her side for a rest ; then the bees would be compelled to take a bath whether they wished it or not. On the 20th we arrived at this place, and were able to release our bees. All were alive but 3 colonies ; ill three days more, five empty hives were placed with the three first, mak- ing 8 colonies dead, and 02 alive to start off in this land where flowers are so plenty, where the sunshine is perpetual, and where the withering blight of drouth never comes, or Jack Frost makes his appearanpe. Although I have been here over a mouth, I am not able to tell your readers much about the honey flow, only that from the moment the bees were released, there has been no dearth of honey, and, in fact, it would seem there was too much honey, for the bees are literary running the queens out of the hives ; as fast as a j'oung bee hatches, they fill the cell with honey. I do not know that the queens fully realize that in November they are ex'pected to keep their hives full of brood. But the bees are get- ting sick of this kind of work, and are superseding many of the queens. The old Cubians tell us that this honey flow begins the first of this month, and lasts until February or the first of March (only think of the best honey flow coming in winter and lasting ail winter). To you, in the North, it will seem like a dream, when you are huddling around your hard co'al stoves to keep warm, and your bees are either chaff-packed out- doors, or stowed away in some under- ground cellar to keep them from freezing, you can hardly realize that here in Cuba we have our bees under sheds to protect them from the sun. and every evidence points towards success for the busy little workers. I am not telling anything that in a few months I shall have to take back. There is one thing I will say, that from what I have seen already, I think the bee-keeper will never see honey flow in Cuba as it flows in the North and in California some times ; but still it may. Since I have been here, I think the bees have got the most of the honey from the palm-tree, and they tell us it is in bloom the year around. But at this time they say the " boss ■■ honey plant is open- ing—that is what they call the bell- flower. It yields honey (they say) in great quantities, and of a rich and delicious flavor. So far, the honey I have tasted has been of fine quality, but a little dark ; then, again, some of it is white and clear, and to my taste superior to white clover or basswood. You probably know the prejudice there is in the Northern markets against the honey that has formerly been shipped from this country, and no wonder, they keep their bees in hollow logs, and when they wish to take surplus, they take long knives (the log is open at either end) and cut the honey out — honey, brood, pollen and all — then the honey is squeezed out, and the remainder made into wax. You can easily imagine how the honey looks, and what the flavor would be under such treatment. The native bee of Cuba is a Simon pure black ; there is no German or half-breed about them. But even with the black bees, and their primi- tive way of handling them, the time was be'fore the war here in Cuba, when they had lots of honey in this primitive way, and it is reported that in the lower end of the Island, one man kept 20,000 colonies, and at the commencement of the war, he sold his bees for $200,000 in gold. I gave you the above as it was repeated to me, not vouching for its truth. But it is not impossible, in a country where you can breed bees at any time of the year, and where there' is no time that they do not get a good living. During the winter mouths, they tell me, that it is not uncommon for them to take 1-5 gallons of honey (which would be about ISO pounds) every lo days. They " rob "' them, and, of course, "the bees have new comb to build every time. If they do that, Cuba is not 'so slow a honey coimtry, and what might we expect when managed in the movable frame hives, and the extractor used to throw the honey out. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 643 One word about the face of the country ; 'tis simply beautiful, 'tis grand beyond description, rolling and undulating plains, with small brooks and creeks wliose banks are thickly studded over with tropical trees, chief among them is the beautiful palm, and the honey plant or tree. The climate is all any one could wish. This section, the Casanova estate, is high and healthful. Yellow fever is seldom if ever known here. In future letters I will report progress as it is developed. San Miguel, de Jruco, Cuba, West Indies, Nov. 25, 1883. For tlie American Bee Journal A Premium List for Bees and Honey. O. CLUTB. A good premium listfor bees, honey, and bee-keeping implements, which, with necessary local modifications, would serve for state fairs, and other large fairs, ought to be prepared by some of our most experienced bee- keepers. Such a list, carefully pre- pared, would need only slight moditi- caiions. for many years, and would serve as a guide to the executive com- mittees of many fairs. Such a list would help much towards the improvement of bee-keeping all over the country. It would tend to the discouragement of poor methods and poor products, and to the encourage- ment of good ones. In order to have it of service for next year, such a list ought to be prepared very soon, for the executive committees of most of the state fairs meet sometime in .Jan- uary of each year, and then adopt the premium list for the next fair. I attended the meeting of the exe- cutive committee of the Iowa State Agricultural Society, at its winter meeting in Des Moines, last .January, and was courteously asked to prepare a premium list. I did prepare one which was adopted without change, and served very well for the fair last September. I am now requested to Erepare a list for submission to the oard at its meeting, about the mid- dle of January, 1884. I sliould like to make the list as acceptable as possible to the majority of Iowa bee-keepers, but I have no way of consulting with them except through the columns of the Bee Journal. I therefore ask the Journal to publish the subjoined list now, in order that it may be read by enterprising bee-keepers in Iowa and other states, in time for them to send me their suggestions and criti- cisms for its improvement. All bee-keepers are invited to send to me direct, or to Mr. Newman, for Eublication in the Bee .Journal, if e does not object, their thoughts as to the best premium list. It would be especially profitable if we could hear from Bev. L. L. Langstroth, Mr. W. Z. Hutchinson, Mr. O. O. Popple- ton, Prof. Cook, Mr. Doolittle, and other successful bee-keepers. This list has been prepared on a basis of an aggregate amount of if^OO for pre- miums. I have put comb honey and extracted honey on a par ; have classi- fied honey into ''white clover," "lin- den," and " fall flowers," and have put them all on a par, because there are some sections of the West where the fall honey is tlie main crop. In bees, I have offered the higtiest premium on Italians; iiave put Syr- ians and Cyprians on a par, and offered premiums lialf as great ; have offered nothing on blacks. No premiums are offered in this list for the manipula- tion of bees on the ground, because I am not sure we can have a suitable building. I wish, however, that some of tlie friends wouldsuggest whatsuch premiums ought to be. I expect that some of the bee-keepers will criticise my list pretty sharply. Well, friends, pitch in and tear my list all to pieces, on condition that you suggest a better one. What I am after is ttie best list. I am quite willing that this list of mine shall be knocked into splinters, if from its ruins can be evolved the perfect list. So do not spare your suggestions. First Second Prem. Prem. Bestltarn.beesin observatory hive. $10 00 5 00 Best Cypr. becB in observatory hive. 5 00 12 50 Best Syrian (or hoiy hind) bees in observatory hive 5 00 2 50 Best and lartzest display of different races of bees 15 00 10 00 Best comb honey, white clover, not less than 201bs 10 00 sJOO Best comb honey, linden, not less than201bs 10^00 5 00 Best comb honey, fall flowers, not less than 120 lbs 10 00 5 00 Bestand largest display, combhoney 15 00 10 CK) Best extracted honey, white clover, not less than JOlbs 10 00 5 00 Best extracted honey, linden, not less than 120 lbs 10 00 5 00 Best extracted honey, fall flowers, not less than 20 lbs 10 00 5 00 Best and largest display of extracted honey 15!00 10 00 Best collectionof honey plants, pre- pared, mounted, and correctly labeled 10 00 5 00 Best col lection honey pi ants growing in pots and correctly labeled 10 00 5 00 Best comb foundation machine, shown in operation 10 00 5 00 Best comb fdn. for brood combs 2 00 1 00 Best comb £dn. for surplus iioney... 2 00 100 Best honey extractor 3 00 I cm Bestsmoker 1 00 50 Best bive for comb honey 2 00 100 Best hive for extracted honey 2 0(3 100 Best hive for out-door wintering 2 00 l uo Best product, extracted honey, from one colony of bees and its in- crease for the year 10_00 5 00 Best product, comb honey, from one colony t)f bees and its increase fortheyear 10 00 5 00 Best method of obtaining comb honey, shown by receptacles in place on the hive 5 00 2 50 O. Clute, Pres. Iowa Bee-Keepers' Ass'n. Iowa City, Iowa, Dec. 5, 1883. 1^ There will be a meeting of the members of the Piatt County Bee- Keepers' Association, at the office of the Secretary in ilontlcello. 111., on Saturday, Dec. 15. 1883, at lU a. m. A. T. Pipher, Sec. ^g" The Bee-Keepers' Association of Cejitnil Illinois, will meet in Bloom- ington, on Jan. 9. 1884. All are cor- dially invited to attend. Ja.s. Poindexter, Sec. i^° Please give notice, through the Bee Journal, that C. F. Muth, of Cincinnati, and A. I. Root, of Me- dina, will be at the Ohio Bee-Keepers' Convention, which will be held in Columbus, on Jan. 14, 15 and 16, and join in the discussions of various sub- jects interesting to bee-keepers. C. M. Kingsbury, Sec. 1^ The annual meeting of the Cortland Union Bee-Keepers' Asso- ciation will be held in Cortland, N. Y., on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 1884. M. C. Bean, Sec. McGrawville, N. Y., Nov. 23, 1883. 1^ The Northwestern Illinois and Southwestern Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' Association, will hold its annual meet- ing in Temperance Hall, Fieeport, 111., on Jan. 15 and 16, 1884. J. Stevv'art, Sec. Rock City, 111., Nov. 30, 1883. OUR LEW Syrian Bees, etc. In a recent article, Mr. W. Z. Hutch- inson said of these bees : " Their ad- mirers tell us, if we use them jiroperly, tiiey will be gentle.'' I extracted 900 lbs. of honey in one day from them, and did not get a sting, and the only smoker I used was a roll of cotton rags. Can Mr. H. do better with hyorid-Italians V They do ripen their honey well ; if any one doubts it, I will send him some honey to prove it. I deny that they will " rear brood as long as there is a drop of honey in the hive." I weighed several of my hives this fall, after they had stopped breed- ing, and they had from 35 to 40 lbs. of honey in them. Two years ago I had an Italian colony that had cast a large swarm, and was ready to swarm again. The queens were piping. I opened the hive to cut out the queen-cells ; I smoked them some. They became so irritated, that half of the colony were after me. I threw down my tools and ran for the woods. In doing so, I ran against a tree and skinned my nose. Talk about " irritable " bees ; the Syrians are peaceable by the side of such bees. We have no snow yet, and it is warm and summer like. Cokato. Minn. Fayette Lee. My Report for 1883. As I did not make a spring report, perhaps it would not be out of place now. The spring found me with 14 colonies, out of the 18 put in the cel- lar on Nov. 15. 1882. Tliey all had the dysentery, but when I took them out of the cellar on April 15, 1883. In the spring I traded for one ; that made me 15 to start with. The spring started favorably. On May 21 it turned cold and wet. and so continued till the last of June. I extracted in June and July. June 19, 45 lbs. ; June 20, 51 lbs. ; June 29, lOB lbs. ; .July 7, 170 lbs. ; July 10, 100 lbs. ; .July 18, 122 lbs. ; July 19, 163 lbs. ; July 29, 51 lbs. ; Sept. 3, 123 lbs. ; making a total of 937 lbs., and had 286 lbs. of comb honey. They increased to .35, and all are in gcsod condition. I put them in the cellar on Nov. 20. I sold all of my honey at home at 12 cents tor extracted, and 17 cents to 20 cents for comb. I have on hand about 200 lbs. of honey. Da^id K. Knoll. Salamonia, Ind., Dec. 6, 1883. 644 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Fenl Brood. By request of Wm. B. McCormick, Unioiitown, Pa., I give the results through the Bee Journal of an ex- amination of a piece of comb honey sent by him. He says that, last spring," he noticed something which he called chilled brood, in one or more of his hives, but as the trouble seemed to continue during the sum- mer, lie concluded the ditiiculty was due to foul brood. He says : " 1 lost, last summer, about 20 colonies by it, several just leaving their hives, comb, honey and all, and going off, or trying to get into some other hive. Nearly all the bees in the county seem to be more or less affected in the same way from here, told me he lost every one of his 70 colonies. An affected" col- ony will not work, but lay around idle, and will sometimes kill their queen." Mr. McCormiek thinks only the black bees are thus affected ; the Italians not suffering. Xow, after the closest investigation, I And noth- ing of the micro-organism to which we suppose foul brood is due. There are, in the comb cells, both living and dead larvae; but the dead ones look altogether different from those killed vsith the disease called foul brood ; their original shape is more nearly retained, the tluids of the body are much more watery — not ropy when pulled out— and the odor, though somewhat disagreeable, is character- istically dilferent. What the trouble is I cannot say ; but foul brood is not present in the sample received. Champaign. 111. T. J. Burkill. low shed facing the south, covered on top, back and ends with dirt and sod. I pack my hives close together with some straw and chaff' over and behind them. A\"hen cold weather sets in, I put up a door in front of them, which I can let down in front on days suit- able for them to fly out. The" brown Germau bees gave larger yields of honey than the Italians. I use what some" of our advanced apiarists call rattle-traps; that is an outside cover over my section racks, which I find a great advantage in keeping the hot sun from them ; they are also an ad- vantage in cool nights. Oh, yes, I use an incli strip of glass in each side of my section-rack, which saves a great A. M. iIewit,7omeT2m'i"les deal of time, peeking in at the top. when I have them tiered up 2 and 3 sections deep. I have no trouble in getting my honey sealed over next to the glass. R. A. Calvin. Hartford, Mich., Dec. 3, 1883. with 11 colonies; I used 4 of them for experiments and queen rearing. The remaining seven were run for comb honey, of which I obtained 560 lbs. ; 4.50 from white clover, a few pounds from linden, and the rest fall honey from various sources. I have sold $75 worth of bees and queens, and have 29 colonies remaining, as the result of the years' increase. I had to feed a few of my queen-rearing colonies ; the rest had plenty of stores. L. C. Johnson. Fountain City, Ind., Dec. 3, 1883. A Cold, Wet Season. I commenced tlie honey season with .50 colonies, but a good" many being weak, as we had such a cold and wet spring, they dwindled badly. I had a good flow of honey from white clover, but that was all. I think this was the coldest and wetest summer I ever knew. I now have 83 colonies in winter quarters, in good condition. I have taken 4,023 lbs. of extracted honey, and 9.50 lbs. of comb honey, and the bees have plenty to winter on. II. J. Smith. Burlington, Wis., Nov. 30, 1883. Italians and Hybrids. I commenced last spring's work with 10 colonies of bees ; they in- creased to 23, and I bought 8 extra colonies this fall, which make a good stock to start with next spring. Last winter I wintered 2 colonies in a very damp vapory cellar with the ther- mometer averaging from 40^ to 4.5° Fahr. I gave them lower ventilation about 2 square inches in each hive ; one colony was an Italian, and the other a hybrid. The hybrids kept up a continual hum all winter, but the Italians remained as still as death. When I thumped the hive they re- sponded with a sharp hum ; then all would be quiet in half a minute. But the hybrids consumed about double the honey that the Italians did, and the colonies were about equal in num- bers. The hybrids were in a Quiuby hive, while the others wereiii a Lang- stroth hive, and they both came out healthy in the sprin'g. The only rea- son I can give for the extra amount of honey consumed by the hybrids is, that they were not in as warm a hive as the Italians, which was made of inch lumber, while the Quinby hive was made of half- inch lumber. ChAULES iSTORRIS. Traverse City, Mich., Nov. 28, 1883. Ten Dollars a Colony net Profit. I commenced the season with20col- onies of black bees, increased to 57, and obtained SI SO worth of comb and extracted honey, besides selling 12col- onies at $5 each. The receipts were : Honey $180 00 Bees 60 00 Total 240 00 Expense for extractor $11 -50 Foundation 8 40 Lumber 20 00 Total 39 9& Leaving a net profit of $200. ^\. ti. IlAYEN. Pleasant Mound, 111., Dec. 3, 1883. My Report for the Year. On Nov. 20, 1882, 1 put into winter quarters 16 colonies, in 10-frameLang- stroth hives, except a weak one in a 6- frame hive, which starved before spring. Last April I bought 4 colo- nies, 111 box hives, making 19 to start this season with. I transferred the four 21 days after the first swarm is- sued. Honey from the apple bloom was light, owing to the cold, wet weather last spring. I got about half a crop of honey "from white clover. The basswood crop was heavy ; then came a drouth, followed by an early frost, which made our fall crop light. I took a little over 2,000 pounds of honey, this season (.525 being extracted and 1,500 pounds in tlie comb), nearly all in one-pound sections. My bees increased to 50 colonies. I doubled up some that were weak, and now have 47 packed as last winter, in a My Fayorite Feeder, etc. The feeder I use is, essentially, a broad frame with boards at the sides extending to within an inch of the top, with bottom and sides made water- tight. The end pieces are of inch boards ; the sides, bottom and top are of one-half-inch plank undressed, and just as left by the saw. I make the joints water-tight by a layer of white lead, spread in before nailing together. The feeder is just the size and shape of an ordinary broad frame, and holds about one gallon of syrup. It hangs in the hive just as an ordinary frame. In it I place a float made one-half inch smaller than the inside of the feeder ; it is simply a section box strip, trimmed, till it floats loosely in the feeder. I till this, hang it in the hive, and the feeding is done, with no drowned bees, and not the slightest danger of robbing. I began the season held at well at- interest Bee Meeting at Fayette, Iowa. Our bee-keepers' meeting Fayette, Iowa, was quite tended, and considerable manifested, and an organization ef- fected. A. II. Loomis, of Clermont, President; V. Whiting, of Wau- coma, Vice-President; B. F. Little, of Brush Creek, Secretary ; and H. Randall, of Randalia. Treasurer. We adopted a constitution and by-laws. There were hives, honey, both comb and extracted, extractors, foundation machines, smokers, uncapping knives, etc., etc., on exhibition ; all of which attracted much attention, and elicited considerable discussion. All in all, we felt as though it was a most in- teresting and profitable meeting, and I think we have established it upon a pretty sure foundation. Of course it was but a beginning, and somewhat crude, but we hope to improve with age, and be enable sometime to call in outsiders, practical apiarists, to discuss the pros and ^ons with us, and address the meeting on " The Blessed Bees." Most of our bees hereabouts go into winter quarters in a weak condition. The long cold fall, with- out any bee pasturage, leaves them in a bad condition to hope for strong colonies next spring. A. H. Loomis. Clermont, Iowa, Nov. 24, 1883. More Honey than I Expected. The weather has been beautiful for the past few weeks, very much like spring ; bees flying quite often, and their humming sounds like the busy time of the year. My honey crop was over 1,000 lbs. instead of 600 lbs., for which I am groportionately happy. B. II. Holt. Adel, Iowa, Dec. 6, 1883. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 645 ^:|jcciixl ^oticjcs. Examine the Date following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this office get either a post office or ex- press money, order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American E.xpress money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the mone^sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. ^' Make all Postal Money Orders and Postal Notes payable at the Madison St. Station, Chicago, 111. Subscription Credits. — We do not acknowledge receipt of each subscrip- tion by letter. The label on your paper, or on the wrapper, shows the date to which your subscription is paid. When you send us money, if the proper credit is not given you, within tvo weeks thereafter, on your label, notify us by postal card. Do not wait for months or years, and then claim a mistake. The subscrip- tion is paid to the end of the mouth indicated on the wrapper-label. This gives a continual statement of account. How to Create a Market for Honey. We have now published another edition of the pamphlet on "Honey as Food and Medicine," with more jieui Recipes for Honey Medicines, all kinds of cooking in which honey is used, and healthful and pleasant beverages. We have put the price still lower, to encourage bee-keepers to scatter them far and wide. Single copy 5 cents, postpaid ; per dozen, 40 cents ; per hundred, $2.50. 500 will be sent postpaid for $10.00 ; or 1000 for $15.00. On orders of 100 or more, we will print, if desired, on the cover-page, "Presented by," etc., (giving the name and address of the bee-keeper who scatters them). This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense— enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Try it, and you will be surprised. Our New List of Premiums. Getting up Clubs for 1884. To increase the number of readers of the Bee Journal, we believe, will aid progressive bee-culture and help to elevate the pursuit. AVe,tlierefore, offer the following premiums for getting up clubs : While no subscription to the Bee Journal will be taken for less than the regular advertised prices (viz. : W^eekly, $2.00 ; Monthly, $1.00),— any one getting up a club of two copies, or more, may select from " Our Book List " anything therein named, to the amount of 15 cents for every dollar they send direct to this office, to pay them for the trouble of getting up the club ; and these books will be sent, postpaid, to any address desired. For a club of 3 W^eekly or 6 Monthly and $6.00, we will make an additional present of a Pocket Dictionary, bound in cloth, containing 320 pages. For a club of 5 AVeekly or 10 Monthly, (or a mixed club of both,) with $10, we will, in addition to the 15 per cent, present a copy of the Asierican "Popular" Dictionary, comprising every word in the English language that enters into speech or writing ; it contains 32,000 words and phrases,670 illustrations and 512 pages; it is nicely bound in cloth, and will be sent by mail, postpaid, to any address desired. For a club of $20, for 10 Weeklies, or an equivalent in Monthlies, we will present, besides the 15 per cent, in books, a tested Italian queen, by mail, postpaid. Subscriptions for two or more years for one person, will count the same as each year for a different person. For a club of 100 Weekly (or its equivalent in Monthlies), with $200, we will send a Magnificent Organ worth $150. See description on page 614 of the W^eekly for Nov. 28, 1883. I®" Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal for 1883 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. 1^ It must be understood that, should an advertiser desire to cancel an unexpired contract, he can do so only by paying regular rates for the number of insertions his advertise- ment has had. The Apiary Register. All who intend to be systematic in their work in the apiary, should get a copy and commence to use it. For 50 colonies (120 pages) $1 00 " 100 colonies (220 pages) 1 50 " 200 colonies (420 pages) 2 00 The larger ones can be used for a few colonies, give room for an increase of numbers, and still keep the record all together in one book, and are there- fore the most desirable ones. 1^ When writing to this office on business, our correspondents should not write anything for publication on the same sheet of paper, unless it can be torn apart without interfering with either portion of the letter. The edi- torial and business departments are separate and distinct, and when the business is mixed up with items for publication it often causes confusion. They may both be sent in one envelope but on separate pieces of paper. Bee Pasturage a Necessity. — We have issued a new pamphlet giving our views on this important subject, with suggestions what to plant, and when and how. It is illustrated with 26 en- gravings, and will be sent postpaid to anyaddress for ten cents. Emerson Binders — made especially for the Bee Journal, are lettered in gold on the back, and make a very convenient way of preserving the Bee Journal as fast as received. They will be sent, post-paid, for 75 cents, for the Weekly ; or for the Monthly, 50 cents. They cannot be sent by mail to Canada. (^ We carefully mail the Bkk Journal to every subscriber, but should any be lost in the mails we will cheerfully send another, if notified before all the edition is exhausted. Sample Copies of theAMERiCAN Beb Journal will be sent free to any per- son. Any one intending to get up a club can have sample copies sent to the persons they desire to interview, by sending the names to this office. ^g" Articles for publication must be written on a separate piece of paper from items of business. Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on which are printed a large bee in gold, we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 per 100. 646 THE AMERICAif BEE JOURNAL. Preparation of Honey for the Mar- ket, including tlie production and care of both comb and extracted honey, instructions on the exhibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc. This is a new 10 cent pamphlet, of 32 pages. i^Speali a word for the Bee Jour- nal to neighbors who keep bees, and send on at least one mw subscription with your own V Our premium, " Bees and Honey," in cloth, for one new sub- scriber to the Weekly, or two for the Monthly, besides your own subscrip- tion to either edition, will pay you for your trouble, besides having the satis- faction of knowing that you have aided the Bee Jouknal to a new subscriber, and progressive apiculture to another devotee. ^ We need the numbers of the Bee Journal for August, 1866, aud April, 1876. Any one having them to spare, are requested to send us a Pos- tal Card. We will give 25 cents for each. Do not send them without writing, for we want only one of each ; and, if we are not already supplied, we will take them. i^ A correspondent asks if any one may select a Binder for the Bee Journal, among the books given as Premiums for getting subscribers we reply, yes; any book or binder we keep for sale, may be selected by those who get up clubs. ^' To all new subscribers for the Weekly Bee Journ.vl who send us $2.00 for 1884, we will send the re- mainder of this year free, from the time the subscription is received. So, the sooner they s\ibscribe, the more numbers they will get free. Advertisers' Opinion. The queen business is msliing, and we think the Bee Journal deserves much credit as an advertising medium. E. A. Thomas & Co. Coleraine, Mass., July 18, 1883. giducvtisctncuts. BON D & PEARCH, (ESTABLISHED 1860.) 163 South Water St. , CHICAGO, COMMISSION MERCHANTS, Make a Specially in HONEY. ConsiRnmeats solicited. Will make liberal ad- vances on shipments. Refer to Hide and Leather National Bank. luBtf HOPE "'DEAF. Peck's Patent Tubular Cushioned Ear Drums euro Deafness in all stages. Recommended by scJentitic men of Kiiroin' and AnmiiLii. Write fur illustrated cUsoriptive boofc and testimonials frAN(;STROTH AND MODEST UIVBS. Correspondence with supply dealers solicited. My Sections are all made from Poplar. Address, OEOROE TATLiOK, 49A4t&lCtf 12Btf DUNUBE, Kane Co., ILL. BOOKS! Sent by mail, on receipt of price, by y25 West Madison Street. CHICAGO, ILL.. On doien or half-dozen lots of one kind.weallow 25 per cent, discount, and prepay postaRe. Special rates, on larger quantities, given upon application. Szlerxon** Rational Bee - Keeplns.— A Tmnslation of the MaHterpiece of that most celebrated German authority, by H. Dieck and S. Stutterd, and edited, with Botes, by Charles N. Abbott, Ez-editoT of the "British Bee Journal." Dr. Dzierzon is one of the ereatest living authori- ties on Bee Culture. To uim and the Baron of Berlepsch we are indebted for much that is Isnown of seientlHc bee culture. ConcernlnR this book, i'rof. Cook says: "As the work of one of the great mat-ters, the Langstroth of Germany, it can butOnd a warm welcome on this side of the Atlantic." Mr. A. I. Root says of it: "Old father Dzierxon baa probably made greater strides in scientific apiculture than any one man.. .For real scientific value, it would well repay any bee- keeper whose attention is at all inclined to scien- tific research, to purchase a copy. Cloth, itfiSi. Queen-RearlnflT, by Henry Alley.— A full and detailed account of TWENTi'-THREE years* experience in rearing queen bees. The cheapest, easiest and best way to raise queens. Never before published. Price, fltl.OO Ilee-K.eeper*a Guide ; or, Cook'a Manual of the Apiary. —This Manual is elegantly illustrated and fully " up with the times " on every subject of bee-culture. It is not onlr instructive, but intensely interesting and thoroughly practical. The book is a masterly production, and one that no bee-keeper, however limited his means can afford to do without. Cloth. »!.»«> x paper cover. »1. Bees and Honey, or Management of an Apiary for Pleasure and Profit, by Thomas G. Newman.— Fourth Edition. "Fully up with the times," including all the various improvements and inventions. Chief among the new chapters are : " Bee Pasturage a Necessity," " Management of Bees and Honey at Fairs," "Marketing Honey," etc. It contains ifio pages, and is profusely illus- trated. Price, bound In cloth, TSc; in paper covers, SOc, postpaid. Boney, as Feed and Medicine, by Thomas G. Newman,— This pamphlet discourses upon the Ancient History of Bees and Honey ; the nature, quality, sources, and preparation of Honey fur the Market ; Honey as food, giving recipes for making Honey Cakes, Cookies, Puddings, Foam.Wines.etc; and Honey as Medicine, with many useful Recipes. It is Intended for consumers, and should be scat- tered by thousands, creating a demand for honey everywhere. Published in Knarlliih and Oertnun. Price for either edition. 5c. ; per dozen, 50e. Preparation of Boney for the Marhet, includiuK the production and care of both comb and extracted honey, and instructions on the ex- hibition of bees and honey at Fairs, etc.. by T. G. Newman. This is a chapter from " Bees and Honey. ' Price lOc. SwarmlnK.BlTldlngr and Feeding Bees.— Hints to Beginners, by Thomas G. Newman. This is a chapter from "Bees and Honey." Price, 5c. Bee PasturiiBe a RTecesslty, by Thomas G. Newman— Givinc advanced views on this impor- tant subject, with suggestions what to plant, and and when and how : i2ii engravings. This is a chap- ter from " Bees and Honey." Price. lOc. Bees In ^'^Inter, with instructions about ChafT-Packing. Cellars and Bee Houses, by Thomas G. Newman. This is a chapter from "Bees and Honey." Price, 5c. Food Adulteration j What we eat and should not eat. This book should be In every family, and ought to create a sentiment against adulteration of food products, and demand a law to protect the consumer aeainst the numerous health-destroying adulterations otfered as food. 200 paces 5»c. Scribner** I^uuiber und r.oar Book,— Most complete b^ok of its kind published. Gives meas- urement of all kinds of lumber, logs, and planks by Doyle's Rule, cubical contents of square and round timber, staves and heading bolt tables, wages, rent, board capacity of cisterns, cordwood tables, interests, etc. Standard book throughout United States & Canada. Price ita c. postpaid. Flsher'B Qrnlu Tables for Farmers, etc. —192 pages, pocket form ; full of useful tables lor casting up grain, produce, hay ; cost of pork, inter- est; wages tables, wood measurer, ready reckoner, plowing tables and more miscellaneous matter and useful tables for farmers and others than any similar book ever published. 40 cents. Moore's Universal Assistant, and Com- plete Mechanic, contains over l,n colonies. $l.'Xi; for Hh> colonies, $l.ou; for 2'X) colonies, t2.0(j. geutschc ^ticchciv Uebet S3icncnstld)t. ©Icnctt JRuUur, obev erfotgreic^e SBt^anblung berSSienen, Don J^oS. ®. Sferoman. 'J)iefe6 ^ampljlet entmt 23elel)rutigcn iiber folgenbc 'SJcgeitftdnbe — O e V 1 1 i d) t e i t be§ S3iencnftanbe§ — ^onia, pPanjeii — Grjie^ung berj?6nigtn — Jittteni — ©djiDarmen — ?l6lcgcr— 33crfe(jen— ,3 t a I i c n i fi v e n — 3"ff unt> fcine .^tanffjfltCtt— 5?on 23.3.£enbaU, 3K.S)., entt;a[tenb ein alpf)abctif(^ georbneteS ^Bcrjeidjnifj ber oerfdjicbcnen 5|3fcrbefrant^eiten, fanimt ben 9trfad)en, ®t)mptomen unb ber ric^tigen SBeljanb; rungberfclben; fevner, eine Sammlung roert^Doller JRejepte. 5Preig 25 gents. THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 925 West Madison at., CHICAGO, ILL. u Journal, DEVOTED TO THE INTERl^STS OF THE PRODUCERS OF HONEY. VOL. XIX. CHICAGO, ILL., DECEMBER 26, 1883. No. 52. Published every Wednesday, by THOMAS G. NEWMAN, Editor and Proprietor, ®" We point with pride to the copious Indexes contained in this paper. They will be of untold value to those who bind the Journal, or those who use Emerson Binders in which to keep the volume. 1^ "Fifty-two dividends a year from $2 invested." That is what every one will receive who subscribes for the AVeelcly Bee Journal. ®° The Rev. S. L. Stiver, of Bunker Hill, Ills., asks: "Will pure honey granulate ? and if so, is it as nutri- tious and wholesome as the ungranu- lated y" Yes ; nearly all pure honey will granulate on the approach of cold weather or before, and is not only as nutritious, but it is preferred by many for table use and medicinal purposes. ^" As the reading season has come with the long winter evenings, it is just the time to read the various books on Bee-keeping. When renewing your subscriptions will be a good time to get a supply of such literature. See ^ oiu' club rate on Books with the Bee yf Journal, on the first page of this paper. ^g" We have received tlie Catalogue and Price List of Mr. Elvin Arm- strong, Jerseyville, 111., for 18S4. The Crown bee hive and supplies generally. The Volume for 1883 is Finished, ^" We can supply photographs of Rev. L. L. Langstroth, the Baron of Berlepsch, orDzierzon, at 25 cts. each. ^For $2.75 we will supply the Weekly Bee Journal one year, and Dzierzon's Rational Bee-Keeping, in paper covers ; or in cloth for $3.00. With this number of the Weekly Bee Journal, the volume for 1SS3 is complete I The work on it is done— the volume closed— the year ended — another " star " added to the galaxy of the bright luminaries of its exist- ence ! The success of the Weekly Bee Journal during the past years of its existence, has far exceeded the expec- tations of its ptd)lisher, and shows that the time had fully come when its existence was a public necessity. Wlio among progressive apiarists would now consent for a moment to go back again to a monthly V Echo asks. Who ? and the echo reverberates the only reply. It is a source of much congratula- tion to its friends, as well as its pub- lisher, that it enjoys a reputation for reliability and integrity, of which but few of the publications of the world can boast. We are quite willing to submit to the verdict of its ten thousand readers, as to how well it has sustained the promises made a year ago, that it would " continue to lead in all the qualities of our ever-advancing art, and maintain its high position as the most enterprising Bee Paper of the World." The thousands who have already volunteered their appreciation during the year, and testified of its practical value by their continued pationage, and those who now are showing their esteem by promptly renewing their 'subscriptions for the coming year (and with these substan- tial approvals send words of encour- agement) ; all stimulate us to further dilligence in the prosecution of our life work. Its record, character, power and usefulness in the past, is its guarantee for the future. We have already engaged an army of regular correspondents of the Bee Journal for tlie year 1884, compris- ing the best apicultural writers of the present age, and many of tlie most practical and successful apiarists of the world. As heretofore, the Bee Journal will continue to be the medium for the promulgation of the best thoughts of the most advanced bee-keepers of|the age— keeping abreast of the highest progress, favoring the freest discus- sion of all points of interest in api- culture, advancing progressive ideas and the newest practical conceptions and improvements. Amid all the rush of correspondence at this season of the year, we will pause a momentto wish all ourreaders A MERRY CHRISTMAS, AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! Honey Crop of France and America. Mr. Jas. McKnight, of Capistrano, Cal., writes us as follows : A friend of mine, Mr. Louis Darti- gues, of this place, asked me to guess how many colonies of bees there were in France. Of course I could not do so. Judge of my astonishment when he handed me the enclosed strip taken from a French paper : Colonies, 1,971 .3(i5; lioney, 9,948,642 kilos. ; wax, 2,845,749 kilos. ; value of honey, 14,94.5,835 francs ; value of wax, 8,762,299 francs ; total, 23,698,134 francs. Translated to our figures it is about as follows: Colonies, 1,971,3&5- honev 21,887,000 lbs.; wax, 6,260,600 lbs ' value of honey, $2,989,167 ; value of wax, $1,750,460 ; total value, $4,749,627. As we sometimes liear that the United States is the largest honey- producing country in the world, I would like to know wliat tlie figures of the last census gives, or how does it compare with the above ? The last census reports have not yet been published, hut it is estimated that there are in the United States and the Dominion of Canada, about six millions of colonies of bees, and the honey crop is valued at about thirty millions of dollars. Tlie wax product is valued at about two millions of dol- lars. Modern management produces less wax than with the old style of destroying the bees for the honey and wax. 668 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. m^^ For ttie American Bee Journal Michigan State Convention. \V. Z. HUTCHINSON. SECOND DAY. The meeting was called to order at 9 a. m. by President Cook, and then the Convention proceeded to discuss the '• Selling of Iloney." C. F. Muth said that he had induced many manufacturers of tobacco, of cakes and cookies, of pickles, as well as packers of pork, to use honey m place of other sweets. If we keep oir honey pure, there will be no troidile in disposhig of it. He exhibited some excellent cookies or buns, in the man- nfacture of whicli, honey was used. A. D. Benham : A confectioner in our town took my entire crop of 1,000 pounds of extracted honey to use in making cookies. He also had samples wliich were very much like tliose brought by Mr. Muth. B. Salisbury spoke of the benefits of honey in pulmonary diseases. Rev. L. L. Langstroth had a dear friend that was apparently near death's d(wr from consumption, who ■was restored to health by small but frequent doses of honey. He con- sidered basswood honey the best for lung diseases. " Is Bee-Keepiug Healthful ?" was next discussed. Dr. Mason said, no ; bee-keeping is not healthful. My hands, at times hang almost helpless from the eftects of bee poison. Almost every fall I am nearly disabled from the effects of the poison. If I keep away from the bees I am all right. C. F. Muth: Get better-natured bees. Dr. Mason : My bees are as good- natured as most bees, but bees delight in stinging me. While at Mr. Muth's apiary I was stung three times, but Mr. Muth knew nothing about it. Rev. L. L. Langstroth : When I commenced bee-keeping, a sting caused much swelling, but in time this trouble passed away. Several years passed, during which I handled no bees, and when I again attempted it, I found myself more susceptible to the poison than ever, but by continu- ing to work with the bees, disregard- ing the stings, my former indifference returned. D. A. .Jones : AVhenahive is opened every frame should be moved along a little, and the whole hive disturbed before the first frame is lifted out, this disorganizes the whole of the bees, and starts them to eating honey, and the danger from stings is lessened. M. H. Hunt : Honey is an excellent remedy, and is always handy. Mr. Sheldon : Bee stings have cured rheumatism for me. Dr. Mason : Bee stings never helped mv rheumatism. D. A. Jones : I have cured rheuma- tism and neuralgia, for the time being, with bee stings, but the next day it returned. Bv singing the hairs from tlie l)ack of the hand and wrist, many stings will be prevented. The bees catch ttieir feet mthe liairs, if left on, become irritated and sting. Dr. llulison : Chloroform is an ex- cellent remedy for stings. Mr. Millard : I am afflicted with eruptions and boils, caused by bee poison. Your humble servant (W. Z. H.) had in his mind tlie case of Mr. James Heddon, who suffers so much from the effect of bee poison as to be al- most entirely prevented from hand- ling bees, but, as many others wanted to talk, he said nothing. " Exhibitions at the State Fair," was then discussed. Secretary Cut- ting gave a detailed report of his meeting the officers of the State Agri- cultural Society, inducing them to in- crease the premium list and put up a building expressly for the apiarian department. lie then read the follow- ing upon tlie importance of making exliibits at Fairs : Exliibitions properly conducted are educational institutions. I think it is conceded that to create a demand for anything is to bring it befi)re the pub lie in some form where the masses can be educated to its uses, and I know of no place where anything can be brought before the public, and its uses explained, as well as at State and County Fairs. "Where can you place honey to reach the eye of the consumer as well as at large exhibitions ? Honey placed on exliibition at fairs, is seen by thou- sands every day ; and when put up attractively, to please the eye, it creates a demand. How often the exhibitor liears this remark : " I did not think of buying honey when I came liere, but it looks so nice that I must take some home." If you put honey in a box, and put up notices all around, saying that you have honey for sale, and I dare say you will not sell a box a day ; while the exhibitor opposite, who has a large exhibit, put up in an attractive manner, will sell large quantities every day. You must be ready to explain away all existing prejudice, for you will find such every hour in the day, that seems foolish to you, because you have been educated to know better. I well remember one little incident that happened at our last State Fair. A party of ladies came along, when one asked the question : " AVhat is that machine for? ^nd the answer was, to make comb foundation for the bees to work on— at tlie same time showing them a fine specimen. The lady turned to the party she was witli, and exclaimed : " There, didn't I tell you that honey was adulterated, for here is the very machine to'make the comb, and there is the machine to fill it " (referring to an extractor). It took no small arnount of talk to break down the prejudice. To the supply dealer exhibitions are a fine thing. Bee-keepers know tliat there will be placed on exhibition a large collection of implements and supplies of all kinds, and they go to the fair to see what is new and what they can learn, and if you have a good line of supplies you will get many an order that you would not have in any other way. Men get different ideas from what they read and what they see. You may describe an article, and the party you wish to reach does not get your idea of it, but the moment he " sees tiie article " it is different ; he does not hesitate to buy it. You must bring your goods before the consumer if you expect to dispose of them. Another important feature that is left out at our exhibitions, is lady bee-keepers. A few lady bee-keeper's would help exhibitions greatly. They can arrange an exhibit much more tastefully than men, and the lady visitors will stop and talk witli lady exhibitors much sooner than with men. Any woman can exert a great moral influence and render our exliibi- tions much more attractive. I would earnestly appeal to every bee-keeper to come out next fall at our State Fair and make a grand ex- hibition. Do not hold back because you have not much to show ; every one helps. Last year one man came with a single bee hive and received the firist premium. The Agricultural Society does not want to see one man fill the building, but it wants all to come. A building will be provided large enough to ac- commodate all. In no other way can you make the sale of honey so great as to make a fine exhibit at fairs all over the land. So I will say again : " Come one and all ; bring what you can, and let ns show our Mother Coun- try that we, too, can have a great bee and honey show." A. J. Cook : When I went to the State Fair, the President did not wait forme to come through the yard, but came out to meet me, and said that he was proud of the exhibit in the apiarian department. D. A. Jones said that lioney-shows increased its sale wonderfully. Two thousand two-ounce packages of honey were sold at 5 cents each, at our fair. These packages gave people a taste, inducing the'm to buy larger packages. One dealer bought them to give as Christmas advertisement. Honey- producers should not neglect this great educator of the people. M. H. Hunt : I sold all my honey at the fair. Sir. Hutchinson sold some, and might have sold all of it if he had not held it above market price. S. T. Pettit : Candied honey should be exhibited at fairs. Most bee-keep- ers exhibit their honey in the liquid form ; purchasers carry it home in that form, and when it crystalizes they think something must be wrong, and fear that it is adulterated. To revise the State Fair premium list, and urge its adoption by the offi- cers of the Agricultural Society, the following were appointed as a com- mittee : H. D. Cutting, D. A. Jones, Dr. Mason, Dr. Kazartee and C. F. Muth. The President's address was then read Iiy Prof. Cook, and was enthusi- astically received. It was as follows ; THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 669 THE OUTLOOK OF APICULTURE. Brotlieib of tlie apiary, ladies and gentlemen : — The Constitution of our Association makes it incumbent upon me to pre- sent the annual address by virtue of my office as President of the Society. In casting about for a theme s\iitable to this occasiori, I can find nothing I deem more worthy than ■' The Out- look of Apiculture." Before commencing a survey of the present status of our art, I pause for a moment to speak of an event whicli is of deepest interest to us all. Need I .say I refer to the presence among us of our honored and revered friend and benefactor, whose invention alone made possible the mighty progress of our art; whose rare gift as an experi- mentalist, scholarly attainments and surpassing gift as a writer, gave to us the greatest work ever written on apiculture ; whose grand character, transparent ingenuousness, ehild-like- simplicity, and retiring modesty, teach us so graphically what the Christ spirit can do for man ; whose great heart ever moved by the broadest charity, made him to bless, even those whose' curses he bitterly felt. To know such an one, to look iipon him, to grasp his hand, to hear his words of wisdom, bringing to us the treasures of a mind stored with the richest truths, and of a heart, too great to feel malice ; and so large that it reaches out to aid even the" least of us, all of this is an experience which we Michi- gan bee-keepers appreciate to-day. How greatly we are honored, we can- not now find words to express ; but in all our future we shall remember this event, as realizing to us, a hope which we had never expected to see fulfilled. A few years ago the cynics of our brotherhood told us that conventions were the enemies of our art, that they were worse than useless, and that to stimulate the growth of apiculture was to use the suicide's dagger. Now it is rare indeed to find a man so nar- row as to declaim against association. While time has shown that with bee- keeping, as with every other business, increased supply brings a much greater increase in demand, which is further made potential for good, by bringing the increased energy and intelligence which numbers are sure to give. The business that booms, is the one that has among its patrons the talent, the tact, the energy and the genius of the country. Without conventions, we could liot have inatigurated, and made successful our splendid exhibitions, which are sure to foster our art as few otlier things can. Those States whose conventions are ablest, and most fre- *3. f The following are the latest quota- lions for honey and beeswax received up to this hour : CINCINNATI. Extracted honey brinpe "(gioc. on arrival Best comb honey. Hj@l7c. in small sections. BEE-iWAX— Is of ready sale at -jHOsn on arrival. CHAS. F. MCTH. NKW YORK. HONEY— White clover and basswood in 1 and 2 lb. sections, 17®22c. Dark and second quality, 14r4iric. : extracted white clover in kcKS and bar- rels. 9@!^10c.i dark. tifeSic. BEESWAX— Prime yellow,27«529 c. H.K. &F.BThubber&(0. CHICAGO. HONEY— The market remains without change from that of Inst week. Dealers and retailers buy only enough to supply the demand for present use. It is impossilile to place lots, or entire shipments, owing to the reluct.moe of dealers to buy in ad- vence of immediate wants. Prices ulttaliied for white comb in I lb. sections, 18*a.20c.: Ik and 2 llj., I5@l,^c, according to beauty of same. Extracted honey. 8(ftlOc. per lb., according to color, body and flavor. BEESWAX— Yellow. :«c.; medium, 28i;(a30c. STEARNS & SMITH. 423 Front Street. 8T. LOUIS. HONEY-Comb met a fair local demand at loC. to l,Sc. per lb. for choice; strained and extracted dull at nL^f5i7c— in small cans and fancy pkgs. at loc BEESWA.X— Firm, at 2f)Si.ioc. W.T. ANPEKSON i Co.. liM N. 3d Street CLBVBLAND. HONEY- Honey continues in excellent demand, as reported last: every lot of choice white comb is taken up as fast as it comes at 18c. In quantity fori Ih. sections, and an occasional sale at 19: in a very few instances only, 2nc. has been reached. Broken lots and second quality is very slow sale. For extracted there is no demand. BEESWAX— Is eagerly inquired for at i8@30c.. but none to supply the demand. A. C. KEXDKL. 115 Ontario Street. BOSTON. HONE Y— Our market is very quiet on honey. We quote lfi@lHc. for best 2 lb. sections— Is^aoc. for best white 1 lb., and loc. for extracted. BEESWAX— We have none to quote. BLAKE & Ripley. 57 Chatham Street. THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 675 GENERAL INDEX TO SUBJECTS FOR 1883. Abnormal Swarming Abscond DK swarnia 578, Abuse is not arpumeut, A candid request A card to Kentucky bee-keep- ers A clerpyman's success Ad ti Iters tion n curse 257, Adulteration of Sweets by Glu- cose Advertising judiciously A Few Pointers After-Switrms— Prevention. a9. 206 591 485 60 339 415 4.'>() 12(i, 195 Age of beea AlleyN Shipping Case Food.... American vh. German honey.. . An insect -leaf cutter Another Step in Advance 6, Answering questinns Apiary Talk;,— Hints 332, Apia Dorsata 185, Appearances often deceptive.. Apiary of I. II. Good Apiary of G. K. Hilton Apiaries destroyed 242, Apis Meliflcji in Java & Ceylon Are Bees Taxable in Iowa?. .42, 2lf:,2l7 Are Sections less than i lb. Pro- fitable? 14rt, 169, Artihcial honey— fraud A Sample— by George A Swarm of " B's " Attractive Packages for Honey At Whiit Age do Bees Gather Honey 'f August Dwindling 391 91 349 43 114 457 270 466 34 539 265 426 212 246 343 331 3ns 434 Backward Spring... 75. 267. 303, 305 313 Sasswood or Linden— a poem.. 403 Bee Be-ing Busy 36 Be courteous, if you cannot ap- prove (V)^ Bee-Culture in the Knckies 67 Beedysentery notanewdisease 143 Bee feeders «0, H4. 157. 594. 644 Bee fever, selling honey, etc... 610 Bee houses 187 Bee Journal— Appreciated.. ..Ill, 266, 302, 580 A suggestion 34 A text book 224 Binders a protection. .27.59, 76 Ill Motto— push & progression. Ill End of tlift v(jlume H67 Premium list .645 Source of profit to readers. Fl 38 Subscription credits 645 Beo-Keepers' Picnic 342 Bee Keepers' Week 353, 453 Bee-Keepirg as a Specialty 150 Bee- Keeping for Ijadies. .24,42, ISO. 205,231 271 Bee-keeping in Ala 363. 374, 579 America 510 Africa 307 Arkansas 312,350, 374, 437 Australia 367 Bucks Co., Pa 5i_>4 California. .122, 135, 181,206, 231,254,209.312 371 Canada.. 99, 157, 159,193,261, 283,287 382 <'olorado 43 <'onnecticut 349 <'uba 587, 642 Dakota 121, 134 England 247 Egypt 79 Florida. .122, 137, 204, 213, 245.265,283 334 Georgia 170, 218, 281, 4lo Illinois 286, 373, .524 India 271 Indiana 3211 Indian Territory fi28 Iowa 137,272, 4R7 Ireland 243 K ansas 1 W Kentucky... 98, 111. 135, 273, 1281, 3U1 596 Ijnuisiana 217,313, 495 Maine i;i8, 229. 338, 458 Maryland 123 Massachusetts 51h Minnesota 181, 458 Mississippi. .167, 237, 382,398, 444 517 Missouri 153 Nebraska 326 New York. .254. :i49, 374,386, 421 443 453 North Carolina.' .'."''.'..*.'.".".'.' 218 Oregon 605 Kussia 34 Scotland 326, 497 Shenandoah Valley 445 Tennessee 204. 205 Tbe South 3, 19,81, 135 Texas.. 1.55, 156.260.278,281. 339, 349, 397, 410, 433, 506 Utah 226,325, Virginia 122, 210, Vermnnt Wisconsin Bee HTKUATLniE- Alley's Queen Rearing. .197, Bacteria Bees and Honey Bee- Keepers' Exchange Bee- Keepers' Guide Blessed Bees 20, California Apiculturiat Dzierzon's Uatlonal Bee- keeping im, Gravenhorst'B New Book. . . Honey as Food and Medi- cine 172, New England Apiarian Swiss Bienen Zeitung Bee-Paradise Bee-Pastures of Mt. Shasta Bee-Statistics in Corah Foundation fastening 159. 227, -41 320 Comb foundation making.. 169, 277 Comb or extracted honey... .40. 93, 186, 262, 276. 334, 348 404 Coming bee 259, 479 Conundrums on beea 393 CONVENTION'S- Central Ills 116, 133,272, 558 Central Kans 80, 1 54 Central Mich 504 Colorado 175 Eastern Ind 6 Eastern Mich 8 Eastern N. Y 130 Fayette Co., Iowa 644 Gibaon Co.,Tenn 386 Haldimand. Ont 214, 333 Hamilton, Ont 6O8 Hunt Co., Texas 392 Indiana 70 Iowa 66, 99, 157, 397, 480, .589 Jasper Co., Mo 252 Kentucky 85, 512 Keystone 142, 294 Lorain Co., Ohio 81 Mahoning Valley, 0. 105.298, 481 Maine 1 32, 443 Marshall Co., Iowa 145,607 Maryland, Va., & W. Va 21 Michigan 531, 556, 0.56 668 Nebraska 85, 106, 167 New Jersey and Eastern. .9, 621 North American... 312, 449, 473,486 499 Northeastern Mich 132 Northeastern N. Y 178 Northe^lStern Ohio, and N. W. Pa 143, 152 Northern Iowa 241, 254 Northern Mich 37, 541 Northern Otiio 8, 164, 274 Northwestern, of Chicago, 494,523,525. 560 619 Ohio 92, 407, 432, 505, 608 PenobscottCo.. Me 493 Philadelphia. Pa 271 Putnam Co.. Ind 347. 455 Saunders Co.. Neb 241 Scott Co., Iowa 39 Soutbeasteru Iowa 355 Texas 284 Toledo. Ohio 414, 426 Trenton, Ont <^o Utah 546 Western Maine 188 Western Mich 263 Western Mo. . . . 194, 249, 439, 503 Western N. Y 253 Corn- what bees get from it. 85, 123 311 Creating local markets for honey 329 Cross bees 301 Cuba-Mr. King's visit 587 Cnrious freaks of bees 433, 482 580 Cyprian ahd Syrian bees. .59,99, 278, 290, .340, 399, 4 1 0, 456. 596, 627, 628, 639, 643 672 Dampness vs. beea in winter 127 135 Death notices. ..2o5,342,375,509, 539 619 Deep and shallow frames.. .335, 346 Degenerate Lungstroth hives.. 266 Desiccated loul brood 504 Destroying queen cells 290 Developmentof the Langstroth hive 490 Dictionary of technical terms 603 655 Different races of bees 129, ;i58 609 Discussion to get at the truth.. .575 Diseased bees. .26, 123, 156, 230, .324 372 Distance between brood frames llO Dividing for increase 402, 560 Do beea wound blossoms ? 85 Do bees need a winter fl'ght?.. 145 Do not slaughter the crop 402 Doolittle's hive and frame )!26 Dooliltle's report for 1883 541 Double-walled hives 87, R.59 Dr. Miller's report 222 Driving bees 3H4 I>rone production controlled... 347 Drones .303.372, 398 Drones from worker larv(e.539, 594 Dronea in winter 139 Drones with red heads 596 Dysentery.. 91,99. 123. 2iH). 416, 517 Dzierzon's theory of wintering bees 359 Dzlerzon theory, etc 469 Rggs or larvfe -which ? 104 Electric alarm for apiary 126 Enemies op Bees 144. 335 AsiluB Missouriensis ,507 Bee Hawks 572 Bee Moth 337, 358 Dragon fly 349 Grand-father-grey-beard... 466 King birds 156,317, 350 Mice 134 Mites 530 Parasitic bees 265 Robber flies 446 Sand wasps 458 Toads 313 Water boatman 420 Essentials in wintering bees 462 607 Essentials of a hive 92, 356 Essentials (»f "the coming bee". 408 European honey and wax 293 Excellencies of fierman bees.. 408 Excellent prospects. .. .123, 2t)0. 325 Exhibitions at P"airs 668 Experienced students of api- culture 214 Experiments 55,75,86, 135, 360 419 Extracted honey production 277,3.57,4.33 627 Eyes of the bee 1 16, 173 Feeding bees. .43,51,111,134,140, 162,211.420 463 Fertile workers 314, 463, 467, 471.515 577 Few wrinkles 344 Filling empty combs with syrup 479 482 Findini; the Queen 408 Flax culture 126 Flowers beautiful 69 Foundation with high side walls 120 Foul brctod....l50, 226. 2.52.343, 348, 498, 524, 526, 531, .555, .562.611 643 FYacaea across the entrance 43 Frames for winter and summer 396 Frames standing on end in winter Frames— questions Freaks of queen and bees.. 242, Freezing foul brood 1 34, Friendly law suit From deep to shallaw frames.. Frost in bee house Frozen honey — Fruit and flowers in Virginia... Fruit— do bees injure? Fruit trees killed by frost Fuel for smokers Gathering statistics (ietting hees out of cases... 372. Getting beea to work in sections Glassing tde sections Glucose and grape sugar 98, 377 ". Glucose factories collapse. . ,91, Glucose slander on bee men... Going South . .89, 1 2.3,258,290.342, Grading, Crating and Shipping Honey Graven horst'a new book Growing and satisfactory Habits of bees in the South .... Half-pound section craze Hearing of bees Heddon's report for 1883 Help in handling bees .. Hint to Prof. Haabrouck Hive and frame controversy. . . Hive for comb honey Hives and sRctions Hives for all purposes Hives for observation. . 1 13,188, Hives made of paper Hive 6u vears old Hiving bees 324. HONEY AND Bee Shows.. .635, Canada 282, 477, EnL'land Germany Illinois Indiana 402, 482, 4H9, Iowa 467, Kansas Kentucky..289, 295, 366,379, 4n;i, 409 Maine Maryland 330, Michigan 49,491, Missouri 379,410,514, Nebraska 109,402, Ohio 176, 378,461, Hfiney us a staple product Honey barometer Honey board, use of (>27. Honey crop of France and America 636 5fi3 491 1.50 J 49 391 100 482 306 34 182 327 4f)9 287 425 198 421 5«0 653 571 59 19 121 11 573 465 651 389 7« 578 240 217 430 204 345 643 513 354 3 414 509 485 563 422 516 461 668 596 422 507 433 301 676 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Honey evaporation :I05 Honey for winter use 548 Honey register 301 Honey harvest '25, '2i^, 27, 40, 4L'. 43. S7, ;H), ino. HI, V2\, 123, 137, \:i:K I4n, !»;;», i7iM!M, 205,26ri,27s. ;j(ii,;;|L\3l3.3l21, 325, 327, 3:^:!. :^:ix. ;( UK :ir'i '. .'ni2, 373, 382, :!s4. :!s,'i.;-{:i7. ;iit.s, :■{'.•;», 408, 4 K ). 4 1 1 . 4 JO. 42 ) . A:a. 4:i4, 437, 44.',, 44(;, ■iCni, 4:>7. 4i;7.4.s:j, 494, 4ii5. 51 Hi, 517, 5 1 H, 54U, 5H3, 504,572, r)7tt. 5f^U, 5t>fi, 61 1,612, fi27, 62H, (^44 673 Home market for honey. .27,42, 86. 177, 203, 321), 434,516,523, 533 610 Honey candied 45rt, 548, 558 Honey and beeswax in Rut^sia. 34 Honey Ant of Texas 222 Honev ua a medicine 94,588 Honey as food 494, 540 Honey feast 17 Honey fnr the children 283 Honev in the Rocks 35 Honey market in Eu{;land...78, 402 Honey plants <>f Fluriilii 87 Honev prospects. . i:;.">, 139, 170, 206. 221-;, 26:-.. 290. 32,-) 327 Honey producintr plants — 434, 509 Honey resources 54 Huney season in Sweden 159 Honey shower 342 Honey tree of India 374 Honev used by bnkers Ill Honey vineRar 143, 182, 193 Honey wine 114 Honoring the dead 433, 527 How birds are deceived 79 How far apart should bees be kept to insure purity ? 589 How to create a market for honey m2, 445. 629 How to fortell the weather. 283, 294 How to keep tire in a smoker... 398 How to secure absconding swarms 75.218. 628 How to make bees proHtable.. . 491 How to report. .107. 115. 121.134, 140. 142. 203. 231, 253 563 How to use bee papers 166 How to winter bees 96, 176, 230, 302 50! Humble bees and the clover . . . 306 Humiditv.coldconllnementond pollen 4t)5, 440. 4(;4, 557 Hunting bees in the woods 450 IMl never mind what they say. . 625 Importintr qu ens 237, 343 Improvement in bees 592 Inspectors of apiaries 190 Instinct compared with reason 407 Intelligent work pays 114, 495 International fair at Hamburg. 3 IntroducinK Que-ns 40, 191, 324, 410,44.1, .''.04, 506 543 Italian and (ierman bees 655 ItaUttns outstrijj black bees 59 Italians vs. the natives. .25,18fi, 292, .■«Vi.4i 14.452 644 Italians turned black (?) 383 Italians work on red clover 4n Keepina honey in summer 195 Keep the bees at work 307 Killing tree worms 242 Kindness to bees 394 King birds and bees 156,317, 350 Labeling packages of honey... Labtirs of the bee. . . . Lamp nursery 180, Ijangstroth, Rev. L. L Late breeding. Large yields— a review Lath hives I>eather-C"l(»red Italians Legion of Queens inahlve Lessons of industry Letter from Switzerland Light in bee repositories Ijittle of my experience Location for an apiary 129, Losses of bees in winter Long idea hives 54.-* 353 217 329 572 109 596 470 420 342 79 140 fi46 183 573 380 Mailing Queens to Canada. .402, 548 Milking iir forming nuclei 344 Making ready for the harvest.. 240 Management of hees. ..h, 75, 98, nXi, 109. 170, 174,314 623 Marketing and prices for honey 17><. 323, 4< 18 445 Markets tor honey.. .35, 96, 363, 456 572 Markings of Syrian boea 59 Mason bees 98 Medicinal qualities of honey. 94, 99 r>88 Migratory bee-keeplns 89 Miscellaneous experiments 404, 556 Mr. Heddon as a specialist 18 Mistaken economy 362 Moldy ct>mbs 180 Mortality of bees in winter and spring 561 Mourning turned to jov 317 Moving bees 77,181.225.384, oil Moving bees In winter 115, 117,206 255 Moving hives for winter pack- ing 564 My valentine 193 Need of a bee boom 264 Never lost a colony in winter. . 121 New Bee-Enemy 530, 666 New device for holdingsecttons 190 New Mexico celebration 247 New postal laws 497 New races of bees 500. 574 Nonsensical stories about bees .555 Not a good locality for bees. 42, 518 Notes for April I9H Notes from Nauvoo Apiary 158 Observations on several topics. 361 Obtaining queen cells for nuclei I4I Otlensive personalities 206 Old and new Rhymes 3iM.> Old combs— use of 640 Old fogy bee-keepers.. ..59, 134, 236 254 Oldest Bee Association l Oleomargarine 556 One Hundred lbs. to the colony. 482 One-piece section controversy 102. 127 1.37 Open letter to Mr. Dresser 564 Origin of noise in swarming time 50 Ormsby's report for 6 years 348 Our new N.itional chemist 269 Outlook in apiculiure 452, 669 Over production of honey 128 Over (i( wi I bs. from one colony. . . 434 Overstocking a locality 129, 462 Pasturage for Bees.. 33, 75, 94,99. 122, 132, 205, 256, 25H, 339, 363, 375, 397, 399, 4 1 1 ,427, 453. 459, 461, 462 Alfalfa Alsike clover. ..223, 338, 483, 485 Aster 506, 507, 518, 579, Balsam 97, Basswood 313, 326, 363,374, 386.398 Black sage Blue thistle Bone' et or thoroughwort. . . Borage 458. Buckwheat 87, B uffalo c ' over Canada thi&tle ..69.99, 85, ...350,374. Catnip Cleome Clovers... . Corn Dog fennel. Elder Eucalyptus Figwort Giant ladies' slipper (liuaru Hoary vervain 411, Horse balm 445, Horse mint 362, Hyssop 420, Kings' cure-all Lousewort Gerardia Maple Matrimony vine 18O, Mexican clover Milk weed Mignonette 119, Mock orange Mountain maple Motherwort Partridge pea Phacelia Raspberry 201, 228, 231, Red clover I80, Smartweed Sourwood Spanish needle 98, Spiked loose-strife Stock pea Sweet clover. 42. 87, 127, 146, 3l2. 313, 386, 397,411,418, 434 532, Tropical honey tree Verbena White clover.. 312, 325, 326, 337.338, 385 Willow Worwl snge Yellow sweet clover Bee Pastures of Mt. Shasta.. , Compositas for honey Honey plants of Florida Honey plants of Louisiana.. . Honey plants of Manitoba Honey plants of Maine Time of honey bloom 140, Packed in chaff 11,87, Packing— '"nothing but leaves" 59,434 Packing honey for shipment to large markets Paraffine and glucose story. .66, Parasitic bees Partridge I*ea for honey Past and present Paste for honev labels Persistent swarming Phacelia for honey Piping of queen Plan and foresight of bees Planting for honey 33, Pleasant visit to Dr. Allen Poisoning troublesome bees... Pollen or no pollen 159,169, 171, 195. 205, :i69. Til 7, 563, 639, Pollen— now for facts Pollen theory and dvsentery 1 39, 369. 493, 559. 574. 590, 639, Pollen theory— facte Poppleton'8 report for 1883 513 373 564 611 353 403 452 375 518 660 445 337 413 66<.) 433 434 311 375 204 191 177 385 468 421 4,57 421 572 99 532 204 660 26 420 564 312 313 290 235 278 239 421 445 362 4.-58 446 398 660 445 445 482 217 420 87 258 96 87 322 446 297 246 606 209 265 235 238 25 350 278 302 463 258 2.30 245 641 606 641 672 580 Popular Ignorance about bees. 620 Popular interest in bee-keeping 40 Postage on queens to Canada. . 379 Premium lists for shows 294, 635 643 Prepare for emergencies 333 Prepare for honey shows 635 Preparifig bees for winter.. 266. 322, 334, 4 1 3, 469, 546. 547 572 Preserve the wax 425 Pressing and mounting flowers 218 251 Preventingincrea9e....l20, 139, 638 Production of comb and ex- tracted honey in one apiary 654 Protitable increase '- 120 Progressive bee-culture 153 Propolis 117 Pure and dollar queens 141 Putting foundation in sections. 241 Putting on the sections 270 Qualities in bees 309 Queen cages 225, .543 Queen leaving with swarm 264 Queenlessuess loo, 15R. 194 Queen rearing Ill, 182, 189, 1 99. 2 1 3 , 225, 228, 23( >, 239,242. 310,314. 321,326.336 526 Queen reserve system 133 Queen traffic 38o Queen with crippled wings 419 Queens laying in sections 385 Queens mating more than once 357 371 Queens reared In the South. 1 13, 206. 213, 228. 230 286 Queens with scarlet wings 458 Readily movable hives Reading works on bee-culture. Rectangular vs. square frames Red Raspberry for honey. 201, Remarks on various matters. . . Remedy for bee stings 138, Reports for the season... 11, 25, 26. 27. 42. 43. 50, 68, 75. 76.86, 87. 99. UX). 101, 107, 108, 110, 111,119, 120.121, 122. 123,134. 135, 137, 138, 139, 152, 157,158, 1,59, 170. 171. 176. 180, 181.182, 19;'.. 194. 204. 205, 20(i, 2 10, 217. 2I,S. ■J:j{i,2:t7.-J42, 21M.2l:H,:i55, 291 \ ;(( 13! 312.' :i I x-A2r\ :^2t Oi3 ' ] 337, 338, 350. 3.'>l , H*:2.:!72.;i74. 3M5. 386, 398, 414,417,421 ,4:^3. 434, 438. 465, 467. 46H. 494,.=.i t6, 515, 532, 548. .563. 564. r^Hli.m 1 . 612, 625. 627, 628. 643.644.659. Report from Bucknorn apiary 337 Rev. Dr. John Dzierzon Returning swarms Ripen the honey 397, Robber bees and robbing.. .417, 439.467 Run for right race of bees Salt around the hives Samples of peculiar honey Sawdust f'irwlnterpacking.l35, 140. 171. 201! Seasonuble hints 4i. 119, 198, 27o, 2S:i. 312, 40', 457 Reason In England Season in Scotland 326, Section holder— new device.... Sections and separators. 73,117, 637 253 365 240. Sending queens across the ocean by mall 511, Senses of bees Separators 8, 57, 263, 299, 315. :(2n.M63 Separators made of zinc Separators of wood 58,86,91, 117, 140, 147 Sheep and bee-keeping Shipped his bees Shipping crates 170, Shipping honey to England Shipping receipts Short articles preferred Side-storing sections a failure. Simpson honey plant Size of sections for honey.. 5, 8, 11,20, 24,36,42,52.72,74,75, 93.97,108.118.121, 125, 1.50. 1,54. 170. 18S,226.229.545.59.\ Size of the Langstroth hive.103, 116. 202, 309,395 Smart three- year old boy Smoke not injurious to bees 487. Spaces between tiers of sec- tions 201, Spring dwindling 1:11, 255, Spring management 156, 158, 2 1 2, 22:1, 266. 320, .370, 385.622, Square dealing Standard frames 21. 55, 119. 1 44. 224. 25 1 . 252. 263. 272. 288, 30N, ;n2. :{37. 34.5. 347 Starter machine Statistics 51 . 57. 59. 65, 75. 109. 122. 132.221 Stimulating bees In spring. 181. 186 Sting of the honey bee 78. Stinging and dislike of bees.... Sting of the queen Straight combs— how to get.338, 359 594, 517 336 97 555 489 104 510 247 497 190 Stt6 642 577 158 322 635 265 183 122 587 118 395 464 111 530 506 281 627 264 357 444 207 323 218 434 Straight worker comba without using foundation 671 Strained bees 273 Strange bees 612 Stock Peas for honey 398 Strong colonies necessary 384 Strained vs. extracted honev.. 398 Students of apiculture. .89, 265, 430 Substitute fttr pollen 171, 225 Successful honey production.. 418 Suggestions to correspondents 57-4 Supers. . . .56. 87, 9.'j, 96. 120. 127. 144, 16.8. 169, 211.384,514,039, 548, 558, 572 612 Superseding queens 526 Swarming Incidents 258, 290, 33 1 , 3.32, 337 362 Swarms; drones going with. .75, 332 Swarms selecting a location 338, 354. 380 Sweet endowment 50 Syrian bees as breeders 672 SyrphussaiU 458 System in the apiary 116, 235, 284 398 Telephone for an apiary 60 The order of the honey bee 319 The Queen that did not come. . 54 Theory and Practice 653 Theory reviewed by practice. . . 396 Thickness of sections 189, 384,.5(U 580 Thirty degrees below zero 99 Thoughts on marketing 323 '"Three ring" fancy .252, 279 Tiering up sections 183, 207, 383 532 Tight top-bars for frames 182 Toads -a dangerous bee trap... 313 To bee-keepers of California,. . 432 To bee-keepers of Iowa 383,422, 427... 438, 673 To bee-keepers of Kentucky. . . 510 To bee-keepers of Michigan... 390 To bee-keepersof North Amer- ica 433 Too much Borghum 122 Transferring bees 140, 169, 182. 203. 2 10, 227, 242, 266,315, 362, 367. 384 410 Transferring- the old vs. the new way 367 Tropical honey tree 445 Two Queens In a hive. . . .86,373, 407 443 Trying ordeal for bees 107 Uniting colonies of bees 97, 260. 422.49-1. 513 517 Unpoetic bee-culture 243 Use of bee papers 92, 2i^ Ventilation for bees in winter 7, 154. 177. 199. 230. 296, 500, 595, .-.96 621 Ventilation of chatf hives 52 Verbenas for honey 445 Vervain, red clover, etc. 421 Vlak, to a school of apiculture.. 42H VisR to a scientiflc apiary 415 Water boatman— a bug Water for bees Wax— how to cleanse... 413.456, Wax— tests of purity Well-timed mark of respect.... What became of his bees? What harvest follows a severe winter ? Wlial is the Langstroth hive?.. What to do with the honey What to feed bees When and how to use sections. When to take bees out of cel- lars Who are our best breeders Who should keep bees? 36, Why bees work on Sundays Why I am a novict- Why so much extracted honey Wide frames .392, "Wiley" bee story Will they rear a queen? Wintering bees in the South. . . Wintering bees in Texas Wintering in cellars H, 73, 76. 121, 12.3. 1.3H. 139, 230, 248, 5H:i,61I.628 Wintering in clamps — 1 19,177, 251.429 Wintering on sugar candy Wintering on summer stands 111, 121.205.480 608, Wintering preparations .. .145, Wintering problem solved. .243, Wintering queenless colonies.. Wintering. Ventilation and dysenterv — .. .....15-8, 165. Winter feeding of bees 422, Winter management 118. 201, 205, 5oe! Winter packing 96, 1.37. 180, Winter repository Winter severe and cruel WIntjer temperature Wired comb foundation — 84, Wired frames 241 265. 348. Wonderful Instincts of bees — Wood Sage for honey Workers in queen cells 458, 494 Worst kind of advice ..118. 151, 420 215 469 211 21*5 278 193 318 329 162 207 194 9 487 343 108 433 457 572 267 81 433 5il*5 673 673 360 5(V> 660^ 174 6ia 532 241 93 101 141 348: 381 317 420 530 17& THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 677 INDEX TO CORRESPONDENTS. Adams, Q. H., 42. Adams, K. J., 123, 312. Alkln, R. C, 355. 517. Allen, N. P., 279, 290, HOI, 325, 373, 409, 422,510,513. Alley, Henry, 103, 137, 518. Allison, Mrs. C. J.. 110. Alves, G. M., 251, 396. Amateur, 421. Anderson, J., .563. Anderson, J. Lee, 149, 548. Andrews, W. H., 281. Armstrong. Elvin, 242. Asbby, G. W., 27, 281,. 301, ,548. Ashcom, Wm.. 204, 5HO. AsseUine, G. N., 230. Atwater, S. B., 57. A. W. R., 223. Bacon, R., 386. Bailey, A. O., ,362. Bailey, J. W., 532. Baker, Dr. J. K., 74, 150, 373, 516, 580. Baker, P., 659. Baker, O. P., 204. Baloh, A. C, 363. Balch.W. H., 242, 287. Balcomb, Tbos., 358. BaldrldRe, M. M., 55, 72, 102, 116, 170, 203,305,393, Baldwin, B.T.,76. Baldwin. P., 58. Barb. J. 8., 241, 469. Barber, Ira. 254, 301. Barclay, W. 8., 217. Bassler, Thos., «o, 154. Baxter. E. J.. 1.58. Bayard, J. W., 350. Beal. Prof., 564. Beath, Joseph, 182, 193. Becker, J. N., 171, 325. Becktell, R. S., 494, 5,80. Bestnner, 181.517. Bellemy, D. W.,362. Benedict, Aaron, 482, 497. Benedict. F. C, .8, il7. Benedict, F. K., 468. Benham, John, 121, Bennett, A. D.. 181. Benton, Frank, 237, 642. Berryman, W., 612. Besse, Dr. H., ii. Besse, May. 494. B'Hyraer, A.. 596. Bingham, T. F., .56, 204. BInkley, M. M., 159. Bishop, J.. 75. Bissell. S. P., 226. Black, J. A., 612. Blackfan, Jos. H.,402. Blanchard.M., 170, 183. Blanton, O. M., 237, 334, 398, 444. 482. Bledsoe. O. F., 167, 382. Blow. T. B.. 75. Boardman, H. R., 206, 421, .501. Bohl,F. A., 176. Bolinger, P., 25. Boiling. W.. 111,628. Bonfleld. Thos. P., 398. Bouteiller, F. P., 25. Bowers, J. Luther, 21. Bradiah, C. VV.,312, 564. Bradford, Wm., 177. Bray & Secord. 25, 338. Bray, Moses, 441. Brewer. Joel, 230. Briggs, E. L., 243. Bristol, S. 8., 138. Brown, D. B., .507. Brown. Dr. J. P. H., 60, 218,312.323. Brown.H.H., 204, 611. Brunduge, Wm. A., II. Bfuten. J.T., 194, 252. Buck, M. B., 79. Bucklew. J. A., 459. Buller. H. F.,59, 159. Bump, Kdwin, 60. 139. Burbank, D. 8., 156, 397. Burden. O.E., 134. Burnett, Harry G.,122, 204. Burrell, H. D.. 135, 303. Burrlll, A., 75, .348. Burrill, T. J., 98, 99, 265, 278, 312, 337, 349, 350,374, 386, 410, 4 1 1 , 420, 445, 446, 457, 458, 468, 524, 579, 6 1 1 , 644. Burt, Chas., 181. Burtch. J. M.. 289. Bush, II. T., 453, 470. Byard, A. A., 673. Cadle, R., 138. Cady, J. B., 458. Caldwell, J. v., 8, 109, 278. Calvin, K. A., 644. Camm, Wm., 96, .532. Campbell, B. C 333. Canny. Thos.. 190. Garden. L. K., 4,81. Carpenter, N. M., 574. Carpenter, O. H., 266. Carter, J. W., 375. Carroll. B. F., 134, 169. 335, 338,416,456,574. CasselI.E. F.,42, 135,420. Casson, A. C, 231. Castello. G., 170. Cates. H. M.. 659. Chapin, A. P., 383. Chapman.ll. B., 320. Cheney, F. M., 397, 408,422, Christie, jftl., 337. Church.8. J., 26. Churchill, B. P., 229, 230, 595. Clark, H., 122, 182,434. Clark, W. E.. 154. Clarke, W. F., 428. Clements, B. L... 43.3. Clute, 0.,3,'<3,643. Cole, Geo., 673. Cole, 8. v., 442. Colegrove & Beach, 138. Coleman, W., 26. Combs. E. M., 420. Connley, J. T.. 98, 494. Connoisseur, 313. Cook, A. J., 49, 102, 149, 1.59, 211, 218, 235,246,271, 310, 355, 380, 395,413,452, 461, 463, 466, 506,510,530, 556, 612, 669. Cooley, O. E., 54, 243. Coon, C. H., 152. Cooperidge, Dr. J. ,327, 410. Copeland. J., 26, 628. Corbett, R., 182,491. Cornell. S., 69, 199,296,405, .",57. Corscott, John, 87. Corsen, A., 445. Courtney, W.. 27. Covey, F. 8.. 40. Cowan. T. W., 498. Craig, Hiram, 25. Craig, J R., 134,278,433. Crandall, C. M.. 504. Crane. E.C.,201. Crawford, R, 42. Craycra't. John, 230, 395. Cripe, H., 59. ii Dadant, Chas., 270. •^ Damkohler, G..79. Darby. M. B., 157, 421,611. Dart, B., 39. Davenport, B. T., 76, 456. Davis. J. L., 194. Davis. T. C, 80. 213. Davis, W. J., 24.3. 325. Davison, Miss L. E., 59. Dayton. C. W.. 636. Deadman, G. A., 465. Dean. N. 8.. 195. Deane, C. H., 140. De Lono.G. A.. 397. Demaree. 6. W., 9, 82, 104, 122, 22'., 278, 281,284,338, 350, 370, 431, 453, 543,655. Denham, K. M., 117, 289, 301. Denman.G. H., 363. Densmore. L,.. 43, 97. De Sobotker, L. J., 470. Detwiler. Jno. Y., 580. De Voe. A. J. ,283. Dewar, John, 611. Dlbbern, C. H.. 627, 640. Diehl, L. J.. 218, 546. DlerdorlT, D. M., 42. Dittv, Wm.. 243. Dcdge. U. B., 1.87,218. Doulittle. G. M.. 52, 76, 80, 92, 104. 115. 137, 141, 150, 174, 186,242,248,260,278, 281. 308, 312, 318, 332, 338, 344, 349, 355. 374, 380, 398, 416, 47H, ,500, 511,530,541, 589,606,626.6,54,671. Dorr, Dr. H. R., 75. Doty. B., 59. Dougherty, F. L., 258, 276, .347.401,619. Douglas, W. 8., 362, 375, 445,612. Downs, R., 111. Drane, B., 85, 351. Drane, R. B., 44.5. Dresser, R. Ij.. 454. Dresser. W. B., 372. Drevar. Dr. A., 419. Drew, Geo.. 579. Duflield, 8. W., 69. Duncan, A. J., 230. Dunbar, G. W., 231,267. Duncan, J. 8., 320. Dunn, Jno., 121, 226, 252, 325, 455, 546. Dusten, W. A., 397. Dzierzon, Rev. Dr. J., 366, 419. Eastman, W. W.,!42, 134. Eaton. P. A., 324. Eokman. J. W., 156. Bdson. A. S., 11,673, Bdwards, D., 438, 449. Edwards. H. D., 144. Ellicott, T., 69, 177. Bmigh, M., 205. Bmison, J. A., 563, 579. Emrick, L., 42. Bnas, J. D., 254,1350, 371, 505. Erbrodt. H., 350. Ercanbrack, K., 99. Everets, T. A. C, 254. Ewlng, B. B., 140. Fancher, J. A. P., 205, 207, 362, 398. Faris, John, 122. Farrell. W.. 170. Fatsinger, L., 11, 3,84. Felton.B. W., 3-1.3. Pernald. Prof. C. H., 306. Finch, F. H., .58, 100. Fischer, V., 205. Fish, 8., 409. Fisher, A. J., 108, 564, 595. Fisher, H. L., 86. Pisher, W.. 3.84, 397. Fisk, A. W.. 337. Flanagan, B. T.. 217, 497. Fletcher, A. P., 140. Fletcher. D. W., 302. Flick. H.H.,99. Flory, J. P., 434. Follett. C. 26, 43, 312. Footo. A. E., 156. Foote. I.M., 301. Footer. Thos., 60. Forncrook, J., 103. Foster, A. E., 116,201,235, 393. 398. Pradenburg, B. L., 157, 255, 619. France, C. H., 205. France. E., 25, 659. France, J. M., 42. Francis, W. H., 206. Prank. 302. Franklin. B.. 251. Prazer, A., 279, 281. Frazier. B, C., 59. Frederick, R. L., 183. Frederick. 8. C, 75. French, Lucian, 458. French, W. D., 190. Freshour, Geo. D., 265. Friend, 306. Fritts' Apiary. 563. Fuller. J, B.. 384. Funk, H. W., 205, 241. Furness, D., 195. Gage. W. L., 579. Gaither, B. H., 170. Gale, A., 86. 577. Gammon, H., 152. Gander, A., 134,3.37. Gardlne, J., 372. Garlick. G., 193. Gastinger, P. C 120, 290. Gibson, F. A., 26. 86, 99,337, 348, 517. Giddlnga, T. C, 482. Given, A. H.. 195. Gochenour, J., 338,410,467, 468. Good, I. B., 290. Goodno, O. R., 36, 350, 543. Goodrich. 8.. 395. Gosney. W. G., 12.3. Gould, A. L.. 57. Granberrv, M. C, 410, 506. Graves. W. H„ 673. Gray. J. 1,., 382. Gray, L. W., 87. Green. C. W., 314. Green, 6. C., 143. Green. W.T., 123. (ireening. ('. F., 171. Greenwood, T. C, 155. Greiner Bros., 75, 107, 140. Griffes, A., 363. Grimm, Geo., 544. Grinsell, R,, 139. 326, 433, 457. Grinstead. G. P., 628. Groin, A. H., 471. Gross. B. L.. .563. Grout, W. H. 8., 193, 337, 421. Grove, F. A., 27. Grove, H. M , 139. Guenther, J. H., 467. II., 514. Hackman, H. 8., 1 1, 99, 1 10, 119,419,434. Hall, J. B., 120. Hall, T.S., 374. Hambaugh. J. M.. 264. Hamilton, E., 4,5,m. Hamiltou, W.,278. Hammitt, Jno., 326. Hammon, H. B., 76, 205, 242, 420. Hammond, H. H., 204. Ilunce, H., 218. Hancock, W. P., 183, 312, 409. Harding, B., 517. Harmer, W., 188, 352, 410. Hirris, J. I... .374. Harris, W. B., 206. Harrison, Mrs. L.,6, 41, 43, 178, 235, 270, 283, 307, 332, 345, 357, 379, 41)3,425,428, 4.57,578,610,619,651. Harrow, Chas., 312, 359. Hart, H. T., 411, 532. Hart. W. 8., 234. Hasbrouck, J., 621. Hastings. J. B., 170. Hathaway. C. P., 157. Hatfield, A. J., 120, 177,385. Haucke. C, 25. Havens, Reuben, 11,73,111, 314.457. Hawley, G. M.. 303. Hayen. W. G., rA4. Head & Brown, 26. Heald, W.. 27. Heater. Mrs. J. N., 386. Heddon. James, 5, 20, 27, 53, 73, 84. 87, 89, 95, 105, 114, 126, 140, 142,151,156, 169, 183, 188, 195,201,207, 224, 230, 236, 241,264,272, 277, 278, 281 , 289, 301, 309, 314, 324, 326, 336,345,348, 360, 362, 363, 367, 372, 380, 383, 392, 397, 409, 422, 433, 446, 457, 464, 468, 482,483, 494, 502, 506, 517, 548, 558, 563, 573, 578, ,590, 595, 610, 612,627,686,653. Heillg, W. ,M.. 434. Helphrev. B.,99. Henwoo'd. W. R., 86. H.'rrick, D. L,., 218. Hewes. Mrs. M. T., 349,398. Hibbard. J. M. Jr., 4.58. Hicken. 8. M., 627. Hicks, J. M., 91, 492, ,562, 625. Higbee, D., 327, Hilderman, B. S., 238. Hiilje, G., 612. Hilton, Geo. E.. 25.5, 506. HInes, T. M., 313. Hinsdale, J. W., 218. Hintz. Aug. J.. 103, 122. Hitt, H. W„ 1,37. Hodgson. John. 96. Hoffman. J. 8., 171,363. Hofstatter, L., 374. Houe. W. M..78. Hogle, A. M.. 504. Holly, 8. G., 111. Holmes, R.C.,, 562 Holt, B. H..495,644. Hopkins D. H., .59. Houck. Theo., 132. Hougas, T. A., 325, 381,452. Hovey, E. S.. 138.278. Howard, W. N., 612. Howard, W. R., 286, 349, 375, 392. Howell. J. W., 20.5, ,386. Hoyt. W., 132, 479. Hubbard. L., 110. Hunter. J. B.. 139. Huntley. F. A.. 252. Hurlbert, J. J., 182, 207, 421. Hurst, J., 338. Hutchins, Isaac, 491, 560. Hutchison, John D., 326, 425, 497. Hutchinson.W.Z., 130, 143, 189, 199, 218, 225, 236, .308, 392, 465, 491 , 543, 594, 609, 621, 641, 653, 656, 668, 672. Ide. J. B., 138. Isham, C. K., 53, 117. .Jackson. J. E., 156. Jackson, L,. R,. 322, 334. James. L., 107, 564. Jardine. Jas., 230. J. E., 5IV1. Jeffrey, H. L.,2,40, 154,349, 386, 481,, 504. Jennison, W. C, 119. J. F. C , 326. Jotanson, P. M., 4.50. Johnson, H. R.,468. Johnson, J, A., 421. Johnson. L. C, 592, (i44. Johnson, Ij.. 135. Johnson, P. D., 206. Johnson, T. 8., 121. Jones, D. A.. 150, 366, :i90, 403,438,449,451. Jones. G. B., 210, 283. Jordan, E. C, 109, 157, 246. J. R. A., 317. J. W. B.. 173. Kalley. D. 8., 110. Kanzler, W. P., 580. K. A. W., 433. Kear, A. L.. 516. Keene, O. B., 338. Keene. R. W.. 223. Kefmer. Jacob. 185. Kelly, A. T., 122. Kemp. Geo., 100. Kendall. R. J.. 166, 218, 226, 301.399.433.4,58. Kennedy, J. H., 26, 157,548, 612 Kennel, t'ay. 16. Right. J. F., 171. Kincade, C. H., 325. King, A. J., 22, 587. King, John, 50(i. Kingsbury, C. M.. 505, 608. 625. Kingsley. Mrs. C. M., 231. Kinney. F. G.. 123. Kinsel, T. P., 77. Knickerb'>oker, G. H., 338. Knoll, D. K.. 643. Knopp. C. D., 4.30. Knorr. Dr. L.. 385. Kohnke. A. R., 59, 191,396, 455,513,560,639. Kyber, G. B. T., 611. take, C. H., 213. 461. La Montague, J. B., 462. Lampman, H., 168. Langstroth, L. L., 305, 329, 33,5, 341, .361, .377,433,437, 451 . 463. 464, 490, 638. Lanterman, A. P.. 337. Larch, B.C. L., 158. La Salle, E.. 43. Latham, J. F., 118, 260, 532, 608. Lawrence, G. M.. 410. Lawson.W. R.. 446. Lee. Fayette, 145. 212.2,55, 262,445, 596.643. Lee. Joseph, 433. Lewis, G. B., 111. Lewis, M, H.. 123. Lindsay, M. M.. 385. Lindsly, L., 351. Lisenby, J. M., 283. Lohmann, C. J.. 177. Loorais, A. H., 644. Lossing. Wm.. 99, 374. Loucks. P., 373. Lowmaster, L. A., 87, 278, 639. Lucas. I. J., 1 1. Lytle, Geo. B., 314, 444. Maddox. W. T., 518. Mahin. Rev. M.. 85,159, Malcolm. P., 139. Malone, Wm., 75, 140, 337, 579. Marrs. D. F., 252, 264, 362. Marsh. B. P.. 341, 377. Marsh, Geo. N., 75. Marshall, Sylvester. 79, Marshall, W. R., 278, 404. Martin, D. A.. 434. Martin, John, 483. Martin, John H., 146. Martin. Thos.. 385, 468. Marquis. T. N., 3.50. Mason, A. B., 27, .34, 414. 426, 434. Mason. Jas. B., 21, 138, 39 1,441,, 577. Mason, Mrs E.H.,205, Massey, B. P., 170,339, 445. Matthews, J. T., 299. Mayo. G., 330. McAlli"ler, Dr. J. S.. 240, 594. McCnIlum. D. S.. 290. McConiiell. J., 327. McCandllsh, J., 182. Mccormick, H., 351. Mccormick, W. B.,217 McElhany, II. O., 673. McKenney, 8. J., 59, 231,548. ,457. 325, 324, ,548. 358. 176, 202, 513. 374, G78 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. McKay, P.. 1«0. McKinley. Dr. 8. D., 411. MeKniBht. R., 413. McKown. C. W., 43. 135. Mcl.uuKblin. W.,561. Mcljees. S., 229. Mcliendun, W. G., L*?, 193. 2114, 34SI. Mcl.eod, D. C, 596. McNay, Frank, 121. McNeill, James, 313, 443. McNitt, B., 564. Mead.C. B., 228. Meader, John. 255. Merifleld. J. W., 100. Miller, A. B., 564. Miller. C. C, 2, 20, 36, 76, 222, 530. Miller, C. E., 25, 13V. Miller, J. M. A., 40. Miller, M., 611. Miller, S. F., 97. Mitchell, C, 99, 217. 267, 3«3,'57S. Mitchell, H., 137. Mize, C. D., 445. Molesworth, C. M., 563. MoIlyneau.'K. R. A., 303. Moore. B., 27, 206, 217, 313, 349, 382. Moore, J. P., 121. Mo"re, O. E.. 140, 169. MorKan, E. A., 230, 410. Morris, H. M., 145. Morris, John, 59, 86, 158, 373. Morton, J. A., 87, 99, 297. Moss, 8. H., 170, 580. Mottaz, Alfred. 59, 246,532. Mtjwbrav, W., 242. Moyer, P., 86. Muenter, Prof., 97. Murhard, G., 515. Murphy, J. A., 290. Murphy, R. R., 170. Muth, €. F., 435, 532. Muth-Basmussen, W., 378, 432. Kebel, Emtl, 32,5. Nebel, John, fill. Neihardt, Q. W., 462. Neubert. C. F., 42. Newcomb, E.. 156. Newman, J. C. & Son, 23. Newman, S. F., 26, 143, 165, 277. Newsom, C. S., 325. Nisbet. A. R., 458, 506. N. N., 359. Norfolk. W. J.. 157. Norrls. A. J., 206. NorriB, Chus., 103, 450, 644. Northrup, H. J.. 96. 548. Norton. J. G., 265, 363, 518, 628, 636. Nutt, W. C, 111,203. Novice, 381, 422, 660. • Oliver, W. J., 432. Olney, G. B., 27. Oren, Jesse, 89, 214, 216, 458. Ormsbv, L. D., 26, 548. Orvis, ira, 397. Osborn. R. M., 159,339,420, 434, 445, 446. Osburn, A. W., 135,206,326, 386. 408, 421, 433, 452, 642. Osburn, R. J., 206. Pammel. L. H., 96. Parent, J. I., 374. Parfrew. A. C, 205. Parker, U. Q., 410, 563. Parson, J. M., 26. Parsons, Edward, 374. Parsons, Mrs. M. L., 180, 255. Peabody. J. L., 175. I'earson. H., 127. Pearson, W. IJ., 140. Peck, B. W., 518. Peck, J. H. 4,34, 641. Peel, Rev. II. R., 290. Peet. T. O . 414. Pelham, W. c, 120. Polissier, P. P. N. K., 239. Penney, W., 337. Perkins, Nelson, 99, 363. Pettigrew, A., 247, 489. Phelps. W. Q., 240, 439, 540, 572. 574. Phillips, D. R., 180. Phin, John, 655. Pickup, E., 134, 158. Pigg, T. J., 169. Pitman, J. E., 230. Pleasants, J. E., 122, 181, 190. Plummer. Isaac F.. 24, 453. Poindexler, Jas., 116, 134, 272, 507, r.r>!l, 573. Pond, J. E.. Jr., 480, 502, 560, 575, 607. Poppleton. O. O., 168, 303, 422. 427, 436, 580. Porter, J. W., 66, 211, 288. Potts, W. E., 181. Powell, J. W., 230. Powell, Reese, 362. Prall.Thos., 123. Pray, G. L., 139. Pray, Miles S., 265. Pringle, Allen, 167,261,290, 321,547. Pryor, J. E., 205. 589. Putnam, H. F., 205. Purvis, L. G., 11, 206, 313. Raltt, W., 478. Randenbush, G. D., 384. Raymond. J. N., 59. Reardon, P., 169, 180. Reeds, F. M., 322. "Reeve, Dr. J. R,, 397. Remington, S., 315. Resch, P. F., 211. Reynolds, John, 181. Reynolds. M. G., 6, 137. Rice, A., 2113. Richards, H. J., 324. Richardson, C. C. 445. Rickenbacher, A., 433, 482. Hidden, J. S.,242. Rife, F. B.. 193, 236. Ripley, F. L., 35. Roberts, L. M., 180. Roberts, Wm., 25, 140, 194. Robertson, A., 282. Robinson, C. J. ,429. Roe, F. H., 404. Roebuck, J. R., 384. Rogers, G., 26. Ronian, Jas., 123. Rood.E., 1. Hoop, H., 139. Rosebrock, H. H., 384. Rosebrough, D. R., 98, 217, 399, 446, 590. Ross, J. M., 325. Rosser. R. A., 302, 399, 467. Rouse, G., 25. Rowland, N. H., 122, 579 Rue, C. W., 109. Russell, A., 170. Russell, W. G., 446. Rusiicus. 457. Ryan, J. M., 579. 8., 36. Bage. F. I., 148, 299. Salisbury, Rev. A., 118, 539. Salisbury, S. W., 250. Sanders, J. W., 100, 137, 145, 228, 385, 451, 467.494, 607, 610. Sanford, A.C., 495. Sanford, E., 265. S. A. O., 216. Sawyer, O. L., 87. Sayler, Joseph, 312. Schrier, C. 628. Schrock, H. J., 290,336,347. Schroder. A., 426. Scofleld, E. J., 103, 265,410, 660. Scofleld, O. B., 157, 264. Scoles. H. J., 100, 494. Scott, W. T., 458. Scoville, H., 504. Scott, B. D., 467. Scudder, L. H., 24, 127, 135. Sears, J. W., 26. Sears, Peter, 98. Secor, E., 215, 259, 300,467. 515. See, H. 8., 350. Seitz, W., 563. Sellers. J. F., 265, 411, 506, 517. Shallcross, J,, 333, 417. Shankland, E. R., 99, 651. Shannon, J., 287. Sharp, Isaac, 60, 266. 325. Shaver. J. E., 313, 351. Shearman, J. O., 300, 344, 443, 445. Sheldon, J. H.. 26. Sherwin, W. W., 350. Shevenell, Ij. H., 469. Shewman, W. A., 313. Shier, Wm., 283, 290. Shimer. I. H., 312. Shires, G. R.. 482. Shirley, W. H., 252, 273,279, 298, 373, 394, 398, 407, 482. Shortt, J., 183, 383. Shuck, J. M., 137, 418, 672. Shuck, S. A., 205, 286, 404. Simon, H. A.. 227. Simonds. W. D., 324. Slater, W. M., 317. Smith. B. Z., 26. Smith, B.F., 410. Smith, H. J., 15S, 644. Smith, J. T., 127. Smith. M. C, 241. Smith, Milo. 135, 138. Smith, W. W.,98. Smythe, J. A., 322. Smyzer, W. D., 180, 277. Snearlv, J, 8., 139. Snell. F. A., 206. Snyder. A., 337, 411. Sonneman, G. E., 290, 495, Sontag, H., 458, 495. Sorrich. M., 64. Southwick, B. B., 127, 137, 169. 202, 263, 312, 365, 368, 390, 3t^4. Sowers, 8. p., 87,99. Spear, D., 95, 408. Spence, J., 141. Sperry, M. M., 120. Squier. W. S., 159. Stalnlnger, N.. 563. Stalhammer. T. G., 159. Stancliff, J. B., 517, 596. Stark, G. W., 11. Steer, J. G.. 189, 348. Stenger, J. J.. 139. Stephens, J. H., 218. Stevens, M. B., 27. Stewart, J.. 242, 409. Stewart, W. H., 54. 119,253, 287, 311, 332, 356,407,417, 430,406,576,591. Stiles. F. p., 372, ,564. Stirling, W. R., .596. Stith, A. W., 186. Stoepel, V. A., 343. Stolley, Wm., 2.3, 660. Stonebouse, M., 194. Stout, W. H., 290. Strathern, R., »90. Strong, J. L., 4^1. Sturwold, J. W., 157, 206, 483,518. 564. Subscriber, 25, 43, 120,218, 564, 596. Sutcliffe, A., 518. Taintor, F. M., 266. Talbot, D. C, 159. Taaner, J. C, 337. Taylor, Wm., 312. Terrell, O. J., 81. Thew, E.,411. Thielmann, C, 1 16, 182,381, 594. Thiavllle, F., 81, 144, 374. Thorn, J. C, 122, 413, 434, 548,563. Thomas, E. A., 321. Thomas, 11. R., 289. Thompsfjn, F. B., 612. Thougnten. W., 420. Thurlow, T., 79, 123. Thurston, E. H., 43, 227, 323. Tiffany. T. J., 506. Tilley.H., 420. Tilley. J. H., 267. Tindall, N. B.,21. Tinker. Q.l,., 7,36,52,72,118, 165, 17.5, 193, 273,278,346, 440, 462, 500, 545, .559. Todd, Arthur, 11,27,50,97, 162. Tongue. L. N., 506. Torre, F. D., 86. Train, H. v., 248, 279. Travis, L. G., 398. Trestor, M. L., 84, 107, 167, 402, 422, 497. Triem. Peter S., 217. Trussell, W. W., 596. (." Tucker, J. J., 75. Tumber, J. B., 302. Turner, T. B., 144, 263, 514, 579< Turner, E. W., 105,299,451. 482. Turney, C. C, 241. Twltchell, J., 572, 606. % Twitchell, P. F., 194, 248. Vail, S. L., 42, 123,326,349. Valentine, 8. & Son, 110, 120, 506. Van Anglen, S., 153. Vanculin, C.,226. Van Etten, J. E., 118, 396. 445. Van Zandt, Dr. J. L., 253. Vanght, G. C, 314, 627. Verge. A., 191, 367. Viailon, P. L,., 123, 141. Videto, D., .5,5, 143. Vinson, W. M., 122. Von Dorn, T. L., 109. Walbrtdge. Hon. I,., 446. Wales, E. W., 25, no. Ward, H, J., 108, 238. Watterson, D., 43. Webb, A. B., 8, 286. Webster, A., 575. Webster, D. G., 87. Webster, G. W., 265. Webster, W. V.. 494. Weckeser. C, 627. Welch, L. E.,87. Westlake. B. H., 42. Weston, W. H., Ill, 266, 385,513, 625. W.H. B.. 181, 190,240. White, H. C, 385. Whitetord, Lerov, 56. Whiting, Dr. L. C, 43,320. 386. Whitmer, D., 135. 255. Whitten, J.G., 358. Whittlesey, 11. A., 469. W. U. W., 326. Wicherts, A., 86, 313, 628. Wilcox, F., 327, 421. Will, W. H., 11. Willcott, C. F., 267. Williams, G. F., 115. Williams, G. W., 483. Williams, Hugh, 139, 518. Williams, H. M., 282, 410. Williams, J. R., 60. Williams, L. R., 313, Williams, R. P., 157. Williamson, J. A., 140. Wilson. Dr. I. P., 174, 371. Wilson. J. T., III. Winder, Mrs. A. B., 139. Wlsmer, J. L., 111,243. Wixom, H. W., 121, 421. W. M. F., 432. Wolcott, J. L., 180. Wood, E. N., 212, 504. Wood, Joseph, 42. Wood, J. S.. 347. Woodcock, B. F., 108. Woodman, N. M..628. Woodward, W. M., 87, 153. W. P. B., 434. W. P. T.. 395. Wright, J. M., 403. Wrignt, W. D., 147. "ITeomans, Geo., 354. Yoder, John, 87. Yother, Dr. L. l,.,44e. Young, C. W., 11, 458, 659. Young, W. R., 169. 546. Youngman, S. J., 87,98,227, 266, 315, 518, 531, 628, 673. ZimmermaD,G.W.,265,659. INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS. Alsibp Clover in Bloom 223 Bee-KiUer of the scorpion tribe 4fifi Beeswax MonlrtirifrCan 455 Bee Tent at Baltimore, Md 330 CannyV Device f*)r Sections 190 (-'omb Honey Hark yy <'onjbs 33 Built bv Apis dorsata ,'.'.' is.t OlatTam on Spacing Frames :jfil Dr. WorralTs Observation Hive '. 11:1 Duncari'B Comb Foundation Fastener 320 byesof a Worker Bee (maenifled) iiB Figwort— Simpson Honev Plant 177 flarmer'H Observat'on Hive ]j*8 Head of DnwR Beo ( niaunilied) -173 Head of WorkPr Bee (uiatznitied) 173 Hodgsun's Conib Honey Kack HG Honey Rael* for Sections igh Lytle's Starter Machine 444 Method of Renioviog Frames 46.5 Mites as Bee-EnemicB 530 One-pieceSectionsi 102 Prof. Cook's Observation Hive 113 R«ck for Surplus Honey 211 Sections in one and two pieces ... T2 Smith's Foundation Fastener for Sections 241 Sting of the Honey Bee 78 Subdivided Secti )n3 97 Swiss Beeswax Extractor 455 Wires used in Queen Hearing 142 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 679 ^pfecial Notices. Examine the Dale following your name on the wrapper label of this paper; it indicates the end of the month to which you have paid your subscription on the Bee Journal. For safety, when sending money to this ofHce get either a post office or ex- press money order, a bank draft on New York or Chicago, or register the letter. Postage stamps of any kind may be sent for amounts less than one dollar. Local checks are subject to a discount of 25 cents at Chicago banks. American Express money orders for $5, or less, can be obtained for 5 cents. We wish to impress upon every one the necessity of being very specific, and carefully to state what they desire for the money sent. Also, if they live near one post office, and get their mail at another, be sure to give us the ad- dress we already have on our books. Subscription Credits.— We do not acknowledge receipt of each subscrip- tion by letter. The label on your paper, or on the wrapper, shows the date to which your subscription is paid. 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This alone will pay him for all his trouble and expense— enabling him to dispose of his honey at home, at a good profit. Try it, and you will be surprised. Getting up Clubs for 1884. To increase the number of readers of the Bee Journal, we believe, will aid progressive bee-culture and help to elevate the pursuit. We, therefore, offer the following premiums for getting up clubs : AVhile no subscription to the Bee Journal will be taken for less than the regular advertised prices (viz. : Weekly, $2.00; Monthly, $1.00),— any one getting up a club of two copies, or more, may select from " Our Book List " anything therein named, to the amount of 1.5centsfor every dollar they send direct to this office, to pay them for the trouble of getting up the club ; and these books will be sent, postpaid, to any address desired. For a club of 3 Weekly or 6 Monthly and $6.00, we will make an additional present of a Pocket Dictionary, bound in cloth, containing 320 pages. For a club of 5 Weekly or 10 Monthly, (or a mixed club of both,) with $10, we will, in addition to the 1.5 per cent, present a copy of the American "Popular" Dictionary, comprising every word in the English language that enters into speech or writing ; it contains 32,000 words and phrases,670 illustrations and 512 pages; it is nicely bound in cloth, and will be sent by mail, postpaid, to any address desired. For a club of $20, for 10 Weeklies, or an equivalent in Monthlies, we will present, besides the 15 per cent, in books, a tested Italian queen, by mail, postpaid. Subscriptions for two or more years for one person, will count the same as each year for a different person. For a club of 100 W^eekly (or its equivalent in Monthlies), with $200, we will send a Magnificent Organ worth $1.50. See description on page 614 of the Weekly for Nov. 28, 1883. THE AMERICAN POPULAR DICTIONARY. CONTAINING EVEEY USEFUL WORD IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, With Ita Csrrect Spelllun, Preper Pro- nuucllitlon, ttnd True Meanlnif. 1^ Letters for publication must be written on a separate piece of paper frgm items of business. 1^" Do not let your numbers of the Bee Journal foi 1883 be lost. The best way to preserve them is to pro- cure a binder and put them in. They are very valuable for reference. t^ A correspondent asks if any one may select a Binder for the Bee Journal, among the books given as Premiums for getting subscribers we reply, yes ; any book or binder we keep for sale, may be selected by those who get up clubs. ALSO, A VAST AMOtTNT OF ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY INFORMATION UPON Science, Mythology, Jtiography. American HUUyry, Coixstitutions, Laws, Qrowth of Cities, Colleges, Army and Navy, RaU of Mortality, Land Titles, Insolvent and Assignment Laws, Debts, Ratts of Interest, a7id other Useful Kno^oledtie, BEING A PERFECT J.IBKARY OF RBFKRBNCE IN ONE HANDY VOLUME. 51S paties ; Cloth ; Gilt ; lUuBtrated. This Dictionai-y is our Premium for a Club of 5 subscribers to the Weekly (or its equivalent to the Monthly), in addition to other Books selected from our Catalogue to the amount of 81.50 ; all by mail, postpaid. A POCKET DIGTIONABY Contai«iiig ft'M ijagfs, and over 25,000 Words, Kightly and Plainly Defined To make the pronunciation easily understood every word is phonetically re-epelled, and the syl- lables and accems made perfectly plain, so that no one who consults this book can miss the proper word to use. and sivine it proper pronunciation. This Dictionary is our Premium for a Club of 3 subscribers to the Weekly (or its equivalent to the Monthly), in addition to other Books selected from our Catalogue to the amount of $1.00 ; all by mail, postpaid. A NEW HIVE. Arranged for continuciua combs iiml continuous passape-waya. Will lie founil a pleasure to work with, and can be easily mid rapidly uianaKetl. Kor comb honey it it* without u rival, and as an inven- tion, is second only to that nt movable brood frames. Guaranteed to Give Satisfaction. SEND FOR PEICE LIST AND CIRCULAR. Address. DK. O. I.. TIMK.KK, 44Atf NEW PHILADELPHIA. O. 680 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Given'sFoundationPress. PTJBIJC SENTIMENT affirms that the PRESS Is SUPEHIOR for mabinpcComb Foundation either in Wired Frames or for SECTIONS, and Insures straifiht and perfect combs, when drawn out by the bees. Send for Circular and samples. n. s. eivEN «fe CO., lABtf HOOPESTON, ILL. Bingham Smoker, Please bear in mind that our patents cover all the bellows bee smokers that will burn sound wood. Bingham k Hetherington, ABRONIA, MICH. pifc Hg ^^ MO not, life is sweeping by, ko and Ww r^ mm m dare before you die, somethinR M B Wl- m^ H mighty and sublime, leave be- BK 0" ^k ■ hind to conquer time." $06 a !■ I Hb H week in your own t<^>wn. $.':sout- ■ m ^M %7 ■ fit free. No risk. Everything new. Capital not required. We win furnish you everythinR. Many are making fortunes. Ladies make as much as men, and boys and girls make great pay. Header, if you want business at which you can make great pay all the time, write for particulars to H. Hallbtt & Co Portland, Maine. 8Aly BEES,aUEENS APIARIAN IMPLEMENTS, SEND roil CIRCrLAB TO t,ock Box 995, BELLEVILLE, St. Clair Co. ILL. lABly GOMBHOm WANTED. We are prepared to purchase large lots of Fancy COMB HONEY in 1 and 2 lb. sectiot.s.or Harbison frames, for which we will pay an advance of :, cts Ser pound over New Vork prices. CASH OK ►KLIVEKY in sound condition in 1-ondon; the price of extracted honey will be paid for all broken coraba. This is an excellent opportunity for bee-keepers wishinir to visit Europe. Corre- Bpondence solicited. W. M. HOOK «& CO., The Apiary, Ijeconfleld, Rd. N., 33Atf LONDON, ENGLAND. ^W ungm jA A week made at home by the In- Vn M J^A dustrions. Best business now be- ^L * ^M fore thepublic. Capitalnotneeded j^ ■ Jw We will start you. Men, women, ■n ■ W boys and girls wanted everywhere ^m ■ BB to work for us. Now is the time. ' You can work in spare time, or give your whole time to the business. No other busi- ness will pay you nearly as well. No one can fail to make enormous pav, by engaging at once. Costly outfit and terms free. Money made fast, easily and honorably. Address True & Co., Augusta, Maine. 8Aiy STORY S CKMP, Manufacturers and Wholesale Dealers in PIANOS^'^ORGANS Decker Bros., Haines Bros., SVlathushek, Simpson & Co., Story & Camp. Territory given. Estey, Story & Camp. The largest exclusively Piano and Organ house on the Continent. Agents Wanted. Protection gTiaranteecL Catalogues free to any address. Write for our prices before buying else- where. STORY & CAMP, 188 & I90 State Street, CHICAGO. 203 N. Fifth Street, ST. LOUIS. THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. A Practical Journal for Amateurs. Tells about work of all kinds tor Boys and Girls- Lathes, Sen ill Saws, Microscopes, Telescopes, Boat^. Athletic Sports, Experiments, Pets, Bees, Poultry, etc., etc. Finely Illustrated. $1.00 per year. Specimens Free. The following Books are New, Xlioroufch. Sellable and Cheap. They contain as much matter as most of the books which sell at $2.50and $5.00. Practical Carpentry. By F. T. Hodgson. Over 3(.Mi Illustrations. The best book on the subject ever issued fl.oo The Steel Sqnare and It^* TTseii. By F. T. Hodgson. Over 75 Engravings. Shows how the Square may be used for Solving almost every Problem in Carpentry l .00 Hand Saws; Their Use, Care, and Abuse. How to Select and How to File Them for all kinds of Work. By F. T. Hodgson. Over 75 Eneravings 1.00 Plaister aud Planterinff ; Mortars and Ce- ments. How to Make and How to Use Them. With a Glossary of Terms. Numerous En- gravings and 3 Fine Plates. By F.T.Hodgson 1.00 The Builder's Oiiiile and EstlmatorU Price Book. By F. T. Hodgson. The most Complete Work of the Kind Published 2.00 Any of the above Mailed Free on Receipt of Price. SeTid for Large Descriptive Catalogue. INDUSTRIAL PUBLICATION CO., 48AGt S94 Brendway, New^YorU. TlieBeeKeepers'HamlyBook 216 pages, bound in cloth, by mail, post-paid, for JStl.OO per copy. Send for prospectus and our special Circulars describing three new and useful articles for the apiary. 47Atf HEBTRY jLt-LEY. WENHAM,MASS. The American Apiciilturist. A MONTHLY JOURNAL, I>evot«-d to Scientific and Pi'actlcal BEE-KEEPING. Edited by a practical bee-keeper, and published in the broadest sense in the interests of the bee- keeper. Us list of contributors consists of the most practical, prominent and successful apicult- urists in America. Our Janunry number will contain a fine likeness of the REV. L. L. LANtJSTROTH, and we will send that number free to all who will send their addresses plainly written on a Postal Card. Address, SILAS M. LOCKE, Editor & Prop'r, Sent Tar 3 moM. for 3.'* ctR.: A mos. GO cts. 50A4t One year Kl.OO. Muth's Honey Extractor, Square Glass Honey Jars, Tin Buckets, Langstroth Bee Hives, Honey SectionB, etc. Apply to C P. MTJTH, 97fi and 978 Central Ave., CINCINNATI, O. |»"Send IOC. for Practical Hints to Bee-Keepers. people are always on the look- out for chances to increuse their earnings, and in time be- come wealthy ; those who do improve theiropportunities re- main in poverty. We offer a great chance to make money. We want many men, women, boys and girls to work for us right in their own localities. Any one can do the work properly from the first start. The business will pay more than ten times ordinary wages. Expensive outflt furnished free. No one who engages fails to make money rapidly. You can devote your whole time to the work, or only your spare moments. Full information and all that is needed, sei^ree. Address Stinbon 4 Co., Portland, Maine. bAly PRIZE f EENS. Tested Prize Queen, in a 2- frame nucleus, 9x17, each, $4 00 Same in nucleus, 4 fra., HxS, 4 00 Tested Prize Queen, by mall, 3 00 PrizeQueen, warranted pure- ly fertilized 2 00 Queen, not standard size — 100 FuliCijlony, 8 frames, Prize Queen 8 00 Before June ::r., add fl each. Cash Orders filled In rotation. Address E. L. BKIOOS, lAly Wilton Junction, Iowa. Vandervort Comb Fdn. Mills, Send for Samples «i*^#t' >:# ^*^^ ■■'^- ^ ■rf> w :T^^ ^i "^""^^^^ ■ ■HI -^JflkAQ :.«rf --f"'€- ^•'^25^ r-'. '- 9^p^' K>.-^ m:>^ 1^-i*«i€ %fc"€l^''f .^- f^^! ^i.. ^-■''^ ^.J?^:T