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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mar 17, 1904. 



ppsted, or else his stenographer is " off her base." Bees in less than 

 car-load lots, properly secured, are doulile first-class, as you will find 

 by consulliug the classification of any railroad belonging to the West- 

 ern Association. You will remember, no doubt, that this matter was 

 discussed the time that you and I appeared before the Classification 

 Committee. The rate of double first-class was made at my sugges- 

 , tion. One of the committee asked me what I thought would be right, 

 and 1 told him that I thought double first-class would not be any too 

 much. That is the rate given in the classiflcation issued by the Santa 

 Fe Railroad, I am sure, for I had it examined to-day. I think you can 

 safely depend upon this. Fraternally yours, 



Emerson Taylor Abbott. 



There can be no good reason why bees, properly secured in hives, 

 should not be shipped as local freight, or less than car-lots, and also at 

 a rate no higher than double first-class. 



Apicultupal Investigations at Waslilngton. 



The report of the United States Entomologist for 1903 contains 

 the following item, showing increased attention given to bee-keeping: 



In apiculture it is proposed specially to investigate the subject of 

 artificial pasturage, which hitherto has not received the attention it 

 deserves. A series of experiments will be entered upon to determine 

 what crops may be profitably employed to fill the gaps in the honey- 

 yield, or to create artificial pasturage for apiaries, and an effort will 

 be made in this connection to introduce honey-plants from abroad. 

 It is proposed to import and test various races or species of bees that 

 are now little or not at all known in this country ; for example, the 

 race native to the Caucasus, and those found in Dalmatia, Austria, 

 and notably the large bee of the East (Apis dorsata) , to be obtained 

 from the Philippine Islands. The breeding of crosses will be continued, 

 and the collection of statistics is proposed. Further, it is especially 

 desired to undertake experimental and remedial work with the dis- 

 eases of bees; and particularly with an obscure disease which has 

 been playing havoc with certain apiaries in the State of New York. 



Bee-Keepers' Riglits to Terpitory. 



There seems to be an increasing desire to "do something " to pre- 

 vent encroachment upon territory already occupied by bee-keepers. 

 At the Idaho State convention, as reported in the Rocky Mountain 

 Bee Journal, a new constitution was adopted, and the report says : 



" After some debate, the clause prohibiting any one from becom- 

 ing a member who locates nearer than three miles to a bee-keeper 

 already a member, provided they propose to engage solely in the api- 

 cultural business, was retained. We want to keep down the sense- 

 less crowding of the bee-range, and this seems the most feasible plan." 



Is not the Idaho Association entitled to the credit of being really 

 the first to " do something " more than talk in this matter? 



The question may arise, however, whether it might not have been 

 better to have omitted the clause " providing they propose to engage 

 solely in the apicultural business.'' It is often, if not always, the 

 the case, that there is less to be feared from a specialist than from one 

 who dabbles in the business. How much lietter off is Smith with 

 ten dabblers located about him, each one of the ten having 20 colonies 

 each, kept merely as a side-show, than to have the same ground 

 occupied liy one man with 300 colonies? A man who intends to make 

 bee-keeping his sole business is not so likely to locate on ground 

 already occupied as the one who keeps only a few colonies. Besides, 

 a man who does not " propose to engage solely in the apicultural 

 business," when he first starts in with 50 colonies, very often grows 

 within a few years to have large numbers. 



Dr. Miller had something to say on this subject, especially as to 

 its legal aspects, in last week's issue. 



( 



Miscellaneous Items 





J. M. Hainbaugh, of San Diego Co., Calif., wrote us as fol- 

 lows, March 1: 



" We have been having some nice growing showers for the last 

 two weeks, but no soakers; but we read of rains farther north. 1 

 hope they may get down here yet." 



The Apiary of A. H. Opfer. — This is shown on the first page. 

 Mr. Opfer says this about it ; 



The group in the picture is Mrs. Opfer, our girl, three boys, and 

 myself. All are very much Interested in the bees, especially the little 



ones, for the sake of the honey. They are not afraid of the bees, as 

 you can see by the position they take in the picture. 



The hives face the east. I winter the bees outdoors, putting on a 

 super filled with planer shavings, set the hives together in two rows, 

 facing north and south, then put a frame of 12-inch boards around 

 high enough to clear the entrance, leaving a 3-inch space around each 

 hive, and fill up with planer-shavings, then roof the whole lot over 

 with tar-paper to keep them dry. 



I believe in spring feeding, and for it I constructed an entrance- 

 feeder 8x7x}4^ inch deep to slip under the brood-frames. It remains 

 there as long as I want to feed. With this feeder I can feed 50 colo- 

 nies in 15 minutes, and never disturb the colony, nor is there any 

 danger of robbing. 



I made two section-extractors, one to take two sections, and the 

 other to take four sections; automatic, reversible. I intend to place 

 the latter one on the market. I believe in economy and labor-saving 

 devices to do work easily and nicely. A. H. Offer. 



Cook Co., 111. 



Mr. It. A. Hammond, of Washington Co., Md., sends us the 

 following, taken from a local newspaper : 



Big Bee-Tree. — In cutting down a large white-oak tree on S. H. 

 Higginbotham's lawn, near Shepherdstown, Md., H. A. Lockhart dis- 

 covered a swarm of bees that had stored a good supply of honey for 

 the winter. The tree yielded 8 cords of marketable wood, besides 75 

 pounds of choice honey. 



Married, Feb. 8, 1904, in the parlors of the Arcade Hotel, Hig- 

 ginsville. Mo , Justice J. G. Coe officiating, R. B. Leahy, editor and 

 publisher of the Progressive Bee-Keeper, to Miss Emily Braeutigam, 

 formerly of Belleville, 111. The bride is a young lady of 19, niece of 

 Mr. Leahy's former wife, from whom he was divorced some two weeks 

 previously, after a married lite of about 23 years. 



The Apiary of Edwin Trittenbaoh appears on the first 

 page. He writes about it as follows: 



My apiary consists of 21 colonies, nearly all of them in chaff 

 hives. Some of them are the 8-frame hives with section-holders, 

 which I consider the liest for this locality. From some of my colonies 

 I got as many as 34 sections as early as June 19, which I think was 

 good, considering the weather we had all summer. I leave the hives 

 on the summer stands during the winter. 



Notice in the picture where I am holding a straw-skep with a 

 swarm hived in it. I bought the skep of my wife's uncle, at public 

 sale some years ago. He says that as near as he knows the skep Is 

 103 years old. I bought it for its rarity. 



The most of my bees are hybrids, and some are blacks. If at any 

 time the black colonies have too many drones I cut the drone-comb 

 out and insert a piece of worker-comb in its place, and often set 

 queen-traps at the entrance of hives and trap them, so as to keep them 

 from mating with the young queens. 



There are not many bees kept in this locality, and the bee-keepers 

 get very little honey from them. It is all because they don't take 

 time to read some good bee-pajiers. I have asked them to subscribe 

 for some journal, thinking they might learn some points in bee-keep- 

 ing, but it is no use talking to them. I suppose it is because they do 

 not take enough interest in the matter. They often ask me how I 

 manage to get so much honey from my bees every year. I answer 

 questions until I get tired. They appreciate it when I show my bee- 

 books, such as " A B C of Bee-Culture," " Bee-Keeper's Guide," 

 " Langstroth on the Honey-Bee," " Bees and Honey," and " Scientific 

 Queen-Rearing." 



There is an abundance of sweet clover about two miles from here 

 — about 30 acres of it, with white blossoms. There is also sumac and 

 goldeurod, basswood, poplar, and asters, in my locality. 



I can sell my honey right around home, and at the works where I 

 am employed. I get IS^^ or 15 cents for a section of honey, and could 

 sell more honey at times if I had it. 



I use the 4,i.2'x4}4'xl7^ sections, 3 bee-way, with section-holders 

 and separators. 



I tried a plan last season to tempt my bees to do more straight 

 work in combbuildiog, and without the use of surplus foundation. I 

 have been partially successful with the plan, and in the future I will 

 explain about it. Edwin Trittenbach. 



Northampton Co., Pa. 



Honey as a Health-Food is the name of a 16- 

 page leaflet (3>^x6 inches) which is designed to help in- 

 crease the demand and sale of honey. The first part is 

 devoted to a consideration of " Honey as Food," written 

 by Dr. C. C. Miller. The last part contains " Honey-Cook- 

 ing Recipes" and "Remedies Usinji^ Honey." It should be 

 widely circulated by every one who has honey for sale. It 

 is almost certain to make good customers for honey. We 

 know, for we are using it ourselves. 



Prices, prepaid — Sample copy free ; 10 for 20 cts.; 25 

 for 40 cts.; SO for 70 cts.; 100 for $1.25; 250 for S2.25 ; 500 

 for $4.00 ; 1000 for $7.50. Your business card printed free 

 at the bottom of the front page, on all orders for 100 or 

 more copies. Send all orders to the Bee Journal office. 



