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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



July 28, 1904. 



troduce, there will be no consequent loss of a honey crop. 

 Still further, the queen that is introduced, being- a young 

 queen, will lay later in the season than will an old queen, 

 and, as a result, the colony will go into winter with a larger 

 proportion of young bees. 



And now for the last and best point : The queen will 

 be young and vigorous the next spring, and will push her 

 colony ahead in a way that is seldom seen with an old queen. 



If you have never tried it, do it this fall. Introduce 

 some really good young queens that have just begun to lay, 

 and see how the colonies will winter, come through the 

 spring, and boom ahead of all others. 



We would refer our readers to the advertising columns 



of this journal for offers of queens. We believe they are 



all reliable, else we would not allow them to advertise in 

 the American Bee Journal. 





Speed of Birds and Bees. 



The St. Joseph News and Press reports that W. W. 

 Murphy, an engineer on a Burlington fast express, has 

 been gauging the speed of various winged creatures by 

 watching their flight as they accompanied his train. A 

 pigeon easily makes 46 miles an hour. A chicken-hawk and 

 a crow can make 24 miles an hour ; the blackbird, dove, 

 robin, and other small birds, 38 miles an hour. 



" Murphy says that a honey-bee, the other day, flew in 

 and out of his cab window while he was going at the rate 

 of 63 miles an hour. The performance lasted while the 

 engine traveled a half mile." 



Yet that might not mean that a bee can fly 63 miles an | 

 hour, for the air of the cab would be moving more or less 

 with the cab, carrying the bee with it. On the other hand, 

 the bee might be going more than 63 miles an hour, for it 

 was not flying in a straight line, its zigzag course as it flew 

 in and out of the cab increasing the distance traversed. 



Phacelia for Honey and Fodder. 



There is probably not the slightest doubt that Phacelia 

 tanacetifolia is a fine honey-plant. It is having quite a 

 boom in European countries, having been introduced there 

 from California. Testimony in foreign journals conflicts 

 as to its value for fodder, making it somewhat problemati- 

 cal whether indeed it has any great value in that direction, 

 without which it can little be counted on for honey, as the 

 cultivation of any one plant for honey alone can probably 

 never be made profitable. Absolutely nothing has been 

 said about it as a forage plant in this country in the bee- 

 papers, until the following from Otto Luhdorf, a Califor- 

 nian, in Gleanings in Bee-Culture : 



This plant is very good for fodder and honey in the 

 Northern States, where alfalfa can not be grown to advan- 

 tage. Alfalfa has many advantages over phacelia. Alfalfa 

 is perennial ; can be cut from three to six times a year, and 

 brings each time from 1 to IJi tons of hay per acre. Alfalfa, 

 even if cut late, will still make fine hay. 



Phacelia is an annual, and it can be cut only once or 

 twice in the same year. The first time it should be cut for 

 hay, just when commencing to bloom fully, giving the bees 

 about one week's time to work for honey. If the season 

 brings moisture in sufficient quantities, as is general in the 

 Northern States, I believe it will bring a second cut, which 

 may be used for honey and seed. I have not tried it here, 

 especially for such a second crop, as we have not sufficient 

 moisture in this country, but I have seen it produce new 

 growth near ditches, where I had cut off some for experi- 

 ment, and this new growth produced again flowers and seed. 

 Phacelia will make fine hay for all kinds of stock, if cut 

 not too late, say when blooming about from one to two 

 weeks. 



If a country is suitable for alfalfa, this fodder will 

 bring much larger returns than phacelia. 



Miscellaneous Items 





"Modern Queen-Rearing" and "How to Produce 

 Extracted Honey " are the names of two 32-page illus- 

 trated pamphlets recently issued by The A. I. Root Co., at 

 IS cents each. Orders may be sent to the office of the 

 American Bee Journal at the price named. 



P. J. England, of Fancy Prairie, 111., the first president 

 of the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association, died July 

 14, of typhoid fever, after a short illness. He is survived 

 by his widow, six daughters and two sons. From a letter 

 received from one of his sons, Mr. Arthur J. England, we 

 take the following, which shows the high character of Mr. 

 England : 



" My father was a consistent Christian, and a kind, 

 loving husband and father. For a number of years he had 

 not been extensively engaged in bee-culture, but he never 

 lost interest in the pursuit." 



See Langstroth Book Offer on another page of this 

 copy of the American Bee Journal. 



"Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide for 

 1904," is the title of a 25-cent pamphlet of over 400 pages, 

 giving a comprehensive description of the counties of Texas, 

 their resources and products ; specially prepared and illus- 

 trated articles on the various industries and pursuits of the 

 State ; directory of associations, institutions, etc.. for ready 

 reference. Mr. Louis H. SchoU, secretary of the Texas 

 State Bee-Keepers' Association, contributed the part re- 

 ferring to bees and bee-keeping. It is published by A. H. 

 Belo li Co., Dallas, Tex. Every Texan, and every one else 

 who desires to know all about Texas, should have a copy of 

 this pamphlet. 



These ReviewletS are taken from the July number of 

 the Bee-Keepers' Review : 



Elmore M. Hunt and wife, of Bell Branch, Mich , are 

 rejoicing over their first baby — a girl. 



Dr. C. E. Parker, a well-known bee-keeper of Syracuse, 

 N. Y., is dead. He was the one with whom Irving Kenyon 

 took his first lessons, as mentioned recently in the Review. 



" All things come to him who waits," is an old saying 

 with which I never felt entirely satisfied. It is all right to 

 wait if necessary, but there must be something more. Here 

 is the way that Thos. A. Edison puts it, and it adds the 

 one thing needful. He says, " All things come to him who 

 hustles while he waits." 



The Pennsylvania Association, as announced on page 

 344, was organized April 12. Secretary D. E. Woods, of 

 Muncy, Pa., sends us the following statement : 



The chief purpose of the Pennsylvania State Bee Keep- 

 ers' Association is to promote apiculture in Pennsylvania, 

 and it is to be accomplished by efforts made along the fol- 

 lowing lines : 



1. To secure legislation for the promotion of bee-keeping. 



2. To suppress the diseases of bees, especially foul 

 brood, by legislation and by the appointment of a compe- 

 tent State Inspector with deputies or assistants. 



3. To secure and promote instruction in bee-keeping at 

 Farmers' Institutes. 



4. To secure a series of lectures at the normal session 

 for Farmers' Institute Lecturers to be held in Bellefonte 

 next October. 



5. To make it possible for persons to obtain instruction 

 in apiculture at the Pennsylvania State College. 



6. To induce and promote investigation and experimen- 

 tation in apiculture at the Pennsylvania State Agricultural 

 Experiment Station. 



7. To induce and promote investigations and publica- 

 tions by the Division of Zoology of the Pennsylvania State 

 Department of Agriculture. 



