September, 191 1. 



American Bcc JoarnaJj 



amongst bee-keepers that direct State aid 

 has not been rendered, in view of the fact 

 that such assistance has been forthcoming 

 in the case of several of the British Colonies 

 as well as in the case of France. Germany. 

 Russia, and other foreign countries. 



The grant of a sum not exceeding £'500. 

 which has been made on the recommenda- 

 tion of the Development Commissioners, 

 will enable the British Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation to do much-needed work in the gen- 

 eral organization of the industry, including 

 the promotion of county bee-keeping asso- 

 ciations and the giving of lectures of an 

 elementary and introductory type calculated 

 to attract the interest of country audiences 

 to the advantages of bee-keeping. 



A further grant of £i5u has specially been 

 allocated for the purpose of enabling an ex- 

 perimental apiary to be provided in a suit- 

 able central situation, such apiary to be 

 equipped with the requisite modern appli- 

 ances used in bee-keeping for demonstra- 

 tion purposes. In connection with the api- 

 ary there will be arrangements for the 

 training and examination of lectures; con- 

 sequently there ought to be in course of 

 time a marked improvement in the qualifi- 

 cations of these officials, whose services 

 have in recent years been so much requisi- 

 tioned by county councils. It is not at all 

 improbable that the number of these will 

 have to be materially augmented owing to 

 the impetus given to apiculture by State 

 assistance. 



There is an experimental apiary in the 

 Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, where varie- 

 ties of frame hives can be inspected and ad- 

 vice obtained as to the most suitable to be 

 used, the manipulation of colonies of bees 

 being demonstrated by capable officials. In- 

 teresting evidence was laid before the 

 Development Commissioners on April 27 

 last, by Mr. Walter F. Reid, one of the wit- 

 nesses, as to the interest taken by the gen- 

 eral public in this apiary. 



Bee-keeping has received a serious set- 

 back in recent years owing to the prevalence 

 of what is generally called the "Isle of 

 Wight disease." which has destroyed 

 countless colonies of bees throughout the 

 country. It may be added that fruit-growers 

 were amongst the first to appreciate the 

 gravity of the harm which would result to 

 their industry from so great a decrease in 

 the number of colonies kept. Consequently 

 the financial assistance for the promotion of 

 apiculture which is to be given by the Treas- 

 ury, will tend to restore confidence and to 

 give much-needed encouragement to those 

 engaged in bee-keeping. 



" Queenie ; the Autobiography of an 

 Italian Queen-Bee." — This sinall work 

 by T. Chalmers Potter, just published. 

 has the rather pretty conceit, as its title 

 suggests, of telling in the language of 

 a queen-bee what happens among bees. 

 It can hardly be recommended as a 

 book of instruction for one who knows 

 nothing about bees, its statements be- 

 ing too much at variance with the 

 actual facts. 



We are told that a queen-ceil pre- 

 pared for swarming is six-sided; which 

 is true of a post-constructed cell, but 

 not of a queen-cell built while the old 

 queen is present. 



A queen-cell looks like a hanging 

 peanut shell, only the color is some- 

 what darker, sometimes almost black. 

 It would have been well to add that a 

 queen-cell may also be even lighter 

 than a peanut shell, depending upon 

 the color of the surrounding comb. 



The cells that are almost black, ac- 

 cording to the story of the queen, are 

 those that " are left on the combs of a 

 hive by the bees for a long time, and 

 used as the birthplace of other queens." 



That the same queen-cell has been 

 used the second time by the bees will 

 be news to bee-keepers. 



Quahking is the note uttered by a 

 virgin in her cell, "and sometimes 

 uttered when two queens are at liberty 

 in the colony when a battle between 



them may be impending." Was a 

 queen ever known to quahk «/?(•)• being 

 outside her cell ? 



In the case of a prime swarm, we 

 have the remarkable statement that the 

 first virgin to mature was ready to 

 leave her cell two days before the issu- 

 ing of the swarm, but was held captive 

 in her cell by the workers until the old 

 queen left with the swarm. And this 

 seemed to be given as the normal pro- 

 cedure. Did such an exception ever 

 happen ? 



All these errors occur in the first 

 dozen pages of the book, and the re- 

 mainder of the 70 pages of reading 

 matter have their full share of errors. 

 Too bad that the author should not 

 have been more familiar with his sub- 

 ject, or that he did not employ an ex- 

 perienced bee-keeper to revise his 

 manuscript. 



Mr. A. Godon, whose picture is re- 

 produced herewith, and who died in 

 June, I'Jll, was president of the Society 

 of Apiculture, and editor of " L'Abeille 



A. Godon. 



Bourguignonne," a periodical published 

 under the direction of that association, 

 and now in its 21th year. 



Mr. Godon was one of the champions 

 of progressive bee-culture in Eastern 

 France, and had devoted most of his 

 time to the spread of new methods 

 among the country people. 



Japan Clover. — Farmers' Bulletin 441 

 of the United States Agricultural De- 

 partment highly commends Lespedeza, 

 or Japan clover, as a forage plant for 

 the South, especially for the cotton- 

 belt. No mention is made of it as a 

 honey-plant, but it will probably be an 

 ad<lition to the honey-resources. 



Saccharin in Food Prohibited This 



substance, which is said to have 300 

 times the sweetening power of sugar, 

 and which has been used as a substi- 

 tute for sugar in over 300 classes of 

 foods in which sugar is commonly 

 recognized as a normal and valuable 

 ingredient, has been given a black eye 

 by the United States Department of 

 />griculture. Food Inspection Decis- 

 ion 13.') says that if the use of saccharin 

 be continued it is evident that amounts 



of saccharin may readily be consumed 

 which will, through continual use, pro- 

 duce digestive disturbances ; and " the 

 Secretary of Agriculture, therefore, will 

 regard as adulterated under the food 

 and drugs act, foods containing sac- 

 charin which, on and after July 1, 1911, 

 are manufactured or offered for sale in 

 the District of Columbia or the terri- 

 tories, or shipped in interstate or for- 

 eign commerce, or offered for impor- 

 tation into the United States," 



Which Bees?— The following is sent 

 us by Mr. G. E. Bacon, advertising 

 manager of the G. B. Lewis Co., Water- 

 town, Wis., who says that it " might be 

 appropriate for the American Bee 

 Journal :" 



Fair Enough. 



Indignant Stranger— Here! coming through 

 your garden I've been stung by one of your 

 confounded bees! 



Bee-Culturist— Which one •■ Just you point 

 it out. sir. and I'll deal with it immediately. 

 —mhidctflih, ISulktin. 



The Oklahoma State Convention will 

 be held in Oklahoma City, Okla., Tues- 

 day, Oct. 3, 1911, on the State Fair 

 Grounds, in the evening. The program 

 is as follows : 



How a Good Location May be Made Better 

 — B. F. Bartholomew. 



Doesitl'ay to Keep a Tidy Bee-Yard?— 

 Grovcr Boardman. 



Why Bees Should Interest the Farmer— E. 

 Q. Couch. 



Why Bees Should Interest the Business 

 Man— Arthur Rhodes. 



The Necessity of an Association— G. E. 

 Lemon. 



Some of the Science of the Bee— Prof. C. 

 E. Sanborn. 



Some Observations of the Growth of the 

 Industry in Oklahoma— F. W. 'Van De Mark. 



How I Caught the Bee-Fever, and Why I 

 Still Have It— Joseph Heueisen. 



Some Comparisons of Northern and .South- 

 ern Bee-Keeping— Geo. H. Coulson. 



All interested are cordially invited to 

 be present. 



Arthur Rhoads, Sec, Coyle, Okla. 

 N. Fred Gardiner, /';-c.v., Geary, Okla. 



The Missouri Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion will meet Sept. 27 and 28, lOll, 

 during the Electric Park Co.'s Missouri 

 Valley Fair at Kansas City, Mo. All 

 members are requested to be present, 

 and any one interested in bees and 

 honey is cordially invited to attend. 

 There will be several lectures given on 

 the management of apiaries and the 

 production of honey. A live-bee dem- 

 onstration will also be given daily, 

 showing the public how bees can be 

 handled. All bee-keepers having any 

 nice honey should write the Electric 

 Park Co., Kansas City, Mo., for their 

 Fair catalog. M. E. Tribble, Sec. 



Marshall, Mo. 



N. Illinois and S. Wis. Convention will 

 be held in the Court House in Freeport, 

 111., Tuesday, Oct. 17, li)l 1. All inter- 

 ested in bees should be sure and come 

 and bring anything new that you have 

 that would be of interest to bee-keepers. 

 The question-box will be a prominent 

 feature of the meeting. 



B. Kennedy, Sec. 



Cherry Valley, 111. 



