) Hon ELY 



HOME,- • 



•lNTE;tEST.S 



'ubiishedy theA ll^ooY Co. 

 $ia5PtR^AR ^@ "Medina- OniB- 



Vol. XXIV. 



APR. 15, 1896. 



No. 8. 



My bees were taken out of cellar in fine 

 shape March 30. Only 2 dead out of 157; but a 

 lot more may die before June. 



The British B. K. A. has done the nice 

 thing by electing Prof. Cook an honorary mem- 

 ber in place of the late Kev. L. L. Langstroth. 



Total sugar consumed in U. S. in '95, 3,899,- 

 488,000 lbs.— just about 60 lbs. for every man, 

 woman, and child. Wouldn't the nation be 

 stronger if one pound out of ten had been 

 honey ? 



Not long ago the American Bee Joxirnal 

 had an adv't of a man seeking a wi^e. Central- 

 blatt beats that with the adv't of a dowerless 

 maiden of 20 desiring a husband. York's man 

 might open negotiations with the dowerless 

 maiden. 



Brood frames filled with foundation usual- 

 ly have a space of 34-inch left at the sides. Is 

 that desirable when the frames are wired ? I 

 have a lot of combs built on foundation that 

 touched the end- bars, and it seems to work per- 

 fectly. 



The metric system stands a chance, just 

 now, of becoming compulsory in 1897. What a 

 fine thing it would be to have our complicated 

 system of weights and measures replaced by 

 the simple decimal system that we use in count- 

 ing money I I'd like to live in 1897. 



Metal beads on nails for spacers, a? talked 

 about by ''the old Scotchman," p. 264, are 

 among the things I've thought about, but I 

 don't know where to get the right kind of beads. 

 But I'd like best a nail with the right kind of a 

 head. 



The Wells system of working two queens 

 in one hive is not suited to novices in bee keep- 

 ing, says the Britisli Bee Journal. Richard 

 Brown, in ihat journal, says the system is not 

 intended for strong colonies, but two weak col- 

 onies must be worked together. 



Very likely Wm. G. Hewes is right in 

 thinking " black combs darken the honey;" but 

 I think he's too sweeping in saying " we all 

 know" it. I think many insist that black 

 combs don't affect the color of the honey, and 

 there's been a good bit of discussion about it 

 lately in British Bee Journal. 



There's a cog slipped somewhere on page 

 252, in C. H. Clayton's $11.25 for 19 combs at 75 

 cts. each. Guess he or the printer got it 19 in- 

 stead of 15. But, say ! isn't 75 cts. apiece rather 

 steep for drawn combs, especially with bees 

 only .50 cents a pound at the beginning of the 

 season? If I could trade 2 combs for 3 pounds 

 of bees, I'd skin every last comb out of my 

 hives. [That's the way it was written. — Ed.J 



A reversible frame is given in Revue In- 

 ternationale. The top -bar is no longer than 

 the frame. Into each of the four corners is 

 screwed a common right-angled hook. For the 

 part intended to be uppermost, the hooks at 

 each end are turned outward to support the 

 frame, while the lower hooks are turned in- 

 ward so as to be entirely out of the way. [This 

 idea is illustrated in the back volumes of 

 Gleanings. — Ed.] 



Low RAILROAD RATES are of first importance 

 for a good attendance at the North American, 

 and I've always said the only way was to have 

 it where and when low rates were already se- 

 cured for some other purpose. By all means try 

 following the Grand Army, and some time it 

 will go to Nebraska. [Yes, I'd like to have it 

 follow the Grand Army this year; but the Ne- 

 braska bee-keepers "kick." Too bad they 

 won't give in. Perhaps they will, though, yet. 

 -Ed.] 



No HONEY IN ROSES.— Roses do not secrete 

 honey in their flowers. Insects are simply at- 

 tracted by the perfume and rich colors, and by 

 the abundant supply of pollen, which serves as 

 food.— Los AiKjelea Exjjvess. Wonder if there 

 isn't some mistake about that. I do know that 

 in times of severe scarcity I've had many a rose 

 ruined by the bees tearing the buds open, and 

 that would hardly be for pollen. But most 

 years the bees never touch the cultivated roses. 



