1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



due to the sugar in honey or to common su- 

 gar. A good French writer now comes forward 

 and recommends honey mixed with rye flour, 

 the yolk of an egg, and a little butter, as a 

 valuable aid in case of kidney troubles. 



A writer in the Bulletitt de la Sonime urges 

 bee-keepers in general to contribute for that 

 journal in order to add to the general stock of 

 information. For the benefit of those who 

 fear they can not write good smooth French 

 he says : 



We have a large number of practical bee-keepers 

 who have a good many bright ideas in their heads, and 

 who could interest us by sending them to the Bulletin; 

 but thev fear they will be lacking in respect for the 

 rules of grammar, and hence they refrain. But Editcr 

 Guerin is a scholar ; and as he has worn his pants thin 

 on the school-bench it will be to him a pleasure and a 

 joy to reconcile their prose with the rules of gram- 

 mar. 



The same advice might be given here. The 

 very thing that one writer would consider a 

 trifling event might be the missing link in a 

 very important chain that somebody else has 

 been unable to link together. Yes, Mr. Guerin 

 is a scholar, and is doing much for apiculture 

 in France. 



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Mr. Maurice Conquaux, proprietor of Le 

 Miel (The Honey), has just published a book 

 entitled " Apiculture in France at the Begin- 

 ning of the Twentieth Century " It is a his- 

 tory of apiculture in all the departments of 

 France. One will find in it every thing con- 

 cerning the flora ; the names of apicultural so- 

 cieties ; the names of apicultural writers and 

 practitioners, and manufacturers of apicultural 

 articles. One might wish for a similar work 

 for this country ; but owing to the vast size of 

 the United States compared with France the 

 work would be difiicult of preparation in pro- 

 portion. 



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REVIEW INTERNATIONALE. 



The great task before the bee-keepers of 

 Europe, as here, is to get their honey into 

 market. Mr. Ulrich Gubler, a celebrated 

 writer, says : 



As everybody is complaining that honey does not 

 sell, we should take every occasion to make known the 

 qualities of this product. During winter there are oft- 

 en bazars or auctions to help along philanthropic 

 work. Do not fail to contribute to their success by 

 donating several sections of honey, neatly labeled. If 

 buyers do not come to you, you must go to them. 

 Don't you remember a trick resorted to by Mr. Smith, 

 a manufacturer of s-hoe-blacking? Finding business 

 slow he engaged several persons to visit certain stores 

 and call for Smith's blacking. As these calls were re- 

 peated the merchants got their eyes opened and put 

 the blacking forward ; and as it was a really good arti- 

 cle. Smith's success was assured. If bee-keepers and 

 their friends while traveling would call for honey at 

 hotels the proprietors would be compelled to buy it 

 and put it on their tables. 



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RUCHER BELGE. 

 A writer says that, although all the changes 

 have been rung in regard to honey as a medi- 

 cine, yet its value, he thinks, is not well 

 enough understood by those sufFering from 

 diseased kidneys, spleen, and pancreas. He 

 suffered greatly from hereditary kidney trou- 

 ble, but after reading an article in a German 



paper he resolved to abstain from all dishes 

 containing sugar. In a short time his troubles 

 disappeared, and returned only when he used 

 sugar ; but meanwhile, he says, he used hon- 

 ey freely. Whether he was helped by the mi- 

 nus sugar or the plus honey or both might be 

 a debatable question ; but at all events he rec- 

 ommends honey highly in such cases, and 

 urges that doctors make further use of it. As 

 to stings, he says a person of his acquaintance 

 was cured of tuberculosis by inhaling formic 

 aldehyde, and was also cured of a persistent 

 diarrhea by the stings of bees applied to the 

 abdomen. He says that the use of honey does 

 not keep pace with its production in France. 

 Many things conspire against it. For one 

 thing, sugar, which is good for those whose 

 organs are sound, is largely used in place of 

 honey. Then the high price of honey at the 

 groceries, together with its low grade, tends 

 to drive away customers. 

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 BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 

 A writer makes a strong plea for a fund to 

 protect beekeepers from unjust legislation 

 and attack ; and he urges that not only enough 

 be provided to meet each case after it arises, 

 but a standing fund to be ready for any emer- 

 genc)'. The wisdom of such a course has 

 been fully demonstrated in this country by the 

 National Bee-keepers' Association. It seems 

 our British friends have nothing quite similar. 

 See editorials. 



The following paragraph by Mr. W. A. Vari- 

 an, of Dublin, in regard to sweet clover, seems 

 so pertinent and well written that I copy it 

 just as it is. 



Sweet clover, or Bokhara clover, as it is variously 

 named in the United States, is a biennial. When 

 grown from seed in the spring, it makes a fine growth 

 for hay, or green feed for cattle in the late summer ; 

 but it does not flower in its first sea.=on after sowing. 

 The second-year growth starts earlier than alfalfa 

 (lucerne), so there is a good "bite " for stock before 

 the latter shows. In fields where both are growing, 

 these young plants look very much alike. The meli- 

 lotus, however, will endure as much drouth as alfal- 

 fa, while it will do well on a much wetter soil than the 

 latter. It cares nothing for the hard winters of the 

 Western United States. I believe it was introduced 

 into the States from Tartarv as a dry-weather forage- 

 plant for stcck, but was not taken kindly to by the 

 ranchmen, and has since spread as a weed all over the 

 We.st, from Michigan to Colorado, during the past 

 twenty-eight years. This result comes about because 

 it sprouts in spite of the small attempts of the careless, 

 slovenly farmer, and grows wild along the sides of 

 roads, railways, and irrigation ditches. It also spreads 

 over neglected corners and commons, apparently not 

 caring how hard or poor the soil is, where the climate 

 suits, for I have seen it growing as high as .5 ft. when 

 in flower. The plant bears a great number of insignif- 

 icant-looking bunches of little white flowers which 

 give out a strong smell of honey, quite perceptible 

 some distance away. 



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Concerning the good effects of propolisin in 

 certain diseases of animals I give the following 

 for what it is worth, as it seems to be fathered 

 by Mr. Gravenhorst's journal in the first 

 place : 



A landed proprietor reports in the Deutsche Bienen- 

 /reund that he requested a veterinary surgeon to pre- 

 scribe for cattle suffering from the foot and mouth dis- 

 ease. The veterinary replied that no remedy was 

 known to him. On the recommendation of a farmer, 

 however, he tried propolisin, with the following re- 



