44 



American Hee Journal 



syrup made of l^^ water to 2 of sugar, 

 one teaspoonful of tartaric acid being 

 added to every 20 pounds of feed. As 

 my colonies are all placed in the cellar 

 it would be foolhardy on my part to 

 disturb them ; but from past experi- 

 ences I don't have to be told that a 

 good part of their stores is a dead loss. 

 but if this thin feed properly made will 

 candy in my yard, it ought to interest 

 Others." Johx A. Mi Kinnon. 



St. Eugene, Ont. 



Poet ot American Beekeepiu^ 



We are indebted to our old friend, 

 Eugene Secor, of Forest City, Iowa, 

 for a neat pamphlet entitled, " Tlie 

 Calendar," containing 17 short poems 

 written by him. Our friend's name 

 and writings are well-known to the 

 veterans in beekeeping. The files of 

 the American Bee Journal contain a 

 number of his essays. We reproduce 

 from his poem on " May," which ap- 

 peared in May, 1901, in these columns, 

 two pretty stanzas: 



One day 



I passed the orchard where the bloom 

 Seemed coaxing honeybees 



I o stop and sip its tempting wine. 



And pacli their basl<et knees 



With dainty bread on which to dine- 

 All laden with perfume— 

 And it was May. 



In May 



The dandelions ply their art 



To spread a honey feast; 

 They fling their yellow banners out 



Against the beaming East 

 As if to say to bees about, 



" We yield our inmost heart. 

 Kiss us we pray." 



The words of the "Beekeepers' 

 Songs," formerly published by Mr. 

 York, are nearly all by Mr. Secor. It 

 may be well to add, for the information 

 of the younger readers, that Mr. Secor 



is a patriarch of 73 summers, who has 

 had a useful life. He has been Mayor 

 of his city, member of the Board of 

 Trustees of the Iowa Agricultural Col- 

 lege, president of several horticultural 

 and apiarian associations, of the Na- 

 tional Beekeepers' Association at the 

 Washington meeting in 1892, judge of 

 the honey exhibit of the Columbian 

 Exposition of 1803, and General Mana- 

 ger of the National Beekeepers' Union 

 from 1897 until 1902. A son of Mr. 

 Secor, Alden, is chief editor of " Suc- 

 cessful Farming," one of the s»ccfss/'u/ 

 farm magazines. 



In sending us this little gift, Mr. 

 Secor wrote: "I feared you would 

 not care for that kind of writing, and 

 yet I wanted you to know that I cared 

 for you." A delicate compliment could 

 not be worded in a nicer way. The 

 feeling is heartily reciprocated. 



Iowa luspeftiou 



We acknowledge receipt of the 3d 

 Annual Report of the State Bee In- 

 spector of Iowa, by Frank C. Pellett. 



This is a work of 126 pages, magnifi- 

 cently illustrated and replete with in- 

 formation. Every beekeeper of Iowa 

 should have it. It contains a number 

 of essays read at the meeting of the 

 State Association. Of especial impor- 

 tance among them is that by E. F. 

 Phillips, the Government expert at 

 Washington, upon " Temperature and 

 Humidity in the Wintering of Bees." 



Send for it to Frank C. Pellett, of 

 Atlantic, Iowa. 



Miscellaneous ^ News Items 



Moves to Louisiana Mr. J. F. Arch- 



dekin,a queen-breeder formerly located 

 at St. Joseph, Mo., has bought a 200- 

 colony outfit at Big Bend in Louisiana. 

 Mr. Archdekin expects to do queen- 

 rearing in his new location. 



New Secretary ot the Missouri Api- 



cultural Society Dr. A. D. Wolfe, of 



Parkville, Mo., was born in Montclair, 

 N. J., 1801. He entered the ministry 

 as a graduate from New York Univer- 

 sity and Union Theological Seminary; 

 spent six years in Iowa and Nebraska ; 

 since 189t), he has been in Missouri 

 acting variously as president of a 

 school, librarian and registrar of Hark 

 College and as pastor of prominent 

 churches. He made his first acquaint- 

 ance with the bee when he caught a 

 swarm in a coffee box; fell in love with 

 the art, and has ever since handled the 



bee from both practical and scientific 

 standpoints. He reads enormously of 

 bee-literature; keeps a few colonies, 

 but sets such a good example that his 

 bees must work. He makes his own 

 equipment; belongs to the Missouri 

 Apicultural society, and was el :cted 

 secretary December, 1914. 



His quickness, accuracy, training, 

 education and practical common sense 

 make him a most valuable man for the 

 place ; his 1 .tters and records are 

 models of conciseness, short sentenced, 

 and his points always easily under- 

 stood. 



Perhaps we ought to admire the man 

 who tries but fails, but we don't. The 

 man who tries and succeeds gets the 

 applause, and such a man is Dr. Wolfe; 

 when you meet him you recognize at 

 once that you have met a real man, un- 

 assuming, modest, capable and up-to- 

 date. 



Having served as secretary of the 



February. 191.'i. 



)>=^^^ I 



State Association for three years, and 

 having known Dr. Wolfe for the same 

 length of time, I feel qualified to intro- 

 duce him to the beekeepers of Mis- 

 souri, and beg that each will give him 

 all the assistance possible. 



By the time this is in print we shall 

 have been incorporated under the laws 

 of Missouri; a point we have been 



Austin D. Wolfe of Missouri 



trying to reach for three years, and the 

 credit for its accomplishment rests 

 with the good members of the society, 

 and every member is a good one or he 

 would not belong. 



Now let every citizen, whether a 

 member or not, jump in and help get 

 our foulbrood law through the Legis- 

 lature at this term, and we will make 

 old Missouri one of the great bee 

 States of the Union. Send to Dr. 

 Wolfe for a copy of the proposed law. 



Liberty, Mo. J. F. Diemer. 



The War and Swiss Beekeeping. — " I 



have been unable to keep my promise 

 to send interesting Swiss beekeeping 

 views. But I hope to be able to redeem 

 it next year, if we are preserved from 

 the mishaps of this terrible war which 

 surrounds us. 



"The year has been very bad for our 

 bees ; in the Jura-Bernois, the crop 

 WIS a failure. Then came the war. We 

 have been mobilized to guard our fron- 

 tiers. As I was called to service and 

 was released only i few days ago, for 

 six weeks, I was unable to make pho- 

 tographs. However, I took four, which 

 I send you. 



"Owing to the mobilization many 

 apiaries have suffered, and many bees 

 will die for lack of attention. The own- 

 ers having gone to the front, there was 

 no one to take care of the bees. Dur- 

 ing the trip of our regiment in the 

 Franches-^iontagnes, I had occasion 

 to visit an apiary which was starving, 

 for want of attention, in September. It 

 was composed of 28 colonies, which 

 must be dead by this time. As we have 

 been three years without a crop, many 

 of our friends are discouraged. But I 

 advise them to take courage, as we 

 may soon have a good season. 



"Today. Dec. (I, and for the past 

 three or four days, we have had bright 



