i,Entered as second-class matter at the Post-office at Hamiltou. 111., uuder Act uf March a. Ib7y.j 



Published Monthly at $1.00 a Year, by American Bee Journal, First National Bank Building 



C. p. DADANT. Editor. 



DR. C. C. MILLF:R. Associate Editor 



HAMILTON, ILL., JANUARY, 1915 



Vol. LV..— No. 1 



Editorial 



Comments 



Aster Honey 



J. L. Byer, in Gleanings in Bee Cul 

 ture, says that aster honey is light in 

 color and nice in flavor. Dr. Miller's 

 experience agrees exactly with the 

 Byer description. Ours does also. We 

 have had at one time some six barrels 

 of honey which could not very well be 

 from any other blossom, and it was 

 almost equal to clover honey in color 

 and quality. 



Notes from Abroad 



The account of our trip abroad will 

 be interrupted next month, to give 

 room for our recent visit to Quebec, 

 Lower Canada and the Montreal con- 

 vention. But the recital of our visits 

 among European beekeepers will be 

 taken up again in March and carried 

 to completion. So many of our sub- 

 scribers have expressed themselves as 

 pleased with the " Notes " that we have 

 resolved not to curtail them. 



Napbtaliu In.steart of Smoke 



Under the title "No More Smoke 

 for the Bees," in L'.A.picoltore, Giuseppe 

 Kossi gives what we believe to be a 

 new way to tame the bees. He rubs 

 his hands with powdered naphtalin, 

 and, carefully opening the hive, lays 

 his hands over the top of the frames. 

 The odor drives the bees away. 



Oregon Beekeeping 



We acknowledge with thanks the re- 

 ceipt from the State Entomologist of 

 Oregon, Mr. H. F. Wilson, at Corvallis 



Oreg., of Bulletin No. 168, on the above 

 subject. A map indicates that bee- 

 culture in Oregon is successful, espe- 

 cially on the west of the Cascade 

 mountains. The pamphlet contains 

 hints and may be had by addressing 

 him as above. 



Mixing Nectar 



It h»s been asserted by some con- 

 temporaries that the worker bees visit 

 only one kind of blossom at one time' 

 and do not go from blossom to blos- 

 som indiscriminately. This is true 

 only in part. Probably the best state- 

 ment is that made by Dr. Miller in 

 Gleanings in Bee Culture: "I suspect 

 that bees do not give a button for re- 

 lationship, but have preferences; and 

 when there are enough flowers of their 

 first choice they will work on no others 

 (and that's nearly always the case 

 when there is a surplus) ; but when 

 flowers are scarce enough they have no 

 scruples about mixing." 



Tlie Quebec Crop 



The report of 91 members of the 

 Quebec Beekeepers' Association for 

 1914 shows 5845 colonies, spring count, 

 with a crop of 89,558 pounds of comb 

 honey and 210,041 pounds of extracted 

 honey. Beeswax produced, 3243 pounds. 

 Colonies found diseased 338, cured 209. 



Honey Plants of the Mississippi 

 VaUey 



We begin in this number the de- 

 scription, accompanied by cuts, of the 

 plants that furnish honey and pollen. 



This description will continue during 

 the year. It is the work of our friend 

 Mr. Frank C. Pellett, of Atlantic, Iowa, 

 who now has a national reputation as 

 a student of nature. Mr. Pellett is 

 already well known to our readers. He 

 needs no further introduction. 



Bee Meetings 



The following meetings are already 

 scheduled for the future as indicated. 

 Secretaries are urged to write, giving 

 date of meetings so that they may ap- 

 pear in these columns : 



Washington State, North Yakima, 

 Jan. () and 7. 



Ontario County, N. Y., Association, 

 Canandaigua, Jan. 12. 



Ontario Agricultural College, Short 

 Course. Guelph, Ont., Tan. 12 to 23. 



New Jersey State, New Brunswick, 

 Jan. 13 and 14. 



National Beekeepers' Association, 

 Denver, Feb. 1(5, 17, and 18. 



Olfactory Organs 



"The Olfactory Sense of Insects," 

 by N. E. Mclndoo, published by the 

 Smithsonian Institution, is upon our 

 desk; thanks to the courtesy of the 

 author. Mr. Mclndoo has already 

 been introduced to our readers on this 

 subject, in our June number, page 198, 

 1914. This last publication is a work 

 of 64 pages, amply illustrated. We 

 commend it to the students. Right or 

 wrong, Mr. Mclndoo shows great re- 

 search and careful ixperiments. Time 

 will fully elucidate the matter. 



The Missouri Meeting 



A Urge attendance characterized the 

 Missouri meeting held in St. Joseph on 

 Dec. 7 and 8, the sessions being held 

 on the 12th floor of the Corby Build- 

 ing, in the rooms occupied by the 

 Commerce Club, and kindly loaned by 

 them for the meeting. 



The meeting was called to order by 

 Pres. Rouse, the reports of the secre- 



