226 



July, 1915. 



American ^ae Journal 



Insofar as possible, the Institution 

 will assist beeke pers in the determi- 

 nation of unknown honey-plants. 

 Specimens received according to the 

 directions given below, will be tiled in 

 a permanent herbarium of nectar and 

 pollen-yielding flora. This collection 

 should become invaluable as a source 

 of reference during years to come. 



Beekeepers are, therefore, invited to 

 furnish for this collection, according 

 to the following directions, specimens 

 of their local sources of nectar and 

 pollen. 



Plants should be pressed and dried 

 for shipping, as there is always danger 

 that when shipping in fresh condition 

 they will not reach their destination in 

 good condition for preserving and 

 identification. 



Directions. — 1. Plants for pressing 

 should be in full blossom and should 

 go into the press while fresh. 



2. Newspapers may be used as driers 

 if care is taken to change them each 

 day until the plants are perfectly dry, 

 otherwise moldy specimens will be the 

 result. Place the plant between several 

 thicknesses of paper. If the plant is 

 taller than the length of the paper it 

 may be folded over to fit. 



3. Use the margins of the newspapers 

 on which to write necessary data, in- 

 cluding name of plant — common or 

 scientific — place and date of collection, 

 name and address of c oUector, and a 

 note of the value of the plant in your 

 locality for honey or pollen. (Extended 

 remarks should be sent in a separate 

 letter, but be sure to refer to your 

 specimens sent under separate cover). 

 It is desirable that several specimens 

 of each kind of plant be prepared. 



4. Press papers may be laid on the 

 floor with a board of the proper size 

 on top. On the board place a weight 

 (as stones) of about 35 pounds. Too 

 much weight is not desirable. 



5. For shipping, place the folder 

 containing plant and data between 

 pieces of binder's board or heavy card- 

 board, wrap and tie securely, and label 

 " dried plants," with your name as 

 sender. 



6. Address the package to 



Prof. A. Vincent Osmun, 

 Clark Hall, 

 Massachusetts Agricultural College, 

 Amherst, Mass. 



Bee Meetings Next Fall Some time 



ago a committee was appointed to ar- 

 range the dates of next winter's con- 

 ventions on the circuit plan as far as 

 possible. Several months have been 

 required to arrange the dates to the 

 satisfaction of all concerned. The 

 States joining in the circuit and the 

 dates on which conventions will be 

 held are as follows : 



1. Ohio Nov. 26 27. 



2. Illinois Nov. 29 30. 



3. Kansas Dec. 1-2. 



4. Missouri Dec. 3 4. 



5. Minnesota Dec. 7-8. 



6. Wisconsin Dec. 9-10. 



7. Indiana Dec. 10-11. 



8. Iowa Dec. 13, 14, 15. • 



9. Michigan Dec. 15 Ifi. 



10. Chicago-Northwestern Dec. 17-18. 



From the above dates it will be seen 

 that conventions will be in session 

 continuously excepting Sundays. By 

 this plan, speakers of prominence will 

 be able to attend a number of conven- 



tions without inconvenience. If the 

 dates could have been conveniently ar- 

 ranged, less travel would have been 

 necessary by having adjoining States 

 follow each other. Some dates were 

 fixed and the other meetings had to be 

 adjusted to them. It is to be hoped 

 that the circuit plan will prove so pop- 

 ular that somewhat more convenient 

 arrangements may be possible another 

 year. The location of the various 

 State conventions will be announced 

 by their respective secretaries. Some 

 locations have apparently not yet been 

 selected. Frank C. Pellett. 



The •• Booster." — The first copy of the 

 "Booster "is out. This is a monthly 

 publication edited by Geo.W. Williams, 

 former treasurer of the National Bee- 

 kepers' Association. 



In his opening remarks the editor 

 says: 



"The policy that the ' Booster ' will 

 adO|jt and strive to consummate, will 

 be to ' boost ' the honey business. The 

 scattered locations occupied by the 

 beekeepersand their distinctive psycho- 

 logicpl makeup, makes this the best 

 way for them, although it may not be 

 the ordinarily accepted system of pro- 

 moting a product. It can be carried 

 out, and will prove efficient. The honey 

 business as a whole can be and will be 

 'boosted' by every intelligent, broad- 

 minded, energetic, persistent and or- 

 ganized individual effort." 



We welcome the new paper to this 

 field. The marketing of honey is of as 

 much importance as its production. 



Inoculating Bee Paralysis in Rats. — 



C. E. Sanborn, State Entomologist at 

 the A. and M. college, has discovered 

 that paralysis has invaded honey bees 

 in Oklahoma. Dead bees were fur- 

 nished him for investigation as to their 

 death. He took live bees and infected 

 them with the bacillus of the dead ones 

 and soon they died. 



Speaking of this he says: 



" In death they showed the same 

 action as bees ordinarily found with 

 paralysis. Their abdomen became dis- 

 tended ; their two front feet drawn up 

 against their chests; the four hind feet 

 stretched out sprawling and quivering : 

 the mouth parts e.xtended and quiver- 

 ing, and the head frequently turned to 

 one side." 



He took rats and inoculated them, 

 and they were soon distincily affected 

 though not sufficiently to kill them. 

 This was to see if the germ would have 

 eilect on the higher animal life. — Tulsa, 

 Okla , irorld. 



Distance Traveled bv Bees tor Honey. 



— The " Revue Eclectique D'Apicul- 

 ture," of which Mr. Prieur, of Poitiers, 

 France, is the editor, has in its May- 

 June number a very interesting article 

 on the extent of the bees' harvest field, 

 from the pen of J. M. Gouttefan^eas, 

 the inventor of the " cloistering hive," 

 mentioned some years ago in the 

 American Bee Journal. 

 Mr. G. lives at the Hermitage of 



Noiretable, in the mountains of Forez 

 in Auvergne, and keeps bees there. He 

 has for 12 years taken notice of the 

 range covered by his bees. There are 

 large orchards located 2 kilometers 

 (about 1 '., miles) from his apiary, but 

 at an elevation 225 meters (738 feet) 

 lower than his own, with n very abrupt 

 descent. His bees have never worked 

 upon those fruit blossoms, even in very 

 favorable weather. He remarks : 



" For 12 years, or since our apiary 

 has been installed at the Hem itage, 

 even in very propitious temperature, 

 at the end of May or beginning of 

 June, when the fruit trees of the hills 

 below are in full blossom, our bees 

 have never visited them. At that time 

 they have ended their harvest on the 

 blueberry {.lin-l/e), and they are await- 

 ing the blooming of the raspberry 

 which begins towards the middle of 

 lune. There is nothing then for them 

 but the blossoms of the apple, pear and 

 cherry trees, on the lower hills, 2 kilo- 

 meters away. It is not a long trip, and 

 yet, in spite of warm weather, 12 to 15 

 degrees C. (53 to 59 degrees F.), and 

 even more, they remain inactive and 

 loaf around their homes. A few of 

 them work upon small flowers scat- 

 tered in the woods and in the forest 

 clearings. But on the whole they do 

 but little, while their sisters below have 

 a fine work-field where thousands of 

 them are humming." 



On the other hand, on the " Pic De 

 Vimond," it appears that the bees of 

 the valley gather nectar, although this 

 is at a higher altitude than the Hermit- 

 age. The crop there is on the Erica 

 vulgaris (heather). Mr. G. asserts that 

 he has seen bees therefrom 5 or 6 kilo- 

 meters (4 or more miles) below. 



His conclusion is that bees do not 

 go far down steep hills " from an in- 

 stinctive fear of not being able to 

 come up again with their load. Up 

 hill, on the other hand, they might go 

 9 to 12 miles if the topografhy of the 

 country is satisfactory. This restric- 

 tion is not an idle one, for it may not 

 be possible to establish, upon the dis- 

 tances covered by bees, any universal 

 formula. Much depends upon the cir- 

 cumstances of temperature, locations, 

 seasons, aerial currents, and that is 

 perhaps the reason why our masters 

 have so little studied this question." 



It would be quite interesting to have 

 comments upon the above, from ob- 

 serving beekeepers living in the moun-J 

 tains of the United States, whether inl 

 the I'^ast, the center or the West. To| 

 our mind the word " aerial currents," 

 about which so little has been known,j 

 contains the solution. 



DEATH OF W. T. FALCONER 



It is with sincere regret that we in- 

 form our readers of the death of Mr.l 



