American V^e Journal 



227 



VVm. T. Falconer, president of the 

 Falconer Mfg. Company at Falconer, 

 N. Y.. one of the largest firms handling 

 and manufacturing bee-supplies in this 

 country. His death was caused by 

 heart failur , following an acute attack 

 of Bright's disease. He was a little 



The Late W. T. Falconer 



more than 6-5 years of age at the time 

 of his death, which occurred Sunday, 

 June 6, and was, until his last illness, 

 a hearty and vigorous man, actively 

 engaged in business and philanthropic 

 work. 



Mr. Falconer first entered the bee- 

 business in the late seventies. This 

 business he built up as the years 

 passed. He was also actively interested 

 in several other enterprises, being 

 president of the Guerney Ball Bearing 

 Company, vice-president of the Chau- 

 tauqua Woolen Mills, and a director in 

 the NewYo.k Oil Company. Mr. Fal- 

 coner was president of his local board 

 of education, had held several city 

 offices, and was much devoted to civic 

 and educational betterment. 



Beekeepers generally will join in ex- 

 tending to his business associates and 

 to his immediate family their sincerest 

 sympathy. His sterling worth and his 

 business integrity are too well known 

 to require further comment. 



The bee-supply business of which he 

 was the head, wi 1 be continued by his 

 associates with the same liberal policy 

 as in the past. 



L. V. France to ninnesota — Mr. L. 



V. France, of the University of Wis- 

 consin, lias been appointed as .\ssistant 

 Professor of Bee Culture at the Uni- 

 versity of Minnesota, to take charge 

 Aug. 1. 



Mr. France is the son of the well- 



known N. li. France, of Platteville, 

 Wis., and he brings with him his 

 father's enthusiasm for the improve- 

 ment of bee culture in the northwest. 



Conditions in Colorado. — The follow- 

 ing is a clipping from a letter from our 

 Colorado correspondent, Wesley Fos- 

 ter, giving conditions up to Jun • 15: 



" Feeding bees is being done later 

 this year than is common. The early 



summer freezes ruined most of the 

 flowers that were furnishing nectar. 

 There is no hope for any surplus 

 honey flow until sweet clover blooms, 

 which will not be before July 10. 



"If colonies are fed now (June 16) 

 and kept supplied with sufficient honey 

 for their needs in breeding, we can 

 have most colonies ready for the flow 

 in July and August. Conditions are 

 better in western Colorado, as the 

 freezes were not so severe. The sea- 

 son is at least three weeks earlier in 

 western Colorado than on the eastern 

 slope." 



Bee-I^eping <^ For WoffEN 



Conducted bv Miss Emma M. Wilson. Mareneo. 111. 



Flowers as Food 



Under this heading is found an in- 

 teresting article in the American 

 Thresherman and Farm Power, the 

 first paragraph of which is: 



"Does it sound like sacrilege or 

 merely absurd to be directed to eat 

 one's flower garden ! The idea, how- 

 ever new to us, is not new in some 

 parts of the world, for the people of the 

 Orient have long used flowers as an 

 important part of their diet. Indeed, 

 the fashion is said to be spreading in 

 our own land, and the credit of its in- 

 troduction is given to Wu Ting Fang, 

 former Chinese minister to the United 

 States. We are told that he taught 

 many a Washington hostess how to 

 make wonderful and tempting flower 

 salads, for though many flowers are 

 cooked for fo' d, they are often pre- 

 ferred, uncooked in salads, as their 

 delicate aroma is thus not destroyed, 

 but serves as an appreciable addition 

 to the dish." 



Follows quite a list of flowers used 

 on the table, among them two that 

 bring honey into use, the marigold and 

 the chrysanthemum: 



" Marigolds make a very pungent 

 and templing flower salad. The petals 

 are pulled from the stems and chopped 

 with flaked nuts and dressed with any 

 favorite form of dressing. One with 

 honey in it is particularly good. 



"To make this salad select take the 

 largest mangolds and mash them. 

 Then strip off the deep gold petals, and 

 half a cupful of chopped or flaked nuts 

 of any kind to m'x well together. Place 

 in I he center of a salad dish and gar- 

 nish the edge with the whole flowers, 

 which makes a beautiful show. 



" For the honey dressing use two 

 parts olive oil, one part lemon juice 

 and one part clear strained honey. 

 Beat well together and add at the last 

 the stifily whipped white of an egg. 

 Salt to taste. If this is too sweet use 

 less honey. 



" When one eats one's first marigold 

 salad one may be a little doubtful as to 

 whether one really likes it or not. But 

 even if one really dislikes the flavor, 

 one will invariably learn to like it very 

 much and crave the dish. There is a 

 very delicious sweet after-taste about 



the flowers that is most likeable. 



"The chrysanthemum is used more 

 than any other flower in China and 

 Japan in the making of salads. The 

 petals are pulled from the flower and 

 chopped with nuts and mixed with 

 honey and oil and served either with or 

 without salad greens. The petals have 

 a little flavor which one soon learns to 

 like, and they make an excellent tonic, 

 being slightly bitter. This is a favorite 

 salad of Wu Ting Fang." 



In the list are also found three that 

 are of special interest to beekeepers 

 because of special interest to the bees, 

 although one of them chiefly to bum- 

 blebees. Note that regarding dande- 

 lions we are told : " One should gather 

 the flowers early in the morning before 

 the insects visit them." Pretty cer- 

 tainly that means before the bees have 

 taken from the flowers their toll of 

 nectar. 



"The blossoms of the red clover are 

 used as salad. The tiny flowers are 

 plucked from the blossom head and 

 used by themselves with a salad dress- 

 ing or with some of the clover leaves 

 which have a sharp, peppery taste, and 

 are strongly nitrogenous and therefore 

 excellent for the health. 



"Alfalfa and dandelion flowers are 

 in high favor as food. The alfalfa 

 flowers are excellent for the health, as 

 they are so rich in organic salts. The 

 alfalfa plant strikes its roots very 

 deeply into the subsoil and brings up 

 into the flowers the richest supply of 

 mineral elements, albumen, iron, so- 

 dium, potassium, sulphur and calcium. 

 It is said that the ladies of the Median 

 court ate these flowers to preserve and 

 increase their beauty. The flowers are 

 also excellent for nervous troubles and 

 debility. 



"Dandelion flowers have often been 

 eaten as a salad with the leaves, but of 

 late it has become a common thing. 

 They are one of the greatest of spring 

 tonics. The essence of the plant is 

 concentrated in the flower. It makes 

 one of the best of all flower salads, 

 and one of the greatest things for the 

 liver and kidneys, one of nature's chief 

 medicines. One should gather the 

 flowers early in the morning before 

 the insect visits them. The whole 



