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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 15, 1903. 



with his wing-s to confuse and distract. Then the hawk 

 takes to headlongf flight, and will drive through thick trees 

 to free himself, or. blinded by the wings, will sometimes 

 kill himself by striking against an object in the way. 



Let the farmer recognize the kingbird as his friend, 

 and give him the toll of a few bees gladly — he has earned 

 them. 



Retailing Basswood Honey; — On page 40 is an article 

 by Mr. A. W. Smith, detailing his experience with bass- 

 wood honey among his private family trade. But we think 

 the explanation is principally located in his statement that 

 about half of his trade prefer buckwheat honey. If any one 

 prefers buckwheat honey, in all probability he will never 

 like basswood honey. 



But we think the basswood honey Mr. Smith's locality 

 produces must be very different from the fine basswood 

 honey found in Wisconsin and Minnesota. We have quite 

 a quantity of as fine flavored basswood honey in stock now 

 as any one ever need care for. 



We have wondered whether Mr. Smith has not had 

 basswood honey that was not well ripened. If so, it is 

 about the worst stuff that can be put on the market. We 

 think we should always prefer buckwheat honey to unripe 

 basswood honey. But if the basswood honey is properly 

 ripened it is indeed a fine honey to eat. 



Of course, tastes differ so much. We personally prefer 

 alfalfa honey, and can eat our share af it. But there are 

 other people who prefer white clover honey, basswood 

 honey, sage honey, tupelo honey, or even buckzuheat honey ! 



Replacing Queens — The Australian Bee-Bulletin ad- 

 vises the replacing of queens two years old, and gives the 

 following sad picture of the condition of a colony left to its . 

 own devices : 



It does not pay to keep queens two years old, as a rule. 

 They gradually cease to lay, and the colony dwindles. If a 

 daughter supersedes she may be lost in her wedding-flight. 

 As the colony dwindles the nurse-bees decrease to become 

 honey-gatherers. The brood is neglected. Honey may be 

 gathered, but the last honey-gatherer at last dies. The 

 queen may even survive all, or the old queen may die, and 

 a young one come out and not sufficient bees to attend to 

 her, she herself dying for want of food and attention. 



Either conditions are different in Australia from what 

 they are here, or else there is a marked difference in bees. 

 Some of our ablest bee-keepers think it the wiser course to 

 leave the matter of superseding entirely to the bees, and 

 they would hardly expect one casein a hundred of entire loss 

 if the bee-keeper never meddled. Before a queen becomes 

 unfit for work — often before the bee-keeper can see the 

 least sign of failing — she is superseded by the bees, the 

 change of queens not affecting the strength of the colony 

 in the least. Is there not some mistake about the nurses 

 neglecting brood to become honey-gatherers ? Will not a 

 worker continue the occupation of nursing so long as 

 needed for that purpose, without regard to age ? Do work- 

 ers not continue to be nurses in spring when six months old? 



\ * The Weekly Budget. * \ 



A Series of Bee-Kbepkrs' Institutes will be held in 

 the State of New York as follows : 



Canandaigua, March 2 and 3 ; Romulus, March 4 ; 

 Auburn, March 5; Cortland, March 6 ; Fulton, March 7 ; 

 Syracuse, March 9 and 10; and Amsterdam, March 11. 



Prof. Frank Benton, Apicultural Investigator, fur_ 



nished by the United States Department of Agriculture at 

 the expense of the Bureau of Institutes of the State Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, will address the meetings. 



The New York State Association of Bee-Keepers' Socie- 

 ties will hold its annual meeting at Syracuse, March 10, at 

 10 o'clock a.m., in the City Hall. Prof. Benton and other 

 prominent bee-men have informed us of their intention to 

 attend this meeting, and a profitable and interesting session 

 is in store for those who attend. Special rates have been 

 secured for entertainment at the Manhattan Hotel, Fayette 

 St., at $1.25 per day. C. B. Howard, Sec. 



Mr. Wm. Couse is also a director of the Canadian 

 Honey Exchange. Through an oversight his name was 

 omitted from the list given on page 3. 



" A B C of Bee-CulTdre," edition of 1903, is on our 

 desk. It is a handsome volume in every way, and now con- 

 tains about 500 large pages. It has just been thoroughly 

 revised and brought down to date in everything that per- 

 tains to bee-keeping. More copies of this work on bees 

 have been sold than of any other book devoted to the sub- 

 ject. The price is $1.20, postpaid, or, if taken with a year's 

 subscription to the American Bee Journal, the two will be 

 sent for $1.75. Send all orders to the office of the American 

 Bee Journal 



Yon Yonson's quaint sayings are much enjoyed by 

 some, while those who are little familiar with the Swedish 

 dialect have difficulty in understanding them. Some of the 

 words that trouble most frequently are as follows: Ma 

 (pronounced may) means with ; ay means I ; po means on 

 or in ; dom means them, and sometimes they or those. 



The question has been asked whether Yon's story about 

 the telephone business has any foundation in fact. All that 

 he has said about it is literally true, and Yon may well be 

 proud of the part that he has had in the matter. 



The Amusements of Children. — An article on the 

 amusements of children in The Delineator for February 

 contains a wealth of practical suggestions. Most mothers 

 are usually at their wits' ends to provide suitable entertain- 

 ment for the children. The kindergarten is an aid in the 

 solution of this problem ; but it only occupies a portion of 

 the child's time. The work of the kindergarten should be 

 supplemented by play and instruction of a like character in 

 the home. The seed sown in the heart and mind of the 

 child bears abundant fruit in later years, and the good that 

 they derive from song and story and healthful bodily exer- 

 cise can not be overestimated. A love of Nature, habits of 

 neatness and order, politeness of manner can be instilled in 

 the little one by intelligent effort. 



Mr. J. Alpaugh, of Ontario, Canada, writing us Jan. 

 3, from Florida, says : 



Editor American Bee Journal — 



I am on a winter tour through this State, but have just 

 received word that all my bees and bee-appliances that I 

 had up in Bruce County, Canada, were "burned up, Dec. 

 27. I had the bees in the cellar, and all the fixtures in the 

 house above. The loss was about $800. No insurance. 

 Yours truly, J. Alpaugh. 



We regret very much to learn of the loss reported by 

 Mr. Alpaugh. It is too bad that he had no insurance. We 

 think it behooves every person who has insurable property 

 to be careful to have it insured at all times. The $800 would 

 pay the insurance premium on a large amount for a number 

 of years. 



We hope Mr. Alpaugh will be able to stock up again 

 with bees, that he may have a good season this year, and 

 thus recover from his heavy loss. 



The Premiums offered this week are well worth working 

 for. Look at them. 



