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43d YEAR. 



CHICAGO, ILL, NOV. 26, 1903, 



No. 48. 



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Editorial Comments 



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The National Bee-Keepers' Association. 



General Manager France, we leai-n, is preparing a very elaborate 

 Anaual Keport, which will be mailed to members early in December. 

 He has done an immense amount of work in the interest of bee-keep- 

 ing and bee-keepers all over our country. Already there is a member- 

 ship of over 1600. This ought to be made 3000 by Jan 1. Why not? 

 Surely, there ought to be 400 among the readers of the American Bee 

 Journal alone that would join during the next month 1 We will be 

 glad to receive and forward the dues ISI.OO) for any who wish to send 

 to us when renewing subscriptions. Mr. France reports that " mem- 

 bers are joining fast now." Two joined in Texas at the close of a 

 lawsuit in which the Association won — as it usually does. 



The forthcoming Annual Report of the General Manager will tell 

 all about the work done by the Association during 1003. It will be 

 mailed only 10 members. So, if you want a copy, and also desire to 

 cast your vote in the election held in December (next month), you 

 will need to send your dollar in at once, if not now a member. IE you 

 prefer, cend dues to N. E. France, Platteville, Wis. 



There are in the neighborhood of 30,000 bee-keepers who are sub- 

 scribers to bee-papers in America. And yet only about 1 in 20 of them 

 is a member of the National Bee-Keepers' Association. It it were 1 in 

 10 the membership would be 3,000. It seems to us that it ought to be 

 an easy matter to get 1 in 10 to become members, especially when the 

 Association is doing such good work in the interest of all bee-keepers. 

 In view of such work, does it look right — is it right — that 1600 should 

 bear all the expense for 700,000, which is the number of bee-keepers 

 reported by the last census? 



We wish that every reader of the American Bee Journal were a 

 member of the National Bee-Keepers' Association. We are not asking 

 anything in this for ourselves. Only that the bee-keepers might more 

 generally help themselves, and the whole beekeeping industry, by be- 

 coming members of their National Association. 



How to Drive Hive Staples. 



When driving staples to fasten a hive-bottom to a hive, one can 

 do it in a right way or a wrong way. The object is to have the hive 

 so fastened to the body that there shall not be the least chance for the 

 hive to slide back and forth on the bottom. If the staples are driven 

 in straight up and down, unless there bfc an exceedingly tight fit there 

 will be at least a little chance for the hive to slide back and forth. 

 Four staples should be used, driven into the sides, near the ends, and 

 the two staples on one side should be slanted in opposite directions, 

 with the same amount of slant. Then there will be no chance for the 

 hive to slide on the bottom. 



Salt and Lime for Bees. 



" Salt and air-slaked lime should be put convenient to bees," says 

 ihe Australian Bee-Bullttin. The partiality of bees for salt is well 

 known, but isn't the lime a new suggestion' What do the bees do 

 with it, Mr. Tipper? 



Don't Neglect Your Drone-Breeders. 



Too many bee-keepers pay little or no attention to the improve- 

 ment of their stock, allowing the bees to swarm pretty much at their 

 own will, the swarming settling the matter of the new queens that 

 are reared. Of those that make some effort at selecting, probably the 

 majority look out for the queens alone, paying no attention whatever 

 to the matter of drones. It should be remembered that it is just as 

 important to have a good father as to have a good mother. Decide 

 now a certain proportion of your colonies which are best, breed 

 queens from the best one, and rear drones from the others. 



Late Fliglits Before Cellaring Bees. 



The rule sometimes given as to the time of putting bees in cellar— 

 a rule perfect in theory, but not always easily put in practice — is to 

 put them in immediately after the last flight they will have before 

 winter sets in for good. Speaking of this. Editor Hutchinson says in 

 the Bee-Keepers' Review : 



While I would leave them as long as I thought there was a reason- 

 able chance for having another flight, I don't attach so very much im- 

 portance to these extra-late flights. After the bees have settled down 

 for their winter nap, they are consuming very little honey. The mat- 

 ter of two weeks does not use up much honey. 



True, the matter of two weeks does not use up much honey, but 

 if bees consume twice as much on the summer stands as in the cellar, 

 that two weeks is equivalent to four weeks' consumption in the cellar. 

 It may also be said that bees in the cellar do not consume an enormous 

 amount in four weeks; but there is another way to look at it. The 

 trying time of confinement comes in early spring ; not because it is 

 spring, but because of the length of confinement. The bees have been 

 confined so long that two weeks more will mean disease, four weeks 

 more disaster. It is the last end of the confinement that tells— the last 

 straw that breaks the camel's back. Now, please remember that two 

 weeks more on the summer stands without an after flight practically 

 adds two to four more weeks' confinement ut tite last end, and that two 

 weeks will seem no trifling matter. 



The Weeds of Ontario. 



This is the title of Bulletin No. 94, issued by the Ontario Agricul- 

 tural College, at Toronto, Out. It contains about 100 pages, written 

 by Prof. F. C. Harrison, and revised by Prof. Wm. Lockhead. In the 

 introduction to this revised edition, we find these words: 



" On account of the increasing demand for information regarding 

 wenl-setds, it was deemed advisable to incorporate into this revised 

 bulletin some information regarding the identification of the common 

 weed-seed impurities which are found in commercial clover and tim- 

 othy seed. A few additional weeds are described, and the meUioils of 

 eradimtUin are in many cases given in greater detail.'' 



It is a very interesting pamphlet, and should be of immense value 

 to the farmers of Ontario. 



It says: -'A weed has been defined as any plant out of place; 

 and in that sense, a wheat-plant in a field of turnips is a weed." From 

 this view, we suppose, the following is said concerning one of the 

 bes' honey-plants in the world: 



Sweet Clovf.k (.VeHlotiis alba). — The white sweet clover is a 

 very common plant in vacant grounds and neglected fields about cities 

 andalbng roadsides. It is a tall, rank-growing plant, and thrives best 

 on heavy clay soils. It may be classed among the weeds, inasmuch 

 as it grows where it is not wanted, but it can not be considered a nox- 

 ious weed. As a soil-former, sweet clover is a valuable plant. It 

 roots deeply, and is a nitrate producer. With the aid of the rains and 



