Dec. 24, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



823 



chemist's contention thai it was illeg-al. The reliability of 

 his statement I leave to you, gentlemen, who are posted in 

 such matters ; we can only say our test proved the presence 

 of quite a percent of cane-sugar, hence we could only pro- 

 nounce the honey illegal. 



We have prosecuted those cases, where intended viola- 

 tion was apparent, and we trust these examples may be 

 prolific of good. 



In conclusion, gentlemen, I must again congratulate 

 the apiarists of the State on the fine quality produced, and 

 also say that the Dairy and Food Department wish in every 

 way to co-operate with you in advancing the interests of 

 the honey-producers, as we believe we have a State of un- 

 surpassed capability, and it only needs the energy and in- 

 creased capacity of our apiarists to place Minnesota in the 

 foremost rank in this another of her naturally favored in- 

 dustries. 



[ Our Bee-Keepins Sisters | 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



...A Holiday fireeting... 



JUarengo, III, Dec. 21, 1903. 

 DEAR SISTER BEE-KEEPERS:— 



I congratulate you mi the success of your department. 

 It has been a success because so many of YO (7 have helped 

 to make it so. Your hearty co-operation has been beyond 

 my expectation. With heartfelt thanks for your contribu- 

 tions in the past, I bespeak a continuance of your favor in 

 the future. I trust that we may hear from a still greater 

 number in the coming year. Your letters are always eagerly 

 welcomed, whether they record your successes or failures, or 

 merely contain questions about our beloved pursuit. 



To each one of you I wish 



"J MERRY CHRISTMAS" and 



''A HAPPY NEW YEAR.-' 



Yours sincerely, EMMA M. WILSON. 



Gifts and Novelties Made of Beeswax. 



" Even the bits of beeswax intended for use in the sewing baslset 

 to wax threads with, are now made attractive by being molded in the 

 shape of fruit, strawberries, cherries, blackberries and plums, all being 

 seen. On the top of each one is a small silver leaf from which comes 

 a bit of silli cord.'' 



So says the " Department for Women " in the Chicago 

 Daily News. We may not all be able to make easily the 

 articles here mentioned, but we can make very pretty and 

 serviceable gifts for our friends' work-baskets with what 

 conveniences we have at hand. An egg-shell, or a thimble, 

 makes a very good mold in which to run your hot beeswax. 

 While the wax is still hot enough to be liquid, take two 

 pieces of pretty colored ribbon, dip one end of each in the 

 melted wax, and let it remain there till cold ; then remove 

 from the mold and fashion your ribbon into a dainty how, 

 and you have a very pretty gift, which will be much appre- 

 ciated by many of your friends on account of the good ser- 

 vice it will do. 



m m 



Our Sisters Across the Sea. 



R. Goldi is quoted as saying, in a Swiss bee-journal, 

 some encouraging things for the sisters, which will bear 

 repetition here without the use of quotation marks. 



The bee-keeper who not only interests his sons in bee- 

 keeping, but is able to inspire in his daughters a taste for 

 it, 'so that in turn they may learn to uncap sealed combs, to 



extract honey, to place the combs in the hive, to remove or 

 to introduce a queen, etc., gives them a lesson for the life 

 which will certainly be more useful than if they should 

 spend their time crocheting or embroidering in the heavy 

 atmosphere of a stuffy parlor. 



Madame Spencer, of St. Ives, takes care of her colonies 

 absolutely alone, and she declares that, aside from the good 

 health gained by exercise in the open air, she is indebted to 

 her pets for quite a pretty income. It is true that she pos- 

 sesses a remarkable recipe, whose efficacy she has proven 

 over and over again in the care of her bees : " Take," says 

 she, " 4 parts of enthusiasm, 1 part of sound common-sense, 

 1 part of perseverance, 1 part of courage, mix the whole and 

 preserve in a bottle, and take as needed with a pinch of 

 patience." Many lady bee-keepers in our land have fol- 

 lowed this recipe, and have been present and taken part in 

 our annual conventions. 



Bee-keeping is, and will always remain, the poetry of 

 agriculture, with which not only every man, but every 

 woman, in city or country, should to some extent become 

 acquainted. 



Mother and Young- Son Do the Bee-Work. 



I can not keep bees and do without the American Bee 

 Journal. I get so much information out of it. I had some 

 bees for five years, and then I lost all I had — 4 colonies. 

 Then I bought one colony, paying $10 for it ; that was three 

 years ago, and I now have 26 colonies, also 4 on shares, 

 making 30 in all. We have something over 2000 pounds of 

 honey, besides all a family of six children can eat. One 

 son (13 years old) and myself have done the work. 



I have tried to get subscribers for the valuable Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal, but those "old buckwheats" will not 

 listen ; they know it all. 



Ivong live " Our Bee-Keeping Sisters " department ! 



Union Co., Iowa, Nov. 23. BELLE Mutschler. 





Nasty's Aftertliougiits 





' Old Reliable " seen through New and Unreliable Glasses. 

 By E. E. Hasty, Sta. B Rural, Toledo, Ohio. 



CATNIP NEEDS EXTRA-RICH LAND. 



So in medium and medium-to-poor soils catnip in field- 

 culture doesn't grow worth a cent. Come to think of it, that 

 agrees well with my observation, and I guess it's so. A plant 

 for extra-rich land and half-manure fence-corners where it 

 is too rich for grass and the generality of weeds. Page 716. 



A FINE CALIFORNIA PICTURE. 



We have had many fine pictures of apiaries of late, but 

 W. J. McCarroU's, on page 726, seems specially noteworthy. 

 We can see why black sage is called black — and the inten- 

 sity of the California sun. 



MANIPULATION TO LESSEN SWARMING. 



Yes, Mr. Getaz, when only 10 percent actually contem- 

 plate the wickedness of swarming, and we manipulate 100 

 percent to head it off, there's a provoking amount of lost 

 labor that comes in. That's where the languid, and the 

 lazy, and the played-outs get a chance to crow feebly over the 

 smart folks. I had several years with scarcely more swarms 

 than I wanted. Thought, be-sure, I'd have another such 

 last season. Gee I Page 727. 



A POUND OF HONEY FOR A STING. 



If we could all get a pound of honey as a consolation for 

 each sting, a la page 728,it would total quite an income for 

 some of us — providing our I^ady Bountiful didn't go bank- 

 rupt. 



10-FRAME VS. SMALLER HIVES. 



Sister Wilson, of course you are right as to your own 

 thoughts, but you leave out the biggest and loudest of the 

 claims the 10-frame folks make. They claim larger swarms 

 and larger colonies, decidedly larger colonies, pretty much 

 all the time. They think that that means more surplus, 

 even after the chamber below has done its worst in absorb- 



