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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



March 19, 







PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY 



GEORGE W. YORK & COMPANY, 

 lis TaicTligan St., - CHICAGO, ILL. 



REGULAK CONTRIBUTORS : 



G. M. Doolittle, of New York. Prof. A. J. Cook, of California. 



Dr. C. C. Miller, of Illinois. Dr. J. P. H. Brown, of Georgia. 



J. H. Martin, of California. Rev. E. T. Abbott, of Missouri. 



Chas. Dadant & Son, of Illinois. 

 B. Taylor, of Minnesota. 



$1.00 a Year— Sample Copy Sent Free. 

 [Entered at the Post-Office at Chicago as Second-Class Mail-Matter.J 



Vol. niVI, CHICA&O, ILL, MAE. 19, 1896, No. 12, 



California Bee-Keepers' Exchange. — We 



have received a copy of the By-Laws of this new organization, 

 and have been much interested in reading its pages. All Cali- 

 fornia bee-keepers should address the Exchange, P. O. Box 

 15'2, Los Angeles, for a copy of the By-Laws and such other 

 information as may be ready to send out. Surely, every bee- 

 keeper in that State will wish to become a member of the 

 Exchange. We believe that instead of its resulting in the 

 least detrimentally to honey-producers outside of California, 

 the Exchange is going to prove a great blessing. They cer- 

 tainly have 'set other States a good example. Bee-keepers 

 must unite if they_ever expect to get and keep what is justly 



their right. 



•-.-» 



Sweet and Alsike Clover.— This month and 

 next are the months in which to sow the seed of sweet clover 

 —that excellent honey-yielding plant. What a wonderful 

 addition to the bee-forage of the country would there be, if 

 every bee-keeper would sow say only 10 pounds of sweet 

 clover seed^each yearj In a very few years we believe the 

 effect would be easily noticed in the increased crop of honey 

 gathered. 



Above all things, do not fail to sow some Alsike clover 

 seed also ; and^get your farmer neighbors to do the same. 

 Better send to us for 50 of the Alsike clover leaflets, and 

 hand them around. Only 25 cents for the 50 copies. 



'^Tood-Base Foundation. — We have received the 

 following about wood-base foundation, from Mr. E. B. Hufif- 

 man, of Homer, Minn.: 



Editor Bee Journal : — I have just received a sample of 

 foundation sent me from a certain manufactory, called 

 " veneered comb foundation." It is made especially for the 

 brood-c hamber, very thin wood with foundation on either side. 

 Do you consider it good, or in what way do you consider it 

 best to arrange the foundation in the brood-chamber where 

 one runs for comb honey '? E. B. Huffman. 



Very few reports have been received as to foundation with 

 wood base. One or two have reported favorably. If others 

 have tried it, it may be well to report the result, no matter 

 whether favorable or otherwise. 



The Benton Bee-Book Resolution passed 

 the House of Representatives March 9, as shown by the fol- 

 lowing letter which was sent to Hon. Geo. E. Hilton, of 

 Michigan : 



Washington, D. C, Feb. 9, 1896. 



Hon. Geo. E. Hilton: — I am glad to inform you that the 

 Bulletin called "The Honey-Bee," is to be reprinted. Resolu- 

 tion having passed the House this morning to print 20,000 

 additional copies for distribution. 



I have been pushing this matter in different directions 

 ever since your letter was received. As soon as I get a supply 

 to my credit, I will send you as large a quotia of my portion 

 as I can spare. Your friend, R. P. Bishop. 



As the above Resolution will probably pass the Senate, 

 and Senator Burrows' Bill will pass the House, this will make 

 35,000 more copies of Mr. Benton's book. 



Some time ago Mr. Hilton sent in a list of his customers 

 of 1895, and some others ; the Department of Agriculture 

 notified them of his action, also that their names had been 

 listed, and that they will receive a copy as soon as published. 

 Mr. H. expects to get enough copies through his Congressmen 

 to supply his new customers the coming season, without any 

 cost or trouble to them. 



Of course, now that there will be an ample edition for all 

 printed, the only thing necessary will be for those who desire 

 Mr. Benton's book, to simply send a request for it to the De- 

 pirtment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



Those congressmen who labored to secure this National 

 recognition of bee-culture, and all who voted for the Resolu- 

 tions, deserve the hearty thanks of bee-keepers everywhere. It 

 ought to result in an increased interest in apiculture through- 

 out the whole United States. 



Experiments in Bee-Keeping^.— Mr. B. Taylor 

 said this in the Farm, Stock and Home: 



I am wintering some 40 colonies in two-story hives of 

 2,000 inches of comb space, and at least 50 pounds of honey 

 per colony. I had intended to stop experimenting, but there 

 are yet many unsettled things in bee-keeping, and I shall go 

 on testing methods hereafter with more care than ever. I will 

 set three large double hives, with their rich stores, on the 

 summer stands, treat all as near alike as possible, and then 

 keep a strict record of which gives the earliest and largest 

 swarms, which class gives the most salable honey during the 

 season, and then figure the comparative profit of each. 



A Horticultural Fable. — Mr. A. O. Packard, of 

 Lindale, Tex., kindly sent us t'ne following clipping, with the 

 request that " a little apiarian light be let in upon the mind 

 of the editor of Meehan's Monthly :" 



In the Horticultural Department of Meehan's Monthly, 

 for December, there is an article which will be of great inter- 

 est to bee-keepers, for it is made clear that half-starved bees 

 will attack fruit in spite of the claims of bee-keepers to the 

 contrary. The writer says: 



"That honey-bees destroy grapes, raspberries, and other 

 fruits is a well-known fact, though bee-keepers and bee-jour- 

 nals dispute It. The creatures are not able to bite the skin, 

 but, in the grape particularly, they start near the attachment 

 of the berry with its stalk where it requires scarcely any force 

 to thrust the tongue through. There are some bee-keepers 

 who are the essence of meanness — people who keep bees with- 

 out taking the slightest interest in providing flowers, and who 

 line their pockets out of the predatory practices forced on the 

 industrious bee. It is too bad that these useful creatures 

 should be led to their destruction by the want of conscience 

 in their owners ; but there is nothing left for those troubled 

 as our correspondent is, but to hang up bottles of sweetened 

 liquid out of which the little thieves cannot escape. It is be- 

 lieved that bees would not steal fruit, if the bee-owner pro- 

 vided flowers for them. It is easier to gather honey than to 

 suck grapes." 



It seems strange that such an able paper as Meehan's 

 Monthly should publish matter that betrays so much ignor- 

 ance on the part of the writer. It's bad enough to have a 

 writer in a horticultural department who knows nothing 



