424 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



July 2, 



'^, 



■ 0LDE5T BEI PAPER <^ 

 ■IN AMERICA 



f-T^.'tVl? AMEBI^- 



PUBLISHED WEEKI.V BY 



GEORGE W. YORK & COMPANY, 

 118 Mlcblg-aa St.. - CHICAOO. ILL. 



REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS : 

 G. M. Doolittle. of New York. Prof. A. j. CooU. of California. 



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



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



Barnett Taylor, of Minnesota. Mrs. L. C. Axtell, of Illinois. 



Clias. Dadant & Son, of Illinois. 



?1.00 a Year— Sample Copy Sent Free. 

 [Bntered at the PoatrOfflce at CtaicaKO as Second-Class Mail-Matter.] 



Vol. fflVI. CeiCA&O, ILL, JULY 2, 1896. No. 27. 



A Xational Bee-Association.— Editor Root, in 

 Gleanings for June 15, says that a private letter from a 

 prominent bee-keeper, commenting on the amalgamation mat- 

 ter, contains the following, the italics being put in by Mr. 

 Root : 



"All this talk about "marrying," and " a poor society 

 wanting to get the money of the other," is "all bosh," /o?' 

 those who are the very backbone of each are the very ones who 

 are in favor of a union or a new organization, the outgrowth 



of the others It makes no difference to me, and I guess 



not to any one else, what we organize, so that It is what bee- 

 keepers want." 



Then following the above quoted paragraph, is this edi- 

 torial comment : 



"The bee-keepers of this country want, if they want any- 

 thing, a national association ; and the easiest way, in my esti- 

 mation, is to make the Union a deliberative body, having an- 

 nual meetings. Let the old North American stand as it is." 



Again wo agree with Mr. Root, in making the National 

 Bee-Keepers' Union a "national" organization — in fact, what 

 it is in name. The old North American can " stand" or fall, 

 in case the Uuion is remodeled so as to hold annual meetings. 



But it seems to us it would be a good thing to have a vote 

 taken by the Union before the next meeting of the North 

 American, as the result might help in the decision of some 

 things that- will likely come up then. Whether the amalga- 

 mation project carries or is defeated, it would be well to know 

 the feeling of the Union members on the matter in advance of 

 the North American meeting, to be held in a few mouths. 



Xlie Marketing of Honey will soon be a ques- 

 tion that many readers of the Bee Journal will be called on to 

 solve. And it will be hard for some to decide just what is 

 best to do. In view of this, we wish to hear from those who 

 have been successful in their efforts to make the most out of 

 their honey when selling the same. If those who have had 

 such experience will please write it out, we will be glad to 

 give it place in these columns. Let us hear what is best for 

 the small producer as well as the large. 



*-•-*• 



See " Bee-Keeper's Guide" offer on page 428. 



Xaming: Honey-Plants.— Dr. H. S. Pepoon, 936 

 Belleplaine Ave., Station X,, Chicago, 111., has kindly offered 

 to name, in the Bee Journal, any plants sent to him by our 

 subscribers. Those desiring to take advantage of the Doc- 

 tor's kind offer, will please send the specimens direct to him, 

 when he will report on them to us. Please be particular to 

 send a letter with each specimen, telling all you know about 

 the plant, the kind of soil it grows on, the common, local 

 name, if it has one, in fact, anything that might aid in its 

 certain identification. 



Mr. Hayek, of Quincy, 111., sent us a specimen recently, 

 accompanied by the following letter : 



Mr. Editor: — I send a flower on which bees work with 

 all their might. On bunches like the one I send there are con- 

 stantly from three to six bees. I found only three bushes, 

 and each bush has about 20 stalks, with as many clusters of 

 flowers. It grows on fine, sandy soil, about 20 to 24 inches 

 in bight. Will you kindly let me know through the America* 

 Bee Journal what name the flower has, if it has any ? 



B. W. Hayck. 



Dr. Pepoon, to whom we submitted the specimen, says : 



The plant sent by Mr. Hayck is known commonly by the 



names "pleurisy-root" and "butterfly-weed," having the 



botanical name of Asclepias tuberosa. It is a member of the 



Milkweed family, as may easily be seen by comparing the 



flowers with those of the common milk or silk weed. All the 



milkweeds are great favorites with the bees. This particular 



plant is a most showy one, and easy of cultivation. 



H. S. Pepooit. 

 < . » 



Bee-Paralysis. — Editor Root, in last Gleanings, says 

 that the questiou has been asked "as to how the name ' bee- 

 paralysis ' originated for a certain kind of disease that afflicts 

 bees, causing them to become swollen, black, and shiny, and 

 to exhibit a palsied or trembling motion." In reply, Mr. Root 

 says : 



When our " A B C of Bee-Culture" was first written, its 

 author described this disease as above, and then said he had 

 no name for it. For a time it was called the " nameless bee- 

 disease." This, certainly, was a misnomer, and a discredit to 

 those of us who help to make our special nomenclature. 



I called Prof. Cook's attention to the matter, and asked 

 him to give us a name from his standpoint as an entomologist, 

 that would be appropriate and at the same time indicative of 

 the real symptoms and characteristics of the disease. He 

 suggested " bee-paralysis." Liking the appellation, I incor- 

 porated it iu all our own bee-keeping literature as far as pos- 

 sible, instead of the old or " nameless " name that had been 

 used formerly. 



This same disease was called by Mr. Cheshire, Bacillus 

 Oaytoni, after Miss Gayton, who first called his attention to 

 this peculiar disease ; but at that time we were not aware that 

 bee-paralysis and Bacillus Oaytoni were probably one and the 

 same ; but we now have good reasons to believe that they are, 

 from descriptions that have come to us from across the water, 

 as they tally so closely with what we now know to be and call 

 bee-paralysis. 



T. S. Ford has an interesting article on "Bee-Paralysis" 

 in this very number, page 420. Read it. He has had large 

 experience with the disease. 



'*-*-*• 



niilk and Honey. — In the Agricultural Epitomist, 

 Mr. H. B. Geer says there is more significance in the biblical 

 expression of " a land that flows with milk and honey," than 

 is generally understood. It is a physical, or digestive, so to 

 speak, signiticance. For there is a connection between milk 

 and honey that makes the latter of much more value as a food 

 when the relation between the two is understood. It exists in 

 the fact that honey in large quantities can be eaten by any 

 one who will drink sweet milk freely at the same time. 



Just what the natural affinity between the two is in a 

 gastronoraical sense we do not know, but we do know that 

 sweet milk is a good antidote for what otherwise would be an 

 overdose of honey. Whether the ancients knew of this happy 

 connection between the two articles of food that they have 



