682 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Oct. 22. 



PERSONAL MENTION. 



Editor E. B. Leahy, of the Progressive Bee-Keeper, we 

 regret to learn, has been suffering from rheunaatisin. Why 

 not turn the bees on, R. B.? 



Mr. a. E. Sherrington, of Waikerton, Ont., one of the 

 Directors of the Ontario Bee-Association, exhibited 32 vari- 

 eties of apples at the Toronto Industrial Exhibition. 



Mr. N. E. France, of Platteville, Wis., was recommended 

 by the Southwestern Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' Association as 

 the proper man for appointment by the Governor as State 

 foul brood inspector. Good choice. 



Mr. Thos. Evans exhibited, at the Southwestern Wiscon- 

 sin convention, some very fine comb foundation, made by his 

 invention for sheeting the wax— sheets wound on a roller of 

 any length and of uniform thickness. 



Somnambulist seems to have taken too much to heart our 

 joking suggestion that Skylark and Sommy should " amalga- 

 mate." We see our mistake now. It wouldn't be safe for 

 anyone to be " skylarking " around Somnambulist's habita- 

 tion. Better keep away, " Skyke." 



Mr. 0. 0. PoppLETON, of Florida, who has been spending 

 about six weeks In Iowa, called on us last week, when on his 

 way home. Be was expecting to visit The A. I. Root Co. be- 

 fore returning to Florida. Mr. P. is a very pleasant man to 

 meet, as well as an old and experienced bee-keeper. 



Mr. S. J. Baldwin — a bee-supply dealer in England — is 

 spending a few months at Elizabeth, N. J., for the good of his 

 health. He says : 



"The benefits derived from my previous visits to this 

 great country have induced me to come again, and I feel it 

 much more pleasant and certainly more beneficial to ray 

 health than doctor's nostrums, to say nothing about the cost." 



Funk & Wagnalls Company, of New York, have just 

 received a single order from one firm for 100,000 copies of 

 their celebrated "Standard Dictionary of the English Lan- 

 guage," amounting at retail to nearly one and a quarter mil- 

 lions of dollars. This is the largest single sale of so large a 

 work ever made in America. Previous to this one large trans- 

 action, over 100,000 copies had been issued, and the Com- 

 pany is still receiving many large orders from its subscription 

 agents throughout the world. 



Mr. Edward H. Taylor, of Welwyn, Herts, England, 

 gave us a very pleasant call, Monday, Oct. 12. He had been 

 to see the G. B. Lewis Co.. of Watertown, Wis., and was on 

 his way to visit The A. I. Root Co., at Medina, Ohio. Mr. 

 Taylor, though but a young man, is successor to Mr. T. B. 

 Blow, who was an extensive English manufacturer of and 

 dealer in bee-keepers' supplies. He uses about 15 tons of 

 beeswax annually for comb foundation, getting most of the 

 wax from the island of Madagascar, off the east coast of 

 Africa. 



We took Mr. Taylor to see Messrs. R. A. Burnett & Co., 

 Chicago honey-dealers, and he was much interested in the 

 quality of United States honey, and also in the manner of put- 

 ting it up for shipment and market. 



Basswood Trees from the Seed.— We have 

 quite frequently had inquiries concerning the growing of 

 basswood trees from the seed, and in Gleanings for Oct. 1 we 

 find the following by Mr. A. I. Root, which no doubt contains 

 the very information that many have long desired : 



There have been several inquiries in years past in regard 

 to growing basswood seedlings; and we have once or twice 

 had a nurseryman reply ; but the impression was left, if I am 

 correct, that the matter was too difficult, and could be man- 

 aged only by an expert. Well, the basswoods in front of our 

 store, and, iu fact, all along the road in front of our dwelling, 

 have been bearing pretty good loads of blossoms and seed for 

 two or three years past. 1 have several times noticed young 

 basswood seedlings among our vegetable plants ; but the boys 



who do our weeding were sure to " yank " them out sooner or 

 later. This season I succeeded in protecting one strawberry 

 bed that stands just across the sawed-flagglog pavement from 

 the basswood trees. No attempt was made to sow the seeds, 

 mind you. The plants that came up were only from seeds 

 carried across the walk by the wind. I have just counted 35 

 young basswood trees in a bed only 30 feet long. The tallest 

 one is about a yard high, and as straight as a whip. These 

 vary from a few inches to three feet. They had no attention 

 and no cultivation, except to let them grow among the straw- 

 berries. We are just now preparing some beds, and we pro- 

 pose sowing thousands of the seeds, which can easily be gath- 

 ered by the bushel from the loaded trets. My impression is, 

 they can be grown as easily as or easier than cabbage-plants, 

 for they require no glass and no protection. Of course, it 

 takes a long time to grow them — that is, if you want them 

 two or three feet high. We shall sow the seeds during the 

 present month and up into October as we have beds cleared 

 off. I believe it will be safe to putthem in two or three inches 

 deep, in mellow soil. It has been a query in my mind, whether 

 forest-tree seedlings will thrive well on ground fertilized with 

 stable manure; but if I were to judge from those I have men- 

 tioned, I think it is just what they want, only that the manure 

 should be old and well rotted. The bed in question has had 

 no manure for something over a year; but previous to that 

 time it was mulched so heavily for strawberries that the soil 

 may be perhaps one-fourth manure, say six inches deep. In 

 regard to distance apart, I would put in the seeds say about 

 four to the inch, in rows five or six inches apart. Should the 

 seed all grow they can be transplanted when they seem to be 

 crowding each other. It may he that they would do better 

 without transplanting until they are several feet high ; but I 

 do not see how we can get a perfectly even stand without 

 transplanting. After the first year they had better be put 

 out in the fields, say a foot apart in the row, the rows wide 

 enough to be cultivated with a horse. Where land is cheap, I 

 think they can be grown profitably for the lumber, to say 

 nothing about free bee-pasturage. In regard to the latter, I 

 still believe the basswood tree furnishes more honey to the 

 world than any other one plant known — that is, where it 

 thrives. 



A Ne'w Binder for holding a year's numbers of the 

 American Bee Journal, we propose to mail, postpaid, to every 

 subscriber who sends us 20 cents. It is called "The Wood 

 Binder," is patented, and is an entirely new and very simple 

 arrangement. Full printed directions accompany each Binder. 

 Every reader should get it, and preserve the copies of the Bee 

 Journal as fast as they are received. They are invaluable for 

 reference, and at the low price of the Binder you can afford to 

 get it yearly. 



■*-'-¥■ 



Xbe Alsike Clover Leaflet consists of 2 pages, 

 with illustrations, showing the value of Alsike clover, and 

 telling how to grow it. This Leaflet is just the thing to hand 

 to every farmer in your neighborhood. Send to the Bee Jour- 

 nal office for a quantity of them, and see that they are dis- 

 tributed where they will do the most good. Prices, postpaid, 

 are as follows : 50 for 25 cents ; 100 for 40 cents ; or 200 

 for 70 cents. 



«-.-• 



The PJatnes and Addresses of all your bee- 

 friends, who are not now taking the Bee Journal, are wanted 

 at this office. Send them in, please, when sample copies will 

 be mailed to them. Then you can secure their subscriptions, 

 and earn some of the premiums we have offered. The 

 next few months will be just the time to easily get new sub- 

 scribers. Try it earnestly, at least. 



The McEvoy Foul Brood Treatment is 



given in Dr. Howard's pamphlet on " Foul Brood ; Its Natural 



History and Rational Treatment." It is the latest publication 



on the subject, and should be in the hands of every bee-keeper. 



Price, 25 cents ; or clubbed with the Bee Journal for one year 



—both for $1.10. 



« ■ » 



The Great Campaign Book offered on page 

 666, ought to he in the hands of every voter. It shows all 

 sides of the political questions of the day. Better send for a 

 copy of it. Orders filled by return mail. 



PiO'w is the Time to work for new subscribers. 

 Why not take advantage of the offer made on page 683 ? 



