1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



745 



that the great majority of the members of the National Bee- 

 Keepers' Union will show themselves quite willing to adopt it, 

 and trust to the wisdom and experience of the future to 

 strengthen such portions as may prove to be inadequate for 

 any emergencies. 



It will be seen that it was not contemplated to interfere 

 in any way with the good object of the old Union, but to 

 broaden out and take in the enforcement of anti-adultera- 

 tion laws and the prosecution of dishonest honey commission- 

 men. Surely, this is a wise move, and should be encouraged 

 in every way by all who have the best interest of bee-keeping 

 at heart. 



We certainly do not wish to seem to desire to discounte- 

 nance any criticisms of the New Constitution, but let us have 

 such that are of real importance. We do not doubt Mr. New- 

 man's sincerity at all, but to us nearly all that he has ad- 

 vanced on page 742, seems to be of so little signiticance, 

 or that can be so easily and satisfactorily answered, that no 

 fears need be aroused by reason of them. 



Let us not delay a whole year the good work proposed to 

 be undertaken by the New Constitution (as published on page 

 738), but let all unite in making an honest attempt to get 

 together and push hard against honey-adulteration, fraudu- 

 lent honey commission-men, and also continue to defend bee- 

 keeping in all its legal rights. 



PERSONAL MEBTION. 



Mb. C. a. Hatch, formerly of Ithaca, Wis., now turns up 

 at Pasadena, Calif. At least he has written an article for 

 Gleanings for Nov. 1 from that place. It seems he has been 

 keeping bees in Arizona the past year or two. 



Mr. Thos. Wm. Cowan, editor of the British Bee Journal, 

 wrote us Nov. 3, from London, that he expected to "sail by 

 the Etruria on Nov. 14, and, after arriving in New York, to 

 go south to escape the cold ; then on to California." He hopes 

 to see us " in the spring, when It is not too cold." We trust 

 our brother editor may have a safe voyage, and pleasant trip 

 all the way around. We shall be glad to meet him when he 

 reaches Chicago. 



Hon. Eugene Secor's poem, published in last week's 

 Bee Journal, v/as considered the gem of the whole convention 

 at Lincoln. He not only wrote it, but recited it from memory 

 upon the platform after the addresses of welcome by Lieut.- 

 Gov. Moore and Chancellor MacLean. How proud we all 

 were of our poet-laureate ! It was a delightful surprise, and 

 won for our esteemed fellow bee-keeper new laurels, which 

 will be worthily worn. 



Me. Byron Walker is again in Chicago. He expects to 

 have his family with him this winter. From about 300 colo- 

 nies this year he obtained 82,000 pounds of honey, almost all 

 extracted. He has been visiting other cities the past mouth 

 or two, and has disposed of several carloads of honey. In one 

 city he sold 16,000 pounds in two days. Mr. Walker is a 

 great pusher of pure honey among the people. Every bee- 

 keeper ought to be known in the same way. It would greatly 

 help the demand for honey. 



Rev. E. T. Abbott, of St. Joseph, Mo., expected to start 

 out on Monday, Nov., tl, for two months' institute work in 

 Missouri. Mr. Abbott is a good talker, as all know who heard 

 him at the Lincoln convention. 



At the Farmers' Institute to be held at St. Joseph, Nov. 

 31, there is to be an agricultural exhibit, which of course in- 

 cludes honey and beeswax. There are l.")7 premiums offered 

 by the merchants of that city, and the winner in any case is 

 to give his exhibit in exchange for the premium offered. 

 That's a splendid arrangement. For instance, .S2.00 worth 

 of coffee is offered by a grocer for the best .")-pouud display of 

 beeswax. The grocer gets the beeswax, and the winning ex- 

 hibitor takes the coffee. There should be no trouble to get 

 a host of premiums for any institute or fair if secured in that 

 way. 





CONDUCTED BT 



DR. O. O. lUXLLER, MARENGO, ILL, 



[Questions may be mailed to the Bee Journal, or to Dr. Miller direct. 1 



Fcediiis Flour for Pollen — Ciiaff in Wintering. 



1. How do you feed bees flour for pollen in the .spring ? 



2. Can I put chaff hives around the bees in the fall before 

 1 put them into the bee-cellar, and then take it off again ? 



Sabael, N. Y. G. H. P. 



Answers. — 1. All that is actually necessary is to put the 

 flour in any place where the bees can get at it, and let them 

 do the rest. It is well to put it in a sheltered place where 

 they are protected from the winds, but not from the sun. Eye 

 flour is often spoken of, but it is perhaps not best to give any 

 kind of flour clear. Ground feed, such as is fed to horses and 

 cattle, will likely suit them better. They will eat out the fine 

 parts, and the remainder can be fed to the four-footed stock. 

 Ground oats and corn is the kind I generally use. Put it in a 

 shallow box anywhere from one foot to two feet square. Put 

 a block or a stone under one edge, and when the bees have 

 worked the feed down level, put the stone under the opposite 

 edge. If the bees don't commence on it promptly, bait them 

 with a little honey. If natural pollen is yielding they will 

 not need it, neither can you get them to take it. 



2. The chaff in chaff hives is generally left all the year 

 round, even when put into the cellar. 



Straight Combs from Starters in Wired Frames. 



In reply to a query I once addressed you, you seemed in- 

 clined to doubt whether bees would build the wire nicely into 

 the comb where only starters were given oh wired frames. I 

 am happy to say that experience has since taught me that in 

 nearly every case they have given the most perfect satisfaction 

 — combs straight, level, and the wires well in the septum. It 

 may please some readers of the American Bee Journal to 

 know this. S. A. D. 



Answer. — I'm glad to know that you've been very success- 

 ful in getting combs built over wires, but there's no certainty 

 that every one else will have the same success. You are a 

 very careful man, and had everything in the right shape to 

 get combs built straight and level, but I greatly doubt whether 

 the presence of the wire had anything to do with the proper 

 building of the combs. The wire will be built in the septum 

 if the icire happens to be u'liere the bees want to build the sep- 

 tum. But I think you'll find they'll not turn aside a hair's 

 breadth to follow the wire. My own experience in the matter 

 is that the wire helps to strengthen the comb and keep ii from 

 breaking out of the frame, yet for the purpose of securing 

 straight combs it is utterly worthless unless foundation be 

 used. 



Stores for Winter — Introducing Queens. 



1. Will 10 pounds of honey and 5 pounds of granulated 

 sugar, dissolved in two quarts of boiling water and fed to col- 

 onies of bees that cover (not the entire length of) four Lang- 

 stroth frames, winter them from Nov. 1, 1S96, to April l.j, 

 1897? I have 12 such colonies, and have given them two 

 Langstroth frames of honey each, and fed them the above 

 mentioned syrup. 



2. Will six Langstroth frames of honey winter colonies 

 that cluster on five frames ? and will I have to feed anything 

 to them in the spring? 



3. Can I introduce successfully queens at this late date — I 

 don't want to rear any black drones next spring. I have 10 

 colonies of golden Italians, and 20 of black, which I wish to 

 change. P- O. 



Northampton, N. Y., Nov. 2. 



Answers. — 1. There is great variation as to the amount 

 of stores consumed by colonies that appear to be alike in 



