50 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



Jan. 25, 1900. 



annoyance. This, the neighbor refused to do, and consulted 

 a lawyer for the purpose of compelling a removal of the bees. 



I wrote several letters to Mr. Fargo to help him out of 

 the difficulty, and furnisht him with the Union's printed 

 matter, and promist to aid him in every way possible to 

 maintain his rights, at the same time advising him to try 

 to obtain an amicable settlement of the difficult}-, b.v follow- 

 ing the course outlined by me. The matter was arranged 

 without recourse to law, but plans had been made to defend 

 him, had it been necessary. 



Thkeatbning Lawsuit. — In July, J. Youngblood, of 

 lyOs Angeles Co., Calif., sent me a notice which had been 

 served on him, demanding the immediate removal of his 

 bees from proximity to fruit-drying premises, threatening 

 him with trouble if he did not immediately complj'. I gave 

 the matter attention, wrote to Mr. Youngblood what course 

 to pursue, sent him copies of the decision of the Supreme 

 Court, and directed him to employ a good lawyer to defend 

 the case. This he did, and further trouble was averted. 



When the parties making the threat were informed that 

 the National Bee-Keepers' Union were defending the case, 

 the}' stopt to consider the matter, and calmly lookt the facts 

 in the face, rather than let passion run riot. 



In all these cases, it will be seen what a moral power 

 there is in membership in a Union, which has such a mag- 

 nificent record of victories, when defending the rights of 

 bee-keepers. Its name and history compel respect, and pre- 

 vents foolish men from running into trouble by pursuing 

 an unwise course in their persecution of apiarists. 



Amalgamation of the Union and Association. — Last 

 summer, being invited to write an essay to be read at the 

 national convention to be held at Philadelphia, Pa., on the 

 subject of " Organization Among Bee-Keepers — If Desira- 

 ble, Why ? and How Best Accomplisht ?" I consented to 

 do so, and a correspondence was the result, between Dr. A. 

 B. Mason, secretary of the United States Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation, and myself, as secretary of the National Bee- 

 Keepers' Union. It was mutually agreed that we should 

 formulate a new Constitution suited to both organizations, 

 and present it at the Philadelphia convention for discussion. 

 After being amended by those present. Dr. Mason, secre- 

 tary of that convention, duly notified me that it was ap- 

 proved by that body, and would be submitted by its mem- 

 bers at the coming election, for adoption, and asking that 

 it be also submitted to the members of the National Bee- 

 Keepers' Union at the election taking place in January, 

 1900. It has already been submitted to the members of the 

 United States Bee-Keepers' Association, and received al- 

 most unanimous approval. 



I also submit it to the members of the National Bee- 

 Keepers' Union, and request them to vote for its adoption 

 in its entirety. This action and the election of the same 

 officers will result in harmoniously uniting the two associa- 

 tions, as has been desired by a majority of both organiza- 

 tions for several years. It will present a united front to the 

 world, and create a large and potent association to continue 

 the work heretofore done by the two bodies. 



[Then follows the new constitution (which we publish! 

 on page 707 in 1899) and financial report, which shows 108 

 members and $126.00 in the treasury. — Editor.] 



In submitting this, my fifteenth and last annual report, 

 to the members of the Union, I desire to thank them for 

 the courtesy and kindness shown me during that time, and 

 shall ever remember such with pleasure. 



Hoping that the future of the Union under its new 

 name and management may continue to be a grand success, 

 and that it may live long as a bulwark of safety for the 

 apiarists of America, I remain. 



Fraternally yours, 

 Thomas G. Newman, General Manager. 



San Franci.sco, Calif., Dec. 31, 1899. 



Mesquite as a Honey-Plant in Texas. 



BV L. STACHEI.HAUSKN. 



ON page 797, I find the following question : " Will some 

 southwestern subscriber tell us thru the American Bee 

 Journal all about the mesquite as a honey-plant, time 

 of blooming, duration of flow, and amount of honey per 

 colony an apiary will average from it in an ordinary 

 season ?" 



Meiiquite (Prosopis Juliflora) is a brush or tree which 

 covers our Texas prairies in large quantities, and is one of 



our most important honey-plants. It commences to bloom 

 the end of March or the first days of April, and this first 

 bloom lasts about four weeks. In a dry spring it blooms 

 more, and gives more honey ; this is a great advantage, be- 

 cause at such times all other plants fail to secrete honey. 

 A rain will destroy the blossoms, and the honey-flow is sud- 

 denly closed for this time. It commences to bloom again 

 in June, and keeps on till August, so we generally can see 

 ripe beans and blossoms on the same tree. This second 

 flow is generally not as good as the first one, at least in my 

 locality. 



It is hard to tell how much an apiary would average 

 from this source. In 20 years' experience I do not remem- 

 ber that mesquite did not bring at least some surplus honey. 

 The first bloom generally causes much swarming here. 

 Last year I establisht an out-apiary seven miles from my 

 house, where mesquite covers many thousand acres of land. 

 Around here nearly all is cropt out. This apiary averaged 

 about 120 pounds per colony ; while my home apiary did not 

 quite average SO pounds per colony. In both apiaries mes- 

 quite was nearly the only honey-source we had in this very 

 bad year of 1899. 



Mesquite honey is of fine flavor, and very light color. 

 It is by far the best honey in this locality, and I estimate 

 it as good as clover honey. 



Bexar Co., Tex., Dec. 19, 1899. , 



No. 5.— The Bee-Smoker— How to Get the Most 

 Out of It. 



BY "OI,D GRIMES." 



THE first bellows smoker ever used in the Grimes apiary 

 came from the first smoker inventor, Moses Quinby, 

 and what a crude appearance it would present beside 

 the elegant Bingham and the other smokers of the day ! 



As to construction, I do not believe the present smokers 

 could be improved upon, and when the hereafter improve- 

 ments come it will be in some radical change in the method 

 employed to subdue the bees. In my day I have seen men 

 eat tow and blow fire out of their mouth and nose, but the 

 bee-keeper has never fathomed the secret — perhaps there is 

 too much " hot blast " to it, but it is possible that some en- 

 terprising bee-keeper with an inventive turn of mind, will 

 "catch on " to this idea some day, and all the bee-keeper 

 will have to do will be to regulate his diet accordingly. 



I have to deal, however, with the present smoker, and 

 in the matter of either cold or hot-blast smokers the Grimes 

 family have talkt the matter over autocratically at the 

 breakfast table, and have come to the conclusion that all 

 the bee needs to subdue her combative propensities is 

 smoke, and the difi^erence between hot and cold blast is not 

 enough to make any material difi'erence. We can make a 

 cold-blast smoker hot-blast, or vice versa. 



It depends much upon the fuel used, in order to make a 

 lasting smoke. Some advise hardwood, maple, etc. Now, 

 if you desire to make a hot-blast from a cold-blast smoker, 

 just get a good wad of hardwood coals in the furnace, and 

 the heat of the smoke will not be much more augmented if 

 a hot-blast smoker is used. Now let us fill a hot-blast 

 smoker with fine shavings, straw, or gunny-sacking, and 

 after the smoke is well developt insert a compact wad 

 moistened with water, and the smoke will be as cool as any 

 one need desire. 



I have seen many smokers since the days of Quinby, 

 and have seen some immense, cumbersome fellows, with a 

 sheet-iron fire-box as large as a stove-pipe. Such things 

 need an extra man to carry them around, and to manipu- 

 late them, and life is too short to bother with them, any way. 



The Grimes family use a medium-sized smoker. To 

 start a smoker quickly we have used a little spring-bottom 

 oil-can filled with kerosene. A few squirts with this upon 

 the fuel before applying- the match will insure a fire, every 

 time. I have no doubt but Dr. Miller's saltpeter plasters 

 would do as well. I take the Doctor's word for it, and he 

 oUght to know, for he is well up in the plaster business ! 



In our Grimes apiary we use gunny-sacking for fuel, as 

 we have plenty of it, and we make a small .square of it last 

 half a day, and even longer. The sacking is prepared for 

 business when the sun wax-extractor is in use. When the 

 sun has done its work, and left quite a little hot slumgum, 

 work the gunny-sack into it, and wipe out the tin bottom 

 with it, and it will become saturated more or less with the 

 residue of beeswax and bee-glue, and thus prepared it will 

 burn a long time in the smoker. 



But the boys and I are not arbitrary in our advice in 



