THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



291 



WEEKLY EDITION 



OP THE 



^^-5.AS^3SRIO^|^,.^^ 



PUBLISHED BY 



THOMAS G. NE\vMAN, 



P^niTOU AND Pkoprietoh, 



925 WEST MADISON-STREET, CHICAGO, ILL 



Weekly, S2 n year ; Monthly, 50 cents. 



Vol. XXI. May 13, 1885. No. 19. 



APICULTURAL NEWS ITEMS. 



EDITORIAL AND SELECTED. 



It In so cold now that we could well 

 imagine that it was January instead of May. 

 Here the trees are yet without leaves. 



Tlie bitterest herb in the woods is called 

 " failure." The bitterest experience for a 

 bee-keeper is " failure." 



The Reversible-Frame Craze is about 

 o^'e^ — at least we hope so. Is it not a very 

 <loubtful e.\pedient, any way i* 



Ifa person is born with a mean, stingy or 

 dishonorable disposition, do not waste any 

 time in endeavors of reform. It is useless. 



Bees and Queens are now in large de- 

 mand. Those who are fortunate enough to 

 have bees for sale will do a " land-office 

 business " this year. 



Economy is a virtue, but it is not true 

 economy to cut off the small expense of 

 taking a bee-paper, or buying a bee-book. 

 These are necessarie.i to all engaged in 

 apiarian pursuits. 



Tlie weather for May has been very 

 cold, and Prof. Mansill predicts that during 

 May the temperature will likely average be- 

 low the mean of the season, both in the 

 llnited States and Europe. The worst storms 

 will occur about the :id and 4th, 10th to the 

 l.)th, the 'J.'ird, 24th, 28th, .30th and 31st. 



The losses of Bees during the past win- 

 ter will make it necessary to increase the 

 numbers as fast as possible, so as to fill the 

 empty hives. Feeding will be " the order of 

 the day." Care should be taken not to over- 

 do the matter— feed just enough for the use 

 of the bees and brood each day, and no 

 more; else the result may be the opposite of 

 that desired, and breeding will be retarded. 



The Auction Sale of the apiary of Dr. 

 L. James, at Atlanta, 111., on April 21st at- 

 tracted bidders from a considerable distance. 

 Besides selling 100 colonies of bees, a num- 

 ber of empty hives, honey and bee-keeping 

 utensils were sold. The colonies of bees 

 were sold at prices ranging from $3 to tfl 

 each. Some mouths ago, as announced in 

 the Hee Journ.vl, Dr. James was prostrated 

 by a stroke of paralysis, and we learn that he 

 Btill lingers in a helpless condition. 



Barrett's New Queen-C'ajife, intended 

 for ln)th shipping and introducing fjucens, is 

 on our desk. Mr. (Jarrctt says he has " used 

 it to introduce 100 ciuc^eius," and has not lost 

 any of them. Ily it, the <jueencan be caged, 

 and introduced without handling, and is the 

 best thiitg we have seen for the purpose. It 

 is something like the Peet cage, but has sev- 

 eral new features, and is smaller than it. 

 We have no doubt of the correctness of Mr. 

 fiarrett's sssertion, that " any one can intro- 

 duce a queen successfully with this cage." 



Queenlcss Colonies.— Mr. F. L. Dough- 

 erty says that in a money point of view, it is 

 hardly worth while to bother with queenless 

 colonies at this season of the year. A better 

 plan is to give the bees to a weaker colony 

 which has a queen. Crowd the bees on one 

 or two frames. Ijate in the evening, after 

 the bees have quit Hying, hang the frames in 

 the hive by the side of those containing the 

 queen, and they will unite very readily. It 

 will help matters to set a short board up in 

 front of the hive to make the bees take a 

 new location on leaving the hive. The old 

 hive from which they were taken should be 

 entirely removed from the old stand, so as to 

 destroy the old land-marks. Without the 

 latter precaution, the bees soon forget the 

 new markings in the presence of the old 

 location. 



Tlie Transmission of Foul Brood is 



discussed by Mr. W. H. Stewart, on page 2f)7. 

 Without doubt, scrupulous care should be 

 taken not to spread the disease, but the rec- 

 ommendations of Mr. Stewart are so sweep- 

 ing and surprising that they almost take 

 one's breath. The rearing, sale and shipping 

 of queens, which is now carried on so largely 

 as an industry, would be entirely destroyed 

 were Mr. Stewart's plan to be generally 

 adopted. 



Would it not be as consistent to require 

 the suspension of all business in the United 

 States of America, because, forsooth, the 

 cholera is expected here this summer (aye, 

 it is reported to be already here in some iso- 

 lated cases), and the circulating medium — 

 money, with which business is transacted, 

 consisting of gold, silver, nickel, copper {and 

 worst of all) paper — is charged with spread- 

 ing contagious diseases ? 



Many of the thousands of filthy "green- 

 backs" now circulating over the country 

 have been in the possession of diseased per- 

 sons, and, of course, when they pass into the 

 hands and pockets of those in good health, 

 they endanger the lives of all into whose 

 hands they pass. Still we must live — we 

 must do business— we must have and use 

 money. In other words, we are compelled 

 TO TAKE THE lUSK DAILY, and yet, but few, 

 comparatively, ever catch the contagion. 



The etforts put forth in order to obtain 

 permission to transmit bees in the mails, 

 and the difficulties encountered were so nu- 

 merous and almost insurmountable, that we 

 should be very slow to give any countenance 

 to rash advice about the enactment of a law 

 to exclude them from the mails. 



While we would recommend caution and 

 careful inspection of apiaries to discover the 

 least taint of foul brood {so called), and the 

 strict environment of all infected districts — 

 we must be as cakekul not to destroy the 

 apicultural business of the country, and 

 thus bring disaster to the multitudes who 

 gain a subsistence thereby. 



E. ■W, Turner, Secretary of the Mahoning 

 Valley Bee-Kcopors' Association, writes us 

 that the next meeting of that association has 

 been postponed until .lune .S, 18H.'j. 



BiisinesH, to a very great extent, depends 

 mainly upon the success which attends the 

 farmer. The prosperity or adversity of the 

 " tillers of the soil " largely control the whole 

 business of the country. Just so is it with 

 bee-keeping. Upon the success or failure of 

 the apiarist depends the prosperity or adver- 

 sity of the queen-breeder, the importer, the 

 supply dealer, and the publisher. '• Pulsa- 

 tions " in the apiary are felt keenly in all 

 these lines of business. Promptness in pay- 

 ing small debts will assist all around. Every 

 one should, therefore, studiously avoid care- 

 lessness and procrastination in liquidating 

 the smaller claims. By so doing we may all 

 " help one another." Keep the dollar busily 

 "rolling around the circle," and it will surely 

 return to cheer and assist even the one who 

 first sets it rolling. 



Honey Oozins; from Cells.— Prof. A. J. 

 Cook writes thus on this subject: "I am 

 surprised at Mr. Doolittle's statement, on 

 page 2()0, that honey can only ooze from 

 capped cells, on account of large bulk, and 

 only swells from dampness. What about 

 fermentation 'I Honey in the comb, or when 

 extracted, is almost sure to ferment in a 

 cool, damp atmosphere. I have noticed this 

 often in comb honey; and, Mr. Editor, how 

 about that barrel that exploded in your of- 

 fice which you showed me in 1878? That 

 was gathering dampness with a vengeance. 

 In fermentation, gases are generated; and, 

 like steam, they push hard." The barrel of 

 honey mentioned by Prof. Cook came from 

 Wisconsi^. It was gathered after a wet sea- 

 son and the honey fermented, blew out the 

 bung, and ran all over the floor. 



Spring Work.— The " Kansas Bee-Keep- 



er " gives the following as seasonable hints : 

 "What is required, is to endeavor to get 

 every colony in such condition as to strengt h, 

 that it will have a large and effective force 

 of foragers ready to take advantage of the 

 first honey yield. Every bee-keeper is sup- 

 posed to know when the first yield of honey 

 will be found, and of course will know how 

 long it will take to strengthen up his colo- 

 nies with young bees. Stimulative feeding 

 should be used with prudence and judgment, 

 if at all, and only diluted syrup or honey 

 should be used. If the bees are stimulated 

 beyond their strength, the intervention of 

 2 or 3 cold days and nights may chill the 

 brood thus reared, owing to the colony not 

 being strong enough to cover it. As a rule, 

 it is better for beginners to see that food 

 enough is supplied for the wants of both bees 

 and brood, than attempt to stimulate to any 

 extent, and they should be particularly care- 

 ful about spreading brood, until they have 

 had sufficient experience to enable them to 

 do so to the best advantage. Old bee-keepers 

 have the experience of past years as a guide; 

 the younger ones have no such experience, 

 and had better go a little slow, than to run 

 any dangerous risks. If they see that their 

 hives are well cleaned out, the bees well 

 supplied with stores, and that very weak 

 colonies are strengthened by the addition of 

 an occasional frame of brood, they will 

 probably succeed better than if they should 

 attempt to force breeding without fully un- 

 derstanding the business." 



