380 



THE AMERICAl^ BEE JOURNAL. 



No, fellow-beekeepers, the trouble 

 is not between the bees and the sheep, 

 but between the sheep and their 

 owners, who fail to provide cool, dark 

 sheds with water convenient for their 

 slieep during the heat of the day, 

 which results in the death of thou- 

 sands annually during the late winter 

 and spring montlis, with the disease 

 known as " grub in the head." 



In the above I liave taken middle 

 ground, as the bees' side of the ques- 

 tion—its usefulness as an agent in 

 fertilizing (lowers, etc., has already 

 been so plainly shown to the reading 

 public, by scientiHc investigators of 

 the last few years, that forafiy one to 

 doubt would be simply to show 

 ignorance. 



Mendon. p Mich. 



ce.ssful, but rather expensive. After ex- 

 perhuenting considerably, 1 finally set the 

 combs upright in water, and let them stay 

 in it for 5 or days, when the pollen be- 

 comes very soft, and then by attaching a 

 hose to a force pump with a sprinkling 

 nozzle (an ordinary nozzle would damage 

 some of the cells), every particle of tlie 

 pollen that has been in the water will be 

 washed right out (if it is not covered with 

 honey and capped over). I have put such 

 combs in the centre of the brood-chamber, 

 and had tliem filled with eggs in 24 hours, 

 and I do not think that any one could tell 

 tliat they ever had pollen in tliem. A 

 convention was held in Madison, Ind., on 

 May 28, and 1 was intending to take over a 

 frame with eggs in, that I had washed the 

 pollen out of, but just at that time I had 

 to attend to the bees. I should have 

 stated tliat I extracted the water before 

 pidting the combs into the hive. 



stiSSI^MMM 



Good Season Anticipated.— C. H. 



Dibbeni. Milan. x> Ills., on June 4, 

 188.5, says : 



Bees are doing finely now, and I look 

 forward to a good season in this section. 



Wliite Clover in Abundance. — J. W. 



Sanders, Le Grand.© Iowa, on June 

 8, 1885, says : 



The .season has been quite late here, and 

 from the best 1 can learn, a number of 

 bee-keepers have lost heavily by spring 

 dwindling. But bee-keepers'" faces begin 

 to brighten now, as the white clover is 

 commencing to bloom, and as we have a 

 large quantity of it. 



Colonies Strong, bnt So Swarms.- 



Wm. Anderson. Sherman, o+ Mo., on 

 June 8, 188-5, writes thus ; 



My bees are doing well, except that tliey 

 do not swaim. The hives are full of bees 

 — so full tliat they cannot get in, 1 notice. 

 A shower came up and the bees were un- 

 able to go into the hives, as they were so 

 full. Although I liave had 5 swarms this 

 season, the bees liaiig on the sides of the 

 hives in great bunches : some of them 

 would make a good colony if they were in 

 a hive and put to work. "There is plenty 

 of honey coming, and the prospect seems 



food. White clover is in abundance, 

 warming is the only drawback now. 



Working Siglit and Day.— Geo. W. 

 Hiker, Russell,? Iowa, on June 8, 



188-5, w^rites : 



My bees work day and night for seven 

 days in a week, and 1 am unable to find 

 any of tlicni idle or resting, hence, 1 con- 

 clude that they never sleep. Perhaps 

 some of the more experienced can tell me 

 how I may be able to catch a bee asleep. 



Protecting Bee-Keepers.— ('has. H 



Green, Berlin, Wis., on June 10 

 188-5, says : 



In response to the suggestions made by 

 Mr. Heddon, on page 346, in regard to a 

 defense organization for the pm-pose of 

 protectmg bee-keepers against uij ustice at 

 law, 1 woidd say that 1 have for some time 

 tliought a society of this kind would sooner 

 or later be needed, and the time has now 

 come. 1 am glad that Mr. Heddon has 

 made a start, and 1 would second the nom- 

 ination of Mr. T. G. Newman as secretary 

 and treasurer ; and I would suggest that 

 Mr. James Heddon and Dr. C. C. Miller 

 assist him in forming and managing the 

 affair. My fee is reiidy. 1 hope that every 

 liee-keeper in the West will respond with 

 his dollar. 



rally to the front at once. It seems to Tne 

 that every bee-keeper in the country can 

 see that it is not only his privilege, but 

 his duty to at once take hold of this mat- 

 ter, and not only himself, but work hard 

 to induce others to do the same. This is 

 a matterthat calls for inunediate action, 

 and let us arise and say, " United we 

 stand ;" and our rights must be respected 

 as well as those in other occupations. Mr. 

 Heddon has led off by proposing for man- 

 ager our esteemed and tried friend, Mr. T. 

 G. Newman, wlio has ever proved himself 

 fearless and ready to stand up for the 

 right against the" wrong, and I heartly 

 second the motion, believing that he will 

 be " the right man in the right place." 

 My dollar is ready. 



Bees Molesting Farm-Stock. — John 

 Rey, East Saginaw.© Mich., on June 

 5, 188-5, writes as follows : 



I notice on page 34(), that Mr. Freeborn, 

 of Ithaca, Wis., has gotten into some 

 trouble on account of his bees going into 

 his neighboi's pasture and driving out the 

 sheep. 1 nave never known or heard that 

 liees could drive sheep or cattle ; bnt it 

 this is the case, bees can do more than 

 build combs and store honey for man. 1 

 do not see what harm the bees in question 

 did to the neighbor's clover field, only to 

 sip the God-given sweets which would 

 otherwise have been lost. Mr. James 

 Heddon has made a good move in the 

 direction of the bee-keeper's interest. Mr. 

 Editor, you can put me down for SI. I 

 think tliiit every bee-keeper can afford at 

 least SI toward a good cause, remember- 

 ing that " in union there is strength." 1 

 am sure that every bee-keeper who likes 

 liis hees, and respects his fellow-bee-keep- 

 ers, will not let this case go by unnoticed ; 

 and 1 think that everyone will come to 

 the front with his dollar in hand when it 

 is needed. 



Law Against Keeping Bees, etc. — 



Chas.Follett, Osage.6 Iowa, on June 

 9, 188-5, writes as follows : 



I have read the articles on page 346, in 

 reference to the suit involving bees. I 

 have never known bees to molest any- 

 thing while they were out at work, but as 

 a rule, they attend strictly to their own 

 work. If there is any law against keep- 

 ing bees, I think that it is time that such 

 law is made manifest. As there are so 

 many interested in bee-culture, it will cost 

 but a small amount for each bee-keeper to 

 assist in defending the suit in question. I 

 fail to see that there is any case at all ; 

 however, I am ready and willing to con- 

 tribute my part, and then see how we will 

 come out. We surely can procure just as 

 good lawyers as the plaintiff has, and soon 

 settle the matter. The past winter was a 

 hard one on bees iu this section. 1 lo.st .50 

 colonies out of 130. I think that the loss in 

 this county is about % ; some have lost 

 all. My bees are now in good condition, 

 and are preparing for the honey harvest. 

 Everything looks favorable. 



Removing Pollen from Combs. — fi— 



John Crawford, (4-5), Pleasant, <x Ind., 

 oil June (i, 1885, gives liis method as 

 follows : 



I notice on page 340 a query on remov- 

 ing pollen from combs. I have been 

 thinking and experimenting for sometime 

 on that point, and I have tried giving the 

 combs to colonies, hut the bees would 

 very seldom remove enough to amount to 

 anything. I never tried melting the combs, 

 but I have no doubt that would be snc- 



Tlie Duty of the Hour.— James B. 

 Mason, Mechanic Falls,? Maine, on 

 June 9, 1885, writes as follows : 



While looking over the last Bee Jouk- 

 XAI„ I noticed the article from James 

 Heddon, and whilereadingit I was thrilled 

 with joy, and exclaimed "Just the thing!" 

 I have "long thought of .some plan that 

 would more closely bind bee-keepers to- 

 gether, not crush down any one, as Mrs. 

 Lizzie Cotton says the bee-associations are 

 a band of men banded together to crush 

 her down just because she is a woman, 

 but to protect bee-keepers against the un- 

 just charges that are being heaped upon 

 them. I believe that the course mapped 

 out by Mr. Heddon is a move in the right 

 direction, and that it will tend to draw 

 bee-keepers together, and I think it is the 

 duty of every bee-keeper in the land to 



Bees Packed in Chaff. —Dr. J. S. Mc- 

 Allister, Columbus,^ Nebr., on June 

 (J, 1885, writes : 



Spring was late here as well as else- 

 where. Being short of help last siunmer 

 and fall, II. y 20 colonies were not packed 

 with chaff as usual, but left to the mercy 

 of the cold, and consequently I lost 14 of 

 the 20, and the other 6 were very weak in 

 the spring. They were all pure Italians, 

 and very heavy, with 13 to 16 frames, of 

 the American size, to the hive, being 

 crowded with bees. About 40 other colo- 

 nies in hives of the same style, but not 

 quite so well packed with chaff (and on 

 the summer stands, the same as the other 

 20), wintered nicely, and are doing much 

 better. I have been so busy at my pro- 

 fession that my bees have been sadly 

 neglected. 



Method of Transferring; for Ladies 

 and Beginners.— Mrs. E. J. Baxter, 

 Nauvoo.K) Ills., on May 27, 1885, 

 writes as follows : 



I have just read what Mr. O. Clute says 

 about transferring hees, on page 330 ; and 

 though 1 am not one of those whom he 

 addresses, I wi.sli to state that we have 

 transferred a number of colonies by the 

 "driving plan," and that we have suc- 

 ceeded pretty well each time. The trans- 

 ferring was done when the weather was 

 warinenough to allow the brooil to hatch 

 well ; therefore it did not die and decay. 

 However, in the early spring months we 

 prefer the old-fashioned method, as we 

 had to siiend more time in feeding our 

 "driven" colonies than we would have 

 spent, had we transferred combs and all. 

 The " driving plan " is a good one for 

 ladies, as it requires but little handling of 

 tools ; it is a good one for beginners, as it 

 requires but few directions. 



