THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



403 



WEEKLY EDITION 



OF THE 



^,V^J<»»5MOASf ,, 



^m^mmmL 



THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



Vol. XXI. July 1, 1885. No. 26. 



APICULTURAL NEWS ITEMS. 



EDITORIAL AND SELECTED. 



It all llcl|>K.— Let no one fear because of 

 bciii^"- opposed ! Did ever a ship sail to any 

 haven in a rload calm ? Even a head wind is 

 better than none. Kites rise ayainnt—nut 

 with the wind. A certain amount of opposi- 

 tion is therefore healthy, and it all helps 

 energy and self-determination. 



A worlting- bee but seldom 



Turns from his way to sting- ; 

 tJut he must have a world of room 



To g:ive his body swing-. 

 That which he claims is yielded, 



We're apt to think him right 

 Who works to win, who wins to keep 



And can both work and fight. 



Tlios. G. Nexvuiau & Son will publish 

 the American Bee Journal hereafter. The 

 editorial department will be conducted, as 

 heretofore, by Thomas G. Newman, and the 

 business department by Alfred H. Newman. 

 The firm will (as before the division, 5 years 

 ago to-day), carry on the business of publish- 

 ing the Bke Journal, books and pamphlets, 

 and keep for sale the usual assortment of 

 bee-keepers' supplies. 



Statistlral Crop Reports.— Mr. N. W. 



MeLain, the Agent in Charge of the Apicul- 

 tural Station, of the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture, Division of Entomolog'y, at 

 Aurora, Ills., writes us on June Hi, 18S5 : 

 **Let me thank you for establishing the 

 apicultural news page in your paper. I 

 regard it as a valuable feature, and from it 

 I shall get many hints valuable to me in my 

 Avork. I hope, by the beginning of another 

 year (before then if possible), to have a full 

 force of correspondents, from whom full 

 and reliable reports may be had on the tirst 

 of each month, from all parts of the United 

 States, and I expect then to issue bulletins 

 giving full information concerning the in- 

 dustry." 



Bees and Drouth, —A Melbourne cor- 

 respondent of the Dundee yldrcWiser, narrates 

 what he considers an interesting proof of 

 the provident and far-seeinginstinct of bees: 

 "Turning from men to insects, a singular 

 circumstance is reported from a hot, dry 

 valley in New South Wales. Last year the 

 drouth there was of long duration, and the 

 denizens of thu apiaries suffered much from 

 it. This year the bees have made provision 

 against a similar emergency. They have 

 filled a large number of the external cells in 

 every hive with pure water instead of honey. 

 It is thought that the instinct of the little 

 creatures leads them to anticipate a hot 

 summer. 



The Kditor of the British Bee Jour- 

 nal i!< I>ea<l.-- We learn with regret of the 

 death of the Rev. Herbert R. Peel, on the :M 

 of June. Mr. Peel has lately suffered greatly 

 from gout in the head and eyes, and was 

 found dead in his library. He vyas shot ; but 

 just how, is not yet determined— probably by 

 his own hand. 



The London Stamlnrd saj's: "The deceased 

 having bern missed from luncheon, and the 

 door of the study being locked, entrance was 

 effected by the window, when the reverend 

 gentleman was found lying on the hearth- 

 rug, shot in the left breast, with a double- 

 barrelled gun at his feet, one barrel of which 

 had been discharged, it is supposed, with the 

 aid of a poker which was by the side of the 

 deceased. Death must have been instanta- 

 neous. The deceased had suffered greatly 

 from gout in the head and eyes. The jury 

 returned a verdict to the effect that death 

 was caused by a gunshot wound, but there 

 was no evidence to sliow how it was inflicted. 

 Mr. Peel was a son of the late Dean of Woi'- 

 cester, and a nephew of Sir Robert Peel, the 

 eminent statesman." 



Mr. Peel resided at Thornton Hall, Buck- 

 ingham, Eng., and was, until last year. Secre- 

 tary of the British Bee-Keepers' Association, 

 a body which he has spent much time and 

 means in organizing and supporting. 



He was also, since January, 188:i,the editor 

 and proprietor of the Briti!<h liec Journal, 

 concerning which the the London Jmitmal of 

 Horticulture remarks as follows: "Under 

 Mr. Peel's management, the British Bee 

 Joiavial for some years has been published 

 once a fortnight, whereas formerly it was 

 issued only once a month. Its circulation 

 has largely increased, and the most advanced 

 bee-keepers from all parts of the globe 

 enrich its pages. The compliments paid to 

 its proprietor (Mr. Peel) are only his due, for 

 he has done more to advance bee-keeping in 

 England than any Englishman living ; and 

 the extraordinary advance of apiculture in 

 England during the last five years must be 

 attributed chietiy to Mr. Peel and the band 

 of friends whom he has attracted to himself 

 by his ability, energy, earnestness, and phi- 

 lanthropic desire to do good to his fellow 

 countrymen. Mr. Peel has made a mark for 

 good, and richly deserves the gratitude and 

 esteem of all right-minded men." 



The American Bee Journal extends its 

 sympathy to the atHicted family. 



Quite a Haul.— The Poughkeepsie, N. Y., 

 Courier, of June 7. ISS."), contains the follow- 

 ing item concerning the "find" of one of the 

 Bee Journal's family : " Afew weeks ago, 

 Mr. E. R. Newcomb. of Pleasant Valley, 

 N. Y., took from between the clap-boards 

 and lath of the side of Martin Ruger's house 

 at Pleasant Valley, l'-"> pounds of flue honey, 

 and succeeded in saving the colony of bees, 

 which were soon after placed in a hive. Mr. 

 Newconib has a large apiary at Pleasant 

 Valley, and has been very successful in the 

 culture of bees." 



'* Notify me when the Money Im 

 wanted," Is what many say who fully 

 endorse the defense of the pursuit of bee- 

 keeping, and want to become members of the 

 " National Bee-Keepers' Union." That is 

 very well, as far as it goes, but no one is a 

 member until the membership fee and first 

 assessment are paid. When these are re- 

 ceived, we will send a copy of the Constitution 

 to be signed, and a blank vote to be tilled up 

 for the election of the oificers for the ensuing 

 year. It would not be reasonable to expect 

 the Manager to write to each one separately. 

 Matters must be simplified, and the business 

 done in a business-like manner. Members 

 will be kept informed concerning the affairs 

 of the Union, through the bee-papers. Now, 

 let the membership fee of 2r> cents, and one 

 dollar for the first assessment, be sent in 

 lircly, and let us make a united titand for i>ur 

 rigJits. 



The .\niiual C'atalogue of the Michigan 

 Agricultural College, located near Lansing, 

 Mich., is on our desk. ItcontainsafuU page 

 illustration of the college and grounds, also 

 a map indicating the position of the various 

 buildings and fields of the farm belonging to 

 the institution, besides a quantity of useful 

 matter, describing the different departments 

 and their managemeijt. This is the oldest 

 existing college of its kind in the country, 

 being 28 years old. Those wishing copies of 

 the catalogue can address Prof. A. J. Cook, 

 of apicultural fame, who has in charge the 

 Departments of Zoology and Entomology, 

 and who will doubtless deem it a pleasure to 

 forward them to such of his apiarian friends 

 as may desire to learn something about ttiis 

 class of colleges. 



Calitornia Honey Crop.— The followingr 

 report of the honey season in California, 

 from a correspondent in that State, dated 

 June 0, 18So, will doubtless be interesting to 

 our readers. Does it not furnish a pointer 

 to the honey-producers of the country, as to 

 the future of the honey market? A light 

 crop in California means better prices all 

 around, now that Foreigners are finding out 

 what a good thing American honey is— to 

 take : "Reports from all quarters of South- 

 ern California agree that while the bees are 

 in good condition, they have not stored much 

 if any surplus honey, and in some localities 

 they have actually reduced their stores very 

 materially. The cool nights and windy days 

 of the past month have not been favorable 

 to the development of honey- producing 

 fiowers or the secretion of nectar. Both sorts 

 of the sages are in bloom, but they afford 

 little honey as yet, atid what is stored is not 

 in any respeet equal to the honey obtained 

 in the same sections last year at this date. 

 The low price of honey quoted in all the 

 markets is not encouraging, but the value of 

 other commodities are about on a par with 

 honey. Sugar competes somewhat with 

 honey, and the price of that article points 

 still downward in the principal marts of the 

 world, and it is not reasonable to suppose 

 that honey will advance in price very mate- 

 rially, until sugar regains its lost ground to 

 some considerable extent, not only in the 

 United States, but in European countries 

 where a very large quantity of our last year's 

 crop of honey found customers, who paid 

 l>etter prices for our product than could be 

 obtained at home, or on the east of tho 

 mountains." 



