THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



451 



WEEKLY EDITION 



OP THE 



^^^^^E^^^ICAlMr^.^. 



*v. 







THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



Vol. XXI. July 22, 1885. No. 29. 



APICULTURAL NEWS ITEMS. 



EDITORIAL AND SELECTED. 



Toiliiii^ at noon like the busy bee, 

 Teaching the little ones A, B, C, 

 Sowiug jfood seed iu their path along. 

 Sowing by action, by word and by song ; 

 Never once pausing to count the cost. 

 Knowing that much that is sown is lost ; 

 Bearing a prayer in her heart away. 

 Such is a mother's life, day by day. 



Bee-Stiiis:** act as a curative agent in 

 certain rheumatic affections. 



WUite Clover honey is best for table 

 use, and basswood honey Is best for medici- 

 nal purposes. 



Do not loraet the National Bee-Keepers' 

 Union. Send the tees (^l.^.")), and a printed 

 blank will be sent to you by return mail, to 

 fill up with your votefor permanent otBcers. 



To sive an-ay a copy of " Honey as Food 

 and Medicine " to every one who buys a 

 package of honey, will sell almost any quan- 

 tity of it. 



Tlie Fair at Rockford, III., held by 

 the "Winnebago Co. Agricultural Society," 

 will open on Sept. 7, and continue five days. 

 Mr. C. C. Jones, the Secretary at Rockford, 

 will send premium lists to all applicants. 



Two Cents will now pay the postage for 

 a letter weighing one ounce or less, anywhere 

 in the United States or to Canada ; but from 

 Canada to the United States the postage is .'3 

 cents for each half-ounce or fraction thereof. 



Use no Motli-traps or complicated hives. 

 If j-ou use a good frame hive, and keep your 

 colonies strong, you need not fear the moth. 

 Ignorant and negligent bee-keepers, with 

 poor hives, are the ones who lose bees by 

 moths. 



Tlie Inter-State Fair at St. Joseph, Mo., 

 begins on Monday, Aug. .31, 18Sr), and con- 

 tinues days. Mr. E. T. Abbott, Superin- 

 tendent of the Apiarian department, will 

 furnish Premium Lists to bee-keepers send- 

 ing for them. The premiums in this depart- 

 ment amount to about $'2.50.00, besides nine 

 diplonias. 



i^~ Back Numbers.— We can supply a 

 few more of the back numbers to new sub- 

 scribers. If any want them, they must be 

 sent for soon, before they are all gone. 



Iianientatlon without effort to overcome 

 diflicultios, only exhibits our weakness. We 

 are here to " work out " our deliverance 

 from surrounding obstacles— to ride above 

 the storms — to defeat the machinations of 

 our enemies — to cause fnith and riuht to 

 triumph. The National Bee-Keepers' Union 

 needs strong hearts, willing hands, and many 

 shekels. Reader, are you willing to help ? 

 Is your name enrolled among the " National 

 Guards " listed on page 400 ? If not, lo-se no 

 time— but act at once ! Send in your fees 

 and become a member of the "National Bee 

 Keepers' Union," and thus help to fight the 

 battles of our pursuit in defense of its rights! 



National Bee-Keepers' Union.— The 



way to meet ignorant and selfish attacks is by 

 facing the enemy — meeting force by superior 

 /o?'('e— trusting in the right, but " keeping our 

 powder dry." We want no half-hearted lag- 

 gards in the army, but the vigorous, stout- 

 hearted, patriotic, undaunted and daring 

 are welcome ! If we can raise a column of 

 patriots sufficiently strong to present a good 

 front, we shall dare the envious ones to 

 " bring on their law-suits," and by " an im- 

 posing array" and " unbroken front," gain 

 a lasting and permanent victory ! 



Systematic Work in the Apiary.— Mr. 



C. H. Dibliern in the Western Plowman, says: 

 " The bee-keeper should lay out the work 

 for himself, as far as possible, to avoid 

 working in the hot sun. A great deal can be 

 done in the mornings and evenings when it 

 is cool, to have everything ready that will 

 likely be required for the day's operations. 

 If the bees swarm, when it is IOOp in the 

 shade, do not get e.xcited and work yourself 

 up to fever heat, but just let them swarra. 

 When they have got nicely settled, shake 

 them in front of the hive they are intended 

 to occupy, and go about other business. If, 

 after an hour or two, they have not occupied 

 it, scrape them to the entrance, and soon all 

 will be well." 



Introdiielns Queens. — In answer to 

 many inquiries for a good plan for intro- 

 ducing queens, we give the following from 

 \he American Agriculturist : "In introducing 

 a queen, a weak or small colony is preferable 

 to a large one. Have no accompanying bees 

 in the cage— the queen should be alone. 

 Young bees will accept a queen more readily 

 than will old ones. No mailing cage that 

 transmits queens safely is suitable , for an 

 introducing cage ; in fact, a, cage in which 

 bees have been shipped is certain to have an 

 objectionable odor. A new, clean cage made 

 of fine wire-cloth should be used. It should 

 not be less than six inches long, and 1*2 

 inch across, so as to give the queen plenty 

 of freedom, and it should be placed between 

 combs of brood. If no honey presses against 

 the side of the cage where the queen can 

 feed herself, food should be placed in the 

 cage. Noon is the best time of the day in 

 which to release the queen. When bees are 

 storing honey rapidly, they will accept a 

 queen more readily. A young queen is more 

 readily accepted than an old one. Black 

 bees accept a strange queen the most readily 

 of any variety of bees. When the bees are 

 walking about unconcernedly upon the cage, 

 caressing the queen with their antenna*, and 

 offering her food, it is usually safe to release 

 her ; if they are clinging to the cage like so 

 many burrs, wait until they are better 

 natured." 



Iietters weighing one ounce can now be 

 sent through the U. S. mail for two cents. 



IJndonbtrdly many shiftless bee-keepers 



will drop the business; others having lost 

 all their bees will throw away their old 

 appliances, and beginning anew, will adopt 

 a better class of hives and management; 

 while others, having gained knowledge from 

 the success of their neighbors in wintering, 

 will learn how to manage effectually their 

 bees in winters to come. Like philosophers, 

 we must profit by experience, hope for the 

 best, and prepare for the worst. 



Opinions differ among the greatest and 

 best of men. This fact should never cause 

 hatred or malice. Our thoughts are but the 

 " clothing " of the mind, and we might as 

 well hate a person for being clothed in white 

 or blue, because our choice is for green or 

 black— as to be angry at the opinions of 

 others, which do not agree with our own. 

 Diverse opinions lead to wisdom, improve- 

 ment, progress and knowledge — aye, our 

 "liberties " of which we so often boast, are 

 guaranteed by the diverse thoughts of our 

 fellow men. 



Mr. Henry Alley's new edition of his 

 "Bee-Keepers' Handy-Book" is on our desk. 

 It is re-written and greatly enlarged, and 

 now covers the whole ground of bee-keeping. 

 It contains '270 pages, and the price is $1.50. 

 It has nearly 100 illustrations, and it is nicely 

 printed and bound. As Mr. Alley has had 

 an experience in queen-rearing and the 

 management of an apiary for nearly a 

 quarter of a Century, his book will be read 

 with interest by all apiarists, and should 

 have a large sale. It can he obtained at this 

 office at the publisher's price. 



Hard Wood Barrels, as usually made 

 and kept in damp places, will not hold honey 

 without waxing; but kegs holding from 50 

 to '200 lbs., if properly made with special 

 reference to their being used for honey, will 

 not need any waxing. They are more salable, 

 more easily handled and more desirable than 

 any other package for holding 50 pounds or 

 more of honey. 



Care of'Comb Honey.— C. H.Dibbernin 

 the Western Plfiwman, gives the following 

 advice concerning the care of comb honey : 



"All comb honey should be removed as 

 soon as the last tevr cells are capped over, 

 otherwise the bees, constantly passing over 

 it, soon soil the beautiful white combs. Pile 

 the honey in a dry, warm place ; do not put 

 it into a cellar where it will attract dampness 

 and sour. Where large quantities of honey 

 are to be stored, a ' honey house' is an abso- 

 lute necessity. Set the sections about an 

 inch apart, so the air can circulate through 

 them, and do not pile It so high that the 

 lower ones will be crushed. To obviate this, 

 I use a rack reaching to the ceiling, supported 

 in such a way that not more than four tiers 

 of sections rest on any one tier. I said a 

 warm, dry place of course, the omnipresent 

 moth-miller will appear in due time. Well, 

 about two weeks after your honey has been 

 stored, fumigate it with sulphur. This is 

 best accomplished by tilling an iron pot with 

 live hard-wood coals. Set it in the middle of 

 your honey-room- place some brick under 

 it, and place the sulphur on the fire. Shut 

 every opening tight, and leave it closed from 

 15 to ;{0 minutes, or until the last tly or bee 

 drops dead. This treatment should be re- 

 peated at intervals of two or three weeks 

 during hot weather." 



^~ Sample Copies of the Bee Journai, 

 will be sent free upon application. Any one 

 intending to get up a club can have sample 

 copies sent to the persons they desire to in- 

 terview by sending the names to this office. 



