THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



499 



WEEKLY EDITION 



01^ THE 



THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



Vol. XXI. August 12,1885. No. 32. 



APICULTURAL NEWS ITEMS. 



EDITORIAL AND SELECTED. 



Trutli and justice are eternal. 



Ucaming. forth with heavenly lig-ht ; 

 Selfish " sheep " men must not plunder, 



What oelong-s to bees— by rigrht ! 



Tlie Golden Rods are blooming— the 

 bees are gathering- honey from them now. 



The Honey Crop has been very good In 

 some localities— in others it has been very 

 poor. 



Sweet Clover stands the heat so well, 

 because its roots go to a great depth to get 

 moisture. 



Comb Honey should be kept in a warm, 

 dry room, for it gathers dampness if such is 

 in the air. 



Honey Dew it seems played itself out 

 last year, for there is none of it reported 

 this season. 



Baroness Burdette Coiitts-Bartlett, 



!n order to encourage bee-keeping among the 

 working classes, has presented bee-hives to 

 the holders of the gardens on the allotments 

 at Highgate, London. The Baroness is the 

 President of the British Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation. 



It is said that a larger crop of apples may 



be gi'own when a hive of bees is stationed in 

 the orchard. The pollen is rubbed from 

 their bodies against the pistils of thousands 

 of flowers, which thus become fertilized. 

 Many of the strange freaks of hybridizing 

 varieties, are due to the agency of bees. 



Stings,— An exchange remarks that old 

 bee-keepers rarely trouble themselves with 

 the bee-sting remedies, but amateurs, and 

 those in whom the flesh swells when stung 

 near the eyes, often wish for something that 

 will reduce the swelling and pain. The best 

 remedy known to the writer is a tincture of 

 plantain, made by pouring alcohol over the 

 freshly-gathered leaves, and allowing it to 

 remain until it turns black, when it is poured 

 off and bottled. If this remedy is applied 

 immediately after the wound is given, the 

 swelling and pain will be scarcely percepti- 

 ble. If the person is severely stung, a few 

 drops of the tincture can be taken internally. 



Tl^lilte Clover, says Mr. G. W. Domarce, 



"only secretes nectar after the dews have 

 evaporated— a/f(;r sheep and other stock have 

 habitually retired to the shady places, etc." 

 How very stupid, therefore, it is to charge 

 the bees with annoying sheep while feeding. 

 Equally foolish is it to say that bees destroy 

 the pasture lor the sheep— without the aid of 

 the bees in fructifying the flowers, the sheep 

 would very soon have no pastui-e from the 

 clover ! This subject must be elaborated by 

 the laAvyers for the Bee-Keepers' National 

 Union, at the trial. 



^^ITIaintain our Ki<^lits in the highest 

 courts of the land, if necessary," says one of 

 our correspondents. These are our senti- 

 ments ; but that can be done only by having 

 suflficlent money to defray the expenses, and 

 such are usually very high. To be sure it 

 will be a small matter, if all who are to be 

 benefitted, will bear their part of the burden. 

 One thousand dollars of ej:pense when divi- 

 ded between 1,000 persons is only a dollar 

 for each, and can easily be borne; but when 

 one has to pay it all, it becomes a heavy 

 burden, and, to many, one that would be im- 

 possible to bear. This shows the value of 

 co-operation and united effort. If this 

 "suit" is to be maintained and carried to 

 the higher courts, there must be a united 

 effort— a *' Union "—to bear the expense. 

 One thing is very astonishing, and that is 

 that there are so few who feel it a duty to 

 become members of such a Union. Unless 

 the bee-keepers arise in a body, and assert 

 Vieir Tights, who will respect those rights ? 

 and who will defend them, if they neglect to 

 do their duty ? 



Apieultural Experiments. — As men- 

 tioned on page 403, an Experimental Agri- 

 cultural Station has been established at 

 Aurora, Ills., in connection with the Ento- 

 mological Division of the Department of 

 Agriculture. Mr. Nelson W. McLain has 

 been appointed to take charge of the Station, 

 and Prof. Riley has instructed him to pay 

 particular attention to these subjects : 



To secure the introduction and domestical 

 tion of such races of bees as are reported to 

 possess desirable traits and characteristics. 



To test the claims of such races of bees as 

 to excellence, and to prove by experiments 

 their value to the apiculturists of the United 

 States, and "their adaption to this climate 

 and honey-producing flora. 



To make experiments in the crossing and 

 minfflingof races, and. by proper application 

 of the laws of breeding, endeavor to secure 

 the ty]>e or types best adapted by habit and 

 constitution to the uses of practical bee- 

 keepers in the United States. 



To make experiments in the methods of 

 artificial fertilization, also to test the various 

 methods of preparing bees for winter. 



To gather statistics concerning the bee- 

 keeping industry in the United States. 



To make experiments with and observa- 

 tions concerning varieties of honey-produc- 

 ing plants for bee-forage. 



To study the true cause or causes of 

 diseases yet imperfectly understood. 



To obtain incontestible results by intelli- 

 gent experiments unon scientific methods 

 as to the capacity of bees, under exceptional 

 circumstances, to injure fruit— i. e., to set at 

 rest the ever-discussed question of bees vs. 

 fruit. 



Mr. McLain is well-qualified for this work, 

 and we are very glad to learn that arrange- 

 ments are now being made for thorough 

 experiments, as directed by Prof. Riley. We 

 look for very interesting results, and shall 

 keep our readers well-posted concerning 

 them. 



liayln;;; Workers are often developed in 



queenless colonies, if such colonies are not 

 supplied with eggs or brood from which to 

 rear a (jueen. Look out for such a state of 

 affairs, and see that these pests— laying 

 workers- are not allowed to ruin queenless 

 colonies. 



Bees and Poultry.— But few out-door 

 pursuits go so well together as bees and 

 poultry. Give the poultry the necessary 

 attention in the morning and evening, and 

 give the bees such of the time between as 

 becomes necessary. We have made arrange- 

 ments by which we can supply the American 

 PoultryJournal (price $1.2.5) and the Monthly 

 Bee Journal (price oO cents) both for $1.00 

 a year. The Weekly Bee Journal and the 

 Poultry Journal, both for $2.50 a year. This 

 is a rare opportunity to get two standard 

 papers for about the price of one. 



Florida Honey.— The bee-keepers of the 

 East Coast of Florida have published the 

 following, which they call a "Protest": 



We, the undersigned, apiarists of New 

 Smyrna and the Eastern Coast of Florida, 

 realize the fact that the honey product of 

 the Florida Coast country is on the increase 

 yearly, and that our beautiful grades of 

 finely - flavored mangrove and palmetto 

 honey are classed in the markets of the 

 North as " light and dark Southern honey," 

 which reduces it to the level of the strained 

 products of Georgia and other Southern 

 States. 



We would, therefore, call attention to the 

 fact, that as the publishers of the various 

 apicultural papers and honey dealers of the 

 North seek a portion of their patronage from 

 our locality, we demand in return for favors 

 shown them, that they in their market re- 

 ports of honey, as published in the weekly 

 and monthly bee-papers, quote the product 

 of our Coast country separate, as Florida 

 Mangrove and Florida Palmrtto honey, and 

 thereby give our product an equal chance to 

 compete with the other well-known grades 

 of clover, baeswood and buckwheat honey. 

 Realizing the fact that, when once known to 

 the public under its true name and flavor, 

 it will compare favorably with the best- 

 known grades, and thereby create a demand 

 for the same to our advantage as producers. 



We. therefore, for the above reasons, de- 

 mand a recognition of our grades of honey 

 under their respective names. 



The above is signed by 28 apiarists of 

 Florida, and we hope that the honey mer- 

 chants will quote the excellent Florida honey 

 as requested. 



Bee Mot lis. —Many persons 6peak of bees 



being "runout" by the moths I Why not 

 say that the weeds " run out " the corn ? 

 When a colony becomes weak (often from 

 queenlessuess), the hive will be taken pos- 

 session of by moths, and then some persona 

 run away with the idea that the bees were 

 destroyed by the moths. In one of our 

 exchanges we notice the following concern- 

 ing the moth : 



The moth is the color of old wood, and the 

 wings cross one another, turning up like the 

 tail of a fowl. It may be seen lurking 

 around hives in the evening, trying to gain 

 admittance. Where fowls have the run of 

 an apiary, they catch many of these moth 

 on the wing. Combs in frames can be kept 

 over the summer free from the depredations 

 of the larvae of the bee moth, if they are 

 suspended in the light and air, and are 3 or 4 

 inches apart. Moths love darkness and un- 

 cleanliness. and deposit their eggs in cracks 

 and crevices about hives, where bees cannot 

 gain access to them. Do not permit refuse 

 comb to lie around the apiary or bee house. 

 I have put frames of comb containing their 

 larvj^ into a hive of Italian bees, and in half 

 an hour could see the bees bringing them 

 out. There is no need of any other moth 

 trap, for they are always baited and set. A 

 handful of Italians will defend a hive. 



