THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



533 



Explanatory.— The figures befoue the 

 names indicate the number of years that the 

 person has Itept bees. Those aftek, show 

 the number of colonies the writer had in the 

 previous spring: and fall, or fall and spring, 

 as the time of the year may requii-e. 



This mark © indicates that the apiarist is 

 located near the centre of the State named: 

 6 north of the centre ; ? south ; O* east ; 

 ♦Owest; and this 6 northeast; ^3 northwest; 

 o^ southeast; and P southwest of the centre 

 of the State mentioned. 



For the American Bee JoumaU 



Is the " Union " of Value or Not ? 



J. E. POND, .JR. 



I do not understand the apathy 

 that seems to exist among our bee- 

 keepers in regard to our Union for 

 defense ; nor can I understand why 

 every bee-keeper in the country does 

 not respond at once to the call, and 

 enroll himself on the list of members 

 thereof. There is no question but 

 that the " Union " is of importance to 

 the fraternity as a whole, although, 

 perhaps, there may be cases (like my 

 own for instance) where no particular 

 individual benefit will result from it. 

 We, however, as a class should drop 

 selfishness, and instead of saying cici 

 bono as to ourselves, should ask 

 simply, will the ■' Union" be of any 

 advantage to the fraternity as a 

 whole V To tills question there can 

 be but one answer. We, as a class, are 

 assailed in a " tender spot" through 

 one of our fraternity (Mr. Freeboin). 

 This suit against him, while purely 

 an individual matter in one sense, is 

 a blow at the occupation of bee-keep- 

 ing, and as such should be at once 

 resented by us all. Suppose for in- 

 stance that the suit should result un- 

 favorably to Mr. F., in what position 

 then are we all placed V 



The principle extends further than 

 " sheep," and may be carried to all 

 classes of stock, and further than that 

 even as was the result in Greenfield, 

 in my own State a few years ago, 

 when a bee-keeper was driven from 

 that town with his apiary, because 

 the ignorance of the community 

 claimed that the fruit trees were in- 

 jured by his bees sucking the nectar 

 from the blossoms that was needed to 

 perfect the fruit. 



The same kind of ignorance is the 

 basis of this " sheep " suit, and unless 

 the case is well and fully defended, a 

 verdict may be recovered against the 

 bees. This suit then being one that 

 affects us as a whole, should not be 

 allowed to rest unaided upon the 

 shoulders of Mr. F., but each of us 

 should join the Union, and thus aid 

 him in its defense. The amount re- 

 quired from each individual is small, 

 and will not become a burden upon 

 any of us. 



There is more to this question, 

 however, than the simple contribution 



of $1.25 each. If a large majority of 

 the bee-keepers in the country re- 

 spond to the call, it will show the 

 public that we are alive to our in- 

 terests, and intend to defend them to 

 the bitter end, and tlie result will be 

 that by presenting a bold and de- 

 termined front, we shall assure any 

 possible antagonists that we are not 

 to be assailed with impunity by any 

 one who fancies he is aggrieved. On 

 the other hand, if only a few of us 

 respond in this matter, it will tend to 

 show that either we take little interest 

 in the matter of protecting our 

 rights, or else that we believe our- 

 selves in the wrong, and consequently 

 prefer to save our dollars rather than 

 invest them where we shall lose. 



Let me urge one and all to enlist in 

 this cause ; do not delay a moment, 

 but at once send in your names ; and 

 what is of more consequence still, 

 your money, and thus show the pub- 

 lic that you do not propose to be in- 

 timidated or to allow any one to drive 

 you from the field without first mak- 

 ing a strong and bitter fight to accom- 

 plish it. 



I might amplify on this subject to a 

 much larger extent, but 1 do think 

 that there is no need of doing so 

 further, and I trust that the list of 

 members published in the Bee Jour- 

 nal, will, by the first of September 

 next,have increased from less than 200 

 to at least 2,000. 



Foxboro,©* Mass., Aug. 13, 1885. 



For the American Bee JoumaU 



Identifying Bees, 



.T. H. ANDRE. 



Several weeks ago I gave as my 

 opinion that it would be a hard point 

 to prove the identity of the bees in the 

 infamous lawsuit. Now, I do not 

 wish to be misunderstood ; for the 

 absurdity of the thing — that bees 

 would go that distance and drive 

 sheep from the pasture— is only ex- 

 ceeded by the absurdity of thinking 

 of saddling it on Mr. Freeborn, when, 

 perhaps, his bees were not one-fourth 

 of the number of those that visited 

 the field ; and in order to prove that 

 they went there at all, it would re- 

 quire an expert bee-hunter to set the 

 bees at work and line them across Mr. 

 Freeborn's premises, and see them go 

 directly into the hives. Even after 

 this was done, there would be tech- 

 nicalities. One might set bees at 

 work that went in the direction of 

 Mr. F's apiary, and not go there at 

 all ; and Mr. F's bees might work in 

 with the rest, after his own premises 

 were reached. 



It is 30 years since I took my first 

 lessons in bee-hunting, and I would 

 not think of testifying even circum- 

 stantially, where bees went to, by 

 seeing them leave the flowers in the 

 field, for they might turn after going 

 ten rods. Old bee-hunters say that bees 

 will turn in their course sometimes 

 after they have been " lined " half 

 a mile, especially if it be on a hillside, 

 or where anything obstr icts their 

 course. The old and oft-repeated ex- 



pression, " straight as a bee-line," is 

 quite untrue in many instances. 



Bees, when working on the llowers, 

 are very timid, and this is more 

 marked when they are working on 

 white clover, for the reason of its 

 bein^ close down to the ground, and 

 the field being so free from" weeds,etc., 

 where it is natural for clover to grow, 

 thus giving the bees an unobstructed 

 view of stock feeding upon it, when 

 they leave immediately for other parts 

 of the field. Bee-hunters have to use 

 extra caution in catching bees that are 

 working on white clover. 



Buckwheat is in blossom, but it 

 does not seem to yield its usual 

 amount of honey. 



Lockwood,? if. Y., Aug. 10, 188-5. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Wintering Bees— Good Report. 



FAYETTE LEE. 



To winter bees in the cellar there 

 should be enough bees to cover most 

 of the combs of a hive, and 15 pounds 

 of good honey, sealed over if possible. 

 Put the bees into the cellar before the 

 frost gets inside the hive, place them 

 2 feet from the cellar bottom, and 

 leave the entrances wide open. Put 

 a wedge ^ of an inch thick at the 

 back end of each hive between the 

 bottom-board and the hive, to allow 

 ventilation, and keep the cellar at iS^ 

 until Jan. 20, then 40° until March 1, 

 and then 38'^ until the bees are taken 

 out. Keep them in the cellar five 

 months, unless it is very warm in 

 March. A winter flight does more 

 harm than good. 



I have had some inquiries as to how 

 I wintered my bees the past winter, 

 when nearly ;ill the bees in the North 

 perished. The above way is how I 

 did it. Does any one think that I 

 would go to the trouble of taking 

 away the pollen V No, no, that is not 

 the way ; it is dampness and low tem- 

 perature that kills the bees. I lost 

 only 6 out of 80 the last winter and 

 spring, and in the winter of 1883-84, 1 

 lost only 5 out of 65. 



This season I have already taken 

 4,000 pounds of honey, and 1,000 

 pounds are in one-pound sections. It 

 is mostly basswood honey. The best 

 day's gathering from one colony, on 

 the scales, was 21 pounds. That col- 

 ony has gathered 175 pounds, having 

 stored 84 pounds in seven days. I ex- 

 tracted three times from the basswood 

 flow in 15 days, and I think that is 

 often enough in order to get No. 1 

 honey. I have the straightest, nicest, 

 and whitest and best capped sections 

 of honey that I have ever seen. 



Whosoever would be a successful 

 bee-keeper must stick to it and keep 

 his eyes open, and his mouth full of 

 honey. To those who lost their bees 

 last winter, I would ask, can you not 

 discover the cause V If I have given 

 any light in this my experience for 

 nine years, you are welcome to it. Fill 

 up the old hives, and let the joyful 

 hum of the honey-bee make your 

 hearts glad. I have bought 28 colo- 

 nies more, so I now have 129. 



Cokato,© Minn., Aug. 19, 1885. 



