THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



707 



WEEKLY EDITION 



OF THE 



ITHOMAS G. NEWMAN, 

 :e:jdxtot^. 



Vol. XXI. Nov. II, 1885. No. 45. 



APICULTURAL NEWS ITEMS. 



EDITORIAL AND SELECTED. 



The Conilnis: Winter will be a " remark- 

 able one, remembered in history for its 

 severity;"— so says Professor C. C. Blake, a 

 scientist, of Richland, Kansas, in his latest 

 paper, Tlie Future. Some " weather proph" 

 ets," however, do not agree with this 

 prediction. Prof. Blake is said to be an 

 extraordinary mathematician, astronomer, 

 and physicist, and has been very successful 

 in his predictions, so far. Next week we 

 will give his predictions in full. 



Tlie Golden Jubilee of the great bee- 

 master, Dr.Dzierzon,was'held at Heidelberg, 

 Germany, on Sept. 1.5, 188.5. It was attended 

 by the prominent bee-mastex-s of Europe, 

 and was a very enthusiastic gathering. Dr. 

 Dzierzon was presented with many "diplomas 

 of honor " by the various apicultural 

 societies of Continental Europe, prominent 

 among which was the one from the Italian 

 Society, presented with an address by Prof. 

 G. B. Grassi, who was sent there, from 

 Milano, for that purpose. A banquet and 

 grand concert concluded the Jubilee. 



The Joint Western Classification 

 Railroad Committee at their late meeting 

 In St. Paul, Minn., decided not to change the 

 classification on bees and honey. This was 

 in answer to our communication asking for 

 the same classification as the Southern 

 Classification Committee gave Mr. Boylston, 

 as reported on page .362. The meeting of 

 this committee at Chicago, as mentioned on 

 page :i5.5, was not held, and so we had to 

 make our representations in writing. Wo 

 shall have to wait until a future meeting is 

 held in Chicago, and then we will try to have 

 a personal interview with the members. 



We have received a copy of the patent 

 issued to Mr. J. M. Shuck on his Invertible 

 Hive. 



Mr. Eagene Secor, Forest City, Iowa, 

 has sent a sample of his honey to the editor 

 of his local paper, who says it is of excellent 

 quality and attractive appearanue. His crop 

 of honey this season amounts to 1,300 

 pounds from 18 colonies last spring, which 

 have increased to .'i2 colonies. Surely Mr. 

 Secor has reason to congratulate himself on 

 his success. 



Bees vs. Grapes.— Mr. M. Segars, of San 

 Bcrnurdiiio, Cal., writes us as follows about 

 the lawsuit there, which we mentioned on 

 pages Oil and 07.5 : 



In the case of Randal! & Noyes rs. Bohn, 

 the |)hiintin's sued for $2!)ii damages done by 

 the liees of the defendant to plaintiffs' 

 gi-upcB on the vines aiid while drying. It 

 was tried by a .jury of four. We made a 

 strong eiroi-t, liut were beaten. We showed 

 by iilaintills' witnesses that all the damages 

 were done liv birds, coyotes, f(jxes, wasps 

 and ants. They had a number of witnesses 

 who testified that the end of a bee's tongue 

 \v:\ssliiirii. and could puncture the skin of a 

 SDiHiil Kiapo. The following is from our 

 local paper : 



"The case of Itandall & Noyes against 

 Gustave Bohn, which was decided in Justice 

 Knox's court on Oct. 27, is probably without 

 a parallel in the history of lawsuits. The 

 plaintiffs are raisin growers in the High- 

 lands, seven miles northeast of this city. 

 Adjoining their vineyard the defendant has 

 a bee ranch. The action was for damages 

 which the plaintiffs claimed to have suffered 

 in consequence of the frequent visitations 

 of defendant's bees to their grapes. In 

 support of their claim thev introduced 

 numerous witnesses who swore that they 

 had in various instances witnessed with 

 their own eyes the perforation and destruc- 

 tion of plaintiffs' grapes when alighted upon 

 by the bees of the defendant. The latter, in 

 turn, introduced evidence to show the 

 impossibility of this condition of things. He 

 proved by a score of witnesses that the bill 

 of the insect is tubular and not pointed, and 

 can, therefore, be used only as an extractor 

 of sweets, not as a borer after them. The 

 evidence of the eye-witnesses of the plain- 

 tiffs', however, had the weight with the ,i ury, 

 and they accordingly returned a verdict 

 against the defendant for $75 and costs of 

 suit, which amount to over ?00. The 

 plaintiffs were represented by Curtis & Otis, 

 and the Hon. H. M. Willis looked after the 

 interests of the defendant. A stay of 

 proceedings has been asked for, and the 

 case will probably be appealed. It is one of 

 interest to t>ee-ranchers and raisin growers, 

 and is attracting much attention." 



A bond for appeal will be filed to-morrow' 

 We need assistance, as this case will be made 

 a test case. If it goes against us there will 

 be no end of the trouble that will arise, and 

 our bee-industry will receive a death-blow in 

 Southern California. What encouragement 

 can you offer us on the part of the Bee- 

 Keepers' Union ? 



Every bee-keeper in California is interested 

 in this decision, and should at once show 

 his interest by becoming a member of the 

 National Bee-Keepers' Union. We have 

 advised Mr. Bohn to appeal from the decision 

 of the Justice's Court, and assured him that 

 the Union will stand by him, and aid in the 

 appeal by sending money, obtaining legal 

 advice, depositions from scientiflc experts 

 as to the incapability of bees to puncture 

 grapes, etc. 



The bee-men of California are more 

 interested in this case than any other bee- 

 keepers can be, and yet there are hundreds 

 in that State who have done nothing towards 

 sustaining the pursuit of Apiculture against 

 its enemies ! They seem to be folding their 

 arms and looking on. AwMe, now, and 

 come to the rescue of your representative. 

 It may be your turn next. 



Stretch ye forth the generous arm ! 

 Help him ere it be too late ! 

 Each right arm, a bee-man's prop ! 

 Made to bear each other up ! 



Tlie Rural Canadian has been chosen 

 as the official organ of the Ontario Bee- 

 Keepers' Society. Its apiarian department 

 is said to be conducted by " an enthusiastic 

 bee-keeper of 21 years standing"— which we 

 are informed is the Rev. W. F. Clarke, with 

 I whose writings our readers are familiar. 



Seasonable Hints, as follows, are given 

 by Mr. ('. H. Dibbern, of Milan, Ills., in the 

 JVcHteni riDwman for November : 



It the bees are to be wintered out-doors, 

 ai: packing with chaff, leaves, etc., should 

 be done now, during pleasant da.vs. If they 

 are to be wintered in the cejiar, tliev had 

 better be left till the first of next moi'ith or 

 till winter has fairly set in. They shoiild 

 however, be set away before severe cold 

 weather, as the combs will then be covered 

 with frost, and they would then commence 

 the winter at a disadvantage. It is always 

 safe to calculate on a severe winter in this 

 latitude. How many thousands of dollars 

 have been lost by beekeepers who expected 

 a mild winter! Prepare lor a cold winter 

 and no harm will be done, should it prove 

 otherwise. How different, when we find our 

 bees out in the January blizzards, with the 

 weather below zero for weeks. It is certainly 

 not pleasant, while we are in comfortable 

 houses,sittingby our hard-coal base-burners 

 to think or our faithful servants, the bees' 

 struggling in the snow drifts, with the cold 

 and moisture for their very existence. My 

 eighteeii years experience has taught me 

 that a little care and attention at the right 

 tune will keep bees as comfortable, and 

 winter them as safely as other kinds of 

 stock. 



.'ill hives not in use should be placed in a 

 dry place, and all sections, cases, etc piled 

 up for future use. If any extracting 'is still 

 to be done, the combs must be warmed for a 

 day or two, as honey is too cold and thick to 

 run freely. The combs also would be liable 

 to^ break, as they get very brittle in cold 



All comb honey should be marketed now. 

 If possible. It is much easier to take care of 

 the money, even silver dollars., than comb 

 honey. Severe freezing will crack the combs 

 and cause them to leak, and spoil their 

 beautiful appearance. Then, too, it is much 

 easier to sell honey now, than in the late 

 winter or spring. Stick to the home market 

 even It It IS a cent or two below city quota- 

 tions, but if you cannot dispose of all, shin 

 to what appears the best point. 



Bees as Fertilizers of Flo^vers.- A 



correspondent in an exchange makes the 

 following remarks on the sheep-bees law- 

 suit : 



If tiees can trespass there is an end to bee- 

 keeping as every bee-man will be at the 

 mercy of any surly neighbor. Apart from 

 their merits as honey-gatherers, bees are of 

 incalculable benefit to market gardeners 

 florists, etc., in fertilizing flowers. If we 

 had bees that could reach down to the honey- 

 cells of red clover, they would be of 

 inestimable value to the farmer, as red 

 clover depends for fertilization on insects 

 mostly bumble-bees. We are satisfied that 

 the reason why the first crop of clover has 

 so little seed.is because there are not enough 

 of the bumble-bees to fertilize it so early iS 

 the season. We noticed in our meadows 

 some heads were full of seed and others 

 apparently equally as ripe without a grain 

 Tlie bumble-bee had evidently been on the 

 one and not on the rest. s6me wise men 

 may laugh at this, but it has been carefully 

 dcmnnstrated by Darwin, years ago, that 



loeWot'tltZ'''' ''"''''''''''''' «'— «-a 



Mr. C. G. Beitel's apiary was visited 

 recently by the reporter of the Easton Pa 

 Democrat, who has written up a lengthy 

 article on what he there saw, which is quite 

 complimentary to the owner. He also says: 



Mr.Beitel, as all know, is practicino- law 

 of this county, but all his spare time i^ 

 spent at his beautiful home on " The Hill '^ 

 where he devotes his leisure inomints 

 between a hot-house filled with rare trm^?-,t 

 p ants and his.apiary, conta 1 ng at I ?esen 

 about 2., colonics of bees of varfoiis strains. 



Are you Entitled to a pension? Ton 

 may be and may not know it. If you ex 

 amine the Guide and Hand-Book you will 

 soon find out. Thousands of things worth 

 knowing will be found in it. The Bee 

 JOUKNAL for 1880 and the Guide Book ^vill 

 both be sent for $1.,30. 



