THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



723 



WEEKLY EDITION 



OF THE 



THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



Vol. XXI. Nov. 18, 1885. No. 46. 



APICULTURAL NEWS ITEMS. 



EDITORIAL AND SELECTED. 



It Is an Invariable Rnle— You must 

 become wise at your own expense. 



More tlian 740 Years before the 

 Christian era, it is stated that Eumelus, of 

 Corinth, wrote a poem on bees— that is more 

 than two thousand years ago. 



The British Bee Journal is to be pub- 

 lished weeltly in 1886, at 10s. Gd. per annum. 

 We will club it and our Weekly for $3.50 to 

 any post-ofBce in the United States or 

 Canada. 



To Destroy Insects, says the Journal of 

 Chcmisl)-y, put alum into hot water and let it 

 boil until it is all dissolveii ; then apply to 

 all cracks, closets, bedsteads and other 

 places where any insects are found. Ants, 

 bed-buf?s, cockroaches and creepini? things 

 are killed by it, while it has no dang-er of 

 poisoning the family or injuring property. 



Lons; Visits— Long stories— long articles 

 — seldom profit those who have to do with 

 them. Life is short ; time is short ; moments 

 are precious. Learn to condense, to 

 abridge, and intensify. We could endure 

 many an ache and ill it it is soon over, while 

 even pleasures grow insipid and pain intoler- 

 able if protracted beyond the limit of 

 reason and convenience. Learn to be short; 

 lop off branches ; stick to the main fact ; 

 condense two words into one, and three into 

 two ; learn to be short. —P/iiiadeJphia Grocer. 



Paper and Cork are said to be two of 

 the best materials of which to make bee- 

 hives. Sallust recommends cork for making 

 hives. One writer says that Varo, fifty years 

 B. C, recommended hives to be made of 

 basket-work, wood, bark, pottery, reeds, 

 etc., and to be contractible according to the 

 size of the colony. Ho also recommended a 

 pane of transparent stone, so as to enable 

 the bee-keeper to see the workings of the 

 hive. 



^~ Sample Copies of the Bee Journal 

 will besent FREE upon application. Anyone 

 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, 

 or we will send them all to the agent. 



Bees Biting Floivers.— In last week's 

 Bee Journal, on pa^e 712, C. M. Weed 

 presented some arguments Intending to 

 show that bees (in some isolated cases) bore 

 for sweets into the corolla-tubes of some 

 flowers, " near the base, from the outside." 

 We intended to have added a foot-note to 

 that article, bi't it was overlooked until the 

 Bee Journal was "on the 'press." We 

 intended to have cautioned those who so 

 often assert that bees " bite the skin of 

 grapes" and other fruits, against confound- 

 ing the delicate cnroUa of a flower with the 

 tnui/li sHin of ripe fruits. 



The corolla is " the inner covering of a 

 flower ; the part which surrounds the organs 

 of fructifljation, and is composed of one or 

 more leaves called petals. It is usually 

 distinguished from the perianth by the 

 fineness of its te.\ture and the gayness of its 

 colors. This ** fine te.xture " is an entirely 

 different thing from the touoh e.vterior coat 

 or skin of fruits, and a proper discrimina- 

 tion must be made between the two. 



Bees for Defense have been employed 

 in all generations. The London Times 

 mentions the following instances : 



A small privateer, manned by fifty men, 

 having on board some hives of bees, was 

 pursued by a Turkish galle.v manned by ."jOO 

 seamen and soldiers. When the latter came 

 alougsido.the crew of the privateer mounted 

 the rigging with their hives and threw them 

 upon their foes, who, astonished at this 

 novel mode of warfare, hastened to escape 

 from the fury of the enraged bees. Another 

 instance occurred when a rabble at Hohn- 

 stein, in Thuringia. attempted to pillage the 

 house of the parish minister ; he caused 

 some bee-hives to be thrown among the 

 mob. which, in consequence, soon dispersed. 

 Again, Vauban narrates how bees played an 

 important part at the siege of Chatte. in 

 Lorraine. After a siege the town was being 

 stormed, and during the assault the besieged 

 threw a few hives of bees upon the heads of 

 the storming party. The little creatures 

 stung the besiegers so dreadfully that they 

 had to retire; and the hi-storian tells that 

 '* the bees were not the least cause of the 

 seige being abandoned." 



■\Ve have Received a keg of Mr. James 

 Heddon's extracted clover honey, which is 

 of excellent quality ; thick, well-ripened, 

 and pleasant to the taste. Also a crate of 

 honey in half-pound sections, of the same 

 quality. Botji were prepared for the market 

 in such a manner that not a drop of leakage 

 can be discovered, though they were shipped 

 by freight. This argues much in favor of 

 the use of kegs for extracted honey — such 

 packages are so easily handled and con- 

 venient that they find ready sale when largo 

 barrels are begging for a customer. The 

 "sections" were packed in a crate with 

 glass sides, showing the honey, to captivate 

 consumers by its excellent appearance. It 

 pays to prepare honey for the market in 

 such a workmanlike manner. 



We have also received comb honey from 

 many others which came in like excellent 

 condition, without a drop of leakage. 

 Among these shippers we may mention Mr. 

 Joshua Bull, Seymour, Wis. ; Mr. O. H. 

 Townsend, Alamo, Mich. ; Mr. John Motl, 

 Watertown, Wis. ; and Mr. E. J. Scofleld, 

 Hanover, Wis. 



On the other hand, we have had shipments 

 that came in a very dilapidated condition. 

 We mention these things to try to encourage 

 shippers to be more particular in preparing 

 honey for market— for such is to the interest 

 of every honey-producer. It can be done, 

 and there is no excuse for not doing it. 



The National Convention will be held 

 at Detroit, Mich., on Dec. 8, n and 10, 188."). 

 The "usual call" for this Convention has 

 not yet been published, for some unex- 

 plained reason, in any bee-paper— though it 

 is now only :i weeks to the day of meeting. 

 We copy from Glcaniuiis of Nov. 1, the 

 following programme as far as completed : 



Reversing Combs, James Heddon. 



Bee-Pasturage, Thomas G. Newman. 



Marketing Honey, C. F. Muth. 



Production of Extracted Honey, Chas. 

 Dadant .S: Son. 



Production of Comb Honey, G.M.Doolittle. 



The Pollen Theory, Prof. A. J. Cook. 



Selling and Shipping Bees by the Pound, 

 E. M. Havhurst 



Comb Foundation, John Vandervoi-t. 



Wintering Bees, Ira Barber. 



Excellence orcheapness— which? A. I. Root 



The President of the Michigan Agricul- 

 tural College, Mr. Willitts, will be present, 

 and welcome the society to Michigan. It 

 will be remembered that" he is the one who 

 helped Prof. Cook to get the ruling that 

 allows us to send our queens by mail. He 

 will give us a "rouser." I have met him, 

 and I know that he is capable of it. 



The evening sessions will be devoted to 

 answering questions. There will be a 

 question box, and all questions that come up 

 during the day, will be written out and 

 dropped into the bo.x, and at the evening 

 session they will be taken out and discussed. 

 Any one who will not be present can send 

 questions to me at any time previous to or 

 during the meeting, and I will put them into 

 the box. If any questions are sent to me 

 during the meeting, send them to Detroit, 

 care of the Antisdel House. The present indi- 

 cations are that the coming meeting will be 

 one of the most pleasant, interesting, and 

 successful ever held by the Society, and I 

 sincerely hope that as many of you as pos- 

 sible may he present to participate in the 

 "good time." W.Z.Hutchinson. 



On page 728, Mr. Cutting gives full direc- 

 tions aliout getting certificates for reduced 

 fare on the railroads, etc., which all who 

 intend to go to Detroit should read at once. 



The meetings of the National Society will 

 be held in the " Red Men's Wigwam," oppo- 

 site the "Antisdel House," on Michigan 

 Avenue, Detroit, on the second Tuesday, 

 ^Vednesday and Thursday in December. 

 There are four societies that will meet at 

 the same time and place, in a union meeting, 

 viz. : The North American Bee-Keepers' 

 Society, The Northwestern Bee-Keepers' 

 Society, The Michigan State Bee-Keepers' 

 Association, and The Southeastern Michigan 

 Bee-Keepers' Association. 



Mr. Cutting says that " a committee will 

 be at the * Antisdel House,' ready to receive 

 all strangers ; also at the Hall opposite the 

 Hotel. A large sample room will be placed 

 at our disposal at the Hotel, to exhibit bees, 

 honey, supplies, etc. The Hotel and Hall is 

 located in the centre of the city, about 20 

 rods from the City Hall, on Michigan 

 Avenue. Lines of street-cars from each 

 depot bring you within one block." 



We have every reason to think that a 

 large number of bee-keepers will be in 

 attendance from different States, and many 

 from Canada. The Editor of the .American 

 Bee Journal intends to be present, and he 

 expects all the other bee-papers will be 

 represented by theireditors. The Rev. L. L. 

 Langstroth will be present, if his health 

 permits. Let all who can do so, make 

 arrangements to be present. 



The National Bee-Keepers' Union is 



growing slowly. See list of members on 

 page 730. By this time there should have 

 been thousands. 



