88 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



the 10 cents, and the dollar goes to the 

 widow or legal heirs of the deceased mem- 

 ber. Tlie company now have from $5 to 

 $20 for policy, owing to the age of the ap- 

 plicants. Members are admitted from 21 to 

 faO years of age. All applicants for member- 

 ship are examined by a physician; his 

 charges are .^2. The Co. now have $20,000 

 capital out on interest. It takes money to 

 run a rightly-conducted life insurance com- 

 pany that will pay those who become mem- 

 bers of it. I would suggest if the company 

 is organized for the benefit of bee-keepers, 

 that the policy fee be not less than .1*2.00 to 

 start with, and as the company grows in 

 numbers, the fee could be increased. I 

 would also suggest that tlie officers of the 

 company be in one locality, so that they 

 could hold their meetings and conduct the 

 business of the company with less trouble 

 and expense than if scattered over a large 

 territory. The amount to be paid by each 

 on the death of a member, SI. 10. 



I hope that these statements may be of 

 some service in furtlicriiig the cause of bee- 

 culture, and the organization of a bee-keep- 

 ers' life insurance association. 



N. P. Al.LEX. 



Smith's Grove, Ky., Jan. 10, 1877. 



For the American Bee .Tournal. 



A Question for our Microscopical 

 Friends. 



Did you ever notice tlie beautiful, little 

 mechanical contrivance in the first joint of 

 the anterior leg of the worker bee'? Per- 

 haps also in that of the queen and drone — 

 we have none at this season to examine. If 

 you will place the leg in the microscope 

 and look carefully, you will see on the in- 

 ner side of the joint a circular opening hav- 

 ing a lid or tongue projecting from the 

 upper side, and shaped on the other so as 

 to nicely fit tlie other side of the opening. 

 For what is it used? Will Messrs. Kellogg, 

 Parker, or some others who have studied 

 the habits of the bee and used the micro- 

 scope, tell us? It looks like a nice place to 

 hold the ugly worms when the little fellows 

 want to carry them off; let his worship 

 wriggle ever so much, our little Italian 

 would have him fast, and could without 

 trouble deposit him at a safe distance. 



Medina, O., Feb. 1, 1877. M. 



The Maury County B. K. Society 



Held their quartt^rly meeting on Jan. 6th, 

 1877. Present:— W. S. Rainey, president; 

 C. C. Yaugliaii, vice-presid-ent; Wm. J. 

 Andrews, secretary and treasure!-; E. C. 

 Overton, D. Staples, J. C. McGaw, T. J. 

 Perry, L. A. Boyd. A. Barr, D. J. Estes, J. 

 W. Bates, F. A. Burke, J. A. S. Scribner, 

 and several others. 



The minutes of the last meeting were 

 read and approved. 



On motion the president was granted un- 

 til next meeting to prepare his address. 



Secretary Andrews made a verbal report 

 of his attendance at the National Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Society, held at Philadelphia. 



The secretary read essays from Chas. H. 

 Muth, Cincinnati, and Prof. Cook, of Lan- 

 sing, Mich., which were ordered published, 

 and a vote of thanks was tendered to 

 Messrs. Cook and Muth for them. 



A running discussion was then entered 

 into on the yield per hive, uniting, and the 

 severity of our winter. 



Mr. D. Staples gave a detailed statement 

 of how Mr. J. S. Hill, of Mount Healthy, O., 

 managed his apiary. 



On motion, A. Barr, L. A. Boyd and J. R. 

 Lamb were elected honorary members. 



Adjourned to the first Saturday in April. 

 Wm. J. AxDiiEws, Sec. and Treas. 



Does Bee-Culture Pay? 



BEAD BEFOltE THE MISSOUKI B. K. ASSO- 

 CIATION, JAN. 6, 1877. 



This question has been often raised in the 

 bee papers, and answered in the negative 

 with divers additional slurs. Attempting 

 to answer the (luestion, one feels involun- 

 tarily prompted to ask another as, viz.: — 

 Does fai'ming pay? or, Does any other busi- 

 ness pay? 



In every avocation, no matter what, we 

 find but a few who make it pay; a large 

 number make a living at it or a little more, 

 but many find it unprofitable. A reason for 

 this may be a lack of adaptation, or the 

 pressure of circumstances beyond their 

 control. 



Stimulated by extraordinary good luck 

 for a year or two, a few sanguine persons 

 have embarked in the " bee business," ex- 

 pecting to make a fortune in a hurry. They 

 wei-e disappointed. To all such I would 

 say: "Sudden jumps in business are dan- 

 gerous." He does a good business and a 

 healthy one who is of slow but steady 

 growth. It reciuires a good many years to 

 get things handy in an apiary, not only to 

 acquire a quantity of surplus combs in 

 proper shape, besides a good many little 

 things belonging to an apiary, but also to 

 acquire the knowledge of making the 

 proper use of the stock on hand. We are 

 too apt to over-estimate our ability, in proof 

 of which many invent patent hives, whose 

 experience does not exceed a year or two. 



In my estimation it matters but little 

 what shape our hives are, if they are frame 

 hives, and have Langstroth's arrangement, 

 viz: thatM i»- space all rouud the frames, 

 and have open, top-bar frames. Another 

 requisite to a well regulated apiary, I con- 

 sider a location perfectly protected from 

 cold winds. A deviation from this rule is 

 generally the principal cause of our spring 

 dwindling— at least as far as it has come 

 under my observation. My bees have no 

 dysentery since my adoption of the straw 

 mat, and I venture the assertion that this 

 malady, perhaps, would be unknown if all 

 our hives had the proper upward ventila- 

 tion. Pure air in the hive is just as essen- 

 tial as it is in our habitations. My apiary, 

 located on top of a two-story house, gives 

 me ample opportunity to observe the des- 

 truction of my bees by the cold winds of 

 our spring, blown down while attempting 

 to enter their hives on their home stretch. 

 I have had no chance yet to remedy this 

 evil; its time will come, however. 



All the requisites for a successful out- 

 door wintering are:— strong stands with 

 plenty of stores, proper upward ventilation, 

 and in a locality shielded from wind. 



All should be prepared to raise both comb 

 and machine honey, as the one is often the 

 means of selling the other. Be particular 



