DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO BEE CULTURE. 



Vol. XIII. 



Chicago, Illinois, May, 1877. 



No. 5. 



gxtitar^s ^aMe^ 



Several articles prepared for this is- 

 sue are crowded out for waut of room. 



'In California the recent rains have 

 added much to the honey crop as well as to 

 the spirits of tlie bee-keepers. 



(t^°° Charles Kellar,of Lake County, Ind., 

 reports having safely wintered his 23 colo- 

 nies, and has had no spring dwindling. He 

 wintered out of doors and packed in straw. 



We have a large stock of catnip seed 

 and have concluded to sell dnring May at 

 30c. per ounce, post paid, though it cost 

 more than that at wholesale, besides ex- 

 pressage. 



11^" The price of Bingham's Smoker be- 

 ing reduced since our cover was printed, it 

 is therein quoted at .5?3.00. We shall sell it, 

 as well as everything else, at manufactu- 

 rer's prices. 



m^^D. P. Hartford has sent us specimens 

 of his honey boxes, which are so construct- 

 ed that they can be put together without a 

 nail by the ends being "chamfered" and 

 grooved. They are very ingeniously con- 

 structed. 



11^" Friend Kretchmer has sent us one of 

 his feeders, and also a fumigator. The lat- 

 ter is to hold in the mouth and blow smoke 

 into the hive. The former is a tin box with 

 a little cap filled with holes, through which 

 will ooze tlie food for the bees to take. 



I^'M. E. Loehr sends us a specimen of 

 Alsike seed, procured of "Novice," and 

 thinks it " sorrel," and asks our opinion of 

 it. It is native Alsike. The best Alsike 

 seed is imported; it costs more but is worth 

 all it costs. We took it to Briggs & Broth- 

 ers seed liouse, and asked their opinion. 

 They also pronounced it Alsike, and not 

 sorrel. 



lE^" The Rockland Fruit Farm Annual is 

 on our table. It contains a colored plate 

 and ranch usefnl information. It is sent 

 free to any one addressing J. E. Remsburg, 

 Atchinson, Kansas. 



IW F. W. Chapman writes us that the 

 bees in his locality wintered "as of yore." 

 He has lost but two, and reports the best 

 success he ever had in wintering. He adds: 

 "It pays to take care of what you have; 

 one of my neighbors lost 78 out of 80; an- 

 other 31 out of 35, and several all." They 

 were kept in the old style and unprotected. 



i^'^E. C. Jordan, (Va.,) has sent us a 

 "Swarm Catcher," and remarks: 



"I have used it since 1861, and could not 

 be indncKl to give it up. It is used by put- 

 ting it on a pole of snitable length, with 

 sockets in the small end, which should have 

 an iron ring to keep it from slipping out. 

 It should be made of undressed boards." 



We have added it to our museum, for the 

 inspection of our visitors. 



i^W' The New Orleans Picayune, speak- 

 ing of the impulse given to bee-keeping in 

 Louisiana, says the use of the Extractor has 

 enabled hundreds of barrels to be shipped 

 from that State, North, yearly. The writer 

 thinks honey enough could be made in Lou- 

 siana to sell for more in the markets of the 

 world than the best sugar crop, and best 

 cotton ever made in Louisiana sold for. 



^ • . > ^ m I — ♦— ■ 



^iW S. Cornell, of Canada, has sent us a 

 sample of a frame which has cast iron arms 

 to keep them at regular distances at both 

 top and bottom. He remarks: 



" These frames are suspended on metal 

 rabbets; the arms in the bottom being 

 driven in close to the frame, while those in 

 the top are )iot driven home by about % in. 

 It occurred to me that this was tlie very 

 frame one of your correspondents in the 

 Feb. number of the Journal wanted. You 

 see there is no chance to glue tliese frames 

 fast. I am not the patentee, nor do I use 

 them, nor have I any interest in them what- 

 ever." 



We thank friend Cornell for sending it; 

 but we should hesitate to use such a frame. 

 We think the "objections" outweigh the 

 " advantages." 



