Carrying the War into Africa.— 

 John West, Esq., 877 West Monroe St., Chi- 

 cago, writes : " Dear Editor.— I send you 

 an extract from my friend Mr. ArtluuTodd, 

 an English gentleman, who lias commenced 

 bee-farming in French Africa. He has, to 

 my knowledge, read the works of the best 

 autiiorities on tlie subject published in 

 England, France and Germany. This ren- 

 ders his opinion of the merits of your Bee 

 Journal more valuable. I send him the 

 Bee Journal every month. I extract the 

 following from his letter, dated April 16, 

 1878: 



"Blidah, Algeria, French Africa— Many thanks 

 for all your help. The American Bee Jouunals 

 are of more practical use to me than all the other 

 books I have. IMease send me ' Cook's New Man- 

 ual,' as soon as It is out." 



" Heap-by-Cheap " Goods. 



Cheapness generally means Inferiority! 

 Indeed, a recent writer sagely remarks that 

 excellence and cheapness cannot go togeth- 

 er, and we would save ourselves much an- 

 noyance and disappointment by recognizing 

 and remembering the fact. He adds: 



The house which the contractor builds too 

 cheaply will invariably liave weak walls, 

 woodwork that will shrink at the corners, 

 plastering that will drop off, and paint that 

 will crack. How can it be otherwise? The 

 builder will not make a present of good work 

 and good materials to his patron; cheap 

 work will be given for cheap pay. The 

 tailor will not put good material and skilled 

 labor in the suit of clothes which looks as 

 good as the best, but is sold at a price far 

 below what is asked for the genuine article. 

 It cannot be done, and it should not be ex- 

 pected; but rather those who are compelled 

 to buy cheaply should philo.sophically make 

 up their minds to bear the conseaueuces 

 that must follow cheap purchases. 1 he cost 

 of anything, and consequently its value, is 

 measured by two things: quality of material 

 and the labor employed to make it. These 

 in turn may be superior or inferior. 



In consequence of the demand for cheap 

 articles, our stores are full of inferior goods. 

 Furniture made of unseasoned wood and 

 hastily glued together; musical instruments 

 that are mere varnished cases with the imi- 

 tation of keys, strings and reeds for interior 

 mechanism; silverware with a varnishing 

 coat of shining gloss; jewelry that is fair to 

 look upon, but is hopelessly tarnished by 

 use; clothing that presents a fair exterior, 

 but that rips and fades and loses shape wlien 

 worn; gloves that gape at every seam at the 

 first wearing— tiiesc, and innumerable other 

 constantly recurring instances of inferiority, 

 impress upon us tiie fact that, ordinarily, 

 cheap things an' the dearest. 



The cry for cheapness some time since 

 reached the bees— dollar queens are the 

 result— squeezed a little, and in quantities, 

 cheapened to 90, «0 and 75 cents! 



As a consequence, the country is tilled 

 with degenerated stock. This dollar queen 

 business— an everlasting disgrace to the one 

 who introduced it— should be everywhere 

 frowned down, with grape sugar for feeding 

 bees, glucose for honey, and paraffine for 

 beeswax ! ! Begotten by the degeneracy of 

 the times, brought into being by seliishness 

 and avarice, it has ripened into a sad calam- 

 ity, which like a pall overhangs the whole 

 of bee-dom. 



While some are charging$4 for home-bred 

 queens, at this season of the year, others are 

 offering ImpoHed queens for $3.75 each! 

 What can the purchaser expect as a result 

 of obtaining such stock? Do stock and 

 chicken fanciers encourage such reckless 

 economy? It behooves all to ask themselves 

 the question— whether these exceedingly 

 cheap purchases are not usually the dearest 

 in the end? 



Morris Ellis, a farmer living near George- 

 town, in Vermillion county, started liome 

 from Vermillion Grove, the other day, with 

 eight stands of bees in his wagon. The 

 bees grew very angry, doubtless from the 

 jolting of tlie wagon, and in a solid mass lit 

 upon the horses and driver. The horses did 

 not attempt to run, but lay upon the ground 

 and rolled in terrible agony. Both horses 

 have since died, and Mr. Ellis lies in a very 

 critical condition, and is not expected to re- 

 cover.— Ferjnont (111.) Chronicle. 



Isn't it strange that Mr. Ellis did not 

 know enough to fasten up the entrances be- 

 fore removing bees? It was downright 

 presumption. Spirits of turpentine is a 

 good application to cure bee stings. 



It^" A model of a swarm hiver is at liand, 

 from F. R. Davis, Wolf Lake, Ind. It Is so 

 arranged as to prevent the queen from 

 going out with the swarm. On their return, 

 finding "her majesty" in the hiver-box, 

 they cluster on combs attached to movable 

 slides above. Their weight will open a 

 space for the swarm to go up into the empty 

 hive above, which will work out on a differ- 

 ent side from the old colony. We have 

 placed the model on our Museum shelves, 

 to be examined by our visitors. 



_ • H. 0. Wriglit, of Lodi, N. Y., says a 

 man, by the name of Miller, has patented 

 the Quinby hive, and claims a royalty of 

 him for making and using it after he has 

 been using it lor 5 years. This is one of 

 the abuses of Patents, and will be obviated 

 by the new law. Miller may annoy, but 

 cannot hurt any one for using the hive. 



