top of the hive. One would be likely to 

 suppose tiiat with openings in the top of 

 the liive, the entrance being in the bottom, 

 the heated air would escape at the top, its 

 place being supplied by the ingress of 

 cooler air at the bottom. But such is not 

 the case. The bees at the entrance of the 

 hive are busy fanning with their wings, 

 their heads being toward the hive. This 

 produces a somewhat strong current of air 

 outward ; and if there are openings in the 

 top of the hive the cool air enters at the top, 

 while the heated air escapes from the bot- 

 tom. To secure thorough ventilation, there 

 should be a honey-board with a little space 

 (about ^/i of an inch) between it and tl)e 

 tops of the frames. In the honey-board 

 there should be openings covered with 

 wire-cloth. If the wire-cloth be tacked im- 

 mediately on the board, the bees will close 

 the meshes with propolis ; but, if it be an 

 inch above it and several inches in area, 

 they will not attempt to wax it up. I, at 

 first, used blocks of board, each having an 

 inch hole in it, one side closed with wire 

 cloth ; but I found that the bees would 

 invariably close it up. But I have found 

 that if a frame be made, say 8 in. long and 2 

 in. wide, and the wire cloth be tacked on 

 that, and laid over the holes in the board, 

 so that there is an inch space between the 

 wire-cloth and the board, no attempt is 

 made to close it. 



To succeed with this plan, the surplus 

 honey chamber must be protected by an 

 outside cap having openings for ventila- 

 tion. Ventilate your bees thoroughly in 

 hot weather, and keep the honey out of 

 their way, and you will not be troubled 

 with swarming. M. Mahiist. 



Logansport, Ind., May 14, 1878. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Items, statistic?, Questions, &c. 



Dear Editok :— I have no interest in 

 speaking kindly of the Journal, except to 

 give "honor to whom honor is due ;" but I 

 will say that the Journal deserves the un- 

 divided support of every bee-keeper in the 

 land. Truly, it is the hee-keeper's^ friend. 

 There is no paper 1 feel more freedom and 

 pleasure in writing to. 



Our Semi-annual Bee-keepers' Conven- 

 tion came off, as announced in the Jour- 

 nal, on Tuesday, the 7th inst., and was a 

 grand success, both in point of numbers 

 and the interest developed. I will send 

 you full report, but it is so long you will 

 not receive it in time for the June number. 



The locust bloom is a failure, but still the 

 prospects are good, and I believe at the 

 close of the season we will have much to 

 be thankful for. 



I am trying to gather all the statistics I 

 can in regard to the honey crop of Kentucky, 

 and hope tiiat every bee-keeper who reads 

 this will furnish me with all the informa- 

 tion within reach : 



1. Number of colonies last season, with 

 increase of same. 



2. The kind of hive used. 



3. The number of pounds of wax and 

 honey produced last year. 



This information is designed for the ben- 



efit of our State at large, and will be pub- 

 lished by request of our State Agricultural 

 Commissioner, W. J. Davie, A. M., in his 

 annual report, which will be published in 

 September next. 



Will you or some of our bee friends 

 kindly answer the following questions : 



1. Where and when was the honey ex- 

 tractor invented, and by whom ? 



2. Who first imported Italian Queens 

 and bees into this country ? 



3. When and by whom was the bellows 

 smoker invented ? As from early child- 

 hood I can remember bellows, on precisely 

 the same principle, being used to kindle 

 fires with. 



4. What is the probable number of bee- 

 keepers in the United States, and the 

 average amount of honey produced by each, 

 last year, or the total amount produced ? 

 W. Williamson, Se&y Cent. Ky. B. K. A. 



Lexington, Ky., May 11, 1878. 



[1. The Mel-Extractor was invented by 

 Her Von Hruschka, in Germany, about ten 

 years since. Noticing that a piece of comb, 

 attached to Ja string in the hands of his 

 boy, being twirled, was emptied of its 

 honey, he invented the Extractor, which is 

 similar in principle to the Extractor of to- 

 day. His machine consisted of a wooden 

 tub, with a vertical axle, revolving in a 

 socket fastened to the bottom of the tub, 

 and held, but allowed to project above the 

 top. The comb basket was attached to the 

 axle, surrounded by wire-cloth, the comb 

 resting against it. A string was wound 

 around the axle, and then being rapidly 

 unwound, the honey was extracted. 



2. In 1859 the first Italian bees were im- 

 ported into America by Wagner & Colvin, 

 from the apiary of Dzierzon, in Germany. — 

 In 18G0 S. P. Parsons brought the first colo- 

 nies direct from Italy. 



3. A bellows is an old invention, but 

 such as arranged to blow smoke to quiet 

 bees, though previously used in Europe, 

 was first brought to the attention of apia- 

 rists by the late M. Quinby. 



4. We have not the statistics to answer 

 this question now, but hope to soon.— Ed. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Honey Dew. 



In February No. of the American Bee 

 Journal I found an article on Honey Dew, 

 by W. K. Marshall, of Texas, which I ex- 

 pected to be answered by some correspond- 

 ent in the March No. 



The article is so entirely based upon 

 erroneous conclusions and propositions 

 that it ought to be corrected, as many read- 

 ers might be miscarried by apparent facts. 

 '■ It has been proved over and over again, 

 by men of science, of all countries of the 

 New and Old World, that the so-called 



