Excelsior Bee Smoker. 



In last month's Journal, on page 

 176, we noticed a smoker made by Levi 

 Sutlift', Charles City, Iowa. We now 

 give the following illustration showing 

 its shape and general appearance. As 

 friend Sutliff thinks we did not give a 

 correct idea of it in the Journal for 

 June, this cut will certainly correct any 



false impression made. In saying it 

 was 3 or 4 times as large as ordinary 

 smokers, we meant, of course, in the 

 operations of the bellows. Its bellows 

 is 4|x8 inches, and has a three-inch mo- 

 tion. The Bingham bellows is 5x6 

 inches, and has a motion of just one- 

 half, or 1^ inches. The tube of the 

 Bingham isless than 12 inches in length, 

 while this is 20 inches in length . These 

 points gave us the enlarged idea of this 

 new-comer. 



The tube is li inches in diameter. 

 The fire-part is 5 inches long. The little 

 tube at the left of the smolier is the 

 cartridge, which may be filled with rags 

 or any other material that will burn, 

 and then put it into the fire-tube, and it 

 is ready for operation. It is advertised 

 in this Journal, and may be had either 

 of Mr. Sutliff or at this oflice. 



1^ The teasel will be in bloom when 

 this Journal gets into the hands of its 

 subscribers, and it will last about four 

 weeks. An acre will support about 10 

 colonies. 



1^ Among our many callers during 

 the past month were Mr. and Mrs. F. P. 

 Collins, of Dallas, Texas, who are spend- 

 ing a few days in the city. They report 

 prospects for honey crop as very favor- 

 able in that State, and brought a sample 

 of their extracted honey. We had a 

 very pleasant visit with them. 



Bees in Southern Wisconsin.— 

 A correspondent of the Milwaukee 

 Journal of Commerce^ writing from Mil- 

 ton, Wis., under date of May 31, says : 



The men who handle the little insects 

 that " improve each shining hour, and 

 gather honey all the day, from every 

 opening flower," together with the rest 

 of creation, have met with misfortune 

 this season, owing to the cold, damp 

 weather during April/ind May. There 

 are two men in this town who have 

 quite extensive apiaries, and although 

 their bees wintered well, they have lost 

 a large number since taking them out 

 of winter quarters. One of them, who 

 put one hundred colonies in the cellar 

 last fall has now less than fifty. 



Yes ; but now the fine weather of the 

 past 10 days has put the bees to work 

 with a will. Our correspondents, nearly 

 all through this Journal, have been 

 telling a sorry tale. But now, in all 

 probability, their faces are wearing a 

 smile of joy— the delightful weather 

 vieing with the merry hum of the bees 

 to make their cup of joy almost to run 

 over. True it is of dame Nature, that 



" Behind a frowning Providence 

 She hides a smiling face." 



1^ Many have heretofore sent honey 

 to commission men in this city to sell, 

 and often never receive any returns for 

 it. We know of several such cases now. 

 They sell it, pocket the money, and you 

 can't collect anything of them. There 

 may be good men in that line of busi- 

 ness, perhaps many — but the American 

 Bee Journal cannot recommend any 

 of them. Should any one desire us to 

 sell their honey for them, we will cheer- 

 fully do so, or we will exchange supplies 

 or anything we have for sale, for good 

 honey in prize boxes. We want no 

 other, and we will pay tlie highest mar- 

 ket prices for such honey. 



