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139 



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.. > l?Ui3HSKED HY„ „ 



THOS. G.NEWMAN fcSON, 



BDITOR. 



Vol. mi. MarcH,1890. No. 9. 



B^" La Grippe still holds the editor of 

 the Bee-Keepers' Advance under its sway. 

 We offer our sympathy. 



Extra, Passes are added to this issue 

 of the Bee Journal to give room for our 

 Premium List, and also for illustrated de- 

 scriptions of the many useful Supplies and 

 Implements necessary for the successful 

 management of the apiary during the com- 

 ing honey season. Let all prepare in good 

 time, and have everything necessary on 

 liand before the honey season commences. 



The bee-keepers of Seneca County, 

 N. Y., met at Ovid in their 7th annual con- 

 vention on Feb. 13, at 10 a.m. The Past 

 Worthy Lecturer of the New York State 

 Grange, J. B. Whiting, was elected Presi- 

 dent, and C. L. Baley Secretary. Mr. G. 

 M. Doolittle, of Onondaga County, was 

 present by invitation, and gave them an 

 hour's address, and was then kept on the 

 floor for hours, answering questions. The 

 meeting was largely attended by en- 

 thusiastic bee-keepers. 



Fire has destroyed one of Mr. Dayton 

 E. Barker's apiaries, at St. Joseph, Mo. The 

 building in the apiary was stored with 

 honey and other goods, and was entirely 

 consumed, on the night of Feb. 13, 1890. 

 Mr. B. had two apiaries — one containing 

 121 colonies of bees, and the other having 

 554— the latter is the one consumed. All 

 will sympathize with him in his loss, as it is 

 total and heavy, there being no insurance. 

 Now, we ask, M'liy was such an important 

 thing neglected' He would have found 

 •81,000 very convenient to have, in this the 

 hour of calamity ! Let this be a warning 

 to all, who have property that ought to be 

 insured against loss by fire. 



Eallier I..:in;;Ntr<>lli continues to 

 grow more fei'l)le, as we learn from Mrs. 

 Cowan, his daughter. A letter dated Jan. 

 6, came from Mrs. Cowan during our ill- 

 ness, but WHS mislaid until now, containing 

 an item which should have appeared long 

 ago. It is as follows: 



On the 5th of December last, my father 

 received a telegram from the "Interna- 

 tional Bee-Keepers' Convention," sending 

 him the greetings of the convention, and 

 regretting that he could not be with them. 



By some carelessness, the telegram was 

 destroyed, and I could not rememljer the 

 signatures, so I have never acknowledged 

 it. Will you please to give this explana- 

 tion in your J(juhnal, and extend to all the 

 members of that convention (and to his 

 other bee-keeping friends) his earnest de- 

 sire that they may all have a happy and 

 prosperous year. 



We are well aware that Father Lang- 

 stroth feels deeply grateful to all who think 

 of him, and forward their grateful remem- 

 brances. Such lighten up his pathway and 

 cheer his spirits, as the flesh grows weaker, 

 and life's journey advances ^toward com- 

 pletion. 



Here is what Asher M. Coe, of Coe 

 Ridge, O., writes about promptly receiving 

 our books : 



I received the "Honey Almanacs" and 

 " Doolittle's Queen-Rearing " to-day. I am 

 much pleased with the Honey Almanacs. 

 As for Doolittle's book — it is exquisite ! 

 These books came very promptly; the letter 

 was mailed the 6th, and I received the 

 books on the Sth. Thanks for promptness. 



We aim to be very prompt in filling all 

 orders — and they are filled the same day as 

 they are received, unless they call for some- 

 thing not in stock. 



For particulars about clubbing Doolittle's 

 book with our Journals, see page 153. 



For prices of the Honey Almanacs in 

 quantities, see page 149. The Bee-Keep- 

 ers'' Advance for February is just at hand, 

 and contains the following ; 



The Honey Almanac is just received. 

 Nothing like it has been published before. 

 It not only reveals to us the wonderful 

 curative qualities of honey, but it will be a 

 powerful agent in helping the producer to 

 dispose of his crop. Too much cannot be 

 said in its praise. Every producer of honey 

 should scatter this friend to bee-keepers. 



From Dakota, [comes the following 

 item of commendation from the editor of 

 the Fargo Arrjus: 



The Illustrated Home Journal has 

 reached the Arfjus review table, and if the 

 cm'reut number may be taken as a sample 

 of the general character of the magazine, it 

 is worthy of a place in every household in 

 the land. Its table of contents is remark- 

 ably choice, both from a literary and artis- 

 tic point of view. 



Attention is caUed to the fact that 

 J. B. Mason & Sons have purchased the 

 Carniolan queen business of John Andrews, 

 of Patten's Mills, N. Y. See their advertise- 

 ment in this issue. 



■low IlceMM-ax in ITIa«l<-. -Among 

 the interesting productions of a iviinny of 

 bees, there is perhaps none more furioua 

 than that of making the wax which forms 

 the receptacles for the nectar that the bees 

 gather, and which, when melted, forms the 

 beeswax oi commerce. How the " busy 

 bees "do this part of their work, is de- 

 scribed in the following paragraphs : 



It is no mere extraneous substance which 

 needs only to be collected for use ; it is a 

 bit of individual, organic home manufac- 

 ture. If you examine the under surface of 

 a cell-building worker-bee, you will find be- 

 neath the abdomen four pairs of white 

 plates projecting from as many pockets in 

 the increasing rings of this part of the body. 

 These are the wax-plates made from the 

 life-blood of the worker. 



Examine now, with a lens, one of the 

 hinder legs ; you will find that the stoutest 

 joints are very " square-.shouldered " at the 

 hinge, and that the hinge is well over to 

 one side, so that the shoulders form a pair 

 of jaws, which open when a limb is bent, 

 and close when it is straightened. The up- 

 per jaw has a row of spines which bite on a 

 plate on the upper jaw ; with this appara- 

 tus, piercing it with these spines, the worker 

 withdraws a wax-plate from its pocket, 

 transfers it to the front legs, and thence to 

 the mouth, where it is laboriously masti- 

 cated with a salivary secretion. Unless it 

 undergoes this process, it lacks the quality 

 requisite for cell-making. 



Beeswax is said to be the best substance 

 for receiving and recording the vibrations 

 of the needle of the phonograph, which bids 

 fair to come into use as a practical ma- 

 chine, the telephone having prepared the 

 business world for wonders of this sort. 



Xlie Xiiue is at Hand when bee- 

 keepers should be providing for next sea- 

 son's operations, by procuring the neces- 

 sary "supplies," such as hives, comb foun- 

 dation, sections, crates, and such imple- 

 ments as will be needed. Now is the time 

 to procure such — before the rush comes, 

 when the supply dealers will be busy, and 

 be unable to promptly fill all their orders. 

 To have such things on hand ready for use, 

 when required, is a pleasure; hut waiting 

 for them to come, when needed for use, is 

 very disagreeable and annoying. 



Xlie IVatlonal Bee-Keepers' Union is 

 thus endorsed by ex-President Dr. A. B. 

 Mason, of Auburndale, Ohio : 



Please find the amount enclosed for dues 

 to the National Bee-Keepers' Union for 

 1890. I want to " practice what I preach" 

 in regard to helping on the good work, and 

 I do most sincerely wish that the treasury 

 might become so full of the " almighty 

 dollars" that those having charge of its 

 interests whould not have to "take thought 

 for the morrow " in regard to funds to carry 

 on the work of the Union. 



Honey-Caudy — Several have asked 

 for recipes for making honey-candy. The 

 following is one, although not much honey 

 is found in its composition : 



Use one pint of white sugar, water 

 enough to dissolve it, and four table-spoon- 

 fuls of extracted honey. Boil untU it be- 

 comes brittle on being dropped into cold 

 water. Pull when cooling. 



