'rmm mimmmicnn wem jO'^riikiu. 



227 



^^ — ^ PUBIitSHED BY_ — 



THOS. G.NEWMAN &SON, 



CHI CAGO, IL.L.. 



XH091AS o. i%E^vmAm, 



EDITOR. 



Vol, nVI, April 5, 1890, No, 14 



IloM' Oreary would the garden be, 



With all its flow'ry trees, 

 Suppose there were no butterflies, 



And if there were no bees ! 



— Alice Carey. 



It^^ The recent "cold snap" will make 

 " feediug " necessary in some apiaries. Do 

 not neglect such if the bees are short of 

 stores. 



The little son of Mr. and Mrs. Edw. 

 Margileth, of Mt. Carroll, Ills., died on 

 March 7. The Bee Journal extends sym- 

 pathy to the afflicted parents. 



In the article of Smith & Smith, on 

 page 186, the width of the top-bar should 

 be seventeen-sixteenths (not 1 7-16 as 

 there printed). It was written in figures, 

 and heuce the mistake of the printer in 

 putting it iu type. 



Xlie Xinie for Spring: Work will 

 soon be here, and. those who need a guide 

 for all the operations in the apiary, should 

 procure a copy of Dr. Miller's book eutitled 

 "A Year Among the Bees." Its descrip- 

 tions commence with the necessary work in 

 the spring, and run through the entire 

 year, detailing the methods of doing, as 

 well as telling when to do. all that should 

 be done in the apiary. We have only a 

 limited number of copies left, and those 

 who want it should send for it at once. We 

 will hereafter mail it, bound in cloth, to 

 any address for SO cents, until all are 

 gone. 



Honey |Js<.<l as iTletlivinv by llif 



AM«'i«'nls. — In all ages honey has been 

 considered a valuable article of medicine, 

 but we believe that henceforth it will 

 prove itself a greater aid in healing the 

 diseases of manUind, than heretofore. All 

 through the al)lest and <oldest Book of 

 books, honey is very frequently referred to 

 as an excellent food element, and the 

 prophets and wi.se men realized the great 

 usefulness of this "concentrated sweet 

 ness " as a sustaiuer of life. 



In a recent article written for the Su7i- 

 day School Tlrncfi, by Prof. A. H. Sayce, 

 L.L.D., of Queen's College, Oxford, Eng- 

 land, that learned investigator of antiquities 

 has brought forth a most interesting 

 account concerning " Medicine in the 

 Ancient East." One of the literary docu- 

 ments (36 feet iu length) found at Thebes, 

 which was written about 100 years before 

 the birth of Moses, contains a complete 

 account of ancient Egyptian medicine. In 

 it the different diseases known at that time 

 are carefully described, and remedies 

 given for ti'eatiug them. 



Among those mentioned in the above- 

 named old treatise, are the following 

 prescriptions in which honey was used : 



Medicine for opening the bowels : " Take 

 of milk one-third of a tena; of nequat- 

 powder, one fourth of a drachm; of honey, 

 one-fourth of a drachm ; boil, pour out, and 

 drink for four daj's." 



Medicine for moving the bladder: " Take 

 of honey....; of powder of the carob bean 

 ....; of powder of the vitex agnus....; 

 make it into a pill." 



Medicine for a purge: "Take of sentn, 

 one eighth of a drachm; of honey, one- 

 eighth of a drachm ; mix and eat. 



In a very long prescription for treating 

 an attack of spleen, " which consumes the 

 top of the heart," among the very first 

 articles named, " half an ephah of clear 

 honey " is mentioned, showing that ex- 

 tracted honey was not unknown to those 

 who lived long before Moses. 



By the foregoing quotations we see 

 clearly that honey has been prized as a 

 medicine for many centuries, and we are 

 glad to see that it is again taking its 

 proper place in the treatment of many 

 diseases of the present day. Verily, the 

 " land that floweth with milk and honey," 

 is indeed a goodly land now, as well as in 

 the days of Moses. 



In (.'nlilbrnia bees are now ready for 

 the honey harvest. Mr. S. L. Watkins 

 wrote us as follows on March 27, concern- 

 ing their present condition: 



The bees in this part of California, have 

 wintered exceedingly well, considering the 

 bad weather we have had. All colonies are 

 now strong in brood and bees. The alfllaree 

 is beginning to bloom, and the mountain- 

 sides are clothed in their mantles of green. 



Mr. W. C. R. Kemp has sent a sam- 

 ple of his cold-blast smoker to our Museum. 

 It is neat, and substantially made. 



Ilec - i;««-jipe».— We are pleased to 

 notice that so many are working on bee- 

 escapes. It shows that there is a real need 

 for such a contrivance, and the intelligence 

 and inventive genius of bee-keepers will 

 develop something that wjll be valuable. 

 Wo this week give an illustrated article 

 from Mr. .John S. Reese, showing his latest 

 development. Last .week we gave an 

 illustration of one invented by Mr. C. 

 Russell. Concerning the latter we have 

 received several criticisms, one of which is 

 as follows : 



The exit hole A is entirely too small ; 3 

 inches would be better. The triangle being 

 made of wood, will lead the bees directly 

 to the exit B. Of course many will pass 

 over or around the open end of the triangle, 

 but many others will easily find the 

 upeniag. 



K:ibl>oon!> Eat Honey.— The bee- 

 enemies in America are many, and skunks, 

 bears, rats and mice steal the honey, but 

 their depredations are not to be compared 

 with what African bee-keepers have to 

 contend with. The South African babboon 

 has made the discovery that honey is good 

 to eat, and comes down from the moun- 

 tains of the district he inhabits, and carries 

 off hives, honey and all, utterly destroj ing 

 an apiary at one visitation. We ought to 

 be thankful that we have no babboons. 



AlNik e 4'lover chaff is good feed for 

 cattle, says the Fremont, Mich., Indicator. 

 Here is the item : 



Mr. Wra. Davis threshed from 1 ^£ acres 

 ten bushels of Alsike clover seed. He says 

 his cattle ate the chaff in preference to any 

 other feed. 



Friend George E. Hilton lives at Fremont, 

 and no doubt picked up that interesting 

 item, and got it into the Indicator. He 

 always has an eye to business. 



Xo Prevent Robbinsr, close the 

 entrance so as to give passage but for a 

 single bee at a time. This is effective, if 

 the bees will defend themselves; if not, 

 remove them to a cellar for a few days, 

 then place them on a new stand, or 

 exchange places with the colony that is 

 robbing it. 



Xbe Wbile Sage of California, has 

 been long and favorably known as an 

 excellent honey-plant; giving some of the 

 lightest-colored honey in the world; but, 

 like our basswood, its area is getting to be 

 limited. It is fast disappearing before the 

 cattle, sheep and plow .—E.vchanae. 



According to Geo. P. Rowell & Go's 

 American Newspaper Directory for 1890, 

 Illinois is now the second State in the 

 Union in the number of newspapers 

 printed, having 1,309, while Pennsylvania 

 has but 1,381. New York has 1,778. 



