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THE' MME'RICMIf KB® J©^KNS1<. 



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Paiiitins' ISivesi. — Relative to the 

 remarks of Mr. Theilmann, on page 217, 

 on the disadvantage of painting hives, 

 Prof. A. J. Cook writes as follows ; 



Mr. C. Theilmann, in the Ameuicax Bee 

 Journal for March 'J9, asks why the 

 experiments to show that wood was porons 

 were made. They were made to show that 

 our houses are ventilated to quite a degree 

 if made of wood. Papering destroys this 

 ventilation, as does painting in a large 

 part. I believe there is something in what 

 Mr. TheOmann says. Certain it is that un- 

 painted hives are better ventilated than 

 painted ones. If, however, hives are 

 painted white, they would absorb less of 

 the sun's beat in summer, and so the combs 

 would be less likely to melt down than 

 they would in the darker unpaiuted hives. 



I am free to say, that were it not for 

 looks, I should think it wiser to use un- 

 painted hives. Surely, paint does not pre- 

 serve the wood enough better to pay for the 

 expense. 



The same is true of our buildings; yet I 

 paint my buUdings, and keep them well 

 painted. This gives an appearance of thrift 

 and neatness that is pleasant to me and to 

 all passers-by. 



My sugar house in my maple bush is off 

 from the road in the woods, and is not 

 painted.— A. J. Cook. 



Sloving: Bees. — Samuel Wilson, of 

 Cosby, Tenn., propounds these questions: 



I desire to move my bees about June 1, 

 to a better field, and would like to have 

 these questions answered in the Ameiucan 

 Bee JouiiSAi, : 



1. Would it not be better to move them 

 on a light night! 



3. Would you tack wire cloth over the 

 entrances, or entirely close the entrances' 



3. Would you tack wire-cloth over the 

 entire top of the hives? 



4. Do you put them two tiers high, and 

 if you do, how high must the second be 

 raised above the first tier! The road to 

 move them over is very rough and rocky. 



Samuel Wilsox. 



Our reply to the several questions is as 

 follows: 



1. Any time when the bees are not flying 

 wUl do. 



2. Tack wire cloth over the entrances. 



3. Fasten the frames so they cannot 

 slide together and kill the bees ; then tack 

 muslin over the frames. 



4. Yes. Raise the upper tiers by putting 

 inch strips of wood across them. 



Secure the load well so that there will be 

 no danger of shifting. 



Vienna Congress.— The Secretary 

 of Agriculture is in receipt of a communi- 

 cation from his Excellency, Chevalier von 

 Tavera, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister 

 Plenipotentiary of Austria-Hungary to the 

 United States, advising him of an Interna- 

 tional Agricultural Congress to be held in 

 Vienna in conjunction with the Agricul- 

 tural Exhibition which is to take place 

 there this summer, and enclosing copies of 

 the programme for said Congi-ess. The 

 programme indicates that the Congress 

 wiUmeet during the first days of Septem- 

 ber, 1890. 



Inasmuch as the programme suggests 

 that applications for membership must be 

 received by the Committee before the end 

 of April, and as the time therefore is very 

 short, the Secretaiy of Agriculture tenders 

 Ids good offices to secure membership for 

 ihose whose applications cannot reach 

 Vienna before the date mentioned, pro- 

 vided they will forward the same with the 

 necessary enclosure to him. 



Floorers tliat Have Odors.— It is 



surprising that among the innumerable 

 varieties of specimens found in the floral 

 kingdom, there are so few that possess any 

 fi'agrance whatever, to add to their attrac- 

 tiveness. It has been discovered that of 

 4,200 kinds of flowers which grow in 

 Europe, only 420— one in ten — are odorifer- 

 ous. The white flower is most common, 

 there being 1,194 kinds of that; and less 

 than one-fifth of these are fragrant. Of the 

 951 kinds of yellow flowers, 77 are ordor- 

 iferous; of the 823 kinds of red ones, 31 

 have odors; and of the 308 violet-blue 

 kinds, only 13. Of the 140 kinds with 

 combined colors, but 38 are fragrant. It 

 would be interesting to know just how 

 many of the flowers visited by bees, emit 

 any odors. Here is a delightful field of 

 investigation for students of botany. 



Cuckoo Ilees. — An account of these 

 Insects, as seen in some Indiana apiaries, 

 is given in the following paragraphs from 

 an exchange : 



At a meeting of the Hamilton County 

 (Ind.) Bee Keepers' Society, complaint was 

 made of a little black bee which robbed 

 apiaries, in portions of Indiana. 



Advice was given to re-queen colonies, 

 and close the entrances of the hives thus 

 troubled. But the members said they had 

 tried that, and the robbers still ran in, and 

 the best colonies did not refuse them : that 

 they even came in streams, pouring into the 

 hive. 



Much interest was once shown in the 

 matter, and in the discussion which fol- 

 lowed several declared they had seen it 

 "hatch "from a cell in a hive of Italian 

 bees. This seemed impossible, unless it 

 was simply a hybrid. 



The Chairman then wrote to Prof. Cook, 

 who reported that he thought it must be a 

 sort of solitary insect (as the description 

 sent him said that strong efforts to tree 

 them had failed), they did not cluster like 

 bees. This was reported to the Society, 

 but they wanted more definite information, 

 and went to a colony close by and secured 

 two specimens, which were sent to Prof. 

 Cook, who said that they were probably 

 what are called " cuckoo bees." They lay 

 their eggs in the cells of other bees, and 

 allow the foster-mother to hatch and feed 

 them. Our bees do not fight them. 



The "cuckoo bees" have no pollen - 

 baskets, and do not gather honey, but 

 depend upon the tooled foster-mother to 

 warm and care for the young. The Society 

 has reports of damage from it east and 

 west, as far as their membership goes ; but 

 south and southwest, it has not been 

 recognized, even by those having 75 to 100 

 colonies. 



Prof. Cook mentions these robbers— the 

 cuckoo bees— in his excellent Manual of the 

 Apiary, on pages 39 to 34. They belong 

 to the family of Apid;e, but they are "the 

 black sheep" of that family. 



KCKs-aclIy !— A correspondent who 



signs himself "Goshen," asks this question: 



In your opinion, would it be preferable, 

 when mentioning the different eggs laid by 

 a fertile queen, to use the terms " egg 

 queens," " egg drones," and " egg workers," 

 as suggested by Prof. John Phin, iu his 

 "Dictionary of Practical Apiciilture," in 

 stead of queen eggs, drone eggs, and 

 worker eggs » 



While the general adoption of the terms 

 may not be realized, we agree with Prof- 

 Phin, when he says, "the tenns egg queens, 

 egg workers, and egg drones express the 

 facts precisely." 



Arbor Uay. — The Secretary of Agri- 

 culture has issued a circular. No. 5 of the 

 Forestry Divisiou, giving instructions on 

 tree -planting for purposes of Aj-bor Day. 

 The circular, which is a reprint of one com- 

 piled last year by Prof. B. E. Fernow, Chief 

 of that Division, is intended primarily for 

 use in Eastern States, but the general 

 principles stated to be observed in the 

 choice of trees, the treatment before trans- 

 planting, the method of planting and after- 

 care are applical>le everywhere, the only 

 difference for otherregions being the choice 

 of season, and of kinds to be planted. Send 

 to him for a copy. Address, Hon. J. M. 

 Rusk, Washington, D. C. Plant lindens 

 everytime. 



Fruit Prospect.— We are not scared 



about the fruit outlook for this season, 

 whatever the reports from elsewhere. The 

 buds are yet all right, and if nothing un- 

 foreseen happens, no late frost like that of 

 last year, no hail, etc., we will not be likely 

 to go without fruit this season. We know 

 the scare is great all over the continent, but 

 the damage is hardly ever quite as serious 

 as it has the appearance at first.— Populor 

 Garden. 



Convention Notices. 



ijW- The ne.xt meeting of the Carohna Bee-Keep- 

 erlf Association will be held in Charlotte N. C, on 

 Thursday, July 17, I8i)0. N. P. I.i LES, sec. 



meeting of the Northern Illinois 



' Frank Leslie's Illustrated News- 

 paper" last week presents six pages illus- 

 trative of the disaster at Louisville, Ky. 

 The i>ictures ai'e full of interest. 



5^" The spring 

 ^S^:'g^te^1??l!\^r??'vaii^in^,^:Maya^h, 



meet at the residence 

 ., on May 20tt 

 D. A. FDLLEK. Sec. 



lf*no. 



tS^ The next regular meeting of the ^outhwes- 

 tera Wisconsin Bee-Keepers Association will be 

 Uold at Boscobel.Wis., on Thursday, May J. isao. 

 at 10 a.m. 



BENJ. B. RICE, Sec. 



SW The 12th annual session of the Texas State 

 Be^Kecpers' ABsoclation, will be held at Green- 

 ?l^fe Hu?it CO., Texas, on May 7 '^S^VS^'^l.Se" 

 terested are invited. •'• N. Uunteu. Sec. 



U^-Thespringmeeting of the Capital Bei^Keepers' 

 AfSTciation, will be held, in the Supervistjr s Room 

 of the Court llouso at ypnngtiold. Ills., at lU a.m., 

 on-aavT 1S90. The following subjects will be dis- 

 cSs?cd' ■••Production and Care of Comb Honey,'' by 

 "as A. Stone; •■Prevention of Aftx-r-^warms" by A. 

 lewis; and ••Creating a Home Market. 

 Riibbins. All interested are 

 attend. 



of Comb Honey," by 

 ais," by A. 



by G. F. 



ordially invited to 

 C E. rocoJi, Sec. 



