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Vol. IIVI. May 10, 1890, No. 19, 



May ! most beautiful month of May ! 



Bright with sunshine or dripping in showers ; 

 With flying feet you pass away, 



But your gifts outnumber by far your hours. 



IJ^" T^e Detroit International Pair and 

 Exposition will be held at Detroit from 

 Aug. 26 to Sept. 5, 1890, and will use the 

 premium list adopted bj' the Michigan 

 State Bee-Keepers' Associatiou. The man- 

 agers are to be congratulated upon securing 

 friend H. D, Cutting to act as Superin- 

 tendent of the Bee and Honey Department. 

 He may be depended upon to make it pleas- 

 ant tor exhibitors. 



The managers of the Exposition are 

 making preparations for a monster exhibit, 

 and the bee-keepers must not be behind. 

 Their exhibit should be the finest ever made 

 at any Fair. 



Pomolofjy.— The United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture is preparing, un- 

 der the supervision of the Chief of the 

 Pomological Division, to issue a very full 

 report on the many varieties of fruits 

 grown in this country. This report wUl 

 consist largely of the actual experience of 

 practical fruit-growers in all sections of the 

 country, and in order that it may be as 

 comprehensive as possible, the Pomologist, 

 Mr. \'an Deman, will be obliged to all 

 practical fruit-gi-owers willing to contribute 

 their experience and reply to the circular 

 of interrogatories which he has prepared 

 for the purpose, who will send him their 

 name and post-office on a postal card — 

 address H. E. Van Deman, Pomologist, U. 

 S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, 

 D. C. All those who assist in the work of 

 this report in the manner indicated, will 

 receive a copy when published. 



Xlie Coliiniltisin Fair will be held 

 in Chicago, in 189;i. The Fair Bill hiiving 

 passed both houses of Congress, and receiv- 

 ing President Harrison's signature, it thus 

 becomes a law. A great Naval Display will 

 be given in New York harbor just before 

 the Pair projier opeus in Chicago. That 

 will serve as a signal to the whole world, 

 that the grandest exposition of this or any 

 previous century invites all nations to 

 visit Chicago, and behold the wonderful 

 progress of civilization, as shown in the 

 finest display of products and manufac- 

 tures ever brought together in one exhibi- 

 tion. Chicago, as well as America, has an 

 opportunity to cause honor and glory to 

 be reflected upon her people, which she will 

 not be slow in embracing. 



Let the bee-industry also measure up to 

 the opportunities of the time and place ; 

 thus will its devotees share in the resulting 

 honors and benefits. 



This will give Dr. A. B. Mason, on behalf 

 of the bee-keepers of the United States, and 

 Mr. R. McKnight, as the representative of 

 Canadian apiarists, a splendid chance to 

 display their abilities in providing for 

 magnificent exhibits of apiarian products 

 and supplies. 



Xlie Ri£;iits of Hees to exist and 

 gather honey, and of the pursuit to a place 

 among commercial products, notwithstand- 

 ing the prejudice of the ignorant, are thus 

 stated in the Rhode Island Experiment 

 Station Bulletin No 4, under the heading of 

 "Bee-Keeping :" 



We believe and have endeavored to show 

 that bee-keeping is of sufficient importance 

 to deserve the encouragement and protec- 

 tion of the State. That bees are of great 

 service to growers of various crops, as well 

 as profitable to their keepers for their 

 honey and was. That honey-bees do not 

 injure sound fruit, and that the damage 

 done to unsound fruit must be compara- 

 tively light. That to prohibit bee-keeping 

 is unconstitutional, and that no one need 

 refrain from keeping them on account of 

 opposition due to ignorance, fear, jealousy, 

 or the ill-will of their neighbors (though all 

 reasonable precaution should be taken to 

 prevent annoyance or accident). That this 

 prejudice against bees is sure to give way 

 to public opinion in their favor. That a 

 widespread knowledge of bee keeping 

 would increase the products of the State. 



Xlie Plowei- Fesist, or Combat of 

 Flowers, was celebrated in the city of 

 Mexico, on April 37, 1S90. Fully 100,000 

 people were on the promenade of La 

 Reforma and the Avenue Juarez. Besides 

 about 500 unadorned carriages containing 

 sight-seers, there were over 40 decorated 

 with flowers and ribbons, and fully 1,000 

 horsemen. The quantity of flowers must 

 have been enormous, as 4 carloads came 

 from Julapa, alone. What a Paradise for 

 bees ! 



It^" J. & E. Pockat, of Marion, Wis., 

 have issued a 4-page Catalogue of Bee- 

 Keepers' Supplies. 



<jSr:ii'liii(^ iiiid <«i-si<'liii;:«Wi>ik:. — 



As this is the season for grafting, and as 

 many of our readers are also growers of 

 fruits, we give the following directions for 

 doing the woi'k of grafting apple-trees, and 

 also a recipe for making and using the wax 

 employed. The importance of selecting the 

 best varieties of fruit in gi'afting, should 

 not be overlooked, as well as to see that the 

 work itself is properly done. These para- 

 graphs are taken from one of our agricul- 

 tural exchanges ; 



The implements needed for gi'afting 

 apple-trees are : A small saw, for cutting 

 off the branches for grafting; a good, 

 strong knife with a thick back to make 

 clefts in the stock ; a small knife, kept very 

 sharp, with which to prepare tlie cions; a 

 grafting-wedge and chisel, and a mallet. 

 The grafting should be done as soon as all 

 danger of severe frosts is past, and the buds 

 show signs of swelling on the trees to be 

 grafted. The wood to be used for cions 

 should be cut before the buds swell, and be 

 stored in damp sawdust or moss in a cellar. 



There are many compositions used as a 

 grafting-wax, but we have found none 

 better than one made of the following : 

 Four parts of common rosin, two parts of 

 beeswax, and one part of common tallow 

 melted together, and when cool, worked up 

 into convenient rolls. If it is to be used in 

 cool weather, add a little more tallow. 

 Some of this wax may be spread when 

 warm on cloth, and this cut into strips for 

 wrapping around large stocks. 



Prof, N. W. McLain, Du-ector of the 

 Agricultural Experiment Station of the 

 University of Minnesota, at St. Anthony 

 Park, gave us a call last week. The Pro- 

 fessor has had a three-months attack of 

 La Orip2}e, which has left on him a visible 

 manifestation of its strength. Like many 

 others, he cannot " shake " the monster off. 

 The Professor's management of the Agri- 

 cultural College seems to have met the 

 expectation of the Board of Managers, and 

 the Work of the Station is being greatly 

 extended and enlarged. The Professor is a 

 good manager, and will doubtless become 

 very popular at the College. 



Jty M. A. Williams, of Berkshire, N. Y., 

 has issued a 12 -page Catalogue of Bee- 

 Keepers' Supplies, with calendar attached 

 to hang on the wall. It is unique, but very 

 late — 4 months of the calendar having 

 already expired. Mr. Williams also buys 

 honey in its season. 



XUe Bee-Qiiestion^— " To bee or not 



to bee "—is discussed quite forcibly in the 

 following conversation, which shows the 

 advantage to be derived from keeping on 

 right side, or end, of anything — even 

 though it is only a bee : 



Breslow — Say, Cummings, don't you 

 want to buy a hive of bees i 



Cummings— Not I. Tried 'em a year,and 

 was stung just 647 times. 



Breslow — They must have been cross. 

 You didn't get on the right side of 'em. 



Cummings — Great Scott ! I did, too. I 

 was extra careful about that, but I always 

 seemed to strike the wrong end. 



