Tmm mTsummicmn mmm jauRNiM,. 



408 



to injure the health of the consumer, 

 but because it pays them to do so ; to 

 completely neutralize the poisons they 

 use in process of manufacture woukl 

 add to the expense of the product, and 

 such a course would require more time 

 and more skilled labor. 



It is well for all to remember that 

 honey is solelj' the product of Nature, 

 and that Nature is more honest and 

 less niggardly than our sugar-manu- 

 facturers. Nature has no motive for 

 cheapening the cost of her products at 

 the expense of quality. Every chemist 

 knows that sugar-makers have just 

 such motives, and such practices are 

 more injurious to the health than sugar 

 trusts are to the pocket-book of the 

 consumer. 



The late Dr. J. G. Holland, in treat- 

 ing on the subject of longevity, said : 

 " By all authorities, honey has been 

 esteemed the ' juice of life,' and car- 

 ries far more merit than the fabled 

 fountain of youth and beauty which 

 Ponce de Leon sought in vain. Many 

 aged philosophers, and among them 

 Democritus, Pythagoras, and Pliny 

 trace their length of days to the use 

 of honey. Two persons in modern 

 times are mentioned as having lived 

 to the ages of 108 and 116, and who, 

 during the last half century of their 

 lives, for their breakfast took only a 

 little tea sweetened with honey." 



While I do not advocate discontinua- 

 tion of the use of sugars for cooking 

 and baking purposes, I think that un- 

 der nearly all circumstances honey 

 can be very profitably substituted for 

 syrups and molasses, and in many 

 cases it should be used where sugar is 

 now used. Although the first cost of 

 a gallon of honey is greater than that 

 of a gallon of poor molasses, I think 

 that in the long run the honey is the 

 cheaper. 



Few people take into account the 

 number of hours of labor and pleasure 

 they lose in the course of a life-time, 

 consequent on their having partaken 

 of unwholesome food ; and again, the 

 writer cannot too strongly urge honey- 

 producers to handle nothing but a 

 clean, well-ripened article of extracted 

 honey. 



East Le Roy, Mich. 



SWARM-CATCHERS. 



How to Make and Use them in 

 Securing Swarms. 



Written Jw the American Bee Journal 



BY ROBERT CARVER. 



Having read in the Bee Journal 

 the various articles under the head of 

 " Swarm - Hivers," " Swarming - Bas- 

 kets," etc., and failing to see anything 



that describes the kind of swarm- 

 catcher which I use, I write : 



My swarm-catclier is simply a taper- 

 ing box, made of light material 4 feet 

 and 10 inches long, and 14 inches wide 

 by 19 inches high at the large end, 

 and 10 inches wide by 4 inches high 

 at the small end. The small end is so 

 made that it will fit over the entrance 

 to a hive. A wire-screen door fills the 

 large end ; the top and sides are mostly 

 covered with wire-screen ; the bottom 

 is covered with thin boards, and is 

 furnished with handles so that it can 

 be quickly adjusted to a hive. I have 

 20 of these swarm-catchers, which, in 

 swarming-time, I have scattered about 

 the yard so that they will be conven- 

 ient of access to any hive in the yard. 



Now as to its operation : From 7 

 o'clock in the morning until 4 in the 

 afternoon, watch for swarms ; when a 

 swarm starts out a catcher is quickly 

 adjusted to the hive — the bees have no 

 other way only to go into the catcher. 



When the bees have done issuing 

 from the hive, the catcher is taken 

 away, closing the end so that the bees 

 cannot get out. I then mark the num- 

 ber of the hive on the catcher, and 

 carry it to some convenient place out- 

 side of the yard ; the bees will soon 

 cluster in the catcher, and can be put 

 into a hive when convenient to do so, 

 which should be within a couple of 

 hours after swarming ; but in case I 

 am driven with swarming, I sometimes 

 leave them until nearly night before 

 hiving them. 



In transferring the bees from the 

 catcher to the hive, spread a sheet on 

 the ground, place the hive on the 

 sheet (so that any scattering bees can 

 be shaken up to the hive), and take 

 out the screen door from the large end 

 of the catcher. Now take a few bees 

 from the cluster, and place them at 

 the entrance of the hive ; as soon as a 

 few bees get started in, thej- will give 

 the signal of entering, which all the 

 bees in the catcher will understand ; 

 then place them down in front of the 

 hive as fast as they can pass in. The 

 queen will usually find her way in with 

 the rest of the Isees without looking 

 after. 



Twenty swarm-catchers is sulficient 

 for 150 colonies of bees. All that is 

 required then, is a sharp watch for 

 swarms, and all will be well. 



Manton, Mich. 



Chapman lloney-PIant Seed.— 



This plant has been commended by some of 

 the most experienced bee keepers In 

 America, as being " a most valuable acqui- 

 sition to the list of bee-forage plants." The 

 seed may be scattered in waste places, or 

 it may be sown in drills or hills like onion 

 seed. We can furnish the seed, postpaid, 

 at the following prices : Single ounce, 40 

 cents; 4 ounces, SI. 00; 10 ounces, $2.00; 

 or one pound for $3.00. 



COmVElVTION DIRECTORY. 



1890. Time mid place of meeting. 



July 17.— Carolina, at Charlotte, N. C. 



N. P. Lyleii, Sec, Derlta N. C. 



Sept. 10.— Ionia County, at Ionia, Mich. 



H. Smith. Sec, lonia, Mich. 



Oct. 29-31.— International American, at Keokuk. la. 

 C. P. Dadant, 8ec., Hamilton, Ills. 



Oct.— Ml83oarl State, at Mexico, Mo. 



J. W. Rouse. Sec, Santa Fe, Mo. 



In order to have this table complete, 



Secretaries are requested to forward full 

 particulars of the time and the place of 

 each future meeting. — The Editou. 



International Bee-Association. 



President— Hon. R. L. Taylor.. Lapeer, Mich. 

 Secretary— C. P. Dadant Hamilton, Ills. 



National Bee-Keepers' Union. 



President— James Heddon ..Dowag-iac, Mich. 

 Sec'y. and Manager— T. G. Newman, Chicago. 



Sji^g^^^^ 



Death ofa L.a<ly Bee-Keeper,etc. 



Miss A. B. Stone, for a number of years 

 a subscriber for the American Bee Jour- 

 nal, died on May 13, 1890, from the 

 effects of La Orippe. 



The weather has been cold and dry all 

 the spring until the middle of May ; since 

 then it has been warm and rainy. Every 

 thing looks favorable for a good honey sea- 

 son, and the bees are in good condition for 

 the harvest. They are at work on pin- 

 cherry and wild peas. I had my first swarm 

 to-day. Wilber Stone. 



Fall Creek, Wis., June 2, 1890. 



Bees Uoin;; Splendidly. 



My first swarm came out on May 27, and 

 the bees are doing splendidly now on dan- 

 delions and wild cherries. I had 14 colo- 

 nies left out of 77. I have bought some 

 bees, so I will commence with 31 colonies. 

 Over half of the bees failed to winter in 

 this county. I shall increase my apiary as 

 much as I can this season. 



Fayette Lee. 



Cokato, Minn., June 3, 1890. 



<jiood Prospect for liVhite Clover. 



I have 35 colonies in fair condition, but 

 a number would have starved ten days ago, 

 if I had not fed them. They are not as 

 strong now as they were one month ago, 

 but they are doing well on blackberry and 

 raspberry. The prospect for white clover 

 is good — it is beginning to blossom. I am 

 gi'eatly indebted to the American Bee 

 Journal for what I know about bee-keep- 

 ing. A. M. Laughlin. 



Normal, lUs., May 31, 1890. 



Large Colonies of Bees. 



I have at the present time many power- 

 ful colonies of bees, as the result of the new 

 system of management. One of the best at 

 this time occupies 40 brood-combs, with 

 about 25 of brood. The number of bees is 

 something extraordinary, and it is safe to 

 say that it is the largest colony in the State 

 of Ohio. All who have seen it, pronounce 

 it the largest, and the strongest working 



