AMERICAN BEE JOURNAU 



28 



hanging. Will brother bee-keepers test 

 this matter by putthig a few hives next 

 season in trees ; in the timber is a desir- 

 able place. Nail a board on the- hive, 

 and then nail the board to a stay 10 or 

 15 feet from the ground, or higher if 

 convenient ; go to it every day or two. 

 Put a comb in the hive with a handful 

 of rotten wood, and watch the scouts 

 carry out the wood, drop it and fly back 

 for more. In order to get the opinion of 

 the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion, I put this question on paper last 

 month, and gave it to President Eng- 

 land, to have it voted orw All rose to 

 their feet, affirming that bees do locate 

 a home, when the scouts find one. 

 Kenney, Ills. Geo. Poindexter. 



Ofl&cers for the Union. 



"I don't know" but that Dr. Miller 

 has expressed my views in regard to the 

 National Bee-Keepers' Union as well as 

 I could do it myself. When I sent my 

 annual dues I did not vote at all, for, 

 said I, the majority will vote for the old 

 officers, because they do not know who 

 else to vote for. Now, I do feel that 

 the general amnagement should stay 

 where it is, but the other offices could 

 be passed around, and I believe that it 

 would give new life to the Union. In 

 carrying out friend Miller's suggestion, 

 it is the easiest thing in the world to 

 copy his nominations. No ; that would 

 not be carrying out his suggestion, so 

 here goes for more nominations : W. Z. 

 Hutchinson, Hon. R. L. Taylor, Dr.A.B. 

 Mason, Samuel Cushman, C. W. Dayton, 

 E. L. Pratt. These may not all be 

 members of the Union, but they are 

 good men, and ought to be. 



Geo. E. Hilton. 



Fremont, Mich., Dec. 24, 1891. 



Warranted Queens. 



Something is radically wrong with the 

 queen-breeders in this country. For the 

 past two seasons I have purchased 

 warranted and tested queens, and out of 

 the lot but one was prolific. Had I 

 bought cheap and inferior queens, I 

 would find no fault, but \yhen I pay the 

 price asked, I have the right to expect a 

 good article, and not a fungus growth. 

 The fault did not lie in the introduction 

 of the queens, for I followed explicitly the 

 most approved (?) methods ; nor would I 

 grumble or grow ''cranky" over an occa 

 sional loss, but an absolute failure is more 

 than flesh and blood can endure. Pur- 



chasers who spend their hard-earned 

 dollars would be better pleased with less 

 theory, and better queens. 



Madison, Nebr. A. C. Tyrrel. 



Bees in Arizona. 



Our bees have done very little either 

 in swarming or honey. Cattle eat nearly 

 every thing outside, and as there are 

 but a few acres fenced, our prospects 

 for the future are poor. While bees pay 

 as well as other things, on the average, 

 I think some claim too much for them. 

 We make vinegar out of dark honey. 

 J. H. Brown & Son. 



Prescott, Arizona. 



Bees and Grapes. 



In reading my bee-periodicals and 

 some of the local papers, I see that there 

 is considerable said from time to time 

 about bees damaging grapes, as well as 

 some other kinds of small fruit. I claim 

 that it is all "bosh," unless the fruit is 

 first injured in some way or another. I 

 make this assertion from my own experi- 

 ence in growing grapes in the same yard 

 with a number of colonies of bees, at the 

 same time using the grapes as shade for 

 the bee-hives. As my attention has been 

 called to this matter at different times, I 

 have given it much thought, and 

 watched it most carefully. 



In the last three years there has been 

 only two instances where the bees have 

 worked on grapes in the least. 



In the first instance the damage was 

 caused by the chickens picking and eat- 

 ing the lower branches, or clusters, that 

 were hanging low down within their 

 reach. The second instance was caused 

 by a very severe hail-storm, which 

 bruised or punctured the grapes enough 

 to expose their seeds, enticing the bees 

 to work on them. This lasted only for a 

 few days until the bruises became seared 

 over. You will observe that in both in- 

 stances the fruit was first injured before 

 the bees would have anything to do with 

 it, and I do not believe that bees will 

 hurt grapes or other kind of fruit un- 

 less it is damaged by something else. 

 Using them as I do for shade for bee- 

 hives, large clusters of the delicious 

 fruit hang all around the hives — yes, and 

 even within a few inches of the entrance 

 to the hive. This must certainly give a 

 pretty good chance' to test the matter. 

 In conclusion I will say that I really 

 believe that the most of this complain- 

 ing is caused by prejudice. B. E. Rice. 



Boscobel, Wis., Dec. 23, 1891. 



