24 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



The Bee-Keepers' Union. 



Glancing over tlio report of the Na- 

 tional Bee-Keepers' Union, I notice that 

 there seemed to be but a small addition 

 to the previous membership, which I 

 cannot understand, in view of the asser- 

 tion that there are 300,000 bee-keepers 

 in the United States. On the basis of 

 600 in the " Union," and the assertion 

 above, those who are members stand as 

 1 to 500 to those who are not. Now, in 

 view of this, it seems to me that the 

 census of real bee-keepers must have 

 been terribly misrepresented, or else our 

 brother bee-keepers are holding back, 

 not from a lack of money, but from a 

 sense of feeling assuring them that they 

 are safe and sound individually in their 

 own neighborhood, and that all money 

 spent in this direction would be lost. If 

 there be any unphilanthropic apiarists 

 in this line, they remind me of those 

 agricolists, who, having become aged, 

 refrain from planting fruit trees on the 

 plea that they will not reap the benefits 

 accruing therefrom. God grant that 

 such selfish motives do not exist amongst 

 bee-keepers, a class of men for whom I 

 have the profoundest respect and ad- 

 miration. I am loth to believe that bee- 

 keepers would see their fellows sufl'er if 

 they could avert it. I am afraid they 

 have not as yet been touched so as to see 

 the profound necessity of joining. 



Cincinnati, O. H. K. Staley. 



California State Association. 



We, the undersigned, realizing the 

 necessity of combined effort on the part 

 of the honey-producers of the State of 

 California, and the need of further 

 legislation for the protection of this 

 industry, and proper representation at 

 the World's Fair in 1898, favor the 

 organization of a California State Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, for the purpose set 

 forth, and to represent the bee-keepers' 

 industry of the whole State of California. 

 To accomplish this object we issue this 

 call, and urge the attendance of every 

 interested person, both male and female, 

 at a meeting to be held at the Chamber 

 of Commerce, Los Angeles, on Jan. 7, 

 1892, at 9:30 a.m. We purpose or- 

 ganizing, on a liberal basis, excluding 

 no proper person who is interested in 

 apiculture. Prof. A. J. Cook and A. I 

 Root will be with us on this occasion. 

 Signed by J. F. Mclntyre, Cyrus Ken- 

 ney, R. A. Holley, R. Wilkin, L. E. 

 Mercer, G. B. Woodborry, W. A. Norton, 

 Allen Barnett, M. H. Mendleson, Benj. 

 A. Rapp, J. W. Ferroe, N. Levering, G. 



W. Brodbeck, J. A. Odell, H. C. Blaney, 

 and many others. . 

 Los Angeles, Calif. 



Wavelets ol News. 



Where to Keep Comb-Honey. 



A room in which to keep comb-honey 

 in good condition should be as dry as 

 possible. During pleasant weather a 

 window prote^ed by a wire screen, to 

 keep out bees and other winged insects, 

 should furnish ventilation. When the 

 weather is damp the window should not 

 be closed, but a little fire should be 

 started in the room to drive out the 

 dampness. A high temperature will not 

 injure honey. If the temperature could 

 be continually maintained up in the 

 nineties, the quality of the honey would 

 be improved. 



As the bees always keep their honey 

 in the dark, it seems to me that the 

 room should be kept dark, in which 

 honey is stored. — Apiculturist. 



Skunks Eat Bees. 



After narrowing the entrances to the 

 bee-hives this season, I noticed that the 

 blocks used for contracting were pushed 

 aside from some of the hives nearly 

 every morning. I first supposed that 

 this was due to the severe winds that 

 prevailed, but closer examination 

 showed the grass in front of the hives 

 trampled flat, which gave me the idea 

 that my bees were falling victims to 

 skunks. 



A few nights ago, at midnight, in 

 moonlight, I caught one in the act of 

 bumping at the front of the hive and 

 eating the bees as they came forth. 

 Despite the cold and frost, the colony 

 gave those peculiar cries of distress, 

 showing them to be utterly demoralized. 



When this is continued night after 

 night, an hour or two at a time, at a 

 season too cold for the bees to fly, the 

 agitation and gorging with food would 

 be enough to destroy the colony, even if 

 the skunk got but few of the bees. 



From experiences I have had, I be- 

 lieve that thousands of colonies on low 

 stands arc destroyed during the Fall and 

 Spring (especially in mild Winters) by 

 skunks, and that they injure bees more 

 than all other enemies combined. — J. H. 

 Andke, in the N. Y. Tribune. 



