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JAl^UARY. 



.' Janus am I. olrtest of potentates '. 

 Forward I look and backward and below. 

 1 count— as God of avenue and Kates 

 Tbc years that through uiy portals come and KO. 

 1 block the road'i and drift the fields with snow, 

 I chase the wild-fowl from the frozen fen ; 

 My frosts congeal the rivers in their flow, 

 31y fires light up the heartha and hearts of men." 



^Longfellow. 



Fined for Adtilteratins Honey. 



—We notice in the Bee-Keepers' Magazine 

 for December, 18SS, j list received, tliat under 

 the New Jersey law against adulteration of 

 food, one man lias been fined S50 for selling 

 adulterated honey. We are given noj par- 

 ticulars, but presume it was the ordinary 

 glass jar of glucose with a little "floating 

 island " of comb honey in the centre. Here 

 is what the Magazine says about it : 



It is gratifying to note that G. Volner, of 

 Jersey City, agent of Charles Israel, of New 

 York, was tried before the First District 

 Court of Jersey City, and was convicted of 

 selling adulterated honey, and lined 9o0. 

 This was accomplished through the efforts 

 of Commissioner Newton, of New Jersey. 

 We hope those who have decried his good 

 ■work, will please take notice. 



This is a wholesome lesson, and one likely 

 to be remembered by the parties who have 

 handled the adulterated honey of F. G. 

 Strohmeyer & Co., McCaul & Hildreth, and 

 others named in the list published some 

 months back in the 3Iagazinc. We think 

 these " honorable gentlemen " (?) will have 

 a smaller sale of glucose and honey in New 

 Jersey after this. Every beekeeper should 

 uphold Commissioner Newton in his efforts 

 to overthrow, as far as his jurisdiction per- 

 mits, the adulteration of honey. Let us all 

 join and condemn them as heartily as we do 

 Prof. Wiley. 



We are glad to see the law enforced at 

 least in one State against those who adul- 

 terate articles of food, and sell them as 

 genuine, for ill-gotten gain. 



Cases are vei-y few where it is profitable 

 to adulterate honey (for no one will do it at 

 a loss, just for " the fun of the thing "), and 

 if New York merchants have " aided and 

 abbetted" the New Jersey man, they 

 should suffer with him, and be condemned 

 by all honest and conscientious persons. In 

 this we clasp hands with Bro. Aspinwall, 

 and demand honesty and purity in all kinds 

 of business. 



A Co«igl» Remedy.— This is the sea- 

 son when coughs and "colds" are very 

 prevalent, and very disagreeable to have. 

 Many are the remedies recommended, but 

 all are forgotten from one cough or cold to 

 the next time that we may be afflicted. The 

 Northwestern Agriculturist suggests the 

 following excellent remedy, which is a 

 simple flax-seed tea, made thus : 



Pour over an ounce of whole flax-seed, a 

 pint of boiling water; let the tea stand on 

 ihebackof the stove for twenty minutes, 

 then strain, and add the juice of three 



lemons, and honey and loaf-sugar to 

 sweeten. 



Muffling the throat is one sure way of 

 courting tenderness and soreness in that 

 region of the body. Honey is highly recom- 

 mended for all affections of the throat and 

 respiratory organs ; and bee keepers should 

 not lack for that simple article of medicine, 

 and recommend it to others. 



A I^ew Uncapping- Macliine.— 



Tlie British Bee Journal has the following 

 concerning this new invention, and think- 

 ing that Americans would like to see an en- 

 graving as well as description of it, we re- 

 produce the article and illustration : 



Since Count Zorzi first introduced an un- 

 capping macliine, there have been several 

 others introduced to bee-keepers, but tlie 

 objection to most of them has been that 

 they were either too expensive, or that they 

 did not work satisfactorily. They have in 

 consequence not come into use, and to be- 

 come general they must come down in price, 

 like extractors have done. The knife-ma- 



chines intended to uncap both sides at one 

 operation, are either noisy, or, unless the 

 knives are kept as sharp as razors, they tear 

 the combs. The first improvement in the 

 right direction was the substitution of a 

 revolving cylinder having projecting points 

 in it something like the cylinder of a barrel- 

 organ. It was introduced by M. Prochask, 

 in 1886, and was illustrated In the Deutsche 

 Illustricrte Bicncnzeitung of July of that 

 year. The cylinder was vertical, and the 

 comb which was fixed in a frame was 

 pushed past it,much in the same way as the 

 frame is pushed past the knives in Mr. 

 Hooker's patent machine. 



M. Peter Wagner, of Kreuzstatten, has 

 just brought out an improvement which, 

 while simplifying the machine, also re- 

 duces its cost. It will be seen by referring 

 to the illustration, that the apparatus con- 

 sists of a square tin can, from which the 

 side f is removed to show the interior. The 

 comb to be uncapped is placed into the up- 

 right frame, d d, which slides up and down 

 the guide-roils, tt. The two horizontal 

 cylinders are of wood, and have a number 

 of iron points stuck into them. When re- 

 volved at a high speed the cappings of the 

 comb are removed by these points as clean 

 as though they were cut off with a knife. 

 The cylinders can be adjusted for combs of 

 dilferent thicknesses, and the proper speed 

 is obtained byturning the handle c, attached 

 to a disk over which passes a cord. A small 



wheel, X, is placed in the position seen in 

 the illustration, to give the cord a firmer 

 grip of the pulley on the cylinder. The 

 same mechanism that revolves the cylinders 

 is made to lower and raise the frame. The 

 wheel, o, revolves the spindle attached to it, 

 and on this a cord is wound which raises or 

 lowers the frame. The bottom of the can is 

 coned so that the honey can run out and be 

 collected in a vessel placed for its reception. 

 The side, f, is movable, and, as will be seen, 

 is turned over at the top in such a way as tc 

 cover the cylinders, and prevent splashing 

 of honey. 



Presenting Spring Owindling. 



—After a mild winter there is generally con- 

 siderable danger of the bees dwindling in 

 the spring following. The Bee-Keepers' 

 Giu'dc for this month gives this caution to 

 the inexperienced : 



The mild weather between November and Decem- 

 ber makes it certain that the winter is to be a short 

 one, and it is helping out the bees which were not in 

 the very best condition. The unfavorable weather 

 during the fall caused an unusual decrease in the 

 brood ; and, with a severe, long wttiter, very serious 

 results might come of it. We should avail ourselves 

 of all the advantage of the weather, and be aware 

 that there are still chances for a change that might 

 be very disastrous to the bees. 



If the temperature continues BO high during Jan- 

 uarv, the bees are likely to commence brood-rear- 

 ing. and in this case, if February or March should 

 be cold or favored with a great amount of snow, the 

 greatest care will be necessary to prevent the 

 brood from chilling, and the colonies to finally 

 spring dwindle until all is lost. 



If the snow becomes deep around the hives, and 

 there is a prospect for a thaw, shov^ it clear away 

 from around tlie hives. Wet snow chills the brood 

 and bees while dry snow retains the heat of the 

 cluster of bees, and is on this account a benefit. 



It will be found profitable to pack colonies with 

 chalf. even in such winters as this, as it keeps the 

 bees quiet, prevents brood-rearing, and holds the 

 8n(nv further away from the hives, so that it will 

 iu)t have so great an effect on the brood-nest when 

 it melts. 



If there are any bees still unprotected, we would 

 advise it to be done ; do not flatter yourself with the 

 idea that the mildnessof the weather makes it un- 

 necessary. The greatest loss of bees we ever knew 

 of, extending over the greatest scope of country, 

 occurred during the March following a mild, open 

 winter ; so mild that the bees Ilew a number of days 

 during February. The low price of honey, and the 

 competition now will not permit of any neglect or 

 any losses by carelessness. If one expects to make 

 any profit out of the business. 



PeacIi-BloM- Clieelcs and rosy lips, 

 deep blue eyes and curly auburn hair, are 

 possessed by the lovely girl whose face 

 adorns Hood's Sarsaparilla Calendar for '89. 

 She wears a dainty bonnet, and the head is 

 "cut-out" so as to look quite realistic. 

 Hood's Calendar is easily the best of its 

 kind, and like the Sarsaparilla it represents, 

 is a good thing to have in the house. The 

 pad harmonizes with the exquisite array of 

 color above, while the dates are easily read. 

 Hood's Calendar may be obtained of your 

 druggist, or by sending 6 cents in stamps to 

 C. I. Hood & Co., Lowell, Mass. 



IVovr tliat Sorgiiuni is once more 

 attracting the attention of farmers through- 

 out the country, it is well to know that the 

 Sorghum Hand-Book, a valuable treatise on 

 the cultivation and manufacture of Sor- 

 ghum, may be had free of charge on applica- 

 tion to the BIymyer Iron Works Company, 

 Cincinnati, O. 



Connndriim.— Why is a bee's occupa- 

 tion similar to that of a merchant ? Don't 

 they both sell combs ? Next. 



