THE MMERICMIM BE® J©lPPRr«ML. 



227 



EDITOR. 



VoinV. April 13,1889. No, 15. 



Birds sin^ to the heart — to yours and mine — 



In spite of chilly weather. 

 They sing^of hopes— human, divine — 



Twain spirits share together. 



They sing of love heart-warm and true. 



All thro' the l>almy weather. 

 They sing till high in heaven's blue 



The soul floats like white feather. 



Frances Ad.ur, in Inter-Ocean. 



IVe Regret to learn that Mr. Isaac 

 HopkiDS, editor of the Australasian Bee 

 Journal, is indisposed, and has had to cease 

 all business for a time. Mr. 0. Poole is in- 

 stalled as temporary editor, and manages it 

 quite well. The American Bee Journal 

 extends its sympathies to Bro. Hopkins.and 

 hopes for a speedy restoration to health. 



Beeswax.— Mr. W. K. Henwood, of 

 Morven, Ont., asks how to separate bees- 

 ■wax from tallow and rosin. Tallow renders 

 the wax soft, and emits an unpleasant odor 

 when being melted ; and rosin makes the 

 fracture smooth and shining instead of 

 granular, and may be dissolved in cold 

 alcohol, while the wax remains untouched. 

 We know of no way to separate beeswax 

 from tallow. Such wax is fit only for can- 

 dles or grafting-wax. 



4lueen-ExcIu(lins: Point.— H. L. 



Hughes, of Lime Springs, Iowa, on April 4, 

 1889, asks this question : 



Mr. Editor :— Will you please answer 

 this question through the Amekican Bee 

 Journal : What is the space that will pre- 

 vent the queen from passing tlirougb, but 

 will allow the workers to pass ? 



It is quite difficult to decide the exact size 

 to exclude a small queen and yet admit a 

 loaded worker— but it is generally agreed 

 that nine-fiftieths of an inch is about right ; 

 that is a trifle smaller than five-thirty, 

 seconds of an inch. 



Mustard and Rape.— A correspon- 

 dent in New York asks these questions : 



Uow are rape and mustard as honey- 

 plants, with regard to both quality and 

 quantity of honey ? Are they good for any- 

 thing else besides honev ? When should 

 the seed be sown ? Of the different species 

 of mustard, which Is the best ? Have holly- 

 hocks honey in them ? 



We reply : Chinese or black mustard 

 yields considerable nice honey. Sow early 

 in the spring, broadcast 2.5 pounds to the 

 acre, or drill it in, 8 or 10 pounds to the 

 acre ; cultivate to keep the weeds down at 

 first, later it will kill out the weeds. 



Rape yields good honey ; sow it about four 

 weeks before you want it to bloom. 



Holly yields excellent honey. 



Exiiibits of* Honey-Plants.— Mr. 



Julius Moesch, Indianapolis, Ind., asks us 

 to state in the American Bee Journal 

 how to arrange a collection of honey and 

 pollen plants for fairs. He says : " As 

 some of them bloom in the spring, shall I 

 press a leaf and blossom of each plant ?" 



In brief reply we remark : Consult Cook's 

 Manual concerning the time of bloom. 

 Collect the leaves and blossoms when the 

 plants are as dry as possible, and spread 

 them out between newspapers, or better, 

 between thick felt carpet-paper. Place 

 a weight on top. When dry (in from 10 to 

 15 days), mount them on heavy book-paper, 

 by fastening them bodily to the sheet by 

 thick mucilage. To preserve them from in- 

 sects, apply a solution of corrosive subli- 

 mate, using a camel's-hair brush to all parts 

 of the specimen. 



Friend Gravenliorst, whose bio- 

 graphical sketch and portrait appeared in 

 the Bee Journal for Nov. 14, 1888, writes 

 thus in a private letter : 



You have honored and delighted me by 

 publishing that bioeraphy, for German bee- 

 keepers are very jealous of English and 

 American methods, and apicultural inven- 

 tions, which I and a few others delight to 

 defend. 



We spent several days In company with 

 friend Gravenhorst ten years ago this sum- 

 mer, and found him among the foremost of 

 the progressive bee-keepers of the present 

 century. 



TlieMany Friends of Mr. N. W. 



McLain, late special agent of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, in charge 

 of the Apicultural Station at Hinsdale, Ills., 

 has been chosen by the Board of Regents of 

 the Minnesota State University, Director of 

 the State Agricultural Experiment Station, 

 and Professor of Agriculture, in charge of 

 the Station and State Experimental Farm, 

 at St. Anthony Park, Minn., four miles 

 from Minneapolis, and six miles from St. 

 Paul. He has already taken charge of the 

 Station, and his address will hereafter be 

 "St. Anthony, Minn." We congratulate 

 Prof. McLain upon his appointment to such 

 a responsible position. 



A Compliment. — The biographical 

 sketch and portrait of Mr. Eugene Secor has 

 called forth considerable comment. Among 

 others we will enumerate two from his own 

 State. The Winnebago Summit, for March 

 14, 1S89, has this to say : 



The last number of the Chicago Ameri- 

 can Bee Joiirnal, publishes a portrait 

 and biographical sketch of our townsman, 

 Mr. Eugene Secor. The portrait is life-like, 

 and the sketch is well written. Mr. Secor 

 is a well-known authority on the subject of 

 bee-keeping, and has shown by actual re- 

 sults his knowledge on this imnortant in- 

 dustry. He has been a correspondeut of the 

 Journal for ten years past, and has writ- 

 ten many good things, both in prose and 

 rhyme. In the sketch is incorporated a 

 rythmical description of the Bee-Conven- 

 tion in Chicago in 1886, which is exceedingly 

 well written. Mr. Secor looks well in print, 

 and ought to feel complimented at being 

 termed the " Poet Laureate of Apiculture."' 



The Iowa .State Register for March '23, 

 1889, gives this notice : 



A Worthy Compliment. — The last 

 American Bee Journal of Chicago has a 



food picture of a worthy citizen of Iowa, 

 lugene Secor, Esq., of Forest City. It also 

 has a lengthy biographical skeeth of Mr. 

 Secor's public services, as well as his emi- 

 nent success as a bee-keeper. Mr. Secor is 

 well kuown .ill over Iowa, and is highly ap- 

 preciated. He has faithfully discharged the 

 duties of nearly every office in Winnebago 

 county, and has had various stations of 

 honor and responsibility in numerous socie- 

 ties and organizations. His literary talents 

 are of a high order, and his poetic genius 

 flashes out brightly on frequent occasions. 

 And yet he is eminently a practical man, 

 and usually makes a grand success in what- 

 ever he puts his hands to. He is one of 

 Iowa's good practical men, who can be loved 

 and trusted in every department of industry. 



We are glad to learn that our friend Secor 

 is so favorably known at home, and that the 

 notice we gave him is appreciated by his 

 many friends. 



Oovfn East the prospect for spring is 

 thus described by J. H. Larrabee, Secretary 

 of the Vermont Bee-Keepers' Association, 

 on the 3d inst. 



We are having a very favorable spring for 

 the bees. Soft maples will be open in a day 

 or two. With the bees in good condition, 

 clover plenty, and the blooming year for 

 basswood, you may hear from Vermont in 

 1889. My 99 colonies have come through 

 with the loss of only one, by queenlessness; 

 indeed bees all through the State are in 

 good condition. 



In the West the weather has been colder 

 during the past week than it was in Feb- 

 ruary—and the early spring theory has had 

 a set-back. 



Mayor Ilcddon is the new title won 

 by our friend, James Heddon, at Dowagiac, 

 Mich. He was elected by a small majority 

 over one of the most popular men in the 

 city. Mr. A. M. Moon was also elected 

 Justice of the Peace in that city at the same 

 time. Mr. M. is son of Mr. A. F. Moon, the 

 " father " of the " North American Bee- 

 Keepers' Society," and at the time of his 

 death the late editor of Moon's Bee World, 

 published at Rome, Ga. Bee-men are popu- 

 lar in Dowagiac. The American Bee 

 JousNAL offers congratolations. 



