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PUBLISHED BY_ „„ 



THOS. G.NEWMAN ^SON, : 



CHICAGO. ILvIv. 



BDITOR. 



Voinv. May 11, 18 



No. 19. 



S\rcct Home.— The most perfect type 

 of "sweet home" is the bee-hive. 



Xlie Poultry Weekly is the second 

 title of the Cnnadkin lice Jmwnal in last 

 week"s issue. There are two additional 

 leaves (the cover being discarded), and 8 

 pages are each devoted to bees and poultry. 

 The first page is much improved in appear- 

 ance. We wish it success. 



Vexatious Delays still hold baclf the 

 trial of the case of Mr. Z. A. Clark, of Ark- 

 adelphia, Ark., in the Supreme Court of 

 that State. He writes us that he expects to 

 " get a hearing soon."' 



Mr. Clark wrote thus on April 27, about 

 his bees : 



My bees are doing well here now. They 

 bejian gathering pollen on Feb. 2 ; swarmed 

 on the last of March, and now are ready for 

 the extractor. 



Ciood Xcstiniony.— At the meeting 

 of the Erie County Farmers' Institute held 

 at Holland, N. Y., on April 20, ISSfl, Mr. M. 

 F. Varney, of North Collins, gave an ad- 

 dress on " Grape Culture," at the conclusion 

 of which Mr. Hershiser asked him this ques- 

 tion : "Do bees injure grapes?" Mr. 

 Varney replied : " I am confident that bees 

 will not touch them, only when the skin is 

 broken." 



This testimony from an extensive grape- 

 grower is verv important. He positively 

 asserts that the bees do not appropriate the 

 juice of the grape until the skin is broken 

 by birds or insects. That is grand testi- 

 mony, and we commend it to all the grape- 

 growers who have foolishly waged war 

 against the bees. 



KlatisticNot'OiirliKluMtry.— After 



more than a year we record tlie first move 

 on the part of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture to obtain the promised statistical in- 

 formation—for which we obtained the 

 names of correspondents in March, 1S88. 

 We have received a circular like the follow- 

 ing, as have (in all probability) each of the 

 persons whose names we sent the Depart- 

 ment a year ago : 



U. S. Department ok Agricixture. 



Washington, U. C, May 1, ISSi). 



Sir .-—At the request of the officers of the 

 National Bee-Keepers' Association, I pro- 

 pose to send out twice each year circulars 

 to prominent beekeepers in all sections of 

 the country, to obtain accurate statistics of 

 honey-production. Those engaged in this 

 industry are particularly interested in hav- 

 ing accurate knowledge of the general con- 

 dition of apicniture, and early information 

 as to the probable honey supply, iu order 

 that they may more intelligently market 

 their individual product. The data obtained 

 by these circulars of inquiry will be con- 

 solidated and published in the June and 

 October crop reports of this Department, 

 copies of which will be sent to all persons 

 making returns. The present inquiries re- 

 late only to the general condition of the in- 

 dustry, but those in October will relate to 

 comparative product of honey for the sea- 

 son, quality, etc. Trusting that you will 

 fill up and return this t)lank at your earliest 

 convenience, I am, very respectfully, 



J. M. Rusk, Sec. 



Name 



Post-OlBce 



County 



State 



1. How are the colonies in your county 

 generally wintered ? (In cellars, caves, 

 out-doors or otherwise ?) 



3. What percentage of bees survived the 

 past winter ? 



3. Is there any foul brood ? 



4. What races of bees are generally kept ? 



5. Wliat are the present prospects for the 

 crop of the coming season ? 



Remarks 



We filled up the blanks, and wrote after 

 the word " Remarks," that we were glad 

 the Department had at last taken a step in 

 the matter— but regretted that statistical in- 

 formation in reference to the number of 

 colonies of bees in the fall of 1888 and in the 

 spring of 1889 was omitted. 



Our friend, Eugene Secor, wrote us a few 

 days ago that he had also received the "first 

 circular from the Department of Agricul- 

 ture to correspondents, to obtain statistics 

 relating to the condition of the industry of 

 bee-keeping." He adds : "The questions 

 asked do not cover the ground as thoroughly, 

 perhaps, as they might, but it. is a step 

 towards recognizing the importance of the 

 honey-bee." 



As such step towards a recognition of the 

 pursuit of beekeeping, we hail it with 

 pleasure. " Large bodies move slowly "— 

 but generally "get there " in due time. This 

 is the result of the committee appointed at 

 the Chicago convention in the fall of 188T. 



Catalogues for 1SS9 are on our desk 

 from— 



F. A. Salisbury, Syracuse, N. Y.— 3 pages 

 — Apiarian Supplies. 



G. D. Black. Brandon, Iowa— 10 pages- 

 Seeds, and Italian Bees and Queens. 



J. Van Deusen & Sons, Sprout Brook, N. 

 Y.— 4 pages— Comb Foundation. 



8oiiili«-i-n <'onib Honey. —E. Israel, 

 Oak Lawn, Miss., on April 27, 1889, sent us 

 two one-pound sections of comb honey, with 

 the following letter ; 



I send you two sections of comb honey. 

 Please inform me through the A«Eitic.\N 

 Bee Jouunai. what you think ot it. The 

 colony that gave it, also gave me 5ti one- 

 nound sections this year. It had a hybrid 

 Holy-Land (lueen ; slie mated with a tilack 

 drone. 1 have others doing as well. It was 

 gathered while black locust was In bloom ; 

 white clover also. We have a heavy honey- 

 flow at present from white clover, poplar 

 and blackberry. My bees commenced 

 swarming on March 26. I have already had 

 SO swarms. 



Do not put this honey in your Museum, 

 but put it on the table, so that vou can give 

 a good idea of its quality. Friend Muth 

 wrote me last year tliat he never saw any 

 Southern honey light enough for his trade 

 in comb honey. 



We have eaten the honey, by the help of 

 our family, and like its flavor. It is amber 

 in color, has a good body, and is pleasant to 

 the taste— the white clover flavor predomi- 

 nating. As long as the trade calls for white 

 honey in the comb, this would not fill the 

 bill, and that is what Friend Muth meant, 

 no doubt, but we think the flavor more 

 agreeable than much of the white honey, 

 particularly the linden ; the latter is ex- 

 cellent for its medicinal qualities, but many 

 object to its peculiar taste. 



A Correspondent asks to have these 

 questions answered m the American Bee 

 Journal, viz : 



. 1. What are the dimensions of the Lang- 

 stroth hive ; also of the frame ? 



2. What size of the Langstroth hive is the 

 best for all purposes, controlling swarming, 

 etc. ? 



3. As I intend to produce both comb and 

 extracted honey next year, and comb honey 

 this year— would it be any advantage to use 

 extracting supers for both, using a wide 

 frame holding 8 sections 2 tiers high ? 



4. Is there any difference between the V- 

 groove one-piece section and the open side 

 section ? 



5. My supers are one-half depth, with bee- 

 spaces between the top-bars, and also under 

 all the frames ; arc they for tiering up '.' 



I. The Langstroth frame in general use is 

 9.Vxl""< outside, and the hive for 10 frames 

 measures 14x18?^' inches inside, and is 10 

 inches deep inside. 



3. The hive containing 10 frames is gener- 

 ally considered the best for all purposes, 

 though some use only 8 frames, and like 

 them well. 



3. Wide frames are used, but are not as 

 popular as they were some years since. 



4. One-piece sections are made open on 

 all sides when so ordered. 



5. Probably- though the question is very 

 indefinite. 



Grsiftin{j-Wax.— As nearly all our 

 readers are farmers, or interested in that 

 pursuit, and often would be glad to have a 

 good, yet simple,recipe for making grafting- 

 wax, we give the following, which the New 

 York Voice says is good : 



Mix one part of tallow with two parts of 

 beeswax and four parts of rosin. 



