292 



TH^ m^mmmiQmm mmm j©^Rr«S3Lr. 



Xlic National Centennial Birtli- 



day was enthusiastically celebrated from 

 the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, and 

 from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans— on 

 April 30— the centennial of the inauguration 

 of Washinston as the first President under 

 the new Constitution of the United States of 

 America. 



Not alone in the civic and military display 

 were the ceremonies noteworthy — but 

 throughout the whole country earnest men, 

 women and children gathered in all the 

 churches and offered thanks for the mani- 

 fold blessings consequent upon the labors o£ 

 the men who had guided their country in 

 the hour of peril, and had laid the founda- 

 tions of its peaceful progress, and present 

 glory. 



This grand Republic has now entered 

 upon its second century strong in its might, 

 and conscious of its grand and glorious 

 destiny. 



On the next page we reproduce an engrav- 

 ing exceedingly appropriate at the present 

 moment— showing the faces of Washington 

 and his successors down to the present time. 



Xlie Outlook.— A correspondent in 

 last week's Orange Judd farmer, who has 

 been traveling through the State of Illinois, 

 expresses himself thus about the prospects 

 for a good crop of honey for this season : 



In our travels through Illinois, during the 

 past month, we have found that bees have 

 mostly wintered well, and colonies are 

 stronger than they have been in April tor 

 several years past. Our own are unusually 

 strong, and have large quantities of sealed 

 brood almost ready to hatch. The abun- 

 dance of the cherry and willow bloom has 

 been an early stimulant, and we are looking 

 for early swarming. The outlook for white 

 clover honey is good, there being an abund- 

 ance of white clover everywhere, uninjured 

 by the winter. 



Bees and Frnit.— In reference to the 

 very important work done by bees in ferti- 

 lizing the flowers, and thereby increasing 

 the fruit, Mr. W. Styan, of San Mateo, 

 Calif., writes to the Pacific Btiral Press, 

 under the above heading, the following in- 

 teresting facts : 



In addition to the very able letter written 

 by your correspondent, W., in your last 

 issue, regarding the fertilization of fruit 

 blossoms by bees, we have in the same issue 

 a letter signed J. R. Springer, Woodland, 

 which is a proof of the efficacy of cross-fer- 

 tilization undoubtedly performed by the 

 agency of bees. Mr. Springer (speaking of 

 almond trees) says : " 1 will say that the 

 Standard and Languedoc, planted alter- 

 nately, will vield double what they will if 

 each is planted by itself. I saw that at Mr. 

 W. W. Smith's at Vacaville last June. He 

 had 13 trees in a row— 6 Languedoc and 6 

 Standard— and where the two varieties were 

 the nearest, the trees were the heaviest 

 loaded, and the further away the lighter.'' 

 The reason for the above is obvious : the 

 bees working on the trees nearest together 

 would naturally cross-fertilize more of their 

 blossoms than those at a distance, hence the 



desirability of planting the two kinds to- 

 gether. 



Many kinds of fruit depend entirely on 

 the agency of bees in fertilizing the flowers 

 to enable them to produce fruit at all. It is 

 a well-known fact in the Eastern States that 

 unless they have a few hours of sunshine 

 when early cherries are in bloom they get 

 no fruit at all. The reason is plain ; when 

 the cold wind and rain storms prevail, the 

 bees are unable to get out, and consequently 

 the blossoms remain unfertilized. 



Itec-Stins'.'' to Cure Rlieiinia- 



tism.— James McNeill, of Hudson, N. Y., 

 seeds tis the following with these remarks : 

 " The enclosed, cut from the Christian at 

 Work, is somewhat humorous,if it possesses 

 no other merit.'' Here is the "item" re- 

 ferred to : 



Sufferers from rheumatism, says the Lon- 

 don Christian World, will be delighted to 

 hear that a cure has been found, which tried 

 upon 173 patients has proved uniformly suc- 

 cessful. The first feeling aroused in them 

 by this good news may, however, be suc- 

 succeeded by a less ecstatic state of mind, 

 when they learn what the cure is— namely, 

 the sting of bees. A certain Dr. Tere is the 

 hero of this notable discovery. The cure is 

 somewhat prolonged, for we read that his 

 173 patients took among them no less than 

 39,C00 stings— an average of about 3i5 stings 

 apiece. This is a little disheartening,though 

 Herr Tere avers that after the first dose the 

 subsequent stings give less and less pain. 

 Still, the "bee-cure" has rather a forbid- 

 ding aspect. The agony might, perhaps, be 

 shortened by substituting hornets for bees- 

 say, one hornet for every 20 bees ; or, per- 

 haps, a single scorpion might effect the 

 whole cure. It would be useful to have a 

 table drawn up something in this wise : 



12 midges equal 1 mosquito. 



34 mosquitoes " 1 bee or wasp. 



30 bees or wasps " 1 hornet. 



10 hornets " 1 scorpion. 



There are, doubtless, some who would 

 prefer to take the "scorpion cure," and 

 have it over at once. 



To laugh heartily at the general fear of 

 stings is about the best thing to do. 



Honey Comb 50 'K'ears Old. —A 



strange discovery has just been made in 

 England, says the Public Opinion of April 

 13, 18S9, at the Cathays Yard of the Taff-vale 

 Railway Company. Several copies have 

 been sent us by our correspondents. The 

 particulars are as follows : 



A large elm tree, grown in Gloucester- 

 shire, was being cut up into timber, when, 

 right in the very heart, a cavity measuring 

 8 ifeet by 7>n inches in diameter was dis- 

 covered almost completely filled with the 

 honey comb, together with a squirrel's 

 skull. No means of access to the hollow 

 was discoverable, neither was decay any- 

 where apparent, and around the cavity itself 

 no less than fifty " rings," each ring denot- 

 ing a year's growth, were counted, the outer 

 bark being, too, without a flaw. The hollow 

 was of uniform size throughout, and pre- 

 sented the appearance of having been bored 

 with an auger, and, great though its dimen- 

 sions were, it was practically filled with 

 comb, proving that the bees must have been 

 in possession for several years. Empty 

 queen-cells also showed that they had 

 swarmed. 



How the bees got there can only be 

 guessed, but it is surmised that a squirrel 

 once occupied a decayed hole in the tree, 

 cleared away the decay, occupied the cavity 

 as its home, and there died. Then the bees 



entered into possession, and filled the whole 

 with comb, when by some means the en- 

 trance, which must have been small, became 

 stopped. Then for fifty years the growth of 

 the timber went on. The entrance being 

 absolutely obliterated, and the hole being 

 hermetically sealed, the comb was preserved 

 from decay for half a century, to be found 

 at last in the way described. The find is of 

 great interest to naturalists. 



■tears and Honey.— Two largeBears 



were recently captured in Ulster county, N. 

 Y., says the Kingston Freeman. It seems 

 they loved honey too well, and this led to 

 their capture. For months honey had been 

 missed, and suspicious persons were ac- 

 cused of the theft. The Freeman gives the 

 details thus : 



On Monday morning a member of the 

 family of Cornelius I'alen saw what at first 

 appeared to be a large black dog near one of 

 the hives. Investigation, however, proved 

 the supposed dog to be a bear. A moment 

 later another large bruin made its way into 

 the back yard. An alarm was given. Neigh- 

 bors were called to the scene, but in the 

 meantime the shaggy brutes had slunk to a 

 neighboring woods. A hunting party, com- 

 posed of quarry men, woodchoppers and 

 fanners, was soon organized, and a search 

 instituted. 



Two large blood hounds, owned by Cor- 

 nelius Palen and Luther Trowbridge, ac- 

 companied the party. The chase was a long 

 one. The bruins led the hunters over hill 

 and dale. Overlook mountain was reached, 

 and the hunters were nearly exhausted. 

 Still the trail was followed, which led from 

 " the mountain " through Rattlesnake Hol- 

 low. Here the dogs, which were consider- 

 erably in the lead, overtook the bears, and a 

 lively tussel ensued. 



The hunters were soon on the scene, and 

 a few minutes later two shaggy brutes lay 

 lifeless on the ground. The dogs were badly 

 bruised and scratched. The largest of the 

 two bears weighed over 32.5 pounds. The 

 other tipped the scales at about 300 pounds. 



Xiie Eclioes of our Centennial celebra- 

 tion had hardly died away before the Re- 

 public of France began to commemorate its 

 centennial of the revolutionary struggle for 

 freedom a hundred years ago. The Uni- 

 versal Exposition at Paris opened on May 

 5 with appropriate ceremonies and enthusi- 

 asm, to commemorate that event, and it 

 promises to be a grand success. 



Scientiiic Queen - Rearin;:^, as 



practically applied ; being a method by 

 which the best of queen-bees are reared in 

 perfect accord with Nature's ways. This is 

 the title of a new book of nearly 300 pages 

 by G. M. Doolittle, of Borodino, N.T. 



In this book Mr. Doolittle details the re- 

 sults of his experiments in rearing queen- 

 bees for the past four or five years, and is 

 the first to present his discoveries to the 

 world. It will be out in good time for every 

 progressive bee-keeper to test the various 

 discoveries which it details, during the pres- 

 ent season. Send all orders for the book to 

 this office. Price, Sl.OO, postpaid. The usual 

 discount to dealers in lots of 10 or more. 



Early Queens.— Those wanting such 

 Queens, should note J. N. Colwick's prices 

 on page 303 of this issue. 



