392 



THE JEWdERICSrf BEE JOURF^Slr. 



filled at once, they should have to re- 

 turn the money. 



As the season was earlier than usual 

 this year.I thought I would make extra 

 efforts to please, so I began qneen-i-ear- 

 ing about three weeks earlier than 

 tisual, for I do not as a rule, do much 

 at it before June 1. Well, what has 

 been^the result ? Nuclei were formed 

 to receive the cells, of which I had a 

 large number of extra nice ones, the 

 same being obtained in om- warm 

 weather during apple-bloom ; but at 

 the time of giving the cells, the weather 

 changed, and we have had ten days of 

 the worst weather imaginable for bees, 

 during which it has frozen so hard that 

 ice formed }-inch thick, and the end 

 is not yet. Nuclei are dead, queens 

 and queen-cells destroyed, drones 

 killed off, and my full colonies are 

 damaged to an extent which I do not 

 like to contemplate. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



U. S. FLOWER. 



Our IVational Flower — What 

 Shall it Bei 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BT OREL L. HERSHISER. 



Quite a lively interest is now being 

 taken in the selection of a National 

 flower for the United States of Amer- 

 ica, and a plan which is meeting with 

 popular favor has been offered by Mr. 

 Prang, of Boston, whereby the people 

 may make a popular choice. A taste- 

 ful little volume containing life-like 

 and richly-colored representations of 

 the two most popular floral candidates 

 — the Golden-rod and May flower, or 

 Trailing Arbutus — has been widely 

 circulated throughout the United 

 States, through the medium of news- 

 agents and booksellers. Each flower 

 pleads its merits, and claims for pop- 

 ular choice in an exquisite little poem. 



A postal card with ballots prepared 

 and addressed to Mr. Prang, accom- 

 panies each volume. After Dec. 31 

 next, the polls will be closed, the votes 

 counted, the popular choice deter- 

 mined, and the result announced to 

 each voter by mail. The volume is a 

 beautiful little souvenir, and will be 

 highly prized by all who take part in 

 choosing the National Flower. 



Thus far the Golden-rod seems to be 

 the most popular. It has been the 

 choice of such noted persons as Jno. G. 

 Whittier, Joseph Cook, T. V. Pow- 

 derly, Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, and 

 many others. Next to the Golden-rod, 

 the Trailing Arbutus and Laurel seem 

 to be the greatest favorites. 



Happily in this floral-political con- 

 test, no ill-feeling or jealousy exists. 



No abuse or ridicule of candidates en- 

 ters into the discussion. The favorites 

 of one do not seek to injure the repu- 

 tation of the other, by arraigning and 

 magnifying imaginary faults. If the 

 candidates could express their thoughts, 

 as doubtless they can in " flowery lan- 

 guage," the winner would feel sorry 

 for the others' defeat ; and the defeated 

 would be glad to see the popular 

 choice thus honored, while the unsuc- 

 cessful candidates will be the better 

 known and loved for having been con- 

 testants for the high distinction. 



Loving the Trailing Arbutus and 

 Laurel as we do, we cannot forbear 

 doing a little electioneering for the 

 gay Golden-rod. There are many con- 

 siderations in its favor, which make it 

 superior to any other flower as a na- 

 tional emblem. It flourishes in ever}- 

 variety of soil and climate, and, like 

 our Revolutionary fathers, it yields to 

 no discouragements, but smiles in the 

 face of misfortune. It is equally con- 

 tented in dry or wet weather, and 

 makes no choice between poor and 

 fertile soils. It cares no more for ex- 

 tremes of climatic conditions, than it 

 does in its choice of soils, and is happy 

 if possessing some stony pasture or for- 

 saken fence-corner for a foothold. " It 

 takes what is set before it, and asks no 

 questions." 



Surely the bee, if it knew of the im- 

 pending election, would busy itself in 

 a lively manner, and its arguments, 

 too weighty to be repeated, would be 

 in favor of the Golden-rod. It is not 

 altogether certain that it would ab- 

 stain from fraud in influencing votes, 

 for we know its disposition to rob its 

 neighbors, when it can find no other 

 employment. The bee is a good judge 

 of flowers, and has an eye to their in- 

 trinsic merits. The candidate that will 

 secure the largest revenue will capture 

 the bee vote. 



The Golden-rod blooms not in the 

 spring and summer, when other 

 flowers are in their prime, and yielding 

 fragrance and honey, often in sucli 

 abundance that the bees cannot gather 

 it all ; but in the fall, when nearly all 

 the beauties of summer have faded, it 

 blooms gaily even at the door of win- 

 ter, and furnishes delight and plenty 

 to the bees when all other flowers 

 have faded. It is the last sentiuel to 

 yield to the rigorous winter, and, like 

 the fabeled Janus, it looks in two 

 directions. It hails the advent of win- 

 ter, bids adieu to autumn, and spreads 

 a garland of glory over the departed 

 summer. 



Though the Trailing Arbutus and 

 Laurel are the more beautiful, and 

 shed a more delicate perfume, they 

 are confined to special soils and climate 

 in mountainous districts. Compara- 

 tively few know of their beauty, and 



still fewer will be able to see and en- 

 joy them often ; but not so with the 

 Golden-rod, for it flourishes in moun- 

 tain and valley, from Maine to Cali- 

 fornia ; from our Northern borders of 

 rigorous and long winters, to the land 

 of perpetual summer, where the zephyr 

 is freighted with the delicate perfume 

 of the magnolia and the orange-blos- 

 som. It is so wide-spread, and withal 

 so beautiful, that .all may know and en- 

 joy it. It is pre-eminently suited in 

 every way, above every other candi- 

 date, to be the National Flower. 

 Big Tree Corners, N. Y. 



DISEASED BEES. 



The Bees Dying of Some !Xanie- 

 less Disease. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY JOSHUA BULL. 



On page 348, Mr. J. A. Bence de- 

 sci'ibes the manner in which his bees 

 are rapidly dying oft', from some un- 

 known disease, and wants to know the 

 cause and the remedy. I also have 

 two strong colonies affected very much 

 in the same way. if I imderstand his 

 description rightly ; although the difli- 

 culty did not commence with mine un- 

 til about the first of May with one col- 

 ony ; and the other colony was at- 

 tacked within the past week. I have 

 never seen anything like it before, and, 

 therefore, like Mr. Bence, I should be 

 very much pleased to have any one 

 who knows the cause, " arise and ex- 

 plain " without delay, and prescribe a 

 remedv. 



In "'ABC of Bee-Culture," page 86, 

 and latest edition, is described what 

 the author calls the '• Nameless Dis- 

 ease," which I think verj' closely re- 

 sembles the condition of my bees ; for 

 I see among them some of the black, 

 shinj- bees, such as he speaks of, but 

 many more with bloated abdomens, as 

 Mr. Bence describes it. 



Mine have no dead brood in the 

 combs, nor any bare-headed brood, but 

 all appear perfectly healthy until they 

 hatch, and then some of them seem to 

 live but a few hours, daring which 

 time they crawl around, quivering and 

 shivering as though they had the ague, 

 until they die. 



Mr. Root directs as a remedy, to de- 

 stroy the queen, and divide the brood 

 among other colonies. I fear to do 

 that, lest the disease might be imparted 

 to other colonies also. But I have re- 

 moved the queen and given them 

 another, hoping that this method may 

 overcome the ditficulty when the new 

 stock of brood begins to hatch out. 



If I remember rightly, mention has 

 been made in some of the bee-papers. 



