454 



THB m^mmmicmm mmm jovimmmi^. 



A JULY DAT. 



With song- of birds and lium of bees, 

 And ordorous breath of swinging flowers, 



With fluttering herbs and swaying trees. 

 Begin the early morning hours. 



The warm tide of the southern air 

 Swims round, with gentle rise and fall, 



And, burning through the golden glare. 

 The sun looks broadly over all. 



So fair and fresh the landscape stands. 



So vital, so beyond decay. 

 It looks as though God's shaping hands 



Had Just been raised and drawn away. 



The holy baptism of the rain 

 Yet lingers like a special grace ; 



For I can see an aureole plain 

 About the world's transfigured face, 



—George Henry Boktr. 



OmRiES % Replies. 



Use of Sulphur Before Sbippiug; 

 Comb Honey. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 643.— Is It necessary, before ship- 

 ping comb honey, to always subject it to the 

 fumes of sulphur, for the purpose of killing 

 the bee-moth larvae ?— W. H. H. 



No. It never is, with me. — R. L. 

 Taylor. 



In some localities, where the bee- 

 moth is troublesome, it is best to do so. 

 We do not do it here. — H. D. Cutting. 



No ; but it is the safest way. — A. J. 

 Cook. 



Yes, if before September. Not after 

 that date. — Dadant & Son. 



No ; excepting where it is of long 

 standing. — Will M. Bakndm. 



Perhaps not always necessary, but 

 usually a wise precaution. — Mrs. L. 

 Harrison. 



1 think it is advisable, but not gen- 

 erally practiced. — P. L. Viallon. 



Not if properly cared for, when re- 

 moved from the hive. — A. B. Mason. 



I do not. If it is the practice of honej'- 

 producers generally, I shall also be 

 glad to know it. — Eugene Secor. 



Not if it is cold weather. It might 

 be necessary in warm weather. — J. M. 

 Hambaugh. 



It depends upon circumstances. If 

 the shipment is made early in the sea- 

 son it would be best to do so. — J. P. H. 

 Brown. 



If very white, with no pollen in it, 

 it may not be necessary, but is always 

 safe. — C. C. Miller. 



No, sir ; I consider such an arrange- 

 ment all Wrong. Do not keep bees in 

 such a manner as to have your surplus 



honey infested with the eggs of the 

 moth. — James Heddon. 



It is safer to fumigate comb honey 

 before sending it, when it may be 

 kept oil hand for sometime. I saw 

 moth-worms in comb-honey in a store 

 here in Ipava, that had not been there 

 very long. — Mahala B. Chaddock. 



It is necessary to know that the 

 worms are all killed, and that no eggs 

 rem'ain, else trouble will ensue, as the 

 worius eat very rapidly after they once 

 begin. — J. E. Pond. 



I think not. I have never used 

 brimstone for that purpose, and have 

 never seen a worm in comb honej'. 

 With Italian or with Syrian bees, and 

 careful handling, I think the use of 

 sulphur is entirely superfluous. — M. 

 Mahin. 



Yes, sir. I have seen honey in the 

 market in such bad condition on ac- 

 count of the moth, that it was almost 

 worthless, and a disgrace to the bee- 

 keeper who produced it.— C. H. Dib- 



BERN. 



No ; but care must be taken to select 

 out all combs having pollen in them. 

 The moth-larvaj cannot live and de- 

 velop on wax alone, but will thrive on 

 old brood-combs, or new combs con- 

 taining bee-bread. — G. L. Tinker. 



Not with me, if the honey has been 

 properly managed for a week or ten 

 days after it has been removed from 

 the hives, and before it is shipped. I 

 prefer not to crate my honey till I have 

 kept it for about ten days, so as to see 

 if any moth-worms are likelj- to hatch 

 on the honey. — G. W. Demaree. 



If the comb honey has been carefully 

 secured free from pollen, no. Hone}' 

 secured in the brood-nest, or stored at 

 the sides of the brood-nest, or stored 

 by queenless colonies will have pollen- 

 cells scattered throughout the product 

 most certainly, and will as certainly be 

 wormy hone}'. Have your honey stored 

 above a colony in a normal condition, 

 with a queen-excluder, and you will 

 have no pollen, and therefore no 

 worms. — J. M. Shuck. 



I do not sulphur my honey unless I 

 see the signs of the bee-moth larvas 

 upon it. Unless they commence opera- 

 tions within three weeks after it is 

 taken from the hive, they never will, if 

 your honey is kept in a warm room, as 

 it should be. — G. M. Doolittle. 



The safest way is to keep the honey 

 in a warm room at home about twenty 

 days after removing it from the hive. 

 Then it is not necessary to sulphur it, 

 unless the moths have already com- 

 menced to work on it. The condition 

 of some honey on the market shows 

 slovenly work, and it should have been 

 sulphured before shipping it. — The 

 Editor. 



BEES AND COLORS. 



The Relation of Bee§ to the 

 Floral Kingdom. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY J. F. LATHAM. 



In contemplating the relationship of 

 bees and flowers, a comprehensive 

 view of the subject may be attained by 

 adopting, as a basis for thought, the 

 fact that, in eveiy element of nature 

 contributing to the development of 

 organic life, there exists, to a certain 

 extent, an affinitj-, or a co-operation of 

 aSinities influencing, in a major or 

 minor degree, the collective welfare of 

 all. Among the most potent agencies 

 contributing to the growth of vegeta- 

 tion, especially the melliferous flora, 

 are the influences of light and warmth. 



As a large number of the nectar- 

 yielding flowers are borne by plants 

 that propagate from the seed, the 

 claims of relationship in the economy 

 of bees and flowers are well estab- 

 lished. The bee is dependent upon 

 the flower for its sustenance, and the 

 flower receives a generous return in 

 the distribution of its fecundating ele- 

 ment of the bee, when, in eventual in- 

 stances, the general methods of pro- 

 pagation are rendered abortive. 



But without a desire to criticise, or 

 an attempt to controvert the teachings 

 of those who occupy the position of 

 monitors in the schools of the natural 

 sciences, it seems that, in detailing 

 the processes of nature as revealed to 

 the eye, due credence must be allowed 

 for elasticity. To say that the melli- 

 ferous flora secretes its sweets for a 

 specific purpose, unconnected with the 

 constituent principles of its organic 

 growth — i. e., for the sole purpose of 

 supporting tribes of parasitic insects to 

 perform the operations, and accom- 

 plish the designs of its existence — does 

 not accord with the broad outlines of 

 Nature's plan. 



That the forms of many flowers are 

 such that the visitations of insects, 

 when searching for nectar or pollen, 

 aid materially in enhancing their pro- 

 ductiveness, is beyond doubt ; but to 

 assert that such flowers would fail to 

 fulfill the design of their existence ; 

 and that the plant species which they 

 represent would become extinct with- 

 out the ministrations of insects, ap- 

 pears too broad, in a technical aspect, 

 to merit the claim of infallibility. 



In the early ages of the earth, veg- 

 etation must have existed that accom- 

 plished the various stages of growth, 

 and perpetuated its kind without in- 



