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483 



KDITOR. 



Voinv. Ade, 3,1889. No, 31. 



l^ct those: M'lio Xliink that bees 

 will take glucose and put it in the surplus 

 apartment of the hive, so as to be parties to 

 a fraudulent transaction, just try them now. 

 They will not touch it even for food, as long 

 as honey is to be gathered from the flowers. 

 Those who assert that bees will take such 

 stuff when honey is to be had, are ignorant 

 of the habits of the bee. 



Mr. E. V. Jordan is dead. On 



page 339 we stated that Mr. Jordan was 

 bitten on the hand by a pet squirrel. The 

 swelling made amputation necessary. It 

 resulted in death on July 15. He was 6C 

 years of age. lie was buried on Tuesday ; 

 the Rev. Jlr. Dame, of the Episcopal church 

 of Winchester, Va., ofiBciating. He was a 

 generous-hearted brother— always ready to 

 help the needy, and to administer substan- 

 tial comfort to those in distress. He is 

 greatly mourned by the whole community, 

 and all who knew him far and near. We 

 condole with the widow and family in their 

 bereavement. 



Xlie Failure of llie Honey Crop 



in Southern California, this season, is a 

 subject of much discussion in that region. 



The Pomona Progress publishes reports 

 from the bee-ranches on the mountain sides 

 throughout Los Angeles.San Bernardino and 

 San Diego counties. It is found that even 

 less than one-seventh of an average honey 

 supply will be had in this region this year. 



Several bee-ranches which usually have 

 100,000 pounds of honey each year, will not 

 have 10,000 pounds this year. The general 

 opinion as to the cause of the failure of the 

 crop, is that the heavy rains, early last 

 spring, started the blossoming of the sage, 

 which did not secrete the usual quantity of 

 honey because of the cool nights and damp 

 days for three weeks in succession. 



SlioMiner titeir CoiorM.— It is en- 

 couraging to notice the enthusiasm that is 

 being kindled in favor of the National Bee- 

 Keepers' Union, since the decision in the 

 Arkadelphia case. Mr. B. B. Lee, Manning, 

 Iowa, on July 18, 18s9, writes as follows : 



I take gr.'at pleasure in becoming a mem- 

 ber of the Bee-Keepers' Union since its most 

 noble defense in the Arkadelphia case. It 

 is true, " In union there is strength," and 

 1 think all bee-keepers should come to the 

 front and support liberally the defender oif 

 our business. 1 have rA colonies of bees 

 doing quite well. 



Mr. R. McKnight, of Owen Sound, Ont., 

 on July 20, 1889, writes thus : 



Enclosed please find a dollar for member- 

 ship fee of the Union. Hitherto I have 

 looked upon it as having no claims upon my 

 support : believing it to be a kind of selfish 

 combination somewhat akin to Trade's 

 Unions— to which I am opposed. Indeed, I 

 scarcely glanced at what was printed re- 

 lating to It, until that masterly defense in 

 the celebrated Arkadelphia case appeared 

 in the Amehican Bee Journal a week 

 aBO. That defense is worth a dollar to 

 every bee-keeper in the land. The judg- 

 ment that foUiiwed it established a prece- 

 dent of great importunce to bee-keepers, 

 and will probably he ((iioted in the courts 

 through generations to come. 



Having once had the honor of defending 

 the industry in a " mock trial " on the 

 "high seas," the defense of the Union's 

 eminent counsel was especially interesting 

 to me. Had the pamphlet containing it 

 been in my possession then, what a reputa- 

 tion I might have made for myself as an 

 amateur lawyer among my fellow passen- 

 gers, from the product of another man's 

 brains. 



Brother McKniglit ought to have carefully 

 read the printed matter emanating from the 

 Union before coneludiug that it was a sel- 

 fish organization akin to Trade's Unions ! 

 Such a Union as that could not have en- 

 listed our energies ; but we have given them 

 in unstinted measure to the Union for the 

 defense of our pursuit. It is a pleasure to 

 see that our efforts as Manager are being 

 appreciated. Every bee-keeper who is 

 worthy of the name, should now, without 

 delay, become a member of the Union, just 

 to show on which side he or she belongs. 

 What the Union has already done is a 

 guaranty for the future. Reader, if you 

 approve of its acts, send the membership 

 fee (onedollar only), and be enrolled among 

 those who have borne the burden so far, 

 and, like the Royal Huzzars, "have never 

 been beaten." 



^^^^^^_^_- — --~ - 



The M'eatlier in Massachusetts is 

 thus described by Henry Alley, of Wenham, 

 Mass., on July 24, 1889: 



We have the poorest weather for queen- 

 rearing— rain all tlie time. When no set 

 storm is in progress, then we have almost 

 daily showers ; each one giving from one to 

 two inches of rain. Everything in the apiary 

 is wet, and as nasty and uncomfortable as 

 can be. 



An Entrance Regulator, made of 

 tin, with two slides, the whole to be tacked 

 on the front of the hive, comes from H. O. 

 Kruschke, Deuster, Wis. 



A FiiU Crop ot Honey is generally 

 reported, but there are localities where the 

 crop is very snMi((, and others where "no 

 honey so far" is the report, averring that It 

 is "the poorest season since ISfVi," etc. 

 Truly our country is a large one, and the 

 climatic conditions are as varied as any 

 could desire. New honey is now being re- 

 ceived in all the metropolitan honey mar- 

 kets. See new reports in this issue. 



Since the above was written, the appended 

 letter has come to hand from Mr. W. D. 

 Wright, of Altamont, N. T., and dated July 

 34,1889. He says: 



Fhiend Newman:— Do not cry "large 

 honey crop "ton loud. Undoubtedly there 

 lias been a good yield in some ot the West- 

 ern States, but in this section, we "got left" 

 on white honey. Basswood and clover 

 blossomed profusely, but the weather has 

 been almost continually cool and wet so 

 that bees could not do much. They swarmed 

 moderately this season. I have not taken 

 oft a pound of surplus honey yet, and have 

 ont little anywhere near ready to take off. 

 The prospects for buckwheat are not extra. 



I am glad to hear of the continued success 

 of the Union. Why do not more bee-keep- 

 ers support it ? 



Our correspondents in the Northwest 

 have simply informed our readers about the 

 honey crop in their localities, and stated 

 that they had a good crop, so far, with ex- 

 cellent prospects for a good fall yield. In 

 other localities, where the crop did not 

 materialize, bee-keepers generally did not 

 report. Now they are beginning to speak 

 out, and we need this state of affairs to 

 bring in such reports. We want all the 

 facts in regard to the honey crop, in order to 

 determine its value and importance. 



I>oolitlle's Itleiliods of Queen-Rear- 

 ing, as detailed in his book, are being 

 tested in many apiaries this season, but the 

 main experiments will be made next year. 

 Concerning this matter, Mr. Doolittle re- 

 marks as follows on July 20, 1889 : 



You will remember that I mentioned in 

 my book, of havini; a desire that the plans 

 which I have given may be improved upon, 

 and bee keepers led out to a wider plain 

 than any heretofore enjoyed. It is now 

 evident to me that at times of scarcity in 

 tlie forepart of the season, or in localities 

 where honey comes in very slowly during 

 May, June and July, that the plan as given 

 in my book for getting queens fertilized, 

 will not always work ; but where honey 

 comes in with a rush, as it does with us in 

 basswood, and perhaps at the end of the 

 season in all localities, it is all right; fori 

 am now having the same succe.ss in getting 

 queens to laying over a queen-excluding 

 honey-board that I formerly had, and I 

 doubt not that this will continue to the end 

 of the season. Honey from basswood has 

 not come in so plenty as In former years, 

 yet the plan works equally well. 



Our honey crop will be light in this 

 locality, for the hasswond is nearly done, 

 and I have not taken off 10 pounds of honey. 

 I hope that teasel may help us out a little. 



One-Tliird of a Crop is all that is 

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

 Y., and he adds : " The honey season is 

 over now in this section." We are sorry to 

 hear such a discouraging report 



