Permanent International Exhibition. 



The following letter concerning exhibi- 

 tion faclities will explain itself. Those 

 who wish to take advantage of its free 

 space, should communicate with Mr. H. J. 

 Smith : 



Philadelphia, Pa., Feb. 26, 1879. 



Editor American Bee Journal:— 

 With the purpose of practically illustrating 

 the methods of bee-keeping and the prepara- 

 tion, &c, of honey, as well as the various 

 hives and mechanical appliances in use in 

 this industry, we otter space and facilities, 

 without charge, to parties desiring to present 

 their inventions to the public, in this, the 

 old Main Building of the Centennial. 



Besides presenting peculiar attractions as 

 a bazaar for the exposition and sale of goods, 

 amusements and entertainments, and fete 

 days bring a large attendance here (297,000 

 last year), while the educational features 

 of the display, constitute it a most impor- 

 tant adjunct of our schools. 



In a letter received from one of the U. S. 

 Centennial Commissioners this month, he 

 says: "While the number of exhibits is 

 not so great as that which were gathered 

 in 1876, yet the concentration of the most 

 characteristic objects of the World's Fair 

 into your one 20 acre building really affords 

 equal delight with greater facility of exami- 

 nation. So complete is the collection you 

 now have there, that it is a question whether 

 the Permanent Exhibition is not more 

 desirable as a school of objects than the 

 vaster collection of three years ago ; while 

 it constitutes for the new generation, already 

 come upon the stage, an inexhaustible store- 

 house of instruction and pleasure." Another 

 Commissioner writes : " My grandson shall 

 be sent to Philadelphia to be educated, 

 solely that he may have the advantages of 

 such a practical course of education as this 

 exhibition and this alone affords." 



The increasing attractiveness of this 

 exhibition is illustrated by recent applica- 

 tions for space, of which I will only men- 

 tion two that were made to-day. Space and 

 power asked for, to introduce 200 Wheeler 

 & Wilson sewing machines, to be put to 

 work on fine shirtings, coarse woolens, 

 saddlery and shoes. Three thousand square 

 feet were also asked for to establish per- 

 manently the culture of silk worms and to 

 teach the manipulation of the cocoons in 

 obtaining the raw silk. 



Yours respectfully, 

 H. J. Smith, Assistant to the Preset. 



ItlF°Mr. Paul L. Viallon, Bayou Goula, 

 La., has bought the apiary of Mr. Wm. H. 

 Ware, consisting of 275 colonies of Italian 

 bees. He now has over 450 colonies. 



H^" The Convention of the North-eastern 

 Bee-keepers' Association was held at Syra- 

 cuse, during the past month. It was quite 

 an interesting meeting. The minutes were 

 received too late for this issue. They will 

 appear in full in the next Journal. 



Rag-burning Tube for Smokers.— Mr. 

 Bingham has made another improvement for 

 smokers, where rags are used. It consists 

 of a tin tube with two bent sides into which 

 rags are placed. This tube of rags is to be 

 lighted at the bottom and inserted in the 

 fire tube of a smoker, and after the fire is 

 burning well, the smoker may be laid down 

 and the fire will keep several hours. We 

 have tried it, and find that it works well. 



Agents.— We learn that a traveling 

 agent has been receiving subscriptions for 

 the Bee Journal and signing our names 

 to receipts given for such money. This is a 

 fraud. We have no travelling agents, and 

 none are authorized by us to take subscrip- 

 tions and sign our name. It is simply a 

 forgery. We cannot too strongly enforce this 

 caution— Never pay money to unknown or 

 irresponsible persons. 



IWA beginner inquires about the Poggen- 

 pohl hive, and whether, it will do what is 

 claimed for it. It is stated that each colony 

 in the hive will give 1500 lbs. of honey and 

 throw off swarms of from 100,000 to 200,000 

 bees. The hive is 5 stories high and each 

 story contains about as much room as a two- 

 story Langstroth hive. So the whole hive is 

 a house of about the capacity of 10 ordinary 

 one-story Langstroth hives. But no one 

 need be deceived by preposterous stories 

 told by the agents of such a hive. It only 

 requires a moment's thought and reason to 

 get at the true state of affairs. 



Smoker No. 4.— Mr. H. Scovell has pro- 

 duced smoker number 4, and sent it to our 

 Museum. In it, he has placed the joint on 

 the top instead of at the end of the bel- 

 lows. This makes the upper part of the 

 bellows work, instead of the lower, and 

 therefore the tube containing the fire and 

 smoke is all the time " on the move " instead 

 of being steady, like the Quinby and Bing- 

 ham smokers. We fear that the valve at the 

 base of the small tube will clog up, after 

 some use. At all events, Mr. S. should have 

 credit lor persistence. This is his fourth 

 trial, and with the exception of the first one 

 it is the best— the others being of no use 

 whatever. 



E^ Where bank bills are not at hand to 

 send to this office— send Postage Stamps, 

 either of owe, two or three cent denomi- 

 nation. 



