20 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL. 



[July, 



ton. He lias had some bees perhaps twenty 

 years in old style boxes. He has the best pas- 

 ture for bees in this part of the conntry ; bnt 

 after goin.c; as high as twenty swarms on hand 

 at once, he has at length dwindled down to two. 

 He always gets the first honey and first swarms, 

 and this year has taken off, by the 10th of May, 

 fifty pounds from his two hives ; yet with all 

 his advantages, he has dwindled down to two 

 swarms. He at last sIioavs signs of vigor, for he 

 begins to inquire for the Langstroth hive, &c. 

 With improved means and his excellent pasture, 

 he might be the most successful bee-keeper 

 about here. 



The honey locust* is now in bloom (May 13,) 

 and has bloomed for some days, but many in low 

 grounds were nipped by frost three weeks 

 ago, and the j'ield of honey may be small from 

 that source. In this neighborhood this is one 

 of our chief dependencies, and the only good one 

 till the white clover comes in some weeks later. 



Those who have only two or three swarms, 

 especially in the old style hives, will use boxes 

 for their surplus honey. But those having five 

 or six, or more, with frames, would do well to 

 inquire about, if they do not buy, a melextrac- 

 tor. There are several kinds advertised, and all 

 are efficient ; but of course there are preferences. 

 A few days ago I saw Mr. Langstroth and one of 

 his acquaintances, the oldest and the youngest 

 bee-keepers of the neighborhood, at the tin-shop 

 of Mr. Stevenson, on IMain street above Fifth, 

 examining a melextractor or lioney slinger, as 

 Mr. S. has properly named it, which embodies 

 some improvements not yet adopted by others. 

 Mr. Langstroth expressed himself so much 

 pleased with its plans, and requested Mr. S. to 

 send him one as soon as he could. Mr. Lang- 

 stroth seems to be recognized as one of the chief, 

 if not the chief, bee cviltivator and hive improver 

 of the country. The Honey Slinger, or Rvisher, 

 as it might be called from the name of its inven- 

 tor ( Hruschka) is, I believe, a German invention 

 in its principal features. All the different kinds 

 , made here are only variations from the original, 

 and some perhaps are improvements. As I never 

 saw a description of the original, I cannot say. 

 Most bee-keepers have seen the cuts of those 

 made in this country advertised in the bee jour- 

 nals, and should make themselves acquainted 

 with their different features and general use. 

 The produce of each swarm may be increased 

 two to four fold by the use of the Slinger. The 

 extracted honey should be put up in such jars of 

 one, two. or four pounds each, as may be used 

 for putting up fruit after the honey is used up. 

 The idea of chawing up a comb to get the honey 

 out, thus making a melextractor of your teeth 

 or gums, is about played out and might as well 

 be discontinued. 



B. I. Drone 



* We piosume 'hat the Rnhinia pxeicd-acacia, .amil imt the 

 Gledituchia triacanthus, is the tr e here spokeu t.il'— [Ed.] 



The sweet sap that exudes from vegetable 

 pores, and which is accumulated in the nectary 

 of flowers, serves alike to sustain the bee and to 

 render the seeds of plants fit for germination. 



[For the American Kee Journal.] 



Still Another Bee-Feeder. 



As quite a number of bee-feeders have been 

 described in the Journal, we thought we would 

 give another — believing it to be the best ("of 

 course.") 



We use the Langstroth hive. On the under- 

 side of the honey-board we tack a piece of cotton 

 cloth, six or eight inches square. A hole of 

 suitable size is made in the honey-board, 

 through which to pour in the feed. The cloth 

 is allowed to sag a little, or the honey-board can 

 be cut out a little, where the cloth goes on. 



With this feeder we can feed at any time, 

 without disturbing the bees; placing the food 

 where it should be, directly over the cluster. It 

 is simple, costs but little, and is easily made. 



Our objections to the Hershey feeder, and the 

 like, is that it tends to divide the cluster. Bees 

 do not cluster around their honey, and why 

 should they around other food. 



We have tried a feeder recommended by Mr. 

 Quinby, but the bees did not come up through 

 the honey-board in cold weather ; and besides, 

 it gave more air space than is needed when we 

 are feeding. 



W No patent on this ! 



Le Sate. 



June 1, 1871. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



ONE MORE ON THE LIST, 



and one more lady with "bee on the brain." I 

 became afflicted with this malady in April, ] 870, 

 while assisting in transferring twenty-four colo- 

 nies from the box hive to the movable frame 

 hive, and now, May 10th, 1871, finds me still 

 studying the "busy bee" — for the more I learn 

 the more I want to know. I think the hive an 

 inexhaustible fountain of mysteries, one into 

 which I feel myself incapable of entering, ex- 

 cept by the light and aid of others ; but should 

 I discover anything in after years, that had 

 escaped the eyes of" others, I shall be only too 

 glad to communicate it to all bee-keepers. I am a 

 young lady (not yet old enough to vote), and 

 finding more to interest me in the "hive," than 

 in the "school-room" as a teacher, I have turned 

 all my attention in that direction. I have at- 

 tended one "Bee Convention," and hope to meet 

 with my friends at Cleveland. 



I shall be glad at any time to welcome you to 

 my home and apiary. Very truly, 



(in) Earnest. 



The lady has omitted to give us her address, and 

 the postmaster who mailed lier letter manaujed to luaiie 

 his official stamp perfectly illegible. May ample suc- 

 cess in bee culture serve to unravel the m3'stery, long 

 before the " vexed" and perhaps vexatious questlou 

 of female suffrage receives its quietus, pro or con. 



In the hive bee the maternal instinct exhibits 

 itself as an e?iergy diffused through a multitude 

 of individuals. — Shuckard. 



