1873.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



277 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Rending Qneens by MaiL 



For the past four years we have paid letter- 

 postage on all the queens we have sent by mail. 

 Nevertheless, in our opinion, they should go in 

 the mails at the same rates as seeds, etc., do. 

 We wrote Mr. Wagner (late editor), and re- 

 quested him to call and see the Postmaster- 

 General. He called, but saw only the third or 

 fourth assistant, or some other understrapper, 

 who seemed to think it was his business to run 

 the Government. I don't remember now what 

 Mr. Wagner said to him, but I do remember 

 that the person he talked with remarked, that 

 if he had much more trouble about sending bees 

 through the mails that he would make an effort 

 to have them excluded from the mails. 



Last fall the Postmaster at Salem, Mass., re- 

 ceived a notice from the Postmaster-General, 

 that bees were not mailable matter; so I judge 

 that some one has made this high worthy more 

 trouble, hence the decision. 



I find no fault with letter-postage as I can, by 

 sending three or four in one package, get them 

 through for about three cents each. Sending 

 queens by mail must be a source of considerable 

 revenue to the Government, as my postage bill 

 has been as high as $100 some years. We think 

 the only way to remedy the evil will be to pe- 

 tition Congress. Let some man, interested in 

 each congressional district, write his representa- 

 tive in Congress ; if that won't do let a petition 

 go from every county in the United States to 

 Congress, as soon as that body meets next fall. 



I have written Hon. B. F. Butler, our repre- 

 sentative from this district, and sent him one of 

 my mailing-cages and requested him to call and 

 see the Postmaster-General, I never expected to 

 hear from it when I wrote, as I am not much of 

 a politician ; that makes a great difference you 



know. H. Alley. 

 *-* 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



What I Saw last June. 



Mr Editor : — As the great volume of knowl- 

 edge of the science of apiculture of which the 

 world is in possession, has been built up of 

 gleanings, we offer our mite, hoping that it is 

 new. It is this : Last June, while sitting in 

 front of a hive of bees, observing them indus- 

 triously at work, suddenly the bees commenced 

 to swarm. I was within two feet of the . en- 

 trance of the hive at the time, and held my po 

 sition, although the atmosphere became so full 

 of bees I did not open my mouth lest I should 

 inhale some of them, my object was to take notes. 



After about one-third or one-half of the 

 swarm had issued, the Queen made her appear- 

 ance from within the hive, but did not take 

 wing. Her object appeared to be to hasten and 

 superintend their exit, as she would suddenly 

 jump upon a worker's back and shake her vio- 

 lently, and then pounce upon another in the 

 same manner, saying, by her actions, "hurry up 



or you will be too late." She continued this 

 until the major part were on the wing, when 

 she took flight. While engaged in these queer 

 movements, she would frequently run into the 

 hive and out again, exhibiting great solicitude. 

 Hamilton, Hancock Co., III. E. W. Winaxs. 



[For the American Bee Journal. 



The February Journal. 



Mr. Editor ■ The February number of your 

 valuable Bee Journal has never reached me, 

 it is lost. I trust some lucky fellow will find it 

 and forthwith subscribe for it, thereby making 

 a clear gain of one new subscriber. You will 

 please send me themissingnumber if it is in your 

 power, as I intend to have the volumn bound, 

 and doubtless I shall have a very good book on 

 bee keeping. If it was not for the lost of No. 

 8, present volumn of A. B. J., I should not 

 trouble you with this scribble as I have but little 

 that would likely interest your readers, never- 

 theless as I have to pay Uncle Sam three cents 

 to carry my envelope, I shall send no blank 

 paper, and you can dispose of it according to 

 your own judgment. 



Bees have come through the winter very well r 

 in this locality, I hear no complaint. Swarming 

 has set in, in earnest, those with many stands, 

 or hives, or gums, think they will lose their crop 

 if they miss much time with the bees. 



I have read much in reference to two ways of 

 bee-keeping, one with the hollow logs sawed up 

 to hive in, fire and brimstone to take the honey 

 with, and a good set of jaw teeth to extract with. 

 Another with movable frames, boxes for surplus 

 honey, with traps, queen cages, veils, gloves, 

 bed quilts, undersheets, pillow cases, knives, 

 stillyards, extractors, bee charms, and I don't 

 know what. But one very popular way of bee 

 keeping in these diggings I read of, but very 

 little, possibly, from the fact that the votaries 

 of the system don't see proper to write. The 

 plan is to put out what they call bee bait, get 

 them, (the bees) to sucking; get the course. The 

 bees make off, then travel head erect and 

 eyes aloft until the treasure is found, then with 

 the axe ground or unground, you have what they 

 call a bee cutting. You had better believe they 

 make a smashing business of it. So I think 

 this might be set down as the third way of bee 

 keeping. I lately saw a circular which was sent 

 out by some party in New York, offering to send 

 a recipe by which a man could make any quantity 

 of honey at little cost, say seven cents per pound. 

 If this be true may not bee keepers take down 

 their signs and stop the business, or call it 

 another, or fourth way of bee keeping. I shall 

 not send on for the recipe as the price is two 

 dollars and the material will cost seven cents 

 per pound, and nice hon y in the comb could be 

 bought in our market (Montgomery Alabama,) 

 last summer for seven cents per pound. 



Yours, W. E. Freeman. 



Olustee Creek, Alabama, May 1, 1873. 



