TIIE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



17 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



WASHINGTON, JULY, 1SG8. 



CSFTriE American Bee Journal is now 

 published monthly, in the City of Washington, 

 (D. C.,) at $3 per annum in advance. All com- 

 munications should he addressed to the Editor, 

 at that place. 



Our New Volume. 



With this number we commence the fourth 

 volume of the American Bee Journal. A 

 constantly growing subscription list induces us 

 to continue the publication, in the expectation 

 that it will ere long secure the support indispen- 

 sable for permanent success. Almost every 

 mail brings us flattering letters of encourage- 

 ment and strengthens our hands with the 

 material aid without which it is impossible 

 to sustain a periodical devoted to a specialty. 

 Still the accessions to our list are not as numer- 

 ous as they should be, to enable us to prosecute 

 the undertaking with ease and cheerfulness. It 

 is true, the Journal now circulates in nearly 

 aH the States and territories of the Union, and 

 in the British provinces. But it should reach 

 every county and township in all this wide ex- 

 tent of country ; for bee-culture can be profita- 

 bly conducted almost everywhere, and bee-keep- 

 ers whom the paper would interest and benefit 

 dwell in all these borders. Will not the nu- 

 merous fast friends of the Journal aid us in 

 endeavoring to reach these and securing their 

 support, by presenting, in their respective neigh- 

 borhoods, the claims of a publication which we 

 know they prize and "would not willingly let 

 die." ______^ 



This being a busy season with practical bee- 

 keepers, when few of them have leisure to 

 write, we have taken the opportunity to with- 

 draw from our files and insert this month, a 

 number of articles long deferred, but by no 

 means neglected or forgotten. Others still re- 

 main, most of which we expect to be able to 

 present in our next issue. 



The June number of the " American Natural- 

 ist' 1 '' contains the most complete account of the 

 parasites of the honey bee to be found any- 

 where in the English language. The article is 

 from the pen of Dr. Packard, one of the editors, 

 and should be read by every bee-keeper who 

 desires to acquire a satisfactory knowledge of 



the numerous insect enemies to whose attacks 

 the bee is exposed in every stage of its exist- 

 ence. The chief of these foes are minute ich- 

 neumon-flies and beetles, or their larvrc, most of 

 which are figured on an enlarged scale on the 

 two plates which accompany and illustrate the 

 article. The subject, of course, is not exhausted, 

 as hardly any branch or subdivision of natural 

 science is ever likely to be ; and the writer, in 

 the concluding paragraph, says he " would be 

 greatly obliged for material to aid him iu the 

 study of our bees and wasps ; would take pleas- 

 ure in corresponding with those interested in 

 the study of their habits ; and would be very 

 grateful for specimens of the young in alcohol, 

 their parasites and nests." 



The American Naturalist is published month- 

 ly, at Salem, (Mass.,) by the Peabody Academy 

 of Science, at three dollars a year. It is hand- 

 somely illustrated, and may truly claim to be 

 "a popular magazine of natural history," de- 

 serving as such a liberal patronage and exten- 

 sive circulation. 



Mr. Harrison, of Frederick, Md., has sent us 

 a sample of his "Nucleus Bee-Feeder," a modi- 

 fication of the Bee-Feeder noticed in a previous 

 number of the Journal. It is a neat and con- 

 venient article, and will doubtless be useful 

 to those who are raising queens in nucleus hives. 



We are now in receipt of several addi- 

 tional German periodicals devoted to practical 

 bee-culture, which, with the favors of our nu- 

 merous correspondents, will enable us to impart 

 increased value and interest to the pages of the 

 Bee Journal. 



Correspondence of the Bee Journal. 



Tompkins, (Mich.,) Feb. 28. 



I learned with regret the death of Prof. Varro. 

 Although I could not endorse all his opinions, 

 I read his articles in the Journal with a great. 

 deal of interest and pleasure, and think they 

 will be missed very much in future by its numer- 

 ous readers. 



Very many of us take a deep interest in the 

 success of the American Bee Journal. Other 

 papers are often received, glanced at and thrown 

 aside ; but the Journal is always a welcome 

 visitor, and the business must be very urgent 

 that prevents a perusal of its pages as soon as 

 it is received. From every number we obtain 

 some valuable information. We also become 

 acquainted with its numerous contributors, 

 scattered over a lar^e portion of the country. 

 By reading these writings, we form an opinion 

 as to their character, and imagine their personal 

 appearance. In their monthly visits, we learn 



