56 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



IdTBee -keepers in Kentucky are reminded 

 that the Kentucky Bee-Keepeks' Conven- 

 tion wsll meet in Cynthiana, Harrison Coun- 

 ty, Kentucky, on the second Tuesday in October 

 next. Everybody interested in bee-culture are 

 invited to attend. 



North-Western Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion. 



The next meeting of the North-Western Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will be held on the Iowa 

 State Fair Grounds at the time of the State 

 Fair. The Fair will be held near Clinton, from 

 September 29th to October 2d. It is thought 

 best to have two or three sessions during the 

 Fair, or one each day. Notices will be posted 

 up on the grounds giving the hour of meeting, 

 so that all bee-keepers may have a chance to be 

 present. We should be pleased to see a large 

 attendance of bee-keepers, and those interested 

 in bee-culture, at the meeting. We are in hopes 

 of being able to make the sessions both practi- 

 cal and interesting. 



R. R. Murphy, President. 



M. M. Baldrige, Secretary. 



Bees. 



The following is worthy of preservation : 



Wilmington, Vt., Sept. 30, 18G7. 

 Mr. E. P. French. Dear Sir : — I thought I 

 would drop you a line and inform you what 

 success I have had with your patent bee hive. 

 I think it the best hive I ever saw. I will give 

 you an account of what I have done in four 

 years. Three years ago I wintered seventeen 

 swarms of bees and got eight hundred pounds 

 of surplus honey. The two years after I cleared 

 $250 each year. Last winter I wintered forty- 

 six swarms, and the past summer I had about 

 one ton of the best of honey, and thirty-three 

 swarms increase, which gives me now seventy- 

 nine swarms of bees. (You can figure the 

 amount of profit yourself. ). I have out-stripped 

 everything in this region so far as I can hear. 

 Yours truly, Clark Harris. 



[The above was sent to Mr. French of Bed- 

 ford, who is interested in breeding fowls and in 

 the management of bees. Mr. F. invented a 

 hive which we are told is of superior arrange- 

 ment. He has never taken pains to sell rights, 

 though with some improvements he is now 

 making, it will undoubtedly meet with ready 

 sales. Mr. F. has a thorough knowledge of the 

 bee business, and we have reason to believe 

 will contribute an occasional article on the sub- 

 ject to our columns.] 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Queens Mating Twice. 



In South Norfhamptonshire, England, there 

 is said to be a superstition prevalent, that "bees 

 will not thrive in a quarrelsome family." It 

 might be well to encourage faith in this notion, 

 in some other districts also. 



I am much pleased with the matter contained 

 in the Bee Journal, and although I do not 

 fully agree with the entire views of some of 

 your contributors, I still believe that the sug- 

 gestions and discussion of different theories will 

 have a tendency to bring out valuable truth in 

 the end. 



I think I can answer the query of II. Nesbitt 

 — "Do queens mate with two drones ?" I have 

 a very handsome Italian queen, one generation 

 from a Gray importation and one year old, 

 which I know mated with a black drone only, 

 yet the just hatching brood shows, some three 

 stripes, some two stripes only, and some with 

 no stripes, but a shade lighter than the black 

 bee. 



It may be that a queen will mate with two 

 drones, but I think it very unlikely ; and the 

 fact stated above fully covers the point Mr. N. 

 inquires about. 



The season in this section has been very un- 

 favorable, as it rained during nearly all the 

 blossoming term, and the crop of clover has 

 been light. All my Italians, however, will give 

 a small surplus, while I shall have to feed most 

 of my black bees. 



If R. Bickford wishes to avoid the loss of his 

 bees by dysentery, he will not use a board for 

 darkening the entrance. I tried the experimeut 

 with two swarms the past winter, and nearly 

 ruined them in consequence. In bright sunny 

 days I have found it advisable to follow Mr. 

 Langstroth's advice, and give my bees the full 

 entrance, preferring to lose a few by being chil- 

 led, than a whole stock by confinement. 



I am using the "American hive," and while 

 I have seen many others in use, I cannot see 

 with Mr. Gallup wherein the American is defi- 

 cient ; and can say in its praise that I should 

 suppose that a hive that is " best for beginners 

 to use," would certainly be as good as any for 

 an expert. J. E. Pond, Jr. 



Foxboro, Mass. 



Wasps. — There is a common superstition 

 prevalent in some parts of England and Ameri- 

 ca, that, for "good luck," the first wasp seen in 

 the spring should be killed. The earliest seen 

 wasps are invariably females, and if these are 

 destroyed the multiplification of those insects is 

 measurably checked. Thus this superstitious 

 notion subserves a useful end. 



When wasps and hornets abound in the 

 spring, you may expect a good honey season in 

 the fall. The wasps and hornets will attack 

 and puncture ripe sweet fruit, such as peaches 

 and grapes ; and the bees will have a busy time 

 gathering up the exposed sweets, that nothing 

 be wasted. — Ovekbeck, 17G5. 



Bees labor well, though unequally, yet have 

 all their stores in common. 



