882 



Oct. 18, 1906 



American Ttee Journal 



of raising pumpkins. His crop each 

 year is, perhaps, the largest in the 

 whole country, and he finds the pump- 

 kins an exceedingly valuable food for 

 his hogs. He cooks them and feeds 

 them with grain. The interesting fact 

 is, that his neighbors 2 or 3 miles dis- 

 tant, who do not keep bees, can not 

 raise pumpkins with any degree of 

 success. The question is : Are the 

 bees responsible ? If so.it is another 

 illustration of the economic value of 

 bees as plant fertilizers, and should 

 clinch the argument that every farmer 

 should keep a few colonies of bees, not 

 merely for the honey they produce, but 

 for their assistance in fertilizing his 

 crops. Fruit-growers and market gar- 

 deners are rapidly grasping the signifi- 

 cance of this fact, and are interesting 

 themselves in the subject. Is it not 

 time that the general farmer should 

 take the same enlightened view of the 

 matter and learn to keep bees ? — 

 Weekly Globe. 



Plantain Juice for Bee-Stings 



A friend of the Farmer's Advocate 

 says the juice of the broad-leaved plan- 

 tain is an excellent application for a 

 bee-sting. Crush some leaves, add a 

 drop or two of vinegar to the juice, 

 and apply to the sting. Has any other 

 reader ever tried it ? 



Black Clothing- and Bees 



That the old idea that bees are irri- 

 tated by black clothing is something 

 more than theory has long been known 

 to me, although a new demonstration 

 of proof occasionally comes with in- 

 terest. In the honey season, especially 

 during extracting, when the bees are 

 inclined to feel irritated anyway, the 

 black overalls and shirts so many 

 young men like to wear are found to 

 be especially objectionable to the bees 

 — so much so that we nearly always 

 warn a new helper not to bring them. 

 In fact, the new man generally gets 

 his instructions as to the kind of work- 

 ing clothes to bring — blue overalls 

 (white would be better if they did not 

 soil so quickly), light-weight, light- 

 colored print shirts, and plenty of 

 changes of both. 



But with reference to black clothing, 

 J. L. Byer, in the Canadian Bee Jour- 

 nal, gives a recent experience : 



Only a short time ago it was my privilege 

 to spend part of the day in an out-apiary be- 

 longing to one of Ontario's well-known bee- 

 keepers. During the time I was there, al- 

 though I walked all through the yard quite a 

 number of times, hardly a bee offered to sting, 

 and I concluded they were a pretty quiet lot 

 of bees. During the day the owner came to 

 the apiary, and together we started to go 

 among the bees, when, presto ! what a change. 

 In an instant the bees were fairly swarming 

 about the head of our bee-keeper friend, and 

 it was more than funny (to the writer) to 

 see the way he sprinted for eover to the 

 honey-house. As I had been wearing a straw 

 hat, and the bee-keeper was dressed in dark 

 clothing and a black-felt hat, it struck me as 

 a clear case of the bees' being aggravated by 

 the dark garb, especially the black hat. At 

 least, that was the only construction I could 

 place on the matter, unless we accept the 

 idea advanced by the victim — he " guessed 

 they knew him, and were tryin r to ' even up ' 

 some old score." 



■■HH^^^^^H 



oufhern 



Conducted by Lons H. Scholl, New Braunsfels, Tes 



An Invitation to Bee-Keepers 



We Texans are looking for the Na- 

 tional Bee-Keepers' Association to 

 meet in San Antonio, Nov. 8, 9, and 10, 

 with a great deal of pleasure ; and in 

 behalf of the Texas Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation, and the bee-keepers of Texas 

 in general, I wish to extend a cordial 

 invitation to each and every member 

 of the National Association to attend. 



I also wish to say to the bee-keepers 

 of Texas, if you miss this opportunity 

 to attend the National Bee-Keepers' 

 Convention, from a bee-keeper's point 

 of view, you will have missed the op- 

 portunity of your life. Let's all be 

 present, and have a grand love-feast 

 with the great bee-keepers of the coun- 

 try. 



Yours for a good attendance, and a 

 general good time. W. O. Victor, 



Pros. Texan Bet-Keepers' Association. 



Hondo, Tex. 



Exhibiting 1 at Fairs 



Few bee-keepers fully realize the 

 benefits that may be derived from ex- 

 hibiting at Fairs. It advertises their 

 business. It creates an interest among 

 the mass of people who visit Fairs, and 

 thus opens a way to a market for the 

 bee-keeper's products. Too few of our 

 bee-keepers take advantage of this 

 matter; but we are now looking toward 

 the time in the very near future when 

 beekeepers' exhibits will be more in 

 evidence at Fairs. This subject is be- 

 ing exploited quite extensively in our 

 journals lately, and the change for the 

 better will come. 



The Exhibits at San Antonio 



It is hoped by both the Fair Associa- 

 tion and the Committee on Exhibits of 

 the Texas Bee-Keepers' Association, 

 that there will be a creditable exhibit 

 of apiarian products this year. The 

 Fair Association offers over S350 in 

 cash premiums for bees, honey, wax, 

 and other apiarian exhibits, and the 

 bee-keepers ought to take an interest 

 in the matter. Mr. Udo Toepperwein 

 is superintendent of the Bee and Honey 

 Department, with H. M. Little as direc- 

 tor. Letters of information, and re- 

 garding other matters concerning the 

 apiarian exhibit, can be addressed to 

 them at San Antonio. 



At the last meeting of the Texas 

 Bee-Keepers' Association in July, a 



committee of 5 was appointed, known 

 as the Committee on Exhibits. The 

 members are : Louis H. Scholl (chair- 

 man), of New Braunfels ; Willie Atch- 

 ley and W. H. Laws, of Beeville ; C. S. 

 Phillips, of Waco ; W. O. Victor, of 

 Hondo. It is the duty of this commit- 

 tee to take in hand the matter of ex- 

 hibits in all its phases, and to develop 

 this subject, looking after the object 

 of increasing the exhibits at the Fairs 

 in the State of Texas, deciding on suit- 

 able premium lists, etc., and in getting 

 together apiarian products for exhibi- 

 tion. 



A request is made to all bee-keepers 

 who have anything for exhibition at 

 the San Antonio International Fair, to 

 correspond with any one of the above- 

 named committee-men, or the one 

 located nearest to them, and it will be 

 a pleasure for these to look after what 

 they may have. 



Rules for Exhibitors. 



The Fair opens Oct. 31 and closes 

 Nov. 11. Every exhibit must be placed 

 before 9 a.m. Oct. 31, and remain 

 throughout the time of the Exposition, 

 or the exhibitor will be barred from 

 winning premiums. There will be no 

 charge for entries and space, but the 

 exhibitor must improve and decorate 

 his space at his own expense. All 

 goods must be unpacked immediately 

 upon arrival, and empty cases removed 

 from the grounds by and at the ex- 

 pense of the exhibitor; the exhibitor 

 also bearing the expense of removing 

 the exhibits at the close of the Fair. 

 In the case of bee-keepers who wish to 

 send exhibits, it may not be necessary 

 for them to come with the exhibit, and 

 it is requested that such first corres- 

 pond with either Mr. Toepperwein or 

 any of the other members of the com- 

 mittee. They will be glad to make it 

 their duty to look after these matters, 

 and bee-keepers should not hesitate to 

 come forward with their wishes. It 

 will be well to urge upon all, however, 

 that steps in this matter should be 

 taken immediately, as the time for 

 placing the exhibits is nearing. 



The Premium List. 



The San Antonio International Fair 

 Association has been very generous in 

 offering premiums for exhibits of bees, 

 honey, wax, and other miscellaneous 

 objects pertaining to the apiarian in- 

 dustry ; hence, the bee-keepers of the 

 Lone Star State should make it their 

 duty to do their part and furnish the 

 " stuff for the show " that would be 

 appreciated by the management. Here 

 is the list of premiums : 



