1871.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL. 



263 



KansasCitt, Mo., April 5, — Bees last summer 

 made nothing. Many hives died during the winter 

 of starvation. I am stimulating a few now, to keep 

 them alive. Peach trees now aie in full bloom here, 

 and I hope I am about out of the woods, as I find 

 feeding difficult. I am surrounded by fine bee pas- 

 turage, and think this the best place lor bees I have 

 ever lived in. White clover abounds. As I am a 

 novice at the business I must go slow, (I find it does 

 go slow,) as last season produced not a pound of 

 honey.— F. Holsinger. 



Berlin, Wis., April 10. — Vegetation is nearly a 

 month earlier than usual, but now we are having a 

 storm of sleet from the northeast. Our bees have 

 wintered well here. Honey was good last season. — 

 L. Beckwith. 



Natchez, Miss., April 11, 1S71. — To-dny the wea- 

 ther is tine and bright. Our spring season has opened 

 very early and favorably. The latter part of our win- 

 ter was much milder than usual, and vegetation has 

 put forth early and rapidly — our fruit trees blossoming 

 much earlier than usual. ]\Iy bees have improved 

 their time accordingly. !My first swarm issued on the 

 19th of March, followed by another on the 24th, two 

 on the 26th, one on the 29th, one on the 3d instant, 

 and several others since — all first swarms and liybrids, 

 exceptiug the earliest one, which is pure, or very nearly 

 pure Italian. Yesterday ray first black bees swarmed, 

 while others are making preparations. About thirty- 

 six miles from here, in the country, a friend had his 

 bees to swarm about two weeks ago, all blacks. The 

 prospect here is very good for a fine honey season, if 

 if our forward spring should not pi'ove the forerunner 

 of a dry and unyielding summer. — J. R. Bledsoe. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Ivovice and the Eureka Bee Hive. 



Mr Editor :— Do you not think that Novice 

 is a little out of place in the remark lie made in 

 the March number of the Journal, page 20G, on 

 Jasper Hazen and his Eureka bee hive ? I should 

 judge from his language that he considers him- 

 self something more than a novice. Supposing 

 that he has the best hive, and is the most success- 

 ful beekeeper, does he suppose that all others 

 can reach his eminence in bee cultui'e at one step, 

 with book knowledge only, and be also very suc- 

 cessful? We learn of numbers who have taken 

 a step far in advance of where they were, and 

 have so fallen that their experience was too dear. 

 It is practical knowledge we want, and that, like 

 all trades, must be got by degrees. If we change 

 from common hives, with honey boxes attached, 

 to movable comb hives, we had better try only a 

 few at lirRt, and hold on mainly in the old way 

 until we learn a better. Some beekeepers, highly 

 interested in the bu.siness, may never have a 

 taste for so much overhauling of bee hives as 

 taking the honey with a melextractor requires ; 

 and these, and some others, want to do the best 

 they can, in box-honey. And why shall they not 

 have a chance ? Why shall not the merits of such 

 hives be put before the public, as well as others ? 

 And why shall not Jasper Hazen have the same 

 privileges through the Journal as others, when 

 patentees have, so far, been allowed so lilseral a 

 share of room ;• We presume Mr. Hazen would 

 like to sell rights, but is he alone to be benefited 

 by the trade ? Do we not all know that a good 



hive has a good deal to do with our profits in 

 apiculture ? I have so far mainly used the Col- 

 ton hive, with a capacity of 72 pounds for box 

 honey ; and for the last two years have beat the 

 American hive, which has been kept in town. 

 I have made four Eureka hives, and fi'om what 

 I see of tbcm, 1 believe them the best in the 

 country, to make profit by means of box-honey. 

 Such is the construction, that the bees will 

 hardly know whether they are in the boxes or in 

 the main hive. The boxes when filled, will show 

 off in good shape, and so help the sale. If need 

 be, the combs may be taken out. 



I see from the American Beekeepers' Conven- 

 tio"]!, there is complaint of the dull sale of ex- 

 tracted honey, and the idea is advanced that it 

 will be necessary to lower the price. Box-honey, 

 because it is known to be i^ure, sells more readily 

 and higher. It is yet to be seen, after Mr. Hazen 

 stimulates his bees a little more scientifically, with 

 his higher price of honey, whether he will not 

 receive a larger profit than even ]^ovice himself. 

 Alo>;zo Barnakd. 



Bangor, Me., March 6th, 1S71. 



P. S. — The word usual' y should be inserted in 

 the eighth line of my communication in the 

 Journal for March, so as to make the sentence 

 read — "With few exceptions, the Italians have 

 done the best, and usually, much the best." 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



"My Patent Bee Hive." 



What intelligent beekeeper can read the head- 

 ing of this article, without feelings of di.'^gust 

 and indignation '? Of disgust, when he thinks of 

 tlie legion of foolish and worse than useless devices 

 to manage or rather mismanage the little honey 

 bee. Of indignation, when he remembers how 

 tliose devices are combined with valuable quali- 

 ties, thus either infringing on the patented rights 

 of other parties, or which are not and cannot 

 be patented — the inventors having given them to 

 the world. 



Now, I wish to say a few words upon patents 

 in general, and patent bee hives in particular. It 

 has been said that "necessity is the mother of 

 invention." The emergencies of the circum- 

 stances require the attainment of a certain 

 object, and immediately the attention of all 

 interested parties is centered upon that object ; 

 and it will not generally be long before a 

 method, and perhaps several of them, will be 

 devised to attain it. Many important inven- 

 tions are the result of the merest accident, and 

 many others result from seeing some person do a 

 thing in a novel and efficient method, but which 

 the operative never dreamed of having pat- 

 ented. 



The fact is, inventions ^rr^^w. By which I mean 

 that the research and investigations of the past 

 are the capital stock of the present ; and we 

 take their achievements as the basis on which 

 to build further improvements. The first man 

 was not a skilful mechanic, and the first mechanic 

 did not invent the steam engine — nor did the 

 first beekeeper invent the movable comb system. 

 Thus we see the reason why, in many cases, the 



