264 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



absolutely could not. injure fruit, but were 

 the greatest friends the horticulturist had. 

 We are feeling a little like congratulating 

 ourselves on this step in advance, in bee- 

 keeping, and in the fact that when our young 

 men attend the State University to take a 

 course in agriculture or horticulture, they 

 may also return with at least a knowledge 

 of scientific bee-keeping also. 



Very truly yours, 



E. WniTCOMB. 



No -wonder Nebraska bee-keepers ' ' are 

 feeling a little like congratulating" them- 

 selves, for well they may. We trust that 

 their proposed station may not only be a 

 a help and a blessing to Nebraska bee-keep- 

 ers, but also to those in other States. 



But where are Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, 

 Ohio, and many other States, in this mat- 

 ter ? Michigan, Vermont, Rhode Island, 

 California and Nebraska have now " led 

 off," and it ought to be easier for the rest 

 to follow. Which State will be the next to 

 report the establishing of an apiarian ex- 

 periment station ? 



l*rof. Coolc is to have charge of the 

 apiarian department in the monthly Rural 

 CaUfortunn beginning with the March num- 

 ber of that live magazine. It seems that 

 those California folks are bound not to let 

 the Professor have any rest at all. But it 

 won't hurt him any to .work — so long as he 

 don't owv-work. We believe Prof. Cook 

 will agree with us, that it is " better to 

 wear out than to rust out;" and to " wear 

 out " one's self in a good cause like bee- 

 culture, is certainly commendable. 



ISro. Root has been giving " scripture 

 measure " in the contents of OlcaHutga the 

 past month. In the number for Feb. 1st, 

 he added 8 extra pages, and in the issue of 

 Feb. 15th there are in all 52 pages. Gracious, 

 what a lot of reading ! In the latter num- 

 ber he devotes much space to a " Sympo- 

 sium on Bees and Fruit," in which both 

 pros and cons are presented. Of course, the 

 weightiest part of the arguments is in 

 favor of the bees as advantageous to the 

 fructification of blossoms. We thought 

 that was a fact almost too well established 

 to admit of discussion. But Rro. Root has 

 gotten up a very interesting symposium, 

 which he will issue in pamphlet form, for 

 the use of bee-keepers who wish to en- 

 lighten their neighboring fruit-growers, 

 who oftentimes imagine that bees are a 

 detriment to blossoming fruits and plants. 



Xlie ]^ortl» Ainei-ican Report. — 



Gleaiungs for Feb. loth contains this much 

 appreciated notice of the Report of the pro- 

 ceedings of the Chicago convention of the 

 North American, which we sent out in 

 pamphlet form a few weeks ago : 



It is gotten up in fine style, and is pro- 

 fusely illustrated with portraits of the au- 

 thors and some of the leading bee-keepers 

 of the country. It also contains engravings 

 of a large number of honey exhibits at 

 the World's Fair. Bro. York is to be con- 

 gratulated upon its fine appearance. 



After supplying the members of the As- 

 sociation, there were about 100 copies of 

 the Report left, which we can mail at 25 

 cents each. Whatever is realized on the 

 sale of the copies on hand, will be turned 

 into the treasury of the Association. It is 

 quite a souvenir of the Columbian Meeting. 

 Speak quickly, if you want one. 



I>r. JVIfi!^on — our good friend in Toledo, 

 Ohio — has been quite sick and helpless for 

 some time, we are sorry to learn. On Feb. 

 19th he wrote: 



Friend York : — Until within a few days 

 I have not been able to dress and undress 

 myself alone, having been pretty nearly 

 used up since Dec. 12th. 



You've done well with the Convention 

 Report ; its gotten up in good shape, and 

 well printed. Very truly yours, 



A. B. Mason. 



We are pleased to know that our jolly 

 Doctor is recovering now, and hope he will 

 soon be quite himself again. " La grippe " 

 certainly takes a firm grip sometimes — 

 almost too solid ahold to let go very easily. 



To think that McKnight would take ad- 

 vantage of a man when he's sick and per- 

 fectly helpless ! But like the little boy, 

 "he [McKnightJ didn't know it was 

 loaded!" 



Will tlic Queen Ke Ai»y <^oo(l ? 



— The following question and request has 

 been sent to us : 



I have a query that I would like to have 

 answered by Mr. G. M. Doolittle in the Bee 

 Journal. It is this: 



I discovered a dead queen at the en- 

 trance of one of my hives about Jan. 25th ; 

 in about three weeks, as nearly as I can 

 tell, I thought I would examine them. It 

 was a warm day, and I took off the cover 

 and raised some three or four frames ; on 

 one of them I found two queen-cells — one 

 was uncapped, the other was not. I then 

 searched for the queen, and had hard work 



