AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



439 



ripened as they were the past fall, and I 

 have concluded that the more the 

 winter stores are ripened, or evaporated, 

 and nearly free of water, the better the 

 bees will "winter, if other conditions are 

 alike. 



The forepart of the present winter the 

 temperature was at 40° above zero in 

 my cellar, for nearly three months, and 

 the bees seemed to be contented with it, 

 and now it has been, and still is, at 36^-' 

 above, and the bees have that contented 

 murmur which all experienced bee-keep- 

 ers are so much pleased to hear when 

 they go into their cellars. 



Heretofore I would not believe (from 

 my former experience) that bees would, 

 or could, keep very healthy in a cellar, 

 for any length of time, with so low a 

 temperature as 36^ above zero ; they 

 would get wet and moldy, and would not 

 winter well ; but it proves that if the 

 winter stores are perfectly ripe, and of 

 good quality, the low temperature will 

 not affect the health of the bees much, 

 if any. 



Notwithstanding, if the temperature 

 had been up to 46- to 50° for two or 

 three months in the forepart of winter, 

 and then came down to 86°, disaster 

 would follow with the best of stores ; 

 they would go to breeding, and would 

 use up their vitality, and diarrhea is 

 sure to follow. 



I always noticed that when the tem- 

 perature showed 45° and upward in my 

 cellar in the forepart of winter, some of 

 the colonies would start breeding, get 

 restless, and disturb their neighbors : 

 then comes diarrhea, and a bad smell, 

 and disaster. 



That pollen theory of Mr. Heddon's is 

 all bosh, but not nearly so bad as his 

 doctrine on adulteration of honey. It is 

 the early winter breeding that causes 

 diarrhea, and not pollen. I have never 

 known a colony with the diarrhea in 

 winter that had not been breeding, un- 

 less it was diseased by the stench and 

 bad odor of the others. 



We can stand the false pollen theory 

 a good deal better (as it is only theory) 

 than that shameful fraud of honey adul- 

 teration. To keep silent about it, and 

 not make it public, will spoil more than 

 will be gained, etc., is Mr. Heddon's 

 doctrine. No, no, brother bee-keepers, 

 that's all wrong ; we will turn the han- 

 dle and tell them to stop the swindle — 

 we are not to be robbed of our honest 

 labor by their dishonest practice. Show 

 your mixtures, or we vfiUmake you show 

 them. We are not afraid to show our 

 product, straight from the bees. So far 

 the adulterators have shown their vile 



stuff ahead of our honey, and sold it for 

 honey ; but I hope every State will pass 

 laws like the one published on page 232. 



Go on brethren, and go on bee-keepers, 

 and expose every one who will injure 

 our industry by adulterating our pro- 

 duct, without showing in big letters 

 what it contains. If that is done, they 

 will stop adulteration themselves, as no 

 one will buy their mixtures. 



To prove what I say above, I will give 

 a little experience : I have a friend in 

 North St. Paul who has bought consid- 

 erable honey from me the past few 

 years, and sold it to his friends and ac- 

 quaintances. They were so well pleased 

 with the honey that he worked up con- 

 siderable trade. This winter, after he 

 had sold all the extracted honey he had, 

 he wanted more, as he had taken many 

 orders. Of course I could not supply 

 him, but wrote him that Messrs. Smith 

 & Austrian had some nice California 

 honey. He bought some there — five or 

 six 60-pound cans — but when he took it 

 to his customers they declared at once 

 that this was not the same as he sold 

 them heretofore, and that it was adul- 

 terated. The result was his trade 

 stopped. 



Theilmanton, Minn. 



Honey-Bee in tlie Economy of Hatnre. 



Head at the Wisconsin State Convention 

 BY DK. J. W. VANCE. 



The honey-bee is not appreciated as it 

 deserves by those who are under the 

 greatest obligations to it. The farmer 

 and horticulturist have frequently gone 

 to law with bee-keepers, claiming dam- 

 ages on account of alleged injury to 

 fields and orchards by the visits of the 

 bees gathering honey from the flowers. 

 However, a change is coming on account 

 of the investigations of naturalists, who 

 have discovered that the honey-bee is 

 included in Nature's plan for reproduc- 

 tion and evolution. People now see that 

 the visits of the bee aid in cross-fertili- 

 zation, and instead of antagonizing the 

 bee-keeper he should be regarded and 

 treated as a friend and coadjutor. 



Owing to the peculiar organization 

 and form of many flowers the interven- 

 tion of the bee is essential to the trans- 

 mission and interchange of pollen. With- 

 out pollen-fertilization, no seed can be 

 produced. If we take in our hand a 

 flower and observe its intricate organi- 

 zation we are impressed with awe at the 

 evident handiwork of the Creator — a 



