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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Bee-Keepers' Union.— Again 

 we wish to call the attention of our 

 readers to that " "Voting Blank " on page 

 4 of the Bee Journal, for Jan. 5th. 

 Cut out that sheet, fill up all the blanks, 

 and then send it to Mr. Newman, as he 

 there directs. 



We have nothing to say as to whom 

 you should vote for, but if you have not 

 already voted, we would like to call 

 your attention to the following para- 

 graph taken from Oleanings for Jan. 

 1st, which we fully endorse ; 



Without wishing to disparage the 

 capacity of Mr. James Heddon, the Presi- 

 dent, we would suggest that, as he is 

 not of the legal fraternity, the Hon. R. 

 L. Taylor, a good lawyer and bee-keeper, 

 be elected in his place. While Mr. New- 

 man is possessed of good legal knowl- 

 edge, it will be of great advantage to 

 him to be in direct consultation with the 

 next chief officer of the Union. 



Keeping: Italian Bees Pure. 



— A subscriber sends in this question for 

 reply : 



How can I keep Italian bees pure 

 when my neighbors have black bees 

 within a half mile of me, and won't sell 

 them ? S. C. 



You probably cannot keep them pure, 

 bat by constantly weeding out objec- 

 tionable queens, and occasionally intro- 

 uucing a pure Italian queen and rearing 

 your queens from her, you will get along 

 as well as many others. 



Transferring: Bees.— A corres- 

 pondent in South Carolina asks the fol- 

 lowing question : 



What is the best time to move bees 

 from old box-hives to frame hives ? I 

 have 17 colonies in old boxes, which I 

 want to move as soon as it can be done. 

 I also have 8 in frame hives, that I can 

 help the others with. R. C. F. 



The stereotyped answer to the ques- 

 tion when best to transfer bees, is at the 

 time of fruit bloom. The reason for 

 that is, that at the time of fruit bloom 

 the combs are as nearly empty as at any 

 time in the year when they are gather- 



ing honey. The chances for danger 

 from robbers are very much diminished 

 if the transferring is done at a time 

 when the bees are working in the fields, 

 and robbers are not on hand. The 

 lighter the combs are, the more easily 

 they are kept in place until the bees 

 fasten them in. 



There is, however, a plan given by 

 James Heddon, that is on the whole bet- 

 ter. Wait until the first swarm issues, 

 and hive it in a movable-comb hive. 

 Then on the 21st day after the swarm 

 issues, the last worker brood will be 

 hatched out, and you can transfer with 

 no brood in the way, except some that is 

 very young. 



HON. EUOEXE SECOR. 



Few men have been so constantly in 

 public life, and in so many different 

 positions, as has Hon. Eugene Secor, of 

 Forest City, Iowa, whose name is so well 

 known to the readers of the American 

 Bee Journal. His literary productions, 

 both of prose and poetry, are familiar 

 to all. He has very appropriately been 

 called the " poet laureate " of apicul- 

 ture. For years he has been among 

 those who have generously undertaken 

 to reply to the queries propounded for 

 publication in this paper, and as to how 

 well he has succeeded in "cracking" 

 the " nuts," we need only to point to the 

 printed record. 



Mr. Secor was born on May 13, 1841, 

 and was brought up on a farm, near 

 Peekskill, N. Y., being one of eleven 

 children, all of whom lived to manhood 

 and womanhood. He attended the pub- 

 lic school in winter, and worked on his 

 father's farm in summer. 



At the age of 21 he went to Iowa, 

 borrowing the necessary money of an 

 older brother who was already located 

 in the West. He went to work at what- 



