THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



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accomplish fructification in many cases 

 where otlicrwisc it would not take place. 

 There is no conclusive evidence to sustain 

 the suspicion of their injuring fruit. C!h. 

 Dadant, who is now settled in Illinois, but 

 wlio for many years kept bees near the 

 hills of Burgundy, says in a recent number 

 of the Amkuican Bkk Jovknal, It is well 

 established that lices are unable to cut the 

 skin of grapes. In order to ascertain the 

 fact, the most juicy and sugared grapes, 

 pears, sweet cherries, plums, apricots, etc., 

 were put inside the hives ; neAi^er have the 

 bees attacked them if they wei'e not 

 previously scratched. The experiment 

 was repeatedly made ; it was discovered 

 also that the first cutting was made by a 

 kind of wasp, or hj birds, or caused by 

 tlie rain falling when the fruit was ripe. 



A Wisconsin bee keeper also writing to 

 our journal says, "Last fall I took a 

 bunch of Delaware grapes (the most 

 tender variety we have here,) and put it on 

 a hive, directl}^ over the bees, and watched 

 proceedings ; but not a single berry was 

 opened ; then I broke a few berries, upon 

 which they went immediately to work, 

 sacking them dry, thus showing that some- 

 tliing besides bees does the mischief." 



Fhe idea is entertained by many intelli- 

 gent bee-keepers, that where the bees 

 have been suspected, with any air of 

 probability, of doing injury to grapes, the 

 skin of the fruit must first have been 

 punctured bj' some other insect, thus afford- 

 ing the bees access to the pulp. On this 

 point a correspondant of the Rural New 

 Yorker, writing from Mai-cellus, N. Y., 

 says : — " There is much complaint made in 

 the papers of bees eating grapes in ditifer- 

 ent localities, which 1 doubt not is true ; 

 but I wish some scientific man would give 

 a close examination, even with a magnify- 

 ing glass, and see whether some insect has 

 not been gnawing the skin in the night ; 

 for we know that the corn worm comes at 

 night, eats oti' the blade, and the snail eats 

 holes in the young tobacco leaf and is not 

 seen in the day time ; and there may be 

 insects flying in the night, like the light- 

 ning bug, that gnaw the grapes. Now% in 

 this section almost every house has a grape 

 vine, and there are bees ke])t in many 



places all over town and this village ; and 

 I have kept bees and grapes over ;}() years, 

 but have never heard the first complaint. 

 I wish there could be some close examina- 

 tion made." 



Back Volumes. 



Coiuiilete sets of back vohnues are scarce. 

 But few can be procured at any price. We 

 have a set, consisting of the nine volumes 

 (complete), which we offer for sale, eitlier 

 bound or unbound, for a reasonable sum. 

 Many of the numbers we have paid fifty cent'< 

 each for. to complete them. 



We have several single volumes (complete) 

 which we will send postpaid for |!2.00 eaeh. 



Several volumes, which lack only a single 

 number ot being complete, we will send post- 

 paid for .lyl.oO each. 



Vol. 1, we can supply in cloth boards, post- 

 paid, for f 1.25. Bound in paper covers, SLOO, 

 postage 10 cents. This volume is worth five 

 times its price to any intelligent bee-keeper. 

 It contains a full elucidation of scientific bee- 

 keeping, including the best statement extant 

 of the celebrated Dzierzon theory. These 

 articles run through eight numbers, and are 

 from the pen of the Baron of Berlepsch. 



JI:^" Beginners in bee-culture, who desire 

 to read up in the literature of bee-keeping, 

 are earnestly advised to obtain these back 

 volumes. Many of our best apiarians say 

 they would not sell tlieir back volumes of the 

 American Bee Jouexat> for ten times the 

 sum they cost, if they could not replace them. 

 They are exceedingly valuable alike to begin- 

 ners and more advanced apiarians. 



A Choice of Six Volumes p^ok jSo.— Hav- 

 ing a few back volumes complete, and some 

 lacking only one or two numbers each, we 

 will give the purchaser the choice of six of 

 such volumes for SS.OO. until tliey are disposed 

 of. As only a few can be supplied, those who 

 wisli to avail themselves of this offer, should 

 send for them at once. 



B^" We want several copies of No. 1, Vol. 

 2, of the Amekioan Bee Journae, and will 

 pay 50 cents each for them. 



The postage on this paper is only twelve 

 cents a year, if paid quarterly or yearly in 

 advance at the post-office where received. 

 We prepay postage to Canada, and require 

 twelve cents extra. 



When a subscriber sends money in pay- 

 ment for the American Bee Jouuxae, he 

 should state to what time he thinks it jiays, 

 so that we can compare it with our books, 

 and thus ])revent mistakes. 



