110 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



scientious move, or does it rather savor of a 

 change in policy to create a larj^er demand 

 for advertised wares perliaps at tiie expense 

 of those who are selhng patented articles. 

 Another louiliy ])nielaiuis that his wares arc 

 not piitented. hilt wlien yoii think you could 

 manufacture the metal corners cheaper than 

 to send to Ohio for them and write for xiar- 

 ticulars, you receive in reply to your inquir- 

 ies, that the corners are not patented, but 

 the machine which stamps them out is, and 

 costs in the neij^hborhood of .$2.50 ; that yon 

 can manufacture for your own use, but not 

 to sell. Generosity linparalel led : you can 

 have the privilefje of paying S2..50 for a pat- 

 ented machine to manufacture perhaps .120 

 worth of tins for your own use and then 

 hold up, or find yourself brought before Un- 

 cle Sam's bar of justice, to answer for in- 

 fringement of the patent laws. Oh, con- 

 sistency thou art a jewel ?" While exhibit- 

 ing honey at the N. Y. State Fair, last fall, 

 I had an opportunity to converse with many 

 bee-keepers, and found representatives for 

 most kinds of hives in general use, not one 

 of whom complained of ever having been 

 swindled in buying a patent bee-hive. My 

 observation is "that improved bee-keeping 

 and patent hives have gone together and 

 that we are pretty certain to find the old 

 gum in use where the brimstone theory is 

 still in vogue. I would in no way apologize 

 for a hive or queen swindler, hut do not be- 

 lieve in condemning the genuine because 

 there is somt^times a counterfeit. We have 

 this consolation that the Patent Laws do 

 not comi)el us to use a patentt;d article, con- 

 sequently it it does not suit us, all we have 

 to do is to let it alone. 



The iireseiit demands the united action of 

 "those interested in promoting the interest of 

 bee-culture as a broad field for occupation 

 remains unoccupied, and those who are de- 

 voting time and money to the furtherance 

 of this neglected industrv are entitled to 

 our encouragement, that tliey mav succeed 

 in devising means to secure moVe of the 

 tons of li(iuid sweet which annually go to 

 Waste for want of gatherers. This secre- 

 tion of honey wiiich only takes place when 

 :atmospheric conditions are favorable, often 

 vanishes with the disai)))eaianc(^ of the 

 morning dew and without iilentv of labor- 

 ers cannot be saved. The field is broad and 

 open to all. There need be no clashing of 

 weapons, for as a rule he who vends a hive 

 will endeavor to introduce the best, as he 

 has a reputation at stake and if he makes a 

 mistake it will be an error of head rather 

 than of heart. (\ R. Ish\m 



Peoria, Wyoming Co., N. Y. 



Enemies of the Bee. 



I notice in the P^'bruary .Journal an artic- 

 ■alon Bee Enemies," giving a discrlption 

 ot the Asilus family, and an a(u-ount of their 

 operations as bee-killers. Now we have an 

 insect here called the mos(iiiit() hawk, that 

 i.s very destructive to bees, and resembling 

 the insectdescr-ibed in the aiticle refen'<l to, 

 but IS much larger, measuring two and a 

 halt inches and more in length. It, is no 

 doubtof the same family, but being no en- 

 tomologist, I cannot say. This "hawk" 

 makes its a])pearanc<^ usually about the mid- 

 <lle ot .luiie, and coiiie> in niiiubcrs var\ iiig 

 with the lociiNt of Kgypt, or grasslio|ipei-s of 

 Kansas. For the firsi month or so, they are 



seen only at evening, near sun down, but 

 as the season arrives, they operate to some 

 extent the whole day; afways turning out, 

 however, in great numbers, in the evening. 

 They seem to be always on the wing, ex- 

 ceiit'when devouring their prey. The air is 

 filled with them, darting hither and thither 

 swiftly, like bees swarming, and almost as 

 dense. 



They take the bees while on the wing 

 and when settled on the hive, by pouncing 

 on them, just as a chicken hawk does upon 

 his prey, and then light upon a perch, high 

 up in a" tree, if one is convenient. 



In what way they operate on the bee in 

 devouring it. or what part they eat, I have 

 never been able to discover, from the fact 

 that my apiary Is in the midst of tall native 

 oaks, to the liinbs of which these cannibals 

 resort to regale themselves on their captives. 

 They all disappear about the first of Sep- 

 tember. From their great numbers and the 

 length of time they operate, say three 

 months, they must destroy millions of bees. 



How to destroy these " Jayhawkers" or 

 prevent their ravages, is what puzzles me. 

 To knock down a few hundred with a bush, 

 as you may easily do as they whiz past, does 

 not seem to lessen the number, As McBeth 

 said of the English: "The cry is, still they 

 come." Let us hear from some of your bug 

 men, on this mammoth asilus of the South. 

 Last year was a very ])oor year for honey 

 until September, when the bees commenced 

 on the smart weed, and for five weeks they 

 worked on it, gathering abundant winter 

 supplies of the richest and most delicious 

 honey. I never dreamed of that weed pro- 

 ducing honey or being good for anything 

 else before. It grows here in great profu- 

 sion, and is certainly the mo.st valuable 

 honey-producing plant we have in this 

 region. J. Applewhite. 



For the Ameaican Bee Journal. 



How I Succeeded. 



I promised in tlie .Inly No. to report mv 

 success (luring the summer, witli the Higii 

 Presure Hive worked on the different plans 

 proposed, viz: Ilazens' Adair vs. Gallup. 



Well, after breeding up largely in the 

 spring as I was able, it hc'Dig a very late 

 one, I arranged swarm No. i, to work on 

 Ilazens' jilah.andgot o2 o tt>. boxes imper- 

 fectly filled, about 12.i It.s., divided the 

 swarm in September, and with an extractor 

 took (50 tt)s. that was not needed for winter. 



Swarm No. 2, I worked on Adair's long 

 one-story, extended it to four feet eight 

 inches, eight inches more than I got occu- 

 pied, worked exclusively with the extractor, 

 got a trifie over two hundred pcmnds, 

 divided in September maile two very large 

 swarms. 



Swarm No. 3, worked two stories, full size, 

 with fort.\- frames. It seemed too large^ 

 and was not occupied to advantage. I 

 worked with the extractor, got 148 lbs. 

 diviiU'd in September. 



Swarm No. 4, I divided as soon as bred 

 up, worked them in the single high presure 

 hive, two story each ; got :30.5 tt>s. from the 

 two. 



Swarm No. 5 and 6, I worked full size, 

 lower stor>'. with twenty frames each, with 

 long boxes and little fiauies, in supers. No. 

 5 gave a good yield of honey. No. after 



