THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



203 



whole-souled generous humanitarians, 

 which showed itself in the ample prepar- 

 ations made for tl»e accommodations of 

 the company present. A rural dinner with 

 all the et ceterm tempted the most fastidi- 

 ous appetite. They all ate, and drank, 

 and were satisfied ; and, in the happiness 

 of the occasion Mr. Dadant invited the 

 company down to the City of Bees, where 

 a miniature city, with its thousands of 

 industrious workers, gatlier the wasting 

 sweets from nature's unlimited fields. 

 Box after box was opened, showing the 

 colonies at work in the movable comb sys- 

 tem. The queen, the royal personage of 

 the colony, was taken in hand and exhibi- 

 ted, one of each kind, pure Italian, na- 

 tives and hybrid. The Italian worker 

 bees were handled with the naked hand 

 to show their docility and gentle disposi- 

 tion. These bees are preferred to the 

 native for their hardiness, industry, and 

 capacit}'^ to store more honey than the 

 native bee. The Messrs. Dadants have four 

 or five hundred colonies, about 200 of 

 which are kept at home, the others at 

 places of convenience for pasturage. 

 They also exhibited the boxes in which 

 queens are imported from Italy, from 

 whence they have regular semi-monthly 

 importations. Making bee culture a speci- 

 ality, as thej"^ do, they are supposed to be 

 scientifically acquainted with all that 

 pertains to the honey bee in its relations 

 to the apiar\ . 



It is inferred from what was learned, 

 that 200 stand of bees will find subsistence 

 four miles apart; at this rate 800 stands 

 would find subsistence in one township, 

 six miles square; and, at a moderate esti- 

 mate, would store 24.000 pounds of honey 

 annually. Nine tenths of this liberal pro- 

 vision in nature is lost, which the reflec- 

 tive reader will readily perceive might be 

 secured for the comfort and happiness of 

 the people ; but some would say good-bye 

 to the small fruits if so many bees were 

 kept. To the objection that bees injure 

 fruits, it is alleged that they are a positive 

 benefit, and do not puncture fruit, nor use 

 it till punctured by other insects, or use 

 the wasting exudation. 



The meeting was called to order for an 

 afternoon session. Hathaway inquired 

 what plants and flowers were best for bees. 

 Dadant said Buckwlieat, Alsike, and 

 White Clover, the Linden, Mustard, and 

 fruit blossoms generally. As to bees 

 puncturing fruit, he said he had tempted 

 them with grapes, which they never used 

 unless first punctured. 



Mr. Brown spoke of evergreens. Some 

 was injured the past winter. Mr. Walker 

 said we must bear in mind the two win- 

 ters past were unusual. Pres. Hammond 

 said the mission of tlie society was to 

 stimulate Horticultural products among 

 the people ; that more evergreens should 

 be planted for ornamentation. The Nor- 



way spruce was among the best; Arbor 

 Vita', although ragged naturally, bears 

 slieariug, and is ornamental. 



The discussion on grapes was intro- 

 duced. The Clinton was represented as not 

 doing well, while the Delaware was in the 

 ascendant, diametrically opposite to for- 

 mer experience; other varieties generally 

 doing well with varying experience. 

 Owing to the wet season, weeds had got 

 the ascendency. Squire Ruggles thought 

 his grapes were doing well without cultiva- 

 tion, as he did not like work. Mr. Porter 

 was much in the same fix; his were well 

 fruited ; had managed to mow the weeds 

 down. 



The limits assigned for our report pre- 

 vent giving other interesting remarks on 

 various subjects by the members present. 

 A resolution of thanks was adopted, ex- 

 pressing the Society's obligations to the 

 Messrs. Dadants for their courtesy, liber- 

 ality, and marked hospitality to the com- 

 pany present. 



On motion the meeting adjourned to 

 meet at E. McCune's, at such time in 

 August as may suit. 



B. Whitaker, Secretary. 



For the American Bee Journal. 

 Frame Making. 



One of the thorns in the path of the woman 

 who undertakes to master the theor}^ and 

 practice of bee-keeping, is her lack of 

 natural or acquired ability to drive a nail 

 straight, to use a saw with safety to the im- 

 plement, or a sharp knife with safety to 

 herself. The gifted few of whom this 

 may not be true, constitute so small a 

 fractional part of woman kind that they 

 may be regarded, properly, as exceptions 

 proving the rule. And "the woman who 

 begins to keep bees without having her 

 attention directed to this matter, is in 

 danger of suffering from vexation of spirit, 

 and wounded fingers, many times during 

 the course of her novitiate. 



It seems a simple and an easy thing to 

 make a frame, for instance. A woman 

 who is both ambitious and economical 

 will decide that she can easily manage 

 for herself that part of the business. But 

 let my experience be a warning — a warn- 

 ing at least, to those who have not mas- 

 tered the ABC of carpentry. 



When I set about building frames, the 

 first unpleasant discovery I made was 

 that all the lumber on the premises con- 

 sisted of very long and very wide boards, 

 varying from an inch to an inch and a 

 half in thickness. My second unpieasant 

 discovery was that the familj'^ saw was a 

 large, clumsy implement, whose coarse 

 and rusty teeth were much in need of the 

 saw-filer's dentistry, and whose general 

 character, when brought to the test, proved 

 to be both weak and perverse. That is, it 



