314 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAIi. 



new year comes the list of subscribers will 

 be just twice as long as it now is. I intend 

 to lind one new name, and if I can't find a 

 man who will subscribe I will make some a 

 New Year's present by sending them the 

 Journal for one year. I have no doubt 

 that we can find (each reader I mean) sever- 

 al new subscribers if we go to work in 

 earnest. I hope no one will read this and 

 not think of it again. Let us make The 

 American Bee Journal the best in the 

 world. 



When a stranger writes me concerning 

 bees I always urge him to subscribe to the 

 A. B. J., unless he is already a reader, and 

 I don't forget to give him its address. 



We met Bro. Newman at the Conven- 

 tion at Philadelphia, but could not get a 

 chance to talk with him about the above 

 way of increasing the circulation of our 

 favorite Jouunai-. If a few queens, a good 

 bee hive or a good honey extractor will add 

 many names to the list we would be glad to 

 furnish them, but let us in every way in- 

 crease the number of readers. If friend 

 Newman will give the name of the person 

 who sends the largest number of subscribers 

 I will try and coax him to accejit of a pres- 

 ent of some kind if anything I sell will be 

 acceptable to him. H. Alley. 



Wenham, Mass., Oct. 31, 1876. 



[Certainly, friend Alley, we will publish 

 the names, and thank you for the liberal of- 

 fer and suggestions. We hope every sub- 

 scriber will act upon friend Alley's sugges- 

 tion.— Ed.1 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Comb Poundation. 



Mr. Editor:— Through theA. B. J. you 

 wish to get the experience of those who 

 have tested comb foundation. I have used 

 a large amount of it this season, and have 

 not read or heard anything that gives jus- 

 tice to its great worth to tlie bee-keeper. I 

 am astonished that those who say they have 

 tried it and understand the bee business 

 should say tiiat it is cheaper to let the bees 

 build it tlian to buy it. Perhaps they can 

 drone comb, but no"t worker; and perhaps 

 they cannot. But we shall see. 



Now all bee-men know that bees build 

 comb quickest when h6ney is plenty and 

 bees strong, and at this time they naturally 

 want to build drone comb, and some bees 

 almost refuse to build worker comb at that 

 season. With the foundation you have a 

 beautiful straight card of all worker comb, 

 every time; and this is just what we all 

 want. 



I had a swarm in July that would draw 

 out a card, 12x12, every 24 hours and fill it 

 with eggs. This I kept up for 8 days, mak- 

 ing 8 full cards out of one poinid of founda- 

 tion; that being worth Sl.UO jtcr It., in large 

 quantities, make the cards cost V2,}4 cents 

 each. I might just state here tliat there is 

 material enough in the foundation to draw 

 the cells out full length, without any addi- 

 tional wax; this I have tested by weigiiing 

 it as soon as finished, by removing what lit- 

 tle honey might be stored it. 



Now suj)posing it takes 25 lbs. of honey to 

 make this one pound of comb, which 1 be- 

 lieve is what has always been estimated by 

 scientific men, this at 20c. per It), would be 



35.00, which is .$4.00 in favor of every pound 

 of foundation, besides the amount of labor 

 saved for our bees. I would like to see a 

 swarm that would build a comb 12x12 per 

 day for 8 days, and get 4 out of 8 worker 

 combs, in a hive not exceeding 14 frames of 

 the above size; allowing they'did build the 

 8 combs in 8 days which I think will never 

 be in our shoit days. 



The best way I have tried to put it in the 

 frame, is to cut the piece the full size of the 

 frame, less ^ inch at the bottom and 3^ in. 

 from the sides of the lower half; and the 

 upper half if waxed on the top and down 

 half way will hold it firm, and you will al- 

 ways have straight and beautiful comb. 

 This waxing is best done by having a board 

 fit the inside of the frame and lay the foun- 

 dation on it while running the wax around. 

 I have done as many as three in a minute 

 in this way. W. G. Walton. 



Hamilton, Ont. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



The Bee-Wolf. 



I read in your valuable Bee Journal on 

 page 257 (October, 1870), a very interesting 

 article headed " Bee Killers." Though 

 these enemies of bees.described by Mr.C. V . 

 Riley, are not to be found in Germany, we 

 have a somewhat similar bee killer who difl m 



much damage to our bees last sununer. It ; 

 is popularly known as the bee-wolf. This ^ 



insect resembles somewhat the common 

 wasp, only it is slender. 



The bee-wolf is of the wasp species and 

 lives alone— single. The female digs a fun- 

 nel 12 inches deep in a sunny and sandy 

 place; then it catches a bee, kills it with its 

 weapon and carries the dead body into its 

 funnel, where it lays an egg on its prey. 

 This egg will hatch very soon and the larvae 

 will feed upon the dead bee. 



The bee-wolf catches the bees in the air 

 or on the entrance of the hive. It preys al- 

 most exclusively upon the honey bee. 

 Never before have German bee-keepers 

 seen such swarms of these bee killers as 

 during the past summer. There was no 

 remedy to prevent the damage of this cruel 

 insect. The hives were depopulated; in 

 consequence, our honey harvesi, was much 

 smaller than the year before. 



C. J. U. Gravenuorst. 



Brunswick, Germany, Oct, 25, 1870. 



A TOWN LOT FOR NOTHING. 



We would call the attention of oui- readers 

 to the advorlist'inoiit of the Oliio, Kentucky 

 and Texas Land Company, and to their very 

 liheral oli'er. The Conii)any is only carrying 

 on, on a large scale, what is done every day 

 in our large cities- selling alternate lots to 

 induce settlers and increase the value of the 

 remaining lots— wi'th this ditferencc: that 

 this Company (avES away their alternate 

 lots. Alineral City is a growing town, and 

 will undoubtedly hecome a large city, when 

 the lots that are now given away will be very 

 valuable. The offer is botxi Jidc, and only 

 open for thirty days, as the demand will ex- 

 ceed the supply, and the Company will not 

 dispose of all their lots tree. The Company is 

 composed of reliable gentlemen, and our 

 readers can be assured that they will, by com- 

 plying with their insi ructions, receive, by re- 

 turn mail, a warranty deetl to a town lot, 

 which can be held for further use, or soid, or 

 settled upon, as the owner may please. 



