436 



AMERICAN BEE )OURNAL 



July in, 1902. 



Spraying to Thin Fruit. — The following is clipped 

 from an editorial in the Farmers' Review : 



Trees sprayed at the time they are in bloom will not set 

 as niuch fruit as those sprayed either before or after bloom- 

 ing-. The pollen that is struck with any sprays of common 

 strength is doomed practically. It may put out a feeble 

 efifort toward germination. When trees are sprayed in 

 blossom of course the pollen in a good many flowers escapes, 

 for the reason that all flowers do not open at the same time, 

 and many will not have opened sufficiently to receive the 

 spray. It has been suggested that this is a good way to 

 thin the fruit on trees. The suggestion has been enter- 

 tained by scientists, and if it is ever put into practice it may 

 result in the finding of an easy method or thinning. 



Upon second thought better counsels are sure to prevai 

 in the office of the Farmers' Review. To say nothing of 

 the criminality of the act in some States, well-informed 

 horticulturists would hardly be willing to poison the honey- 

 bees that are now considered in horticultural circles as im- 

 portant helpers toward a good crop of fruit. Besides, such 

 thinning would very likely result in an undesirable quantity 

 of deformed fruit. 



Steam for Bee.Stings, — Mrs. Burns — a lady bee-keeper 

 near Chicago — says she finds that steaming the part stung 

 gives relief from swelling and pain. Simply hold it over 

 the nozzle of a boiling tea-kettle, perhaps first putting a 

 piece of cloth over it, as the issuing steam might be hotter 

 than the sting itself. This is a simple remedy, only it in- 

 volves the necessity of having the water '• tailing " when 

 stung. And a bee-keeper with a hundred colonies might 

 have to spend too much time " steaming up '" his fingers or 

 hands. We believe we would prefer to stand a few stings, 

 and go on with the work. Still, the " steam cure " may tae 

 just the thing for some bee-keepers or bee-keeperesses. 



I ^ The Weekly Budget. % I 



Red Clover Queens Delayed — Several times we 

 have had to refer to the delay in rearing and mailing the 

 Red Clover queens, orders for which we have been taking 

 for a number of months, expecting that our breeder would 

 be able to begin sending them about June in. Here is what 

 he wrote us June 30 : 



Fhieni) Ydkk : — Say, I am at times almost desperate, 

 when this cold, rainy weather goes on without ceasing. 

 Today and yesterday it has been very good, and I am hop- 

 ing for nice weather. There has not been enough honey 

 coming in, until the last three or four days, to keep the bees 

 from starving. I sometimes think I will never try to rear 

 any more queens after this season, but perhaps this season 

 is to give us the disposition of Job— to learn to be patient. 



Bees are now taking to cell-building, as the season for 

 swarming approaches, but I can't promise to be up with 

 orders before the last of July. It is awful, but i can't make 

 weather. I have had over 200 queens lost in flying out to 

 be fertilized. Just think of it ! You can't imagine the 

 time we are having. Clover is nearly over and no surplus. 

 You see, the young queens go out and a cold wave and rain 

 catches them. 



Well, we must do as we would like to be done by. 



Yours trustingly, . 



The delay is simply too bad, and yet our breeder of 

 Red Clover queens can not help it. He is doing the best he 

 can. As he well says, he can not ■ make weather." 



We trust those who are entitled to these queens will be 

 patient. Some have already been mailed, and the balance 

 will be sent as rapidly as possible. A card notice will be 

 mailed to each a day or two before sending the queens. 



On to Denver. — Secretary D. W. Working, of the 

 Colorado State Bee-Keepers' Association, is true to his 

 name. He is indeed at it early and late, to make the next 

 meeting of the National a great success in Denver, Sept. 3, 

 4 and S. It won't be his fault if it is not the biggest bee- 

 keepers' convention ever held in America. Just listen to 

 these temptations to the " tenderfeet " of the East and 

 South : 



De.^k Mr. York: — You may tell the readers of the 

 American Bee Journal that those of them who attend the 

 National convention in Colorado next September will have 

 a chance to sit in the seats of the mighty. It is officially 

 decided that we are to have the Hall of Representatives of 

 the Colorado State Capitol for our Big Joint. 



You are to understand that our State Capitol is worth 

 seeing on its own account. It lacks a little of being finished, 

 and has already cost more than two million dollars. So you 

 may guess that it is no cheap affair. Moreover, it is sur- 

 rounded by the most beautiful of lawns ; and when you 

 come to Denver the grass will be a sight to rest your eyes 

 and make your tongue tired talking about its beauty. So, 

 there 1 



You might mention the fact that the bee-keeper who 

 has worked faithfully all summer is sure to be in debt to 

 himself and his wife. One of the best ways to cancel such 

 a debt is to take a vacation — go some place. Thousands of 

 people come to Colorado merely to see the sights and have 

 a good time — and that, too, without knowing any- 

 thing about our alfalfa honey and our Bee-Keepers' 

 Association 1 Your readers, knowing about these addi- 

 tional attractions, can be the more easily persuaded that 

 they ought to go to Colorado at the time of the big meeting 

 of bee-masters. Tell them to get ready. 



Yours truly, D. W. Working. 



Say. Mr. Working, are there any signs there of the 

 "Keep Off" the Grass " sort 7 If so. we have the same thing 

 here in our Chicago parks. But we want to see Colorado 

 just the same, and its many big bee-keepers. We believe 

 they are the best " crop " of that State. Of course, many 

 other things out there are also worth seeing, besides grass, 

 and honey, and bee-keepers. Get ready for a bustin' big 

 crowd of bee-folks. 



Wisconsin Bee-Keeping compared with other Wiscon- 

 sin products of 1897 to 1899 : 



59,85.T acres bearing orchards— 4.5 lbs. of honey tor each acre. 



1.41"i.!M'i;i bearing apple-trees — 1..S lbs. of honey for each apple-tree. 



166,721) bushels apples, 1.S119 — 16 lbs. of honey for each bushel of 

 apples. 



260, .549 bushels of apples, 1897 — 10 lbs. of honey for each bushel 

 of apples. 



S9,.54S bushels of strawberries — 3 lbs. of honey for each bushel of 

 strawberries. 



42,829 bushels of timothy seed — 1 lb. of beeswax for each bushel of 

 seed. 



85.423 bushels of clover seed, 1899 — 31 lbs. of honey for each bushel 

 of seed. 



1.. 502, 444 tons of cultivated grass, 1899— l.T lbs. of honey for each 

 ton of grass. 



.510,570 acres of wheat, 1S9S — 5.2 lbs. of honey for each acre of 

 wheat. 



1,145.351 acres of corn, 1898 — 2.3 lbs. honey for each acre of corn. 



1,928.366 acres of oats, 1898 — 1.3 lbs. of hooey for each acre of oats. 



411,278 acres of barley, 1898 — 6.4 lbs. of honey for each acre of 

 barley. 



253.190 acres of potatoes, 1898 — 10.5 lbs. of honey lor each acre of 

 potatoes. 



27,521 acres of tobacco, 1898 — 97 lbs. of honey for each acre of 

 tobacco. 



722,933 milch cows — 6 cows for each colony of bees. 



?107, 170 for support of poor— 25 lbs. of honey for each dollar for 

 the poor. 



?3,U31 for diseased animals slaughtered— -*7. 26 for each dollar the 

 .State pays to protect bee-keeping. 



?8,.537 for diseased animals slaughtered and veterinary surgeon 

 and help — .<17 for each dollar State pays to protect bee-keeping. 



?;2,.535 for Horticultural society — .*.5.07 for each dollar State pays 

 to protect bee-keeping. 



A Correction. — At the bottom of the first column of 

 the excellent article by Mr. Elias Fox, on page 407, it 

 should read : " Have a sufficient number of large barrels to 

 hold two or three thousand pounds of honey." It was 

 printed, " two or three pounds," which was plainly incorrect. 



