THE A3IERICAN APICULTURIST. 



21 



board to the top of second stoiy, 

 of bees and honey, I am now feed- 

 ing to keep them in good shape to 

 take hold of the next flow which 

 commences about the first of May 

 and lasts until about the tenth of 

 August, when another resting spell 

 comes before starting in on the fall 

 crop. Everything promises well 

 for a big crop of honey for the 

 season. 



I do not remember a day during 

 the past winter, that my bees were 

 not flying, and I think some colo- 

 nies had more honey when they 

 commenced to increase their brood 

 this season, than they had last fall. 



To you of the snowy North, who 

 have not seen a bee on the wing 

 for the past hundred or hundred 

 and thirty days, this may seem al- 

 most incredible ; but to the writer 

 who has not seen a flake of snow 

 for eight years, it has come to be a 

 matter of course, during our glori- 

 ous February days, to drop into 

 his hammock on tlie veranda, with- 

 out coat or vest, and take an after- 

 dinner siesta, lulled to sleep by the 

 hum of the busy bees sipping sweet 

 nectar from the blossoms of the 

 orange trees close by and with a 

 drowsy sense of comfort and con- 

 tent pervading his being as he drops 

 off into dreamland. 



All this is very pleasant, but 

 wait until July, and some of the 

 romance is taken out of it by hav- 

 ing added, the hum of another in- 

 sect, the mosquito, which is any- 

 thing but conducive either to sleep 

 or comfort, accompanied as it is b}' 

 rather an uncomfortable sensation 

 about the face, hands and neck. 



But as this article is for a bee- 

 journal we will say no more about 

 mosquitos, and by the way as I find 

 my sheet nearly full, I will also 

 postpone the rest of the bee talk 

 until next time. 



Yours respectfull}^, 



Linda Flora. 



EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT. 



It may not be uninteresting to 

 our beekeeping friends and readers 

 to know what has induced us to pro- 

 ject the publication of a new bee- 

 journal, and to understand what 

 we propose to do. 



The science of apiculture is con- 

 tinually advancing, tlic da}' of log- 

 gums, box-hives, brimstone, etc., 

 is numbered with tlie past, and 

 there exists an increasing de- 

 mand for bee-literature of a more 

 thorough, advanced, scientific and 

 practical nature. 



In the past, many of our journals 

 were mere advertisements foi- some 

 supply business or queen traflflc, and 

 as a result self-interest was para- 

 mount, and the interest of the bee- 

 keepers secondary. 



In view of this, and at the solici- 

 tations of some of our most promi- 

 inent bee-keeping friends, we have 

 decided to enter the field as editor, 

 pledged to work for, and in, the 

 interests of bee-keepers. 



Our facilities for doing this are 

 unexcelled, and our list of con- 

 tributors includes some of the most 

 scientific and practical bee-masters 

 in the country. 



We are in no way connected 

 with any supply business or queen 

 traflBc ; we propose to assume a 

 thoroughly independent position 

 and to maintain the same by pur- 

 suing an upright and manly course 

 in conducting the Journal, feeling 

 that only by this can we succeed in 

 doing justice to and benefiting both 

 the advertisei's and bee keepers. 



While we court candid criticism 

 and deem it an educator and es- 

 sential to the welfare of apicul- 

 ture, yet we propose to reserve the 

 right to protect the interests of 

 our advertisers, the opinions and 

 writings of our contributors, and 

 the rights of our subscribers by 

 excluding from our columns any 



