22 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



unkindly or ungentlemanly criti- 

 cisms, or too personal remarks 

 and articles intended as advertise- 

 ments, and we feel assured that 

 such a course will meet the hearty 

 approval of every intelligent and 

 thoughtful apiarist. 



We shall assist in promoting 

 every laudable enterprise which 

 shall benefit apiculture and the bee- 

 keeper ; we intend to keep pace 

 with every advance made in scien- 

 tific and practical bee-keeping, 

 and propose to experiment largely 

 with this end in view. 



We mean that our Journal shall 

 be second to none either in amount 

 of solid, substantial information 

 furnished its readers, or the style in 

 which it is printed. To accomplish 

 this we shall be obliged to depend 

 largely upon our bee-keeping friends 

 for encouragement and support, and 

 trust that, in view of the benefit 

 which must come to them, and for 

 the sake of apiculture itself we shall 

 meet with ready and hearty re- 

 sponse. 



If we continue to receive the 

 support that has been extended to 

 us up to the present, success will be 

 certain. 



We invite candid and fair criti- 

 cism for our journal, and trust that 

 our readers will suggest improve- 

 ments or changes whenever they 

 deem it necessary. Remember that 

 the journal is yours, and that the 

 more interest you take in it, and 

 the better you support it, the more 

 fully we can accomplish the work 

 which we have instituted. 



We take great pleasure in dedi- 

 cating the American Apioulturist 

 to the memory of our beloved Quin- 

 by ( whose name we love to honor) 

 the father of practical apiculture 

 in America ; of whom it may 

 truthfully be said, he made the 

 " golden rule " a life-study and a 

 life-i)raclice ; the one who sofreel}'" 

 gave to his brother bee-keepers 

 the result of a lifetime devoted 



to the stud}^ of practical bee- 

 keeping. 



Our heai'tfelt desire is that our 

 own individuality may be lost sight 

 of in the nobler object of carrying 

 forward the work which he so grand- 

 ly instituted and we hope and trust 

 that with the hearty cooperation 

 of every apiarist who has the wel- 

 fare of apiculture at heart, we may 

 invest it with a dignity commensu- 

 rate to its importance, and be en- 

 abled to erect to his memory a 

 monument which shall outlast the 

 coming ages. 



BEE NOTES. 



We have just passed through a 

 long and severe winter, and heav}' 

 losses are reported from many por- 

 tions of our country, but ere this 

 number of the journal reaches you 

 we shall in all probability have 

 passed the most trying portion of 

 our season. If the weather con- 

 tinues backward and cold, great 

 care should be taken, that the 

 brood-chamber is contracted so 

 that it is crowded with bees night 

 and day and the brood in the outer 

 combs well protected. 



It is well to build up weak stocks 

 by supplying them with brood from 

 strong ones, the place thus left va- 

 cant being filled with empt}^ comb 

 or foundation. It is better always 

 to contract the brood-chamber in 

 spring and keep every comb well 

 filled with brood, even though you 

 are obliged to resort to stimulative 

 feeding to accomplish this. When 

 feeding for the purpose of stimulat- 

 ing the bees, the feeder should be 

 placed directly over the cluster, 

 and just enough food given to them 

 each night to induce and keep up 

 breeding. This should be contin- 

 ued regularly until the bees can 

 gather honey from the flowers. 



Always remember that you must 

 have strong siocks, boiling over 



