288 



THE 'AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



We have in the Bay State Apiar}' 

 a nucleus containing about two qnarts 

 of bees and three L-fraines. One of 

 the frames was moved about four 

 inches from the other iwo. Altnoiigh 

 the bees are gathering no honey nor 

 yet are being fed, they are building 

 two combs down in the empty space. 

 ■Of course they cannot winter in that 

 condition, so the queen will be removed 

 and, at the proper time, the bees will 

 be united to another cohjny. Bees 

 building comb and gathering honey 

 in the month of November certainly 

 are curious facts. 



Joseph M. Hamburgh, Spring, 111., 

 makes the following report : 



The bee business has not been the 

 most prosperous this season through- 

 out this slate, but in my direct locality 

 1 have no reason to complain. In one 

 of my apiaries of forty-nine colonies, 

 spring count, I obtained 5,500 pounds 

 honey (extracted); and, increased to 

 lifty-five, my total product will be near 

 95U0. 



Almost all bites and stings are de- 

 structive from their acid nature; con- 

 sequently the cure is an alkali. Spir- 

 its of hartshorn is one of the strongest 

 and is kept in almost every household, 

 and yon have only to pour some of it 

 out in a teacup aiid d;ibble it on with a 

 rag. Relief is inimediiite. 



if you have not hartshorn, then sal- 

 eratus is a suitable alkali. Every cook 

 in the land has saleralus, and we are 

 daily eating ourselves into the grave 

 by its extravagant use; the use of half 

 a thimbleful a week is extravagant. 



Moisten it with water, and use as in 

 the case of hartshorn. Or, pour a tea- 

 cup of boiling water on as much wood 

 ashes, stir it, and in a few minutes 

 you will have an alkali. The lye of 

 ashes will answer a good purpose, 

 while the physician is coming. 



Remember the principle— bite is an 

 acid, the cure is an alkali. — [Hall's 

 Journal of Health]. 



Kingston, Somerset Co., Mil., 

 Oct. 18, 1880. 

 Prof. A. J. Cook, 

 Dkar Sir: 



I take thelibertj'^ as a beekeeper 

 and student of your manual to send by 

 mail this day in a small box a sometliiny 

 that makes excellent bee pasture as 

 well as tine honey. It came in bloom 

 in August and lasted until about one 

 week ago and would still have been 

 yielding honey but for a frost a few 

 nights ago. The sample I send is a little 

 old, but perhaps you can givethename 

 nevertheless. I rind it on low ground 

 where the salt water tide and the fresh 

 water meet, and do not hud it any 

 where else. It grows from one to two 

 and one-half fet-t high, and the bees 

 are perfectly crazy over it late and 

 early when it is in bloom. Please send 

 me Hie name or send it to the Amkiu- 

 CAN ApxcuLTUHiST as you choose and 

 oblige many beekeepers in this vicin- 

 ity. 



James W. Marshall. 



LETTER BOX. 



Brief report by A. Wortman, Sea- 

 field, Ind. 



My bees did well this season. I 

 started in the spring with twenty-four 

 colonies and increased to sixty-one full 

 colonies and two nuclei. I got 1,750 

 pounds of comb honey and 350 pounds 

 of extracted. The latter I extracted 

 mostly from the lower parts of one and 

 two frames in centre of brood-cham- 

 ber to give room for them to cluster in 

 winter, as I never saw frames so com- 

 pletely rilled with honey before. My 

 crop is mostly from buckwheat, golden 

 rod, smartweed, etc. 



ANOTHER COMPOSITE HONEY PLANT. 



The plant sent by James W. Mar- 

 shall, Kingston, Md., is the salt marsh 

 flea bane, Pluchea camphorata. Like 

 golden-rod, aster, boneset, etc., this 

 belongs to the composite order of 

 plants. We may not be surprised if 

 at some tinie we secure some very 

 valuable plant from this family, some 

 plant that we may well afford to cul- 

 tivate. 



A. J. Cook. 



