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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mar. 23, 



THOMAS C. NEWMAN. 



Editor and proprietor. 



CHICAGO, ILL., MAR. 23, 1881. 



Frank Benton in the Far East. 



Mr. Jones sends us the annexed ex- 

 tract from a letter of Mr. Benton's, and 

 the following appreciative compliment 

 to the Bee Journal, for which he will 

 accept our thanks : 



Herewith I send you extract from a 

 private letter just received from Frank 

 Benton, dated Pointe deGalle, Ceylon, 

 Asia, Jan. 30, 1881. The American 

 Bee Journal has a warm corner in my 

 heart. Right glad am I that you have 

 taken time by the forelock, and issued 

 a weekly. I would not have you go 

 back to a monthly for $25 a year, and 

 you deserve the congratulations of every 

 bee-keeper; that prosperity may crown 

 your efforts is my wish. D. A. Jones. 



Friend Jones :— * * * I shall start 

 back with nothing but full colonies. I 

 have seen two native races of bees here, 

 and the comb of a third ; one race is 

 stingless, but worthless ; the tiniest 

 little fellows, three-sixteenths of an inch 

 long. Another race is Apis indica. 

 The third race I do not believe is valu- 

 able, since it is a very small bee— smaller 

 than Apis indica. Apis dorsata is a won- 

 derful Dee, whether it can be domesti- 

 cated or not. It builds in the open air, 

 on branches, often making combs 6 feet 

 long ; and I have good authority for 

 saying that 30 natives have each taken 

 a load of honey from one tree. It was 

 not until I reached Colombo that 1 could 

 find out anything about Apis dorsata. 

 I call it Apis dorsata, but do not know 

 positively as that is its name, for no one 

 can tell here, and I have not yet seen the 

 bee, as it was too late when I learned 

 where to find it, to go to that part of the 

 Island and reach this French steamer. 

 Everybody says, though, a large bee, 

 from which large quantities of honey 

 are obtained, exists in the interior o'f 

 the Island. The natives all know it by 

 the name Bombera. I start for Singa- 

 pore by the French steamer " Yangste," 

 on January 31st. Frank Benton. 



• — i m ' — • 



Circulars and Price Lists.— We have 

 received the following Circulars, Price 

 Lists and Catalogues tor 1881 : 



L. H. Pammel & Bros., LaCrosse, Wis.— Italian 

 Queens and Bees— 4 pages. 



Champion Bee Hive Co., Newcomerstown, O.— 

 Apiarian Supplies— 12 pages. 



Thomas J. Ward, St. Mary's Ind.— Fruit Trees and 

 Poultry— 16 pages. 



T. Grelner, Naples, N. Y.— Vegetable and Flower 

 Seeds— 24 pages. 



D. D. Palmer, New Boston, 111.— Sweet Home Rasp- 

 berry— 4 pages. 



Henry Alley, Wenham, Mass.— Queens and Apia- 

 rian Supplies— 4 pages. 



Wm. W. Cary & Son, Colerain, Mass.— Queens. Bees 

 and Apiarian Supplies— 8 pages. 



Q. W. Thompson, Stelton, N. J.— Bees, Hives and 

 Apiarian Supplies— 4 pages. 



S. D. McLean & Son, Culleoka, Tenn.— Italian Bees 

 and Queens— l page. 



A. LaMontague, Montreal, Can.— Italian QueenB, 

 Hives and Bee-Keepers' Supplies— 3 pages. 



Jas. J. H. Gregory, Marbiehead, Mass.— Vegetable, 

 Flower and Grain Seeds— 60 pages. 



T. M. Metcalf & Son, St. Paul, Minn.— Field, Gar- 

 den and Flower Seeds— 28 pages. 



Nanz & Neuner. Louisville, Ky.— Plants, Seeds, 

 Bulbs, etc.— 80 pages. 



Landreth's Rural Register and Almanac for 1881, 

 Philadelphia, Pa.— Garden Seeds— 70 pages. 



Cole & Brother, Pella, Iowa.— Garden and Flower 

 Seeds— 44 pages. 



J. T. Lovett, Little Silver, N. J.— Choice Small 

 Fruit — 40 pages. 



Joseph Harris. Rochester. N. Y.— Field, Garden 

 and. Flower Seeds — 14 pages. 



James M. Thomburn & Co., 15 John Street, N. V.— 

 Seeds for Garden and Farm— 96 pages. 



L. B. Case's Botanical Index, Richmond, Ind.— A 

 Quarterly Botanical Magazine — 10 pages. 



An Excellent Suggestion. 



Prof. Cook has forwarded us for pub- 

 lication the annexed open letter, ad- 

 dressed to Dr. N. P. Allen, President of 

 the North American Bee-Keepers' Soci- 

 ety. The reasons adduced in support of 

 the suggestion are well founded, and 

 must strike all minds favorably. Sep- 

 tember and October are usually among 

 the busiest months of the year to bee- 

 keepers and farmers, who have their 

 later crops to garner, their honey to 

 take off and prepare for market, their 

 fruit to gather and assort, and their live 

 stock to be made comfortable for winter; 

 while the date proposed by the Professor 

 occurs just at that period when every- 

 body can spare the time best, when trav- 

 eling is the most enjoyable, and is quite 

 late enough to enable an approximate 

 estimate of what the harvest will be. 

 It is competent for the Executive Com- 

 mittee (of which President Allen is 

 chairman) to fix upon such time as will 

 best subserve the interests of the Soci- 

 ety. We trust they will give the mat> 

 ter an early and careful consideration. 

 Following is the letter : 



To Dr. N. P. Allen : 



Dear Sir : As the proposition which 

 I am about to offer is of general inter- 

 est to the bee-keepers of our country, I 

 beg leave to present it through the 

 American Bee Journal : 



The American Association for the Ad- 

 vancement of Science convenes at Cin- 

 cinnati, Ohio, on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 

 1881. This Association had at its last 

 meeting, in Boston, August, 1880, more 

 than 1,000 members present. Owing to 

 its influence, and the large annual at- 

 tendance, the local committee at the 

 place where the meetings are to be held 

 are able to procure greatly reduced 

 rates on railroads leading to the place. J 



Now, I would suggest that the North 

 American Bee-Keepers' Association, 

 which is to be held so near Cincinnati, 

 convene at Lexington on Wednesday 

 and Thursday, August 24th and 2oth. " 



1st. This would accommodate such 

 persons as myself, who wish to attend 

 both meetings, and could not afford time 

 or means were they widely separated by 

 time. 



2d. A committee consisting of yourself, 

 Mr. Muth, of Cincinnati, and Mr. Wm. 

 Williamson, of Lexington (I would do 

 what I could to aid), could act in con- 

 junction with the local committee of the 

 A. A. A. of S., and I believe could get 

 the commutation railroad rates to ex- 

 tend to the National Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation. 



3d. August is a quiet time with bee- 

 keepers, and so far as I can see, nothing 

 would be lost in making the date of our 

 meeting earlier than the usual time. 



4th. The fact of accommodating such 

 as wish to attend both meetings, and 

 the reduced railroad rates, could we se- 

 cure them, would greatly increase the 

 attendance at the Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation, and would richly compensate 

 for some loss, if such there would be. 



I only make this suggestion, hoping 

 that you and others interested will give 

 it such consideration as its merits de- 

 serve. A. J. Cook, 

 Vice Pres't of Nat. Association and 

 President of Michigan Association. 



<g" The Emperor of Russia, while re- 

 turning from a review on Sunday, 

 March 12, was killed by a bomb thrown 

 by a Nihilist. He was taken to the Pal- 

 ace and died in a few hours. The as- 

 sassins have been arrested. His son 

 succeeds him as Alexander III. 



gg'At the Utica Convention, last 

 month, Mr. L. C. Root was appointed a 

 committee to endeavor to have the bill 

 for the prevention of the adulteration 

 of sugar, syrups, etc., then before the 

 Legislature of New York, so amended 

 as to include honey. We learn, with 

 much pleasure, that Mr. Root has suc- 

 ceeded in having it include honey, and 

 Mr. R. is quite sanguine that the bill so 

 amended will become a law of the Em- 

 pire State. If passed, we hope that the 

 bee-keepers of New York will see to it 

 that it will not be allowed to become 

 a " dead letter " in the statute books of 

 that State. 



GLEANINGS. 

 Bees and Grapes.— The Klassen and 

 Krock difficulty about the bees of the 

 former committing depredations on the 

 grapes of the latter, is to be submitted 

 to arbitration. It seems that the real 

 trouble was a " personal feud that does 

 not concern bee-keepers at all " — the 

 grape matter was an outgrowth. This 

 matter was referred to in Prof. Cook's 

 article on page 74 of the Bee Journal, 

 and should now be entirely divorced 

 from the Bee and Grape controversy. 



Bees Dead in box hives.— Mr. G. Cas- 

 tello, Saginaw, Mich., says that on Feb. 

 22 he went to a neighbor's, 5 miles dis- 

 tant, who had a box-hive apiary con- 

 sisting of 103 colonies of bees. After 

 looking them over, they found only 10 

 colonies alive; all the rest had died of 

 dysentery. 



Honey for sore Eyes.— Mr. S. C. Perry, 

 Portland, Mich., says : 



"A neighbor of mine had inflamma- 

 tion in his eyes. He tried many things 

 of many physicians ; ' was nothing bet- 

 ter, but rather grew worse,' until he 

 was almost entirely blind. His family- 

 was sick, and I presented him with a 

 Eail of honey. What they did not eat 

 e put in his eyes, a drop or two in each 

 eye, 2 or 3 times a day. In 3 months' 

 time he was able to read coarse print, 

 and now, after 4 months' use, his eyes 

 are almost as good as ever. I have also 

 found honey good for common cold-sore 

 eyes." 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

 Feeding in Winter.— Mr. A. B Weed, 

 in the Michigan Farmer, says : 



" Many colonies which were put up 

 for winter with but a small amount of 

 provision, have consumed what was 

 given them, and starved for want of 

 more. Others have but a small amount 

 of stores left, and must be fed soon if 

 they are to be saved. The best way to 

 feed such is to give, them frames of well 

 ripened honey, but this the weather 

 will not always permit. The next best 

 thing for them is candy; this can be 

 given at any time, and can be laid on 

 top of the frames. If the cluster is low 

 down in the hive, it should be put down 

 into it, where it can be reached." 



Bees and Grapes.— Mr. W. H. Stout, 

 in the Lancaster, Pa., Farmer, gives the 

 following as his experience : 



By close investigation I have satisfied 

 myself that bees do not destroy sound 

 grapes. I had, during the past season, 

 22 colonies of Italian and common black 

 bees ; all the hives were in close prox- 

 imity to the grapes, while a number had 

 the vines trained over them for shade 

 during the heat of summer. The grapes 

 are of the Concord variety, of which I 

 had an abundance of fine fruit, some 

 clusters of which grew within 18 inches 

 of the entrance to the hives. Bunches 

 of the grapes remained on the vines un- 

 til the frost had killed the foliage, which 

 fell off and left the grapes exposed, af- 

 fording every temptation to the bees ; 

 and this, too, through a season when the 

 honey yield from natural sources was so 

 small that the bees consumed stores they 

 had gathered earlier in the season. But 

 the bees do work on grapes, and also on 

 other fruits under certain conditions. 

 If the skin of grapes, peaches, pears, 

 etc., is ruptured from any cause, the 

 bees, wasps, ants, etc., are very quick 

 in discovering it, and soon leave only 

 the dried shells. During the hot weather 

 of August, especially when there are 

 frequent showers, the skin of ripening 

 fruit cracks, for reasons which I will 

 leave to some philosophical friend to ex- 

 plain. My conclusions are not hasty; 

 nor were my observations superficial ; 

 but they were prolonged from the time 



the first grapes ripened until the close 

 of the season. I found some clusters of 

 grapes literally covered with bees scram- 

 bling and fighting for the little sweets 

 contained in the cracked grapes, which 

 are the only ones on which they work, 

 as I found out by driving the bees away 

 and removing from the clusters all the 

 bursted grapes, when the bees, as soon 

 as they found only sound fruit remained, 

 went away and left the grapes unin- 

 jured. We also laid some bunches of 

 grapes on top of the hives and others 

 close to the entrances, also left clusters 

 hanging on the vines close to the hives, 

 where they remained uninjured by the 

 bees as long as the fruit was sound. I 

 know very well that bees can gnaw 

 through heavy muslin, or shave off wood 

 and straw. To cover the bees we have 

 quilts made of heavy muslin, which 

 they sometimes bite through, and we 

 have wood and straw hives on which 

 they have enlarged the entrances ; but, 

 nevertheless, I am fully satisfied they 

 do no injury whatever to sound fruit. 



Feeding Rye-Meal.— In the Indiana 

 Farmer Mr. F. L. Dougherty says : 



" Bees will not raise brood without 

 pollen in some shape. We frequently 

 find colonies with but very little, and at 

 times none at all. ,In crowding them 

 on a few frames, quite frequently those 

 left in the hive contain but little, if any. 

 So it becomes necessary to furnish it to 

 them, until they can gather it from nat- 

 ural sources. Unbolted rye-meal is 

 probably the best substitute, although 

 they will use wheat>flour, corn-meal, 

 oat-meal, or in lieu of any of these, will 

 even carry saw-dust. To get the bees 

 started, place a piece of comb on the 

 meal, and if the weather be pleasant 

 and no pollen to be had they will soon 

 appropriate it. They will leave the 

 meal when natural pollen makes its ap- 

 pearance." 



(^ That excellent Monthly, pub- 

 lished in Nyon, Switzerland, by Mons. 

 E. Bertrand,— the "Bulletin D'Apicul- 

 teur pour la Suisse" — gives the Weekly 

 Bee Journal the following kind notice : 



•' We have received the first 2 num- 

 bers of the American Bee Journal, 

 which has been transferred from a 

 Monthly to a Weekly, by its Editor, 

 Mr. T. G. Newman. Only one apiarian 

 publication is issued every 2 wee\s, the 

 Bienen-Zeitung of Eickstadt. That of Mr. 

 Newman's is, therefore, ' the only one 

 in the entire world which is published 

 weekly.' It is also, without doubt, the 

 most universal. Its principal contribu- 

 tors are among the most distinguished 

 bee-keepers of America, together with 

 scientists, entomologists, chemists and 

 farmers; and the number of those who 

 send it communications can be called 

 legion. It is, with an understand- 

 ing of the full extent of the services 

 which it renders, through the abund- 

 ance of the observations and of the in- 

 formation which it brings before its 

 readers, that we offer to our colleague 

 and friend our warmest felicitations on 

 the occasion of the new development of 

 his publication." 



This very kind notice is the more 

 valuable as Mons. E. Bertrand is a man 

 of intelligence and wealth, whose sole 

 interest is his love of the pursuit of bee- 

 keeping. 



l@T VApicoltore, the organ of the 

 Central Societie d'Apicoltore d'ltalia, 

 also gives the Bee Journal the fol- 

 lowing very kind notice, in its excellent 

 number for February: 



" The bee-papers are every day aug- 

 menting to suit the increasing need of 

 the readers, and the publisher of the 

 American Bee Journal, Signor New- 

 man, who came to Europe and to Milan 

 last year, announces that at the begin- 

 ning of 1881 his Monthly Journal 

 will be issued every week." 



®° In Mr. A. Hoke's letter, on page 

 77, he stated that the dead bees covered 

 the ground for several yards. That was 

 bad enough, but our compositor made 

 it a hundred times worse by adding the 

 word hundred. The reader will please 

 discount that expression accordingly. 



