98 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mar. 30, 



duced into some of the government 

 gardens, and then would rind favor 

 elsewhere. Notches in the upper edge 

 of the hive would insure the. placing of 

 the frames at proper distances, one from 

 another, and the main advantages of 

 the movable comb system would be 

 learned by practice in handling the bees. 

 To start this work, the government 

 might manufacture and sell at cost 

 simple movable comb hives, perhaps 

 even stocked with bees, and for the 

 present exempt the industry from tax- 

 ation. 



These are the ideas which suggest 

 themselves to the mind of one whose 

 stay in Ceylon must necessarily be very 

 short, but who feels an interest in see- 

 ing a favorite pursuit receive the at- 

 tention its importance demands. 



FltANK BENTON. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



How to Feed Bees in Winter. 



A. BENEDICT. 



A great many bees are lost in April 

 for the want of a little care ; young bees 

 are hatching rapidly, consume honey 

 fast and may get out of feed ; and they 

 should be watched closely. A little feed 

 may save many that otherwise would 

 perish. If the weather is too cold for 

 the bees to fly, I take the hive into a 

 warm room, remove the cap and place 

 instead a box that will tit tightly, so that 

 the bees cannot escape. This box has 

 neither top nor bottom. On the frames 

 1 put a sheet of newspaper, leaving 

 plenty of space for the bees to come up 

 in the box ; the paper is to keep the 

 bees from soiling the hive. I place the 

 feed in the box and cover the box with 

 mosquito bar. The hive should be put 

 by a window to have plenty of light. 

 After the bees have had a good cleans- 

 ing flight I darken the window and let 

 the room gradually cool, and the bees 

 will go down and cluster. In this way 

 bees can be fed and have a flight in the 

 coldest weather. If the combs are very 

 wet the hive should be put in a dark, 

 dry and cool room, until the combs are 

 dry. A good colony of bees will stand 

 any amount of cold if they are kept dry. 

 The only object for housing bees is to 

 save honey. 



Bennington, Ohio. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



•Do Bees Puncture Fruit? 



DR. WSI. It. HOWARD. 



To the question " Do bees injure or 

 destroy sound grapes?" I answer no, 

 positively. I have tried the following 

 experiments : Bees were covering the 

 grapes in the vineyard and seemed ac- 

 tually intoxicated on the wine. Re- 

 moving several bunches, some of which 

 had punctured berries and some sound 

 ones, were taken to the apiary, and the 

 bees soon found them and went to work 

 vigorously. As soon as the punctured 

 ones were exhausted the bees abandoned 

 them and went in quest of something 

 better. Then the bees were furnished 

 some of the same lot and closed in the 

 hive ; as soon as the punctured ones 

 were exhausted they seemed uneasy, 

 then bunch after bunch of sound grapes 

 were given them, which were eagerly 

 covered, but as soon as it was found 

 that none were punctured they fell back 

 in dismay. Others conducted similar 

 experiments, and nearly all had the 

 same reports to make. I had one man 

 come to me and tell me that his bees 

 would clean them upall alike, so I went 

 over to his place to conduct the experi- 

 ment and satisfy myself, and when we 

 arrived, lo 1 wasps, bees and ants were 

 all promiscuously engaged in the feast ; 

 so we cleaned up and commenced anew, 

 minding the wasps away for a few 

 hours, and the fruit was abandoned as 

 before, and after being left an hour or 

 more to themselves, again we returned 

 and bees and wasps were promiscuously 

 engaged. Wasps were kepfr away by 

 entomologists' nets to catch them as they 

 came up, and a pair of collector's forceps 

 to pick up those which escaped and 

 alighted. Now for the physiological 

 reasons why bees cannot commit the 

 offenses charged against them. 



The mandibles of the honey bee are 

 not dentate or serrate, but are simply 

 smooth, and beautifully rounded at the 

 points, spoon or scoop-shaped, covered 

 on the body with tine hairs rather long, 

 and on the edges are covered with still 

 finer hair, with a second row around 

 the internal surface just suited to work 

 soft wax and brush it up and give it the 

 proper finish. If anyone will examine 

 these mandibles with a good microscope 

 it will satisfy him at a glance of the 

 incapability of the honey bee to damage, 

 by puncture, any fruits whatever. 



Kingston, Texas, March 11, 1881. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Perforated Zinc to Confine Queens. 



D. A. JONES. 



Mr. Dadant misconstrued my remarks 

 at the Cincinnati Convention on the 

 above subject. I claimed to have dis- 

 covered , by the use of a perforated metal 

 division board, that 1 could take far 

 more comb honey from the body of the 

 hive — not the second story, as I use one- 

 story hives. I did not advise two-story 

 hives, for I can accomplish better re- 

 sults with a single story. I said some 

 bee-keepers, more especially ministers, 

 wanted to leave their hives on the Sab- 

 bath day, and occasionally at other 

 times, and that by lifting the. comb with 

 the queen and placing it behind the per- 

 forated metal division, they could not 

 swarm, or if theydid, they would return 

 to the queen. Queens might be killed 

 in a queen-yard sooner than in a hive; 

 however, I have had none killed in the 

 hive yet, and if I had, I would much 

 rather lose the queen alone than the 

 queen and swarm, too. 



I am very glad Mr. Dadant mentioned 

 his loss of one, and the conclusions he 

 came to in the queen-yard trial. I will 

 test the matter further this year. I am 

 not aware that any person ever tried my 

 plan of procuring comb honey in the 

 brood chamber. I have not had enough 

 experience with it to be very positive ; 

 but it appears to be all that can be de- 

 sired so far, and I have prepared part of 

 a lengthy article on the matter, which 

 I hope to publish before the honey sea- 

 son sets in. 



Years ago I advocated extracted 

 honey, when I had to introduce it on the 

 market, against popular prejudice ; not 

 so now. Many who thought comb 

 honey was the most remunerative, are 

 now modifying their opinions in favor 

 of the extracted. Now, if my plan of 

 taking comb honey from the brood 

 chamber works as it did last fall, what 

 would you think if you heard of people 

 turning all their extracted into comb 

 honey, after the harvest was over, and 

 this within a few days ? I have great 

 respect for Mr. Dadant's opinion, and 

 his efforts in marketingextracted honey 

 deserve the thanks of all bee-keepers. 



Beeton. Ontario, Canada. 



in most cases due to ignorance of the 

 subject. Our agricultural schools are 

 condemned by many, for teaching too 

 much science. Such should not be the 

 case; for we should elevate our pursuits 

 as a scholar relines his thoughts. There 

 is too much science in agriculture and 

 bee-keeping for mere practice. There 

 is every opportunity to master the theo- 

 ry. Our Bee Journal is doing a noble 

 work; so also is such able books as Prof. 

 Cook's Manual of the Apiary and 

 Quinby's New Bee-Keeping. The bee- 

 keeper and the farmer should have the 

 same standing among their fellow-men 

 as the merchant or the lawyer, and to 

 that aim our agricultural colleges are 

 working, and I hope that at a day not 

 far distant they will be attended more. 

 I also hope that our agricultural, horti- 

 cultural and bee papers will be in larger 

 I demand, so that the editors will receive 

 I a fair recompense for their labors. 

 LaCrosse, Wis.. March 15, 1881. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Theory and Practice. 



I.. H. PA31MEL, JR. 



Without theory an apiary can never 

 be conducted systematically, nor can 

 any one master the science of bee-keep- 

 ing without having acquired a theoreti- 

 cal knowledge of how an apiary should 

 be conducted. True, men that only had 

 a practical experience have met success, 

 and through their labors bee-keeping 

 has become a science, but their success 

 was acquired through hard and patient 

 toil. Hundreds of bee-keepers have 

 never inquired into the cause of dysen- 

 tery ; nor do they know where wax 

 comes from. Though the production of 

 wax has nothing to do with the man- 

 agement of an apiary, it is one of the 

 peculiarities of the industrious insect; 

 yet, strictly not an evolution, and made 

 from natural causes, no naturalist lias 

 as yet been able to say how honey is 

 transformed into wax. 



While it is true that all cannot be 

 theorists, it is also true that theory 

 alone cannot, will not, make us success- 

 ful ; but when we put correct theory into 

 practice, we become mastersof anything 

 which we may undertake. Failures in 

 bee-keeping and all other pursuits, are 



.For the American Bee Journal. 



Bee Farming in Ontario. 



WM. F. CLARKE. 



In April last, the Government of On- 

 tario appointed a Commission to inves- 

 tigate the condition and prospects of 

 agriculture in this Province. Their 

 report has been presented to the Legis- 

 lature, in the shape of (> large octavo 

 volumes, comprising about 2.400 pages. 

 The lirst of these volumes contains 

 the report proper, the remaining 5 be- 

 ing filled with the evidence on which 

 said report is based. A brief extract 

 from the report on bee-keeping, will no 

 doubt interest the readers of the Amer- 

 ican Bee Journal. The Commis- 

 sioners, in summing up on this topic, 

 remark as follows : 



" The bee-farming industry, in the 

 Province of Ontario, had not, until re- 

 cently, attracted a very large share of 

 attention. For some years, however, 

 it has been carried on by several per- 

 sons with judgment and intelligence, 

 upon improved methods, and very sat- 

 isfactory results have attended these ef- 

 forts. To-day. the Province can prob- 

 ably boast of operations, in connection 

 with this industry, as spirited and en- 

 terprising as can be found in any part 

 of the world. 



The Commissioners have noticed 

 with pleasure the formation of a Bee- 

 keepers' Association, and have no doubt 

 the bee-masters will derive as much ad- 

 vantage from mutual co-operation and 

 frequent consultation, as the dairymen, 

 fruit-growers and others." 



This official recognition of our asso- 

 ciation is replete with encouragement, 

 because it furnishes ground to hope 

 that the government will enrich it with 

 a grant of public money. The Province 

 gives $1500 a year in aid of our 2 Dairy 

 Associations, and $750 a year in aid of 

 our Fruit Growers' Association, be- 

 sides $10,000 a year toward the funds of 

 the Provincial Agricultural Associa- 

 tion. As the result of this liberality, 

 our Dairy Associations are able to se- 

 cure the best talent at their annual 

 meetings, which are schools of dairying, 

 holding 3 days. This year, we had 

 Prof. Arnold, Hon X. A. Willard, Prof. 

 Roberts, and Hon. Harris Lewis, vet- 

 eran teachers of dairy science from the 

 United States ; besides our own native 

 dairymen. The Fruit Growers' Asso- 

 ciation is enabled by means of the gov- 

 ernment bounty, to hold meetings for 

 discussion and instruction twice a year 

 in various parts of the Province, and all 

 these bodies are in a position to dis- 

 seminate reports and other documents 

 full of information, with a liberal hand. 

 We hope soon to have our Bee-keepers' 

 Association in a like position, and then 

 our prominent apiarian brethren across 

 the lines may expect cordial invita- 

 tions to come over and talk to us at our 

 annual meeting, expenses paid, and 

 something to-boot. 



Up to the present time, no large for- 

 eign trade has been done in Canadian 

 honey. In 1879 and 1880, Canada ex- 

 ported 7,940 lbs. weight, a small amount 

 in itself, but indicating the commence- 

 ment of a foreign trade. Itwould seem 

 that hitherto the home consumption 

 has been well nigh equal to the supply. 

 The home demand will doubtless in- 



crease as our bee-keepers learn the art 

 of putting up honey in attractive pack- 

 ages. Much of it has been thrown on 

 the market, a wretched conglomerate 

 of broken comb, brood, and millers' 

 nests. No wonder customers do not 

 care to buy such a mess. Very few of 

 our people know anything about the ex- 

 tracted honey, or tempting looking 

 sections of comb honey. There is 

 every prospect of increased attention 

 being paid to bee-keeping, but the 

 country will absorb most of the extra 

 product for some time to come. There 

 is not a town or village where the sales 

 of honey might not be multiplied ten- v 

 fold, as the result of a better style of 

 bee-keeping. At present, it looks as if 

 the business in this country were capa- 

 ble of indefinite expansion and on the 

 eve of it. 

 Listowell. Out. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



The Sale of Extracted Honey. 



J. D. KRUSCIIKE. 



Extracted honey has been offered the 

 consumer in this country for a number 

 of years, but to-day, at the average, the 

 demand is not so great as 5 or R years 

 ago ; the cause is undoubtedly adulter- 

 ation and cheap comb honey. In 1872 1 

 sold the first extracted honey in this 

 town ; my trade increased every year, 

 vmtH I had the misfortune to lose my 

 bees by foul brood. An absence of 4 

 years has driven the extracted honey 

 again to the wall. A few objections 

 are ventured by consumers, and these 

 are well ccnsidered by the Messrs. Da- 

 dant in their pamphlet on Extracted 

 Honey, which should find its way into 

 every home. Could this be accom- 

 plished the industrious bee-keeper 

 would find a better income from his 

 bees, while the idler, who has so much 

 other work to demand his attention, 

 who hardly ever opens a hive, and finds 

 his task mostly completed in putting on 

 and taking off the boxes, would be 

 forced to give up the business, or give 

 it the attention and care he does his 

 cows, sheep, or farm, if he be a farmer. 

 Any one who keeps bees because it af- 

 fords an easy living, would soon find 

 out the mistake if he undertook to pro- 

 duce extracted honey. 



There is no telling how much honey 

 might be consumed if the prevalent 

 idea that it is a luxury which none but 

 the rich can indulge was removed. 

 People will buy A sugar and use it in 

 the most lavish way who probably 

 never taste honey from one year's end 

 to the other, even if the price were 

 equal, simply because they hold it a lux- 

 ury which their means cannot indulge. 

 Let all the bee-keepers stir themselves, 

 and let the praises of extracted honey 

 be heard throughout the land. 



Berlin, Wis.. March 20, 1881. 



Kor the American Bee Journal. 



Foul Brood. 



My eye caught an article in the Jour- 

 nal for March 10, by II. L. Jeffrey, on 

 this subject, in which he appears to dif- 

 fer from all the writers 1 nave read on 

 this important subject ; but for 10 years 

 this has been my opinion although I 

 anxiously wished some one would com- 

 mence its discussion, to cause apiarists 

 to think and write about it, and lead to 

 a proper knowledge of It; but I refrained 

 from writing my sentiments because all 

 who wrote about it seemed to think 

 that foul brood was a disease to which 

 bees were subject, and that the disease 

 was spreading and might exterminate 

 whole apiaries in large localities. The 

 acts of the Michigan Convention is a 

 proof. 



Ten years since I had foul brood in 

 my apiary, which led me to seriously 

 reflect on the nature of the disease, and 

 what would be the cure. I then formed 

 my ideas, which I have had no occasion 

 to alter. At that time one of my colo- 

 nies especially was so badly affected 

 with foul brood that the effluvia was 

 very offensive, several feet from it, and 

 when I opened the box and examined 

 it, it was a mass of putrescence, and 



