1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



253 



seeds for honey plants— exhibited by a 



dealer in the same, $10. 



For the best display of comb honey, 

 exhibited by a lady from either Kansas, 

 Nebraska er Iowa, $20. 



For best display of comb honey, ex- 

 hibited by a Missouri lady, $20. 



For the second best display Of eonib 

 honey, exhibited by a lady, a patent 

 dOUgD kneader and 'patent biscuit and 

 roll cutter, for family use. 



The managers of the St. Joseph 

 Fair have, by their foresight, given a 

 grand example for others to follow, 

 and we hope the time will yery speedily 

 come when apiculture, so long neg- 

 lected by the managers of lairs, will 

 receive its due share of their atten- 

 tion. 



been supplied with 32 combs, from 

 which honey is to be taken with a 

 honey extractor. I shall not only 

 give the weight of honey as it is taken 

 out from time to time, but also give 

 the gain at intervals of a few hours, 

 on different days, which will prove ol 

 interest to the reader. 



The first honey was extracted June 

 25th, when it was all removed from 

 the entire number of combs. The 

 amount was 96 lbs. June26th was the 

 lirst warm, fair day for over a week, 

 and during the day they gathered over 

 20 lbs. In sections where the fall pas- 

 turage is not abundant, I would cau- 

 tion bee-keepers to not add boxes too 

 late in the season, as well as too use 

 care in extracting too late. Many who 

 are inexperienced may extend this so 

 far, as to fail to leave sufficient stores 

 for winter. 



The possibilities of bee-keening are 

 not fully comprehended even by some 

 of our active bee-keepers. I do this 

 to encourage a more thorough investi- 

 gation of the best methods, which will 

 so surely lead to results almost in- 

 credible, to those unacquainted with 

 modern bee-keeping. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Bees Within a Statue.— The Bienen 

 Voter says : 



In the town of Wernstein. Upper 

 Austria, there lias stood upon a very 

 high stone base, from time immemo- 

 rial (life size) a statue of a madonna, 

 constructed of clay. Quite a long 

 time the supposition had gained 

 ground that within it was a well-reg- 

 ulated and rich colony of bees. But 

 no one seemed inclined to disturb the 

 little honey gatherers, within their 

 singular asylum. A few days ago, 

 workmen commenced to renovate the 

 old and venerable statue, to save it 

 from ruin, and first they had to search 

 for the abode of the bees. How great 

 was their surprise when they found 

 the entire hollow space within filled 

 with the richest of comb honey. Two 

 large water tubs full of honey were 

 taken from this statue. A tavern- 

 keeper, who undertook to perform 

 this job of removing the honey, re- 

 ceived such a treatment from the an- 

 gry bees that he had to go to bed im- 

 mediately. Now, people remembered 

 that this colony had sent out 3 swarms 

 last fall, of which 2 were captured, 

 but the third went to the woods. 

 Those bees had made the statue their 

 home for over 7 years ; from this one 

 can judge of the wealth of honey found. 



Midsummer Bee Management.— The 



Bural Neiv Yorker contains the follow- 

 ing article on Summer Management ; 



The Honey Crop in N. Y. and the 



East.— The Bee-Keepers' Exchange re- 

 marks as follows on this subject : 



We are asked, what the prospects 

 are for good prices in the honey mar- 

 ket. We hope to see prices high, but 

 doubt whether they will be. 1 rue the 

 number of colonies is few, but the 

 yield in most quarters is enormous. 

 Throughout Central New York, and 

 Vermont, the crop will be very large 

 per colony. Very favorable reports 

 come from various and widely separa- 

 ted localities. Different from many 

 articles, small production of honey 

 does not and will not advance prices 

 very much. We counsel our readers 

 to sell their crops at home as much as 

 possible. 



Rate at which Houey is Gathered.— 



Mr. L. C. Root, in the AmeHean Agri- 

 culturist, gives the following figures on 

 this interesting topic: 



I shall commence here to give, as I 

 ' have done heretofore, the weight of 

 honey taken from a selected hive at 

 different dates. We have chosen for 

 this purpose one of our best Italian 

 colonies, and have given it every ad- 

 vantage. The queen was very prolific, 

 and choicest combs have been fur- 

 nished so that she has been able to de- 

 posit eggs to her utmost capacity. 

 The weather has been favorable to 

 rapid increase. The bees are in a two- 

 story large Quiuby hive, which has 



In case of scanty pasturage for bees 

 at this season of the year, there is 

 great necessity for providing them 

 with food in the hive. The feeding 

 should be done regularly after sunset, 

 and as they are more liable to be 

 vicious when the fields fail to supply 

 them with honey, the bees should be 

 smoked sufficiently to keep them quiet; 

 and then, as always, they should be 

 disturbed as little as possible. The 

 practice of feeding, either in Spring 

 before flowers bloom or in the Sum- 

 mer intervals during the absence of 

 the best honey-producing flowers, is a 

 wise one, as it keeps the bees in good 

 condition for the work before them. 

 Cheap honey is recommended by some 

 as a good food, but "A" sugar 

 reduced to the consistency of honey, is 

 quite as good. There is but little to 

 be said in favor of feeding grape-su- 

 gar and glucose. 



Honey which is removed from the 

 hive in hot weather is apt to be inhab- 

 ited by the moth worm, which hatches 

 from the eggs deposited in one way or 

 another by the bee-moth. Just how, 

 or when, this is done is not known, 

 but it is not at all unlikely that the 

 moth finds her way into the hive and 

 there lavs her eggs, though some say 

 she deposits them on the bottom 

 boards of the hive and then they are 

 carried inside by adhering to the feet 

 and legs of the bees. If honey taken 

 out is to be kept in boxes during the 

 Summer, it should be closely watched 

 and at the first appearance of a fine 

 whitish powder on the combs, it should 

 be removed by fumigating with sul- 

 phur. It is well to smoke combs from 

 which the honey has been extracted. 



It is important to keep the light-col- 

 ored (basswood or clover honey) sepa- 

 rate from the dark-colored, such as 

 buckwheat honey. The apiarist who 

 expects to get good prices for his 

 honey will be careful not to let these 

 two kinds go to market in the same 

 box. White honey, though it be but 

 soiled with dark, will not command a 

 good price. However, nice buck- 

 wheat honey, though not commanding 

 as large prices, is yet a source of much 

 profit, inasmuch as, in some sections. 

 a good supply is obtained after the 

 white honey plants have failed. The 

 hives should lie protected from the in- 

 tense heat of the sun during the 

 heated term, though early and late in 

 the season it is essential that the hives 

 be exposed to the warm rays of the sun . 



August is a good month for Italian- 

 izing, as the queens can be obtained 

 quite reasonably then, and good Ital- 

 ian workers will be ready for the next 

 season. Every effort should now be 

 made to build up the colonies with 

 young bees, even if feeding is required. 

 Colonies well prepared will stand the 

 Winter much better. 



Glucose.— Mrs. L. Harrison, Peoria, 

 111., writes as follows in Gleanings in 

 lin -< 'allure on glucose and its manu- 

 facture. 



Friend Root:— I extend unto you 

 my right H-fi' in token of approval ol 

 your present position on that vexed 

 glucose question. Your former one 

 was alwavs a soic trial to me, for I 

 was fearful that the money that was in 

 it, so warped your better judgment 

 that you could not see it in its true 

 light. When you invoked the bless- 

 ing of Heaven upon the Buffalo Sugar 

 Co., it was a dose too great for me to 

 swallow ; and the longer I chewed the 

 bigger it got. . , 



Hamlin, who is the principal mem- 

 ber of the Buffalo Co., has large works 

 here (Peoria, 111.), and has recently 

 purchased an extensive tract of land 

 in the vicinity of Des Moines, Iowa, to 

 erect glucose works there. He has 

 acres upon acres of lime-kilns to man- 

 ufacture that compound for his manu- 

 factories. He knows no God and no 

 Sabbath. His employes are not free- 

 men, but slaves, compelled to work 

 every day in the year, with the eye of 

 a watchman upon them lest they cease 

 from their toil, and watchmen over 

 watchmen, with small wages; and 

 when he walks through his vast works, 

 an armed guard protects him. The 

 smoke from those vast chimneys never 

 ceases, nor does the deadly waste 

 that pours into our magnificent river, 

 to be the certain death of the finny 

 tribe. The fumes that are wafted 

 over our city, from the boiling vats of 

 corn starch, containing deadly chem- 

 icals, can be compared to nothing else 

 than to pens where a million pigs are 

 kept and fed on distillery slops. We 

 who have braved the privations of 

 frontier life to obtain a home have no 

 redress— for there are millions in it. 

 Car-load upon car-load of lime, nitric 

 and sulphuric acid are daily used m 

 the manufacture of glucose. There 

 have been syrups sold in this city that 

 have eaten a hole in a table-cloth ! 

 This company have bought chemists as 

 well as nitric and sulphuric acid. 



But the people are awakening. 

 They are inquiring why they feel so 

 strangely after eating sugar and 

 syrup and what makes the little one s 

 lips so black, as if it had been licking 

 the ink-bottle after its meal of bread 

 and syrup— clear as honey. 



Brother Root, you are a busy man, 

 I know ; but take time, and if you can't 

 get time on a week day, do it on Sun- 

 day. Tie up your handkerchief full of 

 your best Buffalo sugar ; sit down by 

 a pail of water anU wash it ; and when 

 you are through, tell us what you have 

 left, and whether the water is sweet 

 or not,— and what kind of stuff is let t 

 in your handkerchief. Be candid, and 

 tell us all about it, if it does hurt 

 worse than any bee-sting you ever had; 

 ami whether you would like to give it 

 to Blue Eyes or the baby to eat. 



I can not call down the blessing of 

 Heaven upon the Buffalo Co. ; but 

 may Almighty God bless good father 

 Langstroth, and continue unto him 

 the use of his mental powers ! May he 

 long stand upon the watch-towers of 

 this great industry, that he has given 

 his lifetime to promote, and run up 

 the signals of alarm in full view of his 

 bee children, warning them of the vaga- 

 ries of such impulsive persons as A. 1. 

 Root and— Mrs. L. Harrison. 



Peoria, 111., July, 1881. 



the distant tree-tops— then he conies 

 ami seeks the bee-yard. His ways are 

 mysterious and not often inquired 



Into by the apiarist. Still, withal, 

 when patience ceases to be a. virtue, 

 then his thieving highness is dealt 

 with in the following manner by the 

 bee-keepers of California: 

 "Mr. Rowell, of Santa Ana, who owns 

 a bee ranch in Trabuco canyon, and 

 who has suffered the loss of several 



colonies of bees from the depredations 

 of bears, determined to lie in wait for 

 the unwelcome visitants, and suc- 

 ceeded in shooting a. large grizzly, 

 who came for his regular meal of (bee) 

 bread and honey. The bee men are 

 jubilant over the killing already of 

 three or four of these grizzly knights 

 of the mountains, but say there area 

 few more of the same sort. Mr. 

 Rowell has regaled the epicures of 

 Santa Ana with a toothsome steak 

 from bruin's carcass, which had been 

 made as sweet as honey and honey 

 comb could make it." 



Are Cyprian Bees Ferocious I— This 

 question Mr. C. A. Abbott, editor of 

 the British Bee Journal answers thus : 



We are sorry we cannot confirm the 

 good character for gentleness given to 

 the Cyprians. Such character came 

 with them when they were exhibited 

 at the Crystal Palace Show, and those 

 present, when they were handled on 

 that occasion, were so impressed with 

 their ferocity that their l purity' was 

 doubted, and reference made to the 

 authorities at the British Museum. 

 Since then we have had considerable 

 experience with these bees, having re- 

 ceived some direct from Cyprus, and 

 they have invariably proved most 

 fightable ; the Syrians may be put in 

 the same categorv. As workers and 

 breeders they are both good ; but the 

 best workers we have ever known are 

 the Cross from the Syrians. They, 

 however, are not easily subdued. 



Bears Attacking Bee Ranches.— The 



Bee-Keepers'' Magazine, gives the fol- 

 lowing account of bears attacking bee 

 ranches in California : 



The business of a California bee- 

 keeper is not always one of giddy 

 pleasure, nor of sweet and enjoyable 

 tranquillity. Not only have the apiar- 

 ists of that otherwise favored land hao 

 their hopes blasted by a short crop ol 

 honey, but also the great hungry 

 mouthed depredator, known as the 

 grizzly bear, comes prowling at the 

 dead hour of night, when all is still, 

 save the gentle murmur of the bees in 

 their tranquil habitations, or the dole- 

 ful screech of some bird of wisdom in 



Experience while Uniting Swarms.— 



In the London Journal of Horticulture 

 Mr. W. Riatt, gives the following ex- 

 perience while uniting swarms : 



While uniting some swarms a rather 

 rare circumstance transpired. After 

 one queen had been removed, the bees 

 continued very excited, which led me 

 to think they had balled the other 

 queen. This I found to be the case. 

 She also was caged, but left in the hive. 

 Still the excitement continued all 

 night, and next morning when I went 

 to liberate the queen 1 found the cage 

 surrounded by an excited mass of bees. 

 I liberated the prisoner; at once she 

 was again balled. Such a case could 

 only be accounted for by supposing 

 that in some mysterious way a third 

 queen had entered the hive, so I at 

 once removed the balled. In a few 

 moments the excitement died away, 

 the bees set to work with a will, and 

 in twenty-four hours had all their 

 eombs built out and mostly furnished 

 with honey, besides starting in a case 

 of sections. The intruder, of which I 

 only had one hasty glance, turns out 

 to be the late head of a nucleus that 

 stands in yards off. She had been out 

 on her wedding trip while the swarm 

 was in the air, and, joining it, entered 

 the hive, where she seemed to be pre- 

 ferred to the pair of old queens. A 

 few hours more and I should have 

 been minus 2 fertile queens, which 

 means just now a prospective loss of 

 5,000 bees a day for at least a week. 



!^- Mr. Geo. E. Hilton, Fremont 

 Center, Mich., having some nice comb 

 honey, took 2 boxes of it to the Indi- 

 cator, published in that place, as we 

 notice by an item in that paper. 



Igp We have prepared a SPECIAL 

 edition of the Bee Journal, just as 

 it will be published in lss2(Ki pages), 

 for distribution at Fairs, Conventions, 

 etc Any one who may desire to dis- 

 tribute them to bee-keepers will be 

 supplied free, in any quantity desired. 



