354 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Nov. §, 



Shipment or Bees by U. A. Burcli.— 



The South Haven Messenger of Oct. 



28, says : 



Since our last issue, H. A. Burch & 

 Co., shipped 22 colonies of Italian bees, 

 consignee to parlies in Michigan, Illi- 

 nois, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Can- 

 ada. Will the "old reliable" Bee 

 Journal ask Gleanings to give this 

 item his " prayerful consideration ? " 



Certainly; it is "better late than 

 never." Those who ordered bees in 

 May and June and received them 

 about Nov. 1, will think so, but they 

 will also think they have been swind- 

 led out of a season's honey and in- 

 crease, ami also out of the difference 

 in price of colonies of bees in spring 

 and fall. 



®" There has been much dissatis- 

 faction for years with the fact that 

 Club agents have offered the Bee 

 Journal at a less hgure than the 

 publisher's price. In future this will 

 not be done. We have increased the 

 price to clubs to stop this practice, 

 and give the Bee Journal at one 

 price to all— and that the lowest that 

 can be afforded. "We have induced 

 Mr. <;. M. Doolittle to omit it entirely 

 from his list, for heretofore that 

 " List " was the greatest impediment 

 to the establishment of a uniforn 

 price. Mr. D. will write for the Bee 

 Journal as usual, and will take sub- 

 scriptions only at the publisher's 

 price. 



(gT .Neio subscribers for the Weekly 

 Bee Journal, for 1882, will have all 

 the remaining numbers for 1881 free 

 from the time the money is received 

 at this office. Therefore, the sooner 

 they subscribe for it, the more they 

 will obtain for the §2. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Market Your Honey.— The Grange 

 Bulletin gives the following advice for 

 the present month. It is both good 

 and timely, and should be heeded by 

 those having honey to sell : 



This is the month to market your 

 honey. Remember too, the nicest 

 looking honey will always bring the 

 highest price. Extracted honey in 

 small packages sells best put up in 

 neat glass jars. For larger packages, 

 2}£, 5 and 10 pounds, use tin pails or 

 cans. If in sections, have them all 

 clean and nice, and packed in a neat 

 shipping crate holding not over 20 lbs. 

 each. Sections should all be scraped 

 clean of propolis. In placing in the 

 shipping crates, unless the comb is 

 well fastened at the bottom, turn the 

 sections top down to allow the honey 

 to stand, rather than to hang on its 

 own weight, l'aste on a neat label 



with your name and Location of your 

 apiary. Sell as near home as possible, 

 saving transportation and commission. 

 At least, be sure your nearest town is 

 well supplied. 



Milkweed as nn Insect Intoxicant.— 



By the kindness of Major 1). II. Kel- 

 ton, Mackinac, Mich., we have re- 

 ceived the following item from the 

 Scientific American of Oct. 2!), 1881 : 



A writer in the Pharmaceutical Jour- 

 nal, speaking of a visit to Kew Gar- 

 dens, says : 



"It is amusing to see the numbers 

 of bees hanging off the sweet-scented 

 (lowers of Asclepias cornuti (milkweed] 

 perfectly intoxicated, so that they will 

 not move even when roughly touched, 

 one being noticed by the writer to be 

 apparently " dead " drunk " on the 

 ground. The numerous bees which 

 visited the llowersof the teasel seel 1 



to be similarity affected. It would be 

 interesting to learn whether the Bow- 

 ers of the Asclepias, which are known 

 to contain a sort of sugar, really do 

 possess an intoxicating principle. 

 since the soma plant of India, alluded 

 to in the Sanskrit Vedas (which some 

 place as far hack as 20 centuries B. C), 

 and the juice of which yielded, by fer- 

 mentation, an intoxicating liquor, is 

 supposed to be a species of Ascu pias. 

 The milkweed must have acquired 

 these intoxicating properties through 

 change of soil and climate, since we 

 are positive that they do not exist in 

 the plant in this, its native country. 

 We have watched bees gathering nec- 

 tar from the flowers many a time, but 

 we never observed that it had any in- 

 toxicating effect upon them, and we 

 do not believe that any one has ob- 

 served such a fact here. 



Honey Show for Illinois.— Mrs. L. 



Harrison, Peoria, 111., in the Prairie 

 Fanner, thus appeals to the bee-keep- 

 ers of Illinois to make a grand dis- 

 play at the next State Fair. It can, 

 and ought to be done : 



The State Fair is a great educator 

 of the people, and we do not think it is 

 appreciated as it should be. In what 

 other way or place can a person gain 

 so much useful information as here ? 

 The late fair at Peoria was grand, 

 superb, magnificent. It is claimed 

 that a million dollars' worth of imple- 

 ments were on the grounds, and the 

 show of horses and cattle has seldom, 

 if ever been equaled. We consider the 

 poultry show worth live dollars to see, 

 and we felt like crowing as we viewed 

 the thoroughbred fowls, pigeons, fer- 

 rets and rabbits in this class. They 

 were a great source of amusement to 

 young people, and will furnish food 

 for thought during lonely hours. 



The premiums offered for "farm 

 products " was, for the most part, am- 

 ple, and brought out a Hue display. 

 When we first procured the premium 

 list for 1881, we turned eagerly to see 

 if the " bee " and its product had been 

 remembered. In " farm products," 

 lot 91, we found the following : Best 

 lot of honey, not less than 10 lbs., $5 ; 

 2d best, $3. This is all that we could 

 find any way connected with this great 

 industry. Wax-work was remem- 

 bered, but beeswax, always a staple, 

 forgotten. In class L, Natural His- 

 tory, lot 113, we find this : Best col- 

 lection of insects, $30; 2d best, §15; 

 and not a " red " offered for the "busy 

 bee," one of the most useful. 



We grumbled at this state of af- 

 fairs, and the officers of the associa- 

 tion politely informed us that it was 

 the bee-keepers' own fault. If this is 

 so, bee-keepers of Illinois, arouse! 

 We are not all rheumatic, crippled, or 

 deal and dumb. 



The officers of the "Fair Associa- 

 tion" recommend that we have a 

 called meeting of bee-keepers at 

 Springfield at the same time as the 

 meeting of the Slate Board of Agri- 

 culture, to take action on these mat- 

 ters. 



Bee-keepers of Illinois, if Ibis call is 

 made will you respond? Every one 

 of you that have for sale a bee or a 

 tin whistle, it is foryour interests that 

 a big display is made. At the late 

 inciting of the North American Bee- 

 Keepers' Convention at Lexington. 

 Ky., Mr. Jones, of Canada, gloried 

 much Over a big honey show that was 

 held at Toronto this fall — a building 

 over a hundred feet long devoted en- 

 tirely to this industry. Are we going 

 to be beaten by Canadians? Not a 

 bit of it. Let us rout them by having 

 at Peoria, 111., next year, the biggest 

 display ever held on the continent. 

 We can do it if we have the grit of our 

 forefathers and mothers. 



For the Amerlcun Bee Journal. 



Wintering Bees. 



CH. DADANT. 



In a friendly criticism of my essay 

 on wintering bees, on page 275 of the 



Bee Journal for A.ug. 31, Mr. lled- 



don says: •'.Never before was I so 

 struck with the difference in the ac- 

 tions of bees and the treatment they 

 require in different localities varying 

 so little in latitude." 



To my mind, there is no difference 

 in the actions of bees on account of 

 being located here or in Michigan ; 

 but there is a difference in the prepa- 

 ration of bees between Mr. Heddon 

 and ourselves. As 1 said, the instinct 

 of bees directs them to gather, in win- 

 ter, directly below the sealed honey. 

 If the bees at Mr. Heddon's do not act 

 the same, it is on account of the two 

 inches space that he leaves between 

 the cushion and the top of the frames 

 in his Langstroth hives. I cannot 

 conceive what is the purpose of such 

 an empty space. But such a space of 

 19x14x2 inches, or 566 cubic inches, is 

 about equal to the entire space be- 

 tween the combs. 



When the cushion is directly above 

 the frames, the heat generated by the 

 bees is driven back between thecombs. 

 around the group, and warms it ; 

 while this empty space of Mr. Hed- 

 don's, amounting to 566 cubic inches, 

 stores the heat arising from the bees ; 

 but the bees, unable to generate an 

 amount sufficient to lill it and at the 

 same time the space between the 

 combs, are compelled to scale the 

 sealed honey in quest of heat, and to 

 inhabit the' empty space. Then the 

 quilt, as Mr. Heddon says, seems to 

 attract them. 



Now, as the first requisite in the 

 management of bees is to comply, as 

 much as possible, with their instinct. 

 I advise Mr. Heddon to dispense with 

 this unnecessary space, and he will see 

 that his bees act exactly the same as 

 ours. 



Mr. Heddon adds that bees are 

 hardly as safe in a special depository, 

 where the temperature is all the time 

 at 42°, as they are out-of-doors, on ac- 

 count of their inability to pass be- 

 tween the ends of the frames and the 

 hive. I am of the same opinion. A 

 special depository should be main- 

 tained at 45°, such at least is my expe- 

 rience, and it is on account of the lower 

 temperature that so many colonies 

 were killed last spring in special de- 

 positories. 



He thinks that bees can endure more 

 than 5 or 6 weeks of confinement, some 

 of his bees having been confined 5 

 months. I know that under some fa- 

 vorable conditions all the colonies of 

 an apiary can endure more than 5, and 

 even 7 weeks id' confinement, but such 

 a result depends on so many different 

 causes that it is better to have them 

 confined for a shorter than fora longer 

 time. 



Amongst a number of colonies some 

 have a strong population, while some 

 are weak in numbers; some have loo 

 much unsealed honey, or honey of 

 poor quality, such as honey dew . or 

 honey stored in cells partly tilled with 

 pollen, or with juices of fruits. Does 

 Mr. Heddon think thai the colonies 



weak in numbers, or provided with 



honey of poor quality or watery, will 



endure more than 4 or 5 weeks of con- 

 finement? I, for one, am sure that 

 they will not. 



Of course, all the strong colonies, 

 provisioned with honey of lirsl quality, 

 will endure twice, even three times as 

 long a confinement ; but no bee-keep- 

 er, so far, has been able to gel all 

 his colonies in equally good condition. 

 Then we will see as good a bee-keeper 

 as Mr. Heddon. lose 134 colonies out Of 

 212. Of course. Mr. Heddon will con- 

 cede that if his 133 colonies which 

 perished had enjoyed a flight every 5 



or 6 weeks during last winter, the num- 

 ber of the dead colonies would have 

 been very small. 



In writing 5 or 6 weeks as a long 

 confinement, I had not in view the 

 strongest and best prepared colonies, 

 but was giving my ideas of safe win- 

 tering for all the colonies provided 

 with bees and stores enough for win- 

 ter, whatever be the quality of these 

 provisions. 



Mr. Heddon disapproves my idea of 

 disturbing the bees in winter, when 

 wintered outside, in order to give them 

 a chance of voiding their intestines. 

 He wants to leave his bees in a semi- 

 dormant state during all winter, but 

 the bees of Mr. Heddon are. no more 

 than mine, in a semi-dormant state all 

 winter, for he adds: "Ordinarily, 

 many times during winter the sun 

 strikes the hive with sufficient warmth 

 to raise the temperature in the hive SO 

 that the bees cm pass over and around 

 the frames." In such case bees cease 

 to be in a dormant state ; they are act- 

 ive, and experience has proven to me 

 that when the bees profit by such a 

 temperature to empty their intestines, 

 they are better prepared for a new 

 confinement. 



Of course, such a winter flight is not 

 necessary when bees have been put in 

 a suitable depository, for, in an equal 

 and sufficient temperature bees eat 

 less than when wintered out-of-doors. 

 But I am persuaded that it is neces- 

 sary, especially with chaff hives, 

 whose thick walls prevent the sun from 

 warming the inside. Most of the col- 

 onies which died last winter in chaff 

 hives, would have been saved by this 

 process. 



As to putting bees in their winter 

 depositories, I think that nobody will 

 deny that it is better to put them in 

 the cellar immediately after they have 

 enjoyed a good flight, than when their 

 intestines are already partly filled, 



I would like to know on what Mr. 

 Heddon bases his idea of the rearing 

 of brood giving the dysentery to bees. 



Hamilton, 111. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Bee-Keeping in Nebraska. 



1VM STOLLEY. 



I enclose 3 samples of plants; two 

 of them represent excellent honey 

 yielding plants, and the third is a va- 

 riety of grass of which 1 also would like 

 to learn the true name and its value. 



No 1. is a flowering shrub or vine, 

 which blooms from early spring till 

 frost, and in dry seasons in particular, 

 is very productive in honey yielding 

 flowers. I took this plant with me to 

 our State Fair, and consulted the bee- 

 keepers there present, as to its true 

 name, but all differed very much in 

 opinion, and therefore I appeal from 

 their verdict to Prof. Cook for a final 

 judgment. 



No. 2. is a very late flowering plant, 

 and is represented by various varie- 

 ties in this section of our State, and is 

 eagerly sought for by bees, in fact, is 

 our best honey producing plant late 

 in the fall. I take it to be an aster, 

 but desire to be assured of it, or stand 

 corrected. 



I commenced in the spring of 1880 

 with 2 weak colonies of black bees, 

 increased recklessly to 8 colonies in 

 the first season. I found that nearly 

 all were very deficient in winterstores 

 in the fall of ls.su, some colonies having 

 not more than about 5 lbs. of honey ; 

 when, after becoming a reader of the 

 American Bee Journal, l learned 

 a little of " what was indespensable " 

 to winter safely. I fed night and day 

 coffee A sugar syrup, until my bees 

 had from 15 to 80 pounds of stores. 

 This was done as late as the middle of 

 October; besides, 1 made the blunder 

 ol trying as late as the latter part of 

 October to Italianize 2 of my best 

 colonies, but after waiting in vain for 

 16 days for the arrival of my Italian 

 queens (at $4 each), I reinstalled my 

 black queens, and by the 19th of No- 

 vember I packed my bees in my new- 

 constructed bee house in wheat chaff, 

 leaving an opening for the bees to fly 



