426 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Straw Bee-Hives.— Mr. Frank 

 McNiver, of New Jersey, in the Ameri- 

 can Agriculturist, gives the following 

 description of the old "straw bee-hives," 

 still used in some parts of Germany, we 

 believe : 



While the old straw cone-shaped bee- 

 hive is referred to in hundreds of works 

 on bee-keeping, and in encyclopedias, 

 we do not now remember of ever reading 

 any direction for, or description of, their 

 manufacture. It may be that authors 

 generally have considered the process 

 too simple to need describing, for these 

 hives are usually made of braided straw 

 forming ropes an inch or two in diame- 

 ter, and these are laid around a form of 

 the required size, and then skewered 

 together to give solidity, and keep the 

 hive in shape when removed. A full 

 size straw hive will hold about three 

 pecks, but they are sometimes smaller. 

 They have been generally discarded be- 

 cause they afford an excellent hiding 

 place for the worms of the bee-moth, 

 and are very difficult to keep clean, and 

 in no way superior to hives made Of pine 

 boards, which are also cheaper and far 

 more convenient for dividing swarms, 

 removing surplus honey, etc. 



The Honey Exhibit at the 



World's Fair next year should be the 

 very best ever produced. Editor Jones, 

 of the C. B. J., has made the following 

 excellent suggestions regarding exhibits 

 of honey : 



" For several years we exhibited ' The 

 Lord's Prayer," ' God Save the Queen,' 

 and many other curiosities in connection 

 with bee-keeping. We took the best 

 double-calendared linen paper, printed 

 on it in large bold type anything we 

 wished, then dipped it in beeswax and 

 put it through the comb foundation mill, 

 then placed it in the hive ; the bees 

 would lengthen out the cells and fill 

 them with honey or brood, as the case 

 may be. 



" We usually placed them where the 

 bees would fill them with honey instead 

 of brood, in order that the comb might 

 b« as bright as possible, then by holding 

 this comb up to the light, you could read 

 at the base of the cells the inscription. 



"We would suggest that some of our 

 bee-keeping friends take either this 

 linen paper, or what is called ' tracing 

 linen' (which is perhaps a little more 

 expensive, but will stand more rough 

 usage, and answer the purpose better), 

 and on it have a good picture of Rev. L. 

 L. Langstroth, with a short sketch of 

 his life; then dip it in bright, clear 

 beeswax, pass it through the mill, mak- 

 ing a slight impression on it, hang it in 

 the hive, and have the cells drawn out 

 full length ; take any honey out of it 

 that may be in the cells, and have the 

 comb on exhibition at the World's Fair. 



" Why not have a fine large picture of 

 George Washington, also Christopher 

 Columbus ? Sections of comb honey 

 might be filled in a similar way, so that 

 when the honey was eaten off down to 

 the base of the cells, the pictures of 

 gentlemen would be in the center of the 

 section. 



"Perhaps some of our ingenious 

 friends will be able to photograph on 

 nicely capped comb honey the picture of 

 the purchaser or producer, or something 

 that would make it attractive, and bring 

 our industry more prominently before 

 the public in this way." 



The "Wax-Palm of Peru exudes 

 a wax from its leaves which closely re- 

 sembles beeswax, and is used in making 

 candles ; while the wax-tree or Vismia, 

 of Ceylon and Cambodia, produces a 

 juice resembling gamboge, which is used 

 as a medicine. 



There's Not a Young Person 



but what can secure at least one new 

 subscriber to the Bee Journal, and get 

 the splendid Premium offered on page 

 445. Try it. 



When You Have any honey to sell, 

 get some Honey Almanacs and scatter 

 in your locality. They will sell it all in 

 a very short time. 



