AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL-. 



42T 



Among the Hummings in 



" The Apiary " department of the Amer- 

 ican Farmer for Sept. 15th, we find the 

 following, which are interesting : 



One or the first inducements for keep- 

 ing bees is that honey is the most health- 

 ful sweet which can be produced. The 

 farmer who does not keep bees loses 

 more than he thinks. 



Competition in the bee-business need 

 not be feared, as pure honey is always 

 salable at a remunerative price, and 

 even the pleasure of having it for the 

 table will pay for the trouble and time 

 needed. 



White clover stands first as a honey- 

 plant, and linden second. The blossoms 

 of the latter are peculiar. They are 

 yellow in color, and arranged so that 

 the nectar is easily gotten by the bees, 

 and they can load up quickly and 

 heavily. 



The best method of feeding bees in 

 winter is to give them a frame of honey. 

 All colonies do not consume the same 

 amount of stores, so that enough combs 

 may sometimes be spared from those 

 which have plenty to supply the needy. 



It is said that there is less honey on 

 the market now than at any other time 

 since 1877. The scarcity is throughout 

 the Eastern, Western, - and Southern 

 States, and is caused mainly by rains, 

 drouth and cold. Nor are the prospects 

 for a late yield promising. If this is 

 true, it follows that good honey will 

 command the best of prices. 



A Protection for Shipping- - 

 Cases full of honey while in transit to 

 market seems to be quite a necessity 

 now-a-days. It is surprising that bee- 

 keepers should be compelled to padlock 

 their honey when shipping, and yet if 

 we may judge from the experience of 

 some of our honey-producers, they will 

 have to do just that very thing. 



Nice honey is so very tempting, that 

 to see it is to desire it — even to the ex- 

 tent of stealing it, by some railroad 

 employes. Of course, railroad compa- 

 nies should be held responsible for the 

 safe arrival of the whole of a shipment 

 to its destination — like anything else 

 that Is intrusted to their care. 



Mr. C. H. Dibbern has had an experi- 



ence on this subject which it interest- 

 ing as well as tantalizing. He tells, in 

 the Western Plowman, how to protect 

 the shipping-cases, and to trap those 

 who attempt to pilfer from the swee 

 contents. Here is what he says : 



" In view of the trouble we have had 

 with thieves opening and stealing from 

 our section-cases while in transit, we 

 have invented a " protection " that will 

 either stop it, or make it easier to detect 

 the thief. 



"This device consists in passing a 

 broom wire around the case after it is 

 packed and nailed up, and fastening the 

 ends by winding once around a wire 

 nail, with a leaden head. The wire 

 should be drawn taut, and cut off quite 

 close to the nail. The nail should be 

 driven in well, so the head will be flush 

 with top of cover. A few blind staples 

 should be driven over the wire at cor- 

 ners to hold it in place. 



"Now, the wire is only just long 

 enough to go around the case, and catch 

 around the nail. Should the case be 

 opened on any side the wire will let go, 

 and it is almost impossible to fasten it 

 again. If it is attempted to draw the 

 nail, the lead will be marred, showing 

 that it has been tampered with, which 

 will make it easy for the officials to 

 locate the thieves. 



"The leaden-headed nail is made by 

 taking B B shot and flattening it with a 

 hammer on a hard board, and driving 

 the nail through it. A barbed nail is 

 best, as it cannot be drawn out so easily. 

 So far as we know, there is no patent on 

 this device, and we now freely give all 

 our rights in it to the bee-keepers of the 

 world." 



A Much-Swarmed Colony of 



bees is heard of. It is said that Mr. L. 

 B. Phillips, of Walnut Grove, Ala., has 

 a bee-hive whose colony has, within Jhe 

 past four years, cast 115 swarms? Who 

 can beat that record ? 



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