THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



275 



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THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



Vol. nil, Iay5,188e. No, 18. 



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We have Keeeived a copy of the 

 " Report on Agricultural Colleges anil 

 Experimental Farm Stations, with sugges- 

 tions relating to experimental agriculture 

 in Canada, by Prof. Wm. Saunders, F.R.S.C." 

 It is quite an exhaustive report, and shows 

 that Canada is alive to the proper means of 

 education, in the department of agriculture. 



Dr. miller's New Bee-Book is now 



published, and all orders already received 

 will be filled before this paper is in the 

 hands of its readers. A glance at the index, 

 which covers six pages, will reveal the 

 gi-eat number of subjects which the Doctor 

 discusses. The book is printed on nice 

 paper, and is bound in cloth, and makes 

 a nice volume. It can be obtained at this 

 office for 75 cents, postpaid. 



Dakota.— The second annual Territorial 

 Fair will be held under the auspices of the 

 Dakota Board of Agriculture, at Huron, 

 Sept. 6 to 10, 1888. Fifteen thousand dollars 

 in premiums will be offered ; $330 in cash 

 for the best county exhibits. Reduced 

 railroad rates on all railroads. Free trans- 

 portation for stock and exhibits. Premium 

 list will be ready June 1. It can be obtained 

 of W. F. T. Bushnell, Secretary, Huron, Dak. 



The First of May Mr. W. J. Cullinan, 



Mt. Sterling, IllB., send us the following, on 

 the "May Day " : 

 The oriole is carroling 



Its sweetest songs to-day, 

 The blue-bird in the elm-tree 



Now trills its softest lay. 



The partridge drums, perched on the fence. 



In solemn cadence low ; 

 The BEES are busy 'mong the flow'rs, 



A-humming to and fro. 



The lambs ai-e sporting merrily 



On yonder hill-slope there. 

 While flights of songsters, cheerily 



Sing, gamb'ling through the air ! 



Sounds like these one loves to hear, 



They All the soul with mirth ; 

 They drive away dull thoughts of care— 



Their glory is their worth. 



But the sweetest sound with pleasure 

 fraught. 



That I have heard to-day. 

 Is a sound mine ear but now up-caught— 



" This is the first of May .'" 



A Success at I.ast, says Mrs. L. Harrison, 

 in the Praii'ie Farmer, is the heading of a 

 circular now upon my desk, describing a 

 "simple device, which is a complete protec- 

 tion to bees against the ravages of the bee- 

 moth. It is a simple attachment to the plat- 

 forms upon which the hives rest.*'. ..T cannot 

 recommend this wonderful piece of mechan- 

 ism, which is furnished with a tank of water 

 to di-own the millers in, but I can put in a 

 word for a trap that I have used for years 

 with success, and is not patented. It is 

 called the Italian Bee. A tea-cupful of 

 them will protect the combs in a hive. The 

 honey produced by these bees seldom 

 becomes infested with their moth, after it is 

 removed from the hive. I should forget 

 these pests entirely if I was not reminded of 

 their presence by the patent catchers. 



Mr. Bolin, who has been sued by the 

 raisin growers of California, has met with 

 another calamity. Concerning it Mr. M. 

 Segars, of San Bernardino, writes as follows; 



Mr. B. has recently lost one of his apiaries 

 —about 200 colonies— by fire. The insurance 

 agent informed me that it was purely a case 

 of incendiarism, as rain fell the night 

 before, and green grass was growing between 

 the rows of hives. It is generally believed 

 to be a new method adopted by one or more 

 fruit-men to decide the case of bees vs. fruit. 

 An effort by fruit-men is being made to 

 convey the impression that Mr. Bohn burned 

 his bees to obtain the insurance money. 

 This cannot be considered for a moment in 

 view of the fact that we are on the threshold 

 of a bountiful crop, having had timely and 

 abundant rains, and that the bees were 

 insured for only $.3 per hive. No beekeeper 

 having such grade of bees, and in such 

 condition, would think of selling at this 

 price. It is hard to predict to what extent 

 the bee-industry will suffer by want of zeal 

 in the defense of this case. 



The case is to come on this month, and 

 though the bee-keepers of California do not 

 seem to be alive to their interests, we have 

 aided them to vigorously prosecute the case. 



The Illustrated Australian Bee- 

 Manual, and complete guide to modern 

 bee-culture in the Southern Hemisphere, by 

 Isaac Hopkins, Matamata, Auckland, New 

 Zealand, is the title of a book on our desk. 

 It contains 336 pages, and covers the entire 

 ground of modern bee-keeping. We have 

 had no time to examine the contents of the 

 book, but will publish a review in a future 

 number. 



Through Mr. Hopkins we learn that the 

 past season has been a very fair one 

 throughout New Zealand, for bee-keepers. 

 He estimates the honey crop of that island 

 at over 300 tons. With such a prospect it is 

 no wonder that Mr. Hopkins has issued such 

 a good bee-manual. 



A Good Place to Stop.— Many of our 

 subscribers complain of the tiresome dis- 

 cussions on the Reversible Hive that have 

 been given a place in the Bee Journal, 

 during the past three months. 



As a "new system of management" in 

 bee-keeping, it was perfectly proper and 

 desirable to discuss it thoroughly in our 

 columns, but it has now come to a discus- 

 sion about the hive, the validity of the 

 patent, and matters only appropriate In the 

 advertising columns of bee-papers. Here 

 are two samples of many letters which we 

 have received. A subscriber from Louisiana 

 sends us this question : 



Do you not think that the columns of the 

 American Bee Journal are getting pretty 

 well used up for advertising Heddon's liive? 

 We have no objection to Heddon's new 

 ideas, but give us something else than those 

 long discussions of no interest to the 

 majority. 



Another, from Michigan, sends us this 

 query : 



Is the Heddon hive controversy the best 

 thing with which to occupy so much space 

 in the Bee Journal '/ While I do not object 

 to the new hive, I am quite well satisfied with 

 the Langstroth, and want to read in the Bee 

 Journal something besides discussions 

 concerning the validity of somebody's 

 patent. If Mr. Heddon wants to advertise 

 his hive, let him do so in the advertising 

 columns : and if any one wishes to oppose 

 him, let him advertise a better hive in the 

 same department, and relegate all questions 

 on the validity of the patent to the United 

 States courts. At all events, give us some- 

 thing else in the reading columns of the Bee 

 Journal. 



We have now arrived at a good place to 

 stop. Mr. H. is entitled to reply to questions 

 and criticisms, and in this week's issue, he 

 has replied to them, and now we will dismiss 

 the subject. 



We have a lot of articles on hand discuss- 

 ing different points of the hive controversy 

 —but to publish them will but prolong the 

 unprofitable discussion, and disgust our 

 readers. If the writers of these articles 

 desire it, we will return them — if not, we 

 will dump them into the convenient waste- 

 basket. 



We have endeavored to control the con- 

 troversy—to pour oil on " the troubled 

 waters " of contention, but when men 

 become excited and engaged in " heated 

 controversy" they are not easily controlled 

 or soothed. Enough has been said to give 

 bee-keepers a good idea of the invention 

 and " new system of management," and now 

 we may safely talk of other and more 

 important matters. 



liet No One be Deceived by supposing 

 that the bees arc gathering " lots of honey," 

 because they have noticed a few of "the 

 flowers that bloom in the spring." The 

 " perfect sea of bloom," with " the genial 

 sunshine," will entice the bees and tell a 

 I better story 1 



New Price-Ijlsts have been received 

 from the following persons : 



J. B. Hains, Bedford, O.— 8 pages— Api- 

 arian Supplies, Bees and Queens. 



A. J. & E. Hatfield, South Bend, Ind.— 6 

 pages — Bees and Supplies for the Apiary. 



Ihring & Fahrenholtz, Berlin. Germany.— 

 1'2 pages— Manufacturers of Comb Founda- 

 tion Presses, etc. 



Any one desiring a copy of either of them, 

 can obtain it by sending a postal card to the 

 address as given above. 



Do Not Divide Colonies until after they 

 are strong in numbers and havecommenced 

 preparations for swarming, and then only 

 with caution. Too many colonies are divided 

 to death. 



