THE AMERICAl^ BEE JOURNAL. 



487 



shows one of the reasons why every 

 bee-keeper should join the " Union." 

 Bradford, c$ Iowa. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Horse Killed liy Bees, etc, 



FRIEDEMANN GKEINER. 



In my experience with bees, the 

 killing of any animal by stings had 

 not come under my observation as 

 yet. Yesterday I witnessed a case 

 which dispensed with all my doubt 

 about the possibility of the thing. J. 

 V. Weir, Esq., left his riding-horse 

 by the gate of his dooryard, as usual, 

 while he went to dinner. An apiary 

 of 45 colonies was within three rods 

 of the spot where the horse was tied, 

 and the bees in great numbers at- 

 tacked it in our absence of not over 

 12 minutes. When we discovered the 

 state of affairs, the horse's head was 

 almost covered with mad bees and 

 swarms of them around it, which 

 would sting every thing and everybody 

 anywhere near. I could not induce 

 the animal to move at first, and to 

 protect it I kept it covered with 

 blankets ; but after awhile, and after 

 procuring more help, I succeeded in 

 getting it out of the reach of the 

 bees, and we then applied remedies, 

 as washing with cold water and soda, 

 then besmearing with linseed oil ; 

 internally we gave whisky with laud- 

 anum, but all efforts were in vain,and 

 the poor animal after a struggle of 

 three hours was dead. 



Moral : Let us not give cause for 

 complaint to our neighbors and the 

 public in general by keeping bees near 

 the roads nor in closely-settled places; 

 let us surround our apiaries by high 

 fences, and, still better, by evergreen 

 hedges. Other suggestions could no 

 doubt be made. An abnormal case 

 of this kind may not occur in one's 

 life time, but that it can, should be 

 reason enough that we should be 

 careful and take the necessary pre- 

 cautions against the possibility of its 

 occurrence. 



The honey season with us still con- 

 tinues to be good, contrary to Mr. 

 Brown's statement (page 443) of the 

 honey season being nearly over. Some 

 of our colonies filled 24 1-lb. sections 

 from July 12 to July 20 ; that does not 

 look much like a slack. Virginia will 

 furnish quantities of honey this year. 



White Post, 6 Va., July 22, 1886. 



For tne American Bee JonmaL 



"BM's-Eye View Of Bee-Keening,' 



DR. C. C. MILLER. 



I make do question as to the general 

 truth contained in Solomon's state- 

 ment about there being no new thing 

 under the sun, but it hardly applies 

 literally to Rev. W. F. Clarke's new 

 book, '' A Bird's-Eye View of Bee- 

 Keeping." A book entirely devoted 

 to bee-keeping, and every word of it 

 in poetry, is certainly a new thing to 

 me. I would like to give the readers 



of the Bee Journal a fair descrip- 

 tion of this little book, but how can I 

 unless I quote almost the whole book 

 in its practical form y As the entire 

 work costs only 25 cents, it can easily 

 be obtained by all, so I will content 

 myself with sampling its pages here 

 and there. Its author says : 



This treatise is for novices, and such 



Sbould take care not at flrst to attempt too much. 



Then follows advice as to books and 

 papers to be obtained '' before a bee 

 is bought." , 



None should attempt the business till they learn It, 

 Or hope to make a cent unless they earn It. 

 None who are seekiriK a soft place to lie on. 

 Need trouble themselves this pursuit to try on. 



* * « * « • • 



If you propose to be a specialist 



In keeplDK bees, permit me to assist 



Your cogitations, by. in brief, sugsesting 



A few pre-requlsites before investing. 



That knowledge of the business and then fitness 



To follow it are needful, facts bear witness. 



But what is fitness ? Well, it is, in part. 



To have quick eye. soft hand, and lion-heart ; 



A mind to grasp the most minute details, 



And, with it all, patience that never fails. 



Promptness to do all work in its riffht season. 



And clear perception from the facts to reason. 



It Is to have a perfect self-control. 



And let alone the Intoxicating bowl— 



If you this evil habit once begin, 



An apiary never set your foot !n. 



A hopefulness that never fails or flags, 



A diligence that neither loafs nor lags. 



High moral principle that scorns to cheat. 



And makes a point all honor's claims to meet. 



The golden rule and law of love your aim. 



And your best treasure an untarnished name. 



If you are wholly ignorant of bees. 



And yet possess such qualities as these. 



You must content yourself to be a creeper, 



Along the road that makes a good bee-beeper. 



Go slowly, do not be in foolish haste. 



Nor think that you your time and money waste 



In making full and caret ul preparation. 



For entering on your chosen ftvocallon. 



The author varies the usual advice 

 and says : 



Beginners. I advise to raise comb honey 

 Until they scrape together enough money 

 To purchase an extractor, pails, and things. 

 Necessity for which extracting brings. 



When hiving a swarm, 



Be sure that your new hive is clean and neat. 

 Smear it with beeswax and with honey sweet. 

 Have no foul smell about it. for the bees 

 Are mostly all old-maldf, whom you must please 

 By making things quite tidy and "so— so," 

 Else in a fit of dudgeon, off they go ! 



• * • * * « * 



I go for out-door wintering, on a stand 



Where you can manage them with ready hand. 



Free from laborious lifting to and fro, 



Which makes the luckless bee-man's back ache so. 



I set ray hives two feet above the ground 



Where ease of handlini: them Is always found. 



The man who first devised a four-inch stool 



To set his hives on was an arrant fool. 



And needlessly condemned himself to stoop 



Till with fatigue and pain his spirits droop. 



Of course ^' hibernation " is not 

 omitted. 



And now, the season's cycle is complete. 



The summer hours march on, with nimble feet, 



Soon once again the welcome time will come 



When honey-gathering bees, with cheerful hum, 



Will do the work they understand so well. 



And store sweet nectar in each vacant cell, 



Smoothing nnd polishing the surface all 



With that small truwel, we a dagger call. 



But which by them employed so much Is 



In giving honey-comb its final touches. 



•Then after some advice on a few 

 special topics, the book closes with— 



Farewell, and In a brighter world than this. 

 May you enjoy a life of perfect bliss : 

 Where thrilling music through the welkin rings, 

 And nectar sweet is gathered without stings I 



For tbe American Bee JonmaL 



Marengo, 5 lUs. 



tW The St.Joseph.Mo. Inter-State Bee-Keepers' 



Association will hold Us annual meeting on 

 Wednesday evening of the Exposition week, Sep- 

 tember 30, 1886. Arrangements are being made to 

 have an interesting meeting. Tbe place of hold- 

 ing the meeting will be published In our local pa- 

 pers on Tuesday and Wednesday a.m. 



E. T. Abhott. Sec. 



TlieHewHoney-PlaDt, 



T. F. BINGHAM. 



The " Chapman Honey-Plant " is 

 not only pleasant to behold, but it is 

 unusually attractive to honey-bees 

 and their larger cousins — the beauti- 

 ful humble-bees. I shall not presume 

 to predict — and as only three buds are 

 yet open, it would not be safe to say 

 that it is the only plant likely to 

 prove a success as an exclusive honey- 

 plant. This, hovk'ever, may be said, 

 that it is a vigorous grower, and may 

 be easily raised ; perhaps it would 

 grow without special care. As all 

 the readers of the Bee .Journal may 

 not be able to see the plant in bloom, 

 I will briefly describe it. 



It grows from 3 to 4% feet high, 

 and has on each root or crown from 6 

 to 16 buds or heads. These buds are 

 round like an apple, and from 1 to IM 

 inches in diameter. The surface 

 of this bud is covered with small 

 white flowers having bluish stamens. 

 Like clover, the whole sphere is not 

 in bloom at one time. The top opens 

 first and gradually continues to open 

 down the sides for about four days. 

 The heads or buds are of all sizes and 

 ages, and will require at least three 

 weeks to mature and bloom. It is 

 therefore safe to conclude that it wiU 

 continue to attract bees not less than 

 the above-mentioned period of time. 



It will be observed that I do not 

 state that bees gather honey from it, 

 but that the flowers are very attrac- 

 tive to bees, and from the fact that 

 only three of my plants are in bloom, 

 and that only one head on each of the 

 three plants is yet open, no doubt 

 people not enthusiastic will be sur- 

 prised that any one should presume 

 to call attention to such a plant on so 

 slight an acquaintance. 



I must say that while I should have 

 been incredulous as to the interest 

 bees take in it, had that interest been 

 described to me, I should not have 

 been more incredulous than I was 

 surprised when I found ten honey- 

 bees and one humble-bee on a single 

 head at one time, all busy in extract- 

 ing nectar. The three- heads now in 

 bloom are not without from 3 to 10 or 

 15 bees on each one all the time. The 

 bees do not seem to be interested in 

 the pollen of the flower, although it 

 has it in abundance, but continue to 

 thrust their tongues to the bottom of 

 the flowers. One of the peculiar fea- 

 tures of their visits to the flower is 

 the long time they remain upon them. 



How extensively these plants have 

 been distributed among bee-keepers, 

 I cannot say ; all I can say is, that as 

 I am able to regard Mr. Chapman 

 {Capt. Chapman, as he is familiarly 

 called where he lives) as a tried 

 friend, having lived by and known 

 him for a period of 20 years, it was 

 not strange, though entirely unex- 

 pected, that I should be made the 

 delighted recipient of 50 of the above 

 plants by express last spring, in time 

 to observe the bees upon them, still 

 in too small numbers to really know 

 the amount of honey produced. 



