1898. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNA'L„ 



323 



IhoDey may be excusable in the gentiles, but a child of Israel 

 who has past through the Red Soa and the wilderness, and 

 arrived at a land flowing with milk and lioney, and still enter- 

 tains the opinion that bees make honey ought to be ashamed 

 of himself. 



Then Mr. Hart comes at us with another if, which is en- 

 titled to no more consideration than the first one. // the Ital- 

 ians have longer tongues than other bees, it is an unquestion- 

 able fact that not many of them have tongues long enough to 

 •gather honey enough from red clover to cut any figure. Be- 

 sides, who is able to say that the honey of red clover is any 

 better than the honey of white clover ? Has any one compared 

 the honey from a bumble-bee's nest with the honey stored in 

 sections in the midst of white clover bloom ? 



It looks a good deal as if Mr. Hart was "putting up a 

 job" on bee-keepers, to get them to account for a difference 

 which does not exist. I will therefore turn the work over to 

 some one wiser and more covetous of distinction than I am. 



Decatur Co., Iowa. 



"Wateriug Bees— Feeding — Cleauiug Hives. 



BY MRS. L. HARRISON. 



I think watering bees is important. They should be ac- 

 tiustomed early in the season to find water in the apiary, and 

 not be frequenting watering-troughs, cistern-i and wells. On 

 cool mornings the water should be warm. Up to date (May 

 9) we fill their drinking-vessels with warm water, and are 

 paid for doing it in preserving the life of many a bee. Wash 

 them out occasionally, and put in a pinch of salt. 



FEEDINC4 BEES. 



We keep a regular feeding-ground, and no robbing has 

 ■ever been induced thereby. All sticky papers, sections or 

 cases are put there for the bees to clean up. Any bits, or 

 odds and ends of comb, the accumulation of the winter, are 

 put there for the bees. When robbers attack a queeniess col- 

 ony we let them alone, and when they get all the honey go 

 home and take the bees along. If the hive and stores are 

 taken from them they will then try to rob other hives, and 

 trouble ensues. When they are through, the hive can be 

 cleaned and be in readiness for a swarm. 



CLEANING HIVES WHERE BEES DIED. 



Where colonies have died during the winter the bees 

 •should not be allowed to remain and rot, but pry up the 

 combs, brush off the dead bees, and scrub out the hive, pour- 

 ing in boiling water from the spout of a kettle, and turn it up 

 to dry. Cut off all old queen-cells, and remove the drone or 

 very thick, undesirable comb. The bees that are in the cells 

 •can remain and will rattle out out when dry, or when given 

 to the bees they will remove them, working cheaper than we 

 ■can. This hive will then be a bonanza when a swarm issues. 



ADULTERATION OF BEESWAX. 



Those who sew carpets and manufacture overalls call 

 frequently for beeswax, saying that what they buy at stores 

 Is not good — has grea.«e In it. Are there complaints of this 

 kind elsewhere ? 



Bees wintered well in this locality, and the spring has 

 fceen favorable for the rearing of brood. They did well on 

 peach and cherry bloom, which has just past; but there was 

 very little bloom in this Immediate neighborhood. Dandelions 

 are very abundant, and fill the Interim between fruit-bloom 

 and clovers. Peoria Co., III. 



Matioual Bee-Keepers, Union — 13th Annual 

 Report— for 1897. 



BY THOMAS G. NEWMAN. 



The appeals for assistance are the largest for any year in 

 the history of the Union, and cover all phases of trouble — 

 briefly reviewed as follows : 



PROHIBITING BEK-KEBPING. 



As stated In our last Report, the City Council of Clarinda, 

 Iowa, was petitioned to pass an ordinance prohibiting the 

 keeping of bees within the corporate limits. The Union for- 

 warded to the Mayor, City Attorney, and each member of the 

 City Council, copies of the "Decision of the Supreme Court," 

 on the point at issue. 



After some delay It came before the District Court. The 

 Union's attorney was supplied with abundant ammunition to 

 show that bees do not injure fruit, and the Union was victo- 



rious. There were several apiaries there, and the rights of 

 apiarists were maintained. The chief apiary there belonged 

 to Mr. J. C. Strong, against whom the suit was brought. 



WANTED THE APIARY REMOVED. 



Thos. C. Stanley & Son had about 150 colonies of bees 

 in Fair6eld, Ills., where they owned 32 lots. A neighbor who 

 owned a lot or two petitioned the City Council to order the 

 bees removed as a nuisance. We wrote personal letters to the 

 Mayor and each of the aldermen, .and sent them copies of the 

 Supreme Court decision, showing that bees are not per se a 

 nuisance, and could not be legislated against in "omnibus." 

 We informed them that should they pass such an ordinance 

 as was prayed for, abridging the rights and privileges of bee- 

 keepers, it would become the duty of the Union to test It in 

 the Courts, as it abridged rights guaranteed by the Constitu- 

 tion of the United States. Our attorney attended the meeting 

 of the Board, and argued the case as outlined by the General 

 Manager. That ordinance then and there died a natural 

 death. Mr. Stanley wrote thus: "We thank you for the 

 assistance of the Union." Record another victory for the 

 Union 1 



DR. BESSE'S SWEET CLOVER FIELD. 



This case was mentioned in our last year's Report. The 

 Township Trustees, ag'diust this protest, cut down his planted 

 field of bee-pasturage (three acres of sweet clover), and then 

 charged him $27.20 as fees for doing the damage. This de- 

 prived his bees of pasturage, and cut short his honey crop in 

 consequence. He sued the township and appealed to the 

 Union for assistance. The case has been postponed from time 

 to time, and is yet untried. The Union has contributed $75 

 to aid in taking testimony showing that sweet clover was not 

 a noxious weed, but a good honey-plant and an excellent bee- 

 pasturage. The case will come up again for trial at the Jan- 

 uary term of the Court, and the Union is doing ail in its power 

 to secure justice for the Doctor. 



[This suit came up for trial in January last, as stated, and 

 was lost by Dr. Besse. — Editor. 1 



BEES " EATING " FRUIT. 



O. W. Stearns, of Selma, Calif., had neighbors who 

 claimed that his bees ate their fruit, and circulated a petition 

 last June to have them declared a nuisance, and ordered to 

 be removed. We sent the Union documents to each of his 

 neighbors, showing that bees do not puncture the skins of 

 fruit. We arranged for an attorney to attend the meeting of 

 the Council, and present the facts in the case, but so far the 

 petition has not been presented, tho it is six months ago. The 

 prompt action of the Union doubtless settled the disturbance. 



TROUBLE WITH FRUIT-MEN. 



Mr. A. Unterklrcher has an apiary at Riverside, Calif., 

 and the fruit-men began proceedings to drive him away, 

 averring that the bees destroyed their fruit. The Union's bat- 

 teries were opened upon them, and a shower of documents in 

 that locality proved that bees were incapable of puncturing 

 the skins of grapes, etc. The Manager gave some points of 

 law to the interested parties, which soon ended the trouble. 

 Last January Mr. U. wrote to the Manager that he was proud 

 of being a member of the Union, which had so completely 

 silenced all his unreasonable opponents, and added: "No 

 bee-keeper, great or small, can be at home outside of the 

 Union. The bare statement that I was a member of the 

 Union at once silenced all opposition." 



AN INHUMAN NEIGHBOR. 



John Uphouse, of Sedro, Wash., had an envious neigh- 

 bor who, when a swarm had settled on his lot, and the son of 

 Mr. Uphouse had watcht it, and went with a hiving-basket to 

 bring it home, the neighbor attackt the son and shook the 

 bees from the basket down over the boy's head, saying he 

 hoped the bees would sting him to death. He was badly 

 stung, and the inhuman neighbor was sued by Mr. Uphouse. 

 The Union posted the attorney in charge as to the rights of 

 bee-keepers to follow swarms and capture them, and dosed 

 the neighborhood with decisions of the Supreme Court, and 

 the pamphlet entitled, " Bees and Flowers." Now peace Is 

 restored in that neighborhood. 



TROUBLE ABOUT A SWARM. 



August Bachman, of Seattle, Wash., had a swarm last 

 July settle in a neighbor's lot. His wife saw the swarm 

 alight, but was refused permission to enter the premises to 

 take the swarm away. The neighbor dfd not own the lot, but 

 had the privilege of keeping chickens there. The owner gave 

 written permission to Mr. Bachman to take the swarm, but 

 the occupant refused to let him enter. He got a constable 



