18^8. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



393 



because people have been brought up to expect to be defrauded 

 is no excuse for any one practicing a dishonest thing. 



We are pleased to see the unanimity with which the 

 honey-dealers of the various cities have responded to our re- 

 quest, and the general agreement existing among them aleng 

 the lines of packing and grading comb honey. They know 

 that what is good for the bee-keeper is also good for them- 

 selves, hence their advice to so grade and put up comb 

 honey for market that a reputation for honest packing and 

 good quality may be establisht. 



We trust that our readers may profit by the discussion of 

 the questionable practice of " facing comb honey." 



Dr. a. B. Mason, of Lucas Co., Ohio, writing us June 

 13, said : "White clover is in full bloom, but bees are get- 

 ting very little surplus." 



Mr. M. Woodabd, of Mecosta Co., Mich., wrote us 

 June 14 : 



" Bees are doing fine at present. Prospects are good. 

 The ' Old Reliable ' is ' out of sight.' " 



Mr. O. L. Perdew, of Marshall Co., III., wrote us June 

 10: 



" I like the American Bee Journal very much, and would 

 not be without it for ten times its cost." 



Messrs. Van Allen & Williams, of Crawford Co., Wis., 

 writing us June 14, reported their bees doing remarkably 

 well at that time. They are the manufacturers of the Wil- 

 liams' Automatic Honey Extractor, and also dealers in queen- 

 bees. See their advertisement in another column. 



Mr. Wm. p. Collins, of Lincoln Co., Nebr., called on 

 us last Friday, June 17. He is a railroad man, but finds time 

 to do quite a good deal with bees. He says they have a great 

 country out there for bees, with simply miles of alfalfa and 

 sweet clover. Mr. Collins has traveled quite extensively in 

 this country, but seems to think " there's no place like home." 



Dr. C. C. Miller, of McHenry Co., 111., wrote us as fol- 

 lows last week : 



" More than three weeks ago" the first clover blossom ap- 

 peared, but there's less honey in the hives now than at that 

 time. For days it has been rainy and cloudy, sometimes hot, 

 but always wet and cloudy. Yesterday was the first day for 

 some time that was clear, and the bees improved it by busily 

 driving out the drones. To-day (June 15) it is cold enough 

 for winter clothing. White clover bloom is fairly plenty, but 

 it's a question whether there's honey in it. The market price 

 of granulated sugar begins to interest me." 



Mr. Thos. Wm. Cowan, a few days before sailing from 

 Kew York for England, June 11, dropt us a few lines, ex- 

 pressing their appreciation and enjoyment of the afternoon 

 drive Mr. Kreutzinger and the writer gave them (Mr. and Mrs. 

 Cowan) Mny 2(), when they were in Chicago. (By the way, 

 that date was wrongly printed " May 2 " on page 360.) Mr. 

 Cowan also wrote that they had a pleasant visit with Dr. 

 Mason, at Toledo, and with the Roots, and regretted not being 

 able to prolong their stay so as to take in Mr. Hutchinson as 

 well. We shall always remember with much pleasure meet- 

 ing Mr. and Mrs. Cowan. ' 



Xlie Xanies and Addresses of all your bee- 

 friends, who are not now taking the Bee Journal, are wanted 

 at this office. Send them in, please, when sample copies will 

 be mailed to them. Then you can secure their subscription.^, 

 and earn some of the premiums we are offering. The 

 next few months will be just the time to easily get new sub- 

 scribers. Try it earnestly, at least. 



Honey for Cooking. — Cynthia E. Tayne thinks honey is 

 better than sugar for canning fruit, and especially in black- 

 raspberry pies. For apple-pies and for cake she uses part 

 honey. — Gleanings. 



Pollen in Winter is consumed by bees, as shown by the 

 investigations of Dr. Ciesielski, who found pollen-hulls in 

 winter feces; but he agrees with the general view that they 

 may be wintered without pollen. 



To Increase Brood-Rearing, it is said many bee-keepers 

 slide under the combs a slice of black bread soakt in honey, 

 the bees not only taking the honey but bread as well, being 

 thereby stimulated to greater energy in brood-rearing. — 

 Centralblatt. 



Immunity from Snake-Poison.— Th. Weippl, editor of 

 Bienen-Vater, quotes from an Austrian paper, without vouch- 

 ing for its truth, the statement that a French chemist inocu- 

 lated dogs with poison extracted from bees, and the dogs were 

 then unharmed by the bite of deadly snakes. 



Early Taking Out.— C. W. Post took out the first 66 col- 

 onies Feb. 11, leaving the balance in the cellar till March 5 

 to 12. He thinks if there was any difference it was in favor 

 of those first taken out. They were packt after being taken 

 out of the cellar, and for top packing he likes another colony. 

 — Canadian Bee Journal. 



Bearing the Market.— The sleepy writer that hails from 

 Naptown, in Progressive Bee-Keeper, enters a very wide- 

 awake protest against the custom of bringing down prices by 

 making big reports in advance as to the crop. Some large 

 dealers send out letters of inquiry in advance, and bee-keepers 

 report great expectations, thus pulling down prices. 



Preparation for Winter. — " Some of our forehanded bee- 

 keepers begin preparations this month for the coming winter 

 by securing extra combs of sealed honey for winter stores." — 

 Editorial in American Bee-Keeper. Nothing particularly orig- 

 inal in that, Mr. Hill, but all the same it is one of those things 

 that needs to be thrust in the faces of many a veteran as well 

 as novice. 



Objections to Separator3.—"Not only are sections less 

 plump in appearance when built with separators," says Adrian 

 Getaz, in Revie.w, " but they are in some cases a hindrance to 

 the bees, as when the temperature is so low in the supers that 

 the bees must cluster in large bunches to produce the wax. 

 He thinks it possible that the fence separator may not be thus 

 objectionable." 



Contraction.- Editor Hutchinson is very emphatic that 

 contraction of the brood-nest is never practiced with an estab- 

 lisht colony, only at time of hiving a swarm. At such time to 

 give full room in the brood-chamber would retard work in the- 

 super, hence the custom of giving a swarm only part of its 

 complement of frames at hiving. He objects to Editor Roofs 

 calling contraction a fad. 



Laying Workers Using Worker-Cells.- -M. Devauchelle 

 having said that laying workers deposit eggs only in drone- 

 cells. Dr. C. C. Miller replies, in I'Apiculteur, that such is the 

 fact when drone-cells are present, but in the absence of drone- 

 cells they use worker-cells, in that case laying one egg in a 

 cell regularly, so that the work cannot be distinguisht from 

 that of a fertile queen until the brood is sealed. 



The Bee-Master Roof —A roof for bee hives is given in 

 The Bee-Master, that the editor warrants rain-proof, although 

 it maybe full of cracks of any size up to one-fourth inch. 

 Make a roof sloping from the top both ways at an angle of 45 

 degrees, letting the boards run up and down, and making sure 

 that the eaves project over the hive. The editor says the rain 

 will run down the cracks, but will not drop into the hive. 



Specific Gravity of Honey seems a rather unsettled prob- 

 lem. Delos Wood, of California, in Gleanings, says he has 



