1898. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



553 



sity. He is the only man who taught us how to keep bees 

 after some developt manner. He wrote a work on bee cul- 

 ture, and I am very glad to announce that I am the publisher, 

 and have the honor to distribute this valuable book. Iths 

 now reacht the third edition, and you can guess how eager 

 people are to grasp Western knowledge on this subject 



Our Agricultural Department imported some Italian bees, 

 but we are sorry to say that It Is not a success, except in 

 Ogasawara — a remote island In Japan. If we put two hives, 

 one with Italian and the other Japanese native bees, the 

 former is stronger and steals honey from the Japanese hive, 

 and at last the Italian kills the latter. But the latter endures 

 the winter season best, and the failure comes from this fact. 

 We are told that we would better cross the Italian with Jap- 

 anese bees, and we are going to try it this or next season. VVe 

 have some native bees, and wish to let apiculture become more 

 prosperous. 



We have an agricultural magazine called the Popular 

 Agriculturist, and will try to do something on this line. We 

 mail you in a separate package a copy of Prof. Tamari's 

 work, and a copy of our poor journal. 



Yours truly, J. Ikeda. 



J. Ikeda & Co. are seed growers and publishers of books 

 for the farm and garden In Japan. They issue a work in four 

 volumes, called "Useful Plants of Japan," containing descrip- 

 tions of over 1,000 plants with names in Latin, Japanese 

 and Chinese, and carefully Illustrated in proper colors. Ikeda 

 & Co. must be an enterprising firm. 



Honey-De^ is reported by many this year as being 

 unusually plentiful, in someeases sectlonsof white honey being 

 more or less tainted by It. Regarding the danger of having it 

 for winter bee-food, the editor of Gleanings says : 



But perhaps some of you may say, " What am I going to 

 do if I find some of the stuff In the brood-frames ?" I would do 

 nothing about it at all — just leave it there. Our knowledge 

 of wintering has progrest so far since 188.5 that I believe 

 the majority of bee-keepers will be able to winter their bees 

 on this food almost as successfully, perhaps, as on the best 

 sugar syrup. Indeed, I am coming to believe that the food 

 has less to do with successful wintering than we formerly 

 supposed it had ; for we have for years wintered our bees suc- 

 cessfully on all sorts of stuff, even including the vile " bug- 

 juice" of which we had so much in our hives during the win- 

 ter of 1884. The loss that year was only 5 percent, and 

 there were heavier losses that year, attributed to honey-dew, 

 than any year since 1881. 



On the origin of honey-dew. Editor Root has this to say 

 for the benefit of the newer readers : 



It Is a secretion or excretion usually found on the leaves 

 of trees ; and in most cases it is the product of an insect. This 

 saccharine matter sooietimes dries on the leaves. After a 

 light rain it is moistened, and then the bees will roar around 

 the trees and tumble Into the entrances as if they were work- 

 ing on basswood. If the storm continues the sticky stuff will 

 be washt off the leaves, and the poor bees will be humming 

 around for that which has suddenly disappeared ; and thou, 

 my, oh my ! how they will sting ! ji.st as if you and I were to 

 blame ! 



This peculiar secretion is usually found on the leaves of 

 maple-trees. In such cases It comes from the maple-bark 

 louse. Sometimes It is present on the leaves of hickory, and 

 then, again, on low-spreading bushes. Whether the Insects 

 deposit It or not, this peculiar kind of "dew " sometimes fall 

 in the form of spray, and many and many a time the sidewalk 

 under the trees will be markt or spotted with the "juice." 



Honey-dew was formerly supposed to be a real dew from 

 heaven, hence Its name ; but it is now known that the greater 

 part of it is the product (or, more properly speaking, perhaps, 

 excreta) of insects. But there Is a kind of honey-dew that is 

 a secretion from certain fungi, and also the leaves of certain 

 plants. That this Is true is proven without doubt. 



Side-issues In Class-Journals.— The editor of 

 the Bee-Keepers' Review, speaking of matters other than bee- 

 matters in bee-papers, says : "A little touch of them occa- 

 sionally, like pepper In our food, may be all right, but the 

 less the better." Which probably expresses the views of most 

 readers. 



Mr. M. H. Hunt, one of Michigan's bee-supply dealers, 

 In Wayne Co., wrote us Aug. 17 : 



"The season has been a good one with us In the supply 

 business, but the honey croj) Is short." 



Mr. E. Kretchmer, of Montgomery Co., Iowa, writing us 

 Aug. 11, said: " Bees have done nothing in this part of the 

 country." That seems to be the report from quite a number 

 of localities this year. Too bad, but " what can"t be cured 

 must be endured," and trust that a better season may follow. 



Mr. L. Kreutzinger, of Chicago, had his annual " honey 

 harvest gathering" at his home apiary last Saturday after- 

 noon, Aug. 27. He has about 125 colonies in this apiary, 

 and about 100 in an out-apiary. Next week we hope to have 

 more to say about Mr. Kreutzlnger's " honey harvest " and 

 crop. 



Mr. W. H. Lewis, of British Columbia, writing us July 

 26, said: 



"There are not a greatmany bee-keepers In this Province. 

 Last year there was no surplus honey ; this year every one 

 has a little. J don't think it much of a bee-country on account 

 of cold, wet springs." 



The Leahy Mfg. Co. report that during the past year 

 they have sold " 22,000 hives, counting l}^ stories to each ; 

 500,000 frames of all descriptions ; 3,000 smokers, and a 

 little over 3,000,000 sections." They are planning to en- 

 large for another year, by adding about $2,000 worth of 

 machinery, and doubling their present factory capacity. They 

 will thus try to avoid working more than 10 hours a day In 

 the busiest part of the season. 



General Greely's 278 Days of Death. — The true 

 story of those 278 days of suffering by Greely's heroic little 

 band of explorers In the arctic regioij has been told by Gen. 

 Greely himself, for the first time, for the October Ladies' 

 Home Journal. For years Gen. Greely has kept an unbroken 

 silence about his fearful experience and that of his compan- 

 ions, as they dropt dead one by one at his side, and it was 

 only after the greatest persuasion that the famous explorer 

 was induced to write the story. 



Mrs. L. Harrison, of Peoria Co., 111., writes thus for 

 Gleanings on the subject of " facing goods :" 



" Let's have none, be It apples, potatoes or honey. I 

 bought fancy Ben Davis apples for a Christmas-tree in the 

 South, and was chagrined to find that they were only ' faced.' 

 I was willing to pay the price for ' fancy ' for the whole pack- 

 age." 



Heaven must be a nice place. There'll be no deception 

 there. But why not have a foretaste of Heaven here :' 



Mr. M. P. Fichtenmay'er, of Bristol Co., Mass., wrote us 

 as follows July 20, when sending a new subscriber for a year : 



" Knowing well your efforts in apiculture, I will try to 

 send you one new subscriber every year, as I know they will 

 be satisfied with your journal as well as 1 am. I hope every 

 one will help you along." 



Thank you, Mr. F. Just think what a list we would have 

 if eutri/ reader would do as you are doing ! Why, the number 

 of the Bee Journal readers would just double every year. 

 Wouldn't that be splendid ? 



Mr. H. Galloway, of Skagit Co., Wash., Is one of the 

 hustling kind of bee-keepers. When sending another new 

 subscriber lately, he said : 



" I think this makes four new subscribers that I have 

 sent you. If the rest of the readers would do as well I think 

 you would have the required number the old American Bee 

 Journal Is worthy of. Let every reader of the American Bee 

 Journal send Editor York four new subscribers before Jan. 1, 



