April 6, 1899. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



217 



Value of Bees to Orchards. — The g^reat importance of 

 bees in securing' better fertilization of fruit-blossoms will 

 become more and more apparent as the producers of fruit 

 learn the facts. We find the foIlo%ving' paragraphs in one 

 of our exchang-es, which should be past on among all farm 

 papers, as the facts given are of value both to the growers 

 of fruits and the keepers of bees : 



Some years ago a great hue and cry was raised in cer- 

 tain sections of the country over the assertion that bees ate 

 holes in the fruit and caused it to decay. Experiments in- 

 numerable have been proving the folly of such a statement. 

 In one instance bees were kept in a room where there were 

 dishes of all sorts of fruit, including grapes, pears, peaches 

 and plums. It was noticeable that the fruits that had the 

 skin broken were visited by the bees, but in no case was 

 there any evidence that they troubled the whole fruit. 



The value of bees to fruit-growers can scarcely be over- 

 estimated. Some years ago a place was least to a tenant 

 who kept a few colonies of bees. In one corner of the yard 

 was a very large and thrifty-looking apple-tree that alwavs 

 bore an abundance of blossoms, but no fruit. A number of 

 colonies of bees were placed underneath this tree, and much 

 to the surprise of the owner of the place, the tree was 

 loaded with extremely fine apples — something that had 

 never occurred before within tire memory of the man who 

 had owned the place for 25 years. The next season the bees 

 were distributed under trees that had not been in the habit 

 of bearing freely. The most surprising results follo%ved, 

 the trees being full of very fine specimens of fruit. If the 

 blossoms on an apple, plum or pear tree are covered up and 

 the bees are kept away from them until the blossoming sea- 

 son is past, there will be no fruit. This has been tested 

 again and again. 



Shape or Condition of Bees — Dr. Miller's condition 

 these days seems to be that of idleness, if we may judge the 

 shape his mind is in from the writing of such letters as the 

 following- : 



Mk. Editor : — Recalling that you have been somewhat 

 insistent that when a man said anything about the shape 

 his bees were in he must have reference to their being 

 round or square, or something of the kind, I arise to in- 

 quire whether there has lately been a change in a number 

 of cases as to the general contour of bees, or whether, the 

 shape of the Editor's mind is different. I ask this because 

 of the frequent mention lately in the " Old Reliable," even 

 in headings, of the shape of bees. If you are in sh — condi- 

 tion to enlig-hten me, I shall be very much obliged. 



Anxiously, C. C. MlLl,ER. 



Now, look here Doctor, if you want to retain your 

 usual shapely condition, you'd better touch very lightly on 

 such subjects as the above. 



You see, the very cold weather this winter has had such 

 an unusual effect on the bees that both their shape and con- 

 dition have been seriously affected. So, naturally, the 

 shape or condition of the Editor's mind would be different 

 from what it was previous to receiving reports of the un- 

 favorable shapes and conditions the bees are in this spring-. 



Honey and Bees in Switzerland.— In a recent issue of 

 the National Hotel Reporter, we find these paragraphs in 

 reference to bees and honey in Switzerland : 



In no country in the world is honey used so generallv 

 as in Switzerland. Thruout the country it is an article i>f 

 daily consumption. At every hotel it is served with unfail- 

 ing regularity ; but the enormous demand has led to adul- 

 teration, and the purest honey is rarely found in the hotels. 

 The LiiicTiei- class consume it most larg-ely. With his bread 

 and butter, the workman always hashoney. "It is healthy," 

 he says truly ; " it builds up the body — and it is cheap." 



According to the most recent returns, there are about 

 250,000 colonies of bees in the whole country, or one to 

 every 12 inhabitants ; and the yield of a frame-hive coluny 

 often reaches 100 pounds of honey per season. The yield 

 from a "skep," however, is much, smaller; so that, at an 

 average of 50 pounds per colony, the honey harvest of 

 Switzerland may be taken at 12,000,000 pounds, or some 4 

 pounds per head of the resident population. These figures 

 do not, of course, represent the actual ratio of consumption. 



as account must be taken of the amount consumed by the 

 multitude of tourists. 



When it is remembered that the honey is gathered only 

 from the beginning of May until the end of July (that gath- 

 ered later being required for the bees' own use), it will be 

 seen how unresisting is the energy of the little workers. 

 Nor is this more than a fraction of the harvest which only 

 awaits gathering on the verdant hillsides and rich vallevs 

 of the land of Tell. 



Rev. a. B. Mettler, a Methodist-preacher bee-keeper 

 of Will Co., III., called on us while in Chicag-o last week. 

 His bees seem to be wintering all right. 



Mk. I. H. Page, of Thaver Co., Nebr., wrote us March 

 27: 



'•I am more than pleased with the American Bee Jour- 

 nal. I don't know how I have been getting along- without 

 it. Long may its banner wave." 



Mr. W. a. Pkval. near San Francisco, Calif., writing 

 us March 23, said : 



" Regular rain-storm these three days — continous, 

 warm, and heavy ; 17 inches for the season. May have 

 rtood ere it lets up." 



* * * * * 



The Interstate Mfg. Co., of Hudson, Wis., is one of 

 the growing bee-supply institutions of that State noted for 

 its many apiarian manufactories. The Interstate is com- 

 posed of W. H. Putnam, general manager, F. E. Williams, 

 secretary and treasurer, and E. E. Belden, superintendent. 

 They began the season with 30 employees. They are well- 

 equipt for taking care of a largfe business. Their advertise- 

 ment is found in every number of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal, just as should be the advertisements of all dealers who 

 want to do business with the bee-keepers of this country. 

 Write to the Interstate Co. for their catalog, not forgetting 

 to sav you saw their name in the old American Bee Journal. 



The Farm Journal, mentioned on page 222, is unlike 

 any other paper ; for one thing it prints no quack medical, 

 advertisements ; for another it takes five-year subscriptions 

 and gets the paper to its subscribers the full time if they 

 are anywhere on this planet, even if they move two or three 

 times ;" if they die their heirs get it. Now we offer to send 

 the 50-cent Farm Journal for the balance of 1899, and all of 

 1900, 1901, 1902 and 1903, nearly five years, to every ad- 

 vance-paying subscriber, with the Bee Journal one year, all 

 for only SI. 40. Better speak quick, as we have only a lim- 

 ited number of Farm Journals to offer on these terms. See 

 our other offers on page 222. It's a rare opportunity to get 

 £3.50 worth of the best bee and farm literature for only $1.50. 

 * * * * * 



Mr. L. C. Root — son-in-law of the lamented Moses 

 Ouinby — is living- in Connecticut, and has "Mother" 

 Ouinby in his family. In a letter dated March 21. Mr. 

 Root says : 



" While I do not lose my deep interest in apiculture, I 

 am now managing an almost ideal milk service. With 

 .something of a knowledge of my right to make the asser- 

 tion, I may be pardoned for saying that we have here one 

 of the most correct milk services in all of its details, in the 

 world ; and you must know what that means for a manag-er. 

 It commands my constant supervision from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

 To produce absolutely wholesome milk means much more 

 than is g-enerally understood." 



Mr. Root, years ag-o, revised Quinby's book, " Mysteries 

 of Bee-Keeping Explained," but it seems of late years he 

 has been devoting himself to the milk business in the town 

 where he lives. We like to keep track of the once promi- 

 nent bee-keepers of the country, and know that tho they 

 may be engaged in other business they have not entirely 

 lost interest in the little busy bee. 



