Sept. 21, 1899. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



601 



We stopt a few minutes at a little, old hotel which was there 

 in Washington's time, and no doubt he used to stop there 

 when he went that way. The drive-waj' for some ten miles 

 winds along- the beautiful river with its ever changing 

 scenery of grand old trees, jutting rocks, deep cuts, and 

 high ledges. All united made a scene long to be remem- 

 bered. Everything is kept in its original beauty, no one 

 being allowed to touch a thing, or even to carry off a fern 

 or other memento of the aged surroundings. 



On Saturday, Sept. 9, we spent the day in Atlantic 

 City, N. J. It was the first time we had seen the sea, and 

 being in such a famous summer resort where thousands of 

 visitors bathe in the surf, of course we had to don a bath- 

 ing suit and enjoy it with the rest. We not only got into 

 the Atlantic Ocean, but some of the Atlantic Ocean got into 

 us. It tasted very bitter, too. 



In the evening we returned to Philadelphia, and the 

 next day attended John Wanamaker's Sunday school, 

 known as the greatest in the world. " John " was there, 

 and about 4,000 more who were regular members of the 

 school. Mr. W. is the superintendent. It is indeed a most 

 wonderful Sunday school. Be sure to visit it if you are 

 ever in Philadelphia on Sunday. It is located at the corner 

 of 22nd and Bainbridge streets, and meets at 2:30 p.m. It 

 was indeed a fitting close to our staj' in the old " City of 

 Brotherly Love." 



We shall always remember our visit to Philadelphia 

 with much pleasure, and hope some time to be permitted to 

 go there again, and stay longer. 



But next year (don't forget it) the bee-keepers' conven- 

 tion will be held here in Chicago, at the same time as the 

 Grand Army encampment. Then we want to see the larg- 

 est gathering of bee-keepers ever known in this country. 



Bees in Paraguay. — U. S. Consul, Hon. John Ruffin, 

 writing for the American Bee-Keeper, from Ascuncion, 

 Paraguay, South America, says this about bees in that part 

 of the world : 



"There are several kinds of wild bees in Paragua.v, 

 some of which build in subterraneous holes, the rest in hol- 

 low trees. Two years ago a colonist made a trial, to im- 

 prove one of the latter, by gathering them into a proper 

 hive, apparently without satisfactorj' results. If not all, 

 at least some kinds are said to be without a sting-, but one. 

 a black bee of medium size, attacks the intruder b3' clip- 

 ping- the hair as if cut with scissors. 



"Some years ago a German, von Gulich, introduced the 

 European bee, and succeeded well, using modern hives ac- 

 cording to Dzierzon's method ; his widow has continued 

 this industry, and a few colonists followed with more or 

 less success. Honey finds ready sale at good prices, like- 

 wise the wax, which is used extensively for making candles 

 and matches." 



The Flatness of the Honey flarket is attributed by 

 R. H. Mitchell, in the Country Gentleman, among other 

 things, to the quality of the honey marketed. It is the 

 same thing that hurt the cheese market, the effort to in- 

 crease quantity without regard to quality. " Honey left in 

 the hive until sealed up by the bees is one thing, but honey 

 extracted as fast as stored and sealed in a glass package is 

 quite another." 



Langstroth on the Honey. Bee, revised by the Dadants, 

 is a standard, reliable and very thoroly complete work on 

 bee-culture. It contains 520 pages, and is bound eleganth'. 

 Every reader of the American Bee Journal should have a 

 cop3' of this book, as it answers hundreds of questions that 

 arise about bees. We mail it for SI. 25, or club it with the 

 Bee Journal for a year — both for only $2.00. 



The Premiums offered on page 606 are well worth work- 

 ing for. Look at them. 



Dr. S. C. Schmucker, of the Department of Biology of 

 the State Normal School at West Chester, Pa., delivered a 

 bee-lecture at the Mt. Gretra Chautauqua, July 18. Dr. 

 Schmucker is an earnest and enthusiastic nature-lover, and 

 has gained many disciples among teachers in the public 

 schools, especially for Nature Study. The talk was en- 

 titled, " A Co-operative Community." The life history 

 first of the bumble-bee, and then of the carpenters and leaf- 

 cutters formed an interesting introduction to an account of 

 the manifold activity of our hive-workers, with their high 



social organization. 



* * * * * 



Mr. McNay in .\ " Crow's "-Nest. — Rambler, the ver- 

 satile writer from California for Gleanings in Bee-Culture, 

 was visited by Mr. F. McNay, of Wisconsin, last winter, 

 when the latter bee-keeper was " doing " a portion of the 

 Pacific Coast. It seems they spent a night with a Mr. 

 Crow, one of California's bee-keepers. Here is the way 

 Rambler " Crow-ed " about the matter : 



" The uncapping-can handed down by a former owner 

 was so novel that it took the eye of Mr. McNay. It was 

 merely a rude frame with a gunny-sack attacht to the upper 

 portion. A slit in the bottom of the sack allowed the at- 

 tachment of a good-sized dish-pan perforated with many 

 holes. Mr. McNay said they had no such things in Wis- 

 consin. One of the honey-houses was a substantial affair, 

 and built of stone. A stone honey-house is a very desirable 

 building in this country. It is cool in summer, warm in 

 winter, fire-proof, and riot handy for burglars to break thru 

 and steal. 



"After the honey-business had been discust to a con- 

 siderable extent, we were shown the adjacent gold-mines. 

 Mr. Crow's mine was in the course of development ; but a 

 neighbor miner had cut a tunnel several hundred feet into 

 the mountain, and had a large amount of low-grade ore in 

 sight. Mr. McNay was informed that the mine could be 

 purchast for about S40.000. Now. if the mine had been 

 worth two or three hundred thousand dollars Mr. McNay 

 would have used a portion of the fortune he has accumu- 

 lated from the honey-business in Wisconsin, and purchast 

 the mine ; but he did not want any cheap $40,000 mine on 

 his hands. 



" After our arduous day's work, tired Nature asserted 

 her rights, and we prepared to go to roost, and Mr. Crow 

 insisted upon giving up his nest to us. Mr. Crow is not a 

 tall man, and his nest was made according to his needs. I 

 could manage the nest very well ; but tall Mr. McNay had 

 to make rafters of his legs,' or poke his knees out in front 

 or into my ribs, or project his feet out at the foot of the 

 nest. He managed very well until he dropt asleep, then 

 his feet would start right off toward Wisconsin, and hang 

 out like twin specters in the dim moonlight. Having in 

 mind the old adage about keeping the head cool and the 

 feet warm, I was extremely anxious for his welfare, and 

 anxious to have him return in safety to Los Angeles and 

 Mrs. McNav. 



" To allow a man to expose his bare feet all night, even 

 in California, is no trifling matter, and the case was more 

 aggravating when we consider that Mr. McNay was a ten- 

 derfoot. Mv only remedy was to give my nest-fellow a 

 shake, and shout, 'McNay, pull in your feet !' He would 

 promptly obey every time, and keep right along snoring. 



"Mr. Crow had'curled himself up in a cot on the other 

 side of the cabin, and he soon began a snoring duet with 

 Mr. McNav. Between the nasal music and the care of my 

 companioii's feet, I slept hardly a wink during the night. 

 In the morning Mr. Crow remarkt about my haggard ap- 

 pearance ; but I knew if I told them the cause of my sleep- 

 lessness, they would both contradict me right from the 

 shoulder, and I suffered in silence." 



Queenie Jeanette is the title of a pretty song in sheet 

 music size, written by J. C. Wallenmeyer, a musical bee- 

 keeper. The regular price is 40 cents, but to close out the 

 copies we have left, we will mail them at 20 cents each, as 

 long as they last. Better order at once, if you want a copy 

 of this song. 



