THE AMER1CA>; BEE JOURNAL. 



307 



a pretty strong ease, we will have to 

 let the mutter rest where it is. It is 

 not a qiiestii)n that interests the gen- 

 eral reader, and no good will be ac- 

 complished by continuing it. We are 

 more convinced than ever, that per- 

 personal controversies relating to bus- 

 iness matters, wlien carried to any 

 length througli the columns of a pub- 

 lic print, are not only in bad taste but 

 frequently give rise to damaging im- 

 pressions. We shall endeavor to dis- 

 courage this class of correspondence 

 as much as possible hereafter. 



IJee-Keepers' Associ.atrons. 



It is exceedingly gratifying to ob- 

 serve the perfection of the bee-keep- 

 ers' organizations in Utah, and many 

 old States, with much greater preten- 

 sions in an apicultural point of view, 

 could study aiul adopt their system 

 with great protit. It will be seen 

 tliere is a Territorial or head organ- 

 ization, with its President and general 

 oflScers. Tributary to this are Dis- 

 trict or County Societies, each with 

 its President and Bee Commissioner, 

 and these make it a special business 

 to inform themselves of the number 

 of colonies in their respective districts, 

 their condition, and the manner of 

 treatment and care of bees, and suc- 

 cess. They are also clothed with arbi- 

 trary power regarding foul-brood ami 

 other contagious diseases, and report 

 all matters of general interest to the 

 Territorial Association. By this sys- 

 tem of thorough organization, all 

 data bearing upon the production, 

 condition, treatment, and prospects 

 are easily arrived at, and the most 

 practicable system of co-operation 

 can be determined upon and effec- 

 tively practiced. 



Honey Shows. — The yiirtluct.stin-n 

 Furmer and Duirymnn, of Portland, 

 Oregon, remarks as follows : • 



The Irish Bee-Keepers" .Vssocia- 

 tion Is to have si)ace at the Royal 

 Dublin Spring Cattle Show. Lectures 

 will be given ami. if the weather is 

 propitious, the iictual manipuhiliou 

 of bees will be freely shown by skilled 

 apiarists. It will be a brief session of 

 an apiarian school. .Vud the Prairie 

 Fnrmer well says: '-Why cannot 

 American bee-keepers take a hint 

 from this and increase the value afid 

 interest of the bee and honey ex- 

 hibits at our annual fairs V The bee- 

 keepers should have a lent or build- 

 ing to themselves, v^here they can 

 show their hives and other devices to 

 good advantage, iind where they c;'.n 

 lecture, talk and instruct each other 

 and the people in general, in bee 

 handling and care." 



In thus conducting the bee ex- 

 hibit a great interest would l)e created 

 and bee-keeping materially exteiuied. 

 This interest is too greatly neglected 

 in this northwest, though Oregon and 

 Washington are eminently well pro- 

 vided for successful bee-keeping, and 

 there is no good reason why nearly all 

 our honey should come from Califor- 

 nia. 



^°The Irish Bee-Keepers" Asso- 

 ciation have adopted as its standard 

 frame the same size as that of the 

 British Association, and adopted a 

 "resolution in favor of a journal ex- 

 clusively for bee-keepers, and inde- 

 pendent of trade influences, and 

 promising to support such a journal if 

 brought out under proper manage- 

 ment.'' So says the I. awlon Horticul- 

 tural Journal. 



ie"Our new location, 925 West 

 , Madison street, is only a few doors 

 from the new branch postofflce. We 

 have a telephone and any one in the 

 city wishing to talk to us through it 

 will please call for No. 7087— that be- 

 ing our telephone number. 



The Weather and Feeding.— The In- 

 diana Farmir remarks as follows on 

 the weather, fruit bloom, etc. : 



The cool aiul unfavorable weather 

 of the past few weeks has been quite 

 detrimental to the bees. Very little 

 honey was gathered from the fruit 

 bloom. Many colonies will be short 

 of stores, and must be fed to keep 

 from starving, or if not so bad as that, 

 they may entirely suspend brood rear- 

 ing, losing weeks of valuable time. 

 We are feeding our entire apiary of 

 l.^O colonies. It is nol necessary to 

 make syrup with which to feed, by 

 boiling. Neither is it desirable that 

 it be made thick. Sweetened water 

 is all that is required at this season of 

 the year. We simply till a large ex- 

 tractor with water ; scoop in suffi- 

 cient sugar to make it sweet, stir un- 

 til the sugar is dissolved and drawn 

 off into the feeders. 



gobbled by a goggled-eyed fish. Hard- 

 ly had the bee been engulfed, how- 

 ever, when Ihe (isli was seen 1o be 

 strangely I'xcited. lie leaped into 

 the air. drew in great volmnes of 

 waterand blew them out agani, anil 

 acted so insanely that the uirtles 

 scuttled away in hot haste, and the 

 frogs tumbleil off the rocks 1o right 

 and left in sheer consternation. Mean- 

 while the bee reappeared and crawled 

 lout of the tank in safety, evideiuly 

 j congratulating itself, as it dried its 

 I wings, upon its possession of a sting, 

 and the presence of mind necessary to 

 use it to advantage in an emergency. 



Introduction of Italian Heps into 

 Kni^lanil. — The British I iee- Keepers" 

 Cti!?(?« iJooA; gives the following as a 

 scrap of history : 



Italian Bees— This variety, some- 

 times called Ligurian, was introduced 

 into this country in 1859 by Mr. Wood- 

 bury, of Exeter, from a snuiU district 

 amid the Alps, including portions of 

 Switzerland anil Northern Italy, 

 where it is indigenous. Much pre- 

 judice existed against them at lirst, 

 but now their superiority over the 

 common black bees is almost univer- 

 sally admitted. The Italian bee is 

 similar in form and size to the black 

 bee, but lighter in color, and has 

 three distinct yellow rings about the 

 body below the wings. It is more 

 prolitic than the black bee. more ac- 

 tive, working earlier and later, in- 

 creases much more rapidly, is ready 

 for swarming earlier, and gathers 

 honey from plants which are not 

 frequented by the black bee. Pure 

 Italians are also of a more amiable 

 disposition, and less inclined to sting, 

 therefore they are easier handled. 

 The introduction of Italian bees has 

 done much to improve our race of 

 black bees, by introducing new blood 

 and correcting to a great extent the 

 mischief which had inevitably re- 

 sulted from long in-and-in breeding. 



The Crafty Bee and its Sting.— The 



Boston Journal tells the following 

 story concerning the sagacity of a bee : 



A certain restaurant in this city, ap- 

 parently to proclaim the unlimited re- 

 sources of its cuisine, has in its show- 

 window a huge tank wherein glitter- 

 ing gold lish, sullen horned pouts, 

 dignihed bull-frogs and sprawling tur- 

 tles dwell together in a greater or less 

 degree of amity. The other day a bee 

 fell into the water and was solemnly 



Tlie Honey Prospect.— Mr. L. R. 



Jackson gives his views on this sub- 

 ject in the Indiana Farmer in the 

 following language : 



The prospects for a good honey 

 crop are unusually good in this sec- 

 tion of the country. The cold weather 

 during fruit bloom has prevented the 

 bees from storing the usual amount 

 of suiplus honey, but at the same 

 time it has kept the trees in bloom, 

 twice the usual length of time and 

 the bees have been able to gather 

 plenty of the nectar, to keep brood 

 rearing actively going on and I have 

 never seen bees build up as much dur- 

 ing fruit bloom as they have this 

 spring. The white clover never 

 looked better and it will be fully two 

 weeks earlier than common. The 

 mild winter with but little freezing 

 and thaws has left the roots of clover 

 and other tlowers in a healthy condi- 

 tion. Basswood is almost sure to be 

 good, and with us that is better for 

 surplus hoi'ey than all otlier bloom, it 

 l)eing so plentiful and so sure to give 

 a surplus. 



