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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Another Bee Paper Dead. 



The Bee-Keepers' Instructor, pub- 

 lished at Somerset, Ky., for Septem- 

 ber is just received, and the editor, 

 Mr. W. Tliomas, announces that it is 

 not paying him, and will not be con- 

 tinued any longer. This is the second 

 that has died within 6 months. 



A year or two ago, there was a regu- 

 lar mania for starting bee-papers, and 

 as a result several of the weakest are 

 now dead, and some others are quite 

 weak, and one at least has not yet 

 issued a number for September. The 

 editor of the Instructor says : 



With this issue the Instructor closes 

 its existence, and hereafter will be 

 numbered with the things that were. 

 We much regret to make this an- 

 nouncement, and know there are 

 others who will regret it also ; for dur- 

 ing its existence the Instructor has 

 made many warm friends who will 

 miss its accustomed monthly visits. 

 We find, however, that it is not paying 

 us— and has not during the two years 

 we have liad control of it— for the 

 time, labor and money expended uiton 

 it. We are now, as we always have 

 been, publishing it in connection with 

 a weekly paper, and find that, owing 

 to the pressure of other duties, we 

 cannot continue its publication with- 

 out increasing our office force— some- 

 thing we do not feel justified in doing. 

 During the time it has been in our 

 charge we have lost no opportunity of 

 improving it whenever it could be 

 done, and think that in quality of con- 

 tents, typographical appearance, and 

 general '^ make-up," it will now com- 

 pare favorably with any of the other 

 bee publications. Our support, how- 

 ever, has not kept pace with the im- 

 provements, and will'not warrant us 

 in continuing it at its present stand- 

 ard ; so ra her, than issue a second or 

 third rate publication, we prefer to 

 drop it altogether. 



Unfilled subscriptions will be filled 

 by the Bee-keepers' Guide. 



The Instructor was a good paper, 

 well worth double its subscription 

 price, and had it been published at 

 that figure, would probably have 

 lived much longer. Any paper 

 published for less than a paying price, 

 must sooner or later " succumb to the 

 inevitable," and die. 



Sample Copies of theAMERicAN Bee 

 Journal will be sent free to any per- 

 son. Any one intending to get up a 

 club can have sample copies sent to 

 the persons they desire to interview, 

 by sending the names to this office. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Apiculture in Palestine.— The Bie- 



nen Zeucliter, of Alsace-Lorrain, gives 

 the following from Jerusalem, which 

 will also interest our readers : 



Mr. Meyer, the venerable curate of 

 Dingsheini, writes to us from Jerusa- 

 lem, May 19th : " Apiculture is much 

 neglected in this country. Bees which 

 do not live wild are kept in tubes of 

 baked earth, 16 to 18 inches long, 8 

 inches in diameter, and closed at one 

 end. Wlien a swarrh has been lodged 

 in one of these, the otlier end is closed 

 with a wooden lid provided with an 

 opening to let the bees in or out. The 

 hive thus fitted up is set up under 

 some poor shed. When August comes 

 and the honey is wanted, the poor bees 

 are smoked and smothered. An Arab 

 offered to sell me his hives at 4 francs 

 each. The f.-ilherof the congregation 

 of Notre Dame de Sion will deem it a 

 duly and a pleasure to make Alsacian 

 hives. In August, when the poor bees 

 will be suffocated, he will buy combs 

 to house swarms in movable-frame 

 hives. Thanks for Bastian's Manual, 

 which I brought with me, we will in- 

 troduce here a sensible way to keep 

 bees upon the more progressive phm. 

 and thanks to the intervention of Mr. 

 Zwelling. thousands of bees will here- 

 after be saved from the sad end which 

 awaited them. I forward with this a 

 few of our Palestine bees ; they look 

 very much like the Italian, but are 

 longer in the waist. I admire their 

 industry— always at work from 4 in 

 the morning till 7 at night." 



i^Eenewals may be made at any 

 time ; but all papers are stopped at 

 the expiration of the time paid for, 

 unless requested to be continued. 



The Honey Harvest of Switzerland.— 



From the August number of the Bid- 

 letin of Apiculture for Italian-Switzer- 

 land, we extract the following : 



The first honey crop in Switzerland 

 was generally weak, except in a few 

 localities of the plain, but the second, 

 alas 1 has been everywhere almost or 

 altogether nothing. Thus, in our 

 apiary at Gryon, which had given us 

 5-50 kilog. last year, we have not been 

 able to procure more than about 40 

 kilog. Mr. J. Jeker, at Sabingen, 

 fares still worse, for his colonies have 

 not only yielded nothing, but he will 

 have to give them from 200 to 300 lbs. 

 of sugar. From Friburg the reports 

 are lamentable. Mr. B. De Vevey 

 writes that in July colonies have 

 starved to death, and that he and his 

 neighbors can only keep theirs by 

 feeding them largely. For many years 

 we have not had a season like this. 

 Our three apiaries, which last year 

 gave us nearly 3,000 pounds, will not 

 yield this present year more than 1,200, 

 from about an equal number of colo- 

 nies, and we class ourselves among 

 the more fortunate. 



Mons. Bertrand, the editor, remarks 



as follows regarding sweet clover as a 

 honey-producing plant : 



We have received, concerning the 

 white nielilot, two communications, 

 which confirm all we have said about; 

 it these few years past. Mr. H. is de- 

 lighted with it ; he has 8 acres of it, 

 and his estimate is that during the 

 whole of every day three or four colo- 

 nies are gathering from this field. I 

 was there in the evening, and they 

 were still buzzing. Plant with it all 

 the land you can. 



Fraudulent Uses for (Jlncose.- Mr. 

 L. D. Younkin. in the West Branch, 

 Iowa, Record, gives the following on 

 glucose : 



A solution of glucose is often mixed 

 with honey and sold as honey. Those 

 buying honey that lias been shipped 

 from the East are often deceived by 

 this adulteration. The principal gain 

 is to the man who sells his glucose 

 water for 15 or 20 or 25 cents per 

 pound. Pure, honey will become 

 candied if let stand for a time, and 

 when you see a bit of lioney comb 

 svvimniing about in a liquid syrup of 

 brownish color, be not deceived, for it 

 is likely to be glucose water with a 

 little honey in it.' 



Glucose "is also used extensively in 

 the manufacture of candy. Excepting 

 in liquors and beverages, there is no 

 worse and more objectionable article 

 made from it ; not because of the glu- 

 cose that is in it, but other stuffs, 

 some of which in larger quantities 

 would be poisonous. Candies are very 

 much adulterated and should be eaten 

 sparingly. Glucose is used in the 

 manufacture of beer. This requires 

 one third less barley. It is used in 

 whisky, brandy and many wines. A 

 little rain water sweetened with brown 

 sugar (glucose), to which is added a 

 third or equal quantity of alcohol, 

 makes a coarse article of '^'rot-gut" 

 whisky. Glucose is used in the manu- 

 facture of the these liquors because it 

 is clieap and the process is rapid com- 

 pared with the old way, and then be- 

 cause glucose will ferment, pure sugar 

 will not. 



All of these liquors thus make are 

 very inferior articles. It is this that 

 has been so much condemned as the 

 adulteration of liquors. 



From the fact that glucose ferments 

 and sugar does not, brown sugar (glu- 

 cose) should not be used in preserving 

 or canning fruits, yet this difliculty 

 cannot always be obviated, for pure 

 sugar is turned to glucose when boiled 

 with any acidulous fruit and is then 

 liable to ferment. 



The Ladles' Floral Cabinet, New 



York ($1.25 i>er annum), inits October 

 issue presents some choice reading for 

 lovers of flowers. The literary and 

 household departments have fresh and 

 bright, as well as useful articles. 



i^Postage stamps, of one, two or 

 three cent denomination, accepted for 

 fractional parts of a dollar; but money 

 is preferred. 



