cyj^' 



DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF THE PRODUCERS OF HONEY. 



VOL. XX. 



CHICAGO, ILL., APRIL 9, 1884. 



No. 15. 



Published every Wednesday, by 



THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



Editor and Proprietoh. 



^" We have received a Postal Card 

 dated at Bristol, O., <ind post-marked 

 at North Bristol, O., without signa- 

 ture. If this meets the eye of the 

 writer, perhaps he will be kind enough 

 to give us that very important part of 

 any letter— the name and correct ad- 

 dress of the writer. We have quite a 

 number of letters, some containing 

 money for books and subscription, 

 without names or addresses of the 

 persons sending. Such careless work 

 is very annoying, and prevents any re- 

 ply, as well as the filling of the orders. 



An Early Bee Plant. 



A writer in a cotemporary journal 

 mentions Draba verna, or Whitlow 

 grass, as one of the earliest honey 

 flowers. " It is the most diminutive 

 plant of the Mustard family, C)*uci- 

 fercc, the first flower to delight the in- 

 dustrious honey bee, and his homely 

 face, no doubt, rubs against its min- 

 ute white petals with particular 

 pleasure, as he steals from it both 

 honey and pollen, as the earliest 

 fruits from the first harvest. So slen- 

 der is the scape with its bractless 

 raceme, that the bee has to lie on its 

 back while working upon it, as I have 

 often witnessed. The instant he 

 touches a flower it yields to his weight, 

 and the fragile scape will bend over 

 until the bee's back rests upon the 

 ground, and in this position he re- 

 mains until each expanded flower of 

 the raceme has been visited and en- 

 joyed. The Draba delights in sandy 

 soil, and springs up in the corn fields 

 after the last working, and quickly 

 covers the ground. It is wonderful 

 how they stand the intense cold, germ- 

 inate, grow and expand flowers dur- 



ing freezing weather, especially as 

 they are very juicy plants." 



The Convention at Davenport, Iowa. 



The very large quantity of matter 

 on hand, awaiting a chance to appear 

 in the Bee Journal, compelled us 

 to omit President I. V. McCagg's ad- 

 dress, when publishing the report of 

 of the above named Convention. As 

 it is now taken from its connection it 

 is not of as much interest. We will, 

 however, give the following as a brief 

 synopsis of it : 



In ray first annual report, I shall en- 

 deavor to give you a short sketch of 

 the past, desiring you, at this meet- 

 ing, to adopt some new measures, by 

 which we may meet more frequently 

 to discuss the science of bee-culture. 



Any one, .50 years ago, who would 

 have foretold the progress and ad- 

 vancement of this country, would 

 have been deemed a fit subject for the 

 Insane Asylum. Eight years ago, 

 when I commenced keeping bees, 

 those already engaged in the busi- 

 ness were simply amateurs, not 

 adepts in bee-keeping. They had a 

 few colonies and a way of their own 

 for managing ttiem ; yet thirsting for 

 knowledge, in order to become more 

 successful. 



One year ago, believing that much 

 good would result from an association 

 of this kind, I took the liberty of call- 

 ing a meeting. After repeated calls, 

 32 bee-keepers responded, and we 

 formed this association. Our first 

 meeting, held in Davenport, Iowa, 

 was well attended, and much enthu- 

 siasm manifested. Since then, quite 

 a number of the members have passed 

 many enjoyable hours at private 

 gatherings, basket picnics, etc. 



I now urge you to fix a time in the 

 spring, and one in the fall, at which 

 times we shall meet and discuss the 

 best methods of preparing bees for 

 wintering. It is, also my desire to 

 have the members of this association 

 try to become better acquainted with 

 each other. This can be accomplished, 

 only by frequent gatherings or re- 

 unions. 



^" Do not let your numbers of the 

 Bee Journal for 1884 be lost. The 

 best way to preserve them is to pro- 

 cure a binder and put them in. They 

 are very valuable for reference. 



Catalogues for 1884.— The following 

 new Catalogues and Price Lists are 

 received : 



J. I. Parent, Charlton, N. Y.— 4 

 pages— Bees and Apiarian Supplies. 



T. S. Hall, Kirby's Creek, Ala.— 24 

 pages— Bees, Queens, and Apiarian 

 Supplies. 



J. W. Clark, Moniteau, Mo.— 8 pages 

 —Combination Crate, Honey-Board, 

 Section Rack, and Bee-Keepers' Sup- 

 plies. 



Adin A. Smith, St. Johnsville, N. 

 1 .—1 page— Hives. 



J. M. Young, Three Groves, Neb.— 

 6 pages— Bees, Queens, and Apiarian 

 Supplies. 



Geo. H. Knickerbocker, Pine Plains, 

 N. Y.— 20 pages— Bees, Queens, and 

 Bee-Keepers' Supplies. 



B. r. Carroll, Dresden, Texas— 4 

 pages— Cyprian Bees. 



G. W. Stanley & Bro., Wyoming, N. 

 Y.— 4 pages— Automatic Honey Ex- 

 tractor, and Smoker. 



Wm. Connelly, Ogden, Iowa— 4 

 pages— Poultry. 



Lucio Paglia, Castel S. Pietro dell 

 Emilia, Italy— Bees and Apiarian 

 Supplies. 



1^ It will probably be welcome 

 news to Canadians to learn that E. L. 

 Goold & Co., Brantford, Out., keep a 

 stock of Binders for the Bee Jour- 

 nal, on hand, which can be sent by 

 mail to those who wish them. They 

 cannot be sent by mail across the 

 lines from the United States. 



1^" Scores of articles are in the 

 drawers of our desk, waiting for a 

 chance to appear in the Bee Jour- 

 nal, and our friends will have to 

 exercise patience. We have "con- 

 densed " quite a number, cutting them 

 down so much as to leave only a small 

 portion of what was orginally writ- 

 ten. We have decided to do this 

 rather than keep them waiting any 

 longer. We have confined the editorial 

 matter to one page for several weeks, 

 in order to give place to those who 

 want to have their articles appear. 



i^° Now is the time to plant young 

 basswood trees, for future pasturage 

 for your bees. You may see them 

 advertised in this paper. 



