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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Large Bees— A Humorous Statement. 



Mr. J. M. Shuck, of Des Moines, 

 Iowa, has sent us the following hu- 

 morous article concerning large bees, 

 cut from a periodical. 



Those who enjoy that kind of read- 

 ing will laugh at the many humorous 

 points made. Here is the article ; 

 take it for what it is worth, payable 

 in smiling, either audibly or mentally, 

 as may best suit the reader's pleasure: 



It appears that some ingenious per- 

 son has invented a method of produc- 

 ing bees of almost any desired size. 

 If two cells, each one of which con- 

 tains an embryo bee, are knocked into 

 one, the two bees are consolidated, 

 and the result is a new bee, double 

 the usual size. Of course, if this can 

 be done there is practically no limit 

 to the size of possible bees. By knock- 

 ing four cells into one a bee four times 

 the usual size can be made, and if an 

 entire hive of embryo bees is sub- 

 jected to this consolidating process. 

 we should have a bee about the size 

 of a turkey— a size hitherto attained 

 only by one species of bee, known as 

 the Presidential bee, an insect inhab- 

 iting the bonnets of eminent states- 

 men, and never by any chance pro- 

 ducing honey. 



Before recklessly undertaking to 

 enlarge our bees, we ought to ascer- 

 tain what effect their increase of size 

 will have upon their power and dispo- 

 sition to gather honey. The bumble- 

 bee is much larger than the honey- 

 bee, but he is certainly not a success. 

 An insect so dull (that he fancies that 

 '•bumV)le" is spelled with an "h."' 

 and so lazv that he makes less honey 

 in a whole season than a honey-bee 

 makes before breakfast on a spring 

 morning), is by no means a model. It 

 may be suggested that the bumble- 

 bee's lack of success in producing 

 honey is due not laziness, but to the 

 inability of his wings to carry with 

 ease the weight of his body ; but no 

 one who has been chased by an angry 

 bumble-bee will entertain tliis sug- 

 gestion. It may also be suggested 

 that the trousers pockets of the 

 bumble-bee are so small that he can 

 carry very little honey in them ; but 

 there is no evidence that this is the 

 case. We simply know that the 

 bumble-bee is bigger than the honey- 

 bee, and gathers less honey. So. too, 

 the wasp and the hornet are bigger 

 than the honey-bee, and they make 

 only enough honey for their bare 

 necessities. Evidently the rule of 

 nature has hitherto been, that the 

 larger the insect the less the honey. 



Now, if the honey-bee, after being 

 developed into a two or three-pound 

 insect, is going to imitate the laziness 

 of the bumble-bee, what shall we have 

 gained "y No one will care to have a 

 score of big. lazy bees dawdling about 

 his premises, upsetting furniture and 

 children by flving against them, and 

 tripping people up by concealing 

 themselves in the grass. ^^ e shall 

 have to go armed with big clubs to 

 keep off the bees, and though some 

 sport may be obtained by shooting 



bees on the wing, there would be no 

 sport whatever should the bees under- 

 take to hunt the sportsman with 

 stings capable of penetrating anything 

 less than an inch of chilled steel 

 armor. 



Even if the mammoth bees should 

 gather honey in quantities propor- 

 tioned to their size, we should have 

 no use for such a vast amount of 

 honey. It is true that honey is used 

 to a small extent in the arts, and that 

 when one has a personal enemy ad- 

 dicted to buckwheat cakes, a horrible 

 revenge can be obtained by sending 

 him a bottle of pure Berkshire county 

 honey to eat with them. Still, there 

 is no such demand for honey as would 

 justify an effort to largely increase its 

 production. 



Our bees are very well as they are. 

 If a hive is kept on a shelf over the 

 front door, and upset on a book agent, 

 the bees will perform as much work 

 as is necessary. To upset a hive of 

 four- pound bees, in like circumstances, 

 would be simply murder, and would 

 in many cases involve the trouble of a 

 trial and acquittal in a court of law. 

 It might be well to keep large bees in 

 Cincinnati for the encouragement of 

 jurors, and of respectable citizens who 

 call meetings at which people are in- 

 cited to rioting ; but in this region we 

 are satisfied with our local bees, and 

 will decline to have them enlarged. 



Bees and Honey at Fairs. 



Mr. H. B. Cony, of Augusta, Maine, 

 Chairman of the Committee on Ex- 

 hibits at the Maine Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation, gives the following address 

 to the bee-keepers of Elaine, in the 

 Home and Farm, relative to making 

 appropriate exhibits at the coming 

 Fairs : 



Bees and honey formed one of the 

 attractions at the State Fair held at 

 Lewiston last tall. For 1884 the State 

 Society gives us the same amount in 

 premiums, and promise us, should we 

 desire it. a tent or separate building 

 in which to exhibit, with room for 

 those who come from a distance to 

 lodge shoidd they wish; each person to 

 provide his own bedding, the society 

 furnishing the necessary straw for 

 filling the beds. Now, why not all of 

 us bee-keepers attend and carry some- 

 thing with us to help out the display. 

 In so doing we can be one of the at- 

 tractions, and every evening we can 

 have a bee-convention of practical 

 bee-keepers, with stock and tools on 

 hand to illustrate our latest ideas. 



The Eastern State Fair, which is to 

 be held at Bangor, gives us S30 for 

 bee-premiums, and promises us every- 

 thing in their power to help us out, 

 and seem disposed to consider this 

 one feature of their next exhibition. 

 I could have named a sum much larger 

 than this, which they would have 

 cheerfully given, had I been sure of a 

 large display. I was more than 

 pleased with the eagerness with which 

 the managers of the Fair grasped at 

 this feature, and the disposition which 



they manifested to do us justice in 

 every particular. 



Now let us one and all, if possible, 

 attend one or both of these Fairs, tak- 

 ing one or more articles to add to the 

 display. It should be our aim to make 

 honey a staple product. To this end 

 let all endeavor to popularize the con- 

 sumption of honey by the masses, as 

 well as to raise the standard of pro- 

 duction by applying correct principles 

 and pi-ogressive art to the manage- 

 ment of tlie apiary. These displays 

 are the best educators of the people 

 that have yet been devised. 



I would ask as a favor that some 

 one in every town or city would send 

 me the names of all the persons keep- 

 ing bees in their vicinity, with each 

 one's post-ollice address, so I can ad- 

 dress them in regard to the coming 

 exhibition. I shall have a supply of 

 premium lists as soon as published, to 

 send to all who wish. Any informa- 

 tion in regard to the manner of mak- 

 ing the entries, or any other matters 

 in regard to the different Fairs given 

 on application. 



1^" Picnics are now the order of 

 the day. The bee-keepers of Hancock 

 and Shelby counties, Indiana, held a 

 picnic at the apiary of George Cole, 

 near Fountaintown, Ind., last Satur- 

 day. 



Convention Notices. 



^' The Iowa Central Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will hold their next meet- 

 ing on .lune 20, at Winterset, Iowa. 

 A full attendance is expected. 



J. E. Prtor, Sec. 



A. J. Adkinson, Pres. 



1^" The members and friends of the 

 Northern Michigan Bee-Keepers' So- 

 ciety, will hold a basket picnic at the 

 apiary of Miss F. A. Bellamy, one 

 mile west of Ionia, on June 19. Teams 

 will be in waiting to convey, free of 

 expense, all who wish to attend. 

 Purchase your tickets to Ionia, but 

 leave the cars opposite the prison 

 grounds. Miss B. requests that you 

 bring your wife or husband, as the 

 case may be, and also that you drop 

 her a postal, notifying her of your in- 

 tention to be present, in order that 

 ample provision may be made to con- 

 vey all from the trains. Come on the 

 morning train and return in the after- 

 noon. F. A. Palmer, Sec. 



S. J. YoTTNGMAN, Pres. 



1^" The joint session of the Bee- 

 Keepers' Associations of Hendricks 

 and adjoining counties will be held at 

 North Salem, Ind.. June 19, at the 

 apiary of Davis Gully. All bee-keep- 

 ers are cordially invited to attend. 

 Ample provisi(ui will be made to haul 

 all well-filled baskets to the grounds. 



l^TheKentuckyBee-Keepers'Con- 

 vention meets in Louisville, Ky., dur- 

 ing the opening of the Exposition (day 

 not fixed). • N. P. Allen, Sec. 



