568 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



was beautifully decorated with flowers, 

 while from its apex waved the ■" Stars 

 and Stripes."' The time until 2 p. m. 

 was spent in examining Mr. High- 

 barger's well-kept apiary. During 

 the inspection <ill were shown several 

 queens wtiicli had been lately re- 

 ceived from Kentucky. Also an 

 Albino queen which attracted much 

 attention. 



The convention then discussed 

 many questions relating to bee-keep- 

 ing, among which the following are 

 the most important : " AVhat is the 

 best method to prevent spring dwind- 

 ling'-''" "Is it best to set colonies 

 close together V" " What is the best 

 method to prevent robbing in the 

 spring ':"' •" What is the best method 

 to prevent increase ":*■" " What is the 

 reason for the apiiearance of black 

 bees in a colony of Italians ":*'" "What 

 is the best method of wintering bees V"' 

 ■' What is the best material to pack 

 bees in for wintering V" " Should the 

 hives be shaded ":'"" "Toward what 

 noint of the compass should the hives 

 face ?" 



-i vote of thanks was tendered Mr. 

 llighbarger and family for the gener- 

 ous entertainment extended during 

 the day. The convention then ad- 

 journed to meet in Freeport, HI., on 

 the third Tuesday in .January, 1S8-5. 

 J. Stewart. Hec. 



E. Whittlesey. Pres. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Sending Queens by Mail. 



ARTHUR TODD. 



I have read Mr. lJoolittle"s article 

 under the above lieading, on page -533. 

 with considerable interest, and it re- 

 calls to my mind some serious losses 

 which I suffered by loss of queens in 

 the mails when breeding the African 

 queens in Algeria, and shipping them 

 to buyers in France. The teiupera- 

 ture there was often above 90 . when 

 I would mail a queen, and I argued 

 thus : ■■ Shut up in a leather mail-bag 

 in such a heat, and ttien dumped into 

 the mail-closet of a steamer for 36 

 hours, and then another journey of 

 perhaps 4s hours by rail, what chance 

 is there for ventilation V" 



It struck me that if I could secure 

 around the queen-cage as large an 

 open space as possible, as a reservoir 

 of pure air, I might succeed better. 

 On inquiry. I found that the French 

 •• sample post "' only allows a package 

 of some 6x0 inches square, tor such 

 things as queens, and of very small 

 weight. 1. therefore, had space 

 enough, but had to bring weight down 

 to a tine point, I constructed a light 

 wooden boxe 6x6 inches square, with 

 air-holes all around it, and fastened 

 in one corner of it my provisioned 

 block queen-cage and "its prisoners, 

 using a candy the same as Mr. Good's. 



I anxiously waited the result of my 

 first sliipment to a lady in the ^s'ortli 

 of France, to whom I had shipped 

 two beautiful queens both dying en- 

 route, I have that lady"s letter some- 

 where, thanking me for my trouble, 

 and expressing her delight at pos- 

 sessing a German, African queen. 



adding that it was the plentiful sup- 

 ply of fresh air around her cage which 

 saved the queen "s life. 



After that I lost no more queens. 

 Tlie advantages of ray system of a 

 "cage within a cage" are obvious. 

 The group around the queen is kept 

 compact, and natural warmth is not 

 lost by fruitless rushing around a 

 large cage, while the actual supply of 

 air is practically inexhaustible. The 

 extra postage was a trille, as also the 

 extra cost of the outside package, com- 

 pared to the immunity from loss of 

 mv succeeding shipments. 



I'hiladelphia, Pa. 



Prairie Farmer. 



Ants, Moths, Keeping Honey, etc. 



JIKS. L. HARKISOX. 



Bees have not gathered more than 

 enough for their living during the 

 past week. The nights were too cool 

 for the secretion of nectar. Last 

 night was warmer, and, to-day, the 

 fragrance from buckwheat fields is 

 wafted in through the open window 

 as I write. As fast as the honey is 

 sealed, it is removed from the hive, 

 and all openings in the boxes pasted 

 over with paper, so that the moth can- 

 not get within to deposit its eggs. 

 Extracted honey is kept nicely in jars 

 with cloth tied securely over the tops, 

 so that if it is not ripened suftieiently , 

 the air will evaporate it. These jars 

 can be piled one upon another, by 

 putting pieces of wood between them. 

 A proper place in which to store honey 

 is a subject of much interest. Many 

 persons complain that their honey 

 sweats and the cells burst, causing it 

 to run, and making asticky, unsalable 

 mess. If honey is kept where it free- 

 zes during winter, the capping, in the 

 spring, will be found full of minute 

 cracks, and as soon as the weather is 

 warm, honey will ooze from the cells. 

 Some recommend keeping it in a dry, 

 cool place, but my experience compels 

 me to differ from" them, A hot room 

 well ventilated cures the honey, and 

 it will keep perfectly for an indefinite 

 period. A large hon^y-producer has 

 the south side of his honey-room all 

 glass, so that the sun will heat it, and 

 burns sulphur in it occasionally to 

 destroy auy moths lurking within". 



Little red ants are sometimes a pest 

 in the apiary and in the honey-houses. 

 Tansy strewn around hives and upon 

 the tlbors and shelves of the houses, 

 is recommended by many bee-keepers 

 as an antidote against them, A wire 

 cage might be made, and sponges put 

 within, wet in poisened, sweetened 

 water, which would destroy them ; 

 borax, scattered where they frequent, 

 will kill them, I am partial to young 

 chickens in the apiary, as they destroy 

 the larv£e of many injurious insects, 



A little new honey is coming into 

 this market, and I saw one-pound sec- 

 tions of white clover honey retailing 

 at 1-')C, Sugar is so cheap that it will, 

 no doubt, affect the price of other 

 sweets. Sunflowers are a favorite in 

 my apiary, and to-day I measured the 

 circumference of a Russian head and 

 found it 4(i>2 inches. It was the only 



flower on the stalk, and the birds com- 

 menced eating the seed as soon as it 

 passed the milk. They pick oS the 

 end of the seed-shell and pull out the 

 kernel, and if we secure any for our 

 fowls, we must watch the heads and 

 cut them as soon as the birds begin 

 upon them. A lady, who called re- 

 cently, said ; " I liave a colony of bees 

 which I think is queenless, I exam- 

 ined them and found only sealed 

 brood." In answer to my queries, I 

 ascertained that there" were only 

 about a double-handful of bees and 

 not a drop of honey. That little col- 

 ony, no doubt, has a queen, but she is 

 a wise mother and does not use her 

 procreative powers to produce off- 

 spring to starve. To-day there are, 

 perhaps, many small colonies of bees 

 without a drop of honey, that must 

 perish, sooner or later, if not fed, 

 Peoria, 111,, Aug. l.>, 1884. 



For tbe American Bee Jouroal. 



The Origin of Honey-Dew. 



T. .1, IJUKlilLL, 



It is curious to notice the theories 

 and speculations concerning the origin 

 of what is called honey-dew. This 

 sweet substance is certainly elabor- 

 ated in the bodies of insects, and all 

 that is required to demonstrate the 

 fact, is a little close observation aided, 

 it may be, by a hand-magnifier. To 

 one accustomed to careful looking, 

 honey-dew is as much a sign of the 

 presence of plant-lice or their allies, 

 as certain tracks in the corn-field in- 

 dicate to the farmer the existence of 

 depredating cattle, or as peculiar 

 imprints in fresh snow reveal to the 

 hunter the near occurrence of the 

 sought-for game. That some plant- 

 lice and some bark-lice do exude such 

 sweet fluid from peculiar organs 

 usually situated near the hinder ex- 

 tremity of the body, is as certain as 

 that bees gather nectar or pollen from 

 flowers, and the certainty comes from 

 the same source, to-wit ; actual ob- 

 servation. 



It may be stated with equal posi- 

 tiveness, thougti the information is 

 less directly based upon simple eye- 

 sight, that the sweet substance called 

 honey-dew is never exuded from the 

 glossy surfaces of leaves on which it 

 is so commonly seen, Xectar is pro- 

 duced by many plants, not only in the 

 flowers, "but from other parts of the 

 growing or living substance, but it is 

 always, except, perhaps, from wounds, 

 elaborated by special glands from 

 which it is thence poured out. These 

 glands are never found opening 

 through the glossy coating of the 

 leaves. Our native' plants never be- 

 come gorged with fluid in summer 

 time so as to cause pressure from 

 within, to force out the juices, as has 

 been so often theoretically assumed. 

 Even if this were true, "we should 

 look for the exudation from the pores 

 of the under side of the leaf rather 

 than the upper, because there is much 

 less to prevent such escape through 

 the thinner epidermis, or the far more 

 numerous openings of the under sur- 

 face. 



