68 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Dampness and Bees in Winter. 



Prof. Cook, in an exchange, refutes 

 the idea that dampness is a cause of 

 mortality of bees in winter. lie says : 



A writer on bee culture calls atten- 

 tion to the fact that l)oney,the winter 

 food of tlie bees, is almost i)urely a 

 hydro-carbon, and so needs little 

 digestion, before it is absorbed into 

 the nutritive fluid from the stomach. 

 Then it is assimilated, and passes otf 

 as water and carbonic acid. Thus 

 the excretion, in winter, is by respira- 

 tion. That this may go on freely, 

 the air must be dry. The writer then 

 asserts, that in those winters most re- 

 markable for the bee mortality, the 

 air has been very moist. 



An examination of the condition 

 of tlie atmospliere as to the point of 

 saturation, from accurate records 

 taken tluee times daily, for the past 

 twenty years, shows that there is not 

 the least evidence in favor of the 

 Idea tliat excessive moisture was in 

 any single case tlie cause of the great 

 losses of bees. It also appears that in 

 all the seasons of bad wintering, 

 severe cold was experienced. It is 

 further shown tliat when the cold oc- 

 curred early in the winter, the mor- 

 tality commenced at an early period. 

 If late, the bees did not appear dis- 

 eased until near the end of winter. 



1^ " Spence's Select Social Read- 

 ings" is the title of a pamphlet of 126 

 pages, by Jacob Spence, Toronto, On- 

 tario, Canada. This is an excellent 

 manual of Readings, Recitations, and 

 interesting Selections, admirably suit- 

 able for those who are desirous of giv- 

 ing readings, recitations, etc., at 

 sociables, or gatherings for spending 

 a pleasant evening. It covers tlie 

 ground from " grave " to " gay," with 

 rich and rare selections. Mr. Spence 

 is one of Canada's progressive apiarists 

 and a constant reader of the Bee 



JOUKNAL. 



i^^May we ask you, dear reader, to 

 speak a good word for the Bee Jour- 

 nal to neighbors who keep bees, and 

 send on at least one weio subscription 

 with your own V Our premium, " Bees 

 and Honey," in cloth, for one neio sub- 

 scriber to the Weekly, or two for the 

 Monthly, besides your own subscrip- 

 tion to either edition, will pay you for 

 your trouble, besides having tlie satis- 

 faction of knowing that you have 

 aided the Bek Journal to a new 

 subscriber, and progressive apiculture 

 to another devotee. 



j®" Do not let your numbers of the 

 Bee Journal for 18S2 be lost. The 

 best way to preserve them is to pro- 

 cure a binder and put them in. They 

 are very valuable for reference. 



ITew Catalogues and Samples. 



We li.ive received Catalogues for 1883 

 from T. L. VoiiDoni, Oiiialia, Neb., and 

 I. R. Good. Naiipaiifi', Iiul. 



The foUowhig have sent us new Seed 

 Catalogues : J as. J. II. Gregory, Marble- 

 liead, Mass.; amlj. W. Manning, Reading, 

 Mass. 



The Philadelphia, Pa., Kecorr Almanac 

 for 1SS3 is received, and is full of statistical 

 and useful intVn-mation. 



J. V. Caldwell, Cambridge, 111., and D. 

 S. Given & Co., Hoopeston, III., have sent 

 us very nice samples of comb foundation. 



1^ " There's no Time like the Old 

 Time," is the title of a new song by 

 Oliver Wendell Holmes, music by 

 J. J. Roe. and published by W. W. 

 Whitney, 111 Summit St., Toledo, O., 

 a copy of which we have received, 

 marked " With the compliments of 

 the author." 



^^ Attention is called to our new 

 and liberal advertising rates for 1883. 



Convention Notices. 



1^ The Texas State Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will hold its Fifth Annual 

 Convention at McKinney, Collin Co., 

 on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 

 17th and 18th, 18S3; at the residence of 

 Hon. W. H. Andrews. 



Wsi. R. Howard, Sec. 



Kingston, Texas. 



^" The bee-keepers of Xortheast- 

 ern Michigan are hereby requested to 

 meet at the Davton Hotel, in Flint, at 

 10 a. m. on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 1883, for 

 the purpose of organizing a bee-keep- 

 ers' association. All bee-keepers are 

 earnestly requested to come, and to 

 bring with them any apiarian articles 

 of interest that they may possess. A 

 free room, and reduced rates of board 

 have been secured. 



W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Rogersville, Mich., Jan. 22, 1883. 



i^° The Tuscarawas Valley Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will hold a meet- 

 ing in the Town Hall in Coshocton, O., 

 on Feb. 14, 1883, at 10 a. m. Every 

 bee-keeper is wanted at this meeting. 

 Every one interested in bees or honey 

 IS requested to be present. 



J. A. BuCKLEW, Sec, Clarks, O. 



^" The next meeting of the Ilaldi- 

 niaiid, Ont., Bee-Keepers' Association 

 will be held at Nelle's Corners on Sat- 

 urday. March 31, 1883, at 11 a. m. 



II. Campbell. 



^° The second annual meeting of 

 the Colorado State Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation will be held in Denver, on 

 February B, and continue two days. 

 D. S. Grimes, Pres. 



1^ The next meeting of the Maine 

 Bee-Ki'epers' Association will be held 

 at Dexter, February 8th and 9th, 1883. 

 A large attendance of bee-keepers 

 from different parts of the State is ex- 

 pected, and it is hoped that it may be 

 one of the most interesting meetings 

 ever held by the Association. A large 

 exhibit of hives and implements, used 

 in the apiary, is expected ; and all at- 

 tending the meeting are earnestly 

 requested to bring something to help 

 make a good display. Any article 

 sent to the Secretary will be placed on 

 exhibition, and cared for, free of 

 charge. The following is an imperfect 

 outline of the programme for the two 

 days : First day :— Secretary's report ; 

 Treasurer's report ; reports of Vice 

 Presidents of the different counties 

 represented ; President's address ; 

 choosing committee to award prefer- 

 ences on articles exhibited ; reading of 

 essays and discussions. Second day : 

 —Election of otiicers ; report of com- 

 mittee on articles exhibited ; reading 

 of essays and discussions. Essays 

 are expected on the following subjects 

 — Feeding Bees ; How to make Bee- 

 keeping Profitable ; Artificial Pastur- 

 age ; The Coming i3ee, etc., etc. 



Ripley, Me. Wm. Hoyt, Sec. 



^° The annual meeting of the 

 Northern Ohio IJee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion will be held in Whittlesey Hall, 

 Norwalk, O., Saturday, February 3, 

 1S83. All bee-keepers are invited to 

 attend and participate in the exercises. 

 Subjects for discussion : Size of 

 Frame ; Size of Section ; Best Method 

 of Obtaining Surplus Honey, and va- 

 rious other matters of interest to all 

 bee-keepers. S. F. Newman, Sec. 



^" The Western Bee- Keepers' As- 

 sociation meets at Independence, Mo., 

 April 28, 1883. 



S. W. Salisbury, Sec. 



1^" The Northeastern Ohio and 

 Northwestern Pennsylvania Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will meet at 

 Andover, Oliio, to hold their annual 

 convention, on the second Wednes- 

 day and Thursday of February, 1883. 

 C. T. Leonard, Sec. 



A $20.00 Biblical Reward.— The 



publishers of Eutkdge''s Monthhj offer 

 twelve valuable rewards in their 

 Monthly for February, among which 

 is the following : 



"We will give S20.00 in gold to the 

 person telling us which is the middle 

 verse in the Old Testament Scriptures 

 by February 10th, 1883. Should two 

 or more correct answers be received, 

 the reward will be divided. The 

 money will be forwarded to the win- 

 ner February 15th, 1883. Persons try- 

 ing for the reward must send 20 cents 

 in silver (no postage stamps taken) 

 with their answer, for which tliey will 

 receive the March MontMiu in which 

 the name and address of tlie winner of 

 the reward and the correct answer 

 will be published. This mny be worth 

 S20.00 to vou. Address Rutledge 

 Publishing Company, Easton,Pa. 



