210 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



When papers like the Popular Science 

 Mnnihly, and books like " Appleton's 

 Cyclopfedia " are imposed upon, and 

 unwittingly publish to the world as a 

 fact, what this man, Wiley, well knew 

 was an impossibility, and only the 

 "silly imagination " of an unbalanced 

 mind— is it to be wondered at, that 

 ordinary papers and the common peo- 

 ple should be " incapable of seeing the 

 jokeV" Evidently Wiley intended 

 the story to make him famous, and 

 cause a sensation ! Has he not suc- 

 ceeded, in making fameV Surely; 

 but it is, and should be, written— iii- 

 famous! His "scientific pleasan- 

 tries" are but falsehoods, both uu- 

 scientilicand i«i^j?ea.<!a?)«.' While his 

 "jokes" bear the closest affinity to 

 the s"enseless jests of odiocy, and the 

 foolishness of a maniac. 



Postage and Money Orders. 



According to the new Postal Laws, 

 important changes are to be made 

 during the next few months. In order 

 to save a multitude of questions we 

 will give the main features of the new 

 regulations, which should be studied 

 by all interested. 



On and after Oct. 1, 1883, letter 

 postage will be 2 cents for each half 

 ounce or fractional part thereof, be- 

 tween all points in tlie United Slates. 

 The rate will then be the same on 

 drop letters and all others. No changes 

 are made in rates on other classes of 

 matter. On and after the 1st of July, 

 1883, you can obtain at any money 

 order office, postal orders in sums of 

 $5 and under, by paping a fee of time 

 cents. These postal notes will be made 

 payable to bearer without correspond- 

 ing advices. They will be payable at 

 any money orderoitice within 3 months 

 of the date of issue. After the lapse 

 of that time the holder can obtain the 

 par value, only by applying to the 

 Postoffice Department at Washington. 

 On and after the 1st of July, 1883, yon 

 can obtain a postal money order for 

 as large a sum as $1U0. The present 

 limit is §50. The fees on and after 

 that date will be as follows : 



Not exceeding $10 8 ceots 



F'rom * 1(1 to $ 1 .5 1 centa 



From»15to»30 15 cents 



From *3U to *40 20 cents 



From $40 to *riii 25 cents 



From *r,o to $is» 30 cents 



From $H0 to $70 35 cents 



From »7i 1 to »so 40 cents 



From $80 to $100 45 cents 



The postal notes will be found more 

 convenient in one respect than the 

 fractional paper currency was. since 

 they can be obtained for any number 

 of cents under §5. There will also be 

 less liability to loss by theft than 

 there was when fractional notes were 

 used for transmission through the 

 mails, especially if the department 

 uses judgment in prescribing the size 

 and form of the notes, and in selecting 

 the paper on which tliey are to be 

 printed. After the 1st of October the 



cost of sending any sum under $5, by 

 postal note, will be 5 cents— 2 cents 

 postage and 3-cent fee. 



This will be a great advantage to 

 our subscribers, making a cheap and 

 safe method of sending money in let- 

 ters for subscription or advertising. 



Transferring Bees.— Mr. G.B. Jones, 

 Brantford, Out., tlius describes his 

 method of transferring bees. The 

 special feature of his hive is the ar- 

 rangement of entrances, which are 

 three in number— one in front, and 

 one at each side, the former being 

 twice as long as the latter. The front 

 one is, of course, essential. The ad- 

 vantages of the others are by him 

 described as follows : 



In aid of transferring from an ob- 

 jectionable hive, proceed thus : Place 

 the old hive 3 to 6 inches from the 

 new, with its entrance opposite either 

 side-entrance of the new ; construct a 

 closed passage between the two hives ; 

 place a piece of D. A. Jones' perfor- 

 ated queen metal over the inner side 

 of the same side-entrance ; close the 

 other, leaving the front open ; put in 

 the necessary number of combs or 

 foundation for the new hive. Now, 

 drum the bees up from the old hive 

 until the queen leaves it ; shake them 

 into the new hive; and, covering both 

 hives, leave them for 21 days. The 

 queen will be unable to get back to 

 the old hive, and will settle down on 

 the new combs, and the bees with 

 her, excepting those which go back to 

 care for the brood. As the brood 

 hatches, it will come forward, and in 

 21 days all will be out. When honey is 

 scarce, they will take it forward also. 

 Now, remove the old hive, close the 

 side entrance of the new ; shake any 

 bees remaining in the old hive in 

 front of the new ; and melt tlie old 

 combs into wax, after extracting what 

 honey they contained. This method 

 has been practised by me with success 

 one summer, and on as late as Sept. 

 20. Colonies may be doubled much 

 the same way; for having the one 

 common entrance they will soon 

 unite, if scented alike artificially. 



1^ Reports from all the States are 

 assuring. The past winter, though 

 severe, has not been a disastrous one. 

 But few losses are reported, and the 

 prospect for a full honey crop is ex- 

 cellent. There is a good sward of 

 clover, having been protected by the 

 liberal amount of snow, and, with a 

 fair amount of propitious weather, 

 there need be no fears of having a 

 poor honey harvest. 



The Bacteria. 



We have received a pamphlet of 65 

 pages,[on this subject, by T. J. Bur- 

 rill, Professor of Botany and Horti- 

 culture in the Illinois University. It 

 is a very interesting treatise on the 

 nature, organization, effects and clas- 

 sificaiion of Bacteria. The following 

 extracts from^^it will give a good idea 

 of the subject matter : 



" It is the object of this paper to 

 present, in language freed as far as 

 possible from technical terms, the 

 principal and most interesting facts 

 now known about these silent work- 

 ing denizens of the earth, the air, and 

 the water." 



" We swallow them with our food, 

 and at least some kinds sometimes re- 

 tain their activity in the somach and 

 intestinal tube. It now seems cer- 

 tain that the latter is always inhab- 

 ited by special kinds which have to do 

 with the activities there in operation. 

 In health the blood is usually quite 

 free from them, but in certain dis- 

 eases this too, as it rapidly courses 

 through the arteries and veins, sweeps 

 along in the current myriads of the 

 minute but living and developing, 

 ever active things, inappropriately 

 called " germs." 



" There is now, in certain cases, 

 just as good evidence that bacteria 

 cause diseases as there is that hawks 

 destroy chickens, and the evidence is 

 as inductively rigid in the one case as 

 in the other." 



We can supply it to any who may 

 desire it at 50 cents. 



1^ Mr. W. H. Furman, for 2.S years 

 a resident of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and 

 during that time one of the most en- 

 terprising bee-keepers of Iowa, has 

 taken up his residence in Dakota. 



Virginia for Bee Culture. 



It will be remembered that some- 

 time since Mr. E. C. Jordan, at the 

 White Sulphur Springs, Va., advised 

 bee-keepers to try that locality before 

 going further South or West. A cor- 

 respondent wrote him for particulars, 

 and the reply was sent us for publica- 

 tion, and we have made the following 

 digest of the questions and answers : 



Improved farms here are worth 

 from $15 to $100 per acre; the main 

 crops produced are wheat, corn, oats, 

 hay, potatoes, fruits, vegetables, etc.; 

 the soil is slate, and tliere are iron 

 mines here ; the Shenandoah Valley is 

 not subject to droughts, and we have 

 no malaria; all kinds of small fruits 

 do first rate here ; thousands of cat- 

 tle, hogs and chickens are raised here, 

 and are shipped to Baltimore, Wash- 

 ington Philadelphia and New York ; 

 the best of butter, cream and cheese 

 are produced here ; bees obtain sur- 

 plus here from March to November, 

 and our honey is marketed in Win- 

 chester, Washington, Baltimore, Phil- 

 adelphia and at /ionic,and sells at from 

 20 to 25 cents per pound. 



Advertisements intended for the Beb 

 Journal must reach this office by 

 Saturday of the previous week. 



