294 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



fruit. No evidence of rot was visible. 

 Tlie origin of ttiose punctures was un- 

 known, but as at the time of the selec- 

 tion the bees were busy on the whole 

 five, it was only a question of time— 

 an hour or two— till they would all be 

 consumed. 



It may be mentioned, that in these 

 experiments the big black ants were 

 generally observed on the trees ; and 

 it has been suggested that they may 

 be the depredators which make the 

 original punctures, and open the way 

 for the bees. 



These experiments, however imper- 

 fect and unsatisfactory they may be 

 regarded, taken in connection with 

 otlier known facts, have convinced 

 the writer thus far in the matter of 

 the main question : That bees do not 

 eat ripe peaches that are, if not to say 

 absolutely sound, at least marketable. 



Future experiments, it is hoped, 

 will be made by that committee, as 

 well as others, as to their depreda- 

 tions on other fruits. 



What the Weather Will Be. 



Prof. Bcerner, of Vevay, Ind., trans- 

 lates for the Indiana Farmer the fol- 

 lowing from the Latin, showing 

 observations gathered from the most 

 reliable sources in England, embrac- 

 ing years from 1677 to 1799, being 122. 

 as follows : 



1. When the vernal equinox is not 

 preceded or followed by the usual 

 equinoctial storms, the succeeding 

 summer will be dry at least live times 

 in six. 



2. If easterly storms occur on the 

 19th, 20th or 21st of May, the ensuing 

 summer will likewise be dry; the same 

 characteristic applies to storms, from 

 whatever direction, on the 25th, 26th 

 or 27th of March, viz., a dry summer 

 will follow. 



3. When storms happen from or 

 between tlie 17th and 23d of March, 

 having directions from the west south- 

 west, the succeeding summer will be 

 wet five times out of six. In England, 

 when both winter and spring are dry, 

 they are always cold, but when these 

 two seasons are wet, they are usually 

 warm : on the contrary, dry summers 

 and autumns are most always hot, 

 and wet summers cold ; hence, if the 

 humidity of any special season be de- 

 termined, an approximately correct 

 idea may be formed what the prevail- 

 ing temperature will be. 



4. A wet autumn, succeeded by a 

 mild winter, is generally followed by 

 a dry and cold spring, which will be 

 unfavorable to the growth of vegeta- 

 tion. 



5. A wet summer is almost always 

 succeeded by a severe cold winter, 

 because the terrestrial heat has been 

 carried off by evaporation ; it has also 

 been observed that wet summers pro- 

 mote great proticiency on the white 

 thorn, so that an unusual fruitfulness 

 of the shrubs is considered a presage 

 of an intensely cold winter. 



6. A severely cold winter is also in- 

 dicated by the early departure in the 

 autumn of cranes and other migratory 



birds, because these birds never leave 

 for a southern climate until the cold 

 has commenced in the higher north- 

 ern regions. 



7. When the month of September is 

 showery, it seldom rains during the 

 coming month of May, and, the con- 

 trary, should September pass without 

 showers, the following May will be 

 rainy and wet. 



8. When, in summer and autumn, 

 the preponderating wind is from the 

 southwest, or when the temperature 

 is unusually low, profuse raiti may 

 certainly be expected at the end of the 

 season. 



9. Tempestous storms and other vio- 

 lent commotions of the clouds, produce 

 a crisis in the atmosphere, which is 

 followed by a succession of several 

 months of fine or boisterous weather, 

 of whatever the incoming change 

 may be. 



10. A mild and rainy winter is al- 

 ways followed by a profitless summer. 



11. When rainy weather prevails 

 during a moon, the change succeeding 

 will be fair weather for several days, 

 after which rain will again set in ; but 

 when fair weather prevails during the 

 moon, and the succeeding change be 

 rain, fair weather will again return 

 after the fourth or fifth day of the 

 moon, and continue as before. 



12. The most decided indication for 

 fair weather, is the apparently great 

 elevation of the celestial concave, and 

 an evident disposition of the clouds to 

 dissolve and vanish away. 



Keystone Convention. 



The "Seed Time and Harvest" 

 gives the following report of the above 

 named Convention : 



We had the pleasure of attending 

 a meeting of the Keystone Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association at Scranton, a few 

 days ago. This is the only society of 

 the kind in Xortheastern Pennsylva- 

 nia, and much interest was manifested 

 by those present. The society num- 

 bers some tifty members, owniugfrom 

 six to two hundred colonies of bees. 

 The questions discussed were : The 

 Production of Surplus Honey, Winter- 

 ing Bees, and Rearing Queens. Mr. 

 J. Vandervort. of Laceyville, Pa., 

 the inventor of the Vandervort 

 Foundation Machine, was present, 

 and exhibited some of the finest sheets 

 of foundation we ever saw. All present 

 agreed that a much larger yield of 

 surplus honey could be secured by the 

 use of foundation, than without it. It 

 was generally agreed by those who 

 had tried it, that the foundation for 

 the lower frames or brood cliamber, 

 should be secured by fastening with 

 fine wire drawn through the frames 

 several times from top to bottom. 

 These wires stiffened the frames and 

 kept them from sagging, a fault which 

 is quite common in unwired frames, 

 and results in the breaking down of 

 combs in hot weather. For the section 

 boxes, small triangular pieces of thin 

 foundation were recommended. 



Different methods of wintering were 

 described by the members present, 

 and, as most of them had lost more or 



less bees, it was agreed that no per- 

 fect method had been discovered yet. 

 Mr. George C. Green, of Factoryville, 

 who had lost a very small percentage 

 ror the past four years, advocated the 

 use of the chafiE hive, as also did 

 several others. There appeared to be 

 no professional queen breeders pres- 

 ent, but a few chapters from Mr. 

 Alley's new book on Queen Rearing 

 were read, and proved to be very in- 

 structive. 



It was decided to make a Society 

 Exhibit at the next Lackawanna 

 County Fair, and we presume that 

 some fine specimens of the work of 

 the industrous little Insects, will be 

 exhibited. 



Prizes for Honey. 



Messrs. H. K. & F. B. Thurber 

 & Co., have issued the following Cir- 

 cular to bee-keepers : 



First-class, uniform, well -packed 

 honey, always sells quicker and for 

 more money than honey of irregular 

 grades, and it is, therefore, important 

 for both dealers and producers to liave 

 honey marketed in the most desirable 

 form. To interest producers, and in- 

 duce them to attain this result, we 

 have decided to offer the following 

 prizes : 



For One-Pound Sections.— For the 

 best average crop of white honey, put 

 up in one-pound sections, one first 

 prize, consisting of a set of Appleton's 

 Encyclopedia, 17 volumes ; value, 

 $85.00. For the second best, one sec- 

 ond prize, consisting of a complete 

 set of Chambers' Encyclopedia, 10 

 volumes ; value, $30 00. 



For Two-Pound Sections. — For the 

 best average crop of wliite honey, put 

 up in two-pound sections, one first 

 prize, consisting of a set of Appleton's 

 Encyclopedia. For the second best, 

 one second prize, consisting of a com- 

 plete set of Chambers' Encyclopedia. 



The requirement will be a uniform 

 grade of white honey, well fitted 

 around sides of sections, neatly capped 

 over, glass thoroughly glued to sec- 

 tions, and packed in clean, smooth, 

 neat crates, as well as sections. 



Where parties do not send us their 

 crop, judgment will be rendered from 

 a sample of five (5) crates, accompa- 

 nied by an afiidavit of the producers 

 that it represents the fair average of 

 his crop, and for these we will pay the 

 New York market price for this grade 

 of honey. The judges are to be the 

 editor of the New York Bee and 

 Poultry Magazine, the secretary of the 

 Northeastern Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tit)n, Mr. P. H. Elwood, of Starkville, 

 N. Y., Mr. C. G. Dickinson, of South 

 Oxford, N. Y., Mr. W. L.Tennant,of 

 Schoharie. N. Y., and Mr. McCaul, 

 who has charge of our honey depart- 

 ment. This competition is to be open 

 to any bee-keeper in the United States 

 at Canada, and is to take place Octo- 

 ber 18, 19, and 20, 18S3. 



t^ The Central Kansas Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association will meet at Manhat- 

 tan, Kansas, on June 30, 1883. 



Thos. Bassler, Sec. 



