¥ 



(^ OLDEST BEE PAPER^ 

 IN AMERICA 



^m^^&. 



VOL. XIX. 



CHICAGO, ILL., AUGUST 15, 1883. 



No. 33. 



Published every Wednesday, by 



THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



Editor and Proprietor, 



A Few Seasonable Hints. 



The usual dearth of honey in Au- 

 gust set in a few days earlier than 

 usual, and caused a stoppage of 

 the honey flow in many localities- 

 strong colonies have been gathering 

 barely enougli to supply the daily 

 wants— and others have been living 

 on their stores already collected. 

 Sweet clover, catnip, mustard, etc., 

 have been in bloom, but only yield 

 sparingly of honey as yet— tlie weather 

 has been too cool to allow the nectar 

 to be abundant in them. In some 

 cases, through carelessness in opening 

 hives, robbing has been induced. In 

 other localities but little cessation has 

 been observed in the honey flow. Mr. 

 Dougherty thus describes the matter 

 in the Indiana Fanner: 



It is encouraging to know that we 

 have escaped the drouth which usually 

 occurs during the latter part of July 

 and first of August, while, of course, 

 the bees ceased to gather a surplus, 

 they have secured suflicient to keep 

 them breeding right along. This en- 

 ables the weak colonies to grow in 

 fine condition, and putting the small 

 after-swarms in fair condition to take 

 advantage of the fall flow of honey, 

 which, in most localities, promises to 

 be exceptionally good, while in others 

 insures a good supply of winter stores. 



Weak colonies or nuclei can be 

 built up very fast now. If you have 

 empty comb or foundation to give 

 them, they will build up rapidly on a 

 moderate yield. Good colonies can 

 spare a frame of brood and honey 

 every few days which, if given to 

 nuclei, will build them up very fast. 

 And just now is the time to begin to 

 prepare tor winter. See that all colo- 

 nies have good laying queens, and 

 that the queen has room to lay. If 

 you have more colonies than you want 

 double up the weak ones, making one 

 good one, selecting, of course, the 



fullest and best frames, for the one 

 hive. 



The honey market is developing— 

 and there is some call for honey, but 

 it is too early yet for a very extended 

 sale. We hope that bee men will see 

 to it that the local markets are well 

 worked up, and then there will be no 

 fear of overstocking the large markets, 

 and thus running the prices down. 



A beekeeper, who called at our 

 oflice last week, reported having 

 worked up a nice trade in a city near 

 by, and he confidently expected to sell 

 not only his own crop in that way, 

 but also the crops of all his neighbor- 

 ing bee-keepers. The pamphlets on 

 " Honey as Food," that he had dis- 

 tributed to those he interviewed, had 

 made mucli inquiry and consequent 

 sale of honey. That is the way to do 

 it— work up the local trade, and see 

 that the surrounding towns are fully 

 supplied. 



®° Mr. W. Chitty, organist at 

 Pewsy, Wiltshire, England, has sent 

 us a copy of his newly-arranged music 

 for the " Te Deum Landamus." It 

 is partly founded on an air from 

 Mendelssohn, and chiefly composed 

 by Mr. Chitty, who will send it by 

 mail for 12 cents, to any address. It 

 is an excellent piece of music. 



1^ The new two-cent postage 

 stamp is to be of a metallic red color, 

 with a vignette of Washington. It 

 will supersede the present three-cent 

 stamp on the 1st of October. 



1^ The pamphlet" Honey, as Food 

 and Medicine "is an excellent thing 

 to give away at Fairs, where a good 

 exhibit is made. A thousand copies 

 will sell almost a fabulous quantity of 

 honey, if judiciously given— say jfjyem 

 to every one who buys a package of honev 

 Try it. 



1^ Articles for publication must be 

 written on a separate piece of paper 

 from items of business. 



Trial Trip-25 Cents. 



As the season for Fairs has arrived, 

 and wishing to be able to reach S6.veral 

 thousands of the old-fashioned bee- 

 men, and by the aid of the Uee 

 Journal to lift them up to higher 

 ground, adopting newer methods and 

 progressive ideas, we make the follow- 

 ing very liberal offer : We will send 

 the Weekly Bee Journal t/iree ?noH«/w 

 0)1 trial, for 25 cents. In order to pay 

 for getting up Clubs, we will give a 

 copy of Fisher's Grain Tables, or 

 Scribner's Lumber and Log Book, to 

 any one who will send us five trial 

 subscriptions (with $1.25) ; for a club 

 of ten we will give a cloth copy of Bees 

 and Honey ; for a club of 15, a cloth 

 copy of the 7th edition of Cook's Man- 

 ual of the Apiary ; for a club of 25, we 

 will present both the Manual and Bees 

 and Honey. If any one wants these 

 Books for nothing, here is on excel- 

 lent opportunity to get them for a 

 little exertion. 



1^ It is unwise to rush the honey 

 into the market as soon as it is gath- 

 ered, for it will cause a temporary glut 

 in the market, and run the prices 

 down. As soon as the fruit season is 

 over, it will sell more readily. 



1^ Speaking of the usual August 

 dearth in honey, an exchange remarks 



as follows : 



There is, during August, a notable 

 scarcity of honey flowers. This dearth 

 commences sometimes in July. When 

 this absence of bloom occurs, the bees 

 are idle, and with this comes a conse- 

 quent indolence of the queen. 



It is desirable to provide artificial 

 pasturage. By proper planting, we 

 may have nectar-secreting bloom all 

 the season, and there will be no need 

 of supplemental feeding. The Syrian 

 bees seem to breed on all the same 

 whether there are flowers or not It 

 IS probable that in the desert regions 

 of Syria, natural selection has pro- 

 duced this race, well fortified against 

 those famous famines which, of old 

 sent the patriarch to Egypt for bread 

 and corn. 



