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DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF THE PRODUCERS OF HONEY. 



VOL. XIX. 



CHICAGO, ILL., NOVEMBER 28, 1883. 



No. 48. 



Published every Wednesday, by 



THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



Editor and Proprietor, 



Call Things by their Right Names. 



For a long time we have contem- 

 plated writing an article on the above 

 subject, but deferred it, because of 

 the labor necessary to cover the entire 

 ground. Mr. F. L. Dougherty lately 

 gave the following, on this subject, in 

 the Indiana Fanner, wliich we quote as 

 an introduction to what we wish to 

 say. He says : 



" Do not call a frame, a ' rack ' or a 

 'sash ;' call it a frame. Wlien filled 

 with comb, it may be called a comb. 

 A rack is a form which rests on the 

 hive, to hold sections. Sections are 

 for surplus comb honey. A hive is a 

 box or other receptacle for bees. A 

 hive full of bees is a colony. When a 

 colony is on tlie wing or clustered, it 

 is a swarm." 



That is the whole thing in a nut- 

 shell; but to reform this extensive 

 abuse of language, we think will 

 require more tlian a passing remark. 

 The nomenclature of bee-keeping is 

 sadly out of harmony, and it needs a 

 thorough over-hauling to induce cor- 

 respondents to use proper terms, when 

 writing on bee topics. Quite often it 

 is very difficult to determine what 

 idea is meant to be conveyed, because 

 of this habit of calling things by their 

 lorong names. 



Some writer astonishes us with the 

 remark that he "wintered" his 

 " stands in the cellar," and that " they 

 came out in bad shape." The "stands" 

 are the supports upon which the hives 

 rest, and as they may be left on the 

 places where the hives stood in the 

 summer, we cannot think that the 

 writer meant that they were taken 

 into the cellar at all, so we have to 

 imagine tliat he meant that his colo- 

 nies of bees were "wintered in the 

 cellar," though he does not say so ! 



He also says that his " stands " 

 'came out in had shape P' What! 

 Did the "stands" change their 

 shape y If the pieces of wood were 

 nailed in a rectangular form, did they 

 change, of their own accord, to a 

 square "shape '?" or, "WTiat was the 

 matter "? 



Again, if we suppose that he meant 

 the " colonies of bees " when he said 

 "stands," we are "just as much at 

 sea " to determine what is meant by 

 their "coming out in bad shape!" 

 Did his bees change their shape? 

 Were they bees, when put in the cel- 

 lar, and were they of the shape of 

 mice, rabbits or birds, when taken 

 out ? As this cannot be what was 

 meant, we are called upon again to 

 imagine that he was speaking about 

 their condition. Now, all this con- 

 fusion would have been averted, if he 

 had simply said that his bees were 

 wintered in the cellar, and when taken 

 out were weak, diseased, or dead, as 

 the case might have been. Such lan- 

 guage would have conveyed an intelli- 

 gent idea, but to say that his "stands" 

 came out of the cellar in bad shape, 

 conveys no intelligent idea at all ! 



Another correspondent assures us 



that " Mr. wintered in his cellar." 



Did he ? Poor fellow ; what a pity 

 that he did not have a dwelling house 

 over that cellar in which to live 

 during the winter ! We admit that 

 there are thousands in crowded cities 

 who live, both in summer and win- 

 ter, in cellars, but, alas, " their days 

 are few and full of disease I" But our 

 correspondent evidently did not mean 

 to convey that idea at all— he only 



meant to say that Mr. put his bees 



in the cellar to winter them! Then, 

 why did he not say so, and convey an 

 intelligent idea ? 



Another writer astonished us with 

 the assertion that four of his " hives 

 ran away to the woods !" It would 

 have been worth a tjip of several 

 miles to see hives running over fields, 

 fences, and perhaps rivers "to the 

 woods !" But he evidently meant to 

 say that four swarms came out of the 



hives, and flew away to the woods. 

 That robs the matter of all obscurity ! 

 Scores of similar nonsensical ex- 

 pressions are used to confuse the 

 reader. We have, for years, studious- 

 ly avoided using many of such ex- 

 pressions in the Bee Journal, by 

 coiTecting all manuscripts before 

 giving them into the hands of the 

 printers, and we already notice a very 

 marked improvement among our cor- 

 respondents, and to encourage fiu-ther 

 reform, we invite the attention of the 

 reader to the following explanations 

 of terms used in the pursuit of bee- 

 keeping : 



Abnormal Swarm.— Bees leaving a 

 liive, from some unnatiu-al cause. 



A Colony of Bees.— An organized body 

 of bees; and, when complete, having 

 a queen, a few hundreds of drones, 

 and many thousands of worker bees. 

 Improperly called a swarm, stock, 

 stand, hive, gum, skep, etc. 



A Swarm of Bees.— Bees issuing from 

 the parent colony for the purpose of 

 increase. 



After-Swarms.— Those issuing subse- 

 quent to the first swarm. 



Alighting Board.- A board at the en- 

 trance, for the bees to alight on. 



Apiarist. — An expert bee-keeper. 



Apiary.— A place where bees are kept. 



Apiary Register.— A book in which to 

 keep a record of both queens and 

 colonies. 



Apiculture.— The pursuit of bee- 

 keeping. 



Balling a Queen.— A cluster of bees 

 around a strange queen, trying to 

 sting her. 



Bee Bread.— Pollen. 



Bee Diarrhoea.— A disease of bees, 

 improperly called dysentery. 



Bee Gum.— Part of a log which wild 

 bees have inhabited. 



Bee Hive.— A box, with suitable fit- 

 tings, to hold a colony of bees. Im- 

 properly called a gum, skep, etc. 



Bee House. — A house to hold several 

 colonies of bees. 



Bee Moth. — A miller which preys upon 

 the combs. 



