C^"^' 



ec Journal 



DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OE THE PRODUCERS OF HONEY. 



VOL. XIX. 



CHICAGO, ILL., DECEMBER 12, 1883. 



No. 50. 



Published every Wednesday, by 



THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



Editor and Puopuietor, 



Prepare for the Fairs. 



The article on page 643, by the Rev. 

 O. Clute, is very timely, for the usual 

 January meetings of the Executive 

 Committees of Fairs will soon be here. 



Public manipulations with bees and 

 magnificent honey exhibits will soon 

 become the most attractive features 

 of State, County, and district Fairs. 

 There are good many reasons for in- 

 troducing such, but the chief one, 

 perhaps, is that those who produce 

 honey for the market may be induced 

 to present it in the most marketable 

 shape ; for the new methods and new 

 idpas of practical management must 

 take the place of the old and unde- 

 sirable ones. 



We respectfully suggest to all who 

 have the management of fairs, that a 

 day be set apart during the season for 

 public manipulations and explanations 

 on this subject, and soon these indus- 

 trial days wili become as popular and 

 attractive to the public as are now 

 the " speed days " of horses, or the 

 " trial days " of reapers and plows. 



Bee-keeping should rank one of the 

 foremost, if not the foremost, feature 

 at these great gatherings. The prem- 

 iums enumerated by Mr. Clute may 

 seem slightly extravagant, to persons 

 who have never seen bees and honey 

 ligiu-e to any considerable extent in 

 agricultural and mechanical exhibi- 

 tions and fairs, but to any reflecting 

 individual, who takes into considera- 

 tion tlie magnitude of the bee-keeping 

 interest at the present time, and the 

 Illimitable millions of poundsof honey 

 now "wasting its sweetness on the 

 desert air," from want of the proper 

 encouragement and development of 

 the industry, the figures will seem 

 modest indeed. 



Sheep and Bee-Keeping. 



An exchange gives the following 

 reasons why bees cannot thrive on 

 sheep pastiu'es, and insists upon bee- 

 keepers providing pasturage for bees : 



It is easy to perceive why bees can- 

 not thrive well on a sheep pasture. 

 Sheep eat everything down very 

 closely, and leave nothing in the 

 shape of a fiower upon wliicli bees can 

 subsist. Tliere is no other reason for 

 the popular lielief tliat sheep and bees 

 will n(.)t tlu-ive together. The bees 

 will not hurt the sheep in any way, 

 but the sheep leave nothing for the 

 bees to pasture in ; that is the only 

 difficulty, and where other feeding 

 ground is provided for the bees than 

 the sheep pasture, sheep and bees 

 would thrive very well together. 



Melilot clover and aromatic plants, 

 such as mints and catnip, are the 

 blossoms upon which bees seem to 

 find the most continuous supply dur- 

 ing the dryest months. Bee-keepers 

 should encourage the introduction of 

 such plants, as they can grow harm- 

 lessly along hedges and fences. It 

 may be thought that a few plants of 

 each kind cannot benefit the bees to 

 any extent. Certainly not. But a 

 few plants here and there will pro- 

 duce seed, and finally make waste 

 places become sources Of the most 

 delightful of sweets. 



1^ Last Monday, " our pastoi," the 

 Rev. A. Goodfellow, came to our office 

 for a " call," a'nd with sparkling eyes, 

 said : ''Good morning, Bro. Newman ; 

 I'll give you a conundrum. Here is 

 the latest ; it is rather far-fetched, but 

 good." We remarked that we were 

 more of a punster than a diviner of 

 " conundrums," but that we could en- 

 joy "a good thing" at any time. 

 "Well," he said, " why is a bee - hive 

 like a diseased potato 'i*" Of course 

 we gave it up. He replied, " a bee- 

 hive is a bee-holder, is it not '?" We 

 a^ented, but intimated that we could 

 not see the point. He then added, "a 

 beholder is a spectator." True, we re- 

 plied. He continued, " and 'a specked 

 tater' is one that is diseased, is it not'i*" 

 We remarked that it was very far- 

 fetched, indeed. He smiled, bowed 

 himself out. and adiUd, "put that in 

 the Bee Journal ' and here it is. 



We have received a copy of Mr. G. 

 M. Doolittle's Club List for 18»4, and 

 Circular of bees, queens, etc. It is a 

 very hondsome pamphlet, and is a 

 credit to him as well as Mr. Root, the 

 printer. His address is Borodino, N. 

 Y. On page 5 we notice the following 

 paragraph under the heading of " Re- 

 marks ": 



Newspapers are now an actual 

 necessity, and the man who does not 

 take at least one or more papers, is 

 soon behind the times, and is also de- 

 priving himself of one of the greatest 

 blessings of life. In no other calling 

 in life is the knowledge gained from 

 reading, of more benefit than it is to 

 the bee-keeper. The bee-keeper who 

 cannot afford to take a bee paper, is 

 only penurious to his own injury, of 

 many times its cost ; therefore, I urge 

 all into whose hands this circular may 

 fall, to take at least one of the bee 

 papers, that you may gain knowledge 

 which will help you to work your bees 

 to the greatost profit. The Weekly 

 American Bee Journal is now an 

 established fact, and is taken by near- 

 ly all practical bee-keepers. Its weekly 

 visits are those which no bee-keeper 

 can afford to dispense with, for the 

 knowledge gained from one number is 

 often worth many times its cost. The 

 putting in practice of its teachings 

 (and that of the otiier bee papers), is 

 what helped me to secure $1021.,S0 net 

 profit from 60 colonies of bees during 

 the past poor season, when basswood 

 was the only tree or plant which yield- 

 ed honey. The American Beb Jour- 

 nal is published in an attractive form, 

 and it is hardly necessary for me to 

 say that I consider it at the head of 

 all the bee papers in the world. 



Mr. D. has our thanks for so frankly 

 giving his opinion of the practical 

 value of the Bee Journal. 



1^ Mr. George Grimm, of Jeffer- 

 son, Wis., has gone to Europe, and 

 will be absent several months. He is 

 the son of the world-renowned Adam 

 Grimm, who was one of the pioneers 

 of bee-keeping in America. He has 

 our best wishes for a pleasant voyage 

 and a safe return. 



1^- The 28th annual i.ieeting of the 

 Illiuoif, State Horticultural Society 

 will be held in Maennerclior Hall, 

 Bloomington,Ill., Tuesd.iv, Dec. 18. 



