1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



425 



from rendering judgment so rashly, for the " Old Reliable " is 

 just as reliable under the management of George W. York to- 

 day, as it was in the days of Samuel Wagner and Thomas G. 



Newman. 



On page 285, we find a statement under the heading, 

 " Upward Ventilation with a Vengeance," written by Thad. 

 Smith, who relates that in Kentucky he found a box-hive in 

 March that had lain all winter upside down, with no covering 

 over the combs, it having been supposed that the bees were 

 all dead. To his surprise he found live bees in it, although in 

 December the thermometer was down to 14^ below zero, and 

 in February 18- below, and either down to zero or below every 

 day for three weeks in February. On page 191, we find a 

 statement by J. A. Bearden, of Cyruston, Tenn., saying he 

 had three colonies of bees die during the last blizzard, and one 

 in particular, a very strong colony, had 14 pounds of honey 

 left, a proof that they froze to death, Mr. Bearden says, 

 although Mr. Abbott says bees don't freeze, and so does not 

 agree with him. Now here we find different heads and differ- 

 ent minds, and many heads will have many minds, but the 

 bee-keeping fraternity should be of one mind more so than 

 any other class of people, and not be like the Dutchman of 

 the old fatherland, who gathered a bag full of frogs, and car- 

 ried them to a smooth, clean place, and then shook them all 

 out to find out if they all would be of one mind. After he 

 emptied the sack he found, to his surprise, that in a few mo- 

 ments they were scattered all over, no two even going in one 

 direction. The astonished Dutchman remarked, "Well, I 

 declare; many heads, many minds." 



Now Mr. Bearden, down in Tennessee, says he has kept 

 bees for five years — a short experience — and he differs from 

 Mr. Abbott — a man who has been a bee-keeper for many years. 

 But by the time Mr. Bearden keeps bees five years longer, he 

 may have his attention called to the frog, which is hopping in 

 the starving direction, for it is a settled fact that in this lati- 

 tude bees will not freeze to death, not even under a tempera- 

 ture of 50-' below zero — at least not so long as the cluster is in 

 reach of stores. Bees will often winter-kill, and have plenty 

 of honey left in the hive, but it is away from the cluster, and 

 during a continuous spell of cold weather bees will rather 

 starve than venture to leave the cluster in search of food. But 

 the bee-keeper who thinks he knows it all, and his experience 

 is the only "law and gospel," will find in the end that he has 

 to learn as long as he lives. Maiden Rock, Wis. 



CONDUCTED BV 



Rev. Emerson T. Ji.bbott, St. Josepfi, AIo. 



"Ten PJe-w England Blossoms." — I often 

 come across books in my reading, about which I think I would 

 like to tell the readers of the Bee Journal, but occasionally I 

 find one of which I feel I must write, because the contents 

 cannot fail to be interesting and beneficial to all bee-keepers. 

 I have just been reading a work of this kind, entitled, "Ten 

 New England Blossoms and their Insect Visitors," by Prof. 

 Clarence Moores Weed ; published by Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 

 of Boston, Mass. Mr. Weed is a professor in the New Hamp- 

 shire Agricultural College, and, whether he knows it or not, 

 has done the bee-keepers of the country a great service in 

 writing this beautiful and interesting, as well as instructive, 

 little book. The publishers, too, have done their part, as it is 

 printed in bold, clear type, on fine paper, and is profusely 

 illustrated. Some of the illustrations are real gems. One of 

 them, which, by the way, is a photogravure of the Professor's 

 little daughter, is perfectly exquisite. [The two illustrations 

 on the first page of this number, are from this book. — Ed. | 



I do not know any better way to give a clear idea of the 

 great value and admirable spirit of this work than to make a 

 few quotations from it. Speaking of the interest taken in 

 botany at the present time, he says : 



" Since man has learned that the universal brotherhood 



of life includes himself as the highest link in the chain of or- 

 ganic creation, his interest in all things that live and move 

 and have a being has greatly increased." 



Again, drawing an illustration from the work in which he 

 is engaged : 



" Nature is conducting a vast experiment station in which 

 her creatures are acting and re-acting on each other, merci- 

 lessly eliminating those which do not meet the requirements 

 of life, but encouraging those which do." 



Take this on the relation of insects to man : 



" Few people realize the extent to which man is indebted 

 to insects for his own subsistence. A large proportion of the 

 fruits and vegetables upon our tables is the direct result of 

 the pollinating efforts of the bees and their allies. One of the 

 most common causes of the whole or partial failure of the 

 crops of orchard fruits is the inability of the bees to do their 

 work on account of rainy weather. This was strikingly illus- 

 trated during the season of 1894. In southern New Hamp- 

 shire the weather during the blossoming period of pears, 

 apples and other orchard fruits was very dry, so that for at 

 least two weeks the bees had ample opportunity to work. The 

 result was an extraordinary crop, nearly all the trees setting 

 a large proportion of their blossoms. In southern New Jer- 

 sey, during the same season, when trees and vines were in 

 bloom, there were frequent and heavy rains. The result was 

 a marked failure of the crops, due very largely to the preven- 

 tion of pollen distribution." 



And so he goes on for ten chapters, telling the story of 

 ten New England flowers and the insects which visit them. 

 While this is the expressed purpose of the book, he incidental- 

 ly discusses the theory of the pollination of plants by insects, 

 and its relation to the fruit produced, in a way that can be 

 fully understood by any boy or girl, but with that scientific 

 accuracy which makes the book interesting and helpful to the 

 older members of the family, and even to the close student of 

 this subject. 



I will not take space to say more at present, as I may 



have occasion to quote from the work in the future; and, as 



it costs only $1.25, I hope many of the readers of the Bee 



Journal will secure a copy and read it for themselves. It is 



an ideal book for a family of children, or a Sunday School 



library. 



■*—-*- 



Introducing Queens. — "Before the new queen is 

 introduced the colony should have been queenless three days 

 (72 hours) No wise bee-keeper will open a hive for sev- 

 eral days after a queen is introduced, the queen gets excited, 

 and sometimes the bees ' ball' her." — Henry Alley, in Apicul- 

 turist. 



It seems strange to me that many experienced bee-keepers 

 will continue to advise making the colony queenless three 

 days before the new queen is introduced. I can see no reason 

 why three days' time should be lost during the honey-flow 

 when every day counts. I put the new queen in the cage on 

 the colony to which she is to be introduced and leave her 

 there for two or three days, paying no attention to the old 

 queen. At the end of that time I hunt out the old queen, 

 pinch her head off, turn back the wire so the bees can get at 

 the candy and release the new queen, and then close up the 

 hive as quickly as possible, and let it alone for two or three 

 hours. Presto! the old queen is out, the new one is in, and 

 very little time has been lost. After I think sufficient time has 

 elapsed for the bees to release the queen and get quiet, wise 

 or otherwise, I invariably examine the colony and see that 

 everything is all right. In years of experience of this kind 1 

 have never had a colony " ball " a queen because the hive was 

 opened. If I find on examination that they are disposed to 

 mistreat her majesty, I put her back into the cage, close the 

 entrance with a chunk of honey, give the bees a good smok- 

 ing, and let them eat her out again, which generally ends all 

 trouble. 



Xlie "Trial Trip" Offer of the Bee Journal to 

 those not subscribers — 10 weeks for 10 cents— will be with- 

 drawn July 15. This is positive. It is hoped that all who 

 have taken advantage of our liberal " short term " offer will 

 so appreciate the Bee Journal as to subscribe for a year at the 

 expiration of their 10 weeks. Remember, the time for send- 

 ing in names on the 10-weeks-for-lO-cents offer, expires July 

 15. I trust those who subscribe for a " trial trip" for their 

 friends, will be able to secure them as regular subscribers, and 

 thus earn some of the premiums offered in the^Bee Journal for 

 such work. 



