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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Aug. 22, 



Georg-e W. I'ork, - . Editor. 



PUBLISHED WEEKLY By 



GEORGE W. YORK & COMPANY, 

 fle Fietb Avenue, - CHICAGO, ILL, 



$1.00 a Year— Sample Copy Sent Free. 

 (Bntered at the Posl-Offlce at ChlcaKO as Second-Class Slall-Matter.J 



yoLinV. CEICA&O, ILL, ADG. 22,1895. No. 34. 



Editorial Budget. 



Home Again.— After spending a pleasant week visit- 

 ing relatives and friends in Ohio, I am back again in the oEBce 

 (Aug. 17). It is '.he first real vacation I have had in four 

 years. Any correspondents who feel that I have been negli- 

 gent recently, will now know the cause of any delay in reply- 

 ing to their letters or orders. Next week I hope to tell a little 

 about my trip, which included one day with The A. I. Root 

 Co., at Medina, Ohio. 



Hon. Eug:ene Secor, of Forest City, Iowa, has 

 kindly sent me a picture of a part of his neat apiary. It is in 

 a shady grove, and looks as cool and collected as Bro. Secor 

 himself, whom the picture shows as standing by one of the 

 hives, ready for work, or to give a talk on bees. Were it not 

 for the fact that the picture is somewhat dim, it would be 

 shown herewith. For successful half-tone engraving, photo- 

 graphs must be very clear and distinct. 



President Holtermann, of the North American, 

 and others, are expecting a very large attendance at the 

 Toronto meeting, Sept. 4, 5 and 6. I truly hope it may be 

 so. Gleanings for Aug. 1 has this editorial paragraph on the 

 subject : 



There is every indication that the meeting of the next 

 North American at Toronto will be an unusually large one ; 

 indeed, we always have good conventions over in Canada. It 

 is thought there will be 300 or over in attendance, and half 

 this is a fairly good number for the North American. Let the 

 attendance, enthusiasm, a.id good-will be big — yes, very big. 



Yes, by all means, let the "good-will" part be a promi- 

 nent feature. But I don't suppose our Canadian friends would 

 tolerate anything else, especially in Toronto -that city 80 

 famous for its quietness, cleanliness and goodness. We must 

 all remember to take with us our " best behavior." 



Sowing: Alsike Clover.— Mr. Golden's plea, on 

 page 534, is indeed timely. There is no doubt that nearly 

 every farmer in this country would sow Alsike clover if ho 

 were shown its great value as forage for stock, and as a 

 honey-yielder. He would be glad to purchase the seed him- 

 self, as it enriches in three ways— makes good hay, yields fine 

 honey, and greatly benefits the land upon which it grows. 



Before another spring is here, I will try to think to give 

 an article in the Bee Journal on Alsike clover growing, with 

 illustration, all of which will be suitable for republishing in 

 your local newspapers. Also, you could possibly induce your 



farm papers to publish it. That would help Immensely. I 

 believe in using every possible agency to get proper and help- 

 ful information before the public. I think that occasional 

 short articles on the use of honey should be furnished every 

 local newspaper by bee-keepers. Take an interest in your 

 home papers also, and then when you want their publishers to 

 favor you by publishing an article on Alsike clover, or any 

 other subject, they'll gladly do it. 



■« » » 



Some Prominent Apiarian People are ex- 

 pected to be at the Toronto convention Sept. 4, 5 and 6. 

 Among them may be named the following : 



G. M. Doolittle, H. R. Boardman, A. I. Root, Capt. J. E. 

 Hetherington, Treasurer J. T. Calvert, Hon. R. L. Taylor, 

 Ernest R. Root, Vice-President L. D. Stilson, Thomas 6. 

 Newman, and others. 



The Farmers' Advocate, published in Canada, says that 

 " over 100 have already promised " to be present. It will be 

 a good time to meet the Eastern members of the clan. 



A special session of the Ontario Bee-Keepers' Aasociatlon 

 will be held in conjunction with the North American, so I un- 

 derstand. Better try to be there, if you can possibly do so. 



Bassw^oofl and Droutb.— Mr. B. Taylor, of For- 



estville, Minn., has this to say about basswood, in the Aug. 1st 

 number of the Farm, Stock and Home : 



We, and many others in different States, reported and be- 

 lieved that the hard freezing late last spring had destroyed 

 the basswood bloom. We now know we were mistaken, for 

 many trees on the hills bloomed, and we have found several in 

 bloom in low places where freezing was hardest. This proves 

 that some other cause than frost curtailed the basswood 

 bloom, which we now suspect to bo the same that has nearly 

 destroyed white clover in this section, viz.: the drouth of the 

 last two years. The basswood trees have not the green, 

 healthy, vigorous look of former seasons, and we know that 

 many forest trees were at death's door last fall from lack of 

 moisture. Truly, all things that have life are vitally Inter- 

 ested in the sunshine and showers. 



A Correction.— In the article by Mr. C. E. Mead, on 

 page 488, in the ninth line from the bottom of the second 

 column omit the word "not," and it will read as Mr. Mead 

 wrote it, viz.: "I am as sure of wintering these small nuclei 

 packed over the strong colonies as I am the big ones." 



A Relic of the Battle of Antietam — a piece of a shell — 

 has kindly been sent to me by Mr. L. A. Hammond, of Keedys- 

 ville, Md., a bee-keeper whose farm is a part of the old battle- 

 field. He says be can pick up any number of relics on that 



historic ground. 



«-»-► 



Ventura County, in California, has 4,215 coloniei 

 of bees, according to the assessors' reports. It would be In- 

 teresting to know how much honey they stored this year. 



Mineral Wool is something that has been suggested 

 as gAod material for packing hives in winter. As probably 

 quite a number do not kuow just what " mineral wool" Is, and 

 might be Interested in it, I will give what the Age of Steel has 

 to say In regard to it. It is an artificial product made from 

 blast-furnace slag or certain melted rocks, by the action of a 

 jet stream in which the liquid material is transformed Into a 

 fine fibrous or filamentous condition. In this state It closely 

 resembles cotton-wool, hence its name. Among its most Im- 

 portant properties are strength combined with lightness, re- 

 sistance to transmission of heat, cold and sound. It is es- 

 pecially adapted as a lining between walls, floors, partitions, 

 roofs, etc.. In building construction, thus rendering a building 

 to a greater degree fire-proof. In shutting out the rayg of 



