670 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Oct. 17, 



from attacks of " head trouble," of a strange and distressing 

 character. During these attacks, which have lasted from six 

 months to more than a year (in one case two years), he is 

 unable to write or even converse, and lie views with aversion 

 any reference to these subjects which particularly delight him 

 at other times. Mr. Langstroth is a man of fine presence, 

 simple and unostentatious in manner, cheerful, courteous and 

 a charming conversationalist. 



In reply to a question, he writes, under date of March 26, 

 1SS8: "1 am now a minister in the Presbyterian church. 

 Although not a settled pastor, I preach occasionally, and de- 

 light in nothing so much as the Christian work. My parents 

 were members of Mr. Barnes' church, in Philadelphia, the 

 mother Presbyterian church in the United States." 



C. C. Miller. 



A short account of my own meeting with Father Lang- 

 stroth at the recent Toronto convention, I gave on page 620. 

 It was the only time I ever saw him. How glad I am now 

 that I went to Toronto ! To meet him was worth all it cost, 

 and more. There were many things he and I talked about 

 during that memorable three-hours' visit I had with him in 

 the hotel parlor. How he unfolded to me the history of the 

 apicultural past— particularly regarding his great invention, 

 popularly known as the "Langstroth hive"— and the prodig- 

 ious injustice and gigantic wrong done him by those who are 

 now, I believe, mainly "out of the bee-business," and who 

 can never, here or hereafter, undo the.r wickedness. But the 

 great Father Langstroth, in the depth of his kind and for- 

 giving heart, bore no ill-will, spoke no uncharitable word. 



But I must not at this time dwell upon the magnificence 

 of his character, nor the spotless purity of his life, though I feel 

 that golden-tongued poet never uttered apter words of any 

 man than these, which apply with such peculiar force and 

 truthfulness to our beloved Father Langstroth— 



"None knew hlii but to love him. 

 None uamed him but to praise." 



Naming: Honeir-Plants.— A good many have lately 

 sent me specimens of various honey-plants to be named, re- 

 questing that the names be published in the Bee Journal. 

 Now, as it is of no benefit to any one, except the one sending 

 the plant, to publish the name, hereafter please do not ask 

 that space be given for what is of so little general interest. 



Another thing : I am no botanist, and whenever I receive 

 plants I must forward them to some one who is able to name 

 them. Prof. T. J. Burrill, of the Illinois State University, at 

 Champaign, III., has kindly helped me so far, and doubtless is 

 willing to continue so to do. But why not mail the plant spec- 

 imens direct to him, enclosing a self-addressed and stamped 

 envelope in which he can return the reply ? I am sure this 

 arrangement will be more satisfactory, as you will be certain to 

 get very prompt answers. 



One Dollar a Year is a "dirt cheap " price for a 

 weekly like the American Bee Journal. I think^verybody 

 who is at all familiar with it admits that statement. Compar- 

 ing it with the price of almost every other bee-periodical of 

 to-day, it should be $2.00 a year. Granting that, each sub- 

 scriber will readily see that the Bee Journal publishers are 

 saving him or her just $1.00 a year. Now, in return for that, 

 why not each reader resolve that each year he or she will pro- 

 cure at least one new subscriber for the Bee Journal ? Surely 

 each could do that, at least for a few years. Besides furnish- 

 ing a low-priced paper, the publishers are willing to pay liber- 

 ally for the work of getting new subscribers. As an evidence 

 of such fact, see page 658 of last number. 



The American Bee Journal is trying all the time to work 

 for \ioxi.r interest. Why not you try to work for Us interest ? 

 That is a mutual affair that ought to be self-commendable. 



See " Bee-Keeper's Guide " offer on page 673. 



^n)or)^ i\)€ Bee-Papers 



Gleaned by Dr, Uliller, 



CUB LATEST PERCOLATOR FEEDER. 



We are now using with great satisfaction, cleated boards 

 with a three-inch auger-hole in the center, in place of the 

 plates. The crocks are filled half and half, as previously ex- 

 plained : the flannel or cheese-cloth is then laid over, after 

 which the cleated boards with the orifice in the center. The 

 whole is reversed, and the percolated syrup is taken by the 

 bees at the opening in the center of the board now under the 

 crock. We prefer this arrangement because the bees take the 

 feed faster. — Gleanings editorial. 



KEEPING EXTRACTED HONEV IN LIQUID FORM. 



Good extracted honey, if brought to a temperature of not 

 over 180° Fahrenheit, bottled and sealed ■while hot, will usual- 

 ly, if kept in a uniformly warm temperature, keep liquid for a 

 year or more. Indeed, we had some fine clover honey, treated 

 in this way, keep liquid for two years. But there is a great 

 difference in honey. Some will candy much quicker than 

 others. The riper — that is, thicker — the honey is, the longer 

 it will keep liquid. 



Cold atmosphere is quite favorable to candying of both ex- 

 tracted and comb. 



The temperature of the storage-room should be about that 

 of a living-room — TO-'. Higher would do no harm, but is in- 

 convenient and expensive. 



Cellars and cold rooms, especially when subject to freez- 

 ing, are poor places for honey. 



In melting candied extracted honey, the temperature 

 should not go above 180^, otherwise the fine flavor will in a 

 large measure be destroyed. The usual way is, to place the 

 vessel of candied honey in another larger receptacle contain- 

 ing hot water. — Gleanings. 



SOME STRAY STRAWS FROM GLEANINGS. 



Sections that are extracted, to be used another year, must 

 be cleaned out by the bees, or your sections will be likely to 

 contain candied honey. 



Australians are giving attention to the question whether 

 it may not bo feasible and profitable to manage so as to increase 

 the production of wax. 



One advantage of using percolating feeders, or the crock- 

 and-plate method, is that robbers don't trouble as they do 

 when you use syrup. When you pour in the sugar, robbers 

 don't care for dry sugar. When you pour in the water, it 

 stays on top, and robbers don't hanker after cold water. 

 [Yes, and that advantage is a big one in a beginner's case. — 

 Ed.] 



If the interest among bee-keepers continues in such for- 

 age-plants as crimson clover, sweet clover, alfalfa, lathyrus 

 sylvestris, etc., the table will be turned ; and instead of agri- 

 cultural journals with a bee-department there will be bee- 

 journals with an agricultural department. 



WHERE BEES DO PRETTY WELL. 



We usually advise bee-keepers to stay where they are. 

 Bees do pretty well in almost any locality in the United States. 

 California (at least the southern part of it) stands at the head; 

 then comes Colorado, Arizona, Florida, New York, and Penn- 

 sylvania. But certain portions of the States named are bar- 

 ren of honey. — Gleanings. 



WILL QUEENS KEEP GOING BACK AND FORTH FROM ONE STORT 

 TO ANOTHER? 



The question came up whether my queens would go from 

 one story to the other with my new frames having top and 

 bottom bars each IJs inches wide, having respectively a thick- 

 ness of % and H, thus making, with the }4 inch between 

 them, a space of 1?^ inches without any comb, across which 

 the queen must pass to get from one story lo another. To give 

 the matter a pretty full test, I put seven colonies on these 

 frames in two stories. The combs were new, the colonies not 

 overly strong, and there was no likelihood that in any case 

 they would occupy more than eight combs. So I put four 

 combs in the upper story and four combs in the lower story, 

 leaving the queen in the upper story. If I found eggs in the 

 lower story after four or more days, then I would know to a 

 certainty that the queen had gone below. 



One colony was so weak that the queen could occupy only 



