THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



163 





THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



VolXM. MarcH 16 J88], No, 11. 



Rev. Henry Ward Beecber is dead. 

 That he was one of the greatest men of the 

 age, JH conceded alike by friends and foes. 



Auotlaer Triumph Tor the Union.— 



McCormiclj's Bill to "wipe apiculture out of 

 Michigan," as Prof. Cook calls it, was tabled 

 on his own motion on the -itb Inst. In addi- 

 tion to the reraonetrances from officers of 

 the Michigan Bee-Keepers' Associations, and 

 apiarists gcnerHlly, we sent him marked 

 copies of the Bee Jocbnal. Prof. Cook, 

 Vice President of the Bee-Keepers' Union, 

 used his influence, and Mr. Heddon, at Prof. 

 Cook's request, sent him an offlciai letter, as 

 President of the Union, and here is Mr 

 McCormick's reply : 



J.\ME8 Heddon, Pres. Bee-Keepers' Union— 

 Dear Sir :— Yours, in regard to House Bill 

 89. is at hand, and m reply I will say that 

 the Bill came up in its regular order, and 

 was, upon my own motion, " laid on the 

 table," and I shall let it die there I I do not 

 wish to injure the bee interests, or drive 

 them out of the State. Yours, etc., 



James W. McCobmick. 



Lansing, Mich., March 8, 1887. 



•Mr. Heddon says ; " In this we again see 

 the use of organization. I think it quite 

 likely that Mr. McCormick introduced the 

 Bill without giving it due thought, to please 

 some disgruntled constituent, and now, 

 upon re-consideration, Is as glad to let it die 

 as any of us." 



Here we have another example of the 

 benefits to be derived from organization and 

 combined effort. The members of the Bee- 

 Keepers' Union have many triumphs to be 

 proud over, and this adds another laurel. 



Tile Danish Bee Journal for the year 

 1886 is received from Mr. Alfred Rusbrldge, 

 of Chichister, England, author of " Bee- 

 Keeping ; plain and practical ; how to make 

 It pay, etc." Articles from this gentleman 

 are translated and run all through the year. 

 It Is edited by Hans Ersler, and published at 

 Kalundsborg, Denmark. 



The Bees have Wintered Well, is the 



general remark of all apiarists. As we are 

 promised an early spring, if the bees have 

 DO serious "set-backs" the crop of honey 

 will be good, and plans will have to bo made 

 to place it upon the market in the most de- 

 sirable manner, and to maintain living 

 prices. 



In Florida, says H. G. Burnett, in the 

 Dlfpatch, bees are swarming, and bringing 

 In honey rapidly from the abundant bloom 

 of the penny-royal, so that extracting is the 

 order of the day. The hives contain about 

 an average of .">0 pounds of honey, most of 

 which Is sealed over. Prospects are good 

 for an average of 75 to 100 pounds per 

 colony of penny-royal honey. By the time 

 that crop is gathered, the saw-palmetto will 

 open up, and the bees will be kept busy at 

 that until June. 



Bingham's Viiiesar Test.— So many 

 have inquired how to make the vinegar test, 

 mentioned on page 118, that we here give 

 Mr. Bingham's method, which will answer 

 all the questions at once : 



Take of clean yellow beeswax, one halt 

 ounce, and two ordinary shot, H inch in 

 diameter. Warm the wax until it is soft, 

 and put the two " shot" into the centre of 

 the piece of wax, as nearlv as convenient. 

 Make the wax into a ball like a marble. Its 

 upper surface will rise to the surface of the 

 vinegar or water containing one pound of 

 honey per gallon— Just the amount needed 

 for the best vinegar. 



IHore tying.— C. W. MoKown, of Knox 

 Co., Ills., has sent to us the Knox County 

 Beyublioan, with an article marked, copied 

 from the New York Mall and Express. In it 

 some lying penny-a-liner has drawn upon 

 his imagination for writing a "fancy 

 article," which damages the pursuit of bee- 

 keeping. It is headed, "Honey and Comb 

 to Order," and the first paragraph reads 

 thus : 



Not only has American enterprise suc- 

 ceeded in manufacturing a honey-comb to 

 save the bees the trouble of furnishing a re- 

 ceptacle for their sweet store, but it even 

 threatens to do away with the services of 

 the industrious little bee, by supplying the 

 honey also. More than one variety of manu- 

 factured honey is at present sold in the 

 market, as being the genuine product of 

 the little busy bee. Some of it comes in the 

 form of strained and clarified honey put up 

 in glass jars. More of it is supplied in the 

 comb in small boxes with glass on either 

 side, through which it may be seen, looking 

 as natural as if it had been stolen from the 

 hive. 



Such irresponsible ifalsifying^is the more 

 dangerous and despicable, because it will 

 travel by lightning, and be wafted on every 

 breeze— while;the truth, as a correction, will 

 limp along like a; cripple, and be kicked by 

 every passing coward. 



The wily part played'Iby the] originator of 

 that so-called "scientific pleasantry," will 

 cause his name to be execrated by honest 

 persons all the World over. And if he 

 should live a thousand years, and devote all 

 his remaining life to atone for the damages 

 he has already done to an honest pursuit, 

 he would die an infinite debtor to it ; for the 

 multiplying tongue [of , slander and false- 

 hood never can be controlled or made to 

 cease its villainous calumnies I His name 



will 



"Go flown 



To the vile dust from whence he spru ng. 

 Unwept, unhonored, and unsung." 



Carelessness In writing seems to be so 

 very prevalent that we desire to call atten- 

 tion to it before another season's business 

 commences. We have to day (Friday) re- 

 ceived a postal card, without name, post- 

 offlce, county. State, or date, complaining 

 because the writer received no reply to one 

 before sent— which was probably In the same 

 condition. To all let us say be sure to write 

 your name plainly, with postolHce, county 

 and State before sending an order to any 

 (or goods. 



The United States Senate reinstated 

 the special clause for apiculture in the 

 Agricultural Appropriation Bill and passed 

 it, but in conference, in the hurry of the 

 last days of the 49th Congress, the House 

 threw it out again, so apiculture will have 

 to get along again on "short rations" for 

 another year. This is very unfortunate, when 

 so much ought to bo done, under Govern- 

 mental control, for our pursuit during the 

 coming year. 



Deaths.— We were made cognizant last 

 month of the loss, by death, of the wives of 

 both Mr. Ira Barber and Mr. F. C. Benedict, 

 two well-known apiarists of this State. They 

 have our heartfelt sympathy. Another who 

 joined the "Great Ranks" was Mr. A. T. 

 Blauvelt, of Blauveltvllle, N. Y., a veteran 

 bee-keeper and breeder of very fine bees. — 

 Bee-Keepers' Magazine. 



James Harper, of Mason, Mich., who has 

 been a subscriber to the American Bee 

 Journal for 20 years, has Just passed to the 

 other shore. His 48 colonies of bees packed 

 In chaff are wintering finely— having re- 

 cently had a good Sight. This Information 

 comes from his son. 



In the Reading matter of their cata- 

 logue for 1887, Messrs. J. W. Powell & Son, 

 of Mankato, Minn., remark as follows : 



To all who wish to be In the front rank in 

 the art of bee keeping, we recommend the 

 American Bee Journal, published weekly 

 for one dollar a year, by 'Thos. G. Newman 

 & Son. 9'2,3 and 925 West Madison Street, 

 Chicago, Ills. The above-named paper is a 

 live, wide awake journal, and will make a 

 live ben-keeper of any one who will take and 

 read it. 



As this was unsolicited and totally un- 

 expected, it is the more valued. Thanks. 



Catalogues for 1887.— Those on our 

 desk are from 



Thomas B. Blow, Welwyn, Herts, England 

 —60 pages— Bees, Hives, and Honey. 



E. T. Flanagan, Belleville, Ills.— 8 pages- 

 Bees and Supplies. 



Reynolds Bros.. Williamsburg, Ind.— 16 

 pages — Bees and Supplies. 



E. R. Plerson. Tarrytown, N. Y.— 96 pages 

 —Seeds and Plants. 



J. M. Hambaugh, Spring, Ills. -10 pages- 

 Apiarian Supplies. 



S. D. McLean, Columbia, Tenn.— 2 pages- 

 Bees. 



E. M. Yeomans, Andover, Conn.— 4 pages 

 —Bees. 



J. W. Eckman, Richmond, Tex. — 4 pages- 

 Bees and Poultry. 



There Is no Mistake in insisting that— 

 as in all other things, so In advertising— the 

 best is the cheapest, no matter what its first 

 cost may be. 



