THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



339 



THOMAS a. NEWMAN, Editor. 



VflinilL Jmc 1,1887. No. 22. 



^^^&^^^ 



'TIs Alirays Morning Somewliere, and 



above 

 The awakening Continents, from shore to 



shore, 

 Somewhere the bees are "humming" ever 



more. 



Be Alirays on the lookout to prevent 

 and immediately stop robbing. 



In the Spring, when colonies are build- 

 ing up, bees are less disposed to sting. 



Enlarge Brood-Cbauibers and give 

 empty combs as required, but keep well 

 crowded and warmly covered. 



At tills Season, says a British bee- 

 keeper, " meddle as little as possible.meddto 

 as much as necessary, but always see to it 

 above all things that the bees never for one 

 hour are short of food right up to the time 

 of the clover bloom." 



Amazing Ignorance !— Id the Home 

 and Farm of Louisville, Ky., for this month 

 we notice the following from a benighted 

 region in the South. It is signed William P. 

 Moore, Dogwood, Ark. : 



Some of my neighbors say that there is no 

 queen-bee. and no one can show her. They 

 say that the drone lays the egg that the bee 

 is raised from : that there is no bee except 

 the drone and the little working bee. I be- 

 lieve that there is a queen-bee, and as I am 

 young in the beerearlng business, I want to 

 ask the experienced bee-raisers, to please 

 describe through the Home and Farm the 

 difference in all the bees. First tell whether 

 there is a queen, and how she looks and 

 what she does; then tell about the drone, 

 whether he stays In the hive all the time or 

 at what time drones appear and disappear. 

 What bee lays the egg, and at what time do 

 they lay it ? How long does a bee live ? I 

 would be glad to have some persons to an- 

 swer these for the benefit of myself and 

 neighbors. 



Any so ignorant as Is described in this 

 item should lose no time, but procure a 

 good Manual and Inform themselves on the 

 anatomy, physiology, and habits of bees. 

 There is no excuse for Ignorance in this age 

 of light and knowledge. 



The lujuiit'tlon OQ the City Council of 

 Arkadelphia, Ark., to prevent it from order- 

 ing the removal of the bees from within the 

 city limits, as mentioned on page 307, was 

 not sustained. Mr. Clark writes as follows 

 concerning it : 



The Judge ruling that he did not have any 

 right to take up the case and enjoin; stat- 

 ing that he did not know what the Council 

 intended to do, and that the Mayor might 

 not tine me for keeping bees in the city 

 limits ; and if he did, tnen It would be time 

 enough for me to ask for an Injunction. 



My attorney urged the plea that I wanted 

 to obviate being Qned and harrassed. If 

 this case goes against us, it will work a hard- 

 ship on all bee-keepers in incorporated 

 cities and towns. Nowls the time for us all 

 to rally to the front and work to gain this 

 case. If it goes against me It will work a 

 hardship on me, as I have a wife and three 

 small children that are looking to me to row 

 the boat safely. 



The Union will stand by* Mr. Clark in this 

 matter, and see it through, for It would be 

 very detrimental to the pursuit to allow a 

 decision against bee-keeping to be put upon 

 record on the plea of its being a " nuisance." 



The newspapers in Arkadelphia are teem- 

 ing with items about this case. We subjoin 

 a few which will be spicy reading for bee- 

 keepers at large : 



City Fathers Foouno with the Bees.— 

 Messrs. C. P. Smith and Z. A. Clark have 

 for some time past been engaged in bee- 

 culture in this city. And now, as to the 

 business of producing honey, they have 

 " millions in it. ' Others also keep bees 

 within the corporate limits, so that were the 

 census taken of those actually engaged 

 wlthing our corporate limits as workers, the 

 aggregate number of sober. Industrious 

 resident laborers would compare with the 

 population of New York or London, if not 

 with the most densely populous cities of 

 China. But a recent ordinance of our city 

 fathers have declared these denizens a 

 nuisance, ordained in effect that the honey- 

 bee, that so "improves each shining hour," 

 must go. The ordinance, however, is to be 

 hotly contested in the courts, and a suit will 

 be at once begun that whether or no it 

 prove to be "like llnkcn sweetness." will 

 doubtless be " long drawn out." "To be or 

 not to be?" that's the question here just 

 now.— Oa3et(e. 



Prayer of the Bees.— To you, oh, city 

 fathers, do we come In humble supplication 

 and beseech of you that you will in your 

 great omnipotence, deal with us more 

 gently. Take us by our shielded sting ; lead 

 us ; show us the gardens of your neighbors, 

 that we may let your peaches and the cook- 

 eries of your own dear housewives go un- 

 molested : and we may revel in your neigh- 

 bor's choicest fruits, and your happy 

 smiles. Oh, teach us the paths you would 

 have us fly. Turn us from wrong and guide 

 us forever while within your fair domain. 

 Or, if you cannot do this, please, in your 

 over-abundance of benevolence, give us one 

 more fair trial in which with our peach- 

 eating mouths we promise not to touch, 

 taste nor handle, in yourprovince, one over- 

 ripe peach. Then, oh city fathers. If we do 

 not keep every letter, syllable or word of 

 our promise, with your ample town purse, 

 banish us to the end of earth, or where we 

 in peace can work to the benefit of our kind 

 masters. Qiteen Shkbee. 



P. S.— Can we gather honey in Australia 7 

 —Standard. 



We will bet our best bat that there is one 

 spotted " razor-back " in the east end of 

 town that will commit more depredations in 

 one day than Clark's 200 colonies of bees 

 will in one year. This bet stands till the 

 Clipper is hatless, or that pig comes to a 

 sad end.— Clipper. 



Those Buc-a-boo Bees.— To bee or not to 

 bee ; that is the question. Or rather. It was 

 the question ; for In their zealous and often 

 ill advised search for hidden sweets, the 

 honey-makers got into the bonnets of our 

 Council men. and the result of their buzzing 

 was the paspiia-e of an ordinance which Is 

 rather rugged when viewed in a literary 



light, but which is perfectly bee-tight in the 

 opinion of its authors, and would-be tight 

 in the estimation of friends of that improve- 

 each-shininghour insect, who, it is asserted, 

 have retained eminent legal talent to "bust" 

 that ordinance into smithereens. 



There is a gloomy satisfaction in the 

 thought that the bees, against whom this 

 crusade is being waged, are not our native 

 Arkansas species, but bustling, ill-mannered 

 emigrants from Italy. When introduced, 

 these Italian lazzaronl, or buzz aroni, Im- 

 mediately proceeded to revolutionize the 

 honey-making business.-Standard. 



Oh, yes, glorious city fathers, now have 

 you done a deed of great valor ; since your 

 master-minds have disposed of a question 

 of such great moment. Surely, do you now 

 desire rest ? Can you not all pray, " We 

 have done our work ; Transport us hence 

 into everlasting bliss I After two long years 

 of unprecedented toil, in which we have 

 overworked our master minds to such a 

 degree that we are now unable to hold our 

 daily post on the street corners, contemplat- 

 ing the work of two long years ; for now 

 who can say that the bees have not been 

 driven from our fair city's limit— a work 

 heretofore thought only capable of being 

 done by the gods. Since they have willingly 

 neglected so great a duty, let those whom 

 we have ridded of the stinging, pestilential 

 rotten-peacheating bees, sing praises to 

 our glorious name, while through our un- 

 paved streets they unmolested go. Inhaling 

 life's invigorator from the beautiful ponds, 

 and listen to nightly-praises sung by their 

 thousands of musical Inhabitants. Oh, let 

 sweet perfume wasted from our store-house 

 of myrrh, provided by our submissive mer- 

 chants in the rear of their stores, greet us 

 with life everlasting."— rjfizeKe. 



Combluation Section-Case.— We have 

 received from Mr. Hilas D. Davis, of Brad- 

 ford, Vt., one of his combination section- 

 cases, which he describes as follows : 



It is flUed with five different styles of 

 boxes. The largest is designed for hotel use. 

 The one-pounds and three-fourths of a 

 pound sections are for the general trade, 

 while the smaller sizes are designed for 

 Fairs and samples of honey. 



In regard to the section-case, I have 

 tested it but one year, and from tiie results 

 I have to expect at least one-third more 

 honey with less soiling of capplngs, and 

 better filled sections. 



The " case " contains five sizes of sections: 

 two, three, four, five and six in a row, ac- 

 cording to size— 29 sections in all. They are 

 all white poplar, as are also the cases, and 

 make a nice appearance. Each row of sec- 

 tions Is in a "case" by itself, with a wood 

 separator attached, and the separator is 

 hollow, leaving a passage-way for the bees 

 Inside, so as to prevent their running over 

 the combs, as much as possible. The end- 

 pieces are wedge-shaped, and a band slips 

 up over all to hold the sections together. It 

 is an ingenious contrivance, and is placed 

 in our Museum with much pleasure. 



niellssa Offlcinalls (or Melissa Balm, 

 Bee-Balm, etc.) is probably the oldest recog- 

 nized honey-plant in the world, being known 

 to the Greeks, as its name indicates, and It 

 Is so called on account of the attractions to 

 the bees which the plants are said to pos- 

 sess. Melissa is also credited with being 

 hardy, fragrant and very productive in rich 

 nectar ; thriving alike in a dry or wet soil. 

 It is an annual, and blooms profusely the 

 first season. 



Some Men are Rnled by passion, others 

 by compassion. What a world of difference 

 that little " com " makes in our happiness I 



