THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



371 



THOMAS Q. NEWMAN, Editor. 



yoiniii. 



Jniiel5,188], 



No. 24 



x)VT^>4^ 



Soon will the festive bumble-bee 



His liltle carol sing, 

 And polish up right carefully 



His merry little sting. 



Soon will the small boy seek the wood 



To climb his favorite tree, 

 And in a happy, careless mood 



Pursue that self-same bee. 



Then will that blithesome bee In turn 

 Cause that same boy to scud 



To where he can relieve the burn 

 By plastering with mud. 



—Selected. 



A IMstlngulsbed Visitor.— The Cana- 

 dian Honey-Producer for June is just re- 

 ceived, and in it we And the following item 

 of news : 



We are pleased to inform our readers that 

 Mr. T. W. Cowan. F.G.S., F.R.M.S., editor of 

 the British Bee Journal, and a prominent 

 writer and British bee-keeper, also President 

 of the British Bee-Keepers' Association, 

 which has a membership of over 10,000, ex- 

 pects to visit Brantford this summer, where 

 he will lecture on bee-keeping. This will be 

 an event of interest to all, and the bee- 

 keepers of Brantford will make effort to 

 make Mr. Cowan's visit a pleasant one to 

 him, to show in a small measure their appre- 

 ciation of his kindness. 



We had the pleasure of making Mr. 

 Cowan's acquaintance some years ago, and 

 we congratulate our Brantford friends upon 

 the promise of a visit from such a genial 

 gentleman and enthusiastic apiarist. 



KIsslns Boex.— On page '239 we criticised 

 an Item "going the rounds of the press," 

 stating that Mrs. Thomas, a Pennsylvania 

 lady, readily sold all her comb honey " at 50 

 cents per pound," even in 8 and 10 pound 

 boxes; that she obtained a profit of $30 per 

 colony ; that her bees knew her, and often 

 " kissed " her hand, etc. We concluded the 

 criticism in these words : 



This 1-08)/ account is being extensively 

 copied into the papers, and will, no doubt, 

 induce many to embark in the business only 

 to become disgusted when they find that the 

 price of honey is less than one-fourth of 

 that quoted above ; and much of the rosy 

 speecn at the convention proves to be but a 

 " delusion and a snare 1" 



This displeased the Bee-E'eepera' Magazine, 

 which enviously remarked thus in the June 

 issue, which is just received : 



Mrs. Thomas is absolutely truthful, and a 

 most successful apiarist. Every word she 

 saidatthat conveidion was the truth, and we 

 think Mr. Newman had better seek some 

 other quarter Into which to overturn his 

 vial of sarcasm. 



We objected to the extravagant and rosy 

 remarks, because of their deceptiveness in 

 Inducing persons to keep bees upon the 

 representation that they could sell their 

 honey at 50 cents per pound, and make a 

 profit of $30 on each colony ; and then to 

 become disgusted and injure the pursuit. 

 We think bee-keepers generally will view It 

 in the same light— the Magazine to the con- 

 trary notwithstanding I 



But the next sentence caps the climax I 

 It reads thus : 



The great trouble, we suppose, lies In the 

 fact that her remarks tended to show what 

 you can do in a home market, and does not 

 help along that great (?) convention which is 

 being talked of. 



This sentence exhibits deplorable ignor- 

 ance or absurd jealousy— or both. 



Her remarks do7iot"8how what jou can 

 do in a home market "—for in no home mar- 

 ket in North America can any one obtain 50 

 cents per pound for comb honey I 



The idea is preposterous that any such 

 remarks could affect the "great (?) conven- 

 tion"— either to Mp it or hinder it I And 

 neither will any such jealous allusions have 

 any effect. 



The Bee-Keepers' Magazine would do much 

 better to labor tor the general good of the 

 pursuit, and encourage harmonious and 

 united action among apiarists everywhere. 

 In such it will always find a co-worker in the 

 American Bee Journal. 



Ants In the Apiary.— W. S. McCrum, 

 Etna Green, Ind., makes the following In- 

 quiries about ants in the apiary : 



I am troubled by small ants collecting 

 over the top of the covering of my hives. 

 How can I exterminate them ? Are they 

 any detriment ? My bees all wintered well 

 on the summer stands, and are doing well 

 since the rains. It was very dry here during 

 all the spring until about two weeks ago. I 

 never heard roaring in cold weather. 



Ants are no particular detriment to bees, 

 and only weak colonies will tolerate them. 

 Strong colonies will drive them away. To 

 sprinkle powdered borax about their hills 

 will drive them away very quickly. 



One method of exterminating them is 

 described by "one who knows" thus : 



When you find them on your premises, get 

 ready teakettles of boiling water, plenty of 

 it. Scald every little hole you see with a 

 mound of little earth pellets around it ; it is 

 the home of the ant. On a sunny day these 

 pellets are brought out of the nests to dry. 

 When the weather is damp, or soon will be, 

 you will see nothing but little holes in the 

 ground. The ants are all " at home." Scald 

 them. It your cellar is not cemented, hunt 

 the pest there ; very likely you will find lots 

 of them. When the work here recommended 

 has been done, clean out your closets, sugar 

 pails, everything in the closets ; rub fine 

 salt on the shelves, lay clean yellow paper 

 on them, and put back the dishes. In the 

 cracks of the floor and around the surface 

 of the closets should be placed ground red 

 pepper. Ants will not come again for a long 

 time. 



A Revised Version.— Little girl study- 

 ing Sunday-school lesson (third chapter of 

 Matthew)— "Uncle Henry, what did John 

 wear a leathern griddle for ?" Uncle Henry 

 — " A leather griddle 1 Why, what do you 

 mean ?" " Why, it says here, ' And the same 

 John had his raiment of camel's hair and a 

 leathern griddle about his loins, and his 

 meat was locusts and wild honey." Oh I I 

 see 1 to cook his locusts on." And away 

 she fled. 



Hiving Sivamis on Starters In 



Frames.- Mr. S. Cornell, in the American 

 Apiculturist for June, says that he lost con- 

 siderable by so doings few years ago. Ho 

 adds : 



The results were that I had brood and 

 pollen in the sections, and ono-third drone- 

 -comb in the brood-nests (which consisted of 

 only 4 frames of 160 square inches each), 

 besides being annoyed by the swarms re- 

 peatedly swarming out. 



If Bees cluster outside of the hives they 

 need ventilation or more room. 



Tbe grand essentials ol' Happiness 



are— something to do, something to love, 

 and something to hope for. 



When to Put on Sections.— This ques- 

 tion Is asked quite often, and here Is an 

 answer by Mr. F. L. Dougherty from the 

 Indiana Farmer : 



Sections should not go on the hives until 

 about the time the bees are ready to enter 

 them, but as that time depends entirely on 

 the condition of the colony and the honey 

 flow, there can be no set time for putting 

 them in place. The bees will seldom com- 

 mence in sections so long as there are un- 

 filled combs bolow ; and where colonies are 

 not suHiciently strong to occupy the sec- 

 tions at the liejjinningof the honey flow, all 

 surplus comb should be removed from be- 

 low to indQce them to enter the sections. 

 The combs ri.'inoved can be given back to 

 them for breetiing, the extra space in the 

 brood-chainl)L'r, iu the mean time, being 

 occupied by a division-board. Too much 

 room should not be given at flrst in the sec- 

 tions, as it is much more delrimental than 

 many suppose. Besides, they will com- 

 mence much more readily when not allowed 

 loo much space. 



Bees In a Wall of Stone.— The London 

 Standard relates the following Incident in 

 the county of Surry : 



For the last 16 or 18 years a colony of bees 

 has taken possession of a niche between the 

 walls of the Hautboy and Fiddle public 

 house at Ockham. near Ripley. The outer 

 walls of the building are about 3 feet in 

 thickness, and the bees made choice of their 

 storehouse at the very top of the building, 

 which Is three stories high. 



The landlord and landlady, with their 

 daughters, resolved this year upon flnding 

 out the exact whereabouts of the colony. A 

 diligent search was'made one morning under 

 the roof of the house, and a piece of comb 

 was found immediately below the slates, 

 but in such a position that it could not be 

 reached. Mr. Smith, the landlord, then 

 descended to the bedroom, and, with chisel 

 and hammer, removed a number of bricks 

 from the wall, where the nest was found. 



More than two feet square of the wall had 

 to be removed, when a wonderful sight pre- 

 sented itself— a large mass of comb, about 

 two feet in thickness, filled with honey, was 

 exposed. The bees were fumigated, after 

 which laree pieces of honey were cut out, 

 until dish after dish was filled with a total 

 quantity of about 120 pounds. The bricks 

 have not been put into the wall again, but a 

 a glass door has been inserted, so that any 

 one interested in bee culture may have an 

 opportunity of seeing them. 



The Haud-Stamp Catalogue of G. W. 



Bercaw & Bro., Fostoria, O., is on our desk. 

 It contains 10 pages. 



