THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



491 



Bees have done Nothing.— S. H. 

 Harrison, Maukato,5 Kans., on July 

 19, 1887, writes : 



Our bees have done nothing this 

 year— have not made their living ; but 

 it is not their fault, however. On 

 May 16 we had another severe hail- 

 storm, which destroyed all our buck- 

 wheat and early bloom. The bees 

 were compelled to wait for " buck- 

 brush "' to bloom (about July 11), 

 which yields but little honey. Our 

 harvest generally commences about 

 Aug. 1 to Aug. 15, when heart's-ease 

 comes into bloom. My 22 colonies 

 are getting ready for it. 1 have not 

 had a swarm issue so far this season. 

 1 have given them surplus eases for 

 room, and the hives are full of bees. 



Cure for Bee-Stings, etc.— Denison 

 Hoxie, \Vautoma,0 Wis., on July 20, 

 1887, says : 



Try kerosene oil for bee-stings ; it 

 is the best remedy— no swelling fol- 

 lows. We had no clover honey, but a 

 7 days' flow of basswood. Colonies 

 are built up finely for buckwheat, our 

 main honey crop here. 



The Chicago Convention.— L.High- 

 barger, of Adaline,5 Ills., on July 25, 

 1887, records his vote on the time for 

 holding the convention, thus : 



Count my vote for October for hold- 

 ing the Chicago Convention. Any 

 time will suit me during the Exposi- 

 tion or Grand Encampment and 

 Jubilee. 



[As this is the only vote yet received 

 in favor of a change from the pub- 

 lished time for holding the Conven- 

 tion, it will not be worth while to 

 continue any longer in uncertainty. 

 There have been many votes against 

 a change, and in favor of the last 

 week of the Fat Stock Show, when 

 all railroad fares will be at the lowest, 

 and at which time it was first ap- 

 pointed. Let it, then, be understood 

 that the Convention will be held at 

 Chicago, on Wednesday, Thursday 

 and Friday, November Ifi to 18, 1887, 

 and we hope that it will be largely 

 attended. We gave the fullest lati- 

 tude for canvassing the question, and 

 now as the " motion " does not meet 

 with any support, it is hereby 

 dropped.— Ed.] 



My Experience in Bee-Keeping,— 



J. E. Brooks, Howell, tx Mich., on 

 July 22, 1887, writes: 



I commenced with 10 colonies of 

 bees, and they began swarming on 

 June o, and stopped on June 30. I 

 had 22 swarms, and 2 or 3 absconded. 

 About one-half of the colonies have 

 filled the hives, but 1 have bad only 

 20 pounds of comb honey, taken from 

 the old colonies. It has been very 



dry here, but we had a heavy shower 

 last night that will help late corn and 

 potatoes ; early potatoes are past help. 

 I have sown some to Alsike clover 

 this summer, but the hot sun has 

 killed most of it. I will sow 15 or 20 

 acres of Alsike clover with timothy 

 about Sept. 1, as my neighbor says 

 that it is more certain to " catch ;" as 

 it is sandy soil, and the hot days dur- 

 ing July and August burn it up. I 

 shall sow a little rye with it to protect 

 it until it gets a root, and also to hold 

 the snow in winter. The rye is no 

 detriment to it tor pasture or hay 

 next season, as the stock will eat the 

 rye and let the small grass get rooted. 

 1 notice quite a discussion about the 

 word "extracted." I would suggest 

 '• drawn " honey ; although any of the 

 words will suit me, for it looks as 

 though I will never be troubled with 

 any surplus honey to sell. My bees 

 are now killing off the drones, and it 

 is a sight to see them in the evening, 

 bringing out the drones and tumbling 

 off of the steps with them. I sup- 

 posed they were robbing until I look- 

 ed more closely and found them only 

 leading out the drones. 



Bee-Keeping in Knoxville, Iowa. 



— H. J. Scoles writes as follows from 

 that place on July 20, 1887 : 



Below is a copy of an ordinance 

 passed by the Town Council of this 

 place. The blocks are 240x256 feet, 

 with an alley of 16 feet running 

 through the centre of that, so that it 

 is but 60 feet from a street or alley. 

 One man moved his bees out of the 

 corporation, and I moved mine to a 

 less public place. With these ex- 

 ceptions, there has been no attention 

 paid to it. Bees have done but little 

 this season ; they will not store one- 

 tenth of a crop, on account of the 

 drouth. Here is the ordinance : 



Sec. I. Be it ordained by the City Council of the 

 city of KTioxville, Iowa. That it aball be unlawful 

 to lieep ten ftands of bees or less, nearer to any 

 street or alley than 50 feet thereof. And it shall 

 be unlawful to beep any greater number of colo- 

 nies nearer than liiij leet to any street or alley. 



Sec. '2. Any person violatiOK any of the provi- 

 sions of this ordinance siiall, on conviction, pay 

 to said city a floe not to exceed $50, and cost of 

 prosecution, nor leas than f2 and cost of prosecu- 

 tion, and may be compelled by order of the 

 Mayor, to remove said bees, and on failure to 

 comply with such order, the Marshall shall ex- 

 ecute the same, and the costs shall be assessed 

 against the person convicted, and judgment there- 

 for shall be rendered against him in favor of the 

 city, and execution issued thereunder. 



Sec. 3. This ordinance to be and remain in 

 force from and after its publication according to 

 law. 



Approved March 7, 1887. 



Reception to Mr. Cowan.— Geo. E. 



Hilton, of Fremont,*© Mich., Presi- 

 dint of the Michigan State Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association, on July 22, 1887, 

 writes : 



Friend Newman :— By all means 

 let us give Mr. Cowan and lady a 

 grand reception ; the Canadians will 

 undoubtedly give him one, and " are 

 we not brethren V I would suggest 

 that you learn as soon as possible the 

 extent of Mr. Cowan's time here, and 

 if he cannot possibly stay until our 

 November meeting, then change the 

 date so that it will come within his 



stay with us. Chicago could accom- 

 modate all the Western bee-keepers, 

 and many of the Eastern members 

 could meet with our Canadian breth- 

 ren. I really hope this will meet the 

 approval of the officers and members 

 generally of the North American and 

 Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Societies. 

 What a grand rally and glorious time 

 we would have. 



[From present indications it would 

 seem that Mr. Cowan does not intend 

 to stay long enough in America for us 

 to arrange in advance for a general 

 reception. All we can now state is, 

 that last week he was visiting api- 

 arists in New England. He intends 

 to go to Quebec, Montreal, Ontario, 

 and then continue his journey West 

 as far as Chicago, but no time has 

 yet been set for his Western visits. — 

 — Ed.1 



Honey Season Nearly a Failure.— 

 G. W. Demaree, Christiansburg,6 

 Ky., on July 25, 1S87, says : 



We have had one of the very poor- 

 est honey seasons here. Prevailing 

 north and east winds, with cool 

 nights, in the early part of the season, 

 followed by drouth and amazingly hot 

 weather since, has made the honey 

 season well-nigh a failure. My small 

 honey crop is nearly all sold at 15 

 cents for honey in the comb, and 12}^ 

 for honey out of the comb ; taken 

 right from my honey store-rooms. 



Poorest Season for Several Years* 

 —Fred Bechly, Searsboro,© Iowa, on 

 July 22, 1887, says : 



This is the poorest season for honey 

 that we have had for several years. 1 

 commenced the spring of 1887 witti 20 

 colonies of bees, increased them to 26, 

 and got 280 pounds of extracted honey 

 so far. Bees are all strong and in fine 

 condition for the fall crop — should 

 there be one. As new names for ex- 

 tracted honey are in style, how would 

 " slung " honey do ; and •' honey 

 slinger " for honey-extractor ? 



[It will not do at all.— Ed.] 



Solving the Name Problem.— J. J. 



Tucker, Arrow Rock,© Mo., on July 

 25, 1887, writes : 



This is my solution of the name 

 problem : Let extracted be called 

 " honey," or " pure honey ;" then we 

 will have honey, and comb honey, to 

 distinguish the comb from the ex- 

 tracted honey. Honey taken from 

 the comb by the extractor is nothing 

 but honey pure and simple, hence the 

 appropriateness of the name. Honey 

 or pure honey, and comb honey, it 

 seems to me, will suit as well or bet- 

 ter than any name yet proposed. This 

 has been a hard season on bees. There 

 has been plenty of white clover, lin- 

 den and other honey-flora, but little 

 or no nectar. 



