THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



531 



THOMAS 0. NEWMAN, Editor. 



lllii'i"'' ' '-'— 



Voinill. Am, 24,1887. No. 34. 



inellit is the name given to a dry scab on 

 the heel of the forefoot of a horse, because 

 it is usualiy cured by a mixture of honey 

 and vinegar. 



Sacrificed— that is what is done with 

 every pound of white honey in sections 

 which is sold for less than 20 cents. Honey 

 sold the earliest will bring the least price I 

 It will increase in value as the days grow 

 shorter. Do mil be in a hurry I Wait for the 

 highest market price. 



Tile Insurance on J. B. Mason i Son's 

 building, the burning of which we men- 

 tioned on pages 4!)0 and 509, was $«00. 

 When the insurance was taken out, there 

 was not nearly as much in it as there was 

 when it burned, and the insurance was not 

 increased. 



The Winnebago County, Ills., Agri- 

 cultural Society will hold its thirty-third 

 annual Exposition on Sept. 5, G, 7, 8 and 9, 

 at Rockford, Ills. C. C. Jones, of Rockford, 

 Ills., the Secretary, will cheerfully send a 

 Premium List upon application. 



Saint Joseph, Mo.— The Managers of 

 the Inter-State Exposition at St. Joseph, 

 Mo., have engaged the Editor of the Ameri- 

 ■C.^N Bee Journal to award the premiums 

 in .the Apicultural Department, on Wednes- 

 day, Sept. 14, 1887. He will also deliver two 

 lectures on '' Bees and Honey " on the after- 

 noons of Wednesday and Thursday, in 

 Apicultural Hall. It is to be hoped that the 

 bee-keepers of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and 

 Nebraska will make a grand exhibit of bees, 

 honey, and ap-arian supplies. 



When Bees arc Sivarmlnsrit is the old 



colony leaving the hive and abandoning the 

 stores to the younger members. The old 

 queen goes with them, and they seek a new 

 location, with nothing for a beginning e.x- 

 cept what honey they fill themselves with as 

 they taU-e their departure.— Self cled. 



Iflellssa Officinalis (or Mellissa Balm, 

 Bee-Balm, etc., as it is commonly called), 

 has already been mentioned on pages 3M, 

 ■t7."> and 506 of the Beb JonRNAL for the 

 present year, as one of the best honey-pro- 

 ducers in existence. Mr. A. C. Tyrrel, of 

 Madison, Nebr., has sent to us a large stalk, 

 and writes us as follows concerning it, on 

 Aug. 15, 1887 : 



That you may better determine whether 

 or not the statements I have heretofore 

 made as to the value of "melissa" as a 

 honey-plant, are well founded, I send a plant 

 which, in Its natural state, measured 2 feet 

 and 7 inches in heighth, 8 feet and 10 inches 

 in circumference, and had up to date put 

 forth 30.000 flowers, not counting the 

 smaller laterals or buds, of which there are 

 several thousands in various stages of 

 development. If there is another honey- 

 plant that can show a better record, I would 

 like to know It. 



My plants commenced to blossom July 10, 

 and are still in bloom^ Profiting by the 

 drouth last season, I carefully saved and 

 sowed most of the seed I raised, and trans- 

 planted all the volunteerplants I had, other- 

 wise my bees would have starved, as my 

 Alsike and white clover was killed by the 

 drouth. There is an abundance of golden- 

 rod and other wild flowers, but not a bee has 

 visited them. Our bees are in splendid con- 

 dition, plenty of honey in the brood-cham- 

 bers, and some surplus— all to be placed to 

 the credit of " melissa " I believe " melissa" 

 will thrive in waste places as well If not 

 better than sweet clover, for the seeds are 

 8tjrc to germinate, even under the most un- 

 favorable circumstances, are very attrac- 

 tive to bees, and bloom profusely ; thus far. 

 never having failed to secrete nectar during 

 the severest drouth known In the history of 

 our State. 



We find the plant to be just as it is 

 described above by Mr. Tyrrel. It Is prob- 

 ably the oldest recognized honey-plant In 

 existence. It was known to the Ancient 

 Greeks to possess a wonderful attraction to 

 the bees, and hence they named it melissa, 

 or "the honey-producer." It is also called 

 balm, balm-leaf, etc. It Is credited with 

 being a hardy-grower. Is fragrant, and ver.v 

 productive, as is also shown by the above, 

 where Mr. Tyrrel says that the plant sent us 

 has already " put forth thirty thousand 

 flowers, not counting the smaller laterals or 

 buds, of which there are several thousands 

 in various stages of development." It will 

 thrive on either wet or dry soil, and will pay 

 for cultivation for its honey alone. 



An Agrlcnltnral Society has been 

 organized in Winnebago County. Iowa, and 

 Mr. Eugene Secor is its first President. The 

 time for holding Its first Fair will be deter- 

 mined In a few days. The Winnebago Sum- 

 mit says : 



The organization of an agricultural society 

 in this county is a long step In the right 

 direction, and the offlcers and directors at 

 the head of it is a guaranty that its affairs 

 will be wisely and well managed. 



The President being a prominent apiarist 

 should give us a pattern in the line of a Bee 

 and Honey Show. Mr. Secor will please 

 take this hint and " work It out." 



Extracted Honey. — The discussions 

 concerning the adoption of a new name for 

 " honey out of the comb " has been free and 

 full ; and all the arguments for a change of 

 cognomen, as well as suggestions for a new 

 name, have received due attention. 



The matter will now be referred to the 

 North American Bee-Keepers' Convention 

 (as to a jury) this fall, for decision. Two 

 questions will be asked : 



1. Is it desirable to make a change in the 

 name of honey, when it is removed from 

 the combs? 



2. If so, what shall be the name ? 



The decision of that Convention shall be 

 final, so far as the present discussion is con- 

 cerned. If desired by those who cannot 

 attend the Convention, suggestions or argu- 

 ments may be sent to the Secretary, to be 

 presented at the proper time to the Con- 

 vention. 



This will dispose of the question for the 

 time being— and now let the discussion 

 cease. We need the space for other impor- 

 tant matters, and as soon as those communi- 

 cations on hand, which relate to the naming 

 of honey, have received attention, the whole 

 matter will be laid over until the Convention 

 meets. 



Abuse Is Not Ars'iment.- It does not 

 require much intellect in order to be 

 abusive. No sensible person will throw 

 much mud when rocks are at hand. When 

 an individual stoops to use epithets in a 

 discussion, that Is prima facie evidence that 

 nothing better is available. "If you have 

 no case, abuse the opposing attorney, is the 

 motto of pettifoggers, ilie world over. 



Jealous Canadians.— On page 533, the 

 Hev. W. P. Clarke has given a good reply to 

 a jealous Canadian who took exception to 

 our review on page 483. 



The Canadian Bee Journal, on page 431, 

 contains the following sentences : 



On this side of the line, America always 

 indicates the United States. It we speak of 

 the continent we speak of North America. 

 The editor of the Canadian Bee Journal may 

 be " impulsive," but he is not troubled with 

 bilious attacks, and we trust that the editor 

 of the American Bee Journal mav soon be 

 over his. It may probably relieve Mr. New- 

 man's mind somewhat to know that Mr. 

 Jones never saw the item over which all 

 this splutter is made, until after it appeared 

 in the C. B. J., as there happen to be two 

 editors in connection with the Journal. 



Our article was intended as an apology for 

 our Canadian cotemporary, and to smooth 

 over the trouble, and we are sorry to notice 

 the "mud throwing" in the above para- 

 graph. 



If Canadians do always mean "North 

 America" when they speak of "the Conti- 

 nent," it shows that they are in error, for 

 "the Continent of America" includes Can- 

 ada, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Chili, 

 Peru, and all the other countries of South 

 America. It will be easier for our cotem- 

 porary to own up to using the word Ameri- 

 can in an crroneoui sense, than to try to 

 cover up the error. 



The Fair at Creston, Iowa, will be 

 held from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2, 1887. In the 

 Apicultural Department the competition is 

 confined to Union, Adam8,Ringgold, Taylor, 

 Clarke, Adair and Madison counties. The 

 premiums amount to S46 on honey, bees, 

 and apiarian supplies. E. R. Fosmire is the 

 Superintendent, and I. M. Foote, Assistant. 

 "The colonies of bees on exhibition must 

 be the progeny of one queen, and exhibited 

 in such shape as to be readily seen on two 

 sides. Purity of race, docility, size of bees, 

 and numerical strength to be considered." 

 Premium lists may be obtained of the Sec- 

 retary, S. A. Brewsler, Creston, Iowa. 



