AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



487 



Frank Benton, who has for 



years been in Europe," and made atrip 

 to Asia and "the Islands of the Seas " 

 to find new races of bees, is now in 

 Washington, D. C. He is engaged by 

 the Government in the Apiarian Section, 

 Division of Entomology, Department of 

 Agriculture. He is well qualified for 

 the position. The Chattanooga (Tenn.) 

 Times says : 



Dr. C. V. Riley, United States Ento- 

 mologist, has signified a desire to send 

 Prof. Benton, next year, to India on a 

 mission to investigate Apis dorsata, a 

 species of bees of that country. No one 

 else is so well fitted as he for the satis- 

 factory discharge of such a mission. 



Last Spring he returned with his 

 family from a residence in the Old World 

 of eleven years, the whole of which time 

 he devoted to the study and exportation 

 of bees. He established apiaries, and 

 lived for one or more years in each of 

 the follov/ing places : Island of Cyprus 

 in the Mediterranean Sea; Beyrout, 

 Syria, where his apiary was on Mt. Leb- 

 anon ; Munich, Germany ; Larbach and 

 Krainburg, Province of Carniola, Aus- 

 tria ; he also traveled very extensively, 

 establishing an apiary on a French 

 estate in Tunis, North Africa, and even 

 pentrating, in the interest of apiculture, 

 the jungles of India, where he contracted 

 "jungle fever." 



In addition to his special work he has 

 been an ardent linguist, and speaks 

 fluently German, French, Italian, modern 

 Greek, and so on. At one time he was 

 studying ten different languages. 



Dr. Riley intends to put Prof. Benton 

 in charge of the whole matter of an ex- 

 hibit in apiculture at the World's Fair. 

 This is a fitting recognition of his ability, 

 and he can be depended on to make the 

 most of the display. He is well-known 

 to some of our citizens, having lived for 

 some time in Knoxville, Tenn., where 

 he was instructor in apiculture in the 

 University of Tennessee. 



'When Colunit>us was made a 

 prisoner in San Domingo, the Governor 

 who arrested him feared there might 

 be an attempt at rescue. So he trained 

 a big gun on the entrance of the citadel, 

 or castle, in which Columbus was con- 

 fined. That cannon has lain in the 

 same place ever since until now, when 

 Mr. Ober, a World's Fair representa- 



tive, recovered it, and with the permis- 

 sion of the Governor of San Domingo, 

 brought it to the United States. It has 

 been shipped to Chief of Construction 

 Burnham in order that he may use it in 

 some way in ornamenting the Exposition 

 grounds. 



Silver IJVedding:.— The Hon. 



Eugene Secor and wife, of Forest City, 

 Iowa, having been married 25 years on 

 Sept. 23, 1891, were happily "sur- 

 prised " by their neighbors. The Forest 

 City Independent says : 



A grand silver wedding was celebrated 

 in our city on Wednesday evening, Sept. 

 23, 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Secor 

 have been married 25 years. A surprise 

 party of about 100 ladies and gentle- 

 men concluded that they would more 

 firmly cement the holy bonds of matri- 

 mony of this worthy couple by aiding in 

 tying a silver knot. A magnificent ban- 

 quet had also been prepared by the 

 invading guests for the occasion. A 

 beautiful silver tea-set, and other 

 valuable things were presented. It was 

 a propitious occasion, and a pleasant 

 evening was enjoyed by all. 



Krosts are now to be expected. Prof: 

 Foster's latest forecast is as follows : 



Frosts are important weather events, 

 and the first frosts in the Fall, and the 

 last in the Spring, are quite difficult 

 to forecast. No single frost is sufficient 

 to kill all the tender vegetable growths 

 in the same latitude, and where the 

 ground is very dry, frosts are not apt to 

 occur. A frost may kill all vegetation 

 in one spot, and not touch anything a 

 mile away. 



I have calculated that the most im- 

 portant frost dates wou'ld be about Oct. 

 10 or 11, 17 or 18, and Nov. 2 or 3, 

 and that the last date would entirely 

 kill the cotton plant. 



A warm wave will be due to leave the 

 Pacific coast about the 12th, cross the 

 central valleys about the 14th, and 

 reach the Atlantic about the 16th. 



The fourth storm wave of the month 

 will be due to leave the Pacific coast 

 about the 19th, cross the central valleys 

 from the 20th to the 22d, and reach the 

 Atlantic coast about the 23d. A cool 

 wave will cross the Rockies about the 

 15th, the central valleys about the 

 17th, and reach the Atlantic coast about 

 the 19th. W. T. Foster. 



