AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



661 



Wavelets ol News. 



Bees in Mexico. 



Fifty years ago bees were not known 

 in the hnastecas in Mexico (buasteca 

 signifies the land of flowers) ; to-day 

 there is not a village, an estate, a ham- 

 let, or a house that has not got its hives. 

 The Indians do not cultivate bees for 

 the honey, but for the wax, which is 

 bleached and sold in cakes at 75 francs 

 to yO francs the 113^ kilos. It is 

 scarcely 20 years ago since the huasti- 

 can bee-keepers threw away the honey. 

 Now they sell it for 1 peso (5 francs), 

 the box of 5 gallons, or 20 litres. This 

 honey is exported by Tamplco. A well- 

 cared-for apiary will produce 1 arroba 

 (25 pounds) of wax per box, and each 

 box gives two, three, or four swarms a 

 year. 



Anti-formic Elixir. — A chemist in 

 Albi, M. Cambonlives, pharmacist of the 

 first class, has just discovered an elixir 

 which renders quite harmless the stings 

 of bees, hornets, and of all the other 

 apidcn. Thanks to this elixir, swelling 

 which is consequent on the stinging of 

 bees is no longer to be feared,— Trans- 

 lated from La Culture rationnelle des 

 Abeilles, by J. Dennler, for the British 

 Bee Journal. 



Words of Encouragement. 



Now, brother bee-keepers, there is no 

 reason that the poor season just past 

 should cause us to neglect our chosen, 

 pleasant and profitable pursuit. All 

 productive industries have their seasons 

 of failure, and who would think of 

 abandoning the growing of corn or 

 wheat because there had been a season 

 of poor crops. 



So far from being discouraged, we 

 were never more interested in bee-keep- 

 ing than now, and are preparing for 

 future work with greater diligence than 

 ever before, for we find with greater 

 clearness each year, that success in 

 obtaining paying crops of honey depends 

 on applying correct knowledge to prac- 

 tical ends. — B. Taylor, in the Farm, 

 Stock and Home. 



Bees in Early Winter. 



Bees should be prepared for Winter 

 not later than November, and if a cold, 

 early Autumn sets in, the work should 

 be done on the first warm day after the 



cold spell. Provided the weather re- 

 mains sufficiently warm, the later the 

 bees are housed the better it is for them. 

 The bees that are wintered in-doors 

 should not be taken in until cold weather 

 is actually here for good, or else it may 

 be necessary to move them back again 

 on the summer stands, should a warm 

 spell follow. Before removing the hives 

 inside, the caps must be removed, and 

 wire nailed over all of the openings to 

 prevent mice from entering. 



During the scarcity of natural stores 

 in early Fall, plenty of food should be 

 given to them to keep up the brood rear- 

 ing. The important point of having a 

 good queen should not be neglected, for 

 the queen is the life of the colony.— 

 Helen Wharburton, in the American 

 Cultivator. 



Why Bees Die in Winter. 



Bees die in Winter because the condi- 

 tions necessary for their health and 

 comfort are not fulfilled. In the main 

 bee-keepers agree as to what these 

 conditions should be, but differ in their 

 methods for securing them. 



Every bee-keeper should know what 

 these conditions are, and after knowing 

 other people's methods, select the ones 

 that his judgment and experience of 

 others would recommend, making such 

 variations as would be wise. • 



These requisites are in brief, whole- 

 some food, pure air, an even and proper 

 temperature, and quiet. The first of 

 these means good capped honey, and 

 not less than 25 pounds ; though if all 

 the above conditions were fulfilled, not 

 near this amount would be needed. 



Winter is the resting time for the 

 bees, and if not disturbed or compelled 

 to keep up bodily heat, but very little 

 honey will be consumed. 



Bees as well as men, need pure air, 

 but they do not need much of it. This 

 is true of all insects, and especially 

 when they are inactive. So while the 

 hive must be ventilated, all drafts of 

 air through it should be avoided. — 

 Indiana Farmer. 



Xhie ]Vortli American Bee- 

 Keepers' Convention will be held at 

 Albany, N. Y., Dec. 8 to 11. 



Oround Cork is the best packing 

 material for bees in Winter. It never 

 becomes damp, and it is a thorough 

 non-conductor. It is so cheap that its 

 cost is practically nothing. 



