AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



743 



For a Funny Item commend us 

 to the following from a late copy of the 

 Elgin, (Ills.,) Daily Co?M^ier, sent to us by 

 friend Frank Blecka, one of our sub- 

 scribers at Elgin. It is a strange 

 admixture of fact and fancy — the latter 

 predominating. Here it is : 



There must be no competition against 

 our native American bee, though it can 

 kick harder and get its temper up 

 quicker than any other bee alive. 

 Italian queen bees, imported to tame 

 down our native product and make it 

 more biddable-like, must pay a duty of 

 20 per cent, ad valorem. A curious 

 instance of how the best of men will 

 evade customs duties, if they can, hap- 

 pened lately. 



A citizen of Iowa wished to import 

 some Italian bees to improve his breed 

 of natives. For some reason the insects 

 were sent through the mails. Whether 

 some nervous post-office clerk smelled 

 out the bees, or in whatever way their 

 contraband presence became known to 

 the collector of the port of New York, 

 he detained thera until he sent word to 

 Washington about them. 



They were only released when the 

 owner paid duty on them. Thus he lost 

 his postage and his temper, and lost in 

 the value of his queen bees. Their 

 nervous system suffered severe shock 

 from thus being held as smuggled goods. 

 The affair will be known as the Iowa 

 queen-bee case. 



Plans for the exercises dedicatory of 

 the World's Exposition buildings during 

 the week of Oct. 12, 1892, are fast being 

 matured. " One of the chief features 

 practically decided upon is a nocturnal 

 procession of floats on the illuminated 

 lagoons at Jackson Park. These floats 

 will . represent a chronological epitome 

 of salient historical events by centuries, 

 from 1492 until the present time. 

 Altogether there will be between forty 

 and fifty floats costing perhaps $700 

 each on an average. The last one will 

 represent Chicago welcoming the nations 

 of the earth. All of the floats will fairly 

 blaze with electric lights, and thousands 

 of incandescent lamps under the water 

 will give them the appearance of floating 

 on a lake of fire. It is believed that 



fully 50,000 people will watch this gor- 

 geous spectacle each night from the 

 banks of the lagoon. 



The speech making, choral exercises, 

 etc., will occur in the Manufacturers' 

 Building, which will be fitted with seat- 

 ing accommodation for 80,000 to 100,- 

 000 people. It is now thought that 

 from 12,000 to 15,000 troops will 

 participate in the dedicatory exercises. 

 The expense of the dedicatory cere- 

 monies will approximate $200,000. 



In tlie programme of the 26th 

 annual convention of the Michigan State 

 Bee-Keepers' Association, to be held at 

 the Eagle Hotel, Grand Rapids, Mich., 

 on Dec. 31, 1891, and Jan. 1, 1892, 

 are the following essays : 



Annual Address — President Robert L. 

 Taylor. 



The best all-purpose brood-frame — J. 

 H. Larrabee, Agricultural College, Mich. 



The bicycle i;s. the horse for out- 

 apiary trips — E. R. Root, Medina, O. 



Bees, poultry and fruit — J. A. Pearce, 

 Grand Rapids, Mich. 



Trying new things — W. Z. Hutchin- 

 son, Flint, Mich. 



Cellar vs. out-of-door wintering — A. J. 

 'Acker, Martiney, Mich. 



What business can be profitably com- 

 bined with bee-keeping ? — Wm. E. Gould, 

 Fremont, Mich. 



Cause and cure for foul-brood — Dr. A. 

 B. Mason, Auburndale, O. 



Uses and abuses of comb-foundation — 

 M. H. Hunt, Bell Branch, Mich. 



Carniolan bees— H. D.Cutting,Clinton, 

 Mich. 



Reduced rates of $1.25 per day have 

 been secured at the Eagle Hotel, with a 

 nice room to meet in under the same 

 roof. Everything promises one of the 

 best meetings ever held in the State. 

 There will be reduced rates on all rail- 

 roads. 



If You Have any honey to sell, 

 get some Honey Almanacs and scatter 

 in your locality. They will sell it all in 

 a very short time. We have a few 

 Almanacs for 1891, which we are selling 

 at half price. 



