AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



229 



was more than I had time to attend to, 

 when I was on the farm. Since I have 

 left the farm I have not had room to en- 

 large without building a honey-house 

 and a winter repository, which, at my 

 age (66), seems hardly advisable, as my 

 eye-sight is getting too poor to manipu- 

 late bees. I have heretofore kept bees 

 for honey, and not for money. I have 

 been able to furnish my table, and have 

 a little to sell nearly every year. This, 

 with the satisfaction of having them 

 around and seeing them work, has been 

 reward enough for me. I might, per- 

 haps, have obtained better results the 

 past season if I had, as they dwindled 

 down, united them. The weather was 

 cool a good deal of the time, and they 

 were very irritable it seemed, and no 

 amount of smoke would quiet them, and 

 when it was warm enough for them to 

 fly, as soon as I opened a hive, it was a 

 signal for a general raid from all the col- 

 onies in the yard. J. C. Akmstrong. 

 Bromley, Iowa, Jan. 27, 1891. 



Favors a Trade-Mark. 



The question about the Union adopt- 

 ng a trade-mark, is an interesting one, 

 and I am heartily in favor of it, as I 

 never did believe in selling honey with- 

 out the producer's name and address 

 upon the package, and would suggest, as 

 a trade-mark, a flower with a bee upon 

 it. Regarding the admission of appli- 

 cants to the Union, Mr. Heddon says no 

 one having trouble on hand, or trouble 

 brewing, should be admitted to the 

 Union. How is any one to know how 

 much trouble may be brewing for him ? 

 I think that would be a hard question to 

 answer. John Burr. 



Braceville, Ills., Feb. 1, 1891. 



[You are right. Mr. Heddon evidently 

 meant any one having litigation in sight. 

 That is the construction put upon it by 

 the General Manager when admitting 

 members. — Ed.] 



A Warning" Note. 



The Bee Journal is now a much better 

 shape for binding. Who would attempt 

 bee-keeping without it? The bees them- 

 selves should remonstrate against the 

 owner of a colony who is too selfish or 

 stingy to pay for a bee-periodical. If I 

 were a queen, I would give instructions 

 to my 40;000 workers, the morning we 

 take leave of our mother hive: "Fly 

 lively, sting the old miser, cluster on the 

 top of the highest tree possible ; when 



the hive is prepared, and all is in readi- 

 ness, break ranks, hie to the forest, 

 clean some old hollow tree, and prepare 

 for work. We will then collect our 

 sweets, store them as best we can, and 

 run our own apiary. If we stay with 

 him our chances for long-life are slim, for 

 if Nature does not supply a full flow of 

 nectar, and we are not able to store 100 

 or 200 pounds of surplus for his share, 

 he will take from our brood-chambers, 

 leaving us just enough to starve on dur- 

 ing the first Winter." A. B. Man. 

 Renovo, Pa., Jan. 24, 1891. 



Well to be on the Safe Side. 



I cannot see why bee-keepers are so 

 backward about joining the Union. I 

 have no growling neighbors, but gen- 

 erally distribute a little honey among 

 the nearest of them, and everything is 

 lovely — never hear any complaint, and 

 think it will not be necessary for me to 

 ask help from the Union, but would 

 rather be on the safe side. 



Jesse Brady. 



Little Rock, Ills., Jan. 24, 1891. 



Loss of Weight in Winter. 



In November, 1888, I put 82 colonies 

 of bees in my cellar, weighing the brood- 

 nest of each colony. I again weighed 

 42 of them, when I set them on the 

 Summer stands, in March. The greatest 

 loss in weight was 22 pounds, and the 

 least was 4^ pounds. The others rang- 

 ing all the way between. They all came 

 out in good condition, and why there was 

 so much difference in the loss I cannot 

 explain. O. B. Barrows. 



Marshalltown, Iowa, Jan. 25, 1891. 



To Italianize an Apiary. 



In answer to A. J. Duncan's inquiry, 

 on page 130, I would say that for one of 

 little practical knowledge, the easiest 

 simplest, and, taking everything into 

 consideration, cheapest way of Italianiz- 

 ing an apiary of 40 colonies, is to buy 40 

 Italian queens and introduce them. In- 

 structions as to introducing will be sent 

 with the queens by the parties selling 

 them. I would rather wait until warm 

 weather — August is preferable — as 

 queens are cheaper then than at any 

 other time of the year. If no honey is 

 gathered, do the work at night, with a 

 lantern, or there might be trouble from 

 robbers. The difficulty with beginners, 

 and black bees, is to find the queens, 

 ^3ially when working at night. Here 



