AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



249 



Wavelets ol News. 



We Acknowledge the receipt of 

 copies of Bulletin Nos. 13 and 14 qf the 

 Agricultural Experiment Station of the 

 University of Minnesota. The first is a 

 treatise on "Flax Culture," and the 

 latter on " Swine for Profit." This in- 

 stitution is under the management of 

 Prof. N. W. McLain, the Director, who 

 was fomerly located at Aurora, Ills., and 

 a frequent visitor at this office, as well 

 as a valued correspondent of the Bee 

 Journal. The Experiment Station, un- 

 der his supervision, we are proud to say, 

 has been a grand success. 



All Men have their frailties, and who- 

 ever looks for a friend without imperfec- 

 tions, will never find what he seeks. We 

 love ourselves, notwithstanding our 

 faults, and we ought to love our friends 

 in like manner. — Indiana Farmer. 



Economy in Bee-Keeping. 



A rigid economy is demanded in bee- 

 keeping, as in most other occupations. 

 Nothing must be allowed to go to waste ; 

 indeed, we may go so far as to say the 

 profits are limited by the savings. All 

 fragments must be utilized ; pieces of 

 wax, comb, lumber, refuse honey, etc., 

 must be taken care of and used. Scraps 

 of time are also important items, and 

 should be devoted to this work of utiliz- 

 ing and saving. A little common-sense 

 and good judgment goes a good ways in 

 managing bees. The times of the pres- 

 ent day demand close economy. Margins 

 are small, and profits deviating ; so that 

 judicious and careful expenditure is a 

 prime requisite to success in this as in 

 other callings. — W. M. li., in the Indiana 

 Farmer. 



Dovetailed Hives. 



On starting in the business, commence 

 with simple hives with movable frames 

 (not box hives, or "gums" without 

 frames), and have them all alike. I have 

 used several kinds, but my favorite is the 

 8-frame dovetailed hive. This is the 

 strongest, simplest and cheapest. A 2- 

 story hive, complete, can be bought, in 

 the flat, for about $1.60 each, and any 

 one can put tliem together. Each hive 

 will hold 100 pounds of surplus honey, 

 besides what is needed for the bees. 



Always use comb foundation ; it is a 

 great saving to the bees, and insures 

 perfectly straight combs. Many persons 

 claim it to be too expensive. Let us see : 

 It is estimated that it takes 12 pounds 

 of honey to make one of comb ; honey is 

 worth at least 10 cents per pound in 

 liquid form, which makes each pound of 

 comb cost $1.20, besides the work of 

 the bees in making. A pound of surplus 

 foundation costs about 60 cents, or one- 

 half saved. — 0. J. Farmer. 



Destruction of the Forests. 



Bee-keepers should enter their protests 

 against the destruction of forests, es- 

 pecially in the originally heavily wooded 

 districts of the older States, for the rea- 

 son that it means the destruction of that 

 great honey-bearing tree, the linden or 

 basswood. In many localities, that tree 

 is tlie chief source of the best honey, and 

 bee-keepers view with justifiable alarm, 

 its probable early anniliilation. — Ex. 



Bees Disturb a Picnic. 



The weather is never too warm for the 

 busy bee to make its presence felt, and 

 July 30 was no exception to the rule. 

 Six young ladies, among whom were 

 Tesa Jones, Mamie Watson and Julia 

 Cornell, of this city, went out to Moler's 

 grove in the afternoon to recline in the 

 sliade and enjoy themselves as they saw 

 fit. After partaking of a good dinner 

 they cast about for a good place to sit 

 down and have a social chat. Right un- 

 der the spot where they were sitting the 

 festive bumble-bees, \^io are supposed 

 to improve each shining hour, had built 

 a nest and reared a numerous progeny. 

 Without any previous understanding 

 about the matter, those girls concluded 

 to get up, and they did not stand on 

 ceremony, but shot up in the air like 

 rockets, and commenced to dance in a 

 manner that would put to flight a Sepoy 

 Indian. They ran in every direction, 

 fell over logs, crawled into brush heaps, 

 and one of the girls got into a hollow 

 log. The bees were very busy all this 

 time, a fact that no one realized more 

 than tliose girls did, and a sorrier lot of 

 picnickers could not have been found 

 within a radius of 15 miles. They 

 finally got away from the bees, and lit 

 out for town like check lightning. The 

 clock shelf is rich enough for them to 

 take their meals'oflF of at present, whilp 

 they hum, " How doth the busy bee im- 

 prove each shining hour ?" — Erchamjc. 



