264 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



far, received no complaints. Were a 

 " trade-mark " used, I would view each 

 shipment with suspicion, fearing that 

 adulteration might be practiced, while 

 relying on the " label " to avert sus- 

 picion. Adulterators here, who put up 

 glucose with a piece of comb therein, 

 would welcome a trade-mark, for, if 

 they could not obtain the original, they 

 would counterfeit it. Not one idea can 

 I advance in favor of its adoption, but if 

 any arguments to the contrary are de- 

 sired, I would be pleased to contribute 

 further in that line. S. T. Fish. 



Chicago, Ills. 



Worthless (?) Black Bees. 



The statement is made that in Min- 

 nesota the honey crop was a failure last 

 year, and such may have been the case 

 in some portions of the State, but in this 

 section the season was good. I received 

 40 colonies from the Southern part of 

 th? State, last May, all black bees. They 

 increased by swarming to 86 colonies, 

 and gave me about 2,000 pounds of fine 

 honey in one-pound sections. What the 

 results would have been, had they 

 been Italians, no one knows. I have 

 always been in favor of Italians, 

 but I have some blacks that would give 

 them a hard rub for given results and 

 fine finish of work. I procured a few 

 Italian queens, and introduced them in 

 August, some of them giving good re- 

 sults, but one was an old cripple, al- 

 though I did not discover her condition 

 until I had removed and killed a fine 

 young black queen. 



The Italian bee has gaudy wings, 



The Carnys have the fame. 

 The black bee has no friends at all, 



But it gets there, just the same. 



This has been a fine Winter for bees, 

 either inside or on the summer stands, 

 there being no snow, and • the mercury 

 having gone down to zero but once. 



M. S. Snow. 



Osakis, Minn., Jan. 29, 1891. 



Bees are Doing Well. 



This has been a mild Winter thus far, 

 and bees are doing well. Some colonies 

 have the diarrhea. Bees all through 

 Northeastern Ohio are short of stores, 

 and, if not cared for at the proper time, 

 a goodly number of them will die of 

 starvation. The failure of the honey 

 crop for the last three years, has been 

 very discouraging to bee-keepers gen- 

 ,erally. J. Oswalt. 



Maximo, Ohio, Feb. 4, 1891. 



Bees Gathering Pollen. 



We have had 10 or 12 days of warm 

 weather, which has caused alders to 

 begin blooming. My bees have com- 

 menced work on this bloom, and are 

 carrying in pollen right along. Some of 

 my strongest colonies are rearing brood, 

 and I fear that this warm spell, and the 

 gathering of so much pollen by the bees, 

 will cause the queens to start too much 

 brood, as we may have some very cold 

 weather yet. Our next bloom will be on 

 the maples, and it will occur soon if the 

 weather continues warm. 



John D. A. Fishek. 



Faith, N. C, Feb. 10, 1891. 



Three Poor Seasons. 



The last three seasons have been re- 

 markably poor ones for bees, but the one 

 just passed was the worst of all At 

 times everything looked favorable, and 

 hope would rise high, but we were 

 doomed to disappointment. Clover 

 yielded but little more than a living for 

 the bees, and our last hope was the bass- 

 wood, which was well laden with buds 

 and blossoms, and in ordinary seasons 

 would have yielded tons of delicious 

 honey, but it contributed nothing to the 

 stores of the bees. However, I shall not 

 give up in dispair yet awhile. I put 70 

 colonies in the cellar on Dec. 20, in good 

 condition for wintering, and hope for 

 more favorable results next season. 



Jos. Summers. 



Columbia City, Ind. 



Kansas State Association. 



The State Bee-Keepers' Association of 

 Kansas, was organized at a recent meet- 

 ing held at Olathe, for that purpose. 

 The meeting was called to order by P. 

 Schaub, of Olathe. Rev. J. W. Bishop 

 was chosen President pro tern., and L. 

 Wayman,Chanute, Secretary, pro tern. A 

 Committee on Constitution and By-Laws 

 having been appointed, the convention 

 adjourned until 1 p.m., at which hour 

 the President called the meeting to or- 

 der, the report of the Committee on Con- 

 stitution and By-Laws was received, 

 read and adopted. Election of officers 

 being next in order, the following per- 

 sons were elected : President, J. W. 

 Bishop, of Olathe ; Vice-Presidents — P. 

 Schaub, of Olathe ; J. B. Cline, of To- 

 peka. Secretary, L. Wayman, of Cha- 

 nute ; Treasurer, Mrs. H. P. Fisher. 

 After the transaction of other important 

 business, the association adjourned to 

 meet with the Horticultural Society, in 



