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19 



THOUAS a. ITEWUAIT, Editor. 



VoLIEV. Jan. 11,1888. No. 2. 



FloTrt'ers.— Just as the cold wave 

 struck Cliicago last week, we received by 

 mail a nice bouquet of flowers from Louisi- 

 ana—from our friend J. W. Winder, we 

 expect. He usually does some such things. 

 Welcome. 



Mr. X. W. Co-waii, in a recent letter 

 to us from Switzerlaiid,his winter residence, 

 remarks as follows concernmg the weather 

 there : 



We are in the midst of winter, but as yet 

 we have had no snow, and the temperature 

 is very mild, and more like spring than 

 winter. 1 am afraid our Canadian tobog- 

 gans will not be of much use here, but the 

 children go half-an-hour's walk from here, 

 up on higher ground, where there is plenty 

 of snow and skating. 



Then, in reference to the re-organization 

 of the " North American Bee-Keepers' So- 

 ciety," and of his being elected a member 

 thereof, he adds : 



I see that you brought up the question of 

 organization at the convention, and that 

 you liave proposed to organize your Society 

 on the same lines as ours, and that the 

 " rules " you propose are a modification of 

 ours. We have found them to work well, 

 and at the present time we could not better 

 them. If there is any information you wish 

 at any time about them, 1 shall be pleased 

 to give it. 



I have also seen the resolution passed by 

 your Society, making me an honorary mem- 

 ber. I am very much obliged to the mem- 

 bers for doing so, and have written to Dr. 

 Mason, asking him to convey my thanks, as 

 he is the newly elected President. 



The official notification sent by the Sec- 

 retary, Mr. W. Z. Hutchinson, had not 

 reached Mr. Cowan when he wrote the 

 above. The letters passed one another in 

 the mails. The cordial feeling existing be- 

 tween the apiarists of the two Continents, 

 is a matter for congratulation, and we trust 

 it may long continue. We have a lively in- 

 terest in both Continents— being born in 

 one and reared in the other. 



" Are tlie Bees ©iir Frieiuls ?"— 



This is the subject assigned to Mr. Eugene 

 Secor, for discussion at the annual meeting 

 of the Iowa Horticultural Society at Des 

 Moines, on Thursday of next week. We all 

 expect something good from our friend 

 Secor, and we have no doubt this will be 

 " extra good." We shall present it to our 

 readers as soon as that meeting is over. 



, Only a F"«>-*r complete volumes of the 

 Bi'.E JotTKNAL for 1887 are left, and those 

 of^our new subscribers who want to secure 

 them should send for them at once. We 

 supply the numbers for 1887 and 1888 for 

 $1.75 until all of the former are gone. 



We Understaiitl that an effort is 

 being made to have the United States Gov- 

 ernment include in its free distribution of 

 seeds, the celebrated Chapman Honey 

 Plant. Certainly bee-keepers should reap 

 some benefit in this way as well as other 

 avocations. We hope to hear of the success 

 of the effort. Mr. Chapman has harvested 

 38 bushels of the seed, and the Government 

 should scatter at least that much, and thus 

 assist the pursuit, the same as It does others. 



Foul Brood is a dire calamity where- 

 ever it makes its appearance. Our friend, 

 Mr. A. I. Root, says he has spent nearly a 

 thousand dollars in^xperimenting_in order 

 to eradicate it. He admits that what we 

 have often advised (viz : a total destruction 

 of the hives, bees, etc.) would have been 

 cheaper and more satisfactory. Many others 

 have found out by experience tliat this 

 would have saved them money as well as 

 much annoyance. If the larva is elastic 

 and ropy it is a sure indication of foul 

 brood. This is a sure test, but the odor is 

 not to be relied upon, for there is one kind 

 of the disease that is known as "odorless 

 foul brood." 



Horticulture and Bee!i>. — At the 



recent meeting of the Ohio State Horticul- 

 tural Society there was nothing in the pro- 

 gramme about bees, and Dr. A. B. Mason 

 gave them a good stirring up about it, by 

 calling attention to the benefit " our pets " 

 are to the horticulturist. We shall have 

 proper recognition at the next annual meet- 

 ing. Dr. Mason enjoys the " stirring up of 

 their minds" to the importance of the 

 industry. 



Xlie Krsiiucr Bees.— The " Bienen 

 Zeituug" contains an article from Herr 

 Michael Auibrozic, of Moistrana, Krain, 

 Austria, on the Krainer bees. The writer 

 is a very t>nthusiastic admirer of that 

 variety, and gives some information con- 

 cerning it in its native home. From his 

 article we give the following extract : 



The profits of the apiary in Germany and 

 Austria, are estimated to be 45 per cent, on 

 the capital invested. But bee-culture de- 

 pends largely upon the hardiness of the race 

 of bees, and their propensity to gather 

 honey. Krainer bees, in these respects, 

 must be preferred. The rough climate of 

 our mountainous country has made our bees 

 a hardy race, for they have been hemmed 

 in by mountains for centuries. Our bees fly 

 in dark and cool weather, and suffer very 

 little from diarrhea and other spring mal- 

 adies. The rich mountain meadows and 

 forests of Krain, with their profusion of 

 bloom, animate our bees in the spring, and 

 we often find them flourishing in Slarch and 

 April, breeding early, and beginning early 

 to swarm. 



My apiary is situated but m miles from 

 the mountain Triglav, which is 9,000 feet 

 above the level of the sea, and its north side 

 is covered with eternal fields of ice, but for 

 all that my hardy Krainer bees visit the 

 herl)s on the rocks in March and April, 

 showing that they will succeed in any coun- 

 try, for they are used to rapid changes of 

 temperature, and I can recommend them for 

 importation to any country. Our bees are 

 preverbially kind and gentle. 



A correspondent who received a colony 

 direct from Herr M. Ambrozic, says that 

 " these bees are great beauties, being nearly 

 black, with white stripes— the white being 

 probably due to hairs, as they all seem to be 

 young bees." About the hive in which 

 they came from Krain, he says : 



The hive to me is a curiosity, being made 

 of tough, hard, rough boards,about 24 inches 

 long inside, 14 inches wide, and 5 inches 

 deep ; top and bottom nailed with odd- 

 looking hand-made nails, wooden pegs and 

 wire nails ; no frames inside ; combs had 

 been built diagonally, and were filled with 

 dark-colored, thick, rich honey, about 20 

 pounds. It was quite a task to open this 

 hive, but I did it, and found the Krainers 

 lively, good natured, and so fond of honey 

 that they all soon had their fill. 



Their flight seems to be very strong, and 

 I am inclined to think them large as com- 

 pared with the Italians. It seemed odd 

 enough to see these mountain bees flying 

 very freely, with the mercury at 45°, when 

 not a wing was to be seen about my other 

 hives. 



Meadville, Pa.— The committee ap- 

 pointed at the last convention of the East- 

 ern Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and West- 

 ern New York Bee-Keepers' Association, 

 which met at Andover, Ohio, last January, 

 met and arranged to have the ninth annual 

 convention held in Meadville, Pa., on the 

 35th and 26th of this month. 



Concerning- Books for bee-keepers, 

 the " Southern Farm " remarks as follows 

 about two books published at this office : 



" Bees and Honey," by Thos. G. Newman, 

 well-nigh embraces every particular about 

 bee-keeping, which, if followed out, cannot 

 fall to lead to great success in the apiary. 



"A Year Among the Bees," by Dr. C. C. 

 Miller, is one of those pleasant books that 

 often go further to help to attain to success 

 than a more complete manual. This work 

 is replete with information regarding the 

 necessary implements, plans, etc., of a com- 

 plete apiary, and gives the results of 25 

 years' experience in bee-keeping. 



I^ook Over last year's numbers of the 

 Bee Jouhxal, and if any are missing, 

 send for them at once, as we have but few 

 left now, and they are daily becoming less. 



