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51 



XlIOillAS C WEWSIAW, 



EDITOR. 



VoiniY, Jau,2U8 



No, 4. 



]>i<1 yoii «'vcr, since ever you ever were 

 born, 

 Hear about little Miss May Unicorn. 

 Who spent all her money 

 For honey 

 (How funny !) 

 When she might have kept bees, 

 And obtained it from these. 

 And saved all the money 

 She spent for the honey 

 To send to the heathen way over the seas ! 

 —St. Nicholas Magazine. 



Prof. >IcI.,aiii is engaged to give a 

 lecture on bee-keeping, at the Academy of 

 Sciences on Adams street, in this city, on 

 Feb. 27. 



Xlic Oliiw State Convoiition, held 

 last week at Columbus, 0., was a decided 

 success. Dr. Mason said that it was one of 

 the best he ever attended. But a corres- 

 pondent remarks that " the Doctor is a 

 whole convention himself." We shall pub- 

 lish the proceedings as soon as received. 



It<-<-!« in 9fsiiiitol>a. — A correspond- 

 ent wants to know how bee-keeping would 

 pay in southern Manitoba. It is too far 

 north to expect much for bee-keeping. The 

 winters are too long; making the "long 

 confinement" disastrous. Perhaps some of 

 our subscribers in that region can better 

 answer the question. 



An Honor.— Messrs. Chas. Dadant & 

 Son, of Hamilton, Ills., write us as follows 

 on Jan. 13, 1888 : 



We extend our congratulations for the 

 new and neat appearance of the old Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal. It is a pleasure to 

 peruse such a well-printed paper, and it 

 does honor to its publisher. Long may it 

 live ! 



Xln' Weatlier in Eng'land has 



been quite mild. The London Journal of 

 Horticulture, in its issue of Jan. 5, 1888, re- 

 marks as follows concerning it and the 

 bees : 



During the months of Novera ber and De- 

 cember the weather has been changeable ; 

 frost, snow, and rain alternating with ex- 

 treme mildness for the season, the tempera- 

 ture often being above .50° Fahr. The lowest 

 temperature during November was on the 

 24th, the thermometer registering 19% and 

 the lowest during December was 10° on the 

 23d in North Britain. 



On the last day of November and on the 

 first day of December the thermometer 

 stood above 50°, and the bees were alert, 

 many of them on tlie wing, and a great 

 number gathering water, evidence that, 

 owning to the mildness, breeding had begun 

 earlier than is usually the case. 



One colony in paitienlar was very busy, 

 and killed the last of its drones on Dec. 1. 

 This colony, I believe, had a young queen, 

 which was fertilized as late as Oct. 37, but I 

 have not sufficient data at present to con- 

 firm this, but a few weeks will prove it, as 

 the bees were half-bred Syrians, and the 

 drones living were Carniolan. In addition 

 to the above, either two 'or three had pre- 

 served their drones until the two days 

 mentioned. 



Tlie Canadian Bee Jonrnal 



makes the following friendly allusion to us 

 in its last issue : 



The AMEiufAN Bee Journal comes to 

 us in an entirely new dress of type, which 

 makes a decided improvement in its appear- 

 ance. In its articles, the American Bee 

 Journal keeps abreast of the times, is a 

 credit to its publishers, and worthy of 

 patronage. We wish it every prosperity. 



Our thanks are hereby extended to friends 

 Jones and Macpherson. We also wish pros- 

 perity to the Canadian Bee Journal. 



Mrs. 1.,. Harrison, of Peoria, Ills., 

 is to give an address on "The Apiary," be- 

 fore the Farmers' Institute, to be held at 

 Peoria, Ills., on Feb. 1, 1888. The meeting 

 will be held in Rouse's Hall. 



Keeding Partly-Filled Combs. — 



A subscriber in Ontario, Canada, asks the 

 following question : 



I have some colonies that I fear have not 

 enough food to carry them through the win- 

 ter. I also have combs partly filled ; will it 

 do to put those light colonies over the 

 the frames that are jmrtly filled with honey, 

 and give them a passage way out of the bot- 

 tom of the super containing the honey ? 



If the supers with partly-filled combs are 

 placed over the bees, they may go up and 

 get the honey, but will not be likely to go 

 down to it. There is danger, however, of 

 letting the heat escape by having the super 

 over the cluster. 



If the partly-filled combs are placed at 

 the side of the cluster (in place of empty 

 ones), and holes made through the combs, 

 the bees may take the honey if the weather 

 is not too severe. 



The St. Paul Ice Palace and winter 

 carnival opens Jan. 2.5, and continues ten 

 days. One fare for round trip on all railroads 



Uees on Sliare."*.— F. Richards, of 

 northern New York, asks the following 

 questions. As others may desire the infor- 

 mation, we give it a place here : 



Which is the proper way to take bees on 

 shares ? Must the taker feed them at his 

 expense, if necessary ? Must he furnish 

 the honey-boxes and foundation, and give 

 the owner of the bees back his original num- 

 ber and half of the increase ? 



It is usual for one party to furnish bees, 

 and the other party the care and labor. The 

 expense of new hives, surplus-boxes, comb 

 foundation and queens is usually divided 

 equally, and at the end of the season the 

 honey and increase of bee% are equally 

 divided— leaving each to take all chances of 

 marketing, as well as wintering. 



Make a written contract, stating the agree- 

 ment in full, and then there will be less 

 liability of a misunderstanding. 



Pleasnre and Profit.— S.T. Pettit, 

 of Belmont, Out, wrote as follows on Jan. 

 18, 1888, concerning our paper : 



I am more than ever pleased with the 

 good old A.MERicAN Bee Journal. Your 

 staff of writers in the question drawer de- 

 partment are all so well qualified to aive 

 simple, plain, intelligent answers, that it is 

 at once a pleasure and a profit to study these 

 answers. 



Postponed lor One Yeai — that is 

 what was decided to do, as will be seen by 

 the following letter : 



Please state in the next issue of the Bee 

 Journal, that the meeting of the " Eastern 

 Iowa and Western Illinois Bee-Keepers' 

 Association " has been postponed for one 

 year, or until "called;" it being thought 

 best to do so upon consultation of officers. 

 C. H. DiBBERN, Sec. 



Cal»l»age iind Celery Plants. — A 



guide to their successful propagation. A 

 new manual of instruction by Isaac F. 

 Tillinghast. Seed and plant grower, and 

 editor of Seed Time and Harvest, LaPlume, 

 Pa., 32 pages. Illustrated. Price 25 cents. 

 eS" We will send the above and the Bee 

 Journal for one year, for $1.15. 



A Favorable ''IVord from any of our 

 readers, who speak from experience, has 

 more weight with friends than anything we 

 might say. Every one of our readers can 

 lend us a helping hand, in this way, without 

 much trouble, and at the same time help to 

 scatter apieultural knowledge and promote 

 the welfare of our pursuit. 



]\ew Catalognes for 1888 are on our 

 desk, from the following persons: 



G. D. Black, Brandon, Iowa — 8 pages- 

 Bees, Queens, Honey, etc. 



Iowa Seed Co., Des Moines, Iowa — iS 

 pages— Vegetable and Garden Seeds. 



Liook Over last year's numbers of the 

 Bee Journ.\l, and if any are missing, 

 send for them at once, as we have but few 

 left now, and they are daily becoming less. 



