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163 



THOMAS G. MEM JIAN, 



EDITOR. 



VoiniV, MarcH U 1888. No, 11. 



ITIaiiiiua aud I were looking o'er 

 The last bee-papera for bee-lore. 

 Our three-yeared " pet " was busy too, 

 Removing wrappers from a few. 



New costumed A. B. J. she spied ; 

 Then, " Oh ! new picture I see 1" she cried. 

 Then paused— then, with admiring glee, 

 "A nice big ' pungkun 1' Mamma, see." 



—Oliver Foster. 



WcfM in Cellars should be allowed to 

 remain there until settled warm weather. 

 We often think of an apt remark made by 

 Dr. Miller to us some years ago. It was 

 this : " I never regretted letting my bees 

 remain in the cellar too long, but I have 

 often regretted taking them out too soon." 

 Let all take the hint. Do not be in any 

 hurry to take them out on the first fine day! 

 Wait! 



Fastening' Foiindsition in Sec- 

 tions.— Mr. G. W. Cole has sent us some 

 samples of the work done by his machine— 

 the temperature being 40° and 46= in the 

 room where it was done— the rapidity being 

 S and 10 in a minute. He says the tempera- 

 ture should be from 60° to 90° to have the 

 best results. The work is well done, aud 

 at the higher temperature (46°) it is perfect. 



CaiKliecI Honey in Combs, etc. — 



11. V. S. Stout, Dover, Del., on March 3, 

 1888, writes : 



I have a very few sections and combs in 

 which the honey has candied. How can I 

 get them cleaned up for use the coming 

 season ? Bees are wintering well. The 

 weather has been mild, and queens are lay- 

 iug freely. 



Give the candied honey in the sections 

 and combs to the bees. They will clean 

 them up. 



Canlliering' Hie Statist ios.— Some 

 names have been received at this oflice of 

 those who would be willing to act as cor- 

 respondents for the gathering of statistics 

 by the Goverinnent, but nothing like the 

 number required, or even an apology for 

 such number. Some approve the plan, and 

 others do not. It is quite evident to us that 

 no plan already mentioned will be accepta- 

 ble to all, aud, further, that there is much 

 apathy in reference to the matter among 

 bee-keepers. Perhaps they do not want it 

 known what they are doing, and take a 

 more selfish view of the affair. Here is a 

 letter from E. France, of Platteville, Wis., 

 who does not like tlie method we proposed, 

 of gaining the information through the 

 assessors : 



It is stated on page 131, that the best and 

 surest way to obtain statistics of the bee- 

 industry, "is to have questions in the asses- 

 sors' blanks to be answered. That plan 

 would not suit the average bee-keeper. Per- 

 haps not one-fourth of the bees in the coun- 

 try are now taxed, and if the assessors took 

 down the number of colonies of be6S,honey, 

 etc., lie, of course, would have to set some 

 value on the property, and levy taxes on the 

 same, 1 do not know how to get the statis- 

 tics ; but I am satisfied that the assessor 

 would not get one-half of the information, 

 and wliat he did get, would not be worth 

 very much. 



That is right, let the matter be discussed 

 freely, and all the points of interest brought 

 before the readers of bee-literature. It is 

 not so difficult to say what ivill not do, as it 

 is to point out a successful method, which 

 will give universal satisfaction. We are 

 anxiously awaiting the advent of the person 

 who will say, " Behold I show you |a more 

 excellent way," and who can prove the 

 assertion satisfactorily. 



Uadly Stnug' Mr. G. B. OIney, of 



Atlantic, Iowa, on March 2, 1888, sends us 

 the following item from the Cumberland, 

 Iowa, Current : 



We see by an article in the Democrat that 

 the Messenger has succeeded in running 

 against the red-hot end of the American 

 Bee JornNAi,. It does, or should feel the 

 sting of the contact. 



Mr. Olney remarks that there is a general 

 interest arising in that community about 

 bee-keeping, and that in consequence there 

 will be many from Atlantic who will attend 

 the Bee-Keepers' Convention at Red Oak 

 this week. He adds : 



The article from flie American Bee 

 Journal of Dec. 31, 1887, is going the 

 rounds, and I am glad to meet so many with 

 a pleasant smile (raised to about 90° in the 

 shade). That "dose of poison" article is 

 stinging the Mcsscmjer thoroughly on all 

 sides. Having no shield to ward off the 

 thrusts, it is compelled to quietly take all 

 that comes, without the slightest resistance. 



A Frame lUfter is sent to our Mu- 

 seum by Mr. B. E. Foster, Utica, N. T. It 

 consists of two bent wires as handles, oper- 

 erating two " nippers" at the ends of the 

 wires, which hold tlie frame, and it will 

 answer the purpose very well. It is placed 

 in the Museum. 



Cliange lo Coliimbns, O We 



think that the expediency of changing the 

 place lor holding the North American Bee- 

 Keepers' Convention is quit;e apparent. The 

 Grand Army of tlie Republic will hold a 

 Reunion at Columbus, 0., during the Cen- 

 tennial celebration at that city, and these 

 two attractions alone will call for cheap 

 transportation— probably one-lifth of the 

 usual fare. This item is usually the largest 

 one for bee-keepers who attend conven- 

 tions—especially the International. We un- 

 derstand that this matter is now before the 

 executive committee, and the change from 

 Toledo to Columbus should be made witli- 

 out the least hesitation or delay. All the 

 " expressions " sent to this office but two, 

 are in favor of the change to Columbus— 

 and not one has been received which favored 

 its being held in Toledo ! Two State con- 

 ventions have passed resolutions favoring 

 the change to Columbus, and have elected 

 delegates to attend that convention. Let 

 the change be made and announced at onpe, 

 so that all arrangements may be made for a 

 rousing meeting. 



Queens from tlie Sontli.— L. B. 



Graves, of Nineveh, Ind., asks the follow- 

 ing questions : 



1. Would it be practicable lo send South 

 for an early queen, say April or early in 

 May, to Italianize ray .5 colonies of bees ? 



3. Would tliey be as hardy as queens 

 reared in the northern States ? 



3. Are Albinos a desirable strain of bees ? 



4. What is the general opinion of the 

 Carniolans ? Please answer through the 

 Bee Joubnal. 



As there are many who have made similar 

 inquiries to the above, we will reply for the 

 benefit of all. 



1. Yes ; but it should not be shipped .until 

 the weather is settled and reasonably warm. 



3. Yes ; equally so. 



3. Yes ; if they have as good working 

 qualities as their plumage. 



4. They are hardy, and generally liked. 



Be "%Vise and Be Happy.— This is 



the title of a circular sent to us by W.R. G., 

 Greenville, Texas. It purports to be sent 

 out from Chicago, and he wanted us to in- 

 vestigate the source. It is another of the 

 many frauds operating through the United 

 States mails. It wants the "dupes" to 

 send a sum of money for a book entitled 

 "Secrets of Bee-Keeping," which promises 

 all kinds of impossible things, among the 

 latter, it proposes to teach the buyers of the 

 book how to get " from 300 to 600 pounds of 

 honey from every colony. 



We sent the money to the address named 

 for a copy of the book. It was a boarding 

 house ; the person named had a small room 

 there, but did his business only through the 

 mail, said the keeper of the house, and she 

 added, " He is not in through the day." The 

 way to be wise is not to send money to such 

 unknown persons. All the books of any 

 value on the pursuit of bee-keeping can be 

 obtained at tiiis office without risk, at the 

 publishers' prices. 



