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339 



EDITOR. 



Voiniy, May 23,1888, No. 21. 



'DIWRML BmE!M€S. 



Many Itc<>»> IVecd Feeding' during 

 this cold and unseasouable weattier. Do 

 not let tliew starve just before the harvest 

 is ready. 



Every Apiarist should be well in- 

 formed, not only on the habits, but also on 

 the natural history of the honey-bee. 



Anotlier lot of statistical information 

 is presented in Oleanings for May 15, from 

 which we learn that the majority report the 

 prospects favorable for a good honey crop. 



In Reference to Mr. Moyer's letter, 

 and our comments on page 307, he says that 

 he is in favor of getting statistics, but not 

 by the Government and assessors. So many 

 are now engaged in gathering statistics that 

 it may not be necessary for the assessors to 

 " take a hand " in it. 



Bees arc not Malable to Canada. 

 We received an intimation of this from Dr. 

 S. W. Morrison, of Oxford, Pa., and imme- 

 diately wrote to Mr. Bell, Superintendent of 

 Foreign Mails at Washington, for the facts 

 in the ease, and here is his reply : 



Washington, U. C, May 16, 1888. 



SiK :— In reply to your letter of the 14th 

 inst., I have to inform you that under the 

 Postal Convention now in force between 

 the United States and Canada, queen-bees 

 are absolutely exeliided from the mails ex- 

 changed between the two countries, and 

 consequently are not allowed to be for- 

 warded by mail from the U.S. to Canada. 



A proposal has been made to the Canada 

 office to so modify the Convention as to ad- 

 mit, for the future, queen-bees to the mails: 

 should it be accepted by the Canada offit^e, 

 public notice thereof will be promptly 

 given. N. M. BELL, 



Supt. of Foreign Mails. 



Alfalfa,— Mr. C. Thielmann, of Thiel- 

 manton, Minn., writes us as follows con- 

 cerning the difference between alfalfa and 

 lucerne clover : 



There is a great difference in the illustra- 

 tions on pages (is and 245. The first shows 

 exactly the clover which my father culti- 

 vated in Germany (Baden), and which has 

 been planted in that country for centuries 

 baclJ. It did not hold out very long in 

 white clay soil; but was a good stand for 

 hay and green fodder for 20 years on rooky, 

 lime-stony soil. We had no sandy land 

 there, and so I do not know how it will do 

 on it. The illustration on page 24.5, resem- 

 bles the clover which I have seen on the 

 Pacific Coast, and was called alfalfa. 1 am 

 sorry to say that at that time I did not feel 

 so niuch interested in the plant as I do now, 

 and 1 did not examine it very closely, but I 

 noticed enough in going by to see that it 

 was not exactly like our German alfalfa, or, 

 as we called it, everlasting clover. In Switz- 

 erland it was called lucerne. There is also 

 a county in Switzerland called Lucern. The 

 most noted difference seems to be that, tlie 

 stalks of the German alfalfa are larger, the 

 leaves larger and longer, and the seeds or 

 flowers further apart, though the difference 

 may result from the land or climate. 



The difference is probably similar to 

 sweet clover — the common variety is called 

 melilot, while tlie imported is Bokhara 

 clover. Lucerne is the common variety, 

 while the alfalfa (or sand lucerne) is the im- 

 ported article, and costs more than the com- 

 mon article, as does Bokhara clover cost 

 more than melUot. 



Xo Strengthen Weak Colonies 



is good advice for Spring management. Mr. 

 E. K. Hubbard, in the Indiana Farmer, 

 gives this advice on the subject : 



It is an excellent plan to equalize the 

 strength of your colonies in the spring, 

 and instead of having a few very weak and 

 the rest very strong, bring up the weak 

 ones by taking from the others and giving 

 to them. The reasoti why this can be profit- 

 ably done is that giving brood to a weak 

 colony will do more good than to leave it in 

 the strong colony. A good colony can spare 

 a frame of brood, and still keep full of 

 bees, but if enough brood is taken away to 

 show, in a few days, that they have been 

 materially weakened, the matter has been 

 over-done, and it would have been better to 

 leave them alone. A full colony will gather 

 many times more houej than several weak 

 ones, but by intelligent and careful manage- 

 ment all colonies may be brought up to 

 near the same standard, and the good ones 

 not materially injured. 



Rendering Beesifrax.— The Lon- 

 don Oardener's Chronicle recommends as 

 a simple method of obtaining clean bees- 

 wax direct from the comb, that the latter 

 be melted in hot water, andja hoop that will 

 fit into the container, covered with cheese- 

 cloth, fastened down into it below the sur- 

 face of the water. The melted wax rises to 

 the surface through the cloth, and when the 

 water is cool, is found on top in a perfectly 

 clean cake. 



Foul Brood seems to be very preva- 

 lent in many portions of Australia, as we 

 notice from the April number of the Ans- 

 tralastan Bee Journal, which has just 

 come to hand. 



Putting Su|»er.s On. — A few timely 

 suggestions are given to beginners, and 

 those who are not thoroughly posted in 

 apiculture, by Mr. W. S. CuUinan, of Kan- 

 sas City, Mo., in the Farmers' Revieiv for 

 this week. After mentioning the impor- 

 tance which attaches to the time and man- 

 ner of putting on and taking off the supers, 

 he remarks tlius : 



Doubtless white clover is now in bloom, 

 and it will be time to have the supers in 

 place, especially upon .strong colonies. If 

 you have studied the condition of your bees, 

 you will know the colonies that are needing 

 more room, and by all means you should be 

 ready to supply it. If working for comb 

 honey, you should have your supers filled 

 with sections, which have been previously 

 supplied with comb foundation, and give to 

 each colony one case of sections— no more. 

 Many specialists who work their bees for 

 comb honey contract the brood-chamber to 

 5 or 6 frames before giving the first case of 

 sections ; this gives the bees less room be- 

 low, and less brood to take care of, and so 

 drives a greater number of them into the 

 supers, by which, of course, more surplus 

 is secured. Should any one wish to prac- 

 tice this method, all they will need to do is 

 to remove one or two frames from each side 

 of the brood-chambers, and substitute a 

 division-board or dummy in their stead. 

 The division-board should be of the same 

 dimensions as tlie frame, and have project- 

 ing tops, so as to hang in the hive just as the 

 frames do, and one of them should take the 

 place of each frame removed, for if the 

 space occupied by a frame in the brood- 

 chamber be left vacant, the bees will cer- 

 tainly fill it with honey when they become 

 crowded for room. 



Xlie British Iloney Company 



seems to have been unsuccessful in busi- 

 ness, and it is proposed to wind up its af- 

 fairs. The following from the British Bee 

 Journal for May 3, 1888, will explain the 

 matter better than we can otherwise do : 



We very much regret to announce that we 

 have received a circular intimating that a 

 meeting of the aboVe company will be held 

 at Charing Cross Hotel on May 10, when 

 the following resolution will be proposed, 

 " That it has been proved to the satisfac- 

 tion of the meeting tiiat the company can- 

 not, by reason of its liabilities, continue its 

 business, and that it is advisable to wind up 

 the same voluntarily.", 



Xhc Best of its Class.— This is what 

 the Bath, Maine, Sentinel says about our 

 Bee Journal and bee-book : 



The Bee Journal is the best of its class, 

 and " Bees and Honey " not only the latest, 

 but the best among the works on the apiary 

 and the honey-bee. It is profusely illus- 

 trated, and the text careful, concise and to 

 the point. Its arrangement is good. 



TSevr Catalogues for 1888 are on our 



desk, from the following persons: 



George Neighbour & Sons, 149 Regent St., 

 W. London, England— 64 pages— Bee-Hives 

 and Appliances. 



Dr. G. L. Tinker, New Philadelphia, O.— 

 16 paaes— Bees, Queens and Bee-Keepers' 

 Supplies. 



B. P. Barber & Son, Colebrook, O.— 16 

 pages— Bee-Keepers' Supplies, Fowls, Tur- 

 keys, etc. 



J. B.Haines, Bedford, O.— 8 pages— Bees, 

 Queens and Apiarian Supplies. 



