552 



THE ffiME:KicMif BE® jo^mmmif. 





ing the inevitable laws of science, but 

 they " held the fort" too. 



In my zeal to demonstrate a scientific 

 truth, i forgot to descend the ladder 

 until 1 was as red in the face as a 

 boiled lobster. I then for the first time 

 realized the fact that I could not hold 

 my breath more than several minutes 

 even to accommodate science. I must 

 have some oxygen anyhow, or' my lungs 

 would collapse like a pan-cake with too 

 little soda in. I was not organized like 

 a fish, that is sure (unless it was a 

 whale), for I wanted to hlmo. 



I was all the time standing on next 

 to the top round of the ladder, holding 

 on nervously by one hand to a small 

 limb, and the severed limb and a part 

 of the bees in the other. The rest were 

 clutching my naked flesh with their 

 claws, their backs elevated .like a cat 

 on the back fence at a feline concert. 

 No matter, breathe I must. 



Just then the faithful dog appeared 

 on the scene, under the tree, as inter- 

 ested as if I was capturing a coon for his 

 especial delectation. Although I was 

 thew?i^frof attraction, enough scouts 

 paid their respects to him to give him 

 a warm reception. After rolling over 

 several times, he started for the house 

 in haste. You see he had not been ed- 

 ucated to hold his breath. In going he 

 ran against the foot of the ladder, and 

 down it came, and " me too." When I 

 struck the ground, I awoke. It was 

 only a dream. A couple of robber bees 

 were angrily buzzing around my head. 



Forest City, Iowa. 



SILVER LINING. 



A Poor Crop, but Higher Prices 

 are the Result. 



Read at the Mahie Cimventlon 



BY PRES. J. B. MASON. 



Last year we passed through one of 

 the hardest seasons in our pursuit tliat 

 has been known for many years. This 

 will totally dampeu the courage of 

 many of the beginners, and will cause 

 a sifting out of the chaff from the 

 wheat. It is said there is never a cloud 

 so dark but it has a silver lining. 



I think it is not hard to see at the 



E resent time that this poor season may 

 e a blessing in disguise, and may 

 work for the good of our business. Our 

 large markets had got overstocked with 

 honey, prices had been knocked down 

 by shipping honey into tlie already 

 overstocked markets, until honey was 

 selling at ruinous prices. The Wiley 

 lie was floating over the country, that 

 there were numerous manufactories 

 where bee-comb was manufactured and 

 filled with glucose syrup, and sealed 

 over with hot irons. The newspapers 

 wafted this story along, and thousands 

 believed the story although it was so 

 inconsistent. 



This failure of honey from the flowers 

 has cleared out the honey markets so 

 that commission men have been calling 

 loudly for honey, at good prices. 

 Where are these glucose manufactories 

 all this time, that they allow the mar- 

 kets to become so bare of honey even 



at doubled-up prices? This ought to 

 open the eyes of the community on this 

 subject, and strike a death-blow to that 

 infamous lie. 



We owe a vote of thanks to ]5ro. 

 Newman, of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal,, for the fearless and manly way in 

 which he has fought this falsehood 

 from the start. Our product is now in 

 good demand at remunerative prices, 

 and it remains with the bee-keepers 

 whether they will allow our markets to 

 become so demoralized again, or 

 whether they will, by some arrange- 

 ment, have our honey more evenly dis- 

 tributed over our country. This is one 

 of the great questions of the day. 



Mechanic Falls, Maine. 



THE UNION. 



Join the Bee-Keepers' Union 

 Before it is too Late. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY henry K. STALEY. 



Pursuant to the call for apiarists to 

 become members of the Bee Keepers' 

 Union, and cognizant of the dirty, 

 mean, outrageous and untruthful lies 

 circulated (a good deal like the way the 

 Canadian thistle scatters its seeds over 

 mother earth) concerning our occupa- 

 tion, by people who either seem tq like 

 to create a sensation for reputation by 

 writing an untruthful statement, and 

 then nonchalantly placing it under the 

 title of an (" S. P.") ; or else by those 

 who hold our pursuit as their " bone of 

 contention," that they may have some- 

 thing upon which to gnaw and pick, 

 and dilly-dallyers in it who very often 

 are disgustingly ignorant anent apicul- 

 ture ; and also aware of the many cases 

 in our pursuit in re bees puncturing 

 sound grapes, being condemned as a 

 public nuisance, and eating sound, 

 young ducks, brought up before the 

 courts through circumstantial evi- 

 dence—that robber, very often, of a 

 fair trial, under whose bloody banner 

 many an innocent man has gone to the 

 gallows— I feel it my urgent duty, al- 

 though I have no need of linking my- 

 self to the Union, but towards helping 

 to defend our pursuit in general, to 

 contribute my mite of one dollar to the 

 fund of the Union, which I heartily do. 



I hope that the Union will still keep 

 "banging" that vile monster in the 

 "eye" — the enemy of our pursuit who 

 is trying to wipe it out of existence — 

 until it becomes so "black and blue " 

 that he will have to hide his disgustful 

 face for shame, veneered with lies of 

 the most horrible stamp. 



Reader, if you know any who are in- 

 clined to trudge after this monster into 

 the depths of untruthfulness, catch 

 him by the coat-tail (like alligators are 

 about to do, often printed on the out- 

 side of envelopes, which say, " If not 

 caught withui 10 days, return to " so- 

 and so) and " churn " him until he per- 

 ceives his mistake, whereby, rest as- 

 sured, you have saved him from a 

 horrible calamity. 



Right it is to look out for number 

 one in this age in which swindling and 



bulldozing are indulged in to such a 

 great extent by so many people, such 

 as sharks, bunko-steers (fellows who 

 make light the pockets of head-raised 

 and open-mouthed swains), confidence 

 men, etc. Any one acquainted with 

 the habits of such scoundrels as men- 

 tioned above, knows that he cannot get 

 " something for nothing " in this world, 

 or the Latin saying applies as well, 

 viz: " Exnihilo,mhil vcnit;" but un- 

 derstands that he must look out for 

 himself, and that is right, for we know 

 that God helps the man who helps him- 

 self ; but nevertheless, that is no rea- 

 son why we should not look out for 

 number two, especially when in return 

 number two looks out for us. 



Remember also, that if you get into 

 a scrape or pickle, and then a few, after 

 you have sent in your money for the 

 first time, petition the Union for aid, 

 your case would be in the same 

 dilemma as the little girl, who, having 

 obtained a pitcher of milk at the store, 

 on the way home let it fall, and lost the 

 contents; then, that it might soothe 

 her, she wept tears until they coursed 

 down her dimpled cheeks in tiny 

 streams ; but the crying over the 

 "spilt milk" was to no avail, as the 

 pitcher was broken and the lac gone. 



And so of no use to you would it be 

 to ask the Union for help, if you sent 

 in your membership dues for the 

 primus tcmpus. simply to get out of 

 trouble, expecting the Union to bring 

 about the end desired ; for if you are 

 not pumpkin-headed, you will under- 

 stand what the Union means, if it 

 should say, " It's too late to shut the 

 stable-doors when the steed is stolen :" 

 and more so if you are minus a couple 

 of tine trotters by horse-thieves. 



The parable of the "Ten virgins" 

 would apply quite well to your situa- 

 tion ; the Union would be willing to 

 advise you, but of its " oil " it would 

 give you none. 



In conclusion let me say, " delays 

 breed dangers ; nothing is so perilous 

 as procrastination." Yet it is " better 

 late than never," as the saying goes. 



Pleasant Ridge, Ohio. 



DEAD BROOD. 



Several Ailments which Affect 

 the Brood. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY H. E. HILL. 



In reply to the query, " What ails the 

 bees y" on page .501, I would say : Two 

 years ago I met just such a condition 

 of affairs in my apiary, and forwarding 

 a specimen of tlie brood to Prof. Cook, 

 I awaited the verdict with no little 

 anxiety. It came, and was "chilled 

 brood ;" and I have since observed 

 dead brood from different causes, 

 which, owing to existing circumstances, 

 remained untouched by the bees. Such 

 conditions are, not infrequently, to be 

 noticed in such colonies as possess 

 great swarming propensities— if allowed 

 to swarm until the remaiuing bees be- 

 come so reduced as to leave the brood 

 exposed to the chilly night air ; and 



