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  OLDEST BEE PAPER      ESTABLISHED
     IN AMERICA           IN 1881

  THE AMERICAN
  BEE JOURNAL

  DEVOTED TO SCIENTIFIC BEE-CULTURE AND THE PRODUCTION AND SALE OF PURE HONEY.

  VOL. XVII.      CHICAGO, ILL., APRIL 6, 1881.      No. 14.




  OLDEST BEE PAPER      ESTABLISHED
  IN AMERICA            IN 1861

  THE AMERICAN
  BEE JOURNAL

  Published every Wednesday, by
  THOMAS G. NEWMAN,
  EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR,
  974 WEST MADISON ST., CHICAGO, ILL.


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CORRESPONDENCE.


Interesting Letter from Singapore.

The following letter from Mr. Benton, from Singapore, will be read with
interest. That city is a great seaport near the Islands of Borneo and
Java. Mr. Benton’s search after those large bees--_Apis dorsata_--is
a herculean task, and his trip thither will be well worth a place in
history. Here is the letter:

    FRIEND JONES: When in Ceylon I plunged into the jungles, first
    in this direction and then in that, and followed out every clue
    that I could obtain; yet although on every side I was told there
    existed “a large bee,” which the natives call _bambera_, it was not
    until just before I came away that I ascertained anything reliable
    regarding the habits and whereabouts of this wonderful insect,
    which I feel safe in saying is the long talked of _Apis dorsata_
    itself; though it was too late for me to get to the places where
    I could see this bee and still reach this steamer. As I return
    to Ceylon, and am likely to see _Apis dorsata_ elsewhere also, I
    comforted myself regarding the disappointment experienced at not
    seeing this _bambera_ before my re-embarkation.

    I will speak in the order of their size, of the bees found in
    Ceylon, giving the Cingalese names used there.

    _Kana Mee Meso_ belongs to the _Trigonæ_, and therefore is not a
    true honey bee, although it gathers pollen and some honey, and
    lives in swarms with a queen. In a jungle a few miles from Kaltura,
    on the southwest coast of Ceylon, I found a small bee which
    contained a nest of these minute, stingless bees. A tube about ¾
    of an inch in diameter and a foot long, composed of propolis and
    particles of wood, hung from the hole of the tree, and through this
    tube all the bees entered. It seems this is a means of keeping out
    larger insects. The tree was cut and the nest secured. The cells
    are built in irregular bunches like those made by common bumble
    bees. Those cells containing brood were about the size of a grain
    of rice, while the honey and pollen cells were as large as the
    smaller cells made by bumble bees. The workers are somewhat less
    than 3/16 of an inch long, (about 5/32) have large heads, and very
    small abdomens, the latter seeming blunt, and abbreviated, so to
    speak. These bees fly swiftly, and look odd enough as they come in
    loaded with minute pellets of pollen, which is packed on their hind
    legs as with other bees. They are black.

    The queen is large, her abdomen being so great as to dwarf in
    appearance all other parts of her body, and so disable her as far
    as flying and rapid movements are concerned. Of course there can be
    no practical value in these bees, but I tucked the nest in a box
    about 6 inches square and 2 deep, or rather a part of the brood and
    honey, and brought the swarm along. They have been fixing up their
    new home quite bravely.

    _Daudual-Meso_ is a small bee which I have not seen, but which I
    do not believe is likely to prove valuable, since it is so small.
    Its comb is composed of regular hexagonal wax cells, like all comb
    of _Apis_, but there are 81 cells to the square inch. I have in my
    possession a small piece.

    _Mee Meso_ are the Cingalese words signifying “honey bee,” and this
    is the bee from which, aside from _bambera_, most of the honey and
    wax come.

    _Bambera_, all accounts agree, exists plentifully in the jungles
    of Ceylon, but I found just before I came away, only rarely near
    the seashore, I failed to find it within 10 miles of the coast.
    I was glad to get accounts from persons who have seen these bees
    and their trees, and have measured the lengths of their combs;
    observing gentlemen, too, whose word can be relied upon. They say
    these bees, which I feel sure are of the species _Apis dorsata_,
    attach their combs to the branches of trees, usually some lofty
    trees of the primitive forest, and a gentleman who has often seen
    them, says they build combs 8 feet long. Another once measured
    a comb which he found to be 6 feet long. The first mentioned
    gentleman says he has seen 30 natives with earthen pots each
    receive a load from one _bambera_ bee tree, and has seen a swarm of
    these bees nearly a half mile long. When I visited the Government
    Museum in order to obtain information as to whether they knew
    anything of these bees and where they were to be found, the natives
    having only succeeded in finding _deborah_, (a large hornet) with
    its nest, for me. I was at once taken by one of the directors to
    this gentleman, as the one from whom the most information could be
    obtained.

    The Cyprian and Palestine bees I have with me are doing finely.
    Those left in Ceylon will serve to introduce the species _A.
    melifica_, and will establish in that wonderful productive Island
    an industry that I feel sure will thrive there and be a source of
    revenue to the inhabitants and the government.

    Upon my return I have formed the plan of taking with me for
    introduction to Cyprus a lot of cocoanut palm trees, some mango
    and bread-fruit seeds or trees, and a species of paw-paw found in
    Ceylon. As the date-palm, the orange, the lemon, the fig, the
    banana and the pomegranate are already growing in Cyprus, I believe
    these new fruits will thrive and find favor. Financially, of
    course, it is an experiment, yet I believe it promises well; at any
    rate it will not cost much to try it.

    Except this paw-paw, I failed to find any fruit or grain that is
    likely to thrive in as cold a climate as the central parts of North
    America. Cinnamon, coffee, tea, betel nuts, precious stones and
    cocoanuts and oil are, with cinchona bark, the principal exports of
    Ceylon. I talked with various exporters, but all had their agents
    in N. Y. and Canada, and desired no change. None of them would
    sell, of course, direct to the firm, when possessing an agent in
    America.

    Upon my return I will see what further can be ascertained as to
    “out-of-the-way products.” It is hard to get any prices, and would
    in most instances be difficult to obtain a quantity worth while to
    ship.

    From Arabia, coffee, gums, perfumes and pearls come. At Aden I was
    told that the best Mocha coffee could be got for one shilling (or
    24 cts.) per lb. In large quantities I think it can be got still
    cheaper. I should think precious stones (sapphire, jasper, &c.,)
    gums, coffee, cocoanut oil, cinnamon oil and pearl would pay best,
    perhaps also ivory and ostrich feathers. At Aden I found some large
    wheat, but kinds were mixed, or else the variety is not a fixed
    sort. This portion of the world produces little or no grain besides
    rice.

    I have obtained seeds of a number of flowering plants and trees,
    some of which I know yield honey, and others that look as though
    they might were there bees to gather it. We expect to reach
    Singapore to-morrow forenoon. I will take the first steamer for
    Batavia, which will likely leave in a day or so.

  FRANK BENTON.




  For the American Bee Journal.

Cause of Bee Cholera or Dysentery.

G. M. DOOLITTLE.


I have noticed in several articles a statement quite similar to this,
which is taken from Mr. James Heddon’s article in the February number
of the _Bee-Keepers’ Instructor_: “Every bee-keeper of experience who
lives in our northern latitudes has witnessed enough to know that cold
or confinement, or both, do not _cause_ bee cholera or dysentery.” Now,
I claim the title “bee-keeper” (whether of experience or not I dare
not say), and live in the “northern latitudes,” yet I cannot be one of
the number above styled as “_every_,” for I believe confinement _does
cause_ the so-called dysentery, and hope to so clearly show it in this
article that you will so acknowledge also.

First. I once produced dysentery (I do not believe this is a disease,
but merely an accumulation of the feces) in its worst form, the latter
part of June, by confining a lot of bees to the hive for 10 days. A
frame of brood was taken from the hive with the adhering bees, and also
a frame of honey with the bees which were on that, and placed in an
empty hive to form a nucleus, the bees being confined to the hive for
three or four days, when the entrance was opened in the evening. Early
the next morning there came on a cold storm and bad weather ensued, so
the bees could not fly for six more days. On the tenth day the sun came
out, and the bees from these nuclei (7 in number) were so loaded that
they could scarcely fly. An examination revealed that they had eaten on
an average about 2 lbs. of honey in each nucleus. Nuclei made but a few
days before, which had flown 2 or 3 times before the bad weather, were
not eager to fly, and showed no signs of dysentery, neither did our
full colonies; nor had they eaten an undue amount of honey. The trouble
here was evidently confinement, which caused the bees to worry and
thereby consume an undue quantity of food, thus producing a necessity
to void the excrement, or dysentery, if you please to call it so.

Again, in the fall of 1878 our bees were prepared for winter in the
best possible shape, and had nothing but white honey in their hives,
said honey being collected the early part of July, for we had no fall
honey. Sixty colonies were put in the cellar, and 90 left on the
summer stands, two-thirds of which were packed with chaff and straw.
Winter set in early, and the weather was so cold that no bees could
fly with safety for nearly 4½ months. At the end of 4 months some of
our best colonies were dead, with the combs and hives soiled badly,
while others sitting right alongside of them were in as fine condition
as could be, and remained thus, coming out strong in the spring. If it
was “bacteria” in the honey, why did not all die, as all had the same
stores? We also placed 60 colonies from the same yard in the cellar on
the 1st of November, and did not set them out till May 1st, and 55 of
the 60 came out in good condition, while we only saved 15 out of the 90
out-doors--75 dying with the dysentery, so-called. If it was infection
of the honey, why did not those in the cellar die also, and especially
as they stood 6 month’s confinement? The past winter has shown the same
results, only our loss is but about 10 per cent. so far.

Now I will give my conclusion. From practical experience I have been
forced to the conclusion that confinement is the cause of all wintering
troubles, for surely, bees do not die from what they eat in July
weather when they can fly. But confine them to the hive with July
weather, and they cannot live one-third as long as in cool or cold
weather. That confinement is the result whenever the mercury falls
below 40° to 45° in the shade, and as surely as the mercury stays below
this for 60 days in succession, bees not properly protected will suffer
therefrom, and if properly protected, 120 days will more or less hurt
those on the summer stands; that 180 days’ confinement in a good cellar
can be endured by the bees as well as 120 days in well-protected hives,
or 60 days with no protection on the summer stands; that if 60 days
more of confinement is added in either case, not 1 colony in 10 can
survive, no matter what the food is nor the surrounding conditions.
Now, we come to our last point, which is, that instead of the trouble
being in the kind of honey eaten thus producing dysentery, the trouble
is in the quantity eaten, and as the quantity consumed is to the number
of days the bees are confined, so is their length of life shortened or
extended. For instance, a fair-sized colony may consume 1½ lbs. of
honey per month, and endure confinement without soiling the combs for
6 months; now, if they consume 6 times this amount in 2 months, they
must fly at the end of that time or the combs will be soiled very soon
thereafter. We often read, “My bees wintered well and consumed but
very little honey,” while the fact was that their consuming but little
honey was the reason they wintered well. Thus we are able to answer the
question why one colony dies, and another at the side of it does not.
It is because one gets discontented and consumes large quantities of
honey, while the other does not.

Now comes the rub: why does one colony get discontented within 1 month
after being confined, and another does not under 3 or 4, or in case of
cellar wintering, 6 months. Well, I will be candid and say I do not
know; but I do not believe the cause is in the honey altogether. One
thing Mr. Heddon and myself will agree on I am sure, and that is, if
as soon and as often as a colony gets uneasy and goes to eating honey
ravenously they could have a day to fly, all would be well, even if
such a colony was obliged to fly 3 or 4 times where another did not
have to but once.

To keep bees quiet the longest possible time I would recommend: 1st. A
good bee cellar in a bank, covered all over with no less than 3 feet
of earth, and an even temperature maintained inside at 44° to 45°; 2d.
Hives so constructed that chaff could entirely surround the bees to the
depth of 4 inches. To sum up, we should winter one-half of our apiary
one way and one-half the other, inasmuch as our winters vary so that
one winter has come out the best on summer stands, and another the best
from the cellar. I will refer to this subject again in the next Weekly
BEE JOURNAL.

Borodino, N. Y., March 22, 1881.




  For the American Bee Journal.

Extracting Bees.--The New Industry.

H. T. COLLINS.


As the exigencies of the times have created the new industry of
“extracting dead bees” from the cells, and as many of the bee-keeping
fraternity may want to do so without delay in order to save time, I
give my plan, as I think the one suggested by our editor, though good
in the main, is apt to break the combs too much. The necessary tools
are a small pair of tweezers (such as taxidermists use), a light and
sharp darning needle, and last but not least, a shallow tin pan, say
one inch deep and 13¾ × 17¾ inches. Every keeper of 10 or more colonies
should have one or more pans--they just fill the bottom of a 10-frame
Langstroth hive, and are as handy as a pocket in a shirt. Instead of
the pan, a common table waiter will answer. Sitting in a good light,
place the pan lengthwise across the lap, and lay the frame across
the pan, but parallel with the lap. The use of the pan is to give a
convenient rest to the frame, and to hold the dead bees. If you are
right-handed, let the top of the frame be towards the right hand, if
not, _vice versa_. Holding the tweezers in the hand, which is right
(often the left one), grasp the bee and pull it out slowly and gently,
and with the motion of the hand towards the top of the frame. As in the
natural position, the base of the cell is horizontally the lowest, the
above mentioned motion extracts the bee with the least friction. But in
some combs they will stick so tight as to break off at the junction of
the abdomen, and to prevent this, with the darning needle pierce the
thorax as it comes to the edge of the cell, and by its help you can
nearly every time drag out the too-tightly lodged bee. A cup of warm
water will be convenient in removing the sticky deposit that will often
adhere to the end of the tweezers. To the inexperienced, the above may
seem to be a slow and tedious way of extracting bees, but a little
practice will make one skillful, and if any one has a better way please
communicate it promptly, as this new industry promises, from the weekly
reports, to be a large and growing one.

Jacksonville, Ill.




  For the American Bee Journal.

Separators for Surplus Honey.

JAMES HEDDON.


For the benefit of some who do not as yet understand all my argument
against the use of separators I wish to add, that I am well aware that
the system of sections within frames hung in a super, is entirely
impracticable without the use of separators. I know too that, as
Messrs. Greiner Bros. remark, bees take more kindly to wood than to tin
or glass, and there is just where the trouble comes, as they sometimes
kindly attach the sides of the combs to them. Some seasons, under
peculiar circumstances, the loss of honey by the use of separators
might, as Greiner Bros. say, be very slight, but in many seasons they
will be found to be a serious detriment to the amount of surplus
obtained. But why not use a system that does not need them, and is much
handier than the super system besides?

I supposed that the younger bee-keepers, who keep posted, knew that
many old producers on a more extensive scale never used separators at
all, and of that class who did many others are laying them aside. Bees
do finish up their combs full better with separators, because as the
season draws to a close they are less inclined to start another comb
in one of those little compartments, and as long as there is honey
coming in they finish with it to keep from _perfect_ idleness. I think
the unfinished combs are just so much extra. If it is “strange” that I
should declare against the use of _all_ separators, while still many
prominent bee-keepers use them, how dare you, Messrs. G., declare
against tin, compared with wood, when you know that tin is the popular
material? Galileo said, “The world is round;” all others said, “It is
flat,” and there being more of the “flats” than Galileos, these “flats”
put their greatest scientist behind the prison bars.

Before I close, I wish to call the attention of the readers of this
paper to the able article of A. B. Weed, on “Queen and Supply Trade,”
in the BEE JOURNAL of March 23d. I think all bee-keepers, whether
supply-dealers or producers strictly, if posted upon the points therein
taken, will say, “Thanks to Mr. Weed.”

Dowagiac, Mich., March 26, 1881.




  For the American Bee Journal.

Pure Liquid Honey in Glass Jars.

CHAS. F. MUTH.


The above subject is one which has provoked considerable comment, and
it appears we are not quite done with it yet. I dare say that there
is not a dealer of any note in Cincinnati, by this time, who imagines
that my jar honey is anything but pure honey, or who suspects any honey
when it comes from my store; and I am just as positive in the statement
that there is not a dealer in Cincinnati, having extracted honey from
New York or Chicago in store, who does not believe it to be glucosed.
There is hardly anybody in our community who suspects the purity of
the honey when my label is on the jar. Jar-honey, in general, is not
mistrusted any more in our city, unless the jar contains besides the
liquid, also a piece of comb honey. Such is the case in Cincinnati, to
all appearances, and I am willing to be corrected if wrong.

The subjoined letter from a party in New York, and my answer to them,
show an interesting difference in the state of the market for extracted
honey in our city and New York, the home of Mr. W. M. Hoge, Wm. Hogue
or John Long. To avoid misunderstanding, I may state that Hoge, Hogue
or Long, while in New York, was bottling honey for the firm of Thurber
& Co. In explanation of the letters following, I may state that the
editor of the _Cincinnati Grocer_ had been recommending my honey to
Messrs. Guernsey & Co., N. Y., who opened correspondence with me, and
to me he had recommended them as perhaps the best party to introduce my
honey in the New York market. The result was that I sent them 1 gross
of 1 lb. jars and 1 gross of ½ lb. tumblers, at cost, on 60 days’
time. The honey commenced granulating in the course of a month or more.
This fact, and the general mistrust to extracted honey in New York must
be taken into consideration to do the following correspondence justice:

  New York, March 17, 1881.

    Mr. C. F. MUTH--_Dear Sir_: Enclosed please find bill of lading for
    the honey sent us. We find it totally impossible to sell the goods,
    as parties here are afraid of glucose, etc. We waited for parties
    to decide about them, and they concluded not to take them. We are
    sorry, but such is the case. We have retained one box of each,
    bottles and tumblers, to pay us for the freight paid on goods here.
    Yours very respectfully,

  GUERNSEY & CO.

To which I replied as follows:

    Messrs. GUERNSEY & CO.--_Gents_: Your favor is at hand. I expect
    the return of my honey with all the charges deducted you feel
    disposed to make. I had supposed that there were some men in your
    city with enough sense to determine the difference between honey
    and glucose. My honey is _strictly pure_, and will pay you $100 if
    you will prove that I am wrong. Yours truly,

  CHAS. F. MUTH.

  Cincinnati, Ohio, March 21, 1881.

[We were shown quite recently a letter received by a prominent dealer
in strictly pure honey in this city, from a correspondent in Virginia,
who had ordered and received from him a keg of honey. They say: “The
keg of honey came to hand on the 25th; you may imagine my chagrin on
opening the package and finding the contents _solid_. In its present
condition it is of no value to me.” Although a dealer, we suppose this
was really the first package of _strictly pure_ extracted honey he
had ever seen, or he would have felt pleasure, instead of chagrin, to
find it granulated solid. The truth is, the public have been so much
deceived with a spurious article in liquid form, that many do not know
the genuine when they see it. A bee-keeper or person perfectly familiar
with honey in a northern or central latitude, would require something
more convincing than the mere assertion of a respectable grocer that
his honey was strictly pure, if not candied or granulated in cool
weather.--ED.]




  For the American Bee Journal.

How to Separate Swarms.

BRAY & SEACORD.


An experience of 20 years with bees has taught me to wait upon them and
not to have them wait upon me; in other words, always have your work
ahead of time. Next, to have your bees in strong condition at the time
of the first flow of honey. The great mistake of beginners is to aim
at too large an increase, either by division or natural swarming. If
the season is good, an increase of 3 from each colony is a plenty; if a
medium season an increase of one from each colony is enough.

The brood chamber is the mainspring to work upon for a good yield of
honey. We allow no queen to live over 3 years, and if not a prolific
queen she only lives one year. We allow no brood comb to remain over
3 years in the centre of the hive; by this plan we get fine developed
bees, and of longer life.

Our plan of separating swarms of 2 or more, when they come out and
cluster together, may be of benefit to some. It is as follows: Make a
box 3 feet long (or any size that will fit the frames of your hive),
make one entrance to the box for the bees to pass in and out; make a
tight cover to fit the box, with cleats on 2 sides, no end cleats; make
3 or 4 division boards; then the box is ready for hiving the bees.

Now take the box and hive the cluster of 2 or more swarms, and as
soon as all the bees are in the box, put it in a shady place, and
let it remain there until the next morning; then push the box cover
lengthwise of the box and you will observe each queen with her colony
clustered by themselves; now place the division board between each
cluster, push the cover back again over the cluster and hive at
pleasure.

The present season is fully 6 weeks ahead of last season; drones were
in the air on the 28th of Feb. We keep our colonies in a condition so
that the queen can breed up to her full capacity. The Italian queens
we received from the BEE JOURNAL apiary last fall, wintered well,
and we now have several nuclei started for queen-rearing, as we mean
to Italianize all of our bees by the end of the present season. The
prospects were never better than now for a booming good year.

At some future time we will give our experience in wintering bees in
a cold climate on 4 lbs. 2 ounces of honey per colony, before chaff
packing was invented.

If a Syrian queen cross with the black drone, would not this cross
produce the Italian bee? Success to the BEE JOURNAL.

Warthan, Cal. March 15, 1881.

[If the Italian bee is a hybrid, and originally produced by mating the
black drone with the Syrian queen, then, of course, a like cause will
again produce a like effect; but if the Italian bee is a distinct race,
then no crossing of other races will produce it as a fixed type.--ED.]




  For the American Bee Journal.

Raspberry as a Honey Plant.

D. D. PALMER.


The raspberry can be grown in any land that will produce a crop of corn
or potatoes. It furnishes a fine quality of honey, and a delicious
fruit, coming immediately after strawberries. Sandy or light soils
produce a better flavored fruit but not so much nor as large as clay
soils.

The ground should be spaded or ploughed deep, and raked or harrowed
thoroughly so as to pulverize it. If you get plants by mail, dip them
in water as soon as received and bury the roots in moist shady ground
until you are ready to set them out. Plants can be sent by mail with as
much certainty of arriving in good condition as if carried personally
or sent by express. Handle so as to expose the roots to the sun and
wind as little as possible. For garden or field culture plant 2½ or 3
feet apart in the row and the rows 6 feet apart. A convenient implement
to use in setting any small plants is called a dibble, made similar to
a mason’s trowel, and cost me 25 cts. each. Make the holes deep enough
to take in the long roots without doubling them up. Spread the roots
out like a fan, fill with mellow soil and pack snugly among the roots,
if the ground is dry pour in water before filling up, then fill up with
dry or moist soil, leaving the surface loose and mellow. If dry weather
prevails, remove the top soil and pour in plenty of water; after the
water has settled replace the soil. They may be cultivated the same
as corn, being careful not to cultivate too deep as some of the roots
grow near the surface. Cabbage or other root plants may be planted and
cultivated among them the first season. Fruit trees may be planted with
them in the row.

There are several ways of training the bushes; some use stakes. This
we consider an expensive practice, unless it be for garden planting,
when very close planting is required and it is not wished to have a
spreading bush. Our method consists in training them while they are
growing. When 18 inches high pinch off with the fingers, or where a
field is to be pruned we have found a pair of large scissors, with
blades 5 inches long, to be an excellent thing to prune with; with them
we can prune a row as fast as we can walk. You will need to prune the
patch 2 or 3 times each season. In the spring, when the plants are one
year old, prune or cut off all the laterals within 12 or 18 inches of
the main stock before they start to grow; the second season out the
dead wood and train the laterals so as to make the rows like a hedge;
nip or cut off the new shoots when 3 feet high. In this way they bear
larger and better fruit, are more convenient to pick, and are not blown
down by the wind, as the bushes support each other.

The red varieties are increased by suckers or sprouts from the roots.
They may be cultivated 2 seasons, and if needed for honey more than
choice fruit, they may be allowed to occupy the ground. The black caps
are increased from tips, i.e. by the ends of the vines taking root. The
Doolittle, Mammoth Cluster and Home Sweet Home are especially adapted
to cultivate in hedge rows, on account of their stock canes.

Farmers might load their tables with this delicious, health giving
fruit the year round, by setting 25 plants of Doolittle for early, and
100 of Sweet Home for late use and canning.

New Boston, Ill.




  For the American Bee Journal.

Apis Americana.

E. A. THOMAS.


There has been much discussion of late about “How to obtain the best
race of bees,” and I notice there is a great diversity of opinion in
regard to it. I fully agree with the editor of the AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL
that the coming bee will be the _Apis Americana_, a cross between our
present Italians and some other race, and I believe that, although
there are but few who hold that opinion now, the time is not far
distant when the majority of the apiarists of America will acknowledge
the superiority of the American strain of Italians.

During the past few years there has been a mania among bee-keepers for
imported stock which has steadily increased up to the present time, but
which I sincerely hope has now reached its height. Do not understand
by this that I object to all importations for I do not, but only to
those careless and almost reckless ones that, instead of improving,
will cause the deterioration of our present excellent strain. So long
as queen breeders in Italy know that any queens they may see fit to
send to America will be accepted just because they came from Italy,
just so long will some of them take advantage of such knowledge to ship
to this country queens they would not be willing to use themselves,
and which American bee-keepers would not accept as a gift if they knew
what stock they sprang from. But only let them understand that they
must send only the very best and purest that Italy can afford, or lose
the American trade, and they will be more careful how they try to
impose upon the credulity of American bee-keepers. There are many good
reliable breeders in Italy, and those who are desirous of importing
should search them out and give such their orders, and give all others
a severe “letting alone.” But to return to my subject. When an apiarist
becomes, satisfied that he has an excellent strain of bees he should be
very careful how he introduces new blood into his apiary, I care not
from what source it comes whether from Italy or a home breeder, until
he has thoroughly tested it and found it to be good. Many a bee-keeper
after having obtained a class of bees that did credit to America and
which bid fair to become worthy of the name _Apis Americana_, not
content to let “well enough alone,” has ruined his stock by introducing
foreign blood that was as worthless as it was cheap. For the
improvement of our present strain of bees I would suggest that queen
breeders exchange queens from their working stock and make a careful
record of the result of the cross. When they get a cross that is an
improvement on their own bees let them breed from it and introduce the
blood into their apiary. Thus by crossing the best blood in the country
we may hope to obtain a strain of Italians that will rival those found
in Italy, and which will be exported to all parts of Europe.

As regards the color of our bees, I beg to differ with those who
consider it necessary to breed dark colored bees in order to obtain
good honey gatherers. I have bred both dark and light colored, and I
am satisfied that my present strain, which is as handsome as any one
need wish for, has excelled anything I ever had or saw. If breeders
will work carefully and use every means in their power to improve their
bees, we may live to see Mr. Newman’s prophecy come true, and the _Apis
Americana_ have a world-wide fame.

Coleraine, Mass.




Translated from Bienen-Zeitung by Greiner Bros.

Fertilization a Crippled Queen.

DR. DZIERZON.


In looking over a nucleus the past season, I found a young Italian
queen just hatched. She was very large and beautiful, but in trying to
make her flight she fell to the ground, because of her left wing being
considerably shorter, and she could not rise, although she made every
effort. If I had possessed a surplus queen, or even a queen-cell, I
should have disposed of her; but as I had not, I left her in the hive,
hoping that she might gain strength enough to enable her to make her
wedding trip. Two days after I looked again and found my queen there
still, and my experiments with her proved that she was as unable to
fly as before. It occurred to me to shorten her long wing to produce
equilibrium. She could then fly some, but dropped to the ground again.
After I had trimmed her long wing down to the size of the crippled
one, she succeeded in keeping herself up in the air for quite a while,
although it seemed very hard work for her, and she finally reached her
hive. I let her run in, then fixed an alighting-board, that she might
have a chance to run from the ground up to her hive, if compelled.

On one of the following days I was in the apiary again at noon, and
on looking about I noticed great excitement in one of the neighboring
hives near said nucleus. When I opened the hive I found the
short-winged queen in there balled, but not yet injured. Undoubtedly
she came out to meet a drone, and on returning entered the wrong hive,
which, when we consider her clumsiness, could not be wondered at. I
picked her out of the ball, and took her back to her own hive. A few
days after I found her depositing eggs, and she proved to be fertile;
but whether she was fertilized on that trip, or whether she made
another, is not certain.




  Read before the N. E. Convention.

Best Method of Marketing Honey.

GEO. W. HOUSE.


In writing upon this subject I fully realize the difficulties of the
task before me, and also the differences of opinion that exist on this
interesting subject, and one that is of such vast importance to the
honey producer of to-day. We are yet in the infancy of this enterprise,
and time will doubtless reveal many changes and improvements where now
we think we have attained perfection. Of course practical bee-keepers
will employ all their energies to keep up with the times, and give
their patrons the benefit of new developments as soon as they are
proved to be improvements. We should ascertain what the market demands
and then diligently apply ourselves to the work, in order to reap the
reward.

We talk of supply and demand; of overstocking the markets and
overstocking the land. But in solving the problem of “marketing,” man’s
inventive genius is called upon to provide the necessary elements,
whereby the desired results may be attained without increased expense
to the consumer or decreased profit to the producer. This is a
practical age and requires practical inventions, to be used in the race
for the “mighty dollar.”

There need be no fear of overstocking the markets. Honey is being used
by many manufacturers in the liquid form, and its demand is increasing
throughout the land. Honey in the comb is finding its way to the tables
of thousands of families throughout all Europe, where till recently it
was never seen. Thus the question of overstocking the market is nearly
settled. All honor to the Messrs. Thurber and their representative
in Europe for their untiring energies in this grand undertaking.
There are but few of us that realize the benefits of the exertions
put forth by this great firm in finding a market for our products.
Their undertaking has been crowned with success, and to them we owe
our sincere thanks if nothing more. The markets of the world are open
to our products, and it is now our duty to see that those markets are
not ruined through any fault or neglect on the part of the American
producer. We must also have united action looking toward the prevention
of adulterations.

We must have co-operation in marketing honey, to produce the most
satisfactory results. We have seen what wonderful results have been
accomplished by associate action, and by a combination of interests.
The great enterprises of to-day, that are so astonishing in their
magnitude, are the results of associated effort, and this is destined
to revolutionize the business operations of the world. We have seen
what wonderful results have been accomplished by the associated system
of dairymen. What unity and action has done for dairying and other
branches of industry it may also accomplish for apiculture. Association
and unity of action are the great mainsprings of power and progress in
the world. I am pleased to know that the bee-keepers of this country
are awakening to this principle in marketing their products.

While in New York city last October I devoted one whole day
investigating the honey market, and I must say that I was completely
disgusted with the workings thereof. Not being personally acquainted
with more than two of the firms handling honey, I had a splendid
opportunity to investigate the facilities and the workings of many
houses, by withholding my name and pleading ignorance. The honey of
some of our leading apiarists was found in several different commission
houses, and one apiarist in particular, who has probably written and
said more upon this subject of “marketing honey” than any other one
person, consigned his honey to more than one commission house, and the
honey was not put up in a very marketable condition at that; the edges
of the boxes being covered with propolis, and evidently no attempt had
been made to remove it. One commission house sold this man’s white
honey for 12 cents, while another house was holding this same man’s
honey at 18 cents.

One of the four honey houses in New York informed me that they received
two-thirds of all the honey sent to that market. The proprietor of
another house told me that he handled most of the honey sent on
commission to that city. Of course I saw their stock of honey, and
truthfully say that both houses combined do not sell one-fourth the
amount of honey sold by either of the other two houses. These men
misrepresented their business, and if they misrepresented to me why
wouldn’t they do the same to all other producers.

Then there are other commission men who receive now and then a small
consignment of honey, and in almost every instance you will find that
honey setting outside the door begging for a sale. After seeing all
this and much more, I can say without fear of successful contradiction,
that at present there are but two firms in New York that have the
facilities of handling our products, H. K. & F. B. Thurber & Co., and
D. W. Quinby. Undoubtedly there is not another firm in this country
that can place our honey on the markets of Europe to so good an
advantage as can the Messrs. Thurber, while Mr. Quinby, who has been in
the business for many years and has many customers, can place honey to
good advantage and satisfactory to the consignor. Both these firms are
making a specialty of our products, and they are the only ones. Go to
New York with your honey; see where it is destined; look over the field
before you, and I will venture to say you will corroborate all I have
said.

Such being the case, what are we to do? We must have unity of action.
Let us concentrate what honey we put on that market by sending to these
two houses. By so doing our honey will command a higher price, sell
faster, and thereby insure us quicker and more satisfactory returns.
What will apply to the New York market will hold good for any of our
markets. We must concentrate our honey, and the quicker we do this the
sooner we shall be able to sell our products for cash.

I will venture here to present another subject of great importance, and
one that needs the co-operative effort of every apiarist. “Statistics
of the aggregate production of both comb and extracted honey.” With
united action this can be accomplished. I would suggest that this
association petition our national society, praying that the president
thereof shall appoint reliable and willing vice-presidents in each and
every State in the Union, whose duty it shall be to demand of each
and every secretary of the different associations within his State to
collect the correct statistics of the yield within his territory; to
report to the vice-president, who in turn shall report to the secretary
of the National society, and he be required to cause the same to be
published in each of the bee-journals no later than the first of
September.

Every bee-keeper in making up his report should be very careful not
to over-estimate his yield. In the past this has worked injury to our
markets, many bee-keepers making a fictitious and an exaggerated report
for fear that some neighboring apiarist may lead them in the amount
of honey produced. This is all wrong and I trust we shall soon see
the end. Remember that honey buyers keep their eyes upon all reports
regarding the amount of honey produced in the country. That from these
reports they fix the price to be paid; and when we go to sell our honey
we are compelled to face the reports. When we are able to furnish
correct statistics, then we shall see the benefit.

Our larger markets are mostly supplied by the larger producers or
specialists, while our local or smaller markets are left to the amateur
or novice. To control these lesser lights will be hard work; but as
long as they keep out of the larger markets they will do no great
injury. They will be helping to increase the consumption. As soon as we
get to a basis of buying and selling, speculators will control these
small lots.

Our markets are also much injured by placing our products upon them
in an unmarketable shape. Honey in the comb should be placed upon the
market so as to call the attention, and tempt the consumer to purchase.
To this end we should put up our comb honey in single comb sections,
the combs being straight and evenly built and completely capped over.
In regard to size of boxes, the demand seems to be settling down to
about three sizes, viz: 4x4, 5x5 and 5x6 inches. In glazing, we should
have the glass nicely cleaned and put on in good shape, being careful
to first remove all propolis or wax adhering thereto. In grading and
crating the apiarist should give his personal attention, that he may be
positive as to details should any question arise involving this part
of the work. In grading it is well to make two grades white and two
grades dark honey, putting all straight and perfect combs in the first
grade, while those that are stained, unevenly built combs and not quite
capped over should be put in grade No. 2. In dark honey we frequently
have combs that are from ¾ up white, being finished with dark honey.
This should be graded black, No. 1, and all remaining combs should be
classed as buckwheat. In crating, use only neat white crates holding 12
boxes, or if the boxes are small use crates weighing from 20 to 25 lbs.
net. The honey must not be veneered and the crates should weigh even
pounds, i. e., no halves or quarter pounds. We cannot be too particular
in having our boxes and crates neatly made and placed on the market
free from all dirt or stain or leakage.

In shipping, great care must be exercised. The crates should be placed
in the car with the combs running with the car, not over 6 crates high,
setting close together at the side and end.

Extracted honey is now classed as a staple article, therefore it is
best to ship in bulk or barrels. But if designed for the retail trade
it should be put up in small packages, such as small tin pails, or pint
or quart glass fruit jars, something that can be used after the honey
is consumed.




THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL

THOMAS C. NEWMAN.

EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.

CHICAGO, ILL., APRIL 6, 1881.




The Lessons of the Hour.


“Sweet are the uses of adversity,” is a trite remark credited to
Shakespeare, we believe. The winter of 1880-1 will long be known as one
of the most severe in its nature and direful in its effects, not only
in America but throughout the world.

A gentleman from Minnesota assures us that in the southern part of that
State fully 10 feet of snow has fallen since the great storm of Oct.
14. Losses and privations have been _the rule_ during the past 5 or 6
months. Fuel has been so scarce that in some places even the “liberty
pole” has been sacrificed for use as fuel; those sections cut off from
communication have been deprived of tea, coffee and sugar, and the
coffee-mill has been made to serve the purpose of the flour-mill, to
grind wheat for family use.

Heavy sleet storms have destroyed the timber, the principal sufferers
being peach, soft maple, hickory and elm trees.

Birds, sheep, cattle and hogs have perished by thousands, being
deprived of food and shelter and cut off from succor by the waves of
death from the north and west, and the oft-repeated blizzard. Even
mankind is no exception--untold numbers have been sacrificed upon
the altar of the storm-king. Snow, hail, wind, blinding storm and
blizzard-blast have united with poisoned air and miasmatic vapor to
sweep men, women and children into the tomb, and is it any wonder that
our pets--the bees--should suffer in common with all other forms of
life?

But how difficult it is to discover the “sweet uses” of all this
adversity! True, it may point out the more hardy kinds of trees,
insects, birds and stock, to withstand the rigors of such seasons--upon
the principle of “the survival of the fittest”--and it may teach men a
valuable lesson on the necessity of securing more perfect ventilation,
drainage and pure water.

When the unprecedented season shall have passed, let us try to fathom
these deep lessons in respect to our bees. Perhaps there is a lesson to
be learned here which we could learn in no other way. Close observation
and profound study will no doubt be amply rewarded. “Let patience have
her perfect work.”

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ Dr. Ehrick Parmly, the genial Recording Secretary of the North
American Bee-Keepers’ Society, made us a very pleasant call last
Thursday afternoon, on his return from a three weeks’ tour through
Colorado. We are glad to say the Doctor was looking and feeling
remarkably well after his extended trip, and his jovial good nature
done much to banish the gloom occasioned by the drizzling and
monotonous snow which was then falling.




Is Bee-Keeping a Failure?


Now that the winter is drawing to a close, and the chilling blasts
are becoming more fitful and spasmodic under the tardy but certain
approach of spring, we begin to contemplate with an inward feeling of
gratification the genial sunshine and gentle showers with which Nature
will awaken to life; the far-stretching fields clothed in emerald
green, the lawns and lanes with their grassy carpets, the air laden
with the sweet perfume of the blossoms in garden and orchard, the trees
in forest and grove animated with the feathered songsters whose little
lives seem an incarnation of happy melody--all these will combine to
help us forget the dreary hours of the past, and with keener zest enjoy
the future. But how many will miss the cheerful hum of the myriads of
toiling bees, whose flitting wings were wont to bear them from flower
to flower, where they gathered nectar fit for a banquet of the gods.

We can scarcely wonder that many have become discouraged and almost
doubt whether bee-keeping pays, when they think of the meager honey
yields of two successive summers, and view the untenanted hives and
soiled combs which are left as the sequel to their cherished hopes for
the future. However, none should be too hasty in passing judgment.
With the hives and combs already provided, more than one-half the
original investment is saved, and with a propitious season for the
present, our losses will be made good with a credit in our favor on
the balance sheet. We cannot expect bee-keeping to be profitable every
season, any more than any other special branch of industry which is
dependent upon natural causes, but we can with forethought, industry
and systematic perseverance, make it as reliable as any other, and now
that many will be compelled to begin anew (or comparatively so), we
suggest that they begin aright. It will not be a guaranty of success
that they use the best hive, nor that they have an abundance of bees; a
familiarity with all the recognized authorities and a mind crammed with
theories, will often fail; the industrious brown bee will seek in vain,
the gold-banded Italian bee will tire in its flight, and even _Apis
dorsata_ will view its stores with dismay, if there be no nectar-laden
bloom from which to gather.

Now is the time to invest for the future. Every dollar judiciously
paid out for seeds of honey plants will bear compound interest--will
be “bread cast upon the waters.” The traditional two or three weeks of
honey-flow can, with a trifling expenditure, be made to last more than
as many months; a succession of bloom can be secured, so that should
northerly winds or wet weather prevail for a time, it would not carry
dismay to our hopes and starvation to our bees. If, as we hope and
confidently believe, the present should prove an unparalleled honey
season, it will ameliorate the only tenable objection to melilot or
sweet clover, which is that it blooms but little or none the first
season; and we can well wait till another season for our “sweet” reward
from it. There are many other plants which we believe would repay
cultivation in honey alone, but not one that will bear comparison with
this Esau of the vegetable kingdom. Never was a better time to start
in right than now, and never can we truthfully say bee-keeping is more
hazardous than other industries, or less remunerative, until we have
made some provision against natural failures and seasonable disasters.
Every bee-keeper should, in justice to himself, test this matter of
planting on a sufficiently extensive scale to satisfy himself. We feel
confident of the verdict.


Law Against Adulteration in N. Y.

We have received the following copy of the bill against adulteration,
referred to on page 92 of the BEE JOURNAL for March 23. Mr. L. C. Root
remarks: “The readers of the BEE JOURNAL are, no doubt, interested in
the progress being made regarding the bill upon which action was taken
at the late session of the Northeastern Bee-keeper’s Association. The
subject is one of marked interest to bee-keepers in general. I send
you a copy of the bill, which may be of interest and which shows the
progress thus far made.”

    ASSEMBLY OF NEW YORK.--Introduced by Mr. Root--read twice and
    referred to the committee on trade and manufactures--reported
    favorably from said committee and committed to the committee of the
    whole.

    AN ACT, To prevent fraud in the adulteration of sugars, syrups,
    molasses and honey.

_The people of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows_:

SEC. 1. Any person, company or corporation engaged in the manufacture,
refining or mixing of sugars, syrups, molasses or honey for sale, who
shall mix the same with glucose or grape sugar or any other article
of adulteration, shall, before selling or offering the same for sale,
cause to be marked on the cask or package in which it is contained,
the percentage of glucose or adulteration therein contained, such mark
or label shall be in plain Roman capital letters, not less than ½
each in dimensions, in black ink or paint, and on the upper and most
conspicuous part of the cask or package.

§ 2. Any person, company or corporation who shall sell or offer to sell
such mixed or adulterated sugars, syrups, honey or molasses containing
glucose, grape sugar, or any articles of adulteration, shall expose
or sell the same in or from the original packages in which it was
consigned from the manufacturer or mixer to the same, and shall be
plainly and conspicuously marked or labeled as required in the first
section of this act.

§ 3. Any person who shall violate the provisions of this act shall
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall
be liable to a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $200, or to
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 60 days, or both fine
and imprisonment in the discretion of the court.

§ 4. This act shall take effect on the first day of June, 1881.

       *       *       *       *       *

=Circulars and Catalogues.=--The following Circulars and Catalogues are
on our desk:

    E. A. Thomas, Coleraine, Mass.--4 pages--Choice Italian Queens and
    Bees.

    Kennicutt & Keyser, Tecumseh, Mich.--4 pages--Poultry and Bees.

    Bright Bros., Mazeppa, Minn.--20 pages--Apiarian Supplies.

    S. Valentine, Double Pipe Creek. Md.--4 pages--Italian, Albino and
    Holy Land Queens and Bees.

    L. C. Root & Bro. Mohawk, N. Y.--12 pages-Bee-Keeping Supplies,
    Quinby’s New Bee-Keeping, &c.

    I. R. Good, Nappanee, Ind.--1 page--Holy Land Bees and Queens.

    H. Barber, Adrian, Mich.--1 page--Russell Hives, Italian Queens and
    Bees.

    Geo. H. Lamb, Wilmington, N. C.--1 page--Italian Queens.

    J. M. Brooks & Bro., Columbus, Ind.--2 pages--American-bred Italian
    Queens and Bees, and Apiarian Supplies.

    F.A. Snell, Milledgeville, Ill.--18 pages--Bee Hives, Italian Bees
    and Apiarian Supplies.

    H. A. Burch & Co., South Haven, Mich.--40 pages--Bees, Queens and
    Bee-keepers’ Supplies.

    Riegel & Drum, Adelphi, O.--8 pages--Italian Bees and Queens and
    Apiarian Supplies.

    A. T. Blauvelt & Co., Blauveltville. N. Y.--16 pages--Fruit and
    Ornamental Trees.




Vennor’s Predictions for April.


So remarkable have his predictions been fulfilled in the past that
we hope we shall not be disappointed in his predictions for May
weather during at least a part of this month. The following are his
probabilities for April:

    There will be sharp frost in the beginning of April, with a
    snowfall on the 4th or 5th, but the spring will open favorably, and
    everything will be pretty well advanced by April 15. Floods may
    be expected in Chicago about the first week in April, with high
    winds also prevailing in the early part of the month. Snow-falls
    are probable about April 5. Navigation is likely to open on Lake
    Ontario about April 7.

    The St. Lawrence will be open about the 9th or 11th, and the first
    steamship will probably arrive about the 17th or 18th. The weather
    will be very stormy in the Lower Provinces about the 20th, with
    very high water prevailing, but in the West, April will be a dry
    month. There will be warm weather just following the 20th, ending
    in thunderstorms on the 24th and 25th. Snowstorms are probable in
    the far West on the 25th and 26th, and snow-falls are not unlikely
    to occur in England at the close of the month. The month will end
    wet and cold, but, on the whole, will be like a May month.

       *       *       *       *       *

=Two Queens in a Hive.=--Mr. Fradenburg says: “I think I can throw a
new ray of light on this subject, which is now-a-days attracting some
attention among bee-keepers. I have come to the conclusion that there
are but just two causes or conditions in which two laying queens will
be found in a hive at once--the first is the superseding of an old
and failing queen, in which case each queen seems to have a sort of
reverence for the other; the second condition is that the bees in one
part of the hive do not know at all times what is going on in another
part of the hive. This assertion may raise a storm of opposition among
the fraternity, but I believe I have the positive evidence to support
it.”

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ We have received a very nice specimen of thin foundation for surplus
boxes, made on the Root Mill, from G. W. Stanley, Wyoming, N. Y.

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ This issue of the BEE JOURNAL, the first in the month, goes to all
the subscribers of the Weekly, Monthly and Semi-Monthly. Should any of
the latter wish to change to the Weekly, they can do so at any time, by
paying the difference.

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ We can supply but a few more of the back numbers to new subscribers.
If any want them, they must be sent for soon.

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ California has had its floods, and now the Northwest is having a
severe experience in the same line. According to Vennor our turn is
next. Let all be watchful, and prepare in time, if possible, to avoid
loss.

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ Single copies of the JOURNAL are sent postage paid for 5 cents each.

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ Constitutions and By-Laws for local Associations $2 per 100. The name
of the Association printed in the blanks for 50 cents extra.

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ The Volume of the BEE JOURNAL for 1880, bound in stiff paper covers,
will be sent by mail, for $1.50.

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ When changing a postoffice address, mention the _old_ address as well
as the new one.




SELECTIONS FROM OUR LETTER BOX


=Correction.=--In the BEE JOURNAL for March 16, page 85, the number
of my colonies is given as 25; it should be 85. So far as I can learn
they are in good condition. I winter them in the cellar. I have been
handling bees for 6 years. Osage is a growing city, and will consume
all the honey produced in this locality. There are about 500 colonies
of bees in Mitchell County, and I will do my share in supplying the
market with honey.

  CHAS. FOLLETT.

Osage, Iowa, March 21, 1881.


=Good Enough.=--My bees wintered well. I only lost one out of 92
colonies. Some have lost all they had; others 2/3, etc. The spring is
backward. As yet we have had but few days that bees could fly.

  W. H. HOWLETT.

Union, Ky., March 22, 1881.


=Using Old Combs.=--Is it not dangerous to use combs with dead brood
in from defunct colonies? Is there not danger of getting foul brood
started? I have a good many of them, and I am undecided whether to melt
them up or save them. The losses here have been fearful. I do not think
there are 10 live colonies in Dixon outside of my apiary, and I have
lost ⅓. Those lost were packed in dry chaff, as Prof. Cook’s Manual
directs, in Langstroth and Simplicity hives, while Root’s chaff hive
has come out ahead, only 2 or 3 hives of this kind have failed, out of
about 30 chaff hives in use. There were as many as 10 or 12 different
apiaries in and near Dixon, and I can count 8 of them now that are all
dead; the most of them were small, containing from 6 to 30 colonies
each. And the end is not yet. Those yet alive may die soon unless
spring opens at once.

  B. F. PRATT.

Dixon, Ill., March 27, 1881.

[It is hardly possible there is a great deal of dead brood in the
combs to be removed. We should not hesitate, if the brood is dry and
shrunken, to place the combs in strong colonies; but if the brood is
putrid and ropy, and sticks to the cells, we would not wish to use
them, as it is easy to imagine the possibility of foul brood or other
diseases arising therefrom. If, as we suspect, your combs are filled
with starved bees, you can easily remove them by adopting the plan
recommended in the Weekly BEE JOURNAL of March 16, page 86. Mr. H. T.
Collins gives his method in this number of the JOURNAL.--ED.]


=Never Give Up.=--Bees are nearly all dead. A long winter is the cause,
of course. “Never give up” is and must be our motto, but we must learn
not to venture too far without experience to back us.

  N. J. LONGSDON.

Byron, Ill., March 26, 1881.


=Good Prospect.=--There is every prospect of a prosperous season now,
as we are having rain enough, and I never saw bees in better condition.
I commenced on the 3d of March to divide colonies, rear queens, &c.
I have my hives nearly completed for the season’s operations. There
is quite a contrast between northern Iowa and southern Cal. for
bee-keeping. I commenced the last season with 48 colonies in very poor
condition, and this season I start with 108 in extra good condition; in
fact, the poorest colony I have is in as good condition as the best was
last season at the same time.

  ELISHA GALLUP.

Santa Paula, Cal., March 18, 1881.


=Spring Come at Last.=--The weather is spring-like here, and has been
since March came in. The snow has all disappeared, and our roads are
dry and dusty. As I write the blue birds and robins are singing merrily.

  HENRY ALLEY.

Wenham, Mass., March 23, 1881.


=Come Gentle Spring.=--I have 60 colonies in the cellar; they are in
poor condition and will all die if Vennor does not give us fine weather
soon, so that the bees can have a flight. They were all right March
1st. I like the Weekly much better than the Monthly.

  WM. C. GRAY.

Pre-emption, Ill., March 24, 1881.


=Bees All Right.=--I have lost 2 colonies out of 16, and the remaining
14 are strong. I had them packed in buckwheat chaff, which is
considered the best packing we can get. I have wintered for 4 years
with it, and had success. In the winter of 1877 and 1878 I had 45
colonies packed in kiln-dried shavings and wheat chaff: but 4 were
packed in buckwheat chaff and those 4 lived; the rest died. There was a
very heavy loss around here among those that were left unpacked. I am
well pleased with the Weekly BEE JOURNAL.

  W. S. BAIR.

Rollersville, O., March 24, 1881.


=Lost 6 out of 100 Colonies.=--The snow is all gone now and our bees
have had several flights. On the 16th they gathered some pollen; but
this has been the most disastrous winter among bees in Maryland for
many years; 75 per cent of all the bees in north Md. are dead. We had
a very poor honey season last year, except 5 weeks during the first
crop of red clover, which ended about the 1st of July; and after that
but little honey was gathered. The bulk of the loss was from neglect or
starvation. As I had a fair demand for queens and I was breeding for
improvement I kept up the queen breeding until the last of Oct., and
my bees were in poor condition for an ordinary winter; much more for
such a one as we have just passed through. I have lost 6 colonies at
home, that starved; I have 96 left in fair condition. I wintered in a
cellar expressly arranged for the purpose; it is perfectly dark, and
the temperature in this place was kept all through the winter at 46°
and 47°. All those that wintered in cellars fared the best. I am much
pleased with the Weekly. I should lose a friend were I to be deprived
of it. I wish it every success.

  S. VALENTINE.

Double Pipe Creek, Md., March 22.


=Vexed and Perplexed.=--When I go into my bee lot and look around I am
vexed over the situation and perplexed to know what to do with my hives
and combs. I put into winter quarters 16 colonies (all blacks) and now
have one, very weak. I have a lot of nice, well-made and painted hives
on hand, and a lot of combs. As I have never handled Italian bees,
and have concluded to purchase, and I hear they are larger than the
blacks, will you please answer these 2 questions in the BEE JOURNAL:
Are comb cells of the black bee too small for the Italians to raise
brood in? Will it not cramp them in size? Will it be safe to feed the
thin uncapped honey that has caused dysentery to other bees? The bees
in this vicinity are all dead. Success to the BEE JOURNAL.

  D. S. KALLY.

Mansfield, Ind.

[The difference in size of cells is not perceptible. If bees are flying
freely, you can feed the thin honey with impunity.--ED.


=Ventilation.=--I have met 14 different persons in the last few days
that had, last Nov., 168 colonies of bees altogether; now they have
in the aggregate 57 living; these were mostly in frame hives, on the
summer stands, and left to care for themselves. Nearly all died with
plenty of honey to have carried them through. This, I think, will
be about the average loss in the counties of Champaign, Piatt and
Moultrie, in this State. Wm. H. Beckwith started in the winter with 18
colonies in Langstroth and box hives, with plenty of bees and honey in
each hive. The hives were very poorly made, being open at the corners,
with a board laid on top to keep the rain or snow from falling directly
into the hive. Nearly all of them set on blocks from one to two inches
from the bottom board; they were ventilated better than any bees I
have seen this season; he has 16 colonies to day, alive, and apparently
in good condition. Perhaps there is more in ventilation than chaff
hives or cellars. Will some one please rise and explain?

  S. GOODRICH.

Urbana, Ill., March 23, 1881.


=Bees Confined 5 Months.=--Yesterday my 115 colonies of bees had
their first flight since the last week in Oct., having been confined
to their hives 5 months, lacking 2 or 3 days only. This is a month
longer than I have ever had them confined to the hive without a flight,
during the past 12 years, and to my very great satisfaction as well
as astonishment, I do not find a single dead colony. Some 5 or 10 are
considerably diseased, and a few are almost sure to be found queenless.
I expect to lose from 5 to 15 between this and honey harvest. Bees
generally have wintered very poorly in this section. From ½ to 2/3 of
all the bees put in winter quarters last fall, have died. I winter
entirely in chaff hives, and from what I hear I judge that that method
of wintering has succeeded better than any other during this past
winter.

  O. O. POPPLETON.

Williamstown, Iowa, March 25,1881.


=Orchard Apiary.=--The following is my report for 1880; My bees came
through very strong in spring, and bred rapidly, and were in excellent
condition to take advantage of fruit bloom, which lasted about a week,
during which time they filled the hives well with honey, and it is well
that they did, for raspberry and white clover proved a total failure
here, on account of bad weather in June. My surplus all came from
basswood, which produced well for about 10 days. Notwithstanding the
poor season, and it was the poorest we we have had, I realized a profit
of over $8 per colony; but went into winter quarters strong and with
plenty of good wholesome stores.

  E. A. THOMAS.

Coleraine, Mass., Feb. 1, 1881.


=Loss in Cellars, etc.=--I put 95 colonies in the cellar on Nov. 15.
I took them out yesterday, which was the first day they could fly
with safety since about the first of last Nov. Loss 4 (one probably
queenless when put in, and 3 starved). A few are weak, but most of
them are in good condition. This has been a very hard winter on bees
that were not properly cared for. Those left out are nearly all dead,
as far as heard from. A good many have died in cellars and special
repositories, for want of a knowledge of the proper conditions for
success. I like the JOURNAL very much.

  J. E. HUNTER.

Wyoming, Iowa, March 25, 1881.


=Blasted Hopes.=--For the first time, I enroll myself in the army of
“blasted hopes.” My 150 colonies of bees are (all but one) among the
things that were. I had no honey from them last season, or at least
none but what I fed back in the fall, and a good many were entirely
destitute, so that I broke them up. Some had a little honey and I gave
that to those that had a little more, and still had 150 left. Winter
set in early, about the middle of Nov., before I had packed any of
them. I waited for milder weather so that I could pack them, but that
did not come until the 6th of March. Never a day did my bees have a fly
until then; and then I had but one colony fly, and I hoped they would
come through all right in my double hives, but they did not. Most of
them had plenty of honey. All of those having honey had brood and some
of them young bees; such had soiled the combs. The one that is alive is
strong and has plenty of brood. I thought that bees did not commence
to raise brood until a warm spell, but it seems I was mistaken. I have
heretofore boxed up a part and left a part unprotected, and have had
success with both. I think I should have done better to have boxed them
up this year. I have now a lot of empty hives and a great plenty of
nice combs. I shall not need any foundation nor bee supplies this year;
but need bees to cover my combs. In the BEE JOURNAL for March 9 Mr.
Doolittle’s article on “Bee Moths” contains an error. A year or two ago
I was at a friend’s in Allegan Co., in this State, in September, and
he told me that the moths were killing all of his bees. I then thought
like Mr. D., that they did not hurt good colonies. He said they did and
showed me swarms, with new white combs, the queen and brood all right,
but the sides of the hives were white with moth cocoons. They were all
black bees; I do not think they would have troubled Italians. I like
the WEEKLY BEE JOURNAL very much, but do not know that it will be of
much value to me now. The cause of the death of my bees was, I think,
the long steady cold, with no flight; and not the extreme cold; but why
did one of them live through all right? It was just like the rest in
the fall.

  A. C. BALCH.

Kalamazoo, Mich., March 12, 1881.


=The Outlook Encouraging.=--The loss in wintering has been very heavy
in this county during the past cold winter. In one apiary near me, in
Langstroth hives, only 5 are now alive out of 100 last Oct. My home
apiary of 175 colonies last Oct., mostly in closed-end Quinby-frame
hives, wintered on summer stands packed with fine straw and chaff,
now numbers only 115. The loss has been much the heaviest in open end
frames, especially so in metal corner frames. Out of 78 in such frame
hives only 2 colonies are left. Last year was the poorest season I
have had in 12 years; I had but one natural swarm during the season.
White clover was a failure; there is but little basswood near here. By
feeding I kept my bees in good condition for the fall harvest; smart
weed furnished a very little; Spanish needle (the best honey plant in
this section) was a total failure; this is the 2d year in 12 that it
has failed. I had one apiary near the Illinois river which contained
120 colonies last spring, in Quinby hives. The early part of the season
was poor, but I had during the season 21 natural swarms and over 3000
lbs. of section honey for sale, with a surplus of 3000 lbs. in brood
frames; more than enough to winter them, which I brought to my home
apiary. The above harvest was wholly from smart weed, which was grown
on overflow land near the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. The loss
in this apiary will not exceed 10 from all causes. All are strong and
booming. The soft maples are now in bloom; every fair day the bees are
carrying in pollen and a very little honey; the elm will soon be in
bloom furnishing an abundance of pollen for rapid queen rearing. With
favorable weather I expect a spring harvest from the willow privet
bush and red haw; the honey from these is very light colored and of
excellent quality. Your hopeful outlook for the coming season is very
cheering. The Weekly is both a pleasure and a necessity with me.

  A. T. WILLIAMS.

St. Charles, Mo., March 24, 1881.


=Severe Winter, but Bees All Right.=--This has been the most severe
winter experienced by the oldest inhabitant in Ky. I have 14 colonies
well packed in chaff, on their summer stands; 3 in the star chaff
hive, 9 in the simplicity with tight bottom and portico, and 2 in the
simplicity hive. Banked each of them on 3 sides with snow; 12 faced
south, 2 north, with no winter passages; used the enameled cloth
contrary to friend Muth’s advice. I packed on each side of those in
single-wall hives with loose chaff, also on the top. I had from 3 to 7
frames in each hive. All wintered equally well, and to-day the queens
are doing their duty nobly, shut in on from 2 to 3 frames, and crowded
with bees. I think the chaff hive unnecessary for this climate, but
it is necessary to pack them well with an absorbent in order to bring
them safely through our generally changeable winters. Success to the
Weekly; it is growing in interest from week to week, and its coming is
anxiously longed for.

  C. H. DEAN.

Mortonsville, Ky., March 18, 1881.


=Winter Bee House.=--My bees have wintered splendidly in my winter bee
house.

  L. CARSON.

Frederick, O., March 24, 1881.


=Bees Wintered Well.=--Bees on the summer stands without protection
have wintered poorly in this vicinity. I have fifty colonies in Quinby
hives, packed in oat chaff and cut straw, that have all wintered well
so far. Most of the bees in this vicinity are in box hives, and nearly
½ of them are dead as far as heard from.

  E. DEUEL.

Portlandville, N. Y., March 24, 1881.


=Bees in fair Condition.=--My bees are in a fair condition, on the
summer stands. I put into winter quarters 66 colonies; lost 3 and
bought 14, making 75 in fair condition. Owing to old age and poor
health I intend to sell my bees, although I regret it very much. Last
year was a very poor one for honey. I obtained about 600 lbs. of comb
honey, which I sold for 15 cts. a lb., and I had one swarm. I like the
Weekly BEE JOURNAL very much. I had one colony of bees swarm out on the
15th of this month; they flew around about half an hour and then went
back into the hive again. I examined them on the 17th and found the
colony strong, with combs all dry and nice, and about 25 lbs. of honey,
some pollen, with eggs and brood in all stages. They are now satisfied.

  J. J. QUINN.

Corydon, Ky., March 25, 1881.


=The Survival of the Fittest.=--Another blizzard struck us yesterday;
the weather is not so cold, but the high winds and heavy fall of snow
make it more disagreeable than any day of the cold zero weather. Bees
will get another set-back by their brood chilling. Those that come out
in good condition this spring can be considered tough citizens, and no
mistake.

  JOS. M. BROOKS.

Columbus, Ind., March 30, 1881.


=Half of the Bees Dead.=--There is a loss of more than one-half of the
bees in this county. I am well pleased with the Weekly BEE JOURNAL.

  W. A. HERRON.

Indianola, Iowa, March 28, 1881.


=Wintered Without Loss.=--I believe I am the only one in this county
that has not lost more or less bees this winter. My bees were all
transferred from box hives last fall, their stores taken away, and they
were fed on syrup. They have wintered without any loss of bees. I have
bought of Mr. Muth, of Cincinnati, some extracted basswood honey, and
shall dilute it with sugar syrup and feed this spring. My bees all have
more or less brood now.

  W. T. CLARY.

Clarysville, Ky., March 29, 1881.


=Wintered Safely.=--Bees are dying very rapidly in this section of
country. I have 18 colonies; 2 are weak, but I have lost none so far. I
bought a Cyprian queen from a firm in the East. She wintered all right,
but her workers are hybrid Italians. I lost one last fall by foul
brood. I am much pleased with the Weekly BEE JOURNAL.

  WM. H. GARIHAN.

Northumberland, Pa., March 28, 1881.


=Chaff Did Not Save the Bees.=--The bees in this vicinity are mostly
dead. Chaff did not save them from the effects of the past severe
winter.

  L. HUBBARD.

Waldron, Mich., March 25, 1881.


=Wintered in Chaff.=--Three-fourths of the bees in this neighborhood
are dead. I packed mine with chaff on the summer stands, and they came
out nice and strong. I am a beginner, and derive much benefit from the
BEE JOURNAL, which is a welcome visitor.

  EVAN B. HADLEY.

Deming, Ind., March 29, 1881.


=Eleven Swarms from One Colony.=--I commenced the last spring with
13 Italian and 4 black colonies, and in the fall I had 70; lost 6 in
wintering by being queenless. I have sold 4, and now have 60 doing
well. I had 11 swarms from one colony and its increase, besides 50 lbs.
of honey. The BEE JOURNAL is _the_ bee paper, and I wish it success.

  E. CARR.

Leesville, Texas, March 14, 1881.


=A Visit Every Week, Very Pleasant.=--My bees have been at work on the
soft maple for the past week. I commenced the winter with 31 colonies;
I now have 21; many of them are very strong; some died with plenty of
honey in their hives. Last season was a poor one, giving no surplus. I
think there will be a heavy loss of bees here. I thought I would not
like the Weekly BEE JOURNAL as well as the monthly, but I would not
exchange it now for any monthly, because I can hear from my bee-keeping
friends every week. I wish it great success.

  N. DAVIS.

Emporia, Kan., March 28, 1881.


=Buds are Swelling; Spring is Coming.=--By the JOURNAL I notice that
the winter has been a disastrous one to bees. It must be hard to report
a loss of ½ or ¾; and some of the reports even say--“all dead.” I am
afraid that some of the bee-keepers in this section can say ditto to
these reports. The loss around here is greater than there is any need
of, on account of the carelessness of farmers in preparing their bees
for winter; some of them leave them out on the summer stands without
any protection whatever, and of course the result is plain. I have
wintered mine in the cellar for the past 2 seasons without any loss,
except one that starved this winter; and I am to blame for that in not
knowing their condition when I put them in the cellar. I think that
now all fear of loss is past, for my bees are doing as well as could
be desired. They are breeding considerably, and are all bright and
healthy. The snow is going off slowly, at last, and we may look for
spring soon. The maple trees are full of swelling buds--it is too early
to say anything about fruit bloom; I don’t know whether it is killed
or not. White clover looks well where the snow is off, and it promises
well for the coming season.

  HARRY G. BURNET.

Blairstown, Iowa, March 26, 1881.


=Bees About All Dead.=--I put my bees into winter quarters in the
Mitchell hive, packed with clover chaff at each end of the hive about
6 inches thick, and over the top with cushions with the same, about
4 inches thick, all on the summer stands. My loss is now about 2 per
cent. The snow is now from 12 to 15 inches deep; this does not look
very encouraging; the bees in this part of the country are about all
dead. I like the JOURNAL much better as a Weekly than before?; it gives
us _fresh_ news.

  S. M. OLDHAM.

Reynoldsburg, O., March 30, 1881.


=Double-Walled Hives.=--A large proportion of bees have died in this
vicinity this winter. I have lost 6 colonies out of 16. I am using
Hill’s double-walled winter bee hive. I lost none wintered in these
hives, but every one in Langstroth hives died. I wintered on summer
stands and one hive had as much protection as another. I feel sure I
should have saved all if I had used the double-walled hive; those that
died had honey enough in the hive to have wintered them through, if
they could have got at it. My bees are carrying pollen every day they
can be out.

  J. R. WILCOX.

Utica, Ind., March 29, 1881.


=Losses in Wintering.=--Having seen no report from this vicinity, I
have taken some pains to ascertain the extent of the losses of the
bee-men of this part of Wayne county, Ind. I have reports (some of
them indirectly) from 34. Ten report a total loss; 8, 90 per cent.;
6, 80 per cent.; the others from 33 to 25 per cent. The average loss
of colonies will probably be 80 per cent., and those colonies which
survive are very much reduced in numbers. Most of them were left
unprotected on the summer stands. I find that those that were taken
into the cellar before the severe cold of November, came through with
small loss, while those taken in after ice had accumulated in the hive,
fared the worst of all. I am an advocate of cellar wintering, having
never lost a colony until the present winter, and that is through
neglect in not taking them in early; I lost 3 this time. I am convinced
that dysentery (the one great cause of our loss) could have been
much mitigated by keeping an even temperature, which cannot be done
out-of-doors, and had we removed their unsealed, poor food and fed them
candy instead, our reports would have been different. Two colonies thus
treated by me came through in good condition. My bees gathered pollen
and honey yesterday from the willow. Maple will be in bloom in a few
days.

  M. H. WOLFER.

Richmond, Ind., March 28, 1881.




Local Convention Directory.

  1881.     _Time and Place of Meeting._

  April 2--S. W. Iowa, at Corning, Iowa.

        5--Central Kentucky, at Winchester, Ky.
            Wm. Williamson, Sec., Lexington, Ky.

        7--Union Association, at Eminence, Ky.
            E. Drane, Sec. pro tem., Eminence, Ky.

        7--N. W. Ohio, at Delta. Ohio.

        13--N. W. Missouri, at St. Joseph, Mo.
            D. G. Parker, Pres., St. Joseph, Mo.

  May 4--Tuscarawas and Muskingum Valley, at Cambridge, Guernsey Co., O.
            J. A. Bucklew, Sec., Clarks, O.

      5--Central Michigan, at Lansing, Mich.

     10--Cortland Union, at Cortland, N. Y.
            C. M. Bean, Sec., McGrawville, N. Y.

     11--S. W. Wisconsin, at Darlington, Wis.
            N. E. France, Sec., Platteville, Wis.

     12, 13--Texas Bee-Keepers’ Association, at McKinney, Collin Co., Texas.
            W. R. Howard, Sec., Kingston, Hunt Co., Tex.

  Sept. -- --National, at Lexington, Ky.
           --Kentucky State, at Louisville, Ky.

  Oct. 18--Ky. State, in Exposition B’d’g, Louisville, Ky.
            W. Williamson, Sec., Lexington, Ky.

☞ In order to have this Table complete, Secretaries are requested to
forward full particulars of time and place of future meetings.--ED.




CLUBBING LIST.

We supply the Weekly =American Bee Journal= and any of the following
periodicals, for 1881, at the prices quoted in the last column of
figures. The first column gives the regular price of both:

                                          _Publishers’ Price. Club._

  The Weekly Bee Journal (T. G. Newman)                         $2 00
  and Gleanings in Bee-Culture (A. I. Root)          3 00        2 75
      Bee-Keepers’ Magazine (A. J. King)             3 00        2 60
      Bee-Keepers’ Exchange (J. H. Nellis)           2 75        2 50
        The 4 above-named papers                     4 75        3 75
      Bee-Keepers’ Instructor (W. Thomas)            2 50        2 35
      Bee-Keepers’ Guide (A. G. Hill)                2 50        2 35
        The 6 above-named papers                     5 75        5 00
      Prof. Cook’s Manual (bound in cloth)           3 25        3 00
      Bee-Culture (T. G. Newman)                     2 40        2 25

  For Semi-monthly Bee Journal, $1.00 less.
  For Monthly Bee Journal, $1.50 less.




Honey and Beeswax Market.

BUYERS’ QUOTATIONS.


CHICAGO.

HONEY--The market is plentifully supplied with honey, and sales are
slow at weak, easy prices. Quotable at 18@20c. for strictly choice
white comb in 1 and 2 lb. boxes; at 14@16c. for fair to good in large
packages, and at 10@12c. for common dark-colored and broken lots.
Extracted, 8@10c.

BEESWAX.--Choice yellow, 20@23c.; dark, 15@17.


NEW YORK.

HONEY.--Best white comb honey, small neat packages, 14@16c.; fair do.,
14@16c.; dark do., 11@12; large boxes sell for about 2c. under above.
White extracted, 9@10c.; dark, 7@8c.; southern strained, 80@85c.

BEESWAX.--Prime quality, 20@23c.


CINCINNATI.

HONEY.--The market for extracted clover honey is good, at 8@10c. Comb
honey is of slow sale at 16c. for the best.

BEESWAX.--18@22c.

  C. F. MUTH.


SAN FRANCISCO.

HONEY.--The “Vigilant” takes 600 cases to Liverpool. There is a
slightly improved feeling consequent upon a little more inquiry,
but prices show no material appreciation. Discouraging reports are
received from the southern part of the State, as to the prospects of
the coming crop, but other sections give promise of an abundant yield.
With a good supply yet on the market, prices are not apt to be buoyant
until the anticipated failure is more fully settled. We quote white
comb, 12@13c.; dark to good, 9@11c. Extracted, choice to extra white,
5½@6½c.; dark and candied, 5@5½c.

BEESWAX.--22@22½c., as to color.

  STEARNS & SMITH, 423 Front Street.

San Francisco, Cal., March 11, 1881.

       *       *       *       *       *

=A Smooth Complexion= can be had by every lady who will use Parker’s
Ginger Tonic. For promptly regulating the liver and kidneys and
purifying the blood there is nothing like it, and this is the reason
why it so quickly removes pimples and gives a rosy bloom to the cheek.
See notice.

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ We have prepared Ribbon Badges for bee-keepers, on which are printed
a large bee in gold. Price 10 cents each, or $8.00 per hundred.

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ Notices and advertisements intended for the Weekly BEE JOURNAL must
reach this office by Friday of the week previous.

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ Instead of sending silver money in letters, procure 1, 2 or 3 cent
stamps. We can use them, and it is safer to send such than silver.

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ The Michigan Bee-Keepers’ Association will convene in Pioneer Rooms
of the State Capitol at Lansing, May 5. The following is the programme:

    Regular order of business.

    Annual address by Pres. W. J. Ashworth.

    Address by T. G. Newman, editor of American Bee Journal; subject,
    Rise, Progress, Present Condition and Future Prospects of American
    Apiculture.

    Essay--Profitable extent of bee-keeping, by James Heddon, Dowagiac.

    Essay--Requisites of an Apiary, by H. A. Burch, South Haven.

    Essay--Some important facts in bee-keeping, by Prof. A. J. Cook,
    Michigan Agricultural College.

    Discussions and remarks.

    Examination of exhibits.

    All exhibitors of supplies are requested to send samples to
    the Secretary, with prices and descriptions attached, and all
    transportation charges must be prepaid by the exhibitors.

  GEO. L. PERRY, _Sec._

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ Programme of the Northwestern Bee-Keepers’ Union, to be held at
Hastings, Minn., May 17, 1881:

    1.--Address of Welcome, by J. N. Searls.

    2.--Reports of committees.

    3.--Reports from all--number, kind and condition of bees.

    4.--A paper by Pres. A. Tidball, on honey-producing plants and
    flowers.

    5.--A paper by Dr. P. Barton, of St. Paul, on honey as food and
    medicine.

    6.--Apiary culture and our fairs, by Hon. William Avery, of St.
    Croix Falls, Wis.

    7.--A paper on sales of honey, by F. B. Dorothy, of Taylor’s Falls,
    Minn.

    8.--A paper on wintering bees, by L. Day, of Farmington.

    9.--Progressive bee-culture, by J. G. Teter.

    The above subjects will be open for discussion. In addition to the
    above, the following subjects are suggested:

    1.--Essential properties of a good bee hive.

    2.--How to prevent and cure foul brood.

    3.--How to prevent spring dwindling.

    4.--Comb Foundation, with dividing and natural swarming.

    Appointment of committees.

    Election of officers. Adjournment.

    ☞ All bee-keepers are cordially invited. Entertainment free.

  F. B. DOROTHY, _Sec._

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ The Northern Indiana Bee-keepers Association will hold their regular
meeting at the Court House, at Valparaiso, Ind., April 7th, 1881, at 2
o’clock p. m., for the election of officers, and for the transaction of
any other business that may come before the meeting.

  J. B. DECROW, _Sec._

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ The North Western Wisconsin Bee-keepers Association will meet at
Germania Hall, La Crosse, Wis., on Tuesday, May 10, at 10 a. m. All
interested in bee-keeping are requested to be present.

  L. H. PAMMEL, JR., _Sec._

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ The Semi-Annual meeting of the Champlain Valley Bee-Keepers’
Association will be held at Bristol, Addison Co., Vt., May 19, 1881.

  T. BROOKINS, _Sec._

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ The next meeting of the N. W. Illinois and S. W. Wisconsin
Bee-Keepers’ Association, will be held at H. W. Lee’s, 2 miles n.w. of
Pecatonica, Winnebago county, Ills., on the 17th of May, 1881.

  J. STEWART, _Sec._

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ On account of unfavorable weather the convention at Monroe Centre,
Ill., met on Feb. 8, and there being but few present, adjourned to the
same place on March 29, 1881.

  A. RICE, _Pres._

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ The Texas Bee-Keepers’ Association will hold their third annual
Convention at Judge W. H. Andrews’ apiary, in McKinney, Collin Co.,
Texas, on the 12th and 13th days of May, 1881.

  WM. R. HOWARD, _Sec._,
  Kingston, Hunt Co., Texas.

       *       *       *       *       *

=Gray Hairs Are Honorable= but their premature appearance is annoying.
Parker’s Hair Balsam is popular for cleanliness and promptly restoring
the youthful color.

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ Sample copies of the Weekly BEE JOURNAL will be sent _free_ to any
names that may be sent in. Any one intending to get up a club can have
sample copies sent to the persons they desire to interview, by sending
the names to this office.

       *       *       *       *       *

☞ It would save us much trouble, if all would be particular to give
their P.O. address and name, when writing to this office. We have
several letters (some inclosing money) that have no name. Many others
having no Post-office, County or State. Also, if you live near one
postoffice and get your mail at another, be sure to give the address we
have on our list.




  HEADQUARTERS IN THE SOUTH,
  for the Manufacture and Sale of
  BEE-KEEPERS’ SUPPLIES
  SIMPLICITY
  AND
  LANGSTROTH HIVES
  AND FRAMES

The New All-in-one-piece Sections!

Having purchased, from A. I. Root, a machine for making these sections,
I am ready to supply them in any quantity. Comb Foundation, made of
pure yellow wax, and worked on shares; Honey and Wax Extractors,
Knives, Bee Smokers, etc.

Italian Queens & Bees!

all bred from imported mothers of my own importation. Dollar Queens,
ready April 1st, $1.10, until June 1st; after, $1.

Tested Queens from 1st March to 1st November. Safe arrival guaranteed
and all queens sent by mail. I send no queens that I would not have for
myself. Full colonies of Italian Bees from $5 to $8.50, according to
quantity, etc. Early 4-frame nucleus, with Tested Queen, $5. No black
bees in the neighborhood. Send for my Illustrated Catalogue of prices,
etc. Address,

PAUL L. VIALLON, Bayou Goula, La.

       *       *       *       *       *

  The Sweet Home
  RASPBERRY

Is the largest, most productive, (bearing 125 bushels per acre,)
firmest, best shipping Raspberry ever introduced; perfectly hardy, been
tested by 36° below zero; sells the best; costs less to pick, because
it is firmer; and uniformly larger than any other Black Cap. For
Circular address,

9m2t

  D. D. PALMER, New Boston, Ill.

       *       *       *       *       *

=Friends=, if you are in any way interested in

BEES OR HONEY

We will with pleasure send you a sample copy of our

Monthly Gleanings in Bee-Culture,

with a descriptive price-list of the latest improvements in =Hives=,
=Honey Extractors=, =Artificial Comb=, =Section Honey Boxes=, all
books and journals, and everything pertaining to Bee Culture. _Nothing
Patented._ Simply send your address on a postal card, _written
plainly,_ to A. I. ROOT, Medina, O.

       *       *       *       *       *

=A NEW PLAN.=--For one dollar we will send full printed directions how
to prevent the end of the sheet of wax from adhering to the rolls in
making comb foundation. Address,

1m6t

  =SMITH & SMITH=, Kenton, Ohio.

       *       *       *       *       *

ITALIAN QUEENS.

[Illustration]

  Tested Queens               $1 50
  Warranted Queens             1 00
  Cyprian Queens, untested     1 00

As most all the Dollar Queens I sold last year were pure, I will
warrant them this year.

  J. T. WILSON,

Mortonsville, Woodford Co., Ky.

1m6t

       *       *       *       *       *

Italian, Cyprian & Holy Land Queens,

[Illustration]

  Single Queen, Tested             =$2 00=
        “       Untested, laying    =1 00=
      By mail, safe arrival guaranteed.
  8-frame colony      =$6 00=
  3-frame nucleus      =3 00=
  2-frame nucleus      =2 50=

By express, safe arrival guaranteed.

=W. P. HENDERSON,= Murfreesboro, Tenn.

1m6t

       *       *       *       *       *

CYPRIAN QUEENS for 1881.

We are now registering orders for these bees for 1881. Send for our
Cyprian Queen Bee Circular.

1mtf

  H. ALLEY, Wenham, Mass.

       *       *       *       *       *

=EVERETT’S= Honey Extractors and Everett Langstroth Hives a specialty.
We challenge competition in price and quality. Our circular and price
list of apiarian supplies, Italian Bees and high-class poultry sent
free.

  =EVERETT BROS.,= Toledo, O.

       *       *       *       *       *

15 One-Cent Stamps

Will pay for our exhaustive pamphlet on raising, handling and marketing
extracted honey.

  COLONIES
  WITH
  Imported Cyprian and Italian Queens,
  Of our own Importation,
  GUARANTEED PURE AND GENUINE.

Our =Comb Foundation= was awarded the diploma at the North-Eastern
Bee-Keepers’ Convention held in February.

Smokers, Knives, Extractors, &c.

Price List, with 3 samples of Comb Foundation, free.

  CHAS. DADANT & SON,
  Hamilton, Hancock Co., Ill.

9smtf

       *       *       *       *       *

FLAT-BOTTOM COMB FOUNDATION,

[Illustration]

high side-walls, 4 to 16 square feet to the pound. Circular and samples
free

  J. VAN DEUSEN & SONS,
  Sole Manufacturers,
  Sprout Brook, Mont. Co., N. Y.

11tf

       *       *       *       *       *

THE Headquarters in the South

for =ITALIAN= and =CYPRIAN BEES= and =QUEENS,= =FOUNDATION= and
=APIARIAN SUPPLIES.= If you want Early Queens, from stock selected
for their most desirable qualities, or want Imported Queens, Dunham
Foundation in large or small quantities, or Apiarian supplies of any
kind at moderate prices, send for my new Illustrated Price List. Pure
Beeswax worked on shares and bought for cash. Address,

  =Dr. J. P. H. BROWN,= Augusta, Ga.

9m6t

       *       *       *       *       *

C. Olm’s Comb Foundation Machine.

[Illustration]

9-inch.--Price $25.00.

The cut represents the 9-inch machine; the cheapest made until now.
Send for Circular and Sample.

  =C. OLM=, Fond du Lac, Wis.
  JOHN BAXTER, Pickering, Ont., agent for Canada.

1mtf

       *       *       *       *       *

  HEDDON’S CIRCULAR,
  Giving prices and descriptions, with cuts, of his
  IMPROVED LANGSTROTH HIVE,
  _White Spruce Sections and Boxes_,
  Latest Improved Honey Scales,
  Queens and Full Colonies,
  UNEXCELLED BEE FEEDER,
  The Three Popular and
  Best Styles of Comb Foundation,
  Wired or not, in Langstroth frames or out.

Protectors, Honey Knives, Smokers, Glass, Honey and Wax Extractors,
etc., together with the Best Honey-Yielding and Market Garden

SMALL FRUIT PLANTS,

is now ready to mail. Please send at once your full address, Post
Office, County and State, to

  JAMES HEDDON,
  Dowagiac, Cass County, Mich.

  ☞ No Circulars sent unless solicited.      1t7

       *       *       *       *       *

SECTIONS AND HIVES.

[Illustration]

We will make the Dovetailed or the “Boss” One-Piece Section any size
up to 5×6, for $5.00 per 1,000. Material for Langstroth hive, 50c.,
including brood frames.

  JAMES FORNCROOK & CO.
  Watertown, Jeff. Co., Wis., March 1, 1880.

  =Take Notice.=--There is a patent pending on the
  “Boss” one-piece Section.         9mtf

       *       *       *       *       *

  BEFORE PURCHASING ANY
  Italian and Cyprian Bees,

Send for our 20th Annual Price List. Full Colonies. Nuclei and Queens
at reduced rates, also headquarters for Apiarian Supplies in New
England.

  =WM. W. CARY & SON=, formerly
  WM. W. CARY, Coleraine, Mass.

9mtf

       *       *       *       *       *

JOSEPH D. ENAS,

(Sunny Side Apiary,)

Pure Italian Queens, Bees, Colonies

_Nuclei, Comb Foundation, etc._

  Address.     =Napa, Napa County, Cal.=

9m6t

       *       *       *       *       *

Italian Queens Only 80 Cents.

Warranted $1.00, Tested $1.50, 10 frame Colonies $5.75 to $8.00. ☞ Send
for Circular, and save money.

  =E. A. THOMAS=, Coleraine, Mass.

9m8t

       *       *       *       *       *

ITALIAN QUEENS.

[Illustration: 1881. 1881.]

Safe Arrival Guaranteed!

I am prepared to furnish queens of the purest grade, all bred from
Imported Stock:

  Untested Queens, in May and June     $1 50
  Untested Queens, in July and after    1 00
  Tested Queens, in May and June        2 50
  Tested Queens, in July and after      2 00

I guarantee all my Queens to be purely mated.

☞ Send for price list--free.

  =L. C. McFATRIDGE, M. D.=,
  Carroll, Carroll Co., Ind.

9m6t

       *       *       *       *       *

  SUPPLIES FOR THE APIARY,
  FOR 1881.

It is to every person’s interest, when they wish to purchase anything,
to go where they can get the most for their money. State on a postal
card just what you want, and we will let you know by return mail what
we will furnish it for. No Circulars. Address,

  =HIRAM ROOP=, Carson City, Mich.

12mtf

       *       *       *       *       *

  FRANCES DUNHAM,
  Inventor and Sole Manufacturer of the
  DUNHAM
  FOUNDATION
  MACHINE,

  [Illustration]

  AND DUNHAM
  COMB FOUNDATION,

☞ New Circular and Samples free. ☜

  FRANCES DUNHAM,
  =DEPERE, BROWN CO., WIS.=

1sm6m

       *       *       *       *       *

[Illustration]

TWENTY-EIGHTH YEAR.

=65 First Premiums, Medals and Diplomas.=--Send postal card, with name
and address, for my new Illustrated Circular and Price-List, containing
valuable information to all bee-keepers. CHAS. H. LAKE, successor to
the late Richard Colvin, 96 West Pratt Street, Baltimore, Md.

4wtf

       *       *       *       *       *

  IMPORTED
  ITALIAN QUEENS.

I shall import, direct from Italy, =Choice Italian Queens= this season,
and will sell them at $5 each. Tested Queens, of my own rearing, from
Imported stock, $2 each; Untested, $1 each. Imported and Tested Queens
will be sent by Express, and Untested ones by mail.

  =G. H. ADAMS=,
  North Nassau, N. Y.

14wlt

       *       *       *       *       *

“American Apiary” for Sale.

About =150 Colonies of Bees=, in fair condition, in Langstroth hives;
honey and wax extractors, empty combs, and the usual implements of an
apiary.

Will sell for cash or trade for land.

  =PAUL DUNKEN=,
  Freeman, Cass Co., Mo.

10eow3t

       *       *       *       *       *

  MUTH’S
  HONEY EXTRACTOR
  AND UNCAPPING KNIFE.

[Illustration]

The Extractor is made of all metal, is always ready for use, easily
cleaned, and will last a lifetime. In fact, it has only to be used to
be appreciated. Every Bee-Keeper should send for my circular giving
details about the care of bees and how to get the most Honey.

[Illustration]

  CHAS. F. MUTH, No. 976
  Central Av., Cincinnati, O.

1m1y

       *       *       *       *       *

WESTERN BEE-KEEPERS can save money by sending for our new Illustrated
Circular and Price List of =Apiarian Supplies, Note and Letter Heads,
Cards, &c.=

  BRIGHT BROTHERS,
  Mazeppa, Wabasha Co., Minn.

9m2tp

       *       *       *       *       *

Be SURE

To send a postal card for our Illustrated Catalogue of Apiarian
Supplies before purchasing elsewhere. It contains illustrations and
descriptions of everything new and valuable needed in an apiary, at the
lowest prices. Italian, Cyprian and Holy Land Queens and Bees.

  =J. C. & H. P. SAYLES=,
  Hartford, Wis.

2eow15t




Books for Bee-Keepers.


=Cook’s Manual of the Apiary.=--Entirely rewritten, greatly enlarged
and elegantly illustrated, and is fully up with the times on every
conceivable subject that interests the apiarist. It is not only
instructive, but intensely interesting and thoroughly practical. The
book is a masterly production, and one that no bee-keeper, however
limited his means, can afford to do without. Cloth, =$1.25=; paper
covers, =$1.00=, postpaid. Per dozen, by express, cloth, $12.; paper,
$9.50.


=Quinby’s New Bee-Keeping=, by L. C. Root.--The author has treated the
subject of bee-keeping in a manner that cannot fail to interest all.
Its style is plain and forcible, making all its readers sensible of
the fact that the author is really the master of the subject. Price,
=$1.50=.


=Novice’s A B C of Bee-Culture=, by A. I. Root.--This embraces
“everything pertaining to the care of the honey-bee,” and is valuable
to beginners and those more advanced. Cloth, =$1.25=; paper, =$1.00=.


=King’s Bee-Keepers’ Text-Book=, by A. J. King.--This edition is
revised and brought down to the present time. Cloth, =$1.00=; paper,
=75c.=


=Langstroth on the Hive and Honey Bee.=--This is a standard scientific
work. Price, =$2.00=.


=Blessed Bees=, by John Allen.--A romance of bee-keeping, full of
practical information and contagious enthusiasm. Cloth, =$1.00=.


=Bee-Culture; or Successful Management of the Apiary=, by
Thomas G. Newman.--This pamphlet embraces the following
subjects: The Location of the Apiary--Honey Plants--Queen
Rearing--Feeding--Swarming--Dividing--Transferring--Italianizing--Introducing
Queens--Extracting--Quieting and Handling Bees--The Newest Method of
Preparing Honey for Market, etc. It is published in =English= and
=German=. Price for either edition, =40 cents=, postpaid, or $3.00 per
dozen.


=Food Adulteration=; What we eat and should not eat. This book should
be in every family, where it ought to create a sentiment against the
adulteration of food products, and demand a law to protect consumers
against the many health-destroying adulterations offered as food. 200
pages. Paper, =50c.=


=The Dzierzon Theory=;--presents the fundamental principles of
bee-culture, and furnishes a condensed statement of the facts and
arguments by which they are demonstrated. Price, =15 cents.=


=Honey, as Food and Medicine=, by Thomas G. Newman.--This is a pamphlet
of 24 pages, discoursing upon the Ancient History of Bees and Honey;
the nature, quality, sources, and preparation of Honey for the Market;
Honey as an article of food, giving recipes for making Honey Cakes,
Cookies, Puddings, Foam, Wines, &c.; and Honey as Medicine, followed
by many useful Recipes. It is intended for consumers, and should
be scattered by thousands all over the country, and thus assist in
creating a demand for honey. Published in =English= and =German=. Price
for either edition, =6c.=; per dozen, =50c.=


=Wintering Bees.=--This pamphlet contains all the Prize Essays on this
important subject, that were read before the Centennial Bee-Keepers’
Association. The Prize--$25 in gold--was awarded to Prof. Cook’s Essay,
which is given in full. Price, =10c.=


=The Hive I Use.=--Being a description of the hive used by G. M.
Doolittle. Price, =5c.=


=Extracted Honey; Harvesting, Handling and Marketing.=--A 24-page
pamphlet, by Ch. & C. P. Dadant, Hamilton, Ill. This gives in detail
the methods and management adopted in their apiary. It contains many
good and useful hints, and is well worth the price--=15c.=


=Practical Hints to Bee-Keepers=, by Chas. F. Muth, Cincinnati, Ohio;
32 pages. This pamphlet gives Mr. Muth’s views on the management of
bees, and embraces several of his essays given at Conventions, etc. It
will be read with interest by beginners as well as those more advanced
in the science of bee-culture. Price, =10c.=


=Kendall’s Horse Book=.--No book can be more useful to horse owners. It
has 35 engravings, illustrating positions of sick horses, and treats
all diseases in a plain and comprehensive manner. It has a large number
of good recipes, a table of doses, and much other valuable horse
information. Paper, =25c.=


=Chicken Cholera=, by A. J. Hill.--A treatise on its cause, symptoms
and cure. Price, =25c.=


=Moore’s Universal Assistant= contains information on every conceivable
subject, as well as receipts for almost everything that could be
desired. We doubt if any one could be induced to do without it, after
having spent a few hours in looking it through. It contains 480 pages,
and 500 engravings. Cloth, =$2.50=.


=Ropp’s Easy Calculator.=--These are handy tables for all kinds of
merchandise and interest. It is really a lightning calculator, nicely
bound, with slate and pocket for papers. In cloth, =$1.00=; Morocco,
=$1.50=. Cheap edition, without slate, =50c.=

☞ Sent by mail on receipt of price, by


  =THOMAS G. NEWMAN=,
  974 West Madison Street, =Chicago, Ill.=


EMERSON BINDERS.

[Illustration:

  EMERSON’S
  PAT. BINDER
  FOR MUSIC &
  PERIODICALS
]

☞ =Binders for the Weekly Bee Journal, of 1881=, cloth and paper,
=postpaid, 85 cents=.

We can furnish Emerson’s Binders, gilt lettered on the back, for
AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL for =1880=, at the following prices, postage paid:

  Cloth and paper, each        50c.
  Leather and cloth            75c.

☞ We can also furnish the Binder for any Paper or Magazine desired.

  =THOMAS G. NEWMAN=,
  974 West Madison Street, =Chicago, Ill.=




[Illustration: THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL]

RATES FOR ADVERTISING.

A line will contain about =eight words=; fourteen lines will occupy one
inch of space.

  One to three weeks, each insertion, =20= cts. per line.
  Four          “ or more “    “      =18=  “       “
  Eight         “    “    “    “      =15=  “       “
  Thirteen      “    “    “    “      =12=  “       “
  Twenty-six    “    “    “    “      =10=  “       “
  Fifty-two     “    “    “    “       =8=  “       “

Special Notices, 50 cents per line.

Advertisements withdrawn before the expiration of the contract, will be
charged the full rate for the time the advertisement _is_ inserted.

Transient Advertisements payable in advance.--Yearly Contracts payable
quarterly, in advance.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL is the oldest Bee Paper in America, and has
a large circulation in every State, Territory and Province, among
farmers, mechanics, professional and business men, and is, therefore
the best advertising medium for reliable dealers. Cases of _real_
imposition will be exposed.


THOMAS G. NEWMAN, =974= West Madison Street, =Chicago, Ill.=




Contents of this Number.


Correspondence:

  Interesting Letter from Singapore             105
      Exploring for Javan Bees in Ceylon        105
  Cause of Bee Cholera or Dysentery             105
  Extracting Bees--The New Industry             106
  Separators for Surplus Honey                  106
  Pure Liquid Honey in Glass Jars               106
  How to Separate Swarms                        106
  The Raspberry as a Honey Plant                106
  Apis Americana                                107
  Fertilization of a Crippled Queen             107
  Best Method of Marketing Honey                107


Editorial:

  Editorial Items                               108
  The Lessons of the Hour                       108
  Is Bee-Keeping a Failure?                     108
  Law Against Adulteration in New York          108
  Circulars and Catalogues                      108
  Vennor’s Predictions for April                108
  Two Queens in a Hive                          108


Selections from Our Letter Box:

  Correction                                    109
  Good Enough                                   109
  Using Old Combs                               109
  Never Give Up                                 109
  Good Prospects                                109
  Spring Time Come at Last                      109
  Come, Gentle Spring                           109
  Bees all Right                                109
  Lost 6 out of 100 Colonies                    109
  Vexed and Perplexed                           109
  Ventilation                                   109
  Bees Confined 5 Months                        109
  Orchard Apiary                                109
  Loss in Cellar                                109
  Blasted Hopes                                 109
  The Outlook Encouraging                       109
  Severe Winter, but Bees All Right             109
  Winter Bee-House                              109
  Bees Wintered Well                            110
  Bees in Fair Condition                        110
  The Survival of the Fittest                   110
  Half of the Bees Dead                         110
  Wintered Without Loss                         110
  Wintered Safely                               110
  Chaff did not Save the Bees                   110
  Wintered in Chaff                             110
  Eleven Swarms from one Colony                 110
  A Visit Every Week very Pleasant              110
  Buds are Swelling, Spring is Coming           110
  Double-Walled Hives                           110
  Bees About All Dead                           110
  Losses in Wintering                           110




Bees for Sale.

I wish to sell my =75 Colonies of Bees=, all in movable frame hives. In
fair condition. I will take =$4.00= per Colony.

  =J. J. QUINN=,
  Corydon, Henderson Co., Ky.

14w1t

       *       *       *       *       *

QUEENS & BEES.

Tested, $2; Untested, $1; Black Bees, $6; Italians, $10; Plymouth Rock
Eggs, $1.25 per dz., and the best and cheapest Hives made. Circular
free. [14w1tp] H. BARBER, Adrian, Mich.

  Hives, Sections,
  AND BOXES.

Material for Langstroth Hives, including brood frames, 40c. each;
Lewis’ V-shaped groove one-piece Sections, any size to 6×6, $5 per
1,000; Lewis’ one-piece Honey Boxes of all sizes, $2 to $4 per 100,
including glass; Dovetailed Sections, any size to 6×6, $4 per 1,000.
Manufacturing experience of 20 years.

Send for Price List.

  =G. B. LEWIS=,
  Successor to Lewis & Parks, Watertown, Wis.

N.B.--There is no patent on the Lewis One-Piece Section.

12mtf

       *       *       *       *       *

=ITALIANS AND HYBRIDS=--30 or 40 Colonies for sale low. Queens and
Nuclei after May 15th. Address,

  =R. M. ARGO=,
  Lowell, Garrard County, Ky.

12w3t

       *       *       *       *       *

=WANTED=--You to send for our Circular and Price list of
=American-Italians=. Address,

  =JOS. M. BROOKS & BRO.=,
  Columbus, Ind.

12w6m

       *       *       *       *       *

=MAMMOTH RUSSIAN SUNFLOWER SEED=--Excellent for poultry, and yields
an abundance of fall honey. Flowers from 10 to 20 inches in diameter.
Price =25c.= per pkg., postpaid.

  L. M. WAINWRIGHT, Noblesville. Ind.

14w1tp

       *       *       *       *       *

=PRIZE COMB FOUNDATION=, 10 sq. ft. per lb., with natural base. Send
for samples.

  G. W. STANLEY, Wyoming, N. Y.

14-1tp

       *       *       *       *       *

  THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,
  AND BEE-KEEPER’S ADVISER.

The _British Bee Journal_ is published monthly at $1.75, and contains
the best practical information for the time being, showing what to do,
and when and how to do it. =C. N. ABBOTT=, Bee Master,

School of Apiculture, Fairlawn, Southall, London.

       *       *       *       *       *

[Illustration: GREGORY’S SEED CATALOGUE.]

=My Annual Catalogue of Vegetable and Flower Seed for 1881=, rich in
engravings from photographs of the originals, will be sent FREE to all
who apply. My old customers need not write for it. I offer one of the
largest collections of vegetable seed ever sent out by any Seed House
in America, a large portion of which were grown on my six seed farms.
_Full directions for cultivation on each package._ All seed _warranted
to be both fresh and true to name_, so far, that should it prove
otherwise, _I will refill the order gratis_. The original introducer of
the Hubbard Squash, Phinney’s Melon, Marblehead Cabbages, Mexican Corn,
and scores of other vegetables. I invite the patronage of _all who are
anxious to have their seed directly from the grower, fresh, true, and
of the very best strain_.

NEW VEGETABLES A SPECIALTY.

  JAMES J. H. GREGORY, Marblehead, Mass.

12m5

       *       *       *       *       *

WORTH WILL WIN.

Truly, “Time sifts the wheat from the chaff.” We lead in Smokers.
Our Double-blast Smoker is perfection. See what “the most extensive
bee-keeper in America” says of our Quinby Smoker:

  Cherry Valley, N. Y., March 22, 1881.

After testing your smokers with others of the best make, I do not
hesitate to order two dozen for use in our apiaries. When we use a
Smoker we make a business of it, running it all day and burning hard
maple wood, which tests the construction most thoroughly. Those we
have been using admit coals into the bellows, which burn the leather.
The tube in your Quinby Smoker running further into the firebox, must
prevent this in a great measure.

  CAPT. J. E. HETHERINGTON.

If you desire to see a description of the goods we used in securing
over 15,000 lbs. of honey from 176 colonies of bees the past poor
season, send for our New Illustrated Circular for 1881, which is just
ready.

  =L. C. ROOT & BRO.=,
  Mohawk, N. Y.

14m1t

       *       *       *       *       *

  Rev. A. SALISBURY,
  Camargo, Douglas County, Ill.

[Illustration]

Warranted Italian Queens, $1.00; Tested Italian Queens, $2.00; Cyprian
Queens, $2.00; Tested Cyprian Queens, $4.00; 1 frame Nucleus, Italians,
$4.00; 1 frame Nucleus, Cyprians, $5.00; Colony of Italians, 8 frames,
$8.00; Colony of Cyprians, 8 frames, $10.00. Wax worked 10c. per lb.
Pure Comb Foundation, on Dunham Machine, 25 lbs. or over, 35c. per lb.
☞ Send for Circular.

  1w1y

       *       *       *       *       *

DON’T BUY SUPPLIES

Till you have read my new price list for the spring trade. Wax is
cheaper now, so I can sell you a fine article of Comb Foundation cheap,
and made on the best machine. Italian and Cyprian Queens, Bees, Hives,
Sections, etc. Price List free to all.

  J. V. CALDWELL,
  Cambridge, Henry Co., Ill.

12w6m

       *       *       *       *       *

Given’s Foundation Press.

The latest improvement in Foundation. Our thin and common Foundation
is not surpassed. The only invention to make Foundation in the wired
frame. All Presses warranted to give satisfaction. Send for Catalogue
and Samples.

  =D. S. GIVEN=, Hoopeston, Ill.

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[Illustration: WILBOR’S COMPOUND OF PURE COD LIVER OIL AND LIME.]

=To One and All.--Are you suffering from a= Cough, Cold, Asthma,
Bronchitis, or any of the various pulmonary troubles that so often end
in Consumption? If so, use “_Wilbor’s Pure Cod-Liver Oil and Lime_,” a
safe and sure remedy. This is no quack preparation, but is regularly
prescribed by the medical faculty. Manufactured only by A. B. WILBOR,
Chemist, Boston. Sold by all druggists.

       *       *       *       *       *

QUEENS, BEES, ETC.

  IF YOU WISH THE
  Best, Gentlest and Most Beautiful Bees,
  I am prepared to furnish early Queens.

  PURE ALBINO,
  ITALIAN AND
  HOLY LAND QUEENS,

Bred from Imported and Select Stock. Warranted to be pure, and safe
arrival guaranteed. Also Hives, Novice’s Extractor, and Apiarian
Supplies generally. Send for Price List. Address,

  =S. VALENTINE=,
  Double Pipe Creek, Carroll Co., Md.

14m3t

       *       *       *       *       *

=13 EGGS= from fine Plymouth Rock or W. Leghorn fowls for $2, or 26 for
$3. Will exchange eggs for Queens or Bees.

  =J. H. THORNBURG=,
  Winchester, Randolph Co., Ind.

14w3t

       *       *       *       *       *

[Illustration]

I HAVE NOW OVER

300 COLONIES

of Pure Italian Bees, in good condition, in 10 frame Langstroth hives.
Orders for

ITALIAN QUEENS,

Nuclei and Full Colonies,

are now being booked and will be filled in rotation as received,
commencing about June 1st., at the following prices:

  Tested Queens, each                      $2.50
    “      “     per half-dozen            13.50
  1 frame Nucleus, with Tested Queen        5.00
  2   “     “       “     “      “          5.50
  3   “     “       “     “      “          6.00
  4   “     “       “     “      “          6.50
  Full Colonies, each                      12.00
   “       “     in lots of 5, each        10.00
   “       “        “      10, each         9.00

I will use all possible care in preparing the above for shipment, but
cannot guarantee safe arrival, except on queens any distance less than
1,000 miles.

  ALSO
  100 COLONIES
  OF
  BLACK AND HYBRID BEES,

In Langstroth hives, in quantities of not less than 5 colonies at
=$8.00= each, which I will ship direct from the South, at any time
after April 15th.

Also, 200 Colonies of Native Bees,

in Box Hives, delivered on Mississippi River Steamboat any time after
April 15th, in lots of 10 or more, at =$6.00= each.

☞ The Colonies of Hybrids and Natives are very strong in bees reared
this spring, and combs well filled with brood. They can be transferred
or divided by May 1st, and increased in time for white clover and
basswood surplus.

  ALFRED H. NEWMAN,
  972 West Madison St.,       CHICAGO, ILL.

       *       *       *       *       *

THE ORIGINAL

Patented Jan. 9, 1878, and May, 1879; Re-issued July 9, 1878.

[Illustration]

If you buy a Bingham Smoker, or a Bingham & Hetherington Honey Knife
you are sure of the best and cheapest, and not liable to prosecution
for their use and sale. The largest bee-keepers use them exclusively.
Twenty thousand in use--not one ever returned, or letter of complaint
received. Our original patent Smokers and Honey Knives were the only
ones on exhibition at the last National Bee-Keepers’ Convention, 1880.
Time sifts the wheat from the chaff. Pretensions are short-lived.

The Large and Extra Standard have extra wide shields to prevent burning
the fingers and bellows. A real improvement.

Send postal card for testimonials.

  Bingham &, Hetherington Honey Knife      2    in.,      $1 00
  Large Bingham Smoker                     2½    “         1 50
  Extra Standard Bingham Smoker            2     “         1 25
  Plain Standard Bingham Smoker            2     “         1 00
  Little Wonder Bingham Smoker             1¾    “           75

If to be sent by mail, or singly by express, add 25c. each, to prepay
postage or express charges.

To sell again, apply for dozen or half-dozen rates.

Address,

  BINGHAM & HETHERINGTON,
  ABRONIA, MICH.

9wtf

       *       *       *       *       *

It will Pay you

To read our forty page Catalogue of Apiarian Supplies. It gives the
latest information about the best appliances and methods pertaining to

Profitable Bee Culture

Sent free to all who send us their names and addresses, _plainly
written_, upon a postal card. Address

  =H. A. BURCH & CO.=,
  South Haven, Mich.

9wtf.

       *       *       *       *       *

EVERY BEE-KEEPER

Wanting anything in the line of Apiarian Supplies should send for my
Descriptive Circular. Sent free. Address,

  =F. A. SNELL=,
  Milledgeville, Carroll Co., Ill.

13w4t

       *       *       *       *       *

=ITALIAN QUEENS=, Full Colonies, Nuclei and Bee Hives specialties. Our
=new= Illustrated Catalogue of Bees, Supplies, Fine Poultry, Small
Fruits, &c., =Free=. ☞ Send for it and save money.

  J. T. SCOTT & BRO., Crawfish Springs, Ga.      2w32tx

       *       *       *       *       *

R. A. BURNETT.

  Successor to Conner, Burnett & Co.,
  165 South Water Street, Chicago, Ill.,

GENERAL PRODUCE COMMISSION.

HONEY A SPECIALTY.

We ask you to correspond with us before disposing of your HONEY CROP,
as we can be of much service, having constant intelligence from all
parts of the country. We would refer to JAMES HEDDON, Dowagiac, Mich.,
and J. OATMAN & SONS, Dundee, Ill.

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       *       *       *       *       *

[Illustration:

  GOOD WORK
  AT FAIR PRICES

  HALLOCK & CHANDLER
  WOOD ENGRAVERS
  & Electrotypers

  167 DEARBORN ST.
  CHICAGO
]

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       *       *       *       *       *

  The Bee-Keepers Guide;
  OR,
  MANUAL OF THE APIARY,
  By A. J. COOK,

_Professor of Entomology in the Michigan State Agricultural College_.

286 Pages; 112 Fine Illustrations.

PRICE--Bound in cloth, =$1.25=; in paper cover, =$1.00=, by mail
prepaid. For sale by

  =THOMAS G. NEWMAN=,
  974 West Madison Street, Chicago, Ill.

       *       *       *       *       *

Florida Land--640 Acres.

☞ CHEAP FOR CASH. ☜

DESCRIPTION.--Sec. 4, township 7, south range west, Franklin county,
Florida, situated about 50 miles south of the Georgia line, 25 miles
west of the city of Tallahassee, the capital of the State, and about 25
miles northeast of the city of Apalachicola, a seaport on the Gulf of
Mexico, and within 2 sections (5 and 6) of the Apalachicola river; the
soil is a rich, sandy loam, covered with timber.

It was conveyed on Dec. 31st, 1875, by Col. Alexander McDonald, who
owned 6 sections, including the above, to J. M. Murphy, for $3,200, and
on Sept. 5th, 1877, by him conveyed to the undersigned for $3,000. The
title is perfect, and it is unincumbered, as shown by an abstract from
the Records of the county, duly attested by the County Clerk; the taxes
are all paid and the receipts are in my possession.

I will sell the above at a bargain for cash, or trade for a small farm,
or other desirable property. An offer for it is respectfully solicited.
Address,

  =THOMAS G. NEWMAN=,
  974 West Madison Street, CHICAGO, ILL.

       *       *       *       *       *

PARKER’S GINGER TONIC

=Ginger=, =Buchu=, =Mandrake=, =Stillingia= and many other of the best
medicines known are combined so skillfully in PARKER’S GINGER TONIC
as to make it the =greatest Blood Purifier= and the =Best Health and
Strength Restorer ever used=.

It cures =Dyspepsia=, =Rheumatism=, =Neuralgia=, =Sleeplessness=, and
all diseases of the =Stomach=, =Bowels=, =Lungs=, =Liver=, =Kidneys=,
=Urinary Organs= and all =Female Complaints=.

If you are wasting away with Consumption or any disease, use the TONIC
to-day. No matter what your symptoms may be, it will surely help you.

Remember! This TONIC cures drunkenness, is the =Best Family Medicine=
ever made, entirely different from Bitters, Ginger Preparations and
other Tonics, and combines the best curative properties of all. Buy a
50c. bottle of your druggist. None genuine without our signature on
outside wrapper.

  HISCOX & CO., Chemists, New York.

PARKER’S HAIR BALSAM

The best and most economical Hair Dressing

       *       *       *       *       *

=65= _ENGRAVINGS_.

The Horse

BY B. J. KENDALL, M. D.

=A TREATISE= giving an index of diseases, and the symptoms; cause and
treatment of each, a table giving all the principal drugs used for the
horse, with the ordinary dose, effects and antidote when a poison;
a table with an engraving of the horse’s teeth at different ages,
with rules for telling the age of the horse; a valuable collection of
recipes, and much valuable information.

=Price 25 cents.=--Sent on receipt of price, by

  =THOMAS G. NEWMAN=,
  974 West Madison Street, CHICAGO, ILL.

       *       *       *       *       *

THE CANADIAN FARMER

  THE ONLY
  Agricultural Weekly
  PUBLISHED IN THE
  DOMINION OF CANADA.

This practical Journal is now in its =Third Year=, and meeting with
immense success. The low price of its subscription ($1.00 per year) in
its new and improved form (16 pages 13½×10½, folded and pasted) makes
it very popular. Its editors are all practical men. It is the =Best
Advertising Medium= in Canada. Sample copies sent free to any address.

  =N. R. COLCOCK=,      Welland, Ont.

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[Transcriber’s Note:

Obvious printer errors corrected silently.

Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original.]