Part 3

DEAR SIR: As the proposition which I am about to offer is of general interest to the bee-keepers of our country, I beg leave to present it through the AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL:

The American Association for the Advancement of Science convenes at Cincinnati, Ohio, on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 1881. This Association had at its last meeting, in Boston, August, 1880, more than 1,000 members present. Owing to its influence, and the large annual attendance, the local committee at the place where the meetings are to be held are able to procure greatly reduced rates on railroads leading to the place.

Now, I would suggest that the North American Bee-Keepers’ Association, which is to be held so near Cincinnati, convene at Lexington on Wednesday and Thursday, August 24th and 25th.

1st. This would accommodate such persons as myself, who wish to attend both meetings, and could not afford time or means were they widely separated by time.

2d. A committee consisting of yourself, Mr. Muth, of Cincinnati, and Mr. Wm. Williamson, of Lexington (I would do what I could to aid), could act in conjunction with the local committee of the A. A. A. of S., and I believe could get the commutation railroad rates to extend to the National Bee-Keepers’ Association.

3d. August is a quiet time with bee-keepers, and so far as I can see, nothing would be lost in making the date of our meeting earlier than the usual time.

4th. The fact of accommodating such as wish to attend both meetings, and the reduced railroad rates, could we secure them, would greatly increase the attendance at the Bee-Keepers’ Association, and would richly compensate for some loss, if such there would be.

I only make this suggestion, hoping that you and others interested will give it such consideration as its merits deserve.

A. J. COOK,

Vice Pres’t of Nat. Association and President of Michigan Association.

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☞ At the Utica Convention, last month, Mr. L. C. Root was appointed a committee to endeavor to have the bill for the prevention of the adulteration of sugar, syrups, etc., then before the Legislature of New York, so amended as to include honey. We learn, with much pleasure, that Mr. Root has succeeded in having it include honey, and Mr. R. is quite sanguine that the bill so amended will become a law of the Empire State. If passed, we hope that the bee-keepers of New York will see to it that it will not be allowed to become a “dead letter” in the statute books of that State.

GLEANINGS.

=Bees and Grapes.=—The Klassen and Krock difficulty about the bees of the former committing depredations on the grapes of the latter, is to be submitted to arbitration. It seems that the real trouble was a “personal feud that does not concern bee-keepers at all”—the grape matter was an outgrowth. This matter was referred to in Prof. Cook’s article on page 74 of the BEE JOURNAL, and should now be entirely divorced from the Bee and Grape controversy.

=Bees Dead in box hives.=—Mr. G. Castello, Saginaw, Mich., says that on Feb. 22 he went to a neighbor’s, 5 miles distant, who had a box-hive apiary consisting of 103 colonies of bees. After looking them over, they found only 10 colonies alive; all the rest had died of dysentery.

=Honey for sore Eyes.=—Mr. S. C. Perry, Portland, Mich., says:

“A neighbor of mine had inflammation in his eyes. He tried many things of many physicians; ‘was nothing better, but rather grew worse,’until he was almost entirely blind. His family was sick, and I presented him with a pail of honey. What they did not eat he put in his eyes, a drop or two in each eye, 2 or 3 times a day. In 3 months’ time he was able to read coarse print, and now, after 4 months’ use, his eyes are almost as good as ever. I have also found honey good for common cold-sore eyes.”

MISCELLANEOUS.

=Feeding in Winter.=—Mr. A. B. Weed, in the _Michigan Farmer_, says:

“Many colonies which were put up for winter with but a small amount of provision, have consumed what was given them, and starved for want of more. Others have but a small amount of stores left, and must be fed soon if they are to be saved. The best way to feed such is to give them frames of well ripened honey, but this the weather will not always permit. The next best thing for them is candy; this can be given at any time, and can be laid on top of the frames. If the cluster is low down in the hive, it should be put down into it, where it can be reached.”

=Bees and Grapes.=—Mr. W. H. Stout, in the Lancaster, Pa., _Farmer_, gives the following as his experience:

By close investigation I have satisfied myself that bees do not destroy sound grapes. I had, during the past season, 22 colonies of Italian and common black bees; all the hives were in close proximity to the grapes, while a number had the vines trained over them for shade during the heat of summer. The grapes are of the Concord variety, of which I had an abundance of fine fruit, some clusters of which grew within 18 inches of the entrance to the hives. Bunches of the grapes remained on the vines until the frost had killed the foliage, which fell off and left the grapes exposed, affording every temptation to the bees; and this, too, through a season when the honey yield from natural sources was so small that the bees consumed stores they had gathered earlier in the season. But the bees do work on grapes, and also on other fruits under certain conditions. If the skin of grapes, peaches, pears, etc., is ruptured from any cause, the bees, wasps, ants, etc., are very quick in discovering it, and soon leave only the dried shells. During the hot weather of August, especially when there are frequent showers, the skin of ripening fruit cracks, for reasons which I will leave to some philosophical friend to explain. My conclusions are not hasty; nor were my observations superficial; but they were prolonged from the time the first grapes ripened until the close of the season. I found some clusters of grapes literally covered with bees scrambling and fighting for the little sweets contained in the cracked grapes, which are the only ones on which they work, as I found out by driving the bees away and removing from the clusters all the bursted grapes, when the bees, as soon as they found only sound fruit remained, went away and left the grapes uninjured. We also laid some bunches of grapes on top of the hives and others close to the entrances, also left clusters hanging on the vines close to the hives, where they remained uninjured by the bees as long as the fruit was sound. I know very well that bees can gnaw through heavy muslin, or shave off wood and straw. To cover the bees we have quilts made of heavy muslin, which they sometimes bite through, and we have wood and straw hives on which they have enlarged the entrances; but, nevertheless, I am fully satisfied they do no injury whatever to sound fruit.

=Feeding Rye-Meal.=—In the _Indiana Farmer_ Mr. F. L. Dougherty says:

“Bees will not raise brood without pollen in some shape. We frequently find colonies with but very little, and at times none at all. In crowding them on a few frames, quite frequently those left in the hive contain but little, if any. So it becomes necessary to furnish it to them, until they can gather it from natural sources. Unbolted rye-meal is probably the best substitute, although they will use wheat-flour, corn-meal, oat-meal, or in lieu of any of these, will even carry saw-dust. To get the bees started, place a piece of comb on the meal, and if the weather be pleasant and no pollen to be had they will soon appropriate it. They will leave the meal when natural pollen makes its appearance.”

☞ That excellent Monthly, published in Nyon, Switzerland, by Mons. E. Bertrand,—the “_Bulletin D’Apiculteur pour la Suisse_”—gives the Weekly BEE JOURNAL the following kind notice:

“We have received the first 2 numbers of the AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, which has been transferred from a Monthly to a Weekly, by its Editor, Mr. T. G. Newman. Only one apiarian publication is issued every 2 weeks, the _Bienen-Zeitung_ of Eickstadt. That of Mr. Newman’s is, therefore, ‘the only one in the entire world which is published weekly.’ It is also, without doubt, the most universal. Its principal contributors are among the most distinguished bee-keepers of America, together with scientists, entomologists, chemists and farmers; and the number of those who send it communications can be called legion. It is, with an understanding of the full extent of the services which it renders, through the abundance of the observations and of the information which it brings before its readers, that we offer to our colleague and friend our warmest felicitations on the occasion of the new development of his publication.”

This very kind notice is the more valuable as Mons. E. Bertrand is a man of intelligence and wealth, whose sole interest is his love of the pursuit of bee-keeping.

☞ _L’Apicoltore_, the organ of the Central Società d’Apicoltore d’Italia, also gives the BEE JOURNAL the following very kind notice, in its excellent number for February:

“The bee-papers are every day augmenting to suit the increasing need of the readers, and the publisher of the AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, Signor Newman, who came to Europe and to Milan last year, announces that at the beginning of 1881 his Monthly JOURNAL will be issued every week.”

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☞ In Mr. A. Hoke’s letter, on page 77, he stated that the dead bees covered the ground for several yards. That was bad enough, but our compositor made it a hundred times worse by adding the word _hundred_. The reader will please discount that expression accordingly.

=But Few Bees Lost.=—We have had a pretty hard winter for bees, although I have heard of but few losses in this section. My bees are packed in chaff, and are all alive but 2 colonies, which were very weak when packed. Success to the BEE JOURNAL.

F. W. BURTNETTE.

Morrice, Mich., March 12, 1881.

=An Old Queen.=—We have had a couple of warm, bright days at last, and my bees are flying, what of them are alive. Out of 33 colonies, I think I have 10 or 12 alive, some of them pretty strong, others weak. I have 3 Italian colonies—they seem strongest. What hives I have looked into, where the bees are dead, appear to have plenty of honey, and the other bees appear to be taking the honey out, and I fear are taking from the weak colonies also. Should I prevent them from appropriating it? I noticed some drones with one of my Italian colonies; what does that mean at this time of year? I have been a short distance south, returning home 3 weeks ago. There has been great loss of bees in Fayette and Wayne counties, as well as in Wabash. Please answer above questions in the BEE JOURNAL.

JOEL BREWER.

Lincolnville, Ind., March 10, 1881.

[It is not advisable to let bees have access to combs in other hives; if they need honey, put the combs in the hives where wanted, and not too many. If the strong are robbing the weaker colonies, exchange stands with them. The presence of drones thus early indicates an old or defective queen. Unless there is a large quantity of sealed worker brood (indicating the queen is perfect), we would supersede her as soon as possible, unless the bees save the trouble. —ED.]

=Gathering Pollen.=—My bees gathered pollen lively to-day, and are strong for this time of year. My loss in wintering is 4 colonies, leaving 8 to commence the season with. Nearly all the bees in this county are dead.

JOHN C. GILLILAND.

Bloomfield, Ind., March 15, 1881.

=No Winter Flight Yet.=—I am trying to winter 163 colonies in Mitchell hives. All are boxed and packed in chaff with 2 thicknesses of burlaps over the bees; the ends of the hives to the division-boards are filled with chaff; combs contracted to such numbers as bees would cover. They were put into winter quarters Nov. 13, and have had no flight yet. I find many colonies affected with dysentery, and 12 are dead. It is snowing to-day with prospects of another blizzard. I cannot estimate the loss at present; will report at a future time. With many others, I am free to throw in my mite of joy for the weekly visitations of the JOURNAL.

D. VIDETO.

North East, Pa., March 15, 1881.

=Bees Confined 4½ Months.=—This has been the severest winter that I can remember. My 27 colonies of bees have not had a flight since Nov. 1. They are in a cellar; one of my neighbors had over 50 colonies, but there are only 5 left. He tried to winter out of doors, but has put what he had left in a cider mill. Another had over 20 colonies, wintered out of doors and lost all. I have but little hopes of having over 6 or 8 colonies; there is but little hopes of having weather that bees can have a flight for 2 weeks yet. We are in a snow blockade yet. We have had but one mail in over 2 weeks. I like the Weekly better each number; it brings us nearer together and we can sympathize with our bee-keeping friends. Let us hope for the best; there are better times coming. Success to the Weekly.

E. BUMP.

Waterloo, Wis., March 14, 1881.

=Closed out by Fire.=—I had the misfortune to be “closed out” of the bee-business by fire, on the night of March 4, losing all of my 36 colonies of Italians, one of which contained an imported queen. They were all in the cellar; I also lost all the implements necessary to carry on the business, my house and contents. This was “closing out” rather unexpectedly, but I hope not to remain out very long.

WM. H. TRAVIS.

Brandon, Mich., March 10, 1881.

=Bees in Good Condition.=—Though there is a great loss of bees hereabouts, mine are yet in good condition, and I hope they will come out right in the spring. The Weekly BEE JOURNAL I value more and more all the time.

THOMAS LASHBROOK.

Waverly, Iowa, March 11, 1881.

=Lost 8 out of 37 in Wintering.=—I put 37 colonies into winter quarters, all in good condition except 4 or 5 small late swarms, and as it was a poor season for honey, they did not fill up; 29 were packed under a shed, open to the south and east. Before packing I removed the outside frames and put in cushions made by covering empty frames with sacking and filling with chaff; also 2 inches of the same on the top of the racks. My loss to date is 3. I prepared 5 in the same manner, but left them on the summer stands; lost 4. Two that I was sure would starve if not fed, I removed to a room over another where a fire is kept, placed them at a window and arranged a passage leading outside; then, with wire cloth over the frames, I can feed and examine without their flying out. They are all right. One I left on the summer stand with a set of section boxes, unprotected, and it is very strong. On March 9th my bees had their first good flight since Oct. 25. I had one colony in a box-hive; of course they are dead. Total loss to date, 8 out of 37. Nearly all are strong now. I am with the majority when I say that the Weekly BEE JOURNAL is a decided improvement. Success to it.

WM. MORHOUS.

Dearborn, Mich., March 14, 1881.

=Sweet Clover.=—Must the sweet clover be sowed over again, or does it sow itself? Please answer in the Weekly BEE JOURNAL, which I could not do without. It is the best bee paper that is published.

LEWIS SIEGMAN.

Newstadt, Ont., March 11, 1881.

[A good “stand” of sweet clover will sow itself, as there are generally some seeds that do not catch the soil the first season, but germinate the second. It is more satisfactory, however, to plant the second season about half the complement put in the first, after which it will bloom annually, and sow itself.—ED.]

=Had a Flight in January.=—In the winter of 1879 I put 30 colonies into my cellar; but it was so warm that they were uneasy and I put them back on the summer stands. I lost 10 colonies; I now have 20 colonies, facing the south, sheltered by a board fence on the north and covered with about 18 inches of straw. About 10 days ago they had a nice flight, and I covered them up again. I think of building a house for them facing the south, and boarding up the other 3 sides; I will then cover the hives with about 2 feet of straw, which I can remove on a bright day and give them a flight. I intend to leave the straw on them until warm weather, and thus aid them to keep warm for brood rearing, &c. I wish the BEE JOURNAL success.

T. RICE.

Lenox, Ill., Feb. 4, 1881.

=Nearly All Dead.=—Bees are nearly all dead in this region. I had 33 colonies last fall and now have but 10; a neighbor had 40 and now has none; another had 44 and now has 2; another had 75, and 3 weeks ago they were reduced to 20. Several have lost all but 1 or 2, and some have lost all.

WM. S. BUCHANAN.

Hartford, Ind., March 14, 1881.

=Bokhara Clover.=—Please answer the following questions in the JOURNAL:

1. When is the best time to sow Bokhara clover?

2. Should it be sown alone or with a grain crop, or with other kinds of clover?

3. Should it be cut for hay, pastured, or kept for bees only?

4. Which is the best kind of hive for comb honey—a one-story with racks to hold sections, or a two-story, with section boxes put in cases in the upper story?

JOHN H. HEARD.

Flesherton, Ont.

[1. Early in spring is as good a time as any for planting Bokhara, melilot or sweet clover—we fail to discover any difference in them.

2. For bees alone, sow it alone.

3. If desired for cattle or sheep, sow it with timothy, letting them graze it, as it blooms but little the first season; afterward keep them off.

4. One-story with rack is more easily manipulated.—ED.]

=An Enthusiast.=—My apiary is located on a hill-side sloping to the west, and hives fronting south. The Macoupin creek is ½ mile south of it, and several sloughs within a mile, with plenty of soft and hard maple, willows and cotton-wood. I packed rags around and on top of my 13 hives, on their summer stands, on the 25th of October. The bees were in good condition. Only one colony gave any surplus; from that I took 40 lbs., and left them 35. I examine my bees every week and clean out the dead ones. They had a good flight on the 13th of December, and again on Feb. 22d, when every colony had brood in all stages, and No. 2 was crowded full of young bees, and had a queen cell just ready to put the egg in, which I took off. Feb. 26th was a warm day, and No. 2 sent out a swarm; it was queenless, however, so I sprinkled them with peppermint water and united them with No. 12, which was weak. I do not keep bees for profit in dollars and cents, but for pleasure, as I do love them. I am a merchant, and own 275 acres of land, but being an invalid, look to my bees for recreation. In a radius of 4 miles from my apiary, on Nov. 1st, there were 13 bee-owners, with a total of 73 colonies. On the 1st inst. there were 19 colonies left, and they were in bad condition. I am the only one taking the BEE JOURNAL here—success to it.

R. M. OSBORN.

Kane, Ill., March 4, 1881.

=Bees All Dead.=—I now send you my report for the winter of 1880–81, which will long be remembered by the bee-keepers in this locality. I commenced the winter with 9 colonies of bees, all carefully packed in chaff on the summer stands with plenty of nice sealed honey. They were packed on the 13th day of last Nov., and from that until the present time (121 days) there has not been a single day that the bees could safely fly, and the consequence is my bees are all dead, from the effects of their long confinement. They left plenty of honey, but the combs are badly soiled. I am not discouraged, however, and shall try again. A gentleman living not far from here had only 8 colonies left out of 39, 2 weeks ago, and when spring condescends to smile on us again we think it will not need a returning board to count the bees in this county. I am well pleased with the new Weekly; it is always a welcome visitor.

J. R. KILBURN.

Fisher Station, Mich., March 14, 1881.

=Bees Robbing.=—Here in Texas we have had a severe winter, but not much snow. The thermometer went down to 20° above zero. Last season was a poor one for honey; we had a cold spell in Nov.; then had warm weather for 2 weeks, and my hybrid bees began to rob. The pure Italians behaved well, neither robbed nor let the others rob them. I used water and kerosene oil, but it was of no use; at last I hit upon a remedy. My hives have the bottom boards projecting in front. I ripped out one-inch square pieces 5 inches long, cut coarse wire cloth 2x6, bent it lengthwise in the middle, tacked on 2 sides of each block, leaving wire about 5 inches to give them air; I drove a nail through each end and nailed it in front of each hive. Every 10 or 15 days when the weather was fine, an hour before night, I let them out to have a fly. We have had fine weather for the last 2 weeks. I let the bees out on Jan 30; they have been busy carrying in pollen from elm since Jan. 31, and have forgotten their stealing propensities. I opened some hives this evening and found plenty of sealed brood, and will have drones flying by Feb. 24.

J. W. ECKMAN.

Richmond, Texas, Feb. 10, 1881.

=Chloroform.=—About 10 years ago I used chloroform in handling bees, after the following plan: I provided myself with a tin slide about 5 inches long and 2 wide; punched a few holes in it, and stitched on one side of it a pad of 3 or 4 thicknesses of cotton cloth. Then after closing all ventilators and entrances except the lower one, I turned about one teaspoonful of chloroform on the pad and slipped it through the entrance, and immediately closed the hive with a wad of cloth, I then listened carefully until the bees had nearly ceased humming (or about 1 or 2 minutes) and then opened the hive and withdrew the slide. They were cross hybrid Italians.

P. F. WHITCOMB.

Lancaster. Wis., March 5, 1881.

=Test for Honey.=—Bee-keepers need a good honey test, to expose the “rag syrup,” an admixture of honey and glucose, with which the New York market is flooded. In every grocery, meat market and drug store there, can be found cans of “Walker’s best honey,” labeled “Greenpoint, N. Y.,” but there is not much honey in it. Last fall I went into a drug store there with 4 samples of my best honey. They tested it, and what they used turned it perfectly black. I saw one of Walker’s cans of honey there, and asked them to test that; they did so, but the same drugs had no effect whatever on that. They would not tell me what they used to test it; but I would like to have a good and simple test given in the BEE JOURNAL.

H. RICHEY.

Sing Sing, N. Y.

[Pure green tea, well steeped, is used by many to detect the presence of glucose in honey. If the honey dissolves without changing the color of the tea, it is supposed to be pure. But in these days of “enterprise,” it is frequently a matter of doubt whether the tea is pure; again, if, as is claimed, glucose is sometimes manufactured without leaving sulphuric acid or other deleterious substances in it, then the tea would hardly expose it when mixed with honey. Alcohol is also used to detect the presence of glucose; but besides being frequently inconvenient to obtain, it requires considerable skill in its use.

Thousands of bee-keepers will unite with us in thanking Prof. Kedzie, of the Michigan Agricultural College, for a simple test to detect adulterations in honey and syrups, and instructions for its application.—ED.]

=Three-Fourths of the Bees Dead.=—The present severe winter has killed ¾ of the bees in this section. Bees have not had a thorough cleansing flight since Nov. 8. One apiary of 61 colonies, well packed in chaff and plenty of good stores, will not go through with over 50 per cent. Mine have been confined in the cellar for 118 days, have wintered well so far, but are becoming uneasy.

M. A. GILL.