Chapter I: Front Matter

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES.
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text
by =equal= signs.

OLDEST BEE PAPER ESTABLISHED
IN AMERICA IN 1861

THE AMERICAN
BEE JOURNAL

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

VOL. XVII. CHICAGO, ILL., MARCH 16, 1881. No. 11.
]

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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For the American Bee Journal.

Pure Liquid Honey in Glass Jars.

CHAS. DADANT.

Under this heading I find an article from Mr. W. M. Hoge, who
says that he has invented a way of preparing liquid honey so
that it will not congeal. He adds that this discovery will
be beneficial to bee-keepers, and he explains how we will
profit by it. The tendency of honey to candy, for all the
adulterators of honey, has proved to be a great impediment;
while, for the producers, it is a good characteristic, for it
is the best stamp that a bee-keeper can put on his product—a
stamp that the adulterators are unable to counterfeit.

Now that the consumers at large begin to give their
preference to candied honey, the adulterators, seeing
their sales decreasing, try to invent some means to stop
this result, and incite us to help them to continue their
fraudulent practice.

Let us remember that the candying of honey is the best test
of purity thus far; that, by preventing honey from candying,
we lower it to the level of glucosed honey; and that, as
long as liquid honey can be found on our markets, we will be
compelled to compete with adulterated honey, for the profit
of this adulteration will always tempt the unscrupulous
dealers, while we will be unable to compete with them for the
price.

A few years ago we could find liquid honey, in glass jars,
in every good grocery. Three years ago I produced, at the
Western Illinois and Eastern Iowa Convention, held at
Burlington, Iowa, one of these bottles, bought in St. Louis,
labeled “Pure Extracted Honey, from John Long, New York.” Mr.
Hoge, who resided in New York at that time, probably knows
“John Long.” This “pure honey” was analyzed by an expert
chemist and found mostly glucose. These jars and tumblers
are now of slow sale, for the consumers begin to have
confidence in candied honey. We are, therefore, in a fair
way for selling our product. Let us go on, and turn the cold
shoulder to the advice of those who have, so far, caused more
prejudice than profit to bee-keepers.

Mr. Hoge, who has visited the old continent, knows, as well
as I do, that in Europe liquid honey is unsalable, for
the consumers are accustomed to buying candied honey. Let
us persist in our efforts to educate the people on this
question, and we will drive all spurious honey from our
markets.

Hamilton, Ill., Feb. 2, 1881.

For the American Bee Journal.

Colchian Honey.

REV. W. BALLENTINE, A. M.

I see in the BEE JOURNAL, under the above caption, a question
from Mr. H. G. Colwell, of Columbus, Ohio, relative to the
effects of honey eaten by the Grecian troops, under Xenophon,
as they passed through Colchia in their famous retreat
homeward. In regard to this, you propose a query, “Why did
the ancient Colchian honey cause the above disorder?” I have
frequently had my attention turned to this subject in reading
Xenophon's Anabasis in the original, from which the extract
by Mr. Colwell is taken. From the best sources of information
at my command, the following seems to be the most rational.

The honey of Asia Minor in many localities appears to be
gathered from the flowers of the order Apocynoceæ, or
dog's-bane. Of this order, Prof. Wilson, in his botany,
page 588, observes: “These plants possess active, and often
suspicious qualities, residing in the white juice with which
the order is pervaded, and in the seeds, which are often
deadly poisons. The alkaloid _strychnine_, or _strychinea_,
one of the most violent poisons, is the active principle
of the Strychorea Nux-vomica, of India. It is sometimes
administered as a medicine, but with doubtful success; a
single seed of one species is sufficient to kill 20 persons.
The order is generally emetic.”

In corroboration of this, I will give you the opinion of the
celebrated Ainsworth, who traveled over the route of the
Grecians, and took notes of all the localities and incidents
recorded by Xenophon. He observes that “this fact of the
honey of Asia Minor being, in certain places, and at certain
seasons, of a poisonous nature, was known to all antiquity,
and is very common at the present day, so much so, that I
have known the peasants to inquire if we would prefer the
bitter or the sweet honey, for the honey so qualified has a
slight, but not unpleasant, bitterness, and is preferred by
many, from producing, when taken in moderate quantities, the
effect of slight intoxication. Pliny notices two kinds of
honey, one found at Heraclea, in Pontus, and another among
the Sanni or Mocrones. The first he supposed to be produced
by a plant called Ægolethron, or goatsbane; the second by a
species of rhododendron. Dioscorides, Diodorus, Siculus and
Aristotle, all notice the honey of Heraclea Pontica. The
celebrated botanist, Tournefort, ascertained on the spot,
that the honey of bees feeding on the Azalea Pontica, as
also on the Rhododendron Ponticum, possessed mischievous
properties; but as the bitter and intoxicating honey is
found in many parts of Asia Minor, where these plants do
not flower, it is extremely probable that these peculiar
properties are further derived from the flower of the Nerium
Oleander, or common rose-laurel, the leaves of which are
known to be acrid and poisonous. The natural family to which
the rose-laurel belongs (Apocynaceæ) is distinguished by
plants endued with dangerous and fatal properties, and these
act on the nerves so as to produce stupefaction. Rhodoraceæ
also possesses narcotic properties, but in a less marked
degree.”

It appears from this, that the honey gathered by the bees
from these poisonous plants, possessed some of the inherent
qualities of the plants themselves, and operated like a
narcotic or opiate on the nerves, producing stupefaction
and intoxication. If you see proper you can give the above
a place in the Weekly, with which I am, so far, very well
pleased.

Sago, Ohio.

For the American Bee Journal.

Combined Summer and Winter Stand.

H. L. PENFIELD.

The engraving shows a perspective view of a combined winter
and summer stand, which I put up to accommodate 12 hives
of the standard Langstroth pattern. It is constructed as
follows: Put in the ground 9 oak posts 4 × 4 inches, for a
frame to nail the 14 foot boards to—3 posts on each side,
and 3 between these, set in the ground 18 inches. The ends
are 9 feet wide, which I find gives ample room to manipulate
the bees between the rows of hives, the operator being in
the shade, and not in front of the entrance of the bees,
which seldom bother me. The sides front east and west. The
ends are open during the summer, and the north end boarded
up in winter. We use millet hay for protection, filling in
spaces between the hives, and over and under them, almost
filling up between the rows, clearing away enough in front of
the entrance for the bees to take a flight when the weather
permits.

A, A—Ventilation and bee escape. B—Space to work in and
shaded.]

This protection keeps them quiet, and storms beat on the
shelter and on the millet hay. Of course, this is not a
water-proof shelter or cover, and I do not think one is
needed. It is advantageous to have an opening in the apex of
the roof; this plan of having one roof higher than the other
secures it with the least expense. It is curious to notice
how the bees fly out of these spaces marked A, A (as both
ends are open) while the operators manipulating the hives.
Sixteen boards 14 feet long and 1 foot wide cover it, and
with the 9 posts and 4 2 × 4 studding to set the hives on,
and short pieces to set on top of the posts to nail the roof
to, complete the lumber bill.

Hunnewell, Mo.

For the American Bee Journal.

Foul Brood, and Its Causes.

H. L. JEFFREY.

You ask for my observations on foul brood regarding the cases
noted in the BEE JOURNAL. There are many who, I know, will
disagree with me, but nevertheless, it seemed to come from
no other source. The largest case of it was 25 colonies in
one apiary. Ever since the year 1873 they had been wintered
in the cellar, in a sort of room fitted up especially for
them. They were usually put in about Nov. 25, and taken out
about April 1st to the 20th, according to the season. This
receptacle was directly under the living room, which was
kept very warm. The bee-room was generally quite dry, and
towards spring would stand from 45° to 50°, which would let
the bees have from 60° to 80° in the hive, or perhaps 90°,
causing the cluster to spread, and there was always a good
supply of brood in the combs when taken from the cellar, and
generally a considerable number of young hatched bees. So far
everything was as good as could be asked for, and every good
bee-keeper will say this could not have anything to do with
foul brood; perhaps not.

These same hives, with more space and more surface of comb
than a 10 frame Langstroth hive gives, were put into the
cellar with all their combs in place, with a box 6 inches
deep below the hive, and another above filled with straw, or
with a top story filled with rags, old clothes and pieces of
carpet or straw. The full complement of combs was left in the
hives, regardless of the strength of the colonies, and they
were then set on their summer stands without using division
boards, or any contraction of combs. After setting out they
were generally fed liberally every night to induce breeding,
which is a good plan if properly handled, but in this case it
helped to breed the disease, and it did do it to the fullest
extent. Why? First, a small colony should not be given any
more combs than it can cover, either in summer or winter.
If the hive is too large, insert a division on one or both
sides; if on both sides, let one of them be at least half an
inch shallower than the hive, then if the numbers increase,
they can crowd outside of it.

Second, if they are wintered indoors, in a hive full of
combs, take away all you can before they are set out in the
spring, even if you have to feed to prevent starvation.

Third, if you do winter indoors on a full set of combs, do
not commence feeding regularly, to induce breeding, as soon
as set out, though it be the 25th of April or even the 1st of
May.

In the case mentioned the consequences were: In the weak
colonies some of the bees died in the combs and contracted
some moisture, consequently would mold. Some strong colonies
would do the same, but many of the dead bees would be thrown
down. The cellar had a drain 100 feet long, with a fall of 5
feet, to keep the cellar dry, and a ventilator 3 feet above
the house-sill outside, at the south. The ventilator opened
on warm days, consequently a draft of warm air, fire in the
room above, temperature in the bee-cellar raised, cluster
of bees spread, queen goes to laying, honey consumed, brood
reared and old bees wearing out; all of these conditions are
the requisites of good, strong, healthy colonies, and they
are just as surely the forerunners of first-class cases of
foul brood every time.

I know that 99 out of every 100 bee-keepers will differ
with me, but go through the colonies with me 10 or 15 days
after setting out on the summer stands; suppose in that time
we have had 2 or 3 good flying days; the feeding induced
the queen to lay more rapidly and forced the cluster to
spread; the eggs hatched into larvæ; on the pleasant days
the old bees flew out but forgot to fly in again, thus
diminishing the cluster; then there came 2 or 3 stormy days
in succession, cold and chilling; the cluster contracted
as well as diminished in numbers; the minute larvæ starved
and dead, and some, perhaps, that are advanced to capping;
another flying day, and their numbers are more reduced. The
dead bees in the combs putrefy, and you have for your pains a
first-class case of foul brood in the near future. Many will
shake their heads, but I saw the colonies, and in 3 years I
saw the 25 and their increase decreased to 17, the 17 and
their increase decreased to 9, the 9 down to 2, and the 2
went, in the spring of 1880, “where the woodbine twineth.”

Woodbury, Conn., Feb. 26, 1881.

For the American Bee Journal.

Early Importations of Italian Bees.

REV. L. L. LANGSTROTH.

I can probably give, better than any one living, the history
of the first efforts made to introduce Italian bees into
this country; as I knew well the late Messrs. Samuel Wagner
and Richard Colvin, and Messrs. S. B. Parsons and P. G.
Mahan, who, with myself, were the first to import them.
Messrs. Wagner and Edward Jessop, both residents of York,
Penn., received from Dzierzon, in 1856, a colony of Italian
bees which had starved on shipboard. Mr. Wagner's letter
to me, August, 1856, and given the next spring, in my 2nd
edition on bees, is the earliest notice, published in this
country, of the Italian race of bees. Messrs. Wagner and
Colvin, subsequently, bought a few queens of Dzierzon,
which were consigned to the care of the surgeon of a Bremen
steamship, who had been carefully taught what precautions to
use for their safety. Fearing that the bees might sting his
passengers, the captain would not allow them to be put on his
vessel.

“In the winter of 1858-59,” (I quote from Mr. Colvin's able
article on beekings, in the Report of the Commissioner of
Agriculture for 1863, page 530,) “another attempt was made
by Mr. Wagner, Rev. L. L. Langstroth, and myself. The order
was placed in the hands of the surgeon of the steamer, to
whose charge the bees were to have been committed, but in
consequence of his determining to leave the ship, the effort
failed.[A] Subsequently arrangements were made, in the latter
part of that year, and we received 7 living queens. Only two
or three young queens were reared by us during that fall and
winter, and in the following spring we found that all our
imported stock had perished. In conjunction with Mr. Wagner,
I determined to make another trial; the queens, however, did
not arrive until June, 1860.”

[Footnote A: Mr. Colvin, having formed the acquaintance of
the German Captain, not only convinced him that the bees
could not escape to injure anyone, but inspired him with
a strong desire to be the first to bring over in his own
vessel, this valuable race of bees. It would require quite a
volume to tell, at length, what sacrifices of time were made
by Messrs. Wagner and Colvin, to secure these bees.]

Our queens, which came in 1859, were in charge of a German
resident of Brooklyn, N. Y., who was returning home from
a visit to his friends, and to whom Mr. Wagner had given
very careful directions how to care for them. This person,
learning that Mr. Mahan had expressed the intention of having
the honor of landing, in America, the first living Italian
bees, and desiring, as he told me, to secure this honor for
us, communicated Mr. Mahan's intention to the captain, who,
as soon as the gang-way was in place, was the first person to
step ashore, proclaiming with a very loud voice: “These are
the first Italian bees ever landed on the shores of America!”

In the spring of 1856, Mr. S. B. Parsons, of Flushing, L. I.,
invited me to visit him, and advise with him as to the best
way of managing his Italian bees. On my way, I called upon
Mr. Mahan, who was joint owner with me of a large interest
in my patent hive. He gave me a very graphic account of his
visit to the apiary of the Baron Von Berlepsch, from whom he
obtained a queen, and supplied me with a few Italian workers
for Prof. Joseph Lidy, that he might determine how the length
of proboscis, in that variety, compared with that of the
black bee. On arriving at Flushing, Mr. Parsons showed me
five hollow logs, or “gums,” placed in an old bee-shed. It
was a warm, sun-shiny day, and I saw only an occasional bee
flying out from one of the hives. These colonies had been
purchased in Italy, carried safely on the backs of mules over
the Alpine passes, to Genoa, from which port they were safely
shipped to New York; but by a succession of mishaps, four of
them died at Flushing. The fifth contained a mere handful of
bees, with their queen, which I introduced to a colony of
black bees. It is hardly necessary to say that none of these
hives were ever in the same vessel with Mr. Mahan.

On the 18th of April, the steamer Argo arrived in New York,
after a tedious and stormy voyage. Mr. Herman, a German
bee-keeper, and author of a work on the Italian bee, who had
been furnished with a large sum of money by Mr. Parsons to
buy Italian bees in the best districts of Italy, and who had
agreed to bring them over in the original hives, and breed
queens for Mr. Parsons, _was not on board_, but in his place,
a young Austrian, by the name of Bodmer. On the 19th, as soon
as the bees were allowed to be landed, they were carried to
Flushing. The small boxes in which they were put up were
in three different packages, one of which was consigned
to the U. S. Government, one to Mr. Mahan, and one to Mr.
Parsons. As the Austrian said that he knew, by examination on
shipboard, that the bees were in a very bad condition, and
many of them already dead, and, as the day was very pleasant,
they were all examined under my personal supervision, and I
can assure Mr. Robinson that every colony consigned to the
Government and Mr. Mahan, was dead. A few, only, of those
marked for Mr. Parsons, had living queens, some of which soon
died, and in a short time he found himself the possessor of
only two queens, one of which was the queen found alive upon
my arrival at Flushing.

By my advice, Mr. Wm. W. Cary, of Coleraine, Mass., a very
skillful bee-keeper, and a thoroughly trustworthy man, was
sent for by Mr. Parsons. One of the queens was entrusted
to his care, on the premises of Mr. Parsons, and the other
to Mr. Bodmer, some distance off, who did not raise queens
enough even to pay for the black bees and honey which were
purchased for his use; while Mr. Cary Italianized a large
apiary for Mr. Parsons, besides filling all his orders for
queens.

One hundred and eleven queens were carried to California,
by Mr. A. J. Biglow, 108 of which reached there in good
condition. This small per cent. of loss was, in part, owing
to the skillful supervision of Mr. Biglow, and to the
purifying flight which, by my advice, he gave them on the
Isthmus of Panama; but all his precautions would have been
of no avail but for the judicious way in which they were
prepared by Mr. Cary and himself, for so long a voyage. The
bees sent to Mr. Parsons were in cigar boxes, into which the
combs were merely crowded or wedged: the loosening of the
combs on so rough a voyage killed some of the queens, while
others were drowned, with their bees, in honey; and others,
still, starved from the boxes being over-crowded with bees.
It is hardly necessary to contrast Mr. Biglow's success with
the heavy losses sustained for years by those who imported
bees from Europe. The result of Mr. Parsons' dealings with
Herman were, that for $1,200 advanced to him, he had only 2
queens to show. The next season Mr. Bodmer, having learned
how to pack bees for a sea voyage, brought over a number of
queens in good condition, for Mr. E. W. Rose, but was very
unfortunate in the management of them. Herman came, some
years after, to this country, and was employed by a friend of
mine in Philadelphia, to purchase for him, in Italy, a large
number of queens. The return voyage was long and stormy, and
every queen died on board the steamer.

Oxford, Ohio, March 5, 1881.

For the American Bee Journal.

A Good Way to Promote Bee-Keeping.

WM. F. CLARKE.

As a sample of what may be done in many parts of the country
to diffuse knowledge regarding apiculture, and awaken an
interest in bee-keeping as a business, let me give a brief
account of a meeting recently held in Shaftesbury Hall,
Toronto, under the auspices of the Y. M. C. A. Mr. D. A.
Jones, having made the acquaintance of some of the leading
spirits in the organization just named, offered to give a
free lecture on bee-keeping. The offer was accepted, and a
meeting announced to which the members of the Y. M. C. A.
were admitted _gratis_, while the general public were charged
a small fee. Mr. Jones invited the writer to be present as
a reserve force, in case he should break down, (!) and what
enthusiastic bee-keeper would not rally to the rescue when
thus appealed to? Unfortunately Mr. J. was not in good trim,
having been sick enough to keep his bed most of the day
preceding the lecture evening. However, he gathered himself
up for the task he had undertaken, and was cheered by the
appearance of his ally just as the lecture was about to
begin. For a sick man, he did bravely, and spoke for nearly
an hour. His remarks were, of course, general, and very
different from what they would have been if his audience
had been composed of experienced apiarists. He discoursed
on bee-keeping as a business, explained the outlines of it,
showed that it was profitable, and especially dwelt upon
the gain which would accrue to the country if it were more
generally engaged in. An interesting sketch of his journey
to Cyprus and the Holy Land formed the latter part of his
address. The writer supplemented his remarks by a talk of
about half an hour, the chief theme of which was advice to
intending bee-keepers. There was a far larger audience than
might have been expected, considering the prevalent apathy in
regard to apicultural pursuits, and considering also that the
weather was unpleasantly stormy. Much interest was evidently
awakened; a number of questions were asked at the close of
the addresses, and many lingered when “meetin' was out” to
talk about bee-matters. An immense amount of good might be
done if practical bee-keepers would engage in this kind of
missionary work. The public is a dull scholar, and needs to
be “enthused” by men who have the true apicultural spirit.
Among other questions, these were asked:—“What is the best
bee journal?” and “What is the best book on bee-keeping?” The
AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, and Cook's “Manual,” were the replies
given. In his counsels to beginners, the writer insisted very
strongly, that the first step in practical bee-keeping was to
get a good hand-book, and journal of apiculture. So, if you
receive orders from Toronto for the AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, and
“Manual,” you may give Jones' meeting the credit for having
inspired them. There are not only Y. M. C. As., but other
organizations all over the land that would be glad to have a
meeting in the interests of bee-keeping. If 2 or 3 practical
bee-keepers would divide the work and responsibility of
maintaining such a meeting, it would not be so formidable,
as though only one man undertook it. A plain, common-sense
talk on a subject of such practical and commercial importance
as bee-keeping, would be a welcome change from the elaborate
lectures usually delivered before Y. M. C. As., Lyceums, and
bodies of that ilk. I hope Jones' enthusiastic zeal will stir
others up to emulation and imitation. Reader, if conscious of
possessing “the gift of the gab” in any degree, “go thou and
do likewise.”

Listowell, Ont., March 7, 1881.

For the American Bee Journal.

Do Bees Injure Fruit?

F. P. BOUTEILLER.

A prominent wine-grower in this country, told me, about a
year ago, that he did not want bees in his neighborhood as
he found they injured his grape crop. As I have a small
grapery, of about a hundred plants, between the rows of which
I find shelter for about 20 colonies of bees, I determined
to observe if his theory was correct, for I was loth to give
up either. If any fruit crop could be injured by the visit
of bees, mine is surely the one. The result of one season's
close observation has convinced me: 1st. That bees promote
rather than injure the foundations of fruit buds, because the
bunches on my vines were full, with better developed berries,
than those produced on vines less exposed to their visits,
and my peach and cherry trees were as fairly loaded with
fruit as they well could be. 2nd. That in the fall bees only
visit our ripe berries, that have been sweetened by early
frosts, and are very rarely seen on good sound fruit, when
the skin is unbroken, and that the loss from this cause is
of very little consequence, as the fruit attacked would fall
off itself, without the visit of the bees, before gathering.
I am wintering 21 colonies, mostly Italians; procured one
of Jones' Cyprian queens, but too late in the fall to speak
intelligently of the result. They are on summer stands, well
sheltered and surrounded with straw, having means of exit,
and I think are wintering well, but they have not had a good
fly since early in November.

Belle River, Ont., March 5, 1881.

For the American Bee Journal.

Remarkable Tardiness in Fecundity.

G. W. DEMAREE.

One of my Cyprian queens has upset an established doctrine in
bee-science, set at naught all the bee-books, and reversed
the old adage which says: “hope long deferred maketh the
heart sick.” In the latter part of last season I reared some
Cyprian queens from eggs and larvæ, obtained from Mr. Root;
they were 7 in number, and were hatched on the 6th, 7th,
and 8th days of Sept. The weather being warm and fair they
were all fertilized (except one, which never returned from
her bridal tour) by the 12th of the month, and a few days
later they were all laying except one; that being the finest,
brightest-looking queen of the lot, stubbornly refused to
commence the duties of a good queen. She was in a strong
nucleus which was fed regularly and bountifully, till the
hive looked as though the occupants were enjoying a bountiful
white clover harvest, but “nary an egg would she lay.”

She was provided with a clean empty comb, placed in the
center of the colony, and the feeding kept up till winter set
in, but no brood appeared. The hive was not opened from the
time it was prepared for winter (say Nov. 15) till the middle
of Dec., at which time there was not a sign of brood. Then
came the long siege of snow and bitter winds which lasted
till the 30th of Jan.; on that date our bees enjoyed a good,
cleansing flight, and I remembered my non-laying queen and
proceeded to look her combs over, and to my surprise, on one
of the center combs I found a little patch of brood about
half as large as a postal card, some of which was sealed
over. It was genuine worker brood, and no mistake. Since
which time she has been laying nicely, and now has a nice lot
of brood for the time of year.

My bees, 30 colonies with selected queens, have come safely
through the winter to the 1st of March, and there is really
but little danger of losing bees in this climate after
the 1st of this month, unless they are short of stores
and shamefully neglected. The bee-man is aware, above all
others, that there is “many a slip betwixt the cup and the
lip,” however closely he may watch his business. On the 30th
of Jan. last, when my bees were flying lively, I noticed
that one large colony with a tested Cyprian queen, were
not stirring like the others. I proceeded to open the hive
and found the bees so nearly starved that they could only
show signs of life by a feeble motion of their wings, which
produced no sound whatever. Not a bee seemed able to change
its position; the fore-runner of death was already present
in the form of a cold, damp atmosphere in the brood chamber.
I prepared some rich sweetened water, separated the frames
gently, and sprinkled the bees thoroughly with the sweetened
water, and poured some of it into the empty cells. The frames
were then readjusted and a dry woolen quilt spread over the
bees and the sun permitted to shine into the hive. In about
an hour I raised the quilt and the inmates of the hive were
stirring briskly, handing around the good cheer, while some
of them showed fight in a most patriotic style. They were
provided with stores, and are now a No. 1 colony. So much for
bee-science.

What a lesson this teaches! Here was a large colony of
bees perishing with famine, as one single individual; so
unselfishly had they divided their family stores amongst
themselves that when relief did come, though not till their
dire extremity, there was no practical loss of life. Before I
close I cannot resist the temptation to tell how my bees have
been carrying in meal, and prancing gaily on the alighting
boards with their white pellets exposed to the best advantage.

Christiansburg, Ky.

For the American Bee Journal.

Honey-Producing in California.

W. A. PRYAL.

No doubt but by this time many of the Eastern bee-keepers
are looking to this far-off “land of milk and honey,” as of
late years it has been called. Perhaps the reason is partly
because here abundant warm rains have fallen all over the
State, and the world-renowned honey region has received its
complement of the down-pour; in fact, the inhabitants hardly
ever saw so much rain visit that section at the right time.

There are now signs, however, that indicate the sun will
shine with its usual brightness; that those delightful spring
days, which are so peculiar to this fair land, are about
to favor us. Let this be the case and the bees will soon
be flying out by thousands, and the willow blossoms will
each and all receive a welcome visit from those industrious
insects. Their journeyings will not be confined to the banks
of the creeks where the willows grow, but the woodland, where
the Australian blue-gum (_Eucalyptus globulus_) has been
planted by the hand of man, and which holds out its bounteous
chalice for the busy bee to come and sip of nectar deep and
sweet.

While the loss in bees will in all probability be great in
the States east of the Rocky Mountains, here the loss, if
any, will not be quite as bad as it has been other years.
Thus it will be seen that our eastern brethren will have to
commence the season with greatly reduced forces, while the
apiarists in this State will commence operations with more
colonies, and, consequently, with more bees. Last season
was a good one, and the bees went into winter quarters with
abundant stores, which have carried them through the mild
winter safely. The bee flora having had ample rains to insure
a most thrifty growth, will bloom for a longer period than it
has heretofore, and, of course, will insure an enormous yield
of honey.

On account of the long continuance of the rain, but few
flowers have commenced to bloom. Still the plants are
growing, and when they do commence, they will be able to do
so in a vigorous manner. A few of those now blooming are
the willows in variety, _Eucalyptus globulus_, and it is
unusually covered with flowers; wild currant, a pretty fair
honey plant, but scarce; wild gooseberry; wild blackberry,
just beginning; raspberry, ditto; almond; pear and peach;
mignonette; horehound, and a few others. All of which give
the bees more than they can do to gather the nectar and
pollen.

North Temescal, Cal., Feb. 17, 1881.

For the American Bee Journal.

Bee-Men to the Front.

A. W. FISK.

The present may be called “trying times” to bee-keepers of
America. Poor honey seasons, hard winters, and the nefarious
warfare against the honey producers of this country in the
vile adulteration of honey, is indeed trying, discouraging
and diabolical. It appears, by the papers, that these glucose
scoundrels are not satisfied with adulterating extracted
honey, but according to this article that I clip from one of
our papers, _The Bushnell Record_, they are manufacturing
comb honey. It reads as follows:

Many singular discoveries have been made among manufacturers
by the census enumerators in the course of their
investigations. For instance, it has long been known that
dealers are in the habit of adulterating honey with glucose
on the plea of thus improving its keeping qualities. In
Boston, however, there is a firm doing a large business
in making honey entirely from glucose much in the same
way as manufacturers elsewhere make butter from suine and
oleo-margarine. The comb is molded out of paraffine in
excellent imitation of the work of bees; then the cells are
filled with clear glucose and sealed by passing a hot iron
over them, and the product is sent to Europe as our best
honey. The busiest Italian bees couldn't compete with this
firm in turning out honey, any more than could a Eurotas-like
Jersey breed compete in butter-making with our deft
manipulators of lard and tallow.

Now, brother bee-men, I believe the time has arrived when
this honey counterfeiting should be stopped; I therefore
suggest that the bee-men of this country come up in solid
phalanx “to the front,” and with Pres. N. P. Allen and the
bee-paper editors as leaders, let us agitate the question,
educate the people, stir up the press, wake up the country,
and vote or petition to Congress until we secure the passage
of a law by Congress against the adulteration of honey,
sugar, syrup, or food of any kind. Many of the leading
journals of our land are battling for the right in this
matter. The _Burlington_ (Iowa) _Hawkeye_ last week expressed
itself as follows:

It is time that stringent legislative enactments are passed,
making the adulteration of so many articles of food a
criminal offense, punishable by severe penalties. If these
things must be done to gratify the inordinate greed of some
men, let it be made obligatory on them that the packages
containing spurious products so proclaim them, under penalty
of confiscation when detected, and the fraud further
punishable by heavy penalty. No man has any right to sell a
compound of honey and glucose as pure honey, nor has he any
right, either moral or legal, to place a compound of butter
and lard, still further “doctored” with drugs, upon the
market as pure butter. If adulterations of food are allowed
to go on in this way, unrebuked, there is not an article of
food known that will not be counterfeited, and oftentimes
with substances very hurtful in character.

I am thankful so many are lending their aid and influence in
the cause of justice and humanity, but we want the united
efforts of honest bee-keepers, and consumers, and fair
dealers, to make a bold front against every adulterator, and
to expose him to the world. In this way I believe the problem
can be solved and the evil remedied.

Bushnell, Ill.

[So far as it refers to the adulteration of comb honey, it
is a false alarm; all bosh! We alluded to this subject more
at length on page 44 of the BEE JOURNAL for Feb. 9th. We
are glad, however, to see the interest being awakened on
the subject of food adulterations, and bee-keepers as well
as all other honest producers, cannot be too out-spoken in
denouncing it.—ED.]

For the American Bee Journal.

The In-and-In Breeding of Bees.