with our stocks which refused our well meant endeavors to induce them to breed; by this course we could have accomplished the very result we so much desired; and yet, another and perhaps a better alternative presents itself, we mean the old and reliable, and I may add, the always safe remedy of doubling up, or uniting stocks; when the choice was whether we should lose two choice queens or preserve one of them, one would think it would have been quickly taken, but we have no doubt there are very many like us, who have found the most reliable axiom in bee-keeping is the hardest to learn, or at least to practice upon, we mean that which teaches to "keep nothing but strong stocks." It has been written, and re-written over and over again, but although we are willing to acknowledge its force and truthfulness, we are loth to put it into practice. Let us now resolve again, that we will do so even should we double-up all the stocks in our apiary, and then we feel confident that we shall have as little fear of successfully springing our bees, as we now do of taking them safely through the winter.

WM. S. BARCLAY.

Beaver, Pa., April 4th, 1876.

For the American Bee Journal.

King Birds Once More.

As the time is fast coming when the king birds will make their appearance, I thought I would say a few words of their real character. It is the worst enemy the bee has (the mice excepted only). Mr. Quinby says, on p. 229, that it is guilty of only taking drones. This is a mistake. I have shot them, and on examining their crops, I have found bee stings. Drones have no stings. If bee men will take pains to inform themselves, they will find this assertion true. Mr. Q. further says: "You will see it only in the afternoon of a clear day." I have shot three king birds on one morning last August before six o'clock. If any one will watch, they will see them come, as soon as the bees begin to fly, and keep busy at their depredations through the day. It is the real bee enemy. Last spring I bought of the Rev. A. Salisbury seven tested Italian queens. They were pronounced by all who saw them to be beautiful. They are my pets, and I intend to protect them, if I can, against all enemies. They made large increase last summer; they now have from 30 to 40 lbs of honey, and are strong with young bees. I would not like to be called an enemy of the birds. I love them. The king birds are the only ones I would have destroyed. I always contend that birds are of great value, and their beautiful notes are charming at any time, but king birds I condemn.

Peoria Co., Ill. JAMES JAGGARD.

For the American Bee Journal. Bee Culture in Texas.

I have at last found time to write an article in regard to my discoveries about bee culture in Texas. In the northeast portion of the state, there is a section of the country along Red river, that is known as the rafts, where the bees do very well. There are a great many wild bees there. The "rafts" are heavily wooded with cypress trees, and a variety of undergrowth, which is green all winter. I think bees will do as well there, as any where in the United States, California not excepted. There was no day, that was clear, while I was there (in December,) but what the bees were out. I could not get an accurate account in regard to increase, or surplus amount of honey, obtained yearly, as there is no one keeping bees on the improved plan in this part of the state, but everyone says, that keeps bees, that they make "lots" of honey. One man, that has been living there for twenty years, says he often gets forty gallons of honey from one tree. has fifty stands of bees, mostly in round gums, three or four feet high, and as large around as a barrel. He says he has had six or eight swarms from one in a season. I called to see another "bee" man but he was not at home. I asked his wife how much honey they got to the hive; she said she did not know-as they never weighed or measured anything— said they had thirty hives of bees, and when they took the honey they robbed some, killed some of the heaviest, and saved some of the lightest over;" said they "let the neighbors have a good deal -sent a right smart chance to town, and had a good many buckets and tubs full left." That is the nearest I could come to the average of each hive. If anyone desires to make bee culture his chief business, the "Red river country" is the place.

He

The low-lands are rich and fertile, but not so healthy, while the up-lands are heavily timbered with pine, but the soil is sandy and not very productive.

In the north central part of the state, near Dallas and Collin counties, it is a rich farming country. My principal stopping place was near Dallas-Dallas city is situated on Trinity river. The bees were in good condition there in January, but hardly anyone using patent hives. This part of the country possesses all the honey producing trees and flowers, that we have in Iowa, with the exception of the linden. They do not cultivate any thing for bee pasture, as there is an abundance of wild flowers-on which the bees work-from six to eight months in the year Also, have very heavy honey dews at times which, of course, the bees turn to good

account. There is a weed grows here spontaneously all over the prairies, which the bees gather from; it commences blooming in August, and continues blooming till late in the fall; it looks very much like flax. The inhabitants call it broomweed. I called on a gentleman at McKinney, in Collin county, who has a small apiary. His wife invited me out to look at the bees. I opened several hives and found them in good condition and making merry music over the flowers in dooryard. Almond trees in full bloom 20th of January. This gentleman uses the American hive. Bees mostly Italians; said that he commenced in spring of "75 with sixtyfive stands, and before the year closed, he had doubled his stock, besides taking 5000 lbs. of box-honey, and 1000 lbs. of extracted honey.

The honey here is equal in quality to any I have ever seen, and the flavor is unusually good; the extracted is quite thick, some of it candied. Have a market for all they can sell right at home; 25c. for box-honey per b., and 15c. for extracted per b.; $1.00 per gallon for squeezed or strained honey.

In regard to country, I say it is very rich—can raise almost anything that will grow anywhere in the United States. Health good, and society will compare favorably with any new country. Land cheap. Any one that likes a warm climate could certainly suit himself in H. G. HENDRIX.

Texas.

Des Moines, Ia, April 6th, 1876.

For the American Bee Journal.

Those 'Bugs'.

It is with pleasure we observe the 'brotherhood' (who live by picking 'bugs') peck (dutch word for sting) each other, while their own bugs' are laid away for future use.

Bro. Jim pecks' some 'greeny' and Bro. C. P., pecks' Bro. Jim because he can't find the same greeny' to 'peck'. Bro. T. F., pecks' Bro. P., and others, while Bro. N., tries to lug off Bro. J. S.'s bug shanty in spite of his cackling. And another Bro. (D.) endeavors to Staple a Pike (D. A.) to keep his bug' from humming too loud for his own bug to be heard. (Can't you let her hum, Bro. D.?) Surely she is a curiosity if she can produce all sorts of eggs and 'things,' and further. more, fur brings a good price now. (AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, page 109.) At any rate, if no one else wishes to invest it will pay Novice to do so, that he may have the pleasure of informing his readers what a nice bug' he has pinned. Are the white 'bugs' better than the yellow ones, and the yellow ones so much better than the black that we used to be so well satisfied with? Surely, the Grim-m

one ought to know "having wintered 1400," and why does he advertise "hybrids 50 cents less (only)? And who would not rather have pure blacks than hybrids, by 50 cents? We have tried hybrids little ends, and found them as hard and pointed as any, and much more often ready to 'peck' by 50 cent's worth.

Is every new theory so much better than the old ones, that the owner thereof should 'peck' every other but his own, instead of giving facts and figures to demonstrate the case. Do not the 'old heads' (who are so patriotic and disinterested) take more pains to write something 'taking' than to eliminate' the very information (which they are full of) that the beginners and others are looking and longing for? J. O. S.

[We think most of our readers will be better suited if the stings are all picked out of articles sent in, but we were not a little amused to find that in this very article, J. O. S., had left in a little sting. We picked it out.-ED.]

For the American Bee Journal.

Moth Trap.

I have nineteen swarms of Italians, all in good order. I have been troubled with the moth miller, some. In 1873, I found, while sitting near the window and read. ing by lamplight, that the glass would be literally covered with millers, gnats, mosquitoes, etc. I took a lighted wideawake lamp, and placed it out doors, near the house, on the ground, near several pans of sour milk and dish water, and I soon had a lot of millers, and other insects.

In a few evenings not a miller was to be found about the apiary. My hives are not over 100 feet from the house. That lamp was the best moth trap I ever saw.

On September 7th, 1875, I suffered a shock of paralysis, disabling me. I can neither stand nor walk, having no use of my legs. I often look out of the window and wish I could be out among my bees

For the American Bee Journal. The Bee Moth.

Prof. C. E. Bessey, in the Progressive Farmer, gives the following_history and description of this insect. The illustra tions are from Prof. Riley of Missouri.

ITS HISTORY.

The bee moth, or " moth miller," (Galleria cereana), is a native of the eastern continent, having found its way to this country probably with the earliest swarms of bees which were brought from Europe. It is mentioned by the ancients as one of the pests of the apiary, and no doubt it has existed as long as has the bee itself. It is found, however, in greater abundance in certain places than in others. Neighbour, in "The Apiary," says that "it is not so troublesome in England as it is in America and some parts of Germany." Huber, in his work on Bees, does not mention the Moth, so it is fair to presume that at that time it did not exist in that portion of the continent, i. e. in Switzerland. American writers mention it, as well they may, for scarcely in any portion of the country are bees exempt from its ravages. The venerable Quinby wrote in 1865, in his "Bee-Keeping," as follows:

All

66 If we combine into one phalanx all the depredators yet named, and compare their ability for mischief, with that of the wax moth, we shall find their powers of destruction but feeble in comparison." Harris, in his well-known treatise, calls it a pernicious insect, and Langstroth notices it at length in "The Honey Bee."

EGGS.

These they attempt to lay in the hive, but if prevented from doing this, they deposit them as near the opening as possi ble, so that the worms which hatch from them may find but little difficulty in effecting an entrance. Dr. Donhoff says; "The eggs of the bee moth are entirely round, and very small, being only about the eighth of a line, (i. e. one ninety-sixth of an inch) in diameter."* In a short time the eggs hatch into

THE WORMS.

These at first are minute, but as they begin eating wax immediately, they soon grow larger, and in about three weeks, according to Harris, they attain their full size (a in the figure). They are provided with a silk gland, from which they spin the material of their galleries, and as they gnaw their way through the combs in various directions, they always build up their silken defenses. When of full size they seek some sheltered place in the hive, and spin their

COCOONS.

In this state they remain for two weeks, and then change to the perfect or winged form.

It will thus be seen that more than one brood may appear during the season, and in fact it is generally spoken of as double brooded, the first brood appearing in May and the second in August, but as moths are to be found at any time between these two dates, it is more than likely that three generations are frequently produced.

a

THE MOTH OR WINGED INSECT.

The insect which lays the eggs, is a moth, or miller, of the family Pyralida, i. e. the snout moths. The female, (d in the figure,) is of a grayish color, and with a spread of wing of a little more than one inch. The male (e) resembles his mate, but is somewhat smaller. When at rest, the wings are folded over the back, like the sides of a house roof.

The moths appear from early spring to some time after mid-summer, and during this time the females are engaged in laying their

REMEDIES.

The best protection a colony can have is strength. Strong colonies that cover all their comb, are the best protection. Those that are weak must be looked after, and the comb examined. A queenless colony, if allowed to remain so, becomes an easy "whenprey to the worms. Quinby says: ever our stocks have become reduced, from over-swarming, or other causes, the

A personal examination of the eggs, made with the microscope, shows them to be oval, with measurments 1-48 inch long, 1-58 inch wide; color white; surface minutely reticulated.

ravages of worms are to be expected."

If, however, the worms have gained a foot hold in the hive, or if from weakness, there is danger of such being the case, then the old and reliable remedy of handpicking must be resorted to. All the authorities unite in recommending frequent examinations of the combs, and some suggest the use of a thin stick, pointed with iron, for killing the worms or moths which may be found between the combs, or in other places difficult of access. Such examinations should be made frequently throughout the season, and especially in the latter part of summer, and in the fall months, when the worms of the last brood are spinning themselves up.

All authorities unite in saying that no contrivances intended to make the hives moth-proof are of any avail whatever. It is impossible to arrange the openings to the hive so as to certainly keep out the moths, although of course a small opening is better than a large one, because in the former case the bees can guard it more thoroughly. Hives made so as to close automatically at night-fall, and those which are closed by the weight of fowls on their roosts may as well be discarded at once, and the bee-keeper who invests his money in one is simply throwing it away.

For the American Bee Journal.

Extracted Honey. (SUGAR SYRUP.)

I cannot refrain from replyiny to one or two articles which have lately appeared in THE JOURNAL.

B. Y. T., of Henry County, Ind., says: "I see * * *there was a poor honey harvest in nearly all parts of the country. Still the markets are better supplied with extracted honey (sugar syrup) than in any previous year, etc., etc." Now, that his assertion is incorrect, I will show in three ways. Now, mark you carefully, he says extracted (sugar syrup). Bee-keepers do not extract sugar syrup. They need not feed it to the bees to extract it. Again, mere white sugar syrup is too costly, (brown cannot be used). Is he so ig. norant that he does not know that glucose is the article used to adulterate with? Can he point to any bee-keeper who adulterates his own raising of honey before it goes to market? There are some five or six honey dealers who adulterate with glucose; then, that is not " sugar syrup," nor half so good. His whole charge is directed against bee-keepers, and honey dealers are not on the list, only those who extract are subjects for Orange Judd & Co. Worse still, no honest man will use an extractor at all.

Secondly. Did B. Y. T. stop to enquire how much old honey there was on the market? How much poplar, fruit-bloom,

buckwheat, that is too dark for sale in jars, or almost any way, only in combs (it sells in the comb). Yes, and when it is in the comb, it is "pure honey," but extracted, it is sugar syrup. Calling all extracted honey, sugar syrup, and all who extract, humbugs, is an insult to beekeepers that no honest man will give, who is fully posted in the matter.

We would infer that extracted honey is the only adulterated honey. I heard from two good men, that a man not a hundred miles from Lawrenceburg, Indiana, sold, during fall and winter of 1874, at retail, at 18 cents per fb., 1,800 lbs. of sugar syrup IN THE COMB." He offered it to a honey dealer, but was informed of its quality. What will B. Y. T. say to this? I shipped 10 barrels of extracted," and there was not an ounce of " sugar syrup or glucose either, in it. Mr. Charles F. Muth can speak of its quality. Extracted honey is the best for the consumer; he can see and taste for himself, and not buy comb-honey, like a "pig in a poke." Wax is indigestible and injurious, and should not be eaten. As to preaching against extractors, it will be about as ineffectual as turning a river back through its beaten channel; if not allowed any other use, we will keep them to make room for the queen, and feed our humbug honey to the negroes, who would smack their lips at sugar syrup." Let bee-keepers sell direct to consumers, and there will not be any more fault found with extracted honey. I have a way of extracting honey, and have the dark and light kept separate; return the dark to the bees for winter, and sell the fine.

B. Y. T. wants the columns taken up with directions for making box-honey. Perhaps the Indiana man (who sold the 1,800 lbs. of "sugar syrup" in the comb,) would, for a paltry sum, give Mr. B. Y. T. a recipe for it.

Mr. James Heddon seems to have created a stir among the hives. He asks why "C. O. Perrine replies that he does not want to buy honey at any price." Well, glucose is plenty and cheap. There is no use of selling to such men, as there are a plenty of others to buy. There is no room to complain when we can get from 10 to 12 cents for good extracted honey, that is equal to from 21 to 25 for box, and far less expense, danger, too, and expense of shipping. I have tried both, box and extracted. When you can give them small pieces of comb to induce them to build, it requires 1 b of box to equal 2% of extracted; without any comb, 1 of box to 3 of extracted; if you take out frames and insert boxes in their stead, 1 pound of box to 2 of extracted. When close to market, boxes may do; but when a distance to ship and honey is fair, then extracted.

Mr. Heddon says, when apiarists learn

to get as much comb-honey as extracted, there will be but little extracted honey taken. I say so, too; but, then, no man of intelligence can expect any such a result. I will not call Mr. H. what The Bee World did, but it would require a wonderful manipulation and double amount of comb, and men to manage, so as to dispense with the extractor. To say that extracted will not sell to experienced purchasers, will not bear proof. I agree most heartily that honey should be well "ripened" before it is extracted; and just here is where honey gets its damage, and it has greatly impaired the extracted honey trade. Some men have lauded bee-keeping to the skies; but it is no use now running to extremes the other way. You have gone to such an extreme in making money out of bees, that men of ordinary talent lost sight of you; and now, please, don't come back to your honest starting point and disgrace your beginning. Ah! friends, you have done too much to induce men to bee-keeping, but now you find you have said too much, as a class, to sell your wares, and now your customers are in your footsteps, and like yourselves, looking for the golden prize (a fortune), but now you turn and view. "Oh! there's too many coming now, and see the multitudes about to start." Oh! listen to the wail of your leaders of "patent hives, honey extractors, comb guides, boundless depths of honey, money in the apiary, big lots of honey for sale," etc., etc. Another tune is now played to the words of "Old Hundred." Away with the extractor, it is not needed; our bees, after being wintered, and even up to June, after long feeding, nine-tenths have died, we can't sell a small lot of box-honey, and, oh! not a drop of extracted wanted at 9 cents, and I get only 200 lbs. of it per hive. Oh! stop in time. A German-sized farm (four acres) rather than 100 hives of bees. B-u-t w-e w-i-1-1 meet next May, and see what ef fect the winter will have. Now, such is a true and condensed view of the proceedings in Ohio and Michigan for five years. There is a man in this State who had his bees manipulated for him just before, and in the beginning of the honey harvest, he extracted an unusually large quantity, but the honey was quite green and should have been one-fourth less. The amount was 48 barrels. But when I saw the account last, in the Rural New Yorker, it had raised to 149 barrels, and 20 barrels on the way to France; but none of it passed New York, or brought over $1.11 per gallon there. He had 149 colonies in July, 119 in November, and less than a hundred now, yet he informs us that they are doing finely, and that he has not lost any. He does all he can to keep men from entering the business, and endeavors to drive away what are there, and by means not according to apostolic mode, or

the golden rule. The truth is, there are no fortunes made, and I am sure, none lost. The income on the investment is a fair one indeed, but it will not do for the inexperienced to depend on it, for they have seven chances to fail to one to succeed.

I am anxious for the day to come when honey will be put on an equality with other sweets, sugar and syrups, that adul. terations will cease. Put extracted 8 to 10 cents, comb 14 to 18 cents, then honey will be consumed instead of sugar in many preparations, and then there will not be any more danger of over-stocking the market with honey than sugar. This will be a good profit for bee-keepers and always a ready sale. Give me a guaran tee of 8 cents per fb. for well ripened, fully fair, extracted, for three years to come, and they can have, (Heddon) can have the balance. I dare any one to give bond in the sum of $10,000.00 for fulfillment of the contract. I will wager 10 barrels of honey that I can sell 150 barrels per an. num of extracted honey and net 14 3-5 cents per b. Will you take me on either? Point Coupee, La. SIX.

Depression in Apiculture.

The following paper on this subject was read before the N. E. Bee-keepers' Society, at their late meeting at Utica:

When Mr. Langstroth wrote his "Hive and Honey Bee," more than twenty years ago, the first sentence stated that "Practical bee-keeping in this country is in a very depressed condition." If the above quotation was applicable to the condi tion of American bee-culture twenty years ago, when bees wintered without loss, when the forests were dripping with nectar and large yields of honey were the rule, and when the labor of the apiarist was amply remunerated by the ready sale at a good price of all the honey he could produce, it is doubly so now when the "bee disease" depopulates our hives in winter, when the denudation of our timber lands has so modified our climate as to render the secretion of nectar uncertain, and the low price and dull sale of what honey is obtained diminishes the profits of the apiary. Without entering into the details of the cause of the present depressed condition of bee-culture in our country, it may not be altogether unprofitable to consider the problem of how we may secure our surplus honey in order to realize the most money therefor. We all remember the excitement created in America by the introduction and use of the honey extractor, and

the oft repeated assertion that this machine was the long sought desideratum that would render bee-culture an occupa