KALAMAZOO, MICH.-Feb. 1st, 1876.In the February number of the JOURNAL, in the discussions of the Maury Co. Bee-Keepers' Society, upon feeding, different articles were spoken of, as rye, flour, corn-meal, etc. Some years ago, I had two colonies that became destitute of honey early in March, and with a view to prevent starvation, I commenced feeding syrup made from coffee sugar, poured up. on a warm buckwheat cake, feeding upon alternate days. They would eat the cake more or less, sometimes entirely. They bred up very rapidly, and were the strongest colonies I had in my apiary that season. I now believe that the cakes furnished proper food for breeding purposes, in the place of pollen, and shall experiment with it the coming spring. I would be glad to have bee-keepers try it, and report through the JOURNAL.

W. B. SOUTHARD, M. D.

WAVERLY, IOWA.-Jan. 28th, 1876.My bees have done well the past season. Out of four stocks I obtained twenty-one natural swarms, all in good condition, and sold $25.00 worth of honey.

THOS. LASHBROOK.

FREMONT CO., Iowa.-Feb. 7, 1876.The past season opened very unfavorably. Last spring I took out only twenty-nine colonies out of forty-five that I put in the cellar in the fall. Nine of these were weak; twenty good. As soon as the weather would permit, I commenced feeding them syrup made of C sugar, and by the last of June I had fed $19 worth of sugar. Linn bloomed the first of July. My bees were very strong, and occasionally a swarm would come off in spite of my vigilance to prevent it. About a week before the linn bloomed, I thought we should have a grand honey-harvest, but it rained so much that the bees got but little honey. One day only was fair during linn bloom, and I weighed some of my colonies in the morning, and again in the evening, and found they had gained twelve pounds. If the weather had been good, I can't tell what would have been the result, for linn bloomed profusely here.

The fall was good for honey, and I find, from my books, that I increased from

twenty-nine to forty-six, and have taken 3650 lbs. of honey; all of which I have sold at an average of 19 cts. per pound. I think bee men make a very great mistake in placing their honey on the market in large cities. I sometimes leave some in the stores where I trade, but I sell nearly all among the farmers. I can sell more in one week, out in the country, than I ever sold through the merchants in town all put together. I sell at 18 cts. by 50 or 100 wt., and 20 cts. in small lots. My bees are in excellent condition; they have honey enough to keep them until July.

WM. MORRIS.

FLAT ROCK, N. C.-Feb. 25, 1876. My bees commenced to bring in pollen from off the alders on the 18th of January, and on the 22d they commenced to bring in honey and pollen from the soft maple, and honey from the bee-meadow. I never knew it to bloom before April, till this year. The bees are doing well on the maples any days that are warm enough for them to be out. My bees have done well, so far: lost only two, out of forty stocks. ROBERT T. JONES.

OWENBORO, KY.-Feb. 1, 1876.-" Bee pasturage is probably as good in Ky. as any other State, except California. We have abundance of tulip and white clover in spring, and smart weed in fall; these

are

our main dependence. We have others as helps-as many, probably, as in any other State. We have 6 or 8 large apiaries in this country that have from 30 to 100 stands, owned by men who keep bees on scientific principles and are doing a fair business, besides many bee-hive men, who are doing very well. We got no surplus last year, a frost (April 1st) killed all kinds of bloom, and then it rained from May 1st till August 20th. Our bees, at the time they should have been working in boxes, were starving to death, but by uniting and feeding, we managed to save about two-thirds of them in good condition, having a good honey harvest in the fall. They are now in fine condition and have been rapidly carrying in pollen for 20 days from hazelnut and alder. Such a thing was never seen before in this country. I examined my strongest stands to-day, and found brood in all stages and eggs in drone comb. I shall try to get the drones out as a curiosity. The hives mostly used in this country are the Langstroth and Buckeye. We have some Extractors, but do not take honey for profit, as the honey does not sell, and besides that, we do not like to sling our bees. I take honey in small frames, and sell it at 25 cents per b in the home market. I like the way James Heddon talks; his theory corresponds with my experience, and I think he must be a man with a 'head on.'"

T. E. GRIFFIN.

WORCESTER CO. MASS.-Feb. 16, 1876. -"I keep a few swarms of bees, not for profit, but for the pleasure of seeing them work and taking care of them. I very seldom lose a swarm. I winter them on their summer stands and take the whole care of them. I go among them without fear and am but seldom stung. White Clover is our chief honey plant. I find THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL very interesting." MRS. EDWARD BROWN.

CARLYLE, KANSAS.-Feb. 23, 1876.-" In 1874 bees were an entire failure here, and in 1875 they were not much better. Last fall they stocked up some, but made no surplus honey. We scarcely ever get any surplus honey here until smart weed, Spanish needle, and corn are in bloom. Some seasons there is considerable buckwheat sown, then bees do very well."

JOEL B. MYERS.

ELIZA, ILLS.-Feb. 19, 1876.-"On page 15 of AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, in the description of section box the upright sidepieces should be 6% inches, instead of 1%. The 1⁄2 inch mortice is cut by a saw so set as to wabble. The 1⁄2 inch thin strip is laid in these mortices so as to hold the frames in a box. In answer to J. E. of Kansas. It is not like the boxes described on page 108 of AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 1875, but these frames make a continuous tight box except on the bottom and ends. When these frames are put together there is on each side a continuous groove, in which the thin strip fits; this being tacked at each end holds them all together. Be careful to have this stuff cut out exactly as given in AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, page 15. Honey put up in these frames when nicely made has brought us 5 cents more per pound. When filled with honey one of these boxes will hold about 25 pounds, and yet the frames can be taken apart and one comb sold weighing 2 pounds, or 1 pound, if frame is small enough. Clark and Harbison do not use any glass in ends. I wish to—will some one inform me through AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL how to do so." D. D. PALMER.

Please write names and post-office address very plain. Very often men forget to give their post-office, and quite often a man dates his letter from the place where he lives, when the paper is to be sent to some other office.

Vol. XII.

The Future of the North American Bee-Keepers' Society.

A few words on the above subject from one of the originators and ex-presidents of the North American Bee-keepers' Society will not, we are sure, be considered presumptuous or unwelcome by the readers of THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. We are not at all surprised at the proposal be ing deliberately made and seriously entertained, to disband the Society, and should this course be ultimately adopted, it will not follow that the organization was a mistake or a failure. It has done much

to make prominent bee-keepers acquainted with each other; to diffuse apiarian information; to promote scientific and practical apiculture; and to draw public attention to various important matters connected with the honey interest. To many of us, the meetings of the Society will always be memorable as having led to the formation of friendships that we highly value, and that have taken a wider range than the realm of bee-keeping. We shall not forget that they gave us the opportu nity of knowing the forms and listening to the voices of Langstroth and Quinby, one of whom, alas! is not, and the other is feeble with infirmity and age so that he cannot be long for this world. The private and unpublished discussions by little coteries of bee-keepers, at hotels and else where; the interchanges of experiences, some of them too mortifying to be told to "all the world and the rest of mankind," and the ventilation of plans and appliances too crude to be given to the public, as yet, must count among the minor, but by no means inconsiderable, benefits of the meetings in question. We doubt if any member was at so large an expendi ture of time and money to attend these gatherings, as ourself, but most certainly we do not regret the outlay. But, as

No. 4.

President Zimmerman justly observes, the times are changed. Bee-keepers now have to "pay like sinners," on the railroads, whereas, in other and better days, they traveled at reduced rates. Editors used to get passes, where now they receive the cold shoulder instead. Time was when we could go on any railroad in the Dominion of Canada "free gratis for nothing," now there is only one road, and that a short one of only 26 miles, on which we can get even half fare. Even with the privileges once accorded, it was rather a costly luxury to attend the annual conventions. Some of us went when our wives, and our better judgments, too, told us we "hadn't oughter." And we stayed away, in rare cases, not because we didn't want to go, but under the same influence that prevented the rural worthies, immortalized in Grey's Elegy, from realizing their aspirations:

"Chill penury repressed their noble zeal

And froze the genial current of their soul." President Zimmerman chronicles the formation of a Bee-keeper's Association for the State of Ohio, and wisely advises other States. to go and do likewise. There is a flourishing Northeastern Bee-Keeper's Association which practically represents the State of New York, and really has its headquarters in the vicinage of the Mohawk Valley, having had until re. cently, the late Moses Quinby as its chief inspiring spirit. Michigan has also its B. K. Association. We heartily endorse Mr. Zimmerman's recommendation about the establishment of State societies. Every State, province and territory should have its apicultural organization. But we desire to supplement Mr. Z.'s advice, with the suggestion, that the North American B. K. Society should actually become, what some of us contemplated from the outset, a representative body. The records of the Society's past meetings will show that this idea is by no means a

new one. It would doubtless have been carried out before this, but for the paucity of State organizations. Let these only be multiplied to a sufficient extent and it will be easy to make the continental body representative, which is obviously what it ought to be. Each State could send one or more delegates, and what is an oppressive expense to the individual bee-keeper, would be but a small charge on the funds of a State association. We can see im. portant results to be secured by a council of eminent representative bee-keepers, and our hope is that the Society, instead of voting to disband, will resolve itself into the representative body above described. A meeting at the Centennial Exhibition would be a favorable opportunity for making this change, although we are of opinion that the circumstances will not be favorable for having a business meeting. Those of us who go to the exhibition will do so to enjoy ourselves, and have a good time generally; to forget bee-stings, apiarian troubles, and the vexations of life generally. A re-union with apicultural friends will be pleasant, but business will be a bore. It will be a much nicer thing for the Society to take on a new form of life at the Centennial than it will be for it, there and then to "give up the ghost." For our own part, our motto is, "Never say die." Make a new departure, strike out afresh, do something more manageable and practicable, but avoid that which is undesirable in itself, and would be interpreted by outsiders as a proof that bee-keeping is on the decline, which we know it is not, by any means.

The Society has got over some diffi culties which threatened its earlier stages; it has accomplished much good, but its mission is by no means fulfilled. "To be or not to be, that's the question." We cast our vote for continued existence in a better form. "Destroy it not, for a bless ing is in it."

W. F. C.

Particular attention is called to the new advertisement of J. H. Nellis & Brother, opposite the first page of this issue of the JOURNAL. They are good square dealing men and may be depended

on.

For the American Bee Journal, Artificial Comb Foundation.

Will you be kind enough to give some information on the artificial comb question? Who holds the patent right for making artificial comb? Is the comb foundation, sold by John Long, patented? Who first brought comb foundation to notice? I saw a piece, years ago, made of this paper, coated on both sides with wax. A friend who tried it reported that his bees would not make use of it.

W. C. P.

The foundation spoken of by Mr. P—, made of paper coated with wax, was probably a plain sheet without any of the cell configurations, and he does not state whether the bees simply left it untouched or destroyed it. We do not know definitely of any experiments made with waxed paper configurated, but we have assurance that several experiments will be made under different circumstances early this season. It is thought that fine tissue paper may be used to advantage. We shall give the result of these experiments in due time.

Artificial combs have been in use in Germany and in Italy for many years. A patent was issued in the United States to the late Mr. Samuel Wagner, then the able editor of this JOURNAL. It was lately purchased by Mr. Perrine, of Chicago. See notice on last page of this issue.

John Long's Foundation was made by Mr. Weiss in New York, by a machine he had invented for that purpose two years ago, on which he is now getting a patent.

Novice (A. I. Root) has also invented a machine for making it, that really turns out a nicer article than that sold last season in New York. This machine has been purchased by Mr. C. O. Perrine, and will be used in the manufactory now be ing fitted up by him in this city.

Mr. Perrine has also permanently engaged Mr. Weiss to superintend his works-and soon they will be ready to fill all orders promptly. Orders may be sent to this office for it in any quantity.

If you know of any bee-keepers who ought to take the AMERICAN BEK JOURNAL, but do not, and will send us their names and Post Office addresses, we will send each a sample copy.

The Centennial Display.

The Centennial Commission have erected a special building for bees, and steps should be taken at once to make a fine display there.

It is arranged to have special shows of honey on June 20 to 24, and Oct. 23 to Nov. 1, and every thing of interest in the way of hives, bees, or apiarian appliances should be there on exhibition.

We invite special attention to the following letter, just received from the chief of the Agricultural Bureau:

U.S. CENTENNIAL COMMISSION, PHILADELPHIA, March, 17th, 1876. MR. THOMAS G. NEWMAN, publisher AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, Chicago, Ill.Dear Sir:-The advanced character of apiarian apparatus produced in this country will not be as thoroughly shown at the International Exhibition as is desirable, unless manufacturers immediately apply for space, which will be granted without entry fee or rent for room, if application be made at once. Objects for exhibition must be in place by 25th April. Yours respectfully, BURNET LANDRETH,

Chief of Bureau.

The Centennial Committee of the N. E. Bee-keepers' Association made report in our last issue. The following is a further report from the committee:

REPORT OF THE CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE OF THE NORTH-EASTERN BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The North-Eastern Bee-keepers' Association appreciate the propriety of making the display of honey at the coming International Centennial as grand as practicable-commensurate, if possible, with the display in other branches of agriculture.

To this end a committee was appointed to investigate the conditions and requirements necessary for the exhibitor, and then appropriate as much of the funds from the treasury, for laudable objects, as they should deem prudent.

The first part of their duty was performed, and reported in the Bee Journal for March.

After proper deliberation, they decide to offer the two following prizes, both of which are to be competed for at the SPECIAL SHOW of honey and wax, to be held Oct. 23, to Nov. 1, 1876.

They offer $35 for the best and most meritorious display of comb and extracted Honey and Wax,-conditions as follows: The honey and wax must be of fine quality, and put up in elegant packages, such as are most likely to find ready sale at high prices. Other things being equal,

the larger the display, the greater the merit. The judges will consist of practical bee-keepers and dealers in honey.

They offer $25 for the best and most practical essay on "How to keep Bees successfully during winter and spring." Such essays should not treat upon the physiology of the bee, except so far as is necessary to explain instincts and management. This is suggested with a view to making them brief. With bee-keepers, the ultimate idea of SUCCESS is, the attainment of pecuniary reward, and in deciding upon the merits of the essays, the judges will keep this idea prominent. If none of the "Centennial Committee" compete for this prize, they will act as the judges.

In any case, unbiased, practical beekeepers will act as judges on the essays. These prizes are open for competition to the world.

Before closing this report, the committee suggest that the time for holding the "National Bee-keepers' Association" be changed from the first Wednesday of Sep. tember to the 25th of October, 1876. This change will bring it into close connection with the fall special show of honey and wax, the time for which was fixed by the Centennial Commission.

By October 25th the summer work of the apiary will be done, and the honey, to some extent, disposed of.

If the National Society meets at that date, all bee-keepers can get home in time to prepare and put their bees into winter quarters. We hope these points will receive due consideration from the mass of Northern bee-keepers.

We will write to the officers of the National Socieiy, and hope arrangements can be made to have the October Special Show of Honey and the meeting of the National Society come at the same time. Suggestions and opinions will be gratefully received. J. H. NELLIS, Secretary. J. E. HETHERINGTON, Chairman.

We think, on the whole, that the time named will be the best for all concernedand trust that arrangements will be made accordingly, so that those going then can. witness the honey show, as well as at tend the Convention.