Volume 3 — NOTES AND QUERIES.

—Mr. J. M. Shuck who a short time since suffered a severe loss in the burning up of his beehive stock, has just sent us his neat and attractive circular stating that he is again prepared for business.

—We have just received from Mr. Pryal of Temescal, Cal., a complete file of the California Apiculturist, which we are pleased to add to our collection. Mr. Pryal will please accept our thanks for the same.

—We shall issue our Journal from June to December on the 15th of the month.

—Those who are so strictly orthodox in their opinions, especially when criticising others, should remember that their first duty is to practise what they preach, as their teachings will then be productive of good.

—We shall continue to issue our Journal from the Salem Press office, but all communications should be addressed to Wenham, Mass., and when sending money do not forget to make all postal notes or money orders payable on Salem, Mass., post office.

—We have just received a circular and price list from Mr. B——, who is now in Europe dealing in foreign queens and bees. The character of the language and criticisms contained therein will not warrant us in giving it a favorable notice. Manly criticism or counsel and advice, or one’s opinion expressed in kindly language, always demands respect; but since Mr. B—— has engaged in the sale of the eastern bees and queens he has introduced some finely drawn lines of distinction between the names given to the different races of bees from the Holy Land.

Until lately we had no trouble in understanding what was meant by the terms Holy Land bees, Syrian bees or Palestine bees, and in order that we may be set at rights again will some one capable of judging kindly tell us what countries are included within the boundaries of the Holy Land (not Holy Land proper.)

Mr. B—— is not even contented to establish names of his own but makes it a point to abuse all those who differ from him.

We trust that he may yet learn to allow others the same freedom in expressing their opinions that he wishes himself and then abstain from abusing them for so doing.

—We have just received from F. D. Wellcome of Poland, Maine, the finest lot of red raspberry plants that we ever saw, they certainly do him credit.

—As we are now publishing 5,000 copies per month of our Journal, advertisers will do well to give it a trial.

—Use every effort to work up a home demand for your honey this season as in most cases it will pay much better than sending it to city markets.

—Read all our club offers for this month carefully and if you should receive more than one copy of our Journal kindly hand the other to your neighbor. It may do him some good and it will help us.

Better chances were never offered to secure first-class goods cheap than will be found in our club list.

—Mr. J. C. Clark submits his communication to us for consideration, and we would state that while the extractor in the hands of an inexperienced apiarist or by injudicious use will doubtless prove a great injury, yet we consider it one of the most valuable implements in a well conducted apiary.

The trouble with the “glutted” honey market comes, not from the use of the honey extractor, or the over-production of honey, but from a lack of proper knowledge and means of creating a demand. As a rule we do not consider it best to extract honey from combs containing unsealed larvæ, but one must be governed by his knowledge of and experience in this business.

We could not be hired to do without the extractor for many reasons.

We should be pleased to hear from Mr. Dadant on this subject, as he uses the extractor extensively.

A few days since while we were busy at the desk, Mr. Alley called us out into the apiary to witness a swarm of bees issuing from a hive that was provided with one of his drone traps. It was very amusing and interesting to watch the honey-laden bees rush pell-mell out through the perforated metal entrance giving conclusive evidence that the perforations were amply large to freely admit a worker bee laden either with pollen or honey.

Soon the queen unable to force her way through at the entrance passed into the trap. As soon as the majority of the bees had passed out we removed the drone trap, fastened it to the end of a long pole and rested it against a small tree near by. In a short time the bees, discovering their queen in the trap, clustered upon it.

When the bees had become quiet we removed the trap to a convenient shady spot near by and laying it on its side placed over it one of the swarming boxes, covering the box with a board so as to cover the wire cloth and make it dark within the box.

We then left the swarm in that condition for about six hours in order to experiment with it and learn whether the queen would force her way out.

In the early evening we examined the swarm and found that the queen was out among the bees in the swarming box, and found that as the trap was laid on its side the bees that filled the trap formed a bridge over which the queen could pass through the wire tube through which she passed into the trap.

This is a valuable feature of the trap because if one cannot always be at hand to attend to the swarms, the queen after about six hours will find her way back into the hive again, thus preventing either her loss or that of the bees.

We have had considerable experience with hiving swarms, but never performed the task with such ease or so speedily as we can with the drone trap. We can heartily endorse it as invaluable to the beekeeper even for this one purpose alone.

We shall experiment further with the trap and give the results.

—Mr. J. D. Goodrich of East Hardwick, Vermont, has sent us some most excellent comb foundation. The thin for sections was especially fine.

—For $3.00 cash we will send the “American Apiculturist” one year and one of our fertilizing hives containing four combs with brood and one-half pound of bees and a choice selected queen—the hive will also be supplied with one of our cone feeders. With this small nucleus colony one can rear a number of queens during the season and it will be a great help in learning queen-rearing.

—Advertisers will please notice the change in our rates, 15 cents per line each insertion. There are about seven words to the line, and twelve lines to the inch. In sending copy always write it on one side of a separate sheet of paper and be very particular to have the names, addresses, etc., very plain.

Parties unknown to us must send cash with the order.

All copy for advertisements and manuscript must reach us by the first of the month, if they are to appear in the following number which we shall issue on the 15th of the month until December.