436 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



June 23, 1904. 



there, but I am sure not with its able Editor's linowledge and sanction. 

 Trusting that this very important matter will receive your per- 

 sonal attention, and thus so far as you can relieve the honorable in- 

 dustry of honey-production from the misrepresentation placed upon 

 it, I am, Fraternally yours, 



Geokge W. York, 



Editor Americmi Bee Journal. 



In response to the above letter, we have received the following 

 from the Ladies' Home Journal : 



Philadelphia, Pa., June 6, 1904. 

 Mr. George W. York, 



Editor American Bee Journal, Chicago, 111. 

 Dear Sir : — Please accept our sincere thanks for your very cour- 

 teous letter in regard to a blunder that appears to have been made by 

 Dr. Walker, in her article on adulterated honey. Naturally, we our- 

 selves do not profess to be authorities upon the subject. And Dr. 

 Walker's work had been so uniformly good that it had not entered our 

 minds that she had made a blunder in this case. We shall take the 

 liberty of sending your letter to her, and quite likely she will be moved 

 to make a suitable correction in due time. But we are already work- 

 ing on our September and October issues. 



Very truly yours, Wm. V. Alexander, 



Managing Editor. 



We were quite sure that the editor of the Ladies' Home Journal 

 would take the right view of the matter, and do what he could to help 

 correct the harmful comb-honey statement made by Dr. Walker. And 

 we believe she will hasten to write a full explanation and correction. 

 But another unfortunate thing is that it will not be possible to have it 

 published in the Ladies' Home Journal before its September or Octo- 

 ber issue. Of course, it is far different with a publication having over 

 a million subscribers, from what it is with a daily newspaper, or even 

 a weekly paper. Work on so large an edition as the Ladies' Home 

 Journal publishes every month, must be done far in advance of the 

 date of issue. But we believe a satisfactory correction will be given 

 as soon as possible by Dr. Walker, in her department where appeared 

 the original erroneous statement. 



Some Peculiar People. 



There are such among bee-keepers as well as in other walks in life. 

 We know a few of them. An editor hears from them occasionally. 

 Especially the kind that can't bear to see the truth in print, especially 

 if it happens to fit them or their friends. They can stand flattery all 

 right, and be'ieve what is not true if it happens to please them. Of 

 course, we do not expect everybody to agree with what we have to say 

 personally in the American Bee Journal, or perhaps with what others 

 have to say. But that does not prevent our speaking or printing the 

 truth as we and others see it. 



Some will even go so far as to stop subscribing for a paper if the 

 the editor is inclined to tell the truth about some of their pet 

 schemes or things. But no honest editor is going to stop printing 

 what he believes is truth, and what ought to be said, just because a 

 few subscribers take unreasonable offense. At least we know one or 

 two editors that are not quite so cowardly. We are very willing to 

 listen to real argument, whether respectful or otherwise, and are 

 always open to conviction, but until convinced that we are wrong we 

 have formed the habit of standing firm in what we believe is right. We 

 do not have to give account for any other conscience but our own. So 

 we expect to continue to do our duty as we are given to see that duty. 

 We believe that is what ninety-nine out of every one hundred of the 

 people want to see, and the kind that should be demanded by all. 



Of course, we do not expect that the American Bee Journal will 

 please all bee-keepers, as all do not see alike. But the peculiar thing 

 is, that sometimes when something is said very plainly in the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal — which is also the truth — there are some who, instead 

 of trying to show wherein the one who wrote is wrong, simply say, 

 " Stop my paper !'' And it is done. 



We hope such people will take some other good bee-paper, 

 although they are liable to repeat their queer action just as soon as 

 the other editor says something they don't like. 



Well, such is life. We editors, at least, must take it as we find it, 

 and not allow anything like that to move us from the path of duty. 



" The Hum of the Bees in the Apple-Tree Bloom " is 

 the name of the finest bee-keeper's song — vfords by Hon- 

 Eugene Secor and music by Dr. C. C. Miller. This is 

 thought by some to be the best bee-song yet written by Mr. 

 Secor and Dr. Miller. It is, indeed, a " hummer." We can 

 furnish a single copy of it postpaid, for 10 cents, or 3 copies 

 for 25 cents. Or, we will mail a half-dozen copies of it for 

 sending us one new yearly subscription to the American 

 Bee Journal at $1.00. 



( 



Miscellaneous Items 





Mr. T. O. Andrews was recently elected to the presidency of 

 the California National Honey-Producers' Association. He succeeds 

 Mr. Geo. W. Brodbeck, who was compelled to retire on account of 

 continued ill health. However, he is recovering slowly, and it is 

 hoped he may soon be entirely himself again. 



Mr. Groggshall is the way Sonnambulist refers to W. L. 

 Coggshall, one of New York State's " lightning bee-keepers." There 

 is no " grog " either in the manor his name. At least he always 

 seemed fairly sober whenever we have had the pleasure of meeting 

 him. It can't be that " Sommy " was a little groggy when writing ! 

 We decline to believe it without "fire-(water)-proof " evidence. 



Mr. Richard Hyde, of California, secretary of the Tulare 

 County Bee-Keepers' Association, died June 2. His death was the re- 

 sult of a stroke of apoplexy. He had removed from the East to Cali- 

 fornia in 1885. Soon afterward he engaged in bee-keeping, in which 

 he countinued actively until his death. He was a native of Wisconsin. 

 He left to mourn his sudden departure a widow and two young 

 daughters. 



The Rural Bee-Keeper is the name of another new monthly 

 bee-paper, published by W. H. Putnam, of Wisconsin. The June 

 issue is on our desk. It seems that the first issue was in April, but 

 the June number is the first to reach our ofBce. It makes the best 

 appearance of any new bee-paper put out in over ten years, if we ex- 

 cept the Rocky Mountain Bee Journal, which was sold recently, and 

 so ceased to exist. 



BIr. Geo. C. Lewis, president of The G. B. Lewis Co., of 

 Watertown, Wis., dropped in to see us when in Chicago last week. 

 He reports the largest season's business they have ever had. For sev- 

 eral weeks their force has been working 20 hours out of the 24. Their 

 capacity is over 100,000 sections a day, and other manufacturing 

 departments in proportion. They had not anticipated such a large 

 business this season, as reports showed rather a heavy loss of bees in 

 wintering. But it seems that this has made no difference in the gen- 

 eral demand for bee-supplies. 



" The St. Croix Valley Honey-Producers' Association " is the 

 name of a new organization in Wisconsin. Its officers are : President, 

 Geo. Shafer; vice-president, C. A. Thompson; secretary, A. L. 

 Palmer; treasurer, Wm. Hartwig; and general manager. Leo F. 

 Hanegan. Its objects are as follows : 



"To promote the interests of bee-keepers; to protect them in 

 their lawful rights ; to enforce laws against the adulteration of honey ; 

 to furnish its members bee-supplies and bee-literature at as near 

 wholesale prices as possible ; to grade, pack, and market our product 

 under a common brand, etc." 



Western Bee Journal is the name of the latest claimant upon 

 the attention of bee-keepers. The June issue — Vol. I., No. 1 — is on 

 our desk. Mr. P. F. Adelsbach, of California, is its editor and pro- 

 prietor. As no mention is made of it, we are left to guess that this 

 new paper is the result of the union of the late Pacific States Bee Jour- 

 nal and the Rocky Mountain Bee Journal. It is a great improvement 

 over the former, but hardly equal to what the latter was. Still, it 

 gives promise of being a publication worthy of the patronage of the 

 bee-keepers in the territory which it seems to desire to cover, if we 

 may judge by its name. 



A Doggoned Hybrid Pup seems to be the latest " arrival "' at 

 Rootville, if we may judge from the following paragraph which ap- 

 pears in Gleanings for June 1 : 



NOT A FISH story; BARKING UP TRADE. 



This has nothing to do with bees; an< 

 do not rend it. My boy has a puppy, a cro 

 and a pointer, that keeps saying "Yor-riel 

 the day ; and sometimes he keeps on sii> 

 Late one night, while I was trying to slcc 

 that the dog was calling to another bef-r 

 for the American Bee Journal. I doubt h li 

 pronounce the word more distinctly than 



if you are not interested, 

 s between a Scotch terrier 



Yor-rick," every hour of 

 iig " Yor-rick " all night. 

 >. it popped into my head 

 litor — the one who stands 

 I her a huiuan being could 

 iiiis pup does at times. I 



