Published tVeekly at Sl.OO a Year by <]ieorg:e W. York A Co., 3:i4 l»earborn St. 



Eniered at the Post-Office at Chicago as Second-Class Mail-Matter. 



QBORQE W. YORK, Editor. 



CHICAGO, ILL, OCT, 6, 1904. 



Vol, XLIV— No. 40. 



The National Convention at St. Louis. 



The 3Sth annual convention of the National Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association was called to order by Pres. J. U. Harris, 

 of Colorado, at 10 a.m., in the Christian Endeavor Hotel in 

 St. Louis, Mo., Tuesday, Sept. 27. There were about 100 

 present at the first session, but more members came in later. 

 Mr. F. E. Brown, of California, was elected secretary pro 

 tetn, as Mr. Brodbeck, the secretary, was not strong enough 

 in health to be present, which was greatly regretted by all. 



We will have more to say next week, as this number of 

 the Journal goes to press too early to say it at this time. 



Qet Surplus Honey Off in Time. 



No calendar time can be given for clearing all surplus 

 comb off the hives. The season closes weeks earlier in some 

 localities than in others. In any case the beginner must be 

 on guard against the mistake of leaving supers on when 

 bees no longer gather more than serves their daily needs. 

 The bees make quite a show of working after the harvest is 

 over, and the temptation is to think that they will yet store 

 quite a little, when the fact is that they are gathering no 

 more than they consume for their daily needs. Even before 

 they get so low as that, surplus receptacles should be all 

 off. For, at the close of the season, the queen is depositing 

 few or no eggs, and yet there is considerable sealed brood 

 in the hive. As fast as this emerges the empty cells must 

 be filled by the bees ; so they have quite a bit of room in 

 which to store in the brood-chamber. 



A section of honey that is entirely filled can be sold 

 even if some of the cells are not sealed ; but if left on the 

 hive till the flow ceases entirely, those unsealed cells will 

 be emptied and the honey carried down into the brood- 

 chamber, and a section with emptied cells is a different 

 thing from one with cells filled and unsealed. 



Another thing that will happen, in many places, to a 

 super of sections left on too late, is that the bees will smear 

 propolis over them, not merely over the wood, but over the 

 cappings. What is still worse is to leave on the hive se. ■ 

 tions upon which the bees have not worked at all. The 

 foundation will be glazed with propolis, and this may be so 

 bad that the bees are loth to accept them at all the follow- 

 ing season. 



It will not hurt the bees to be a little crowded late iJ 

 the season ; so be sure not to leave supers of sections on the 



hives too long, 

 same trouble. 



In case of extracted honey there is not the 



Why Do Bees Stand More Cold Outdoors? 



To the question, " Why will bees winter successfully 

 out-of doors with the thermometer at zero, and in the cellar 

 it must not reach the freezing point ?" the editor of Glean- 

 ings in Bee-Culture replies : 



Why bees can stand zero temperature outdoors and not 

 a freezing temperature in a cellar is a query that has often 

 arisen in my own mind, and I think we can account for it 

 almost entirely on the ground of ventilation. Where air is 

 poor, the temperature must not go below 40. When pure 

 and fresh it may go much below, or even down to zero. 



No doubt bees will endure a lower temperature in pure 

 than in foul air ; so will a man. But is not the answer to 

 the question to be found rather in the difference in the 

 length of confinement ? If a colony in a cellar has the 

 average cellar air, and is allowed a flight every five or six 

 weeks, would it suffer greatly to have the temperature down 

 below the freezing point ? If a colony outdoors were con- 

 fined to the hive for four or five months, would the purity 

 of the outdoor air guarantee it a continuance of life ? 



Wholesale Sampling of Honey. 



For a number of months, some two or three years ago, 

 we kept a lady " demonstrator " of " York's Honey " in the 

 largest retail grocery in Chicago. It was for the purpose 

 of creating a larger demand for that brand of extracted 

 honey. 



A glass dish holding perhaps a quart of the sweet 

 liquid was kept on the counter in front of the demonstrator. 

 Then, with a teaspoon, she dipped up a small quantity of 

 the honey and put it on a thin cracker about an inch and a 

 half in diameter. The cracker, with the honey on it, was 

 then handed to the waiting visitor, who took it and put it 

 into her (or his) mouth all at once. Thus, there was no 

 honey dropping around to stick up everything upon which 

 it might fall. And one spoon was all that was necessary. 



This method of furnishing samples of honey to visitors 

 was a success. In a great many instances it resulted in an 

 immediate sale from the stock kept on hand in glass jars. 



While dipping the honey and handing it to the prospec- 

 tive customer, the demonstrator talked about the purity of 

 the honey, and also answered any questions that might be 



