Publislied ^Veekly at «il.OO a Vear l»j tieorge W. York & Co., 331 nearbom St. 



Entered at the PoBt-Office at Chicago as Second-Class Mail-Matter. 



QBORae W. YORK, Bdltor. 



CHICAGO, ILL, NOV. 3, 1904. 



Vol, XLIV— No. 44, 



Making Honey Exhibits at Fairs. 



On another page of this issue is a list of the premiums 

 offered, and also their winners, at the Minnesota State 

 Fair, held recently. We understand that it was the largest 

 and best display ever made by the bee-keepers of that State. 

 And it ought to have been a good one. For was not the 

 total amount of cash premiums on apiarian exhibits the 

 largest offered by any Fair in this country ? 



It seems to us that the Minnesota Fair managers have 

 set a good pace, and their example should be held up before 

 those who manage other Fairs, so that they may see what 

 can be done by bee-keepers when they are given proper 

 encouragement. 



We congratulate Minnesota bee-keepers on their suc- 

 cess. We hope ihey will continue to merit such generous 

 treatment on the part of their State Fair officials. And we 

 also trust that the already good-sized premium-list may be 

 increased if possible, as we believe that the apiarian depart- 

 ment of their Fair can be so encouraged that it will be the 

 most attractive of all. 



Choice of Directors of the National. 



" It appears in the report of the Texas Bee-Keepers' 

 convention that a card was received from General Man- 

 ager I ranee, notifying the Association that the term of 

 the Texas Director would expire with the year, and ask- 

 ing them to appoint his successor, and that a successor was 

 then and there elected. Has a new rule been promulgated, 

 making that the proper order of procedure ?" 



So writes E. V. Pagan. There surely is some mistake 

 in the case. No local or State bee-keepers' association has 

 the right to elect any officer of the National, and Mr. France 

 would hardly proceed in so irregular a manner. The elec- 

 tion will take place in the near future by mail, all the mem- 

 bers of the National having the opportunity to participate ; 

 and the successor to the Texas member may or may not be 

 a Texas man ; he will be the man who shall receive the 

 highest number of votes for the place when the vote is 

 counted. 



Cost of Selling Honey on Commission. 



Mr. E. D. Townsend says in the Bee-Keepers' Review : 



" It is estimated, and I have never seen it contradicted, 

 that if comb honey sold through the commission man brings 

 14 cents a pound, the freight, cartage, and commission will 

 bring the net price down to about 10 cents a pound for the 



bee-keeper. Now we have some customers who will give us 

 a cent a pound more than the regular quotations for our 



honey on board the cars here The difference between 



10c and 15c, or 50 percent on the deal, is worth looking 

 after." 



Certainly the 4 cents a pound is well worth looking 

 after, and Mr. Townsend is to be congratulated that he can 

 secure an extra cent because his customers can rely upon 

 the goods. But there may be no harm in inquiring into the 

 correctness of the estimate he gives, even if it may never 

 have been contradicted. Given without qualification it cer- 

 tainly needs contradiction. Of the three items mentioned, 

 cartage and commission are fixed quantities ; freight is a 

 variable quantity. If the distance be sufficiently great, the 

 slice taken off the 14 cents may be a good deal more than 4 

 cents ; if the distance be small may it not be less ? Perhaps 

 it might be well to obtain some definite and reliable infor- 

 mation on the subject. We invite the commission honey- 

 dealers to help us out in this. 



Prices of Honey in England. 



In the British Bee Journal D. M. M. reports that 

 heather honey is scarce, and commands at retail 30 to 40 

 cents a pound. In the advertising columns of the same 

 journal, sections are offered at Vl% cents each by one man, 

 and at 15'2 each by another ; and pound jars of extracted 

 are offered at 12'2 cents each. 



Candied Honey— A Suggestion. 



Our Canadian cousins seem inclined to get names a 

 little mixed. In the Canadian Bee Journal we are told, 

 " Candied honey is made as follows", and then follow in- 

 structions for making what has been known for a long time 

 under the name of " Scholz candy", " Good candy ", and 

 "queen candy ". Candied honey is honey that has granu- 

 lated, and in it there is nothing but honey ; the mixture in 

 question is mostly sugar, and to call it " candied honey ' is 

 to do the very thing against which we so bitterly object on 

 the part of adulterators. Let us be consistent ourselves. 



The Rapid Flight of Bees. 



On another page, Mr. Allen Latham rather critically 

 examines some experiments touching the flight of bees, the 

 results of which have been published recently. 



We have not personally made any tests, but we do not 



