132 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Feb. 28, 1901. 



I Weekly Budget | 



Prop. A. J. Cook writes us that the " bull ■ 

 dog ant'' of Florida, mentioned on page 72, 

 is •■ Campouolus esuriens. Smith," which he 

 learned from Dr. L. O. Howard, entomologist 

 of the Department of Agriculture, Washing- 

 ton. D. r. 



The Officiary of the Ontario Co., N. Y.. 

 Bee-Keepers" Association is as follows; Presi- 

 dent, W. F. JIarks: vice-presidents, H. L. 

 Case, John Page, Chester Olnistead ; secretary, 

 F. Greiner, of Naples: treasurer, L. B. Smith; 

 and honey inspector, E. H. Perry. 



Mrs. Artie Bowen, of Merced Co., Calif., 

 writing us Feb. 13th, said; 



•■ I think this is going to be a good honey- 

 year in California. The bees in this locality 

 have wintered well so far. and our winter is 

 about over. The almonds are coming into 

 bloom, and within two weeks our orchards 

 will be in full bloom." 



Ijy piano, cornet, and two violins. They are 

 good players and singers, as they all belong 

 to the church choir of which Mr. Flower is a 

 member, and they will doubtless make things 

 hum. Mr. Flower expects to have a lot of 

 new .slides to show, and very likely some new 

 jokes and stories to help entertain his 

 audience. Mr. Flower knows how to do it, 

 and will be able to give a good entertainment. 



5lR. W. E. Flower, of Montgomery Co., 

 Pa., is one of the noted bee-cranks around 

 Philadelphia. He it was who gave a short 

 illustrated talk' on bees when the National 

 convention met there in 1899. It was enjoyed 

 by all. We understand that he expects to 

 give another talk on the same subject at 

 Franklin Institute very soon. There will be 

 a male quartette to sing "The Hum of the 

 Bees in the Apple-Tree Bloom," accompanied 



Mr. L. Highbarger, of Ogle Co., 111., 

 writes us that during the meeting of the Na- 

 tional convention in Chicago last August, he 

 suffered a stroke of paralysis so that he had to 

 leave for his home before the close of the 

 meeting. It left his nervous system in bad 

 condition, especially affecting his eyes, so that 

 it is very difficult for him either to read or 

 write. He was 73 years old last New Year's 

 day. All will unite in hoping that he may 

 soon recover. He reports his bees as winter- 

 ing well. 



Rev. a. B. Mettler, of Will Co., 111., 

 whose questions were answered on page 99, 

 writes us that the only birthday he ever had 

 was Feb. 1, 1844, and that all the February 

 Ists since that time have been aHidverxaries .' 

 That's very good, We will forgive him for 

 the joke, seeing he sent his dollar membership 

 fee for the National Bee-Keepers' Association. 



Bishop Wm. A. Bills, of Salt Lake Co., 

 Utah, wrote us Feb. 1.5th that bees were a 

 failure in Salt Lake county last year, tho in 

 previous years he had over 350 pounds of 

 honey per colony. He sent us two clippings 

 about bee-keeping in Uintah Co., Utah, men- 



tioning one firm of bee-keepers who had 160 

 colonies of golden Italian bees that averaged 

 331 y pounds per colony last season. Ashley 

 Valley, in which is located this bee-keepers" 

 paradise, is about 30 miles long by 6 wide. 

 Vernal, the county seat, is a busy little city, 

 and is centrally located in th'is valley. It is a 

 progressive town, with neatly-graded streets, 

 paved sidewalks, and well-equipt business- 

 houses. In the matter of taxes it stands as a 

 model. It has never levied what is known as 

 a town tax. and is absolutely free from debt, 

 with a balance in the treasury. Very likely 

 they are not curst with saloons. 



Bee-keeping seems to be a new industry in 

 Ashley Valley, but it is making astonishing 

 strides, and one that promises to forge still 

 further ahead in this sterile desert section. 

 The honey-source is principally alfalfa, and 

 the grade produced is of the best. Aside from 

 the local consumption, 340,000 pounds were 

 shipt last season, netting the producers 5 

 cents per pound. The success which has fol- 

 lowed the efforts of liee-keepers in that part 

 of the State is encouraging them to equip 

 their apiaries with the latest appliances, 

 which shows an intelligent grasp of the busi- 

 ness. It is a little less than marvelous that so 

 much real sweetness should be found in what 

 was once such a desert-like and forbidding re- 

 gion. ■ 



Mr. G. Gletsteex, of Sioux Co.. Iowa, 

 wrote us as follows Feb. 14th ; 



"The. American Bee Journal is a welcome 

 visitor each week. I could not get along 

 without it. By the way, the wood binder is 

 just the thing. Every subscriber should have 

 one so he can file away the journals each 

 week, and always have them all together, ready 

 for any reference he might want." 



I Convention Proceedings. | 



Report of the Proceeding-s of the 31st Annual 



Convention of the National Bee-Keepers' 



Association, held at Chicago, 111., 



Aug". 28, 29 and 30, 1900. 



BY DR. A. B. MASON, SEC. 



(Continued from page 122.) 

 Pres. Root— 'We will now listen to Mr. R. C. Aikin, on 

 the subject of 



CO-OPERATIVE ORGANIZATION AMONG BEE= 



KEEPERS. 

 To organize is proper, right, and just. Like all else, 

 organized combinations may be powerful for good or evil, 

 according to the inclinations and desires of the organized. 

 Condemn not organization, only its improper use. 



Never in the history of the world have there been times 

 of so great organizatio'n as at the present. Unions, associ- 

 ations, syndicates, trusts, etc.. exist on every side. \\ ere it 

 not for ort^anized business and social affairs, we never 

 would have reacht the heights of luxury, wealth, and 

 power, now enjoyed bv the present age. Even the anarch- 

 ist organizes to break down governmental order. We or- 

 ganize for mutual help in all lines of business, industries, 

 education, religion, and government. 



But for what shall the beekeepers combine ? This, our 

 national association, is largely social and scientific, with a 

 little business mixt in now and then, and a mutual protec- 

 tion against unjust financial and moral enemies. So far 

 this is good, but it does not cover, by a long way, the ground 



it should to help the people where they need it most, in 

 properly distributing our product. 



These are days of specialism as well as organization 

 and co-operation. More and more do we become dependent 

 upon one another in all our affairs, as we grow in organized 

 work. How long would our government, the postal system, 

 railroads, churches, schools, and the very many great or- 

 ganizations, stand, if*it were not for the cooperation fea- 

 tures of those concerned? It is plain common-sense that 

 in these days when specialism is everywhere prevalent, in 

 almost everything, that those who produce our food — wheat, 

 corn, potatoes, butter, eggs, meat, fruits, etc. — there should 

 be co-opera/ion. 



But what is the great need of the bee-keeper to-day — in 

 what particular direction should he co-operate to obtain 

 best results ? Is it on the social side ? Surely not. 'We 

 have social facilities in our organizations here and there, 

 and in our class journals. The crying need of to-day is 

 business co-operation. 



Producers bring their wheat and other grain to the ele- 

 vator ; cattle, hogs and sheep to the stock-yards; and fruits 

 to the fruit depot. In every producing locality, the products 

 of that territory find buyers and places to deliver and store 

 the products — facilities for handling. Just take one good 

 look at the facilities everywhere establisht for the accommo- 

 dation of the principal products, note that if 1 produce ten 

 bushels of wheat and my neighbor his hundreds or thous- 

 ands, there is one common price and I can take my ten 

 bushels and sell it and have mj- check just as quickly and 

 surely as the large producer on hundreds. 



Now turn your gaze upon our apicultural products — can 

 you go to town, any and every town, and any day, and there 

 sell your products ? You may sell a few pounds or cases to 

 your local dealer, just what he needs for immediate retail. 

 Should you produce more than the half dozen cases or so 

 your grocer wants, and wanf'to get cash out of it, what will 

 you do ? Well, ship it to some city market such as Denver, 

 iCansas City, Omaha, Chicago, or other practical market ; 

 I "consign " it to somebody you do not know, take all the 

 I chances yourself, get your money when you can in the 



