April. 1913. 



American ?ee Journal 



ground ginger, and a lieaping table- 

 spoonful of ground cinnamon. Add 

 flour enough to make a dough stiff 

 enough to handle easily on the board, 

 roll out part into buttered tins and 

 bake in a moderately hot oven until 

 nicely browned. 



Honey Ginger Snaps. — One cup of 

 butter, one cup of sugar, one cup of 

 honey, one cup of water, one heaping 

 tablespoonful of ground cinnamon, one 

 scant teaspoonful of baking soda. 



Sift soda into 1'^ pints of flour, 

 cream the cup of butter with the sugar, 

 add other ingredients and more flour 

 to make a dough that can te rolled 

 out. Cut into desired shape and bake 

 in a moderate oven. 



Sea Foam Candy. — Two-thirds cup 

 of honey, three cups granulated sugar, 

 whites of two eggs, one-half cup boil- 

 ing water, one teaspoonful of vanilla, 

 one cup of nut meats. 



Boil honey, sugar and water until if 

 tested in cold water it is brittle. Pour 

 this in a thin stream over the whites o^ 



two well beaten eggs, beating the whole 

 all the time until like a thick cream, 

 then stir in briskly the nut meats and 

 vanilla, and pour out into a buttered 

 dish. After it has hardened cut into 

 squares. 



Spring Meetings of the Colorado Slate 

 Bee-Keepers' Association 



The Western Slope in Colorado is 

 so remote from Denver, wliere our 

 conventions are held annually, that few 

 of our members there can get to them. 

 A spring meeting of bee-keepers, held 

 under the auspices of the Colorado 

 State Bee-Keepers' Association, is be- 

 ing arranged for the Western Slope, 

 probably at Delta, and one may be held 

 at Grand Junction. The meeting will 

 be held in April. Particulars may be 

 had from the secretary, Wesley Foster, 

 of Boulder. Notices will be printed in 

 the local papers. These are aimed to 

 be bee-keeping institutes for discus- 

 sion and questions. 



Southern 



Beedom^ 



Conducted by Louis H. ScnOLi.. New Braunfels. Tex. 



Prospects lor an Early Season 



The winter here lias been unusually 

 fair, with very little severe cold weather 

 as compared with former years. The 

 cold weather was of short duration, 

 but much rainy weatlier prevailed, 

 This tends to bring an early spring, 

 and early honey-flows. The catclaw, 

 " guajilla," and mesquite, all early 

 honey producers, are all three bene- 

 fited by fall and winter rains. There- 

 fore, the prospects for a crop from 

 these sources are very bright. 



A peculiar circumstance is that, al- 

 though the winter has been warm, the 

 mesquite trees, etc., have not shown 

 any signs of coming out of their win- 

 ter dormancy. The buds have not be- 

 gun to swell, while many trees are in 

 foliage by the beginning of March. I 

 have noted this dormant condition of 

 the mesquite trees in previous years. 

 When the buds do begin to swell they 

 develop with such rapidity that the en- 

 tire mesquite trees are soon covered 

 with a profusion of luxuriant nectar- 

 yielding bloom, with hardly time to 

 get bees in shape for this early flow. I 

 anticipate such a condition this year 

 unless late frosts should interfere. 

 This is hardly to be e.xpected. The 

 prospects are good, and following the 

 short crop of last season, the bee- 

 keepers feel very much encouraged. 



dustry of that country, we shall be en- 

 abled to procure some reliable notes of 

 existing conditions, which we e.xpect 

 to give. 



There is no doubt but that much nec- 

 tar is going to waste in many Mexican 

 localities, which might be profitably 

 secured by progressive and adventur- 

 ous bee-keepers. Whether it can be 

 made to pay is what must be investi- 

 gated. For this reason it is highly im- 

 portant that the market situation be 

 looked into properly, both as to de- 

 mand that might be worked up for the 

 product obtained, as well as the price 

 and distance to market and cost of 

 transportation. 



It is apparent, from the several in- 

 quiries received, that much interest 

 would be given to the matter of Me.xico 

 bee-keeping if conditions there were 

 not so unsettled. It will be only a 

 question of time when every thing will 

 be quiet again in that country, and 

 this will very likely be followed by 

 some progress in Mexico's bee-keep- 

 ing conditions also. 



We would be grateful to all who can 

 give us any information on bee-keep- 

 ing in Mexico, to kindly write us. 

 Direct to New Braunfels, Tex. 



Bee-Keeping in Mexico 



There has been enquiry about bee- 

 keeping in Mexico, and it has been our 

 purpose to collect such data as might 

 be of interest. On account of the pres- 

 ent disturbances in that country, how- 

 ever, we have not undertaken this 

 work. But through the acquaintance 

 of several friends in Mexico, some of 

 whom have studied the bee-keeping in- 



Net or Gross Weight of Honey Packages 



The question of proper weight of 

 standard honey packages is becoming 

 more serious each year. It is time the 

 bee-keepers "get together " and come 

 to a final agreement regarding this 

 very important matter. The demand 

 for packages holding full net weight of 

 honey to the can or pail is increasing. 

 The largest buyers of honey are care- 

 ful to put into their enquiries regard- 

 ing prices, a proviso of full net-weight 

 packages, and require a guarantee of 

 this from producers. 



We have experienced some trouble 

 with a few buyers who did not under- 

 stand that a certain size package on 

 the market could not be filled with the 

 desired amount of honey because that 

 package was not large enough to hold 

 it. The only way is to procure pack- 

 ages that will hold the proper amount. 

 The pure food laws require it, and 

 this would not only protect the con- 

 sumers, but also the bee-keepers who 

 are aiming to give full value for the 

 money. Many bee-keepers sell what is 

 known as s/iorl gallon, half gallon and 

 quart cans of honey. There would be 

 nothing wrong with this if it was made 

 known that these packages were 

 actually short in weight. But when 

 the individual containers are not labeled 

 the discovery is not easily made. But 

 it is not fair to those producers who 

 put out the same kind of packages 

 holding full net weight, 12 pounds to 

 the gallon, ti pounds to the half gallon, 

 and 8 pounds to the quart can. 



Especially is the difference notice- 

 able in the crop of an extensive honey 

 producer. For instance, if one bee- 

 keeper markets a crop of 50,000 pounds 

 of honey in the size of packages men- 

 tioned, and he gives full weight, it 

 means a loss of several hundred dollars 

 to the honest packer, as against the 

 man who gives short weight. Both 

 producers and buyers are familiar with 

 the standard size packages of honey, 

 universally put on the market. There 

 are the two 60-pound square cans to a 

 case, ten 12-pound round pails to a 

 case, and ten 6-pound, and twenty 3- 

 pound to a case. The producer quotes 

 his honey at so much per pound for 

 each according to style of package, 

 viz. ; so much per pound for two 60- 

 pound cans to a case, so much for ten 

 12-pound pails to a case, and so on. 

 He makes out his invoices, bills, etc., 

 for 120 pounds of honey in each case, 

 and 60 pounds for the ten 6-pound and 

 twenty 3-pound cans. On his cases 

 he may also have the same indicative 

 figures, showing either two 60-pound, 

 ten 12-pound, ten 6-pound, or twenty 3- 

 pound cans of honey to the case. 



Since the buyers make their orders 

 in the same manner, or so many cases 

 of two GO-pound cans, ten 12-pound 

 pails, or 6-pound, etc., at so much per 

 pound, it would indicate that both pro- 

 ducer and consumer allude to actual 

 contents of honey in each case. It 

 would be only natural to suppose the 

 two 60-pound cans of honey to a case 

 would mean 120 pounds of actual honey, 

 especially since the buyer is charged 

 for 120 pounds at so much per pound. 

 Nothing is said about the weight of the 

 cans or about a charge for the con- 

 tainers, or the short weight of honey, 

 should full weight packages not be 

 used. 



We bring this matter up, first, to aim 

 at an adoption of proper sizes of 

 honey packages for all alike; second, 

 to make it fairer for every bee-keeper, 

 so one need not lose or be compelled 

 to compete with others who make use 

 of short-weight packages, when the 

 former furnishes full weight, or de- 

 sires to do so for honesty's sake; and, 

 third, that no trouble may arise with 

 reference to complying with the pure 

 food laws. 



