THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



375 



to sneer at surgical operations for ap- 

 pendicitis or cancer. 



Now, I have always lived a temperate 

 life. Indulged in no late hours, dissipa- 

 tion nor excesses. Been careful of my 

 diet and not over worked. Just why 

 my stomach should fail to furnish the 

 needed acid to digest my food, 1 don't 

 know: but I do know that this acid can 

 be supplied artificially, and will answer 

 the purpose of the natural secretion. 

 Why not use it? 



By the way, one correspondent sug- 

 gests that 1 ought to explain that the 40 

 drops of hydrochloric acid used were 

 hydrochloric acid dilute— a, ten per cent. 

 solution. This is true, but it is so well 

 understood by physicians and druggists 

 that I did not think it necessary to 

 mention it. I might add that tartaric 

 acid can be similarly used. 



Even Monopoly Cannot Force Sales at 

 High Prices. 



In a late daily paper I saw the state- 

 ment that the production of crude 

 petroleum was increasing far ahead of 

 the consumption of the refined product, 

 kerosene; and the Standard Oil company 

 had discovered that, while it is always 

 possible for a monopoly to maintain high 

 prices, it is never possible to compel 

 people to patronize it. It is said to be 

 the intention of the trust to inaugurate a 

 campaign for the purpose of increasing 

 the consumption of oil; and this cam- 

 paign is to consist, in part, of a general 

 reduction in prices. 



There has been m.uch talk of the fine 

 things that might be done if bee keepers 

 were only sufficiently organized to enable 

 them to control the price of honey; and 

 there is no question but what much 

 honey is sold at too low a price, but it is 

 equally true that a monopoly might de- 

 feat its own ends by putting prices too 

 high. It seems that even the Standard 

 Oil company, the greatest monopoly on 

 earth, is powerless to sell goods when 

 the prices are exhorbitant. The Review 

 is striving to help bee keepers in the 



successful and profitable marketing of 

 their honey, but it doubts if that good 

 is to be gained by raising the retail price 

 to the consumer to any great extent. 



Overstocking Sometimes Imaginary. 



The drouth last May and June dried 

 up the wild raspberries to such an ex- 

 tent that no surplus was secured from 

 this source. We then saw that our only 

 hope was in the willow herb, which made 

 a splendid growth near two of our 

 apiaries after the drouth was broken. 

 There was one apiary of 100 colonies 

 near which were only small scattering 

 patches of the willow herb, and we 

 planned to move this apiary to some 

 locality where it was more abundant. 

 The weather in July became intensely 

 hot; the sandy roads dried out until 

 even an empty wagon was a load; 

 I was sick and unable to help; and, very 

 reluctantly, the moving of the apiary 

 was abandoned. 



The surprise of our life time is that 

 the bees in this yard stored almost as 

 much per colony as those in any of our 

 apiaries where the pasturage was so 

 much more abundant. 



I am becoming convinced that when 

 some of our well-known sources of honey 

 yield honey abundantly, it is practically 

 impossible to overstock a locality well 

 supplied with the honey yielding plants. 1 

 think the nectaries, at times, pour out nec- 

 tar as a spring pours out water. Suppose 

 that they are emptied one hour, they may 

 be full again the next. 



We are planning to reduce the number 

 of our apiaries. We shall drop one, 

 at least; possibly two, and increase the 

 number of colonies in the others; running 

 the number up to perhaps 200 colonies 

 in one yard. With that number of colo- 

 nies in a place, we can afford to keep 

 some one there all of the time during the 

 swarming season, if necessary. 



A New Edition of Advanced Bee Culture. 



During the last four or five years I 

 have been having quite a bit of experience 



