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(Entered as second-class matter July 30, 1907, at the Post-Otfice at Chicai^o, 111., under Act ot March i, ls79.) 

 Published Monthly at 75 cents a Year, by George W. York & Co., 118 West Jackson Boulevard. 



GEORGE W. YORK, Editor 



CHICAGO, ILL,, SEPTEMBER, 1908 



VoL XLVni— No. 9 



American Bee Journal 

 Now 75c a Year. 



On September i, 1907, we placed the 

 subscription price of the American Bee 

 Journal at 50 cents a year. It was an 

 experiment for us. We have given it a 

 year's trial and are convinced that the 

 kind of a journal that we are getting 

 up each month can not be profitably 

 maintained at so low a price as 50 cents. 

 Besides, it is worth more than that if 

 it is worth anything at all. No bee- 

 paper has ever been successful at 50 

 cents a year. vVe have been giving 

 every month more valuable bee-litera- 

 ture, we believe, than was ever given 

 by any other monthly apiarian publica- 

 tion at even one dollar a year. 



Bee - keepers are not cheap folks. They 

 believe in the "live and let live" princi- 

 ple. There has been a fair crop of 

 honey in most localities this year, and 

 it will sell at a fair price if properly 

 marketed. The cost of everything that 

 goes into the making of the American 

 Bee Journal is now higher than for 

 years, and its 32 pages each month fair- 

 ly teem with helpful, interesting in- 

 formation — so they tell us who ought 

 to know. It costs a good deal to se- 

 cure it and put it up in such attractive 

 shape. The price should be one dollar 

 a year, but beginning with September 

 r, 1908, we put it at 75 cents a year 

 (3 years for $2.00, or 5 years for $3.00) 

 in the United States and its possessions, 

 also Mexico and Cuba (except in Chi- 

 cago, where the postoffice department 

 compels us to add 2 cents per copy for 

 postage, making it $1.00 per year). To 

 Canada it will be 85 cents a year; to 

 other foreign countries, such as Eng- 

 land, Australia, etc., it will be $1.00 a 

 year. To South Africa and other coun- 

 tries not in the Universal Postal Un- 

 ion, it will be $1.25 a year. 



We believe that every one of our 

 readers who appreciates a good bee- 

 paper, will commend us for making the 

 change from 50 cents to 75 cents — 

 which on individual subscriptions is only 

 "a quarter" a year more, or about 2 

 cents a month more — that's all. 



We wish to thank all our readers for 

 the interest they arc taking in the 

 American Bee Journal, and especially 



for securing new subscriptions. On an- 

 other page we make some liberal offers 

 for the vv'ork of getting new readers. 

 We hope it will be kept up, and that we 

 may have a large increase in our sub- 

 scription list. 



And now, wishing all our readers suc- 

 cess in their undertakings, we are, 



Faithfully yours, 

 GEORGE W. YORK & CO. 

 Chicago, 111., Sept. i, 1908. 



itorial ^ofes 

 and Comments 



National Convention Next Month 



Only about a month away is the Nat- 

 ional Bee-Keepers' Convention at De- 

 troit. 



Are you going to be there? 



October 13, 14 and 15 are the dates. 



The Wayne Hotel and Pavilion is 

 where the meeting is to be held. 



The Secretary is planning a great 

 program. 



Better arrange your work so as to be 

 in Detroit on the dates given above. 



You will miss a whole lot if you are 

 not there. 



Successful Uncapping Machine 



We have at various times read of ma- 

 chines for uncapping honey for extract- 

 ing, and also have seen illustrations of 

 them, but so far as we know none of 

 them have ever proven to be a marked 

 success. 



One Saturday afternoon last month 

 we were invited to visit a bee-keeper 

 some 25 miles from Chicago to see his 

 uncapping machine at work. 



It is a very simple machine, and does 

 the work. Mr. Bee-Keeper uncapped at 

 the rate of one Langstroth size extract- 

 ing frame — both sides of the comb — in 

 just ID seconds. The necessary move- 

 ments were to lift the beeless comb 

 from the full super just from the hive, 

 put it through the uncapping machine, 

 and then set it in an empty super, ready 

 to be put into the extractor. 



Of course, it is necessary that the 



combs be very well built out and evenly 

 sealed, for if uneven it is necessary to 

 use an uncapping knife to uncap the low 

 places where the short cells may still be 

 capped after passing through the un- 

 capping machine. Perhaps by using 7 

 combs in an 8-frame extracting super, or 

 9 in a lo-frame super, the combs would 

 be sufficiently thick to insure every cell 

 being uncapped by the machine. 



In its present form it is necessary to 

 use a certain style of frame, but we 

 are very certain the machine could be 

 made adjustable to any size or shape of 

 frame. If so, it is going to be a great 

 thing for the extracted-honey producer. 

 And its cost will not be prohibitive either 

 — probably not much if any over $20. 



We are not at liberty to say more 

 now, as likely a patent will be applied 

 for, its manufacture arranged, and then 

 placed on the market. It is so very 

 simple, and yet does the business per- 

 fectly. We hope to be able to illus- 

 trate it in these columns long before 

 another extracting season rolls around. 



Yes, sir, we believe the successful 

 honey-uncapping machine is very near at 

 hand. And when it arrives, there will 

 be another advance step in the produc- 

 tion of honey. 



Honey Advertising 



It is almost surprising how few honey- 

 producers there are who advertise their 

 honey for sale. And it is equally sur- 



