August, 1911. 



American Vae Jonrnal 



see it. I admit that those tin packages 

 have a few good points, but to compare 

 them with the Mason jar and try to 

 make producers and consumers believe 

 that they are cheaper and better, is all 

 talk. Travel all the country over from 

 North to South, from East to West ; go 

 where you may, you will find those tin 

 packages which Mr. Scholl praises up 



suffer for that endless waste of useless 

 tinware. 



Is it the manufacturer who stands 

 this loss ? No, he gets his pay for every 

 shipment he sends out. Neither does 

 the honey-producer contribute to the 

 welfare of the public ; he simply adds 

 a proportionate amount of his tinware- 

 bill to every package he sells, and he is 



Honev-Wagon of G. C Gkkinek. a.nd His Wkkkly Display in City M.\rket. 



so highly, on all garbage piles, not only 

 by the hundreds and thousands, but by 

 the millions. They are gathered up as 

 soon as they are stripped of their con- 

 tents and carted to some out-of-the-way 

 place as useless rubbish, but not one of 

 those distasteful (?) Mason jars can be 

 seen ! livery one that was sold with 

 honey and emptied is serving a profit- 

 able purpose in some family household, 

 while somebody's pocket-book has to 



very sure to add enough. If the honey 

 is sent to the city market, whether sent 

 on commission orsold to the wholesaler, 

 it is all the same — these middlemen add 

 their profits and expenses to the goods, 

 and the question, Who pays for the 

 packages ? remains still a matter of 

 uncertain solution. But when the 

 honey is finally retailed and passes into 

 the hands of the consumer, the pro- 

 gram is changed; he is made the scape- 



goat for all the rest. Like the lamb 

 before its shearer, he willingly submits 

 to being fleeced out of the price of a 

 worthless tin-dish every time he makes 

 a purchase of this kind. This state of 

 affairs, as it is in general vogue at the 

 present day, is undoubtedly one of the 

 main causes why we hear so much 

 complaint of the high cost of living. 



In another place Mr. Scholl speaks 

 disapprovingly, if I understand his 

 meaning, of Mason jars being returned. 

 This is one more strong point in their 

 favor. It saves the consumer a need- 

 less expense, and secures me another 

 sale of honey. Occasionally consumers 

 make inquiry in regard to this point. 

 Their reason for making the proposi- 

 tion is generally one of the two— they 

 either have no use for the empty jars, 

 or they wish to return them as a matter 

 of economy. I always agree to take 

 them back and allow a certain amount 

 for them on their next honey-purchase. 

 This pleases my customers and does in 

 no way discommode me, and that next 

 honey-purchase vvill in nine cases out 

 of ten materialize in proper time. 



Another feature that makes the 

 Mason jar — and, in fact, any glass con- 

 tainer — more desirable than tin, is 

 their transparency, to say nothing 

 about cleanliness. It gives the would- 

 be purchaser a chance to examine the 

 goods he wishes to buy. Some people 

 do not like to buy the cat in the bag, 

 as the saying goes, which they are 

 compelled to do when buying goods 

 put up in any kind of tinware. 



Since writing the foregoing, I have 

 received the Report of the National 

 Bee-Keepers' Association, which con- 

 vened at Albany, N. Y., last fall. The 

 pleasure and information derived from 

 the perusal of its pages is alone worth 

 more than the membership fee. Every 

 member is entitled to a copy of this 

 Report, and the bee-keeper who is not 

 a member of the Association misses a 

 great deal. 



La Salle, N. Y. 



Convention vS> Proceedings 



The Idaho-Oregon Convention was devoted principally to the program^ 



with I res. Lyon, one of the most ex- 



The Southern Idaho and ICastern 

 Oregon Bee-Keepers' Association held 

 its 10th annual convention Jan. II, lilll, 

 in Caldwell, Idaho. Although that day 

 was cold and wintry, about 60 bee-keep- 

 ers were present from various parts of 

 Idaho and Oregon, where the bee- 

 keeping industry is extensively carried 

 on. Four of those present represented 

 the gentler sex in bee-keeping, who 

 were about as active in the discussions 

 of the convention as the brethren, thus 

 proving the time-honored axiom that 

 talking is one of the cardinal virtues of 

 woman ! 



The convention held two sessions, 

 both of which proved to be "rousing 

 good meetings." The morning session 



tensive bee-keepers of Idaho, in the 

 chair. 



The address of welcome by the Presi- 

 dent of the Caldwell Commercial Club, 

 and the response by Mr. McCIanahan, 

 on behalf of the association, were en- 

 joyed by all. The latter stated that this 

 was the best attended convention the 

 association had ever held. 



Priority Rights Discussed. 



The first number on the program 

 was " Priority Rights." It was ably 

 discussed by J. E. Lyon, F. A. Powers 

 and T. H. Waale. The general opinion 

 was that an alfalfa district of H miles 

 square was sufficient territory for sup- 

 porting 1000 colonies of bees. Some 



held that this number was too large 

 One bee-keeper estimated that 5000 

 acres of cultivated land was capable of 

 maintaining loOO colonies, which was 

 considered by those present as an ex- 

 tremely low estimate. Another mem- 

 ber believed that upon 1000 acres of 

 average alfalfa land, lOO colonies could 

 be profitably kept. But the bee-keep- 

 ers who discussed this important sub- 

 ject recognized, from the first, the diffi- 

 culty of placing a limit upon the terri- 

 tory for bees ; for what applies to one 

 locality does not apply to another. It 

 depends, almost wholly, upon local 

 conditions, and the capacity of the 

 honey-plants to secrete nectar. 



One member was of the opinion that 

 the Boise Valley — one of the largest 

 honey-producing territories of south- 

 ern Idaho — was already overstocked. 

 He stated that from a point 10 miles 

 north of Caldwell east to the Sebree 

 Canal, a distance of some 35 miles, 

 there were between 1700 and 2000 colo- 

 nies of bees. Considering the narrow- 

 ness of the valley, he declared that this 

 number was too large for the territory 

 occupied. 



