December, 191 1. 



American Me Joarnall 



that they had to pass through before 

 they could learn what proved to be best 

 and what was unwise. 



Leaving the American Bee Journal 

 entirely out of the question, we are free 

 to say that the bee-keeping beginner 

 who can not discover many timis the 

 value of the subscription price in the 

 contents of any bee-paper, is certainly 

 lacking in education, to say the least. 

 All three of the bee-papers of this 

 country can he had for the small sum 

 of $2.50 for the whole year. Very often 

 just one item or article in any one of 

 the bee-papers is worth the subscrip- 

 tion for many years to the bee-keeper 

 who is bright enough to " catch on" 

 and put the information into use. 



As to not having time to read the 

 bee-papers, that is simply an excuse, 

 and a very poor one. It would be bet- 

 ter to cut out some other reading, or 

 something else, in order that the bee- 

 keeper who wishes to make a success 

 of his bees will have time to read his 

 bee-papers. We dare say that it would 

 not take over 6 hours to read the best 

 parts of all the bee-papers of this 

 country every month ; dividing that 

 among the days of the month, it would 

 be only about lyi hours per week, or 

 only 15 minutes per day! We should 

 think it would pay, if there were no 

 other way, to sleep 15 minutes less 

 each night rather than go without the 

 helpful information contained in the 

 bee-papers. 



The whole thing simmers down simp- 

 ly to whether the subscriber to any 

 paper really desires to do something 

 worth while with his bees. If he does, 

 he will always find plenty of time to 

 read the bee-papers, for this is really a 

 part of the business ; and, of course, he 

 will want to keep in touch with others 

 in the same line of work, so as to keep 

 up with the times, and learn everything 

 he can in order to be abreast of the 

 rapid progress and development in the 

 production and sale of honey. 



We wish we were able to get all the 

 bee-keepers of this country to see what 

 they are missing by not taking at least 

 one bee-paper, and reading it carefully. 

 There are so many good things that are 

 published nowadays, which would help 

 make the keeping of bees more suc- 

 cessful, that it seems too bad that there 

 are not a hundred times as many bee- 

 keepers as there are today who see the 

 value of reading what is published on 

 bees and bee-keeping. 



Of course, if the bee-keepers zvill not 

 take the time to read the bee-papers, 

 there is no use in subscribing for them. 

 They are published for the benefit of 

 those who desire to succeed with bees. 



It no doubt will be said by some who 

 read this, that we naturally would be 

 prejudiced in favor of the bee-papers, 

 as we publish one ourselves. But we 

 certainly would say exactly what we 

 have said were we not publishers of a 

 bee-paper, for we believe that it is ab- 

 solutely true ; and were we now devot- 

 ing our whole time to the keeping of 

 beeSiZt'*" certainly would want «//the bee- 

 papers that are published on this conti- 

 nent ; for we would want to keep up 

 with the procession, and take advantage 

 of the experiences of others, and not 

 spend our time in going over the same 

 road that others have gone over and 

 perhaps found unsuccessful. We would 



want to make the largest success pos- 

 sible of our bee-keeping, and we know 

 this could not be done without keeping 

 informed in every possible way. We 

 would want to know the latest methods 

 in bee-management, and also in the dis- 

 posal of the honey crop. 



There are many bee-keepers who are 

 getting much more out of their bees 

 through the more profitable sale of 

 their honey, and many of these de- 

 scribe their methods in the bee-papers 

 so that others may be profited thereby. 

 Just think what it would mean if only 

 one cent per pound more could be se- 

 cured for a crop of honey, through 

 reading how some other bee-keeper 

 was able to sell his honey? One cent 

 per pound on a crop of only 1000 

 pounds would be $10, and that would 

 pay for one of the bee-papers for 10 

 years. And that is only one of the 

 ways in which a bee-keeper may profit 

 by reading the bee-papers. 



We would like to invite those of our 

 subscribers who think it worth while 

 to read the bee-papers, and have really 

 been profited thereby, to let us hear in 

 what particular way the bee-papers 

 have helped them. We may not be 

 able to publish all the responses to this 

 invitation, but we would hope to use at 

 least a few of them ; and if we are 

 wrong in what we have written, we 

 will be very glad to be corrected. We 

 believe, however, that there are thou- 

 sands upon thousands of bee-keepers 

 today who could really attribute much 

 of their success to what they have 

 learned in the bee-papers. How about 

 it, you who value your bee-papers ? 



"In Everything Give Thanks."— Not 



long ago an Ohio correspondent began 

 a question by saying : 



Yesterday our preacher spoke from the 

 text. "In Everything Give Thanks." As my 

 bees have not stored any surplus honey this 

 season, and it has been very dry, so tiiat 

 even the farm crops are eoing to be short. I 

 was wondering while listening to the ser- 

 mon, just how bee-keepers in my condition 

 could "give thanks." 



The reading of these lines inspired 

 a Missouri bee-keeper to reply in the 

 following thankful strain: 



Why am I thankful ? Why. for lots of things: 

 For my home and my bees in the Ozark 

 hills: 

 For the woods and the valleys, and beauti- 

 ful springs. 

 For the climate, the breezes, and weather 

 which thrills— 



" In everything give thanks." 



Why should I be thankful ? Because I don't 



live 

 Where drouth and hot weather so often do 



give 

 The bee-keeper and bees so very much pain. 

 As in Ohio, or Iowa. Illinois or Maine; 

 But live just here wherewith mightand with 



main 

 We're working for pleasure as well as for 



gain— 



" In everything give thanks." 



Why do I give thanks? Why, for many a 



reason; 

 The sunshine and rain which make a fine 



season; 

 For fruit-bloom and wild flowers; for the 



hills which they cover. 

 For the good crop of honey, for the valleys 



of clover; 

 For mild winters and springtime; for— oh. 



happiness and health. 

 For all which we need except very much 



wealth — 



" For everything give thanks." 



( With apoloeies.) N. T. Green. 



Honey-Plants of California. — ■ Texas, 

 Nebraska, Massachusetts, Arizona, Ok- 

 lahoma, and North Carolina have lists 

 of their honey-producing flora, and now 

 California makes the seventh State of 

 the kind, having Bulletin No. 217 under 

 the title of " Honey-Plants of Califor- 

 nia; by C. M. Richter." Scattered 

 throughout its 65 pages are 14 illustra- 

 tions, each giving from 1 to 8 different 

 plants. Some of these are excellent, 

 while some are too indistinct to be of 

 value. 



The State is divided into 11 districts: 



1. The Southern Coast Range, in 

 which the black sage is the principal 

 honey-plant. 



2. Imperial Valley, with alfalfa its 

 main honey source. 



3. Plateau Region. 



4. Santa Catalina Island. 



5. Owens Valley, with alfalfa begin- 

 ning the middle of May and lasting 

 well through September. 



t). Foothills of the Sierras. 



7. Central Valley, with alfalfa for its 

 mainstay. 



8. Middle Coast, whose season prop- 

 er does not begin till June, vvith wild 

 alfalfa, bastard sage, and wild buck- 

 wheat. 



9. San Francisco and Bay Counties. 



10. Northern Valley. 



11. Klamath, in which white sweet 

 clover is rapidly spreading. 



A table of 59 honey-plants that yield 

 a surplus in an average season gives 

 their blooming period and the district 

 in which they are found. Some are 

 found in only a single district, and one, 

 willow, is found in 9 districts. The 

 blooming period is from January to 

 November, inclusive. 



Then follows a second group, con- 

 taining plants that occasionally yield a 

 surplus, with a third group of honey- 

 plants not known to yield a surplus. 



A list of plants botanically arranged 

 occupies 44 pages, in which more or 

 less specific information is given about 

 each plant, followed by a full index. 



To any one interested in the honey- 

 plants of California, this bulletin can 

 not fail to be of much interest. 



Bee-Keeping a Trade or Profession ? — 



President Hadley, of Yale University, 

 says in the Youth's Companion: 



Any business, however scientific, which a 

 man does primarily for the sake of the 

 money that he can get out of it is a trade. 

 Any business, however simple in its charac- 

 ter, where a man thinks first of the work 

 that he is doing and only secondarily of the 

 pay that he is going to get for it. deserves 

 the name of a profession. 



According to that view, certainly in 

 a large number of cases bee-keeping 

 should be considered a profession. 



Wonderful Creation — the Honey-Bee. 



— Without saying where he got it, D. 

 M. Macdonald gives in the British Bee 

 Journal a somewhat remarkable quo- 

 tation. In spite of the slip the writer 

 makes when he assumes that "glue 

 for his carpentry " is elaborated from 

 " sweets," one can hardly read it with- 

 out having an increased respect for the 

 little honey-maker and its Creator. 

 Here is the quotation : 



" The bee is itself one of the most wonder- 

 ful proofs of the goodness and power of 

 God. That within so small a body should 



