December, 1911. 



American Bgg Jonrnall 



several months later when the rush 

 may be so great that he can not even 

 get what he wants at the highest price. 

 Then there are the long winter 

 months in which to prepare, at a very 

 much smaller cost of time and labor 

 than when other things need our atten- 

 tion later. Our time and labor at this 

 time is very much more valuable than 

 we may suppose. Some may not have 

 much to do at this time even after be- 

 ing idle during the entire winter, and 

 argue that the work might just as well 

 be done now. But there must be some- 



thing wrong with the man who finds 

 something more to do than he now has 

 later on when he could profitably at- 

 tend to something else worth more 

 than putting up supplies, etc. This 

 time should be given to the attention 

 of more bees, or something else, and 

 then there would be little idleness ex- 

 cept such times when actual rest and 

 recreation may be desired or are needed. 

 My plans have always begun in the 

 fall of the previous year, so that I am 

 already busy with what I shall do dur- 

 ing the year 1912. 



Bee-Keeping 



In Dixie^ 



Conducted by J. J. Wilder. Cordele. Ga. 



In Memory of R. W. Herlong 



R. W. Herlong, of Fort White, Fla., 

 whose death was announced last month, 

 was born in Saluda Co., S. C, near the 

 city of Saluda, March "2, 1868. He grew 

 up there to manhood, obtaining only a 

 common school education, such as 

 was prevalent in that day and time, and 

 he was loved by all who knew him. As 

 a boy he was looked upon by all as ex- 

 ceptional, on account of his great 

 piety and fidelity, and the same good 

 reputation followed him up to and 

 through young manhood. 



May 20, 1888, he married Miss Loula 

 Minich, who had lived only .3 miles 

 from him. They had known each other 

 from childhood, and attended the same 

 school. Soon after their marriage they 

 moved to Columbia Co., Fla., and 

 bought a piece of land and engaged in 

 farming, which he followed up to about 

 12 years ago, when he became greatly 

 interested in bee-culture, and rapidly 

 drifted into it as a sole business. He 

 started with only 3 colonies in box- 

 hives, which he transferred into mod- 

 ern hives, and they cast 6 swarms, and 

 at the end of the first season he had 

 colonies of bees, which harvested sev- 

 eral hundred pounds of honey. 



The next season he made still greater 

 progress in honey-production and bees, 

 and so on until, the first thing we 

 knew, Mr. Herlong was producing 30,- 

 000 and 40,000 pounds of comb honey 

 in sections each season, and ere long 

 his colonies numbered nearly lOOO. 

 His great progress startled me, and 

 after buying nearly $3000 worth of 

 honey from him in a season, I paid him 

 a visit, and after I saw him and his ex- 

 tensive bee-business, and how he man- 

 aged it, it was no puzzle to me, but a 

 wonder. 



He had t other hustling men just as 

 deeply interested in bees as he was, 

 working bees on shares for him, and 

 he worked them thus up to his death. 



Perhaps no one has ever stepped up 

 into our ranks that made the record 

 Mr. Herlong did. His faith in the bee- 

 business never wavered, nor did his en- 

 thusiasm grow less. Truly, Mr. Her- 

 long was our greatest model as a bee- 

 keeper, and his place in our ranks will 

 perhaps be vacant for many long years 

 before another can fill it. We can 



scarcely cease mourning our loss in 

 his death. 



While Mr. Herlong never wrote on 

 bee-culture for our bee-papers, he was 

 well known througout all beedom in 

 the United States, and not only a great 

 number of Southern bee-keepers have 

 visited him, but even many from the 

 North have done so, and all will be 

 grieved to Jearn of his death. During 

 his bee-keeping career, he greatly im- 

 proved his farm and built a beautiful 

 country home. Later he bought a nice 

 home at Fort White, and moved his 

 family there, where his children could 

 obtain better school advantages, and 

 where he lived until his death, which 

 occurred the night of Oct. 11, 1911. He 

 was taken with a congestive chill, and 

 lived only .5 days, and was dying before 

 his family and friends knew he was 

 dangerously ill. He leaves a wife and 

 6 children — .5 girls and 1 boy — and a 

 great host of friends to mourn his de- 

 parture. And I am sure the bee-keep- 

 ers deeply sympathize with the family 

 in their great bereavement. 



He joined the Methodist church in 

 his youth, and was a consistent and ac- 

 tive member up to his death. 



Chunk Honey More Satisfactory 



Mr. Wilder:— I wish I liad you bee-keep- 

 ers in a cave somewhere where I could lec- 

 ture you on chunk-honey production, and 

 modern ways of handling and packing it. to 

 my satisfaction. We can not work up a 

 great trade for extracted honey, and comb 

 honey in sections breaks up too easily, and 

 it ferments and begins weeping, and the sur- 

 face of the comb is soon soiled, and a lot of 

 dissatisfaction arises from producer to con- 

 sumer. G. E. Leavitt. 



Tennessee. 



The above comes from one of our 

 largest honey-dealers, and, no doubt, if 

 he had a lot of us bee-keepers in a cave 

 he would convert more of us to the 

 production of chunk honey and better 

 ways of preparing it for market. 



As I have often stated, chunk honey 

 takes the place of comb and extracted 

 honey wherever honey is used. When 

 a jar or can of chunk honey is emptied 

 into a dish or vessel from which it is 

 to be served, there is comb honey for 

 those who prefer it, as wholesome as it 

 can be, and such is not the case with 

 comb honey in sectfons, for insects be- 

 gin preying on it from the time it leaves 



the hives until it is consumed, and 

 more or less foreign matter has caught 

 on the surface of the comb. Then there 

 is e.xtracted honey kept nice and fresh 

 around the comb for those who prefer 

 extracted honey. This combination is 

 not only far better for the trade or 

 consumer, but it is more advantageous 

 for the producer than either of the 

 other two ways of producing honey. 



Then when we take the prices ob- 

 tained under consideration, it seems 

 enough to convince any bee-keeper 

 that this is by far the best way to pro- 

 duce honey. But, of course, where 

 apiaries are already otherwise equipped 

 and no more bees desired, it would not 

 be advisable to make the change unless 

 it could be done at a small expense. 



The above is given for the beginners 

 mostly, or those who are contemplating 

 adding "more bees." 



Just Playing at Bee-Keeping 



As I was passing through the park 

 the other day, I saw a group of chil- 

 dren, and they were very attentive and 

 obedient to two of their number, one 

 of which was a boy dressed in gentle- 

 men's clothes, and the other a girl 

 dressed in old ladies' clothes. The boy 

 had an old gentleman's hat. and the 

 girl an old lady's bonnet, and the chil- 

 dren were calling them grandmama 

 and grandpapa. After I passed on I 

 said to myself that the two children did 

 indeed resemble grandparents very 

 closely in appearance, but they were 

 only " playing at it." Then I said, so 

 much like the majority of us bee-keep- 

 ers. We are only playing at bee-keep- 

 ing. When it comes to reality these 

 two children represent the larger class 

 of Dixie bee-keepers. 



Off to the "Land of Flowers" 



At this date (Nov. 15) wife and I are 

 leaving for Bradentown, Fla., where 

 we have bought a small corner of an 

 orange-grove on which we expect to 

 erect a winter home at once, and spend 

 the winters there, where the climate is 

 so near ideal, and other things so 

 favorable. 



We expect to have some additional 

 room for the bee-keepers who may de- 

 sire to come down and stay awhile 

 with us during the winter, and would 

 not desire to pay hotel bills, etc. No 

 rents will be required except leaving 

 whatever the room furnishing may be 

 in our possession until they return, and 

 should they not return, the furnishing 

 would be ours for other bee-keepers or 

 visitors to use. We will furnish only 

 the bare rooms, and expect the visitors 

 to purchase the furnishings, etc. I 

 don't do this because I am so generous, 

 for I have room here dedicated to the 

 same purpose, and a great number of 

 bee-keepers have visited us from time 

 to time, and we are no worse off in 

 dimes and dollars. 



Bradentown is on the south side of 

 the inlet of Tampa Bay and the Mana- 

 tee River and the great Gulf of Mexico. 

 It is one of the most beautiful towns 

 in Florida, and noted for its tropical 

 fruits and vegetables. 



My step-brother, who was afflicted 

 with an incurable disease, lived near 



