189(i GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 49 



know" auy thing about prices in California, bees. No one has ever seen bees act in so 



I will, in pity for you, revise the "doctor's generous a manner, and no one will believe 



bill." what his own eyes refute every day. The fact 



1 g-ood bee-paper - - - - $100 is, they will " fight to the finish," even if there 



1 text book, ------ 135 j^j,g a^ hundred colonies within reach of that 



1 Clark smoker, ----- eo piece of comb. How does he linowthis? By 



10 colonies of bees, which you can buy the size and shape of the bees! Hear him ! 



in old rickety hives for 50 cts., - 5 00 itn .. • ..u i- .. i, ..i. u 



10 movable-frame hives in flat, - 10 00 "Returning on the line to where the bees 



30supersinflat. and separators, - 3 50 were first worked in the woods (and a filled 

 3000 sections, - - - - . 10 50 u u j u i r^ .. i *i. i- i ■ 



30 lbs. surplus foundation, - - 15 00 comb had been left to keep the line working in 



: case the bees failed to come to the comb further 



.r. , . , o a , $ o . J made an examination of the bees, and 



By the time you make up your hives and , , ^u ^^ e ■ j u u- v. 



.\ ^, r, .,, . X ^ found them all of one size and shape, which 



paint them your outfit will cost you about ?.50. u u i i ^ t u i 



iL , ■' ,,.;, , ^ ,.,. . everyone who has knowledge of bees knows 



Buy the common hybrid bee of California. ,, , .^ tu u i ^ * i-u i 



_, ■ . ^ , ,, r , , . that It proves they belonged to the same col- 



They can beat the world of bees gathering ,, 



honey. If there is any thing within t^n miles ou j * r» • v, t » ^u a t\ ■ i 



- ^. ,, .,, , .^ J. . ,, , ^ Shades of Quinby, Langstroth, and Darwin! 



of them they wil have It or die in the attempt, t^., .. -j c i u 



_,,, ^•'^, jr.,, * Did any one, outside of an asylum, ever hear 



Talk of your three and five banders; of your ^, ,., c ..u ,..-> -nt t -u * -if- ^ 



, ,, , , T ,. „ . , , . the like of that? Now, I will furnish friend 



leather-colored Italians; of your bees for busi- ..•,.. • i <- i , ^ 



„ , ,, , • . , ., Andre with a microscope, spy-glass, telescope, 



ness. Nearly all are only names to catch the , ^ . , ■, on f + <.„ „ i; „ .,„a 



. , , V ...,., i. hatchet, square, and an 80 foot tape-line, and 



fancy of the unwary. Look at the piles of , , . , . . . », „ • 



^ . , , , J T ,. ., , turn him loose in any apiary where there is 



monev made on leather-colored Italians by , , , a a r uj^ f^ a.u^„r 



^, , , , , ^ •' only one race of bees, and defy him to show 



a notod bee-keeper whose star has gone down ^, . ..,, ■,.„ ,• „;^„ 



s, ^ c J .. . J , ;. ,, there is any perceptible difference in size or 



in a flood of adulterated honey, and it was all . * ..u * n i k^^o 



, , . , , r,,, , • shape of the full-grown worker bees. 



a humbug in the end. They were no better 



than other bees. Don't be caught with flaring marketing California hoatfy: practicat, 



advertisements, "bees for business," and "tons and iMPRArricAL schemes. 



of honey." and other catch-penny terms. If W. D. French, of Foster, Cal.. has given us 



you do you will come to grief. You can find, in some wild suggestions, on page 728, American 



the hills and woods of California, bees that can Bee Joxirnal, in regard to marketing our honey. 



challenge the world as honey-gatherers. No It is true that the dealers combine and seta 



man has bred any trait into them or out of price to be paid for each kind and class of hon- 



them. They stand to-day— a cross of Italians ey. It is likewise true that this price declines 



and blacks — just as vigorous, industrious, daily until it gets down to the shadow of little 



healthy, and well marked, showing their Ital- or nothing. If we ship to San Francisco, say 



ian parentage, as they did .30 years ago. Sec- extracted, the merchants may sell at 6 cents, 



tions here will cost you at least $3.50 per 1000 and, after weeks of waiting, report at 4, or 



instead of ?3.66 as Dr. M. puts them. I told down as low as 3>^ cents. Then there is freight, 



you /(e didn't know any thing. wharfage, drayage, and commission, which 



BEES NOT "generous" ROBBERS. generally amouut to about 1 cent per pound. 



All the great lights in bee-keeping are away Take off the cost of cases and cans, and the 



behind the age. Skylark, Quinby, Langstroth, producer gets 1% cents net for his honey. But, 



Roots, Newman, Doolittle, Dadants, and a host listen hard to Mr. French's scheme: 

 of others — even Dr. Miller, who always "don't " Now, how are we to solve this problem by 



know." are in the darkest shades of night, securing to the producing class an adequate 



The moment the little ducklings are out of the amount for their product? It has occurred to 



shell they begin to quack, quack, quack, and me that the National Bee-keepers' Union could 



order their mother around as if she were the step in and show its hand. To illustrate: 

 servant-girl. The moment the tenderfoot in "Suppose that in each locality a number of 



bee-keeping gets two colonics, or captures one the Union members were stationed to receive 



in the woods, he must quack, quack, quack, all honey at a price established by said Union, 



and teach the "old stagers " some new trait or and paid for when sold, except in cases where 



trick of the bees which they never heard of people must have ready cash, and where it 



before. became necessary in such cases, the same to be 



Mr. J. H. Andre, on page (597, Ameriam Bee paid from the funds of the Union." 

 Journal, makes the astounding assertion that. Does Mr. French believe that the Bee keep- 

 where bees from two dift'erent colonies are rob- ers' Union is either able or willing to enter into 

 bing the same piece of comb, say it is thrown such a commercial enterprise? It would have 

 out to them, one party will retire, and leave the to establish depots or warehouses at San Diego, 

 other in possession of the prize. This is so new Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Louis Obispo, 

 that it is really startling, and calculated to Monterey, and San Francisco. It would take 

 alarm the whole fraternity, from the fact a capital of half a million dollars to keep money 

 that it indicates a total change in the nature of at all these places to pay those who must have 



