1896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



681 



both got over it nicely. The mare shows to- 

 day not the least fear of bees, and never flinch- 

 es, no matter how thick they fly around her. 



If I had not been about, I believe that an 

 item would have gone the rounds in the papers 

 of a valuable mare and her colt being killed by 

 bees near Morristown, Ind. 



Cincinnati, O. Chas. F. Muth. 



SEVEN-TO FOOT SECTIONS, ETC. 



My bees are doin^ finely. Honey here is 8 

 cts. per lb. in comb. I shall lose 300 lbs. of 

 honey by not having the money in time to send 

 for sections. I use nothing but 7-to-foot sec- 

 tions. They do not bulge their combs, and I 

 get from 25 to :.'6 lbs. in 28 sections. I should 

 think more would use them. A. A. Joles. 



Big Rapids, Mich., Aug. 31. 



A WARNING. 



I trust you will allow me space to warn read- 

 ers of B. B. J. against risk of serious trouble 

 after the honey-flow has stopped, as may be 

 seen by what follows: I had been removing my 

 surplus during the week and previous weeks, 

 and had left my extractor, cappings, strainer, 

 dishes, etc., all wet with honey, together with 

 the jars I had used for bottling, exposed in my 

 work-room. This was its condition at (3 a. m. 

 on Saturday, the 1st inst., when I left it with 

 the window wide open, with injunctions for 

 others to shut at eight o'clock before the bees 

 began flying for the day. But the others for- 

 got; and on going to my room at mid-day I 

 found it full of bees busily engaged "clean- 

 ing up " the loose honey for me. When they 

 had got all they could in this line, they flew 

 around the house in a particularly savage 

 way, searching for more "spoil," and while 

 thus engaged they had occasion to pass our 

 kennels, when a valuable cross-bred "Bedling- 

 ton " hound thought he would amuse himself 

 by catching a few of them, so he started and 

 killed some, and very soon there was a smell of 

 formic acid, and, consequently, a "row," which 

 ended by the dog having to be rescued, covered 

 with bees, after he had in the aft'ray swallowed 

 a few scores of them. Two other dogs got 

 stung, and also several peoplo. The poor hound 

 first mentioned lived only till midnight, when 

 he died while asleep through drinking sal vola- 

 tile and carbonate of soda. We rubbed him 

 with ammonia and put him in soda baths, but 

 all was of no avail, as he was too badly stung. 

 Poor fellow ! he will be missed in tiie district, 

 as he was a champion fox-drawer (and killerj 

 when " to-ground." I have had a hunter lent 

 for four seasons for his splendid work. lam 

 having his skin stufl'ed to preserve the dog's 

 memory and his reputation for pluck. He al- 

 ways had a hatred of bees and wasps, and I 

 had on several occasions to ';top him scratching 

 at wasps' nests.— t'. B. Ehuliirst, Farnliara, 

 Knaresborough, Yorks.—Drlti.sli Bee Journal, 

 August 13. 



SELLING THE HONEV CROP. 



During the next four months nearly the 

 whole of the honey of 1896 will be sold. Al- 



ready some thousands of pounds have been 

 placed upon the Chicago market, and the 

 new comb honey is fine. But thus early some 

 large producers have made a mistake, which 

 we fear will tend to lower the prices here, and 

 keep them down for the rest of the selling sea- 

 son. 



Last week we had occasion to go over on 

 South Water Street— where nearly all the large 

 commission dealers do business — and we found 

 that one firm, who are almost new in the honey- 

 business, had received a number of thousands 

 of pounds of nice white comb honey which they 

 were offering at 11 cents per pound. Just a few 

 doors away, and the same lime, honey-dealers 

 who have been long in the business, and under- 

 stand it, and who try to keep up the market 

 prices, were holding the same grade of honey at 

 13 cents per pound. Now, why the two cents' 

 difference in price? Simply for this reason: 

 The new firm were only anxious to get their 

 commission on the sales, not caring a straw 

 how much or how little the honey would net 

 the producer. 



. What surprises us is, that large producers 

 are so careless as to ship to such firms; for real- 

 ly they lose on their own crops, and also cause 

 others to lose. Such actions certainly do not 

 show good business sense, nor is it just to other 

 honey -producers. 



We should think that, after the " Horri-ble" 

 experiences of last year, our older readers would 

 be smart enough to keep out of the claws of the 

 vulture-like commission men, and ship only to 

 those who are satisfied to deal honestly. 



We want to repeat what we said last year— it 

 is this: Bee-keepers are discouraging honest 

 honey commission men by shipping their honey 

 to new and untried firms who will sell the same 

 honey to neighboring honest dealers at a less 

 price than bee-keepers would think of selling 

 the same honey to the aforesaid honest dealers. 

 Uo you see the point? Let us explain- 



Suppose we were old and tried honey-dealers 

 here, and were quoting in the bee-papers 13 

 cents per pound for fancy comb honey— the cor- 

 rect market price. Along comes a new firm, 

 who may appropriately be called Snide & Co., 

 who privately quote the same grade of honey 

 at 15 cents per pound. A bee-keeper ships to 

 them 10.000 pounds. The honey arrives, and 

 Snide i»i: Co. take it to their store. We happen 

 along just after it is unloaded, and Mr. Snide 

 offers to sell us the honey for 11 or 12 cents per 

 pound. We buy it. of course, for iv. is one or 

 two cents less per pound than the shipper 

 would have thought of letting us have it for. 



Well, what does the shipper get for his hone 

 from Snide i<: Co.? He gets probably a net pric 

 of or 10 cents per pound— perhaps in som 

 cases not so much, and sometimes " gets left 

 entirely — is simply euchred out of the who 

 thing. 



Who is to blame that the producer didn't 

 realize more for his honey ? Why, the bee- 

 keeper himself. He lacked sense. He was fool- 

 ish enough to think thai a new firm could se- 

 cure better prices than an old and established 

 one that quotes actual market prices. 



And thus are the toiling bee-keepers swindled 

 by various firms, all of whom should be com- 

 pelled to wear the name of " Snide i<: Co.," so 

 that bee-keepers would know, after a few ex- 

 pensive experiences, that all firms by that name 

 are really snides, and should be avoided as one 

 would shun the smallpox. 



But will honev- producers ever be wise in 

 these matters? Yes, some will; but many wil 

 plod on and fall into the same old snares, tim 

 after time. Yet there is little excuse now fo 

 any reader of a good bee-paper being " caught, ' 

 for the best firms generally either quote the 



