406 



American IBac Journal j 



PUBLISHED MONTHLY AT 



Ist Nat'l Bank Bldg. Hamilton, Illinois 



Entered as second-class matter at the 



Hamilton, Illinois, Post-office. 

 C. P. Dadant, Editor 

 Dr. C. C. Miller. Associate Editor. 

 Frank C. Pellett, Staff Correspondent. 



IMPORTANT NOTICE. 



THE SUBSCRIPTION PRICE of this 

 Journal is $1.00 a year in the United States 

 of America and Mexico; 3 years. $225; s 

 years, $3.00; in Canada. 10 cents extra, and in 

 all other countries in the Postal Union. 25 

 cents a year extra for postage. Sample 

 copy free. 



THE WRAPPER-LABEL DATE indi- 

 cates the end of the month to which sub- 

 scription is paid. For instance. "deci6" on 

 your label shows that it is paid to the end 

 of December, 1016. 



SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS.-We do not 

 send a receipt for money sent us to pay sub- 

 scription, but change the date on your ad- 

 dress, w^hich shows that the money has been 

 received and credited. In case of errors, 

 please write us. 



Copyright: 1016, by C. P. Dadant 



THE EDITOR*S VIEWPOINT 



Texas Honey Producers 



Another step was taken Oct. 21 in 

 the organization of the association 

 of Texas honey producers. About 

 17 counties were represented and about 

 $9000 of stock subscribed. They expect 

 to get the full amount of the $25,000 

 subscribed by Jan. 1, when they will 

 obtain their charter. The organizalion 

 is to be along the lines of the Citrus 

 Growers' Association of California. 



The list of directors and officers of 

 this association has been given in our 

 August number, page 265. At the 

 October meeting "a committee was ap- 

 pointed to wait on members of the 

 State legislature to influence that body 

 to appropriate money for an apiary to 

 be operated in connection with the 

 State Experiment Station at College 

 Station, Tex. The federal government 

 will appropriate an amount equal to 

 that set aside by the State for this 

 work. The members of this commit- 

 tee are Henry Brenner, of Seguin ; T. 

 P. Robertson, of Bartlett, and B. I. 

 Gilman, of Pearsall. 



"Considerable data was submitted at 

 the meeting to show the vast possibili- 

 ties for the expansion of the honey- 

 producing business in Texas. It was 

 brought out by figures submitted by 

 local beemen that nearly $200,000 worth 

 of honey of this year's crop has been 

 sold in San Antonio's trade territory 

 alone, and that Texas honey is being 

 bought not only by all of the largest 

 cities of the north and east, but by 

 Europe and South America." 



It is to be hoped that the beekeepers 

 of the State will unite to help this move 

 along. 



Apples Next 



Sunkist oranges have been before 

 the public for several years past. 

 Meadow-Gold Butter has received na- 

 tional advertising. In a recent issue 



w.e told of the tremendous campaign 

 that the dairy interests are about to 

 undertake. Now the announcement 

 comes that the apple growers of the 

 Pacific northwest will undertake a 

 national campaign of advertising for 

 their apples, which will be marketed 

 under the name " Skookum " brand. 



We are looking for an association of 

 beekeepers who will follow the lead of 

 the orange growers, the dairymen and 

 the apple raisers. It is said that the 

 apple men first tried a preliminary 

 advertising campaign in New York, 

 expending $15,000 there with such en- 

 couraging results that they have sub- 

 scribed $50,000 for a national campaign 

 to popularize Pacific coast apples. It 

 would seem that New York apples must 

 be equally good, and thousands of bar- 

 rels of fine apples are grown within a 

 few hours' ride of New York City. In 

 spite of this fact the men from the 

 Pacific coast are shipping apples thou- 

 sands of miles and getting the cream 

 of the market under the eastern apple 

 grower's nose. 



It will not be possible to advertise 

 honey nationally by volunteer subscrip- 

 tions. Such a campaign is only possi- 

 ble when organized on a business basis. 

 An association of beekeepers with 

 honey to be sold under an association 

 brand, with each beekeeper to con- 

 tribute to the advertising cost in pro- 

 portion to the amount of stock which 

 he holds in the association can make it 

 go. Every man who contributes to 

 such an advertising campaign will 

 profit by the increased price which his 

 honey will bring as a result of the 

 demand for the particular brand of 

 honey which the advertisements have 

 called to public attention. 



If such advertising did not pay, the 

 Root Company would not continue 

 to increase their advertising appropria- 

 tion. There is no question but that 

 their advertising is helping the general 



market for honey while at the same 

 time making a profit for the Root Com- 

 pany because of the increased demand 

 for Airline products. 



Seventy Years of Beekeeping 



It is doubtful whether our younger 

 readers appreciate how much progress 

 has been made in the honey-producing 

 industry during the life time of men 

 still active in the pursuit. Our senior 

 editor, C. P. Dadant, has spent nearly 

 all his life in a beekeeping atmosphere. 

 His father, the late Charles Dadant, 

 was an investigator who became well 

 known on both sides of the Atlantic, 

 and whose writings have been trans- 

 lated into several languages. As a 

 young man our editor was associated 

 with his father in honey production, 

 and assisted him in the many experi- 

 ments which he conducted in his efforts 

 to make beekeeping a practical business. 



We feel that a review of the develop- 

 ment of beekeeping during the past 

 70 years, by one who has kept in such 

 close personal touch with the men 

 who have been actively engaged in it, 

 and who has spent a life-time in prac- 

 tical apiary work, should be of more 

 than ordinary interest. A series of five 

 articles covering the subject will begin 

 in the January number of this Journal. 

 We believe that our younger readers 

 will find this series both interesting 

 and helpful, and that our older ones 

 will recall many a bygone day in read- 

 ing it. F. c. p. 



Southern-Bred and Northern- 

 Bred Queens 



The question is frequently asked, 

 "Are southern-bred queens as hardy as 

 northern-bred ?" It is well known that 

 in general each region has plants and 

 animals adapted to its particular climate 

 and locality, and those of tropical re- 

 gions do not well endure the rigors of 

 the far North. So it is natural to sup- 

 pose that bees in the South become 

 less hardy. But characteristics do not 

 change over night, and if bees become 

 less hardy in the South it would be 

 only through a long course of years. 

 Even if a southern breeder should have 

 stock that had been bred in the South 

 for a hundred years, if there was any 

 suspicion that it had become less hardy, 

 it would be the work of a few weeks at 

 most to have that stock entirely 

 changed through getting one or more 

 queens from the North. 



So the usual reply that queens reared 

 in the South are just as hardy as those 

 reared in the North may be counted 

 correct for all practical purposes. [In 

 addition we may say that the Italian 

 bees, which are hardy, are from a coun- 



