1917 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



83 



cannot, of course, afford to circulate 

 our whole list each month to assemble 

 such reports. 



We would urge, therefore, that each 

 subscriber secure a few postal cards 

 and write us the conditions as seen in 

 his section of the country. Make your 

 report as brief as possible and address 

 to " Market Editor," American Bee 

 Journal. These reports should reach 

 us at least by the 20th of the month to 

 do any good for the next issue. 



The department at Washington, for 

 several years, has been gathering such 

 statistics, but usually owing to the 

 reticence of correspondents to answer 

 reports, summaries of conditions come 

 out too late to be most effective. We 

 are, however, getting in touch with the 

 department in hopes of embodying as 

 much of its data as possible in our crop 

 report each month. 



The climatic conditions are such that 

 the report from one section will be on 

 the honey crop, while from another it 

 may report the bees as they are just 

 coming out of winter quarters. The 

 points to be touched upon in answers 

 are roughly as follows : 



1. Condition of honey market — 

 amount of honey unsold and demand 

 unfilled ? 



2. What percent of loss of bees from 

 wintering ? 



3. Honey-plant conditions compared 

 to normal ? 



4. Are beekeepers increasing number 

 of colonies materially? 



5. Are many turning from comb to 

 extracted honey? 



6. How is the honey crop so far 

 compared to last year ? 



Remember to give true conditions, 

 not failing to report if the season has 

 been a failure, or if beekeepers are dis- 

 couraged from winter losses, as well as 

 to report successes. 



Come ahead with your answers, the 

 more the merrier. Write on a post 

 card, number 'your answers as above, 

 write plainly and briefly, and address 

 card to the MARKET EDITOR, 

 American Bee Journal, Hamilton, 111. 



This department is simply an experi- 

 ment. If it succeeds it will be because 

 of the interest taken in it by the bee- 

 keepers. 



Death of Bdouarcl Bertrand 



Our old friend, Mr. Bertrand, died in 

 Geneva, Switzerland, Jan. 17, in his 

 85th year. We received the news of 

 his demise through letters from both 

 Mrs. Bertrand and Mr. Thomas Wm. 

 Cowan, editor of the British Bee Jour- 

 nal, to whom Mrs. Bertrand wrote at 

 the same time as to us. Mr. Cowan's 

 letter reached me at the same time. I 

 quote a few words of his letter : 



" I am sure you will feel the loss, and 

 for me it was a great shock, as it was 



only a few days before that I had re- 

 ceived a letter from him dated Dec. 20, 

 in which he spoke very cheerfully of 



his health Bertrarvd and I have 



been constant correspondents now for 

 3'^ years, and had so much in common 

 that, although he had attained a great 

 age, the end is a trial which has grieved 

 me much. He was a faithful friend, 

 more as a brother, and during the 

 whole time of our acquaintance we had 

 never a disagreement. I was looking 

 forward to the termination of this 

 dreadful war to running over to Switz- 

 erland to pay him another visit, but 

 now this is not to be, and I sorrow 

 that I shall not see him again." 



Mr. Bertrand was for 25 years editor 

 of the magazine which he began under 

 the name of " Bulletin D'Apiculture " 

 in 1879, and later published as " Revue 

 Internationale d'Apiculture." He is the 

 author of several works on bees. We 

 intend to devote a few pages soon to 

 his biography. Meanwhile we can as- 

 sure his devoted wife that the sympathy 

 of the American beekeeping world is 

 with her. Mrs. Bertrand has been a 

 companion and an associate of her 

 husband in his bee-work for 51 years. 



Old Bee Books 



In the first issue of the American Bee 

 Journal, which appeared January, 1861, 

 there appeared an advertisement of 

 bee-books. There are seven books in 

 the list, only two of which are still 

 offered for sale. "Mysteries of Bee- 

 keeping Explained," by Quinby, and 

 "The Hive and Honey Bee," by Lang- 

 stroth, were so valuable that others 



have revised them and kept them up to 

 date since the deaths of their authors, 

 and both are now listed in nearly every 

 catalog of bee-books. The rest of the 

 list follows : 



" Hive and Honey Bee," by H. D. 

 Richardson. 



" Beekeepers' Manual," by T. B. Miner. 



" Bee Culture," by Henry Eddy. 



"Beekeepers' Chart, "by E. W. Phelps. 



" Manual of Bees," by John M. Weeks. 



Some of these books the writer never 

 had even heard of until the advertise- 

 ment in the old journal was read, and 

 it is doubtful whether copies of all of 

 them could be found in any one library. 

 In order to live for 50 years a book 

 must deal with fundamentals, for super- 

 ficial matter is soon forgotten. 



Obituaries 



We are sorry to announce the deaths 

 of J. Vandervort, Laceyville, Pa., Feb. 

 10, and D. C. Polhemus, of Lamar, Colo., 

 Feb. 13. 



Mr. Vandervort was the first man to 

 manufacture foundation mills, making 

 different thicknesses of walls for differ- 

 ent weights, and in the eighties he made 

 the first mills capable of turning out 

 foundation over 12 feet to the pound. 



Mr. Polhemus was a noted apiarist of 

 Colorado, and his death followed his 

 election as vice-president of the Na 

 tional Beekeepers' Association, after 

 only five days. 



These men both deserve a longer 

 obituary notice, and we hope to be 

 able to give it in our next number. 



THE LATE EDOUARD BERTRAND, OF SWITZERLAND 



