1917 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



299 



her absence, if she is removed, within 

 a very short time. 



As a corollary to the study of odor 

 among bees, Dr. Mclndoo describes 

 the numerous odors produced by oth- 

 er insects in hundreds of different 

 ways. This shows that the bee is 

 not an exception in the matter of 

 odors, whether personal, sexual, or 

 family odors. 



As to the odor-producing glands, 

 he shows that they vary in different 

 insects. In the honeybee he sug- 

 gests that it may be produced in a 

 pouch located between the fifth and 

 sixth abdominal terga, or dorsal 

 plates of the abdomen. This organ 

 was described by several writers and 

 notably by a scientific Russian api- 

 arist, Zoubareflf, in the November 

 (1883) number of the Bulletin D'Api- 

 culture, then published by our re- 

 gretted Swiss friend, Bertrand. But 

 Mr. Zoubareflf, who quoted NassonofT, 

 a member of the Imperial Society of 

 Acclimatation of Moscow, suggested 

 an entirely different function for 

 these glands. He thought they might 

 have some relation with the well- 

 known ability of the bees to throw 

 off a portion of the excess water 

 from the nectar which they gather. 



There is evidently still a great deal 

 to learn on the anatomy of the bee. 

 But such studies as are here men- 

 tioned lead us towards the light. Al- 

 though we may occasionally take a 

 step in the wrong direction, sooner 

 or later we are called back into the 

 true path of nature study. 



Reducing the Cost of Marketing 



In its last issue the new magazine, 

 "System On the Farm," had a very in- 

 teresting article on the above subject 

 by A. L. Brown, a very successful 

 farmer of Washington, who explains 

 his plans in detail. 



Three points emphasized by Mr. 

 Brown may well be brought to the 

 attention of the beekeeping public; 

 the elimination of all waste, a careful 

 record of costs, and direct to con- 

 sumer marketing, aided by judicious 

 and novel advertising. 



How many millions of pounds of 

 beeswax have gone to waste through 

 the carelessness of otherwise good 

 beekeepers who did not take the 

 pains to save their scraps of wax, or 

 to guard against the occasional rav- 

 ages of the moth. How many pounds 

 of honey have been left ungathered 

 througluthe bees being in poor shape 

 for the long anticipated crop? 



In the matter of costs it is doubtful 



if one beekeeper in ;i liinulrcd knows 

 the actual cost of his honey, knows 

 how cheap he can sell it and still 

 make a fair profit. Many, without 

 doubt, sell their honey below the cost 

 of production fail to allow for in- 

 terest on investment, depreciation, or 

 labor. 



And after the crop has been har- 

 vested, a large number of beekeepers 

 throw their honey on the large mar- 

 kets to be sold at once, oftentimes 

 helping to pull down the price when 

 they might, with small effort, have 

 sold their whole crop locally at 

 enough more to pay all costs of local 

 advertising. 



Contest Announcement 



In visiting the beekeepers in vari- 

 ous localities we are impressed with 

 the great variety of useful devices 

 and short cuts which we find. Nearly 

 every beekeeper has something 

 which he has worked out to suit his 

 particular notion which would be 

 useful to others if only brought to 

 public attention. 



The American Bee Journal is al- 

 ways on the watch for new things to 

 present to the honey producers and 

 in order to induce our readers to tell 

 us what they have we will make a 

 special offer as follows: For a de- 

 scription of the most useful device 

 we offer a prize of ten dollars. For 

 the second best, five dollars. For all 

 others which we print we will give 

 the choice of cither a year's subscrip- 

 tion to the American Bee Journal, 

 First Lessons in Beekeeping, or 

 Miller's Thousand Answers to Bee- 

 keeping Questions. In describing a 

 device or short cut be sure to send a 

 drawing or photograph whenever 

 possible. The contest will be open 

 until December IS. We hope that 

 every reader of this journal will try 

 to think of something which he has 

 found useful to enter in this contest. 



Honey Prices 



Read the crop and market page in 

 the back part of this magazine if you 

 want to get ideas on honey prices. 



L. BROWN'S PRODUCTS ARE ALL SOLD DIRECTLY TO THE CONSUMER. AD- 

 VERTISING IN A JUDICIOUS MANNER HELPS TO MAKE THE SALES. 



