1917 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



313 



gets lip and talks (vvhicli, of course, 

 lie slinuld do), and tells al)Oiit HIS 

 bees, liovv HE works with tlicni, how 

 HE sells HIS honey and cro|)S, and 

 that now HE has his business on a 

 basis where he can get along without 

 much help, and to better advantage. 

 But how about the wife by the side of 

 him? 



Beekeepers, as a rule, arc the most 

 gentle, kind and generous-hearted 

 people one can meet, but they need a 

 little stirring up, in a kind way. 



These are some of the reasons why 

 women are not known as they should 

 be in the bee industry. Their works 

 are left out. Take the women out, 

 and where is your industry? 

 NORTHWESTERN BEEKEEPER'S 



WIFE AND HELPER. 



If that article in the July number 

 did nothing more than to call out 

 this reply, it surely was not wasted 

 effort. Our good friend is no doubt 

 quite right in insisting that women 

 do not always get the credit they de- 

 serve, and this is true in thousands 

 of cases where beekeeping is not 

 involved. But is not the woman her- 



self sometimes to blame? When her 

 husband talks about his bees and his 

 success, is not the floor free for her 



as well? 



There are women to be seen at con- 

 ventions, and they arc always wel- 

 comed, but they are always woefully 

 in the minority. With tons of honey 

 going to waste at this time when all 

 waste is so disclaimed against, are 

 there not more women who might en- 

 gage in l)eekceping to their own ad- 

 vantage and the advantage of the 

 public ? 



If anyone has the impression that 

 there are as many women as men 

 who are beekeepers, let them look 

 over the pages of this journal and 

 count the number of contributors of 

 the two sexes. Two or three women 

 against a dozen or so of men. Is that 

 because men arc greater talkers than 

 women ? 



W^e probably all enjoy reading what 

 beekeeping women write, but we can- 

 not have the reading without the 

 writing. So let us hear from more 

 of the beekeeping sisters. If "their 

 works are left out." let them do their 

 part toward making their works 

 known. 



MiSCELUNEOUS ^ NEWS ITEMS 



Minnesota Fair. — Minnesota bee- 

 keepers should make a special effort 

 to attend the 1917 State Fair, observe 

 carefully the first year's results of a 

 new management and classification 

 of exhibits, spend considerable time 

 at the exhibits of the University Di- 

 vision of Bee culture, and Minnesota 

 Beekeepers' Association, and be sure 

 to watch for a notice and attend a 

 special meeting of exhibitors, Minne- 

 sota Beekeepers' Association mem- 

 bers, and the honey judges — all in 

 the Bee and Honey Building. Use 

 the University Division of Bee Cul- 

 ture and the Minnesota Beekeepers' 

 Association as sources of all bee in- 

 formation. 



L. V. FRANCE. 

 Instructor in Beekeeping: Secretary 

 Minnesota Beekeepers' Association. 



the beekeepers of the State into a 

 strong association to the end that 

 the new department can work in 

 close touch with tlie honey produc- 

 ers. Plans are being made for sum- 

 mer field meetings, a winter conven- 

 tion and also an exhibition of the 

 products of the apiary. West Vir- 

 ginia has some good territory for 

 beekeeping and good results will 

 probabl)' follow the work of the new 

 department. Beekeepers of that State 

 who desire assistance or information 

 should address Mr. Reese at Charles- 

 ton. 



This office i:; already in receipt of 

 circulars which have been freely cir- 

 culated through West Virginia, urg- 

 ing the beekeepers to increase the 

 honey production of the State. 

 Names and addresses of the most re- 

 liable (jueen breeders, publishers and 

 dealers arc contained in one of the 

 circulars. Among things recom- 

 mended are -.he ten-frame Lang- 

 stroth hive, full sheets, Italian bees, 

 and the local purchase of bees where 

 possible. 



Bee Papers of the past and Pres- 

 ent. — I cannot tell you how interest 

 ed I w^as in your series of articles on 

 "Seventy Years of Beekeeping," as 

 published in the American Bee lour- 

 nal. I was in close touch with the 

 industry for over thirty years of that 

 time. 



Naturally, I noted with special in- 

 terest the list of bee papers that ex- 

 isted for a longer or shorter time 

 during the past fifty years. Many of 

 them were started (and dropped out) 

 during my intimate connection with 

 the literature of beekeeping. I sup- 

 pose some of their editors thought I 

 was rather cool in my treatment of 

 them, as I couldn't conscientiously 

 encourage them in their enthusiasm 

 to help on the progress of beekeep- 

 ing in America, for I realized, as 

 they could not do, the hopelessness 

 of their undertakings. I knew of 

 the many failures of new bee papers 

 and it seemed too bad for any more 

 to lose their good money in that di- 

 rection. But, of course, anything 

 that I said concerning new bee pa- 

 pers was misconstrued, and doubtless 

 charged to what their editors con- 

 sidered jealousy on mj' part. 



Still, for the most part I believe 

 my relations with practically all the 

 new bee papers were more pleasant 

 and cordial than otherwise. 



The American Bee Journal ab- 

 sorbed a number of the new bee 

 papers during the nearly thirty years 

 tliat I was connected with it. Both 

 the American Apiculturist (edited by 

 the late Henry Alley) and the 

 American Beekeeper (.published by 



West Virginia in the Limelight. — 



West Virginia has suddenly jumped 

 into the front rank by passing a 

 good inspection law, providing for a 

 State apiarist, in the department of 

 agriculture, and a half dozen inspec- 

 tors all at once. 



The new law passed at the recent 

 session of the legislature became ef- 

 fective in May. Mr. Chas. A. Reese, 

 formerly an assistant at Ames, Iowa, 

 is in charge of the work as State Api- 

 arist. The three inspectors whose 

 names we have are Mr. Stephen Da- 

 vis, Mr. P. L. Jones and Mr. T. K. 

 Massie. Although one of the small- 

 est of our States, West Virginia, 

 probably has the largest appropria- 

 tion for support of the beekeeping 

 work of any State. 



A movement is on foot to organize 



liKMll' AT THE WEST WASHINGTON PICNIC L.\TE IN JUNE 



