226 



American Bee JonrnalJ 



1910. 



of flowers in Long Island. Wliat was 

 their remedy? Co-operation! 



Would it not look like waking up to 

 have a National Honey-Producers' As- 

 sociation to make your market, and 

 accept only properly cured, honestly 

 packed horiey — the Association stamp 

 to be the guaranty of quality? 



An example of the honey-producers' 

 question can be answered by the " dairy- 

 men who furnish the Chicago milk and 

 get ZVi cents per quart. The dealers' 

 combine furnishes the selling organiza- 

 tion, and gets 7 cents. Naturally dairy- 

 men are beginning to ask themselves, 

 Why don't we furnish the selling or- 

 ganization ourselves, since there is 

 where the profit is?" 



I scarcely feel it my privilege to 

 enumerate the many successes of co- 

 operation, and take up space in the 

 American Bee Journal, but let the 

 gentleman from Illinois read co-opera- 

 tion in the Michigan grape-belt, in the 

 Saturday Evening Post of Feb. 19, 1910, 

 or go to the nearest library and get the 

 history and workings of the citrus 

 growers* selling organization, of Cali- 

 fornia. These organizations do the 

 advertising, and are able to engage 

 one gifted that way; advertising men 

 are born, not created, and I think the 

 ordinary bee-man would waste his 

 money trying. Of course, there are 

 exceptions, and ourfriend from' Illinois 

 may be the exception. 



All our magazines and daily papers 

 are discussing the fact that the leading 

 commodities have advanced 50 percent, 

 and attribute the advance in price to a 

 50 percent increase of money in circu- 

 lation, claiming the two factors are in- 

 timately related, and commodities ad- 

 vance as money becomes more plenti- 

 ful ; but that does not feed our families, 

 nor clothe the children of the wage- 

 earner, who is the first to suffer in a 

 panic, and the last to benefit when 

 prices advance. They wait for capital 

 to be just, until they can stand it no 

 longer, and it ends in riot. That is 

 how co-operation is worked out in 

 Pliiladelphia just now; but the man 

 who works among bees long loses all 

 desire to be unjust, selfish, or jealous, 

 and I think could do as well as the 

 California fruit-growers. _ 



When one reads over the bee-litera- 

 ture he fails to find any guarding their 

 knowledge or protecting an idea by a 

 patent. How unlike any other profes- 

 sion or avocation! Can we not be 

 proud when we read, " I cheerfully and 

 freely give the principles in this sys- 

 tem to all, hoping and believing that 

 the same will prove as efficient in the 

 hands of others as thev have with me.-"" 



White Plains, N. Y. ' 



6.— Bee-Talks for Beginners 



BV JIMSON RAGWEED, OF INDIANA. 



Bef.I'f.edf.r— Skctions and Foundation. 



Dear Unci.e Jimson:— Pa wants me to 

 write and ask yon what kind of a bee-feeder 

 you would recommend. He also wants to 

 send away for some sections and foundation. 

 Where can he send without the risk of get- 

 tintr " soaked "•'" 



You asked about Oscar. I am sorry to say 

 that Oscar is not very steady. He went to 

 Kvansville tlie other day and they say he 

 went to a picture show and just spent money 

 like dirt. !*a says to send him one of those 

 ate photos. Truly yours, 



Klokence Kauweed. 



Dear Florence: — As to feeders, all 

 of those described in the different sup- 

 ply catalogs have merit, but I prefer 

 an inside feeder, every time, so that no 

 robber-bees will prowl about. 



As to where to buy supplies, look 

 over the advertising in your bee-paper, 

 and any of those dealers will be tickled 

 half to death for the privilege of sub- 

 mitting their catalog. Buy from some 

 one near if you can, to save freight. 

 One nice thing about all the bee-papers 

 is that they do not mean to accept ad- 

 vertising from irresponsible parties, 

 and you need not be uneasy about get- 

 ting "soaked." I send photo by this 

 mail. Truly, 



JiMSON Ragweed. 



EXTRACTkD OR COMB HoNEY ? 



Mr. Ragweed;— We have 8 colonies of 

 bees. Which will pay us better, extracted 

 honey or comb honey ? We have always 

 produced comb honey, and have no extrac- 

 tor. We could sell either kind, as we know 

 a great many people in Terre Haute. Dur- 

 ing the winter months I act as clerk in a 

 department store, but in the summer I help 

 on the farm. 



Papa sold two hogs last week to a buyer 

 for a beef trust company, and may be we 

 will get a touring car this fall. If we get it 

 we will come up to see your apiary. 

 Very truly. 



(Missj Margaret Highshoe. 



Miss Margaret: — I have been told 

 that there is an excellent demand in 

 Terre Haute for honey, and I would 

 think it would be to your interest to 

 keep more bees, with your superior 

 facilities. I have often said that if one 

 has 5 hives of bees it will pay him to 

 own an extractor. It is well to pro- 

 duce both comb and extracted, and 

 even if one specializes on comb honey 

 there are times when an extractor 

 comes in handy. I have always thought 

 that I can control my bees a little bet- 

 ter when I produce extracted honey, 

 and I think it nets me more coin, but 

 we must not all produce one kind. 

 Truly, JiMSON Ragweed. 



Laving Workers. 



Mr. Ragweed: — Having seen your name 

 in my bee-paper, I thought I would take the 

 liberty of writing you a few lines. Some- 

 how or other I feel at ease in writing to you, 

 but I hesitate to write to these editors be- 

 cause they arc always dressed up so stiff. 

 Not long ago I called on the editor of our 

 weekly Graphic, and he asked me to go to 

 (////mv with him. and I looked at my watch 

 and it was just 6 o'clock. He meant sii/'pfr. 



W^ell. I have a hive of bees with laying 

 workers, and I would like to know if I can 

 save them, as I can not introduce a queen. 

 If I could find the laying worker, would the 

 bees then accept a queen? I also wisli to 

 ask what language is used in Canada? I 

 wrote a letter to a bee-man in Montreal, and 

 I never did get a reply. 



■Very truly, Sevimour Brestel. 



Friend Brestei. : — If your hives are 

 all uniform you can save those bees by 

 uniting. Take the hive-body contain- 

 ing the laying workers and place it on 

 a good, strong normal colony. Within 

 a few days, or perhaps within an hour, 

 the laying workers will all be destroyed, 

 and after a few days, if you wish in- 

 crease, you can get a queen and divide 

 the colony, introducing the queen with 

 safety to the new colony. This method 

 is practical, and the only solution that 

 I know for the problem. When work- 

 ers begin laying there are many of 

 them, and I have caught them in the 

 act of depositing eggs, but after de- 

 stroying the egg-layer the work con- 

 tinued the same. I believe that every 



worker-bee is capable of laying eggs 

 if driven to desperation. 



As to your latter question, I would 

 refer you to Mr. R. F. Holtermann, of 

 Brantford, Ontario, Canada. He is an 

 exceedingly nice man, and I know he 

 will take pleasure in answering any in- 

 quiries. Yours, 



Jimson Kagweed. 



Home-Made Hives. 



Friend Jimson:— I haven't seen you since 

 you had your exhibit of honey at the county 

 fair, and I tliought I would write you a few 

 lines. You certainly had a nice exhibit. I 

 believe our county fair is getting to be better 

 than some of the State fairs. 



Jimson. 1 wish to ask you something. I 

 must have some new hives, and do you 

 think I would save anything it I buy the 

 lumber and make the liives myself ? I spoke 

 to Jake Peirce about this subject, and he 

 says I will save money by getting my hives 

 at some hive-factory, ready to nad together. 

 I know Jake has made a good deal of money 

 out of his bees, and it beats all how much 

 interest he takes in the business. The last 

 time I saw Jake was in front of your ex- 

 hibit and wife, and I asked him to go with us 

 to see the sheep, but Jake said he would 

 stay right there all day. Wife and I paid for 

 grand stand privileges in the amphitheater, 

 but we were much surprised to see many sit- 

 ting down after paying for a sraiid stand. We 

 also took in the snake charmer, and the fat 

 woman, and we thought it about the best we * 

 had ever seen, and we have been to Boro- 

 dino and to Chicago. Write soon. 



Edmund W. Cuested. 



Mr. Cubsted: — If I could, I would 

 discourage you about getting lumber 

 and making your own hives. I think 

 Jake Peirce is about right on this sub- 

 ject, and I have known several to give 

 it a trial. Whenever I hear of a bee- 

 man making his own hives, I always 

 connect him with slip-shod and hap- 

 hazard methods. In the first place, un- 

 less you buy lumber in very large 

 quantities the cost of the lumber alone 

 may equal the cost of ready cut out 

 hives. Hand-made hives can not equal 

 those made by machinery as to accu- 

 racy. You may think dealers are ask- 

 ing too much for their hives, but if you 

 will figure everything separate, frames, 

 metal rabbets, nails, section-holders, 

 comb foundation and sections, then 

 add it all up, prices do not seem so 

 high after all. 



It will be a great satisfaction to you 

 to have every detail in your yard inter- 

 changeable. Truly yours, 



Jimson Ragweed. 



"The Honey-Money Stories" 



This is a ti4-page and cover booklet, 

 5?^ by 8>^ inches in size, and printed 

 on enameled paper. It contains a va- 

 riety of short, bright stories, mixed 

 with facts and interesting items about 

 honey and its use. It has 31 half- 

 tone pictures, mostly of apiaries or 

 apiarian scenes ; also 3 bee-songs, 

 namely: "The Hum of the Bees in 

 the Apple-Tree Bloom," and " Buck- 

 wheat Cakes and Honey," and " The 

 Bee-Keeper's Lullaby." It ought to be 

 in the hands of every one not familiar 

 with the food-value of honey. Its ob- 

 ject is to create a larger demand for 

 honey. It is sent postpaid for 25 cents, 

 but we will mail a single copy as a 

 sample for 15 cents, 5 copies for Gil 

 cents, or 10 copies by express for $1.00. 

 A copv with the American Bee Journal 

 one vear— both for $1.10. Send all or- 

 ders to the American Bee Journal, 110 

 W. Superior St., Chicago, III. 



