October, 1915. 



333 



American ^«e Journal 



Miscellaneous ^ News Items 



Conditions With H. H. Nendelson — In 



a recent letter from Mr. M. H. Mendle- 

 son, of California, we learned that he 

 had the misfortune of getting a bee into 

 one of his ears, causing much sufifering 

 and the loss of hearing in that ear, 

 with partial deafness in the other. An- 

 other from him since states that he 

 has partially, though not fully recov- 

 ered. 



In both his letters Mr. Mendleson 

 gives reports on conditions which we 

 believe our subscribers should have, 

 and from which we quote as follows : 



This has been a great year, and a 

 very regrettable disappointment to us. 

 The combination of buyers has forced 

 prices downward, making it almost im- 

 possible to make anything from the 

 business. Honey is not keeping pace 

 with the price of sugar, owing to the 

 lack of organization among the honey 

 producers, and it will be worse if bee 

 men do not organize and get informed. 

 Buyers make their brags that the bee 

 men will have to come to their price. 

 Organization would force them to give 

 us living prices. 



I see no real hope for us now unless 

 we get to business. The producers 

 will be forced to organize and sell 

 their own honey. It is so with the 

 general producer. We have only had 

 from a one-fifth to a one-fourth crop of 

 honey. Good comb honey will be at a 

 premium. In fact, taking one year 

 with another comb honey does not 

 pay. Too many poor years, and too 

 many unfinished sections to carry over. 

 The seasons are not as they used to be. 



Buyers have now bought up the 

 white honey of southern California. 

 Free tariff on honey has flooded our 

 markets with the darker grades of 

 honey from the Islands worse than we 

 are aware of, and the dark grades can- 

 not be sold here. Of course, the war 

 does affect prices partly, but not suffi- 

 ciently for the ruining prices offered. 



Beekeepers must organize if they 

 wish to keep into the business. We 

 cannot blame the buyer to buy cheap; 

 that is business. The profit is in the 

 buying. The buyer could also make a 

 profit if we were organized, and have 

 proper grading rules. It is a mistake 

 to have white and water-white. It 

 should be only white, as the water- 

 white is but a small fraction of the 

 amount gathered, and many times not 

 any. M. H. Mendleson. 



Piru, Calif. 



Ontario Dark Honey Crop Report. — 



The Crop Report Committee of the 

 Ontario Beekeepers' Association met 

 on Thursday, Sept. 9, to consider the 

 crop of dark honey. It was found that 

 105 members had reported 116,400 

 pounds from 5807 colonies ;'^being an 



average of 20 pounds to the colony. 

 This is about double of last year's 

 average. 



The local demand for white honey is 

 exceedingly good, as many people are 

 buying honey to put away instead of 

 canned fruit, and the prices recom- 

 mended by the committee are being 

 realized. 



Western New York Field Neet. — The 



basket picnic and field meet of the 

 Western New York Honey Producers' 

 Association, which was held at the De- 

 Muth apiary in Pembroke, N. Y., was 

 as large a gathering of beekeepers as 

 was ever witnessed in this end of the 

 State. The forepart of the day was a 

 matter of brushing up acquaintances 

 and forming new ones. Next a little 

 demonstration of finding queens and 

 noting differences. Some favor the 

 darker strains of Italians while some 

 favor the lighter or golden strains. A 

 few supers of honey were removed 

 from the hives by Messrs. Vollmer & 

 DeMuth, using their automatic bee 

 brush for clearing the combs of bees. 

 This honey was taken to the honey 

 house where many expressed their way 

 of uncapping; many preferred the hot 

 knife, some the cold, some up stroke 

 and some down stroke. It seems to be 

 more a matter of personal practice. 



Vice-President J. Roy Lincoln told 

 of his experience in treating European 

 foulbrood and curing same. Mr. G. C. 

 Greiner, the veteran beekeeper whom 

 if any one ever met would rarely soon 

 forget, told of his campaign with the 

 disease four years ago, of course com- 

 ing out victorious in the fight. It was 

 repeatedly brought out that a vigorous 

 strain of Italians were necessary to 



clean up the disease. 



Mr. J. T. Rasch told of his method 

 of rearing queens and building up 

 nuclei, which he has practiced for sev- 

 eral years. 



Ur. H. Smoyer exhibited some fine 

 photographs of apiaries in Porto Rico, 

 which by their appearances showed 

 that there is some honey yield in that 

 locality. 



Mr. L. F. Wahl told how he packs 

 honey for the trade in quarter pint 

 milk bottles which keeps him busy in 

 the winter months when he cannot 

 rear queens, which he certainly does in 

 the summer. 



Several members were added to the 

 association. Special credit should be 

 given Mr. and Mrs. DeMuth for the 

 lunch and refreshments that they cheer- 

 fully served to those who forgot to 

 jjring their lunch or found it inconven- 

 ient to do so. The association plans 

 to make this summer meeting an annual 

 affair, as it certainly is a day well spent. 



Northern Illinois and Southern Wis- 

 consin Meeting. — The annual neeting 

 of the Northern Illinois and Southern 

 Wisconsin Beekeepers' Association 

 will be held in the Court House in 

 Freeport, 111., on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 1915. 

 All those interested in bees are invited 

 to attend. B. Kennedy, Sec. 



Rockford, 111. 



Idaho-Oregon Meeting. — The Idaho- 

 Oregon Honey Producers' Association 

 held their annual field day at the Gott- 

 fried Lohrli home place in Parma 

 Idaho, on July 8: 



Guy Graham, of Boise, State Horti- 

 culturist and Bee Inspector, spoke of 

 the State appropriation of $3000 which 

 was secured at the last meeting of the 

 legislature. The d .-partment has been 

 using it for the purpose of stamping 

 out foulbrood from among the bees. 

 Two thousand dollars was spent the 

 first year and $1000 more will be spent 

 this year. This will be of special bene- 

 fit to the small bee raisers, as the larger 



This photograph should have appeared in connection with Mr. T. Rayment's article 



in our September issue 



