June, 1912. 



American Hee JoarnaJ] 



much of a proposition to maintain 

 courage. Remembering that there are 

 whole counties where the commercial 

 irnportance of the industry has been 

 wiped out by foul brood and ignorant 

 management, should cause a thinking 

 man to ponder. 



Today I saw a super on a hive of 

 bees, with 11 sections, no starters at all, 

 and the propolis had been collecting 

 for years on the mildewed wood. The 

 sections were set in every way, and as 

 far as utility, a bundle of sticks would 

 answer as well. The owner was bliss- 

 fully ignorant of my opinion of his bee- 

 keeping, and would have been compli- 

 mented had I taken a picture of his 

 little apiary and manner of supering. 



Hardly a person believes it a possi- 

 bility to get foul brood under control 

 in districts where the disease is preva- 

 lent. Now, what shall we do about it ? 

 We can get bee-keeping incorporated 

 into Farmers' Short Courses. Work 

 in bee-culture should be obtainable in 

 every agricultural college and agricul- 

 tural high school in the country. There 

 are several very good reasons for this. 



When a young man goes to an agri- 

 cultural college he has a $10,000 barn 

 to work with as his model. Expensive 

 hog-yards, poultry houses and cattle- 

 feeding yards are provided. This young 

 man, upon leaving this institution, can 

 not hope to have such an equipment on 

 his own farm for years. What does he 

 do ? He gets a job as a teacher in 

 some agricultural college, or with the 

 Department of Agriculture, or perhaps 

 a salaried position as manager of some 

 wealthy man's estate. He is not able 

 to begin for himself as he wishes. 



The culture of the bee is different. 

 With a few hundred dollars, a graduate 

 of a school of agriculture, who has 

 specialized in bee-keeping, can begin 

 and follow the best practices, make a 

 living and get ahead from year to year. 



Such a graduate would very soon 

 distance the ordinary specialist bee- 

 keeper as we know him. He would be 

 trained in queen-breeding, in the 

 preparation of a colony of bees for 

 successful wintering, in the methods of 

 securing a large force of bees for the 

 honey-flow. He would have learned 

 the importance'of system and account- 

 ing, so that he would know whether it 

 required .j or l-') pounds of the honey 

 crop to pay interest, depreciation, ex- 

 penses and salary for himself. He 

 could and would be able to say what 

 had been his profits. 



Now, do not think that these things 

 can not be learned outside of a school 

 of agriculture, for they can. A few are 

 learning tliese things. But the majority 

 will learn much faster if they can be 

 given the training without the distract- 

 ing elements of commercial bee-culture. 



It is possible to secure a thing of 

 this kind easier than many imagine. 

 Determination and persistence will se- 

 cure the recognition of our rights. If 

 agriculture had received one-half of 

 what has been expended on the Army 

 and Navy, this country would now be 

 invincible, and the envy of the world. 

 But with the scanty recognition ac- 

 corded our little corner of the agricul- 

 tural field, we are making some head- 

 way, and if we work hopefully we will 

 grow by what we feed on. 



Let us tell our agricultural college 



men of our needs every opportunity we 

 get, and constant application will have 

 its effect. 



The Railroads and the Bee-Keeper 



It costs $3.0(1 more to ship a car of 

 comb honey from Nampa, Idaho, to 

 Portland, Oreg., than it does from 

 Nampa, Idaho, to Denver. The Pacific 

 Coast is the logical market for Idaho 

 honey, and with favorable freight-rates 

 the Idaho bee-keepers could get as 

 good prices as the men located farther 

 East. It is hoped that every bee- 

 keeper interested will do what he can. 

 It is irnportant to the Eastern market 

 that this honey should go in the direc- 

 tion of the demand, and not be held up 

 by the excessive rates. 



This petition of the Southern Idaho 

 bee-keepers will explain itself: 



Bee-Keepers Petition for Better Rates. 



The beekeepers of the South Idaho and 

 East Oregon Association have sent in the 

 following petition to the O. S. L. Railway- L. 

 C. McCarty. of Nampa. has the matter in 

 hand. The petition reads ; 



"We. the undersigned bee-keepers of 

 Southern Idaho, beg to submit herewith a 

 few figures on honey-rates from Southern 

 Idaho for your consideration. We take 

 Nampa as a basis; 



"Honey carload Nampa to Denver. <J5c 

 cwt.: less carloads. 8i.i7 cwt. on extracted 

 honey. Carloads. $1.27 cwt.; less carloads. 

 $2.00 cwt. on comb honey. 



" Portland carloadsTSc cwt-; lesscarloads. 

 Si. 14 cwt- on extracted- 



" Portland carloads gkc cwt-; lesscarloads. 

 $1-48 cwt. on comb. 



"The past year was a very poor honey 

 year, and about half a crop was harvested, 

 although there were about 10 cars shipped 

 out of Soutiiern Idaho. Normal years, we 

 would be able to have twice to three times 

 tliis amount, as the bee-industry is becom- 

 ing more active each year- 



"We had flattering offers on honey this 

 year from Portland, but the rates were pro- 

 hibitive, and we were compelled to sell our 



honey East, and locally, as we could no 

 compete witii water rates from California 

 points to Portland- 



"Considering the difference in the dis- 

 tance between Denver and Portland from 

 Nampa. we believe the rates to Portland are 

 hardly in line witii rates East, and respect- 

 fully ask that you tal<e this matter up with 

 proper officials with a view of obtaining 

 some consideration in rates to Portland." 



The Soil and Apiculture 



Wherever weeds grow the rankest, 

 there you may rest assured the honey 

 crop will be the most bounteous. 

 Sweet clover and alfalfa yield more 

 nectar where sage brush covered the 

 land prior to cultivation, than where 

 buffalo grass and cactus held the field. 

 The deeper the soil, the better the 

 honey crop, also holds good. In study- 

 ing the West, it is well to remember 

 these little points. They spell partial 

 success or failure. A soil made up of 

 volcanic ash formation has the right 

 combination to raise hundred bushel 

 oats and hundred pound comb honey 

 averages, too. I don't know why this 

 is, but the sweetness seems to be in 

 the soil waiting for the flower to lift it 

 out and pass it to the bee. 



Co-operative Honey Selling 



The Pecos Valley Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation sells honey co-operatively, 

 and is protecting its members' interests 

 in every way. The Association issues 

 a little farmers' bulletin on spraying, 

 citing many authorities to show the 

 damage to the fruit as well as to the 

 bee-keeper from spraying when the 

 trees are in bloom. It is about the 

 neatest written little circular it has 

 been my privilege to see. 



Conducted by Louis H. Scholi . New Braunfcis, Tex. 



Bee-Inspectors' Demonstrations 



The matter of bee-inspection in On- 

 tario was noted with considerable in- 

 terest, mainly because the demonstra- 

 tion work in connection with bee-in- 

 spection is a subject that the writer has 

 not only been interested in for a long 

 time, but one that we have carried out 

 in several instances. 



In our inspection work, in a certain 

 locality, it was so arranged that a 

 all the bee-keepers in that neigh- 

 borhood, if possible, were gath- 

 ered together, either at one of the api- 

 aries where foul brood existed, or at a 

 school-house, generally centrally lo- 

 cated. One of the meetings, especially, 

 that was held in a school-house was 

 one of the most interesting foul-brood 

 meetings at which the writer has ever 

 been present. The advantage of hold- 

 ing such meetings in the school-build- 

 ing is that not only combs containing 

 the disease and other foul-brood ma- 

 terial, as well as microscopes, etc., can 

 be used to a better advantage, but the 



black board aids materially in illustrat- 

 ing various features connected with 

 the disease, and the method of handling 

 and treatment. The latter is especially 

 valuable if the inspector is a good 

 artist, as it is possible to convey dif- 

 ferent points under consideration much 

 more satisfactorily, and they are much 

 more easily grasped by those in attend- 

 ance, and consequently remembered 

 better. 



It is true that other features may be 

 best shown in the apiary where foul 

 brood is being treated, but the time re- 

 quired will be longer. More ground 

 can be covered with the use of suffi- 

 cient material and black-board illustra- 

 tions in the school-house meetings. 

 Our experience is, that the attention of 

 the audience can be hold closer to the 

 subject than if a large number of bee- 

 keepers are devoting a part of their 

 attention to other matters while gath- 

 ered in the apiary. 



We are glad that Ontario's Provin- 

 cial Apiarist, Morley Pettit, has adopt- 

 ed this method of giving demonstra- 



