December, 1912. 



American Vee Journal 



mediate vicinity. This looks plausible, 

 but there are more positive ways of 

 ascertaining death. 



The Picture Contest Our picture 



contest, wliich closed on the first of 

 November, was an entire success in 

 point of pictures received, and also as 

 to the quality of the same. Over 200 

 pictures were entered by 8."i different 

 contestants. Our front cover for this 

 month will show the picture which was 

 awarded first prize by the judges. 



The two men who judged the contest 

 were Mr. E. J. Baxter, president of the 

 Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association, 

 and Mr. H. M. Anschutz, of Keokuk, 

 Iowa, acknowledged the best photog- 

 rapher in Iowa, and probably in the 

 middle West. Prizes awarded were as 

 follows; 



First Prize — Edward F. Bigelow, 

 Sound Beach, Conn. 



Second Prize— Wesley Foster, Boul- 

 der, Colo. 



Third Prize— J. F. Diemer, Liberty, 



Mo. 



Fourth Prize— L. L. Ness, Morris, 111. 



Fifth Prize— B. F. Schmidt, N. Buena 

 Vista, Iowa. 



Other prizes were awarded to con- 

 testants in the order named below: F. 

 E. Millen, Ontario ; Chas. Kennard, In- 

 diana; J. A. Nininger, Kansas; G. L. 

 Sauer, Illinois; T. Yawata, Japan; H. 

 Adams, New Mexico ; F. F. George, 

 Idaho; Ira D. Bartlett, Michigan;.!. 

 A. Green, Pennsylvania; J. A. Buck- 

 lew, Ohio; G. E. Morris, Vermont; K. 

 Okiishima, Japan ; J. H. Berry, Oregon ; 

 T. C. Nail, Arkansas; J. S. Dean, New 

 York; Mrs. Bertha Anthony, Califor- 

 nia ; A. A. Augenstein, Illinois; W. C. 

 Eastman, Ohio ; J. B. Hollopeter, Penn- 

 sylvania; J. M. Butler, Idaho; S. R. 

 Stewart, Colorado ; Dr. J. M. Kleeber, 

 Wisconsin. 



Weight ol Sections. — 1. When comb 

 honey is quoted at 17 to 18 cents per 

 pound, does that mean that a section is 

 called a pound, or does it go by the 

 actual weight ? 



2. If the actual weight is used, what 

 does the commission man do in case 

 a shipment is sent to him which has not 

 been weighed before being sent? 



3. What commission is charged? 



These questions were referred to R. 

 A. Burnett & Co., of Chicago, who give 

 the following answers: 



1. No, it does not mean that a sec- 

 tion is called a pound, but the actual. 

 weight is used. 



2. He weighs it, and also tests weights 

 given by consignor. 



'i. Ten percent on consignments that 

 are sold in less than car lots. 



past. Several of the noted bee-keepers 

 have promised to be present, and as 

 our meeting comes just after the Wis- 

 consin meeting, a good delegation is 

 e.xpected from Wisconsin. 



All bee-keepers are invited to attend. 

 L. C. Dadant, Sec. 



Chicago - Northwestern Meeting.— The 



Chicago - Northwestern Bee-Keepers' 

 .Association will hold its annual 

 meeting at the Great Northern Hotel, 

 Room L., 38, Chicago, on Thursday 

 and Friday, Dec. 19 and 20, 1IJ12. The 

 Great Northern Hotel is situated on 

 the corner of Dearborn Street and 

 Jackson Boulevard, and easily accessi- 

 ble from any railroad station. 



As Chicago is a central point there 

 should be a good meeting as in the 



Colorado Meeting The annual con- 

 vention of the Colorado State Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will be held Dec. 

 12 and 13, in Denver, at the Auditorium 

 Hotel, 14th and Stout Streets. The 

 Auditorium Hotel will be headquarters 

 for the Association. The rates are $1.00 

 a day and up. The hotel is new and 

 centrally located. The management 

 has placed the Pompeiian Room at our 

 disposal; the same one as last year. 

 Take Colfax car under viaduct at the 

 Union Depot, and get off at 15th and 

 Stout Streets, and walk one-half block 

 west to the hotel. 



Every session of the meeting will be 

 a live one, and we hope for a large at- 

 tendance. We will have an " auto ses- 

 sion." This will be a hummer, as we 

 are going to have the "auto " dealers 

 show us their utility cars and their 

 winning points. 



The program has not been entirely 

 arranged for at this date, but we will 

 have worth-while sessions, every one. 

 Wesley Foster, Sec 



the man whose death we erroneously 

 reported in our last number. He is 

 taking his final year at the Ontario 

 Agricultural College, specializing in 

 biology, with a view of taking up bee- 

 work in some definite form when he 

 graduates ne.xt spring with the degree 

 of B. S. Agriculture from the Toronto 

 University, with which the College is 

 affiliated. 



The Roswell Fair. — TheRoswell (New 

 Mex.) Morning News of Oct. 4, pub- 

 lishes a list of the winners at their 

 Fair. 



The local winners in bees, honey and 

 wax are Ernest Nelson, J. W. E. Bash- 

 am, R. B. Slease, Henry C. Barron, B. 

 H. Crawford, A. J. Crawford, E. W. 

 Marable. 



This shows there were at least seven 

 e-xhibitors ; a larger number than in 

 many a State Fair. 



A Tea Rose Which Produces Honey. — 



In L'Apiculteur it is reported that the 

 rose bearing the name " Marie Van 

 Houtten," a tea rose, yields honey, and 

 that bees were seen licking the nectar 

 between the stamens of its blossoms. 

 They say that it produces as fully 

 formed seeds as the wild rose. Might 

 not the one be the cause of the other ? 



Demonstrating Bees. — On another 

 page will be found a contribution from 

 Mr. F. E. Millen, of Ontario, a de- 

 scription of the demonstration of bees, 

 which is very interesting, and which 

 might- well be imitated at fairs 

 throughout the country. Mr. Millen is 



Washington State Meeting. — On Jan. 



8, 1913, the Washington State Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will hold a two- 

 days' convention in North Yakima, 

 Wash. In all probability Mr. George 

 W. York, president of the National, 

 will attend. J. B. Ramage, See. 



Bee-Keeping ^ For Women 



Conducted bv Miss Emma M. Wilson. Marengo, 



III. 



The 1912 Season 



As has been already mentioned, the 

 season of 1912 was unusual. It may be 

 well to give here the outcome of the 

 season, and to mention some of the 

 unusual items. In the first place, the 

 heavy winter loss was something very 

 unusual. In the fall of 1911, 114 colo- 

 nies were put in the cellar, and only (14 

 were left to begin the season. A loss 

 of nearly 44 percent is something Dr. 

 Miller has not experienced in many a 

 year. Sickness and death, practically 

 in the family, in the fall, and Dr. Mil- 

 ler's sickness in the spring, may ac- 

 count in some part for it. But others 

 in Jhis region lost from T.*) to 100 per- 

 cent, and we had no occasion to com- 

 plain with ."id percent of ours left. 



The prospect looked pretty blue. No 

 show of white clover, and feeding up 

 to the last of June, and we felt we 

 would be thankful if the bees would 

 only get their winter supplies. But 

 white clover seemed in some myste- 

 rious way to come from nothing, and 

 now with an increase of ih percent, 

 nearly Oildd sections, and colonies heav- 



ily supplied for winter we are more 

 than thankful. 



-After all supers were taken of? the 

 hives with their contents hefted, if a 

 hive felt as if nailed to the ground, it 

 was not even lifted, but passed by as 

 safe. If there was the least bit of un- 

 certainty about its weight it was 

 weighed with the use of a spring bal- 

 ance, and if it weighed less than .50 

 pounds, combs of sealed honey were 

 given to bring up the weight. In most 

 cases this is heavier than necessary, 

 but in case a hive is filled with old 

 combs that are unusually heavy, or 

 have an unusual stock of pollen it is 

 none too heavy. Many of our colonies 

 weigh (10 pounds or more. 



Absence of Brood in Sections 



Among the peculiarities of the sea- 

 son of 1912, was the fact that in our 

 crop of about (1000 sections, not a sin- 

 gle section was found with pollen in it. 

 Of course, it is not impossible that 

 there may have been one or more cells 

 partly filled witli pollen, then filled out 



