1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



553 



one paper to the other, and each one in turn 

 made the lie still bigger. The 3'ellow jour- 

 nals, it seems, have no more scruple about 

 deliberately coloring up facts and palming 

 them off on the public than they do to give 

 the fact itself, if they ever do. A founda- 

 tion of truth, made sensational by false 

 coloring, is just the stuff" thej^ like, becavise 

 it makes the papers sell. 



rambler's "jouncer;" a useful article 

 in the apiary. 



This is the season of the year in the 

 East, at least, when bee-keepers will be 

 taking comb honey off their hives, provid- 

 ing they are fortunate enough to get any 

 of it. In our Jan. 1st issue. Rambler de- 

 scribes his jouncer, and for fear that some 

 of our readers may have forgotten it I de- 

 sire to call their attention to it again; and 

 for the benefit of some of our 7iew readers I 

 will state that it consists of a framework, 

 or four table-legs, as it were, without a 

 top, thoroughly braced together. It stands 

 about two feet high; is just wide enough 

 and long enough to take in a regular hive- 

 super between the four legs. Beneath the 

 super is put a tray of cloth, and this is sup- 

 ported at such a height as will bring the 

 super up flush with the top of the legs. 

 Now, -to get the bees out. Lift the super 

 and jouncer off" the ground a few inches, 

 and give it a sharp "jounce" downward. 

 Repeat these jounces till the bees are all 

 jarred out on the traj', which can be dump- 

 ed in front of the entrance. 



I know this apparatus is a good thing, 

 because I saw the results of its worl<; while 

 in California. Where the modern escape 

 is not used and can not be used at out- 

 yards, the jouncer is one of the best things 

 ever invented. 



HONEY prospects ; A GENERAL FAILURE 

 THUS FAR. 



The reports that have been received have 

 been any thing but favorable. The great 

 extremes from cold to hot, the heavy and 

 continuous downpours of rain, days so 

 chilly that an overcoat has been comfort- 

 able, and fires almost a necessity in the 

 homes, leaves the hives in all the northern 

 and eastern portions of the United States 

 almost destitute of honej' in spite of the fact 

 that I believe there was never a time when 

 there was more white and red clover than 

 now. Just before the last cold spell, about 

 a week ago, we had a few days of warm — 

 yes, hot — weather. The humiditj' was very 

 high; then for a day or two bees were just 

 piling in the honey, and we began to think 

 the cold spell had been broken. But this 

 was soon followed by another "spell" 

 colder than the first, lasting day after day. 

 In vain did we look for a change; but at 

 this writing, June 26, the weather is begin- 

 ning to moderate. There is still an abun- 

 dance of clover in the fields, and the reports 

 over the country show that like conditions 

 prevail everj'where. If we could have ten 



days of warm weather there is j'et a chance 

 for the bees to make a living and something 

 more; and if the bass wood should come we 

 might be able to get a fair crop. But the 

 chances are against us. There ought to be 

 a marked stiffening of prices, as the mar- 

 kets are nearly bare, and there is not verj^ 

 much prospect of any considerable quantity 

 of new honey. 



If clover fails, and basswood too, our bee- 

 friends in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, 

 and some of the other "VX'estern States sub- 

 ject to irrigation, are to be congratulated, 

 as they will get good prices. 



California, from all the latest advices, 

 will not furnish an3' considerable amount 

 of honej'; and if in tlie next ten days clover 

 and basswood and clover do not yield, the 

 markets will be almost bare of Eastern 

 honej^, except such as will be shipped in. 



Our friends have responded magnificent- 

 ly in giving us reports, and I hope they 

 will continue to send them in, for I desire 

 to hear from every locality. 



If we could report even one count}' in anj' 

 one State as having a crop of honey I should 

 be glad to mention the fact; but so far there 

 has not been a single such report received, 

 out of dozens and perhaps hundreds that 

 have come in. In the mean time we thank 

 our friends, one and all, for the courtesj' of 

 their reports, and solicit a continuance of 

 their favors. 



WHO IS general manager? a statement 



FROM MR. ABBOTT. 



The accompanying statement received 

 from Mr. Abbott will explain itself: 



Dear Sir: — The notice of acting Chairniau Root with 

 regard to the General Manag;er of the National Bee- 

 keepers' Association seems to call for a statement 

 from me. First, the Board has or has not a right to 

 receive :\Ir. Secor's resignation and elect his successor. 

 If it has a right to do this, then one was elected s me 

 time ago, for eight members of the Board voted to 

 elect his successor, and seven of them voted for one 

 man. The three New York directors and myself re- 

 frained from voting. The vote was declared, and Mr. 

 Secor was dulv notified by the acting Chairman as to 

 the result, and was requested to turn the funds over to 

 the newly elected General Manager, and he wrote that 

 he would do so. However, later, at the solicitation of 

 a disgruntled member of the Board in New 'Vork, he 

 refused to do so. If the Board has any authority to 

 act in a case like this, then every member of it who 

 voted to elect a successor to IMr. Secor formall}- voted 

 at the same time to receive Ijis resignation. As a 

 majoritj' of the Board so voted, of course he is out, and 

 it is all nonsense to talk about reviewing a vote which 

 has been canvassed and the returns announced. 

 Therefore Mr Secor is not General Manager, and has 

 not been sitice the day the vote was announced. INIr. 

 Abbott was not "suppo-ed" to be elected; he was 

 legally and clearly- elected by a majority of the mem- 

 bers voting, and is the only legal General Manager in 

 existence to-day, if the Board has any authority to act 

 on the question. If it does not, and I am inclined to 

 doubt if it has, then Mr. Secor's resignation is before 

 the membership, and they should be given an oppor 

 tunity to elect his successor at once. As soon as the 

 membership selects another General Manager, the 

 funds in my hands will be turned over to liim, but 

 they will not be turned over to Mr. Secor unless he is 

 elected by the membership. The majority of those 

 voting elects a General Manager, according to the 

 Constitution. The Buffalo amendment, in my opinion, 

 onlv gives the Board authority to remove a General 

 Manager for cause, and then to fill his place; but it 

 does not give them authority to fill his place in any 

 other case. If it does, then all of the members of the 

 Board having received notice of his resignation, and 



