204 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Feb. 15 



of interesting data on which he himself draws 

 certain conclusions which the reader may ac- 

 cept or reject as he prefers. 



instead of only a page or two at a time we 

 are placing before our readers whole chap- 

 ters, and these will be given in every fourth 

 or fifth issue of this journal in order that the 

 reader may have opportunity in the mean 

 time to think over and digest some of the 

 leading points. 



So valuable is this paper that we have al- 

 ready printed it in pamphlet form, consist- 

 ing of 48 pages, which will be furnished for 

 35 cts. per copy postpaid. 



We may say that the work was originally 

 published in German, and caused a great 

 deal of comment in Europe. Dr. E. F. Phil- 

 lips, of the United Slates Department of Ag- 

 riculture, in charge of apiculture, was so 

 much pleased with it that he strongly urged 

 us to publish it in English. After going over 

 the translation we were delighted with it, 

 and now take pleasure in placing it before 

 our readers. 



Dr Phillips has read carefully every page 

 of this, comparing carefully the translation 

 with the original German; and it will be ob- 

 served that he has made in some places a 

 few comments of his own. 



As will be noted in the preface the author 

 has carefully revised the old edition, adding 

 some new matter gleaned from his later ex- 

 perience. Taking it all in all, we believe 

 we are offering to our American readers a 

 gold-mine of interesting information on the 

 natural history of the honev-bee, and prac- 

 tical also, because it will enable the bee-keep- 

 er to earn more dollars from his bees. 



BEES vs. SHELTER SMOKE; A SERIOUS CON- 

 DITION OF AFFAIRS. 



Gleanings alluded, p. 616, May 1, to the 

 total extinction of the bee industry in the 

 Jordan Valley country in Utah, and to the 

 successful efforts of the Utah Bee-keepers' 

 Association in compelling the smelter-owners 

 to compensate the apiarists for the loss of 

 their bees and hives. No compensation was 

 made or offered for the loss of the annual 

 income which would naturally arise from 

 the induptry. The locality was particularly 

 good for bees; and as the number of colonies 

 it would naturally support is somewhere 

 near 20,000, it follows the annual income 

 lost to the State is between $100,000 and 

 $200,000. This looks like a serious loss to 

 the State. 



But this is not all. Other industries are 

 being affected by the presence of the smel- 

 ters; and Mr. E. S. Lovesy, Pi'esident of the 

 U. B. K. A., returns to the charge in the Dec. 

 21st issue of the Deseret Farmer. He shows 

 the situation is quite serious. He states, 

 "Even now many are complaining of weak- 

 ness, indigestion, head dizziness, sore eyes, 

 etc.; and in order to try to obtain better 

 health many people have moved from their 

 homes. With these facts staring us in the 

 face, and also the fact that the soil itself is 

 being destroyed for agricultural purposes, 

 we think that something should be done," 



It certainly looks as if something should 

 be done, and Gleanings is willing to do all 

 it can to help in the good work; and we are 

 decidedly of the opinion the whole fraternity 

 of bee-keepers would lend a helping hand in 

 a great struggle. United, we stand; divided, 

 we fall. 



The smelters can find many localities in 

 Utah where there is no agriculture, and 

 where their presence would do no harm. 

 Public opinion alone will force the smelting- 

 works to move, and we respectfully suggest 

 to our Utah friends to commence at once 

 creating a sentiment against these smelters 

 being permitted to destroy the agriculture of 

 one of the most beautiful valleys in the 

 West. The law of priority certainly applies 

 here with great force; and with the strong 

 backing of public opinion the farmers ought 

 to win. w. K. M. 



BEE-KEEPING IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS; 

 IS THERE A POSSIBILITY THAT HAWAIIAN 

 HONEY MAY COMPETE WITH AMERI- 

 CAN HONEY? 



It is not generally known, perhaps, that 

 big syndicates are keeping bees in the Ha- 

 waii.in Islands, and that the business is said 

 to be very profitable; but, unfortunately for 

 them, their honey does not conform to the 

 United States standards, and therefore must 

 be sold as honey- dew honey, which it great- 

 ly resembles. So gi'eat are the bee-keeping 

 interests of Hawaii that the United States 

 government is about to send Dr. E. F. Phil- 

 lips, in charge of apiculture at the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, to investigate condi- 

 tions there, and to give the results of his 

 findings in a bulletin which, doubtless, will 

 be issued later. He expects to sail for Hon- 

 olulu on the 20th of February, on the trans- 

 Pa(nfic transport Crook, of the War Depart- 

 ment, returning after a sojourn of some 

 weeks on the islands. 



The fact that our dear Uncle Sam (or, 

 more exactly speaking, Dr. L. O. Howard) 

 is sending one of his emp'oyees to investi- 

 gate bee-keeping conditions in our Pacific 

 possessions shows how much interest he is 

 taking in bee-keeping in general. We cer- 

 tainly appreciate the many services he has 

 rendered us already, and especially his in- 

 terest in this matter. Whether Hawaiian 

 honey will ever be a serious competitor to 

 the American product, we can not say. Cu- 

 ban honey, at least of late years, has not 

 proven so. 



LEASING the PUBLIC LAND. 



Despite considerable opposition in cer- 

 tain quarters, the proposal of President 

 Roosevelt to lease the land belonging to the 

 federal government is gaining friends rapid- 

 ly. Buft'alo Bill is I'eported to be strongly 

 in favor of the move. This means a good 

 deal to bee-keepers whose bees graze on 

 government land, for under the new system 

 it would be possible to get exclusive rights 

 to a bee-range, either at a nominal figure or 

 no charge at all, as is now the case on for- 

 est reserves. w. K. M. 



