March, 1914. 



American "Bee Jonrnal 



serts that attics are a grand success as 

 places in which to "keep" bees. 



Has not Mr. Pearce misunderstood 

 us ? We have no where said that bees 

 might not be kept successfully in 

 rooms or attics and wintered there, if 

 not confined to the hive. Wc warned 

 beginners, and do yet, against the re- 

 moval of colonies from their summer 

 stands to confine them to any room 

 where the temperature varies, instead 

 of using a cellar or some other reposi- 

 tory of uniform temperature. Perhaps 

 we were not e.xplicit enough. Here is 

 what we said : 



'"To winter bees indoors, they should 

 be kept at a temperature of 40 to 4.5 de- 

 grees, in quietude and darkness. 



" A room or garret, where the tem- 

 perature varies is a bad place to winter 

 bees." 



We do not believe that there is any 

 doubt in the mind of any experienced 

 apiarist about the possibility and ad- 

 vantage of using a room or an attic as 

 a bee house. But very few persons are 

 so situated that they have at their dis- 

 posal a room or an attic, handy and 

 vacant, where more than two or three 

 hives of bees may be kept. This is the 

 equivalent of a bee house. 



Miscellaneous ^ News Items 



Meeting- of the National 



The National Association had both 

 a beekeepers' meeting and a business 

 meeting at St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 17-18. 

 Thanks to the efficiency of the Mis- 

 souri delegate, Mr. R. A. Holekamp, a 

 splendid hall had been secured, free of 

 expense, at the Planters Hotel, one of 

 the best in the city. 



Some 15 delegates were present from 

 as many States or parts of States. Mr. 

 Tyrrell, the secretary, was not present. 

 Mr. Wesley Foster, appointed in his 

 stead, made a very efficient secretary, 

 pro tern. 



Lengthy discussions on the policies 

 to be followed brought about a decis- 

 ion to again revise the constitution and 

 incorporate the association under the 

 laws of Missouri. In spite of very 

 pointed differences of opinion among 

 the delegates, a very fraternal spirit 

 prevailed during the session. 



The officers elected were : Burton 

 N.Gates, re-elected president; Frank 

 C. Pellett, vice-president; George W. 

 Williams, of Redkey, Ind., secretary 

 and treasurer. These two offices were 

 combined at the suggestion of the re- 

 tiring treasurer, to simplify work. 



The directors elected were: J. M. 

 Buchanan, of Tennessee, re-elcted ; 1'"., 

 G. Carr, of New Jersey, and George W. 

 Williams, of Indiana; Messrs. Town- 

 send and Foster holding over. 



Honey Labels.— We are foiled on get- 

 ting labels to stick to tin pails. Have 

 put alum in flour paste, but when dry 

 it cracks off. How do you do it ? — C. 

 C. Miller. 



We have never had any trouble in 

 getting labels to stick to tin, with or- 

 dinary Hour paste. We make it fairly 

 thin and use it warm or cold. It gets 

 thicker by standing. Alum is good to 

 preserve it, if you want to keep it from 

 souring or molding. We have kept it 

 in this way a month. We do not think 

 that alum has any influence to keep it 

 from sticking or to make it stick. Thin 

 labels stick best, because they shrink 

 less than heavy ones, when drying. 

 The tin may be at fault, but we could 

 not think what is wrong with it unless 

 it be dusty. 



Our own labels stick so well that we 

 have to soak the pail in water, when 

 we want to take the label off. We are 

 very much inclined to think that the 

 only fault in your case comes from too 

 good paper in the labels. 



The Langstroth Manuscript. — In our 



February number we gave copy of 

 manuscript written by L. L. Lang- 

 stroth on the subject of flour as pollen 

 for bees, offering a prize to the first 

 one who would give the correct inter- 

 pretation. Out of the first 30 or 40 an- 

 swers received only 2 were correct, 

 and as these came in the same mail, we 

 are placing both the parties on our mail 

 list for an additional year. The win- 

 ners were Mr. H. W. Loomis, of Kil- 

 bourn. Wis., and Mr. Allen Latham, of 

 Norwichtown, Conn. 



We give the correct reading as fol- 

 lows : " Bees to load up flour use their 

 honey to make it knead. When nat- 

 ural pollen comes (it) is moisteror they 

 get honey to moisten from blossoms. 

 They will therefore stop on flour even 

 if it was just as good. When frost 

 kills pollen flour used again."— [The 

 word in parenthesis is added by us. — 



FUITOR.] 



The Northern Michigan Meeting.— Mr. 



Ira D. Bartlett, secretary of the North- 

 ern Michigan Association, asks us to 

 announce that an excellent program 

 has been prepared for the meeting in 

 Petoskey on March 10 and 11. Prizes 

 will be offered for the best displays of 

 comb and extracted honey and bees- 

 wax. It is the aim of the association 



to have as large a display as possible. 

 Beekeepers who possibly can should 

 not fail to attend. 



The Market for Honey in France.— 



The following was taken from the 

 Daily Consular and Trade Reports : 



"The sale and consumption of honey 

 in France varies, in a great measure, 

 according to the localities or regions 

 in which it is produced. In certain 

 sections of the country it is abundant 

 and easily obtainable; in others there 

 exists so little taste for it that only a 

 few grocers keep it in stock. The 

 French departments producing the 

 greatest quantity of honey are: Cotes- 

 du-Nord, Ile-et-ViUaine, Eure-et-Loire, 

 Marne, Cher, Finistrre, Var, Loire- 

 Inferieure, Loiret, Aisne, Somme, Cor- 

 reze, Morbihan, and Iscre. The French 

 colonies of Algeria and Madagascar 

 also produce the article. 



" French imports of honey in 1012 

 net 2,82.5 metric quintals (metric quin- 

 tal=220.4G pounds), derived principally 

 from the following countries : United 

 States, 595 quintals ; Haiti, 'J67 quintals ; 

 Mexico, 4:3() quintals; Italy, 180 quin- 

 tals. Net exports were 11,377 metric 

 quintals, principally to Netherlands, 

 4,103 quintals ; Algeria, 3,316 quintals ; 

 Belgium, 1,023 quintals; Germany, 1,480 

 quintals; and Great Britain, 5,56 quin- 

 tals. 



"From the foregoing it will be noted 

 that, with the exception of Haiti, 

 France imports more honey from the 

 United States than from any other 

 country, and that almost one-third of 

 the French honey exported is shipped 

 to the Netherlands. 



"The price of honey in the French 

 market varies slightly according to the 

 quantity and quality of the season's 

 crop, though the quotations rarely 

 fluctuate to a degree exceeding $1.00 

 per 100 pounds. The wholesale price 

 for honey at the beginning of January, 

 1914, in barrels or tin pails containing 

 25, 59, 100, 150 kilos (5.5.11, 110.23, 220.46, 

 or 330 09 pounds) is 110 to 120 francs 

 ($21.23 to $23.10) per 100 kilos. Honey 

 at this price, and sold in bulk, is not of 

 a very delicate flavor, nor does it pos- 

 sess the taste which is characteristic 

 of the product of the hive. A consid- 

 erable better grade, however, can be 

 obtained at 1.50 francs ($28.95) per 

 220.46 pounds. The finest quality is 

 sold in tin boxes or cans containing 5 

 kilos (11.02 pounds) at 1.90 francs 

 ($0.37 per kilo 2.2 pounds). This honey 

 is of grayish color, opaque, and thick 

 in consistency. Transparent, or clari- 

 fied honev is sold in glass jars con- 

 taining half a kilo. Us color is similar 

 to golden syrup, but its flavor is in- 

 ferior to the semi-solidified, or opaque, 

 honey, which is usually sold as " Honey 

 of the Alps." 



Judging from the quotations recently 

 communicated to the consulate at 



