24 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 9, 



'<^z. 





PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY 



CEORCE W. YORK & COMPANY, 



Editors and Proprietors, 

 66 P'iftb Avenue^ - CHICAGO^ ILL. 



$1.00 a Year— Sample Copy Sent Free. 

 [Entered at the Post-OfiBce at Chicago aa Second-Class Mail-Matter.] 



Vol. niVI, CHICAGO, ILL, JAN, 9, 1896. No. 2. 



California Industries is to be the subject of a 

 symposium soon to appear in the San Francisco Call. Prof. 

 Cook is to furnish the article on Bee-Keeping. It will be an 

 interesting and reliable contribution, surely. 



The Ctaicag-o Meeting' of the Illinois State Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will be in session when the majority of 

 readers of the Bee Journal receive this number. We are ex- 

 pecting a good time, and a large attendance on account of the 

 IK fare granted by the railroad companies by reason of the 

 National Cycle Exhibition held here this week. 



Lansfstroth memorial Extracts, mentioned 

 last week, are found in this number of the Bee Journal. They 

 are exceedingly interesting — so much so that our compositor 

 who put them in type said : " Why, I'd be willing to die, if I 

 could have such good things said of me afterward." We can 

 add nothing more to what the various writers have said about 

 our lamented Langstroth. We believe he deserved all, and 

 more. Some day we trust there may be an appropriate vol- 

 ume published, in which shall be recorded in permanent 

 form a just and complete account of the noble deeds and the 

 words of wisdom of the honored Father of American apicul- 

 ture — the Rev. L. L. Langstroth. 



Melilot, or S-weet Clover.— The engraving on 

 the first page of this number of the Bee Journal was made 

 from a photograph showing a small plat of Melilotus alba in 

 full bloom, as the plants appeared July 27, 1895, and after 

 they had been in blossom nearly one month ! This shows the 

 immense value of melilot — the white variety — as a blooming 

 plant, and why it is such a wonderful honey-plant. When the 

 photograph was taken the plants were about 6 feet high, but 

 this is simply an average growth in Northern Illinois, when 

 they are old enough to be in full bloom. On very rich soil the 

 plants often grow from 8 to 9 feet high. 



It is through the kindness of Mr. Baldridge, that we have 

 the pleasure of showing our readers this beautiful plat of 

 melilot, or sweet clover. lie is a great admirer of this honey- 

 plant, so much so that he has gone to the expense of getting 

 out several "Special Bulletins" on Melilotus. He will send 

 throe of them for 5 cents in stamps ; and for 5 cents more he 



will mail a small package of melilot seed — enough to sow a 

 small plat of ground. 



Undoubtedly, sweet clover is destined to become one of 

 the leading honey-yielding plants in the near future. Its 

 honey is of the finest, both in flavor and appearance, and 

 drouths do not materially affect its growth. It seems to pros- 

 per in any part of our great country, and when farmers in 

 general learn of its value as a hay and forage plant, they will 

 unconsciously aid bee-keepers in placing it where the bees can 

 revel upon it for weeks during the season of its bounteous 



blooming. 



■*-—* 



Selling- Another's Honey.— On page 20 of this 

 issue is a criticism by Mr. B. Taylor, in which he shows very 

 clearly the correctness of our advice to buy and sell another 

 bee-keeper's honey when your own crop is all disposed of and 

 you have opportunity to sell more. So long as yoxi know your 

 bought honey is absolutely pure, and equal to your own pro- 

 duction, there certainly can be no necessity for any explana- 

 tion when offering it for sale to your customers. On this 

 matter we think Mr. Hasty is now "straining at a gnat," 

 while a few years ago he was "swallowing a camel" loaded 

 high with sugar-honey. 



Putting ourselves in a customer's place, and if we were 

 buying honey of Mr. Hasty, would we care who produced the 

 honey he sold us, so long as we had enough confidence in his 

 honesty to feel that he would not sell anything but pure and 

 good honey? We think that Mr. Taylor is entirely justified 

 in his criticism, and we would urge every bee-keeper to try to 

 keep his neighbors and customers constantly "sweetened up," 

 even if you must buy all the honey you sell. But always, of 

 course, be fully assured that the honey you purchase is the 

 best and purest that can be had. 



We have retailed quite a little honey the past two or three 

 years (some of our own production, but most of it we bought), 

 and our customers never think of questioning us about it. If 

 they did, we should of course tell them the truth about it. 

 Always tell the truth when you tell anything; but it isn't 

 always necessary to say anything. 



Bees Near a Railroad.— In response to the re- 

 quest made by Dr. Miller, on page 79-4, Hon. Geo. E. Hilton, 

 of Fremout, Mich., says : 



My home apiary is located near the railroad, and, with 

 the observation of 16 years, I cannot see ihat the jarring 

 affects the bees, although the ground shakes terribly at times. 



Geo. E. Hilton. 



Planing for Next Season.— One of our best ag- 

 ricultural exchanges — the Farm and Fireside — has some very 

 good suggestions to offer to its readers, about preparing in ad- 

 vance for the coming season. The writer wisely says that 

 winter is the time to make plans and be ready to begin next 

 spring with a set purpose in view. No one can plan a year's 

 operations and feel certain that it is going according to his 

 plans, but he can map out a general course to pursue, and 

 have his thinking done in time to be ready for acting when 

 the time for action arrives. 



He who works without well-considered plans works to no 

 purpose, and wastes precious time repairing mistakes. If the 

 work of a season is considered beforehand, it can be accom- 

 plished easily and without friction, and much of worry and 

 bother will be dispensed with. An old farmer once said that 

 he did a great deal of his work while sitting in his arm-chair. 

 He meant that he planned his work carefully, and was ready 

 to do everything in time, and promptly. That man's tools are 

 always ready for use when they are needed ; everything is in 

 good repair all the time, because he does every bit of work at 

 the proper time, and does not allow it to get ahead of him. 

 Every one knows how hard it is to catch up when one gets a 



