58 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 23, 



woman who can make a perfect loaf of bread can, having a 

 good location, make bee-culture a success, as she realizes the 

 importance of performing all the manipulations of the colony 

 at the exact time. 



Bee-culture requires no outlay for land upon which to 

 raise crops, for as yet there has been no plant discovered that 

 pays to plant for honey alone. The honey-bee is a benefactor 

 to our race, roaming the fields at will gathering honey and 

 pollen, which it pays for in the fertilization of the flowers. 

 She takes nothing from the fertility of the soil, but gives to it 

 one of the greatest fertilizers known — the clovers — which 

 would become extinct if it were not for her agency in fertiliz- 

 ing the bloom. No land is required except a spot on which to 

 place the hives. I knew a poor woman who occupied the sec- 

 ond story of a tenement in a large city, and had no place to 

 set her hives except upon a slanting roof. Her few hives, kept 

 under such disadvantages, added materially to her slender in- 

 come. I know of another lady who invested $600 in bees, 

 hives, and patented fixtures, who realized nothing for her ex- 

 penditure. She had read a sensational story of a fortune 

 being made in bee-keeping, and invested her means without 

 knowledge, and entrusted the care of her apiary to a person 

 who knew nothing of bees, but that " they stung and gathered 

 honey." Bee-culture is a science requiring study and thought. 



Women have made a success in bee-culture, and what 

 woman has done woman can do. Two young women 

 attending a boarding school suddenly found themselves thrown 

 upon their own resources. Their father's fortune had flown, 

 and with it his mind. In a log house, upon a little clearing 

 in Michigan woods they engaged in bee-culture, and from its 

 source supported their invalid parents, and obtained means 

 of erecting a good home, surrounded not only with the com- 

 forts, but the elegancies of life. 



Mrs. Sherman, a grand, noble woman of Texas, left a 

 widow with an only son, reared and educated him, at the same 

 time caring for an aged father by the culture of bees and 

 poultry. 



Women of the South, of education and means, would do 

 much good by engaging in bee-culture, and interesting less 

 favored women in its pursuit. It is a panacea for those in 

 feeble health, taking them out into the open air, where, bask- 

 ing in the glorious sunshine amid flowers and the happy hum 

 of industry, they will forget their aches and pains. When 

 they uncover a colony of bees, and breathe in the aroma aris- 

 ing from thousands of flowers, they will take on new life, for- 

 get to worry and fret, singing instead, "Praise God from 

 Whom all blessings flow." 



In conclusion, to the agriculturist and horticulturist, I 

 would say, Remember that the busy little bee is your friend 

 and co-worker. She is trebly a benefactor — shecauseth many 

 blades of grass (I use the word in its broadest sense) to grow 

 where none grew before; she multiplieth our fruits; she 

 gathereth the richest of nectar to tickle our palates, and sooth 

 our lungs ; she toileth early and late, and at the close of her 

 brief but useful life, she asketh neither grave nor monument. 

 Let a grateful people write her obituary. 



Mks. L. Harrison. 



beeswax production — tall vs. square sections. 



At the present price of honey and beeswax, would it not 

 be profitable to produce beeswax as a primary product of the 

 apiary? A. F. Brown said with honey at 5 cents and wax at 

 25 cents, it will pay to produce wax. 



What advantage, if any, has a tall section over a square 

 one? This question was discussed at length in the affirma- 

 tive by Mr. Danzenbaker. He contended you could get more 

 honey from tall sections than square ones, because they em- 

 braced more space ; the bees enter them more readily ; the 

 combs built are more secure ; and they command a better 

 price in the market. 



FREIGHT RATE ON EXTRACTED HONET. 



At the evening session the first question taken up was : 

 " Should the freight rate on extracted honey be higher than 

 on syrup ? If not, what may we do to have them put on a par 

 in this line ?" 



It was moved and carried that a committee of three be 

 appointed to wait upon the railroad companies in reference to 

 rates on honey. W. S. Hart, A. F. Brown and N. G. Osteen 

 were put on the committee. 



SHIPPING AND PRODUCTION OF EXTRACTED HONEY. 



The discussion of the above question drifted to the best 

 receptacle for shipping extracted honey. Mr« O. O. Poppleton 

 stated that the barrels should be made out of cypress and 

 waxed or paraffined. The amount of honey that soaks into 

 unwaxed barrels would pay the cost of waxing. Only about a 



pound of paraffine is required. The barrel must be thoroughly 

 seasoned, and made hot in the sun or by artificial heat ; the 

 hoops driven up tight. The waxing material must be poured 

 in hot and the hole closed. The hot wax expands the air 

 which forces the wax into all the little holes. The barrel 

 must be rolled over and turned around so all the inside gets 

 covered. If the barrel is dry and hot, the wax will not peel off. 



The next question was: "In working for extracted 

 honey what is the best way to keep brood from the combs in 

 the second story ?" Someone answered that the brood did 

 not interfere, and was not thrown out when large extractors 

 were used and care taken. 



The following resolution was offered by N. G. Osteen, and 

 seconded by W. S. Hart: 



To the Honorable Secretary of Agriculture : — 



The International Congress of bee-keepers, composed of 

 representatives from ten different States of the Union, in ses- 

 sion at Atlanta, Ga., Dec. 4 and 5, 1895, after discussion of 

 the needs of apiculture in the line of investigation and expla- 

 nation, and having come to the conclusion that the United 

 States Department of Agriculture can very materially aid us, 

 respectfully petition and recommend the establishment of a 

 Division of Apiculture in the Department of Agriculture, 

 charged with such investigations as might be expected to aid 

 and develop this industry in the United States. 



The resolution was unanimously carried. It was the con- 

 sensus of the Congress that bee-keepers should write their 

 representatives at Washington, urging them to act in concert 

 with the resolution. 



The report of the committee on resolutions was as follows : 



Resoli^ed, That the thanks of this Congress are due the 

 Mayor and Board of Trade of this city for the use of their 

 very comfortable and convenient Council Chamber for our 

 meetings ; to the papers of Atlanta for publishing notices of 

 our meetings, and a synopsis of the proceedings of the several 

 sessions. Be it further 



Resolved, That the thanks of this body are due our officers 

 for the able conduct of our meetings, and particularly are 

 they due our worthy president, Dr. J. P. H. IJrown, who first 

 conceived the idea of holding this Congress, and who has been 

 the chief worker in perfecting plans and arrangements for its 

 successful carrying out. A. I. Root, | 



O. O. Poppleton, y Committee. 

 J. D. FOOSHE, ) 



A Ne'w Binder for holding a year's numbers of the 

 American Bee Journal, we propose to mail, postpaid, to every 

 subscriber who sends us 20 cents. It is called "The Wood 

 Binder," is patented, and is an entirely new and very simple 

 arrangement. Full printed directions accompany each Binder. 

 Every reader should get it, and preserve the copies of the Bee 

 Journal as fast as they are received. Why not begin with 

 Jan. 1 to save them ? They are invaluable for reference, and 

 at the low price of the Binder you can afford to get it yearly. 



If any one desires two of the Binders — one for 1895 

 and one for 1896 — send 80 cents, and they will be mailed to 

 you. 



■*-*-* 



Honey as Food and lUedicine. — A new and revised 

 edition of this 33-page pamphlet is now issued. It has 5 blank 

 pages on which to write or paste recipes taken from other sources. 

 It is just what its name indicates, and should be liberally dis- 

 tributed among the people everywhere to create a demand for 

 honey. It contains a number of recipes on the use of honey as 

 food and as medicine, besides much other interesting and valuable 

 information. Prices, postpaid, are : Single copy, 5 cts. ; 10 copies 

 35 cts. ; 50 for $1.25 ; 100 for S3.00. Better give them a trial. Send 

 all orders to the Bee Journal office. 



Back Xuiubers. — We have on hand a few back 

 numbers of the Bee Journal for 1895, which we will mail to 

 any one wishing them at 15 copies for 20 cents. They will all 

 be different dates, but we have no complete sets for the year. 

 Just send us 20 cents in stamps or silver, and we'll send you 

 15 copies. No doubt there are many new subscribers who 

 will be glad to take advantage of this offer. All new sub- 

 scriptions now begin with Jan. 1, 1896. 



Xtie Xames and Addresses of all your bee- 

 friends, who are not now taking the Bee Journal, are wanted 

 at this office. Send them in, please, when sample copies will 

 be mailed to them. Then you can secure their subscriptions, 

 and earn some of the premiums we have offered. The 

 next few months will be just the time to easily get new sub- 

 scribers. Try it earnestly, at least. 



