1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



121 



much that the honey don't stick to the tin. I sent the empty can 

 along so that you can see for yourselves. 



Just examine that empty can — it shows premeditated fraud — 

 — the cap has been changed from the original top to the bottom 

 for the purpose of covering up the stamp of the oil company. 

 Now, I claim that the commission merchants are largely to blame 

 for such vandalism. All you would have to do, would be to notify 

 California producers that oil packages would not under any cir- 

 cumstances be accepted. Yours very truly. 



Honey-Man. 



We cannot understand how any bee-keepers can have the 

 "gall," or the poor business sense, to use cans that have had coal- 

 oil in them, for holding honey, when they ought to know that the 

 flavor of honey is very easily affected and totally injured. What 

 poor policy it is to try to save a few cents orf cans, and run the 

 risk of having the honey ruined and made wholly unfit for use! 

 Surely, no readers of the American Bee Journal would be guilty of 

 such an act, but if they know any bee-keeper using old coal-oil 

 cans for honey, they should try to stop it if at all possible, for by 

 the wrong-doing of one, or a few, the whole fraternity must some- 

 times suffer. 



^-•-♦^ 



ms»>oiiri Agriciiltitrnl Report. — We have just re- 

 ceived a copy of The 37th Annual Report of the State Board of 

 Agriculture of Missouri for 1S94, prepared by Secretary J. R. 

 Rippey. It is a book of over 350 pages, bound in cloth, and is a 

 credit to the State and its Board of Agriculture. We presume the 

 book is for free distribution in Missouri. About 25 pages of the 

 book are devoted to " Bee-Keeping," in which appear some of the 

 discussions, as well as a number of essays read, at the St. Joseph, 

 Mo., convention of the North American Bee-Keepers' Association 

 held in 1894. 



We shouldn't wonder if to ex-President E. T. Abbott is due the 

 credit for the fine showing which bee-keeping receives in the Re- 

 port. When introducing the subject of " Bee-Keeping " — after 

 mentioning the meeting of the North American at St. Joseph— the 

 Report says : 



This society represents the industry in the United States and 

 Canada, and as apiculture is a growing and important branch of 

 agriculture, we have thought best to give it a considerable space 

 in this Report. While it may not seem to have become sufficiently 

 advanced locally to justify giving it so much attention, yet we 

 feel that bee-keeping is of very great importance to the farmers of 

 the State. It already adds largely to the income of our people, 

 and we firmly believe that the profits derived therefrom will be 

 greatly increased in the near future, as our citizens become more 

 acquainted with the tools and methods of modern apiculture and 

 its possibilities in our State. There is scarcely a locality in the 

 State where a few bees may not be kept, and some parts of the 

 State are especially suited to the profitable carrying on of this in- 

 dustry in connection with mixed farming. 



As advanced methods of agriculture are introduced, and our 

 people, as a result of this, give more attention to the growing of 

 berries, orchards, small fruits and the clovers, the possibilities of 

 apiculture in the State of Missouri will be greatly increased. Be- 

 lieving this to be true, and thinking that it would be in many ways 

 profitable to our readers, we present herewith a lengthy report of 

 the doings of the convention referred to above. 





Buying- to Sell Again. 



Labeling the honey that a bee-keeper buys to supply his 

 customers after his own crop is sold is being discussed a little. 

 Getting up labels praising one's honey as being peculiarly su- 

 perior to that produced by others, and then buying houey and 

 selling It under such labels would be deception. As labels are 

 usually worded, and as honey is usually bought and sold, I 

 doubt If there will usually be any deception If both lots of 

 honey are sold under the same label. I have bought and 

 sold a great deal of honey, but I don't know as the question 

 vyas ever asked me If the honey was of my own production, 

 although I have frequently told customers that the honey was 

 some that came from so and so, but they never seemed to man- 

 ifest any particular interest in the matter. As a rule, I think 



people don't carg who produces the honey so long as it is good. 

 I certainly would not word a label In such a way as to deceive. 

 It may be that some labels are unintentionally deceptive, and 

 If a man is making a business of buying and selling it might 

 be well to have his labels so worded that no one could be de- 

 ceived even if he tried to be. — Review Editorial. 



Age of Bees. 



Early last May I hived a swarm of Italians, and next day 

 I found their queen dead under the alighting-board. I gave 

 the colony a queen-cell. The weather was unusually cool at 

 the time, and, several weeks after, I noticed that the hive was 

 queenless ; and on opening it I found that the young queen 

 had never emerged from the cell. Laying-workers being pre- 

 sent, no effort was made to requeen. In July, noticing that 

 the hive was very heavy, and fearing robbers, I removed the 

 hive and substituted a three-frame nucleus hive on the same 

 stand, and drove the bees from the old hive with smoke. They 

 took refuge In the nucleus hive, which was furnished with 

 frames filled with foundation. Desiring to see how long they 

 would live without a queen, and hoping that they would draw 

 out the foundation, I let the bees remain In the nucleus hive 

 all summer. They drew out the foundation In one frame in a 

 patch about 5 inches In diameter, and survived until October 

 16, when the last one perished. This Is evidence that bees 

 may survive for six months of summer — an occurrence that 

 seems a little unusual in view of what is usually taught In the 

 books. The swarm was secondary, and the queen, conse- 

 quently, a virgin, and no brood was reared, so that the last 

 survivor was over six months old. — Gleanings. 



Beginning of the Bee-Year. 



The German wise heads say the bee-keepers' year does 

 not begin either with spring or with January, but with Octo- 

 ber 1. There, now ! All my records and things are adjusted 

 to a bee-year beginning October -J:. I'm within three days of 

 it — just by the fortuitous circumstances of buying the apiary 

 on that day. And the experience of so many years shows me 

 that It Is Indeed just the proper place to divide year from 

 year. — E. E. Hasty, in Review. 



Quoting Honey at More Than Actual Market Prices. 



Both in and out of the convention I learned that some of 

 the houses, not only In Chicago, but other cities as well, had 

 been making a practice of making special high quotations — at 

 all events, considerably higher than it would be possible for 

 them to realize In the open market. The object of this, off 

 course, was to get consignments from bee-keepers ; and in this 

 they suceeded admirably. Well, having received the consign- 

 ments these firms in many cases do not scruple to meet the 

 sharpest corapetion in the open market, irrespective of what , 

 they had promised in the way of returns to the bee-keeper; 

 and the honey will be sold for several cents lower per pound. 

 Of course, there is complaint; but the commission house gets 

 out of It by claiming a loss In leakage, broken-down comb 

 honey, or poor quality all round. Again, they will claim to 

 sell at quotations. They will quote at, say, 15 cts. per lb., 

 and realize to the bee-keeper perhaps S cts. They claim that 

 the honey was sold at 15 cts.; but after taking out the cart- 

 age, freight, commission, leakage, and other little items, they 

 will work It around somehow so as to net the bee-keeper only 

 8 cents. — Gleanings Editorial. 



A Few Healthy Dont's for Beginners. 



In the first place, don't get too many colonies to start 

 with. Two is enough, not more than four or five at the out- 

 side. After having secured your start, don't be In too much 

 of a hurry about increasing your colonies. Don't divide them 

 into a number of small colonies and expect to be able to get a 

 crop of honey. With your limited experience you will simply 

 sacrifice your honey crop for Increase, and still have no expe- 

 rience In what Is essential for a beginner to learn — the art of 

 holding colonies advantageously for securing a crop of honey. 

 Have patience, and don't try to go too fast. Let your efforts 

 be directed to getting your colonies strong for the honey-flow, 

 and always do all you can to discourage swarming rather than 

 encourage It, and then you will find they will increase as fast 

 or faster than your growing knowledge will enable you to 

 handle them proficiently. 



After having started In the spring, and had one summer's 

 experience, don't spend your time the following winter Invent- 

 ing a hive that will revolutionize the bee-keeping world, for 

 hives and frames of every conceivable size and shape have 

 been tried, and over a quarter of a century of experience by 



