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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



April 2, 



PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY 



GEORGE W. YORK & COMPANY, 

 MS ariciig-an St., - CHICAGO, ILL. 



REGULAK CONTRIBUTORS : 



G. M. Doolittle, of New York. Prof. A. J. Cook, of California. 



Dr. C. C. Miller, of Illinois. Dr. J. V. H. Brown, of Georgia. 



J, H. Martin, of California. Rev. E. T. Abbott, of Missouri. 



Cbas. Dadant & Son, of Illinois. 

 B. Taylor, of Minnesota. 



$1.00 a Year — Sample Copy Sent Free. 

 [Entered at the Post-OtBce at Chicago as Second-Class Mail-Matter.] 



Vol. Iim CHICA&O, ILL,, APe, 2, 1896. No, 14. 



Bees and Honey in Illinois.— The Statillcal Re- 

 port issued by the Illinois State Board of Agriculture at the 

 close of 189.5, gives the following for the apiarian industry 

 for last year: 



Of the 427,667 pounds of honey produced in Illinois last 

 year, 151,823 pounds was produced in the northern division 

 of the State, 105,925 pounds in the central, and 109,919 

 pounds in the southern division. The average price received 

 was IS cents per pound, and the total value, $56,534. 



There were 50,760 colonies of bees reported in Illinois 

 in 1895. 



Well, that is a beginning. May be this year beeswax can 

 be included in the Report. We wish they would separate the 

 honey into extracted and comb. 



Xlie Xext Plortb American Meeting.— We 



have received the following about the 1896 meeting of the 

 North American Bee-Keepers' Association, from ex-President 

 Emerson T. Abbott, of St. Joseph, Mo.: 



I see that the Nebraska people have begun to make ar- 

 rangements for the next meeting to be held at Lincoln, and I 

 do hope there will be no thought of holding the meeting at 

 any other point. It seems to me that every member, who was 

 at St. Joseph, especially owes it to our Nebraska friends to do 

 all he or she can to aid in fulfilling the implied promise which 

 was made that the next meeting should go to Lincoln. Let 

 us go there next fall, and carry out our part of the contract, 

 and then I for one will vote to have the next meeting at any 

 time or place that seems to offer the best inducements. 



I am inclined to think that the bee-keepers of the country 

 •will be a unit as to Lincoln when they fully understand the 

 conditions under which the Nebraska people voted to send the 

 last meeting to Canada. Emerson T. Abbott. 



We should like to hear from those good Nebraska people 

 that were at the St. Joseph meeting. How do Messrs. Stilson, 

 Whitcomb, and others, feel about meeting at the same time 

 and place as the Grand Army this year ? 



Corrections.— On page 182, second column, and sec- 

 ond line of Mr. Aikin's first remark, the number should be 10 

 instead of 100. On the same page and column, in the first 

 line of the second paragraph of H, Rauchfuss' second remark, 

 the word " not " was omitted. It should read, " queens will 

 not seldom lay 5 or 6 eggs," etc. 



California Bee-Keepers' Exchange.- The 



By-Laws of the California Bee-Keepers' Exchange, contained 

 in a neat little pamphlet of 23 pages, form a very interesting 

 document. To give any definite idea of what is contained in 

 those 23 pages would take too much space, but a few points 

 may be mentioned : 



Membership is confined to actual producers of honey, and 

 admission to membership is carefully guarded. Each member 

 pays an admission fee of $1.00, and then 75 cents dues four 

 times a year. Each member is required to turn into the Ex- 

 change his annual product of honey, but he can sell direct to 

 the consumer in the home market. The Exchange retains 5 

 per cent, of the proceeds of extracted honey, and 2}^ per cent. 

 of comb. The amount thus retained, after paying current 

 expenses forms a guarantee fund. The guarantee fund may 

 be loaned to the permanent fund, and then there's an arrange- 

 ment by which the members may get back part of the funds 

 of the Exchange if it gets too flush. Debt may be incurred to 

 the amount of 850,000. The Exchange will receive honey 

 from those not members, charging, besides the expenses of 

 marketing, a commission of 5 per cent, for extracted honey, 

 and 2}4 per cent, for comb. 



The Exchange seems to mean business, and its career will 

 be watched with very great interest. 



The American Bee-Keeper for March, contains 

 a real funny editorial, in which it condemns very strongly 

 what it is pleased to call, "so many 'soft' sayings, self- 

 praise, mutual editorial flattery, and railings over personal 

 domestic misfortunes as are found in the bee-journals of the 

 country." 



As an actual fact, in that self-same March American Bee- 

 Keeper, we find items and articles with these suggestive head- 

 ings : 



"Kissing;" "An Attentive Gallant;" "An Old Love- 

 Letter ;" "And then He Proposed;" "The Fin de Siecle 

 Damsel," etc. 



Talk about " so/f sayings" — why, the above seem pretty 

 musJiij ! " People in glass houses," etc. 



Apis Dorsata Once More. — The Ontario County, 

 N. v., Bee-Keepers' Association seems to be determined that 

 the "Giant Bee of India " shall be brought to this country, 

 whether or no. We have received the following from the 

 President of that Association : 



Chapinville, N. Y., March 16, 1896. 

 Mr. Editor: — We enclose an open letter to the bee-keep- 

 ers of the United States, that we would like to have published 

 in the American Bee Journal. We also enclose a copy of the 

 Petition, We had hoped that others more capable would 

 lead in the matter, but becoming disgusted with the delay of 

 those who are supposed to look after the apicultural progress 

 of the country, we decided to move in the matter if we moved 

 alone. We are acting entirely on our own responsibility, with 

 " malice toward none, and charity for all." 

 Yours fraternally. 



Exec Com. Ont. Co., N. Y., B.-K. A. 

 W. P. Marks, Chairman. 



The " letter" referred to by Mr. Marks, reads as follows • 

 Open Letter to the Bee-Keepers of the United States. 



Fellow Bee-Keepers : — We have prepared for circulation a 

 petition asking the Secretary of Agriculture of the United 

 States to take steps to secure and introduce " Apis dorsata" 

 — the Giant Bee of India — into this country. It is a duty that 

 the Government owes, and is willing to render our industry. 

 (See Report of Secretary of Agriculture, 1893, page 25.) 

 Owing to the rapid disappearance of the bumble-bee the in- 

 troduction of these bees will soon be a necessity in the success- 

 ful growing of red clover for seed, if for no other purpose. 

 That these are a distinct and large race of bees there is no 

 doubt, but of their practical value we know nothing, and never 

 will know until we have thoroughly tested them. As progres- 

 sive bee-keepers and honey-producers, we should not rest until 



