1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



217 



every spot on this earth has been searched, and every race of 

 honey-bees has been tested. We should do it for the ad- 

 vancement of scientific and progressive apiculture, for our- 

 selves and for posterity. Prof. Cook said in the American 

 Bee Journal, Oct. 1^5, 1890, page 708 : 



" It is not creditable to the enterprise of our time that 

 the Orient is not made to ' show its hand,' and any superior 

 bees that may be in existence in Africa, India, Ceylon, or the 

 Philippine Islands, brought here for our use and test." 



Our Association has taken hold of this with sincerity, and 

 expects the united support of the bee-keepers of this country, 

 and with their support the end of the nineteenth century will 

 witness a new era in apiculture, in which the bee-keepers of 

 the United States will take a leading part. Life is too short 

 for further delay. There is much to gain and nothing to lose. 

 We are determined to succeed, and want your active assis- 

 tance. Yours fraternally. 



Executive Committee, 

 Ontario Co., N. Y., Bee-Keepers' Asssociation. 



Copies of these petitions may be obtained by any one who 

 will circulate them, by addressing, 



W. F. Marks, Chapinville, N. Y. 



The following is a copy of the Petition which the Ontario 

 Co., N. Y., Bee-Keepers' Association is desirous to have cir- 

 culated for signatures : 



To the Honorable, the Secrelary of Agriculture, Washington, 

 D. C: 



The bee-keepers of this country are aware of the existence 

 in the East Indies of a large honey-bee, known as "Apis 

 dorsata," reliably reported to be an excelleat wax-maker and 

 honey-gatherer. It is believed that these bees would be of 

 great advantage to the apiarian and agricultural interests of 

 the country — a belief which only actual trial will ever con- 

 firm. The bee-keepers are thankful, and appreciate all favors 

 received from the Government, yet they have asked for, and 

 have received, perhaps, less than any other branch of Agricul- 

 ture of equal importance. Realizing that, if we are going to 

 have " Apis dorsata " domesticated during '• our day and gen- 

 eration," it is time to begin, and since repeated individual 

 efforts have failed to import these bees alive, we, the under- 

 signed bee-keepers and farmers, respectfully and earnestly 

 petition you to take steps to insure their introduction into the 

 United States. In this we represent the sentiment of a ma- 

 jority of the progressive bee-keepers of the country. The 

 Secretary of Agriculture, in his report for lSi>3, page 25, 

 says : " The Entomologist, Prof. Riley, strongly recommends, 

 as a part of the work for this fiscal year, an attempt to intro- 

 duce from Ceylon the Giant Bee of India ; therefore, the in- 

 terested attention of bee-keepers in the several States is 

 directed in a special manner to these suggestions." 



We, therefore, pray that our petition will receive imme- 

 diate and favorable consideration. 



In order to get au expression from some more of the 

 "progressive bee-keepers of the country" on this subject, we 

 hereby request that all who reply to questions found in the 

 Question-Bos" department of the American Bee Journal, 

 please send us on a postal card their opinion regarding the 

 matter of importing " Apis dorsata," as proposed by this 

 Petition. If they will do it at once, we can publish the replies 

 this month yet. Such expression will no doubt be an aid to 

 others in deciding whether or not they wish to help in the 

 undertaking. It seems to us that if, as proposed, "Apis dor- 

 sata" will prove such a great acquisition, a petition issued by 

 the North American Bee-Keepers' Association would carry 

 with it greater weight when it comes before the Washington 

 authorities. 



Kindly let us have a prompt response from those who 

 represent our " Question-Box." 



than are well supported, and for any one to rush into the 

 newspaper business these days shows a lack of good sense. Of 

 course, the older papers can stand it all right, no matter if a 

 thousand new ones are started, but what folly it is for any one 

 to throw away good money ou such useless and needless ven- 

 tures. " A word to the wise," etc. 



The Rural Kansan has been purchased by the 

 Progressive Bee-Keeper, and its subscribers will hereafter re- 

 ceive the latter paper. So writes Editor Leahy, of the Pro- 

 gressive. It's a good move. In the first place, the "Kansas 

 Bee Journal " was started ; then the name was changed to 

 " Rural Kansan," and now it drops out altogether. 'Tisjust 

 as we expected. There is no need of more new bee-papers or 

 other farm papers. There are more papers published now 



Gradingf Comb Honey.— This subject is brought 

 up again in Gleanings for March 15, after a hibernation of 

 several years. Mr. Thos. Elliott, of Harvard, HI,, who men- 

 tions it, thinks that Dr. Miller's grading, offered in 1892, 

 would suit the majority, and says that what is wanted now is 

 " action," as " the matter was discussed all that was neces- 

 sary." Mr. Elliott says further : 



My plan now is to print small, cheap slips, reading some- 

 thing like this : 



The honey in this cr.ate is graded according to the rules laid down 

 by the Miller grade, which is as follows: 



Fancy.— Combs straight, white, well filled, firmly fastened to wood 

 on all lour sides: all cells sealed: no pollen, propolis, nor travel-etaiu. 



No. 1. — Wood well scraped, or entirely free from propolis; one side 

 of the section sealed with white cappings. tree from pollen, and hav- 

 ing all cells sealed except the line of cells next the wood; the other 

 side white, or but slightly discolored, with not more than two cells of 

 pollen, and not more than ten cells unsealed beside the line of cells 

 touching the wood ; comb fastened to the wood on four sides. 



No. 2.— Three-fourths of the total surface must be tilled and 

 sealed; wood well scraped of propolis. 



No. :i.— Must weigh at least half as much as a full-weight section. 



For the Classes of honey I would suggest the four already in use, 

 sufficiently understood I'rom the names alone; namely, light, amber, 



DARK, MIXED. 



Parties buying or selling honey will please quote this grade. 



The grade marked on the crate would designate the con- 

 tents. Larger copies could be printed for the use of commis- 

 sion men and dealers. A slip could be put into every crate 

 sold, and placed where they would do the most good.- Having 

 once gained a foothold, it would surely spread. 



Thos. Elliott. 



In a footnote to the foregoing. Editor Root said : 



This was a compromise of the grading suggested by J. A. 

 Green and W. C. Frazier— the grading proposed at Albany, 

 and the one at Chicago, combining, as I understand it, accord- 

 ing to the best judgment of the Doctor, the best points in all. 

 Some of the former gradings were too exact, and too difficult 

 to comply with. Others were too wordy. If I remember cor- 

 rectly, no other grade since that time was suggested, and I 

 am going to assume, at least, that our readers at the time had 

 no particular objection to it. 



I was sorry that the subject of grading was dropped some 

 years ago, without coming to any decision. I have always 

 felt that a poor grading was better than none at all, providing 

 that all could adopt the same system in referring to their qual- 

 ities of honey. Now, lest we get into the same snarl we did 

 before, in criticising and suggesting until no grading was left, 

 I would suggest that, if this Miller is not so "awfully" bad, 

 we adopt it. 



I am of the opinion the bee-journals can do as much as, 

 or more, in this line than any association or convention of 

 bee-keepers. If they (the journals) were to agree on some 

 system of grading, and then request all their commission men 

 to quote prices on honey according to that grading, it would 

 not take very long before it would be universally applied. 

 Gleanings stands ready to co-operate with any of its cotempo- 

 raries. 



We think the great difficulty will be to get the commission 



men to co-operate with the bee-papers in this matter, still a 



trial could do no harm, and might lead to much good. The 



American Bee Journal also " stands ready " to join hand with 



the other bee-periodicals in an attempt to establish a system 



of grading. Surely, there is need enough for it. Shall we all 



try to have the " Miller grading " used ? 



«-.-♦ 



Honey as Food antl Medicine. — 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 

 30 cts. ; 50 for ¥1.00 : 100 for $1.7.5. Better give them a trial. Send 

 all orders to the Bee Journal office. 



