228 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



April 9. 



harvest the seed, of course that is another thing. Our honey 

 crop would be cut mighty short the latter part of July if it 

 were not for sweet clover, and I have yet to see the second 

 cutting fail to yield honey. 



On page 3, Dr. Miller says : "For the salJe of those who 

 say that if sweet clover is cut for fodder it must be cut while 

 young, and that spoils the chance of the bee-lseeper," etc. 

 Now, you do not need to cut it while young to make it sprout 

 vigorously; it will sprout vigorously without cutting it while 

 young, at least it will here, unless sown on a solid stone pave- 

 ment. It sometimes grows so dense that it is almost impossi- 

 ble to wade through it. 



Again, Dr. M. says : " In this part of the country I think 

 I'd much rather have it cut while young, for then it blooms a 

 little later, and where white clover yields well, the early 

 blooming of sweet clover is not so desirable as that which 

 comes after white clover is gone." Yes, if white clover yields 

 well — that's it. How many bee-keepers last season claimed 

 that white clover was a failure. Had it been sweet clover, 

 there would have been no reason to complain. Bee-keepers 

 that have to depend upon their bees for their bread and but- 

 ter could not run such a great risk by cutting down sweet 

 clover, while white clover might be a failure, and consequently 

 would not be of any benefit whatever. 



Why not give sweet clover another clip while basswood 

 blooms, and that would make it a little after basswood got 

 through ? White clover has been a failure here — bees would 

 not touch it. I would rather have a profusion of bloom than 

 to have nix, and I think that most bee-keepers are of the 

 same opinion, for then you are assured of some surplus honey. 



Lemont, 111. 



Commission Men and Bee-Keepers. 



BY L. M. WILLIS. 



(Head at tlie Wiscoiisin titate Convention.') 



Commission men would appear, at first glance, to be a sub- 

 ject somewhat foreign to the interest of a bee-keepers' conven- 

 tion, and yet, commission men are so closely connected with 

 our business, that they are ofttimes the means through which 

 our profits are increased, or the labor of an entire season lost. 



The commission business, as a business, is just as legiti" 

 mate as any other calling, and in the past, commission men, 

 have, to a large extent, been regarded almost in the light of a 

 necessity. There is no question regarding their value to the 

 producers of farm and garden crops, and, I believe that they 

 have very often made dollars for those who entrusted the sale 

 of their goods to them. 



I do not say, that the best means for the disposal of our 

 products, is through the commission men, because I know that 

 there are plenty of men — producers themselves — who are fully 

 qualified to handle and sell our surplus. And these men, as a 

 natural consequence, wpuld take more interest in our well- 

 doing, tbau those whose only work is to sell the product of 

 others' labor, for the fee obtained in the making of such sale. 



At the present time, the honey-producers, as a class, are 

 almost completely at the mercy of commission men ; and, as a 

 general thing, meekly submit to whatever treatment the men 

 in the commission business may see fit to bestow upon them. 

 What reason can we give for this — I ought to say, criminal — 

 neglect of our interests ? Is it indifference to the value of 

 money? Is it laziness? or, is it because we are laboring under 

 the impression that what is must be ? These are questions that 

 must needs be answered, and we are the ones to whom they 

 are put. 



Of course, we all know that there are extenuating circum- 

 stances which somewhat relieve the commission men of the 

 burden that we sometimes feel justified in placing upon them. 

 They certainly have diCSculties to overcome, and without 

 doubt it is sometimes almost impossible for them to live up to 

 their promises. But they can be, and ought to be, honest men. 



It has been said that a man could not be honest in the 

 commission business. Well, if he cannot, then the sooner he 

 changes his business, the better it will be for him, because it 

 is only a question of time with him when exposure will come. 

 This fact is evidenced already, with one commission firm in 

 Chicago. The case of C. R. Horrie & Co. is familiar to the 

 readers of the American Bee Journal. This case is simply the 

 shadow of coming events, and now, right here, I wish to say, 

 (and I believe that I voice the sentiments of honey-producers 

 generally), that we are heartily sick and tired of being gulled 

 and robbed by sharpers, three-card moute men, and all other 

 men, who, under the guise of a respectable business concern, 

 are permitted to use the results of our labor as a means of en- 

 riching themselves. And the time has come to order a halt. 



We demand a square deal. It is our due, and they will have 

 to give what is right. 



I know that some of you will smile, and slyly remark that 

 "the fools are not all dead." And you may be right, too, but 

 there are some few who may be able to teach the fools. And, 

 when we have done that, somebody, and sombody's business, 

 will be "in the soup." See? 



I presume that some of you will think that I am bearing a 

 little too hard on this subject, but when a man has been eu- 

 chred out of some 30 hard-earned and much-needed dollars, 

 and at the same time lost about 50 per cent, of his faith in 

 human nature, he will say a few things that do not tend to the 

 credit of the one who caused his loss. This is not a new thing, 

 although it is my first exerience. I hope, however, that it will 

 be the last. 



And now, I want to say just a few words to those who are 

 fortunate enough to have honey to sell in the future. We 

 want honest treatment — let us, then, be honest ourselves, and 

 thereby be entitled lo it. Let us put our goods up in the very 

 best manner possible. Don't put the best sections in the front 

 of the shipping-case — that is not honest. Send strictly pure 

 goods to market. If you can't do this, don't ship any. Let 

 the best rule that ever was made, be your guide — "As ye would 

 that others should do to you, do ye even so to them." 



In closing, I want to say, that in view of the interest that ' 

 the editor of the American Bee Journal has taken in the cases 

 brought to notice regarding the losses of bee-keepers through 

 one of his advertisers, he deserves our heartiest support. It is 

 impossible to always detect the black sheep, especially if they 

 wear a white fleece, but we can discountenance them when 

 found ou% and help to expose them. And this, George W. 

 York has done to the best of his ability, spending his time 

 without compensation. I am sure that the bee-keepers of this 

 country fully appreciate this action on his part, which, as Dr. 

 C. C. Miller on page 3, truthfully says, is a breaking away 

 from the established usage of hushing up such affairs. Editor 

 York has given us a good example. Let us be fearless and 

 honest, and stand firmly for our rights. Loyal, Wis. 



[An essay was also read at the Wisconsin convention (from 

 one of the largest honey commission firms in Chicago) from 

 which we take the following suggestions: — Ed.J 



The most important points for bee-keepers, from our ex- 

 perience and study of markets, are: 



1st — Market your honey early. 



2nd — Put your honey in as neat a package as possible. 

 The 24-section cases our trade prefers. 



3rd — Grade your honey very carefully, and mark the 

 grade on the end of the case. Always bear in mind that white 

 honey will sell, while dark honey takes its chances for a cus- 

 tomer. 



4th — Place the gross, tare and net on every package. 



These remarks refer to extracted as well, whether it is 

 placed in cans or barrels. We have no preference as to pack- 

 age for the extracted. 



Sweet Clover — Swarming vs. Noa-Swarming. 



BY E. S. LOVESY. 



Dr. Miller asks if I can give any reason why that great 

 honey-plant — sweet clover — gave out in some parts of Utah 

 last year. I have investigated somewhat, and I note that we 

 had a very heavy rain the forepart of July, soon after the 

 sweet clover came into bloom, and the nectar, or saccharine 

 matter, was thus washed out. This is my view of it. But our 

 lucern was grand last year, and. when it is all right, I prefer it 

 to the sweet clover, because the honey is better. While there 

 may be more honey on a given amount of ground, or plants, 

 in thcsweet clover (whether this is so or not), while we have 

 considerable sweet clover we have 30 acres of lucern to one 

 of clover in most places, so that when our lucern is all right 

 our bees will fill up their hives. 



On page 45, Paul Whitebread says that the swarming 

 bees are ahead. He says that he bought two colonies of bees, 

 and in the spring he prevented one from swarming by putting 

 on 48 sections ; the other he sold to a neighbor who let them 

 do as they pleased, and he got two swarms and 80 pounds of 

 honey, while he himself got no swarms and only 74 pounds of 

 section honey. But what possible figure can this cut on the 

 question ? Mr. Whitebread simply sold the wrong colony. 



We all have one or more colonies every season that do 

 wonders, and it often happens that one or more will do noth- 

 ing. The past season, on June 29, I made the sixth new 



