712 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



J^ov. 5, 



@SQKGB W. YORK, - Etdltor. 



PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY 



GEORGE W. YORK & COMPANY, 

 118 Micblsaa St., - CHICAGO, ILL. 



$1.00 a Year— Sample Copy Sent Free. 

 (Entered at the Poat-Offlce at Cbicaeo as Second-Class Mail-Matter. 



VoLinVI. CHICAGO, ILL, NOy. 5; 1896. No. 45. 



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EDITORIAL COMMENTS. 



Apis Dorsata is not held in very high favor with 

 most of those who answer questions for the Bee Journal, as 

 will be seen by referring to page 71. '> of this issue. Neither 

 did the Lincoln convention endorse their importation, as will 

 be seen by the report later on. It our Government wishes to 

 spend any money in the interest of bee-keepers, let it make a 

 liberal grant to the " United States Bee-Keepers' Union," as 

 it was decided at Lincoln to call our national bee-association 

 after this year. That would likely prove a better investment 

 for all, than to attempt to get any new race of bees. 



Sa^vdust and Shavings in Honey.— All the 



careless people it seems are not found outside the ranks of 

 bee-keepers, as will bo seen by reading the following from a 

 Chicago honey-dealing firm : 



" Mk. York :— Occasionally we get extracted honey in new 

 packages, that are not washed out before filling with honey, 

 but used just as they come from the cooper-shop. These often 

 contain sawdust and shavings. We have such a lot on hand 

 now, the honey being mixed with sawdust and shavings." 



Those using kegs or barrels for holding honey, should seo 

 to it that their coopers use a little more care when making 

 their largo honey-packages. And then, bee-keepers should 

 always be sure that the kegs or barrels are thoroughly clean 

 before putting in the honey. We are glad the above complaint 

 has been sent in, for it oughtn't to require more than a re- 

 minder to prevent a recurrence of the trouble. Above all 

 things, pure extracted honey should be kept entirely free from 

 any foreign substances. 



Lincoln Convention Comments. — Besides 



several samples of both comb and extracted honey on exhibi- 

 tion at the convention, Mrs. E. Whitcomb showed a beautiful 

 piece composed of a cross, and wreath of flowers overhanging 

 it, made entirely out of beeswax. It was greatly admired by 

 all. Mrs. Whitcomb is an expert in this line. She also ex- 

 hibited her womanly thoughtfulness in presenting the conven- 

 tion with a fine bouquet of cut flowers, whose fragrance con- 

 tinued a constant delight during the two days' meeting. 



Miss Stilson, daughter of Mr. L. D. Stilson, had neatly 

 pressed and mounted on cards over 200 varieties of honey- 

 yielding flowers hanging on .a line stretched across the rear of 

 the platform in the chapel of the University. We think it 

 was the finest show of honey-plants we ever saw, and much 

 credit is due Miss Stilson for the great efforts she must have 

 put forth to secure such a beautiful botanical display in the 

 interest of bee-culture. 



Mrs. J. N. Heater is perhaps the most prominent lady 



bee-keeper in Nebraska ; at least she is the only lady supply 

 dealer we know in that State, or any other State, we believe. 

 Her bee-business has been somewhat profitable, too, we un- 

 derstand. Her paper, read before the convention, was 

 listened to with marked attention. It is a real pleasure to 

 meet both Mrs. Heater and her husband. We met them the 

 first time at the World's Fair convention, in 1893. 



What a big man "Uncle" Whitcomb is — in more ways 

 than up and down, but in that way he is six feet and one inch ! 

 At the time of the convention he was running for the office of 

 State senator. By the time he reads this number of the Bee 

 Journal he will know his fate. But if he doesn't win the 

 political office, he can find some satisfaction in having been 

 unanimously elected Vice-President of the Association. He's 

 sure of one office, any way. But if he was elected State sena- 

 tor this week, we shall look for some legislation in the inter- 

 est of bee-keeping and honest honey-production in Nebraska 

 very shortly. If Whitcomb can't " bring it to pass " we don't 

 know who can. We hope he'll have the chance. 



Prof. Chas. E. Bessey is a man whom all seemed to be 

 proud of. And after making his acquaintance we no longer 

 wondered about it. He's " pure gold '" — (though for ought we 

 know he may have a leaning toward "silver"). At any rate, 

 it was a treat to listen to his lecture on "A Botanist Among 

 the Bees." But it had one serious fault — it was altogether 

 too short ! In that respect it was similar to Prof. Bruner's 

 lecture given the previous day. It is a rich University that 

 has such material as Professors Bessey and Bruner — two 

 splendid B's — in its faculty. Fortunate students, those, who 

 can attend that place of learning. We doubt not they all 

 appreciate their opportunities, for all that we saw seemed to 

 know what they were attending the University for. Un- 

 bounded success be unto both Professors and students ! 



On our way home from the convention we found that we 

 could stop off at Omaha for about six hours. We improved 

 the time by calling on Mr. Louis R. Lighton, who is a bee- 

 keeper in one of the suburban towns. It was Mr. Lighton 

 who reported in shorthand the proceedings of the convention 

 held in St. Joseph, Mo., in 1894 — the full report of which he 

 promptly turned over to Mr. Benton, as he agreed to do, but 

 which Mr. Benton afterward failed to forward to the office 

 of publication, as directed by the Association. Fortunately, 

 however, Mr. Lighton kept one extra typewritten copy, 

 which we purchased of him and brought along home. We ex- 

 pect soon to begin where we were compelled to stop on ac- 

 count of Mr. Benton's contrariness, and complete the report. 

 To some it may be somewhat like "ancient history," perhaps, 

 and yet to the majority we think it will be very readable. 



Mr. Lighton and his brother are expert shorthand re- 

 porters, and are kept very busy almost day and night. Mr. L. 

 was very kind to us during our short stay, and showed us 

 quite a little of the city of Omaha. He will endeavor to be 

 present at the convention in Buffalo, next year, and would 

 have been at the Lincoln meeting had it not been for extra 

 reporting that he was called upon to do at that time. 



Mr. Lighton keeps 15 or 20 colonies of bees, mainly for 

 recreation, and averaged about 120 pounds of extracted 

 honey per colony the past season. He gets 20 cents per 

 pound for it. 



While in Omaha we remembered that some of our old 

 schoolmates and college chums were located there. Among 

 them we found Chas. A. Goss, now a prominent attorney ; and 

 learned that our old schoolmate and afterward esteemed 

 teacher — Willard W. Slabaugh — is now Judge of the Circuit 

 Court. Both were excellent students in school years ago, and 

 are now reaping the benefits of the hard study and close ap- 

 plication of other days. 



Perhaps we have drawn out these "convention com- 

 ments" sufficiently long now, so we may as well stop right 



