776 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Dec 3. 



aE:ORGE W. XORK, . SdUor. 



PDBLISHED WEEKLY BY 



GEORGE W. YORK & COMPANY, 

 IIS Mioliig^an Sf., - CHICAGO. ILL. 



$1.00 a Year— Sample Copy Sent Free. 

 [Bntered at the Poat-Offlce at Cbicago as Second-Class Mail-Matter. 



Vol. XnVI, CHICAGO, ILL, DEC, 3, 1896, No, 49, 



EDITORIAL CDIWIVIENTS. 



Our Convention Picture on the first page we 

 think will be appreciated by all. We regret that we were not 

 sure just " who is who" in many of the faces shown, and so 

 were compelled to omit their names below the picture. We 

 would consider it a favor if those whose names are thus un- 

 avoidably omitted will please write us which numbers belong 

 to them, so that we can have all correctly named in the 

 pamphlet report, soon to be issued and mailed to the members. 



Amalgfaniation.— Hon. Eugene Secor, of Forest City, 

 Iowa, writes us as follows on this subject : 



I don't believe Mr. Newman will stand in the way of 

 adopting the New Constitution if the Managers of the National 

 Bee-Keepers' Union advise calling an election. 



The only object in proceeding in the manner outlined at 

 Tvincoln — according to my judgment — was to consolidate all 

 our interests in one organization, and provide for a transfer 

 of the fluids on hand. If no funds had been in the Union 

 treasury, a new society could easly have been organized, arti- 

 cles adopted on the spot, and its officers named until the next 

 election. 



Of course, the members of the old Union can refuse to 

 unite with the new, but what bee-keeper's interest will be 

 subserved thereby ? Would we be stronger with three sep- 

 arate societies, all more or less national, than with one ? 



The work contemplated by the new organization is the 

 same as under the old Bee-Keepers' Union, with some addi- 

 tional powers. 



czz It was made national for the better working out of prob- 

 lems which present themselves to the fraternity in the United 

 States, where at least nine-tenths of the members reside. 



It is to be hoped that everybody will cease his fault-find- 

 ing, withhold his petty criticisms, and unite in building up 

 one stronij. influential society, which shall be respected by the 

 Government and hated by evil-doers. 



CZli Probably time, and the good judgment of its members, will 

 suggest changes in the Constitution. Well and good. Even 

 the Constitution of the United States was notso wisely framed 

 as to need no amendments. People should not expect the Lin- 

 coln convention to have been wiser than the Fathers of the 

 Constitution. 



il_ I hope we may get together in a fraternal spirit, and work 

 for the common good. Eugene Secor. 



We earnestly'commend Mr. Secor's wise words to all who 

 would even think of opposing the uniting of the North Ameri- 

 can Bee-Keepers' Association and the National Bee-Keepers' 

 Union into one grand society. That is the very proper thing 

 to do, and the sooner the better. 



Next week we will give a very strong article on this sub- 

 ject, from Mr. W. Z. Hutchinson, who, we believe, first sug- 

 gested the idea of amalgamation. Of course he favors the 

 New.Constitution as adopted at L'ncoln, just as we believe nine- 

 tenths of the bee-keepers of the United States will, when they 

 once see how it is intended to protect and promote their in- 



terests. The Old Union has done most royal service, but the 

 New Union contemplates advancement and progress all along 

 the line. May it move onward in its mission of defense for 

 the right and overthrow of the wrong ! 



"Bees in Horticulture" is to be the subject of 

 a paper that Dr. Miller has been requested to write for the 

 Northern Illinois Horticultural Society, of which the Doctor is 

 a leading member. This is a good omen. It shows that at 

 least some horticulturists are awaking to the fact that bees 

 are really their friends, instead of enemies, as some of them, 

 we fear, had erroneously supposed. Speed the day when the 

 honey-bees will be rightly valued by all who are dependent 

 upon their varied and useful labors. 



Sending Itloney by Mail.— As the time for re- 

 newing subscriptions is now at hand, we would like to give a 

 word of caution about mailing money, and feel that perhaps 

 we can do no better than to quote the following : 



" Money never should be enclosed in letters for transmis- 

 sion through the mails," remaiked an old post-office inspector 

 recently. 



" In the first place, it is unnecessary to do so, because 

 money orders are so cheap; and in the second place, money in 

 a letter oflers a constant temptation to those who handle mail. 



" It is practically impossible to place money in a letter so 

 that the postal clerk into whose hands the letter falls will not 

 instantly detect it. Paper money has a peculiar odor, unlike 

 anything else on earth, and the clerk who is dishonest uses 

 his sense of smell in spottiug valuable letters rather than the 

 sense of touch." 



Another thing : Please don't send us personal checks on 

 local banks, for such are subject to a big discount. Send post- 

 office money order, express money order, bank draft on Chi- 

 cago or New York, or register the letter containing money. 



An Educated Honey-Xaste is not an uncom- 

 mon thing. Mr. James Bennett — a contributor to the excellent 

 Australian Bee-Bulletin — wrote: "When a person has ac- 

 quired a taste for one variety of honey he prefers that variety 

 to any other." Dr. Miller, in commenting upon the statement, 

 said this in Gleanings: 



"Australians think eucalyptus the finest honey in the 

 world ; but England will none of it, notwithstanding the 

 earnest efforts made to establish a market for it. A point in 

 favor of home markets is the preference for home honey." 



While there may be a good deal in the educated taste for 

 honey, we think that it applies principally to honeys of pecu- 

 liar flavor. Who ever heard of any one not liking the taste of 

 white clover honey, or alfalfa honey, or even a mild-flavored 

 basswood honey ? True, one must learn to like honey from 

 heart's-ease, buckwheat, and other somewhat dark honeys. 

 If it is a possible thing to educate the home trade to the use of 

 all the darker grades of honey, so much the better for most 

 city markets. The light-colored, or white, honeys are the 

 ones demanded in the Chicago market, and likely in nearly 

 every other large city. 



The Ontario Association. — A periodical called 

 Farming, contained the following historical paragraphs in 

 reference to the Ontario Bee-Keepers' Association, which is to 

 hold its next meeting at Toronto, Dec. 8, 9, and 10, 1896 : 



The Ontario Bee-Keepers' Association was organized in 

 1880. Its objects are to promote the interests oJ bee-keepers 

 in every possible direction, by means of discussions, papers, 

 reports, etc., and it has also accomplished a great deal of good 

 in procuring legislation, both at Ottawa and Toronto, favor- 

 able to the bee-keeping interests. In 1890, the Foul Brood 

 Act was passed by the legislature of Ontario, under which Act 

 an inspector of foul brood — Mr. William McEvoy, of Wood- 

 burn — was appointed, who has labored ever since most effect- 

 ually in combating the disease. Under his labors thousands 



