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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Dec. 17, 



GISORGB W. YORK, - Editor. 



PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY 



GEORGE W. YORK & COMPANY, 

 US Mlcblgaa St., - CHICAGO, IT.L. 



$1.00 a Year— Sample Copy Sent Free. 

 [Bntered at the Post-Offlce at ChicaKO as Second-Class Mail-Matter. 



VoinXVI. CHICAGO, ILL, DEC. 1U896, No. 51, 



EDITORIAL COMMENTS. 



Subscription Renewals are coming in quite well 

 now, but there is room for more. Dou't be afraid that you'll 

 overwork us in that part of our business. It's always a real 

 pleasure to get lots of letters from our readers — especially if 

 each one contains a dollar or more ! We hope that no one 

 will forget that Christmas is almost here, and if you want to 

 make the Holiday season a real merry and happy one for us, 

 just send on three or four thousand renewals for 1897 (in- 

 cluding back subscription, if there be any in your case), and 

 we'll promise you that "ye editor" and wife will not only 

 have a thankful Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, 

 but the American Bee Journal will " arise and shine " in its 

 old age, and become still better in its next volume. 



Tbe Bee Journal for 1897.-11 is the custom of 

 many periodicals to give a list of its attractions in advance of 

 the New Year. They seem to think that is necessary in order 

 to " hold their own " and also to gain new readers. We might 

 tell you now what we expect to do next year, but we prefer to 

 let all come along naturally, or, if possible, throw in a few 

 surprises as the months pass on. 



We have in store some excellent things for our readers, 

 and can faithfully promise to give you full value in return for 

 your dollar. No one expects more than that, for no bee- 

 keeper wants something for nothing. We think we need only 

 to say that the past few volumes of the old American Bee 

 Journal shall be its recommendation for the future. We ex- 

 pect to keep it up to its present standard, and, if possible, 

 make some advance during the year 1897. 



We want <tll our present readers tn go on with us. Let 

 none fall by the wayside. 



Stop and Xhink. — One of our subscribers wrote us 

 as follows a week or two ago : 



" Having to take gold standard prices for our produce, we 

 are compelled to cut expenses until we get free silver and bet- 

 ter prices. You may stop my paper at the end of the year." 



Now just stop and think what it would mean if several 

 thousand of our readers would take the same view as does the 

 subscriber in question. What would become of the American 

 Bee Journal ? Shall we stop publishing it " until we get free 

 silver and better prices ?" 



The trouble is, most people who begin to "cut expenses," 

 cut at the wrong place. For instance, at least one bee-keeper 

 who used to take the Bee Journal, and stopped it (perhaps 

 thought he must "cut expenses "), shipped 500 pounds of 

 honey to Wheadon & Co., and never got a cent for it! Had 

 he continued to take the Bee Journal, he wouldn't have been 



caught by that robber firm. Just think how many years' sub- 

 scription that 500 pounds of honey would have paid, even at 

 " gold standard prices !" 



Permit a word of advice: If you mitst "cut expenses," 

 be sure you don't cut off your best friends. 



Save the Bees°wax. -- Much of success depends 

 upon the practice of careful economy these days. In many 

 lines of business what once was considered as waste is now 

 saved and utilized in some way resulting in a profit. So it is 

 in bee-keeping. It will especially pay to save the beeswax, 

 for it is worth the cash at all times. 



Here are a couple paragraps on this very subject, taken 

 from the Iowa Homestead of recent date : 



If care is taken to look out for all scraps of wax, cappings 

 and pieces of combs that for any reason are rejected, it will 

 make a pretty piece of wax in the course of the year. If a 

 solar wax extractor is used, of course it can only be used when 

 the sun is shining and the weather warm, making it impossible 

 to render any wax except in hot weather. But there may be 

 more leisure for it now, and on one account cold weather is 

 desirable. In melting up old, black combs, the cocoons in 

 them absorb a large amount of wax which is lost. To prevent 

 such absorption, soak the combs thoroughly in water, so that 

 the cocoons already filled with water can take up no wax. But 

 you'll find a hard matter to soak the combs full of water un- 

 less they are broken up fine, and if the combs are not made 

 brittle with cold, it will be impossible to break them up. So 

 it will be seen that cold weather is to an extent needed if you 

 want to melt up old combs. After the combs are broken up 

 fine, they may be saved till hot weather for the solar extrac- 

 tor, or they may be melted up at once, of course after soaking. 



One good way to melt combs in winter is easily accom- 

 plished with only the ordinary appliances to hand in every 

 household. Take an old dripping-pan — of course, an entirely 

 new one will do as well — split open one corner clear to the 

 bottom, and you have one of the best wax extractors. Lay in 

 the material from which the wax is to be extracted, and put 

 the pan in the oven of the cook-stove, with the door left open, 

 and the split corner of the pan projecting out. Put something 

 under the inside of the pan, so as to raise it up, then as the 

 wax melts it will run out of the split corner of the pan. To 

 catch the dropping wax set any vessel convenient, and it may 

 be well to have in this vessel a little water so the wax will not 

 stick to the bottom. 



micbigan State Convention.— The Michigan 

 State Bee-Keepers' Association will meet at the Donavan 

 House, in Mt. Pleasant, on Jan. 1 and 2, 1897 ; the first ses- 

 sion on the evening of the 1st. The rates at the hotel will be 

 •SI. 00 per day. There will probably be half-fare on the rail- 

 roads. The program will be announced later. Every Michi- 

 gan bee-keeper should attend this meeting. 

 ^•-•-*- 



Honey Jumbles and Gems.— At Watertown, 

 Wis., there is a firm operating a biscuit and confectionery 

 works, and using about 10 tons of honey a year. Two of 

 their products are honey-jumbles and honey-gems. Recipes 

 for them were given to Mr. Edw. H. Taylor — the young Eng- 

 lishman who was recently visiting in this country — and he 

 sent them to the British Bee Journal, where they were pub- 

 lished. They are as follows : 



HoNEY-JuMTiLES. — Flour, 196 pounds; lard, 10 pounds ; 

 honey, 12 gallons ; molasses, 3 gallons; carbonate soda, -i 

 ounces; salt, 1 pound; water, 3 gallons; vanilla extract, 1 

 pint. 



Honey-Gems.— Flour, 196 pounds; lard, 10 poundsj 

 honey, 7 gallons; molasses, 7 gallons; brown sugar, 15 

 pounds ; carbonateof soda, 3}j' pounds ; salt, 1 pound; water, 

 4 gallons : vanilla extract, 1 pint. 



Of course these recipes are for large manufacturers, but 

 those wishing to make the jumbles and gems on a small scale 

 can use smaller quantities of the various ingredients in pro- 

 portionate amounts. 



It should be the aim of every bee-keeper to strive to popu- 

 larize the use of honey more and more, and thus create a 



