AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



Jan. 4, 1900. 



PfltLISHT WEBKLY BY 



GEORGE W. York & Company, 



116 MichiQan Street, Chicago, III. 



[Entered at the Post-Office at Chicago as Second-Class Mail-Matter.] 

 EDITOR: 



dk. c. c, miller, 



*' Questions and Answers.' 



DEPARTMENT EDITORS: 



E. E. HASTY, 



* * '* The Afterthoug-ht." 



LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: 



G. M. DooLiTTLE, C. P. Dadant, Pkof. a. J. Cook, 



F. A. Sneli., '* Old Grimes." 



IMPORTANT NOTICES: 



The Subscription Price of this journal is SI. 00 a year, iu the United States, 

 Canada, and Mexico; all other countries in the Postal Union, 50 cents 

 a year extra for postage. Sample copy free. 



The Wrapper=Label Date of this paper indicate^; the end of the month to 

 which your subscription is paid. For instance, ''DecOO" on your 

 label shows that it is paid tg the end of December, I'XiO. 



Subscription Receipts. — We do not send a receipt for money sent us to pay 

 subscription, but change the date on your wrapper-label, which shows 

 you that the money has been received and duly credited. 



Advertising Rates will be given upon application. 



VOL. 40. 



JANUARY 4, 1900. 



NO. 1. 



Note — The American Bee Journal adopts the Orthoj^raphy of the follow- 

 ing Rule, recommended by the joint action of the American Philolog- 

 ical Association and the Philological Society of England: — Change 

 "d" or "ed" final to "t" when so pronounced, except when the "e" af- 

 fects a preceding sound. Also some other changes are used. 



1900. How does it seem to write it ? 



The Last Year of the Nineteenth Century I Let us all 

 try to make it the best year we have yet known. 



Volume XL, or the Fortieth Year, of the American 

 Bee Journal, is beffiin with this niunbcr. As almost every 

 one knows, it was founded by Samuel Wagner, in 1861. He 

 died Feb. 17, 1872, now nearly 30 years ago. His son 

 " George " conducted the journal until Jan. 1, 1873, when 

 Rev. W. F. Clarke secured control of it, and removed it 

 from Washington to Chicago. In 1874 Thomas G. Newman 

 took hold, and continued its publication uninterruptedly 

 until June 1, 1892, when the present management was in- 

 stalled and has since that time been able to make the old 

 American Bee Journal what it is to-day. 



Many have been the changes in matters apicultural 

 during the past nearly 40 j'ears, but with the exception of a 

 few years during the Civil War, the American Bee Journal 

 has gone steadily on, increasing in power and usefulness 

 until to-day it is said by those who are best able to judge 

 that it has never before been so good in every way. We do 

 not take all the credit for this ourselves, as we know that it 

 has been accomplisht only by the loyal support of sub- 

 scribers, a4vertisers and contributors, who, together with 



our own efforts, have been able to build up a weekly jour- 

 nal that fairly represents the great and ever-growing in- 

 dustry of bee-keeping on the Atnerican continent. 



On another page we give an historical article written 

 by Dr. Elisha Gallup, who is one of the oldest contributors 

 to the columns of the American Bee Journal. He now re- 

 sides in Southern California, and is somewhere near 80 

 years of age. The article was written by him several 

 J'ears ago, but we have kept it until now. We think it is 

 very appropriate at this time, and will be read with much 

 interest and profit by all, especially by those of our readers 

 who doubtless were intimately acquainted with the histori- 

 cal matters mentioned by Dr. Gallup. 



It will be our highest aim, in the future as in the past, 

 to make the old American Bee Journal just as good as the 

 support given it will allow. Our main object in life is not 

 to accummulate great wealth — if it were we would go into 

 some other business. We desire, above all things, to be 

 helpful, to live for some noble purpose, and believe that in 

 devoting our best energies to publishing a strong, clean 

 and useful journal for bee-keepers, we shall feel, when 

 life's end shall have come, that we have not lived in vain. 



We trust that during the coming years the American 

 Bee Journal may merit even larger support, aud ever main- 

 tain the position which we believe it has rightfully won in 

 the hearts of its readers and in the field of apicultural 

 journalism. 



The Bee=Keeper's Best Reading=Time will likely be 

 during the next two or three months. It would be a splen- 

 did thing if all who are not already expert in the business 

 would get together their last year's bee-papers and re-read 

 them. Then study that bee-book, too. Oh, you haven't 

 any ? Well, that's a great mistake. 



No young bee-keeper worthy the name will likely make 

 a very great success with bees if he tries to get along with- 

 out a good bee-book. And we don't say this because we 

 have such books to sell, but because we know it is the truth. 

 Every good bee-keeper has the best bee-books and the best 

 bee-papers he can find. 



It pays to read the methods and experiences of others. 

 Life is too short for one lone person to attempt to find out 

 everything for himself these days. You might as well try 

 to succeed in producing wheat now by cutting it with a 

 sickle instead of a self-binder, as to try to be successful 

 with bees and still use the box-hive and old-time methods. 



Short cuts are the order of the day. Read up and learn 

 how others succeed, and then follow in their footsteps unless 

 you can do better than they do. 



Honey from Mount Hymettus. — It seems from the 

 following that our good friend, Hon. Eugene Secor, has 

 been receiving a novel Christmas present : 



Editor York : — One of the mementoes I received at 

 Christmas is a tin can of Attican honey, put up in Athens, 

 and said to be "Veritable Miel Du Mont D'Mymette," 

 which I stippose means " genuine Mount Hymettus hone}'." 



The gift was from a young friend, B. J. Thompson, who 

 returned last spring from a tour around the world, and 

 visited Greece. 



Sentiment and story cluster around the sweet product 

 of Mount Hymettus, and, I suppose, a money value to the 

 overworkt bees of that world-famed region. 



I found the flavor peculiar. It is hardly fair to compare 

 it to our best product in fresh condition, but if the tastes of 

 the family are worth anj'thing, it will not supplant the 

 delicious nectar of our own beloved country. 



Y'ours truly, Eugbnb Secor. 



Mr. Secor will have to bring that famous sample to the 

 next national convention, and let his friends have a taste 

 of it. Perhaps few of our bee-keepers ever tasted honey 

 from the famous region of Mount Hymettus. 



