Feb. 1, 1900. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



73 



at the north and south ends, between which are its orang-e 

 belt and its sape regions. 



The other map is a countorpart as to size and sliiipo, 

 the whole State apparently being turned into a sea of water 

 in which are seen tloatinj,'- like great blocks of ice the 

 States of Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, 

 Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Ohio. 

 Contemplating this latter map, one is led to exclaim, " 1 

 certainly never realized before what a big State Califor- 

 nia is." 



riexican Extracted Honey. — About two weeks ago we 

 received a sample of extracted honey produced in Mexico, 

 from Mr. G. L. Kilmer, of the State of Jalisco. It is a 

 thick amber honey, worth perhaps less in this market than 

 ordinary buckwheat extracted honey, tho Mr. K. said he 

 would ship us a carload of 30,000 pounds of it, in 60-pound 

 tin cans, at 12 cents a pound delivered in Chicago. Here is 

 what Mr. Kilmer said further in regard to the honey : 



This honey is gathered by the natives working for the 

 large ranchers here. The bees are driven out, the comb col- 

 lected and put into boxes having wire sieves below ; the box 

 is then covered with thin boards, and placed in the sun, the 

 heat forcing the honey to run out thru the sieve. They 

 have been getting out their honey this way since Cortez 

 conquered Mexico. 



Rice, corn, sugar-cane, wheat, oranges and lemons are 

 the principal products of these parts. G. L,. Kii,mkk. 



We see from the above that the Mexicans used a sun or 

 solar extractor long before Mr. Doolittle and some others 

 were born. Verily, there is nothing new under the sun. 



But just to think of Mexican extracted honey at 12 cents 

 a pound 1 And honey that is only fit for manufacturing 

 purposes, at that. At that rate, we are not fearing its 

 competition. 



Alkali. Weed as a Honey=Plant receives high com- 

 mendation from W. A. H. Gilstrap, of California, in Glean- 

 ings in Bee-Culture. Notwithstanding the great value of 

 alfalfa, it is more or less a failure when it has too much or 

 too little moisture, and sometimes it fails when there is no 

 apparent reason for the failure. In many places alkali- 

 weed comes in nicely. It is sometimes called " sticker- 

 weed," on account of the small prickles with which it is 

 covered. Here is what Mr. Gilstrap says concerning it : 



"These weeds frequently grow as high as wheat before 

 the latter is cut, and sometimes prevent its being harvested, 

 as the weeds would decay in the stack. You need not ex- 

 pect much bloom before July or the first of August, except 

 on strong alkali land where the weeds are stunted. Then 

 the golden honey is produced until frost or early rain kills 

 the plant. This year was an exception, as the honey failed 

 about Sept. 23, and our first rain fell Oct. 10. Hardly enough 

 frost yet for you to see. In seven years I have known two 

 failures of this source, caused by drouth. The flavor of 

 this honey is pleasant, not so sweet as alfalfa, clast as am- 

 ber or light amber by different dealers. It is too yellow to 

 excel as comb honey, and also granulates quicker than some 

 other honey. These are reasons why it is no more sought 

 after by apiarists." 



The First Honey. Extractor jjut on the United States 

 market was the Peabody. It was invented and manufac- 

 tured bj' J. L. Peabody, and in beautj' of finish has never 

 been excelled by any of its successors. In effectiveness it 

 is now out of the race, as the entire can revolved with the 

 combs. Fresh interest in the matter has been awakened 

 by the editor of Gleanings in Bee-Culture, who met Mr. 

 Peabody at the late Colorado convention. He is brother to 

 H. O. Peabody, the inventor of the Peabody rifle, to whom 

 J. L. modestly gives all the credit for the neatness and 

 mechanical excellence of his extractor, as H. O. was the 

 mechanic who designed and built it. The machine did 

 good -work in its time. It was patented in 1869. 



Mk. W. L. CoGGSHALL, of Tompkins Co., N. Y., re- 

 turned about a week ago from a trip to Cuba. He reports 

 not much honey in the locality he visited, and whole api- 

 aries destroyed by foul brood. 



♦ # * # » 



The G. B. Lewis Co., of Watcrtown, Wis., were the 

 first bee-supply dealers to send us their catalog for 1900. 

 Their advertisement is always found in the American Bee 

 Journal — and their excellent goods everywhere. 



Mk. O. L. HekshisKh, of Erie Co., N. Y., we learned 

 from announcement received at this office, Jan. 24, was 

 married to Margaret J. Mcintosh, at Toronto, Ont., Dec. 

 6, 1899. Even if a little late, our hearty congratulations 

 are hereby extended to Mr. and Mrs. Hershiser. 



♦ # * # * 



Dk. a. B. M.^son, of Lucas Co., Ohio, writing us Jan. 

 20, said : 



" Our bees in the cellar were never in better shape at 

 this time of the year. It's a treat to have an occasional 

 peep at the clusters hanging from the bottom of the frames, 

 or rather, lying between the bottom of the frames and the 

 quilt on the hive below." 



# * # * * 



Dk. D. E. StraTTON, of Tuolumne Co., Calif., reports 

 in Gleanings in Bee-Culture, that 1892 was his best year 

 with bees. He says : 



"From 54 colonies, spring count, I extracted 22,397 

 pounds, and increast to 72 colonies. Clear profit, besides 

 the increase, $786. My disastrous year was when I ex- 

 tracted 840 pounds, and had my apiarj' decrease from 145 

 good colonies to .S4 poor ones." 

 • * # « « « 



The Horse " Coggshai.i,." — Harry Howe tells in 

 Gleanings in Bee-Culture of a visit he made to an apiary 

 about 18 miles from Havana, Cuba, belonging to Senor 

 Aguilera. Its 250 colonies all in new 10-frame dove- 

 tailed hives in all the colors of the rainbow, made a beauti- 

 ful sight in their setting of banana trees, flowers and orna- 

 mental plants. " On the way back," says Mr. Howe, " I 

 noticed that the horse seemed to have a rather queer name ; 

 and after I began to notice it, it seemed some way familiar, 

 so I askt Senor A. about it. It turned out to be 'Coggshall,' 

 with a Spanish pronunciation. It surprised me very much 

 to find a horse with such a name, until Senor A. explained 

 that the horse had grown into the habit of kicking the cover 

 off from things, then all was clear." • 



» * « * # 



Prof. E. N. Eaton, who was recommended by the Chi- 

 cago Bee-Keepers' Association as a suitable person to be 

 assistant Pure-Food Commissioner and State analyst, re- 

 ceived the appointment from Commissioner Jones, we are 

 glad to say. Mr. Eaton, we believe, is thoroly qualified for 

 the position, and will make an excellent assistant to Mr. 

 Jones. 



Here is what Editor Abbott has to say about Prof. 

 Eaton, in the Modern Farmer : 



"The bee-keepers of the country, and especially of 

 Illinois, have cause to congratulate themselves on the ap- 

 pointment of Prof. Eaton. He is .lot onlj' a fine chemist, 

 and thoroly equipt for his position, but is a friend of the 

 honey-producer. He has had a good deal to do with honey 

 analysis, and will no doubt furnish valuable aid to the 

 United States Bee-Keepers' Association in their attempt to 

 drive the honey adulterators from their stronghold in Chi- 

 cago. We congratulate the Commissioner on the appoint- 

 ment, and take this opportunity to assure him that he will 

 have the hearty support of all honey-producers in his at- 

 tempt to compel people to sell goods for what they are." 



The Premiums offered on page V9 are well worth work- 

 ing for. Look at them. 



