488 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



Aug. 2, 1900 



PUBLISHT WEEKLY BY 



QEORQE W. YORK & COMPANY, 



116 Michigan Street, Cliicaoo, III. 



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



DEPARTMENT EDITORS: 



Dr. C. C. miller, E. E. HASTY, 



" Questions and Answers." * * " The Afterthought." 



LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: 



G. M. DooMTTLE, C. P. Dadant, Prof. A. J. Cook, 



F. A. Snell, R. C. AiKiN, "Old Grimes." 



liMPORTANT NOTICES: 



The Subscription Price of this journal is $1.00 a year, in 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 indicates the end of the month to 

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

 label shows that it is paid to the end of December, 1900. 



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. 



AUGUST 2, 1900. 



NO. 31. 



Note— The American Bee Journal adopts the Orthography 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. 



The Chicago Convention Program appears on the 

 next page. It will be noticed that the stereopticon will be 

 a prominent feature at this convention ; that both Messrs. 

 Hutchinson and Root will throw on the screen pictures they 

 have taken of the bee-keepers and the apiaries they have 

 visited on their travels over the country. A powerful elec- 

 tric lig-ht and a Hne stereopticon will be used. Indeed, it 

 will be practically an apiarian trip over the whole United 

 States, and even a run over into England. 



This picture-and-travel feature of the ne.xt convention 

 will be something unusually fine and attractive, and will be 

 well worth going a long way to see. And, then, to meet the 

 old-time friends, and form many new-time friendships— can 

 such pleasures be valued in dollars and cents ? 



The Honey Crop for 1900 — Reports concerning the 

 honey sea.son and crop are always so very conflicting that 

 it is practically impossible to get even a fair estimate of the 

 quantity of honey harvested thruout the country. But, as 

 we were recently told by one of the oldest and most experi- 

 enced honey commission men, there will likely be plenty of 

 honey this year as in other years. He said he has not 

 known the year in the past twenty, that he could not get all 

 the honey he wanted. There is honey somewhere in this 

 great country of ours every year ; and we believe that the 

 bee-keeper who sells his crop early, and at a fair price, will 

 be the gainer this year. 



" A fair price " maybe a rather indefinite statement. 

 Perhaps we should say that whenever the bee-keeper can 

 realize a net wholesale price of say 14 cents a pound for the 

 best grade of white comb honey he would better take it ; 

 and 7 cents for best white extracted honey. Prices on other 

 grades should be in proportion. 



Now, understand, we are not advising any one to sell at 

 these prices, but we will simply say that if we had a 

 quantity of honey to sell, and could get those prices net 

 this year, we should count ourselves very fortunate indeed. 



Editor Root had the following to say in reference to the 

 honey-crop outlook, in Gleanings in Bee-Culture for July IS : 



Reports are still coming in from all sections of the 

 country ; and so far the revised outlook stands about as 

 follows : 



Michigan seems to be having a good honey-flow — at 

 least I do not remember seeing an unfavorable report, while 

 we have on file a large number of good ones. Colorado, 

 Arizona, and other of the Western States depending upon 

 alfalfa, will have their usual honey-flows. In California 

 the reports range all the way from one-third or one-half a 

 crop down to total failures. In New York the reports are 

 unfavorable as a rule — no clover or basswood to speak of. 

 From Pennsylvania there are a few favorable reports. 

 From New Jersey come quite a number of good reports. 

 Reports from Florida varj' greatly. Some show a third of 

 a crop ; others a total failure. Texas will have a good deal 

 of honey from some sections, and almost none from others. 

 Some of the Southern States will have very little honey. 

 Missouri, that had a crop of honey all over the State last 

 year, has nothing to report this year to speak of. The sea- 

 son in Wisconsin is practically a total failure ; a little bet- 

 ter in Minnesota. In Iowa and Illinois it is fair to poor. 

 Dr. C. C. Miller is getting his usual crop of honey ; or at 

 least he reports he is doing as well as he did last year ; but 

 he does not know where the honey is coming from. 



Notwithstanding the season seems to be generally un- 

 favorable, we have a large number of good reports from all 

 over the country. 



So far no large amount of honey has found its way to 

 the centers of honey distribution. At present it is a little 

 too early ; but there will be considerable alfalfa honey this 

 year to dispose of, both comb and extracted ; a very scant 

 supply of ordinary white clover, and a light supply of red 

 clover and of basswood. 



Taking it all in all, the supply of white clover honey 

 and basswood will be very liglit this year. Honey, if any is 

 sold at all, will be principally alfalfa, with some inountain 

 sage from California, perhaps. There will be on the mar- 

 ket, as usual, Southern honeys ; and, in all probability, 

 frotn the large amount of warm rains that seem to be gen- 

 eral over the country, there will be a good fall crop ; that is 

 to say, the bees will probably gather enough from fall 

 flowers to fill their hives and save feeding. If they will do 

 this much, bee-keepers will probably feel fortunate. 



A Warning to Honey-Shippers.— While it may not 



be as necessary now as it was several years ago, to warn 

 bee-keepers to be careful to whom they ship honey, yet it is 

 well enough to permit a gentle reminder. It is fast com- 

 ing to be the proper thing to agree on a cash price before 

 the honey leaves the producer for the city buyer. It may 

 not be paid for in advance, however, but in case it is not, 

 the shipper should exercise great care as to the financial re- 

 sponsibility of the buyer. 



There may yet be a few concerns who think they can 

 persuade bee-keepers to say good-by to their honey, by 

 sending out eloquent letters in which they claim to be about 

 " the whole thing " in their particular city, and give eveiy 

 assurance that they can realize a cent or two above the 

 market price for all the honey that bee-keepers could possi- 

 bly ship them. Don't be fooled by any such " bait." It is 

 better to donate your honey to your good neighbors rather 

 than to risk it in the hands of such over-confident concerns. 



Verily, what shall it profit a bee-keeper if he shall pro- 

 duce a large crop of honey, and then lose it thru some 

 fraudulent city dealer ? 



