1898. 



TBE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



105 



turist, and is thoroughly master of his 

 subject. We bespeak deserved popu- 

 larity for the little book. 



Membership in the United States 

 Bee-Keepers' Union costs $1 per year. 

 The subscription price of the American 

 Bee-Keeper is but 50 cents a year; but 

 as a special inducement, and in order 

 to increase the Union's membership, 

 the publishers will agree to send the 

 Bee-Keeper to all who may become 

 members of the Union, at just one-half 

 the regular rate. The Union now has 

 about 400 members, though but a year 

 old. We ought to make it 4,000 by the 

 close of the year. See advertisement 

 in another column. 



In the American Bee Journal the 

 question is asked: "What would you 

 advise in order that the membership in 

 the United States Bee-Keepers' Union 

 may be so increased as to make it of 

 the greatest possible good to the bee- 

 keeping pursuit?" To this R. L. Tay- 

 lor replies: "You have the cart before 

 the horse. 'Make it the greatest pos- 

 sible good' to its membership, then its 

 membership will be sufficiently in- 

 creased." Mr. Taylor is not in the 

 habit of vocalizing his thoughts with- 

 out due consideration, and we are, 

 therefore, led to cherish the hope that 

 his full ideas in this connection, were 

 not expressed in the Journal. Hence 

 we beg to propound a supplemental 

 question: How can the Union be made 

 of any possible good (not to say "the 

 greatest,") to its members without an 

 increased membership? 



B. A. Hodsell, in the American Bee 

 Journal, says: "Bee-keepers of Ari- 

 zona are up-to-date and wide awake, 

 using the best hives, extractors and all 

 modern improvements. Last, but not 

 least, they read bee papers and keep 

 themselves informed." It is further 

 stated that the Salt and Gila (pro- 

 nounced Heelah) valleys alone have 



shipped to eastern markets twenty- 

 nine carloads of honey in a single sea- 

 son; that nearly all their bee-keepers 

 are members of two associations, 

 through which they buy their supplies 

 and ship their honey in carload lots. 

 Arizona bee-keepers have long since 

 been brought to realize the benefits of 

 co-operation, find, unlike some of the 

 Bee Journal's sage counselors of the 

 "question box," believe in taking hold 

 of live questions and assisting the de- 

 velopment of improved conditions in 

 which they expect to share; as shown 

 by the large number of Arizona mem- 

 bers in the United States Bee-Keepers' 

 Union. That our brethern of the far 

 southwest are up-to-date and progres- 

 sive, is amply attested by the mere 

 fact of their support to the broadest, 

 most promising and progressive organ- 

 ization that has ever stood as the rep- 

 resentative of our industry and as the 

 champion of the bee-keepers' rights. It 

 would be well if there were more of the 

 Arizona spirit in Illinois and Ken- 

 tucky. 



At the Colorado convention, in reply 

 to the question: "Will it pay to feed 

 in spring to stimulate," Mrs. Rhodes 

 said she knew it did pay, and in proof 

 of her knowledge, continued: "One 

 spring we fed several pounds of sugar 

 a week. It proved to be a poor season, 

 but we got 1,000 pounds of honey when 

 our neighbors got nothing. Our bees 

 built up and theirs did not. 



The Australian Bee Bulletin quer- 

 ries: "How many of our readers 

 belong to the National Bee-Keepers' 

 association?" and adds: "If you do 

 not, don't complain you can't get a 

 price for your honey." Substituting 

 our own national association, the U. S. 

 B. K. U., this advice has a significant 

 application right here, at home. Yet 

 we learn through the American Bee 

 Journal's question box that some are 

 waiting for prices to advance before 

 joining the Union. 



