338 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



low wax is the best. I have proven tliat its 

 successful use is possible. Time onlj' can 

 prove to my satisfaction that it is a matter 

 of economy. 

 I find small boxes of two combs (say 4 lbs. 



fross) are demanded with the small frames, 

 find the 43^x4)^ sections are too small to 

 suit tlie market. I think i}4xb^ will be the 

 smallest size used. 1 find Root's method of 

 putting these frames within frames very 

 complicated and troublesome, compared to 

 the method I use. Frames whose sides 

 touch eacii other should be moved sidewise, 

 and not lifted up. I have used sections for 

 3 years and also glass-side cases for ship- 

 ping them, the same length of time. I sup- 

 pose Root borrowed the half-worn-out idea 

 of Henry Palmer. 



1 find the Bingham smoker all that is re- 

 quired. It is worth twice its cost to blow 

 the fire with of a morning. 



The best bees 1 ever owned I now have, 

 and they are the bees described by Ch. Da- 

 dant, as the dark, pure Italians. 



Our present fall harvest is going to pi'ove 

 very light, as the nights are too cool for 

 comb building. 



Now, Mr. Editoi', as I am only an "old- 

 fashioned, box-hive, brimstone, bee owner," 

 I feel it the duty of some of the more learn- 

 ed artists to answer the following 



QUESTIONS. 



In what way is the coming National Con- 

 vention going to benefit the producers of 

 surplus honey? I am one of them, and it 

 will cost me $50 to attend. Is that the best 

 way to get $oO worth of bee-wisdom? 



Why are men who do not produce surplus 

 honey for their income, the movers of the 

 meeting? 



Why do we hear nothing from our best 

 and ablest honey producers, who make pro- 

 ducing strictly a specialty? 



Where is Henry Palmer and his 2.50 

 colonies? He is one of the ablest apiarists 

 in the country. Why doesn't he help to ad- 

 vance the "gloiMous cause?" 



Why do the foreign papers quote Adam 

 Grimm as having left $100,000? Is it true? 

 If not, why falsify? Can't our pet pursuit 

 be sustained by truth? 



The Aniericnn Orocer does me a great 

 injustice, and so do others, by stating that 

 I " attempted to stay the production of 

 honey" by certain true statements. 



Does the Grocer tliink that any man of 

 "no inconsiderable i)ractical experience" 

 would for a niouient dream of such a wild 

 scheme? Counteract a hurricane with a 

 bee smoker; stop the plague with fastings 

 and prayer! 



Didn't some apiarian supply dealer write 

 the article referred to in the American 

 Orocerf 



Well, what did I try to do? Just this: I 

 tried to point out the future of bee-keeping, 

 as it seemed to me, and show up the tricks 

 and dishonesty of certain sharpers who 

 made their living out of speculation among 

 honest producers. These men all cry: 

 "glorious business, chock full of money, 

 just right for women and invalids." In the 

 name of common sense, why don't these 

 men go at strict honey producing? If they 

 can't make it pay now, they can bunt their 

 brains half out against a sponge, and catch 

 a few colds, till they become invalids, and 

 then make a fortune. 



I would say that our fraternity has been 

 worse bled by dishonest and ignorant men. 



than almost any other, and now let us get 

 rid of them by letting them alone. 



Please remember that I take no excep- 

 tions to useful supply vending, vended over 

 the counter of truth and honesty. I do not 

 believe that useful supplies need to manu- 

 facture customers through falsehood, tO' 

 find buyers. Old apiarists buy useful sui> 

 plies; but for the useless ones, new bee- 

 keepers must be found. 



SURPLUS HOXEY. 



Messrs. Thurber & Co. are quoted solid as 

 rocks, and we hope they will assist the pro- 

 ducers of this country to dispose of their 

 surplus honey, but we hardly think it 

 necessary for us to meet them personally at 

 a cost of $.50 each, more or less. 



Local conventions are what we now need. 



I have been jaring honey for 4 years, and 

 1 thought that the reason why the system of 

 putting up honey was dying, was because 

 the contents were getting too cheap for the 

 glass, packing boxes, freight, etc. I now 

 predict that the jaring of honey must dry 

 up, unless foreign countries will take it at 

 remunerative prices. I may be wrong, how- 

 ever. 



PREDICTIONS. 



Before I close I wish to recall your atten- 

 tion to many of my former predictions. 

 Fully believing myself to be right, I was al- 

 ways ready to stake my sincerity on the 

 fulfillment of prediction, and now when 

 they are coming to be verified to the very 

 letter, isn't it rather provoking to have the 

 results attributed to other than the right 

 cause? 



For instance, I said the price of bees 

 must go down to one-half, on account of the 

 low-priced honey and increased production. 

 "Oh, no! oh, no!" was the cry all around. 

 Now here we are; Root comes to the rescue 

 and says: "Bees will be sold cheap to get 

 rid of the natural combs, so foundation can 

 be substituted." 



Why don't Albert Potter melt up his poor 

 combs and make a lot of foundation of the 

 wax, and take a new and more artificial 

 start? That would be better than to sell at 

 $.5 per colonv. 



Mr. Grimm's $20,000 or .$30.,000 came in 

 part from bees at $15 per colony. The 

 question is, can we go to Heaven and pay 

 Jacob a visit, with a 10-foot ladder? If the 

 Grinnns should be getting tired of seeing 

 their names in print, isn't there anybody 

 else we can quote that has made something 

 substantial out of apiculture? 



Now, Mr. Editor, if you will excuse this 

 long article on a vexed subject, and one 

 that hardly pays to agitate, as every one 

 does as he pleases after all, I will forgive 

 myself for wasted time, and in future hope 

 I shall have no occasion to write other than 

 short articles of experience, that may be of 

 more interest, if not of more worth, to all. 

 James Heddon. 



Dowagiac, Mich., Sept. (i, 1877. 



[Many of friend Heddon's remarks are 

 doubtless true, still some of them, we can't 

 help thinking, are calculated to mislead 

 those of limited experience. What he says 

 about the cost of attending the Convention 

 is true, and another year this can be 

 remedied by holding it at a more central 

 place, where it could be more easily and 



