490 



•wmm mmimmiGRf^ ®e® j&wmmmi^. 



pends on what can be grown on it, the 

 value of the crop, fertility, and ease of 

 working the soil ; nearness to market, 

 health, comfort, and many other 

 points, and especiall}' the improve- 

 ments, which are houses, barns, fences, 

 fruit-trees, and vines in bearing. In 

 nianj' places these prices seem truly 

 fictitious — tliey are in part ; as an ex- 

 ample, in one part of this county land 

 alone, without anj' improvements — 

 land that it will cost $40 to |50 an 

 acre to clear up for any crop, is held, 

 and being sold at from $150 to $250 an 

 acre ; while right here near Petaluma, 

 in just as good and healthy climate, 

 just as good laud that will produce 

 crops which will sell for as much per 

 acre — land readj- for plow, trees and 

 vines, fenced, with houses and barns 

 on it, 16 miles nearer market, with 

 both railro.ad and water routes, can be 

 bought for .ftiU to $120 per acre, within 

 two to ten miles from town, and 

 further back at from $10 to $50. 



Why this great difference ? I think 

 it would take a Philadelphia lawyer to 

 find out. It is simply "wind boom." 

 There is no legitimate reason for any 

 such foolishness, and the same is true 

 of points all over the State. 



Thus, again, Kern valley is in every 

 point and particular a better raisin 

 county than Fresno and vicinity ; yet 

 land can be had in Kern for one-fourth 

 to one-eighth of what it can be bought 

 for the same distance from Fresno. 



The great syndicate 1 mentioned in 

 my last, are offering the choicest lands 

 in the great Kern valley, undoubtedly 

 the best raisin climate in the world, 

 and equally good for nearly every 

 other known fruit, in 20-acre tracts on 

 long time, or larger tracts to actual 

 settlers, who will improve, at $45 an 

 acre — less than adjoining land can be 

 bought for cash. 



Twenty acres, strange as it niaj' 

 seem, is all the land a large family 

 wants, needs, or has any need of for 

 legitimate fruit-growing. More would 

 simply be a burden. Then the cost of 

 the raisin or other fruit farm in Kern, 

 is 1900 on any reasonable terms ; the 

 syndicate even going so far as to 

 promise and contract, that if the colo- 

 nist will do his part, he will be allowed 

 to pay for his home from his first 

 crops, and not allowed to starve in the 

 meantime. That is all there is of it. 



California, each and every portion 

 of it tliat one could with reason call 

 habitable, is about the best place on 

 this earth to live in, have comfort in, 

 and to make money in. Yet I must 

 say that no one has any business to 

 come here without he has money — 

 money enough at least to make a start 

 with towards buying a home. It is no 

 country to come to, to work out for 

 hire, especially in the country, for 



many reasons. The country home is 

 safe — always brings nice returns, if 

 rightly managed, and is independent. 

 Petaluma, Calif. 



[The word " make " has many defi- 

 nitions — one of which is "to prepare," 

 and it is so used when we speak of 

 " making a bed." In the article criti- 

 cised, we referred to its primary defi- 

 nition, which is " to bring into being; 

 to create or cause to exist" — as the 

 Eloheim said at the Creation, "Let us 

 make man." In that sense, bees do 

 7iot make honey. Bro. Wier is in a 

 playful mood, as will be seen by his 

 mirthful reference to "Mother Goose's 

 melodies." 



Certainly he may make free with the 

 woril while trying to make out a case ; 

 but he must make sure to make it 

 known that when he makes an example, 

 he must make good sense in order to 

 make a creditable defense ! Or we 

 may make merry over his failure to 

 make an argument which would make 

 any one believe that he was not mak- 

 ing fun of the whole matter ! 



The word is so variously used that it 

 makes no difference what shade of 

 meaning is desired, he can make it to 

 suit himself ! 



To 7nake amends, let us "make the 

 punishment fit the crime," and thus 

 make an end to the whole controversy. 

 —Ed.] 



HONEY. 



Some of tlic AbU8C§ of Extracted 

 Honey, anti the Remedy. 



Written for the American Dee Jownial 



BY W. J. CULLINAN. 



It was with more than usual interest 

 that I read the excellent article on 

 page 445, by C. W. Dayton, on the 

 above subject. I read the article once, 

 then read it again, and, John Allen- 

 like, think I shall "turn back and re- 

 read certain parts on which I am not 

 perfectlj' clear." 



Extracted honey is my hobby ; I pre- 

 fer to produce it, prefer to eat it. pre- 

 fer to see it — and if it had not been so 

 much maligned by those outside, and 

 so ignoniiniously treated by those inside 

 of bee-keeping circles, I would prefer 

 to sell it. But after thousands of tons 

 of an unripe and inferior article have, 

 through the ignorance or carelessness 

 of wo.ild-be honey-producers, found 

 its way into the hands of consumers, 



satiating the palates of many, is it any 

 wonder that people say, as Mr. Dayton 

 remarks, that honey "does not taste 

 so delicious as it used to ?" or that the 

 vender of extracted honey,even though 

 he have a good article, meets with so 

 manj- obstacles, and finds it so difficult 

 at times, to effect sales ? 



I think that Mr. D., while he cannot 

 claim priority in this, has helped to 

 solve tlie problem for those who sa}' 

 that they cannot sell extracted honey. 

 Let them try Mr. D's plan of leaving it 

 in the hives until it becomes ripe, rich, 

 and delicious, then store in clean re- 

 ceptacles, bung or seal up tight, and 

 try the sample plan of selling, and see 

 if their sales do not surprise them. 



I fully agree with Mr. D., where he 

 says that the " custom of selling all 

 extracted honey in small packages is 

 belittling to the business, and casts 

 the idea that a little of it is all that is 

 of any use," etc., but, I would ask, 

 what is to be done when the average 

 grocery-keepers throughout the coun- 

 try — and, I am grieved to say, in cities 

 like Quincy (31,000), and Kansas City 

 (200,000)— will look at you as though 

 you were trying to hang a dead weight 

 about their necks, when you ask them 

 to buy a barrel of honey at one time ? 



The plan of selling in 40 and 60 

 pound cans is a good one, but judging 

 from my own experience, it takes a 

 hero in the trade to convince the aver- 

 age person that he needs that much in 

 his business. However, it is well to 

 give such questions a sort of renovat- 

 ing shake occasionally, and Mr. D's 

 article may set some of the producers 

 of extracted honey to thinking, and 

 tend toward the production of an arti- 

 cle between which and the adulterated 

 article, it will not be so hard, as I 

 have seen it, to discriminate. 



Quincy, Ills. 



STANDARD. 



standard Hives, Section§,Honey- 

 Boards, Frames, etc. 



Written for the Colorado Fanner 



BY D. R. EMERY'. 



The question is often asked, "Have 

 we a standard hive i"' or " Is it not 

 desirable to have a fixed hive, leaving 

 the way open for improvements ?" It 

 seems that the experience and experi- 

 ments of the last decade, would war- 

 rant an average standard for general 

 use, and let specialists suit their own 

 fancies. 



Some claim that a small eight-frame 

 hive of 1,728 to 2,000 cubic inches, is 

 large enough ; that hives of this size 

 will economize heat better, and com- 

 pel more surplus storage, and cost less 



