816 



'S'mm m.'MMmiGmm mmm j^umMni^, 



Taking the highest quotations of the 

 market on the first of each of the last six 

 months of each year, the price for comb 

 and extracted honey was as follows : 



1887. 

 Comb. Ert. 



l5Hc. SctoSc, 

 14C, 4Xc to ec, 



18c, 8 4-5C, 



16«C, 



lej^c, 



leXc 15cto9c, 



1888. 1889. 



Comb. Ext. Comb. Ext. 



San Francisco. 

 12c, 5Xc to 6Jic, 



St Louis. 

 15c, 4>4c to 6c, y2<4c, 5C to 6Xc 



Chicago. 

 17c, 8c. I3c, 8c, 



Cincinnati. 

 15>sc. ISJSc, 



Detroit. 

 16Mc, ec. 



New York. 

 I7!^i 7J^c to 9c, 15C, 7c to 85^0 



In Detroit, but four quotations are given 

 for extracted honey — in December, 1887, 

 and October, 1888, ten cents; in December, 

 1888 and 1889, nine cents. 



In Cincinnati in July, August and Sep- 

 tember, 1887, 3 to 7 cents; October and 

 November, Sli to 7 cents ; December, 3>2 

 to 8 cents; in 1888 it was 5 to 8 cents ex- 

 cept October and November, when it was 

 4}S^ to 8 cents; in 1889 the constant quota- 

 tions have been 5 to 8 cents. 



There are said to be over 300,000 bee- 

 keepers in the United States and Canada, 

 and if each apiary contained but 15 colo- 

 nies, the number reaches 4,500,000 ; and 

 if these produced but an average of 30 

 pounds, the total honey production would 

 be the enormous amount of 135,000,000 

 pounds, which at 10 cents per pound would 

 amount to the snug sum of $13,500,000. 

 If each colony produced an average of one 

 pound of beeswax, and it was worth 20 

 cents per pound, it would amount to §900,- 

 000. 



The Wiley liars, in their statements 

 about manufactured honey, have found 

 their more than match in Thomas G. New- 

 man, who gives them no peace or comfort, 

 but pounces upon them with a vigor that is 

 worthy of the cause, and has made this 

 portion of the Ananias family either drop 

 dead at his feet, or has so weakened their 

 voices as to make them almost inaudible. 

 The other bee-papers have also done good 

 service in this line, and the editor of Olcan- 

 ings has a. standing offer of ¥1,000 to the 

 person who will prove that the " wily " lie is 

 the truth — a pretty good premium for one 

 ■whose word is valueless. 



^pis clorsata, and the "coming bee" 

 have been sought for by our Mr. D. A. 

 Jones with a push, energy, and persever- 

 ance that would not have dishonored a 

 Yankee, and as yet without success. Well 

 might he with the poet Secor say : 



'Tis thus we're reiuinded, as time and again 

 Our hopes in things eartiily are sliattered, 

 That Solomon said, all thintis are liut vain, 

 No matter how much they iiave flattered ; 

 One certain, pure joy, 

 Content witiK>ut alloy. 

 Shall come when ambitions are scattered. 



But to the editor of one of Canada's bee- 

 papers belongs the honor of recommend- 

 ing the most feasible plan yet suggested 

 for securing^pi.s (?0)'SOfa. He says: "Ow- 

 ing to the difficulty of transporting bees 

 alive, we would suggest that the next en- 

 terprising individual take a package of . . . . 

 egg-preservative with him aud secure drone 

 and worker eggs and preserve and ship 

 them to America, where they might be put 

 in strong colonies, the drone eggs first, and 

 the fertilized ones later, and A^pis dorsata 

 shall be ours." 



The editor of the Amf.hican' Bee Jourxal 

 thought so well of the scheme, that he sug- 

 gested the name of a party who would take 

 a half-interest in the enterprise. Who 

 knows but that ere another gathering of 

 this association, some enterprising Cana- 

 dian or zealous Yankee will have acted 

 upon the suggestion of the wide-awake edi- 

 tor, and have secured and introduced the 

 "coming bee ?" 



Last year, through the efforts of your 

 presiding ofiicer, America's bee-keepers' 

 poet laureate, the Hon. Eugene Secor, of 

 Iowa, was induced to write two bee-songs, 

 and our sweet singer, Dr. C. C. MiUer, of 

 Illinois, put " wings " to them in the shape 

 of music, and the editor of Oleanings put 

 them in print, aud furnished a hundred 

 copes of each, free of charge, for use at the 

 Columbus Convention ; and this year, there 

 has emanated from that hive of industry, 

 the office of the Americas Bee Journal, 

 another bee-song, the music of which is 

 familiar to many, if not to all of you, a 

 hundred copies of which Mr. Newman has 

 furnished in the nice shape you see, for use 

 at this meeting. 



Last winter, I again tried to press Mr. 

 Secor into service, and get more of "that 

 which cheers, but does not inebriate." A 

 portion of his reply was, " We have had a 

 little ' old-fashioned ' weather out here this 

 winter — about 40 feet below zero," and 

 adding, " Don't you pity us poor heathens 

 who live — 



'Way out upon the prairie, where 



No Babbatix bell is heard. 

 No music but the sand-hill cranes. 



And breezes, blizzard stirred ?" 



But keeping in mind the injunction, " be 

 not weary in well-doing," and through the 

 kindness of Dr. Miller, in writing the music, 

 and the publishers of the Amekicax Bee 

 Journal in printing it, we have another 

 song that we can claim as our own; and all 

 this gathered-grandeur without cost to the 

 association or the bee-keeping fraternity. 

 I hope that during the coming year there 

 will be more added to this gathering sweet- 

 ness, so that in the near future the songs 

 sung at our conventions, both amusing and 

 ennobling, may be such as are just fitted 

 for the occasion, and enjoyable also in the 

 family circle. 



Upon the frst mention of a World's Fair 

 and Exposition to be held in the United 

 States, in 1893, it occurred to me, as it 

 doubtless did to many of you, that as bee- 

 keepers we should prepare for and make 

 the grandest exhibit of the products of, and 

 appliances used in, the apiary that was 

 ever made anywhere. Canada's bee-keep- 

 ers did themselves honor, and it was a 

 -y.^dit to theii' good sense and energy, to 

 Kljke the grand exhibit they did at the 

 Colcrial Exposition in England, in 1886; 

 but the bee-keepers of the United States 

 ought to beat them so badly that they will 

 be anxious for another opportunity to 

 "show off." 



In a letter received a week ago to-day, 

 from a successful bee-keeper of New York, 

 he says : " We ought to have a ' lay out ' at 

 the Exposition that will astonish the 

 world." With this idea in view, and know- 

 ing that it is well to begin to move in fair 

 and exposition matters in good time, I 

 wrote to the mangers of the enterprise in 

 regard to the desirability of having such an 

 exhibit, and received gratifying responses. 

 The United States Government's Apiarian 

 Exhibit at Paris last summer was not much 

 of a success, and could not be expected to 

 be when it is known that bee-keepers had 

 nothing to do with it, except to sell to its 

 representatives. Prof. McLain and others, 

 such things as they wished to put on exhi- 

 bition. Is it not sincerely to be desired 

 that the coming opportunity to make a dis- 

 play of the magnitude of our iudustiy be 

 improved to its fullest extents 



The changes that I would suggest to be 

 made in the Constitution and By-Laws of 

 the association are given on page 214 of 

 the Ameuk AX Bee Journal for this year — 

 a copy of which I have with me, so i will 

 not take time here to mention them, but 

 will mention them at the proper tiiue. Is 

 it not desirable that some plan be devised 

 ,by which the Bee-Keepers' Union, the 

 Honey Producers' Exchange and this asso- 

 ciation shall be combined i 



The Union, under its efficient manage- 

 ment, has accomplished much for our fra- 

 ternity, and as "In union there is strength," 

 ought not something to be done to make 

 the Union stronger ? Under the able leader- 

 ship of its Manager, assisted by the Board 

 of Directors, it has carried to a successful 

 termination six cases in which bee-keepers 

 have been brought before the Courts on ac- 

 count of damages claimed to have been 

 done by their bees, and settled scores of 

 disputes looking to lawsuits. I believe one 

 case is still in Court, and funds are very 

 much needed to carry it to a termination 

 favorable to the cause of justice. " Money 

 talks," and out loud, too. 



The Supreme (supremely ridiculous) 

 Court of New York has made itself the ob- 

 ject of ridicule by its recent decision in 

 such a case, and it is hoped and expected 

 that when the case comes before the Court 

 of Appeals, the utterances of the Lower 

 Court will be so thoroughly "snowed un- 

 der "that no summer's sun will ever be 

 able to reach them. Is it not the height of 

 folly for any one who has an apiary, or 

 even keeps a few colonies, to ignore the 

 fact that there is a constant danger of their 

 being the next victim of " miss-placed con- 

 fidence," and perhaps have on hand a fair- 

 sized suit for damages, etc ! Should not 

 each give a helping hand towards furnish- 

 ing the needed funds with which to defend 

 the right, for it is principles, not men, that 

 are being defended* But few Canadians 

 belong to the Union, and not having an or- 

 ganization of this kind, would it not be well 

 for them to give it their hearty support i 



Up to the present time this Associaton, 

 and so far as I know, all other bee-keepers' 

 associations, have been accustomed to allow 

 any one present to take part in and enjoy 

 to the full, all benefits arising from asking 

 questions and discussing subjects under 

 consideration, whether members of the as- 

 sociation or not. To me this course seems 

 open to serious objections. At our homes, 

 when those not members of our family 

 come to see us, we show them the utmost 

 consideration, and provide for them the 

 very best we have, and wish them to occupy 

 the best and most luxm-ious seats we pos- 

 sess, it it be nothing better than a hard- 

 bottom chair. Would it not be to our credit 

 as an association, to provide equally well 

 for our bee-keeping visitors, by furnishing 

 them with reserved seats, and hope that, 

 like the visitors at our homes, they will not 

 " wear their welcome out '." 



To those who are at an expense of from 

 ten to one hundred dollars, or even more, 

 besides several days of valuable time, for 

 the sake of reaping benefits that come from 

 association and contact with kindred 

 minds, should be granted the privilege of 

 occupying the floor and doing the i>leasant, 

 satisfying and solid work of the convention. 

 A fit name for such people as object to l)e- 

 comiug members by the payment of the 

 small fee, and yet wish to reap its benefits, 

 I first heard used by the staid editor of the 

 Review, and those of you who are so fortu- 

 nate as to have the pleasure of his ac- 

 quaintace, can readily imagine how his 

 lips appeared when he called them "absorb- 

 ers." Appropriate name '. Grand title ! To 

 such visitors as are not, and do not expect 

 to become bee keepers, we extend a most 

 cordial welome at all times, aud shall be 

 glad to have such occupy seats at our talile, 

 and participate in and enjoy our social 

 chat. 



Since writing the above, the Review for 

 November has come to hand, aud ou this 

 subject, among other things in regard to 

 this matter, Dr. Miller says: "Here is one 

 man coming hundreds of miles at the ex- 

 pense of -550 or SlOO, who promptly pays 

 his membership fee with no feeling that 

 there is any hardship about it, and right by 

 his side sits a man wtio lives hard by ; sits 



