THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 5, 1905. 



conundrum: "How do you suppose such absurdities get 

 into the papers"? 



The answer is not easily given in a few words, although 

 down at the bottom of the whole disreputable business lies 

 the fact that may be given briefly in the words of Barnum, 

 the great showman, " The people want to be humbugged ". 

 The papers wouldn't continue to fill up their space with lies 

 if there were no market for them. Knowing this demand, 

 the penny-a-liners are keen on the scent of anything a little 

 out of the ordinary, and with one or two facts, or supposed 

 facts a trifle remarkable, in their possession, they set to 

 work dressing up and magnifying, until one may well ask, 

 " Why do the papers lie so about bees "? 



In the present case, the material from which the fabric 

 is reared is probably the following : There was one queen 

 which was considered so valuable for breeding purposes 

 that it was valued at $200 by its owners, although no one 

 perhaps would have given one-fourth that amount for that 

 or any other queen. But that seems to be ground enough 

 for a reporter saying that tnany are sending queens at that 

 price all over the world 1 



It is not to the credit of the New York Herald that such 

 stuff should be admitted to its columns, and perhaps it is 

 less to the credit of the Cincinnati Enquirer to be willing 

 to copy it. 



ZnisccUaneous 

 Hetps ^ 3 terns 



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General Manager France says the Texas bee-keepers 

 did not understand what he wrote them about the director- 

 ship matter. We thought there must be some misunder- 

 standing somewhere. But no harm has been done, as we 

 can see. 



W, S. Allan, of Mexico, when renewing his subscrip- 

 tion recently, wrote as follows : 



" In a late number of the American Bee Journal the 

 question is asked, ' What have yon learned in experience 

 during the present year with the bees ?' My experience is 

 that the best help in the bee-business is the American Bee 

 Journal." 



Mr. S. A. NiveF, formerly of New York State, but lately 

 of Chicago and Wisconsin, has taken unto himself a wife. 

 He was married Dec. 26, 1904, at Whitewater, Wis., to Mrs. 

 Alfarata Hull Jahnke, according to an announcement we re- 

 ceived last week. We extend our heartiest congratulations 

 to Mr. and Mrs. Niver. But Mr. Niver certainly did sur- 

 prise us. ......... 



August Weiss, of New London, Wis., died Nov. 22, 

 1904. He had been sick with lung trouble for a year and a 

 half. He was only 42 years of age. Mr. Weiss was well 

 known as a comb foundation manufacturer, having invented 

 a process of his own, we believe. On account of ill health 

 he has not been able to push his business very vigorously 

 the past year or two. 



An Old Bee-Keeper and Langstroth.— We have re- 

 ceived the following from an old bee-keeper and admirer of 

 Langstroth : 



Editor York : — Advancing years and failing health 

 compel me to give up bee-keeping for a business. Perhaps 

 it will interest you to know that I am probably the oldest 

 apiarist in the United States, having been in the business 

 since 1856, and during all that time old Father Langstroth 

 has been my only guide, and his is the only book that I 

 would recommend to beginners. Wm. Sai,xsidbr. 



Frank RauctafUSS, the able manager of the Colorado 

 Honey-Producers' Association, is reported as saying that 

 that organization is a success, and that its members are 

 well pleased. This is encouraging. But it should be re- 

 membered that it is an organization separate from the 

 Colorado State Bee-Keepers' Association. The latter is for 

 the discussion and promotion of matters of interest to all 

 bee-keepers, while the former is a purely business or finan- 

 cial institution, conducted only for its members. There is 

 a wide difference in the two organizations, and such should 

 always be managed separately, we think. 



Better Than a Calendar.— Mr. s. E. Johns, of Frank- 

 lin Co., Pa., when renewing his subscription for 1905, wrote 

 as follows : 



" I have taken the American Bee Journal for one year, 

 and feel like continuing it, as it is better than an almanac 

 or calendar on account of coming so regularly. It is all 

 right in every respect, and worth five times the small sub- 

 scription charged for it. In the near future I want to send 

 some new subscribers to it. S. E. Johns. 



We vcish to thank Mr. Johns for his kind words. Yes, 

 and we also want to thank many others for the generous 

 expressions of appreciation they have written us concern- 

 ing the American Bee Journal. They all help greatly 

 toward pushing on in a good work that, like all other efforts, 

 often has its discouragements. 



We hope there may be many who will go out and invite 

 other bee-keepers to subscribe for this Journal. A large 

 number of our present readers have already done so, and 

 with success, but we'd just like to put on our list several 

 thousand more new readers during this month and next. 

 Why can't it be done 7 Will you, reader, try to send in at 

 least one new subscription this month ? It ought not to be 

 difficult to get subscribers when we furnish 52 copies for 

 only $1.00. 



A Visit to C. H. W. Weber's.— About Nov. i the 

 writer visited Cincinnati, and looked in on C. H. W. Weber, 

 and also the Fred W. Muth Co. We had never been in Cin- 

 cinnati before, so everything was new to us there. We 

 arrived quite early in the morning, and went at once to Mr. 

 Weber's store,, where we met him and also his daughter 

 Emma. The son, Charles H., was away on a honey-selling 

 trip, so we did not have the pleasure of meeting him. 



The senior Weber worked for some years for the late 

 Chas. F. Muth, whose business he finally bought, and has 

 conducted it ever since. He does a large business in bee- 

 keepers' supplies, bees and queens, honey and beeswax, and 

 also seeds of various kinds. Mr. Weber is one of the lead- 

 ing honey-dealers in this country, especially among manu- 

 facturers, his monthly sales being in the neighborhood of 

 60,000 pounds. He also bottles considerable honey for the 

 grocery trade. 



Mr. Weber's son and daughter are his chief assistants 

 in the store, and also in the outside honey-sales. 



As most of our readers know, Mr. Weber has perhaps 

 the largest roof-apiary in the world. In it he has about 50 

 colonies. He also has several ont-apiaries some distance 

 from the city. 



We are pleased to present to our readers the Weber 

 illustrations on the first page of this week's number. The 

 Weber family are doing a good business in the lines 

 they handle. Their reputation for square dealing is 

 well known. Their advertisement is constantly in our 

 columns, and the space used this year has been consider- 

 ably increased over that of the past year. If they do not 

 get their share of the honey and bee-supply trade it will not 

 be their fault. 



