May 11, 1905 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



341 



more may be the last crossing. They expect 

 to reach London a^^ain about Jan. 1, 1906. 



Mrs. Cowan had contracted a severe cold on 

 the Ocean, so was not very well when she 

 arrived in Chicago. But Mr. Cowan was 

 looking and feeling first-rate ; in fact, even 

 better than two j ears ago when he was here, 

 we think. 



Mr. and Mrs. Cowan are delightful people 

 to meet, and we regretted that we were not 

 permitted to see more of them. They have 

 been in our country so often, and for so long 

 a time heretofore, that they seem more like 

 our own people than foreigners. 



We, as no doulji all who know them, wish 

 them a pleasao' summer in their home in 

 "Sunset Land,' and then a safe return to 

 their native and Ttir-away England. 



On the front putje we present one of Mr. 

 Cowan's latest pictures, which we think is a 

 very good one. 



The Minne.<iota Association, through 

 its Secretary, sends the following for publica- 

 tion, which is of interest to Minnesota bee- 

 keepers ; 



Editor American Bbb Journal: — The 

 Secretary of the Minnesota Bee-Keepers' 



Association is authorized by the Executive 

 Committee to deny the statements made in a 

 recent circular sent out by the so-called 

 "Committee on Co operation," in so far as 

 they relate to the connection of that Commit- 

 tee with the Association. At the annual 

 meeting held Dec. 7, 1904, the chair ruled 

 that the Committee was not appointed by, 

 nor as a part of, the Association, and, there- 

 tore, had no standing in the meeting. An 

 appeal to the house being taken, the ruling 

 was sustained by a decisive vote. In view of 

 these facts, the Association does not wish to 

 be placed in the false light of appearing to 

 endorse, or be responsible for. the statements 

 in the circular referred to. Yours truly, 

 Mrs. W. S. Wingate, Sec. 

 May 1, 1905. 



-V Contrtbutcb ^- 

 Special Clrticles 



^ 



-^ 



Home Marketing of Honey— Unripe Honey 



BY S. B. SMITH 



ON page SI, those who could sell more honey than they can 

 produce right in their home market, are invited to tell 



how they do it. As I belong to that class, I will tell how 

 I do. 



The first and most important of all is good, ripe honey. 

 The second requisite is neatness. Prepare the honey for mar- 

 ket in such a manner that it will be attractive, pleasing to 

 the eye. I work mostly for section honey, and the propolis is 

 all scraped off and the sections are neat and attractive, and 

 every section has my name stamped on it. 



I have some extracted honey every year ; this I put up in 

 one-pint fruit-jars, holding one and one-half pounds, and in 

 this locality they are more salable than larger quantities. 



Some bee-keepers advocate peddling honey. There is no 

 objection to that method of disposing of honey, provided they 

 like it, but I don't have to peddle mine. There is a mer- 

 chant here that takes all of it, and would take more if I 

 produced it. I get 14 cents per pound for section honey and 

 IS cents per pint jar for extracted honey — or 10 cents per 

 pound and he furnishes the jars. This man has taken my 

 honey for the past 8 years, and I have established such a 

 reputation for it that sales are readily made. 



If any of the neighbors want my honey they can get it at 

 the same price the merchant pays me, but I am not much 

 troubled with neighbors' custom, as honey is peddled at 10 

 cents per pound for section honey, and 6 to 8 cents for ex- 

 tracted. I have no complaints to bring against men who sell 

 under market price — it is a privilege they have, and I shall 

 enter no protest, but I will relate a little Incident that hap- 

 pened last season. 



Lady No. 1 bought a quantity of extracted honey of Mr. 



A. for 10 cents a pound. Lady No. 2 went to Mr. A. to buy 

 honey, but when told that the price was 10 cents a pound she 

 said, "Mr. B. is selling honey for 7 cents a pound, and Mr. C. 

 for 6 cents." The result was that she bought honey of Mr. 



B. at 7 cents. 



As time passed Mr. A. dined with lady No. 1, and she had 

 some of his honey on the table, and when she passed it she 

 remarked that there was a great difference in honey. Vour 

 honey is thick and good-flavored. I was at lady No. 2's the 

 other day, and we had some of Mr. B.'s honey, and it was t bin 

 and watery, and of very bad flavor. 



The readers of the American Bee Journal can draw their 

 own inferences, but Mr. A. went home without any eiimity 

 against the 7-cent honey man. 



A good name is greatly to be desired, and I think mon of 

 a good name than I do of many pounds of unripe extraoled 

 honey. My honey is all ripe when taken from the hive, 

 whether in sections or extracted, and I will say that the man 

 who always puts good, ripe honey on the market in a nat, 

 attractive manner will never lack for customers. The itc!\an- 

 tage or disadvantage of putting your name on your honey is a 

 matter for each to decide ; with me it is an advantage. 



I will give my opinion on extracting unripe honey, t 'ere 

 seems to be a strife among bee-men in this vicinity to see .vho 



can get the largest amount of extracted honey. The hives 

 are closely watcbed, and as soon as the combs arc well filled 

 with honey, with little or no capping .done, the honey is ex- 

 tracted. Those who follow this method obtain a large amount 

 of thin honey of a poor quality, thereby doing great harm to 

 the market. 



I was very much interested in the report of the convention 

 of the National ISee-Keepers' Association held at St. Louis, 

 especially what is said about "extracting unsealed honey," 

 on page 61 of the American Bee Journal, and I approve Mr. 

 France's idea about extracting unripe honey. I say, let it 

 remain on the hive until it is ripe. Perhaps the quantity of 

 well-ripened honey will be a little less than that of unripe 

 honey, but the quality is much better, and it is quality, not 

 quantity, that I want. Honor is the foundation upon which 

 every man should build, and let that honor be unsullied. 



There is much complaint about the poor quality of ex- 

 tracted honey, and it will be thus until some bee-keepers 

 learn that it is to their advantage to have a good article of 

 honey instead of a poor one in the market. Let us deal hon- 

 estly with ourselves and our fellowmen. It takes a little 

 longer to do a piece of work well, than only half do it, and it 

 takes a little longer to produce good, ripe honey than it does 

 the unripe, but it pays better in the end, every time. 



Mille Lacs Co., Minn. 



# 



The Deterioration of Races of Bees 



BY ARTHUR C. IMItLER 



FROM time immemorial until a comparatively recent date 

 it was the custom among the so-called Christian peoples 

 to " take up" or destroy their heaviest colonies of bees, 

 which meant the killing of the most virile, and left the less 

 suitable to perpetuate the race. The evil results of this prac- 

 tice at last became apparent, attention possibly being called 

 to it by information from Eastern peoples ; at any rate, bee- 

 keepers in the 17th century began to practice " taking up " 

 the weak and medium colonies, and leaving the best for stock. 



Also, there were soon begun efforts and devices for secur- 

 ing part of the honey without destroying the bees. The evil 

 results of the long-continued practice of "selecting the unfit" 

 for breeding were not to be overcome in a season, and until 

 after the introduction of the yellow races we find frequent 

 references pointing to weak stock. 



The yellow bees came from the followers of Mahomet, 

 who are forbidden to take animal life except for food, and 

 whose practice was to deprive the bees of only a part of their 

 honey, which gave opportunity for the law of the survival of 

 the fittest to work untrammeled by the hands of unwise men. 

 Despite their sojourn in Italy, this Eastern blood seemed virile 

 enough when it reached here, and its superiority to the native 

 stock was quickly seen. 



The introduction and spread of the yellow bees from Italy, 

 and the benefits derived therefrom, are too recent history to 

 need repetition here, but not long ago evidences of weakness 

 began to appear in this race in various parts of the country. 

 Contagious diseases spread with alarming rapidity, and re- 

 ports of less serious ailments came from all sides. These con- 

 ditions have been ascribed to various causes, but there is a dis- 

 agreement as to which one is the most important. Possibly the 

 publicity given the subject of bee-diseases accounts for the 

 recognition and reporting of many cases, but while this would 

 explain the increase of reports, it does not shed light on the 

 conditions upon which the reports are based. 



The existing state of affairs is strikingly like that exist- 

 ing before the introduction of the Italian bee, the natural In- 

 ference from which is that the stock has been losing its vigor. 



