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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Oct. 26 190S 



gtitioD got abroad that comb honey ie easily 

 simulated— and millions of cautious persons 

 believe in this myth. 



It is said that there is even a large standing 

 reward for any one who will produce a pound 

 of artificial honey in the comb and demon- 

 strate that it is artificial. 



A convention of bee-keepers not long ago 

 discussed the advisability of an advertising 

 appropriation to down this myth— for if it 

 could definitely be laid low the demand for 

 comb honey must necessarily grow by leaps 

 and bounds. 



There is no doubt about it, we think, that 

 if the consuming public could be made to feel 

 that all comb honey is absolutely the product 

 of bees, they would use it to such extent that 

 there wouldn't be a tenth part enough pro- 

 duced to supply the demand. 



Also, if the dear public could be shown 

 that certain brands of extracted honey were 

 genuine bees' honey, we believe there would 

 soon be such a general call for it that bee- 

 keepers would find it very profitable to in- 

 crease their apiaries, and, besides, there would 

 be many more who would begin bee-keeping 

 who are now favorably situated to do so. 



What is needed first is some general adver- 

 tising to educate the public on honey, and 

 then special advertising of certain absolutely 

 pure brands of honey. 



Alfalfa and Sweet Clover 



Some will no doubt be surprised to learn 

 from R. C. Aikin, in Irrigation, that although 

 alfalfa is the chief honey-plant in his part of 

 the State, " the increase of sweet clover," 

 says Mr. Aikin, '• has brought it up until it is 

 almost, it not quite, an equal. Alfalfa, when 

 it does bloom, is in a body; when the bee 

 finds a field of it the bloom is there in quan- 

 tity, giving work without so much ranging; 

 but with the sweet clover it is clumps here 

 and there, long strings on ditch-banks, road- 

 sides and such. It has been my belief for 

 years that, as a rule, it is the plant and bloom 

 that we find in large bodies that is most to be 

 depended upon for surplus. There is no 

 question in my mind but that all plants yield 

 more or less nectar, the only thing necessary 

 to make the plant a dependence is that it be 

 in a body and in proportion to the demands 

 upon it. 



" It is not at all common," he says, " for 

 bees to work early in this country ; alfalfa 

 seldom gets to business until 10 to 12 o'clock, 

 when the sun has become hot. Our bees do 

 not work early, but they do keep going until 

 almost dark when there is nectar." 



Non-interference in Locations 



In Australia, priority rights as to location 

 have led to the adoption of the following rule 

 by the Victorian Apiarists' Association ; 



*' In the establishment of apiaries by mem- 

 bers of this Association, it shall be recognized 

 as a general rule that a distance of at least 3 

 miles shall be kept from any other member's 

 apiary, excepting in localities where the bee- 

 keepers of any branch agree that 2 miles is 

 sufficient, as regards that particular district." 



Maeterlinck's " Life of the Bee."— 



We have a few copies of this book, price, post- 

 paid, $1.40; or with the American Bee Jour- 

 nal one year — both for ^2.00, as long as the 

 books last. It is a cloth-bound book, and has 

 42? pages. 



Good for Slinnesota ! — We are in- 

 formed that the Minnesota Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation have decided to postpone the time of 

 their annual meeting in deference to the Na- 

 tional. Both Associations had selected the 

 same dates. We are glad to know that the 

 Minnesota bee-keepers have taken the action 

 mentioned. They will not regret it. No 

 doubt they will have a number of representa- 

 tives at the National convention now that 

 they will not need to miss their own meeting 

 in order to come to Chicago. 



A County Pair Mix-Up.— F. W. Hall, 

 of Sioux Co., Iowa, is one of that State's wide- 

 awake bee-keepers. But the following ex- 

 perience, taken from the Iowa Index, prob- 

 ably waked him up a little more than he an- 

 ticipated : 



The Sioux County Fair, from reports, was 

 certainly a success. F. W. Hall, with an ex- 

 hibit of honey and apiarian fixtures in the Art 

 Hall, had quite an interesting experience. 

 The Orange City bees seemingly took it for 

 granted that the display was spread for their 

 especial benefit, and turned out in swarms. 

 By the close of the second day it was neces- 

 sary to pack up and get away with them in 

 the dark. In doing so one of the horses — 

 then tied to the rear end of the wagon — got 

 his halter-strap caught, and upset the wagon 

 on which the display was loaded A general 

 mix-up was the result. But nothing serious 

 occurred beyond a lot of broken honey, 

 combs, and spilled extracted honey. To 

 partly offset his loss, Mr. Hall carried off the 

 first prize on comb honey, extracted honey, 

 and for best display. 



"The Honey-Money Stories" — the 



illustrated booklet recently issued — is thus 

 kindly referred to by the American Bee- 

 Keeper : 



"The Honey-Money Stories" is the title of 

 a 64-page booklet just issued by George W. 

 York it Co., Chicago. It is unique in style, 

 and is calculated to do missionary work 

 among the masses, in the interest of the 

 honey-business. It presents 33 illu-trations, 

 is beautifully printed on plated stock, and 

 sells for 2.5 cents. It is a book that will not 

 fail to interest every bee-keeper, nor any one 

 else, for that matter. It is cheap at a " quar- 

 ter," and those who send to the publishers 

 for one at .334 Dearborn Street, Chicago, will 

 get their money's worth. 



While the retail price of "The Honey- 

 Money Stories " is 25 cents, postpaid, we send 

 .5 copies for .$1.00 ; or one copy with a year's 

 subscription to the American Bee Journal — 

 both for §1.10. It should pay well to circu- 

 late "The Honey-Money Stories" among 

 should-be users of honey. 



J. G. Creighton and Apiary. — Refer- 

 ring to the picture on the first page, Mr. 

 Creighton sends the following: 



I was born in Hamilton Co., Ohio, 1S44, and 

 was brought up on the farm. I served through 

 the Civil War, and am a holder of three hon- 

 orable discharges. 



My bee-keeping commenced about the year 

 ISn, and since that time I have had many 

 ups and downs in the business. I winter my 

 bees on the summer stands, and in the early 

 part of my bee-keepingmy loss was great, but 

 after I abandoned the honey-board and used 

 leaves for an absorbent to take up the mois- 



ture, my success was greater in wintering 

 and my number increased to 49 colonies. 



Foul brood struck my apiary the forepart 

 of the '90's. I had never seen a case of it, 

 and by extracting and exchanging frames I 

 scattered it all through the apiary. Within 



2 years it put me out of the bee-business. For 



3 or 4 years I kept no bees, but the desire had 

 so fastened itself upon me that I started into 

 bee-keeping again. Foul brood has struck 

 me two or three times since I last started, but 

 with my past experience I soon got clear of. 

 it again, and to-day I have over 60 colonies of 

 Italians and Carniolans crossed, clear of dis- 

 ease, and never had them in a finer condition 

 to go into winter quarters than now, although 

 this year has been one of the poorest I ever 

 experienced for honey, on account of a short 

 white clover crop and wet weather. 



The picture I sent you is of my apiary and 

 myself, with my left hand on an extracting 

 frame of honey resting on an observatory hive. 

 There are 3 cakes of beeswax on a case of 2- 

 pound sections, and in front of me is a cake 

 of beeswax surrounded with 7 bottles of honey 

 on a case of 1-pound sections. This honey, 

 wax, and bees took the 1st premium, that A. 

 I. Root offered at the Harvest Home Fair, 

 Aug. 26, 1905. J. G. Creighton. 



Hamilton Co., Ohio, Sept. 28. 



The National Convention and Presi- 

 dency. — We have received the following 

 from Mr. R. F. Holtermann, of Ontario, 

 Canada: 



Editor American Bee Journal — 



Would there be any advantage in offering a 

 place or inducements to show any new ideas 

 or inventions in bee-keepers' appliances at 

 the coming National convention? 



As nominations for the National appear in 

 order, I would just like to say that in my 

 estimation Mr. C. P. Dadant has the best 

 claim upon the position of president. I know 

 he is of a retiring disposition, yet I believe he 

 would value the position of president if it 

 came as an expression from bee-Keepers of 

 their regard, and a recognition of his value to 

 the bee-keeping fraternity. I do not believe 

 that a man should become president simply 

 because he is vice-president, but ordinarily 

 the vice-president should have first claim on 

 the presidency. 



There is perhaps no bee-keeper's name 

 which has the solid respect and warm regard 

 of the world's bee-keepers to a greater extent 

 than C. P. Dadant; none which would to a 

 greater extent shed luster abroad upon the 

 National Association, and I judge as one who 

 is a reader of British, German, French and 

 Australian bee-papers. 



R. F. Holtermann. 



As to exhibits of any kind at the National 

 convention here in Chicago, Dec. 5, 6 and 7, 

 we would advise writing to the secretary, W. 

 '/.. Hutchinson, Flint, Mich. 



As to Mr. C. P. Dadant being elected presi- 

 dent of the National Association next month, 

 we supposed that was practically sett leo. Of 

 course it will require the formality of a ballot 

 to place him in that position. He is perhaps 

 the best known bee-keeper in the world, aside 

 from Mr. Thos. Wm. Cowan, possibly. We 

 have no doubt that the membership of the 

 National will elect Mr. Dadant almost unani- 

 mously as president for the year 190ii. 



Comb Honey Guarantee Circulars. 



—These were gotten up by The Honey-Pro- 

 ducers' LeaguCj to be put into shipping-cases 

 before nailing them up for market. They are 

 mailed for only 10 cents for 50— practically 

 cost price. Every bee-keeper who has any 

 honey to sell by the case should use these 

 circulars. They will help to inspire confi- 

 dence in the genuineness of comb honey. 

 Send all orders to this office. 



