THE AMEItlCAN BEE-KEEPER 



209 



state your case to at least five thou- 

 sand readers of The Bee-Keeper. 



The big catnip balloon seems to have 

 been pierced quite early in its vigorous 

 flight by the snag of personal investi- 

 gation. It is disappointing to be 

 obliged to pursue old channels in quest 

 of forage so very soon after having our 

 catnip enthusiasm wrought to the ex- 

 tent of ecstatic anticipation; but it now 

 appears that we shall have to come to 

 it. 



a piece of stout wire cut one inch lon- 

 ger than the frame in use. A half-inch 

 at each end is bent at a right-angle. 

 These slip firmly over the frame, and 

 readily support any part of a comb 

 that may need holding in position. 

 They are instantly adjusted, always at 

 hand, simple, inexpensive, and a great 

 convenience. 



To those favorably situated for the 

 production of comb honey, and having 

 some knowledge of the business, this 

 branch offers inducements for which 

 the extracted specialist need not hope. 

 Prices and demand, for some time past, 

 lend encouragement to the production 

 of more comb and less of extract- 

 ed honey. 



Mr. Geo. W. York, who was recently 

 elected secretary of the National As- 

 sociation, has becomingly withdrawn 

 his candidacy for the position of general 

 manager of the Association, and 

 through his publication, the American 

 Bee Journal, says: "Please don't vote 

 for the editor of the American Bee 

 Journal, as he is not a candidate for 

 any office in the National Association." 

 That's a very proper and wise decis- 

 ion, which The Bee-Keeper commends. 



Editors Root and Hutchinson stopped 

 off at Humboldt, Neb., to look into the 

 catnip business, when returning from 

 the big convention. The latter, spent 

 several days with Dr. Gandy, drove all 

 over the country with him, discussed 

 the catnip question from subsoil to 

 bloom, luxurated on catnip honey aid 

 sipped the doctor's catnip tea; and now 

 the October number of the Review 

 (which it not yet out at this writing) is 

 to be a catnip special. 



For securing broken combs, or in 

 transferring, strings, fine wire, wooden 

 slats, etc., are usually recommended. 

 These have to be tied, twisted or neal- 

 ed, as the case demands, and are -awk- 

 ward. A little "kink" in regular use in 

 Mr. Poppleton's apiaries, we consider 

 quite noteworthy: A box in the tent, 

 or honey house, always contains a good 

 supply of wire clamps; which are simply 



One of our readers thinks it strange 

 that we should publish without com- 

 ment statements from our contributors 

 which are "obviously misleading if not 

 untrue." The columns of this jour- 

 nal are open for the expression of opin- 

 ions relative to questions in which bee- 

 keepers are interested. If any reader 

 desires to take exceptions to any idea 

 expressed, he is at liberty to use the 

 same columns to do so. It is not for us 

 to exclude all matter with which we do 

 not agree; nor to discourage by com- 

 ment the free expression of ideas. The 

 editor is but one man, while the read- 

 ers, all of whom are invited to partici- 

 pate in the discussion of any question 

 eliciting their interest, number into 

 the thousands. It should be under- 

 stood, therefore, that becauseany idea 

 is published in these columns, is no rea- 

 son for supposing the editor takes any 

 stock in that idea. Let the reader who 

 objects to any particular article freely 

 assert his objections. The American 

 Bee-Keeper is simply a medium for the 

 dissimination of ideas relating to our 

 art or industry. To set in judgement 

 upon the thoughts of thousands, sep- 

 arating the good from the indifferent 

 or bad, it a task too great; and one for 

 which perhaps no individual is fitted. 



ORGANIZATION. 



"I firmly believe that we are upon 

 the eve of the next great stage in api- 

 culture, viz., that of organization; par- 

 ticularly as i<- may be applied to the 

 marketing of our product," says Presi- 

 dent Hutchinson of the National As- 

 sociation, in his journal, the Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Review. He says, in substance, 

 that we need a leader — some one to for- 

 mulate and submit a working plan by 

 which the entire honey crops of the 

 United States may be handled on a 

 co-operative basis. 



This appears to be a problem "one 

 too many" for the honey producers of 



