THE AMERICAN BEE-KEPPER. 



37 



ent in the shape of a trade mark, from 

 the patent office, and this trade mark 

 will be assigned to every member of 

 the union, to place on all his packages 

 of liquid honey, and then we are 

 going to see to it that the newspapers 

 of the country educate the people to 

 the fact that all the honey put up by 

 the producer, is, in the nature of things, 

 absolutely pure. In this way I think 

 we will entirely do away with the pre- 

 judice many customers have against 

 our production, because of the fact 

 that it has been adulterated by city 

 packers. The scheme has already 

 started, and we shall watch the results 

 with great snterest. One very good 

 result will accrue, and that is the join- 

 ing of the union by nearly every hon- 

 est, intelligent bee-keeper in the coun- 

 try. That is what we thought at 

 Detroit, and still think. What is 

 your idea, Friend Falconer? We 

 want to hear from all our editors on 

 that subject. 



Dawagiac, Mich., Feb. 1st. 



There are several arguments on 

 either side of the trade mark question, 

 but we think the arguments against it 

 are the heaviest. , 



For Beginners. 



BY MRS L. HARRISON. 



I would like to teach au infant class 

 in your school; there are plenty of 

 teachers for the higher grades, but 

 these youngsters in bee-culture are 

 sadly neglected in the older periodi- 

 cals. I saw a farmer throw down one 

 in disgust, exclaiming, "There now, 

 I've read that pesky thing through, 

 and I do not know what to do with 

 my bees." He, poor soul, had recently 

 purchased two colonies of bees, and 

 expected to learn everything at once. 



The best way, no doubt, to learn 

 bee-culture, would be to serve an ap- 

 prenticeship with one well versed in 

 bee lore. But this is not in reach of all 

 persons who desire to keep bees. They 

 have means to purchase a few colonies 

 of bees, and could take care of them 

 along with their other work, and enjoy 

 doing so, if they only knew how. A 

 standard work on bee-culture, is a des- 

 ideratum, and could be referred to at 

 all times. I would say to all desiring 

 to cultivate bees, that they are no 

 bonanza, but that fair returns may be 

 expected on the investment, and labor 

 expended. Crops of honey are a fail- 

 ure, occasionally, the same as others 

 of fruit and grain, and we have to meet 

 depression in prices, over-stocked mar- 

 ket, etc. 



BUYING BEES. 



Spring is the best time to purchase 

 bees, and not more than two colonies 

 is sufficient for a person to start with, 

 who has had no previous experience 

 in handling them, and his knowledge 

 should increase in like ratio with his 

 colonies. Purchase only of a bee-keep- 

 er who has a reputation to sustain and 

 cannot afford to lose it by selling dis- 

 eased or inferior stock. It would be 

 well for the purchaser to ascertain 

 what hive he prefers, and purchase 

 bees in the same ; make a trip around 

 among the neighboring bee-keepers, 

 and see what they use, and the kind 

 of stock they keep, There are adYan- 

 tages to be gained in purchasing bees 

 in the same neighborhood. Many 

 times a novice will need assistance 

 and advice, and if he patronizes a bee- 

 keeper living near, he will be more 

 ready to render assistance, than if he 

 purchased elsewhere. If the purchaser 

 cannot obtain good populous colonies 



