The publications upon bee-culture are 

 surely apiarian supplies. These, like 

 all other supplies, are good or bad for 

 us, according to the way they are con- 

 ducted. After thinking the matter 

 over and over again, I fully believe that 

 had the American Bee Journal re- 

 mained the only bee publication in 

 America, honey would to-day command 

 forty per cent, more, or nearly double 

 the price it now does ! Besides all that, 

 thousands of dollars would have been 

 saved that bee-keepers have paid out 

 for worthless supplies. 



I am taking but one bee-paper (the 

 American Bee Journal) at present, 

 and I do not see that I am losing any- 

 thing by this change, and I am surely 

 saving the subscription price, and the 

 trouble of wading through a mine of 

 twaddle, "Homes," A B C's, &c, to 

 get at perhaps one or two valuable hints, 

 which are sure to be found in the Jour- 

 nal. No discovery of any value will 

 miss the pages of that paper. I conceive 

 that one paper is all we can afford these 

 times. Besides, I believe that we are 

 actually better off with this one, than 

 with all the others. I have made my 

 choice, but shall change whenever I see 

 a better paper than the American Bee 

 Journal. I am glad that this paper 

 fathers no supply, but merely assists in 

 the distribution of all that it considers 

 worthy. 



Now, Mr. Editor, I want to congrat- 

 ulate you upon the able manner in 

 which you have conducted the Bee 

 Journal since it came into your hands. 

 I conceive that you have worked for my 

 interest, as well as for your own, and I 

 will assist you all I can. I hope you 

 will reject any articles or parts thereof 

 (not changing the meaning) that I may 

 offer for publication. He who cannot 

 bear criticism is a bigot. Before clos- 

 ing, I wish to say a word about 



PATENTS. 



We will not stop to discuss the wis- 

 dom of this system of granting exclu- 

 sive rights to inventors as a stimulus to 

 progression. A majority of the people 

 of the United States have decided to do 

 it. They have instructed their officers, 

 or representative servants, to hold out 

 this inducement and charge for it. The 

 patentee invents, accepts the bargain, 

 pays over his money and gets his right. 

 Now, I believe that the man who know- 

 ingly uses his inventions, without pay- 

 ing for the same, is guilty of theft, and 

 he who openly advises all to take no 

 notice of any one's rights, is not only a 

 thief on a large scale, but guilty of 

 treason. These are strong terms, but 

 they exactly express my opinion upon 

 the subject. 



I have always enjoyed the pleasure of 

 thinking my own thoughts, and the real 

 rhapsody of expressing them, and I al- 

 ways expect to, as "the world moves" 

 in the right direction. 



When Mr. Otis called upon me with 

 the Langstroth hive, and explained its 

 advantages, he blessed me hundreds of 

 dollars' worth. A patent was the cause 

 of his coming, and he charged $10. I 

 learn that the Bingham patent on smo- 

 kers has scared the " smoker I prefer" 

 out of the market. If so, it is a tine 

 illustration of a patent coming to the 

 rescue of bee-keepers. 



Let us act like citizens of a republic, 

 living under the best and most liberal 

 government in the world. If we have 

 a law that we consider wrong, let us 

 put all our efforts at repealing said law. 

 While it remains in force, and all decent 

 men are respecting it, let us be law- 

 abiding citizens too. 



I own no patent, nor interest in any, 

 but I am not a revolutionist upon this 

 question. 



Dowagiac, Mich., Jan. 10, 1879. 



* i ^m i <► 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Marketing Honey. 



BY DR. C. C. MILLER. 



Having over 5,000 pounds of honey of 

 this year's crop to dispose of, I was 

 obliged to find some other than a home 

 market for it, and the prospect of still 

 larger crops made me interested in 

 everything that pertains to the matter 

 of marketing. I therefore, in the month 

 of November, made a careful tour of all 

 the commission houses in Chicago to 

 which honey is shipped by the raisers, 

 and learned what I could. " As a general 

 rule, the commission men know very 

 little about honey, but by looking at 

 their consignments and asking some 

 questions, I got some hints of value. 

 I found scarcely any packages but what 

 had honey leaking, and I doubt not in 

 many cases the consignors thought they 

 had sent them with great care and in 

 tine condition. Some were packed in 

 cases of rough boards of not very accu- 

 rate, or rather very inaccurate dimen- 

 sions, and this hurt the sale, although 

 the sections were quite nice, but I sup- 

 pose a difference ot a quarter of a cent 

 a pound would have made a difference 

 of at least a cent a pound on the price 

 of honey. The general neatness of 

 everything about the package makes its 

 impression on the mind of the purcha- 

 ser. Nearly all the packages were too 

 heavy. As a special example, at one 

 place where I happened to be well ac- 



