179 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



September 



Though the magaziae is pinmarily 

 of and for Florida, its field embraces 

 history, science, health, fiction, 

 music and review, making an ideal 

 hom(; magazine. Anyone at all in- 

 terested in the flowery peninsula 

 should correspond with-the publish- 

 er, whose announcement appears in 

 our advertising columns. 



Mr. Doolittle, in the Progressive 

 Bee-Keej^er^ says that for twenty 

 years red clover has failed to bloom 

 in central New York; but this year 

 fields were red, as of old, with the 

 bloom, and that the bees rolled in 

 the honey equal to a genuine bass^ 

 wood flow. This harvest was from 

 the first crop of red clover. Surely 

 no one can honestly lay claim to the 

 possession of a strain of bees vastly 

 superior to those offered 'for sale by 

 any of the progressive breeders of 

 the day. They are all breeding 

 from-, stock which they believe to be 

 as good as is to be had; and the 

 private, opinion of any of this class 

 of breeders is to be respected. 



A State Fair, to be held in Jack- 

 sonville Nov. 19 to 22, is an event 

 now engaging the attention and in- 

 terest of the Florida resident; 

 especially if he belongs to that pros- 

 perous fraternity which systematic- 

 ally divides its time between 

 packing fruit and vegetables in 

 crates, and watching the postoffice 

 for checks which come by every 

 mail from the Northern cities. 

 Superintendent W. S. Hart, of the 

 Apiarian Department, has sent us a 

 copy of the official premium list, 

 which, we must say, has been ad- 

 mirably compiled, in so far as it 

 relates to his department. Over 

 eighty dollars in cash prizes is offer- 

 ed the Florida exhibitor of apiarian 

 products. 



After a period of. hibernation ex- 



tending over three years, the PftcvY'V 

 Bee Journal has awakened, and now 

 appears with all the promise and 

 vim typical of a true Westernci- 

 Brother B. S. K. Bennett, as of old. 

 has his hand upon the helm, which 

 he left to fight for the stars and 

 stripes in 1898. This, we believe, 

 gives the United States eight bee 

 journals; and it would seem that all 

 manner of tastes might be satisfied 

 by a selection from the list. It is 

 evident that the future will develop 

 some worthy representative publi- 

 cations in our line. That stage will 

 be reached when a majority of bee- 

 keepers have awakened to the possi- 

 bilities of the business, and take to 

 reading. , 



OUR FRONTISPIECE. 



By way of a brief introduction 

 we might say, in regard to the pic- 

 ture of the Cayuga County Associ- 

 ation's officers presented in this 

 number, that President Stevens, 

 who is also Vice-president of the N. 

 Y. S. A. B.-K. S., has been a bee- 

 keeper at heart s-ince he was twelve 

 years old, and in practice since 

 1881, at which time he began with 

 a swarm captured in the harvest 

 field. At present he has four api- 

 aries comprising nearly 400 colonies, 

 being the most extensive bee-keeper 

 of Cayuga County. These- apiaries 

 are operated with the assistance of 

 Mrs. Stevens, who has always taken 

 an active interest in the manage- 

 ment of the bees. Though it is 

 generally asserted that an increase 

 of colonies is produced at the ex- 

 pense of the honey crop, Mr. 

 Stevens has found by experience 

 that, in his locality, where the 

 buckwheat constitutes an important 

 part of the nectar supply, with 

 skillful management increase of 

 colonies increases the surplus crop 

 of honey. 



Secretary J. W. Pierson discon- 



