The workers of both breeding queens 

 are pure. 



As yet we have had but little cold 

 weather; this morning Dec. 11. being 

 the coldest. The thermometer stands 

 at 18° above zero. There has yet been 

 no snow and bees fly every few days. 



Allow me in conclusion to say that I 

 jnow have complete files of American 

 Bee Journal from its first issue to 

 the last number, and while the first vol- 

 ume is good, the last is the best. 



Harrisonville, Mo. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Removing Propolis from Glass. 



P. BALDWIN. 



I have not seen in the Journal any- 

 thing about cleaning glass after it has 

 been used and become unfit for further 

 use on account of the large amount of 

 propolis on it. Those who use glass 

 largely will have some of this descrip- 

 tion. My method of cleaning it may be 

 old and well-known to some, but I will 

 give it for the benefit of those who are 

 not accquainted with it. It can be used 

 in cleaning glass in honey racks that 

 have become smeared and objectionable. 

 Take one box of concentrated lye and 

 dissolve it in 2 gallons of soft water 

 (larger proportions can be used if de- 

 sired). After it is thoroughly dissolved, 

 put in as much glass as it will cover 

 well, and let it remain 24 or 36 hours. 

 Take it out and put into a vessel of 

 water and wash it clean, which can be 

 easily done as the propolis comes off 

 readily, then rinse in pure water and 

 put away to dry. 



The solution may be used several 

 times. Care must be taken not to allow 

 the liquid to come in contact with the 

 hands. 



Independence, Mo., Dec. 16, 1879. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Market Quotations for Honey. 



DR. C. C. MILLER. 



I have neither the time nor the incli- 

 nation for a lengthy discussion with my 

 old friend the American Bee Jour- 

 nal. The article in the December 

 number would never have been written 

 by me, but that I expected to be present 

 at the Chicago Convention to learn 

 something in the discussion of the paper, 

 which was little more than a series of 

 questions. But I think, dear old Jour- 

 nal, there will be little difference of 

 opinion between us when we talk of the 



same thing. You evidently wrote 

 about the prices paid by the few whole- 

 sale dealers who buy outright from pro- 

 ducers, and I am writing about the 

 prices at which the commission men can 

 sell our honey for us. Is it not a fact, 

 that the great bulk of honey in Chicago 

 is sold by commission men? Now, as 

 you are laboring for the direct benefit of 

 us who produce honey, is it not desira- 

 ble to know each month what com- 

 mission men can sell our honey for, and 

 not what dealers are willing to give us 

 for it i Do you not really give commis- 

 sion men's quotations for the New York 

 market ? If I am to be guided by the 

 quotations in the December American 

 Bee Journal, it will be greatly to ray 

 advantage to ship to New York, as you 

 quote New York 4c. per lb. higher than 

 Chicago ; but I am strangely misin- 

 formed if I can get any more for honey 

 in New York than in Chicago. I can- 

 not see that there is any more difficulty 

 in giving quotations for honey than for 

 some other articles, as butter, fruit, &c, 

 there being just as much " a recognized 

 grade in quality, and uniformity in the 

 style of preparation for market," in one 

 case as in the other. If you will give us 

 in addition to present quotations, the 

 prices at which commission men can 

 sell our honey, you will do us a real 

 service. 

 Marengo, 111., December, 1879. 



[The comments appended to Dr. 

 Miller's article, published in the Jour- 

 nal for December, were intended more 

 to explain the apparent incongruities in 

 the market quotations, than as an argu- 

 ment why they should be so. There is 

 no difference of opinion between Dr. 

 Miller and the Journal. When three 

 commission men, located in one square, 

 vary 3c. per lb. in the price demanded for 

 honey of the same grade, it is difficult 

 to arrive at quotations, except upon the 

 basis of sales made. We do not think 

 it would be safe for any one to predict 

 " the prices at which commission men 

 can sell honey,'' and certainly not so 

 until there is united action on the part 

 of producers to instruct the commission 

 merchants as to the minimum price to 

 be received. That this is feasible, or 

 the better course to pursue, we are not 

 at present prepared to say. Honey quo- 

 tations in New York not being given in 

 the Associate Press dispatches, we rely 

 upon correspondents for figures.— Ed.] 



