1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



239 



There appeared May 15th in Eng- 

 land the first number of The Bee 

 Master, evidently published by John 

 Hewitt & Co., although the name of 

 editor, publij^her or printer does not 

 appear in it. It is evidently printed 

 for the purpose of advertising the 

 Puuic bees and goods furnished by 

 Hewitt & Co., also as a medium 

 through which Mr. Hewitt who writes 

 usually under the name "A Hallam- 

 shire Beekeeper," dan defend himself 

 from editorial attacks of the British 

 Bee Journal, a large share of space 

 being devoted to that purpose. Mr, 

 Hewitt or the "Co." is a sharp writer 

 and makes the ''Bee Master" very 

 spicy, but the tone is too vindictive 

 and garrulous to be pleasant reading to 

 peacably inclined people, probably 

 this feature will subside in future is- 

 sues. 



"The straw hive was never made 

 in America for want of skill, they 

 only know it by pictures, nor have 

 they invented a means of making it 

 with all their 'cuteness.' " — "The Bee 

 Master." Now what do you think of 

 that? We haven't skill enough to 

 make a straw hive. But our Euglish 

 friend must admit that our !?kill and 

 ingenuity aie sufficient so that we 

 furnish him with a goodly share of 

 his appliances, such as folding sec- 

 tions, hives, and their contents and 

 even foundation, and the reason we 

 do not show our skill by making straw 

 hives is because we are a people of 

 advancement, Tlie straw liive is a 

 relic of antiquity in beekeeping, and 

 only those who are averse to progress 

 and who fail to keep up with the times 

 are now using them. American bee- 

 keepers have no use for such hives. 



There is one subject that is at pres- 

 ent receiving marked attention by 

 our fraternity and the apicultural 

 press, over which there is neither dis- 

 pute nor contention, viz: "The com- 

 mission merchant." The way of the 

 beekeeper, generally, during the re- 

 cent unfavorable seasons, has been 

 fraught with anxiety, disappointments 

 and discouragements; but when a fel- 

 low has finally "corraled" a crop of 

 honey, only to see it devoured by 

 some disreputable" cofiamission firm, 

 the climax is reached. The enthu- 

 siasm which had inspired his diligent 

 work, gives place to a nauseating dis- 

 gust. There are but few commission 

 houses that have established for them- 

 selves a good reputation among bee- 

 keepers, and even those that have in 

 a measure done so, sometimes employ 

 business methods very unsatisfactory 

 to the shipper. Some system by which 

 our product may be distributed 

 throughout the length and breadth of 

 the land, avoiding the present condi- 

 tions of overstocking the large cities, 

 and placing it before the consumer in 

 a convenient retail package, must nec- 

 essarily preceed any deserved measure 

 of success in the production of honey, 

 especially in liquid form. 



Modern apicultural progress is lik- 

 ened unto the "advancement" of a 

 crab, by S. A. Deacon, in the Amer- 

 ican Bee Journal. He is inclined to 

 regard the suppression of drones as a 

 prevalent error of the day. Are we 

 to unlearn that which we have 

 "learned" as a part of our future les- 

 son?? If i-o, the confines of our field 

 of study aie nowliere in sight. There 

 is little doubt but the twentieth cen- 

 tury student will find ample scope for 

 his genius. 



