220 THE BEE-KEEPERS* REVIEW 



the postal officials and Postmaster General. The fourth is to bring 

 to the attention of the Interstate Commerce Commission discrepancies 

 in freight rates on honey and bee supplies between dififerent points. 

 As an example : The commodity rate on tin cans in car lots from 

 Chicago to Denver is 923^ cents per hundred pounds, while the rate 

 to San Francisco is 85 cents — TJ/^ cents a hundred less for a 1,500- 

 mile longer haul over the most expensive railroad to construct and 

 operate in the United States. What should the rate from Chicago to 

 Denver be if 85 cents is a fair rate for a 1,100-mile haul across the 

 Mississippi valley prairie states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Col- 

 orado east of the Rockies? 



An Explanation. 



There seems to be a considerable confusion regarding the 

 Review and the National membership. Let us see. Each member 

 pays 50 cents as his or her membership for one year. This 50 cents 

 entitles the member to all the benefits of the association both 

 socially and financially for one year from date of joining. This 50 

 cents goes to your local association. Not one penny of it goes into 

 the National treasury, although it can be paid at this office if more 

 convenient ; then we will send it to the proper association. The 

 Review costs each subscriber a dollar per annum. Members do not 

 have to subscribe for the Remew unless they want to, but it is 

 advisable to do so to keep posted on what is going on in the Na- 

 tional Association. 



The Dandelion and the Western Bee Man. 



Mr. Western Bee Man had just returned from a round of his 

 out-apiaries. It was early May and the pastures and many alfalfa 

 fields were a sea of dandelion Ijloom. Dandelions bloom earlier 

 than fruit trees and last until alfalfa blossoms, so if they will only 

 cover the earth in the May time our bees are g'oing to be stronger 

 for the afalfa crop than without this aid. (One bee-keeper extracted 

 and sold several cases of dandelion honey last year.) The average 

 of dandelion bloom is growing very rapidly and seems to do the 

 pastures no damage. Five years ago there was very little of it in 

 the country. 



Our western bee-keeper grew enthusiastic over dandelions 

 when he remembered the sacks of sugar that he used to have to 

 buy, and it looked hopeful that sugar buying for bees might end. 

 So he had dreams of running some kind of a suction vacuum cleaner 

 machine over the fields when the seed heads were "ripe unto the 

 (dandelion) harvest," and gather in the seed and help spread the 

 "yellow peril." He broached this plan to his wife, but unfortunately 



