390 THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



for a human being-. Formic acid is probably good for a bee, but no 

 doubt causes many thousands of human stomachs to refuse honey. 

 The conditions that contribute to so vast a number of classes of 

 honey are so varied and numerous as to render it almost impossible 

 for any bee-keeper to obtain identically the same honey year after 

 year though he live in the alfalfa, clover or sage regions. No one 

 will deny that honey in its natural state is one of the best (if not 

 the best) of nature's sweets, but this fact should not deter us in 

 making it better if possible. If we but note the great utility of stan- 

 dardizing in other industries its benefit to us in an extensive co- 

 operation is apparent. 



Would the bee-keeping industry not be on a better business basis 

 if all honey could be reduced to a few standard grades that would 

 akuays mean the same thing, even though these grades might not be 

 quite so good as some natural honey? Why can we not push our 

 honey into the established channels of trade the sa^ne as kindred 

 products are handled? With our honey marketing we are restricted 

 to our immediate locality or range of our acquaintance. It would not 

 be so difficult to form state or even national co-operation if we had 

 something to co-operate on since the units or members of this co- 

 operation in many cases are already most beautifully developed. 

 When our agents in Texas can write to our agents in New York, 

 when the consumer can enter any retail store and know that he is 

 getting what he calls for, then our business may be taken from the 

 rank of side issues. What could be more worthy of the efforts of 

 our National organization than to secure the co-operation of the 

 national government in devising a system of refining and preserving 

 and classifving honev? 



How Far Bees Will Fly and Store Honey at a Profit. 



By WESLEY FOSTER, Boulder, Colorado. 



'*^^' HERE are three principal elements entering into this ques- 

 \^^ tion ; first, the topography of the territory in question, or the 

 lay of the land in relation to the position of the apiary; sec- 

 ond, the kind and distribution of the honey flora, and third, the way 

 the wind blows during the honey flow. 



First, I think the topographical features of the territorv have 

 the greatest influence of any single element. Bees located with a 

 dry field on all sides of them for a quarter to a half of a mile will 

 not get out as quickly as a yard located where the odor of bloom is 

 all about them, and the flora leads them on and on. Several years 

 ago we had an apiarj- located on a dry piece, where scarcely any- 

 thing but bufifalo grass grew, and more than that it was almost 



