488 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Aug. 5. 



CBORCE: W. YORK, - Editor. 



pnBLISBT WEEKLY BY 



GEORGE W. YORK & COMPANY, 

 118 Mlclilsaa St., - CHICAGO. IJ.T,. 



$1.00 a Year— Sample Copy Sent Free. 

 [Bntered at the Post-Offlce at ChicaKO as Second-Class Mail-Matter. 



United States Bee-Keepers^ Ujiioji. 



Organized to advance the pursuit of Apiculture; to promote the interests 



of bee-keepers ; to protect its members ; to preveTit tlie adulteration 



ot honey; Hnd to prosecute the dishonest lioney-cominisaion men. 



Membership Fee-$1.00 Per annum. 



Exeautive Committee. 



President — Geobge W. York. Vice-Pres.— E. Whitcomb. 



Secretakt— Dr. A. B. Mason, Station B, Toledo, Ohio. 



Boarrf of Directors, 



E. R. Root. E. Whitcomb. E. T. Abbott. 



W. Z. Hutchinson. Dr. C. C. Miller. C. P. Dadant. 



Generai ilJanag-er an€l Treasurer. 



Eugene Secor, Forest City, Iowa. 



Next Annual meeting at Buffalo, N. Y., Aug. 24-26, 1897. 



VoLinyil. CHICAGO, ILL, AUG. M897, No, 31, 



Editorial Con)n}cr)i^^ 



Quoting- tlie Honey Market.— It will be inter- 

 estiug to note the market quotations on honey in the various 

 cities the next six months. It is also interesting to note the 

 evident desire on the part of a certain class of dealers to over- 

 quote the market, or quote prices above the actual — appar- 

 ently iu order to induce shipment'! of honey. That was the 

 Horrie-Wheadon scheme here in Chicago in 1895 and 189l). 

 And it workt well, too. They just got piles of honey ; and the 

 shippers got — well, they got beautifully "left" in many in- 

 stances. 



We noticed about two weeks ago the Chicago market was 

 being quoted to beekeepers something like this : Fancy white 

 comb honey at 14 cents ; No. 1 white, 12 to 13 cents; and 

 amber comb honey at llj^ to 12}^ cents. Upon learning 

 this, we referred the quotations to a large and responsible 

 honey-dealing firm, requesting their opinion concerning the 

 figures as given for this market at that time. Here Is their 

 reply : 



Chicago, III., July 26, 1897. 

 George W. York, Esq. — 



Deur Sir : — You ask for our opinion : To write It to you 

 at this time would simply be a repetition of what you and we 

 have long ago agreed upon, namely, that the purpose of It Is 

 to Induce people to send their property because of the necessi- 

 ties of the solicitors. These necessities need not necessarily 

 exist because the solicitor requires food for his physical neces- 

 sities, but may be a mental trait or desire which has become 

 as much of a necessity as dire material needs. Hence we 

 must unite our strength and prevent those less well-informed 

 than ourselves from becoming the victims of unprincipled 

 vendors and self-styled personal representatives. We trust 

 you will give all such communications as come to you, space 

 in the American Bee .Journal, thus making it as a medium 



between the city as a place of market and the rural districts 

 which supply the necessaries that make city life possible, a 

 valuable auxiliary. 



The honey supply to-day here is in excess of the demand 

 that will probably be found for the coming two weeks, and 

 advices are such as to warrant us in saying that there is 

 double the quantity of honey en route as compared with this 

 day one week ago. 



Our market to-day is easy at 12 cents for fancy white 

 clover comb honey. Yours truly, 



Honey-Dealbrs. 



We need only say further : Don't allow yourselves to be 

 influenced by high market quotations. If you do, the result 

 will be that your honey crop will be shipt, and when returns 

 are received, in nine cases out of teu, you will be compelled to 

 take just what the irresponsible commission-man feels like 

 sending you, or perhaps what he really can get for you by 

 reason of a lower market than he quoted, of course claiming 

 that prices have gone down since certain high quotations were 

 made. There are many ways to crawl out of a bad deal, and 

 no one understands the crawllng-out process better than the 

 unprincipled commission-man. 



Again we say : Don't ship honey to irresponsible city 

 commission firms. Better give your honey to your less fortu- 

 nate neighbors, than to help keep in existence the scheming, 

 defrauding, good-for-nothing class of city fellows that live by 

 swindling the honest, hard-working farmers. 



But, remember, there are reliahle commission-men in 

 every city, and our deuunclatlons, of course, do not apply to 

 them. We are striving to help the deserving firms by driving 

 out the other kind. 



Xlie Season of 1897 is thus referred to by Editor 

 Hutchinson, of the Review : 



A good season for honey is the present one. I think I 

 have never seen white clover more abundant, altho I have_ 

 seen it yield more generously ; but, so near as I can learn, the 

 country over has had an abundant honey crop — something as 

 it was in the years gone by, those years that some feared 

 would never return. It is a pleasure to know that Natu'e is 

 yet capable of bringing about those conditions that will result 

 in a crop of honey. It looks as tho an abundance of rainfall 

 (or snow) for several months previous to the honey season has 

 been the one thing lacking In the last few years. 



The Oniala Exposition in 1898 will do well 

 by the bee-keepers, it seems. Mr. E. P. Newhall, an Omaha 

 bee-keeper, has kindly sent us a clipping taken from the daily 

 Omaha Bee, dated July 23. Mr. J. M. Young, another 

 Nebraska bee-man and correspondent of the American Bee 

 Journal, sent us a similar clipping, which says that the apiary 

 building and Its exhibits are the subjects of consideration at 

 the hands of the management of the Transmisslsslppi Exposi- 

 tion at this tiine. At the last meeting of the Executive Com- 

 mittee, the Department of Buildings and Grounds was author- 

 ized to ask for competitive drawings for this building, and the 

 Department Is now making investigations Into the question of 

 the most approved plans for buildings designed for this pur- 

 pose. Local architects will be askt to submit drawings as 

 soon as it has been determined what manner of building will 

 best answer the purpose. 



This is a matter in which the hundreds of bee-keepers in 

 that section are vitally Interested. The Iowa State commis- 

 sion was especially Inquisitive about the arrangements which 

 were to be made for the display of exhibits representing the 

 extensive apiary Interests of that State, and representatives 

 of the Nebraska bee-keepers have been Inquiring Into the 

 matter. Iowa stands near the head of the list of States in 

 the extent of her apiary interests and tho amount of business 

 represented. Nebraska Is not far behind, and is rapidly forg- 

 ing to the front. 



Mr. O. W. Hervey, one of the best local authorities on 

 bees and apiarian Interests generally, was at Exposition head- 



