584 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Sept. 16. 



CBORCB W. YORK, • Editor. 



PDBLI8HT WEEKLY BY 



GEORGE W. YORK & COMPANY, 

 118 Micblsaa St., - CHICAGO, ILL. 



$1.00 a Year — Sample Copy Sent Free. 

 [Entered at the Po»t-Offlce at Chicago aa Second-Class Mall-Matter. 



United States Bee-Keepers' Unioii. 



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



of bee-beepers : to protect its members ; to prevent the adulteration 



of honey: and to prosecute the dishonest honey-cooimiasion men. 



Membership Fee-$1.00 Per Annum. 



Executive Committee, 



President— George W. York. Vice-Pres.— W. Z. HrTCHissoN. 

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



Board of Dlreotors, 



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



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



General .A/anag-er and Treasurer, 



Eugene Secor, Forest City, Iowa. 



Vol. niYII. CHICA&O, ILL., SEPT, 16, 1897, No, 37, 



Editorial Con)n)cr)i^^ 



"We Wisll to Xbank those of our readers who 

 have sent us new subscribers for the Bee Journal. We do 

 appreciate such efforts on their part, and in behalf of this 

 journal. We cannot afford to send out salaried subscription 

 solicitors, and so must, to a large extent, depend upon our 

 regular subscribers to get their bee-keeping friends and neigh- 

 bors to take the American Bee Journal. But as pay for such 

 work we offer numerous premiums, and trust that those who 

 have not already tried to secure new subscribers will do so at 

 once. The 25-cent offer on page 586, ought to bring in 

 thousands of new readers during the next two months. We 

 send back numbers from Sept. 1. 



The Xorttawestern Convention. — Several 

 times the past year the suggestion has been made that the 

 old Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Convention be revived ; and we 

 have been urged to Issue the call for the meeting. Among 

 those who have written us In favor of holding the convention 

 here in Chicago this fall, we have selected the following sample 

 letters : 



Mr. YoKK : — By all means let us have a meeting of the 

 Northwestern this fall. L. Highbaeger. 



Mr. Highbarger lives In Ogle Co., III., and Is President of 

 the Northern Illinois Bee-Keepers' Association — of course, a 

 prominent apiarist. 



Mr. W. H. H. Stewart, of Whiteside Co., III., wrote us as 

 follows : 



Mr. York : — Chicago Is the place for a bee-keepers' con- 

 vention every year. Almost all bee-keepers would like to go 

 to Chicago about once a year. It is reacht by the railroads 



from Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin — 

 they all center there. Revive the Northwestern. The United 

 States Bee-Keepers' Union gets too far off for most small bee- 

 keepers. It does well enough for editors and supply dealers, 

 and those who keep bees on a large scale, but the small fel- 

 lows (like myself) cannot touch it. 



Yours truly, W. H. H. Stewart. 



Then in the July Be%-Keepers' Review, Editor Hutchin- 

 son wrote thus on the subject of reviving the Northwestern: 



I have never attended any better conventions than some 

 of the meetings of the Northwestern In Chicago. I once heard 

 our lamented Langstroth characterize one of the meetings of 

 the Northwestern as the greatest gathering of large, practical 

 bee-keepers that he had ever attended. Chicago Is the rail- 

 road center of one of the greatest honey-producing areas in 

 the world. Not only this, but In October and November there 

 are almost always very low rates on account of some exposi- 

 tion or fat stock show, or something of this sort. All these 

 things combine to bring together a crowd of practical bee- 

 keepers. Several years ago. In a thoughtless moment, the 

 Northwestern was merged Into the Illinois State. I was out 

 of the hall at the time that the amalgamation was effected, 

 and don't know the line of argument or thought that was used 

 In support of this plan, but the result was that the North- 

 western was killed without doing the Illinois State a particle 

 of good. It Is one of those examples showing " what's in a 

 came." But very few bee-keepers outside of Michigan will 

 attend a meeting of the Michigan State convention, even tho 

 it be held in Detroit. It's the same way In Illinois, even tho 

 the convention be held In Chicago. It's the name that does it. 

 There Is a feeling that if It Is a meeting of the Illinois bee- 

 keepers very few outside of Illinois will be there. People out- 

 side of the State don't feel as tho it was their convention. Call 

 it the " Northwestern," and everybody within reach Is ready 

 to go. All this may seem silly, but it Is a fact just the same. 



A writer In the last Issue of the American Bee Journal, 

 urges that the Northwestern be revived, using practically the 

 same arguments that I have done, and is most heartily sec- 

 onded by the editor. The editor also requests all who are In- 

 terested to drop him a postal, and If sufficient Interest is 

 manifested he will issue a call for a convention to be held in 

 November during the Fat Stock Show, when we can get to 

 Chicago for almost nothing. This comes at the time of the 

 year when we can get away from home, and the weather Is 

 the most delightful In the year. If you are In favor of a re- 

 vival of the Northwestern — an association of bee-keepers that 

 can be about as useful as any on this continent — then write to 

 George W. York, and tell him to go ahead and issue a call. 



Well, you have now seen that there Is a pretty strong de- 

 sire on the part of some beekeepers, at least, to have the 

 Northwestern revived. In view of the urgent suggestions we 

 have received, we have made arrangements for the conven- 

 tion to be held Nov. 10 and 11, next, In the New Briggs 

 House, northeast corner of Randolph street and Fifth 

 avenue, and now issue the call as requested. 



The Fat Stock Show will be held Nov. 2 to 13, Inclusive, 

 so the bee-keepers' convention will come the second week of 

 the show. 



No doubt reduced railroad rates will be quite general, as 

 the Chicago Horse Show will be held at the same time, for 

 which prizes aggregating §•±0,800 are offered — the largest 

 sum ever at the disposal of a horse-show prize committee. It 

 will be under the auspices of the Illinois State Board of Agri- 

 culture. 



Now, we trust that all the bee-keepers within several 

 hundred miles of Chicago will plan to be here Nov. 10 and 11. 

 We would like to see the Northwestern out-number the recent 

 Buffalo convention. 



Buflalo Convention Notes.— First, this week, 

 we want to speak of Mr. Fred L. Craycraft, who had kept 

 bees about four years In Cuba. Since the war there, bee- 

 keeping has practically been dropt. Mr. Craycraft had 400 

 colonies, and realized an average of about 100 pounds of ex- 

 tracted honey per colony. We believe the principal honey- 

 plant there Is the bell-flower. Mr. C. was Introduced to the 

 convention, and answered questions as they were askt by 



