106 



Feb 7, 1907 



American ^ee Journal 



convention, was moved toask, " Is it possible 

 to import black bees to improve tlie strain?" 



Now, most questions have two sides, and 

 wliat I would object to is the fact — for it is a 

 fact — that your American bee-keepers write as 

 if blacks were a useless and effete race. The 

 " charity " you desiderate should in the 

 future make you more cosmopolitan. Chicago 

 and a hundred miles around is not the world, 

 and the same, of course, holds true of Banff. 

 Is it not you, in light of the facts I have 

 placed before you, that do not take sufficiently 

 into consideration "locality?" I have consis- 

 tently upheld the good points I have found in 

 blacks, but I have at the same time shown 

 charity to Carniolans and Italians, and am 

 ready to champion their many good points. I 

 am heartily with you in all that has recently 

 appeared editorially in the American Bee 

 Journal on " improvement of stock." If api- 

 arists would devote more time and thought to 

 developing the good that is in all the 3 races, 

 the apicultural world would be nearer the 

 bee-paradise we sometimes hear about. 



Banff, Scotland, D. M. Macdonald. 



That is a good defense of the black bee, Mr. 

 Macdonald— a strong defense— and all the 

 stronger because you arecareful to keep truth 

 on your side. Advocates of Italians would 

 say it is one-sided, and it is entirely right that 

 it should be so, because you are not trying to 

 advocate Italians. So it is only fair to pre- 

 sent some points that advocates of Italians 

 would be likely to make. 



Preliminary to that, a word as to the one 

 point of controversy between us. It is not 

 necessary to suppose that "savagely " was a 

 misprint for "severely." The dictionary 

 gives one definition of "savagely;" "[Col- 

 loq.] very severely; as, savagely criticised." 

 It may be said that this is an American collo- 

 quialism; at any rate, it is a common use of 

 the word here; and in this sense you will no 

 doubt think it correctly used. 



Admitting that Messrs. Morgan and others 

 held the opinions quoted, is it not true that 

 the majority of Australian bee-keepers hold 

 the opinion that blacks succumb more readily 

 than Italians, especially to foul brood? 



Suppose Mr. Anderson introduced foul 

 brood with Italians; what does that prove? 

 Has any one ever claimed that Italians are 

 immune to foul brood? Suppose Smith had 

 the best bees in the world, and 15rown the 

 poorest; that foul brood attacked Smith's 

 bees, and through them the disease was con- 

 veyed to Brown's bees; would that prove in 

 the least the superiority of Brown's bees? 



Suppose that Editor Tipper lost 50 to "a 

 percent of choice Italians ; is there any proof 

 that if they had been blacks the loss would 

 not have been 100 percent? 



It is true that " Chicago and a hundred 

 miles around is not the world," but Chicago 

 and 3000 miles around is all of the world, 

 practically, for American bee-papers; and 

 within that radius it is the right thing tor 

 them to say that the blacks are inferior. Per- 

 haps you may not know that on this side 

 opinion is not divided as it is on your side. In 

 England blacks probably take the lead, and 

 at the same timethere are leading bee-keepers 

 there who prefer Italians. It is not so in this 

 country. Practically, no one prefers blacks. 

 If, then, an American editor be asked by a 

 beginner as to which is the better bee, he an- 

 swers, "The Italian," without stopping to 

 add, " but in Switzerland the black is better." 

 What is Switzerland to the American begin- 



ner? Likewise the editor of the very excel- 

 lent bee-paper published in Switzerland would 

 be likely to reply that blacks are the better 

 bees, without adding that the reverse is the 

 case in America. 



So you see that so long as there are no " two 

 sides" to the question on this side, American 

 bee-papers are hardly to be blamed for giving 

 only the one side. AU this is said, as may be 

 gathered from what was said on pages 909 

 and 910 (1906), with full recognition of the 

 difference between such matters in this coun- 

 try and yours. If climatic differences have 

 not too strong a bearing in the case, the pos- 

 sibility may even be admitted that the best 

 blacks in England are better than the best 

 Italians in America — at least, such a possi- 

 bility may be admitted until trial is made. 

 Are you sure you can furnish us the Simon- 

 pure blacks without the least taint of Italian 

 blood? 



Packages for Extracted Honey 



Discussing this subject in the Canadian 

 Bee Journal, and largely from the stand-point 

 of personal experience, J- L. Byer says: 



While the experience of extensive retailers 

 seems to prove conclusively that for the town 

 trade it pays to put up honey in glass, yet to 

 the writer's mind it seems doubtful whether 



this is true as regards the country and vill-^n 

 trade. For example, in a village near us of 

 1200 population, last year, over 2000 pounds 

 of honey was sold in packages of 10 and 5 

 pound pails. To my knowledge, not a single 

 pound was sold in glass, and I can hardly 

 think that so much honey would have been 

 sold provided the honey had all been put up 

 in 1-pound packages. 



On the other hand, it might be argued that 

 some who would pay 1.5 cents for a single 

 pound would never think of investing 50 

 cents at one time for a 5-pound pail. In fact, 

 Mr. Hand said he knew of one family who 

 annually bought over 150 pound-bottles, who 

 would never think of buying a 5-pound pail 

 at one time. » 



Personally, I feel incliaed to think if there 

 were no pound packages in sight that more 

 than likely the same family would buy 5- 

 pound pails, and incidentally come to the 

 conclusion that it was much the cheaper way 

 of buying honey. 



From the producer's standpoint there is not 

 halt so much work in selling in pails as there 

 is in putting up in glass; and in the case of 

 the pails being used, the consumers become 

 educated to the use of honey in the granu- 

 lated form, and it is surprising how many be- 

 come partial to honey in that condition. 



All things considered, while I would not 

 discourage any way of increasing the sale of 

 honey, yet in my trade, after taking into con- 

 sideration the demand in my own locality, I 

 feel a bit slow about investing in glass so 

 long as I can sell in tin packages as readily 

 as in the past. 



IlecxjS - Items s 



The National Assuciaiiou had 2201 

 members on Jan. 30, 1907. Why not make it 

 2500 by April 1 — that would be only 150 a 

 month for this month and next? If more con- 

 venient, you can send your dues to the office 

 of the American Bee Journal, and we will for- 

 ward them to Treasurer France. 



The Apiary of H. E. Gray, appearing 

 in the picture on the first page, was thus de- 

 scribed by Mr. Gray when sending us the 

 photograph from which to make the engrav- 

 ing: 



The photograph herewith shows a portion 

 of apiary on Moreau Farm, in Saratoga Co., 

 N. Y., consisting of about 1'25 colonies, prin- 

 cipally Carniolan stock with a few Italian 

 colonies. I run for comb honey mostly, us- 

 ing 1'. J -pound sections, and a double brood- 

 chamber interchanging with the super, the 

 former taking 8 frames and the latter 24 

 sections. 



My spring count, in 1906, was 76 colonies, 

 which produced not far from 1^:, tons of sur- 

 plus honey, comb and extracted, which I have 

 no trouble to market at near-by towns. This 

 locality produces a fine quality of basswood 

 and clover, with some buckwheat, etc. 



I winter my bees on the summer stands in 

 pairs, by closing together, then putting a 

 winter-case around and filling in with dry 

 material, such as leaves, chaff, etc. 



Last season was my llrst experience in bee- 

 keeping, while engaged in the jewelry busi- 

 ness. On April 1, 1 disposed of my business 

 to take up bees with thoroughbred poultry as 



atf 



a means of livelihood. I have a great deal 

 yet to learn, and look to the American Bee 

 Journal for a good share of it. 



H. E. Gray. 



Mr. Freas in a Buckwheat Field. — 



When sending the picture shown on the first 

 page, Mr. Freas wrote thus : 



I send a picture of myself standing in a 

 buckwheat patch on a hillside on the farm on 

 which my great grandfather settled some time 

 in 1700. My grandfather, my father, and my- 

 self, were born on this farm, and have lived 

 here all the time. Father is living, aged 71 

 years. 



The hat I am wearing does not go out of 

 style in this locality. 



No liquor nor tobacco has been used in our 

 family for three generations. 



Herbert Freas. 



P. S. — I forgot to add " B. A." to my name. 

 That means " Bachelor Apiarist." I have 

 been a bee-keeper for over 15 years, and have 

 24 colonies now. The quality of the honey 

 last year was very poor, and not much of it. 

 H. F. 



Mr. and Mrs. Gathright, of California, 

 as they appear when starting for a camping 

 trip, is shown on the first page. The follow- 

 ing is what Mr. G. says about it: 



I enclose a photograph ot two bee-keepers 

 and their outfit starting on a camping trip. 

 The bee-keepers are my wife and myself. We 

 have packed in the wagon our bed, one trunk 

 hay and grain for the mules, fishing poles 



