(Entered as second-class mail-matter at the ChlcaKo, III., Post-Ofllce.) 

 Published Monthly at 50 cts. a Year, by George W. York & Co., 118 W.Jackson Blvd. 



GEORGE W. YORK, Editor 



CHICAGO, ILL,, DECEMBER, 1907 



VoL XL VII— No, 32 



:diforial ^ofes 

 and Comments 



Meny Christmas — Happy New Year 



These are our wishes for all the 

 readers of the old American Bee Jour- 

 nal when the approaching Holiday Sea- 

 son arrives. And that the fullest frui- 

 tion of your highest hopes may be at- 

 tained in 1908 is our further wish for 

 you all. 



Report on Bees and Honey for 1907 



On page 764 will be found a report 

 blank which we wish every one of our 

 readers would fill out at once and mail 

 to the office of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal, 118 W. Jackson, Blvd., Chicago, 

 III. Then in the January number we 

 expect to give a summarized statement 

 for the benefit of all. We believe that 

 a report made up of all the individual 

 reports sent in, would be very inter- 

 esting and helpful. 



We do not expect to publish any 

 names, so don't be afraid to give true 

 and correct answers to the questions 

 asked. The information as given by 

 individuals will not go outside of this 

 office and will be known only to the 

 Editor. Only a summarized report will 

 be given out or published. 



If a satisfactory number of our read- 

 ers will take hold of this effort we be- 

 lieve the result can be made of untold 

 value to every bee-keeper who produces 

 honey for the market. It may result 

 in quarterly reports later on, which can 

 be used to fix the right price on honey, 

 beeswax, etc. We believe that if all 

 who are interested in getting worth- 

 while returns from their bee-keeping, 

 will help in this effort that we are now 

 starting for the benefit of all, they will 

 not regret it, but will be pleased with 

 the information that may be secured for 

 their guidance in the sale of honey. 



At any rate, let us see what can be 

 done now toward getting an idea as 

 to the amount of honey produced the 

 past season by the readers of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal; the condition of the 

 bees this fall; and as to the clover and 

 other honey-plant prospects for 1908. 



If you do not wish to cut this number 

 of the American Bee Journal, just copy 

 the questions on any sheet of paper, 

 answer them, and then mail to us as 

 directed in the first paragraph. 



Feeding Bees for AVinter in Canada 



The divergent views of writers on 

 bee-culture is a source of perplexity to 

 the beginner. A notable instance of 

 this divergence of views occurs in the 

 Canadian Bee Journal for October. F. 

 P. Adams, speaking of the harm done 

 by late disturbance, says: 



"The only safe way to overcome this 

 difficulty is to prepare for winter be- 

 fore the cool weather sets in, and our 

 most successful apiarists recognize this 

 fact by commencing their winter pre- 

 parations at the close of the honey har- 

 vest. It is true that at this tinie the 

 hives usually contain a lot of brood, 

 but it is surprising what a quantity of 

 syrup can be forced into the brood-iiests 

 by heavy feeding." 



J. L. Byer says this: "While there 

 is more danger of feeding too late rath- 

 er than too early, experience has taught 

 me that, for various reasons, it is not 

 wise to do much feeding previous to 

 September 20." 



__ Then comes Editor Hurley, saying: 

 "Mr. Byer, in his notes appearing in 

 this issue, urges feeding in September. 

 In our experience this would not be 

 satisfactory. We prefer to feed when 

 the last batch of brood has hatched. 



Wintering bees on empty brood-frames 

 is dangerous." 



Of Mr, Adams the editor says: "The 

 pronounced success that he has had 

 with his bees, makes anything he writes 

 of great interest." Mr. Byer has for 

 years conducted a department in the 

 Canadian Bee Journel in a very able 

 manner, and Editor Hurley may well 

 be supposed to know something on the 

 subject. .After reading these three 

 varying views from three authorities, 

 and all under the same cover, is it any 

 wonder the beginner should feel some- 

 what dizzy? 



Specialty Not Best for Every One 



.■^s is well known. Editor Hutchinson 

 had adopted for his slogan the cry, 

 "Keep more bees!" and from the vigor- 

 ous rnanner in which he has kept up the 

 cry it is not strange if he has been 

 understood by some as advocating an 

 indiscriminate launching into the busi- 

 ness on a wholesale scale bv all and 

 sundry. The following from The Bee- 

 Keepers' Review, will show that such 

 a view is erroneous : 



"While the Review believes in and 

 advocates specialty, it recognizes the 

 fact that not every bee-keeper is in posi- 

 tion to take advantage of it. To il- 

 lustrate: .A letter was recently received 

 that read something as follows : 



'You write so convincingly of spec- 

 ialty that I am sometimes almost tempt- 

 ed to adopt it, but I have a family of 

 5 children to support, and I dare not 

 take the risk of abandoning my regular 

 occupation for that of bee-keeping as 

 my sole occupation. .\t present I have 

 only 12 colonies.' 



"This man would be the last one that 

 the Review would advise to engage in 

 bee-keeping as specialty. It would be 

 almost as sensible to advise him to en- 

 gage in the practice of medicine. A 

 man whose experience is limited to 

 what he has acquired in a year or two 

 with only 12 colonies of bees is in no 

 position to go into the business as a 

 specialist. Bee-keeping is a profession 

 that must be learned, the same as any 

 other, before it can be followed ex- 

 tensively and exclusively. The men 

 whom I advise to make of bee-keeping 

 an exclusive business are those who 



