1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



365 



subscriber in Santa Rosa, will he please tell us if he 

 knows any thing- about Mr. Hope's hoarhound-hon- 

 ey apiary? Our stenograjther sug-gests that we 

 might put adecoction of hoarhound in the honey 

 we already have, and then we could have it without 

 starting a California apiary. The circular says that 

 Hoge's hoarhound honey is sold by all druggists. 

 Can anybody tell us where we can get a bottle? 

 The circular has no date on it; furthermore, it 

 gives a picture of the process of making artificial 

 honey-comb . 



HONEY STATISTICS FliBSH FROM THE FIELDS. 



On page 377 of the A. B. ■/., the editor remarks, 

 in reply to a correspondent, on the matter of se- 

 curing statistics, as follows : 



" At first we thought the best way to get statistics 

 would be through the assessors, or a statistical bu- 

 reau of each State; but in all probability those 

 gathered by persons interested in the pursuit are 

 of the most immediate value. We like the plan in- 

 augurated by Mr. Root, in Gleanings, for the pur- 

 pose, of which we gave a summar.y on page 343. 

 Those obtained through the U. S. statisticians will 

 go upon record, and be handed down to posterity 

 in the history of the material resources of the 

 country. We fear they will not be gathered and 

 published soon enough to be available to the pro- 

 ducer, in regulating market prices." 



You are entirel.v correct, Bro. Newman. While 

 we would in no way depreciate the value of statis- 

 tics in the hands of the government, historically, 

 yet we fear our Uncle Sam (and it takes him a good 

 while to turn around sometimes) will not be able to 

 dish them out in time to be of any service to bee- 

 keepers, as affecting or regulating- the price of hon- 

 ey on the market. Tf there has been a dearth of 

 honey in any given district, the fact should be 

 made known at once, in order that the resident bee- 

 keepers of said district who have secured a moder- 

 ate crop may not be in too great a rush to dispose 

 of it at a sacrifice. A knowledge of such facts, 

 fresh from the fields (not months afterward) is 

 what is required. So thoroughly impressed were 

 we with this view of the case that we thought best 

 to get something a going in the matter of statistics 

 on our own responsibility, immediately. It is true, 

 with the limited number of contributors to the 

 Honey Statistics which we have already inaug-urat- 

 ed, we can not get at the number of colonies and 

 the number of pounds of honey and wax in our 

 broad domain, but we can collect considej-able 

 valuable information, and we believe there is no 

 better medium for disseminating such information 

 071 time than through the medium of bee-journals. 



decision of the u. s. supreme court in re- 

 gard TO THE PATENT ON THE ONE-PIECE 



SECTION. 



A COUPLE of telegrams received a few days ago 

 in regard to this matter read as follows: 



Cleveland, Apr. 2.'>. 

 Mr. Root:— The Supreme Court afflrins the decision of the 

 District Coui-t. 1 congi-atulate you. M. D. Leggett. 



Cleveland, 0., Apr. 23, 

 " ' )atent vo 



. A. Osborne. 



I suppose this ends the controversy; and it is 

 with a feeling- of sadness that I announce the re- 

 sult, even though it has been decided in our favor. 

 1 feel sad to think of the amount of money that has 

 been wasted in this lawsuit. I do not know what it 

 has cost Mr. Forncrook, but it has cost me alto- 

 gether somewhere between •'S1300 and iflSOO. At one 

 time I offered Mr. Forncrook $50(1 to drop the mat- 

 ter. I told him that 1 should have to pay to our 

 lawyers $500 or more, and that I would as soon pay 



it to him as to the lawyers. The pi-oposal may have 

 had the opposite effect from what I intended. The 

 lesson we have learned may be worth something. 

 The day is past, dear fiiends, when our courts will 

 authorize one man to collect together the inven- 

 tions of a great many, and, by a little improvement 

 of his own, monopolize the whole thing. Mr. F. 

 very likely produced a better one-piece section 

 than anybody else; that is, he may have used bet- 

 ter lumber, and finished it up a little nicer. He 

 also did obtain a patent, or a sort of one. This 

 patent, however, when subjected to close scrutiny 

 in both cases, has been declared void. Another 

 thing, Mr. Forncrook's employers declare that all 

 the improvement he made on sections was made 

 while in their employ, and by their directions. 

 They decided to make a better-finished section 

 than any that had yet appeared on the market, 

 and selected him from among several workman to 

 do what they wanted done, and according to their 

 instructions. Possibly I may have been misin- 

 formed in regard to some of the points I have 

 made; but it does not matter very much if I have. 

 Now for the moral: Do not think of getting a pat- 

 ent on any thing you may have invented, unless 

 the invention is clearly and decidedly your own. 

 Even if you succeed in making a little improve- 

 ment on something already in greneral use, it will 

 not pay you to get it patented. I do believe in pat- 

 ents, and I am glad to respect the rights of others in 

 the way of patents; but they should he clearly and 

 unmistakably the inventions of the individual to 

 whom the patent is granted. 



SHIPPING BEES FKOM THE SOUTH, 



IN order to catch the honey-flow as IT IN- 

 CREASES NORTHWARD. 



fHE following letter from Mr. Byron 

 Walker has just come to liand. It 

 seems he is going to put the sclieme 

 into actual operation, as given in the 

 heading above. 



Friend Root:—! have been in this State for sever- 

 al weeks past, buying- bees, and I expect to remain 

 here a month or so longer, increasing my stock 

 preparatory to shipping- north in time for the clo- 

 ver harvest. Can you give me the names of any 

 parties living in Missouri or Illinois, in the vicinity 

 of St. Louis, who might post me as to a good loca- 

 tion for placing my bees for a couple of weeks be- 

 fore shipping home? I think of shipping from Hel- 

 ena to St. liOuis, or some point near there, by boat, 

 in time for the white-clover yield, if I can get the 

 desired information. The parties who furnish it 

 ought to live at some point on or near the river. 1 

 should prefer to locate south of St. Louis, as trans- 

 shipment would be necessary to points above the 

 city. If you can help me to the information desir- 

 ed, you will be doing me a great favor, and at the 

 same time aid me in solving the problem proposed 

 for solution b.v M. M. Baldridg-e. 



Bees are doing well here at present on poplar and 

 locust bloom, and are swarming to some extent. I 

 found 15 cards of brood nearly a week since in a 

 Mitchell hive. Byron Waf,ker. 



Marvell, Phillips Co.. Ark., Apr. 34, 188S. 



Will those of our subscribers who live on 

 or near llie river be kind enough to give 

 friend Walker the information lie desires? 



