1899 



GLKANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



187 



Peditoriac 



The subscription clerk says the new names 

 are rolling in at a rapid rate. For all this we 

 are grateful. The larger our list, the better, 

 of course, we can make our journal. 



The average bee-journal of the day con- 

 tains several kinds of matter. One will be a 

 department of short items; another, general 

 articles; another, extracts from letters; anoth- 

 er, editorials; and still another, reports of 

 conventions; but in this issue we introduce a 

 rather novel feature, and that is an interview, 

 or what might be called an unconventional 

 convention of two people. 



The department called " Afterthought," by 

 "Cogitator," now running monthly in the 

 American Bee Journal, is a good one, and is a 

 real addition to the Old Reliable. But me- 

 thinks I know who it is that cogitates — yes, I 

 will bet my old hat against York's that I can 

 name the man, simply'by the earmarks of his 

 bright breezy paragraphs. Bet? " You bet " 

 I do when I am sure of winning, and have a 

 good man to bet with. 



Quite a number are asking at this time of 

 year what to do with colonies that are afflicted 

 with dysentery. I do not know any thing to 

 do with them but to let them die. Confining 

 the cluster to fewer frames or uniting two or 

 three of them together may help some. But 

 s miehow they disappear all the same whether 

 in one or several clusters. The only cure is 

 continued warm weather. In this latitude we 

 shall not have settled warm weather for a 

 month yet. 



SHIPPING-CASES IMPROPERLY CONSTRUCTED. 



A letter from one of our leading commis- 

 sion houses urges upon bee keepers the great 

 importance of having shipping-cases with no- 

 drip strips in the bottom. It further urges 

 that the covers should not be let down in be- 

 tzveen the sides or ends of the cases, but they 

 should be as long as and wide as the case sit- 

 ting down on the edges flat, held in position 

 simply by nails. When the cover is dropped 

 into a recess in the case, it is often necessary 

 to split the case to pieces to get at the goods. 



So far as I know, the leading manufacturers 

 of bee-keepers' supplies are making the ship- 

 ping-cases as they should be; that is, they 

 have "no-drip cleats," and the cover lies flat 

 on the case. It is those who attempt to make 

 their own cases, trying to " improve " them, 

 that send out cases of the kind condemned. 



THE EVIDENT SIGNS OF THE GROWTH OF 

 THE BEE-KEEPING INDUSTRY. 



Reference is made in the Bee-keepers' Re- 

 view to the fact of Bro. York's having printed 

 15,000 copies of one edition of the American 



Bee Journal, and both Mr. York and Mr. 

 Hutchinson seem to be of the opinion that 

 this is the largest edition of any bee-paper 

 ever published. I have just been looking back 

 over our record, and find we printed single 

 editions of 15,000 of Gleanings in April, 

 September, and December, 1895, and later on 

 (I can't find just the record for it) we publish- 

 ed an edition of 30,000. This present issue 

 happens to be another 15,000. As the call for 

 sample copies has become large we have been 

 obliged to make this extra number in order to 

 supply the demand. I do not say this with 

 any feeling of "go you one bigger," but refer 

 to it because it may be interesting to bee-keep- 

 ers to know that our industry calls for such 

 large editions of the different bee-papers. 

 The subscription-list of Gleanings is grow- 

 ing rapidly. I understand that the lists of 

 the Reviezv and the Amer. Bee Journal are 

 also growing. All of this betokens the growth 

 of the industry, and general prosperity among 

 bee-keepers. Another fact is interesting: Two 

 or three years ago there were only three or 

 four supply factories, and now there must be 

 a dozen. All, or nearly all, are working on 

 full time, and several over time, and this in 

 spite of the fact that honey is coming down in 

 price, and glucose has been pushing its way 

 into prominence at a fearful rate. It only 

 goes to show that honey is becoming more and 

 more a staple. Ten years ago it was account- 

 ed a luxury, and was put on the table when 

 the "folks had company." But now, if it is 

 used at all, it is on the table every day, and is 

 eaten just like any other sauce. 



A HONEY-LEAFLET IN THE FORM OF A HON- 

 EY-LABEL. 



One of our subscribers, referring to the fact 

 that the honey-leaflet did not seem to increase 

 his sales, went around among his customers 

 and inquired whether they read the leaflet or 

 not. Those who did look at it at all said they 

 did not place much confidence in its recipes, 

 as_ they thought it was a sort of ' ' patent-med- 

 icine affair." Why did they think so? sim- 

 ply because there was a doctor's name attach- 

 ed to it ! That is a good joke on Dr. Miller — to 

 think of his being styled a patent-medicine 

 crank ! 



When the question of the honey-leaflet came 

 up in the first place, it was my purpose to pre- 

 pare the matter myself ; but there was Dr. 

 Miller, who, I thought, knew more about the 

 general subject-matter than I ; and that he, 

 being a doctor, you know, his ipse dixit would 

 have some weight. 



But this same correspondent hints at an idea 

 that may be worthy of adoption ; and that is, 

 putting the general facts about honey on the 

 honey-label, and then, if there is room, put 

 on the honey recipes. Such a label would 

 necessarily have to be large; but in the case of 

 nearly all extracted-honey packages, especial- 

 ly if of tin, the label should go clear around 

 the package, and lap. This would give room 

 enough for the general matter. 



WASTED AMMUNITION. 



Another subscriber, a lady, writes that it 



