1900 



GIvEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



65 



some instances sheep have to be confined on rape, and 

 forced to eat it through sheer hunger. In a short time 

 thev become very fond of the rape. So likewise they 

 may be taught to eat sweet clover. Of course, where 

 other and better kinds of clover will grow, it would not 

 be wise to trouble with sweet clover. But in the semi- 

 arid belt east of the Rocky Mountains, and in the poor 

 sandy soils of the South, it may yet be found that an 

 important mission awaits this plant; first, in growing 

 a crop that will renovate the soil when plowed under 

 and increase its power to hold moisture ; second, in 

 furnishing food for bees; and, third, in providing pas- 

 ture. Hay should be sought from it the first year 

 rather than the second. 



.Sweet clover can be sown only in the spring or sum- 

 mer in very cold latitudes ; but in those that are mild 

 it can be sown in the autumn or spring, preferably the 

 former. Usually not less than l.'j pounds of the seed 

 is sown to the acre. In the South it is frequently sown 

 on the surface of stubble land after the crop has been 

 harvested; and when thus sown it is simply covered by 

 the harrow. If sweet clover is kept from blossoming, 

 the land will soon be freed from it when it is so de- 

 sired. Although sweet clover seeds profusely, the high 

 price of the seed at the present time stands much in 

 the way of extending its growth. 



In regard to the clo.sing sentence in the above, I 

 presume friend Shaw was not aware of how low 

 sweet -clover seed is now sold by honey - producers. 

 Prof. Shaw has, perhaps, been 'instrumental, more 

 then any other one man, in introducing Dwarf Essex 

 rape throughout the United States — a plant that has 

 already made its way, and is now a great boon to 

 sheep-gro ^ ers in particular. The book treats of Indian 

 corn, the different sorghums, all the clovers, rape, cab- 

 bage, cereals, millets, root crops, etc. It has about 300 

 pages and many illustrations. Price $1.00. We can 

 mail it from this office. 



PRICES OF SEEDS FOR 1900. 



In our next issue we will give our usual abbreviated 

 li.st and prices. As a good many of the catalogs are in, 

 the prices on the staple commodities are now pretty 

 ■well settled. 



GRAND RAPIDS LETTUCE. 



lam exceedingly glad to tell you that the 2.5 lbs. of 

 •Grand Kapids lettuce, California grown, produces the 

 handsomest crop, every plant true to name, so far as 

 we have yet discovered, of any I have ever offered for 

 sale. Now is the time to .sow the seed if you want to 

 hit the big demand at just the right moment. The 

 price is only 5 cts. per ounce;! lb., .50 cts. If wanted 

 "by mail, add 9 cts. for postage. 



zZm^//. 



^Br 5 PEC I Ab^NOT^i c es 



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UTAH HONEY — BOTH COMB AND EXTRACTED. 



This is about the finest quality of honey we have 

 liad in several years. We can .still supply the extract- 

 ed in 60-lb. cans at 10c per lb.; 10 cans at 9%c per lb., 

 and the comb honey, 24 sections in a case, at IGc per 

 lb. We expect to close this out soon, so send your 

 order promptly. 



CARLOAD ORDERS. 



Carload orders from dealers are coming in at a live- 

 ly rate, and we now have unfilled orders for from 12 to 

 1.5 cars which we must get out as rapidly as possible. 

 We have a very large stock to draw from, and have 

 most of our supplies in materials of all kinds on hand 

 for the season, including over two million feet of dry 

 pine and basswood lumber. We never were in better 

 shape to handle the business that conies our way than 

 at the present time. At the same time, when orders 

 come in at the rate of two carloads a day we can not 

 ship them all at once. We trust none will suffer in- 

 convenience by some unavoidable delay. Orders do 

 not roll in at this rate all the time. 



A. B. Williams Si Co., of Cleveland, who some time 

 ago furnished quotations of the Cleveland honey 

 market for Gleanings, have made an assignment ; 

 and from all that we can learn their creditors will get 

 verv little. The liabilities appear to be from 110,000 to 

 812,000, and assets about 81500. We have not published 

 their quotations the past season, because we were not 



fully satisfied with the way they treated their ship- 

 pers. The principal complaint was their tardiness m 

 answering letters. We did not have a sufficiently defi- 

 nite case against them to warrant our publi-hing a 

 word of caution in Gle.-^nings, yet we did not have 

 sufficient confidence in them to continue publi--hing 

 their quotations. They had 10 cases of our honey un- 

 settled for when they failed. We know of several 

 others who have likewise suffered loss. When I called 

 on them about three weeks ago they had very little 

 honey in the house, but I do not know how much they 

 had sold, and had not yet settled for. I hope very few 

 have lo.st at their hands. 



THE COMING CHICAGO CONVENTION. 



The date set for the next National Bee-keepers' 

 Association (or the United States Bee-keepers' As.soci- 

 ation) is the 2Sth, 2!tth, and 30th of August next, the 

 first session being Tuesday evening, the 28th. The 

 place of meeting is Chicago during the time of the 

 Grand Aimy encampment, when low rates of a cent 

 a mile will be in force all over the country. A pro- 

 gram has been in process of preparation for some 

 time back, and among some of the special features 

 will be one and possibly two stereopticon lectures on 

 two separate evenings. The Question-box for the lat- 

 ter half of the day sessions will be another feature. 

 The questions will be of a character to interest ad- 

 vanced bee-keepers as well as beginners. 



Every effort is being put forth to make this one of 

 the best in point of discussion and attendance that 

 has ever been held. Chicago is a central point, and 

 easily accessible from every direction, and there is no 

 reason why there should not be a large meeting. 



Local associations, State and county, should see to 

 it that delegates are appointed to attend this meeting. 



POST CHEQUE MONEY. 



Our attention has been called to a system of currency 

 called ''post-cheque money," which consists of frac- 

 tional bills of denominations of 5, 10, 15, 25. and 50 

 cents of small size, and I, 2, and 5 dollars the size of 

 ordinary bills. The.se are to be used for ordinary cur- 

 rency in passing from hand to hand, but on one side 

 are arranged blanks for affixing a postage stamp, and 

 writing in the name and address of the party to whom 

 you wish to make a remittance. .Sign your own name 

 and address. The bill then becomes a check for safe 

 transmission through the mails. When the party to 

 whom it is sent receives it he acknowledges the re- 

 ceipt of payment in a blank provided, presents it at 

 the postoffice, and receives a fresh one in its place, 

 which may be passed as money. The advantages of 

 this system will be very apparent to one who exam- 

 ines it. It makes it very convenient to send a remit- 

 tance of a small amount in a way that is safe. To in- 

 close Ciii ordinarv bill in a letter is considered rather 

 risky. If the latter is .stolen, the money contained 

 may be u.sed by the one who gets it, and can not be iden- 

 tified; whereas, with post-cheque money, one of these 

 bills filled in as provided becomes as safe as an ordi- 

 nary bank check or draft, and is not subject to the 

 usual charge for collection that banks make on checks, 

 nor to the inconvenience of going to the postoffice to 

 obtain a postal money order. The government still 

 retains the revenue feattire by stamps affixed when 

 these bills are written upon and remitted through the 

 mails. A bill will be introduced in both houses of 

 Congress this winter for the adoption of this post- 

 cheque money. Those of our readers who are inter- 

 ested should send to C. W. Post, Battle Creek, Mich., 

 for a copy of the pamphlet setting forth the system 

 and its advantages ; and if they approve, then they 

 should write to their representatives in Congress, urg- 

 ing their support of the measure. 



CONVENTION NOTICES. 



CALIFORNIA BEE-KEEPERS' CONVENTION. 



The tenth annual convention of the California State 

 Bee-keepers' Association will be held in the Chamber 

 of Commerce, at l,os Angeles, on Feb. 21 and 22, 1900. 

 Convention will be called to orderat 1:30 p. m , on Feb. 

 21. At this time the railroads will sell round-trip tick- 

 ets to everybody, for one and one-third fare, on ac- 

 count of the Industrial, Mining, and Citrus Exposi- 

 tion, which will be held in L,os Angeles. Tickets good 

 for ten days. Let every bee keeper bring some hive, 

 tool, or experience which he has found valuable, and 

 we will have a good convention. 



R. Wilkin, Pres. 



J. F. M'iNTYRE, Sec. 



