EDITORIAL 



ON PAGE 197 of this issue will be found 

 a report of the meeting held by the Ameri- 

 can Honey Producers ' 

 League League at Indianap- 



Advertising olis. Among other 

 Fund. things done at that 



meeting was the raising 

 of a fund of $6,000 to help extol the merits 

 of honey as a food, without naming any 

 particular brand or locality. To that end an 

 advertising propaganda in the magazine 

 Good Housekeeping was proposed by one of 

 the prominent advertising agencies; and so 

 favorably was the proposition received that 

 the amount was raised in about 30 minutes. 

 It was suggested at the meeting that the 

 larger beekeeping public, who were not rep- 

 resented at that meeting, would be glad to 

 help swell this fund, and thus make the 

 advertising much more effective. Here is an 

 opportunity for beekeepers, thru their local 

 organization, to help create a better market 

 for honey. 



A PEOPOSED amendment to the village 

 law of the State of New York, "To regu- 

 late and prohibit 



Attention 



Beekeepers of 



New York State. 



the keeping of 

 bees within the 

 village limits, ' ' 

 is now in the Sen- 

 ate of the New York State Legislature. Such 

 a law would be clearly unconstitutional since 

 it would abridge the right of citizens of the 

 State to engage in legitimate business. When 

 the far-reaching benefits of the honeybee to 

 horticulture and agriculture in cross-pol- 

 lination are considered, the beekeeper should 

 not be compelled to beg for an existence, and 

 beekeeping should be fostered by the State 

 rather than hindered by adverse legislation. 

 Every beekeeper in the State of New York, 

 whether he has one colony or 1000 colonies, 

 should write at once to both the senator 

 and representatives from his district, pro- 

 testing against the passage of this bill and 

 urging the legislators to vote against Senate 

 Bill No. 639, entitled, "An Act to Amend 

 the Village Law in Kelation to the Eegulat- 

 ing or Prohibiting the Keeping of Bees," if 

 it sliould be reported from the committee on 

 Affairs of Villages. 



DON 'T GET alarmed over Government 

 honey-market quotations, even if the clouds 

 on the beekeeper's hori- 

 zon are a little dark just 

 now. There is always a 

 silver lining somewhere. 

 It has been stated that thousands of the 

 sugar-beet farmers, and likewise other thou- 

 sands of producers of sugar cane, will raise 



some other crop this coming season. If that 

 is a fact there is all the more reason for the 

 beekeeper, who can not shift from honey to 

 some farm crop, to stick to his job of pro- 

 ducing honey. Furthermore, he should pro- 

 duce more largely of comb honey, which is 

 still commanding a good market. If the 

 sugar-beet farmers and sugar-cane produc- 

 ers have got "cold feet," we beekeepers 

 "should worry." If there should be a short- 

 age in sugar next year, we should worry. 

 We would be very sma,rt to produce all the 

 honey we can. The man who gets ' ' cold 

 feet, ' ' and gives up now, is very short- 

 sighted, to say the least. 



Above all things just now, when the bees 

 are rearing brood so early, beekeepers should 

 watch their, colonies closely to be sure that 

 none of them run short of stores. 



THE EEMAEKABLY mild weather during 

 February and early March has afforded bee- 

 keepers a splendid op- 

 Early Brood portunity to note the 

 Rearing. variations in the be- 



ginning of brood-rear- 

 ing under different colony-conditions. As a 

 rule, winter brood-rearing is undesirable, 

 and it is well to note just what conditions 

 favor the postponement of brood-rearing. 



Usually the colonies which are wintering 

 the very best are the ones which begin 

 spring brood-rearing latest. Such colonies, 

 being quieter during the winter, are willing 

 to continue their quiescence longer. Weak 

 colonies usually begin brood-rearing earlier 

 than stronger colonies. Colonies having old 

 bees usually begin brood-rearing earlier 

 than colonies having younger bees. Colo- 

 nies that are restless because of a nervous 

 temperament usually begin brood-rearing 

 earlier than colonies of a quieter tempera- 

 ment. Colonies which are frequently dis- 

 turbed are more inclined to begin brood- 

 rearing early than those undisturbed. Colo- 

 nies which have wintered on poor stores usu- 

 ally start brood-rearing earlier than those 

 wintered on better stores. Colonies exposed 

 either to very low or very high temperatures 

 usually begin brood-rearing earlier than 

 those in a moderate temperature. In this 

 connection it has long been known that colo- 

 nies of normal strength wintering well in 

 cellars may postpone brood-rearing until 

 after they have been placed on their sum- 

 mer stands. 



The outstanding feature in all of these is 

 some form of disturbance. Whether it comes 

 from colony weakness, temperament, age, 

 mechanical disturbance, poor stores, or tem- 

 perature, the quiescence of early winter is 

 filially upset ;iiul brood-rearing is begun. 



