jaiuKii'v, i')0(j. 



American Hee Journal 



anti luiropean cxclianKcs, and his articles and 

 coninu'nts on b#lh sides of the Atlantic have 

 brought liini into prominence throughout all 

 hecdoni. 



His vvritinps arc further enhanced by a ri|»e 

 experience of many years, for he is now in 

 his 78tll year, havin'p been for 40 years a 

 bee-keeper, and a Rood one, especially in the 

 production of comb honey: and, if I mistake 

 not, his crojts arc sold before they are olT the 

 hive. This speaks volumes, not only for his 

 method of management but for his careful, 

 honest gradinc, which is all done by the 

 members of liis family. The buyers know in 

 advance just exactly what Dr. Miller's honey 

 is going to be, and they are usually willing to 

 pay above the market price because they know 

 beyond any question that there will be no 

 after-(|uibble over the grading, quantity, or 

 quality. There is no reason why many others 

 can not sell their crop in the same way. 



Too often we pay tribute after our friends 

 are gone, and just as often regret that we did 

 not bestow some meed of praise wdiile they 

 were with us, especially if they are of the 

 kind that can't be spoiled. For that reason 

 I felt inclined to present the "smiling pic- 

 ture" which his family and all of us know 

 is so natural — not because we see a smile, but 

 because we know there is something within 

 that makes a "smile that won't come off." 

 What a happy world this would be if we all 

 had that smile! 



Dr. C. C. Miller has long since ceased to 

 think of the dollars. All he seems to care 

 for is enough to f)rovide for himself and fam- 

 ily. For many years his sole thought has 

 seemed to be, "How can I help to make the 

 world Iiappier and better?" He is an active 

 worker in the church and Sunday-school; but 

 of late he has been admonished by hts pyhsi- 

 cian to let some of those outside things go. 

 He is beginning to husband his energies; but, 

 as any one can see who follows his writings, 

 he makes a constant effort to bring the name 

 of his Master before the world. 



We lliought it would be nice to open 

 tlie new volume (the 49th) of the 

 .\nierican Bee Journal, with Dr. Miller's 

 latest portrait. We know that quite a 

 good many of our readers are already 



familiar with it, Inil there are always 

 a number of new readers who enter the 

 ranks early in e;teh year, and they, as 

 well as the old friends, will be K^id to 

 look into the face of one whose contri- 

 butions to bee-literature have been so 

 extensive in the past, and which probalily 

 will continue so long as Dr. Miller is 

 able to write. 



His book, "Forty Years Among the 

 Bees" is a faithful portrayal of Dr. Mil- 

 ler's own successful methods of honey- 

 production. In a way it is a monument, 

 built by himself, ;ind one that will en- 

 dure! It should be read by every bee- 

 keeper who desires to have the largest 

 success with bees. 



Dr. Miller has had charge of the 

 "Question-Bo.x" in the American Bee 

 Journal for many years. There is noth- 

 ing of the kind in any other apiarian 

 publication that compares with it. .\nd 

 the Doctor takes a great pleasure in 

 answering the questions, as he feels that 

 in so doing he is really Iielping some one. 

 His whole life has been, and is, an ex- 

 pression of the word "helpfulness." By 

 his very smiling he is helping to make 

 the world a little brighter, and a little 

 more cheery to some one else. 



We only wish that all our readers 

 knew Dr. Miller as well as we do. It 

 is always inspiring to know the leaders 

 among the men and women of the world. 

 And Dr. Miller is a prince among its 

 bee-keepers. We are glad to acknowl- 

 edge our indebtedness to hiin, and thus 

 to add our word of appreciation of his 

 life and work. 



Conducted by EMMA M. WILSON, Marengo, 111. 



ISeet-Sugar for Winter Bee - Feed. 



I am very much interested in the ques- 

 tion whether bcct-sugar is injurious to bees 

 as a winter food, and in what way. Mr. T.W. 

 Cowan, the editor of the British Bee Jour- 

 nal, tells me that many of the winter losses, 

 may be attributed to feeding with beet-sugar. 

 as such losses do not occur when pure cane- 

 sugar is used. 



I_ should be very glad to know your ex- 

 perience about this, and whether this opinion 

 is held in the United States. Can you tell 

 me of any articles on the subject? 



(Miss) Alice BAitm. 



St. Tames, West Malvern, Dec. 3. 



The question as to the relative value 

 of beet and cane sugars as food for bees 

 is one upon which it is very difficult to 

 get light. For years the British Bee 

 Journal has stoutly insisted that only 

 cane should be used to feed bees for 

 winter, and that there was danger from 

 beet sugar, but on this side the big pond 

 there has been very little said about it, 

 and probably no serious investigations 

 in the direction of trying to settle the 

 question. So it is impossible to cite you 

 to articles that would help. Occasion- 



ally some bee-keeper, roused by what 

 has been said in England, has raised the 

 question here, and if he has had any 

 sort of an answer at all it has been to 

 the effect that chemists assure us that 

 chemically the two are the same. But 

 that answer is not altogether satisfac- 

 tory, seeing that coal and diamonds are 

 so nearly alike chemically without ever 

 bringing the market prices of the two 

 on a par. 



Tons of granulated sugar have been 

 used in this country as winter food for 

 bees, and perhaps every bee-keeper 

 agrees that sugar syrup is as wholesome 

 as honey for that purpose, while some 

 insist it is more wholesome — certainly 

 more wholesome than some honey. Xow 

 if tons of sugar have been used, and it 

 has never been discovered that it was 

 bad for bees in winter, it would seem 

 there is safety in beet-sugar, // beet- 

 sugar has formed any considerable pro- 

 portion of the sugar used. That, how- 

 ever, is perhaps a matter tiiat no one 



can exactly find out. It is doubtful that 

 any bee-keeper ever knew whether the 

 ^jraniilated sugar he fed was made from 

 lieets or cane. Perhaps experts in the 

 sugar business can not tell one from the 

 other. Certainly a bee-keeper can not 

 be expected to tell the difference. 



A Chicago daily, in an article based 

 (in U. S. government reports, says that 

 in the year 1907 more than a third of 

 the sugar produced in this country was 

 from beets, while beets now supply one- 

 half of the grand total produced in the 

 world at large. So it is reasonable to 

 suppose that, so long as there is no way 

 by which bee-keepers may know the 

 source of the sugar he feeds, there is 

 likely to be fed a pound or more of 

 beet-sugar for every 2 pounds of cane. 

 In that case, if beet-sugar is so very 

 bad for bees, there hardly ought to be 

 such a general impression that sugar is 

 good for bees in winter. Probably the 

 average bee-keeper in this country never 

 trouliles his head to think whether sugar 

 is made from beets, cane, or what not. 

 At the same time, the word of so good 

 an authority as Mr. T. W. Cowan has 

 weight, and if one could know for cer- 

 tain as to the kind of sugar offered, she 

 would do well to use cane. 



As to hoiv beet-sugar is supposed to 

 injure bees by those who consider it in- 

 jurious, it is probable that it is supposed 

 to cause diarrhea. 



Honey for Making Hands Wliite. 



Rul) the hands well with vinegar and 

 corn meal to clean them well after do- 

 ing tile morning and dinner work, then 

 wipe and rub in a few drops of honey 

 and water mixed, not enough to be 

 sticky; keep it up and be rewarded with 

 white hands. — Mrs. W. M. Knoer, in 

 Practical Farmer. 



Vsing Honey for Canning Fruit. 



So far I have used honey for canning 

 fruit only in a small way. but have 

 watched the results carefully, and am 

 fully convinced that it can be used in 

 place of sugar for any kind of fruit with 

 much better results than if the sugar 

 were used. When using honey I have 

 never had a can spoil, and have always 

 found the fruit far better and richer 

 than that put up otherwise. We have 

 been eating some peaches this winter 

 that were put up 3 years ago, and in 

 that time we have moved once. In every 

 instance the "gude mon" has handed up 

 his dish for a second helping, which is 

 always a sign that it "hit the spot." I 

 would, therefore, advise those wishing 

 to try the honey to do so by all means. 



Formerly, when I canned strawberries 

 I took 2 quarts of good, firm berries, 

 just from the vines, stemmed them late 

 in the day, rinsed them quickly in cold 

 water, and drained in a colander until 

 I could prepare another can. I put them 

 in a stone crock and covered them with 

 a cup of granulated sugar and set them 

 in a cool place until morning. I then 

 put them on the stove, boiled them well, 

 and canned them. With this amount 

 there is enough to fill a quart !Mason jar, 

 and a little over for a taste. When using 

 the honey in place of sugar the same 

 method is followed except that only 



