18 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



January 



Leo F. Hanejran, of Glen wood, Wis., 

 we learn, has sold his apiarian equip- 

 ment to Mr. J. Gobeli, of Boyceville, 

 who will take iip his residence at 

 Glenwood at an early date. Mr. Han- 

 egan's bee-keeping expei'ience has 

 been a decided sticcess, and he still 

 pins his faith to the honey bee as a 

 source of livelihood; though it is yet 

 uncertain as to where his next ven- 

 ture Avill be launched. Both Messrs. 

 Hanegan and Gobeli are Bee-Keeper 

 subscribers, and our well-wishes are 

 with them. 



It is said in the Pacific States Bee 

 Journal that John Walker, near Tu- 

 lare, Calif., has three hives of bees 

 which prodiiced about .$00.00 worth of 

 honey last season. The average "dol- 

 lar's worth" per colony, where but a 

 very few colonies are kept, frequently 

 exceeds the record of the expert spe- 

 cialist, for the reason that a special 

 price may be obtained for such small 

 lots in the local market, whereas the 

 extensive producer is obliged to seek 

 the usual channels of trade, and to 

 accept the "market prices" for his 

 goods. There is almost always an out- 

 let for a very limited quantity of comb 

 honey in the home market, at prices 

 considerably above market quotations. 

 At 20 cents a poiind, there is nothing 

 very remarkable about this record — 

 an average of 100 pounds per colony. 



BROOD FRAMES. 



In the American Bee Journal the 

 question is asked: "If for some rea- 

 son you Avere to start in anew to keep 

 bees, and were obliged to get an en- 

 tirely new outfit, what would be the 

 dimensions of the brood frame?" 



The quei-y is answered by 27 practi- 

 cal apiarists. Fifteen substantially fa- 

 vor the Langstroth. Five would 

 adopt a shallower frame and six of the 

 number prefer one of greater depth. 

 One "counsellor" fails to understand 

 the question. Mrs. L. Harrison, one 

 of the answerers, makes response 

 thus: "The Langstroth frame. It is 

 the only one I've ever had experience 

 with, and the inventor made no mis- 

 takes." While Mr. Langsti'oth, by 

 reason of the great service rendered 

 the bee-keeping fraternity, through his 

 investigations and invention, has well 

 earned the esteem everywhere be- 



stowed upon his name, it should be 

 borne in mind that, after all, he was 

 but human, and it is altogether im- 

 probable that he succeeded in treading 

 the pathway of terrestrial life for over 

 four score years without having com- 

 mitted any "mistakes." 



DON'T BURDEN YOUR BRAIN. 



The Bee-Keeper has upon its ex- 

 change list 15 to 20 apiarian journals, 

 many genei'al agricultural periodicals, 

 and one hybrid afFair which purports 

 to embrace both qualities. In its 

 December issue it pays the following 

 magnificent tribute to specialized bee 

 .iournalism and the intelligence .of 

 "farmers who keep but a few colonies 

 of bees:" 



"Farmers who keep but a few colo- 

 nies of bees need not bother them- 

 selves about much that is discussed 

 in bee journals. A large amount of 

 what is found there has no excuse for 

 being there, unless it be on the plea 

 that the professional writers must 

 have something to fill up space. Such 

 subjects as "Mating in Confinement," 

 "Formalin Gas for Foul Brood," "Do 

 the Bees Kill the Drones or do They 

 Die of Starvation?" may be passed 

 over without much injury, by the 

 farmer. Neither is it worth the farm- 

 er's while to spend much time reading 

 about honey exchanges or any kind of 

 commercial organizations for the sale 

 of his honey or wax. What he needs 

 more than anything else is to know 

 how to secure a good crop, and then 

 to be told where he can find a market 

 at a living price, and what, under the 

 law of supply and demand, his honey 

 is really worth." 



NEW APIARIAN INVENTION, 

 In order that American Bee-Keeper 

 readers may be kept well informed in 

 regard to every detail of apiarian pro- 

 gress, we begin this month a new de- 

 partment in wliiich will be announced 

 every new invention pertaining to bees 

 patented in the United States and 

 England. 



As we earnestly desire that the Bee- 

 Keeper shall be complete in every way, 

 we shall be pleased to consider siiggee- 

 tions from our readers in regard to oth- 

 er features not already embraced and 

 which may be thought to be of value 

 to bee-keepers. 



