Jan. S, 1899. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



a coal-black honey-de\v. We have had a grocer reject a 

 wholeca.se, and refuse to buy at all, just because he hap- 

 pened to pull out a section of honey that was a trifle off 

 color, when all the rest of the case was fine. That bee- 

 keeper should learn not to mix his g-i'ades of honey, but 

 keep them in separate cases, and mark them according^ly. 



But what a pleasure it is to get in a lot of honey from a 

 bee-keeper who knows how to assort and put up his comb 

 honey for market. We have had at least two such lots this 

 winter— one from Iowa and the other from Wisconsin. If 

 we continue to sell honey to Chicag-o grocers, year after 

 year, we will likely select the bee-keepers whose honey we 

 desire to purchase. 



We may say further, that we think less than ever of the 

 commission method of handling honey. The buying'-and- 

 selling-outright method is the proper one, if the bee-keeper 

 sends exactly the grade of honey he agrees to. If he niis- 

 represents, he should have his honey shipt back to him, and 

 be compelled to pay the freight charges both ways. 



Low Prices for Honey, according to M. W. Shepherd 

 in the American Bee-Keeper, are due to the fact that the 

 laboring classes, the chief consumers of honey, get such 

 low prices for labor that they cannot afford to buj' honey. 

 The remedy is to reduce the price of honey to compete witli 

 the cheaper sweets, and have supply dealers lower their 

 prices. The editor says every one is at liberty to make his 

 own supplies, and if any one thinks supply dealers make 

 too heavy charges let him emphatically and forever dis- 

 abuse his mind of that error by making his' own supplies for 

 one sea.son. He concludes, "If the existence of our indus- 

 try can be sustained only through a reduction in the price 

 of supplies of the present standard of excellence, its days 

 are numbered." 



Eees n Switzerland. -In an excliange we learn that 

 Consul General DuBois says bee-culture has increast in 

 Switzerland during the past 20 3'ears 100 percent ; that there 

 are now 275,000 colonies in that country. The canton of 

 Lucerne has 187 colonies to every 1,000 of the population, 

 which is the highest average in Switzerland. This means 

 a colony of bees for everj' family, or for every five or six 

 persons in the canton of Lucerne. With its invigorating 

 mountain air and delicious honey everywhere, Switzerland 

 ought to be a healthy country. 



Mr. a. L Root was 59 years old Dec. 9, 1898. May yet 

 many happy, prosperous years be his. 



The National Fanciers" Association and Illimiis 

 State Poultry Association will hold their annual Poultry 

 Show from Jan. 9 to 14, 1898, in Chicago. It promises to be 

 a grand affair — and a great " cackling week " for this city. 

 Everybody interested in poultry oug-ht to attend this show. 



Mr. J. E. Crank — a famous Vermont comb honey pro- 

 diicer — visited the A. I. Root Company last month. He has 

 about 500 colonies of bees, and produces as fine honey as we 

 ever saw. We had the pleasure of examining about a car- 

 load of his honey, and it was simply superb. But what sur- 

 prises us is that he doesn't read the American Bee Journal. 

 At least we can't find his name on our list. Just think what 

 honey he might produce if he should take the Bee Journal I 



Mr. DooliTTle .and Dr. Miij.ek are both referred to 

 editorially in Gleanings for Dec. IS. The editor of that 

 paper has visited these two leaders in American apiculture, 

 and says that one (Doolittle) uses a meat-block on which to 

 place his typewriting machine when using it, and the 

 other (Dr. Miller) an ordinary high stool. Editor Root 

 seems to have expected mahogany desks and upholstered 

 chairs. Oh, no ; busy, hard-working men like Doolittle and 

 Miller have no use for " soft," showy and expensive lux- 

 uries. Only big bee-supply manufacturers can have such I 

 Of course, all apiarian editors might enjoy them if they 

 could afford to have them, but we know of only two, per- 

 haps, that either possess such elegant things, or might if 

 they wisht. They are Root and Leahy. And we are not a 

 bit jealous. We like to see other people enjoy themselves 

 when thev can afford it. 



* .. "'^ 



Editor Hutchinson, in the December number of his 

 paper, says, " Success comes only with hard study, courage, 

 thoroughness, and genuine enthusiasm." He ought to 

 know, for we believe he pos.sesses all of these characteris- 

 tics, and, from his own words, has arrived at the coveted 

 goal. It means a good deal to succeed now-a-days, espe- 

 cially when handicapt as .some have been that we might 

 name. But the race in life is not always to the swift or 

 dashing ; it is more often won by the patient plodder. We 

 feel that it will not be ours to know whether we have won 

 success — or successfully won : at least not for awhile yet. 

 In the meantime we are content to plod on, ever striving 

 simply to make a good, full-measure bee-paper. 



* .. '^ 



Hon. Eugene Secor, General Manag-er of the United 

 States Bee-Keepers' Union, has been sick, hence the delay 

 in mailing his annual report and voting-blanks. On ac- 

 count of his sickness, he has wisely taken the responsibility 

 of changing the date of closing the polls from Jan. 1 to 

 Jan. 15. We are glad to know that our General Manager is 

 recovering from his illness, and trust he is quite- himself 

 again now. 



Mr. W. B. B'lume, of Cook Co,, 111., called a few days 

 ago, and handed us $1.00 for the Langstroth Monument 

 Fund when renewing his sub.scription for 1899. Good way 

 to do. Let others do likewise. Mr. Blurne had his best 

 crop the past season — 3,300 pounds of comb honey from 80 

 colonies, spring count, and closing the season with 97 colo- 

 nies, which he is now wintering-. 



Mr. J. F. McInTvre, of Ventura Co., Calif., wrote us as 

 follows : 



" California bee-keepers are a ■ blue ' set just now. 

 They have just past through the dr3'est year since 1877, and 

 are now threatened with anf)ther, and bees are not in condi- 

 tion to stand another dry year. Guess we will have to mi- 

 grate if it doesn't rain this winter. How is Cuba ?" 



F. B. Mills, of Rose Hill, N, Y., has one of the most 

 beautiful 68-page catalogs we h^ive seen. You will find Mr. 

 Mills' advertisement in "the Bee Journal during this month. 

 Be sure to send to him for his catalog, and say j'ou saw his 

 name and address in the American Bee Journal. Then 

 afterward buy some seeds of him. 



The Cyphers Incubator Co., of Wayland, N. Y., have 

 a wonderfully fine catalog and guide to poultry-culture that 

 they mail for 10 cents. Our readers will make no mistake 

 if they send 10 cents for that catalog, and at the same time 

 mention having seen the Cyphers Company's advertisement 

 in the Bee Journal. 



Mk. E. E. Hasty, of Lucas Co., O.. we learn, has termin- 

 ated his long series of "A Condenst View of Current Bee- 

 Writings " for the Bee-Keepers' Review. Mr. Hasty did 

 fine work in that department. We presume the new " De- 

 partment of Criticism" takes the place of the former by 



Mr. Hasty. 



•X- -^ 



Mr. E. J. CronklETOn, of Harrison Co., Iowa, wrote us 

 Nov. 11 : " I have taken the American Bee Journal since 

 October, 1884, and by its help and my own ability I have 

 .sold thousands of dollars worth of honey at a nice profit. 

 No one should think of keeping bees without it." 



