Jan. 26, 1899. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



57 



ing- $60,000 is a g-ood deal the kind of a man to have as Gen- 

 eral Manag-er of the United States Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion, especially as it contemplates dealing- with adulterators 

 of honey, and other frauds that threaten bee-keepers or 

 their product. 



But perhaps Mr. Secor will not thank us for telling 

 thus publicly one of his private business affairs. And yet, 

 what harm can come from bee-keepers advertising to the 

 world the business capabilities of a man whom they all 

 claim as their own ? We contend that Mr. Secor belongs to 

 the bee-keeping public, for is he not their valued servant ? 

 Most assuredly he is. And one that they all delight to honor, 

 as well as to appreciate his excellent qualities. 



Now, Mr. Secor may be inclined to blush at these re- 

 marks. All right, for it will be an honest blush, if he does. 

 We believe in giving a few "flowers" to a man before he 

 dies, rather than leave them all for his funeral. 



Cuban Honey.— The-kinds of honey in Cuba are much 

 fewer in number than in our Southern States. Two-thirds 

 or more of the honey that will come from Cuba will be from 

 bellflower, says Mr. O. O. Poppleton in Gleaning-s. It is 

 like white clover in color and body, but a trifle milder, sell- 

 ing perhaps better than linden, but not as well as clover. 

 Other Cuban honey is dark and strong, not as good in body 

 or flavor as buckwheat. Editor Root thinks bellflower will 

 compare favorably with our light honey, only some maj' 

 think it loo mild. As to Cuban competition, he thinks we 

 will have to grin and bear it, altho he seems to get beyond 

 his depth when he contemplates honey produced for 2 cents 

 ' a pound, and almost the year round. 



CoLUMBfs Commission .\nd Storage Co., of Colum- 

 bus, Ohio, seems to be out of existence now, as we received 

 a card from their postmaster a few days ago telling us that 

 tlie firm is " Defunct." Our readers will please note this, 

 and not ship any honey to them. 



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Mrs. Emma Woodmansee, of Arapahoe Co., Colo., 

 writing us Jan. 9, said : 



" I enjoy reading- the American Bee Journal, and look 

 anxiously for its arrival each week. I have learnt a great 

 deal from reading what others write." 



Mr. Wm. H. Eagertv, of Republic Co., Kans, gives his 

 estimate of the " Old Reliable " in these words : 



" I feel that the American Bee Journal deserves the sup- 

 port of every bee-keeper in the land for the stand it took 

 against fraudulent commission-men, thereby saving many 

 hundreds of dollars to bee-keepers." 



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Mr. W. a. Rrval. of Alameda Co., Calif., writing us 

 Jan. 10, had this to say about the present "new " appear- 

 ance of the old American Bee Journal : 



" I like your new dress. I suppose, like most editors, 

 you put it on the paper instead of on your back. A pub- 

 lisher feels happy when he can come out with a new typo- 

 graphical dress, as well as with a fine suit of clothes. It is 

 almost a standing joke that a newspaper man cannot do 

 both at the same time. I trust, tho, that vou have been 

 able to do both." 



Well, Mr. Pryal, that depends upon the prices of the 

 "dress "and suit. If the " dress " costs several hundred 

 dollars, then of course the suit would have to be rather in- 



expensive. And that is the way it is this time. Little does 

 the average reader know of the cost of getting out a paper 

 like the American Bee Journal every iveek. And yet it is 

 furnisht at the very low price of $1.00 a year. You would 

 hardly believe it, yet there are actually .some bee-keepers 

 who write us that if we will take 50 cents a year for it they 

 will subscribe ! Such fellows are too cheap to notice. Why, 

 they couldn't appreciate any kind of a bee-paper. And j-et, 

 we wouldn't be surprised if such specimens spend annually 

 for tobacco from ten to twenty times the regular subscrip- 

 tion price of the American Bee Journal. 



But some people always expect to get something for 

 nothing. There is need of cultivating a little more honor- 

 able spirit among- such folks — a spirit of willingness to pay 

 what a thing is worth. No up-to-date bee-keeper, or one 

 who desires to be up-to-date, would do without the American 

 Bee Journal if the price were $2.00 a year, as it used to be 

 when it was only a monthly. At least that is what we are 

 often told. 



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Mr. L. D. Stilson, of York, York Co., Nebr., is trying- 

 to get a collection of different samples of honey to place in 

 their State University, and wishes to secure samples of 

 Cuban or other foreign honey ; also palmetto or cotton- 

 bloom honey, three to tive pounds of each kind. Any one 

 who can help Mr. Stilson, will kindly write him before 

 sending him any honey. 



« « ♦ ♦ ♦ 



Mr. Mark Davis, a bee-keeper of Dupage Co., 111., died 

 Jan. 13. Mr. Harrj' Hatch kindly notified us. Mr. Davis 

 was one of the first bee-keepers of that county. He had 

 kept bees continually for 25 years, and until the last year 

 or two he was regular in attendance at bee-keepers' conven- 

 tions. He was a member of the Illinois Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation. He was 73 vears old. 



Mr. Aaron J. Johnson, of Monmouth Co.. N. J., wrote 

 us Dec. 5, when remitting for 1899 : 



" I have read copies of the different bee-papers, but the 

 American Bee Journal takes the lead of them all, for me. 

 Different things that I have wisht to learn at times have 

 been answered in the Bee Journal right 'to the t.' I wish 

 it continued success." 



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The Leahy Mfg. Co. claim to have " spent about 

 $5,000 for improvements " in and about their bee-supply fac- 

 tory the past few months. They say : " We expect, too, to 

 take care of the trade; but of this we are not so sure." 

 Well, if they should be unable to "take care of the trade," 

 there are some others that can do it very well — or at least 

 they'll make a big " try " at it. 



* # * ♦ * 



Mr. Frank McN.w and Wife, of Columbia Co., Wis., 

 are spending the winter in Southern California, as an- 

 nounced in these columns some time ago. A letter to us 

 dated Jan. 10, reads as follows : 



Friend York : — We have now spent almost six weeks 

 in this laud of .sunshine and flowers, and have enjoyed it 

 very much, as the weather has been very nice for wheeling, 

 and as we brought our pair of Rambler wheels with us. We 

 find nice, hard roads here, both in the cities and country, 

 and my cyclometer shows 600 miles of travel since arriving- 

 here. You can see that we are not losing much time ou 

 account of bad weather. 



But the lack of rain is making the bee-keepers and all 

 other residents beg-in to feel gloomj', as the rainfall only 

 aggregates a little over two inches, which is extremely 

 light for this date. Still, there is hope for an abundance 

 yet. 



The American Bee Journal is the only publication that 

 has followed us up promptly and regularly. 



Truly yours, Frank McNav. 



We are pleased to know that our big bee-keeping friend, 

 and wife, are having such a nice time this winter. But if 

 California bee-keepers don't get their necessary "wetting" 

 pretty soon, their honey crop will likely be both "short 

 and sweet," when they all hoped it would be " long and 

 sweet " this year. We trust they may yet have rain enough 

 to insure at least an average crop. 



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The Premiums offered on.jjage 30 are well worth work- 

 ing- for. Look at them. 



