34 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Another " Kind Suggestion." 



The following letter from Dr. A. B. 

 Mason is just received, and as he wants 

 to place the matter before our readers, 

 we will let him " suggest :" 



Dear Journal:— X3n page 33 of 

 the Bee Journal for 1882 under the 

 heading of "A Kind Suggestion," you 

 say, " VVe are always pleased to receive 

 suggestions or criticisms concerning 

 the Bee Journal, and hence give 

 place to the following," from L. B. 

 Jackson, Fairland, Ind. 



" I like the size of the Bee Jour- 

 nal much better than the old, but do 

 not like the advertisements on the 

 first page. We have become accus- 

 tomed to look on the first page for the 

 valuable editorials, and think the Bee 

 Journal would look much neater 

 with all the advertisements at the 



When I saw the above I was very 

 much inclined to " sif^^esi," that the 

 first two numbers of the Weekly Bee 

 Journal for 1882 were just right in 

 that respect. Although 1 have several 

 times been tempted to do so, I have 

 not " suggested," but yesterday when 

 getting tl^e Bee Journals for 1882 

 ready for the bindery, I thought, not 

 out loud, I wish I liad influence enough 

 with the "powers that be," at the 

 Journal office to induce them to put 

 the advertisements on the first and 

 last leaves, so they can be removed 

 when we want our Journals bound. 

 I have no use for 208 pages of adver- 

 tisements in a bound volume that 

 without them has 621 pages. Like Mr. 

 Jackson, 1 like to see the valuable ed- 

 itorials, but if they are ou the first 

 page and that should get dirty I do not 

 like it one bit, but if they are on the 

 the next leaf I can tear off the defaced 

 one and have the editorials all bright 

 and clean. I have taken the Beb 

 Journal for thirteen years, and ex- 

 cept the volume for 1882, have them 

 all nicely bound, and shall be glad 

 when I get through tearing off leaves 

 of advertisements and pasting on the 

 loose leaves ready for the bindery. 



A few days since one of your patrons 

 told me he had heard more than a 

 dozen speak of this very matter, so 

 you see I am not alone in tliis " sug- 

 gestion," and although many may 

 think as Mr. Jackson does, and say so 

 in the Journal, still I believe if those 

 that thinli as I do about this, were to 

 hold up their hands we should have 

 the " balance of power." 



You know, Mr. Editor, that I do 

 not run a " Growlery," and tl)ese are 

 only " suggestions," and wherever the 

 advertising pages may be placed I 

 shall anxiously look each week for the 

 safe arrival of my good old friend, the 

 American Bee Journal, at Wagon 

 Works, Toledo, O. 



Jan. 5, 1883. Dr. A. B. Mason. 



Being satisfied that a " cover " for 

 the Weekly Bee Journal was a thing 

 to be desired, at the beginning of the 

 volume for 1882 we adopted that plan ; 

 but several who had become familiar 

 •with seeing the editorial matter com- 



mence on that page, sent in their 

 "protest," and, as above indicated, 

 we changed the " make up " to suit 

 them— but never changed our mind 

 on the subject — though we try to please 

 as many of our patrons as possible, 

 whether we please ourself or not. 



We hardly know now what to do, to 

 test the matter : suppose we give from 

 now till February 1st, to all those who 

 want to " protest " against the change 

 as suggested by Dr. Mason, to do so— 

 and also for " approvals " of the pres- 

 ent " make up." In this way we can 

 "put it to vote"— and if we let the 

 readers decide, the majority will 

 " carry the motion," and the minority 

 must be " satisfied." We are willing 

 to do whatever our readers decide— 

 and this is about the only way we can 

 determine the matter. Reader, which 

 way do you vote V 



Mr. I. R. Good's Apiary. 



The Nappanee, Ind., News, thus 

 notices one of the industries of that 

 town, the proprietor of which is well 

 known to our readers : 



Our Apiary.— It is with pleasure 

 that we notice this branch of our in- 

 dustries. It is owned by our neighbor, 

 Mr. I. R. Good, who commenced in 

 the business a few years ago, with a 

 few colonies as an experiment, with- 

 out any knowledge of the business. 

 But in those few years, by close at- 

 tention and posting himself, he has 

 again proven the fact that an indus- 

 trious specialist will always succeed, 

 as his report for this season will show 

 that bee culture will pay. Mr. Good 

 has also become a rearer of the dif- 

 ferent kinds of queens, in the past 

 year,and has had the best of success in 

 sending them to liis many customers in 

 different parts of the United States and 

 Canada, with comparatively no loss, 

 through the mails, with his " Good " 

 candyj as the different bee papers call 

 it, which he makes himself; and from 

 the many compliments he receives, it 

 must be appropriately named. 



He expects to be more able to sup- 

 ply his customers the coming season 

 than ever. His report for the season, 

 just closed,: shows the following : 

 Commenced the season with 14.5 col- 

 onies, and sold $1,000 worth of bees 

 and queens. Had over 2,000 pounds 

 of lioney. He has in winter quarters 

 22.5 strong colonies. We think this 

 rather a good showing, and hope the 

 same success will attend Mr. Good in 

 the future, and we do not hesitate to 

 say that those who deal with him will 

 find him as appropriately named as 

 his bee feed. 



^" We have a few copies of our 

 pamphlet entitled " Bee Culture " left, 

 and have reduced the price from 40 

 to 2.5 cents each, or $2 per dozen. 



Do Bees Injure Fruit. 



We have long tried to believe that 

 they do not, but the following august 

 authority traveling the rounds of 

 the press, is conclusive evidence ; 



We once told Mr. Frederick Wil- 

 helm Henerich Whokendemffeschau- 

 ferponsky, a whole-souled Dutchman 

 of our acquaintance, that bees did not 

 injure fruit at all, when he pitched 

 in and said he knew better, and 

 gave the best argument we ever heard, 

 that bees do injure fruit, in the fol- 

 lowing words : 



" Vounce a long vile ago, ven I first « 

 to dis coundry gome, I vent into mine 

 abble orchard to glime a bear dree to 

 kit some beaches to make mine vrow 

 a bluni budding mit : und ven I kits 

 avay up on de tobuermost limbs, a 

 hole lot of pees, pees vot gome for 

 honey gitten— dwo, dree five thousand 

 of 'em gome ven I vason de highermost 

 pranches, und tey schting me all over 

 so pad as never vas, und right pefore 

 mine vace, too, und I not know vere 

 I am, so I vail town from de lower- 

 most limbs vay so high up, mit von leg 

 on both sides of de bicket vence, und 

 like to stove my outsides in. Vat 

 you say, hey ! pees no steal de fruit, 

 ven I ketch 'em at it?" 



We do not like to gainsay or resist 

 such positive, convincing facts. We 

 think the entire question may now 

 rest without a quibble on this present- 

 ation of the case ; it is so pure in lan- 

 guage, thought and style, that it 

 should be accepted as a model. 



Honey and Beeswax in Russia.— The 



Pall Mall Gazette, of London, England 

 gives the following on the results of 

 unfair competition of beeswax with 

 ceresin, in Russia, and its effect upon 

 bee-culture in that country: 



Among the latest victims of foreign 

 competition are the bees of Russia. 

 LTnder the influence of the free im- 

 portation of a spurious kind of wax 

 called ceresina, manufactured in Aus- 

 tria, the native industry is dwindling 

 at a rate which threatens it with ex- 

 tinction. Of ceresina, which bears 

 the same relation to genuine wax that 

 oleomargarine does to dairy butter, no 

 less than 1,000,000 pounds are annually 

 imported, chiefiy for use in the manu- 

 facture of tapers, which figure so 

 prominently in all Russian churches. 

 The price of wax has fallen under 

 stress of competition with ceresina 

 from 30 to 17 roubles per pound. At 

 this price bees are regarded as hardly 

 worth their keep, and in one dis- 

 trict the honey crop has fallen from 

 1.5,000 to 6,000 pounds per annum. By 

 the new tariff an import duty of a 

 rouble a pound has been imposed on 

 ceresina; but, according to the Mos- 

 coru Gazette, it will have to be raised 

 to 10 roubles to give the poor bees a 

 chance. 



Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on 

 which are printed a large bee in gold, 

 we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 per 100. 



