1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



189 



going into the central organization, but nothing com- 

 ing back. " 



I then asked him if the National Association mi^ht 

 not aid in the way of gathering statistics, regarding 

 both the crop and the markets. He thought it might 

 possibly do this, but considered this to be a work that 

 might better be carried on by the bee journals 



The Revie7v wishes to be entirely fair, to give both 

 sides of the subject, and if it is really advisable to 

 drop this idea of first starting a national central or- 

 ganization, working up, instead, local organizations, 

 like that of Colorado, then the sooner we know this 

 the better. The Review is not yet ready to offer ad- 

 vice upon this subject 



I do not like to throw any cold water on 

 a laudable enterprise of this kind; but it 

 seems to me Mr. Heddon hit the nail square 

 on the head when he says we can combine 

 bee-keepers in a small area, or corpora- 

 tions over a large area. But our own expe- 

 rience in selling honej' is that a large num- 

 ber of bee-keepers are not also business 

 men. Sometimes they will agree to market 

 their hone\' through certain avenues. After 

 having made that agreement, verbally or 

 otherwise, another offer comes which they 

 consider better, and thej' will take up with 

 that offer. I do not mean to imply that bee- 

 keepers are a dishonest class, by a long 

 waj'; but when a few break out of the 

 ranks, those few are able to smash prices, 

 thus demoralizing the market. An effective 

 organization, national in character, should 

 be so complete and perfect in its workings 

 that not a single buyer can get anj' honey 

 except through the accredited organization 

 through which bee-keepers are supposed to 

 market. 



Taking everj' thing into consideration, it 

 seems as if the attempt to organize a na- 

 tional coinmercial organization for the pur- 

 pose of marketing honey is a little prema- 

 ture just now. Let us bend our energies 

 toward making strong State organizations, 

 such, for example, as the one in Colorado. 

 And, bj' the waj', it goes without saying, 

 that anj' good organization should have a 

 good manager. Mr. Frank Rauchfuss, the 

 manager of the Colorado organization, is a 

 good business man. He has shown his fit- 

 ness and abilit}' to hold together the bee- 

 keepers; and so far his association has 

 been a grand success. When we get half a 

 dozen or a dozen strong State honey-produc- 

 ers' organizations, then it will be time to 

 talk about afhliating these into a large 

 bod\' which will control and handle the 

 output of the several smaller ones. 



GENERAL MANAGER N. E. FRANCE. 



Mk. N. E. France, of Platteville, Wis., 

 has duly qualified for the position of Gen- 

 eral Manager, as provided by the constitu- 

 tion. His bond has been approved by the 

 Directors, and Mr. Secor, the retiring of- 

 ficer, has turned over to him S921.60, the 

 records, index-cards, printed leaflets, and 

 other properties of the Association. Mr. 

 France has actively assumed the duties of 

 his oftice, for already he has begun on his 

 legislative work. A spraj'ing-bill, with- 

 out any restrictions whatever, is now before 

 the Legislative Committee of New Mexico, 

 and Mr. France and others have been pour- 



ing in doses of information showing how 

 spraying should be limited to before and 

 after blooming time. He has written nu- 

 merous letters to Nevada, Colorado, Nebras- 

 ka, Michigan, and New York. He is a 

 very busj' man if we may judge from the 

 work he is doing. 



"forty years among the BEES." 



"Forty Years Among theBfes" is the 

 title of a new and interesting book by Dr. 

 C. C. Miller, just off the press. It is pub- 

 lished by G. W. York & Co., of Chicago. 

 Price, postpaid, $1.00. I have not yet had 

 an opportunity to review the book, but it 

 carries with it all the interest of a good 

 novel, and, to say the least, it is decidedly 

 interesting. The first few pages are devot- 

 ed to a sketch of the author's early life, 

 how he went through college, working his 

 way through, living on 35 cents a week, 

 and finally graduating $100 to the good, or 

 $50 more in his pocket than when he start- 

 ed in his college career. There, I can not 

 saj' any thing more about the book just 

 now. The boss printer says the space is 

 all taken up; but I will tell you more about 

 this interesting book, in our next issue, for 

 it is full of good things. 



THE CARE OF HONEY. 



Results of Experiments Conducted with Uncapped, 



Partially Capped, and Capped Honey, or 



with Samples of Honey Having Dif= 



ferent Specific Gravities. 



BY R. F. HOLTERMANN. 



There is no product of the soil which does 

 not require care and proper handling in 

 storage. Some, perhaps, require greater 

 experience than others — among them being 

 cheese, butter, and honey. For many years 

 it has been my claim that it was a mis- 

 taken policy for the average bee-keeper in 

 an average locality to expect to ripen honey 

 by exposure to the atmosphere in tanks. 

 Some four or five years ago I interviewed 

 the Department of Inland Revenue as to 

 testing the purity of samples of Canadian 

 hone}' upon the market, and also sought, if 

 possible, to have investigations carried on 

 which would lead the department to pass 

 legislation making it an offense to put upon 

 the market honey unripe and of low specific 

 gravity. Experiments with uncapped, par- 

 tially capped, and capped honey, and honey 

 stored in a damp atmosphere, was at the 

 same time suggested to the authorities at 



