188 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mar. 21, 



PUBLISHED WEEKLY I!V 



GEORGE W. YORK & COMPANY, 

 5G IPiftU Avenue, - CHICAGO, II^I.. 



$1.00 a Year— Sample Copy Sent Free. 

 [Entered at'the PoBt-Office at ChicaKo as Second-Class Mail-Matter.] 



OE30K,C3-B -W. "yOR/IC, 



EDITOR. 



Assisted by the following Department Editors : 



Dr. C. C. Miller 



Mrs. Jennie Atchlet 



"Gleaner" 



"Bee-Master" 



Dr. F. L. Peiro 



Rev. Emerson T. Abbott 



"Questions and Answers." 



"The Sunny Southland." 



"Among the Bee-Papers." 



"Canadian Beedom," 



" Doctor's Hints." 



"Notes and Comments." 



Vol. fflV. CHICAGO, ILL, MAR, 21, 1895, No, 12. 



Editorial Budgets 



Florida. — Those interested in Florida will find several 

 contributed articles in this number of the Bee Journal, on bee- 

 keeping in that region. Mr. Selser, on page 184, and Mrs. 

 Harison, page 182, tell some of their personal observations in 

 the sunny " Land of Flowers." 



mixed Journalism is the subject of an editorial in 

 Gleanings for March 1. Editor Root says : "The fact seems 

 to be, that in spite of certain criticisms that seem to break 

 out here and there, the bee-papers that adhere strictly to the 

 subject of bees, do not enjoy the circulation of those that have 

 added subjects foreign to bee-keeping." 



Then further on In the same editorial Mr. Root remarks, 

 in referring to Gleanings publishing so much religious and 

 gardening matter : " It they [subscribers] do not like those 

 subjects they do not need to read them, or even take the jour- 

 nal [GleaningsJ at all, for there are very excellent bee-papers 

 that confine themselves strictly to bees." 



But, after all, the bee-matter alone in any of the bee- 

 papers is worth many times the annual subscription price 

 asked. The great trouble is that so many of the so-called 

 bee-folks don't read any bee-paper at all. The " know it all " 

 apiarists will never know how little they know till they begin 

 to read. But then, "Where ignorance is bliss," etc. 



However, every enlightened bee-keeper should strive to 

 spread apicultural knowledge as widely as possible. 



The Postponed ChicasTO IWeeting.— I have 

 received the following letter from Jas. A. Stone, Secretary of 

 the Illinois Stale Bee-Keepers' Association, which explains 

 itself: 



Bradforuton, III., March 7, 1895. 



Dear Bko. York :— As I do not get the Review, I knew 

 nothing of what was said in it regarding the omission of our 

 Chicago meeting of the bee-keepers last fall— except what 

 Gleaner gave on page 121 — until I received a copy of the 

 Review from Mr. Hutchinson, and a letter from him enclosing 

 one from my Friend Robbins, of Mechanicsburg, 111., defend- 

 ing us (thanks to Robbins) for not having the meeting. 



We were in correspondence with some of our Chicago 



friends all last summer, and had them on the lookout for some 

 occasion when railroad rates would be given so we could hold 

 the meeting and have a good, long time to advertise. We did 

 not want to have another meeting, and because of a failure to 

 get the required hundred, lose our reduced rates, as we have 

 done on one occasion at Springfield, when they required 250 

 in attendance to get the rates. 



As no opportunity of this kind was in sight, and it was 

 getting late, one of our northern friends suggested, as the sea- 

 son had been so poor, and times hard, that we postpone it for 

 that year, and, all who could, scrape their cash together and 

 attend the St. Joseph meeting of the North American. 



The matter was presented at the Springfield meeting, 

 and a long discussion on the same followed, and it was not 

 fully decided not to have it, if the way was clear ; and if our 

 northern brethren wanted it, it should be held. As all held 

 their peace, we naturally supposed the poor honey-year had 

 caused them to lose their faith in their pursuit, and your Sec- 

 retary has been a little disheartened at times, for what he 

 thought seemed to be a lack of interest on the part of bee- 

 keepers. But now he is thankful that this thing has occurred, 

 and for the agitation it has caused, for he is more assured 

 than ever of a deep interest among bee-keepers. 



Our Springfield meeting is set for Nov. 19 and 20, 1895, 

 on account of the meeting of the Odd Fellows at that date, 

 when standing railroad rates are given to all. But we may 

 change that, when we find what date the State Board of Agri- 

 culture fixes the Fat Stock Show, at Chicago, and have the 

 Chicago meeting in November, and the Springfield meeting in 

 January, 189(i, when the Illinois Live Stock Breeders' Asso- 

 ciation meets. We will give notice at the earliest possible date. 



Jas. a. Stone, Sec. 



Under the existing circumstances, I believe the Executive 

 Committee af the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association did 

 the right thing in omitting the meeting in Chicago last fall, 

 but of course the omission need not occur again, unless it be 

 again thought best. Mr. Stone's explanation is quite full, and 

 doubtless will satisfactorily answer all who wished to know 

 the whys and the wherefores about it. 



In this connection, I may say that there has lately been 

 some hint of renewing the old, or starting a new. Northwest- 

 ern Bee-Keepers' Society, which in years gone by held such a 

 successful meeting here in Chicago every fall. If it can be 

 done, so as not to interfere with the workings of the Illinois 

 State Association, I am in favor of it. If it might be possible 

 to hold the State convention in Chicago in the Spring, it would 

 then not interfere to hold the Northwestern in the fall. I 

 wonder if some such arrangement could be made. 



Suppose those who are interested in the proposed reviving 

 of the Northwestern, just write what they think of it, and 

 then opinions can be compared. The American Bee Journal 

 would not urge or hinder any plans, but only wishes to help in 

 whatever Is thought best by the majority. 



ABC of Bee-Culture.— This is the fine cyclopedia 

 of bee-keeping by A. I. Root, containing 400 pages and 

 nearly 200 engravings. The regular price is $1.25, postpaid, 

 but until April 20 we make the following very liberal club- 

 bing offers on this book : The American Bee Journal one 

 year and the "ABC" bound in cloth — both for only .SI. 80 ; 

 or the parchment cover (very heavy paper) "ABC" and the 

 American Bee Journal one year — both together only $1.50. 

 Remember, April 20 is the limit on these offers. Better order 

 at once if you want a copy of this excellent bee-book. 



Mr. R. B. L<eali)'. 



Mr. R. B. Leahy, the editor of the Progressive Bee- 

 Keeper, was born June 13, 1857, at Port Richmond, N. Y., 

 his mother dying when he was a baby. At the age of three 

 years he was taken to a new home at Baiting Hollow, N. Y., 

 and lived there with a stepmother until nearly nine years old, 

 when his father was drowned. This practically left him alone 

 in the world to look after himself. His father was a sea cap- 

 tain, and young Leahy had spent a few months on the ocean 



