ntmm MMERicni* mmm j&'&mnmi^. 



839 



of absolute necessity will they lower 

 prices or give an additional discount 

 to secure a sale. Otlier considerations 

 will be brought into play by them. A 

 sale of honey at good prices will be 

 considered more of an acliievement 

 than a lieavy order actually bought by 

 a special inducement in out-rates ! It 

 is an oUl adage that, any one can sell 

 honey at cut-rates. 



If an inexperienced honcy-produeer. 

 or one of limited resources, has the 

 power to name lower prices when 

 necessary, he is likelj' to tliink that 

 every time he meets a buyer, that 

 emergency confronts him. If the 

 buyer isindifl'erent (and they generally 

 are), or is well supplied with honey, 

 or prefers to wait a week or two be- 

 fore deciding what to do, tliat honey- 

 producer weakens, and straightway 

 the lever, a cut-price, is pulled, and the 

 power of that mighty influence is 

 brought to bear, and its efi'ects are felt 

 from one end of the country to the 

 other. 



Again, if the cut is deep enough, or 

 if this is what the buyer has been pla}'- 

 ing for, a sale is eiieeted, and the 

 sacrificing seller is happy — a great 

 deal happier than his partner, wife or 

 principal. Such a salesman is able to 

 make matters very uncomfortable for 

 his competitors all over the continent. 



This is the true feature of the situa- 

 tion, and it is worth looking into bj' 

 those who ai-e anxious to improve the 

 condition of the honey trade, through 

 weak salesmen, commission men or 

 jealous competitors. 



Just look at the following figures for 

 comb honey, as quoted in tlie several 

 markets named : 



Chicago, Ills 18@19e. 



Milwaukee, Wis 18@20c. 



New York, N. Y Ifi@l8c. 



Detroit, Mich 17@18c. 



Kansas City, Mo 18c. 



Boston, Mass 17@18c. 



St. Louis, Mo 14((()18c. 



Syracuse. N. Y 10@ 13c. 



Syracuse is tlie home markets of 

 Messrs. Doolittle, House, Salisbury, 

 Betsinger, Parks, Ross, Bailey and 

 others. From apjiearaDces something 

 Is wrong there. From 10 to 13 cents 

 is one-third less than any other market. 



CoUamer, N. Y. 



[Perhaps some of the hone3'-pro- 

 ducers named above will in reply state 

 some cause for the apparent discrep- 

 ancy in prices between New York, 

 Boston and Syracuse. Is it not pos- 

 sible that the quotations in the latter 

 market are for extracted honey ? The 

 difference is so great as to seem to be 

 almost unaccountable, if it is intended 

 to represent the true market prices for 

 honey in the comb. — Ed.] 



THE QUEEN. 



Liessons in Oovernnient from the 

 Bee-Hive. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY G. M. ALVES. 



Under the above heading, on page 

 811 of the Bee Journal for Dec. 12, 

 an article from Dr. G. P. Hachcnberg 

 is published, wherein he assmncs that 

 the government of a colony of" bees is 

 performed by tlie queen, and follow- 

 ing argues at some length the wisdom 

 of female government. 



To enter into a discussion of the 

 latter subject, is probably out of place 

 in a Journal devoted exclusively to 

 bee-culture, but it surely is proper to 

 point t)ut the error of his first as- 

 sumption. 



We may say with positiveness, that 

 modern scientific bee-keeping has 

 thoroughlj' dissipated the old myth of 

 a monarchy in the hive. Wherever mod- 

 ern observations have been scientifically 

 accurate, they have furnished no rea- 

 sons for concluding that the queen 

 does little else in the economy of the 

 hive, than the producing of the eggs, 

 and in the light of these facts it would 

 be much preferable to call her the 

 mother, rather than the queen. 



That the above is true, is not a sub- 

 ject for discussion, but of citation, and 

 those who question, are properly re- 

 ferred to our modern bee-literature. 



Henderson, Ky. 



[Dr. Hachenberg was evidently in- 

 tent upon paying a deserved compli- 

 ment to the women who are " gifted 

 to rule " among tlie nations of earth. 



Mr. Alves says in the foregoing arti- 

 cle that the Doctor •' assttmes that the 

 government of a colony of bees is per- 

 formed by the queen." What the Doc- 

 tor did say was this : 



Perhaps there is nothing in nature 

 that has excited my admiration more, 

 than to watcli and study the govern- 

 ment of a thrifty colony of bees under 

 the influence of the queen. The laws 

 of political economy as instituted by 

 man, surely could not improve it. 



He admired the government of the 

 colony of liees under the influence of 

 the queen. We all know that in the 

 absence of the queen, the bees are un- 

 easy, and " tlie government" is not so 

 much to be admired as it is with her 

 presence, and sootliing influence, and 

 in all probability this was the con- 

 trolling thought of Dr. Hachenberg, 

 when writing the article in question. 



He evidently knows well enough 

 that the so-called "queen " is but the 

 " egg-layer" — the mother — but for the 

 compliment to our mothers, wives, and 

 sisters, he uses tlie term queen, and 

 charms us all into reverence and loving 

 devotion. This thought is jiislified, 

 perhaps, by the closing paragraph of 

 the Doctor, which is as follows : 



Nature evidently has made the 

 female a ruling power — to rule in love, 

 peace and harmony. Tlie male in all 

 departments of animal life is by nature 

 selfish, cruel, and exceedingly bellig- 

 erent. In tills there is no exception in 

 man — and only where he soars over 

 his own sex, he is a gentleman, a 

 Christian, and a true scholar. 



As long as she can "rule in love, 

 peace and harmony," every true man 

 will gracefully submit, and yield to 

 her the palm ! — Ed.] 



HONEY-PLANTS, 



And the Time Eaeh Bloomed 

 the Past Season. 



Written for the American Bet Journal 

 BY W. H. SHANER. 



I Started the bees to carry flour early 

 last March, and the colonies that car- 

 ried it the fastest bred up the most 

 rapidly. On March 21 they brought 

 in the first natural pollen, and work 

 on the flour ceased. On April 15 the 

 maples bloomed, but the weather was 

 wet and cold, and the bees lost nearly 

 all of it. 



Peaches bloomed on April 30, pears 

 on May 3, and apples on May 4, and 

 lasted 14 days. The weather wag 

 pretty fair, and the bees bred up very 

 fast. On May 17 we had a very heavy 

 frost. 



Crab-apples bloomed on May 24, and 

 locust and raspberries on May 30, and 

 the bees worked so lively that I put 

 the sections on, which they occupied, 

 and in five days the combs were half 

 drawn. The bloom then failed, and 

 work in the sections ceased. 



Alsike and red clover came into 

 blossom on June 10, but the bees 

 worked more on the red clover than 

 on the Alsike. We had no white clover 

 this year. A neighbor, who lives a 

 mile from me, told me that lie had a 

 notion to get a net and catch a ot o 

 my bees, where they crossed a high 

 hill to get to his red clover field. He 

 saw one of the big Italians catch a 

 tilack bee, and fly away with it. But 

 I had the pleasure of seeing a nice lot 

 of sections filled with red clover honey, 

 which is dark, but very good. 



