192 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



June 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



=3 Established by Samuel Wagner in 1 861 C= 



The oldest Bee Journal in the English language. Consolidated with Tin 



National Bee Journal in 1874. 



Published monthly at Hamilton, Illinois. 



Entered as second-class matter at the postoffice at Hamilton. Illinois. 



Subscription Rates— In the United States and THE STAFF 



Mexico, $1 per year; three years, $2.50; five c p Dada nt Editor 



years, $4. Canadian postage 16 cents, and 



other foreign countries 25 cents extra, per Frank C. Fellett Associate Editor 



year. C. C. Miller Questions Department 



All subscriptions are stopped at expiration Date MauriC£ g Dadant Business Manager 



of expiration is printed on wrapper label. 



(Copyright 1919, by C. P. Dadant.) 



THE EDITOR'S VIEWPOINT 



To Boost Candy 



It is reported that the candy manu- 

 facturers of the United States are 

 raising a fund of half a million dol- 

 lars for the purpose of launching a 

 widespread advertising campaign. It 

 is proposed to take advantage of the 

 departure of alcoholic liquor and to 

 'induce the public to substitute candy 

 for it. 



In nearly all lines active business 

 men are preparing a well-laid adver- 

 tising campaign for the purpose of 

 stimulating increase in the consump- 

 tion of their product. 'Beekeepers 

 should not overlook the value of ad- 

 vertising in creating a demand for 

 honey. 



of the largest in the world, and ought 

 to publish a good paper. The first 

 number of his magazine was out in 

 April. Write him at the above ad- 

 dress. 



The Wide Spacing of Frames 



The discussion of the distance be- 

 tween frames, from center to center, 

 has been mentioned in Italy, and Al- 

 fred Marra, a beekeeper of Milan, 

 reports in ''LApicoltura Italiana," 

 that after having had regularly from 

 SO to 80 per cent of swarms, he tried 

 spacing the combs of his Dadant- 

 Blatt hives at 38 millimetres (V/ 2 

 inches). He had 25 colonies, 2 in To- 

 nelli hives, 2 in Sartori hives and 21 

 in Dadant hives. Only one of the 

 latter swarmed, while 3 out oi the 

 other 4 swarmed. Although he 

 agrees that this is not a positive evi- 

 dence, he is well pleased with the re- 

 sult 



Dixie Beekeeper 



This is the name of a new bee 

 magazine , published at Waycross, 

 Ga., by our old friend and contribu- 

 tor, J. J. Wilder. 



Friend Wilder has a very exten- 

 sive acquaintance with beekeeping 

 throughout the Southeastern States. 

 He is a capable honey producer, one 



High Prices for Bees 



The prices at which bees are sell- 

 ing of late would have surprised the 

 most optimistic beekeeper two or 

 three years ago. A newspaper clip- 

 ping has come to our desk with the 

 announcement of a sale of 150 colo- 

 nies of bees for $3,000. Twenty dol- 

 lars seems like a good price for a sin- 

 gle colony of bees, and when large 

 lots bring this figure it certainly indi- 

 cates a prosperous condition for the 

 industry. 



It is well to bear in mind that the 

 extremely high prices resulting from 

 abnormal conditions created by the 

 war are probably only temporary, 

 and now is the time to prepare for 

 the reaction that is bound to come. 



and a better spread." Such a line on 

 our labels and other printed matter 

 would serve to compare the price of 

 honey with thai of a commodity 

 which the public regards as essential 

 and for which it is willing to pay a 

 reasonable price. We might change 

 our honey stickers to "Eat Honey, 

 Less Than the Cost of Butter and a 

 Better Spread." By keeping this 

 comparison constantly before the 

 housewife we can do much to remove 

 the impression that honey is a high- 

 priced commodity. 



Now is the time of great oppor- 

 tunity for the honey producers. It is 

 not a question of creating a new 

 market but only of retaining the 

 market recently developed as a re- 

 sult of the extraordinary conditions 

 growing out of the war. The judi- 

 cious use of attractive printed matter 

 together with properly worded ad- 

 vertising will go a long way in this 

 direction. It will be far easier to 

 hold the trade which is already de- 

 veloped than to rebuild it once the 

 public has lost its taste for honey. 

 The wide-awake beekeeper will not 

 neglect to advertise his product. 



A Slogan for Selling Honey 



Just at present the honey market is 

 very dull, with a very strong pros- 

 pect of falling prices. During recent 

 months the beekeepers have been 

 able to secure tup prices for their 

 products for the first time in 

 years. It is becoming more apparent 

 every day that if we are to enjoy a 

 good market in the future, the bee- 

 keeper must lie very active in stimu- 

 lating the demand for our product in 

 every possible way. When buyers 

 complain of high prices, it would 

 s. , in to In u ise for the beekeeper to 

 : I- the pi iif .it" honey with but- 

 ter. The public pays a high price fur 

 butter and dues nut regard it as a 

 luxury. 



Let us adopt as a slogan the fol- 

 I ess than the cost of butter. 



Honey Grading 



Very often, our attention is called 

 by beekeepers to the fact that not 

 enough importance is placed on the 

 subject of honey grading. In order 

 to keep the honey trade satisfied, it 

 is important that the honey which is 

 furnished to the trade be strictly up 

 to grade every time a package is sold. 

 The only way a certain brand of 

 honey can possibly gain a good repu- 

 tation is by having all of the prod- 

 uct up to grade. 



In times past certain associations 

 have had a brand for all of their 

 members, and any member was en- 

 titled to use this brand to protect his 

 goods. In our opinion, this was a 

 mistake, as anyone might become a 

 member of an association and use 

 that brand. This same member 

 might put up a poor article and in 

 this way bring the brand into dis- 

 repute. It is our opinion that sooner 

 or later all honey which goes into 

 the hands of consumers should pass 

 through a central grading plant. 

 Whether tile prudueer expects to 

 ship his honey himself, or whether 

 ,, cts in -hip it to a local asso- 

 ciation, he would be benefited by 

 having the inspectoi ■' brand placed 

 on his article. Of course, such in- 

 spection wmild have to be very rigid 

 so as not to work injustice t" the 

 careful beekeeper who is already 



