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THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



into your head to write for it, and you will 

 be surprised to see how it will improve. 

 Don't think your communication will be un- 

 noticed. Everything that comes to this office 

 is read by the editor, and if you can send any 

 information, hint or suggestion, be it ever so 

 small, it will be welcomed and put in proper 

 shape if any changes are necessary. Don't 

 think an editor does not appreciate carefully 

 and correctly prepared manuscript ; he does, 

 but if he can only secure valuable informa- 

 tion (that is what he is after) he is more than 

 willing to prepare it for the press. 



I have taken considerable advice from my 

 readers in regard to how the Review should 

 be conducted ; I have been thankful to get it 

 and I think the Review has been improved 

 thereby : now turn about is fair play, let my 

 readers take my advice and write for the 

 Review and see if it will not be still further 

 improved. 



Bro. Editors, I wish every one of you would 

 write an article on this subject for the Janu- 

 ary Review. If we can help our readers to 

 furnish us better written and more valuable 

 articles, all will be benefitted thereby. Any- 

 one who can say a helpful word on this sub- 

 ject will be just as welcome even if he is7tH 

 an editor. 



Notes from the Northwestern Convention. 



I expected to write a condensed report of 

 the Chicago convention for the Review, but 

 I have found one already written, in such a 

 happy vein, by Dr. Miller, that I copy it from 

 Gleanings. Scattered through this issue 

 will be found several items that are the 

 result of my attendance at the Northwestern, 

 and you may expect to find items of a simi- 

 lar nature scattered through several issues 

 as space allows and occasion demands. 



" The Chicago convention was good. It 

 always is. Nine states were represented, 

 and a crowd of good workers were there. I 

 think a little more solid work than usual was 

 done. A business trip to the North by (). (). 

 Poppleton gave us a representative from as 

 far away as Florida. A. I. Root, who for- 

 merly did not favor conventions, has been 

 converted from his errors ; and as he never 

 does things by halves, he is now a convention 

 man all over, and was a faithful worker 

 through every session. 



I saw there for the first time J. H. Larra- 

 bee, the representative of the United States 

 government. 1 like him. He is modest 

 enough not to think he knows everything, 

 and I don't see any reason why he should not 



be a real help to the fraternity. He was 

 urged to communicate more frequently and 

 more directly with bee keepers, and he ex- 

 pressed himself as desirous to hear from 

 them, and especially to know upon what 

 subjects they wanted experiments made. I 

 think he has done this before, but, strange 

 to say, I believe he reported that only one 

 man had sent in any request as to experi- 

 ments. This should not continue. 



The convention tackled the very important 

 item of grading honey. I think no conven- 

 tion has ever had the hardihood to undertake 

 it before. A committee of seven, with Dr. 

 Mason as chairman, were instructed to report 

 a scheme for grading. Several times the re- 

 port of the committee was called for, but 

 each time the report was, " Not ready." At 

 last the report was that they couldn't agree. 

 Then the convention resolved itself into a 

 committee of the whole, and " rassled " with 

 the problem in dead earnest. But the prob- 

 lem '"downed" the convention, and dinner 

 time found them without an agreement. 

 " Too bad that we couldn't agree upon some- 

 thing, and at least make some kind of a 

 start," was the comment of more than one 

 during the noon hour. 



After dinner, with perhaps a little feeling 

 of desperation, the subject was renewed, in 

 the attempt to see how far there could be 

 any agreement. Then the good sense and 

 the good spirit of the convention showed 

 itself, and each one seemed willing to make 

 any reasonable concession to the views of 

 others. So a system of grading was agreed 

 upon, subject to the revisional judgment of 

 the assembled Albany wisdom. I think it is 

 far from a perfect system ; but it is a start, 

 and that is at least something. 



Among other things, the ubiquitous ques- 

 tion as to Sunday closing of the World's Fair 

 came up. Two to one were in favor of Sun- 

 day closing, but in the interest of harmony 

 the majority yielded. It is not entirely clear 

 to me why it would not have been just as 

 graceful and proper for the minority to yield 

 to the majority. 



Although no action was taken, there was 

 considerable discussion as to honey being 

 entitled to the same bounty from the govern- 

 ment as maple sugar. It was argued that 

 the McKinley bill had so lowered the price 

 of '^ugar imported that the home product 

 could not compete. To this it was replied 

 that the same action had brought down the 

 price of honey to meet sauces made with 

 cheap sugar. 



The convention, backed by two commis- 

 sion men, recommended the shipping of 

 comb honey in single-tier cases holding 

 twelve or twenty-four sections each. The 

 weight of opinion seemed to favor, for ex- 

 tracted honey, square (JO-lb. tin cans packed 

 in wooden cases, two in a case, but some 

 were quite earnest for cheap barrels. 



Publication of honey (luotations had some 

 attention. The practice of publishing above 

 f)r below what could be actually obtained 

 was deprecated, and it was urged that those 

 publishing quotations should give them 

 somewhat as they were given of staples such 

 as butter and wheat. That is, a man who 

 sells on commission should say at what price 



