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ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



27 



I was unfortunate enough to ad- 

 vertise in one of the Bee Journals that 

 I had some honey for sale, and there 

 are about a hundred letters lying on 

 my desk unanswered. I would have 

 had to have a private secretary to 

 answer all the letters I received. 



Out of 42 barrels of honey which I 

 had, I have only three left, so you see 

 I have been worked to death right 

 along. 



Now, then, we appreciate very much 

 the courteous welcome that has been 

 extended to us by the farmers of this 

 county, through the secretary of their 

 Association. We have met at Spring- 

 field ever since our Society was or 

 ganized and have always been treated 

 very well and we love to come here. 

 I do not believe we could be induced to 

 go away from Springfield; it certainly 

 is a nice place to meet. 



Now as te the work of the season the 

 past year: We have had a pretty 

 good season throughout Illinois. Clover 

 has yielded well and the flowers have 

 yielded well in most cases, and we all 

 rejoice at the crops we have received. 

 We also have received pretty good 

 prices, and there is encouragement of a 

 continuation in the industry, and, as 

 Mr, Prather just mentioned, it seems 

 to me that more people ought to en- 

 gage in bee culture. I do not under- 

 stand why it is that it is not taught 

 at our University. I do not see why 

 it is not made a special course, so that 

 every student in agriculture could have 

 a course in bee-keeping because it is 

 an industry which gathers lots of 

 products which would go to waste 

 otherwise. It requires very little 

 capital to start; it is an industry in 

 which a person engaged earns lots of 

 money if he will only work it along in- 

 telligent lines. 



I have made a kind of specialty of 

 bee-keeping, so to speak; fruit grow- 

 ing is my specialty.; bee-keeping a 

 side line, but I have made more money 

 out of bee-keeping than out of the 

 fruit business. 



Every farmer could do something if 

 he only went at it intelligently. Be- 

 sides making money, it is a benefit to 

 horticulture and to agriculture in 

 many ways in the pollenization of the 

 crops. 



I had -an experience in Nauvoo. 

 There was bad weather during the 

 fruit blooming time. Those orchards 



nearest the bees bore the most fruits. 

 I had more pears in my orchard near 

 my apiary than any other orchard in 

 the city. I did not see any reason for 

 it unless it was the pollenization of the 

 blossoms by the bees. So it is with 

 ,the apples: I notice that the orchards 

 some distance from my home did not 

 have so many apples as did the side of 

 the trees that were toward my apiary. 

 A very good Indication that the bees 

 made those blossoms first and visited 

 them, whilst those on the other side 

 possitly they didn't touch. 



There are many other reasons why 

 bee-keeping should be more exten- 

 sively pursued than it is. 



As to the problems that will meet us 

 during the coming season: Of course 

 we want our appropriation; we need 

 it; we want appropriation for the Foul 

 Brood Inspector; also the inspection 

 work is progressing to such a point we 

 cannot do without it. We can improve 

 in it, but we have been doing good 

 work. I know in some sections of the 

 state where foul brood has been practi- 

 cally eliminated and with persistent 

 intelligent work it should be elimin- 

 ated all over the state. I see no reason 

 why we should not make greater 

 efforts than ever to get rid of that 

 disease or those two diseases, (Am^eri- 

 can and European Foul Brood). There 

 has been a great revolution in this 

 state at the poles recently and there is 

 going to be a great change in methods 

 of administration I believe. 



I suppose this efflciency and economy 

 proposition is going to pop up and I 

 have got to be vigilant and watch it 

 closely and see that the efficiency part 

 of it is not obliterated. I believe in 

 economy but not in economy at the 

 expense of efficiency. 



One proposition is to consolidate the 

 Inspector of Apiaries and Inspector of 

 Nurseries — the very worst thing that 

 could be done. We want to be very 

 careful about that. " 



Another thing: We want to see 

 about our building at the State Fair 

 Grounds. I was not able to be there, 

 but I have kept posted on what has 

 been done, and we have made a good 

 start. 



We bad a very creditable exhibit, t 

 see no reason why, with little effort 

 through the total membership of the 

 Association and through the legisla- 

 tive committee that will be appointed. 





