1882 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



r)51 



bcc-miistcrs hereafter wiUoriiaraenttheir yar<ls and 

 gardens with these beautiful and useful plants, for 

 the purpose of giving the bees something to flavor 

 honey with. 



I deemed it useless to attempt to organize bee as- 

 sociations this year. Until you practically demon- 

 strate to the producer, as ageneral rule, the practic- 

 ability of our enterprise, and that there is not only 

 pleasure but also profit in it, you have an up-hill un- 

 dertaking lo CECounter. I concluded that the best 

 plan was to have the various county fair associa- 

 tions make an apiarian department, and offer liberal 

 premiums; then to furnish the local papers with 

 articles or ideas on the subject, to be prepared and 

 published. By this means, every farmer in the sev- 

 eral counties is prepared to learn something when 

 he visits that department at the several fairs, and 

 converses with those engaged in the industry, who 

 are in attendance. The producer in each county 

 can see the improved bee, hives, and apiarian 

 tools and implements, and he learns the improved 

 manner of preparing honey for market. Furnish 

 the idea and evidence cf the results, and let 

 him draw his own conclusion, and he will go home 

 with the consciousness that he knows more than the 

 professional bee-master, and with the resolution 

 that he will furnish evidence of that conclusion 

 next season. The mt>st conclusive idea to present 

 is, that in an ordinarj- season each farmer can pay 

 his State and county taxes from the profits of a few 

 colonies of bees, and have something left for spend- 

 ing money for the " old woman and the girls." I 

 would suggest that you by resolution indicate the 

 best plan fer vice-presidents to adopt in their re- 

 spective States to further the work. 



From my experience and observation, I would sug- 

 gest that each vice-president give his special atten- 

 tion to the local fair in his county; make the apiari- 

 an department attractive and instructive. If it is a 

 success, the papers will mention it with favor. Oth- 

 er papers will copy the articles, and advise their 

 readers to do likewise. By this way you furnish 

 ideas, and the evidence that there is profit and plea- 

 sure in the industry; and you have one lessdiUiculty 

 (which is the greatest one) to overcome; that is, the 

 idea that you have some patent right to sell. Fur- 

 nish the idea and evidence generally, and that there 

 is pleasure and profit in the Investment, and the 

 producer will, in a short time, buy the improved 

 bees, hives, and apiarian implements, and will be 

 compelled to organize local bee conventions. 



If this plan, or some one similar, could be adopted, 

 in five years the honey crop of the United States 

 would be enormous. 



In behalf of the friends of "improved bee cul- 

 ture " in Missouri, I must extend thanks to the Hon. 

 Thomas G. Newman, of Chicago, 111., for the good 

 £end-ofif he gave the honey and bee industry in Mis- 

 souri in September, 1881. By his coming here and 

 delivering his lecture on "Bees and Honey," he 

 gave character to the enterprise and stability to the 

 industry. 



Those who pi'ofltcd by his lecture, and bought a 

 few colonies of bee&, were again benefited by a dis- 

 tinguished bee-master from Illinois, Mr. Elvin Arm- 

 strong, of Jersey ville. He made one of the neatest 

 displays of comb and extracted honey ever seen in 

 the West. Ho showed producers how to prepare 

 comb honey for market, and how to put extracted 

 honey in good marketable shape, in glass jars and 

 bottles neatly labeled. These ideas were practical, 



and arc invaluable to our people. He was awarded 

 the f35.00 sweepstake premium for the best display 

 of honey; also !jil.5.00 for the best display of extract- 

 ed honey. He had his "Crown bee-hive" on exhibi- 

 tion. It was the first time many of our larmers had 

 seen a frame hive with surplus honey. Mr. Arm- 

 strong took great pains in explaining to visitors the 

 advantages of frame hives over the old-style " gum." 

 He was awarded the special premium. $10.00, for the 

 best bee-hive. 



Missourians engaged in bee culture invite every 

 person engaged in the same industry to com(! and 

 contest for our liberal premiums offered by fair as- 

 sociations. Bring in ideas, and take the money pre- 

 miums. Therefore, Mr. President, you see we Mis- 

 sourians are not only just, but we are generous. 



St. Joseph, Mo., Sept. 30, 1883. 



MISSISSIPPI — O. M. BLANTON. 



The rich alluvial lands along the Mississ- 

 ippi River are a great souixe of honey, and 

 the crop this year is above an average. Mr. 



B. started with 256. increased to 380, and ex- 

 tracted 2H,000 lbs., besides 6(J0 lbs. of comb 

 honey. There can be no question about the 

 prolitableness of apiculture in this section. 

 Queens would lay in upper story, which was 

 probably caused by the lower combs being 

 moldy. Hives were live inches from the 

 ground. One hive gave 237 lbs. extracted. 

 Three swarms increased to 12, giving 58S lbs. 

 extracted and 72 lbs. of comb honey. C. F. 

 Muth bought the honey, and reports it to be 

 the best from that State. Mr. B. thinks a 

 great deal of honey comes from common 

 corn. 



wintp:king. 



Mr. Christopher Grimm favors cellar win- 

 tering. He prepares his bees early, and they 

 need no care afterward ; uses sub-earth ven- 

 tilation ; has hives open full size of entrance, 

 and i inch at top, full width of hive. Cel- 

 lars will not get too warm, if too many bees 

 are not put in. 



C. C. Miller has most trouble in cellar win- 

 tering just before taking them out in spring. 



D.A.Jones explains sub-earth ventilation, 

 and says he keeps his pipes clear of cobwebs, 

 etc., by firing a musket in at one end. The 

 pipes are 100 to 150 ft. long, and about 6 by (> 

 inches for lOOcolonies. Would by all means 

 use sub-earth ventilation, as it keeps bees 

 dry. 



Trof. Cook strongly advocates cellar win- 

 tering and sub-earth ventilation. The exit 

 pipe should be only about half the diameter 

 of the sub-earth pipe. 



Mr. Jones advises 1 sq. in. for each colony 

 for the ventilating-tube in the cellar. 



G. G. Large reports, No chaff, 10 lbs.; 

 chaff-packed, 4i lbs. in outdoor wintering. 



C. C. Miller has not had the same experi- 

 ence. ]Mr. Grimm uses >s-frame hives. Mr. 

 Jones favors chaff and cellars combined ; he 

 has swept out from 1 to U bushels of dead 

 bees from loO colonies. 



Rev. Mr. Johnson says dark and light Ital- 

 ians are like dark and light men, but he does 

 not think that color makes any particular 

 difference. 



PLACE OF NEXT CONVENTION. 



The next session is invited to Detroit by 

 Otto Kleinow, who thinks a hall will be free. 



