AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Feb. 14, 1901. 



Mr. Holdren — I had my honey in a very light place up- 

 stairs, and some of it oozed out in that way. 



Mr. Abbott — Bees frequently g-ather honey that will 

 ferment, especially in localities where there is basswood. 

 Sometimes bees gather honey during damp weather that 

 they can't fully ripen, and I have had large quantities of it 

 ferment in that way, and just as soon as it becomes ripened 

 it will granulate. In some seasons I was troubled badly 

 with it in Missouri, and other seasons I would not have any 

 of it. I think it is owing to the dampness of the honey 

 when gathered, the bees not being able to ripen it fully. 

 .Continued next week.) 



Report of the Utah Bee-Keepers' Canvention. 



BY A. F. STEVENSON. 



The Utah State Bee Keepers' Association held its an- 

 nual convention in Salt Lake City, Oct. 6, 1900. 



The meeting was called to order by Pres. Lovesy, and 

 after the reports from committees were read he gave some 

 general reports from different parts of the State. The 

 meeting was then thrown open for discussion of topics of 

 general interest to the fraternity. 



~^ _; ."^GENERAL REPORTS FROM MEMBERS. 



Andrew Nelson, of Emery Co., had harvested a very 

 good crop of honey during the past season, but he said that 

 something was wrong with some of the bees, possibly foul 

 brood, and, if so, he would like to know of some way to get 

 rid of it. The condition of the brood was described, a 

 discussion among some of the experienced bee-keepers fol- 

 lowed, and they decided that it must be pickled brood. 

 Some time was taken in discussing cures for foul brood. 

 The bees should be lookt at early in the spring, and if anj' 

 brood is found with the backward presentation it is sure to 

 turn out to be foul orpickled brood, and when such conditions 

 are in evidence the bees should be transferred onto founda- 

 tion in clean hives; but if they are left until rotten it is 

 best to destroy both bees and brood. 



James Jackson, bee-inspector of San Pete Co., said 

 there was some foul brood in Mt. Pleasant and other parts 

 of the county, and it seemed to be almost impossible to get 

 rid of it entirely. 



Mr. Lovesy found in 10 years of experience that it was 

 always best to transfer the bees just as soon as the back- 

 ward presentation was noticed, even if at a time when the 

 bees would have to be fed, as even at this early stage the 

 disease will have been in the hive two weeks or more, and 

 the young larva? in their agony have turned over, leaving 

 the head in the bottom of the cell, which makes it impos- 

 sible for them to hatch out. 



Joshua Terry, of Salt Lake Co., reported a poor crop, 

 and the situation very discouraging. His bees had 

 dwindled from 90 colonies to 15, the principal cause being 

 smelter-smoke. Mr. Cornwall of the same county was also 

 a heavy loser from the same cause. He moved some of his 

 colonies several miles from the smelter-smoke, and they 

 continued to die for a week, after which they began to do 

 better, while all of those left at home soon died. A resolu- 

 tion was adopted authorizing the Association to use all pos- 

 sible legal means to get rid of the nuisance. 



L. Yeale, of Tooele Co., reported a fairly good crop, tho 

 not as heavy as in former years. Several reported a light 

 crop in the southern part of Davis County, while in some of 

 the northern portions the flow was good. They reported 

 some cases of foul brood, and no inspector to attend to it, 

 tho they expected to have one soon. 



Mr. Nelson gave his experience in packing for winter 

 with burlap, straw, chaff, etc. Mr. Stevenson was also suc- 

 cessful in packing with straw and chaff mixt, raising the 

 covers about '; of an inch for ventilation. 



Geo. Hone reported that Utah County had produced only 

 about half the amount of honey secured in other years. In 

 speaking of winter packing he thought that two or three 

 thicknesses of burlap over the brood-frames, with a super 

 on top, was a good waj-. 



Frederick Schach, of Salt Lake Co., reported a poor 

 crop ; he thought packing for winter was all right, but the 

 bees must have sufficient ventilation or they would sweat, 

 get weak and damp, and then die. 



A general discussion followed in regard to exhibiting 

 at Fairs, and also in regard to the purchasing of bee- 

 supplies and disposing of the products of the bee. A 

 vote of thanks was tendered the officers of the Association 



for their efforts in supplying members with information as 

 to honey prices, as this had a tendency to keep up prices, 

 and thus benefit the bee-keepers and the industry. 



Several from Weber County had a full average crop, 

 some of the bee-keepers there averaging more than twice 

 the amount of both comb and extracted that some bee- 

 keepers in Salt Lake and other counties secured. Mr. 

 Reese secured over a car-load of No. 1 extracted honey. As 

 prices have been above the average this season he is one of 

 the lucky ones. 



THE PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS. 



The many reports we have received taken as a whole 

 are not very flattering or encouraging. While we have re- 

 ceived some flattering reports of a good honey-flow and a 

 good crop for bee-keepers in the southeast and south central 

 parts of the State, further south they have not been as- 

 good : and while in the northern parts of the State the re- 

 ports have been fairly good in some localities, in the north 

 central parts, owing to drouth and grasshoppers, the re- 

 ports have mostly been from '+ to -; of a crop, the average 

 in some instances being as low as 30 to 35 pounds. One of 

 the remarkable features of the season has been that while 

 there was very little honey in some localities, in favorable 

 localities a few miles distant there would be a good honey- 

 flow. These favored spots were generally in or near the 

 base of the mountains, where there was plenty of irriga- 

 tion, and few or no grasshoppers. To many of our bee- 

 keepers the last year of the century will prove an exasper- 

 ating failure. Altho we had a beautiful spring, the dry, 

 hot June — the hottest ever kno%vn in the State — dried up the 

 bloom and irrigation ; and as misfortunes seldom come sin- 

 gle-handed, then came the grasshoppers in such numbers 

 in some localities that they ate everything green. When 

 things began to look discouraging, both for the past season 

 and the next, our friends — the gulls — came by the tens of 

 thousands and devoured the grasshoppers by the wholesale. 

 So most of the bees have plenty of honey for winter, with. 

 some surplus, and the chances are more favorable for an- 

 other season, on account of the work of the gulls. 



The Association has been of material benefit to many 

 of our bee-keepers, in keeping them posted as to the value 

 of bee-products ; we have been duly assisted in this matter 

 by Mr. F. L. Thompson, of Colorado, and the bee-keepers 

 that have been governed by the advice given, have saved 

 money by it. This union of interest is certainly a step in 

 the right direction, and we hope it will be extended to the 

 purchasing of supplies nest season. Too much credit can 

 not be given Mr. Thompson and others in their unselfish in- 

 terest in this matter. 



The smelter-smoke is still a matter of much concern to- 

 many of our bee-keepers. This matter has been thoroly 

 tested in Salt Lake Count}' the past season, by placing colo- 

 nies of bees in different directions and distances from the 

 smelters, and we find that all bees placed within five miles 

 of the smelters in the direction the wind usually blows, die 

 off in from three to five months, while many 8 or 9 miles- 

 away die during the year. But bees placed within two or 

 three miles of the smelters in the direction that the wind 

 does tio/ blow, do not seem to be affected at all. It has also 

 been proven that much stock and vegetable matter have 

 been destroyed by this smelter-smoke. Arsenic, or some- 

 thing of that nature, settles from the smoke on the trees 

 and plants, causing a destruction of life, as stated. In the 

 light of these facts some method should be adopted to have 

 this poisonous smoke consumed, or otherwise prevented 

 from being sown broadcast as it now is. E. S. LovESV. 



Mr. Ulrich Bryner, of Carbon Co., said that his bees 

 were in good condition, and had done better this season 

 than ever before. He secured 200 60-pound cans of ex- 

 tracted honey from 85 colonies. 



Thos. Neilson, of Sevier Co., reported that the season's 

 crop was considerablj- below the average. 



Mr. Balliston, of Juab Co., reported a fairly good honey- 

 flow in that county, but not as heavy as it had been in- 

 some years. 



J. A. Smith, of Wasatch Co., reported a fairly good 

 crop for his county, altho they had harvested larger crops 

 in other years. Wasatch is one of the counties in which 

 there is a good flow of first-class honey in ordinary seasons. 

 Mr. Smith heartily endorst the efforts of the Association in 

 trying to keep up the prices of bee-products, thereby aiding 

 the bee-keepers in building up the industry. 



Uintah County reported the best honey-flow of the sea- 

 son, and is the banner county of the State. A score or 



