July, 191 1. 



213 



American Hee Journal 



The Late W.Z.Hutchinson 



Continued from First Page.) 



remarkable work of her late husband, a 

 unanimous vote was taken to send to 

 Mrs. Hutchinson an expression of sym- 

 pathy. This was the first assembly of 

 beekeepers since Mr. Hutchinson's 

 death, and, while there was no official 

 organization, it was decided that such 

 expression should be made, and the let- 

 ter sent to Mrs. Hutchinson reads as 

 follows: 



Amherst. Mass.. June 8. loii. 

 Mrs. W. Z. Hutchinson— 



Dt-ar Madam:— On June 6 and 7. ion. there 

 was held under the direction of the Massa- 

 chusetts Agricultural College a convention 

 of bee-keepers, which was attended by 

 something over 100 persons from various 

 parts of Eastern United States. 



This was the first bee-keepers' assembly 

 since the death of Mr. Hutchinson, the news 

 of which came to us unexpectedly and as a 

 shock. During our morningsession of June 

 7th. several of the prominent bee-keepers 

 announced their sympathy. It was a unani- 

 mous expression that the beekeeping world 

 has lost an individualistic leader, a clear, 

 concise writer, whose place is not soon to 

 be filled. The most sincere sympathy of 

 those assembled is extended to you. It was 

 desired that this be expressed also through 

 the apicultural press. ^ 



Burton N. Gates. 



In the foregoing estimate of the life 

 and work of Mr. Hutchinson, and the 

 expression of sympathy for Mrs. Hutch- 

 inson in her bereavement, bee-keepers 

 everywhere will unitedly join. 



We have received the following 

 tribute from the Hon. Eugene Secor: 



In Memoriam— W. Z. Hutchin.son 



A giant of the oaks the forest knew 

 Had stood for years among its sturdy kind. 

 As one that had the stuff of youth within. 

 And all the sinewy winds that taught reli- 

 ance. 



It had a grip upon the soil that made 

 It tower above its neighbors round about. 

 -And men said. " Lo. here is a princely tree- 

 One that the winds may rock but not uproot." 



But one sad day the Keeper of the wood 

 Marked this tall, growing tree for other use. 

 And then the sapplings and maturer trees 

 Began at once to say among themselves: 



" How the great heart of this strong. Kingly 

 oak 



Ever encouraged us to grow and grow. 



Toward that which is the good of our de- 

 sires! 



Alas, that he. our friend, should pass so 

 soon. " 



Forest City. Iowa. EUGENE Secor. 



Bees and Honey at Illinois Fair We 



eave received a copy of the premium 

 list of the Illinois State Fair for 1011, 

 which will be held at Springfield Sept. 

 29th to Oct. 7th. W. E. Davis, of Lib- 

 ertyville. 111., is superintendent of the 

 Apiary Department. Any one inter- 

 ested in seeing a list of the premiums 

 ofTered for the display of bees, honey, 

 beeswax, etc., can secure a copy by 

 writing to Mr. Davis. As usual, the 

 cash premiums are very liberal, and 

 shfiuld induce a large number of bee- 

 keepers to make an exhibit. The Illi- 

 nois State Fair is one of the largest 

 and best in the United States, and its 

 apiarian displays are usually fine. 



Rather Discouraging Outlook 



Bees wintered fairly well, but there was 

 but little rain last year and this spring. 

 There is little clover in sight. Prospects 

 are poor. J. H. Fitch. 



Bedford. Iowa. May 2;. 



White Clover Crop a Failure 



Our white clover crop is a failure here 

 this year. The bees arc just making a living 

 at this time, but basswood has an immense 

 crop of buds just ready to open. 



Dunlap. Iowa. June 15. E. S. Miles. 



Prospects for Fine Honey Crop 



Michigan is very short on bees, but pros- 



Cects are fine for a honey crop from what 

 ees there are to gather it. especially the 

 north three-quarters of the State. 



A. G. Woodman Co. 

 Grand Rapids. Mich.. June 8. 



Good Results this Season 



The results this season have been very 

 good. I have already extracted and sold 180 

 pounds of clover honey, and expect to secure 

 as much or more in a tew days. Had we 

 had more rain, the season would have been 

 much longer. H. F. Hitch. 



Harrisburg. 111.. June 14. 



A Good Canadian Report 



Bees are doing well. Some colonies have 

 given as mucJi as 8u pounds of surplus honey 

 already, and the yield from clover is only 

 about half over. I have had very little 

 swarming so far. I think the honey-flow is 

 too heavy — it keeps the bees too busy gath- 

 ering, so they have no time to swarm. 



Edward T. Knoll. 



Clarksburg. Ont.. June 22. 



Report of the Season So Far 



The white clover honey flow here is over 

 for this season. It was cut short by very 

 dry weather. 1 started out the past spring 

 with 10 colonies, increased to 18. and pro- 

 duced over 300 pountls of chunk-comb and 

 extracted honey. I get 13 cents per pound 

 for my honey. I made the second trip to 

 town this morning with 7« pounds of honey, 

 and sold it all. F'. A. Wicklein. 



Percy. HI.. June 27. 



Prospects Good for Bees 



The prospects for the bees in this county 

 are good. I think they are the best that I 

 have ever seen at this time of the year. Bees 

 wintered well, as a rule, all over the county, 

 and the early spring was very favorable, so 

 that they are getting in excellent condition 

 for the honey harvest, which will soon be 

 on. as the first blossoms are opening. The 

 weather has been too dry. but we are hav- 

 ing a nice, steady rain that will help greatly. 



Caribou. Maine. June 13. O. B. Griffin. 



Very Peculiar Season 



So far this has been a very peculiar season 

 for bees. The fruit-bloom was profuse and 

 unusually full of nectar. The same may be 

 said of soft and hard maple, and the differ- 

 ent kinds of oak. I never before saw bees 

 working on oak-bloom. Honey-dew was in 

 great nlenty for a few days in May. and bees 

 stored a small amount in the upper stories. 

 After a few days of honey-dew we had a 

 slight rain, and the honey-dew disapoeared 

 as mysteriously as it came. May was very 

 dry. and the clover crop was damaged very 

 materially. 



Since May jist we have had rain enough to 

 start the clover to some extent, and what 

 little bloom there is seems to yield freely of 

 nectar. Basswood is extremely full of 



bloom, and also of nectar, and the bees are 

 working it for all there is in it. 



Our main dependence here for honey is 

 clover, and as the clover crop is short the 

 honey crop will be short. Clover hay will 

 sell here at a premium of 100 percent or bet- 

 ter, next winter. 



Since I have been keeping bees I have 

 never seen a spring when it was so easy to 

 build up colonies i/rtv/^ as the past one. I 

 have never had so many colonies txtra-sfr(*}te 

 as now. Out of 24 colonies, spring count. I 

 have had only prime swarms and one 

 afterswarm. Most of colonies seem too 

 busy to swarm. Some of the neighbors re- 

 port excessive swarming, and many swarms 

 absconding. lam expecting a partial honey 

 crop even if the clover-bloom is a failure. 



Cromwell. Ind., June 2b. E. H. UpsON. 



Very Good Season for Bees 



So far this has been a very good season for 

 bees, but 1 fear the frost we have had dur- 

 ing the last week has damaged some of their 

 forage. The shrub called buckberry or 

 ironberry is in full bloom, and the bees are 

 busy working on that; also white clover. I 

 expect a good honey crop, but can tell bet- 

 ter after a while. Yet there is no harm in 

 expecting a good crop, anyway. 



I find a great many helpful things in the 

 American Bee Journal, and <;//of it is inter- 

 esting to any one who cares for bees. 



Mrs. Gertrude L. Goodwin. 



Roy, Wash.. June 23. 



Moving Bees in Cool Weather 



I sold 50 colonies of bees to a man in Gard- 

 ner. Ill,, early in March. The weather was 

 quite cold when the bees were prepared for 

 shipment, but it had been warm a few days 

 before so that the bees had had several 

 cleansirrg flights. 



The hives were prepared by nailing cleats 

 at each corner of the hive, so as to hold bot- 

 tom-boards and covers securely to the hive- 

 bodies, and then a strip of wire-cloth was 

 cut and nailed to close the entrances. Then 

 a cleat about 'i-inch space was nailed across 

 the alighting-board about \ inch in front of 

 the strip of wire-cloth. There was no ven- 

 tilation given except that afforded by the 

 ■?3-inch entrances, 'i'he weather was quite 

 cold the day the hives were taken to the 

 car. and remained so for several days after- 

 ward. The car was a week on the road, but 

 Mr. Howard wrote me that the bees came 

 through in perfect condition. He said there 

 was not a teacupful of dead bees in the 

 whole lot. 



At the time I shipped these bees I moved 

 the rest of the bees (nearly 100 colonies) to a 

 new location about 10 rods distant. These 

 were moved on a wheelbarrow, and nothing 

 done to hinder the return to the old location 

 except that a little feed was given, if the 

 weather got so warm that the bees could fly 

 freely. Edwin Bevins. 



Decatur. Iowa. May 26. 



Hemet Valley Association 



On May 27. ion. the bee-keepers of this 

 Valley formed an association to be known 

 as the " Hemet Valley Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation." and nearly all the bee-men in this 

 end of the county have joined, or signified 

 their intention of so doing. The officers 

 elected for the first year were as follows: 

 C, J. Davidson, president; W. S. Rather, 

 secretary; and W. B. Tripp, treasurer. 

 There were also elected 5 directors, as fol- 

 lows; J. A. St. John, W. H. Densmore, W. 

 B.Tripp. C. J. Davidson, and Chas. Sims. 

 Rather Bros, were chosen as business agents. 



This is regarded as a wise step by the 

 bee-keepers, for the reason that for years 

 they have acted individually in the sale of 

 their honey, generally selling to the first 

 buyer who came along and told them of the 

 immense crops that were being gathered 

 from Maine to Texas, and how cheap the 

 article would be next week, as soon as the 

 real conditions became known, etc. 



Realizing the importance of organization 

 to get the best results from their labor, and 



