March. 1915. 



American l^ee Jonrnal j 



Convention ^ Proceedings 



The Washington Stiite Convention 



The president and vice-president be- 

 ing absent, the meeting was called to 

 order, and A. E. Burdick was chosen 

 chairman. 



Mayor J. F. Barton, of North Yakima, 

 gave the address of welcome. He laid 

 stress on the fact that in the fruit sec- 

 tions of the State bees were a neces- 

 sity for fertilizing fruit bloom to in- 

 sure a crop. 



Dr. A. H. Henry does not believe 

 that bees carry blight disease unless 

 some other insect puts the germ of 

 blight where the bee goes to get nectar 

 or pollen. If the orchardist will cut 

 out all diseased limbs or parts of trees 

 as soon as blight is visible, there will 

 be no danger from any work the bees 

 may do. 



Dr. Henry, at the close of his re- 

 marks, suggested that this convention 

 should make some recommendation to 

 the different fruit associations that 

 some preparation be mixed with the 

 arsenite of lead mi.xture to make it 

 bitter enough so the bees would not 

 work on it, so as to save many bees 

 from being poisoned in the spring. 



The convention t' ok the suggestion 

 under consideration. 



Mr. Burdick spoke on selling honey, 

 and told of the different methods of 

 selling honey, many of them question- 

 able to say the least ; chief of these 

 was by trying to deceive the people by 

 misbranding as to locality from where 

 the honey came, and the source of 

 nectar. 



Two papers were read from Prof. 

 Francis Jager, of the Minnesota Ex- 

 periment Station, one on the Carnio- 

 lan bee and the other telling what the 

 State of Minnesota is doing for her 

 beekeepers. 



The serious problem of having bees 

 and honey stolen from out apiaries 

 was brought up. The secretary thought 

 the best plan was to form a beekeep- 

 ers' protective association and assess 

 all members joining, so much per col- 

 ony as a fund to offer a reward and 

 prosecute the thieves if caught. Some 

 of our members have lost very heavily 

 in bees and others in honey. Nothing 

 definite was done. 



Hans Christensen told his method of 

 producing comb honey, and Robert 

 Cissna and C. W. Higgins, who own 

 automobiles for their work, are well 

 satisl'ied with them as time savers. C. 

 W. Higgins thinks a truck would not 

 be as profitable on account of the ex- 

 tra cost in repairs. One of the best 

 inducements to own an automobile for 

 the beekeeper is in handling bees. 

 There is no danger from bee stings, as 

 is the case with a horse. 



A paper from Dr. E. F. Phillips, of 

 Washington, D. C, on his experiments 

 in wintering bees was read. 



Papers were read from Editor Dadant 

 on "Feeding Bees" and from Hon. 



George VV. York on " Honey Exhibits 

 at State Fairs." 



The committee on foulbrood law was 

 ready to report, and as we had a dele- 

 gate in attendance from the Pierce 

 County Beekeepers' Association, we 

 joined hands in framing a law that we 

 believe will be of benefit to the bee- 

 keepers at large in the State. 



It was moved and carried that the 

 thanks of the convention be extended 

 to Mayor J. F. Barton, Dr. A. H. Henry 

 and to all others who in anyway con- 

 tributed to the success of our conven- 

 tion. 



Election of officers resulted as fol- 

 lows: President, J. B. Ramage, North 

 Yakima; vice-president, C. W. Hig- 

 gins, Wapato ; treasurer, Gus Sipp, 

 East Selah ; secretary, S. King Clover, 

 Mabton. 



We did not have as many in attend- 

 ance as at some former meetings, but 

 the enthusiasm and work accomplished 

 was as great as at any of our meetings. 



On motion the convention adjourned. 

 J. B. Ramage, Sec. 



SCHOOL APIARY OF PROF. BOVELACCI AT FORLI 



Contributed 



Articles^ 



Basswood Planting 



BV PROF. G. B. MACDONALD. 



BEEKEEPERS well know the value 

 of basswood trees for the produc- 

 tion of honey. It should be pos- 

 sible for farmers interested in bee cul- 

 ture to make the basswood trees serve 

 a double purpose. Trees of this spe- 

 cies might be utilized fur windbreak 

 purposes as well as for the production 

 of honey. 



Under good conditions the basswood 

 sometimes attains a height of 70 to 8(1 

 feet. The crown of the tree is quite 

 compact, and forms a very dense 

 shade. It is best suited to deep, rich, 

 river-bottom soil and to cool situa- 

 tions. Very often the bisswoodwill 

 be fiund on the cooler slopes along 

 with a variety of other trees. It is 

 quite hardy, and although it will sur- 

 vive, in many instances, on up-land 

 soil, yet as a general rule it is not 

 advisable to plant this species in dry 

 situations. 

 The basswood can readily be repro- 



duced by seed and by sprouts. The 

 seeds ripen in September or early Oc- 

 tober. As soon as the seeds are col- 

 lected they should be freed of the 

 wings and planted at once. The freez- 

 ing and thawing during the winter aids 

 in rotting and loosening the seed coat 

 and thereby make possible an early 

 germination. Although fall planting 

 is generally recommended, it is possi- 

 ble to keep the seed over winter in a 

 cool, dry place by storing in sand. 



The young basswood trees should be 

 grown in nursery rows and trans- 

 planted to Iheir permanent location at 

 the age of one year. The trees should 

 be set out as soon as the frost is out of 

 the ground in the spring, and should 

 be given protection from cattle and 

 fire. Cattle, especially, do consider- 

 able damage to young trees by eating 

 the small branches and foli ige. 



Ames, Iowa. 



[The above, in answer to a question 

 asked at the Ames meeting, was writ- 

 ten by Prof. MacDonald, the Forester 



