GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



OCTOBER 15, 1915 



The Tri-state Field Meet at Eimillon. 111., Sppt. 7 ami 



ed. Certain fungi thus, like flowers, make 

 use of insects to distribute their spores. 

 The ilhistratioii shows two specimens of 

 this fungus (Phallus impudicus). 



Waldoboro, Maine. 



[Every fall ve receive a large number of 

 letters from beginners who describe a pe- 



culiar smell when the hives are opened. Is 

 it not possible that the odor so frequently 

 described as " sour " does come from the 

 raw nectar of goldenrod, and that the odor 

 resembling decaying animal matter is from 

 the fungus described by our correspond- 

 ents—En.] 



f 



THE TRI-STATE FIELD MEET AT HAMILTON, ILL., SEPT. 7 AND 8 



BY t. E. ROOT 



This was one of the most enthusiastic 

 meets T have ever attended. The day and 

 place of meeting, about two miles out from 

 Hamilton, were ideal. The bees were work- 

 ing heavily in the fields at the time; and, 

 all together, the conditions could not have 

 been better. Our hosts, the Dadants, and 

 that means quite a family of them, includ- 

 ing sons and sons-in-law and daughters and 

 daugbtei's-in-law, left nothing undone to 

 make (he occasion a success; and those who 

 had the privilege of attending felt that they 

 were most royally entertained. 



The picture shows the original Dadant 

 homestead where ihe late Charles Dadant 

 and his son, Caraille P. Dadant, began their 

 beekeeping careers in the early '60's. At 

 the right is the bee-yard consisting of those 

 immens? Dadant colonies in Dadant hives. 

 Quinby size. Some of the old original hives 

 were still in use. At the left is a portion 

 of the Dadant foundation-factory and 

 work-shop, where tons and tons of the 



finest product are turned out. It is unnec- 

 essary for us to state that the Dadant foun- 

 dation is known the world over. Every one 

 was given an opportunity to go thi-ough the 

 plant in gi'oups of twenty-five and fifty at 

 a time, piloted by one of the Dadants. 



In this connection I cannot forbear 

 making the observation that the firm of C. 

 P. Dadant & Sons is organized very much 

 like the A. I. Root Co. They are both strict- 

 ly family affairs, made up of sons and 

 daughters and sons-in-law and daughters- 

 in-law. Each member of the concern is in 

 charge of a department of his own. Mi'. C. 

 P. Dadant seems to be the presiding genius, 

 and, as he .said to us, he is "taking life easy." 

 and letting the boys run the business. In that 

 respect he is following the example of A. T. 

 Root. Mr. M. G. Dadant and his oldest 

 sister have direct charge of the American 

 Bee Journal, which the Dadants purchased 

 a few years ago of Mr. G. W. York. 

 Messrs. L. C. and Henrv Dadant and a son- 



i 



in-law are connected directly with the man- 

 ufacturing end of the business, and that 

 takes in the various out-yards and the 

 production of honey as a business. 



We hope to present the pictures of the 

 members of this interesting family later to 

 our readers. 



Dr. E. r. Phillips and myself arrived in 

 the forenoon. Already groups of beekeep- 

 ers were in the yard. In one case Mr. L. C. 

 Dadant had opened up one colony that had 

 a plain case of dead drone bi"Ood — the very 

 thing that was described in Gleanings for 

 Sept. 1, page 695. 



The beekeepers assembled here and there, 

 opened up some of those big colonies, and 

 discussed bees and methods of manipula- 

 tion. A.t the noon hour the whole crowd, 

 something o'^er one hundred, sat down to a 

 most bountiful repast. This part of the 

 program was .a great success, and was so 

 pronounced by every one who had a chance 

 to sample the Dadant hospitality. 



After dinner the beekeepers were called 

 together in convention by Prank C. Pellett, 

 at which lime we listened to some informal 

 talks by Dr. E. F. Phillips; Mr. C. P. 

 Dadant ; Mr. A. L. Kildow, of Illinois, state 

 bee inspector, and Mr. Frank Coverdale, 

 the sweet-clover expert, of Iowa, well 

 known all over the United States. 



Mr. Coverdale, of course, was given the 

 subject of sweet clover. He is not only an 

 extensive beekeeper, but a successful farm- 

 er. He has done, perhaps, more than any 

 other man in the United States to demon- 

 strate the value of sweet clover, not only as 



a forage plant for bees, but for cattle and 

 hogs. He grovyis great quantities of the 

 legume, and his success has been so great 

 that it has atti'aotcd the attention of state 

 experiment stations and the United States 

 Department of Agriculture. 



Sir. Coverdale had just sold a lot of 

 cattle that lie had raised, and these cattle 

 brought .$1.00 per 100 lbs. above the gen- 

 eral market. He explained that he secured 

 this extra price because the cattle were so 

 sleek. Sweet clover, he said, is not only a 

 fine fo?-age for bees and cattle, but it keeps 

 the animals in splendid condition. It has 

 the same feeding value as alfalfa, and the 

 milk and butter from it are just as good. 



Some one present asked him about getting 

 cattle and hogs started on it. He recom- 

 mended letting them loose when the plants 

 are young and tender. For planting he 

 advised putting in with early oats. The 

 sweet-clover roots penetrate the soil deeply, 

 and after two years die, allowing the mois- 

 ture from beneath to come to the surface. 



Asked as to the time when to cut it, he 

 recommended that it be allowed to grow till 

 it is 22 inches tall. The mower should be 

 set so that it will not cut close to the ground 

 — high enough so that some of the leaves 

 will be left. Otherwise the plants will die. 



Later in the afternoon the crowd was 

 conducted by the Dadants to the big dam 

 that furnishes 75,000 electrical horse power. 

 The dam and the power plant are well 

 worth seeing. 



That evening we assembled — that is, those 

 of us who were left — on the veranda of the 



