April, 1914. 



American Hee Journal 



meroiis in the vicinity. This is not a 

 new fact, but it is well to repeat it. 



The lack of hollow trees in this 

 prairie country for the harboring of 

 runaway swarms, was set in evidence 

 by the report of C. M. Randall, of To- 

 peka, who removed 63 swarms from the 

 walls of frame houses in one year. As 

 many as 3 swarms were removed by 

 him from a single house. 



Mr. Wayland Dunham, a high school 

 student, read a very interesting essay 

 on " Bees and Beekeeping." 



Dr. Bohrer's essay on " Foulbrood,' 

 caused much comment, for it covered 

 the ground fully. Dr. Bohrer is now 

 81 years old, and the oldest living mem- 

 ber of the National Association, of 

 which he is a charter member. 



The officers elected are: O. S. Mul- 

 lin, president ; C. S. Kistler, vice-presi- 

 dent; O. A. Keene, secretary-treasurer. 



Prof. Dean, the State Entomologist, 

 assured the members that an effort 

 would be made to organize a class in 

 beekeeping at the Agricultural College. 



A photograph of the meeting was 

 taken; rather too late, however, as a 

 number of members had already left. 

 We give it in this number. 



All Kansas beekeepers desirous of 

 joining this association are requested 

 to write to the secretary, O. A. Keene, 

 1600 Seward Ave., Topeka. 



Obituary — F. B. Cavanagh 



Fred B. Cavanagh was born Dec. 19, 

 1880, and died at his home in Hebron, 

 Ind., Feb. 12, 1914. His father died in 

 1904, leaving his mother with three 

 brothers and three sisters to survive. 

 With them the widow remains to 

 mourn his death. 



When but a boy he became interested 



The Late 



Cavanagh. 



in" bees, and decided to take up bee- 

 keeping as a life work. Imbued with 

 active energy, he made the bees pay 

 his way through a college course so 

 that he might be better fitted for a 

 business success. 

 IjjMr. Cavanagh then took up bee-keep- 



ing in Michigan. In 1900 he was mar- 

 ried to Miss Mabel Wilbur. In 1908 

 they moved to Hebron, Ind. Here the 

 business rapidly grew until at the time 

 of his death he owned and operated 

 nearly 500 colonies of bees. 



In all his undertakings Mr. Cavanagh 

 was thorough. He experimented with 

 difTerent methods of wintering until he 

 found the one best fitted to his needs, 

 then stuck to this. He was one of the 

 first to advocate the automobile for 



out-yards, using in connection a trailer 

 for hauling supers, etc. Later an auto 

 truck was used. 



Throughout his business career he 

 made many friends and gained the 

 confidence of his acqaintances by his 

 honesty and industry. 



Mrs. Cavanagh will not endeavor to 

 continue the business, but is offering 

 for sale bees, supplies, and everything 

 connected with the extensive business 

 of her late husband. 



Bee-Keeping 



In Dixie^ 



Conducted by J. J. Wilder. Cordele. Ga. 



The Season's Outlook 



In many locations in south Florida 

 bees were swarming the first of March, 

 but it is difTerent outside of this sec- 

 tion of Dixie. The progress in brood- 

 rearing or building up for the first 

 flow is from two to three weeks behind 

 that of average seasons, due to the ex- 

 treme cold weather which has con- 

 tinued for 30 days. 



Up to this time bees seemed to be 

 making the usual progress, but steady 

 cold winds, snow, sleet, rain and ice 

 and freezing weather have put and end 

 to this progress, for the bees have been 

 confined to their hives. None of our 

 greatest honey-plants has budded yet, 

 so the results may not be as bad as 

 expected. But my e.xperience is, where 

 bees have made such a good start un- 

 der such favorable conditions, and 

 then have been set back, the second 

 start will not be so great, and if the 

 spring opens up quickly, and the honey 

 plants come out, the bees are not so 

 well prepared for the harvest. Some 

 of my apiarists who have charge of 

 bees where they have a good flow the 

 latter part of February, report the bees 

 three weeks behind in building up, and 

 the first honey plants just blooming. 

 In cases of this kind the honey-flow is 

 a total loss to the beekeepers. 



Death of Our Foreman 



As the city clock was striking nine 

 on the evening of Feb. 16, the spirit of 

 our manager of apiaries, Dave Reeves, 

 passed into the great beyond. He was 

 sick only a few hours, and was looking 

 after my interest here at Cordele while 

 I was taking my much needed rest dur- 

 ing the winter at Bradentown, Fla. 



As soon as I received notice of his 

 sickness, I left Florida and hurried to 

 his bedside, reaching it only a short 

 time before he expired. 



Mr. Reeves was less than 21 years old 

 at the time of his death, coming to me 

 to work while he was yet a boy. Al- 

 most his last words he bade us to push 

 on with our work, then with tears run- 

 ning down his cheeks, in a low voice 

 he said, "I wish I could be with you." 



Mr. Reeves, beyond a doubt, covered 

 more ground in beekeeping than any 

 predecessor. He headed the work of 



harvesting our enormous crop of 

 honey last season from 3000 colonies 

 in 51 yards, scattered at intervals for 

 200 miles. He was a lightning opera- 

 tor, making the rounds to all apiaries 

 from four to six times during the sea- 

 son, overseeing and planningthe work, 

 spreading broad in the early part of 

 season where it was necessary, and 

 looking after the weak colonies. 



He made most of the increase, did a 

 lot of requeening, changed storing 

 room around, and left at each apiary 

 instructions for work to be done, so 

 the man in charge could see to the 

 balance. 



After he had seen all the honey re- 

 moved, packed and shipped, and bees 

 put away for winter, he located at Cor- 

 dele, and headed the making of sup- 

 plies for 1500 colonies increase the 

 coming season, cutting out all the fix- 

 tures from the bottom-boards to the 

 covers. Three cars of necessary sup- 

 plies for increase had been sent to dif- 

 ferent parts of the field. 



He made fewer mistakes than any 

 one who has ever come under my em- 

 ployment. His ideas were always 

 bright. His place in the business will 

 never be so well filled. We have sus- 

 tained almost untold loss in his death. 

 He wns truly a talented apiarist. 



Apiary Work 



During favorable weather in early 

 spring bees will build up readily if they 

 have plenty of stores and good queens. 

 Otherwise they will lag and must have 

 more attention, or they will not be 

 strong enough to reap a harvest by the 

 time the early or main honey-flow 

 comes. 



I am not an advocate of stimulative 

 feeding, even to encourage brood-rear- 

 ing in the spring; this partly on ac- 

 count of the fact that our weather 

 cannot be depended upon. If a cold 

 and dismal spell comes during the 

 stimulation, the bees are apt to get 

 dysentery and weaken. On the other 

 hand, if conditions are too bright, the 

 sun is warm, etc., the stimulation is 

 apt to c?use an excess of swarming. 



Should stores run short, owing to 

 the bees being put into winter quar- 

 ters with a very limited supply of 

 honey, they should be fed to avert 



