Mar. 1, 1912 



143 



I [j{](Bgi(il© (d(F ©[pgiDDD Ulpcddoq IBUfFcBD^cBmfl \FmM^< 



f " Notice to Iowa Beekeepers 



The beekeepers of Kort Dodge and vicinity are 

 trying to organize a beeiceepers" association for 

 the State of Iowa, under the auspices of the Nation- 

 al I3eel<eepers" Association. We find, in looliing 

 over lUireau of Entomology Circular No. 138 of bee 

 diseases, tliat there have been reported In Iowa up 

 to May 10, 1!)11, seventeen counties that have Amer- 

 ican foul brood, and sixteen counties more In 

 which it is suspected; European foul brood In four 

 counties, and one suspected: and it is scattered 

 from one side of tlie State to tlie other, as you will 

 see If you checVc the counties as I have: and you 

 will see we have enough foul brood to Infect the 

 entire State, even if this is all there is in it. For 

 the benefit of those who have not received Circular 

 No. i:?8 1 will give a list of the counties that have 

 the malady. 



AMERICAN FOUT- BROOD. 



EUROPEAN. 



Present. 

 Guthrie. 

 Johnson, 

 JLlnn, 

 Muscatine. 



Present. Siisi)ecle<l. 



AUamalcee, Appanoose, 



Butler. Buena Vista, 



Carroll. Cherolcee, 



Clayton, Davis, 



Clinton, Ida, 



DesMoines, Marshall, Suspected. 



Dicl<inson, Monona, Scott. 



Fayette. Monroe, 



Fremont, Montgomery. 



Hardin. Page, 



Linn. Plymouth, 



Lyon, Polk, 



Mills, Scott, 



Pottawattamie, Sioux, 

 Sac, Taylor, 



Story, Vanburen. 



Woodbury. 



It seems to me that It is high time for the Iowa 

 beekeeper to wake up and get busy. We must 

 have inspectors in the field. In looking over the 

 4'2d Annual Report of the National Beekeepers' 

 Association I find that they have 92 members in 

 Iowa. What are you doing? Are you waiting for 

 Messiah to rise up among you to carry the cross ? 

 The writer has been interested in the bee business 

 only about twenty months: but he can see what 

 the outcome will be if we do not get busy. We 

 must get an appropriation, and that means dele- 

 gates to the legislature. We have the law: but of 

 what use is it with no funds to do the work ? Are 

 we going to fold our arms and let this malady run 

 rampage through our State? We have a big job on 

 our hands now, and it will be larger next year. 

 Iowa beekeepers, don't stop and think, but think 

 on the go, and don't think too long, and don't 

 think the other fellow will do the work and you get 

 the benefit. It may take a few sections of honey to 

 defray the expenses now: but let it go and it means 

 sections, supers, hives, bees, and all. 



Mr. Frank C. Pellett, of Atlantic, made a request, 

 through the columns of Gleaning.s, to the Iowa 

 beekeepers to meet at DesMoines. A few respond- 

 ed, but not enough to organize. If we do not wake 

 up now. our slumbers will be broken by that awful 

 smell that comes from American foul lirood. When 

 I was at the National convention at Minneapolis 

 last August I examined some American foul brood, 

 and I Imagined 1 could smell it on my hands all 

 the afternoon, although I did not touch It at ail. 



I heard there was or has been a beekeepers' asso- 

 ciation in the west part of this State. If there is. 

 we shall be glad to join it. I have not been able to 

 locate It as yet. If any one can I will thank him if 

 he will send me the address of the secretary: and if 

 It Is alive and in working order, 1 tor one will join 

 it and do what I can, and I believe I can get at 

 least a dozen more to join. If we haven't an a.sso- 

 ciation in Iowa I should be glad to have all the 

 beekeepers in this State who read this to write me 

 and state their views, and also state what they are 

 willing to do. If a few of us have to put our gloves 

 and veils on and fight this appropriation through 

 we shall have a hard time. Let all of us light up 

 our smokers and get a rousing association in Iowa, 

 If you have a representative or senator near you. 

 or one you are acquainted with, go after him and 

 the work will be easy. 



Fort Dodge, la. E. E. Townsend. 



[The following will show that a work has been 

 started, at least.— Ed.] 



Iowa Has a Beekeepers' Association 



On December 2i) the Tri-state Beekeepers' Associ- 

 ation met in Sioux City, and at that meeting the 

 Iowa delegation organized the Iowa State Beekeep- 

 ers' Association, with W. P. Southworth, of Sallx, 

 as president, C. L. Penny, of Lemars, .secretary and 

 treasurer. Three vice-presidents were chosen to 

 boost the organization in their districts— Frank C. 

 Pellett, Atlantic: Frank Coverdale, Delmar: and 

 J. L. Strong, t^larinda. 



As a committee on program for the next meet- 

 ing, the following were named: C. 1>. Penny, .1. B. 

 Espy, 11. A. Morgan. 



Iowa needs the -A.ssociation, and the Official 

 Board win expect the enthusiastic co-operation of 

 every beekeeper in the State, and each one Is urged 

 to send in his name and membership dues at once 

 to the secretary, C L. Penny, Tjemars. 



To be in harmony with the new constitution of 

 the National Beekeepers' A.ssociatlon, when It Is 

 adopted, the membership dues are fixed at ?1.50 

 per year. Some may say that their dues are paid 

 up in the National, and, therefore, they will delay 

 sending their dues in to the State A.s.sociation. 

 Please do not do this, but send In your dues at 

 once, and your membership in the National will be 

 extended, 



The new Association needs funds with which to 

 begin work at once. The first business In hand 

 will be to arrange for a big convention to be held 

 at a time that will be most convenient for the larg- 

 est number of beekeepers, when the organization 

 will be perfected, and immediate steps will be tak- 

 en to secure legislation to assist in checking the 

 spread of bee diseases in the .State. 



No State in the Union can produce better honey 

 than Iowa; and by mutual assistance the beekeep- 

 ers can greatly Increase their yields and improve 

 market conditions. 



IjSt every one interested in bee culture join the 

 big cluster at once, by sending In his name and 

 any suggestion that he has to offer. 



Salix, Iowa. W. P. Southworth, Pres. 



Clipped Queens a Nuisance 



Mr. Arthur C. Miller's article, page 755, Dec. 15. on 

 clipped versus undipped queens, also the footnote 

 asking for reports on this subject, prompts me to 

 make reply. For the past forty years I have kept 

 bees more or less. My home was in Northern Ver- 

 mont until 1904, when I sold out and came to this 

 coast. For about a year I was without bees; but 

 being a wild-bee hunter I soon had some. This 

 was in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon. At one 

 time I bought 7 stands. One being queenless, I 

 broke it up. I sold 11 colonies the following spring, 

 so that my present yard of 78 colonies is practically 

 all from the woods. When near Portland, being 

 confined to a city lot, with tall fir-trees on one side 

 and choice fruit-trees on the other, I resorted to 

 clipping. I had tried it twice in Vermont, and both 

 times had condemned it; but as location makes a 

 difference In some respects, I tried clipping here 

 for the third time. I saw no difference in the work 

 of the queens, and never did in \'ermont; but trou- 

 ble came when swarming came. The swarms 

 would generally settle. The limbs had to be bro- 

 ken off ray neighbors' fruit-trees, or the tall firs had 

 to be climbed just the same. The swarms were 

 hived in various ways, as deemed best, .sometimes 

 on the returning plan. In case of others, the queen 

 was placed among the bees, where they had .set- 

 tled. Hut the great majority of tlie swarms, after 

 being hived a short time, would begin to return to 

 the parent hive. On examination a ball of bees 

 would be found on the bottom-board, surrounding 

 the poor clipped queen. The bees seemed to know 

 that the queen was maimed and could not fulfill 

 her natural office, viz., to depart with the swarm 

 to a new locality, and so they would not tolerate 

 her. If a swarm returned to the parent hive before 

 I could find the clipped ciueen. or in my absence, it 

 me.ant sure death to return her. If 1 could find the 

 queen quickly, and replace her in the cluster about 

 as soon as it began to form, she would be received 

 all right. But l)ees are hard to deceive, so I clip no 

 more. 



I lost all of my fine yellow ciueens which I had 

 reared with great care the year before, and was en- 



