THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



185 



first visible signs of the disorder. 

 Day by day the movements inorease 

 until each bee in the whole cluster 

 will appear as if striving to better its 

 position, and there will be a corres- 

 ponding number of bees running 

 about the hive and sipping moisture, 

 if there is any to be found or appear- 

 ing at the entrance to the hive. When 

 on entering the cellar, and the bees 

 appear at the entrances of the hives, 

 there could be no plainer language by 

 which to tell us that the conditions 

 within their hives were such that they 

 could not rest. 



At about this time, if the covering 

 of the brood-chamber be raised, one 

 will be met by an odor which exactly 

 resembles that from a very sour vine- 

 gar barrel. This odor generally (al- 

 ways in my experience) causes the 

 uneasiness, and when Mr. Triem re- 

 moved the burlap covers (as stated on 

 page 123) the odor escaped, and the 

 bees were found tightly clustered in 

 the space of three days. Burlap, it 

 appears, was too thick; yet a chaff 

 cushion, with right conditions, might 

 have been too thin a covering for the 

 brood chambers. 



As this odor mingles with that of 

 the cellar, the odor is formed which is 

 a characteristic ot the atmosphere of 

 all cellars in which many Jaees have 

 died of diarrhea. After a colony has 

 manifested considerable uneasiness 

 by the brisk movement of the bees on 

 the approach of a light, some of the 

 bees, though not having overly dis- 

 tended bodies, will begin spotting the 

 combs or hive. 



On page -5 we find Mr. Doolittle 

 going back several years ago in order 

 to find a case for the substantiation 

 of his theory. Soon after reading Mr. 

 D's article, I went to my bee-cellar 

 and examined the combs in 8 colonies 

 having diarrhea, and found brood in 

 but one comb, and then only in three 

 cells. On page 325 of the Bee Jour- 

 nal for 18S4, I wrote that when I 

 moved 60 colonies to the summer 

 stands, after a confinement of 145 

 days, 11 of the 15 diarrhetie colonies 

 were amongst the 44 having no brood. 

 Again, on page 663 of the same vol- 

 ume, I gave a preventive or cure 

 (whichever it may be) which has been 

 fully substantiated as correct by the 

 past winter's experiments. 



If any bee-keeper will, just before 

 a cool and rainy day, remove the cover 

 to a hive so that the water may run 

 upon the combs containing brood, by 

 the next morning the colony will be 

 afflicted by a disorder that resembles 

 diarrhea in every particular, and if 

 the colony should then be placed in a 

 dry atmosphere, in the space of 24 

 hours, the signs of the disease will be 

 found to have disappeared. 



So long as bee-keepers continue to 

 wait until the bees are nearly afflicted 

 to death befoj-e giving their attention, 

 and so long as bee-keepers go on re- 

 leasing that foul odor or allowing the 

 escape of moisture while administer- 

 ing tinctured syrup, and then attest 

 allcures to the effects of the syrup, 

 just so long may they be expected to 

 merit darkness and confusion re- 

 garding the cause of bee-diarrhea. 



Bradford. (5 Iowa. 



For tbe American Bee Jonmai 



E. Iowa and W. Illinois Convention. 



The third aiuuuil convention of the 

 Eastern Iowa and Western IIHnois Bee- 

 Kee]ieis' .\.ssoeiation convened at 2 p. ni. 

 at Moore's Hall In Davenpoit, Iowa, on 

 Fel). IS, iss.i. 



The meeting was called to order by 

 President I. V. McCatrg, and on nn>ti(ni, 

 the reading of the minutes of the last 

 meetiuff was dispensed with ; the reports 

 ot the officers were postponed until tlie 

 next afternoon. The election of officers 

 was also deferred until thene.xt day. 



Twenty-one members reported 970 colo- 

 nies in the spring of 1884, and 1,302 in the 

 fall ; 2.5,911 ponnds ot condj honey pro- 

 dnced during the season of 1884, 1,9.50 

 pounds of extracted honey, and 228 ponnds 

 ot beeswax : 712 colonies were put into 

 cellars last fall, and 590 were left out-of 

 doors. 



President MeCagg, L. H. Scudder and 

 C. H. Dibbern were appointed a commit- 

 tee to present resolutions upon the death 

 of John Madden. 



HONEY-DEW.— Mr. Wadsworth said 

 that bees did not work well on clover dur- 

 ing the past season in his section ; he did 

 not know the reason for this, as there 

 seemed to be enough clover in bloom. He 

 said that they stored considerable honey- 

 dew from tlie maple trees, but they used 

 the most of it tor breeding purposes. 

 Contrary to his usual experience, his bees 

 swarmed, and some absconded. His 

 queens' wings were clipped, and yet they 

 swarmed. He does not think that honey- 

 dew is injurious, but he is not certain. 

 Mr. viast had seen the bees at work on 

 almost all kinds of forest trees, but he is 

 not certain whether honey-dew is caused 

 by the bark-louse or some other plant-louse. 

 He said that it made him uneasy, for he 

 feared they would fill the brood-combs 

 with it, and that it would prove injurious. 

 His bees had gathered the bark-louse 

 honey mostly in the fall, as his clover 

 honey was as white as usual, but his fall 

 honey was not He had seen them work 

 very hard on the walnut and black-oak 

 trees. Mr. Dibbern said that his clover 

 honey and tall honey were as good as 

 usual. He thought that his bees gathered 

 very little if any bark-louse lioney. He 

 said that it was new to him to learji that 

 bark-lice were on other than the maple 

 trees, as he had seen them only on the 

 soft maple trees. Mr. Scudder said that 

 hishoney was gathered mostly from white 

 clover during the first honey-flow, and 

 from motherwort, catnip, smart-weed and 

 lieart's-ease in the fall. He did not think 

 that they gathered much honey-dew, as it 

 lasted only a few days. Mr. VVright said 

 that his bees had gathered some honey- 

 dew in the fall, and that he always found 

 it in tlie inside sections, those near the 

 outside generally containing good honey. 

 Mr. Scudder said that during the fall of 

 honey-dew, he had seen the bees on the 

 grass and hedges, but could not account 

 for their being there. President McCagg 

 said that bark-lioe thrive best on trees 

 which grow on damp ground, in his sec- 

 tion, as he noticed the trees on high 

 ground hail very tew lice on them, while 

 those on low ground were covered with 

 lice. 



SWEET CLOVER. — Mr. Dibbern 

 though that it was worth S50 per acre to 

 bee-keepers. He cultivates it in rows 4 

 feet apart, and plants it two years suc- 

 cessively, as it does not bloom the first 

 year, but the second year his was 1-1 feet 

 high and bloomed freely when it seeded ; 

 liut plants from this seed will not bloom 

 the next season, but if planted for two 

 years successively, there will be a con- 

 tinuous bloom. He had the best success 

 in sowing it with oats, as the oats could 

 be cut for feed, and thus pay for the use 



of the ground the first season. Mr. Scudder 

 s.dd that he Ihonuhtit paid to .sow sweet 

 clover, and that Mr. Dibiiern ili<l not ex- 

 aggerate any when he said that it was 

 worth ($.50 per acre. Mr. Gast also thought 

 that it paid to i)lant sweet clover, and he 

 said that his cattle wouUI eat it. He had 

 the best success when .sowing it alone, as 

 he had sown some with oats, and the oats 

 had choked it out. Mr. Dibbein said it 

 required about 15 (lonnds of seed to the 

 acre. He also said that cattle would eat 

 it down when planted on the roadside, 

 and thus interfere with its bloonnng. Mr. 

 Wright said that he favored the sowing of 

 sweet clover, as he thought that most of 

 his honey came from that soui'ce last 

 season. 



HALF-POUND SECTIONS.— Mr. Dib- 

 bern said that he could produce as much 

 honey in half-pound sections as in the 

 two-pounds, lir. Osbprn said that he had 

 the same experience ; he had arranged 

 half-pound, one-pound,aiul two-pound sec- 

 tions on one hive, and the bees tilled them 

 all at the same time. Mr. Scudder said 

 that that was the best argument in 

 favor of two-pound sections that he had 

 ever heard, for it the bees would fill the 

 two-pound sections as quickly as the half- 

 pound or one-pound, he would certainly 

 use the two-pound sections. Mr. Dibbern 

 said that he nad placed 72 half-pound sec- 

 tions and about half as many one-pound 

 sections on the hives, and the bees filled 

 one lot as quickly as the otiier. He said 

 that the one-pounds were small enough 

 for him. Mr. Sciuider said that the 

 largest average yield which he ever had 

 was obtained in two-pound sections, be- 

 ing 1.50 ponnds per colony, spring count. 



OVERSTOCKING A LOCALITY.— 

 Mr. Scudder said that it was a puzzle, for 

 in a given locality there may be a thou- 

 sand colonies, and one year they will do 

 well, and the next year they will do 

 poorly, and people will say that it is over- 

 stocked. Mr. Sioore had 5 colonies, and 

 oidy one of them stored any honey. Mr. 

 Goos said that the one that gathered all 

 the honey was probably the only strong 

 colony among them. 



Mr. McCagg said that he ) ad a colony 

 in a hive that had two holes in either side 

 just above the bees, and he left them open 

 so the wind can blow right over the bees, 

 and he has never lost a colony in this hive. 



On motion, the meeting then adjiuirned 

 until 9 a. m. the next day. 



The Convention was called to order at 

 11a.m. by President McCagg. The com- 

 mittee on resolutions on the death of Mr. 

 John Madden, then gave their report as' 

 follows : 



Whekeas, It being ttje will of trod to remove 

 from uur midst one of our most zealous and ardent 

 worker.-* in apiculture. Mr. John Madden, who 

 died on Sept. 19, ISS4 ; therefore, be it 



Resolved, By this Society that in the death of 

 Mr. Madden we lose one of our most entllusiaatic 

 worltera and supp'.irters of this As.^ociation ; al- 

 though youne in the culture of bees and produc- 

 tion of honey, still he was one of the main pillars 

 of apiculture, always ready with his kind, genial 

 and social manners to give advice, or to lend it 

 helping hand when and wherever needed. He 

 was a kind husband, a loving parent, a genial 

 friend, and a willing neighbor ; mourned for by a 

 loving wife and children, as well as a large circle 

 of acquaintances, we can truly say that no mem- 

 ber of this Association called from his labors on 

 earth to that of peace and quietness, would be 

 more missed and mourned than Mr. John Madden. 



Resolved, That this be placed upon the minutes 

 of the Association, and also that a copy thereof 

 be furnished the widow. 



HOME MARKET. — Mr. Sutherland 

 said that he had sent all the members of 

 this Association a circular in which he 

 described a plan for creating a home 

 honey market, his object being to canvass, 

 the town and bring the honey before the 

 people at regular intervals. He also asked 

 that the Association form a bee-iieepers' 

 union, and he and Mr. Wells would act as 

 managers and take the honey produced by 

 the members, bring it before the people 

 regularly, and thus create a demand and 



