Improvements in bee-keeping, as compared with 

 old methods, are not less than those in railroads and 

 steamboats as compared with former methods of 

 travel. 



For mutual information we would advise the 

 orsanization of local societies and conventions to 

 further this business among all interested in apicul- 

 ture. Thomas G. Newman, Pres. 



E. Parmly, Sec'y. 



Eev. J. W. Shearer moved that 1000 copies 

 of the above address (o tlie public, giving 

 consumers metliods of detecting adultera- 

 tion, be printed and sent out to bee-lceepers 

 to be inserted in local papers. Carried. 



standard of Purity. 



Mr. Oatman. Some have a standard of 

 excellence based upon beauty, and they lo.se 

 sight of honey-gathering qualities, docility, 

 •«&c. One of the best tests is their action 

 on the combs. If they run about wildly 

 instead of keeping quiet, no matter how 

 beautiful, they are not pure. 



Mr. King says it is impossible to rai.se the 

 best queens for SI. 00. 



Mr. Betsinger thinks that bee-keepers will 

 never settle upon a standard of purity. 

 Hybrids are frequently not distinguishable 

 from the pure, and lie considers the Italian 

 a hybrid bee. 



Mr. Oatman had kept both, and he found 

 Italians gave a surplus in a poor season, 

 while the blacks gave none. They are 

 easier to handle and the queens easier to 

 find. 



Rev. J. W. Shearer. There are two so- 

 called native bees in this country— the 

 black and the brown. 



Mr. Newman. The Italian bee bred in 

 this country improves after several genera- 

 tions, if bred upon scientific principles for 

 improving the race. 



Mr. Rogers and others agree that some- 

 times a queen will duplicate herself early in 

 the season, and latter her queen progeny 

 will be darker. 



Mr. Newman. We may excel in bees as 

 well as in other stock, by the use of the 

 choicest drones and queens. 



Honey-prodiiringr Bloom. 



Dr. Heath described the culture and 

 merits of alsike clover, and asked for further 

 information as to its merits as a honey plant. 



Mr. King. It yields honey largely, and 

 is better for stock feeding than the red 

 clover. It dies out except on low rich s(5ils, 

 and requires replanting. The tulip tree 

 blooms just after white clover. 



Mr. Betsinger. It blooms in central New 

 York the latter part of June, and yields 

 more pollen than honey. 



Mr. King. Sour-wood pi-oduces large 

 quantities of honey in the South, equal in 

 appearence to white clover, and I have made 

 arrangements to furnish the trees to bee- 

 keepers. I think they will grow North. 

 It is said that in the Rocky Mountains one 

 acre of Lucerne clover will give pasturage 

 for 100 colonies. 



J. E. Moore tried it thoroughly and reports 

 adversely. 



Mr. Newman. Sour-wood honey is fine in 

 appearence, but not in flavor, we have a 

 specimen of it in our office ; many have 

 tasted it. but none like it. 



Mr. King finds its griping qualities un- 

 deniable. 



The Rev. J. W. Shearer thinks it the finest 

 in the world. 



Mr. King had this season kept on the top 

 of his office building 43 colonies, and had 

 had better success with them than when he 

 kept bees on Jersey Heights. The quality 

 of the lioney gathered was good, and he 

 thinks them free from the aspersion of gath- 

 ering from sugar refineries and groceries. 



Mr. Newman had samples gathered in the 

 heart of Chicago, Cincinnati, Toledo, &c., 

 of good quality, clear and bright. 



A. C. Watson, of Brooklyn, was frequently 

 astonished to see bees working in great 

 numbers on the clover on the battery. It is 

 cut often, whicli inakes it bloom more pro- 

 fu,sely and increases its duration. 



Dr. Burgess, Mr. Newman, Prof. Has- 

 brouck and others, were confident that the 

 amount of white clover bloom and its dura- 

 tion were increased by frequent cutting. 



Mr. Hasbrouck stated that the American 

 linden yielded far more honey than the Eu- 

 ropean linden, on Long Island. 



Mr. Van Winkle rose to corroborate what 

 Mr. King said about the honey stored on his 

 roof. He found it very superior. 



Mr. King. Honey-dew honey is good and 

 preferable to buckwheat. Alsike clover 

 blooms at the same time as white, but lasts 

 longer. 



Mr. Root would, if he had a farm, plant 

 alsike clover for bee pastuage every year. 



Dr. Trimble asks if it is practical to put 

 bees on boats to keep pace with the advance- 

 ing flora ? 



Mr. King thinks there is no reason to 

 doubt the feasibility of the plan, as it has 

 been tried in other countries with success 

 for many centuries. Any want of success 

 in Mr. Perrine's effmt on the Mississippi 

 may be overcome by furtlier experience. 



Mr. Newman. Mr. Bingham has practiced 

 migratory bee-keeping with success. 



Mr. King. Mr. Hoagland's success in 

 California, is due to migratory bee-keeping. 



Mr. L. C. Root stated that during the past 

 season he had found eight different parasites 

 on bees, and he thinks bees are benefited, 

 and their activity increased, by long trans- 

 portation, as in the movement many of these 

 pests are left behind. He then exposed a 

 swindling advertisinent cut from the 

 Country Oentleman, stating that every 

 hive of bees kept on that plan, »&c., would 

 produce a profit of $50.00 yearly. Such 

 advertisements are a fraud and a swindle. 



A paper by Mr. C. J. Fox, on bee-keeping 

 in California, was then read. 



Mr. King says the various orders of the 

 eucalyptus or blue-gum tree are good yielders 

 of honey. 



Mr. Rogers does not believe California to 

 be the paradise of bee-keepers. The climate 

 some years is such that but for the inter- 

 vention of man, bees would be exterminated 

 there. 



Mr. King. The .5 years I resided in Cali- 

 fornia, my bees did well. 



A paper describing Mr. Ira Parke's hive 

 was read and commented upon. Each 

 member seems to have a settled preference 

 for the hive that use has made him familiar 

 with. 



