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119 



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planer-shavings and rotten elm. The 

 Bingham smoker was generally pre- 

 ferred. 



Mr. Wright preferred tlie Italian 

 bees to the blacks, as he found them 

 the most hardy. 



The fact was developed that Mr. 

 Holmes completed at this meeting his 

 fifth year as President of the Associa- 

 tion, and his services have been fully 

 appreciated by the Association. 



The Association adopted resolutions 

 thanking those who had addressed the 

 convention, the Van Ness House, and 

 the railroads, for courtesies extended, 

 and expressing faith in the future of 

 tlie industry. 



Miss Douglass, for the Committee on 

 Resolutions, submitted a proposition 

 for the oft'ering of premiums aggregat- 

 ing $50, at the State Fair, for the ex- 

 hibition of honey and bee-keepers' 

 supplies, with special judges. 



Mr. Larrabee said that the State 

 Fair, at his suggestion, increased the 

 premiums on honej- last year to |25. 



Mr. Manum said that the sum named 

 in the proposition was not enough, and 

 an amendment offered by Mr. Wright, 

 was adopted, increased the sum to 

 $75, and the resolution was passed. 

 At the proper time the matter will be 

 laid before the managers of the State 

 Fair. 



The time and place of the next 

 meeting is left, by the Constitution, 

 with the Executive Committee and 

 officers. 



The convention then adjourned, sine 

 die. 



BASSWOOD. 



Some Imporlant Apiciiltural 

 Problems — Golden-Rod. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY S. J. YODNGMAN. 



One problem in relation to our 

 favorite occupation is no sooner solved 

 than another serious one stares us in 

 the face. The one I refer to as set- 

 tled, is the wintering problem, which 

 seems to be simply a matter of condi- 

 tions in which the bees and their stores 

 should be, at the approach of the win- 

 ter. A hive properly constructed so 

 as to retain all heat generated by the 

 bees, with packing-material of any 

 kind to also retain all heat and to ab- 

 sorb moisture, and allow the same to 

 escape — this will keep the bees as 

 warm as they possibly can be, supplied 

 by their own heat only, and quite dry. 

 which is undoubtedly a necessary con- 

 dition for their health and general 

 welfare. 



With the foregoing conditions com- 

 plied with, the presence of pollen need 



not be feared, but, on the contrary, it 

 will be a blessing to the bees. As the 

 bees cannot gatlier pollen enougli in 

 this latitude, in tlie montlis of March 

 and April, to supply their needs in 

 breeding, consequently I consider a 

 certain quantity of pollen a necessity, 

 if early swarms and populous colonies 

 are desired for the fruit and white 

 clover blooms. 



I might outline the causes of bee- 

 diarrhea, which I will admit is some- 

 times indirectly caused by pollen, but 

 when the conditions are right for diar- 

 rhea, the bees would not be safe by 

 the absence of pollen. I think that all 

 the above conditions of wintering, etc., 

 are known and recognized by nearlj' 

 all professional bee-men, but some of 

 these hints may be of help to some of 

 the beginners, of whom there are a 

 vast numbei- — what a pity that they do 

 not all take the American Bee Jour- 

 nal ! 



destruction of basswood trees. 



I will now syeak of the impending 

 danger to our industry, spoken of in 

 the opening of this article, namely, the 

 destruction of our basswood timber. 

 My bee-keeping friends, this is a very 

 serious evil, that is fast crowding itself 

 to our notice, and calls for the united 

 action of the bee-keeping fraternity in 

 all quarters of our land. The uses of 

 this timber are various ; a large num- 

 ber of small trees are cut for staves, 

 even as small as 8 inches in diameter ; 

 but it is a shame that such trees should 

 be cut, and no man in the least inter, 

 ested in bees, should allow the trees 

 of such size to be cut, if in his power 

 to prevent it. 



But what is denuding our forests of 

 this timber the most, is the manufac- 

 turing of sections. Why cannot the 

 bee-keepers agree to not use sections 

 manufactured from linden, but insist 

 upon liaving them of spruce and pop- 

 lar, in.stead. In this locality, in an 

 early day, tlie basswood was nearly, if 

 not quite, the only source of honey. (I 

 speak of a time when the bees were in 

 a wild state, and the forest covered 

 all the land ; of course our honey-flow 

 is not restricted to the basswood now 

 — the clovers and wild asters yield 

 great quantities of nectar, but nothing 

 will ever take the place of the beauti- 

 ful linden, as a honey-producing 

 source.) 



GOLDEN-ROD AS A HONEY-PLANT. 



I have always hunted wild bees as a 

 pastime, and although several varieties 

 of the golden-rod grow here in great 

 luxuriance, it has been seldom that 

 bees have been seen on this beautiful 

 plant. 



The golden-rod may be entitled to 

 the proud distinction of being the 



"national llowcr," on account of its 

 being so wiilely distributed over the 

 whole country, and for its proud and 

 stately beauty ; but it should never 

 hold that place on account of its honej'- 

 producing (lualitics, for there are many 

 flowers that will discount it in this re- 

 spect. The buckwheat is of far more 

 importance as a nectar-bearing plant, 

 and the wild asters can always be re- 

 lied upon through the severest drouth, 

 and after frost has destroyed all other 

 honey-producing plants. 

 Lakeview, Mich. 



INDIANA. 



The Report of the State Bee- 

 Keepers' Convention. 



The tenth annual meeting of the In- 

 diana Bee-Keepers' Association, con- 

 vened in the State Agricultural Rooms, 

 on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 1890, at 1 

 p.m., and was called to order by the 

 President, Dr. E. H. Collins. 



Ylie Presitlent's Anoual Address 



President E. H. Collins delivered his 

 annual address, from which the follow- 

 ing extracts are taken: 



The study of apiculture during the 

 past 10 to 20 years, has been of unusual 

 interest; because, in it, as in other oc- 

 cupations, the growth of invention has 

 been very rapid and encouraging. 

 The introduction of Italian queen-bees 

 into American apiaries has passed 

 away, and the business has found its 

 legitimate work of furnishing bees and 

 queens and other supplies to the trade, 

 and producing honey for the market. 



The hone3'-flow during the past three 

 seasons has been quite discouraging, 

 so much depends upon climatic condi- 

 tions. We have passed through two 

 years of drouth and one of cold and 

 wet, yet it is noticeable that where 

 good management prevailed, the yield 

 was generally remunerative. Suppose 

 the circumstances connected with 

 honej'-production were to be perfect 

 for a few years, what would be the re- 

 sult? The market would be flooded, 

 and prices ruined, and with this would 

 come sluggishness and decay. But 

 these ever varying conditions consti- 

 tute a complicated problem, which 

 necessity compels us to solve, and iu 

 the solution of which lies the pleasure 

 of pursuit and the enjoyment of attain- 

 ment. Protect your colonies, and an 

 increase of honey will be the result. 



According to the researches of A. I. 

 Root, the following statistics are ob- 

 tained: 



Well-informed bee-keepers lost about 

 n per cent, of their colonies, while 

 others lost 17 per cent. The cool 

 weather of June and July prevented 



