AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



415 



E. Mason, of Andover, O., was elected 

 President pro tern. 



The attendance was light, owing to 

 the prevailing sickness caused by "the 

 grippe," and partly on account of the 

 small production of honey. 



In the informal talk these facts were 

 developed : That some of those present 

 had very satisfactory yields, while others 

 failed to have any surplus honey stored. 



For instance, D. W. Nichols, of God- 

 ard, Pa., had secured a very good yield 

 of excellent honey, while a friend of his, 

 whose bees were in just as good condi- 

 tion, did not secure any surplus, a dis- 

 tance of four or five miles apart, making 

 the difference between success and fail- 

 ure. Some of those present had secured 

 honey which was bitter, so much so that 

 it could not be used for domestic pur- 

 poses. Those having it will use it to 

 feed up colonies next Spring. 



Quite a talk was had on hiving 

 swarms. Some use a bushel basket. 

 Mr. A. Webster uses a common market 

 basket with a cover. Others use a reg- 

 ular hiving-box. To all of these, poles 

 are attached, of different lengths, owing 

 to the hight of the swarm to be taken. 



Mr. A. Webster, of Painesville, O., 

 exhibited a sample of propolis — cut in 

 alcohol — which he considers the best all- 

 purpose medicine ever discovered for the 

 human family. He says he has found it 

 a great blood purifier ; has cured him- 

 self of rheumatism, and for cuts and 

 bruises it has no equal. Mr. W. also 

 exhibited a bee-escape which costs almost 

 nothing but the time to make it, it being 

 so simple, yet it answers the same pur- 

 pose as others. 



The fact was also developed that 

 though sugar is cheap, honey has sold 

 at high figures, which shows that people 

 will use honey as a luxury. Honey sold 

 at wholesale at from 15 to 18 cents per 

 pound at stores, and the demand was 

 not half supplied. Many other topics 

 were considered in an informal way, and 

 much information was gained in a very 

 pleasant manner. 



The evening session convened at 7 

 o'clock. The President, N. T. Phelps, 

 not having arrived, the Secretary called 

 the meeting to order. M. E. Mason, of 

 Andover, O., was called to the chair, 

 and the programme was taken up. 



" How can we make this convention a 

 success?" The question was discussed 

 by volunteers, and all the speakers 

 urged earnestness and zeal as the great 

 thing to lead to success. 



The address of welcome was delivered 

 by Aaron Pickett, of Ashtabula, and 



was replete with happy thoughts. H,e 

 said that the subject of apiculture has 

 occupied the attention of the wisest 

 men in ages past. Honey is the best 

 food on earth, because it is the most 

 nourishing, and at the same time it has 

 great medicinal properties. Honey is 

 not used half enough, especially by those 

 suffering with pulmonary trouble. All 

 the great men of ancient times had 

 given much attention to the honey-bee. 

 Pliny, Homer and Aristotle had much to 

 say about the "busy little bee." Other 

 great writers of ancient times show by 

 their writings that among insects the 

 bee occupied much of their attention. 



The bee has always borne a good char- 

 acter. It will not steal, but it will 

 always defend itself. It is always in- 

 dustrious when there is anything for it 

 to do. We should all give some atten- 

 tion to the subject. Attention to details 

 will beget a love for the pursuit. During 

 the last sixty years the advancement in 

 apiculture has been equal to that of 

 other branches of human industry. 

 For two thousand years the same rude 

 implement was used for a plow. For 

 the same length of time- but a little 

 improvement was made in the knowl- 

 edge of the busy bee, but in the last 

 fifty years great advancement has been 

 made in the improvement of the imple- 

 ments used in the apiary. The enemies 

 of the bee are numerous, so that success 

 is attained by the use of great vigilance. 



QUESTION-BOX. 



" What is the cause of bitter honey ?" 

 Mr. Coon's bees had stored a lot of 

 this kind of honey, and it was so bitter 

 that it could not be sold in the market. 

 He thought it might be the production 

 of aphides or plant-lice which feed on 

 the leaves of certain trees like the soft 

 maple. It was suggested that if it was 

 not produced so early — July — it might be 

 gathered from rag-weed. Others thought 

 that it might be gathered from ever- 

 greens, as bees sometimes work on 

 them. 



M. E. Mason did not believe that bees 

 ever gathered honey from evergreens, 

 though they do gather propolis from 

 them in large quantities, at times. 

 "Does the bee make the honey ?" 

 Mr. Mason does not believe that bees 

 change anything that they gather and 

 put into the comb. He had, at one time, 

 to test it, fed sour maple syrup to bees, 

 and it remained the same sour stuff. 



C. D. Freeman said every plant has its 

 peculiar flavor, and honey gathered 

 from the blossom of each plant can be 



