694 



itmu SMURicMiH mmm jawRHMt. 



GOLDEN-ROD. 



II Yields Ahiiiiilance «»f lloiicy 

 in mainc. 



Writtm Jul- the American BeeJatimal 



liV .1. K. I.ATIIAJI. 



Ill tliis locality the golden-rod is an 

 excellent honey - plant. Like other 

 species of the melliferous vegetation, 

 it is quite sensitive to atmospheric in- 

 fluences, but it will retain its verdant 

 foliage and brilliant bloom with ap- 

 parent vigor when herbage of a less 

 hardy nature will wilt and fade from 

 a lack of moisture ; although in times 

 of drouth its secretion of nectar is 

 scanty, bees will throng its bloom from 

 "early morn till dewy eve,'" often in- 

 creasing their stores, and when not 

 overburdened with brood they will 

 stor^ some surplus in the sections. 



When the ground is saturated with 

 moisture, and the nights warm, with 

 copious dews, the secretion of nectar 

 by the golden-rod is quite profuse. On 

 mornings following a good day's work 

 by my bees, I have observed miniature 

 puddles of water on the platforms, in 

 front of the hives, fed by a trickling 

 from the brood-apartments, the result 

 of evaporation. 



During the evenings following a 

 good flow of nectar from the golden- 

 rod, the air in the apiary will be fra- 

 grant with its odor, as the bees in their 

 '• cooking process" force it from the 

 hives. The honey from the golden- 

 rod is thick, heavy, of a light amber 

 color, and were it not for its slightly 

 ])uugent flavor (a relish agreeable to 

 many who like honey), it would rank 

 second to no other with which 1 am 

 acquainted. 



'I'liat honey frmii the golden-rod is 

 as good as that from any other source 

 for liees' winter food, I have never had 

 reason to disbelieve, although much 

 lias been written in the bee-periodicals 

 denouncing its qualities. For eight 

 years I have depended upon the fall 

 bloom for winter supplies for my bees, 

 \\iih the (^xcepiidii <p1 asm.ili quantity, 

 Usually, of honey from the raspberry 

 and clover bloom, that might remain 

 in the brood-apartment at the close of 

 the whiter honey harv(,'st ; and I have 

 not, during that time, lost a single 

 colony by the causes attributed to fall 

 honey. 



Usually, during the first week of 

 August, the yellow plumes of the 

 golden-rod begin to greet the ex- 

 pectant bees, from the roadsides, rill- 

 lianks. meadows, and waste uplands ; 

 and from that time, often until the 



middle of October, they will be found 

 among its bloom. To-day (Oct. Id) I 

 saw a few of my bees come in laden 

 with pollen from the golden-rod and 

 aster, and. judging from their dis- 

 tended appearance, the}' had honey 

 also from the same source. 



Had it not been for the golden-rod 

 and aster, my eftbrts to procure even 

 a very moderate income from 60 colo- 

 nies of bees this season, would have 

 resulted in complete failure. As it 

 was, after the golden-rod commenced 

 to bloom the rains ceased, and .about 

 four weeks of as delightful honey- 

 weather as one could wish for followed. 

 As a result, nij' bees tilled their pov- 

 ertj'-stricken larders to repletion — some 

 to excess. 



With what honey I have taken from 

 combs added to the brood-apartment, 

 and what I think may be taken from 

 the same source next spring, I shall 

 receive, bj' extracting, 500 pounds of 

 golden-rod and .aster honej', in addi- 

 tion to 1,000 pounds of white honej- in 

 the comb. The above, present and 

 prospective, with an increase of 8 col- 

 onies, is the sum total of mv bee-keej)- 

 ing for 188M. 



West Cumberland, Maine. 



IN COUNCIL. 



Tlic Bec.Kecpers or llic Xortli- 

 Avefsiti Hcet in C'iiicajsro. 



Written fur the American BeeJunrmil 



BY W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 



The following is a statistical table 

 of bees, honey and beeswax for 1889, 

 representee! by the convention : 



Name. f'oki 



May 



L. A. Aspinwiitl 2 



B.T.BuMwin 84 



T.J. Baldwin m 



S. N. Black Xi 



E. Bunay 7 



J. N. Conger f'rfl 



D. l>. Cooper YZ 



A. W. Cumins T 



Mark Davi.-* s 



I). A. Fuller 70 



l^u9sell KuMer 12 



K. P. Gibbs 80 



Chas. U Green S.^ 



.J.A.Green ll:i 



G. Ilarseim ls:i 



A. 8. Haskin :i2 



.lames He^ltlon 200 



8. H. Herrick 22 



L, HichbarKor. . JO 

 C.W.Hurtson. . . . 12 



B. Kennedy ;;5 



W.C iiyniau 'd'i 



V. C. Miller 210 



W. T. F. Petty 80 



G. W. Redmon SO 



G. 1). Rogers 4ri 



G.Ruir.. 12 



C.J.Scliafer ill 



O. Scbrier 20 



Jas. A.Stone 100 



C. U Stordoek 'JT 



,1. C. Wheeler loo 



C. E. Vocom 24 



nies. Honey. 

 .Oct. Com.Kx. 



131 2U 

 800 2300 



2 

 120 



JO .WO 2,-.liO 



BO 120O .... 



18 UfiO .... 



124 6000 1000 

 600 



i;o 



000 

 12.5 5W10 

 28 400 

 lliO 8000 

 102 20(0 

 185 WIO 300O 

 320 2800 1400 

 40 200 :«o 

 300 1000 JWIO 

 38 1800 MO 

 IIJIO 

 8I« 

 IIMI 



24 



20 

 17 



150 



371 



10 



400 



m 



m 



Unsold. Wax 

 Com.Ex.Ijbf^. 



'.'.'.'. '300 "m 



400 2oao lOo 



300 



350 



:M)0 



700 

 12r, 



31 3'.l> 



OS 2800 



40 ma 1750 



335 11700 3W 



IriO 3000 3000 



75 1000 



51 2000 



24 400 



lOH 5000 2000 



34 1400 .... 



100 2.MI0 .... 



127 1200 5.800 



278 am 200 



43 1200 COO 



2.i00 



2(10 



.... 100 230 



isno 800 20 



5000 22.i0 50 



130(1 200 0.-1 



200 3110 25 



800 3000 ."lO 



100 5" 20 



1000 4(11) .... 



100 2.XI .... 



75 idlio .... 



1200 



300(1 :)000 125 



5U0 



000 



1800 .... 50 



200 ... . 10 



3000 lOOO .... 



500 



1000 .... 50 



1100 55(10 50 



1000 



1000 500 ... . 



Totals, 



2032 3348 76253 ;i3659 31(M5 21775 025 



iW Two-thirds of those reporting use the l^ang- 

 strotb frame. 



The following oflicers were elected : 

 President, C. C. Miller, of Marengo, 

 Ills. ; Vice-President, J. A. (ireen, of 



Dayton, Ills. ; Secretaiy, W. Z. Hutch- 

 inson, of Flint, Mich. ; and Treasurer, 

 Thomas G. Newman, of Chicago, Ills. 



Freij;;lil Katew on Bees. 



The following letter was presented 

 by Thomas G. Xewiiian, and read : 



Friend Newjian : — I intend to be 

 present at the Chicago Convention, 

 held Oct. 11 and 12, but in the mean- 

 time should any other business hinder 

 me, will you be so kind as to bring be- 

 fore the convention the subject of the 

 rates charged for sending bees by 

 freight? I think it is of great impor- 

 tance to all bee-keepers in this country. 



I would suggest that a committee be 

 appointed bj- the convention, to con- 

 sult the railroad authorities, and en- 

 lighten them in regard to the unjust 

 ruling and high freight i-ates on live 

 honey-bees. The tariff and classifica- 

 tion as it now is, jirovides for third- 

 class rate, miniimum weight 20,000 

 pounds, on bees in hives of any quan- 

 tity ; that is to say, if you wish to ship 

 only 10 colonies, you have to pay for a 

 full carload of 20.000 pounds capacity, 

 and then you are not allowed to load 

 any other stufi", such as supplies, etc., 

 in the same car. Just consider for a 

 moment what an unjust rule, and ex- 

 orbitant charge this is — for about one- 

 fortieth of a carliiatl they charge for a 

 full carload of 20,000 pounds. 



In former years we could ship any 

 number of colonies, and thej' would 

 charge according to weight ; but for 

 the last six months, all railroad com- 

 panies have combined, and adopted 

 the above rule and tariff classification. 



Last week I had some experience in 

 that line with the railroad coinpanj-. 

 which I will submit. I exchanged 

 with a certain party in Pierce county. 

 Wis.. 75 full colonies of bees for 80 

 acres of land ; the bees had to be 

 shipped to Wo(xlville, in St. Croix 

 county, on the Omaha railroad about 

 40 or 50 miles this side of St. Paul, 

 Minn. The amount of freight that the 

 company charged me was $80, when, 

 in fact, they only charge $40 for house- 

 hold furniture, etc. But I would not 

 have complained about their charges, 

 if they would have allowed me to load 

 other stuft' in the car, but they refused 

 to let me do .so. 



I wrote a letter to the General 

 Freight Department, and explained 

 the matter, and asked to be allowed a 

 special rate so as to permit me to load 

 other stuff in th(! ear. I received an 

 answer from the Superintendent, in- 

 forming me that they are not permitted 

 to make it less than the published 

 tariff, and he could not set aside their 

 adopted rule, and make it a mixed 

 carload ; but referred the matter to the 

 chairman of the classification commit- 

 tee, to see what he could do for me. 



