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Boungs were appointed on the com- 

 mittee. 



It was voted that the convention 

 continue for an evening session, also 

 for the next day. 



The evening session was called to 

 order by the President, and it was de- 

 cided that the next place of meeting 

 be at Marshall, Saline Co., Mo., and 

 that the semi-annual meeting be held 

 in April, 1890, for two days. 



The Secretary was instructed to 

 furnish copies of the minutes to the 

 American Bee Journal and to (Maan- 

 ings, for publication. The rest of the 

 sessions were spent in discussions, and 

 interchange of thoughts on the leading 

 topics of bee-culture, after which the 

 convention adjourned to meet at 

 Marshall, Mo., at the call of the ex- 

 ecutive committee. 



J. W. Rouse, Sa: 



BEE-KEEPING. 



The Importance and Develop- 

 ment of Bee-Cultiirc. 



Read at the WUcotuin Farmer s Iiixtituti 

 BY JOSHUA BULL. 



The honey-bee — and it is a wonder- 

 ful insect — has been associated with 

 the history of man through all the 

 ages of the past. From time immemo- 

 rial honey has been used, and highly 

 esteemed as an article of food ; and to 

 the ancients, no higher praise could 

 be spoken of any country, than to say 

 it was " a land flowing with milk and 

 honey." 



The habits of the bee have been 

 carefully studied by many learned and 

 scientific men, in ancient as well as 

 modern times, and there is perhaps 

 nothing found in the annals of natural 

 history more interesting and wonder- 

 ful than may be found in the internal 

 affairs of a bee-hive. There is as much 

 order and system in a bee-hive as can 

 be found in the best regulated govern- 

 ments of the most enlightened and 

 civilized nations ; yet bees are not 

 guided by reason or logic, nor philoso- 

 phy, but are actuated entirely by that 

 wonderful endowment, "Instinct." 



Bees are not given to new notions — 

 they do things to-day just as their an- 

 cestors did a thousand years ago, and 

 he who would succeed in bee-keeping 

 must work in harmony with their nat- 

 ural habits, and aid them in every pos- 

 sible way as cireumstances may re- 

 quire, and thus encourage them to 

 more vigorous action ; but any attempt 

 to controvert their natural impulse is 

 sure to result in failure, and whether 

 the act be intentional or unintentional, 

 the result will be the same, hence the 

 necessity of being educated for the 

 business. 



No set or fixed rules can be given for 

 the management of bees which can be 

 invariably followed under all circum- 

 stances to insure the desired results. 

 The right thing to do with one colony 

 at a given time, might not be just the 

 right thing to do with another colony 

 at the same time, owing to the differ- 

 ence in their condition and surround- 

 ing circumstances. The variation in 

 the seasons, the changes in the 

 weather, and the condition of the at- 

 mosphere — all have an important bear- 

 ing upon the secretion of nectar in the 

 flowers, and consequeutl)' upon the 

 time and manner as to when and how 

 the bees should be manipulated. There 

 are many things involved in bee-keep- 

 ing, which, to the uninitiated, are im- 

 penetrable mysteries. 



To be a thorough bee-master, re- 

 quires as much intelligence, forethought 

 and skill, as to be a good lawyer, 

 physician, or any other professional ; 

 and withal a clear perception of the 

 relation between cause and effect. 



Some people seem inclined to be- 

 lieve that anybody can keep bees, 

 thinking that all that is required is, to 

 put them into a hive in some out-of-the- 

 way-place, and then they will "work 

 for nothing and board themselves " — 

 and so they may, but if their owner 

 desires to obtain any sur|>lus for his 

 own table, or for the market, he must 

 give them further care ; and unless he 

 has a heart for the work, so that he 

 finds some degree of pleasure in car- 

 ing for them, he had better not at- 

 tempt to keep them at all, as they will 

 only prove a source of annoyance 

 without profit. 



In short, to make a successful bee- 

 keeper, requires a sort of special gift, 

 a natural aptness for the business, the 

 faculty of perceiving what needs to be 

 done, and an inclination to do it 

 promptly. The old Spanish adage, 

 "Never do anything to-day which can 

 be put off' until to-morrow," does not 

 work well in bee-keeping — it savors 

 too much of slothfulness ; but the 

 Anglo-Saxon maxim, "Never leave 

 until to-morrow, anything which can 

 as well be done to-day," will be found 

 to be much more appropriate, being 

 much more in harmony with the inde- 

 fatigable activitj- of the bees. There 

 is always a right time for doing things 

 — not too soon, and not too late. 



We are living in a progressive age — 

 no other period in the world's history 

 has ever been signalized by such won- 

 derful developments in science and art 

 as have been brought to light in this 

 Nineteenth Century. The great laby- 

 rinth of Nature's mysteries has seemed 

 to be set open unto men, and forces 

 and principles which have lain dor- 

 mant since the beginning of the crea- 

 tion, have in our days been brought 



forth and made subservient to the will 

 of man. with astonishing results. 

 I When we take a retrospective view 

 of these things, are we not warrantable 

 in the conclusion that the hand of God 

 is manifested in the development of 

 events according to the world's need ? 

 And whilst such unparalleled progress 

 has been made in other directions, 

 bee-keeping has also received a share 

 of attention ; and I feel quite safe in 

 saying that more progress has been 

 made in the management of bees dur- 

 ing the latter part of this century, than 

 during all tlie thousands of years of 

 previous history. 



Bee-keeping in its present stage of 

 development is fully entitled to take 

 rank as one of the arts ; and were it 

 not for the variableness of the season, 

 the changeableness of the weather.and 

 other atmospheric conditions upon 

 which the secretion of nectar in the 

 flowers is so largely dependent, and 

 upon which hinges the turning-point 

 of success or failure, all of which are 

 entirely beyond our control — I say, 

 were it not for these uncertainties, 

 then bee-keeping might very properly 

 be classed as a science ; but inasmuch 

 as the variation of seasons necessitates 

 a variation in the management of the 

 bees, therefore no set rules can be es- 

 tablished which will work satisfac- 

 toril}' under all the varied circum- 

 stances that may arise ; but the judg- 

 ment and skill of the apiarist needs to 

 be constantly exercised in order to dis- 

 cover just what needs to be done, and 

 when and how to do it. 



There are many other matters to b<; 

 attended to in a well-ordered apiary, 

 besides taking care of the honej-. 

 Every wide-awake apiarist of these 

 da3s takes as much interest (and I 

 might say, pride) in the rearing of his 

 queen-bees, as a good farmer does in 

 raising fine cattle or horses ; and there 

 are numerous apiarists who do quite 

 an extensive business in rearing queen- 

 bees for sale, and send them all over 

 the country to customers, the prices 

 ranging from one to ten dollars, and 

 upwards, for a single queen-bee, ac- 

 cording to her pedigree, purity of 

 blood, etc., and whether she is home- 

 bred or imported. 



With many people a bee is a bee, 

 and they know no dift'erence in the 

 breeds ; but with the advanced apia- 

 rists it is considered a matter of consid- 

 erable importance. Each has his favor- 

 ite breed, the same as with other stock- 

 men. Years ago the brown German 

 bee was the only kind kept in this 

 country, but of late years we have im- 

 ported Italian bees, Cyprian bees. 

 Syrian bees, Holy Land bees, Carnio- 

 lan bees, Syrio-Albino bees, and an 

 endless variety of hybrids have arisen 

 bv crossing these breeds, some of 



