60 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 26, 1905. 



bers of this Association. We will not have to solicit mem- 

 bers ; they will come and solicit us to join. Up to this time 

 you have had one of the most successful conventions in 

 the history of the Association, and let it go to the world 

 that such papers as have been presented here are doing a 

 world of good for us ; it is building up our industry ; and 

 3et us each and eveyone try to help one another, and when 

 we have done this we have done a good thing for the cause. 



Mr. Abbott — I ventured to suggest a little change in a 

 paper yesterday, and I will venture to suggest a little change 

 in another one. When a paper is written in an official capac- 

 ity it ought to rise above everything of a personal character. 

 It ought to overlook any personal preference that one might 

 ihave. Now, I don't want to be misunderstood. There is 

 only one weekly bee-journal published in the United States, 

 and 1 don't own any of it or have any interest in it, but it 

 does as much to aid in building up bee-keeping as any other 

 vone institution on the top of God's earth. It has done it un- 

 der the present management, and I believe it has done it 

 under every management. Mr. Benton in his public paper 

 ■does not recognize the existence of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal, and I object to that part of the paper, and think that he 

 ought not to make reference to other papers as to the great 

 work they have done, and absolutely ignore the grand old 

 American Bee Journal. 



Mr. Root^There is one matter spoken of in that paper, 

 and that was with reference to getting senators and repre- 

 sentatives to take hold of any matter connected with the 

 Government. When you desire to get an appropriation one 

 man cannot do it, one bee-journal editor, nor two can do it, 

 there has got to be pressure brought to bear from a good 

 many sources and a good many bee-keepers. I remember when 

 this last appropriation was up for consideration I was asked 

 to write to our Senator at the time, and I did, but that didn't 

 go very far. At that time I didn't have the means at my com- 

 mand to bring it to the notice of the bee-keepers in time to do 

 any good, and the result was that our Ohio senators did noth- 

 ing to help in this matter, but I have learned since attending 

 this meeting that pressure was brought to bear on some of 

 the senators who did have influence, and some work was done, 

 and it was due to that influence that that appropriation was 

 secured in order that we might secure larger benefit for our 

 National work, and if we wish to enlarge the scope of our 

 National work we ought to take hold of this thing and pull. 



Mr. Titoff — I should like to say something to you but I 

 cannot do it as well as I should like to because I am not so 

 well acquainted with your language, as I come from a foreign 

 country. I wish to tender to you my thanks for the attention 

 you gave my paper. I was greatly interested in bee-keeping 

 •when I was in my own country. I had been reading all the 

 literature I could find in Russia. I have read many articles in 

 iRussian which have been translated into that language from 

 tbe English, and I was very much interested in the reading 

 about bee-keeping in America. Not only we in Russia but 

 all people know that America is a great country. Americans 

 have gone into every business. I became so much interested 

 in bee-keeping in America that I wanted to come myself to 

 see the Americans. I thought about it more and more, and I 

 finally decided I would come to America and if possible take 

 iup practical work in the American apiaries and study Ameri- 

 can methods. When I left my home and my people I did 

 not know one word of the English language. My Russian 

 friends told me that it was very hard to learn English, but I 

 ithink with hard work I will be able to understand it suffi- 

 ciently to earn a living in America. When I came to this 

 country I went to the Root company. Before I came here 

 I was in Switzerland, and I think many of you know Mr. 

 Edward Bertrand. I had a letter of introduction to him from 

 a friend at St. Petersburg, and Mr. Bertrand is acquainted 

 ■with Mr. Dadant, whose name is well known in Russia, and 

 he gave me a letter of introduction to Mr. Dadant and the 

 Root company. I first came to the Root company and I re- 

 ceived from them a very kind welcome, and they said they 

 •would give me work and I would improve in the English 

 language, for which I thanked them very much. I have the 

 honor to be the representative of the Russian bee-keepers in 

 the convention here. It will give me great pleasure to write 

 to the Russian journals to give them information as to the 

 methods of bee-keeping in America and to tell them that I 

 have received at the hands of the American bee-keepers very 

 great kindness. In my paper which was read at this conven- 

 tion I thought it would be interesting to American bee-keep- 

 •ers to know about the industry in Russia. The paper is not 

 as good as I could wish but I hope you will excuse me for 



taking up so much of your time in the reading of it. I thank 

 you very much for your attention. 



At this stage Mr. S. Francis of Colorado favored the 

 convention with an instrumental solo. 



Mr. Hutchinson — As chairman of the committee on 

 resolutions I beg to report that we have commenced to 

 make poets in our ranks ,and it seems that one has crop- 

 ped up down in Alabama •who has gotten out a little 

 volume as a souvenir edition and has made a nice greet- 

 ing for the Association in the forepart, and he asks the 

 privilege of presenting each one of the members with a 

 copy, and your committee would recommend they be ac- 

 cepted with the heartiest of thanks . 



Mr. Hutchinson — We have a resolution made by Mr. 

 Dadant that this convention assert that no artificial comb- 

 honey has ever been or can be produced; that the only suc- 

 cessful adulteration ever made has been of liquid honey 

 out of the comb. The committee believes enough com- 

 mittees have been appointed upon this subject, and that 

 enough has been said to cover this ground, and we would 

 recommend that it be not accepted. We have also a reso- 

 lution here from Dr. Bohrer, upon the appointment of two 

 persons from each State and the Dominion of Canada 

 who shall organize themselves into a legislative commit- 

 tee. This resolution has already appeared in a previous 

 part of the minutes and your committee recommend the 

 adoption of the resolution. [Carried.] 



CAUCASIAN BEES. 



"Has any member had any experience with pure Cau- 

 casian bees? If so, what are their qualities?" 



Prof. Benton — Something more than twenty years 

 ago my attention was called to those bees in Germany; 

 they had been imported there from the Caucasus. There 

 were such varying reports concerning them that I was not 

 very much inclined to test them at that time, especially as 

 I had my hands full with other races of bees, and further- 

 more those I saw were not very uniform in their markings. 

 The Germans said of them, I think nearly all, that the 

 bees were extremely doubtful; some said they were quite 

 worthless as honey-gatherers, others told about their great 

 disposition to swarm, and so on, and all that disinclined 

 me to take them up. About two years ago I was out at 

 the apiary of Rauchfuss Brothers, near Denver, and they 

 spoke very highly of these bees. They had received some 

 that came directlv from the Caucasus. I was led to 

 undertake to get some bees and have been testing them. 

 I find them good honey-gatherers; they are as I noticed in 

 Germany, rather varying in their markings; they look 

 something like Carniolans that have been dipped in water 

 and then dried, "•iving them a leaden tineed appearance, 

 yet they are easily distinguished, their bodies are smaller 

 than those of the Cyprian and so tractable that anything 

 one desires to do with bees can be done with them with- 

 out smoke, without any bee-veil, at any time, early or late, 

 whether getting honey or not; they can be brushed from 

 the combs with the bare hand and you can hammer on the 

 entrance and brush the bees from the entrance and do any- 

 thin'^' with them, no matter if the propolis snaps, no matter 

 if the time of day is undesirable and you have no bees 

 flying after you in the apiary or about your face; they 

 fly through the air in large circles and return; they do not 

 sting. They can be made to sting by pinching. If you 

 bother them in the fall when wet or cold they might oc- 

 casionally sting you. I have never had any occasion to 

 use any smoke on them at all. Exactly how they are going 

 to compare with other bees as regards their productive- 

 ness I am not quite able to say. I should like to hear Mr. 

 Titoff tell us as to them. Some people here find they are 

 great swarmers, perhaps, but that results from being so 

 prolific; they must be kept in larges hives that will give 

 them room to expand and build up. 



Mr. Titoff — What Mr. Benton says about those bees 

 is true. I have had my own experience, and I find that 

 the Caucasian bees are better than our common Russian 

 bees. They work early in the morning and late at night; 

 they are very gentle and not cross at all. You can go 

 among them without either veil or smoke. They have 

 only one fault and that is swarming. It is very hard to 

 keep them from that. They make plenty of queen-cells. 

 If you take away the queen-cells todaj', tomorrow they 

 will make twenty or thirty more. Some people say the 

 Caucasian bees produce honey that is different from that 

 of the common bees. 



Mr. Kretchmer — While traveling through Germany 



