TUB AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



227 



Chautauqua County (N. Y.) Bee-keepers' 

 Association. 



Pursuant to nolicf; a bee-keepers' association 

 was organized at Delanti, on Saturday, January 

 29th, 1870. J M. Becbe was chairman of the meet- 

 ing, and P. Perrin secretary. 



On taking the cliair, Mr. Beebe appropriately 

 addressed tiie meeting as to the nature of the pro- 

 posed association and the utility of its formation, 

 as follows : — 



^'■Gentlemen Beekeepers^ As I understand it, 

 we have met here to-day for the purpose of or- 

 ganizing a Chautauqua County Bee-keepers' as- 

 sociation. I liope we all see the utility of such 

 an object, and ma}'- unitedly make an effort in 

 that direction and be certain of success. VVe 

 read in the agricultural papers the repoits of those 

 who make bee-keeping a speciality. Those who 

 make the most from bees are those who best un- 

 derstand their nature and habits. By meeting 

 together and freely discussing the subject, we 

 may profit much by each others' experience. 

 This county is one of *the best in the State of New 

 York for bee-keeping. No better honey is car- 

 ried to the New Yoik or Chicago markets, tlian 

 the honc}^ from Chautauqua county. Tlie dif- 

 ference is not in the bees tl»at gather the honey, 

 but in the plants from which the honey is ex- 

 tracted. Our principal lioney producing plants 

 are Avhite ch)ver and basswood ; and as these 

 furnish an abundance of the very best honej'^ in 

 the world, it remains for us to fui'uish ourselves 

 with the means of securing the delicious sweet 

 tliat has so long been allowed to go to waste. 

 And we know of but one way to do it — that is, 

 by keeping a sufficient number of bees to gather 

 it. Man cannot gather it, nor has he ever in- 

 vented a machine by which it may be secured. 

 And here the question very ])roper!y arises — 

 how may we best propagate this little industrious 

 honey-bee ? As well as many more questions of 

 like importance, for the better understanding of 

 which an association of bee-keepers is intended. 

 We can statedly meet together and report our 

 success orotJierwise, our ways of managing, &c., 

 and learn of each other; and all who wish to be- 

 come interested in bee-keeping should meet with 

 us, and take part in the discussions." 



The Secretary tlien read a letter from ]\Ir. J. 

 C. Cranston respecting the bee-moth and its rav- 

 ages. Then followed a general discussion on the 

 bee — how to raise the greatest amount of honey 

 with the greatest profit, and other similar ques- 

 tions. Atter wliicii, on motion, the President 

 appointed the following committees, to report 

 forthwith : 



O/i Co nstituii'Vi— Messrs. C. E. Benton, E. L. 

 McCullough, and P. M. Miller. 



On Permanent Organization — Messrs. N. Cris- 

 Bcy, H. Miller, and O. E. Thayer. 



Thereupon a recess of ten minutes was taken, 

 and on reassembling, the Chairman of the Com- 

 mittee reported a Constitution for the Associa- 

 tion, which being read, was adopted by the meet- 

 ing. 



The Committee on Permanent Organization 

 reported the following list of Vice Presidents : 

 M. C. Tarbox, Arkwright ; E. H. Jenner, Busti ; 



J. P. Ilatlon, Clymer ; O. E. Thayer, Carroll ; 

 L. Simmons, Charlotte; H. Harrington, Cherry 

 Creek ; J. Wood, Chautauqua ; J. J. Cassety, 

 Dunkirk; Wm. Pussell, Ellery ; S. S. Derby, 

 Ellicott ; G. Beardsley, Ellington; Isaiah Golding, 

 French Creek ; B. L. Harrison, Gerry ; M. S. 

 Snow, Hanover ; A. L. Williams, Harmony ; J. 

 B. Whittaker, Kiautone ; H. Q. Ames, Mina ; S. 

 Sage, Pomfret ; T. Sweet, Poland ; G. Ryckman, 

 Portland ; S. G. Hamilton, Ripley ; Hollis Thomp- 

 son, Stockton ; H. Sheldon, Shernuui ; .T. E. 

 Cranston, Sheridan ; T. Searl, Villenova ; and 

 Hall, Westfield. 



The report was adopted, and a ballot was then 

 taken for the other officers, with the following 

 result. 



For President — T. S. Moss, of Brocton. 



For Secretary and Treasurer — C. E. Benton, of 

 Fred on ia. 



For Executive Committee — J. M. Beebe, of Cas- 

 sadaga ; J. C. Scudder, of Kiantone ; and M. S. 

 Snow, of Forrestville. 



On motion it was decided that the first annual 

 meeting of the Association be held at Mayville, 

 September 20th, 1870, at 12 M., and thereupon the 

 meeting adjourned. 



[For the Amerieaii Bee Journal.] 



Ifon-S warmers vs. Swarmers. 



A question of the greatest importance to most 

 bee-keepers is — How can we secure the largest 

 amount of surplus honey, in the best marketable 

 condition, in a season ? Can it be best done bj'' 

 a continued increase in colonies ; or is there a 

 limit at which the increase becomes unproductive 

 and unprofitable ? I believe all authorities admit 

 the possibility of any given district becoming 

 overstocked. When this limit is reached, either 

 from an insufficiency of pasturage, or from an 

 indisposition of the bee-keeper to increase his 

 stock from any cause whatever, what is the best 

 system of management to secure the greatest 

 amount of honey, with the least cost? Is there 

 any management reduced to a system, by which 

 we can control and prevent further increase of 

 colonies, and make tlie whole increase of bees 

 continue to store surplus honey, instead of 

 swarming ? 



There are some questions of much greater im- 

 portance to most bee-keepers than the one often so 

 discussed as to the best method of increasing the 

 number of colonies, for since the introduction of 

 movable comb frames and the new sj^stem of 

 managing bees incident thereto, together with 

 the great fertility of Italian queens, the increase 

 of an apiary to almost any desired extent, in a 

 comparatively short time, is rendered an easy 

 matter. 



With anything like skilful management, the 

 number of colonies may easily be doubled annu- 

 ally, and may even be tripled or quadrupled. 

 And where a "man "gives his whole mind to it," 

 we read of eight and ten being made from one 

 in a season. As the increase is in geometrical 

 progression, the number in a tew years would 

 become enormous, and overrun all bounds. Say 

 that we already li^ive fifty colonies, and take the 



