lOO 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL. 



it for his interest to use them. His hives are 

 made in the simplest and cheapest way that he 

 can devise, and do not cost him to exceed two 

 dollars per hive complete, with one set of boxes. 

 They are all planed and painted, and present a 

 fine appearance. 



RECAPITULATION. 



APIAKY. 



To 125 hives of bees, at $8 each, in- 



[For the American Bee Journal J 



Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Associationu 



eluding hives. 

 10 per cent, interest on capital. 



APIAKY. 



By 230 hives of bees, including hives, 



at $8 each. 



4,000 pounds of honey @ 30 cents. - 



DR. 



$1,000 

 100 



$1,100 



CR. 



$1,840 

 1,200 



$3,040 



PROFITS, $1,940. 



The exact yield of surplus honey is not known, 

 but the above amount is not far out of the way. 

 If materially wrong, I hope he will correct the 

 mistake. M. M. Baldridge. 



St, Charles, III. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Melilot Clover— No. 2. 



Melilot clover came into blossom this year 

 early in July. For a few days in August there 

 were no blossoms — about ten days in all. This 

 is the first season that the plant failed, in fair 

 weather, to give a supply of honey for a single 

 day after it began to bloom. About the middle 

 of August a fresh supply of blossoms made their 

 appearance. Since that time the plant has been 

 constantly in full bloom; and to-day, (Oct. 15), 

 the supply of blossoms is as large as at any 

 other time this season. In fact, the plant is 

 literally white with blossoms, and is visited as 

 freely by the bees as one could wish. The past 

 three days have been warm and pleasant, being 

 fine weather for the bees to work. There is 

 not a doubt but the plant will remain in bloom 

 till winter sets in, although we are having a 

 serious drouth — the worst we have had for many 

 years. Pastures are nearly ruined for present 

 feeding; and many farmers, and others, have 

 been obliged to fodder their stock. Many kinds 

 of weeds are "dried up," that usually arc green 

 and vigorous at this season of the year. We 

 are therefore much encouraged with regard to 

 the value of Melilot clover for bee pasturage in 

 seasons of drouth. We have also had some 

 frosts, but, as stated in my former article, they 

 do not injure the blossoms of this clover. In 

 this respect Melilot clover is as hardy as what 

 are known as the "frost flowers" of the prairies. 

 I have now some fresh seed that I will mail, 

 in small parcels, to all applicants on receipt of 

 a few stamps for postage and putting up. The 

 seed may be sown any month of the year. 



M. M. Baldridge. 

 I St, Charles, III, 



MEETING HELD ON THE IOWA STATE FAIR 



Notice was given out during the Iowa State 

 Fab', that there would be a meeting of bee- 

 keepers on Friday afternoon, October 4th, and 

 those interested in bee-culture were invited to 

 be present. 



Much interest was manifested in the move- 

 ment, and about 150 bee-keepers were present 

 at the meeting. An organization was perfected, 

 entitled "The Northwestern Bee-Keepers' 

 Association." 



The following were elected as ofiicers of the 

 association: 



R. R. Murphy, Fulton, Ills., President, 



David Hess, Lyons, Iowa, Vice President, 



M. M. Baldridge, St. Charles, Ills., Sect'y, 



H. A. RoDGERS, Treasurer. 



committee on CONSTITUTION. 



J. Bullard, Evansville, Wis., M. M. Bald- 

 ridge, and James M. Marvin, of St. Charles, 

 Illinois. 



The main object of the meeting was to organ- 

 ize. There were many questions asked and an- 

 swered with regard to bees; but no notes were 

 taken of these proceedings. The American 

 Bee Journal was highly endorsed by its 

 readers present, and all bee-keepers were ad- 

 vised to become its subscribers and supporters. 

 A request was made that these notes be sent to 

 the American Bee Journal and other periodi- 

 cals friendly to the association, for publication. 



The meeting then adjourned, subject to the 

 call of the Secretary. Should the State Fair 

 be held on the same grounds the ensuing year, 

 there will doubtless be another meeting at the 

 time of the Fair. Notice will be given in the 

 Bee Journal and other papers, when the mat- 

 ter is decided. Meantime the Secretary invites 

 correspondence, with suggestions as to the time 

 and place of holding the next meeting. It may 

 be advisable to have a session next spring. The 

 Secretary would be pleased to receive the names 

 and post office address of those who desire to 

 become members of this association. 



M. M. BALDRIDGE, 

 Secretary. 



St. Charles, Ills. 



The queen bee is the soul of the colony. No 

 bee-keeper should undertake to winter a queen- 

 less colony. It is inevitably doomed to destruc- 

 tion, and all efforts to carry it through the Avin- 

 ter in that condition are bootless — involving a 

 waste of honey, and a misapplication of time 

 and labor. Unite the bees in the fall with some 

 other colony, and fumigate the combs with 

 brimstone, to preserve them for the use of 

 early swarms next spring. 



|^"Send us names of bee-keepers with Post 

 Office address. 



