thing else in which we might engage with a 

 desire to be successful ; lie was surprised 

 that with all the chances for improvement 

 and advancement in bee-culture, that there 

 are to-day so many professional bee-keep- 

 ers yet in darkness. He believed that 

 America had yet the task of producing the 

 improved bee of the future, as in the past 

 we have improved the stock of the old 

 country, and as we are now shipping back 

 to them, so would we at no distant day be 

 furnishing the old country with an im- 

 proved race of bees. 



On motion, Mr. Newman was requested 

 to address the convention at 11 o'clock a. m. 

 the following day. 



FRIDAY MORNING. 



The President appointed Messrs. Parks, 

 Lord and Coe a committee on finance. 



A vote of thanks was tendered Rev. Mr. 

 Briggs for his very able address of the pre- 

 vious evening. 



Following which different members dis- 

 cussed the subjects of "Where and How 

 shall we market our honey ? " " In what 

 ways can honey be used ? " " Honey re- 

 sources, and what shall we sow or plant for 

 honey or fruit ? " 



When " What hive should we use ? " was 

 asked, it was unanimously answered, "A 

 movable-comb bee hive, exactly or nearly 

 like the Langstroth." 



In response to " Should comb foundation 

 be used in surplus boxes ? " Mr. T. G. New- 

 man promptly and emphatically answered, 

 "No! except for starters." 



Mr. Win. Clement thought that " The 

 cause of spring dwindling" could be to a 

 great extent traced to and charged upon 

 the hive used, and in his experience had 

 prevented it wholly by using a double- 

 walled hive, with the spaces filled with 

 chaff, and a chaff cover to collect and ab- 

 sorb the moisture arising from the colony. 



Mr. Wm. Townsend felt satisfied that it 

 "Does pay to extract" in the increased 

 amount of surplus received thereby, but it 

 must be done judiciously. 



Rev. Mr. Briggs recommended the ex- 

 tractor, as by its use the inclination to 

 swarm was very largely prevented, and he 

 preferred extracted to comb honey for his 

 own use. 



Mr. D. D. Palmer thought it was as much 

 robbery now to take comb away from bees, 

 as it was murder in the days of brimstone. 



On "What causes abnormal swarming? " 

 there seemed to be some difference of opin- 

 ion which was left unsettled. 



Mr. Wm. Clement thought that on the ar- 

 rival of a nice warm day in early spring, the 

 bees take a notion to have a jolly old-fash- 

 ioned coming-out to such an extent that the 

 queen is induced to follow, and on her ar- 

 rival in their midst they unanimously vote 

 a swarm on hand, and they accordingly 

 swarm in regular old-fashioned style. 



The President had had a case, and felt 

 very much inclined to accept Mr. Clement's 

 theory. 



Rev. Mr. Briggs inquired if it might not 

 possibly be that the queen had been taken 

 sick and had voluntarily left the hive as do 

 workers when they become sick, and the 

 swarm followed. 



Mr. W. S. Fultz thought not, as he had 

 caught a small warm of that kind April 

 30th and placed them with their queen in a 

 5 lb. box, in which was worker comb, and 

 in 4 or 5 days the queen commenced laying. 



Eleven o'clock having arrived, Mr. Thos. 

 G. Newman addressed the convention ac- 

 cording to appointment, taking as his theme 

 "The Marketing of Honey." He said to 

 sell anything well it must be made attract- 

 ive, therefore comb honey should be put up 

 in small boxes (illustrated by a case of prize 

 boxes) in single combs of 1, V/i or 2 lbs. 

 each. These should be assorted and la- 

 beled, but in no case should the best honey 

 be put outside and the poor inside in order 

 to deceive ; this process he called " veneer- 

 ing." Extracted honey can be shipped in 

 barrels waxed inside, or in 10 lb. crocks or 

 tin cans. It is just as well to ship by freight 

 as express, and thus save the enormous ex- 

 press charges. The manner of extracting 

 honey was described; it should be extracted 

 so as to save the comb ; in no case extract 

 before the honey is ripened, otherwise it 

 will sour ; whenever the bees cap the comb 

 the honey is ripened ; the caps should be 

 carefully removed so as not to injure the 

 comb (here he exhibited an uncapping 

 knife of peculiar construction and described 

 its use); do not use the old can revolver for 

 extracting, there are newer and better pro- 

 cesses. One objection to extracted honey 

 is that purchasers fear it may be adulter- 

 ated, but if it candies it is a sure sign that 

 it is pure. He then described many new 

 and useful purposes to which honey is being 

 put, and referred to the adulteration of syr- 

 ups now sold in the markets. He said hardly 

 a drop of these syrups can be found that does 

 not contain some death-dealing substance. 

 The use of glucose for such adulteration 

 and also for bee food was strongly con- 

 demned. 



At the conclusion of the lecture a vote of 

 thanks was given Mr. Newman and he was 

 made an honorary member of this Associa- 

 tion. 



Mr. VanCamp having been called away to 

 Tipton on important business, Mr. W. T. 

 Kirk was chosen Secretary pro tern. 



The following is a list of the members of 

 the Muscatine District Association as 

 signed to the constitution : 



A. C. Drury, J. Piggott, A. N. VanCamp, J. P. 

 Lewis, Lyman Allen, D. D. Palmer, M. Farnsworth, 

 Wm. Clement, Jesse Bogart, W. P. Crawford, G. F. 

 Bryton, Geo. Parks, E. L. Briggs, Lewis Coe, J. K. 

 Brown, S. J. Sinnett, S. Y. Orr, R. Lord, Albert Lit- 

 trel, F. M. Sissell, Daniel Shannon, C. F. Healey, J. 

 L. Brown, W. S. Fultz, S. L. Foss, J. B. Lindle, T. G. 

 Newman, A. Cockshoot, D. H. Westbrook, W. T. 

 Kirk, E. F. Cassell, II. P. Jones, Thompson Boney, 

 C. S. Barnard, 1). R. Gilman, Chas. Page, C. Camp- 

 bell, Malinda Westbrook, Isaac Mathewson. 



At the afternoon session discussion took 

 place as to the condition of the cellar to 

 keep bees in winter, as to the time to cut 

 out drone comb, and as to the purity of the 

 Italian queen bee. The opinion seemed to 

 prevail that there is considerable imposition 

 in what are usually sold as Italian queens. 



Measures were adopted for a creditable 

 honey show at the next County Fair, and a 

 premium of $5 is offered. 



The time of next meeting is to be fixed by 

 the executive committee. 



A. N. VanCamp, Sec. 



