Northwestern Bee-keepers' Union. 



At a meeting of the-bee-keepers of 

 Minnesota, at St. Paul, on the 4th of 

 September, they organized themselves 

 into the " Northwestern Bee-Keepers' 

 Union," and elected the following 

 officers i 



President— S. H. Barteau. 



Yice Presidents— Wm. Amery, C. Caspar, 

 C. S. Pierce. 



Secretary— F. B. Dorothy. 



Treasurer— Dr. P. Barton. 



Board of Managers— J. E. Teter, W. H. 

 Fletcher, Uriah B. Scott. 



The annual meeting is to be held at 

 St. Paul, December 9, 1879, at 2 p.m. 

 There should be a good attendance, and 

 we hope to record an enthusiastic and 

 interesting meeting. Advices from the 

 St. Paul region report the past season 

 as not encouraging in point of honey 

 yield. 



A Whopper.— We read in the Cincinnati 

 Grange Bulletin that "a great 'bee-tree,' 

 three and a half feet in diameter, was felled 

 the other day by R. M. Wilson, in Morgan 

 county, Ky. The hollow trunk contained 

 ten feet of solid honey." Either the story 

 or the " bee-tree " is a whopper. Think of 

 it, "ten feet of solid honey !" Well, well, 

 "did you ever ?" 



Mr. Thos. H. McWebb, of London, Ont., 

 writes: "I must now say a word for the 

 Bee Journal : I like it splendidly ; I 

 have learned more from it, since I became 

 a subscriber, than I knew from 10 years' 

 experience with bees. I wish it every suc- 

 cess." 



Buckwheat for Bees. 



A good deal has been said for and against, 

 as regards buckwheat being a good honey 

 plant, and whether it paid to litter up a farm 

 with the ineradicable stuff, for the sake of 

 breeding a few bees. Recent experiments 

 by prominent and extensive apiarists in 

 this and neighboring states, satisfy us with- 

 out doubt that buckwheat is valuable as a 

 honey plant. It was found in these experi- 

 mental beds that the silver hull vai'iety has 

 more flowers on the plants, and yields more 

 to the acre. The honey is dark, but is pre- 

 ferred to all other kinds by some people. Po 

 blooms from four to six weeks after sowing. 



It will do fairly well on any soil, but 

 thrives best on a rich soil. It should be 

 sown broadcast, three pecks to the acre. It 

 is usually sown here late in July, but for 

 bees it had better be sown early in June, 



then it will bloom about the middle of July, 

 when bloom is usually absent, and will, we 

 think, yield just as well ; though we judge 

 simply from observing small plants. The 

 cultivation before sowing should be deep 

 and thorough. 



It is safe in estimating that each acre of 

 buckwheat sown within 13^ miles of any 

 apiary is worth $100.— Minnesota Farmer. 



From the Greenville, Miss., Advertiser. 



A Mississippi Apiary, 



We have recently visited Mrs. Theobald's 

 park, and inspected Dr. Blanton's apiary of 

 170 colonies of Italian bees, all handsomely 

 housed beneath the grand forest trees in 

 Langstroth hives. Our clever friend has 

 given much time and thought to bee-culture, 

 and has practically proven that an apiary in 

 our section on a large scale is not the 

 visionary dream of a sensationalist. We 

 cannot now tell of all the interesting and 

 mysterious sights, but can assure all who 

 are at all curious that they will be amply 

 repaid by an evening visit to the apiary. 

 The park now, with its magnificent trees 

 and inviting shade, is more lovely than ever, 

 while the numerous hives of snowy white- 

 ness suggest the idea of so many cottages in 

 a miniature city. The workshop and store- 

 room of the establishment are models of 

 neatness and convenience. Here we exam- 

 ined the honey and wax 'extractors ; nearby 

 was a circular foot-power saw for making 

 hives ; then there was the bellows smoker 

 for quieting the little workers. On looking 

 around we noticed the artificial comb that 

 assists and guides the bee in making per- 

 fect combs. The shipping cases are con- 

 structed with glass sides, to expose to view 

 the beautiful comb honey. Our genial host 

 informed us that the present season had so 

 far been a poor one for making honey, 

 owing to late frosts in April and a "cold 

 snap " in May. The harvest to date has 

 been about 1,500 lbs. of comb and 1,200 lbs. 

 of extracted honey. The Doctor uses the 

 movable-frame hive, with glass section 

 boxes in the upper story, so that he can 

 manipulate the comb and bees with as much 

 ease as the gambler does a deck of squeezers. 

 We were also informed that, excepting 

 California, there is no country better adapted 

 to bee-culture than the alluvial lands of the 

 Yazoo delta. The Doctor is thoroughly 

 versed in Bee-ology, and takes pride ana 

 pleasure in furnishing valuable information 

 to all citizens interested. Thus ended a 

 pleasant visit, and we'll B sure to go again. 



The Hive I Use.— This is a pamphlet 

 of 10 pages, giving a description of the hive 

 used by Mr. G. M. Doolittle; it is re-pub- 

 lished from the Bee Journal for March, 

 for the convenience of the many who desire 

 to get the particulars therein given, either 

 for reference or making the hive for their 

 own use. It can be obtained at this office: 

 price 5 cents. 



