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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[April, 



Bloomington; J. H. Hendrick, Clinton ; J. L. Pea- 

 body, Normal. Secretary — John Ansley, Blooming- 

 ton. Corresponding Secretary, J. W. Gladding, 

 Normal. Treasurer— J. L. Wolcott, Bloomington. 



On motion of J. L. Wolcott, the thanks of this 

 association were returned to all the papers which 

 had published a notice of this meeting, also to the 

 City Council for the use of their hall. 



The association then adjourned to meet at such 

 time and place as the Executive Committee may 

 appoint. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



From the South. 



Mr. Clarke: I have been taking the A. B. J. for 

 over a year, but have never seen more than one or 

 two communications in it from any one this far 

 .south. I thought perhaps some of your many 

 readers away up there in the frozen north and 

 northwest would like to know what our bees are 

 doing here, at this season of the year, the 15th of 

 February. Well, I know if Messrs. Hosmer, Dun- 

 lap, Dr. Bohrer, Quinby, Galllup, Mrs. Tupper and 

 a host of other bee-keepers from that cold country, 

 could take a peep at my bees to-day and see how 

 busy they are at work, and how fast they are 

 making comb, they could not help but rejoice, as I 

 do myself. I have been trying to feed them sugar 

 syrup, but they do not care much for it, it apj:>ears 

 that they find something in the woods that they like 

 better than sugar-water. They have been bringing 

 in pollen for the last two weeks and have com- 

 menced their work for the season in earnest. 



How we bee-keepers here in the south sympathize 

 with you bee-men up north. In looking over the last 

 two numbers of the Journal, we find the song from 

 one end to the other, " how shall I winter my bees?" 

 or "how shall I protect them from the cold and 

 dysentry?" What an amount of labor they have to 

 undergo to protect their little ones. They have to 

 dig cellars, build houses, carry them in and carry 

 them out, ventilate them to-day, and if it gets cold 

 to-night, close them up to-morrow. Let me add one 

 thought here. Speaking of ventilation for bees, I 

 believe there is more humbuggery about that than 

 anything pertaining to bee-keeping. I use a movable 

 frame hive, and one that is well ventilated, and if 

 bees need ventilation anywhere it is in the south 

 during our hot summers. The hive that I am using 

 I believe is as good a hive as any in use, and yet, in 

 spite of all that I can do, they will close up all the 

 ventilators, and that in the midst of summer. If I 

 open them to-day they will have them closed to-mor- 

 row. I have come to the conclusion to let them have 

 their own way about it, for when I am in the house 

 and want the doors closed I am very apt to close 

 them, and if they want their ventilators open, they 

 can cut the propolis away as easily as to put it 

 there. 



We never think of moving our bees off their sum- 

 mer stands for protection here in the winter, in this 

 latitude. We have had more cold weather this winter 

 than ever before, yet notwithstanding our bees have 

 not been kept in the hives more than three or four 

 days at a time. 



My bees did very well here last season, and I 

 expect them to do better this year, if it is as good a 



season as it was last for gathering honey. I expect 

 to use the extractor. I do not keep bees for a profit, 

 but for the pleasure it gives me to be about them and 

 see them at work, and then I am very fond of 

 honey. 



Mr. Clarke, I intend to try and get you some sub- 

 scribers around here, for we have men living here, 

 in this enlightened age, that are so far behind in 

 regard to the knowledge of the nature and habits of 

 the honey bee that I fear it will be a long time before 

 they will get rid of their benighted ideas, even with 

 the aid of the many able contributors to the A. B. J. 

 Why, sir, we have men here who have bees who pro- 

 fess to know something about them with the old- 

 fogyish ideas that the queen is the king or he-bee, 

 and that the drones are the female bees, and that 

 they are the ones that lay the eggs. I know that all 

 the bee-men, north and west, will laugh when they 

 hear this, but I cannot help it, for I have been trying 

 to put some bee knowledge into their heads for a long 

 time ; some of them have been convinced, but there 

 are others who are headstrong and think they know 

 it all. It will require more force than I have to 

 convert them, but if I can induce them to take the 

 A. B. J. for one year, then I know they will be 

 brought to the light and knowledge that they now 

 possess not. 



I am sure of this, that a man will never know 

 much about bees until he reads the most popular 

 works upon the honey bee, and takes a bee journal 

 and throws away his old box gum and makes use of a 

 movable frame hive. When he does this, then he can 

 appreciate the operations of the bee. 



Here, in this land, (you may say "land of honey,'' 

 for the bees can gather it nearly all the year,) if a 

 man gets twenty or twenty-five pounds of honey from 

 a stand of bees, he thinks he is doing well. Why ? 

 Because they use the old box gum, and they rob the 

 bees once or twice in a season. They have never 

 seen a honey extractor, and many of them have 

 never heard of such a thing. When I tell them of 

 its results, that they can get from one to three hun- 

 dred pounds of honey from a single colony, the mind 

 of the listener is filled with incredulity, but when 

 you establish the evidence upon which these results 

 are based, then incredulity gives place to feelings of 

 astonishment and admiration, and many will ask 

 " what will they get at next ?" 



We have a good many bees in this part of the 

 country, but no Italians. I tried last summer to 

 Italianize my black bees, but failed on account of 

 sickness. I have sent to get a colony of Italians, 

 and if I get them I will soon have all of my 

 blacks flying about with three golden bands around 

 them. 



C. H. Chandlkr. 

 Greenville, Butler Co., Ala., Feb. 15, 1873. 



ggjp I here present thee with a hive of bees, laden, 

 some with wax, and some with honey. Fear not to 

 approach ! There are no wasps, there are no hor- 

 nets here. If some wanton bee should chance to 

 buzz about thine ears, stand thy ground and hold 

 thy hands; there's none that will sting thee if thou 

 strike not first. If any do, she hath honey in her 

 bag will cure thee too. — Quarles. 



