From Bee-Keepers' Instructor. 



Central Ohio Convention. 



The November meeting was held at 

 Circleville, Ohio, on the 19th, X. Julian 

 presiding. The minutes were read and 

 approved. The attendance being small, 

 the discussion of the question previ- 

 ously announced was posponed to next 

 meeting. 



Henry Culp, of Hilliard, Ohio, .7. W. 

 Newlove, of Columbus, O., and 8. X. 

 Oldham, of Reynoldsburg, O., were ap- 

 pointed a committee to confer with the 

 Ohio State Board of Agriculture, in re- 

 gard to establishing an Apiarian depart- 

 ment at their annual fair. After trans- 

 acting some other unimportant business. 

 the Association adjourned to meet in 

 Chillicothe the third Wednesday in Jan- 

 uarv, 1880, when the question appointed 

 for this meeting :— " Who should keep 

 Bees ?" will be discussed. 



N. Julian, Pres. 



S. D. Riegel, Secy. 



Michigan State Convention. 



The Michigan Bee-Keepers , Associa- j 

 tion met pursuant to call, on Dec. 10, in 

 the Court Room at Jackson, Mich. 



Pres. A. B. Cheney not being present, 

 the Secretary called the meeting to 

 order and Dr. Samuel Stevenson, of 

 Morenci, was elected Chairman, pro 

 term., who opened the meeting with a 

 few well chosen remarks and proceeded 

 to business. 



The Secretary read the following 

 essay from James Heddon, of Dowagiac, 

 Mich., on 



Prospects of Bee-Keeping. 



I regret not being able to enjoy a 

 pleasant visit with you, such as we 

 always have at these conventions, other 

 than which 1 (like IV Novice") can hardly 

 see the value of them. I would suggest 

 that the question of " Supply and De- 

 mand," which so much affects your first 

 topic for discussion, viz : " Prospects of 

 Bee-Keeping, '" be fully canvassed. I 

 would prefer the topic to read : " Pros- 

 pects of Bee-Keepers." If they keep a 

 sharp eye on their interests, the pursuit 

 will take care of itself. I mean bee- 

 keepers that now exist. If this Conven- 

 tion is a honey-producers' Convention, 

 it has no more to do with the honey- 

 producer that is to be, than with the 

 pursuit of blacksmithing. 



I hope to see in your report, that you 

 have taken into consideration the mar- 

 keting and prices of our uncertain 

 product, and that you remembered that 

 lumber has advanced, and is going still 



higher; that nails, glass, tin, &c, are 

 nearly double prices ; that wages are 

 advancing (and justly so); that nearly 

 all which we have to buy is on the 

 '• boom,' 1 and that it becomes necessary 

 that we " boom' 1 also. Many bee-keep- 

 ers sold their crop of comb-honey at 

 12^c. per lb., and one party near here 

 sold beautiful comb honey at 8c, net 

 weight. Had there been a full crop the 

 world over, these sales would have been 

 a precedent, and would have lixed the 

 prices you and I would have had to take. 

 But the scarcity in the Old World and 

 California, as well as the very light 

 crops about us, proved our salvation 

 from these starvation prices. I am at 

 present holding four-fifths of my crop 

 till spring. I have sold the culls of my 

 crop and some odd-sized frames, and so 

 far have realized lS^'c per lb. above all 

 expenses. Extracted does not go above 

 10(a)12^c. per lb. by the barrel, according 

 to grade. Comb honey production pays 

 best, by all odds, this season. 



Dried apples, prunes, and many other 

 kinds of sour sauce having more than 

 doubled in price lately, attention has 

 been turned toward "sweet sauce."" 

 Sugars, butter, &c, being higher, honey 

 must advance— it is advancing. With 

 proper management on the part of the 

 honey producers of to-day, we may look 

 for good prices for honey raised during 

 1880. Though I deal in supplies, my 

 whole soul and interest is with the pro- 

 ducers (of whom 1 am one), and that 

 you may obtain large crops, and that 

 farmers, carpenters and blacksmiths 

 will also do first rate at their legitimate 

 pursuits, is the earnest desire of your 

 fellow bee-keeper, James Heddon. 



P. S. — I hope there is no supply dealer 

 present, whose goods are so non-useful 

 that he must create a raw apiarist in 

 order to find a customer. J. II. 



Erastus "Weeks, of Jackson, said he 

 felt inadequate to the comprehension of 

 so vast a question ; but he would say 

 that while prices have had a downward 

 tendency for the last few years, still, 

 with his present facilities and' knowledge 

 his profits were better than formerly. 

 He regarded the present outlook as en- 

 couraging to those who were masters of 

 their business and had such pasture and 

 capital as the successful prosecution of 

 any business required. Many of the 

 farmers had lost their bees and the low 

 price of honey would do much to pre- 

 vent men without experience and capi- 

 tal from further investment. He was 

 convinced that nothing but the stern 

 hand of Providence could stay the ad- 

 vance of progressive apiculture. 



S. C. Perry. Lansing, regarded the 



