t&oimmtwus. 



Rock River Valley Convention. 



The bee-keepers of Davis Junction, 

 111., and vicinity, met pursuant to call. 

 G. W. Frasier was called to the chair. 

 It was voted to organize an association 

 to be called the " Rock River Valley 

 Bee-Keepers' Association." After some 

 preliminary business, it was adjourned 

 till 1 o'clock, when the following officers 

 were duly elected for the coming year : 



President, A. Rice ; Vice President, 

 J. C. Evans; Secretary, D. A. Fuller; 

 Treasurer, H. H. Everton. 



Constitution and By-Laws were then 

 adopted. 



Mr. Lucas asked if any member had 

 fed in the spring, so as to make it 

 profitable V 



Mr. Evans thought it paid him to feed 

 a little honey early, to stimulate. 



On the subject of "how to winter 

 successfully," Mr. Everton was called 

 for, and said that he put his hives in a 

 row, on 2x4 scantling, facing the east ; 

 boarded up on the back, then packed all 

 around them with chaff and straw ; and 

 never lost any when prepared in this 

 way. 



Mr. Lucas preferred the cellar. 



Mr. Evans thought that the reason 

 for so many dying in winter, in the cel- 

 lar was the want of upward ventilation. 



Mr. Gumming asked if any one had 

 experimented as to which takes the 

 most honey to winter, out of doors or 

 in the cellar. 



Mr. Lucas said that the cellar takes 

 the least honey, and to keep them there 

 until they can work in spring is a sure 

 preventive of " spring dwindling." 



Mr. Morse asked what was the best 

 food for bees. 



Mr. Everton thought rye flour and 

 honey the best. 



The President described how he fed 

 his bees, using a goblet with a piece of 

 cloth over the top, turned down over the 

 frames ; he feeds syrup made of sugar 

 and water. 



Mr. Everton uses a lamp chimney, 

 which he can fill without removing. 



Mr. Frasier preferred the Shuck 

 feeder. 



Mr. Lucas then gave his plan for 

 catching swarms, as follows : He takes 

 a long stick or pole and ties on the end 

 of it a bunch of mullein heads. When 

 the swarm is about to cluster, he holds 

 the mullein heads amongst them and 

 they immediately cluster on them ; he 

 then carries them to the hive. 



Mr. Frasier asked for the number of 



colonies each member had in the spring, 

 increase, surplus honey, and manner of 

 wintering. 



Spring. Increase. Surplus. 



Mr. Frasier 18 10.. Wintered in cellar. .None 



G. &D. A. Fuller. .45.... 20.. " " ..1000 



Mr Lyman 8 6. . " " . . 175 



J.C.Evans 8.... 5.. " " ..160 



Eber Lucas 15. ...20.. " " ..1200 



O. J. Cummings. . 9 6.. " " 



A.Rice 20... 30. . " " ..200 



H. H. Everton.... 18 ... 10.. Packed in chaff 700 



W.Morse 7.... 3.. " " 



The question of " How to Italianize" 

 was answered by the President, as fol- 

 lows : Catch the black queen, cage her 

 one day before removing, then put in 

 the Italian queen, with one end of the 

 cage filled with leaves ; when the bees 

 want her they will pull out the leaves, 

 and thus liberate her. 



It was voted that the next meeting be 

 held at Davis Junction, May 18th 1880. 

 D. A. Fuller, Secretary, 



Cherry Valley, Illinois. 



Read before the Indiana State Convention. 



How to Succeed in Bee-Keeping. 



REV. M. MAHIN, D. D. 



As this is a Convention of bee-keep- 

 ers, I presume that all are interested in 

 the best means of securing success. 

 And though I do not pretend to rank 

 with the great bee masters of Europe 

 and America, I think I can make some 

 suggestions which will be of advantage 

 to those who have less experience than 

 I have had. I began bee-keeping 10 

 years ago, and I have been an amateur 

 and enthusiast ever since. I have read 

 nearly all that has been written or pub- 

 lished in this country on the subject, 

 and have had a somewhat large and 

 varied experience. 



I have given everything pertaining to 

 bee-culture very careful attention, and 

 I have been as successful as any of my 

 acquaintances who have been in the 

 business. There was a time when I 

 was more ready to dogmatize than I am 

 now. Experience has taught me to be 

 modest in my claims as to a knowledge 

 and mastery of the subject. 



The first thing necessary to bee- 

 keeping is a hive. Bees cannot be kept 

 without something to keep them in, and 

 experience has demonstrated that in 

 these wide-awake times, when com- 

 petition is so sharp, it will not do at all 

 to keep bees in the old box hives and 

 log gums. We must have movable- 

 comb hives, and to be successful we 

 must have the best attainable. I shall 

 not enter largely into the discussion of 

 the hive question. There are many 

 good hives now before the public, and 

 any one of the good ones will answer 



