the duties pertaining to my office as 

 Vice President. I have at all times en- 

 deavored to permote the interests of 

 bee-culture in this State ; and have the 

 satisfaction of seeing the old " gum " 

 give way to movable-frame hives. As 

 you are aware I have induced our State 

 Fair Association to make a separate 

 class and offer liberal premiums for the 

 best display of bees and honey, &c, 

 " in the most marketable shape." I 

 have paved the way, also, for my suc- 

 cessor in office to organize a State Bee- 

 Keepers' Association at the time of our 

 State Fair, to be held about a month 

 hence. 

 The following letter was also read : 



De Vall's Bluff, Ark., Aug. 7. 1880. 

 Mr. President— My Dear Sir— By refer- 

 ring to the premium list of the 13th annual 

 State Fair of Arkansas, which is to be held 

 in Little Rock in October, you will see how 

 the interests of bee-keepers have been 

 cared for in this State. In accordance with 

 the suggestions which you made to the 

 Vice Presidents of the National Society, 

 through the American Bee Journal for 

 Febr lary. I placed myself in communica- 

 tion with the official board of our State 

 Fair Association, and submitted a list with 

 a recommendation that it or something 

 similar be adopted as a basis for the pre- 

 miums which it was hoped would be offered 

 for the products of the apiary. My list has 

 been adopted and a separate, class— Class K 

 —made for honey, etc. You will please 

 notice that the premiums awarded for honey 

 will he for the best "in the most market- 

 able shape." The words quoted I consider 

 important to prevent the awards being 

 given to honey which in itself may be 

 equally fine, but stored in a common "cap." 

 This has been done. W. W. Hipoi.ite. 



Dr. X. P. Allen, for Kentucky, re- 

 ports bee-keeping in a prosperous con- 

 dition in that State. Bee-keepers Asso- 

 ciations have done much to disseminate. 

 that knowledge that enables man to 

 prosecute bee-keeping intelligently and 

 profitably. The standard works on the 

 management and culture of the honey 

 bee. with the periodicals that are pub- 

 lished monthly, devoted to scientific and 

 practical bee-culture, and the produc- 

 tion and sale of pure honey, have been 

 scattered broadcost over the State, and 

 have done a great work in dispensing 

 the dark clouds of ignorance that have 

 hung over the minds of the people, and 

 of opening the eyes of the bee-keeper 

 to new fields of thought and investiga- 

 tion. The consequence is many have 

 thrown away the old box-hive, and have 

 adopted the movable-frame hive, have 

 procured the Italian bee, and have sup- 

 plied themselves with honey extractors, 

 bee smokers, honey boxes, sections, 

 comb-foundation, and such other useful 

 inventions as will enable them to prose- 



cute bee-keeping profitable and pleas- 

 antly. Thousands of pounds of both 

 extracted and comb honey are now pro^ 

 duced where none was obtained a few 

 years ago, and I feel justified in saying 

 there is no State better adapted to bee- 

 culture and the production of honey 

 than Kentucky. With her forests of 

 poplar and linden, her mountains and 

 plains so rich in bee-forage, her fields 

 covered with blue grass, inviting the 

 busy bee to come to the "feast of fat 

 things "—milk and honey, almost with- 

 out money and without price. I would 

 report that we have organized a State 

 Bee-Keepers' Association, and that we 

 have 3 other associations in the State, 

 all of which are doing a good work. I 

 am satisfied there is not more than half 

 an average honey crop this season. 

 Bees are in good condition for winter. 

 I earnestly advise all to make proper 

 preparations for winter, and leave 

 nothing undone that will conduce to 

 the safety, and comfort of the bees 

 during their long winter imprisonment. 



Dr. J. P. H. Brown, for Georgia, re- 

 ports the honey crop of the entire Slate 

 will not be over }4 of an average. The 

 latest report of the Commissioner of 

 Agriculture of the State, that contained 

 anything in reference to bees, estimated 

 the number of colonies in the State at 

 77,135, which is only one colony and a 

 fraction to each square mile. The aver- 

 age yield of honey per colony is put at 

 28 lbs. Total product 2,159,780. The 

 bulk of the bees are kept in the old- 

 fashioned box-hive, and all wintered on 

 their summer stands. In many places 

 movable-frame hives are being intro- 

 duced, and also Italian bees. The 

 major portion of the honey taken is of 

 an amber shade, rather dark, but of fine 

 flavor, and when in new comb, it pre- 

 sents an inviting appearance. The 

 honey is mostly obtained from the 

 natural flora of the country and not 

 from crops cultivated. 



D. P. Norton, for Kansas, reports as 

 follows : It is impossible even to ap- 

 proximately estimate the honey crop of 

 this State at this date, though it may be 

 safely put down as light. The honey 

 harvest in the State comes mainly in 

 September and is not yet secured. I 

 would not estimate it to exceed }i to % 

 an average. 



P. P. Collier, for Missouri, says : In 

 making up any report for Missouri, I 

 find from various correspondence in 

 different localities, a very slim crop of 

 honey up to Sept. 1. The heavy loss of 

 bees last winter and spring, the great 

 effort to build them up again, and the 

 continued dry weather, both early and 

 late, is the main cause of the failure in 



