282 



AMERICAN BEE JOURMAi^. 



also manufacture cans containing from 

 one to ten pounds. 



, Wickson & Co. exhibited the Cowan 

 extractor and samples of Root's supplies. 



John Schuyler & Son also exhibited T 

 tins, etc. 



Charts illustrating the bee and its most 

 important parts were placed before the 

 Association, and were much admired and 

 studied. 



Upon motion of Mr. Brodbeck, a vote 

 of thanks was tendered to the officers of 

 the Association for their efficient ser- 

 vices. 



The Association then adjourned to 

 meet in Los Angeles, at such time and 

 place as may be designated by the Ex- 

 ecutive Committee. 



J. F. McIntyre, Pres. 



John H. Maktin, Sec. 



^F~ Do not write anything for publication 

 on the same sheet of paper wltn business 

 matters, unless it can be torn apart without 

 interfering with either part of the letter. 



The Poppy — Bees as Fertilizers. 



Are poppies honey-producers ? For a 

 certain purpose, and as an experiment, we 

 had two colonies of bees sent to us last 

 spring. About the first thing the bees 

 would alight on in the morning was the 

 poppy bed. It seemed that the poppy was 

 very attractive to them while the dew was 

 on in the morning, and after a shower. 

 Whether they were gathering honey, pol- 

 len, or merely sipping the water, or 

 whether they had imbibed the opium habit, 

 is a question. 



The poppy is so easily raised, that if val- 

 uable for bee-food, we would be glad to 

 know it. 



Perhaps some of the readers would like 

 to know what became of the two colonies 

 of bees. Well, they lived, and each one 

 cast a swarm. One of them filled and 

 capped 56 one-pound sections, and the 

 other one-half that amount. One of the 

 new colonies filled six or seven sections, 

 and capped them, and then they all stop- 

 ped storing honey, although they were 

 still lively, but the flowers had become too 

 dry. The four colonies were put into the 

 cellar on Nov. 11th. The rest we can tell 

 better next spring. 



The winters are so long here that no one 

 will ever be likely to make a fortune in the 

 bee-business. The purpose for which we 

 got the bees was to fertilize pumpkins, 

 squashes, etc. Bumble-bees will effect the 

 same purpose, but they were not plenty 

 enough here to depend upon them, and 

 there was not a honey-bee in this vicinity 

 previous to last spring. 



Bathgate, N. Dak. F. A. Willson. 



[Last year we had a short illustrated 

 article on the poppy, by Mr. W. A. Pryal. 

 of California, who said that it yielded pol- 

 len almost wholly, and that as a honey- 

 plant it would likely never prove valuable. 

 — Ed.J 



Two Doctors and Two States. 



On page 84 is an article from Dr. E. Gal- 

 lup, singing the praises of California as the 

 "greatest State in the United States." 

 Now this may all be true — we make no ob- 

 jections to the enthusiasm, only this: It 

 all applies to one other State of the Union, 

 with these modifications, viz. : Our Florida 

 Japanese plums are now ripe — ripen from 

 December to May. Oranges and lemons 

 ripen and hang on trees all winter. Our 

 firewood costs us, delivered, ^1.50 per cord 

 — only the cost of labor. Our rainy season 

 is June, July and August. Our winters are 

 dry and warm. Good artesian wells flow- 

 ing 30 gallons of pure water out of a 1}4 

 inch pipe, costs from .^40 to .$75 each. No 

 irrigation is needed here in Florida. No 

 week's travel, either, to reach Florida — only 

 48 hours from Chicago or St. Louis. You 

 see, Bro. Gallup, we are both from Iowa — 

 you from Mitchell and I from Black Hawk 

 counties ; you are ahead on the honey har- 

 vest — we take off' our hat to you on honey, 

 and ask you to take off yours on climate. 

 Jesse Oren, M. D. 



Daytona. Fla., Jan. 32. 



Prevention of After-Swarms. 



I read with much interest Frank Cover- 

 dale's article on page 113. A few words of 

 his in the Bee Journal a year or so ago, 

 in regard to using a bee-escape to prevent 

 after swarms, was of great benefit to me 

 last summer. It worked like a charm. 

 Being young in the business, I had never 

 seen a bee-escape, but with a few wire 

 cones I soon manufactured several that 

 answered every purpose, without boring 

 holes in the hives. 



While waiting on a customer in my store, 

 one of my colonies swarmed. An Alley 

 queen-trap kept them from leaving, but be- 

 fore I could spare the time to attend to 

 them, they had returned to the hive, leav- 

 ing the queen and a few bees in the trap. 

 Old bee-keepers would have known what to 

 do, but, as I said before, I was young in 

 the business, and for a moment I was non- 

 plussed. How was I to get that swarm to 

 come out and join the queen and her few 

 companions in another hive ? 



Frank Coverdale's idea flashed through 



