64 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



The meetings had always been very in- 

 teresting, and were largely attended. Mr. 

 Waite thought it would be a good idea to 

 revive this association. 



Col. Colman asked if Mr. Waite 

 thought October the best time for hold- 

 ing such annual meeting. Mr. Waite 

 thought so from the fact that there were 

 so many farmers in the city at that 

 time. 



The chairman differed from Mr. Waite. 

 When people came to the Fair they didn't 

 come to attend horticultural meetings or 

 meetings of any kind. 



Mr. Guy, of JeflFerson Co., did not be- 

 lieve in the feasibility of reviving the old 

 society. New men could organize much 

 better than revive an association. The 

 speaker was also in favor of holding the 

 annual meetings at some other time than 

 during Fair week. 



Mr. W. G. Smith offered the following 

 resolution, which was adopted : 



Resolved, That this meeting now pro- 

 ceed to organize an Association to be 

 known as the Mississippi Valley Bee 

 Keepers' Association, and that we pro- 

 ceed to the election of a President, Vice- 

 President, Secretary and Treasurer, who 

 shall hold their office for one j^ear, and 

 until their successors are duly elected 

 and qualified. 



In accordance with this resolution the 

 following officers were elected for the 

 ensuing year: 



President — Norman J. Colman ; Vice- 

 President — E. A. Riehl ; Secretary — W. G. 

 Smith ; Treasurer — L. C. Waite. 



Upon motion of Mr. Guy, the officers 

 were constituted a committee to draft a 

 constitution, to be published as soon as 

 prepared. 



Upon motion of Mr. Smith, it was de- 

 cided that when the association adjourns, 

 it adjourn to the first Tuesday in April. 



Free discussion being now in order, 

 Mr. Riehl gave a brief narration of his 

 experience in bee-keeping for the past 

 year. He kept twenty -five or thirty hives. 

 Tried to prevent swarming as much as 

 possible. The past season has been un- 

 favorable to bee-culture. He thought the 

 extractor prevented swarming. Of course 

 he clipped one wing of the queen, and 

 this was a great preventive. 



Mr. Smith said his experience with 

 bees had been merely experimental. He 

 used the Longstroth hive, so arranged as 

 to use either story, sometimes one story 

 at the top and again the other. In arti- 

 ficial swarming he left it as near as pos- 

 sible to nature. The past season had 

 been a favorable one to bee-culture in St. 

 Louis county. 



Mr. Waite said that the past year liad 

 been a most prosperous one in tliis local- 

 ity, as well as some distance south of here. 

 There was no doubt that in keeping bees, 

 frames of some kind should be used in 



the hives. Keeping bees meant hard 

 work. He favored Italian bees. Had 

 kept, some seasons, 150 stems of bees. He 

 instanced, in arguing, that bee culture 

 would pay, that he had had one hive that 

 put up 250 lbs. of honey in one season. 

 Mr. Waite recommended the Queen hive 

 as the best for all purposes. He had been 

 keeping bees fifteen years: knew, that 

 properly attended to, they would pay at 

 least one hundred per cent. The fault 

 seemed to be that farmers were too apt to 

 neglect their bees. 



Mr. J. T. Colman said he had noticed 

 his bees during the past week lighting up- 

 on the buds of the maples. 



Col. Colman said he had kept bees for 

 twenty-five years. He thought the secret 

 of success in their cultivation was to keep 

 the swarms strong. He said he was a 

 convert to the movable-frame hive, for the 

 bees could be then handled like stock of 

 any kind. Hives can be equalized and 

 saved by its use. He preferred the Queen 

 hive. He explained in detail the advan- 

 tages offered in the Queen hive. In con- 

 cluding his remarks. Col. Colman congrat- 

 ulated the Association upon their organ- 

 ization, and pledged himself to do all in 

 his power to further their interest. 



Mr. Guy objected to the use of smoke 

 about the hives: he recommended to 

 those fearful of being stung, a fine wire 

 mask and rubber gloves. 



Mr. Smith thought there were times 

 when smoke was absolutely required. 



Col. Colman said he had found honey 

 an excellent remedy for cfiills. 



Mr. Smith referred to the vast quanti- 

 ties of adulterated honey on the market, 

 and this called out a random and desul- 

 tory discussion upon the subject. It was 

 the sense of the Association to procure the 

 passage of a law rigorously punishing all 

 persons guilty of manufacturing and vend- 

 ing adulterated honey. 



Mr. Tilden, of Jasper county, having 

 come in after the meeting had advanced 

 somewhat, was called upon to state some- 

 what of the progress of bee-calture in his 

 section of the State. He briefij^ stated 

 that in the remote past, apiaries had not 

 done well in Jasper county, but during 

 the past year bee-culture had met with 

 gratifying results. 



There ensued a brisk discussion upon 

 the proper construction of hives, partici- 

 pated in by Messrs. Cordell, Smith, Col- 

 man and Monteith. There was consider- 

 able difference of opinion. Mr. Riehl 

 took the President to task for having said 

 that the culture of bees was an easy task 

 and could be safely entrusted to children. 



Col. Colman said Mr. Reilil had mis- 

 represented him. He (Colman) had said 

 that to insure success in bee keeping, the 

 utmost care and unremitting labor were 

 necessary. He had said and still contend- 

 ed that women and children were just as 



