296 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



May 8, 1902. 



Association Notes ^ 



ByEMERSOX T, AliUOTT, St. Joseph, Alissouri. J^ 



Gen. Mgr. of the National Bee-Keepers' .A-Ssociation. ty 



Extracts from Letters.— "The writer begrs to extend 

 congratulations and sincere well wishes." — H. E. Hill, 

 Editor American Bee-Keeper. 



" Permit me to offer ray hearty congfratulations on your 

 election to the office of General .Slanag-er of the National 

 Bee-Keepers' Association. Mr. John Froliger, who is a 

 member of the advisory board of this company, joins me in 

 the same. We know that the aifairs of the Association are 

 in the proper hands. We wish yon a successful term. If I 

 can be of any service to you in the aifairs of the Associa- 

 tion in this city, do not hesitate to command." — Fred W. 

 MuTH, of Ohio. 



"Accept congratulations for your successorship to Gen- 

 eral Manager Secor. May success lie in your pathway." — 

 F. W. Hall, of Iowa. 



"I am glad to see that the Association has an energetic 

 manager, and hope you will have the time to spare to keep 

 its affairs in proper order. I should like to know where I 

 can get information in regard to keeping bees on the public 

 highway in the State of Illinois."— C. F. Bender, of Illi- 

 nois. Who can answer this question ? 



" I hope you will receive all the support necessary from 

 the members of the Association, to lessen the duties of the 

 office now imposed upon you. Co-operation we must have 

 to maintain the honor and usefulness of the Association." 

 — John W. EylE, of Nevada. 



"In the earliest days of the Association I was a mem- 

 ber, and now desire to take it up again." — L,. A. Pennoyer, 

 of Minnesota. 



"If necessary to make an assessment of one or two 

 dollars to fight this spraying-of-the-open-blossom business, 

 ray assessment will be ready any time you want it. That 

 raan Williams ought to be pulled out of the hole without 

 any regard to the cost."— Ralph B. DailEy, of New York. 



The Important Thing' just now engaging the atten- 

 tion of the General Manager is the subject of spraj-ing fruit 

 when in bloom. He had mailed to him a circular letter 

 issued by William Stahl, in which is advocated spraying 

 when in bloom. This circular gives the testimony of IS or 

 20 people who say they have tested the matter. The Gen- 

 eral Manager wrote a letter to each of these persons, asking 

 him for further information, and requesting him to explain 

 fully why he thought it a good thing to spray when in 

 bloom. Up to this time only two have replied. One of 

 them shows clearly by what he says that he has been spray- 

 ing blindly. The General Manager will have more to say 

 about this in future notes. We quote an extract from 

 another letter which will explain itself : 



" Replying to yours of the 19th, I will say that three 

 years ago I sprayed my fruit while in bloom, and I did 

 think at that tirae that it benefited the trees. However, 

 that was the first time, and, also, the last time I sprayed 

 my trees while in bloom. Now, I do not intend to do it any 

 more. I can not say if I am quoted correctly in Mr. Stahl's 

 circular, as I have not seen one. I wrote him something 

 about it at the time, but do not remember just what I said. 

 However, I will say to you that I am too fond of bees to do 

 anything to kill thera."— E. Chapell, Sr., of Michigan. 



Membership Dues stiU continue to come in, but there 

 is yet room for many thousands more. Have you sent in 

 your dollar? If not, do it now. 



The Sweet-Clover Bill, in Ohio, is probably safely 

 pigeon-holed for good, writes Secretary Mason. We con- 

 gratulate our Ohio friends on their successful campaign 

 against this bill. All that is needed is energetic work on 

 the part of the bee-keepers of the United States, and in a 

 short time the busy bee will be recognized as having some 

 rights in law, as well as elsewhere. 



Sweet Clover Bulletin. — The General Manager is in 

 receipt of a letter from Prof. Frank Benton, in which he 

 says : 



"Your letter of April 19 [to the Secretary of Agricul- 

 ture], in reference to the growing of sweet clover, has just 

 been referred to me for reply. I went immediately to the 

 Agrostologist, and, not finding him there, consulted with 

 his first assistant regarding the issuance of a bulletin on 

 sweet clover. He seems to think the subject might war- 

 rant something of the kind. I think that a candid discus- 

 sion of the subject, giving, so far as possible, all phases 

 of the matter, would place it in its right light, and our in- 

 terests, as well as the farming public in general, would be 

 benefited thereby. I shall see the Agrostologist himself, 

 and endeavor to bring the matter to a point as soon as pos- 

 sible, and then report to you further." 



The General Manager is very glad indeed to have the 

 co-operation of Prof. Benton, and he wrote him at once to 

 urge him to look after the matter, and do what he could to 

 secure a fair and candid discussion of the subject by some 

 government official, who will give both sides of the ques- 

 tion. Prof. Benton is in a position to aid the bee-keepers 

 in many ways, and we are glad to have his co-operation. 

 E. T. Abbott, General I\ianager. 



* The Afterthought. % 



The 



'Old Reliable" seen through New and Unreliable Qlasses. 

 By E. E. HASTY, Sta. B Rural, Toledo, O. 



robbbr-bees stinging other bees. 



One competent observer, S. T. Pettit, of Ontario, reports 

 on the robber-bees. They sometimes sting the bees they 

 are trying to rob, but quite rarely. Page 191. 



QUOTING THE HONEY MARKET. 



Anent page 95, it is easy to see that the dealer who buys 

 honey outright, and also deals on commission, and also 

 furnishes quotations for the bee-papers, is tempted to quote 

 a little too low, whether he yields to the temptation or not. 

 Furthermore, it is easy to see that the rascal who deliber- 

 ately intends to skin his consignors alive, is tempted (if 

 that's a proper word for him and Satan) to quote prices a 

 good deal too high. 



Low quotation ? Honest coon. 

 Scoundrel — prices to the moon. 



EVERYBODY KEEPING BEES. 



Yes, Mr. Wisconsin, we are not anxious to have our 

 neighbors dip into keeping bees; but if we refuse to sell 

 them any it will stimulate their determination to have some 

 — as well as lower our own standing. Offer them swarms 

 the next swarming season, they to send you the hives to put 

 them in. Let the rates offered be reasonable. The chances 

 are that they will not actually send the hives. Page 196. 



PUTTING UP THIN HONEY. 



I expect (but if you're a rogue, and want to do it, don't 

 read this) that if thin honey be heated and put in air-tight 

 condition before it begins to ferment, the fermentation will 

 then be slight or lacking until the package is opened. But 

 I don't believe a wooden barrel can be depended upon for 

 any such results. Page 197. 



CLIPPING THE WINGS OF QUEENS. 



That's a good record. Miss Wilson, if with all the queens 

 you have clipped in a large apiary for years you have never 

 found a queen with S'2 legs as a sequel. Still. I'll supple- 

 ment your warning a little. The queen being secured, let 

 the beginner experiment a little before actually clipping. 

 Notice when she is touched with the scissors how quick as a 

 flash she will put a leg between the blades and take it out 

 again. Do you soberly think your collocation of things is 

 safe enough to clip and get away without danger ? If yes, 

 then go ahead. Page 197. 



CURING FOUL BROOD WITH ROSEMARY. 



Yes, the rosemary method of curing foul brood is an 

 easy one (IS to 20 drops dropped into the hive from time to 

 time), and if we only knew just when such little help would 



