(pT (3 OLDEST BEE PAPEI 

 [gigv- IN AMERICA 



ESTABLISHED ^)l/^ 



DEVOTED TO SCIENTIFIC BEE-CULTURE AND THE PRODUCTION AND SALE OF PURE HONEY. 



VOL. XVII. 



CHICAGO, ILL., JUNE 8, 1881. 



No. 23. 



Published every Wednesday, by 



THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



Editor and Proprietor, 

 974 WEST MADISON ST., CHICAGO, ILL. 



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For the American Hee Journal. 



Texas Convention. 



The Texas Bee-Keepers' Association 

 convened at the apiary of Judge W. H. 

 Andrews, at MeKinney, Collin County, 

 at 9 a. m. The meeting was called to 

 order by the President. Judge Andrews, 

 who introduced Dr. N. P. Allen, Presi- 

 dent of North American Bee- Keepers' 

 Society, and stated that he would pre- 

 side over our meeting. A pleasant 

 shade was sought under the boughs of 

 a large apple tree, which Judge 

 Andrews told us was planted by him- 

 self 13 years ago; it was over 1- inches 

 in diameter. We were situated in close 

 proximity to the busy bees which 

 seemed to enjoy the balmy breezes as 

 much as their masters, who had assem- 

 bled in their behalf. 



After an expression of general good 

 feeling toward Dr. N. P. Allen for Hav- 

 ing honored our Society with his pres- 

 ence, the general order of business was 

 taken up, and called by the Secretary. 

 Committees were appointed as follows : 

 Committee on resolutions, committee 

 on subjects for discussion, and commit- 

 tee on apiarian supplies : after which 

 Dr. N. P. Allen delivered the following 

 address : 



I am happy to meet so many who are 

 interested in the cultivation of the 

 honey bee— glad to be able to throw in 

 my might to aid you in developing the 

 honey resources of your great State. 

 This is a " laud of flowers," and mil- 

 lions of them are wasting their frag- 

 rant sweets upon the breezes, for the 

 want of bees to gather it. Millions of 

 pounds of sweet nectar are going to 

 waste every year in your State ; enough 

 to supply all the sweets necessary for 

 the consumption of the people. Pure 

 honey is the gift of the great Creator. 

 He makes the forests and fields, the 

 desert and waste places to bloom in the 



myriads of flowers, rich with honey ; He 

 carpets the broad prairies with flowers, 

 and fills their delicate honey-cups with 

 nectar, suitable for food for the Gods ; 

 He gives us the honey bee, endowed 

 with an instinct for gathering and stor- 

 ing it, in waxen cells, for the use of men. 



Man was endowed with reason, intel- 

 lect, understanding, and was given con- 

 trol over the animal, vegetable and min- 

 eral kingdoms; yea, he was commanded 

 to go forth and " subdue the earth." 



The honey bee can be controlled by 

 man in its labors of honey gathering, 

 comb building and brood-rearing, so as 

 to produce large amounts of honey, or 

 to "• increase and multiply" to an un- 

 limited extent. Franklin subdued the 

 lightning, and Morse made it subserve 

 the interests of man in transmitting 

 news from place to place with light- 

 ning speed ! By the aid of steam, man 

 traverses both land and water. 



Mr. Langstroth invented the mova- 

 ble-frame hive, which gives us entire 

 control of the labors of our bees, so as to 

 make their labors a source of pleasure 

 and profit. But in order to utilize this, 

 we must study its nature and instinct, 

 and become familiar with its habits. 

 The standard works and text books on 

 bee-keeping, will give us reliable infor- 

 mation, and the bee periodicals will 

 keep us posted concerning all the late 

 inventions and discoveries in manipu- 

 lating and controlling these little busy 

 workers, as well as teach us how to se- 

 cure and market the honey crops. By 

 availing ourselves of these helps, we 

 can learn in a short time what it took 

 years to learn by observation and ex- 

 perience. We must avail ourselves of 

 the movable frame hive, which gives 

 us entire control of the colony ; we 

 should also obtain the best race of bees 

 for honey gathering. 



We have the black or German bee, 

 the Italian, the Cyprian and the Albi- 

 nos from which to select, and the Jung- 

 les of Asia are being searched by 

 enterprising Americans, with the hope 

 of obtaining other varieties superior to 

 those we now have. Not only should 

 we avail ourselves of the movable 

 frame hive and the best race of bees for 

 gathering large crops of honey, but we 

 should employ the best implements for 

 manipulating our bees. As the agri- 

 culturist avails himself of the best ma- 

 chinery for the cultivation and harvest- 

 ing of his crops, so we must avail our- 

 selves of the best implements to enable 

 us to control our bees, and to make 

 them profitable to us ; securing our 

 honey in the best shape for market. 



The honey extractor enables us to se- 

 cure large amounts of pure honey, and 

 to return the comb to be filled again 

 and again by the bees. 



The bellows-smoker enables us to 

 subdue and control our bees while ma- 

 nipulating them. By the use of 1 and 2 

 pound sections, we can get our honey 

 stored in convenient and fancy shape 

 for the market. 



Comb-foundation, made of pure bees- 

 wax, is extensively used in aiding rapid 

 comb-building in the brood-nest, and 

 as starters in section boxes. 



Last, but not least, we should look 

 well to the natural bee pasturage and 

 where that is lacking, supply, as far as 

 possible, with artificial pasturage. 



Here we are favored with a honey 

 flow from 8 to 10 months in the year. 

 We, in the Northern and Middle States, 



have to put our bees in cellars, or pack 

 them in leaves or chaff upon the sum- 

 mer stands, while your bees need but 

 little, if any protectors. Indeed, this is 

 a land of flowers, a " land that flows 

 with milk and honey," capable of sus- 

 taining an immense population. 



Allow me to congratulate you upon 

 the progress you are making in the sci- 

 ence of bee-keeping, and in developing 

 the honey resources of this great State. 

 We bid you " God speed," and ask 

 your co-operative in building up the 

 National Association. 



Judge W. H. Andrews gave his 

 annual address, which was able and full 

 of enthusiasm. He said he knew of no 

 other profession in which the minds of 

 men ran more in the same channel, in 

 which there was more fraternal friend- 

 ship, or a more earnest desire to dis- 

 seminate knowledge, than among sci- 

 entific bee-keepers. He was glad to 

 meet so many brethren on this occa- 

 sion, and felt greatly encouraged in the 

 success of the organization. It not only 

 showed the desire for the perpetuation 

 of our society, but the untiring zeal 

 which its members possessed. 



In 1S70, at Sulphur Springs, in Hop- 

 kins Co., the Texas Bee-keepers' As- 

 sociation was organized, and he had the 

 honor of presiding at the organization ; 





but as bee-keeping was carried on by 

 few persons, and they so widely separa- 

 ted, and the means of public convey- 

 ance so limited, the Society lasted only 

 a short time. He thought it was kept 

 up two years only ; but it was the 

 means, in that short period, of encour- 

 aging the industry to that extent, that 

 Hopkins Co. produced more honey than 

 any other County in the State, though 

 only a small portion of the County was 

 adapted to bee-culture. 



In July, 1878, the society was re-or- 

 ganized at Greenville, Hunt Co., when 

 he again had the honor of being elected 

 its President. To-day, Collin and Hunt 

 counties produced more honey than any 

 other 2 Counties in the State ; and Col- 

 lin Co. was capable of producing a 

 greater income from its honey resour- 

 ces than from the raising of wheat. 



After a general expression of good 

 feeling by all present, the meeting 

 adjourned till p. m. 



FIRST DAY.— AFTERNOON SESSION. 



The committee on subjects for dis- 

 cussion reported. The first subject was : 



" What is the best method of pre- 

 venting excessive increase? " 



Judge Andrews was selected to open 

 the discussion. He uses the American 

 side-opening hive, and an empty hive 

 being at hand, he illustrated his method 

 of preventing excessive increase by 

 manipulating the hive. He calls the 

 side which opens, the front; the oppo- 

 site, the back. When a swarm issues, 

 he takes out the three front combs, and 

 reverses the position of the others in 

 the hive, in order to disorganize the 

 brood-nest ; at the same time removing 

 all the queen cells, he puts an empty 

 frame next to the back, then a full 

 frame of comb and brood ; then another 

 empty frame ; then a full frame ; then 

 another empty frame ; he then fills up 

 the hive with the remaining full combs 

 after the removal of the first three, 

 which, if full of honey, can be removed 

 to his store-room. Combs containing 

 brood can be used to strengthen nuclei, 

 by placing the empty frames near the 

 back; he will have them filled with 

 good worker comb, and by the time the 

 brood-nest is re-established in the back, 

 all desire to swarm will have passed, 

 and he has a strong colony, ready to 

 commence in the supers. 



S. S. Lyday uses the simplicity hive; 

 his method was similar to that just 

 described, except that after removing 

 the queen cells, and re-arranging the 

 brood-chamber, his bees were hived in 

 the upper story, which was placed over 

 the parent colony. 



The next subject was, " Which is the 

 most profitable, extracted or comb 

 honey? " The discusion was opened 

 by Mr. M. II. Davis, who said that he 

 could produce extracted honey at % the 

 cost of comb honey, and that his 

 extracted honey he could sell at 16% cts. 

 per lb., while his comb honey was 

 worth only from 20 to 25 cts. per lb. 



Mr. S. S. Lyday said that it had been 

 his experience, that extracted honey 

 was the most profitable. 



M. S. Khun said that in his market, 

 extracted was the most profitable. 



Judge Andrews said that comb honey 

 was most profitable, all things consid- 

 ered. The time employed in extract- 

 ing, and the expense of putting it up in 

 an attractive shape for the market, 

 were items that snould not be over- 

 looked, while comb honey in single- 

 comb sections and boxes, was ready for 

 the market as soon as taken from the 

 hive, without any further expense. 



" Will it pay to co-operate in pur- 

 chasing supplies? " was discussed, and 

 referred to the committee on resolu- 

 tions. 



" The best marketable shape for 

 honey," Dr. Howard said, that it 

 depended upon the market; but that 

 small packages in an attractive shape 

 found ready sale. 



Judge Andrews said that the 1 lb sec- 

 tions and extracted honey in glass jars, 

 pleased the fancy best ; that we must 

 put up our honey in an attractive 

 shape ; we must " tickle the fancy." 



M. II. Davis put up extracted honey 

 in Mason jars, which held 6 lbs., neatly 

 labled, with a notice printed on the 

 lable— " Return this jar and receive 

 15 cts." 



Dr. N. P. Allen gave some very inter- 



