1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



293 



Kent nek)' Bee-Keepers' Association. 

 —The second annual convention of 



tlic Kentucky State Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation, will be held in the Exposi- 

 tion Building, in Louisville, Ky., on 

 Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 12 

 and 13, 1881. The following is the 

 programme: Wednesday, Oct. 12. — 

 Addresses as follows, to be followed 

 by discussion : 



1 to 5 p. m. — "Manner of Transfer- 

 ring Bees, and When to Do It;" W. 

 T. Sears, Bowling Green, Ky. 



"Should We Encourage All to Keep 

 Bees, or Only Those who will Make a 

 Specialty of Bee-Keeping;" Dr. E. 

 Diane. Eminence, Ky. 



" The Pleasures and Profits of Bee- 

 Keeping; " James Erwin, Claypool. 

 Ky. 



7 to 9. — Receiving new members. 

 Miscellaneous business. 



"Foul Brood, Prevention and Cure;" 

 C'has. F. Muth, Cincinnati, O. 



" Honey Producing Plants, and How 

 to Cultivate them;" W. T. Stewart, 

 Eminence, Kv. 



Thursday Oct. 13, 9 to 12— Report 

 of nominating committee. Election 

 of officers and installation. 



"Sacred History of Honey and Bees;" 

 Rev. L. Johnson. Walton Ky. 



Essay (subject not yet selected) ; 

 Dr. J. P. II. Brown, Augusta, Ga. 



"The Several Races of the Honey 

 Bee. their Relative Merits, etc;" G. 

 W. Demaree. Christiansburg, Ky. Mr. 

 Demaree will illustrate his essay by 

 an exhibition of Cyprian, Italian, and 

 other queens and bees. 



Louisville being the metropolis of 

 Kentucky, the Exposition being in 

 progress, cheap round trip tickets are 

 sold from every rail road point in the 

 State, the bee-keepers can make their 

 visit to the Exposition at the time the 

 convention is held, and assist in mak- 

 ing the society a credit to the State. 

 A fine display of bee-keepers' sup- 

 plies, honey, etc., is expected, and 

 some of the most prominent bee-keep- 

 ers in America, who will be in attend- 

 ance at the National Bee-Keepers' 

 Convention, at Lexington, Oct. 5, 6. 

 and 7, are expected to attend. All 

 are invited. N. P. Allen, Pres. 



$gF Owing to the fact that the time 

 of the regular meeting of the Union 

 Bee Association, at Shelbyville, Ky., 

 conflicts with the time fixed bytheex- 

 ecutive committee, to hold the Na- 

 tional at Lexington, the meeting of 

 the Union, at Shelbyville. has been 

 postponed till the 20th of October. 

 G. W. Demaree. Sec. 



Christiansburg, Ky., Sept. 3, 1S81. 



(j^ - The Rock River Valley Bee- 

 Keepers' Convention, will be held at 

 Monroe Center, on the third Tuesday 

 in October. We hope a good atten- 

 dance will be the outcome, and the ibee 

 interest revived. 



D. A. Cipperly, Sec. 



tiggr The time selected by the Execu- 

 tive Committee for holding the Na- 

 tional Convention, at Lexington, Ky., 

 is October 5,0 and 7, 1881. All bee- 

 beepers are invited to attend and take 

 part in the deliberations of the Con- 

 vention. As Lexington is a central 

 point, the Executive Committee hope 

 to have a large attendance from the 

 North, South, East and West, and 

 from Canada, and that the 12th annual 

 meeting of the North American Bee- 

 Keepers' Society will be the most in- 

 teresting meeting that the bee-keepers 

 of the United States have ever held. 

 N. P. Allen, Pres. 



tggr The Southwestern Wisconsin 

 Bee-Keepers' Association will hold its 

 next meetingin Platteville, Grant Co., 

 Wis.. Nov. 30, 1881. 



N. E. France. Wee, Platteville, Wis. 



Igg-The Northwestern Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will meet in Chicago, on 



Tuesday and Wednesday, October 25 



and 26. All bee-keepers are cordially 

 invited to attend. It is desired to 

 make this one of the most interesting 

 conventions ever held in the United 

 states. C. C. Miller, M. D., Pres. 



C. C. COFFINBERRY, Sec. 



(ST The Western Michigan Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will meet in 

 Berlin, Ottawa, Co., Mich., Thursday, 

 Oct. 27, 1881, in Huntley's Hall, at 

 10:30 a. in. All interested, are cordi- 

 ally invited. 



Wm. M. S. Dodge, Sec. 



Coopersville, Mich., Aug. 29, 1881. 



OS" The Northern Michigan Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will hold its 

 fourth Annual Convention at Maple 

 Rapids, Clinton Co., Mich., Oct. 11 

 and 12, 1881. O. R. Goodno. Sec. 



Bee-Keepers' Union.— The Eastern 

 New York Bee-Keepers' Union Asso- 

 ciation, will hold their eighth semi- 

 annual Convention on Tuesday, Sept. 

 27, 1881, at 10 a. m., at Knowersville, 

 N. Y. All bee-keepers are invited to 

 attend. W. D. Wright, Pres. 



N. D. West, Sec. 



(ST The South Eastern Mich. Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, will hold its 4th 

 meeting at the Court House, in Ann 

 Arbor, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 1881, at 9 

 o'clock a. m.; the week of the County 

 Fair. An adjourned meeting may be 

 held during the week. All interested 

 are invited to attend. By order of the 

 Executive Committee. 



N. A. Prudden, Chairman. 



i^= The North Eastern Wis. Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, will hold its 

 fall meeting at Peewaukee, Wis., on 

 Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 11 and 

 12. A full attendance is cordially re- 

 quested. Notice of the plauce of 

 meeting will be found at the local 

 Post Office. 



Geo. Church, Pres., Neenah, Wis. 

 Frances Dunham, il5'ec.,Depere,Wis. 



South Western Iowa Bee Association. 



— The regular annual meeting of this 

 association, will occur at the apiary 

 of James T. Fife, in Jasper township, 

 near Corning, Iowa, on Thursday af- 

 ternoon, Sept. 29. The place of meet- 

 ing is such that the topics considered 

 will be practically demonstrated. Fol- 

 lowing is the programme: Business 

 of Society; raising of queens ; intro- 

 duction of queens ; dividing of bees ; 

 practical handling of bees. A full at- 

 tendance is desired. 



J. T, Fife, Pres. 

 W. J. Oliver, Sec. 



f$gr The Eastern Michigan bee-keep- 

 ers' Association will hold its fall meet- 

 ing in Detroit, Oct. 4, in the Y. M. C. 

 A. hall, at 10 o'clock a. m. 



A. B. Weed, Sec. 



stkl^HMSpjt 





Bees Doing: Well on Fall Flowers.— 



There are 25 bee-keepers in this town- 

 ship, 6 miles square, and I think that 

 I am the only one who takes a bee- 

 paper. I do not see how any earnest 

 bee-keeper can, after seeing a copy 

 of the American Bee Journal, 

 forego the pleasure of receiving such 

 a journal as yours once a week. I 

 find more useful information in an 

 issue of the Bee Journal, than in 

 any of the monthlies. I admire the 

 fairness with which you treat the the- 

 ories of different writers on disputed 

 points. I had but 2 colonies to com- 

 mence with in the spring; have taken 

 some honey, and increased to 6, and 

 should have increased to 10, had I not 



been disappointed by the queen- 

 breeders. Out of 4 ordered, I received 

 1 , and she lays but a few dozen eggs 

 daily, while one of my own rearing 

 lills a. Langstiuth frame in 21 hours. 

 My bees have done well during May 

 and June ; they filled up nicely with 

 dandelion honey of extra quality, and 

 then worked on red clover till the 1st 

 of July, when the drouth cut off all 

 honey. White clover seemed not to 

 yield honey ; I did not see a dozen 

 bees on white clover this summer. 

 During this month they have done 

 well on buckwheat, smart-weed and 

 golden rod. They are crowding out 

 the queens with honey (I have no ex- 

 tractor yet) and cannot be induced to 

 work in sections, even at the sides, 

 though I use bright foundation and 

 white comb in the sections. 1 hope 

 that the Bee Journal may prove a 

 great success financially, as it is prac- 

 tically. M. E. Darby. 

 Dexter, Iowa, Aug. 30, 1881. 



Cheap Foundation Machines.— Please 



answer the following questions : Have 

 you ever seen any of the foundation 

 machines advertised in the Bee Jour- 

 nal, price, $5.00 ? It seems to me if 

 they were all right they would be just 

 the machine for a small apiary of 50 

 or 100 colonies ; I would like to hear 

 from some one who has seen them. 

 Would it do to sow sweet clover with 

 wheat V We are having very dry 

 weather here now, and should it con- 

 tinue till late in the fall, would it not 

 be best to wait till spring before sow- 

 ing ? How much seed per acre ? 



John Crawford. 

 Pleasant, Ind., Sept. 1, 1881. 



[We have not seen the machine, and 

 know nothing more of them than the ad- 

 vertisement says. Undoubtedly sweet 

 clover will do well sown with wheat. 

 Plant it this fall, 6 to 8 pounds per 

 acre.— Ed.] 



California Honey Crop.— The honey 

 season in the 3 lower counties, which 

 are the the main honey producing 

 counties of the State, are nearly a 

 failure; the only apiaries that have 

 taken any surplus, as far as I can 

 learn, are located on the south side of 

 the Sierra Madre range and are 

 but about 15 miles in length, extend- 

 ing 2 miles west of the San Antonia 

 Canon on the west, to Lytle Creek on 

 the east, and will, taken all together, 

 average about % of a crop. Honey 

 here is bringing a good price, but is 

 mostly amber colored, the amount of 

 white sage honey being very small. 

 The amount of honey in this neigh- 

 borhood is about 50.000 lbs., "most of 

 which is still held by the producers. 

 A. A. Dexter, Jr. 



Cucamonga, Cal., Sept. 1, 1881. 



832 Pages for $2. — I have received 

 a lot of the special edition of the Bee 

 Journal for 1882, and I am well 

 pleased with the change ; it gives us 

 more reading matter, and will be in a 

 more convenient shape for binding 

 and preserving. It will be the cheap- 

 est book on bee literature extant. 832 

 3-column pages, quarto size, for $2, 

 and 1 number is well worth the sub- 

 scription price. I will send you about 

 100 names to whom you may send 

 sample copies of the American Bee 

 Journal. I am trying to awaken an 

 interest in bee culture in Texas, and 

 hope by the coming spring every bee- 

 keeper who has enterprise enough, 

 will take a bee periodical of some de- 

 scription. I wish you a success in all 

 your undertakings. 



Wm. R. Howard. 



Kingston, Texas, Sept. 1, 1881. 



[Dr. Howard's compliment is very 

 gratifying ; and such articles as he has 

 given us, help to earn it.— Ed.] 



Uried to a Crisp.— We have had 

 over 2 months without rain, and all 

 vegetation is dried to a crisp. The 

 country is now suffering, and the poor 

 must suffer greatly during the coming 

 winter. W. S. Rainey. 



Columbia, Tenn., Sept. 1, 1881. 



Hopes Revived. — My hopes revived 

 this morning when 1 noticed my bees 

 were hard at work, coining in heavily 

 laden with honey and pollen. Wishing 

 to know where they obtained it, I went 

 to the slough and creek, which are > 4 

 to Yi a mile from my apiary. I wtis 

 surprised, when I reached the flat, bot- 

 tom fields, to find my bees gathering 

 pollen and honey from cockle-burr 

 blossoms, which were so thick that 

 a person could hardly walk through ; 

 it was covered with bees, and there 

 was plenty of the broad Spanishneedle 

 and some boneset in bloom, but there 

 was not a bee on anything but the 

 cockle-burr, except a few on the rank 

 horse-weeds. I was not aware that 

 bees would gather pollen and honey 

 from it. What are its merits, and is 

 it good for the bees V I inclose a twig 

 that grows in clusters near my apiary, 

 and is just beginning to bloom. I no- 

 ticed last year that it blossomed till 

 frost, and the bees abandoned every- 

 thing else for it just before frost. Tell 

 me its name and value as a honey plant. 

 As there are two kinds of Spanish- 

 needle (flat and round) please tell me 

 if there is any difference in their value 

 as honey producers, and their proper 

 names. Prospects are better to-day. 

 No rain yet ; not so hot, and a little 

 cloudy. I am glad we are to have the 

 Bee Journal next year in such a 

 handy form. R. M. Osborn. 



Kane, 111., Sept. 1, 1881. 



[Mr. Osborn need not be surprised 

 that cocklebur (Xantkiurn) yields nec- 

 tar, as nearly all the composite plants 

 do so more or less, while many yield 

 most bountifully. The twig inclosed 

 is from another plant of the same fam- 

 ily. It is an aster. I think that all 

 species of Bidens (beggarticks) yield 

 honey. There are five species. — A. J. 

 Cook. J 



My Experience with Bees. — I had 



kept bees (are rather let them keep 

 themselves), about 30 years. In Jan- 

 uary, 1879, I bought a copy of Cook's 

 Manual, and read up the subject 

 through the winter. In June, I took 

 3 box hives and went to live, with a 

 man who had an experience of several 

 years, and had the reading of the 

 American Bee Journal. I in- 

 creased to 12, wintered in the cellar, 

 putting them in Nov. 1, and took 

 them out April 1, 1880, alive, but 

 weak. They kept dying until I had 

 but 4 left. I increased to 8, but ob- 

 tained no honey from them ; but they 

 had enough for wintering. I had 1 

 colony stolen, bought 1 in its place, 

 left them on the summer stands, last 

 winter, making outside hives; the 

 sides, 3-inch space, I filled with chaff; 

 in the spring I bad 5 left, but weak. 

 I bought a weak one, increased to 8, 

 and extracted 245 lbs. of white honey, 

 leaving them in good condition for 

 winter. I took 2 box hives on shares, 

 last spring, have increased them to 8, 

 and extracted 150 lbs. of white honey. 

 Unless I see some plan, before putting 

 them in winter quarters, that I think 

 would be better, 1 intend to put them 

 in the cellar and put the chaff hives 

 around them, when I put them out in 

 the spring. Cyril J. Asselstine. 

 Lyn, Ont., Sept. 3, 1881. 



Extracted Honey in Canada. — Bees 

 have been doing" nothing since the 

 last of July, owing to the protracted 

 drouth ; everything is withered. I in- 

 creased from 55 colonies in the spring 

 to 97, and took 3,000 lbs. extracted, and 

 300 lbs. comb honey. Grocers and the 

 public are. getting very suspicious of 

 buying extracted honey in Canada, as 

 some has been placed on the market 

 in an unripe condition, and after- 

 wards fermented ; others have no 

 faith in the purity of extracted honey, 

 and won't have it, as the public won't 

 buy it. There will be a very fine dis- 

 play of honey exhibits and apiarian 

 appliances, at the Toronto Exhibi- 

 tion, next month. 



I. C. Thorn, M. D. 



Streetsville, Can., Aug. 31, 1881, 



