322 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Oct. 12, 



TWELFTH CONVENTION 



OF THE 



North American Bee Keepers' Society 



HELD IX THE 



Odd Fellows' Temple, Lexington, Ky., 



COMMENCING ON 



WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1881. 



President N. P. Allen called the 

 Convention to order at 10 o'clock. 



C. C. Cofiinberry, of Chicago, 111., 

 was appointed Recording Secretary 

 pro tern. 



On motion, the reading of minutes 

 of last Annual Convention was 

 deferred till the arrival of Dr. Parm- 

 ly, of New York, Recording Secre- 

 tary. 



An amusing communication from 

 B. Hix, Holly, Mich., was read. 



Calling the roll of members and 

 reading the Treasurer's report were 

 deferred. 



Vice Presidents' reports being in 

 order, the following were received : 



Tennessee.— Vice President S. C. 

 Dodge reports the winter of 1880-81, 

 was one of unusual severity; the 

 spring opened tine but late ; bees were 

 too weak to take advantage of nectar 

 flow from fruit trees, white clover and 

 tulip trees; my average beingabout25 

 pounds of honey from spring bloom. 

 The summer was dry and forage very 

 poor. Colonies robbed late in spring 

 scarcely recovered in time for fall 

 bloom. Now breeding rapidly from 

 fall honey. Honey is now coming in 

 nicely. I expect an average of 30 

 pounds of fall honey per colony. I 

 have effectually eradicated foul-brood 

 from my apiary ; and after disinfect- 

 ing them am again using the hives 

 and frames. 



Arkansas. — Vice President \V. W. 

 Hipolite, M. D., reports only about 25 

 pounds per colony, owing to the pro- 

 longed drouth ; increase was mode- 

 rate ; bees are in good condition. In- 

 stead of organizing State and district 

 associations, I have made formal ap- 

 plication to have the bee-keepers in 

 this State incorporated with the Ar- 

 kansas State Horticultural Society for 

 the time being, and have no doubt 

 that the request will be granted. With 

 some slight changes, our State Fair 

 Association will continue the pre- 

 mium list which they last year offered 

 for bees, honey, etc. The fair will be 

 held from the 17th to the 22d of Octo- 

 ber. As bee-culture becomes better 

 developed in this State, I think there 

 will be little difficulty in getting an 

 offer of larger premiums. I trust 

 your meeting may be one of harmony, 

 and result in great good. 



Indiana.— Vice President Rev. M. 

 Mahiu reports the winter of 1880-S1 

 was one of the most disastrous to the 

 bee-keeping interest since I have been 

 a keeper of bees. In all parts of the 

 State the losses were very great, and 

 in some counties almost total. For 

 some reason which I am not able to 

 explain, the mortality was greater in 

 the Southern portion of the State than 

 in the more Northern. I am not able 

 to give with any certainty the per- 

 centage of loss, but 1 judge for the 

 whole State it was not less than three- 

 fourths. Many lost all they had. In 

 the Northern half of the State the 

 season has been very good. I have 

 never before known basswood to yield 

 so abundantly. The swarming fever 

 ran very high, and those who were 

 wise enough to save and use the combs 

 of the bees that died, or to use comb 

 foundation, have had a very satis- 

 factory increase. In this, the north- 

 ern central portion of the State, the 

 generally prevalent drouth did little 

 harm, and our bees have gathered 

 honey all the season. The fall crop is 

 light, but the early crop was so very 

 large that we have abundant reason 

 to be satisfied. In Southern Indiana 



the drouth has been very severe, and 

 I suppose that the bees are not in 

 good condtion for winter. In this 

 portion of the State there is great 

 room for improvement in bee-culture. 

 So far as I know, I have the only 

 honey extractor in this county, and 

 good movable-comb hives are scarce. 

 Bee-keeping has been damaged by 

 vendors of patent bee hives, the pat- 

 ented features of which are their 

 worst ones. 



Georgia.— Vice President Dr. J. P. 

 H. Brown reports that as there are no 

 regular statistics kept by the Agri- 

 cultural Bureau of Georgia of the 

 number of colonies of bees, and of 

 the amount of honey and wax pro- 

 duced, it is very difficult to arrive at 

 any very accurate residts. I can only 

 give approximate estimates based 

 upon the last report of the Com- 

 missioner of Agriculture upon the 

 subject. I place the number of colo- 

 nies at about 7.000, and the honey pro- 

 duct at 114,000 pounds, which would 

 only be 20 lbs. per colony. The sea- 

 son has been favorable for the flow of 

 honey, and above an average. The 

 most abundant yield was in May, after 

 this the drouth set in which checked 

 the flow until the rains in July. The 

 fall harvest bids fair to be good, and 

 all those colonies that are strong will 

 lay up surplus above their winter sup- 

 plies. I estimate the amount of bees- 

 wax at 8,000 pounds. Fully 80 per 

 cent, of the bees are kept in the old- 

 fashioned box-hives. Movable-frame 

 hives are gradually coming into use, 

 and will be more extensively used as 

 correct apiarian knowledge is more 

 disseminated. 



Kentucky.— Vice President Wm. 

 Williamson reports the losses the past 

 winter in Kentucky at fully 50 per 

 cent.; some appear to have been more 

 successful than others, and it does not 

 appear to have been from lack of scien- 

 ti tic treatment, because those who 

 have the least experience, or given the 

 least attention to them, have in some 

 instances been most successful. The 

 long-continued drouth of this sum- 

 mer destroyed the bright prospects of 

 the early honey season. The flow of 

 honey for a week or two was abundant, 

 rich, and of delicious flavor, and for 

 the number of colonies would yield 

 about 75 per cent. The increase in 

 colonies has been fully 100 per cent. 

 The prospects for next season seem to 

 indicate a bright future. The recent 

 rains have refreshed vegetation so 

 much that bees are again gathering 

 honey, and will go into winter-quar- 

 ters well supplied. 



Canada.— Vice President D. A. 

 Jones reports the present season as an 

 average one for both honey and in- 

 crease, and although it has been very 

 dry since July, completely cutting off 

 the fall honey yield, bees are in fair 

 condition for wintering. Honey sells 

 readily at fair prices, and the outlook 

 for bee-keepers was never brighter in 

 Canada than at present. 



Nebraska. — Vice President Geo. M. 

 Hawley reports the losses from out- 

 door wintering at fully 75 per cent.; 

 the losses from cellar wintering 10 per 

 cent. The early season proved favor- 

 able, and bees increased rapidly. 

 Later, some sections were affected 

 with local drouths, and but little sur- 

 plus was obtained, while other por- 

 tions will secure a full harvest. Should 

 estimate the crop of the State at %. of 

 a full yield. Our principal yield of 

 honey lias been from Polygonum per- 

 sicarse (hearts ease), goldenrods and 

 silkweed. In the vicinity of rivers or 

 creeks much other bloom has aided, 

 but the former are everywhere pre- 

 sent. The quality of the honey is 

 good, and bees are generally in good 

 condition for winter. 



Alabama. — Vice President James 

 A. Austin reports : I have endea- 

 vored to find out all I could in regard 

 to honey and bees in this State. I 

 think I can safely say there are not 

 more than 200 or 300 colonies in Madi- 

 son county. There is very little in- 

 terest manifested in the State. I am 

 sorry I cannot be with you at the Con- 

 vention, and hope it will prove a suc- 

 cessful one. 



Maryland.— Vice President S. Val- 

 entine reports : I regret I have not 

 been able to get the statistics of the 

 State of Maryland. As far as I can 

 learn, I cannot report much over half 

 a crop of honey, if any, for the State 

 of Maryland for 1881. Owing to the 

 mortality among the bees last winter, 

 and the irregular flow of honey this 

 season, it is impossible even to ap- 

 proximate an estimate of the honey 

 crop of our State. I learn from vari- 

 ous correspondents in different locali- 

 ties, that the flow of honey has been 

 very irregular through the State — 

 some sections very good while others 

 are poor. I am of the opinion that 

 the clover all through the season se- 

 creted an abundance of honey, 

 throughout the State, and the failure 

 in the different localities was owing 

 to the prevalence of heavy rains in 

 the early part of the season, which 

 washed the honey from the blossoms. 

 Following are statistics for Carroll 

 county for 1879 : Honey, 13,977 pounds 

 and wax, 455 pounds. Taking Car- 

 roll as an average, would give the 

 State of Maryland 307,497 pounds of 

 honey and 10,010 pounds of wax for 

 1879. 1 trust your Convention may be 

 a grand success. 



Kansas. — Vice President Norton re- 

 ports there is no surplus in Kansas, 

 unless it be in the Eastern tiers of 

 counties along the Missouri river. 

 Any surplus in his locality is usually 

 from the fall flowers, which the 

 drouth has prevented for this season. 

 It seems to me a printed circular, set- 

 ting forth the objects of the Society, 

 for distribution by the Vice Presi- 

 dents among the officers of the various 

 Fair Associations, would be the most 

 practical and effective manner of 

 reaching the intended objects and 

 producing an effect. It should be an 

 able production, giving statistics of 

 the production of honey, and its im- 

 portance to the country in a com- 

 mercial view, with reasons why that 

 production should be stimulated and 

 encouraged by the offering of liberal 

 premiums by the several Fair associa- 

 tions of the country. I would suggest 

 that Mr. T. G. Newman be requested 

 to write it. He could certainly afford 

 it, as the extension of scientific bee- 

 culture tends to increase the circula- 

 tion of the Bee Journal. Since my 

 residence here, now four years, the 

 Journal' has quite a good circulation, 

 whereas, before I came, not a copy 

 Came to the county so far as I know. 

 I wish the Society a successful and 

 profitable meeting. 



The reports were accepted and 

 ordered to be placed on file. 



On motion, the reception of the 

 President's annual address was post- 

 poned till the afternoon session. 



On motion, adjourned till 2 p. m. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



The President, Dr. N. P. Allen, of 

 Smith's Grove, Ky., addressed the 

 Convention as follows : 



Ladies and Gentlemen : 



In obedience to a time-honored cus- 

 tom, I am before you to deliver the 

 opening address as presiding officer. 



Another year of labor and toil, of 

 joys and sorrows, of successes and dis- 

 appointments, has passed since we 

 last met in council and grasped each 

 others' hands, and with sympathetic 

 hearts enjoyed the social greetings of 

 our co-laborers in the broad field of 

 apiculture. We have great reason to 

 be thankful to Him who presides over 

 the universe, the dispenser of all bless- 

 ings, that our lives are spared and we 

 are so favorably surrounded. 



The past winter was marked by ex- 

 treme long- continued cold, and thou- 

 sands of colonies of bees were lost in 

 consequence; not only bees died, but 

 animals perished in many parts of our 

 northern latitudes ; nor was man alto- 

 gether exempt from suffering and 

 death caused by the rigorous weather. 



But in due time the spring sun 

 poured its life-giving rays upon the 

 earth, melting away the snow and 

 frost. The trees put forth their leaves, 

 the grass shot forth its delicate spears 

 and covered the earth with living 



green ; the flowers opened and filled 

 the air with sweet fragrance, and all 

 nature seemed glad with joy, while 

 the hum of the busy bee was heard in 

 the land, filling the heart of the bee- 

 keeper with delight as he beheld the 

 lovely sight. 



But the spring-time and summer 

 have passed and the harvest is ended, 

 and we are here to recount our suc- 

 cesses and failures— to learn one from 

 another. 



Life is made up of toil and labor, of 

 pleasures and sorrows, hopes and fears, 

 happy realizations and sad disappoint- 

 ments — not more so with the apiarist 

 than with other pursuits; yet, he has 

 a fair field in which he can experience 

 all these different phases of life. 



The object of this Association should 

 be to disseminate a correct knowledge 

 of rational bee-keeping ; to bind the 

 brotherhood of bee-keepers together 

 as with cords of love and fraternal 

 feeling ; to do all in their power to de- 

 velop the honey resources of the coun- 

 try ; to let their light shine so that 

 ignorance and superstition may be dis- 

 pelled from the land, and a correct 

 system of cultivating the honey bee 

 be the order of the day, that all who 

 keep bees may be rewarded for their 

 labor, and by studying the works of 

 nature in the economy of the beehive, 

 be elevated in their minds from na- 

 ture's works to nature's God, and thus 

 be made better citizens and better 

 Christians. 



I had hoped to have a valuable sta- 

 tistical table from every State and 

 Province ; but from causes over which 

 I had no control I am not able to pre- 

 sent it. 



Many and varied are the reports of 

 the honey crop. In some States and 

 localities the winter's disasters and 

 the summer's drouth have been so se- 

 vere as to almost ruin bee-keeping as 

 a profitable business, while in other 

 States and localities bees wintered 

 without serious loss, and the spring 

 and summer harvests were such that 

 good crops of honey were gathered ; 

 and in favored spots large yields of' 

 honey are reported. May we not hope 

 for a favorable winter, and a rich har- 

 vest for our bees the coming year? 



Since the invention of the movable 

 frame, by our illustrious co-laborer, 

 the Rev. L. L. Langstroth, in 1855, 

 scientific bee-keeping has been on the 

 increase, and the command of God to 

 man to go forth and subdue the earth, 

 is the watchword among bee-keepers 

 — as the movable frame gives him con- 

 trol of the labors of the honey bee in 

 comb-building, brood-rearing and hon- 

 ey-gathering. The intelligent bee- 

 keeper directs the labors of his bees as 

 lie chooses. If he wants the delicate 

 comb honey, as white as snow, he can 

 have it by the use of honey boxes and 

 sections ; if he wants the pure liquid 

 nectar just gathered from the delicate 

 flower cups, with the sweet fragrance 

 and rich aroma of the flowers from 

 which it was gathered, he can obtain 

 it by the use of the honey extractor. 

 If he wishes to increase the number of 

 colonies, he can do it by artificial 

 swarming and the use of comb foun- 

 dation. The bellows smoker enables 

 us to subdue and control our bees 

 while manipulating them. 



The new races of bees that have been 

 introduced have done much to further 

 the cause of scientific bee-culture. All 

 of the different races are here on exhi- 

 bition, and we may learn much of their 

 relative merits. We have the German 

 or black bee, the graceful Italian with 

 her rings of gold, and the albino, so 

 light and beautiful. The Cyprian 

 and Syrian bees that have recently 

 been introduced from the Island of 

 Cyprus and from Palestine are also on 

 exhibition. We had hoped to have 

 Apis dorsata also, but have not. 



1 would earnestly recommend for 

 your consideration, the importance of 

 encouraging State, District or County 

 Societies ; the State or Province Soci- 

 eties should be auxiliary to the North 

 American, and the District or County 

 to the State or Province. 



Much has been said and written on 

 the subject of the adulteration of 

 honey, and the making of laws to pro- 



