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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Oct. 26, 



Kentucky State Convention. 



The meeting was called to order at 

 1 p.m., Oct. 12. at Exposition Build- 

 ing, by Dr. X. P. Allen, President. 



The minutes of last meeting were 

 read and adopted. 



Several new members were added to 

 the list, and old members renewed 

 membership by payment of the annual 

 fee of 50 cts. 



The Secretary stated that he had a 

 letter from the manager of the Gait 

 Souse, offering to provide rooms for 

 the meeting of the Association free of 

 charge, and to make hotel rates for 

 delegates $2 50 per day. 



President Allen then read his an- 

 nual address, as follows : 



Another year has passed, another 

 harvest has ended since we last met in 

 convention. Winter, spring and sum- 

 mer have all come and gone, and au- 

 tumn is at hand with its ripened fruits 

 and withered flowers — with its brown 

 and seared leaf, which tells us of the 

 evening of life which is fast approach- 

 ing. We look back over the days and 

 months that are gone, and meditate 

 upon the toils and labors, successes 

 and disappointments, joys and sor- 

 rows which were the portion of us all 

 as we passed through them. Our lives 

 have been spared, and we would re- 

 turn thanks to God, the giver of all 

 our blessings, for his tender mercies 

 and loving kindness. 



The past winter was unusually long 

 and extremely cold. Many colonies of 

 bees perished before spring opened. 

 Many apiaries were so depleted by the 

 death of whole colonies and the heavy 

 loss in those that survived, that there 

 were not bees enough in early spring 

 to build up rapidly from the spring 

 flowers, but in cou'rse of time the weak 

 became strong, and the poor became 

 rich, and the increase by artificial or 

 natural swarming soon filled the empty 

 hives, and in favored localities, a fan- 

 crop of honey was gathered in the 

 early part of the season. Hut in the 

 midst of the white clover harvest the 

 rains failed, the excessive heat parched 

 the earth, and the honey flow ceased. 

 The crop was cut short— a long pro- 

 tracted drouth set in, and not only 

 bees suffered, but stock and crops of 

 all kinds shared the common fate, 

 lint the late rains revived vegetation, 

 and the fall flowers, such as the smart 

 weed, the golden rod and the aster, 

 have enabled our bees to regain their 

 depleted stores, so that in most cases 

 they have sufficient for winter. 



I had hoped to have a statistical re- 

 port to lay before you of bees and 

 honey in the Stale, but can only refer 

 vim tn the reports of Vice-Presidents 

 for such information. 



1 recommend that a Vice-President 

 be appointed for every county in the 

 Stale, and that they be required to 

 make a report at your annual meet- 

 ings of the number of colonies and 

 amount of honey in their respective 

 counties ; also the kind of Sowers fur- 

 nishing the crop, and any other items 

 of interest to bee-keepers. By this 



means the best localities in the State 

 for locating apiaries can be ascer- 

 tained, and the honey resources of tin- 

 State developed. 



I would also recommend that more 

 attention be given to the cultivation 

 of honey producing trees, shrubs and 



plants for bee pasturage. This can be 

 done by planting in fence coiners, 

 roadsides and waste places, with such 



trees, shrubs and plants as produce 

 honey. ( )f the trees, we would recom- 

 mend the poplar, linden, elm, maples, 

 willows, locusts and persimmon. Of 

 the shrubs, the sumac, coralberry, 

 gooseberry and raspberry, and bucu 

 plants as giow without cultivation, as 

 the motherwort, catnip. Simpson 

 honey plant, also white and sweet clo- 

 vers. All of these have honey pro- 

 ducing flowers. Quite a number of 

 honey-producing flowers are also rec- 



ommended for cultivation in our gar- 

 dens and fields that answer a two-fold 

 purpose, the hay and seed crop being 

 valuable for stock, as well as afford- 

 ing rich pasturage for the honey bee. 

 The various clovers, such as white clo- 

 ver, alsike clover. Japan clover, meli- 

 lot and Bokhara, are all valuable 

 honey plants. 



We notice quite an interest is being 

 manifested by bee-keepers in books 

 on bee-culture and in bee periodicals. 

 We now have a Bee Jouknal pub- 

 lished by Thomas G. Newman, Chi- 

 cago, 111. No bee-keeper can afford 

 to do without its weekly visits, as its 

 pages are brimful of the latest and 

 best news. 



We notice with pleasure the pro- 

 gress made in the modes of obtaining 

 and marketing the honey crop. Many 

 are using the one and two-pound sec- 

 tions for comb honey, and the one and 

 two-pound glass jars for extracted. 

 These neat little packages, put it in 

 fancy shape, thus making it more at- 

 tractive, and in small quantities, thus 

 bringing it in the reach of all classes 

 of consumers. 



We also have for the encouragement 

 of the bee fancier the different races 

 of the honey bee from which to select ; 

 new bees are being imported from 

 year to year. New inventions are 

 being made in apiarian implements, 

 hives, honey boxes and sections. 

 Comb foundation is being used in the 

 brood department as well as the sur- 

 plus honey department. 



In conclusion, allow me to wish you 

 a prosperous session, and success and 

 happiness in all your undertakings. 



Dr. Allen said that Mr. Jones, of 

 Canada, stated at the Lexington meet- 

 ing that he would guarantee that one 

 acre of Bokhara clover wovdd produce 

 1,000 lbs. of honey. He uses it exclu- 

 sively for bee pasture. He sows in 

 strips across the grouud, the plants 

 growing 4 and 5 feet high, and falling 

 on the open strips. The next yearthe 

 open strips are seeded, and are covered 

 with the new growth, and the old 

 strip becomes vacant. Dr. A. thought 

 this clover would grow here. 



Dr. Kaye suggested that winter tur- 

 nips be added to the list of honey 

 plants. Mr. Craycraft also advocated 

 Scotch kale. 



W. Cook, Dr. Kaye and A. Schnei- 

 der were appointed a committee on 

 resolutions, with instructions to take 

 up the President's address. 



I. B. Nail, Treasurer, read his re- 

 port, which was adopted. 



The President then appointed the 

 following committee on nominations : 

 Dr. L. E. Brown, William Cook and 

 A. W. Kaye, to report on Thursday 

 morning. 



The Secretary read a letter from 

 Mr. W.T. Sears, regretting that owing 

 to sickness he could not prepare his 

 article. The President suggested that 

 a discussion on " Transferring of 

 Bees " be held. 



W. Cook moved that the President 

 appoint some member to write an ar- 

 ticle on transferring. 



Mr. Williams amended by request- 

 ing that the President write such an 

 article, and publish it in the Farmers' 

 Horru Journal, which motion, as 

 amended, prevailed. 



The President, while accepting, sug- 

 gested the discussions on the subject. 



Mr. Cook thought it best for persons 

 who have transferring to do should do 

 it themselves, as the way in which 

 they may learn. He said last spring 

 he had an old Langstroth hive to 

 transfer. He propped up one side, 

 smoked the bees, took off legs, and 

 one side out, took out the combs and 

 brushed off the bees all right, lint 

 just then all his own and all his neigh- 

 bor's bees made an attack upon him. 

 All the bees in the neighborhood were 

 on the war path, lint altera while he 

 got his bees in the new hive and left a 

 small opening. Still the bees were not 

 satisfied, and continued to fight one 

 another. Water failed to appease 

 them. Next morning the battle be- 

 gan again, and a half gallon of bees 

 were left dead in front of the hive. 

 He stopped the opening until next 

 day, when quiet was restored, and the 



hive is now doing well. He thought 

 it would pay anyone to transfer from J 

 Old-fashioned to Langstroth hives, but 

 it should not be done out-of-doors and 

 among other hives. 



Dr. Allen, in transferring comb, pre- 

 fers to tie the comb into the frame 

 with cotton twine. He says the comb 

 should be cut to fit the frame. He de- 

 monstrated his plan. He first smokes ' 

 and puts on a swarming box. lie then 

 thumps on the hive and the bees go 

 into the swarming box. He has a 

 transferring board, and after remov- 

 ing the comb to a room, it is fitted to 

 the new frames, which are then tied 

 in with the twine. He throws out all 

 the drone comb, and keeps the honey 

 comb as much as possible at the top 

 and at ends. The brood comb is put 

 near the center of frame. The frames 

 are then set in the new hive and filled 

 out with empty frames, when the hive 

 is set where it is to stand. Location 

 can be changed if desired when trans- 

 ferring. 



II. II. Littell does not use twine in 

 transferring, as the bees pull at it to 

 get it out of the hive. He prefers to 

 transfer in a honey season ; proceeds 

 as the President does, except he tacks 

 a light strip across one side of the 

 frame, inserts the comb, turns it and 

 tacks a strip on the other side. In a 

 day or two the strips can be removed 

 without difficulty. He thinks bees 

 should be examined frequently. Has 

 8 colonies which have done well until 

 the drouth came on ; but as bees 

 robbed groceries so badly, he thought 

 he would have to remove them to the 

 country. He uses Langstroth hives. 

 He thought hives should be painted 

 inside, as the bees would not then con- 

 nect the comb in frames with the 

 hive. 



The President objects to strips, be- 

 cause in using them he found it de- 

 stroyed so much of the brood. 



Mr. Knight uses pins stuck through 

 holes in the frame, and where the 

 comb is in pieces he uses twine. 



A member stated his plan of fasten- 

 ing comb in frame was by a slot 

 lengthwise at bottom of frame. 



Col. Maginness extended the cour- 

 tesy of the Exposition to members of 

 the society, and was voted a resolu- 

 tion of thanks. 



James Erwin's essay was read, on 

 the 



Pleasures and Profits of Bee-Culture. 



The study of nature ever brings with 

 it a pure and quiet source of enjoy- 

 ment not found in the busy marts of 

 trade and commerce. Perhaps no class 

 of manual laborers have freer access 

 to this source of pleasure than the pro- 

 fessional apiarist. To him, the. study 

 of nature m the wonderful transfor- 

 mations which insect life undergoes, 

 and the delightful harmony which pre- 

 vails in this insect kingdom, is a part 

 of his daily observation. And in quiet 

 communion with the visible forms of 

 the great architect, in the realm where 

 instinct is supposed to sit as umpire, 

 the reflective mind is insensibly led to 

 contemplate the possibilities of created 

 existence, in a state where the will of 

 Him "who doeth all things well," 

 shall be universal law. Man's natural 

 love for the beautiful, may also be 

 gratified in the adornment of grounds, 

 construction of hives, the cultivation 

 of rare species, and in the study of 

 plants and flowers, while the period of 

 leisure afforded in the winter season, 

 gives time for study and recreation. 

 These things beget an enthusiasm, 

 which lightens toil, and makes bee- 

 keeping one of the most delightful of 

 occupations. 



lint 1 come now to the second divi- 

 sion of my subject. Profits, which, to 

 the practical mind, will be of first im- 

 portance. The question is. Can bee- 

 keeping lie made profitable? I an- 

 swer, yes. This conclusion is not de- 

 rived merely from theory, but from 

 considerable experience in the care 

 and cultivation of bees. It is a matter 

 of positive knowledge that bees, when 

 intelligently managed, will pay a lar- 

 ger per cent, upon the capital and la- 

 bor invested, than almost any other 

 J business. Yet, while this is the case, 

 ' it is not every one that can succeed in 



this avocation. Indeed, if they could 

 it would be an exception to all other 

 lines of business ; men fail in every 

 business, but the failure is in the man, 

 and not in the business. I have 

 premised that bee-culture, as an avo- 

 cation or profession, contains the ele- 

 ments of success. Bees have been 

 cultivated by man since the earliest 

 ages, but it is only within the past de- 

 cade that the science of bee-culture 

 has received that attention from 

 thinking men. that its importance de- 

 mands. And in this, as in other lines 

 of business, it is only thinking men 

 that can achieve any marked success. 

 This is the age of brains— an age in 

 which men are developing all the re- 

 sources of wealth which a bountiful 

 Providence has provided. And as God 

 has provided the health-giving, life- 

 sustaining nectar in abundance in the 

 myriad of beautiful flowers that deck 

 our fields and forests, and also provi- 

 ded the bees to gather it, and endowed 

 them with instincts which lead them 

 to store it up in quantities far exceed- 

 ing their own wants, it would seem 

 that the beneficent Creator intended 

 that man should utilize these gifts, 

 and make them conducive to his own 

 well being. 



I shall now come to consider those 

 qualifications which bespeak the suc- 

 cessful apiarist. And first of all. I 

 would say in general terms, that he 

 should possess a thorough knowledge 

 of the requirements of the business. 

 This would include a knowledge of the 

 natural history, habits and instincts of 

 bees; a knowledge of the best hives 

 and implements in use ; also a knowl- 

 edge of the honey resources of the lo- 

 cality in which lie should choose to lo- 

 cate. The practical management of 

 bees at different seasons and under 

 different circumstances, and how to 

 produce the most honey in the most 

 marketable condition, can only be 

 learned by practical experience iii the 

 apiary. Of course, the amount of 

 honey produced will vary in different 

 localities, and in the same locality in 

 different seasons. In our locality (Al- 

 len county), where the extractor is 

 used and only strong colonies kept. I 

 think an average of 40 lbs. per colony, 

 one year with another, a good yield. 

 This (when it is remembered that one 

 man can easily care for ion colonies), 

 at the average price of 10 cts. per lb., 

 will give $400— fair wages, considering 

 that the bees will not require more 

 than n months' labor during the year. 



I think, however, that the greatest 

 benefit to be derived from associated 

 effort, is the diffusion of knowledge 

 among the agricultural classes in re- 

 gard to the true principles of scienti- 

 fic bee-culture, as by these means, in 

 time, perhaps enough will engage in 

 the pursuit to develop the honey re- 

 sources of the State, and thus add to 

 the revenues of the State a source of 

 wealth now undeveloped. 



Reports on Wintering Bees. 



The President wintered 40 colonies, 

 lost 1 ; received 2.000 lbs. honey ; had 

 3 natural swarms; made :; swarms, 

 and has 45 strong colonies, rich in 

 stores. Thought he had at present 500 

 lbs. surplus honey. 



Dr. Brown commenced with :;.: : lost 

 IS; had 4 natural swarms; got 500 lbs. 

 honey; wintered on summer stands. 



W. Cook put 5 colonies into winter 

 quarters: lost none; has made 5, and 

 had 4 natural swarms ; lost 3; has 12 

 colonies now; has taken 60 lbs. honey; 

 every hive but 2 has a surplus. 



(;. W. Asbby had 38 colonies in the 

 fall; lost 22; wintered on summer 

 stands; took .".no lbs. honey; has .".0 

 now, all but 2 in good condition. 



Mr. Littell, Louisville, started the 

 winter with 5 colonies in Langstroth. 

 double-wall hives; saved all; had 4 

 swarms, saved 3. and has 8 colonies in 

 good condition ; fed the weaker ones 

 on sugar during the fall ; took 00 lbs. 

 honey. 



Dr. Kaye started with 30 colonies, 

 half of them weak ; lost 14 from ina- 

 bility to attend them ; had 4 natural. 

 and 12 artificial swarms; yield of 

 honey, 500 lbs.; has now 25 colonies in 

 good condition; fed some grape sugar 

 during the drouth to encourage in- 



