1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



373 



only lost .", colonies out of 21, and sunn' 

 of them starved in one corner of I lie 

 hive, with plenty Of honey to have 

 wintered them, had it only turned 

 warm enough for them to have 

 changed their cluster to where the 

 honey was ; hut it was too cold, ami 

 starvation was the result. 



This was a very poor honey year, as 

 the drouth burnt the white clover up 

 just as it was about to bloom, and bees 



gathered no honey from that source; 

 they did well on linden tor about 12 

 days ; the goldenrod was also burnt 

 up the same as clover, but my bees 

 stored enough of it for winter. 



1 have IS colonies this fall ; they 

 gathered about 700 lbs. of surplus 

 honey, and I have sold nearly all of it 

 at lo and 20 cts. per pound. It is no 

 trouble for me to sell the extracted 

 honey at my store for 15 cts. per lb , 

 while comb honey drags at 20 cts. per 

 lb. So next year I will run them for 

 extracted altogether, as my custom 

 demands the extracted in preference 

 to comb at the same prices. 



Waterloo, Ky., Nov. 14, 1S81. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Distinctive Features of Cyprian Bees. 



W. J. DAVIS. 



I have watched with much interest 

 all that has been published in the 

 Journal about the Cyprian and Pal- 

 estine bees, probably the more so from 

 remembering the verdict of both 

 American and European apiarists of 

 the ill-favored Egyptian bees. 



While I would be glad to see any 

 improvement in our bees that will add 

 desirable traits, either in the way of 

 beauty, docility of temper, or in- 

 creased stores, it is well to remind 

 bee-keepers not to act rashly, and the 

 precipitous haste with which the new 

 untried varieties are scattered through 

 the land, speaks more loudly of our 

 enterprise than our discretion. 



For the past 15 years I have been 

 breeding the Italians exclusively, and 

 have been breeding for the "coming 

 bee." While I have not deemed it 

 necessary to make public every step 

 taken, or the ground gained, yet as 

 the years have come and gone, they 

 have left their lessons, and much of 

 anticipated results of careful breeding. 

 I have well nigh obliterated the vin- 

 dictive temper of other years, so that 

 my family and visitors can walk 

 through my bee garden with safety. 

 I open my hives without the use of 

 smoke, and show the queen, combs 

 and their contents to visitors, both 

 male and female, and I do not recall a 

 single instance of a visitor being stung 

 the past season. Unlike one of your 

 correspondents, I breed no queens 

 from cross colonies. 



The proper age of queen to breed 

 from, the strength and longevity of 

 her worker progeny, are important 

 factors in the calculation, as also 

 length of tongue. The latter I deter- 

 mine, not by stretching the measur- 

 ing line upon the ligula of a bee-corpse, 

 but by the actual telling work done 

 on the blossoms of red clover. It has 

 been a matter of surprise to me, that 

 any one who has visited fields of red 

 clover when in bloom, in any locality 

 where Italian bees are kept, should 

 question their ability to secure honey 

 from that source. 



There is a vast difference in the in- 

 telligence of bees. Pure Italians more 

 readily understand their surround- 

 ings, and accommodate themselves 

 to circumstances, than black bees, 

 as in artificial swarming, change of 

 entrance to hive, or in uniting colo- 

 nies, and in many other ways. They 

 know when to commence, and when 

 to cease rearing brood. 



In your issue of Nov. 9, Mr. E. A. 

 Thomas says " that his Cyprians have 

 4 and 5 combs of sealed brood and 

 larvse." That may do for his locality, 

 but here in Western Pennsylvania, 

 near 42- North latitude, I should say 

 we want no unhatched brood in our 

 hives on the first of November, and if 

 I should rind one of my colonies with 

 the amount of brood he speaks of at 

 that date, I would say they were in an 



abnormal condition, and the queen 

 and bees of such colony lacking in bee 

 intelligence. 



Late breeding is claimed by some 

 as a recommendation of the Cyprians. 

 If it should prove to he one of their 

 characteristics. I should consider it 

 very much against them. With honey 

 as the ultimate object of bee-keeping, 

 I will here remind bee-keepers, that 

 very late or excessive breeding at any 

 tune will not be traits of the ••coming 

 bee." 



Youngsville, Pa., Nov. 17, 1881. 



Local Convention Directory. 



1881. 

 Nov. 



1882. 



.Ian. 



Apri 



Time and Place oj Meeting. 



30— S. W. Wisconsin, at Platteville, Wis. 



N. B. France, Sec, Platteville. Wis. 

 8— Michigan State, at Battle Creek, Midi. 



T. F. Bingnam, Sec, Abroniu, Mich. 



. Y. 



lie. N. T. 



10— Cortland Union, at Cortland. N. 

 C. M. Bean. Sec. McGrawvil 

 25— Northeastern, at Utica, N. Y. 



Geo. W. House. Sec. Fayetteville, N, Y. 

 11— Eastern Michigan, at Detroit, Mich. 



A B. Weed, Sec, Detroit, Mich. 

 25— Texas State, at McKinney, Texas. 



Wm. R. Howard. Sec. 



Champlain Valley, at Bristol, Vt. 



T. Brookins, Sec. 



JW~ In order to have this table complete. Secre- 

 taries are requested to forward full particulars of 

 time and place of future meetings.— ED. 



California District Convention. 



Met at Los Angeles, Cal.. Sept 8. 

 1881, the President, J. E. Pleasants, 

 in the chair. 



The minutes of the last meeting 

 were read and approved. 



The following were admitted to 

 membership : W. W. Bliss, S. N. 

 Wickoff, C. N. Swenson, R. Hall and 

 J. II. Hook. Mrs. Wickoff was made 

 an honorary member. 



Mr. Haskell stated that he had not 

 received the draft of the Constitution 

 and By-Laws from the former Secre- 

 tary, and on motion, Mr. Levering, as 

 the committee, was granted one day 

 further time. 



Mr. C. N. Wilson moved to elect of- 

 ficers on Friday and to hold the meet- 

 ings annually during the fair week, 

 instead of semi-annually. Carried. 



Mr. Haskeirs report as committee 

 on quotations of extracted honey was 

 read and placed on file. 



The financial report was submitted, 

 showing SI due the Treasurer. 



Adjourned to 10 a. m. 



SECOND DAY. 



Called to order by the President; 

 the Secretary being absent, J. W. Wil- 

 son was elected Secretary pro tern. 



C. N. Wilson moved that the Sec- 

 retary be instructed to have circulars 

 printed relative to strained and ex- 

 tracted honey, including the report of 

 Mr. Haskell, and furnish each of the 

 leading papers of the Pacific Coast 

 with a copy. 



The report of the Committee ap- 

 pointed to draft a law relative to the 

 protection of bees from foul brood, 

 was read and adopted. 



The constitution and by-laws were 

 criticised, and a committee consisting 

 of J. W. Wilson, C. N. Wilson and 

 Robert Hall was appointed to draft 

 new ones, embodying the main ideas 

 of the old ones, but amending where 

 defective, and to report to the next 

 meeting. 



Adjourned to 2 p. m. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



The President called the meeting to 

 order and Mr. Levering moved to post- 

 pone the election of officers until to- 

 morrow morning. Carried. 

 . J. W. Wilson moved to postpone all 

 essays until to-morrow a. m. Carried. 



The Association authorized Mr. N. 

 Levering to correspond with European 

 honey dealers relative to establishing 

 agencies in Los Angeles, and other 



honey producing counties of Southern 

 California, for the purchase and sale 

 of honey. 



Moved by Mr. Swenson, and car- 

 ried, that a copy of the above he senl 

 lo the British liee Journal for publica- 

 tion. Adjourned to 10 a. in. 



MORNING SESSION — SEPT. 10. 



President Pleasants called the meet- 

 ing to order, and the minutes of pre- 

 vious sessions were read and ap- 

 proved. 



The memorial of the Board of Trade, 

 with bill for the prevention of adulter- 

 ation of food and drugs, was presented 

 by Mr. Levering, who moved that a 

 copy of such be sent to each of the 

 County Associations of Southern Cal- 

 ifornia as far as they will go. 



President Pleasants then delivered 

 his annual address, as published in 

 the Bee Journal for Nov. 9, on page 

 357, for which he was accorded a vote 

 of thanks. It was ordered to be of- 

 fered for publication in the Semi- 

 Tropic and other city papers. 



The election of officers resulted as 

 follows : 



J. E. Pleasants, President; J. S. 

 Harbison, J. Anderson, J. W. Wilson, 

 Wm. Mnth-Rasmusen.R. W. Wilk- 

 ins, Frank Flint, S. N. Wickoff and 

 Mrs. E. W. Steel, Vice Presidents; 

 W. W. Bliss, Secretary; Robert Hall, 

 Treasurer. Adjourned to 1:30 p. m. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



President Pleasants called the As- 

 sociation to order, and J. W. Wilson 

 asked how many colonies of bees 

 could be kept in one place to advan- 

 tage ? 



R. Bailey gave his experience from 

 1868 to the present time ; he found that 

 he obtained about as much honey from 

 200 colonies of bees as he did from 400, 

 on the same grounds. 



W. W. Bliss thought that 75 colonies 

 was enough to be kept on one section 

 of land. 



Mr. Wickoff said they had not enough 

 bees yet to over-stock his vicinity. 



Mr.Levering said it was an unsettled 

 question ; he doubted the over-stock- 

 ing theory, especially in this country. 



C. N. Wilson thought it depended 

 on the locality ; he was of the opinion 

 that 150 colonies to the square mile, 

 was enough on San Fernando range. 



An essay was read by J. W. Wilson, 

 on strained and extracted honey, for 

 which he received a vote of thanks 

 from the Society, and was requested 

 to furnish a copy to the Semi-1'ropic 

 California for publication. 



C. N. Wilson proposed a discussion 

 on honey-producing flowers, which was 

 participated in by himself and others ; 

 he recommended the planting of the 

 black cassia, as it blooms the second 

 year, and is a good honey-producing 

 tree. He next recommended the plant- 

 ing of the blue gum. as his observa- 

 tions have convinced him that it is a 

 large honey-producing tree, and not 

 injurious to the bee ; it blooms very 

 early in the spring ; he also recom- 

 mended* the planting of sweet corn, 

 and next mignonette. He exhibited 

 a specimen of the Dortlesia.an insect 

 that is thought to be a formidable en- 

 emy to the orange tree and to other 

 honey-producing plants. 



Mr. Hall recommended the planting 

 of sunflowers. 



C. N; Wilson said that the seeds are 

 good for chickens, and the stalks make 

 good kindlings. 



Mr. Bailey said he had good success 

 with buckwheat and mignonette ; he 

 gave the latter the preference. 



Mr. Anderson said the wild hore- 

 hound, from what he had seen, was a 

 good honey-producing plant.and easily 

 raised ; he had also sown buckwheat 

 in July, August and September; none 

 produced honey except that sown in 

 September. 



C. N. Wilson thought that we might 

 give it a trial. 



Mr. Bliss inquired if any one had 

 tried white mustard ? 



Mr. Wickoff said that he had this 

 year, with good success. 



C.N. Wilson recommended planting 

 water melons, as the blossoms and 

 fruit are both good for bees. Several 

 others corroborated the same. 



Mr. Bliss exhibited his comb foun- 

 dation mill and explained its use, 

 which was cpiite interesting. 



C. X. Wilson offered the following 

 resolution, which was adopted : 



Resolved, That a vote of thanks be 

 tendered the Council of the city of 

 Los Angeles, for the use of their hall 

 during the present session of the Dis- 

 trict Bee-Keepers' Association. 



Adjourned to meet at the call of the 

 President. W. W. Bliss, Sec. 



Michigan Bee-Keepers' Association. 



The 13th annual meeting of the 

 Michigan State Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion, will be held in the City Hall at 

 Battle Creek, on Thursday and Fri- 

 day, the 8th and 9th of December. 

 The time and place makes it conven- 

 ient for those who wish to attend the 

 annual meeting of the State Horti- 

 cultural Society, which convenes at 

 South Haven, the three previous days 

 of the same week. The Michigan 

 Central, Chicago & Grand Trunk, 

 Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee, 

 and the Grand Rapids & Indiana Rail- 

 mads will sell tickets to members at 

 excursion rates. To secure reduced 

 fare, all must have certificates, which 

 can be furnished by the President, A. 

 J. Cook, Lansing, Mich. Arrange- 

 ments are made with hotels for fare at 

 from 80 cts., to SI per day. 



The meeting promise's to be the 

 largest and the best ever held. All 

 bee-keepers are cordially invited to be 

 present. Bee-keepers are requested 

 to bring samples of honey, apparatus, 

 and articles of interest to apiarists. 

 The following programme has been 

 arranged : 



TITURSDAY FORENOON. 



" Italian bees," S. K. Marsh. 



" The new bees." D. A. Jones. 



" Shall we continue to import 

 queens ?" Discussion opened by A. 

 B. Weed. 



AFTERNOON. 



" Bees and grapes," H. D. Cutting 



" Mistakes of bee-keepers." Dr. E 

 B. Southwick. 



'•Honey as food," Dr. J. H. Kellogg. 



'• The future honey market," T. G. 

 Newman. 



EVENING. 



" Crumbs from the table of the Na- 

 tional Convention," President's ad- 

 dress. 



" Adulteration," Dr. J. H. Kellogg. 



" Apiarian implements," Hon. A.B. 

 Cheeney. 



FRIDAY FORENOON. 



" Rearing and selling queens," W. 

 Z. Hutchinson. 

 " Foundation," James Heddon. 

 Address, A. I. Root. 



AFTERNOON. 



"Foul brood," C. F. Muth. 

 "Extracted honey," Chas. Dadant. 

 " Hints," T. F. Bingham. 

 Election of officers and reports. 



EVENING. 



" Wintering," O. O. Poppleton, D. 

 A. Jones, C. F. Muth, and others. 

 Miscellaneous questions. 



A. J. Cook, Pres. 

 T. F. Bingham, Sec. 



(ST The Southwestern Wisconsin 

 Bee-Keepers' Association will hold its 

 next meetingin Platteville, Grant Co., 

 Wis.. Nov. 30. 1881. 



N. E. France. Sec, Platteville, Wis. 



CLUBBIJiG LIST FOR 1882. 



We supply the Weekly American Bee Jour- 

 nal und any of the following periodicals, for 1882, 

 at the prices quoted in the last column of figures. 

 The first column gives the regular price of both. 

 All postage is prepaid by the publishers. 



Publishers' Price. Club. 

 The Weekly BeeJournal (T.G.Newoian)$2 00.. 

 and Gleanings inBee-Culture< A. I. Root) 3 00.. 2 75 

 Bee-Keepers' Magazine (A.J.King). 3 00 2 (50 

 Bee-Keepers'Instructort W.Thomas) 2 SO.. 2 35 



The 4 above-named papers 4 50.. 4 00 



Bee-Keepers' Exchange (J. H.NellisJ 3 00.. 2 75 



Bee-Keepers' Guide (A.G.Hill) 2 50 ' 



Knnstis Bee- Keeper 2 30 



The 7 above-named papers 6 30.. 



Prof. Cook's ManuaKboundin cloth) 3 2a., 

 Bees and Honey, (T. G. Newman) .. 2 40.. 



Binder lor Weekly, 1881 2 85.. 



Binder for Weekly for 1882 2 65. . 



2 50. . 2 35 

 2 15 

 550 

 300 

 225 

 2 75 

 2 50 



