124 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ August, 



THE BEEKEEPERS' ASSOCIATION. 



The Lancaster County Beekeepers' Society met 

 Monday afternoon, August 11, at 2 o'clock in the 

 parlor of the Black Horse Hotel. The following 

 members were present : Elias Hershev, Paradise ; j. 

 H. Deaner, Churchtown ; I. G. Martin, Earl ; John 

 Eitemiller, Strasburg; H. G. Shirk, Caernarvon ; D. 

 H. Lintner, Millersville ; J. F. Hershey, Mt. Joy; 

 Levan Weigle, Earl; A. K. Deaner, Caernarvon; 

 Abraham Mellinger, West Earl ; L. S. Fleekenstein, 

 Manor, and P. S. Reist, IVesideut, Litiz. 



The meeting was opened by the President, P. S. 

 Reist. As the Secretary was absent, J. M. Johnston, 

 of the Intelligencer, VI a.s elected Secretary p?-o tan. 



The President, Mr. Reist, reported the honey crop 

 of the United States to be about 8,800,000 pounds. 

 The amount of wax was about 6,000,000 pounds. 

 The total value of crop — wax and honey — was about 

 ^1,200,000. The highest award at the honey show 

 in England was given to Americans. He reported 

 an increase of about 75 per cent, in his swarms. All 

 of his colonies were robbed, and they evidently had 

 no queens. His honey prdduct would be compara- 

 tively small, on account of the drought. The crop, 

 however, is in a tolerably fair condition. 



J. F. Hershey, Mt. Joy, stated that his bees were 

 doing well. He obtained 050 pounds of honey. His 

 bees are doing little or nothing now. They are in 

 good condition so far. 



Mr. D. H. Lintner, Millersville, said his bees did 

 very well during the months of April, May and June. 

 He started with fourteen hives, but swarmed twelve 

 more, making 26 hives. In June he commenced 

 transferring to twelve-form hives. His bees are all 

 in good condition. He took 250 pounds honey. His 

 bees paid 250 per cent, on money invested. Sold his 

 honey at 30 and 25 cents per pound. They have not 

 done much since July. 



Mr. I. G. Martin, Earl, said he had twenty colo- 

 nies started in the spring. Tried to stop swarming, 

 and only had one natural swarm. Afterwards he 

 made artificial swarms, increasing the number of 

 colonies to thirty-one. He has taken .540 pounds of 

 honey, but since the harvest the season is very poor. 

 The honey crop is about over for the year. 



Eli Hershey, Paradise, said his bees had increased 

 about 35 per cent. He had twenty-six hives; and 

 obtained on an average 25 pounds per hive. 



Mr. Fleekenstein, Manor, said he had started 

 twelve hives, and could depend on one-half of them 

 for honey. Only had one natural swarm as he tried 

 to prevent them as much as possible. His object is 

 to gel more honey with less bees. He obtained on an 

 average 15 to 20 pounds to a hive. The season is not 

 over yet in his neighborhood. He lives near the 

 Susquehanna river, and his bees fly over to the -York 

 county side and gather honey from the buckwheat 

 fields. 



Mr. John Eitemiller, Strasburg, said he started 

 with eighteen swarms, and now has twenty-seven. 

 He obtained 300 pounds of honey in the comb. His 

 bees are in good wintering condition. 



Mr. J. F. Hershey answered the question, "What 

 is the best method of preventing swarming?" as 

 follows : 



AS this question was referred to P. S. Reist and he 

 referred it to me, I will say a few words on the sub- 

 ject of preventing bees from swarming. I find that 

 there are lour points that must be made use of, and 

 those are shade, air, putting empty combs between 

 brood and getting the bees to work in honey boxes. 

 To prevent swarming commence as soon as the 

 nights are getting warm ,to keep the hives well 

 shaded ; but have them so arranged that the air can 

 pass over and around the hive. If a hive is ever so 

 well shaded and stands in a warm place where the 

 air cannot pass over and around it, shade will not 

 help to prevent swarming. Shade and air must both 

 be made use of at the same time. If shade is made 

 with a roof, keep the roof one or two feet above the 

 hives ; don't merely shade them by having the roof 

 right on top of the hive as then the rays of the sun 

 will come too close to the hive. 



Putting Empty Combs Between Brood. 



When the centre combs are well filled with capped 

 brood and the nights are warm, take an outside 

 comb, and if the comb is full of honey uncap it ; then 

 put it between two combs that are filled with brood. 

 In this way every eight days put a comb between 

 brood. If three combs are put between brood it is 

 enough, and not more than one comb should be put 

 between brood at a time ; if more is used at one time 

 the brood nest is spread too fast for the bees. 



Getting the Bees to work in the Honey 

 Boxes. 



Give each swarm two, three or four sections filled 

 with comb, and another section that is empty. As 

 soon as the bees gather honey, they will fill the 

 combs in the section, and at the same time will com- 

 mence to build combs in the adjoining empty section. 

 As soon as the sections are full take them off, and 

 put empty sections in their place. If the sections are 

 left on till they are full the bees will not have 

 enough room to build combs, and will commence to 

 build queen-cells, and the brood chamber being filled 

 with honey, the queen will have no room to lay. 



A general discussion followed in which a number 

 of the members participated. 



Mr. I. G. Martin said in answer to the question, 

 "Should glucose be fed to bees?" that he didn't 

 know ; that he never used it, and would like to hear 

 from some one who had tried it. He was not in 

 favor of experimenting with it. 



Mr. J. F. Hershey said that he had never used it, 

 and never intended to. He thought it a rather risky 

 experiment. 



Mr. Reist said that Mr. Thurlow, of this city, had 

 tried it. The bees seemed to like it, but the honey 

 tasted bitter. 



Mr. J. F. Hershey showed a case of Italian bees 

 and also a frame, exhibiting his method of making a 

 comb foundation. 



Mr. I. G. Martin exhibited a jar of extracted 

 honey, and a crate of honey in comb, prepared for 

 shipping, containing twelve two-pound boxes. 



Mr. Lintner exhibited a pan of honey containing 

 eight or ten pounds. 



Mr. J. F. Hershey showed a crate of honey, in one 

 pound boxes, size 3% by 5 inches, which he called 

 the right size boxes. He says they sell faster than 

 two pound boxes. He also showed several cases of 

 Italian bees and queens, put up ready for shipping. 



The President stated that the Fruit Growers' As- 

 sociation was holding a meeting to determine 

 whether they would have a fair this season, and 

 stated that the society had been invited to assist in 

 case they agree to hold one. 



Mr. Lintner read the following essay : 



Some people will contend that bees are injurious to 

 crops. Now, instead of bees being injurious to crops, 

 I shall prove to you that they are an advantage. 

 First, the stamen and pistils of fiowers answer to the 

 different organs of the sexes — that is, male and 

 female. The stamen is the male, which furnishes 

 the pollen ; the pistil is the female, which must be 

 impregnated by this dust or pollen from the stamen, 

 or no fruit will be produced. Now, as we all know 

 that the breeding in and in of animals is detrimental, so 

 it is in the vegetable kingdom. The pollen from one 

 flower always falling on the pistil of its own flower 

 would deteriorate. Thus it becomes necessary that 

 the pollen produced by the stamen of one flower 

 shall fertilize the pistil of another, to prevent 

 barrenness. This is fully accomplished by the bees 

 traveling from flower to flower, and carrying the 

 pollen sticking to their legs and wings, to the next 

 flower, and impregnating the pistil of it. If all the 

 bees were to be destroyed, I for one, if a farmer, 

 would prefer to go into some other business. This 

 prejudice against bees seems to me has no founda- 

 tion, and I hope that the day is dawning when it 

 will be done away with. 



The society now adjourned until the second 

 Monday in November. 



A COUNTY FAIR. 



The Board of Managers of the La: 



County Agricultural and Horticultural 



Society Fix upon Time and Place 



for Holding it— Committees 



Appointed. 



The Board of Managers of the Lancaster County 

 Agricultural and Horticultural Society met Monday, 

 August 11, in their room in the City Hall, for the 

 purpose of discussing the subject of holding a county 

 fair. The officers of the society constitute the Board 

 of Managers and are as follows, all of whom were 

 present : President, Calvin Cooper, Bird-in-Hand ; 

 Vice Presidents, Henry M. Engle, Marietta, and 

 Jacob B. Garber, Columbia; Recording Secretary, 

 Jos. F. Witmer, Paradise ; Corresponding Secretary, 

 J. Miller, Litiz ; Treasurer, Levi W. Grotf, West 

 Earl township ; Managers, Martin D. Kendig, Manor 

 township ; William H. Brosius, Drumore township ; 

 Casper Hiller, Cdnestoga township; John G. Lin- 

 ville. Gap ; and Israel L. Landis, Lancaster. 



On motion, they adopted Wednesday, Thursday 

 and Friday, September 10, 11 and 12, as the days 

 upon which to hoid their exhibition, and it will be 

 held in the Northern Market House, on North Queen 

 street. 



Committees. 



The President announced the following committees, 

 which were unanimously approved : 



Committee of Arrangement — Daniel Smeych, city; 

 8. P. Eby. city; Israel L. Landis, city; Ephraim 

 Hoover, city. "• 



On Fruits— Henry M. Engle, Marietta. 



On Cereals— Jno. C. Linville, Gap P. 0. 



On Flowers — Martin D. Kendig, Creswell ; Mrs. 

 Dr. Wilson, Lancaster. 



On Vegetables — Casper Hiller, Conestoga Centre. 



On Apiary— Peter S. Reist, Litiz. 



On Poultry— Wm. J. Kafroth,West Earl. 



On Domestic Productions — Mrs. Calvin Cooper, 

 Bird-in-Hand. 



On Dairy Products— Johnson Miller, Litiz. 



On Light Farm Implements — C. M. Hostetter, 

 May P.O. 



On FiBe Arts, etc— Wm. H. Brosius, Liberty 

 Square. 



On Musical Instruments— Ephriam Hoover, Lan- 

 caster. 



On Agricultural Miscellany— Levi S. Reist, 

 Oregon. 



The committee have power to appoint colleagues 

 if they deem it necessary. 



All who desire to become exhibitors will make ap- 

 plication to the heads of the departments in their 

 line of articles, or to the Committee of Arrange- 

 ment. 



Further details will be found in posters, adver- 

 tisements and a premium list, which will be issued 

 in due time. 



POULTRY ASSOCIATION. 



Meeting of the Executive Committee of the 

 Society at Litiz. 



The meeting of the Executive Committee of the 

 Lancaster County Poultry Society was held at the 

 Litiz Springs Hotel, on Tuesday evening, August 12. 

 The committee was organized by electing Rev. D. C. 

 Tobias chairman and Jacob H. Lichty secretary. 

 The object of the meeting was to make suitable ar- 

 rangements for the holding of a "Poultry Exhibi- 

 tion," by the society, in Lancaster, some time in 

 December or January next. After a full discussion 

 of the subject it was" thought that a successful exhi- 

 bition could be made ; and the committee will at the 

 next meeting of the society — the first Monday in Sep- 

 tember — submit a report embracing the necessary 

 regulations to be made. 



It is hoped that all interested in breeding poultry 

 and pigeons will assist in making this, their first ex- 

 hibition, a perfect success. The committee adjourned 

 to meet in the room of the society, in Lancaster, on 

 Tuesday, the 26th inst., at 101.; A.M. 



Agriculture. 



Weeds and Hay Fever. 



It would seem that the general advantage of 

 thorough cultivation ought to be sufficient induce- 

 ment to incite the tiller of the soil to vigorous efforts 

 for the suppression of weeds. It is manifest to the 

 commonest observer that, if we expect remunerating 

 crops, we must not leave them to contend with hosts 

 of rival enemies in the soil, and yet this is often the 

 case, to a wide extent, throughout the country. 

 Not only are noxious weeds allowed to grow among 

 the crops, but often after the crops are removed 

 whole fields are abandoned to weeds of almost every 

 description, as also are roadsides. These are fruitful 

 nurseries, and their fiowering is thus protracted 

 until late in autumn, filling the atmosphere with the 

 impalpable dust of their pollen, irritating and 

 inflaming the delicate organs of the human system 

 in various ways. It is sometimes called hay fever. 



The hay season, however, is short, and ought to be 

 much shorter if farmers would have hay of the best 

 quality; and is harmless as compared with the 

 tediousness of the weed-flowering season, during 

 which the eyes are affected with itching inflamma- 

 tion; the bronchial and nasal parts violently excited, 

 causing extreme and protracted intervals of sneezing, 

 and copious discharges of watery fluids from the 

 nose. This is often continued for months, until 

 frosts destroy these troublesome interlopers. In my 

 daily intercourse I meet with persons who are severe- 

 ly afflicted with this troublesome nuisance, and 

 entirely ignorant of the cause, being under appre- 

 hension that it proceeds from some radical defect in 

 their organization, and seriously contemplating the 

 necessity of seeking a more genial clime. In truth, 

 I am half inclined to think that many times those 

 complaints called influenzas have been treated by 

 medical men without suspecting their common 

 origin. 



These disagreeable effects, arising from negligent 

 husbandry, are far more prevalent when the late 

 summer and early autumnal months are dry, as was 

 the case during the past year. Frequently showers 

 and rain storms carry the pollen to tlie ground, 

 where the greater part remains. The presence of 

 this evil is" a very serious abridgment of the 

 pleasures of rural life during the autumnal months, 

 when a walk through the fields, or a stroll in the 

 silent (voods amid the shadowy lights and falling 

 leaves, is especially enjoyed by contemplative minds. 



Cutting and Curing Hay. 



Though it is too late for the present season to talk 

 upon this subject, we feel inclined to take up a small 

 space in relation to it by merely referring to a dis- 

 cussion at a meeting of farmers who attend the 

 "Farmers' Market," at Twelfth and Market streets, 

 in this city, and who have formed themselves into a 

 cltTl) to discuss matters and things connected with 

 their pursuit, helding their meetings monthly in the 

 room of the directors of the company. These meet- 

 ings are well attended and comprise among its mem- 

 bers a great deal of intelligence; but, as in all meet- 

 ings of farmers, there is seldom an agreement of 

 views on any question formally introduced. 



At the last meeting the question of cutting an(i 



