326 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



I have a space of y-incli above the 

 frames. 



A. A. Baldwin— Most of the bee- 

 keepers using the open-top frame 

 have now gone back to the tioney- 

 board. Honey in sections is colored 

 more with open top-bars, especially 

 on old colonies. I think that we must 

 have a honey-board if we want to get 

 honey for the market. 



" Can more honey be produced from 

 a non-swarming colony than a colony 

 and its increase V" 



Jas. H. Jones— I had a colony that 

 did not swarm for two years, and it is 

 my opinion that if I can have my bees 

 non-swarming, I can get more honey. 

 It is the swarming fever that injures 

 our honey crop. 1 think it de.stroys 

 at least one-third of the product. 



John Conser — I do not see any very 

 material difference in colonies on 

 either side. 



A. A. Baldwin— I think we cannot 

 decide without several years' experi- 

 ence, and it is the safest way to get a 

 light increase. 



J. S. Atkins— One-third of my bees 

 do not swarm, and I always get the 

 heaviest amountof surplusfrom those 

 that do not swarm. 



" "Which is the best way to get in- 

 crease, by natural swarming, or by 

 dividing colonies V" 



John Conser — If you want bees, 

 divide colonies ; if honey, let nature 

 have its cour.se, 



A. A. Baldwin— We must feed lib- 

 erally with honey or sugar in order to 

 be safe in making colonies by division. 



Adjourned to 9:30 a.m. 



SECOND DAY. 



The meeting was called to order by 

 Vice-President R. B. Leahy. The 

 Association invited members of sister 

 organizations and representatives of 

 the press to take part with it as hon- 

 orary members. 



An essay from Mr. Jos. Nysewan- 

 der, was read by the Secretary, and 

 the convention unanimously adopted 

 it as its sentiments. It is as follows, on 



DOES BEE-KEEPING PAY 'i 



It behooves every one who contem- 

 plates engaging in a pursuit, or who 

 is following a certain line of business, 

 to consider well its possibilities both 

 as to failure and success. If we can 

 determine upon a reliable basis that 

 the possibilities are plausible, and 

 that success depends upon our own 

 energies, tact and experience, we have 

 at least solved one phase of the busi- 

 ness that will be an incentive in 

 prompting us to continue persistently 

 in it until we have mastered it and 

 success has been attained. 



At this time, when very few things 

 really do pay a profit, the agricultur- 

 ist and others have made tests of 

 various kinds of adjunct pursuits, as 

 well as vocations by which a liveli- 

 hood may be honestly earned, and yet 

 independently. I believe where there 

 is the faintest hope for remuneration 

 nothing has been exempted from these 

 tests. The agriculturist feels the 

 necessiiy of diversiHed farming, and 

 to make all the additions to hischosen 

 pursuit that will contribute to his 

 income ; for, snice the production of 



the leading crops do not at present 

 pay largely and are necessarily mark- 

 eted at minimum figures, everything 

 within the scope of his control is 

 brought into requisition for his tinan- 

 cial enhancement. Ilemumeration is 

 the all-absorbing topic of the day. It 

 is in such times that a business that 

 is new in its nature will receive the 

 most thorough and practical tests, and 

 will grow in favor or be promptly dis- 

 carded in proportion to its real and 

 deserving claims. 



As to the profits of apiculture : It 

 is a significant proof in its favor that 

 the interest taken in the business is 

 largely increasing and spreading year 

 by year. As an indication of this 

 increased interest the number of bee- 

 papers that have lately been presented 

 to the public, and that are being sus- 

 tained, as well as the dei)artment in 

 agricultural papers devoted to the 

 subject goes to prove; for they have 

 not so much created a demand, as to 

 meet one. 



As to remuneration : We too often 

 overlook the fact that we must learn 

 a business before it will yield us a 

 profit. If we expect to go into any 

 kind of business and reap a profit at 

 once without first thoroughly master- 

 ing tlie details of it, we will more 

 than likely fail ; and too frequently 

 we attribute the failure to the busi- 

 ness instead of ourselves, where the 

 fault rightly belongs. In the minds 

 of those who have skillfully followed 

 the business, I believe there is no 

 question as to the prOlilS "f ?.illcui- 

 ture, and that as a pursuit, although 

 irregularities and a lack of proper 

 management may have created gross 

 misapprehensions by some as to it as 

 a business. As a cause of the former 

 the bee only improves " each shining 

 hour," and sometimes it is the case 

 that when it could work most effect- 

 ually — that is, when the hive is full 

 of bees and the flowers are laden with 

 nectar, the inclemency of the weather 

 excluding the light of the sun for a 

 protracted period will as certainly 

 exclude the rays of hope as to a profit- 

 able season ; and then, the flowers do 

 not secrete nectar equally abundant 

 every year. But the specialist calcu- 

 lates on irregularities, and is content 

 to average the poor seasons with the 

 abundant yields, and so far the aver- 

 age has proven itself such as to make 

 the business altogether a success. 



Even if rightly managed we should 

 not decide bee-keeping a success or 

 failure by a single year's trial ; for 

 wliat is the crop that can be produced 

 with absolute certainty 'i Failures 

 will come. They will come to the 

 farmer, and they will come to the 

 bee-keeper, but it would be utter 

 foolishness to discontinue a business 

 because of an occasional failure. 

 There is one characteristic that a bee- 

 keeper must have, and that is dili- 

 gence, and that through failure as well 

 as success; to feed when the bees 

 ought to be storing away honey, and 

 to spend when he ought to be receiv- 

 ing, for in due time in the "golden 

 future" the "shining hour" will 

 come, when these little creatures that 

 have been cared for so long and so 

 diligently will more than repay all 



efforts thus bestowed upon them, and 

 an over abundant season will fully 

 make up the loss of a poor yield. 



While it is conceded that nature 

 and the bees do their part, the ques- 

 tion arises, is there not danger that 

 the honey market will be overstocked 

 so as to make the business unprofit- 

 able y Let us not be selfish enough to 

 anticipate such a condition of things. 

 Shall we let tlie tons of nectar "waste 

 its sweetness on the desert air " be- 

 cause of the plea that there is no one 

 who wants it ? I believe that the list of 

 300,000 persons who now keep bees 

 could be more than doubled, and 

 there would still be a demand for the 

 product; for instead of its being 

 looked upon as a rarity and a luxury, 

 it would be considered a stiiple 

 article. 



Nature is rich in her treasures, and 

 the earth yields profusely her fruits 

 for the benefit of mankind, and if by 

 skillful means we are enabled to 

 utilize her wealth and gather in her 

 treasures toadd to the commonwealth, 

 we not only do that whicli redounds 

 to our greatest profit, but it is more 

 honorable than to contend over that, 

 which is already produced. Let us 

 be assured that there is yet a com- 

 petency for faithful efforts in apicul- 

 ture as in other rural pursuits, and 

 that Nature will yield from her boun- 

 tiful storehouse in proportion to ouf 

 skill and diliggnoe^ 



R. r. Muir— I think that putting 

 the best side of the pursuit out in- 

 duces many to go into the business, 

 and creates thereby many failures. I 

 do not believe that there is more than 

 1 per cent, that succeed in the busi- 

 ness. The ones that generally make 

 it pay are the supply dealers. 



R. B. Leahy— Every pursuit that is 

 honest should he upheld, and so long 

 as it is conducted properly it should 

 not be put down. 



C. M. Crandall— I do not think 'hat 

 it is good policy to flatter others in 

 regard to the profits of the business, 

 but I am heart and soul with Mr. 

 Nysewander's essay. 



r. Baldwin— I believe that 98 per 

 cent, of the scientific bee-keepers suc- 

 ceed in the business. I do not think 

 that the pursuit can be justly esti- 

 mated from the whole number of 

 bee-keepers. 



" The use of foundation, its benefits, 

 etc.," were discussed as follows : 



John Conser- 1 think that the 

 nearer we can get to natural comb 

 the better. I use thin foundation 

 with high side-walls in sections; in 

 brood-frames as heavy side-walls with 

 thin base as possible. I use wax put 

 on with a pencil-brush in fastening 

 foundation, and I use wired brood- 

 frames enough to keep the top-bar 

 from sagging. 



L. VV. Baldwin— In using founda- 

 tion I have had some losses from its 

 sagging. This year I am going to 

 use strips of foundation 4 or 5 inches 

 wide, made from refined wax. I want 

 it made about 5 square feet to the 

 pound. I fasten it in the brood-frames 

 with a composition of 73 wax and }i 

 resin. I use foundation in the sec- 

 tions in pieces 2x3 inches. I do not 



