THE AMERICAJSI BEE JOURNAL. 



391 



In looking over the records of the 

 past years I lind that this same ques- 

 tion was asked by nearly all Northern 

 bee-keepers in the spring of 1863. Mr. 

 Richard Colvin, of Baltimore, says 

 that this question was asked him 

 more than a hundred times, lie says 

 that the anxious inquirer has uncon- 

 sciously answered his own question, 

 when he says, " The hives were full 

 of honey." lie says that if you had 

 examined vour hives, you would have 

 found your bees huddled between the 

 cold walls of honey where they froze 

 to death ; and probably by their side 

 you would have found a late swarm 

 which had starved to death in and 

 between the empty combs. The sim- 

 ple exchange of a few full for a few 

 empty combs between these colonies 

 would have saved both, and placed 

 them in their best condition for breed- 

 ing in early spring ; for it must not 

 be lost sight of that the colony in 

 which the combs are filled with honey 

 has no room for breeding, while 

 the others would have nothing to feed 

 the young, if bred, until it would be 

 furnished by the flowers, which may 

 not bloom before the following May. 

 If this be the true explanation of this 

 mystery (and I have no doubt that it 

 is) how many thousands of dollars 

 might have been saved last year had 

 every bee-keeper been aware of this 

 fact. Such questions as these are the 

 vital questions to be discussed in 

 these meetings, and just as much of 

 the discussion as possible should be 

 spread upon the minutes and kept for 

 future reference. 



The methods of breeding, rearing 

 queens, dividing colonies, producing 

 crosses, strengthening weak colonies, 

 etc., are subjects which cannot be 

 discussed too frequently and with too 

 much enthusiasm in these meetings. 

 As a result of these gatherings, I be- 

 lieve that more will be accomplished 

 when each member gives his own 

 personal experience in the work, 

 rather than that which he has ob- 

 tained from some work upon bee- 

 culture. Whenever anything is pre- 

 sented to this body that has had no 

 practical test by any member of the 

 association, it amounts to nothing 

 more than a mere suggestion. You 

 want to know what success your 

 neighbor has had in this or that ex- 

 periment, and he desires to know 

 what success you have had. Theories 

 are good, but facts are better. 



Let me suggest that each one keep 

 a diary of the working of his bees. 

 This will be beneficial in more than 

 one way. When you notice anything 

 peculiar about your bees put it down 

 with the date ; then when you come 

 to these meetings, bring these mem- 

 orandums with you, and I will assure 

 you that this association will never 

 lack for entertainment and instruc- 

 tion. This method will make you 

 more observing, and will enable you 

 to retain and use what you have 

 already learned. When did my bees 

 swarm ? Was it a large swarm V 

 What hive do they occupy i* What 

 kind of flowers do bees most frequentV 

 From which do they gather the pollen 

 and which the honey V These ques- 

 tions with their answers, and many 



others of similar nature will be found 

 in these records. No doubt many of 

 you are following some such plan as 

 this. If not, you will find that it will 

 beget a wonderful interest in the 

 study. The ladies will observe some- 

 thing of special interest concerning 

 the bees around the house, while the 

 men will observe something very 

 similar or very different, as the case 

 may be, out in the field ; and by this 

 method vou will obtain knowledge of 

 bees that" can be obtained in no other 

 way. 



There are a number more of very 

 important topics under the head of 

 immediate benefits, that I should like 

 to speak of, but time will not permit 

 should I speak at all of the remote 

 benefits. 



The question has frequently been 

 asked, " Of what use is the bee except 

 to gather honey V" The answer will 

 not occur to the majority of people. 

 Nature has a use of vastly more im- 

 portance than the gathering of the 

 nectar from the golden cups to satisfy 

 our delicate tastes. Through her 

 energy, nature secures to the farmer 

 or fruit-raiser a good crop, and perma- 

 nence of the best varieties of fruit. 

 Gardeners have known for a long 

 time that bees fertilize the squash, 

 melon and cucumber flowers by 

 carrying the pollen from one flower 

 to another. Some have thought that 

 bees injure some flowers by extract- 

 ing the nectar from them. But what 

 is the honey for V The best botanist 

 will tell you that it is for the purpose 

 of attracting bees to the flowers so 

 that they may be thoroughly fertil- 

 ized. The pollen or flower-dust is 

 the fertilizing material. In many 

 cases the flower that bears the pollen 

 does not contain the pistil, the organ 

 which receives the fertilizingmaterial; 

 so in order that the ovules, which 

 are in the pistil, may be fertilized, the 

 pollen must be carried to it from some 

 other flower. This may be done by 

 the wind, but it is at a great risk, for 

 the wind might carry the pollen en- 

 tirely away from the plant and leave 

 the pistulate flowers entirely un- 

 fruitful. The plant has agreed to 

 pay the bee, if she will carry tliis 

 pollen to these flowers ; and for this 

 purpose, and this alone, botanists say 

 the flowers bear nectar. 



Even where the flowers contain both 

 the iertilized and fertilizing organs, 

 fruit is more certain when tlie pollen 

 is brought from some other flower. 

 The part that the flower and the bee 

 play in this transaction is wholly un- 

 conscious with both. The bee in 

 placing its head in the flower brushes 

 some of the pollen off and carries it to 

 the next flower, and accidentally 

 drops it upon the pistil, which re- 

 ceives it and conveys it to the ovules 

 or undeveloped seeds. 



To the man who has an orchard, 

 the culture of bees has a two-fold 

 value ; he not only obtains a rich sup- 

 ply of honey, but he has the best of 

 an assurance that everything else 

 being equal, he will always have a 

 good supply of fruit. 



Some years ago a wealthy lady in 

 Germany established a green-house at 

 considerable cost, and stocked it with 



a great variety of choice native and 

 exotic fruit-trees, expecting in due 

 time to have remunerating crops. 

 Time passed, and annually there was 

 a super-abundance of blossoms, with 

 only very little fruit. Various phms 

 were devised and adopted to bring 

 the trees to bearing, but without suc- 

 cess, till it was suggested that the 

 blossoms needed fertilization, and 

 that by means of the bees the needed 

 work could be effected. A hive of 

 honey-gatherers was introduced the 

 next season ; the remedy was effected; 

 there was no longer any difficulty in 

 producing crops there. The bees dis- 

 tributed the pollen, and the setting of 

 the fruit followed naturally. 



I have thus briefly noticed a few 

 facts, which seemed to me to be 

 benefits that may be derived from 

 such an association. There are others 

 probably of just as much importance, 

 and as the study goes on, new ones 

 will be continually presenting them- 

 selves. 



For the American B«e Journal. 



Marsliall County, Iowa, ConYcntion. 



The Marshall County Bee-Keepers' 

 Association met at Marshalltovvn, 

 Iowa, on April 17, 1886, President O. 

 B. Barrows in the chair. The min- 

 utes of the previous meeting were 

 read and approved. The constitution 

 and by-laws of the association were 

 read, and a number became members. 



This being the time for the election 

 of oflicers, the following were elected 

 for the coming year : President, O. 

 B. Barrows, of Marshalltown ; yice- 

 President, A. Fogg, of Marshalltown ; 

 Treasurer, G. W. Calhoun, of Mar- 

 shalltown ; and Secretary, J. W. San- 

 ders, Le Grand. 



The financial reports of the Secre- 

 tary and Treasurer for the year just 

 closed were made and accepted. 



The subject of " Summer manage- 

 ment of bees " was then discussed as 

 follows : 



I. N. Brown cleans out the hives 

 well in the spring, keeps the brood- 

 chamber warm, and uses enameled 

 cloth over it. He has the LangBtroth 

 hive. He keeps the ground clean in 

 his apiarv, and finds it to be a great 

 help to the bees in the honey season. 

 He also makes a passage-way from 

 the ground to the hive-entrance. He 

 puts on the sections when the bees 

 appear to be ready for them. 



S. W. Myers adds brood-frames as 

 needed, and puts on the surplus ar- 

 rangements a tew days before the 

 honev harvest begins, so that the bees 

 may "become acquainted with it by 

 the time they need it. He uses oae- 

 pound sections in frames. 



" How do you prevent robbing V" 



A. Pinkerton contracts tlie entrance 

 to suit the strength of the colony, and 

 adds sections when the white clover 

 comes in. 



The Secretary stated that robbers 

 can be known in the yard by the use 

 of a little floi'.r. The exchange of 

 the robbed with the robbers would, 

 as a rule, stop it ; or exchange with 

 some strong colony. 



