THE AMERiCAJSi BEE JOUUISIAL. 



791 



or worse, that we may lay holil of tlie 

 one and stamp out the other. I well 

 know that tliey are areat obstacles in 

 the way of success, but that they are 

 insurmountable I do not believe; and 

 here, as everywhere, success is guaged 

 by the effort it costs. 



But 1 promised to be brief; and 

 though there is much else that I 

 would like to discuss, I forbear, and 

 leave these and other matters for your 

 consideration. 



Following the President's address 

 was the following essay by Mr. T. F. 

 Bingham, entitled, 



WHO SHALL KEEP BEES V 



Just as if, in this free country, any 

 one should not keep bees if he wislies 

 to 1 But it is not in this sense that 

 the question was designed to be dis- 

 cussed ; but who could, to the best 

 advantage, keep bees V No oue could 

 question the right of him who pleases 

 to keep bees, so to do; subject, of 

 course, to the rights of otlier^ just as 

 in the case of poultry or other stock. 

 No one can presume to injure me 

 peace and health of any community 

 in the pursuit of his own private in- 

 terests, no matter what ttiey might 

 be. 



"With tlie thousands of domestic 

 fowls in this country, and the almost 

 limitless number of eggs produced by 

 them, the United States imports from 

 France, and other densely populated 

 countries, millions of dozens of eggs 

 annually, yet the question as to who 

 shall keep hens does not occur as a 

 question of right — it is simply a ques- 

 tion of pleasure or inclination ; and 

 whoever wishes may try to make a 

 success and an income in the keeping 

 of fowls and in the production of 

 eggs. In this generation {and I shall 

 not pretend to say that it is in any 

 sense better or worse than those 

 which have preceded it) the question 

 of who should do this or that, or em- 

 bark in this or that pursuit, hinges 

 entirely upon circumstances, the lirst 

 of which is the wish to do something. 

 Bees to do well must have a good and 

 convenient pasture. 15ees to be easily 

 cared for must occupy a convenient 

 hive. Bees to be judicially managed 

 must be managed by an interested 

 bee-keeper, who will use ordinary 

 studiousness to become a thorough 

 bee-master. In bee-keeping there are 

 no mysteries, more than in raising 

 fowls or potatoes. The same reason- 

 able methods which would lead to 

 success in one would result in success 

 in the others. Bee-keepers, like 

 others, are so covetous of the honors 

 of their pursuit that they do not long 

 keep their "light under a bushel;" 

 hence, there are no valuable secrets. 

 Bee-culture is an open book ; he who 

 will may read. 



In reviewing the rise and fall in 

 prices of various commodities, honey 

 does not prove to be an exception to 

 general rules. Whether the present 

 price is the result of overproduction 

 or of a general decline in values of 

 other commodities, no I'eal evidence 

 exists. One fact, however, is present, 

 namely, that the producing of honey 

 at present on a small scale pays the 



produ(!Hrof a few hundred pounds a 

 luiicli better dividend than would the 

 raising of a like value of pigs and 

 fowls. At present all farm crops, as 

 also all manufactured goods, repre- 

 sent little more than the labor and 

 material expenses required to produce 

 them ; yet, at this stage, when wheat 

 rules at a point said by the farmers of 

 Michigan to be below the cost of pro- 

 duction, the farmers of Michigan 

 have planted more wheat this fall 

 than in any previous season within 

 the last Qve years. The only fact to 

 be adduced from this is the simple 

 one that the farmers have more labor 

 than money, and are willing, there- 

 fore, to give more of their labor for 

 the money that wheat will bring 

 than in previous years. 



Bee-keepers may also, in common 

 with others, lind it advisable to pro- 

 duce more honey even at a less price 

 than previously. Ample and conven- 

 ient pastures and comparative isola- 

 tion point to the farm as the home 

 of the honey-bee, and to the farmer 

 as the future successful bee-keeper. 

 When the farmers finally realize— as 

 realize they surely will— the value of 

 an apiary in connection with their 

 pigs and poultry and cows, the great- 

 est production of honey, the best loca- 

 tion for the apiary, and the most suc- 

 cessful bee-keepers will have been 

 found. 



President Cook— We ought to have 

 Mr. Heddon here to take issue with 

 Mr. Bingham about farmers keeping 

 bees. Perhaps Mr. Hutchinson will 

 answer for him. 



W. Z. Hutchinson — Actions speak 

 louder than words ; I expect to drop 

 farming entirely for bee-keeping. 



R. L. Taylor— I think that some 

 men might succeed in raising pota- 

 toes that would never succeed in pro- 

 ducing honey. 



Dr. Iligbie— Only the man who 

 makes a specialty of one thing can 

 hope for the highest success. 



The next topic discussed was that of 



HANDLING BEES. 



Vrof. Cook — There are a few prin- 

 ciples that should be understood. In 

 simply walking among the hives, un- 

 less the bees are disturbed, there is 

 little danger of stings. Quick motions 

 sometimes incite the bees to an at- 

 tack. Frightening bees takes away 

 their disposition to sting. We have 

 been toUl repeatedly that smoke 

 causes bees to fill themselves with 

 honey and then they are good na- 

 tured. This may be true, but it is 

 also true that simply fright will have 

 the same effect. We raise the cover 

 to a hive and puff in some smoke, 

 then take olf the cover and lay it 

 upon the ground. The bees upon the 

 cover are peaceable. They have had 

 no opportunity to (ill up. 



T. F. Bingham— A wire-cloth hat 

 arouses J.he ire of bees. They fly 

 against it and think somebody has hit 

 them. Confidence on the part of the 

 operator is oue of the greatest things 

 in preventing stings. A horse obeys 

 a man who is his master, but let a 

 nervous woman try to manage him, 

 then look out ! Bees may sting a 



passer-by when they are fast taken 

 from the cellar, but they soon become 

 accustomed to the presence of the 

 bee-keeper. When a swarm is hang- 

 ing upon a limb, smoking the bees 

 will cause them to cluster compactly, 

 the same as sprinkling them with 

 water. It will also take away their 

 disposition to sting. If the apiary is 

 surrounded with trees set thickly in 

 rows, the bees will pass over the trees 

 in their flight and not molest any one 

 near the trees ; by taking this precau- 

 tion bees may be kept near a highway 

 with but little danger of stings to 

 those passing by. Tprefer Lombard 

 poplars, as they are tall, of quick 

 growth, and the bees do not. alight 

 upon them. 



A. I. Root— I wish to particularly 

 emphasize the importance of not al- 

 lowing the bees to gain access to 

 honey outside the hives during a time 

 of scarcity ; as it will surely lead to 

 stinging. 



Prof. Cook— Those who have to 

 handle bees when robbers are trouble- 

 some, will find great relief in using a 

 bee-tent. 



VARIETIES OF BEES. 



A. D. D. Wood— I have tried the 

 Syrians, but they are too fierce. 

 Smoke does no good. I had to use 

 chloroform. They fill the cells so 

 full, and cap the honey so thinly that 

 it gives the honey a dark appearance. 

 I have discarded them for Italians. 



W. Z. Hutchinson- 1 have tried the 

 Carniolans in a small way, but I do 

 not Hud them superior to the blacks ; 

 in fact, if obliged to choose a pure 

 variety I should choose the blacks. 



Dr. Ashley— I had one colony of 

 Carniolans, and it swarmed only once. 

 They are gentle, but can be roused, 

 and when roused they are roused. 

 Their combs are more yellow or 

 cream-colored than that made by 

 other bees. 



R. L. Taylor— Italians always sting 

 more while being hived than at any 

 other time. I would not depend so 

 much upon color in distinguishing 

 varieties of bees as upon other char- 

 acteristics. Italians remain very 

 quietly upon the combs, are diflTieult 

 to shake off, and do not '• rush 

 things " so early in the spring as do 

 some other varieties. 



A. D. D. AVood— I had several va- 

 rieties of bees in the cellar oue win- 

 ter. When taken out in the spring 

 the Italians had scarcely any brood ; 

 next came the blacks, wiiile the 

 "■ Eastern bees " had large quantities. 

 I have had bees that were very beau- 

 tiful and very gentle, but almost 

 worthless as honey-gatherers. 



Prof. Cook — I have seen such bees. 

 You can almost knock the hive over, 

 and they will forgive right on the 

 spot ; but are of no use as honey- 

 gatherers. No one variety has all the 

 good qualities. We must try and 

 unite the different varieties, and then 

 eliminate the bad qualities. I think 

 we owe Mr. Ileddon a vote of thanks 

 for the hint he has given us in this 

 direction. 



A. [. Root— In the spring ray Car- 

 niolans were the most promising 



