676 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



Oct. 26, 1899. 



stand, precautions are taken to insure their safe return 

 when they first fly out in the morning-. An alighting-board 

 is set on edg-e in front of the entrance. The bees, being 

 compelled to go around the ends to get out, discover that 

 their home is changed, and circle about to locate themselves 

 before flying awaj'. In spite of this, however, many go 

 back to their old home and fly about for some time unless 

 old landmarks are removed as much as possible. If other 

 hives are near they maj' try to enter them, and probably 

 meet their death at the entrance ; but in this case, if an 

 empty hive be set on the old stand they soon return to their 

 new home. 



Uniting weak colonies is done in October when the 

 hives are being overhauled to insure proper combs, and fed 

 for winter and spring. By another method, when the bees 

 of both swarms have been well smeared with the syrup, the 

 queenless ones are shaken on the alighting-board of the 

 other and allowed to run in. In this case it may not be 

 necessary to kill the poorer queen beforehand, as she can 

 be easily distinguisht and caught on the alighting-board as 

 the bees spread themselves over it while going in. The 

 best combs are selected from each to make up the new hive. 

 The disadvantage of this method is that the strange bees 

 mix at once with those in the hive, and are more apt to be 

 stung ; whereas, by the former method the mingling is verj- 

 gradual, and involves less danger. — Farmers' Advocate. 



Elgin Co., Ont. 



Report of the Proceeding's of the 30th Annual 

 Convention of the United States Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association, Held at Philadelphia, 

 Pa., Sept. 5, 6 and 7, 1899. 



BY DR. A. B. MASON, SEC. 

 [Coutiuued from pag-e 662.] 



Mr. Selser — I don't believe there is one in Philadelphia 

 that adulterates honey, because he must put on the com- 

 bination. You can find honey put up in g^lass packages and 

 markt " pure honey." 



Mr. Abbott — Let me make a suggestion : They do not 

 sell this honey in Philadelphia, but they ship it to Missouri 

 or some other State. Every little while we see Philadelphia 

 honey. It comes from every place. 



Dr. Mason — If one lives in a congressman's district, 

 even if you did not support your representative, you have 

 influence over him, and he is generally glad to please you, 

 and thus perhaps get another supporter if he can. At any 

 rate, don't fail to try your power over him. 



Some one suggested that a committee of three be ap- 

 pointed to see that Mr. Abbott's paper is publisht in a Phil- 

 adelphia newspaper, but Mr. Miller, of the Philadelphia 

 Call, being present, was introduced, and said : " Altho not 

 a member of this Association, I have been interested in its 

 proceedings, and have tried to have a reporter here, and we 

 will be glad to publish Mr. Abbott's paper. As a matter of 

 courtesy we would not ask to get ahead of other papers in 

 the city, but will put the address in tj'pe and furnish 

 proofs." 



Mr. York — It is possible that Mr. Miller may be able to 

 get some of the President's address publisht also. 



Dr. Mason — It may not be best to have all that is said 

 publisht. It might do more harm than good. 



Mr. Selser — City papers are not like country papers. If 

 they thru courtesj' put any more in, all right. 



Dr. Miller — There is one thing that I think ought to be 

 said. While what Mr. Miller has said is true, I will say 

 that the press of Philadelphia has shown more courtesy 

 than has that of any other city in which we ever met. 



Mrs. Starr (of the Public Ledger) — I wish to say that I 

 was scolded for not g-ivingmore extended notice. I had but 

 one program, and so could not scatter them as I might 

 otherwise have done, and the G. A. R. naturallj' takes more 

 of our notice. 



Dr. Miller — When a woman lacks material she makes it. 



Hon. Eugene Secor, of Forest City, Iowa, General Man- 

 ag-er, then made the following verbal report : 



Report of the General Manager. 



I have no written report. I did not notice that I was on 

 the program until a day or two before I left home. I might 

 say tor the benefit of some, that during the meeting in 

 Omaha the General Manager was empowered to initiate 

 measures in some city for the prosecution of the adultera- 

 tors of honey. After consultation the Board of Directors 

 concluded to make an effort in Chicago, 111., to secure the 

 conviction of adulterators. 



In the first place, we needed a chemist who knew how 

 to test honey so as to knoiv when it was adulterated, so we 

 secured the services of a competent one, and gave him sam- 

 ples and let him analyze them. We spent the sum of ten 

 dollars in analyzing honey. I made a contract with a law- 

 yer, and he was to take the sole charge of matters. He had 

 nothing to do in court except to get witnesses and look 

 after matters in general. •' 



I thought it was not necessary to make a written report, 

 as I soon shall make one, but the Association has spent 

 $200 to enforce the law on adulteration in Chicago. Mr. 

 York has given quite a full report in the American Bee 

 Journal, which has been copied in Gleanings in Bee-Cul- 

 ture. In the American Bee Journal for Aug. 31, there is a 

 very full report of this case, and I wish to say that Mr. 

 York cannot be too highly praised for his efforts. 



I would like to know how many present read the Bee 

 Journal ; let all such raise a hand. [A large majority raised 

 a hand.] I see so many read it that I will omit reading the 

 report. 



Mr. York has shown great interest in this matter with- 

 out any compensation. I don't know how you can com- 

 pensate him in any other way than by subscribing for the 

 American Bee Journal. 



Mr. York didn't know that I was going to say this, and 

 I have not been askt to say it. You can read this report 

 and see what has been done in Chicago. The money has 

 not been wasted. Producers label their products correctly, 

 but adulterators falsify their labels. 



I might add that on this matter of adulteration I have 

 many things to say, but they will go in my annual report. 



EuGBNE Secor. 



Mr. Selser — We do not have to do anything of this kind 

 in this State. There are appointed eight commissioners, I 

 think, and if you go into any store and try to sell adulter- 

 ated articles you will get caught up verj' quickly. 



Dr. Mason — In Ohio we have a pure-food commissioner 

 with a large number of deputies scattered all over the State, 

 who are watching for adulterated articles. The commis- 

 sioner does all the prosecuting, and the State pays all ex- 

 penses, so we have no adulterated honey in Ohio. 



E. R. Root — I suggest that in prosecuting adulterators 

 the Board act independently. If any of the members have 

 anj' suggestions to make, all right. I move that the work 

 of prosecution be carried to the fullest extent that the treas- 

 ury will admit of. 



Dr. Mason — Why not leave the matter to the Directors, 

 and treat them as we should our congressmen, as our repre- 

 sentatives, giving them all the help we can, making such 

 suggestions as we deem best, but leave all matters to their 

 best judgment, and entirely in their hands. 



At this point Mr. York, who had been appointed a mem- 

 ber of the committee on resolutions, requested to be excused 

 from serving, and Pres. Whitcomb appointed W. Z. Hutch- 

 inson in his place. 



Mr. A. I. Root was on the program for an address, but, 

 being unavoidably absent, Mr. E. R. Root had been re- 

 quested to occupy his place, and did so in the address which 

 follows : 



Apicultural Statistics for the United States. 



I did not come prepared to present to this convention an 

 array of statistics. If I had. I would have brought a longer 

 list ; but in view of the fact that I have been askt to take 

 the subject assigned to my father, who could not be present, 

 I thought I could do no better than to present to this con- 

 vention a few figures that have recently come to my knowl- 

 edge. 



By way of preface, I desire to say that government sta- 

 tistics have been very unreliable. For instance. South Car- 

 olina has been credited with producing- the largest amount 

 of honey of any State in the Union. New York and Cali- 

 fornia, on the other hand, have been placed clear at the bot- 

 tom of the list as honey-producing States. Any bee-keeper 

 who knows anything about the industrj' knows that such a 

 statement is as wide of the truth as it possibly can be. Cali- 

 fornia and New York are probably in the lead, while South 



