THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



563 



The Northwestern Convention. 



It will be seen, l)y reference to our 

 Convention notices and Directory, 

 that the Northwestern will meet in 

 Chicago on the 17th and 18th of Octo- 

 ber, 1882. in compliance with a resolu- 

 tion adopted at tlie last annual meet- 

 ing, to meet during the last week of 

 the Exposition, and give all an oppor- 

 tunity to take the fullest advantage 

 of cheap railroad rates. Tlie Presi- 

 dent, Dr. C. C. Miller, accepted the 

 invitation extended by the editor of 

 tliis paper, to meet in the American 

 Bee Journal office. Should it be 

 found, however, that more room is re- 

 quired, but a few minutes' delay will 

 ensue to obtain a public hall. All 

 bee-keepers of the Nortliwest, com- 

 prising the States of Minnesota, Iowa, 

 AVisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indi- 

 ana and Missouri, should make an 

 effort to attend this Convention, and 

 each contribute of his or her experi- 

 ence to make its sessions as interest- 

 ing as possible. The last meeting was 

 one of the most interestingandprohta- 

 ble we ever attended, and we look 

 forward to much good being accom- 

 plished by the Northwestern Bee- 

 Keepers' Society. The President, in 

 a postal card dated Aug. 24th, says: 

 " I am'now taking off my thirt<:enth 

 thousand of white sections,'' and he 

 will, undoubtedly, tell the Convention 

 how he done it. The Northwestern 

 inaugurated the system of dispensing 

 with long-winded essays, adopting, in 

 lieu thereof, the experience feature — 

 with a view of combining science and 

 practice, and the comparative results. 

 Do not forget the 17th and 18th of 

 October. 



The Weather this Fall. 



Prof. Vennor was quite correct about 

 the weather for August. He said that 

 shortly after the middle of the month, 

 we should have one or two " cold 

 dips." The papers report that fires 

 were kept up in the passenger coaches 

 of the Chicago and Northwestern rail- 

 way while passing through Jowa on 

 the 17th, so cold was the temperature. 

 He says as follows of the month of 

 September : 



First week (1st to 7th). Foggy 

 weather will be experienced along the 

 North Atlantic coast and Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence, with thunder storms and 

 probably sultry weather over the 

 North Atlantic. Sultry and showery 

 up to the sixth day. Cooler change 

 night of 6th or on the 7th, with pos- 

 sibly frosts in New York State and 

 Province of Quebec, Canada. 



Second week (7tli to 14th). Cooler 

 and pleasant weather. Days varying 

 from warm to sultry ; evenings and 

 nights generally cool. A favorable 

 week in the majority of sections. 

 Cold in mountainous regions. Proba- 

 bly a good deal of rain m Province of 

 Quebec and Lower Provinces. Stormy 

 on Newfoundland coast. 



Third week (14th to 21st). A rather 

 stormy and unsettled week, with 

 frequent rain-falls. Windy weather 

 probable in Gulf of St. Lawrence and 

 North Atlantic. Fair, seasonable 

 weather in the majority of sections. 

 Wet in northern sections about 20th 

 and 21st. Stormy and cold weather 

 in England and Scotland. 



Fourth week (21st to 28th). Tem- 

 perature probably fall-like. Windy 

 with very cool evenings and nights 

 (probably frosty) in Northern and 

 Western sections. A good deal of rain 

 in Northwest and Western States. 

 Stormy and wet in Gulf of St. Law- 

 rence and along North Atlantic coast. 



Closing days (28th to 30th). In all 

 probability wet and stormy in the ma- 

 jority of sections. Crop reports less 

 favorable than expected. Wretched 

 weather in Maritime ports and New- 

 foundland. — Vennor^§ Weather Bulletin. 



His further prognostications are as 

 follows : 



October will be very similar to Au- 

 gust, but of course colder. Septem- 

 ber is likely to be the counter-bal- 

 ancing month of this most unpropi- 

 tious season, and during this month 

 everything sliould be done that can 

 be, to house things safely against fur- 

 ther wet and storm. In the North- 

 west early cold and advanced snow- 

 falls are likely to be the conditions, 

 while in December the cold may be 

 intense. 



Bee men should take notice, and 

 prepare early for a cold winter. 



Fairs and Apiarian Exhibits. 



About the middle of May last we 

 forwarded, to the managers of the 

 great St. Louis Fair Association, a 

 list of apiarian articles worthy of com- 

 petitive entry for premiums, and de- 

 tailed at some length the benefit to be 

 derived by the country, from a proper 

 encouragement of the bee-keeping in- 

 dustry in the Mississippi Valley, as 

 elsewhere. Those gentlemen have 

 taken hold of the matter with an ap- 

 preciative determination to work it 

 up to its proper place, if they meet 

 with support from bee-keepers them- 

 selves in the way of placing exhibits 

 on the grounds worthy of encourage- 

 ment. Tlie initiative has been taken 

 by them for the coming Fair, and, 

 although the i)remiums are not as 

 large as we had hoped they would be, 

 still it is a great and most important 

 advance in the right direction. We 

 earnestly hope all bee-keepers, who 



can po.ssibly make it convenient, will 

 send in a full and complete outfit for 

 competition, both of bees, honey and 

 apiarian implements — everytliing that 

 will awaken the curiosity and rivet 

 the attention of the hundreds of thous- 

 ands of visitors who attend that Fair, 

 and in a few years, at most, we will 

 see bee-keeping ranking with stock- 

 raising, grain-growing, tobacco-pro- 

 ducing, and other great pursuits in 

 the West, and acknowledged as such 

 by the Fair Association and the public. 

 Messrs. R. C. Greer & Co., who rank 

 among the most prominent of the com- 

 mission merchants of the West, have 

 written us under date of Aug. 30, as 

 follows, regarding this matter : 



Our St. Louis Fair Association, for 

 the first time, offers premiums on 

 bees and bee products. While the 

 premiums are not large, they imply a 

 commendable effort on the part of the 

 Association to assist in furtliering bee- 

 culture. We forward you, by mail, 

 the annual catalogue of tlie Associa- 

 tion, and call your attention to Class 

 E, Department of Jellies. Butter, etc., 

 in which your readers may take in- 

 terest. 



Best display of Italian bees, $20. 



Best display native black bees, S20. 



Best imported queen, $10. 



Best display of comb honey, 25 lbs., 

 di|)loma and $20. 



Best crate of honey in comb, large 

 silver medal and diploma. 



Best display of apiarian implements, 

 diploma and SIO. 



Best bee hive forall purposes, dip. 



Best honey extractor, diploma. 



Best wax extractor, diploma. 



Best bee smoker, diploma. 



Best honey knife, diploma. 



Best bee veil or face protector, 

 diploma. 



Instincts of Bees. — Mr. J. M. Hicks 



in the Grange Bulletin argues thus on 

 the above subject : 



It is not easy to draw ;{ line of dis- 

 tinction between the marvelous in- 

 stincts of bees (as so-called by man) 

 and the reasoning faculty of the 

 human family. Reaumur, the great 

 French naturalist, once observed a bee 

 consultation over a large snail which 

 had crawled into their hive. They 

 went to work, and with propolis, a 

 gum gathered from certain trees, and 

 invaluable in tlieir housekeening, the 

 bees first glued the snail shell tS the 

 glass pane of the hive, and then cov- 

 ered the whole mouth of the shell with 

 a thick coating of the substance, her- 

 metically sealing up their enemy and 

 burying it alive. We ask, is this an 

 act of instinct or of perfect judgment, 

 emanating as it naturally does with 

 man, if brouglit into contact with a 

 loathsome object which he could not 

 otherwise manage V • 



Ribbon Badges, for bee-keepers, on 

 which are printed a large bee ni gold, 

 we send for 10 cts. each, or $8 pe"- 100. 



