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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



THE NATIONAIJONVENTION. 



As our representative was uiuible to 

 attend the National Convention and 

 take a report of tlie discussions, as we 

 intended, we must defer tlieir publica- 

 tion until tlie official report is received 

 from the secretary. We are informed 

 that about 100 bee-keepers were there 

 and that the meeting was interesting 

 and harmonious. It was decided to 

 hold the next annual session in Toron- 

 to. Canada. The following were elect- 

 ed as the officers for the ensuing year : 



President— D.A.Jones, Beeton, Ont. 



Secretary— A. I. Root, Medina, O. 



Treas.— C. F. Muth. Cincinnati, O. 



Vice Presidents:— \V. S. Hart, New 

 Smyrna. Florida. Dr. J. P. II. Brown, 

 Augusta, Ga. Dr. C. C. Miller. Ma- 

 rengo. 111. J.M.IIicks. Battle Ground, 

 Ind. U. O. Poppleton, Williamstown, 

 Iowa. Rev. L. Johnson, Walton, Ky. 

 Li. Sartoris, Maryland. J. T. Davis, 

 Shelburn Falls, "Mass. Prof. A. J. 

 Cook. Lansing. Michigan. Dr. O. M. 

 Blanton, Greenville. Miss. E. M. 

 Hayhurst, Kansas City, Mo. G. M. 

 Doolittle, Borodino. N. i'. Dr. II. 

 Bessie, Delaware. O. 11. Hammond, 

 S. C. J. W. Wilson, Tenn. Bowers, 

 Va. C. Grimm, Jefferson, Wis. 



Mr. C. F. Mutli gave the following 

 address on " Our Honey Market:" 



Every producer soon learns to ap- 

 preciate a rise in the market, or an 

 increase in the demand of his pro- 

 duce, and it appears to me that no 

 class of producers deserves more this 

 happy change in the rise of the honey 

 market than the bee-keeper, after, 

 comparatively, short crops for the last 

 four years, in most parts of this 

 country. Of a modest and industrious 

 disposition, he lias put in hard work, 

 under adverse circumstances, with an 

 energy and steadiness which should 

 be crowned with success. 



It Is 12 or 15years ago, when, princi- 

 pally by the aid of Mr. Langstroth, 

 we commenced to comprehend the 

 movable-frame system. The honey 

 extractor came next, and the introduc- 

 tion of comb foundation followed it. 

 All these improvements were taken 

 up with a keen eye. and made use of 

 without regard to labor and expense, 

 especially so by our American breth- 

 ren. The result was an overstocking 

 of the market. There was an abund- 

 ance of extracted honey, far in excess 

 of the demand. Low prices had to be 

 accepted in order to effect sales. 



Some of our zealous brethren ex- 

 pected that the natural laws could be 

 suspended in favor of honey. Tliey 

 formed combinations and adopted 

 resolutions that no honey should be 

 sold for less than a certain price, that 

 all middle men or dealers, should be 

 excluded, that tlie producer should 

 sell direct to the consumer; these and 

 a number of other nonsensical reso- 

 lutions were passed. One of those 

 combinations offered the sale of their 

 honey to me. if I would refuse to 

 handle the honey of all other parties 

 and associations". I admired their 



patriotism and liberally, but left them 

 alone. 



The combinations and so-called co- 

 operative arrangements of the present 

 day are only feeble remnants of in- 

 stitutions which never benelitted any- 

 body in particularand which will soon 

 be wijied out of existence bv that 

 natural friend of tlie producer, the 

 best and only co-operator in existence 

 —"demand." 



When we first commenced to aston- 

 ish the world with our immense yields 

 of honey, in the course of a few weeks, 

 from one source alone [i.e. from white 

 clover or linden) 200 lbs. of honev or 

 more per colony, we were looked n'pon 

 with suspicion. We learned to keep 

 separate the honey of plants bloom- 

 ing at different times, producing 

 thereby the choicest qualities possible. 

 This by no means, weakened the sus- 

 picion resting upon us. The baker 

 for instance or any other manufacturer 

 would not believe that this fine flavored 

 article of a beautiful golden color was 

 clover honey. We had to take it back 

 and bring him buckwheat or some 

 other common quality with which his 

 taste was familiar. Even some of 

 our best druggists, well versed in 

 other matters, looked incredulously at 

 our best himey because they were not 

 used to so fine a flavor. 



All these matters have changed. 

 There is perhaps not now a respect- 

 able merchant or manufacturer in 

 Cincinnati who suspects our machine- 

 extracted honey, and there is hardly 

 a store to be found which does not keep 

 it, nor a manufacturer using sweets 

 at all, who does not use honey. There 

 is perhaps no city in America where 

 more extracted honey is retailed than 

 in Cincinnati, nor where there is more 

 honey used for manufacturing pur- 

 poses. Sweet honey is even used for 

 making sour pickles. Being a Cin- 

 cinnatian, I can best speak of Cincin- 

 nati and if I am found to be exag- 

 gerating in any particular. I am will- 

 ing to stand corrected. The growth 

 of the demand for honey (I mean for 

 extriicted honey), is very encouraging. 

 It is growing gradually and steadily. 

 Its growth is a healthy one and will 

 continue as long as consumers and 

 manufacturers keep faith in the pro- 

 ducer and dealer supplying them. If 

 it was not for a few wicked adulter- 

 ators the comsumption of honey in 

 this country would be immense by this 

 time. However, there is no occupa- 

 tion without an unpleasant feature, 

 and as bee-keepers we should ask no 

 exception to this rule. But I feel safe 

 in saying, that no overstocking of the 

 market will take place any more, and 

 the great and growing demand, at 

 present, warrants that hereafter sup- 

 ply only will determine prices of 

 extracted honey, like the rest of our 

 great staples. 



Time has brought on a great change 

 even with the name of honey itself. 

 Comb honey used to be the honey, and 

 with a few old fogies that is still the 

 honey, but it must be of a choice 

 quality to find a ready sale and if it is 

 a little unhandy to get it, or if the 

 price is a little too high, it is a fact 

 that parties do very readily without 

 it. If comb honey is nice and cheap. 



a good deal can be sold, but it will re- 

 main a fancy article only, and the de- 

 mand for it will never grow. 



President Cook's Address. 



Ladies and Gentlemen of the National 

 Bee-Keepers^ Association, and Friends: 

 — It is fortunate for me that bee-keep- 

 ers are of a practical turn, and so are 

 always better pleased with facts and 

 matters of interest than with mere 

 eloquence. Thus in calling attention 

 to what immediately concerns us as 

 apiculturists, I can hardly fail to se- 

 cure your interest and attention. 



Since our last meeting, we have had 

 to mourn the loss of one of the most 

 noted bee-keepers of our country. A. 

 F. Moon was the one to inaugurate a 

 movement that resulted in the estab- 

 lishment of tlie Michigan Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association. He was the first, 

 also, to move publicly towards the 

 founding of this Association. As a 

 writer of articles to the bee papers, 

 and as the editor of a successful jour- 

 nal for years, he is well known to all 

 of you. As a bee-keeper, he was very 

 enterprising, and gave to the craft 

 many valuable improvements, both in 

 the way of apparatus and methods of 

 manipulation. In the apiary, Mr. 

 Moon was peculiarly at home. Few 

 men in the world could surpass him 

 in the skill and rapidity with which he 

 manipulated bees. As Secretary of the 

 Michigan Association, when Mr. Moon 

 was President, I early learned to ap- 

 preciate his energy, enterprise and 

 ability as a bee-keeper. Mr. Moon 

 never tired in the work of aiding and 

 advising those who were learners in 

 the art to the prosecution of which he 

 gave his best work. To-day we all 

 mourn the loss of one whose work will 

 long endure in the more intelligent 

 labors of those left behind. 



The last year has been one that has 

 generally given joy and hope to the 

 apiarist. In some localities in the 

 north, and in Canada, the cold season 

 has frozen up the nectar glands of 

 the flowers, and the bees have merely 

 gathered enough to support them. 

 We thus learn that cold no less than 

 severe drouth and wet, will destroy 

 tlie yield of honey. 



The present season has emphasised 

 the importance of a varied pasturage 

 for bees. Some of us who got no 

 clover honey and very little basswood, 

 are rejoicing in a "full crop of fall 

 honey. Surely, we as bee-keepers can 

 do no wiser thing than to study to in- 

 crease the number, variety and excel- 

 lence of our honey plants. 



Another lesson of the season, is the 

 value that may come from moving \ 

 bees to the vicinity of bloom. Mr. 

 George Grimm thinks this so impor- 

 tant, that he makes his hives so as to 

 the better practice it. I know of bee- 

 keepers that got all the sections full 

 of fine honev this past summer, sim- 

 ply by spending one day in moving 

 their bees, while their neighbors, Avho 

 practiced the usual method of remain- 

 ing at home, got almost no honey, and 

 are now feeding for winter. 



Another point that we do well to 

 consider, is the quality of our bees. 

 Mr. Jones finds that while his black 

 bees have gathered none, and would 



