660 



XHE AMERICAi^ BEE JOURNAL. 



The North American Convention- 



The annual convention of the bee- 

 keepers ot North America is to be 

 held at tl\e City Hall in Rochester, X. 

 Y., commencing at 1 p. m. on Tuesday, 

 Oct. 28, and continuing three days. 

 Reduced rates over the railroads are 

 promised, and there will, no doubt, 

 be a large attendance of those near 

 the place of meeting, and many from 

 other States. 



As this is to be a National gather- 

 ing, wise counsels should prevail, and 

 whatever action is taken, sliould be 

 based upon the interests of the bee- 

 keepers of the whole American con- 

 tinent. 



A youthful bee-paper, published in 

 the East, contains the following hints 

 concerning some '" matters of vital 

 importance " to be brought before 

 that meeting : 



" Be sure, if possible, to attend the 

 convention at Rochester, N. Y., as 

 matters of vital importance to bee-keep- 

 ers will he discussed, and come pre- 

 pared to do all in your power to ad- 

 vance the best interests of apiculture. 

 Our conventions are the life of api- 

 culture, and the interests of the bee- 

 keepers are protected and advanced 

 just in proportion as we take active 

 interests in association work." 



It then avers that it is desirable that 

 " one journal shall be well-supported, 

 which shall be the mouth-piece of the 

 bee-keepers and work for their in- 

 terests"— e. e., making it the " official 

 organ." Is this one of the " matters 

 of vital importance " which is to be 

 discussed at that meeting V If so, it is 

 well to know it in advance, so that all 

 may be prepared to discuss the subject 

 and investigate it in all its important 

 bearings. 



If such were desirable, of course 

 the oldest and most influential bee- 

 paper should be made such " official 

 organ," but we protest against any 

 such action. There are 6 or 7 Ameri- 

 can bee-papers, and it would be un- 

 reasonable and unjust to endorse one 

 to the exclusion of all the others— for 

 all are interested in the success of our 

 pursuit, and all should alike be recog- 

 nized as co-workers under the Na- 

 tional banner. 



A local society might select a local 

 organ, but the National Society should 

 extend its influence through all the 

 bee-papers, and engage all as co-labor- 

 ers for tlie general good. To attempt 

 to do otherwise would divide its in- 

 terests and fritter away its power to 

 be useful, and in the end it would be 

 suicidal to the parent society, and 



work a positive damage to all. Of 

 the National Society it should truth- 

 fully be said — 



"No pent-up Utica contracts our powers; 

 The whole unbounded Continent is ours." 



If wise counsels prevail at the com- 

 ing meeting, the " National " may 

 continue to be a power in the land — 

 an energizing influence to aid the pur- 

 suit in its struggle for prosperity, and 

 place honey-consumption upon the 

 top-most round of popularity. 



Honey Exhibits at Mich. Fair. 



Mr. H. D. Cutting, in the Michigan 

 Farmer gives the following, which 

 will be of interest to our readers, 

 showing the growth of honey exhibits, 

 and some of the benefits accruing 

 therefrom : 



Bee-keeping is one of Michigan's 

 growing industries. It has to a great 

 extent passed the experimental state, 

 and has been recognized as a business 

 possessing both pleasure and profit. 

 It is but a few years ago since a few 

 of the progressive bee-keepers began 

 to make exhibits of bees and their 

 products at the fairs. It was a small 

 begiiming, and the premiums were 

 small. 



A few years ago the attention of 

 the State Agricultural Society was 

 called to this growing industry, and 

 the persistent efforts of a few to make 

 a creditable exhibition, and they with 

 their usual liberality, made a new 

 department w ith a much larger pre- 

 mium list, giving the bee-keepers a 

 building to themselves, with compe- 

 tent judges to make the awards. It 

 was an experiment with the Society, 

 but witli Mr. W. J. Baxter as super- 

 intendent of tlie department, every- 

 thing moved off finely, and the exhi- 

 bition proved a success. And to 

 encourage the bee-keepers to greater 

 efforts, the Society increased the pre- 

 mium list to S300, the largest amount 

 offered by any State Agricultural 

 Society at that time. Mr. .J. C. Shoe- 

 maker was made superintendent of 

 the department, and he proved to be 

 the right man in the right place, and 

 it was the unanimous expression of 

 all exhibitors, that Mr. Shoemaker 

 was just the man for that department. 



After detailing the exhibits, Mr. 

 Cutting remarks : 



Last but not least came M. H. Hunt, 

 Belle Branch, Mich., and from the 

 extent of his exhibit, he has been on 

 a lively '"hunt" all summer. He 

 occupied the whole side of the build- 

 ing, 48 feet, with the largest and most 

 interesting exhibit of this kind I ever 

 saw. He and his friendly assistant, 

 Mr. Chas. Collings, were kept busy 

 from early morn till the building 

 closed at night, answering questions, 

 and explaining the different articles 

 in his exhil)it. The first to attract 

 your attention on entering, was the 

 large monument of solid wax, about 



200 lbs., with the name Huber on the 

 base. It was secured by Prof. A. J. 

 Cook, for the government to send to 

 New Orleans. Next was the great 

 pyramid of extracted honey, in every 

 conceivable shape, in glass, tin, earth- 

 enware and paper, all decorated with 

 fancy labels, a large number of cases 

 of comb honey, and a large collection 

 of apiarian implements. Mr. Hunt 

 received many premiums. 



Preparing to Winter Bees. 



The Tribune and Farmer gives the 

 follovs'ing on the subject of feeding 

 bees for winter stores : 



Experience has proven that a 

 changeable climate is the worst for 

 bees, for when they remain in a semi- 

 torpid state they consume less stores 

 than when tlie atmosphere changes 

 from warm to cold and vice versa. 

 Then our aim must be to winter them 

 in such a place where the thermome- 

 ter will remain mostly near the freez- 

 ing point. If this be in the open air, 

 then winter your bees there ; if in a 

 cellar or bee-house, then in one of the 

 two latter places. When you have 

 decided upon the place, and have es- 

 tablished your apiary for the winter, 

 it is best that they should not often be 

 disturbed. 



In order to guard against this you 

 must examine and make a record of 

 the condition of each colony. If some 

 have little honey and others a sur- 

 plus, equalize the quantity that each 

 may have a corresponding supply. 

 Should there be no surplus, make a 

 note of these that have a small 

 quantity, and make an estimate how 

 long that quantity will last, and after 

 a certain period visit such colonies 

 and feed them, if necessary. 



Those that use honey for feeding 

 bees generally dilute it with water, 

 bringing it nearly to the boiling point, 

 thereby uniting It better. A cheaper 

 food is composed of sugar and water. 

 Purchase the sugar, and to three 

 parts of sugar, add one part of water 

 and scald, and you have a good and 

 digestible food easily made. 



^- Mr. Blake, of the firm of Blake 

 & Ripley, the Boston honey mer- 

 chants, called on us a few days ago. 

 He reports that honey is a staple in 

 the Boston market, and obtains a fair 

 and uniform price. 



Honey as Food and Medicine. 



Single copy 5 cts,; per doz., 40 cts; 

 per hundred, $2.50. 500 will be sent 

 postpaid for $10.00 ; or 1000 for 

 $15.00. On orders of 100 or more, 

 we will print, if desired, on the 

 cover-page, " Presented by," etc., 

 (giving the name and address of the 

 bee-keeper who scatters them). This 

 alone will pay him for all his trouble 

 and expense — enabling him to dispose 

 of his honey at home, at a good profit. 



