THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



83 



the seed and rolled it. It blooms well 

 and tlie bees work on It well. I pas- 

 ture the liekl with cattle, and do not 

 think there is any question but what 

 clover can be grown successfully in 

 Nebraska. I also sowed two acres of 

 sweet clover, six pounds to the acre ; 

 seed cost 30 cents per pound. 



Mr. Muir, of Brownsville, said : I 

 have been in Nebraska since 1856, and 

 my experience and observation leftd 

 me to conclude that the new soil of 

 Nebraska will not produce good clover 

 and tame grasses, but that as it be- 

 comes cultivated, and is cropped for 

 several yertrs, it will produce good 

 tame grasses. As the soil becomes 

 ■cultivated, it beonmes more solid, the 

 clover does not so easily winter-kill, 

 and grows more thrifty ; I consider 

 ■white clover the best forage for bees. 



Mr. Fletcher, of Wahoo, said he 

 thought there was no doubt about 

 raising clover in this State. He sowed 

 10 pounds of seed, two years ago, and 

 now had 20 acres of good clover. He 

 pastured the field, and thought that 

 was the best way to insure a growth. 



Dr. McAllister, of Columbus, said: 

 A few years ago, white clover was 

 sown in a few of the lots of that city, 

 and was now spreading all over the 

 streets and adjoining lots. He con- 

 sidered sweet clover the best honey- 

 producing plant. 



Mr. Myers, of Bellevue, said : Two 

 years ago I sowed 20 pounds of clover 

 seed on prairie sod, and on the north 

 slope of a hill, the soil was new and 

 had never been cultivated, and I have 

 had a good field of clover there ever 

 since ; I tliink white clover would 

 grow anywhere, if hogs were kept out 

 of it. 



Mr. Trester said : I have sown 

 tame grasses and clover in Nebraska 

 every year since 1862, and have never 

 failed of getting a good crop but 

 once, and tnen it was poor seed. My 

 plan is to harrow the ground down 

 smooth, then sow three or four kinds 

 of tame grass seed mixed, and in about 

 double tlie quantity that is recom- 

 mended by the seed men. Then I 

 harrow it tlioroughly, and, when the 

 first crop is ripe, I movv it and leave it 

 upon the ground, and I have no trouble 

 in getting the ground matted with 

 clover by the second year. I have 

 sown on sod and on cultivated land, 

 and, I have no doubt but what tame 

 grasses of all kinds can be successfully 

 grown in this (State. 



Mr. Bouse, of Wahoo, said : Three 

 years ago there was a pasture lot near 

 my residence seeded to red clover, and, 

 in a little, wliite clover appeared with 

 it, and now it had nearly run the r^d 

 out. I think all that is needed, to get 

 forage for our bees, is to scatter white 

 clover seed. I find tliat it even 

 spreads on the prairie, where it has 

 not ever been bi'oken. I think that 

 white clover always secretes honey in 

 moist seasons, but in dry seasons 

 does not. 



G. M. Hawley said : I sowed white 

 clover, seven years ago, and it winter- 

 killed. Some has since been sovyn in 

 the cemetery lot, which is growing 

 and spreading ; 1 think that, as the 

 country becomes older and more cul- 

 tivated, tame grasses will do better. 



Mr. Corbett, of Plattsmouth, said : 

 I am glad to see the turn this ques- 

 tion has taken. I think clover will 

 grow well in Nebraska. I have al- 

 ways had success, even when sown on 

 the open prairie, without any prepara- 

 tion whatever ; I have watched it in 

 drv seasons, and do not see that it 

 kills out. I think white clover does 

 best when not shaded, and if it does 

 kill out, some winters, it will return 

 jigain. I think it secretes honey only 

 in moist seasons. 



It was nearly the unanimous de- 

 cision that tame grasses of all kinds 

 would grow well in this State, and 

 that they were profitable crops to 

 grow, and that white and sweet clover 

 were excellent forage plants for bees, 

 and could be easily grown. After the 

 the close of this discussion, the Con- 

 vention adjourned until 7 p. m. 



The Convention was called to order 

 by the president at 7:15 p. m. Quite 

 a large audience of the citizens of 

 Walioo were present, besides the 

 members of the Association. 



Mr. T. L. Whitbeck, a member of 

 the Saunders County Bee-Keepers' 

 Association, made a very terse and 

 well-timed speech of encouragement 

 to the Convention, and the Hon. M. 

 B. Reese, on behalf of the citizens of 

 Walioo and the commissioners of 

 Saunders county, extended to the Con- 

 vention a hearty welcome. Both 

 speeches were responded to in a 

 happy manner by the president, after 

 which the Convention was favored 

 witli some excellent instrumental and 

 vocal music by Miss Stocking, of 

 Wahoo. 



The question box furnished the fol- 

 lowing questions, which were dis- 

 cussed at length : 



How far will bees go to pasturage ? 

 Various members gave it as their ex- 

 perience that they would go from 

 three to seven miles, but all that was 

 over two miles was lost labor. 



How much honey will one bee 

 gather in a life time V A bee lives 

 but forty days, and it is estimated 

 that one bee will gather a teaspoonful 

 of honey during that time. Their 

 average load is from 1% to 3 grains. 



Is it necessary to handle queen-cells 

 carefully ? It is. They should be 

 handled very carefully, and always 

 kept in their original position, head 

 down. 



Why do bees of queenless hives kill 

 their young queens V Several rea- 

 sons were given by bee-keepers, but 

 it was thought that it was only a rare 

 occurrence that they did so. 



Will Alsike clover always produce 

 honey V Mr. Rouse said that it did 

 not, the lir.st year of its bloom ; but 

 Mr. Hawley and Mr. Corbett thought 

 that it did. and they had seen their 

 bees working on it. 



When bees are wintered in a cellar, 

 is light an injury ? Mr. Hawley did 

 not think it was, if the cellar was 

 kept at the right temperature, which, 

 in Ills o|)inion, was 45 degrees ; but he 

 preferred a dark cellar, because the 

 bees kept more quiet and did not con- 

 sume so much honey as in a light one. 

 Mr. Baird and Dr. McAllister had se- 

 cured the best results in dark cellars. 

 Mr. Turney, of Ceresco, wintered his 



bees in a light cellar, with screen over 

 the portico of the hive, and always 

 witli success; he preferred a light 

 cellar. Mr. Stark thought the darker 

 the cellar and the more quiet they 

 were kept, the better. Mr. Whitbeck 

 had wintered bees in cellars, for 15 

 years, in Wisconsin ; he kept the cel- 

 lar dark, but well ventilated. At 20 

 degrees the bees consumed more 

 honey, but it was less work to take 

 care of them ; at .30 and 40 degrees it 

 was more work, but they consumed 

 less honey. The general sentiment of 

 the Conventiqn was in favor of win- 

 tering in dark cellars, if cellar win- 

 tering was the method adopted. 



With what and how would you feed 

 a colony of bees that have no honey ? 

 To feed with candy was decided the 

 best. 



A few moments of conversation 

 was held, when the Convention ad- 

 journed until Friday morning, at 9 

 o'clock. 



Convention was called to order at 9 

 a. m. by the president, when the fol- 

 lowing were elected officers for the 

 ensuing year: President, T, L. Von- 

 Dorn, Omaha; Vice-President, S. L. 

 Thomas, Plattsmouth ; Secretary, M. 

 L. Trester, Lincoln; Treasurer, F. E. 

 Caldwell, Bellevue ; Finance Commit- 

 tee, C. L. Speice, Dr. McAllister and 

 J. N. Heaton, all of Columbus. 



The report of the finance commit- 

 tee on the treasurer's report was read 

 and adopted. 



A communication from the Hon. 

 D. H. Wheeler. President of the State 

 Agricultural Society, was read, and 

 in compliance with a request therein, 

 T. L. Von Dorn and D. H. Wheeler 

 were appointed a committee to meet 

 with the State Agricultural Society 

 at Lincoln, to make arrangements for 

 exhibits and premiums on honey at 

 the next State Fair. 



It was decided that it was not best 

 to accept the invitation extended to 

 hold the annual meeting of the Asso- 

 ciation with the annual meeting of 

 the State Agricultural Society. 



On the question of holding the next 

 annual meeting, Lincoln received 12 

 votes, and Fremont and Nebraska 

 City 8 each. The Executive Commit- 

 tee will decide upon the time and 

 place of holding it. The secretary 

 was instructed to notify all bee-keep- 

 ers in the State by postal card of the 

 place and date vifhen decided upon, 

 and invite them to attend, also to 

 issue a call for statistics from the bee- 

 keepers of the State, said call to be 

 published in the newspapers of the 

 State ; also to notify delinquent mem- 

 bers of the amount of arrearage in 

 annual dues. 



The president then delivered his 

 annual address, as follows : 



president's address. 



I am glad to extend to yon a kindly 

 greeting. Another year, with its cares 

 and labors, its joys and sorrows, its 

 attainments and its failures, has 

 passed, and been added to that long 

 procession of the departed ages. We 

 have again assembled to counsel to- 

 gether, to exchange experiences and 

 thoughts, to lay plans for future ac- 

 tion. We have a common interest, an 



