58 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 24, 



CONDUCTED BY 



JURS. JENNIE ATCHLBY, BEEVILLE, TEX. 



Report of the South Texas Bee-Convention. 



The South Texas bee-keepers met at the apiary of 

 Mrs. Jennie Atchley, in Beeville, Tex., on Dec. 27 and 28, 

 1894. As the bee-keepers were late in gathering on the first 

 day, the meeting was not called to order until 1 p.m., and as 

 we had the worst weather on the two days of our meeting that 

 we have had this winter, we could not hold the meeting out- 

 of-doors, as was announced, but as Mrs. Atchley is always 

 alive to the interest of bee-keepers, she was not long in having 

 her factory put in order for the occasion, and seats and ac- 

 commodations made for all. 



The meeting was called to order by Mrs. Atchley.and she 

 made a short speech as follows : 



ADDRESS BY MRS. ATCHLKT. 



Dear Friends, Brother and Sister Bee-Keepers : 



It is with the greatest of pleasure that I greet you this 

 afternoon, and it makes me feel happy to see so many smiling 

 bee-keepers here, and especially those from distant States. It 

 is with the view of building up the bee-keeping interest of 

 southwest Texas that I have called this meeting, and now that 

 you have come, I wish you all to know that I am very glad in- 

 deed to meet you. I wish you one and all to make, and feel, 

 yourselves at home while here. My house, factory and apiary, 

 also the whole premises, are at your command ; everything is 

 free to you — look at everything on the place. 



I now take the greatest of pleasure in introducing to you 

 Eev. W. K. Marshall, D. D., of Marshall, Tex. He is the 

 " king-bee " of our great State, having brought the first Ital- 

 ian queen to Texas more than 40 years ago, and is the oldest 

 bee-keeper in this State, now in his 86th year. I have ap- 

 pointed him to preside over this meeting, as he is the Presi- 

 dent of the Texas State Bee- Keepers' Association. 



I also take great pleasure in introaucing to you Mr. W. 

 R. Graham, of Greenville, Tex. He is the Vice-President of 

 the State Association, and is known as the "comb honey man 

 of Texas." 



If there is anything that you want, please let some of our 

 family know it, and we will see that you get it, if possible. 

 You see those books over there, they are bee-papers, and 

 sent here for you to take home with you ; they are free — take 

 some home with you to give to your bee-keeping neighbors. 

 The nearest pile is the American Bee Journal, and the other 

 is Gleanings in Bee-Culture. The first I will take your sub- 

 scription for, and give you free a 50-cent bee-book as a pre- 

 mium ; it is a weekly journal, and all for the small sum of 

 $1.00 per year. Gleanings is a semi-monthly, also .SI. 00 

 per year. 



I also have the " A B C of Bee-Culture," published by A. 

 I. Root, one of the best apiarists in the world, and this book 

 gives bee-keeping from the start clear through to successful 

 management of an apiary of 100 or more colonies. I think 

 these books and papers will be all the bee-literature you will 

 need to make bee-keeping asuccess. The " A B C " is SI. 25. 



You will please excuse me for taking your time talking of 

 bee-books, etc., as this meeting was called principally for be- 

 ginners, and some are hero from a distance who wish to know 

 what kind of bee-literature to get, and where to get it. 



Now, as I must see that you get something to eat while 

 you are here, I wish to be excused, that I may look after the 

 kitchen. Again, I wish to express my gratitude in meeting so 

 many pleasant faces. Jennie Atchley. 



A song was then sung, and music on the organ by Miss 

 Hettie Thetford. At the close of the song, " What a Friend 

 We Have in Jesus," all arose while prayer was offered by Dr. 

 Marshall. Then the names of some 80 bee-keepers were en- 

 rolled. 



Dr. W. K. Marshall then delivered an address as follows : 



ADDRESS DELIVERED BY DR. MARSHALL. 



I am glad to see so many ladies present. I am told that 

 bees won't sting them. Bee-keeping is an industry that is 

 adapted to ladies. I have often told at our bee-meetings how 

 I first began bee-keeping, and as the majority here never 

 heard it, I will repeat the story that you may see or learn how 



superstitious people used to be about bees. People in those 

 days thought it was bad luck to sell bees; this I found out 

 when I went one day to one of my best friends to buy two 

 colonies. Said he: "I cannot sell my bees, it is bad luck, and 

 I would soon lose all I have, and then I would be out of bees 

 and honey." 



I said to him that I must have some bees some way, and 

 asked him how I should get them. He said to me: " I will 

 tell you how to do. The next time it turns a little cool, you 

 go to my house and get two colonies of bees, and leave a. S5. 00 

 gold piece on the bench where you get the bees, and that wilt 

 be all right." 



Well, that was enough for me, so it was not long before I 

 went over, and on my way I met my friend, and he wanted to 

 know where I was going, and I told him I was going out to 

 steal some bees. He motioned to me to go ahead. On my ar- 

 rival where the bees were, I slipped cautiously around so that 

 I thought no one would see me. I had told my friend that I did 

 not believe in stealing, and that I had been taught that it was 

 wrong to steal. He said it was not wrong to steal bees, and I 

 must confess that I did not feel much as if I was stealing, but 

 I selected my bees and slipped away as quietly as I could well 

 do, and left the money on the bench. 



Quite awhile after that I met my friend again, and I was 

 anxious to know what had become of the money, and my 

 friend asked me if I saw any one while I was stealing the 

 bees, and I told him that I saw a woman. "Well," said he, 

 "I'll bet you that woman got that money." I was satisfied 

 after that. 



I will tell you of my first Italian queen, which was more 

 than 40 years ago, and she cost me .S24. After I got her I 

 did not know how to introduce her, as I had nothing but box- 

 hives. Right here I wish to tell you how nearly I came to in- 

 venting a movable frame, and after I saw that Langstroth 

 had succeeded in making the movable combs, I was astonished 

 that I had been such a fool, as I had top-bars, and never 

 thought of going any further. You see I had my bees, or the 

 combs, so that I could take them out of the hives by taking a 

 knife and cutting down the sides of the hives. 



Well, I will now come back to introducing my queen. I 

 cut out tlie combs, and carried them by the top-bars away out 

 from the bee-yard, and shook the bees all off the combs, and 

 they all flew back to the hive, or all the old ones did, and the 

 queen did not go, as she was in full laying condition and could 

 not fly very well, and, as most of the old bees went back home 

 I had a pretty good swarm, and I set the combs back, and in a 

 day or two I turned the queen loose, and she flew away. Oh, 

 how sad I was to see my S24 fly off like a bird ; but soon she 

 came back and went into the hive, and I tell you that I was 

 proud indeed. 



In due time the bees began to hatch out, and I called to 

 Mrs. Marshall to come and see my beautiful bees ; but she 

 seemed not to be as much interested in them as I was, and did 

 not give me much encouragement. I wrote to Judge Andrews, 

 of McKinney, that I had an Italian queen, and that her bees 

 were hatching out, and he rode 140 miles on horseback to see 

 my queen. I am now satisfied that my first Italian queen was 

 not a pure one, but she was a good queen, and I prized her 

 highly because she cost me high. 



In conclusion I want to tell you how I beat a bee-man at 

 his own game at the Dallas Fair in October, 1893. I do this 

 to try to interest you while the committee is getting the ques- 

 tion list ready. 



Well, W. R. Graham sent me a fine colony of bees as a 

 present, and I thought I would take it to the Fair and see if I 

 could not take a premium, and Mr. Graham took a colony of 

 bees, too, and we of course were competitors. We happened 

 to get a good setof judges — Mrs Jennie Atchley, J. D. Givens, 

 and A. G. Branshaw — and they all were " up " with the mark- 

 ing of bees and queens, and they decided at once that my 

 queen, also my bees, were the best, and I got the premium, 

 and beat Mr. Graham at his own game ! 



Now, I want to tell you how I beat myself. Soon after 

 my queen took the premium, a man stepped up and offered me 

 $20 for the queen that took the premium, and I told him I 

 would not take it, but I would take $25 for both queen and 

 bees, and he would not give it, and went away, and I did not 

 get to sell her at all. I often thought after that how greedy 

 we sometimes are, and do not know a good thing when we see 

 it. I " got left," and I have always been ready since then to 

 advise a person to take a good thing when it is offered. 



W. K. Marshall. 

 (To be contiDued.) 



So I>ong' as the bees are not diseased, and can find no work 

 to do abroad, their winter nap had better be continued. — Dr. Miller. 



