106 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Feb. U, 



colonies may be doubled withoui affecting the honey crop ?" 

 That is true only where long and heavy fall yields occur, and 

 I hardly think such is the case at Philadelphia. 



That usually level-headed Secor after truth (on page 50) 

 is perhaps a little "off" about the Higginsville cover. I don't 

 think It was ever claimed that it would blow off less than any 

 other flat cover — and, by the way, I think a flat cover is the 

 hardest kind to blow off. The Higginsville is really a fiat 

 cover, seeking to overcome the fault, and the very serious 

 fault, of the single-board cover in twisting and warping out 

 of shape so as not to fit close. The Higginsville keeps in 

 better shape because it's made of three pieces in place of one, 

 and being made thinner toward the edge has less power to 

 curl up. 



That man Kennedy (on page 53) seems to know what to 

 leave out as well as what to put in a report. 



I'm looking with interest for the answer to Dr. Peiro's 

 conundrum on page lil, why salt on ice makes it melt slower 

 and on a sidewalk faster. In York State it makes both melt 

 faster. 



CONDnCTED BY 



MRS. JBNNIE A.TCHI.EY, BEBVILLE, TEX.. 



A Fine Honey- Year Assvired. 



I am happy to be able to say that it began raining about 

 daylight this morning, and is still pouring down now (5 p. m.), 

 which insures us a fine honey-year. The earth is well soaked. 

 Hurrah for southwest Texas ! 



Beeville, Tex., Feb. 1. Jennie Atchlby. 



Report of the South Texas Bee-Convention. 



BY F. A. LOCKHABT, SEC. 



(Continued from page 70.) 

 Mr. W. 0. Victor, then arose and gave his experience as a 

 bee-keeper, as follows : 



MR. victor's bee-experience. 



I am like Mr. Graham, and Dr. Marshall — I think bee" 

 keeping is born with the person. I will go back to my boy- 

 hood days, and tell how I hived my first bees. I well remem- 

 ber when I used to go out and hive bees in a match-box, and 

 my mother would not know it till she would find the bees under 

 my pillow, and I was quite a small boy, too, but not so small 

 but that I can remember It very plainly. 1 can remember, 

 too, that mother would find out when I was tinkering with the 

 bees in the meadow, when I would step on one. 



When I had grown up to be quite a chunk of a boy, I 

 went out one day, and found a swarm of bees clustered under 

 some grape-vines, and I started forthwith for a hive to put 

 them in, when, lo, and behold, they were living in the tree on 

 which the vines were growing, and I started back home. 1 

 met an old darkey on the way, and told him that I had found 

 some bees, and that I wanted him to help me get them out of 

 the tree. He Informed me that those bees were his property. 

 Well, I was almost paralyzed, as I would have given almost 

 every thing I had for those bees, and I was not long in buying 

 them ; the old darkey went with me, and we soon got them 

 into a hive. Right here I went into the bee-business on a 

 large scale, and the fever was so high that quinine could never 

 reach the case. 



I went to buying bees, gathering them from all sources, 

 and running for increase, and I ara sorry to inform you that I 

 soon Increased out, as I went down hill till I reached the 

 bottom, and had no bees again. You see 1 went too fast, and 

 my fever was too high for any remedy, and of course I had to 

 fall. 



I soon had some more bees and started out more cau- 

 tiously, and soon ran my bees up to where they paid me. I 

 tell you that it takes lots of hard work and study to get to 

 where we can manage a large yard and make them pay, 

 especially when honey is so cheap as it is now. I now start 

 out with my bees something as the farmer starts out with his 

 farm — I mean to run thera for a " bale to the acre," and I 

 push them for all they are worth. W. 0. Victor. 



As It was now getting late, and the committee was not yet 



rrady to report, a motion was made to adjourn till 9 a. m. 

 the next day, and the committee was to have their report 

 ready by 10 a. m., or by the time a report could be taken from 

 all the bee-keepers, as to how many colonies they had, how 

 much honey, etc. 



SECOND day's proceedings. 



The convention was called to order by the chairman, 

 Dr. Marshall, at 9 a. m., Dec. 28th. The weather had grown 

 worse, and too cold for the factory that day. So Mrs. Atchley 

 cleared her house of furniture, and seated it with lumber, and 

 built up a fire in the fire-place and all went well. 



Eeports from members were now called for, as the com- 

 mittee on arranging the questions was not yet all in. 



REPORTS given BY MEMBERS. 



W. R. Graham — 150 colonies, 10 pounds of honey per 

 colony, spring count. I think 10 pounds per hive will be 

 about right for my latitude or country. I am -iOO miles north 

 of Beeville. I also sold 500 queens, and made 50 pounds 

 beeswax. My honey was mostly comb. No increase. 



F. A. Lockhart — 150 colonies, spring count; 25 pounds 

 of honey, half comb and half extracted. No increase. Sold 

 1,000 queens. We did not have a good year for my locality 

 (New York.) 



W. O. Victor, Wharton, Tex. — Spring count, 425 col- 

 onies; no Increase ; 45,000 pounds of honey ( Jti' comb), and 

 500 pounds of wax. No increase; no bees or queens sold. 

 I run my bees In four yards. Half my honey grades 1st class, 

 balance amber. 



Dr. Marshall — I started the spring of 1894 with one 

 colony, increased to 9. I ran for increase, and did not obtain 

 any honey. I now keep only a few colonies for experimental 

 purposes, and do not care to produce honey. My location is 

 east Texas. 



A. D. Lord, Amiret, Minn. — I ran 40 colonies, increased 

 to 70, and took 1200 pounds of comb-honey and 400 of 

 extracted. My honey was all obtained in a very short time, as 

 our flow lasted only a few days. 



C. B. Bankston, of Tex. — 99 colonies, spring count, in- 

 creased to 111 ; 13 barrels of amber extracted honey, 50 

 gallons each. 1200 queens sold. My location is middle 

 Texas. The honey averaged about 11 pounds to the gallon. 



Mrs. Jennie Atchley. — Started in the spring of 1894 with 

 500 full colonies, run for queen-rearing, and during the 

 height of the season I had about 1500 nuclei. Sold about 

 4500 queens, and now have 300 colonies. Bought and sold 

 during the season about 60,000 pounds of bees, or nearly 2 

 carloads. 500 pounds beeswax. 



W. G. Camrey, Gloversville, N. Y. — (near Doolittle's 

 locality). — 50 colonies, 25 pounds of peppermint honey. My 

 bees are situated near some great lakes. 



W. C. Gathright, Cameron, middle Tex. — 200 colonies, 

 spring count, averaged 75 pounds per colony — all extracted 

 honey. 150 pounds of beeswax. 



The balance of those present had from one to 10 colonies, 

 and kept no count, having come to learn, as they did not 

 profess to be bee-keepers. (Continued next week.) 



CONDUCTED BY 



Re\-. Emerson T. A.bbott, St. .Joseph, \Io. 



'• Adel " — " Where did it ever appear, anyhow, before 

 coming up at the convention?" I respectfully suggest that 

 " Gleaner " (see page 25) subscribe for the Apiculturist, or 

 send for Mr. Alley's price-list. 



Hardly. — "Any device that will permit a worker-bee to 

 pass while the drones are prevented from escaping, infringes 

 our claims on a drone-trap !" — Heury Alley. 



Don't you believe It! How about the entrance-guard, or 

 even a strip of queen-excluding zinc? They will prevent the 

 drones from escaping, but they are hardly an infringement on 

 a drone-trap. We sometimes make the mistake of claiming 

 too much for " our inventions." 



It 



No Use to Hunt tlie Adulteration. — xu 



seems to me that the Union should do more In the way of 

 hunting out suspected cases of adulteration — in fact, assume 

 the aggressive — that is, employ detectives to follow up a few 

 of the unscrupulous city dealers." — Editorial in Gleanings. 



