806 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.' 



open the grapes, why didn't thev ? 

 Some have said that bees will carry 

 the yellows from one peach tree to 

 another. I do not believe this, either. 

 If they did, all the peach trees would 

 be dead in about one year. 



A. I. Root— A man living in Medina, 

 Ohio, owned a cider-mill, and the 

 bees annoyed him ; but we offered to 

 cover the doors and windows with 

 netting. The mill was so old and full 

 of cracks that it did no good, and we 

 finally offered to build a new mill. 

 This shamed him, and he finally went 

 at it and fixed it himself. 



A. M. Gander— What is the size and 

 shape of the opening made by a bee 

 when it opens a grape V 



H. D. Cutting— Birds take away 

 about one-third of the grape ; wasps 

 make a slit ; I cannot say as to bees. 



R. L. Taylor— One trouble is, that 

 our neighbors do not understand the 

 nature of bees. We know how to 

 manage so that no trouble arises. I 

 have a neighbor who has a piece of 

 land near my apiary. If he should 

 attempt to work it at some times he 

 would be severely stung. I go and 

 tell him just when he "can work it, 

 and how to manage not to be stung, 

 and he has had no trouble. We 

 should instruct our neighbors. If 

 they raise grapes, we should tell them 

 not to let the grapes become over-ripe 

 or they will crack and the bees will 

 eat them up; that it is better for 

 them, and for us, to gather the grapes 

 earlier. 



J. H. Robertson— Bees are very 

 useful for the fertilization of blos- 

 soms ; were it not for their aid, fruit 

 would be scarce. I think that we 

 ought not to find so much fault with 

 the bees for taking a little fruit. 



This raised the following question : 



BoTF Great are the Benefits ofBees In 

 Promoting tbe Setting of Fruits'? 



Prof. Cook— If the bees do not visit 

 flowers, it is pretty good evidence 

 that the bees are not needed. Of all 

 the fruits, strawberries seem to need 

 the bees the least. Strawberries have 

 been covered suflScient to keep away 

 the bees, and yet a good crop secured. 



Geo. Peffer, of Wisconsin— If the 

 weather is damp for a long time, bees 

 are needed; if dry, the wind will 

 carry the pollen. 



W. R. Fellows— I was in Dakota, 

 the last season, at a place where there 

 are no bees ; pumpkin and squash 

 vines were growing luxuriantly, but 

 there were no pumpkins nor squashes. 

 I transferred some of the pollen arti- 

 ficially, and in this way pumpkins and 

 squashes were secured. 



The next topic was this : 



How does Bee-Kee]ilng Supplement 

 Hortleulture, Coniuiercially ? 



T. r. Bingham— Farmers and horti- 

 culturists can produce honey as 

 cheaply as any one. It may not be so 

 nicely put up as that of Mr. Taylor's, 

 or Mr. Ileddon's, or some other speci- 

 alist ; but the ordinary public will 

 buy it and eat it, and the honey will 

 be just as good. A young farmer can 



make bee-keeping more profitable 

 than anything else on the farm. 



R. L. Taylor— If the farmer finds 

 bee-keeping the most profitable, he 

 will drop farming for bee-keeping, 

 and thus become a specialist. 



E. J. Cook — I am engaged in gen- 

 eral farming, and I find that, for the 

 time and money expended, the bees 

 pay me the best. 



Dr. L. C. Whiting— The trouble 

 with farmers and horticulturists keep- 

 ing bees is, that the busy time comes 

 at the same time with both pursuits. 

 I remember riding past a farm about 

 ten o'clock in the morning, when the 

 farm bell began ringing. Just over 

 the fence was a man cultivating corn. 

 1 said to him : " Don't you hear the 

 dinner bell?" "Yes," he said, "I 

 hear it. It is about those pesky bees ; 

 I've hived them three or four times 

 this morning, and now they may go 

 to ." 



Just here the ladies were called 

 upon, and invited to join in the dis- 

 cussion ; and Mrs. Frank Wright read 

 a short letter. She kept bees, not for 

 the pleasure, but for the profit in 

 them ; still she did not make one-half 

 as much as some bee-keepers asserted 

 that they did. The trouble was, that 

 she could not control the swarming 

 of the bees ; she had not the time 

 necessary to give the bees the care 

 they needed, and lastly, she did not 

 understand marketing the honey so 

 as to get the best prices. 



Prof. Cook— If a man does fail, it is 

 not all lost, because the added infor- 

 mation broadens the man. Then 

 again, can we not keep bees and not 

 do so much labor in June V Mr.Green, 

 at Chicago, gave us a point in this 

 direction. And right here let me say 

 something about Mr. Heddon. He 

 has received one or two left-handed 

 compliments upon this point, and 

 now I wish to give him a right- 

 handed one. I think he has done 

 more than any other bee-keeper, not 

 only in this country, but in the whole 

 world, to simplify beekeeping. I 

 know this is strange language, but I 

 believe it. 



R. L. Taylor— We are wandering 

 from the subject. The proposition is, 

 that farmers can keep bees and make 

 it profitable, and a few cases have 

 been cited of farmers succeeding ; 

 and we have been told that we learn 

 something even if we do fail. The 

 question is not whether the farmers 

 can learn something, but whether 

 they can make it profitable 'i Dr. 

 Whiting gave a fair illustration of the 

 average farmer. In my own locality 

 several persons have commenced bee- 

 keeping and dropped it. 



Wm. H. Barry— The question is, 

 shall bee-keepers raise fruits (com- 

 mercially), or shall horticulturists 

 produce honey V I should like to raise 

 fruit, but when fruit requires the 

 most care, I am busy with my bees. 



The convention then adjourned 

 until 7:30 p.m. 



EVENING SESSION. 



The convention was called to order 

 at 7:30 p.m., with President Hilton in 

 the chair. The Secretary's report 



was read and accepted. Then the 

 following members paid their dues : 



John Rey. East Saginaw, Mich. 



Henry Jones. Chesaning, Mich. 



I. S. Huckins. Bay City, Mich. 



Joel Gullek. Nelson. Mich. 



H. D. Cutting, Clinton, Mich. 



A. J. Cook. Agricultural College, Mich. 



O. J. Bedell, Rawkawlin, Mich. 



R. L. Taylor, Lapeer, Mich. 



Martin Gute, Owosso, Mich. 



Sam. Willis, St. Charles, Mich. 



W. B. Fellows, Jackson, Mich. 



A. I. Root, Medina, O. 



J. H. Robertson, Pewamo, Mich. 



J. A. Pearoe, Grand Rapids. Mich. 



T. F. Bingham, Abronia, Mich. 



Dr- L. C. Whiting, East Saginaw, Mich. 



W. D. Soper. Jackson. Mich. 



E. J. Cook, Owosso. Mich. 



Geo. W. Gillett. Hemlock City. Mich. 



Wm. Spedding, Clifford. Mich. 



Wm. H. Barry, Shelby, Mich. 



A. M Gander, Adrian, Mich. 



J. B. Wilcox, Manistee, Mich. 



W. M. Freeman, Flushing. Mich. 



W. Z. Hutchinson. Flint, Mich. 



Geo. W. Sortes, Kingston. Mich. 



Geo. E. Hilton, Fremont, Mich. 



The following lady members were 

 enrolled : 



Mrs. Helnhard. East Saginaw, Mich. 

 Mrs. Myra h. Parsons, Linwood, Mich. 

 Mrs. Frank Wright, Otter Lake. Mich. 

 Mrs. I. S. Huckins, Bay City, Mich. 

 Mrs. John Rey, East Saginaw. Mich. 

 Mrs. O.J. Bedell, Kawkawlin, Mich. 

 Mrs. R. L. Taylor, Lapeer, Mich. 

 Miss Lucy A. Wllkins, Farwell, Mich. 



The convention next listened to 



Tlie President's Address. 



We have assembled here with our 

 friends, the horticulturists, at our 21st 

 annual convention, to consider that 

 which pertains to the best interests 

 of our pursuit. I shall not occupy 

 your time with an exhaustive address, 

 for the programme is very complete, 

 and our time is short at best to con- 

 sider the important subjects which 

 will be presented. 



1 am here as a member of this 

 society to assist as best I may in 

 throwing light on the topics brought 

 before us. I take it as an expression 

 of good-will and great generosity in 

 those who have arranged the pre- 

 liminaries of these meetings, that 

 everything for the comfort of us all 

 has been so amply provided, and that 

 all arrangements are so thorough and 

 complete ; let us see to it that w« en- 

 deavor to perform our part in as faith- 

 ful a manner as our committee have 

 done. 



It is with pleasure and pride that I 

 congratulate this Society on attain- 

 ing its majority, and while the last 

 year of our second decade has been 

 discouraging from one point of view, 

 from another, we start on our third 

 with most flattering prospects. The 

 dearth of honey has not only estab- 

 lished paying prices, but has sounded 

 the death-knell of the " Wiley lie," 

 and all advocates of " manufactured 

 honey," and to me the prospects were 

 never brighter. 



Yes, we have reached a crisis in the 

 history of bee-keeping which must be 

 acknowledged to be of national im- 

 portance. The question no longer re- 

 mains, "Shall we commence," or 

 " Shall those of us who are already 

 engaged in it continue ?" I now say, 

 without fear of successful contradic- 



