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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



own 'consumption, and have consumed 

 considerable of the honey from the out- 

 side combs. 



The weather has been very dry for the 

 past 6 or 7 weeks ; many of the honey- 

 producing plants have dried up, and as 

 far as I can learn there is no prospect 

 for Fall honey, and my information 

 comes from nearly all parts of the State, 

 except north and northwest from St. 

 Paul. 



The average yield, per colony, Spring 

 count, is from 10 to 30 pounds, all white 

 honey, of good quality. I had 200 col- 

 onies in the Spring, and obtained a little 

 over 6,000 pounds, but not all bee- 

 keepers in this part of the State were so 

 fortunate. I have not heard of any who 

 secured over 25 pounds of surplus per 

 colony, and the honey crop is only about 

 one-fourth of an average. 



The market at St. Paul and Minne- 

 apolis is glutted with honey, with but 

 little demand, as yet. Some of our bee- 

 keepers are sending honey to those 

 markets and selling it for whatever they 

 can. get, when they could get a great 

 deal more for it at home. 



There were light frosts last night, and 

 the night before. 

 - Theilmanton, Minn., Aug. 24, 1891. 



RocR River, Ills,, Convention. 



J. M. BURTCH. 



The semi-annual meeting of the Rock 

 River Bee-Keepers' Association met in 

 the parlors of the Randolph House, at 

 Sterling, Ills., on Thursday, August 6. 



Members were present from Prophets- 

 town, Lyndon, Dixon, Coloma, Clyde, 

 Morrison and Sterling, representing 

 about 1,000 colonies. Among the many 

 questions discussed pertaining to apicul- 

 ture were the following: 



"What effect will honey-dew have on 

 bees for Winter stores ?" 



"Is it best to use wired frames or 

 not?" 



"Full sheets of foundation or starters 

 in brood frames ?" 



"Will it not pay to • make all poor 

 honey into vinegar ?" 



"Starters or full sheets of foundation 

 in sections ?" 



"Does not the use of separators lessen 

 the proportion of partially filled sections 

 at end of season ?"' 



"Would it not be for the interest of 

 every bee-keeper to join the Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Union ?" 



An excellent dinner was served at noon. 



to which nearly all present paid their 

 respects. 



An enjoyable time w^as had, the only 

 regret being that there were not more of 

 the bee-keeping fraternity present to 

 enjoy the festivities of the occasion, 

 "the feast of reason and the flow of 

 soul." 



The next annual meeting will be held 

 at Sterling, Ills., Dec. 3, and it is hoped 

 that all bee-keepers in the territory 

 embraced by the association will avail 

 themselves of the privilege of being 

 present. 



As train time (four o'clock) was 

 approaching, the association reluctantly 

 adjourned, the members going their sev- 

 eral ways, feeling that it was good to 

 have been there, and expressing thanks 

 to "mine hostess" of the Randolph 

 House for her kind treatment. 



Morrison, Ills. 



Fence in tlie Apiaries. 



•MRS. L. HARRISON. 



While it is possible to keep bees in 

 closely populated districts without their 

 becoming a nuisance, there are but few 

 persons whcf are so constituted as to be. 

 able to engage in it with impunity. If 

 colonies were *never disturbed, they 

 might not annoy near neighbors, but 

 when honey is extracted, or sections 

 removed during a dearth of honey, great 

 care should be exercised. 



A bee-keeper of this city, who is located 

 on a city lot of little more than fifty feet 

 in width, has been buying bees as oppor- 

 tunity offered, and was ambitious of 

 increasing his colonies to the number of 

 150. He called lately to compare notes, 

 and gave a bit of his experience, which I 

 will now relate for the benefit of 

 others similarly situated. Variety is the 

 spice of life, and bee-keepers have been 

 accused of only giving the bright side of 

 this pursuit. 



He said: "I had been working with 

 my bees, and I noticed that the fuel in 

 the smoker had nearly all burned out, so 

 I picked up a rag that I saw^ and put it in 

 and as it burned I puffed away at some 

 bees that were lying out and drove them 

 into their hive. 



"In an instant the air was full of rob- 

 ber bees, pouring into the hive where I 

 had driven in the outlying bees, and 

 along with them their guards. I wet a 

 cloth in kerosene and spread it over the 

 hive and poured on carbolic acid. The 

 bees were stinging everything within 



