THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



2lt 



sufficient enthusiasm to put the North 

 American in the way to be a power in the 

 land. What eay you ? What County or 

 Province will be the tirst to respond to this 

 proposition ? 



I am making local arrangements for a big 

 crowd, and a good time yeuerally. The Com- 

 mercial Clul), of this city, has come to the 

 front, and tendered me the use of the rooms 

 in which to hold our meetings, and they are 

 doing all they can to help secure reduced 

 rates on the railroads. Just as soon as the 

 matter of rates is settled, it will be published, 

 but 1 trust no one will wait for this before 

 making up his or her mind to come. The 

 Commercial Club has one of the finest rooms 

 in the city, centrally located, and near to 

 good hotels which have made me liberal 

 rates for our meeting. 



We have been promised essays from some 

 of the leading bee-keepers of the world. Mr. 

 Benton is working hard to prepare a good 

 programme — one that will be both entertain- 

 ing and profitable. Dr. Miller and a host of 

 others who are a whole convention in them- 

 selves, will be here, and the meeting cannot 

 fail to be beneficial to all who may attend. 

 If you have but one colony, come and learn 

 how to care for more. 



Friend Stilson has struck the right key in 

 the last Nebraska Bee-Keeper , He says : 

 " Let's make up a carload or more and start 

 from Lincoln." 



That's the way to talk ; come on with your 

 carloads, and this city of the " wild and 

 woolly West " will try to do her part. 



I have received a number of letters and 

 cards from those who expect to be here, but 

 still there is room for more. Let them come 

 and come fast ! Every one counts, and helps 

 to swell the swarm of bee-keepers that will be 

 buzzing in the air in our fair city on Octo- 

 ber IGth, 17th and ISth. 



We will furnish the hive if the people will 

 only " swarm." 



St. Joseph, Mo. 



Aug. 10, 18<)4. 



[The efforts of President Abbott to in- 

 crease the permanent membership and the 

 usefulness of the Society are commendable. 

 He may well inquire what are the advanta- 

 ges resulting from affiliation. The principal 

 advantage is that the affiliated Society re- 

 ceives a silver medal to be given to some one 

 of its members making the most creditable 

 show of honey at some of its meetings. The 

 large number of Societies that atUliated 



after the Keokuk meeting was due, I think, 

 to the efforts of Mr. Dadant, the newly 

 elected Secretary. When I was Secretary 

 two years ago, only five Societies sent in 

 their dues. 



Over in Canada the Ontario Bee-Keepers' 

 Association receives from the government 

 a grant of .f.'iOO, and each affiliated Society 

 receives a portion of this grant. Here is a 

 solid, substantial benefit from affiliation. 

 The money thus received is used in buying 

 literature, etc., for the members, in prizes at 

 honey shows, in short, in any way that each 

 Society sees fit. The Illinois State Society 

 once received a grant of $.')(X) to use in print- 

 ing and circulating a report of its proceed- 

 ings. This enabled the Society to get up 

 some very handsome reports, but I honestly 

 believe that the money might have been put 

 to some better use so far as actual benefits 

 to the members of the society were con- 

 corned. Michigan prints without charge the 

 report of its State Dairymen's Convention, 

 and I presume that it, or any State, would 

 print the report of its State Bee-Keepers' 

 Convention if asked to do so. I do not know 

 that the North American Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation could secure a grant or appropria- 

 tion from the general government, or from 

 the agricultural department. If this could 

 be done there would be no trouble in secur- 

 ing plenty of affiliation from other Societies, 

 and in building up a strong Society that 

 would be something more than a grand visit- 

 ing party once a year, first in this part of the 

 country and then that. — Ed.] 



Swarm Catchers Catch it Again. — Mr. Dib- 

 bern Replies. 



O. H. DIBBEBN. 



rU HAT'S a good article of Mr. B. Taylor 

 T' on page 188 of the Review ; but I did 

 not know that he was a comic writer, as well 

 as bee-keeper. In regard to the swarm 

 catchers, of which he tries to make so much, 

 I will say that all I stated in my former arti- 

 cle is strictly true, and I did not state all 

 the faults of the catchers either. I made and 

 used them long before I ever saw them men- 

 tioned in the bee papers, and they were orig- 

 inal with me, though I make no claim to 

 having invented them. 



Mr. Taylor's statement that he hived 25 

 swarms with them in three hours, and 95 in 



