456 



TMm MMERICMfl mnW JQ\JRf€mi<. 



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»I do not admit that Kentucky is 

 beliiud tlie times. All States and peo- 

 ples have their specialites, and no 

 State excels in all departments of 

 business. 



Do Bees Select beforeliand tlieir Home 1 



Mr. J. E. Hand thinks that I am a 

 little " off" on tliis subject. I admit 

 it. It is no unusual thing for an error 

 to become so deeply- rooted that it re- 

 quires a bold man indeed to undertake 

 to root it up. The old superstitions 

 notion that bees " send out scouts " to 

 locate the new commonwealth, has too 

 much genuine mmance about it to be 

 given up without a struggle. Bees are 

 sometimes seen passing in and out of 

 hollow trees, and the conclusion is 

 jumped at that the bees are " cleaning 

 out " a new home ! No one, it seems, 

 has stopped to think that chemical 

 changes that sometimes takes place in 

 the rapid decay of wood is sufficient to 

 account for tliis. 



We are told that a swarm of bees 

 have been seen to strike a " bee-line " 

 for some hollow tree. Yes, but about 

 ten times more frequentlj- the)- do not 

 go direetlj' to some hollow tree, but 

 wander from place to place, sometimes 

 roosting out over night till they in- 

 stinclively tind a hole to crawl into. 

 But the unerring habits of bees forbid 

 any such thing. Bees never do any- 

 thing in advance of the'ir present wants. 

 This fact alone ought to settle the 

 question. 



IiOSB ol'li'oung Queens. 



Mr. Millard, in his article on' page 

 423, explains the cause of the loss of 

 so many young queens at the time of 

 their mating, and I need only to say 

 that the " cause" is not " unaccounta- 

 ble " to me ; that is, the presence of 

 too many indifferent, cranky old bees, 

 but the unaccountable part is, wliy old 

 bees should not only become indiffer- 

 ent to the future prospects of the col- 

 ony, but full of jealousy and hate 

 toward the only source of relief — the 

 young queen. I am glad to see that 

 light is breaking on this subject. No 

 author of our standard works, so far 

 as I have seen, has ever touched upon 

 this subject. 



Christiansburg, Ky. 



CANADA. 



Report of llie Brant Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association. 



Wrlttan for the ^Vmerican Dee Journal 

 liV K. V. HOLTERMANN. 



A meeting of the above association 

 was called to order by President An- 

 guish, at the Court House in Brantford, 

 Ont.,on Saturday, May 5, at 2 p.m. Tlie 

 prize list for the countv show to be 



held at Brantford, on Sept. 12 to 15, 

 was adopted, being as follovps : 



1. Display of comb honey In most market- 

 able shape, product of exhibitor, and not less 

 than ;iOO pounds, quality to govern. 1st prize, 

 $.5 00 : 2d prize, S3 00 ; given by the Brant 

 Bee-Keepers' Association. 



2. Display of extracted honey, let, $5.00 ; 

 2d. $3 00 : given by the assoc ation. 



3. Display of comb and extracted honey (ex- 

 hibitors who have entered in Sec. 1 and 2 ex- 

 cluded), not les'^ than 200 pounds of each, 

 quality to govern, 1st, $4.00 ; 2d, $2. .50 ; given 

 by tbe association. 



4. Ten pounds of clover extracted honey in 

 glass, 1st, hee-bive, given by K. L. Goold & 

 Co. ; 2d, §1.00, by T. Birkett. 



5. Ten pounds of linden extracted honey in 

 glass, 1st, bee-hive, by S.Dickie : 2d. Canadian 

 BdUfy-Pniducer oae year, E. L. Goold & Co. 



6. Best 10 pounds of comb hooey in sections, 

 Ist. one colony of bees, by D. Anguish ; 2d, 

 $1 00, by J. H Howell. 



7. Best honey vinegar, Ist, one smoker, by 

 R. F. Holtermann ; 2d, 75 cents. 



8. Best assortment of fruits put upin honey, 

 1st, swarm-catcher, by R. F. Holterman ; 2d, 

 75 cents ; 3d, 25 cents. 



9. Best display of bee-keepers* supplies, the 

 manufacture of the exhibitor, 1st. $5.00 ; 2d, 

 $2.00. 



10. Best hive for comb honey, 1st, diploma ; 

 2d, 50 cents. 



11. Best hive for extracted honey, Ist, 

 diploma ; 2d, 50 cents. 



12. Best honey extractor, Ist, diploma ; 2d, 

 50 cents. 



O. McAlister and W. R. Brown, who 

 were not yet members of the Ontario 

 Association, were appointed represen- 

 tatives for tlie year, in accordance 

 with the Ontario Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation l\y-laws. 



S. A. Dickie asked how we should 

 know of the proposed shipment of 

 queens, one of which every memljcr 

 of the Ontario Association will receive. 

 T. Birkett said that doubtless notice of 

 shipment would probably be sent a few 

 dajs previously'. 



Experiments in Bui-ytiig Bees. 



The report of the "buried bees" 

 was next given. The President, D. 

 Anguish, stated that his bees had been 

 taken out alive. The combs were, 

 however, damp and moldy. One col- 

 ony was veiy strong, but the others 

 were on the weak side. The unfavor- 

 able weather which followed had af- 

 fected them, and they were all lost. 



S. A. Dickie reported 2 colonies 

 dead when taken out ; the rest were in 

 veiT fair condition, one in fact being 

 first-class. They had since perished 

 from the same cause as Mr. Anguish's. 

 He intended to try again. 



The Secret.ary stated that all his liees 

 had come out about equally strong, 

 but the combs were slightly moldy. 

 None had perished since being taken 

 out. In closing, he stated that they 

 had been taken out dead. He would 

 leave this experiment to be con- 

 tinued by tile man who had wintered 

 his bees that way succes.sfully. T. 

 Birkett reported that his bees liad 

 wintered well, but that several had 

 since been robbed. 



This question was asked : " What 

 is the best time to Italianize bees ?" 

 Answer, ••During the honey season." 



THE UNION". 



Report ot the Oeneral manager 

 on the Third Year's W^ork. 



It becomes the duty of your General 

 Manager, at the end of the third j'ear 

 of the existence of the National Bee- 

 Keepers' Union, to review the impor- 

 tant events of the fiscal year just 

 ended, and with special pride he mak«s 

 the announcement that, so far, the 

 Union has Ijeen successful in every 

 case it has undertaken in defense of 

 the pursuit of keeping bees. No de- 

 cision has yet been obtained inimical 

 to the pursuit of bee-keeping. 



The officers were re-elected in July, 

 1887, bj' almost an unanimous vote, 

 and during the year they have aided 

 in every possible manner to make the 

 Union triumphantly successful in every 

 case it has undertaken. 



A^neuded Constitution. 



The proposed amendments to the 

 Constitution were all carried unani- 

 mously, and went into effect on Jan. 

 1, 1888 ; as amended it reads thus : 



Article I.— This organization shall be known as 

 the " National Bee-Keeiiers' Union," and fihall meet 

 annually, or a8 Dtten as necensily may require. 



AHTICLE II.— lis nhject !-hall be to protect the in- 

 terests of bee-keMner,s. and to defend their rights. 



ARTICLE III.— Tlie officers (if this Union shall con- 

 Bist of a President, Hve Vice-Presidents, and a Gen- 

 eral Mariaeer (wlni shall alen be the Secretary and 

 Treasurer!, whose duties shall be those usually per- 

 formed by such otBcers. They .shall be elected by 

 ballot, and hold their several offices lor one year, 

 or until their successors are elected; blank ballots 

 for this purpose to be mailed to every member by 

 the General Manager. 



Articlk IV.— 'riie (jflficers shall constitute an Ad- 

 visory Board, which shall determine what action 

 shall be taken by this Union, upon the application 

 ot bee-keepers tor defense and cause such extra 

 assessments to he made upon the members as may 

 become necessary for their defense : vroviAvd that 

 only one assessment shall be made in any one fiscal 

 year, without a majority vote ot allihe members 

 (upon blanks furnished for that purpose), together 

 with a statement showing why another assessment 

 is desirable. 



ARTICLE v.— .\ny person may become a member 

 by paying to the General Manager an Entrance Fee 

 of ONE DOLLAR. lor which he shall receive a printed 

 receipt making him a member of this Union, en- 

 titled to all its rights and benefits. An annual fee 

 of tl.iM) shall be due i>n the first day of July in each 

 year, and MUST be paid within 6 months in order 

 to retain membership in this Union. 



ARTICLE VI.— I'he Kunds of this Union shall be 

 used for no other purpose tlian to detend and pro- 

 tect its members In their righis, after such cases 

 are approved by the Advisory Board ; and to paythe 

 legit Iniale expenses of this Union, such as printing, 

 postage, clerk-hire. etc. 



ARTICLE VII.— This Constitution may be amended 

 bv a majority vote of all the members at any time. 



The memljership of the Union has 

 not increased as mncli as it was ex- 

 pected, but this may be accounted for 

 in the fact that the drouth of last sum- 

 mer prevented the bees from gathei'ing 

 much honej-, and therefore bee-keepers 

 have felt too poor to add to their or- 

 dinary expenses. It is to be hoped 

 that a good crop may be obtained this 

 vear from basswood and fall flowers, 

 so that all may be able to contribute 

 their mite to aid this important ad- 

 junct to the pursuit of apiculture. 



In several cases your Manager has 

 been consulted as to the best course to 

 pursue when bee-keepers were threat- 

 ened with lawsuit.bj- envious or jealous 



