ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION 



49 



prepare for the good years that must 

 certainly follow. 



Let me cite another feature. I have 

 quite a few neighbors that keep from 

 4 or 5 to IS or 20 colonies of bees. 

 Three years ago they would stop me 

 in the road to talk bees, but now those 

 who have any bees left don't give them 

 a thought, because they don't bring in 

 an income. I talked with a man the 

 other day who had had from 20 to 

 25 colonies of bees until this year. He 

 said he did not know whether they haa 

 enough honey to winter, or not, as he 

 ,had not looked through them since last 

 spring, but he believed there were only 

 8 or 10 colonies left now, as several died 

 in the summer. 



Another man lost all of his bees last 

 winter and spring, and so on. So we 

 have that advantage. These men with 

 their small apiaries won't be in the busi- 

 ness when the next good year comes 

 along, to glut the country store market 

 with lo-cent honey in 2 or 3 year old 

 section-boxes. None of us know what 

 the future may bring forth, but one 

 thing we do know, and that is, in the 

 past the good seasons have always come 

 after the poor ones, and it is reasonable 

 to expect that history will repeat itself 

 in this respect. And if we are faithful 

 during our trials and hardships in bee- 

 keeping, we may expect to reap the 

 profits when the good times come. 



The man who has a good-sized apiary, 

 and has his bees in shape to meet the 

 next good honey-year, is going to make 

 some money at bee-keeping. So let 

 us then carefully prepare our bees for 

 winter, and look after them well in the 

 spring, so that we may be prepared 

 for whatever may come. Anything that 

 is worth doing is worth doing well. Let 

 us apply this rule to bee-keeping at all 

 times, and if there be such a thing as 

 success, we will be sure to make its 

 acquaintance. 



In most parts of Illinois^ 50 to 60 



colonies are enough in one apiary in 

 average years. Let us be careful that 

 the good years do not catch us with 

 15 or 20 colonies and the poor ones with 

 100. If we have 50 colonies in a very 

 good year, they can be increased easily; 

 and if we have 50 colonies in a fairly 

 poor year, we will get more honey than 

 if we had a hundred, as we will have 

 many thousand less consumers of honey. 

 We should each study our locality, and 

 aim to keep the number of bees our 

 locality will support well in an average 

 season. J. E. Johnson. . 



The foregoing paper was followed by 

 a discussion which was participated in 

 by Mr. Black, who said that bee-keep- 

 ers were becoming fewer in number, 

 year by year, but those engaged in the 

 business were carrying it on. more in- 

 teUigently; and by Mr. Souer, who 

 asked of the President the advisability 

 of putting a cushion on colonies where 

 two were united. This question brought 

 out interesting remarks from Messrs. 

 Baxter, Dadant and Holekamp, and, 

 like other practical discussion of living 

 questions, a valuable exchange of ideas 

 resulted. 



As it was nearing the noon hour when 

 some of the members had to leave the 

 city, Mr. Dadant and Mr. Black asked 

 to be excused, and after a little more 

 general discussion an adjournment was 

 taken to 1:30 p. mj 



At 1 :30 o'clock the meeting was called 

 to order with Vice-President Johnson 

 in the chair. K 



Mr. Kildow moved that each aflBliated 

 bee-keepers' association in the State be 

 allowed to send a delegate to the State 

 convention and that their railroad fare 

 be paid by the State Association. Car- 

 ried. 



After an hour or two spent in friend- 

 ly discussions, the meeting ended its ses- 

 sion in a sine die adjournment. 



Jas. a. Stone, Sec. 



.-I'^XM 



