ILLIXOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



103 



city, and sent out to the grocers all 

 over the country, "Orange Blossom 

 Brand." 



Dr. Bohrer: Have you a State Pure 

 Food Law here? 



President York: I think we could 

 easily find out about that by submit- 

 ting it to the Department of Agri- 

 culture and getting their opinion on it. 



The Convention then adjourned to 

 7:30 p. m. 



THIRD SESSION. 



The Convention met pursuant to ad- 

 journment, with President York in the 

 chair. 



Prospects for Clover Honey in 1909. 



"What is the prospect for a crop of 

 white clover throughout the drought 

 belt next season?" 



Mr. Smith: I can say 'that through 

 central Illinois the prospect is not 

 very flattering. The clover is burnt 

 out. You cannot see any trace of 

 white clover at present. "We have had 

 no rain since the first of July, to 

 amount to anything. 



Mr. "Whitney: I asked that question 

 because in some places up in "Wiscon- 

 sin, where there is a gravel subsoil, 

 it seems as though the iwhite clover 

 was cleared out largely. I was down 

 east in New York State during the 

 fall, and they have had a greater 

 drought there than we have had, and 

 in Ohio also, and excepting on clay 

 soil they complained a good deal the 

 same way; so it occurred to me that 

 anybody who had a nice crop of honey 

 in the drought-belt might not miss it 

 if he held it over, although we are ad- 

 vised to dispose of it if we can get 

 a reasonable amount for it; hut I am 

 afraid the season next year for white 

 clover honey v?ill be a rather poor 

 one. 



Dr. Miller: I cannot tell you about 

 a very large scope of territory, but 

 within a week I went out to see what 

 the pj*ospect was on my own place. 

 I went into one field that had not 

 been closely pastured down, and there 

 had been a bit of late rain, and there 

 was an abundance of clover; young, to 

 be sure; it had grown late. The pros- 

 pect on that piece is just as good, I 

 think, as it was this year — one of the 

 best years I ever knew for the growth 

 of M'hite clover. I went into another 



field which had been pastured very 

 severely, and I couldn't see a leaf of 

 clover; and then I put on my specs 

 and got on my hand and knees, and 

 could see a small leaf here and there; 

 but I don't think there will be very 

 much of a growth of clover there. I 

 think it depends very largely upon 

 how closely a field was pastured down 

 as to whether there will be any clover 

 there or not. ! 



Mr. "Wilcox: But what I want to 

 find out is, would a severe drought at 

 this season .of the year, through Octo- 

 ber, for instance, be detrimental to 

 the honey crop the succeeding season? 

 Is it necessary that the fall rains 

 should give the clover a start before 

 winter sets in? That is the point I 

 wish to get at. Our honey crop will 

 depend somewhat upon the iwinter 

 snows and spring rains. "We must have 

 clover. 



Mr. Kluck: In the northern part of 

 Illinois, where I live, the old pasture 

 fields have no white clover. It is all 

 burnt out — cannot find any. Fields 

 that have hardly been pastured have 

 some white clover. The prospects are 

 for no clover next year. 



Queen- Excluders and Extracted Honey. 



"In the production of extracted 

 honey, is it practicable to compel the 

 storing of the chief part of the sur- 

 plus in supers without obliging the 

 bees to pass through queen-excluders? 

 And if so, by what means, and what 

 advantages will result to the apiarist 

 by securing this ?" 



A Member: My greatest trouble is 

 that they will store too much in the 

 supers and not enough in the brood- 

 chambers. The result is that they 

 have no honey for winter stores, un- 

 less I feed them after the season is 

 over. To do that, I have to take out 

 the empty combs and put the full ones 

 in. If the bees will, without any at- 

 tention on the part of the bee-keeper, 

 store enough below to carry them 

 through the winter, there is no trouble 

 but that they will store enough above — 

 all they can spare. 



Mr. Kluck: If I put on the queen- 

 excluder, my colonies will swarm the 

 same as though I was producing comb 

 honey. The queen has not room, anl 

 they will swarm. 



Mr. Holbrook: "What size hive do 

 you use? 



