Volume 33 — Convention Proceedings

The Illinois State Convention.

Reported for the “American Bee Journal” BY JAS. A. STONE.

The Illinois State Bee-Keepers’ Association met at Springfield on Dec. 12 and 13, 1893. The meeting was called to order by Pres. J. M. Hambaugh at 11 a.m., and opened with prayer by Rev. A. H. Bates. Welcome address was made by Col. Chas. F. Mills, and responded to by Mr. S. N. Black.

The President announced at this point that a recess would be taken and membership fees received. The convention then adjourned until 1:30 p.m., at which time the meeting was again called to order by Pres. Hambaugh.

The President’s address was first in order, which was attentively listened to because of its merits. The Secretary’s and Treasurer’s reports were read and approved.

The committee on Legislative Bills reported, which report was adopted, and the committee discharged.

The discussion on the Code of Rules for Fairs was taken up, and, on motion, action on the same was again postponed until it should come out in print in our forthcoming Report.

An essay was read by Geo. F. Robbins on the “Rights and Duties of the Illinois State Bee-Keepers’ Association.”

Mr. Becker spoke to quite a length, and thought that by some mode of procedure we should adopt some way of finding out the condition of our neighbors’ bees as compared with our own, at intervals during the working season.

BEES AND GRAPES.

Mr. Becker asked why bees did not work on grapes last year.

Mr. Dadant answered, because the dry weather did not cause the grapes to crack, and added that he had starved bees to death on grapes, and had, on one occasion, pricked a pin-hole in a grape, and it was the only one on the whole bunch that was touched, and that only as far in as they could reach.

Mr. Riehl, of Alton, said that bees could not injure sound grapes or fruit, except over-ripe raspberries.

Mr. Vandenburg said that bees cannot puncture grapes—he was sure of that.

A committee on resolutions was appointed, composed of Messrs. Black, Smith and Stone.

A committee was also appointed composed of Messrs. Hambaugh, Poindexter and Draper, to formulate plans by which a member’s honey can be put before the public as pure.

A motion prevailed, that a committee on census be appointed, to decide the best plan of finding out the monthly condition of the bees of the members of the association. Messrs. Becker, Smith and Dadant were made such committee.

A committee on Congressional Legislation was appointed, composed of Messrs. Dadant, Draper and Poindexter.

The convention then adjourned until 8:00 a.m. the next day, and that the members attend the meeting of the Horticultural Society in the evening.

SECOND DAY.

At 8:00 o’clock a.m. on Dec. 13th, the meeting was called to order with Pres. Hambaugh in the chair. The Congressional Committee reported a resolution which was unanimously adopted, petitioning Congress to make and enforce laws compelling those who adulterate honey, to name it with its true name.

GETTING APIARIAN INFORMATION.

The committee on the same reported as follows, which was adopted as amended:

Resolved, That on or before the 15th day of May, July, September and October, the Secretary be instructed to send out a return postal card to each of the members of the association, requiring reports as follows:

1st. The number of colonies.

2nd. The prospect of a honey crop.

3rd. The amount of honey gathered to date.

4th. Honey gathered No. 1 or not.

It shall be the duty of the Secretary to send the above report each month to the bee-papers for publication.

C. Becker, J. Q. Smith, A. N. Draper, Com.

The committee for the same reported (and the report was adopted) favoring an experimental station to be conducted by a person to be named by the State Bee-Keepers’ Association.

I will say here that the meetings in session in the State House failed to get the required number—250—to secure their return one-third rate. It was promised by the passenger agency, and when they found we were all going to meet at the same time, they raised the required number from 100 to 250. On account of their acts, the various societies “resoluted.”

Resolutions of greeting were drawn by a committee for the purpose, and adopted, sending greetings to the State Grange and to the State Horticultural Society. The committee was composed of Messrs. Black, Beall and Smith.

The election of officers for 1894 resulted as follows:

President—Hon. J. M. Hambaugh, of Spring.

Vice-Presidents—1st, C. P. Dadant, of Hamilton; 2nd, J. Q. Smith, of Lincoln; 3rd, S. N. Black, of Clayton; 4th, Mrs. L. Harrison, of Peoria; and 5th, Chas. Hertel, of Freeburg.

Secretary—Jas. A. Stone, of Bradfordton.

Treasurer—A. N. Draper, of Upper Alton.

Mr. Robbins offered a resolution of thanks (which was adopted) to the Legislative Committee for their conscientious performance of the duties intrusted to them. On motion, it was voted that each member of the association be requested to send a copy of the resolution of this society, relative to adulteration, to their various members of Congress, with the solicitation of their assistance in having it enacted into law.

Resolutions of greeting were sent to and received from the State Horticultural Society, and the State Grange, all in session in the State House at the same time.

Mr. C. P. Dadant read an essay at the evening meeting of the Horticultural Society, on “The Importance of Bees in Horticulture,” which was received with the best of feeling among the horticulturists, many of whom are also bee-keepers.

A resolution was reported as follows, and adopted:

Resolved, That the Illinois State Bee-Keepers’ Association desire to return their sincere thanks to the Hon. E. L. Merritt, Chairman McKinley, and others in the House, and Senator Dunlap and others in the Senate, for their valuable services in obtaining the appropriation for the honey display at the World’s Fair.

The resolution of greeting from the State Horticultural Society was as follows:

To our fellow co-laborers, the members of the Illinois Bee-Keepers’ Association:

Brethren:—Feeling that our interests are identical, although we each aim to accomplish the same end by different means, you by extracting the sweets from our blossoms; we (while you are deriving benefits from the mixing of the pollen to fertilize and make our trees and plants fruitful) expecting to derive our reward from the sale of the beautiful fruit; we desire to extend to you the right hand of fellowship, and wish you success in your effort to extend the production of honey; and notwithstanding the fact that your bees may get their heads together and plot for the eating of our grapes and other fruits, yet we still have faith in the utility of the little bee as a helper to the fruit-grower, and admire her industrious and business habits.

Henry Augustine, Pres. H. M. Dunlap, Sec.

REPORTS OF BEE-KEEPERS.

C. P. Dadant, of Hamilton—Number of colonies, 350; increase, 30; honey produced, 400 pounds of honey-dew and 500 pounds of Spanish-needle honey. Bees in good condition for winter, packed out-of-doors.

Geo. Poindexter, of Kenney—Number of colonies, 90; increase, 3. Amount of honey obtained, 2,000 pounds of clover, and 800 pounds of extracted fall honey. Bees wintered in the cellar, and are in good condition now. He clips the queen’s wings to prevent swarming, and believes in ventilation to induce the bees to work in the supers.

A. N. Draper, of Upper Alton, had about 300 colonies in the spring, and sold 60 colonies, with no increase during the season. He had about enough honey to winter the bees out-of-doors, packed in forest leaves. His bees are kept in four apiaries. He says that white clover was a failure this year. He prevents swarming by having large hives, and plenty of ventilation. He harvested the most honey from asparagus, of which there are a hundred acres in the neighborhood. This honey is of poor quality.

Chas. Becker, of Pleasant Plains, had 53 colonies in the spring, and increased to 62. He took about 700 pounds of honey. The bees are in good condition for winter. He grows small fruit in connection with bee-keeping. For extracting he uses three sets of full frames—supers full of comb to each hive. Induces the bees to go into the supers by placing partly-filled sections in the middle of the supers. He raises the hives from the bottom-board during the swarming season, and thinks it prevents swarming, and induces the bees to work in the supers.

J. Q. Smith, of Lincoln, had 53 colonies in the Spring. Increase 23. He had no honey until August, except honey-dew, which he fed to the young swarms. In the latter part of August he got 1,800 pounds of fair fall honey, principally heart’s-ease and sweet clover, with Spanish-needle at the last. He wintered his bees on the summer stands, packing the top with leaves, and no protection on the sides.

Geo. F. Robbins, of Mechanicsburg, had 60 colonies, spring count, and increased to 80. He produced 1,100 pounds of honey, half comb and half extracted. There was some honey-dew, and the balance heart’s-ease and Spanish-needle. Bees are in good condition for wintering out-of-doors. He covers the brood-frames for winter with honey-boards made of cheap lumber and burlap, with chaff or leaves above. He covers some of the smaller hives with larger ones, and fills the space with leaves.

Mr. Black asked Mr. Dadant if spring stimulating paid. Answer—If properly done, it may pay. He used to practice it when they did their own work, but quit it when they began to hire. Mr. Dadant thought that bees wintered, and also went through the spring, better in the sun than in the shade. He thinks the chaff hive a failure.

C. M. Beall, of Clayton, had 10 colonies in the spring, and no increase. He had no honey except 150 pounds of honey-dew. The bees were in good condition for wintering in the cellar. He has no winter loss in the cellar.

J. M. Hambaugh, of Spring, had 115 colonies in the spring, and increased to 120. He produced 1,000 pounds of extracted—half honey-dew and clover mixed, the balance Spanish-needle of superior quality. His bees were in good condition for wintering, partly in the cellar and partly on the summer stands. He removes the honey-board for cellar wintering and replaces it with a ventilator, giving air at the top.

S. N. Black, of Clayton, had 37 colonies in the spring, and 44 now. He produced 150 pounds of mainly white clover, buckwheat and heart’s-ease honey. Bees were in fair condition for wintering. He has but little loss either in cellar or out-door wintering. He expected to put them into the cellar this winter.

On motion by A. N. Draper, Article 5 of the By-Laws was amended, changing the words “Upon the Executive Committee,” to “Upon an order signed by the President, and countersigned by the Secretary.” Carried by a two-thirds vote.

The convention then adjourned sine die.

Jas. A. Stone, Sec.

“A Modern Bee-Farm and Its Economic Management,” is the title of a splendid book on practical bee-culture, by Mr. S. Simmins, of England. It is 5¾ × 8½ inches in size, and contains 270 pages, nicely illustrated, and bound in cloth. It shows “how bees may be cultivated as a means of livelihood; as a health-giving pursuit; and as a source of recreation to the busy man.” It also illustrates how profits may be “made certain by growing crops yielding the most honey, having also other uses; and by judgment in breeding a good working strain of bees.” Price, postpaid, from this office, $1.00; or clubbed with the Bee Journal for one year, for $1.60.

RAND^oM STINGS From “The Stinger.”

The man who wrote that “poem” must have thought himself funny; to The Stinger he was a—I don’t think I shall say fool this time, but I hope the next time he tries his hand at rhyming, he will give us something with more sense in it. No bee has yet driven a boy into an untimely grave; the boy of these times cannot be killed so easily as the writer of the above lines would seem to imply.

However, The Stinger would say to all boys bent on teasing the bees: Keep away from the dear little insects until after they are fed, or they might hurt you.

In casually looking through the November number of the Review, I saw the name of Mr. H. A. Burch mentioned along with that of James Heddon. I remember the time when the name of Mr. Burch figured quite prominently in the pages of our bee-papers. It was he, I believe, who used to furnish the delightful series of “Walks and Talks” for the earlier volumes of the old Bee-Keepers’ Magazine.

These “Walks and Talks,” with some other articles that appeared in the Magazine, gave it a tone that I do not find in any of the bee-publications of this later day, I am sorry to say. It seems, that although we have some very good writers on apiculture pure and simple, still we have none of those classic writers of a number of years ago. My taste may be somewhat vitiated, and I am unable to recognize the beauty of style of the leaders in apicultural literature of the present time.

If I remember correctly, it was the same James Heddon that I just referred to, that found fault with the writings of “those literary fellows.” Yet it is this same critic who has secured no less a writer than the Mr. Burch I have mentioned above, to as *sist him in building up his (Heddon’s) newspaper. While complimenting Mr. H. on his good taste in securing such an eminent writer as Mr. Burch, I must say that he was a little too severe on a class of writers who did much to make apiculture what it is to-day.

It was such “literary fellows” as Langstroth and others who did much to give us some books on bees that rank high as literary productions.

I am inclined to think that Mr. Heddon did not really intend to cast any reflection on writers like those I have been mentioning, but he wanted to head of such writers as the Rambler and the Somnambulist. It was these, and nothing more!

The Stinger is not very well disposed toward those people who have the running of the Agricultural Experiment Stations in the United States. He believes that these Stations are, in the majority of cases, managed by persons who are not in all cases fitted for the places they are assigned to. There is a good deal of humbuggery about these matters; it is too often that they are used to give some political fellow a berth where he can draw down a good salary.

What I would like to see, is some way of making these Stations more useful than they now are. Not all the men who are in charge of them are competent to fulfil the duties assigned them.

A correspondent writes saying he was in hopes The Stinger would be put into winter quarters and not taken out again until the spring. The Stinger thanks the aforesaid correspondent, and would say that he regrets that the witless correspondent did not sign his name to the letter, that I might pay my respects to him in a way that would make him sorry for his impertinence.

The Stinger is not the kind of a bear that has to seek some den during the winter months; nor is he exactly like the bee that has the misfortune of living in a cold clime. The Stinger is out every day in the year, and if he does not come your way often, do not feel you have escaped a pestilence. It is generally the man with a guilty conscience that fears to have his misdeeds ventilated.

A correspondent has written me to know what he should do with his surplus honey. The way I do when there is any surplus honey in our house, after we have brought home a jar of honey, and it is not all consumed at the first meal, is to put it aside until the next meal, when the surplus will surely disappear.

Never kick a hive of bees when you are down; wait until you are up and can run away.

Why is killing bees like a confession? Because you unbuzz ’em.—Ex.