W. L. Coggshall, West Groton, N. Y.
Miles Morton, Groton, N. Y.

A. A. Brimmer, Hoosick, N. Y.
J. F. Wood, North Prescott, Mass.
E. B. Smith, Millford, Pa.

A. W. Smith, Parksville, N. Y.
E. U. Parshall, Cooperstown, N. Y.
J. Van Deusen, Sprout Brook, N. Y.
N. D. West, Middleburg, N. Y.
J. O. Munson, East Lansing, N. Y.
A. P. Slater, Preston, N. Y.

C. A. Hallegas, DeKalb Junction, N. Y.
W. G. Larrabee, Larrabee's Point, Vt.
Edgar Briggs, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
Ambrose Pealer, Danube, N. Y.
Thomas Pierce, Gansevoort, N. Y.
D. E. Floyd, Nelliston, N. Y.

C. M. Woolser, Richfield Springs, N. Y.
J. H. M. Cook, 78 Barclay st., N. Y.
F. A. Lockhart, Lake George, N. Y.
A. Armbrust, Schenectady, N. Y.
F. M. Hawkins, Poultney, Vt.
A. H. Wood, Hanover, N. H.
L. H. Bartram, Sharon, Conn.

A. W. Manderville, 285 High street, Newark, N. J.

David Stoddard, Ballston Center, N.Y.
W. W. Cary, Colerain, Mass.
Levi Defreest, Troy, N. Y.
W. Z. Hutchinson, Flint, Mich.
E. A. Stratton, Horseheads, N. Y.
Claude Smith, Norwich, N. Y.
C. D. Robinson, West Groton, N. Y.
D. H. Coggshall, West Groton, N. Y.
S. F. Pratt, Marlborough, Mass.
I. J. Stringham, 92 Barclay st., N. Y.
G. A. Burhams, Cooksburg, N. Y.
Norwood Burhams, Cooksburg, N. Y.
Charles Stewart, Sammonsville, N. Y.
R. L. Taylor, Lapeer, Mich.
F. Allen, West Berne, N. Y.
Julius Hoffman, Canajoharie, N. Y.
W. H. Mallory, Worcester, N. Y.
Eugene Converse, Coventry, N. Y.
G. M. Doolittle, Borodino, N. Y.
Arthur Barnes, Canajoharie, N. Y.
George E. Davis, Shelburne Falls, Mass.
V. N. Forbes, West Haven, Vt.
W. S, Ward, Fuller's Station, N. Y.
E. D. Kniffer, Middleburg, N. Y.
J. I. Parent, Birchton, N. Y.
F. H. Cyrenius, Oswego, N. Y.
J. Vandervort, Laceyville, Pa.

M. E. Hastings, New York Mills, N.Y.
H. D. Spencer, Coventryville, N. Y.
J. W. Porter, Charlottesville, Va.
G. W. Alexander, Esperance, N. Y.
John L. Watkins, Sandy Hill, N. Y.
Frank Benton, Washington, D. C.
Henry Segelken, 28 and 30 W. Broad-
way, N. Y.

Thurber, Whyland & Co., 116 Reade street, New York.

John S. Scudder, Amsterdam, N. Y. Charles Israel, 70 Hudson street, N. Y.

LIFE MEMBERS PRESENT.

E. R. Root, Medina, Ohio.
Charles Dadant, Hamilton, Ill.
Eugene Secor, Forest City, Iowa.
G. H. Knickerbocker, Pine Plains, N. Y.
LADY MEMBERS.

Miss M. A. Douglas, Shoreham, Vt.
Mrs. J. Vandervort, Laceyville, Pa.
Mrs. H. L. Leonard, Brandon, Vt.
Mrs. W. J. Haviland, Glens Falls, N. Y.
Mrs. Thomas Pierce, Gansevoort, N.Y.
Mrs. Frank Benton, Washington, D. C.
Miss M. J. LaGrange, Guilderland, N. Y.
Miss Cynthia Payne, Victor, N. Y.

Upon the Convention being called to order, it was voted that Thomas G. Newman & Son be paid $20.00 towards publishing, in pamphlet form, the report of this Convention, as usual.

The Committee on Incorporation reported as follows:

Report of Committee on Incorporation.

Your committee to which was referred the matter of incorporating the North American Bee-Keepers' Association, beg to report that they have attended to the matter, and the certificate of incorporation is in the hands of the Secretary, and the fees for the same have been paid by the Association. The life members in the United States were by vote designated as the incorporators.

THOS. G. NEWMAN, Chairman.

The report of the committee was approved, and the committee was discharged.

R. McKnight-Is this Society incorporated under a State law, or does it cover the whole country?

E. R. Root-It is incorporated under a State law, but its influence is National. R. McKnight-Is not incorporating it under a State law making a local society of what was a National body?

J. E. Hetherington-It is necessary to incorporate under a State law. That is the only way in which it can be incorporated; but such incorporation does not prevent it from being National in character.

The Manager of the National BeeKeepers' Union reported as follows:

The Bee-Keepers' Union.

As General Manager of the National Bee-Keepers' Union, which is now under the fostering care of the North American Bee-Keepers' Association, I would report that it is still laboring for the welfare of Bee-Keepers, and defending them in their rights and privileges as

far as its limited means will allow. With one exception, it has been successful in all the suits it has undertaken, and by its influence it has prevented litigation in hundreds of cases. Its annual Report

will be published in a few days. A word of encouragement and endorsement from your body will help it to secure even greater success than heretofore.

Fraternally Yours,

THOS. G. NEWMAN, General Manager.

This Report was approved and endorsed by vote.

The following committees were then announced:

ON EXHIBITS.-Thomas Pierce, G. M. Doolittle, R. Holmes.

ON RESOLUTIONS.-R. McKnight, G. H. Knickerbocker, E. R. Root.

ON QUESTION Box.-J. E. Crane, W. L. Coggshall, S. Corneil.

ON LEGISLATION.-J. M. Hambaugh, R. L. Taylor, Eugene Secor.

ON FINANCE.-R. F. Holtermann, N. D. West, A. Armbrust.

The Committee on Medals reported as follows:

Report of the Committee on Medals.

Your committee appointed to procure medals for distribution to the affiliated societies, beg to report that they have had dies made, which will answer for all future orders for medals, and have procured silver-plated medals, and leather cases for the same, and delivered them to the Secretary. The expense of dies was $50, of the medals, etc., $27.50, all of which has been paid from the treasury.

THOS. G. NEWMAN, Chairman.

The report was approved, and the committee discharged.

Attention was called to the fact that the Ontario Bee-Keepers' Association was entitled to two medals, the medals not having been made at the time they were awarded. It was voted that, now the medals were made, they be forwarded to the Ontario Bee-Keepers' Society.

The Convention then listened to an address by G. M. Doolittle, upon the subject of

Bees, Location, and The Apiarist.

He remarked that the queen is the allimportant factor. She lays the eggs. The more eggs the more bees. The time from the laying of the egg to the hatching of the bee is 21 days. From the hatching of the bee until it goes into the field to labor is 16 days. From the

day the egg is laid until the bee is a fieldworker is 37 days. Hence it will be seen that the time when the eggs are laid is very important.

Next comes the location. Most of us are bound by ties to a certain locality. The man who is free should carefully select his location, but the man who makes a success in a poor field is entitled to more credit than the one in a good location. A thorough examination of a location is of great importance. It is only in exceptional locations that we have a continual honey-flow. With only one source of supply, extra care and management are needed to have the bees in readiness when it comes.

The bee-keeper must be a man of push. Most day laborers glance at the sun occasionally to see when it goes down. Who ever heard of a bee-keeper doing this, unless to see if he could finish some job of work? To the bee-keeper his work is fun. The man who spends his time in the corner-grocery, or in playing checkers, back-gammon, or other games, will never be a successful beekeeper.

I have been very successful in spreading the brood in the Spring, and I know that wonderful results may be obtained thereby, but protection and judgment are needed. By spreading the brood, I mean placing the outside combs in the center of the brood-nest, where they will soon be filled with eggs.

The greatest point in bee-keeping is to have the bees at the right time. There is no sense at all in stimulating breeding when the harvest is over and gone.

The following letter to President Elwood was read:

WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 8, 1891. DEAR SIR-I very much regret that a serious illness makes it unsafe for me to think of going to Albany. My authorization as a delegate to represent the Department of Agriculture in the proceedings of the Association was made out and signed by the Secretary of Agriculture last week, and I had all other arrangements made to arrive in Albany to-day. I am, of course, greatly disappointed, and it certainly is vexatious, after having been able to work all the year, to be sick at this particular juncture. However, there may be some Providence in the matter.

My essay was not finished when I was taken ill. I am sorry for this, as well as that I cannot be there to confer in reference to the discussion set down for 3:30 p.m. Thursday, which, by the way,

I am quite surprised to see in the programme, But it is a good idea, since union on the part of the Association in regard to the work to be undertaken will surely result in benefit.

As the appropriation for this purpose is not large, and expenditures had been authorized at Lansing previous to my appointment, experimental work has not been undertaken here, this season especially, as the weather was well advanced when I came here. But besides correspondence, planning work, etc., my time had been utilized in making transactions and some general work for the division. The views of the Association in regard to the work to be undertaken, will doubtless be received with great consideration. FRANK BENTON.

After recess, the Secretary read the following essay by Rev. W. F. Clarke, on

Prevention of Swarming.

There are many desiderata in beekeeping yet. If we could get rid of the stings, many of us would be entirely happy in our apiaries. If we could be sure of a good season every year; if we could keep a lot of silly bee-keepers from spoiling the market by underselling, putting inferior goods on it, and other foolish practices; if we could prevent adulteration; if we could bury the Wiley lie a thousand fathoms deep; and if we could divorce the bee-periodicals from the supply business, there would be a kind of bee-keepers' millenium. But it would be incomplete without a method of preventing swarming. That is the chief desideratum of all. The anxiety of watching; the suspense of not knowing at what moment any number out of 100 colonies will rush frantically into mid-air; the disorder and suspension of work occasioned by the "swarming fever" when it breaks out in an apiary; these, and other considerations, make it very desirable to prevent swarming, if it can be done without an injurious revolution in the habits of bees.

What causes swarming? Is it a normal or abnormal thing? I used to think it was normal; now I doubt it. Have we any well authenticated cases of bees swarming when their home was in a roomy tree-trunk, a large cavity, in a rock, or a spacious attic ? Is this one of the bad habits they have acquired under man's manipulation? Have we crowded them into small receptacles where they cannot increase and multiply ad libitum, or have not elbow-room to work freely? Is it like the emigration

of human beings from the over-populous countries of Europe? Some point to the enthusiasm with which bees start a new colony, as proof that swarming is normal. You might as well cite the energy and enthusiasm of settlers in a new country. But they left the old home with pain and tears. How do we know that our bees do not have a weeping time before they become convinced that there is nothing for it but to go forth and seek a new home. The queen, we know, vacates her throne reluctantly, and with regret. Emigrants often forsake their native land because of oppressive circumstances that leave them no option but to depart. Mayhap bees leave the old hive for a similar reason.

My home apiary is an out-apiary, being a mile away from where I live, in the suburbs of the city. During the past season I have experimented much in regard to the prevention of swarming. Having about а hundred frames of empty comb on hand, I took 6 of my strongest colonies and gave them plenty of space to multiply brood and store honey. Only one of the 6 showed any disposition to swarm, and that one did it under circumstances that made it suggestive, if not conclusive, as to the cause of swarming.

I transferred a colony from an ordinary 8-frame Langstroth hive into a Root chaff-hive. The queen and one frame full of brood were put in the lower story, nine frames of empty comb also being placed in the lower story. Then a sheet of queen-excluding zinc was laid on. Into the upper story were put the remaining seven frames of honey and brood, with seven frames of empty comb.

The bees worked like Trojans until towards the close of the honey harvest. One afternoon, about three o'clock, they started to swarm. By an active use of the sprinkler they were stopped in their mad career. So soon as they had settled down I opened the hive and found every frame in the upper story full of sealed honey. Not a square inch of storage room was left. I took out five frames of honey, and replaced them with five empty frames, having inch starters. Now," I said to myself, "I shall find out whether those bees swarmed for want of more room."

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I could hardly sleep that night for interest in the outcome of the experiment. I longed for the daylight that I might see if my bees would resume work, and give up all idea of swarming. That is what they did. The honey season shut

down before they got the five frames completely filled, and the bees gradually subsided into a state of leisure.

Other experiments proved that the bees swarmed because crowded, or because they were too hot. In one case a colony that had made no preparations for swarming issued from the hive, clustered on a tree near by, and after having cooled themselves off, returned to their home. As I watched them hanging, I thought what a helpless looking sight they were, and what a striking picture they would make with the title, "Far From Home."

I read up all I could find in the beebooks about swarming, and when I found in John Keys' old work (1814) this brief passage in a paragraph about the troubles of swarming-time, "These disadvantages are admirably remedied by storifying," I said to myself: "How much progress have we made in regard to this matter during a lapse of 77 years?" Bee-keepers knew even then that additional room would prevent swarming. How much more do we know about the matter to-day?

For the past few months I have been cudgelling my brains in search of a bee-hive capable both of expansion and contraction. But I have no inventive genius. Happily others have, and I do not despair of such a hive being discovered. Indeed, I am not sure that it has not already been devised.

The AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL recently told us that a Mr. Allpaugh had patented a device which looks in this direction. 'A Mr. Allpaugh' seems to suggest ome obscure bee-keeper unknown to Sfame, but I must tell you that he is one of our foremost Canadian bee-keepers-a quiet, unassuming man, but possessing the inventive faculty in a high degree. He ties to nothing that is not practical and useful. I am not possessed of his secret yet, but mean to have it so soon as I can scrape up $5 wherewith to buy it. Right on the back of this comes Mr. John Conser's non-swarming hive, described and figured in the AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL of Nov. 26. Will either of these inventions, or both of them, "fill the bill ?" We shall see.

The prevention of swarming is comparatively easy when you work for extracted-honey, because you can "storify" if you have frames of empty combs. You can alternate these with frames having only starters.

But to get comb-honey by means of added space-aye, there's the rub. The bees do not readily take to building new comb in section-boxes. Why is this? I

believe it is because of the inconvenience they find for want of room to work. In comb-building a relay of bees hang in festoons that reach clear across the hive. Another relay brings honey and feeds the festooned. workers. A third relay takes the pellicles of wax from the festoons, and builds the cells.

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When all this has to be done within the limits of a one-pound section, it is mighty onconvenient" for the bees. They are "cribbed, combined and confined." Cannot some inventive beekeeper give us a section frame with narrow partitions, just wide enough to induce the bees to finish the sides of the sections? Or cannot we get the public to buy sections reaching clear across the hive, and holding four or five pounds? Or cannot we have cartons, into which a pound of cut honey can be put, and hermetically sealed to prevent leakage?

The public prefers honey in the comb. There is a suspicion possibly of adulteration in the case of extracted-honey. If we allow our extracted-honey to be capped all over and thoroughly ripened, which is necessary to "get the best," we cannot produce extracted-honey at much less cost than we can comb-honey. Then there is the daubing and mess more or less connected with the process of extracting. The most unassuming beekeeper gets considerably "stuck up." It is well known that I am heretical enough to wish that the extractor had never been invented. I use it as little as possible, and if I can find a way of throwing all the force of my apiary into the production of comb-honey, I shall dispense with it altogether.

This is as far as I have got. I know that swarming can be prevented by giving the bees room to work, as they require and crave to use it, but how to manage this in such a way that they will do their level best in the production of marketable comb-honey, well, this is what, Dr. Miller-like, "I don't know."

I want to add a word on the "swarming fever," as bee-keepers call it: There is such a thing. It is a perfect mania when it takes possession of a colony or an apiary. A colony will swarm, and swarm, and swarm again, no matter how comfortably you may house them.

The

I flattered myself during the past season that I had discovered a cure for this fever. I take my swarms in a swarming-bag of my own construction. bees drop into it, and a twist of the bag makes them prisoners in a moment. By hanging a bag of bees on a fence, and leaving them all night, the fever will cool off.

I should say the bag is made of cheesecloth, so that there is no danger of the bees being smothered. On hiving the captured swarm the next day, they hasten into the home provided, marching to the music of a contented hum, which says as plainly as words can speak: "Oh, how thankful we are to be housed once more."

But, after all, prevention is better than cure, and I prefer to keep my bees from taking the fever, instead of doctoring them after they have got it.

W. F. CLARKE.

The following from Thos. G. Newman, editor of the AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, who was unable to be present, was read by the Secretary:

A Few Suggestions.

To the Officers and Members of the North American Bee-Keepers' Association :

I regret exceedingly not being able to be present, and with you to enjoy the "love feast" which I feel sure you will have. My health is poor, but I am gaining strength slowly, and though not being able to undertake the journey bodily, I am with you in spirit.

There are some things on my mind, which, were I present, I should submit for your consideration, and I will briefly enumerate them here.

As this city is to have the World's Fair in 1893, it would seem to be very desirable to have the convention of the North American Bee-Keepers' Association for 1893 held in Chicago, so that there may be a monster meeting of the apiarists of America, as well as representatives from all the world. To arrange for such, long in advance, is quite important, so that our visitors from other Nations may know when to come, so as to take it in. I would, therefore, beg to suggest that the location for that year should be definitely settled by the present session; as well as the location for the meeting next year, which might be in any central city between the East and West.

The time, too, is quite important. The World's Fair will open in May and close in October. The month of September would seem to be the most desirable time, as the heat of the Summer will be over, the honey will be mainly harvested, and the apiarian exhibit at the Fair will then appear at its best. Cheap transportation on the trunk lines of railways will bring thousands upon thousands of visitors, and apiarists will swarm here,

making a buzzing that will be pleasant, both in convention and out of it.

Again, this international meeting should, I opine, let its voice be heard on the question as to who should be selected to superintend the Apiarian Department. At the meeting at Keokuk, Dr. A. B. Mason, of Auburndale, O., was selected for the United States, and R. M. McKnight, of Owen Sound, Ont., for Canada. Let this selection be ratified (or some other one made, if desired), and let it be emphasized, and sent to Mr. W. I. Buchanan, Chief of the Department of Agriculture, and also to Washington. I think that Hon. Edwin Willetts, who was formerly President of the Michigan Agricultural College, but now is Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, at Washington, can assist us, if requested by you, in convention assembled, to do so. To have a good head is very essential. Without it, a creditable display will be very uncertain.

Will you kindly give these matters due consideration? Let committees be appointed to formulate and present resolutions, and also to bring influence to bear upon those in authority, to give us "a fair show," and thus help us to appear in a creditable light before the world at the coming Columbian Fair.

THOMAS G. NEWMAN.

Dr. A. B. Mason, who was also detained by sickness, sent the following as his address on

Apiculture at the World's Fair. Mr. President and Fellow Bee-Keepers : Our worthy Secretary has asked me to tell you of the "Outlook for apiculture at the Columbian Exposition."

As yet no one has been appointed by the Exposition managers to have charge of the apiarian exhibit, and although this Association has twice recommended my appointment to that position, I have not felt at liberty to take such steps in preparing for the exhibit, as I could have done if I had authority for acting, and from what I learned in a recent visit to Chicago to see Mr. Buchanan, the Chief of the Agricultural Department, in which department the apiarian exhibit will be placed, it seems quite possible that the wishes of the bee-keepers will not be consulted in making the appointment.

Mr. Buchanan has promised to do all he can to make the apicultural exhibit a success, but says that "the most careful thought should be given to the question how best to fully illustrate an industry in the most attractive and thorough