WeekjX
GARDE&
VOL. XXI.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SATURDAY, OCT. 23,1886
NO. 43
NORTH AMERICAN BEEKEEPERS.
Seventeenth Annnai Meeting of the Society.
The 17th annual convention of the
North American Beekeepers' Society was
held in this city last week. About 100
members were present, representing New
York, Vermont, Michigan, Wisconsin,
Mississippi, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Iowa,
Missouri, Maine, Kansas, Ohio, Indiana
and Canada. Mayor Denny, of this city,
delivered the address of welcome and
President Cutting responded for the society. The morning of the first day
(Tuesday) was devoted to reception of new
members, inspection of exhibits, etc. A.
Knowlton, New Brunswick, made a fine
showing of honey plants oommon to this
region of country. A. Cox, Whitelick,
made an exhibit of lettering done by the
bees, with honey quite remarkable. Among
the prominent apicultnrists present
were A. I, Root, Medina, O.; T. 6. Newman, Chicago; Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo,
IU.; C. P. Dadant, Hamilton, 111.; C. F.
Mnth, Cincinnati; Prof. N. W. McLain,
Aurora, 111.; Jonas Scholl, Lyons, Ind.;
Dr. A. B. Mason, Wagon Works, O ; R. L.
Taylor, Lapeer, Mich.; W. F. Clarke,
Guelph, Ont, and many others. The lady
apiarists were represented by Mrs. A. Cox,
Whitelick, Ind.; Mrs. M. A. Jones, Mrs.
Irvin Bobbins, city; Mrs. T.ibbie Michael,
Palestine, O.; Mrs. Cooper, Morgantown,
Ind.
In the afternoon addresses were delivered by President H. D. Cutting, T. G.
Newman and C. F. Muth.
Wednesday morning C. P. Dadant read
a paper on
RENDERING COMB INTO BEESWAX.
He said:
"The rendering of comb into beeswax
can be effected by artificial heat or by the
sun's rays. Heating by stoves or by
steam is the most usual way, but many inexperienced persons spoil their wax either
by melting it without water or by overboiling, or by using dirty iron kettles.
When comb is melted over a stove any ordinary boiler will answer the purpose.
A great deal of water should be used and
a moderate heat applied. When the wax
is thoroughly melted it can be dipped ofl
the top by using a piece of wire cloth
shaped like a dipper hung into the kettle
to prevent the coarsest impurities from
being dipped out. We have never seen
any old combs, no matter how old, that
did not make nice yellow wax when
treated in this manner or by the use of a
wax extractor. As a matter of oourse, a
good wax extractor, if properly used, will
give cleaner wax at the first melting. If
steam is used to melt comb it should not
be turned directly on the comb, but into
the water below it, the steam often damaging the wax and making it grainy and
green. This same result is sometimes
reached by overboiling. If some wax remains in the dregs it is not advisable to
throw away the residue. Preserve it in a
box exposed to the weather until more
comb has to be melted, and remelt it
therewith. The exposure dissolves the foreign substances, but not the beeswax.
Cappings of honey are melted In the same
way as old comb. It Is well to wash them
first in warm water to remove the honey in
them. This sweetened water makes good
vinegar. The heat of the sun makes the
finest beeswax, as it partly bleaches it."
N. N. Betsinger, Marcellus, N. Y., read
a paper upon the subject of "Separators"
and stated he had found the use of woven
wire separators, with meshes large enough
to allow bees to pass through, produced
the best results.
During the session of the North American Society the Indiana Association,
which, for convenience, met with the
larger body this year, withdrew and
elected their officers for the ensuing year
as follows:
OFFICERS   OF   THE   INDIANA   BEEKEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
President, F. _. Dougherty, of the Indiana Fatmer; secretary, Mrs. Cassandra
Bobbins, Indianapolis; treasurer, Mrs.
E Stout.
The election of officers for the society re -
suited as follows:
OFFICERS   OF   THE   N.  A.  BEEKEEPERS'  SOCIETY.
President, Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo,
111.; secretary, W. 7.. Hutchinson, Bogers-
ville, Mich.; treasurer, C. F. Muth, Cincinnati, O.; vice-president for Indiana, Jonas
Scholl, Lyons.
Chicago was selected as the next place
of meeting, and the date will be announced by the executive committee.
Mr. W. F. Clarke, in a paper upon the
.'Past, Present and Future of the Society," detailed much of the history of the
association, from organization in Indianapolis, December 21, 1870, to the present
time.
An address on "Feeding Bees for Winter," by Jas. McNeill, Hudson, N. _., advocated the feeding of sugar syrup. The
writer said:
"It ia estimated that there are 3,000,000
colonies of bees in the United States, and
that the annual yield of honey is 120,000,
000 pounds. It is also estimated that 25
pounds of honey are required to winter a
colony of bees. Now, if every beekeeper
should follow the practice of replacing
this 25 pounds of honey with syrup, it is
clear that the surplus honey of the oountry would be increased more than one-
half. I find that I can save about $50 by
furnishing sugar syrup to 100 hives. I
use two pounds of sugar to one of water."
Mr. A. I. Boot explained his views on
the different honey-producing plants, advocating the practice of cultivating such
plants as produce both honey and some
other marketable product, such as alsike
clover, buckwheat, rape and raspberry,
Probably no plant would be profitable for
honey alone, bat the most promising of
this kind are sweet clover, spider plant,
figwort and the Chapman honey plant, the
latter excelling, as it yields richly and
blossoms at a time of the year when there
is a dearth of honey flowers, namely from
about July.*) to August 20.
Prof. McLain demonstrated the difference between beekeeping and apiculture,
comparing the former to stock-raising and
the latter to stock-breeding, and holding
that apicolturists have heretofore devoted
too little attention to the development of
the bee, whioh is or ought to be the prime
object of every bee fancier.
In a paper on "Wintering Bees" Dr. A.
B. Mason advanced the theory that the
main cause of loss daring hibernation ia a
form of destruction of muscular and
fibrous tissue due to want of proper nourishment, or to improper temperature. He
advices a temperature of 45° in the early
part of the winter and until brood-rearing,
which begins usually in January, from
which time It should be gradually increased to 55°.
Thursday morning T. G. Newman discussed the oonditlon and prospects of the
National Beekeepers' Union, an organization whose purpose it is to protect the
bee interests from hurtful legislation and
to defend them in case of prosecutions.
The membership is now about 225, against
325 a year ago, and is not in a flourishing
condition.
The following were made honorary
members of the society: Prof. Willetts,
of the Michigan Agricultural College;
Frank Cheshire, author of some standard
works on apiculture; Prof. C. V. Biley,
United States entomologist; Hon. Mr.
Boss. Canadian commissioner of agriculture, and ~. F. Clarke.
The report of the treasurer, C. F. Muth,
was as follows:
Receipts.
Balance from last year   %     DO
Membersb'p dues _..mm.  ts 0A
Donations „   23 04
1111 04
Expenses _._. _. (Ml 94
The consideration of various items of
business of the association and of points
in the management of the bee consumed
the time until Thursday afternoon at
about 4 o'clock, when society adjourned,
subject to call of executive committee.
Written for the Indiana Farmer.
Political Economy.—No. 3.
BT S. EDGAR NICHOLSON.
LABOR.
In this article we shall not adhere to
strict technicalities, but give more attention to the labor question as it is to-day.
As we have said, practically every parson
who renders a service for a compensation
is a laborer, but in general the laboring
class are those whose circumstances make
it necessary to toil for a living. Labor can
have nothing to do with anarchism without detriment to its interests. The prime
object of anarchism seems to be the destruction of property and reorganization
of society on a different basis, while the
laborer cannot succeed without the presence of capital to furnish him employment.
Hence we see the close relationship between labor and capital, the one a friend
to the other, so long as they are not improperly used. In general terms there
can be no unit of measurement for wages.
These are the resultant of exertion on the
one hand, and of desires on the other,
hence the greater the exertion and the
more prominent the desires, the higher
ought the wages to be. It is evident that
the capitalist can only spend a part of the
production in wages to his workmen.
This will have to be regulated: 1st by the
efficiency of the labor, 2d by the kind and
oost of the machinery, 3d by the demand
for the product by the consumer. Perhaps on an average 20 per cent of the actual
values of products is paid in wages, and
whether the average can rule higher will
be governed by the expenses of the employer, aside from what goes to his work
men. Capital is conservative and demands
profits, and when the wages limit is advanced beyond the line of profits, or even
to it, or to such a limit where the profits
are not sufficient compensation for the
capital employed, the demand for labor
ceases. In regard to the regulation of
wages, a workman onoe put it terse and
short: "I know when two bosses are running after one man, wages are high.
When there are two men after one boss,
wages are low;" and he might have added
that the two "bosses" exist when there
is a great amount of capital.
It is true that capital takes advantage of
the ignorance of laborers and imposes
heavy burdens. It is just and proper then
for the laborers to organize for their own
benefit and defense, not for antagonism to
capital, only so far as it is used as an instrument of oppression. If legislation
listens to the demands of capital, it may
expect labor also to knock at the door for
aid. Capital Is at one end of the line, labor
at the other; the two should be in equipoise, but this cannot exist with one aided
and the other not.
The saving of wages is a great item to
the man who works. Every cent should
go to supply his actual needs, and the surplus, if any, be laid aside to accumulate
more. If labor had the money that is
spent for liquor it need not inaugurate
strikes to get higher wages. Let the
money that goes into the saloon keeper's
pocket for a useless article, be saved to
spend for necessary articles, and a great
many laborers who are now dissatisfied,
will consider themselves as amply paid.
Economy is a broad principle of success.
However, if the laborer finds, by the
proper economy that he is still degraded
and poorly paid, and he aud his employer
cannot agree on a rate of wages, no better
plan exists than to settle the difficulty by
arbitration. An unsound legislation, especially on money and taxation, always
works against the laboring class, and the
remedy lies in their own combined action,
managed by learned and competent leader i. Labor can go only a little way without capital and vice versa, and the sooner
this is recognized and the principle
made a foundation for tbe settlement
of labor difficulties, the sooner will agitation cease, and the laborer be benefited in
the same proportion with the capitalist,
whether he be merchant, manufacturer or
farmer.
Elizabeth town.
The Knights of Labor in session at
Bichmond, Va., have re-elected Powderly
and most of the other officers to same positions. Among the resolutions adopted
was one appointing a committee to promote fraternal relations between the
Knights and the Patrons of Husbandry.
A farmer who is in attendance gives the following opinion of the convention: "I am
disappointed—almost disgusted—at the
struggle I have seen here for twe weeks
for control of this organization. Knights
of Leisure some one calls them. That is
an excellent title for those professional
Knights of Labor who have kept us Western farmers here from our fall work while
they squabble over who shall be the
Knights of Leisure and who shall be the
Knights of Labor for the coming year,"