Sept. 1, 1904. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



599 



had seven open flowers. The average (discarding the frac- 

 tion) was 23. 



A simple problem in multiplication is all that is left. If 

 the average of the eight coimted clusters is an average of the 

 entire number of clusters on the "bee-tree," that particular 

 cleome plant had 4,209 open flowers at one time — the morn- 

 ing of Wednesday, August 10, 1904. 



I could estimate the number of bees that might visit such 

 a plant during a single day, or during the two months of iN 

 blooming period ; but I will refrain, and leave opportunity for 

 the curious reader to exercise his imagination to such an ex- 

 tent as he may be inclined. The "boomers" of ginseng arc 

 not able to make half so alluring a showing as I could make 

 lor cleome, if I should try. But I have promised to refrain, 



Arapahoe Co., Colo. 



I Convention Proceedings ] 



Report of the Fourth Annual Meeting of the 



Texas State Bee-Keepers' Association, 



Held at College Station, Tex., July 



5 to 8, 1904. 



REPORTED BY LOUIS H. SCHOLL. 



(Continued from page 584.) 

 "THE 4x5 SECTION SUPER AND ITS ADVANTAGES," 



was taken up by H. H. Hyde, who said that it was fast be- 

 coming the standard section. Being taller than wide it 

 looks nicer, and having a large comb-surface it looks larger 

 to the customer, and would bring a better price in the mar- 

 kets. In connection with this section he would use open 

 separators. He used the Hyde-Scholl fences, and would 

 recommend their use first, last, and all the time. They 

 have been tried and improved for several years, and have 

 proven to be advantageous in many ways over the old-style 

 or the fence separators commonly put on the market by 

 manufacturers. These fences will now be manufactured by 

 all the leading manufacturers of bee-keepers' supplies, and 

 can be obtained of them. The Hyde Bee Co. ordered last 

 year 15,000 sections fitted with these separators. As the 

 season was too far advanced at the time they were received, 

 and honey was not coming in favorably, there were only 

 about 3000 filled. 



Udo Toepperwein said that undoubtedly the Hyde-Scholl 

 fence was superior, as he sold more of that kind than any 

 other last year, the bee-keepers making special calls for 

 them. If he should judge from what bee-keepers have said 

 about them, they must be a good deal better than the other 

 fences. The demand for Hyde-Scholl fences has been so 

 great that he will have to have all of his super arrange- 

 ments fitted up with such fences from now on. He said that 

 he found them to be the best sellers of any style he had. 



W. H. Laws said that the production of section honey 

 in Texas was of the utmost importance at the present time, 

 and that it should be thoroughly ventilated at this meeting. 



Mr. Hyde agreed with him on this, as there are now so 

 many bees kept in Texas that we must produce section 

 honey as well as comb honey in bulk and extracted. 



During an average year it is all right to produce only 

 bulk comb and extracted, as there is not any likelihood of 

 an over-production of these two. But during an extraordi- 

 nary year when there are heavy flows everywhere, it is an 



advantage to hav3 section honey as well as the others. 

 This works admirably, too, as the production of fancy sec- 

 tion honey can not be done during a moderate flow, but it 

 can be done during the better seasons. Therefore, we 

 should have our surplus over bulk comb and extracted in 

 section honey during a good year, while we do not need the 

 section honey during a less favorable one. 



A vote to the efi'ect that the 4x5 section be endorsed as 

 the standard section to be used in Texas was put, and re- 

 sulted in 7 votes for and 6 against it, but after a reconsid- 

 eration and a long discussion it was decided that the Asso- 

 ciation had no right to adopt any style of section, or any 

 other kind of hives or supplies as a standard, and that every 

 member was allowed to use the hives and fixtures he wanted 

 to use, therefore the vote was ruled out. 



" NATURAL OR ARTIFICIAL INCREASE " 



was taken up by Willie Atchley. For the experienced bee- 

 keeper artificial increase was better, but the novice would 

 better depend upon natural swarming for his increase. If 

 one has the experience he can make the cheapest increase 

 in the fall during an inferior honey-flow. This will give 

 him good, strong colonies the next season. 



If natural swarming is depended upon, the bees swarm 

 during the flow of white honey, and this causes a loss of 

 surplus. 



Z. S. Weaver gave the experience of a neighbor who 

 tried to increase his apiary artificially. He did this in the 

 fall, during the month of October, when there was no honey 

 coming in, and of course he lost nearly all of the bees. 



Another case is the one of the bee-keeper who tore his 

 bees all up in the early spring for early increase, so that 

 the colonies would be strong by the time of the honey-flow. 

 He divided the colonies, and put the brood-combs in the 

 new hive with a frame with a two-inch foundation starter 

 between each comb. The same was done with the combs in 

 the old hives. The result was most disastrous. 



Mr. Hyde does not know when it is the best time to 

 make artificial increase. Sometimes it is better done in the 

 fall, and again better in the spring. There are several 

 ways of doing this very cheaply. The first is to make the 

 increase in the fall. Take good queens, divide the colonies 

 and build them up with the brood-combs. That is, if there 

 is a fall flow, and they will build up good and strong for 

 the next year's honey-flow. The second way is to have the 

 colonies strong in the fall with plenty of honey and good, 

 laying queens, so that there will be lots of early brood in 

 the hives in the spring. As soon as these become very 

 strong, combs of brood are drawn from them and nuclei 

 made. These are then built up. The third way, and a 

 cheap one, is to use the weak colonies for increase instead 

 of running them for honey. There are always some colo- 

 nies in the apiary that are too weak to amount to anything 

 as honey-gatherers, and these can be used more profitably 

 in making increase. Divide them up into three or more, 

 and build them up with full sheets of foundation. The next 

 year you will have a lot of strong colonies for the honey- 

 flow. In this way the weak colonies are worth more than if 

 used for storing colonies. 



Mr. Laws said that he had all of his bees out in the 

 woods, miles away, and that he could not depend upon nat- 

 ural swarming for his increase. He wants a non-swarming 

 race of bees, but has not got them yet. He can make his 

 increase much more profitablj' in an artificial way. He 

 tries to prevent swarming as much as possible, first, by 

 giving plenty of room, and second, if they get too strong 

 for this he draws brood-combs from them and makes nuclei. 

 These he builds up, and it is a cheap way of making in- 

 crease, as it is done while he prevents swarming. 



In that time of the season, when the queen has laid all 



