1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



853 



and the United States only lias been inchided. It 

 was objected, also, that we ai-e not an associa- 

 tion of b(>es: therefore the old name, North 

 American Bre-keepers' Association, was recom- 

 mcntlctl and adopted. 



FOUL BKOOl). 



Fonl brood was the subject opened by a vol- 

 untary contribution by Allen l*riu,sie, president 

 of the Ontario Bee-keeiters" Association. He 

 detailed what Ontario l)e(>-keepers had already 

 done in securing the passage of a foul -brood 

 act. and of an inspector, under the pay of the 

 government, the details of which we have al- 

 ready given in our columns. He gave the 

 metliod of cure whicli we recommend in tlie 

 A B C book, and have from time to time given 

 in these pages. 



After the paper the convention discussed, 

 pro and con. its cause. Some argued tliat it 

 might start from chill(>d or decayed brood; but 

 I think it was proven tliat the disease can not 

 start from this source. It might be a favorable 

 medium; but unless the germs were there in 

 the first place, it could not propagate. Some 

 thought it was n<it ncc'ssary lo scald the hives; 

 but your lunnlilc servant told them that he left 

 40 hives without scakiing. and every one of the 

 number, in six months, imparted the disease. 

 There is no practical method of disinfecting, 

 except by boiling every thing having been in 

 contact with the disease, except, of course, the 

 bees. They, if they consume the diseased hon- 

 ey in their sacs, will not again ti'ansmit the 

 trouble. 



FULL SHEETS OF COMH FOUNDATION VS. START- 

 ERS IN THE BROOD-CHAMBER AND SUR- 

 PLUS KEC'El'TAC'LES. 



This was the subject of Eugene Secor's essay. 

 He started out by saying that one swallow does 

 not make a summer, and one experiment does 

 not establish a theoiy. always. He did not 

 pretend to know a great deal about the subject, 

 but for several years he has used full sheets of 

 foundation in the brood-chamber. The advan- 

 tage was, that he had securetl all worker 

 combs; and the disadvantage was. that it in- 

 creased the cost of every colony. Then he de- 

 cided to let the bees build tlieir own combs. 

 Last summer he met a setback wliich he had 

 not exiterienced before. The nectar was so 

 scarce that the bees built scarcely any comb up 

 to the opening of basswood. That came in 

 such sudden abundance that some of his best 

 colonies built almost entirely drone comb be- 

 low. If he had foreseen this, and had provided 

 them with full sheets of foundation, he was not 

 sure but that the bees would have gnawed it 

 full of holes, and tilled it full of drone comb. 

 Witli the present high price of foundation, and 

 the price of bees, he was somewhat doubtful 

 about the advisability of using more than a 

 starter in the brood-chamber. With comb 

 honey in sections lie would us(! full sheets of 

 the very thinnest and best foundation. In ex- 

 tracting supers lie liked full sheets. 



A lively discussion followed tln^ reading of 

 this paper. Dr. Miller was asked about wiring 

 foundation, and he rei)lied by saying. " I don't 

 know." When we \\ire foundation, he said, we 

 have it in the middle, and can handle frames 

 more easily. When a vot(^ was taken, it was 

 sliown that 38 used foundation, and ;.'.") did not. 

 They kej)! on arguing until it was suggested that 

 we were oif from the (pieslion. Thi' ((Uestion. 

 "How many use full sheets in brood-frames'.'" 

 showed that 30 voted yi's. and that :.'() used only 

 starters, and only 3 none. A good many othei's 

 did not know what they did want—tiiat is. they 

 had not settled whetlH-r they want to use full 

 sheets, starters, or no foundation at all. As to 

 ilie inatt<'r of building uoiker or drone coml) 



without fo\uidation, INIr. Axti'II said he uses 

 special colonies. He takes out all the combs, 

 and makes them build another (Mitirely new 

 set: and by selecting those with young queens 

 he gets worker comb. If they build one or two 

 combs tliey will Iniild drone-cells. Mr. B. Tay- 

 lor corroborated this. 



FIXED DISTANCES. 



Along about this stage of proceedings, " fixed 

 distances ■' was discussed by your hunible ser- 

 vant. As I have already given my ideas on 

 this subject. I will not rejjeat them liere; but I 

 was surprised to see that there seemed to be in 

 tlie convention a recognized need of fixed dis- 

 tances. Seventeen, by a show of hands, used 

 fixed distances of some sort, either in part or in 

 whole; .35 used hanging frames altogether. 



THE QUESTION-BOX. 



This was introduced about tliis time. 



Can first-class honey be produced in sections 

 without separators ? 



A good many answered yes. 



What is the b(^st method of preventing bees 

 from sticking the upper stories of liives to the 

 lowei' ones with propolis? 



Use close and tight-fitting joints. A little 

 piece of grease rubbed on the places of contact 

 will help very materially to keep propolis olT. 



What shall we do with our swarms of bees 

 wlien n6t wanted? 



'• Return them to the old stand,"' Dr. ^Miller 

 said. 



Is there any difference in color and quantity 

 between honey extracted from light-colored 

 combs and that extracted from dark? 



Dr. Oren answered no. He had used combs 

 1.5 years old, and the honey liarveSted from 

 them is as nice as that from new combs. 



Is spring dwindling worse in the cellar than 

 outdoors ? 



The general consensus of opinion seemed to 

 be that it was. During severe winters, bees do 

 better indoors, and in mild winters outdoors. 



What is the objection to a house-apiary? 



INIr. Hambaugh replied that he had used one, 

 and abandoned it. 



THE REQUISITES NECESSARY TO SECURE A 

 HONEY CROP. 



This was a paper by Prof. Cook, and in his 

 absence it was read by Mr. Newman in his 

 characteristic clear voice. After regretting his 

 absence. Prof. Cook referred to the diificulty 

 of handling such a theme, and that it was not 

 of his own choosing, and mentioned tlie fact 

 that Dr. Miller would say, "I don't know." 

 This came in very " pat" right here, because, 

 during the convention, the doctor's " I don't 

 knows" were a subject of banter. Getting 

 down to the theme. Pi-of. Cook urged the neces- 

 sity of successful wintering, and giving good 

 protection to bees in the spring. His experi- 

 ments during the past few years have proved- 

 conclusivelv that i)rotection ])ays an exceeding- 

 ly good profit. Chatf hives will do. but he pre- 

 fers an outer case and exci'lsior packing. We 

 must have prolific queens. He was not sure 

 but it would pay to requeen an apiary every 

 year, or at l(>ast every second year. Strong col- 

 onies when the season opens up, are another 

 requisite. And then he came to the question^ 

 " Why do the llowers r(>fuse to secrete nectar?" 

 He W()uld like to ipiote Dr. Miller"s modest sen- 

 tence—" I doiTt know."" He said, that last 

 year we had the rain and warmth, so the usual 

 conditions were not lacking. The oidy ex!)lan- 

 ation he could olTer was. that, the year befoi'e 

 being so tei-rihlv diy. the young plants wei'e so 

 lilighted that they could not lecover. so they 

 were unable to perl'orm their usual functions. 

 He cited the fact that a young calf or colt par- 

 tiallv slaivi'd never fully recovei-s. 



