March, 1910. 



American Hee Journal 



lap for out-door covering for bees?" 



Almost all those present preferred 

 sealed covers for cellar-wintering of 

 bees? 



WINTER Bees' Nest — Feeding Sugar 



Syrup. 

 ''Do bees make a nest for winter?" 

 The general opinion is that they do. 

 "What is the best way to feed sugar 

 syrup to bees?" 



The Miller-feeder is the best to use 

 for feeding bees for winter stores. 



Blacks vs. Italians — Feeding Bees in 

 Winter. 



"How many prefer the bl-acks to the 

 Italian bees?" 



No one. 



"What and how would you feed bees 

 when too cold to feed liquid food in 

 winter?" 



Put over the bees a super with comb 

 honey. 



Filling Empty Combs with Syrup. 



"How would you fill empty combs 

 with syrup for winter feeding?" 



Let the syrup run down on the comb 

 on a slant, by pouring, which is faster 

 than sprinkling. 



Liquid or Candied Honey — Strength 

 OF Colony vor Winter. 



"When selling honey in 6o-pound 

 cans, is it customary to have it liquid 

 or candied?" 



Candied, unless the market demands 

 the liquid form. 



"Is it desirable to have a colony very 

 strong for wintering ? Will it winter 

 better than a medium colony?" 



That depends on the age of the queen, 

 and whether a large proportion of the 

 bees are old. 



This brought out the question, "How 

 can you sort them from young bees?" 



It was suggested to move the hive to 

 a new stand, placing the empty hive 

 at the old stand, and let the old bees 

 return. 



Mr. Huffman thought a medium col- 

 ony would winter better than a strong 

 one, as the latter would consume too 

 much honey, and there would be too 

 many dead bees. 



Doolittle Feeder — Carniolan Bees. 



"How many have used the Doolittle 

 <iivision-board feeder?" 



Mr. Allen has 50 of them, and likes 

 them very much, especially in cold 

 weather. 



"Has any one tried the Carniolan 

 bees?" 



No one present had ever tried them. 

 Mr. York mentioned Mr. Byer, a Cana- 

 dian specialist, who prefers them to the 

 Italians as honey-gatherers, but they 

 are somewhat excessive swarmers. 



Pure Food Law. 



"Has the National Pure Food Law 

 been a benefit to honey-producers? If 

 so, to what extent?" 



It has given confidence to the con- 

 sumer as to the purity of honey, but it 

 has not raised the price of honey, nor 

 increased the demand. 



Shaking Energy into Bees. 



"Can you really shake energy into 

 bees ?" 



Shaking bees for the purpose of put- 

 ting them to work had generally been 

 found unsatisfactory. 



Second Day — Morning Session. 



The convention was called to order 

 by Pres. Huffman, at 9:30 o'clock. 



The report of the committee on reso- 

 lutions was read by Mr. France, as fol- 

 lows : 

 Report of Committee on Resolutions. 



Uksoi.\ EU, That in the recent death of our 

 ohkst member, D. U. Uaniher, of Madison, 

 Wis., the last surviving charter member of 

 this State Association, we have lost a valua- 

 ble member; and hereby tender to his family 

 our sincerest sympathy in their bereavement; 

 that a copy of tliis resolution be forwarded 

 to his family by our secretary.^ 



Kesolved, That this Association elect one 

 of its members and also a substitute, as dele- 

 gates to represent us at the next annual 

 meeting of the National Bee- Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation; and that one-half the carfare of said 

 one acting delegate be paid by this Associa- 

 tion. 



Resolved, That this Association recommend 

 to the State Board of Agriculture, the ap- 

 pointment of a special Superintendent of the 

 Apiarian Department of the Wisconsin State 

 Fair. Be it further 



Resolved, That Franklin Wilcox of Maus- 

 ton, be appointed Judge of the apiarian ex- 

 hibits at the Wisconsin State Fair. 



Resolved, That the Executive Board of this 

 Association (including N. E. France) investi- 

 gate the publication of reports of its annual 

 meetings; and arrange for such publication, 

 with full power to act, taking into careful 

 consideration the expense thereof, so that it 

 shall not exhaust our treasury. Be it further 



Resolved, That said Executive Board (with 

 Mr. France) be authorized to take such meas- 

 ures as they deem wise to increase the mem- 

 bership of this Association, explaining the 

 advantages of membership in both State and 

 National Associations. 



Resolved. That the President of the W is- 

 consin State Association and State Inspector 

 of Apiaries, urge the Wisconsin State Legis- 

 lature to enact a stringent law prohibiting 

 the poison spraying of open fruit-bloom, for 

 two reasons: Istj that the invaluable pollen- 

 izing insects, including bees, are thus killed; 

 2d, that the open blossoms thus sprayed are 

 largely destroyed. N. E. France. 

 A. C. Allen. 

 George W. York, 

 Committee, 



On motion, the foregoing resolutions 

 were adopted. 



Mr. France was recommended for the 

 position as assistant superintendent of 

 the apiarian exhibit at" the Wisconsin 

 State Fair. 



The following paper was read bv Mr. 

 Allen : 



Perfect Control of Swarming — Large 

 Crops of Honey and Easy Increase. 



When the subject of swarm-control is sug- 

 gested, I realize it is one which has been 

 threshed over until to many it is a stale story. 

 Yet because of the wonderful results which 

 we anticipate would accrue from absolute con- 

 trol of this unpleasant feature of our occu- 

 pation, we still aspire to the desired end. 



While realizing that location has much to 

 do with most plans, I believe the problem is 

 satisfactorily solved for this latitude, and I 

 caiinot see why it will not work in most places. 



Since we last met here, two plans have been 

 given to the public, both of which," it is 

 claimed, have proven a perfect success in the 

 hands of those practising them. One is a very 

 wasteful way, and directly opposed to Nature's 

 plans, and I think no one will doubt but that 

 it accomplishes the object and discourages the 

 swarming inclination, as completely as the be- 

 heading of all the larger children in a good- 

 sized family, would discourage the parents 

 who reared them. 



To describe the plan which I have worked 

 out, permit me to go back to the days when I 

 began bee-keeping, and relate what led to its 

 development. 



Twenty years ago last fall I began the study 

 of apiculture with the "A B C of Bee-Cul- 

 ture," and one colony, with my broother as 

 half -share partner. Fortunately the colony 



wintered well, and in- anticipation of increase 

 we purchased 2 second-hand hives, and paid 

 a carpenter $4.50 to make 3 more (whicl},. by 

 the way, he never made, so we still have 

 "something coming"). 



Our anticipations were correct, for that col- 

 ony did cast 5 swarms, and we saved 2 of 

 them, the other 3, which were hived in nail- 

 kegs and a cracker box, absconding. We also 

 got $5.00 worth of comb honey; but the loss 

 of those vagrants so discouraged my brother 

 that I bought hira out, and decided to paddle 

 the canoe alone. 



In those days, desiring increase, swarming 

 was considered an omen of success, and no 

 sound was sweeter than to hear the cowbell, 

 dishpan-drum, dinner-horn, and feminine 

 voices shouting, "The bees are swarming!" 

 when we would rush from field or garden 

 and join in the fracas. This order of things 

 continued until the apairy numbered about 30 

 colonies, and 2 to 4 swarms would appear at 

 once, and go 20 to 30 feet high in the near-by 

 maples, when I began to think differently 

 about the swarming business. 



1st. My first attempt to control it was by 

 means of a perforated due trap, with a slide 

 which I kept closed whenever absent from the 

 apairy; but as most of you are familiar with 

 its good and bad features, I will only say that 

 it was but a few ytars before we discarded 

 it for the following: 



2. The advance step of clipping the queen's 

 wing. 



3. Next, large hives were advocated, and 

 with many to-day their use seems to be about 

 all tliat can be desired; but even with them 

 where is the man who can say he never had 

 a swarm when he did not expect it? X think 

 it can be safely said we have all had some 

 swarms from hives having an abundance of 

 room, therefore it cannot be said large hives 

 solve the problem; and with any of these 

 three plans it was not safe to le'ave the 

 apairy. 



4. The fourth step was to clip out all 

 queen-cells once a week. This was found 

 quite successful, provided a cell was not 

 missed; but it is a hard job to look so care- 

 fully over the combs of all colonies every 

 week and not miss one; and sometimes the 

 weather being bad, the bees were cross, but if 

 we didn't go through them, we would have 

 a swarming mania on the first sunny day. 

 Besides, I know of no way that will degen- 

 erate an apiary so quickly as this very one, 

 unless we constantly introduce new blood. 

 Another objection to this system is that the 

 colonies are kept ail the season with the 

 swarming desire, and we all know bees do 

 not work as well when that is present. The 

 satisfied, contented colony is the one that 

 u-orks best. I learned this fact, when, after 

 losing several absconding swarms, no more 

 were lost, by simply placing a comb of un- 

 sealed brood in the center of each hive in 

 which a swarm was placed. 



5. A fifth plan — that of certain hive 

 manipulations, mostly with the sectional hive — 

 has been recommended and practised with 

 varying results. 



6. And then a sixth came before us, that 

 of shaking the bees on starters, compelling 

 them to build new combs, which, in the hands 

 of many, seems to be wonderfully conducive 

 to sulking, absconding, and general discon- 

 tent, on the part of the bees thus handled. 



7. I will now offer a seventh. You know 

 7 is considered a complete number, so per- 

 haps this is the last. 



Studying upon the problem day and night, 

 I began to put three facts together, viz.: 1st. 

 a strong colony which will work all through 

 the season making no preparations to swarm, 

 is the one that gathers the most nectar. 



2d. A new swarm hived on empty combs 

 and one comb of unsealed brood, works with 

 the greatest of energy, with no sulking or ab- 

 sconding. 



3d. As the stirring up that a colony re- 

 ceives when shaken rightly and at the proper 

 time, unquestionably puts new vim into them, 

 led me to see if I could not combine all three 

 of these strong points, and thereby accom- 

 plish the desired end; and it would seem that 

 I have hit it. for there has not been one fail- 

 ure after trying it three seasons. 



In performing this, the operator may shake 

 or not, as he chooses, and results will be about 

 the same, for if we happen to discover the 

 queen when we first open the hive, she can 

 be put in her proper place, and the shaking 

 dispensed with. We will call it the "Non- 

 swarming Brood- Exchange Plan." 



Nearly every method heretofore used to pre- 

 vent swarming weakens the colony, but this 

 does not ; the entire colony is kept together 

 for the clover flow, and is made stronger for 



