March, 1910. 



American liee Journal 



Introducing Queens — Shade for Bees. 



"What is a simple and reasonably safe 

 metliod of introducing queens?" 



Mr. York reported success in nearly 

 all cases by "drowning" the queen, or 

 holding her under water, and then drop- 

 ping her into the hive, having removed 

 the old queen the day before. 



"What is the best way to provide 

 shade for the bees?" 



What do you want shade for? If you 

 must have shade, use shade-boards only. 

 Too much shade makes the bees cross 

 and slow to go to work. Sunshine 

 makes not only better workers, but bet- 

 ter honey. 



Uniting Weak Colonies — To Prevent 

 Swarming. 



"Should weak colonies be united in 

 spring?" 



Generally speaking, no. 



"Will it prevent or lessen swarming 

 to move the hive backward on the bot- 

 tom part 2 or 3 inches for free circula- 

 tion of air under the brood-chamber?" 



It will check it to some extent during 

 warm weather, but do not have the 

 draft in the upper part of the hive. 



Meeting with Horticulturists. 



"Is it advisable to have one or two 

 joint sessions with the horticulturists?" 



Mr. France explained that there might 

 he an advantage ; that we could have 

 some of our papers in the State horticul- 

 tural bulletin. 



Mr. France was appointed a committee 

 of one to confer with the Horticultur- 

 ist Society in regard to this matter, and 

 to have the paper prepared by some 

 member to be read to that society at its 

 next meeting. 



Afternoon Session. 



The convention was called to order at 

 I :45 p. m., by Pres. Huffman. 



No other business appearing, the ques- 

 tion-box was again taken up. 



Nature of Bees — Selling Honey in 



Cans. 

 "Are bees better natured now than 

 they were 20 years ago?" 



All seemed to be of the opinion that 

 they are the same now\ 



"Should honey in 60-pound cans be 

 sold net or gross weight?" 



Mr. Allen always sells gross weight, 

 but there seems to be no rule, and all 

 were of the opinion that gross weight 

 is right. 

 More Extracted than Come Honey. 



"How much more extracted than comb 

 honey can be secured from the colony?" 

 - The general opinion is that more ex- 

 tracted honey can be obtained than comb, 

 some even claiming to get double the 

 amount of the former, but there is no 

 rule. 



"Will a colony that does not swarm 

 yield more honey than where they 

 swarm ?" 



It seems to be the experience of all 

 who have observed, that bees will store 

 more honey without swarming. 



Reducing Freight-Rates — Comb vs. 

 Extracted. 



"What w'ill reduce freight-rates on ex- 

 tracted honey?" 



Ship as fourth-class, by boxing the 

 cans and pails. 



"Which is more profitable, comb honey 

 or extracted?" 



Messrs. Allen, Putnam and Huffman 

 all expressed themselves in favor of ex- 

 tracted honey. 



Bee-Cellar in Spring— Stimulative 

 Feeding. 



"Will it do to open the cellar door a 

 few days previous to putting out the 

 bees? Will it quiet them or make them 

 more uneasy?" 



It will do them good to open the 

 doors during cold nights, but it should 

 be closed during the day, if it is warm 

 outside. 



"Is spring feeding for stimulative 

 breeding profitable?" 



If the weather is warm it is beneficial 

 for the honey-flow, and during the inter- 

 val between two honey-flows, when no 

 honey is being gathered, always consid- 

 ering the weather. 



The convention then adjourned at 3.00 

 p. m., to meet at the call of the Execu- 

 tive Committee in 191 1. 



Gus Dittmer, Sec. 



New Jersey Convention Report 



The annual meeting of the New Jer- 

 sey Bee-Keepers' Association was held 

 in the State House, at Trenton, N. J., 

 Dec. 18, 1909. 



At 10 a. m., Pres. W. W. Case called 

 the meeting to order, and gave a short 

 address. He expressed himself as 

 pleased with the activity of the Associa- 

 tion the past year in working for a 

 Foul Brood Law, and in increasing the 

 membership. 



Short Cuts in the Apiary. 



The first talk was by J. M. Donaldson, 

 on "Short Cuts in the Apiary." One 

 of the first requisites to applying "short 

 cuts" is to have the latest and best appli- 

 ances ; every hive and fixture an exact 

 counterpart of the other in the apiary. 

 Have all colonies numbered ; keen an ex- 

 act system of records; get rid of divi- 

 sion-boards; and keep colonies free 

 of drone-comb. 



An excellent method of making in- 

 crease is as follows : Take frames of 

 brood from any colonies that are strong 

 enough, with adhering bees, being care- 

 ful not to get the queen; assemble them 

 together in a colony, give them a laying 

 queen in a cage, and in a week to ten 

 days the colony will be as good as any 

 in the yard. 



He believed the capping-melter one 

 of the best "short cut" appliances to be 

 used. He said that to prevent the honey 

 from being darkened, it should be al- 

 lowed to run off as fast as melted. 



In uncapping, he recommended a cold 

 knife and downward cut. 



Mr. Donaldson's talk was followed by 

 discussions, of which the matter of rec- 

 ords was the most important. Mr. Hor- 

 nor used the system of records advised 

 by Mr. Donaldson. He has the num- 

 bers painted in large figures on the 

 alighting board of the hive, and the 

 records are kept on a slate. This sys- 

 tem has many advantages. When a col- 

 ony is changed in the yard, leave the 

 alighting boards and make changes on 



the slate. The numbers are at all times 

 in regular order, and not scattered all 

 over the yard as in numbering on the 

 hive-body. Then, the slate can be taken 

 into the shop or house at night, or on 

 rainy days, and the condition of the api- 

 ary studied, and the work planned. 



Bee Races and Characteristics. 



The next paper, "Races of Bees and 

 Their Characteristics," was by Franklin 

 G. Fox, of Erwinna, Pa., late assistant 

 in the Government Apiary at Washing- 

 ton, D. C. 



He gave a brief history of the intro- 

 duction of the honey-bee into this coun- 

 try, saying that they were first brought 

 here previous to 1763 by the Spaniards; 

 they appeared in New York State in 

 1793. They were first noticed west of 

 the Mississippi in 1807. 



Briefly, some of the characteristics of 

 some of the races were as follows : The 

 only thing worthy of mention in favor 

 of the blacks is that they are excellent 

 workers on buckwheat, and build nice, 

 white combs. The first Italian bees were 

 imported into this country in i860, and 

 since that time have become almost the 

 standard bee. Their characteristics are 

 too well known to need description. 



The Cyprians he described as good 

 workers, good breeders, and not too 

 cross to adopt generally. 



The Carniolans he considered good 

 breeders, good winterers, and good 

 workers, and the gentlest of all bees. 

 Their objection, so far, is their ten- 

 dency to propolize so much about their 

 hive-entrance on the approach of cold 

 weather. But, he said, much of this 

 could be overcome in the fall, and in 

 having all the colonies face the south. 



He recommended the Banat bees as 

 best of all. He said their working qual- 

 ities were equal to any other race ; they 

 are good breeders, but would not breed 

 so much out of season as other prolific 

 races. He said they are as gentle as 

 Caucasians, gather almost no propolis, 

 and swarm but little, mak-ng them espe- 

 cially desirable for comb honey produc- 

 tion. 



The paper was followed by a discus- 

 sion. Some expressed objection to the 

 Italians, that they were slow to breed 

 up in the spring, especially if the spring 

 was cold and backward. But the reply 

 was that if the hive was full of honey, 

 they will breed up in time for the flow. 



Securing Foul Brood Laws. 



Mr. C. B. Howard gave a talk on, 

 "How New York State Secured a Foul 

 Brood Law." The first thing they did 

 was to secure the support of the Com- 

 missioner of Agricu'ture. The law was 

 drafted so as to ptn the matter of in- 

 spection under the Commissioner. To 

 secure the law, bee-keepers must stand 

 together and support the Committee they 

 elect to get a Bill passed. The bee- 

 keepers throughout the State must write 

 and see their senators and assembly- 

 men, and explain to them what foul 

 brood is. what loss it is causing, and 

 ask that they support their Bill. The 

 importance of the bee-keepers making 

 their needs known cannot be overes- 

 timated. Bee-keepers must write their 

 senators and assembly-men. 



Wm. E. Housel gave a brief address 



