1885 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



769 



they took the team, and now have it at home in 

 good shape. He said they were liyiujj nicely when 

 he left home. I tried to buy them, but I could not- 

 He finally said he would soil them after they 

 swarmed next year. 



Last fall, he says, they cut a tree and took with 

 them a wash-boiler and two 14-quart pails, which 

 they filled. Not getting- it all, they returned next 

 morning, and further up the tree they took out 60 

 lbs. more of nice white honey, by actual weight. 



There is a number of Indians living near them, 

 and he says that Indian John found in a large syca- 

 more-tree, three swarms— one in the body and two 

 in the large limbs. He declares, that from the body 

 of the tree alone they took 300 lbs. of honey. 



Mr. Sweeter is one of those whols-souled Germans 

 whose veracity none can doubt. He makes me 

 think of friend Muth. He has been keeping bees in 

 box hives in the past, but has now ordered an out- 

 fit of chaff hives, and says he shall adopt the mod- 

 ern appliances. He had never seen foundation or a 

 smoker until to-day. He carried home with him a 

 Clark cold blast— the best extant for the money. 



And now just a word in regard to " false state- 

 ments in regard to the honoj' business of the coun- 

 try." I want to add *500 to your f HHX), and let other 

 bee-keepers fall in until we make it a million, and 

 then let some of those disgruntled liars show us 

 where they make and sell comb honey, where nei- 

 ther wax nor honey is used, and become a million- 

 aire. I have had some annoyance and am mad. At 

 some other time 1 will tell you about it, and how it 

 came out. 



Fremont. Mich.. Nov. 9, 18S5. Geo. E. HiinoN. 



Friend II., will it not be a good idea for 

 somebody to start an apiary on this Bees' 

 Nest island?— About false statements in re- 

 gard to our honey. Neighbor II. says when 

 they get their machinery perfected for man- 

 ufacturing eggs, they will probably succeed 

 In making comb honey. — Thanks for your 

 additional $o()0. I think the idea is a good 

 one, and the investment is ceitainly safe. 



MOHE ABOUT 541 LBS. OF HONEY 

 FKOM ONE COLONY. 



A GOOD SHOWING FOR AI(KANS.\S; SEE PAGE 7.54. 



HE .hive that made me 541 lbs. of honey is 

 41 inches long, 31 inches wide, outside mea- 

 sure; 40 frames in the lower story, and 40 

 above. The lower story is divided by two di- 

 vision-boards, which the queens can not 

 then four zinc honey-boards over them, mak- 

 ing a perfect fit, and there are four separate queens. 

 The bees are all together in the upper chamber. 

 Each corner of the hive has an entrance. This hive 

 is worth six single ones. A. L. Light. 



Grove Land, Arkansas. 



Well, well, friend L., and so it transpires 

 that it is /oin- queens instead of o»e.1PNow, 

 we might call it four colonies instead of one, 

 were it not for the' fact that the bees all 

 work together. Although they do work all 

 together, yet 1 am inclined to think they 

 carry on business as four distinct colonies 

 of bees. But if they continue to do so with- 

 out any quarreling, or loss of queens, it is 

 certainly something very strange and un- 

 heard of. I jiave knp^yn such arrangements 



to prosper while the yield of honey was good ; 

 but when bees begin to rob, my experience 

 has been that the queens will all have to go, 

 but one. 



THE WESTERN BEE - KEEPERS' ASSO- 

 CIATION. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 



f\ HE fourth annual meeting of the W. B. K. A. 

 I was held in the courthouse at Indepen- 

 ' dence. Mo., at ten o'clock a. m., Oct. 15. 1885. 

 President A. A. Baldwin, of Independence. 

 Mo., occupied the chair. The morning was 

 taken up with the order of business. Ke- 

 port of secretary was read and adopted. The com- 

 mittee appointed by the North American Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Society said that the following railroads gave 

 first-class freight rates on honey in glass, and third 

 class on extracted honey: A., T. &S. F.; M. P.;IT. 

 P.; and H. & St. Joe. The committee also suggest- 

 ed, that inasni\ich as the transportation companies 

 hold monthly meetings, a committee be appointed 

 that has more time than the present committee, to 

 prosecute the business further, by visiting these 

 meetings; and, if possible, obtain a better schedule 

 for bee-keepers. 



The association next proceeded to elect officers for 

 the coming year. E. M. Hayhurst, Kansas City, 

 Mo., President; R. B. Leahy, Higginsville, Mo., 

 Vice-President; James H. Jones, Buckner, Mo., 

 Treasurer; and P. Baldwin, Independence, Mo., 

 Secretary. The remainder of the morning session 

 passed pleasantly in discussing several interesting 

 topics relative to bee culture. There being no fur- 

 ther business, the president appointed a committee 

 to prei)are subjects for the iiltoriioon's discussion, 

 and the association adjouiiifd to 1 ::iii p. m. 



AFTRKNOON SESSION. 



The association was called to order by Pres. Hay- 

 hurst. at the appointed time. Several ladies took 

 seats with the beekeepers; and although they took 

 no part, they were very encouraging listeners. 



The coiinnittcc to prepare (luestions brought out 

 the following, wliicli were taken up in order: 



Does it pay to feed extraeteil honey, in order to 

 produce comb lioiie\ . aii<l wliat way is best':' 



Mr. Conser. -"I think it takes about 3 lt>s. of ex- 

 tracted honey to get one ot eoinh, and I do not 

 think it pays.' I feed by tinping the hive back and 

 pouring the honey in at the entrance. I do this at 

 night." 



L. W. Baldwin.- "I feed only to get unfinished 

 sections completed, which can be done just as the 

 honey harvest is closing, and not allow the bees to 

 stop comb-building. There is money in it if carried 

 out in this manner." 



A. A. Baldwin.- "I have fed extracted honey for 

 this purpose, and think it pays, but I have not test- 

 ed it by actual weighing and experiments." 



Which race of bees is best to keep, for the pur- 

 pose of getting comb honey'/ 



It. B. Leahy came forward with a plea for tho 

 blacks as far as getting white capped and flnished- 

 up comb honey for market. "I think they enter 

 sections more readily before swarming, and are 

 less disposed to swarm. All things considered, I 

 prefer the Italians." 



James H. Jones.— "I would not keep bees if I 

 had to keep the blacks." Here the discussion was 

 quite animated, in bringing out the diflerent traits 

 of the two races, but the association came down 

 solid for the Italians. Other races of bees were 

 spoken of, but no one had handled them sufficiently 

 to be very enthusiastic over them. 



What is best to winter bees? 



L. W. Baldwin.—" I winter my bees in the cellar, 

 and have found by the scales that, on an average, 

 bees consume from ten to twelve pounds more hon- 

 ey per colony when wintered on the summer stand 

 than when wintered in the cellar. This is quite an 

 item in wintering a large apiary." 



A. A. Baldwin.— "I think that outdoor wintering 

 brings the bees through with more vigor, and they 

 usually swarm earlier. I feel confident, that bees 

 packed with chafl" will consume at least 5 lbs. less 

 lioney than if not." 



Pres. Hayhurst.— "I think chaff packing saves 

 stores." 



The general opinion was, that bees wintered on 

 the summer stand could by crowded on to as few 



