770 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 



combs as they can occupj% with 20 to 25 lbs. stores, 

 and well packed. 



Does it pay to use reversible frames and section 

 boxes? 



No one present had made any use of them, except 

 Mr. C'oiiser, who had used them, and was well 

 pleased with them. 



How far from each other should large apiaries be 

 located, in a good honey country? 



This question bi-ought out, from several of the 

 ineinl)er.'<, statements of long liights of bees in 

 search of honey; but the opinion most generallj' 

 accepted was that, if placed not less than four miles 

 apart, there would be no conflict. 



Association closed till 9 o'clock next morning. 



The association met at 9 o'clock. The president 

 not having arrived. Vice-president R. li. Leahy took 

 the chair. L. W. Baldwin was selected to prepare 

 the table of statistics. There being no other busi- 

 ness to be transacted, the list of questions was tak- 

 en up. 

 .Does it pay the trouble to use wired frames? 



A. A. Haltiwin.— " I have had but very little ex- 

 perience with them, but all 1 have examined showed 

 the wire." 



John Conser.— " I have used them. Where a man 

 is sliipping bees, I think they are agreat benefit. 

 In handling combs at home they are not of so much 

 use." 



L. W. Baldwin.— "I have had, pi-obably, as much 

 experience as any one present in handling and 

 moving bees lor several years, and in all that time 

 1 have not had half a dozen combs injured, even if 

 transported without springs; and as far as I have 

 observed, I can not see any use for them." 



K. B. Leahy.— "If I were going to run for comb 

 honey, using a frame with a short top-bar, I would 

 not use them. In handling, I would rather have 

 them wired, especially for the lower story." 

 . How can we remedy the turning-out of the start- 

 ers in the sections, as the bees work them? 



This question called out the experience of this 

 season of several leading beekeepers, and it was 

 generally thought that the cause was the slow flow 

 of honey, cool weather, and colonies lig-ht for bees. 

 Some advocated using smaller starters, others turn- 

 ing the sections around, while others thought, that 

 to crowd the bees would remedy it. 



What direction is best to have the hives face in 

 winter time? 



R. B. Thorn.—" I would have them face the same 

 way, summer and winter." 



S.W.Salisbury.— "! have loose bottom-boards, 

 and raise the hive in summer, and prevent the bees 

 from lying out, and let them down on the bottom- 

 board in winter. I think the hives should face the 

 south." 



How should young swarms be handled, to secure 

 the largest amount of honey? 



L.W.Baldwin. — "! make a nucleus from the 

 swarm, and put the rest in the parent colony." 



P. Baldwin.— "A good way is to shut the swarm 

 on five or six frames, and compel them to go into 

 the sections at once." 



Is there any successful way of introducing 

 queens? 



E. M. Hayhurst, having made the statement that 

 he could introduce five hundred without the loss of 

 one, was called on to give his method, which is as 

 follows: 



"After making the colony queenless I have a 

 young queen caged in a Peet cage, and I place the 

 cage directly over the cluster of bees, and leave it 

 there till 1 see the bees are perfectly reconciled to 

 the queen. This will take some two or three, and, 

 sometimes, several days. I then i-emove the quecLi- 

 ceUs and place the cage on an outside comb over 

 some honey; remove the slide, and rim out a plug 

 through the comb, letting the plug remain in place, 

 and leave it undisturbed for a week. If the bees 

 are disturbed before the queen begins to lay she 

 will become frightened, running and piping, and 

 the bees will chase and kill her. The important 

 pofnt is to have the bees reconciled, every cell out, 

 and no robl)ing." 



I/. W. Baldwin.— "I have found that colonies long 

 queenless are very difficult colonies to introduce 

 queens to— almost impossible with me." 



Adjourned to 1:30 p. m. 



("losing ses.eion, President Hayhurst presiding. 



A member hiuulod in th<^ ([uestion, '• What is the 

 most simple, elirap, e.\i>(Mliti()us way tor the prac- 

 tical beekecporto c'liiuif.'c his stock by re(iueening?" 



L. W. Baldwin.—" I put in cells after the colony 



has swarmed, and again immediately after the hon- 

 ey harvest, by taking the queen from the colony, 

 I and the next day give it a queen-cell." 



A. A. Baldwin.—" I would just as soon as not have 

 my colonies queenless for twenty days after the 

 honey harvest, and would take this time to give 

 them a queen." 



S. W. Salisburj'. — "I requeen with swarming- 

 cells." 



The question, "Is it advisable to clip the queen's 

 wings?" brought out a lively discussion. 



J. H. Jones.-" I prefer to have my queens clip- 

 ped." 



S. W. Salisbury. — "I have tried clipping the 

 queen's wings, and I think it induces the bees to 

 supersede the queen immediately. I also have a 

 great deal of trouble in finding a clipped queen 

 when swarming." 



L. W. Baldwin.— "The ease and facility in hand- 

 ling swarming is much in favor of clipped queens. 

 I like the practice." 



A. A. Baldwin.— "I do not think that clipping the 

 queen's wings causes the bees to supersede her. 

 The past season with an apiary of 135 colonies, only 

 two were superseded, and they naturally." 



A great majority of the members practice it. 



James D. Meador was appointed to endeavor to 

 get a better schedule on apiarian products, of the 

 railroad companies. 



Adjourned, to meet in Kansas City, at the call of 

 the executive committee. 



W. B. Thorn, of Glenn, Kan., had on exhibition a 

 colony of Holy-Land bees. 



Mr. John Conser, of Glenn, Kan., made a display 

 of extracted honey. There was no general display. 



The following is the number of colonies of bees, 

 pounds of honey and wax, represented: 



No. of colonies last fall, .... 1,528 

 this spring, - - - - ],138 



" lbs. comb honey, 3.3,.557 



" " ext'd, " 10,2a5 



" " wax, - 196 



P. Baldwin, Sec. 



Bee Ba^fj^NY, 



OR, HONEY - PLANTS TO BE NAMED. 



f LEASE tell the name of flower inclosed, as it 

 is good for bees. I have a single stalk of it 

 that the bees cover and fill up very quick. 

 Dennison, O. Chas. L. Hill. 



PRIVET. 



Here are four honey - plants. Can you tell 

 me their names? The first is called by some, priv- 

 et. Whether it is the same as that described by 

 J. L. Gregg, of Arizona, or not, I can't tell. It 

 blooms afresh after every rain in summer. 



BEE-BUSH. 



This grows among the rocks on the mountain- 

 sides j grows fiom three to five feet high; is bloom- 

 ing now. The bush has a peculiar odor, but not un- 

 pleasant. 



C.\TCL.\W. 



The next is what we call catclaw, but I am told it 

 is not the same as that found in Southern Texas. 



WILD SAGE. 



The last is what seems to be a kind of wild sage. 

 It has been blooming for some time, and the bees 

 are gathering pollen from it. It grows in abundance 

 here, and looks more like sage than any thing else. 



Burnet, Texas. C. W. Hardy. 



IMPORTANCE OF SENDING COMPLETE SPECIMENS, 



lean not find time to determine accurately the 

 names from such poor specimens. The one from 

 Chas. L. Hill is an aster (^. prcmxnf/ioides [?]). Of 

 those from C. W. Hardj', one is of the order La biatce, 

 probably Mentha; two are leguminous plants— th6 

 one with prickles, probably Sc/irati?ci<i. The other I 

 do not know. W. S. Devol, Botanist. 



Agricultural Station, Columbus, O. 



