1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



845 



answer for us that difficult question as to 

 how many acres of honey-plants it takes to 

 keep, say, 100 colonies of bees fairly em- 

 ployed ? 



BBANTPORD OR BUFFALO- WHICH, 

 FOH THE NEXT. N. A B. K. A.? 



dr. miller Argues in favor of buffalo. 



T HAVE just read what is said in Gleanings 

 Mr about the next convention. I am not just 

 W sure at this instant what its proper name is, 

 ■*■ but I am sure it is not " International." In 

 spite of any preparations that have been based 

 on its being held at Brantford, I believe that more 

 good than harm would be done by changing to Buf- 

 falo. Reasons for this have been already given in 

 Gleanings and in the A. B. J. Without looking 

 the matter up, I do not know whether it would cost 

 me more or less to go to Buffalo; but 1 know I 

 would rather pay more, and go to Buffalo. 1 sus- 

 pect many others feel the same way, both in Cana- 

 da and in the IT. S. Secretary Holtermann says, 

 " Personally I should prefer Buffalo;" and is it not 

 possible that so many others feel the same way 

 that a larger number from Canada alone would go 

 to Buffalo than to Brantford? It may be said, 

 " Brantford this year, Buffalo next." If the con- 

 vention is held at Brantford this year, would it be 

 right to hold it 70 miles distant the next year? If 

 it moves only 70 miles per annum, especially when 

 so far to the north, I am afraid it will lose what 

 little right it has to be called any thing but a local 

 society, which right is none too great at best; for, 

 as friend Macpherson says, " It is a well-known 

 fact, that the great bulk of the membership each 

 year comes from the vicinity where the annual 

 meeting is held." So, change from Brantford to 

 Buffalo this year, if enough favor it; but don't talk 

 about holding it a second year within a distance of 

 a hundred miles, unless you want to kill it outright. 

 Marengo, 111., Oct. 19, 1889. C. C. Miller. 



Thanks, doctor, for what you say. I had 

 begun to feel as if I had wasted a good deal 

 of "wind" for nothing, and, besides, had 

 put the Canadians to no little annoyance. 

 If I had not supposed that the Canadian 

 Bee Journal had first urged such a change, 

 the matter would never have been brought 

 up. I still think that an outside at- 

 traction such as the Falls would very ma- 

 terially increase the attendance held at Buf- 

 falo. It makes our pocket-books feel a lit- 

 tle better if, having invested so much, we 

 can go to a bee-convention, and see one of 

 the wonders of the world at the same time. 

 It is on the principle of killing two birds 

 with one stone. Many of us feel, when 

 bee- journals cover the ground usually trav- 

 ersed at conventions, that it is a good deal 

 to pay out for hand-shaking and apicultu- 

 ral fellowship, much as we value it. But if we 

 can " take in " something else on the same 

 car-fare, this money is gladly paid out. As 

 I said before, I reiterate again : I would a 

 good deal rather attend a national conven- 

 tion with a large attendance with some inter- 

 ruptions, than one poorly attended, with no 

 interruptions. Still, for all that, I presume 

 Mr. Newman's advice in the American Bee 

 Journal of Oct. 16, that the matter be drop- 

 ped where it is, is wise. 



Later.— The last Canadian Bee Journal ha.8 

 just come to hand, and I find that it would 

 not be according to the constitution of the 

 society to change at this time. For this and 

 other reasons, it were better that the mat- 

 ter be dismissed at once, and that, in the 

 language of Bio. Newman, we labor faith- 

 fully to make the convention at Brantford a 

 successful and interesting occasion. While 

 I regret my action in the matter, I believe 

 that the association will prolit materially in 

 the "extra advertising.' 1 It was with the 

 best of intentions toward the Canadians 

 that I proposed, or rather, as I thought, 

 seconded the change to Buffalo. I did not 

 for one moment doubt their interest in the 

 association or their ability to give a right 

 royal reception to the bee-keepers of the 

 United States. If I carelessly interpreted 

 Macpherson's original editorial, which per- 

 haps I did, I beg pardon. I think too much 

 of the rosy-faced, robust, large-hearted Ca- 

 nucks to merit their ill will. Ernest. 



MANUM'S NURSERY, OR QUEEN- 

 HATCHERY. 



FURTHER EXPLANATION, WITH AN ILLUSTRATION. 



fHE engraving of my little queen-cell protect- 

 or that appears in Gleanings, Aug. 1, page 

 629, has caused so many to write me, asking 

 all about it — its ^size, cost, usefulness, 

 whether a success, where it can be obtained, 

 etc., besides the many samples called for— that I 

 have thought best to give the readers of Glean- 

 ings a full description of the cage and nursery as T 

 use it, that every one may make his own if he 

 wishes. 



^rr 3 



- mljiliil.il ..ill 



MANUM'S QUEEN-NURSERIES READY FOR HIVE. 



The accompanying cut of nursery will perhaps ex- 

 plain itself better, than words from me. I use a 

 half-depth frame for convenience. It will be seen 

 that this frame holds 16 cages. A full-size Simplici- 

 ty frame will hold 36 cages by having them made V s 

 shorter than those I use; but I should prefer to cut 

 the frame down, and have only 3 rows, or 24 cages, 

 as I find it convenient to have one nursery to con- 

 tain cells of a certain stage of advancement, and 

 another with cells of another age; and as I breed 

 from queens in different apiaries, I like to have 

 each set of cells in a nursery by themselves; hence 

 I have a number of these nurseries in use. 



THE CAGE, OR PROTBCTOH. 



This is a simple wooden box that I have made for 

 this purpose. It is '2M inches long by If wide, by 1 

 inch deep, outside meas-ure. The top end of the 

 box is % narrower than the bottom, to allow the 



