JTNK 1, 19i; 



455 



lii\(' (le.<^iro(l." -.iH/rnVa/t Agricult urisl. 

 May. 1S()0, page 154. Wonder what any of 

 I lie "old boys" of California can dig oiil 

 for us on that? 



Ever watch the bees trying to go through 

 zinc or wire excluders? Tee hee! They 

 olaw the air like a bug on a pin. Funny, 

 and yet one pities the poor little cusses. 

 Two spaces (three wires) with the outer 

 wiros let well into the w'ood slats, and the 

 slats nearer half an inch thick are differenl. 

 Two rows of holes in zino plus iJiick filitts 

 are also dilTerent. 



It is pretty safe to say that moat of us 

 might lessen the labor item if we could see 

 our work as others see it. 



It is also safe to say that no small part 

 of the labor-saving can be effected with the 

 equipment we now have on baud, if we will 

 only lay aside all prejudices and try the 

 other fellow's ways until we prove whether 

 they are any better than ours. It is barely 

 jiossible that they may have a few kinks 

 which are worth while. 



Building up weak stocks, fussing with 

 dwindling ones, getting queens into those 

 with laying workers, and a whole lot of oth- 

 er tilings, seem like bugbears to all novices 

 and to many an older iiand. Does not all 

 the bother and worry start with i^oor bee- 

 keeping? And are not the text-books and 

 journals somewhat to blame for laying so 

 nuich stress on those problems? Annihi- 

 late all such stocks and prevent their occur- 

 rence thereafter, if you can, and you can 

 most of the time. 



Did I hear some one say " more ventila- 

 tion needed," and some one else say " easier 

 access to supers"? Um! Easy access? 



Ventilation? And yet big colonies store up 

 big crops through two holes of a zinc ex- 

 cludei-. And there is a chap out west — I 

 think if is Atwaler — who uses honey-boards 

 with solid middle, and only a row of holes 

 near each outer edge. But there, there! 1 

 didn't intend to ask any awkward questions 

 — ^oh dear me, no! 



Dr. Miller is strong on large entrances. 

 Some, of the rest of us are also, but it took 

 us quite a while to learn their value. If you 

 try them, be sure to back them up with 

 strong colonies just as the doctor does. 



Food for bees is pretty much the same 

 sort of question as food for other creatures. 

 The answer is modified by such factors as 

 lime of year, time at operator's disposal, 

 results desired, strength of colony fed, uten- 

 sils at hand, etc. Syrup is best at one time, 

 soft sugar at another, and candy at another. 

 Soft sugar calls for the least work, syrup 

 next, and candy most, so far as preparing 

 the food is concerned. Syrup is less eco- 

 nomical than candy or soft sugar, and the 

 two latter are about on a par. Soft sugar 

 is not in convenient form for winter feed- 

 ing, but candy is. A thin slab of candy can 

 be laid on top of the frames at any time, 

 but syrup and soft sugar call for feeders 

 of some sort. 



Pshaw! What is the use of enumerating 

 further? Go try them all, and you will soon 

 use one for one time and purpose and some 

 other at another. You will never entirely 

 abandon any of them — unless you get into 

 one of those " poor locations " of Illinois 

 where they get an average of only 266 

 sections per stock. 



Providence, R. I. 



MICHIGAN JUBILEE ANNUAL MEETING^ 



BY F. ERIC MILLEN 

 Secretary treasurer 



Tiie oldest beekeepers' association in the 

 T'nited States will celebrate its fiftieth anni- 

 versary at Grand Rapids, Michigan, Decem- 

 ber 15 and 16. 



The original records of the association, 

 still in good shape, show that Professor A. 

 J. Cook, now State Commissioner of Horti- 

 culture for California, was the first secre- 

 tary of the association. At that time Pro- 

 fessor Cook was connected with the Michi- 

 gan Agricultural College, East Lansing, 

 Mich., teaching entomology' and apiculture. 

 For over twenty years since Professor Cook 

 left, beekeeping has not been taught at the 

 college; but in IDiri I had the pleasure of 



introducing the subject once more. It is a 

 coincidence that the present secretary of 

 the association, after so long a lapse, is con- 

 nected with the Agricultural College, trying 

 to disseminate the subject of beekeeping, as 

 was the original secretary. 



Looking over the records we find the 

 names of many prominent beekeepers who 

 have since gone to their reward. Among 

 others these names are found: Ezra Rood, 

 the first president; Bingham, Gallup, Otis, 

 Taylor, Hilton, Hutchinson. 



tn one of the early meetings 1 find that 

 a pajjer was read by the secretary on " The 

 Apiary and its Arrangement," by A. I. 



