326 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



May 21, 1903. 



Mr. Minnich said he preferred all-zinc, as the bees 

 would close the perforations in wood-zinc, but would not do 

 so in all-zinc. 



Mr. Huffman — AU-zinc is good enoug-h for me. I put 

 the zinc flat on top of the brood-frames, and have a bee- 

 space on top. 



Mr. Pierce — It is just as easy to keep the perforations 

 in wood-zinc clear as in all-zinc. Keep them clear by scrap- 

 ing. 



Mr. Wilcox — I use a piece of a sickle to scrape any part 

 of the hive. 



Mr. Fox — I use a painter's scraper ; this is a very good 

 tool for general purposes. 



Mr. France, at this time, spoke of Mr. Danniher as 

 the oldest member, and of his faithfulness in attending the 

 conventions year after year. On motion of Mr. France, 

 Mr. Danniher was declared a life member by a unanimous 

 vote. 



FEEDING BEES IN WINTER. 



" What is the best way to feed for winter ?" 



Mr. Fox, in answer to the question, read the following 

 clipping from a journal : 



"To feed bees in winter, purchase about S pounds to 

 the colony of the best granulated sugar, and pour just 

 enough boiling water on it to dissolve all of it into a thick 

 syrup. Boil the syrup, being careful not to let it burn, un- 

 til it will harden by putting a drop into cold water ; then 

 pour it into a dish or bread-pan, stirring it as it cools, and 

 moulding it into cakes, which will weigh 5 or 6 pounds each. 

 Remove the cover and place one of these cakes directly over 

 the cluster, first placing three or four sticks of about one- 

 half inch thickness across the frames to rest on. Cover all 

 up carefully with a heavy cloth — a grain-sack is good. Over 

 this place four or five thicknesses of newspaper, tucked in 

 closely, and your bees will need no further attention until 

 spring, so far as feed is concerned. In the spring, if there 

 are any of the sugar-cakes left, melt them up and feed in 

 the form of thin syrup to stimulate brood-rearing. Do not 

 be in too big a hurry about feeding them the syrup, but be 

 sure spring is here and the bees can fly every day before 

 you commence this." 



Mr. Minnich said he had tried this without success, as 

 the syrup granulated. 



Mr. Pierce— It will not do so if it is fed early enough. 



" Will it not disturb the bees ?" 



It will not disturb them much. I have good success in 

 putting frames of honey under the quilt on top of the 

 frames. 



Mr. Fox — While I do not advocate disturbing bees in 

 winter, I believe it necessary to do so if needfnl. Besides, 

 I do not think it will hurt them as much as is generally 

 supposed. 



Mr. Fox spoke of moving bees in winter successfully. 



Mr. Wilcox — You may hear a different story in the 

 spring. 



Mr. France spoke of a case of moving bees in the win- 

 ter in which the result was fatal. 



ALF.iLFA AS A HONEY-PLANT. 



" How long after alfalfa has been sown on land which 

 has not grown it before will it yield honey ?" 



Mr. Moe said he had tried it and it had never yielded. 



Mr. Adair — I don't think it will yield this side of the 

 Mississippi River. 



Mr. Huffman — I don't think it ever succeeds except in 

 the dry Western section of the country, and I believe that 

 rain is detrimental to it as a honey-plant. 



Mr. Pierce said that in Illinois it would not yield un- 

 less the soil was inoculated with soil from fields where 

 alfalfa had been successfully raised. He found, from con- 

 versation with a Kansas bee-keeper, that in that State it 

 blooms the first season, and that the bees work on it at any 

 time when in bloom. 



Mr. Huffman — It will not yield if cut for hay. 



Mr. Danniher saw a field near Madison in bloom all 

 through the season, and the bees worked on it all the time 

 while in blossom. 



Mr. France found that everything seemed to be favor- 

 able for alfalfa around Fond du Lac, and that conditions 

 seemed to be equally favorable in other parts. 



CONVENTION EXHIBITS — TRANSFERRING BEES. 



" Why are the exhibits of honey so small at our con- 

 ventions ?" 



Mr. France — A few years ago, when premiums were 

 offered, the exhibits were plenty. Since the premiums 

 were discontinued we have no exhibits. 



Mr. Fox — The members should take a personal interest 

 in the matter, and bring exhibits without pecuniary induce- 

 ment. 



Mr. Huffman — If we take enough personal interest in 

 the matter there would be plenty of exhibits, but we don't. 

 What we want to do is to catch members, and to catch fish 

 you must use bait. 



Mr. Fox — If it is policy to offer premiums we should 

 offer them. 



Mr. Moe — Did our vice-president mean what he said, or 

 was he simply preaching? Whv did he not bring an ex- 

 hibit ? 



" What is the best, or a good method of forcing a colony 

 from a box-hive ? 



Mr. Fox — Knock off one side of the hive, and take out 

 the bees, combs, etc. Fit the old combs into new frames, 

 and put into the new hive ; the bees will fasten them at 

 once. 



Mr. Huffman — Have you ever tried putting an empty 

 hive on top of the old, and drive the bees into the new hive ? 

 It is quite a job to fasten the old combs into frames. 



Mr. Fox — I have tried it, but without success. It is not 

 diflicult to fit the old comb into the frames, and in two or 

 three days they are fastened. 



Mr. Wilcox — My method is to place an empty box 

 on top of the old hive, then hammer the old hive for 

 about 15 minutes, when the swarm will be in the box on 

 top. They are then hived the same as a swarm. The 

 drumming is repeated after 21 days, to get all the young 

 bees out. I don 't care for the old comb. 



Mr. Danniher — I have tried both, and prefer drumming. 



At 6 p.m., on motion, the convention adjourned until 8 

 a.m., Feb. 5. 



(Concluded next week.) 





Contributed Articles 





Management in Producing Extracted Honey. 



BY C. P. DADANT. 



Mr. C. p. Dadant- — I would like to ask a question or two, if it 

 is not too presuming. I think I have read in some of the bee-papers 

 that you leave your honey on the hive till fall, and then extract all of 

 it at once. Now, I have plenty of foundation to give to the bees, and 

 I could just as well give them plenty of room and not extract till 

 fall. I wish to ask your advice on that. Would it not be better to 

 extract the white clover and keep it separate* Does not the honey get 

 60 thick that it is hard to throw it out. 



Another thing; I have been thinking, that when the honey-flow 

 starts, and somewhere near swarming-time, 1 would go out to the 

 apiary and take all the brood from the bees, and bring it home, and 

 either made nuclei or give it to bees with a this-year's queen, to run 

 for comb honey. Would it be advisable to take all their brood so as 

 to prevent their swarming? 



One thing more : Is it advisable to tier up 3 and 4 stories high in 8 

 and 10 frame hives, Langstroth size? A. L. Dhprat. 



Clinton Co., Iowa. 



We do not leave the honey on the hives till fall, but till 

 the season is over. We proceed as follows : 



Just as soon as the crop opens, we place our extracting 

 supers on the hives, usually one super to each colony. If 

 the outlook is very promising, and some colonies extra- 

 strong, we give these two supers. Of course the combs are 

 already built in these, and all that the bees have to do is to 

 store the honey. If our supply of supers and combs proves 

 insufficient before the crop is at an end, we often resort to 

 equalizing. By this we mean that we take combs from 

 supers that are full and exchange them for empty combs 

 taken from the supers of the poorer colonies which have 

 been unable to fill theirs ; for the colonies are not equally 

 productive, some colonies filling two or three supers while 

 others only begin to carry honey into their super. By this 

 equalizing we secure a greater amount of filled supers, and 

 save handling any empty combs when the extracting is 

 done. 



Just as soon as the clover crop is fairly over, we begin 

 extracting. We never leave the supers on with clover honey 

 in them for the fall crop, unless the amount of honey har- 

 vested is so scanty as to make it unprofitable to extract. 

 The mixing of two grades, clover and fall honey, is objec- 

 tionable, unless the honey is very thoroughly mixed. When 



