June 4, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



357 



[ Convention Proceedings J 



The Northern Michigan Convention. 



BY JAMES H. IRISH. 



The Northern Michigan Bee-Keepers' Union met in its 

 fourth annual convention at Bellaire, March 25 and 26, 

 1903. 



The President being- absent, the meeting was called to 

 order by Vice-Pres. Elias E. Coveyou. James A. Dart, the 

 Secretary, was present, but owing to business could remain 

 onl.y until the next train north. He was excused from act- 

 ing, and James H. Irish was called to the secretary's desk. 

 The meeting was enthusiastic from the beginning to its 

 close. 



Among those present from a distance were Mr. and 

 Mrs. A. I. Root, W. Z. Hutchinson, Geo. E. Hilton, and A. 

 G. Woodman. The country lying between Traverse City 

 and Petoskey was well represented by a large number of 

 bee-keepers, who are practical apiarists and honey -producers 

 on a large scale, many of whom gave very flattering reports 

 of honey produced last season. Geo. H. Kirkpatrick made 

 the statement that he had attended a great many beekeep- 

 ers' conventions in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and in this 

 State, and that he never knew a given number of bee-keep- 

 ers to report so large a number of colonies and so great a 

 yield of honey per colony as the bee-keepers gave at the 

 Bellaire convention. 



WINTERING BEES. 



The discussion opened on wintering bees, and was dis- 

 cussed from various standpoints, as wintering on summer 

 stands in chaff hives, and various methods of cellar-winter- 

 ing, some holding that plenty of ventilation was needed, 

 while others thought that practically no ventilation was 

 needed. All wintered with good results ; very few losses 

 from any cause were reported. 



Mr. S. D. Chapman wintered 236 colonies in the cellar 

 without loss. He began last season with ISO colonies and 

 took 15,000 to 16,000 pounds of well-ripened honey, mostly 

 extracted, during the honey season. 



Ira D. Bartlett took 13,000 pounds from 88 colonies, 

 1500 of which was comb honey. 



A. I. Root gave an experience in Cuban bee-keeping, 

 reporting one Cuban bee-keeper as saying he could produce 

 extracted honey at 2 cents per pound and comb honey at 9 

 cents. The quality of Cuban honey varies greatly, but com- 

 pares favorably with honey produced in the United States. 

 At this point of time a number of bee-keepers arrived 

 on the train from the south, and a short recess was taken. 

 When the convention was called to order Geo. E. Hilton was 

 called to the chair, and the rest of the day was devoted to 

 discussing various questions, such as. 



How and when shall we requeen apiaries ? 

 Has any one tried to increase the amount of wax pro- 

 duced ? 



How do you get the wax from old combs and cappings? 

 How to mold wax without having it crack ? 

 How many colonies pay best in one locality ? 

 After a recess for supper, A.I. Root was asked to address 

 the convention on Cuba. He described the manners and 

 customs of the people to the great pleasure of the audience. 

 The question-box was again opened, and these questions 

 discussd : 



When does the keeping of bees become a public nui- 

 sance ? 



What about the National Bee-Keepers' Association ? 

 The morning session of March 26 was called to order at 

 9 o'clock by Pres. Hilton. A. I. Root was given the floor, 

 and discussed " Bee-Keeping in Cuba," after which W. Z. 

 Hutchinson read a paper written by T. F. Bingham, on 

 "Wintering Bees." 



The question, " Where shall we hold our next meeting ?" 

 was discussed, and Traverse City was selected, the time to 

 be set by the officers. 



This was followed by the election of officers for the 

 ensuing year, which resulted as follows : 



President, Geo. H. Kirkpatrck ; vice-president, S. D. 

 Chapman ; secretary and treasurer, James H. Irish, of 

 Rapid City. 



On motion, the name of the Northern Michigan Bee- 

 Keepers' Union was changed to the Northern Michigan 

 Bee-Keepers' Association. James H. Irish, Sec. 



A District Bee- Keepers' Convention. 



BY R. F. HOLTERMANN. 



A convention of bee-keepers embracing Brant and ad- 

 joining counties was held at the Court House at Brantford, 

 beginning the evening of March 3, at 7 p.m. James Arm- 

 strong was elected chairman. A question drawer was 

 opened, the following being some of the questions and 

 answers : 



PLANTING FOR BEE-PASTURE. 



" Does it pay to plant for bee-pasture?" Yes, if the 

 sowing can be made to pay for a crop otherwise. 



Speaking of alsike clover for seed, the chairman gave 

 an illustration of the value of the honey-bees as fertilizers 

 of blossoms. A man across the road from his bees had five 

 bushels of alsike clover seed to the acre, when those out of 

 the range of his bees had not enough seed set in the clover 

 to make it worth threshing. Mr. Barber stated that he had 

 $35 worth of alsike clover seed to the acre during the past 

 season. One person said they raised within a circle of two 

 miles of him S40no worth of alsike clover seed. It was 

 pointed out that in some districts of Ontario the farmers 

 had been producing alsike clover seed for at least 30 years, 

 and as evidence of its value farmers could not be induced 

 to stop raising a crop of it. Similar recommendations were 

 made for sowing buckwheat. 



SOME RELIQUEFIED HONEY FROTHIER THAN OTHERS. 



" Why in reliquefying honey is some more frothy than 

 others?" 



Jas. Armstrong — It may be slightly soured. 



Jas. Shaver — It is partly the source from which the 

 honey is taken. 



Alex. Taylor — I extract and leave it in cans holding 

 about 400 pounds, then run into 60-pound cans. The honey 

 varies in these cans as to amount of froth on top, although 

 drawn from the same tap. 



R. F. Holtermann — The causes vary ; one is a degree of 

 ripeness, another the source from which gathered. I be- 

 lieve, as a rule, basswood honey has more froth on it. 

 Third, the degree of heat applied to the honey makes it vary 

 as to froth. 



UNSCREWING CAPS ON HONEY-CANS. 



"Is there any simple way to unscrew the cap of a 

 honey-can ? 



Mr. Shaver— If too tight to move by hand, wind a cord 

 three times around the screw cap and pull steadily. 



TEMPERATURE OF BEE-CELLARS. 



" What temperature should a cellar be ? What moisture 

 should be used ? And do the top colonies winter better than 

 those at the bottom ?" 



Mr. Armstrong — I was in one a week ago, and the tem- 

 perature was 43 degrees ; when the bees were picked from 

 the floor they appeared to be very dry. The first hive was 

 raised 8 inches from the floor. 



Mr. Shaver — I have a cellar pretty moist ; in fact, I 

 thought it was too much so. This winter it is being tested 

 in a small way, and appears to be all right. 



It was thought that temperature was very important, 

 but that moisture or degree of humidity was also an impor- 

 tant factor, about which at present but little is known 

 among bee-keepers. 



As to the height from the floor of cellar it was thought 

 that where there was a proper system of ventilation 

 the atmosphere never was sufficiently stagnant to allow 

 impure air to settle to the bottom of the bee-cellar. Some 

 had noticed a distinct difference between the bees in the 

 upper and lower rows of hives in a cellar without a proper 

 system of ventilation. One member, who had experience 

 with both systematic and " any way or no way " of venti- 

 lating, experienced as above given. No one reported plac- 

 ing bees on a stand greater than 20 inches in height, or less 

 than 6 inches. 



"shook" SWARMS — SIZE OF HIVES. 



" Is the ' shook ' swarm system a success ?'| 

 The general opinion was that it would be in a measure, 

 but unless carefully carried out much harm might result. 

 " Are large hives desirable?" 

 Mr. Fisher— I have a hive with 17Langstroth combs for 



