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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Dec. 17, 1903. 



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Miscellaneous Items 



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The Arkansas Valley Bee-Keepers' Aseociation was organ- 

 ized at Ljons, Kans., Dec. 5, with the following officers: President, 

 Dr. G. Bohrer; Vice-President, J. D. Moser; Secretary, F. A. Wilber, 

 Route 2, Lyons ; and Treasurer, W. H. S. Benedict. We wish the 

 new organization every success. 



The Elgin County Bee-Keepers' Association, of Ont., Canada, 

 was organized Nov. 21, with the following officers : President, Morley 

 Pettit; Vice-President, J. A. McFarland; and Secretary-Treasurer^ 

 W. J. Robb. Organization seems to be the order of the day. It's a 

 good thing for bee-keepers to get together. 



A Stormy November. — The San Francisco Examiner for Dec. 

 1st, says that last month will go on record as the most stormy Novem- 

 ber California has had for 55 years. The normal rainfall for the month 

 is 2. "7 inches. Prof. McAdie, of the Weather Bureau, says that last 

 month gave California 4.24 inches. This ought to cause the hearts of 

 California bee-keepers to rejoice. 



A Thermometer of good size has been received at this office 

 from our excellent advertising friend, Walter S. Pouder. The wood 

 part has printed on it Mr. Pouder's advertisement as a dealer in bee- 

 keepers' supplies. It is a very useful article, and will serve to indi- 

 cate the temperature in our office. Many thanks, " Walter." 



The Chicago-Xorthwe.stern convention, whose very success- 

 ful meeting we announced last week as having been held Dec. 3 and 

 3, re-elected its officers, as follows: President, George W. York; 

 Vice-President, Mrs. N. L. Stow, and Secretary-Treasurer, Herman F. 

 Moore, Park Ridge, Ills. In the notice given last week we overlooked 

 giving the officers-elect. The writer being one of the number, per- 

 haps the oversight is pardonable. 



The Minnesota State Convention was held Dec. 2 and 3, 

 at St. Paul, and it is reported to have been one of the best meetings 

 that Association ever held. The officers elected are as follows: Presi- 

 dent, Dr. E. K. Jaques; 1st Vice-President, Scott La Mont; 2d Vice- 

 President, W. fl. Ansell; 33 Vice-President, P. .J. Doll; Secretary, 

 Mrs. W. S. Wingate, Richfleld, Minn.; Treasurer, Dr. L. D. Leonard; 

 and Executive Committee, H. G. Acklin, Wm. McEwen, and Wm. 

 RuBsell. 



A Big Honey-Tree Story. — The Lacon ^Illinois) Journal 

 published the following yarn about bees and a honey-tree lately. It 

 fell into the hands of Mr. E. H. Beardsley, one of our subscribers, 

 who sent it in. We think it compares favorably with some of the 

 stories they tell of Texas bee-caves. We would have been willing to 

 allow the Lone Star State to do all the " shining " in that line, but 

 some Illinoisan evidently thought he must get up a whopper, too, and 

 so he twinkles out with this one: 



" This is a great year for honey. The white clover has been so 

 plentiful that the only thing that has limited the production of the 

 busy little bee has been the want of room. But this was not the case 

 with a bee-tree that Bill Farr discovered one day last week along the 

 banks of Mosquito Creek. Bill says that the tree is at least four feet in 

 diameter, and is hollow from top to bottom. There appears to be 

 only a thin shell inside the bark. His attention was attracted to the 

 tree by the honey seeping through. He thought of cutting the iree 

 down at first, but finally a better way suggested itself. He came to 

 town and got one of those long copper faucets that they tap beer-kegs 

 with. Then he bored a hole and drove the faucet in up to the hilt. 

 Now, whenever he wantB a few buckets of honey he goes to the bee- 

 tree and turns on the faucet, and it runs out like molasses out of a 

 sorghum barrel. He has already taken out 17 gallons, but it seems to 

 run just as free as ever. The bees appear to make it as fast as he 

 takes it out. 



Rev. R. B. McCain, of Grundy Co., 111., is perhaps one of the 

 most successful new bee-keepers in the country. He was at the re- 

 cent Chicago-Northwestern convention, and after arriving home and 

 thinking it all over, he wrote us as follows: 



Dear Mr. York: — Allow me to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the 

 convention. I think the time well spent. I was glad to meet the bee- 



keepers, and to make the acquaintance of so many clean, honorable, 

 fine-spirited men. There must be something elevating in the bee- 

 business, or else it is attractive to men of good habits and high moral 

 purposes. And in this same connection let me say that it is a very 

 great gratification to me to find that the American Bee Journal is not 

 wanting in these same qualities. It goes a long way toward offsetting 

 some of the evidences of sordidness and dishonesty which we find in 

 the world, when we mingle with men whose lives are not circum- 

 scribed by the dollar-mark, and who undertake to conduct business 

 enterprises on sound moral principles. I am sure that I can very 

 heartily wish every one of them the best success. I am. 



Very sincerely yours, R. B. McCain. 



In the right kind of lite there is always more than dollars and 

 cents, and things that only endure on earth. Lots of bee-keepers are 

 also interested in possessing eternal characteristics, and all may do 

 likewise if they choose. 





Some Expert Opinion 



' In the multitude of counsellors there is safety." — Bible. 





Number of Brood-Frames for Comb Honey. 



If for some reason you were to start in anew to keep bees, and 

 were obliged to get an entirely new outfit — 



Ques. 2. — How many frames for comb-honey production would 

 you use? Why? 



N. E. France (Wis.)— S. 



Wm. Rohrig (Ariz.)— I do not produce comb honey. 



O. O. PoppLETON (Fla.) — I do not produce comb honey. 



Mrs. J. M. Null (Mo.) — 10. Get better results in every way, in 

 this locality. 



Prof. A. J. Cook (Calif.) — 10, as this is the number in the hive 

 preferred, as given in Question No. 1. 



Dr. J. P. H. Brown (Ga.)— 9 or 10. In my climate and location 

 this number would take all the sections thai the colony could use. 



R. L. Taylor (Mich.)— Either 8 or 16 Heddon frames, according 

 to circumstances. The less number when practicable to get the white 

 honey into the sections. 



E. E. Hasty (Ohio) — 7 — more if the field is a good one. Because 

 I have been so doing for many years, and sufficient reasons for chang- 

 ing do not seem to appear. 



Eugene Secor (Iowa)— 8. Because, in my experience, I think it 

 is about right. And, for indoor wintering, the hive is more easily 

 handled than a larger one. 



Geo. W. Bkodeeck (Calif.) — 8 frames. Give all the room neces- 

 sary for the queen to breed in during the honey-flow, leaving no sur- 

 plus room for storing honey. 



Mrs. L. Harrison (Ills.)— 8. In this locality I tried the 10- 

 frame hive, and it took so long to fill the hive that the bees completed 

 a much smaller amount of white clover honey. 



P. H. Elwood (N. Y.) — We use 7, usually, and sometimes 8. We 

 like to have the frames pretty well filled with brood, and the number 

 of frames used depends upon the queen and the season. 



E. S. LovEsY (Utah)— 9, still havinf,' the winter problem in view. 

 It makes a hive about the same in width, length and depth. The hive 

 being double wall, a super containing 21 or 28 sections could be used 

 on it. 



C. Davenport (Minn.) — 8. Because in my locality I can secure 

 more surplus honey than I can with more. I have given this matter a 

 thorough trial, in a large enough way, so I have no doubt about the 

 matter. 



Jas. a. Stone (Ills.)- 10 frames for any purpose. For the reason 

 that they are the mean between the two extremes, some preferring 

 larger and some smaller, so we choose the 10, and see no reason for a 

 change. 



C. P. Dadant (Ills.) — 10, with a dummy occupying the space of 

 another frame. Because this would give sufficient space for brood 

 and honey with a frame of the size mentioned previously, and because 

 the super space would be quite ample. 



G. M. DooLiTTLE (N. Y.) — 10 Langstroth frames. Because some 

 queens require that number of frames, and it is very easy making the 

 same into an S-frame hive, by slipping in a dummy on each side to 

 take the place of the two frames taken out. 



Rev. M. Mahin (Ind.)— I produce but little comb honey, and sell 

 it all at home, and I am not authority. The number of frames I use 

 are about equivalent to 8 Langstroth frames, and for my locality that 

 is large enough, and not too large, for either extracted or comb honey. 



C. H. DiBBERN (Ills.) — I would Use 10 shallow closed-end frames 

 to give as much room on top as possible. I prefer to use cases to hold 

 40 sections or more, rather than more cases with less sections. 2d, the 

 bees are kept In a more compact bunch, and do not have to travel so 

 far. 



