APRIL 15, 1913 



271 



thick; but we can hardly compare the above-men- 

 tioned material with wood, straw, cork, and chaff. 

 What I want to get at is a double-walled hive not 

 too large, yet large enough to give the best of pro- 

 tection. Now, how to find out how much difference 

 there is between one, two, three, four, five, or ten 

 inches of air space or packing material — the differ- 

 ence between thick and thin outside walls, and also 

 the difference between different kinds of packing 

 material of different thickness. 



Edward Hassixger, Jr. 



Greenville, Wis., Feb. 17. 



[Some twenty or more years ago some quite e.x- 

 haustive experiments were made. It was then shown 

 very conclusively that a deadair space, so called, 

 was not nearly as good as a space packed with pack- 

 ing material such as chaff, planer-shavings, forest 

 leaves, or any material that will break up the circu- 

 lation of air. The trouble with the so-called dead- 

 air space is that the air is iiot dead. It comes in 

 contact with the outside wall, which is cold, circu- 

 lates over to the inner wall, which is warm, making 

 a constant circulation carrying the cold air from the 

 outside to the inner wall, thus making a continuous 

 circulation. Now, the purpose of the packing mate- 

 rial is to break up this circulation, so that the air 

 can not circxilate. There will then be a cold layer 

 of packing material next to the outside wall, and a 

 warm layer next to the inside wall. This matter has 

 been tested, very carefully by the builders of engines, 

 who place packing material like asbestos between the 

 outer and inner walls of the cylinders. The matter 

 has been tested so thoroughly and carefully by sci- 

 entific men that we do not believe there is any ques- 

 tion that a given space containing packing-material 

 is a great deal letter than the so-called dead-air 

 space. But a dead-air space in building-blocks is a 

 good deal better than solid blocks, for the simple 

 reason that a stone block will carry the cold clear 

 through into the inner wall, where with the dead-air 

 space the cold is not carried quite so quickly. A 

 dead-air space is better than nothing; but if a 

 building-block had packing material placed in those 

 spaces it would make the building much warmer. 



We don't know whether a solid block of wood 

 would be colder than a hollow wooden block with 

 dead air. 



In the case of a thermos bottle, there is, as you 

 say, no air between the walls, and, of course, there 

 can be no circulation to cool the inner wall. — Ed. J 



Cayuga County Convention 



The annual meeting of the Cayuga Co. Beekeep- 

 ers' Society, March 12, was well attended. Several 

 speakers from abroad were present, and added in- 

 terest to the occasion. 



Mr. Irving Kenyon, of Camillus, N. Y., Secretary 

 of the New York State Beekeepers' Association, gave 

 a brief review of the fall meeting of that association, 

 bringing out the points of interest. He also gave an 

 address on the production of extracted honey, ex- 

 plaining in detail his own elaborate method, in the 

 course of which he exhibited a device of his own in- 

 vention for fastening foundation in the sections for 

 comb honey ; also an electric contrivance for im- 

 bedding wire into the foundation, and a very in- 

 genious and rapid method of fastening the wire into 

 the shallow frames. He uses the steam-heated un- 

 capping-knife, and likes it very much. 



Mr. Kenyon has been so successful in producing 

 extracted honey and in marketing it at a fancy price, 

 that it was a surprise when he incidentally remark- 

 ed that he was going back to the production of comb 

 honey. 



The address of Charles Stewart, of .Johnstown, N. 

 Y., " What can beekeepers do to help the inspec- 

 tor?" was very practical and pointed. He said 

 we quarantine apiaries as doctors do their patients; 



but the inspector is at a disadvantage, as his pa- 

 tients can fly, while the doctor's can not. For this 

 reason it is hardly fair to expect the inspector to 

 stamp out contagious diseases in a year or so when 

 doctors fail to do so. He called attention to the fact 

 that the foul-brood diseases are more virulent at the 

 start, and gradually become milder and less to be 

 feared, as in the case of smallpox, etc., with human 

 beings. He considered the Italian bees most immune, 

 or best able to resist the disease, and advised Ital- 

 ianizing, even before the disease gets a start. One 

 tan help the inspector by ^VTiting to him on the least 

 suspicion of any trouble in the yard, and not wait- 

 ing for the inspector to look him up. 



Mr. Stewart advised getting rid of old combs by 

 melting into wax, and using full sheets of founda- 

 tion. It is a paying investment, as the bees gnaw 

 away a good part of the old combs, and the wax is 

 thus lost. 



The address of S. D. House, on hives and fixtures, 

 was an eloquent plea for the use of the sectional 

 hive with a short shallow frame. When one or two 

 sections are added, the hive presents the form of a 

 cube, which is the condition nearest to nature. If 

 his arguments failed to convince his hearers that his 

 hive was the best for all purposes and places, he did 

 impress all jvith the fact that his success as a comb- 

 honey producer is indisputable evidence that his 

 liive is the best for his own locality under his skill- 

 ful manipulation. 



The convention adjourned at five o'clock, the same 

 ofKcers holding over. 



Ithaca, N. Y. E. D. Dresser. 



Kansas State Convention 



The tenth annual meeting of the Kansas State 

 Beekeepers' Association was held in the Commercial 

 Club rooms, and was largely attended on February 4. 



The address of welcome and transaction of reports 

 of la.=t year's meeting took up the greater part of 

 the time. 



On February 5 there was a large attendance at 

 both meetings. Talks were given by Prof. George 

 Dean and Prof. S. J. Hunter, both of which were 

 highly appreciated by those present. Dr. G. Bohrer, 

 of Lyons, Kansas, O. S. Mullin, of Holton, and 

 Arthur Small, of Topeka, read a number of articles 

 of interest to beekeepers. 



The following officers were re-elected: President, 

 P. K. Hobble, of Dodge City; Mrs. J. D. Smith, of 

 Troy, Vice-president; O. A. Keene, of Topeka, Sec- 

 tetary and Treasurer. 



The meeting adjourned with a unanimous vote of 

 thanks to the Commercial Club, after which a half- 

 hour was spent in visiting, then to the banquet- 

 hall, where hot biscuits and honey were served. 



O. A. Keene, Sec. 



Why Some Larvae Are Not Sealed 



I have been watching my bees and their brood for 

 a numVer of years for foul brood; and by doing so 

 I find during the breeding season lots of young lar- 

 vse that the bees fail to seal; and when I look again 

 they are gone, but others still there again. They are 

 left until they are perfect-looking bees, only a little 

 small. Now, what do you call it? or why do they 

 fail to seal them or take care of them? Is it on 

 account of stores or cold chilly weather that they 

 get chilled for them, and die before they can attend 

 to them? I never could catch on to it right; but it 

 should be prevented in the spring. 



Richfield, Pa. W. S. Neumoxd. 



[During certain seasons of the year, and some- 

 times in certain particular colonies, we find what 

 we call " bareheaded " brood — that is to say, the 

 bees fail to cap over or seal up the young larvae. 

 This may remain for a considerable time. It indi 

 cates no bad condition ; in fact, so little of it occurs 



