1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



165 



Shipping Comb Honey. — It is fairly evident that Manitoba 

 will furnish a good market for a large quantity of comb hooey 

 annually, if of good quality and well packed. It was advised 

 that sections to be shipped should be full and uniform, and 

 packed so tightly that they cannot shift or rub. Mr. Hall, 

 who has shipped as high as §1,100 worth to Manitoba in one 

 shipment, without any loss, recommends that not less than 

 200 pounds be put into a package, and that the package be 

 long in form, and have two handles, so that it may be lifted 

 by railroad men, and not rolled and tumbled. Mr. McKnight, 

 who also ships to Manitoba, recommends using light butstrong 

 cases holding 12 sections each, packed on edge, three high 

 and four deep. He also recommended that the case have a 

 glass front, and that the crate be protected by laths nailed up 

 and down the ends, the back, and cornerwise across the front ; 

 the sections should have comb attached all around, and that 

 excelsior be used as packing to avoid crushing. 



Ventilation of Hives in Winter. — It is now generally 

 admitted that upward ventilation is not desirable, but that 

 front and back bottom ventilation should be given. It was 

 recommended that the too of the hive be hermetically sealed 

 with propolized cloth. For out-door wintering, six inches of 

 straw should form the top, side and back packing; a less 

 thickness is desirable on the south side, so that the warmth of 

 the sun may penetrate to some extent on bright days. It is 

 advisable to have a dead-air space on top. The subject of 

 packing was gone into, and brought out points to the effect 

 that dry leaves, well packed in, are entirely best when there 

 is any possibility of rain getting in ; but where a positively 

 water-tight roof and box is used, dry sawdust answers all re- 

 quirements. 



Wintering Bees. — Mr. Pettit is of the opinion that in the 

 dead of winter, if bees are in the very best condition, they will 

 be almost perfectly quiet. Other good bee-keepers claim that 

 the bees are all right when a low hum of contentment, so- 

 called, can be heard. The most generally accepted theory 

 offered was that in large apiaries it is impossible to have all 

 the colonies quiet at once. When they are in the best condi- 

 tion, the different colonies will each have their spells of hum- 

 ming and quietness. 



Business. — The by-laws were adjusted to harmonize with 

 the new Agricultural Act. It was also resolved that hereafter 

 the reports of affiliated societies be in by Dec. 1, instead of 

 Jan. 1, so that the annual meeting may be held in December. 



A resolution was passed to the effect that each affiliated 

 society be entitled to send two delegates to the annual conven- 

 tion, and the fee of §5.00 paid by each affiliated society en- 

 titles the delegates to full privileges of members in voting, etc. 



It was resolved, on recommendation of a committee ap- 

 pointed by the President, that the President, Vice-President, 

 2nd Vice-President and Secretary each represent on the Board 

 the district from which they come, and that each of the nine 

 directors represent one of the remaining nine districts, so that 

 each district has representation. 



Election of Officers. — President, R. F. Holtermann, of 

 Brantford ; 1st Vice-President, J. K. Darling, of Almonte; 

 2nd Vice-President, W. J. Brown, of Chard ; Secretary, W. 

 Couse, of Streetsville ; Treasurer, M. Eraeigh, of Holbrooke. 

 Auditors— J. D. Evans, of Islington ; D. W. Heise, of Bethesda. 

 Foul Brood Inspectors — Wm. McEvoy, of Woodburn ; F. A. 

 Gemmill, of Stratford. Directors— W. B. Holmes, of Athens; 

 Allen Pringle, of Selby ; J. W. Sparling, of Bowmanville ; A. 

 Pickett, of Nassagaweya ; J. Armstrong, of Cheapside ; A. E. 

 Sherrington, of Walkerton ; F. A. Gemmill, of Stratford ; W. 

 A. Chrysler, of Chatham ; N. H. Hughes, of Barrie. Delegates 

 to Fair Boards— Toronto, R. H. Smith, of Palmerston ; West- 

 ern, John Newton, of Thamesford. 



The next annual meeting will be held in Toronto in De- 

 cember, 1896. The date was left to the Executive. 



An Open Session. — The second evening's meeting was 

 thrown open to the citizens, and partook of the nature of an 

 entertainment. Mayor-elect Elliott very ably filled the chair. 

 After welcoming the bee-keepers to the "Telephone City." he 

 made a few well-chosen and pleasing remarks. He expressed 

 his appreciation of the work the Foul Brood Inspector is 

 doing, and also wished the association success in obtaining 

 pure honey legislation. Mr. McKnight, of Owen Sound, de- 

 livered an eloquent address, which was attentively listened to. 

 Mr. Holtermann, the newly-elected President, gave an inter- 

 esting address on the past, present, and future of bee-keeping. 

 Some references were made to the care of honey, and to the 

 natural history of the bee. He also hoped to see Canadian 

 honey placed upon the English market by the Dominion Gov- 

 ernment. The programme was interspersed by highly-appre- 

 ciated selections given by the "Telephone City Quartette." 

 At the close of the entertainment the delegates were right 



royally banqueted by the newly-elected President. — The Farm- 

 ers' Advocate. 



M ^ 



The Bee-Conveniion at Kankakee, III. 



On Feb. 8 about 25 bee-keepers of Kankakee county met 

 in Kankakee to discuss apiculture and the desirability of or- 

 ganizing a county society. The idea of permanent organiza- 

 tion met with hearty support, and resulted in the election of 

 D. L. Durham President, F. S. Tinslar Secretary, and the ap- 

 pointment of a committee to draft a constitution and by-laws 

 to be presented to the next meeting. 



It was the general opinion that 1895 was a very profit- 

 able season here for bee-keepers, and that all bees went into 

 winter quarters in excellent condition. One bee-keeper re- 

 ported his crop (from 19 colonies, that increased to 27 during 

 the season) at an average of 123 pounds of comb honey in 

 sections, which we consider a very good showing. Sweet 

 clover seems to have been the main source of supply. 



Mr. Durham had owned bees five years. He had 4 colo- 

 nies, and took 150 pounds from 2 of them last summer. Most 

 of the honey was from sweet clover and heart's-ease. 



Dr. Pottinger had 16 colonies, and took 300 pounds from 

 5 colonies. 



Dr. Tinslar had only 2 colonies, began late, and had 18 

 pounds of surplus from one hive. 



B. T. Brady had one colony, and secured 80 pounds of 

 surplus, mostly bass wood and sweet clover. 



William Mote had 8 colonies, and secured 200 pounds, 

 mostly sweet clover. 



William Cooper had kept bees since 1853, often as high 

 as 80 colonies, now down to one. He came to learn, not to 

 talk. 



Mr. Saltsider had 16 colonies, and took off 1,008 pounds, 

 mostly sweet clover. 



L. B. Bratton had 35 colonies in various hives ; never 

 made a business of it ; took probably 1,000 pounds last year ; 

 sold and gave away a great deal. 



F. C. Stewig had 3 colonies, and took off 160 pounds — 

 basswood and sweet clover. 



B. T. Graham started with 18 colonies last spring, in- 

 creased to 26, and had 2,210 pounds, mostly basswood and 

 sweet clover. 



Chas. Lehnuz had 6 colonies that gathered 170 pounds. 

 He had kept bees many years, but only since using frame 

 hives had he been satisfied. 



Charles Ring had 30 colonies to start with, and took, 

 from 20, 2,450 pounds, and from the other 10 he extracted 

 250 pounds, and had as much left. Last season was a good 

 one. Without sweet clover last year the crop would have been 

 a failure. 



Some discussion then took place on various matters, and 

 it was decided to make the organization permanent, and hold 

 frequent meetings. F. S. Tinslar, Sec. 



— ■ ^ 



The Seneca County, IW. ¥., Convention. 



The 13th annual convention of the Seneca County Bee- 

 Keepers' Asssociation was held Dec. 19, 1895, representa- 

 tives from adjoining counties being present. This was one of 

 the most interesting and instructive meetings yet held by the 

 Association. The most progressive bee-keepers of this and 

 Tompkins county were among the speakers, who gave val- 

 uable information, gleaned from many years of experience. 



The forenoon session consisted mostly of a social order, 

 and initiating and getting acquainted with new members. 

 After partaking of a bountiful repast served by the lady mem- 

 bers, the meeting was opened by song and prayer, followed by 

 the President's address, by Fred S. Emens, a very able essay, 

 ending with a poem, "The Honey-Bee." "Advantages of 

 being a member of the Bee-Keepers' Association," J. F. Hunt, 

 who thought that the instructions given at these meetings 

 were often of great value in an apiary, and recommended that 

 the officer assign each member a certain subject to experiment 

 on and report at the next meeting ; also to establish uniform 

 prices at home to improve our home market. 



Reports of members of honey crop and success in winter- 

 ing the past season : The average winter loss reported being 

 14 per cent., the greatest loss being 40 per cent., the smallest 

 loss 4 per cent. The greatest losses reported were those just 

 starting in the pursuit, while the smaller losses were reported 

 by those ripe in experience of apiculture. The same could be 

 said of the report of the honey crop, the greatest amount of 

 surplus honey being taken by those of the most experience. 



The total number of pounds of honey reported by the 



