36 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



Jan. 18 1900. 



cattle. That being the case you would expect him to give 

 up to a large extent the keeping of cattle and invest heavily 

 in bees. As a matter of fact, in nine cases out of ten you 

 will find little or no increase in his bee-business, if indeed 

 he has not gone out of the business altogether. 



The man who holds the highest record for getting the 

 most honey from one colony, of any man in the United 

 States (1,000 pounds), has never been reported as having 

 gone largely into the business, and it would be nothing so 

 very surprising to hear that he now has very little to do 

 with bees. 



One who thinks of making a sole business of bee-keep- 

 ing should understand that the element of uncertainty cuts 

 a large figure in the case. Added to other items of uncer- 

 tainty is the one that no bee-keeper can ever feel secure in 

 the tenure of his pasturage. He may have a thousand head 

 of cattle with sufficient acreage to support them, and feel 

 perfectly secure that no one will trespass upon his pastur- 

 age. But he has not the least assurance that he can hold 

 undisputed possession of the pasturage for his bees for a 

 single year. There is no way by which he can prevent 

 another man, or ten of them, from occupying the same ter- 

 ritory that he does. Whether legislation could be secured 

 that would make him as secure of pasturage for his bees as 

 he is for his cattle is hardly a question just now to be con- 

 sidered. Even if legislators were favorable to it, bee-keep- 

 ers would none of it. At least they would not when such a 

 thing was talkt about some years ago. It was admitted by 

 all that when a man had prior possession of a certain local- 

 ity for bee-keeping, no man had the moral right to intrude 

 upon that ground if it was already fully stockt. But by 

 some strange process of reasoning it was thought wrong to 

 establish as a legal right that which was already a moral 

 right. As if one should say no man had a moral right to 

 steal, but there should be no legislation against stealing. 



All things considered, the man who makes money his 

 -god will do well to steer clear of bee-keeping. But there 

 are those who do not consider money the sole aim. To a 

 man with a taste for the business, and a good location for 

 it ; who loves to get close to Nature, and have a life of 

 enjoyment in the present ; who loves health, and hard work 

 in the open air, bee-keeping holds out inducements hard to 

 be met with elsewhere. In any case, if no drop of honey 

 should be secured, there should be enough bees in the land 

 to assure proper fertilization for all the flowers that depend 

 chiefly upon bees. C. C. Miukr. 



Mr. Gastman — Is there any place in Illinois where you 

 can depend upon a crop of honey every year? 



Mr. Hyde — On the Mississippi River I have had about 

 one failure in 8 or 10 years. 



Mr. Black— I fail'oftener than that. 



Mr. Becker — I do not believe there is a place in Illinois 

 where you can depend upon a g.ood crop every j'ear. 



QUSSTION-BOX. 



Miss Coulter — Prom what flowers do bees get the most 

 of their honey ? 



Mr. Gastman — From sweet clover. 



Mr. Becker — In different localities, from different 

 flowers. 



Miss Kennedy — I got 2,200 pounds of white clover honey 

 the past season. Two years ago I got 3,000 sections filled. 



Mr. Gastman — Do people generally like basswood 

 honey ? 



Mr. Black — Not at first taste. If basswood honey is 

 allowed to drain as it candies, it will get rid of its unpleas- 

 ant taste. 



Miss Coulter — How do you know if the bees have honey 

 enough to carry them thru the winter ? 



Twenty to 25 pounds was answered. 



Mr. Gastman — How can I keep my bees from swarming 

 when I am away from home ? 



Several advised clipping the queens ; others to divide 

 the colonies. 



Mr. Becker — Do bees gather honey from red clover ? 



Mr. Black — I saw bees this year working as strong on 

 red clover as I ever saw them working on white clover. 



The premium list committee for last year made a report, 

 which was approved. 



On motion of Mr. Black, the committee was continued 

 for the next year — namely, the executive committee, com- 

 posed of the president, secretary and treasurer. 



The convention then adjourned till 9:30 a.m. the next 

 day, with no night session, so that members could attend 

 the meeting of the State Horticultural Society. 



SECOND DAY. 



At 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, Dec. 27, the meeting was 

 called to order, with Pres. Smith in the chair. 

 A paper by Mr. S. N. Black was read, on 



Wintering Bees. 



Upon the subject of wintering bees I hope to learn 

 rather than impart information. Tho I have had over SO 

 years' experience, there are some results that I can not ac- 

 count for. 



The first requisite for successful wintering is sufficient 

 well-ripened stores ; and what may be enough for one win- 

 ter may not suffice for the next. 



The next, and of great importance, is ventilation, and I 

 do not think it makes much difference how it is obtained, 

 whether from bottom or top. 



Dryness comes next in importance, and it would seem 

 entirely essential were it not for the fact that some very 

 wet winters, when the combs got very moldy, the bees came 

 out very strong, and built up unusually soon. 



Shall they be kept in the cellar or out-of-doors ? Per- 

 haps I have not had enough experience with in-door winter- 

 ing to speak positively, having wintered bees in the cellar 

 but four or five winters. My experience is in favor o"f out- 

 door wintering. In the cellar the bees always consumed 

 less honey than out-of-doors, but used much more after they 

 were put upon their summer stands, and did not build up so 

 rapidly in the spring as those wintered out-of-doors. How- 

 ever, had I a cellar or a room that I could keep just below 

 the freezing-point, I would always use it, from the fact that 

 I had one winter's trial of such temperature with a wonder- 

 ful good result.' 



I had about 80 colonies in a pile, with carpet over the ' 

 top, and the thermometer about 28 degrees for 90 days. The 

 bees kept very quiet, and there were fewer dead bees than I 

 ever saw, a smaller consumption of honey, and the bees 

 built up verv quickly, and very early. I do not know of any 

 practical way that a temperature of 28 degrees can be main- 

 tained one season with another. 



Then what kind of hives, or fixing, is the best ? The 

 chaff hive I have not used, and dislike to condemn that 

 which I have not tried ; but they are costly, bulky, and have 

 many disadvantages ; and the result does not seem to war- 

 rant their use. The experience of many years leads me to 

 think them unnecessary. 



With single-walled hives, with proper stores and venti- 

 lation, I have been so successful that for the present at 

 least I shall winter bees on the summer stands, being care- 

 ful to keep the entrance free, turning back one end of the 

 painted cloth above the frames, covering the opening with 

 burlap folded ; or, better, with something woolen, leaning 

 a broad board in front of the hive to keep the sun from the 

 front on cold, sunny daj's. I prefer the hives to front south. 

 I then leave the bees to their fate, with confidence that my 

 loss will be small. So prepared, my loss has been small, 

 not S percent. Three times since I have been keeping bees 

 my loss has been heavy — one heavj' loss I attributed to poor 

 food, once to long, extreme cold, and once I could give no 

 reason. Doubtless some other localities might require 

 other treatment. 



Were it not that long papers are not good for a conven- 

 tion, I would go into further details, such as. Can we use 

 any absorbents to aid in keeping hives dry ? etc. 



S. N. Black. 



Mr. Black — How can you keep moisture out of the hives ? 



Mr. Becker — I put a lot of large corn-cobs into the oven 

 and dry them thoroly. Place two or three above the brood- 

 frames and over them burlap. It seems to attract the bees 

 to the space, and they get from frame to frame better than 

 otherwise. 



Geo. Poindexter — I have been in the habit of wintering 

 bees in the cellar; I had them too closely confined, and 

 came nearly losing them. Last winter I packt straw in the 

 upper part of the hives above ducking, with good results. 

 I have packt the same way this winter, leaving the ducking 

 lapt back at the edges. 



Mr. Becker — When we have an abundance of honey in 

 the fall, and plenty of young bees, the loss will be small. 



Pres. Smith — With hives not painted the bees winter 

 better, because the sun dries the moisture out of the boafds. 



Mr. Black — I had a hive of bees knockt over on its side 

 by a cow, one evening when the mercury was 30 degrees 

 below zero ; the bees lived and were all right the next day. 



Mr. Hyde — Out of 125 colonies I lost five by cold 

 weather. Some had 25 or 30 pounds of honey after they 



