C68 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



Feb. 1, 1900. 



DIVIDING FOR INCRBASB. 



Mr. Coveyou — It is not profitable to divide a colony in 

 the spring, as you will not get much honey. Take two 

 frames of brood and build up a colony from that. 



Mr. Chapman — I make all my increase at the close of 

 the season. 



Mr.Kauifman — I divide by taking four frames of brood. 

 I like natural swarming best. 



Mr. Chapman — I use a queen-excluder to keep the queen 

 in the lower story. Young queens will not swarm if you 

 give them plenty of room. I use brood-chambers as I need 

 them, and tier up as high as four stories. 



FOUL BROOD. 



Mr. Calvert — To stop the spread of foul brood shake the 

 bees out of the old hive on a new hive with brood founda- 

 tion, and burn the old combs. I have treated them in vari- 

 ous ways, but like this way the best. The difficulty is that 

 the bee-keepers do not know the disease when they see it. 

 They should have a chance to examine bees affected with 

 foul brood, so as to become familiar with it. The best illus- 

 tration of it is in " A B C of Bee-Culture." The larva; is 

 tough, like India rubber ; when you pull it out it springs 

 back. It smells like old glue. 



Mr. Rankin — Foul brood is one of the worst diseases. 

 To get rid of it, shake the bees into a new hive on new 

 foundation. Bees having foul brood seem very delicate, 

 and should be taken out of the hive at the start. I can de- 

 tect it as soon as I raise the cover. 



Mr. Calvert — In Utah and Colorado they have an in- 

 spector in each county. The counties there are larger than 

 in the East. 



Mr. Rankin — One-half of the bees in the south and east 

 part of the State are killed by foul brood. 



Mr. Gifford — I move that the chairman appoint a com- 

 mittee to draft resolutions for the purpose of getting a State 

 inspector appointed, and the foul brood law past at the next 

 session of the legislature. 



The chairman appointed Messrs. Rankin, Gifford, and 

 Bingham. 



Mr. Bingham — I think as the foul-brood combs are val- 

 uable, we can save them by using sulphur and washing- 

 soda. 



Mr. Hilton — I think they might be saved in the hands 

 of an expert bee-keeper, but in the hands of a novice it 

 would not succeed. 



Mr. Rankin — I think that burning the combs is the best 

 and only way. The danger of contamination is so great 

 that it would not do to risk it. The starvation plan and 

 putting the bees on new foundation are the only way. 



Mr. Calvert — I do not think that Mr. Bingham's plan 

 would work in out-apiaries. 



Mr. Hilton — I would ask Mr. Rankin why the foul-brood 

 law did not pass at the last session of the legislature ? 



Mr. Rankin — The reason is, the bee-keepers in this 

 State did not stand by the Bill ; they were so indifferent 

 about advising theif members of the legislature about it. 

 It was pigeon-holed in the committee. 



Mr. Hilton — If the bee-keepers of this State want the 

 law past, they must write to their representative and State 

 senator about it, then there will be something done. Write 

 individual letters — that is what counts. One thing certain, 

 unless it is done soon bee-keeping will soon be a thing of 

 the past. The people of the State of New York are worse 

 off, if anything, than we are. For my part, I would like to 

 see the disease stampt out in this State. If the people in 

 the State of New York continued as indifferent to the disease 

 as they had been, we could soon sell honey to them. 



Mr. Rankin — Vigorous measures must be adopted soon 

 to quell this disease. The time has past for nipping the 

 disease in the bud. It has spread over a greater extent in 

 this State than people are aware of. 



Mr. Bingham — I regard the honey-extractor a calamity. 

 The trouble is where the foul brood exists in the apiary the 

 use of the extractor will spread the disease all thru the api- 

 ary in a very short time. We must be very careful about 

 using the extractor. Where one colony is affected with 

 foul brood, we had better not use the extractor at all, as the 

 germs left in the extractor will give it to the whole apiary. 



OUT-APIARIKS. 



Do not put over 100 colonies in each out-apiary, as you 

 are liable to overstock your locality. 



Mr. Chapman — An out-apiary should be taken care of 

 just the same as the home yard. The number of colonies 

 would depend upon the locality. 



Mr. Hilton — When I have an out-apiary I have a man to 

 attend to it. I do not think it will pay in any other way. I 

 would keep a man for six months of the year, and have 

 from 100 to ISO colonies in each out-apiary. If you do not 

 take good care of them, as you would any other farm stock, 

 you will not succeed. Do not overstock your locality. The 

 bee-keeper that follows the business must have out-apiaries. 



Mr. Bingham — Bee-pasture can be overstockt. An out- 

 apiary must be a large one or none at all. It is quite impor- 

 tant to see one's bees every day. My bees gather as much 

 honey from a poor pasture as some of my neighbors' bees 

 gather from a good pasture. 



CELLAR-WINTBRING WHERE BEES ARE AFFECTED WITH FOUL 

 BROOD. 



Mr. Rankin — In cellar-wintering foul brood does con- 

 taminate the adjoining hives. We put a colony affected 

 with foul brood into the cellar at the Experiment Station at 

 Lansing, last winter. The hives were piled up alternately. 

 Five colonies were affected from this one colony when we 

 took them out in the spring. 



PLACE OF NEXT MEETING — ELECTION OF OFFICERS. 



A vote was taken for the next place of meeting, and 

 Traverse City was selected. 



The election of officers resulted as follows : President, 

 George E. Hilton ; Vice-President, H. K. Beecham ; Secre- 

 tary, Wm. G. Voorheis, of South Frankfort ; and Treasurer, 

 J. M. Rankin. 



It was voted that the Executive Committee fix the dates 

 for the next meeting. 



PASTURAGE FOR BEES. 



Mr. Hilton — Sweet clover on waste land is a great pas- 

 ture for bees. It is a great honey-plant, and will grow on 

 any soil from the poorest sand to the heaviest clay. 



With several members this plant is a success. 



Alfalfa was reported by several members to be a complete 

 failure. One member sowed quite a large piece of ground, 

 part of it grew and has done well, cutting hay from it three 

 times last summer. He did not see the bees work on it. 



Several members reported that catnip was a good 

 honey-plant. 



Crimson clover was reported to be a good honey-plant, 

 but a dangerous feed for horses and cattle if allowed to get 

 too ripe. 



Alsike clover is a good honey-plant. It does best in 

 moist or wet soil, and does not do well on dry, light soil. 



Canada thistle and dandelion were named as good 

 honey-plants. 



GENERAL DISCUSSION. 



As to the way to put foundation in sections, some kinds 

 will be accepted no matter in which way put in. Other 

 kinds must be put in so that the cells run diagonally from 

 the top of the section. 



Never use starters in brood-frames, as you will get too 

 much drone-comb. 



Mr. Gifford — I think plain sections are the best. I 

 would use separators. 



Mr. Hilton — I would not use light-weight sections. I 

 prefer one-pound sections. I like tall sections best. At the 

 same weight tall sections sell better than square ones. 



Do bees always send out scouts before they swarm ? 

 From the discussion it seems at times that they would go 

 direct from the hive to the tree in the woods. While bees 

 usually cluster before they go off for good, they do not 

 always do so. 



Mr. Hilton — A neighbor of mine had a swarm come out; 

 he hived it, but it would not stay. The swarm staid in 

 the cluster all night, and in the morning I went over to help 

 him hive it again. Just as I got there a number of bees 

 flew into ' the cluster, seemingly from a distance. The 

 swarm flew off as fast as they could go. We could not stop 

 them. I think where the bees fly direct from the hive to 

 the woods thej' must have come out the day before. I do 

 not think that they send out scouts until after they cluster. 



Mr. Calvert — I think that the plain section with the 

 fence separator is the best, as there are less unfinisht sec- 

 tions. The tall section will hold a full pound in a good flow 

 of honey ; in a light yield of honey we will have light 

 sections. 



Mr. Hilton — I think we should have sections holding a 

 full pound. Sections will hold more where separators are 

 not used, but I would use separators so as to have the sec- 

 tions more uniform. Light sections will hurt the trade, 

 and in the end hurt the bee-keeper. 



Which is best, starters or full foundation ? 



