March 29, 1900. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



197 



Mr. Porter — I use a refrig-erator. 



Pres. Aikin — My machine works on the same principle 

 as the Rauchfiiss. 1 have found the section and the foun- 

 dation can botli get too warm. The foundation should be 

 kept from wiggling while it is cooling. 



HONEY-PLANTS FOH COLOKADO. 



Mr. Harris urged the importance of considering new 

 honey-plants which might be adapted to Colorado conditions, 

 and suggested yellow sweet clover, which blooms a month 

 earlier than white, and fireweed. 



F. Rauchfuss — We have yellow sweet clover here 

 already. 



H. Rauchfuss — It blooms before alfalfa. A field of it 

 near me was cut. and died in the forepart of July. It doesn't 

 live as long as the white. 



Mr. Porter — In regard to fireweed, it grows only where 

 a fire has cleared the brush. Since the land has cleared, it 

 has disappeared. To grow that here would be like intro- 

 ducing cleome to Michigan. 



OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES. 



Officers for the ensuing year were then elected, as fol- 

 lows : R. C. Aikin, Presiden Ch. Adams, vice-president; 

 F. Rauchfuss, Box 378, Denver, secretary; Mrs. R. H. 

 Rhodes, treasurer ; W. L. Porter, member executive com- 

 mittee. 



Messrs. Cornelius, Crawford and Jouno were appointed 

 a committee on exhibits, and Messrs. Pease, Harris and J. 

 B. Adams a committee on supplies. 



The committee appointed to confer with a committee 

 from the Horticultural Board on the next program reported 

 that the committees had jointly decided that both the horti- 

 cultural and the bee-keepers" meeting should be held on the 

 same days, and that at 2 o'clock of the first day the bee- 

 keepers should adjourn to meet with the horticulturists to 

 listen to a lecture of interest to both, secured by the horti- 

 culturists, and that at 2 o'clock of the second day the horti- 

 culturists should adjourn to meet with the bee-keepers to 

 hear a similar lecture arranged for by the latter. This re- 

 port was adopted, and the committee retained. 



H. Rauchfuss — Prof. S. J. Hunter delivered a lecture to 

 the horticulturists to-day on the relation of insects to the 

 fertilization of blossoms, that did us more good than any- 

 thing I have ever heard. Every bee-keeper should get a 

 copy of the horticultural report, for the sake of that lecture. 



HIVE-COVERS, BOTTOM-BOARDS AND SUPERS. 



Mr. Root, by request, then exhibited two hive-covers 

 and a bottom-board he had with him. The bottom-board 

 was a combined stand and bottom-board, with a sloping 

 front serving for an alighting-board, and the part of the 

 bottom-board coming under the hive had a gentle slope 

 from rear to front, so as to make a large entrance. One of 

 the covers had fine grooves on its top near its edges, so as 

 to prevent rain-water from flowing over the edge and into 

 the hive. The other was of two pieces, with a third piece 

 above over the joint of the others, the three being so 

 grooved tcrcorrespond with each other, that the shrinkage 

 of the upper piece would draw the two lower pieces to- 

 gether, and keep the joint tight. The springs in the new 

 supers were also exhibited. 



Mr. Gill — I think a great deal of the springs for this 

 dry climate. I have used them in 800 supers. 



TIERING-UP SUPERS. 



Mr. Gill — A great deal of honey is lost by improper 

 tiering. A colony that needs a super needs it badlj'. A 

 great many bees could be employed in a second super that 

 would otherwise be idle. They should be watcht closely. 

 I always put the additional super under the first one. It is 

 necessary to know the condition of each individual colony 

 at least once a week. 



Mr. Thompson — For the last three years R. D. Willis 

 has come to rely more and more on tiering-up by adding 

 the additional super above the first one. I found, when in 

 Utah, that Mr. Geo. Hone does so. He is one of the best 

 bee-keepers in Utah. I still felt incredulous about it, as 

 the other Utah bee-keepers think Mr. Hone gets good crops 

 because he is a good bee-keeper anyway, and that he would 

 get one-fifth more by following the orthodox plan. Since 

 returning here I have learned that H. Rauchfuss is drop- 

 ng into it also, and I begin to think there is something in 

 t. I would like to call on Mr. Rauchfuss to give the rea- 

 sons for his doing so. 



H. Rauchfuss — A great many times unfinisht sections 



are obtained by the practice of adding the super below. 

 But judgment is needed in applying the other method. I 

 would not recommend it in all cases. When the super is 

 three-quarters full, and there are good prospects for more, I 

 would put the added super under the first one. If there was 

 any doubt of the flow continuing, such as would be caused 

 by hail or drouth, I would put it on top. If you use only 

 starters, without bottom starters, and the bees are .slow, 

 put it on top. But if full sheets with bottom starters are 

 used, and the bees boil up when the quilt is thrown back, 

 or work up on the bottom starters of the new super an hour 

 or two after it is put on, then the super should be placed 

 above. But I do not leave it in that position. When the 

 first super is almost finisht, then I alternate them. The 

 honey is not stained with propolis nearly so badly when 

 this method of adding the new super above is followed. 



Mr. Martin — My experience is about the same as that of 

 Mr. Rauchfuss. I have previously used the ordinary 

 method, but during the last year or so I find it doesn't 

 always pay. I want to take off the honey as soon as it is 

 capt. By this method the bees are kept at work building 

 comb, and at the same time the sections are finisht quicker. 

 Mr. Brewer — I have a glass hive with glass supers, and 

 have seen the bees working in all three when the supers 

 were added on top. If only one or two supers had been 

 given them, they would not have had room. 



Mr. Martin — The ordinary method is very good to get 

 the bees in the new super, but the other brings down the 

 number of unfinisht sections to as small a number as pos- 

 sible. 



Mr. Brewer — I have stackt the supers six high that 

 way. 



H. Rauchfuss — I have had six supers on a colony at 

 once by the ordinary method, but the outside sections were 

 not finisht. One season I ran a colony with not more than 

 two supers on at once. That colony gave 252 pounds of 

 comb honey. 



Mr. Moon — I hardly ever tier up more than two. I don't 

 believe the hanging out of bees in front does any harm. 

 They are curing their honey. I don't think it a good idea 

 to give them more room than they will employ. 



Mr. Martin — One objection to raising the super to put a 

 new one under is that the work of capping in the upper 

 super is hindered while the bees are building comb in the 

 lower one, so that both are finally capt at once, and the 

 work is retarded. I like to have the honey capt quickly 

 with nice, clean wax. When the bees are capping and 

 drawing out at the same time, the capping is not done so 

 readily as when the super they are capping is below. Those 

 bees that lie around are uhe ones that build the combs. Bees 

 build comb on the outside of the hive sometimes. 



Mr. Harris — How many practice baiting the bees up 

 into the super when the first super is put on ? (Mr. Brewer 

 and Mr. Cornelius responded they did.) 



Mr. Cornelius — The first new super that is occupied I 

 break up and distribute among the other supers, bees and 

 all. It seems to start them. 



H. Rauchfuss — If the colony is not in the right condi- 

 tion they will hang out even if they have nothing else but 

 combs. It happens frequently that some of the best colo- 

 nies are comparatively idle in the best of the flow. I re- 

 member one instance when they hung out after I had added 

 supers, I don't know why. I have had colonies alongside 

 not half as strong that finisht two supers. In that case, 

 bait sections would do no good. The condition of the col- 

 ony counts far more than the bait, tho I use bait sections. 

 Mr. Harris — Often a bait section with a little honey 

 draws them up. 



H. Rauchfuss — That shows the colony is in the right 

 condition. 



Mr. Martin — Sometimes I have stubborn cases of lying 

 out, and the bees will not cap the corners of the sections, 

 and make thin combs. Such a colony should be requeened. 

 I usually give it extracting-supers. If'stubborn, I give the 

 super underneath a few days, and then put it on top. 



Mr. Brewer — Have you ever tried withdrawing one 

 comb and putting in a blank ? 



Mr. Martin — Yes, but I thought it not successful. 

 The committee on resolutions offered resolutions of 

 thanks to the press and to the Board of Capitol Managers, 

 and then the convention adjourned subject to the call of 

 the executive committee. FrankoRauchFUSS, Sec. 



The Premiums offered on page 173 are well worth work- 

 ing for. Look at them. 



