April 5, 1900. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



213 



is too long- for common use, and so the old offensive name 

 has been allowed to stick until now. 



Last summer, while lookinf^ over some copies of an 

 Australian bee-paper, I noticed the name it used was " Lonj;- 

 Ideal Hive," and I recognized at once that this was the 

 solution of the name question. This name is so similar to 

 the old one as to create no confusion whatever in makini^ 

 the change, is short, and, above all other considerations, 

 violates no rules of good taste. The name is in common 

 use in Australia, and, if I have any influence with the edi- 

 tors of our American bee-periodicals, it will be the common 

 name here in America. 



While in Philadelphia last fall, I requested Editors 

 York and Root to use the word "Ideal " instead of " Idea " 

 ■when naming the hive, and as the most extensive user of 

 these hives in this country (which, according to Mr. Muth- 

 Rasmussen's statement, are not the same hives to which 

 the old name was first applied), I think my judgment as to 

 which is the best name for the hive should have some 

 weight. O. O. PoppLETON, Dade Co., Fla. 



A Three Years' Experience with Bees. 



BY S. B. SMITH. 



IN the spring of 1897 I moved from Stevens Countj' to 

 this (Millelacs), and I brought with me six colonies of 

 bees. They did not swarm the year before, but the sur- 

 plus .honey they stored brought $60. I will now give my ex- 

 perience with my bees for the three years I have been here. 



My bees arrived June 10 ; moving them so late in the 

 season delayed swarming. July 12, 13 and IS I had a prime 

 swarm issue on each day. I did not wish to have any after- 

 swarms, so I put supers on the old colonies at once. In a 

 verj' few days all the supers were full of bees, and they 

 were filling the sections with honej'. I watcht them closely- 

 for IS days, with no signs of second-swarms, and according 

 to bee-laws I supposed they would not swarm again, but in 

 21 days each of the old colonies cast a second swarm, and in 

 the meantime they had filled all the sections (84 in all). 



Notwithstanding the second-swarms and lateness of the 

 season, it being now Aug. 5, they filled nearly all of the 

 second lot of sections I gave them, and capt them in good 

 shape. One of the second swarms filled the brood-frames 

 and 28 pounds of section honey. The other three old colo- 

 nies swarmed later, and all did well. One swarm absconded, 

 and I had 17 to put into winter quarters. I kept no account 

 of what my bees made that year ; all I can say is, it was a 

 profitable year with me. 



I put the bees into winter quarters Dec. S, and put them 

 out March 28, 1898, apparently in good condition, but later I 

 lost two by being robbed. My first swarm issued May 28, 

 and the second prime swarm June 2, both absconding. 



The season of 1898 was a poor one for honey, yet the 

 bees in this section had a great swarming fever. My IS 

 colonies, spring count, stored only 400 pounds of honey, 

 and increast to 24 colonies. 



In the spring of 1898 I bought a colony of Italian bees, 

 receiving them about May IS. June 12 they cast a swarm, 

 and at the same time one of my hybrids cast a swarm, both 

 clustering together. I hived them, but as they did not go 

 into the hive readily, I lookt in front of the old hive and 

 found the queen and put her into the hive, and soon the 

 bees all went in. The colony I bought swarmed three times, 

 and stored 12 pounds of section honey. All the young 

 swarms gathered more honey than they used in wintering. 

 That year I put my bees into the bee-cellar Nov. 26 — 19 

 colonies. 



The next spring (1899), on April 3, I put them on the 

 summer stands, all apparently in good condition, but after 

 a few weeks some colonies showed signs of weakness, and 

 before I was aware of danger eight colonies died from 

 spring dwindling, leaving a large amount of honey in each 

 hive. None of the Italians died. I think some, and per- 

 haps all, that died were queenless. Our great bee-men will 

 say that my bees did not have proper care after I put them 

 out, to which charge I plead guilty. 



My first swarm issued June 3, and they continued 

 swarming until I had 27 colonies, from which I obtained 900 

 pounds of section honey. I had more bees than I wanted, 

 so I disposed of 11 colonies. 



December 8 my bees had a good flight, and Dec. 14 I 

 put them into the bee-cellar — 16 colonies, all but one in good 

 condition for winter. I have a bee-cellar dug in the side of 

 a sand-hill, 10x12x7 feet inside, and I think it is the best 

 place to keep bees there is in this county. 



I now have 10 pure Italian colonies from the one I 

 bought, and ray hybrids are becoming strongly Italian. My 

 Italians are very good-natured, easy to handle, and good 

 honey-gatherers ; all the fault I find is, they arc too much 

 inclined to swarm. My first Italian swarm issued June 12, 

 and in a few days I put on a super which they soon filled^ 

 both hive and sections — and I supposed they were filling the 

 sections with honey, but to my great surprise, on July 24, 

 they cast a swarm, and Aug. 2 cast a second, and Aug. 6 a 

 third swarm. This weakened them so they did not store 

 any honey in sections, and but little in brood-frames, so I 

 drove them out in the fall and took what little honey they 

 had. The old colony I bought swarmed three times, and 

 stored 24 pounds of section honey. 



My experience as given in this article diS^ers in some 

 respects from the opinions of apiarists as given in the 

 American Bee Journal, nevertheless I have stated facts 

 just as they occurred. I refer to second-swarms 21 days 

 after prime swarms, and many of these after-swarms have 

 proved to be the best, altho coming out late in the season, 

 while with most bee-men the opposite seems to be true. 



I have taken the American Bee Journal for many years, 

 and am largely indebted to it and the opinions of its corres- 

 pondents for the little knowledge I have of the laws govern- 

 ing the honey-bee ; and yet, my experience the past three 

 years has convinced me that those laws and opinions are 

 not infallible. Millelacs Co., Minn. 



Report of the California State Convention. 



BY J. H. MARTIN. 



The California State Bee-Keepers' Association met in 

 Los Angeles at 1:30 p.m., Feb. 21, 1900. About 50 bee-keep- 

 ers were present. Pres. Robert Wilkin, in his annual ad- 

 dress, related interesting reminiscences in his experience 

 as a bee-keeper. He caught the bee-fever while attending 

 a fair near his home in Pennsylvania, and there saw a man 

 making a public exhibition of bees. He afterward helpt 

 Mr. Harbison prepare 140 colonies for shipment to Califor- 

 nia, and soon after that, and after losing some 300 colonies 

 during a severe winter, he also came to California, and has 

 been, and is now, one of the foremost bee-keepers here. 



In this State bees were first kept in the Sacramento 

 Valley. The first shipments were not very successful, and 

 the bees that did survive the journey were valued at $100 

 per colony, and the firsi honey was sold for $1.00 per pound. 



After the bees had increast to large numbers, many of 

 them were taken to Southern California, and that portion 

 of the State became stockt. In the early days the bee- 

 keeper was not so favored with bee-literature as at present. 

 The American Bee Journal was mentioned as the very 

 first of the bee-papers, and it has been of great benefit to 

 the fraternity. 



Mr. Wilkin stated that he had experienced the usual 

 ups and downs common to all bee-men, that the present dry 

 seasons were in line with his former experiences, and that 

 the patient bee-keeper who held to the business would be 

 the one who would reap success in the end. He many times 

 marketed his own honey, and had made many shipments to 

 various parts of the world, his heaviest shipment being 70 

 tons to London, England. 



A great trade could be workt up in California honey, 

 but from the fact that a good season would likely be fol- 

 lowed by a bad one, or a total failure, the uncertainty of the 

 supply had a disastrous eflect upon the market. 



A paper was read from Mr. Thos. Wm. Cowan on foul 

 brood. The subject is so vital to bee-keepers that it was 

 discust at length, and as the law of this State is defective in 

 many points, a committee of five was appointed to take 

 steps to draw up a new law and get it before the legislature. 



The comb-honey subject was treated at length by Mr. 

 Stubblefield. He askt the question, " What is the matter 

 with the comb honey market in - Los Angeles?" His idea 

 of the matter was that a fancy grade of comb honey can 

 not be sold here at a satisfactory price. The fourth-grade 

 honey is usually put on the home market, and the best 

 grades sent to the Eastern markets, therefore fancy grades 



