22 



THE AMERICAJSI BEE JOURNAL. 



dull markets, and over-production. 

 The best medium that I have found 

 for advertising has been our County 

 Fair. I took great pains to make a 

 large and attractive display, and was 

 on hand all the time to talk it up and 

 explain it to the people, and I sold all 

 I had there, and could have sold much 

 more. 

 Ligonier, 6 lud., Dec. 30, 1884. 



For the Amerlcin Bee Journal, 



New Registering-Blocks. 



A. A. FKADENBUBG. 



Having several times seen, in some 

 of the bee-papers, mention of some 

 sort of plan for registering colonies 

 in an apiary so as to tell at a glance 

 in what condition the colony was at 

 the last examination, I have invented 

 the following device which I think 

 will be found to be ciieap and useful. 

 From a li-incti plank saw off a strip 2 

 inches wide, plane the four sides, and 

 then make it octagonal, or eight sided, 

 by planing down the four corners. 

 Now paint one face, or side of it, with 

 a bright paint, say a red color, the 

 next face paint a paler red, and the 

 next, say a very pale red ; then paint 

 the next face a bright yellow, the 

 next a medium yellow, and the next a 

 pale yellow ; and for the other two 

 faces, paint one white and the other 

 black. 



Wlien the paint is dry, saw the 

 stick up into blocks about three-quar- 

 ters of an inch long, or perhaps one- 

 half inth is just as well ; then punch 

 or bore a small liole through the 

 center of each block. Now cut off 

 pieces of wire 3 inches long and of a 

 size to fit the holes snugly, and drive 

 one of tliese wires in at or near the 

 top of each hive so that it will pro- 

 ject 2 inches. 



Now, suppose We wish to register 

 the condition of the bees in a luve : 

 Pus I one of these blocks on the wire, 

 and if tlie colony is strong, turn up 

 the briglit red side of the block ; if it 

 is only medium strong, turn up the 

 next paler side, and if it is weak, 

 turn up the palest side. Now place 

 another block on the same wire and 

 suppose the yellow color to denote 

 stores, and if the colony has plenty, 

 turn the bright yellow side up ; if 

 medium, the next brighter; and if 

 light, the palest color is turned up. 



It can now be seen that with two 

 blocks, any two of 16 different condi- 

 tions of a colony can be indicated at 

 one time, and by adding one more 

 block, any 3 of 24 conditions may be 

 indicated. If the colony is all right, 

 turn the white side up; if queenless, 

 tlie black side ; but, as a general rule, 

 I tliink that two blocks is all that will 

 be needed, and these can be used just 

 as well on queen-rearing colonies as 

 any other. 



. If dates are desired, make blocks 

 with 10 sides instead of 8, paint them 

 all wliite and then paint black figures 

 from 1 to !i and the 0, one on each 

 fact^ ; then l)y using two of these 

 blocks, any date of tlie month can 

 readily be given. Anothei- great ad- 

 vantage of this plan is that the colors 



can be seen from quite a distance in 

 any direction. It is probably the 

 most quickly manipulated device of 

 any yet used ; and if the blocks lit the 

 wire rightly, they will not easily be 

 changed by accident. 

 Port Washington, o* Ohio. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Southeastern Michigan Convention 



The Southeastern Michigan Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association met in Plymoutli Church, 

 at Adrian, Midi., on Dec. 3, 188-1. Tlie 

 meeting was called to order at U a. m. by 

 President Gilbert. When the roll was 

 called only a few memhers were present. 

 The Secretary's and Treasurer's reports 

 were read and accepted. 



Mr. D. G. Edmiston reported, as one of 

 the committee which was appointed to 

 confer wltli the County Agricultural So- 

 ciety in regard to the exhibits at the Fair, 

 and a revision and enlargement of the 

 premium list in the apiarian department, 

 tliat the society were unable to tell until 

 a late date whether they would be able to 

 hold a Fair or not, and then in tlieir hurry 

 they forgot to make any change in the 

 premium list, so the matter stood un- 

 changed. 



Mr. C. J. F. Howes reported as chair- 

 man of the committee on foul brood, that 

 a i)etition had been drawn up and signed 

 liy the inemluTs of the committee, which 

 rc(|iirsti'(l the I'robale Judge to appoint a 

 Cdiiimissionci- of foul brood for Lenawee 

 county, according to the foul brood law of 

 Michisan. The petition was presented to 

 the Judge by the Secretary of this Asso- 

 ciation, and a commissioner was ap- 

 pointed, but notliing further was done in 

 regard to the matter, as a member after- 

 wards stated that lice-keepei's did not like 

 to report their neighbors. The conven- 

 tion then adjourned until 1 p. m. 



The convention was called to order at 

 1:30 p.m. by the President, and 14 mem- 

 bers paid their annual dues. The election 

 of officers then took place with the fol- 

 lowing result : President, C. J. F. Howes, 

 of Adrian ; Vice-Presidents, one for each 

 county represented, are as follows: 

 Washtenaw County, Dr. C. F. Ashley, 

 Ypsilanti ; Jackson, Joseph Butler, Jr., 

 Jackson ; Livingston, F. L. Wright, 

 Plaintield; Hillsdale, G. H. Denman, 

 Pittsford ; Oakland, Mr. Boydem ; Le- 

 wanee, Robert Forsyth, BlissKeld ; 

 Wayne, M. H. Hunt, Bell Branch ; Mon- 

 roe, H. Scranton, Dundee ; Secretary, A. 

 M. Gander, Adrian ; Treasurer, D. G. 

 Edmiston, Adrian. 



Mr. B. Bailey asked why a colony some- 

 times loses its queen and has no means of 

 rearing anotlier. 



Dr. Sam' I Steven.son said that there were 

 various ways in which a colony might be- 

 come queenless, one being that at the 

 time of the mating of the young queen 

 (whicli was to take tlie place of the old 

 one that left the hive with a swann), it 

 might be lost while taking its fliglit, or 

 caught by a bird, or entering the wrong 

 hive on its return, and uunierous other 

 ways by which it might be destroyed. At 

 such times the apiarist should he on the 

 alert to supply another queen, for by this 

 time there is no means left them for the 

 rearing of another, and should .the colony 

 be left to itself, they would soon become 

 a prey to the moth larvw, and the inex- 

 perienced bee-keeper would say that the 

 moths destroyed his bees, which might 

 liave been saved by a little timely atten- 

 tion. 



" Why does the honey ooze out of the 

 comb after it is put into a honey-room ?" 

 It was generally thought that it was not 

 thoroughly ripened by the bees before 

 capping. Dr. Stevenson said that the bees 



put the caps on at the right time, but they 

 did not make any calculations on the bee- 

 keepers removing it, thereby preventing 

 that thorough evaporation which it would 

 receive if lefton the hive. He also stated 

 that it was the honey gathered early, or 

 the white honey which oozed out, or 

 sweat as some call it. He had never seen 

 it in goldenrod or fall honey. 



Mr. Gilbert said that the honey was not 

 ripened before capping, and that combs 

 built during one season and given to the 

 bees the next, would be tilled and sealed 

 too soon. He had seen honey in the cen- 

 tre of the hive sweat or run out in the 

 same way, and the bees removed it to 

 other parts of the hive. Mr. Edmiston 

 attributed it to dampness, while W. S. G. 

 Mason attributed it to its being taken off 

 too soon. 



Mr. Howes said that when the bees 

 brought in the nectar it was at times very 

 thin, and when the flow was good, the 

 bees needed a large comb-surface to store 

 it in while it was being evaporated ; and 

 that the bees would keep up a vigorous 

 fanning and make a roaring noise nearly 

 all night long after a big day's work, the 

 roaring ceasing towards morning, as the 

 evaporation was completed ; that the 

 humming or roaring noise corresponded 

 to the amount of evaporation to be done, 

 and that the bees might, when short of 

 room, seal up some of this partly ripened 

 honey. When taken ott, it would soon 

 begin to run down over the cappings of 

 the rest, thus making a soiled and un- 

 sightly mess of the whole. 



Dr. Stevenson said that be did not think 

 tliat the humming or roaring noise was 

 any indication that evaporation was going 

 on. He had heard bees make the same 

 noise early in the season when there was 

 no honey coming in, while the bees were 

 lying out in large clusters and fanning 

 vigorously inside. 



Mr. Howes asked, " Who should keep 

 bees ?" He also thought that this locality 

 was overstocked. 



Dr. Stevenson said that to make a suc- 

 cess of bee-keeping, the bee-keeper should 

 be ready and willing to attend to the 

 needs of the bees at the right time, and to 

 be very careful of the small circumstances 

 which go to make up the sum total of bee- 

 keeping. To overstock a locality he 

 thought almost impossible when there was 

 a good flow of nectar ; and at other times 

 when theie was no honey for the bees to 

 gather, a very few colonies in a place 

 would be too many. 



Mr. Gilbert said that where but a few 

 colonies of bees more were kept in a place 

 there would be no trouble witli overstock- 

 ing ; but where 100 or 1.50 colonies vvfere 

 kept witli others near by, that there might 

 be such a thing as overstocking. 



At this stage the convention was favored 

 with a song by Miss Osborne, entitled, 

 " Charley, the Bees are Swarming." 



" What is the best method of introduc- 

 ing new iiueens ?" 



Mr. Gilbert said that he would not in- 

 troduce a new queen until the colony had 

 become hopelessly queenless ; that he 

 could not get it to accept a queen until it 

 had missed the old queen and began to 

 rear queen-cells. 



Mr. Edmiston said that he introduced a 

 queen right, away by Ciigiugthe old queen, 

 then in a little while change the queen, 

 pulling tlie one which he wished to in- 

 troduce in the cage in phice of the old one, 

 and leaving her caged for a time, when 

 the bees never know that they are without 

 a queen. Another way was iiy changing 

 frames, liees and all, where he wished to 

 change queens from one hive to another. 



The next subject discussed was honey- 

 dew. 



Dr. Stevenson said that it occurred in 

 his locality (Morenei, Mich., .30 miles west 

 of Toledo', Ohio) in .August, and again late 

 in the season. 



