186 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



enable them to keep up liviiis; prices. He 

 would deduct 2}-^ cents per pound as com- 

 mission from retail prices, and asked tliat 

 the Association endorse the plan. On 

 motion. Josh. Wadsworth, Wni. KinUiall, 

 Geo. L. Gast, E. R. Wright, and C. H. 

 Dibbern were appointed a eomniittee to 

 act on Mr. Sntherland's proposition. 

 Adjourned until 2 p. m. 



The meeting was called to order by tlie 

 President at 2 p. m., and the first t'ling in 

 order being the election of officers, the 

 following were unanimously re-elected : 

 1. V. McCagg, President ; Geo. L. Gast, 

 Vice-President ; Wm. Goos, Secretary ; 

 I. Hall, Treasurer. 



The executive committee reported that 

 they were in favor ot holding the annual 

 picnic at Black Hawk's Watch Tower, 

 south of Rock Island, on Aug. 13, 1SS.5, 

 and a motion to that effect was carried. 



It was decided tiiat tlie next- annual 

 convention be held in Davenport, Iowa, 

 on the third Wednesday and Thursday in 

 February, 1880. 



The thanks of the Association were 

 tendered to the oiBcers of the past year, 

 and Josh. Wadsworth, C. H. Dibbern, and 

 E. R. Wright were appointed a commit- 

 tee to arrange for the next annual picnic. 



Mr. Wm. Goos then read an essay oti 

 " Wintering Bees," in which he discussed 

 the pollen and hibernation theories, and 

 gave the results of his experiments and 

 observations in wintering bees. 



The report of the special committee ap- 

 pointed to act on Mr. Sutherland's propo- 

 sition, was then read as follows : 



The committee to whom was referred 

 the proposition of the Bee-Keepeis' Un- 

 ion, report that they have duly con- 

 sidered the matter, and while they com- 

 nend the objects of tlie Union, and" cheer- 

 fully recommend the projectors of the 

 same as worthy ot confidence, yet they 

 deem it not advisable for this Association 

 to commit ilself further to the project. 



The report ot the speciiil committee 

 was approved, placed on file, and the com- 

 niitttee discharged. 



The convention then adjourned until 

 the above-mentioned time. 



Wm. Goos, Sec. 



I. V. McCagg, Pres. 



Tor tbe American Bee Journal. 



Honey-Plants and Hibernation. 



8. J. YOUNGMAN. 



As I have seen some mention, in 

 the different bee-p<apeis, of tlie Epi- 

 lobium, or willow-herb, I would like 

 to have bee-keepers generally know 

 some of the peculiar traits of the 

 plant, so that none may be deceived. 

 In this latitude, 4.3'3, it grows in great 

 profusion, but yields no honey what- 

 ever, as 1 have no recollection of ever 

 having seen a honey-bee working on 

 this plant in this vicinity; but in the 

 northern counties of this State it is 

 one of the chief honey-plants, yield- 

 ing honey in large quantities and of 

 good quality. It will never pay to 

 plant it for honey alone, where land 

 is valiialile for farming purposes. 



For any one wishing to sow for 

 honey, why not sow Alsike clover 

 seed 'r* I have tried it, atid tind it a 

 fine honey-producing plant, yielding 

 a large amount of nectar, and it is 

 visited by the bees at all times of the 

 day. It also makes a tine quality of 

 hay, and good pasture for all kinds of 

 stock. It will thrive on wet as well 

 as dry land, and in fad, it will grow 

 where red clover will not. IJuckwheat 



is also a good honey-plant, and the 

 grain with the honey, which it usually 

 yields, makes it a paying crop tor those 

 having a large number of colonies 

 of bees ; but the honey is of inferior 

 quality, and unlit for wintering bees. 



Some are carrying the hibernation 

 idea rather further than it will stand, 

 and they are including in their cate- 

 gory, some animals that do not hiber- 

 nate, among others, the hedgehog and 

 porcupine, wliich live in hollow trees 

 and never build nests of any kind. 

 They are voracious eaters, scarcely 

 ever missing a feast of their favorite 

 food, the tender bark of trees, every 

 24 hours. 



These scientists being so badly mis- 

 taken concerning the habits of this 

 well known animal, perhaps they 

 should be more careful in attributing 

 this mysterious characteristic to the 

 honey-bee. 



Calo,0 Mich. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Hives, Frames and Feeding. 



L. C. JOHNSON, M. D. 



All brain-workers — indeed all busy 

 men— should have some avocation 

 wholly different from their ordinary 

 vocation ; that is, something which is 

 more than an amusement that shall 

 call aside the mind from its ordinary 

 pursuits, into chatinels altogether dif- 

 ferent. Such an avocation I tind in 

 apiculture. Altliough some writers 

 would drive out from the business all 

 who are not professional apiarists, 

 yet it is true that the history of our 

 art shows that amateurs have been of 

 very much greater service than in- 

 jury to the business of bringing nec- 

 tar, the " food of the gods," to the 

 tables of men. 



Believing that to get the best re- 

 sults we must not only liave the best 

 race of bees, but give them the best 

 of accomtnodations, after some 

 thought and a great deal of experi- 

 menting, I am now best pleased with 

 the following described hives and 

 frames, though probably not the best, 

 yet I think them good. 



The hive is made of lap barn-siding 

 Ji of an inch thick, and it is 41 inches 

 square, outside measure, and ar- 

 ranged to contain 4 colonies, one side 

 of the hive opening to the east, one 

 south, one west, and one north. The 

 outside walls are first nailed together, 

 next the inside bottom is nailed in 4 

 inches from the bottom of the outside 

 walls, next, straight partitions are 

 put in from the inside bottom to the 

 top of the hive, thus dividing it into 

 four compartments 19 8-16 inches 

 square, inside measure. For the 

 lower story, a partition is now put in 

 each compartment, dividing them un- 

 equally, the room next to the central 

 partitions, the brood-chamber, being 

 i-iV^xl9 H-10 inches, and the smaller or 

 outside space being 3i^xl9 .3-16 inches. 

 The latter is now filled with sawdust, 

 and a board fitted and nailed over it. 

 A J-'siucli board is now nailed in the 

 outer end of the brooii-chamber, and 

 a }^-inch board in the inner end, so it 

 now measures 15)^xl8i^ inches, inside 



measure, and takes the Langstroth 

 frame. 



Ten simplicity wide frames, each 

 holding 8 one-pound sections, are 

 used in the upper story ; they reach 

 from the outside wall of the hive to 

 the central partitions, crossing the 

 brood- chamber and the chatf packing. 

 There is thus room for 80 pounds of 

 surplus honey per colony, or 320 

 pounds to the'hive. 



The liive is now turned bottom up- 

 ward, and the chaff or sawdust filling 

 put in, and the outside bottom nailed 

 in. The entrances are next cut %x8 

 inches, slanting slightly downwards, 

 then an alighting-board 4x12 inches is 

 nailed at each entrance. 



The roof is made from 12-inch, lap 

 barn-siding, of which 4 boards nailed 

 upon cleats form one side of the roof, 

 the lower cleats fitting against the 

 outside of the hive, while the other 

 rests in a notch sawed at tlie centre 

 of the gable ends of the hive ; one 

 side of the roof overlaps the other, as 

 do the shingles at the comb of an or- 

 dinary house-roof. The total cost of 

 this hive without frames, including 

 one day's work to make it, is S3.55, or 

 S8J4 cents per colony, for a complete 

 two-story chaff hive. 



The essentials of a good hive are : 

 1. It mustthorouglilv protect the bees 

 from winter's cold, from spring and 

 autumn's sudden changes, and from 

 summer's heat. 2. It must afford 

 good facilities for brood-rearing below, 

 and for surplus storage above. 3. It 

 must have good ventilation above and 

 below. 4. It must be convenient for 

 man. o. It must present a neat and 

 tasteful appearance. 6. It must be 

 cheap and durable. 



In the lower story of the above- 

 described hive, each colony is sur- 

 rounded on one end and one side by 

 other colonies, on the other side by a 

 double wall and 3}8 inches of chaff or 

 sawdust, and on the entrance end by 

 a double wall with a sheet of heavy 

 siding-paper between them ; and in 

 the fall, winter and spring, t;he bees 

 are covered by a chaff cushion in the 

 upper story. In summer the bees are 

 more removed, and so better pro- 

 tected from the sun's rays than in 

 single-walled hives. It is ventilated 

 below by the wide entrance, and 

 above by screen- covered holes through 

 the gable-ends of the hive. The 

 10 brood-frames below with 10 wide 

 frames above afford the amplest 

 facilities for brood-rearing and for 

 surplus storage. In addition to the 

 above features, this hive is neat, con- 

 venient, cheap and durable, so, in my 

 judgment, it fulfills the conditions for 

 a good hive. 



The frame that pleases me the best 

 is the Langstroth frame made reversi- 

 ble by sawing off the ends of the top- 

 bar even with the end-pieces ; a strip 

 of tin as wide as the end'pieces of the 

 frame are thick, and 3 inches long, is 

 tacked over each corner of the frame, 

 thus forming a staple the width of the 

 frame, which staple extends far 

 enough beyond the top and bottom 

 bars to permit a strip of hoop-iron to 

 slide between it and the bars. This 

 hoop-iron is 2 inches long, an d has 

 one end bent downward thus ^™. 



