27fi 



TEE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



REPLIES by Prominent Apiarists. 



Prodncing Honey in Sections. 



Qnery, No. 58 What is the best method 



of securing- surplus honey in sections during 

 the honey season ?— J. B. 



Prof. A. J. Cook answers as follows: 

 " I am best pleased with Mb. sections 

 in Heddoi) crates, with or without 

 separators, as the skill of the apiarist 

 warrants."' 



G. M. DooLiTTLE says : " I use 

 side-storing in connection with top- 

 storing, believing that I secure enough 

 better results by so doing, than by 

 using only top-storing, to pay for all 

 extra expense and have a margin for 

 profit." 



G. W. Dejiarke answers as follows : 

 " Properly-made cases to hold the sec- 

 tions, and so arranged that they may 

 be ' tiered up ' at will ; a good article 

 of thin foundation lilling each section, 

 and doing everything at the right 

 time, gives the best results in my lo- 

 cality.^' 



Dr. G. L. Tinker replies thus : 

 "I think that the nicest comb honey 

 and the most of it is secured in sec- 

 tion-cases operated by the ' tiering- 

 up ■ system, without separators, and 

 arranged for continuous passage- ways 

 from the brood-combs to the sec- 

 tions."' . 



"Wide Frames or Cases ? 



Query, No. 59 — Which is preferable, 

 wide frames or cases for hokiinjr sections ? 

 How should each be managed V— J. B. 



G. M. DooLiTTLE replies as follows : 

 " So far, I prefer wide frames, even if 

 many bee-keepers call them ' things of 

 the past.'" 



W. Z. Hutchinson replies thus: 

 "If no separators are used, cases are 

 preferable ; if separators are wanted, 

 wide frames, one tier of sections high, 

 are preferred. The ' tiering-up' plan 

 is advisable when either is used." 



Prof. A. J. Cook remarks thus : 

 " I do not think that any one who has 

 used the crate or case would ever re- 

 turn to or be satisfied with wide 

 frames." 



James IIeddon replies as follows: 

 •' As each system of surplusage pos- 

 sesses advantages that another does 

 not, ' which is best ' will depend upon 

 the operator and locality, to a great 

 extent." 



G W. Demakee replies thus : 

 "First, cases to hold sections are 

 much ahead of wide frames, so far as 

 ease of manipulation is concerned, as 

 the best modern hive is ahead of the 

 old straw skep. Second, see answer 

 to .58." 



Dr. G. L. Tinker answers thus : 

 " Section-cases are preferable under 



any circumstances, but they should 

 not be too large if used without sepa- 

 rators. A case 9 inches wide and 17 

 or 18 inches long is large enough for 

 any colony where ' tiering-up ' is prac- 

 ticed." 



Prevention of Robbing. 



Query, No. 60.— What is the best method 

 to prevent bees from robbing 'I I have tried 

 smoking them every 2 or 3 hours, but it does 

 no good. — W. A. 



Dr. G. L. Tinker remarks thus : 

 " Cover the hive with a sheet, or carry 

 it into a cellar." 



G. M. DOOLITTLE replies as follows: 

 " Take every precaution against the 

 possibility of robbing. If this is done, 

 nothing but very weak colonies will 

 be liable to be robljed. If from care- 

 lessness robbing is started, I put the 

 robbed colony into the cellar for 3 or 

 4 days until the mania is past." 



G. W. Demaree says : " Covering 

 the hive with a wet sheet, and in bad 

 cases piling some wet brush over the 

 entrance to the hive, is the best rem- 

 edy I know of. It has never failed to 

 discourage the ' robbers.' Smoking is 

 a disadvantage." 



Jajles Heddon answers as follows : 

 " No, ' smoking ' is of little avail. A 

 bunch of wet hay at the entrance, and 

 close contraction of the same, are both 

 good, and prove efficient, if the rob- 

 bing has not progressed too far ; but 

 when it has, carry the robbed colony 

 into the cellar, and leave it until the 

 habit is Inoken, and then return it 

 just before the bees cease to fly. Keep 

 its hive-entrance contracted to about 

 K of an inch. It is also well to con- 

 tract the brood-chamber to the capac- 

 ity of the colony." 



W. Z. Hutchinson replies thus: 

 " Contract the entrance, cover it with 

 dry hay «r straw, and then put damp- 

 ened straw over this." 



Dad ANT & Son answer thus: " To 

 keep a colony from robbing, move it 

 from its stand and put the robbed col- 

 ony in its place. Do not leave any 

 honey exposed, or any weak colony 

 with too much entrance-room and too 

 much honey in the hive. "When you 

 manipulate your hives, if robbers are 

 about, be prompi, and in closing the 

 hive, throw a bunch of blue-grass over 

 the entrance, keeping it there a couple 

 of hours." 



Prof. A. J. Cook remarks thus : 

 " Always feed at nightfall ; never spill 

 any honey ; in late autumn never 

 work except under a bee-tent, and 

 keep all colonies strong; then the 

 robbing will never occur. If they get 

 to robbing, close the hive-entrance to 

 within ?a of an inch, and if that does 

 not suffice, carry the luckless colony 

 into the cellar— a thing that I have 

 never had to do." 



Tlie Premium l.t»t of the County Fair at 

 Burlington, Iowa, is received. It will lie held 

 Sept. H-18, 18S5. Seventy dollai-s in premi- 

 ums are offered for bees and implements used 

 in bee-keeping. 



Convention Notices. 



I^~ The Bee-Keepers' Association of Cen- 

 tral Illinois will meet at Bloomington, Ills., 

 on July 15, 1885, at 10 a. m. 



Wm. B. Lawrence, Sec. 



^^ The Hancock County, Ohio, Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association will meet at 9 a. m., in Find- 

 lay, Ohio, at Mr. Bradnor's, on the Lima 

 road, on May IB, 188.-). S. H. Bolton, Sec. 



^W The Southern Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will meet in the Court House, at 

 Janesville, Wis., on Tuesday, May 12, 1885, 

 at 10 a. m. John C. Lynch, Sec. 



%S~ The Progressive Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation of Western Illinois will meetinBush- 

 nell. 111., on 'fhursday. May 7. 1885. Let 

 every bee-keeper who can. be present and 

 enjoy the meeting. J. G. Norton, Sec. 



^^ The Willamette Valley Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will hold its second meeting at 

 La Fayette, Oregon, on the third Tuesday iu 

 June,'l8S.T. All who are interested are in- 

 vited to attend. E. J. Hadley, Sec. 



pw~ The Mahoning Valley Bee -Keepers' 

 Association, will hold its ne.\t meeting i 

 Newton Falls, Ohio, on Thursday, May '28, 

 1885. E. W'. Turner, Sec. 



IS'" The Central Michigan Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will hold its spring Convention 

 at Laiisiiii;-, Mich., in tlir State Capitol Build- 

 ing, on TucsduN , .May 1'-', IK.s,",, at !i a. m. 



E. N. Wood, Sec. 



^r* The Texas State Bee-keepers' Associa- . 

 tion will he held on Thursday and Friday, 

 May 7 and 8, 1885, at the apiary of Judge W. 

 H. Andrews, at McKinncy, Tex. All inter- 

 ested in the advancement of apiculture, are 

 earnestly requested to be ]n-esent and make 

 this amemorablemeetingof the Association. 

 W. K. How.tRD, See. 



{^~ The Northern Ohio Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation will hold their annual meeting in 

 the Council Chamber, at Norwalk. O., on Sat- 

 urday, May 9, 1885. Subjects of immediate 

 practical value will be discussed. Officers 

 will be elected for the ensuing year. No one 

 engaged in the production of honey can af- 

 ford to he absent. H. R. Bo.ird.m.^n, Sec. 



IS" The next annual meeting of the Key- 

 stone Bee-Keepers' Association will be held 

 in the Court House iu Scranton, Pa., at 10 a. 

 ni. and 1.30 p. m. on May I'J, 1S85. At the 

 morning- session, after the President's ad- 

 dress, which will include a report as dolc;:ate 

 to the Bee-Keepers' Congress at the Worlil's 

 Fair in Feb. last, the annual election of offi- 

 cers will take place. While the Association 

 Is but just commencing its third year, we 

 congratulate oursrlvcs in ha\nng a working 

 membership of (?vct ."ill: yet there remains 

 much to be accomplished, and we trust that 

 all who keep bees, whether for pleasure or 

 profit, will attend this meeting. 



Arthitr a. Davis, Sec. 



^~ To create Honey Markets in every 

 village, town and city, wide-awake honey 

 producers should get the Leaflets " Why Eat 

 Honey" (only .50 cents per 100), or else the 

 pamphlets on "Honey as Food and Medicine," 

 and scatter them plentifully, and the result 

 will be a demand for all of their crops at 

 remunerative prices. " Honey as Food and 

 Medicine " are sold at the following prices,: 



Single copy, 5 cts. ; per doz., 40 cts. ; per 

 hundred, $2.50. Five hundred will be sent 

 postpaid for $10.00; or 1,000 for $15,00. 

 On orders of 100 or more, we will print, if 

 desired, on the cover-page, " Presented by," 

 etc. (giving the name and address of the bee- 

 keeper who scatters them). 



