358 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



The by laws were unchanged with 

 the exception of the following: 



Art. '■• The Secretary shjili receive f lo each year 

 for his •'errices. and he sriili have power to choose 

 an assistant secretary it he wishes. 



Art. R. The regular meetings siiall be held alter- 

 nately at Rochester, Albany, L'tica and Syracuse, 

 but shall be held no two years in succession at the 

 saiue place. 



FRIDAY MORNING SESSION. 



Secretary Benedict then read an 

 essay on the "Best management of 

 tlie apiary for comb honey:"' 



ilr. King believed that removing 

 tlie honey as fast as capped, and re- 

 placing the sections with those that are 

 but partially lilled, is the proper way 

 to secure the largest amount of sur- 

 plus honey. 



This system did not discourage the 

 bees, but was in exact accordance 

 with the nature of the little insect. 



Mr. Locke spoke in favor of the 

 system, and said it was that practiced 

 by the ancient Germans who kept at 

 times a thousand colonies. 



The committee on circulars and 

 pamphlets reported through Mr.Locke, 

 and on motion the committee was 

 continuecVanother year. 



The Secretary read an article by 

 Mr. Tefftonthe" Reversible Frame." 

 The article declared the invention a 

 great improvement over the old hang- 

 ing frame, and adopted by the most 

 intelligent apiarists. The article also 

 referred to the objects to be gained by 

 the u.se of this style of frame. 



Me.'isrs. King. Betsinger, Root, 

 Clark, Locke, Benedict, Doolittle and 

 others, took part in the discussion, 

 and it was generally admitted that at 

 certain times in the season, and with 

 judicious management, the reversible 

 frame would prove a success. Some 

 of the objections offered were that if 

 care were not tiken. poor honey would 

 be carried into tlie surplus boxes, 

 thus inji.iing the quality of the honey 

 stored there, and that "inexperienced 

 bfee-keepers would, unless careful,. re- 

 verse the frames too late in the fall. 



Some changes were made in the 

 committees, when the question and 

 answer box was opened and answers 

 made to the conundrums therein con- 

 tained. 



On motion of Mr. Clarke, the ex- 

 ecutive committee was given power 

 to name delegates and issue creden- 

 tials to those wishing to attend the 

 International Convention at New 

 Orleans. On motion, all persons 

 wishing to attend the North Ameri- 

 can Bee-Keepers' Convention at De- 

 troit, next fall, will receive credentials 

 from the executive committee. 



On motion of Mr. Clark, any person 

 in the State may become a mem- 

 ber of the Association by signing the 

 constitution and payingoO cents. Any 

 clause in the constitution which con- 

 flicts with this was rescinded. 



FRIDAY AFTERNOON SESSION. 



After the convention was opened, 

 Mr. Doolittle. on behalf of the com- 

 mittee, composed of Messrs. Doolit- 

 tle, Todd and Locke, offered the fol- 

 lowing resolutions : 



Itenolved. 'rhat a vote of thanks be hereby ten- 

 dered to all the essay writers. 



Regolved. That the thanks of this Association 

 are due and are hereby tendered the representa- 

 tives of the Joumal, EvtnUig Herald, Morning 



Standard, and the Courier, for their extended no- 

 tices ot this convention, the publication of our 

 pioceedinns, and other courtesies shown us. 



liesolvtd. That the Association do hereby tender 

 avoteot thanks to i'ur worthy President. Mr. 1... 

 C. Root, for the diKnified and able manner in 

 which he has presided over our meetings. 



Itesolvid, 'I'hat a vote of thanks are hereby 

 tendered to the mayor and common council of the 

 city of Syracuse for the use of the City Hall. 



Resolved, That this Association are pleased to 

 note the pres-nce of a number of ladies durins 

 the sessions, and trust that they will, at our next 

 convention, favor us with their presence. 



ResoJve't, That tills convention extend a vote of 

 thanks to Mr. Artliur Todd, Philadelphia, for the 

 interesting microscopic- and scientific experiments 

 given tor the benefit of this convention. 



ResoWed, That a vote of thanks be extended to 

 Silas M. Locke. Salem, Mass., for tlie sclentitic 

 registration of the Ifnuth of bees' tongues as con- 

 nected with scientitic queen-reariiiK. 



Resolved, That a vote of thanks be extended to 

 our retiring secretary for the cfBcient manner in 

 which he has performed the arduous duties de- 

 volving upon him. 



Resolved, That we as a convention do urge upon 

 our members to attend the meeting of the North 

 American Bee-Keepers* Society, at Detroit, next 

 fall, and that all members so attending shall 

 hereby be vested with the attributes of delei^ates. 



The report of the committee on 

 questions was made by Mr. King as 

 follows : 



1. AVhat is the best food for winter? 

 Ans. — Granulated sugar. 



2. How many colonies of bees can 

 be kept in one apiary V Aiis. — That 

 depends on forage — from 20 to 2.000, 



3. Which is better for beginners, 

 natural or artificial swarming V Ans. 

 —Natural. 



4. How shall we prevent honey from 

 candying V ^>!.s. — Keep it at a tem- 

 perature of not less than 75-. 



•5. When the bees hang out, is it 

 best to put on more boxes V Ans. — 

 Only when honey is plentiful outside. 



6. How to prevent swarming when 

 producing comb honey ? .^l?is. — Keep 

 the bees at work. 



7. AVhy are porous cloth covers for 

 winter use any better than enameled 

 cloth V ylris.— Because they permit 

 the escape of moisture. 



8. Why not use tine wire-cloth 

 strung across the section frame in- 

 stead of tin or wooden separators ? 

 .4?!s.— Wire is too flexible. 



9. Does pollen cause the bee-diar- 

 rhea V yljis,— Yes and no. 



10. "What material is best to gum 

 labels for glass or tin V Ans. — Dex- 

 trine and hot water. 



11. Is dividing preferable to natural 

 swarming? Ar^s. — Yes, decidedly. 



12. Why is chaff packing better 

 than dead air-space V Ans. — Because 

 it is warmer. 



13. Why are deep frames better for 

 use in securing comb honey than 

 shallow ones V Ans. Because they 

 are better adapted to the collateral 



! system. 



I U. Why are shallow frames better 

 for use in securing comb honey than 

 deep ones ? Ans. — Because brood will 

 be necessarily closer to the sections. 



The following resolution was read 

 by Mr. Locke and adopted : 



This Association having heard with 

 great sorrow of the death, during the 

 past month, of Mr. W. W. Gary, of 

 Coleraine, Mass., desires to put on 

 record its high appreciation of his 

 services. A progressive bee-keeper 

 of one-half a century's experience, 

 among the very first to import and 

 breed the Italian bee, and zealous for 

 its purity — enthusiastic in every ad- 

 vance in the direction, both of econ- 

 omy and manipulation of the honey- 

 bee, he took a high rank among those 



Vi'ho have helped both by practice and 

 pen to elevate and perpetuate the 

 science of apiculture. 



With these considerations we do 

 resolve that as a mark of our appre- 

 ciation of his services this minute be 

 entered upon the records of tlie Asso- 

 ciation, and a copy sent by the Secre- 

 tary to the family of Mr. Gary. 



Resolved, That we extend our sym- 

 pathy to the afliicted family, and com- 

 mend them in their grief to the God 

 of all consolation, and the very " pres- 

 ent help in trouble.'" 



The report of the committee on 

 implements on exhibition was read. 



On motion of Mr. Todd, local asso- 

 ciations were recommended to pur- 

 chase the Cheshire chart for begin- 

 ners. On motion, the convention ad- 

 journed sine die. 



For the American Bee Joumal. 



Cause of Loss in Winter. 



.TAMES HEDDON. 



The above must be a subject of 

 interest in every respect to many bee- 

 keepers. All will recollect how, in 

 my article on page 213. written about 

 April 1, I spoke of the 73 colonies en- 

 tirely pollenless, that passed the win- 

 ter ill the new, damp cellar. I put 

 these bees out for a tiight on April 19, 

 after a confinement of l."il days, and 

 though their hives were white, and I 

 was in my white shirt sleeves, not one 

 speck of discharge could be found or 

 seen coming from any bee. though the 

 air was dark with their flight, as the 

 day was a very warm one. Their 

 bodies were as slim as in fall, and 

 they discharged not even water, unless 

 they went far out of the apiary to do 

 so, " I experimented upon one colony 

 in this cellar, by going to it almost 

 daily for about "three weeks, and stir- 

 ring it up into excitement, and every 

 time we approached it, it was as quiet 

 as any colony, and when put out they 

 cast no spot.' 



I notice that Mr. Ira Barber 

 (another successful bee-wiuterer), on 

 page 316, thinks that a damp room is 

 best for bees, if it is warm enough. 

 He undoubtedly speaks from experi- 

 ence, and I think he is, perhaps, cor- 

 rect ; but I have known bees to win- 

 ter most perfectly on sugar syrup, in 

 a very dry sawdust house. I have 

 also known them to have the disease 

 very badly in a cellar whose tempera- 

 ture never was below 42. This was 

 in both instances my personal experi- 

 ence, and I am certain whereof I 

 speak. Many otliers can. with their 

 experience, confirm my own, and 

 these facts one can no more afford to 

 ignore than I can afford to ignore the 

 very interesting and important ex- 

 periences of Messrs. Barber, Train, 

 Boom bower, and the many others 

 whose statements help us to get at 

 the true inwardness of this great 

 problem. 



Mr. Barber may fix his cellar as he 

 chooses, and if he will let me fill his 

 honey with floating pollen, his bees 

 will rapidly accumulate feces. Pollen 

 is almost wholly nitrogen, and so is 

 feces. Nitrogenous food will load the 



