406 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



extractor, the road is clear ; and even 

 a novice in the business need not fail 

 if there is honey in the flowers. 

 When the bees begin to lengthen ont^ 

 the cells at the top of the frames with 

 new white comb, it shows that they 

 are bringing in honey, and the upper 

 story should be put on, tilled with 

 frames of empty comb or foundation, 

 and as fast as they are filled with 

 honey they should be extracted, which 

 in many cases will be as often as 

 every three days through the best part 

 of the honey-flow. If any great 

 amount of honey accumulates in the 

 lower story, it milst be extracted, so 

 as not to cramp the queen for room 

 below, otherwise she may be tempted 

 to move " up-stairs." The honey 

 should be put in open vessels to ripen, 

 with a cloth spread over them and 

 placed in a warm place. 



When the honey-flow ceases, the 

 feeder should be placed on, and the 

 bees fed a little sugar syrup, just 

 enough to keep up breeding until 

 another honey-flow. This method of 

 producing honey is thouglit to be the 

 most protitable, as twice the amount 

 of honey can be secured, and no 

 trouble is found by swarming, as the 

 combs are kept empty. 



Next is tlie production of comb 

 honey, which is more diflicult, and is 

 attended with more liability of fail- 

 ure. It requires more study and 

 thought, as it is managed very differ- 

 ently. When the new looking comb 

 appears at the top of the frames, if a 

 ten-frame hive is used, the outside 

 ones should be removed and laid awKy 

 for future use ; or if there is brood in 

 them, use them to strengthen other 

 colonies. Now put the two chaff 

 division- boards in, one on each side 

 of the hive, reducing it to a seven- 

 frame hive, and crowding the bees 

 that were on nine or ten frames, upon 

 the seven ; and if there are any queen- 

 cells started destroy them. Now put 

 on a case of sections, and the bees 

 being uncommonly crowded for room, 

 if for no otiier reason, will go into the 

 sections and commence woik there. 



Look occasionally to see how they 

 are progressing in tlie sections, and 

 when you see that they liave com- 

 menced sealing over the honey in the 

 centre of the sections, all the middle 

 ones will be completely sealed, and 

 should be removed, and those not 

 sealed over moved into the centre, 

 and enough empty ones put in to fill 

 the case. This should be repeated as 

 often as those in the centre are com- 

 pletely sealed over. If the colony 

 should swarm out, then go to the old 

 colony at once, take out one frame, as 

 free from brood and honey as possible, 

 with the bees on it ; if tliere are any 

 queen-cells on the comb, be sure lo 

 destroy them ; place it in an empty 

 hive, with six frames of foundation. 

 Take the case off from the old hive 

 and put it on the new one. Now hive 

 tlie bees and set the new one close to 

 tlie old one, turning the entrance one- 

 fourth around, thus the working force 

 will be in the sections just as they 

 were before they swarmed. 



On the evening of the third day, 

 turn the entrance of the new hive 

 around so that it will stand the same 



as the old one does; and on the even- 

 ing of the seventh day from the time 

 they swarmed, move the old hive to a 

 new stand, and slide the new hive 

 into the old one's place. Just at night 

 on the eighth day, the old colony 

 should be examined to see how many 

 bees are left. If more than tliree 

 pints remain, shake or brush all above 

 that amount in front of the new hive. 

 This method gives the best results of 

 any that I have ever tried, as all the 

 working force is kept together. If no 

 increase is wanted, then instead of 

 moving the old hive, let it remain, and 

 as fast as the brood hatches shake it 

 in front of the new hive until it is all 

 hatched. 

 Mechanics Palls, ? Maine. 



California Convention and Picnic. 



The bee-keepers' convention was 

 held in the grove at Hanford, Calif., 

 on June 3, 188-5. It was called to 

 order by the President, F. J. Otis, of 

 Selma, and after roll-call all seemed 

 to tell the same story, that bees were 

 doing very badly, and barely making 

 a living — in many cases requiring 

 feeding. Such a state of affairs has 

 never been known here before. The 

 cause seems to be that the grassliop- 

 pers are taking all the green things 

 before they can bloom, leaving the 

 bees destitute. 



The convention then adjourned for 

 dinner. Cloths were spread and well 

 covered, in the abundant shade, and 

 the bee-keepers, young and old, were 

 almost as active as bees around them 

 for about half an hour. When the 

 meeting was called to order again, 

 they had a much more cheerful 

 appearance. 



Mr. Decker showed some sick and 

 dead bees, which had a strange dis- 

 ease, new to our beemen. The sick 

 bees become shiny and weak, and the 

 strong ones pack them off and throw 

 them away, having no further use for 

 them. The yelkiw-banded bees are 

 affected, but no blacks yet. A com- 

 mittee was appointed to investigate 

 the matter and re)jort. 



Mr. Wlieeler showed his section- 

 closing machine, which seems to 

 work very well on the one-pound sec- 

 tions, and will be an acquisition to 

 bee-keeping. 



George Hoblee, Sec. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Wintering Bees on Honey & Pollen. 



W. G. FISH. 



On page 359, Mr. Heddon asks, 

 " Who, by any method of wintering, 

 can show 151 days' confinement and 

 no discharge, wliere sugar syrup is 

 not used V" 



Mv bees were placed in the cellar 

 on Nov. 19, 1884, with sufticient stores 

 of honey and pollen, just as they 

 had gathered it, no pains being taken 

 to remove any of the pollen, and the 

 honey was all fall honey. My cellar 

 is a large house-cellar in which are 

 stored potatoes, apples, etc., and has 

 ample means of ventilation. The 



temperature was at no time above 

 45°, and sometimes it dropped to 28°, 

 and the atmosphere was rather moist, 

 so much so that frost would some- 

 times gather on the walls. The bees 

 remained normallv quiet all winter, 

 and were put upon'the summer stands 

 on March 20, 18S5, having been con- 

 fined 152 days (one day longer than 

 Mr. Heddon's bees), and had a flight 

 on the same afternoon. 



My hives are painted a very light 

 color, which would easily show spots, 

 such as are made by the discharge of 

 bees generally at their first spring 

 flight, and though I watched closely, 

 I could find no spots or other signs of 

 a discharge, either wet or dry, upon 

 the hives or anything else about the 

 apiary. A few colonies in box-hives, 

 which were wintered by the side of 

 the others in the same cellar, de- 

 livered a wet discharge upon their 

 first flight, but upon no succeeding 

 one could any discharge be set-n. 

 These colonies had stores which were 

 gathered during the whole season, 

 and which, perhaps, included some 

 honey-dew. 



I do not claim that these facts dis- 

 prove the pollen theory, the discus- 

 sion and development of which I have 

 followed with considerable interest, 

 but I give them in answer to Mr. 

 Heddon's question. 



That these bees did not hibernate, 

 according to the common acceptance 

 of the term, I am well satisfied, from 

 the fact of there being a dull, half- 

 subdued hum constantly audible from 

 each hive, proving that at no time 

 was there present that perfect quiet 

 which is a condition of hibernation, 



Ithaca,? N. Y. 



ror ttie American Bee JoumaU 



Report for the Winter of 1884-85. 



J. E. I'OND, JR. 



I do not know as a report from 10 

 colonies will be considered of any 

 value by some, but others, perhaps, 

 may think difterently. My experi- 

 ence during the last winter has 

 tended to convince me more strongly 

 than I was convinced before, oi ilie 

 incorrectness of the " pollen theory." 



In preparing 10 colonies in single- 

 walled hives for wintering on the 

 summer stands, I left them such 

 stores as they had gathered, taking 

 pains to leave in each hive as large 

 an amount of pollen as possible. I 

 unfortunately was taken ill in the 

 latter part of February, and was un- 

 able to get out to examine my bees 

 till about the middle of May, when I 

 found that 2 colonies had eaten all 

 their stores and perished. These 2 

 colonies were as well provided with 

 stores as the others, having at least 25 

 pounds of sealed honey ; some of the 

 other colonies did not consume more 

 than 12 or 15 pounds of honey during 

 the same time. I think tliat a good 

 point in breeding is to perpetuate, if 

 possible, the trail of small consump- 

 tion during the winter. 



Had I believed in the pollen theory, 

 I should have expected to find all my 

 bees dead from bee-diarrhea, with 



