THE AMERICA]!^ BEE JOURNAL. 



759 



county, making the opening remarks, 

 the substance of which was as fol- 

 lows : 1. The colony should have a 

 bountiful supply of rations, say 2.5 to 

 30 pounds of good, well-ripened honey. 

 2. rleuty of absorbents at the side 

 and over tbe brood-chambers, in the 

 Ijody of the hive, to absorb dampness 

 from the brood-nest. .3. Tight hive- 

 covers and wind-breaks in the form 

 of slough grass or fodder packed 

 snugly and tightly around each hive, 

 allowing the entrance free for lliglit 

 when the weather permits. 4. Perfect 

 quietude, leaving the bees strictly 

 alone, after cold weather sets in. 

 These considerations, with that of 

 free passage of air over the combs, 

 and at the entrance, are the most 

 essential requisites for safe out-door 

 wintering. 



Mr. Black, of Adams county, said 

 that besides giving bees stores in 

 purity and abundance, it was best to 

 keep them in-doors with an occasional 

 warming up to 40^ Fahr. 



Mr. C. P. Dadant would not use a 

 room for bees, but said that they 

 should be well packed with dry forest 

 leaves on the inside and the hive-caps, 

 and outwardly sheltered, with every 

 opportunity of flight when the weather 

 would permit. In reply to a question 

 as to ventilation sufficient to prevent 

 dampness of the pombs on the inside 

 of the hive, Mr. Dadant said that 

 with the entrance wide open he con- 

 sidered it sutfioient. 



Mr. Black said that the indispen- 

 sable requisites were plenty of stores 

 and the entrance wide open. 



Mr. Camm said that while he ad- 

 mitted the rule of plenty of stores, 

 bees often winter well when scantily 

 supplied. He shelters his hives from 

 the wind, and exposes them to the 

 sun in front. The bees seem to fore- 

 cast the weather, and he follows their 

 evident inclination in preparing them 

 for winter. 



Prof. Turner, at considerable length 

 explained the necessity of having 

 such an arrangement of the combs 

 that there would be a good circula- 

 tion over them so that moisture could 

 be equalized all through the interior 

 of the hive. He said that condensa- 

 tion of moisture can take place only 

 at the entrance, where the cold air 

 first enters. 



Mr. Camm said that he had a JX- 

 inch space over the brood-frames in 

 winter, and that bees would force the 

 quilt up, if not prevented, from }4 to 

 % of an inch. He spaces the brood- 

 frames ^% inches from centre to 

 centre. 



Here quite an animated discussion 

 ensued between Mr. Camm and Mr. 

 Dadant, as to the proper distance to 

 space the brood-frames. Jilr. Dadant 

 was certain from practical experience 

 that 1% inches, no more nor less, was 

 the proper distance ; and Mr. Camm 

 was equally as positive of more satis- 

 factory results with the space i% 

 inches from centre to centre. 



By request. Prof. Turner described 

 a honey-plant, or shrub, growing upon 

 his premises, that originally came 

 from New Mexico. He was unable 

 to give its botanical name, but 

 thought that it was very valuable as 



plant. 

 I till 2 p. 



adjournecl till 2 p.m. 



AFTEKNOON SESSION. 



Mr. C. P. Dadant w.as chosen to 

 preside in the absence of other offi- 

 cers. It being our regular annual 

 meeting, the election of oflicers was 

 the first thing in order, and resulted 

 as follows : 



President, Wm. Camm ; Vice-Presi- 

 dent, S. N. 131ack ; Secretary, Jos. M. 

 Ilarabaugh ; and Treasurer, G. F. 

 Middleton. 



Mt. Sterling, in Brown County, 111., 

 was agreed upon as the place to hold 

 our next annual meeting, and the 

 second Wednesday and Thursday in 

 October, 18SP. was the time selected. 

 The executive committee are to 

 change the date should it interfere 

 with the convention in Chicago about 

 the same date. 



The topic, " Will bee-keeping pay 

 financially V" was then discussed. 



Mr. Black said that the specialist 

 in a good location, with a natural 

 taste for the pursuit, with tact and 

 energy, could succeed. Mr. Camm 

 also thought that the pursuit, in the 

 hands of those adapted to it, could be 

 made to pay. 



Mr. Fox then asked, " How much 

 higher should the price of comb honey 

 be than that of extracted V" It was 

 variously estimated at from one-third 

 more to double the price of ex- 

 tracted honey. Mr. Dadant said that 

 bees would produce from one-half 

 more to double the amount of ex- 

 tracted honey, than comb honey, and 

 more especially in the poor seasons. 



The question of controlling after- 

 swarms was then discussed as fol- 

 lows : 



J. M. Hambaugh said that his 

 surest method was to let the second 

 swarm issue ; hive them in a swarm- 

 ing-box, then be very careful to re- 

 move every queen-cell from the parent 

 colony, after which return the swarm. 

 He had never failed with this method. 

 He had also tried the Heddon plan 

 with success. 



Mr. Bowen said that the hive has 

 much to do with the swarming fever. 

 He advocated giving plenty of room, 

 in the way of sections, arid ventila- 

 tion in hot weather. 



Mr. Black said that hybrids were 

 worse as to swarming than pure- 

 blooded bees, especially Italians. He 

 preferred a black q\ieen crossed with 

 an Italian drone. So did the Secre- 

 tary, as such hybrids are ever gentle. 



With regard to bee-pasturage, Mr. 

 Hambaugh, while claiming that 

 Alsike clover was excellent for honey, 

 said that his cows decreased in miik 

 when they fed upon it exclusively. 



Mr. Lieb used Alsike clover mixed 

 with other grasses, and considered it 

 the best for all stock, and best for 

 .hay, besides beingexcellent for honey. 



Mr. Camm agreed with Mr. Lieb, 

 but said that cows would not do well 

 on any one grass exclusively, blue 

 grass being the best where a single 

 kind of grass is used. He said that 

 stock kept Alsike clover close to the 

 ground, and it had the habit of creep- 

 ing, when not very thick, like one of 

 its parents, Trifolium ripens. He said 



that melilot was the best to sow for 

 bees, but he had not yet succeeded in 

 getting a set of it on his land. His 

 cows grazed it down, but horses and 

 mules would not eat it. He consid- 

 ered it an excellent fertilizer when 

 well set. 



Mr. Dadant agreed with Mr. Camm 

 in regard to sweet clover, but he said 

 that it catches most readily on poor 

 land. 



Mr. Camm wished to know if any 

 had tried sections recommended by 

 Mr. D. A. Jones. He had used a o-ie- 

 inch separator that allowed the bees 

 to pass around the sides as well as 

 top and bottom of the sections, and 

 he found the sections better filled 

 where such passages were used. 



Mr. Dadant believed it worth try- 

 ing. 



Mr. J. M. Hambaugh said that by 

 using starters in sections fastened te 

 the sides in place of the top, the 

 starters to nearly or quite fill the sec- 

 tions, it would greatly aid in securing 

 straight combs. 



Mr. Camm said that he had tried 

 that method, but when honey came 

 in slowly there was still too much 

 space left around the side of the 

 section. 



The question, " Shall we use hives 

 with 8, 10 or more frames ?" was then 

 taken up, but as there was no advo- 

 cates of a smaller than a 40-frame 

 hive, it was uninteresting. 



Mr. Camm said that his queens did 

 not exhaust themselves as claimed by 

 some in large hives, and even if they 

 did it was an easy matter to super- 

 sede them. He used 8, 10, 13, 14. and 

 as high as 2.5 frames in a hive. His 

 preference was for a 13 or 14 frame 

 hive. 



The convention then adjourned to 

 meet as above stated. 



Wji. Camm, Pres. 



J. M. Hambaugh, Sec. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Comb Honey vs. Extracted Honey. 



CHAS. DADANT & SON. 



In answer to Query, No. 1.53, con- 

 cerning the relative cost of comb 

 honey when extracted honey is sold 

 at 8 cents per pound, Mr. Pond says : 

 " About one-fourth more " — or 10 

 cents per pound; Mr. Doolittle says: 

 " Twelve cents ;" and Mr. Heddon 

 says : " If your system is up to the 

 Ijest known method. I would put it at 

 12 cents per pound." Several others 

 put the price at 15 to 16 cents ; while 

 we said 20 cents. 



Why such a wide difference, es- 

 pecially between Messrs. Pond, Doo- 

 little, Heddon, and ourselves V We 

 based our figures upon the result of 

 more than lo years' experience with 

 several hundred colonies; but per- 

 haps we did not use tbe best known 

 methods. 



Fortunately we find on page 709, 

 some figures which will help us in 

 proving that our 20 cents per pound 

 is nearer the true comparative value 

 of comb honey than the 12 cents of 

 jSIessrs. Heddon and Doolittle. These 

 figures and arguments are given by 



