THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



67 



Bees at the Agricultural College. The North Mo. B. K. Association 



Agricultural College, Lansing, \ 

 Michigan, Dec. 15, 1876. f 



To the President of the Faculty : 



1 respectfully submit the following report 

 detailino; the methods of preparing bees for 

 the winter: 



Thirteen of the colonies liave been put 

 into the apiary cellar, where it is expected 

 that they will be kept in a nearly uniform 

 temperature at about 40 deg. The cellar is 

 very dry, dark, and quiet, while the venti- 

 lation is all that could be desired. 



Three colonies were buried. A hole was 

 dug in a side hill, where the soil was of 

 light sand, some straw was put in the bot- 

 tom, and when the hives were set in, they 

 nearly tilled the hole; their tops reaching 

 the general surface level of the ground. A 

 mound of straw was then laid on the hives, 

 which was covered with about 4 inches of 

 earth. A second layer of straw was then 

 added, which was also covered as before. 

 At the very apex of the cone there was left 

 projecting a twist of straw, 3 inches in di- 

 ameter which, though uncovered with earth, 

 was so protected with a board, as to keep 

 the straw dry. Close about the base of the 

 mound a trench was dug, which opened on 

 the down-hill side. During the severe 

 weather of the last few da\ s, when the mer- 

 cury has gone 19 deg., F., below zero, a load 

 of manure has been added to the mound. 



The three remaining colonies were pro- 

 tected as follows: About the hives, except 

 on the front which faces the east, boards 

 were placed, leaving a space of one foot be- 

 tween them and the hive. These board 

 walls reach one foot above the hives; the 

 enclosed space was theu closely tilled with 

 straw, which also covered the hives for one 

 foot. Two of these were then closely 

 covered with boards, that the straw might 

 be kept dry, while the third was left open 

 at the top, so that the straw would become 

 wet and frozen. 



All the colonies in the apiary had young 

 prolific queens, and contained brood in Oc- 

 tober. The colonies were all examined for 

 the last time in October, when all uncapped 

 honey was thrown from the combs, and 

 eacii colony provided with SO pounds, by 

 weight, of good capped honey. This took S 

 or 9 frames. The frames having the most 

 empty cells were placed in the centre, and 

 all the combs contained a central opening 

 about % inch in diameter. A portion of the 

 hives were given bee-bread, while the others 

 were left destitute. 



At the end of the space occupied by 

 combs, towards the back of the hives, a 

 division board was inserted, so that each 

 colony occupies a space of about one cubic 

 foot. 



Above the frames a quilt was placed, 

 which hung over the division board. Still 

 above the quilts a sack was placed, made of 

 coarse, unbleached factory and tilled with 

 chaff, so that it much resembles a common 

 pillow. 



The burying of hives is purely experi- 

 mental. There is a strong probability that 

 with just the proper ajustment of earth, 

 straw, etc., this would be a very successful 

 method, which, if reliable, would possess 

 the merit of being convenient and practic- 

 able in all places, and for all. 



A. J. Cook. 



Met at Mexico, Mo., Nov. 8, 1876. Hugh 

 Hamilton, President, in the chair; Dr. 

 French, Secretary. After reading the min- 

 utes, the Sec'y read the report of the Com- 

 mittee on Constitution, which was adopted, 

 as were also the by-laws. 



The following were elected members of 

 the Association: — D. H. Chase, of Mexico; 

 John M. S. Smith, of Auxvasse Station, 

 Callaway Co.; Joseph Coons, of Mexico; 

 Dr. Lesley Humphrey, of Mexico; George 

 Stopher, Benton Ciity; John Hoftisis, Ben- 

 ton City; B. F. James, L. B. Cud worth and 

 W. B. Wright. 



The chair appointed Messrs. P. P. Collier, 

 E. L. Davis and D. H. Chase as committee 

 to select questions for debate at the eve- 

 ning meeting. 



Communications from Dr. N. P. Allen, of 

 Smith's Grove, Ky., and P. P. Collier, were 

 read and ordered to be published with the 

 minutes. 



The committee on questions brought in 

 the following: 



1. What are the advantages of the mov- 

 able frame hive? 



2. What is the advantage of the Italian 

 bee over the common black bee? 



3. What is the best hive for all purposes? 



4. Does extracting pay? 



5. What is the best mode to secure the 

 greatest amount of worker comb? 



The tirst question then being taken up, P. 

 P. Collier said the advantages were numer- 

 ous. 1. Movable frames were essential in 

 cleaning the hives from both moth and filth, 

 that could not be done in the old box-hives. 



2. It was absolutely necessary in making 

 artificial swarms; that with the movable 

 frames you could take a card or two from 

 one hive, some from another, with bees ad- 

 hering, place in your new hive, refill space 

 in old hive with new frame and you would 

 soon have a strong stand of bees. With 10 

 strong stands of bees in Langstrofh hives 

 with extra comb, he could make a new and 

 strong stand of bees every day during a 

 good liarvest, but without the extra comb, 

 he could not increase so fast, as it required 

 about 7 times as long to construct the comb 

 as it would to fill the comb with honey. 



3. That the movable frame was indispen- 

 sable both in brood nest and honey cham- 

 ber; that it was necessary fre(iuently to 

 extract from brood nest, thereby giving the 

 queen room to deposit her eggs and to ex- 

 tract the honey from the combs, return the 

 cards to the bees to be soon refilled, which 

 could not be done in box hives. 



The second question was then taken up. 

 Judge S. M. Edwards said he had three 

 Italian stands; had no experience with the 

 blacks; got 40 lbs. box-honey from each, 

 and believed tiie Italian to be more prolific, 

 hardier, and better workers— could work on 

 many tiowers that the blacks could not. 

 Get pure, fertilized queens and you have a 

 much better bee than the mixed. 



President — Queens are fertilized in the 

 air, and when there were black drones, it 

 was hard to get or keep pure Italians. 



Mr. Edwards — In raising queens in black 

 colonies they are more liable to meet with 

 black drones than those raised in Italian 

 stocks. 



President— My Italian bees would do bet- 

 ter in dry weather than the blacks or hy- 

 brids. 



