Couucuti0u$. 



North Western Ohio Convention. 



Tlie N. W. Oliio Bee-keepers' Association 

 convened at Delta, O. Jan. 3, 1878. 



In tiie absence of tlie President, Vice 

 President A. Fahnestoci^, of Toledo, toolc 

 tlie chair; D. Kepler actinji; as secretarj'. 



After the reading of the minutes, the 

 chairman produced a letter from President 

 E. L. Mann, statinji; his inability to attend, 

 but hopinn' that the convention would be 

 productive of much good. He reported that 

 liis bees were doinji splendidly, and that he 

 expected larjie increase and surplus during 

 the coming season. 



Members present were invited to submit 

 reports of operations. 



Mr. Pray, of Delta, gave liis experience 

 with purchased Italian queens. He had 

 one that produced about equal quantities of 

 black and Italian workers. 



Mr. W. F. Williams had similar experi- 

 ence. He thought it the result of the queen 

 being fertilized by a black drone. 



Others reported similar experiences. 



Mr. Clifton reported .58 colonies in winter 

 quarters, with from 30 to 35 lbs. of honey in 

 each hive. He thought a tight board fence 

 on north and west advantageous. He had 

 not been entirely successful in wintering, 

 but turned to good advantage the comb and 

 lioiiey left by dead colonies, in building up 

 increase, and artificial swarming. He had 

 extracted twice from each hive during the 

 season. His i)ees had paid him well. 



Mr. Williams, of Henry Co., connnenced 

 in the spring of 1877 with .50 weak colonies; 

 sold 2 and increased to 1.54 strong stocks, 

 and got 2.000 lbs. of extracted and 400 lbs. of 

 comb iioney, in frames. He fed syrup to 

 weak colonies in April and May: increased 

 artificially and secured pure fertilization, 

 even when surrounded by black bees, by 

 confining young queens and fine drones to 

 the hive till black drones have returned, 

 feeding tliem on warm diluted honey, and 

 then allowing them to fiy out. He did not 

 believe in taking queens reared in nuclei 

 and introducing them to colonies; he built 

 up these nuclei by adding hatching brood 

 from strong stocks. He secured queen 

 cells by giving eggs from pure mothers to 

 queenless colonies, after taking from them 

 all eggs and larvse that a queen might be 

 reared frf)m. 



The Chairman described the method of 

 rearing (lueeiis. given by Mr. P>,ussell, of 

 Adrian, at the Michigan Convention. He 

 said some bee-keepers who practiced natu- 

 ral swarming permitted only one swarm to 

 issue from each colony, aiid giving that 

 swarm a hive already filled with combs.— 

 Such .swarms often produced 50 lbs. of box 

 lioney in two weeks. 



Mr. Pray had some trouble with queens 

 laying in surplus boxes. 



Mr. Williams found bees in cellars all 

 quiet, with the' temperature at 4.5° to .50°; at 

 53°, they were a little uneasy. There is 

 economy in cellar wintering, as bees would 

 only use about one-half as much honey as 

 when left on their summer stands. 



The Chairman said he went to the Michi- 

 gan Convention to learn the best method of 

 wintering, and found that most of the 



Michigan bee-keepers packed their hives in 

 boxes, surrounded by dry chaff, and had 

 abandoned cellars and repositories for win- 

 tering. He had jirepared his with chaff, 

 and would report the result at the next 

 meeting. He should not remove them till 

 warm weather in June. He advised those 

 using cellars not to disturb their bees till 

 settled warm weather in April or May. 



Mr. Pray cariMed his bees to the cellar, 

 (nearly half a mile distant), bv hand, so as 

 not to disturb the bees. The walls of his 

 cellar were three thick, with dead-air 

 spaces between each brick wall; double 

 doors, cement floor and doiihle ventilator. — 

 It cost .¥1.30 and would hold 2()0 colonies. 



W. F. Williams had his bee yard partially 

 shaded, sloping to the south, but thought it 

 of no value. He wanted all the sunshine 

 he could get, except in extreme hot weather, 

 when he would shade with loose boards. 



The Chairman had his hives under pear 

 trees, wheie they are shaded in the hottest 

 part of the day. 



Mr. Kepler said that with hives nnpaint- 

 ed, or painted white, he wanted no shade, 

 but if painted any color they should be 

 partially shaded. 



Mr. Williams offered the following: 



Resdlved that the traffic in dollar queens 

 should be discouraged. 



Mr. Clifton thought it best to obtain pure 

 or imported queens and rear for his own 

 use. He once bought some for pure Italians 

 that were so cross that they stung every- 

 thing within their reach. 



The Chairman had no success in buying 

 dollar (lue.Mis; he had daughters of imported 

 queens, and now reared his own queens. 



Mr. AVilliains believed that the purcliase 

 of cheap queens was a great detriment- 

 filling up the country with inferior stock — 

 and urged the purchase of only the purest 

 Italian oueeiis, even if it involved the 

 necessity of sometimes getting imported 

 queens. 



Mr. Kepler advised getting an imported 

 qut^en to rear queens from. 



Mr. Williams' resolution was carried 

 unanimously. 



The President announced tlie following 

 discussions for the April meeting: 



Italian Bees and Queens— Capt. W. F. 

 Williams. 



Introducing Queens— Mr. Clifton. 



Profits of Bee-keeping— Mr. Kakestran. 



Hives— Mr. Davoll. 



Honey Producing Plants— Mr. Kepler. 



Marketing Honey— Mr. A. Fahnestock. 



The Pleasures of Bee-keeping— Col. Mann. 



The Secretary was instructed to notify 

 the jiersons named to be ready with their 

 essays. 



The following resolutions were passed 

 unanimously: 



Rexolved that the proceedings be pub- 

 lished in the Delta Avdlanche, and The 

 Amkrican Bee Journal. 



Res(jlvcd that the thanks of the Conven- 

 tioii are accorded to Dr. Ramsey for the 

 hall; to Messrs Pray, Hath, and other citi- 

 zens of Delta, for entertaining bee-keepers 

 from a distance; and to the proprietor of the 

 Crosby House for favors extended to mem- 

 bers of the Convention. 



The Convention then adjourned to meet 

 at Napoleon, O., on the first Thursday in 

 April, 1878. 



Daniel Keplek, Sec. pro tern. 



