224 



Lancaster Co. (Pa.) Association. 



The Association met on May 13, at Lan- 

 caster. The following members being 

 present : Peter S. Reist, Litiz, President : 

 John Huber, Treasurer, Pepuea; Daniel 

 Krider, West Lampeter ; I. G. Martin, 

 Earl ; Ellis Hershey, Paradise ; J. F. Ilersh- 

 ey. Mount Joy ; J. B. Eshleman, Ephrata ; 

 J. G. Rush, Pequea ; John H. Mellinger, 

 StrasburR ; E. H. Mellinger, Strasburg. 



On motion, F. R. Diffenderffer was elected 

 temporary Secretary. 



KEPORTS. 



Mr. E. Hershey said, last fall he disposed 

 of all his bees but 15 colonies, which came 

 through the winter all right. Had no 

 swarms so far. 



Mr. Rush reported that out of 7 colonies 

 he liad lost 1 ; 1 colony has swarmed twice, 

 and both are doing well. The prospects for 

 a honey crop are good. 



Mr. Mellinger reported that all his colo- 

 nies came through the winter very well ; 

 has had 5 new swarms. One colony has 

 sent out 3 swarms, and another will send 

 out 2. 



Mr. Martin reported that he had wintered 

 16 colonies; he packed the hives in chaff, 

 and they came through well. He had no 

 swarms yet. 



E. Hershey went into winter quarters 

 with 63 colonies. He built a bee house, and 

 brought all his colonies through. So far, 9 

 have swarmed. Some of his neighbors 

 have new colonies. The season has, up to 

 this time, been unfavorable to the produc- 

 tion of'honey. 



Mr. Eslileinan read a letter from W. J. 

 Davis, of Warren county, who was expected 

 to be present. He had wintered 153 colo- 

 nies and lost 9. The letter further stated 

 that the bees were hard at work, and the 

 prospects for a large honey crop were very 

 good. The si)eaker stated, in reference to 

 liis own bees, that he had wintered 32 colo- 

 nies, and all had come out. There was no 

 trouble in keeping bees the past winter as 

 it was so mild. 



Mr. J. F. Hershey stated that W. B. Det- 

 weiler, a neighbor of his, had put up 73 

 colonies last fall, and lost none. Mr. 

 Myers' bees also came out well, but none 

 have swarmed. 



President Reist said tliat he started with 

 4 colonies, which gradually increased to .50 

 or 60. These he disposed of by selling or 

 by placing them with neighbors. Of those 

 put out in shares, all the colonies are doing 

 well. One colony swarmed 3 times. He 

 wintered on summer stands. Bees, every- 

 where, are going well, and gathering honey 

 rapidly. He uses the Langstroth hive. 



QUESTIONS DISCUSSED. 



Mr. Hershey asked in what condition a 

 colony should be to be divided, and at what 

 time it ehould be done. On this question 

 he gave his own views. He thought the 

 hive ought to be strong in bees and honey. 

 If the colony is divided in the honey sea- 

 son, the old colony does not get strong 

 enough to gather a stock of honey large 

 enough to enable them to pass the winter ; 

 but if you wait until the hives are full, 



they can be divided safely. About 3 weeks 

 from the present time they should be di- 

 vided. The young swarm should have 3 

 weeks to gather its winter stock of honey. 

 He preferred artificial to natural swarming. 

 Has lost a colony which he did not attribute 

 to artificial swarming but to cold weather. 

 After the 15th of June it is unsafe to divide 

 a colony ; however, this season, the limit 

 should be placed about 2 weeks before that 

 time, as the season is so forward. 



Mr. Rush would rather depend on a natu- 

 ral swarm than upon Mr. Hershy's plan ; 

 he saw no advantage in that method. 



Mr. Martin used a good deal of artificial 

 comb foundation, and liked it very much.— 

 He has found as many bees to hatch out of 

 them as when they are not used, although it 

 is stated that the product is much less. 



Mr. Eshleman's question was, " will a 

 natural swarn accept immediately a strange 

 queen without caging ?" 



Mr. Hershey said if an artificial swarm 

 was divided it would not accept a strange 

 queen ; what a natural swarm would do he 

 did not know. 



Mr. Martin had no experience in the mat- 

 ter, but had read that the strange queen 

 would be accepted. 



Mr. Eshleman said his reason for putting 

 the question was to ascertain whether a 

 colony could in that way be Italianized. 



" Will it pay to feed between apple 

 bloom and white clover blossoms?" was 

 asked by J. F. Hershey. 



Mr. Martin thought that if they were fed 

 until clover comes in bloom, they could 

 then go to work in earnest. 



Mr. Hershey was of the same opinion.— 

 But if the colony had an abundance of old 

 honey he would let them consume that; 

 then there is no advantage in feeding them. 

 He fed them through a tin trough, about 1 

 inch wide, which is filled through a tube 

 from the outside. The best thing to feed to 

 them is honey ; the next best, sugar and 

 water, in equal proportion. Best brown 

 sugar should be used. Honey stimulated 

 the bees to breed more than sugar did. 



President Reist asked whether moths 

 can get into hives without their laying eggs 

 there. 



J. F. Hershey said that moths do not lay 

 eggs in the hives. They lay them on the 

 outside, and the bees carry them in them- 

 selves. Moths will go into a weak colony, 

 but not into a strong one. 



Mr. Reist said he had heard that moths 

 would not go into strong hives ; but it was 

 not true. They would go into any hive. 



Mr. Eshleman had discovered that the 

 moth would, if it could, deposit its eggs 

 under the honey board, and the worm would 

 then work its way into the hive. 



Mr. Mulligan said you could not keep 

 worms out of the comb. He had placed 

 some in an exposed place on one of the 

 coldest days in winter, but worms come out 

 nevertheless. 



J. F. Hershey proposed the question, 

 "How soon should the second swarm ap- 

 pear after the first ?" and it was briefly dis- 

 cussed. He thought it should be 9 days 

 after, as did other members, but Mr. Mulli- 

 gan said that under certain conditions it 

 could appear 7 days after. 



