TH® JEMERICJRJNt BEE; JQURJHatt,. 



25 



Many prefer the one-piece to the 

 four-piece sections because they are 

 the more readily put together ; but 

 witli the simple machines now on the 

 marlvet, for puttinja; sections togetlier, 

 the worlj is nothing compared witli 

 what it was. I have one machine that 

 cost only one dollar, and my little boy, 

 six j'ears old, thinks it "just fun "to 

 put the four-piece sections up, ready 

 for the foundation. 



I also find by actual experience that 

 poplar or whitewood makes a much 

 finer separator than basswood, and I 

 have never seen a case where the sep- 

 arator was torn down ; but with bass- 

 wood, I often find them entirely 

 spoiled for future use, like the sample 

 here shown. 



The supply is governed by the de- 

 mand. If there is no demand for ba-ss- 

 wood sections and separators, there 

 will be none made, but manufacturers 

 will turn their attention to supplying 

 the wants of their customers, with a 

 material not detrimental to their busi- 

 ness. H. D. Cutting. 



The essay was followed by the read- 

 ing of letters from H. R. Boardman, of 

 East Townsend, Oiiio, and E. A. 

 Manum, of Bristol, Vt , strongly con- 

 demning the destruction of the bass- 

 wood. Mr. Manum recommends the 

 four-piece sections made of poplar, as 

 the best sections now in use. 



The matter was discussed by A. I. 

 Root, M. H. Hunt, Geo. B. Hilton, and 

 others. 



A. I. Root said that they had made 

 one-piece sections from poplar. He 

 thought that the open-side sections 

 were a good thing, and the samples on 

 exhibition filled with honey, carried 

 great weight. He said that the half- 

 pound sections did not sell ; the one- 

 pound sections were the best. 



A vote was taken on the suljject, 

 and the majority were in favor of the 

 one-piece sections, yet the largest 

 honey-producers present were in favor 

 of the four-piece, poplar section. 



R. L. Taylor was very much in favor 

 of the four-piece sections ; he, as well 

 as several others, claimed that they 

 could put them up for less money than 

 the one-piece ; there was no waste ; he 

 gets his sections put up for 5 cents per 

 one hundred. 



FULL SHEETS VS. STAETERS IN SECTIONS. 



"Is it best to fill sections with foun- 

 dation, or only use a small starter ?" 

 was asked. After discussing this ques- 

 tion, a vote was taken, which resulted 

 in a large majority voting in favor of 

 filling the sections. 



M. H. Hunt showed some very fine 

 foundation, extra thin, made on the 

 new, flat-bottom mill. 



The Secretary showed a number of 

 sections filled with comb, built in 



1888, and filled with honey in 1889, 

 and to all app(\arance, just as nice as 

 newly-made comb. On a vote being 

 taken, the majority were in favor of 

 using such combs, if in good condition, 

 clean and bright. 



SEPARATOliS vs. SEPARATORS. 



The President called on R. L. Tay- 

 lor to support the negative, and H. D. 

 Cutting for affirmative. 



After quite a discussion, a vote was 

 taken, and a large majority were in 

 favor of separators. 



EVENING SESSION. 



The Association were invited to hold 

 the balance of their meetings in the 

 Senate Chamber. President Cook oc- 

 cupied the Speaker's desk, with Sena- 

 tor R. L. Taylor at his old desk. 



President O. Clute, of the State 

 Agricultural College, and author of 

 "Blessed Bees," being present. Presi- 

 dent Cook called on him for a few re- 

 marks, after which the President read 

 his annual address, combined with the 

 "Different Varieties of Bees." 



[This will appear in a future issue. — 

 Ed.] 



A. I. Root gave his experience with 

 the Carniolan bees, but thought that he 

 had never had good Carniolans. 



W. Z. Hutchinson said that his Car- 

 niolans compared very favorably with 

 Italians, and much better than the 

 blacks, and finished their work in fine 

 condition. 



Prof. Cook thinks that the combina- 

 tion of Carniolan and Syrian bees will 

 make a grand cross. 



H. D. Cutting said he had Carnio- 

 lans for several years, and was well 

 pleased with them. They were the 

 first to swarm, but were not excessive 

 swarmer.s — no more so than Italians. 

 He gave them plenty of i-oom, and they 

 gathered honey rapidly, and it made a 

 fine appearance. 



R. L. Taylor followed with a well- 

 written essay on "Foul Brood." 



[This will appear in a future issue. — 

 Ed.] 



This matter was discussed at length 

 by President Clute, Prof. Cook, Dr. 

 Mason, A. I. Root, W. D. Soper, and 

 others. 



Mr. Taylor explained at length the 

 appearance of dead brood and bees 

 found in the front of the hive. He 

 thought it also afl"ected mature bees. 



XHE SECOniD MAY. 



MORNING SESSION. 

 The convention opened with Presi- 

 dent Cook in the chair. 



BEE-KEEPING WITH OTHER PURSUITS. 



" What vocation will help bee-keep- 

 ing in a poor season ?" was asked. 

 Prof. Cook called on nearly all the 



members present for their views. The 

 greater number advocated general 

 farming. 



Mr. Boyden gave one-half the in- 

 crease to his boys, wliich interested 

 tliem, and made the work light all 

 around. 



Mr. Barnes bought furs and kept 

 poultry, and thought that poultry pays 

 well with bee-keeping. 



L. C. Woodman, of Grand Rapids, 

 an extensive fruit-grower and bee- 

 keeper, gave a discription of his fruit- 

 farm and manner of caring for his 

 bees. He had 70 acres in fruit, 10 

 acres in raspberries, and raised large 

 quantities of currants, gooseberries, 

 peaches and apples. The fruit paid 

 the best outside of the Ijees. Raspber- 

 ries and peaches paid well ; yet for the 

 amount of capital invested, the bees 

 paid the best of all. 



QUEEN-TRAPS — COMIMON OR FLAT-BASE 

 FOUNDATION. 



"Are queen-traps a success ?" 



R. L. Taylor said they were a great 

 help to him. 



"Which is best, common or flat- 

 base foundation for sections ?" 



M. H. Hunt spoke very highly of the 

 flat-base foundation. W. Z. Hutchin- 

 son had used it, and was well pleased 

 with it. He said that the bees, in 

 changing the base, made it very thin, 

 like natural comb. 



Some thought that the wax was 

 much harder than the common, and 

 did not woi'k as readily. 



President Cook said that we should 

 not condemn any foundation on a first 

 trial, as wax differs greatly in quality. 



JAPANESE BUCKWHEAT. 



President Cook then called on A. I. 

 Root to tell the Convention about 

 "Japanese buckwheat." He said that 

 it was much better than the common 

 and silver-hull, as they were uncertain 

 for crops of honey and grain. Alsike 

 clover and Japanese buckwheat are the 

 best for honej'. He thinks that it is 

 best to drop all other kinds of buck- 

 wheat, and adopt the Japanese, as it is 

 so much better. 



President Cook said that the Japa- 

 nese variety at the College had done 

 splendidly', while the common and 

 silver-hull had done nothing. "One of 

 the Lansing millers thought it yielded 

 the best of any buckwheat. Some 

 millers found it diflicult to grind, as 

 they were not prepared to handle it. 



Dr. Mason said that it had done 

 splendidly in his locality. 



TEMPERATURE OF BEE-CELLARS. 



" What is the proper temperature for 

 bee-cellars ?" 



Dr. Mason wanted it at 50^ ; nothing 

 below that. He leaves oflf the bottom- 



