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683 



Some of the lueiubers sell extracted 

 as high, or nearly as high, as comb 

 houey, saying that if they offer it for a 

 less price, their customers will at onee 

 conclude that it is adulterated. 



Geo. F Robbins askeil, ■ How much 

 ' more of extracted than comb honey 

 can be produced ?" 



S. N. Black said that the latter costs 

 him. on au average, about one-third 

 more than the former. 



P. Van Uoren asked what to do with 

 unfinished sections. He had tried 

 placing them on the hives the follow- 

 ing season, but said that they were of 

 a dark color. 



Mr. Robbins advised shaving the 

 combs, thereby diminishing the depth 

 of the cells which will be di'awn out 

 again with new wax. 



C. Becker recommends using them 

 for feeding in the fall or early spring, 

 rendering the wax and making kind- 

 ling of the sections. 



The convention then adjourned to 

 meet at 1:3(1 p.m., at which time the 

 convention was called to order by the 

 President, and the following officers 

 elected for the ensuing year : 



President, P. J. England ; Vice- 

 Presidents. Jas. A. Stone and A. N. 

 Draper ; Secretary, C. E. Yocom ; and 

 Treasurer, Geo. F. Robljins. 



Mr. A. N. Draper, of Upper Alton, 

 Ills., then read the following essay on 



^Viuterine Uees. 



With me, the wintering problem has 

 never been difficult. I have had more 

 bees to die from starvation in winter- 

 ing, than from all other causes put to- 

 gether. Two years ago I buried 16 

 hives, a la Hutchinson, and they win- 

 tered perfectly, with scarcely any loss 

 of stores or bees. 



Years ago I wintered a lot in a 

 closet under the cellar stairway ; then 

 I tried them under the north porch, 

 after banking up with earth, and mak- 

 ing it tight again ; they wintered all 

 right. Then I think it was in the win- 

 ter of 1873-74, I followed some of Mr. 

 A. I. Root's plans. In February I dug 

 a pit about 5 feet deep, Iti feet long, 

 and 6 feet wide ; covered it with glass, 

 and put in a small stove to keep the 

 bees warm on cold days, and when 

 the sun did not shine. Of course I 

 had a lot of house-plants in there, and 

 some rye flower and feeders. Some of 

 the bees were like the proverbial calf 

 — lived all winter to die in the spring. 

 Mother says that was the most fooli-sli 

 move I ever made, if A. I. Root did 

 suggest it ; though, it might work, if 

 properly attended to. 



Perhaps it would be well to describe 

 the honey resources of this locality. 

 before describing the wintering pro- 

 cess. 



In the first pl.ice, in my vicinity the 

 land is very hilly, and the soil is not 

 deep, and in a dry time white clover 

 and other lioney-producing plants dry 

 up quickly. What _ white clover we 

 have, comes early for this latitude ; 

 usually we have a late fall crop in 

 September, and sometimes it lasts till 

 the middle of October, or even later 

 from heart's-ease, asters and golden 

 rod. 



This year I have moved 96 colonie.s 

 to a lake where there is lots of Span- 

 ish needle, and at this date (Sept. 20) 

 the hives are all full of brood. I have 

 between 400 and 500 8-frame Sim- 

 plicity hives, and I am using from two 

 to four of these 8-frame bodies to the 

 hive for extracted honey, and in lots 

 of these hives there are from 10 to 12 

 frames of brood now. Perhaps they 

 are going into winter quarters too 

 strong, but I do not think so. 



Now the question comes up. How 

 shall I get them in the best possible 

 condition to secure a crop of honey 

 next spring ? Wintering without loss 

 does not cover it. As I am working 

 to get out all there is in it, I must ac- 

 complish it with the least expenditure 

 of time, labor and honey. 



During the winter and spring the 

 apiary should be well sheltered from 

 the north and west winds. I use a 

 tight board-fence on the west side and 

 nortli end, six feet high, at one j"ard. 

 The home j'ard is naturally well pro- 

 tected. I place the hives on stakes 4 

 inches high, and stuff underneath with 

 leaves in November. What colonies 

 are too strong tliis fall to go on six or 

 seven frames, I shall lift over into 

 hives made last winter, according to 

 Dadant's plan as. described on page 

 163 of the •• Revised Langstroth." 



I wish to call attention right here to 

 a clause in paragraph 306, page 151 

 of the same work, as follows: "The 

 Langstroth Simplicity is long enough, 

 but hardly deep enough. The Qiiinby 

 is deep enough, but would be better 

 if a little shorter." I made 200 of 

 these hives last winter.depth of Quiuby 

 and length of Simplicity, 18 inches 

 across in the clear, inside. Into these 

 I can place 8 frames and a division- 

 board on each side, then have nearly 4 

 inches to pack full of leaves on each 

 side. Now with a deep cap tilled with 

 leaves, they are in the best possible 

 condition for winter, as they are not 

 affected by sudden changes of temper- 

 ature. 



I have read time and again that all 

 winter stores should be capped over 

 before winter sets in. This is nice 

 theory, but false in actual practice. 

 During October, November and De- 

 cember, bees consumed very little 

 honey, and I have noticed lots of un- 

 sealed honey in the hives in December, 



:iiid never could see any harm come 

 from it, but 1 can readily see how 

 harm could come by not having it 

 there. I am always glad to .See the 

 late fall How of honey. 



The descriptions of devices and 

 methods of wintering have been so 

 thoroughly ventilated in the standard 

 works, and in the bee-papers, that it is 

 almost impo.ssible to bring up anything 

 new. 



I will note again from Langstroth 

 Revised, viz: -We have for years 

 wintered a part of our bees on the 

 summer stands, by sheltering them on 

 all sides but the front, with forn.st 

 leaves closely packed and held with a 

 frame-work of lath." The next para- 

 graph contains the key-note to success 

 in wintering — the placing of warm 

 absorbents immediately over the clus- 

 ter to imbibe the excess of moisture 

 that arises from the bees without al- 

 lowing the heat to escape. 



What is the use of putting bees into 

 a cellar, then packing in the spring in 

 order to get the bees strong early, thus 

 making double work of it ? 1 think 

 that the best plan is to contract the 

 hives with division-boards to suit the 

 colony. Place in no more combs than 

 the bees cover well. The colder the 

 weather, the more compact bees will 

 cluster. In extreme cold weather they 

 will cluster so compactl}- that from 60 

 to 80 bees will cluster inside of a cul)iT; 

 inch. As it warms up, the cluster will 

 expand, to again contract as it gets 

 cold again, consequently we want thein 

 packed to prevent them from getting 

 warm, as well as from getting cold. 

 But when the middle of February or 

 March 1st comes, we want this 

 changed. We then want them to be 

 warmed by the sun. just as much and 

 as often as possible. I want my 

 hives just as full of bees ;is the}' c;iu 

 be. by the time the first white clover 

 blossoms open. If I am going to get 

 a crop of either comb or extracted 

 honey in the .Simplicity hive. I want 

 two stories chock-full of brood — of 

 course the two outside frames will be 

 more or less occupied with bee-bread 

 and honey in both stories. 



The past season I put 9 frames in 

 the lower hive, and I do not know but 

 what it is a good scheme. Now when 

 we go to putting on boxes, follow Mr. 

 Heddon. and put the lower body on 

 top, then the boxes. If you want to 

 climb trees, hive swarms, and get no 

 houey, just try contracting the brood- 

 nest, especially if you have two or 

 three yards to look after. I have often 

 wondered if Mr. Doolittle and some of 

 the other small-hive men, ever saw a 

 really lirst-class colony of bees at the 

 beginning of the white clover harvest. 

 If we expect to get a big crop of 



