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have them all in one churuh ; neither 

 can we, if we would, indvice all bee- 

 keepers to use one style of frame. But 

 it is wise for us. t think, to consider tlie 

 matter, experiment on a small scale, and 

 then draw our own conclusions after- 

 ward. Ernest E. Root. 



To the question of how man}- used 

 fixed frames, 16 responded ; 4 had 

 tried and abandoned them, and 35 

 used the regular hanging Langstroth 

 frame, without spacing contrivances of 

 any kind. 



B. Taylor showed a hive with nails 

 in the upper ends of the frames acting 

 as shoulders, which rested on a metal 

 rabbet, notched to receive the frames, 

 at proper distances. 



J. Blanchard said that he used a 

 closed-end frame, with a double bot- 

 tom-bar ; the lower bar serving as a 

 bottom to the hive, when put together. 

 The frames, with two followers on 

 each end, formed the hive, and thej- 

 were fastened together by loops on the 

 ends of the frames, and a bar running 

 through the loops. This hive could be 

 enlarged ad infinitum ; he used it, 

 usually, with 10 frames. The entrance 

 was on the end, in one of the followers. 

 He had used this hive 16 years. He 

 had about 60 colonies, and harvested 

 an average of from 50 to 60 pounds 

 of lioney per hive. 



SPRING DWINDLING. 



The question, •■ Is Spring-dwindling 

 greater, wlien bees are wintered in- 

 side than out-of-doors," was answered 

 by A. I, Root, who said that when the 

 bees were wintered out-of-doors and 

 liad a chance to fly every month, the}" 

 came out stronger, and were better 

 able to go through April. 



E. R, Root thought that the loss 

 from Spring-dwindling was greater 

 when wintering in-doors, as the bees 

 in the cellar were often suftering from 

 the temperature being too hot or too 

 cold — a matter over which the bee- 

 keeper liad but little control. 



John Nau said that in severe win- 

 ters, the bees wintered better in- 

 doors — in mild winters out-of-doors. 

 He did not put his bees in the cellar, 

 unless the temperature got very low. 

 early in the winter. 



R. McKnight had wintered both 

 ways for about ten years, and found 

 that they dwindled more when win- 

 tered in the cellar. He thought the 

 cause was, the lack of proper ventila- 

 tion to the cellar. He thought that 

 the weak-looking condition of the 

 bees wintered in the cellar was due to 

 their ill-health, owing to the lack of 

 pure air during the confinement. He 

 thought, however, that in hard win- 

 ters, cellar-wintering could be carried 

 on with less lo.ss than out-door win- 

 tering:. 



QUESTION-BOX. 



To the question, 'Can tirst-class 

 honey be produced in sections without 

 separators," several answered, "Yes," 



Question : • • What is the best method 

 of preventing bees from sticking the 

 upper stories of hives to the lower ones 

 with propolis ?" 



R, McKnight answered : Have the 

 joints close and tight-fitting. 



Question : "Will a cellar that is in- 

 fested with rats and mice do to winter 

 bees in ?" 



Dr. Mason answered, No, 



Question : " What shall wo do with 

 our swarms of bees, when not wanted?" 



Dr. Mason — I return them, and have 

 no trouble. 



J. Blanchard— I return them at 

 once, after cutting out the queen-cells. 



R. L. Taylor — I would rather kill 

 the old queen wlien returning them, 

 and let them rear young queens, 



C. P. Dadanl^Then they will be 

 sure to swarm again. 



Question : "Is there any difference 

 in color and quality, between the 

 houej' extracted from light-colored 

 combs, and that extracted from dark 

 combs ?" 



Dr, Oren — No ; certainly not, I have 

 combs 15 years old, and the honey 

 harvested from them is as nice as that 

 from new combs. 



Question: •• Can bees expel apart 

 of the water contained in the honey, 

 while carrying it to the hive, from the 

 held ?" 



Yes. by several. 



Question: "How much advance 

 should we ask for comb-honey over 

 extracted-honey ?" 



J, M. Hambaugh — Comb-honey 

 should be sold for at least twice as 

 much as extracted- hone}', and even 

 then it would not pay as well, 



Dr, Palmer — Extracted-honey could 

 be furnished at half the price of comb- 

 honey in the first season, but as the 

 combs were preserved, it could be 

 furnished at one-third that price, after 

 that. 



A young man just starting out for 

 himself wishes to hear of a tirst-class 

 location, in a good community, for 

 bee-keeping. He wants a place where 

 lie can lay the foundation of a home. 



R. McKnight — I know of a very 

 good location, seven miles from the 

 place where I live, in Ontario. 



J. M. Hambaugh — Come close to my 

 location on the Illinois river. 



Dr, Oren — I have 150 colonies of 

 bees that I want some one to take care 

 of. I will furnish the hives and 

 fixtures. 



R. B. Leahy — In Waverly, Mo., 

 there is a good unoccupied field. 



BEE-HOUSES. 



Henry Stewart asked about the prac- 

 ticability of bee-houses, and the objec- 

 tions to them. He wanted to know 

 whether a bee-house 6 feet wide and 6 

 feet high, with sufficient length to ac- 

 commodate 100 hives, arranged in two 

 rows, on each side, with hives in alter- 

 nating positions, regularly placed, and 

 with a wire-cloth bee-escape in the 

 ceiling, would be satisfactory. 



J. M. Hambaugh said that he had had 

 a house-apiary and had abandoned it. 

 for several reasons. The bees would 

 get mixed up, more or less, by being 

 dropped from the combs during the 

 manipulations, and the height of the 

 ceiling interfered with the tiering-up, 

 and manipulating them satisfactorily. 

 He wanted to be able to shake bees in 

 front of the hive, whenever necessary, 

 and could not well do it in a closed 

 house-apiary, 



Wm, Lyon used a bee-shed with only 

 one row of hives, and a roof high 

 enough to work under ; he had doors 

 on the north, east and west, and 

 could give air from either point, when- 

 ever necessary. He had the south one 

 open at all times. The roof is so ar- 

 ranged that the sun shines on the 

 hives in winter, when the sun is low, 

 but not in the summer. He packs 

 them in what is called shingle-toe, a 

 coarse, stringy kind of sawdust from 

 the saw-mill, and he never lost bees in 

 wintering. 



The complete description of this 

 gentleman's apiary showed that he had 

 everything in nice order, and arranged 

 as carefully and as neatly as it is pos- 

 sible to have it. 



EVENING SESSION. 



After the calling of the meeting to 

 order, the President called upon Mr. 

 Thomas G, Newman to read the essay 

 of Prof, A. J, Cook, on 



The Requisites Necessary to Secure a 

 Honey Crop. 



Mr, President, Ladies and Gentlemen 

 of the International American Bee-Asso- 

 ciation : Kindly permit me to preface 

 my remarks with a word of sincere regret 

 that I may not be with you on this 

 occasion, I do not need to bespeak for 

 yon a most excellent meeting, for I am 

 sure this will be a rare occasion and a 

 rich treat, to all who arc so fortunate as 

 to be present. 



The meeting is for the first time in 

 the heart of the Great West, so famed 

 for its large-hearted generosity and un- 

 rivaled enterprise. That the broad manly 

 spirit of the West will be vividly illus- 

 trated at this meeting by the Western 

 bee-keepers, goes without saying. We 

 that are kept at home by stern necessity, 

 will still rejoice in your good time, and 

 eagerly await the Reports that shall give 



