840 



TMm mmimmiGmm mmM j&wMmmi^. 



Mr. ISIorton — I have had but one 

 experience. I put the hive containiug 

 the robbing colony on the stand of the 

 I'obbed. and vice veisa. 



Mr. Rosser — The best thing I have 

 tried was to put a sheet over the hive 

 being robbed. 



Adjourned till 9 a.m. on Thursday. 



THURSDAY MORNING. 

 The Convention was called to order 

 at 9 o'clock. 



It was moved that the Convention 

 take up the (luestions iu the box for 

 discussion. Carried. 



"Do tlowers furnish the same 

 amount of nectar every year ?"' The 

 committee saj"s •' No." 



'■What is the future outlook for the 

 bee-keepers of Missouri ?" Committee 

 says, "Not very flattering." 



Mr. Rosser — I think the prospects 

 are good from the start clover has 

 now. 



Mr. Atkins — Iu my county the clover 

 prospect is tine. 



Mr. Morton — I think the prospect 

 for the future as good as the past. 



Mr. Baldwin — ^It is well to look to 

 the future with hope, but facts arc 

 stubborn things. Tlie future prospects 

 lie more in the bee-keepers' manage- 

 ment than in anything else. 



"Should we use queen-excluding 

 honey-boards under all circumstances' 

 in the production of extracted-honej'?' 

 Mr. Baldwin — Yes. 

 Mr. Nebel — It is not necessary under 

 all circumstances. 



Mr. Pew — I would not do without 

 them. 



Mr. Morton — I tind them work to 

 my satisfaction, and approve of them. 



Mr. Collier — I would use wood if I 

 could not get zinc ; it pays. 



"How shall we elevate the moral 

 standard and social taste of our It.alian 

 queens above associating with black 

 drones ?" 



"Is a sectional brood-chamber a 

 beneficial adjunct to a hive ?" No. 

 Mr. Morton — It is patented. 

 " What treatment for laying work- 

 ers?" The committee says, "Intro- 

 duce a fertile queen. 



A Member — Will the laying worker 

 kill the queen ? 



Committee — Not if the queen is in- 

 troduced right. 



The question of the location of the 

 next meeting was taken up. Jefferson 

 City, Boouville, St. Louis and Macon 

 City were named. A ballot being cast 

 resulted in the selection of Boonville, 

 and the time for holding the Conven- 

 tion was, on motion, set between April 

 1 and 10. 



Moved, that the President appoint a 

 committee of three on resolutions to 

 report at 5 o'clock. Carried. The 

 President appointed Messrs. Nebel, 

 Rouse and Morton. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



The Convention was called to order 

 at 1:30. The question as to the rela- 

 tive merits of races of bees was taken 

 up for further discussion. 



Mr. Collier — I have had 11 years' 

 experience with Italians ; have had 

 bees considerably mixed up ; have 

 watched them and their proceeds. The 

 Italians are the best defenders of their 

 homes ; they are gentler to handle. On 

 close examination I cannotsee that the 

 blacks dress lioney any nicer. 



Mr. Pew — I have had experience 

 with four races : the Holy Lands do 

 not suit me, and I got all I want of 

 the Carniolans in one season. I now 

 try to keep my Italians as pure as 

 possible. 



Mr. Nebel — I have tried different 

 races, and want only Italians now. 



Mr. Baldwin condensed the discus- 

 sion — As I understand the discussion, 

 the Italians are preferable in Missouri; 

 the blacks have some points above, but 

 the weight of the argument is iu favor 

 of the Italians. 



"What importance is there attached 

 to the brace-comb annoyance in the 

 manipulation of hives?" It depends 

 on the amount of them. 



" What does the bee coming from 

 the field laden with honey do with it 

 on entering the hive?" Store it in 

 combs, of course. 



Mr. Robinson— I think that Mr. 

 Doolittle says they deliver it to the 

 nurse-bees, and they store it in the 

 com lis. 



"How to dispose of a surplus of 

 pollen in extracting combs ?" 



Mr. Pew — If I should tind any I 

 would put it down in the brood-cham- 

 ber. 



" Is it practical to re-queen colonies 

 after swarming ? 



Mr. Robinson — Sometimes it is nec- 

 essary. If you remove all the queen- 

 cells but one, and it fails to hatch, it 

 is necessary to re-queen. 



•Have you had any trouble in get- 

 ting queens fertilized in old colonies 

 this year?" No. 



"Do young queens always go out to 

 be fertilized ? Yes. 



The committee on resolutions re- 

 ported as follows : 



Resolved, That we extend the thanks of 

 the Association to the people of Mexico for 

 their interest iu our Association, and for 

 courtesies extended to us. 



Resolved, That we extend thanks to the 

 proprietors of the Riugo House for their 

 offer of the free use of their parlors for the 

 Convention. 



Resolved, That we extend thanks to the 

 officers of the county, and especially to the 

 sheriff, for the use of his room in the Court 

 House for the Association. 



Resolved, That we extend thanks to the 

 newspapers for printing notice of meeting, 

 and also publishing proceedings from time 

 to time. 



The resolutions were adopted and 

 ordered spread on the minutes. 



The following statistics were handed 

 to the secretary : 



Colouies. 



Members. Spring. Fall. Comb. Ex. Wa.x. 



T. A.Pew eo 57 iiei 1,03.5, 



L. C. Cbeatham .... 40 70 94.5 



John Nebel & Son.. 2i)S 36.') 100 



H.B.Leahy Si 33 3.i 



Byrou liams 63 70 



E.C.L. Larch 168 168 



G, P. Morton 10 23 



R.Gaiues Robertson 31 37 



William Davis 73 97 



J.S.Atkins 76 108 



J. W. House 54 54 



.J. R. Rhodes 3,5 40 



M. B. HcibinsoD .... 63 92 



P.P.Collier 65 85 



W. E. Thompson ... 31 30 



A.M. Creel «0 75 



,T. N. Rosser 18 28 



L.W.Baldwin&Sons .5,511 9iX) 



P. Baldwin IU 165 



E.H.Garrett 45 SO 



H.Martin .53 .53 



500 

 350 

 425 

 100 



2,000 

 .500 

 .50(1 

 4M0 

 300 

 600 



1,500 



500 



30,000 



6,.50l} 

 .500 

 400 



8 



100 



35 



30 



1,000 



300 

 3,300 

 11,500 



5.50 



315 



500 20 



500 20 



.500 35 

 1.200 30 

 4,000 75 



800 47 



10 



500. 

 3,600. 



Moved, that 200 copies of the min- 

 utes be printed. Carried. 

 Adjourned sine die. 



J. W. Rouse. Sec. 



BROOD-CHAMBERS. 



Tlic Best Size for Coinb-Honcy. 



Written Sor theAmei-lcan Bee Journal 

 BY BR. G. L. TINKER. 



After many years of experiment and 

 observation Fathers Langstroth and 

 Quiuby each arrived at the conclusion 

 that the brood-chamber for a colony of 

 bees should contain li.OOO cubic inches 

 of space to give the best results, and 

 as they produced mostlj- comb-honey 

 in their time, it would seem, if thej' 

 were correct in their conclusions, that 

 the brood-chamber they used would 

 still be the best size for comb-honey ; 

 and I believe that the nearly 40 years 

 of experience by thousands of other 

 bee-keepers has confirmed their con- 

 clusions in i-egard to the hive, and the 

 system of management they had 

 adopted. 



The que.stion now arises. Whether, 

 during the past 40 years, there have 

 been improvements made in hives or 

 in tlie system of management pursued 

 that might, in any considerable de- 

 gree, modify the well-established con- 

 clusions of two of the ablest bee-keep- 

 ers America has produced ? The 

 writer claims such improvements have 

 been made, and believes that there are 

 very few who think to the contrary ; 

 yet we find to-day the vast majority 

 of bee-keepers in this country using 

 essentially the old hive, and the old 

 system of the Fathei's in apiculture, 

 which is a grand testimonial to their 

 worth iu this age of rapidly advanc- 

 ing ideas ! 



The first decided improvement in 

 hives affectiug those conclusions was 



