AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



153 



honey was of finer quality than usual ; 

 that the market was not overstocked, 

 and that prices were fairly good ; that 

 the Fall flow had been satisfactory, and 

 that there was no foul-brood in the 

 State. He also gave the following in- 

 teresting statistics for the State : 



Colonies of bees living, in 1889 127,958 



Colonies of bees dying,ia 1890 & 1891 34,736 



Pounds of honey produced in 1889 . . 737,471 



Colonies of bees in 1890 137,000 



Pounds of comb-honey, in 1890 930,678 



Pounds of extracted-honey. in 1890. 107,676 



Total number of pounds 1,043,000 



Excess of colonies over 1889 9,045 



Excess of pounds of honey over 1889 306,205 



Mr. Collins spoke of the importance of 

 our industry being well represented at 

 the Columbian Exposition, and the asso- 

 ciation passed the following resolution : 



Resolved, That it is the opinion of this 

 body that the bee-keepers of Indiana 

 should make an exhibit at the World's 

 Columbian Exposition in 1893, and 

 that a committee of three be appointed 

 to act in conjunction with the Indiana 

 Board of World's Fair managers, in 

 carrying out the plan and scope of such 

 exhibit. 



In accordance with the resolution, R. 

 S. Russell, W. S. Pouder and E. H. 

 Collins were appointed such committee. 



Chas. F. Muth, of Cincinnati, read an 

 essay on "Winter Protection." His 

 strong argument was to have an abun- 

 dance of stores within easy reach of the 

 cluster, a dry habitation and strong 

 colonies ; no chaff hives or cellar winter- 

 ing for him. He uses the 10-frame 

 Langstroth hive. In October or Novem- 

 ber the surplus arrangement is removed, 

 also two or three of the lightest combs 

 from the brood-chamber, then the clus- 

 ter is divided by removing the remain- 

 ing combs toward the sides of the hive, 

 and the vacant space is filled with combs 

 containing honey. 



Mr. Muth's essay was fully discussed 

 as to what is best for covering the 

 brood-chamber in Winter. It was gen- 

 erally believed that boards were better 

 than anything, although a straw mat, 

 sawdust or a chaff cushion on the top of 

 the boards is beneficial. Any upward 

 ventilation is not desirable, especially 

 when chaff cushions are used, from the 

 fact that the difference in temperature 

 makes them act as a condenser, thus 

 they become wet and cold. To have a 

 two-inch space under the brood-frames 

 in Winter was thought to be of no par- 

 ticular importance, in wintering on the 

 summer stands, especially if the hives 

 are inclined forward, and the entrances 

 left wide open. To overhaul the bees in 



the Spring, and place combs containing 

 honey next to the cluster, is superior to 

 stimulative feeding. 



G. P. Wilson, of Toll Gate, Ind., read 

 an excellent essay on " Fall Manage- 

 ment," which was freely discussed, and 

 many valuable hints were given to the 

 uninitiated. Special stress was placed on 

 the importance of a good queen. It 

 sometimes happens that, after the 

 honey-flow is over, the queen is ex- 

 hausted, having worked as hard in her 

 capacity as the workers have in theirs, 

 but it was generally agreed that it is 

 best to let the queen alone, as long as 

 she shows no signs of failure. Summer 

 is the time to make sure that they have 

 a good young queen. In the Fall, be 

 sure that they have an abundance of 

 young bees, and a good supply of Win- 

 ter stores, consisting of honey, or syrup 

 made of granulated sugar. 



R. S. Russell, of Zionsville, gave a 

 report of the past season in a way that 

 showed his deep "interest in the work. 

 Mr. Russell had learned: 1. That it 

 pays to rear your own queens. 2. A 

 pound of sugar fed to the bees at the 

 proper time will be paid back in at least 

 two pounds of honey. 3. That it pays 

 to equalize the bees throughout the yard 

 previous to the honey season. 4. The 

 best way to exterminate moth is to keep 

 the colonies in a strong and vigorous 

 condition. 5. A good wife is the best 

 helpmate in the apiary. He reported 

 110 colonies in good condition, and gave 

 figures in showing that the past season 

 had been a profitable one ; his bees hav- 

 ing averaged about 70 pounds to the 

 colony. 



Walter S. Pouder, of Indianapolis, 

 read an essay on "Hindrances to Bee- 

 Culture." The principal points brought 

 out were the importance of economy 

 when embarking in the business — experi- 

 ence is of vast importance to become a 

 successful bee-keeper. In the discus- 

 sion which followed, several related 

 their blunders, some of the instances 

 being quite comical. 



W. S. Pouder talked on how to get 

 bees out of sections, by the use of the 

 Porter bee-escape. It should be placed 

 in position in the evening, and the fol- 

 lowing morning the honey can be re- 

 moved without smoke, and without 

 having the cappings gnawed by the bees. 



For smoker fuel, E.H.Collins preferred 

 building paper, rolled into a loose 

 cylinder. 



R. S. Russell preferred dry corn-cobs. 



W. S. Pouder used soft, decayed wood 

 to start with, and then filled the smoker 

 with hard wood. 



