THE MMERICSIM BE® JQ^RNffil,. 



105 



vidual and collective experience is 

 broa<leniug, as is also our knowledge 

 of apiculture, aud improving our 

 methods of manipulation. 



Wliy not i)repare a good display at 

 the State and county fairs, and make 

 it a nucleus about which congenial 

 minds may gather ? Why not meet 

 more often with our neighbors in their 

 local societies, and even visit them in 

 their homes ? 



All labor is elevating or degrading 

 in its efJects in proportion as it requires 

 thought and skill to guide it. You maj- 

 force a horse to di'aw you, or you 

 may drive a pig from place to place ; 

 but he can only lead a bee and compel 

 it to build its marvelous combs accord- 

 ing to man's convenience, and fill 

 them witli the largest stores of the 

 richest sweet, who has studied the law 

 of its instinct, and has mastered the 

 mysteries of the hive.- 

 I In bee-keeping, as in everything, 

 [ " ignorance is the great sin," and re- 

 , search and tact have a most happy 

 ; reward, while there is no greater 

 pleasure than the study of eutomologj' 

 and the peculiar and fascinating habits 

 of bees. 



There is a very active evolution tak- 

 ing place in selecting the more desir- 

 able hive aud fixtures. Amidst the 

 chaos of inversion, horizontal section, 

 fixed and loose frames and sections, 

 tin, wood and wire-cloth separators, 

 the result so far points to the open- 

 sided one-piece one-pound section — 

 41x4.\xlJ inches ; also to wood for sep- 

 :irntors, and some form of section-case 

 lilt her than wide frames. While amid 

 the dust and smoke of hot discussion, 

 we still sec the Langstrotli hive, or a 

 nindification of it, still holding swaj'. 



ItcniH of Interest. 



If a hive-cover leaks, or if a hive be 

 often removed or opened to admit 

 light, the bees smoked or the combs 

 disarranged, the queen removed or in- 

 liiiduced, or the purpose of the bees 

 rrpcatedly thwarted, especially during 

 ■I hi)ney-tlow, the}' may become dis- 

 iiaged and neglect work, or even 



aru\ out. Ur. Tinker, of Ohio, at 

 the North American Bee-Association, 

 gave a method of preventing increase 

 without crossing the pm-pose ur will of 

 the colony. 



Some careful experiments are being 

 cniulucted Ijy Prof. Cook and othei-s 

 on the practical)ility' of planting for 

 hone}-; on cellar wintering; ventila- 

 tion ; winter stores ; queen-mating, 

 etc. Mr. Demarec, of Kentucky, has 

 been experimenting on warming the 

 cellar every few weeks, to a tempera- 

 ture which permits the bees to break 

 cluster for a few hours. 



The Bee-Keepers' Union has been 

 doing efficient work in defending the 



interests of apiculture, and shoidd re- 

 ceive the support of bee-keepers. 



At the Nortli American Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Society, last fall, new instruments 

 of organization were adopted making 

 it a representative body. This society 

 might consider the propriety of ap- 

 pointing delegates. 



There is one more subject which 

 should claim the attention of this so- 

 ciety, that is the apiarian exhibit at the 

 State fair. Some years a few enter- 

 prising individuals have made credit- 

 al)le exhibits. In some States a com- 

 mittee has been appointed by State 

 societies to co-operate with the State 

 Board of Agriculture, and the result 

 has sometimes been that a commodious 

 house was built for the exhibit. We 

 may expect but an inferior display un- 

 less some sj'stematic eftbrt is made to 

 prepare for it. 



After the Presiilent's address. Miss 

 Eva Scholl presented an essay on "The 

 the best method of obtaining straight 

 comb." 



Mr. G. K. Hubbard, of La Grange, 

 then read an intei-esting essa}' on 

 "Theoretical Apiarists," which will be 

 published hereafter. 



Second J^warms. 



Mr. W. Mason was assigned this 

 subject, and discussed it as follows : 



" This is a mooted question, and I 

 believe that races of bees have a great 

 deal to do with the subject of increase. 

 In preparing fur the spring work, one 

 of the main points is, to get ready for 

 the honey harvest. In our spring 

 work, iuerease is one of the essentials 

 with a successful apiarist as a honey- 

 producer, and to be that, I do not 

 favor a hive with too large a brood- 

 chamber, not larger than 2,000 or 

 -.400 cubic inches. In this I crowd 

 the combs so as to take an extra comb 

 over the usual manner of spacing, and 

 when I have the lu'ood-chamber full 

 of bees and brood, I at once pi'oceed 

 to put on upper stories, either for 

 comb or extracted honey, as one of 

 the methods to jnevent too over- 

 crowded increase ; keeping the swarm- 

 ing fever down, either by extracting 

 or adding primed sections, by raising 

 the case of sections directly over the 

 brood-chamber, putting on empty ones 

 in place, and under the first case next 

 to the brood-chamber. 



" In case I have a prime swarm, I 

 hive them in another hive. As soon 

 as the queen has her work started, I 

 remove the honey cases from the par- 

 ent hive to this liive. After the par- 

 ent' colony has reared its queen-cells, I 

 remove all but one, to prevent after- 

 swarms, putting on section-cases as 

 soon as they show signs of being 

 crowded in the bruod-chambers. In 



this manner I am bothered with 

 swarms but little, especially after- 

 swarms, thereby keeping down the 

 swarming fever. As a rule, I never 

 prevent increase of bees, l)ut try to 

 avert the swarming impulse ; for if we 

 get a honey crop we must have our 

 hives full of bees ; and yet with all of 

 our skill aud management, they will 

 swarm, and swarm." 



A number of queries were discussed 

 at great length. 



The question which agitated the 

 minds of the members the most, was 

 the following memorial, which was 

 ordiu'ed to be sent to the State Board 

 of Agriculture : 



Whereas, The exhibition of tlie api- 

 ary department at the State fairs has 

 been a hajj-liazard aftair, we ask as a 

 society that the Board recognize Mr. 

 J. M. Hicks as the superintendent of 

 the apiary exhibit at the fair, and that 

 his recommendation of a person or 

 persons for judge or judges of said ex- 

 hibit, be appointed." 



Furthermore they desire the amount 

 of premiums raised from $99 to .f300. 



The following new officers were 

 elected : President, E. H. Collins ; 

 Vice-Presidents, W. C. Hall, T. S. 

 Bull, G. B. Wilson, J. M. Hicks. Mrs. 



F. M. Cooper, W. Mason, AV. Jordan, 

 L. Snyder, J. T. Coii'man ; Secretary, 



G. C. Thompson ; and Treasurer, Mrs. 

 C. Robl)ins. 



The bee-keepers desire recognition 

 in the Board of Agriculture, and have 

 instructed J. M. Hicks to represent 

 them at the next meeting of the Board, 

 which occurs on Feb. 19. 



The convention then adjourned. 



BEE-WISDOM. 



Can Bce§ Reason, and Talk to 

 Each Other i 



Written for the Ame7-ican Bee Journal 

 BY I'HILIP WE(;k. 



Those who liave watched the sagacitj' 

 of bees, know that if only one bee dis- 

 covers where honey is secreted, it will 

 fill itself and return to its hive, and 

 very soon it will bring an army of bees 

 with it to carry home the discovered 

 treasure, as much as fifty pounds a 

 d*)- ; and if you assail one in a lonely 

 place, the bee will go home, report the 

 insult, and bring a company with their 

 sharp-pointed weapons, to dart and 

 avenge the insult of the one who was 

 assailed. They are continually on 

 their guard to avenge their (^nendes, 

 man or beast, who are thousands 

 of times larger than themselves. They 

 have sentinels guarding their hives, 

 which will ai)pear to the reader, from 



