April 6, 1905. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



263 



entrance. One advantage in this plan was that it did away 

 with robbing-. 



T. F. Bingham thought the only advantage of the plau 

 was that it saved the extra queen. Believes the upper colony 

 is benefited at expense of lower one. 



Pres. Hutchinson thinks there is no question but that 

 the upper colony is benefited, but there is a question as to 

 whether the lower one is not hurt some. 



Mr. Pearce said the strong colony is not hurt by the 

 weak one being above. He believes the sooner they are 

 put together in the spring the better. 



H. K. Beecham believes that colonies too weak in the 

 spring to protect themselves should not be bothered with. 



SNOW AROUND HIVE-ENTRANCES. 



"To what extent would you remove the snow from 

 around the hives in the winter 7" 



Huber H. Root believes it beneficial to leave the snow 

 around the hives, but ice should not be allowed to form in 

 the entrance. He reports bees wintering finely for him this 

 year, banked up all around with snow. 



G. A. Bleach reports good success from bees covered 

 with snow. He had 20 to 25 colonies entirely covered by 

 snow, and found the heat of the bees had thawed a large 

 cavity at the entrance. 



Geo. E. Hilton wouldn't remove the snow from around 

 hives until he was sure the bees could fly. He says bees 

 will winter if the entrance is covered by snow, and that 100 

 colonies need no more air than one man. He reported one 

 hive being hermetically sealed with ice, and the bees came 

 out all right. He claims bees never smother. Quite a little 

 discussion was raised here on the point of the amount of air 

 that bees need during winter. 



Mr. Bingham advised a neighbor to put his bees down 

 cellar, and because they came out of the hives this neighbor 

 plugged the entrance with rags, with the result that the 

 bees wintered all right. 



REMOVING BEES FROM HIVE-ENTRANCES. 



" Did any one ever get any pay for cleaning dead bees 

 from hive-entrances during winter ?" 



No one seemed to think it paid, and the discussion went 

 right back on the snow question. 



C. A. Huflf reported practicing piling snow around the 

 hives with good results. 



W. J. Manley believes in banking with snow, although 

 two years ago he had bees covered with snow and all died. 



Mr. Hilton thought the honey used for winter stores 

 was to blame. He said if bees are left under snow too long 

 they start brood-rearing ; they will not leave the brood for 

 honey, and thus starve. 



Clyde Cady asked if there was not danger from too 

 early breeding when covered with snow. 



Mr. Hilton thinks there is. 



Mr. Cady then asked to what extent they should be 

 covered. 



Mr. Hilton said it doesn't matter so much to what ex- 

 tent they are covered, but as to length of time covered. 



WRAPPING HIVES WITH BUILDING PAPER. 



" Will it be a benefit to wrap colonies with one or more 

 thicknesses of building paper when putting them out in the 

 spring ?" 



Mr. Kirkpatrick tried it on 20 colonies last spring with 

 good results. He laid it on top of the hive, then folded it 

 down around the hives, then put on the cover. He will use 

 it again this spring. 



Mr. Bingham said that Capt. Hetherington reported it 

 beneficial. 



TEMPERATURE FOR CEI,I,AR-WINTERING. 



" What degree of temperature gives best results in cel- 

 lar-winteiing ?" 



Mr. Bingham reported 30 to 35 degrees in his cellar. 



Mr. Manley said 36 to 38 degrees in his cellar. A dis- 

 cussion then ensued on cellar-wintering, Mr. Bingham giv- 

 ing a clear description of his cistern cellar. 



Mr. Hilton believes a cellar as described by Mr. Bing- 

 ham would be no good in clay ground. 



Mr. Bingham believes a cellar could be built above 

 ground, in a clay country, of cement, then banked with 

 gravel. Some advocated cellar-wintering, others outdoor 

 wintering. L. A. Aspinwall and Mr. Hilton advocated out- 

 door wintering. 



ACID FOR WAX-RENDERING. 



"How much acid should be used in rendering old combs 

 into wax ?" 



Mr. Root advised boiling the wax in water until all is 

 melted, then put in one percent of acid and boil % minute, 

 then pour all into a barrel into which has been previously 

 put 3 or 4 pailfuls of hot water, and let it stand 24 hours. 

 During this time the dirt in the wax sinks. Vinegar can be 

 used in the same manner, but is more expensive. He said 

 acid does not injure the wax. Vinegar, to be successful, 

 must be very strong. Salt has also been used. 



E. D. Townsend thinks that wax should not be boiled 

 after it is all melted. 



Mr. Root would not boil it after it is melted in render- 

 ing old combs, but does not believe boiling wax will darken 

 it unless it is burned. 



Oscar Smith renders wax by steam from a steam engine. 



Mr. Manley also favors steam for rendering wax. He 

 can render 300 pounds in half a day. He renders it over the 

 second time, using screw pressure. 



Mr. Root advised melting the wax before putting it in 

 the press, as it is faster than heating in the press. 



A motion was then carried, that those who are already 

 members of the National can become members of the Michi- 

 gan Association by paying 50 cents for dues for the latter. 

 (Concluded next week.) 



®ur> Sister 

 BceKcepers 



=J' 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



How a Bee-Keeping Sister Won— and Didn't Get It 



An interesting bit of history connected with bees and 

 women has just been closed. The city of New York has 

 some 30 colonies of bees at Bronx Park, and a competent 

 person was to be chosen to care for them. That statement 

 is all that is needed to understand the following clipping 

 from the New York World, sent by the courtesy of Mr. W. 

 M. Scardefield : 



A Woman Heads the List 



When Park Commissioner Schrader, of the Bronx, comes to select 

 the first of the three apiarists which he thinks necessary to the proper 

 care and cultivation of the bee-colonies in the parks under his jurisdic- 

 tion, he will find that the name of a woman heads the eligible list 

 which was sent to him to-day by the Civil-Service Commission. 



Emma V. Haggerty, of this city, was the only woman among the 

 30 odd citizens who took the examination, and she passed with 97 per- 

 cent. Her nearest competitor got '.)3 percent, and Mies Haggerty 

 demonstrated that she knew more about bees and bee-culture than any 

 of the aspirants. 



SHE LIKES KEES. 



The position pays *1200 a year, and Miss Haggerty wants it be- 

 cause she likes bees and has devoted a good deal of her time to study- 

 ing them. But the question is, Will she get it? There is no doubt 

 that she has proven herself the fittest of all the aspirants for the place, 

 but it is upsetting precedent a bit to appoint a woman to such a place 

 in the Department of Parks. The chances are that Miss Haggerty will 

 be passed over and a man appointed, but if she is it will not be with- 

 out strong protest from her friends, who believe that she ought to get 

 the place. 



To pass the examination for this place required more than an ordi- 

 nary amount of knowledge about bees. Nine (juestions were asked of 

 the applicants, and they had to " know bees ■' to answer them. One 

 was " How does the cell of the queen-bee differ from that of the other 

 bees?" 



Another was, " What happens when bees are left without a queen, 

 and how is a new queen provided*" Miss Haggerty answered these 

 questions like an expert; also all the juestions about how to protect 

 the public from being stung by the bees, how to save the bees from 

 disease, etc. 



MIGHT SOLVE A MYSTERY. 



It has been suggested that the appointment of a woman bee- 

 keeper might result in some information being discovered as to what 

 becomes of all the honey which the park bees make. No one has ever 

 been able to discover just where it goes, but Miss Haggerty might 

 solve the mystery. 



The answer to the question : " Will Woman Become 

 City Bee-Keeper ?" is contained in the following clipping, 

 kindly furnished by Mr. A. D. Jacot : 



Rejects 'Wonian Bee-Keeper 



John H. O'Mara, of this city, has been appointed apiarist in his 

 Department by Park Commissioner Schrader, of the Bronx, at a salary 

 of $100 per month. Miss Emma V. Haggerty, a school teacher, 



