Nov. 30 1905 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



823 



lions I ever attended, no papers were read. 

 Papers are sometimes valuable in starting dis- 

 cussion, but usually more good can be gotten 

 out of a paper, at far less expense, by read- 

 ing it carefully at home. 



E. S. LovEST (Vtah)— 1. About one-third 

 of the time of each session. 2. The same. If 

 there is a lack of interest at the beginning of 

 the meeting the question-box can be used to 

 create a general interest in the whole pro- 

 gram. 



E. D, TowNSEND (Mich.) — Personally, I en- 

 joy the ciuestion-box the best of anything 

 about a convention, and I can not conceive of 

 anything better for the main part of the time. 

 Did you ever see a convention lag during the 

 question-box session? 



E. Whitcomb (Nebr.) — The question-box 

 certainly is very interesting. One-half of the 

 sessions of our conventions could very profit- 

 ably be taken up by the question-box. By it 



we gain an insight into what our listeners 

 desire us to talk about. 



G. W. Demarbe (Ky.)— 1. Speaking from 

 some experience in convention work, I regard 

 the educational feature of the exercises — such 

 as asking and answering questions — the most 

 important of all. 2. Let us enjoy our ihcly 

 well done, rather than sf^-enjoyment. 



C. H. DiBBEKN (111.)— At least half of the 

 time of a bee-convention should be devoted to 

 the question-box, and the more questions on 

 new lines the better. For my own part, I 

 would rather have all the time devoted to 

 short, spicy questions than listen to long, 

 windy essays. 



P. H. Elwood (N. Y.)— Only a limited time 

 when a committee answers the questions. 

 When you have the whole convention answer, 

 and you have a president equal to the task of 

 directing and changing the discussion at the 



proper time, it is a good way to run a conven- 

 tion for a sess' ^n. 



Db.C. C. Miller (111.)— 1. All the time that 

 can be spared from necessary business, unless 

 it be occasionally a short paper or talk on a 

 special topic by one particularly qualified. 2. 

 All of it, provided there's a man in charge 

 who wisely directs the discussion ; preventing 

 it from being switched oft into something of 

 little value, and changing to the next ques- 

 tion as soon as all the milk has been gotten 

 out of the cocoanut. 



Db. J. P. H. Brown (Ga.)— 1 and 2. An- 

 swers to these questions depend very much. 

 In most conventions of this kind there is too 

 much time wasted by mouthy and " windy " 

 members who like to hear themselves talk, to 

 the exclusion of more experienced and better- 

 informed members who are not blessed with a 

 lluency of words. A time limit should always 

 be set to prick the gas-bags and give the 

 modest members a chance. 



^ (£ontrtbuteb -f 

 Special Clrticles 



=\ 



J 



December Work In and About the Apiary 



BY C. P. DADANT 



IF our bees have not been put into winter quarters on the 

 summer stands, but are intended to be put into tiie cellar, 

 this is the month to do it, and rather early than late. In 

 latitudes further north they are usually put away during 

 November. A change ot weather after a warm day is the 

 proper time. If the bees have already been confined for sev- 

 eral weeks to the hive by cold weather, they will probably fare 

 as well if they are left outside, as they have already been con- 

 suming stores, and their intestines may already be somewhat 

 loaded. 



Any good cellar for fruit or vegetables will do to winter 

 bees, provided a corner may be set apart for them and sep- 

 arated from the main cellar by some sort of partition, even if 

 made only of old carpets. There must be ventilation so as 

 to cool the temperature which may become too high, espe- 

 cially if the colonies are strong and numerous. We take them 

 in without the cap or super, and give them both upper and 

 lower ventilation. The hives may be piled on top of each 

 other, using a slat at each end on top of a hive before putting 

 on the next, so that there may be a space between them. We 

 leave the hive-entrance entirely open, and turn this to the 

 wall or towards the darkness, so the bees will not be induced 

 to fly. Darkness is important, and the window, if there is 

 one, should be darkened by a curtain. 



A special bee-cellar in which nothing else is kept is cer- 

 tainly desirable, but many bee-keepers can not afford this and 

 yet can well spare room in a good house-cellar. 



Nowadays many cellars have a furnace which heats the 

 home. Even such a cellar may be used. We have used one 

 of this description for a number of years with good success, 

 but the bee-room was partitioned off with a 4-inch sawdust 

 partition, so that the bee-cellar could be kept cool while the 

 other part was warm. Such a cellar has the advantage of 

 being very dry, and also of being easily warmed up when the 

 temperature falls too low. lint it is the other extreme which 

 Is most to be guarded against. From years of experience re- 

 peated by others we find that about 40 degrees Fahrenheit is 

 the nearest correct. This may vary a little according to out- 

 side temperatures, but the degree at which the bees remain 

 the quietest is correct. A low hum is all that should be heard. 

 When the temperature rises or gets too low the noise increases. 



Towards spring a few bees will leave the cluster, from 

 time to time, and fall to the cellar floor after making a vain 

 attempt to escape. Those bees have become restless from 

 some cause, and would disturb the quiet of the others, and it is 

 better for them to die. The los< in this manner will be small. 



Nothing is required for the bees left on the summer 

 stands, if they are properly protected. Reducing the entrances 

 according to the requirements of the colony, cleaning the 

 snow from the front, keeping out stock and other outside dis- 

 turbances will fulfill the conditions necessary for success. Our 



main reason for wanting the snow cleaned from the front or 

 alighting-board is that the bees may have a clean place to 

 travel on, if the sun gets warm and the snow melts. 



Hamilton, III. 



Bee-Supply Prices and the Honey-Market 



BY DR. G. BOHREE 



ON page 647, Mr. J. E. Johnson discusses the price ot bee- 

 supplies and honey, and assumes the ground that in case 

 1 J^-story hives could be purchased for 75 cents each every 

 Tom, Dick and Harry would be in the bee-business : there be- 

 ing, he thinks, so many of this class now, and that many 

 owners of bees bring their honey to market in the worst pos- 

 sible condition, so much so as to injure the price and sale of 

 honey. He thinks that if the price of bee-supplies was so 

 high as to drive this class out of the bee-business it would be 

 a blessing to any community. 



That there is a very great want of true knowledge among 

 a large percent of people who own bees, and that there is also 

 a corresponding amount of inexcusable negligence among 

 thera, are undeniable facts ; but to attempt to remedy this 

 state of affairs by raising the price of bee-supplies can not, 

 and will not, bring success in either the price of honey or the 

 scientific management of honey-bees, in my opinion ; and I 

 will suggest that if the opinion is generally prevalent among 

 bee-keepers, that a bee-supply trust exists, or that there is a 

 secret understanding among manufacturers of these supplies 

 to raise the prices of the same, and thereby enable them to 

 reap an unjust, and, consequently, an undue profit, we, the 

 bee-keepers, when in convention assembled, should select a 

 proper committee and instruct them to investigate the facts 

 in the case and report the result of their investigations, and 

 if it is ascertained that an undue profit has been, and is being 

 realized by our bee-supply men, let us take immediate action 

 by either subscribing stock and starting a factory of our own, 

 or by entering into an agreement with some bee-supply factory 

 that will sell us supplies at a fair price. And mark my pre- 

 diction, Mr. Editor, we will reduce prices inside of 30 days. 



I will also suggest that the goods supplied be of good 

 quality, requiring all bottom-boards, landing-boards and fol- 

 lowers to be made of substantial material. This I deem a 

 matter of considerable importance. I have quite a number of 

 hives with bottom-boards too thin to permit bees to be moved 

 in safety ; and the detachable landing or alighting boards are 

 so thin that they warp to pieces and break down when a quart 

 or two of bees lie out on them or cluster under them ; while 

 the followers or division-boards are worthless after once stuck 

 fast with propolis, as they split to pieces when an effort is 

 made to get them out of the hive. In the last hives I pur- 

 chased I did not make up the followers, as they were not 

 worth nailing together. 



I would also suggest that we state to the public in plain 

 language that a hive shallower than the standard Langstroth 

 hive is not by any means a safe hive for a beginner to use in 

 a climate where there is much zpro weather, nor for any one 

 else who winters bees on the summer stands, while in a mild 

 climate shallow hives may answer a good purpose. 



In the matter of improving the price and sale ot honey, 

 let us ascertain by what form honey can be produced and put 

 upon the market in the cheapest and most wholesome form as 

 food. When this has been done, and we, in our advertising 



