«64 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Dec. 14 , 1905 



Conr>cntton 

 Proccebings 



^ 



rJ 



Report of the Texas Couventlou 



BY LOUIS H. SCHOLL, SEC. 



(Continaed from page 817) 

 The Kind of Hives for All Kinds of Honev. 



Udo Toepperwein said that it depends largely upon 

 locality as to which hive should be used. He would not 

 begin to discuss this subject, because it would be im- 

 possible for him to finish it. He uses the regular 10- 

 frame, dovetailed hive with the shallow Ideal SM-inch- 

 depth supers, and that is the hive mostly sold by him. He 

 said the greatest demand is for these shallow supers, and 

 he believes from this that most of the bee-keepers are 

 using this super now. This could be told from the orders 

 that come in for them. 



Mr. Atchley remarked that if shallow supers are used 

 they should be used from the ground up, to prevent having 

 different depths in a yard. 



Mr Pharr would use one kind of hive-body through- 

 out, and if he should adopt one he would use the Sj4-inch 

 super all the way through, 8 or 10-franie, according to the 

 length of the honey-flow. H this lasts only a few days he 

 would use a small brood-chamber; if a long time then he 

 would use a large brood-chamber. But he thinks that the 

 .5f4-inch depth is decidedly the best for producing all kinds 

 ot honey. 



Mr. Aten would use the 5M-inch if he were to use 

 shallow supers, and would use them throughout so that 

 all would be interchangeable. 



Mr. White thinks that conclusions as to which super 

 IS most popular could be arrived at by the manufacturer or 

 siipply dealer, from the number of orders calling for them 

 lispecially can this be depended upon when the orders 

 come from experienced bee-keepers. He had been asked 

 by many to make this size for them in orders sent to him 

 Many who began with others are changing to this type of 

 super. -'1 ^ ^1 



Before adjournment, Mr. Toepperwein said a few 

 words m regard to the bee-keepers' exhibit at the Inter- 

 national Fair at San Antonio, which begins Oct. 21, and 

 closes Nov. 1. This year there are about $300 offered in 

 preniiums, and the bee-keepers are urgently requested to 

 e.Kliibit. 



THIRD DAY— July 27th. 

 The first number on the program was, 



The L.mest Methods of Queen-Rearing, 



Mr Pharr exhibited his small frames and mating- 

 boxes that he uses. The small combs on which the queens 

 are niated are in frames of such size that 6 of them just fit 

 inside of a regular Langstroth frame. In this they are 

 kept to be built out m the hive ready for use. His small 

 matmg-boxes hold 1 such comb, and are painted different 

 ■colors to prevent the returning queens from entering the 

 wrong box. A virgin queen, 3 to 5 days old, is put in 

 with about 50 to 100 bees in the warm summer, and with 

 from 150 to 250 when the weather is cooler. No brood is 

 needed m the small combs. If sealed brood is given it is 

 iiot considered detrimental, but there is no benefit in 

 having it at all. 



Only one queen is mated with such a nucleus, when all 

 are hauled home, the bees thrown together and made into 

 a large nucleus. This is built up into a full colony. The 

 small boxes receive new bees for the mating of the next 

 queen. If more than one queen is mated with the same 

 lot of bees, 50 per cent of the second lot of queens will 

 be lost. It is cheaper to take new bees for each mating. 



Mr. Bell asked, when the zinc queen-excluding slot is 

 turned over the entrance after she is niated, to prevent the 

 queen from absconding with the bees, do the bees ever 

 abscond and leave the queen behind? 



Mr. Pharr replied that they do not. Sometimes a 

 queen is so small that she can pass through when they all 

 leave. In this case the bee-keeper should be glad that she 



is gone, as such a queen is not fit to keep for any use 

 whatever. "Such small queens should be killed as soon as 

 found. 



Mr. Laws asked if 50 to 150 bees were enough, or if a 

 teacupful of bees would be better. 



Mr. Pharr said that it depends upon the weather, 

 otherwise he could see no difference. 



Mr. Bell— What percentage of queens are mated in a 

 favorable season.^ 



Mr. Pharr — From 75 to 90 per cent. During dry 

 weather, with harsh winds, from 50 to 75 per cent. I 

 prefer the, small nuclei over the old-fashioned 3-frame 

 nuclei. 



Mr. Victor has not given the latest methods the time 

 and attention that he should. He is an extensive shipper 

 of bees and nuclei, and has loaded for shipment over 2,600 

 colonies and nuclei in the last 3 years. These went to 

 Colorado and other places. The nucleus hive that suits 

 him well is a 10-frame hive, partitioned off into 4 parts in 

 such a way that one-quarter of the hive in each corner is 

 occupied by a nucleus. The bottom-board has strips on it 

 which are so arranged that the 4 parts of the hive are 

 separate from each other. An entrance to each part is 

 provided for at each opposite corner of the bottom-board. 

 A large auger-hole covered with screen-wire part way up 

 the hive, covered with a wooden button on the outside, is 

 used to regulate the ventilation of the nucleus. This gives 

 him good, permanent nuclei, and 75 per cent of the queens 

 are mated throughout the season. 



Mr. Laws dwelt for some length upon the method he 

 practises, known as the "Baby Nucleus" plan. It is much 

 like that described by Mr. Pharr, except that he uses some- 

 what larger combs and more bees in his mating-bo.xes, 

 which he did not consider would make much difference. 

 The greatest destruction to the colonies of bees in a queen- 

 rearing apiary is caused by the making of the required 

 nuclei. He prefers the little ones, as so many more can 

 be made with the bees from one colony. New nuclei can be 

 formed with each mating. With the old 3-frame nuclei it 

 takes sometimes a week or even a month before the bees 

 can be made to accept a new queen. This causes a loss of 

 time and a loss of bees. The queen-breeder wants to leave 

 his queen-rearing yard in as good shape at the end of the 

 season as a honey-yard after the crop is harvested. He 

 does not think it necessary to have brood in the mating- 

 boxes, and cannot see why the Eastern and Northern bee- 

 keepers should need it. A comb of honey works best with 

 him. The difference between the old and the new plan is 

 that from 200 to 300 queens can be mated at a time with 

 the bees from one colony with the new plan, while 25 

 colonies are required for this number with the old one. 



Last season he was verj' successful by using double 

 wire-screens above a brood-chamber, over which he used 

 another chamber which was partitioned off by solid boards 

 into three nuclei. Auger-holes at opposite sides and at 

 one end served as entrances to the different parts. A 

 second screen and another body thus partitioned was used 

 above, making, with the chamber below. 7 nuclei in all. A 

 cell is given to each, and the queens are successfully mated. 

 The same combs can be used again to mate a second lot, 

 but it is better to start with a new lot of bees. The re- 

 moval of the queen from the lower chamber is not neces- 

 sary, as the queens are niated just the same above, there 

 being no communication between the different parts. He 

 thinks this the best plan for the Honey-producer. When 

 he unites all the bees from the different parts above he 

 simply takes a new hive, places it on the stand from which 

 the colony has been removed, and shakes all the bees in 

 front of it. They are handled rather roughly, and smoked 

 quite thoroughly. A queen is turned loose with them and 

 allowed to enter the hives. 



Mr. White remarked that the bees being cut off from 

 those below by the double screen puts them in a queenless 

 condition. It is conceded that any part of the bee-hive to 

 which the queen cannot get is queenless, and they will 

 start cells. Therefore, it is an easy matter to introduce 

 cells to the nuclei made after Mr. Laws' plan. 



Mr. Laws stated that the nuclei above did start cells 

 when left alone; even when he drew out the screen, 

 separating the bees before queen-cells would be started 

 above. This would be done with a queen below, and some- 

 times a virgin from above would go below and kill the 

 queen there, even a young and prolific one. 



Mr. Pharr said that if a single wire-screen is used the 

 bees from below tantalize the virgin queens above, and 



