94 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURANL. 



Michigan Bee-keepnrs' Conrention. 



The MrcHiGAN Bke-keefers' AssocrAxioN 

 met Id the Boaid of Trade's Rooms, in Jackson, 

 Michigan, on Tuesday, September 21, 1869, 

 President Rood in the chair. 



On motion, Messrs. Fhmders, Baldridge, and 

 Moon were chosen a committee to report topics 

 fur discussion. 



It was voted that a committee of three be ap- 

 pointed to arrange for exhibition of honey and 

 to judge upon the merits of tlie same. Messrs. 

 Cook, Townley, and Beall were elected as such 

 Committee. 



A. F. Moon was appointed to make arrange- 

 ments for informing people of our mee'ings. 



Tlie Committee on Topics then repo'ted tlie 

 following question for discussion :— " How can 

 we prepare our bees for wintering the most suc- 

 cessfully ?" The report was accepted and the 

 question discusssed. 



Mr. Moon, of Paw Paw, preferred out-door 

 wintering; would place his hives on a box- 

 platform and fill around them with straw. He 

 would shelter his bees from the sun ; otherwise 

 they would fly when the weather whs too cool 

 for a return to the hive. Bees, in common with 

 all animal life, require plenty of pure ;iir. If 

 well ventilated from below, he considers them 

 safe. Close attention should be given to the 

 bees in the fall, and the honey in the different 

 hives equalized, the bees not liaving too much 

 or too little. Twenty-five pounds is enough for 

 a good colony; and no attempt should be made 

 to winter any other. Some empty cells are 

 necessary for successful wintering. Honey so 

 thin that it would ooze through tiie cap was to 

 be avoided. He thought bees never froze to 

 death. The only requisite to life and health 

 was plenty of food and air. He thought hiving 

 dangerous, and hence looked on it with little 

 favor. 



Messrs. Marvin, Rood, and Flanders argued 

 in favor of depositories, as by careful housing 

 much honey would be saved ; it being a princi- 

 ple in the economy of animal life, that more 

 food is required to keep up the animal heat in a 

 low temperature. 



Messrs. Rood and Flanders would have a 

 double-walled house; the walls being from fif- 

 teen to twenty inches thick, tilled in with saw- 

 dust. "Would have pipes for ventilating above 

 and below, arranged witli'valves so as to con- 

 tract or expand the aperture, and so made as to 

 admit no light. To accomplish this the upper 

 pipes were long; the lower in the saw-dust fil- 

 ling about level with the ground, opening to the 

 air at one corner, and to the room at the oppo- 

 site corner of the house. By having the hive 

 open above, all moisture would pass off. If 

 thick walls would not keep the temperature at 

 about 35'^, a large snow bank should be kept 

 near and appropriated, if necessary to keep the 

 temperature from rising. 



Mr. Marvin, of St. Charles, Illinois, thought 

 a dry sandy cellar was good for wintering bees; 

 yet he preferred to house as described above. 

 With the emptying machine honey could be ex- 



tracted if the combs were too full; and if the 

 honey was ton thick or too thin, it could be ex- 

 tracted, and by adding water, or by evaporation 

 by heat, could be brought to the proper consis- 

 tency. The amount of honey necessary for 

 wintering depended on the numlier of bee?, age 

 of queen, and amount of young bees— a young 

 queen and young bees requiring more honey. 

 There should always be young bees present for 

 the fall, also young brood. 



Mr. Campbell, of Rc.yal 0,ik, believed in 

 housing. Old methods would not avail. To 

 compete with progress in bee-keeping we must 

 discard old ideas and be up vviih the times. He 

 thought the time of box hives and out-door win- ■ 

 tering Avas of the de d past. 



Voted that our sessions be held at 7^ o'clock, 

 morning aud evening. 



September 22d — Mokking Session. 



Motion prevailed that the election of officers 

 be made the special order for Thursday eve- 

 ning. 



Voted that members only be allowed to com- 

 pete for premiums on honey. 



Resolution pass?d : That an annual fee of 

 fifty cents be required of each member of the 

 association. 



The ("'ecretary related a case of transferring 

 a swarm of bees, filling all the frames, except 

 one on each side, with combs some of which 

 contained brood ; and the bees all leaving the 

 hive and going away. 



Mr. Baldridge had never known such a case. 

 j Proltai:>ly the bees were ready to swaim and did 

 j not lose the impulse. He would have all the 

 I empty frames on one side. 



I Mr. Marvin thought the bees had become too 

 j full of honey; and this, with the heat, caused 

 them to leave. 



Mr. Moon had knowm one or two similar cases. 

 He thought it could not be heat, as there was 

 abundant empty space in the hive. It could 

 not be swarming, as there were no bees left iu 

 the hive. He thought they were offended at 

 I something, and would nr)t stay. If bees were 

 very plenty he would leave space in the middle 

 of the hive. 



The President remarked that you could tell 

 from which hive a swarm issued, as there would 

 always be young bees laying in front of the 

 hive. 



Evening Session. 



The Committee on Premiums reported in 

 favor of two premiums of $8.00 and $2.00 on 

 the first and second best honey, and a premium 

 of $2.03 for the best hive exhibiied by mem- 

 bers. The report was accepted, and the recom- 

 mendation adopted. 



Messrs. Campbell, McKee, and Wolcott were 

 appointed judges of hives. 



The Committee on Topics then reported the 

 following questions for discussion : 



1st. What is the best location for an apiary, 

 and how should the hives be arranged ? 



2d. What are the merits of Alsike clover as a 

 forage, honey, and fertilizing plant ? 



