132 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



swarms by the loth of May. His pltin is to re- 

 move from a full hive one or two cards of comb 

 containing young bees, and place them in a new 

 liive, with a small supply of honey. He intro- 

 duces queen-bees by artificial process, not wtrit- 

 ing for them to be reared in the natural course, 

 til us saving much time in propagating. He said 

 that the greatest profit in raising bees is obtained 

 by keeping the swarms large and vigorous. 



The following officers were elected for the 

 ensuing year : 



Prendent—'Dv. J. P. Kirtland, of Cleveland. 



Vice-Fresideni—J . T. Merriman, of Burton, 

 Geauga county. 



Secretary and Treasurer — E. T. Sturtevant, of 

 East Cleveland. 



Tlie subject of wintering bees was discussed 

 by Drs. Couklin and Kirtland, Mr. Hart, of Wis- 

 consin, and Mr. Sturtevant, of East Cleveland. 

 These gentlemen all gave their experience on 

 the subject. Mr. Hart had met with the greatest 

 .success in burying his hives during the winter, 

 and had tried several plans to preserve them. 

 He had at the convention a new hive of his own 

 invention, which he had found better than any- 

 thing he had ever seen. 



Mr. Sturtevant believed the best way was to 

 leave the hives on their summer stands, and give 

 them plenty of ventilation. 



Dr. Couklin thought it well to leave them on 

 the summer stands, and cover the hives svith 

 cloths, cut straw and leaves. He thought these 

 absorbed the moisture and retained the heat. 



Dr. Kirtland said that the heat arising from 

 fifty-two of his hives standing under a sl)*d, was 

 sutiicieut to melt snow upon the roof. Here he 

 Avinters his strong swarms. For the weak ones 

 he has a cemented cellar, where they are kept 

 secure. He experiences little difficulty in win- 

 tering. In the way of depredations, he has suf- 

 fered most from theft. Of late he has been 

 considerably annoyed by the wood mouse. Six 

 swarms were destroyed last winter by them. 

 This year he flanked them by nailing strips of 

 tin, to prevent them from boring under the 

 hives. 



The question of Italianizing was next taken up. 

 Dr. Kirtland said he was some time ago pre- 

 sented with an Italian queen bee. He placed her 

 in a hive with a few combs of young bees and 

 honey ; she immediately went to laying drone 

 eggs, and in a short time the entire swarm was 

 Italianized. He soon learned by observation 

 that they were much more industrious workers 

 than the ordinary blacks, and he changed his 

 whole twenty-five swarms to that breed. 



Brief reinarks upon this subject were made by 

 Mr. Hart and one or two others, after which the 

 meeting adjourned till evening. In the evening 

 very few members were present, and after a few 

 conversational remarks, the Association ad- 

 journed to meet on the second day of the Ohio 

 State Fair, wherever it is held. 



[For the Americau Bee Journal.] 



Variation of the Honey Season in Coun- 

 tries having the same Latitude. 



Not the least wonder of this conventicle of 

 wonders — the hive — is, that it confounds the as- 

 tute reason of man to comprehend ii in all its 

 significaucies. — Shuckard. 



In ordinary years, the honey season in this 

 section of country (JeflFerson county, Ohio) be- 

 gins the first of June and terminates about the 

 20th of July. This term is slightly modified by 

 the earhness or lateness of the spring, character 

 of the weather, &c. If the spring should open 

 early, and the weather favor the abundance of 

 white clover and other spring flowers, with a ge- 

 nial atmosphere throughout, this period may be 

 extended a week or ten days. On the contrary, 

 if vegetation is retarded by the prolongation of 

 winter, and drouth early supersede the alterna- 

 tion of showers and fair weather, the period of 

 honey gathering will be curtailed two or three 

 weeks. 



Until recently, I had thought that the time of 

 storing honey by the bees was uniform over all 

 the States, except only that a difierence in lati- 

 tude would advance or retard it, as we proceed 

 either North or South. But, on reading the late 

 correspondence of the Bee Journal from the 

 West, on the honey product and season of last 

 year, I discover that the season most productive 

 of honey there is, by no means, identical with 

 corresponding period here. Accounts from Indi- 

 ana, Illinois, Iowa, and parts of Missouri and 

 Minnesota, represent that the honey season did 

 not set in there till some time in August, and 

 that it continued through that month and a part 

 or the whole of September. This contrasts so 

 widely with the results in this section as to give 

 rise to the inquiry, what should cause such dis- 

 parity in the honey harvest in countries in other 

 respects identical? To expect much surplus 

 honey here after July, except in localities where 

 much buckwheat is sown, would exhibit a mind 

 but illy in accord with the history of past expe- 

 rience. BuckAvheat is the only plant grown here 

 that bees can forage on in the fall of the year, 

 with any probability of securing a surplus ; and 

 it is cultivated in limited quantities, and only in 

 seasons when other crops threaten a failure. No 

 other mellifluous plant, of either artificial produc- 

 tion or spontaneous growth, abounds in sufficient 

 quantity to furnish honey for surplus, or even a 

 supply adequate to replace that consumed in 

 breeding, wear, &c. What, then, should com- 

 bine to produce such a disparity of the honey 

 season of countries so contiguous ? Reason 

 would seem to teach that white clover, which is 

 our main dependence, blooms simultaneously in 

 all countries not diflering essentially in latitude. 

 As this plant continues in bloom in this section 

 no later than July, except in uncommonly wet 

 seasons, it cannot be reasonably classed as one of 

 those flowers, abounding in mellifluous nectar, 

 which caused such encouraging reports from the 

 West. On the contrary, the close affinity that 

 exists between this State and the States of Indi- 

 ana, Illinois and Iowa, in point of soil, climate 

 and production, Avould seem to militate against 

 the theory that a different class of flowers would 

 cause the dift'erence. However, incongruous as 

 this sentiment does seem to me, the question is 

 inexplicable on any other hypothesis. Who, of 



