THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



179 



the '■'■Iloncy Emptying Machine.''^ As the Bee 

 JoCKNAT. is stereotyped, the forms have to be 

 made np sometime in advance of the publicalion 

 day, and wc cannot make alterations or substi- 

 tntions, liowever desirable, which would other- 

 wise l)e practicable. 



Wisconsin Bee-keepers' Association. 



Editor Bee Journai,: —The Wisconsin Bec- 

 kcopers' Association hold its third annual session 

 in the rooms of the State Agricultural Society, 

 in tl-.c Capitol, at Madison, on the 1-llh of Febru- 

 ary, 1 1^08. Business of interest was transacted, 

 and :'.nion_!Li; other things it wiis decided to hold 

 an annuiil meeting on Wednesday of State Fair 

 week— notice to be given in the daily programme 

 and by bulletins on the ground. 



Tlio following-named persons were elected of- 

 ficers for the ensuing ycav, viz: 



Jajies Bullard, of Evansville, President. 



B. S IIox',E, of Cooksville, Secretary. 



A..M. ILAt, of Stockbridge, Treasurer. 



The following resolutions were offered, and 

 unanimously adopted: 



1. Resolved, that the movable frame is indis- 

 pensable to complete success in bee-culture; and 

 to the end that the colony may be more fully 

 under the control of the apiarian, it is quite es- 

 sential that the frames be adjusted without blocks, 

 jrins, or hooks, as to their relative distance from 

 each other. 



2. llesolved, that in our opinion some suita- 

 ble 'permanent house or protection lor bees in 

 winter, is more economical than an outdoor ex- 

 posure. 



;?. Resolved, that artificial swarming is indis- 

 pensable to success in practical bee-culture. 



•1. Resolved, that close proximity of hives is 

 injurious to the bee-keepers. 



No further business being presented, the As- 

 aociatiou adjourned, to meet as above indicated. 

 B. S. HoxiE, Secretary. 



Cooksville, Feb. 14, 1868. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 

 Size of Hives. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Inquiries: Size of Hives. 



My bees have been quite a source of profit this 

 year; sixty-five hives paying over seven hundred 

 dollars, besides labor and expenses. I attentive- 

 ly read your Bee Journal, and think I learn 

 much not laid down in books. 

 \ I would like to ask the following questions. 



In a section of country where there is little or 

 no buckwheat honey to store in the fall, is it not 

 belter to make thchive larger than 2000 cubic 

 inches in the clear — say about 2400 in Lat. 43.? 



in a hive only ten or twelve inches high, is it 

 not best to give more room, than in one fourteen 

 inches high in the clear V 



I have more questions to propose; but enough 

 for the present. D. C. B. 



GOWANDA, N. Y. 



Those hives that soonest rid their drones, are 

 likely to be foiwardest next year. — Butlek. 



Dear Journal: — Appreciating the liberality 

 and freedom extended to your correspondents, I 

 take the liberty to make some remarks in answer 

 to the " Queries of Querist," in regard to size 

 and form of hive. 



While I frankly acknowledge that I have a 

 Bee Hive to sell, I trust that does not materially 

 affect my judgment. And, as only those who 

 have experimented largely with a view to obtain- 

 ing a hive adapted to the wants of the bee keeper, 

 and not inconsistent with the in.stincts of the 

 honey bee, can answer the queries of Querist, I 

 trust that what I may say will not be passed by 

 without consideration. 



in the latitude of western New York, with only 

 a short honey season, a hive containing less than 

 two thousand inches would be unsafe, unless in 

 the hands of experts, and, so far as my observa- 

 tion extends, the same Avill hold true in most 

 sections of tlu; northern States. 



The form of the hive, and the protection afford- 

 ed by it, the length of the honey season, and the 

 manner of wintering, will enable this estimate 

 to be modified in special cases, jjerhaps, to advan- 

 tage. In the form of a hive certain points may 

 be gained. If, for instance, it is desirable to 

 have the bees cluster between all the conbs con- 

 taining honey for their support in winter, it may 

 be accomplished by using only seven large 

 frames. If desirable to have all the honey in one 

 place and above the bees in winter and not at 

 both ends of the hive, triangular frames with 

 one corner pointing up will accomplish the de- 

 sired result. If straight combs with winter pas- 

 sages in them are desirable, frames in the Ibrm 

 of a letter A, the cross bar being triangular and 

 the side pieces of the same form, will ensure 

 them. If it is desirable to concentrate the heat 

 generated by the bees where the honey for their 

 winter use is stored, instead of diffusing it over 

 broad upper surfaces, and in remote corners, a 

 sharp top hive will accomplish this as Avell. 



If it is desirable to place spare honey boxes 

 on a hive after hiving into it a large swarm of 

 bees and j^et not have brood deposited in them, 

 a triangular hive, having the boxes arranged on 

 the inclined sides will never fail. 



If eight shallow, six pound supers are necessary 

 to accommodate a vigorous slock of bees in the 

 height of the honey season; and it is not desira- 

 ble to spread out the hive beyond the number of 

 combs between which the bees Avould cluster in 

 winter, they may be arranged as above. If an old 

 stock of bees will not accept spare boxes unless 

 they are shallow and in close proximitj'^ to the 

 brood, the upper inch ned sides of a triangular hive 

 will admit them of that form and in tlie desired 

 position. 



If the breath or warm air found in bee hives 

 does not condense or form dampness, except 

 when brought in contact with a cold surface, a 

 sharp top hive having dry chafi" packed closely 

 on all sides except the bottom, will remain dry 

 above the bees without upward ventilation. 



These conclusions have been the result of years 

 of patient study and successful experiment, and 



