412 



Discussions. 



The discussions during the sessions were 

 able and lengthy, but on account of taking 

 up too much valuable space in the Journal 

 must be abridged very much. 



Wintering— Methods and Reasons of Fail- 

 ures. 



D. D. Palmer. Wintering is not a hobby 

 with me, I have so many it is not of so much 

 interest if I lose a few. I advise putting 

 bees into winter quarters early. I put in a 

 part of mine early— cellar well ventilated, 

 double doors, open at will. I think a pipe 

 should be run out 100 or 200 ft. from cave or 

 cellar ; let air in at further end and by the 

 time it gets to the bees is tempered to their 

 condition. The balance of my bees were 

 put in Jan 10, 1879. Lost 2 of the 130 first 

 put in and 75 out of the last 150 in, which 

 showed signs of dysentery. 



C. P. Dadant. We use 60 or 70 American 

 hives, 300 or 400 Quinby hives and some 

 Langstroth hives. Lost 10 per cent, in the 

 Langstroth hives, 1 or 2 colonies in the 

 American, very few in the Quinby. The 

 trouble with the Langstroth hive is, it is 

 too shallow, the bees starve because the 

 honey gives out above them, and bees can't 

 reach it sidewise on account of the cold. 

 Bees have died more from neglect than any 

 other way. I think the Langstroth hive is 

 especially adapted to cellar wintering. 



Win. M. Kellogg. We winter our bees in 

 a sand cave, double doors, 10 in. of sawdust 

 overhead, cave well ventilated by 6 tubes 

 through the sawdust and 1 out at the sides 

 at the east. We winter with almost no loss, 

 if bees are put in early and in good condition. 



O. Clute. As to Mr. Palmer's suggestion 

 of a long pipe, why can't we use ice ? I 

 think most bee-keepers could use ice to 

 good effect. 



L. H. Scudder. My bees got very hot, the 

 walls were covered with bees. Kept closed 

 till dark, then opened the doors. It was so 

 hot the air looked like steam. Left the 

 doors open till morning ; it was quite cold ; 

 a large amount of bees were clustered in 

 one corner. Had to open the doors every 

 night. I want under ventilation. 



Wm. M. Kellogg. We used ice in our 

 sand cave, and it worked well ; don't know 

 how it would inside on the soil. I want a 

 great deal of under ventilation. Our bees 

 seemed to suffer more from impure air than 

 from warm air. 



O. Clute. The objection to dampness 

 from the use of ice can be overcome by 

 placing ice in each upper corner and catch 

 the drip in pipes. Am confident if we go to 

 work in the right way we can overcome all 

 difficulties and keep down the temperature 

 by the use of ice. 



Chas. Dadant. Ice will draw the moisture 

 to itself instead of giving it off. 



Mr. Dadant spoke of deep frames for win- 

 tering. How much honey do you recom- 

 mend over the bees for out-floor wintering ? 



C. P. Dadant. I can't say as to pounds ; 

 ought to be 6 inches of honey in the Quinby 

 frame, 5 or 6 in the American ; 2 or 3 inches 

 is too little. In the cellar it makes no dif- 

 ference, so there is plenty of honey. If we 

 didn't care for the cost of help in handling, 

 we would prefer to use chaff hives. 



D. D. Palmer. I was at James Heddon's 

 apiary ; he is one of our foremost bee-keep- 

 ers ; has near all the hobbies, hives of all 

 shapes, and thinks a winter repository much 

 the cheapest. 



O. Clute. Chaff tends to keep the hives 

 warm and prevents sprint; dwindling, also 

 keeps the heat out in the summer. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



The following address of welcome was 

 delivered by Mr. C. N. Dennis, Mayor of 

 Hamilton : 



"In the name and on behalf of my fellow 

 citizens, I have the pleasure of offering you 

 a cordial welcome to Hamilton. We thank 

 you for the honor conferred in having se- 

 lected our city as the place of holding this 

 your 5th semi-annual meeting, and I trust 

 and hope you may receive at our hands the 

 courtesy and hospitality you deserve. Gen- 

 tleman, your labors in the sclenee of bee- 

 culture tend to promote the growth and to 

 develop the resources of the States, which 

 you in part represent, as well as to conduce 

 to the well-being of mankind. It has been 

 said that vegetable production constitutes 

 the beauties of the earth, but it must be ad- 

 mitted that your productions add sweetness 

 to the beauty. I also hope that the fraternal 

 relations may be such that you will return 

 again and again to do missionary work 

 among us, and that we may be allowed to 

 sit humbly at your feet and gather the 

 sw r eetness of instruction as it falls from 

 your lips in your discussions. ' Full many 

 a flower,' etc., and the person male or fe- 

 male, who assists to gather and utilize the 

 same is a public benefactor and I should fail 

 to do my duty did I not memtion our bee- 

 kings, Dadant & Son, as pre-eminently fill- 

 ing that position. We desire to call your 

 attention to the ' Father of Waters ' as it 

 flows at our feet with an undeveloped water 

 power of almost unlimited extent ; to our 

 bluffs, rough but picturesque, and healthy, 

 offering perfect havens for the apiary and 

 home, all backed by a promise of unexcelled 

 fertility, a community intelligent and law- 

 abiding. The whole forming a location in- 

 viting your attention as a home, but wheth- 

 er as a visitor or a settler, we bid \ou wel- 

 come, thrice welcome." 



Spring Swindling. 



Mr. Whitlock. Have handled bees for the 

 last 20 or 30 years. In March some colonies 

 are strong, many bees fly out and never re- 

 turn. I think the queen becomes affected 

 with the disease ; brood is deficient. Bees 

 passing out and no bees being raised, is one 

 cause of spring dwindling. There are not 

 bees enough to hatch and take care of what 

 eggs the queen does lay. Remedy: Take 

 out a part of combs, put in division board 

 and give no more room than needed ; cover 

 well to keep air warm. Combs to be spread 

 later. 



D. D. Palmer. We did not hear so much 

 of this till the Italians were brought in ; 

 don't hear of the blacks having it so much. 

 Italians fly in colder weather than blacks, 

 and work when the blacks are still. Keep 

 bees in the cellar as late as possible. 



Mr. Whitlock. I found this year that my 

 blacks were the first to " fly out." 



