saved from its enemies. The honey harvest 

 will be small, owing to the drouth which 

 destroyed the bee pasture. The bees are in 

 middling good condition for wintering. 



J. F. Hershey, Mount Joy, reported that 

 his bees had done very well during the 

 spring ; he had taken out 650 lbs. of honey. 

 Since June they had done but little, the 

 drouth having destroyed the pasture. He 

 does not expect them to do much more this 

 season. The colonies are in good condition 

 for wintering. 



D. H. Lintner, Millersville, said his bees 

 did very well in Aprii, May and June; he 

 started in the spring with 14 colonies and 

 bought 12 more ; he placed them in small 

 8-frame boxes. In June he commenced 

 transferring and dividing them; those trans- 

 ferred were placed in 12-frame hives, except 

 the swarms which he placed in small hives, 

 increasing the number to 43 ; they are now 

 all in good condition, filled with honey and 

 bees. He took 250 lbs. of honey from them; 

 his bees paid him 250 percent, on their cost; 

 he sold his honey at 20 to 25c. per lb. Since 

 July 1st the bees have not been doing much, 

 there being no clover or other bee pasture 

 from which they can increase their store. 



I. G. Martin, Earl, said he had 20 colonies 

 with which he started in the spring. He 

 tried to prevent swarming, but he got 4 nat- 

 ural swarms, and since then some artificial 

 ones. He has now 30 colonies ; he took 540 

 lbs. of honey ; since harvest the season has 

 been poor, and the bees gather no more 

 than they want themselves ; the honey crop 

 for the season is almost over. 



Eli Hershey, Paradise, has 35 per cent, 

 increase ; got 9 swarms out of his 25 colo- 

 nies ; 25 lbs. of honey per colony is all he 

 could report. 



L. S. Fleckenstein, Manor, started in the 

 spring with 12 colonies ; can depend on only 

 }4 of these for honey ; tried to prevent nat- 

 ural swarming ; had one natural and no 

 artificial swarms. He wants to get more 

 honey and less bees ; the honey can be sold 

 at any time, but the bees can't. He took IS 

 or 20 lbs. of honey from each colony; the 

 season is not over yet. He lives near the 

 river, and his bees fly over to the York 

 county buckwheat patches and return laden 

 with honey ; some of them are lost in cross- 

 ing the stream. 



John Eitemiller, Strasburg township, 

 started in the spring with 18 colonies and 

 now has 27 ; got 300 lbs. of comb honey ; he 

 took no extracted. His bees are all in good 

 wintering condition. 



Best Method of Preventing Swarming. 



J. F. Hershey read the following essay : 

 "As this question was referred to P. S. 

 Eeist and he referred it to me, I will say a 

 few words on the subject of preventing bees 

 from swarming. I find that there are four 

 points that must be made use of, and those 

 are shade, air, putting empty combs between 

 brood, and getting the bees to work in 

 honey boxes. To prevent swarming, com- 

 mence as soon as the nights are getting 

 warm to keep the hives well shaded ; but 

 have them so arranged that the air can pass 

 over and around the hive. If a hive is ever 

 so well shaded and stands in a warm place 

 where the air cannot pass over and around 



it, shade will not help to prevent swarm- 

 ing. Shade and air must both be made use 

 of at the same time. If shade is made with 

 a roof, keep it 1 or 2 feet above the hives ; 

 don't merely shade them by having the roof 

 right on top of the hives as then the rays of 

 the sun will come too close to the hives. 



" When the center combs are well filled 

 with capped brood and the nights are warm, 

 take an outside comb and if the comb is full 

 of honey uncap it ; then put it between two 

 combs that are filled with brood. In this 

 way, every 8 days put a comb between 

 brood. If 3 combs are put between brood 

 it is enough, and no more than 1 comb 

 between brood at a time ; if more is at one 

 time the brood nest is spread too fast for the 

 bees. 



•' To get bees to work in the honey boxes, 

 give each colony 2, 3 or 4 sections filled with 

 comb and another section that is empty. As 

 soon as the bees gather honey, they will fill 

 the combs in the section, and at the same 

 time will commence to build comb in the 

 adjoining empty section. As soon as the 

 sections are full take them off and put empty 

 ones in their place. If the sections are left 

 on till they are all full the bees will not 

 have enough room to build combs, and will 

 commence to build queen cells, and the 

 brood chamber being filled with honey, the 

 queen will have no room to lay." 



I. G. Martin agreed with the essayist in 

 all particulars. 



D. H. Lintner agreed with the essayist; 

 when he did not want his bees to swarm he 

 destroyed the queen cells and changed the 

 combs around a good deal in the hives. 



Mr. Fleckenstein's plan was to take out 

 the full combs and insert empty ones in the 

 hives. 



J. F. Hershey said that since following 

 the plan marked out in his essay he had not 

 in 8 years more than 5 natural swarms. 



Mr. Martin's experience was different; he 

 had had natural swarms when the hive was 

 not more than half full of bees and the 

 combs not more than half full of honey. 



President Keist asked what was to be done 

 when the frames could not be removed from 

 the hives, and Mr. Hershey answered then 

 nothing could be done except to give the 

 bees as much shade as possible and other- 

 wise make them comfortable. 



Should Glucose Be Fed to Bees i 



I. G. Martin, to whom the question had 

 been referred, said he did not know any- 

 thing about it ; had never used it, but his 

 friend Thomas Thurlow had done so. The 

 bees fed on it freely and seemed to thrive ; 

 but he believes Mr. Thurlow had discon- 

 tined its use. It is generally thought to do 

 no good. 



J. F. Hershey was glad to hear that no 

 one present had used glucose ; it was gen- 

 erally condemned by those who had tried it, 

 and also by the papers in the bee-keeping 

 interest. 



A. Colony of Bees. 



J. F. Hershey exhibited a small colony of 

 bees at work. They were inclosed in a'glass 

 case a foot or more in length and height and 

 about 3 inches in width. In the middle of 

 the case was placed a piece of comb founda- 

 tion, secured to its place by fine wires 



