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THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



23 



or sufli disposition of same will be made 

 as he may desire. 



INIr. Perry read a sliort paper on 

 "Home-rai>-cd Queens versus Imported." 

 He holds that we must grow our own 

 queens in order that they may be acclim- 

 ated and adapted to one's locality and 

 mauauement. By cuntinuously produc- 

 ing comb honey the bees, he thinks, will 

 develop into a comb honey strain. If 

 you practice cellar wintering they be- 

 come a strain that will winter well in 

 the cellar etc. He believes that most of 

 the money we have paid out for queens 

 h IS b ^en worse than tiirown away. Mr. 

 Olmstead could not see that it could 

 have any influence upon the progeny of 

 the queen what sort of worlv the wor,<er 

 bees were l<ept doing, is tli(;y had noth- 

 ing w.iatever to do wi.h reproduction. 

 Tlie discussKui swayed back and forth 

 and at times got into rather deep water. 

 Mr. Hutchinson thought it advisable to 

 in,roduc(^ new bio id from lime to time if 

 that blood was superior, and that the 

 honey producer siu)uld test tlie purchas- 

 ed queen in his own yards. Mr. Uavid 

 Coggshall reported that the introduction 

 of a few purchased queens had made a 

 wlmle yai'd a very vicious lot with hira. 



Mr. Hutchinson delivered an address 

 on feeding back extracted honey whicli 

 was of interest to the comb honey pro- 

 ducers. The details may follow at some 

 future time. 



Tlie Dutch-English dialect recitation, 

 "The Living Beehive,"' by young Master 

 Case, son of Mr. H. L. Case, was greatly 

 enjoyed by all. 



, Tlie Question Box, conducted by 

 Messrs. Hutchinson and Root brought 

 out many gQod things. 



Nearly all the. old ofificers were re- 

 elected. Their names are as follows: 



W. F. Marks, Chapinville, President. 



H. L. Case, Canandaigua, 



John Page, Seneca Castle, 



Chester Olmstead, E. Bloom field. 



Vice Presidents. 



F. Greiner, Naples, Secretary. 



L. B. Smith, Vincent, Treasurer. 



E. H. Perry, Manchester, 



Honey Inspector. 



The meeting then adjourned. 



FEBRUARY WORK. 



Some Good Advice for the Inexperienced 

 Bee-keeper. 



BY AUTHtTHC. MILLER. 



FEBRUARY is a trying month to the 

 enthusiastic novice and amateur 

 bee-keeper, for there seems to be 

 nothing that can be done to, with, or 

 for the bet'S. Well do I remember the 

 biigiit February day, twenty years ago, 

 when I got my first colony. I had bar- 

 gained for it some time in December and 

 I fear I wore the life out of the kindly 

 old gentleman, until, perhaps in sheer 

 desperation, he permitted me to move it 

 that February day. "Twas a risky thing 

 to do, but I had the "fever" and bees I 

 must have. So you may see I know the 

 feeling of tHe enthusiast to want to be 

 doing something among the bees. Per- 

 haps the hardest lesson to learn, and 

 also the most important, is to let the 

 bees alone at all unseasonable times, but 

 learn it you must if you wish to get the 

 most pleasure, as well as the most honey, 

 from your bees. 



Except to see that the entrances are 

 free from obstructions and that the 

 covers are secure, there is really noth- 

 ing to be done in February to bees 

 wintered out of doors. In looking to 

 see if the entrances are clear do not do 

 much poking inside; if the colony was 

 in a fairly strong condition in the fall 

 they will keep the refuse pretty well 

 cleaned out, and much poking about at 

 this season only disturbs the bees. But, 

 you may do much for the bees at this 

 season in the way of preparation for 

 warm weather. Perhaps my suggestions 

 may seem more for the benefit of the 

 bee-keeper than for his bees, but what 

 helps him makes it better for them. 

 Devote your spare time this month to an 

 overhauling ot your hives, supers, imple- 

 ments etc. See if your empty hives are 

 firm; if not, then nail them, and if they 

 are beyond such repair chop them up 

 for kindlings. Go over the supers in the 

 same way. Next see if you have hives 



