246 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[May, 



4 



Mr. Goodhue. The Italian will gather honey 

 where the black will starve. 



Mr. Peters. One Italian swarm is as good as 

 one and a half of blacks, for robbing ; but they 

 are not as liable to rob. 



Mr. Townsend. The Italian queens lay their 

 eggs more compact than the black, conse- 

 quently, are more prolific. 



Ml". Barclay. One stand of hybrids is as 

 good as two stands of the natives. 



Seventh Question : — '■'■ Vf\\a,t is the best method 

 of wintering bees'?" 



Mr. Hoagland, I stand a row of crotches in 

 the ground and lay on a pole for a ridge pole. I 

 then lay on rails, one end on the ground, and 

 tlie other on the ridge pole. Then cover with 

 straw and put on about a foot of dirt, make a 

 door at one end, ventilate well and keep entirely 

 dark. 



W. M. Lanphere, Benton County.— Put my 

 hives up in the form of a pyramid, and cover 

 same as Hoagland. 



Mr. Furman. I winter my bees in my house 

 cellar. It is very important to keep an even 

 temperature. I keep the thermometer at about 

 40. If it is too warm the bees will crawl out. 



Mr. Kirk. A dry, dark cellar is as good as 

 anything. 



Mr. White. Have wintered bees in the cellar 

 two winters with good success. 



Dr. Blakesley. Keep mine in the cellar and 

 like it. They come out in good condition in the 

 spring. Give good ventilation. 



W. Hunt, Center Point. Am strictly suc- 

 cessful with Langstroth's system. 



Mr. Barclay. Have best success out doors 

 with the cob system. Like prairie hay in the 

 caps. 



Adjourned to %^ o'clock a. m., to-morrow. 



FRIDAY MORNING, Jan. 19. 



The Association met pursuant to adjourn- 

 ment. 



Mr Furman. Said he had succeeded in get- 

 ting the State Board of Agriculture to offer 

 liberal premiums for the best display of Honey, 

 "Extractors," Bees, etc. 



It was voted that when we adjourn, it be to 

 meet at such time and place during the next 

 State Fair, as the executive coiumittee may se- 

 lect. [To meet in Cedar Rapids, if a room can 

 be secured. — Sec'y. ] 



Discussions on the 



Eighth Question : — "In what way can we best 

 get rid of fertile workers?" 



Mr. White. If a queen is successfully intro- 

 duced she will destroy the fertile workers. 



Mr. King. Shake the bees into a new hive in 

 a new location, and let the bees go back to the 

 old hive, and the fertile workers won't be likely 

 to get back into the old hive. 



Mr. Furman. Fertile workers lay several eggs 

 in a cell, and skip some cells ; but queens lay 

 compact. Agree with Mr. King as to the best 

 method of getting rid of fertile workers. 



Mr. Hair. Agree with Mr. King. 



JSiiith Question: — "Are spidens, wrens and 

 king bii'ds friends of the apiarist, in the de- 

 struction of the bee moth?" 



Mr. White. I don't want any spiders around 

 my hives. Have killed and opened king birds, 

 and never found any bees. 



Mr. Peters. Tliought king birds a benefit. 



Mr. Heald. Had killed king birds and cut 

 open their crops and found them filled with 

 bees. 



Mr. Barclay. Believe the king bird was a 

 friend of the apiarist ; but believed the Mis- 

 souri Fitch would prove more of an enemy to 

 the bee than the bee moth. 



Adjourned to \h o'clock p. M. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



TentJi Question: — " What is the best manner 

 of rearing queens?" 



Mr. Furman. My manner of rearing queens 

 is to form nuclei in the spring by taking one or 

 two cards with bees, eggs and brood from a 

 populous colony and put in a nuclei hive ; shut 

 the bees in and set in the cellar for a day or two. 

 Take them from the cellar near sinidown and 

 let them fly. When the queen hatches examine 

 her and see that her wings, legs, &c , are per- 

 fect. The next day after the queen is taken 

 away insert another queen cell. I keep a rec- 

 ord of my doings on the hive. 



Mr. White. Experience limited, — raise early % 

 in season. 



Eleventh Question: — "Can queens be fertil- 

 ized in confinement?" 



Mr. White. Have tried Mitchell's way and 

 failed. 



Mr. Furman. I believe it is impossible to do 

 it. At the National Beekeepers' Convention 

 I offered $.500 to any man or woman that would 

 come to my apiary and fertilize fifty queens in 

 confinement for me. 



On the best time to remove bees from winter 

 quarters, all who expressed an oiMnion, said: the 

 best time is when there is no more danger of 

 injury by cold snaps. 



Mr. Furman. Said he marked his hives from 

 one up, and kept a book with the pages num- 

 bered to correspond with his hives, and used a 

 page for each hive. 



On spring feeding Mr. Hair said he u.sed dry 

 comb, pouring the feed over it and laying on the 

 honey board or tops of iranies. Also, feed rye 

 flour, 



Mr. Barclay. Make a feeder six inches square 

 of lath, stretch muslin over the top and put 

 feed on that ; the bees will suck it through. I 

 feed rye flour, also. 



Mr. Furman. Said he was going to feed all 

 stocks more. It stimulates them and we get 

 strong stocks early. They will brood fiister and 

 eat more honey, giving room for breeding. 

 Feed regularly, every day a little at a time. 



Mr. White. I fed rye flour to twenty swarms 

 last spring, and they ate about half a bushel. 



Mr. May. Said he was aware that men took 

 rye in its liquid form, and could not see how 

 temperance men could conscientiously feed rye 

 to bees. 



The following resolutions were a'iopted : 



Jiesolveif, Tliat to allow bees to winter on their 

 summer stands is no better economy than to let 

 other stock go unprovided for. 



