1872.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



109 



form, swarming is entirely prevented (that in, with 

 proper management). The queen breeds more abund- 

 antly, and the stocks being larger, she breeds later 

 in the fall, and consequently we have a larger amount 

 of young bees to so through the winter. The late 

 gathered honey is always better evaporated in a large 

 stock than in a small one, unless the small one is 

 condensed into a small compass. Also by a large 

 horizontal hive, we always have a strong stock on 

 hand to take advantage of the honey harvest when 

 it does come. For illustration, the past spring in one 

 large hive we had, when spring opened, at least 

 100 lbs. of surplus honey over and above what the 

 bees had consumed during the winter; the weather 

 continued unfavorable lip to the first of July; no 

 honey gathered at all, yet this stock had no fears of 

 a famine, and kept on breeding, so that when the 

 harvest did come they were in condition to store 

 160 lbs. in just eight days. 



Now, providing they had all this honey taken away, 

 and just given them enough to last from day to day 

 of sealed honey, no such amount of brood would have 

 been raised, and by the best of stimulating we could 

 have done no better. In fact, in or with large hives 

 our stocks are always in condition to take advantage 

 of the harvest when it does come. The surplus left 

 over can always be tasen away when the harvest 

 comes, whether that harvest comes early or late. With 

 large hives and Italians, we have a perpetual stock, 

 as they are sure to raise a new queen before the old 

 one fails. 



Mr. Bingham said that bees cannot be taught 

 anything, and that they lacked brains. He 

 thought that the idea of attributing reason to 

 bees, as in Mr. Gallup's letter, was an erroneous 

 idea. 



Mr. Heddon thought that the condition of the 

 interior of the hive was of the greatest import- 

 ance. He said he used the Langstroth hive, and 

 used his own frames in the upper section of the 

 hive. Said he would like to receive the sugges- 

 tion of any member as to a sure method of evap- 

 orating honey. 



Mr. Bingham said that he had more honey 

 gathered by a small nucleii than by a large 

 swarm. Said it was more trouble to care for a 

 large number of bees than a small number. 

 The gentleman had much to say upon the rela- 

 tive merits of the Metcalf, Adair, and Gallup 

 hives. He did not believe there was any practi- 

 cal use in raising bees after July 10th, in any year. 



Mr. Heddon said that he believed that the bee- 

 keeper needed a hive adapted to extricating 

 liquid or surplus honey. 



Mr. Bingham said that he had 900 superficial 

 inches of comb in his hives. 



Mr. Langstroth's hives have 1,400 superficial 

 inches of comb. 



Mr. Heddon asked if the convention thought a 

 queen could lay 3.000 eggs in 24 hours ? 



Mr. I?ood said that Mr. Otis had found that a 

 queen had laid 3, 500 eggs in a single day. 



Mr. A. C. Balch argued that the small hive is 

 best ; that there is room enough for cells. He 

 believed the true policy for "slinging" was to 

 place the frames upon the top of the hive rather 

 than at the side. 



At this point a suggestion was made that the 

 association close up the business of the assem- 

 bly, and in accordance with the above sugges- 

 tion, Mr. A. C. Balch moved that a paper now 



on hand from "Novice" should be read, and 

 that the election of officers for the ensuing year 

 should follow such reading ; the motion was 

 supported, put by the president, and prevailed. 

 The secretary read the following communica- 

 tion of A. I Root, of Medina, Ohio (" Novice"), 

 on "The Apiary and its Arrangements :" 



The Apiary and its Arrangements. 



To the President and Brother Beekeepers' of the 

 Michigan Beekeepers' Association : 



Years ago I remember to have heard a little fable, 

 something in this wise : Once upon a time, in a cer- 

 tain garden, one of the shrubs was complaining in a 

 dissatisfied way that it was neither tall and stately 

 like the oak, nor fragrant like the rose, and, in short, 

 that it was of no use in any way and did not see why 

 it had been planted at all. To this a sprightly little 

 Hearts Ease replied, nodding and smiling, that since 

 the ownerof the garden had seen fit to haveii planted 

 there, he probably wanted a Hearts Ease and nothing 

 else in that very spot, and that it was determined ac- 

 cordingly to be the very best little Hearts Ease thai 

 | ever it could be. 



As the Association has seen fit to call for something 

 from " Novice," we presume, of course, that they 

 knew what they might expect, and so I have deter- 

 mined without further apology to give what aid I can 

 to the bee-keeping world. 



The amount of profit to be derived from our bees is 

 in direct proportion to the amount of care we give 

 them, and so many sad instances have I witnessed of 

 disorder and neglect in the apiary, and even ofttimes 

 in the apiaries of prominent and intelligent bee- 

 keepers, that I hope you will excuse me if I seem ex- 

 travagant in what I advise. 



To those who have, or contemplate having, one 

 hive of bees or more, I would say, first, secure a clear 

 spot of ground, gently sloping towards the south 

 and east, and protected from the winds on the north 

 and west by buildings or trees. When this plot is 

 levelled off, no vegetation, not even a spear of grass an 

 inch in height should be allowed to grow ; in fact, we 

 expect you to walk around your hives often enough 

 to keep the soil hard and to prevent grass growing 

 there. 



When weeds appear, cut them off with a hoe, and 

 bank up immediately around the hives with sawdust, 

 and keep all litter and trash swept up so clean, that if 

 a queen escapes from a hive, she cannot even find a 

 place to hide or get lost. 



The whole should be surrounded with a good fence, 

 if possible, eight feet high, and tight on the north 

 and west and close enough all around to perfectly ex- 

 clude poultry, cats and dogs, and even children when 

 they are inclined to be disorderly. (My " better half" 

 here objected to that last item, and claims that " chil- 

 dren are never disorderly when their mammas have 

 the care of them, and that this ' fenced up' idea, 

 when 'order reigns supreme,' with only men-inside, 

 is purely visionary, as every woman knows ;" but, 

 bless their hearts, I never meant to keep them out.) 



In short, the ground should be sufficiently clean so 

 that we can, at any time when weary, go down upon 

 our knees beside a hive, and examine its contents at 

 ease. 



For 6hade, we would recommend the Concord 

 grape vine, trained on such trellis as is described in 

 " Fuller on the Grape." If the trellises run east and 

 west, and are about eight feet apart, the hives can be 

 placed on the north side, close to the trellis, and 

 about six feet from each other. 



The vines unfold their leaves just about the time 



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