166 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[Jan, 



will meet with less (if it is possible) encourage- 

 ment here, than in Utah ; but I am not dis- 

 couraged, and am determined to prove to the 

 Montanians that this is a good country for bees, 

 and, after accomplishing the same good work 

 in Idaho, I shall retire from the list of importers 

 and content myself with the managing of a few 

 colonies at my home in Utah. You will excuse 

 me for not giving a description of the resources of 

 this country for the honey bee. I would be glad 

 to do so, but cannot, for the reason that it is 

 winter here, and I have no way of knowing. I 

 shall return in the spring and learn more of the 

 country, and at your next annual meeting will 

 endeavor to make a more full and complete re- 

 port either in person or by letter. 



Enclosed, please find one dollar, for which 

 credit account of membership for 1873. If it is 

 not enough I will remit the remainder imme- 

 diately on ascertaining the fact. If I succeed in 

 my enterprise, I shall next introduce the latest 

 and best improvements in hives, honey extract- 

 ors, and all other inventions calculated to assist 

 the beginner in the management of his bees. 

 Any person wishing to write to me, will please 

 direct Provo City, Utah Co., U. Ter. 



Wishing you a pleasant and profitable time, I 

 subscribe myself, Truly yours, 



Wji. D. Roberts. 



President Clarice offered the following resolu- 

 tion, which was adopted : 



Resolved, That the thanks of this society are 

 hereby tendered to the proprietors, editors and 

 reporters of the newspapers published in this 

 city, for their courtesy and attention in publish- 

 ing the proceedings of this body, and although 

 in some cases, inaccuracies have crftpt into said 

 reports, the nature of the subjects discussed, 

 and the circumstances of the case, render this 

 not surprising, and on the whole the general 

 correctness of such reports is not materially 

 impaired. 



Resolved, That thanks are also tendered to 

 such papers at a distance, as had the enterprise 

 to send special, competent reporters, particu- 

 larly the " Prairie Farmer, " H.L.Emery, re- 

 porter ; " Chicago Tribune," Miss Ella E. Dun- 

 lap, reporter; and "New York Tribune," Mrs. 

 E. S. Tupper, reporter. 



On motion, the reading of the minutes of this 

 meeting was dispensed with, and made the first 

 order at the next meeting. 



Miscellaneous matters were then called for. 



S. J. Pope said that if a queen should escape 

 from a cage, all that was necessary to recover 

 her was to stand still and she would return in a 

 little while. 



Dr. Lucas in examining a colony of Italian 

 bees, found an old queen on one sheet of comb, 

 and a young one on another, left both in the 

 hive all night, and found both safe. Took out 

 the old one. His experience was that a queen 

 with clipped wings would not live more than 

 two years. 



W, R. Jung, in Tuscumbia, Ala., trans- 

 ferred forty colonies of bees. Some four weeks 

 after in examining them he found a hive with 

 two queens in it. They remained so four or 



five days. He took the old one out, but re- 

 turned her ; six weeks afterwards they were both 

 still there. 



D. L. Adair said when a queen becomes un- 

 fertile from old age, the bees cease to recognize 

 or regard her as a queen, and she is tolerated as 

 any worker bee of the hive. Her ceasing to lay 

 is the cause of a queen to supersede her' bein^ 

 produced, and to all intents and purposes, there 

 is but one queen in the hive. He had known 

 several instances, where the old queen remained 

 in the hive for some length of time after the 

 young one was produced, to take her place. In 

 one instance, the old queen was five years old 

 and not only had her wings clipped, but she had 

 no more wings than an ant, showing that Dr. 

 Lucas' conclusion, that a clipped wing queen 

 would not live more than two years, was an error. 

 He had a queen that he let Col. Shannon, of 

 Lewisport, Ky., have, that whenever the hive 

 was opened would fly out as if in great ter- 

 ror. She would return to the hive when i 

 closed. She finally flew out and got drowned 

 in a tub of water. She was a pure Italian, and 

 her progeny were perfectly gentle. 



Mr. Shipley inquired if any one present had 

 kept bees in a house, and if so, whether there 

 was not more than one queen ? 



Mr. Hamlin once kept bees in a house for 

 several years, but the moth got in and desi 

 them. 



Wm. R. King said there was a number of 

 bee-houses in Kentucky, in Hunters' Bottom. 

 In every one of them, the bees died out in 

 years. On the opposite side of the Ohio river, 

 nearVevay, la., there lived a gentleman by the 



name of , who had over one hundred 



colonies in houses, but they were in frames. 

 He sells more beautiful honey than any one in 

 that part of the country. His houses have 

 double walls and had about fifteen colonies to 

 each house. 



Mr. King described at some length the pe- 

 culiar management of the houses, by which the 

 owner claimeel to prevent swarming, aud to se- 

 cure quantities of honey, but as there is a pat- 

 ent on the main features of the hive and house, 

 it is omitted. The inventor claims that by a 

 system of ventilators he controls the tempera- 

 ture in the house, so as to prevent swarming, 

 and secure the greatest quantity of honey. 



Dr. Lucas wished to say that Mr. W. R. K 

 published a description of a fertilizing house, in 

 the Bee Journals, and that he had built on 

 followed all the directions in trying, to fertui 

 queens, but that he had signally failed m every 

 attempt. He had, however, converted it 

 rat-proof corn crib, by raising it up and ] 

 under it posts covered with tin. 



W. R. Ki?ig said, we find in every undertafeing, 

 many that fail from not complying strictly vita 

 the conditions necessary to success. We Know 

 that queens are fertilized without flying, fijwe 

 have numerous instances where queens, v, 

 wings, become fer : ile. Many fail, but tl i 

 not disprove the possibility of success. He jstareu 

 in the Bee Journals that he succeeded who 

 twenty-five queens out of twenty-seven, wiiicu 

 was true. He explained at some length his cv 



