1873.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



173 



How many hundred pounds do you suppose could 

 be obtained from that three column hive, even with 

 a "molasses gate extractor," if the owner did not 

 go near it all summer ? 



And how could you suppose, Gen. Adair, that 

 Novice could find any room for the " New Ideas." 

 How many years more will it take for people to 

 learn that Novice has got his head so completely 

 turned in that "Stationary" Extractor, his time 

 so fully occupied with " wholesale feeding," and 

 his "ideas" so completely fortified with "Simpli- 

 city" stories "piled (high) all around" him. that 

 it's a useless undertaking to try and beat in a "new 

 idea?" 



For fear that Novice may stigmatize others, 

 as well as ourselves, who advocate a "theory," 

 as not being "sound thinkers," we will here say 

 that one of "our hives" which does not stand 

 more than a thousand miles from where we now 

 write, managed somewhat after Gen. Adair's plan, 

 has given more pounds of box honey in one season 

 than he ever obtained from his "Simplicity" with 

 the extractor in the same length of time. Of 

 course we do not wish to be understood as saying 

 that we accomplished such a feat, certainly not ; 

 because we really fear that Novice would accuse us 

 of giving his "ideas" as "our own." 



Speaking of hives reminds us that Novice said 

 something about its being "too cheap and simple, 

 etc." Now while he is taking the trouble to hunt 

 up something to substantiate his inuendoes wont 

 he take the additional trouble to ascertain and tell 

 where we ever said anything about any implement 

 used by the apiarian was, or could be, too 

 cheap or simple. But please do quote a little 

 more correctly than you did from Progressive Bee- 

 Culture. 



And for fear that Novice may "worry" to such 

 an extent, before he is informed of those "desira- 

 ble things," that even his "better half" may find 

 it to be impossible to console him, we will say that 

 our hive is cheaper than his, requires less skilled 

 labor for its construction, and that we can manipu- 

 late our frames easier, quicker and safer, and 

 secure more honey, whether it be boxed or extracted, 

 every time, loo. 



In conclusion, we wish it to bedistinctly under- 

 stood that we have written the above with the 

 best of feeling toward Novice. Wehave ever 

 spoken kindly of him, and hope that he will 

 not compel us to ever do otherwise. Had he 

 not placed us in a false position before the bee- 

 keeping world, we never should have written the 

 above. And we prefer that this matter shall drop 

 here, because "personalities" are apt to do more 

 harm than good. But if Novice still insists upon 

 "braying or barking" at those who cannot hon- 

 estly coincide with all of his "pet ideas," he must 

 abide by the consequences. "A word to the wise," 

 etc. 



Further than this we have no apology to make, 

 except to express our regrets to you, Mr. Editor, 

 for having occupied so niuoh of your space with a 

 "personal." There are many things we would 

 like to have said which we have not the time to 

 relate now, but will try and do so next month. 



Herbert A. Burch. 



South Haven, Mich., December 7, 1872. 



[From Oskaloosa (Iowa) Herald, Nov. 28, 1872.] 



Bee-Keepers' Association. 



Bee-keepers Association for the southern district 

 of Iowa, met on the 13th and 14th of November, 

 1872, at Oskaloosa. Association called to order by 

 the President. Minutes of last meeting read and 

 adopted. Questions for discussion were handed in 

 and numbered in regular order. After some in- 

 formal talk on the past season of the bee business, 

 adjourned to meet at one o'clock p. m. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



Question No. 1. — What is the best method of 

 transferring, and why not as well in March as in 

 warmer weather? 



Answer. — Drive the bees out by the drumming 

 process from the old hive into a box prepared for 

 the purpose, then remove a sufficient quantity of 

 worker brood comb from the old hive, putting the 

 same nicely into your sash, after which place the 

 sash in the new hive, setting your box of bees in 

 front of the new hive, empty them out and see 

 that they all go in their new home. Transferring 

 should always be done at such times as will enable 

 the bees to gather stores from the adjacent fields, 

 to subsist upon and also to make new comb ; and, 

 as it takes quite warm weather for bees to ela- 

 borate wax, consequently the operation should be 

 performed in warm weather, when honey is com- 

 paratively plenty. 



Question 2d. — Is there any such thing as bee 

 cholera? 



Answer. — Not in the west. But there is such a 

 disease as dysentery, supposed to be caused prin- 

 cipally, by a poor grade of stores gathered late in 

 the season. 



Question 3d. — Can a neighborhood be over- 

 stocked? 



Answer. — It can some seasons, but with ordi- 

 nary seasons it is not at all likely that any of us 

 will live to hear that cry. 



Question 4th. — Is it necessary to have winter 

 passages when bees are kept where it does not 

 freeze ? 



Answer. — By Ingels, Batchelder and other, it it 

 not. 



Question 5th. — How can I prevent my bees from 

 building drone comb ? 



Answer. — Remove drone comb and insert work- 

 er comb, and all will be right. 



Question 6th. — How shall we procure long-lived 

 queens ? 



This seemed to lead into deep water. But few 

 seemed willing to speak on the subject. Samuel 

 Ingels was called out and gave his experience at 

 length, stating that a queen cell built and the 

 queen reared under the immediate care of the 

 mother, proved the most prolific and longest lived. 

 Mr. Woodward called for his reasons. Mr. Ingels 

 gave as his opinion, that when bees prepared to 

 send out natural swarms, that there was no change 

 made in the treatment of the egg, from the time it 

 was deposited, always being treated with a view to 

 royalty, whereas if they were forced from the 

 necessity of the case to rear a queen that it would 

 partake to a great extent of the nature of the 

 worker bee, and as a consequence would neither 

 be so large, long lived or prolific. 



