1871.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



267 



use all available means for giving publicity to 

 future meetings. 



A little time being left, discussion vras resumed. 



Mr. (I did not get his name) spoke at 



length upon the richness of our country. He 

 had travelled in Germany, and although that 

 country is noted for the great number of stocks 

 kept, and the intelligence manifested in their 

 management, he thought our land otfered 

 superior inducements to the bee-keeper. New 

 York State is indeed a Land of Promise— a land 

 flowing with milk and honey. He was disap- 

 pointed at not seeing a lai'ger crowd. An organi- 

 zation covering such an extent of territory 

 should have a regular attendance of at least one 

 hundred bee-keepers. He thought proper notice 

 of the meeting had not been given, as he had be- 

 come aware of it only incidentally. He recom- 

 mended that notice be given in the papers of the 

 city in which meetings are to be held, as many per- 

 sons, who do not keep bees, would attend the 

 sessions, on account of their love of scientific dis- 

 covery. 



Mr. Nellis said he had seen an article in a 

 paper denouncing the placing of honey boxes at 

 the sides of hives. The writer said that bees 

 did not fUl them as quickly as when placed on 

 the top. Ho could not agi'ee with this state- 

 ment and wished the experience of others. 



Mr. Hazen has never been troubled with get- 

 ting bees to work in side boxes, when placed in 

 close connection with the hive. 



Mr. Stratton had practised side boxing for 

 more than twenty years, and thought it vastly 

 superior to placing them on the toj). He could 

 get twice as much surplus honey by placing boxes 

 at the sides. 



Mr. Nellis said, in a number of cases, he placed 

 boxes at the sides or on the top, at the same time, 

 and invariably found the lower tiers of side 

 boxes comijleted before any others. 



Mr. Quinby thought this due to the fact that 

 the bees entered the hives from below, and there- 

 fore found those boxes sooner than any others. 



Mr. Vrooman had put empty boxes upon hives 

 as late as the 20th of August, which were well 

 filled. 



Some one asked the following question — 

 Which is the most profitable, to fully supply 

 stocks with stores in the fall ; or give them honey 

 enough to keep them till about the first of April, 

 and then feed them every evening until honey 

 gathering commences ? 



Mr. Hetherington favored the latter. He 

 thought the superior strength and vigor pos- 

 sessed by such stocks amply paid for all the ex- 

 tra trouble. 



Mr. Nellis had not experimented with this 

 point in view, but his experience did not favor 

 such feeding. In the fall of 1869 few stocks 

 were fully supplied with stores, and only two of 

 his had sufiicient honey to winter them. After 

 his stocks were removed from the cellar, he fed 

 them every evening ; but they failed to gain in 

 .strength and activity, as fast as the two which 

 were not fed. 



Some of the members had not tried this 

 method of feeding ; but all who had, were loud 

 in its piaise. 



Mr. Hazen then offered the following resolu- 

 tion, which was unanimously adopted, viz. : 



Resolved, That the greatest success in bee-keep- 

 ing depends in furnishing plenty of surplus 

 room, thereby keeping all the bees engaged in 

 gathering honey. 



Mr. Quinby laughingly remarked that any bee- 

 keeper who did not avail himself of this advan- 

 tage, could not remain in the business long. 



The Secretary was requested to send minutes 

 of this meeting to the different papers, after 

 which the association adjourned. 



J. H. Nellis, 



Secretary. 



Canajohavie, N. Y., April 12, 1871. • 



[For the American Bee Jourual.] 



Novice. 



Mr. Editor : — We wonder if all your readers 

 feel as we do when the Journal is brought in, 

 viz. : that they positively must be released from 

 all duties, however pressing, until it has been 

 looked over — not read, for to read it through 

 takes considerable time ; and we really cannot 

 feel like laying it by, as finished, until it has 

 been gone over the third time. For instance, 

 we first run it over, then read it — advertisements 

 and all ; and lastly read it carefully and slowly, 

 to make sure that we have not missed anything 

 that we think worthy of being firmly impressed 

 on the memory, and acted on when the proper 

 time comes. By the way, Mr. Editor, we wish 

 it were in our power to impress on the minds of 

 the numerous correspondents who write to us 

 for information, the very great advantage they 

 would derive from a thorough perusal of the 

 comi^lete back numbers of the Joiirnal. We are 

 asked the same questions over and over again, 

 that have been so thoroughly discussed in the 

 Journal already ; and rather than go over the 

 ground again, we would almost prefer sending 

 them the back numbers at our own expense. In 

 our opinion a thorough perusal of the six vol- 

 umes would be of more benefit to a beginner, 

 than spending a whole summer in some of the 

 leading apiaries of our country. 



Many visitors think,, on seeing us work with, 

 our bees, that the matter is very simple ; yet 

 when they attempt the same, without learning 

 the reasons for each move, and the almost innu- 

 merable contingencies that may turn up, (we 

 refer to queen-raising, particularly, ) they find 

 that without going down to the foundation of 

 the science, failure is of course almost certain. 



If you would succeetl, (and we hardly see now 

 where the limit is going to be of what a stock of 

 bees may produce in one season,) study the sub- 

 ject ihoroughly. In almost every instance of 

 failure, you may, if you look, find from the ex- 

 perience of others, the cause and the remedy 

 plainly pointed out in the back numbers of the 

 Journal. 



We are very much pained to see how Alonzo 

 Barnard has misunderstood us on page 263. We 

 think he must have read our criticism rather 

 hastily. It is the principle and not th j man wd 

 object to. 



