(Couucntions. 



Central Michigan Convention. 



The Central Michigan Convention 

 met at Lansing. April 15, and was called 

 to order by Pres't W. J. Ash worth, who. 

 after a few remarks, suggested that a 

 Secretary pro tern, should be elected to 

 rill the vacancy caused by Mr. Frank 

 Benton's being'in Europe, and, on mo- 

 tion of Mr. Harper, Geo. L. Perry was 

 elected. 



The first topic considered was the 

 methods of wintering, and reports of 

 those present were received. The ma- 

 jority favored the chaff hive or similar 

 methods of out-door packing. . 



Mrs. L. B. Baker, of Lansing, de- 

 scribed her method of cellar wintering, 

 and gave statements of great success 

 with the chaff hive. Mr. Baker said 

 that he could produce experiments and 

 arguments that gave the cellar the ad- 

 vantage whenever the right kind of a 

 cellar could be had. 



Discussion then drifted into "early' 

 breeding ; its dangers and advantages." 

 On this the convention was divided. 

 Some said the earlier the better ; others 

 that they did not wish bees to breed 

 until they could fly with safety. 



Question—" How to stimulate brood 

 rearing ?" Answer—" By feeding." 



Ques. — "How shall Ave feed?'' Mr. 

 S. C. Perry then introduced a feeder, 

 known as the Globe Feeder; this was 

 entirely new, and was received with 

 much favor. It answers the purpose of 

 a chaff cushion, and gives the apiarist 

 a chance to examine and feed the bees 

 in the coldest weather, without admit- 

 ting cold air, or disturbing them. He 

 presented the idea to the convention, 

 and told them to try it for themselves. 



Ques. — "Is pollen necessary to 

 brood ?" D. K. Coles answered, Yes. 



Ques.—" Are spring flights beneficial 

 to bees V" Mr. Harper answered. Not 

 too early. 



Ques.—" Is upward ventilation neces- 

 sary V" Mr. Blackburn answered, No, 

 except what goes through the cushion. 



Ques. — "Should the entrance lie con- 

 tracted in winter ?" Ans., from the 

 Chair, Yes. 



Mr. S.C. Perry, of Lansing, t lien gave 

 his plan of a door-yard, thai gave the 

 beesa chance to come out on the alight- 

 ing board, and also prevents a cold draft 

 of air coming in at the entrance. 



Mr. C. B. Smith, of Leslie, was re- 

 quested to give his opinion of the best 

 winter weather for bees. He said he 

 preferred a continuous cold winter to 

 one of uneven temperature. 



Mr. Smith and Mr. Waldo, of Grand 

 Ledge, said they practiced late breed- 

 ing with success. 



Mr. Coles, Of Howell, and Mr. Har- 

 per said they wanted all work done be- 

 fore cold weather. 



Questions were asked and anwered 

 on various items that would not inter- 

 est the genera] reader. 



The following essay was then read by 

 G. L. Perry, of Lansing, on 



Comb Foundation and Its Manufacture. 



With the exception of the hive, per- 

 haps, no article is of more value to the 

 bee-keeper than that known as " comb 

 foundation.'' Many of us have used it, 

 and when we look at the straight and 

 beautiful combs produced, our admira- 

 tion leads us to inquire the origin of 

 such a valuable auxiliary. Comb foun- 

 dation is of modern origin, much later 

 than the movable frame, and conse- 

 quently has but a short history. 



From Prof. Cook's •■Manual of the 

 Apiary 1 ' we learn that as early as 1857 

 Herr Mehring, a German, used im- 

 pressed sheets. of beeswax as founda- 

 tion for honey comb. His machine con- 

 sisted of indented metal plates: the 

 sheet of wax being placed between 

 them and subjected to pressure. As this 

 was a slow and imperfect process, it 

 soon passed into disuse and was forgot- 

 ten. This. I think, is as far as the Ger- 

 mans ever carried its manufacture; 

 still, they are entitled to the in\ cut ion. 

 Foundation was first brought to the no- 

 tice of American bee-keepers by Mr. 

 Wagner, who obtained a patent for the 

 same in 1801, but, as this had a tendency 

 to restrict its introduction, and as the 

 demand for it was limited, it also was 

 soon forgotten. Seven years later, in 

 1868, Messrs. King Bros., of New York, 

 secured a patent on the first machine. 

 This also was short-lived ; for the foun- 

 dation consisted simplyof narrow strips 

 of wax run upon wood, and was only 

 used for starters in the brood frames. 



For 6 years longer the busy bee was 

 to be deprived of this great help, which 

 may justly be called the lever of bee- 

 culture, until the inventive genius of 

 Mr. Fred. Weiss came to their relief. 

 Mr. Weiss was the inventor of the first 

 machine that can claim such a name, 

 and this it is certainly entitled to. for 

 it combined all Of the inventions be- 

 fore, and all of the ideas that havesince 



been produced, iii addition to the Ger- 

 man indentation that gave the face of 

 the cell, he cut small grooves, to give 

 side walls of cells, and thus gave to the 

 world the first comb foundation with 

 side walls. 

 Becoming advanced in years and in 



