could not be over-stocked ; for the nec- 

 tar How was continuous, and the secre- 

 tion constantly going on. 



G. W. Naftzger was of the same 

 opinion. 



C. B. Fisk Bangs has found that full 

 colonies would not gather honey where 

 there was no honey to be obtained. He 

 believes in planting a variety. It is pos- 

 sible for the bee-keeper to keep his bees 

 busy and prosperous the whole season, 

 by a judicious system of planting to 

 supply the deficiencies in the spontane- 

 ous bloom. 



At this time. G. M. Doolittle, Boro- 

 dino, N. Y., was introduced to the Con- 

 vention by T. G. Newman. In response 

 to inquiries regarding the comparative 

 merits of white clover and basswood as 

 honey producers, he said the bees com- 

 menced work on the former in the morn- 

 ing about 10 o'clock, but they worked 

 on basswood from daylight till late at 

 night. It is necessary to keep hives full 

 of brood, to secure a large yield of sur 

 plus honey. 

 Convention adjourned till 1:30 p. m. 



Afternoon Session. 



In the absence of the chairman pro 

 tern.. Dr. C. C. Miller was called to the 

 chair. 



T. G. Newman read a communica- 

 tion, entitled 



Introduction of Queens to Strange Colonies. 



Brethren : My fondly anticipated hope 

 of meeting with you in the District 

 Convention is blighted by unforeseen 

 circumstances. 



In this world of casualties, our aims 

 often fall, blighted to the ground ; so 

 with the practical part of this subject, 

 fondest hopes are often lost, and melan- 

 choly tills the mind. But on the arrival 

 of the next Bee Journal, some per- 

 fectionist gives a never-failing rule, and 

 cheers the heart until practice demon- 

 strates that the theory will not hold 

 good under all circumstances. 



Three things should be observed in 

 the introduction of queens to strange 

 colonies of bees : 



1. The instinct of the bee. 



2. The season of the year when the 

 work is to be done. 



3. The age of the bees who are to re- 

 ceive the queen. 



The strongest instinct of the bee is, 

 aside from the love for storing honey, 

 to replace the loss of a queen from re- 

 sources in their own hive. This is in 

 keeping with the first law of nature— 

 self-protection— and all outside intru- 

 sion is discarded. To protect the life of 

 the queen to be introduced, as a rule, 

 she must be placed in some kind of a 

 cage until the natural instinct of the 



bee to supply a lack from resources on 

 hand dies away, which is sometimes 

 sooner and sometimes later; but as a 

 rule, with the capping over of the royal 

 cells, when they seem to anticipate a 

 queen to supply the place of the one 

 lost. She may generally be released 

 then with safety. 



The time in the year when the work 

 is to be performed has much to do with 

 success. Late in the fall and early in 

 the spring, after the vital forces of the 

 bees seem lulled to quietude, by age and 

 inactivity, the work of the hive being 

 suspended, and not quickened into life 

 by the unfolding flowers and sweet nec- 

 tar of an anticipated summer, queens 

 do not have to be caged long, as a rule, 

 and sometimes may be released at once. 

 The age of the bees receiving a queen 

 makes a difference in the manner of her 

 reception. A colony long deprived of 

 its queen, will receive one soon or reject 

 her entirely. In the latter case they 

 will generally accept a virgin queen 

 that has just emerged from the cell. 



Virgin queens may sometimes be 

 given to a colony of bees with success, 

 where a very old, superannuated queen 

 is the incumbent. They receive her and 

 let the old queen live, on the same prin- 

 ciple that bees will build royal cells and 

 supply the hive, with a new queen while 

 the mother queen is still alive, and 

 sometimes lives for months doing duty 

 with her daughter. 



No plan has yet been devised, to my 

 knowledge, for the safe introduction of 

 virgin queens to strange bees, except 

 the one so natural, simple and easy : 

 wait until the bees are looking for the 

 young queens to make their appearance. 

 Queen cells should be built in time, so 

 that the queens to be introducd are in 

 advance, and all will be right ; give them 

 to the colonies and afterwards destroy 

 all royal cells. If the young queen 

 makes her appearance before the one 

 you wish to introduce, change the 

 queens, and as a rule she will be accept- 

 ed, unless the one removed has been 

 fertilized. A. Salisbury. 



Camargo, 111., Sept. 13, 1880. 

 After considerable discussion on the 

 subject of introducing queens, without 

 eliciting any new methods or arriving 

 at anything absolutely certain, the ques- 

 tion of comb foundation and its uses 

 was taken up for discussion. 



I. R. Good said he had experienced 

 considerable trouble in using Novice 

 foundation -, it sagged very badly, broke 

 down and warped. Bast spring he pur- 

 chased a Given press, and now has sev- 

 eral hundred beautiful, straight worker 

 combs, in wired frames, in use. It was 

 all that had been claimed for it, and he 



