AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



343 



American meeting in Chicago last Octo- 

 ber, he compared the Vermont products 

 of the bees with those seen on exhibition 

 there, with the comparison in no way 

 unfavorable to the Vermont side. 



THE NEW BEE-EXPERIMENT STATION. 



The nest topic, " Experimental work ; 

 what has been done at the State farm ?" 

 was most ably discussed by O. J. Lowrey 

 and T. H. Wheatley, and it was the topic 

 of the meeting. The trials and the work 

 of the committee in getting the appro- 

 priation were graphically told. The 

 success, and the work since accom- 

 plished, marks an epoch in the history 

 of apiculture in Vermont. 



Mr. C. W. Fisher is a student at the 

 University of Vermont, and is the man 

 who will have the work to do in the ex- 

 periments to be conducted. He is a 

 bright, young student, and very much 

 interested in apiculture. The bees were 

 fed some for winter stores, and in speak- 

 ing of the feed, Mr. Fisher said he ad- 

 ded some vinegar. This statement 

 raised a storm of questions and answers 

 thereto. 



E. J. Smith — I always use vinegar to 

 prevent granulation. One table-spoon- 

 ful to a pound of sugar. 



J. E. Crane — I find some things pecu- 

 liar in feeding. I think bees have the 

 power to add acid. I have fed hundreds 

 of pounds of sugar syrup without add- 

 ing any acid, and without having any 

 granulation. 



M. F. Cram — Has any one ever used 

 cream of tartar ? 



H. L. Leonard — I have, but I noticed 

 no effect. 



E. J. Smith — I 1»hink the bees do 

 change sugar syrup. 



At this point a committee of three 

 were elected to take charge of experi- 

 ments, to receive suggestions and recom- 

 mendations, and to present the same to 

 the board of control ; and to have gen- 

 eral advisory supervision of all experi- 

 mental work. 



Committee — M. F. Cram, O. L. Low- 

 rey and the Secretary of the Associa- 

 tion. 



REPORTS FOR THE SEASON OF 1893. 



At this point the reports of the mem- 

 bers were given ; and they showed an 

 increase from 1,883 colonies, spring 

 count, to 2,291, fall count; with a 

 honey crop of 57,863 pounds of comb, 

 and 1,550 pounds of extracted honey. 

 This report is probably not over one- 

 half of the total for the State. The win- 



ter losses in the winter of 1892-98 

 were light. 

 The question-box was next opened. 



STIMULATIVE SPBIJ^G FEEDING. 



"Is stimulative feeding in spring de- 

 sirable ?" 



O. J. Lowrey— Some years it is, others 

 it is not. For stimulative feeding use 

 thin honey, and feed about one-half 

 pound each day. Sugar syrup is cheaper, 

 but honey is far the best. 



J. E. Crane — I had considerable ex- 

 perience with honey-dew, and found 

 that it answered very well to feed with 

 in the spring. 



L. O. Thompson— I fed 2,000 pounds 

 for stimulative feeding, and thought it 

 better than sugar syrup. 



(JUALITIES OF A SUCCESSFUL APIARIST. 



"What are the essential qualities for 

 making a successful bee-keeper ?" 



J. E. Crane— Pluck ! 



Others — Keen judgment, work, study, 

 perseverance. 



VALUE OF BEE-ESCAPES. 



" What is the value of bee-escapes ?" 



O. J. Lowrey — I have used the " Lar- 

 rabee" and the " Porter." I have found 

 the escape very good in clearing sections 

 of bees. I have had the Porter clear the 

 sections, on a crowded hive, in 24 hours. 



W. G. Larrabee — I have used the same 

 kinds. I think they are a great preven- 

 tive of robbing. For extracted honey 

 they are indispensable. 



J. E. Crane — I use a Crane smoker in 

 driving the bees out of the way. 



E. J. Smith— I pile my honey in the 

 bee-house, and let the bees out at the 

 window. 



BEGINNERS AND THE HONEY-MARKET. 



"How can beginners be educated so 

 as not to ruin a market for those of 

 more experience ?" 



M. F. Cram — The trouble usually cures 

 itself ; they learn better, or die a nat- 

 ural death. 



FUEL FOR BEE-SMOKERS. 



.T. E. Crane — I have been astonished 

 at what can be done by using for 

 smoker fuel, propolized cloths. I have 

 worked in September, ^yhere the robber 

 bees were plenty, estimating stores, with 

 no protection except my smoker. I re- 

 gard propolized cloths for smoker fuel 

 to be the greatest improvement of the 

 last few years. I suppose their effi- 

 ciencjf to be due o a volatile oil or gas 



