AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



529 



Pres. Russell — The maples are a most 

 beautiful shade-tree, but the basswoods 

 are just as pretty, and have the loveliest 

 flower that ever was seen. It is a very 

 hardy tree, too. As for the worms, three 

 table-spoonfuls of chloro naphtholine 

 dissolved in a bucket of water will kill 

 all of them. 



Mr. Hicks — I sowed buckwheat, which 

 made a very fine growth and luxuriant 

 bloom, but I got no honey and no seed. 

 I had to feed my bees in consequence for 

 lack of winter stores. Caji any one tell 

 me why it is that when we do all the 

 labor and make preparations, we then 

 get no honey ? 



Mr. Catterson — Some six or seven 

 years ago, a neighbor of mine had a 

 field of buckwheat of some six or eight 

 acres. He said when the buckwheat 

 was in bloom, about seven or eight 

 o'clock in the morning, the bees would 

 just come in flocks there until about 11 

 o'clock, and then they would go away 

 again. Two years ago last summer, I 

 had about six acres of silver-hull buck- 

 wheat, and I don't think the bees worked 

 on this at all, and I don't know whether 

 it provides honey as well as the old- 

 fashioned buckwheat or not. In regard 

 to its failure to make seed, I have been 

 told that during the warm weather, it 

 will not form. Then if that kind of 

 weather should last until autumn and 

 destroy the bloom, of course there would 

 be no seed. The weather must be cool 

 to produce seed and honey. 



Pres. Russell — About IX miles west 

 of here, a man raised the silver-hull 

 buckwheat this year, and it did a good 

 deal as Mr. Hicks has said. It seemed 

 to blast at bloom, and to make no seed. 

 I cannot tell why this is ; but I have 

 now 50 bushels of as pretty buckwheat 

 as you ever saw — the Japanese. 



Mr. Catterson — The siver-hull will re- 

 main in bloom about twice as long as 

 the Japanese, which only stays in bloom 

 about a week or ten days. It is very 

 poor buckwheat that will not yield seed. 



Pres. Russell — I believe in sowing all 

 crops at the right time of the moon. I 

 think that has much to do with success. 



Mr. Muth — When is the right time of 

 the moon, Mr. President ? 



Pres. Russell — Well, that I am not 

 going to tell. (Laughter.) 



Mr. Catterson — Mr. President, as it is 

 getting late, and I don't know but what 

 my ,name will be called next On the pro- 

 gramme, I, for one, am in favor of ad- 

 jouriiiing until this evening. 



The convention then adjourned until 

 7:30 p,m. 



(Continued next week.) 



Workings Colonies by the Jump- 

 ing: Plan. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY E. L. PKATT. 



Some time ago I published my method 

 of working bees by the jumping plan, 

 and it has proven so successful in quite 

 a number of large apiaries in different 

 parts of the country, that I give it again, 

 with what changes and additions that 

 have been found advantageous in prac- 

 tical experience for two seasons. All 

 who try this method are requested to 

 make a report to the author, with any 

 suggestions that can be given from ex- 

 perience with it. 



The first thing to be done in spring is 

 to give the hives a thorough renovating. 

 Look each colony over, and see that it 

 has a good queen and plenty of stores 

 when equalizing operations commence. 



For some reason the bees die off in 

 some hives very much faster than in 

 others, although the colonies were of 

 equal strength in the fall, and the 

 queens were equally prolific. Some 

 queens do not do so well as others in 

 early spring, and unless such colonies 

 are given some aid from the apiarist, 

 they will amount to nothing all the sea- 

 son, as they cannot build up in time for 

 the harvest. 



I have found the jumping plan equaliz- 

 ing the colonies as expeditious and effec- 

 tive as any I ever tried. I look my colo- 

 nies through, mark the very strong ones, 

 and exchange stands with the weaker 

 ones ; jumping the hives over and across 

 back and forth, at intervals of about 

 ten days, until I have them all of equal 

 and proper strength to store comb honey 

 in the sections, which means full of bees 

 and brood, but very little honey. 



All colonies that are found too weak to 

 possibly build up in time, should be left 

 out of this operation, and let alone to be 

 built up and re-queened later on. 



It is very important that all the 

 queens be of a prolific sort, and the bees 



