560 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



. * A- 



homes were near by, and it was decided 

 that some swarms do leave and go clear 

 ofl without clustering. 



OLD QUEENS WITH FIEST SWAKMS. 



As it was right in the swarming sea- 

 son, it seemed that every one was free to 

 talk about swarming. The next ques- 

 tion was, "Does the old queen always 

 go off with the first swarm ?" 



J. Bolton, Dr. Marshall, and others, 

 said that in most cases the old mother 

 queen led oflf the first swarm, but when 

 bad weather prevented their swarming 

 until a young queen hatched, she would 

 kill the old one and lead off the swarm. 

 But, after a discussion, it was decided 

 that it was the oldest queen in the hive 

 that came off with the first swarm. 



QUEENS WITH 2nd AND 3ed SWAKMS. 



"How many queens usually come off 

 with a second or third swarm ?" 



Dr. Marshall said that in natural 

 swarming there were usually only one 

 or two cells started the first day or two 

 of their preparations to swarm, and that 

 about the third day they usually start 

 the rest, and that, as a rule, there were 

 only one or two queens with a second 

 swarm, but that a third swarm may have 

 6 to 10 queens, according to the amount 

 of cells they started. 



As 12 o'clock was drawing near, and 

 as the day was warm and pleasant, the 

 convention was held right among the 

 bees, under the shade of the trees ; and 

 as most of the bee-keepers were begin- 

 ning to "swarm out," and stroll about 

 through the large apiary and pleasant 

 woodland, and into the factory, and all 

 over the place, a motion was carried to 

 adjourn for dinner, to meet at 2 p.m. 



Mrs. Jennie Atchleyand W. E. Graham 

 then threw open their doors, and gave 

 the bee-keepers free and full access to 

 the premises, W. R. Graham entertain- 

 ing and feeding 30 bee-keepers, and 

 Mrs. Atchley 28. For two hours all 

 seemed to enjoy themselves like a lot of 

 school children at recess, forming them- 

 selves into little groups, here and there, 

 each one talking about his or her best 

 bees, and best management, etc. These 

 recesses are very interesting, as many 

 ^ ill talk at recess when they will not 

 ay a word in school. 



(Continued next week.) 



A Binder for holding a year's num- 

 bers of the Bee Jouknai. we mail for 

 only 50 cents; or clubbed with the 

 JouBNAL for $1.40. 



Report of the Indiana State 

 Bee-Keepers' Convention. 



Written for the American Be.e Journal 

 BY WALTER S. POUDEB. 



(Continued from page 529.) 



FIRST DAY— Evening Session. 



The convention was called to order at 

 8 p.m., with Pres. Russell in the chair, 

 who said : To commence our evening 

 session, we will have first an essay by 

 Mr. J. B. Catterson, of Brownsburg, on 



The Winter Problem in Bee-Culture. 



The person who successfully winters 

 his bees is a successful bee-keeper, be- 

 cause if he has his bees in proper condi- 

 tion when the honey season comes, they 

 will do the rest themselves. What I 

 shall say in this essay is intended to 

 benefit the average bee-keeper of In- 

 diana, and localities having a similar 

 climate. 



The work of preparing the bees for 

 winter must begin early in the fall. 

 First, they must have food sufficient to 

 carry them through the winter and 

 until warm weather comes in the spring; 

 and perhaps better still, enough for all 

 purposes to last them until they can 

 gather their living themselves. 



Second, they should be properly 

 housed, and the colonies all made strong 

 by uniting the weak ones and equalizing 

 their supplies. I have kept bees for the 

 last 25 years, and for 10 or 12 years I 

 have been very successful in wintering 

 them, much more so than most of my 

 neighbors, and have secured larger crops 

 of honey as a result. I therefore claim 

 a fair idea of bee-keeping, but do not 

 claim to be a specialist or an expert in 

 any line of the business. 



A good crop depends almost wholly 

 upon a strong, healthy colony in the 

 spring, and such a colony depends upon 

 proper care and management in the 

 fall. Have your bees ready for winter 

 when winter comes, and then let them 

 alone until winter is over. I have a 



