THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



73 



Mr. Bacon took issue with answer given 

 by them, to No. 8. He claimed it was 

 chiefly, if not altogether, to exclude the 

 enemies of the bees, prominent among 

 which, is the moth. 



Mr. Elwood sustained the position of 

 the committee, stating that bees do not 

 use propolis until late in the season, after 

 the ravages of the moth are nearly ended. 

 The Association agreed chiefly with the 

 committee. 



Mr. Nellis suggested that Mr. Bacon try 

 the Italians and he would have no more 

 trouble with moths. This led to a discus- 

 sion of the merits of blacks and Italians. 

 The Italians were generally conceded to 

 be the best for all purposes. 



Mr. Nellis said he would refrain from 

 expressing a general opinion, as his pur- 

 pose miglit be deemed selflsh. He be- 

 lieved that where buckwheat is the only 

 or principal source, the black bees will 

 gather the most honey. 



Question No. 15 was discussed. The 

 answer was deemed inadequate. The 

 fear was that the swarm might come out 

 and start for the woods, when the keeper 

 would probably fail to catch the queen. 

 Mr. Betsinger recommended that the 

 swarm be hived in a box and placed at the 

 side of the old stock, within about two 

 feet. In two or three days, at evening, 

 shake the swarm on a sheet, hunt out the 

 queen and return to the present hive. In 

 the meantime, the bees of the old stock, 

 being too weak to swarm, kill off all but 

 one queen. The bees that marked the 

 new stand, return to the old hive. 



Wintering was discussed at considera- 

 ble length, eliciting various opinions and 

 methods, with instances of success to 

 sustain each. The statistical table pub- 

 lished herewith, speaks practically, and 

 should be studied. 



A majority favored using a moisture 

 conductor, non-conductor of heat, upon 

 the top of the hive. This class think too 

 much draught of air is often given. Mr. 

 Gates showed that his bees had no top 

 ventilation, unless it came through the 

 propolis and boards, and yet his bees 

 wintered well. The secretary then al- 

 luded to Mr. Hoff'man, of Fort Plain, and 

 Mr. Bucklin, of Little Falls, who winter 

 in the same way. Investigation shows 

 that with Mr. Gates and the gentlemen 

 named, the temperature never fell below 

 thirty-six degrees Fahrenheit. The con- 

 clusion was that if no top ventilation is 

 given, the temperature must not go down 

 to the freezing point. Mr. Hetherington 

 stated that Mr. Bucklin kept his bees long 

 confined — to nearly the tirst of May. Mr. 

 Gates and Mr. Bucklin warm their dwell- 

 ings with furnaces, situated in the cellars. 

 Mr. Hoffman thinks the moisture which 

 accumulates, is necessary to brood rear- 

 ing. 



The diflerence in the size and shape of 



frames — so long as they are convenient to 

 handle — was deemed unimportant. 



The Secretar}'^ was convinced that the 

 difliculty, to a great extent, is a disease — 

 not contagious, however. He cited many 

 instances where bees formerly wintered 

 well in the most exposed situations, and 

 under most adverse circumstances, but 

 now the utmost care and study must be 

 given. He knows plenty of men who 

 have kept many bees with no special care, 

 for from 20 to 60 years, successfully, yet 

 for the last three or four years they have 

 had no bees. 



The Association did not generally agree 

 with him. 



Mr. Bacon has no trouble in wintering 

 bees; the trouble is in spring, when 

 caught in cold snaps. He houses his 

 bees; but last spring his losses were near- 

 ly all after the 6th of April. His neigh- 

 bors, who kept their bees out of doors, 

 suffered in the same way, in the spring. 

 Brood was plenty at the time. 



A gentleman suggested that bees be 

 kept in a way to keep them quiet until 

 the middle of May, when danger from 

 cold is over. 



If Mr. Bacon can get a day in the first 

 of January and one at the end of Febru- 

 ary to set them out, and give them a good 

 fly, he has no fear of dysentery. 



Mr. Betsinger did not like the idea of 

 handling and exposing bees in winter to 

 fly, both on account of risk and expense. 

 One gentleman thought locality had a 

 good deal of influence. In his locality 

 heiB cannot be wintered out of doors. 

 Five miles awaj^ they winter well. 



Mr. Betsinger is of opinion that many 

 stocks perish because of the loss of the 

 queen, which makes them uneasy. 



Mr. Bacon says 60 © is too high a tem- 

 perature, and 20 © too low. He prefers 

 38 ° . There may be reasons why others 

 would do better with a higher or lower 

 temperature. He puts a cloth, and four 

 or five inches of cut straw over his bees 

 to absorb moisture and prevent too much 

 radiation of heat. 



Mr. Nellis has better success with a 

 temperature of 48 ^ , but he uses no such 

 absorbing material. 



Very much of the discussion of the 

 different sessions was not recorded. 



On the following page will be found a 

 very valuable table, showing at a glance 

 what .several of our prominent members 

 have done during the past year, and by 

 what management it has been accom- 

 plished. 



Adjournment was taken subject to the 

 call of the executive committee. The 

 sense of the house, taken on motion, indi- 

 cated a wish that three days instead of 

 two be occupied by the annual conven- 

 tion in future. 



J. H. Nkllis, Sec'y. 



