184 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



R. H. Casket. I move that each mem- 

 ber note the number of hives he now has 

 on hand, and report at meeting in Octo- 

 ber the increase and amount of honey 

 obtained. 



M. G. Grigsbt. I move to amend the 

 motion, that a recc^rd be also kept of the 

 Spring losses, and a report made of them. 



The motion with the amendment was 

 adopted. 



R. H. Casket. I want to Italianize, 

 and would like to know the best time to 

 do so. 



D. Staples. Do it immediately after 

 the poplar harvest. 



T. T. Martin. Is it advisable to divide 

 when transferring? 



D. Staples. If you want to increase 

 in bees, yes. 



C. C. Vaughan. I move we now ad- 

 journ, to meet the first Saturday in June 

 at Culleoka; which, being seconded, was 

 adopted. Wm. J. Andrews, 



Sec. and Treas. 



For the American Bee Journal. 

 Wintering in the South, 



Our travelling bees are now back at 

 home, after wintering in Tenu. We 

 shipped them south about the 1st of Oct. 

 and back 2d of May. The round trip, to- 

 gether with expense of keeping them, 

 amounts to about $100 per colony. Loss 

 in wintering eight out of 113 — four of 

 them only lost queens. Advantages of 

 shipping, are the certainty of wintering 

 safely, and the increased amount of honey 

 gathered in fall and spring in the south. 

 The winter has been mild and the spring 

 late, but notwithstanding this we are sat- 

 isfied that the experiment has paid us, and 

 will repeat it next fall. Barnum Bros. 



Southport, Ind., May 15, 1876. 



For the American Bee Journal. 

 Thouglits Suggested on Reading the 

 Journal. 



Having been a close reader of the Jour- 

 nal for the last two or three years, I 

 would like to make a few notes. I am a 

 beginner in the bee business, and conse- 

 quently, of limited observation. The arti- 

 cle on " Artificial Swarms," in the May 

 number, is very explicit, and is just what 

 has been needed by amateurs. The diffi- 

 culty of finding the queen is often felt. 



The article on " Black Bees Running 

 Out," certainly treats the subject fairl}'; 

 but the cause of bees dying out in this 

 section, is not by "in-and-in breeding, 

 causing the bees to deteriorate," but from 

 other causes. Where are the thousands of 

 colonies that were formerly found in nortli- 

 eastern Kentucky? Did tliey become 

 weak and sickly "from iu-antl-in breed- 

 ing?" No; they all, or nearly all, died in 



one winter. The disease now seems to 

 have spent its force, and they are on the 

 increase again. I will give you the ex- 

 pression, in his own words, of once the 

 largest bee-keeper in this section, as to the 

 cause of the mortality among bees: 

 " When the Sorghum came my beeswenty I 

 have talked with others on the subject, 

 who thought that the Sorghum was the 

 cause of the bees dying. 



The article on page 137, " Can Bees 

 Hear?" can be answered in the aflSrma- 

 tive, without a doubt; if the writer will 

 take a bee on the outside of a hive, at the 

 entrance, when no other bees are in sight, 

 fasten it by the legs causing it to give a 

 note of distress, he will be apt to be pain- 

 fully impressed with the belief that bees 

 can hear! 



Two queens in the same hive, is a rare 

 thing, but I have had one such, the past 

 winter ; one queen was killed about March 

 11th, the other one is living and very 

 prolific. 



Cobalt mixed with bits of old comb, put 

 in a box with some woolen rags, will 

 destroy a great many millers and moths. 

 Try it. To keep out the ants, set the hives 

 on legs; place the legs in shallow dishes 

 or shallow tin boxes, with water in them, 

 and they are safe from ants. Of course, 

 they have to be filled up with water, as it 

 evaporates. Deep dishes will drown some 

 bees, and that is objectionable. In mak- 

 ing observatory hives, and for other pur- 

 poses, it is necessary sometimes to get a 

 hole through glass; glass can be softened 

 and made easy to drill, by taking a small 

 piece of gum camphor, placing it on the 

 place to be drilled, with a few drops 

 spirits of turpentine. Use the point of a 

 file for a drill, or other hard instrument. 



Mason Co., Ky. W. W. Ltnch. 



Los Angeles B. K. Meetingr. 



The Bee-keepers' Association met at the 

 Los Angeles Apiary on May 6th, 1876, 

 J P. Bruck presiding. 



The minutes of last meeting were read 

 and approved. 



Ou motion of Mr. Davidson it was 

 adopted to establish a bee-keepers' library, 

 consisting of manuscript papers, written 

 for the Association, bee journals, periodi- 

 cals and books, pertaining or useful to 

 bee culture. Also, that Mr. N. Levering 

 be appointed librarian, with power to 

 select an assistant librarian, the latter to 

 reside in Los Angeles. Mr. Levering said 

 he should be glad to receive samples of 

 honey, which he would keep convenient 

 for inspection by any body interested in 

 them alter. 



Mr. J. W. Wilson spoke of establishing 

 a fruit canning establlishment to utilize 

 our second grade honey. 



The Secretary distributed the rest of 

 the comb-foundation on hand. 



