262 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



who by the use of tlie machine would be 

 able to start all the combs for the bees ex- 

 actly in the centre of bai', and straight. 



I make the above suggestions hoping that 

 some of our bee-men wlio have the time and 

 talent, will give it a trial and report results. 

 If such a machine comes into use I want 

 one, for I am of the opinion that w ith such 

 guides very little care will be rt^cjuired to 

 ensure straight combs. J. W. Dunn. 



Corpus Cliristi, Tex., Aug. 21, 187tt. 



[We think after you have seen theui you 

 will prefer inch strips of the foundation as 

 guides, if you do not prefer using more.— 

 Ed.] 



For the Amei'ican Bee Journal 



S. W. Ohio Bee-Keepers' Meeting 



The second meeting of the South-Western 

 Ohio Bee-Keepers' Association met in Leba- 

 non, O., Sept. 9, 1876. 



The discussion of questions and a general 

 exchange of ideas was the principal feature 

 of the day. One member wished to know 

 the name of a plant he found in his 

 neighborhood, on which the bees worked 

 from earlv in the morning till after sun- 

 down. iJpon examination several pro- 

 nounced it to be Carpenter's Square, and all 

 agreed that it was a very valuable honey 

 plant. 



The question was then asked, " Will it 

 pay to use the extractor?" Those that had 

 tried it were much in favor of it, while 

 others had seen it used and thought it a 

 good thing. 



"What is the best method to get worms 

 out of box honey?" was then asked. Some 

 of the sutferers had tried examining it 

 where it was in small frames, while others 

 had tried brimstone, having to use it 2 or 3 

 times, if used innnediately after smoking 

 the honey would taste of it,, but the taste 

 would soon pass off. 



"How do worms get into the boxes?" was 

 then asked. One member had seen moths 

 in the tops of the hives; one thought the 

 eggs were carried in from the flowers; 

 another thought the bees carried them there 

 on their feet from where they were laid on 

 the bottom board. A temperature of IS deg. 

 above zero was said to be low enough to 

 kill them. 



In preparing bees for winter, some fed 

 when necessary a syrup of sugar and water 

 in the proportion or about 8 tl>s. of sugar to 

 2 gallons of water; one used molasses, and 

 another had tried Sorgo molasses, but with- 

 out success. 



The best protection of the bees, was for 

 the most part, some absorbing material on 

 top, while, some put an extra box around 

 the hive and packed straw in the space be- 

 tween; one was intending to use Finn's 

 patent hive. 



Several had tried wintering in the cellar— 

 tenii)t!ratur(; a few (U^grees below 40— but 

 most of them thought out-door wintering 

 best for tills climate. A few remarks were 

 then made on introdut-ing (jueens to hives 

 with fertile workers. One plan was to re- 

 move the hive to a new place and let the 

 bees all tly back to the old stand, and as the 

 fertile workers would remain they could be 

 destroyed and the combs be returned to the 

 bees, whtMi a cell or a frame of brood could 

 be given them. One member luul been very 



successful by introducing a sealed queen 

 cell, he had taken the trouble to take the 

 frames out of a hive, one at a time, and by 

 watching them long enough he had caught 

 three bees on one frame in the act of laying 

 eggs, and had caught as many as ten in one 

 hive, with the aid of a glass he had counted 

 •iO eggs in one cell. 



On motion, the Soci^jty then adjourned to 

 meet at the same place Feb. 14, 1877. 



Bethany, O. W. S. Boyd, Secy. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Transferring Staples. 



I have a plan for transferring that differs 

 from any I have read of. and I will give it 

 to you. There is no patent on it that I 

 know of. Instead of splints or twine or 

 thorns I use wire staples and find them 

 very convenient and about as cheap as any- 

 thing. I have a pair of nippers with a cut- 

 ter in them, I just take a small wire and 

 cut oft' pieces the proper length to Tuake the 

 staples about two inches long and just wide 

 enough to go over the frame. Bend them 

 in shape with tlie nippers, have a lot of 

 these ready, and when I get the comb fitted 

 into the frame just slip on as many of these 

 staples as necessary and the work is done. 

 Try it anybody who will and you will find 

 that it beats splints, twine, or thorns all 

 hollow. .Jacoij Cop?:land. 



Posey Co., Ind., Aug. Itt, 187U. 



Mo. Valley Bee-Keepers' Meeting. 



We have just received from the Seeretary, 

 Mr. W. G. Smith, the following report of a 

 meeting held last May, from the coluuuis of 

 a St. Louis paper: 



The Missouri Valley Bee-Keei>ers' Asso- 

 ciation met at the office of the state board of 

 agriculture in the Insurance building, cor- 

 ner of Sixth and Locust Sts. 



The Hon. John Monteith was invited to 

 preside in the absence of the president of 

 the association — Lieut.-Ciov. Colnuvn. 



After the reading of the miiuites of the 

 last meeting by the secretary, W. G. Smith, 

 and the disjiosal of some other business, 

 the chair called on the gentlemen present to 

 give statements of their experience in bee- 

 keeping. 



lie said he had seen a luimber who in- 

 tended to be present at this meeting, but he 

 supposed in conseiiuence of the lateness of 

 the season and the few bright ilays for busi- 

 ness they had been detained' at honm; 

 another reason was that the day was devot- 

 ed to school meetings throughout the State. 



Mr. Albert T. Williams, of St. Charles, 

 stated ills exjierieiice witii bees. It had 

 been a poor season for bees, but his success 

 in wintering was ratiier good. He wintered 

 his bees in the cellar, and for saving honey 

 it was eeonomy. He woulil not allow any 

 obnoxious sui)stance in the cellar, siu^li sis 

 cabbage, nor anything sour like a barrel of 

 vinegar. He had about 100 colonies of bees. 

 He kept the Italian bee and had no use for 

 other kinds. He procured the Italian bee 6 

 years ago. He raised bt^es solely for the 

 the honey, and was not a (pieen maker. In 

 the process of substituting the Italian bee 

 he removed the old (lueen and placed the 



