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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jaa. 14, 



vice; but the greatest gain to be derived from them is in get- 

 ting the bees started in the sections. 



Keeping a colony on scales and taking a daily record is a 

 very good way to find out many things about results under 

 the various conditions. I have for many years kept a scale 

 hive, but I have lost much of the benefit by not keeping a 

 permanent record in a book. The season of 1895 I had throe 

 apiaries. One was run for comb, one for extracted and a lit- 

 tle comb, and one for extracted only. The scale hive showed 

 a daily gain during the flow of a little less than 'Z}i pounds. 

 The total gain was 62 pounds, and the time '1(\ days. In 

 1896 the flow lasted 2.5 days, and the average gain was two 

 pounds per day. In 1894 the flow lasted 30 days, and gave 

 a total gain of CO pounds — 2 pounds per day. 



Now right here I want to give my experience for seven 

 years with three apiaries of 20U to 300 colonies, and with 

 both comb and extracted honey produced. The year 1890 

 was a good year. The average yield was 150 pounds per 

 colony. I have not now the figures, tho I have a rather clear 

 remembrance of general results. This year was the one ex- 

 perience previously referred to in which the flow came very 

 abruptly and freely, when there were 16 unflnisht sections 

 per colony on to start with. The flow was very free for a 

 week or more, and then not so free, yet fair to good, lasting 

 53 days. Counting the surplus and winter stores, the average 

 gain was about 3 Jvj' pounds per day. The extremes of yield 

 were 25 pounds for the lowest and 250 pounds for the highest 

 colony. Add to this the winter stores, and the average daily 

 gain for the best colony was about oli pounds. In 1891 the 

 yield was about 100 pounds per colony, with probably about 

 3K pounds the average per day. In 1893 there was a fair 

 yield ; it came rather abruptly, but not of very long duration. 

 The years 1894, 1895 and 1896, have been previously 

 given. 



Now there was one thing that was plain in those years : 

 Invariably the comb-honey colonies wintered better. The best 

 year of the seven — 1890 — the best yield from any one colony 

 was a comb-honey colony, tho I must admit that the best col- 

 onies were run for comb honey. Some pretty fair colonies 

 were run for extracted, and, on the 2 to 1 plan, should have 

 shown as much as the comb-honey colonies. The two years 

 of 1894 and 1895 I did take more extracted per colony than 

 comb, but the following springs I found how I got it, when 

 the bees of this lot were starving to death, while the comb- 

 honey lot were well supplied with stores. In 1896, I watcht 

 the matter carefully, and when I left my extracted colonies 

 with stores equal to the comb-honey colonies, I got no more 

 from the one than from the other. Taking the seven years 

 throughout, I am now thoroughly convinced that I should 

 have been better off had I taken less from those run for ex- 

 tracted honey. I would have had more bees alive in the 

 spring, and better colonies when the How came. 



There are two evils in the use of the extractor. The first 

 is a disposition to take unripe honey. The second is to take 

 too raucli. As before shown, there is a strong disposition on 

 the part of strong colonies, having a lotof empty combs above, 

 to put the honey there, and when once there we are prone to 

 extract it, thus leaving the colony short of stores. With me 

 this is no theory, it is a fact proven by experience. 



Now if your flow is in the fall, or when the weather is too 

 cool for comb-building, it is evident you can get more extracted 

 than comb. If you keep weak colonies the ratio will be still 

 more markt. I5ut with stroug colonies and good comb-build- 

 ing weather, the difl'erenco is by no means great. Never for- 

 get to count the contents of the brood-chamber when estimat- 

 ing the work of a colony. 



There is one other point often forgotten: A normal col- 

 ony will have a surplus of wax that goes to waste when run 

 for extracted honey. I do not believe we lose 20 or more 

 pounds of honey when tho colony builds comb. The bulk of 

 wax used In tho sections would be secreted if the colony were 

 run for extracted, just the same. 



My next article will treat of tho cost of producing and 

 marketing the two kinds of honey, etc. 



Page Co., Iowa. 



The New Constitution and Amalgamation. 



BV I)l{. A. n. MASON. 



1 would like to say to the readers of the American 15oe 

 Journal that in replying to Mr. Newman's " criticism " 1 had 

 no thought of " Inviting an unpleasant personal controversy," 

 nor a controversy of any kind, and had no idea that a "criti- 

 cism," of the Constitution adopted at Lincoln, was considered 

 so sacred as to debar criticism, especially after the author had 

 said that " a lively discussion should be the result" of its 



publication, and I thought I had as good right to point out 

 what (to me) seemed to be some of the fallacies of the "criti- 

 cism " as its author had to point out what he considered some 

 of the " incongruities" and "lack of completeness" of the 

 New Constitution. 



I don't remember to have made the " assertion " that the 

 General Manager had not " submitted the question" to the 

 Advisory Board, but to me the natural inference from what he 

 did say was, that he had not, and would not, do so. Here is 

 the language of the "criticism " that led me to that inference : 



" The whole thing is so incongruous and incomplete that 

 it seems necessary to refer it back to the next convention at 

 Buffalo, for revision. Before it is in proper shape to present 

 to the 'National Bee-Keepers' Union,' it needs a thorough 



overhauling and reconstruction There is, therefore, 



nothing left for its advocates now to do but to await the 

 action of the convention next year." 



With that statement before me, it doesn't seem to be 

 " nonsense" to state that the General Manager did make a 

 "decision in the matter of submitting amalgamation to a 

 vote;" and from the number of letters I have received from 

 well-known bee-keepers, commending my criticism of the 

 " criticism," I know I'm not the only one who drew the infer- 

 ence I did ; and the forceful articles of the Hon. Eugene Secor, 

 and Editor W. Z. Hutchinson, of the Review, that have ap- 

 peared in the American Bee Journal in favor of the adoption 

 of the New Constitution by the National Bee-Keepers' Union, 

 should not be lightly esteemed. 



It seems a little strange to me that any member of the 

 Advisory Board of the National Bee-Keepers' Union should for 

 a moment entertain the thought of refusing the reasonable 

 request of such an organization as the United States Bee- 

 Keepers' Union ; and that any one of that Board should use 

 the following language is beyond my comprehension: "j 

 should say, stibmit the criticisms to each voter, and put it to 

 vote." (Italics are mine.) It doesn't seem possible that any 

 one of that intelligent Advisory Board could possibly think of 

 submitting " criticisms" to the members of the National Bee- 

 Keepers' Union. Tho request was for the submission of the 

 Constitution to a vote, and for the General Manager, or the 

 Advisory Board, to "submit" any criticisms, or make any 

 suggestions, either for or against its adoption, when submit- 

 ting it to a vote, would be entirely out of place. 



Since the Lincoln convention I have received the member- 

 ship fees from 10 bee-keepers, and as in each case it was un- 

 certain as to which " Union " the fee should go, each person 

 was written to for more definite instructions, and in each in- 

 stance the reply was definite. They wanted their money to 

 go to the Union that proposed to prosecute adulterators. 



I favor amalgamation because it will put more money into 

 the hands of the Board of Managers, than will be paid in if 

 amalgamation is not accomplisht; and because the United 

 States Bee-Keepers' Union will take up the matter of adulter- 

 ation, which is a more important matter than that which has 

 been so successfully handled by the National Bee-Keepers' 

 Union. 



The services of the United States Bee-Keepers' Union will 

 not be needed to prosecute adulterators in Ohio, for we have a 

 pure food law that " fills the bill," and a commissioner and 

 assistants that have done, and are doing, efficient service in 

 enforcing it. Toledo, Ohio. 



Winter Stores — Sundry Questions Answered. 



BV 0. M. DOOLITTLE. 



QaES. — "I wish you would tell the readers of the American 

 Bee Journal what you think of my mode of wintering bees, for if 

 it is a good plan, others may wish to try it. I have five colo- 

 nies of bees and when I examined them the first of October I 

 found they had tho two frames, next the sides of the hives, 

 solid full of honey ; the next two frames were at least three- 

 fourths full, while the remaining frames were nearly or quite 

 one-third full. I use eight Hoffman frames to the hive, and 

 they are spaced 1?8 inches from center to center. Do you 

 think they have stores enough for winter?" 



ANS.--Yes, and not one colony in 20 will comsume the 

 amount of honey you speak of before the first of the May fol- 

 lowing. Many are often pu/.zled to know how much honey a 

 colony should have In tho hive on October first to insure safety 

 as regards stores, so they will not be liable to starve. After 

 years of experimenting along this line, I now allow from 20 to 

 25 pounds of honey to each colony to bo wint.'^red on the sum- 

 mer stand, and from 15 to 20 pounds for those which are to 

 be wintered in the collar. That is, I see that all colonies have 

 as much as tho smallest number of pounds given, but where 



