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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



J^ov. 25, 



Mr. Nice— I think it makes very little difference where 

 they are put. 



Mr. France — A Rreat many bees live over winter. 



QuEs — What strain of bees is best for comb honey ? 



Mr. Evans — The black bees produce the whitest honey, 

 and of course the most marketable. 



QuE8. — What age do the worker-bees attain ? 



Mr. France — I have experimented a good deal on this, and 

 found at the end of 90 days over half the bees that were in 

 the hive at the beginning of that period were still there. 



Mr. Ricks— I have put bees into the cellar that I knew 

 were queenless, and came out in the spring about as strong 

 as when put away in the fall. 



Mrs. Pickard — I have had a colony that I knew was 

 queenless for a long time, that reared a queen. 



Mr. Dexter— It they will steal honey, why not steal eggs? 



Mr. Nice — I have had cases where a colony would remove 

 eggs from one side of the hive to the other. 



Mr. Pickard— Is it possible for bees to carry eggs from 

 one part of a hive to another? 



Mr. France — Yes, it is. 



Mr. Evans thinks there is great danger of having comb 

 honey sour when the cells are too deep. 



The election of officers resulted as follows : 



President— N. E. I^rance, of Platteville ; Vice-President 



Thos. Evans; Secretary — F. L. Murray, of Calamine; and 



Treasurer, D. Ricks. 



Mr. J. W. Van Allen read the following essay, on 



How to Succeed al Bee-Kcepiiis^. 



We as bee-keepers are all interested in the topic assigned 

 me. Success is what we are all striving for — no difference 

 what our vocation is, we wish to succeed, and especially to 

 meet with financial success. What haven't men done? What 

 won't they do to win it ? When men will stake the comforts 

 of home, and life itself, and leave friends and relatives and 

 brave the cold of the arctic regions and the privations attend- 

 ant to gain the coveted prize, it would seem that to succeed 

 financially is the main object in life. 



How to succeed in bee-keeping has been one of the knotty 

 problems that has confronted the bee-keepers of this country 

 during the last few years of partial failure and falling prioes 

 of honey, and the fradulent dealings of crooked commission 

 men of our large cities. Of course all commission men are not 

 rascals, but judging from the experience of many bee-keepers, 

 and other shippers of produce, many of them will " bleed " you 

 for all you are worth, or, in other words, take the "lion's 

 share." 



But to my subject: In order to attain the greatest success 

 at bee-keeping, one must, to begin with, have a real love for 

 It. Of course, some may meet with financial success who have 

 no real liking for the business, their only object being the dol- 

 lars and cents they can get out of it, but they work at a great 

 disadvantage, and sooner or later they get out of the business. 

 But it is not so with the man or woman who has a real 

 love for the business ; they go about their work with pleasure, 

 They admire their bees, and it is their delight to be among 

 them, and they are never happier than when they see them 

 taking their first flights in spring, especially so if they have 

 wintered well. 



The last few seasons of partial failure has caused many 

 , to consider the feasibility of combining some other business 

 with that of bee-keeping to help swell the profits or tide them 

 over'in case of failure, and at the same time not interfere with 

 the bee-business from past experience, and after careful con- 

 sideration I have come to the conclusion there is nothing equal 

 to the small fruit business, or the raising of poultry, especially 

 the former where one has a favorable location, and near good 

 markets, or one has good shipping facilities so they can reach 

 distant markets. 



Any one with a good location and a liking for either of the 

 above combinations, and fair business ability, is sure of a good 

 degree of success. 



I wish to say a few words to those who may contemplate 

 entering the arena of bee-keeping, and wish to know the short- 

 est and safest road to success for the beginner. He should 

 take a course of training, of at least one year, with a bee-mas- 

 ter — not simply a bee keeper but a /)Cc;-7;i(if,7cr— one who under- 

 stands his business, and Is successful in the management of it. 

 If I were young again, and going into the bee-business, I 

 would take such a course of Instruction if I had to work for 

 my board and the privilege of learning the business. 



J. W. Van Ai.lkn. 



QuKg.—Wlll bees do better in the shade during the honey 

 harvest than In the sun ? 



Mr. Evans — I prefer shade. X use shade-boards, and pre- 

 fer them to trees. 



The majority of the members did not like shade. Color of 

 hives has a great deal to do with heat in the hives. 



QuEs. — What is the better, a pen-knife or scissors to clip 

 queen's wings? 



By a vote the majority preferred scissors. 



QuES. — Is there any way to prevent robbing at the time 

 of putting bees out in spring? 



Mr. Evans — Keep the entrance closed, if the colony is 

 weak. If a colony gets partly robbed out, they are never any 

 good the balance of the season. 



Mr. France— I use asparagus tops at the entrance, thor- 

 oughly wet with water. 



QuES. — What is the best smoker fuel ? 



Some said straw, others planer shavings, punk, crusht 

 corncobs, or dry hardwood. F. L. Murray, Sec. 



Advice About Weak Colonies for Winter. 



BY C. P. DADANT. 



Question. — " I wish to ask for a little advice. I have 

 200 colonies of bees, and the honey-flow failed about the first 

 of October on account of drouth. I have just been looking 

 into my hives (Nov. 8), and I find not enough bees to cover 

 two or three combs with no brood, either sealed or unsealed. 

 But all have plenty of stores. What can I do to save those 

 bees ? If I unite them will the bees not be too old to stand 

 the winter? How can I stimulate brood-rearing at this tim& 

 of the year ?— T. McD., Gallatin Co., 111." 



Answer. — It is rather late to give feed to bees to incite 

 breeding, yet an attempt of this kind cannot be injurious, 

 even if it is not successful. It is well known to bee-keepers 

 that bees will breed most when there is a fiow of honey, espe- 

 cially if the flow is not strong enough to cause them to fill the 

 brood-cells. The queen has to eat a great deal in order to lay 

 eggs in such large quantities as she usually lays, and her ap- 

 petite is excited by food being constantly oflered to her by the- 

 workers that go about with a full honey-sac. If we can pro- 

 duce these circumstances artificially, we can undoubtedly in- 

 cite her to lay eggs, altho at this season we encounter the re- 

 sistance of their natural habits which are opposed to the ob- 

 ject in view. 



By feeding warm honey, slightly thinned with water, in 

 small quantities, but at often repeated intervals, we wilt 

 create more or less excitement in the hive, the queen will be 

 offered food oftener, and the result will certainly be an in- 

 crease In the laying of eggs. Whether this laying can be in- ■ 

 duced in a sufficient amount to supply a force of bees adequate 

 to the requirements is a question that can only be solved by 

 the actual experiment, but if we were to try to breed up as- 

 desired we should feed each colony, say a couple tablespoon- 

 fuls each evening for a week or two, and we should take pains- 

 to scatter this food about the combs to give them as much 

 labor as possible in gathering It up. We would feed in the 

 evening, and not at any other time for fear of robbing. The 

 excitement caused by this would subside by morning. If it 

 was found that the quantity fed caused too much of an in- 

 crease in the stores, wo would reduce it according to the cir- 

 cumstances. 



When wo feed bees for a winter supply in seasons when 

 they are short, we take especial pains to feed as quickly as 

 possible in as large quantities as practicable, because wo wish 

 to shorten the period of excitement; but in this case It Is 

 necessary to lengthen it as much as convenient, since we seek 

 production of bees and not supplies. In hives that were too 

 plentifully supplied with stores, and had too few bees to win- 

 tor, we have often seen the practice of slightly cutting into 

 the sealed combs at the back and as near the bottom of th& 

 frames as possible. The honey thus exposed acts in a similar 

 way to the feeding which we roconnnendi'd above. It causes 

 the bees to transport it In order to repair the comb, and creates 

 an excitement which will lead to breeding. If the questioner 



