132 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 1.5. 



you ?" I asked our friend why ho discarded 

 them. One reason was, tlie bees would propo- 

 lize in between the uprights. Another reason, 

 the brood did not seem to be built out along 

 where the end-bars began to enlarge toward 

 the top. I then called upon several of the 

 closed-end-lVame people, and asked them if 

 they had had any trouble about brood being 

 built out the length of the end-bars. They had 

 experienced no such trouble. Another reason 

 why our friend had discarded them was be- 

 cause he could not alternate the frames. Again 

 I called for the testimony of the closed-end and 

 Hoffmen men. Neither had they experienced 

 this trouble. But for all this, 1 am very glad 

 to give this testimony right here, because it 

 shows that not every one will be pleased with 

 the Hoffman frame; and I hope that some of 

 the enthusiastic admirers of them — those who 

 have not yet tried them — will be a little slow in 

 giving them too extensive a trial. 



I would say right here, by way of parenthesis 

 that I do not want any of our friends to think 

 I do not welcome adverse testimony to some of 

 my "'pet ideas,"" as some might call them. I 

 am exceedingly anxious that both sides shall 

 come ou t. 



Somehow or other this matter of cellar ver- 

 sus outdoor wintering came up. Mr. Ashmead 

 said, that, with an apiary of 100 colonies, he 

 could save, by wintering in the cellar, from .500 

 to 700 lbs. of stores. I told Mr. Ashmead, that. 

 If he lived in a locality where the winters are 

 rather more open, he would not notice this dif- 

 ference in results. In cold localities there is 

 quite a saving in wintering in the cellar. In 

 warmer localities, say in about the latitude of 

 our own, the difference is not very great: al- 

 though I have noticed that there is a slightly 

 less consumption, even in Medina, of stores per 

 colony, in the cellar. 



A paper from Dr. Tinker was read, on the 

 subject, 



" ARE WE READY TO ADOPT A STANDAltD FOR 



THE AMERIC'AX ITALIAN BEE ? IF SO, WHAT 



ARE THE DE.SIRABLE C'HARACTEI!- 



isTirs ?" 



Taking it all in all, the matter was well con- 

 sidered. The doctor alluded to the fact that, 

 up to the present time, the three yellow bauds 

 seemed to be the only standard of purity for 

 Italians. But Cyprians and albinos have come 

 in; and for their crosses we need a little differ- 

 ent standard. But little has been said of the 

 color of the hair. The doctor thought the best 

 strains have white hair. The white hair shows 

 black blood with the bad weeded out. The 

 yellow hair shows that the pure Italian blood 

 has the pi'edominance. He called attention to 

 the fact that, in making exhibits of choice 

 bees, the judges have no standard from which 

 to make their awards of premiums, and he rec- 

 ommended that the association adopt some 

 standard. 



W. E. Clark is one of those dry jokers in con- 

 ventions, and generally makes a pretty good 

 point. He thought it might be all well enough 

 to make a standard for show: but what he 

 wanted was bees i'ov business. He had a cat at 

 home that he would not ti-ade for any ten other 

 cats he ever saw. She is a splendid mouser, 

 and kept the premises clear of the rodents; but 

 a very homely cat was she, and neither had she 

 any distinctive markings or tine pencilings. 

 He also had an old speckled hen that he would 

 not trade foi- any othei- hen he ever saw. Sh(^ 

 was a cross between several other strains; but 

 she would beat any well-marked pure-blood in 

 egg-laying that he ever had. He also had 

 some bees that were splendid workers, but they 

 were not very fancy in color. " This standard 



business," said he. "is just for exhibition. 

 These standard hens and standard cats and 

 standard bees, with just so many shades or 

 markings, do not amount to very much for bus- 

 iness.'" 



Mr. Knickerbocker agreed, and further said 

 he had carefully tested these golden-yellow 

 bees. The honey that they gathered "had a 

 water-soaked aiii)ea ranee, and he thought they 

 were not as good workers as his leather-colored 

 strains. He emphasized the point that he 

 preferred bees for business. 



Mr. Elwood and Mr. Hershiser. however, in- 

 sisted that it was necessary to adopt a standard 

 for cxhibitinit purposes, and that Dr. Tinker's 

 point was well taken. Mr. Elwood said that, 

 if he ordered an Italian bee, and got a hybrid, 

 he would be disappointed. He wanted to get 

 just what he ordered, as to markings, no mat- 

 ter whether the hybrid would be a good deal 

 better bee for business than the regulation 

 three-banded Italians or not. Our judges at 

 honey shows he thought should have some 

 standard whereby they can mark the bees. As 

 it is, there is a good deal of complaint in regard 

 to the way bees are awarded premiums by the 

 judges. 



Afternoon. Second Day. 



We first listened to a paper by President El- 

 wood. It discussed the poor season, and its 

 causes. A full crop of honey, as a general 

 thing, means a good crop of grain. The fertil- 

 ization of blossoms by bees is certainly necessa- 

 ry. As to out-apiaries, we should be a little 

 cautious about advising everybody to start 

 them. If a small business does not yjay, then a 

 larger one will not. There are some who have 

 a capacity for running a series of apiaries, and 

 there are others who have a capacity for run- 

 ning only one small apiary, and sometimes 

 poorly at that. He lamented the fact of raw 

 sugar having been placed on the free list, and a 

 bounty of two cents a pound being paid on all 

 produced at home. He was not certain just 

 what effect this would have on the honey- 

 trade, but he thought it would work injury. 

 Bakers and confectioners had been using cheap 

 honey, but now they would be likely to use 

 sugar. He thought there was a need of bee- 

 keepers adopting some sort of trade-mark, and 

 that the Honey-producers" Exchange should by 

 all means be continued. The Honey vStatistics 

 in Geeaxings had been sent out free, and had 

 rather conflicted with the operations of the 

 Honey-producei's" Exchange, whose bulletins 

 were sent out to mc^mbers only. As to the Co- 

 lumbian Fair, the bee-keepers of New York 

 should make some arrangement to make an ex- 

 hibit; but if the manag(;rs were to open it on 

 Sunday he recommended that the bee-keepers 

 of York State let it severely alone. I was pleas- 

 ed to notice the general assent to this point, 

 shown in the faces of those present. The dis- 

 cussion of the paper was not brought up at 

 that time, but it was considered later in the 

 form of committees. 



Evening Session, Second Day. 



The evening session was given over to the 

 commission men. and two papers were I'ead. 

 Both were so valuable and so vital that I am 

 glad to give them entire — not that the other 

 papers in the convention were less valuable, 

 but because the commission men have had but 

 comparatively little to say to the honey-pro- 

 ducers. The tirst paper, by F. B. Thurber him- 

 self, was read by a representative of the great 

 firm of Thurber, Whyland & Co., of New York. 

 It is as follows: 



THE IXFI.VEXCE OF FREE SUGAR ON THE fON- 

 SUMI'TION OF HONEY. 



After April 1st next, the present duties on 



