ISSfJ 



(JLKAMNdS IN I;KK ( ILTliliK. 



4;% 



ill the uflfair lit ilic i)i'ii|)lc (if ymir (•(MiiUiy. 1 

 ;im I'onlidciii that yon w ill nivc tliis siilijriM llic 

 aitt'iiiion its iniinirtam'c (icscrves. Slioiild tiicir 

 Id- any |i<)iiiis on wliicli yon dcsit'c adiiitional 

 inf(iriiiati(iii. i-oinniand iix- at yiiiir pleasure. 

 Vdurs. (Mr.. I'. 11. Ki.wooi). 



I'lcsideiit (if tlie North .Vniefieaii l{ee-Ke('|i- 

 ers" .\ss()i'iati(iii. also President of the United 

 Stales lloney-Produceis" K\(,'iiange. and i'lesi- 

 dent of New York l{ee-Kee|)eis" Assoeiation. 



The letter 1 received in ici)ly is n(it at hand, 

 but it stated t hat tli(> snbject should liave the 

 attention its imi>oftanee seemed to deiiumd. 1 

 am fiiad to say that the treaty maUes uochanfje 

 in tile present duty. 



As tlie hand of our Icfjisiatofs lias one(^ been 

 laid heavily upon us. and may lie again. 1 sug- 

 gest tiiat a standing ■" watch-dog "" committee 

 on legislaiiou be appointed. Also, if you tliinU 

 liest. this committei> may be authori/ed to dfaft 

 a bill regulating the uso of arsenical jioisons on 

 fruits and vegetables, liy siiraying and othei' 

 processes. That bill should be in suitable foi'm 

 tor submission to the several State Legislatures. 



The Committee on Medals liave completed 

 their labors, suitable dies have been obtained. 

 and medals stamped fordistribution to affiliated 

 societies, as called for in the constitution. Much 

 credit is due to Mr. Thomas (i. Newnuin, who 

 worked oil this committee with his usual vigor 

 and ability. A few extra medals to be awarded 

 for meritorious inventions, discoveries, and ex- 

 periments, would help our society and pursuit. 



The original experimeins made by Professoi' 

 ("ook on ■■ Fertilization by the Honey-bee." read 

 at Washington, is w(3rthy of a medal: but prob- 

 ably our awards should b(> conditioned (in hav- 

 ing the rejiort tirst made to this society. I hope 

 Professor Cook has continued his experiments 

 ^o as to include buckwheat, as farmers have but 

 little idea of the great beneiit to be derived 

 from the honey-bee in the fertilization of this 

 grain. 



A medal should be offered for the best essay 

 for general distribution on "The I^se of Honey 

 in the Arts and Manufactures." When we 

 know that a single tirm of bakers within a few 

 months bought *13.(XX) worth of honey to use in 

 their business, we are led to believe that its use 

 might be largely extended. 



Manufacturers have leained that certain 

 chemical processes take place with honey that 

 do not witli sugar. 



In medicine. Jioney might often besubstituted 

 for syrup, to the benefit of t he patient, as it is 

 more easily digested, and in lung and throatdis- 

 easesit is a valuable medicine. 



Formerly it was the custom of our .secretaries 

 to prepare a cojiy of our proceedings for the 

 press, or a copy from wViicli reporters could 

 make extracts. I advise that we naurn to this 

 custom. Reporters are not familiar with bee- 

 keeping; and while we sometimes have (>,xcel- 

 lent reports, usually those published in our 

 dailies are not creditable to either the b(>e-men 

 or to the papers that [luhlish them. I therefore 

 ask that our secretary furnish a report for the 

 [iress. 



We are pleased to have with us in this nK^et- 

 ing many representative bee-keepers who have 

 not met with us heretofore. Mr. Frank Benton, 

 who has nearly compassed the world in search 

 of new varieties of be(^s, and to wh(jm bee-keej)- 

 ers are under lasting obligations, has promi.sed 

 to be here. 



One whom we have been accustomed to meet 

 at our State Conventions is not hen^. Mr. G. H. 

 Ashby, whom we held in liigh est(^eni for his su- 

 perior qualities of head and heart, will be sadly 

 missed on the floor of this convention. 



P. H. Ei.wooT). 



WHAT IS HIBERNATION 7 

 rut: !u;sr iK.Mi'i'.icxTfiti-; Foit Hi:i;-fKi,i,.VKs. 



A correspondent writes. "At what tempera- 

 lure should liees be kept so tliatthey will liiber- 

 iiate ?" 



Well, that d<>pcnds on what is meant by " hi- 

 bernate." If that word is to be so turned from 

 its legitimate meaning that it means getting 

 i|uiet. then experience, in my case, proves that a 

 temperature of alioiit 4.'.' to 4()° is as near as I 

 can come to it. If it means a sinking into that 

 torpid stateinto which ants, wa.sps. woodcliiicks, 

 and such like things go. then if such a state 

 were possible with the bees, which I can not ac- 

 cept, they would require a very low tempera- 

 ture, and said low lemiieratiire would not only 

 be required outside of tli(> clustei', but the same 

 or neafly so would obtain inside of the cluster 

 also. That 1 never found the temperature low- 

 er than <)0° inside of any cluster of bees, in all 

 my experiments to a.sceitain the temperature of 

 the cluster of bees in winter, even where the 

 temperature was as low as 10° below zero out- 

 side, proves conclusively to my mind that bees 

 never hib(!rnate ill th(> true sense of the word. 

 Ants, wasps, and hornets, freeze up solid, and 

 often stay so for months at a time, in which case 

 they can be truly said to be hibernating; but all 

 know that, if any colony of bees ever come to 

 this point, even for a single day, they would 

 never revive with the warming breath of 

 spring. 



This correspondent next asks, " Is it advisable 

 to keep them at such a temperature that they 

 will hibernate?" In the above he will see that, 

 if true hibernation is meant, only loss can occur 

 if the bei^s da hibernate, even if for only a short 

 time. But if he means a state of quietude in- 

 stead of hibernation, then I should say tiiat it 

 is advisable. The more quiet bees can be kept 

 during winter, the better: and I find that the 

 temperature as above given is the one in which 

 bees are the most quiet: but under conditions 

 different from those existing with me, a temper- 

 ature varying from this might be the best. Ac- 

 tual observation in any case will be found of 

 far greater value then set rules from a different 

 locality. Try for yourself; and when you have 

 f(mnd the temperature in which your bees are 

 the most quiet, then stick to that till experience 

 points out something better. Seasons some- 

 times vary, and you may find that the tempera- 

 ture of a previous winter will not work (equally 

 well the next. One thing is always to be 

 borne in mind, which is, that b(M'S are inclined 

 toward a dormant state in the fall, and toward 

 an active state in the spring. Bees go into a 

 state of rest in October, and remain more or less 

 in this condition, in any temperature varying 

 from fi.5° above to 30 below zero, until interrupted 

 by somedisturbance, or aroused toactivity by the 

 commencement of brood-bearing, which occurs 

 anywhere from the first of January to the first 

 of April, in all well-regulated colonies, accord- 

 ing to the climate they are in. After brood- 

 bearing has commenced, more or less uneasi- 

 ness will pr(!vail from this lime until the bees 

 have the benefit of warm weather and frequent 

 flights. A mild temperature in preserving ani- 

 mal vitality is to be desired, and a uniform tem- 

 perature is the most congenial, the disturbance 

 of sudden changes being avoided as much as 

 possible. 



That the reader may know a little more explic- 

 itly regarding the matter. I will say that, where 

 a colony is wintering just as I should like, they 

 will not be disturbed at once by the rays of light 

 from a candle or lamp falling upon them. When 

 I go into my bee-cellar and hold the candle so 

 the rays of light fall upon the cluster where the 



