JANUARY 15, 1914 



turned to the conditions that bring about 

 swarming, and liow to prevent or forestall 

 the same. Mr. Demuth in the discussion that 

 followed stated that contentment can be 

 brought about sometimes by giving more 

 ventilation, sometimes more room, or both. 

 The Asi)inwall hive, for example, provides 

 both of these conditions. Mr. House said 

 he believed that the Aspinwall hive would 

 etTectually stop swarming, but he thought it 

 too expensive, and that a sectional hive, on 

 account of its easy manipulation, was cheap- 

 er, and better for the i:)urpose. Dr. Dines 

 agreed. In the course of the discussion 

 that followed, some thought that an over- 

 plus of drones tends to induce swarming. 

 Mr. Charles Stewart held that it was not 

 an overplus of drones but too many nurse 

 bees. To this Mr. House and Mr. Demuth 

 agreed. Speaking of the Aspinwall hive, 

 Mr. Irving Kenyon reported that he had 

 tried it out very thoroughly and had found 

 it a success, both in the matter of prevent- 

 ing swarms and in the production of comb 

 honey, but considered it too expensive for 

 the average beekeeper to adopt. 



IS IT DESIRABLE TO KEEP BEES IN THE SHADE? 



This was discussed by W. D. Wright, of 

 Altamont, N. Y., who is not only an ex- 

 tensive beekeeper but also one of the State 

 foul-brood inspectors. This question, he said, 

 may be answered by yes or no. The apiarist 

 needs shade as a matter of comfort to him- 

 self; and incidentally it may be useful to the 

 bees. He had long advocated and practiced 

 using an orchard with medium-sized trees as 

 a desirable place to have an apiary. It is 

 not always possible to have such an orchard, 

 but he was sure that too much shade is too 

 much of a good thing, and for that reason 

 he did not advocate large trees. Shade- 

 boards may be satisfactory, but he consid- 

 ered them objectionable on account of their 

 inconvenience in handling, and because they 

 detract from the appearance of the hive. 

 Years ago he tried out shade-boards, but 

 discarded them. In conclusion : 1. He would 

 keep all hives painted white; 2. Provide a 

 good circulation of air around the hive; 3. 

 Give large entrances; 4. Give all strong- 

 colonies plenty of room. 



Mr. H. L. Case said he had used shade- 

 boards both for shade and at other times of 

 the year, when the bees do not need them. 

 At such times he puts them in,, front of the 

 hives to kill the grass. 



Mr. Chas. Stewart had a part of his hives 

 in the shade and a part out in the open. He 

 could see no difference in honey production. 

 He has observed that when the hives are not 

 sl^aded the bees go out earlier in the morn- 

 ing, while tliose in shaded hives would work 

 better during the heat of the day. President 



Howe said that black bees and Caucasians 

 need more shade. Mr. W. F. Marks arose to 

 ask "Who has black bees? Does not Mr. 

 Howe mean brown bees?" This brought 

 out not a little discussion showing that there 

 were two strains of black bees; viz., the 

 little black bees and the larger brown bees. 



Mr. C. B. Howard next discussed the 

 (juestion of whether we should retail ex- 

 tracted honey in liquid or granulated form. 

 He had been selling granulated honey like 

 lard and butter. Such a plan eliminates the 

 cost of handling, and at the same time edu- 

 cates the trade to honey in that form. The 

 discussion naturally drifted toward selling 

 liquid honey in various forms. Irving Ken- 

 yon sells his in pails; Louis Wahl in milk- 

 bottles, and he showed some very pretty 

 honey of his production. He allows three 

 cents for each j^int bottle, and five cents for 

 a cjuart bottle wlien returned. 



At the evening session there was a lively 

 discussion of the question-box — breeding 

 queen-bees and breeding bees in general; 

 best sections for the production of honey; 

 best Italians to resist bee disease, and the 

 color of Italians. 



President Howe gave it as his opinion 

 that the imported Italian bee may show only 

 two yellow bands. He had been informed 

 that there are very dark Italians in Italy — 

 some of them even black. 



On the question of whether comb and ex- 

 tracted honey could be produced profitably 

 in the same hive, there was quite a difference 

 of opinion. Some of the largest producers 

 seemed to feel that it was not practicable, 

 although it might be done. 



Wednesday morning Mr. Greiner, who, 

 up to this time, had taken no part in discus- 

 sion, was asked to give his opinion on the 

 proper location for an apiary. First, he 

 said he would have a good honey location; 

 second, good roads; third, a shady place in 

 which to work. He could not always use an 

 orchard, although he preferred it. Some 

 locations out in the open, he said, have more 

 swarming. One yard he had in dense shade 

 gave him some of his biggest yields. Mr. 

 Coggshall, one of the most extensive bee- 

 keepers in New York, said, " Locate any- 

 where, just so you do not crowd on other 

 people." He found that clay land gives the 

 liest clover. The apiary should be well pro- 

 tected by undergrowth for a windbreak. At 

 all his yards he has a building, and one key 

 for the locks of all the buildings. 



Mr. Geo. S. Demuth, of the Bureau of 

 Entomology, next delivered an address that 

 ought to be printed in full. We have quite 

 a complete digest of it ; and every beekeeper, 

 especially if he intends to keep "more bees," 

 should read it over carefully. 



