46 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Feb. 9, 



Michigan State Convention. 



Met in Pioneer Hall, State Capitol, 



Lansing, pursuant to call, Dec. 8, at 11 

 a.m. 



So little time remaining before noon 

 —Prof. Cook moved that the meeting 

 spend the morning hour in conference, 

 and said L. 15. Baker's bees were in tin- 

 open air without chaff or other protec- 

 tion, and the Professor would ask what 

 the different members would do with 

 them, seeing that they had now been 

 out so long in the cold ? 



<'. 1!. Link stated that dampness was 

 the principal cause of loss. 



L. B. Baker said he intended to take 

 them in but thought best to let them 

 alone till warm weather, as they seemed 

 to be all right so far. 



The Secretary was asked what he 

 would do with ttiem, and said that if he 

 had a good cellar as Dr. Baker's, he 

 would take them in carefully and slant 

 the hives so the water would run out; 

 then partially open the top so the hives 

 would dry out. 



Acting Pres. Ashley, of lpsilanti, 

 stated that if the season was as last he 

 would leave them out; but as it now 

 seems, he would favor the opinion of 

 Mr. Bingham, and take them in. 



B. A. Salisbury, of Battle Creek, fav- 

 ored wintering in boxes tilled with chaff 

 3 inches deep alt around, and preferred 

 it to cellar wintering. 



Mr. Cole, of Livingston, thought it a 

 bad time to move bees; he moved some 

 into the cellar once when so caught, and 

 lost heavily ; he said 00 per cent, of the 

 bees designed to be protected were now 

 in the open air unprotected having been 

 caught by the early winter. 



Mr. Smith asked why bees did not 

 winter as well in frame as box hives, 

 without protection. 



Prof. Cook said Mr. Hurlburt lost his 

 regardless of the old box hives he used ; 

 he did not think the hive was the cause. 

 Neither was be fully satisfied that chaff 

 hives would entirely obviate the dan- 

 gers of out-door wintering. We need 

 another 1873 winter to test them. Our 

 few past winters have been such that 

 we could not safely predict what a 

 severe winter would do. If Dr. Baker 

 should move his bees into his cellar and 

 then warm it slowly there would be but 

 little danger. 



Prof. Cook suggested that hereafter 

 our meetings be held the first Thursday 

 after the first Tuesday in December, 

 and that time was unanimously chosen ; 

 and Battle Creek the next place of 

 meeting. , , „ _, . 



1 P.M.— Vice Pres. Ashley, of 1 psi- 

 lanti, called the meeting to order. 



Prof. Cook said that black bees were 

 more prompt in entering surplus boxes, 

 but did not regard that of importance, 

 as by the present means we had no dif- 

 ficulty in getting Italian bees to start 

 combs in the lower part of the hive after 

 which they could be raised, and the 

 Italians would go on with the work 

 without loss of time. Black bees are 

 said to dwindle less in spring, if so, it 

 was an advantage. Italian bees fly 

 early, and do not run on the combs. 

 The Students at the College say the 

 Italians fly earlier and later than the 

 blacks. Italians are said to be cross. 

 but I know pure Italians are more gen- 

 tle and better natured. I have Holy <» 



Palestine bees, and they are the .inly 

 bees I have ever seen that would dupli- 

 cate themselves. They also breed later. 

 and I did not have any queens that laid 

 so fast. I favor dark Italian bees while 

 others prefer the light. The Cyprian 



bees must be belter. They are left In 

 themselves in Cyprus, and only the fit- 

 test have survived. Adam Grimm be- 

 lieved the darker bees to >"■ the besl 

 while, the Cincinnati Convention al 

 lowed it to go out that the light ones 

 were best, , 



Louis Harper, ot Delhi, said he had 

 light-yellOW Italians and believed them 

 best, but had never had dark Italians, 

 nor did lie want them; be liked the 

 light-haired bees; they could be held 

 up to view and were beautiful. 



But he 



wanted honey-gatherers, and favored 

 the lighter Italians. 



Prof. Cook said In- believed we should 

 get the besl bees from importations. I 

 am perfectly willing to go on record in 

 that matter. Xature does her work bet- 

 ter than bee-keepers. The best I have 

 ever seen are those that have been im- 

 ported. If I had been at Cincinnati I 

 should have protested against the opin- 

 ion going out that the American-bred 

 Italians were best. 



Mr. Robinson, of Pewamo. I have a 

 few nice bees— but they have cost me 

 $5 to get them off— that is, changing 

 from light to dark, and 1 am glad to get 

 rid of them. I now have only dark ; a 

 i.iau could not give me yellow Italians. 

 W. R. Cole, of Belleview. In Au- 

 gust I found my Italians on red thistles 

 and doing well.' while my blacks worked 

 on clover, and accomplished very little. 

 Mr. Harper stated that some advo- 

 cated black bees, but he believed that 

 none were to be found pure. All that 

 we now have are dark-mixed Italians, 

 and the yellow are best. If I bad to 

 keep black bees. I should not keep any. 

 L. 1!. Baker. Wehave had black bees, 

 and if they were best we have had some- 

 thing to be proud of. 



Mr. Smith said the largest combhoney 

 yield he had ever had were from black 

 bees. I have an imported queen and 

 have bred from her IS others ; she was 

 very dark. They have certainly stored 

 no more honey than my light bees. I 

 have an apiary away from home of pure 

 black bees, and they have produced 

 more honey this year' than my others. 

 But I always show my light bees to 

 strangers, lie said his stinging bees 

 are bis best workers, and he liked them. 

 Mr. Bingham, of Otsego, stated that 

 he cultivated dark Italians— but bad 

 both yellow and dark, and pure blacks. 

 In the fall always reduced the number 

 of his colonies — sometimes more than 

 half, but never killed a queen whose 

 colony had done well because she was 

 black, or yellow, or dark— " Pretty is 

 that pretty does." 



Mrs. L. B. Baker, of Lansing, who 

 has kept a strict account, says the dark 

 Italians have proved much the best 

 honey gatherers with her. A resolution 

 was passed that it was the sense of the 

 Convention that dark Italians were 

 preferable. 



Prof. Cook moved that all the essays 

 from abroad be received and the writers 

 thanked for their kindness in sending 

 them. The resolution was unanimously 

 passed. 



Mr. Robinson was called for, and sHid 

 surplus was what he kept bees for ; used 

 the extractor mainly ; did not extract 

 from the brood chamber, and never ex- 

 tracted till the honey was ripe and 

 mainly sealed ; uses a Bingham &Heth- 

 erington knife and like it best; can do 

 work faster and better with it than any 

 other ; sell mosl of my honey in Pe- 

 wamo ; cany 20 to 2o queens through 

 the winter for spring use ; can winter 

 them safely on one comb. 



Prof. Cook thought the wintering of 

 extra queens a matter of great import- 

 ance; he had never failed in wintering 

 bees in small hives. They cannot be 

 wintered in chaff hives, but can in the 

 cellar. 



Mr. Salisbury wintered a small colony 

 on candj and flour and water, and it 

 was the best colony he had the next 

 season. 



Mr. Robinson said getting honey was 

 not all ; it had to be kept and the mar- 

 ket waited for ; had no trouble in selling 

 all lie could get. 



Prof. Cook said uncapping took time; 

 as soon as it was partially capped and 



thick it could be extracted. Never had 

 any spoil. 



Mr. Cole never let his bees cap more 



than a place as large as his hand before 

 extracting; never bad any sour. 



Mr. Robinson bad several ban-els 

 spoil, and care was required unless 

 thoroughly ripe. 



.Mr. Bingham said he believed it un- 

 safe to extract before it was cseiitially 

 sealed. Believed flic honey better anil 



richer for remaining some time scaled 



up in the hive. 



Mr. Perry had noticed thai black bees 

 left air under the caps, while Italians 

 did not. He believed this fact was the 

 reason why black bees make whiter 

 combs. 



Prof. Cook said, take off your sections 

 as quick as done L All the nice section 

 honey is made quick and removed at 

 once. 



Mr. Robinson said honey would not 

 granulate if kept up to 90 but would if 

 below <)0°. 



Mr. Bingham asked how much more 

 extracted honey a colony would yield 

 than section. 



Mr. Robinson said he extracted 200 

 lbs. per colony ; but should not expect 

 more than 50 lbs. from the same colony, 

 if in sections. 



Mr. Hilbert said 30 colonies gave 3,000 

 lbs. in sections. 



Dr. II. B. Baker, Sec. State Board of 

 Health; Dr. J. H. Kelley, of same 

 Board, and Mr. L. B. Baker, were ap- 

 pointed a committee to urge legislation 

 calculated to prevent the adulteration 

 of honey and other sweets. 



Mr. Benhani, of Olivet, stated that he 

 had had some experience in comb foun- 

 dation. He wanted to furnish and had 

 furnished good material. Had hand- 

 some foundation well drawn out that 

 the queens refused to fill with eggs, and 

 was fearful the wax was impure. After 

 making from his own wax, with his own 

 hine, had no trouble. Thought a 



fairly before the people, it would prove, 

 itself one of the most profitable of 

 Conventions. T. F. Binghan, Sec. 



[The essays and correspondence read 

 at this Convention have been published 

 in the Bee Journal.— Ed.1 



mach 



machine would pay. Foundation was 



invaluable. 



Mr. Perry said he would not do with- 

 out it. Bees accepted the Dunham 

 foundation most promptly. 



Mr. Robinson preferred Dunham 

 foundation and thought it would soon 

 go out of use ; he was willing to go on 

 record, that it raised too many bees. 



Mr. Smith liked it. said it made 4 to 6 



days saving in filling a hive with combs. 



Mr. Waldo said full frames sagged 



somewhat, when tilled with it. I think 



it beautiful, and favor its use. 



T. F. Bingham had filled his shallow 

 frames and hived full colonies on Dun- 

 ham foundation with the mercury at 

 96° without any sagging ; but had al- 

 ways taken the precaution to place an 

 empty hive under the one containing the 

 foundation, that the bees might have 

 room to distribute themselves so as not 

 to be compelled to cluster on the foun- 

 dation while it was being drawn out. 

 Then after a few days removing the 

 empty set. Believed this plan would 

 usually prevent sagging even in Lang- 

 stroth frames. 



Mr. Smith had usedwired-foundation 

 and it had worked nicely ; saw no ob- 

 jections to the wire ; said the flat-bot- 

 tomed was the thinest he had ever seen. 

 Mr. Waldo stated that in all the apia- 

 ries he had visited where foundation 

 was used, he had found more or less 

 sagging. 



L. B. Baker said he had used founda- 

 tion and had never had any sag, but had 

 never put large swarms on it. 



Prof. Cook said he believed founda- 

 tion a success. 



Mr. Perry said some used would set- 

 tle, while some would not. 



[A letter was here read from Mr. O. J. 

 Hetherington, which will be found else- 

 where in our columns —Ed.] 



Pres. Ashley and Mr. Robinson were 

 of the opinion that there was a loss of 

 from to 15 per cent, of wax in the pro- 

 cess of making wax into foundation. 



Mr. Perry thought the loss in working 

 pure yellow wax was merely nominal. 



Considerable discussion was brought 

 forward as to the means to be adopted 

 so as to unite all the bee-keepers. 



The President said those who attend 

 must condense and arrange so as to tell 

 just what they wished in a few words. 



Mr. Robinson said he did not want to 

 tell all he knew. There were more bee- 

 keepers now than he wanted. More 

 honey raised would not increase the 

 demand or raise the price. 



Mr. Terry said the business would 

 regulate itself. 



Prof. Cook did not like the Chinese 

 plan. Parties who formerly talked it. 

 saying we had too many bee-keepers, 

 were now taking another course. 



Mr. Robinson said alsike clover had 

 been a favorite With farmers about him, 

 It made good hay. seeded well, produced 

 about S bushels of seed to the acre ; if 

 sown with wheat in the fall, it would 

 bloom and yield seed the following sea- 

 son It will bloom the same season, if 

 sowed early, and seed the first Crop. II 

 said, if this Convention could bring the 

 adulteration and foul-brood matters 



Cortland Union, N. Y., Convention. 



The annual meeting of the Cortland 

 Union, Bee-Keepers 1 Association was 

 held at Cortland, N. Y., Jan. 4, 1881, 

 and well attended. 



The discussion of the day was begun 

 by E. II. Knapp upon " Rearing Italian 

 queens." He related the methods pur- 

 sued by himself and brother. During 

 the last season they had raised upwards 

 of 100 queens, and principally by the 

 practice of "grafting." It consisted 

 essentially in removing the eggs or 

 larvse from queen-cells in the earlier 

 stages— the larger cells having pre- 

 viously been all removed— and replac- 

 ing larvse 6 to 12 hours old, taking from 

 worker cells of the colony to be bred 

 from. The bees took care of them in 

 the same manner that they would if 

 undisturbed. The best queens were 

 produced by taking larvse soon after 

 hatching ; thought it the most* satis- 

 factory and certain of any method he 

 knew. 



The discussion was continued by Pres. 

 Pierce, Messrs. M. C. Bean. E. Cory, J. 

 H. Kennedy and others. The relative 

 merits of this method as compared with 

 others, the length of time after the 

 operation before the cells might be re- 

 moved, probabilities of their being torn 

 down, the age of larva- it was best to 

 take, the effect of increasing the 

 amount of royal jelly in the cell, and 

 other points, were dwelt upon. 



The discussion of the afternoon ses- 

 sion was begun upon the subject of 

 foundation in hives and surplus boxes, 

 by \V. L. Coggshall. He had used sev- 

 eral kinds ; had tried that with high 

 side- walls and with none ; preferred the 

 former ; had used the Dunham and the 

 Olm ; had used the flat-bottom with 

 good success in sections; he endorsed 

 fully the article by C. C. Coffinberry, at 

 the Cincinnati Convention ; would not 

 advise any bee-keeper to compel bees to 

 make combs when foundation was lit 

 present prices. The discussion became 

 interesting and lively upon the subject, 

 and took up the rearing of brood over 

 the wires in wired-foundation in full 

 frames, and hiving bees upon founda- 

 tion. It was participated in by Pres. 

 Pierce, Messrs. E. Cory, R. II. Mellen, 

 F. W. Smith, J. H. Kennedy, E. H. 

 Knapp, M. II. Fairbanks and M.C.Bean. 

 "Wintering bees" was now intro- 

 duced by A. G. Chapman. There were 

 as many methods as bee-keepers; he 

 said the beginner would find the opinions 

 and methods of leading men at variance 

 on the subject; but he thought there 

 might be some factors common to all, 

 obscure though they might appear in 

 some. Dryness he concluded as one. 

 His method he described to be as fol- 

 lows : He kept 2 colonies in one hive ; 

 this was set permanently on a good 

 foundation. It had a lid like a trunk, 

 with hinges on one side ; inside, and 

 leaving space for packing, was a box 

 made cheaply of half-inch lumber that 

 would hold 20 Langstroth frames and 

 in the center hejplaced a thin division 

 board to separate the 2 colonies. They 

 were kept comfortable, and he liked the 

 method. The subject was kept up by 

 Messrs. Smith. Knapp, F.Schermerhorn. 

 Mellen and Pies. Pierce. 



The Association listened to the An- 

 nual Address of the President, Chas. 

 A. Pierce. He spoke of the encourage- 

 ment the Association was to all, and the 

 progress it had made ill the past year of 

 its organization; it now numbering 

 nearly 50 members. 



The Convention proceeded tothe elec- 

 tion of officers for t he ensuing year with 

 the following result : 



President— Chas. A. Pierce, of Trux- 

 ton. 



Vice Presidents— J. L. Gillett, of 

 Cortland; E. 11. Knapp, of Pabius ; W. 

 L. Coggshall, of West Uroton. 



Honorary Vice Presidents— G. M. 

 Doolittle, of Borodino ; I. L. ScofiekL 

 of Chenango Bridge ; II. D. Mason, of 

 Fabius; Oscar Courtney, of Marathon; 

 R. H. Mellen, of McLean. 





