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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Nov. 2, 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



President appointed Mr. Scndder, 

 Dr. Haskin and Mr. Wemple a com- 

 mittee on exhibits. 



Moved and carried, that time for 

 adjournment be fixed at 5% o'clock. 



Mr. Hatfield moved that Mr.Newman 

 be requested to write out his address 

 of yesterday, and publish it in full 

 with the minutes of the Convention. 

 Unanimously adopted. 



The first subject being Wintering, 

 a communication was read from T. F. 

 Bingham, Abronia, Mich., entitled 



Wintering of Bees. 



Enough has been written in the past 

 20 years to demonstrate that as yet 

 one point in practical apiculture is un- 

 solved—viz., safe wintering. Time 

 out of mind has demonstrated that a 

 good stone cellar, entirely under- 

 ground, is the safest and most econom- 

 ical plan yet devised. A plank-lined 

 cellar, theoretically, is notas good, for 

 the assumed reason that the radiation 

 of warmth from the ground is more or 

 less impeded by the plank lining, which 

 is a poor conductor of caloric, and a 

 poor absorbent of heat. Nothing but 

 stone lining can secure all the points 

 requisite for a bee-cellar. 



It is of but little moment to practi- 

 cal bee-keepers how much theory is 

 put forth. The fact stands out clearly 

 that bees never wintered safely in cold 

 latitudes. There was and is an un- 

 measured factor staring us boldly in 

 the face, which we call " risk." It is 

 not probable that we shall ever entirely 

 surmount this obstacle to unlimited 

 honey production. To reduce the risk 

 to a minimum is all that we can rea- 

 sonably hope. Then, with our ready 

 and accumulating resources, we may 

 hope to compensate for our oft-recur- 

 ring but uncertain losses. 



We are indebted to the Rev. L. L. 

 Langstroth for detailed experiments 

 in chaff and wool-packed hives and 

 mats. Time has demonstrated that 

 such protection is valuable ; but as yet 

 no safe winter bee hive has been in- 

 vented. That field is yet wide open. 

 The bee periodicals have teemed with 

 fine logic and profound reasoning, 

 based on assumed facts and uncertain 

 data, that the causes were so-and-so 

 and such-and-such. But the imple- 

 ments have not yet been invented 

 whereby these causes can be removed 

 or avoided. Practically, we are no 

 better off than one year ago. All we 

 can do is to do the best we can with the 

 well-tried ways, until some ingenious 

 inventor shall kindly donate to the ln- 

 dependen tOrder of Bee-Keepers a dou- 

 ble-draft, double-blast, blow-hot-and- 

 blow-cold Eureka pollen extractor. 



Upon a sense of the meeting being 

 called for regarding in and out-win- 

 tering, the expression was in favor of 

 cellar-wintering. 



Question : When is the best time 

 to put bees away in the cellar for win- 

 ter r 



Mr. Thompson thinks the first snow- 

 storm in December is soon enough, as 

 there is more or less of warm weather 

 in November. 



Question : When is best to take 

 them out? Answered by several, 

 when the weather becomes settled in 

 spring. 



President Miller has practiced tak- 

 ing them out at the beginning of 

 maple, bloom. 



Mr. Scudder. It is not a safe rule, 

 as frequently maple blossoms are fro- 

 zen after blooming. 



Questions. 



Mr. Newman was designated to 

 answer the following questions : 



Is it advisable to use full sheets of 

 thin foundation in the surplus boxes ? 

 Yes. 



Does the size of the cells that the 

 worker bees are cradled in have any 

 influence on the size of the adult bee ? 

 Yes. 



Are all the eggs laid by the queen 

 hatched by the worker bees ? No. 



Question : Does it pay to rear dol- 

 lar queens ? Answered by Mr. Good, 

 that he has made it pay to rear them. 



Which is the best way to introduce 

 virgin Italian queens into black colo- 

 nies ? 



Mr. Bull answered that after a 

 swarm has emerged, to let the virgin 

 queen run m at the entrance of the 

 hive immediately, she will be received 

 at once. Care must be taken to run 

 her in before the bees are settled into 

 quietude m the hive. 



Mr. Palmerston inquired for the 

 best method of preserving surplus 

 combs ? 



Mr. Bull hangs his combs on a raf- 

 ter in his shop. The moth eggs freeze 

 and fail to hatch in spring, and he 

 puts them in use before they can be 

 occupied with moths. 



President Miller places empty combs 

 in the supers, and puts them away in 

 a cold, vacant room. 



Donbling-np in Spring. 



Question by the President : Can 

 we get more honey by doubling up in 

 spring? 



Mr. Niehaus doubles up as strong 

 as possible in the spring. 



Mr. Thompson practices the same 

 course. He slices an onion, putting a 

 piece in each hive the day before 

 doubling, then with the use of a little 

 smoke, there will be but little if any 

 fighting. 



Miscellaneous. 



Mr. Newman, special committee on 

 statistics, gave the following con- 

 densed report of those now present : 

 No. of colonies in the spring, 490 ; No. 

 of colonies now, 1,148; increase, 136 

 per cent.; extracted honey, 19,270 lbs.; 

 comb honey, 17,867 lbs.; average per 

 colony, 80 lbs. Several report queen- 

 rearing as having been a specialty 

 with them, thereby lessening thegen- 

 eral yield. 



To get bees off the sections when 

 removing the cases from the hive: 

 President Miller has found no better 

 way than to brush them, hanging the 

 corner of the case on the front of the 

 hive, and brushing with a turkey 

 feather. 



Mr. Thompson thinks smoke will 

 sometimes injure honey with its fla- 

 vor. 



The following resolution was then 

 adopted : 



Besolved, That all correspondents 

 for the bee papers are hereby reques- 

 ted to write as a suffix to their signa- 

 tures the actual number of colonies 

 on the 1st of May, with which to com- 

 mence the season, to enable readers to 

 compare practice and results. 



Report of Committee on Exhibits. 



The following report was received 

 and adopted : 



The committee on exhibits find the 

 following articles on exhibition : 



From T. S. Bull & Son, Valparaiso, 

 Ind., one crate of white clover honey, 

 put up in prize boxes, and packed in 

 one of their crates. It is beautiful. 

 and will command admiration in any 

 market. 



From II. Niehaus, Burlington, Wis., 

 one crate white clover honey in prize 

 boxes, one crate fall honey in prize 

 boxes, <\nd one crate white clover 

 honey in 1 pound sections. These 

 specimens are all gilt edge, and should 

 bring fancy prices. 



From 8. D. Buel, Union City, Mich., 

 a sample shipping crate for 2 pound 

 sections. The distinguishing features 

 are: 1. Four pieces running cross- 

 wise of the bottom of the crate, on 

 which to rest the lower corners of the 

 section ; 2. An inside groove on each 

 side down which to slip the glass; 3. 

 An in-fitting cover, to prevent the en- 

 trance of bees, flies, etc. The crate is 

 very neat in appearance. 



From F. W. Chapman, Morrison, 

 111., specimen of peet for smoker fuel. 

 This ignites very readily with a match, 

 and furnishes a profusion of smoke. 



From Wear L. Drake, Chicago, 111., 

 a model for brick wintering bee house 

 and summer refrigerator. This is 

 built with double walls of hollow 

 brick, and is frost and heat-proof. The 

 inventor claims, among other things, 

 a uniform temperature during winter 

 and summer and cheapness in con- 

 struction. L. H. Scuddek, CTi'm. 



Mr. Chapman presented the follow- 

 ing preamble and resolution, which 

 were adopted unanimously : 



Whereas, The Northwestern Bee- 

 Keepers' Society has enjoved the hos- 

 pitality and favors of Mr. T. G. New- 

 man ; therefore, 



Jiesolved, That this Society tenderto 

 Mr. Newman their thanks for such 

 favors, and wish him abundant suc- 

 cess in his laudable undertakings. 



The Convention adjourned to meet 

 in Chicago on Wednesday, in the last 

 week of the Exposition, 1882. 



C. C. Miller, Pres't. 



C. C. COFFINBERRY, /Sec'j/. 



What's the Matter J-Only 31 colo- 

 nies of bees reported from this State 

 in the spring, and 2,306 lbs. of honey ! 

 I know of one man who has sold about 

 4,000 lbs. of honey this season in 

 Sampson County, and I can count 

 over 200 colonies that I know of in this 

 township, about 75 of them in Ameri- 

 can and Langstroth hives, so I think 

 it is safe to say there is at least 1 ,000 

 box hives in this county, and judging 

 from what I find in a report from an 

 agricultural paper, there is, perhaps, 

 50,000 colonies in box hives in the 

 State. The movable frame hives are a 

 new thing here, but many are trying 

 them. Noah Deaton. 



Carthage, N. C, Oct. 22, 1881. 



Good Honey Crop.— I got an average 

 of 120 lbs. of comb honey per colony 

 in the spring, and when I get out and 

 sell off my crop, I shall have realized 

 satisfactorily. T. L. Von Dorn. 



Omaha, Neb., Oct. 24, 1881. 



Bees in Good Condition.— I have 

 sowed 2 acres of cleome and melilot, 

 and hi acre of spider plant. I want 

 all of the best plants for bee pastur- 

 age. My bees are in better condition 

 than ever before in the fall, and the 

 queens are still laying. 



R. W. Keene, M. D. 



Versailles, Ky., Oct. 25, 1881. 



Honey Producing Plants. —Prof. Beal 

 has kindly identified the plants which 

 were shown at the National Conven- 

 tion by our genial friend the Rev. L. 

 Johnson. The larger one is the Sida 

 (Sida spinosa). It is a mallow and so 

 related to the hollyhock, to the abuti- 

 lon and to the cotton plant. The 

 smaller plant is knotgrass, goosegrass 

 door-weed (Polygonum aviculare). As 

 will be seen, this is a close relative of 

 buckwheat. Among the other inter- 

 esting tilings which I learned from 

 our ingenious friend Delia Torre, of 

 Maryland, blue thistle was a valued 

 honey plant of his region. I have 

 some of these plants from him, and they 

 prove to be Viper's Bugloss or blue 

 weed (Echium vulgare). This is not 

 a thistle at all, and illustrates the need 

 of scientific names. It does not even 

 belong to the Composite family, but 

 to the Borage family. It has rough 

 bristles, and resembles thistles some- 

 what in other respects. Gray says it 

 is a troublesome weed in Virginia, 

 and rare northward. I have set out 

 the plants received from Mr. D. in our 

 apiary grounds. I shall see if its rep- 

 utation in the south as a honey plant 

 is merited north. Experiments in the 

 direction of better and more constant 

 forage for our bees, promises much 

 that is valuable. A. J. Cook. 



Lansing, Mich. 



Honey Cake.— In the Bee Journal 

 for Oct. 5, I noticed that Mrs. J.G. A. 

 Wallace presented 2 honey cakes to 

 the Ontario Bee-Keepers' Convention. 

 If that lady would give the receipt for 

 these cakes in the I5ee Iournal, it 

 would accommodate many readers. 

 W. S. Pierson. 



Eureka, Mich., Oct. 24, 1881, 



Dry Season in Georgia.— I had 3 col- 

 onies of bees in the spring, and now 

 have 8 ; I increased by natural swarm- 

 ing. I have taken about 119 lbs. of 

 comb honey; it has been so dry that 

 the bees have not been able to do any- 

 thing since July came in. I cannot 

 think of doing without the Bee Jour- 

 nal, and you may count me a life sub- 

 scriber. It is the best paper I get. 

 Wm. L. Gilreath. 



Teloga Spring, Ga., Oct. II, 1881. 



Sweet Clover. — Please let me know 

 through the Bee Journal whether 

 sweet clover will do well on bottom 

 land that overflows once or twice a 

 year, and what honey plants do the 

 best on such land ? There are 5,000 to 

 10.000 acres of such land within reach 

 of one of my apiaries. Will it do to 

 sow sweet clover in winter on thin 

 snow ? My bees have averaged about 

 10 lbs. of comb and extracted honey 

 per colony. I had one colony that 

 gave me 70 lbs. Increase is about 60 

 per cent. A. J. Norris. 



Cedar Falls, Iowa, Oct. 22, 1881. 



[We do not know whether sweet 

 clover will do well on such land, but it 

 is worthy of a liberal trial. Hydro- 

 piper (by many called smartweed, ox- 

 eye and heartsease) is adapted to the 

 locality, and gives an abundance of 

 late though splendid honey. It will 

 do to sow sweet clover on the snow, 

 but we prefer it under. — Ed.] 



Sixty Pounds per Colony.— I was 



brought up among bees. This season 

 is one of the best I have known. Last 

 winter was very hard on them ; most 

 of the bees kept by farmers died. I 

 started in the fall of 1880 with 160 col- 

 onies in good condition. I put them 

 in two cellars, about Nov. 15 ; about 

 one-half in each. One lot was in a 

 house cellar ; the lowest temperature 

 was 39°, and the highest 48°. The 

 others in an out stone cellar that did 

 not freeze, but the bees did not winter 

 as well ; they run down more in the 

 spring, and lost more in the cellar. I 

 commenced taking them out March 

 16, and finished April 4. I lost in cel- 

 lars 14. On May 1st, I had 135 in good 

 condition. Now I have 200 in good 

 condition. I have received about 

 3,200 lbs. of extracted, mostly white, 

 and 4,000 lbs. of comb honey— an ave- 

 rage of 60 lbs. per colony. 



D. E. Floyd. 

 Ephratah, N. Y., Oct. 24, 1881. 



Good Increase.— I put 4 colonies in 

 a cellar last winter, and had but 1 in 

 the spring ; they were hybrids. But 

 I can discount most any thing in the 

 way of increasing, for they showed 

 such a vigorous disposition to in- 

 crease. I did not feel willing to trust 

 them, and divided the bees, brood and 

 honey, till I obtained 4 new colonies. 

 At present they are strong, and full 

 for winter, after taking 100 lbs. comb 

 honey in 1 and 2-lb. sections. I could 

 have had 50 or 100 lbs. of extracted, 

 had I an extractor. 



S. J. McKinney. 



Burlington, Iowa, Oct. 23, 1881. 



Bees in Canada.— Bees have done 

 unusually well in this part of the 

 country. I wintered without loss, and 

 the bees were in good condition. They 

 did not swarm as much as in other 

 seasons, but gathered twice, the 

 amount of honey, and the colonies are 

 the best I ever bad at this time of the 

 year. The honey, in glass boxes, 

 holding 10 to 12 pounds, sells readily 

 at 15 cts. per pound. P. B. Inolis. 



Castleton, Ont., Oct. 17, 1881. 



[Had it been in 1 or 2 lb. sections, it 

 would probably have sold for 20 cents 

 or more per pound.— Ed.] 



l^" The Southwestern AVisconsin 

 Bee-Keepers' Association will hold its 

 next meetingin Platteville, GrantCo., 

 Wis.. Nov. 30, 1881. 



N. E. France, Sec, Platteville, Wis, 



