1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



397 



Question.—" Which race of bees is 

 the most profitable ?" 



T. E. Turner Mail decided lonu' ago 



in favor of the Italians over the black 

 bees, and lately had tried Italians and 

 Cyprians in comparison, and found no 

 difference in the amount of honey 

 gathered. He preferred the Italians 

 For their gentleness In handling, but 

 found the Cyprians a little more pro- 

 lific and more ready to work in boxes. 

 II. P. Sayles found the Italians 



would till the brood chamber with 

 honey to their injury and self-destruc- 

 tion if they were let alone; and for 

 them to give the best results the ex- 

 tractor must be used, or full combs be 

 removed and empty ones or full sheets 

 of foundation put in their place. He 

 thought the blacks were the best bees 

 for the careless bee-keeper, because 

 they would not fill up their brood 

 chamber with honey to their own in- 

 jury. He thought the honey extrac- 

 ted from the Italians would more than 

 pay for the time of extracting it. and 

 then the Italians would gather the 

 most honey besides. He prefers either 

 the Italians or Cyprians, but has had 

 limited experience with the Cyprians, 

 yet regards them favorably so far. 

 The Italians required more care and 

 attention than the blacks, and he be- 

 lieved, taking the season through, that 

 he could get more box honey from the 

 blacks than the Italians, and a better 

 quality of extracted honey. 



It was resolved that the sense of 

 this Association is that the Italian 

 and Cyprian bees are more profitable, 

 all things considered, than the blacks. 



Question. — " What is the cause of 

 the great loss last winter inWisconsin 

 and elsewhere?" 



Mr. Peffer found no young bees in 

 the fall ; the long winter and impure 

 honey, to be the causes of the great 

 loss last winter of all his bees. 



Mr. Wilson thought we could never 

 arrive at the cause of the great loss 

 last winter. His bees starved to death 

 last winter. 



Oct. 12, 10 a. m. The Association 

 ■was called to order by the President 

 pro tern., and resumed the discussion of 

 the last, question. 



Charles Horst thought his principal 

 cause of loss was starvation. 



II. P. Sayles thought the very early 

 breeding in the winter was the cause 

 of bees eating so much honey, and 

 their starvation the result. 



T. E. Turner thought his bees died 

 the past winter from impure honey 

 principally. 



Mr. Hodgson found his bees breed- 

 ing in February, and with very little 

 honey. He fed some on sugar candy 

 in the cellar, and those fed all went 

 through in good condition, and those 

 not fed were dead, or in bad condition. 



S. E. Gernon lost his bees from star- 

 vation, but could not tell the cause of 

 their starvation, when he had given 

 them plenty of honey in the fall. 



H. P. Sayles said it was caused by a 

 combination of circumstances, poor 

 honey, lack of young bees in the fall, 

 breeding in the winter. He had bees 

 with dysentery from long confine- 

 ment, but they got over that and he 

 thought it was not real dysentery they 

 had. He thought breeding in winter 

 more than the poor honey caused the 

 great loss. 



T. E. Turner found breeding early 

 in winter very bad for bees, but con- 

 sidered the poor quality of honey the 

 cause of the great loss with him. 



Question. — "Swarming out; what 

 is its cause, and how to prevent it ?" 



John Hodgson. Jr., had found no 

 way to prevent swarming out in the 

 spring, and thought the condition of 

 the bees in the fall had something to 

 do in causing it. Others had but lit- 

 tle experience with swarming out. 



Question. — " What is the best way 

 of getting Italians to work in boxes?" 



T. E. Turner put one full section in 

 the center of section rack on top, and 

 the Italians would go to work in them ; 

 also used section frames in the brood 

 chamber at the side of brood, and also 

 used section frames in an upper story. 



H. P. Sayles said he kept the hives 

 full of brood in the brood chamber by 

 extracting, and put a small piece of 



brood or eggs in the section rack on 

 top. and tnej went right to work. 



Peter Peffer had Italians lo work in 

 boxes this year as well as blacks, but 

 still had no faith in Italians for work 

 in boxes. 



Question. — " What has the yield and 

 increase of the present year been?" 



John Hodgson, Jr., had 10 full colo- 

 nies and 5 nuclei in the spring, and 



hail taken 2,900 lbs. of honey, 750 lbs. 

 of which was extracted, lie had now 



75 colonies to winter. 



T. E. Turner started with 15 colo- 

 nies in ordinary condition and 5 nu- 

 clei ; had 600 lbs. of comb honey, and 

 000 lbs. of extracted ; reared 50 queens 

 for market, and now had 73 colonies 

 in good condition for winter. 



II. P. Sayles had 5 nuclei in the 

 spring, and had obtained 100 lbs. of 

 comb— 150 lbs. of extracted honey and 

 reared 100 queens. 



Mr. Olsen , from 10 colonies had ta- 

 ken 1,400 lbs. extracted and 200 lbs. 

 comb honey, and now had 30 colonies 

 in good condition for winter. 



Peter Peffer, from 3 colonies took 

 300 lbs. box honey, and increased to 6. 



William Mayhew started in the 

 spring with 2 colonies ; took 50 lbs. of 

 comb and 100 lbs. extracted honey, 

 and increased to 5. 



S. E. Gernon started with 30 colo- 

 nies and 6 nuclei ; took 3,400 lbs. of 

 box honey, 800 lbs. of extracted, and 

 increased to 68. 



Mr. Wilson, from 2 nuclei, took 500 

 lbs. of extracted honey, and increased 

 to 5. 



The following was adopted : 



Resolved* That we exceedingly re- 

 gret the non-attendance of the North- 

 ern members of the Association, and 

 in view of that, and the fact timt the 

 Southern members follow it wherever 

 held, that the next Convention be held 

 in the Northern part of the State. 



The next meeting will be held at 

 Berlin, Wis., on Jan. 17 and 18, 1882. 

 T. E. Turner, Sec. -pro tern. 



Western Michigan Convention. 



The Western Michigan Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association, held its first annual 

 meeting at Berlin, Mich., on Oct. 27, 

 President Wm. II. Walker in the 

 chair. 



New members were received, in- 

 creasing the number to 34, including 

 8 ladies. The constitution was amend- 

 ed, to have a Vice President elected 

 for each county represented in the 

 Association. 



The following officers were elected 

 for the ensuing year : President, Wm. 

 II. Walker; Secretary, Wm. M. S. 

 Dodge, Coopersville ; Treasurer, Mrs. 

 Jennie Walcott, Berlin ; Vice Presi- 

 dents—for Kent Co., Henry Holt, Cas- 

 cade ; Ottawa Co., J. J. Bobinson, La- 

 mont; Muskegon Co., Geo. C.Young, 

 Ravenna. 



The following address by Dr. E. P. 

 Cumings, of Grand Haven, was read : 



Wintering Bees. 



When we look back and see what a 

 wholesale slaughter of the bees there 

 was all over the country during last 

 winter, I think there is no question of 

 so much importance, or that comes 

 home so forcibly as this. What I have 

 written are my honest conclusions, ar- 

 rived at from experience and study. 

 I have kept bees for the last 12 years. 

 Took it up for an out-door pastime, 

 and have made it quite a study. Have 

 had from 3 to 30 colonies. Being able 

 only to attend to few, I have disposed 

 of some each year, but during all this 

 time I have never lost a colony in 

 winter, and my experience convinces 

 me that it is unnecessary and cruel. 



This may seem like a sweeping 

 statement, and to many who are sore 

 over losses, uncharitable ; but never- 

 theless, I believe it is true. What 

 would you think of a man who had no 

 barn for his horses or cattle, and left 

 them out-of-doors to shift for them- 

 selves in our northern winters ? You 

 might as well expect them to winter 

 unprotected, as for bees, and bees can 

 be as safely and surely wintered as a 

 horse in a good stable with plenty to 



eat, a good blanket, and suitable bed- 

 ding. Many persons engage in busi- 

 ness without sufficient information 

 regarding it ; in other words, without 

 " learning the trade," and such 

 must fail ; they always have bad luck. 



I have known persons engage in 

 fruit-culture or gardening, and get 

 good trees or seeds, but let the sun 

 shine on the roots and not plant their 

 seeds properly, and after planting 

 they think all they have to do is to 

 reap the harvest. Their garden and 

 orchard grows up to weeds — their 

 trees are killed by borers, and they 

 have had " bad luck." Such will not 

 do in our days. The price of success 

 in every thing is " eternal vigilance." 

 There are enemies to fight, and the 

 elements to combat, in all branches of 

 industry, and he who is best posted 

 and most diligent, will succeed the 

 best. "The slothful shall not eat the 

 good of the land." 



There are occasionally winters when 

 bees will winter safely out-of-doors 

 without protection, but even those 

 winters they are much better off for 

 protection, and winters are so uncer- 

 tain, that it is not safe to risk them at 

 all. They will commence raising 

 brood earlier in the spring, come out 

 stronger, and consume less honey 

 when protected, than otherwise. 



Many are ignorant of the cause of 

 bees dying in winter when they have 

 plenty of honey in the hive, and they 

 think the honey was bad, or that they 

 froze up entirely. They would think 

 it impossible for bees to starve with 

 plenty of honey in the hive. Never- 

 theless, in most cases this is the fact. 

 In very cold weather the bees cluster 

 together in the smallest possible space 

 where the combs are empty, as they 

 can pack in closer there ; and if it con- 

 tinues cold for some days, the combs 

 outside the cluster become covered 

 with frost and ice from the breath of 

 the bees. They can not live long 

 without honey to eat, and some brave 

 fellows start out for it. They step 

 upon the frosty combs, and in a min- 

 ute they are chilled and unable to re- 

 turn, and soon fall to the bottom of 

 the hive, dead. Others follow and 

 share the same fate, till at last the 

 workers have all perished in their at- 

 tempts to bring honey to the queen, 

 who finally shares the common fate. 

 Do they not starve ? and if so, who is 

 to blame ? Is it not those who should 

 care for and protect them ? I say they 

 are just as much as though they had 

 starved their horse or other animals. 



But, I fancy I hear some one say we 

 are ignorant, and the sin of ignorance 

 is winked at. Well, if people can get 

 any comfort out of that, they have not 

 an enlightened conscience ; but it is 

 pretty dear winking, and they will 

 have to do much of it to restore their 

 wasted funds, or bring their dead bees 

 to life again. 



Many ways of wintering bees are 

 recommended by different writers and 

 bee-keepers. Packing them with chaff 

 or other material, on their summer 

 stands ; in a house made for the pur- 

 pose, above ground, the sides, floor 

 and ceiling of which are packed ; also 

 in a good cellar. I believe a good, 

 dry, dark, cool, well-ventilated cellar, 

 free from rats and mice, the best pos- 

 sible place to winter them. It should 

 be kept as near the freezing point as 

 possible, andnotfreeze. Itisnotnec- 

 essary to have a cellar exclusively for 

 them, unless you have a large quan- 

 tity. I have always kept mine in the 

 cellar where we have kept all our 

 vegetables, and where we go many 

 times a day for them. I have a strong 

 shelf about 4 or 5 feet from the bottom 

 of the cellar, on which I put the hives 

 close together, with a curtain of old 

 carpet hung in front, a little lower 

 than the shelf, so that when we go in 

 the cellar the light will not affect 

 them. At other times, the cellar 

 should be kept perfectly dark. We 

 have a thick, dark curtain at the win- 

 dow, which we drop when we go down, 

 and hang up when we come up again. 

 The window can also be opened if it 

 gets too warm, in case of a thaw, when 

 the bees may get uneasy. We then 

 open the window at night and close it 



in the morning, when the bees will be 

 found quiet. 

 One <il' the great advantages of a 



cellar over other methods, I believe to 

 be, that it is not readily affected by 

 slight thaws, or changes of tempera- 

 ture. The shelf upon which they are 

 put should not, if possible, rest on the 

 Boor, or hang to the joists above, if 

 the room over is occupied and the 

 cellar is one you often go info, for the 

 noise and jarring would disturb them, 

 but fasten it to the wall. Care should 

 be taken not to jar the shelf when 

 going in the cellar. 



They should not be put into winter 

 quarters till winter has set in for good. 

 Let them have a day or two of it, and 

 if you see it has really set in, put them 

 in. Carry them in your hands as care- 

 fully as possible, leaving the top of the 

 hive on the summer stand, or not as 

 you like (I have mine out), then before 

 putting them on the shelf, give them 

 a little top ventilation by opening a 

 space across the frames, and a quilt 

 about the size of the top of the hive 

 over all. That gives enough ventila- 

 tion without letting off too much 

 warmth, while the little stick across 

 the frames keeps the quilt up. so that 

 the bees can crawl from one frame to 

 another. Always leave the fly holes 

 open at the bottom, for they will be- 

 come uneasy if they find they are con- 

 fined. 



They should be carried in when 

 cold and put in place as quietly and 

 quickly as possible and the cellar 

 made dark, and they will soon become 

 quiet and remain so all winter, unless 

 it is unusually warm; then if you can- 

 not quiet them, take them out on a 

 warm day and put them on their sum- 

 mer stand, and give them a fly. Then 

 if it turns cold again, carry them back 

 in the cellar as before. 



Mine were in 4 months last winter 

 without a fly, and after I carried them 

 out about the middle of March, I put 

 them back and kept them a few weeks 

 longer. They may become too warm 

 and uneasy unless you take them out 

 and give them a fly, and will discharge 

 their feces over the hive aiid on the 

 combs, which makes bad work, and 

 people will say they have the dvsen- 

 tery when it is only natural. While 

 they are kept quiet they do not dis- 

 charge their feces, but on the first fly 

 they all empty themselves, and are 

 then all right. If you don't wantthem 

 to " have the dysentery," keep them 

 cool and quiet. 



I have spoken only of frame hives : 

 some will say, what shall we do with 

 our box hives, gums, etc. ? Treat 

 them the same way, as far as you can, 

 but any one who expects to succeed 

 with bees must have a movable frame 

 hive, in order to always know what 

 condition they are in. I do not mean 

 you must buy any patent-right. I am 

 not much of a favorite of patents, and 

 there are plenty of good hives without 

 buying worthless patents. Some still 

 cling to the old box hives, because 

 their fathers used them. 



There was an old gentleman who 

 lived near me who thought he knew it 

 all. and gave me a good deal of advice, 

 and of course I could not inform him 

 any, for he had always kept bees, and 

 his father and grandfather before him 

 had kept them, and he understood all 

 about it. He did not like the new- 

 fangled notions ; preferred the old- 

 fashioned gums or box hives, but 

 thought a hollow log the most natural 

 and best, and actually put some in 

 one. I could not convince him that 

 the queen was not the " king bee," or 

 that the queen came out with the first 

 swarm always; but he did finally put 

 his bees in the cellar, after he saw that 

 mine wintered so much better than 

 his, but he thought it necessary to go 

 and stir them up once in a while dur- 

 ing the winter, and consequently his 

 bees " had the dysentery;" but the 

 poor old man has now gone to his final 

 rest, as have also his bees. 



If you wish bees to winter well or 

 do well, and be profitable at all times, 

 keep them strong. In this climate, 

 where the honey season is so short, 

 they should be allowed to swarm but 

 once. You will then have strong col- 



