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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Dec. 28, 



Michigan State Convention. 



The 16th animal meeting of the 

 Michigan State Bee-Keepers' Society, 

 was held at Battle Creek, Mich., on 

 Dec. 8, 9, 1881. Pies. Prof. A. J. Cook 

 in the chair. 



[Concluded from last week.] 



The first evening session opened by 

 Prof. Cook, with his address on 

 " Crumbs Swept up from the National 

 Convention," as follows : 



President's Address. 



Gentlemen of the Michigan Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association: When, late last 

 September, your wide-awake Secre- 

 tary wrote to me that lie thought that 

 he could not possibly attend the Na- 

 tional Convention, then soon to meet 

 at Lexington, Ky., and urged that 

 Michigan ought to be represented at 

 that important gathering, I supposed 

 that my duties at the College would 

 utterly preclude my attending that 

 meeting. But the thought that the 

 State that supports the most prosper- 

 ous society of any State in the Union; 

 that has more district societies than 

 any other State, and, as I am in- 

 formed by the editor, gives the largest 

 patronage to one of the most influen- 

 tial bee papers of our country ; the 

 thought, I say, that this State should 

 have no representative at our Na- 

 tional gathering, seemed to me so in- 

 congruous with our position and influ- 

 ence, that I commenced at once to 

 make a great effort to comply with 

 your Secretary's very urgent request 

 to represent this Society as a delegate 

 Had that gentleman with prophetic 

 vision told me of the great responsi- 

 ties that my course was to heap upon 

 these already over-burdened shoul- 

 ders — as the presidential honors, so 

 unsought and so unmerited, would 

 hardly have come to me in my ab- 

 sence — the desire even that our "State 

 should not go unrepresented, would 

 not have sufficed to secure my attend- 

 ance at the very interesting meetings 

 of our National Association. 



But it now behooves me to see to it 

 that the rich feast of wisdom spread 

 out before us on that occasion be not 

 lost to my friends and brothers of this. 

 our goodly Michigan, and so I have 

 resolved to dish up of the best that 

 was offered there for your edification 

 to-day. 



Our enterprising friend Jones showed 



us. the value of perforated zinc, and 

 told up how it could be used to re- 

 strain swarming at undesirable times, 

 to prevent drones from undesirable 

 colonies flying forth to mate with our 

 young queens, or better, to catch and 

 destroy these useless gormandizers of 

 the hive, and thus save a large amount 

 of honey which would otherwise be 

 consumed. In all of these cases the 

 perforated zinc is used as an entrance 

 sieve, which, while it will permit the 

 workers to pass freely, is an entire 

 estoppel to the queen and drones. Its 

 peculiar shape prevents it from be- 

 coming a check to the ingress and 



egress of the workers when it is used 

 to fence out the drones. The drones 

 are not able to clog the entrance. 



Mr. Jones also uses the perforated 

 zinc as a division board during the 

 honey harvest, as he thinks, with ex- 

 ceeding advantage. The queen is kept 



at the side or end of the hive next to 

 the entrance, on I or 5 frames of empty 

 combs, which are re-placed by Other 

 empty combs as the queen (ills them 

 with eggs. Next back of these comes 

 the perforated division board, which 

 keeps the queen from visiting the 

 other frames. Then comes frames of 

 sections, or, if preferred, frames for 

 extracting, or both, and last the 

 frames of brood in all stages in the 

 combs that have been removed from 

 the queen. As these latter are 



emptied by the hatching bees emerg- 

 ing from the cellar, they are given 

 again to the queen, after any honey 

 that may have been stored in them 

 may have been removed. Mr. .lones 

 claims that this keeps the swarming 

 fever in cheek, prevents all breeding 

 in the sections, and adds vastly to the 

 amount of surplus which may be 

 secured. 



Mr. Jones proved this last season 

 that it was easy to ship drones, if we 

 send the brood just before the drones 

 were to come forth from the cells. He 

 suggested that we grade up our bees 

 by procuring and using superior 

 drones. All other drones can be 

 weeded out or kept from Hying by use 

 of the zinc entrances already referred 

 to. If the males are prepotent among 

 higher animals, and such stock im- 

 proved most rapidly by the selecting 

 of superior sires, why may not the 

 same be true among our bees V Surely 

 this is a suggestion worthy of consid- 

 eration. 



It has long been known that bumble 

 bees when they mate fall to the ground 

 where the male remains a corpse, 

 while the queen goes forth to her life's 

 work. The similarity of our honey 

 bees to the bumble bees, together with 

 the quick death of the drones when 

 emission takes place from the warmth 

 of the hand, makes it more than prob- 

 able that the drone honey bee expires 

 in the sexual act. Mr. Jones has seen 

 unwelcome proof of this during the 

 past summer in his experience at his 

 island apiaries. He finds that on 

 small islands there are a very large 

 number of queens lost in mating, and 

 that the number is in inverse propor- 

 tion to the size of the island. Of 

 course if the queen and drone fall into 

 the water, the queen would be unable 

 to rise, and so would be lost. 



Mr. Delia Torre.of Maryland.exhibi- 

 ted a very large queen cell, the queen 

 from which he claimed was the result 

 of the artificial impregnation by him 

 of a drone egg, by the semen of a 

 drone bumble bee. Granting that 

 there is no mistake in this matter, it 

 is an exceedingly interesting observa- 

 tion. It is not, however, the first case 

 of such extreme cross — a cross be- 

 tween different generations has been 

 reported. This report of Mr. Delia 

 Torre suggests an interesting experi- 

 ment that we can all try, and if we 

 succeed, we may have some hope of 

 important results. 



There was only one new feature de- 

 veloped in reference to wintering. 

 That was from Mr. O. O. Poppleton, 

 to the effect that tine clover chaff, or 

 better still, fine, dry sawdust, was far 

 superior for packing, to any coarser 

 material. It seems reasonable that 

 for chaff hives, or for packing, this 

 fine material with its finer spaces, 

 would offer better protection. 



The " new bees " were freely com- 

 mented upon. Every one who had 

 personal experience with them, pro- 

 nounced them superior to the Italians. 

 All reported that they were more irri- 

 table than were the Italians, but all 

 said that with care, they could be 

 handled with no difficulty. The Sy- 

 rians seemed to be voted superior by 

 those that had tried them both, the 

 Syrians and the Cyprians. 



In this connection, let me speak of 

 anew use of the smoker that was sug- 

 gested by Mr. Jones, lie turns a 

 little chloroform into a sponge, which 

 lie then drops into a smoker, and 

 quickly covers with a. second sponge. 

 The smoker is then used in the same 

 way that we would use it to smoke the 



bees. The vapor effectually quiets 



the bees, even though they be qiieen- 

 less colonies of Cyprians. Mr. Jones 

 thinks that with chloroform used in 

 this way, we may introduce queens 

 at once' and always with the utmost 

 safety, lie also makes a similar re- 

 mark in reference to uniting colonies. 

 I wish especially to call your atten- 

 tion to a very neat arrangement for 

 holding sections, which was exhibited 



by Mr. <'. II. Deane. of Mortonsville, 

 Ky. It consists simply of a common 

 section frame, strongly made, to hold 

 only one row of sections, and is with- 



out top bar. These may hang two or 

 three deep supported in a similar 



shaped piece of hoop iron, which 

 hooks on to the metal rabbet of the 

 hive, in the main body of the hive, or 

 they may be readily raised and placed 

 in a crate above the hive. In this 

 crate they may lie either one, two. or 

 three deep. The advantage of this 

 arrangement consists in the facility 

 with which the sections may be trans- 

 ferred from the body of the hi veto the 

 crate above and vice versa, and the 

 ease with which the sections may be 

 removed as soon as they are tilled and 

 capped. 



I was much surprised, and no less 

 gratified, as I listened to the reports 

 of those in attendance at the Conven- 

 tion, to find what a large proportion 

 of the apiarists of the country are 

 raising principally extracted honey. 

 Three-fourths and more of the honey 

 crop of those present was extracted 

 honey. I might speak of many more 

 valuable points that were brought out 

 at the Convention, but after the many 

 vehement protests against long and 

 numerous essays at these meetings 

 which have appeared in the bee jour- 

 nals of late, it would show no little 

 temerity on my part to dwell longer 

 on the subject. 



Before closing however, let me call 

 your attention to a few matters which 

 are, I think, well worthy of your care- 

 ful consideration. First in fixing the 

 place of the meetings, let us not fail 

 to get them as central as possible, and 

 where we are invited to go, so we may 

 have an able local committee, who 

 will spare no pains in making arrange- 

 ments and arousing a local interest. 

 Much of the success of this meeting is 

 due to our having acted on this sug- 

 gestion one year ago. You see in the 

 success of the foul brood bill and the 

 adulteration bill before the last legis- 

 lature, what we may hope to do if we 

 really make an effort. 



Shall we not, this coming year, strive 

 to secure the organization of still more 

 local or district associations V These 

 organizations tend powerfully to ad- 

 vance the interests of apiculture. All 

 should send delegates to this society, 

 and we in turn to the National Asso- 

 ciation, that we may all pull together 

 to promote the best interests of our 

 art. 



Above all, I would suggest as the 

 best work that we can do that we send 

 a committee to petition the State Ag- 

 ricultural Society, to give us a build- 

 ing at the next State Fair, and offer 

 sufficient premiums to call out a grand 

 exhibition next fall. Let us ask Cor 

 the privilege of selling honey on the 

 ground, and then see to it that there 

 is an exhibition that shall be the re- 

 mark of all who see it, long after they 

 go to their homes. In this way we 

 may create an interest, and build up 

 a market, that shall prove a powerful 

 stimulus to the bee-keeping interests 

 of our State. Let us see to it that our 

 friends in Illinois, and our neighbors 

 across the line, do not eclipse us in 

 this important work. 



The Secretary read the following 

 letter from Mr. J. J. Robinson : 



I notice that Mr. Cutting is to speak 

 on the subject of " Bees and Grapes." 

 I keep bees and cultivate grapes. 

 Some of my neighbors have grapes, 

 but no bees. They, or some of them 

 threaten to prosecute me if I keep 

 bees another season. I admit that 

 bees are, to some extent, an annoy- 

 ance to fruit growers in some seasons. 

 I would be willing to pay something 

 as compensation for the annoyance, 

 but cannot, of course, pay exhorbitant 

 damages. 



I started last spring with 5 colonies. 

 One party claims $50 damages on ac- 

 count of my bees injuring his grapes. 

 Grapes sold at 3 cts. per lb. lie has 

 but a small portion of the grapes in 

 the community, and I. but a small 

 portion of the bees in the neighbor- 

 hood. Is there any law on the 

 subject ? 



He claims that bees tear open 

 grapes and berries. My grapes are 

 closer to my bees than his. I think 

 the bees are after bursted fruit. I 



find them only on such fruit as by 

 some chance has been ruptured. 

 Has there been any such eases tested 

 by law ? If so, when, where and how 

 were they decided ? Ill am violating 

 law by keeping bees. I would he glad 

 to know it, and the sooner the better. 

 1 shall look with interest for what 

 may be said or done by the Conven- 

 tion, regretting much my absence. 



My bees did well until clover was 

 gone; after that they obtained lint 

 little honey. Buckwheat yielded but 

 little honey. The button-ball, so 

 abundant here, did not blossom much 

 this year. I shall put my bees in 

 boxes on the summer stands arranged 

 so there will be an open way clear 

 through under the hive from both 

 sides. I want no upward draft, but 

 plenty of fresh air— not necessarily 

 cold air. I like to have the honey as 

 much as possible above the cluster of 

 bees. 



Mr. Cutting: Will he prosecute 

 the woods' bees? 



Mr. Cole said he bad IS acres of 

 grapes, and knows that bees do not 

 injure them. 



Mr. Balch said bees are wild, and 

 liable to be killed if they stray. A 

 tame coon if he gets loose may be 

 killed with impunity. 



Mr. Heddon : If bees injure grapes, 

 why not move the grapes ? 



Mr. Harrington recommended alsike 

 clover for bee pasturage. 



Mr. Haike said the seed remained 

 in the ground for years; ', bushel 

 sows about 6 acres; it remained in 

 bloom about 8 weeks. He thinks he 

 obtained 2 barrels of nice honey from 

 it. Then cut it with a reaper for 

 seed, which netted him $80.00. It is 

 the best of honey plants. It maybe 

 cut twice, and I can get a crop of 

 honey after basswood by having two 

 fields; mow in May. anil it will bloom 

 in 6 weeks after mowing. It may be 

 sown alone, or with half timothy, 4 

 lbs. to the acre. 



Mr. Southwick : It grows well on 

 clay ; will bloom only once. It won't 

 do much on sandy soil, but will stand 

 as much water as red-top ; it will grow 

 4 feet high. 



Mr. Townley corroborated these 

 statements and said it would grow 

 anywhere, and made good hay. - tons 

 to the acre. 



The President said it was an open 

 question whether queens laid worker 

 eggs that had imperfect wings. He 

 wished those who had such queens 

 would rise up and state conditions. 

 He had probably sacrificed a hundred 

 queens in the effort to sum worker 

 eggs from a queen having clipped 

 wings, and had invariably failed. 



Seven stood up. 



T. F. Bingham said two such had 

 come under his personal knowledge ; 

 one he raised himself had no wings, 

 but laid worker eggs when of the usual 

 laying age. The other was sold to 

 him with a colony of bees by It. M. 

 Argo. She remained in the same col- 

 ony two winters, and was a perfect 

 queen in all respects except she was 

 entirely wingless. He said such facts 

 were as well established aa that two 

 queens sometime are found laying in 

 the same hive at the same time, and 

 of that there was not a shadow of 

 doubt. 



D. A. Jones said he had had three 

 laying at one time in one hive. 



The following is the report of the 

 committee on resolutions: Resolved, 

 That while we realize that this meet- 

 ing is a great success, we would ac- 

 knowledge our obligations to those 

 who have aided us to make it so. We 

 would tender our thanks to the rail- 

 road companies which gave reduced 



fares ; to the Southern Michigan Bee- 

 Keepers' Association for use of room; 

 to Mr. Larken tor comfortable accom- 

 modations at reduced rates, and to 

 Mr. B. Salisbury for bis arrangements 

 Tor our convenience. That we also 

 thank those gentlemen outside of our 



state who have contributed to the in- 

 terest of our meeting by addresses and 

 exhibitions, among them Messrs. 

 Jones, Newman, Hoot, I'oppleton and 

 Dr. Kellogg. 



