150 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Cedar Mey, Iowa, Conyention. 



The Cedar Valley Bee-Keepers' 

 Association met at La Porte City, 

 Iowa, on Feb. 17, 1886, and was called 

 to order by the President, C. P. Hunt, 

 of Waterloo. 



President Hunt read a selection 

 from the State Horticultural report, 

 whicli was very interesting. 



The Secretary then read a very in- 

 teresting letter from Dr. Jesse Oren, 

 who is now in Florida, concerning tlie 

 honey-production of that State. The 

 minutes were then read and approved, 

 after which questions were asked and 

 answered as follows : 



Do bees freeze V Mr. J. K. Oren 

 thinks that they do not hibernate, 

 and therefore will freeze. Others had 

 different opinions. 



Which is most profitable, comb or 

 extracted honey, all things consid- 

 ered 'f All would rather produce ex- 

 tracted honey if they could get a ready 

 market for it. 



What is the best sized shipping- 

 case for one-pound sections V It was 

 thought that 48-pound cases were the 

 best; some preferred glass fronts, and 

 some without. 



What is the best material to use in 

 smokers V Some preferred rotten 

 wood, and some used burlap. 



Is it best to use whole sheets of 

 foundation in sections V Mr. L. L. 

 Triem thought it best to use whole 

 sheets, while others thought it best to 

 use only a starter. 



The evening session was called to 

 order by the President at 7 p.m. 



Which is the best to use in the end 

 of section-case next to sections, glass 

 or wood V It was generally thought 

 that wood was best. 



How do bees communicate to each 

 other i' By sound and scent. 



When is the best time, and how is 

 it best to stimulate in the spring? 

 Feed a syrup after fruit-bloom. 



Is it better to feed in the hive or 

 out-of-doors for stimulating in the 

 spring y It is best to teed out-of- 

 doors if not too many neighboring 

 bees near by. 



Do bees have a place selected to go 

 to before swarming V They do. 



What is the best method to intro- 

 duce virgin queens V Mr. A. J.Kor- 

 ris drops them in front of the hive 

 and lets them run in at the entrance. 

 L. L. Triem and H. E. Hubbard think 

 it best to introduce in a queen cage. 



The Thursday morning session was 

 called to order by the President at 

 9 a.m. 



What is the best method to stop 

 robbing V Mr. Hubbard practices 

 covering tlie front of the hive with hay 

 or grass, and tiien sprinkles with 

 water. Some others exchange places 

 with the colony that is doing the 

 robbing. 



How many bees ought to be taken 

 out of the cellar at one time V Mr. C. 

 P. Hunt thought it best to take them 

 out all at once. J. K. Oren and H. 

 E. Hubbard practice taking out J4 or 

 % at one time, and at about IJ p.m. on 

 a nice, warm day. 



Is it best to shade hives, and if so 

 what is the best shade V Quite a 



a difference of opinion was expressed, 

 but a board laid on top of the hive 

 was thought sufficient. 



The afternoon session was called to 

 order by the President at 1 p.m. 



It was decided that the President 

 appoint a time as soon as convenient 

 before the State convention meets, 

 for the annual meeting of this Asso- 

 ciation. 



What race of bees is best, all 

 things considered, for general use ¥ 

 Mr. J. K. Oren thinks that the Holy- 

 Land bees are the best, and also 

 thinks that the leather-colored Ital- 

 ians are superior to the light-colored 

 Italians as honey-gatherers ; but does 

 not like the " business-end " of light 

 hybrids at all ; thinks it most too 

 much business. 



The Secretary's report was then 

 read and approved. 



How far apart should apiaries te ? 

 It was generally thought that four 

 or five miles was sufficiently far apart. 



How far should the feeder be from 

 the bee-yard to prevent robbing? 

 Twelve or fifteen rods. 



How near to each other should bee- 

 hives be placed in the apiary with 

 success y Not closer than 6 feet. 



Is it best to move a swarm to its 

 stand as soon as hived, or let it re- 

 main where hived '/ Move it as soon 

 as hived. 



It was decided that it is detrimental 

 to the interests of bee-keepers to use 

 whole sheets of foundation in sections. 



The President, Vice-President and 

 Secretary were appointed a commit- 

 tee on programme for the next meet- 

 ing. 



The convention then adjourned. 



H. E. HUBBAKD, iSec. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Bee-Keening in loyya, etc, 



B. F. LITTLE. 



The season of 188.5 was not as profit- 

 able with me in the production of 

 honey as other years. I lost three- 

 fifths of my colonies during the win- 

 ter and spring of 188-1 and I885,leaving 

 .50 colonies. The white clover flow 

 was very limited, basswood yielded 

 nothing comparatively, and there was 

 no fall flow of honey. I obtained in 

 all about 1,400 pounds of honey, and 

 increased my apiary to 84 colonies by 

 letting them swarm all they would. 

 It is possible that the grasshopper 

 crop may have had something to do 

 with it. The last 3 years the grass- 

 hoppers have been on the increase ; 

 the honey flow on the decrease. In 

 1S8.S my white clover suri)lus was 

 abont i2',20(l pounds ; in 1884 less than 

 1,.500 ; and in 1885 less than 1.000. 



1 am afraid there is some truth in 

 the assertion made by an Iowa bee- 

 keeper, that the winter problem in 

 this northern Iowa climate is the 

 one most of all that needs a solution. 

 Talk about a winter flight! From 

 Dec. 1 to March 2.5 there has not been 

 one day in 10 years here that bees 

 could flv. I have been here 30 win- 

 ters, and know for myself. We usually 

 have from 70 to 90 day.* without even 



a thaw on the sunny side of a build- 

 ing. My bee-cellar is 7 feet deep, 

 double-walled from half way down 

 up to the top, lathed and plastered 

 sides and overhead, and a building 

 over it 16x26 feet, which is also lathed 

 and plastered, sheeted and sided. It 

 has double cellar doors, and yet the 

 temperature ■will go down to 34° 

 above zero ordinarily, and as low as 

 28° when very cold, unless kept up by 

 artificial heat, which I am using this 

 winter. 



I am quite sure that the Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Union can effect much good in 

 the direction of spending some of its 

 money for the purpose of bringing 

 those to justice who are constantly 

 giving publicity to the notorious 

 falsehoods about manufactured and 

 adulterated comb honey. 



The marketing of our honey is 

 another of the unsolved problems — 

 one that is of vital importance. I see 

 no excuse for the present low price of 

 honey as reported from the leading 

 cities, only ttirough the imprudence 

 of crowding the honey into the large 

 cities, and leaving country towns 

 without any, thus bringing the whole 

 crop to the price of gorged markets- 

 Brush Creek, (^ Iowa. 



For tlie American Bee JournitCL 



ly Exneriments in Wintering Bees. 



.TAMES HEDDON. 



I had thought that I would not 

 write again upon this subject until 

 next May, but in consideration of the 

 facts that I am experimenting quite 

 extensively, and tlie subject is a 

 momentous one— one so very inti- 

 mately connected with our success or 

 failure, its intermediate discussion 

 and report will not be uninteresting. 



My Glenwood Apiary, of 150 colo- 

 nies, all in my S-frame Langstroth 

 hives, were all worked for extracted 

 honev during the past season. Owing^ 

 to the unprecedentedly cold August, 

 our late surplus crop was very nearly 

 a failure, consequently these colonies 

 managed for extracted honey, nearly 

 all lacked sufficient stores for winter. 



Believing that cane-sugar is a better 

 winter food for bees than honey, and 

 having no trouble in disposing of my 

 Iioney at 7 to 8 cents per pound, and 

 being able to manufacture pure cane- 

 sugar syrup at a little less than those 

 figures, I fed nearly every colony from 

 5 to 1.5 pounds of the syrup, which 

 they added to the stores which they 

 already possessed. 



I had no fears of any bee-bread that 

 the combs might contain, as long as 

 tlie temperature was kept above that 

 point wliich forces the bees to exer- 

 tion, in order to be comfortable ; and 

 that temperature I determined to 

 maintain. 



I had no bee-cellar there, but a 

 house-apiary 12x48 feet, and 7 feet 

 high ; the ceiling covered with saw- 

 dust, and the walls filled with the 

 same. In this building I partitioned 

 off a room 11x18 feet, where I piled 

 tlie wtiole 150 colonies, occupying 

 nearly all the room. The partition is 



