1898. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



229 



The convention then listened to a recitation by Albert M. 

 Cram, and two songs by Mr. Everest. 



THE OOKSTION-BOX. 



QuES. — What Is the value of bee-escapes? They were 

 spoken of favorably by Messrs. Passett, Lowrey, Leonard, 

 and Holmes. 



QuBS. — Is there danger of over-stocking ? 



An8. — Apiaries should be from 3 to 5 miles apart, or 

 farther. Bees will fly from 5 to 7 miles from home, and In 

 California, where big stories originate, bees have been known 

 to fly much farther. — [We fear this is mostly a " big story." — 

 Editor.] 



SECOND DAY. 



The commfttee on Nominations reported as follows, which 

 report was approved : 



President, R. H. Holmes ; Vice-Presidents, J. E. Crane, 

 for Addison Co.; Cassius R. Peck, for Chittenden; Geo. H. 

 Terrell, for Lamoille; P. W. Smith, for Orange; V. N. 

 Forbes, for Rutland. 



Secretary, M. F. Cram, of West Brookfield ; and Treas- 

 urer, H. L. Leonard. 



The coinmittee on Resolutions reported as follows, which 

 report was also approved : 



Resolved. That we express our thanks to the proprietor 

 of the Van Ness House for the use of a room for our annual 

 meeting ; also to the railroads of the State for reduced rates 

 to members attending this meeting. 



Resolved, That we tender our thanks to the Board of Con- 

 trol of the Vermont Experiment Station, for the interest they 

 have taken in our pursuit, and also for experiments made at 

 the station. 



Resolved, That we express our thanks to Prof. L. R. 

 Jones, for his able and interesting lecture upon the agency of 

 Insects in the fertilization of flowers. 



Whekeas, An all-wise Providence has seen fit to remove 

 our associate, J. W. Smith, from this present life, therefore, 

 be It 



Resolved, That we recognize amid the busy cares ef the 

 world, the fraility of human life, and the necessity of living 

 with a wise reference to the life beyond the present. 



Resolved, That we tender our heartfelt sympathy to the 

 family and friends of the deceast in this our loss and their 

 sad bereavement. J. E. Crane, ) 



R. H. Holmes, [ Corn. 

 M. A. Everest, ) 



bee-keepers' exchange for VERMONT. 



Would it be practical for Vermont bee-keepers to organize 

 a bee-keepers' exchange ? 



Mr. Crane said if apiarists would combine they might do 

 so, but he did not know as that could be done in a general 

 way at present. He thought a good trade could be workt up 

 by a canvas with honey ; that a good agent could sell large 

 quantities at paying prices. 



Mr. Lowrey said if you show the people a nice article they 

 will buy, but the point Is to sell in large quantities. He 

 thought Vermont led the world in quality, and we ought to 

 have the best prices. He also thought it could be sent by the 

 carload, send a man with It to sell it, and we would get what 

 It was worth. 



Mr. Leonard then spoke of the California Exchange. Mr. 

 Everest mentioned the building up of a trade, which every 

 one had got to do. 



The following committee was then appointed to confer 

 with the Board of Control in regard to the work to be done at 

 the Experiment Apiary the coming year : O. J. Lowrey, H. 

 L. Leonard, and M. F. Cram. 



WEED PROCESS FOtJNDATION WINS. 



Then came reports of members who had used new kinds 

 of foundation. Mr. Lowrey showed three different specimens 

 which the bees had drawn out and filled with honey, each sec- 

 tion having a private mark known to Mr. Lowrey. A com- 

 mittee was then chosen to sample the honey, which they did to 

 their great satisfaction. Weed's new process carried off the 

 honors. 



MANAGING SWARMING IN OUT-APIABIES. 



QuEs. — Can an out-apiary run for comb honey be made 

 profitable with no one to hive swarms ? Ans. — Yes, if tended 

 by an experienced man. 



Mr. Crane than gave his method. Commence the middle 

 of May, clip all queens' wings, and go over them once In eight 

 or nine days, and If preparing two swarms remove the queen 

 If found. If not cut all queen-cells that would hatch in eight 

 days. Eight days later cut all queen-cells, and introduce a 



virgin queen, and eight days later see that she is laying. Cut- 

 ting just the eel's sometimes will stop their swarming. 



Mr. Lowrey had used traps, and was successful in keep- 

 ing the bees from absconding. He had used a double hive 

 and could give ventilation with that. He sometimes took 

 away the brood and let them re-queen themselves on another 

 stand. 



The new no-bee-way section and fence were then spoken 

 of by Mr. Leonard, who told of the benefits he thought were 

 in them. He thought he would prefer the fence with holes 

 Instead of cleats. 



All thought the honey season was a poor one In Vermont 

 last year. 



There was a good attendance at the convention, and two 

 of the oldest members of the Association said they thought It 

 was the best meeting they ever attended In the State. 



M. F. Cram, Sec. 



OONDUCTBD BY 



DR. O. O. MILLER. MARENGO. ILL. 



[QuestlonB may be mailed to the Bee Journal, or to Dr. Miller direct.! 



Raising the Hive for Ventilation. 



In putting blocks under the four corners o£ the hive to give 

 ventilation in summer, is there not danger of raising the bottom 

 of the brood-frames too high off the bottom-board, which might be 

 a detriment ? or do you think that would do no harm ? 



Indiana. 



Answer.— I have had no trouble from that source. The only 

 trouble likely to happen is that raised too high the bees would 

 build comb to 'the bottom-bars, which could easily be trimmed off. 



Cyprian Bees, Italians and Blacks. 



Are the Cyprian bees any I etter honey-gatherers than the 

 Italians? Will they sting when one goes into the yard, unless 

 their hive is opened ? Do you think that black bees are any better 

 honey-gatherers than the Italians ? Where can I get a Cyprian 

 queen ? N. H. 



Answer. — Cyprians have the reputation of being regular sav- 

 ages, stinging with or without provocation. Some claim that a 

 slight admixture of Cyprian blood improves Italians as to work- 

 ing qualities, while others say it's only because of the introduc- 

 tion of fresh blood. The fact that Italians are preferred by nearly 

 all who work chiefly for honey is good evidence that neither blacks 

 nor Cyprians are as good. It is somewhat doubtful if any one has 

 Cyprian queens in this country; at any rate I don't know of any. 



Combs Breaking; When Extracting^. 



In my limited experience in extracting I did almost nothing at 

 all because the combs would break down so badly. I finally gave 

 up. and used the honey as "chunk honey." I bad full-depth 

 Hoffman frames and wired horizontally medium brood founda- 

 tion. A bee-keeper 35 miles east of me reports the same trouble. 

 Now then, how can the combs be prevented from breaking down 

 while extracting ? Oregon. 



Answer. — One way is to let the combs get to be ten years old 

 before extracting from them. Not highly recommended, however. 

 But that's another way of saying that you must be very careful 

 with new and tender combs. Tbe heavier they are the more dan- 

 ger of breaking. So go about it in this way: When you first put 

 a pair of combs in the extractor, turn no faster than is absolutely 

 necessary to set the honey to flying out of the cells. When half or 

 more of the honey is still left in the cells of that side, reverse the 

 combs and empty most of the honey in the other side. Not much 

 more than half of it, however. Now extract pretty closely from 

 the first side, then from the second. In that way you can extract 

 from very tender combs without breaking. It will take less force 

 to extract when the combs are warm from the hive than when the 

 honey has become cool. 



moisture in the Hive — Hive-Entrances, Etc. 



1. One of my neighbors has a colony of bees in frames smaller 

 than the Langstroth— and in a box made to fit the frames. This 

 box has a permanent bottom and an entrance not over four inches 

 long. Some time ago he noticed honey running out at the en- 

 trance, and called my attention to it. We lookt into the hive and 



