THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



1(55 



I will not dwell IcmRon repeated theo- 

 ries. 1 l<iu)\v some of you are already 

 beginning to smile and are saying 

 within yourselves, another theory is 

 to be added to our list. But I say unto 

 you, I shall do what has never yet 

 been done to tliis subject, and that is, 

 prove every statement 1 make upon 

 this question. 



First, let me enquire, is there any 

 one i)resent who can detect (if any) 

 the difference between honey gathered 

 in 1879 and that of 1880, botli being 

 from the same kind of flowers, if not, 

 be it then conceded, there is no differ- 

 ence, no matter what season it is 

 gathered, anil to the bee, when prop- 

 erly sealed, honey is honey, and no 

 worker bee during her life, can con- 

 sume more than seven grains thereof. 

 The calculation is that a swarm of 

 bees will average in November, not 

 far from 1.5,000 bees, none of which 

 will survive after consuming about 1.5 

 lbs. of honey. The quantity of honey 

 taken into a bee's stomach at any one 

 time, is very minute, and that of pol- 

 len, is much less, both of which are 

 only consumed to supply the body 

 with heat, while the cluster is in it's 

 semi-dormant state. A farmer houses 

 his stock to save feed, but not so with 

 the bee-keeper, for lie is obliged to 

 give his bees protection in order to 

 save life, and wlien the conditions of 

 the latter are perfect, the object of 

 the former is obtained, but where 

 such is insufficient, the bees find it 

 necessary to consume food to prevent 

 the cluster from becoming entirely 

 dormant, the stomach in such cases is 

 used as an organ for generating heat, 

 and the body must sooner or later fall 

 a victim to dysentery. I claim (and 

 shall give positive proof) where the 

 atmosphere is congenial to the cluster, 

 and they have access to and full con- 

 trol of the entrance of the hive, that 

 under no circumstances whatever, 

 will they discharge their excrement 

 in a li(iuid state. 



\Vell nuiy you ask whose apiary is 

 free from this most dreaded disease, 

 wliich is brought about only by over- 

 consumption of honey and pollen, 

 chietly the former. Let us reason to- 

 gether, tlif refore. and see if the posi- 

 tiwi I have taken is correct. 



The standard amount of honey for 

 a colony on wliich to winter, if I mis- 

 take not, is about 2.5 lbs., and in poor 

 seasons, when the extractor is used ex- 

 clusively, a large amount of our bees 

 are allowed to go into winter quarters 

 with nottoexceed lolbs.,andin nearly' 

 every instance, wiien such is consumed 

 before the lirst of April, it has been 

 sui)posed by many they died of dysen- 

 tery, caused by starvation, which I 

 consider perfectly absurd, for did 

 they not consume their allotted 

 amount. Was it not then their time 

 to die y Still we tind bees dying with 

 dysentery, leaving from 1 to 1-5 lbs., 

 yes, apparently nearly all of their 

 honey, how is it, with such, is it not 

 true, with you men of experience, 

 when hives are Idled solid with sealed 

 combs, that the space between tliem, 

 is greatly contracted, often caused by 

 the superseilitig of queens, late in the 

 season, thus diminishing the quantity 

 of bees in each space, though it may- 



have the appearance of a good colony, 

 while the fact is the reverse. Why 

 then should they consume much 

 honey, for they seldom survive the 

 (irst half of the winter, but we often 

 see when they are wintered on their 

 summer stands, and are privileged 

 with frequent tlights, they come out 

 in the sjiring with plenty of bees, 

 and apparently in a good condition, 

 with nearly all their honey consumed, 

 aiul while they have a large amount 

 of brood, a portion of which is hatch- 

 ing daily, it is after the expiration of 

 several weeks liefore thei'e seems to 

 be an increase to the size of the colo- 

 ny, and in many instances, the colony, 

 though strong in numbers when they 

 take their lirst tlight in March or 

 April, they become, before the lirst 

 of May, entirely depopulated, (com- 

 monly called spring dwindling), and 

 often leaving quite a large quantity of 

 brood. This excessive loss heretofore 

 from supposition, has been said to be 

 old bees, which I shall positively con- 

 tradict; for how can bees be old, who 

 have not seen but a few days, and 

 many, on which the light of the sun 

 has never shone ; is it not a fact that 

 these bees from the excessive amount 

 of labor devolved upon them in nurs- 

 ing the brood, shortened their lives 

 by an over-consumption of food. Al- 

 though it was accomplished in a few 

 days, for 1 affirm, that each bee liad 

 consumed the portion of honey allot- 

 ted to her, and a bee is not old until it 

 has seen at least seven months, and 

 while in a semi-dormant state, wlier.e 

 the atmosphere is congenial to them, 

 not being obliged to take food to pro- 

 duce animal heat, they have often 

 been known to survive much longer, 

 and that too, without acleansing flight. 

 Again might we ask, how is it with 

 the queen, does she fly for this pur- 

 pose V Ko, no, would be the general 

 response. But how oft do we liear 

 the complaint after a long and severe 

 winter, and the first few sunny days 

 in spring, my bees are swarming out, 

 and what is tlie trouble. Has not 

 their numbers, during such a winter, 

 been so greatly reduced that the 

 queen, like all true hearted mothers, 

 willing to share the same fate with her 

 own ; have also taken an over-supply 

 of food, to assist in maintaining the 

 necessary heat, improves the first op- 

 portuuitv to exude her distended 

 body, and in order that we may save 

 them, two or more such small swarms 

 are united in one hive, and the sur- 

 plus queens introduced to queenless 

 colonies, or lili some early order for 

 dollar queens, most of which you all 

 well know will not survive but a few 

 weeks at the longest; and what is true 

 with the queen, is equally so with the 

 whole colony, wliich is p"ositive proof 

 bees do die from an over-consumption 

 of food in a less given time than is due 

 them, comiielliug them to discharge 

 their excreuicnts in a liquid state; 

 thus tlie cause of dysentery. And 

 the true and only prevention of this 

 most dreaded disease is : First, a good 

 cellar or house of some kind, so that 

 the air can, if necessary, be changed 

 every two hours, in order that the in- 

 terior may be free from the smell of 

 bees. 



Second, perfect quietness. 



Third, tlie atmosphere outside the 

 cluster, should not fall much below 

 60- F., and with these conditions the 

 excrements will be discharged in dry 

 state, and a colony of six spaces will 

 not consume more than 1 % lbs. per 

 month. They may also be confined to 

 the repository at least six months, 

 with a loss less than one percent. As 

 I purpose to show to you a few sam- 

 ples of excrements which I have 

 with me, not only for the benefit of 

 those who already believe, but that I 

 may convince the most skeptical, the 

 position 1 have taken. I must close 

 by these remarks. 



Our elder brother. M, Quinby, the 

 father of this new doctrine, has 

 finished his work, and has gone to his 

 long rest, though his body now sleeps 

 in our mother earth, he is not dead, 

 lie still lives. The seed he has sown 

 has germinated, and is taking root, 

 out of which I amable to say Eureka. 

 Although your humble servant, who 

 is now addressing you, was one of the 

 first to ridicule this doctrine, not from 

 prejudice, however, but for the reason 

 of the dense cloud, that this light 

 once shone through so dimly. How- 

 ever, it is human to err. and to repent 

 is wisdom, and who is it that desireth 

 not knowledge, for God said, " to him 

 that asketh it shall be given ; so be of 

 good cheer my brother, and be not 

 sad over the late mortality among 

 your bees, for out of it has grown a 

 great light.such as has never appeared 

 unto us until this day. 



Marcellus, N. Y. 



■^"A meeting of the bee-keepers of 

 Franklin county, Ind., will be held at 

 the court house in Brookville, on 

 Saturday, March 25, 1882, at 10 a. m., 

 to organize a County Association. All 

 interested in apiculture are cordially 

 invited to attend. J. W. Sturwold,S. 

 S. Herrel, and Henry Kimble, com- 

 mittee on call. 



^°The Champlain Valley Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association will hold their semi- 

 annual meeting at Middlebury, Vt., 

 May 11, 1882. T. Bkookins, &c. 



i^The serai-annual meeting of the 

 Tuscarawas and Muskingum Valley 

 Bee-Keepers' Conventi<in, will be held 

 in the Town Hall atCoshocton, 0.,on 

 April 19 and 20, commencing at 10 a. 

 m. A cordial invitation iS' extended 

 to bee-keepers everywhere. 



J. A. BucKLEW, fe'ec. Chirks, O. 



i^The Texas State Bee-Keepers' 

 Convention will hold its meeting at 

 Judge W. II. Andrews' Apiary, at 

 McKinney, Texas, April 25, 1882. 



Wm. R. Howard, Sec. 



l^'The Barren County Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association nu'ets at Sinking 

 Spring school house, three miles west 

 of (Glasgow, Ky., on the lirst Saturday 

 in A|)ril, 1882. All bee-keepers of the 

 county are invited. 



I. N. Greer, President. 



