216 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



hives are tlie surest and safest for 

 wintering our pets, whether in or out 

 of cellar, and the plan I have thought 

 of is to take 2-inch planks, 8 or 10 

 inches wide, set on edge by nailing 

 cleats across the top to hold them 

 firm the widtli of the hive, or we can 

 take 3 and make a kind of trough, to 

 secure them from tlie mice. This 

 plan keeps the bees and combs free 

 from all filth that accumulates on the 

 bottom of tight hi ves, also from stench, 

 which is very offensive, and, I be- 

 lieve, injurious to the bees. Let it be 

 understood, if out-of-doors, they will 

 need the same protection as any other 

 plan. I do hope some of our pro- 

 gressive bee-keepers will try this plan 

 the coming winter, and report con- 

 clusions the following spring. 

 Manhattan, Kan. 



Local Convention Directory. 



1882. Tivie and Place of Meetins. 



April 11— Eastern Micliigan. at Detroit, Micb. 

 A. B. Weed. Sec, Detroit, Mich. 



15.— Northern Ohio, at Norwalk, O. 



S. F. Newman, Sec. 



19, 20— Tuscarawas and Musl^ingum Valley, 

 at Coshocton, O. 



J. A. Buclilew, Sec, Clariis, O. 



25— Texas State, at McKinney, Texas. 



*" Wm. H. Howard, Sec. 



26, 27,— Western Mit-h, at Grand Rapids. 

 W. M. S. Dodge, Sec, Coopersville, Mich. 



26. 27— Western Michigan, at Grand Rapids. 

 Wm. M. S. DodKe, Sec, Coopersville, Mich. 



27— Kentuclty Union, at Eminence, Ky. 

 G. W. Demaree, Sec, Christlansburg, Ky. 



May 2, 3 -Eastsrn N. Y. Union, at Cobleskill, N. T. 

 C. Quackeubush, Sec, IJarnesville. N. Y. 



n— Champlain Valley, at Mlddlebury, Vt. 

 T. Brookins, Sec. East Shoreham, Vt. 



Hi— N. W. ni.andS.W. Wis., at Rock City, Ul. 

 Jonathan Stewart, Sec, Rock City, Ul. 



2,5— Iowa Central, at Winterset. Iowa. 



Henry Wallace, Sec. 



Read before the Marion Co., Ind., Convention. 



Spring MaiKigenieiit of Bees. 



B^* In order to have this table complete. Secre- 

 taries are requested to forward full particulars of 

 time and place of future meetinRs.- ED. 



^°The Central Michigan Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will meet April 

 20, at Lansing, in the Capitol building. 

 Programme.— Piesident's annual ad- 

 dress. Rev. J. Ashworth; bee hives 

 and fixtures, E. W. Wood; Cyprian 

 bees, J: Harper; the coming bee, 

 Prof. A. J. Cook ; care of old combs, 

 Stephen C. Perry. 



Rev. J. AsnwoKTH, Pres. 



i^" A special meeting of the West- 

 ern Michigan Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion, will be held in Supervisors' 

 Hall, Grand Rapids, Mich., Wednes- 

 day and Thursday, April 26 and 27, 

 1882. Wm. M. S. Dodge, Sec. 



i^The spring meeting of the North- 

 ern Ohio Bee-Keepers' Association 

 will be held at Norwalk, 0.,on Satur- 

 day, April, 15, 1882. 



S. r. Newman, Sec. 



MBS. C. ROBBINS. 



Bee-Keeping in Maine. 



The first thing to be done in the 

 spring with bees, is to open the hive 

 and examine each colony, ascertain- 

 ing whether there are sufficient stores 

 and a queen with which to begin 

 spring work. I have come to the con- 

 clusion that we open our colonies too 

 early. We know that every time we 

 disturb them we excite them more or 

 less, and, therefore, they consume 

 more stores. We also know that the 

 bees that liave lived over the winter 

 have only vitality ehough to rear the 

 bees that collect our stores in summer; 

 therefore we should spare them their 

 forces until the proper time, and not 

 excite them to premature vitality. 

 We know also that eggs laid very 

 early in the season, if there should 

 come a cold snap, iire chilled and have 

 to be carried out. 



Every apiarist should know whether 

 liis bees have enough stores or not to 

 last until natural pollen can be collec- 

 ted, also whether his hives and bees 

 are dry or not. If enough food, then 

 do not open the hive until the bees 

 collect natural pollen. Then we know 

 that the spring is open and that breed- 

 ing begins in earnest, and that the la- 

 bors of the bees and apiarist have be- 

 gun for the season. Even yet, I would 

 not advise removing any of the pack- 

 ing that may be around them. I 

 doubt much the policy of contracting 

 the brood chamber in the spring. 

 Here is one liive, we leave the frames 

 all in tliat have been in all winter ; 

 when the weather is too cold to fly, 

 the bees will clean up the combs and 

 carry the honey from the outside 

 combs to the brood combs in the cen- 

 ter, thus giving them employment and 

 not exposing them to bad weather 

 (when the bees are busy we are not 

 troubled with robbers), and, above all, 

 saving the apiarist so much work 

 feeding and putting in extra combs 

 every few days. 



Beside this hive stands another. 

 Very early in the spring, or, rather, 

 in the latter part of winter, we open 

 tlie hive, take out the outside combs 

 that have quantities of stores in tliem, 

 stir up the bees, looking for a queen 

 that we should be pretty certain was 

 there from thorough examination and 

 ample preparation in the fall, put in 

 feeders and warm syru)). By that 

 day's work we have taken the initia- 

 tory step to spring dwindling and 

 robbing. As we know that it only 

 takes 6 weeks to build up a weak col- 

 ony into a very strong one, if we begin 

 the first of March, we will have our 

 colonies ready by the middle of April, 

 and our honey crop in this locality is 

 not collected until the last of May and 

 in June. 



1^ The Union Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation will meet at Eminence, Ky., 

 on the 27th day of April; 1S82. A full 

 attendance is very much desired, as 

 important business will be transacted. 

 G. W. Demaiiee, 8ec. 



Christlansburg, Ky. 



The following are extracts from the 

 opening address of Mr. F. O. Addi- 

 tion, President of the Maine Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, at Dexter, Me.,^ 

 on Feb. 9, 1882 : 



The year of 1881 has passed away 

 with its failures and its successes, 

 leaving us wiser by our experience, 

 and better fitted for our several duties 

 in the future. Those engaged in api- 

 culture came through the demoraliz- 

 ing winter of 1880-81 in many cases 

 with but poor courage to begin 

 another season ; and the present win- 

 ter may be even more disastrous. But 

 be not discouraged ; try again, and if 

 " luck " is wliat makes success in 

 bee-keeping, it may be a good turn 

 next. 



We can hardly realize the progress 

 of apiculture in this State for the last 

 half century. Although we are as a 

 State still far behind some of our sis- 

 ter states in the quantity of honey 

 produced, we rank among the first as 

 to its quality ; and when we become 

 more thoroughly awake to this branch 

 of business, with the territory we 

 have, capable of supporting large 

 apiaries, where from year to year the 

 flowers blossom and die without the 

 hum of the busy bee (except now and 

 then one from its leafy home), when 

 we get this vast territory to yield to 

 us its golden nectar, then we will have 

 for our motto, as bee-keepers, the 

 motto of our state : Dirigo : " I 

 lead." 



Now, a word about this Associa- 

 tion : It is important that we sustain 

 it, as it is what we have long needed 

 in Maine. Other states have their 

 bee associations, and among their 

 numbers we find some of the most 

 successful bee-keepers ; and this one, 

 if properly managed, will do usa great 

 amount of good. Although our num- 

 bers are now small, yet we must per- 

 severe in extending bee-culture more 

 and more, until the dream of the poet 

 shall be realized :— 



"Kach household of an apiary possessed. 

 Bee-keeping followed with unflagging zest ; 

 Honev and milk shall flow all countries through 

 And liome, sicee? home obtains a meaning new." 



There is a certain amount of pleas- 

 ure which one derives from the care 

 of bees that is both healthful and en- 

 joyable, and if we can only get a fair 

 interest on our money invested, and a 

 reasoiiiible compensation for our time, 

 we should be satisfied ; and this any 

 wide-awake apiarist, with the im- 

 provements which have been made in 

 bee-culture, can do. 



i^The semi-annual meeting of tlie 

 Tuscarawas and Muskingum Valley 

 Bee-Keepers' Convention, will be held 

 in the Town Hall at Coshocton, O., on 

 April 19 and 20, commencing at 10 a. 

 m. A cordial invitation is extended 

 to bee-keepers everywhere. 



J. A. BucKLEw", (b'cc, Clarks, O. 



i^The Champlain Valley Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association will hold their semi- 

 annual meeting at Middlebury, Vt., 

 May 11, 1882. T. Bkookins, Sec. 



