632 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



nately from year to year. Each year 

 I find some colonies that are slow 

 about building up, and make poor 

 work all through the season. Often I 

 have waited tor them, hoping each 

 week they would do better, until the 

 harvest was past, obtaining from them 

 perhaps not half the average yield. A 

 colony which lags behind and fails to 

 fill up when all conditions are favor- 

 able, should have its queen promptly 

 killed and replaced by a better. A 

 colony which is much crosser than the 

 others should have its queen replaced, 

 for cross bees cannot be so rapidly 

 handled, an important item toward 

 securing the largest yield. This year 

 my bees seemed unusually cross, in 

 fact the Grossest I ever had. In one 

 instance a person was attacked with 

 no apparent reason, w-lio had not ap- 

 proached within 6 or 8 rods of the 

 apiary, and followed to a distance of 

 perhaps b5 rods more. I was some- 

 times stung when walking near the 

 bees and not disturbing them at all. 

 It seemed as if my whole apiary had 

 become cross. I watched closely the 

 deportment of each colony on being 

 handled or approaclied, destroyed the 

 queens of two that were especially 

 vindictive, and in a short time the 

 whole apiary seemed as gentle as ever. 



The right hive, of cou'rse, has some- 

 thing to do with the yield, and each 

 man knows what that' is. for it is the 

 one he has invented. I am one of the 

 few unfortunates who have not in- 

 vented a hive ; I have not even laid 

 our venerated friend Langstroth un- 

 der everlasting obligations by improv- 

 ing his hive ; therefore, I am no com- 

 petent judge. 



Then comes the question of side and 

 top-storing, and leaving each one to 

 his own favorite plan, 1 have tried to 

 secure the advantage of both by jiut- 

 ting a frame of brood into the super 

 until the sections were well started. 

 By shifting about this frame of brood, 

 or by putting frames of empty sec- 

 tions between those well occupied, I 

 try to get the bees well started early 

 in the season on a large number of 

 sections, and toward the close of the 

 season limit them to as few as may do, 

 by using division boards in the super. 



Years ago, while blocking up tlie 

 cover of a hive to allow a free circu- 

 lation of air through tlie brood cham- 

 ber, Adam Grimm said to me. in his 

 earnest way, " I consider this very 

 important." Since that time I have 

 practiced shoving the super forward 

 on the hive, leaving an open space of 

 perhaps one-fourth inch for ventila- 

 tion until all swarming was over. 



It is hardly necessary to say that 

 starters of some kind must be used, 

 and I am strongly of the opinion that 

 the largest yield requires the largest- 

 sized starters. For 1 lb. sections I 

 prefer starters at least 33^x3^ inches 

 in size. That which will be most 

 rapidly used by the bees will of course 

 be preferred. There have been such 

 great improvements, tliat little seems 

 to be desired in the way of founda- 

 tion. Some beautiful thin Dunham, 

 made by A. I. Root, delighted me this 

 summer ; but on the whole, I think I 

 have never liked any foundation I 

 have used quite so well as the Given, 



made by Mr. Heddon. To get the 

 largest yield, I imagine that the thin- 

 nest foundation must not be used, only 

 so the base be thin. 



I suppose swarming hinders the 

 largest yield, and I do not know that 

 I have any new thought as to the best 

 plan to repress the swarming fever. I 

 am especially unsettled as to what is 

 the best disposal to make of swarms 

 that do come. Will the combined 

 wisdom of this Convention please in- 

 form me how I shall secure from a 

 colony that swarms, as large a yield as 

 if it had not taken into its head the 

 notion to swarm at all i 



Passing by other important items, I 

 will only mention that of pasturage. 

 With all the advantages of natural 

 liasturage, I suspect that shortly bee- 

 keepers will wake up to the fact that 

 their harvest may be extended by 

 special planting to fill in the '■ gaps." 

 The iSEE Journal will tell ns to sow 

 melilot, Oleanings will tell us figwort. 

 Each one should try these and other 

 £;-ood honey plants, gradually increas- 

 ing the acreage as he linds what is 

 most profitable in his particular lo- 

 cality. I have faith enough in this to 

 believe that it will pay to devote some 

 acres entirely to honeyplants, and am 

 anxious to learn the best way to get .5 

 acres in tigwort, -5 in melilot, and to 

 know if it will pay me to raise golden 

 houey plant and spider plant. 



This essay is quite too long, but our 

 esteemed friend, the President, should 

 have known to have chosen a smaller 

 subject, or a larger man. 



Marengo, 111., Sept., 1882. 



Local Convention Directory. 



1882. Time and Place oj Meeting. 



Oct. 3-6— North American, at Cincinnati. O. 



Dr. Ehrlcli Parmly, Sec, New York City. 

 5— Kentucliy Union, at Shelbyville, Ky. 



G. W. Demaree. Sec, Christiansburg, Ky, 

 7— MarBhall County, Iowa, at Marshalltown. 

 J. W. Sanders, Sec. LeOrand, Iowa. 

 10— Tuscarawas Valley, at Newcomerstown,0. 



J. A. Bucklew, Sec, Clarks, O. 

 10, 1 1 —Northern Michigan, at Pewamo, Mich, 



O. R. (ioodno. Sec, Carson City. Mich. 

 13— N. yv. of Lacrosse, at LaCrosse, Wis. 



(i. J. Pammel, Sec, LaCrosee, Wis. 

 17. 18— Northwestern, atCbicado. III. 



r. C. Coffinberry, Sec, Chicago, 111. 

 1,S, ui— Southern California, at Los Angeles. 

 J. E. Pleasants, Pres., Anaheim, Cal. 

 21— Northern Ohio, at Norwalk, O. 



S. F. Newman, Sec, Norwalk. O. 

 Nov. 1— New Jersey & Eastern, at New Brunswick. 

 J. Hasbrouck, Sec, Bound Brook. N. .1. 



t^~ In order to have this table complete. Secre- 

 taries are requested to forward full particulars of 

 time and place of future meetings.- Ed. 



i^° The bee-keepers of Boone Co., 

 Ind., are cordially invited to meet at 

 the office of Barton Iliggins, in Leba- 

 non, Oct. 9, at y o'clock, a.m., to com- 

 plete the organization of the auxiliary 

 County Bee-Keepers' Society. The 

 bee-keepers of Hendricks county, Ind. , 

 are invited to be present. By request 

 of the Committee. 



For the American Bee Joumak 



Central Michigan. 



The Central Michigan Bee-Keepers' 

 Association held a meeting in tlie 

 Capitol Building Sept. 19th, and was 

 called to order by President Ashworth. 



The first question discussed was the 

 size and style of a building to exhibit 

 bees, honey and apiarian supplies in. 

 After a spirited discussion, a motion 

 was carried by which a committee of 

 three, consisting of Prof. Cook, Presi- 

 dent Ashworth and N. V. Goodno, all 

 of Lansing, Mich., was appointed, tO' 

 request the managers of the Agricul- 

 tural Fair to erect a building suitable 

 for the exhibition of bees, honey and 

 apiarian supplies. 



The President then called for an 

 expression of opinion on the best 

 methods of rearing queens. The topic 

 was discussed by E. S. Vaniietta, S. 

 Ililbert, H. L. Deiiny and others. Mr, 

 Denny said when rearing queens for 

 his own use, he stimulated his best 

 colonies to breeding early; so they 

 would have drones flying before there 

 were any other drones out. 



A recess was taken until 2 p.m.. 

 when Pres. Ashworth being called 

 away upon urgent business. Prof. 

 Cook was called to the chair, and the 

 meeting opened with a renewal of the 

 discussion on the best methods of ex- 

 hibiting bees, honey and apiarian sup- 

 plies at the Fair. 



Prof. Cook stated that he had this 

 season a queen fertilized in the hive, 

 he also stated that he had used foun- 

 dation this season from nearly all the 

 different makes of machines now in 

 use, and his bees appeared to work 

 equally well on it all, with no trouble 

 from stretching or sagging except that 

 made upon the Given "press, and that 

 he could do nothing with. 



The next question was how many 

 bees should be in a hive to winter 

 well. 



Mr. Wood, of Grand Ledge, wanted 

 his hives f ullof bees when heput them 

 in the cellar, and from 15 to 20 lbs. of 

 honey. He usually fed some in the 

 spring to stimulate early breeding. 



Mr. Waldo, of Grand Ledge, and E. 

 N. Wood, of North Lansing, pre- 

 ferred wintering out-of-doors on the, 

 summer stands. 



S. D. Newbro exhibited a very in- 

 genious device in the shape of tongs 

 for lifting the brood frames from the 

 liiveSj and to hold the combs while ex- 

 amining them ; also a machine for 

 fastening the foundation into the sec- 

 tion boxes, and other articles. 



Narmore & Wood exhibited their 

 hives, section boxes, etc. 



E. N. Wood, Sec. 



i^°The fifth annual meeting of the 

 Northern Michigan Bee-Keepers' Con- 

 vention will be held at Pewamo, 

 Ionia County, Mich., on the second 

 Tuesday and Wednesday (10th and 

 11th) of October, 1882. Pewamo be- 

 ing on the D. & M. and H. & M. R. 

 R.,it will be accessible by rail. The 

 members will do all in their power to- 

 make the meeting interesting. 



H. M. Roop, Pres. 



O. R. GoODNO, Hcc. 



