THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



2X1 



the stakes. Then pack well between 

 these and hives, and over the tops of 

 tlie hives some I'l inches deep. In 

 front of tlie entrances set up a board 

 w ide enoiii;h to lill the space between 

 the gromiil and llie paclcing above tlie 

 entrance. This can l>e laid back or 

 set np at pleasure; but during cold 

 weatlier you can pack over this any 

 thing suitable. When warm enough 

 for bees to tly. this board can be let 

 down, and closed a"aiu in the even- 

 ing, when they are tlirongli flying. 



In the spring my 114 colonies were 

 all in good condition, except one that 

 was qiieenless. I think it was queen- 

 less when put into winter quarters. 

 During early fruit bloom my bees be- 

 came very strong, and beran to put 

 honey into surplus boxes; but before 

 late fruit bloom was over, there came 

 a cold wave, which lasted nearly a 

 month. The bloom was excellent, but 

 the weather was too cold for the bees 

 to utilize it. During the whole of 

 that cold period the bees worked only 

 two days, and then with so little vigor 

 that it "did not sustain the brood they 

 were rearing. 



I think I may safely say that at 

 least one-third of the" bees in this 

 vicinity succumb during the months 

 of May and June. During the season 

 of 1882 I received 700 pounds of honey, 

 which brought i5 cents per pound for 

 comb, and 20 cents per pound for ex- 

 tracted honey. Besides what I have 

 used in my family, and about 100 

 pounds on hand, I have cleared $.51.5 

 during the last two seasons ; and now 

 I have 37 colonies on liand. 



Manhattan, Kansas. 



For tse American Bee Journal. 



Reversible Frames. 



W. n. SHIKLEY. 



With some of the bee fraternity, 

 there seems to be a great mania for 

 reversible frames. When we have a 

 frame all fixed, so that it will reverse 

 when we say the word, of what ad- 

 vantage is it over the common Lang.s- 

 troth frame that will not reverse? 

 The first thing to do is to find a man 

 with a reversible strain of bees, to go 

 with the reversible frame. My bees 

 have a way of building comb with the 

 cells a little out of the horizontal ; 

 that is, the cell pitches down a little, 

 when the comb is held up plumb. 

 When the combs are full of sealed 

 brood, perhaps it might help the 

 young bees to gnaw out, if we reverse 

 the combs. Again, we have seen 

 honey so thin that to reverse the 

 frame would be sure to give the bees 

 a job of house-cleaning. 



ilr. Baldridge described a good kind 

 of reversible frame, in Gleanings for 

 March. One thing I like about his 

 frame, is the depth, 7 inches. I had 

 i2.5 hives cut to order this winter, with 

 frames just 7 inclies, inside measure. 

 I have a great deal of faith in that 

 size of frame for all practical pur- 

 poses ; but in the reversible part, I 

 can see no advantage. I will lay it to 

 my thick-headedness, and await de- 

 velopments. I have 165 colonies. 



Olenwood, Mich. 



For tlie American Bee Journal. 



Union Association of Western Iowa. 



The spring meeting of this Associa- 

 tion, was held March 2-5, at Dexter, 

 Iowa. The meeting was called to order 

 by I'res. Kenyon. The roll was then 

 called, and the Secretary's report was 

 read ; Is names were on the roll, and 

 23 new ones were added ; S of whom 

 were ladies. 4.S1 colonies of bees were 

 represented in the Association. 



Mr. Humphrey being called for, was 

 subjected to a running fire of questions 

 on many subjects, 



" l^aying VVorkers '' was next dis- 

 cussed. One member thought there 

 was usually but one in a colony ; but 

 this view was not accepted by others. 



" Stimulative Feeding " was the 

 next subject, but was not very warmly 

 endorsed : those who favored it, ad- 

 vised caution. Adjourned until 12:-t.5 

 p. m. 



The afternoon session was called to 

 order by Pres. Kenyon. The members 

 who had been assigned special sub- 

 jects, were called for. 



''Size of Sections and Surplus Ar- 

 rangements." by M. E. Darby ; "Best 

 Race of Bees," by W. ('. Humphrey, 

 who favored dark Italians ; " Swarrii- 

 ing, or Dividing," by E. V. Ilennon. 

 M. L. Thomson gave his method of 

 dividing. Mr. McGrew was the only 

 champion of '•swarming." "Spring 

 Management of Bees " was the sub- 

 ject of an able essay by Pres. Kenyon. 

 " Clamp Wintering " was well handled 

 by Thos, Chantry, who has been suc- 

 cessful with this method. 



A vote was taken on the time and 

 place for the next meeting, resulting 

 in the choice of Sept. 13, at Dexter, 

 Iowa. Mr. Chantry spoke of the nec- 

 essity of uniform prices for honey, and 

 manner of marketing. A schedule 

 was adopted. Adjourned to meet Sat- 

 urday, Sept. 13, 18S-1. 



M. E. Darby, Sec. 



W. B. Kenyon, Pres. 



Kor the American Bee JoumaL 



Pollen and Bee Diarrhoea. 



THOS. H. SHEPHERD. 



Sixteen years of experience in bee- 

 keeping, in Michigan, has taught me 

 this much about bee diarrhcca. Late 

 swarms that come after fall honey 

 begins, always have the diarrhcea the 

 next spring, if they live that long; 

 but they never have it unless the win- 

 ter is very open. I find that diarrhoea 

 commences soon after fall honey be- 

 gins ; but, as the bees are flying every 

 day, it is not noticed by the bee- 

 keeper. They will have this disease 

 in the spring, till fresh honey comes, 

 then it will stop. Can winter be the 

 cause y Surely not. Winter only 

 shows us the effect from keeping ttie 

 bees confined to their hives untiltheir 

 bodies are distended beyond endur- 

 ance. They then die in large quanti- 

 ties on the bottom of the hives ; daub- 

 ing the hives and combs with their 

 excrement, which is generally well 

 mixed with small bits of pollen, 

 which, no doubt, caused some to think 



that pollen is the cause ; but I do not. 



I liiid nearly, if not (piite as much 

 pollen in my healthy colonics as in 

 those that die ; but I "find it dilTerent 

 with the liouey. Healthy colonies 

 have their combs filled with summer 

 honey, clovcr.raspberry and basswood; 

 the sick ones have boneset, aster and 

 a number of other kinds of fall honey; 

 boneset being the principal part. As 

 it comes in bloom the first in the fall, 

 it is stored in the hive for winter use ; 

 and, in my experience, it is the prin- 

 cipal cause of the disease. 



Dr, Tinker.onpage 16.5, says," When 

 bees are subject to very unfavorable 

 conditions in winter, the temperature 

 of the cluster, and interior of the hive, 

 falls below the point of health ; the 

 beginning of their ills is here." 

 Where he gets his proof, I do not 

 know. A little further on he saj[3 : 

 " And diarrhtea is the result, quite 

 independent of the effect of the pollen 

 or honey." That statement is correct. 

 Bees that are all wintered alike, would 

 come out alike in the spring ; but they 

 do not. in this part of Michigan. 

 Where Dr. Tinker lives, the principal 

 crop of honey may be clover and bass- 

 wood ; if it is. Dr. T. does not know 

 much about bee-diarrhoea ; and the 

 signs that he does see, might be 

 caused as he says. 



I find, where diarrhoea does so much 

 damage, there is an abundance of fall 

 honey, and a famine before it com- 

 mences, which leaves the bees short 

 of winter stores, causingthem to store 

 fall honey for winter use. 



Dr. Tinker believes that Mr. Hed- 

 don is far astray ; but I think Dr. Tin- 

 ker is yet further astray. Mr. W. M. 

 H. Batch is nearer right, when he says, 

 " the cause is indigestion." But indi- 

 gestion is not the primary cause ; 

 there are many causes back of this. 

 The one great cause is prostration. 

 He makes tlie mistake of thinking 

 that excitement, or nervousness, is 

 the cause of indigestion ; if it is, there 

 is another cause for that, and that 

 cause is in their food. I find that all 

 my sick bees are uneasy and nervous ; 

 that is an effect, not a cause. We must 

 get down to the first cause. 



In conclusion, I would say, let every 

 bee-keeper winter his bees on the best 

 and earUest honey he gets ; and it 

 matters little whether wintered out,or 

 ill cellars, so longasthey are protected 

 from cold, and are in a quiet place. 



Ubly, Mich. 



^' The Progressive Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will meet for their spring 

 meeting May 3, 1884, at the apiary and 

 residence of" J. B. Haines, Bedford, 

 Cuyahoga County, O. All interested 

 are invited. J. R. Reed, Sec. 



^" The Eastern Indiana Bee- 

 Keepers' Association meets at Rich- 

 mond, Ind., April 24, 1884. 



C. N. Blount, Pres. 



G. Reytjolds, Sec. 



^° The Northwestern Illinois and 



Southwestern Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' 



Association, will be held at Rockton, 



Winnebago Co., Ills., on May 20, 1884. 



Jonathan Stewart, Sec. 



