550 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



cent state, and small consumption of 

 food reported in my weighing experi- 

 ment given above. 



Regarding bees possessing proper 

 instinct for self-preservation at all 

 times, when left entirely under the 

 care of " Dame Xature," she either 

 "forgot "to endow them with it. or 

 did not care for their failure, or her- 

 self made a failure ; for they do not at 

 all times succeed any better than the 

 tender plant against the drouth, the 

 beautiful shrub against the frost of 

 winter, the sparrow against the hawk, 

 the minnow against the shark, the 

 gazelle against the anaconda, or even 

 man against the myriad forms of 

 michrocoxi which attack him on all 

 sides. Only that higher philosophy 

 can protect us. and he who lays down 

 his Reason, relying upon her weaker 

 sister. lustnict, will be left far be- 

 hind in the race for success. 



Dowaglac, Mich. 



For the American Bee JournaL 



Hibernation of Bees. 



J. F. LATHAM. 



As the correspondent, under the 

 caption of '■ Mr. Heddon's Report," 

 on page 471, asserts that a condition 

 favoring a semi-dormant repose, is 

 the normal condition in which a col- 

 ony of bees must exist in order to 

 winter successfully ; and claimed to 

 be original in calling the attention of 

 bee-keepers to the new (to liim) 

 theory, perhaps a few words from 

 some of the other " inexperienced " 

 may not be out of place. 



Without a desire to make any ad- 

 vances of a controversial character, I 

 feel like submitting the assertion that 

 there are few, if any ideas embodied 

 in his article that support an origi- 

 nality of conception. Although but a 

 6-year-old bee-keeper, the fact that a 

 colony of bees should be so prepared 

 as to favor a semi-dormant or somno- 

 lent repose during winter confine- 

 ment, has not been absent from my 

 thoughts while preparing my colonies 

 for winter. 



The first impress of the knowledge 

 was imparted to me by an aged dame, 

 while enjoying the whilom luxury of 

 an open. New England, primitive tire- 

 place on a blustering winter evening. 

 " Are the bears out to night, grand- 

 ma ? No ; the bears are some of the 

 of the ' seven sleepers." What are 

 the seven sleepers, grandma? The 

 bears, the raccoons, the woodchucks 

 (a favorite personation), the bees, the 

 ants, the frogs, and the snakes. Do 

 they sleep all winter, grandma ¥ No; 

 they wake up sometimes when we 

 have a thaw." Although the old 

 lady's classification may not be scien- 

 tifically complete, here we have the 

 whole theory of hibernation in a nut- 

 shell without evolution or sleepy- 

 awake cogitations. 



The knowledge that, on the ap- 

 proach of cold weather, the final re- 

 quirements for their winter's suste- 

 nance are completed, and those ani- 

 mals and insects subject to such 

 requirements by nature, retire to 

 their dormatories to enjoy the sweets 



of semi-consciousness until the re- 

 turning sun, by its genial warmth, 

 arouses them to activity, is old. It is 

 not apparent that the hollow tree- 

 trunk, or its similtude is indispensa- 

 ble in producing conditions necessary 

 for hibernation. I have had strong 

 colonies, which, judging from the 

 quantity of fhhris on the bottom- 

 boards, scarcely broached their stores 

 for two months in mid-winter ; and 

 came out strong in the spring with 

 clean combs, and with the loss of very 

 few bees. In fact, observation thus 

 far in my experience, has led me to 

 the belief that such colonies pass the 

 winter in the very best condition, the 

 condition which our best bee-keepers 

 are striving to attain ; and from what 

 has just been said, the object sought 

 can be accomplished by using the 

 present style ot frame hives. A con- 

 dition which provokes restlessness is 

 one serious obstacle to a favorable 

 result. Another obstacle exists in the 

 characteristics of the bees — idiosyn- 

 cracies, if I may be allowed to so ap- 

 ply the term. 



Last winter was a severe one for 

 bees in this vicinity ; and on prepar- 

 ing my colonies for winter, I gave 

 them extra care, treating all alike as 

 nearly as possible. They all (20 colo- 

 nies) passed the winter safely, and 

 the most of them in prime condition. 

 In a few of tlie colonies the combs 

 had some mold on them, and a slight 

 evidence of bee-diarrhft-a was observ- 

 able for the first time in my experi- 

 ence. Those which remained the 

 most quiet, came through the best. 

 As the object sought in ray winter 

 preparations (as noted heretofore) has 

 always been to attain a condition 

 favoring a somnolent repose, I believe 

 the result of my efforts have been 

 manifested in the conduct of my bees 

 while in winter quarters, and the gen- 

 eral satisfactory condition in which 

 they have passed our trying (to them) 

 spring months. 



Compactness being one of first 

 principles of hibernation, it is as- 

 sumed by a colony of bees in repose, 

 whether their resting place be on the 

 " fine twig," or within the walls of 

 the movable-frame hive ; and could a 

 proper condition of warmth be main- 

 tained at all times, it would be a mat- 

 ter of little importance whether they 

 occupied a partitioned half, or were 

 allowed to roam the whole hive at- 

 will. Albeit, 1 cannot see anything 

 original in my treatment, as the hints 

 promoting it were culled from Prof. 

 Cook's Manual of the Apiary, and 

 more recently from the columns of 

 the Bee Journal. 



Again, the attitude of one claiming, 

 at this advanced hour, the ripening 

 fruits of so many others' culture, 

 looks a " leetle " suspicious ; and 

 when the mountain was delivered of 

 the mouse, it seems that had the 

 declaration of the wise man. that 

 "there is nothingnew under the sun.'' 

 received a merited notice, the claim 

 would not have been promulgated — or 

 at least not with such evidence of 

 confidence in its merits as a valuable 

 discovenj. "■ Ilonor to whom honor is 

 due." 



Cumberland, Maine. .\ug. \l. 1.S.S4. 



For the American Bee Joximal. 



Northeastern Kentucky Convention. 



The Northeastern Kentucky Bee- 

 Keepers' Association met in Covinu;- 

 tou, on Aug. 13, 18.S4, in Walker's 

 Hall, witli the President. Peter Me- 

 "\'ean, in the chair. This was the 

 largest and most interesting meeting 

 that has been held since its organiza- 

 tion. There were members present 

 from both near and far. 



After reading and approving the 

 minutes of the previous meeting, the 

 regular routine of business was taken 

 up and disposed of. The President 

 then called on the 'Vice-Presidents for 

 essays. 



The Rev. L. .Johnson, of Walton, 

 Boone county, then read an essay on 

 " Bees, Honey, and their General 

 Management," which was very inter- 

 esting and beneficial to all. 



Mr. Beach, of Kenton county, also 

 read an essay entitled " Queen Rear- 

 ing," which was criticised severely. 

 It was a very able and masterly pro- 

 duction. 



There were several samples of- very 

 fine comb and extracted honey on the 

 table — especially the comb honey. 

 Several parties bad some nice Italian 

 queens for exhibition and sale ; also a 

 one-frame observatory hive. 



When the question-box was opened, 

 we had quite a discussion, especially 

 when the question about the pollen 

 theory was reached. This question 

 was asked, " Is sound pollen deleteri- 

 ous to bees in winter?" Mr. J. T. 

 Conley, of Gallatin county, seemed to 

 think that it was ; but with that ex- 

 ception it received a pretty severe 

 overhauling. 



Other questions were asked, such 

 as : " How many colonies can be 

 kept in one place with profit':'" "Is 

 wired foundation a success for use 

 in the brood-chamber?" " Are winter 

 passages in the combs necessary ?" 

 " What material is the best absorb- 

 ent ?" " How can we winter our bees 

 the most successfully?'' "Are the 

 Italians the best bees for profit, all 

 things considered ?" " Which are the 

 best bees to create a stampede, Cyp- 

 rian or Syrian ?" These questions 

 and many others were discussed at 

 some length, and duly considered. 



On motion, a delegation of three 

 members of this Association were 

 appointed to attend the State Conven- 

 tion which meets at Eminence, Ky.. 

 on Sept. 2 and 3, 1884, an adjourned 

 meeting of which will be held at the 

 Exposition in Louisville on Sept. 5. 



The President called for reports, 

 which resulted as follows : Kinds of 

 bees kept, Italians principally ; kind 

 of hives, Langsa-oth ; number of col- 

 onies, spring count, 608; natural 

 swarms, 125, and swarms by division, 

 140 ; present number of colonies, 873 ; 

 amount of comb honey, 3.792 pounds, 

 and of extracted honey, 20,224 ; con- 

 dition the bees are in now, fair. 



Several new members were added. 

 A motion was made and carried that 

 this convention extend to Mr. J. T. 

 Wilson and family its sympathy in 

 the loss of his property by fire on the 

 night of A\ig. .5 ; and that a copv of 

 the resolutions be forwarded to him. 



