650 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



bee-keepers in this section, for the 

 past ten years. If, added to sucli a 

 report as tlie above, we could have a 

 reliable census report every ten years, 

 showing the growth or decline of our 

 business, it seems as if all miglit be 

 satisfied. 



If my plan is looked upon with 

 favor, and it is so desired, I will see 

 to the getting of a report from Cen- 

 tral New York, and would suggest 

 Ira Barber, De Kalb, N. Y., to look 

 after a report of the north part of the 

 State; J. H. Martin, Hartford, N. Y., 

 for the east ; M. A. "Williams & Co., 

 Berkshire, N. Y.,for the south, and 

 G. W. Stanley, Wyoming, N. Y., for 

 the west. 



Now, fellow bee-keepers, let us take 

 hold of this thing in some shape, and 

 have a report each year in time to be 

 of benefit to us. If" my plan does not 

 look feasible to you, give your plan, 

 and let us take action on the plans till 

 we strike one that is feasible. If my 

 plan is considered as a good one, then 

 let some one from each State volun- 

 teer to do his part of the work, and 

 suggest names from the other parts of 

 his State as I have done ; so that by 

 next July we may get the thing in 

 working order. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



[This plan looks more simple and 

 practical than anything heretofore 

 suggested. We have procured a lot 

 of the marks, and will use them for 

 awhile and see how the plan will 

 work. This diagram will represent a 



State, and the 9 points of compass 

 will be indicated as shown. One of 

 these marks will be put after each 

 person's name, to show in what part 

 of the State he resides.— Ed.] 



For ine American Bee Journal, 



That Strange Noise— Shiny Bees. 



WM. MALONE— 23-37. 



This has been a peculiar season for 

 honey. The forepart of it was prom- 

 ising, and did tolerably well up to 

 July 10, and then the storing of sur- 

 plus honey was ended for the season 

 of 1884. But the bees still kept up 

 breeding, and showed no signs of 

 robbing until Sept. 20; since then we 

 dare not open a hive. From 23 colo- 

 nies I have extracted 1,100 pounds, 

 and have taken some 25 or 30 one- 

 pound sections, which contained white 

 clover honey and honey-dew mixed, 

 and I sold it at ii% cents per pound. 

 I think that the honey-dew in this 

 county is caused by small, green 

 insects, the most of them being in- 

 visible to the naked eye. On page 

 620 is a question by Dr. J. N. Smoot, 

 in regard to a peculiar sound heard in 

 one of his bee-hives, and Mr. Heddon 



gives it up. This peculiar sound is 

 caused by the drones at the time when 

 the bees drive them out of the hive. 

 Bees seldom, if ever, sting the drones, 

 but they starve them to death. This 

 noise I have often noticed, and have, 

 on examination, found the drones 

 covered up in the hive and making 

 this noise. You will have to open the 

 hive very carefully if you want to see 

 them making this" noise ; and you will 

 pity them wYien you realize that they 

 are starved to death. On the same 

 page Mr. II. J. Northrup asks a ques- 

 tion about shiny or black bees. I 

 have had the same in my apiary, more 

 or less, every year since I have been 

 in the bee-business, which is 5 years. 

 They are old bees, and we tind tliem 

 in our strongest colonies. We need 

 have no fears as to the future pros- 

 perity of these colonies. To explain : 

 If a queen lays 2,000 eggs in 24 hours, 

 of course 2,000 bees must die of old 

 age in the same length of time. Old 

 bees sometimes die on the floors and 

 sometimes in the hive at night, and 

 some are carried away from the hive 

 in the day time. Another reason, I 

 think, is that strong colonies are more 

 liable to rob. and in this way become 

 shiny and worn out sooner than they 

 would if working in the field. I have 

 seen lots of such bees that were not 

 much larger than large, black ants, 

 and some that had no stinger. This, 

 I think, proves that they have been in 

 mischief somewhere. Still another 

 reason : Queens th<at are extra pro- 

 lific will lay more eggs than the col- 

 ony can properly care for, and, of 

 course, the bees will die sooner than 

 if they had been properly cared for in 

 the larval state. Let me second Mr. 

 G. W. Demaree's plan of obtaining 

 surplus honey, as given on page 619. 

 That is the way that I do just before 

 basswood blooms. I take the queen 

 and enough bees and brood with 

 which to start a nucleus ; or if the 

 queen is old, destroy her. and then 

 give them all the room tliat they 

 heed. In this way, in 1882, I got 200 

 pounds per colony, from 10 colonies, 

 in 16 days. 

 Oakley, Iowa, Sept. 26, 1884. 



For tlie American Bee Journal. 



Southern Wisconsin Convention. 



The convention met at the Court 

 House at Janesville, Sept. 28, 1884, in 

 an equinoctial storm. The meeting 

 was called to order by President C. 

 O. Shannon. The usual order of busi- 

 ness was transacted, and statistics 

 were taken. In looking over the in- 

 complete table, we hnd that the 

 amount of comb honey is more th.in 

 double that of extracted. The best 

 average yield was 121 pounds of sur- 

 plus comb honey per colony, and an 

 increase that more than doubled the 

 munber of colonies. 



The most important honey-produc- 

 ing plant is white clover, and it has 

 furnished nearly all of the surplus 

 honey. Fruit bloom furnished enough 

 to stimulate the bees and start breed- 

 ing. The honey-dew was in great 

 abundance in some localities for a 

 short time ; however, the quantity 



gathered was not large. The golden- 

 rod, of which there are many varieties- 

 in the district, bloomed well, but it 

 furnished no surplus. Buckwheat is 

 reported as having produced little or 

 no honey. The surplus-honey harvest - 

 commenced with June, and practi- 

 cally ended about the middle of July. 



The convention indulged in a hearty 

 discussion on some of the many 

 knotty problems which bee-keepers 

 have to solve. The following are 

 some of the questions asked and an- 

 swered : " What kind of bees build 

 the straightest combs without the use 

 of separators i"' The prevailing opin- 

 ion was in favor of the native or black 

 bees. 



" What kind of bees are easiest to 

 handle when swarming V The black 

 bees, because they hang to the cluster, 

 and are less luible to sting. 



" Is doubling up colonies, in the 

 fall, advisable V Doubling up colo- 

 nies which are weak is advisable. 



" What is the best way to prevent 

 swarming ?" Swarming may be pre- 

 vented by keeping the drones killed 

 off, or by extracting the honey. Should 

 a swarm issue, return it to the hive, 

 and destroy the queen-cells every 

 week. 



" Are any pure Italian queens- 

 known to be black V" Yes ; some are 

 quite black. 



" What width of section is best 

 adapted for securing straight combs^ 

 without the use of separators?" Sec- 

 tions which are \'^i inches wide. 



" How do you get the bees out of 

 surplus boxes V" Drive all the bees- 

 that you can below with smoke, then 

 take off the boxes and carry them 

 into a dark room, leaving the door 

 partly open ; all remaining bees will 

 return to the hive. 



■'Is' it advisable, on the whole, to 

 encourage beginners?" Some com- 

 plain that there is a tendency, on the 

 part of amateur bee-keepers, to dis- 

 pose of their surplus honey at dealers' 

 prices, which, of course, is always 

 low, and sometimes below the actual 

 cost of production. They put their 

 honey on the market in every con- 

 ceivable shape, and are willing to 

 " take it out in trade." The price is 

 established, and the man who depends 

 upon bee-keeping for his bread and 

 butter must hold his honey until this 

 lose product is consumed ; or if 

 obliged to sell, then he must Oo so at 

 a great sacrifice. It is agreed that 

 12>^ cents for extracted, and 15 cents 

 for comb honey is very cheap, and 

 that anything less is ruinous to the 

 business. 



Exhibits of aparian supplies were 

 furnished by a member from Illinois. 

 The samples of foundation were very 

 fine. Also a frame of wired founda- 

 tion. The top-bar of the frame was 

 nearly square, being a substantial 

 support for the comb when filled with 

 honey. The top bar of some frames 

 are so light that unless supported in 

 some way, they will sag wlien filled 

 with honey, and are liable to be broken 

 when taken out of the hive. 



The table of statistics will not be 

 completed until our next meeting, 

 which will be held at the Court House 

 in Janesville, on Oct. 28, 1884, at 10 a- 



