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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



J. L. Harris : Perhaps 1 per cent. 



James Heddou : Now, then, 5Ir. 

 Harris, do you not think that this 

 furnishing ot' seed to your neighbors 

 will have a tendency to create bee- 

 keepers, with whom you will have to 

 divide your field ; and you will thereby 

 lose more than the 1 per cent, that you 

 now gain i' 



J. L. Harris : Oh, that phase of the 

 business has been gone through with 

 in my locality. When my neighbors 

 saw me getting good crops of lioney, 

 they, of course, must "do so too," 

 and they engaged in business just long 

 enough to get a taste of honey, and 

 now they buy their honey of me. One 

 touch of winter losses, and they 

 dropped bee-keeping. There will be 

 no trouble of that kind, Mr. Heddon. 



Comb Foundation. 



A. Fahnestock : In the brood-nest, 

 I would use foundation that is about 

 6 feet to the pound. 



James Heddon: When wax is 

 warmed it expands ; when firmly at- 

 tached to the top-bar, of course the 

 upper edge cannot expand, and, as 

 the lower part of the sheet expands 

 and the upper does not, it waves and 

 curls ; for this reason we wire the 

 frames. Years ago, many bee-keep- 

 ers said that they did not need wired 

 frames, foundation did not warp, nor 

 curl nor sag with them, they were 

 satisfied; but now they use wired 

 frames. Then, again, what is " good 

 enough" for one man does not satisfy 

 another. I want foundation upoii 

 which I can hive a prime swarm, 

 close up the hive, and not open it 

 again for a year, and then find every 

 comb as straight as a board. 



S. X. Black : I would use 8 feet of 

 foundation to the pound. 



H. W. Funk : I would not use it 

 lighter than o feet to the pound. 



J. A. Green : I would use 5 feet to 

 the pound unless I used wired frames, 

 when I would have it 7 or 8 feet to 

 the pound. 



A. Fahnestock : I have tried using 

 one-half sheets, that is, filling the 

 frames one-half full of foundation, 

 and the bees fill out the frames with 

 drone-comb. 



James Heddon : If we should use 

 narrow strips of foundation for 

 starters (and, if necessary, I would 

 pay So per pound for foinidation for 

 this purpose), perhaps it v.-ould be 

 well to have two or three rows of cells 

 of drone-comb next to the top-bar, 

 and then have it changed to worker- 

 comb. This might satisfy the bees, 

 and, being next to the top-bar, it will 

 be filled with honey most of the time. 



T. L. "\'on Dorn : I use, no wires, 

 and my foundation never stretches 

 nor sags. 



Geo. Thompson : Some bee-keepers 

 have thought it unprofitable to use 

 foundation in the brood-chamber. 



James Heddon : The question is, 

 whether or not the secretion of wax is 

 voluntary with the bees. We have 

 made no_ experiments upon this sub- 

 ject, but expect to during another 

 season. 



Prof. Cook : We have tried hiving 

 swarms of the same strength, both 

 with foundation and upon empty 



frames, and those with foundation 

 stored the most honey. To secrete 

 wax in the largest quantities, bees 

 must have repose, hang themselves 

 up in a cluster, and not be compelled 

 to work. We would not secure much 

 milk from our cows if we worked 

 them ; it is the same with our bees, in 

 regard to wax-secretion. 



J. A. Green : When bees are hived 

 upon foundation, I do not find any 

 wax scales upon the bottom -board, 

 but I do find them quite pleutitully 

 when hiving them upon empty combs. 



Honey-Deiv. 



Prof. A. J. Cook : In many parts of 

 the country there have been, during 

 the present season, quantities of 

 honey gathered which originated in 

 the plant and bark-louse. That from 

 the plant-louse is quite fine and agree- 

 able honey when compared with that 

 from the bark-louse. We had some 

 at the College, and nearly all of the 

 students liked it ; but we would not 

 put it upon the market. We let a 

 baker try making some cookies with 

 it, telling him what it was, and, after 

 a trial, he bought all we had at TJg 

 cents per pound. 



President Miller : Well, Professor, 

 to come down to the practical, what 

 shall we do with this honey-dew 

 question. 



Prof. Cook : Do V Why, rejoice and 

 be glad ! It comes early in the sea- 

 son, stimulating the bees, thus giving 

 us strong colonies early in the season, 

 and, as I just said, the honey can be 

 used by bakers, or it might be kept 

 until spring and fed to the bees to 

 stimulate tuem. That from the plant- 

 louse I should be willing to risk as a 

 winter food, but not so that from the 

 bark-louse, which is abominable stuff. 

 Just as soon as the bees can gather 

 honey from the flowers, they desert 

 the " honey-dew," then the combs 

 shoul be emptied with the extractor. 

 I would advise bee-keepers to be on 

 their guard another season. It is all 

 foolishness to saj; that honey- 

 dew " rains down;" it is either from 

 some insect or vegetable origin. 



The convention adjounred to meet 

 at 7 p. m. 



EVENING SESSION. 



President Miller being absent, Mr. 

 T. G. Xewman took the chair, by re- 

 quest. 



Increase of Colonies. 



.James Marvin : Why have increase 

 at all, when there is no market for it '? 

 I prevent increase by hiving a swarm 

 into a hive from which a swarm has 

 issued a short time previous. 



Geo. Thompson : I have my queens' 

 wings clipped. When a swarm issues, 

 I catch the queen, cut out the queen- 

 cells, wait until the swarm returns, 

 and then allow the queen to run in at 

 the entrance. If they swarm again, I 

 repeat the operation, and continue to 

 do so until the bees give up swarming. 

 In this manner I can prevent increase 

 almost entirely. 



W. Z. Hutchinson : Did you never 

 have the bees kill the old queen, rear 

 another, and then swarm ? 



Geo. Thompson: No, sir. 



James Heddon : I think that I 

 stated, years ago, that I could secure 

 more honey by allowing my bees to 

 swarm. A few years ago, a man in 

 Texas secured 1000 pounds of honey 

 from a single colony that did not 

 swarm, and considerable bragging 

 was done about it. I called attention 

 to the fact that Mr. Vandervort had 

 .secured more than 1 ,000 pounds from 

 one colony and its increase, and every- 

 body said : " It is not fair, it is not 

 fair. You must not couut the in- 

 crease;" and everyone who shouted 

 thus, virtually admitted that more 

 honey can be secured by allowing in- 

 crease. It is probable, however, that 

 in those localities where there is only 

 one honey harvest, and that comes 

 early, more honey will be secured if 

 there is no increase ; but where there 

 are three honey harvests, as in my 

 locality, it certainly pays to increase, 

 to the extent at least, of doubling the 

 original number of colonies. 



Secretary Hutchinson : For several 

 seasons I have secured more honey 

 from colonies (and theirincrease) that 

 swarmed than from those that did not. 

 This last season has been tlie only 

 exception ; and the reason is, that the 

 honey-harvest came very early, was 

 cut short by the drouth, and no honey 

 was stored afterwards during the re- 

 mainder of the season. My views in 

 this matter have been very clearly ex- 

 pressed by Mr. Heddon. 



Prevention of After- Swarming. 



G. R. Tyrrell : I prevent after- 

 swarming by introducing a laying 

 queen, after the swarm has issued. 



Secretary Hutchinson : A laying 

 queen costs one dollar ! 



G. R. Tyrrell ■ Not if you rear her 

 yourself, and have no sale for queens. 



T. S. Bull : I prevent after-swarm- 

 ing by allowing u virgin queen to run 

 into the hive as soon as the swarm 

 has issued. 



J. A. Green : I have practiced the. 

 Heddon-plan of preventing after- 

 swarms (see page 126 of the Bee 

 JouRN.^L for 1SS3), and it worked to 

 perfection. I have secured more 

 honey when I allowed the bees to in- 

 crease. 



Dwight Furness : I, too, have tried 

 the Heddon plan, and it is a perfect 

 success. 



Seoretaiy Hutchinson : I have, for 

 two years, practiced the Heddon 

 method of preventing after-swarms, 

 and I am more than pleased with it. 

 I should like to know if there is any 

 one present who has tried it, and has 

 not been successful '> 



S. N. Black : It has not always been 

 a success with me, but I think that it 

 usually is a success. 



A. "Fahnestock : After a prime 

 swarm issues, I take out the outside 

 combs, extract the honey, and tiien 

 return them to the centre of the 

 brood-nest ; this gives the young oueeu 

 room to lay. and" prevents swarming. 



Secretary Hutchinson : As the 

 young queen does not usually com- 

 mence laying until about the 18th day 

 after the swarm has issued, and the 

 brood will all be hatched by the 21st 

 day, it occurs to me that the queen 



