778 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



uses chaff-hives with chafi over the 

 frames and upper passages. 



The President leaves upper pas- 

 sages, and uses porous covering over 

 the frames. 



The .Secretary uses chaff-packing 

 cases with upper passages and cliaff 

 over tlie frames. T. C. Kundle uses 

 oil-cloth over the frames, and finds no 

 objection to it. Upper passages were 

 discussed at considerable length, but 

 the majority claimed that wliile bees 

 came to the top of the frames, they 

 did not pass over at all in cold 

 "weather, and only moved or changed 

 position when it was warm enough to 



fly. 



The Langstroth hive was consid- 

 ered the best by all present. The as- 

 sociation consists of .30 members rep- 

 resenting 600 colonies of bees. 



Adjourned to meet on the first 

 Thursday in May, ISSo, in Bushnell, 

 111. J. G. Norton, Sec. 



A. W. FiSK, Pres. 



For the American Bee JuumaL 



How Many Colonies'? 



W. Z. HUTCHINSON, 68—94." 



honey-boards this season, and not a 

 queen has passed through them ;" or, 

 but why enlarge when we read of 

 such things as tliese, we would really 

 be glad to know whether the writer is 

 the possessor of two or three colonies, 

 or of two or three hundred colonies. 



When a new contributor writes 

 from some cross-roads in Michigan, 

 and his signature is William Jones, 

 we know nothing in regard to him, 

 unless it is disclosed in his commtnii- 

 cation ; but let the name of his post- 

 office be followed by one of those 

 little signs, the use of which was sug- 

 gested by Mr. Doolittle, and his name 

 rollowed by the figures indicating the 

 number of colonies kept, and we will 

 know that Mr. Jones lives, for in- 

 stance, in Eastern Michigan, began 

 the season with 40 colonies, and has 

 increased them to 7.5 ; and he is at 

 once given a " local habitation and a 

 name — " an '• apicultural standing." 



I think that but few, if any bee- 

 keepers are opposed to telling, in this 

 manner, how many colonies they 

 have, but they " forget" to do so. 



Rogersville,c$ Mich. 



This practice of indicating by 

 figures, at the end of the writer's 

 signature, the number of colonies 

 owned on the first day of the previous 

 May, and at the present time is, I 

 believe, Dr. C. C. Miller's "baby." It 

 has been somewhat backward in 

 "learning to walk," but its parent 

 ought not despair ; slowness of growth 

 is often an indication of longevity. 



" What is the object of this plan ?" 

 is a pertinent question. Briefly stated, 

 it might be said in reply that it assists 

 the reader in forming an opinion of 

 the value of the writer's assertions, 

 views and conclusions ; it gives, to 

 considerable extent, the breadth of 

 the writer's experience ; and helps to 

 show how good an authority he is 

 upon the subject with which he may 

 be discussing. 



In opposition to the plan, it has 

 been urged that it would not find 

 favor amon^ the owners of small 

 apiaries, that they would not be will- 

 ing to thus " expose their ignorance," 

 or rather their lack of experience. 

 Those who have urged this objection 

 should remember that there are many 

 subjects connected with bee-keeping 

 upon which one may become excellent 

 authority, and yet never own a large 

 apiary. Especially is this true in re- 

 gard to purely scientific subjects, re- 

 quiring close study, careful observa- 

 tion, and faithfully conducted experi- 

 ments. I believe that Mr. Muth has 

 never owned a large apiary, but he is 

 excellent authority upon "foul brood. 

 Prof. Cook has never managed a large 

 number of colonies, but who is a bet- 

 ter authority upon subjects relating 

 to the natural history of the bee V 

 But when John Smith writes : " I 

 have practiced, this season, the Iled- 

 don method of preventing after- 

 swarming, and it works like a charm;" 

 or " I have discarded foundation in 

 the brood-frames, as I consider its 

 use in that place unprofitable ;'' or " I 

 have used the Joues' perforated-zinc 



Denies the Soft Impeachment. 



Some have accused me of owning a 

 bee-paper printed in New England ; 

 but 1 wish to say, through the Bee 

 Journal, that "I do noc now and 

 never did invest one cent in any bee- 

 paper. I have no interest in any of 

 them except in there general welfare. 

 I wish that each one of them had 

 20,000 subscribers. I think that any 

 one can get enough out of one issue of 

 any of them to pay the cost of one 

 year's subscription. Although there 

 is one printed monthly within six 

 miles of Wenham, I have not seen half 

 a dozen copies of it during the past 

 year. I hope that none will hereafter 

 say that I have any money invested 

 in any publication. 



Henry Alley. 



Wenham, (^ Mass., Xov. 21, 1884. 



A Peculiar Season. 



My report for the past season is 

 rather a poor one. The season has 

 been different from any which I have 

 ever seen. The last winter being a 

 very bad one, the bees which did come 

 through were weak, and it took some 

 time for them to build up ; but when 

 vv'hite clover bloomed they filled their 

 hives and began to work "finely in the 

 sections. It continued only seven 

 days when the bees left the clover for 

 tlie honey-dew. They commenced on 

 the honey-dew in real earnest, when 

 they should have been working on the 

 white clover ; but that lasted only for 

 a short time. After July 1 there was 

 no honey until the last of August, 

 when the bees worked diligently on 

 buckwheat, smart- weed and Spanish- 

 needle. This continued for only a 

 I few days, when the How of honey 



ceased, the flowers being in full 

 bloom, the nights were warm, the 

 weather was not dry, and there was a' 

 world of bloom ten days after the bees 

 quit work. I liad 27 colonies, spring 

 count, increased them to 45, obtained 

 1,-500 pounds of comb honey and sold 

 it at home for 1.5 and 20 cents per 

 pound. I could sell .5 tons if I had 

 it. There are farmers near me who 

 buy 100 pounds of me for their own 

 use. The largest amount taken from 

 one hive, during the season, was 13.5 

 pounds. D. R. RosebuouCtH. 



Casey, o 111., Nov. 19, 1884. 



Well Satisfied. 



This season is said to have been a 

 poor one in this State, but I am satis- 

 fied. I bought 2 colonies of Italian 

 bees on Mav 1, 1S81, and managed 

 them in Langstroth hives, as directed 

 in the Bee Journal, and as intelli- 

 gently as I could. The result is 160 

 pounds of comb honey per colony, 

 spring count, with from 40 to 60 

 pounds yet in each brood -chamber. I 

 increased them to o colonies, and put 

 them into the cellar on Nov. IS. The 

 bees are in good condition, being well 

 packed, and the cellar is well aired 

 and ventilated, so I confidently ex- 

 pect to meet with success in winter- 

 ing. I have just the amount of honey 

 which myself and family can con- 

 veniently consume. 



Ezra J. Cronkleton. 



Dunlap,*o Iowa, Xov. 24, 1884. 



Light Honey Crop. 



The weatlier has been very nice up 

 to this time, and m^* bees seem to be 

 in good condition. "The honey crop 

 in this part of the country was very 

 light. I had 30 colonies, and in- 

 creased them to -53. I found 2 swarms, 

 this fall, in the timber, and so I now 

 have .55 colonies. ^Vbout one-half of 

 my bees are the natives, the rest of 

 them are Italians and hybrids. My 

 crop of honey amounted to about 600 

 pounds. Alihough the fall wenther 

 has been very nice, with no frost, yet 

 the late fall flowers seemed to dry "up 

 and the bees did not appear to gather 

 much honey from them. I use a good, 

 double-walled hive, and i;^2 pound 

 sections. A. Gibson. 



Ponca,6 Nebr., Xov. 25, 1881. 



An Unfavorable Season. 



This has been an unfavorable year 

 for producing honey in this section of 

 the country. Our honey-flow lasted 

 from about .June 10 until July 4. I 

 began the season with 20 colonies, in- 

 creased them to 20, and received 628 

 pounds of honey, about half of it 

 being extracted and the balance comb 

 honey. I had to feed 300 pounds of 

 honey to my young colonies, or they 

 would not have had enough to supply 

 them during the coming winter. All 

 of my colonies are now in good con- 

 dition, excepting 3 or 4 which are not 

 verv strong, for we have a cider mill 

 near by which ground up millions of 

 bees every day. I winter my bees on 

 the summer stands, and use a large 

 hive 24 inches wide by 13}^ inches- 

 long and 15 inches high on the inside. 



