106 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



cial,""do not attempt to controvert 

 a single important proposition, except 

 in the way of unscientific bread and 

 butter arguments," etc., — as though 

 " science " (known facts) is something 

 separate from bread and butter get- 

 ting. If " science " has naught to do 

 witn our " dollar and cent" success 

 in bee-keeping, let our future scien- 

 tific articles be few and far between . 

 The above assertions regarding my- 

 self, and disregarding the subject, re- 

 minds me of the following : 



Por.— Why, man. what's the matter ? Don't tear 

 your hair. 



Sir HuKh.— I have been beaten in discussion, 

 overwhelmed and humiliated. 



For.— Why didn't you call your adversary a fool ? 



Sir Hugh.-My God ! 1 forgot it. 



Dowagiac, Mich. 



[Any controversy that descends to 

 personalities is not only unwise, but 

 is generally distasteful to the average 

 reader. Mr. Demaree had the first 

 article, and with this rejoinder of Mr. 

 Heddon, we will, for the present, at 

 least, dismiss the subject. Both dis- 

 putants have " had their say," and 

 anything more will be but a repetition, 

 or drift to side issues and personal 

 allusions.— Ed.] 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Nebraska State Convention, 



[Concluded, from page 84.] 



The remainder of the time was de- 

 voted to discussions and informal 

 proceedings. 



Question: "Where, in the hive, do 

 bees cluster most y" Mr. Turney said, 

 his bees invariably clustered in that 

 part of the hive nearest the entrance. 



M. L. Trester thought they clus- 

 tered at that point in the hive where 

 the temperature, ventilation, honey, 

 etc., came the nearest to meet their 

 requirements, therefore, in different 

 hives the cluster varied in its location. 



The size of section boxes, was then 

 discussed, and Dr. McAllister thought 

 that we must supply the demand 

 ■whatever size it may require— half- 

 pounds or otherwise. 



Mr. Corbett would use wooden sep- 

 arators, and \}ix'^}4yi\^i boxes. 



Mr. Kouse sdid, thrt we could not 

 afford to use the half-pound sections 

 for the extra pay that was in them. 



Dr. McAllister said, that the bees 

 were apt to build their cells of an un- 

 even length in any size of section, and 

 Mr. Meyers concurred with him, al- 

 though he has dispensed with sep- 

 arators. 



M. L. Trester believed they pre- 

 ferred an even lengtli in the brood 

 nest, but outside of it they would run 

 to both extremes of long and short 

 cells. 



The president said, they preferred a 

 certain length, that he should return 

 to the sections IJ^ inch wide. If he 

 found that he had more sections on 

 than the bees could occupy, he would 

 exchange those inside for the outer 

 ones. 



Mr. Rouse : As yet I cannot get 

 along without separators. 



C. A. Speice asked, which was most 

 profitable, comb or extracted honey V 



O. Meyers believed it depended on 

 the market ; that he could get three 

 times as much extracted as comb 

 honey. 



Mr. Speice was of the opinion that 

 there was no trouble in marketing, if 

 the people were only educated up to a 

 point where they had confidence in 

 the producer and dealer. 



The president knew that some peo- 

 ple liked the flavor of wax, spoke 

 from experience ; he also favored a 

 trade mark on honey packages. 



Dr. McAllister said, that very few 

 people knew that wax was indigestible. 



Several members thought that the 

 glucose trattic was illegitimate, and 

 ought to be crushed. 



Mr. Trester believed that it was 

 cruel to kick a dying man, and as the 

 glucose business was at {)resent in a 

 very unhealthy condition, it would be 

 humane to let it die in peace. 



The question of a State trade mark 

 for honey was discussed at length, 

 without any very definite conclusions. 



In regard to single and double- 

 walled hives, Dr. McAllister said, the 

 former are the hive. 



T. L. Whitbeck had used chaff 

 hives, but did not like them ; he be- 

 lieved they were too warm, thought 

 bees were thermometers, and the 

 chaff hive would become so warm 

 that they would fly out and be lost, in 

 the cold weather ; he puts his hives 

 close to the ground, and makes a tele- 

 scope for them, but did not think it 

 paid ; he thinks bees require a great 

 deal of ventilation. 



Mr. Rouse : A chaff hive, if prop- 

 erly made, is a ventilator of itself. 

 The cost is no more than the cost of 

 protection, in any other way. He has 

 failed to keep bees too warm, out of 

 doors. He said he took charge of the 

 Omaha apiary in February or March, 

 1881, in the cold winter, and found 

 that the bees had been put on to five 

 or six frames, in chaff hives, with 

 chaff cushion, and some hay thrown 

 on top. There were about 2 feet of 

 snow, and the hay had become full of 

 melted ice, so that it had to be chopped 

 away ; the entrances had become en- 

 tirely filled with ice, so that they had 

 to be opened with a small chisel ; the 

 hives were close to the ground, and in 

 spring they only lost 9 out of 107. In 

 the winter, he found the top of the 

 chaff cushion covered with frost, that 

 looked like snow, but it was warm in- 

 side the cushion. Two inches of chaff 

 is about right. In winter, he ex- 

 amined and found the bees lively, and 

 the sides of the hive were dry. They 

 consumed only 4 or 5 pounds of honey. 



Dr. McAllister used to think that 

 several auger holes were necessary 

 for ventilation ; now he thinks the 

 crevices about the top of a hive suf- 

 ficient ; he believes that gluing is evi- 

 dence against top ventilation. 



Mr. Speice strongly believes in 

 chaff hives, wants 2 inches under, 3 

 inches on the sides, 5 inches in front, 

 and a 3-inch cushion on the top. He 

 puts a kind of a hood over the front 

 of his hives, so that the bees can take 

 a promenade if they wish, when the 

 weather is too cool to fly. 



The president does not believe in 

 late manipulation. 



R. V. Muir wanted to know the rel- 

 ative cost of cellar and out-door win- 

 tering. 



N. Pierson believes that drone eggs 

 are often laid by workers while the 

 queen is present in the hive, while 

 Mr. Hawley was of the opinion that 

 the queen lays all of the eggs, from 

 the fact that as soon as slie is re- 

 moved laying ceases. Fertile work- 

 ers are undeveloped females ; they are 

 detected by seeing several eggs in a 

 cell, in irregular and improper posi- 

 tions. 



The president said, that they will 

 consume double the amount of honey 

 out of doors than they will in the 

 cellar. It is advisable to keep them 

 in the cellar until there is honey to 

 gather, if you can. 



Mr. Fletcher asked if basswood will 

 grow in any soil. 



Mr. Speice : No, it will only thrive 

 in a damp soil. I have some on high 

 land that hardly grows at all. I have 

 not mulched any. 



Mr. Muir : I think they will thrive 

 anywhere. 



G. M. Hawley : I have some on sec- 

 ond bottom, and they grow very fast. 



Mr. Meyers stated that the Rocky 

 Mountain bee plant would grow in 

 Nebraska. 



Mr. Corbett : I know that it has 

 been growing west of Omaha for the 

 last four or five years. It is also 

 known as "Texas bee plant;" it has 

 magenta or purple blossoms ; the seeds 

 grow in pods like mustard seed, only 

 dark and rough. 



How many bees can be kept profit- 

 ably in one hive, was inquired and an- 

 swered by the secretary ; the number 

 that can be kept in a hive, under 

 favorable circumstances,without their 

 desiring to swarm ; but when they 

 want to swarm, you might as well let 

 them have their way, to a limited 

 extent. 



The president did not desire such 

 large colonies, to get comb honey, as 

 was considered necessary by most bee- 

 keepers. 



What shall we do with lazy queens, 

 was asked. The president said, pinch 

 their heads. The secretary stimulates 

 in various ways, such as strengthen- 

 ing, or exchanging combs, with ad- 

 hering bees, with enthusiastic colo- 

 nies, and finally pinches her head if 

 all other means fail. 



C. H. Rose had a lazy queen last 

 year ; but this year she is good. 



Is " honey dew " good honey V was 

 asked. The president said, that from 

 aphides is certainly not. 



G. W. Stark had seen honey dew on 

 all kinds of leaves, but saw no aph- 

 ides. This dew came in July, and 

 was all consumed by bees. 



Mr. Muir : We have a large yellow 

 willow that the bees worked on for a 

 week, then I noticed glistening sticky 

 leaves ; this was from the plant louse, 

 and the honey was of fine flavor and 

 good color. 



The Convention having been in al- 

 most continuous session for two-and- 

 a-half days, a committee on resolu- 

 tions consisting of C. L. Speice, Jos. 

 Baird and Miss Ada Hoyt was ap- 



