THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



131 



jounicals have done more to work up 

 the deiiiaiici of our products than any- 

 thing else. Because we have gained 

 that knowledge, shall nobody else 



He offered the fol 

 That we publish 

 this convention in 



have the chance ? 

 lowing : Resolved, 

 the proceedings of 

 full. Carried. 



After a lively discussion Mr. Garret 

 offered a motion to rescind the resolu- 

 tion, which was carried, and the 

 question was laid on the table until 

 to-morrow. 



The convention was called to order 

 at 1 p.m. President Tennant being 

 absent Vice-President Vrooman took 

 the chair. The election of officers re- 

 sulted tlius : President,Sol. Vrooman ; 

 Vice-President, A. Snyder ; Secretary, 

 T. Houck ; Treasurer. H. VV. Garret. 



The secretary read an article by A. 

 J. King, of New York. 



[For this essay see page 22. — Ed.] 



After a lively discussion the con- 

 vention adjourned until 7 p. tn. 



Meeting called to order at 7 p. m.. 

 President Vrooman presiding. The 

 following questions for discussion 

 were reported by the committee : 



1. " What is the Best Method of 

 Starting Nuclei for Queen-Rearing?" 



2. " How Long will a Queen Remain 

 ProHtably Prolific y 



3. " What Improvements can we 

 Make in Marketing our Products V" 



4. " Shall our National Convention 

 be Held Outside of the United States?" 



The first and second questions were 

 discussed in their respective order. 



Mr. Adams makes about four nuclei 

 out of one of his strongest colonies. 

 His hives hold eight frames, thus tak- 

 ing two frames of hatching brood for 

 each nuclei. 



Mr. Tennant : It depends on the 

 season. Considers young bees the 

 best for queen-rearihg. He breeds 

 only from his strongestcolonies— those 

 that winter and make box-honey best. 

 Considers two fiames of hatching 

 brood the best for nuclei. 



Mr. Uoomhower; Took about 18 

 colonies and made one nuclei from 

 each. He took the box he used to the 

 hive, found the queen and took a 

 frame of brood— one that has the 

 brood near the centre of the frame- 

 put it in his box, first brushing the 

 bees off of two frames into the box, 

 and in 4 or 5 days he would do the 

 same thing, and so on until he had 

 made about 90, and he has had an 

 original colony swarm the same year. 



Mr. Adams : My experience with a 

 lamp nursery was very unsatisfactory. 



Mr. Tennant thought it depended 

 somewhat on how the queen was 

 reared. Preferred one reared under 

 the swarming impulse, and in the 

 forepart of the season. He thought 

 about three years was the extent the 

 queen was profitably prolific, but 

 sometimes longer. 



Secretary Houck : You could force 

 a queen to lay in two years what 

 would under other circumstances take 

 four. Adjourned to 9 a. m. 



Convention called to order at 10 a. 

 m. President Vrooman in the chair. 



This session was opened by a lively 

 discussion on an editorial article in 

 the Bee Journal of Dec. 20, 1882, 

 page 802, on " Half-Pound and Penny 



Packages, or Packages of the Future." 

 The members thought that it was very 

 important that the convention com- 

 plete the idea of protection, discussed 

 yesterday. They wanted to see the 

 convention placed upon such a founda- 

 tion that it would have an influence 

 at home and abroad. That Mr. New- 

 man, editor of the Bee Journal, 

 should be censured for his oflicious- 

 ness in writing, and going about with 

 Mr. Ripley, doing all he could against 

 the interests of those to whom he 

 looks for support. If Mr, Newman 

 cannot stand by the producers they 

 should withdraw their patronage. 

 That the producers must pay him for 

 everything he does in the way of 

 printing, etc., and at the sflme time 

 he was pushing himself against their 

 interests. And also, as a convention, 

 they should ask that Mr. Newman re- 

 tract and reconsider the article in 

 question. 



Motion made by Mr. Tennant, and 

 carried unanimously, that the conven- 

 tion resolve itself into a committee of 

 the whole and adopt the following : 



Resolved, That we ask Mr. Newman, 

 editor of the Bee Journal, to recon- 

 sider the article as printed in the 

 Weekly Bee Journal of Dec. 20, 

 1882, on page 802, on "Half-Pound 

 Sections, or Penny Packages, or Pack- 

 ages of the Future," together with 

 what he himself has said in the arti- 

 cle, and the influence that he has set 

 forth in conflrmation with that of Mr. 

 Ripley, agent of the firm known as 

 Crocker & Blake, of Boston, and see 

 if the items referred to inure to the 

 best interests of the producer ; also 

 we ask Mr. Newman if he does not 

 consider it officious to publisli or 

 recommend it to the public, to the in- 

 jury of the producer. 



[For reply to the above, see first 

 page of this paper.— Ed.] 



A lively discussion followed in re- 

 gard to the proper size of box. 



Mr. Tennant favored the 2-lb. boxes. 

 That we should not deviate from 1 to 

 2 inches thick, as it makes the neatest- 

 looking card of honey ; it also was the 

 most natural for the bees to work. 



Mr. Vrooman prefers one 5>ix5i-ix- 

 1% thick. 



Mr. Van Deusen thinks it is a bene- 

 fit for both the supply dealer and 

 producer to have one standard box, 

 then the supply dealer could in the 

 winter time make up a large stock 

 and be ready to furnish his customers 

 without that delay which sometimes 

 causes so much trouble. 



Mr. Garret was of the opinion that 

 the 2-inch was the most used of any, 

 and that the bees would fill a 2 inch 

 box quicker than one that ia only 1J| 

 thick. 



Secretary Houck sitid the majority 

 they manufactured were 1 1.5-h; thick, 

 called the prize box ; and thought it 

 was about the right size, and could be 

 made easier, for the reason tliat 2-inch 

 plank, as a general thing, would plane 

 only 1 15-16; if they had to be 2 inch 

 they would have to block up the 

 lumber. 



Mr. Boomhower said that those 

 manufactured by Mr. Manum were 2- 

 inch excepting the 4>4x43^ dove-tailed, 



and those were]% thick; he preferred 

 the iJi box. 



Secretary Houck offered the follow- 

 ing, which was adopted : Resolved, 

 That we adopt as a standard the 2-lb., 

 and nothing smaller than the .5x.53^x2 

 inch section. 



Motion was made and adopted that 

 we add the following to " article two " 

 of the constitution : " However we 

 invite exhibition of products and sup- 

 plies, and time will be given between 

 sessions and at proper times appointed 

 for examination." 



Another motion was made and 

 adopted that the secretary invite ex- 

 hibition of all apiarian supplies at the 

 time of his giving notice of meetings. 

 Where shall we hold our next an- 

 nual convention came under discus- 

 sion. Finally, it was voted to be held 

 at Albany, in Agricultural Hall. Not 

 knowing when we could have the 

 hall, it was left to the president and 

 secretary ; but they were to get it as 

 early in January as possible. 

 Aajourned until 1 p. m. 

 Convention was called to order by 

 President Vrooman at 1 p. m. 



The president, upon motion, ap- 

 pointed the following members as a 

 committee on questions for discussion 

 at our next annual convention. Ques- 

 tions to be reported to the secretary 

 on or before Dec. 1, 1883 : W. L. Ten- 

 nant, Schoharie, N. Y.; A. Snyder, 

 Clarksville, N. Y.; G. H. Adams, 

 North Nassau, N. Y. 



Motion made and adopted, that we 

 have a programme, that it contain 

 three essays, that it also contain the 

 motions solicited by the question com- 

 mittee ; and that all be reported to 

 the secretary, by the respective com- 

 mittees, by Dec. 1, 1883, and that the 

 secretary have the same printed and 

 circulated to each member of the 

 Association, and to such other mem- 

 bers of sister associations as the 

 president and secretary shall direct. 



Secretary Houck then read a paper 

 written by James Heddon, on dysen- 

 tery, or bee cholera and spring dwind- 

 ling. Of the latter he said : " I 

 believe that no colony that was healthy 

 when the days of long periods of con- 

 finement ceased (which we call winter) 

 and the days of oft-repeated flights 

 arrived (which we call spring), ever 

 "spring dwindled." Spring dwind- 

 ling is loss of bees in daily flights, 

 from weakness engendered by a dis- 

 ease of the intestines, called dysen- 

 tery, which had not, at the time of 

 flight, progressed far enough to make 

 any outside show, but was all held 

 within the body of the bees, hence 

 was unobserved by the apiarist. It is 

 dysentery in disguise." 



Mr. Tennant thinks a cleansing 

 flight will sometimes cure dysentery, 

 if they have not been confined too 

 long ; old bees are more liable to have 

 the dysentery than young bees— mak- 

 ing it quite necessary to go into 

 winter quarters with a good supply of 

 young bees ; he does not believe that 

 pollen alone is the cause of dysentery, 

 but eating it in connection with 

 honey, and continual cold weather 

 without purifying flights. 



Mr. Vrooman had lost over 100 

 colonies in one spring, with dysentery ; 



