THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



176 



A number of years ago, I had one 

 of my apiaries in the country. I went 

 out hite in the fall to prepare them for 

 winter. The only ventilation I in- 

 tended to give them was through the 

 entrance to tiie hive. I accidentally 

 left the honey-board open in one liive, 

 after taking off the surplus boxes, also 

 left the entrance entirely open, and, iu 

 addition to this, there was an auger 

 hole in the centre of the front of the 

 hive. I did not visit the apiary again 

 until spring. To my surprise, the hive 

 I had accidentally leftopen was in, by 

 far, the best condition of any of them ; 

 the comb being clean and free from 

 mold, and scarcely any of the bees 

 dead. The others were all, more or 

 less, moldy ; about one-third of the 

 bees were dead, and all in a tilthy 

 condition. Since then, I have been 

 more particular about ventilation, and 

 bave had much better results. 



Experience has taught me another 

 thing, and the 3 colonies that died 

 from starvation, last winter, is only a 

 repetition of my experience on former 

 ■occasions. There were supplies in 

 the hive, but the bees could not reach 

 them. In the fall, the brood, and, 

 consequently, the cluster of bees, were 

 in the centre of the hive. The outside 

 frames were lilled with capped honey. 

 As the winter advances the bees shift 

 their location to one one side or the 

 other, and in doing so they leave large 

 supplies behind them, and when they 

 have exhausted the honey on one side 

 of the hive, they are too far from the 

 bountiful supply on the other, to reach 

 it during the cold winter. 



The lesson to be learned, then, is 

 this : The brood should be transferred 

 in the fall from the centre of the hive 

 to one side, and then their supplies 

 will be accessible to them. 1 hnd it 

 pays well, at this time (in the fall), to 

 cut a small hole in the centre of each 

 ■comb, that the bees may pass through, 

 and not be compelled to pass around 

 the frame. 



Burlington, Iowa. 



Colorado State Convention. 



[Mr. Phil. Reardon, Jamestown, 

 Colo., has sent us a report of the con- 

 vention held at Denver, Colo., March 

 1.5, from which we make the following 

 extracts.— Ed.1 



In the absence of Mr. D. S. Grimes, 

 the president of the Association, Mr. 

 DeVinney called the meeting to order 

 at 10 a. m. The morning session was 

 informal. 



Dr. (Godfrey gave his experience in 

 the care of bees. Among other things 

 he spoke of the quietness of motion 

 necessary. These insects hated quick 

 motions, and the least betrayal of 

 nervousness or fear, on the part of 

 the keeper, would cause a disposition 

 in the bees to sting the attendant, and 

 it would be impossible for him to go 

 near them. Kiiidnessand gentleness, 

 on the other hand, had a reciprocal 

 effect on the inmates of the hives, and 

 one could go among them and handle 

 them without molestation. 



The afternoon session convened at 

 2 o'clock, with Mr. D. S. Grimes, the 



president, in the chair. The election 

 of officers resulted as follows : For 

 President, Dr. Godfrey ; Vice-Presi- 

 dent, E. Millison; Secretary, J. L. 

 Peabody ; Treasurer, Mrs. O. Wright. 

 A committee, consisting of the 

 president, vice-president and secre- 

 tary, was appointed to draft a new 

 constitution and by-laws, the old reg- 

 ulations having been lost in the de- 

 parture of the former secretary for 

 California. 



A resolution, to incorporate the As- 

 sociation under the laws of Colorado, 

 was unanimously carried. 



It was also decided that the bee- 

 keepers, in connection with the Horti- 

 cultural Society, should have an ex- 

 hibit at the National Mining Exposi- 

 tion next summer. 



An adoption of a motion then fol- 

 lowed to the effect, that under the 

 re-organization of the Association the 

 fees of the old members, wliich were 

 $1 a year, should be considered as 

 paid, as the future tax of the Society 

 will only be 50 cents per annum. 



Mr. Peabody was appointed to con- 

 fer with the Horticultural Society re- 

 garding a suitable exhibit of honey at 

 the Colorado Exhibition, in August. 



Mr. Millison said, at one time the 

 people preferred imported honey to 

 honey obtained from the Rocky Moun- 

 tain bee plant, found so abundantly 

 in Colorado. Time, however, had re- 

 versed the choice, and now the article 

 obtained in this State was richer and 

 purer than that found in any other 

 part of the country. It was only now 

 that people'ln Colorado were waking 

 up to the fact that such excellent bee- 

 food existed in the State. Something 

 which might be cultivated more than 

 it is here, was sweet clover. Under 

 the intluences of the climate it could 

 not be surpassed for honey. Buck- 

 wheat, the gooseberry blossoms, wheat 

 and oat bloom were fair, but did not 

 do so well in the West as in the East. 

 Another member suggested that a 

 wonderful thing about bee-food in 

 Colorado consisted in a more flourish- 

 ing existence in alkali soil than in 

 other kinds of earth. Although Irri- 

 gation was necessary for perfect 

 growth, it was not needed so much in 

 the cultivation of clover or other bee- 

 food, as in the East, where a plant 

 would dry up. from want of constant 

 watering. Clover could also be sown 

 at any time. A very curious and 

 wonderful phenomena In Colorailo 

 was the lioney dew, found on tlie 

 leaves, branches and stalks of the 

 box-elder, maple, and, especially, the 

 Cottonwood. Moisture, brought to 

 bear on the dew, had a strange effect 

 iu bringing bees to the tree for food. 



Some explained the origin of the 

 dew to the kind of insect, which, by 

 its pecking, brought the juice of the 

 tree all over the leaves and stalks, and 

 some asserted the fact was due to a 

 certain influence of the atmosphere in 

 bringing fluid deposits from other 

 shrubs and plants. This honey dew 

 was found on every tree In a greater 

 or less quantity, and under proper 

 conditions formed an excellent bee- 

 food. Taking it altogether, no State 

 in the Union equalled Colorado as a 

 region vfor successful bee-culture. 



A resolution to prepare a herbarium 

 of bee-food, for exhibition next sum- 

 mer, and for permanent reference, 

 was carried. 



A motion was also carried to elect 

 the president of the State Agricul- 

 tural Society to honorary membership. 



The secretary then read a list of • 

 colonies of bees, owned by members, 

 with a comparison of colonies last fall 

 and this spring : 



Fall. Spring. 



William Davis 15 15 



W. H. Davis 7 7 



DeVinney 15 14 



E. Millison 65 



D.S.Grimes 30 30 



J.H.Love 29 24 



J. L. Peabody 16 14 



J.M.Clark 25 



C. M. Chilcott 40 36 



Dr. King, Boulder 100 



L.Brock 20 19 



J. W.Tallcott 6 6 



J. W. Lamb, Durango 7 7 



Adjourned to meet at the call of the 

 president, next summer. 



J. L. Peabody, Sec. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



" The Worst Kind of Advice." 



DR. O. L. TINKER. 



Hazardous language that, for a little 

 friendly criticism. But Mr. Ileddon 

 proclaims it, and, as a matter of 

 course, he is infallible on things apper- 

 taining to the honey bee ! 



Mr. Heddon cannot mean that his 

 experiment " settles it," that a rack 

 of the thin sections may not be set 

 down on the brood frames and made 

 a practical procedure V For it was 

 not the same as the advice given, see 

 page 151. Then, again, is it not 

 strange that in his" experiment " the 

 sections were glued to the bars of the 

 rack so solid as to be removed with 

 difliculty, with stings and dismay, 

 when other bee-keepers have been, 

 for years, taking off sections without 

 trouble from racks having bars the 

 width of the bottom piece of the 

 sections i* 



But stranger still, Mr. H. found that 

 the bees did not enter the sections 

 " more readily " by direct passage- 

 ways than " through a honey-board 

 and two sliallow air-chambers." His 

 conclusion on this point, as on several 

 others, looks " to a man up a tree" 

 very like an argument for (if not an 

 advertisementof) Mr. Heddon's " case 

 or super method." 



I have a number of hives now made 

 on which to test the half-pound sec- 

 tions. To prevent soiling the tops of 

 the sections, and to keep the racks 

 perfectly clean, I shall use a perma- 

 nent rack on the frames, to be left on 

 during the honey flow, but which may 

 be easily removed at any time If the 

 frames on which it rests are straight 

 and true on top as they should oe. 

 As Mr. Heddon did not make it clear 

 whether the supposed difficulty he 

 alluded to was in removing the sec- 

 tions as staled, or in taking off the 

 rack, will he undertake to explain 

 again V 



