274 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



That is why we put so much faith in 

 the Doctor. • 



I believe Mr. Iledilon was the first 

 to cross dark leather-colored Italians 

 with brown German bees. From this 

 cross sprung the famous red-clover 

 strain. 



From Mr. Otman's report, backed 

 up by sales of honey, we should say 

 wnite-clover strain for Mr. O. 



B. F. Carrol, of Texas, must have 

 a new strain ; and now Henry Alley, 

 of Wenham, Mass., is out with a win- 

 ter strain — needing but little honey to 

 winter them. Next, some one will 

 have a strain that lives all the winter 

 without eating any honey. Followed 

 by another strain" that gathers from 

 100 to 200 pounds of nice white honey 

 where our common bees would starve. 



Believing in the old adage, "An 

 .ounce of prevention is worth a pound 

 of cure,'' we sent to the worthy Doc- 

 tor of Mendon to be prepared for the 

 "coming" Apis-Americana. Could 

 we have had the next to the last 

 named strain of bees, during the past 

 winter, we should have been 20 colo- 

 nies better off, as our fancy strain 

 were perfect gormandizers, and the 

 20 colonies died for want of food. 



Kow, we are longing for the last- 

 named strain ; particularly the honey 

 part. As the truth must be told, (I 

 have just taken another dose of the 

 Doctor's medicine), our golden strain 

 only gathered 20 pounds of surplus, 

 per colony, spring count, last year. 

 Not much of the ring of gold about 

 that, except the ring of truth ! 



But, if the Doctor's prescription, 

 sent for, does not make us sick, fol- 

 lowed by too big a honey shower, we 

 hope to speak better of our dark ring- 

 sters ; for they are stronger in num- 

 bers, at this time of year, than we 

 have ever seen them before. 



And, Mr. Editor, if we make a re- 

 port of a large honey crop, we will 

 back it up by showing bills of sales. 



Last winter I wintered my bees on 

 something of a new plan (to me at 

 least), and as 1 never saw it in print 

 (although it may have been there a 

 dozen imies, as I have not time to 

 read one-halif that is written), perhaps 

 I will try my pen at a description, 

 when in season, and safe from being 

 called a winter crank. 



Glenwood, Mich., May 17, 1883. 



For the Americiin Bee Journal. 



Northern Ohio Convention. 



The Northern Ohio bee-keepers 

 held their spring meeting at Korwalk, 

 O., May 2, 1883. The president not 

 being present at the hour appointed 

 for opening the meeting, Allen Bar- 

 tow, of Milan, O., was chosen tem- 

 porary chairman. The secretary's re- 

 port of the last meeting was read and 

 approved. The treasurer's report 

 slinwiug a balance in the treasury of 

 $10.45. 



C. D. Bennett, of Elyria, O., B. P. 

 Whitney, of Kipton, O., and Peter 

 Biermacher, of Avon, O., joined the 

 Society, which now numbers 43 mem- 

 bers. After the enrollment of new 

 members, the president having ar- 

 rived, took the chair and called for 



the reading of the first essay, which 

 had been assigned to Allen Bartow, of 

 Milan, as follows : 



PRODUCING SURPLUS COMB HONEY. 



Having been assigned the task of 

 writing an essay on the subject of 

 comb honey, or how to obtain the 

 largest crop of the same, I sliall state 

 th;it we must have the largest crop of 

 working bees in each hive to obtain 

 it; now, how sliall we obtain the bees? 



If we commence in the spring with 

 good, healthy bees, either blacks or 

 Italians (for I ignore all •others), we 

 must first learn their exact condition 

 as to strength and numbers, then use 

 good judgment in building them up 

 to full strength or capacity of hive 

 (movable frame of course), and by 

 manipulation hold them up to this ; 

 now comes the all important question, 

 how shall we do thisV Each bee- 

 keeper must decide for him or herself ; 

 but I suppose I am expected to give 

 some plan, and sliall do so to the best 

 of my knowledge of the subject, 

 which is the following : 



Treat your bees as you do your 

 other farm stock, encourage breeding 

 by giving them warm quarters and 

 plenty of food ; it is not enough that 

 there is plenty of honey in the hive, 

 any more than it is enough that your 

 cow has plenty of hay or straw — spring 

 having arrived, both bee and cow re- 

 quire a change of food, if they are to 

 successfully bring forth and rear their 

 young, and give you a profitable sur- 

 plus; then I would say, stimulate 

 your bees in every possible way to 

 breed and rear bees for the time 

 maples are in bloom until fruit goes 

 out of bloom, and white clover comes 

 sufficient to give full flow of honey. 



Now, how is this to be done V If 

 the colony is light, reduce the size of 

 brood-chambers (by means of division 

 boards or otherwise), to the number 

 of combs upon whicli the bees cluster, 

 removing the other combs beyond or 

 behind the division-board, leaving 

 room underneath the division-board 

 for the bees to pass and get the honey 

 from them, not forgetting to narrow 

 the entrance to the hive to prevent 

 robbing ; now prepare feed of thin 

 syrup of granulated sugar, or sugar 

 and honey, and feed it on warm even- 

 ings in front of the hive at sundown, 

 in a feeder that prevents drowning of 

 bees, and remove your feeder in the 

 morning, replacing entrance block to 

 narrow the entrance, and prevent rob- 

 bing. The feeder should be made to 

 fit the entrance, while feeding the 

 colony. Now, when combs become 

 crowded with bees, move back the 

 division-board and make room in cen- 

 tre of cluster foranotherempty comb, 

 put it in, and when again crowded, 

 repeat as before until the hive is 

 crowded with bees with full combs 

 and board removed. In a day or two 

 prepare for surplus, in this way : 

 Remove from the hive a frame of comb 

 filled with honey ready to cap, and put 

 it at side of surplus box, putting next 

 to it a frame of sections filled with 

 foundation, put in division-board next 

 to surplus frame and cover down the 

 brood-chamber. As soon as bees get 

 crowded, and are working in sections, 



add more surplus frames until your 

 surplus chamber is full of frames, 

 then as each frame is filled with honey 

 remove it and put in its place empty 

 frames of sections. Look to your 

 brood-chamber, removing all queen- 

 cells, and keeping your queen supplied 

 witli empty comb in which to lay. If 

 you lose your queen, replace by intro- 

 duction a fertile one at once. 



In conclusion I would say, that the 

 treatment would be proper in case 

 tlie colony is a strong one. 



Milan, O. 



The president said place a comb 

 filled with liquid food between two 

 coml>s tilled with brood, and it would 

 stimulate brood-rearing better than 

 any other method he had ever tried. 

 Must be careful not to spread brood 

 combs too often. The brood might 

 become chilled. 



Mr. Smith said he used a mixture of 

 granulated sugar and buckwheat flour 

 for stimulating, with good success. 



Mr. .lohnson said, he fed in a feeder 

 placed on the top of brood combs with 

 cushion placed over it. 



Mr. Whitney said, he had a colony 

 in his cellar which he found floating 

 in 18 inches of water during tlie win- 

 ter, which was now in good condition. 



Mr. Boardman said, he would not 

 spread brood combs at this season of 

 the year, as bees now are reduced to 

 their smallest numbers, and there is 

 great danger of brood being chilled. 



Mr. Whitney asked if spring feed- 

 ing had proved successful when prac- 

 ticed during cold weather. 



Mr. Fish said, he would not feed 

 during cold weather if bees had an 

 abundance of stores. He would feed 

 those only that were destitute. 



Mr. Bartow said, he would reduce 

 the space occupied by each colony to 

 such size by the use of the division- 

 board, as would enable the bees to 

 cover all the combs all the combs, and 

 thus the requisite amount of heat 

 could be kept up. 



The next essay was by H. R. Board- 

 man, as follows : 



THE MOST PROFITABLE RACE OF BEES. 



One of the most prominent objects 

 of my early boyliood recollections, is 

 the old box bee-hive out in the gar- 

 den, under an old apple tree, with its 

 inhabitant, the black bee. By the 

 hour have I laid on the grass under 

 this old apple tree, and watched with 

 eager interest, those mysterious little 

 workers. 



Many wonderful things had I been 

 told about them, and the economy and 

 government of the multitudes within 

 their well-guarded home ; which, to 

 me, was shrouded in the deepest mys- 

 tery, and their well-kept secrets, 

 guarded with a dignity and honesty 

 which I had never presumed to ques- 

 tion. I had been told that they had 

 a form of government like a nation of 

 people, and had a king who sat upon 

 a tlirone, and all his subjects paid im- 

 plicit obedience to his commands and 

 rendered the utmost respect to his 

 sovereign wish, and I had noticed 

 upon all combs, that had been re- 

 moved from the hive, undoubted proof 

 of this. The throne upon which the 

 king sat. I have since learned, were 



