42 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Local Convention Directory. 



1887. Time and place of MeelAnt. 



Jan. 19, 20.— N. B. Ohio, N. Pa., &0., at Andover, O. 

 M. B. Mason, Sec, Andover, O. 



Feb. 2.— N. B. Michigan, at Bay City, Mich. 



W. Z. Hutchinson, Sec, RogersTille, Micb. 



Feb. 3.— Wisconsin State, at Madison, Wis. 



F. Wilcox, Sec, MauBton, Wis. 



Feb. 4.— Fremont Prosressive, at Fremont, Mich. 

 Geo. B. Hliton, dec, Fremont, Mich. 



Feb. 12.— Hardin County, at Eldora, Iowa. 



J. W. Buchanan, Sec, Eldora, Iowa. 



}^r In order to have this table complete. Secre- 

 taries are requested to forward full particulars of 

 time and place of future meetlBKS.- Ed. 



Uf 



Ewing, 



8, 1887, 





Severe Winter, etc.— JE. E 

 Rising Sun,(^ Md., on Jan. 

 says: 



We have had a severe winter here 

 thus far. The cold weather set in a 

 month earlier than usual, and has 

 been pretty steady and severely cold 

 about all the time. Last season was 

 a poor one for honey in all the Middle 

 Atlantic country. There are not 

 many bees kept here except in box- 

 hives. Half of the farmers, perhaps, 

 own from 1 to 5 colonies, which are 

 likely to suffer before spring opens. 



what combinations mean, as most 

 manufacturers in certain lines of 

 goods are compelled to combine in 

 order to keep each other restrained 

 within certain limits, under heavy 

 penalties. This plan always worked 

 well in staple goods, and is recognized 

 by business men everywhere. How far 

 the principle would work in the case 

 under advisement, I trust ere long 

 will come to the surface in a move- 

 ment in the right direction. 



—J. Lee An- 

 writes : 



Swarming-That "Chip."-W. Z. 



Hutchinson, of Eogersville,(i Mich., 

 writes : 



There is no man from whose shoul- 

 der I should be more delighted to 

 knock a chip than from that of Dr. 

 Miller. In regard to this question of 

 controlling or preventing the desire 

 to swarm, mentioned by the Doctor 

 on page 7, let me ask if the Doctor 

 has read Mr. Simmins' little book on 

 the prevention of swarming. If he 

 has, and knows that Mr. S. is incor- 

 rect, why has he not told us so long 

 ago ? 



Regulating Prices of Honey.— J. 

 A. Bayard, Athens,Os Ohio, writes as 

 follows : 



The proposition for a combination 

 of honey-producers, to dx the price of 

 honey in the markets of this country, 

 looks like a big contract, when we 

 take into consideration that the busi- 

 ness embraces almost an entire conti- 

 nent, with all its varied climate and 

 conflicting interests. An umpire, 

 chosen to take the matter in hand, 

 would find it verydilficult to draw the 

 line, so as not to interfere with the 

 export trade, and thereby throw the 

 vast surplus on the home market. If 

 California should rebel by refusing to 

 enter the combination, we should And 

 her low-priced honey competing suc- 

 cessfully in all the markets of the 

 country, enjoying a monopoly of the 

 business ; while the rest of us would 

 be hanging on to the ragged edge, 

 •' waiting for something to turn up." 

 As a merchant in times past, I know 



Cider-Mills and Bees. 



derson, Lawrence, 5 Ills- 



On page 9, Mr. Roebuck says : 

 " Let all bee-keepers circulate peti- 

 tions for signature, and present them 

 to our legislatures, asking for a law 

 that will compel cider-mill men to 

 screen their mills and dispose of the 

 pomace, so as not to be exposed to 

 the injury of bees," etc. It seems to 

 me that if Smith owns a cider-mill, 

 and the land upon which it stands, 

 that there can be no law made that 

 can compel him to " screen " his mill 

 against Jones' bees that are kept 

 from one to three miles away. But if 

 a law of any kind can be made, it 

 would be one to compel Jones to 

 keep his bees on his own premises. I 

 am not interested in any cider-mill, 

 but I am interested in bees, having 

 nearly 100 colonies, but that does not 

 prevent my using " reason and com- 

 mon-sense," which, on the whole, is 

 about as good law as can be made. 

 Is not that so ? 



[Class legislation, except in rare 

 cases, is undesirable to the general 

 public, and should be discouraged. 

 We gave no endorsement to the plan 

 proposed by Mr, Roebuck ; and only 

 stated that blank petitions were, by 

 law, prohibited from being enclosed 

 in the bee-papers.— Ed.] 



of 1885 we increased them to 5 colo- 

 nies, by dividing them, and got 75 

 pounds of comb honey. These bees 

 were hybrids. In the fall of 188.5 my 

 wife's father gave her a colony of 

 Italians, making in all 6 colonies, 

 which we packed in chaff hives, and 

 left on the summer stands. They all 

 came out in good condition last 

 spring. We now have 13 strong colo- 

 nies in chaff hives on the summer 

 stands. I have sold 2 colonies at $5 

 each, and have had 1,190 pounds of 

 surplus comb honey in 1 J^-pound sec- 

 tions. We have sold nearly all of it 

 in our home market at 123^ cents per 

 pound for light, and lOcents for dark. 

 My wife worked in her father's apiary 

 two seasons, so we were somewhat 

 acquainted with the habits of the 

 little workers when we commenced. 

 Basswood was nearly a total failure 

 in this locality. 



My Experience with Bees,— Wm 

 H. Davis, Cherry Valley, 5 His., on 

 Jan. 5, 1887, says : 



I knew nothing about bees a year 

 ago. But I obtained 13 colonies in 

 the fall of 1885, and since then I have 

 read " Bees and Honey," and the Bee 

 Journal. I put the bees into the 

 cellar, and in the spring they all came 

 out in good condition. I have in- 

 creased them to 35 good colonies, and 

 took off 1,600 pounds of comb honey. 

 I received about 200 pounds of black 

 honey, which I sold for 8 cents per 

 pound ; the other I graded and sold 

 tor 10 and \2]4 cents per pound at 

 home. 



Good Results.- G. Crouse, Ithaca,© 

 Mich., on Dec, 29, 1886, writes : 



We had our first colony in July, 

 1884, my wife hiving them in a com- 

 mon hive with movable frames. They 

 built 8 frames of comb and stored 

 some honey, and we fed them 5 pounds 

 of granulated sugar. In the fall I 

 put some corn-stalks around the hive, 

 leaving the entrance open so the bees 

 could fly in fair weather. They win- 

 tered all right. During the summer 



Controlling Swarming, etc.— David 



Rawhouser, Columbus City,<x Iowa, 



on Jan. 6, 1887, says : 



My bees did well last summer. I 

 commenced the honey season with 

 100 colonies ; I now have 160 in my 

 cellar, and they are doing well. I 

 took 8,000 pounds of comb honey last 

 season. I have been looking for the 

 man for years that could step up 

 boldly to knock off such a " chip " as 

 the one now on Dr. Miller's shoulder; 

 but the man always fails to control or 

 prevent the desire for swarming. Mr. 

 Quinby offered $100 for a non-swarm- 

 ing hive. But it has not been forth- 

 coming. It seems that Victor Clough 

 dare not strike at the " chip " now 

 up, either. 



Wintering Bees in a Bee-Cellar.— 



Otto Bussanmas, Bevington,© Iowa, 

 on Jan. 3, 1887, writes : 



Last November I built a bee house 

 and cellar purposely for my bees. It 

 is 14x24 feet ; a brick floor is in it, and 

 5-inch tiling lengthwise, entering the 

 floor 4 inches underneath ; also a 

 furnace in one end, to heat it if neces- 

 sary. The cost of the cellar was $250. 

 On Kov. 15 I put 89 colonies into it. 

 I can keep the temperature at 35° 

 without using the furnace. Is it ad- 

 visable to raise it to 45° V I use cloth 

 and burlap for covers, 3 or 4 thick, 

 and some excelsior in the caps. I use 

 Langstroth hives, leaving the en- 

 trances open, and no top- ventilation. 

 So far I have had the temperature in 

 the cellar at 38° to 43°, by using the 

 furnace. Four or 5 colonies were 

 restless, and their hives contained 

 many dead bees on the bottom-boards. 



[Yes ; use the furnace, and keep the 

 temperature at 45°, Fahr.- Ed.] 



The Season of 1886.— Abe Hoke, 

 Union City,©* Ind., on Jan. 7, 1887, 

 writes : 



I began last spring with 26 colonies. 

 One proved to be queenless, and I 

 gave them brood and they reared a 

 queen and gathered enough honey for 

 winter. I increased my apiary to 37 

 colonies, by natural swarming. I sold 



