THE AMERICAJS BEE JOURNAL. 



/ 



215 



tance of a number of towns and vil- 

 lages, with not too much opposition. 



C. E. Ketter remarked that in his 

 region (Monroe Co., Ohio), about half 

 ■way up the hills, is the best locality, 

 on account of its being above the fog 

 in the morning, and that the bees 

 have down hill to carry honey instead 

 of carrying all the honey uphill, where 

 the apiary is located on top of a hill. 

 By locating the apiary half-way up a 

 hill the bees are more sheltered from 

 storms. 



On the second day the convention 

 discussed the subject of "Prevention 

 of Swarming." 



C. E. Ketter— I have never had any 

 success in repressing swarming. 



V. Tisher— Bees will not swarm so 

 long as they have unfinished combs 

 between the brood-nest and the en- 

 trance. 



A committee was appointed to wait 

 upon the State Fair Association of 

 West Virginia, to make arrangements 

 in regard to premiums for apicultural 

 exhibits at the next Fair. The com- 

 mittee consisted of Henry Leweday, 

 L. C. Seabright, and W. L. Kinsey. 



An essay was read by L. C. Sea- 

 bright on " Spring treatrnent of bees." 



The convention then adjourned to 

 meet at Wlieeling, W. Va., on Oct. 26 

 and 27, 1887. W. L. Kinsey, Hec. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Replatiug tlie Price of honey. 



JAMES HEDDON. 



It is amusing to notice the " tangle- 

 ment"and confusion many are in re- 

 garding the " survival of the fittest," 

 " priority of location," " special legis- 

 lation for bee-keepers," and the " pro- 

 posed honey-producers' association." 

 Some one attempts to combat JDr. 

 Miller and misses his propositions and 

 hits some one else. Another strikes 

 a supposed death-blow at Mr. Bald- 

 ridge, and only hits Dr. Miller a faint 

 " tick ;" and so it goes. 



On page 181 Mr. Doolittle brings in 

 a new feature to the problem, viz: 

 charity. Well, I admire this turn, for 

 I see no other way out, and, besides, 

 every good man really should and 

 does feel happy to think that if lose 

 he must, some poor person is gaining 

 as much. 



While I consider it no .argument, 

 and entirely out of place here as an 

 argument, I had many times thought 

 that I would resume my old practice 

 of retailing at home at wholesale 

 prices, undergoing the extra labor in- 

 volved by so doing, for the benefit of 

 neighbors and the relief of the city 

 markets. 



My object in beginning this article 

 was to correct the idea that we who 

 desired a meeting, expected or desired 

 to "corner" the honey market, and 

 starve the consumer. We do not ex- 

 pect to destroy the natural channels 

 of trade, but simply to regulate them 

 and endeavor to keep others from 

 turning them out of their natural and 

 proper course. I am not going to 

 bind myself to let some appointed 

 person sell my product, or tell me 



what I shall take for it— no, nothing 

 of the sort. I want to meet bee-keep- 

 ers to discus.s the best ways and 

 means of disposing of our crop ; just 

 the same as we meet to discuss the 

 " how " of production. 



I believe that such a meeting and 

 its report will create a world-wide 

 sentiment, based upon truth, and one 

 which will be of lasting benefit to 

 both producers and consumers. Let 

 us meet and discuss all the questions 

 relating to whether it is better to pro- 

 duce more or less comb honey; what 

 styles of packages are best ; how we 

 should grade it ; how to work up the 

 home market, and how to dispose of 

 it in city markets; whether or not it 

 pays to have all the honey "gilt- 

 edge ;" how to equalize prices over 

 the whole country when the same 

 grades are offered ; what is the best 

 style of shipping-crate, and — why, 

 about how much it costs to produce 

 honey the country over; and all these 

 things that will help the producer to 

 more correctly "make up his slate " 

 in advance. 



Let us see that the children of the 

 poor have their honey at as low a 

 price in one location as in another, 

 allowing for transportation. It does 

 not aid these children to have the 

 prices raised by passing our honey 

 through the hands of too many mid 

 diemen. Any subject that is so vital 

 to our interests as this— one that can 

 find so much room in such a bee- 

 paper — must surely be worthy of or? e 

 special convention I Do you not think 

 so, reader V 



Dowagiac, 9 Mich. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Some Proofs ttiat Bees do Hear. 



J. W. BAYARD. 



The question as to whether bees 

 have the sense of hearing, being one 

 of secondary importance to bee-keep- 

 ers, has attracted very little attention 

 or discussion through the bee-papers. 

 Some years ago the Bee Journal 

 published some tests, made by Sir 

 John Lubbock, an English scientist, 

 which had the merit of ingenuity and 

 simplicity combined, but otherwise 

 were extremely superficial and un- 

 satisfactory. 



About the year 1870, the late Mr. 

 Adam Grimm, of Wisconsin, was one 

 of the largest queen-breeders in 

 America, importing his original stock 

 from the Alps of Italy, claiming for 

 them great superiority over queens 

 obtained from the low country in the 

 South, and us being more vigorous 

 and hardy. 1 then gave him a trial 

 order for lo queens, and as a. matter 

 of convenience to us both', he sent 

 them in installments of 3 or 4 at a 

 time. One morning in the month of 

 August 1 received by express a pack- 

 age containing 3 queen-cages, replete 

 with queens and bees. (Cages in use 

 then were six times as large as our 

 modern cages that are sent by mail.) 

 I opened the package carefully, plac- 

 ing the cages someS or 10 inches apart 

 on a table. I turned to look after 



something in another part of the 

 room, when to my utter astonishment 

 I heard the loud piping of queens 

 from all three of the cages, and hast- 

 ening to the spot, I found a regular 

 colloquy in progress, not all speaking 

 at once, but calling and answering, 

 back and forth, with much regularity 

 and great vigor as a challenge to 

 mortal combat. Soon after the queens 

 concluded their part of the pro- 

 gramme, the bees in all the cages set 

 up their ever familiar zee, zee, zee ! as 

 a finale to the performance. 



I will venture the opinion that the 

 most obtuse apiarist in all the land 

 has recognized a well defined and ex- 

 pressive language among bees, such 

 as rage, joy, defiance and content- 

 ment, as well as a call for help or an 

 appeal for mercy. No longer ago 

 than last June, t released a queen 

 from her cage to a hybrid colony 

 about dark ; early the next morning I 

 made an examination and found her 

 " balled " by a small knot of bees. 

 Upon releasing her from their grip, 

 she darted over the combs, and when 

 attacked by other bees she fairly 

 screamed for mercy or help. On tak- 

 ing her from the hive I found her 

 wings and one foot badly mutilated. 

 In all my experience 1 find where 

 queens are balled for destruction, they 

 make these pathetic appeals to their 

 captors, but they are seldom. If ever, 

 heeded. 



Not so with worker bees when they 

 get into limbo ; when squeezed by the 

 manipulator in handling their combs, 

 and call for help, the response comes 

 quickly, and very often with a ven- 

 geance, as I have many objective 

 lessons long to be remembered. That 

 bees manifest no symptoms of alarm 

 or fear at any outside noise or racket, 

 is only proof of their indomitable 

 pluck and courage to defend all that 

 comprises their home and perpetuates 

 their existence. They live in a noise 

 all through their lives, created and 

 perpetuated by themselves, hence they 

 pay little attention to the uproarious 

 clatter from day to day, whether arti- 

 ficial or natural, that is going on 

 around them. 



Athens, o^ Ohio. 



Read at the Fremont Progressive Convention. 



Ttie Production of Comli Honey. 



GEO. E. HILTON. 



As I have made the production of 

 comb honey a success for the past 

 eight years, a review of what I con- 

 sider the best methods may be of 

 value the coming season. I trust it 

 may present to some new ideas where- 

 by they can increase their profits in 

 this our chosen pursuit. 



The first and the most important 

 factor is a full hive of bees at the 

 commencement of the honey-flow. 

 And here an essay of interest could 

 be written on spring management. 

 This question is often asked : " When 

 is the proper time to put on the sur- 

 plus cases '/" The majority of the bee- 

 books say, as soon as little bits of 

 new comb are seen being built along 



