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THE AMERICAl^ BEE JOURNAL. 



This will give room for the wax 

 moulds under the dip end of the 

 wax-pan. Two beveled strips of 

 wood 28 inches long, nailed one on 

 either side of the box, supports the 

 sides of the metal pan. 



When all is ready the wax -pan is 

 shoved down into the box or frame- 

 work until its open end rests in the 

 hollow board, and the sides of the 

 pan on the beveled strips. It is se- 

 cured in position by nailing through 

 the wooden head of the pan and into 

 the end piece of the box, and the 

 sides of the pan are nailed closely to 

 the beveled strips at the sides of the 

 box or frame-work. 



The sash is made like a shallow box 

 2 inches deep, rabbeted at the top to 

 receive three panes of glass 12x20 

 inches, and slides back and forward 

 between strips of wood at the sides 

 of the frame -work. Some pressed 

 pane 3 or 4 inches deep, and 7 inches 

 wide at the top make good wax- 

 moulds. When one is filled it is 

 shoved aside and another put in its 

 place. The filled pans are left in the 

 box to cool gradually during the 

 night. My wax-extractor is left in 

 the apiary the year around. It has a 

 board cover for it when not in use. 



Christiansbarg,5 Ky. 



[By particular request of Mr. R. 

 Dart, of Eipon, Wis., we reproduce 

 the above article for the benefit of our 

 new readers who may want to render 

 wax in the manner suggested.— Ed.] 



For tbe American Bee JoumaL 



Prosressiye Bee-Keepers' ConTention, 



The Progressive Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation held its semi-annual meet- 

 ing in Bedford, O., on Thursday, May 

 5, 1887, with President D. M. Allen in 

 the chair. After the usual order of 

 business was disposed of, a committee 

 to report on text-books in apiculture 

 was appointed, consisting of J. B. 

 Hains, J. R. Reed and J. L. Way, 

 who, in their report, named many of 

 the standard books on the subject as 

 recognized authority among experts, 

 and could not fail to be of advantage 

 to all who faithfully peruse them. 



P. C. White, E. Hanchett, and B. 

 T. Bleasdale were appointed a com- 

 mittee to report on the bee-keepers' 

 supplies exhibited. They reported the 

 following on exhibition : W. T. 

 Falconer, the Chautauqua hive ; J. B. 

 Hains, a device for winter passages, 

 and to allow feeding while bees are 

 still packed; M.E. 'Mason, shipping 

 case for keeping sections neat and 

 clean ; Berlin Fruit-Box Co., section- 

 cases possessing some peculiar points 

 of excellence ; A. J. SpafiEord, woven 

 straw-mat for absorbing the moisture, 

 thereby keeping tbe hive in good con- 

 dition : nice samples of foundation by 

 W. T. Falconer, J. B. Hains and M. 

 E. Mason. 



Reports of the apiaries received 

 were as follows : Number of colonies 

 on Dec. 1, 1886, 1,324 ; on May 1, 1887, 

 1 ,205 ; being a loss of about 9 per cent.. 



which is the least average loss ever 

 reported in this association. Quite a 

 number reported no loss at all. 



Discussions of the following sub- 

 jects then ensued : 



IMPKOVING THE HONEY MARKET. 



J. B. Hains— Sell none but the best; 

 have a moderate price, and stick to it. 



W. Z. Hutchinson— Sell more honey 

 near home ; advertise it ; push it. 



B. T. Bleasdale— Have ouly gilt- 

 edged, good honey, and nice packages. 

 Bad looking sections will cause nice 

 honey to bring a low price. 



F. C. White— Educate grocerymen 

 to handle honey so that they will not 

 mar it. A great many now object to 

 handling it,claiming that it is " dauby 

 stuff." 



.Tames Heddon— Do all you can to 

 increase demand, and be careful not 

 to induce recruits into the business 

 faster than the market will warrant. 

 Produce more comb honey and less 

 extracted. 



J. R. Reed— Get people to consider 

 honey as a staple article of food, and 

 not a luxury. We ought to agree on 

 a price, and all rise or fall from that 

 price at the same time. 



Wm. Deisman — Cultivate home 

 trade. Talk it up as good for food 

 and medicine, and the cheapest kind 

 of sauce for the table, that can be 

 bought. 



M. E. Mason— By improving the 

 quality and appearance. 



REVERSIBLE HIVES, FRAMES & CASES. 



W. S. Wait — They are more easily 

 handled, and the bees fill the sections 

 better. Bees winter well with them ; 

 most of my colonies came out strong. 



Mr. AVhite— I think that they need 

 closer attention than most hives. 



Mr. Hutchinson — They have been a 

 success with me. 



Mr. Heddon— After the first inver- 

 sion of the brood-combs, which se- 

 cures the complete filling of the 

 frames, I do not care to invert them 

 again. As the combs in a section- 

 case are rarely all at the right stage of 

 development atone time, it is better 

 to invert them in wide frames, as the 

 four sections in any one wide frame 

 are almost universally developed alike. 



PROMOTING INCREASE OF COLONIES. 



Mr. Hains— Begin in June, or,when 

 strong enough, divide them ; put them 

 on combs of foundation, provide them 

 with a queen, and stimulate them by 

 feeding. 



Mr. Hutchinson— By dividing ; fur- 

 nishing queens, empty combs, etc. 



Mr. Heddon— By giving each colony 

 double the ordinary breedingcapacity; 

 having brood-cases very shallow ; in- 

 terchange them so as to stimulate the 

 queen to the greatest activity in brood- 

 rearing. 



PREVENTING INCREASE OF COLONIES. 



Mr. Heddon— Give the bees plenty 

 of room to store surplus honey ; shade 

 the hives, and by using the dark races 

 of bees. 



Mr. Hutchinson— Give plenty of 

 surplus room, shade and ventilation. 



Mr. Hains— The same as the last 

 answer, and see that they have not 

 made preparation for swarming before 

 putting on the sections. 



M. E. Mason— For the past five 

 years I have managed my bees by a 

 system, which has become quite gen- 

 erally known as the " Mason Non- 

 Increase System ;" and, so far as I 

 know, it is entirely original with me, 

 and I believe it is the only practical 

 system of controlling increase. I will 

 assume that you possess the necessary 

 knowledge of spring management up 

 to swarming time, and will begin my 

 system from that time, as follows : 



We will suppose that our colonies 

 swarm by number, beginning with 

 No. 1 as first. No. 2 as second, etc., 

 through the apiary. But previous to 

 swarming, it is supposed that each 

 colony has been provided with one 

 tier of sections (I use the tieringup 

 hive, 24 sections in each tier), at least, 

 and that they are well toward comple- 

 tion when swarming takes place. 

 However, should swarming not occur 

 at this time, and the sections become 

 so filled that the bees require more 

 room, lift the case and place an empty 

 one under it. Never wait for them to 

 swarm, and never give more surplus 

 room than they can occupy. 



We will now suppose that from No. 

 1 issues the first swarm of the season; 

 we proceed to hive it in the usual way 

 on a new stand which has been pro- 

 vided with abive having 6 to 8 frames 

 of foundation, according to the size of 

 the swarm. A queen-excluding honey- 

 board should be placed over the 

 frames, and one tier of sections put 

 on at once, which should be increased 

 as the season and circumstances sug- 

 gest. 



On the following day, from No. 2 

 issues a swarm, which is secured in a 

 hiving-box. We now go to No. 1, 

 which swarmed the day before, and 

 remove the sections, and take from 

 the centre of the brood-nest, two 

 frames of hatching brood with adher- 

 ing bees, and one queen-cell, of which 

 form a nucleus. Now go over the re- 

 maining frames, and carefully remove 

 all the queen-cells that may be in 

 course of construction. Be sure that 

 none remain, for the leaving of one 

 will be ruinous to this system, and 

 the only failures so far reported have 

 come from a lack of thoroughness in 

 this particular. Shake the bees from 

 the comb, and get every queen-cell. 

 Now in place of the two frames re- 

 moved, supply two frames of founda- 

 tion. Comb will not do, as they are 

 at once tilled with honey, and the 

 queen is deprived of her natural place 

 of depositing eggs. 



A case of sections provided with 

 full sheets of foundation is now to be 

 placed on the hive next to the brood- 

 nest, and those removed placed on top 

 of the empty ones. Now close the 

 hive, carry No. 2 swarm, which is in 

 a hiving-box, and shake it in front of 

 No. 1, which has just been prepared 

 for them. Then, as soon as they have 

 entered, it will be perceived that a 

 colony of bees there exists in the best 

 possible condition for storing surplus 

 in the sections. They have had the 



