810 



THE AMERICAN BEE JUUKISAi. 



neglected to mention that he went 

 among the grocers and bought up wax 

 at 25 cents per pound, melted it and 

 molded it in small cakes, and then 

 sold it back to the dealers for 30 cents 

 per pound, the dealers retailing it for 

 5 cents a cake, eleven cakes weighing 

 a pound. 



A. I. Root— I wish to say for the 

 encouragement of Mr. Rey, that I 

 have never seen finer displays of 

 honey in stores than he has here in 

 the groceries. I wish we could have 

 them photographed. 



T. r. Bingham— The best use that 

 can be made of poor honey is to make 

 it into vinegar. A pound of honey 

 will make a gallon of vinegar. At 

 about 45° to 50° of temperature will 

 make vinegar. 



The committee on exhibits reported 

 the following : 



Eden's comb-foundation fastener, East- 

 wood, Ont. 



Betsinger's crate with wire-cloth separa- 

 tors, and pasteboard shipping boxes. 



Bingham's smoker and honey knife. 



W. Z. Hutchinson, case of very fine comb 

 honey. 



President Hilton, four samples of ex- 

 tracted honey— baeswood, maple, willow- 

 herb and raspberry. 



H. D. Cutting, fine collection of extracted 

 honey, all under the same treatment, one 

 part being candied and the other not ; also 

 an entrance feeder. 



Mr. Soper, sections, and Van Deusen's flat- 

 bottom foundation. 



Dr. li. C. Whiting, sample of very fine 

 honey vinegar. 



Sections and separators from the Berlin 

 Fruit-Box Company. 



Dr. Tinker, sections, perforated-zlno, and 

 a queen-cage. 



O. J. Hetherlngton, machine for putting 

 together 4-plece sections. 



John Rey, fine collection of extracted 

 honey ; also solar wax-extractor, steam ex- 

 tractor, Stanley's honey extractor with un- 

 capping can attached ; also foot-press foun- 

 dation-fastener. 



Eastern Farmer. 



A Review Of the Past Seam 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



The committee on resolutions then 

 reported the following, which were 

 unanimously adopted : 



Resolved, That the thanks of this conven- 

 tion are hereby gratefully tendeied the 

 business men of East Saginaw, for the gen- 

 erous and agreeable way in which they have 

 ministered to our entertainment. 



Resolved, That we heartily appreciate and 

 hereby express our gratitude to the officials 

 of this city.for the hearty welcome extended, 

 and for the hall provided us for our sessions. 



B<(o!i'ed, That we return our thanks to 

 the managers of the Sherman House, for the 

 bountiful way in which they have provided 

 for our physical wants, and for the reduction 

 in rates granted. 



Resoloed. That our thanks are due, and 

 are hereby extended to resident bee-keepers, 

 for their 8i:ccessful efforts to render our 

 sessions pleasant and proiitable. 



The convention then adjourned to 

 meet at Jackson, Mich., next year, at 

 the call of the executive committee. 



Flint, d Mich. 



Only One Book of History with every 

 club subscription to the American Bee 

 JocRNAii and New York TTorld, is all that 

 we can offer. The book is worth the whole 

 money to be sent, and then you may con- 

 sider the other two papers as a free gift. 



The honey season is over ; the 

 flowers are faded, and their sweet 

 perfuiTie no longer pervades the air, 

 and the cheerf til hum of the busy bee 

 cau no longer be heard, as the chilly 

 autumn winds keep them within the 

 hive, and oblige them to seek the 

 sustaining warmth of the cluster, 

 which has been made as comfortable 

 as chaff cushions, dried leaves or 

 woollen mats can make them, and if 

 they are to be left on the summer 

 stands they should be let "severely 

 alone," for awhile at least. 



Now, as there is nothing more we 

 can do for our pets, let us with a 

 retrospective view, think over and 

 profit by the many mistakes we have 

 made during the past season. Only 

 by the past can we judge of the 

 future. While some of us hope we 

 may never see another season like the 

 one just past, yet many things we 

 have learned that if jolted down will 

 be of great benefit to us hereafter. 

 And tbe many mistakes we have 

 made, if we acknowledge them as 

 such, and carefully consider what we 

 should have done, will be of inesti- 

 mable value in our future manipula- 

 tions. 



If, for instance, we did not have 

 hives ready when the bees swarmed, 

 and they were left hanging in a tree 

 until a box could be thrown together, 

 that experience ought to be remem- 

 bered during the leisure hours this 

 winter, and a lot of hives prepared for 

 future use. 



If for want of empty frames the 

 queen had no cells in which to deposit 

 eggs, and the numbers gradually 

 diminished until there were not 

 enough left to warm the hive suffi- 

 ciently to hatch an egg, we should 

 own it as a fault and not blame the 

 bees or the queen. 



Did we put on the sections soon 

 enough ? Did we think when we saw 

 a dead queen in front of a hive that 

 she was probably killed the day be- 

 fore, when we opened the hive at an 

 unseasonable hour, when the cold 

 wind was blowing directly on tbe 

 frames 'i* 



Where there is an effect there is 

 certainly a cause ; and by understand- 

 ing the cause we may change the ef- 

 fect to our own advantage. Tliere is 

 no " witch work " about bee-keeping, 

 nor is there much in luck. 



If we allow our bees to go into win- 

 ter qu'arters with no young bees, or 

 without sufficient stores, or proper 

 protection, and they die of old age or 

 spring dwindling, we call it poor 

 luck. 



If we knew a farmer who wintered 

 his stock in an unventilated barn cel- 

 lar, and fed them only on straw, we 

 would not call it poor luck if they 

 were not fat in tlie spring. The term 

 luck is as applicable to bee-keeping as 

 to the case of the stock, and no more, 

 with perhaps the exception of the 

 pasturage, as some of us are more 

 fortunate in having more indigenous 



honey-producing plants in our dis- 

 trict than are others. 



Now is the time to make our plans 

 for the next year's work. Shall we 

 run for extracted or comb honey ? If 

 for the latter, then before spring the 

 '■ sections'' should be got ready, put 

 together all ready for the starters, 

 which can be put in just before they 

 are wanted. If tor extracted, an ex- 

 tra number of "frames "will be re- 

 quired. They can be nailed up and 

 wired ; so a great deal of the extra 

 work about the apiary may be ready 

 for the rush of the honey season ; and 

 a book of mistakes could be kept to 

 good advantage, in which to put down 

 all errors made, and important things 

 learned by experience ; also a book of 

 wants in which to write any handy 

 thing needed in our work that can be 

 constructed at our leisure, and will 

 save a great deal of time when we 

 are in a hurry. 



Local Convention Directory- 



1888. rtme and place of IteeUnQ. 



Jan. 7,— Susquehanna County, at New Milford. Pa. 

 H. M. Seeley, Sec, Harford. Pa. 



Jan. 10.— Cortland Union, at Cortland, N. Y. 



R. L. Weaver, Sec, Dryden, N. Y. 



Jan. 10, 1 1.— Ontario, at Woodstock, Ont. 



W. Couse, Sec 



Jan. 10, 1 1.— Ohio State, at Columbus. Ohio. 



Prank A. Baton, Sec, Bluffton, O. 



Jan. 11.— Nebraska State, at Lincoln, Nebr. 



Henry Patterson, Sec, Humboldt, Nebr. 



Jan. 17,18.— N.W.IIls &8.W.Wis.,atRockford. ni. 

 D. A. Fuller. Sec. Cherry Valley, Ills. 



Jan. IS. is.-Vennont State, at Burlington. Vt. 



R. H. Holmes. Sec, Shoreham, Vt. 



Jan. 17-19.— New York State, at Utlca, N. Y. 



G. H. Knickerbocker, Sec, Pine Plains, N. Y. 



Jan. 20.— Haldlmand, at Cayuga, Ontario. 



E. C. Campbell, See., Cayuga, Ont. 



CF" Id order to hare this table complete. Secre- 

 taries are requested to forward full particulars of 

 time and place of future meetings.— Ed. 





Packing for Bees in Winter, etc.— 



James Ilolden, Marietta,cv. Ohio, on 

 Dec. 8, 1887, writes : 



I think that the beat cushions for 

 protecting bees in winter can be 

 made from some suitable cloth filled 

 with the " ground cork " that white 

 grapes are packed in from foreign 

 countries ; as there is no odor from it, 

 it never gets musty, and can be had 

 very cheap from fruit stores. Very 

 little honey was gathered here this 

 year. What is the advantage to bees 

 going into the hives the longest way 

 of the hive, over the entrance in the 

 narrow way of the hive ; or in their 

 going into "the hives lengthwise of the 

 brood-frames, or crosswise of them ? 



[The advantage of the brood-frames 

 running lengthwise of the brood- 

 chamber is that the ends of the frames 

 come to the entrance, thereby giving 

 the bees easy and direct access to any 

 comb desired.— Ed.] 



