436 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



up, had the half-inch space about the 

 brood-chamber so full of cocoons that 

 the hives were with difficulty gotten out 

 of the caps, and presented a scarred 

 and sorry sight. Of course, combs from 

 the extractor, that had been put away 

 with honey on them, were all right, and 

 the ants had gotten into only one or two 

 hives. 



My hives are well n\ade ; better, per- 

 haps, than the average, and after 

 careful examination I am at a loss to 

 account for the preservation of the 

 combs in some, and their loss in others, 

 all equally tight. In one hive contain- 

 ing 20 combs, I found a colony of large 

 black ants, but no moths. Here the 

 combs were smeared with honey, from 

 the extractor, two years before when put 

 away. Wherever the hive had been 

 cracked or shifted accidentally on the 

 stand, so as to leave an opening large 

 enough to permit the entrance of moths, 

 the combs were destroyed, unless it was 

 one that contained no pollen, and had 

 not been bred in. 



I have exposed such combs, in sections, 

 for years without having them damaged, 

 and should not expect any trouble in 

 keeping such ; but in a large apiary 

 there are but few such combs used in 

 frames. I use the same above that I do 

 below, because I find it best in the 

 Spring to transfer all drone-combs, or 

 combs that are too largely drone-celled, 

 to the upper story for store comb, and 

 most of these are either bred in before 

 they are lifted, or the queen goes up and 

 lays in them after they are lifted. 



Except there is a very late honey-flow, 

 too, most of the upper-story combs are 

 put back on the hives till time to remove 

 supers for Winter, and are not covered 

 with honey as a protection from either 

 moth or mold, till the time comes to use 

 them again. 



Here, let it be noticed in passing, is 

 an argument in favor of tiering up for 

 extracted-honey, that is of using frames 

 of half the depth of those in the brood- 

 chamber, and as soon as one is filled, 

 without waiting for it to be sealed, put 

 another super, filled with half frames, 

 underneath the first, and so on until the 

 season is closed, as advised by Dadant's 

 revision of Langstroth. You are not 

 only clear of brpod, but you can get out 

 of a set of half-frames, two-thirds as 

 much honey as you could out of a set of 

 full ones ; you can handle them easier, 

 and faster ; they do not melt down so 

 readily, nor the combs break in extract- 

 ing ; while, the season being closed, you 

 put your combs away from the extractor, 

 guarded with honey, till needed again, 



and then, being covered with sweets, 

 they are very attractive to the bees. 



Has any one tried putting empty 

 combs away in a light trough, or box, 

 painted with coal tar ? — Bee-Keepers^ 

 Guide. 



SoBthern Calif, Bee-KeeDers' Association. 



GEO. W. BRODBECK, SEC. 



To the Bee-Keepers of California : 



The Southern California Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will hold their Second 

 Annual session at Los Angeles, in the 

 W. C. T. U. Hall, on Wednesday, Oct. 

 21, at 9 a.m. 



This association has been in existence 

 one year, and has met with such marked 

 success that at present its membership 

 outnumbers some of the Eastern State 

 associations that have been organized 

 for years. The object in forming this 

 association was for "mutual benefit and 

 protection," and with this aim in view, 

 we desire to enlist every one in the State 

 of California "who owns and handles 

 bees." 



The success of this organization proves 

 beyond question that the bee-keepers of 

 the State begin to realize the necessity 

 of building up and fostering the honey 

 industry of California. 



During the past few years this interest 

 has seemingly been dormant, and as a 

 result, while other industries have 

 prospered, and by banding together 

 have secured the law's protection by 

 proper legislation, we, as a class, have 

 secured nothing. California is the larg- 

 est honey producing State in the Union, 

 consequently ought to rank first in 

 everything that tends to aid and build 

 it up. Every industry in the State is 

 making a determined effort to secure 

 proper recognition at the World's Fair, 

 and to accomplish this are doing their 

 utmost to secure their portion of the 

 State's and counties' appropriations, and 

 it is high time we were doing likewise. 



California's apicultural display at the 

 World's Fair in 1893, will depend en- 

 tirely on the concerted action of the 

 bee-keepers of the whole State, and this 

 will never prove a success unless we are 

 represented by a State association. 

 There is a proposition now before this 

 association to convert it into a State 

 association, so if you possess any pride 

 in the bee-keepers' industry, or consider 

 your own interests, the necessity of a 

 strong and permanent organization can- 

 not be questioned. 



