AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



529 



Bee Notes for Octolier, 



C. H. DIBBERN. 



Of course, the honey season, such as 

 it has been, is entirely over ; and the 

 proper thing to do now is to make all 

 needed preparation for successful win- 

 tering. 



All surplus arrangements should be 

 removed early this month, and all the 

 good honey prepared for market. I do 

 not mean that all the good honey should 

 be sold, but a good deal. Save out 

 enough for the family to last until honey 

 comes again, and let that be some of the 

 very best — not such as you cannot sell. 

 No one has a better right to the very 

 nicest honey, or anything else, than the 

 producer himself. 



If there ate a lot of partly-filled sec- 

 tions, they should be extracted, and the 

 sections immediately given to the bees 

 to clean up. Formerly this was quite a 

 job, as the bees would often be found 

 closely packed in the empty combs when- 

 it was desired to remove the cases again, 

 but all this is easy enough now by the 

 use of the bee-escape. 



It is well to look over the hives and 

 see that all have honey enough to Winter 

 safely. To do this it is not necessary to 

 look over every comb. This point can 

 generally be easily determined by simply 

 lifting the hives. If any are found short 

 now, they should be given combs of 

 sealed honey. If none are at hand, 

 they may be obtained ' from hives that 

 can spare them. Great care, however, 

 must be used in opening many hives, 

 as the bees quickly smell the honey, and 

 robbing soon becomes furious if the 

 work is long continued. Better do all 

 this kind of work during this month 

 just before dark, as robbing cannot then 

 be continued long, and by morning the 

 bees will have everything in order once 

 more. 



How can we best Winter our bees 

 successfully ? This question is now 

 troubling many bee-keepers. Generally, 

 I should say, stick to such methods as 

 have proved satisfactory heretofore. 

 This season the hives contain a greater 

 proportion of honey-dew than ever be- 

 fore, and I fear that heavy losses will 

 result should the Winter prove a severe 

 one. 



I had intended to extract a part of 

 the combs from each hive and feed back 

 sugar syrup. • A trial of a few hives, 

 however, convinced me that it was a job 

 I would rather " let out," as I found it 

 almost Impossible to throw the black. 



gummy stuff out of the combs. Then, 

 to buy sugar to feed in a season when 

 bees have paid so poorly, is discouraging 

 work ; and it is a sticky business, any- 

 way. Then, too, perhaps the bees will 

 Winter on the honey-dew just as well 

 (Mr. Heddon says they will), and, if so, 

 what is the use of so much fussing ? I 

 am quite busy with other work, too, and 

 have about decided to ran the risk. 

 Fortunately, the bees have gathered a 

 fine lot of late honey, and this will 

 greatly'help them through the Winter. 



Last Winter I found my bee-cellar 

 under the honey-house too cold and 

 damp, and the bees did not Winter as 

 well as usual. I have now improved it 

 by cementing the bottom and plastering 

 the ceiling, and think it about perfect. 

 I shall probably Winter a part of my 

 bees on the summer stands, as it is not 

 very good policy to have "all your eggs 

 in one basket." The Mill Creek bees, of 

 course, will all be put into the cave 

 cellar, where they wintered so nicely 

 last year. — Western Plowman. 



Milan, Ills. 



Caiiital Bee-Keepers' Convention. 



A. J. ENGLAND. 



The Capital Bee-Keepers' Association 

 met in convention at Springfield, Ills., 

 on Saturday, Oct. lO, 1891. 



The meeting was called to order at 10 

 o'clock a.m., by President P. J. England. 



In the absence of the Secretary, 

 Arthur J. England, of Fancy Prairie, was 

 elected Secretary pro tern. 



The minutes of the last meeting and 

 the Secretary's report were read, and 

 approved as read. 



The Treasurer's report was read and 

 accepted. 



After the preliminary business was 

 disposed of, Mr. Geo. F. Bobbins ad- 

 dressed the convention on the subject of 

 honey-dew. 



It was his opinion that the mild Win- 

 ters and the dry weather of the past 

 three or four years, are the causes of 

 the great prevalence of the aphides pest. 

 He has always noticed that a mild Win- 

 ter is generally followed by a flow of the 

 so-called honey-dew. 



As to the disposing of it, Mr. Bobbins 

 said that on no considerations should 

 any of it be put upon the market. He 

 thought, however, that there was no 

 harm in selling it at home, provided the 

 customers are told just what it is ; but 

 he thought the best use to which it can 



