8 



THU mmmmi^MM 



Mr. Edmiston and Mr. Deer favored 

 the chaff hive, and said that bees win- 

 tered as well, or better, in them as any 

 other way. 



Mr. Stevenson gave his method of 

 preparation for winter, which was to 

 thoroughly protect the bees on all sides 

 and on top by an outer box with a 

 cover, allowing a space for dry pack- 

 ing-material, and iix them up early or 

 before cold weather sets in. 



Tbe Marketing of Honey. 



Mr. Deer stated that he had bought 

 honey that was in good condition for 

 mai'ket, and on the market in his 

 place, at a much less pi'ice than honey 

 could be bought of posted bee-men. 

 He bought of store-keepers at their 

 price, and shipped to other markets at 

 a good profit, showing that the honey 

 was sold by the producer at a far less 

 price than it was worth ; thus his local 

 market was rid of the surplus honey, 

 that the unposted bee-keeper had 

 parted with, unconscious or regardless 

 of its value, and at the same time it 

 opened a way for his own product at 

 something near its value. 



Mr. Cleghorn favored the appoint- 

 ment of a good bvisiness man to look 

 the noiarkets over, and open up avenues 

 by which the honey in the district 

 might be disposed of. Mr. Armstrong 

 also favored Mr. Cleghorn's idea. 



Mr. Howes illustrated how certain 

 parties, not posted, brought their honey 

 to market, selling 'it at less than its 

 value, and when asked why they sell 

 at less than what it is worth, and told 

 what can be obtained for such honey, 

 seemed surprised, and want to know 

 where they can get such prices, or its 

 value. He also stated that such per- 

 sons will not take a bee-paper and 

 keep posted, as that would cost some- 

 thing, and every penny saved is so 

 much clear gain ; but they go on losing 

 dollars and tens of dollars, all for the 

 lack of a little extra energy, and to 

 save the small sum that it would cost 

 to keep posted ; yet the same thing 

 happens year after year. The opinion 

 seemed to prevail that those interested 

 should use every influence possible to 

 inform and induce such pax'ties to keep 

 posted. 



Mlscellaueons Basiness. 



The committee on exhibits then 

 made an enumeration of the various 

 articles on exhibition. 



A vote of thanks was tendered for 

 the use of the room in the Court House, 

 and for janitor's services. It was voted 

 not to hold an evening session. 



The convention then adjourned to 

 meet at Jackson, Mich., in conjunction 

 with the State Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion. 



Adrian, Mich. 



BEES IN COLORADO. 



Alfalfa as a Honey-Plant, 

 the Droutli, etc. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY WILLIAM WILLIS. 



As a partial answer to the questions 

 of Mary A. Goodale, on page 792 of 

 the Bee Journal for 1887, I will give 

 a brief sketch of )uy experience : In 

 the month of June, 1876, I sent 2 colo- 

 nies in box-hives without frames or 

 comb foundation, and they filled these 

 hives and stored 30 pounds of surplus 

 comb honey per colony. Last June I 

 sent 8 colonies more that had been 

 threatening to swarm, but were too 

 poor, and I got to this country on June 

 11, just as the alfalfa was getting in 

 full bloom. I found bees working 

 finely, and was expecting that they 

 would soon send out several swarms ; 

 but in this I was disappointed, as I 

 soon found that they had crowded the 

 hive with honey so that the queen 

 could not do her work ; so the result 

 was only 3 late swarms, and 50 lbs. per 

 colony, of comb honey. Bees gather 

 honey from alfalfa here, and I think 

 they will wherever it is irrigated. We 

 think here that we are not dependent 

 ujion the showers for our honey crop, 

 as the best honey wasgathei'ed in June 

 and July, before the rains began ; but 

 my bees continued to fill the sections 

 till Oct. 10. 



Montrose?, Colo., Dec. 20, 1887. 



FIRE INSURANCE. 



\¥intering Bees and Insuring 

 tlieni against loss by lire. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY A. C. WALDRON. 



My bees are in the cellar on a plat- 

 form raised about 3 feet from the cel- 

 lar bottom, with the entrances wide 

 open, and with a cover and blanket on, 

 the same as when on the summer 

 stands. They have natural stores, 

 mostly gathered from fall flowers and 

 buckwheat. I keep the temperature 

 about 34° Fahr., as near as I . can. I 

 have a ventilator connected with the 

 chimney, and when it is too warm I 

 open that, and when it is cool I close 

 it ; if too warm, I put a piece of ice in 

 the cellar. My bees are quiet, and 

 there are but few dead ones. They do 

 not seem to be disturbed by any one 

 entering the cellar for vegetables, un- 

 less they are jarred. 



I tried to insure my bees against loss 

 by fire while in the cellar, but the 

 company rejected that clause, saying 

 that they did not insure bees. Has any 

 one had any experience in that line ? 

 I would like to hear from some of the 

 many bee-keepers as to their method 

 of wintering bees. Will Mr. Powell or 

 Mr. Lee describe their method in the 

 American Bee Journal ? Will the 

 editor please give the size of the stan- 

 dard Langstroth brood-frame ? 



Bufl'alo,0 Minn. 



[The size of the standard Lang- 

 stroth frame is 9Jxl7| inches, outside 

 measure. — Ed.] 



WINTER WORK. 



Feeding in Winter — Workshop — 

 Hives, Frames, Crates, &e. 



BY GEO. A. STOCKWELL. 



Veiy little can be done with the bees 

 in winter, in fact nothing in zero 

 weather, but on warm, sunny days they 

 may be fed, if in danger of starving ; 

 and bees in-doors may be placed on 

 out-door stands, that they may have 

 opportunity to fly and void excreta, an 

 act never committed in the hive by 

 bees in health, though they may re- 

 main in confinement from November 

 to April. A "purifying flight" is a 

 great help. 



'Winter Feeding. 



If feeding be necessary, place warm 

 food in a wide-mouth bottle, tie 

 strainer-cloth over the mouth, and in- 

 vert on the top of the frames. The bees 

 will take the food as it drips, even 

 faster, running their tongues through 

 the cloth. That they may have access 

 to the full width of the mouth of the 

 bottle, place wire cloth between the 

 frames and the bottle. The houej-, or 

 whatever is fed, will grow lower in the 

 bottle rapidly. The feeding must be 

 done on warm days, and in the middle 

 of the day an entrance feeder may be 

 used. This permits the bees to enter 

 from the hive, and excludes outside 

 bees. 



making Hives and Frames. 



This is all that can be done with the 

 bees themselves, but there is a great 

 variety of other work in their behalf 

 that can be, and ought to be done now. 

 One of the attendant attractions of 

 bee-keeping is its mechanical require- 

 ments. 



Implanted and firmly rooted in many 

 a Yankee is the desire to whittle, to 

 plaj' with sharp-edged tools, to spoil 

 good lumber, " to make something." 

 To such persons bee-keeping is adapt- 

 ed. The making of hives and fi-ames, 

 and a dozen other things needed in 



