THE ffiMERICSPt BEE JO^RIMKI^. 



89 



3. \\^^cll is the best mode of ripen- 

 ing extracted honey ; artitieially or 

 with the bees ? Dr! Mason — Leave it 

 with the bees. 



4. How oUl ma}' queens l)e kept and 

 remain protitable? A. I. Root — Some- 

 times four years, but not often. A. 

 Benedict^ — The more space the queen 

 uses the .shorter time she will live. 



5. Is it best to assist the bees in 

 cleaning- up their hives in the spring, 

 or should they be left to do their own 

 work ? Frank A. Eaton — Help them, 

 if they need help. 



6. Give a remedy for spring dwind- 

 ling. H. R. Boardman — Winter prop- 

 erly. 



7. Should colonies wintered in cel- 

 lars be put back on the same location 

 they occupied in the pi-evious season ? 

 A. Benedict — Set them where they 

 were the previous season. Dr. Besse 

 — Set them anywhere, at night. H. 

 R. Boardman — You cannot tell how 

 the weather may be the following day. 

 If set out at night it might prove dis- 

 astriously. Dr. Mason — Set thein out 

 anj-where. A. S. Goodrich — Set them 

 out where they were. I lost 30 colo- 

 nies by setting them out in a hap- 

 hazard way. S. R. Morris — Put them 

 where they were. 



8. Which is best, to hive new swarms 

 on full frames of foundation, draw-n 

 out comb, or starters only ? Dr. Mason 

 — On starters, with surplus above, and 

 a queen-excluding honej'-board. 



9. Can worker bees be i-eared in 

 drone comb ? A. I. Root — Yes, in 

 some instances. 



10. Has the queen full control of 

 the fertilization of the egg ? Dr. 

 Tinker — Yes. 



11. Is the progeny of a drone-lay- 

 ing queen of anv value as drones ? A. 

 I. Root— Yes. Dr. Tinker— No. A. 

 Benedict — No. 



12. What should be done with colo- 

 nies that get damp when wintered in 

 the cellar ? A. I. Root— Let them 

 alone. Dr. Mason — Give warmth and 

 ventilation. 



A. S. Goodrich asked, what ails my 

 bees ? Half of them are dead, and 

 the balance will die as soon as they 

 get strength enough (laughter). I fed 

 them up for winter on granulated 

 sugar syrup, with a little tartaric acid 

 in it. A. I. Root — What sort of vessel 

 did you mix it in ? A. S. Goodrich — 

 Galvanized iron. A. I. Root — Thej- 

 were killed by poison from the action 

 of the acid on the zinc. Adjourned. 



WEDNESDAY MORNING SESSION. 



The first topic was, "Extracted 

 honey ; its production, and the best 

 method of marketing it," by Dr. A. B. 

 Mason. 



The Doctor having urged in his essay 

 the putting of nothing but the best ex- 

 tracted honey on the market, A. I. 



Root asked him what he would do with 

 the bad honey ? He replied, make it 

 into vinegar. 



H. R. Boardman — I started in with 

 producing extracted honey, but had to 

 conform to my trade. 



E. R. Root — Can candied honey be 

 melted and remain as good as before ? 

 Dr. Mason — Yes ; but great care must 

 be exercised. Messrs. Boardman and 

 Morris thought not, but Frank Eaton 

 and others agreed with Dr. Mason. 



An essay by Chas. F. Muth was then 

 read on, '• The c(jmmission man and 

 his relation to the honey-producer, as 

 afl'ecting the sale and price of honej'." 



A. I. Root — We cannot spare the 

 middle-man, especiallj' such a broad- 

 hearted man as C. F. Muth. 



C. E. Jones — The middle-men are 

 all right ; the trouble lies with the pro- 

 ducer. 



The assoeation pas.sed a vote of 

 thanks to Dr. C. C. Miller and Chas. 

 F. ISIuth for the valuable papers they 

 furnished in their absence. 



WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON SESSION. 



H. R. Boardman then read an essay 

 on " In-door i-s. out-door wintering of 

 bees, and the advantage of the former." 



S. R. Morris asked Mr. Boardman if 

 it is advisalile to set bees out during 

 the winter for a flight ? 



H. R. Boardman — Sometimes, but 

 the bee-keeper must be the judge. 



S. R. Morris — Will they dwindle in 

 the spring worse when wintered in the 

 cellar ? Mr. Boardman — Not as badly. 

 Frank A. Eaton, Sec. 



[As the essays are lengthy, they will 

 be published hereafter as our space 

 will permit. — Ed.] 



NEBRASKA. 



Report of the Proceedings of 

 the Nebraska Convention. 



Written for tlie American Bee Jouriial 

 BY J. N. HEATER. 



The bee-keepers of Nebraska as- 

 sembled in annual convention Jan. 11 

 1888, at Lincoln, Nebr. The conven- 

 tion was called to order at 3 p.m. by 

 the President, R. R. Ryan, who pre- 

 sided throughout the session with H. 

 N. Patterson as Secretarj*. Mr. Em- 

 merson T. Abbott, of St. Joe, Mo.,^was 

 made an honorarj' member. 



Messrs. Heater and Tower were ap- 

 pointed a committee to examine the 

 reports of the Treasin-er and Secretary, 

 after which the President made an ad- 

 dress upon the aims and needs of the 

 bee-keepers of the State. 



The election of officers was post- 

 poned until evening. 



Messrs. Muir, Johnson and Heater 

 were appointed a committee to consult 

 with the State Horticultural Society to 

 see if arrangements could be made for 

 holding a joint session of a half day 

 with that society. 



The work of the meeting was then 

 given up to asking and answering 

 questions. Under this head the fol- 

 lowing questions were fully discussed : 

 Is there sucli a thing as a high-bred 

 bee ? What is the best manner of 

 uniting weak colonies for wintering ? 

 Do the moths ever trouble t"he Italian 

 bees ? Is there any rule or sign by 

 which you can tell wlien bees are rob- 

 bing each other ? What is foul brood ? 

 How long will two queens work to- 

 gether in the same hive ? After these 

 discussions, the convention then ad- 

 journed until 7 p.m. 



EVENING SESSION. 



" What are the essential points in 

 locating an apiary ?" was discussed by 

 J. S. Hodges and J. L. Blanchard. 



The speakers favored a southeast 

 slope located near or in a timber, with 

 water near at hand, and plenty of 

 honey resources in the flight of the 

 bees. 



This question was then opened to all 

 for discussion, and a number of the 

 members gave their experience and 

 their preference of location. There 

 was a diversity of opinion, some favor- 

 ing the fronting of the hives to the 

 east, and others to the south. The 

 general opinion was, that an orchard 

 with trees planted about 8 feet apart, 

 and kept well cut back, was the Ijest 

 location. 



E. To^ver made a few remarks upon 

 the question: " How^ much comb 

 foundation, if any, .should be used ?" 

 He said there was no question as to 

 the benefit of the use of comb founda- 

 tion. The principal question, and the 

 one upon which there was the most 

 division, was that of what quantity 

 should be used. Mr. Tower thought 

 that all beginners sliould use full sheets. 



Mr. Trester said it was used by bee- 

 keepers because it was cheaper than 

 allowing the bees to make it. He was 

 in favor of using all that could be put 

 in the hives, as was also Mr. Heater, 

 who recommended the use of heavy 

 foundation, thus supplying the whole 

 demand, and relieving the bees of all 

 work in secreting this wax. 



The committee ajipointed to confer 

 with the Horticultural Societj' in rela- 

 tion to holding a joint meeting with 

 the bee-keepers, reported that the Hor- 

 ticultural Society had gladly accepted 

 the invitation, and would be present at 

 the afternoon session to-morrow, to 

 hear the pajier of Prof. Bessey, on 

 " Honey Plants." 



Adjourned until 9 a.m. 



