136 



'E^mm mimmmi^-mM Mmm j^'^mmmLf. 



months, and only one of them lived 

 a year." Still another says : "I am 

 disgusted with buying cheap queens ; 

 five out of six purchased this season 

 having died of old age." And so I 

 might go on with many more of a 

 similar nature, but the above is enough 

 to convince all, that all queens sent 

 out are not such as they would desire 

 to stock an apiary with. 



One thing, however, I am pleased 

 to note, namely, that the number of 

 poor queens sent out is growing pro- 

 portionately less with each year, and I 

 hope this state of things may continue, 

 until all may feel the responsibility 

 that is resting upon them, to do to 

 others as they would be done by. 

 Always bear in mind, fellow bee-keep- 

 ers, that upon the queen largely de- 

 pends the profit or loss in apiculture, 

 and to her we must look quite largely, 

 if we are to compete with the low 

 prices of our product, predicted by 

 some, in the near future. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



[Bro. Doolittle is right. We have 

 repeatedly protested against the cheap- 

 queen traffic. What we need is better 

 queens, not lower prices. One good 

 queen is worth a dozen poor and cor- 

 respondingly cAeap ones. This "heap- 

 by-cheap " business is the bane of 

 modern apiculture, and should be 

 " frowned down " bj' all who desire its 

 prosperity. — Ed.] 



SHALLOW HIVES. 



Sliallow Brood-Frames and Side- 

 Opening Sections. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY M. M. BALDRIDGE. 



Under date of Feb. 13, Dr. Tinker 

 writes me as follows : 



1. lam especially pleased to hear your 

 opinion of 7-inch brocid-frames. From it 1 

 infer that your verdict will not differ much 

 from mine on the Heddon hive. 



2. The great value of the open-side sec- 

 tion rests mainly upon the proper ventila- 

 tion which it affords. 



My reply to the foregoing is as fol- 

 lows : 1. I have, as before stated, 

 used many hives with brood-frames 7 

 inches deep, in the clear, and have 

 used more or less of them since 1876 ; 

 ten frames in each story, but eight 

 frames would be lietter. Geo. Thomp- 

 son, of Geneva, Ills., and Jas. M. 

 Marvin, of this city, liave used 6-inch 

 bi-ood-frames, 11 in each story, since 

 1877, and they still prefer them to 

 deeper ones. They now use no other 

 hive, and claim that bees winter as 

 well in these shallow hives as in deeper 



ones. They always winter their bees 

 in the cellar. 



I have read Dr. Tinker's essay on 

 Heddon's new hive very carefully, but 

 I cannot endorse all he says. I have 

 not yet used this hive, but I do not 

 apprehend any trouble in its use ; nor 

 do I expect to find the difficulties and 

 objections as set forth in the Doctor's 

 essay. 1 shall try to use some of the 

 new hives the coming season, and then 

 I shall know for myself. 1 still think, 

 however, as favorable of Heddon's 

 new hive as I did one year ago. 



Open-side Sections and Ventilation. 



The open-side sections may be just 

 what honey-producers want, and they 

 may not be. I would rather use them 

 awhile before I express an opinion. I 

 can, however, force bees to store all 

 their honey in any style of section ; 

 and, I think I know how to secure the 

 surplus in sections free from bee- 

 bread — no matter how shallow the 

 brood-frames may be. I also think 

 that I know how to construct and to 

 manipulate the sectional brood-cham- 

 ber so there will be no comb, worthy 

 of mention, between the two sets of 

 brood-frames. 



St. Charles, Ills. 



NEW YORK. 



Tlie Second Day of llie State 

 Convention — Jan. IS. 



Writtrn for the American Bee Journal 

 BY G. H. KNICKERBOCKER. 



The convention was called to order 

 at 9 a.m., and the following were ap- 

 pointed a committee on exhibits : W. 

 L. Coggshall, J. H. Taylor, and W. 

 H. Beach. 



The question, "How can we or- 

 ganize an international bee-keepers' 

 association that will best promote the 

 interests of bee-keeping ?" was then 

 taken up, and the following essay 

 from Dr. C. C. Miller, of Marengo, 

 Ills., was then read by the Secretary : 

 An Inter-National Bee-Society. 



Before inquiring " how," it may be 

 well to inquire wliether it is desirable 

 to do so at all. Only a few weeks ago 

 an organization held its 18th annual 

 meeting in Chicago, whose avowed 

 object is " to promote the interests of 

 bee-culture." As this is the thing in- 

 quired for, have we need of anything 

 further ? The North American Bee- 

 Keepers' Society has identified with it 

 some of the best men of our ranks. So 

 far as I know, great harmony prevails 

 in it, quite free from bickerings and 

 jealousies, its meetings are profitable 

 and highly enjoyable, and the reports 

 thereof eagerly read by thousands who 



are not enrolled members. But the 

 fact that among its warmest friends 

 are found those who are raising the 

 question as to some change in its char- 

 acter, shows that, as constituted at 

 present, it is not all that can be de- 

 sired. 



Whether it be better to amend the 

 present orgauization, or to organize 

 anew, in either case it is desirable to 

 discuss the matter thoroughly in con- 

 vention, and also in the bee-papers, 

 and try to find out just exactly what is 

 wanted. 



At the Chicago convention Mr. New- 

 man suggested a plan of operation. Let 

 others give their tlioughts. If the 

 matter is fully talked up, I do not see 

 why we cannot be ready for action 

 sometime during the present year, if 

 indeed a feasible plan of action can be 

 agreed upon at all. 



I do not feel competent to map out 

 a plan, and all I shall say is merely in 

 the way of a starter. Perhaps it may 

 help to say what there is in the North 

 American Bee-Keepers' Association, as 

 now constituted, that ought not to be. 



It ought not to be local. To a con- 

 siderable extent it is comparing the 

 last North American with the last 

 Northwestern, both being held in 

 Chicago. Tlie North American had 

 seven more members in attendance 

 than the Northwestern, one more State 

 represented, and one member from 

 Canada. At the last meeting of the 

 North American in New York, besides 

 the members from New York, there 

 were present as follows : Ontario, 7 ; 

 Pennsylvania, 4 ; Georgia, 1 ; Ohio, 1 ; 

 Massachusetts, 1 ; fourteen in all. 



You can judge better than I, how 

 much this differed from a State con- 

 vention. Does it not look a little like 

 a farce to call this a North American 

 convention, in which more than six- 

 sevenths of the States were in no man- 

 ner represented ? I remember hear- 

 ing an old professor once say, •' Yes, 

 any fool can find fault, but the remedy 

 is what we want." I have taken the 

 fool's part, and leave others to find the 

 remedy. I know that some New York 

 bee-keepers are awake on this subject, 

 and I shall look with interest for a re- 

 port of your discussions, as indeed I 

 always do. C. C. Miller. 



John Aspinwall — The cry for better 

 organization comes from every quar- 

 ter. We have no organization as it 

 should be. The name "association" 

 is a misnomer. We have conventions 

 rather than associations. The forma- 

 tion of an international association 

 must be accomplished by calling on 

 the various associations, and these 

 should be affiliated with the "national." 

 It is ridiculous to think that an inter- 

 national association can be formed by 



