362 



TH® MMB;KIC'ME« WmM JQmMWm.1^. 



^^^^^^^^^^' —--m.^^^^^^^^^^.^^..^^^^^^^^mLAi^^^^^^^^l^^t^^im^^^^l^M^^l^^^^^^^^^^^A 



What is the best method of fasten- 

 ing starters in sections P D. M. Allen 

 uses melted wax with a spoon. War- 

 ren Pierce prepares a mixture of wax 

 and rosin (two parts of wax to one of 

 rosin) anil dips the foundation in it. 

 He thinks that it is not quite as neat, 

 but it sticks better, and can be put in 

 faster than by anj' other way he has 

 ever tried. In answer to a question 

 by J. D. Haggart, he said that he did 

 not think that the bees drew it out 

 quite as close to the section as when 

 wax only was used. Mrs. O. D. New- 

 comb uses the Parker foundation fast- 

 ener. O. J. Post prefers the Parker 

 fastener to any other. J. B. Hains 

 uses the Gray fastener, something like 

 the Parker, only it is run bj' foot- 

 power. He also described a starter 

 machine made by the Berlin Fruit-Box 

 Company, but which can only be used 

 with wide frames. Heni-y Bosworth 

 uses a machine which he made him- 

 self, similar to the Gray. As the sev- 

 eral methods had quite a number of 

 advocates, no agreement was reached, 

 and the next question was taken up. 



How few bees can be safely win- 

 tered in a hive ? J. W. Chalker had 

 2 quarts of bees ; the queen was reared 

 about Sept. 1, 1887 ; he put them on 4 

 frames, and they came through all 

 right. Mr. Haggart thinks a small 

 colony pnt up properly' on 4 frames 

 will winter well if they have a good 

 queen, but much depends on the 

 queen. L. H. Brown : Bees enough to 

 cover 5 frames will be best ; less than 

 than I would double up. Small colo- 

 nies do not winter well, as a rule. J. 

 L. Way asked if it was not possible to 

 have too many bees in one hive. He 

 thinks he lost some on that account. 

 In reply Mr. Hains said : Too large 

 colonies in the hive are not best, and 

 do not keep as well either. There are 

 extremes in both directions, and be- 

 tween these lies the " golden mean." 

 Five pounds of bees in a good hive, 

 with good stores, will come out best. 

 It was the sense of the meeting that a 

 medium-sized colony is best, but they 

 would not throw aside a small one. 



Does not wintering well, depend 

 largeh' upon the age of the bees ? It 

 was thought to be necessary to have a 

 prolific queen in the hive, and a full 

 complement of young bees. 



What is best to use for winter jiack- 

 ing ? Mi.ss Dema Bennett prefers 

 forest leaves, and gave as reasons 

 therefore, that they are light and dry. 

 They give good ventilation, and are 

 easily cleaned out of the yard, not 

 making as much litter as chaft" or 

 straw, and can be taken from the hive 

 with less trouble. Mr. Pierce uses a 

 honey-board frame with cotton-cloth 

 tacked on the under side, and a board 

 covering the top, excepting a space in 



the centre of 3 or 4 inches, which is ! 

 covered with wire-cloth, and this is | 

 filled with leaves. Mr. Haggart uses 

 the same kind of a frame filled with 

 cut rye-straw 



Will bees 

 keep them 

 bloom ? Mr 



Voted for forest leaves, 

 secure honey enough to 



from now until clover 

 Brown : They consume 

 a large amount of stores in rearing 

 brood ; more than they will gather. 

 Mr. Hains : After fruit-bloom many 

 will perish if they are not closely 

 watched. It was voted that bees are 

 not in a condition to do without feed- 

 ing until clover bloom. 



What does W. S. Wait think of the 

 Heddon hive ? Mr. Wait : I think 

 that it is a good hive for honey-gath- 

 ing, but not so good for wintering. 



How shall we keep the bees from 

 robbing ? Tlie following ways were 

 spoken of : Contract the entrance ; 

 throw straw in front of the hive ; spray 

 the hive with cold water ; fanning, to 

 let the robbers out, and keep the fresh 

 ones from getting in, and after the 

 fanning, put a glass in front of the en- 

 trance. 



After dinner, which was served in 

 the hall, the meeting was called to 

 (irder, and an essay was read by Mr. 

 George B. Haggart, of Bain bridge, en- 

 titled, "Evolution in Bee-Culture." 



An unanimous vote of thanks was 

 tendered to Mi\ Haggart for his kind- 

 ness in preparing and reading the 

 same. 



The Question-Box was then re- 

 opened. 



What is the trouble when bees ap- 

 parently swarm, and after being hived, 

 return to the old hive, sometimes 3 or 

 4 times ? Au.swer : The queen re- 

 mained in the old hive. 



What causes the bees to swarm out, 

 in early spring ? Answer : Lack of 

 queen, or bees, or stores ; diseased 

 bees, and unwholesome hive, or too 

 many frames. 



For one having hives and frames 

 well filled with comb, what is the best 

 use that can be made of them ? It 

 was thought best to save the best 

 combs, even if they had to buy the 

 bees, but would render the darkest- 

 colored and drone combs into wax. It 

 was also suggested that if the combs 

 could be hung up with a space of an 

 inch or two between them, that the 

 heat would not be sufficient to gen- 

 erate the moth. 



What is the best 

 with swarms when 

 honey ? Mr. Wait : 

 5 frames, aiid give 

 full sheets of foundation in the sections 

 above. Mr. Pieice : Hive the swarm 

 and put it on the old stand, moving 

 the old colony, and so get all the work- 

 ing bees with the swarm. Mr. Hains : 

 Use either frames of comb or full 



method to pursue 



working for comb 



Contract them to 



starters ; but use 



sheets of foundation (there should be 

 a frame of eggs or unsealed larva> to- 

 hold the bees) in the brood-chamber, 

 which should be contracted ; then 

 place the new hive as spoken of by 

 Mr. Pierce, and take off the super from 

 the old hive and put it on the new one. 

 For extracted honey I follow the same 

 plan excepting that I use light-colored 

 brood-combs, or frames filled with 

 foundation in the upper story, and ex- 

 tract when t\\'o-thirds of the honey is 

 sealed. 



Which are preferable, single or 

 double tier wide frames ? Single-tiei- 

 frames or cases were preferred by the 

 majority. 



Does extracted honey ever lose its 

 flavor ? It was thought that thin, un- 

 ripened honey would deteriorate, but 

 that honey well-ripened, sealed before 

 extracting and kept covered after, re- 

 tained its flavor. This opinion was no 

 doubt partly based on the fact that we 

 had a sample of extracted honej' from 

 the apiary of L. H. Brown, for dinner. 



Statistical report of the members, as 

 far as received : 



Number of colonies Dec. 1, 1887 1,30ft 



" " at present time 1,143 



Total loss 16.5 



Per cent, of loss 13 



One member losing 51 colonies out 

 of 102. Aside from his report there 

 was a loss of 112 colonies out of 1,204 

 last fall, and brings the loss down to 

 9 per cent., which is a fair average ; 

 many reporting no loss at all. 



In answer to the question, as to the 

 prospect for the honej' crop, while 

 many did not give an opinion, one- 

 third of those who did, said " not 

 good," and the other two-thirds, 

 "good." The Secretary read extracts 

 in regard to the Ohio Centennial at 

 Columbus, and urged all to attend 

 who could possibly do so, and also to 

 make exhibits. 



Mr. J. R. Reed, now in California, 

 sent personal greetings bj" the Presi- 

 dent. 



A vote of thanks was given to the 

 " Sons of Temperance " for the use of 

 their Hall ; also to the friends in Bain- 

 bridge who assisted in entertaining 

 this association. A motion was made 

 and carried, that the executive cor > 

 mittee fix the place of the next meet> 

 ing. 



The meeting then adjourned until 

 Thursday, Oct. 4, 1888. 



Bedford, Ohio. 



A Wariiins-.— Writing from Dakota, 

 Mr. F. H. Canty remarks thus : 



I have lost all my bees, 9 swarms, by let- 

 ting my bee-cellar i;et below the freezing 

 point. Take warning ! or you will be like 

 me, with empty hives, combs and sections, 

 and bees to buy. 



