130 



EIGHTH ANNUAL. REPOUT OF THE 



and then fill it with leaves; and out of 

 two hundred and twenty-five colonies 

 last winter, he only lost two — outdoor 

 wintering, ten miles due west of Chi- 

 cago. 



Mr. Whitney: I think, two years 

 ago, Mr. Abbott said if you had honey 

 above a cluster of bees, you couldn't 

 freeze them. I have never had any 

 experience in wintering bees in single 

 board hives, but I believe that if there 

 was the right kind of cushion on top 

 and plenty of honey over the bees, 

 they would winter well in single-board 

 hives outdoors. Mine have been win- 

 tered, of course, in double-walled hives, 

 and I have had very good success. 



Mr. Macklin: There is one tiling I 

 didn't say. When I take off the woolen 

 cloth in the spring, I find it, in the 

 majority of cases, moldy, which shows 

 that it collects considerable moisture. 



Mr. Horstmann: I have a very sim- 

 ple way of wintering bees outside 

 which may be of benefit to a beginner. 

 I have a screen cover — take any ordi- 

 nary half-inch lumber and make a kind 

 of a frame and put in a window-screen, 

 have about half the top of the hive 

 covered with that, then have a cushion 

 such as they use on steam-pipes, cov- 

 ered with burlap, then have a venti- 

 lated cover to put on top of that, and 

 there is no danger of the bees smoth- 

 ing in the hives, even if the entrance 

 is closed up tight. I close the entrance 

 up about half way and leave two or 

 three inches open, and the bees can 

 always get air through the cushion; 

 and if you go out in cold weather and 

 put your hands under that cushion, 

 you will find it is very warm. I think 

 that cushion will hold the heat and 

 keep the bees much drier than if they 

 were closed up otherwise, and always 

 warm. You can put that felt on water- 

 pipes in cold weather, and very seldom 

 the water will freeze, and what is good 

 for pipes is good for bees. 



Mr. Taylor: Asbestos? 



Mr. Horstmann: No, hair; a cushion 

 the same as they use on steam pipes, 

 and it is a good idea. 



Bee- Keeping For Women. 



"Is bee-keeping advisable work for 

 women ?" 



President York: Miss Candler, what 

 have you to say? 



Miss Candler: It is for me, I think. 



Mr. Taylor: That is, for some 

 women. 



President York: Miss Kennicott has 

 had some experience. What have you 

 to say? 



Miss Kennicott: I think it is. If you 

 are not afraid of them. 



Mr. Moore: I want to call attention 

 to several ladies who have had great 

 success with bees. Mrs. Stowe kept 

 about eighty colonies at Bvanston. Mrs. 

 Harrison of Peoria, and some others 

 have made a great success of bee- 

 culture. 



Mr. Whitney: Miss Pickard of Wis- 

 consin. What were the figures on her 

 bees? 



Mr. Moore: I think from one hun- 

 dred colonies she produced 16,600 

 pounds in one season. 



Miss Candler: I have three hundred 

 colonies and have produced thirteen 

 thousand pounds of honey this year. 



Mr. Moore: Tell us about it. Miss 

 Candler. 



Miss Candler: I had to do it alone 

 until school vacation, and then I had 

 a little boy to help me. 



President York: I am afraid you did 

 not improve leap year, Miss Candler. 



Miss Holmes is here; we ought to 

 have her report on this. What haye 

 you to say on this question? 



Miss Holmes: I have found It very 

 profitable, but we are not so situated 

 that we can devote our time to it and 

 not be called off for other things in 

 the height of the honey-flow. 



President York: How many colonies 

 have you ? 



Miss Holmes: Only nineteen. 



President York: What is your crop 

 this year? 



Miss Holmes: About four hundred 

 pounds; about as many as I can handle 

 alone. I cannot come up to Miss 

 Candler. 



Mr. Whitney: Couldn't she find any 

 man who was not afraid of bees to 

 help her out? 



President York: Perhaps she pre- 

 fers to be her own hive-lifter, instead 

 of having a man hive -lifter. 



Mulberries For Feeding Bees. 



"What about mulberries for feeding 



bees?" 



Dr. Peiro: I know something about 

 mulberries, but it is the white mul- 

 berry. Don't think any kind of mul- 

 berry will do, because it won't. The 



