THE 
JOURNAL. 
Vol. I. — No. 2.] JANUARY, 1886. [Price 6d. 
PROCEEDINGS op BEEKEEPERS’ 
SOCIETIES. 
Victorian Beekeepers' Chib. 
Ordinary meeting held at the Manufacturers’ 
Association Rooms, The Exchange, on 2nd 
November, Mr. Ellery in the chair ; the follow- 
ing new members were elected: — Singleton, 
Mr. H. F., Malvern ; Mackleberg, Mr. Jno., 
Sackville-street, Kew ; Wilkinson, Mr. Jno., 
Kew ; Sumner, Mr. Z., High-street, Prahran. 
Further discussion took place on the stan- 
dard size of frame to be recommended by the 
club, and finally out of twenty-four members 
present thirteen voted for the Langstroth, and 
two for the British Standard. 
Mr. Ellery read a short paper on some 
experiments as to the temperature inside hives 
painted different colours, which showed that 
in rough uupaiuted boxes that had got grey 
with the wt ather, the temperature sometimes 
reached 10 degrees higher than shade tem- 
perature. In red boxes (Dutch gin cases) 
the thermometer reached from 12 to 15 degrees 
higher, while in hives painted pure white the 
readings were seldom more than from 1 to 3 
degrees higher than shade temperature. 
Mr. Sumner exhibited Langstroth frames 
with a longitudinal division bar to support 
comb in hot weather, also a form of Alley’s 
drone trap and swarm preventer. 
Meeting held at Manufacturers’ Association 
Rooms on 15th November. A letter was read 
from Mr. R. K. Murray, advocating the use of 
stone hives, and offered to make one, if any 
member would undertake to place a stock in 
it and report upon it at a future meeting. 
The Rev. J. Kennedy undertook to carry out 
the experiment. 
A discussion took place on the question of 
ants as enemies to the hive and bees. 
A member from Heidelberg stated that ants 
did rob bees, but he prevented it by allowing 
grass to grow around his hives, and ants 
would not travel in grass, and it kept them 
away. Mr. Clark, of Dandenong, stated that 
during his ten years’ experience in beekeeping 
he never found ants rob except in very weak 
hives. 
Mr. Ellery advised those who found ants 
troublesome to search for their nests and 
destroy them with hi-sulphide of carbon . 
The question of the best mat to place over 
frames was then raised, and two or three kinds 
of lath mats as described in Root’s ABC, were 
exhibited. The secretary said he alway used 
canvas bagging such as used for bran bags cut 
to size, and hemmed at the edges, and found 
them all that could be desired. Bees did not 
gnaw it as they did calico or lighter stuff, and 
when this kind of mat was put on it was so 
light that bees that happened to be on the 
frames could easily crawl from under it to the 
spaces. 
Ordinary meeting held 30th November, 
1885, at the Manufacturers’ Association 
Rooms, The Exchange. Present — Mr. Ellery, 
in the chair, and about twenty-four members. 
Mr. Sumner exhibited frames and appli- 
ances for transferring, a sample of Melbourne 
made drone — excluding zinc, and a form of 
Clarke’s smoker. Mr. Grant stated he had 
some hives affected with foul brood, and that 
he was trying Cheshire’s remedy, viz., feeding 
with phenol and syrup. Some members who 
had never seen foul brood asked him to shew 
an affected frame next meeting ; this he 
promised to do. 
