The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-01-31
IN The APlARY.
Opinions Expressed on Subjects Of General
Interest at a Beekeepers' Convention.

Opinions Expressed on Subject Of General
Interest at Beekeepers' Convention.
At the N orth American beekeepers'
convention, in paper read, the writer
opposed small hives, or the contraction
of the brood nest, on the ground that
such hives and methods require more
labor. The opinion was expressed Il
was In ore prohta BILE to have good, strong
colonies in large hives. They always
secure sufficient stores for winter; if
they did not swarm, they superseded
their queens when they became old, and
when there was season that allowed
OF the gathering of a surplus it was Sc
cured, and there was no time lost in
tinkering with them. In the discussion
following these remarks were made:
C. P. Dadant-We have used large
hives for years. The bees must Of course
supersede their queens. Superseding is
quite likely to lead to swarming.
c. E. Meade-I have not found il
profitable to feed bees in the spring fol-
stimulative purposes. 1t induces bees
to fly, and they become chilled and are
lost.
r. l.. Tay lor--Would it not be better
to feed in the fall-feed sugar? Then
in the spring the hive will be full, and
all honey that is brought in must go in
to the sections. I use the Heddon d.
visable brood chamber hive. In the
spring all from which the lower section
can be removed are so treated. IT they
become strong enough to fill another
story with brood before the opening OF
the honey harvest, it is added, but it
they do not why add another story to
be filled with honey that would other
wise have gone into the sections? In
stead, put on section boxes, and have
been amazed to see those little colonies,
occupying only one section of the He'd
don hive, store as much surplus as any
colonies in the yard. Of course l have
to feed them sugar for winter stores, but
this is done at great profit.
Allen Pringle-I get more comb hon.
ey by reducing the number of brood
combs to six or seven.
r. L. Taylor-When have colony
that will fill a 10 frame hive, I give
them such hive. The hive must have
capacity in proportion to the size of
the colony.
B. Taylor have secured the best
results from hive having the capacity
only equallng that of five L combs.
On this question a vote was now TAX
en- Forty-one favored an frame hive;
I n &C., \, , l., A,Io rroI
from an to 10 frame hive. while 30
had changed from 10 to frames.
J. "A. Green-A 10 frame hive is be-
yond the range of an average queen.
Merritt Blanchard-Will good bee
keeper allow queen to be cramped for
room at time when the eggs that she
lays will become workers-that is, bees
that will come on the stage of action
when there is honey for them to gathera
R. L. Taylor do not want a queen
to extend her brood nest when the time
arrives that her eggs will not produce
workers in time for the honey harvest.
In my locality this time arrives about
June 90. With many frames there may
be brood in them all, but it might be
better in fewer frames.
J. A. Green-I have always found 1t
more profitable to restrict some of the
queens rather than to allow some of the
hives to be unproftably filled with hon
ey-that is, honey that ought to have
gone into the sections.
More Potash Needed.
Here is what Professor W. P. Brooks
of the Massachusetts, Agriculture col