STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 139 



compel them to make honey, and at the same time to increase the 

 stocks. Last year his honey at current prices was worth $600. 



Mr. Wilcox. I would like to ask how many swarms you have? 



Mr. Danforth. I put forty-one swarms into my cellar. 



Mr. Hillman. How do you manage to keep them from the frost? 



Mr. Danforth. I keep them in a cool and dark place. They are 

 kept quiet from the beginning of the winter till the end. 



Mr. Dartt. Do you use moveable frames ? 



Mr. Danforth Yes, sir; I have but one kind of hive, and that the 

 old-fashioned kind; there are twentv-eight sections in a case for the 

 surplus honey, and when a case is filled we slip another one under 

 until the top case is filled. 



Mr. Dartt. How do you manage your queenless colonies? 



Mr. Danforth. We get another queen to supply the bees; we 

 use Italians as much as possible. It is impossible to keep them pure. 

 I think the natives perhaps finish up their honey in the best shape, 

 but the Italians make the most honey and are the most profitable if 

 kept pure. 



Mr. Mitchell. What do you use for pasture? 



Mr. Danforth, Mostly clover, of which there is an abundance on 

 the Mississippi bottoms, as well as other flowers. 



Prof. Porter. What kind of honey is the best in quali^^y ? 



Mr. Danforth, White clover and basswood. 



Mr. Mitchell. Which do you piefer, natural or artificial swarm- 

 ing? 



Mr. Danforth. I think most of natural swarming. I think they 

 - are the most successful. You can keep them back with the ex- 

 tractor. 



Mr. Hillman. Do you extract the honey, or remove the cases ? 



Mr. Danforth. That depends upon circumstances. It pays best to 

 extract the honey. It is estimated that it takes about twenty times 

 as long for the bees to make a pound of comb as to make a pound of 

 honey. We extract the honey by using the moveable frames, and the 

 same frames can be used three or four years. But I will give way to 

 Mr. Urie, who knows more about this subject than I do. 



Mr. William Urie, of Minneapolis, was then called upon to address 

 the Association, and came forward and said: 



