ILiilNOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



95 



tional, and the State, and I think it 

 is not any different this year. 



Pres. Huffman — ^^'^e have a motion 

 before us — are you ready for the ques- 

 tion? It has been moved that we join 

 the Illinois Bee-Keepers' Association 

 and the National Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation in a body, is there a second 

 to that motion? 



Motion seconded and carried. 



'Pres. Huffman — ^You all understand, 

 I presume, that you are to pay one 

 one dolar and a half to join the three 

 associations; that was voted on here 

 last year. 



Mr. Kannenberg — That means we get 

 the report from the State Association? 



We now stand adjourned until 1:30. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



Convention called to order by the 

 president, at one-thirty p. m. 



Pres. Huffman — The first thing this 

 afternoon is to appoint a Committee 

 on Resolutions. I will appoint Messrs. 

 Cavanagh, Kannenberg and Bloom. 



The next number that we have before 

 us is the .talk by Mr. Stanley, subject: 

 "What Strains for Breeding are Best — 

 Does Crossing Full Blooded Strains 

 INIake Gentler or More Vicious Bees?" 



Mr. Stanley — I am not prepared to 

 speak; I have a bad cold. 



Pres. Huffman^ — Is there any one else 

 in the audience Avho will give us a 

 talk on that subject? Mr. Stanley is 

 excused because he is hoarse and does 

 not feel well; is there any one else 

 here who has been raising queens and 

 who knows anything about the cross- 

 ing of the different strains of bees? 



Mr. Dadant — I have not had any ex- 

 perience, but there are bee-keepers who 

 have had experience and we would 

 like to hear from them. In our apiaries, 

 about the best queen we have had was 

 the first cross between Caucasian and 

 Italian; gave us the imost honey and 

 seem to do 'better than anything else, 

 but after the first cross, did not seem 

 to do as well; I know there are some 

 bee-keepers here who have had experi- 

 ence and we would like to hear from 

 them. 



I have asked Mr. r>ittmer to give us 

 a talk on shipping bees -wax — "Helpful 

 Hints for Bee-Keepers in PaoMng and 

 Shi'ping Beeswax." Mr. Dittmer has 

 had trouble in receiving wax in various 

 shapes, no doubit, and we would like to 

 hear what he has to say. 



Mr, Ddttmer — 



'^Helpful Hints for Bee-Keepers in 

 Pacl<ing and Shipping Beeswax." 



The above title for a short talk, or 

 paper, was suggested to me by the 

 Secretary, Mr. Dadant, with the request 

 to take the matter in hand- I know 

 it to be a subject of vital importance 

 to the bee-keeper, and of special in- 

 terest to the manufacturer who ulti- 

 mately receives the wax. 



I take the liberty to consider briefly 

 in connection with the subject, the pro- 

 duction of wax, in order to get at the 

 subject of packing and shipping more 

 intelligently. 



Bverj- bee-keeper packs honey as 

 well as beeswax for shipment. We all 

 know, and are faniiliar with, the care 

 taken and the time spent in taking the 

 honey off the hives, taking it out of the 

 supers, scraping the sections, carefully 

 assorting it, and lastly, packing each 

 kind and grade separated' by itself, in 

 neat, showj^ and substantial cases. 



The same care is taken with ex- 

 tracted honey. It must be ripe; each 

 kind and grade by itself, and all of it 

 must be free from wax, dirt or any- 

 thing foreign to honey, by having been 

 strained through cheesecloth and all 

 packed neatly and attractively. 



It is safe to say, that every bee-keep- 

 er who reads the Bee Journals, and is 

 a member of any association, takes care 

 of his honey in this waj'. The in- 

 ference naturally would be, that he is 

 as particular and painstaking in pro- 

 ducing his -max, packing and shipping 

 it, as he is with his honey. 



Perhaps each believes they are, but 

 it is a fact that comparatively few pro- 

 duce wax that can be classed as A No. 

 1. Less than one-half produce wax 

 that could be called good. The rest 

 produce two other grades, fair and dirty, 

 respectively. They are all honest, and 

 would not use tallow or paraffins, but, 

 in the matter of dirt, they are simply 

 careless. 



Wax should be moulded into suitable 

 cakes, be free from actual dirt and 

 sediment. Never allow dirt or sediment 

 to remain on the bottom of a cake, but 

 scrape it off thoroughly. 



Any bee-keeper, whether he produces 

 ten pounds or hundreds of pounds of 

 wiax, should not expect (full weight or 

 payment unless wax is clean all 

 through, any more than he should ex- 



