140 



FIFTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



Honey Producers of America. That 

 object is, as stated, to place these mat- 

 ters before the State Departments of 

 Instruction or other places where this 

 information may be properly placed, 

 with the idea of issuing bulletins 

 which these departments request, in- 

 asmuch as they have no definite in- 

 formation along these lines. 



This has been referred to incident- 

 ally several times today, and I could 

 but wonder whether many people knew 

 what was being- talked about when it 

 was referred to. 



I am making these remarks in ex- 

 planation of some of those things that 

 are being said. 



I am intimately connected with that 

 Association. I would not for a second 

 lend my influence or support to an or- 

 ganization that I- didn't believe had 

 for the real purpose of its conception, 

 the benefit of every bee-keeper in this 

 country. 



I believe the time is here for an or- 

 ganization along those particular lines, 

 because in an ordinary Bee-Keepers' 

 Association the scope is well exempli- 

 fied by our program of today, is to di- 

 versify. I believe the organization 

 along these particular lines has a wider 

 scope. I believe it is something the 

 larger bee-keepers in particular need 

 and have needed for a long time. 



It is my hope that this organization 

 may prove to be that which is most 

 desired by so many. 



President France — Shall we have the 

 Question Box, or what is your pleasure? 



Mr. Bull — Let's have a few questions 

 to wake us up and get things going 

 well. 



Mr. Miller — I would like to ask a 

 question: When you put that queen 

 excluder in between the bottom hive 

 and the next one, as I understand it 

 you give them two hive bodies early 

 in the season. When do you separate 

 the two? 



President France — I never separate 

 the two; I raise the two up and put 

 the other below and put the excluder 

 there, putting all but one above the ex- 

 cluder. The queen is below at the time 

 I make this transfer; she is put down 

 below the wood and wire excluder. 



Just a word in behalf of that wood 

 and wire excluder: the more wires j^ou 

 can get and the less wood you have, 

 the better. 



If it were not for the cost, I would 



like to have that whole excluder wire, 

 with that cross bar to hold it the prop- 

 er distance. 



The more wires there are the quick- 

 er the bees go down and out through 

 them the better, and the more hind- 

 rance we have through that, the less 

 profits the bees make; and if you 

 please, come back to the old perforated 

 zinc, it is the best thing I ever heard 

 of to create swarming; it will create 

 swarming quicker than anything I ever 

 found in manipulating a hive of bees. 



Now with the new ones, they will go 

 up so quickly, they hardly realize there 

 is anything in the way, and your honey 

 goes above leaving the queen below. 



A member — About what time in the 

 year do you put that excluder in? 



President France — About the time the 

 first clover is beginning to yield a little 

 honey. 



Mr. Wheeler — Do you get wire the 

 right size to permit the workers to go 

 through without the queen? 



Mr. President — As made by our sup- 

 ply men; the more wires you can get, 

 the better; make seven wires, a little 

 strip of wood, then seven more wires, 

 with cross bars to hold those wires the 

 proper distance apart. 



The old one was three wires, then a 

 strip of wood, then three wires with a 

 strip of wood; I let those go to the 

 neighbors. 



I wish I could get those that are all 

 wire; they are still better. 



Mr. Kildow — When you put that ex- 

 cluder between and brood above and 

 the queen in one comb below, do you 

 have to watch queen cells? 



President France — Not over ten days 

 after this transfer, go through one and 

 remove the queen cells. 



With my yards away from home; 

 they are all away from home (I gave as 

 a wedding present 150 swarms and the 

 use of my home apiary). I think we 

 have had three swarms in the different 

 yards this summer in that way of man- 

 ipulating, and only going to them a 

 few times. 



We had an ideal year for rain, but 

 not for honey. The flowers cannot 

 yield very much when we have rain 

 and cold weather. 



If you will remove the cause for 

 swarming, before the swarming fever 

 has taken place, there ought not to be 

 any swarming; if you wait until the 

 queen cells are well developed and the 



