ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION. 



41 



The President— Ladies and gentlemen, 

 the next number on our program was 

 "Better Bee-Keeping"' by Hon. N. E. 

 France, of Wisconsin, who is not with us. 

 If Mr. Root will kindly consent to take 

 up his time and give us a short talk, wp 

 will appreciate it very much. 



Hon. N. E. FRANCE. 



In my many visits among bee-keepers 

 I learn of the poor returns from so many 

 colonies of bees, and almost in sight of 

 same are others keeping bees, modern 

 methods and getting returns more than 

 double per colony, I often ask who is mak- 

 ing bee-keeping pay? Certainly not just 

 bee-owners but bee-keepers in a true sense 

 of the word. Allow me to illustrate as I 

 find it in Wisconsin (of course none such in 

 Illinois). One modern bee-keeper living 

 on small farm which shows thrift, good 

 buildings — pure bred stock, his milk record 

 of each cow shows the profit, and his 

 swine feeding on clean cement floors, 

 each grade separated and frequently 

 w ighed to know what certain feeds are 

 doing, and a subscriber to Drovers Journal 

 to keep posted on markets. Back in edge 

 of orchard is small apiarj' with grass 

 pastured down. Hives in straight rows 

 and hives level on good stands. It is a 

 pleasure to ask him questions for he 

 knows. I ask do your bees bother you 

 swarming during haying and harvest — he 

 answers no — I control that. Do j^our bees 



finish sections with many combs bulging 

 into next one, and others so thin as result 

 as not to be marketable? He looks at me 

 with surprise, and says, you can find plenty 

 of that kind over there, pointing to neigh- 

 bors apiary. I ask him do you every buy 

 queens from reliable breeders — He answers 

 me — ^Would you expect me to keep blooded 

 stock and never buy new blood. I have 

 no use for those black bees, even the best 

 I can buy do not all come up to standard 

 and I have to keep selecting. I ask him, 

 do you have any system of management 

 of your bees, and he says during winter 

 months I review my methods, and lay 

 out plans and dates for certain work to 

 best advantage and so far as possible 

 follow it. Of course during winter I get 

 everything possible ready for coming sea- 

 son — hives cleaned and pinted — extracting 

 combs scraped around frames — the poor 

 ones go into wax. and all wax sent to be 

 made up into comb foundation and in 

 frames ready long before busy season. 

 My storage for extracted honey is on 

 hand — contracts for queens and packages 

 of bees early in spring from the south 

 before spring snows are gone. I ask do 

 you keep a hive on the scales? He looks 

 at me surprised and yes is his answer; and 

 adds how would I know that cow over 

 there has a record that beats any in the 

 county, and would I know that if I did not 

 have a record sheet. The same applies to 

 the hive on scales, as I by that know what 

 mj' bees are doing, and when to do my 

 part. 



I meet this man again at State Fair, and 

 ask have you sold your honey? He 

 answers, about half of it, but rest will be 

 gone in time. What did you get for your 

 honey, $3,200 when sold out is reply. What 

 did your best colony produce this year? 

 He answers 210 pounds extracted, and 

 sold at 15 cents net or $31.50. Now 

 brother bee-keepers of Illinois, this is a 

 picture of actual conditions in one of 

 Wisconsin's modem apiaries. 



Let me describe modern bee-keeping as 

 we see it over fence enclosing it. White 

 bee-hives, all of same size and interchang- 

 able, between brood chamber and honey 

 supers is a wood and wire queen excluder, 

 and metal hive cover over each hive. It 

 must be about close of honey season as 

 each hive has several extracting supers, 

 and in corner of apiary is the bee-house. 

 Also notice this apiary is in the warm 

 sunshine with shade boards on top of 

 each cover and good windbreak on north 

 and west sides. As we reach the bee- 

 house we pass the wheelbarrow with high 



