Feb. 14, 1901. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



103 



Mr. Aikin— I have some that is getting to be pretty 

 nearly half as old as I am. 



Mr. Cog-gshall — I have some 30 years old. 



Mr. Aikin — Is it good ? 



Mr. Coggshall — I haven't opened the package. 



Dr. Mason— I have some that is 15 years old that stands 

 open — good yet. 



TO PREVENT GRANUI,.\TION AFTER FEEDING. 



QUES. — For feeding what would you put with sugar 

 syrup to prevent granulation, and what proportions ? 



Mr. Aikin Some use honey; I never had any experi- 

 ence, I can't answer it. 



Mr. Hutchinson- Honey is all right for that; about 

 one-quarter honey is all right. 



Mr. Benton— (,)ne-tifth will do. 



Mrs. Acklin — Percolate the syrup and you don't have to 

 put any honey in. 



WHAT TO DO WITH FERMENTING HONEY. 



QrES. — What can you do with frames of honey that is 

 fermenting ? 



A Member — Extract it and sell it. 



Mr. Aikin — Feed it to the bees, or make vinegar of it. 



A Member — Will it do to feed to the bees ? 



Mr. Aikin — I wouldn't feed it to the bees any time ex- 

 cept when they could fly freely, and I have some doubt 

 about it then ; I said that because somebody else was rec- 

 ommending feeding. 



SPENDING THE FUNDS OF THE ASSOCIATION. 



OuES. — How large a percent of the funds of this Asso- 

 ciation should be used in the prosecution of adulterators of 

 honey ? 



Mr. Abbott — It depends upon circumstances. We would 

 have to decide that when the case came up. 



OuES. — Would this Association deem it better to have a 

 good, fat sum in the treasury, or should the money be very 

 nearly exhausted each year in the various lines of work for 

 which the Association was organized ? 



Mr. York — I think it ought to spend its money in the 

 interest of its members. If more is needed at any time for 

 legitimate purposes, call for more from the members. 



Dr. Mason — Money is no good when it lies idle. 



AN .ASSOCIATION BRAND FOR HONEY. 



Ol'ES. — Should this Association prepare an association 

 brand as a guarantee of purity of honey, which it can sup- 

 ply to certain applicants upon the unanimous approval of 

 the board of directors ? 



Mr. Aikin — For m)' part I would answer that in the 

 negative, until this Association becomes more properly a 

 business concern. 



BEES POISONED FROM UNTIMELY SPRAYING. 



QuES. — Is it a fact that bees are poisoned and brood 

 killed when fruit-trees are sprayed while the trees are in 

 bloom, and the bees are visiting them ? 



Mr. Aikin — Colorado people say yes. 



Mr. Benton — Other people say yes. 



Mr. Aikin — A person in my county was convicted and 

 fined for spraying his trees while in bloom, and thereby 

 killing his neighbor's bees. 



Mr. Prisk — I think in referring to that the other day, 

 when I spoke about the sulphuric acid killing the bees 

 where the smelters were, somebody made a reply that they 

 thought that smelters did not kill the bees. In our town we 

 have large smelting works, and in our yard, and for blocks 

 around, everything is killed. I have known arsenic to col- 

 lect to a large amount in a few hours and to kill the shrub- 

 bery around there, and we thought that probably it fell to 

 such an amount on the bloom that that killed the bees. We 

 noticed the bees always came home as if they were tired 

 out, and did not leave their hives. 



ARR.\NGEMENT OF BEES WHEN SUPERING. 



QuES. — When putting on the supers for comb honey 

 should the natural arrangement of the brood be interfered 

 with '. 



Mr. Hutchinson — I should say no. 



Mr. Hatch — I wrote that question myself, because I 

 tried an experiment this summer that convinced me it is 

 profitable to interfere with it, and judging from this one 

 experiment I should say decidedly it should be. My experi- 

 ment was to move all the eggs and unsealed larva^ \o tlie 

 outside of the hive, to fill the hive full of brood, and put all 

 the bees and unsealed larva; clear on the outside. The re- 



sult was I got a big yield of comb honey, and the outsides 

 were filled up first. Whether it would work always that 

 way or not I don't know. Of course, I only tried it one sea- 

 son ; but I think it is a subject worthy of further experi- 

 mentation. 



Mr. Abbott— Mr. Hatch is appointed to experiment next 

 season. 



Mr. Hatch — I undoubtedly will. 



THE HONEY CROP AND HANDLI.NG. 



QuES. — What percentage of the national honey crop is 

 represented by the membership of this Association ? 



Dr. Mason — I don't know, and I don't believe anybody 

 else does. 



OuES. — Would it be practicable for the Association to 

 handle the crop of 1901 for its members ? 



Mr. Abbott — No, nor at any other time. 



Dr. Mason — I don't believe that : that is, the last part 

 of Mr. Abbott's statement. I'm a firm believer in co- 

 operation. 



OuES. — If impossible, by what obstacles is the possi- 

 bility precluded ? 



Dr. Mason- That matter is like all other matters — it 

 has to develop itself slowly. I believe that this Association 

 will some day get in position to handle the honey of its 

 members ; can't be done yet : it is going to take time. 



A Member — Is it not possible for this Association to go 

 into a joint-stock corporation and handle all their honey, 

 buying all the honey in the country and handle it for the 

 benefit of the members ? I think it is possible. I don't see 

 anything to prevent it. if all the honey could come in here 

 and be graded by disinterested parties. 



Dr. Mason — Are you asking me that question ? 



A Member — Yes, sir. 



Dr. Mason — I think I can answer that question. I don't 

 believe there are a dozen members of this Association that 

 would be willing to ship their honey and wait for their pay; 

 it takes money to run any business. Will you put the 

 money in ? 



A Member — The honey will bring the money. 



Dr. Mason — It has to be handled, and all bills paid ; it 

 takes money to run any business; this has to bedevelopt. 



A Member — Why can't the bee-keepers, furnish that 

 money pro rata ? 



Dr. Mason — Well, I don't know why they can't; but 

 will they ? 



Mr. Aikin — I would like to say for the information of all 

 interested, that some of us in Colorado have been thrashing 

 that ground over and over again in the last four or five 

 years, until we have got down to a working basis ; lam 

 going to tell you a little of it tonight. 



OuES. — Should this Association undertake to find a 

 market for its members ? 



Dr. Mason — It is answered in what has already been 

 said — not at present. 



WIDE AND DEEP HIVE-ENTRANCES. 



OuES. — Is it an advantage during hot weather to use 

 wide and deep entrances in the production of comb or ex- 

 tracted honey ? If so, is there any danger of going to an 

 extreme ? 



Mr. Wood — I use both large and small entrances, and I 

 see no difference. I use chaff cushions on top of my hives 

 the year round, and I find them better than none at all. 



COMB FOUNDATION— COMB HONEY. 



QuES. — Is it more profitable to use thin foundation than 

 extra-thin in supers ? and, if so, why ? 



Mr. Aikin — I believe extra-thin would be my answer, 

 and the why of it as put before us this afternoon by Prof. 

 Gillette. 



QuES. — Is comb honey in' drone-cells as pretty and as 

 white as that in worker-comb ? 



Mr. Aikin — It depends upon who is looking at it : ordi- 

 narily it doesn't appear as white looking. 



REMOVING SUPERS — HONEY OOZING OUT. 



QiES. — When should the supers be taken off ? 



Mr. Aikin — When they are full, and the unfilled ones as 

 soon as the honey-flow stops. 



Mr. Holdren — What is the cause of honey oozing out of 

 the cells after it is filled all up in that way ? 



Mr. Aikin — I don't know why it is — fermentation, per- 

 haps. 



Mr. Holdren — What causes the fermentation ? 



Mr. Aikin — I wouldn't know how to answer that, unless 

 it is too much water — unripe honey. 



