214 



AMERICAN BEE JOUPNAL 



April 4, 1901. 



Mrs. .lackson — Could a weak colony be kept thru the win- 

 ter by feeding a cake of sugar ? 



Mr. Hilton — The matter of increase can be overdonp. 

 You must have the best conditions in order to get the best 

 results. CoIoni.es must be strong in the fall if you want them 

 strong in the spring. Bees can be fed during the winter in 

 the cellar, with sugar-syrup, but you must be careful not to 

 burn it when making it, and the best sugar must be used. 



FOUL BROOD -CEOSS-FSRTILIZATION OF FRUITS. 



Mr. Hastings, the representative from this district, had 

 been requested to attend this meeting, and he made his 

 appearance at this time. Mr. Rankin explained to him the 

 effect of foul brood, and what other States were doing to 

 stamp out this contagious disease. Mr. Voorhies was called 

 upon to explain what the effect would be on the fruit-growing 

 interests of the State if the bees were destroyed by foul brood. 



Mr. Voorhies — I am a pioneer in this part of the State. 

 When I first came here there were no honey-bees, nor even 

 bumble-bees, here, and we could not raise melons, pumpkins, 

 nor squashes without hand fertilization. I do not think all 

 the fruit-growers realize the importance of cross-fertilization. 

 I am more interested in fruit growing than in bee-keeping. I 

 keep a dozen or more colonies more for the purpose of cross- 

 fertilization than for the profit I get from the bees in the way 

 of honey-production. When the apple-orchards in this sec- 

 tion first began to blossom, altho the trees blossomed well the 

 fruit did not set as it should, and at that time we had a few 

 bumble-bees in this locality, but no honey-bees. I am con- 

 vinced fiom the experience I have had that the reason why 

 we did not get more and better fruit was because the work of 

 the honey-bee on the blossoms was lacking. Fruit-growers 

 nowadays do not plant liartlett pears or Baldwin apples in 

 large blocks, put in alternate rows with other varieties, and 

 this is for the purpose of cross-fertilization. But we can not 

 always depend upon the wind to do this, as the wind does not 

 always blow. There is nothing that I have found in ray 

 experience that effects cross-fertilization so perfectly as the 

 honey-bee. Jn the growing of small fruits we have had the 

 same experience. We plant pistillate, staminate, or perfect- 

 flowering strawberry-plants, in alternate rows, for this very 

 purpose. Cross-fertililization will give the best results, and if 

 we want No. 1 or fancy fruits, we must have it. The blos- 

 soms of the small fruits do not usually keep open as long as 

 the tree fruits do. The flowers of the trees may last several 

 days, tho much depends upon the weather, and the fertiliza- 

 tion of these flowers may be a question of only a few hours. 

 If one has bees near by to do this work he can be sure of hav- 

 ing his trees well set to fruit. I do not see how I could well 

 get along without the bees ; one can not realize how important 

 they are in this matter, unless he has had some experience. 



Mr. Hastings — I will do what I can for the interest of my 

 constituents while at Lansing. I have no doubt that the 

 interest of fruit-growers as well as the interests of bee-keep- 

 ers will be lookt after. You have my best wishes for both of 

 them. 



It was moved and carried that the committee draft a bill 

 similar to the one they have in Wisconsin, and present It to 

 the Legislature. 



It was also moved and carried that the next annual meet- 

 ing be held at Petoskey, the time of the meeting to be decided 

 by the executive committee. 



The Association then proceeded to the election of officers 

 for the ensuing year, which resulted as follows : President, 

 George H. Hilton ; vice-president, Elias Coveyou ; secretary, 

 Wm. G. Voorhies, South Frankfort, Mich.; treasurer, W. Z. 

 Hutchinson. 



Mr. Hutchinson then described queen-rearing as carried 

 on by W. H. Pridgen, of North Carolina. 



QUESTION-BOX. 



Question — Does it pay to paint the bottom-boards ? 



Mr. Hilton— It pays to paint both sides of the bottom- 

 boards. 



Mr. Kitson — What kind of stands are best for hives ? 



Mr. Hilton — I would have 2x4 scantlings in clay, and 

 have one inch ventilation. 



Question— Which way should the hives face? 



Mr. Hilton — I want my hives to face the easi. 



Mr. Hutchinson — I have tried all ways, and do not think 

 it makes any difference. 



Question— .Should hives be shaded in summer ? 



Mr. Hilton — Hives do not need shade except in the hottest 

 weather — in .luly and August. The shade-boards should pro- 

 ject over the sides of the hives to shade it properly, and 

 weights should be used to keep them from blowing off. Ilivos 



should not be shaded in the spring, as the sun is best then to 

 warm the hives. 



Question — What size of hives is best ? 



Mr. Hilton — The majority prefer the 8-frame Langstroth. 

 Comb honey can be produced with an 8-framQ hive, but the 8 

 frames should be full of brood. To do this the honey at the 

 side of the brood chamber should be extracted, and the empty 

 frames put into the center of the brood-chamber. It should 

 contain no honey, whatever. When there is a honey-flow be 

 sure that the outside frames are full of brood ; if they should 

 be full of white honey, thi.s can be uncapt and placed in the 

 center of the brood-chamber, when the bees will carry it up 

 into the sections. 



Mr. Berg — I have used both 8 and 10 frame hives, and 

 find that I get more filled sections from the 10-frame. I have 

 had the 10 frames full of brood. I use chaff hives, mostly. 



Mr. Beecham — I am in favor of one-half story hives, so 

 as to keen the different kinds of honey together. 



Mr. Hutchinson — There is no loss in deep uncapping of 

 honey in the frames, as the bees will make more wax that 

 would otherwise be wasted. 



Mr. Rankin — I have experimented with the refuse of wax- 

 extractors, and would like to get some samples to determine 

 the amount of wax wasted in the different ways of extract- 

 ing. 



Mr. Beecham — The use of an iron kettle makes the wax 

 dark ; galvanized iron makes the wax green. 



Question — Which is the better foundation — heavy or light ? 



Mr. Rankin — I have used 9 sheets to the pound, and also 

 13 sheets to the pound. I like the thin foundation better. 



Mr. Berg — I want a thick top-bar for extracting frames, 

 so they won't sag. 



Mr. Hilton — Have every frame waxt before putting in the 

 foundation. 



Mr. Coveyou explained the merits of his double-walled 

 super, with the confined air. 



On motion the meeting adjourned. 



Wm. C. Voorhies, Sec. 



\ Contributed Articles. \ 



Instruments Used for Uncapping Honey. 



BY FRIEDKMANN GREINER. 



THE first new thing in the line of apiarian implements 

 coming to us in this new century will be an uncapping'- 

 machine — at least so it is hinted at. And, indeed, if a 

 machine can be constructed to accomplish the work of 

 uncapping for the extractor satisfactorily and speedily, we 

 will have made a great step in advance, and all extracted- 

 honey men will be quick, I think, to avail themselves of 

 the new invention. How great this step in advance is, will 

 be apparent when I show the readers what the implements 

 are like that have been used for the purpose in the past. 



Nothing better seems to have been found by the Ameri- 

 can bee-keepers than the honey-knife. [Fig. 1.] Regard- 



Fig. I — Birtg/min Honev-A'ni/e 



less of what the bee-keepers of other nationalities have 

 used, and may be using, the knife is preferred by us in 

 America. Numerous diflferent instruments have been 

 employed in the years gone by among the German bee- 

 keepers. It would be difficult to state just how long the 

 uncapping fork has been known, perhaps not less than 20 

 years. The long tines of the implement are pusht under 

 the cappings and the latter are lifted ofl' ; sometimes they 

 come off perfectly dry — no honey adhering. The work 

 goes on rather slowly. I can do much more with the right 

 kind of knife. The handle-part of the fork is usually made 

 of metal. [See Fig. IV.] 



To uncap honey for the bees I, like Dr. Miller and 

 others, have used an uncapping-comb or harrow. This 

 implement was originally devised by Iv. Huber, of Baden, 

 Germany, in 1884, as shown in Figs. II and III. The tines 



