Oct. 10. 1901. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



645 



Convention Proceedings. ^ 



(Continued from page 631.) 



Report of the Texas Bee-Keepers' Convention. 



BY LOUIS SCHOLL, SEC. 



BEGINNERS RUINING THE HONKY-MAKKET. 



"How can beginners best be educated how not to ruin a 

 market for those more experienced?" 



D. C. Milam said the selling' of honey is the most impor- 

 tant subject connected with our industry, the important 

 part being- that it depends upon that which brings the cash 

 on which success is based. By producing a first-class 

 article, it should be put up in the best marketable shape, 

 and so as to attract the attention of buyers. The price 

 seems to be almost universal over Texas. Beginners 

 should be taught all this ; especially when an experienced 

 bee-keeper has a market established, he should see to the 

 beginners. Teach them. Either help them along, buy 

 their honey, or help them to establish a market for it. 

 When beginners have a surplus of honey during a good 

 year, they just zvant to get rid of it, and then they do harm 

 through their ignorance. 



The demand for Uvalde honey is so great that it has 

 never been filled. Of course, while their honey is of such 

 tine qualit3' as to have such a wide reputation, they also 

 have some very inferior honey, from a few localities. Some 

 of it is not even edible, and if it should be put on the 

 market, it would ruin it. Such must never be done, for any 

 person that should happen to eat such inferior stuff would 

 lose all desire for any more honey. Some make a big mis- 

 take by extracting too soon, before the honey is well 

 ripened. He cited a case where some honey was bought in 

 barrels, by a dealer who handled honey extensively, and 

 opening a barrel at one time, the vile stuff shot out all over 

 his person and dress, and made him feel so badly that he 

 could not even bear to think about honey — so much so that 

 not one pound did he ever buy again. Besides this, he gave 

 several other experiences. 



He also spoke about organization and the prices of 

 honey. Then all the honey could be bought for a little less 

 per pound to sell again for enough to make sufficient for 

 the trouble, and thus it would save much to the experienced 

 bee-keeper, especially those that have a good market for 

 their product. He said that all honey put up for sale should 

 be a first-class article, and every package should contain 

 the name and address of the producer, to show that it is 

 such. He also told of a firm that bought and sold any kind 

 of honey, just as it would happen along. But that firm 

 does not sell any more now. 



W. O. Victor's experience has been quite varied. He 

 related a case where a large bee-keeper sold his honey, of 

 fine grade, for 10 cents per gallon less than wholesale 

 prices, and that in his home market, which ruined his 

 entirely. He tried to buy the honey from this bee-keeper, 

 offering him the real wholesale price, which was 10 cents 

 more per gallon than his wholesale price, but he refused to 

 sell, for the reason that he had to supply his customers with 

 honey. 



WHAT IS THE BEST RACE OF BEES ? 



W. O. Victor said he believed he was perhaps not well 

 informed on the different races of bees, he having begun 

 with the Italians; they treated him so well that he stayed 

 with them. He never had any other race in his yards, and 

 hardly knows which is the best race of bees. He told of 

 the many " strains " of Italians, and how they could be 

 bred to possess some of the good qualities. He spoke about 

 certain strains of Italians, the bees of which start to run all 

 over everything whenever a hive is opened. These he calls 

 ■' race-horses " on account of their running, and thinks it 

 the proper name for them. These he culls out as soon as 

 he can. 



The dark, leather-colored Italians he thinks the best, as 

 they are the gentlest bees, sticking to their combs, and for 

 honey-gathering they are the best all-around bees, always 

 ready when honey is to be had. watching even for the buds 

 to open, so that the first sip of nectar might be takeni 



Some of the other strains are so vicious that he is afraid of 

 them, for the reason that they are dangerous. 



He also touched on the long-tongue hobby and believes 

 there is something in it, as there are so many fluwers with 

 long corolla-tubes, requiring a longer tongue-reach to get 

 all of the nectar out of them. He has tested bees possess- 

 ing long tongues, and although some with longer tongues 

 did no better than some with shorter tongues, yet he thinks 

 that long tongues are no disadvantage, for those with the 

 longest tongue-reach outstripped anything in his yards in 

 storing honey. The three-band Italians averaged longer 

 tongues ; while the goldens have some of the very shortest, 

 blacks not excepted. 



O. P. Hyde — What is meant by different strains of Ital- 

 ians? It seems that there are only the three-band Italians 

 and the "Golden " Italians. 



Mr. Victor meant by different strains of Italians, the 

 difference of management and selection by certain breed- 

 ers, causing a different strain of Italians in the end ; by 

 always selecting another that produce certain traits, would 

 cause a strain, in the end, possessing those traits, and dif- 

 ferent from other strains bred on other lines. 



Others spoke on this line, and the great difference there 

 is in the daughters of the same mother. 



Mr. Atchley said that much depends upon locality, 

 as to which is the best race. 



For all-around purposes the three-band Italian is the 

 bee, and especially for his locality, if restricted to a pure 

 race. Cyprians and Holy-Lands he thinks best for localities 

 where strong colonies of bees are needed through the 

 greater part of the year, as their queens are so prolific that 

 they keep up rousing colonies all through the season. He is 

 an old friend of the three-band Italian, but not for comb 

 honey, as they so crowd out the queens in the brood-nest. 

 They are all right for only one flow, as a rule, for, by crowd- 

 ing out the queens, there is no force of bees to secure the 

 honey of later flows. Hence, for a locality with inore than 

 one flow, queens are desired that keep a " standing army '' 

 all the time, and this will be a race of bees with queens so 

 prolific that, if a queen is remoN'ed from a colony, laying 

 workers will take her place at once, their desire for brood- 

 rearing being so strong. These would be Holy-Lands or 

 Cyprians; and, besides, he thinks that their wings are 

 stronger, and the bees have more power, thus making them 

 better for gathering honey, than others. 



Ouestions were asked, what to do when bees crowd out 

 the queen in the brood-nest. Some advised putting empty 

 combs in the middle of the brood-nest, between combs of 

 brood, to let the queen lay in them. Others, again, o.b- 

 jected to this, as such combs were sometimes filled with 

 honey even there. 



Mr. Atchley cited the experience of his son, Charlie, 

 who runs their apiary of three-band Italians. He had had 

 trouble with these putting all the honey into the brood- 

 combs instead of the supers above. So he tried a new idea, 

 that of putting the super below the brood-nest, and there 

 it was. 



So Mr. Atchley thinks that if we might strike out the 

 right way, we might succeed all right with the three-band 

 Italians. 



H. H. Hyde asked if a cross between the three-band 

 Italians and Holy-Lands or Cyprians would not be a good 

 one. Mr. Atchley answered that it would. 



L. Stachelhausen said that it took different races for 

 different localities, the three-band Italian not being good 

 for his place, as there are not enough bees left for the flows 

 that follow the first one. It might be best to cross them. 



H. H. Hyde told of his experience with different races 

 and their average yields, the best being from Holy-Lands. 

 The Italians choked the brood-nests too much. 



Mr. V^ictor said that plenty of room given during slow 

 flows does not give any trouble. Supers should always be 

 given a little ahead of time for the flow to begin, and the 

 brood in the brood-chamber should extend from side to side, 

 so the bees are bound to store above. Then always give a 

 little more room than needed. 



MISCELI.ANEOrS .MATTERS. 



Upon motion of Mr. Davidson, it was decided to send four 

 representatives to Buffalo, N. Y., in September, to rep- 

 resent the Texas Bee-Keepers' Association, at the meet- 

 ing of the National Bee-Keepers' Association. Udo Toep- 

 perwein, G. F. Davidson. Louis Scholl and H. H. Hyde 

 were elected as such representatives. 



W. O. Victor was appointed a committee of one to pre- 

 pare a program for the next meeting. 



