256 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 1. 



The question, " Does it pay to feed back in 

 order to finish partly tilled sections ?" was de- 

 cided by vote in the negative; though some 

 maintained it could be done with profit if 

 properly managed. It was the general opinion 

 of the members, that extracted honey should be 

 thoroughly ripened, and on the hive was the 

 proper place to do it. 



Mr. Wilcox stated that, in melting up granu- 

 lated honey, the water should not be allowed 

 to get hotter than 140°, lest it should injure the 

 delicate flavor of the honey. 



MORNING SESSION, FEB. 7. 



The first item of business was a resolution 

 offered by Mr. Winter, extending the sympathy 

 of the association to the bereaved family of our 

 deceased brother, S. I. Freeborn, of Richland 

 Center. The resolution was adopted, and a 

 copy ordered to be sent to the family. It was 

 the sickness and death of Mr. Freeborn that 

 prevented the attendance of our former presi- 

 dent, C. A. Hatch; if he had been present we 

 expected something from him on the important 

 question of brood-chamber capacity. The 

 question was not discussed to any extent, and 

 nothing new presented. 



A letter from an absent member, Gustav 

 Gross, of Milford, was read, in which he called 

 attention to the fact that sweet clover was in- 

 cluded in the list of noxious weeds. He thought 

 we ought to do something to have the law 

 changed. It was decided that, as we were ask- 

 ing for legislation on foul brood, it would not 

 be best to do any thing about it now. In some 

 places it would not do well, and in a few cases 

 only the weed commissioners had condemned 

 it. Mr. Hoflfman said it was not a very good 

 honey - plant in his location. Mr. France 

 thought we had better sow alsike clover. 



On the question, " What can we do to im- 

 prove our association?" one suggested that 

 each member bring one new one; another sug- 

 gested that we get the ladies to attend. This 

 was warmly seconded. Take notice, sisters, 

 we expect you next year. Several members re- 

 ported that their wives had intended to come 

 along, but were prevented by sickness among 

 the children at home. 



The following were elected officers for the 

 ensuing year: 



President, Frank Wilcox, of Mauston; Re- 

 cording Sec, H. Lathrop, Browntown; Cor- 

 responding Sec. and Treas., N. E. France, 

 Plattevllle. 



A paper sent in by W. H. Putnam, of River 

 Falls, entitled, " Honey; how it should be Pre- 

 pared for Market," was considered very good, 

 and we therefore give it here in full. 



Browntown, Wis., Mar. 5. 



honey; how it should be prepared for mar- 

 ket. 

 I shall confine my remarks to the production and 

 preparation of comb honey for the market. I do 

 not wish or expect to impart much information to 

 my fellow-members of this association, as most of 



them, at least, are experts in this line. The s'reat 

 bodj- of bee-keepers, however, are not members of 

 this or any other association, and they are the peo- 

 ple who need to improve in the preparation of their 

 honey for the market. My ideal of a packng'e of 

 comb honey, if a 13-pound case, should weii-h 11 

 pounds net; if aa4-pound case, it should weig-h Zi 

 lbs. net. The comb of each section should be con- 

 fined within tlie Wood of the section, so that, if a 

 straight edge were drawn across its face, resting on 

 the edge of the rim, it would not touch the comb. 

 If honey is produced in this shape, each individual 

 section can bo removed from, the shipping-case 

 without disturbing tlie others. Precaution should 

 also be taken against leaking. These are qualifica- 

 tions which the market demands, and the success- 

 ful business man will cater to the trade. 



People in other lines do put up their goods to suit 

 the purchaser, and we must do the same if we would 

 make money. For instance, a few years ago it be- 

 came fashionable to color butter. The conserva- 

 tive people argued against it, and there was no end 

 of clack and clamor against coloring butter. One 

 of the most successful dairymen in my State (Wis- 

 consin) favored the coloring of butter, because he 

 said his customers demanded it; "and," he added, 

 "if my customers send in an order for butter col- 

 ored blue, the next sliipment will be colored blue." 



I make this digression to try to impress upon 

 bee-keepers that the end of all our efforts is to make 

 bee-keeping profitable; and if we would succeed 

 we must cater to the trade. I had occasion recently 

 to criticise a large producer of comb honey. That 

 man raised nearly -tOOO lbs. of comb honey in the 

 poor year of 1894. I bought the whole amount at 

 the price he asked, 10 cents a pound. I had difficul- 

 ty in disposing of that honey because the crates 

 were overweight, and the sections were not straight. 

 You could not get one out without tearing the 

 crate to pieces. When I had sold a customer one 

 lot I could not sell him another. I criticised my 

 friend, the producer, stating the reason why the 

 trade wanted the scant sections, and got the follow- 

 ing reply: "I do not care to put up honey for the 

 dealer to beat the consumer on if I can help it." 

 Along argument might be had on this point; but 

 to cut it short, and state my view of the point, I 

 will say, "Don't bite off your»own nose to spite 

 some one else;" dealers don't have to buy any 

 man's honey unless it suits them, and it will suit 

 tliem if they can make money on it. Moral: Cater 

 to tlie trade. i i 



Tlien I may briefly state my ideal crate of comb 

 honey to have four necessary requisites: 



1. It must be scant weight. 



3. Combs must be straight. 

 .3. They must not leak. 



4. The'l-lb. is the standard. 



How shall we obtain these requisites? If we 

 would compete with Bro. Wilcox and Bro. France 

 at the State fair next fall, we must lay the founda- 

 tion now. If we would compete in the markets of 

 tlie world we must make preparation at home long 

 before tlie bees begin to swarm. 



To accomplish these points we must adopt a sec- 

 tion that, when filled full, will weigh about a pound. 

 I consider the 4^^x4.^x1 's the proper size for general 

 use with separators, and I do advise the use of sep- 

 arators by the general public. The members of 

 this association do not need to use separators; they 

 are skilled in their profession; they look to all the 

 points; they keep their hives level; they keep their 

 bees strong, so that, when they go into the surplus 

 case, they fill it. and straight combs come naturally. 

 For such bee-keepers I would advocate the 4ii x4i4x 

 7 to the foot, and a full sheet of comb foundation. 

 The average bee-keeper uses about 1 lb. of comb 

 foundation for a bunch of 500 sections; his bees 

 take care of themselves; some are strong, but most 

 of them are weak; but a few bees go into the super 

 at first; they cluster on some section; there is a 

 vast unoccupied space all around them; honey is 

 coming in slowly; they draw out the comb, and 

 there is no limit to the size; it may bulge out on 

 both sides, away past the edge of the section, and 

 weigh 1^ to 3 pounds. Later, honey comes in more 

 freely; more bees are hatching all the time, and 

 after a while the case is filled. Later, when the bees- 

 more perfectly fill the case, some very straight 

 combs may be found in the same case with some 

 very bad ones. Had this person used separators he 

 would have had all the combs straight, because the 

 few bees would have occupied one or two sections 

 somewhere in the centerofthesurplusca.se; where 



