Jan. 29, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



69 



some who might purchase a quantity at wholesale and pay 

 a fair price, but who will bring the producer and dealer to- 

 gether ? What about that honey exchange? 



J. K. Dakung. 



The discussion was at first on the amount of honey 

 which should be sold to one private customer. The conclu- 

 sion was that to new customers we should not sell large 

 quantities, but an old customer knows what he wants. 



With reference to candied honey, if we sell the honey 

 liquid we should explain to the customer that it will granu- 

 late, and tell him to put it in sealers from which he can dig 

 it out and use without melting it up. 



Mr. Holtermann described a novel way of selling granu- 

 lated honey. A barrel of honey is set up in a grocer's win- 

 dow, and the barrel taken off, leaving the barrel-shaped 

 cake of honey. One grocer, last winter, sold three 600- 

 pound barrels in this way after Christmas, and this fall 

 gave an order for five barrels " as a starter." The honey is 

 cut off the barrel with a wire, as cheese is cut, and wrapped 

 in paper by the pound, or in any quantity the customer 

 desires. This makes a splendid advertisement. It becomes 

 the talk of the town. 



This idea met with much opposition. The paper would 

 taint the honey, the honey would collect dust and flies, it 

 would absorb moisture and melt down, etc.; but Mr. Holter- 

 mann said that the proof is that it has been tried and has 

 worked. 



Mr. Dickenson — I like honey best candied, and my fam- 

 ily does, too. 



Mr. Brown— Bottled honey sells best liquid. 

 Mr. Sibbald — We frequently have bottled honey sent 

 back because it has granulated. 



Referring to Mr. Darling's paper, quality is most im- 

 portant. Many bee-keepers send out poor honey, even 

 honey that will ferment. This hurts our business more 

 than anything else. 



Mr. Newton — We are not making much impression on 

 people trying to teach them to use candied honey. They 

 prefer the looks of it liquid. 



Mr. Pettit — The trouble is, when we sell people liquid 

 honey, and it candies on their hands, they say it has all 

 "gone to sugar." Better sell it in its natural state, and put 

 on a label with directions for liquefying. 



Mr. Holmes— The barrel is a good thing if practical. 

 Yet it is at variance with the modern tendency toward 

 small packages. 



Mr. Byer — We must use our judgment as to the trade. 

 If put up in glass it must be liquid, yet we should further 

 the sale of granulated honey as much as possible. For the 

 home trade I use 5-pound and 10-pound pails, labeled with 

 directions for liquefying. 



Mr. Miller — Honey granulated in 5pound slip-cover 

 pails is clean to handle ; if a customer tips a pail it does not 

 drip, and it is always ready for sale. 



Mr. Couse — If a man orders aquantity of honey I do not 

 let him have it all at once. I can care for it better than he 

 can, and take it to him liquefied just as he needs it. If the 

 honey always goes out in good shape a great deal more can 

 be sold. 



Mr. Whitesides — We should get the honey into the 

 hands of the poor as cheaply as possible. Selling in paper, 

 or in lard or butter trays, tends in this direction. If honey 

 is sold liquid it requires to be liquefied so often, and where 

 it is in bottles this is difficult. It may be done by setting 

 the bottles in a room kept at a temperature of 140' degrees, 

 Fahr. 



Mr. Morrison prefers a small tin package. 

 Prof. Shutt — We have learned that honey is very 

 absorptive. In a dry atmosphere Mr. Holtermann's barrel 

 might be all right, but in a damp climate it would accumu- 

 late moisture. 



Mr. Holtermann — In a small city a. barrel will be sold 

 in ten days, so it has not much time to accumulate moisture. 

 Mr. Evans — Small barrels might be used for a smaller 

 trade. 



CUPPING QUEENS' WINGS. 



'■ How do you clip queens' wings ?" 



Mr. Miller — Set the comb on end. then follow her with 

 the thumb and finger until you can grasp her shoulders. 

 Then clip with a small pair of scissors, either on the comb 

 or in the hand. 



MOST PROFIT.^BLE M.\NAGEMENT OK BEES. 



" How would you manage bees to get the most money 

 with the least labor ?" 



Mr. Miller — This is a big question. Roughly speaking, 



it is by out-apiaries, short cuts, and learning to get along 

 with little skilled labor outside of your own. 



SPKIN<; PROTECTION OF BEES. 



" What do you advise for spring protection of cellar- 

 wintered bees ?" 



Mr. Miller — Reduce the entrance, and have good top 

 packing. 



Mr. Fixter — Set the bees in a place sheltered from cold 

 winds. 



THE BEST CLOVER. 



" What is the best clover for both bees and farmers ?" 



Mr. Miller — Alsike clover. 



Mr. Fixter — Alfalfa and sainfoin give more honey. 

 Sainfoin is not so woody, and is cut later. It is also a bet- 

 ter fertilizer. It gives a second crop, as alsike does not. 



The general opinion was that alfalfa does not yield 

 honey here, the climate being too dry. 



MANAGING OUT-APIARIKS. 



" In managing out-apiaries, would you have a f nil outfit 

 at each yard?" 



Mr. Miller — Yes, and haul the honey home as soon as 

 possible after the extracting is done. 



SIZE OF BROOD-CHAMBER. 



" Is 2000 cubic inches sufficient capacity for a brood- 

 chamber to suppress swarming ? ' 



Mr. Miller — We need a large brood-chamber. 



Mr. McEvoy — Yes, the brood-chamber should not be too 

 large. 



Mr. Holtermann — The Dadants have used large hives 

 successfully for IS or 20 years. If you are a good bee- 

 keeper you can get a 12-frame Langstroth filled with brood. 

 The shorter the fiow the more bees you want, and the less 

 you want them to divide up by swarming. 



C. W. Post — If you have a large hive you can reduce it 

 when necessary. 



Mr. Dickenson prefers a smaller hive for a short flow. 

 Mr. Heise — With a hive holding 10 frames 11 inches deep, 

 and an exclusive clover flow, averaged 133 pounds per 

 colony. 



Mr. Chrysler — A good queen can fill a large hive with 

 brood in fruit-bloom. 



QUEEN-EXCLUDERS. 



"Would you advise an all-metal or slatted queen-ex- 

 cluder?" 



Mr. Armstrong — The Heddon excluder made with strips 

 of wood and perforated metal is the best, but it is difficult 

 to make. The all-metal excluder does not clog up so quickly 

 with propolis. 



Mr. Sparling has some excluders with 2-inch strips 

 across the middle, which seem to work just as well as the 

 all-metal. 



DEPTH OF FRAME— PROSPECTS FOR 1903. 



" Would you use a deeper frame than the L,angstroth ?" 



Mr. Heise — I use a frame 11 inches deep. 



Mr. Holtermann — It is best to keep to the standard. 



" What are the prospects for next year's honey crop ?" 



Mr. Armstrong— They never were better. There is the 

 most clover we ever had. If the alsike does not heave, and 

 we have a good fall set, we may be sure of a good crop 

 next year. I speak particularly for heavy clay land. 



RETURNING SWARMS TO PARENT COLONY. 



" Is it a good plan to return swarms to the parent hive 

 after two days ?" 



Mr. Armstrong — No, they would be out that day or the 

 next. 



Mr. Darling — If it is a second swarm cut out the queen- 

 cells and return them at once. In cutting the cells liberate 

 on the combs all the queens which are ready to hatch, and 

 run the swarm in at the entrance. If you "happen to miss 

 any cells they will swarm again ; but these free virgin 

 queens are different, and they insure the colony against 

 accident to the queen which is out with the swarm. 



CELLAR-WINTERING OF BEES. 



Mr. Dickenson blocks each hive up from the bottom- 

 board on four blocks, and tiers them up three high. Win- 

 tering is a matter of temperature, dampness cuts no figure. 

 He runs his bees in on a truck ; can put in 150 colonies in 

 four hours. The bees are all right if they are quiet. 



Mr. Brown lives near Ottawa. He wants to get his bees 

 in Nov. 10 to 15, a day or so after a good tlight. He re- 



