July 23, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



469 





Convention Proceedings 





Chicago-Northwestern Convention. 



Report of the Chicag-o-Northwestern Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Convention, held in Chicago, 

 Dec. 3 and 4, 1902. 



BY ODR OWN SHORTHAND REPORTER. 



(Continued from pa^e 453.) 

 FEEDING BACK TO PRODUCE COMB HONEY. 



Mr. Craven — I would like to find out if any of the mem- 

 bers of this Association, or any of the members of the 

 National, who know and go to the National, have ever 

 come across any other expert besides Prof. Eaton, who 

 found the feeding back of cane-sugar for the whole apiary 

 for the manufacture of honey, and whether it is profitable 

 to do so to the men who do it. I have read, I believe, some- 

 where, that feeding back would take up, on an average, of 

 about one-third or two-thirds less, and in that case if they 

 should go to feeding back that would be at a loss instead of 

 at a profit. 



Mr. Hutchinson — It wouldn't make any difference 

 whether sugar or honey, but whether it will be profitable or 

 not you have to have the right kind of bees and manage- 

 ment. I don't know whether any bee-keeper would make a 

 success of it. 



Mr. Moore — It may be that someone doesn't understand 

 what a serious matter this is. I have told grocers and 

 others that some bee-keepers are not too good to do any- 

 thing if it will pay, but that there is a loss in feeding back 

 honey, and I explained this very thing. I didn't mention 

 his name. That they had tried all that was legitimate, and 

 that it failed, that it could not be on the question, "Can 

 you make dollars out of it ?" So I say it can't be done. If 

 anybody has a reason to show that I have been telling 

 stories all these years, I want to know it. 



Mr. Abbott— The strongest evidence that it can't be 

 made to pay is, that it is not done, because there are, without 

 a doubt, people in the world in some shape to do anything. 

 Now, when honey is bringing the price it is now, if this 

 thing could be done at a profit in a warm room some fellow 

 would be doing it, and Prof. Eaton wouldn't say they had 

 found a single case in the great honey market like this. 

 Now, we have just heard of one case. I knew a man who 

 undertook it once, but the bees raised such a muss with 

 him that he put right out-of-doors ; it raised trouble with 

 him and his neighbors, and when he got through he was 

 out of his sugar and didn't have anything to do with it. 

 The fact is, that they do not do it. As I said this morning, 

 they are scouring the country to get honey — that's the 

 clincher. 



Mr. Niver — I asked Morton why we had so many un- 

 finished sections, and couldn't get them finished. We have 

 so many. Why not feed back extracted honey and get them 

 finished? He said, " I have had my experience ; you try 

 it." I selected fine colonies, and fed back 30 pounds of 

 good extracted honey. I got three pounds back. That was 

 my experience ; I never tried it since. 



Pres. York— That's almost 16 to 1 1 



BEE-WAY AND PLAIN SECTIONS. 



"Discuss relative merits of, first, bee-way sections; 

 second, half bee-way sections; and third, plain sections." 



Mr. Pettit — I asked the question myself, and you have 

 not interpreted it as I intended. What I mean by bee-way 

 is, a quarter inch projection on two sides of the section ; 

 and a half way would be an eighth projection — the plain. 



Dr. Miller — Perhaps Mr. Pettit will tell us about some 

 experiments he may have made. 



i~ Mr. Pettit — With reference to the sections, I haven't 

 had very much experience with any except the first-men- 

 tioned, those with the quarter-inch bee-way ; but in my ex- 

 perience with them, and seeing how the honey is built out 

 against the side of the section, I would be very much afraid 

 of leakage from the plain section, and for general appear- 

 ance I would prefer the section with the half bee-way. W'q 

 have samples there that Mr. Niver showed me this morniiif,'. 



Pres. York — How many use plain sections ? Ten. 



FORCED OR SHAKEN SWARMS. 



" Forced or shaken swarms — what should be done with 

 the combs of brood?" 



Mr. Horstmann — Pile them up as high as you can, and 

 make good colonies of them. 



Dr. Miller — That's one good way. I should say it would 

 depend upon circumstances. If you have a lot of nuclei, 

 take that first, and when you have no other use to make of 

 them then pile them up. That is all right. 



Mr. Wheeler — What about robbing ? 



Dr. Miller — That depends upon what you expect. You 

 have reference to leaving the brood without any bees ? I 

 should not advise that. I know there are some that do that 

 way, though. Some say, take all the bees off and hatch the 

 brood ; either make a pile or a single hive full of the brood 

 and give it a queen-cell or queen, and then depend upon 

 the young bees helping out to take care of the brood that is 

 there. I should expect, in a good many cases, to have rob- 

 bing going on. If there is a bountiful harvest there may 

 not be any. The one thing I would expect, there would be 

 some chilled brood, even if they have weather so hot that 

 the brood will hatch out day and night. There will then be 

 some starved brood. There will not be bees enough there 

 within the first 24 hours to feed the brood that ought to be 

 fed, and I think you would pretty surely have some starved 

 brood ; so those two things would make it unadvisable to 

 use that brood without any queen. These men don't look 

 into the matter closely enough. They would find that they 

 had chilled brood, or starved brood. 



Mr. Baldridge — I am acquainted with the person who 

 prepared that question. I wish to answer my way. I don't 

 believe it is policy to shake off all the bees, but to leave 

 enough to take care of the brood properly ; but I should 

 place these shaken frames of brood in an empty hive by the 

 side of the parent hive. I would close the entrance entirely 

 so that no bee can get in or out, and attach to the front end 

 of the hive a bee-escape, so that when the bees went out to 

 work they would be excluded from the hive, and in the 

 course of three weeks all the brood will be hatched, the 

 majority of the bees will be in the other hive by the side of 

 it. I should place this hive no more than one, or two or 

 three inches away from the old stand, so that the bees will 

 be excluded, and secured in the other liive. 



Mr. Horstmann— This question of shaken swarms is 

 done for two purposes. One purpose to cut down foul 

 brood. Another purpose to get good, clean combs so you 

 will have good, clean comb honey, and I think it is a mis- 

 take to shake frames too much. I give them one shake, 

 and leave plenty of bees on that comb to take care of any 

 brood they may hatch out. If you close up the bees as Mr. 

 Baldridge says, and put the bee-escape on, they will go 

 somewhere. There will be a great deal of trouble, I think. 

 Eeave it open so they can get in, but leave it smaller, and 

 then by shaking off four or five colonies at one time you 

 will have a splendid colony from the combs that you have 

 piled on top of each. There will be a new colony, and that 

 colony will give you plenty of honey if there is any flow at 

 all, and you will not lose anything except the old comb ; 

 and if there is any foul brood in the neighborhood it will 

 get rid of that. This is one thing I was expecting would 

 come up. Foul brood can be cured sometimes by giving 

 bees clean combs. I may be a little off of the subject. I 

 had foul brood in one colony. I didn't know it at the time. 

 I placed a hive under it, and let the bees build down, and 

 after they got to work in the lower story I took the upper 

 story off and put on some brood-chambers, and I found 

 out that that colony was cured of foul brood simply by the 

 bees storing in clean comb. It was all done over two years 

 ago, and there is no foul brood there now. Foul brood was 

 cured by letting them work in the new part of the hive and 

 storing clean honey, and using that for brood when the 

 queen went below. Shaken swarms are good for that one 

 thing, and I don't think people should shake too many bees 

 off of the frames. We have to look out for foul brood ; the 

 most of the beekeepers in this convention belong around 

 here, and I always think I should talk more to the interest 

 of those near home. The others, of course, know their busi- 

 ness better than we do here, and we know what we need. 



Dr. Miller— Let me suggest one other variation. Take 

 the plan Mr. Horstmann suggests, make a pile, shake, if 

 you please, all of the bees off, shake what is convenient to 

 shake off, depending upon the character of the bees— you 

 may get all off, or not entirely all : make your pile of brood 

 upon some weak colony. In that case the brood will be fed, 



