1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



133 



Mr. Schrier — From 90 to 100 pounds per colony. 



Mr. York — Could Mr. Schrier sell more if he bought it? 



Mr. Schrier — I bought some ol a Chicago honey dealer and 

 sold it. I have no trouble in selling what I buy, so long as I 

 stand back of it and guarantee it. 



President — As a rule, which is better — to sell comb honey 

 or extracted ? 



Mr. Schrier — Comb honey. 



President — Let's see the hands. 



A vote showed by a considerable majority that comb honey 

 was the easier-selling article. A few thought they could sell 

 extracted easier. 



President — A poor article of extracted does not sell as well 

 as a poor article of comb. 



CAUSE OF BEE-PARAiTSIS. 



Question. — " Is bee-paralysis caused by a diseased queen, 

 or by the food consumed by the bees ?" 



President — I have had but very little experience. At all 

 events, I do not regard it as of much consequence. While it 

 does not trouble me, I know it is a serious matter with some 

 in the South. 



Mr. Root — No one seems to know the cause of bee-paral- 

 ysis. Some think it is a disease inherited from the queen, 

 and therefore that the removal of the queen will cure it. 

 Others take the view that the bees get something from the 

 blossoms that causes the trouble. 



Mr. Wheeler — One year, somewhere about the first of 

 June, my bees began to take some sort of disease, and died. I 

 got that year no honey to speak of ; and the bees in all my 

 apiaries were affected. I made up my mind that they were 

 getting something from the field that caused the trouble. 

 They did not look like robber-bees, nor did they seem to be 

 bloated, as in the case of those affected by bee-paralysis. 



Mr. Root — Some seasons, in early summer, I have seen 

 the same thing in our yard. A close scrutiny in the grass 

 would show bees crawling up the spears of grass and attempt- 

 ing to fly, they drop down, only to repeat the operation. In 

 fact, sometimes I have seen the whole yard in the apiary pretty 

 thickly dotted with the bees in the grass. We could not ac- 

 count for it at the time, but supposed that the bees were get- 

 ting something from the fields that was making the trouble. 

 Reports have come in showing that this is a real disease, and 

 that others have been bothered by it certain seasons. 



Mr. Baldridge — That same malady appeared among my 

 bees one season. 



CUBING FOUL BEOOD. 



Question — " Will foul brood cure itself in a good honey- 

 year ?" 



Mr. Thompson — Yes. 



Mr. Root— Yes. 



President— Did the disease re-appear after it went away ? 



Mr. Thompson — No. 



Mr. Walker — I had this year as good a honey-flow as I 

 ever had, yet foul brood made serious havoc among my bees. 

 However, a good honey-flow does seem to have quite an effect 

 in diminishing the virulence of the disease; but it does not 

 cure it with me. The past season I felt that I could not treat 

 the colonies as recommended by Mr. Root — that is, put them 

 on foundation in clean hives — so I cut out the diseased spots 

 in the combs, and burned them. I followed this up for three 

 or four weeks. Some colonies seemed to be cured, and in 

 others the trouble re-appeared. It is hard to lay down abso- 

 lute rules to apply in all cases. 



President — The Germans recommend formic acid for cur- 

 ing foul brood ; and as this is supposed to be present in honey, 

 it is possible that a honey-flow helps to cure the disease, owing 

 to the presence of this same acid. 



Mr. Baldridge— I think the point is right here : During 

 a honey-flow the bees do not use diseased honey, but they use 

 good, pure, clean honey. 



SHIPPING AND SELLING HONEY ON COMMISSION. 



Question. — "When comb honey sells on South Water 

 Street (Chicago) for 14 cents, what will it net the producer?" 



Mr. York— The honey will net the producer just about 10 

 cents. 



President — We have a blackboard here, and suppose we 

 put down some of the items of expense. Now, first, what 

 ought we to put down for cost of freight? 



Mr. Walker— Well, that depends on how far the honey is 

 to go ; but somewhere about 40 cents per 100 pounds. 



President — Then we will put down 4/10 of a cent as 

 freight. Now, what is the usual commission ? 



Mr. Walker — Some charge 5 and some 10 per cent. 



Mr. Draper — I had rather pay 10 per cent, commission, 

 and get better prices. 



Mr. Wheeler — I get just as good prices, and pay only 5 

 per cent, commission. 



After a good deal of discussion, in which all the members 

 participated, the following table appeared on the blackboard : 



Selling price of honey per pound .14 



Freight 004 



Commission at 10 percent 014 



Cartage 002 



Loss in leakage 007 



Shipping-cases 010 



Total expense 037 .037 



Net cash to the purchaser 103 



Mr. York — There ! didn't I tell you? — just about 10 cents 

 per pound. 



MOVING AN APIABT A SHORT DISTANCE. 



Question. — "I have a small apiary that I desire to have 

 removed ten rods, more or less, to another location. How can 

 I do this without loss of bees ?" 



Mr. Wheeler — Put them into a cellar. Keep them there 

 over winter, and then move them in the spring to where you 

 want them. 



Mr. Green — But the question seems to imply that the 

 .bees are to be moved immediately. I would say, first, remove 

 the bees all at once, and then remove, so far as possible, all 

 traces of previous landmarks. In the new location, set the 

 hives in the same relative position. 



Mr. Baldridge — I would move them when they were fly- 

 ing the thickest — say about the middle of the day. The air 

 will then be filled with bees, and they will then find their loca- 

 tion. They might not all go back to the same hives, but that 

 would not matter much, for they would equalize. If in any 

 case they do not equalize properly, change the location of a 

 weak and a strong colony — putting the weak one on the stand 

 occupied by the strong, and the strong on the stand of the 

 weak. 



Mr. Green — Common bees will find their location much 

 quicker than Italians. 



Mr. Wheeler — Give each colony a ride on a wheelbarrow 

 for about a full hour. Jolt them about a good deal, and then 

 when they are set on their new location, they will stay where 

 they are put. 



Mr. Baldridge — I have not time for that. 



Mr. Wheeler — This plan that I have just spoken of is 

 Mr. Doolittle's idea. He aims to excite the bees so that, when 

 they are given their freedom on their new location, they will 

 mark that location. 



Mr. Draper — When I move my bees to Spanish-needle I 

 fasten up all the hives during the day, and move at night. At 

 that time the bees do not bother the horses. For a day or two 

 after they are set on their new location the bees are cross, I 

 tell you. 



BEST WIDTH OF ONE-POUND SECTIONS. 



Question. — " What width of one-pound section, 4Jix4^, 

 will be most profitable to use?" 



Mr. Green — I think 1 ?f is a nice width, holding % pound, 

 when separators are used, and sells for less than a pound. It 

 is more likely to be of uniform weight than the heavier section. 



President — The Canadians, you know, prefer a narrower 

 section — that is, l?a, or 7 to the foot. 



Mr. Wheeler — I use and prefer \%. 



President — Why ? 



Mr. Wheeler — For the same reason as Mr. Green ; and, 

 moreover, these narrow sections are more quickly capped over, 

 and I find I get with them fewer unfinished sections. 



Mr. Draper — I prefer a 2-pound section, 2 inches wide. 

 It looks bigger. 



President — At first I wanted my sections to weigh a full 

 pound ; but now I find the dealer wants something holding a 

 little less than a pound — just near enough a pound to make 

 the consumer f/imfc he is buying a full pound when he is not. 

 That is cheating. I should want something that would weigh 

 at least a full pound, or at least so much less that the con- 

 sumer will not be fooled. 



Mr. Green — Grocers around us prefer %-pound weights. 

 I sell by the section generally, although a few buy by weight. 

 When they buy by the section they know just how much each 

 is costinE them, and what their margin of profit is ; but they 

 do not always know, when it is bought by the pound. 



Mr. Wheeler — I sell by the section. 



Mr. Baldridge — I think the majority prefer to sell by the 

 section. 



President — Let's have an expression from the convention. 



