1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



181 



yellow bands. The shade of these bands may vary from a 

 bright yellow to a dark leather color. Very often the band 

 next to the thorax may be indistinct, and only plainly percep- 

 tible when the abdomen is distended with honey. The work- 

 ers of the whole hive should be of these markings ; but when 

 you find bees in the colony with one and two bands, some 

 black and some with three bands, the queen is mismated, and 

 the term " hybrid " is applied to the inmates. 



The pure Italians maiutain their position on the combs 

 better when the hive is opened and a comb removed, than any 

 other race of bees. Hybrids are more prone to run and 

 scamper, to leave the combs and take to the sides of the hive ; 

 and, besides, they are crosser than pure Italians. 



Basswood Trees. 



Dr. Brown : — Where can I getbasswood trees, and when? 

 I also want directions for planting, if they will grow this far 

 South, and any other information concerning them, as I wish 

 to purchase a few and trj' them here. 



New Orleans, La. J. B. D. 



Answer. — You can get basswood trees from almost any 

 Northern nursery. Plant any time from October till March, 

 but the sooner they get in the ground the better, so as to give 

 the tree a chance to throw out young roots before the hot 

 weather comes on. 



The Colorado State Bee-Keepers' Convention. 



REPORTED BY F. L. THOMPSON. 



The 16th annual convention of the Colorado State Bee- 

 Keepers' Association was held in Denver, Jan. 20, 21 and 22, 

 1896. 



S. M. Carlzen moved that an assistant secretary be ap- 

 pointed to take reports suitable for publication in the daily 

 press and agricultural and bee journals, so that the Secretary 

 could confine his attention to the minutes, and take part in 

 the proceedings. F. L. Thompson was appointed. 



MARKETING HONEY. 



The first number on the program was Marketing Honey. 

 S. M. Carlzen, of Montclair, read an essay, which may be con- 

 densed as follows : 



Last season I increased ray apiary from 28 to 61 colonies, 

 and sold my crop for $74.60, at the rates of 12)4 cents whole- 

 sale up to 25 cents retail. 



I suggest that we try to open up a Honey Exchange. I 

 can recommend a competent business man as agent who is 

 willing to give bonds for your protection. 



I hope you will take action to have our industry repre- 

 sented by suitable floats at the second annual festival of 

 Mountain and Plain, which will be celebrated next October in 

 Denver. 



Mr. F. L.ThompsoD says in the American Bee Journal, 

 Dec. 12, 1895 : " I believe Mr. Carlzen's locality is over- 

 stocked." Perhaps yours is, too. Why cannot we find a 

 remedy ? We should decrease instead of increase the number 

 of our colonies. To sell our surplus colonies will not help 

 matters. If it requires 100 pounds of honey a year to carry 

 a colony of bees through, and if you have 100 colonies of bees 

 in a locality where 50 are enough to gather the harvest, your 

 loss is 5,000 pounds of honey. If you sell 50 colonies to your 

 neighbors, you have not thereby relieved your locality. Put 

 two colonies in one. Your wants will be met, and your bill of 

 supplies decreased. 



Our honey crops can be increased. Last spring I bought, 

 from Nebraska, 100 4-year-old linden trees, which cost me in 

 Denver 7 cents a piece. All but five lived and did well, and 

 12 bore an abundance of blossoms. These trees will be set 

 out in my vicinity, regardless of other compensation, wherever 

 irrigation and care is assured. S. M. Carlzen. 



A committee to see that bee-keeping be represented in the 

 festival of Mountain and Plain, according to Mr. Carlzen's 

 suggestion, was appointed later. 



Eev. F. O. Blair, of Trinidad, also read an essay on mar- 

 keting honey, in substance as follows : 



My bee-keeping is a kind of side-show. I have never pro- 

 duced a large amount, and do not expect to. I have a market 

 in Trinidad for all the honey I can produce, which is chiefly 

 extracted. I put it up in pails holding 5, 8 and 10 pounds, 

 and of course it soon candies. The labels on the pails includes 

 directions for liquefying so as not to ruin the flavor. Each 

 customer melts it to suit himself, and I hear no complaints. I 

 sell a single pail for 12J-2 a pound. If a man takes 50 or 

 100 pounds, I sell for 10 cents ; if 500, for 9 cents. 



F. O. Blair. 



The subject was discussed as follows: 



N. C. Alford — If Mr. Carlzen had had a large amount he 

 could not have sold it at 12>o' cents, especially in these times. 

 People will provide substitutes for honey. 



F. Rauchfuss — Farmer bee-keepers damage us. Their 

 honey is poor. Some of it is sold in the supers. Much of it is 

 sold for 8 cents. 



V. Devinny — That honey is retailed at 10 cents. Honey, 

 now, after such competition is past, has been sold for 17 

 cents. This shows what might be done. The only remedy is 

 to buy up such honey, but I doubt whether It is practical to 

 do so. 



F. Rauchfuss — To get a higher price, sell by the case in- 

 stead of by weight. 



A. M. Preston — There is a home market for the small 

 crop, but not for the full crop. We should combine to get our 

 produce near the consumer, and ship in carload lots. 



Mr. Devinny, representing the committee on legislation, 

 then made his report. He had put in a bill for an appropria- 

 tion of $500 only, and had worked faithfully for seven or 

 eight days. The bill passed as far as the Senate. There was 

 much other legislation at that time, and things were rushed 

 so that many bills were passed by, this among them. One 

 clause of the printed matter which he distributed among the 

 members of the assembly is as follows : 



"The production of honey and wax is no longer an ex- 

 perimental enterprise, but promises to become a vast and 

 profitable industry of the State, when its advantages are more 

 generally known and understood by the people, and it should 

 receive a full share of legislative aid as do the growing of fish 

 or wild game, upon which thousands of the people's hard- 

 earned dollars are annually lavished." 



Mr. Carlzen, representing the committee on securing a 

 room in the Capitol for the use of the Association, and the 

 committee on adulteration, reported that both bills had passed 

 the House, and had not been called up in the Senate. 



Some of the foul brood inspectors made their reports. 

 They will be given later, when all are in. A discussion on 

 foul brood ensued, as follows : 



FOUL BROOD. 



Mr. Alford — The management wBich requires mixing up 

 bees and changing frames in spring will surely spread foul 

 brood. 



Mrs. Rhodes — That has been my experience. 



Mr. Preston — And mine. 



Mr. Devinny — The foul brood law ought to be repealed. 



Several members here gave instances of the insuflioiency 

 of the system of inspection. 



Mr. Devinny — Bees should notbe inspected after Sept. 1. 



F. Rauchfuss — Suppose the weather is fine, and one 

 wishes to buy and remove bees — a clean bill of health is 

 wanted. 



H. Porter — Bees can be inspected any day when they fly 

 strong. 



D. L. Tracy — We have got to have class legislation. 



Mr. Preston — There are days in almost every month in 

 Colorado when bees fly. They can bo inspected without in- 

 jury as long as they don't rob. 



Mr. Devinny — The law provides for transferring. That 

 cannot be done any month in the year. 



F. Rauchfuss — One huudred and fifty colonies in Mesa 

 county had to be burned. It is really cheaper to do so. If 

 the inspector burns, we know it's done. 



Mr. Devinny — Did the State pay for those bees? 



F. Rauchfuss — No. 



Mr. Devinny — That is where the law is unjust. No man 

 has a right to destroy property. Even law cannot be a law 

 unto itself; and when the bees are burned, that destroys the 

 evidence of foul brood. 



Mr. Preston — I had the constitutionality of the law looked 



