740 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mv. 19. 



Well, Mr. Danzenbaker, on this plan, produced in Michi- 

 gan quite a little crop of honey, and the same was exhibited 

 at the recent Michigan State Fair. Not a section of it had 

 been scraped ; and yet, notwithstanding this, he secured the 

 first prize. But perhaps you ask, " How does he prevent the 

 bees from propolizing the upright edges of the sections ?'" He 

 would have the separators paraffined; and when the whole 

 super is made up there is very little desire or opportunity for 

 the bees to deposit propolis. 



Mr. Geo. E. Hilton, a bee-keeper in Michigan whom I re- 

 gard as not inclined to be very enthusiastic regarding the 

 value of new things, after examining the Danzenbaker sys- 

 tem, I am informed, spoke very highly of it. Indeed, he ex- 

 pressed himself as saying he would use the paper next season. 

 While Mr. Danzenbaker, almost in the same vicinity, had 

 found it unnecessary to do any scraping at all, Mr. Hilton had 

 been obliged to do considerable of it. 



I have not yet tested paraffine paper in the manner 

 stated; but I believe there is something in the idea, and I 

 therefore give it to you for what it is worth. 



I might say in this connection, for instance, that we found 

 that bees dislike to have anything to do with paraffine. The 

 past summer, in shipping queens we used what is called the 

 "export cage." In this particular cage a compartment is 

 provided for holding the little pieces of honey. This honey is 

 secured, usually, by means of melted paraffine. To make 

 sure of keeping some of these pieces of comb from leaking, 

 the cappings were painted over with paraffine. Some of these 

 cages thus prepared were sent to Italy, and returned with 

 bees and queens. I was greatly surprised to note that the 

 bees refused to gnaw through the capping that had been 

 paraffined over ; but close examination showed that they had 

 actually tunneled under the capping, into the sides of the 

 comb untouched by paraffine, just about as moth-worms do. 

 In the same way, bees may show aversion to paraffine paper. 



Ernest R. Root. 



Mr. Biesemier — I have been using this paraffine paper for 

 the last three years. The first year I used mostly newspapers, 

 but the bees would gnaw that and propolize it. The past 

 summer I used only paraffine paper, and only over the top. I 

 always raise the section-case up and put another under it. I 

 can tier as high as I please with paraffine paper. 



Mr. Kretchmer — Prof. Gersten has invented a special 

 frame using an additional bottom above the lower frame. In 

 this way they are using it entirely. Bees will cap the sec- 

 tions. They neglect the foundation simply because it is more 

 convenient to go into the other. Two years ago I received 

 from Germany a piece of comb foundation, 5f inch in diam- 

 eter, and % in depth. I placed this in the center of a brood- 

 comb. The bees never used it for the deposit of honey. It 

 was made out of pure wax, apparently natural size except 

 that it was of flat-bottom. In the construction of comb foun- 

 dation, it may be well to take into consideration that there 

 may be something to which the bees will object. 



E. R. Root — Some years ago a man got the cells smaller 

 than the bees could work in. We once made them a little too 

 large, and the bees refused them again. They must be ex- 

 actly the right size. 



Dr. Miller — Some comb was sent to me from Germany, 

 but it was very heavy. I don't think we could use anything 

 of that kind. But there may be some improvement made, and 

 we may yet find something to put right into our sections and 

 fill them up. If paraffine has the effect that has been given, 

 the question comes whether, if we paint the surface and points 

 of contact with paraffine, that will keep the bees from gluing 

 them together. 



E. R. Root— I think It would. 



Dr. Miller — Vaseline is used in England. 



Pres. Root — That soils the sections. 



Dr. Miller — I am only thinking of the brood-chamber ; not 

 so much of the sections. 



Pres. Root — Just before I left home, Mr. Danzenbaker 

 showed a separator which he dipped in melted paraffine. It 

 was very smooth. I think the bees would never put any 

 propolis on such a separator. If the bees would keep their 

 wax and propolis off of it, it would be a good thing. Has any- 

 body tried it? 



Mr. Kretchmer — You may carry the idea of the use of 

 paraffine too far. We know the bees object to it in any form. 



Mr. Stilson — My experience with separators coated with 

 paraffine is that the bees did not put any propolis near it — nor 

 any honey, nor anything else. They will not go near it. 



Mr. Stewart — I would like Pres. Root to put this question 

 to the members present: If you had 1,000 pounds of section 

 honey — smartweed or heart's-ease — in your honey-house, how 

 many of you would extract it and melt the combs down and 



keep the sections for next year's crop, the sections being 

 new and nice? 



E. R. Root — Mr. B. Taylor did not approve of such 

 action, I think. 



Mr. Stewart — I have been following him very closely for 

 several years. In his last letter he said he kept the whole 

 crop over. 



To Mr. Sewart's question, all voted "No" but Mr. 

 Stewart. 



Dr. Miller— Let me ask another question : Suppose your 

 sections have been filled, or partly filled. The bees have 

 emptied out part of the honey, but the comb is there ; the 

 comb is not sealed. How many would extract such combs 

 and keep them over ? 



Nine voted " Yes," and five "No." 



Dr. Miller — Another question : How many would take 

 such sections and let the bees empty them, and then use them 

 next year ? 



Five voted " Yes." 



A Member — That would depend upon whether your bees 

 were well provided with honey. 



Mr. Whitcomb — How many of those who empty their sec- 

 tions that way would expect first-class honey next year under 

 any conditions ? 



One answered "Yes ;" seven "No." 



J. L. Patterson — I find these sections very valuable by 

 putting one or two of them into the super when it is fresh. 

 The bees immediately went into the super and commenced to 

 work. I think I accomplished something by it, on the whole. 

 If you get a bee once started to work up into the super, you 

 can put on another super. 



Dr. Miller — I don't know anything about this, though I 

 have had a good deal of experience. I have had sections used 

 again the second year. I don't level them down, but that I do 

 not think is the cause. If you let bees have their sections in 

 the fall, when they are doing nogathering, one thing they will 

 do is to put a little propolis right on the edge of the comb. 

 When they are filled up, those sections that have been used 

 the previous year may be so that they will granulate. I am 

 working on the problem, and I think this; If I take sections 

 that have been used the year before, and put them away and 

 keep them carefully, I might just as well throw them in the 

 fire ; they are good for nothing. But if, instead of extracting 

 them, I let the bees clean them out thoroughly, then put them 

 out somewhere — not in the hive — while they are wet, then 

 these sections are good for next year, I think — I don't know. 

 I have done it in some cases. 



Mr. Whitcomb — There is a great surface of the wax ex- 

 posed to the air. They come out in the spring, having lost 

 considerable of the oil in this wax. But when you come to 

 sell the second year's crop, it appears to be tough — something 

 wrong with it. People say, "What is the matter with that 

 honey ?" It has dried out during the season. I believe it is 

 cheaper to throw them away. 



Dr. Miller — I think Mr. Whitcomb is mistaken about that. 

 If the oils are lost by coming in contact with the air, the same 

 objection would apply to comb foundation. But I have put on 

 the market this year 10,000 pounds of honey ; and that foun- 

 dation was exposed to the air in the sections from three to five 

 years. I never produced finer honey. 



Mr. Whitcomb — But you live down in Illinois, in a lower 

 altitude than this. We are 1,500 feet nearer (!) Heaven 

 than you, and in a drier atmosphere. You will notice a great 

 difference between this place and Marengo, III. 



Mr. Stilson — Dr. Miller lives down in the lake region. 

 The temperature is very different. We can expose our honey 

 here and it will dry up more in three months than it would 

 there in three years. We must consider the conditions under 

 which each of us is working. We can't use foundation here 

 that has been exposed to the air for 90 days. We dip it into 

 warm water and expose it to the sun. 



Dr. Miller — I propose a compromise by which blood-shed 

 may be saved. Wherever the climate is moist, use these 

 sections. 



Mr. DeLong — I had a great many extracting-combs drawn 

 out last year. I put one or two of them into the hives, and 

 the bees refused to work on them. I find it objectionable 

 even in extracted honey production. 



Dr. Mason — Shall we have our proceedings published for 

 the members'? They will be published in the American Bee 

 Journal, and unless you take that paper, you will not see 

 them. It can be done at an expense of SIO. 



Mr. Stilson — I move that the Secretary be instructed to 

 contract with Mr. York, for the publication of the proceedings 

 at the price named. Motion carried. 



Dr. Mason — It is the custom to draw up something by 

 way of thanks to all who have shown us kindness where the 



