1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



775 



PACKAeES FOR EXTBACTED HONEY. 



Mr. Dextor — Put your honey up In small packages so that 

 it will go direct to the consumer. If sold in barrels it goes to 

 dealers who mix It with glucose before it goes to the consumer. 

 Honey in pails would have to be boxed or have the bails re- 

 moved, or the freight rate would be higher. 



Mr. Van Allen — We have found a package that has 

 proved very satisfactory. It is a basswood keg holding 180 

 pounds. 



Pres. France — I use white-oak barrels with iron hoops. I 

 have t' e barrels very dry and well seasoned, and drive hoops 

 well and test each barrel by blowing into them to see if they 

 are air-tight. Some people advocate waxing the barrels to 

 keep them from leaking, but ray father says to wax the 

 cooper until he can make a barrel that wont leak. Our bar- 

 rels hold 360 pounds. 



LARGE OR SMALL, HIVES. 



Mr. Arms^I use a hive that measures 13%'xl2}^xl2 

 inches, inside, which I have always had good success with in 

 getting a honey crop. I think the hive question depends more 

 upon locality and the size of hive a bee-keeper has been used 

 to than anything else. 



Mr. Evans (of Iowa) likes the Heddon hive. He winters 

 his bees in the cellar, but thinks they would be all right to 

 winter out-doors, if two sets of frames are used. 



CORN HONEY— SHADE FOR HIVES. 



" Do bees get honey from corn ?" 



Mr. Murray — I have watched the bees very closely, but 

 never could find them gathering auy, and never could find any 

 honey in their honey-sacs when working on corn. 



Pres. Prance — I have fouud by experiment that at times 

 the bees did gather a little honey from corn, but I fouud that 

 they gathered honey only in one instance. 



Mr. Van Allen— At one time I think my bees gathered 

 honey from sweet corn. 



"Is it necessary to have shade for hives ?" 



Mr. Wilson— I have thought that my bees did better on 

 hot days when in the shade of trees than those that had no 

 shade, but I think if hives are painted white they do not need 

 shade so much. 



Pres. France— Too much shade is not good. Scattering 

 trees well trimmed up are the best. 



Mr. Evans — I use and prefer shade-boards. 



SUPERSEDING QUEENS— FALL UNITING. 



" If a young queen is dropped into a colony containing an 

 old, worn-out queen, in how many cases will the old queen be 

 superseded ?" 



Mr. Evans — I should think once in about nine times. 



Mr. Van Allen — I have often succeeded by running a 

 queen just hatched into the entrance of such hives. 



" How can I most successfully unite colonies in the fall '?'" 



Mr. Murray — Take the cover off the hive you wish to 

 unite to, put on a piece of newspaper, and after tearing a few 

 small holes in it lay it over the frames, and then place the 

 other colony over the hive after removing the bottom-board. 

 By the time they get the paper pulled to pieces they will be 

 well acquainted, and there will be no fighting. 



Messrs. Evans and Van Allen — Smoke the bees well until 

 they get well filled with honey, then unite by placing the 

 frames in one of the hives alternately, thus mixing the bees 

 up so that they will not kno^v which from 'tother. 



"What is the greatest enemy to the honey industry?" 

 Some said too much fruit ; others, bad seasons ; and others, 

 foul brood. 



MORNING SESSION, OCT. 8. 



Pres. France showed the convention a specimen of the 

 Rocky Mountain bee-plant, which he recommended as a good 

 plaut to be propagated by bee-keepers, and offered each mem- 

 ber a small package of the seed if they wished to try it. Then 

 followed the reading of a draft of the proposed Foul Brood 

 Bill, which we hope will become a law at the next session of 

 the legislature. This Bill is one that has been decided on 

 after carefully considering and comparing the Canada, Col- 

 orado and California foul brood laws. Here is a copy of the 

 prepared Bill : 



Foul Brood Bill — Recommended by IMeEvoy. 



AN ACT FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF FOUL BROOD AMONG BEES 

 IN WISCONSIN. 



Sec. I. Appointment. — Upon the recommendation of a 

 majority vote of the members of the bee-keepers' societies of 

 Wisconsin, the (Jovernor shall appoint for two years a State 

 Inspector of apiaries, who shall, if required, produce a cer- 

 tificate from the Governor that he has been appointed. 



Sec. II. Duties. — The Inspector shall, when notified, 

 examine such reported apiaries, and all others in the samo 

 locality not reported, and ascertain whether or not the dis- 

 ease known as foul brood exists in such apiaries; and if satis- 

 fied of the existence of foul brood, he shall give the owners or 

 caretakers of the diseased apiaries full Instructions how to 

 treat said cases, as iu the Inspector's judgment seems best. 



Sec. hi. Destruction of Bees — The Inspector, who 

 shall be the sole judge, shall visit all diseased apiaries a sec- 

 ond time, and, if need be, burn all colonies of bees and combs 

 that he may find not cured of foul brood. 



Sec. IV. Constable to Help.— A Justice of the Peace 

 shall, on the complaint of an Inspector of apiaries, send a 

 constable to help the Inspector to burn diseased colonies of 

 bees. 



Sec. V. Violations.— If the owner of a diseased apiary, 

 honey or appliances sell, barter, or give away, any bees, 

 honey, or appliance, or expose said disease to the danger of 

 other bees, or refuse to allow said Inspector to inspect, shall, 

 on conviction before a Justice of Peace, be liable to a fine of 

 not less than .$50 n^r more than $L00, or less than one 

 month's imprisonment in the county jail, nor more than two 

 months' imprisonment. 



Sec. VI. Annual Report. -The Inspector of apiaries 

 shall issue an annual report to the Governor of Wisconsin, 

 giving the number of apiaries visited, the number of diseased 

 apiaries found, the number of colonies treated ; also the num- 

 ber of colonies destroyed by fire ; and his expenses. 



Sec. VII. Expenses. — Said Inspector shall receive $4.00 

 per day and traveling expenses for actual time served, which 

 shall not exceed $500 per year, to be drawn from the State 

 Treasury, the same as other State officers. 



Mr. Evans — As foul brood may be transmitted in founda- 

 tion, it is advisable for bee-keepers to purchase from those 

 whom they know are careful in the preparation of wax. 



USING OLD FOUNDATION. 



" How long will foundation remain good in frames or iu 

 sections '?" 



Mr. Evans — I have used it five years' old. 



Mr. Murray — I had foundation in sections two years old 

 not drawn out. The bees would not accept it at all, but 

 foundation that had been kept the same length of time iu a 

 box, when put Into sections, was readily accepted by the bees. 



Pres. France advised dipping old sheets of foundation in 

 warm water to revive it. 



BEES ON SHARES— WINTERING. 



A question was asked about bees on shares. Only a few 

 had any experience. In some cases the plan was satisfactory, 

 and in others it was not. It is always best to have a contract 

 in writing. 



Upward ventilation in the cellar was considered. Mr. 

 Van Allen uses a 6-inch pipe in the cellar, and considers it 

 very necessary that there should be good ventilation in the 

 bee-cellar. He does not let the cold air in direct. His cellar 

 stands at about 42-J to 44\ He can tell from the sound of 

 the bees what the temperature is. His cellar has no pipe nor 

 special opening to the outer air. He has wintered 170 colo- 

 nies in his cellar without any loss. 



Some winter their bees with sealed hive-covers and loose 

 bottoms ; others use quilts and the bottoms nailed on. 



The question arose. "Why do bees seal up the top if it 

 should not be that way ?" 



Pres. France — Bees prepare themselves to winter out- 

 doors where they should be. I do not advise putting bees out 

 too early, as it often results in more or less dead brood which 

 may develop into foul brood. 



AFTERNOON SESSION, OCT. 8. 



The election of oQicers resulted as follows: President, 

 N. E. France, of Platteville ; Vice-President, Thos. Evans, of 

 Lansing, Iowa; Secretary, F. L. Murray, of Calamine; and 

 Treasurer, J. W. Van Allen, of Haney. 



Then came a long discussion on foul brood, which ended 

 by appointing Pres. France as a committee to put the Foul 

 Brood Bill before the House at the next session of the Legis- 

 lature. He was also recommended as foul brood inspector for 

 Wisconsin, providing the Bill passed. 



The question came up before the meeting again as to some 

 plan to have the honey produced by the members of this Asso- 

 ciation sold by some one of the members as an agent to handle 

 the same on commission, by taking samples of each bee-keep- 

 er's honey. After much discussion it was voted that Pres. 

 France act as salesman for the Association. 



F. L. Murray, Sec. 



