52 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



Jan 



1900 



hig-h for them, but they were glad if bee-keepers were able 

 to realize so much. I knew when I wrote them that they 

 could not afford to pay what I askt, and smiled at my own 

 presumption. But, as it turned out, I was justified iii ask- 

 ing- what I did, for that whole lot of honey, fancy and No. 

 1, netted me a fraction over 12'2 cents. I loaded it into a 

 box-car with hay under it, and no outer cases, and it went 

 thru to its destination without being handled. This honey 

 was sold by a commission house. 



This year (1899) my honey was all light amber mixt. 

 The commission men claim that amber honey does not sell 

 well, consequently I sold my honey direct, realizing 12'2 to 

 14 cents net for the amber comb honey. I sold it in lots 

 direct to retail merchants, and not in a single instance has 

 any one complained that the honey was not good. If I had 

 listened to the Chicago commission men I would have con- 

 cluded that it was a hard matter to sell such honey, and 

 been willing to take any kind of price for it. I am glad to 

 know that in New York State this mixt amber honej' is ap- 

 preciated. A market can be establisht for it here in the 

 northwest if bee-keepers are firm in demanding what it is 

 worth. 



There is no sense in the idea that honsy must be 

 "white" in order to be good honey, no more than there is 

 in the idea that honey in tall sections is better than it is in 

 square sections. 



My honey this j-ear was produced from white clover, 

 goldenrod, asters, and heartsease, all blended together, and 

 many people prefer this honey to any other. 



We should be shy of those persons who go to bee-keep- 

 ers and off'er a big price for "strictly white clover," or 

 strictly something else, when they know he has none that 

 is unmixt, and expect to buy his mixt grades for about half 

 what they are worth. 



Honey of good body and flavor need not go begging, 

 even if it has been produced from a variety of flowers. 



In conclusion, I would say to the producers. If you must 

 sell your honey at a low price, it is better to let the jobber 

 have it than to sell it to the retailer. The jobber knows 

 what it is worth, and will not sell it at a price to demoralize 

 the market as the retailer would be very apt to do. 



The best sign of the times for bee-keepers is the fact 

 that buyers were lately going about the country picking up 

 honey in small or large lots. This indicates that soon there 

 will be an establisht market value for honey, the same as 

 there is for wool and other products of the farm. 



Monroe Co., Wis. 



Report of the Michig-an Bee-Keepers' Convention 



BY WM. G. VOORHEIS. 



The Michigan State Bee-Keepers' Convention was held 

 at Thompsonville, Mich., Jan. 1 and 2, 1900, The meeting 

 was called to order by Pres. Geo. E. Hilton. Owing to the 

 absence of Secretary Hutchinson, Wm, G. Voorheis was 

 elected secretary /ro /t';«. The secretary not being able to 

 prepare a program, it was suggested that the members dis- 

 cuss any topic they may be interested in. 



THE WINTERING OF BEES. 



Mr. Chapman — I winter my bees in a very dry cellar 

 under my house. I want my bees in good condition before 

 I put them into the cellar. I put them in early — one time 

 in September. Bees will consume more honey in six weeks 

 in the fall when the weather is cool and frosty than they 

 will in three months in the cellar. I use the single-walled 

 hives, and keep the cellar dark — temperature about 45 de- 

 grees. I would not have chaff hives, as they are too much 

 bother. Where I live it is very cold in winter, as the alti- 

 tude is about the highest in the Lower Peninsula, I do not 

 ventilate the cellar in cold weather or towards spring. 



Mr. Van Amburg— I winter my bees in a cellar built in 

 a sand-bank. I wintered them in a cellar for two years that 

 was built in a clay-bank, and did not like it, as it was too 

 damp. I do not think it wise to keep the bees out late in 

 the fall when it is cold and frosty. I keep the cellar dark, 



and temperature 45 degrees. I want good feed to winter 

 bees on. Poor feed will not winter bees well. 



Mr. Chapman — I winter my bees in hives with the bot- 

 toms nailed on. I leave the covers on, and use the Lang- 

 stroth hive. 



Mr. Van Amburg — I use the Heddon hive, and set it so 

 it will tip forward. I shove the covers forward so as to 

 leave a space of 's inch at the back, and double up in the 

 spring and fall. My bees get most of their honey from 

 raspberry and white clover. 



Mr. Coveyou — I have wintered my bees the last five 

 years in a cellar, with a loss of about two percent. I use 

 the 10-frame Langstroth hive, and do not like the bottoms 

 nailed on. I use the single-walled hive, and get most of the 

 honey from raspberry. 



Mr. Kitson — I am a farmer bee-keeper, having 78 colo- 

 nies. I wintered them in a cellar two winters, that was 

 built in a bank close to a creek, and lost half of them each 

 winter. Now I winter them in a cellar under a barn. I put 

 in 32 colonies last winter, and did not lose any. I have used 

 chaff hives, and lost 5 colonies out of 30 by spring dwind- 

 ling. I do not see any difference in spring dwindling be- 

 tween single-walled hives and chaff hives. I could not see 

 any difference in spring dwindling between bees wintered 

 outdoors and those in a cellar. 



Mr. Woodman — I winter bees in a cellar under the 

 house, the chimney of the house going down to the bottom 

 of the cellar. No trouble about wintering. 



Mr. Hilton — The entrance of the hive must not be 

 closed in the cellar or outdoors. If the bees find they are 

 confined they will rebel, and then die. 



Mr. Irwin — I winter bees outdoors, using Hilton chaff 

 hives. I have no trouble with spring dwindling. I put 

 four colonies in the cellar last winter, and lost all. I like 

 the chaff hives best, as they are cool in summer and warm 

 in winter. I use a cushion made of factory-cloth filled with 

 chaff on top of the hive. 



Mr. Hatch — I use the Hilton chaff hive, with a chaff 

 cushion on top. Last winter my bees were all right up to 

 March 1, but by the last of March I found that I had lost two- 

 thirds of them. The bees had plenty of honey. The loss 

 occurred in a period of from 15 to 20 days. The hive-en- 

 trances were closed, and about one-half of the combs mil- 

 dewed. 



Mr. Gifford — The closed entrance was the cause of the 

 loss of the bees. 



Mr. Kaufman — I winter my bees in a damp cellar. I 

 first wintered with hive-covers on tight, and lost one-half 

 of them. The hives came out damp and soggy. The next 

 winter I left the entrances open I'i inches wide, and lost 

 them again. While it was dry near the entrance it was wet 

 back from it. The next winter I put a piece of factory- 

 cloth over them, and lost none. The next winter I did not 

 leave anything over them, and lost one-half of them by 

 dysentery. My bees ate too much honey. Now I set the 

 hives on a 2x4 inch scantling, pile them four tiers high, 

 diagonally, with a piece of factory-cloth over each of them. 

 I have had no trouble since I used them. 



Mrs. Morrow — I winter my bees outdoors in chaff hives, 

 with chaff cushions four inches thick on top of the hives. I 

 do not have any trouble. 



Mr. Hilton — I want well-ripened honey to winter bees 

 on. I do not extract from the brood-nest. You cannot ex- 

 pect comb honey where j'ou use the extractor. 



Mr. Calvert (of Ohio) — Nineteen years ago Mr. Root lost 

 all his bees in winter by selling bees by the pound the sum- 

 mer before ; but since that time he has not lost 5 percent. 

 He uses chaff hives, and always winters his bees on sugar 

 syrup. If bees get honey-dew you will lose them. Mr. Root 

 uses chaff' cushions on top of the hives, and feeds up in 

 September and October. 



Mr. Beecham — I do not believe in feeding sugar syrup 

 to bees, as it gives the bee-keeper a bad name. 



Mr. Calvert — I think it is safer to feed syrup than honey 

 that one knows nothing about. Our bees will not take 

 glucose. 



A vote was taken on outdoor wintering g.nd indoor win- 

 tering, resulting as follows : For outdoor wintering, 20 ; 

 indoor, 11, 



Mr. CoUingwood — I use the chaff hive, and winter out- 

 doors. I think that people living in the South should win- 

 ter their bees in cellars. Bees will starve to death if kept 

 too cold with plenty of honey in the hive. 



Mr. Hilton — Towards spring, when a warm spell comes, 

 the bees commence to breed, then if the weather should be- 

 come cold the bees would starve before leaving their young 

 to get honey. The bees cluster around their brood to keep 



