116 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



Feb 22 1900 



most especially beffinners. Practical bee-keepers who have 

 had years of experience do not look for advice on subjects 

 of this kind, because they have either tried the methods 

 recommended and adopted them, or have rejected them for 

 reasons that are connected with their own practice ; or be- 

 cause they have already traced for themselves a course to 

 follow with which they are well satisfied, and do not care to 

 try anything else. In bee-keeping, as in other pursuits, men 

 succeed under different circumstances, following- entirely 

 different methods, and each man is prone to consider his 

 method best if it has stood the test of experience in the cir- 

 cumstances in which he finds himself placed. 



Let me state at the outset that I consider the "Draper 

 barn " a better hive than the ordinary Langstroth. The 

 Draper barn, called after Mr. A. N. Draper, of Madison 

 Co., 111., was originated to follow the methods recommended 

 by us, and is substantially a Langstroth hive, the body of 

 which is a little over two inches deeper than the ordinary 

 style, giving the bees a greater breeding-space. This hive 

 takes the same supers, sections, covers, etc., as the ordinary 

 Langstroth hive. 



We prefer a shallow super in extracting for several rea- 

 sons, and before we give these reasons allow me to say that 

 it was only after a practical trial on a large number of 

 hives for several years of both a 10-inch super and 6;J^ super 

 that we gave our preference to the latter. Experiments on 

 a large number of hives are quite expensive; but they are 

 the only tests which may be called practical and conclusive. 

 I would not accept as of any value a test made on one or 

 two hives ; as the experience thus gained might be dis- 

 torted (if I may thus express it) by special conditions of the 

 colonies which served for the test. There is so great a differ- 

 ence in the results obtained from colonies of different 

 strength, or different degrees of prolificness, other circum- 

 stances and conditions notwithstanding, that it is well nigh 

 impossible to assert anything, or lay down any rule from 

 anything but a wholesale trial. In the latter case a fair 

 average is usually struck, as you are likely to have on either 

 side a test of colonies in all sorts of circumstances. 



In the first place, we prefer the super with a 6-inch side- 

 bar, what we call the " half-story super," because its frames 

 are very much more easily handled for extracting than any 

 other. The depth of the comb is just right for the honey- 

 knife to reach across its iace from top to bottom, and a 

 comb is uncapt at a single stroke. There is less weight, 

 such a comb weighing from 3 to S pounds, and less danger 

 of breaking down in handling or in extracting. The large 

 combs we use in the body of the hive, weigh 8 to 10 pounds, 

 and the combs of a " Draper barn " would come very near 

 8 pounds when full of honey. Those of a Langstroth frame 

 weigh less, but are still quite heavy and unwieldy, and are 

 readily damaged when handled in hot weather, if they are 

 new and very full of fresh honey. This is, however, not 

 the main reason for our preference for shallow extracting- 

 frames. 



Experience with the deep super full-size frame has 

 shown us that with such supers the queen is much more 

 readily induced to ascend into the upper story to lay than 

 with a shallow super. I ascribe it to the fact that it takes 

 quite awhile for the bees to occupy the entire super and 

 place honey in every cell. In a shallow super the space is 

 very much more quickly occupied, and tho the cells are not 

 filled at once, yet honey is put in most of them very soon 

 after the super has been given. We have seen a number of 

 cases when the queen deserted the lower apartment to oc- 

 cupy the one above, when the latter was a full story, but 

 with the half-story super this has very rarely happened. 

 Of course, in a very heavy honey crop such occurrences are 

 rare even with the full-story super. 



On the other hand, when a super is given to each colony 

 at the opening of the crop it often happens that some of the 

 colonies are unable to occupy the entire space, and a full- 

 story super proves too much of an addition. If the nights 

 are cool, the bees have more difificulty in keeping up the re- 

 quired temperature, and this causes more or less delay in 

 breeding. 



But after all we must not be exclusive. Success can 

 certainly be attained even with full-story supers. We know 

 of many practical bee-keepers who use nothing else for ex- 

 tracting. But for our own use we much prefer the super 

 mentioned for the reasons above stated. 



As for using a shallow super only 4% inches deep for 

 extracting, that is out of the question. This is running to 

 the other extreme, and such supers require altogether too 

 much handling for the harvesting of a large crop of honey. 



We have been called too conservative because we hold 

 and practice methods which we inaugurated 25 years or 



more ago. Our answer to this is that we be believe in prog- 

 ress, but we have harvested large crops always with these 

 methods ; we see all the bee-keepers in our vicinity, or the 

 most of them, imitating us because they see us succeed, and 

 we can not help thinking that we are yet on the right track. 

 All we want, all we seek, is practical results with the plain- 

 est methods that can be devised. Hamilton Co., 111. 



Report of the Colorado State Convention. 



[Continued from pa^e 102.] 



TAXING BEES IN COLORADO. 



Question. — Would it not be a help to the inspector to 

 have the county assessor keep a record of the bees in his 

 county ? 



Mr. Gordon — It is the county inspector's duty to inspect 

 the apiaries of the small bee-keepers. How is he going to 

 find them ? If the assessor had a list, he would only need 

 to consult it. I know of one case in which the inspector 

 found out the existence of foul brood in this way. 



Mr. Tracy — Were those bees taxt ? That was wrong. 

 It is right to give them in. 



J. B. Adams — I understood that the assessor of Boulder 

 County had 700 colonies on his list. There are over 18,000 

 colonies in Boulder County. The assessor doesn't get them 

 on his record, They are not given in. 



Pres. Aikin — Bees are taxt in my county. 



Mr. Rhodes — I think bees are not subject to taxation. 

 It is a fallacy to call them property. Bees have very differ- 

 ent values in the spring and fall. I am opposed to taxing 

 bees, because it is unjust. 



Mr. Tracy — Nearly three years ago Rauchfuss Bros, 

 had 400 colonies. Two months after they had 100. Bees 

 can not be taxt with justice to man and man. If I were a 

 money-lender, and a man wanted to borrow SSOwith bees as 

 security, I wouldn't give it. I gave just as much attention 

 to my bees at the time I lost them as I did before. 



F. Rauchfuss — We expect protection, and can not ex- 

 pect it without taxation. We need topay the inspe.ctors. It 

 is pretty hard to tax justly, but we should not shrink from 

 a little taxation. 



Mr. Bates— Suppose I have $100 worth of bees and $100 

 worth of hens — am I askt to pay taxes on the poultry ? 



F. Rauchfuss — Those that make an exclusive business 

 of poultry are taxt. 



Mr. Lyon — If the government thinks our industry needs 

 nurture, it is not for us to say nay. 



Pres. Aikin — Bees are property in the hive. When my 

 house burns down after assessment I have to pay taxes just 

 the same as in anything else. 



A resolution by Mr. Rhodes was unanimously carried, 

 as follows : 



Resolved, That the Colorado State Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation recommend that all honey shipt out be markt with 

 the address of the producer. 



increasing the i<ocai, demand for honey. 



Pres. Aikin introduced the subject, "How can we in- 

 crease the demand for honey in our local market and main- 

 tain the price ?" as follows : 



There are no wealthy merchants, and not many wealthy 

 people, in the community where I live. Very few indulge 

 in luxuries. Granulated sugar two or three years ago was 

 Sj4 to 6 cents a pound. I reasoned this way : Here is 

 honey at 10 cents a pound ; then they can't stand it to buy 

 honey. It was a question not of buying the thing wanted, 

 but of supplying the table. I had to meet that question. 

 Can I do better by shipping out ? I lookt at the quotations. 

 The top notch was 7 cents. It would cost me 3 cents to get 

 it to that place, leaving 4 cents for me. Then cans cost. 

 Any way I could figure, I would be sure to have only 2 to 4 

 cents left if sold on commission. I concluded to put the 

 price down to where it would compete with sugar. I could 

 never make a sale of over 5 or 6 cents in Denver and at 

 other places. I therefore said to the people, I will sell you 



