THE AMERICAJSI EEE JOURNAL. 



647 



I 



lared with a top-board containiiiK a 

 ^-incli slot tlirougli it and across the 

 entire back end. the hive to l)e phiced 

 slanting forward, with the full en- 

 trance open. Tliis will give ample 

 circnlation through the hive, while 

 the ventilator will draw off the foul 

 air from the cellar. I hope to be al)le 

 to rejiort. next spring, a successful 

 wintering. 

 Xora Springs, 5 Iowa, Sept. 28, 1885. 



For tlic American IJco .loumal. 



Producing Honey in Section-Boxes. 



W. 11. STEWART. 



I am of the opinion that the time is 

 not far distant when our lioney mar- 

 kets will be supplied with extracted 

 honey only, and honey in the comb, 

 even in sections, will go out of use. I 

 will endeavor to give some of the rea- 

 sons and facts upon which I base tliis 

 opinion. 



I relish the same honey much bet- 

 ter when free from everything but 

 pure honey itself, than when mixed 

 in my mouth witli broken fragments 

 of beeswax ; and I judge that others, 

 when they are well satisfied that ex- 

 tracted honey is as pure and in every 

 way the same article as that which 

 they get in tlie comb, will choose the 

 extracted, and there will be no de- 

 mand for honey in the comb. Who 

 ever heard of a person who was fond 

 of dry honey-combs with biscuit and 

 butter V People do eat the waxen 

 combs, not for the sake of getting the 

 wax, but for the honey that is present 

 with the wax. A horse or ox will eat 

 dry forest leaves when mixed with 

 green grass ; not for the dry leaves, 

 but for the green grass with which 

 tbey are mixed, and because of their 

 inabiUty to separate the desirable 

 article from the undesirable one. I 

 have never known a person or an ani- 

 mal that would choose to use beeswax 

 alone, as an article of diet. 



When honey first appeared in this 

 market in one-pound sections, I was 

 delighted with its appearance and 

 forthwith concluded that that was the 

 only true manner of preparing lioney 

 for the market ; and as those sections 

 sold rapidly at 20 cents each, I also 

 concluded that there was good pay in 

 putting our honey all in the market 

 in that shape ; and also that prices 

 would continue about as they started 

 out. I quickly prepared a large 

 quantity of sections and crates, and 

 found ready sale in my home market 

 for all the one-pound packages of 

 honey that I could produce from 100 

 colonies. The second year I could 

 only get 15 cents for the same quality 

 of honey in the same shape ; and the 

 third year I worked part of my bees 

 for extracted and a portion for honey 

 in sections, but I soon found that my 

 customers would give me no more per 



Eound for comb than for extracted 

 oney of the same quality. At that 

 time I tried for better prices in other 

 markets, and lost much by breakage 

 and leakage, in shipping, which took 

 off all the profits. The fourth year I 

 used SI 00 worth of sections and crates 

 for kindling wood. 



I notice, however, that up to the 

 present time there has been a demand 

 in some markets for comb honey in 

 sections, and that many bee-keepers 

 are iiroducing honey in that shape to 

 supply that demand. The producers 

 have always had to contend with the 

 cry of " lisb-bone " in comb honey in 

 sections, because the bees many times 

 fail to work the foundation out as 

 thin as the consumer desires it. This 

 cry of •' tish-boiie '■ is ample proof 

 that it is not beeswax but honey that 

 consumers like to eat. 



I now jiropose to show how to pro- 

 duce comb honey that will have no 

 foundation-wall in the centre of the 

 comb, but have cells extending 

 through the comb from side to side, 

 and the only wax to be eaten will be 

 the cell-walls and the cappings. 

 Another advantage that will be gained 

 by the use of the sections which I am 

 about to describe, will be reducing, if 

 not altogether avoiding, the danger of 

 breakage in shipping. IJee-keepers 

 will readily catch the idea which I 

 wish to give, if 1 make the following 

 supposition : 



Suppose you have sections wide 

 enough to contain a comb 1)4 inches 

 thick, and tliat you are using separa- 

 tors close up to the back side of the 

 sections, and a bee-space between the 

 front of the sections and the next 

 separator. Now, instead of hanging 

 foundation in the centre of the sec- 

 tion, in the usual way, let us suppose 

 that the inner side of the separator 

 has been coated with wax, and then 

 placed under the top die of a press 

 similar to the Given press— except 

 that it should be so made as to make 

 fiat-bottom foundation, and have the 

 under plate of the press with a smooth 

 surface. By this means the starter is 

 made on the surface of the separator, 

 and the bees start their work on the 

 foundation that is thus given them. 

 Having only one side of the founda- 

 tion, they work out the cells 1 y inches 

 deep, and then cap it over, leaving a 

 bee-space between the face of the 

 comb and the next separator. 



Prepare the section as above de- 

 scribed, then insert a bottom on a 

 similar plan as the bottom of a straw- 

 berry box ; have the upright pieces 

 of the section bee-space wider than 

 the top and bottom pieces ; then have 

 the outside of the bottom even with 

 the edges of the top and bottom parts 

 of the section, when this bottom will 

 act exactly as would an unbroken 

 separator. Let the face of the sec- 

 tion present an even plane, and let 

 the comb be built even with the edges 

 of all the sides of the section, thus 

 giving the section the appearance of 

 being even full of honey instead of 

 lacking I4' of an inch of being full on 

 either side, as in the old way. This 

 section would tlieu protect the comb 

 on the four edges as does the old 

 style, and in addition to that protec- 

 tion the comb will be attached to the 

 bottom-board, or separator, giving it 

 double the protection against break- 

 age in shipping. 



This section forms a little dish that, 

 when full, holds one or more pounds ; 

 and in shipping it may rest upon its 

 edge or on its bottom". , A neat label 



may be placed on the outside of the 

 bottom, covering the whole surface, 

 thus being an ;uivertisement for the 

 producer, and at the same time cover- 

 ing all the bee-stains that are some- 

 times found on the surface of separa- 

 tors. The weight of these packages 

 will be found more uniform than the 

 old style, as tliere can be no bulging 

 of one comb into another. 



When this honey is placed in the 

 hands of the house-wife, she has only 

 to run a knife around the edges of 

 the comb, then remove one side of 

 the section (which must not be nailed 

 to the bottom of the section when it 

 is made) ; then run the knife between 

 the comb and the bottom, or founda- 

 tion, and lay the honey over on the 

 plate with the caps down. Thus the 

 honey is without the " fish-bone ;" 

 and as I know you do not like to eat 

 much beeswax, 1 have given it to you 

 in the shape of comb honey, and with 

 the least possible amount of wax. 

 How do you like it V 



Orion,"? Wis. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



The Iowa State Convention. 



The third annual meeting of the 

 Iowa State Bee-Keepers' Association 

 was held in the Homestead Tent .on 

 the Fair Grounds in Des Moines, 

 Iowa, at 9:30 a.m., Sept. 8, 1885. The 

 President, Rev. O. Clute, being ab- 

 sent, the Vice-President, Mr. 0. O. 

 Poppleton, occupied the chair. The 

 Secretary also being absent, A. J. 

 Norris was chosen to act in that 

 capacity. 



The order of the forenoon was brief 

 accounts of the past season, by each 

 member, as follows : 



Mr. Thos. Tracey, of Chickasaw 

 county, wintered his bees in a cellar, 

 and his loss last winter was very 

 lieavy. His crop this season is 1,000 

 pounds of comb honey in IJ^-pound 

 sections. Mr. Sorrick.of Des Moines, 

 put 100 colonies into the cellar last 

 fall, took out 8 in the spring, and has 

 increased them to 15. Mr. J. M. Cul- 

 ley, of Greene county, wintered 5 col- 

 onies in an out-door cellar, and all 

 came through in fair condition. A. 

 J. Morris, of Black Hawk county, re- 

 ported that last fall his number of 

 colonies was 318, and last spring 190. 

 He bought 90 colonies in the spring, 

 and witli the increase he now has 484. 

 The honey crop for this season, he 

 said, was one-fourth less than an 

 average yield. He wintered 34 colo- 

 nies out-doors in single-walled hives, 

 buried in snow, of which 15 survived, 

 and the balance were wintered in 

 cellars. The vrobable cause of so 

 heavy a loss was a wet, cold spring, 

 and a scarcity of honey in the fields 

 last fall, consequently brood-rearing 

 was stopped at too early a date. 



Mr. B. F. Graham, of Grundy 

 county, wintered a few colonies with- 

 out loss, and has increased them 200 

 percent. Dr. Jesse Oren, of Black 

 Hawk County, put in the cellar last 

 fall 209 colonies, in the spring carried 

 out 208, and on June 1 had 190. The 

 yield of honey was fair the first part 

 of the season. He worked his bees 



