THE AMERICAl^ JJEE JOURNAL. 



807 



C. p. Dadant— When we first give 

 foundation to tlie bees, tlie new may 

 be used lirst a slioit time, but as 

 soon as the foundation is warmed up 

 there will be no difference. 



D. A. Jones— If foundation is kept 

 for several years it will acquire a 

 bluish color ; if it is put into warm 

 water (say 120°), it will lose this bluish 

 cast and become soft and pliable like 

 new foundation. 



W.E.Clark— I have kept founda- 

 tion in a hive foro years, then hived 

 a swarm upon it, putting in some 

 siieets of new foundation, and both 

 old and new were worked alike. 



J. Vandervort — Thin foundation can 

 be made upon a mill for making heavy 

 foundation, but I find it better to 

 sheet the wax thin. My objection to 

 a press is that it cannot make thin 

 foundation unless it is sheeted thin. 



James Ileddon— I think there is 

 quite a point in regard to whether 

 foundation is exposed to the air, or 

 kept closely boxed, as regards its 

 being soft and pliable when old. 

 Everything considered, I prefer new 

 foundation. Bee-keepers themselves 

 are to blame for all this talk about 

 " (ish-bone." I used foundation for 3 

 years before my honey-customers 

 knew it, and only one ever noticed it. 

 Foundation was then much heavier 

 than now. 



The convention then adjourned 

 until 7:30 p.m. 



EVENING SESSION. 



The meeting was called to order at 

 7:30 p.m., President Cutting in the 

 chair. Dr. C. C. Miller's essay was 

 read by the Secretary, entitled 



BEE-KEEPING AS A BUSINESS. 



In the Canadian Bee Journal for 

 November, 18S-5, the question is asked, 

 " Charging for salaries for work done, 

 for necessary expenses, and for de- 

 preciation in the value of accessories, 

 does bee-keeping pay y" Replies are 

 given by 19 bee-keepers. Of these, 3 

 are non-committal ; 8 say " yes, if the 

 business is rightly managed;" 1 thinks 

 it will pay it the person is adapted to 

 the business, if compared with otiier 

 rural pursuits ; 4 give a more or less 

 decided "no;" and 3 give just as 

 decided a " yes." This leaves the 

 question about as unsettled as ever, 

 and it is evident from a close scrutiny 

 of the answers, that in the minds of 

 some of the respondents at least, that 

 the question was looked upon in 

 rather a loose way without consider- 

 ing the limitations put upon it by the 

 querist. 



As I have been asked to open the 

 discussion of this subject before the 

 North American Bee-Keepers' So- 

 ciety, it may be well to try to get at 

 the exact matter to be discussed ; and 

 in order to do this, it may be neces- 

 sary to ask, what is the object of tjie 

 discussion ? that is, what good is to 

 come of it V I am not sure tliat I 

 know, unless it be to answer the ques- 

 tion for that class of persons who are 

 trying to decide whether to adopt bee- 

 keeping as a means of livelihood. In 

 that view of tlie case the question 

 might be someting like thiB : Can I 

 make as much money in a series of 



years, at bee-keeping, as I can at any 

 other business y The more I think 

 about it, the more dilflcult it seems 

 to me to give an answer that will 

 meet all cases, and perhaps the only 

 safe one is this : " I can't tell. You 

 must try it and find out." But as 

 the question is asked in good faith, 

 some discussion may help. 



It will hardly do to attempt a gen- 

 eral answer, as too many do, by quot- 

 ing the results of a successful year by 

 a skillful man, saying " Mr. A. made 

 S53.000 clear, such a year." If Mr. A. 

 had business ability by which he could 

 make $4,000 a year at some other 

 business, then for him bee-keeping 

 did not pay. If Mr. B. can average 

 §•500 a year keeping bees, and there is 

 no other business at which he can 

 make more than $400 a year, then for 

 him bee-keeping pays well. 



Perhaps one of the best ways to get 

 the desired information, is to ask 

 those who have had experience in the 

 matter. We will interview Mr. C, a 

 bee-keeper of some note. In reply to 

 our query, Mr. C. says : 



" Oh yes, bee-keeping pays well. 

 Adam Grimm made a fortune at it." 



" What has been you own experi- 

 ence in the matter, Mr. C. V" 



" Oh, I only keep bees as a matter 

 of recreation. I had, one year, over 

 40 colonies, but my time is so much 

 taken up with professional duties 

 that I only keep about a dozen. I 

 have kept a cash account with them, 

 and find they pay me well." 



" Why don't you keep a larger 

 number, or devote your entire time 



toity 



" Oh, I couldn't afford that. You 

 see I can make so much more as a 

 lawyer. But then there are thou 

 sands of men who only earn say $400 

 a year, who would be greatly bettered 

 by taking up bee-keeping as an occu- 

 pation. I can easily clear annually 

 $5 per colony. Now one of the men I 

 have spoken of, with 100 colonies 

 could make at that rate $.500 per year, 

 so, you see, he would have bis condi- 

 tion bettered $100 per annum." 



" But, Mr. C, have those men the 

 ability to do as well as you V" 



"Well, I don't know. It's hard to 

 tell." 



But I was only to open this discus- 

 sion, and I suppose it may now be 

 considered open. I may just add a 

 word from my own experience. I 

 have been in the business some 24 

 years, making it my sole business for 

 the last 7 years. I have no patent 

 hive to sell, do not sell bees or queens 

 —simply produce honey to sell, and I 

 am obliged to confess that I could 

 make more money to give up bees 

 entirely. If asked why I continue at 

 the business, I answer : I like it. It 

 keeps me out-doors, and is good for 

 health. It allows me to be with my 

 family more than any other calling at 

 which I could make as much, and for 

 the privilege of these enjoyments I 

 am willing to pay the price of the 

 additional money I would make at a 

 more lucrative calling. Whether the 

 price may not become too large for 

 me to afford to pay, is an open ques- 

 tion. 



A. I. Root— I think that none of our 

 bee-periodicals now advise everybody 

 to keep bees. Dr. Miller should have 

 mentioned that he was receiving a 

 large salary when he embarked in bee- 

 keeping. He has frequently told me 

 how he enjoyed bee-keeping. If it 

 brought him health, what more could 

 he ask V 



S. T. Petlit— Mr. Root's speech is a 

 sample of showing the bright side, 

 and leads us to think that there 

 is nothing like bee-keeping for health. 



J. B. Hall— Editors like to tell good 

 news; if I tell how much honey I pro- 

 duce, the bee-papers publish it, the 

 newspapers take it up and spread the 

 story all over the world, and every- 

 body thinks that " if he can make 

 money in producing honey, I know I 

 can." I know of many people who 

 have engaged in the business and lost 

 money at it. 



Thos. G. Newman— Editors publish 

 just what bee-keepers write them for 

 publication, and try to fairly repre- 

 sent the pursuit. At least, I know 

 that is the case with the American 

 Bee Journal. 



Martin Emigh, of Holbrook, Ont.,^ 

 was called upon and asked if he had 

 made bee-keeping pay. In reply he 

 said that he had paid for his farm out 

 of the proceeds of his bees. Last 

 year he put 180 colonies in cellars and 

 took out 178 alive ; sold 71 colonies ; 

 and now has 177 colonies, and they 

 produced (iOOO Iba. of comb honey and 

 5000 lbs. of extracted honey. 



H. R. Boardman asked all those 

 who made an exclusive business of 

 bee-keeping to raise their hands. A 

 very animated discussion arose as to 

 who did make bee-keeping ar exclu- 

 sive business, and some exceedingly 

 fine points were raised, when further 

 discussion was stopped by a motion to 

 lay the subject on the table, which 

 was carried. 



Mr. Nelson W. McLain, manager of 

 the Experimental Station of the U. S. 

 Agricultural Department, at Aurora, 

 Ills., read from the advance sheets of 

 his forthcoming report to Prof. C. V. 

 Riley, U. S. Entomologist ; but he re- 

 quested that what he read should not 

 be reported, because it had not yet 

 been published by the Department, 

 and it was only by the courtesy of the 

 Agricultural Department that he had 

 been permitted to present it to this 

 Continental Society of Bee-Keepers. 

 He assured tliem that each one of 

 the bee- periodicals would be furnished 

 with proof-sheets in time so that they 

 could publish the matter simultane- 

 ously with Prof. Riley's forthcoming 

 report. The subjects treated upon 

 were, " Bees and Fruit " and " Artifi- 

 cial Fecundation of Queens." The 

 report detailed the results of investi- 

 gations and experiments carried on by 

 him at the Goverinuent's Experimen- 

 tal Station. It demonstrated that the 

 bees cannot injure fruit ; and gave the 

 account of several experirnents in 

 fecundating queens artificially. 



At the close of Mr. McLaiu's re- 

 marks, the Rev. L. L. Lmgstroth 

 offered the following resolution which 

 was unanimously carried : 



Besolvfd. That this Society highly 

 appreciates tlie movement now at 



