24 



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On a vote being taken, all were in 

 favor of ample stores in the spring. 



Prof. Cook gave the essay of Mr. 

 Doolittle gi-eat praise. It certainly re- 

 ceived the greatest discussion of any 

 essay, with great interest to all. 



The question-box was then opened 

 by President Cook, as follows : 



PLACES TO WINTER BEES. 



" Is it detrimental to health, to keep 

 bees in the cellar under a living- 

 room ?" Messrs. R. L. Taylor, 

 Mason, Cook, Hilton, and others dis- 

 cussed the question. If the cellar is 

 kept clean, and all dead bees swept 

 up, there is no danger. 



"Is a solid stone-wall house built 

 above ground, a good place to put bees 

 for winter ?" 



Geo. E. Hilton, who is a practical 

 stone-mason, gave some excellent ad- 

 vice about putting up such buildings. 

 He considered a solid stone wall the 

 poorest of all — frost would go through 

 a solid stone wall over four feet thick. 



"Can bee-keeping be made to pay, 

 one year with another ?" 



M. H. Hunt said that it always pays 

 him. R. L. Taylor said that it paid 

 him, when he secured a crop of honey. 



The convention then adiou'-ned un- 

 till 1:30 p.m. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



The convention was called to order 

 with President Cook in the chair, and 

 the question-box was resumed. 



FINDING QUEENS — EXCLUDERS. 



" What is the best method of finding 

 queens ?" 



R. L. Taylor gave his method as fol- 

 lows : Smoke the entrance, rap on the 

 back of the hive, remove the sections 

 quickly, then remove the honey-board, 

 and you will find the queen on the 

 honey-board, nearly every time. 



"Does the ' excluder ' exclude ?" 



A. I. Root said that they make three 

 sizes of zinc, and has calls for all three 

 sizes. The larger size will exclude 

 drones, but not queens ; the second 

 size, drones and many queens ; and the 

 third size excludes any queens, and 

 some other bees. 



Vy. Z. Hutchinson said that 5-32 of 

 an inch will exclude any queen. 



BOTTOM-BOARDS— EQUALIZING BROOD. 



"Are loose bottom-boards desir- 

 able?" A. I. Root said "Yes and no." 

 Messrs. Taylor, Hutchinson, Cutting, 

 Mason, Gordon, Soperand many others 

 said, " Yes." 



"Is it best to take brood from one 

 colony, to help another ?" 



Mr. Hilton thought that it is best to 

 do so to equalize. 



Dr. Higbie thought that he had saved 

 a good many queens by so doing. 



A. I. Root thought that we cripple 

 the colony by taking brood from it. 



Dr. Mason said that he has injured 

 strong colonies by so doing, but thinks 

 that locality has much to do with it. 



WAX FOR COMB FOUNDATION. 



' ' Which is to be preferi-ed, white or 

 yellow wax for making comb founda- 

 tion ?" 



R. L. Taylor thought that the yellow 

 is best, if it is clear and soft. 



M. H. Hunt prefers yellow wax. A. 

 I. Root had seen nice, white wax from 

 the South. 



MARKETING THE HONEY CROP. 



" How can we best sell our honey ?" 



Mr. Hilton put it up as the market 

 demanded, and cultivated a home 

 market. 



Mr. Fellows advocated the home 

 market. 



Mr. Gordon sold from 6,000 to 7,000 

 pounds, at 6 to 8 cents pe.- pound, sell- 

 ing 6 to 8 gallons at one time. 



Dr. Mason said that a firm in Toledo 

 sold from house to house, over 40 bar- 

 rels of honey, receiving $1.00 for 6 

 pounds. They are the Moore Bros. 



W. D. Soper said that 2-quart pails 

 sell the best in the market in Jackson, 

 Mich. 



A. I. Root described the method of 

 procedure of the Moore Bros. One 

 brother and sister went ahead with 

 samples, and when sales were made, 

 took the numbers of the houses and 

 the names of the families, requesting 

 them to have the money all ready 

 when the delivery cart came around. 

 The names and amounts wanted were 

 given to the other brother, who fol- 

 lowed with a hand-cart, and delivered. 

 The honey was in Mason glass jars. 

 After they canvas one city, they go to 

 another. 



W. Z. Hutchinson said that he can 

 do better to sell direct to commission 

 men. 



Dr. Higbie recommends all who ped- 

 dle, to take both comb and extracted 

 honey. He has sold 100 pounds per 

 day in that way. 



GROWING ALSIKE CLOVER. 



M. H. Hunt was called upon, and 

 gave much information about Alsike 

 clover. He had raised it for twelve 

 years, and said that more seed can be 

 obtained from it than from red clover. 

 For hay, he sowed 2 pounds of Alsike 

 vvith the same amount of timothy ; it 

 ripens at the same time, and does the 

 best on rich, moist soil — dry soil is 

 " no good." For seed, he sowed on 

 summer-fallow, clear of weeds. The 

 seed he got from the second cutting. 

 It did not do well with red clover, as 

 the red crowded it out. Cattle are 

 very fond of it, and crop it close to the projections. 



ground. It will not heave in winter. 

 It will gi-ow four feet long, and cattle 

 and sheep will eat every particle of it. 



President Cook thought that 2 

 pounds of Alsike and 4 pounds of red 

 clover seed would be best to sow for 

 farmers to pasture. Alsike will run 

 for 5 to 6 years, while the red will last 

 but 2 years. 



Mr Gordon reported a yield of honey 

 amounting to 1,300 pounds from a 

 field of Alsike, while no other honey 

 was gathered in the county. Red 

 clover will not do well on low, moist 

 ground. 



The following essay by H. D. Cut- 

 ting was then read by the Secretary, 

 on the 



Preservation of Our Basswood 

 Xiniber. 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : 



I think that the time has come when 

 this, the oldest Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion in this country, should take some 

 action in regard to the preservation of 

 our " lindens," commonly known as 

 basswood. I think that it is generally 

 conceded by all bee-keepers, that bass- 

 wood is the leading source of honey in 

 the great majority of States. The dis- 

 truction of this timber is more than 

 many of you realize. At the present 

 rapid rate of destruction, it will be but 

 a few years when basswood honey will 

 be at a premium. 



I see that many report that bass- 

 wood has already failed in localities 

 where but a few years ago it' yielded 

 great quantities of nectar. As you all 

 know, basswood timber is largely con- 

 sumed in the manufacture of hives, 

 cases, sections, separators, etc. 



I am opposed to the use of basswood 

 for sections, for several reasons. It is 

 like "killing the goose that lays the 

 golden egg." Every tree that is cut 

 for the use of sections, takes just that 

 much from the honey-crop for years to 

 come. The only thing of any account 

 in favor of basswood for sections is, 

 that it will make the "one-piece sec- 

 tion." We have other timber just as 

 good — yes, much better than basswood 

 for this purpose. 



Poplar is much nicer and as cheap. 

 It is finer grained, harder, and will 

 not soil as readily as basswood. Spruce 

 also makes a beautiful section. I am 

 greatly in favor of the four-piece sec- 

 tion, and when well made it is a much 

 better section than any one-piece sec- 

 tion. I challenge any one to make 

 one-piece basswood sections as fine as 

 the samples of four-piece sections on 

 exhibition here to-day. Afer using the 

 side-opening section for several years, 

 I am convinced of its superiority over 

 the old style. I can get honey in much 

 finer condition, with no bulging or 



