634 



'TMM rn'mmmi^mm mmm j^wmmmi^. 



t^»^*mMA 



when I began to divide tliem, being 

 impossible to hunt out the queens. 



For want of time, I divided them as 

 equally as I could, into three parts — 

 two parts stajed, and the other third 

 part just came out to leave. After I 

 had hived 6 swarms before dinner, and 

 feeling hungry as I passed bj-, and 

 seeing them come out, I just put the 

 hive back ou the bottom-board, and left 

 them with their go-away fever, until 

 after dinner, for Mrs. R. will not wait 

 one minute when dinner is read}'. 

 When I came out, the whole swarm lay 

 in the bottom of the hive, as if they 

 were cooked (a lesson for me). 



I advise every bee-keeper to get his 

 supplies long before the swarming- 

 •time, for at that season of the year, 

 the manufacturers are in just as great 

 a trouble and rush as the bee-keepers, 

 and much more so ; for those poor 

 fellows, after running night and day 

 to till their orders, get many com- 

 plaints and hard words ; but I did not 

 practice either. 



Our clover honey was a good crop, 

 but basswood did not furnish anything. 

 Bees are busy in the forenoon now 

 (Aug. 10) on buckwheat, and stroll 

 idly .about in the afternoon. The honey 

 crop in this section of the county will 

 not be more than half a crop. 



Deatli of Jolin Uecker. 



Another successful bee-man has gone 

 to his long home. John Decker, of 

 Plum City, Wis., recently received a 

 telegram from his wife's relatives near 

 Milwaukee, that his mother-in-law was 

 dying, and they were requested to 

 come immediately, if they wished to 

 see her alive. Accordingly, they took 

 the train for Milwaukee at Durant, 

 apparently all well, and on arrival 

 there, on Aug. 30, Mr. Decker was 

 taken sick with brain fever, which 

 could not be checked. 



In the meantime Mrs. Decker's 

 mother died, the fact of which Mrs. 

 1). communicated to her three sons at 

 home, informing them at the same 

 time, that their father was danger- 

 ously ill — not expected to live. While 

 one of the .sons was after the mail in 

 town, a telegram had been received at 

 home, informing them of the father's 

 sudden death. While the sons of the 

 deceased prepared to go to Milwaukee, 

 news came also from Washington Ter- 

 ritorj', that their oldest brother was 

 not expected to live. 



After all was over, it was discovered 

 that the funerals of the father, son and 

 mother-in-law had all taken place on 

 the same day and hour. The death of 

 «ach of them was something remark- 

 able. 



Mr. John Decker was a bee-keeper, 

 having kept pace with late improve- 

 ments, although not able to read Eng- 



lish bee-papers in order to be posted, 

 but experience and practice had made 

 him what he was. He possessed a true 

 and generous heart, and there was no 

 place, far or near, where visitors were 

 more welcome than at John Decker's 

 home, and bee-keepers, especially, were 

 gladly received. 



On hearing the sad news, I felt 

 deeply impressed with feelings of 

 solemnitj' and sympathy for the be- 

 reaved, who are left to mourn the loss 

 of the kind husband and father. They 

 have the sj'mpathy and best wishes of 

 the community at large. 



Maiden Rock, Wis. 



HONEY-SECTIONS. 



■nforinalioii About tlic Origin of 

 the Honey-Section. 



Written lor the American Bee Journal 

 BY J. S. HARBISON. 



As some interest is being manifested 

 by bee-keepers as to the origin of the 

 section honey-box or "honey-section," 

 as instance the enquiry of Mr. L. C. 

 Whiting, on page 565, I take pleasure 

 in giving the information. 



I conceived the idea, and made the 

 flrst sections of the celebrated Califor- 

 nia (or Harbison) section honey-box, 

 during the last week of December, 

 1857, atSutterville,Sacramento county, 

 Calif. 



In September, 1858, I exhibited 500 

 pounds of section honey, two-pound 

 combs, at the California State Fair, held 

 at Marysville. In 1876, I exhibited 

 section-box honey at the International 

 Exhibit held at Philadelphia, Pa., and 

 was awarded the highest honors there- 

 for. 



The first case of section-box honey 

 shipped from California, was shipped 

 by me in the first carload of green 

 fruits that was shipped over the Cen- 

 tral & Union Pacific railroad to Chi- 

 cago, soon after their completion. 



In 1873 I shipped the first full car- 

 load of section honey that was ever 

 shipped east, part of which I sold to 

 C. O. Perrine, of Chicago, and the 

 balance was sold by Mat hew Graff & 

 Co., of the same city. This was fol- 

 lowed by a number of carloads to 

 Chicago, and New York, in 1874. 



These several shipments gave the 

 Eastern bee-keepers the first knowledge 

 of the invention, and subsequently en- 

 abled them to improve on the methods 

 of manufacture, and adopt a size bet- 

 ter suited to the wants of their local 

 markets, though not so well suited for 

 long and rough transportation as is 

 required for our California product to 

 reach the cities of the East. 



San Diego, Calif., Sept. 10, 1889. 



THE CROP. 



Hintg on marketing the Honey 

 Crop, etc. 



Written for the Western Plowman 



BY C. H. DIBBEKN. 



It is to be regretted that with such a 

 yield of our magnificent white clover 

 honey, the best produced any\vliere in 

 the world, so much is still secured in 

 a slovenly, unmarketable shape. The 

 farmers who have only a few colonies 

 are especially careless in securing the 

 honej' in the best shape, and generally 

 lack room and facilities to care for it 

 when secured. The result is, they 

 often chuck it into an old box, and 

 hurry it off to town. Probably the sec- 

 tions (for the days of broken combs in 

 pots and kettles are about over) will 

 slap against each other and rattle 

 around so that by the time town is 

 reached, it will be in a vei-y leaky con- 

 dition. 



Of course the dealer takes in the 

 situation at once, and if he takes the 

 honey at all, will pay about half the 

 price that nice honey, in good condi- 

 tion, is worth. He in turn, to beat 

 other store-keepers, will advertise 

 white clover honey at an astonishingly 

 low price. Now, when the bee-keeper 

 who takes great care in having eveiy- 

 thing as neat and nice as it is possible 

 to have it, comes to market with his 

 honey, he will be asked to compete 

 with this damaged hone}' in price. 

 Now if he knows his business, and 

 what his product is really worth, he 

 will likely take his load home again, 

 perhaps a sadder if not a wiser man. 



Now let us see what is the remedy 

 for this. Is it not in educating the 

 farmer, who will keep bees, in secur- 

 ing and marketing his usually small 

 crop, in a neat and business-like way ? 

 It is true the bee and agricultural 

 papers have done much in this direo 

 tion, but much more is still required to 

 be done. Now we believe the farmer 

 who spoils the market, wishes to get 

 market pi'ice for his honey, but he is 

 speedily told that it is very leaky, out 

 of condition, if not that, it is '-dirty 

 stuff'." Then if he is not satisfied at 

 the first place or two he calls, he is 

 generally reatly to sell at what is of- 

 fered by the time the story is repeated 

 to him. 



Bee-keepers cannot well protect 

 themselves against this kind of compe- 

 tition, by buying up their small lots of 

 farmers, as they h.ave their own crops 

 to care for. Then, too, it is often in 

 old soiled sections with crooked, leaky 

 combs, no separators having been 

 used, perhaps partly in old dark comb, 

 so that it would be entirely unsuited 

 to go with his own nice goods. 



