Aug. 3, 1905 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



547 



sary to "repeople" these boxes, for Mr. Laws says these 

 ckisters sometimes get uneasy: but we have kept these same 

 little clusters going all summer, rearing their own brood, and 

 working a good deal on the same plan as the ordinary strong 

 colonies. 



1 wish to call attention to the fact that one can almost 

 control the male parentage of his bees by selecting some 

 locality where there are no bees, and keeping there a few 

 hives of select drones. 



BRICK HONEY. 



"I show here a sample of "brick honey," or what has been 

 appropriately called "honey butter." It is nothing more nor 

 less tlian an oblong cake of candied honey hard enough to 

 hold its shape. It is wrapped in paraffin paper and then 

 given other wrappings, or, better still, putting into a carton 

 and properly labeling it on the outside. These bricks of 

 candied honey are secured from the cans of alfalfa honey — 

 the honey, of course, being granulated solid. The tin can is 

 stripped off from the cake with a pair of tinner's snips. The 

 block of honey is now put into a regu.lar machine for cutting 

 up butter into bricks. This consists of a cast-iron plate with 

 four upright standards on which slides up and down a fn-.me 

 having two or more wires stretched tightly across it. These 

 wires are forced perpendicularly down through the block of 

 honey by a steady, even pressure. Another frame swung on 

 one of the standards as an axis, carries another set of v.ires 

 which cut the honey on a horizontal plane. When cut up, 

 these bricks can then be taken off with a thin-bladed knife, 

 placed on a piece of paraffin paper of suitable size, and 

 wrapped. 



We have developed quite a business in putting up brick 

 honey at Medina and vicinity. It is now offered in some of 

 the largest retail stores in Cleveland. Of late we have been 

 calling it "honey butter;" and under that appropriate title it 

 seems to take well with the general public. Our labels show 

 how to liquefy, if preferred in that form, and also explain 

 that pure honey, or nearly all of it, will turn to this solid 

 state at the approach of, or during cool weather. 



I believe this brick honey has a bright future, and that 

 many of our honey-producers will find it a field well worth 

 developing in their own localities. Ernest R. Root. 



Mr. Wheeler — Do you have any absconding? 



Mr. Root — Very little. I expected that, but we had very 

 little. Our early experiments indicated there would be more 

 or less absconding but I do not think that will be the case. 



Mr. Kimmey — I understand the advantage of taking that 

 to an out-yard is to control the drones? 



Mr. Root — That is all. 



Mr. Meredith — Do you expect to put them on the mar- 

 ket? If so, about what would the complete expense be? 



Mr. Root— We are going to put them on the market. 

 What the price will be I don't know. I am glad I don't. I 

 don't think it would be proper for me to mention prices at 

 this time. 



Mr. Meredith^Will they be in your catalogue? 



Mr. Root— In 1905. 



Mr. Colburn — The queen-cell is sealed? 



Mr. Root— Yes, what we call a "wrapped queen-cell." 



Mr. Colburn — Would that be warm enough in severely 

 cold nights? 



Mr. Root — I couldn't say as to that. In our locality we 

 had no difficulty from that. We had those cells hatch along 

 in November. This cage is what we call the Titoff case. It 

 is quite convenient for holding the cell. 



Dr. Miller — With your indulgence, I would like to say if 

 you want to try the plan of having queens fertilized with 

 baby nuclei, that you can do it without any arrangement of 

 this kind at all, only just what you have at home. I reared 

 a number of queens last year and had them fertilized. I 

 followed Boston Smith's rule, "Do the best you can with 

 what you have." I didn't have anything of that kind. I had 

 an ordinary hive that I use every day, a dove-tailed hive. In 

 that I put a wide frame that will hold four sections. In that 

 I put one section of honey filled solid full of honey. Another 

 frame beside it with a section of comb, no honey in it at all. 

 It doesn't matter whether there is or not. I put those two 

 in the hive. Had tlie hive closed up in front so that it would 

 have only an entrance of one-quarter of an inch. Then I go 

 to a hive, take out a frame of brood with the adhering bee.^ 

 and bring it to that hive. Then I tell my assistant to take 

 that and pound off the bees and at the same time I drop a 

 virgin queen in the bottom of the hive, quickly shut the 



thing up, and leave them fastened there for three days. Then 

 open the entrance, and that is all. The bees do the rest. 



Mr. McCain— After forming the little colony— the nucleus 

 — how Jong does Mr. Root keep that closed before liberating 

 the bees or the queen ? 



Mr. Root — That all depends upon whether you carry them 

 to an out-apiary. 



Mr. McCain — In tlie yard. 



Mr. Root — Not less than three days. They will have to 

 be shut up at least three days to get them so that they will 

 get used to a new location. At the end of that time they 

 will do very well. In the out-yard you can use them imme- 

 diately. 



Mr. Wheeler — Mr. Stanley is here. He rears queens and 

 I have bought hundreds of them in the last year and he has 

 a very unique and fine way of rearing them, and he will 

 exhibit for you any time you want him to in the back room. 

 He does not care to come before the assembly and speak; 

 but there is one thing I can assure you he rears good, lively 

 queens, and the bees take them, and they lay, and they are a 

 good color. He is one of the largest bee-keepers ia the State, 

 I understand ; he represents about TOO colonies. Such men as 

 that are men that work as well as talk. 



Pres. York— Has Mr. Stanley anything to say on this? 



Mr. Stanley — No, not unless anyone wishes me to talk. 



(Mr. Stanley was requested to explain his method of rear- 

 ing queens.) 



Pres York— While Mr. Stanley is getting ready I thmk 

 we may take up a question or two. 



SH0OK-SW.\RMING. 



"How many present think shook-swarming a preferable 

 and practical method of management?" 



Mr. Whitney— That would depend largely upon circum- 

 stances. 



(Pres. York called for a show of hands on the question. 

 The request was complied with.) 



Pres. York— It would be preferable, I think. There were 

 four I think who raised their hands. 



Mr. Wilcox— How many have an opinion concerning the 

 subject and know anything about it? 



Pres York — Do you mean how many have tried it? 



Mr. Wilcox— Yes. . 



Pres. Y'ork— How many have tried shook-s warming? 

 Raise your hands. (About 10 responded.) 



Pres. York — How many think it is preferable to all other 

 methods? Raise your hand. tOne responded.) 



LAWS ON BEE-KEEPING. 



"In what respect does the law of "Cook County differ from 

 the State laws relative to bee-keeping?" 



Pres. York— Does anybody know of any different law in 

 this county from any other county in the State? 



Mr. Moore— There arc no laws in Illinois except State 

 laws which are applicable to every cnunty in the State. There 

 are no County laws. . 



Pres. York— Are there any ordinances m the City of Chi- 

 cago relating to bees or bee-keeping? 



Mr. Moore— There have been ordinances made in certain 

 places in the State against keeping bees within certain limits. 



Mr. Pease— We have in the ordinances of the City of Chi- 

 cago, an ordinance that bee-keepers do not care to discuss very 

 much, as a rule. If is still one c,f the ordinances. It is to 

 this effect, prohibiting the keeping of bees within 200 feet of 

 a public highway or alley. That ordinance is still in effect 

 although it has never been enforced. There has been no liti- 

 gation on the subject whatever. There has been consider.nble 

 controveisy among some of the bee-keepers of Cook County 

 to have that ordinance repealed. As to the legality of it, it 

 is a question as to whether it would be sustained or not. It is 

 in a measure conflicting with the State Laws as being rather 

 class legislation, and there has been a strong inclination on 

 the part of many of the bee-keepers of Cook County to have 

 that ordinance repealed. Philadeli)hia had a similar ordinance 

 which was taken into Court and CL.ntested and carried to the 

 Supreme Court of tlie State and there found unconstitutional. 

 I suppose that is what is referred to by this question. 



Mr Moore— I am certainlv in tructed by the gentleman's 

 authority, which I take for graniol is correct, that there is 

 an ordinance in Chicago on keepm- bees within certain limits, 

 but it has given us so little troulii. that we didn t know there 

 was such a thing. It would tak> $500 or $1,000 to wipe it 

 off the statute book. No legish-ti- ii of that sort is going to 

 give us any trouble either now .i m the future, judging by 



