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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Jan. 25, 1906 



white clover honey; Jamaica logwood honey, which is two 

 shades darker than white clover and of inferior value; and 

 Jamaica Christina- Bells honey, which is very dark. He 

 had, while there, an average yield of 25 pounds per colony. 

 Suitable packages are very hard to get. Many salt-pork- 

 barrels are used, to the disadvantage of the honey. All 

 told, it is very difficult to keep expenses from eating up 

 profits with honey at 2 to IVi cents per pound. 



Miscellaneous Remarks. 



Mr. Hershiser said he always learned something when 

 he came to a Canadian convention. He found bee-keepers 

 here averaged up very well with any in the States. Re- 

 ferring to election of officers, he believed in keeping a good 

 man in a good place, yet the office might be changed to 

 another good man. sometimes: Speaking on his subject, 

 "Beeswax Rendering,'' Mr. Hershiser estimated in Ontario 

 about 200,000 colonies of bees, producing an annual surplus 

 of say, one pound of wax. By the ordinary processes one- 

 fifth 'of this wax. or about 40,000 pounds, is wasted in 

 rendering. He claimed to have discovered a process 

 whereby all the wax is saved but about one percent. 



The Hon. Nelson Monteith addressed the convention. 

 He said he felt the efforts of bee-keepers in the Province 

 were giving good results. We have a large Province, over 

 all of which bees could be kept. At present the industry 

 is only carried on in a small section of the Province, yet 

 it represents an investment of about $1,200,000. The bee- 

 keepers are turning out an excellent article, but are too 

 modest to advertise properly. You haven't pushed your 

 business enough, said Mr. Monteith. Honey, as one of 

 the best natural foods, should be used much more by the 

 people than it is. If every one knew that one pound of 

 honey is equal in food-value to about five pounds of pork, 

 much more of it would be substituted for pork. Also in 

 the matter of varieties of bees it is well to be ambitious 

 for something more than what we have. Whenever we 

 think we have reached the ideal we begin to lose ground. 

 Mr Monteith remarked, further, that the bee-business has 

 a wider sphere than honey. It is of immense value to the 

 fruit and seed-growers. He stated that it was for this 

 reason he became a bee-keeper himself. 



Mr Hutchinson, who was judge in the Honey De- 

 partment at the Fruit, Flower and Honey Show, gave 

 some useful advice to exhibitors. He said that some few 

 of the exhibits of honey reminded him of an overdressed 

 person Simplicity should be the watchword in setting up 

 exhibits Then the judges should have score cards, on 

 which they could award a number of points for each 

 feature of 'the exhibit. For instance, in extracted honey 

 so many points could be given for flavor, so many for 

 color, for body, etc. Then figure up the points and decide 

 mathematically the awards. . 



Mr Holtermann remarked that a good judge would 

 want to have a score card, and a poor judge should have 

 one. The exhibit of honey was quite up to the usual high 

 standards. . 



Mr. Hutchinson— In judging wax, I would give equal 

 points to color, clearness, and texture. 



Mr. Hershiser— Which do you prefer, wax from 

 cappings or from old combs? 



Mr. Pettit— Wax from cappings makes a harder comb 

 foundation, which sags less. . 



Mr. Holtermann suggested, for experiment, the use of 

 different kinds of wax in the brood-chamber. 



Bees Moving Eggs— Wax Rendering. 



Ques. — Will bees move eggs? 



Mr. Alpaugh— Yes. I had queen-cells built, eggs 

 carried and put in them and queens reared. 



Mr. Holtermann and Mr. Pettit both endorsed this. 



Ques — What method does Mr. Hershiser follow in ren- 

 dering wax? 



Mr. Hershiser— The principle is this: Fill a sponge 

 with ink and squeeze it as hard as you like, and you cannot 

 get out all the ink. Dip it in water and squeeze again, 

 and you get more out. Repeat this a few times and the 

 sponge is clean. 



Good Bee-Smoker Points. 



Ques.— What are the points of a good smoker? 



Mr. Alpaugh — It must work easily and throw a good 

 volume of smoke. It must be easy to light, hold fire well, 

 and not be clumsy. Brass in the barrel is a good point, 

 but expensive. A pair of.bellows properly made and taken 



care of will last for 10 years. There should be a fine- 

 wire-screen to keep sparks out of the bellows. 



Mr. Holtermann wants one that will not draw sparks 

 out on the hands and clothing of the operator. He prefers 

 a long, narrow barrel, because it burns more evenly. 



Mr, Miller prefers a smoker wide and long. When 

 once filled it does not puff to a flame, gets a long draft 

 of smoke, and the smoker is quiet. His smoker barrel is 

 4 by 8 l /> inches, with a large bellows. 



Mr. Holtermann — Moisten the material slightly, then 

 avoid giving violent puffs. Cedar-bark should be thick. 



Mr. Pettit — Get bark from a large cedar-log, and the 

 bark will be several inches thick, and holds fire better than 

 anything else. 



Mr. Miller holds his smoker between his knees, to be 

 handy when not in use. 



Second-Swarms and Queenless Colonies. 



Ques. — Will a colony cast a second-swarm, leaving the 

 colony hopelessly queenless? 



Mr. Alpaugh — Yes, sometimes when cells have been 

 broken down. I cannot explain it, except that the bees 

 had decided to swarm, and would swarm regardless of 

 what the bee-keeper did. 



Keeping Pollen Out of Sections. 



Ques. — How best to keep pollen out of sections, and 

 hive on starters? 



Mr. Alpaugh — If only foundation in sections, there is 

 mi trouble. 



Mr. Pettit — Put a pollen-catching comb in the brood- 

 chamber, and use a queen-excluder. 



Mr. Sibbald — Don't put the sections on for 24 hours. 



Formalin for Curing Foul Brood. 



Ques. — Can an apiary be cured of foul-brood with 

 formalin? 



Mr. Sibbald — I tried this very thoroughly, and it was 

 not a success. The combs are not fit to use again. The 

 honey will taste of formalin for years. 



Mr. Laing has cured one colony, and is working on 

 others. 



Sugar Syrup for Feeding — Dark Honey in Sections. 



Ques. — Is sugar syrup made by stirring sugar into 

 cold water just as good for feeding as though boiled? 



Mr. Hall — Better than boiled, if fed early in Septem- 

 ber. It never candies. 



Ques. — Is there danger of dark honey being carried 

 from the brood-chamber to the sections? 



Mr. Alpaugh — Certainly, there is. 



Ques. — Is it wise for the bee-keeper to give a full 

 report of his crop, so it gets into the hands of dealers? 



Mr. Holtermann — He should give facts just as they 

 are. 



Mr. Sibbald — Dealers will not buy honey-, except at 

 extremely low figures, until they know the situation. 



Appointment of Committees. 



Honey Exchange Committee, the same as last year. 



Transportation Committee — R. F. Holtermann, J. D. 

 Evans, and Wm, Couse. 



Revising Committee — M. ' p ettit and H. G. Sibbald. 



Committee to Fruit, Flower and Honey Show — The 

 Executive Committee of the Association. 

 (Continued next week.) 



A Queen-Bee Free as a Premium. — We are now book- 

 ing orders for Untested Italian Queens to be delivered in 

 May or June. This is the premium offer: To a subscriber 

 whose own subscription to the American Bee Journal is 

 paid at least to the end of 1906, we will mail an Untested 

 Italian Queen for sending us one new subscription with 

 $1.00 for the Bee Journal a year. Or, we will renew your 

 subscription to the American Bee Journal for a year, and 

 send a fine Untested Italian Queen — both for $1.50. Now 

 is a good time to get new subscribers. If you wish extra 

 copies of the Bee Journal for use as samples, let us know 

 how many you want and we will mail them to you. Address 

 all orders to the office of the American Bee Journal. 



The Premiums we offer are all well worth working for. 

 1 ook at them in this copy of the American Bee Journal. 



