Oct. 4, 1906 



845 



American Hee Journal 



cast ; 9 times 25 is 225 — perhaps 250 pounds besides the 

 packing. 



Mr. Muth — T believe the carriers that contain eight 24- 

 section cases, with carriers all the way through on each 

 side, are more preferable, because two men can handle them 

 better. I remember with one shipment we had to have a 

 strong man go down there and help, and I had to go down, 

 too. 



.Mr. Aspinwall — I believe Mr. Muth has suggested that 

 the bee-papers send instructions to the comb-honey producer 

 as to packing. How would it do for the jobber to do so 

 every time a letter was sent or received? 



Mr. Muth — We are always doing that. We are going 

 to put them in printed form. 



Pres. Dadant — I believe a private letter would be read 

 with more attention than printed circulars. 



Mr. Muth — Whenever we get a shipment of honey that 

 is real nice, if we can criticise we always try to tell the 

 shipper where it could be better. 



Mr. Scott — It might be added to what Mr. Taylor has 

 said, that in making up the crates the slats are always up 

 and down in a carrier crate, and it is just as handy to have 

 this part to which the top of the up-and-down boards are 

 nailed about 8 or 10 inches longer than the crate is to be. That 

 leaves 4 or 5 inches at each end to stick out, and that is 

 suggestive itself to the railroad man to take hold of that. 

 And be sure and mark it comb honey. I was at one time 

 checkman in a freight-house, and when we could see any- 

 thing of that sort we were in duty bound to caution the 

 truck man to be careful. That does some good in one way, 

 but it is to your disadvantage if you have to collect a claim 

 when the officials come to it. Cheap hay is as nice a cushion 

 as I have ever seen — even excelsior, but it is finer, and the 

 bottom of the crate has to be tight. 



Mr. Hershiser — Have you seen hay made into a rope 

 and put around? It is twisted in a rope, and it is more of a 

 springy nature. 



Mr. Wheeler — I would like to ask Mr. Muth if he thinks 

 it at all advisable to use packing on the sides and top of the 

 honey, also between? 



Mr. Muth — No, sir. Down below only. Then put them 

 close so that they don't jar. Don't show the glass. That is 

 all rot. 



Mr. Niver — 1 found in shipping honey quite extensively 

 in York State that it was very nice to have a large circular 

 printed in large letters to put on top of the case ; and the 

 most important thing 1 have found to put on that case was, 

 "Don't handle on a 2-wheeled truck." That is what breaks 

 more honey than anything else, by tipping the honey The 

 angle at which it is held is just right to hit the edge of the 

 section, and drive the honey out of the comb. I found that 

 was the main breakage point. Put that label on, and ship 

 them without any carrier. 



Mr. Muth — The railroad company will not receive honey 

 for local shipment in single-case lots. 



MEMBERSHIP FEES. 



Is the acceptance of members at 50 cents, when an asso- 

 ciation joins the National in a body, fair to the other mem- 

 ber who sends his $1.00 in?" 



Mr. Muth— Yes. Be grateful. 



Pres. Dadant — My impression is that the time is com- 

 ing when we will get members in no other way. 



Mr. Kannenberg — I think the member who pays the dol- 

 lar has the same chance as the other that pays the 50 cents. 



CHANGING FRAMES — LEAVING HONEY ON HIVES. 



"Will it pay me to change the Standard Langstroth 

 frame when nearly all of my 200 hives now in use contain 

 the old-style of loose-hanging frames, which are g l /i in- 

 side?" 



Mr. France — I would say no. 



"Is honey injured by leaving it on for days after being 

 capped, where extracted honey is taken off?" 



Mr. McEvoy — When it can possibly be taken out soon 

 after it is capped, the honey is thicker than if left later. 



Mr. Kluck — In a wet fall and cold weather it may do 

 that; in a dry climate and dry weather it won't make any 

 difference. 



EXTRACTING FROM SAME COMBS YEARLY — POUND SECTION. 



"Is extracting from the same combs every year right? 

 If not. what is the objection? 



Mr. Baxter — I say yes, of course, every year. I have 

 combs I have been using for 25 years, and I can't see any 

 difference in the honey. I have combs as black as the ace of 

 spades, and the honey is white. 



"Why not have a section that will hold, when well filled 

 by the bees, one pound?" 



Mr. Hershiser — Because you can't get such a section. 

 Sometimes the bees will fill a section made to hold a pound, 

 but more often it won't hold quite a pound ; whereas, if you get 

 a section a little larger than that, that will hold a pound 

 when not well filled, it will hold more than a pound when 

 well filled. 



Mr. York — When you get the bees to put in just a pound, 

 you will then have a section for it. 



"How would a section be 4^x5x13-6 for holding a 

 pound of honey?" ' 



Mr. Muth — It would be impracticable, because we have 

 so many different sizes of sections on the market, and they are 

 .1 humbug, Q out of 10. 



Mr. McEvoy— It takes too much wax. 

 (Conduced next week ) 





ocfor Mi Herts 



Quesfton-B^jc 



Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal, or to 

 Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, 111. 

 ' Dr. Miller does not answer Questions by mail. 



Variations in Queen Progeny 



Is it possible for a queen to produce 2 and 

 3 banded bees, and also others without a trace 

 of yellow. I have such a colony, and the 

 only queen I have ever found in the hive is a 

 vellow Italian reared in my own yard this 

 season. There can be no old queen, because 

 the colony is an artificial swarm made this 



season, the bees having killed the queen I 

 gave them and reared this one from brood of 

 an Italian queen I gave them when the 

 swarm was first made. This first queen 

 proved defective, and the one killed was sent 

 me by the breeder to replace the first. 



Kentucky. 

 Answer. — You are very likely counting 

 that when a yellow queen mate6 with a black 

 drone, the resulting progeny will be midway 



in appearance between the yellow and the 

 black. Well, to get such a result so that all 

 the worker progeny should be alike in appear- 

 ance, you would have to work through many 

 generations. The first cros6, instead of being 

 uniformly colored with an intermediate 

 shade, will be just what you have found, 

 some copying after the father, with no tint 

 of yellow, some copying the mother, and 

 some with various shadings. In other words, 

 your bees, if a yellow queen met a black 

 drone, have merely followed the general rule. 

 Nor is this an exceptional matter with bees. 

 Look at a cross between a white cock and a 

 dark hen, and see what is the result. Or, if 

 you have no poultry handy, study the human 

 race. If a father has very dark hair, and a 

 mother very light, see if the children have 

 hair all alike of an intermediate shade. Don't 

 you know it's the common thing to say that 

 one child resembles the father and another 

 the mother! 



Similarity Between Caucasian Drones 

 and Workers 



I sent for 2 tested Caucasian queens, re- 

 ceived one Aug. 7, and introduced her to a 

 queenless colony quite strong in bees, and the 

 queen was well received. She must have 



