shows that the blame of no honey is not 

 in the separators. 



D. T>. Palmer. I will give my theory, 

 but may change my mind next year. 

 There are many conditions needed to the 

 secretion of honey. All are aware that 

 a warm, wet atmosphere is very favor- 

 able to the production of honey. For 

 my part, I want one condition above all 

 others, and that is warm nights. Just 

 look back over this season, and also last 

 year; we had many hot days, but very 

 few hot nights. Year before last we 

 had hot nights, and we obtained a good 

 yield of honey. No matter if we do 

 have warm days, if the nights are cold 

 we get but little honey, for what is se- 

 creted in the day time is evaporated by 

 the sun about as fast as it comes ; while 

 it does not evaporate at all at night, and 

 the bees get it early in the forenoon. 



L. H. Scudder. The reports this year 

 show that nearly all of the honey has 

 been obtained from basswoodor linden. 



Jas. A. Simpson. I have seen honey 

 secreted when the nights were quite 

 cool, and when warm nights came no 

 honey followed. It must be something 

 else ; we have other crops in abundance. 



D. D. Palmer. Yes; we had warm 

 nights and bees obtained honey. They 

 showed it by roaring the next night, but 

 as soon as cool nights came they quit 

 roaring. 



L. H. Scudder. I have long believed 

 that such was the case ; but whole sec- 

 tions of country South, and in the great 

 honey regions of California, have cold 

 nights, yet I have always felt we must 

 have warm nights for honey. I have 

 had a good run of honey after the first 

 frost came. 



Jas. A. Simpson. We all know that 

 when the ground is wet we have a more 

 uniform temperature day and night ; 

 then we mav expect vegetation to grow 

 best; the change is much quicker ;it 

 night in very dry weather ; I think the 

 ground when wet and hot is in the best 

 condition for honey. 



D. D. Palmer. The coast of Califor- 

 nia has been spoken of. There are no 

 bee-keepers in Oregon and Washington 

 Territory; there is no honey there. I 

 think they must have warm' nights to 

 get honey in California, if looked at 

 closely. 



L. H. Scudder. In Southern Califor- 

 nia they lay their short crop of honey, 

 and other crops, to the drouth. 



Jas. A. Simpson. Does white clover 

 raised from seed, yield honey the first 

 year? There is a large extent of coun- 

 try covered with white clover near me. 

 Old clover gave us no honey. Many 

 thought clover did not yield honey the 

 first year. 



Is it best to put on Separators at first T 



L. H. Scudder. At first, by all means. 

 It is just as well to put them on then, 

 and saves a great deal of work and trou- 

 ble. This was concurred in by several 

 members present. 



Some discussion was had in regard to 

 bees having enough to carry them 

 through the coming winter. From re- 

 ports given, it was thought those on the 

 river bottoms would have an abundance; 

 but back of a line 3 or 4 miles from the 

 river, bees would have to be fed, and 

 much loss is expected. Many old queens 

 will be kept over that in a good season 

 would have been superseded. 



Comb Foundation. 



Jas. A. Simpson. I believe there is 

 too much purifying of the wax in comb 

 foundation ; they try to get it too pure; 

 in the process too much of the natural 

 oil is taken out to make it of good sub- 

 stance. I had a quantity of comb foun- 

 dation which was very dark ; the bees 

 worked it out into very white comb ; I 

 obtained some more that was pretty as 

 a picture. The bees would not touch it 

 as long as any dark foundation was left 

 in the nive. I could see the foundation 

 in the comb made of the light article, 

 but not so with the dark. I am satisfied 

 foundation will be better with less heat- 

 ingand purifying. Newer wax is better. 



E. D. Godfrey. I would ask Mr. 

 Simpson if his bees change the color of 

 the foundation ? 



Jas. A. Simpson. I think that some 

 coloring matter must be used in the 

 foundation. 



E. D. Godfrey. I can tell every time 

 where the foundation begins and where 

 it ends. The bees do not change it, but 

 the comb below the foundation changes 

 with the honey that isput into it. I saw 

 some on which letters had been painted, 

 which was drawn out so it could be read, 

 of the same color as when the bees be- 

 gan it. 



L. H. Scudder. I asked Mr. Dadant 

 his method of making wax. He said 

 he did not use any chemicals ; the only 

 secret was in cooling it slowly. lb' 

 cools his wax in a large tank, packed so 

 as to cool very slowly. 



-las. A. Simpson. I cannot account 

 for it: but the dark foundation was 

 worked out first. I think every time 

 wax is heated it becomes harder. 



1). 1). rainier. Do not use iron ves- 

 sels to melt wax in. or it will be dark ; 

 but use tin or other vessels. 



Jas. A. Simpson. To coo] wax, set it 

 in the stove oven, anil it will cool grad- 

 nallv as the stove cools, and the sedi- 

 ment will go the bottom much more 

 readily. 



