i6y7. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



117 



Report of the Michigan State Bee-Keepers' 

 Convention, Held at Mt. Pleasant. 



BY W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 



[Continued from page 102.] 

 The Secretary then read a paper from M. H. Hunt, of 

 Wayne Co., on 



M*.KING AND SHIPPING BEESWAX. 



Perhaps no one is a better judge of beeswax than the 

 manufacturer of comb fouudation. He learns the appearance 

 it should have, the touch, and even the smell, as readily as he 

 does the aroma of his morning coffee. 



Many have tried adulterating, and with success so far as 

 selling is concerned, until he tries the foundation maker. 

 Many dollars have been wasted to find a substitute for bees- 

 wax, but all have failed — it's no good for the bee-keeper. 



The quality of the beeswax of this country has been much 

 improved in the last five years — it is much brighter and 

 cleaner. The sun wax extractor has had something to do with 

 it, also steam rendering. In an experiment a number of years 

 ago, I found that the soaking of dark comb in several waters 

 removed much of the coloring matter, which improved the 

 wax very much. Some of the combs were put in whole to 

 soak, and were so improved that they were taken out and used 

 again. By drying them thoroughly much of the old pollen 

 will rattle out. 



Never use an iron dish about the wax, even if galvanized. 

 We always make up our wax by steam. The combs are put 

 into a large sack of loose material, and put into a barrel and 

 covered with water ; as the melted wax comes to the top It Is 

 skimmed off. The addition of two ounces of sulphuric acid 

 will add much to the color and cleanliness of the product. 

 Turning and poking the sack will help to get the wax out 

 more thoroughly. 



Avoid melting the wax over too many times; every time 

 makes it darker colored. Make the cakes medium-sized, and 

 don't pour in the moulds until cooled so it will just run nicely. 

 Wet the dish, and you will not have to grease it, which is 

 objectionable. If the above directions are followed, your 

 cakes will not crack. 



Our apiarist has always saved every particle of comb and 

 prest ihi'in into little, hard balls, and no worms have ever 

 been found in them ; these savings are made up twice a year. 



In preparing your wax for shipping, much care should be 

 used, especially if sent by freight, which Is usually the best 

 way. The box it is put in should be strong and well nailed. 

 See to It that there are no holes that the pieces knockt off in 

 transit will rattle out. Fasten the cakes so they will not 

 shake about In the box. Never put any packing in with it, 

 such as excelsior, paper or straw. The last thing before nail- 

 ing up, put in a card with the exact weight of the wax, 

 together with your address. 



If you follow the above directions, and make no mistake 

 in the weighing, there will be no shortage, and your buyer 

 will be made happy. Reporting a shortage is not a pleasant 

 thing to do. M. H. Hunt. 



Jas. Armstrong — I would like to know why we have to 

 pay first-class freight on wax ? 



Mr. Hutchinson — Perhaps It is because of its value. If it 

 is lost the railroads have to pay for it, and they make a higher 

 rate on account of its value. 



Mr. Armstrong— With that line of reasoning we ought to 

 pay a higher freight on fouudation than on wax, which is not 

 the case. 



i^j H. W. Morrison— I have used the solar wax-extractor, 

 and like it very well, as it is so easy to throw in any bits of 

 comb, and they are disposed of at once. 



Mr. Bingham— The trouble with the solar extractor Is 

 that It won't work Sundays. My wax extractor Is very sim- 

 ple. I have an old wash-boiler soldered on the top of another 

 old boiler, the bottom first having teen removed from the 

 upper boiler. This gives a very deep vessel. I put in some 



water, and then some cappings. When they are melted I put 

 In some more, and keep doing this until they are all melted, 

 or the boiler Is nearly full. Then I put In some water and 

 bring it up to the boiling point, and leave the tire to go down, 

 with the boiler on the stove. I leave it until the next day to 

 cool, and then take it out in the yard and turn It over and get 

 out the cake of wax. As the wax shrinks in cooling there is 

 no trouble In getting out the wax, and It Is all In one piece. 

 There Is no useless dipping and fussing, and you get all of 

 the wax. The law of gravity does it all. The dirt settles to 

 the bottom. Any dirt attacht to the bottom of the cake can 

 be scraped off with a knife or axe, or something. Then' is no 

 use of putting the combs into a sack. 



Pres. Asplnwall — Taero Is one point in favor of the solar 

 extractor, and that is, the heat is never great enough to melt 

 the propolis, and thus have it mixt with the wax. 



Mr. Bingham — I don't think that the propolis mixes with 

 wax ; I think that the specific gravity is different. 



BEES IN HONEY-HOUSES. 



Mr. Bingham cautioned all to be careful and not let any 

 bees, loaded with honey, escape from the honey-house window, 

 or the door, as they are sure to come back and try to get in 

 again at the same place. Fix a movable screen Inside the 

 window, that can be removed and carried out-of-doors with 

 the bees still upon it, and thus release them some distance 

 from the house. Or, he would have a box at the top of the 

 window Into which the bees would crawl. He would have a 

 glass on the outside of the box. This box could be carried out 

 and opened, and the bees allowed to obtain their liberty by 

 flying from the box instead of from the house. 



BEE-VEILS AND CROSS BEES. 



Mr. Bingham also cautioned bee-keepers against wearing 

 stiff or hard veils, like the bar-veil that has been advertised. 

 When a bee flies against such a hard substance she thinks 

 that some one has struck her, and she gets mad about It and 

 stays mad for a long time. She is ready to fight the moment 

 any one comes Into the yard. Use soft material for veils. It 

 often happens that there are only a few bees In the yard that 

 cause most of the unpleasantness, and it may be worth while 

 to get rid of these. Mr. Bingham provokes such bees by 

 striking at them, and then backing up into the honey-house, 

 continuing his blows, and when they have followed him in, he 

 closes the door and kills them. He thinks that not more than 

 50 bees may cause annoyance for a long time, and that if they 

 were killed off, peace would reign. 



The following officers were chosen : President, T. F. 

 Bingham, of Farwell ; Vice-President, Wm. Bamber, of Mt. 

 Pleasant; Secretary, W. Z. Hutchinson, of Flint; Treasurer, 

 H. W. Morrison, of Mt. Pleasant. 



It was thought that while Mt. Pleasant was an excellent 

 place In which to hold a convention and secure a crowd, 

 the weather had been such that a very poor showing had been 

 made, compared to what could be made In good weather, and 

 It was decided to hold the meeting there another year. 



W. Z. Hutchinson, Sec. 



Xlie Alsike Clover Leaflet consists'of 2 pages, 

 with illustrations, showing the value of Alsike clover, and 

 telling how to grow It. This Leaflet is just the thing to hand 

 to every farmer In your neighborhood. Send to the Bee Jour- 

 nal office for a quantity of them, and see that they are dis- 

 tributed where they will do the most good. Prices, postpaid, 

 are as follows : 50 for 20 cents ; 100 for 85 cents ; or 200 



for ()0 cents. 



^".-». 



Tlie Names and Addresses of all your .bee- 

 friends, who are not now taking the Bee Journal, are wanted 

 at this office. Send them in, please, when sample copies will 

 be mailed to them. Then you can secure their subscriptions, 

 and earn some of the premiums we have offered. The 

 next few months will be just the time to easily get new sub- 

 scribers. Try It earnestly, at least. 



The McEvoy Foul Brood Treatment is 



given In Dr. Howard's pamphlet on "Foul Brood; Its Natural 



History and Rational Treatment." It is the latest publication 



on the subject, and should be in the hands of every bee-keeper. 



Price, 25 cents ; or clubbed with the Bee Journal for one year 



—both for $1.10. 



< ■ » 



t^" See " Bee-Keeper's Guide" offer on page lO'J 



