1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



133 



will not be necessary to discard our old frames filled with 

 comb. One man, in three or four days' time, can chauRe over 

 all our colonies. He will carry along with him a light, slinrj) 

 back-saw, and will cut off from each end of the top-bar '4 

 inch, and then drive in the staple. Time can bo saved by 

 shaking the bees off all of the combs of the colony In front of 

 the entrance, and then change the frames, after which pro- 

 ceed to the next colony. All surplus combs not in the hives 

 can be changed over now in the shop. 



The beauty of this improvement is that every one can 

 adopt it for his own yard, where he has old-style frames; and 

 the beneiit is so great that it does not seem to me that any one 

 can afford not to use it. We have already changed over a few 

 of our hives sufficient to know that the work of changing over 

 end-spacers is but slight, comparatively. — Gleanings. 



Report of the Wlscoiisiu State Convention. 



The 13th annual meeting of the Wisconsin State Bee- 

 Keepers' Society was called to order by the Secretary, Feb. 

 3, 1897. As the attendance was not very large, the fore- 

 noon was spent mostly in discussing the efforts to secure a 

 foul brood law, and of the reports received. 



At 1:30 p.m. the meeting was called to order by Pres. F. 

 Wilcox, followed with prayer by Rev. Winter. The minutes 

 of previous meeting were read and approved, after which a 

 report of the committee on foul brood legislation was given as 

 follows : 



REPORT ON FOUL BROOD AND SWEET CLOVER. 



February T, 1896, the Wisconsin State Bee-Keepers' 

 Society adopted the following resolution : 



"Resolved. That a committee be appointed which shall 

 represent all the bee-keepers' societies of VVisconsin ; that said 

 committee shall correspond with the bee-keepers of the State, 

 to learn the extent of bee-keeping in Wisconsin, the annual 

 production of honey and wax, the extent and seriousness of 

 foul brood, and how many really desire their bees protected 

 by a foul brood law. Also that said committee inquire of bee- 

 keepers and others if they desire sweet clover (melilotus alba) 

 stricken from the noxious weed list. Said committee to take 

 such action as seems best to secure the needed legislation." 



President F. Wilcox then appointed N. E. France, of 

 Platteville, as said committee, and so to act. On July IT, 

 1896, I sent 400 printed circulars to Wisconsin bee-keepers, 

 with a request to reiurn by Aug. 1 the printed crop report. 

 Soon the reports began coming, and still continue. As many 

 had but commenced their honey harvest, they could only give 

 a partial report; but from the hundreds of reports received, I 

 learned there was a little over 45,000 colonies of bees in Wis- 

 consin, that produced a harvest of 2,250,000 pounds of 

 honey, and ;)0,000 pounds of wax — at present wholesale 

 prices worth a total of .S 160,000. Some 600 cases of foul 

 brood were reported, scattered through 10 counties, and com- 

 plaints of carelessly selling diseased honey and bees wherever 

 a market was found, thereby spreading the disease. 



I at once wrote to foul brood inspectors in different States 

 and Canada, asking for a copy of their foul brood laws, and 

 for each one to suggest where, by their experience, their law 

 could be improved. 



September 24 I sent 200 circulars to Wisconsin bee- 

 keepers, with a total of reports to date, and a few of the let- 

 ters received, and a form of foul brood law that would best 

 suit the demands for Wisconsin. Many bee-keepers have 

 either seen their legislators, or written them, of the much- 

 needed legislation, and up to this date not one voice has been 

 heard agaii;st the support of the Bill. 



The Bill was introduced by my Assemblyman, and I was 

 allowed to plead our case before the legislative committee. 



I wish to warn bee-keepers to be cautious in buying bees, 

 queens, honey-cackages or supplies, from locations where foul 

 brood exists. Last year one bee-keeper of Florida lost 300 

 colonies with this fatal disease, and in an adjoining county 

 another lost 200 colonies. Then Cuba, near by, lost 1,200 



colonies in one county. So I might enumerate. As much of 

 this Southern honey finds market In our Northern cities, I 

 caution you not to buy any more second-hand or emptied 

 honey-packages. N. E. France, Com. 



Mr. George W. York, editor of the American Bee Journal, 

 exhibited some fine alfalfa honey from Utah, and a sample of 

 deep-cell comb foundation that was ahead of any foundation 

 ever seen by any member present. On motion, Mr. York was 

 elected an honorary member of the Society. 



Next was the following essay by Mr. York, entitled, 



MABKETINa HONEY FOB 1897. 



This is an up-to-date subject. It might well be called an 

 antedating subject, as its direct application cannot be made 

 until about six months hence — perhaps next July, or later. 

 But it is always well to plan in advance — to think out our line 

 of work, and then afterward be prepared to work out our 

 "think." This applies as well to marketing the honey crop, 

 as to other subjects. 



But what about marketing, or disposing of, the honey 

 crop of 1897— t/iis ticrjy i/eor i' Of course, we can't well sell 

 a thing before we are certain the thing itself will be in hand 

 when the proper time arrives. But, supposing you are favored 

 with a bountiful honey crop this year, the question is. How 

 will you market it to the best advantage? 



Some of you may decide to sell it through city commission- 

 men — and then, some of you will not try that thing again ! A 

 burnt child dreads the fire. And yet fire is a good thing, if it 

 be of the right kind and properly used. But gun-powder or 

 other hot explosives are quite unsafe as a means of conveying 

 warmth and comfort. So beware of the boasting, bombastic 

 and over-friendly city commission-men, for finally they are 

 much like strong drink— "At the last it biteth like a serpent 

 and stingeth like an adder." The " stings " of crooked com- 

 mission-men are infinitely worse than bee-stings, as some of 

 you have doubtless discovered to your sorrow. 



But please remember that there are some trustworthy 

 commission-men, and perhaps many of you can do no better 

 than to continue to patronize them. At least one reliable 

 Chicago honey commission-man has customers that purchase 

 of him by the carload. He has created a demand. In one 

 day, I understand, he disposed of three carloads of honey 

 without so much as touching it himself. But It has taken 

 years of constant effort to develop such a demand. Another 

 thing, that particular dealer knows all about the honey-busi- 

 ness, from the bottom up, and all the way back again. 



But before any definite plan of marketing can be decided 

 upon, I feel that another question needs settling. I refer to 

 the retail honey trade. How can we best reach the millions 

 who should be eating pure honey daily, but who seldom see it 

 now or know what it is? This is a question that I have 

 pondered over quite a good deal, and I am just now doing a 

 little experimenting on it in Chicago. I find that the four or 

 five thousand grocery stores there sell very little honey. Even 

 the large retail stores, in the heart of the city, with their 

 busy grocery departments, have little call for honey. And 

 why is this ? Why do not people ask their grocers for honey 

 as they would ask for maple syrup, sugar, or any other good 

 thing to eat ? I can give you one reason in a single word, 

 Qlucose ! 



Why, do you know, the mass of people— particularly in 

 cities— have been treated to such big doses of glucose, and so 

 often, under the name of " Honey," that they fear to buy any- 

 thing so labeled ? They have bought the distasteful, diabolical 

 stuff, and individually have said, " Well, if tliat's honey, I 

 do7i'tivant any more'." And / don't blame them. I have seen 

 so much of honey-adulteration in Chicago, that sometimes I 

 am almost discouraged and disheartened on account of it. 



I may be getting away from my assigned " text " for this 

 "sermon," but. if so, I am sure you will pardon me, for I feel 

 that this adulteraton question is so closely connected with the 

 successful marketing of honey that it cannot be easily waved 

 aside. I am deeply interested in this matter. I want the con- 

 suming public to have a good chance to buy the pure, unadul- 

 terated product of the bee-hive, and not be continually im- 

 posed upon and defrauded by a mixture of one-tenth honey- 

 comb and nine-tenths corn-juice, concocted in some dark, 

 dingy, and dismal city cellar ! 



Just now, I am leaning toward the conclusion that in 

 order to induce the grocery dealers to take more interest in 

 selling honey, the producers will have to put up extracted 

 product in small tin receptacles (say pints and quarts), and 

 put each section of comb honey in a paper box (carton), and 

 then crate each in one and two dozen lots. I think that screw- 

 capt tin cans, holding I'i and 3 pounds each, can be pur- 

 chased in quantity, at 3 and :i3:i centj, respectively. The 



