1897. 



THE AMERICA^ BEE JOURNAL 



7b9 



pleasant trips, aud only to hear the second bee-keeper likely 

 complain of this other one's bees being diseased, even asking 

 rae to burn all his hives, bees, and appliances. If one thing 

 over all others has imprest me, it is that we Wisconsin bee- 

 keepers do not read bee-papers enough, and lack honest 

 brotherly love for our Wisconsin brethren. 



What would you think of a bee-keeper contracting nice 

 white comb honey of this season's gathering, and shipping In- 

 stead nice honey in front sections, and last season's candied 

 and leaking buckwheat honey in the rear of the same cases? 

 Or, of commission dealers holding your honey for IS months, 

 making you uo returns or even writing to you, with good cash 

 honey-buyers in their next block ? or such dealers selling the 

 honey and keeping all returns as their commission ? On the 

 other hand, some who sent samples, with cash prices, and sell 

 honest goods of good quality, cannot procure enough honey to 

 supply their Increasing demands? To secure you against 

 dangers of loss in sales to strangers, there are various ways. 



I saw a nice model apiary of something over 100 colonies 

 last spring, that its owner had managed with profit for years 

 aloue, but was suddenly taken sick and died, and the property 

 had to be sold at a great loss, as no one of the family knew 

 how to care for the bees. I found the faoiily a customer, but 

 the thought came to me then and often since, how many other 

 bee-keeper's families, also, are not experienced, so in case 

 of similar misfortune their property must be sold at a great 

 loss ? Can't we this winter, around our hearthstones, begin 

 a series of study and counsel lessons, and when next season 

 comes, have the experience and mutual help? If one man is 

 droDt from our great enterprises, the business does not stop ; 

 and if our business as a bee-keeper has been with pleasure 

 and profit, why not the whole family learn it? 



A bee-keeper I met owning 420 colonies, producing comb 

 honey, had a long, light spring wagon with enclosed wagon- 

 box, open on top, much like a tish-pedler's wagon, which had 

 a partition lengthwise the box, so that on each side his frames 

 hung as in the hives. In this wagon he carried all his combs 

 and sections to out-apiaries in the spring and back in the fall. 

 He also had an account book in which were all honey sales, 

 except the home market, and a list of honey-dealers. If any 

 one proved a good customer that name was put in one list; if 

 too slow in payments, or otherwise not satisfactory, thatname 

 was put in another list. A good plan. Try it. 



An aged happy couple, of about 80 years, in Waupaca 

 county, handled 40 colonies of bees alone, all for comb honey. 



A section of a mower-sickle with handle riveted on in the 

 middle, makes a good scraper. An iron, like a large old file, 

 bent one inch at the end at right angle, and ground nearly to 

 a sharp edge, is a good scraper in a hive and to lift combs out 

 of the hive while handling. 



In Washington and Dodge counties many farmers of large 

 fields were mowing and saving white clover seed. They 

 claimed it was more profitable than other clover seed raisings. 



One man used queen-excluding zinc in half his apiary, 

 and run all for extracted honey. He weighed the honey of the 

 two lots separately, and claimed favor for the zinc. 



One man bought of all his grocery dealers, all the empty 

 maple-sugar cans cheap, cleaned them, and filled with nice 

 white honey, which found ready sale. 



I found smokers and fuel of all kinds, from the latest im- 

 proved down to an old iron kettle with a hole in the bottom, 

 that had leakt out fire and burned up some hives and bees. 

 But I wish to caution you : Be careful what you burn, and do 

 not use too much of any kind of smoke as it will flavor the 

 honey. 



I met some bee-men owning large apiaries, who did not 

 read any of our valuable bee-papers, selling 4,000 pounds of 

 nice section honey to the stores at 8 cents per pound, and tak- 

 ing pay in groceries. N. E. France. 



Next was a discussion on sweet clover. Some said it was 

 good for both pasture and hay, and others that they had never 

 been able to get stock to eat it at all. 



As to barrels for honey, Mr. France and Mr. Nice use 

 nothing but oak barrels, with iron hoops. 



Mrs. Pickard, Mr. Van Allen, and Mr. Wilson use bass- 

 wood barrels with wooden hoops. Some soak the barrels be- 

 fore using ; others do not. The size of barrel that gave best 

 satisfaction was one that held ;>00 pounds. 



MORNING SESSION, Oct. 7. 



First was an essay by Mr. Evans, on 



The Production of Comb Honey. 



I have been a producer of comb honey for the past 17 

 years, and as I present this subject I feel that I cannot lay 

 down any hard and fast rules for the business. The differ- 



ence in temperament and tastes of bee-keepers, make it Impos- 

 sible to have uniformity of method to any great extent. 



I believe I owe my success as a honey-producer largely to 

 the study of bee-literature, always experimenting as I read, 

 putting into practice any theory which I think is good, dis- 

 carding those which prove of little value to me, and adopting 

 the ones that work well. As I bring the plans of others into 

 use I usually find that improvements and plans of my own 

 originate. Of course I get to think very much of these chil- 

 dren of my own brain, and sometimes call for governmental 

 protection for such a one. 



I would advise those who are interested in bee-culture, 

 as any other business, to accumulate all the information they 

 can on the subject in hand, and then modify it to Qt existing 

 conditions. 



Now in as few words as possible I will give an outline of 

 the plan I use. There Is nothing very new about it, but if 

 any of you feel that I have not toucht upon, or have past too 

 quickly over some points, the extension of which would bo a 

 benefit to you, you are welcome to question me at any time. 



About the 10th or loth of April I have my bees carried 

 out of the cellar and placed carefully upon the summer stand. 

 Just before leaving the cellar the bottom-boards are turned 

 over, for they have been inverted during the stay in the bee- 

 house. This plan has become an establisht rule with me, as 

 it is the quickest and easiest way to clean house in the spring, 

 and prevents smothering of bees during their long confine- 

 ment. 



I handle bees as little as possible after taking them from 

 the cellar. As they are placed, the light ones are markt, and 

 then feeding begins. They usually gather a little honey and 

 pollen soon from the forest trees and spring flowers, 

 then comes fruit-bloom, at which time I equalize the colonies 

 and get in good working order for white clover aud basswood. 

 If by reason of cold weather the bloom is late, and the bees 

 are taking on the swarming fever, I give them more room by 

 placing an extracting case on top of the hive over a queen-ex- 

 cluding honey-board. (I have tried giving room at bottom of 

 the hive, and do not like it). The extracting case on top I find 

 works nicely, for several reasons, viz : It prevents swarming. 

 It is better to put on than a case of sections, as the bees are 

 very likely to deposit pollen there at a time when honey is com- 

 ing in slowly. This is a great damage to section honey, as it 

 can not be kept long and is unsalable. Of course the honey 

 may be extracted, but the comb is valueless for future honey- 

 storing. 



I use the Heddon hive, and my extracting-super is simply 

 one section of a hive, so you see this arrangement gives me a 

 chance to build up a weak colony, or to put swarms into hives 

 with combs well started, as I of course remove this super and 

 put on a section-case as soon as the honey-flow begins. 



My supers are made to contan 28 one-pound sections, 7 

 to the foot, which are held in place by tin and wood support- 

 ers, the wood coming up flush with the top of the sections. I 

 do not use separators. I use the best section I can get filled 

 with drawn combs which I find is best when leveled down to 

 J^ inch. 



The honey will sour in deep cells before it can ripen, if the 

 weather happens to be damp for a period of several weeks, 

 as it was in my locality this year. 



I have not found it desirable to use drawn comb and full 

 sheets of foundation in the same super, as the bees will fill and 

 complete the sections containing comb before commencing 

 work on the foundation. * 



In my locality it is best to take off honey at the close of 

 the basswood harvest. 



I then pack all well-filled sections in neat shipping-cases 

 holding 15 sections, with a paper box in the bottom to pre- 

 vent leakage. I extract the honey from the unfinisht sections, 

 placing the combs thus obtained back into empty supers for 

 next year's crop, while the honey a little later on is bottled in 

 2-pound jars, and disposed of in the home market. 



Thos. Evans. 



QuES. — Is it advisable to place the hives on the same 

 stands as they were taken from the fall before, when taking 

 out of the cellar ? 



Mr. Dexter — There Is a great loss of bees If they are not 

 put in the same place they were in the fall. I use a plan of 

 my bee-yard on paper, and put all the hives back on the old 

 stands. 



Mr. Rice — I had the worst case of robbing I ever had by 

 not putting bees where they came from the fall before. 



Mr. Ricks— I had a bad case of robbing by the same cause. 



Mr. Evans — It makes very little difference, as there are 

 very few bees in the hive in the spring, that went into winter 

 quarters. 



