March 13, 1902. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



165 



ever liilicniaii-. He can examine llicm any day and never 

 find tlieiii liilieriKUing. 



Mrs. iMary .Muirow has usually kept 75 colonics, reducing 



to 35 or 40 hy doubling for winter. She always looks for 



brood — likes those especially; lost 7 colonics last winter, but 



usually has practically no losses. She uses chaff hives, and 



digs only sleet and where freezing after thaws. When she 



finds brood in a colony she unites one lacking it with this one. 



-Mr. Smith says sleet never smothers. 



Mr. Kirkpatrick thinks sugar all right for winter stores, 



feeds quickly, and has combs 3/^ capped over before wintering. 



Mr. Hungerford says not to let sugar boil, but just warm, 



for feeding. 



Mr. Hilton says scorching sugar kills bees; 

 Mr. Covcyou prefers, in feeding for winter, a large box 

 full of holes, bottom on top of the frames; bees have to take 

 the syrup or drown. It is the principle of the pepperbox 

 feeder. 



Mr. Hilton was asked if there is not danger of selling 

 sugar as honey, from thus feeding. He said there is no 

 danger, but only likely to prejudice neighbors who sell it 

 The sugar fed is consumed in winter and spring. 



Mr. Dodo said that in the fall of igoo, he put bee-hives 

 in three rows next to a high board fence, and the losses were, 

 in 1st row, 3 per cent; 2d. 20 per cent; and 3rd, 50 per cent ; 

 the loss being greater towards the fence. He covered with 

 chaff and straw. 



Mr. Covcyou thinks the bees might have flown and stopped 

 in the ist row. 



JMr. Kitson said a late laying queen may be unfertile. The 

 general opinion of those present was that late laying is bene- 

 ficial, there being no danger of bees being too young; the 

 queen always stops her laying soon enough. 



PUTTING UP HONEY FOR RETAILING. 



Ira D. Bartlett asked as to the best method of putting up 

 honey for retailing. He said he has trouble with tumblers 

 not being sealed properly, and leak. He thinks the Mason 

 jar, pint or quart, is the best can. 



It was suggested by Mr. Hilton that the trouble is that 

 inexpensive glass cans do not fit the covers, and that cans 

 cost too much : that there is no successful and satisfactory 

 can. The Mason jar is known to be of value. This is an 

 unsolved problem. He says he is not satisfied, but finds it 

 necessary to use glass. People tire of tin pails. 



Mr. Kirkpatrick favors the Muth jar, or one similar. 



L. C. Woodman says he sells honey at $1.00 a gallon, 

 and likes that method best, retaining the packages. 



Mr. Smith and Mrs. Morrow say if customers buy in 

 large quantities they will always buy so; if started with small 

 amounts, they always buy small quantities. Except to gro- 

 ceries, Mr. Smith sells 1-3-pint cups in cases of one dozen 

 each. 



The general opinion of this convention is that it is diffi- 

 cult to improve present standard glasses; but glass jars 

 are not all the same size, and it seems impossible to remedy 

 it so as to sell at a low cost. 



THE SALE OF COMB HONEY. 



Plain sections are taking place of those with insets. 



Mrs. Morrow says her customers like square sections, 

 and the tall sections are not so well filled, and the bees 

 are apt to fill the top part with dark honey. 



Mr. Kitson says in his locality he can get two-thirds 

 more honey with plain sections than with bee-way sections. 



Air. Coveyou says plain sections sell best, either ■ o- 

 Danzenbaker. The thicker sections are uneven. He showed 

 a 3d super of Ideal sections filled from a June swarm, all 

 finely filled. He uses a unique arrangement of his own, that 

 makes the removing of the sections from the super an easy 

 matter. 



The general opinion : Plain sections are always best, 

 but there is little difference in the shape, that being a mat- 

 ter of convenience or preference. 



_W. Z. Hutchinson says merchants seem to prefer short- 

 weight sections, buying by weight and selling by the piece ; 

 that in the West they sell by the case, guaranteeing a certain 

 weight and quality. The dealers get light-weight sections, 

 but this gives the dealers an advantage. 



Mr. Hilton says the only honest w-ay for bee-keepers is 

 to sell by weight. 



AMOUNT OF COMB FOUNDATION TO USE. 



Mr. Kitson prefers full slucti of foundation for sections. 

 Mr. Hutchinson said if a slow honey-flow the bees can 

 make combs, but if rapid they need foundation. He never 

 used anything except 4% sections, but he used different 

 width.s, preferring i^i-inch in order to get them well- 

 filled, but he gets belter filled sections with full founda- 

 tion, sheets, and better for market. Separators are needed 

 to produce comb honey in the best shape for market. 



-Mr. Coveyou uses full sheets of foundation in the brood- 

 frames and in sections ; that one colony without founda- 

 tion just draws out the brood-combs; another with full 

 foundation sheets in frames and sections will fill both. 



Messrs. Kirkpatrick, Bartlett, and others all use full 

 sheets in sections, and even bottom starters, with a space of 

 '/s to ;4 inch between the lower and upper foundation in 

 sections; J4 inch is safer. 



H. E. Brown says it doesn't pay to use more than start- 

 ers — bees will produce just as much honey. 



Mr. Coveyou says he thinks it best to put a new swarm 

 on starters to get more surplus honey, and to prevent 

 making drone comb put in old drone-frames. 



Mr. Hutchinson says he has had considerable experience 

 in hiving swarins on starters to get honey. He hives on S 

 Langstroth frames, and agrees with Mr. Coveyou, who 

 uses a queen-excluder. Set the old hive by the side of the 

 new one to get the old bees into the new hive. Bees 

 must then go into the supers. Place in some unfinished 

 sections, and in 20 minutes after swarming they commence 

 to fill the sections, and if the queen keeps up with brood- 

 comb it makes them in fine shape, and all honey goes in the 

 supers. Mr. Hutchinson feeds sugar for winter stores, using 

 one-fifth honey with sugar, and has no granulation. It 

 is done in September. He feeds 15 pounds of hot syrup 

 at one time, and has fed late successfully, but recommends 

 feeding early. 



WINTER FEEDING OF BEES. 



Mr. Coveyou advises making dough of honey and sugar. 

 He never had to feed at any time except to small and weak 

 colonies. 



Mr. Chapman hasn't fed since 1885 to any extent, and 

 then feeds sealed honey in combs saved for that emer- 

 gency. He doesn't believe feeding often is necessary. If 

 he didn't know enough to feed in the fall he wouldn't feed 

 now. 



Mr. Hutchinson recommends making a candy of honey 

 and sugar. 



Mr. Hutchinson says he doesn't know as he would ex- 

 tract in order to feed, but if he could manipulate so that 

 bees left the brood-frames empty and stored white honey 

 in the supers, he would feed for winter. There is no danger 

 of carrying sugar into the supers. 



HOW SHALL WE DISPOSE OF OUR HONEY CROP? 



Mr. Kitson says small producers sell at any price and 

 demoralize the market. 



S. D. Chapman says he sells his surplus over local con- 

 sutnption, direct to outside customers, not through com- 

 mission men. 



C. F. Pinnell says small bee-keepers hurt his prices, 

 and he thinks some kind of trust should be formed. He 

 sells to store-keepers in the vicinity. 



Mr. Hutchinson spok^ of one bee-keeper who paid more 

 cash to his neighboring bee-keepers than the store-keeper 

 would pay in trade, and this kept the price up in his 

 locality. 



Mr. Hilton advises selling direct. 



(Cunclut^ed ne.xi week.) 



Why Not Help a Little— both your neighbor bee-keep- 

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