Feb. 14, 1907 



131 



American ^ee Journa 



J 



I 



The best location the writer knows of 

 in the southern half of lower Michigan, 

 is a heavy clay soil. This heavy clay is 

 especially adapted to the raising of clov- 

 er-seed. Especially would 1 look for 

 a location where alsiUe clover is pro- 

 duced for seed. Then, if one could 

 find a place as above, that included quite 

 a (|n.-uitity of basswood timber, it would 

 make the location somewhat better, al- 

 though basswood is not a very sure 

 yielder here. When everything is favor- 

 able, it does not 'require a very large 

 tract of basswood timber to produce a 

 nice lot of surplus honey. 



Then, in litis ininiedi.ilc location, and 

 farther north, the wild raspberry and 

 white clover croduce our surplus. In 

 looking for a location in the white clover 

 and red raspberry districts, as we have 

 to do in this location, don't forget the 

 raspberry, for I am convinced that much 

 cf our supposed clover honey is -34 wild 

 red-raspberry. Further north, in the 

 hardwood slashings, wild raspberry is 

 practically all there is to look for, and 

 this same wild raspberry is our surest 

 and best yielder. This raspberry is in 

 every way, equal to clover; that is, what 

 is produced on the light sandy loam of 

 northern JMichigan. Raspberry honey 

 from the southern counties of our 

 State, on the heavy clay soil, is of an 

 amber color, and can't be compared with 

 our beautiful white honey from the 

 north. 



Another point to be considered in lo- 

 cating apiaries, is buckwheat. It does 

 not produce any surplus in lower Michi- 

 gan, but in favorable seasons yields well 

 when grown on our sandy, loam soil in 

 this localitv and farther north. 



Now, next to the importance of a 

 good location is a sheltered nook in 

 which to place our bees. Our best out- 

 side protection is secured by going in- 

 to the woods and clearing ofif an acre or 

 so to put the bees on. This outside 

 protection from the cold spring winds 

 allows our bees to build up much earl- 

 ier in spring, so as to be ready for the 

 surplus season in June. If one's yard 

 is already located, and it is not desirable 

 to move them to a sheltered place, the 

 next best thing to the natural protec- 

 tion mentioned above, is a high, tight, 

 board fence, 6 or 8 feet high, on the 

 north, east and west sides, leaving the 

 south open. While this is not so good 

 as the natural protection mentioned 

 above, it helps a good deal. 



As to the benefits of outside protec- 

 tion, 1 do not think I can do better 

 than to tell you of the experience of one 

 of our members, Mr. Geo. H. Kirk- 

 patrick. Mr. Kirkpatrick's home vnrd 

 is in, or was when this experience taught • 

 him the value of outside protection — in 

 an unprotected location. The experi- 

 ence was as follows : 



A year ago last spring he moved about 

 one-half his home yard to a well-pro- 

 tected location, 3 miles from home. The 

 colonies were not selected, but were tak- 

 en at random from his home yard, and 

 were all wintered in the same reposi- 

 tory. 1 he fact was. the bees were the 

 same when moved, and the location al- 

 so the same. The results were that 

 the protected out-yard built up strong 

 and were in so much better shape at 

 the opening of the season that they 



tilled an uppi r extracting super with 

 honey before tin- home yard was strong 

 enough to need uu upper story, and they 

 kept this upper >iory ahead clear through 

 the season. The figures would be some- 

 thing as follow si we will suppose the 

 number was .'=<) colonies) : One 8-frame 

 upper story each 40 pounds ; that would 

 be -'000 pounds of extracted honey, at 

 8 cents, or $i(w from 50 colonies in 

 one season, all credited to outside pro- 

 tection. E. D. TOWNSEND. 



S. D. Chapm.in stated that one should 

 be careful as to conclusions. He men- 

 tioned a case where, in one locality, 

 from maple cul during the winter, the 

 bees were able to get an abundant sup- 

 ply of maple s.ip in the spring. These 

 biiilt up into fine shape and were much 

 heavier than another apiary otherwise 

 similarly situated. 



Mr. Kirkpatrick stated that he had 

 an apiary in an old, settled district where 

 bees did not have a chance to build up 

 on maple sap from maple timber cut 

 the previous winter. The apiary was 

 located on a spot with only a few 

 rods cleared in standing timber. It was 

 excellent. 



A discussion followed on the length 

 of time one raspberry patch would be 

 of use. The facts appeared to be that 

 one patch would exhaust itself in 6 or 

 8 years ; that unless a fresh piece of 

 timber was cut where fresh raspberry 

 canes would spring up, and such a loca- 

 tion was the desirable one. the loca- 

 tion would be exhausted for raspberry 

 honey. If, however, the patch was 

 burned off in the spring when the ground 

 was wet, a new growth would spring 

 up ; but if the fire took place in summer, 

 or when the ground was so dry that 

 the black soil would be destroyed, then 

 neither raspberry nor anything else 

 would spring up. 



Producing Ripe Honev. 



Mr. Holtermann gave an address on 

 ripe honey. Not enough attention had 

 been paid in the past to having the bees 

 ripen and evaporate the honey. What 

 was known as an inferior-sourced honey, 

 if well-ripened, w'as really a more de- 

 sirable article, if left to the bees until 

 capped, than the better grades taken 

 away when thin and unripe. \ bee- 

 keeper that sold the latter required con- 

 stant exercise of new energy to get new 

 customers. 



Mr. Chapman thought that the bees 

 added something to the comb as they 

 built it, which gave the honey stored 

 in fresh comb a different flavor. 



Mr. Holtermann stated that it might 

 be so, although he had never noted the 

 difference. 



Pres. Hutchinson said that he had 

 heard that the best honey is secured by 

 giving the bees foundation to build out 

 as they stored, and that such honey 

 would be of a better quality than that 

 taken from previously-drawn comb. He 

 thought it might be because the comb 

 was drawn out while being filled by the 

 bees, and that the honey would evapo- 

 rate better. 



Foul Brood. 



Pres. Hutchinson gave a very able ad- 

 dress on foul brood, dealing with a 

 sample he had, so that every one in the 

 room could get thoroughly acquainted 

 with the disease. He also advocated 

 more inspectors for Michigan. 



Mr. Walker said that every township 

 should have an inspector, as they ha6 

 it for the "peach yellows." Foul brood 

 in the State was very wide spread. This 

 appeared to be the general opinion, and 

 steps were taken to endeavor to get 

 a much larger number of inspectors, and 

 a larger grant for the purpose. Mr. 

 Hutchinson, the present sole inspector, 

 led in the move for more men. 



Evening Session. 



The evening session was held in the 

 fine Court House, a thorough credit to 

 Big Rapids, and to the kindness of its 

 officials in putting it at the disposal of 

 bee-keepers. .\lso a credit to the energy 

 of the Michigan State bee-keepers, and 

 no doubt in no small measure to Mr. 

 Geo. E. Hilton, resident in the locality- 

 Mr. Elmore M. Hunt gave a demon- 

 stration in handling bees in a cage. One 

 or two bees acted as if they had been 

 feeding on plum-pudding or mince-pie 

 the day previous to going to sleep (it 

 was Dec. 26), but the demonstration 

 was entirely successful and no doubt 

 would have interested a much larger 

 audience than the one present. 



Thus closed a very successful conven- 

 tion with high hopes in the bee-keepers' 

 breasts that the next Michigan State 

 convention would be held in union with 

 the National, at Detroit. 



fir. /ia^tY^ 



Tdc • Uld Ri-linh'" '' as Feen ttjroufh Nnw himI Udfi-I abic (.ijus- 

 by E. E. Hastt. Sta. B. Rural, Toledo, Ohio. 



Testing Various Races of Bees 



If Prof. SchoU is to run a dozen test 

 apiaries next season, and give each of 



the current races a test, we shall look 

 for those " reports later " with decided 

 interest. He seems to contemplate 

 only one kind at a location — good for 



