164 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



Some other members expressed their 

 views on the frame question, but all 

 aureed that it was desirable to have 

 sufficient strength in the top-bar to 

 stifleu the whole. 



The question, what were the best 

 barrels for shipping honey? was dis- 

 cussed. 



Mr. Muth said a great deal of honey 

 was lost by being put into improper 

 barrels. They were often too weak 

 and slender. Second-hand barrels 

 were often used, and there was a con- 

 stant loss when this was done. Honey 

 was heavy and needed a strong pack- 

 age; he preferred cypress. Oak made 

 good barrels when well coopered, but 

 badly made, they were the worst of 

 all for leaking. 



Mr. Jones agreed with Mr. Muth, 

 but thought white-ash preferable to 

 oak. He had been greatly troubled to 

 get thoroughly tight barrels. 



Mr. Poppleton had found some sec- 

 ond-hand barrels answer very well. 



A resolution was introduced by Mr. 

 Pettit, seconded by Mr. Muth, pledg- 

 ing the Association to do all in its 

 power to remove the public prejudice 

 agaitist granulated honey. Consider- 

 able discussion arose on this resolu- 

 tion, which, at first, merely expressed 

 the. idea that granulated honey was 

 "natural and good." Some wished 

 to affirm that pure honey would al- 

 ways granulate. Others objected that 

 it would not always granulate. Mr. 

 Jones challenged any one to produce 

 pure honey that would not granulate. 

 Mr. Muth had kept California honey a 

 long time, even three or four years 

 before it granulated, but it did so at 

 le ngth. He had seen honey mixed with 

 glucose that gi-anulated to a certain ex- 

 tent. Mr. Jones said the pure honey 

 would granulate, and the glucose float 

 on top. He admitted that there was 

 a diflerence in the grain ; some was 

 coarse, and some fine. After much 

 tinkering at the resolution, it was fi- 

 nally adopted in the following form : 

 Besolved, That we as individuals and 

 as an association do all in our power 

 by precept and by practice to con- 

 vince the public that granulated 

 honey is natural, wholesome and de- 

 sirable, and that granulation is a fine 

 test of its purity. 



Mr. Jones was requested to give an 

 account of his method of introducing 

 queens by the use of chloroform, 

 which he did, and then a general dis- 

 cussion of queen introducing sprung 

 up. Mr. Langstroth narrated in an 

 interesting manner some of his early 



experiments in queen introduction. 

 Among others, he tried the experi- 

 ment of making a whiskey syrup which 

 he fed to the bees and to the queen. 

 They acted very much as drunken 

 people do, but when sober, would not 

 accept the queen. 



Mr. Jones stated that the reception 

 of a queen depends on her own be- 

 havior. If she is frightened, nervous, 

 and uneasy, the bees will ball and dis- 

 patch her, but if she is quiet and con- 

 tented, thei-e is no trouble. The main 

 thing, therefore, is to devise a plan by 

 which the queen will be led to act in 

 a natural manner. Mr. Langstroth 

 and Judge Andrews confirmed this 

 view. 



After some further talk on the sub- 

 ject of queens, Dr. Brown remarked, 

 that one and another seemed to be 

 dropping out of the meeting, and it 

 was desirable that there should be 

 a general hand-shaking all round. He 

 therefore moved, seconded by C. F. 

 Muth, that the Association do now 

 adjourn, to meet in Rochester, N. Y., 

 a year hence. The motion was car- 

 ried, and the convention declared ad- 

 journed, sine die. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 



QUESTIONS BY W. R. CKOCKKTT. 



1. Are Italian drones, from an Ital- 

 ian queen which has mated with a black 

 drone, pure? 



2. How near to the hives do the 

 queens generally male? 



3. How many Langstroth frames in 

 the brood-chamber will give the best 

 results when we run for comb honey 

 and haA^e boxes only on the top and 

 none on the sides? 



4. Are the Cyprian bees more in- 

 clined to swarm when you run for box 

 honey than the Holylands or hybrids? 



5. Which are the better, the wooden 

 or tin separators? and would the wood- 

 en separators be better if there were 

 holes in them through which the bees 

 might pass from one section to the 

 other without going to the bottom or 

 top of the sections? 



(). Which is better with which to 

 fasten glass on our honey boxes, tin 

 points or glue? 



