628 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



I like the apiary on sod, and the hives 

 to be placed under the outer edges of the 

 shade trees. 



I never give, in the production of 

 comb honey, an upward ventilation, and 

 herein lies an important secret towards 

 securing white and clean sections. The 

 bees resent any such current of air, and 

 when given, begin to propolize, and 

 and soiled sections are a result. A quilt 

 should not be used unless a heavy cush- 

 ion and a heavy lid be placed above to 

 prevent the bees from pushing the quilt 

 off. I lilte a honey-board, and a quarter 

 inch bee-space above the combs. Shade- 

 boards are used on top, and even at the 

 sides of hives ; they are a great advan- 

 tage. 



It is unnecessary to say that no one 

 can engage in the successf al production 

 of comb honey with one super only, and 

 yet there are many who think such is a 

 practical economy. Before the advent 

 of the bee-escape, I drove bees out of the 

 comb honey supers by spreading over 

 a cloth dipped in a weak solution of 

 carbolic acid, the cloth being wrung 

 almost dry before spreading. This works 

 very well, but the bee-escape is still 

 better. 



My system is to produce a certain 

 amount of comb honey, and as the sea- 

 son becomes doubtful turn off to ex- 

 tracted honey ; this prevents cull sec- 

 tions except in very exceptional seasons. 



Nothing has been said about any kind 

 of feeding. To feed back extracted 

 honey means to put upon the market 

 comb honey which will quickly granu- 

 late, and this will displease the con- 

 sumer, and is therefore undesirable. To 

 feed anything else should never for a 

 moment be listened to — never be even 

 thought of ; to practice it would surely 

 bring swift retribution. Only a choice 

 article should be aimed at, even if we 

 never exhibit, for by so doing we place 

 ourselves to a certain extent out of reach 

 of competition. We command the high- 

 est price and a ready sale. 



R. F. HOLTERMANN. 



The foregoing essay was then dis- 

 cussed as follows : 



R. L. Taylor — Why do you favor 

 starters for comb honey ? 



Mr. Holtermann — Because I look for 

 the best results, financial. The most 

 honey in the best shape. The starters 

 will give me the best financial results. 



R. L. Taylor — I do not think we want 

 to use starters for comb honey. I this 

 summer hived 4 colonies on foundation, 

 4 on combs, and 4 on starters ; every- 



thing was weighed, bees, hives and all. 

 The bees were hived the last week in 

 June; the honey-flow lasted for about 

 three weeks, and on July lyth results 

 were taken. The swarms differed in 

 weight, so the gain per pound was taken 

 during that time ; at the latter part of 

 the season those on starters were gain- 

 ing more than the others. As to upward 

 ventilation, I favor such and practice it. 



R. F. Holtermann — Before I say any- 

 thing more, I wish it understood that I 

 value the work of Mr. Taylor very 

 much, and I may be mistaken about the 

 value of starters, yet too much value 

 cannot be attached to one experiment; 

 but as it is repeated, and the average is 

 taken for a series of years, does great 

 value arise. In the first place, the re- 

 sults as to yield per colony differ very 

 much in different weights of swarms. 

 For instance, a swarm up to a certain 

 weight is engaged in keeping up its 

 present weight, the bees beyond that 

 weight give the increase, hence the in- 

 crease per weight of bees is, I think, 

 hardly just. Again, we know colonies- 

 apparently alike give very different re- 

 sults. 



Mr. Taylor — In each group there was 

 one swarm weighing alike. 



Mr. Kretchmer — The length of the 

 honey-flow makes a great difference — if 

 short, starters pay best; if long, the 

 contrary. 



M. D. West — I agree with the views 

 of the last speaker. I used to favor 

 starters. If the season is full and short, 

 we first send the honey up into the sur- 

 plus boxes. I hive swarms now on five 

 frames. The bees must go above with 

 the honey. I have between 400 and 

 500 colonies. 



Mr. Stewart — If I had lots of time I 

 would use dummies. I used to favor 

 starters. When I put on supers I take 

 sections off of the parent colony, whether 

 partially worked out or not. 



Mr. Holtermann — I might say that I 

 never have any fall flow. 



Mr. Abbott — I have been interested in 

 these discussions, but I do not think it 

 is of any use splitting hairs when esti- 

 mating results. The bees themselves 

 give very different results. Of course, 

 no one asks bee-keepers to take the re- 

 sult of one experiment as final. 



A number of members spoke of the 

 value of the work done by Mr. R. L. 

 Taylor, and a strong feeling prevailed 

 that more should be done in this direc- 

 tion. 



The following resolution was then 

 presented, and passed : 



Resolved, That the North American 



