AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



753 



Report or tlie Xortli American 

 Bee-Keepers' Convention. 



Reported for the '^American Bee Journal " 

 BY R. F. HOLTERMANN. 



(Continued from page 736.) 



The question-box was then taken up, 

 and the following asked first : 



PREVENTION OF BEE-STINGS. 



Has anything been found to be ap- 

 plied to the face that would be obnox- 

 ious to the bees, in so far as to keep 

 them from stinging ? 



Pres. Miller — Carbolic acid; apifuge. 



VALUE OF OLD BROOD-COMB. 



Does the age of brood-comb lessen its 

 worth or desirability for breeding pur- 

 poses ? 



A sample was shown over twenty 

 years old which had been partly pulled 

 down by the bees and rebuilt. 



Mr. Muth — I have combs over 20 

 years old. The bees get smaller in very 

 old comb. 



Another member had a colony over 30 

 years old, and the bees appeared to be 

 doing well, and were as large as ever. 



Dr. Miller thought the bees might 

 have torn down the comb and rebuilt it 

 unawares. 



Mr. Holtermann — Keeping old comb in 

 the hive should surely be condemned. 



Several mentioned finding combs cut 

 away irregularly in the hive by the bees. 



SHORT-LIVED QUEEN-BEES. 



What is the cause of the short life of 

 queens as generally reared and sent out 

 by queen-breeders ? 



Mr. Holterman thought that we often 

 do not know when our queens are super- 

 seded. Those we buy we watch more 

 closely, and note a change of queens. 



Byron Walker agreed with Mr. Hol- 

 termann. 



C. P. Dadant — The bees often accept 

 a queen under protest ; that is, they 

 tolerate her for a time, and this mode 

 ends in the queen being superseded. 



Mr. Green — The long distances queens 

 travel in the mails sometimes injures 

 their vitality. 



Mr. Crane — Queens are often older 

 than represented. 



MAKING HONEY-VINEGAR. 



Did any one ever make first-class vin- 

 egar of honey ? How is it done ? 



Several responded yes. 



Dr. Miller — You can make excellent 

 vinegar with honey. Directions are to 

 be found in bee-books. 



Mr. Muth — You can also make excel- 

 lent wine from honey. If barley were 

 $1.50 per bushel, honey would be used 

 largely in brewing. 



In reply to a question, Mr. Muth said 

 that bakers and tobacconists use large 

 quantities of honey. A few brewers 

 and pork packers also use honey. 



ORIGIN OF GOLDEN ITALIAN BEES. 



Where Jdid the golden Italian bees 

 originate ? 



Dr. Miller — In America, probably. 



Mr. Dadant said that in Germany you 

 can get Italian bees as bright as they 

 have been bred in America. He thought 

 it was a mistake to breed for color. 



Mr. Muth — I got three queens from 

 Dr. Dzierzon, in Germany, and they 

 were not all good. We have much finer 

 bees in America. 



Mr. Benton being urged to speak, 

 stated that Mr. Dzierzon exhibited hy- 

 brid bees as Italians in 1884, and they 

 received a prize. 



DUTY ON HONEY. 



Should the duty on honey be removed? 

 A vote was taken, and with one ex- 

 ception the vote was no. 



REARING QUEENS — BLEACHING WAX. 



Are we making a success of rearing 

 queens in upper stories with the queen 

 below ? Three had succeeded. 



What is the best way to bleach wax ? 

 Dr. Miller thought this had been ex- 

 plained. Expose it to the light. 



USING UNFINISHED SECTIONS. 



Should unfinished sections be used 

 next season, or discarded ? 



The general verdict appeared to be in 

 favor of using them. Mr. Crane used 

 those clean after shaving the comb 

 down to one-half inch in thickness. 



J. A. Green would use two or three in 

 each super. 



Mr. Stone objected to old comb, as it 

 is tough. 



Mr. Thei!m«rin sh«,ved the comb 



