1898. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



165 



the seventh day, then take the frames from the old hive. 

 Shake nearly all the bees down in front of the new swarm, 

 and cut out all the queen-cells but one. Then move the old 

 colony to a new stand to build up for buckwheat. You then 

 have a colohy that will store surplus if there is any to be 

 gathered. 



I have used hives containing eiftht frames Sj^xll}^, and 

 from that up, and I find this works best with large hives. 



L. K. Edgett. 



THE MARKETING PROBLEM 



was next considered. All present were agreed that the pre- 

 vailing low price of honey was not due to over-production, but 

 to a class of slovenly, careless bee-keepers, whose chief success 

 was in spoiling the market. Their honey was not worth mote 

 than they got for it ; but the price paid for it was the ruling 

 price for the season. The only remedy suggested that seemed 

 feasible was by co-operation, and have a bee-keeper in each 

 neighborhood to buy up all this honey and then keep the mar- 

 ket supplied, but not overstockt. 



HOUSE-APIABIES. 



Mr. Dewey next gave a talk on house-apiaries. His house- 

 apiary is built after the plan of Mr. Langdon's, as described 

 in the Bee Journal for 1895, except that Mr. Dewey made 

 his wider than the Langdon plan, having room for his supplies 

 and fixtures inside. He likes it better than an out-door api- 

 ary for several reasons. The operator is protected from the 

 hot sun ; he can open a hive without fear of robbirig ; can 

 feed a colony at any time without other bees having access to 

 it; and can lock the door, thus making it safe from prowlers. 

 Its most serious drawback is the loss of young queens at ma- 

 ting time, the hive-entrances being so close together and so 

 much alike. 



The Secretary next read a paper written by Mr. N. T. 

 Phelps, on 



Progress of Bce-Kceping. 



It was probably a mistake to put me down for a paper on 

 the progress of bee-keeping, as I am no writer, and am also 

 cue of those who believe it better to put forth one's energies 

 to keep up with the present than to begrim one's hands with 

 the musty records of the past. This places me a little out of 

 my element, but as the task has been assigned me I will do 

 the best I can. The old-time methods of bee-keeping will be 

 » mentioned cot because they will be new to any members pres- 

 ent, but to recall those things and place them In com- 

 parison with the present methods, and thereby provoke dis- 

 cussion in practical things that concern the present day. 



I now recall no pursuit that has made the advancement 

 that bee-keeping has in so short a time. A few years ago the 

 ordinary bee-keeper knew very little of the natural history of 

 the bee, and almost nothing about proper hives and appliances. 

 Perhaps I can mention no old thing or any new thing that is 

 not known to every member present, but let me compare a 

 few things used and believed then, with a few things used 

 and believed in now. 



When I was young I lived very near one of the best old- 

 time bee-keepers in all the country. He kept a large number 

 of colonies, and it was believed that his would rob and carry 

 home all the bees in the neighborhood. It was of no use for 

 any one else to try to keep bees near him, because his family 

 lived together in greater peace and happiness than any one 

 else, therefore his bees were more loyal to him than to any 

 one in the neighborhood. To-day we know that a good, 

 strong colony in a normal condition will hold their fort against 

 all comers. Give them plenty of honey to gather from the 

 fields, and they don't care if a man does quarrel a little with 

 his wife or mother-in-law. This old bee-keeper's hives were 

 made of rough board boxes or hollow logs sawed off, and two 

 cross sticks put through them, aud he never saw the inside of 

 one of them from the day the swarm was shaken off the branch 

 in front of them until they died from some cause that the 

 modern bee-keeper with bis movable-frame hive ought to be 

 able to prevent. 



The bees themselves seem to have made a great deal of 

 advancement, too. Then they were ruled by a " king." They 

 had to do everything as he commanded, some were soldiers at 

 his command, some stored honey at his command, some gath- 

 ered bee-bread to live on at his command, others made wax 

 at his command, and when he died they mourned themselves 

 to death for him. Now the colony has no government at all. 

 Every bee is so good and patriotic that each bee does Just ex- 

 actly right every time — does just exactly what Is best for the 

 colouy under all circumstances. 



My neighbor bee-keeper used for surplus honey a box 6x- 

 6x12 inches, also made of rough boards, sometimes with a 



hole in one end covered with a piece of broken glass. Auger- 

 holes were bored in the top of the hive to match, and the box 

 was then set on top of the hive. When the bees got ready^if 

 the family were real good — they would fill this box with honey. 

 The honey was gotten out by prying off one side of the box, 

 usually the bottom, and then cutting it out with a knife. 

 When the honey was sold to a neighbor this box was saved 

 and sent back to the bee-keeper. Quite a contrast with the 

 present method of using one-piece sections. Then that honey 

 sold in those boxes for 25 cents per pound — sometimes as high 

 as 30 cents per pound. Now a net price of 12 cents is quite 

 up to expectation. I don't quite see the progress in that, do 

 you ? 



The first attempt to make any kind of a comb-guide that 

 I know of, was by pouring melted wax through one or two of 

 the holes in this box and letting it run lengthwise of the box, 

 making a little ridge of wax along the top of the box, when it 

 was then set on the top of the hive. Contrast this with the 

 foundation we use to-day, and the attempt at drawn comb. 

 We know the foundation we have been using is a great suc- 

 cess. It is to be proven whether drawn comb will be as much 

 of a success in the hands of the average bee-keeper. This 

 much, however, we do know, that it is one of the greatest 

 mechanical achievements of the present day. 



About the year 1856 the "old bee-keeper," before men- 

 tioned, had 170 colonies around three sides of a yard, on 

 benches. The next spring he had not one live bee left. His 

 neighbors surmised that he and his wife had quarreled, there- 

 fore the bees had left. But along in the next summer when 

 the benches were moved so as to mow the weeds, the remark- 

 able discovery was made that the worms had driven the bees 

 out of the hive. He also remembered that he had seen a good 

 many bees coming out of the hives along in the latter part of 

 the winter, but he never thought to blame the worms for It at 

 the time. 



JV^oic every up-to-date bee-keeper knows whether his bees 

 have enough stores to winter on, and if short of stores sup- 

 plies them with enough to last them until more can be gath- 

 ered. T/ie?i the " king " ruled his lifetime ; ?iou' the queen is 

 removed whenever her usefulness begins to wane. 



Many more things could be mentioned, but this is enough 

 for one convention. Mention of some things might be made 

 that I am afraid are not progress in bee-keeping. One of 

 them is the Hoffman frame. While I believe in a distance- 

 keeper or spacer, I want the frame so movable that on;/ frame 

 can be readily taken out. We owe almost all of this advance- 

 ment in bee-keeping to a readily movable frame. When the 

 frame is less movable bee-keeping will not be as scientifically 

 attended to. 



Another thing is the "fence" and no-inset section. I 

 have had experience enough to know that many more sections 

 of honey will be damaged in handling and shipping without 

 insets than with. N. T. Phelps. 



The following officers were elected for the ensuing year ; 

 President, George Spitler ; Vice-President, H. S. Sutton: 

 Secretary and Treasurer, Ed Jolley, of Franklin, Pa. 



Franklin was chosen as the next place of meeting, and the 

 time selected is Jan. 11 and 12, 1899. 



Ed Jollev, Sec. 



Report of the Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Cou- 



veutioH, Held lu Chicago, Nov. 10 and 



11, 1897. 



REPORTED BY A SPECIAL BEE .JOURNAL REPORTER. 



(Continued from page 151.) 

 SECOND DAY — Forenoon Session. 



SWEET CLOVER DISCUSSION CONTINUED. 



A Member — Is the National Bee-Keepers' Union helping 

 Dr. Besse In his lawsuit? 



Pres. Miller — I am one of the Advisory Board of the Na- 

 tional Bee-Keepers' Union, and if they have offered any help 

 to Dr. Besse I don't remember anything about it. I don't 

 think that is the case. Dr. Besse, has the National Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Union promist to do anything in the case? 



Dr. Besse— They have promist to stand by me. Mr. 

 Newman and I corresponded, and he said they would assist 

 me.— [In the annual report of the National Bee-Keepers' 

 Union, it states that Dr. Besse has received .^75 toward the 

 expense of pushing his suit.— Editok 1 



Mr. Baxter— I sympathize with Dr. Besse, and I think it 

 would be proper to help him under certain conditions, but I 



