1898. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAIoo 



195 



Some of our leading bee-keepers seem much occupied with 

 the thought that beeswax when rendered is made more tough 

 and less fit for foundation because of its becoming mlxt with 

 propoiis. I believe there is nothing in this. Propolis Is much 

 softer than beeswax at a high temperature. You and I have 

 all had our fingers soiled with it when handling the bees in 

 warm weather, and if it was mixt with the beeswax in render- 

 ing, Instead of making it tougher it would make it softer. But 

 very little if any of the propolis mixes with the wax when it is 

 properly rendered, and what does mix cannot injure it. There 

 is much more danger to the wax from the water than from 

 anything else, and the water only makes it brittle, and appar- 

 ently rotten. I say " apparently," for I believe there is no 

 such thing as actually rotten beeswax under any conditions. 



Hancock Co., 111. 



The Bee-Space and Size of Hives. 



BT W. S. DONER. 



I have been reading the comments on the bee-space as a 

 cause of poor wintering, but I must say I do not agree with , 

 those that condemn the bee-space as a bee-killer. If It is the 

 bee-space, will Mr. Greiner please tell us if the bee-space was 

 not in 8 and 10 frame Langstroth hives, as they are the poor- 

 est hives to keep bees in that I know of, for any one that is 

 not an expert, as the bees, especially blacks, will put all the 

 honey into the surplus department in the summer honey-flow, 

 and if there is not a fall honey-flow along comes the farmer 

 and takes all the honey, and leaves the bees to starve (or to 

 be killed by the bee-space). The Langstroth shallow-frame 

 system of forcing all the honey into the surplus apartment is 

 too much like killing the ben to get the egg. 



The farmer wants a hive with as much comb as a 12- 

 frame Langstroth hive, and with frames not less than 12 

 Inches deep, and some people that are bee-specialists, myself 

 included. I would rather have 20 pounds of honey to a col- 

 ony in the spring for results than to have the increase from 

 30 pounds fed to them. With me, the large hives give the 

 best results for honey. 



Some people will tell you that bees will not put as much 

 boney over a frame 12 inches deep as over an 8 inch, but I 

 have found that the deep, large hives have the strongest colo- 

 nies, and the largest yields of honey. I have 8-frame dove- 

 tailed hives, and hives of my own construction that hold the 

 equal of 123^ Langstroth frames, and they are in two sec- 

 tions, each 7Ji inches deep, and the hive for a colony I wish 

 to winter is 16x16 square by 1434 deep. They are lock- 

 Jointed at the corners, and have Hoffman self-spacing frames. 

 Colonies in the small or 8-frame Langstroth hives stored an 

 average of about 60 pounds to the colony ; and the large ones 

 about yO pounds of comb honey a colony. The large colony 

 that put up the most has a record of 120 pounds of comb 

 honey; and the best 8-frame colony, 80 pounds. 



This county is covered with ex-bee-keepers whose bees 

 have starved to death by being bled to death for the last drop 

 of honey, as the bees need all the brood apartment in an 8- 

 frame hive to rear brood, so up above goes the honey, and if 

 the man has an extractor he has the key to the situation. He 

 can practically take all the honey, and about four times out of 

 five be does not know that he is leaving his bees to starve. 



When properly managed (in a country that has a fall 

 honey-flow, as this part of the country usually has), the 10- 

 frame Langstroth hive is all right, but the 8-frame takes too 

 much watching to suit me. 



Give each colony of bees the equal of 10 Quinby frames, 

 and about 40 to 60 pounds of good honey, and you need have 

 uo more fear of the bee-space than you would if they were in 

 a box without any bee-space. Plenty of good honey for the 

 colony, summer or winter, is better than money at Interest — 

 it is the bee's bank account, and will pay you every time. 



The apiaries of 8-frame hives In times of prosperity would 

 put one in mind of mushroom towns in western Kansas, 

 which in time of adversity depart like the passing of a shadow. 

 The large hives do not increase the apiary so fast, and it pays 

 as It goes along. If the manufacturers of apiarian supplies 

 would put out a hive suitable for the farmer, in a few years 

 they would be able to sell more hives than they do at present, 

 and it would put the bee-business into the hands of the farmer 

 \ii a more " stayable " shape. 



Pottawattamie Co., Iowa, Feb. 8. 



^ . 



Every Present Subscriber of the Bee Journal 

 should be an agent for it, and get all others possible to sub- 

 scribe for it. See offers on page 206. 



Report of the Wisconsin Convention. 



BY N. E. FRANCE. 



The Wisconsin State Bee-Keepers' Association met in 

 Madison Feb. 2, 1898. As the Secretary and Treasurer 

 were expected on the noon train, a motion was carried to have 

 asocial meeting until after dinner. 



The convention was called to order at 1:30 p.m. by Pres. 

 F. Wilcox. G. W. Wilson, of Readstown, exhibited a large 

 piece of very thin beeswax, rendered by his solar extractor, 

 which he described and is so easily handled. 



FOUL BROOD INSPECTOR'S REPORT. 



The State Inspector of apiaries for 1897, N. E. France, 

 reported that as It was left to his judgment how best to apply 

 the S500 appropriated by the Legislature to be used in sup- • 

 pressing foul brood, and finding that no transportation would 

 be granted by the railroads, as requested by our State Associa- 

 tion and recommended by the Governor, he decided that the 

 first thing to do was to buy a quantity of Dr. Howard's books 

 on the history and treatment of foul brood, and to distribute 

 them among the Wisconsin bee-keepers as called for. In the 

 forepart of the summer the inspector was called upon to visit 

 various apiaries of diseased bees, and found in many places 

 the colonies affected with dead brood, much resembling what 

 Dr. Howard describes as pickled brood. In some places it 

 was quite serious, and seemed to be contagious. In describ- 

 ing it the inspector said that this dead brood was mostly con- 

 fined to brood either sealed over or about to be sealed ; the 

 larval bee was of dark color, head black, hard, and dried to a 

 sharp point. The larva was easily drawn from the cell, and 

 had a very tough skin from which, on being punctured, a clear 

 fluid would run out as thin as water, and free from the smell 

 so peculiar to real foul brood ; in no case thus affected was 

 there any indication of the ropiness found in foul brood. 



In some parts of the State there was lack of fraternal 

 love — the owners claiming that their bees were all right, but 

 that their neighbors' bees were diseased, and he was requested 

 to call on them and burn up their entire bee-keeping outfit. 

 The inspector boarded with bee-keepers when possible, and 

 had often secured the use of their teams free of charge, 

 thereby saving the using of railroad mileage books, and lessen- 

 ing the total expense. He said that as other State officers 

 were allowed transportation in the State while on State work, 

 this ofiBce ought also to be entitled to it. The Governor had 

 requested our State Association to present such a petition to 

 him, which they did; he endorst it iind sent it to the General 

 Passenger Agent last May, but he refused to grant the request 

 at that time. 



At the close of the above report, a motion was made and 

 carried that the Executive Board be a committee to take such 

 steps as would be necessary to secure transportation of the 

 State inspector of apiaries in Wisconsin. 



A lengthy discussion of foul brood followed. 



SHIPPING COMB HONEY— WHITE CLOVER SEED. 



QuES. — "What is the best way to ship comb honey ?" Pres. 

 Wilcox thought In single cases with lath over the front glass, 

 or In quantity lots of six or eight 24-pound cases, crated, with 

 convenient handles. 



Mr. France reported having seen white clover seed har- 

 vested in Washington and Dodge counties. It is easily saved, 

 and is profitable work, one firm last season paying $74,000 

 for white clover seed from these two counties. In many parts 

 of the State he examined large fields of clover fully as rich in 

 seed, which had been allowed to go to waste. 



Mr. Lathrop said that drone-larvae are good chicken feed, 

 and that if sections were well cleaned as soon as taken from 

 the hive, there would be no danger of wax-moths. 



J. Hoffman askt how to get the best results for comb 

 honey. Pres. Wilcox replied that one should have abundant 

 brood up to the honey-flow, then contract the brood-chamber 

 and give supers as occasion demands. 



INCRKASINQ THE DEMAND FOR HONEY. 



Qdks. — "What shall we do to increase the demand for 

 honey ?" " Rev. Winter said, " Keep talking of the many uses 



