260 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOLIRNAL 



April ^S. 



nailed near the other end. The 2x4 cleat (rives the cover the 

 proper slant. 



All the parts of this winter-case can be used for shade- 

 boards in summer, or if piled up they need no great amount of 

 space. They are made of lumber rough and cheap, but I 

 think all will agree that they are strong and durable. 



What about frames, did you say? For all hives taking 

 the standard frames the V-edged Hoffman is good enough for 

 me, and John Doe and Richard Roe. It is a little trouble 

 sometimes to loosen up the first one so as to remove it, but 

 when this is done it is an easy matter to do anything you want 

 to do with the rest of them. But please don't get any of the 

 bobtailed things that call for end-spacers. They get diago- 

 nally across the hive and slip down against the bottom-board 

 so easily that one is made to feel sometimes as if he would 

 like to shoot the man who invented them. 



And, now, my dear "Brothers," let me entreat you to 

 make some bee-hives. You will be very awkward at first, and 

 make some mistakes, but after awhile you will acquire a de- 

 gree of skill and carefulness that will enable you to do your 

 work with a reasonable degree of accuracy and neatness, 

 and while you are doing the work the whole subject of hives 

 and their management will be revolving in your minds, and 

 your knowledge of, and your interest in, the subject will grow 

 and deepen to such a degree that you will hardly be persuaded 

 to take a ready-made hive as a gift. Decatur Co., Iowa. 



Managing Bees — Report for 1897. 



BY D. B. MAHAN. 



I remember reading, when a boy in school, that all Gall is 

 devided iJi partes frcs. I think, however, in some Individuals, 

 Instead of being divided it has been greatly multiplied, and in 

 attempting to write an article for the American Bee Journal 

 I somehow have a suspicion that I may be one of these same 

 individuals. Nevertheless, encouraged by the thought that 

 many valuable lessons have been learnt from the ignorant as 

 well as from the iutelligent, I shall attempt to give a few 

 thoughts on my method (?) of handling bees. 



As to hives, I have found no better than the dovetailed, 

 with Hoffman brood-frames, and supers filled with plain sec- 

 tions and cleated separators. 



Altho I keep my bees adjacent to an apple-orchard, I do 

 not utilize the trees for protection from the sun, but instead 

 use for that purpose a comb roof 2>2 by 3 feet. To make 

 this, I use three pieces 2 inches square and nearly 3 feet long ; 

 two short pieces 1x2 inches, and barrel-staves cut 20 inches 

 long. I use these because they are so much more substantial 

 than shingles. When completed, one of the 3-foot pieces is 

 under the comb, the staves on each side of the roof being 

 nailed to it. Each of the other two 3-foot pieces to which the 

 roof is nailed is 16 inches from the comb. To the ends of 

 these a 1x2 inch piece is nailed to prevent the roof from 

 spreading. The staves are laid with the concave side down, 

 and lapt so that the roof forms protection from rain as well as 

 from the heat of the sun. 



I set the hives about 4 inches from the ground, and 7 feet 

 apart each way, and cover each with the roof above described. 

 In September or October I set each hive in a store-box suffi- 

 ciently large to leave a space at least 2 Inches on each side 

 and end of the hive, and 6 inches on the top. I remove the 

 hive-cover and instead put one or two thicknesses of some 

 kind of cloth, and on top of that a chaff cushion. The remain- 

 ing space is filled with chaff or shavings, and the box-cover 

 and roof (both of which are water tight) are then put on. The 

 box is so arranged that the chaff or shavings in the front part 

 of the hive come within 4 inches of the bottom. Underneath 

 the box-cover a small space should be left for ventilation. 



With this outfit I have been reasonably successful. In the 

 spring of 1S97 I had nine colonies. During the summer I in- 

 creast to 26, and secured 800 pounds of nice comb honey, 

 which I sold at an average of 14 cents per pound. Taking 

 into consideration the fact that the bees were not fed a pound 

 of anything during the season, I consider this quite a satis- 

 factory yield. Two colonies (prime swarms) gave me 140 

 pounds each of surplus honey. The question now revolving 

 in my mind is: Had I been thoroughly posted in bee-culture, 

 and had I given my baes the best of attention, would it have 

 been possible to take from each of the 26 colonies as much as 

 from each of these two, and thus have secured instead of 800 

 pounds 3,640 pounds ? If I had known as much about bees 

 a year ago even, as I do now, I doubtless could have Increast 

 the product very materially. 



I am reading the American Bee Journal with increast 

 interest. Champaign Co., Ohio. 



Proceedings of the Colorado State Couveutiou. 



REPORTED BY F. L. THOMPSON. 

 LContlnued from page 247.] 

 Mr. G. G. Liebhardt, of The G. G. Liebhardt Commission 

 Co., then read the following paper: 



Packing, Shipping;, and MarUetiog Honey. 



The matter of packing should receive attention as to style 

 and uniformity of package. It is a subject in itself. The 

 matter of shipping is immaterial at present, being embodied 

 in the first and second subjects. The matter of marketing is 

 at present the most important requiring your consideration. 



Without proper compensation for your labor you cannot 

 continue the business. Competition in all lines and branches 

 of industry is daily becoming sharper, and those not watchfi;! 

 of changed conditions and tendency of the times will sooner 

 or later find themselves battling against the stream and fate. 

 The most casual observer must notice that the tendency of 

 the times Is for concentration and centralization. Trusts are 

 being formed for the purpose of making a profit — an increast 

 profit — or saving those interested from ruin. Trust goods are 

 the only ones having a staple market price. Even laboring- 

 men have trusts in the form of unions for protection, in vari- 

 ous forms, of their wages. We realized ten years ago that 

 associations formed in fruit districts were not only a benefit 

 to the individuals interested, but a decided material advan- 

 tage to the community where located. We have been instru- 

 mental in various parts of the country in assisting in the for- 

 mation and successful operation of such associations. By 

 forming an association you at once obliterate competition 

 amongst yourselves. As it is now, you have too many com- 

 petitors and not enough purchasers. Reverse the situation 

 and you eliminate your element of weakness. By unity of 

 action you can stop adulteration and increase the home con- 

 sumption a hundred-fold. 



The production of honey in the United States in 1881 

 was estimated at 200,000,000 pounds. It is probably not 

 much more than that to-day. Just think of it, not three 

 pounds of one of the most wholesome foods known to man- 

 kind is consumed annually by each of the inhabitants of this 

 country ! I know of no industry to-day that affords such 

 favorable opportunity for expansion. It requires only pro- 

 tecting and educating the public — protecting them against 

 adulteration, and educating them as to the wholesomeness 

 and use of honey. 



You should not delay in forming a Honey-Producers' Asso- 

 ciation at once, and the beneficial result will be apparent by 

 the large and enthusiastic assembly you will find at your next 

 annual meeting. 



The G. G. Liebhardt Commission Co. 



H. Rauchfuss — I have talkt on this subject for years, and 

 can only repeat that we ought to have co-operation. I would 

 like to hear from others. 



Mr. Dudley (Secretary of the Utah Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion) — What facilities has your firm for handling carload lots 

 out of the State ? 



Mr. Liebhardt— Ourselves, and other firms, too, have 

 facilities for handling all honey without difficulty. Other 

 matters require attention. Thete is not one-tenth as much 

 honey consumed as there ought to be. 



Mr. Rhodes — I am in favor of co-operation. We ought to 

 have an organization to handle all the honey we produce. 

 This State ought to consume all we have. Any surplus can be 

 handled better by co-operation than in any other way. The 

 trade should be placed.on a good business basis. 



Mr. Adams — I have listened to Mr. Rauchfuss a good deal. 

 There are difficulties. We do not produce what we should 

 consume. Many who own 3 to 10 colonies produce a little, 

 sometimes pretty nice sections, and don't care what they get 

 for it. 



Mr. Lyon — This is a most vital question. There was no 

 need of selling our honey as we did last year. A man from 

 the East offered me 20 cents a case more than we were get- 

 ting. I did not sell to him, but went East with my honey. 

 The prices here knockt me out, 2i4 to 3 cents a pound. If it 



