548 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



Aug. 31, 1899. 



Mr. Abbott, I think, will take it kindly if I question 

 him a little with reference to his answer. He tells Hoosier 

 to hive swarms on his empty combs. Would Mr. Abbott do 

 this if Hoosier's object was to g-et all the white honey pos- 

 sible in the surplus cases ? 



Mr. Hutchinson, in " Advanced Bee-Culture," says he 

 tried hiving' swarms on frames of drawn comb, and gave it 

 up because he could get better results from hiving on 

 frames with starters of comb foundation. But conditions 

 have changed since Mr. Hutchinson wrote. The difference 

 between a pound of honey and a pound of granulated sugar 

 has narrowed so much that it is hardly worth while to work 

 for the greatest possible amount of surplus honey at the 

 risk of having to feed a portion of it back to the bees in the 

 shape of granulated sugar. 



There is another question : Would Mr. Abbott use 

 these combs from dead colonies to hive swarms on before 

 they had been cleaned up by the bees of other colonies ? In 

 my babj' days of bee-keeping I used some that had not been 

 cleaned, with disastrous results. But Mr. Abbott, no doubt, 

 considers that a man who has kept bees long enough to 

 have 200 frames of comb from colonies that died in winter 

 knows enough to have them cleaned before hiving swarms 

 on them. You need not say a word, Mr. Abbott ; your an- 

 swer is just as good as that of any of the other senators. 



A word as to the way I disposed of my combs : I made 

 beeswax of the crooked ones, and those that were wholly or 

 largely drone-comb. Then I put hives full of the balance 

 over, or under, as manj' of the strongest colonies in the 

 j'ard. When the time arrived to put supers on I took them 

 away. If any had brood in them I gave most of it to the 

 colony, leaving enoug-h of the j'oungest for a nucleus, and 

 either gave the nucleus a queen or allowed it to rear a 

 queen. Some of these nuclei reared fine-looking queens, 

 but doubtless some will say that they will not be so long- 

 lived as queens reared under other conditions. 



There were some colonies in the j-ard too weak to do 

 much in the sections during the white honey-flow, but likely 

 to get strong enough to store some honey later. Over these 

 I put hives full of combs to be left on to the end of the sea- 

 son. Then I will supersede these lazy or failing queens. 



Tlien, I hived swarms on some of the combs as advised 

 by Mr, Abbott and others. All such work will be done by 

 the man who wants increase. The man who wants no in- 

 crease will find ways enough suggested bj- the senators to 

 help him out of all embarrassment. 



It is a significant fact that eight-tenths of ray empty 

 combs are of the size used in the dovetailed liive. My losses 

 in hives taking deeper frames were due to the loss of 

 queens and not to lack of stores. I have bees in some 8- 

 frame hives, 12 inches deep, and these have had no atten- 

 tion from me except to spread the brood in some of them, 

 and put on supers. The hive just mentioned seems to be a 

 better hive to winter bees in than the 10-frame Langstroth. 

 I lost some colonies in these in April. 



My opinion of the 8 and 10 frame Langstroth hives for 

 wintering, as esprest in a former article, needs a large re- 

 vision. Colonies in them which at my second examination 

 I felt sure had honey enough to carry them to fruit-bloom, 

 went down at a fearful rate during that last cold spell in 

 April. If such winters as the last were frequent, I should 

 abandon the use of such hives, or abandon out-door winter- 

 ing. It cannot be denied that the frames of these hives are 

 of a very convenient size to handle. Feeding sugar syrup 

 to bees is a disagreeable business, but with the Langstroth 

 frame it becomes a necessity. If I continue to use the 8 and 

 10 frame Langstroth hives I shall think seriously of provid- 

 ing frames of honej' to be given the bees when needed. To 

 provide these frames takes from the resources of your own 

 fields. Therefore, it would seem to be the part of vrisdom 

 to get them produced in somebody else's field, or, better 

 yet, in some field not yet occupied. 



IT WAS A MEANINGLESS QUESTION. 



In ray article on pages 308 and 309, the types raade me 

 ask a meaningless question. I askt, or intended to ask. if 

 it would not be well for those who think they must use hives 

 of standard depth, to make a compromise by using- the 10- 

 frarae hive, and contract to 8 frames during the honey-flow. 

 I was made to ask them if it would not be well to make a 

 compromise by using the 10-frame hive during the flow. 

 This would be no compromise at all. 



THE NECTAR IN THE FLOWEK-CUPS. 



The theory of Mr. Bates that the better portions of the 

 nectar settle to the bottoms of the flower-cups has received 

 its death-blow, it .seems to me, at the hands of Mr. Norton. 



I will only add that even if this separation were possible, it 

 would be so slow, and the time for the accumulation of the 

 nectar in sufficient quantity to make a separation possible so 

 short between the visits of the bees that there cannot pos- 

 siblv be a separation that will enable the longer-tongued 

 Italians to store a quality of honey that will be perceptibly 

 better than that of the shorter-tongued blacks. 



Mr. Allen, on page 340, says there is no difference be- 

 tween the honey of Italians, blacks, and Carniolans, when 

 capt over before extracting. Has he observed any differ- 

 ence at any time, and under any conditions ? 



Decatur Co.. Iowa. 



Selling Honey for Cash or on Commission— How 

 to Avoid Being- " Taken In ' by Honey- 

 Sharks. 



BY ERNEST R. ROOT. 



NEARLY every year, or during the latter part of it at 

 least, there are usually quite a number of bee-keepers 

 who complain that they have been unfairly treated by 

 commission houses or honey-buj-ers. In some cases, at 

 least, the trouble is wholly with the bee-keeper. His honey 

 is improperly put up, breaks down in transit, and in the 

 end the commission man is blamed. There are a few ex- 

 pert bee-keepers who know exactly how to put up their 

 honey, and how to put it on the market without running 

 risks. But there are many more, in spite of all that has 

 been said, who make serious mistakes, greatly to their 

 financial detriment. 



In the first place, let me say that there is a vast differ- 

 ence in the If gat responsibility of an actual buyer and a 

 cominission /loiisc. If you ship your honey to an irrespon- 

 sible purchaser, and he fails to make you returns, you are 

 helpless. If lie is worth anything, on the other hand, you 

 can .sue him for the full amount of your claim. A commis- 

 sion house, on the other hand, if it takes your honey, takes 

 it in trust. You will be obliged to pay freight, cartage, 

 and assume all risk in shipment. If the honey is broken 

 down in transit, the commission man (if one of the sharpers 

 or skinflint class) may make out its condition a great deal 

 worse than it is, sell it at a certain figure, and represent to 

 you that it sold at a good deal lower figure. He will not 

 only steal the difference between his actual selling price 

 and the price represented to you, but will charge up (which 

 he has a right to do) with freight, drayage, and his 10-per- 

 cent commission. Altho you may be pretty well satisfied 

 that he lias actually robbed you, unless you can prove it you 

 have no recourse in law. 



The nicest way to dispose of honey is to sell it for cash 

 to a responsible, honorable firm. In 30 days" time you will 

 get returns for the full amount of your bill. But if the 

 buyer is irresponsible, and especially if he is dishonest, 

 look out. I would rather deal with an irresponsible com- 

 mission hou.se than with an irresponsible buyer. The 

 former will be compelled to render you some .sort of returns, 

 while the latter can simply say in effect, " What are you 

 going to do about it ?'" If you sue him you will be running 

 up attorney fees, without any show of returns ; but the 

 commission man must render you some sort of statement, 

 and remit according to that statement, or go to jail for 

 having taken your property in trust. He has no right to 

 confiscate it ; but, as I stated, he may make a false report, 

 and render you only a small percentage of the actual 

 amount he received for the honey. 



In the first place, then, investigate the responsibility 

 of either a commission house or of a buyer, as the case 

 may be. 



But suppose you get a good offer, and do not really 

 know the firm, and your banker does not. Or, suppose you 

 haven't time to write, and that, to all appearances, the firm 

 is straight, and you desire to close the deal. Ship the honey 

 to your own name to the point of destination, and attach a 

 draft (your banker can do this for you) to the bill of lading, 

 sending both to some bank at the place where the honey is 

 shipt. This bank will, for a very small fee, collect the 

 money, turn over the bill of lading, and the honey to the 

 actual purcha.ser. 



But suppose there is no bank in your vicinity, and you 

 wish to make yourself safe. Consign your honey as before 

 to your own name at the point of destination, and then re- 

 quest your agent to express (if you mail it, that relieves the 

 express company of all liability) the bill of lading to the 

 agent at the other end of the route. The latter, as agent 

 for the express company, will collect the money, and deliver 



