Oct. 



1899. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



629 



Mr. Abbott — Do you have no income from the farm ? 

 Bee-keeping- has only one mission in the United States, and 

 that is to make the home happier and better. Mr. Hutchin- 

 son and I have to sell papers, and it is a fact that bee-keep- 

 ing will not succeed as a profession in half a dozen States. 

 But for broken down doctors, and preachers that never 

 cow/rf preach, it is a splendid thing-. When we talk about a 

 livin]^, we would better keep still. 



Mr. Doolittle — You will excuse a little personal story. 

 I was brought up a farmer. My father thought so much of 

 me that he wanted to keep me with him. If there is any 

 young man present, let me say to you, don't be fool enough 

 to do it. I bought my father off. I earned $bOO working- 

 out, for I saw that I could barely make a living from the 

 farm. I bought some bee-papers ; I was up in my loft and 

 I overheard father talking: to a neighbor, and father said, 

 ■' I hoped Gilbert would be a farmer, I have even prayed 

 that he would fail in bee-keeping." The bees have bouglit 

 everything- that I have. They bought my home, and Mr. 

 Abbott cannot drop it out, for it is there. 



An Attendant — I do not own a foot of land, but I have 

 some bees. The g-entleman said that the place to keep bees 

 is on the farm. 



Mr. Doolittle — There are some great facts before us. 

 and it is well to understand them. In 1877, as a friend of 

 mine and I went to New York with some honey I told him 

 that we were getting some cheap rides at six cents per mile. 

 As we went to Canada afterward, I said, cheap riding at two 

 cents per mile. But how did you get your money ? With 

 honey at 9'i cents per pound ; and I measured that I was 

 paying six cents per mile in Canada, and I figured that I 

 was paying nine cents per mile in 1877. The little a man 

 got 20 years ago is two-thirds less now. 



Dr. Miller — I want to ask you, Mr, Doolittle, if your 

 bees have averaged as much in the last 10 years as in other 

 years ? 



Mr, Doolittle — Yes, In the first year of my bee-keep- 

 ing' life I secured 66^2 pounds of honey per colony, I don't 

 know as I shall ever see it again. This year was a poor 

 year, but my bees averaged lvi5 pounds per colony. 



After a song bj- Mr. Haenle, which was encored, the 

 convention adjourned until 9 am. the next day, Sept. b. 

 [Continued ne.\t week.] 



Report of the Central Texas Bee-Keepers' Con- 

 vention, Held at Milano, July 20-21, 1899. 



BY I,OUIS SCHOLL, SEC. 

 (Continued from pa^e 615.] 



FIRST DAY— Evening Session. 



The meeting was called to order at 8:30 p.m., -and on 

 motioti O. P. Hyde was appointed a committee on pro- 

 gram for the next meeting. 



BEST R.\CE OK BKKS. 



" What is the best race of bees for each and every bee- 

 keeper to use for all purposes ?" 



A. C. Brown gave his experience with Italians and 

 hybrids. The Holy-Land bees he found to be very g-entle 

 instead of being stingers. The queens filled the frames 

 full of brood, and they gathered larg-e crops of honey. He 

 prefers the Holy-Lands, if they are like those he had. 



B. A. Guess prefers Italians, as they have done well 

 with him. 



Mr. Raven started with blacks, then hybridized, and 

 prefers them. 



Mr. Atchley says that for all purposes the Italians ; for 

 many purposes, the Holy-Lands ; for many thing-s, others. 

 He has handled Italians for 25 years, and prefers them for 

 all purposes. 



O. P. Hyde had experience with blacks and Italians, 

 which have some features he does not like. The Holy-Lands 

 are better, and don't fill the brood-nest with honey like 

 Italians, which crowd out the queen, Holy-Lands work 

 better in supers. For all purposes he prefers the Italians. 



J. B. Salyer — Pure Italians — goldens. 



Jno. Pharr says a third cross between golden and Holy- 

 Land is the best honey-gatherer in this country. 



G. F. Davidsoti finds the goldens most beautiful, both 

 for pleasure and business. He wants no hybrids and 

 blacks, and has had no experience with Holy-Land and 

 Carniolan bees. 



Judge Terral defended the old three-banded Italian for 

 all around purposes. D For gentleness they are the best bees. 



and if they do crowd out the queen in the brood-chamber it 

 is all the bee-keeper's fault for not attending to his business 

 to extract from the brood-chamber to provide room. Hybrids 

 follow him around all day ; also the Carniolans, and they 

 are the worst to rob. He has had trouble with neighbors 

 on account of their robbing. Carniolans are no better than 

 the common German, and worse to sting. He can't handle 

 them without smoking" and smoking them. The Holy- 

 Lands are worse than all, and fight him every time he goes 

 into the yard. Then his bee-yard grew up in grass, weeds 

 and horsemint, several feet hig^h, and everj' time he went 

 into the yard it went :zip, r::ip, and there would be a big 

 rattlesnake right before him. " Yes, sir ! give me the 

 straight, old three-banded Italian. It's the best all around 

 bee for America." 



Pres. Jones askt the Judge how much experience he had 

 %vith Carniolans. 



The Judge somewhat hesitatingly said tliat it was a 

 long tiine ago, and he believed that they might have been 

 Carniolans. 



H. H. Hyde said there is a diflerence between golden 

 Italians and Holy-Lands. He likes a direct cross between 

 a Holy -Land queen and a g-olden drone for honey-gatherers. 



F. L. Aten strotigly defended the hybrids ; as he is not 

 keeping bees for pleasure he has to depend upon them. 

 Hybrids hunt honey all the time, while Italians lie around 

 doing nothing. The Holy-Lands are not so good. Hybrids 

 are the all-purpose bee. and build nicer combs than any 

 other bees. 



Mr. Atchley said that really we were not discussing the 

 right subject. When moving bees lately he placed Holy- 

 Land, Italian, golden, Carniolan, and other colonies about 

 in one yard, and at the end of the honey season the Holy- 

 Lands had about 25 pounds more honey to the colony. The 

 Holy-Lands arc the bee for quick work and storing honey. 

 But for all purposes and everybody he recommends the 

 three-banded Italians. 



Pres. Jones said it was a hard thing to answer this 

 question. The three-banded Italians are good. Some pre- 

 fer hybrids, and he thinks he would like a hybrid himself. 

 Carniolans and Italians are the most gentle, and also good 

 in other qualities, 



Messrs. Madeley, Guess and others gave their experi- 

 ence with hybrids, while others did not know. 



FOUNDATION IN THE BKOOD-CHAMBER. 



" Shall we use foundation in the brood-chamber, and 

 how much ?" 



H. H. Hyde and Mr. Salver said full sheets all the time. 

 Under all conditions the best results are with full sheets. 



Judge Terral — Full sheets during the honey flow ; slow 

 flow not. 



Mr. Aten said full sheets when he uses it. 



Mr. Atchley says it is money thrown away during a 

 slow flow ; in a fast flow he wants full sheets. It pays to 

 use full sheets for swarms during- a fast flow, as they need 

 storage-room. They will build two-thirds drone-comb with 

 an old queen without full sheets, 



Mr. Davidson uses full sheets during a fast flow to pre- 

 vent large quantities of drone-comb ; no advantages of full 

 sheets in sections ; but best when wiring frames. 



O. P. Hyde advocates full sheets for both brood-frames 

 and sections ; also for both fast and slow flow, and wired 

 frames. Bees build all worker-comb with full sheets. 



Pres. Jones said that in some times and some instances 

 full sheets are perfectly useless; in other instances bees 

 built out full sheets during the slowest flow. He never uses 

 full sheets for swarms when run for comb honey, as bees 

 store all the honey below, which he wants in the sections 

 above. Therefore, he uses starters in the brood-frames of 

 swarms ; only circumstances difl'er. 



The convention then adjourned till 8 a,m. the next day. 



SECOND DAY— FoKENOON Session. 



The convention was again called to order at 8 a.m., and 

 the following question taken up : 



USING FOUNDATION IN THE SECTION. 



" Shall we use starters or full sheets of foundation in 

 sections?" 



Mr. Salyer — Yes. 



F. J. R. Davenport — It depends upon circumstances. 



Mr, Guess uses full sheets or none. No complaints 

 from customers. 



Mr. Atchley — No. 



A. C. Brown — Full sheets sometimes. Bait sections are 

 best to get bees up into the supers. 



