Dec. 



1899. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



771 



Report of the Proceeding's of the 30th Annual 

 Convention of the United States Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association, Held at Philadelphia, 

 Pa., Sept. 5, 6 and 7, 1899. 



BY DR. A. B. MASON, SEC. 



[Continued from page 758.] 



INFI,UENCE OF CLIMATE ON HONEY. 



Pres. Whitcomb then g-ave the following explanation : 

 " In some remarks made at the Omaha convention rela- 

 tive to the influence of climate on honey, I was slig^htly 

 misquoted, as these remarks were only intended to compare 

 the effects of climate on the kinds of honey produced in our 

 own climate, and not to contrast our own honey with that 

 produced in Texas. Florida, and other Southern States. I 

 said that takingf white clover, forinstance, we were not able 

 to compete in richness, density, and flavor with Minnesota, 

 Wisconsin, northern New York and Canada. In our own 

 State we have found that the best premiums are taken by 

 the more northern counties, while in heartsease honey they 

 were not able to compete with our own locality. I have 

 been a newspaper man for more than 20 j-ears, and know 

 what a controversy thru the press means, and have fore- 

 borne making- this explanation until this time in order to do 

 full justice to the bee-keepers of the South, whose product I 

 am little acquainted with, and whom I recognize as produc- 

 ing fine honey of their class, and which we could not hope 

 to produce, or even make a comparison with any other pro- 

 duced anywhere. I am not at all surprised that these re- 

 marks, going out as they did, should be resented, but trust 

 that my explanation will be received in the kindly spirit in 

 which it is made." 



The convention then adjourned until 1:30 p.m. 



THIRD DAY — Afternoon Session. 



The afternoon session was called to order by Pres. 

 Whitcomb, and after singing the " Convention Song " and 

 " The Hum of the Bees in the Apple-Tree Bloom," the dis- 

 cussion of Mr. Danzenbaker's paper was resumed. 



the hive discussion continued. 



Dr. Miller — It is a little easy for us to make general 

 statements that are hardly warranted. Mr. Abbott is gen- 

 erous with his ridicule. We want the masses, and I am of 

 the mass. Perhaps it is a matter of locality'. I have tried 

 producing section honey without separators. I would like 

 to dispense with the expense, but it costs too much to dis- 

 pense with them. Mr. Danzenbaker says it is not wise to 

 use hanging frames when we lose half the bees with them. 

 I think sometimes it is a great advantage to have the hang-- 

 ing frames if we could use them without loss : but I cannot 

 afford the loss. I don't lose half my bees, tho. These sep- 

 arate statements about this case and that case do no good. 



Mr. Danzenbaker — How many did you lose last winter ? 



Dr. Miller — About half. I have two Danzenbaker hives, 

 and the rest have open-end frames ; part of them are Hoff- 

 man frames, and I wish they were in other frames. The 

 two colonies in Danzenbaker hives were strong. 



Mr. Hershiser — I have had a little experience with the 

 Danzenbaker hive, perhaps more than some of you. I lost 

 more bees last winter in double-walled hives than in the 

 Danzenbaker single-walled hive. The objection I have is 

 the bother of tinkering hives. 



Mr. Coggshall — I have no closed-end frames. They are 

 all hanging frames. 



Mr. Stone — I would like to ask Mr. Daftzenbaker a ques- 

 tion. I have never used closed-end frames, but in turning 

 the hives, won't they all run out? 



Mr. Danzenbaker — Just reverse the sections and leave 

 them there until the honey is ripe, then turn them back 

 again. Bees get ahead of us sometimes. 



Mr. Cook — To manipulate bees to the best advantage, 

 use the reversible frames. I like the reversible frames for 

 honey production. The best way to stimulate brood-rearing 

 is by reversing. The honey will not run out. In shipping 



it is the jarring that breaks the comb. It is put in before it 

 is ripe. 



Mr. Stone — I am sure my honey was ripe, as some 

 frames were put upside down, and the honey didn't run out. 

 It moistens, or something. 



Mr. Cook — I understand that if the bees put it there it 

 won't run out. 



Mr. Danzenbaker — Not if you turn it just a little. 



Mr. Hahman — I would like to ask Mr. Cook a question. 

 We all know that bees build right side up. When we re- 

 verse doesn't it stand the brood on its head, so to speak ? 



Mr. Cook — When bees build cells they build them at 

 right angles, or nearly so. 



Dr. Miller — When you reverse that will it trouble the 

 queen about brood-rearing with that slant to it ? 



Answer — No. 



Pres. Whitcomb — I believe Mr. Danzenbaker's hive is 

 as good as anybod3''s hive. I have no choice. I believe 

 when Father Langstroth invented his hive it was as nearly 

 perfect as could be. 



Mr. Poppleton — We want a different hive. I under- 

 stand that this discusson is limited to comb honey. 



Dr. Miller — Do you mean to saj' that a hive that is used 

 for comb honey is not as good for extracted honey ? 



Mr. Poppleton — I do. Anything that is manufactured 

 for a special purpose is better for that purpose than what is 

 made for general purposes. I also think that we have dif- 

 ferent temperaments, and can do best with different imple- 

 ments. My experience is, that the long hive, single-story, 

 is the best. 



Dr. Miller — I believe that, perhaps, is the thought of a 

 good many, and I don't believe that we can impress that too 

 strongly on our manufacturers. They tell us, " You want 

 a hive that will do for extracted honey, for some time 3'ou 

 may want to use it for extracted honey," and in that way 

 they have held my nose down to the grindstone. I am glad 

 Mr. Poppleton is here. 



Mr. Best — Isn't there something in the bees? I have 

 supers for comb honey and supers for extracted honey, and 

 I could see no difference. Both hives were filled with honey. 



Dr. Miller — What kind of honey was it ? 



Mr. Best— White. 



Mr. Stone — Put on two section supers. 



Dr. Miller— I don't believe he extracts from the brood- 

 nest. There is just as much distinction between these sec- 

 tions even tho thej- are up and down. 



Jas. McNeill — How large are Mr. Poppleton's frames ? 



Mr. Poppleton — My frames are 12 inches square, inside 

 measure ; hives are 36 inches long, 13 deep, and 13 '4 wide, 

 all inside measure. This is the standard size I use, but 

 have in use others of difl'erent lengths, both shorter and 

 longer. 



Mr. McNeill — Are they separated by a brood-chamber ? 



Mr. Poppleton — No. When I use a single super I can 

 keep far better control over a colony then when working 

 with the double brood-chamber. If they are rearing young 

 queens I know it. 



Mr. Coggshall — While that might do down South, it 

 would not do everywhere. 



Mr. Poppleton — I used it in Iowa 20 years. 



Mr. Coggshall — With the double brood-chamber there is 

 plenty of room for them to go down. I can tell bj' the looks 

 of the extracting-combs if the colonies are queenless. The 

 drone-comb will be more polisht than when the colony has 

 a queen. If there are little cups, and these are polisht out, 

 they are queenless. 



Dr. Miller — There is a great deal in Mr. Coggshall's 

 argument, but we must not forget that we are not all over 

 the world. Mr. Poppleton stands almost alone ; he is 

 almost a crank ; but if he were in Germany he would be 

 doing like everybody else. It is all right for Mr. Popple- 

 ton, but it would be a bad plan for us. 



Mr. Niver — Mr. Poppleton has 100 colonies, and he 

 wants each one to do its best. Mr. Coggshall has 1,300, and 

 he wants to get the most speed. 



Mr. Danzenbaker — In Florida a double brood-chamber 

 hive would be best on its side. 



Mr. Stone — I believe locality makes no difference. I 

 use 10-frame hives, and I notice that they don't have honey 

 enough to fill the outside frames. If I should keep on ex- 

 tracting, I don't believe they would ever fill the hive. I 

 don't keep bees to see how much I can get from them. I do 

 it for fun. 



Mr. Danzenbaker — Did I understand the member to say 

 that he doesn't put the sections on until the brood-chambers 

 are full ? 



Mr. Stone — No, I don't put them on. 



