152 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Porte, for Vice-President, and O. O. 

 Poppleton as Secretary and Treasuier. 



All the above officers were duly 

 elected except O. O. Poppleton, who 

 objected to serve on account of failing 

 ej-e sight. H. O. McElhany was elected 

 in his place. 



The following persons became mem- 

 bers : 



H. O. McElhany, Brandon. Iowa. 



0. O. Poppleton. Williamstown, 



D. W. Thaver, Vinton. " 



J. P. Snaldinir, CBarles City, " 



Geo. Beck. Waterloo. *' 



James Ralston. Vinton, " 



A. D. Bennett, Janesville, " 

 John Brusb. Waterloo, 



D. W. Jolls, 

 J. I. Carr. 



C. P. Hunt. 



John M. Bennett, " " 



H. Van Baren, " " 



J. Moshen, •* " 



1. Ho.)d. 



O. Harden, " " 



J. F. Messenger, " *' 



D. M. Diedorff, 



It. L. Triem. La P.irte, " 



H. E. Hubbard, 



Dr. Jesse Oren. '• " 



Thos. Tracv, Xashun. ** 



John Bird, Bradford. 



B. K. Starks. Cedar Falls, 



A. J. Norris. " " 



B. E. Newton. 



Samuel Aunsst. Vinton. " 



J. K. Oren, Brandon. •' 



On motion of O. O. Poppleton, the 

 order of discussions should be in the 

 form of written questions handed in 

 by the members to the President and 

 read by him in rotation. 



The" first question for discussion 

 was : " The most desirable width for 

 sections." It was decided that 1>^ to 

 131 inches are the most desirable. 



" What shall we do with our second 

 swarms y" Mr. Spaulding prefers to 

 prevent them from issuing. 



Mr. Bennett, Jr. would let them 

 issue and take out all the queen-cells 

 for future use, and return the swarms 

 to the old hive with a laying queen. 



" Is it expedient to clip queen's 

 wings ?■' Several of the members 

 thought it would. L. L. Triem had 

 experienced some loss of some of the 

 most valuable queens he had by the 

 practice. O. O. Poppleton's experi- 

 ence was the reverse from this, which 

 brought out considerable of a discus- 

 sion botli pro and con. Messrs. Spauld- 

 ing, Bennett and others were not in 

 favor of the practice. 



"Best way to hive swarms." By 

 placing the hive where it is to perm- 

 anently stand, and carry the bees to it. 



" Which kind of honey to produce, 

 extracted or comb '?"' Messrs. Tracv. 

 Spaulding, Bennett and Triem would 

 raise comb honey. Messrs. Popple- 

 ton, McElhany aiid Morris preferred 

 to produce extracted honey on account 

 of selling out to the wholesale dealers, 

 and the safety of shipping in large 

 packages. 



Durmg the discussion of this ques- 

 tion, the President asked what ex- 

 tracted honey could l)e produced at, to 

 be made profitable V Those produc- 

 ing extracted honey thought they 

 could afford to raise lioneyin this way 

 at from S to 10 cents per pound, whole- 

 sale. Mr. Bennett. .Jr. thinks bees 

 will winter better ruuforcouib honey. 

 Mr. Poppleton thought they would 

 not. Considerable discussion ensued. 



'• What shall we do witli surplus 

 bees V" A. Bennett never has more 

 than he wants. Mr. Spaulding kills 

 all the inferior ones, and keeps the 

 best. Mr. Poppleton does the same. 



Mr. J. M. Bennett would advise unit- 

 ing all the light colonies in the fall. 



Adjourned till 7 p. m. 



Called to order at 7 p. m., and the 

 first question discussed was, " Which 

 is the most desirable method of win- 

 tering—cellar or out-of-doors V" It 

 was decided by the majority of the 

 members that the cellar, with proper 

 conditions, was preferable. O. O. 

 Poppleton gave his method of out- 

 door packing ; he uses double-walled 

 hives, packed with timothy chaff, and 

 has success. 



Question, " Does it take more honey 

 in the cellar than it does for out-of- 

 doors V Answered, " Out-of-doors, 

 always." 



" Wintering in deep vs. shallow 

 frames." Messrs. Tracy, Poppleton 

 and Hunt were in favor of the deep 

 frames. Messrs. McElhany, Bennett, 

 Sr., Bennett, Jr., and Triem favored 

 shallow frames. 



" Is shade essential for bees ; if so. 

 what kind, artificial or natural V" 

 Decided by all that it was, and the 

 natural was the most practical. 



■■ Should hives be raised from the 

 ground y" Yes; from 3 to I inches, 

 at the back, and 1 to 2 in front. 



" The most desirable size of sections 

 for all purposes." Messrs. Spaulding. 

 Triem, Oren and McElhany preferred 

 one-pound sections. Messrs. Tracy, 

 Bennett, Jr., and Hunt used Harbi- 

 son frames. 



Adjourned till 9 a. m. 



Called to order at 9 a. m., Feb. 14, 

 and the first business was the selec- 

 tion of tlie time for the annual meet- 

 ing ; the first Wednesday and Thurs- 

 day in October, 18.s4, was designated, 

 and Waterloo was the place chosen. 



'"Can more than one yard be run 

 successfully V" Mr. Spaulding was 

 the only one present who tiad worked 

 in this way. and was successful. 



" How many bees can be kept in one 

 locality without overstocking a loca- 

 tion?" Mr. Triem thought that almost 

 any number could be kept and not be 

 overstocked. Mr. Tracy thought from 

 1 to 300 colonies, according to the sea- 

 son, with success. 



" Best spring management for 

 bees?" Mr. Bennett, Jr. would com- 

 mence the management as soon as the 

 bees were placed on the summer 

 stands. Bees should have plenty of 

 honey, and he would spread tlie brood 

 gradually as the weather warms up ; 

 encourage the queens to fill the frames 

 with brood as fast as possible, by giv- 

 ing them frames of honey or syrup, 

 and place tliem in the centre of the 

 brood-nest. Mr. Bird leftthe packing 

 around the hives until late in the 

 season. 



"The best bees for general use." 

 Some thought hybrids were, but the 

 majority preferred pure Italians. 



" What is the standard of purity, 

 for Italians V" Three distinct yellow 

 bands for the workers. 



•■ At what age should a queen be 

 superseded y" Mr. Stark said, when 

 she showed signs of failing. Mr. Mc- 

 Elhany would kill all the queens at 

 the age of two years, when running for 

 extracted honey. 



" Best foundatiiin for general use." 

 Most of the members said tlie Given, 



about 6 to 7 square feet to the poimd. 



" How to prevent natural swarm- 

 ing '?" Give the bees plenty of room 

 in raising comb honey. Those run- 

 ning for extracted honey are not both- 

 ered with this. 



"Are any here troubled with foul 

 brood '?" None. 



'■ Is a portico an advantage to a 

 hive V" The members were about 

 equally divided on this subject. 



A vote of thanks was given D. W. 

 Thayer for procining reduced rates 

 over the different railways ; also to 

 the B. C. E. & X. By., C.'N. W. Ry., 

 and I. C. By., for such reduction ; also 

 to J. iloshen and the city of Water- 

 loo for the use of rooms occupied by 

 the convention ; also to the Logan 

 House for reduced rates. 



Adjourned. 



H. O. McElhant, Sec. 



C P. Hunt, Pies. 



For the American Bee JoiimaL 



Home Market for Honey. 



D. WHITE. 



There are some who have no trouble 

 in disposing of all the honey they can 

 produce ; but many cannot sell their 

 honey, especially extracted. When I 

 produced only from 700 to 1,000 lbs. of 

 honey, I could scarcely find enough 

 customers to consume it; but now, 

 with but little exertion, I can dispose 

 of all the honey I can produce, which 

 was 8,000 lbs. in issi and 21,0001bs.in 

 1883. This was nearly all extracted 

 honey, and nearly all taken at my door 

 by customers, who came with crocks, 

 pails, jugs, and large milk cans in 

 which to carry it away. They come 

 every season in the same way, for I 

 have never sold them honey that will 

 get thin and sour, if kept in damp cel- 

 lars ; nor tiave I ever sold them lioney 

 that was extracted and ripened after 

 extracting (as some tell about). I 

 never allow a pound to be taken away 

 that was not first-class in every re- 

 spect. We are careful not to put a 

 pound of comb honey on the market 

 unless it is perfect, so far as ripeness 

 and being sealed up is concerned ; we 

 will not offer honey with the top-half 

 of comb sealed and the rest unsealed ; 

 it sliows for itself, deception cannot 

 be practiced with comb honey. When 

 a comb is extracted, like the section 

 I liave described.it is trying to de- 

 ceive the customer who buys such 

 honey, and I admit he is deceived, but 

 in most cases not more than once or 

 twice, for a large majority of custom- 

 ers will say: 'It makes my throat 

 smart. I do not like it, and will not 

 buy any more." Some will say it is 

 adulterated. Xow such work as this 

 is uncalled for, and I believe any one 

 can build up an immense home trade 

 for extracted honey. All that is re- 

 quired is to have as good an article 

 out of the comb as is sold in the comb. 

 My price for extracted has always been 

 9 lbs. for a dollar, or 10 cts. a lb. for.50 

 lbs. or more. 



1 have UO colonies on the summer 

 stands, all in chaff hives, except 12 in 

 simplicity hives. They have had 

 several good flights, and all answered 



