THE AMEIUCAJS BEE JOURNAL. 



215 



boards, chaff cushions on sides and 

 top. and leporled all in prime condi- 

 tion. , , . 



Mr. Ilincle uses Lanp:str.)th hives, 

 and winters his bees in the cellar. He 

 also reports the bees doing finely. 



Mr. .Mver uses Jlitchell hives ; win- 

 ters his "bees on the summer stands, 

 without any special preparation or 

 extra care, and all are healthy and in 

 prime condition. 



The (|uestion of how to prevent 

 spring dwindling wasdiseussetl. 



Mr. Hiiicle gives his lices a flight in 

 tlie spring; cleans their hives and re- 

 turns them to the cellar until there is 

 somelliing in the field for them to 

 work on. 



Many other questions of interest 

 were discussed. 



On motion. Dr. Abbott was re- 

 (piested to prepare a30 minute address 

 for tlie next meeting, whicli will be 

 held April 12, at 1 p. m., in Touzalin 

 Hall. Endicott. S. IIincle, Fres. 



J.H. Tait, Sec. 



I have practiced the above for ten 



years, and have yet to learn of one 

 complaint, lie very careful not to 

 scorch it, for that will siioil it. If 

 heal to near scalding, it will not candy 

 very quickly. I sell most of my ex- 

 tracted honey after it is candied. My 

 home trade iias grown so that I have 

 orders for l-">0 iiounds from a single 

 farmer, for familv use. Perhaps, 

 sometime, I will tell you how I have 

 built up my home trade. 

 Oran, N. Y. 



Kor the American Bee JournaL 



When Shall we Extract ? 



WM. H. BALCH. 



This is a question of importance, 

 and one that I have been asked so 

 many times that I ask a little space in 

 the Bee Jouiinal to answer. 



I am aware that many tell us that 

 honey must be sealed and ripened on 

 the liives to give it the right flavor, 

 consetinently we have to tier up or 

 lose much honey. This is expensive, 

 for it takes hives, combs and the cap- 

 pings which are used, which the bees 

 would use in building comb, if we 

 left them an empty frame where it is 

 prudent to do so. 



All animals, cats, dogs, horses, 

 cows, and slieep, have a scent peculiar 

 to themselves. Any one that has 

 opened a nest where mice congregate 

 in a mow of grain, during the cold 

 winter montlis, will not quickly forget 

 its odor. 



What would be the result if butter 

 was stored in the cow stable V Any 

 dairy maid will tell you it soon would 

 partake of the odor to such an extent 

 that it would be spoiled for use. 

 Honey is just as sensitive to odor as 

 butter, and my experiments have led 

 me to tliink more so. 



Honey ripened on the hive has a 

 flavor pecular to the bees ; while if 

 extracted as fast as gathered and 

 ripened afterwards, it has a much 

 finer flavor. How shall we ripen it ? 

 I will tell you the results of my home 

 trade which satifies me that the honey 

 is all right. 



If the honey is very thick, as it is in 

 a dry season, I leave it in the recepta- 

 cles used for storing, with the covers 

 off. Sometimes tlie top of the honey 

 will have to be taken off and be 

 warmed a little. During the past 

 season I did not heat any. If the 

 honey is thin and has a raw taste, I 

 place it on the stove and heat it 

 slowly, stirring occasionally until 

 scalding hot, stirring occasionally 

 while cooling. 



Bay of ftuiute, Ont., Convention. 



This Association met at Belleville, 

 Out., Feb. li), at U a. m.. Pies. P. C. 

 Derasey in the chair. Subjects dis- 

 cussed were as follows : 

 1. "Marketing honey." 

 A. McClatchie said that honey was 

 often forced on the market far below 

 the market value, by persons who 

 really did not know its commercial 

 value. 



W. C. Wells said that the honey 

 marketed was often injured by persons 

 not know'ing the quality or value of 

 honey they had to dispose of, so long 

 as it was honey ; basswood and buck- 

 wheat honey frequently sold at the 

 same price, when in reality there was 

 at least 4 or 5 cts. difference, per 

 pound. 



J. A. Chapman sold most of his 

 honey at Port Hope, Cobourg and Bal- 

 timore ; sold his extracted honey at 11 

 to 121^ cts. per lb., and comb honey, 

 in 1 lb. sections, generally at from 15 

 to 20 cts. Had crates, nicely fitted up, 

 holding 9 lbs. and 52 lbs. He thought 

 it advisable to make a good display of 

 honey at our county fairs. He exhib- 

 ited 800 lbs. of honey at the Industrial 

 Exliibition at Toronto last Sept. 



H. G. Stafford thought the honey 

 market was ruined by peddlin^ honey 

 around. He sold his extracted honey 

 at 10 cts. per lb., wholesale, and re- 

 tailed it at 121^^ cts. per lb. 



C. W. Post said he could produce 

 honey better than he could sell it; 

 sold extracted honey from 10 to 123.< 

 cts. per lb. 



The President said we should edu- 

 cate the people, so that they could 

 readily tell poor from good honey. He 

 had seen honey selling in Toronto 

 market at 15}.^ cts., while his sold at 

 20 cts. per lb., simply because his 

 honey was in good condition for mar- 

 keting; he said that frequently one 

 cent per pound extra cost in putting 

 honey in first-class condition for mar- 

 keting, would command 4 or 5 cts. 

 more per pound on the market. Great 

 care should be taken to place honey 

 on the market in tirst-class condition. 

 J. H. Ruttan sold his honey princi- 

 pally at Cobourg, at 20 cts. per lb. for 

 his comb honey. 



L. W. Sarles had been engaged in 

 bee-culture for s or 10 years, and sold 

 extracted honev at 11 cts. in cans. He 

 thought the be.st way to put up honey 

 was in kegs, holding from 100 to 150 

 pounds. 



Edmund Caverly had no trouble to 

 sell his extracted honey at 11 cts. 



A. McClatchie sold his honey prin- 

 cipally in the Montreal market by the 

 barrel at satisfactory prices ; he did 



not like foundation comb unless very 

 thin. 



D. J. TIawley sold his honey at 

 Trenton at 12'.,' to 15 cts. for extrac- 

 ted, and 20 cts." for comb honey. 



Wm. Rose sold his comb honey in 

 llednerville. or on Belleville market, 

 at from 10 to 12 cts. per lb. Did not 

 extract any. 



2. " Putting up Honey for Market." 

 W. C. Wells saiil small packages 



sold best ; 1 lb. glass jars and small 

 kegs. It was then 



Rcsolced, Tliat in the opinion of this 

 meeting, 10 U). tin and ghiss cans, and 

 kegs holding from 150 to 200 lbs., for 

 extracted honey, and 1 lb. sections, 

 and honey boxes from 5 to 10 lbs. for 

 comb honey, are preferable for mar- 

 keting. 



3. "Preparing bees for winter." 

 L. W. Sarles put a rack on the top 



of the hive after removing the cap, 

 witli 2 inches of dry sawdust; gives 

 plenty of good honey, and about tlie 

 middle of November, puts them into 

 their winter quarters. 



W. C. Wells gives each colony about 

 6 sections of 3 or 4 lbs. each, of best 

 sealed honey, and put them into the 

 cellar not later than the middle of 

 November. 



C. W. Post: When the honey flow 

 is over, examines all his hives, and if 

 he finds any weak colonies, he imme- 

 diately feeds them, or gives them ad- 

 ditional frames of honey, and thus 

 makes each strong before it is put into 

 winter quarters ; and he usually made 

 a small tiole through each frame, so 

 that the bees can pass through from 

 one frame to another. 



W. A. Roblin thought it would be 

 desirable to smoke the bees lightly be- 

 fore putting a hole through the 

 frames. 



A. McClatchie keeps his bees m a 

 cellar built especially for wintering 

 his bees, at a uniform temperature of 

 41° ; does not disturb them ; believes 

 it a mistake to meddle with bees after 

 they are put into winter quarters ; 

 thinks that vegetables stored in the 

 same cellar are somewhat injurious to 

 bees; keeps his hives at least 2 feet 

 above the ground and below the ceil- 

 ing, and 2 feet away from the walls, 

 and always keeps liis cellar dark. 



W. C. Wells keeps sawdust, about 

 2 inches thick, on the top of his hives, 

 and ventilates from the bottom of the 

 hive ; has his cellar ventilated by 4- 

 inch tile, and finds his bees are 

 healthier when a proper distance from 

 the bottom of the cellar. 



A. B. 2ilallory leaves the quilts on 

 the top of his hives ; puts chaff on the 

 top end sides, and with proper venti- 

 lation they winter well ; thinks the 

 month of April the most trying month 

 in the year on bees. 



D. J. Ilawley said that a cellar may 

 be too dry as well as too damp ; re- 

 cently his bees were very much dis- 

 turbed, and he placed some water in a 

 small vessel in front of each hive, and 

 in the evening of the same day found 

 them all quiet. 



P. C. Dempsey would not disturb 

 bees ill winter; frequent handling 

 causes much uneasiness among bees 

 in winter ; liis cellar is perfectly dry, 

 and thoroughly ventilated. 



