•THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



617 



combs (one ;it a time), and take out 

 immediately, continuing this process 

 until the cells are filled with water, 

 then place the combs in the water, 

 and let the water cover them ; then 

 fasten them down with a weight, so 

 that they will remain there. Leave 

 them in the water tor 24 to 48 honrs, 

 or until the pollen is thoroughly 

 soaked up, and then place the combs 

 in the extractor, and the pollen will 

 be thrown out as easily as honey, 

 when the combs will be clean and just 

 as good as new ones. 



The rest of the afternoon session 

 was occupied in discussing the win- 

 tering question. 



Dr. E. II. Danforth offered the use 

 of his olHce for an evening session to 

 those who could attend. 



The association adjourned at 5 p. 

 m. to meet at S a. m. the next morn- 

 ing. All who could attend the even- 

 ing session did so. The topic of the 

 evening was, "Scientific Facts of 

 (jueen-Rearing,"' which was well dis- 

 cussed, and quite interesting. 



The convention was called to order 

 on Tuesday, Sept. 2, at 10 a. m., Vice- 

 President Sleeper occu-pied the chair. 

 The wintering question was then 

 again taken up. 



Mr. Page : I think bees ought to be 

 prepared for winter by Oct. 1. 



Mr. Everett : I think that bees 

 ought to be prepared for winter now — 

 at least contract the brood-nest now. 



Mr. Williams : The amount of 

 honey ought to be considered. 



Mr. Hubbard : I have found that 

 those bees which are prepared late, 

 winter poorly. 



Mr. Carpenter : I think that bees 

 ought to be put up early to be ahead 

 of cold weather. My bees are kept 

 packed during the winter and the 

 summer. 



Mr. Crooker : I have not produced 

 much money from my bees until 

 lately, but I think that they ought to 

 be put up early. 



'• How many bees should each hive 

 contain to winter well ?" 



Mr. Babcock : I think that colonies 

 ought to be strong to winter well. 



Mr. Page : I think that they are 

 more apt to have diarrhoea if they are 

 very strong. 



^ir. Everett : I winter my bees on 6 

 frames, if possible. If many frames 

 are used, they are liable to get too 

 much cold air in the hives. 



Mr. Williams: I have wintered both 

 light and strong colonies, but prefer 

 strong ones. 



Mr. Crooker : I contract the brood- 

 nest all that is possible, and use sticks 

 across the frames. 



"Should bees be old or young to 

 winter?" 



Mr. Danforth thinks that this is a 

 curious question. Mr. Davis thought 

 that it was an indefinite term, but 

 thinks that they should not breed 

 late. 



Mr. Crooker : I am not troubled 

 about late breeding. I do not care if 

 my bees do breed late, for they winter 

 just as well. 



Mr. Davis : I-think poor honey is a 

 prolific cause of poor wintering. 



" What is the proper condition in 

 which to winter i"' 



Mr. Crooker : I do not want any 

 outside packing. 1 have united colo- 

 nies in December, and had them win- 

 ter all right. 



Mr. Everett : I think that plenty of 

 bees and not too much food, but 

 enough, are essential to good winter- 

 ing. 



" Which is best for storing, honey 

 or sugar syrup V" 



Mr. Everett : Good honey is prefer- 

 able to sugar syrup, and sugar syrup 

 is preferable topoor honey. 



Mr. Danforth proposed the follow- 

 ing amendment to the constitution : 

 Any member may withdraw from this 

 Association by notifying the Secretary 

 when all dues are paid. It was sec- 

 onded and carried. 



" Can a locality be overstocked V" 



Mr. Page : In" the locality wiiere I 

 am situated, in an area 3 by miles, 

 there are over .500 colonies. 



Mr. Elkins : For basswood, the 

 locality in which Mr. Page and I live, 

 could not be overstocked ; but if we 

 had nothing but white clover, I think 

 it w'ould be. 



" Are the best results from those 

 colonies which are wintered on the 

 summer stands, or from those win- 

 tered in cellars or bee- repositories V" 



Mr. Davis : I have a house for win- 

 tering my bees, which I prefer to out- 

 side wintering in chaff-boxes. It has 

 6-inch walls of dry earth, and venti- 

 lators to control the temperature. 

 When cold weather comes, I bank up 

 the house all around witli snow. I 

 can keep them quiet in cold weather, 

 but when the warm spells come they 

 get uneasy. 



Mr. Everett : I want my bees on the 

 summer stands, where I can examine 

 them at any time. It is not cold 

 which kills bees, but poor ventilation 

 is the cause. I use sawdust for side- 

 packing, and forest leaves on the tops. 



Mr. Sleeper asked Mr Davis if his 

 apiary was ever troubled with spring 

 dwindling. 



Mr. Davis : Sometimes, but bees 

 generally winter all right. 



Mr. Carpenter : I believe that de- 

 fective ventilation is the cause of 

 poor wintering. I believe there 

 should be a current of air circulating 

 through the hive, but not strong 

 enough to affect the bees. 



Adjourned to meet at 1 p. m. 



The afternoon session w'as called to 

 order at the appointed time. 



" Is the production of comb honey 

 or extracted honey the most profit- 

 able y" The majority of those pres- 

 ent were in favor of extracted honey. 



Moved and carried that the names 

 and addresses of all of the members 

 of this Association be printed on 

 postal cards and mailed to each of the 

 members. Moved and carried that 

 the next meeting of this Association 

 be held at Cuba, N. Y., on the first 

 Tuesday in May, 188.5. 



The President asked if any one 

 present had ever tried to fertilize 

 queens inside the hive. Mr. Williams 

 replied that he had, and described the 

 process which was very, interesting 

 to all. 



It was moved and carried to adjourn 

 at 4 p. m. Sixteen members were 

 added to the roll. 



Mr. (i. W. Stanley had a smoker 

 and a honey extractor on exhibition. 

 Mr. V. Page exhibited a bee-feeder 

 and samples of light and heavy foun- 

 dation. W. T. Falconer showed a 

 chaff-hive. W. J. Davis exhibited a 

 comb honey-rack which was different 

 from any " described in the Bee 

 Journal. Mr. \V. II. S. Grout 

 showed a sample of red-raspberry 

 honey, and Dr. E. H. Danforth had a 

 sample of "honey-dew" onexhiliition. 

 CiiAs. E. Gates, Sec. pro tern.. 



H. S. Elkins, Pres. 



For tbo American Bee Joomal. 



How to Ship Extracted Honey. 



C. F. MUTH. 



Please let me explain through the 

 Bee Journal how to ship extracted 

 honey. I am getting honey mostly in 

 barrels, half-barrels and kegs. As I 

 handle a good deal in a great variety 

 of packages, I have some experience, 

 and ascribe to myself a certain 

 amount of judgment in the matter. 

 Wishing to be understood by every 

 shipper of extracted honey, I wish to 

 tell things in my own manner, and go 

 into details a little more than I should 

 if these things were of less impor- 

 tance. 



A lot of honey arrived here from 

 Shreveport, La., within a few days ; 

 2 barrels had entirely leaked out, 

 while 23 more barrels were more or 

 less damaged. The owner of the 

 above lot happened to be here at the 

 Exposition, and present on the arrival 

 of the honey, which, no doubt, saved 

 some unpleasant correspondence. The 

 honey was in second-hand cypress 

 barrels. A party in Florida, two 

 years ago, sent me two barrels of 

 honey pvit up in second-hand molasses 

 barrels. These barrels arrived, with 

 a large lot of honey from other 

 parties, but were entirely empty. I 

 admit that the railroad company 

 should not have accepted at the other 

 end, but I am certain that the rail- 

 road company here would have suc- 

 ceeded in proving that the fault of 

 the shipper would have caused the 

 damages. The same party shipped 

 again, last year, in new cypress bar- 

 rels, which were poorly made, as the 

 grooves for the heads were insuffi- 

 cient. Four barrels arrived here en- 

 tirely empty, and the fifth one had a 

 few gallons of honey left in it. The 

 shipper again was the loser. A party 

 in Mississippi had shipped to us five 

 barrels of honey in good, second-hand 

 alcohol-barrels, out of which about I3' 

 had leaked before there arrival here. 

 The shipper had made the mistake of 

 soaking his barrels with water for 

 several weeks previous to putting in 

 the honey, instead of driving the 

 hoops, or getting his barrels tiglit by 

 good coopering when they were dry. 

 This should never be neglected wlien 

 second-hand barrels are used. Have 

 them coopered up securely when they 

 are dry. When, after the rinsing 

 process, one is satisfied that they are 

 tight, they are ready to receive the 

 honey. Honey-barrels never get tight 

 by soaking them in water, because 



