THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



277 



start was to give such people a saucer 

 of honey if I could not persuade them 

 to buy, and in nearly every instance 

 it has made rue a steady customer; 

 some that were so p.ejudice on the 

 start, now buy, each season, from 50 

 to TOO pounds. I have a host of cus- 

 tomers that work by days' work for a 

 livelihood. They can afford it, and 

 will buy at 11 cents a pound, while 

 but few of this class will look atcomb 

 honey at from 18 to :22 cents per pound. 

 I think I gave this a fair test last fall, 

 with all classes, when peddling. I 

 had comb honey in section boxes, 

 letting any one "take their choice, 11 

 cents for extracted and 18 cents for 

 comb, and I had a few sections left 

 out of 100 pounds while I was dispos- 

 ing of about 1,800 of extracted. 



There would not have been as mucli 

 difference as this had I not put more 

 force on the extracted, telling them 

 all the difference there was, the ex- 

 tracted was out of the comb. I told 

 them facts, and after tasting and ex- 

 amining for themselves they would 

 conclude to take all or part extracted. 

 I have a great many customers that 

 want a little comb honey each season. 

 They want it for special occasions. 

 One steady customer of this kind is 

 my wife, and I am ready to agree, 

 when we take looks into considera- 

 tion, we must fetch out the comb 

 honey. 



I will close by saying we can keep a 

 strong colony of bees under control, 

 scarcely one will cast a swarm if at- 

 tended to in the proper time, that is, 

 combs taken out and extracted as fast 

 as they are sealed and ready, and if 

 increase is wanted it can be done 

 after the honey How, and to make it 

 safe, save plenty of good sealed stores 

 to give the colonies we build up. I, 

 last season, increased from 80 to 120. 

 In my home apiary, I now have 100 

 rousing colonies, did not lose one, and 

 not a weak one at the present time. I 

 lost 4 out of 20 two and one-half miles 

 from home. Cause, not properly 

 cared for. I did not fix them for 

 winter as I should. I used the old- 

 fashioned way too much — guessed at 

 it. Guess work will not do in the bee 

 business, any more than any other. 



New London, O. 



Mr. Bartow : How many times do 

 you extract from the same colony dur- 

 ing one season ? 



Answer : As many times as two or 

 more combs in the upper story are 

 perfectly sealed. 



Mr. VVhitney : How do you prevent 

 the queen from laying in the upper 

 story y 



Aiiswer : I do not prevent it, and it 

 is not necessary, as it does no harm. 



The comparative profit of produc- 

 ing comb and extracted honey was 

 thoroughly discussed by nearly all the 

 members present, without arriving at 

 any definite conclusion. 



The Berlin Fruit Box Company had 

 on exhibition some very tine one-piece 

 sections, and Newman Bros., of Nor- 

 walk, some Quinby smokers. 



James Gibbs, the treasurer, having 

 resigned, Edwin Gibbs was chosen to 

 fill his place, and Miss Eliza Moon of 

 Milan, was chosen vice-president. 



After a vote of thanks to Norwalk 

 City Council, the convention ad- 

 journed to meet at the call of the sec- 

 retary, sometime during the month of 

 October, 1883. 



S. F. Newman, Sec. 



at and Jtoiu. 



ANSWERS BY 



James Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich. 



Queries About Extractiug Honey. 



Will Mr. Heddon please answer the 

 following questions : 



1. Will it do to extract honey the 

 next day after it has been deposited 

 in the cells by the bees '! 



2. Are one-story hives as good for 

 the production of extracted honey as 

 two-story hives? 



3. How many 12x12 inch frames 

 should there be in hives, when only of 

 one-story V 



4. How can we ripen the honey after 

 extracting, to make it keep well V 



.5. Is there any way to ascertain a 

 good day for honey-gathering, by the 

 indications in the morning 'i 



Nineveh, Ind. W. D. Smyseb. 



Answers. — 1. Not if the honey is 

 intended for sauce. If for manufac- 

 turing purposes, it will, if the nectar 

 is of good quality. 



2. Not for my use. I have tried 

 both thoroughly, and much prefer the 

 2-story system. Some experienced and 

 successful producers differ with me. 

 but I must answer from my own ex- 

 perience. 



3. I .should want as many as 25 at 

 least. 



4. I have tried all plans, except sun 

 evaporation, and I find no method 

 equal to the old-fashion one of letting 

 the bees ripen and cap it, when it will 

 be rich and oily, and not nearly as 

 liable to grain or sour. The best 

 methods I have used, is to store the 

 honey in one-gallon crocks of stone- 

 ware, and pile them up, with sticks 

 between them, and keep in a dry 

 room, with screened windows and a 

 free circulation of air. All double- 

 walled or cool rooms will be damp. 



5. Electricity, that great mover of 

 all that stirs, that other name for 

 heat, light and motion, is the honey 

 producer's friend ; when the morning 

 indicates a day of electric conditions. I 

 look for a good secretion of honey. 



The Lje Process. 



Mr. Heddon, in some of the back 

 numbers of the Bee Journal, you 

 speak of the lye process for making 

 the sheets of comb foundation, let go 

 of the press, etc. Do you still use it ? 



How do you prepare the lye V Do you 

 rinse the sheets afterwards V 



V. W. Kenney. 

 Shirland, 111., May 22, 1883. 



Answer.— Of all that slips and 

 slides, lye is the "slickest." Get the 

 best concentrated lye— poor stuff is 

 no go. Louis Menzes Co. is the only 

 good kind we can get out of many 

 brands. Put 2 tablespoonfuls into a 

 quart of water. With a brush made 

 of a handful of broom corn, wound 

 with stovepipe wire, lye the book 

 thoroughly. Now don't be afraid of 

 the effects of the lye on the book. It 

 will not injure it nor the foundation. 

 Drop a piece of foundation in this 

 strong lye solution ; leave it there a 

 week, and notice that it does not effect 

 it at all. The lye solution, when on 

 the foundation in large quantities, 

 precipitates and losses its strength, so 

 that the white powder it leaves can be 

 tasted on the tongue, and only a 

 brackish taste is perceptible. To put 

 to the bees it is perfectly harmless. 

 We use a cheap brush because the lye 

 eats up a brush in three or four hours. 

 The dies must be cleaned of the par- 

 ticles from the eaten brush, every two 

 or three hours. To keep the fingers 

 from being eaten through the skin, 

 dip them every few moments in strong 

 vinegar. Do not get any vinegar 

 (not a drop) on to the dies. You will 

 omit to dip your fingers into the vin- 

 egar often enough, at first, but you 

 will soon have a gentle reminder, in 

 the shape of a sore, that will sting like 

 a bee when lye touches it. With some 

 die books, and on certain days, we run 

 off 100 sheets with once using the lye 

 on the book; but, at other times, only 

 two or four sheets without having to 

 touch the book in places with the 

 saturated brush. The above is the 

 general outline. 



Convention Notices. 



Convention in South- Western Iowa. 



All who are willing to help support 

 a convention in the South- Western 

 counties of Iowa, will please drop me 

 a postal card. Who will be first '? 



T. A. HOUGAS. 



Henderson, Iowa, May 21, 1883. 



1^ The Warren County, Kentucky, 

 Bee-Keepers' Association, meets at 

 Smith's Grove, Ky., on June 2. A 

 large attendance is expected. 



N. P. Allen, Sec. 



^■Renewals may be made at any 

 time ; but all papers are stopped at 

 the expiration of the time paid for, 

 unless requested to be continued. 



