526 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



F. Wilcox : It may be because they 

 are not strong enough at the proper 

 time. 



James Ileddon : That is not the 

 point ; colonies are exactly alike, so 

 near as we can discover, and yet one 

 colony yields an excellent surplus, 

 another none ; why is it ? 



C. C. Miller : It may be caused by 

 a difference in the age of the queen. 



James Ileddon : I think not ; bees 

 supersede their queen when she be- 

 comes too old. In regard to varieties, 

 I tried the " golden " Italians, but 

 did not like them so well as the 

 blacks. I tried the dark Italians, and 

 liked them better than either, but I 

 prefer a cross between the dark Ital- 

 ians and the blacks. I do not want 

 the bees to be too black. Most of the 

 black bees throughout the country are 

 the brown Gerriian variety. 



The following question was handed 

 in for discussion, by Mrs. L. Harri- 

 son : "Is it the opinion of this Con- 

 vention, that legislation is necessary 

 to protect bee-keepers against the 

 ravages of foul brood i"' 



T. L. Von Dorn remarked that he 

 did not think it necessary, as an in- 

 dictment could be easily obtained be- 

 fore any grand jury against any one 

 ■who persisted in keeping such a loath- 

 some disease about his premises. 



Dr. S. M. Slade said that it was a 

 disease most-dreaded, and protection 

 should be given against its spreading. 



T. G. Newman remarked that spec- 

 ial legislation was very often inoper- 

 ative, and remained a dead letter on 

 the Statute books, but safe guards 

 should be thrown around bee-keepers 

 against this malady. It was a crime 

 to keep such a loathsome disease in 

 an apiary, especially if there were any 

 likelihood of selling bees, to endanger 

 its spreading. He believed that it 

 was the safest way to destroy all such 

 colonies, and thus root out the evil. 



On motion, tlie meeting adjourned 

 to meet at 2 p. m. 



AFTERNOON SESSION.' 



Met at 2 p. m. Dr. Miller in the 

 Chair. The first question brought up 

 was that of queen-rearing, which soon 

 branched off, taking a wide range ; 

 for instance, James Marvin said that 

 he had clipped the queens wings this 

 season, had never done so before, and 

 would never do so again. 



E. J. Oatman : We cannot afford 

 to tolerate poor stock ; we must have 

 the best. Old queens do not furnish 

 the best bees. I destroy queens be- 

 fore they become too old. 



James Heddon : If the offspring of 

 young queens is the best, we want it, 

 for it requires just as much honey to 

 rear a lazy bee as to rear a smart 

 one. 



Dr. Miller : How do bees know 

 ■when to supersede a queen V Is it 

 because she lays a fewer number of 

 eggs, or how is it 't How do the bees 

 know when to supersede ? 



Wm. Camm : I had a queen that 

 did good service five years, and I pre- 

 sume that she might yet be doing so, 

 if she had not been smothered in a 

 snow bank. 



S. M. Slade : I always allow my 

 bees to swarm, and have arrived at 



the conclusion that there is more in 

 the operator than in the queen. 



Rev. L. L. Langstroth : Bees do 

 not, I think, supersede their queens 

 simply because the queen does not 

 lay enough eggs to suit them. I once 

 put an old queen in several different 

 colonies, and they all tried to super- 

 sede her. I then placed her in a 

 nucleus, and that also tried to super- 

 sede her. I would like to ask if any 

 one has noticed that black bees are 

 less liable than Italians to supersede 

 their queens. I have found it so. 

 They seem to have more affection for 

 their queen ; they are fairly distracted 

 when she is removed. Italians are 

 much more apt to supersede their 

 queens. I luive also noticed that the 

 superseding queen is an excellent one. 



Wm. Camm : I had two supersed- 

 ing queens, this season, and they were 

 very prolific. 



Rev. li. L. Langstroth : We can 

 tell the age of queens by their color. 

 A young queen is bright-colored and 

 fresh looking, more so the first year 

 than ever afterwards. We cannot 

 look at a queen and say, to a certainty, 

 that she is of a certain age, but we 

 can make a pretty close guess. 



R. A. Burnett, a commission mer- 

 chant of Chicago, was next intro- 

 duced, and, to questions, replied in 

 substance as follows : One-pound 

 sections sell the best. I have handled 

 a few one-half pound sections, but I 

 am of the opinion that if they must 

 be sold at a very much higher price 

 than the one-pound sections, it will 

 not be advisable to use them. Have 

 handled glassed sections, but they 

 are very unsalable. A section that 

 weighs a fraction le^s than a pound 

 is better than one that over-runs in 

 weight, as we are always asked to 

 " throw in " the extra ounces, while 

 to throw off a few cents because the 

 section is under weight, always cre- 

 ates a feeling of satisfaction. A thin 

 comb of honey is more salable than a 

 thick one weighing the same, as the 

 larger surface of comb makes the 

 amount of honey appear larger. Dark 

 honey is more salable in the extracted 

 form ; in fact, it should never be put 

 upon the market in combs. Here the 

 discussion branched off into adulter- 

 ation of honey. 



R. A. Burnett : I have kept it be- 

 fore the public that I sold only pure 

 honey, and my sales have increased. 

 I tell my customers that when they 

 get honey in the original packages, 

 they can be almost certain of getting 

 pure honey, and it is in that shape 

 that I try to sell it. 



James Ileddon: I think it impos- 

 sible for producers to profitably adul- 

 terate honey. 



E. Baxter: I do think itcan be done. 



James Ileddon : Will you please 

 tell us, Mr. Baxter, how much you 

 get for your extracted honey V 



E. Baxter : Eight or nine cents. 



James Heddon : How much did it 

 cost you to produce it '? 



E. "Baxter : Perhaps 10 per cent, of 

 its selling price. 



James Heddon : Do you think, 

 Mr. Baxter, that you could afford to 

 adulterate, with glucose, honey that 

 cost you only 2 cents a pound ? 



There was too much of a laugh to 

 clearly hear Mr. Baxter's reply. 



S. M. Black : Adulterated honey is 

 easily discovered. 



E. Baxter : I am well acquainted 

 with the properties of glucose, and 

 the injuries that it causes ; its effects 

 are slow. I thiuk, in time, that it 

 will be so made that it will be whole- 

 son] e. 



T. G. Newman : For a long time it 

 has been impossible to sell honey here 

 in Chicago, because of its adultera- 

 tion years ago. AVe have fought glu- 

 cose as a deadly enemy, and at last 

 we have it under our foot ; let us keep 

 it there. I believe it a sin to have it 

 go out to the world that bee-keepers 

 can or will adulterate their honey. 

 The name of a bee - keeper when 

 placed upon a package of honey, 

 should be a synonym for purity— a 

 guaranty for tlie straight and pure ar- 

 ticle. No glucose should ever be 

 tolerated in or around his apiary, for 

 it would destroy confidence to be in 

 possession of the vile trash for any 

 purpose. 



Rev. L. L. Langstroth referred to 

 Mr. C. F. Muth, and the large busi- 

 ness that he had built up by being 

 strictly honest, and dealing in pure 

 honey. One man says that glucose 

 can be made pure ; perhaps it can, but 

 it is not done, unless some one writes 

 for a sample to analyze, or something 

 of that kind, when a sample is es- 

 pecially prepared and sent to him. ■ 



.James Ileddon : Heat effects glu- 

 cose and honey in a different manner. 

 Heat a glass of pure honey, and at 

 the same time one containing honey 

 of suspected purity, and if glucose is 

 present, the ropy, stringy, gluey ap- 

 pearance of that containing the glu- 

 cose will be easily seen. 



-J. L. Harris : My experience is that 

 customers can tell the difference be- 

 tween adulterated and pure honey. 

 That is, after using adulterated honey, 

 they soon tire of it and want no more. 



Wm. Camm : I agree with Mr. 

 Newman, but we cannot afford to 

 ignore facts. I am happy to be able 

 to say that it is a fact that every bee- 

 keeper is opposed to adulteration. 



M. L. Trester : Many purchasers 

 of honey store it in a damp place, 

 where it will absorb water and will 

 sour, and then they say that it is 

 adulterated. The label should ex- 

 plaip this matter. Honey appears to 

 much better advantage when stored 

 in flint instead of ordinary glass ves- 

 sels. Producers should establish a 

 reputation in their home market. No 

 stranger can come into my market 

 and sell honey. 



At this point the convention was 

 favored with some music and the 

 singing of some " bee songs," such as 

 " Charley the Bees are Swarming," 

 etc., by Mr. and Mrs. F. Edgecombe, 

 of Chicago, Prof. Coffin presiding at 

 the organ. 



A vote of thanks to Prof. CotHn and 

 Mr. and Mrs. Edgecombe was unani- 

 mously passed for the musical enter- 

 tainment. 



Then followed the election of officers 

 which resulted as follows : President, 

 Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, 111. ; Vice- 

 President. Mrs. L. Harrison, Peoria, 



