98 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Feb. U, 



In the dovetailed supers I use section-holders. They never 

 sag, with me, and I prefer them to T tins, because the sections 

 are not so badly soiled, especially on the bottoms; and vi-ith 

 these, and athicl<-top frame, it is very seldom that a queen, 

 no matter how prolific she is, will go up into the sections to 

 lay. Consequently, no honey-board or queen-excluder is 

 needed. 



I like the Hoflman frame, as now made, better than any 

 frame I have ever used, and I do not think Js of an inch is 

 any too thick for the top-bar, although % may answer as well, 

 but it suits me very well as it is. I know that some think 

 those using thick-top, self-spacing frames will change back to 

 the old style loose-hanging frames, and use a honey-board. If 

 I ever change back to this arrangement it will be because I 

 cannot possibly get the former, and I do not think this will 

 ever happen, as I have always found manufacturers able and 

 willing to make a frame, or anything else, exactly as I wanted. 

 If I had the money to pay for the same. But if they ever com- 

 bine, or form a trust, and try to make us take what they think 

 is best, or want to sell, I will buy a buzz-saw, and a little en- 

 gine, and make what I want myself. 



But for all I have said, I think the sectional brood-chamber 

 hive is the hive of the future, especially for the professional. 

 I have used this hive, and the longer, and more of them, I use 

 the better I like them. I think that honey can be produced in 

 this kind of a hive with less work than any other. But at the 

 same time I have found that one has to know what to do, and 

 when to do it, to obtain good results with this hive. I think 

 that beginners, and those who have not had much experience, 

 will be much more apt to succeed with a single brood-chamber 



hive. 



And now about the size. I know that the right size is a 

 big subject, and I am fully aware that this question is being 

 discussed by others who are more competent to talk about it 

 than I. But I am going to give my opinion of it. I have used 

 hives of 8, 10 and 12 frame capacity, Langstroth size ; and 

 also a number of V)-frame hives that have a frame 13 inches 

 long and about 11 inches deep. I have a few of these hives 

 now ; they are not bad hives or frames by any means ; but all 

 things considered, I prefer the Langstroth size to any I have 

 used. 



Almost all who are discussing the size question, seem to 

 think that the locality has the most influence about the right 

 size. I think that the plan on which the apiary is run, and 

 also how prolific one's queens are, has as much, or more, to do 

 with it than the locality, and, with me, locality would not 

 make any difference whatever. 



To illustrate : A bee-keeper in a certain State says that 

 in his locality they have only one flow— a colony must gather 

 all surplus and winter stores at this time; and that S-frame 

 hives won't hold enough stores for 9 months in the year. They 

 would hold all, and more, than I would want them to if I were 

 in such a locality, for instead of having so much honey stored 

 below, I would want it carried above, and put in the sections, 

 and then in the fall I would feed them sugar syrup, and the 

 next season, before that one flow commenced, I would try to 

 have the brood-nest pretty well filled up with sugar syrup 

 again. But, of course, if one did not want to feed, 8 frames 

 would not be large enough for this locality, and if one does 

 not wish to feed, or has not time to give the bees all the care 

 and attention they need, 1 do not think an 8-frame hive large 

 enough for any locality, unless it be one like I was reading 

 about the other day, that had a flow nearly the entire year. 



I do not like hives as large as the 12-frame— in my opinion 

 10 Langstroth frames are large enough for any locality. I 

 know that some advocate a larger hive than this, and es- 

 pecially my illustrious fellow-countryman, Mr. Dadant. I 

 have not the least doubt that Mr. D. knows more about bees 

 and hives than I do. He has also had more experience, but 

 with the best queens we now have, it is a mystery to me how 

 we can obtain more honey from a larger hive than the 10- 

 frame Langstroth, to say nothing about the extra money in- 

 vested in such hives and combs, and the heavy work of hand- 

 ling such ponderous hives, which is a big item, if hives are to 

 be handled much. 



Now I ihXiik that I have some queens that are as good as 

 there are in the world. A few years ago I would have said 

 that I had some of the best, for I had been buying the best 

 queens I could get, and improving my bees until I thought 

 they were as good as could be had ; but two years ago last 

 spring, by a mere accident, I became possessed of a number of 

 colonies, the poorest of which would double discount the best 

 I then had, and there may be others even better than these ; 

 but with these queens, and the best I can buy regardless of 

 price, and with all things carefully considered, I prefer the 8- 

 frame hive, and 1 can make more money with, say 1,000 

 frames in 8-frame hives, than with the same number in 10- 



frame hives. This would, of course, require more queens, but 

 a few queens are a small matter now-a-days. It would also 

 require more hives and more work, but we must have a worse 

 season for honey than I have yet experienced if I cannot get 

 interest on all money invested, and fair wages for all work 

 that is necessary to be performed in the apiary and connected 

 with it. Southern Minnesota, Dec. 18, 1894. 



Report of the Michigan State Conveution. 



BV W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 



(Continued from pag-e 85.) 

 In the evening of the first day Mr. L. H. Ayers, of the 

 firm of Ayers it Reynolds, came up and read the following 

 essay on 



Ttie Marketing of Honey. 



When 1 wrote your Secretary. I told him that I had 

 never delivered an address or written an essay, but I was 

 willing to give you an informal talk on " The Marketing of 

 Honey, from a Dealer's Standpoint.'" 



I do not expect to bring before you anything very new, in 

 fact some of you are probably as well posted on this subject 

 as myself; but I will not weary you with preliminaries, but 

 proceed at once to my subject. 



Of course the first essential is quality — this I assume to be 

 largely beyond your control, therefore I will not dwell on this 

 point. In speaking of quality, I refer more to color than 

 flavor, as purchasers do not sample comb honey when buying. 



Next in importance is neat and attractive packages. The 

 Detroit market prefers packages holding 12 or 16 sections. 

 These packages should be made of bright, clean, light ma- 

 terial. It is unnecessary for me to go into details, as this sub- 

 ject is so fully discussed among you that anything I might say 

 would seem superfluous. I would recommend, however, the 

 use of thin strips on the bottom of the packages for the sec- 

 tions to rest upon, so that in case of any leakage, the sections 

 are kept clean, and do not adhere to the bottom of the case. 

 This is not original with me, but is already in use by some of 

 you. 



I would also recommend the use of labels — a plain one, 

 with gross weight, tare, and net weight ; the second, neat and 

 attractive, with the packer's name thereon. These labels 

 should be on the ends of the package — not on top. This last 

 label ought to be a guaranty that the front row is a correct 

 sample of the entire package. 



Allow me to say right here that it is difBcult to sell any 

 goods that are marked No. 2 or No. 3. In order to avoid this, 

 I would advise different labels for different grades. This could 

 be done bv simply using, say a blue label for white honey, a 

 red one for amber, and a white for the dark. One party to 

 whom we made this recommendation last season, has adopted 

 the plan, and from our standpoint it is a success. 



In regard to shipping honey, our experience warrants us 

 in saying — Don't ship by express. Don't nail it up in tight 

 boxes, like hardware, and think because you mark it " Honey ; 

 this side up ; handle with care," that it will be handled care- 

 fully, and arrive at its destination in good condition; for a 

 tight box is as liable to be stood on end as any other way, not- 

 withstanding the caution marked on its cover. Honey ship- 

 ped in single cases, with glass at the end, showing the con- 

 tents, will frequently reach its destination in good condition, 

 but the safest and best way is to pack it in cases holding 

 about 12 small cases. The sides should be made of slats so 

 that the contents will show through the glass ends of the 

 small cases. The large outside cases should have projecting 

 handles so that they would be carried by two men — not 

 trucked. About an inch of straw, packed solid, should be 

 placed in the bottom of each case. 



Honey should be so loaded in the car that the sections will 

 run lengthwise of the car. 



Last but not least, allow me to impress upon you the im- 

 portance of reliable packing, and a correct statement of the 

 grades and amount — as nearly as possible— of each grade, 

 when offering your honey for sale. No dealer feels like offer- 

 ing full price for goods unless heis confident that they will turn 

 out exactly as represented. We have frequently gone to the 

 depots with parties to look at their honey, after they had rep- 

 resented to us that it was all white stock, all nicely sorted, 

 full sections, etc.— in fact everything that was desirable— but 

 upon examination we have found more or less of it that was 

 sadly deficient in some way or other. Upon calling the party's 

 attention to it, some excuse would be offered— perhaps that 

 there were a few cases that he had got of one of his neighbors, 

 and supposed that it was all right; or, perhaps, the excuse 



