THE AMERICAJS BEE JOURNAL. 



71 



slightly started ; also in foundation 

 that was not drawn out more than % 

 of an inch. 



Moisture in bee-hives in winter was 

 discussed at some length. Dr. Besse 

 said that moisture in hives is caused 

 by the moi.sture in the air condensing 

 by the warm air in the hives coming 

 in contact with the cold air from out- 

 side, the same as the frost forms 

 around house-doors in winter. 



Mr. J. S. Mock stated a new use for 

 broad frames for division-boards. 

 Nail thin boards on each side, filling 

 the space with dry sawdust, forest 

 leaves or some light material. They 

 are good for winter or summer use. 



The committee on exhibits reported 

 as follows : Frank A. Eaton, section- 

 case and skeleton honey-board com- 

 bined ; adapted to the tiering-up sys- 

 tem and removing sections with ease. 

 Earl Clickenger exhibited a section- 

 case, a case of dne comb honey, jars 

 of extracted honey, Bingham smoker 

 and honey-knife, and an Eaton bee- 

 feeder. J. W. Newlove showed a 

 combined shipping and honey crate ; 

 also well adapted to tiering up". 



The convention then adjourned, 

 sine die. F. A. Eaton, Sec. 



For tbe American Bee Joumai. 



Tlie CaBnings ofer Honey. 



W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 



I have always enjoyed a discussion 

 with Mr. ('. P. Dadant, but, from 

 reading his last article on page 794 of 

 the Bee Journal for 1886, 1 fear I 

 shall be deprived of the pleasure of 

 controversy to a large extent, as his 

 assertions are so well qualified ; but I 

 will do the best I can. 



If I understand Mr. Dadant cor- 

 rectly, he admits that all honey-cap- 

 pings may not be impervious, but his 

 position now is that the majority of 

 them are impervious ; and, in stating 

 his position, he gives a line or two 

 from Mr. Frank Cheshire. As he has 

 quoted Mr. Cheshire, I will " follow 

 suit," giving the paragraph preceding 

 the one from which Mr. Dadant 

 quotes. It commences on page 173 of 

 Mr. Cheshire's new book, "Bees and 

 Bee-Keeping," and is as follows : 



" Liquid dyes kept within worker or 

 drone cells for weeks, have not, in 

 any case, stained water lying in the 

 surrounding ones, which I have never 

 found other than perfect, notwith- 

 standing the extreme thinness of the 

 walls. The bees labor at both sides 

 of the latter, not only scraping the 

 shreds, but rubbing them into com- 

 plete union with their maxillfe, and 

 this will account for their freedom 

 from faults ; but observation has led 

 one to form a different opinion of 

 the sealing of honey-cells, which, in 

 former years, I described as air-tight. 

 Most bee-keepers have noted that 

 snow-white sealed honey, if kept in 

 a damp place, changes color, the 

 sealing appearing to grow transpar- 

 ent, and the honey itself not infre- 

 quently weeping. By experiments 

 and microscopic examinations, I have 

 made evident that former ideas were 



inaccurate, and that not more than 

 10 per cent, at most of the sealing of 

 honey is absolutely impervious to air. 

 •To extract honey, it is necessary to 

 shave off the sealing; and if this be 

 done skillfully, the wax is removed 

 so free from honey as to show at once 

 that the covers have never been in 

 contact with the cell contents. 



"The horizontal position of the 

 cells prevents their being perfectly 

 filled first and covered afterwards ; 

 but the bees, when the cell is ap- 

 proaching fulness, cap its lower part, 

 then add honey, and increase the 

 cover, placing shred upon shred, after 

 the manner a turf wall is built, until 

 the process is complete ; no smooth- 

 ing by the burnishing action of the 

 maxillaj on the inner side is possible, 

 so the air interventing between the 

 irregular tape-like shreds cannot es- 

 cape, and at the close forms a layer 

 betwean the honey and its celllid, 

 giving increased whiteness to the 

 cover, and preventing also immediate 

 leak, even should a fault remain. The 

 air being cut through in uncapping, 

 the caps are removed dry. Steeping 

 in water for three days a well finished 

 .super containing about 780 cells, all 

 but 49 revealed that they were defec- 

 tive, by losing their opaque white- 

 ness ; for the honey had absorbed 

 water, and was now in contact with 

 the inner wall." 



I might bring forth more facts and 

 arguments in support of my position, 

 but it seems as though the above is 

 so complete an answer to Mr. Dadant, 

 that it is unnecessary to say more. 



Rogersville, (^ Mich. 



For t&e Amertcaa Bed JoumaL 



Casli Buyers ys, Honey on Commission. 



F. I. SAGE & SON. 



M. M. Baldridge calls the commis- 

 sion men a "curse" to the honey 

 producers. Our opinion is that truer 

 words were never written, and we are 

 pleased to see that some are getting 

 bold enough to speak their minds 

 plainly. That the reader may under- 

 stand our position we wish to say that 

 for the past eight years we have 

 bought and sold comb honey. In 1884 

 we purchased 72 tons of honey for 

 " spot cash " at the highest price we 

 could afford to pay ; many tons of this 

 honey was bought in the country at 

 from 13 to 15 cents per pound (to pay 

 freight, breakage, traveling expenses, 

 etc., it ought to sell for 2 cents per 

 pound more in the cities), but very 

 soon we found that commission men 

 were underselling us, and in the end 

 we sold considerable honey for less 

 than it cost us in the country. Later 

 we found we could buy honey of ihe 

 commission men for considerable less 

 than we had been paying in the coun- 

 try. Notwithstanding we sold at a 

 loss, the commission men beat us 

 right along, and Informed the whole- 

 sale and retail grocers throughout 

 our routes that it made no difference 

 at what price we offered honey, they 

 would discount it, and they did sol 

 The indications are that we shall be 

 compelled to buy of the commission 



men, who have free use of the differ- 

 ent bee-periodicals, and can so work 

 their cards that they can sweep the 

 board every time. 



We know honey can always be 

 bought at less than their quotations 

 in the papers, which are given as an 

 advertisement, to induce shipments 

 of honey. After they get the honey, 

 how easy it is, when making returns, 

 to say that it did not come in good 

 order ; was a little off in color or 

 quality ; we had an unexpected rush 

 of honey from California or elsewhere, 

 and were forced to sell at lower 

 prices, etc. 



We have handled more honey than 

 any three houses in New England, 

 during the past eight years, have paid 

 " spot cash " for it, and defy any man 

 to say we owe him for a pound of 

 honey ; yet if we wish to insert an 

 advertisement in the bee-papers in 

 search of honey, it costs us from $15 

 to $40; while the commission men 

 who risk nothing, but are sure of a 

 good commission, are given a full 

 column of the best kind of advertis- 

 ing. We do not object to paying for 

 our advertisements, but do believe it 

 to the interests of the honey producers 

 that the commission men's quotations 

 should not be published even if they 

 pay for it ! 



Some may say that cash buyers 

 have helped to lower the price of 

 honey. To prove that this is not so, 

 we shall in the future, no doubt, buy 

 more honey of commission men than 

 ever before, because we can buy it at 

 less figures than we have the face to 

 offer in the country for the same 

 quality of goods. Starve out — kill off 

 your commission men, and your honey 

 will sell for a higher cash price ! The 

 more commission men, the lower the 

 price ; the more cash buyers, the 

 higher price you will get ! 



Our remarks are not wholly aimed 

 at those who quote honey in the bee- 

 papers, as there are a number of them 

 who are entire strangers to us, but at 

 this method of doing business, where- 

 by the bee-keeper is entirely at the 

 mercy of the commission men ! Let 

 us look at it in a common-sense way. 

 Would any business man be likely to 

 continue to go into the country and 

 invest " hard cash " in honey by the 

 car load, that he may bring it to the 

 cities to sell in competition with men 

 v.'ho are selling goods in which they 

 have not one penny invested? Who 

 could do so, and compete with them V 

 We have had enough of it, and shall 

 look to the commission men before 

 investing very heavily with the bee- 

 keepers hereafter, unless the bee- 

 keepers form some scheme by which 

 thecomraission men will be sihut out, 

 and forced to become cash buyers ! 



We hope this matter will be thor- 

 oughly ventilated through the -Jour- 

 nal of journals, and if it shall be 

 decided that the cash buyers of honey, 

 who go into the country with their 

 money, are a detriment to the bee- 

 keeper, then let the producers use 

 their best efforts to kill them off, by 

 .encouraging the commission men to 

 their utmost. Either the cash buyers 

 or the commission men " must go." 



Wethersfield,5 Conn. 



