122 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



•wedged tight enough so that they 

 ■would not sag in the centre of the 

 case. A slotted board has been in- 

 vented, cut to correspond with the 

 openings in the bottom of the sec- 

 tions, to be used where no bee-space 

 is desired below the first section-case. 



I thinlc with these open-side sec- 

 tions bees will be less liable to 

 swarm, as a string of them will be 

 more like the large frames used in 

 extracting supers than disconnected 

 sections with divisions between. Next 

 fall I expect to know more about the 

 matter. All the above is mere theory, 

 and the true bee-keeper believes in 

 his theory until experience or com- 

 mon-sense teaches him better. 



Bloomington.O Ills. 



Local Convention Directory. 



1887. Time and vlace of Meeting, 



Feb. 23-24.— B. Iowa & W. Ul.. at Davenport, Iowa. 

 J. Wadsw*.)rth, Sec, Moline, lUs. 



Mar. 3, 4.— Pan-Handle, at Wbeeling, W. Va. 



W. L. Kinsey, Sec., Blaine, O. 



Mar. 16.— St, Joseph Tnter-State, at St. Joseph, Mo. 

 E. T. Abbott, sec., St. Joseph, Mo. 



^F" In order to have this table complete. Secre- 

 taries are requested to forward full particulars of 

 time and place of future meetlnKs.- BD. 



have discarded both, and I am now 

 using clover chaff, which I use quite 

 heavy on the sides, but lighter on top 

 of the frames, and leave it quite loose 

 with plenty of air over the top. I find 

 the chaff always dry; I think it is the 

 best material to carry off dampness, 

 and at the same time retain the heat 

 furnished by the bees inside the hive. 

 I have also tried forest leaves, and I 

 find them far inferior to the chaff ; if 

 leaves are used they should be packed 

 or pressed down but slightly, as the 

 moisture does not pass readily up 

 through, but will condense and drip 

 down upon the bees. When I ex- 

 amined ray bees the other day, con- 

 siderable water and dampness was 

 found inside the hives, while those 

 packed with tlie clover chaff were 

 perfectly free from dampness. All 

 the colonies were alive on Jan. 20, 

 and some took a flight in a light rain, 

 with the temperature at 50° above zero, 

 while the others remained quiet. All 

 seem to be wintering well. Extracted 

 honey is in good demand ; I sold all of 

 mine at 10 cents per pound. 



given ; and I have never asked any 

 oue what they would give for honey. 

 If they thought that my prices were 

 high, I would say that the honey was 

 mine, and that if they did not sell it 

 they would lose nothing. Honey was 

 selling for 5 to 8 cents lower than my 

 price, but it was in a very different 

 shape. I established my reputation 

 for the quality of my honey, and in 

 the style in which I put it up. My 

 honey was always of first quality ; if 

 I had any that was inferior I sold it 

 for what it was, or kept it at home, 

 and I never had any trouble in selling 

 my honey at my own price. 





First Pollen for 1887.-Z. A. Clark, 

 Arkadelphia, ? Ark., on Feb. 10, 1887, 

 says: 



My bees brought in the first pollen 

 on Jan. 21, fifteen days earlier than 

 last year. They have worked 6 days 

 this year on elm and maple. It is 72° 

 in the shade today, and the weather 

 is balmy. Last year was a sorry 

 honey year with us ; it was too dry. 



Bees ftuiet.— D. Q. Roberts, Hol- 

 lansburg,-KD O., writes : 



My first experience with bees was 

 last spring. They did well through 

 the summer, both in swarms and 

 honey. I stored them away in my 

 cellar in November. They seem to be 

 very quiet in their wiuter "quarters. I 

 use Langstroth hives. There are 

 many dead bees thrown out of the 

 hives. Why is this V 



[They are old bees, and, when dead, 

 are thrown out.— Ed.] 



Sundry fttiestions.— Hallett & Son 

 Galena,x) Ills., ask these questions : 



1. What proportions of honey and 

 water will make the best vinegar ; 

 and what time is necessary to make 

 good vinegar from honey 'f 



2. How long have bees been kept in 

 a cellar during winter and come out 

 in good condition V 



3. Why sow Alsike clover for bee- 

 pasturage when it blossoms the first 

 time with white clover? 



i. Will black bees gather honey 

 from the second crop ? 



5. Will a swarm of bees be any 

 more likely to settle south of the 

 hive, for the reason that the entrance 

 is towards the south ? 



6. How close may hives be put for 

 safety and convenience V 



7. What shape and how large a 

 piece of foundation should be put into 

 sections V 



[1. See page 118. Mr. Bingham is a 

 good authority on honey-vinegar. 



2. Five months. 



3. Cut it, and have it bloom later. 



4. Yes. 



5. There is a little more likelihood 

 of it, but no certainty. 



6. From 2 to 4 feet ; but they touch 

 in some apiaries. 



7. Fill them.— Ed.l 



Sending Comb Honey by Freight. 



— Capt. Charles Eegnier, Saarlouis, 

 Prussia, asks : 



What is the best way to pack comb 

 honey in sections, to be sent 150 miles 

 by railway ? 



[Pack it in crates which show the 

 honey through glass, to ensure care- 

 ful handling. Have it packed with 

 the combs parallel with the rails, and 

 if tiered up, let it be secured so it will 

 not be thrown down by the cars' 

 " bumping."— Ed.] 



Early Brood-Rearing.- T. A. Dan- 

 iel, Wewahitchka,-o Fla., writes as 

 follows on Feb. 5. 1887 : 



We have had some fine weather for 

 the last 3 weeks. Bees are bringing 

 in pollen in quantities, and building 

 up rapidly ; they average from 2 to 3 

 frames of brood to the hive. Maples 

 have been in bloom for some time. 



Clover Chaff for Winter Packing. 



— S. .1. Youngman, Cato,© Mich., on 

 Jan. 26, 1887, writes : 



Those that have bees have rather 

 abandoned cellar-wintering, and those 

 with experience are more successful 

 than formerly. Some have decided 

 that they have killed their bees with 

 kindness, having in many cases packed 

 them too heavy and tight. I have 

 used both oats and wheat chaff', but I 



My Way of Selling Honey.— A. D. 



Stocking, Almena, P Mich., writes: 



On page 58, Mr. George Poindexter, 

 after giving his experience with his 

 honey, asks, " "What should I do V" I 

 would say, try the plan I did. At 

 first, every time I went to town I took 

 a small case of nice one-pound sec- 

 tions of honey in my hands, and 

 showed it to all whom I met, and sold 

 some and took what orders I could, 

 and left some with a few good men to 

 be sold on commission. I set the 

 price at which it was to be sold, paid 

 no attention to any market reports 



Reversible Extractor.— A. J. R., of 

 Windham, Oh N. 1'., asks : 



Would it pay to obtain a reversible 

 honey-extractor in an apiary of 200 

 colonies ? 



[It would pay, if you obtain a good 

 one.— Ed.] 



Wholesale and Retail Prices of 

 Honey, etc.— T. M. Coleman, Glen- 

 don,»o Iowa, on Feb. 9, 1887, writes : 



There is one thing that I have not 

 seen mentioned in the discussion on . 

 controlling the price of honey, that I 

 think could be remedied to some ex- 

 tent, and that is, the great difference 

 in wholesale and retail prices. On 

 page 8 a writer says that prime ex- 

 tracted honey is 5 to 7 cents per pound 

 in Chicago, and 3 to 4 cents in other 

 cities, f infer from his article that 

 he is pleased at the prospect of honey 

 becoming an article common on the 

 tables of all classes. But I am told 

 that this cheap honey from our hands 

 goes on the tables of consumers at 12 

 to 15 cents per pound, and often 

 higher. I shipped a lot of extracted 

 honey to a grocer in a distant town, 

 and it cost him about 10 cents ; and I 

 have prositive proof that he sold it at 

 20 cents a pound. There are so many 

 men in the grocery business that they 



