718 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



large amount of work in a short time is 

 a fixed fact. The comb baskets are 

 reversible, and the gearing so adjusted 

 that it works smoothly and lightly. It 

 carries either four or six comb baskets as 

 desired, and the cost is within reach of 

 anyone owning and handling 40 colonies 

 of bees. 



C. N. Wilson entered 170 pounds of 

 extracted, and 120 pounds of comb- 

 honey, and carried off the red ribbon. 



It is not to the credit of the bee-keepers 

 of the district that so little interest is 

 shown in exhibits at this annual fair. 

 While it is true that the premiums 

 offered are small, they are in proportion 

 to premiums offered in other divisions, 

 and it is probable that more would be 

 offered if greater interest was taken by 

 bee-keepers in the success of the' 

 Sixth District Agricultural Association. 

 — Rural Californian. 



Bee-Keepiiig in Wisconsin. 



A. E. BRADFORD. 



This has been a poor year for honey 

 in this locality. It was a very cold, 

 backward Spring, and we had a frost 

 that killed all the bloom on the trees, 

 such as box-elder, maple, willow and 

 poplar — that is all the kind of timber we 

 have that bees work on to amount to 

 anything, for it is a prairie country, and 

 all the trees we have are those that we 

 have set out. 



I c^think this is a good locality for 

 honey, but I was told by some old bee- 

 keeper that if I had my bees in the 

 woods some eight or ten miles from here 

 they would do much better, so I moved 

 part of my bees eight miles, to where 

 there was basswood in abundance. 



I took care of them myself, going in 

 every morning. They swarmed more 

 than I wanted, them to, but all small 

 swarms I doubled, so that I have all 

 strong colonies, but I have got very little 

 honey — about 35 pounds per colony, 

 Spring count. 



Now, when a man tells me to take my 

 bees into the woods. I ask him what his 

 honey crop has averaged per colony for 

 the last three years, and if he knows and 

 will tell the truth, I find that ray bees do 

 the best, if it is a prairie country. 



I reared queens for my own use on the 

 Doolittle plan, and I must say that it 

 pays to rear queens, if only for the fun 

 there is in it. 



I have a hive that suits me better than 

 anything I have seen, and I will give 



the dimensions of it: Inside, ll>^x 

 133^ inches; depth of back end, 11}^ 

 inches ; front, 14)^ inches. It will 

 hold 18 4>4x4J^xl% sections. I have 

 tried this hive, and have found it good 

 for surplus, and also for Wintering, for 

 it is always clean on the bottom, and I 

 have found that if the bottoms of the 

 hives are clean all the time, there is but 

 little danger in Wintering. 

 Hammond, Wis. 



Nortlif eslern Bee-Keepers' Convention, 



W. Z. HUTCHIXSOX. 



The bee-keepers of the Northwest held 

 their annual meeting at the Commercial 

 Hotel, in Chicago, on Nov. 19 and 20. 



The convention was called to order at 

 9:45 a.m., with President Miller in the 

 chair. The exercises were commenced 

 with a prayer by A. I. Eoot. 



Honey Quotations and Grading. 



Thos. G. Newman — Commission men 

 are buying honey much more than in 

 the past. They are buying, instead of 

 selling on commission. 



A. N. Draper — This may be the result 

 of a small crop. When there is a small 

 crop they buy ; when the crop is large, 

 they sell on commission. 



President Miller — Why does not comb- 

 honey sell fur more than 16 cents, when 

 there is such a scarcity ? 



E. T. Abbott — Many commission men 

 in St. Louis do not distinguish between 

 poor and good honey. 



President Miller— I often get higher 

 prices for honey than those given in the 

 quotations. Others have reported simi- 

 larly. This is an injury to us. Men see 

 the quotations, and sell at home at low 

 figures. What can we do about it ? 



Thomas G. Newman— We send out 

 postal cards all ready to fill out to 

 dealers, and try to give fresh reports. 



A. I. Root — This is substantially what 

 we do. 



W. Z. Hutchinson— It looks, on the 

 face of it, as though commission men 

 reported honey too low. I know a man 

 who sent honey to a commission man in 

 Chicago. This dealer was quoting 

 honey at 15 cents, yet the honey was 

 soon sold at 18 cents. 



Geo. E. Hilton— The honey iu North- 

 ern Michigan is of excellent quality this 

 year. It is from the great willow herb. 

 There are thousands of acres of this 

 plant 25 miles north of me. I think we 

 confer a benefit on producers when we 



