154 



TH-M mmLMMl^MM WMM JO^^IJKffJilf. 



which, of course, it ought to be. My 

 experience of last year is as follows : 



I began by using a putty-knife, 

 pressing the foundation in the groove, 

 and then straightening it up. I dipped 

 the knife in lioney so that it would not 

 stick, and, to do my best, some of them 

 would pull otf when the bees got on 

 them, which makes bad work. 



Then I saw an item in the Bee Jour- 

 nal something like this : Take one 

 part rosin and two parts beeswax ; 

 melt them over a stove, just so they 

 are melted, but not hot ; reduce the 

 fire so as to keep it just warm, and dip 

 the foundation in this mixture with the 

 right hand, hold the section in the left 

 hand, and press it into the groove of 

 the section, when it is done, and you 

 cannot pull it off ; the foundation will 

 tear to pieces before it will let go. I 

 tried it, and I found that it took onl}' 

 one row of cells to fasten it solid to 

 the section, when by the other way it 

 took two or three rows ; I could put 

 them on five times as fast, and they 

 were straight, solid, and so much 

 neater to look at. There was no fear 

 of their dropping ofl'. If you do not 

 use all the wax mixtui-e, let it stand 

 until you want to use it again, as it 

 will not spoil or waste. It is a gi'cat 

 saving in time and material, and any 

 old wax will do. The less wax used 

 on each piece of foundation, the better 

 job you can do. 



I would not think of using any other 

 method than the above, after the ex- 

 perience 1 liave had in this branch of 

 our industry. 



Last season was a perfect failure 

 with me, yet I am not discouraged ; 

 but I am afraid I would be if it was not 

 for the weekly visits of the American 

 Bee Journal, that clears everything 

 up, and I feel refreshed after perusing 

 its valuable contents. 



Morris, Ills. 



BEE-MEN'S TALK. 



The BIortliea§lcrn 0., Xorthwes. 



tern Pa., and Western N. Y. 



Bee-Keepers' Convention. 



Written for the Pennsylvania Farmer 

 BY C. H. COON. 



This convention was opened at 

 Meadville, Pa., on Jan. 25, 1888. After 

 the reading of the President's address, 

 the enrollment of members, and pay- 

 ing of dues, the election of officers was 

 held and resulted as follows : 



D. H. Lefever, of Hayfield, Pa., 

 President ; J. A. Barrett, of Cherry 

 Valley, O., 1st Vice-President; C. H. 

 Coon, of New Lyme, O., Seeretarj' ; 

 George Spitler, of Mosiei'town, Pa., 

 Treasurer. 



The convention at 3 p.m. proceeded 

 to the discussion of the subject, " How 

 may we increase the product of our 

 apiaries ?" After a thorough discus- 

 sion of this topic, which brouglit out 

 many practical points, the question, 

 '■For tlie production of comb honey, 

 by what management is the best pos- 

 sible result obtained, as to yield and 

 quality ?" was taken up. This discus- 

 sion was followed \>y the question-box, 

 after which the convention adjourned 

 until evening. 



EVENING SESSION. 



The convention was called to order 

 at 7 p.m., with President Lefever in 

 the chair. 



Can Extracted Honey of tlic Best (taal- 



Ity be Produced at IiesM Cost tban 



Comb Honey ol'JUike Quality t 



Mr. Barrett affirmed that it could, 

 and that if he got two-thirds as much 

 for his extracted honey, it would pay 

 him to extract it. 



Mr. Phelps — If I produce good ex- 

 tracted honey, it will cost me quite as 

 much as comb honey. It takes the 

 bees just as long to produce the one 

 as the other. My first consideration is 

 to get all the honey produced pos- 

 sible. I make three grades of my ex- 

 tracted honey, and I think by so doing 

 that I realize more monej'. It cannot 

 be made to sell as well as comb honey. 

 Then there is the cost of packages and 

 trouble in getting them back again. 



Mr. Barrett — I get more honey by 

 extracting it. Let it ripen well before 

 extracting, and h will come out of the 

 comb without difficulty. 



Mr. Mason — Honey of the best qual- 

 ity can be gotten only out of comb 

 made with tbe honey. When we con- 

 sider tluit the honej' must be evapor- 

 ated and ripened before extracting, I 

 am forced to ct)nclude that extracting- 

 combs refilled cannot contain the best 

 quality of honey. 



Mr. Phelps — Ripening takes place 

 after the cells are capped over, and 

 Mr. Barrett well knows that the nicest 

 honey can be produced only by allow- 

 ing this process to be finished in the 

 comb. 



Mr. Mason — The cells must crack 

 open before ripening. Bees ripen 

 honej' by lieat. 



President Lefever — After honey is 

 once capped it can be ripened, if nec- 

 essary, after it is taken from the hive, 

 by putting it in a warm room. I will 

 sell such honey as first quality, and it 

 will give satisfaction, too. 



Mr. Mason — Honey ripened outside 

 of hives lacks in flavor. You can often 

 observe sweat on the hive where the 

 water is evaporating from the honey. 

 Honej' should be kept in a drj', warm 

 room. If in a damp room it will ab- 

 sorb moisture. 



President Lefever — The source from 

 whicli the bees obtained the honey has 

 much to do with its keeping qualities. 



Mr. Phelps — I am aware that honey 

 will absorb water at a certain heat. 

 My experience is that the cause of 

 sweating is to be found in the fluctua- 

 tions of temperature. I think the 

 proper temperature to insure against 

 sweating is 80° to 90°. I store my 

 honey in a room with a chimney I'un- 

 ning up through it. I find that the 

 honej' near this chimney never sweats; 

 but that farthest awaj', where the tem- 

 perature varies at different times, 

 sweats more or less. I have some that 

 is four j-eai's old. 



Question, " Is not your 1884 honey 

 thicker than your new ?" 



Mr. Phelps — Yes, that farthest from 

 the chimney is candied more or less, 

 but that nearest is not. 



Mr. Marlej- — My experience agrees 

 exactly with that of Mr. Phelps. 



For tlie Production of Comb Honey, by 



^Vbat Sjsteiu of Iflanaseineut i* the 



Best Ponsible Kesult Obtained 



as to Yield and Quality ; 



Mr. McLane — Contract the brood- 

 nests and feed up for winter ; but this 

 is riskj', though it was necessarj* last 

 season. 



Mr. Burnett — My experience is tliat 

 in hives where the bees have free ac- 

 cess to the whole hive, I could get 

 more honej', and could get as good a 

 price. 



Mr. Phelps — They might begin 

 where the widest space existed, but 

 tliis does not prove the point. 



President Lefever — I use separators. 

 I cannot well get along without them. 

 It is possible to get straight combs 

 without them, but still I would use 

 them for convenience. 



Mr. Mason — My own system siuts 

 me best, but might not be adapted to 

 other localities. I get no buckwheat 

 honey, it all comes from clover or , 

 basswood. When the white clover be- 

 gins to bloom I draw from the " boom- 

 ers " to help the light ones. Then I 

 put on the sections. Heat must be 

 economized, because heat costs honey. 

 I use full sheets of foundation. I think 

 it is better than comb. 1 use a few 

 combs as a bait, and keep emptj- sec- 

 tions near the brood-nest. I do not 

 want too manj- fi'ames in the bj'ood- 

 nests. I reduce to from 3 to 5 franu'S, ■ 

 then they have to go into the sections. 

 Bees should not be deprived of the 

 natural impulse to swarm, but they 

 must be managed economicallj' after, 

 this, if j'ou would get anj' profit. 



The convention adjourned to 9 a. ra. 



THURSDAY JIORNING SESSION. 



The convention was called to order 

 at 9 a.m., with President Lefever in 

 the chair. After some preliminary 

 business.the programme was taken up. 



