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100 



TENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



arrange for the smaller ones; 'many 

 will want 10 or 12 pounds, and, in large 

 cities, give them what they want, no 

 matter how small they are. 



Mr. Smith — I have discussed this 

 matter with the people. 1 consider 

 taking up the matter of retailing honey. 

 I know that if people are educated up 

 to it, they will want it, and I know 

 that in Chicago there are thousands 

 and thousands of families who are 

 willing to pay for it, but we have to 

 meet the local conditions. 



I have talked with a good many 

 families in good circumstances about 

 honey, and a large majority of thetn 

 say: "I want just honey enough, in a 

 package, to put on the table, and let 

 that be the end of it. I don't want 

 the hired girl going to a 60 lb. can, or 

 any other can; I want the package of 

 honey to be just like our breakfast 

 food, so that I can put it on the table 

 and it will all be eaten up, the dish 

 washed, and that is all there is to it." 



On that point I want to say: The 

 smaller the package the larger the 

 price per pound required, and neces- 

 sarily so, because it costs more to dis- 

 tribute it. The grocer won't sell it un- 

 less he has 25 per cent. It costs him 

 16 per cent to 18 per cent to do that 

 business. He wants 33% per cent on 

 most goods, and usually 50 per cent on 

 honey — because he sells so little of it 

 he must make a big profit. I offer 

 him 25 per cent, and I say, "If that is 

 not enough I will deliver the honey 

 myself." They must accept a smaller 

 profit, as on other staple goods, the 

 same as flour or butter; they, don't 

 get 25 per cent on flour, butter and 

 sugar — why should they boycott honey 

 and want 50 per cent to 75 per cent 

 when they are selling sugar for less 

 than 10 per cent? 



I believe with proper work among 

 the bee-keepers, the grocer can be sup- 

 plied with honey he will sell at 25 per 

 cent proflt, and then by cutting out un- 

 necessary expense in distribution I be- 

 lieve he can retail it at 12% cents a 

 pound, and then the sale of honey will 

 move along, and move lively. 



American Foul Brood. 



"If one's bees have American foul 

 brood, course of management will pro- 

 duce the greatest profit and leave them 

 without the disease at the end of the 

 season?" 



Mr. Wilcox — il would say, send for 

 the foul brood inspector. 



Mr. Ahlers — ^I think there is one way 

 that foul brood can be annihilated. The 

 people whose bees have foul brood — 

 they bother around with it for years 

 and years; some have it for 10 years 

 and some never get rid of it. They 

 are advised of these different methods 

 of getting rid of it. I say, get those 

 colonies working for honey. If a 

 colony gets a little weak, unite it with 

 another one, and just as soon as the 

 honey season is over, burn! them up 

 and save the combs. Use all the good 

 combs and get another crop of honey, 

 and you will have no more foul brood 

 to put away in the winter, and take 

 out dead bees in the spring. 



I think those bees will give enough 

 honey to buy another colony of bees, 

 and more, too; and the wax melted. up 

 will buy the foundation, and all you 

 have is your labor for working it over. 

 You don't need new combs if s'ou get 

 bees from the South. They will re- 

 place those that you. burnt up. That 

 is the way I would do. 



Mr. Macklin— I have followed along 

 that line somewhat, but I have not had 

 very many bees that have had Amer- 

 ican foul brood. I sold the honey for 

 6 cents a pound f. o. b. my town, to 

 bakers^— then I had the combs for wax 

 left. They will produce more than 

 enough wax for the new colonies I put 

 in, so I never carried over a colony to. 

 the next spring that had foul brood in 

 the fall. 



Mr. Cavanagh — ^That is all very well, 

 ■^with this exception: In the flrst place, 

 I don't think a bee-keeper has any 

 right to keep a colony that has fouI\ 

 brood, all summer; the time to take 

 care of it is in the horley flow, by the- 

 McEvoy treatment." In the fall of the 

 year the question resolves itself to 

 this: Is that colony worth saving or 

 not? If it is not worth saving, give 

 them carbon di sulphide, rendering 

 up the combs and saving what honey 

 (■here is; if they are worth saving, why, 

 save them. Tou want to put in good, 

 clean, healthy combs of honey for 

 swarming. My experience has been 

 somewhat limited as to American foul • 

 brood. 



Mr. Jones — So far as shaking them 

 on combs in the fall is concerned, two ' 

 years ago we shook 3 colonies, one 

 died over the winter; one showed foul 

 brood in the spring — the other didn't; 



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