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ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KBEPBRiS' ASSOCIATION. 



15i 



fhe honey is coming in good and live- 

 ly! 



Of course it is impossible to bring 

 up the S'Ubject of producing good ex- 

 tracted honey, without saying some- 

 thing about the number of supers to 

 ibe used in the process. In this con- 

 nection, while a very few still prefer 

 hut one super, it is gratifying to know 

 that the great majority of the frater- 

 nity have comb to the conclusion that 

 best results, both in quality and quan- 

 tity, are attained by using two or more 

 supers for ' eac'h ^colony of bees to be 

 operated on. 



In my own case, I have by fores 

 of circumstances been obliged to use 

 both systems to a limited extent, and 

 never yet have I been able with one 

 super, anything nearly as small as the 

 S-frame Langstroth, to operate with- 

 out sacrificing either quality or quan- 

 tity, and I feel bound to say that any 

 one attempting to produce a really 

 good article of table-honey with an 

 equipment of one super per colony, 

 will lose in one way or the other — 

 quite likely in both. 



After all my using of different 

 styles of hives, with one or more su- 

 pers per colony, I have come to the 

 conclusion quite positively, that in 

 order to produce a good crop of honey 

 it Is necessary to have a large stock 

 of extracting combs, and that in order 

 to produce a crop of good honey, the 

 same requisite is just as imperative. 



Not siQ many years ago, the dealers 

 of honey in Canada did not offer very 

 much encouragement towards the pro- 

 duction of well-ripened honey, and 

 "color" was all they thought about 

 when a sample of honey was shown to 

 them. However this, state of affairs 

 has now changed, and good "body" 

 Is just a© essential as "color." 



This reminds me that a few years 

 ago the Ontario Association of bee- 

 keepers had a well-known apiarist 

 from the New England States, lectur- 

 ing at its Toronto convention, and in 

 the course of his remarks he stated 

 that in his locality the people pre- 

 ferred a honey that would run freely, 

 like syrup, rather than an extremely 

 thick article that was not so nice to 

 handle. Perhaps the taste of the 

 people on this side of the border diff- 

 ers from that of us Canucks, but in 

 glancing down the "honey for sale" 

 column, in one of our trade papers. 



this view is not substantiated. These 

 advertisements speak of the honey 

 "being left on the hives till after the 

 flow over, before being extracted," 

 "thick and well-ripened," "still on the 

 hives," and other like phrases. 

 Strange that not one of these advertis- 

 ers speak of their honey being extract- 

 ed before being sealed over, ripened 

 artificially in tanks after being ex- 

 tracted, or in some other way seek 

 to convey to the would-be purchaser 

 that they have something other than 

 good, well-ripened honey to offer! 



In regard to the use of tanks for ar- 

 tificially ripening honey, I will not 

 dispute the fact that the process is 

 possible to a certain extent with con- 

 ditions just right, yet I have to get my 

 first taste of honey so ripened that 

 would in any degree compare with the 

 naturally ripened article as finished 

 by the bees while yet on the hives. 

 It is noteworthy, in this connection, 

 that very few bee-keepers now advo- 

 cate the tank system of ripening 

 honey, while not so many years ago 

 many would be found to champion 

 the method. 



I propose saying nothing in regard 

 to implements, hives or other fixtures 

 used in the production of extracted 

 honey, believing that I am in the main) 

 speaking to an audience that are not 

 beginners, an<J, after all, these are 

 but minor factors, and if considered 

 necessary, can be touched upon in the 

 discussion that is to follow. 



In so far as the marketing is con- 

 cerned, the problem is pretty well 

 solved when we have the right kind of 

 an article to offer, as it is a pleasing 

 fact to know that good extralcted 

 honey is now regarded as a staple 

 food product, and not only a luxury. 

 To my mind it is to the interest of the 

 bee-keepers as a body, to encourage 

 the sale of honey in the granulated 

 state, which is a natural condition 

 for honey to be in after being extract- 

 ed for any length of time. This will 

 naturally, to a certain extent, discour- 

 age the use of glass as containers of 

 honey. 



Right here I wish to say that the 

 buying of honey in glass is an extrav- 

 agant way to purchase honey. To be 

 sure, I recognize the fact that imuch 

 honey will continue to be sold in glass 

 packages, but, after all, those in the 

 main who profit most by this method 



