ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION 



59 



tobacco and I find it does not do at all. 

 I find that you will have to have some- 

 thing pleasant for the bees and pleasant 

 to the breeder. I have tried chips and 

 corn-cobs. As to sulphur, just give 

 them a good charge of sulphur. I don't 

 know about it rotting out the smoker, 

 but it would certainly ruin the bees. 



Mr. Hyde — I don't believe our bee- 

 keepers know what is best. These 

 Northern bee-keepers don't know any- 

 thing about mesquite; they have none, 

 but the best thing in the world to sub- 

 due bees is the smoke from rotten mes- 

 quite. We can pick it up anjrwhere; 

 and you can break it up with the hands. 

 Let it be rotten enough to break with 

 the hands, and I think it is the best fuel. 

 I have heard sawdust recommended; 

 we don't have much of that down here. 

 As one gentleman said, different locali- 

 ties have something to do with what 

 we use, but here in our country we don't 

 find anything equal to rotten mesquite. 



D. C. Milam — I have heard it said 

 that the thing that is most convenient 

 is the thing to use. I find the best 

 smoker-fuel is cedar-bark; it is handy, 

 and you carry it around with you; it 

 makes a mild smoke; but there is one 

 objection, it creates considerable creo- 

 sote; but cedar bark is best I think. 



FREIGHT-RATES ON HONEY. 



"Freight rates on comb-honey are too 

 high. Is there any help from the Na- 

 tional Bee- Keepers' Association?" 



Pres. Dadant — We ought to hear first 

 from the one who put the question. Let 

 us hear from him. 



Mr. Muth — I put that question. The 

 classification of comb honey is not even 

 considered by the freight officials on 

 the railroads north of the Ohio River, 

 which could be easily remedied if it 

 would be taken up by the National Bee- 

 Keepers' Association with the proper 

 officials. For instance, the Western 

 classification of freight on comb honey, 

 (this applies west of the Mississippi 

 River), reports a ij^c rate. West of 

 the Mississippi Valley it is a ij^c rate. 

 A i^c rate means 90 cents or $1.00 

 through Wisconsin down to Central 

 Indiana, where it ought to be about 

 fourth-class rate. It is classified ij/^, 

 first-class, lYz rate. We don't take care 

 of the honey in shipping it; you can see 

 it coming in boxes. The railroads don't 

 even know what it is. Mr. France ought 



to be the man to answer this question 

 better than I. 



Mr. Holekamp — Would not the classi- 

 fication on extracted honey be fourth- 

 class, when we get honey from East of 

 the Mississippi River? North of that 

 country is not in the Western classifi- 

 cation, but the classification there is sec- 

 ond-class. Now, I would think that it 

 is worth while for this Association to 

 take this up and have it uniform. While 

 I can ship extracted honey from parts 

 west of the Mississippi River at 26 

 cents, the same distance east of the 

 Mississippi costs 56 cents. I have been 

 taking this up with the freight agents at 

 St. Louis, but they tellme this is to be 

 taken up with the others. 



Mr. Bacon — The railroads of the 

 United States are divided into three 

 classifications. West of the Mississippi 

 River it is the Western Classification; 

 east and north of the Ohio it is the 

 Eastern Classification; and south and 

 east it is the Southern Classification. 

 Now, we are getting a cheap rate west 

 of the Mississippi River; we are getting 

 a cheap rate from the East, but we 

 found that it cost over $1.00 to ship into 

 Alabama and Mississippi, where the 

 rate to Havana, Cuba, was 59 cents 

 from Watertown, Wis. It does no good 

 to write letters to the railroad officials; 

 we should send a representative to the 

 different railroads which compose these 

 Classification Committees; it is easy to 

 turn a man down who writes letters, 

 but it is harder to turn a man down 

 who walks into your office in person. 

 If you will send your representative to 

 St. Louis, when the Southern Classifi- 

 cation Committee meets, and also ad- 

 vise them in advance, they will hear you. 

 Railroad men know very little about 

 honey, and I believe if the matter can 

 be properly placed before the Classifi- 

 cation Committees, a remedy will be 

 granted. 



Pres. Dadant — Can any of you sug- 

 gest some other plan? 



Mr. Boyden^ — I would not be able to 

 tell you a better plan. I think the plan 

 of Mr. Bacon is the only plan to go by. 

 I know it does not do much good to 

 write letters. 



Pres. Dadant — Mr. Putnam is a great 

 shipper, let us hear from him? 



Mr. Putnam — I have had experience 

 with railroads on getting rates for sup- 

 plies. I had our samples of goods at 

 St. Louis, and I set the case before the 





