ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION 



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ages of the proper size, and not too 

 many of thern, so at College Station in 

 our meeting this year, we passed upon 

 it that a certain sized package be used, 

 and we also recommended a heavier 

 case. We put this before the railroad 

 companies, and they accepted our speci- 

 fications. We thought that was settled 

 in Texas. I don't know what other 

 States are doing. We have the two 

 6o-pounds, and ten 12-pounds; and then 

 we have two more sizes — the ten 6- 

 pounds, and the twenty 3-pounds. 



Mr. York — I agree with Mr. Muth, 

 that the bee-papers could do more along 

 this line, but the dealers should write 

 something about the proper shipping 

 packages. I am reminded of a ship- 

 ment that came from a dealer in Wis- 

 consin lately, in second-hand glucose 

 barrels. And the drayman made the re- 

 mark that the dealer was shipping in 

 glucose! I think that ought to be 

 stopped. 



Mr. Muth — I have had some experi- 

 ence in shipping honey in glucose bar- 

 rels; that man that shipped the honey 

 in glucose barrels lacked experience ; that 

 is very customary. However, if you 

 have a clean heart and clean hands you 

 don't care what kind of barrel honey 

 is shipped in. I do know positively 

 that glucose barrels are the best for 

 honey; they have 6 hoops, and they 

 will hold 700 pounds of honey, net. If 

 you will have 2 more hoops placed on 

 them, and drive them tight, they will 

 not leak, and you can ship them any- 

 where throughout this world. I have 

 shipped them to New York, New Or- 

 leans, and many places in the South, 

 and I will guarantee that they will 

 stand shipment in the hottest weather; 

 they are a perfect success if it is done 

 right. But when you buy them from a 

 grocer and soak them up with water, 

 and then fill them with honey, the re- 

 ceiver is robbing you, they say. 



Honey for Texas Producers. 



"What is the most profitable kind of 

 honey for Texas bee-keepers to pro- 

 duce, bulk comb, section honey, or ex- 

 tracted?" 



Mr. Hyde — Mr. President, I put that 

 question in there. I want to hear the 

 discussion of bulk comb honey before 

 the Northern bee-keepers, not that we 

 are expecting you to produce bulk comb 

 honey because you have a shorter honey- 



flow, and it is quite different in this part 

 of the country. We have long seasons, 

 and the seasons are such that we don't 

 find it profitable to produce section- 

 honey. A few years ago, bulk 

 comb honey was practically unknown. 

 But today there is scarcely a bee-keep- 

 er in the United States that has not 

 herad of it and how it is produced. It 

 is now the principal product of South- 

 west Texas, and is gaining foothold- 

 further North. The demand of the 

 consumer for this article is rapidly 

 growing, and is keeping far ahead of 

 the production. There are many rea- 

 sons why it is rapidly growing. The 

 buyer feels sure that he is getting just 

 as pure honey as if he were buying 

 section honey; and that he is getting 

 full weight; also that he has bought 

 it at a less price than he could section 

 honey. Then, he has it in a nice ves- 

 sel where there is no waste nor leak- 

 age, and, when the honey is used up, 

 he has a nice pail left that is handy 

 in any kitchen. The above will apply 

 to the majority of buyers. Of course, 

 there are some that will always buy 

 section honey because it looks nicer to 

 them. The most delightful sight to 

 nine-tenths of the buyers, is a nice 

 pail of bulk comb honey, with just 

 enough clear, sweet, extracted honey 

 poured over it to cover it and to make 

 it juicy. Bulk comb honey is mostly 

 produced in the Ideal super. There are 

 some bee-keepers that still use the full 

 bodies for bulk comb, but we feel sure 

 it is because they have never used the 

 Ideal, which is lighter to handle; near- 

 er the right amount of room to give 

 a colony at one time; and last, but not 

 least, easier to get rid of the bees. Take 

 off the cover, give them a few puffs of 

 smoke, p'ry up the super, bounce it on 

 the hive lightly, and most of the bees 

 will fall off. Then pile them up in 

 a pile, smoke them at the bottom, and 

 in a few minutes all of the remaining 

 bees will leave. In that way you have 

 no handling nor brushing of bees. The 

 Ideal frames are handier for extracted, 

 and if you will use a No. 17 Cowan 

 Extractor, you can extract 4 frames 

 at once. We pack bulk comb honey by 

 cutting it out of the frame; then place 

 it nicely in cans and fill the can full. 

 Then pour in extracted honey to fill 

 the crevices. In this way about one- 

 third is extracted honey. Now as to 

 the relative cost of bulk and comb 





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