ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION 



155 



Mr. Pease — ^40 tons. 



Mr. Bloom — The lowest I ever had 

 was 2 tons. 



Dr. Miller— Let me state that it still 

 remains a surprise to me. 



Pres. York — Maybe you are easily 

 surprised, Doctor. 



Dr. Miller — I am not easily surprised. 



Mr. Arnd — My experience is the same 

 as Mr. Abbott's, about selling sections. 

 We sell, I think, almost 10 bee-way sec- 

 tions to I of the plain. 



Dr. Miller — My reading makes me be- 

 lieve that the plain sections are ahead 

 as to number, and as to quality. 



The Members — No ! No ! 



Mr. Taylor — Doctor, you have read 

 enough and written enough to know 

 that there is not much dependence to 

 be put on printing! [Applause.] 



Dr. Miller — There is another point. 

 There are a good many bee-keepers 

 who have commenced lately, and they 

 want to take up the best thing. Here 

 is Mr. Kimmey, he is a man who is 

 looking out for the best — he reads, and 

 he knows that the plain sections are 

 away ahead, and he takes the plain sec- 

 tions. He is pleased with them. He 

 doesn't know anything about any others. 

 I don't blame a man of that kind for 

 thinking that the plain section is the 

 best. Now the question is whether we 

 are doing the right thing not to try 

 to let the whole truth be known. The 

 .whole truth is not known on that. 



Mr. Lyman — I started with the plain 

 and I shall use the bee-way hereafter. 



Mr. Whitney — I do not know any- 

 thing about the plain section, but Mr. 

 Abbott says that he sells very few of 

 the plain and a large quantity of the 

 bee-way. We lose sight, I think, of this 

 one fact, that the plain section has just 

 been introduced, and it takes time, even 

 if you introduce a good thing. 



Pres. York — Especially in Missouri ! 

 Mr. Abbott lives in Missouri, you know. 

 [Laughter.] 



Mr. Whitney — I think it is hardly fair 

 to say that the plain section is not as 

 good as the bee-way because we do not 

 sell qu-ite as many of them at the pres- 

 ent time. It takes time to introduce 

 a good thing — we all know that. I 

 don't know anything about the plain sec- 

 tion. I have not used anything but the 

 bee-way. Some old bee-keepers up my 

 way, who are interested a little in bee- 

 keeping, got the plain section. They do 

 not like them, but they are using them 



because they have a supply on hand. 

 They think that the fence separator is 

 such a frail thing and breaks up and 

 annoys them a great deal; but I think 

 that if the time ever comes when we 

 get a fence separator that will be sub- 

 stantial — and I think that will come — 

 they may be regarded as the best sec- 

 tions to use. 



Dr. Miller — If you will allow another 

 question, it will help bring out the 

 point that Mr. Whitney makes as to the 

 time required. That is true. It takes 

 time to introduce a new thing, and a 

 good thing. Now the question is, Is 

 the number of plain sections increasing 

 regularly through this time? Will Mr. 

 Arnd and Mr. Abbott tell us? 



Mr. Abbott — No, sir. It is the people 

 who have tried them who object to 

 them the most. I send them out once 

 in a while to people as samples in the 

 hives, and they always say, "Don't sen-d 

 me any more of those traps." 



Mr. Arnd — I have not had real ex- 

 perience enough in the bee-supply busi- 

 ness to know, because I have been in it 

 only 2 years. 



Mr. Abbott — I have been in it 20 

 years. 



Mr. Kannenberg — ^The fault is this: I 

 find with the plain section that you can 

 not produce as much honey as with the 

 bee-way section, because the bees have 

 to fill out the combs on those sections, 

 but they won't get as much honey in it, 

 because when you weigh one super, and 

 then the other, you will have less honey 

 and more wax, more wax to draw out, 

 more comb to draw out. It takes a 

 longer time for the bees. 



Dr. Miller — I don't believe it. 



Mr. Kannenberg — Doctor, you take a 

 super full of plain sections, and take a 

 super full of honey in the bee-way sec- 

 tion. Which will have the most honey 

 in it? 



Dr. Miller — Do you have separators 

 in both? 



Mr. Kannenberg — Yes. You will have 

 more honey in the bee-way section than 

 you will have in the super full of plain 

 sections, every time; and it is because 

 of the drawing out of the comb. 



Mr. Wilcox — I have a little evidence 

 that bears on this question, although 

 since the fence separator came into 

 fashion I have discontinued producing 

 comb honey; but I have judged honey 

 at the State Fairs in recent years, and 

 I invariably give the premiums to the 



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