ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



105 



large quantity of honey sold in that 

 market. 



Mr. Holterman: Mr. Cleaver is quite 

 right in one way. Buckwheat is the 

 thickest honey we produce in Canada. 

 If it is extracted about when it is ready 

 to cap it will be quite equal in thick- 

 ness to our other honey. It is difficult 

 to extract it in anything like cool 

 weather. But there is a decided dif- 

 ference in the flavor of honey that has 

 been on the hive for some time after 

 capping than it has before it is ready 

 to cap. I sometimes extract honey 

 when there is a portion not capped 

 when the supers are full and begin- 

 ning to be fairly well crowded. But 

 we aim at an ideal and we carry it out 

 as nearly as possible. 



Mr. Boyden: I have been advised 

 *that Mr. Alexander sells large quanti- 

 ties of his honey in the New York 

 markets. 



The President: Do you know how it 

 is consumed? 



Mr. Boyden: As I understand, a 

 great deal of it goes to the independ- 

 ent bakers. 



The President: That is true of ex- 

 tracted honey generally. 

 Mr. Boyden: Yes. 

 Mr. Miller: Must we consider ex- 

 tracted honey not ripe until it is cap- 

 ped? If so, what are we going to do 

 with honey that comes at the latter 

 end of the flow? We wait three or 

 four weeks and get nothing on top of 

 it; it lies there and still it is thick 

 ad yet not sealed. If you take a 

 comb right in" the flow, the honey is 

 very thin and it will shake out. If 

 you let it go for ten days or two weeks 

 and leave it in the hive I don't believe 

 it will shake out. 



Mr. Hershisher: That is ripe honey. 

 Mr. Miller: If the flow is continually 

 coming pa.rt of the honey, at least, is 

 green. 



The President: You advance the fact 

 that honey after the flow ceases be- 

 comes ripened honey whether sealed or 

 otherwise? 



Mr. Miller: That is it. 

 Mr. Cleaver: In order that the peo- 

 ple here may not misunderstand the 

 statement I *made, the honey was all 

 extracted at the same time, and the 

 capped honey was placed in one can 

 and the uncapped honey in another, 

 and I considered one as ripe as the 

 other. That was after the honey flow 

 was over. I would not have you think 

 I advocate extracting honey uncapped. 



Mr. Holterman: When your honey 

 flow ceases you have a lot of brood 

 in the brood chamber and there is 

 a good deal of that uncapped honey 

 that is used in finishing off the brood. 

 Mr. Moe: Along that line I would 

 like to ask some of the bee-keepers 

 here where this nectar is deposited, 

 in the brood chamber or in the -sec- 

 tions ? 



The President: How would it do to 

 ask Mr. Doolittle about that? That is 

 a fine question. It requires a great 

 deal of close observation. Perhaps 

 Mr. Root can enlighten us somewhat 

 on that. 



Mr. Root: I have never seen that 

 question satisfactorily answered. Mr. 

 Doolittle has made the statement that 

 the young bees receive the honey from 

 the field bees and that they themselves 

 carry it and put it in the cells. The 

 statement also has been made by oth- 

 ers that the old field bees would de- 

 liver the honey near the base of the 

 combs, and the young bees transfer it 

 and during the process will ripen it 

 somewhat and carry it above. But, 

 I do not think there has been any 

 authentic statement on that point that 

 is scientific. 



Mr. Selser: Nature does its perfect 

 work. I could see no reason why there 

 should be a transfer of nectar from one 

 bee to another. In taking honey, 

 when the honey is coming in your 

 frame, it is 25 per cent and the evapor- 

 ation is 50 per cent, and that goes in 

 the cell; that is my opinion. 



The President: That confirms my 

 view 'Of it. 



Mr. Holterman: I think there may 

 be a reason why it may be possible. If 

 the glands of the younger bees are 

 more active in their secretions I can 

 see the advantage of the older bee 

 giving it over to the younger. 



Mr. Moe: I want to add a fact to 

 this that may be a help. A swarm is- 

 sues and they are field gatherers; they 

 gather honey and they will deposit it 

 in the brood nest. When the young 

 queen comes along I have frequently 

 found the brood chamber pretty near 

 full of honey. Later on, when the 

 young queen commences to lay, that 

 honey is moved above; beautiful sec- 

 tions will be formed; and very rapid- 

 ly that honey will be carried above. 



The President: But we are presum- 

 ing the brood nest to be entirely filled 

 at various stages. There are strong 

 arguments in favor of the bees carry- 



