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Fifth Annual Report
-OF THE-
Illinois State
Bee-Keepers'
Association «««»*»«
Organized Feb. 26, 1891
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS
Complied by
JAMES A. STONE, Secretary
R. R. 4, Spring:fleld, 111.
f ■ -■-
Digitized by the Internet Archive
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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
http://www.archive.org/details/5060539_1906
„ JAN 24 1919
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
-OF THE-
UliDois State Bee-Keepers' Assoeialion
^ • »
Organized Feb. 26, 1891,
-AT-
SPRINGFIELD, ILL.
< » »
COMPII,KD BY
JAMES A. STONE, Secbetary,
R. R. 4, Springfield, 111.
< » »
CHICAGO, ILL. :
AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL PRINT,
1906.
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL,
Office of the Secretary, )
R.R. 4, SPRINGFIEI.D, I1.L., Jan. 25, 1906. f
To his Excellency, Charles S. Deneen, Governor of the State
of Illinois:
Sir : I have the honor to transmit herewith the Fifth
Annual Report of the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Associa-
tion.
Respectfully submitted,
James A. Stone, Secretary.
•v
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I ■;■;* .i>^
s
f ^ ' tof)^ UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
W / ' AGRICULTURE UBRAW
F
V
OFFICERS AND MEMBERS
-OF THE-
Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Issoeiation
FOR 1906
President and State Foul Brood Inspector,
J. Q. SMITH, Uncoln
Vice Presidents — »
1st— S. N. BLrACK, Clayton
2d— JAS. POINDEXTER, Bloomington
3d— J. W. BO WEN, Jacksonville
4th— J. B. JOHNSON, Williamsfield
Sth— AARON COPPIN, Wenona
Secretary— - JAS. A. STONE, Rt. 4, Springfield
Ip Treasurer—. - - CHAS. BECKER, Pleasant Plains
'^"■.L-:''/Z-S^-''''^:-:i rr^'^:^/^
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
LIST OF MEMBERS
OF THE
Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association
FOR 1906
Almond Bros., Libertyville
Augenstein, A. A., Dakota.
Baxter, E. J., Nauvoo.
Becker, Chas., Pleasant Plains.
Bevier, M., Bradford.
Black, S. H., Good Hope.
Black, S. N., Clayton.
Blocher, D. J., Pearl City.
Bolt, R., R. 3, Fulton.
Bowen, J. W., Jacksonville.
Bronell, L. F., Piano.
Brunner, Fred, R. i, Coal City.
Bryant, E. J., 676 Walnut Ave., Elgin.
Burcham, Chas., Mechanicsburg.
Cherry, Thos. M., Quincy,
CHfford, C. E., Marseilles.
Coffman, D. H., Hamilton.
Cooke, N. A., Woodhull.
Coppin, Aaron, Wenona.
Cremers, L. H., East Dubuque.
Crim, S. T., Dawson.
Crotzer, A. S., Lena.
Dadant, C. P., Hamilton.
Delaney, Master Wm., Collinsville.
Durflinger, Orville S., Box 21, Henry.
Earnest, D. P., Comstock.
Emigh, Dr. B. T., Aurora.
Entsminger, A., Taylorville.
Eve, George, Minonk.
Fleisher, H. A., Kasbeer.
Foster, Uriah, Big Rock.
Frank, J. C, R. i, Davis.
Frike, Fred J., Elgin.
Gamash, Jas., Waukegan.
Glasser, Wm., Dakota.
Griffin, E. J., Grant Park.
Hall, B. D., R. 17, Ogden.
Hazlett, F. B., 214 Arthur Ave., Galesburg.
Hazlett, G. C, 214 Arthur Ave., Galesburg.
Heise, Carl C, R. 6, Decatur.
Hettel, M., Marine.
Hinderer, Frank, Frederick.
Hintz, August J., R. 3, Lemont,
No.
Colonies.
Lbs.
Honey
in 1905.
50
9
225
800
100
13,000
60
40
1,500
400
85
64
15
6
14
18
300
460
300
400
425
30
100
600
1,200
96
18
350
14
175
30
800
78
3,000
25
500
22
500
144
1,800
3
200
II
200
14
300
16
650
9
"5
20
695
30
310
70
1,000
90
2,100
Ifc
[«sr«^-,
STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION
Hoes, T. Scott, Butler.
Hoke, J. H., Decatur.
Holmes, O. B., Jacksonville.
Homan, W. A., 703 N. 12th St., Quincy.
Honack, Chas., Streator.
Johnson, J. E., Williamsfield.
Jordan, W. E., Box 435, Herrin.
Keniston, Jerry, Manhattan.
Kennedy, Miss L. C, R. F. D., Curran.
Kildow, A. L., Putnam.
Lange, Jno. M., Jr., Monticello, Iowa.
Large, G. G., Taylorville.
Lavallis, Maurice, Fulton.
Lawrence, W. G., Chadwick.
Laxton, J. G., Lyndon.
Leffer Bros., Hamilton. 97
Lind, M. H., Baders.
Longwell, B. R., Rochelle.
Means, Thos. K., Mulkeytown.
Meincke, Henry H., Oak Park.
Meise, F. A., Coatsburg.
Michael, S. P., R. L, Spring Valley.
Miller, A. J., Decatur.
Miller, W. C., Box R., Ottawa.
Moore, W. B., Altona. '
Moore, W. W., R. i, Ringwood.
McCullough, Jno. T., Centralia.
McLeod, D. C, Pana
Ness, L. L., Morris.
Newcomer, Sam M., R. 2, Polo.
Norris, Ralph V., 7340 Stewart Ave., Chicago.
Null, Wm. D., Burnside.
Nydegger, John, Danville, 111.
Oakes, Lannes P., MetropoHs.
Ostermeier, Jno., Cornland.
Otter, J. D., Donnellson. -
Outhier, Geo. Tea., R. 4, Carthage.
Pa3Tie, John W., R. i, Georgetown.
Piper, G. M., Chillicothe.
Plunkett, J. M., R. 2, Palestine.
Poindexter, Jas., Bloomington.
Porter, Elmer E., Roscoe.
Pyles, J. E., Putnam.
Raftery, J. T., Hadley Station. -
Ravnaas, Jacob, Rochelle.
Redmond, Jno. H., Blue Island.
Reed, Geo., Belvidere.
Riley, W., Breeds.
Robertson, Jas. S., 5319 Ind. Ave., Austin.
Runland, Peter, Spring Valley, Box 471.
Scott, W. C, Petersburg.
Scroggins, A. C, Mt. Pulaski.
Searl, J. E., Vermont.
Secor, W. G., Greenfield.
Settle, W. H., Gridley.
Shearer, Hallock, Mt. Carmel.
38
2
13
50
8
725
125
175
1,500
1,050
75
2,600
60
2,000
80
7
1,000
650
77
3,120
,
2.2
500
45
2,500
40
650
140
4,000
25
900
40
1,440
12
500
20
200
150
6,800
60
800
8
88
2,400
64
300
30
600
40
40
4,000
23
500
16
350
106
1,300
50
1,000
- ■ -■'
8
200
12
1,300
SO
500
103
1,000
: ',:" '"
8
300
40
800
;:_•, ■_,'
40
500 V
48
1,150
72
2,800
10
175
:.;(; :;vvs. ^»^-> ■ .y- y^;,: Jf'":'re:'w;^Jv'';5fi ^^^ .^^i'Vwfsv, s^'*'?- iSf ■ ■■'■'.
6
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
Shroutz, Mack, Momence.
Shupe, Frank, Mazon.
Slack, Geo. B., Mapleton.
Smith, J. Q., Lincoln.
Stabeck, T. K. O., Durand.
Stage, W. H., Dundee.
Stone, Jas. A., Springfield.
Thornton, Jno. A., Ursa.
Tiedt, E. F., Tiedtville.
Tyler, Fred, San Jose.
Ulrich, G. E., Campus.
Vogel, Henry, Galena.
Wachter, Martin, Hinsdale.
Wagner, F. M., Quincy.
Walker, Albert, Petersburg.
Warnock, Jas., R. i, Annawan.
Weller, Miss Emma S., Jacksonville.
Werner, Louis, Edwardsville.
Wiegand, Adam, 282 Clybourne Ave., Chicago.
Yoos, Geo. F., Central City.
Young, Robert, R. 2 ,Mt. Auburn.
Young, W. W., Freeport.
Zachgo, Hugo, Danforth.
Zeller, Mrs. Caroline, R. 35, Peoria.
Zoll C., Vermont.
no
10,000
45
1,925
24
1,050
17
400
41
658
250
5,100
85
7,800
20
300
12
400
30
100
27
500
50
800
40
500
19
378
200
3,000
24
165
3,000
25
400
20
None
54
1,300
8
350
24
500
List of Members Cotulug Through the Chlcago-
Northwestem Bee-Keepers' Association
HERMAN F. MOORE, SECRETARY.
Allen, Francis A., 40 Gilmour St., Altana,Ont., Canada.
Allison, A. P., Maquoketa, Iowa.
Arnd, H. M., 141 Ontario St., Chicago, 111.
Baldridge, M. M., St. Charles, 111.
Baldwin, A. Y., De Kalb, 111. (Died Feb. 20, '06.)
Ball, W. D., 1017 W. Colfax St., South Bend, Ind.
Barkemeyer, B. D., 302 Chicago Ave., Oak Park, 111.
Bartlett, J. S., Kalamazoo, Mich.
Bartz, A. C. F., Keystone, Wis. ;
Bartz, Miss Clara M., Keystone, Wis.
Beardsley, E. H., Chicago Lawn Stat., Chicago, 111.
Blackstone, Ed, Cumberland, Ohio.
Blume, W. B., Norwood, 111.
Bodenschatz, Adam, Lemont, 111.
Bull, Jno. C, Valparaiso, Ind.
Burnett, R. A., 199 S. Water St., Chicago, 111.
Candler, Miss M., Cassville, Wis.
Chapman, W. B., 7540 Union Ave., Chicago, 111.
Clark, Chas., 9720 Logan Ave., Chicago, 111.
Cooler, C. W., Eagle Grove, Iowa.
Coverdale, Frank, Maquoketa, Iowa.
/
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 1
,-, . ^ ■ . , ■ ' ■
Dadant, C. P., Hamilton, 111.
Duby, H. S., St. Anne, 111.
Duff, Peter N., 1849 W. 58th St., Chicago.
Dunean, Wm. Hinsdale, 111. ^
Dunlop, Dan'l S., Greencastle, Ind.
Ferguson, S. R., Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Fluegge, Theodore, Bensenville, 111.
Frank, Jno. C, Earlville, III.
Gilbert, L. M., Naperville, 111.
Glessner, Mrs. J. J., 1800 Prairie Ave., Chicago, 111.
Heintz, Simon, Palmyra, Wis. ■>'
Hiestand, N. A., 226 Watt Ave., Chicago.
Hilton, Geo. E., Fremont, Mich. ^ ^
Hintz, August J., Lemont, 111. . i
Hogge, T. E., 129 N. Trumbull Ave., Chicago. - ,1
Holtermann, R. F., Brantford, Ont., Canada. '^i
Horstman, Wm. H., 6759 Morgan, Chicago. .
Hubbard, Jno. B., Shipshemaner, Ind.
Jones, G. W., West Bend, Wis.
Kannenberg, C. F., 416 Marion St., Oak Park, 111. . <
Kennicott, E. E., Glenview, 111. i^
Kimmey, Fred L., Morgan Park, 111. > 1
Kluck, N. A., McConnell, 111. "'• ■
L}Tnan, W. C, Downer's Grove, 111. '.:
Magnusson, Chas., Algona, Iowa. -
Marshall, Wm., De Kalb, 111.
Miller, F. J., London, Ont., Canada.
McAllister, G. H., 2872 N. 46 Court, Chicago.
McCain, Robt. B., Coal City, 111.
McCarthy, P. H., 1033 West 47th, Chicago.
McQueen, W. C, Elgin, 111. ' ^ '.
Meredith, E. K., Batavia, 111.
Miller, Dr. C. C, Marengo, 111. - ~ ;
Mohr, Mike D., Hamptom, 111.
Moore, Herman F., Park Ridge, 111. •
Mottaz, A., Utica, 111. "■*
Muchleip, H., Apple River, 111. ^'S
Mussing, Martin, Box 12, Oak Park, 111. :]
Nau, John, Burlington, Iowa. " /'
Ohmert, Geo. A., Rockdale, Iowa. ^ ' /■'
Opfer, A. H., 887 West Sunnyside Ave., Chicago. ~ ^
Owen, Chas., 536 Alma, Austin Station, Chicago. ^
Pease, E. W., 2872 N. 45th Ave., Chicago. , '►';
Picaman, Gus, Litchfield, 111. ' '?
Ricker, T. R., Cortland, 111. ' .^
Schaper, E. L., Chesterton, Ind. '"-
Scheid, Byron, Bay City, Wis. . /",
Secor, Eugene, Forest City, Iowa. -j
Seibold, Jacob, Homer, 111. ' c^
Smith, Mrs. R. F., Oakdale, Wis.
Snell, F. A., Milledgeville, 111. . |
Stahmer, Paul, Addison, Wis. j^
Stanley, Arthur, Dixon, 111. '-^
Stewart, W. H. H., Emerson, 111. -Sj
Stow, Mrs. N. L., 944 Ashland Ave., Evanston, 111.
Swift, E. C, Ottawa, 111.
•14
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8
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
Thomas, Chas. E., 251 East 65th Place, Chicago.
Thompson, J. E. Sen., Carpenterville, 111.
Tiedt, E. F., Tiedtville, 111.
Tough, Jas., 1013 Clarence Ave., Oak Park, 111.
Waldeck, Jno., 670 North Paulina, Chicago.
Weckerle, Mrs. Anna, 12345 Wallace, West Pullman,
111.
Wheeler, J. C, 921 Austin, Boul., Oak Park, 111.
Whitney, Wm. M., Lake Geneva, 111.
Wicherts, A., Mattison, 111.
Wilcox, F., Maurston, Wis.
Wilson, Miss Emma, Marengo, 111.
York, George W., 334 Dearborn St., Chicago.
Zeiman, Henry, Harican, Wis.
Zoll, C, Vermont, 111.
.'-^•t-
Llst of Members Coming Through the Western
Illinois Bee-Keepers' Association
E. D. WOODS, SECRETARY.
Bridge, Arthur, Galesburg.
Brooks, F. E., Galesburg.
Cave, Jeff W., Kirkwood.
Cook, A. N., Alpha.
Dickerson, N. Y., Abingdon.
Hillman, Joe, Galesburg.
Irwin, J. N., Galesburg.
Johnson, F. E., Galesburg.
Johnson, F. N., Knoxville.
Johnson, J. E., Williamsfield.
Moore, J. H., Brimfield.
Neal, H. V., Galesburg.
Osborne, James, Galesburg.
Paden. James, Galesburg.
Radcliff, J. W., WilHamsfield.
Renstrom, S., Woodhull.
Renstrom, S., Andover.
^heeler, S. R., 738 Clark St., Galesburg.
Springer, Lewis, Galesburg.
Wellbrock, C, 617 Bigelow St., Peoria.
Woods, E. D., Galesburg.
f-et
1;-.
I
'M
c
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION
State of Illinois— Department of State
ISAAC N. PEARSONj Secretary of State.
To all to whom these Presents shall come, Greeting:
WhereaSj a certificate duly signed and acknowledged
having been filed in the office of the Secretary of State on
the 27th day of February, A. D. 1891, for the organization
of the Illinois State Bee-Keeper's Association, under and in
accordance with the provisions of "An Act Concerning Cor-
porations," approved April 18, 1872, and in force July i, 1872,
and all acts amendatory thereof, a copy of which certificate is
hereunto attached.
Now, Therefore, I, Isaac N. Pearson, Secretary of State,
of the State of Illinois, by virtue of the powers and duties
vested in me by law, do hereby certify that the said, The
Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association is a legally organized
corporation under the laws of this State.
In Testimony Whereof, I hereunto set my hand, and
cause to be affixed the great seal of State.
Done at the City of Springfield, this 27th day of Feb-
ruary in the year of our Lord one thousand
[seal] eight hundred and ninety-one, and the Inde-
pendence of the United States the one hundred
and fifteenth. I. N. Pearson,
Secretary of State.
STATE OF ILLINOIS,
SANGAMON COUNTY.
SS.
To Isaac N. Pearson,. Secretary of State:
We, the undersigned, Perry J. England, Jas. A. Stone
and Albert N. Draper, citizens of the United States, propose
to form a corporation under an act of the General Assembly
of the State of Illinois, entitled, "An Act Concerning Cor-
porations, approved April 18, 1872, and all acts amendatory
thereof ; and for the purposes of such organizations, we hereby
state as follows, to-wit:
1. The name of such corporation is. The Illinois State
Bee-Keepers' Association.
2. The object for which it is formed is, to promote the
general interests of the pursuit of bee-culture.
3. The management of the aforesaid Association shall
be vested in a board of three Directors who are to be elected
annually.
4. The following persons are hereby selected as the
Directors, to control and manage said corporation for the
first year of its corporate existence, viz : Perry J. England,
Jas. A. Stone and Albert N. Draper.
jV-
■■ ii/ 8Si.
Section i. Any person interested in Apiculture may be-
come a member upon the paj-ment to the Secretary of an
aimual fee of one dollar ($1.00). And any affiliating Asso-
ciation, as a body, may become members on the payment of
an aggregate fee of twenty-five cents (25c) per member.
Sec. 2. Any persons may become honorary members by
receiving a majority vote at any regular meeting.
ARTICLE IV— Officers.
Section i. The officers of this Association shall be Presi-
dent, five Vice-Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer. Their
terms of office shall be for one year, or until their successors
are elected and qualified.
Sec. 2. The President, Secretary and Treasurer shall
constitute the Executive Committee.
Sec. 3. Vacancies in office — ^by death, resignation or
otherwise — shalT'be filled by the Executive Committee until
the next annual meeting.
ARTICLE V — Amendments.
This Constitution may be amended at any annual meet-
ing by a two-thirds vote of all the members present — ^thirty
days' notice having been given to each member of the Asso-
ciation.
^
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?55-^-=^f?'J?TP?
12
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
ARTICLE I.
The officers of this Association shall be elected by ballot
and by a majority vote.
ARTICLE II.
It shall be the duty of the President to call and preserve
order at all meetings of this Association; to call for all re-
ports of officers and committees; to put to vote all motions
regularly seconded, to count the votes at all elections and de-
clare the results; to decide upon all questions of order; and
to deliver an address at each annual meeting.
ARTICLE III.
The Vice-Presidents shall be numbered respectively,
First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth, and it shall be the
duty of one of them in his respective order to preside in
the absence of the President.
ARTICLE IV.
Section i. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to report
all proceedings of the Association, and to record the same,
when approved, in the Secretary's book; to conduct all cor-
respondence of the Association, and to file and preserve all
papers belonging to the same; to receive the annual dues and
pay them over to the Treasurer, taking his receipt for the
same ; to take and record the name and address of every mem-
ber of the Association; to cause the Constitution and By-
Laws to be printed in appropriate form, and in such quanti-
ties as may be directed by the Executive Committee from time
to time, and see that each member is provided with a copy
thereof; to make out and publish annually, as far as practi-
cable, statistical table showing the number of colonies owned
in the spring and fall, and the amount of honey and wax
produced by each member, together with such other informa-
tion as may be deemed important, or be directed by the
Executive Committee; and to give notice of all meetings of
the Association in the leading papers of the State and in the
bee journals at least four weeks prior to the time of such
meeting.
Sec. 2. The Secretary shall be allowed a reasonable
compensation for his services, and to appoint an assistant
Secretary if deemed necessary.
ARTICLE V.
It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to take charge of
all funds of the Association, and to pay them out upon the
order of the Executive Committee, taking a receipt for the
same; and to render a report of all receipts and expenditures
at each annual meeting.
\-cm-^
«i-i;Kiii'''^^ "Jffi.^fSr^^
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 13
u
ARTICLE VI. ■
It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee to select
subjects for discussion and appoint members to deliver ad-
dresses or read essays, and to transact all interim business.
ARTICLE VIL
The meetings of the Association shall be, as far as prac-
ticable, governed by the following order of business : ..^
Call to order. 'J
Reading minutes of last meeting. ^ ' ^
President's address. '
Secretary's report.
Treasurer's report. ^
Reports of committees. • I
Unfinished business. _ ' -^
Reception of members and collection. ' -1
Miscellaneous business. «.J
Election and installation of officers. #1
Discussion. . -^
Adjournment. "-^
ARTICLE VIIL
These By-Laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of "C
all the members present at any annual meeting. ' q
, . C. E. YocoM,
i Aaron Coppin, ■ ,
, Geo. F. Robbins.
^ » »
Formation of the
Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association
Springfield, III., Feb. 26, 1891.
The Capitol Bee-Keepers' Association was called to order
by President P. J. England.
Previous notice having been given that an effort would
be made to form a State Association, and there being present
bee-keepers from different parts of the State, by motion, a
recess was taken in order to form such an Association.
P. J. England was chosen temporary chairman, and C. E.
Yocom temporary secretary. On motion, the Chair appointed
Thos. G. Newman, C. P. Dadant and Hon. J. M. Hambaugh
a committee on constitution.
Col. Chas. F. Mills addressed the meeting on the needs
of a State Association, and stated that it was his opinion
that the bee-keepers should have a liberal appropriation for a
State Apiarian Exhibit at the World's Columbian Exposition,
A motion to adpurn till i .30 P. M. prevailed,
•i*-t% ivi*'
^if^-^,^-'^.y^-
14
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
AFTERNOON SESSION.
The Committee on Constitution reported a form for same,
which, on motion, was read by the Secretary, by sections
serially.
Geo. F. Robbins moved to substitute the word shall for
may in the last clause of Section i, Article III. This led to
a very animated discussion, and the motion was lost.
J. A. Stone moved to amend the above-named section
by striking out the word ladies and all that followed of the
same section, which motion led to further discussion and mo-
tion finally prevailed.
Section 2, Article III, relating to a quorum, was, on
motion, entirely stricken out.
Mr. Robbins moved to amend Article V by adding the
words, "Thirty days' notice having been given to each mem-
ber." Prevailed.
Thos. G. Newman moved to adopt the Constitution, so
amended, as a whole. Which motion prevailed.
See Constitution, page 8.
J. A. Stone moved that the Chair appoint a nominating
committee of three on peramanent organization. Prevailed.
Chair appointed as such committee. Col. Chas. F. Mills,
Hon. J. M. Hambaugh, and C. P. Dadant.
Committee retired and in a few minutes returned, sub-
mitting the following named persons as candidates for their
respective offices:
For President — P. J. England, Fancy Prairie.
For Vice-Presidents — Mrs. L. Harrison, Peoria; C. P.
Dadant, Hamilton; W. T. F. Petty, Pittsfield; Hon. J. M.
Hambaugh, Spring; Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo.
Secretary — Jas. A. Stone, Bradfordton.
Treasurer — A. N. Draper, Upper Alton.
Mr. Black moved the adoption of the report of the com-
mittee on nominations. The motion prevailed, and the offi-
cers as named by the committee, were declared elected for
the ensuing year.
Hon. J. M. Hambaugh moved that Mr. Thos. G. New-
man, Editor American Bee Journal, of Chicago, be made the
first honorary member of the Association. Prevailed.
At this point Col. Chas. F. Mills, said, "Mr. Chairman,
I want to be the first one to pay my dollar for membership,"
at the same time suiting his actions to his words, and others
followed his example, as follows:
CHARTER MEMBERS.
Col. Chas. F. Mills, Springfield.
Hon. J. M. Hambaugh, Spring.
Hon. J. S. Lyman, Farmingdale.
C. P. Dadant, Hamilton.
Chas. Dadant, Hamilton.
A. N. Draper, Upper Alton. .
S. N. Black, Clayton.
Aaron Coppin, Wenona.
Geo. F. Robbins, Mechamcsburg.
.^si^^i;^^'*
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION .' 15
J. W. Yocom, Williamsville.
Thos. S. Wallace, Clayton.
,A. J. England, Fancy Prairie.
P. J. England, Fancy Prairie.
C. E. Yocom, Sherman.
Jas. A. Stone, Bradfordton.
FIRST HONORARY MEMBER.
Thos. G. Newman, Editor American Bee Journal, Chi-
cago.
Bee/Keepers' Association
Preamble.
I. For expenses of an-
nual meetings, per an-
num, $i,ooo; officers
to receive no salary.
§ 2. How drawn.
§ 3. Duty of Treasurer of
Association.
(Granted in the 44th
General Assembly.)
A BILL
For an act making an appropriation for the Illinois State
Bee-Keepers' Association.
Whereas^ The members of the Illinois State Bee-Keep-
ers' Association have for years given much time and labor
without compensation in the endeavor to promote the inter-
ests of the bee-keepers of the State ; and.
Whereas^ The importance of the industry to the farmers'
and fruit growers of the State warrants the expenditure of a
reasonable sum for the holding of annual meetings, the pub-
lication of reports an-d papers containing practical information
concerning bee-keeping, therefore to sustain the same and
enable this organization to defray the expenses of annual
meetings, publishing reports, suppressing foul brood among
bees in the State, and promote the industry in Illinois:
Section i. Be it enacted by the People of the State of
Illinois represented in the General Assembly: That there be
and is hereby appropriated for the use of the lUinois State
Bee-Keepers' Association the sum of one thousand dollars
($1,000) per annum, for the years 1905 and 1906. For the
purpose of advancing the growth and developing the interests
of the bee-keepers of Illinois, said sum to be expended under
.the direction of the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association
for the purpose of paying the expenses of holding annual
meetings, pubUshing the proceedings of said meetings, sup-
pressing foul brood among bees in Illinois, etc.
Provided, however, That no officer or officers of the Illi-
State Bee-Keepers' Association qihall be entitled to receive
any money compensation whatever, for any services rendered
for the same out of this fund.
16 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
Sec. 2. That on the order of the president, counter-
signed by the secretary of the Illinois State Bee-Keepers'
Association, and approved by the Governor, the Auditor of
Public Accounts shall draw his w^arrant on the Treasurer of
the State of Illinois in favor of the treasurer of the Illinois
State Bee-Keepers' Association for the sum herein appro-
priated.
Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the treasurer of the Illi-
nois State Bee-Keepers' Association to pay out of said ap-
propriation on itemized and receipted vouchers such sums as
may be authorized by vote of said organization on the order
of the president, countersigned by the secretary and make
annual report to the Governor of all such expenditures, as
provided bv law?.
^ . ' ^ » »
A BILL
For an act providing for the appointment of a State Inspector
of Apiaries, and prescribing his powers and duties.
Section i. Be it enacted by the People of the State of
Illinois, represented in the General Assembly: That the
Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate,
shall appoint a State Inspector of Apiaries, who shall hold
his office for the term of two years and until his successor
is appointed and qualified.
Sec. 2. Said Inspector shall, when notified of the exis-
tence of the disease known as foul brood among apiaries,
examine all such as are so reported and all others in the same
locality and ascertain whether or not such disease exists, and
if satisfied of its existence, shall give the owner or the per-
son who has the care of such apiaries full instructions as to
the manner of treating them. In case the owner of a diseased
apiary shall refuse to treat his bees or allow them to be
treated as directed by the said Inspector, then the said In-
spector may burn all the colonies and all the comb necessary
to prevent the spread of the disease, provided, said Inspector
shall, before burning, give one day's notice to the owner or
other person who has the care of the colonies of bees and
comb, that in his judgment should be burned.
Sec. 3. The Inspector shall, on or before the second
Monday of December in each calendar year, make a report
to the Governor and also to the Illinois State Bee-Keepers'
Association stating the number of apiaries visited, the number
of those diseased and treated, the number of colonies of bees
destroyed, and of the expenses incurred in the performance
of his duty.
Sec. 4. Any owner of a diseased apiary or appliances
taken therefrom, who shall sell, barter, or give away any
such apiary, appliance, or bees from such apiary, expose other
bees to the danger of contracting such disease, or refuse to
allow the Inspector of Apiaries to inspect such apiary, or
appliances, shall be fined not less than fifty dollars nor more
than one hundred dollars.
The above bill passed the Senate, but failed in the
House, on second reading.
i^mM
'V
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 17
FOUL BROOD
— AND—
OTHER DISBASBS OF BBBS
(Republished by permission of N. E. France, Foul Brood In-
spector, of Wisconsin.)
Foul brood — bacillus alvei — is a fatal and contagious dis-
ease among bees, dreaded most of all by bee-keepers. The
germs of disease are either given to young larval bee in its
food when it hatches from the egg of the queen-bee, or it
may be contagion from a diseased colony, or if the queen
deposits eggs, or the worker-bees store honey or pollen in
such combs. If in any one of the above cases, the disease will
soon appear, and the germs increase with great rapidity, go-
ing from one little cell to another, colony to colony of bees,
and then to all the neighboring apiaries, thus soon leaving
whole apiaries with only diseased combs to inoculate others.
The Island of Syria in three years lost all of its great apiaries
from foul brood. Dzierzon. in 1868, lost his entire apiary
of 500 colonies. Cowan, the editor of the British Bee Jour-
nal, recently wrote : "The only visible hindrance to the rapid
expansion of the bee industry is the prevalence of foul brood,
which is so rapidly spreading over the country as to make
bee-keeping a hazardous occupation."
Canada's foul brood inspector, in 1890 to 1892, reported
2,395 cases, and in a later report for 1893 to 1898, that 40 per
cent of the colonies inspected were diseased. Cuba is one of
the greatest honey-producing countries, and was lately re-
ported to me by a Wisconsin bee-keeper who has been there,
and will soon return to Wisconsin : "So plentiful is foul brood
in Cuba that I have known of large apiaries to dwindle out
of existence from its ravages, and hundreds more are on the
same road to sure and certain death. I myself took in 90
days in Cuba, 24,000 pounds of fine honey from 100 colonies,
but where is that apiary and my other 150-colony apiary?
Dead from foul brood." Cuba, in 1901, exported 4,795,600
pounds of honey, and 1,022,897 pounds of beeswax.
Cuba at present has laws to suppress foul brood, and her
inspector is doing all possible to stamp the same from the
island.
Even in Wisconsin, I know of several quite large piles of
empty hives, where all the bees have died from foul brood;
also many other apiaries where said disease had gotten a
strong foothold. By the kindness of the Wisconsin bee-
keepers, and in most cases, by their, willing assistance, I have,
during the last five years, gotten several counties free of the
disease, and at the present writing, March 12, 1902, have
i-4..
5^«!^S^5W '^^ v^ J-' ,;;:=k5«^F'5S^w^^5*^^^^^^P''P •
18
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
\ -
what there is in Wisconsin under control and quarantined.
This dreadful disease is often imported into our State from
other States and countries, so that we may expect some new
cases to develop, until all the States shall enact such laws
as will prevent further spread of the same. Arizona, New
York (1899), California (1891), Nebraska (1895), Utah
(1892), Colorado (1897), have county inspectors, and Wis-
consin (1897), and Michigan (1901), have State inspectors.
The present Wisconsin law, after five years of testing and
rapid decrease of the disease is considered the best, and many
other States are now making efforts to secure a like law.
There are several experimental apiaries in Canada under
control of the Ontario Agricultural College, also a few in the
United States, especially in Colorado, that have done great
work for the bee-keeping industry, and their various pub-
lished bulletins on the same are very valuable. The Wis-
consin State Bee-Keepers' Association have asked that an
experimental apiary might be had on the Wisconsin experi-
mental farm, but at present there are so many departments
asking for aid, that I fear it may be some time before bee-
culture will be taken up.
CAUSES OF FOUL BROOD.
1. Many writers claim foul brood originates from chilled
or dead brood. Dr. Howard, of Texas, one of the best prac-
tical modern scientific experimenters, a man of authority,
has proved beyond doubt that chilled or common dead brood
does not produce foul brood. I have, in the last five years,
also proven his statement to be true in Wisconsin, but I do
believe such conditions of dead brood are the most favorable
places for lodgment and rapid growth of diseases. Also, I
do not believe foul brood germs are floating in the air, for,
if they were, why would not every brood-comb cell o€ an
infected hive become diseased? I believe that this disease
spreads only as the adult bees come in contact with it,
which is often through robber-bees. Brood-combs should
not be removed from any colony on cold or windy days,
nor should they be left for a moment in the direct rays of
sunshine on hot days.
2. The foul brood may be caused by the need of proper
food and temperature. Generally this disase does not appear
to be serious during a honey-flow, but at the close of the
honey season, or at times of scarcity, it is quite serious, and
as the bees at such times will rob anywhere they can find
stores, whether from healthy or diseased combs, it is the duty
of every bee-keeper to keep everything carefully protected.
Hive-entrances contracted, no old combs or any article with a
drop of honey in where the bees can get to it. While honey
is coming in from the various flowers, quite a portion is used
direct as food for the larval bee, and with such no disease
would be fed^ to the bees. Such fed bees, even in a dis-
eased hive, will hatch, as is often the case. I never knew
of a case where a bee hatched from a brood-cell that had
ever had foul brood in. If the germs of disease are there in
the dried scale attached to the lower side-walls, bees will
. .--.
"•;-l-
-■ ... v:-v-
M
STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION
19
store honey therein, the queen will deposit eggs, or the cell
may be filled with pollen, or bee-bread, as some call it. Said
honey or pollen, when it comes in contact with those germs
of disease, or the fdod given the young bee, if in the proper
temperature, said germs of disease will grow and develop
rapidly.
CAUSES BY CONTAGION.
I fully believe if the history of foul brood in Wisconsin
was known, nearly every case could be traced to contagion
from diseased combs, honey, or from some diseased queen-
Inspector N. Ei. Francb.
breeder's cages. Here are some instances where I have traced
the history of contagion in Wisconsin:
1. Diseased apiaries, also single colonies, sold either at
auction or private sale. Several law-suits have resulted in
the settlement of some of the cases.
2. Brood-combs and various implements from diseased
hives, used by other bee-keepers, and borrowed articles.
3. All the bees in an apiary dead from foul brood, and
the hives having an abundance of honey in the brood-combs,
said combs placed out by the side pf hives so that neighbors'
bees might get the honey. From those combs I lined robber-
■-■-' i A'^lSij^^a^S:
20 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
bees to seven other apiaries, and each time became diseased
and were treated.
4. Robber bees working on empty honey-packages in the
back yards of grocery stores and baking factories. Said honey
came from diseased apiaries, some located in far distant
States, even Cuba.
5. Loaning of hives, combs, extractors, and even empty
honey packages.
6. Buying honey from strangers, or not knowing where
it was produced, and feeding it to bees without boiling the
honey.
7. Too common a practice of using old brood-combs
from some apiary where the owner's bees have died from
"bad luck," as he calls it.
8. Queen-bee — by buying queen-bees from strangers and
introducing her in the cages they came in. I have traced
several new outbreaks of the disease to the hives where such
queens were introduced, and the queens came from distant
States. To be safe, on arrival of queen, put her carefully
alone in a new and clean cage with good food in it. Keep
her in there, warm and comfortable, for a few hours
before introducing. The shipping cage and every bee that
came with the queen should be put in the stove and burned.
I do not think there is any danger from the queen so treated,
even from diseased hives, but I do know of many cases where
disease soon appeared in the hives where the shipping-cage
and bees were put in with the colony. The great danger
is in the food in said cage being made from diseased honey.
I was called to attend a State bee-keepers' meeting in an-
other State and I asked if any there had had experience with
foul brood. There was a goodly number of raised hands.
Then I asked, "Do any of you think you got the disease by
buying queen-bees?" Again several hands were raised. Even
bee-keepers there had traced the disease in their apiaries to
the buying of queens, and all from the same breeder. If you
get queens from abroad, I hope you will do with her as I have
above described. Better be on the safe side.
EXPERIMENTS.
1. A prominent Wisconsin bee-keeper some years ago
had foul brood among his bees so bad that he lost 200 colo-
nies before the disease was checked. Having a honey ex-
tractor and comb-foundation machine, he first boiled the
hives in a large sorghum pan, then in a kettle all combs were
melted after the honey was extracted, the honey was boiled
and also the extractor and implements used. The bees were
returned to their hives on comb foundation he made from
the wax made from the melted combs, then fed the boiled
honey. Several years have passed and there has been no
signs of disease in his apiary since.
2. Foul-brood germs are not always killed when ex-
posed to a temperature of 212 deg. F. (boiling point) for 45
minutes. But in every case where the combs are boiled in
boiling water, and same were well stirred while boihng, no
germs were alive.
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 21
3. Foul brood in brood-combs is not destroyed or killed
when exposed to the temperature of Wisconsin winters of
20 deg. below zero, and in one case I developed foul brood
from combs that had been exposed to 28 deg. below zero.
4. Honey, if stored in diseased combs, acts as a pre-
serving medium, and in such cases the germs of disease will
remain so long as the comb is undisturbed. Four years at
least.
5. Honey or beeswax, or the refuse from a solar or sun-
heat extractor, is not heated enough to kill foul-brood
germs. Several cases of contagion where robber-bees worked
on solar extractor refuse or honey.
6. Comb foundation made by supply manufacturers is
free from live germs of disease and perfectly safe to use.
To prove this experiment beyond doubt, I took a quantity
of badly-diseased brood-combs from several apiaries, and ren-
dered each batch of combs into wax myself on the farm where
found. Then on my own foundation mill I made some brood
foundation. I also took quite a quantity more of said wax,
went to two wholesale comb foundation manufacturers, and
both parties willingly made my experimental wax into comb
foundation just the same as they do every batch of wax. I
then divided the various makes of foundation and selected
20 of the best bee-yards in Wisconsin, where no disease had
ever been known, had the same placed in 62 of their best
colonies, and in every case no signs of disease have appeared.
Those same colonies continue to be the best in the various
apiaries.
SYMPTOMS OF FOUL BROOD.
1. The infected colony is not liable to be as industrious.
Hive entrance with few guard-bees to protect their home.
Sometimes fine dirt or little bits of old comb and dead bees
in and around the hive-entrance, and often robber-bees seek-
ing entrance.
2. Upon opening the hive, the brood in the combs is
irregular, badly scattered, with many empty cells which need
inspection.
3. The cappings over healthhy brood is oval, smooth and
of a healthy color peculiar to honey-bee brood, but if diseased
the cappings are sunken, a little darker in color, and have
ragged pin-holes. The dead larval bee is of a light color,
and, as it is termed, ropy, so that if a toothpick is inserted and
slowly withdrawn, this dead larva will draw out much like
spittle or glue.
5. In this ropy stage there is more or less odor peculiar
to the disease; it smells something like an old, stale glue-
pot. A colony may be quite badly affected and not emit
much odor, only upon opening of the hive or close examina-
tion of the brood. I have treated a few cases where the foul
brood odor was plainly noticed several rods from the apiary.
6. Dried Scales — If the disease has reached the advanced
stages, all the above-described randitions will be easily seen
and the dried scales as well. This foul matter is so tena-
cious that the bees cannot remove it, so it dries down on the
lower side-wall of the cell, midway from the bottom to front
^'sr^'
22 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
end of the cell, seldom on the bottom of a cell. According
to its stage of development there will be either the shape-
less mass of dark-brown matter, on the lower side of the
cell, often with a wrinkled skin covering as if a fine thread
had been inserted in the skin lengthwise and drawn enough
to form rib-like streaks on either side. Later on it becomes
hardened, nearly black in color, and in time dries down to
be as thin as the side-walls of the cell. Often there will
be a small dried bunch at the front end of the cell not larger
than a part of common pin-head. To see it plainly, take
the comb by the top-bar and hold it so that a good light
falls into the cell at an angle of 75 degrees from the top
of the comb, while your sight falls upon the cell at an angle
of about 45 degrees. The scales, if present, will easily be
seen as above described. This stage of disease in combs is
easily seen and is always a sure guide or proof oTfoul brood.
Such combs can never be used safely by the bees and must
be either burned or carefully melted. Be sure not to mistake
such marked combs in the spring for those soiled with bee-
dysentery. The latter have a somewhat similar appearance
but are more or less surface-soiled, and will also be spotted
or have streaked appearance by the dark-brown stickj"^ ex-
crements from the adult bees. Please examine closely this
half-tone print, which I photographed from a diseased comb
containing all stages of foul brood. This comb came from
the last living weak colony of a once large and profitable
apiary.
TREATMENT.
"A bee-keeper who does not discover foul brood, before
his nostrils remind him that there is something wrong with
his bees, is not the proper person to treat the case." Dr.
Howard, in his valuable book on foul brood, states : "I regard
the use of all drugs in the treatment of foul brood as a use-
less waste of time and material, wholly ineffectual, inviting
ruin and total loss of bees. Any method which has not for
its object the entire removal of all infectious material beyond
the reach of both bees and brood will prove detrimental and
destructive, and surely encourage the recurrence of the dis-
ease." In Wisconsin I have tried many methods of treat-
ment, and cured some cases with each method, but the one
that never fails, if carefully followed, and that commends
itself is the McEvoy treatment. Canada's foul brood in-
spector, has cured foul brood by the wholesale — thousands of
cases.
MCEVOY TREATMENT.
"In the honey season when the bees are gathering honey
freely, remove the combs in the evening and shake the bees
into their own hives ; give them frames with comb-foundation
starters and let them build comb for four days. The bees
will make the starters into comb during the four days and
store the diseased honey in them, which they took with them
from the old comb. Then in the evening of the fourth day
take out the new combs and give them comb foundation
(full sheets) to work out, and then the cure will be corn-
.', ::•?>* -^. 'S^f^j^i-j- ^ ,' n*'
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 23
plete. By this method of treatment all the diseased honey
is removed from the bees before the full sheets of foundation
are worked out. All the old foul-brood combs must be
burned or carefully made into wax after they are removed
from the hives, and all the new combs made out of the start-
ers during the four days must be burned or made into wax,
on account of the diseased honey that would be stored in
them. All the curing or treating of diseased colonies should
be done in the evening, so as not to have any robbing done,
or cause any of the bees from the diseased colonies to mix and
go with the bees of healthy colonies. By doing all the work in
the evening it gives the bees a chance to settle down nicely
before morning, and then there is no confusion or trouble.
This same method of curing colonies of foul brood can be car-
ried on at any time from May to October, when the bees are
not getting any honey, by feeding plenty of sugar syrup in the
evenings to take the place of the honey-flow. It will start
the bees robbing and spread the disease to work with foul
brood colonies in warm days when the bees are not gathering
honey, and for that reason all work must be done in the
evenings when no bees are flying.
"When the diseased colonies are weak in bees, put the
bees, two, three, or four colonies together, so as to get a
good-sized colony to start the cure with as it does not pay to
spend time fussing with little, weak colonies. When the bees
are not gathering honey, any apiary can be cured of foul
brood by removing the diseased combs in the evening and
giving the bees frames with comb-foundation starters on.
Then also in the evening feed the bees plenty of sugar syrup
and they will draw out the foundation and store the diseased
honey which they took with them from the old combs; on
the fourth evening remove the new combs made out of the
starters and give the bees full sheets of comb foundation and
feed plenty of sugar syrup each evening until every colony
is in first-class order. Make the syrup out of granulated
sugar, putting one pound of water to every pound of sugar,
and bring it to a boil. As previously stated, all the old comb
must be burned or made into wax and so must all new
combs made during the four days. No colony is cured of foul
brood by the use of any drug."
A. I. Root, of Medina, Ohio, says: "The starvation plan
in connection with burning the combs and frames and boiling
the hives has worked the best in treating foul brood. It
never appeared after such treatment, though it did in some
cases where hives were honey-stained and not boiled, thus
confirming the theory or fact of spores."
All the difference from the McEvoy treatment that I
practice is this: I dig a deep pit on level ground near the
diseased apiary, and after getting a fire in the pit such dis-
eased combs, frames, etc., as are to be burned are burned in
this pit in the evening, and then the fresh earth from the pit
returned to cover all from sight. Often I use some kero-
sene oil, a little at a time beipg poured on old brood-combs
or those having much honey in, as they are hard to burn. If
diseased combs with honey in are burned on the surface of the
24 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
soil there is great danger; the honey when heated a Httle will
run like water on the soil, and in the morning the robber-
bees will be busy taking home the diseased honey that was
not heated enough to kill germs of foul brood.
I also cage the queen while the bees are on the five or
six strips of foundation. ^ It helps to keep the colony from
deserting the hive and going to other colonies.
R. L. Taylor, Michigan University experimental apiary,
reports : "The plan that the colony be shaken out into another
hive after being allowed to build comb for four days, I have
proven in loo cases to be unnecessary."
In Wisconsin, I, too, have cured several cases by the one
transferring, when honey was not coming in very freely, but it
is better, and a great saving of time to both bees and owner,
to exchange in three or four days those foundation starters,
for full sheets of foundation. Diseased brood-combs, and
those with honey in, if melted in a sun or solar extractor,
the wax, honey or residue is not hot enough to kill germs of
foul brood. This I have proven by several experiments. It
must be, boiled and well stirred while boihng to be safe.
I do not believe in, or practice, burning any property, such
as hives, bees, beeswax or honey that can be safely treated
and saved. Many times it is poor economy to save all, and
as so many bee-keepers are not so situated as to keep all
diseased material from robber-bees while taking care of it,
the best and only safe way is to burn the diseased combs and
frames.
UTAH.
Utah has county inspectors, and from one who has re-
markable success I copy the report of his method of treat-
ment:
"Wherever found, it should be dealt with earnestly and
with dispatch. If the colony is weak, I recommend smother-
ing the bees, and in order to do this without letting a bee
escape, take a tablespoonful of sulphur and place it in the
entrance of the hives, if there is any breeze, turn the hive
so it will blow in the entrance. Then fire the sulphur and it
will soon kill the bees. This should be done early in the
morning before any of the bees are flying, as one bee escap-
ing from the hive might carry the disease to any colony with
which it may take up its abode. If the colony is a strong one,
I would keep the entrance partly closed so as to prevent any
other bees from getting in. Then as soon as fruit-blossoms
come out so the bees can obtain honey I treat them. I
procure an empty box of any kind so it is clean, then find the
queen, put her in a screen-wire cage which is easily made.
Take a small piece of screen, roll it up and tie a string around
either end, cork up one end, then place the queen and a few
workers for company in the cage and place in the other end
cork. Put same in this box and shake all the bees out of their
hive into the box. This must be done in the evening when
no bees are flying. Keep the queen in this box 24 to 48
hours, allowing the bees to fly in and out as they please.
Next take a clean hive with good, healthy combs or founda-
tion and shake bees into it, letting the queen go and they will
^;"» vV~ w^
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 25
be free from disease. The old combs are melted into wax,
bringing same to a good boil. Often washing with boiling
water any hives or implements that might contain disease.
Wherever strictly followed this has effected a cure." — C. Wil-
cox, Emery Co., Utah.
PICKLED BROOD.
Some seasons pickled brood is quite bad among bees, and
in a few cases I have known it to reduce large colonies, even
large apiaries to doubtful hopes, but those same colonies,
after I gave them treatment, were in a month free from all
disease. Sometimes it takes as careful handling as if foul
brood. I do not believe it is contagious, for all I have seen
in 60 colonies in one apiary badly reduced by it. As an ex-
periment one of my out-apiaries had 50 colonies at one time
with pickled brood. I treated them and all were soon free
from dead brood. At the same time I took 10 of the worst
brood-combs where at least two-thirds of the brood was dead,
and placed those combs in other strong, healthy colonies.
They at once cleaned out the dead brood and reared as nice
brood as one could ask for.
SYMPTOMS.
The larval bees (in last of May and through June) show
light-brown spots, a little later the cappings have small holes
in — the cappings are not sunken or dark-colored as in foul
brood. The dead bee will be at first swollen, with a black
head, dried to a hard bunch and often turned up — China-
man-shoe like. The skin of the dead bee is quite tough, and,
if punctured, the thin, watery fluid of the body will flow
as free as water, often a little yellow or brownish-colored
from the dissolved pollen from the abdomen of the bee. It
has very little or no smell, does not at any time stick to the
walls of the comb, is easily pulled out of the cell, is never
ropy or sticky, and if the colony is properly cared for, the
bees will take care of themselves. Plenty of liquid^ unsealed
honey and pollen near the brood, and hives so protected as
to keep bees and brood comfortable on cold days and nights.
Never put bees on old black brood-combs, or those with
dead brood in; better make wax of the combs and give the
bees full sheets of brood-comb foundation.
TREATMENT.
Keep all colonies strong, with plenty of unsealed honey
near the brood, and if hives are properly sheltered so as to
be warm on cold days and nights there will be little or no
pickled brood. If the queen is old, shows weakness by put-
ting several eggs in one brood-cell and nursing several others,
so that the brood is patchy, I would kill such a queen, feed
the bees a little, and when queen-cells were started, remove
them all and give them a queen and bees, between two of her
own brood-combs from a hive where she has lived. I do not
think pickled brood is often the fault of the queen, but rather
a lack of proper food and heat in the hive. In most cases a
shortage of liquid honey, or moldy pollen, even in hives with
26 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
plenty of sealed honey in the outer combs. There is a time
in spring in Wisconsin between dandelion and white clover
bloom when there is no honey coming in from flowers and
often cold days and nights so that the live bees consume the
liquid unsealed honey first, and cluster in a compact body to
keep warm, the result often is the larval bee just changed
from the egg to a tender little grub, is either starved, half-
fed or chilled so that it grows slowly and too often dies,
and we first notice this about the time white clover honey
begins to come in. In other parts of the State, where pickled
brood appeared it was from the same cause, and at other
dates, which was due to a difference of time of honey bloom.
Wherever I fed daily some honey or even sugar syrup,
and kept the hive warm, all dead brood soon disappeared;
while in the same apiaries other colonies affected and not
so treated, continued bad for some time, but got rid of it as
soon as treated.
Strong colonies of bees in the fall with a young laying
queen, and an abundance of good honey sealed or capped
by the bees, if properly cared for during winter whether in
the cellar or in chaff hives, wintered out of doors in sheltered
location, seldom have pickled brood, chilled or other dead
brood, or dysentery, and are the colonies that give their
owner profit.
BLACK BROOD.
Black brood is another fatal and contagious disease
among bees, affecting the old bees as well as the brood. In
1898, 1899 and 1900 it destroyed several apiaries in New-
York. Last year I found one case of it in Wisconsin,
which was quickly disposed of. Dr. Howard made more than
a thousand microscopical examinations and found it to be a
distinct form of bacteria. It is most active in sealed brood.
The bees affected continue to grow until they reach the pupa
stage, then turn black and die. At this stage there is a sour
smell. No decomposition from putrefactive germs in pickled
brood. In black brood the dark and rotten mass in time
breaks down and settles to lower side-wall of the cell, is of a
watery, granulated, syrupy fluid, jelly-lilce, is not ropy or
sticky as in foul brood, and has a peculiar smell, resembling
sour, rotten apples. Not even a house-fly will set a foot
upon it.
TREATMENT.
Best time is during a honey-flow, and the modifiied Mc-
Evoy plan, much as I have treated foul brood, by caging the
queen five days, remove the foundation starters and give full
sheets, keeping queen caged five days longer. As great care
should be taken of diseased hives, combs, honey, etc., as in
foul brood.
DYSE^JTERY.
. Dysentery among bees in Wisconsin in the spring of the
year, often is quite serious. Many colonies die with it. Dys-
entery is the excrements of the old bees; it is of brownish
TWeSTT
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 27
color, quite sticky and very disagreeable-smelling, and is
sometimes mistaken for foul brood.
\ CAUSES.
1. Bees confined too long in the hives, so that they can
no longer withhold their excrements, and are compelled to
void the same on the other bees and combs.
2. Poor winter stores gathered in the fall from honey-
dew, cider-mills, sorghum mills, rotten fruit, also some kinds
of fall flowers.
3. Old and especially moldy pollen or bee-bread.
4. Hives too cold or damp. If moisture from the breath
of the bees is not carried out of the hive by some means,
such as through a deep cushion of some kind over the bees
that will absorb moisture and at the same time retain the heat,
or by some means of ventilation, so that all is dry and com-
fortable. If mold forms on the combs or cellar so damp as to
form mold, there is great danger the bees will have dysentery
and die.
TREATMENT. " - ,
1. First of all, have an abundance of combs of sealed
clover or basswood honey in brood-frames carefully saved,
and see that each colony is wintered on such food. Three
or four such combs will winter a fair colony safely if con-
fined on those combs late in the fall and the hive contracted
to fit the same. This is one of the most important conditions
for success in wintering.
2. If in the fall the bees have gathered this unwhole-
some honey from the above-named sources, it should all be
extracted and either exchanged for those honey-combs, or
feed the bees good honey or sugar syrup until winter stores
are secured. This should be don-e before cold weather in the
fall.
3. Hives contracted and made comfortable, whether in
cellar or outdoors.
4. If wintered in chaff hives outdoors with feed as above
directed, and there come one or two warm spells during win-
ter so that bees can have a cleansing flight, they will not
have dysentery or dead brood, and will be much stronger
when clover opens.
If wintered in the cellar the bees will not need as much
honey, and if the winters are generally long with doubtful
warm spells, the cellar will be best. But to keep the bees
from dysentery, so often fatal to cellar-wintered bees, they
should have such winter stores as above spoken of, then the
cellar kept at a uniform temperature, about 42 deg. F., ven-
tilated so the air is fresh, and no mold will form in the
cellar. Fresh air-slacked lime on the bottom of the cellar
may help if it is damp or has poor air.
5. Dysentery will not apptear if bees are kept on sugar
syrup, or best-grade white clover or basswood honey, and are
in a dry place, either sheltered by cellar or chaff-hive.
28 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
FORMALDEHYDE EXPERIMENTS.
Formaldehyde, by the medical experts, is now considered
the best of all disinfectants ; I have great faith that we may
yet learn its use, and save infected foul-broody combs.
Mr. C. H. W. Weber has conducted some valuable experi-
ments. Early in 1903 I decided to do some experimenting,
having inspected several infected apiaries. We got a carpen-
ter with well-seasoned lumber to make some perfectly air-
tight boxes to hold brood-frames, two tiers deep, as per the
photograph herewith. Mr. Weber's lamp was used in several
trials. Where we used a greater amount, and longer confined
than instructions called for, the combs with all cells unsealed,
containing dried scales of foul brood, after fumigating and
airing were placed in hives with bees on them. The chemical
action was such that the bees at once cleaned them out, and
no signs of disease has appeared in them since. But in those
combs having honey or pollen in the infected cells, or those
capped over with brood underneath, they were so covered that
the gases did not destroy the disease, for those treated July
27, in 41 days each of those combs had foul brood again.
To prove that the gases do not go through wax-cappings,
I took some healthy hatching brood, fumigated it, then took
it out and cut away the cappings, and some of the bees had
life enough to crawl.
I believe we should go slow and do careful experimenting.
I know old, diseased combs are worth more rendered into
wax, or those containing honey or pollen in infected combs
are not safe to use again. A sheet of comb foundation is
worth far more. I believe it is possible, if carefully done, to
fumigate infected combs where there is nothing over the dis-
ease, so that those combs can be saved.
Platteville, Wis., March 17, 1904. N. E. France.
■:'-t:
^TATl: Bi;K-KKi:i'l'.f<> ASSoriATiON
20
30 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
TREASURER'S REPORT
From November 15, 1904, to November 20, 1905.
To the Illinois State Bee-Keepers^ Association :
The following shows the amount of money received and paid on
orders during the year to November 20, 1905. -
Account op thb Statb Appbopbiation.
RECEIPTS.
November IS, 1904, balance on hand $ 879 74
July IS, 1905, rec'd from State Treasurer. . 1.000.0
Total recdpts $1,879.74
DIS BUBSEMENTS
November 16, 1904, Dr. C. C. Miller, Order No. 1 $ 27.00
" " N.E.France, *• 2 12.46
George W. York, «' 3 8.75
C. Becker, " 4 1 63
January 23, 1905, J. A. Stone, " 5 27.08
Februarv2, " George W. York, " 6 32 55
May 6, " George W. York, " 7 360.00
May 6, " J. A. Ston<», *' 8 11.28
May 26, " J.Q.Smith, " 9 50 00
July 7, " J. Q Smith, " 10 111.65
Jnlv 19, " W.G.Lawrence, " 11 15.00
August 7, " J.Q.Smith, " 12 105 50
Sept. 5. " J. Q. Smith, " 13... . 103 85
Sept. 19, '♦ Charles Becker, " 14 46 34
Sept. 23, " J.Q.Smith, " 15 28 6
Paid on orders $ 941.69
Balance on hand 938 05
Total $1,879.74
GENERAL FUND.
Received from J. A. Stone, Secretary.
December 29, 1904 $ 20.75
January 23, 1905 27.08
April 22, 1905 45.00
Total General Fund on hand $ 92 83.
RECAPITULATION.
Balance in State Fund 938 05
Balance in General Fund 92 83
Total of both Funds on hand $1,030 88
Add error 15.73
$1,046 61
Less orders unpaid : 6 00
Net balance on hand $1,040.61
Charles Becker,
Treasurer Illinois State Bee- Keepers'* Association.
Approved : C. P. Dad ant,
S. N. BI.ACK,
S. T. Crim,
Auditing Committee.
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 31
Report of the ISth Animal Meeting
OF THK
Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association
Held in the Supervisors' Boom at the Court House,
Springfield, 111., Nov. 21, 22, 1905.
The meeting was called to order with President J. Q.
Smith in the chair.
The order of business was taken up as in the by-laws.
On motion, the reading of the minutes of the last
meeting was dispensed with.
Mr. Baxter — I think, Mr. President, the next thing in
order will be your address.
Mr. Smith — I am not in the habit of having' an ad-
dress. The next thing in order is the Secretary's report.
The Secretary reported that during the year we had
gotten out of 2,000 copies of the Fourth Annual Report at a
cost of $320.75, besides the expense of postage and print-
ing to send them out. He suggested that for the next
Report we have only 1,000 copies printed, and enough of
them bound in cloth for the members of the Association.
He also stated that the plan for increasing our membership,
by amending the constitution allowing members through other
associations at 25 cents, had, with the additions from the Chi-
cago-North-western, made our membership the largest we
had ever had, viz., 172. And we look for a larger member-
ship in 1906, as we have the promise of the membership of
the Western Illinois Bee-Keepers' Association.
As to our financial statement, the Treasurer's report will
give that. Our books balance excepting a six dollar order
given to the foul brood inspector, which he still has in his
possession, showing balance in State Association treasury of
$92.83, and in the State appropriation fund, $947.78.
As the fees come in from the members we send them
by return mail — a receipt, and when they are coming in rap-
idly we do not send the dues to the National often^er than
we can send 10 names at one time, then we can enclose a
bill, and not be troubled to get postal order, and have never
lost a dollar yet.
Pres. Smith — I think we ought to appoint an Auditing
Committee to audit the Secretary's and Treasurer's books.
A motion was made that the Secretary's report be ap-
proved and placed on file. Carried.
The President appointed C. P. Dadant, S. N. Black and
S. T. Crim, as the Auditing Committee.
Pres. Smith — ^The Treasurer's report is the next in order.
Treas. Becker — I wish to state before reading the report
that there seems to be a diflferpce between the Secretar/s
and Treasurer's books, and I want to say that my report for
«&.'
m^^i ■!■ f^' ■:■ ■ '' -,-".^-?v?v~fJfvS^' ■ -■ ■■
oJ FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
this year dates from the beginning of the convention last
year to the present time.
The Treasurer's Report was read and placed on file.
Pres. Smith — The Auditing Committee can audit the re-
ports this afternoon.
Mr. Baxter — Are there any disbursements from the Gen-
eral Fund?
Mr. Stone — I guess they are all paid,except the one re-
I have against the State Fund, the Treasurer did not read
the last item, and the reason of this is that November i8 an
order was given to the President, and he still has it in his
pocket. The order was for $6.00, and makes the difference
between the Treasurer's and Secretary's accounts.
Mr. Black — There might be some orders back that have
not been sent.
Mr. Stone — I guess they are all paid except the one re-
ferred to. The books can be balanced exactly when the
President presents his order for payment.
Mr. Baxter — I think the report of the Treasurer should
be placed on file.
Pres. Smith — When the reports are audited there will
be found no difference. This account goes back to our last
Annual Report.
The Treasurer's Report was approved and placed on file.
Pres. Smith — The reports of the Secretary and Treas-
urer will go to the Standing Committee. We would now
be glad to hear the report of the Legislative Committee.
Mr. Stone — The Legislative Committee reports as fol-
lows:
REPORT OF THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE.
The Committee met at Springfield, all three of the mem-
bers present, and drafted a Bill covering all we thought was
needed. (See page 14 of the last Fourth Annual Report.)
We placed a cop\^ of the same in the hands of Senator
Berry, and one in the hands of Representative Oglesby.
We were all present when the Bill which had previously
been offered in the House came before the House Appropria-
tion Committee. They objected to the bill as it was. Said
it should be divided — the appropriation part of it to be one
Bill, and the Foul Brood Bill another, the latter to become
a permanent law.
In the next place one of the members (we withhold his
name, but will not forget it) moved to cut the amount of the
appropriation to $1,000, and accused us of always trying to
increase the amount, when the truth was we had never before
asked for more than $1,000.
Then after we had formulated a Foul Brood Bill they
objected to it because it gave the State Association the right
to appoint the inspector, and said the Governor, would sign
no such Bill. So at the suggestion of the Governor we went
to the Attorney-General, and together we agreed on the Bill —
see previous page of this report. (Page 16 of Fourth Annual
■\v:
\.i^fffj^:Z'f^'i:,}-^-\\ V .^ .'-!■' ■' .":--,v-i ;« r-'jT'^j-'J-^.- :'■' ^S^tfi^^'
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 33
Report) This Bill went through the Senate, and failed in
the House, while the Appropriation Bill was passed and
signed by the Governor.
Some member, or members, of our committee had been in
attendance upon the members of the Legislature weekly, and
semi-weekly.
We are of the opinion, from the influence that has been
brought to bear on the Legislature by the bee-keepers, that
in the future we will obtain these Bills, as well as one to
prevent the spraying of fruit-trees while in bloom.
Jas. a. Stone,
J. Q. Smith,
Chas. Becker,
Legislative Committee.
Pres. Smith — The Committee did not argue against the"
appropriation ; they were willing to give us that ; it was the law
part; they didn't want to create another office for a govern-
ment appointee.
Mr. Stone — They wouldn't allow us to appoint an in-
spector or give power to the inspector, but they give us
$i,ooo and let us do as we please as to the inspector. It
seems to me the Bill given us is very loose compared with
the one we asked — requiring the Governor to appoint the
inspector, when they wouldn't let us appoint the inspector,
and then give us $i,ooo and hardly tell us how we are to
spend it. This ought to be discussed before we have another
Legislative Committee appointed.
Pres. Smith — When I make my report, I will give my
statement.
Mr Dadant — As I understand it, this is a report of the
Committee. I move the report be received and the Com-
mittee continued.
Mr. Black — -I second that motion.
Motiori prevailed.
Mr. Dadant-r-I believe the Committee has done well
considering the obstacles in their way. I believe if we get
before the Legislature the same as the other States, the num-
ber of which is increasing all the time, it will support our
theory and induce them to do the same way with us that
they do in other States. We should bring up the fact that
a great number of States have passed laws on foul brood;
that is the important thing with us; the publishing of our
report is not of such great importance as the abolishment of
foul brood. I think we should get the same law as other
States have in this matter.
Mr. Stone — The Legislative Committee have always
brought to bear all the points suggested by Mr. Dadant, and
all others that could be furnished, and applied to them once
a week and sometimes twice. I might as well say on another
subject, a short time ago our Treasurer received a list from
the Secretary of State and sent it to the Secretary to have
him answer the questions, and perhaps the Treasurer can re-
member something of the matfer. He wanted to know th^
standing of the State Bee-Keepers' Association, the pur-
poses for whfch it was organized, and the things that they
'^jji- ^^^ ;i*^ ^/ 'z™ WT^^-^i^vi
34 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
were doing for the good of the bee-keepers, and we answered
the questions the best we could. This is to go into a "Blue
Book," he called it, and is to be published. We sent him
answers to make two pages of the size of the statute as it is
written, taking about 500 words for one page of the statute.
We believe that the different things we can do along this
line will be for the benefit of our Association. The day
is coming when our Association will be more important than
it is to-day.
Report of the State Fair Premium List Committee.
Pres. Smith — Any report from the State Premium Com-
mittee ?
Mr. Stone — Only what was given in the Secretary's re-
port of the accounts.
Pres. Smith — We know the State Agricultural Associa-
tion are ready to continue the premium list for next year.
Mr. Black — They told me they were getting the worth of
their money — the largest attraction of any for the amount
of premiums given.
Mr. Stone — They have been perfectly satisfied.
Mr. Black — They expressed it so to me.
Pres. Smith — Unfinished business. Anything under that
head.
Mr. Stone— The President spoke of the premium list.
There is one thing about that premium list I wish to speak
of, and that is the first premium on beeswax, which is $15.00,
the second premium, $10.00, and the third premium is $5.00,
isn't that it?
Mr. Becker — Yes, sir.
Mr. Stone — The first premium for displays in designs
in beeswax is only $10.00 now. Things can be made out of
beeswax that are as artistic, and create as much of a display,
as anything made, and $10.00 does not pay the cost of getting
them up. We went to a great deal of trouble with designs.
We made the Lincoln Monument and worked on it for two
weeks, and the premium was only $10.00. It attracted so
much attention that the State Commissioners tried to get
us to take it to the World's Fair, but they wouldn't give us
anything to do it — said we could get the benefit in advertising.
We don't have to advertise to sell our goods, we told them,
and it seems to me that the premium ought to be raised, or we
will stop trying to make anything to get that premium. While
we are spending our time to get $10.00 another fellow gets
$15.00 where not half the -work is required.
Pres. Smith — The question should be put before the Agri-
cultural Board, to raise the premium for the display of De-
signs in Beeswax.
Mr. Stone — If we were authorized to suggest that to
them, the Superintendent has spoken favorably about it. We
don't get anything because we don't ask for it.
Pres. Smith — If you don't ask for it you don't get it.
Mr. Black — Is there a committee on premiums?
Mr. Stone — Yes, sir. We call it the Premium List Com-
mittee.
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 35
Mr. Black — Could they make some suggestion of that
kind to the Superintendent?
Mr. Stone — Perhaps, if this Association took steps they
would listen to them.
Mr. Baxter — I move the Committee be authorized to ask
for a premium of $25.00, or at least $15.00; $25.00 if possible.
Mr. Becker — I don't think it would be quite in order to
ask that amount because we might ask but not receive it. It
is true the premium ought to be raised on display of design
in beeswax. It ought to be raised to $15.00, making it the
same as on a collection of beeswax. The way it is now with
the display of beeswax, there is almost as much work in mak-
ing that display as there is in the designs. I am in favor of
having that increased if we can, but if we ask $25.00 we won't
get it. Now there is another thing on that list that has been
cut out for several years. I have spoken about it time and again,
and of course last year, or a year ago, the Fair Association didn't
do very well, or the year before, and I didn't think it was proper
to ask for an3rthing else. They cut us out on the premium on
amber honey, and we had it up to three years ago, but it was
dropped out of the list in this locality. We have a premium
on the basswood and on sweet clover honey, but very few
in this locality get pure basswood honey; still we have a
premium on it, but we all get fine amber honey, and have
no premiuixuon it at all — simply on our collection of amber
honey, and this matter ought to be looked after. If you have
the Committee do anything, let them attend to that, and I
think the only way we can get it is to get after our Superin-
tendent. He is very willing to help us all he can. If we
were to drop out, the Dairy Building wouldn't have much in
it. The people don't pay any attention to the dairy imple-
ments; they come in around the honey exhibit. The other
exhibitors had to make extra efforts, and make a great noise,
to hold their attention. The honey exhibit was what attracted
the people ; the other exhibits had little interest for them. They
ought to know the interest we have for the people of the
State.
Mr. Bowen — I know they appreciate the honey exhibit;
they would raise the premium or do anything in reason to
keep it.
Mr. Black — That is just the point. If we make a display,
as we have, they will be willing to have us continue to do so
and to give premiums. They will try to encourage anything
that pays, and at the State Fair this season the honey exhibit
was what held the crowd. That is what we should work for,
to have a display that will interest the people who attend, and
if we can only convince the managers of the Fair that we
are doing this, we can expect more, and they will give us a
liberal premium. Now, I think a motion is before us, and I
will second it, that the Committee be asked to increase the
premium on the designs in beeswax, and that they look for
any other part that will add to the display.
The President stated the, question.
Mr. Baxter — I believe it is for the good of the State in
general, and if the hon^ey attracts a crowd they ought to in-
■ ."'■: '■■tv.i'Cf-;.- ,>ili
■.•^ —.-iryv-jri.
vj-'-si^f ,1; ■;? tr^^^^«!f«* -J^ -
36 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
crease the premium. I think it is proper that there should
be a premium for Spanish-needle honey, for instance, and for
sweet clover, another for heartsease, another for white clover,
and one for the best amber honey. We must look to the
State in general, if those premiums are sufficiently large it will
attract a larger display, and selections can be made of the
best.
Mr. Black — I suppose comparatively few people can make a
display of basswood honey. I can't get enough to make a display
as the majority of bees around here can't get it; but* most
places can get the amber honey, and there is no premium for
this except in large displays of honey, and the show at the
Fair tends to increase the consumption of it. It will be good
for the State if the people at large would use more honey.
Mr. Becker — I want to say one thing more, and it is this :
The State Bee-Keepers' Association have made the exhibits
at the Fair what they are. You remember the time when
there was no rule to govern honey exhibits, and you re-
member the time that parties came with two or three hun-
dred pounds of honey and got the premiums? I remember it
very well, the first or second year of the Fair. Now in order
to make an effort to receive the first premium on all of the
honey, it won't do for him to come with any amount less
than 1,300 pounds of honey; that is the amount he has to
have if he wants to score for the first premium. It some-
times takes as much as 6,000 pounds of honey, and they have
to be put into separate packages, and there is considerable
work and lots of experience connected with it. I believe if
the Committee would lay it before the State Board of Agri-
culture, and they understood it, they would increase our
premiums all the way through the list. When I go to the
Fair I want to get first premium, if I can, but it takes me from
a month to six weeks' hard work to get ready for the State
Fair. I have to put the honey into jars, and clean them, and
then probably have to heat them all over before going to the
Fair to prevent candying. It takes lots of time. Putting it
into packages and making designs takes lots of work, and I
believe they ought to increase our premiums — at least some of
them. It was time our premium list was revised. We have
had no change for five or six years.
Pres. Smith — Anything further on this question? All in
favor of it signify by saying "Aye." Carried.
Mr. Stone — Are we to understand that this Premium List
Committee are to ask for a general revision of the list, or
just a change on the points named?
Pres. Smith — A general revision, I believe.
Mr. Baxter — That was the motion, to raise the premium
on designs in beeswax and the amber honey.
Pres. Smith — Next comes the reception of members and
collection of dues. The dues have been paid.
Mr. Becker moved to adjourn until 1 130 p. m., which
motion was carried.
It
^■f)C5^^^s!s-.:
:/
state bee-keepeks' association * ^
First Day — Afternoon Session.
Pres. Smith — Miscellaneous business is next.
Mr. Stone — I don't know of anything under that head
that remains unfinished.
Pres. Smith — We have to stop for a while, for the next
thing is the election of officers. We might open the question-
box. If any member has an3^hing that he would like to bring
before the meeting it will be proper now.
Mr. Stone — We have always had our election on the after-
noon of the second day.
Mr. Miller — It will be proper to ask questions.
Mr. Stone — I suggest we open the question-box.
Feeding Bees Late in the Fall.
Mr. Miller — While you are getting it ready, I will ask
this question: Suppose you have a colony you have exam-
ined at this time of the year and found they haven't enough
honey to carry them through, how do you feed them?
Mr. Dadant — I take it that to this question there is only
one solution, and that is the feeding of sugar candy, put it
right over the combs. Bee-keepers know how to make sugar
candy, and by placing it right over the combs the bees reach
it. While I think the honey will go a long way, they will eat
less of sugar candy than of honey. It is good food, especially
for bees in winter. If I had a good cellar and they needed
feeding, I would put them into the cellar before I gave them
the candy.
Mr. Miller — I • will ask Mr. Dadant if he feeds clover
honey in the frame.
Mr. Dadant — I think it would be more economical to
feed sugar candy.
Mr. Black — That is right, if it is not too cold to get into
cellar. I had some colonies in September (I had many colo-
nies of bees at that time), and thought they had to be fed.
I was busy and didn't get to them until the latter part of
November. I took them to a darkened room and fed three
of them very satisfactorily that way. I put them into a warm
room and put the sugar and honey underneath. It seems to
be all satisfactory if one has frames from either side that are
full of honey. Another point is to ventilate enough. I know
a friend who keeps some frames of honey purposely to put in,
in the spring. He puts in frames that are filled. He has quite
a number in stock to feed.
Mr. Johnson — Last year, along the latter part of Feb-
ruary, we had some hives I could look into, and when I ex-
amined them I found several combs out of honey, and. I tried
this candy above the frames, the way Mr. Abbott told us
to make it, and I lost colonies that seemed to starve to death
with no honey in the hive. I found that if you leave some
space — 2 or 3 inches — ^between the frames, let your comb
honey, if you have it 2-3 full, down from the top, giving
a space over, where they caUj take the honey from above,
and bring it down but not from below and bring it up. In
that way I had 10 colonies in fine shape that were fed section
r^'y'/-fy.,;^^^''^'f;-^^-^-^'^-^^>'--r^ -■ * ' • A - "* ■■^- ■'■:-■, ' ;■/•?■ ~;.,.:'^■■=l ■■?.>• ■:'r-vTv- -.T.'*^^T' ■s^^^'>--r''5'.~
38 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
honey. There wa^one thing of which I was a little doubtful,
and I would like to hear about it: I asked Mr. Dadant be-
cause he had experience in that line. It is where you lay the
frame of comb down to take that honey through to the
clusters.
Mr. Smith — Mr. Johnson has a paper, and we would like
to hear from him if he has brought it with him.
Mr. Johnson — I prepared a paper, but I don't know
whether I ought to take up the time or not.
Mr, Stone — We would like to ask the other members if
any of them have papers.
Mr. Johnson — There is a saying that a small man chooses
a big subject, and I am no exception, and I don't know
whether you will agree with me or not.
HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE HONEY-FLOW
This is a subject on which many bee-keepers differ in
opinion, but I will try and tell how I am able to obtain the
best results in building up or getting colonies strong in spring,
so as to be ready for the honey-flow.
First, let me say that if a colony is just fairly strong in
young bees, with all the brood in the hive that they can take
care of, and only a few field-bees, they are not ready for the
honey-flow, but they should have a large force of bees over
15 days old. From close observation I find that in a good
honey-flow bees that are only 15 days old will beg in as
fielders. We should also have many younger bees to build
comb and do other indoor work. When we do give attention to
this matter we often find that the hives do not become well
filled with bees until the honey-flow has been on for some
time, and thus we lose a good share of our crop, and get our
bees strong about the time the honey-flow closes; thus the
field-bees become consumers instead of producers.
In the spring, in my locality, the soft maples that grow
near the water's edge along the river begin yielding pollen
during the last part of March or first of April. After the
maples, is the elm, then red willow, box-elder, wild goose-
berry, wild plum, Japan plum, and pears, then cherries, apples,
and last of the tree fruits are the wild crab-apple; then rasp-
berry, blackberry, and last, white clover and basswood. Now
if we could have fine weather during all this bloom my bees
would need no tinkering with at all, as they would be in
fine shape to take care of the honey-flow; but nearly every
year I find that we have so many bad-weather days that often
the bees can only work on this early bloom a part of the
time, and thus they do not build up to strong colonies as they
should. So I try to produce artificially, as near as I can,
the same results as though the weather was favorable. This
I do by stimulative feeding, and although I am aware that I
am treading on dangerous ground, I will explain how I do
this.
Dr. Miller has been asked the question, "Shall I feed to
stimulate brood-rearing in the spring? and shall I spread the
brood?" His answer was in this wise:' "Stimulative feeding
m
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 39
and spreading brood is a pretty safe thing for a beginner to
let alone;" which is no doubt true, but I would answer it in
this way:
Stimulative feeding is important, and brings good re-
sults if properly done; but spreading brood in the spring
should never be practiced, as it nearly always results in harm.
If bees are fed properly they will spread the brood as fast
as they can cover it to keep it warm.
My hives all face the east, and in winter and spring they
are covered with four thicknesses of newspaper on all sides
except the front of the hive. It is very necessary that the
hive be warm during cold spring winds. I use an empty
super over the brood-frames which contains clean rags, cloths,
carpet, or anything that is clean and warm. I feed only at
dusk in the evening, and feed only sweetened water, using
about ^ luke-warm water and ■% honey or sugar, and never
begin feeding until maples are in bloom.
I use an atmospheric feeder, which is made by punching
small holes in the edge of the cover of a pint Mason fruit- jar,
or jelly tumbler. This feeder I place upside down on a little
block on the brood-frames under the cushion or cloths. If a
Mason jar is used, 2 empty supers as required, as one is not
high enough; but usually I use jelly tumblers, and for ordi-
nary colonies that have considerable honey in their hives- I
consider one tumbler full enough at one feed; but if they are
a little short of honey I give them a full pint.
When the day has been warm, and they have been gath-
ering pollen freely,. they are not fed at all, unless they are
shore of honey.
The reason I feed sweetened warm water thus is as fol-
lows: It does not tax the strength of the bees to the extent
that it does for them to fly out in the cold wind and sip the
almost ice-cold water from the puddles on the ground. Bees
carry lots of water in the spring to be used in rearing brood,
and I am satisfied that each colony loses many — ^perhaps thou-
sands — of bees that become chilled by carrying cold water;
not only so, but the temperature of the cluster of bees in the
hive is lowered, and thus the brood becomes chilled.
Some bee-keepers claim that feeding causes bees to fly
out more in cold weather, but I find that when I feed as
above described they do not. They may buzz around in the
morning, but if they have a supply of warm sweetened feed
the evening before, they soon become satisfied; while colonies
suffering for water will send a lot of bees for water, and
thus they dwindle. Any practical bee-keeper can readily see
that a few more bees reared in early spring, and a few saved
from becoming chilled, will mean many more bees later on
when they are so much needed. And if many more are
reared, and many saved, a very strong colony at the begin-
ning of the honey-flow will be the result.
There is. one more point I wish to mention, which is
this: When a colony of bees are fed every evening when the
day has not been favorable, tjiey have a continual income
of food, and brood-rearing will be steady, and not spasmodic.
Not only so, but the bees will evaporate this sweetened water
40 PifTIt ANifUAt REPOR*
to some extent, and their continual activity will cause the
queen to become more prolific in her egg-laying.
Now I doubt not many bee-keepers will say that a tumbler
of sweetened water would not amount to much, but I find
bees should not be fed much, but just enough to supply water
for the brood, and have continual work.
Three years ago I succeeded in getting 250 pounds per
colony on the average, ^4 oi it being comb-honey, and I
increased my colonies 400 per cent, notwithstanding they were
very weak in the spring. I have some neighbors who are
pretty well up-to-date bee-keepers, but they did not feed in
the spring, and none of them averaged 100 pounds per
colony.
Some bee-keepers will say that if you succeed in getting
your colonies in a very flourishing condition, they will spend
their time in swarming, and not in gathering honey. Let me
say that such is sometimes the case, but if you succeed in
getting very strong colonies the swarms will be large, and if
manipulated properly, they will gather lots of surplus honey.
If white clover is abundant and shows signs of profuse
blooming, or if basswood trees show signs of abundant bloom,
I give first a super of shallow frames — combs if I have them —
and let the bees use them for brood-rearing until the be-
ginning of the honey-flow. This will prevent the swarming
fever, to considerable extent.
I have had new swarms, when they were very large, to
fill 60 sections in less than 2 weeks; but of course not cap
them all.
A colony of bees gather at least from 100 to 200 pound^
of honey annually to keep up brood-rearing, and for winter
stores, even if we get no surplus; and if I have a clover or
basswood honey-flow, with plenty of bees in each colony as
fielders, it won't take long to get an extra 100 pounds of sur-
plus honey per colony.
J. E. Johnson.
Williamsfield, 111.
Mr. Dadant — I think Mr. Johnson is exactly right in his
advice, and in the facts that he sets forth. I have been in
favor of stimulation for years, and I recommend it, but of
course a great many people attempt their stimulation of colo-
nies at the wrong time; that will have to be abolished. I
used the preparation that Mr. Johnson suggested, but I think
I mixed it too watery, I think probably a little richer food
would be better, but I don't believe in giving too much water
to bees; they don't go after water when they can get fresh
honey. If they get fresh honey it will be just right.
Mr. Stone — I would like to ask Mr. Dadant why he
does'nt use much water? Do you think it makes too much
moisutre in the hive?
Mr. Dadant — It evaporates at the surface ; that is the only
reason I have for saying that I think Mr. Johnson is right.
Mr. Johnson — My idea is to produce artificial food, as
near as can be obtained, to the natural honey-comb. That
of nature is very clear, and has a good deal of water in it;
i--. ^- i?.i'_,' - At. : .Zr H
^/
-*!
STATi: See-keepers* associatio*! 41
it has to be evaporated, and that is the natural way, and it
seems to me the proper way. I leave a good deal of honey
so they don't have to live from hand to mouth. I don't feed
them anything on the days they work. It is a good thing
to keep it warm, and to feed it only in the hive. In fact,
I have tried outdoor feeding and I don't want any more of it.
I always feed inside the hive, an-d find it the best way. I
think a great deal of water is used when the bees are gath-
ering; they get this water naturally, but some days they don't
get it, and when it is cold you see them going in different
directions for nothing but water. They will have cold water,
and you see them around the pumps where they will get
chilled. I believe a great deal of foul-brood is caused by
them getting water.
Mr. Black — A good many things have been said about
stimulative feeding. I tried it and thought I had discovered
how to get my bees in good condition, and I was very suc-
cessful. I stimulated about half of those I had, and I doubled
the quantity of honey from them and thought I was away
ahead. Those not stimulated seemed to want to swarm and ' ._
be idle and. lie around. The idea that we should give the :,'''-:''-^^.^^
honey in the condition that it comes from the field, I don't
think good. I think that much labor in evaporating is thrown :
upon the bees and is unnecessary. Nature knows how to do ; >
it, and the nearer we get to Nature the better we will suc-
ceed. We must remember that Nature gives us only a pat-
tern, and we have made the improvements artificially, and
while there are certain rules of Nature which must be fol- .-s
lowed it is well to use artificial means. \ ,^^^
Mr. Miller — I have had some experience in the last year. t''^:-"-.^
I practiced stimulative feeding and found the rules men- >^ "; -a
tioned were very satisfactory; and two years ago, when I took
my bees out of the cellar there were several colonies that were
not what they should have been. I had almost given up get- '
tirfg an5rthing from the small amount of bees, and I prac-
ticed stimulative feeding, and, as Mr. Black said, it has .,
resulted grandly, and I do it very much in the way Mr. John-
son has said. I use the queen-excluder with the cap over it.
I produce only comb honey, have lots of boxes with caps
to cover the honey-board. I have a little where the bees -.i^
can handle it without falling in the honey. I put them on ::./:.-''^^^.
the honey-board and feed them. A small amount is better
than a large amount, because it makes activity, and they will
go out, so I feed a small amount that they may go out-doors.
I have found it wonderfully successful. I have been sur-
prised at the result. I give them plenty of ventilation, and
don't fear the swarming business. Stimulative feeding pro-
duces great increase of bees. If you properly ventilate the
hive, and give plenty of room, this stimulative feeding is
great. No question about it, if it is done at proper seasons
of the year.
Mr. Black — A great many argue against stimulative feed-
ing because they say the bees will swarm to death. I don't
care whether they swarm or not. If you have a big colony , : - .
you get lots of honey whether they swarm or not. I have
42 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
had 3 years withoot one swarm; they gathered 230 pounds
of honey, but they are large enough to work in 3 supers at one
time. Where I get a large flow I put them on starters. I
didn't put them on combs, for too many of the bees work
in the lower super. I want all the upper story with the queen
for the honey-flow. If you get the colonies in good shape
before the honey-flow they will stay together and not swarrn;
you get lots of honey, and even if they do swarm they will
get lots of honey.
Mr. Stone — This is an important question. You don't
know how many people want these reports, just for informa-
tion on this line. They want the reports for what they can
get out of them, and that is one of the principal things they
want information about.
Mr. Black — A good many times some point I think I un-
derstand very well, and some one gets up and gives me an
idea worth a great deal. I think too many persons are in the
habit of thinking that every one understands it, and it is
dropped. I have come to the conclusion that I don't know
about stimulative feeding, and I have practiced it for the last
25 years.
Mr. Stone — I am with Mr. Black along that line. There
has been a subject in the bee-papers that talked for and
against stimulative feeding. Some are afraid to stimulate
because it will make their bees swarm. I want to say there
are a good many things we can learn. Just a little paragraph
will give you an idea, and set j'ou right on something that you
had been skeptical alDout.
Mr. Black — The honey will last if all the covers are down
perfectly air-tight.
Mr. Miller — There is possibly one objection, in my opin-
ion, that in regard to the amount. I prefer a small amount.
In feeding a small amount by stimulative feeding in the top
of the hive, there is no trouble to follow up a few colonies
of bees. I find that whenever I put in hon«y in the spring
the bees won't work; a small amount is better. I feed in the
morning,
Mr. Johnson — There is one point I have tried some, and
I have pretty well settled it to my satisfaction. It doesn't
pay to feed in the morning; I want to feed in the evening,
whether in the spring or fall, because there is then no dan-
ger of robber-bees. In the spring, if you feed in the even-
ing they will store quite a bit of honey. If the day is fine
they will work well while feeding. There is one thing more
that I thought of as Mr. Black spoke, that is, the syrup should
be thinner. I think that is one of the main reasons why
people have failed with stimulative feeding — feeding it so
thick that it will make them rob. If you feed it thin they
won't get excited, and if it is fed in the morning, I think it is
a bad time, as they will get excited and they will rob. In
feeding in the evening, and feeding the syrup thin and warm,
I never have had any trouble with robbing.
Mr. Stone — I would like to ask Mr. Johnson if he ever
tried putting the feed in the portico of the hive in the even-
ing, and let it remain there over night.
STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION
43
Mr. Johnson — Yes, I tried that. That was the trouble-
it caused robbing.
Mr. Stone — Did you go there early in the morning and
take it away?
Mr. Johnson — Not very early; I am' not an early riser.
Mr. Stone — When you went there you found it all gone,
and the bees robbing, because you should have taken it away
before the "early bird" was out.
Mr. Johnson' — I made a practice of feeding a little at night.
They would take it, but sometimes they didn't find it at all that
^^^^S^^KK^M
n^^^^^^^^^^^^BB^-'
1
Hjlipi^
t'-^.it'^^^^^^^^^^K^^B^^
^HIb Ira^^l^^^^l^^
J. Q. Smith,
President Illinois State Bee-Keepers^ Association.
night — ^the other bees found it. The Vice-President of the
Northern Illinois Bee-Keepers' Association was the man
that gave me the idea on feeding, he is the Dr. Miller of our
Association. He has a box that fits right over, and the bees
go into it; the other bees can't find it without going into
the hive. He feeds in the daytime, and has pretty fair suc-
cess.
Mr. Stone — I like that idea.
Mr. Johnson — When he feeds that way he only punches
holes on the side next to the hjve, and about 6 or 8 small
ones. I don't like out-door feeding except they feed in the
hive.
MiMM&iL&iM(^^£^^^^£SMi^^^^Mi
32fc^&iiSi5i;;f-i'y' ii^-.i^.^£^j^s.
'■"■:-^^^-^i:^'^^^^:LiM:- '
^^i«^-i.
i ; 'y:^f':- .-f'^^^^ss?g;i^^-:m::Pi^3^^i\-
48 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
get along without feeding. I don't think it pays me to feed
Siem, and run the risk of getting anything out of them.
Mr. Baxter — As Mr. Crim says, circumstances alter
cases, and those circumstances are in the management. A
man must know how to act according to circumstances.
If you do that you will succeed. It is not easy to say
you are going to have a honey-flow in the spring, but if
you have a good lot of clover and plenty of bees you
are reasonably sure there is going to be a honey-flow. My
bees last spring — and Mr. Dadant knows I am not a bee-
keeper, I am a fruit-grower, although I have 200 colonies
of bees — came out in good shape, but the wetness of April
and May was very much against them. I tried stimulating;
I had some colonies that were much run down, but I
didn't let them go, I took care of them, and the result
was I got 130 pounds of white clover honey from each.
Did it not pay me? It did not take much time — I at-
tended to it all myself, and looked after my fruit interests
also this fall. There should have been the fall flow dur-
ing October and September. It is to be supposed they will
store honey at that time of the year. It pays to take care
of them well; it doesn't take much time, and it does lots
of good. I don't know anything about swarms, for I don't
get them.
Mr. Becker — I think the bees should be in good con-
dition to ^ get the honey-flow. You can't tell at what time
the honeyrflow will come — there are exceptions to all rules.
I have ^en the ground white with clover, and no honey;
it happened this fall. I have often seen the fields yellow
and white, and still the bees getting nothing. Now if the
honey is not there they can't get it. You can't get blood
out of a turnip.
Mr. Black — I understood Mr. Baxter to say we ought
to be able to know whether we are going to have a
honey-flow or not,
, Mr. Baxter — If the winter is normal the probability is
that when the time comes there will be honey, and it is
your duty to get your bees in condition to take care of the
clover when it comes.
Mr. Becker — I asked the question last fall at the con-
vention. Will we have a white clover honey crop this year?
Several of us said, "Yes." That is all right, we will
have a honey crop. Now I find that we may sow, but the
chances are we may not reap, and that we may do all
we can, but unless we have the weather to help us it will
be a failure. In Sangamon County we didn't get much
honey at all. Then take 60 miles east of here they had a
crop of white clover; and you go west up to as far as the
Illinois River, and north to Chicago and Minneapolis, and
they had no white clover honey at all. The white clover
was killed last fall; just about this time it dried up, and
there was white clover here, and no rain in March or
April and 4 inches of rain on the first day of May. There-
fore, I say that what is probably good in one locality wouldn't
work in another, and what is good for one person will not.
-v,:4y^
STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION
49 ■ •;.;-Wi
always work for another, and we can't tell just what will
happen to our particular locality.
Mr. Crim — I find that bee-keepers ought to be fixed for \-
anv emergency. I have only 55 colonies of bees, that went
into winter quarters, and I have over 150 empty hives all
fixed for next spring. My idea is in the spring of the
year to do some equalizing — ^take the heavy and give to the
weak, and feed them till the brood comes. How can we ■ ;'^
expect to reap an abundance of honey unless we feed our :^.'':\y ■ /'^'^
bees so they can store it. We look for that, and I think .-r'\\,:-'M
we ought to be prepared. ^^3
Mr. Bowen — I want to suggest that we are switching off ■'':::■■■■ :-:'^//-M
the track, and I think we have talked about this subject ;V4Jii
long enough. The paper was on stimulating in the spring. :;^
We don't know whether we are going to have a good honey- -rS
flow, but if the prospects show we have a chance of a good ^~-'im
honey-flow I, of course, say we ought to prepare for it. '.--J
I missed it this year, and I got quite a bit of honey, but - ^^
not what I expected. This thought was suggested to me i;3
about outside feeding: It is something I don't do under any ' • *fl
circumstances, even if there are no other bees near me, : '
for I treat my own bees right in the hive. A colony that is
strong doesn't need the stimulating. In outside feeding
the probability is that the weak colonies will have but a very
small share of it, where if you feed in the hive each one ':
gets what he needs.
Mr. Black — It seems to me that you are right. My -
friend asked for advice, and I told him to come down here ^■■■'' --,:-Y:^
tomorrow and he would get it. I don't use extracted "^"^
honey always when I feed. I may be an old fogy, but I
guess the man that has had the experience that I have had -%
will not go for extracted honey. I am in a county where ; ' S
there are various flowers; there is more profit in comb :
honey than in the extracted. >
Mr. Johnson — I have been producing both the comb ; ;?i
and the extracted honey. I think there is not much profit
in producing extracted honey, as I would have to look at ,
my colonies more carefully. They get too much in the top
story and not enough in the lower story. Another thing, r.. -'■
you can't get as much for extracted honey. During the ' ;^
last 2 or 3 years I have been trying to train my customers
up to eating extracted honey. Some of them won't eat ~ -»
anything but extracted honey. I tried this with one colony; .SI
I took the strongest I had then, and gave them especial — ----
attention. I gave them shallow frames, and let them rear :.
brood in another .set, and I finally had them trained till
they filled 3 of the brood-chambers and 3 supers, and I -
got 150 pounds of extracted honey from that colony, and '. -:-^'- ' '' • ^'-■'■'r?^
they have about 80 pounds left for winter. The best I got : '
of comb honey was 60 pounds per colony. I don't suppose
I could have done this with any but the strongest colony.
Mr. Black — Do you think that was an average, or an , . ':-': .,
exception ? ; :M
Mr. Johnson — No, this wa^ one of the best colonies I ''\:..;^'/'\%
had.
,W ''■7<'-^'s?-i'^'''^'
50 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
Mr. Black — The labor and profit would have been equal
if you had one-half extracted and the other comb honey.
Mr. Johnson — No, it was no profit to produce all ex-
tracted honey.
Mr. Black — They gave you extracted honey, but didn't
they give you that much less comb honey as well?
Mr. Johnson — Well, no, I had comb honey. This one
colony of bees gave me 60 pounds ; the other was 150 pounds.
Of course the seasons are different this year. We had
a honey-flow that they would store in these extracted combs
when they didn't do anything in the other. Two years
will make so much difference.
How TO Use the State Appropriation.
Mr. Stone — We have a question here, "How shall the
State appropriation be used?
Mr. Black — The way to do the most good for the State
in general.
Mr. Stone — I believethe whole question is involved in the
way we use it. We will use it the best we can. The Executive
Committee have it in charge, and they use it for publishing
this Report, and for the extermination of foul-brood. You
see what has been done. Everyone understands that pretty
well. If they don't, they can find out from our inspector
of foul brood. It will be well to hear him tell us what his
experience has been.
Pres. Smith — I can give some of it now.
Mr. Johnson — In asking that question, it is not how it
has been used, probably, but how we can use it to the best
advantage.
Mr. Black — I think a suggestion could be made to
make it more beneficial to us all.
Mr. Stone — The Committee are always ready for sugges-
tions as to how it should be used. We see the amount in the
Treasury is over $900, and last year it came up to $1,000, and
if it keeps on increasing we will get over $1,000 by the end of
next year. We ought to use it all. If we don't do good
work with it the State will cut down on our appropriation.
We did intend to use more this year. We asked for $1,200,
that we might use $700 for foul-brood and have the balance
for this report. I would like to get the ideas from the As-
sociation as to the publishing of the Report. The Executive
Committee thought it better to have 50 copies of it cloth-
bound, and leave a few for Committee work in the legislative
halls. We send these off to the bee-papers, giving them a nice,
bound copy. I don't know whether it will meet with approval
or not, but I would suggest that we print enough of the cloth-
bound copies to give one to each member, and others go to
bee-keepers; 25 cents hardly pays for it.
Mr. Dadant — How many direct members have we?
Mr. Stone — 92.
Mr. Dadant — What does it cost to print them?
Mr. Stone — We paid over $400 to get 2,000 copies, 50 of
which were cloth-bound.
.KH^"n-?»^5s::^^«SS"tr=" ^ ^> \'"' 'f ' ff "'■ •fp t«l-'-e
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 51
Mr. Bowen — I would like to suggest that the money in
the Treasury could not be used to better advantage than to
give every member of this Association (whether he be a
direct Member or not, just so he is a Member of this Asso-
ciation), one of the cloth-bound copies. I find in the Western
Illinois Association, and probably the same in this, that there
are some bee-keepers who have quite a few bees, but you
can't get them to join an association. The Report will get
them to join, and this Association needs to get as many new
members as it possibly can get. If you can show any pros-
pective member a cloth-bound book like that, and say , that
every member gets a book like this, it will go a long way to
get them to join. I think the best thing to do is to have this
Association as large as can be, and get as many names as pos-
sible, and it will be more powerful.
Pres. Smith — I had a copy made of notes on inspecting,
had it with my papers, but it has been misplaced so I shall
have to take it from memory.
Mr. Stone — We would rather have it that way.
Report of the State Inspector.
Pres. Smith — I was in Whiteside County, where there is
,a lot of foul brood. I was called to go to Pope County,
along the Wabash River. I had been in Whiteside County
and so far had found the bees free from disease. Where I
found the disease I put them otl foundation, or told those
parties how to do it, and later in the season when I made a
trip there I found everything nice and clean. I believe that
we can accomplish more by doing something to educate the
bee-keepers than we can by a compulsory law on foul brood;
still, we must fight for the foul brood inspector for the des-
perate cases. Down in Wabash County, the home of Mr.
Shearer — I wrote him I could be there, and he notified every-
one he knew, and to those he didn't find he wrote postal
cards, and I think I met 230 there; they agreed to organize
a County Association, and try to exterminate foul brood. I
think more can be done in this way than by going around and
spending the money.
Mr. Bowen — I do not know how it may be in other States,
or in other localities, but Mr. Smith visited in our locality
and our people were willing to let him examine their bees
because he has a good way in going about among them ; prob-
ably another inspector might find trouble. The only trouble
with us is in getting him to come.
Mr. Stone — Probably they read the law in Illinois.
Mr. Bowen — The bee-keepers that have read up upon these
questions we will not be likely to have any trouble with;
it is the bee-keepers that haven't read, that we are likely
to have trouble with. But by going at them in the way Mr.
Smith does, we will not need to have the compulsory clause.
I don't believe we need it at all, if we can get a good many
other things we might ask for, to leave that out. Anyone
gets suspicious if we ask for eomething compulsory, and I
noticed in our locality that it is the up-to-date bee-keeper that
■•iJ§PW^- -'"•' "• ■"rT?;'<-.'?^-T-~?vs •-'S
52 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
is posted ; the farmer bee-keeper is not. The up-to-date bee-
keeper will send for queens, and get the disease, and then
the neighbor that has box-hives gets the disease, and it would
be unfair to say, You get these cleaned up or we will burn
up your hives ! It would be better to set a certain time,
and very few will object to it then.
Pres. Smith — ^The only objection I found is, What is it
going to cost me? They think it is going to. them some-
thing. If I get a letter stating that some bees are diseased,
I go just as soon as I can. Then we examine all the bees
in his neighborhood, as he might not be the only one in the
neighborhood that has the disease among his bees. I never
found any trouble when I told them it doesn't cost them
anji:hing. When they find that out they will help us all they
can.
Mr. Stone — I was going to say in addition to what we
learned from the talk of our foul brood inspector,that foul brood
in a neighborhood might come through a man having a number
of colonies, or one who has only a few bees. The man with
3 or 4 colonies that get the disease will keep it, while the
man who is making a business of bee-keeping would do his
best to exterminate it. The other man would keep the dis-
ease and would seed the whole neighborhood with foul
brood, and therefore we need a compulsory law.
Mr. Dadant — I think Mr. Bowen is right. Go at them
first with persuasion, then by force; but I don't think it will
do to have the impression printed in the Report that we
are not in favor of a compulsory law. I believe we ought
to have the law. I think the inspector ought to be kind
and considerate, and get all we can from people by kind
treatment, but if he finds people objecting to have their
bees inspected, he ought to have the authority to demand
permission to inspect, because you may come across people
who are inconsiderate in this matter, and would require force
to destroy the foul brood. We don't want to give out the
impression that we are not in favor of a compulsory law. We
can get the law if other States can. Other States have a
law about cattle, and one about Canada thistles. You can
compel people to have fumigating done to guard against
the spread of contagious diseases. I think we ought to have
the compulsory clause. I sent our inspector to several peo-
ple whose bees had foul brood, and I could have sent him
to several others if it would not have taken beyond the ap-
propriation. Even more good could have been accom-
plished. I have received letters from people whose bees
have foul brood.
Pres. Smith — I called at those places.
Mr. Dadant — Did you mention my letter? I think more
good can be done yet.
Mr. Smith — We went to look at an apiary and found
14 infected. Some were infected later, but we couldn't tell
it at the time. I found three neighbors with infected bees,
and left instructions to have them cleaned up and send in the
bill. When I went there the last time they were all nice
and clean. It would have been a great expense to go up
-S^!S^,"^?5='J
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 53
there myself, and I would have had to leave other places to
go there. If we can enlist the services of a good bee-keeper
to help us, we can cover more ground, and it will bring better
results.
Mr. Bowen — I don't believe we should leave out the
compulsory clause if we need it, but it seems it is not needed,
and if it is not needed the Legislature is against anything
compulsory, even though there are a goo4 many things
that are compulsory in the diseases of bees and animals,
but the chances are that if we hadn't struck out the last
clause we would have lost the whole thing. You will find
the people are willing to have their bees treated, and I don't
think it will be really necessary to have a compulsory law.
It seems to me the money can be used to better advantage,
if it goes toward getting out a good Report, advertising
our honey, and advertising this Association. I believe all
bee-keepers ought to be instructed about foul brood, what
it is and how to treat it. Get out some small pamphlets
concerning it, and send a dozen here and there to the small
bee-keepers, and it will do lots of good. It would be a
good idea to have pamphlets setting forth the benefits they
would get if they joined the Association, and advertise the
Association and help it. If I understand it rightly, this
appropriation is made by the State for the bee-keepers, and
this Association has the responsibility of handling the ap-
propriation. Still, every bee-keeper in the State of Illinois
is entitled to the benefits of this appropriation, if he asks for
• it. If enough of these reports were cloth-bound, and enough
printed so that anyone who wants them can get it, it would
be the proper way.
Mr. Black — If I am not mistaken the foul brood law was
passed by the Legislature in March, last year. I may not
be correct.
Mr. Stone — No, it passed the Senate, and was on second
reading in the House, where it died because of the sudden
adjournment of the legislature.
Mr. Black — I don't know just what part of the law it
was, but the objectionable grounds was because it gave the
inspector too much power, to simply go into anyone's prem-
ises and destroy the bees, and there was a feeling in the
Legislature against it because of that provision. It is hard to
get a law with the compulsory provision in it.
Mr. Baxter — This law gives us an appropriation which
is in force for two years, then it will have to be renewed
again. If you can't get the compulsory law, get the best
you can. I think we should have the compulsory law.
Mr. Stone — The Compulsory Law passed the Senate, and
got to a second reading in the House, and we were assured
by the member who handled it that it would surely pass, but
he was badly surprised when the session so suddenly ad-
journed.
Mr, Baxter — The State Veterinarian and the State Board
of Health have the same authority in cases of contagious
diseases, and I think we stould have it in this case; it is
only a question of judgment. I think the inspector of apiaries
?.*=;:- '^^^^x^^^i^Sr:^" ■
• "ii"-'^- f " ^?f '"?^!^ ^**?"
54 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
should be an able man, and know his business just as well as
the members of the State Board of Health.
Mr. Stone — We know what our inspector is doing from
the orders we have to pay. In one case we were asked for
an order for a man in the northern part of the State, for
$6.00 for two days' work, and in his letter he says my time
spent was worth two or three times that, but I will give the
balance to the cause of bee-keeping. If our inspector had
been there it would have been $8.00. Our funds are being used
economically — ^that is the reason our Treasury is full. We
ought to encourage our inspector to go into all parts of the
State, and do that kind of work. Another thing as to what
Mr. Johnson said. During the World's Fair, at Chicago, our
appropriation for a honey exhibit was not given till late in
May, and the other States had theirs in by the first of May.
That put us in a pretty bad position. I had access to all
crop reporters in the State — about 600 — and I suggested to
our Executive Committee that we send letters to those crop
reporters (return postals) for names of bee-keepers, and it
wasn't two weeks until we had nearly 2,000 bee-keepers'
addresses in our State of Illinois, at an expense of $12. At
that .expense we can again send out postal cards and get
the names of bee-keepers, and spnd out pamphlets on foul
brood, and I believe that our inspector would favor that kind
of action.
Mr. Dadant — I would like to bring up the question of
foul brood. My understanding is from the men that fol-
lowed up the bill, that the Bee-Keepers were in favor of a
Compulsory Bill. I am speaking of the progressive bee-
keeper, the man who attends bee-keepers' conventions, the
man who makes a business of keeping bees, not the man
who keeps them in the old-fashioned way — he probably did
not hear of the bill. My understanding is that the man
who helped with the Bill and was disappointed when it failed
to pass, was of the opinion that if the time had not been
cut short, it would have gone through. I think at the next
session it will be passed. I don't believe in putting an ar-
bitrary man in the office in any case, it would not be fair;
but take the just and good man, and it is necessary that he
should be backed with authority in case he should come across
a man who refused to have his bees examined. Therefore,
I believe it worth while to have the compulsory law. After
the law is passed, if they have an appropriation again, I
think it would be advisable to put them together. The com-
pulsory law regarding foul brood ought to be drawn up and
put before the Legislature again, and I think the time is
coming when we will succeed with it.
■ Mr. Stone — I want to say that they wouldn't put them
together. The Bill on the 14th page of the last Report we
had to divide. (See Report of Legislative Committee.)
Mr. Black — I think we should have a compulsory law.
The foul brood law in Missouri had a strong pressure
brought upon the Governor to sign it, and, from the in-
formation I have received, I understand that Missouri has a
no compulsory law.
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 55
Mr. Johnson — Do I understand you right, that the com-
pulsory part of this law, the way it was put, would become
a statute separate from the rest, and be a permanent law?
If we lose the compulsory part we might lose the other, if
one and the same bill. I think Illinois should have as good
a law as Missouri. They might favor one part even if they
didn't favor the other.
Mr. Stone — We were pleased when they were divided —
the one to be a permanent law — thought the appropriation
was safe, but as a whole we were not so sure.
Mr. Johnson — They failed to pass the compulsory part,
and passed the other.
Mr. Stone — They rejected two sections in one and put
in another Bill instead, and the member who handled it in
the House (our representative from Morgan County) ad-
vised us to get a different Bill to take the place of that,
and we proceeded as we have already stated in our Legisla-
tive Committee report.
Mr. Johnson — This is a different bill, then?
Mr. Stone — Yes, this is the bill that the Committee just
named — ^had drafted by the Attorney-General at the dicta-
tion of the Governor, and was just as near what we wanted
as we could get them to consent to put before the Legisla-
ture. We will have it in our Fifth Annual Report.
Mr. Crim — In my township I found there were 30 of the
bee-keepers who belong to this Association, 15 of them take a
bee-paper, who do not belong. There are 2 in particular that
don't care what is going on — they don't take the paper nor
belong to an association. It is for this reason that I am in
favor of a compulsory law.
Mr. Dadant — I don't know but it seems to me I heard
someone say there was no disease among the bees of the
progressive bee-keeper. It seems to me I heard some such .
statement.
Mr. Johnson — The progressive bee-keeper is very likely
responsible for the disease, by bringing it in in the first
place.
Mr. Dadant — There are times when the disease will start
in some locality, and the bee-keepers won't know about it.
The people are judged by the bee-keeper who takes care of
his bees. The progressive man gets rid of the disease, while
the other man does not notice it till he finds his colonies in a
rotting condition. The progressive bee-keeper will get the
blame, while the other man will care nothing about it, and
the disease will spread all over the neighborhood. It is just
the same as in human diseases — if it is not checked it will
spread all over the neighborhood. You find more cases of
disease in a city than in a small town. In Colorado and
California where there are a great number of bees it will
spread more rapidly — it is like a fire.
Do Bees Puncture Grapes ?
Mr. Stone — The next (question is: "Is it possible for bees
to puncture grapes?" This is an old — and settled question —
but someone wants it answered.
f^TP^^ > -:' ' - I » *J»'«i«^> '^J-'' •.-*-?■* • ""'J^'F t«/TSf ,-^ VT(n, 4j>
^ ■ 56 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
, ' Mr. Crim — The reason I asked that question is because
e " I have been complained to by many people saying that my
; , bees destroyed the grapes. I told them it was impossible —
'^ they had never caught them doing it, but still they thought (?)
;% they did.
^ Mr. Stone — Mr. Dadant has probably heard them talk
that wray. I have heard him answer that question in the State
Horticultural Society.
^ „ Mr. Crim — An old lady told me, "Those bees of yours
are destroying my peaches, and I found one peach filled up
t, with honey." I told her she would have prepared peaches
■" and honey then.
?' Mr. Stone — We want Mr. Dadant to answer that ques-
i. tion.
'? Mr. Dadant — We have had a great many complaints in
':: regard to this matter. We had a vineyard ourselves, but our
:jr neighbors wouldn't listen. We had neighbors who had half
% an acre, and in 1879 — one of the worst seasons for bees 1
■•v , ever remember — we really thought our neighbors were to be
gf ' our enemies. Every neighbor who had grapes said, "Dadant
''•^■:.' is getting rich off our grapes; his bees are making honey
from them." They got up a meeting, and wanted to get a
w law passed preventing people keeping more than 20 colonies
'^;, of bees. We were feeding our bees at the time. When we
;; . took the grapes out of the wagon I noticed a bunch of bees
■ on the board. I wondered what was there, and I found three
'--: dead bees on that bunch of grapes. There was a small de-
?:v: pression made in one of the grapes, but there was no harm
fc"~- ; done to that bunch of grapes. The next experiment was to
^i. . ' put bunches of grapes in different hives of bees. We left
^f.?. , them 3 or 4 weeks. In some cases when we examined them
W '-;, ' we found the bunch covered with propolis, as they cover
'J:, ^ . anything that gets in their way — but all the grapes were per-
^ - feet. A year or two later I had an experience with a lady ;
; ' she said, "Your bees are eating my grapes." I told her it was
j}; > . a mistake, and showed her it was no easier for a bee to
i£ puncture a grape than it would be for me to bite into the
/ flat surface of a board, because the tongue or hps of the
■p; : • , bee could not grasp the skin of the grape. She had seen the
V ^ bees on the grapes and thought it was the bees that were
I*' puncturing them. We made the experiment; put some sound
I • ^ fruit in the hive, and let them work on it, but they could
^ not puncture it. Show the people that it is a mistake. You
f; can't go into the vineyard after sunrise but what you can
pi; see bees on the grapes and on the peaches. If you go daily
t: . ' you will see that it is the birds that do the damage.
I-- Mr. Crim — I found out to my satisfaction that it is the
|. . mashed fruit the bees go for.
X:r Mr. Black — The worst bird is the oriole.
^; Mr. Stone — I am afraid you are mistaken in that. The
%:' greatest puncturer of grapes I have ever found is the wasp.
t. S I have seen bees following them to get the first suck — after
^;. the wasp had done the puncturing.
It;. Mr. Baxter — I have been watching the birds, and I can
1"^- say that the Baltimore oriole and the robin are the two worst
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION, . 57
birds we have. We catch the sparrows lots of times, but the
Baltimore oriole and the robin cleaned out my vineyard, and
didn't leave a thing — not a berry left. I caught about a hun-
dred at it at one day, and couldn't find my gun. I asked my
boy about it and he had broken it and. hid it.
Mr. Stone — I want to defend that oriole, for it is one of
the prettiest birds we have, if you mean the black and yellow
kind. Is that the Baltimore oriole ? I never caught that bird
going in groups, and that is the way they go after fruit.
Mr. Blacic — They go singly, alone; that is the oriole.
Mr. Stone — I will quote what Assistant Ornothologist at
Washington — F. E. L. Beal, B. S., says about the Baltimore
oriole :
"Brilliancy of plumage, sweetness of song, and food
habits to which no exception can be taken, are some of the
striking characteristics of the Baltimore oriole. In summer
this species is found throughout the northern half of the
United States, east of the Great Plains, and is welcomed
and loved in every country home in that broad land. In
the Northern States it arrives rather late, and is usually
first seen, or heard, foraging amidst the early bloom of
the apple-trees, where it searches for caterpillars, or feeds
daintily on the surplus blossoms. Its nest commands hardly
less admiration than the beauty of its plumage or the excel-
lence of its song. Hanging from the tip of the outermost
bough of the stately elm, it is almost inaccessible, and so
strongly fastened as to bid defiance to the elements.
"By watching an oriole which has a nest, one may see
it searching among the smaller branches of some neighboring
tree, carefully examining each leaf for caterpillars, r.nd oc-
casionally trilling a few notes to its mate. Observation both
in the field and laboratory shows that caterpillars constitute
the largest item of its fare; for in 113 stomachs they formed
34 percent of the food, and are often in varying quantities
during all the months in which the bird remains in this
country, although the fewest are eaten in July, when a little
fruit is also taken. The other insects consist of beetles,
bugs, ants, wasps, grasshoppers, and some spiders. The
beetles are principally click beetles, the larvae of which are
among the most destructive known ; and the bugs include
plant and bark lice, both jV-ery harmful, but so small and ob-
scure as to be passed over unnoticed by most birds. Ants
are eaten mostly in spring, grasshoppers in July and August,
and wasps and spiders with considerable regularity through-
out the season.
"Vegetable matter amounts to only a little more than
16 percent of the food during the bird's stay in the United
States, so that the possibility of the oriole doing much dam-^
age to crops is very limited. The bird has been accused of
eating peas to a considerable extent, but remains of peas
were found in only two stomachs. One writer says they
damage grapes, but none were found. In fact, a few black-
berries and cherries compijised the only cultivated fruit de-
tected in the stomachs, the remainder of the vegetable food
being wild fruit and a few miscellaneous seeds."
^>>^^?!^^^^■_-■ . ;. ■.-• -^^ ->-■;■ ■■ : -^ >-'">--;^;rr^;^^- ^^:.-^r^
•: ■ -..."^ >-'-.>v- iic: -;^\^--' v/ ■-\-;v^j^*7;---7'^-j.^ -ft'; yj-t"'-- -^
58 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
Mr. Miller — There are two species of oriole; some have
lots of yellow, and some have not.
Mr. Stone — The yellow oriole is the one accused of do-
ing the damage to the grapes, and I venture to say that if
you will look carefully when you see the oriole at your
grapes you may discover it is after the wasps that come to
the grapes.
Mr. Miller — I would like to ask if there are not certain
seasons in the year when the grape will crack of itself.
Mr. Stone — I had nearly loo colonies of bees and I had
only 6 grapevines at that time; they were loaded with grapes.
That was during my early experience, and I thought the bees
could eat the grapes right up. I had always believed they
could puncture grapes. We were anticipating a visit to my
wife's old home, to be gone 3 or 4 days. I said, "Before we
get back the bees will have all the grapes eaten." My wife
said, "We can't do anything with them now," so we let
them alone, and when we got back I went to see if there
were any grapes left. I found that but a very few were gone.
If the bees could have eaten those grapes they would have
eaten the last one, for they were getting no honey at all.
Very early in the morning I saw a robin. I went out and
shot 3 robins, and I never saw another bee at the grapes.
It is not a bird's nature to eat fruit. I noticed one year .
the birds were not eating cherries. We had quantities to
sell, and in going over the pasture one morning, I made the
remark about the number of millers that were flying ahead
of us — they were as thick as grasshoppers. In the afternoon
I was picking cherries, and we had been wondering why
the cherries were so ripe and no birds after them. Below
me, in the forks of the tree was a robin's nest, and it con-
tained young birds. Every once in a while I would see the
mother robin come to the nest with her mouth full of mil-
lers; there were a very few seeds in the bird's nest, and not
a cherry to be seen on the tree that was bird-pecked, but
that robin made a visit about every 3 minutes to that nest
with her mouth full of millers. I made up my mind right
there that I would never kill another bird, except crows and
sparrows, and I am now about to make terms of peace with
the latter.
Mr. Baxter — Birds are like the human race, they have
to be educated to what they eat. Now at home they have
their taste educated for fruit; they take ever3d:hing, not only
grapes, but even the strawberries, raspberries, cherries, and
even the apples. You will find a robin with an apple partly
eaten, and I said, "I will kill every bird I catch at the work."
Mr. Stone — Mr. Baxter, they are only doing that because
of necessity. Your bees don't go to the grapes when there
is plenty of honey; they eat the fruit because there is nothing
else. The same with birds; if they can get millers to eat they
won't touch the fruit ; and if we kill all the birds, our fruit-
trees and all will be destroyed by worms and insects.
Mr. Black — I have a large patch of raspberries; when the
birds find them I get less than half a crop; the same way
with cherries.
■^^v"'^- ^- ■; ■*- - ' •" — -^f-^ y-=^,'*<--^-■<--T_c^%*'-^?»"J^,^^v'^.rfs!rrI>■-i;^?»;7-
STATE bee-keepers' association 59
Mr. Stone — Necessity. When our pasture fails we have
to feed our stock something till it comes again. So with the
birds when their crop of insects is all destro5'ed, and our fruit
crop saved, for shame if we can't spare the dear birds a
small portion of it. Thus far we have had fine fruit without
spraying, and we give the birds their share of the praise for
it, and we are friends to all of them but crows; they kill
other young birds.
Mr. Black — It is a necessity for me to have the cherries,
as well as the birds.
Mr. Johnson — I suggest we come back to the question
of the foul brood inspection of bees.
Again the Disposition of the Appropriation.
Mr. Stone — The next question is, "What we shall do with
our mOney?" — ^meaning the appropriation.
Mr. Johnson — I suggest that we print more copies of
the Report, and every member of this Association be entitled
to a cloth-bound copy.
Mr. Dadant — I think the motion should be made to in-
struct the Secretary to have as many of the cloth-bound
copies printed as will be needed for the members of this
Association, and there should be left enough to send to other
societies.
Mr. Johnson — I believe if every member of this Asso-
ciation gets a cloth-bound Report there will be a great many
more members.
Mr. Baxter — This should be applied to all members.
Mr. Stone — Our cloth-bound Reports are about 30 cents
a piece for the cost-price, and for members paying 25 cents.
It is for this Association to vote whether it is best to have
the cloth-bound, and have some to send to other societies.
Mr. Johnson — When we come into this Association as a
body we only get the rate the first year ; after that we have
to pay our dollar.
Mr. Stone — If you come in through the other Association
you can come every year for 25 cents.
Mr. Smith — They drop out again if they don't pay, as
the fee is annual.
Mr. Johnson — It is not so much what we pay into the As-
sociation, it is public. This appropriation, by the State,
the tax-payers pay for it; it is customary, and right and
proper, and just and honest, that every bee-keeper be enti-
tled to the benefit of this Association, therefore it will be
proper to send every bee-keeper a cloth-bound Report,
whether they are members or not, but especially those who
intend becoming members, they ought to have one, the same
as those now belonging. I understand there are smaller as-
sociations in this State; it would be a good thing to have as
many as possible in the State, and have them join this As-
sociation. We ought to encourage it; it will do more good,
and the inspector can visit , these local associations and in-
struct the bee-keepers, and educate the people so they will
be on their guard against foul brood and can cure it if their
'^^j'^^Tr.'.^f^ "-t \??'f*^-v^^^^?5^5^
60 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
bees get it. This Association should do all it can for the
smaller societies, and help them on. I think it would in-
crease the membership of this Association. It will induce
bee-keepers to become members of both Associations, all
should be treated as nearly alike as possible.
Pres. Smith — They are now all treated alike. Those
joining this Association through other associations, get the
Report, and have the same rights as regular members.
Mr. Baxter— Can those outside of the State become mem-
bers of this Association?
Pres. Smith — A good many members of the Chicago
Northwestern joined, that live in Wisconsin.
Mr. Baxter — I don't believe it will be right.
Mr. Bowen — I doubt if you could send the Report outside
of the State.
Mr. Baxter — If they join this Association they will be
entitled to it.
Mr. Dadant — These members belong to an Association
within the State — it meets in Chicago; what if they do get
our Report, there will be only a few of them outside the
State. I don't think it will be worth while to consider it.
Those that join from the other association ought to be
entitled to a Report, but our appropriation is given to us by
the State, and we ought to remember it, and use it ex-
clusively in the State. Don't send the Reports to people
who will throw them away — but don't throw them in the
basement of the State House. Try to help the people who
will appreciate them. The man that is interested in his bees
is interested enough to read the Reports. The man who is
proud of his bees is the man we want in our Association.
We want to have our Association at Springfield. It is all
right to give outside of the State if you are sure to have
enough to give in the State. Let me give you an instance:
I belong to what is called the Mississippi River Improve-
ment Association. We want to improve the Mississippi
- River. We printed 500 maps of the upper Mississippi and
sent them to the members. They for no one else and how
would we know it if some one else did want them?
Mr. Johnson — There is something I want to bring up,
and I don't believe any time will be lost in discussing it;
that is, the advantages of Springfield. I have been in Chi-
cago, Kansas City, and St. Louis, but never in Springfield
before; this is a good place to get people to come to see the
sights. This is the first time I ever saw the State House,
and there are so many things to see that it will be a great
'^ inducement for people to come to this convention. When-
ever there is a convention held at Washington, many peo-
ple will attend to see the sights and scenes they have read
about. So will they be paid in coming here.
Mr. Black — What was the question before the house ?
Mr. Stone — The motion had a second. I was going to
second it, and some one else did.
Mr. Johnson — I suggested we word it a little differently.
Pres. Smith — Are you ready for the question? AH in
>.?/''T-t "^i V * '■ ' -^ j1i-i-X -
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 61
the Secretary be instructed to get out sufficient cloth-bound
Reports to supply the members of this Association.
Mr. Stone — I take it this means the Executive Com-
mittee, which includes the President, Secretary and Treas-
urer.
Pres. Smith — ^Are you ready for the question?? All in
favor signify sa3ring Aye. (Motion carried.)
Mr. Johnson — And one thing more: The small pamph-
lets can be given to people; in different localities there are
many bee-keepers that don't like to have the inspector come
and look at his bees. If he would read a pamphlet on the
subject he wouldn't be so hard to convince.
Pres. Smith — There are pamphlets on the subject.
Mr. Johnson — I think the small bee-keepers we should
approach very carefully about foul brood, and educate him,
and let him know that if the disease gets among his bees
the honey is not dangerous. We are likely to give out the
impression that the honey is dangerous, and we ought to
have it stated in the pamphlet, telling them that foul brood
honey is no more dangerous than the bread they eat. Peo-
ple have the impression that anything with a germ in it is
going to kill some one; most of the germs are for our
benefit. And I believe that people are likely to get the im-
pression that the honey is dangerous to eat. I suggest that
we get out pamphlets written up in good shape— something
that we can depend upon.
Mr. Dadant — This Report has quite a statement in re-
gard to foul brood, and I believe it is better to have the same
this year. There are so many pamphlets flying around loose
that very few people read them. If you have it in a book
everyone wants it, for they will last a long time. This was
done without suggestion on the part of the members, was it
not, Mr. Secretary?
Mr. Stone — We put in just such things as we think are
education along the line of bee-keeping.
Mr. Dadant — I suggest we have a good deal inserted
concerning foul brood. I don't like the idea of the pamph-
lets; I would like to see it in a book.
Mr. Johnson — I had at one time quite a Ubrary — ^part
of it is now in Kansas, part in Illinois, and I made a rule
that people couldn't borrow my books. But we want the
pamphlets to go to the small bee-keeper. We don't want to lend
them our Report, for they will keep it. A pamphlet is inex-
pensive, and we can instruct the bee-keepers about the foul
brood law, and they will instruct their neighbors.
Mr. Miller — While we are endeavoring to send out litera-
ture for the welfare of the bee-keepers and the suppression
of foul brood, would it not be well to put in something that
will be an inducement for the greater consumption of honey,
such - as the food value of honey, etc. I suggest we send
to the general public a pamphlet along with this foul brood
business, something of honey as a food; it will lead to an
extension of the consumption of honey. If you have the
honey, and no sale for it, it is not worth so much to us.
Something is needed to induce the people to use more honey.
_ •» __.^- .»!''— •<-.i^
'■-n'
62
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
SMli'^^^'^o^^ 5f '„1/t' = food dea, bv
Pres S vl t' *^P^"Jon. "^ ^° '^^ ^t aside and for-
troubled to reSh ' T ^,* ^^\^Snorant ones are fh? ^^""'^^ «"
different tW? o\, ^ ^^^^ been in the cm,nf^ ^ °"^^ ^^ are
to fin5 some of wf.T "^'^"^^"^ business an^T^ ^°°^ ^^^' ^t
no reading m^^; ^^^* ^^ <:an our best f^r^ "^^^ surprised
Priation/we want IT'T'a'i™- Now we L I""'''' '°
keepers.' Yo„"'L"j3 °,*"d= " 'T "''"^d taeres ''S,J»r°-
can trust Th»^ reacn every localifv «MVt, ' the bee-
the State an^^ fe something over ^n!^^ k^"",^ °ne you
attention 'to it u^n'lf'^J^ •^"J^^ abourone-Sh ''''m?"^P^^« in
i° T^ake 'a ^ CL? ''/" ^"^"^-^ fs"cat?to^it T ^"^
be instructed to T^" 7^°^^ the ExeciiH,! - ^ ^ ^ant
port, and haf ^h ""c ^ Published i oo^ ^^'L"!'^^ Committee
and that we have L^'^'"^*^^>^ include ?heT^ °^ ^^ ^^'
the SecreSyL to' dH-P'^'Pu^'^t^ Panted on foW ^^^^'''
member of the Ac • '^•^'" ^^em to the in^n J? ^'"°°^' and
,-"J^?iis£^fj. -r"^'"-'l'-'-*,V ■% ,-*-V; .
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 63
lars as they think sufficient, and that they distribute them in
the way they think proper.
Mr. Becker — Then I move instead of printing 2,000, print
1,000.
Pres. Smith — Is there a second to that motion?
Mr. Stone — I second Mr. Becker's motion for I think
1,000 copies will be enough.
Mr. Dadant — I think the Executive Committee ought to
have the option in what is needed as to printing, binding,
etc. We ought to allow a little to the judgment of our Ex-
ecutive Committee ; they will not squander the money ; they
ought to be the judges as to the quantity of pamphlets and
books.
Mr. Stone — I thank you for that suggestion, if I am to
be one of the Committee.
Mr. Johnson — The Executive Committee are better posted
as to what is needed. The rest don't know about it. The
Executive Committee can do as they see fit, because they will
be the ones to do it.
Mr. Dadant — I would offer as a substitute to Mr. Becker's
motion, that the Executive Committee be instructed to print
the books, to insert into them a report on foul brood, and to
print also a pamphlet on the treatment of foul brood, in the
quantity they believe n-ecessary, and to deliver them to mem-
bers of the Association who they think will be able to use
them.
Mr. Black — I second the motion.
Pres. Smith — All in favor, signify by saying Aye. (Motion
carried.)
Mr. Baxter — Are these to be cloth-bound, or the other
kind?
Pres. Smith — They are to be cloth-bound, enough for
the members, the balance in paper.
On motion of Mr. Becker, the meeting adjourned till to-
morrow morning.
Second Day — Morning Session.
Pres. Smith — There are two of the members who have
to leave before noon. Can we not elect officers while they
are all present, then finish up the other business?
Mr. Stone — I don't know; the regular time is the after-
noon of the second day. We need a vote of the meeting
to do so.
Pres. Smith — It comes next on the program.
On motion of Mr. Dadant the convention proceeded to
elect officers. (See front part of the Repprt.)
Pres. Smith — I think it would be a good idea to send out
postal cards to all members that are delinquent, telling them
of their delinquency, and asking them to pay their dues for
the coming year. The National and the Chicago Northwest-
ern do that.
Mr. Stone — We have done that for two years and we
want to repeat it this year. ' We send out a circular letter
with blank for return fees. .
^sr~, -;,- >
-"^-
^.-. r-'^:'n^*=^?T^^7^?®^5^^''S^'*s^^
64
I
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
Mr. Black — We sent out a letter asking them to become
members of this Association, and it increased our membership
4 times, and paid our expenses lo times. Our membership is
94 this year; that of the Chicago-Northwestern is 82. We
have the largest bee-keepers' association in the United
States, except the National.
Mr. Dadant — One thing I want to suggest before the
meeting: We are supposed to give half of what comes to
us to the National; any members who have paid, it is neces-
sary we should give to the National half. I paid my mem-
bership to the National, $1.00.
Mr. Johnson — They always give me another year, so I
was two years ahead. I suggest that circulars be sent bee-
keepers stating the benefits of joining this Association; it
will result in a lot of members.
Mr. Bowen — After the election probably it will be in
order to bring up the salary of the officers. I understand
the Secretary is only getting $25 a year; he spends his time
up here at Springfield in the Legislature, and does lots of
writing, and the Association is getting larger, and he gets
more work. I think the salary is entirely too small. It should
have been fixed before the election because if it was a big
salary one of the others might have wanted it. Last Year
we gave the Secretary no salary at all — he donated his work.
I put the question up last year first; while we didn't fix a
large salary, we didn't think it was best to do so; we didn't
think we could stand the expense, thinking we could give it to
him gradually. I should be glad to see his salary made more
than it is now. • I hardly know what would be proper. I know
he doesn't get paid for over a quarter of his time.
Pres. Smith — A motion to that effect will be in order.
Mr. Bowen — It must be from the general fund; what
part of the general fund have you on hand now?
Mr. Stone — $92 and some cents.
Mr. Johnson — I think the salary should be more than it
is now.
Mr. Bowen — He got $25 this year. I think it ought to
be double. I move that the salary of the Secretary be $50
for the coming year.
Mr. Poindexter — I second that motion.
Pres. Smith — It is moved and seconded that the pay of
the Secretary be raised to $50 per annum. Are you ready for
the question? (Carried).
Mr. Johnson — I think it would be a good idea for the
Secretary to be a delegate to the National convention. This
Association ought to send a Delegate to the National every
year, I think, and in that case it will be necessary that his
expenses are paid.
Mr. Dadant — I think that is customary in a good many
associations, to pay just the traveling expenses. Some prefer
a better hotel than others. I think just the railroad fare
should be paid.
Pres. Smith — Was there a second to that?
Mr. Black — Yes, sir.
Pres. Smith — It has been moved and seconded that this
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 65
Association pay the railroad fare to the National convention
for the delegate.
Mr. Black — I thought about going to the National con-
vention this year; if not the National, to the Chicago-North-
western, just for the reason of increasing our membership,
and I think the President and Secretary who attended it last
year did the Association a good deal of good, and I believe
it will be a good plan for us to send another delegate. Send
the Secretary, and send another one also. The State Horti-
cultural Society and the State 'Farmers' Institute, and our
County Farmers' Institute, all pay their delegates' expenses
that come to the convention; if they put them on the pro-
gram they pay all expenses.
Mr. Johnson' — Do I understand there is a motion before
the house, to elect a delegate to the convention and pay rail-
road fare?
Pres. Smith — We are deciding it now.
Mr. Johnson — I believe one delegate from this conven-
tion would be sufficient. The Secretary has it. He under-
stands the clerical work of the Association, and I believe he
would make a good representative, and I believe his railroad
expenses should be paid; further than that, I would not make
any more expense to the Association. I favor Mr. Dadant's
motion.
Pres. Smith — Are you ready for the question? All in
favor say Aye. (Carried). That is, this Association pays
the railroad fare of the delegate, and that the Secretary be the
representative.
Mr. Dadant — In this matter of the National Association,
the Directors have been re-elected too much. I was a Di-
rector twice. I think it is better to have a change. Illinois
used to have two Directors; it has one now. Probably this
is to be regretted. It is easy to get into the habit of nomi-
nating the same parties. I believe it is a good thing to change,
but I don't think you should change every year. It is like
putting a postmaster in office because he is a poor man. Now
there is a good deal against that, because he is a poor man
he may not be fitted for the place. Be careful when changing
to put in a suitable man.
Mr. Johnson — I think it will not be long till we get the
Director on the Board again.
Mr. Bowen — Illinois has a good opportunity to secure
the Presidency of the National Association. I don't think it
will be advisable to bring up the matter of Director.
Pres. Smith — I think the majority of the votes have been
sent in by this time. I know I filled out my list last week
and sent it. While we are electing the officers we ought to
pass to the Inspector.
Mr. Stone. — I believe we ought to. I was about to sug-
gest it when Mr. Bowen spoke about the Secretary's salary.
I was going to suggest that while we were in the business
of electing officers we ought to elect the State Inspector for
the year beginning next July. I suggest we take up the
question.
Mr. Dadant — I wish to say to the convention that our
■" y J '- -"^'"
- r^***--*s*?" ?f7k5?3r'^i=3^*5'.'';^
66 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
President has attended to the matter in such an honorable
manner, we ought to re-elect him. We couldn't elect a better
man. He has been economical. Therefore I move that Mr.
J. Q. Smith be elected Foul Brood Inspector.
Mr. Stone — I second the* motion.
Mr. Black — There is a motion that Mr. J. Q. Smith be
appointed Foul Brood Inspector. All in favor say Aye. (Car-
ried.)
Pres. Smith — I thank you for the honor. At the same
time I want to say that it means considerable sacrifice on my
part; it costs me about $2.00 a day to take care of my busi-
ness at home. As it is for the good of the bee-keepers in the
State, I will serve and do my best, for the cause. I hold the
appropriation as a matter of trust. It belongs to the people,
and I find it possible to save money by finding capable men
to do the work; if I can I do it that way. I think next year
we should appoint deputies in different parts of the State,
for the railroad fare is a big expense. I try to do the best
I can for the benefit of the bee-keepers.
Mr. Bowen — We are taking up a good deal of time with-
out getting very much report, and we ought to have a good
report. Are there any papers to be read? I think this elec-
tion business should be cleaned up, and we should take up the
question-box.
Mr. Dadant — There is one thing I wish to say. The
Secretary has made the suggestion that we do as other socie-
ties do, in regard to the program, i. e., pay the expenses of
some members to take a place on the program. He says that
the expenses of Dr. Miller and Mr. York were paid by the
Association. I know by experience that it is a good thing
to have some prominent names on the program. I move that
the Secretary be authorized to pay such railroad fare as he
deems necessary to make a good program.
Mr. Black — I second that motion.
Pres. Smith — Are you ready for the question? All in
favor signify by saying Aye. (Carried.)
Mr. Becker — There are a number of parties living near
Springfield that have desired to attend the convention with
me; I am sorry to say that neither of them are present.
They didn't get the postal cards and consequently they forgot
the date. Last year at the Chicago-Northwestern, in Chi-
cago, they expended considerable money in sending out postal
cards to bee-keepers far and near, even to Sangamon County,
and I believe they spent $24. I suggested the matter to our
Secretary some time ago, and I b.elieve if we send out about
600 postal cards, and have them printed stating that the Illi-
nois Bee-Keepers' Association will meet at a certain date,
and requesting their presence, I believe we can get the money
back in members several times over, and I think it will be
money well expended. If satisfactory, I suggest we instruct
the Secretary to do so. - _
Pres. Smith — I think the Executive Committee will take
this up.
Mr. Johnson — I suggest we talk about bees. This report
will not be valuable unless we talk on the subject of bees.
l'*?^'5^?^S?r^ ^S*?"^
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 67
Mr. Stone — We want to get on that, but we want this
question settled. In regard to what Mr. Becker suggested
about sending out notices of our meetings. We send out
over 200 every year. We send them to those we wish to
become members of this Association. The members of the
other Associations get our Annual Report, and they will get
notices of the meeting. They are notified of everything that
takes place in the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association.
We increase our membership that way wonderfully. We
started with 25 or 30 members, and now we have 100; in-
cluding the Chicago-Northwestern we have nearly 200. If
we don't get 200 or 300 to attend here (our rhembers don't
all attend), they won't come because they expect these Re-
ports of the meeting, notwithstanding they don't consider that
if they don't come, nothing will be said to make the Report.
You can't get more than just the usual number to come and
do the talking, and then we have good meetings and ex-
change ideas, but of course the more that come the better.
Mr. Black — Did you send notices to the papers?
Mr. Stone — ^Yes, I sent notices to all the papers.
Mr. Dadant — As I understand it, the " Treasurer would
like to have you send out postal cards asking for addresses
of bee-keepers. If necessary we might pass a motion to that
eflfect. It seems to me, as long as you have a right to ex-
pend the money for postage, that if the convention desires to
have this done, send cards to the members for addresses of
bee-keepers, you can do it on your own responsibility.
Mr. Bowen — It is the Executive Committee's duty to
do this, whether they are instructed or not. They can use
their own judgment. That is why they are elected.
Mr. Stone — If you want to leave it to the Executive
Committee it will be done. It will take $12 to send out re-
turn postals. We tried it during the World's Fair at Chi-
cago, and we spent $12 and received nearly 2,000 names of
bee-keepers.
Mr. Dadant — You can get fresh names, can't you. We
want a new list, not an old one.
Mr. Stone — We need a new list.
Mr. Bowen — It is mentioned by Mr. Becker that the
Chicago-Northwestern send out cards, etc. I think of one
I found in Western Illinois, that even though the members
took the bee-papers, and saw the notice where the conven-
tion was to meet, we advertised the convention in the "paper,
and they didn't see it then, and we found it necessary to
write postal cards or letters to every member about a week
before the Association met.
Mr. Johnson— The matter of sending out postal cards I
think is a good idea, as that will be likely to get the names.
I think in that way you can get more good done than sending
out cards to a man here and there. Those that have lists of
bee-keepers let them send them to the Secretary.
Mr. Dadant — It is more expensive to do that. You would
find that many of the cards vfontd go to the same parties. If
the Secretary gets the names he can send to each party.
Therefore, I am in favor of leaving the action to the Execu-
68 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
tive Committee, so that there will be no double action — ^no two
cards sent to one man ; it will save money.
Mr. Bowen — It wouldn't make any difference if a man
gets 2 or 3 notices.
Mr. Poindexter — In speaking about increasing the mem-
bership of this Association, I think it would be advisable to
adopt the same rule as other State organizations, and move
around in different parts of the State. Other State associa-
tion.) If not, we forfeit our Charter.
Mr. Stone — I suppose we can hold as many meetings as
we like throughout the State, but the annual meeting for the
election of officers must be at Springfield, in the County of
Sangamon, and State of Illinois. (See Articles of Incorpora-
tion). If not, we forfeit our Charter.
Pres. Smith — A bee keeper of East St. Louis wrote me there
were bees in East St. Louis that were infected with foul brood,
and wanted me to come down and do something with them.
I told him I couldn't do an3^hing more than he could. It
was late in the season — too late to transfer the bees for treat-
ment. They were sold to a widow and the widow died, and
they were advertised for sale and were sold then to a certain
party, knowing them diseased, and the party had paid a deposit
on them, but a friend of this party sent to him, saying, those
bees are diseased, so he writes to Mr. Offgate to come and
examine them, which he did, and found them to be in a bad
condition, so the party refused to take them and Mr. F.
paid the money back. Then Mr. wrote to me to come
and do something. I couldn't just then, and on account of
the lateness of the season, I told him it was best for him and
the other bee-keepers to notify the public that the bees were
diseased, and not to dispose of the honey at a minimum price
and that this Association would if they could not, sell the
hives if they were cleaned up. I would try to reimburse
them for what they were out for their work. The bees were
sold and they bought them. There is a neighbor of Mr. F.
now in the business, tells me he knows his bees are diseased,
because there was an apiary of 13 colonies on a line fence near
his farm, and he said they are all diseased. Mr. F. went
there and took the brood-combs out to fix up for nuclei;
shook them out, and a certain man said he sold $200 worth of
bees that were infected. Now, what can we do in such cases
without a compulsory law for our defense?
Mr. Becker^Mr. Smith inspected in East St. Louis, in
•Madison and St. Clair Counties, inspected 300 or 400 colonies
in East St. Louis, and there was no foul brood except one
case outside of East St. Louis. I found these people that he
spoke about as soon as I got to East St. Louis. They iVanted
to know if he had been to Mr. M's. One of the parties sent
word that he was not at home, but his son was home, and
for me to inspect the bees. I went at it the first place, one
of the first colonies I examined I saw the condition of the
combs and saw they had foul brood. They were all diseased.
I went to the other party. He had about 25 colonies and they
were all in the same condition, getting considerable honey in
the month of September; so the next day I went over to M's.
■.iMi
STATE BEE-K£EPERS' ASSOCIATION * 69
I went to him and the bees were in the yard, and when I
stood within 20 feet of them I could smell them. I said, "Yes,
you have foul brood." "But these bees are to be sold on the
following Wednesday." We examined about 25 colonies. I
wanted to know if he wanted to look at all of them. I don't
think there was one colony but what had the disease, and some
of them were so rotten that we could smell them away off.
All of these parties in St. Louis told me of the sale. Some of
them wanted to buy the bees, but thought it was too late in
the season. They told me it was a regular hot-bed of foul
brood in that county, and had been for years, and they could
do nothing with it. F. told me that 3 or 4 parties from St.
Louis wanted to buy the bees, and intended to destroy them
in order to get rid of the disease, and I told him I thought
it was the best thing to do. After I returned I received a
letter from the parties Mr. SmitlT spoke about. Some of the
colonies had a large amount of finished sections in them. One
was to take the bees and the other to take the honey, and I
don't know what they did with the hives, but it was the
worst lot of bees I ever saw, in any case, and they were work-
ing at the time. It was southeast of St. Louis, away out from
St. Louis, no house near, and the country was full of Spanish
needle at the time, and they were working on it heavily. I
saw an old man near by, who said, "You want to go to East
St. Louis and examine the bees there." I told him I had been
to East St. Louis.
Mr, Black — How long after the foul brood infection be-
fore the colonies die with it? and do they store any con-
siderable amount of surplus honey after it is infected?
Pres. Smith — ^The young bees will store as long as they
are active, and there are cases where colonies have lived sev-
eral years after being infected with foul brood. It seems
it infects one side of the hive, and the queen will go on the
other side and rear brood, and then by the time that brood
gets infected the bees go back and start again, and there are
always a few that will hang out till they die in winter, or get
robbed by other bees.
Mr. Black — Then after the colonies have died out these
will infect the neighborhood. Seasons are different. The past
season I never saw its equal — so much old comb. I never
saw anything like it, and old foul brood comb could infect
the whole place.
Mr. Johnson — We had a case come up in the Western
Illinois Association that might be valuable to give. Mr. Rey-
nolds, who lives about 23 miles from where I live, about
20 or 25 years ago got foul brood among his bees, and he
had at that time a large number of bees, and they were
cleaned out entirely. He was without bees for 10 years,
and he had his hives standing there, and 3 years ago there
were 26 swarms came there and settled in those hives, after
they had stood there for 10 years, and he saw no foul brood
that year. It all began the next year. It seems there was
some live germs in the hives. During the 10 years the dis-
ease might have been runniilg around the neighborhood,
and maybe his bees got it from the neighbors. This is the
.'«SSS"-Vv-'k.
^^j9p'^l'\.j^^'7^^«>?55i«3fc-:^ i?^
70 • FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
question: S. W. Wineteer living within 2 miles of me,
has had bees there for 30 years, and I have had bees about
22 or 23 years, and there are a good many bee-keepers near
me, and while this foul brood has been within 23 miles of
our locality, for 20 years it didn't get into our locality; it af-
terwards got there.
Mr. Dadant — I have kept bees for years, ever since I
was 20 years old, and never had a case of foul brood. I
thought the disease worse than it is, but when I traveled I
found that it was more readily cured than I had imagined.
I visited a bee-keeper in Colorado who had 600 colonies and
he had had foul brood in every one of his apiaries, and had
stopped it. He still had one doubtful colony. We went to
it and found 3 dead larvae, on new combs. He told me he
would again treat it in spring. I visited another bee-keeper
who said to me, "Do you want to see foul brood?" He went
into his bee-house, and from a pile of brood-combs he pulled
out 2 or 3 that had the dried scales of foul brood at the
bottom of the cells, lying there as if it had been so much
thick broth that had dried out. Said he: "When a bee-
keeper has had foul brood in his apiary he can never be
sure that he has got entirely rid of it." I thought that he
was right, if it was handled with as little fear of contagion.
The man who keeps contaminated combs at random in his
honey-house will surely never get rid of the disease.
From all reports, the McEvoy treatment will succeed, but
the combs containing diseased brood should be boiled down
or burnt up. There are many cases of dead brood which is
not foul brood. When I came home from Colorado, after
seeing so much concerning foul brood, I had a visitor, a
German bee-keeper, from St. Louis at our home, and opened
several hives in our yard. In one hive I found dead brood,
and my hair stood on end. I called his attention to it, but he
said: "I have seen foul brood in Germany, and this does
not look like foul brood." Yet I was much worried, but it was
late in the season and I had to put off the cure till spring.
When spring opened, I found the hive still with dead and
dying brood, and then noticed that some of the dead brood
dried in the cells, so that it could be shaken out. I then
understood that it was not foul brood. I cured this colony by
inserting into it a teaspoonful of oil of eucalyptus every 3 days
on a piece of cotton, for about a month. Oil of eucalyptus is
successfully used in fighting diphtheria, and if it can fight so
dangerous a disease it is ho wonder that it will cure pickled
brood.
Foul brood has the brown coffee color, ropiness, stretch-
ing like India rubber, and the glue-spot smell. Honey is the
most dangerous thing for the spread of the disease.
There seems to be a difference between the opinions and
experiences of all the inspectors of foul brood, and the state-
ments made by Cheshire, who gave the disease its scientific
name of Bacillus alvei. Cheshire, as a result of his micro-
scopic examinations, held that the bacillus was found in the
bodies of workers, in the blood of the larvae, and even in the
spermatheca and the eggs of the queen. But he found very
"j's^^^T^^^- ^^■^H;' ?TT' 'f^.-^^R'^S?'.
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 71
few of the bacilli in the honey, and ascertained that they
could not develop there. Yet the honey, from the testimony
of all the inspectors, is the most efficient transmitter of the
disease.
It is quite probable, in view of all this, that the honey,
although unfit for the growth of the bacillus, preserves it
intact and alive, and that it transmits it from the worker's
stomach to the young larvae, through the food prepared by
the worker out of this honey. This question ought to be
elucidated further, by additional anatomical experiments. The
almost universal opinion expressed by the American foul
brood inspectors, that honey is the main channel of trans-
mission, contradicts Cheshire's conclusions on the matter.
Mr. Bowen — I suggest we take up the question-box. We
have a list of questions, and few of them have been discussed.
Pres. Smith — If there are no objections we will open
the question-box. Has any one questions they want to have
answered ?
Supers for Comb Honey.
Mr. Poindexter — One thing I would like to hear discussed,
that is in reference to a super for comb honey. I use a great
many kinds of supers for comb honey. I would like to hear
of the different kinds that are used. I sent for different kinds
of section-holders and arrangements, but I didn't find any-
thing that suited my idea, that I consider perfect. If anyone
here has tried some good methods in that line I would like
to hear from them.
Mr, Bowen — Mr. Johnson has tried a good many different
kinds ; his experience ought to be very valuable.
Pres. Smith — What is the best you have tried? What
gave you the best results?
Mr. Poindexter — I use simply a frame that holds the
sections with boards at the end — one of my own make. I
had in mind one that suits me in every respect. My idea is
to clamp the box together and hold all sides together so I
can take it apart easily, without being nailed. That seems
to be simply a box with loose boards set together; have the
sections come to the surface of the box-holder. I would like
a plan to hold it together so as to take it apart easily.
Mr. Johnson — I have used what I call section clamps
for years, where you may use the section-holder or not, as
you like. The simplest kind is to use a T-tin in the bottom
under the sections, so that the sections are inclined to spread
and give way. When- you want to take the section out — all
you have to do is clean off the sections and set it wherever
you have a mind to.
Mr. Bowen — I use an empty section case — ^the cases that
the sections come in from the factory just fit, and I take the
super of honey and just run a knife around it, to loosen the
wax — and then place it on top of the empty section-case,
force the super down, leaving the sections all on top of
the box. It is the easiest to take honey from that of any
I know of — just loosen the attachments, and push the supers
over the box, and the honey stays on top and supers go down.
"Cf-jf <: ■ 7r"^ -t s/«*s^'-' V
1 .^j*--^ .^i':'..
72 fiFTH ANNUAL REPORt
A Spring comes with the super, but I don't use it — I use
wedges. The bees don't touch the super in the hive I use.
Mr. Johnson — One thing more about arrangements; I
make no more frame hives at all — I just make supers. I
have the shallow frame, and two sets of shallow frames for
the brood-chamber. If I am after extracted honey I put
on supers. If I work for comb honey I put on supers with
sections in. The whole apiary is nothing but supers, and you
don't have to use anything else. When I use a super for ex-
tracting I put frames of comb in the super above the brood-
chambers, and they are not nearly as liable to rear brood in
those frames. The lower story has nothing but honey in it.
I find it the best I have ever used, and I haven't lost a single
colony in one of these hives. It seems there is a separation
between the two sets of frames that the queen won't cross.
I leave them right there. I intend to put all my increase in
that kind of a hive.
Mr. Bowen-^I believe a good many will have to go home
early this afternoon.
On motion of Mr. Becker the convention adjourned till
afternoon.
Second Day — Afternoon Session.
Pres. Smith — We will open the question-box now.
THE USE OF HONEY BOARDS.
Mr. Stone — "Do you use honey boards, and why?"
Mr. Johnson — I don't use them. Maybe someone else
does.
Mr. Bowen — I used honey boards the last year, but I
use them diflferent from most people. In the first place, I
cover the sections with dark-green paper to keep them from
getting soiled; over that I put oilcloth, and on top of that
a honey-board. When you take them off the sections are clean
and free from dust.
Mr. Stone — I simply use the oilcloth.
Mr. Bowen — I always use oilcloth over the brood-cham-
bers; that gets stained by propolis. This paper on the sec-
tions is to insure them against being stained from the propolis
on the oilcloth.
Pres. Smith — That wouldn't be a honey-board proper;
that would be a cover fpr the sections.
Mr. Bowen — I call it a honey-board. I turn it upside
down, and use it on the oilcloth using it for honey-board.
I suppose I may be wrong in the term honey-board, for a
board lying between the brood-chamber and the honey-
chamber, but this I do not use.
Pres. Smith — That would not be a honey-board, then.
Mr. Bowen — I might be incorrect in the term. The bees
never touch the supers in the hive I use. Nail one of the
lower absolutely waterproof, and there will be no danger of
their glueing the sections and of bridging over the brood-
frames; and I never use a board except this one I call the
■W^^^^^W" ' ■ '" ^^w^m-
^
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 73
covering or honey-board. It is really a covering for sections.
I do it to hold the paper or oilcloth down to the sections, to
keep the bees from getting propolis in the top of the sec-
tions.
Mr. Stone — They wouldn't eat the paper out where you
put it first.
Mr. Bowen — I put the paper on top of the sections.
Mr. Stone — Wouldn't they eat the paper, then commence
on the oilcloth?
Mr. Bowen — No, they didn't eat it oflF; it is glazed paper.
You can use some paper where they can eat it, but the paper
keeps the section clean.
Mr. Stone — Wouldn't it be just as well to place the oil-
cloth down there.
Mr. Bowen — The oil-cloth on top of the broad-chamber
gets stained, then it wQuld stain the sections, except for the
paper between.
Mr. Miller — I only use it when I don't have honey-boxes
on. I never produced a section of honey in my life. I raise
bulk cornb honey altogether. I let them fill the boxes and
begin to seal it, and after sealing I put another section on.
I have a box lo inches high, and sometimes a box has loo
pounds in it before I take it off. I place Ijoxes with little
bits of white comb in the top of the boxes. I get much
more honey that way, where we have a short honey crop. I
use the honey-board when I haven't honey-boxes on. I can't
say whether it is best or not. I hardly believe the bees
should get into the chamber for wintering. They will winter
better when they have a little ventilation, and I have never
procured the honey with any other covering for the brood-
chambers. I have the space between the honey-board and
the frames, and I never put in anything else. I have solid
frames with a space between every frame, with a 6-inch 3-8
weather-boarding across the frame to cover them. I use the
hives 16 inches deep by 14 square. It had a honey-board on.
I can't say there is any especial benefit.
Mr. Crim — I never use them, and I find no difference in
using the oilcloth. I use the oilcloth on some hives, and some
I don't. It is just about the same to me.
Mr. Miller — I never put the oilcloth down on the brood-
frame. I have a wooden frame with three metal bars across
it; it makes a space of 5-8 inch between the oilcloth and the
brood-frame. That gives a bee-space — no obstruction in pass-
ing from one frame to another, and it makes proper ventila-
tion, and no matter how cold it is, I never lose bees if they
have enough' to live on.
Mr. Stone — I have adopted a good deal such a plan as
that myself. When I am preparing my bees for winter I
don't put anything over them at all except the oilcloth. I
leave a space between the frames and the oilcloth, so they
can get back and forth over the frames. I believe it is bet-
ter than to have it right flat down. Better to have it raised.
'^'"■S^7^^-'<-'^''f-: *"-■■;-■■' "' '■
74 fifth annual report
Best Way to Prepare Bees for Winter.
Pres. Smith — My experience has been very successful. In
the first place, to know that the bees have enough stores in
the chamber; if not, I feed them, then I remove the supers.
After the supers are removed I lay 3 or 4 corncobs crosswise
of the brood-frames, and cover the top of the cobs with bur-
lap; and fill the super with leaves, and a board on top of
that. That is all I do till spring, when they are ready to go
into the sections; if they need feeding in the spring, I turn
up the burlap and feed them.
Mr. Crim — In what position, Mr. Smith, do you place
your hives?
Pres. Smith — Facing southeast.
Mr. Crim — I have a long shed facing the south, and I
put my bees nearly back against the fence, boarded up on
the north, and then I rake the leaves and pack in behind and
between them about a 6-inch space. I fix it as Mr. Smith
describes, with leaves, burlap, etc., and I think it is the best
way to fix the bees for the winter. Sometimes the better
they are fixed the easier they freeze; sometimes something
happens to them.
Mr. Bowen — On account of the separate frame I told
about, I don't have to go to the trouble of hunting up corn-
cobs, but otherwise I treat them just about as Mr. Crim;
that is, I bank them in with leaves; then to keep the leaves
from getting wet I put a covering over the bees and also
back of the leaves, leaving the hives face the south. In that
(vay I usually succeed very well; in fact, I don't lose any
bees, if they have plenty of strength. I first see that they
have plenty of stores to live on, and have plenty of ventila-
tion. If the bees have a chance to cross the hive you can't
get too close ventilation. They will pass over, and in cold
weather will congeal on the sides of the hive. Otherwise
they keep dry and come through all right.
Mr, Becker — My experience is that cellar-wintering is the
best way to winter for me. A few years ago I built me a
cellar under the honey-house, and got it in good shape. Last
winter I wintered 65 colonies in the cellar. I aimed to put
in 20 more. Out of 65 colonies I never lost one. Of 35 I
left outdoors I lost just half. Now, the objection I have to
outdoor wintering is this: You can't protect them. The
better you protect them the warmer they keep. The first
"time the snow is on the ground, and the sun comes out, your
bees fly out in the snow and they are cold and can't get
back. In cellar wintering, if . you have a good cellar you
won't lose i out of 6 that you lost outdoors. The loss is
caused by the bees flying out in the sunshine.
Mr. Miller — I block the hive-entrance with a board so the
sun can't strike the hive; it will be sufficiently warm, and
the bees won't come out.
Mr. Becker — ^The difference between wintering in the
cellar is, they stay so quiet during the winter through the
month of February, when it comes to the month of March
^they begin to get restless; they want to get out. When this
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION "^
occurs then they need attention. I simply go in the even-
ing, right after dark, and open the cellar door wide, and in
the morning before daylight I close it again; that gives the
bees fresh air, and they are quiet. Try to strike some warm
day to take them out of the cellar, so they can have a good
flight for two days in succession. I wouldn't give up cellar-
wintering for any other kind of wintering.
Mr. Johnson — I try both cellar-wintering and outdoor
wintering. I move 1-3 of my bees outdoors and have the
other 2-3 come through in good shape. I winter 2 colonies
in the cellar and the rest outdoors, and during bad, stormy
weather in winter it is often the case I wished I had them all
in the cellar. And in the spring, when I let them out, it seems
those colonies wintered in the cellar are a great deal stronger
than those outdoors, but when the honey-flow comes it is the
other way. I get more from those wintered out-of-doors than
from those wintered in the cellar. If the colony outdoors is
well protected they won't stop rearing brood during the win-
ter. When snow is on the ground you lose a good many,
but you have in the spring a large amount of young bees;
those in the cellar do not rear brood. The way I protect
my bees outdoors, I have all hives facing the east, and then
1 cover 3 sides — ^north, south and west — ^with about 4 thick-
nesses of newspaper from the bottom-board to the top super,
and set the cap on top of it. I find this makes a good pro-
tection for being as simple and easy as it is; you can put this
paper on 20 hives in an hour, and it does not take very long
to prepare them for the winter. Then I use either sticks or
corncobs across the brood-frames, so that the bees have a
space above so they can go above the frames, cross from one
frame to another, or if a little short of honey I lay some of
the sections down on the brood-frames, and leave a brood-
space so they can get honey from above if not below. I had
2 or 3 colonies that were strong and had one super of shallow
comb full of honey on top of the brood-comb, and the bees
staid in that super, and I left them all there; it was the
worst plan I ever tried, I ought to have taken the super
off and not left it till it got cold. They will consume the
honey in this super, and will die with the lower story full
of honey. They can't get honey from below. If the bees
had brought it into the brood-frames I would have had no
honev above; I did that this year. In this way I gained
success, still I have lost some colonies every winter. I tried
putting paper on all 4 sides, and I found it was no success,
because it seemed the wet would get in too much. I use
either leaves above the frame or any kind of clean rags.
Mr. Miller — I am inclined to think we are tempted to
tamper too much with outdoor bees in the way of feeding
them. The last 10 years I find as Mr. Johnson said, they
are liable to get damp, and the warmth doesn't keep them
from freezing. In a heavy snowstorm the bees ars scattered
through the hive and are liable to freeze. I believe the
ordinary protection is better than any other. Try some well-
known protection and enough to keep them dry. Cellar-
wintering is all right provided the cellar is dry and dark.
jl^-^Pf^- ^fi^i- :' • ^7--^f ;'.^T ■'¥■"^"1^^^
76 fiFTH ANNUAL REPORt
and has the proper temperature. I have wintered bees for
2 years in the cellar; they come out strong. I couldn't tell
that there was any difference; they are stronger in the cellar
than outdoors; but I am with with Mr. Crim — ^those win-
tered outdoors are more hardened, and better able to start
out in the spring.
Mr. Bowen — There is one idea in this matter that prob-
ably will never be straightened — according to how the honey-
flow is. My honey-flow comes early in the year, although
there is considerable honey from raspberries. There are lots
of raspberries and blackberries in mj part of the country,
and I try to get the bees started getting surplus with that.
The cellar colonies would probably build up, but at a con-
vention we had at Galesburg two years ago last spring, after
that hard winter when people lost so many bees, we com-
pared notes as to how we wintered and how we succeeded.
One man had ^^ colonies of bees; he is a practical, up-to-
date bee-keeper, and is called a champion, and he lost all but
6 out of those ^y. Another man with 12 colonies of bees in
8-frame hives merely had a burlap on top of the frames, and
never put any protection outside at all; he only lost i col-
ony. This seems to show that no matter how we fix our bees
they must have plenty of air in the winter.
. Mr. Crim — I lost nearly half of my bees last winter. I
think it was on account of too much ventilation. Two winters
ago I got blocks and closed the entrance. I believe it is
natural for bees to die when snow comes; the old bees don't
live always, they will die out.
Mr. Becker — I don't think that is necessary. If the cellar
is properly ventilated, a large proportion of the bees will come
out in fine shape. There are spme seasons when bees will
die, and you can't prevent it. I am in as good a condition for
spring crops as you are. My bees get anything they want in
the early spring, but sometimes they will dwmdle away. I
don't know why they do it. I bought 10 colonies of a man;
we used to buy bee-hives together. We had 65 colonies, and
they had lots of honey. Two years ago this summer he had
lots of crops; he sold out and moved to another place, and
I sent and bought 10 and other parties bought 5 and 6 colo-
nies. I brought my bees home the next day — a cold day.
I had scarcely a loss that winter with old bees, while 5 or 6
died of those I bought, and they just dwindled away till
there was nothing left of them, and had plenty of honey.
It does that way, and if there are not young bees in the fall
it is the old bees' time to die, and they can't live any longer,
and there are no young bees to take their place. If you
keep them till fruit-trees are in bloom, it is just that much
better, but you can't always do it.
Mr. Poindexter — I would like to ask Mr. Becker what
the trouble was. I always had success in wintering in the
cellar, with two exceptions — too much water in the hive one
year, and the other the hives were filled with honey; with
those two exceptions I have had success for the last 32
years I have wintered in the cellar. Now, just by way of
explanation, I have a good many colonies in drygoods boxes,
sr. -
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 77
about 6 inches from the hives with leaves packed abound it,
both underneath and on the sides; dampn-ess can escape
through and leave ventilation under the covering. They
wintered fine, and I was surprised at the experiment. I think
the reason Mr. Johnson's bees died was on account of the
cellar air; they don't fly out; they are kept in confinement
too long. I think that is one cause. I was called to ex-
amine a friend's bees, where he lost a good many, and he had
about 40 colonies, and they were placed among some ever-
green trees, shaded all the time — never saw the sun. Before
we came to the hive I told him which was dead, and which
alive. He didn't know why they died; they were all in the
same kind of hives. I noticed some on the northwest side
where the sun could get to thern sometimes, while those in
the shade were cold all the time; they didn't have a chance
to have a flight like the others, and whatever dampness got
into the hives in this place just remained. They were dead,
while those out in the sun, exposed to the wind and had sun-
light, were living. But so far as cellar- wintering is concerned,
I think that is a sure plan every time to have pure honey and
the right temperature in the cellar — about 40 to 42 degrees
is my temperature. During some of those cold winters of
the last 3 years, I noticed where people were losing 20 percent
of their bees, I had the best of success wintering my own
bees in the cellar. I had some outdoors at the same jtime; I
lost those during the cold winter.
Mr. Stone — Lots of them.
*
Antidotes for Bee-Stings and Other Poisons.
Mr. Stone — "Will the same antidote for bee-stings avail
for other poisons, such as poison ivy?" I am led to believe,
from all I can find out and have tried, that poison from bee-
stings and ivy can both be cured by plantain tea. Plantain
grows everywhere; it is a plant people think is a weed — ^you
all know what it is. The reason I came across this, I was
always badly affected by the poison ivy. I never went into
the neighborhood 'of it but that I could feel it. If I rode
along the highway where it was, I could tell it. I couldn't
work at all where poison ivy was. I read in the paper of
this cure of plantain where a man described himself as being
sensitive to it. I tried' it.
Mr. Crim — Plantain is my remedy also.
Mr. Stone — You never were affected like I was, but this
is off the question. I tried it, when my arms were swollen
clear to the elbow, and I got a lot of plantain, and in the
morning I put the plantain in a pint cup, cleaned it nicely,
and put water over it and drank it. I had been affected for
several days. You know how it feels when you are affected
badly at night, you can't sleep. After drinking the tea I felt
no more of it; it was all gone completely. It cured me
every time. The man that recommended it said the first thing
in the morning, when you gjpt up, go and eat some of the
leaves. I tried that. I can work now where the ivy is thick,
and I take leaves and eat them; it is better if you drink the
78 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
tea. Well, then, I began to think along this line. We have
a man working for us that has been on the farm for 15
years. He never was afraid of bees, didn't care anything
about their stings, and he could work in ivy all day. I
thought it was a good deal alike, and and I drank the tea
several times when I was stung. The last time I got stung
it hurt worse than any time yet; I drank a lot of the tea and
the swelling was very little.
Mr^ Crim — Plaintain is a good remedy for earache.
Mr. Johnson — It seems as if Mr. Stone says that in cases
of bee-stings he takes the tea internally. Don't you rub it on
the bee-stings?
Mr. Stone — No, you drink the tea; get it into your blood.
Get immune to the stings.
Mr. Johnson — Does it act right away?
Mr. Stone — If you have been lying awake nights from the
effect of ivy, drink that, and you won't feel it by the next
night.
Mr. Johnson — But if it only hurts for 15 minutes, then
what?
Mr. Stone — Then you don't need to fool with anything.
But if affected by poison ivy you won't talk about 15 minutes
— it will be days and nights.
Mr. Johnson — I suppose a person handling bees very long,
gets stung quite often. It used to bother me a lot when I
was stung; it doesn't much now. The only protection I care
for particularly when handling bees is to have my face pro-
tected; I don't like to get stung in the face, because it might
spoil my beauty! Mr. Stone thinks he discovered the rem-
edy for bee-stings, but a great many remedies are useful.
X was taking some honey from an old-fashioned hive, so_I
had to use my whole forearm in lifting the combs, and my
hand was covered very much with honey. I got a number of
bee-stings through the honey, but not a single one of those
was swollen. I got one above the honey, and that was
swollen very badly. Then afterwards I began to experiment,
and every time I got stung I put honey on it — that is all
I do to it. It might be my remedy is like the doctor that had
a remedy for cholera. There was a Dutchman taken down
with the cholera, and he prescribed for him, and when he
went around the next morning to see how his patient was get-
ting along, he found him much better. He was very much
elated over the effect of his medicine, and expressed himself
so, when the man said he didn't take the medicine, "I just
took sauer-kraut for it." The Doctor thought he had dis-
covered by an accident the cure for cholera. Shortly after-
wards another man was taken down with cholera. The
Doctor prescribed sauer-kraut, and when he called again the
patient was dead. He said, "A sure cure for a Dutchman; a
sure death for a Yankee."
Mr. Crim— It spoils the beauty of some men, but I
think it would improve the beauty of some people.
Pres. Smith — While talking about remedies, there was an
old lady came to my house last fall. She was in the bee-
yard and a bee stung her on the cheek. I said, "That is too
•1; A^fi"
, • 'v-y?STjV
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 79
bad; I will go in the house and get you some ammonia."
She said, "No, I can cure it." She picked a leaf off the vege-
tables and chewed it, and put the saliva on the sting, saying,
"That is the Illinois cure; it is a sure cure for any kind of
sting or bite."
Mr. Johnson — ^This is an important question for some.
I have to run my bee-business all alone. I have 3 daugh-
ters who would like to help me, and 2 boys that don't dare
to do it. When they get stung both of their eyes swell shut;
it seems they can't get used to it. I would like to have
Mr. Stone give us directions how to make this tea, and how
much to take. If it is a cure for bee-stings it will be valu-
able.
Mr. Stone — The remedy that works with ivy ought to
work with bee-stings, and if you are affected with poison
ivy and make this tea, and drink it, you will find it will cure
it. If you try it you will be convinced it is a sure antidote
for poison ivy. Fill a pint cup with leaves (plantain) then
pour in boiling water to fill cup, and let it boil a few min-
utes. Sweeten, and drink; it will not hurt you if you have
swelling from a sting, or from ivy; but if you have neither,
it may make you feel a little sickish. Drink before breakfast
for best effect.
Mr. Johnson — I wanted to know how to make the tea —
you told that. .
Mr. Stone — I have tried plantain tea only once for a
sting. I was affected very badly, and I got some of that and
drank it, and I didn't feel any more pain, and it did not
swell. It didn't affect me like it usually does.
Mr. Crim — I have had some experience in bee-stings.
About 20 years ago my son was in the pasture and saw a
swarm of bees settled on the gate-post. He came and told
me about it. I took a hive out there to bring them home.
While getting ever5rthing ready, they got to my face, and
stung me anywhere they could get a chance — ^they stung me
scandalously — I guess I had 100 stings. I had been troubled
very much with rheumatism ; I had to lay off a half day then,
but I haven't had the rheumatism since. I recommend it to
those that have rheumatism; but some say they would rather
have the rheumatism.
Mr. Stone — I once had rheumatism pretty badly in my
elbow, and my arm was considerably painful. I was at work
with the bees, when two of them got on my wrist (of the
same arm) and left their stings pulsating. I let titiem stay
there till they ceased to pulsate, and the result was my arm
swelling was gone the pain was gone with it, and I have never
rheumatism was just as bad as ever, but by the time the
swelling was gone the ain was gone with it, and I have never
had the rheumatism since. I sometimes get a slight twinge
in my elbow, but a few bee-stings will drive it away again.
Removing Propolis from Hands.
Pres. Srriith — ^Do you know ht>w to remove propolis from
the han-d?
80 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
Mr. Crim — Yes, I can remove that easily. Glycerin will
take that off.
Mr. Bowen — I find ammonia about the best thing.
Mr. Crim — ^That don't cost so much.
Pres. Smith — Ammonia is the best for me,
Mr. Johnson — Ammonia is the cheapest article you can get —
the dry ammonia or the acid ammonia ; but if you get the dry,
put water on it, and you can use it. When you wash or
anything else, it is good for anything, and it will take the
propolis off clean. You might have to put it on several
times, but it is fine.
Mr. Stone — I have seen Lava soap, advertised. I am
not advertising any soap, but that doesn't compare with the
"Lekko" soap made in Chicago. I got hold of that from a
man picking apples for us; he asked me if I had used the
Lekko soap; I washed my hands with it, and it takes off
all kinds of stains.
Mr. Crim — The best way is to work hard, and the
propolis will come off.
Mr. Stone — I want to offer this resolution before we go:
"Whereas, In view of the valuable services given in be-
half of our State Association by Senator Berry, of Hancock
County, in the passage of our Bills offered by him in the
Senate of the last two Sessions of the General Assembly,
therefore.
Resolved, That this Association tender their sincere
thanks to Senator Berry for his services; and we shall con-
tinue to remember Senator Berry as the bee-keepers' friend,
and thank him for his aid in the passage of our Bills in the
Senate."
Mr. Becker — I move the adoption of this resolution.
Mr. Crim — I second the motion.
Mr. Bowen — Those resolutions are friendly sentiments
from this Association, especially referring on the party men-
tioned, but I question the advisability of passing a resolu-
tion of that kind, because those three parties were all con-
cerned in it, an-d to single those men out and thank them
when this is to become public property, I don't believe it will
be best for us. They are personal friends of mine, and I
would like to see such a resolution passed, but to make it
public property, I question whether it will not do more
harm than good. I used my influence with him, and I con-
fess it was decidedly hard to convince him. I stated the
cases to him carefully, and then he saw the fairness of the
proposition to be made about our appropriation, and while
they deserve the resolution, and I would be glad to see them
get it, I think in the long run it might grate a little on the
feelings of the others interested in our Bills. You probably
get what I mean in regard to the matter.
Mr. Stone — I hope that if anyone has feehngs of that kind
they will express them.
Mr. Bowen — It gives the impression of a tip. You will
find the porters in the hotels don't want that kind of a tip —
they want money. If you tell them you thank them, they
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 81
don't think much of that kind of a tip. I believe we ought
to appreciate the work these people have done for us. If
anyone does any good work we ought to show them we ap-
preciate it, but it will be well perhaps to word it a little
differently, so as to thank all who have assisted in helping
pass our Bill. We don't want to single out a few. Compli-
ment all of them. We ought to show them we appreciate it.
Pres. Smith — I don't think we need thank any one for
the appropriation, because that was tendered to us — ^there was
no objection. The man that got up the first objection was
because we wanted $200 more than before. He was willing
to give us the $1,000, if we had asked for $1,000 for our ap-
propriation. Not a word was said about it. It was the part
that was to become a statute^ There was no objection other-
wise to our Bill; it was because of the foul brood law.
Senator Berry carried it through the Senate; it didn't go
through the house.
Mr. Stone — It went part way, and would have gone all
the way if Senator Berry could have pushed it.
Mr. Bow en — The question in the long run is, whether
it will be right to pass this resolution. It might do us
more harm than good to pass if.
Mr. Poindexter — I think it would be well to give them all
some taflFy, and thank the Legislature for their assistance.
Mr. Becker — One of the gentlemen who helped me to
pass it — I have forgotten his name — was at the State Fair
and he came around to the exhibit, and he said, "I am glad I
helped pass that Bill in the Legislature." He said he had
never thought about it before, and said, "Now, I see you
deserve it, and if I am elected to the Legislature, I will do
all I can to help you."
Resolution was defeated.
Mr. Stone — "Do young bees have this poison when they
are first hatched?"
Mr. Johnson — I believe any bees that are able to sting
have it, because the principal part of the poison is the de-
composed parts of the - bee's body. The decomposed part
might not be strong in the young bee. I used to live in
Kansas where the rattlesnakes abound; a small rattlesnake's
bite would seldom give very much trouble, but if the older
one should bite, it would often prove fatal, and possibly as
they get older the poison is stronger, still the young bees
have the poison just the same.
Mr. Crim — I don't believe it is natural with the bumble-
bees. I think they get the poison from the poison ivy. I
have seen them visit it.
Mr. Bowen — I noticed that. It seems as though poison
from bumble-bees is different from other bees. If a person
gets partly used to the bee-sting poison, and gets stung with a
bumble-bee it will sting like everything. I think their sting
is lots worse. There is a difference between the stings of
honey-bees and the bumble-bee.
■ -i^ -.;(>•
82 fifth annual report
Brood in January.
Mr. Stone — "Do bees have brood in the month of Jan-
uary?"
Mr. Poindexter — I would answer that by saying some-
times they do, sometimes not. It depends on the warmth of
the hive inside. You can start the brood any time in the year
by giving them warmth. I have taken hives in the house with
winter weather outside, and there will be no sign of brood
in the combs, and by warming them up they will start brood
just the same as they do in the summer.
Mr. Crim^ — I opened a hive two years ago on a warm
day and found two clusters of brood as large as my hand,
and the bees were destitute of stores; they had no honey.
I bought a keg of candied sugar and gave it to the bees, and
let them alone till the first of April. When I found them they
were nearly starved to death.
Mr. Bowen — I think it makes a good deal of difference
with the colony. A strong colony with a young queen will
have brood nearly all winter, while the older queen and the
weaker colony probably will not have brood until the first oi
May. It seems that way with me. I think it makes a differ-
ence as to what kind of a queen is in the hive, for that reason
I think it will pay many bee-keepers to make it a point to
kill off the old queens and give the colony a new queen even
if you have to buy them. I think the reason I have lost colo-
nies in the winter is because the queen was old, and very
naturally was not prolific.
Fruit-Bloom Honey.
Mr. Stone — "Does anyone get fruit-bloom honey in su-
pers."
Pres. Smith — I have never got it in section; I got it in
extracting combs.
Mr. Johnson — I got some in sections, but never any that
was finished. But they never finish it in fruit-bloom; apples
are first, then wild-grape — that blooms right after the apple
and continues in bloom for a week after the apple. We
often get surplus from those. QThe raspberry some years
blooms early; it is not as regular as other fruit, which is in
bloom at the same time. I often get surplus from rasp-
berry, and sometimes a little from apple.
Mr. Stone — I want to say that I never give my bees a
chance to give me any fruit-bloom surplus. I never allow
them to have any place to store the surplus honey till the
clover comes in. I want them first to provide for "their own,
especially those of their own household."
Mr. Johnson — Don't you give them any room?
Mr. Stone — I don't put anything over the brood-cham-
ber till after the white-clover flow begins. I raise the hive,
and if it is heavy enough for surplus cases I lay a block on
top of the portico — I go over all the bees that way. I begin
putting on surplus cases for comb or extracting — mostly for
extracting — then as soon as I go to the apiary I can see
STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION
83
where I want to take my load of surplus cases, by looking
for the blocks.
Mr. Johnson — I have one objection to that way, because
if your colony got strong and you didn't give them room
to store the surplus they will crowd the brood-chambers, or
else they will swarm. If they get strong before the fruit-
bloom is over, and you have some blocks on, you put on sur-
plus cases. Now, if the bees are strong enough to fill the
lower chamber, I think they ought to have some room for the
fruit-bloom. Nearly every year I have some colonies that
are strong enough to begin work before the fruit-bloom is
over.
Mr. Stone — If my hives got heavy enough for surplus
honey during fruit-bloom, then they would have room given,
but they seldom do; therefore, no fruit-bloom in the supers.
Mr. Becker — I use the shallow frame and they go right
in and go to work. I don't care how soon the queen comes
up to lay; I keep on with those that are strong till some-
times I have 4 or 5, and in that way they keep very strong,
and when the honey-season comes they are in a good condi-
tion to get the white clover.
Mr. Crim — I think it depends upon the condition of
the weather. On cold days the bees should be stimulated by
feeding them until they do fill up the brood-chambers, and
then when the fruit-bloom comes put on the supers.
How TO Prevent Swarming.
Mr. Stone — "Can we prevent swarming, and how?"
Mr. Becker — I say no. We can't prevent it; you can in
some instances, but as a general rule you can't.
Mr. Bowen — I don't know about other parts of the coun-
try, but in our part of the country you can prevent it easily
enough. There are scarcely any swarms in our part of the
country. I suppose you can prevent swarming when condi-
tions are unfavorable for honey. This year we had no honey,
and where there is no honey there is no swarm. I had one
swarm on May 15, but I had some honey to put with them
and they came through all right. My son-in-law had a swarm
on the first day of May, and they starved to death before the
first of June. Where you have a fine honey-flow, I believe
the natural disposition of bees is to swarm, and the only way
to stop it is to give them plenty of -room to work in. Give
them room before they take a notion to swarm; after they
take a notion, no matter what you do they will swarm. That
question could be taken with the one we had a short time
ago, in regard to the honey in sections. The question is
whether you will give them room for the surplus honey-flow or
not. I think Mr. Stone's idea is a good one, to weigh the hive.
You can tell about how heavy the hive should be before you
put on the supers. If you wish to prevent swarming you can
put supers on just a little earlier; when they once take the
swarming fever they will swarm in spite of all you can do.
My experience is that some seasons bees will swarm more
than in others. My experience year before last was that
where they are given a reasonable amount of room they in-
'■^•■---.^^-■^^'■^[-'■■''^^^^
84 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
crease about 3-4; whether we can keep that down by large
hives, I question very much.
Mr. Miller — I don't know how long it takes to prove any-
thing satisfactorily, and to prevent swarming I don't know
how long it will take. I have been working at it ever since
I had bees, and that has been since 1878. In the last 3 years
1 have had between 20 and 30 colonies of bees. Three years
ago I had 100, but no swarms. I have had no swarms this
yeaj. I don't believe the bees will get the swarming fever
until they get crowded. Just as soon as they get crowded
and full of comb they begin to get restless, and fly out, and
when they begin to cluster and begin to work on the bot-
tom-board I begin to ventilate, and I haven't had a swarm.
It is supposed we shouldn't put on honey-boxes until we
find comb scattered between the frames, or when the white
clover is in bloom. I don't believe I put my own on before
that. Two years ago I had no swarms, and none this year,
and I had a fair supply of honey. When they hang on the
outside and cluster it is because it is too hot in the hive,
and my bees will get into the boxes. I believe many people
considered this topic this year in our bee-papers. It is quite
interesting. "Where the honey-flow is short I can buy bees
lots cheaper." The Langstroth hive has a little room for
ventilating, but I get honey as much as any one with my kind
of ventilating.
Mr. Stone — Before it is too late I want to say that last
year we had the room above us — the G. A. R. room — and
we paid $2 for the use of that, because of the janitor's services.
This year we asked for the Supervisor's Room; they told us
we must let them know when it was wanted so they could
have it ready, and said there would be no charges unless we
gave the janitor some money for taking care of it.
Mr. Bowen — We ought to vote the janitor $2 or $3.
Mr. Stone — I think $2 would be enough; it paid the
janitor for the room above, and his services were just as
much. These janitors are required to keep these rooms in
order anyway, but the sheriff didn't like to ask them to do it
for extra occasions without any money. If we give them
$2 it will pay for their services. What does the association
think about it?
Pres. Smith — I think we should vote them $2. A motion
for that will be in order. It is moved and seconded that we
allow the janitor $2 for services in this room. (Motion car-
ried.)
Mr. Bowen — The question of increasing is up — where is
the economy in preventing an increase of a reasonable
amount? For instance, you can't get honey without bees;
you can't get bees without a queen; if we have two queens
they will get two strong colonies. Where there is just one
queen there will be but one strong colony. My experience is
that I get more from 2 colonies than I do from i. If the
first one comes from the original, and another comes, I have
2 queens doing the work of i. They produce 2 colonies of
bees where I did have only i. That being the case, I can't
figure out the economy of preventing swarms.
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION ^
Mr. Miller— It makes a difference. " It is true that we
can get 2 swarms, but we can buy a swarm for $i or $1.50.
For that reason I try. to keep bees from swarming. I would
rather divide the colony than to let them swarm and rob the
old hive. I prefer the boxes without the sections, for on an
average we get more honey in the same length of time than
where the sections are used. Where there is plenty of honey
it won't amount to so much if it is in dove-tailed sections.
There are quite a number of people who prefer to prevent
swarming.
Mr. Poindexter — My experience has been that circum-
stances alter cases. But I have succeeded in getting more
honey where I have kept the bees together, than I have
where they are divided. The principal thing is, "In Union
is strength." It is true in my case. I prefer to have 100
colonies in one place than undertake to divide them. In the
ordinary season I get more honey where they are kept to-
gether, and if I want to make any increase I make it the lat-
ter part of the season. I made one this year in October;
the bees seemed to be in a right condition to bear dividing.
Mr. Becker — My experience is that whenever a colony
swarms, just as well take the sections out of the old colony;
after it is nearly finished they will go to work and seal it up;
if half finished it will stay that way a long time. In the-
first place when the colony swarms all of the working bees
will go with the new swarm, and the few workers left in the
hive until the young bees get strong enough and well ^nough
to go to work will not finish. Just after they swarm they
begin to build queen-cells. You look through the colony and
you will find several of them will be without a queen. I
can't depend upon getting any surplus from the colony that
has swarmed, unless the season continues for a long time,
then I expect to get honey; but if it is a short season, like 2
weeks I don't depend on getting any.
Mr. Crim — I have had experience in that lin& I re-
member 3 years ago I had 2 swarms in May, they were good
swarms. I hived them, and part of them stored two supers
of 29 sections, and then swarmed again, and scarcely got
enough to winter them.
Mr. Bowen — It isn't a question of how it is now ; look out
for the future. You might not get surplus from the old
colony, but you get it from the new one. I had 2 strong
colonies last season where I should have had but i, if they
hadn't swarmed. My opinion is that it depends upon the
season; if there is a good honey-flow you will get surplus.
Of course if there is no honey-flow it makes a difference.
I have had them swarm, and the new swarm would store a lot
of honey, and the old colony would store from 40 to 75 poundis
of honey after the swarming. Of course that was a good
season. But if it is just an ordinary season they will pro-
duce surplus, and you will have 2 strong colonies.
Mr. Miller — If you have as many bees as you want, you
can keep those bees by taking care of your colonies. We don't
want many swarms. The question is how to prevent swarm-
ing. I believe it can be done. None of you have an oppor-
_?__ '.JS..^- W'v^. > !^.
86 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
tunity to ventilate as I have, because you don't use the kind
of hives I do. The majority of the Langstroth hives have J^-
inch opening. This swarming business can be controlled.
Pres. Smith — I let the new colony go to work where
the old one stopped. If they have sections partly filled I
put them on the new hive, and they fill it right up just as
though they had never swarmed.
Mr. Stone — My experience has been that when a swarm
issues from a hive the old colony does just about as well as the
new one, provided there is no afterswarm; that would cause
trouble ; the old colony won't do anything after an afterswarm.
If I have just one swarm I look for good results from the
old as well as the new. We don't get much surplus from the
swarms, especially if they are late. I had just one swSfm
this year. I have had early swarms in good seasons fill 2
and nearly 3 supers of 28 sections each.
Mr. Crim — If you take the old colony and move it
away they will work with the swarm; but it doesn't work all
the time.
Mr. Becker — The colony that swarms takes the old queen;
there is no queen left in the old colony ; now supposing every-
thing is filled up with young bees, it takes about 21 days
before they will hatch. The new queen will emerge in about
10 days ; there is 30 days gone before you can even start
an increase of bees. My experience has been that you can
get honey from the old colony if there is a honey-flow, while
with the other the chances are you wouldn't get any.
Length of a Good-Service Queen's Life.
Mr. Stone — "How long can a queen be depended on for
good services?"
Pres. Smith — ^Two or three years.
Mr. Miller — A home-bred queen about 3 years, and a
foreign one about 2. Sometimes riot over 6 months; shipped
queens don't last very long.
Mr. Stone — I have had shipped queens last 2, and some-
times 3 years.
Mr. Bowen — In talking with a large bee-keeper he told me
the past summer he had 2 colonies from one queen; she
brought off strong colonies. He clipped her wings, and when
there was a swarm all he had to do was to put his hand on
the queen, put another hive where the old one was and the
swarm would come back and go to work. It is either 6 or 7
years in succession that he had that queen. I have read a
good deai on this subject in our Journal. Some say they
can't keep queens over 2 years. I had one queen that did
good work for 8 years. I must confess I am not posted on
"Xthis. I know I introduced a dozen new queens this year
and I don't believe I have more than half of them now;
but that was because of the season. How long can we de-
peiwi on queens for good service?
" Mr. Miller — There are exceptions to all rules, but
I am of the opinion that home - reared queens are longer-
lived than shipped queens; not so much from my ex-
■■i.-i'
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 87
perience, but from what others have said. It is my conchision
that we ought to re-queen our apiaries every 3 years. There
are some queens that won't last very long.
Mr. Crim — I move we adjourn.
Pres. Smith — Some of the members want to go away
at 4:30. Has all the business been attended to?
Mr. Stone — I thought of one thing a little bit ago. Prob-
ably the Executive Committee can attend to it. It is the
program for the coming year, but I believe that the Execu-
tive Committee was to formulate the program and send out to
the members for those they wanted on the program. I under-
stand that was the decision.
Pres. Smith — ^We reached that conclusion yesterday.
Mr. Stone — I don't think of anything more, Mr. Presi-
dent.
Pres. Smith — It is moved and seconded that we ad-
journ.
Mr. Bowen — Before we adjourn I wish to speak again
about increasing our membership. Make special attempts for
another year, and each one of us try to bring one other mem-
ber with us to the convention.
Mr. Crim — Would it be out of the way to bring bee-
keepers to the convention that are not members?
Mr. Stone — Bring them to the convention. They might
become members. They can take part in the discussions.
Mr. Becker — About tljese postal cards spoken of the after-
noon preceding.
Pres. Smith — Every member make an effort to bring in a
new member. It is moved we adjourn. All in favor sig-
nify by saying Aye. (Carried.)
Adjourned sine die.
^^
^«£isJ^^.-&.^«.>- ► ■_v-__'"--r _,_•._-._, .•^-,_ _-.._.-_ v...y-.-
^_-»^/
88 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
REPORT
— OF THB —
Western Illinois Bee- Keepers' Association
The fourth semi-annual meeting of the Western Illinois
Bee-Keepers' Association was held in the county court house
September 20, 1905, and was fairly well attended. All bee-
keepers present reported a very light crop of honey, some get-
ting no surplus at all. Mr. G. W. Caye, of Kirkwood suc-
ceeded in getting 4,000 pounds of surplus from 170 colonies,
which was about the best average.
Mr. J. Q. Smith, President of the lUinois State Associa-
tion, and State bee-inspector, was present and gave an inter-
esting talk on foul brood, and told of his work of inspect-
ing bees throughout the State. Soihe localities in Illinois are
badly infected with foul brood, other localities being entirely
free from the disease. Mr. Smith has, during the past year,
visited many infected apiaries in different counties and has
been quite successful in treating them. It is probably well
known that this State gives $1,000 per year to aid bee-keep-
ing, but bee-keepers are not compelled to treat or have their
diseased bees treated unless they are willing, but so far, Mr.
Smith has met with no opposition. All have not only been
willing, but most of them anxious, to have help in treating
their bees. So the Illinois foul brood law and appropriation
are a decided success even though the compulsory clause was
not allowed. However, we may have need for that clause
in the future.
Mr. Smith gave a cordial invitation to the Association
to join the State Association. After some discussion it was
decided by unanimous vote to do so, in a body.
The question-box was one of the main features of the
convention.
Mr. Alva Reynolds reported having, by Inspector Smith's
help, entirely rid his bees of foul brood,
Mr. Reynolds is one of the oldest bee-keepers in this part
of the State, and attended bee-conventions 25 or 30 years ago.
He at one tirne lost every colony by foul brood, and quit
bee-keeping for about 10 years; but three years ago he caught
26 swarms in his old hives, and so, although over 70 years
old, he again became a bee-enthusiast. But it seems that his
old hives, that had been empty for 10 years, still had spores,
which developed the foul brood.
Mr. W. B. Moore presented all bee-keepers present with
a money purse, and wished them all success in being able to
get it full of honey-money the coming season. - -"
President Johnson reported having, received two Punic
queens from John Hewitt, of Sheffield, Eng., one of these
being a virgin, and although about 21 days old when re-
ceived, she was successfully introduced and soon became
■^A.
I
STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION
89
fertile and began laying. So far the Funics have proven to
be all right. He expects to give them a fair trial next season.
Mr. E. D. Woods reported that he had always found that
colonies having young queens wintered best and came out
strongest in the spring, and asked that all present make it a
point to mark all colonies having young queens and report
at our spring meeting as to their success in wintering. Sev-
eral questions pertaining to bee-culture were discussed, but,
not being a shorthand reporter, I am unable to do justice
to them. . /
:/^-
J. E. Johnson,
President Western Illinois Bee-Keepers' Association.
We are preparing to hold the best convention ever held
in Galesburg n-ext spring. Mr. J. Q. Smith, Mr. C. P. Da-
. dant, Mr. M. Bevier, and Mr. Baxter, have promised to be
with us, and probably other noted bee-keepers. All bee-
keepers are cordially invited to attend. All may have a voice
in the meeting, whether they are members or not. The next
meeting will be held on the second floor of the court house
at Galesburg, 111., on the third Wednesday in May,li9o6.
The price of honey is advancing, which has given some
traveling men an opportunity to furnish grocers with adul-
terated honey. We have made it our business to watch this
■'ii-.w
.r-"^.;,»t y.-'^-.-
90 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
matter and advise grocers in regard to honey of this kind,
and until this fall they, have let it alone, but the scarcity
of honey seems to have tempted some of them, and the
State's Attorney, with the aid of the State Chemist, was
able to make a wholesale arrest, and 22 grocers were fined
$25 each for selling adulterated honey, vinegar and butter.
The grocers pleaded guilty, but claimed that they knew not
that the goods were adulterated, and thereby got only a
$25 fiine; but a second offense will not be less than $100.
So I think they will not risk offending against the pure
food law again; not only so, but they will give us strict at-
tention when we talk honey to them, and the genuine article
will look nicer to them, and they won't haggle over a fair
price for the same. The daily papers gave this matter an
airing, so the consumer will know that all honey bought of
these stores in the future will be "pure honey.
I had the pleasure of attending the meeting of the Illi-
nois State Bee-Keepers' Association at Springfield, Novem-
ber 21 and 22. This association is now, I believe, the second
largest bee-keepers' association in the United States, there
being something over 200 members. Each member the com-
ing year will receive a large cloth-bound Report of the con-
vention at Springfield, and of other conventions. -This book
will also contain a lot of other information on the treatment
of foul brood, etc. Every bee-keeper in the State should
be a member of the State Association; the Report alone
will be worth more than the membership fee. Anyone who
will send Mr. James A. Stone, Route 4, Springfieldy> 111.,
the Secretary, $1, will be given membership in the State
Association and the National Bee-Keepers' Association for
one year, and also the Report.
There are many attractions at Springfield, as visitors
can see the old home of the great statesman and president,
Abraham Lincoln, as well as numerous other points of in-
terest.
Williamsfield, 111., Dec. 7, 1905.
■J ; •^'. *;>^;^-^^'^»T;_f ;. K
V^a'i'^T',.
STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION
91
RE PORT
—OF THB—
Chicago-North western Bee- Keepers*
Association
The annual meeting of the Chicago-Northwestern Bee-
Keepers' Association was held in Chicago, Dec. 19, 1905.
The meeting was called to order by P-res. George W.
York at 11 :30 a. m. Invocation by Rev. Robert B. McCain.
Pres. York stated the purpose of the present session was
intended to be largely social, and the business session for the
election of officers and other matters would be held in the
afternoon. He called for suggestions for the pres':*nt session
which might make the occasion one of profit and pleasure.
By way of introduction, each person present was re-
quested to rise and announce his name, if not already knovv^n
by the President.
Pres. York — I am ready for any suggestions for this
meeting.
Rev. McCain — I do not know whether I speak for any
one but myself or not, but I have observed that the question-
box is always interesting, and if there is no better suggestion,
I would suggest that the questions be prepared, and that we
discuss them.
Comb Honey or Extracted — Which?
"Which has the most promising future before it, comb
honey or extracted?"
Pres. York — I think I know how Dr. Bohrer would
answer this question, but I am not going to call on him first.
We will let him talk after a while. What do you think, Mr.
Hilton? -
Geo. E. Hilton — So much depends upon circumstances.
It is rather a hard question to answer, in my opinion. Of
course, if we restrict ourselves to any particular territory, we
could say comb honey in one place and extracted honey in
another place. But taking the whole territory represented by
the National Association, the possibilities are that extracted
honey will predominate in the future. While comb honey is
a fancy article, it perhaps will remain a fancy article and not
remain so much an article of commerce, perhaps, as extracted
honey will. Our large producers are producing extracted
honey. You are well aware that my specialty is comb honey,
but I do believe that the large aggregate of honey that is
going to be produced in future will be extracted honey, from
the standard of tons i and carloads.
Pres. York — I w^antdd Mr. Hilton to speak first, because
he is now Vice-President of the National Association. Has
ji^iTW^^-, - ■■■:-•■'■ ■"::'^':''-%-/f^:-~^'^'V^'-T^ -^is^St^s^^s^?
92 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
anyone else anything to offer on this subject? I know Dr.
Bohrer wants to talk, and so we will hear from him now.
Dr. G. Bohrer — I did not know I had acquired a reputa-
tion for being a talker. I have always tried to be modest.
My wife took that in hand some time ago. She is my senior
by four years, and said she "took a boy to raise." Mr. Hilton
has voiced my sentiments, even if it does not amount to what
he thinks it will. That is, extracted honey will predominate
in the future. It most unquestionably ought to, because more
- honey can be produced by that method. It can be put upon
the market cheaper than in any other form, and, besides, it
is a more wholesome article of food in that shape. Beeswax
is no more digestible than diamond stone, and if it has any
effect at all, it is positively an irritant to the stomach. I
have witnessed that in my practice of medicine. A number
of cases of cancer of the stomach and other digestive organs
have come under my care. For those patients, I have found
extracted honey better than any other article of diet, while
the patient could not bear at all honey containing wax. While
honey is a little more enticing and attractive in the comb, I
have learned not to want to eat everything that looks nice.
There are people who will argue that there is such a thing as
."artificial comb," and that bee-keepers all around are buying
glucose by the carload and filling the comb that is constructed
artificially, sealing it over and offering it for sale. Last
winter, in Topeka, I got up before an audience of many more
people than are here to-day, and offered $500 for a section
4%x4]4 filled with artificial comb and with artificial honey.
A man offered to bring in the combs. I appointed a com-
mittee to examine the combs, and asked him if he were
satisfied with the committee. He said he wanted them to be
skilled bee-keepers. I selected three men, and they pointed
out to him at once that the sections were not alike. I said,
"You can see, my friend, if they were made by machinery,
they both would be alike, and they are not. Here is one
section filled out to the edge of the comb and is capped over;
here is another that the cells are not filled out, they are not
fully constructed, and not filled with honey." He said he
could see the point to that, but he still wanted to get his $500,
and he said, "I think they have a machine for each section."
I asked if that would not require a large amount of ma-
chinery. He was finally convinced that the thing is simply
impossible. Here is a sheet of wax; you can stamp cell-
foundations on both sides of it, but it is not artificial comb —
only artificial comb foundation, until the bees draw out the
cells. We can go that far, biit no farther. If we could pull
out the cells, the walls would be so delicate that they would
soon be broken down. We have to disabuse people's minds
in regard to this matter. They don't understand it; it is hard
to get them to believe it. They think they are being imposed
upon there. They are being imposed upon. Some people
declare glucose is superseding honey !
A. K. Ferris — I would say it depends upon the man more
than anything else, and, in explanation, I would say, when I
started selling honey in our locality, I could get but 7 cents
a pound for extracted honey, and it was hard work to sell it
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION
93
I
at that. But as soon as people found I was putting a good
article on the market, and they found out what a good quality
of well-ripened honey it was, when I had nearly 2,200 pounds
to sell, I sold nearly all of it to one store — nearly 5 barrels to
one store — and two weeks later I could have sold the same
amount in addition, to that same store, at 10 cents a pound.
The reason was, I put out a good article, well ripened. Some
n
M
Georgb W. York,
President CMcago-N'orthwestern. Bee- Keepers^ Association.
bee-keepers put unripened honey upon the market, and it has
done untold damage. If a man puts out a good quality of
well-ripened honey, he can make more money out of ex-
tracted honey than out of comb honey.
Dr. Bohrer — Mr. Ferris, do the people of your part of
the country ever question the extracted article?
Mr. Ferris — People said I was feeding extracted honey,
glucose and sugar. I made ho reply whatever to the charge,
but told the people I did feed my bees sugar, a half ton of it.
\:^krf
■■-^--,viV-^V^':-vj?o;,j?Sv'^"^','
■■^^■R!^;:;t^-^;i^-tjgs!5^i^-«':. :":"^'~»r.""< ■ ^. - t.t;;- ' n-r"-^7!?r?-?",5^?r-wr.'»^l^^
04 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
and my honey has sold higher this year than ever before. The
people found my honey was good. They did not care whether
it was adulterated or not, but I put it out under special seal,
and they know, under the laws of Wisconsin, that no honey
could be put out under the labels such as I use without its
being pure.
Dr. Bohrer — I would understand, then, that what you fed
them was the article that you put on the market?
Mr. Ferris — No; according to the statements made, the
people thought I did put it on the market. That was not the
case. I fed to winter my bees. I feed entirely sugar. I use
no honey whatever in wintering my bees. But it had the same
effect on the people, as though it had been adulterated. Yet,
on the other hand, honey never sold better with me than it
did this year. In fact, I could have sold four crops if I had
had them, and would have had it all sold by this time.
J. E. Johnson — Speaking from my own experience, if I
had my way, it would be extracted honey. I suppose if most
bee-keepers had their way, it would be the same thing, but
we have to do the way people demand that buy the honey.
The people want something nice, and just as long as they
want something nice, we have to furnish something nice. I
have no doubt but there will always be a good future for both
comb and extracted honey.
Wm. M. Whitney — May I ask what the question is?
Mr. York read the question, when Mr. Whitney re-
sponded, "I don't know."
Thos. Chantry — I would just like to say I agree with
Mr. Johnson. If we want people to eat honey, we must give
them what they want. If I had both to sell, I would sell two
carloads of extracted honey to one of comb. Nevertheless,
those who wanted comb honey would not buy the extracted.
Mr. Whitney — To whom would you sell' trie extracted
honey — to the ordinary consumer, or to some jobber?
Mr. Chantry — I am speaking of retailing to consumers
entirely, both comb and extracted honey.
Mr. Fletcher — My experience is that the comb honey has
the most brilliant future before it, for two reasons : First,
people of intelligence are ascertaining that it cannot be
adulterated. They are coming to that conclusion; there has
been so much light thrown upon that subject. In the second
place, they are satisfied that extracted honey can be adulterated.
As to feeding sugar to bees, that would be" unprofitable.
Mr. Moore — I have been doing some very heavy thinking
here. You see, I have been selling honey to families for about
20 years, and, naturally, have some opinions. The hard job
is to convince the public of these things you have been speak-
ing about. My opinion is, there is only one way to do it, and
that is by personal acquaintance. People buy of me because
they like me. The illustration is, you have got to convince
people by your personality, that you are dealing fairly with
them, and that is the only way there is any future to this
family trade. Of course, when you are selling to the whole-
sale dealer by carloads, you have another purpose altogether.
I do believe that the solution of the honey question for the
average bee-keeper in our land is in supplying everybody
^Wv-
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION Qo
within 5 or 10 miles of his home. Get a personal .acquaintance
with them. After a while they will learn that your honey is
good, and will demand it.
Dr. Bohrer — What effect would a national pure food law
have upon this subject of adulteration of honey? Would not
a national pure food law convince the people, if it were rigidly
enforced? Would not that go to quite an extent towards
convincing the people that there was no such thing as glucose
or sugar and wax sold to the public for honey? I think that
is one of the things we must have.
Mr. Moore — It seems to me that the only effect these pure
food laws have is advertising. They do not convince anybody
of anything, but make people more particular to inquire if
your honey is pure. I do not believe there is any other
effect. The more advertising there is, the more particular
people are; but as to their faith in the purity of the article, it
is less than be|oTe, because there is so much said about it.
It increases their faith in the individual, perhaps.
Mr. McCain — I am not an authority on bee-keeping, but
I have listened to this discussion, and I have tried to think
what I would gather from it if I did not know anything about
a bee-hive. Men have admitted here that they feed tons of
sugar. What impression is that likely to make on a man's
mind? He is inclined to think sugar is fed for perceptible
purposes. Oh, yes ! I told you so ! The conclusion I come
to is this : We cannot expect the public to believe that honey
in the comb is absolutely an unadulterated article until we
can make them understand how the section is made in the
hive, and something of the character of the work done by the
bees. It is a matter of education. If I tell a man I fed my
bees 500 pounds of sugar, he does not know where that sugar
goes. He does not know anything about it at all. The im-
pression would be made in his mind that it goes into the hive,
and that I take it out in the comb form and sell it.
Mr. Ferris — One point I want to speak about that has
caused the most trouble, and that is, the bee-keepers them-
selves are putting on the market an inferior article. When
I made the statement that I feed tons of sugar — which I do — it
was to impress the fact that though I do feed tons of sugar,
when people get hold of a good batch of honey, it settles the
question with them. That is why I wanted to impress upon
the bee-keepers to stop putting unripe honey on the market.
That is doing more against the bee-keepers' interests than
anything else I know. When people get bad honey — extracted
too green — they do not forget it, and it takes a good while to
get them to be willing to try again. Honey that has no
flavor is not well ripened, or has been injured by storing in a
cellar, if put upon the market always works an injury to the
bee-keeper's interests. If people would work to that end —
putting a good article on the market — it would cover the
question. While my feeding tons of sugar may have had
some effect on the people in one way, in another way the
superior article I have put out has more than counterbalanced
that, so that the output has more than doubled.
Mr. Whitney — On this matter of feeding bees for ^v^inter
stores, I have come to the conclusion that I would sooner pay
96 ' FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
7 cents a pound for extracted honey than 5 cents a pound for
granulated sugar. I have had a little experience that has
satisfied me that honey is really cheaper at that price than
granulated sugar at 5 cents a pound to feed. And if we would
stop feeding sugar entirely, and feed a cheaper honey that we
can buy at wholesale at 7 cents a pound, we can get rid of
all this talk about feeding bees sugar to go into the sections.
Mr. Moore^How about the dissemination of foul brood?
Mr. Whitney — Buy from a good, honest man that would
not sell foul brood.
Member — Where would you find such a man?
Mr. Whitney — I would not need to go out of this room
to find honest men.
Mr. Johnson — At Galesburg, 111., we have been pretty
careful to look after the market, so that there is no adulterated
honey on the market. Years ago a good deal of it was shipped
in, before we had a pure food law. This year honey was
scarce, and some merchants thought they would bring in some
of it. As a result, two grocers were arrested for selling
adulterated honey, and fined $25 each. They would not have
gotten off as easily as that if they had not pleaded guilty, and
said they did not know it was adulterated honey. As I
understand it, there is very little adulterated honey sold in
this State. These fellows tried it by getting it from traveling
salesmen from another State.
Mr. Hutchinson — I think it is a good deal like asking
which has the most promising future, a man or a woman. I
think there is no difference in honey; both comb and extracted
have a place and will continue to have a place in the market.
Mr. Muth — They both have a place. In the cities, there
is a big demand for comb honey. The demand for the con-
sumption of extracted honey is not as large as people have
an idea. However, there are other ways in which extracted
honey is used. In manufacturing lines the demand is growing
larger every year. However, fancy No. 1 comb honey is easily
sold. The more fancy, honey there is on the market, the
greater the consumption. When honey does not grade nice,
the bee-keepers soon notice a fall in honey. It decreases the
consumption of honey, because people buy it thinking it is
comb honey, and they do not want any more comb honey.
On the other hand, the consumption of extracted honey is
very much on the increase. You will notice in the far West
and the South they prefer to produce the extracted honey,
and a great many people produce carloads and carloads of it,
where they do not produce any comb honey at all. It always
finds a market. It is just like wheat on the market, it has
a price.
Dr. Bohrer — Is not the lack of uniformity in the weight
of the section affecting its sale among the people? For
instance, it is called "a pound section," sometimes weighing
12, 14, 15, but seldom over 16 ounces. If I am buying a
majority of sections that don't weigh a pound, I want to buy
something that does weigh a pound, and more than a pound,
to even up.
Mr. Muth — That cuts no figure in the sale of honey at all,
because the retailers adjust the prices. They sell by the piece
-r-^j
STATK BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION
97
and not by the pound. The retail grocers do not want full
sections. They want to make money.
Dr. Bohrer — People sometimes tell me, "I would buy the
section honey, but it is called a pound, and it does not weigh
a pound. I will not buy it." And they give it a severe
"letting alone." That is another reason why I say extracted
honey will come to the front when people learn it is absolutely
pure.
Pres. York — Personally, I have never heard anybody say
these things. I would like an expression on this point. Have
you actually heard people object to light-weight sections? I
have never heard that complaint.
Mr. McCain — Ever since I have been bee-keeping, I have
used the Danzenbaker section, and you know that is light
weight. I believe it is really true that there is some objection
to it. I have been asked repeatedly, "Does it weigh a pound ?"
"No," I would say, "it weighs about 14 ounces;" and they
hesitate whether they will take it or not.
Mr. Muth — You asked the consumer, didn't you, or the
consumer asked you? I believe if you go around and sell to
a lot of grocers, they want short-weight sections.
Mr. McCain — I never had that trouble in Chicago. I
never was questioned about it in that way here, but at home,
in a town of about 5,000, the general impression is that a
section of honey should weigh a pound.
Dr. Bohrer — The only reason the grocer wants it that
way is because he buys by the pound and sells by the piece.
Mr. Whitney — I had an order last fall for some honey in
sections, and the groceryman wrote me to 'be sure not to have
the cases weigh over 22 pounds net.
Pres. York — How many sections to the case?
Mr. Whitney — Twenty-four. I had §ent him short sec- '
tions, and they just exactly suited him.
Pres. York — We will go on to the next question.
w
Late Feeding of Bees. 1
"Should your bees be short of stores at this date, what
would you feed them?"
Rev. McCain — Full frames of honey.
Mr. Johnson — My impression is that in feeding bees at
this time of year, you cannot, because you cannot separate
the cluster; it is usually too cold for that if they cluster at all.
I have wintered colonies that had hardly any honey in the
hives at all, by merely laying sections flat down, right over the
frames. The bees will always take honey from above and
pass it down, but it seems they will not take it from below
and pass it up. In this way, I have wintered bees almost
entirely. You may have to look in a little in the winter, and
probably give them some more sections.
Member — Do you mean in a cellar?
Mr. Johnson — No ; out-of-doors.
Mr. Hutchinson — You can feed candy. Make a sheet of
candy that you can lay over the tops of the frames, and cover
up with a cloth, and you can feed them out-of-doors very
well. Or you can feed syrup in the cellar if you wish. It is
more trouble. I was with a bee-keeper last spring at Manistee,
■^^S^^j^^lfL_fr7^1^^^^^T::f.-^^^^^^^^^
98 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
Mich., who did not have money to buy sugar with, and he kept
feeding them (sugar) syrup all winter long. He took a
Mason fruit-jar and had a hole cut in the cover large enough
so that the jar would just fit that hole. The bees came
through in fine shape, feeding on the syrup all winter long,
having very little honey in the combs. I would prefer candy,
if I had it to do, but that shows what can be done.
Mr. Ferris — I took 10 2-frame nuclei, put them in
cellar in mid-winter, for experiment. I took a 2-quart Mason
jar full of syrup, 10 pounds of syrup to 1 pound honey, and
fed them. All of the nuclei made me full colonies, averaging
100 pounds of honey each the next year. I did not lose one
of the 10. They all came through in good shape. I did that
only as an experiment.
Mr. Whitney — As an experiment, I have tarried colonies
through from February with a 2-pound cake of maple sugar.
That is better than anything else I ever saw to feed bees,
and I think it is dbout as handy as anything.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
A discussion of the question regarding a continuance of
the committee in the interests of legislation for bee-keepers
in Illinois was first taken up.
Importance of Foul Brood Legislation.
Mr. Wilcox — If you do not have a compulsory foul-
brood law, you will have no foul-brood law at all. No foul-
brood law can be effective for the purpose intended without
power to treat or destroy the bees; or, I will say, with the
power to enter upon the premises of any bee-keeper for the
purpose of inspecting, treating or destroying the bees, we
can exterminate foul brood. We know that in Wisconsin.
Experience has demonstrated it. It is necessary to have the
power; it is not necessary to use it very often. There will
be very few instances in the history of any State where it will
be necessary to use all the power which the law ought to
give 3'ou. That is the essential fact in the case? Mr. France
has been inspector for many years, and he was thwarted at
every corner when he first started out, by want of authority;
but when authority was written in the law, and he showed
them he had authority to enter upon premises and treat or
destroy bees, they surrendered peaceably, and thanked him
afterward for what he had done. To-day, in that State, there
is no one, to my knowledge, who objects. They are convinced
that it is for their interest, and we are glad we have the law
just as it is. I do not see how we could improve it.
Mr. Dadant — A little while ago- Mr. Wheeler made the
statement that in his opinion some bee-keepers do not want a
foul-brood law, and that it was in contradiction to my state-
ment. I did not say there were no bee-keepers who do not
want a foul-brood law, but my belief is that those who oppose
it are in the minority. The fact is, I am sure of it. Mr. J. Q.
Smith told us he did not think it was necessary, but when
we told him if he happened across a man whose bees had
L,
-I*"-
;..-:f>;^i7%y;-7«^'-
STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION
99
foul brood, and he refused to have it attended to, we ought
to have some method by which he could be compelled to have
it attended to, he admitted it was so. People who have good
judgment will not object to it. When they find^ doctor ready
to treat their colonies, and do it kindly, they will certainly be
willing to have their bees treated. But the man who. does not
care whether people succeed or not, who cares nothing for
his bees or his neighbors' interests, if that man's bees have
foul brood, and we have a foul-brood law, the inspector ought
to have the right to exercise full authority in the case.
Mr. Russell — There are bee-keepers probably in Illinois
as well as in Minnesota who object to a compulsory foul-
brood law. I want to tell this convention that those are the
very people for whom we need a foul-brood law. We have
them who will not allow an inspector to inspect their hives.
They sell bees and scatter the disease throughout the State.
It is for these people that we need a foul-brood law — for the
obstinate ones that we need a compulsory law.
Mr. Wheeler — The convention probably did not under-
stand me exactly in regard to the foul-brood law. The fact
is, this Chicago-Northwestern convention has talked for years,
and so strongly, that it is an absolute fact that we can cure
foul brood. You people take that for granted in all your
argument. Now, I will take the ground that you do not cure
it; that your methods are not up to the point of curing it.
You want to go to work and pass laws obliging us to allow
an inspector to come into our apiaries and experiment. We
take the ground that you cannot cure the disease. You may
cure it apparently for two or three years, but it will come
back if you have genuine foul brood. Now, what good does
an inspector do? What good does destro3ang the hive do?
It reminds me of a time about 20 years ago when the potato-
bug made its appearance. My father went out and hired
boys to pick bugs, and many other people did the same.
There were a few neighbors, however, who would not pick
bugs, for they said the cost would be more than double the
value of the potatoes. We wanted to pass a State law com-
pelling people to burn up the bugs, to burn up their potato
patches. That is exactly the ground you are taking in this
foul-brood law. We can experiment. Go ahead and experi-
ment and learn a cure; find out exactly what will be a cure.
I know it can be cured, apparently; for a year or two it will
disappear almost entirely — no sign of it; but almost as sure
as the sun is to rise, the next season it will make its appear-
ance. Bee-keepers say, "My neighbors have it." That is
not the fact. I can prove it. I have experimented along all
sort of lines with fumigating, putting combs into an air-tight
tank, and fumigating with formaldehyd^. I bought two big
tanks, put in combs, fumigated the bee-hives as the California
man said — everything that had ever been tried and written
about I experimented with. And you can for all practical
purposes take care of your bees, shake them out of the hives,
give them empty combs and empty frames, and for a few years
your bees are clean. But invariably it shows itself again.
Before it makes its appearalnce to the human eye, the germ is
there in the combs, and a bee-inspector might come along and
^'M^&Mi-ii-ff
■ ■" '■:^-ry^r;:f-\:^^^S^-tr:'^^--^^i: f:;:;^'i^lj:^i^?^^.
iOO FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
declare those bees free from all disease, and in a few months
there would be a few more cells and the next year it would
appear.
Dr. Bohrer — Do I understand Mr. Wheeler to say that
for that reason there should not be a foul-brood law passed ?
Mr. Wheeler — Yes ; and for the reason that a grafter or
a man who has a pull would probably get the place of in-
spector.
Mr. Holtermann — Seriously speaking, I am a little sur-
prised to hear a discussion of this kind here. If it had been
in England where they were discussing the advisability of a
foul-brood law, one would attribute it to their conservatism.
But I am surprised that we can be seriously discussing this
question in the United States. We know that foul brood can
be cured. Mr. Wheeler may not have succeeded in curing
it, and we may have some sympathy with him in his trouble,
but there are too many of us who can say we know foul
brood can be cured. And even if it could not be cured, it
would need an inspector to see where the disease was, an'd
stamp it out. We are certainly not prepared to admit that it
cannot be cured. And I think Mr. Wheeler hardly means to
make the accusation that every foul-brood inspector is a
grafter or one who has a "pull." I think that is a little too
strong. There are good men among the inspectors. If I
may be allowed to say so, I would be much in sympathy with
seeing that you get a foul-brood law passed.
Dr. Bohrer — I do not know that a law will stamp out
foul brood, but as was just remarked, if we cannot afford
a permanent cure, if we can only check it, we should have
the law. I am satisfied that foul brood can be cured. I
never saw but one case in my life, and I cured it. I will
tell you how I did it, and the experience I had with it, and
for that reason, if no other, I would recommend a law
upon that subject. A neighbor of mine had only one
colony of bees, and he told me there was something wrong
with it. He asked me if I would stop and inspect his hive.
I did so, and the most terrible stench that ever came to
my nostrils came out of that hive! I said, "My friend, I
cannot imagine anything that would be fouler than this,
and we will call it foul brood, anyway." There were very
few bees hatching. I said, "If you have some comb
foundation, and a new, clean hive, we will fit it into the
frames, shake these bees all off and drive them into it, then
take this bee-hive, combs, honey, frames and everything
and conceal them somewhere until after night, and then
put it all somewhere and burn it." I had 20 or 30 colonies
of bees at home, and I slipped into the house as quickly
as possible. I took off every particle of clothing, and
told my wife to go and boil them. Everything I had
about me was thoroughly cooked. I tell you, no foul
brood will ever start up where you adopt such measures
as that. You want your foul-brood law to give your in-
spector full authority. Do not tolerate or accept any
half-way legislation upon that subject. We have a law
in my State (Kansas), but I do not exactly like it. The
law provides for a county inspector, but it does not pay
■»■:.. •«^■-^-•«'
I -STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCrATION ^^1
him sufficiently to justify a man in leaving his home — only
$2.00 a day. You cannot get a man to do very much work
on that account. In our county they want me to take hold
of it and inspect the bees. I said, "I will tell you how to^,
cure it, and when the legislature meets again, let them
understand it is not graft at all. Frame your law so the
fact can be established that the disease exists and is doing
mischief. Then clothe your inspector with authority to
go and eflfect a cure." When you come to pass a State
law, be careful how you shape it. I am not sure but a
law that will provide for a county inspector will cost the
people the least money. It is not very expensive for the
County Commissioners to appoint an inspector of that
kind and pay a competent man. But to say we don't
want any law because somebody has made a failure — that
won't do! We might just as well say we don't want laws
upon the statute books prohibiting murder or robbery
because these things go on, and the law does not stop
them. But if you can check the disease, it will pay to
have a law for that purpose, if no other.
Mr. Kimmey — I would like, first, to know if Mr. Wheeler
was giving us his experience with foul brood?
Mr. Wheeler — Ask any question you like. When you
get through talking, I will talk.
Mr. Kimmey — That is what I wanted to know —
whether you were speaking from your own experience.
Mr. Wheeler — In regard to the insinuation I made
about grafters and all that, we know what Mr. France is.
We all love him, I may say. He is a man, esery inch of
him. What Wisconsin has had in Mr. France is no sign
of what Illinois may have. We must look ahead to that.
Not only that, but to peonle who have thousands of dol-
lars at stake in the bee-business, it is a great deal more of
a vital question than to a man who has one or two hives,
and I claim that the men who are doing a honey-produc-
ing business on a large scale are in a great deal more
danger of the disease continuing and staying than if he
has only one or two hives to put into a furnace and burn
up. He is only a few dollars out. Of course the bee-
hive manufacturers want it. But if we can get along and
keep our hives, we are going to do it. We can scour
them, burn them out, and all that, and I have no doubt
but The A. I. Root Co. cured the disease when they had it.
They could burn up their hives, foundation and all, and
get new supplies out at their factory without much cost
to them. We cannot do that. You cannot do that. The
point is, there is so much stuff around. And these gen-
tlemen are satisfied to burn up the hives. I sawthat done
once, and the next day after the hives were burned the
bees swarmed over that pile, licked up the honey they found
and carried it home.
Dr. Bohrer — That honey was not burned.
; Mr. Wilcox — You cannot burn up honey in that way.
i have seen the disease carried back to the hives in that
way.
Mr. Wheeler — I consider myself just as careful as
** \
IP^wpyjr^^s^?^: ^?J^i'*3?^f;;^'wS«Sl^^
ICK! FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
any man can be. I have experimented just as carefully as
any man in the United States can, and I believe it is
absolutely impossible, unless bees are destroyed and the
hives burned up, to eradicate that disease if you get the
genuine thing. It has no terror to me. I do not believe
any man needs to be afraid of it. I do not believe there
is anything in it to be so much afraid of. It is simply a
question of taking care of your bees. Don't allow them
to get any diseased honey. But so far as absolutely cur-
ing it, I do not think it can be done.
Mr. McEvoy — I cannot quite agree with Mr. Wheeler.
I will not stake my life that I can cure it every time, but
when you are going on the theory that it cannot be cured,
you are .making a mistake.
Mr. Dadant — I would like to give you one instance
where it- would have been good to have had a foul-brood
law in Illinois. A person died near East St. Louis who
owned some bees that had foul brood. The administrator
was told the bees had foul brood, and he hastened to sell
them asjguickly as possible to get rid of them. If we
had had a compulsory law, it would have been a criminal
matter to have so disposed of those bees.
Mr. Kimmey — I asked Mr. Wheeler the question in
good faith, whether he was talking from his own experi-
ence. I expected to ask him if he believed the disease to
be contagious. ^ am talking about something I know
nothing about. I never have had foul brood in my apiary.
I am an amateur bee-keeper. It seems to me if you have
had foul brood and stamped it out, and it is contagious,
it had come from some place else. That is what I was
trying to get at. He might have gotten it from his neigh-
bors' bees.
Mr. Wilcox — There is just one feature of this case
that has not been touched upon yet that is important.
The fact is, you want to create an office. The inspector
must be a State officer, and you cannot have it unless j'ou
prepare for it, and pass a law authorizing it. You must
have a fixed appropriation for this purpose and not de-
pend upon the Legislature to make an annual or biennial
appropriation for this purpose. It must be an appropria-
tion that will come, year after year, and to get that you
must proceed as we have done and make it a State office.
Make it a fixed appropriation after the manner of Wis-
consin. It is necessary to have such an officer. He may
be appointed by the Governor, or by some State board
after some civil service examination, perhaps. It is not a
matter for us to discuss as /to the best method of having
him appointed. In Wisconsin we are satisfied to have
him appointed by the Governor, upon recommendation of
the bee-keepers.
Mr. McCain — It $etTOs to me we ought to bear in
mind that we are nof legislating against ourselves. The
bee-keepers of this Association and of the National are, in
the majority, intelligent men, who can cure cases of foul
brood if they have it. I am no expert, but I have cured
two cases — not in nxy own yard, but in my neighbor's yard.
K??,^-]^
STATE See-keepers^ ASSOCIATION. .;' 103
We are not legislating aginst ourselves. We ought to go
in heartily and support such a resolution as this in order
that those who do not care may feel the force of the law.
Mr. Kluck — I am in favor of a foul-brood law where
we can force our neighbor, who does not care whether
his bees have foul brood or not, to have the disease treated,
and a compulsory law is the only one that will do any
good in Illinois. The man who has 6, 8, 10 or 15 colonies,
and his bees are only a side issue, lets them stand. If
they live, they live; if they die, they die. The neighbor's
bees carry the disease home, and that is where you get
foul brood. Then we want a law so that when we know a
man has foul brood in his apiary we can have an inspector
go and visit the yard and stamp it out. I do not believe
it is necessary to destroy the hives, or anything of that
kind. I believe my friend here, Mr. McEvoy, has de-
stroyed many cases where he never destroyed a hive.
Mr. McEvoy — I nevei- destroyed a hive in my life.
Mr. Kannenberg — Mr. France, in Wisconsin, has
treated foul brood many times without destroying the
hive. I shall hand in my name here to help along a foul-
brood law down at Springfield. When we are working
against a foul-brood law, we aie working against our own
interests.
Mr. McEvoy — A good many are acting on the propo-
sition that we are trying to do something that we-.would
have to force, which is not the case.
Mr. Holtermann — If you have a competent man you
will have very little trouble. There may be a little oppo-
sition to him at first, but if he will take it right, it will end
right, as a rule. I think you had better get a law passed;
it will be to the interest of every man in the business, and
the men who opoose it will be all right if you take them
right. Whatever you do in your law, make the inspector
the sole judge. No appeal! If an appeal can be made
from the decision of the inspector, while that is going on'
the mischief will be done. Make the inspector the sole
judge, and see that he does his duty.
Mr. Kannenberg — I should think a man who has a
lot of bees, and makes his living out of them, would be
only too glad if there is a compulsory law to keep out
foul brood. Those who have only a few bees would not
care whether they had it or not, but the man who r^r^kes
his living out of bees should care whether his neighbors
bring in foul brood.
Mr. Wheeler — That all. comes along the line of abso-
lute cure. When you convince the fellows in Illinois that
you can cure that disease, then is the time to talk, and not
until then. And another thing, we want absolutely
straight, honorable men for our inspectors if we have to
have them. We want men that we can trust. Our fortunes
are at stake; our whole interests, our life's work, are at
stake. We want men who will not go in and destroy our
property for some notion or whim. We want prooerty
preserved. That is the law first taught in the Declaration
of Independence-v-preservation of life, liberty and prop-
_-&'^ -
r~^^T' •*:«i-T?:;"*^*?f^^*^"--^ 'f^^^- 1 :y._' 'i'^^'-^ --^^Y'-^^-^^'-r---^-^ ■• - :\'^;^7'\f?.'^'p^,^f-
104 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
erty. And I hope we may sometime get a law that will
work along that same line. When that day comes, I am
in for it. But until you can prove that the disease is
curable, I will not consent to it. Not only that, but this
convention does not represent the bee-keepers of Illinois.
Don't for one moment forget that. Don't forget that Illi-
nois bee-keepers represent people all over the State, and
about-nine-tenths of them never darken these doors —
never come inside of this convention hall. They have their
interests as well as we do, and I have heard nothing from
them.
Mr. Baxter — I would like to ask Mr. Wheeler one
question. Have you ever had foul brood in your own
apiary?
Mr. Wheeler — I have not said anything at all of that
kind. I have experimented in all sorts of ways, but I do
not know that I am to be picked out individually here to
answer any questions. I am not afraid to have anybody
ask me outside. We do not know what the future has in
store for any of us. You all talk about the question just
as I do. I have had experience with it — a great deal of
experience. I have tried these experiments, and I have
followed directions, and I believe the time will come when
you will all, every one of you, say that Wheeler is right.
I expect I may not live to see it. •
Mr. Ferris — There is a point in Mr. Wheeler's argu-
ment I see some light in. A man who is a would-be
inspector, who went in and inspected some hives and pro-
nounced them foul-broody, and afterward another inspec-
tor went in and told them it was pickled brood, there
would be trouble. Unless we have a thoroughly compe-
tent man, a man's whole apiary might be destroyed under
a compulsory law. And that is a point we must look after,
so that a man does not go forth and destroy in the wrong
place. We should have not only a man who can enforce
the law, but have the right kind of a man when he is
going to enforce it.
Mr. Whitney — I don't understand why we should ap-
point a man as inspector until after we get the law!
A motion was made and seconded that the Committee
on Legislation be instructed to co-operate with the State
Bee-Keepers' Association to secure a foul-brood law.
Motion carried almost unanimously.
Baby Nuclei in Queen-Rearing.
"What is the testimony in regard to the value of baby
nuclei in queen-rearing?"
Ernest R. Root — There is no question but what baby
nuclei will fertilize queens, small or large. The trouble is
to get the bees to stay in the little boxes, so as not to keep
renewing them all the time. We have been exprimenting
with the small boxes and find that it works, and fertilizes
the queens, depending upon how many bees we get into
the boxes. Instead of having very thick partitions, we
have very thin ones. The frames are the same as in an
^^^^i'^:m^f^^is^^^^M^:
:. ?;>isi«?^ww>-
STATE SEE-KEEPERS^ ASSOCIATION _ 105
ordinary hive. The advantage in using 1 -by nuclei is
to keep from using smoke. We never use a smoker in
handling baby nuclei. The fact about the matter is that
the first brood will be reared right against the thin par-
tition on both sides, showing that the additional warrnth
of the two clusters means a great deal. Instead of having
six to the Langstroth frame, we now have three to that
size frame, and we can run the baby nuclei in pairs clear
up into the month of November.
Dr. Bohrer — How many frames do you have?
Mr. Root — Four; 2 to each division.
Dr. Miller — Mr. Root says these are renewed about
once a month, but I think Mr. Laws and some other dyed-
in-the-wool baby-nuclei men say they have a fresh lot of
bees for each queen.
Mr. Root^That plan is all right, but it involves too
much work for us down at Medina. As I understand it,
he forms a baby nucleus every time he wants to carry the
bees to the out yard.l We have found it less work to use
the baby nuclei to run through the entire season, like an
ordinary colony.
Mr. Hutchinson — There is one point on which Mr.
Ferris lays considerable emphasis, and that is the distance
apart of the frames — that is, placing them wide apart. He
says if there is a large space between them, more bees can
crowd in there than can rear bees successfully.
Dr. Miller — May I emphasize the point that Mr.
Hutchinson made right here as to the room that is there.
A good many years ago, when I first commenced working
with bees, I devised a nucleus hive, using a common 10-
frame Langstroth hive, taking 6 nuclei, one in each frame,
and it worked very well. Years after I tried to repeat the
same thing, and I found what a great many authorities
said, that hte nuclei would be deserted; that the bees
would desert them. When I made my second attempt at
it, I was wiser then — knew more about bees, and rather
smiled at my former ignorance in using 6 of them in that
10-frame hive, which gave a space of nearly 2 inches to
each. I gave them, this time, only a reasonable amount,
only about % inch at the side of each one, and the bees
flew out and would not stay in there! I concluded my
first crude attempt was the better one. Another point: I
do not think, after trying all these years and experiment-
ing with baby nuclei, that this thing is quite as modern
as some of us are likely to think. About 40 years ago I
visited Adam Grimm, and I think about all of his hives
were just about the size of the present baby-nucleus hives.
And I remember his pulling them apart without any
smoke. The things would fly at him, and he would say,
"We must wait 'a little and then go at them again." That
is about the size of Adam Grimm's nucleus hive [referring
to a model].
Mr. Dadant— Mr. Gray, of Ohio, made baby nuclei.
We reared our queens from the larvae instead of doing
as you do to-day, but we did have some very good nuclei,'
and the question was to keep the combs well separated, so
'■^:-- n-'f^' ■i"
106 fIfTH ANNUAL REPORT
as to have a large amount of bees between. When the
honey would come, they would spread out.
Dr. Bohrer — Mr. Langstroth used 4 frames. I have
been in his apiary a good many times. I never reinforce
them. When they have filled every available space I
remove the queen.
Mr. Stanley described at some length his method and
baby-nucleus hive. His hive is a little larger than the
ordinary baby-nucleus hive*. It has 3 frames, 4x5 inches.
He started with 6 combs in the spring, and then divided
them later on.
Mr. Holtermann — Have you introduced a large num-
ber of virgin queens?
Mr. Stanley — Probably 1,200 to 1,500 the past season.
Mr. McCain — I wish I had the experience and ability
to write a book entitled, "Forty Years Among the Bees."
I do not believe this is right; I believe the system should
be condemned. I think it is all wrong. I think it is un-
natural, abnormal, forced from beginning to end. My
experience is limited, but that is the way it looks to me.
Mr. Dadant — I do not believe we should condemn a
system because it is forced. There are a great many
things done by domesticating. We have changed the na-
ture of a good many animals. I think the argument that
the thing is not right because it is forced has no weight.
I can see no reason why the queen should sufifer, and I can
see a saving in expense to the bee-keeper. I believe the
boxes should be made so that none of the bees need be
lost.
Mr. Root — Perhaps I can harmonize the differences
of opinion. I do believe they are all right so far as mating
the queens is concerned. We were moving on wrong lines.
We had too few bees. It was said 100 would be enough.
I believe it was wrong there. After we' had prepared the
article, in order to make the thing work, we went to 400.
When we had about 400 it worked. Putting the frames
further apart commends itself as being very good. When
you get a ball of bees, it will be just as warm, whether
large or small, up to a certain extent. The Pratt baby
nucleus is, perhaps, no larger than those two boxes there.
We can make it work by having one comb and putting
more bees in it. I think if we should try it over again, we
could do it. It is my belief that with a tin box, the results
would be all right. I believe cells are liable to be chilled
out in a box where a pasteboard cover is used. We make
it just as warm as we can. The baby nucleus Pratt rec-
ommended had 8 frames to the Langstroth frame. That
makes it too small. The frames we are now using give
better results with 3 to the Langstroth frame. The virgin
queens themselves should be reared in strong colonies,
then when they have arrived at the right age we introduce
them. We have to modify some of the things we thought
we knew last year.
The new President of the National Bee-Keepers' Asso-
ciation, Mr. C. P. Dadant, was introduced to the conven-
tion, and responded. .
r«^>-5f!^^,~-'isr-
(
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 107
Mr. Dadant — Mr. President, I will have to make an
extempore speech, but I have not prepared it! I simply
wish to thank the bee-keepers for my election. I am afraid
I will turn out to be a very poor presiding officer, but I
will do the best I can. I am not a speaker, therefore, you
will not expect a speech from me. I leave speaking to
better men than myself.
Mr. George E. Hilton, tb^ newly elected Vice-Presi-
dent of the National Association, was called for, but had
left the hall.
Mr. W. Z. Hutchinson, Secretary of the National, was
introduced to the convention and responded:
Mr. President, there seems to be a lot of poor talkers.
I can only say as my brother has said, I thank the bee-
keepers for the honor.
The General Manager, Mr. N. E. France, was also
introduced.
Mr. France — As Mr. Dadant has said, I thank the
bee-keepers for the honor. I have tried to do what is
right for them, and hope to continue so doing. There are
some things connected with the work that are pleasant.
Again, there are some parts of it that I wish somebody
else had. But put it all together, we are progressing, and
we are accomplishing much of good. I hope you will all
feel it is your part to help. One officer cannot do it alone.
Pres. York — ^We have with us Dr. Eaton, analyst of
the Illinois State Food Commission.
Dr. Eaton — As I expect to read a paper before the
National Association, I will not have anything to say at
the present time, except to congratulate the bee-keepers
on the market for honey as regards adulteration; especially
as regards extracted honey, because we have hardly found
a sample of adulterated honey in Illinois this year.
Pres. York — I have not succeeded in getting anyone
to talk very much, and so will call on Dr. Miller.
Dr. Miller — I am not an officer, and I can talk.
Pres. York — You are still a Director of the National,
and will be until January 1st.
Dr. Miller — Well, I can talk until January 1st, then.
The convention then adjourned to meet at the call of
the Executive Committee.
■'^^■'^i£^7^-^.
'^■::y^'(n
108 Fifth annual report
REPORT
—OF THE —
National Bee-Keepers' Association
The National Bee-Keepers' Association held its Annual
Convention in Brunt Hall in the Bush Temple of Music,
Chicago, 111., on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, De-
cember 19, 20 and 21, 1905.
The opening session took place on Tuesday, December
19, at 7:30 o'clock p. m. ; the President-elect, Mr. C. P.
Dadant, of Hamilton, 111., occupied the chair.
The Secretary, Mr. W. Z. Hutchinson, read a paper
written by Mr. L. Stachelhausen, of Converse, Texas, on
THE CONTROL OF INCREASE
The natural way of increase is swarming, and, there-
fore, the first problem is control of swarming, and this is
very important for bee-keepers who keep a large number of
colonies in several apiaries. As we have no man in the
out-yards to watch for swarms, and as it would not pay
at all to keep such a person there during swarming-time,
every swarm cast by any colony would be very probably
lost.
I am tempted to give you a scientific talk about the
cause of swarming, but I think you prefer more practical
hints. We know a number of ways to prevent swarming;
one of the most practical ways to prevent, or, at least, to
delay swarming, is to use large hives; that is, a large
comb-surface, by which the bees can extend the brood-nest
in every direction. At the same time colonies in such large
hives will develop faster during the spring, and become
stronger colonies. We can force such a development in
smaller hives by spreading the brood and other laborious
and dangerous manipulations. In a large hive with plenty
of honey a healthy colony will develop to the greatest
possible strength without any manipulation made by the
bee-keeper.
It may be said that such large hives do not always,
and under all circumstances, prevent swarming. This is
true, but I have observed, if, in an apiary, lo-frame Lang-
stroth hives are changed to larger ones, the bees will
swarm less by and by every year. In my locality the
bees from hives not larger than- 8 or 10 Langstroth frames
will swarm so much that one man could hardly manage an
apiary of 100 colonies. I could tell you stories about the
ways some of my bee-keeping neighbors acted to get rid
of these surplus swarms. For about 24 years I have used
I
-i-JjM.
- Tp^w;" W'^^^^W^'.
STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION
109
larger hives, and have no trouble of this kind any more.
This is a very important difference, if bees shall be kept
in as many colonies to make a profit-bearing business.
In my locality the problem is to keep the bees from
swarming till the main honey-flow commences. During this
flow the bees will not swarm, if they have not made prep-
arations for it before this flow commenced. With such cir-
i '.
C. P. Dadant,
President National Bee-Keepers^ Association.
cumstances, hives as large as the Dadant hive will prevent
swarming sufficiently in most years. In other years, which
are more favorable for brood-rearing, I have to watch my
colonies more carefully. If I find a very strong colony with
brood much extended, I have to manipulate it, especially if
I find queen-cells started. It may be sent down as a rule,
if we fmd 2500 square inches of comb-surface occupied by
brood, this colony will probably swarm soon, even from a
very large hive.
e
110 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
The prevention of swarming may have different pur-
poses. If we can't, or are not willing, to watch our colonies
during swarming-time, we can make the swarms artificially
a little earlier; thus they would swarm naturally, but in
this case we will get as much, or even more, increase. If
we want less increase, we make only so many artificial swarms
as we think necessary to prevent natural swarms. Or we
may not want any increase at all, and wish to keep the
whole force of a colony together and have it as strong as
possible during the honey-flow. For this reason we have
to select different ways for prevention of swarming. If we
make swarms artificially, we can make one or more swarms
from every colony strong enough, or we make one swarm
from two such colonies, or we take the material to form
a new swarm from a larger number of colonies. All this
is done for a permanent increase. A second way is, when
no increase is wanted, to divide a strong colony for some
days only, t and when the swarmitig fever has past, we unite
these two colonies again. A third way is to manpiulate
the colony in such a way without dividing it, that it will
not or can't swarm. We will consider these three ways.
There are, again, many different ways of artificial swarm-
ing. During many years I used the well-known plan to
make three out of two. A strong colony. A, is shaken into a
new hive with starters or full sheets of foundation, and this
hive is set on the old stand of A. The brood-combs with-
out bees are placed in another hive, and this is set on the
stand of another strong colony B, and the colony B receives
a new stand C. To the colony now at B a queen fertilized,
or virgin, or even a queen-cell, is introduced. If the honey-
flow is good and of long duration this plan can be used
with profit, but the colony at B is in a bad condition for
some days, having no young bees to feed the larvae, a part
of them may starve and be drawn out afterwards. The
colony C has lost all the field-bees, and if the hive does
not contain very thin, watery honey, the young bees can't
prepare the necessary larval-food, and some of the young
brood is lost again, except we give some water to this
colony in some way till some of the young bees will fly out
to gather this water outside.
Since a few years I prefer for these reasons, another
plan, especially recommendable if we want very little in-
crease. I take from a colony, which I expect would make
preparation to swarm, 3 or 4 brood-combs (3 of my frames
have not quite as much comb-surface as 2 Langstroth
frames). The bees from these combs are shaken back into
their hive. In place of these brood-combs empty combs or
frames with full sheets of foundation are given to this
colony. Eight of these brood-combs from different colonies
are set in another story, and 2 empty combs added; this
story is set on top of another strong colony over a queen-
excluding honey-board. In this way I go through the yard
till all the colonies strong enough are managed. In about
2 or 3 hours these brood-combs over the excluders will be
covered with young bees, and now I remove them again.
\'QCfi=Jt^&,.
■fi-
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION HI
Two such stories with brood and bees from 2 different colo-
nies will form a new colony, which is placed on a new
stand, a queen in a cage closed with candy is introduced,
and at the beginning of the honey-flow one or more supers
are given to this colony and this bee-yard is safe for lo
days, at least.
The advantage of this plan is, that the colonies are
weakened not more than necessary to prevent swarming, and
the new colonies are at once ready to store honey. Hereby,
it is important that we take mostly capped brood from the
colonies, and that we give the frames of foundation at the
proper place. Our purpose is that this foundation should
be drawn out and eggs laid in these cells at once by the
queen, therefore they must be given at such a place, where
the queen is laying eggs in the center of the comb, or will
soon do so. If we have taken away combs, in which some
young bees are gnawing out of the cells, just in the center
of these combs, we can put the foundation right in their
place, because in a few days the queen would lay eggs there
anyhow. If this cannot be done, a safe way is to remove
the remaining brood in the old colony close together, and to
give the foundation on both sides of the brood-nest be-
tween the last brood-comb and that comb containing mostly
pollen, which generally is found on both sides of the brood-
nest. If this is not observed, and we examine the colony
lo days later, we may find these combs filled with honey
instead of with brood, and this will be a hindrance for the
queen all the summer through. Many other ways of ar-
tificial swarming can be used, too many to be mentioned
here.
The second way to prevent swarming is to divide a
colony, which will probably swarm very soon, or has already
started queen-cells, for a few days only, and to have that
part of the colony which receives the brood-combs with the
queen cells weakened so much in bees, that these surplus
queen-cells are destroyed by the bees themselves. As soon
as this is done both colonies are united again. This can be
done in different ways.
I. Thd old colony is removed from its stand and a
new hive containing some empty combs and some frames
with starters -is set on its place. From the old colony is
taken i brood-comb with i or more queen cells and placed
between 2 empty combs in the new hive on the old stand.
By shaking or brushing, more bees from the old colony are
added to this swarm, being careful not to get the queen
in with the bees. The supers are given to tiiis swarm on
the old stand, and the parent colony, having the old queen,
is set to one side or on top of this swarm. By this manipu-
lation the parent colony is weakened so much that it gives
up all swarming and will destroy the queen-cells. This
generally takes place in less than. 6 days, and now both
colonies are re-united. The queen-cells on this i frame of
brood are cut out, the brood-comb set back into the old
colony, the new hive is removed and the parent colony set
■,.^.^-^"^.£«^^r^
-j-i''^':^^^?f^'*^w^T^'W^Kmw^ "
112
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
back on the old stand. This plan was lately recommended
in the United States and called "the Sibbald plan."
2. Another way of this kind is known as the "shook-
swarm system." From a strong colony nearly all of the
bees with the old queen are shaken or brushed into a new
hive with starters or foundation, and this is set on the old
stand. The old hive with the brood-combs and a sufficient
number of bees to cover and nurse the brood is set to one side
of the swarm. For reuniting we wait till the brood has
hatched from the old brood-combs and unite the young bees
with the swarm by setting the old colony to the other side
of the swarm lo days later. In lo or ii days afterwards
all the brood of the old colony will have hatched and now
we shake all the bees from this colony in front of the
swarm.
When we make the shaken swarm we can give one or
two brood-combs or none at all; we can give to the swarm
empty combs, full sheets of foundation or starters only; all
this depends on circumstances. I used this shook-swa'rm
system for producing section-honey and I will tell you how
I planned it out. My experience was, that I could not get a
satisfactory crop of section-honey, if I had given the sec-
tion-supers to an old colony in a lo-frame Langstroth, or a
still larger hive.
About i8 years ago W. Z. Hutchinson recommended in
a little book, "The Production of Comb Honey," for this
purpose the use of swarms, which were hived in a con-
tracted brood-chamber containing starters only. Since then
I have used swarms only for the production of section-honey,
and worked all the other colonies for extracted honey. Using
large brood-nests I got less swarms every year and made
them artificially by shaking the bees off from the combs,
manipulating these swarms exactly as recommended in this
little book. Such shake|i swarms always worked just as well
as natural swarms — even better, as they were generlally
stronger.
The only disadvantage of these natural or shaken
swarms is, that they are getting -weaker every day during
the first 3 weeks, and more bees are necessary by and by for
nursing the increasing brood. To avoid this T used Hed-
don's plan for preveniing after-swarms, by changing the
place of the parent colony and so drawing some bees from
it to the^^swarm every 8 or lo days. It does not change
the principle, if this drawing of bees from one colony to the
other is performed' in some o^er way.
Some bee-keepers claiin that shaken swarms should not
be made, except a colony has started queen-cells. This is not
~ so, if a large brood-chamber is used, but it is necessary that
the colony be as as strong as possible and have many young
bees. The starting of queen-cells is a sign that a surplus
of young bees compared with the open brood is present in a
\ colony! in a large hive so much brood may be present, that
\no such surplus of young bees may appear, nevertheless more
^pf them will be in the hive than in another, smaller hive,
Which has queen-cells. When the shaken swarm is made, this
Wv^^
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t-
STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION
113
open brood is removed, and we have exactly the same condi-
tion as with a natural swarm.
Further, in criticising this plan it is said, that the swarm
has to build a new brood-nest, which causes a larger con-
sumption of hqney, which honey would better be stored in the
sections. But such swarms work with more vigor than a
colony which is nearly in a condition to make preparations -
to swarm ; as no combs are in the contracted brood-chamber
all the honey gathered is forced into the sections, which con-
tain full sheets of foundation, and some of them partly drawn
out. These circumstances overbalance the necessary building
of new combs.
In my opinion, the most satisfactory way of producing
section honey is to use large brood-chambers in the spring,
and when the main honey-flow commences the colonies are
managed after this shook-swarm system. This is especially
true, if all natural swarms must be avoided.
3. This building of new combs can be avoided in the fol-
lowing way : A shaken swarm is made on the old stand, with
the old queen, and the parent colony is set to one side or on
top of this swarm. As soon as one of the young queens
haft, hatched and has destroyed the other queen-cells in the
parent colony, both colonies are reunited. If the old queen
shall be kept, it is not necessary to hunt up the young queen
in the parent colony. At evening, before the bees cease to
fly, we exchange the places of the two colonies for about
an . hour, and any field-bees from the swarm will enter the
parent colony; now the hives change places again, when the
bees are not flying any more. These field-bees are used to
an old queen, and will, during the night, kill the young virgin
queen. The next morning both colonies are united again.
If the young queen shall be kept and the old one removed,
the best way would be to wait till the young queen is fer-
tilized, then the old queen is found, removed, and both, colo-
nies united. \ ;
In this way no new br9od-n€st\.is to be built, and the
colony is divided during a few days \ only, the swarming im-
pulse is removed, and the bees themselves have destroyed the
queen-cells ; but the plan will hardly work for section honey,
an4 the same I think can be said about the Sibbald p^n-.
In \both cases the brpod-nest, after 'reuniting, will coritiin
too many empty cells, which will at onte be filled with honey.
^ow we have to consider the th^rd way of preventing
swarms by preparing the colony in su^h a way, that it will
not or can't swarm. •
Here may be _ mentioned \the difierent plans, by which
the queen is prevented from swarming out, in a mechanical,
way, as by. the use of a queen-excluding honey-board or a
queen-trap, or by caging the queen for some time. These
plans are quite against the natur£ of the bees, and have
generally proven unsatisfactory. We can* remove the old
queen entirely and allow the colony to rear a young one. This
plan will prevent swarming, if at th^ right time the surplus
queen-cells are destroyed, but the colony is Weakened con-
siderably, probably more so than if a prime swarm and no
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114
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
after-swarm were allowed. The plan takes too much work
and attention to be practical in a large apiar}^
Another way of this kind has been known for some
time, but is not mentioned very often. When queen-cells
are reared in an upper story, over an excluder, it was ob-
served that such colonies did not swarm as long as there
is some brood in this upper story. If this is true, it is plain
that swarming can be prevented, if once in a while some
brood-combs are removed from the lower story to the upper
one over this excluder. This idea can be used for section
honey, if a divisible brood chamber is used. When the
honey-flow commences, the upper part of this brood-chamber
is removed, a queen-excluder laid on top of the lower part,
over this one or more section supers and on top of them
the upper part of the brood-chamber. The upper brood-story
is kept on the hive till all the brood has hatched and the
combs are filled with honey, then these combs are extracted
or used for winter food in the same or another hive.
Against this plan I have only this objection, that the
queen-excluder is a considerable hindrance for the bees, but
I think in many cases, when section honey shall be pro-
duced, it can be dispensed with, as the section-supers them-
selves have probably the same effect as the queen-excluder.
Another plan is described by Dr. C. C. Miller, and called
the "foundation plan." When in a colony queen-cells are
found with eggs in them, these eggs are destroyed; if, lo
days later, larvae are found in queen-cells, the queen is found
and caged and all the queen-cells destroyed, the hive re-
moved and in its place is put a hive containing three frames
of foundation. Upon this hive is put an excluder and over
the excluder the old hive, with brood and bees, and over this
the supers. The queen is run in at the entrance of the lower
hive and the colony is left for a week or lo days. At the
end of this time the. .lower story is taken away with the ex-
cluder, and the queen is put back in the old hive, which gets
the old stand.
This is a modification of the last-described plan. I have
never tried this plan, but it seems to me, that in some localities,
the colony may swarm after treatment, and that the exam-
ination of all colonies every 8 or lo days to destroy the eggs
in queen-cells or to treat the colony, if larvae are present, will
take too much time and labor.
Another way belonging to this class is "Simmins' non-
swarming system." It is said that the bees will not swarm,
if an empty space is given to them between the brood-nest
and the alighting hole, in which the bees can build combs.
Simmins says that an important item in this management
consists in supplying every section with fully worked combs.
As this is hardly possible in a large apiary worked exclusively
for comb-honey, this may be the reason that the plan was
not favorably accepted on this side of the Atlantic. You
will see that this principle is partially employed in Dr. Miller's
foundation plan. L. Stachelhausen.
The President declared the paper open for discussion.
Mr. McEvoy — One point in the paper read was as to shak-
' STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 115
ing bees onto comb. Some people complain that these colo-
nies would grow weak in a few days after, but my plan is to
put a cone bee-escape across the front after 5 or 6 days
for a few hours ; the bees come out and they cannot get back
into it again. Then you can send your bees where you want
to. Another point is that the queen destroys the youiig queens
because the guards are off the cells. JThe first queen that
hatches will do it.
Mr. Holtermann — I think that the subject that we have here
tonight is one of the most important subjects that is going to be
brought before the convention, that is, tl^ie control of increase.
We have had different methods given to 'us. The paper I think
is a very good one and very exhaustive. I think that there is a
method which can be given in addition to what has been here.
Some 4 or 5 years ago I began bee-keeping again, and the writ-
ings of the Dadants had made quite an impression upon me,
for I always looked upon them as very successful bee-keep-
ers, and good, sound reasoners; and their observations led
me to adopt a larger hive. I had been a strong advocate
of the 8-frame Langstroth hive up to that time, and I
adopted a 12-frame Langstroth hive. What Mr. Stachelhau-
sen says is correct. I think the basis or the beginning of the
successful control of increase is large colonies. Now, there
are several features which come into play in the control of
increase. First of all, the general impression is that the
tiSne to note the swarining impulse is when eggs are deposited
in the queen-cell cups. I think in that ' practice we make a
mistake. I think the first indication towards swarming is
the drone-brood; but we will leave that alone because in a
great many- cases they may not swarm at all. But the next
is when cell-cups are built. I have had men say to me,
"I see cell-cups built in many cases and no swarming." That
is true. The conditions may change, and so on, so that they
will not swarm when cell-cups are built, but that is the very
reason why we should note that. In my manipulation in th""e
apiary when I see cell-cups' built I take it as a hint that the
bees are drifting very closely towards swarming, and that is
the time, in my estimation, that the brood should be taken
out, if at all, unless you are approaching, as far as you can
tell, the close of the honey season, and then you do not need
to do that.
The next point I find, and I think where bee-keepers make
such very great mistakes, is in the amount of super-room
given to the bees. I don't know how it is over here, perhaps,
as fully as it is in Canada. But the general method is to give
an extracting super to a colony of bees. I am satisfied as
long as we think we can run our bees successfully with only
one super, so long we will not make the most out of our
bees, or succeed in keeping down swarming to the greatest
extent. No one should thinJc of taking extracted honey with-
out having at least an average of 2 supers to the hive.
Then there is the matter of ventilatioh. I would like
to take you into a frame building on a hot summer day with
a ^-inch board roof, and very little ventilation, and put you
at work extracting; and yet there are nine-tenths of the
-' ■■■ '■/ ■ :% vp. "■■-T'^;-^y^'^^^^?ff?.-'^.^\^r'- y^^^
116 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
bee-keepers who consider it economy to have half that, and
have no more protectiorf than that %-inch board; and they
have what is equal to -^ stove in addition in that building
in the young bees and brood in the hive. I consider it a
very gross extravagance to use a hive with as little as a
^-inch board protection. We should protect them more.
Next, in order to keep down swarming I am going to
try to show you the importance of ventilators in the supers.
You have a colony of bees there, and all the fresh air they
can get has to come through that brood-chamber and up into
the super; by the time it reaches the super that air is foul,
and your bees on that account become discontented and want
to swarm, and therefore^I use the system of ventilation with
supers. A great many of the entrances to hives are too
small. In our country we have hives in which the entrance
does not go all the way across the front of the hive. I learned
a lesson from Mr. S. T. Pettit, to enlarge the entrance of the
hive during the warm season by means of wedges % of an
inch at the front and going to a point at the back, and as
soon as the swarming-time comes on slide one between
the bottom-board and the brood-chamber, and in that way
increase the entrances % of an inch. By those methods we
can keep down swarming to a great extent. In using the
greater amount of super-room, you want to get the condition
where you have sufficient super-room in your hive that the
worker force in that hive is contented, and in such numbers
that the bees that are dying off from day to day are about
equal to the number of bees that are coming on. You can't do
that unless you have the extra amount of super-room.
The reason why I have said I consider this perhaps the
most important subject that will come before this conven-
tion is this : I am thoroughly satisfied that the secret of large
yields of honey is to keep the bees together. No matter
whether your honey-flow is short or long, it makes no differ-
ence so far as I can see it as to that point. Your bees then
are always ready; your bees come with large forces, and they
can take advantage of ever3i;hing that may turn up, no mat-
ter whether it is clover, basswood or buckwheat — whatever '
gives you the largest amount of yield.
As far as fall flows are concerned, I know by observa-
tion that a great many do not get the amount of honey they
could in the fall of the year, because by that time their colo-
nies are so broken up they really have few, if any, strong
colonies left.
Dr. Miller — When you speak of ventilating supers, do
you mean extracting supers, or sections, or both?
Mr. Holtermann — I have particular reference to extract-
ing supers. The only method I can see of ventilating the
comb-honey supers is by having a ventilator at the top of the
brood-chamber. I don't think it is practicable to use them
in comb-honey supers at the time when the bees are capping
the honey.
Mr. Nau — I work the super in the same -way Mr. I^lter-
mann does, and I have no swarms. I liave a 13-frame
Langstroth hive, and whenever one super is half full I put
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION H^
another under it. I get as high as 6 supers full of honey
off one hive. ,
Dr. Miller — I would like to emphasize the point that/is
made by Mr. Holtermann, and that is as to the importance
of ventilation. I have had from year to year what I call
"piles," that is, piling them up 3 or 4 stories high, and allowing
each colony to have an abundance of ventilation; in other
words, the full entrance to each story. I never had one of
these piles swarm. I wouldn't like to say that will always be a
certain preventive of swarming, from the fact that these
piles were generally formed from what were rather weak
colonies in the first place, and built up gradually to very
strong ones. The ventilation of the colony can always be
made a success with extracting supers, as Mr. Holtermann
says; and I have wondered many a time why men working
for extracted honey did not have a current of air running right
up through the whole thing. Mr. Holtermann says that
by having the air come out through the brood-chamber
but not through the supers will work for section-honey. A
good many years ago, before any such thing as sections were
known, I was in the apiary of Adam Grimm, of Wisconsin —
he was working at that time for comb honey, and had little
boxes upon his hives and over them, a telescope cover, and
the day I was there, he was raising up these covers and block-
ing them up a little so that the air could get up through the
brood-chamber, and I remember, with his very emphatic Ger- ,
man way of saying things, he turned to me and said, "I con- S
sider that very important." From that time on for a number
of years I had that same kind of ventilation. But I want
to tell Mr. Holtermann this, that in the upper part of the
story, all of the sections near that will be much slower in
completion than the others, and that is the objection to it.
I am dreaming some time of having a kind of way of ven-
tilating the super sections right up through the center. In
some such way I would like to have the advantage of the
ventilation and still hold on to the sections. But in the matter
of ventilation when working for extracted honey, I believe
you have the key of the whole situation; I don't believe you
n«ed have much swarming there at all.
Mr. Holtermann — You know why that is. Dr. Miller !
Dr. Miller— No, I don't.
Mr. Holtermann — The impression I had at one time was
that if I made an opening at the top of the hive the air would -
go in at the front and come out of the top, but the fact of
the matter is you will find that the air is drawn in at the
top. That air is cool A^hen it first strikes the hive, compara-
tively, and it has not been raised to the temperature neces-
sary for that evaporation to go on, and therefore in using
ventilators in comb-honey supers there is the tendency for the
bees not to cap as reddily there as in other places, because
it does not ripen as rapidly.
Mr. Taylor — Will not bees carry the honey out there, too,
as well as not cap ? j
Mr. Holtermann — There may 'be a tendency for them to
do that because they can't ripen it as well.
118
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
Mr. Taylor — The ventilation would help to ripen, if any-
thing, and they would not carry the honey out.
Mr. Holtermann — If the temperature outside is 80 de-
grees and the hive temperature is nearly 100, the temperature
of the air when it first enters the hive has to be raised to the
inside temperature by the bees.
Mr. Taylor — That is in the shade. But out in the
apiary it is^generally as hot outside as it is inside.
Mr. Holtermann — It is night and day.
Mr. Taylor — The reason I have given for that is, that
the bees to guard their honey will carry it away from an open-
ing for fear of robbing.
Dr. Bohrer — The question under discussion is not a new
one. Mr. R. C. Otis once put this question to me: "Why
do bees swarm at all?" The reply was that it is their na-
ture to. It applies to the honey-bee as well as every other de-
partment of the animal kingdom— to propagate their species.
There are two things that come as near controlling it as
anything — one is when there is an abundant flow of honey,
provided you give them room. I think the first movable
hive I made had 18 frames, and I had one of the largest
swarms I ever had come out of that hive. I never had a
swarm cast where bees were hived in sugar hogsheads. And
I have never seen swarms cast from an old-fashioned salt-
barrel, or any receptacle of that kind. Take a large hive
and give them abundance of room, and if the honey-flow
is abundant they will work at that and not have much swarm-
ing, but give them small hives and they begin to give trouble.
At the present time I can't think of any plan that will
effectually prevent swarming.
Mr. Holtermann — Isn't the reason because th^ are
confined in those hives during the daytime and they are com-
paratively warm and the ventilation is not proper?
Mr. Taylor — I would like to ask a question of Mr. Hol-
termann. He spoke of looking for the starting of queen-
cell cups. Are there no cups left over from the previous
year in your hives?
Mr. Holtermann — -There are cups, but I don't think any-
one would mistake this year's cups. There is a very distinct
difference. If those cups are there, and you expect a honey sea-
son ahead of you, that is the time you should deal with the
swarming matter. When they begin to put brood and larvae
and eggs in the queen-cells, in my estimation you have gone
a step* too far to prevent the swarming without a serious
breaking up of your colony. To protect your colonies tem-
porarily requires a great deal of labor, and a good many ex-
tra hives.
Mr. Baxter — Hunting for cups is too much work
for me. I have found by 25 years' experience that there
is an absolute rule to prevent swarming, and that rule is
to have large hives and see they have room which, with-
out giving any other ventilation, gives them ventilation.
But under certains conditions that is not enough. I
want ventilation from below — I don't want it from above.
It is sufficient if you raise a hive about % of an inch above the
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VV.^'*-*???
j STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 119
bottom-board. I have hives, some of which could be raised,
and some could not be, and no matter how many supers I
put on top of those movable bottoms, when the weather be-
came warm they would swarm any-way; but where I raised
the hives from the bottom and gave them sufficient room
above I have never had any trouble with swarms; and I
have had as many as 250 colonies.
Mr. Holtermann — What is the length of your honey-
flow?
Mr. Baxter — It begins about the first of June and ends
the middle of July, and occasionally in the last of September
or the beginning of October. It is for extracted honey. I
wouldn't bother with comb-honey; I have tried it long
enough.
Dr. Miller — In my locality, working for section honey,
raising up the hive will help, but it* won't prevent swarming;
a whole lot of them will swarm. With reference to this
matter of the size of hives, I believe in that general rule,
and if I didn't believe in any other wise I would because
of the testimony of the men I believe in so thoroughly as I
do the Dadants ; and yet in my locality that does not work as
I would like it to. One year I got 2 of the Jumbo hives,
deep frames — 10 frames — and deeper than the Langstroth,
and I was going to have that, and have nothing else if those
things didn't swarm. The next spring after they were filled, the
very first colony that swarmed was one of those Jumboes.
Mr. Bohrer — With regard to ventilation, that big salt-
barrel had no upward ventilation, but it had lots from below.
In addition to Dr. Miller's trouble I had lumbago in handHng
the same hive.
Mr. Holtermann — What did you put in the supers of
those Jumbo hives?
Dr. Miller— The same as I did in the others.
Mr. Holtermann — Dronecomb?
Dr. Miller — No, sections with foundation. I am not sure
whether they waited until I had the supers on.
Mr. Ferris — There is nothing I have studied more than
the question of producing the most brood from the least
number of bees I winter, and getting the most honey from
them. To keep them entirely from producing any swarms
until after the flow is over, I divide them at my will. I use
both lo-frame Langstroth and a special hive which holds
14 Langstroth frames, 2iJ4x2iJ4> and a division-board
through the center. This makes a large hive. Provide that
through the center with a solid division-board which is re-
movable, place a queen in the fall on each side of that di-
vision-board. I winter 2 queens in an ordinary colony of
bees in this hive. Then in the spring I work each division
up to 7 frames full of brood. Then I add on another story,
and as each story has a place for the division-board, I put
in a division-board, and in that way I get both sides worked
up to an exceedingly strong colony in brood, up to the time
when the honey-flow begins. At this point I take away both
queens, and let them be a few days queenless, and then either
give them a capped queen-cell or a queen already mated. In
-'■ \
'=^s^'< ^^^n'"T''<'Y s^^'*^*'^^'^^^!^!?^-'''**^^^
120
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
H
^
this way you can prevent swarming, I think, as well as in arty
other way. An old queen will swarm quicker than a young
one, and by following this method you get enormous swarms.
I get, with a lo-frame Langstroth, 4 stories full of bees by
June 17, and not one of those colonies ever yet cast a swarm.
And while others are not getting a pound of surplus in my
locality, they yield me 200 pounds of comb or extracted.
I can endorse what has been said about ventilation. You
need considerable of it. For extracted honey, upward ven-
tilation with a hole at the back of each side about ^ of an
inch is a good thing. It will keep them from clustering on
the outside. I had one swarm at one time 5 stories high,
and it was crammed full of bees at night so that they had a
cluster as big as. the size of a hat; there would be half a
bushel on the outside. That swarm of bees filled 5 stories
full of honey in 7 days, except the brood-nest. Three or four
manipulations are practically all that is necessary up to the
time of the honey-flow, and yet will entirely control swarm-
ing.
Pres. Dadant — In how many colonies did you try this,
Mr. Ferris — I had 25.
Mr. Rice — When you remove the queens and division-
boards do you unite theiji?
Mr. Ferris — Yes. At the end of the flow I supply them
with another queen besides the one they have.
Mr. Rice — What do you do with the old queens?
Mr. Ferris — I kill them. I have no use for queens
that are over a year old.
Dr. Miller — You consider this practical, uniting two colo-
nies?
Mr. Ferris — Yes. But really you only have one to deal
with all the way through.
Mr. Baxter — I would like to be understood on this mat-
ter of ventilation. I have holes at the back of my hives also,
but then that is simply to ventilate around the super and the
top of the super. There is no draught from the lower part
of the hive through the hive and out through this hole. I
have an oilcloth over it which makes it perfectly tight. If
there happens to be a hole in the cloth the bees will not store
honey near that hole. You can see from that it is a detri-
ment to have a draught through the supers. But I do believe
in having ventilation around and from below.
Mr. Holtermann — I want to say, most emphatically, I
have got at least 300 of these ventilators, only I think I have
a better way than to bore a hole of that size. I have an
opening of about 5^ of an inch in depth right across the hive.
I have no difficulty whatever in having the bees store honey
next to these ventilators.
Pres. Dadant — It is a fact that where there is a hole in
the oilcloth, even if there is a straw mat such as we use
on top of the frames, there is a slight amount of ventilation
there, and the bees put less honey at that spot.
Mr, Ferris — Bees that are queenless will go into the
supers quicker than bees that have a queen. That is one
reason why I advocate taking away the queens at this period.
-.L
i^rSv ■*:-?
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 121
at the commencement of the honey-flow. You can control
swarming at the commencemerit by giving the queen room
to lay. But after the honey-flow commences they will enter
the honey-sections more readily if they are queenless for the
first 3 or 4 days than they will if they have a queen. I use
no more bees to winter than you would winter ordinarily in
a lo-frame hive.
Mr. McEvoy — Did I understand this gentleman to say
that he uses 14 frames in a brood chamber, and the brood
is all in the brood-chamber, and an excluder on?
Mr. Ferris — I always confine the queen below. In our,
locality we will have all the lower frames filled with pollen.^
I have seen it time after time; if we allow our queens to
run at random through the hive without an excluder, they
will store the first story full of pollen; the n€xt will be a
brood nest, and the honey on top of all.
Mr. McEvoy — I see by the papers^ that they all advocate
large brood-chambers. I have only a medium-size, and yet
I rear more brood than the most of them, because I go in,
as a rule, for pretty near i8 frames. I put the queen above,
and then I clip off at certain periods, and I leave that brood
afterwards, and in 9 days it is capped. I let them swarm
and come out with an immense lot of bees. From my point
of view I don't want too much super-room, because I can
get better ripened honey, and a finer quality, and less swarms.
Mr. Ferris — I get 30 frames of brood instead of 18 by
June 15 to June 18.
Mr. McEvoy — I understand you to have had the 14
frames just below?
Mr. Ferris — No, I keep tiering them up until the flow
begins; I let the queen have full range until the flow.
Mr. McEvoy — All right. I agree with you. That is the
best thing I have heard yet.
Mr. Bartz — It is not advisable to mix the two matters,
comb and extracted honey, the way you are doing. They are
different matters, and require different treatment. I would
like if each method were treated separately. Most bee-keep-
ers can control increase when running for extracted honey,
but the difficulty seems to be with comb honey.
Mr. Taylor — The trouble, I think, is that these people
who control swarming are producing extracted honey, and
those who produce comb honey cannot control swarming.
That is the reason they don't discuss it so much.
Mr. Ferris — There is a question I want to ask. Take
these supers, no matter what size section we use, and ex-
tracting frames, so that you can put an extracting frame
all drawn out with nice white comb in it on the outside of
each side of the super, and in these large cases put one in the
middle. When you put that on, the outside will be filled first
instead of the center of the hive, and then the super will be
capped more evenly all over. Are there others trjring that
method in different locahties?
Mr. McEvoy — Yes ; that will work in all localities.
Mr. Ferris — We know our poorest sections are almost
invariably on the outside of the super, and by getting those
/
122
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
capped first we produce a small quantity of extracted honey
and the bulk of it in comb.
Mr. Jackson — When you have both your queens in the
bottom-brood-chamber and allow them full range, how do you
keep them apart? If your brood-frames drop, can they get
together ?
Mr. Ferris — My lo-frame hive has a solid partition that
goes clear to the bottom, and they meet, so that when I put
the one story on top of the other the division-boards sit tight,
and I lay a cloh over the top.
Mr. Hatch — I think we are losing sight of on^e point
mentioned here, the influence of drones in casting swarms.
In my observation a colony will never cast a swarm unless
there are some drones present. Another idea was, we should
look for drone-comb as well as queen-cups. I know one
of the most sucessful bee-keepers that uses small hives, 12
inches square and 7 inches deep. He starts in the spring
with one section and then puts on another section. He is
very careful to have nothing but worker-comb in any of his
frames. As the honey season advances he goes and pries
the top hive off and he says, "There is some drone-comb;
they are preparing for swarming." He scrapes that off
and puts an empty section between them, and they are
fixed for 10 days; that colony won't swarm. He didn't look
for queen-cells.
Swarming is an indication of vigor, and strength, and
power. The point is not to stop that, but to turn it in the
right direction. Just merely controlling increase is not
what we are after. We want to control it in such a way
that we shall not lose our honey crop, or diminish it. I
have tried a good many ways, and I have never yet found
one solitary way that was controlling the increase but what
was at the expense of the honey. I have tried the plan of
caging the queen on 2 frames and she will sulk, and wear
herself to death, and when you release her again it will
only be a few days before she will be superseded. I have
tried shaking the bees off onto comb, and onto full founda-
tion, but with the same result. I would rather pay a man
$5.00 a day to sit in my apiary and watch for swarms and
hive them, than to try any plan of controlling increase that
I have discovered yet.
Mr. Holtermann — I very emphatically oppose any method
which forces the bees not to swarm. As Mr. Hatch has said,
direct their energies in the direction of producing honey.
Mr. Hatch — Do you think it is possible for a colony
to swarm without any drones being present in the hive?
Mr. Bratz — I have had them swarm without.
Mr. Holtermann — I don't think that any man is in a po-
sition to say that there is actually not a drone present in the
hive.
Mr. Hershiser — I have had bees swarm quite frequently
without drones when I set them out in the spring.
Mr. Aspinwall — I received a challenge from Mr. Taylor
just now, that we hadn't, heard from the comb-honey man.
But as I am set down for a talk on the non-swarming hive
STATE. BEE-KEEPEES' ASSOCIATION 123
1
I thought it best not to say anything. I am working on a
different line. I agree with Mr. Holtermann in respect to the
queen-cells, rudimentary ones that are new in the spring —
the old ones are cut down. In the matter of drones I have
tried with artificial comb, and that factor is one that produces
swarms, but there are a great many factors that enter into
and constitute the swarming impulse. If we remove one of
them, that is a help ; but in an apiary of a number of colonies
drones will intermingle quite frequently, and for that reason
drone-comb is a troublesome expense.
When you come to size it up there has been quite a con-
glomeration here. What is the young bee-keeper to do -when
he leaves this session? Next season will he adopt any of^ these
plans, and can you guarantee him success? We want a
hive, or we want a system, that will control swarming dur-
ing the production of comb honey, and then we have got it
without doubt for the extracted, and that is the point at
which I am laboring. Dr. Miller has been for years work-
ing on a non-swarming system in producing comb honey.
That is what we are after. 3Ve must not have manipula-
tion that will tamper with the natural workings of the colony.
So sure as we remove the queen, so sure as we cut the queen-
cells out, so sure as we divide, we are placing the colony in
an abnormal condition. Isn't that right. Dr. Miller?
Dr. Miller— Not fully.
Mr. Aspinwall — You have placed them in a desperate
condition. The removal of the queen does not necessarily
compel them to make as many queen-cells as when you have
thwarted the swarming by removing the cells only.
There is another point in regard to controlling swarm-
ing that has been mentioned here, and that is in reference
to the numerous methods set forth in the paper. No one
of those methods prevents swarming t6 the fullest extent. It
controls the evil or bane of bee-keeping to a certain extent
only. As the writer admitted, there was no one system that
could be wholly relied upon. You will pardon me for taking
the stand that it must be done mechanically, as well as by
the system adopted in connection with it. I know the bee-
keeping world is working on another plan, and decries the
principle of a hive that will control swarming. I recollect
very well in the days of Quinby, Mr. Hazen, who experi-
mented" quite largely, lived in my neighborhood. Professor
Cook refers to him as making an effort to control swarming
by a non-swarming hive, and he offered such a hive to Mr.
Quinby with whom I was well acquainted.
The matter of giving sufficient room is another factor,
and that is what Mr. Hazen did, simply giving surplus room
on all sides and the top, the hive in other respects remaining
the same. I don't care how much room you give a colony
so long as there are 6 to 14 combs, as the case may be; the
bees may make rapid increase with a fertile queen or other-
wise; when those combs are filled any outside appliances
for room will not compel them to leave that brood-
nest, until they are compelled to by the honey-flow. Dur-
ing that time the brood-nest is overcrowded, and the
^WWW'"
124 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
result, in many instances, no matter what the room is, such
a season as last season, notably in my location, would be to
have a great number of swarms. In my locality the im-
pulse was something enormous, one-third of my queens be-
ing mated with black drones last season.
Dr. Miller — As to cutting off the cells, there was a time
when I most thoroughly believed the cutting of cells didn't
have any effect at all. Now actual practice and trial have
made me change my views, until I know that in many
cases the destruction of cells will stop the swarming. Sometimes
it would be just the destruction of cells once in the season, and
sometimes the second time would do it, other times not. There
are so many exceptions to that case, and all I cared for
was to have the actual truth known about it. Here will be
50 colonies and in all of them the cells will be destroyed;
perhaps in 10 of them there will be no swarming, and per-
haps in 40 of them there will be.
At this stage Mr. Aspinwall was requested to address
the Convention on the subject of
WHAT HAVE WE TO HOPE FOR FROM THE
NON-SW ARMING HIVE?
Mr. Aspinwall — I am much obliged to Dr. Miller for
bringing this matter up. Perhaps if he will look over the past
and present he will see that other factors help out in this
matter. The matter of drone-cells ; the matter of hive-room
and ventilation; all these are factors that enter into the
control of increase. When I looked over the past and re-
ferred to Quinby's work of 1852, there was such an enthu-
siasm in reference to the increase of bees that Mr. Quinby
said that the season had prospects, or something of that kind,
or charms that the different bee holders could never realize.
Mr. Langstroth said it was one of the most beautiful
sights in the whole compass of rural economy. People were
looking for swarms then. We are not today; it is the bane
of bee-keeping I doubt if there are half a dozen in this room
who are keeping many bees, but have gone home at night
thoroughly worn out with the swarming of the day.
I will merely say that the matter of controlling on my
part is more with the hive than with manipulation. I tried
these various methods some years ago. To show that there
is a prospect of a non-swarming hive, I have been at work 18
years upon it, but many in the audience know I am an experi-
menter on potato machinery; I have been at it ever since
I was 19 years of age, and the first invention required 21
years to produce. That is the potato planter that is used
almost universally in the United States and abroad to-day.
So that the hidden things in nature are the things that come
very slowly to us.
In the matter of the non-swarming hive the question
of room is one important thing, and while I will not give you
the details of the hive fully, because of other patents that are
to be applied for within a very short time, I will say that
I use slatted frames inserted between the regular combs of
1
"i'^^p^'iC- . ■: _';'};r
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 125
brood, using usually 7 to a hive, sometimes 6, sometimes 5.
Seven is about the best number, as I have already experi-
mented with numbers from 5 to 8 or 10. My hive is made to
hold IS frames. In the month of May during apple-bloom, or
rather during the bloom of the sugar maple and willow, the
7 combs upon which the colony is wintered arei extended by
adding one at a time, or 2, according to the stnength of the
colony. By the time apple-bloom is through, many of my
colonies have 12 frames, most of which are filled with brood.
Some times I have colonies that will fill nearly 14. Of course,
my hives are packed so as to winter in the open air. This
packing is left on until perhaps the end of the apple-bloom,
sometimes earlier, according to the temperature. The tray is
left on the last. Just at the opening of the main honey-flow
these slatted frames are placed at once between and outside
of the 7 combs, speaking for the large number I use now.
That gives an outside ventilating space and standing room
for the bees as well as inside. It is very important we keep
the outside cool, where_the sun strikes, by an intervening •
space. My sections are supplied with slatted separators the
same as below. So I spread out over 15 combs — these in-
clude the 7 and 8 slatted frame — 9 rows of sections. The bees
are entirely devoid of the swarming impulse under this
spreading condition. We all know that the cause of swarm-
ing is the bees. If we have a weak colony that does not cover
the combs, it will not swarm. If we reduce that condition
at the start we have deferred the swarming impulse some-
what. Then putting on 36 sections, when they are well start-
ed in that raise that super and put 36 more under, and we
have 72 sections; and I have found by experimenting with
lesser and greater number that 72 sections is necessary for
a colony of 50,000 bees in order to prevent swarming. Now,
you see we have made the placing of sections upon this hive
compulsory to overcome swarming. I use full sheets of
foundation. Should I stop one week in the honey-flow there
would be one factor present itself, and would not prevent
swarming, and that is the clogging of the hive with honey.
There would not be sufficient room to give employment for
all the comb-builders.
Many of you are aware perhaps that in the economy o£
the hive at a certain age the bees take to the fields. If
there is an insufficient number of workers, the younger ones
will leave for the fields perhaps a few days sooner than
their natural time for leaving the hive. I know from ex-
perimenting that many young bees are drawn out of the
hive at 12 and 13 days old, simply because we have forced
the bees in that direction.
Now, the paper that was read was by the writer of an
article in the Review in November, and he treated the sub-
ject of controlling increase largely by the feeding of the lar-
val food. I think he has gone into it a little blindly, with
ail due respect to him, because the bees adapt themselves
largely to circumstances in reference to working either for
comb or extracted honey.
Now I have, given in brief the outline of my system
J
■«:• '■i.^^;»'5 V V^"' cVr-' '^r^
r^
126 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
of working. I will leave the matter, and any questions that
may be asked I will be very pleased to answer.
Mr. Bartz — Do you use a queen-excluder between your
super and brood nest?
Mr. Aspinwall — No, I do not.
Mr. Bartz — Does the queen keep the combs supplied
with eggs sufficiently during the time you use those slatted
frames?
Mr. Aspinwall — She does.
Mr. Bartz — So that the brood-rearing does not increase
with the use of the slatted frames?
Mr. Aspinwall — No, nor is there chilling of the brood.
I have produced, from 35 colonies, this year an average of
128 sections filled with honey, and, not one cell with brood.
Mr. Pettit — What was the thickness of those slatted
frames?
Mr. Aspinwall — ^ of an inch in the super; i}^ inches
in the lower compartment.
Pres. Dadant — For how many years have you tried this
method?
Mr. Aspinwall — I have been trying it about 10 years, but
it has been subject to many modifications.
Pres. Dadant — How long have you tried it on that many
hives ?
Mr. Aspinwall — My experiments have been on between
40 and 45 hives every year for 10 years, and this year the
radical change of making all new hives took place. Next
year it will be all new hives again, like those that proved to
be the best last season.
Pres. Dadant — How many combs do you winter on?
Mr. Aspinwall — 7.
Mr. Whitney — Do you extend them laterally?
Mr. Aspinwall — Yes. I am satisfied that the drones
that are produced in the section-boxes, and even the ex-
tending of the brood-nest in the center, as I have known
them where they have been crowded, is due to the crowded
condition below; the queen can't possibly fulfill her duties.
If you will examine colonies that have swarmed you will find
in many instances patches of comb without an egg in. This
is exceptional, however. That is because the queen has been
crowded. She is then in the condition of the old queen that
fails to fulfill her function in this respect, and the bees im-
mediately by the condition of things start queen-cells.
Dr. Bohrer — Does your experience teach you that is the
universal or general rule?
Mr. Aspinwall — I think it is universal. I have tried it on
that many colonies for so many years, and found it -invariably
true in my yard.
Mr. Wilcox — You made the statement that you average
128 sections per colony. Is the honey-flow continuous from
willow bloom to clover bloom?
Mr. Aspinwall — The willow bloom was very short this
season, followed by half that number of days until apple
bloom.
Mr. Wilcox — How long is that?
i; '-:.'..«v.»",-.i^--'
134 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
I am selling them now and taking an 8-frame; I have or-
dered a gasoline engine, and I am having made an uncap-
ping machine. I am trying to increase the speed of extract-
ing, but the greatest difficulty which confronts me is that
of dealing with those colonies at that time quickly; and un-
less I can succeed in increasing my speed of extracting, I
can't increase much beyond the 300. I have read Mr. Town-
send' s system and method, and I may be wrong, but I am
convinced that there are very few indeed that could carry
on out apiaries and keep bees in the way in which Mr. Town-
send seems to be successful; and I think it would be a mis-
take for bee-keepers, and for the welfare of the people at
large, to let the idea go out that people can conduct out
apiaries and run them successfully, except under very ex-
ceptional conditions, by visits of that limited number in a
year.
Mr. Hilton read a paper by Mr. M. A. Gill, of Colo-
rado, on
SHORT CUTS IN BEE-KEEPINQ
In practicing the short cuts in bee-keeping the first thing
to commence upon is yourself. Don't go into the battle and
find that you are out of information and ammunition; be
prepared, and then don't worry. It is a fact, perhaps, that no
class of men worry so much about the weather as bee-men.
Who was it that said : —
As a rule, man's a fool;
When it's hot, he want it cool;
When it's cool he wants it hot;
Always wanting what is not;
So, as a rule, man's a fool.
Remember that the sun is everlasting, and that the
clouds are only temporary, and that it is best to turn them
wrong side out, occasionally, so that you can see the silver
lining; and when you cannot count your profit count your
other blessings. That was the only way I could get any com-
fort this season, when I figured up that my sales had been
$400, and my expenses, $1,500.
In giving my ideas of the "short cuts in bee-keeping," I
shall give them from my own view-point — ^that of working
for comb honey; not with 100 colonies, but with more than
1,000, in a climate such as is found only in the arid West.
If you intend to keep bees upon a large scale, establish
a large home apiary and have ample shop and warehouse
room where all work is done arid supplies kept for the out-
yards. Don't build a lot of useless honey-houses at each out-
yard; but get the habit of using your wagon with a good
sheet, which is always bee-tight if properly used.
Much valuable time is lost by taking all supplies from
the wagon to a honey-house, then out to the bees ; and by
taking honey from the bees to a honey-house, to be again
moved in a short time to the wagon. Better take your honey
right to the v^agons, keeping it perfectly bee-tight (if condi-
-I - vfe*.
'"?':<.'v; rjr^
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 135
tions require it) ; thus there is only one exposure to the
bees. By this plan your load is ready to go home when
you are.
If you intend keeping bees on a large scale, don't turn
inventor; and don't adopt every new-fangled hive that comes
along. I know there are many inventors who claim that if
their particular fussy plans were adopted universally, bee-
keeping would be revolutionized.
In my opinion the poorest hives are of recent invention,
and the best practical hive ever invented was that by Father
Langstroth, 50 years ago — and "Glory be to his name!" Yes,
the simple Langstroth hive, with Hoffman frames, and the
more modern supers, are good enough. Whatever you use,
have a complete uniformity of fixtures.
When it comes to the management of bees in all cli-
mates where they may be wintered out-of-doors, have your
winter loss the previous autumn. This can be done by killing
poor queens and doubling up until every colony has a vigor-
ous queen, a hive full of young bees, and full of honey. Then
in the spring, if conditions are normal, the bees will lead you
along at a merry clip to keep up with your work, instead of
your continually fussing with them to get them ready for
their work.
In supering the bees, there are three in my crew : One
wheels the supers from the wagon ; another puts them on
the hives; and the third man follows with a spirit-level and
a grape-basket full of little wedges (that have been prev-
iously prepared), and properly levels each hive.
In the care and management of swarming is where every
bee-keeper is put to his wits' end to be equal to all emer-
gencies. No two seasons are exactly alike, and any system
must be varied to meet contingencies.
In locations where the last half of July and all of Au-
gust have a sufficient flow to store surplus, it is safe to shake
a whole apiary from May 2Sth to June loth (varying the
time as condifibns vary), making, perhaps, from 75 percent
to 100 percent" increase, and seeing to it that all increase has
young laying queens as soon as possible.
You may expect such an apiary in such a locality to
come up to the close of the season with as much surplus
honey as though there had been no increase — and you are
the increase ahead; and, besides, the plan will enable you
to place such yards "hors-de-combat" through the swarming
season, and enable you to give your entire attention to yards
where the main flow of honey is earlier.
Where you wish to control swarming, or increase rather,
this can be done completely by the so-called shook- swarming
method. With me, shook- swarming is the most feasible
route T have found to the absolute control of increase. Any
plan that requires any subsequent fussing with, is not prac-
tical with the man who is caring for hundreds • of colonies
and running on schedule time and visiting every colony every
6 days. I think many who have tried shook-swarming, and
have condemned the plan, have mistaken superseding for
swarming in some cases, and in such a case it will always
.<^£&??^-^j:^j
pjTJf^f .• ■ ■ . -■■-■'■ .:-v.v-r, r -;■■■• ■*■:■-■■/.■..-' i^ /, ..",•- ;je-- "%r;r.;^;'---f J. ^s«-!'-;_ '.^.rj ■_ ■\-.TrA-'^'^-i?.l^?~-yy''J
I
136 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORt
fail. It is surprising, sometimes, when a large percent is
found superseding during the months of June, July and Au-
gust, where the go-as-you-please plan is followed with re-
gard to queens.
I am not going to try to cover the ground under my
title, "Short Cuts in Bee-Keeping," for I believe that the
most satisfactory and effective work in bee-conventions comes
from the batteries that are always trained upon the question-
box.
In recapitulation, I will say that preparedness, alertness
and a complete mind-picture, as it were, of all conditions in
each apiary; this, together with uniformity of fixtures, and
a complete knowledge of your field and its flora, constitute
the short cuts in bee-keeping, and all this means work.
M. A. Gill.
Mr. Baxter — The paper should be entitled, "Short Cuts
to the Production of Comb Honey," because there are many
things in the paper that are not applicable to extracted honey.
The President named the following committee:
Committee on Resolutions — W. H. Putnam, O. L.
Hershiser and W. Z. Hutchinson.
Committee on Exhibits — M. Pettit, A. K. Ferris and E.
J. Baxter.
Committee on Amendments to the Constitution — R. A.
Holekamp, E. R. Root and George W. York.
Committee on Question-Box — R. L. Taylor, N. E. France
and W. McEAioy.
The Secretary then read a paper by James A. Green,
of Colorado, on
PRODUCINQ BOTH COMB AND EXTRACTED HONEY
ON THE SAME COLONY
Whether comb or extracted honey can be produced most
profitably is a question that is often asked, and one that each
man must settle for himself according to the conditions under
which he must work. Having settled this, he is too apt to as-
sume that he should confine himself entirely to the production
of one or the other. We all know something of the advan-
tages of specialty, and I would be one of the last to decry
them. Yet I think that in many cases, at least, the bee-keeper
is making a mistake in so deciding. The extracted-honey man
is all right. He has no need to produce any comb honey,
and in most cases, it will not pay him to do so.
With the comb-honey producer it is different. All prac-
tical comb-honey producers know that it is a difficult matter
to get all colonies in such condition that they will enter the
supers promptly at the beginning of the honey-flow. A colony
that is in just the right condition will go into the sections
with a rush and keep things moving right from the start.
Another, apparently as strong in numbers, will hesitate about
going into the super, and do nothing for some days except
to crowd the brood-combs as full as possible of honey. This
perhaps results in swarming, which in many localities and
with some systems of management, effectually spoils the
■T'; .i'V-'^-'V^ i"'- ■
STATE BEE-K£EPERS^ ASSOCIATION 137
chances of any comb honey from that colony. In any case,
the colony that started promptly in the super is pretty sure to
have a great deal more honey to its credit than the one that
is slow about starting, even when they are apparently equal
in all other respects. It is exceedingly important that the
bees form the habit as early as possible of storing their
honey in the super.
Bee-keepers generally are in the habit of using "bait-
combs" in the supers to secure this early start. But even
a full super of drawn combs in sections is not as good for
this purpose as a nice set of extracting combs.
For a number of years I have combined the production
of extracted honey with that of comb. My extracting
supers are only 6 inches deep with the frames at fixed dis-
tances, firmly held in place by a thumb-screw through the
side of the hive, after the style of the Heddon hive. This
makes them easily handled as a whole, and none of the
frames ave ever handled separately until they come to the
extracting room.
One of these supers is placed on each colony at the be-
ginning of the honey-flow. The bees enter this readily and
if there is any surplus to be gathered, it goes into the super.
After the bees are well at work in it, a super of sections is
placed under it, after the usual tiering plan, or sometimes
the extracting super is removed altogether and replaced by
the super of sections. The combs thus removed are placed
over the poorer working colonies. There will always be
some colonies that will not do good work in the sections,
because they are not strong enough in numbers, because
they are not good comb-builders, or because they do not
cap their honey with the nice white finish so necessary for a
fancy article. On these colonies the extracting combs may
be tiered up to any desired height and left to be finished, or
until you are ready to extract the honey. This gives you the
ability to use profitably those colonies that are not good for
comb honey. In most apiaries there are bees that are not
fit for producing comb honey ; simply because they fill the
cells so full that their combs have a water-soaked appear-
ance that detracts largely from its market value. These
should be culled out, if comb honey is what you are trying
to produce, and their queens superseded with better stock as
soon as possible. In the meantime, they are just as good for
attracted honey as any.
It takes a strong force of workers to work comb honey
profitably. A colony that will do very fair work at storing
honey in combs already built, may do little or nothing at
building comb in a super. That foundation principle of bee-
keeping, " Keep your colonies strong," applies with much
greater force to colonies producing comb honey than to those
run for extracting.
For this reason, I keep extracting combs on all colonies
that are not yet strong enough for the profitable production
of comb. When they have reached the point where they
can build comb profitably, the extracting combs may be ex-
changed for sections. When a colony swarms or is divided,
te4a5g*?i;'^
'^SJS^S^*- -\ " '«r-^"«»U •--^*' ^?5K^^r'=^'>J*;®?'y'5K^s^^T^^;g^
138 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
its comb supers go with the swarm, while a set of extract-
ing combs is put on the old colony until it is in good working
condition again. Any colony that at any time during the
honey-flow is found to be doing poor work in the sections,
has those sections promptly removed and. replaced with ex-
tracting combs.
One of the greatest advantages of this combination sys-
tem is seen at the end of the season. As the honey-flow
draws to a close, instead of giving new sections that may
never be completed, give extracted combs to the colonies
that are doing the poorest work in the sections and give
their sections to other colonies to complete. In this - way
you not only secure a larger amount of finished honey, but
you avoid the expensive nuisance of having a lot of unfin-
ished sections on your hands at the close of the season.
By working in this way I have sometimes had nearly
every section in an apiary of over loo colonies, run mostly
for comb honey, finished up into marketable condition at the
close of the season. Another important point to be consid-
ered is that in many localities, the last honey gathered is not
fit to be put into sections, but can be much more profitably
handled in the extracted form.
It will be seen that by this system there is considerable
changing about of unfinished supers. Usually the supers are
first freed of bees by the use of bee-escapes, but during the
honey-flow I simply get out the greater part of the bees by
smoking, and then shaking or "jouncing." The few bees
that are left do no harm and are just as useful in one hive as
another.
Of course a queen-excluding honey-board is a practical
necessity with this system, but its advantages are so many
and so great that I would not think of doing without it.
Several years ago I was much taken up with the idea
that has been made public during the past season of using
one or more extracting combs in each comb super, but 1
soon gave it up, as it seemed to me too fussy and compli-
cated, and not nearly as well suited to practical work in a
large apiary as separate supers, used according to the needs
of the particular colony.
The system I have outlined has been in practical use in
my apiaries for nearly twenty years. There are some small
advantages that I have not mentioned, but briefly, the advan-
tages of the system are that it secures more honey, a higher
grade of comb honey, saves a great deal of waste, and does
it with a control of the bees and an economy of labor that is
not to be secured by any other method that I am familiar
with. James A. Green.
PRESENTATION OF LANGSTROTH GAVELS.
Dr. Miller — Mr. President, I am .commissioned to present,
through you, Mr. Dadant, to the National Bee-Keepers' As-
sociation, a gavel whose source can not fail to make it an
object of interest to every bee-keeper present. It is also
my pleasant task to perform a like service, in presenting its
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 139
mate to the Chicago Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Association,
through its President, Mr. George W. York.
The loving heart of a good friend of both Associations
conceived the idea of obtaining two gavels which should
be constant reminders of the man to whom apiculture is so
greatly indebted — Rev. Lorenzo Loraine Langstroth. So an
appeal was made to Dr. Dan Millikin, of Hamilton, Ohio,
to see whether he could not secure a piece of wood from
a. tree in some way associated with Father Langstroth. Dr.
Millikin in turn applied to Prof. R. W. McFarland, residing
in the same county, at Oxford, where Langstroth lived for so
many years.
In reply came a package and a letter in which Prof. Mc
.Jarland wrote, in part, as follows:
LETTER FROM PROF. MCFARLAND. .
The weather was so disagreeable to me, and my physical
self so much under the weather, that I did not get the Lang-
stroth limb until sunset, Thursday. * * * I saw Mr.
Langstroth while he assisted in planting the tree, nearly 40
years ago. I held the end of the limb yesterday, while my
neighbor sawed it off. So your friend may be assured that
this the genuine article.
While I was young, and was on my father's farm, 65 or
70 years ago, I was accustomed to attend the bees on our
place. After seeing Mr. Langstroth's way, I saw that the
old farm way was crude in the extreme. I assisted Mr.
Langstroth 2, 3 or 4 weeks every summer for 10 or 12 years
in the busy season. * * * it ^as a "joy forever" to be
with Mr. L. and hear day after day, the simple, lucid words
of wisdom which set forth the hidden things of nature and
made you see them — and all unconsciously, so to say — things
which among the bees he had seen and found out for him-
self.
Mr. L. was one of the finest men I ever saw — ^the very
highest style of man. Having personally known him for more
than 30 years, I may be able to give a point or two.
He was native of Baltimore; graduated at Yale Col-
lege; became a Congregational minister; had charge of a
college for women in Philadelphia for some years; lost his
health and had to give up teaching; stayed a year or two
in Mexico, hoping to regain sound health, but never did;
studied bees and mastered the subject. For 6 months of every
year — the winter months — he was unable to work at any-
thing, usually kept himself closely in his room, but in the
summer he was sunshine itself. His death well closed out a
beautiful life. In the city of Daj^on, Ohio, he was staying
with a married daughter after the death of Mrs. Langstroth,
and in church, one Sunday morning, he had just concluded
the opening part of his services, preparatory to administering
the sacrament, when taking his seat, in a moment his head
fell on his shoulder. Men rushed to him and gently laid
him down — but he was dead. R. W." McFarland.
•i^':i»;ifrJ-'^;i!>--';>:« ^^.y^":
;-'f-\<:-y-\:y:~'-'::fy^:^r::.:^y::-^~r^-'^' '■■■ --rt,r>T^^i;P3^*?8^ ;1
140 flPTH ANNUAL REPORT
You will likely want to know more about this man who
for 10 years or more helped Mr. Langstroth for 2 to 4
weeks each year. A letter from Dr. Millikin tells something
about him. This is a private letter, but is so thoroughly in-
teresting and enjoyable throughout that I cannot forbear
reading almost the entire letter. Injunctions have been laid
upon me to say as little as possible about the donor of these
gifts, but a full appreciation of this letter demands that you
should know it is written to Mrs. J. J. Glessner, of Chicago,
the one to whose kind thoughtfulness we are indebted for
these precious mementoes. I shall read the letter just as it is,
and trust to making my peace with Mr. Glessner as best I
may afterward, for any betrayal of confidence:
LETTER FROM DR. MILLIKEN.
Dear. Mrs. Glessner — I am about to send you some wood
from the Langstroth place — it shall go by express to-mor-
row.
When my wife made known your needs to me I thought
at once of my father's friend, and my brother Joe's teacher
and colleague. Prof. R. W. McFarland, of Oxford. He was
an authority in classic learning ever so long ago, and an
editor of one or two good editions in Latin. He was a
mathematician so high in the second class that it always ap-
peared that he ought to break into the class of thoroughly
great imaginative mathematicians. He was no mean astrono-
mer. He was a practical civil engineer. He lived long enough
to become a very useful and successful mining engineer. He
was a college president in spite of his man}'^ protests. He was,
and is, a very enthusiatic naturalist. They don't make any
such men now. Rockefeller and Carnegie together couldn't
turn out more than two in a long year.
I think that Prof. McFarland is nearer 80 than 70 years. I
hear that his locomotion is seriously impaired, and that his
sight is also failing. Yet the letter which I enclose for you
shows that he has at least one good eye. He is is quite in re-
tirement (the delightful retirement of an old scholar), but his
influence upon the young disciples who love him and culti-
vate him, by far outweighs the impression of all mission-
aries to Africa, past, present, and to come.
I have written my politest letter of thanks to him. It
is pure impudence in me to ask you to do the same and de-
light the soul of the gallant old gentleman.
Do you know that this is a case of me, too?" I knew
Langstroth very well, and I knew him at a very impressible
time of my life. When I was about 16 he came down to
Maplewood, where my father had about 20 hives of bees.
At that time the enemies of the bee were apparently less
destructive than now, for those neglected bees had persisted
and they throve through many years of comparative neglect.
Occasionally it was found that a colony had died out in the
winter, whereupon the hive was cleaned, sulphured, painted
and set away for the swarms that were sure to appear when
the clover and hot June days came. My father did not go
I \
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 141
• I ■
near the hives; my mother worshipped the Httle bees because
they were the pets of her father who "died irj '57." An old
EngHsh gardner managed to steal a little honey now and
then, but I do not remember at all how he got it; I only
know that neither farther nor mother would consent to the
killing of bees with sulphur in order to get the honey.
There came a time when Langstroth hives were made in
Hamilton. The manufacturer was authorized to sell hives
to my father, with the condition that Langstroth himself
should come down from Oxford ^d transfer the bees, and
he was so insistent that my father bought 30 hives to get
rid of the pestiferous sash-and-window-blind man!
So in June, after I was out of school, and when the
bees were busy with white clover and locust, here came
Langstroth to the big farm. He was a large, slouching man,
with a tendency to heaviness in the face. When the sodden
look disappeared pain was the predominant expression. I do not
now remember that he ever smiled. He came in a Lin-
colnian linen duster, and his other clothing was tidy and
shapeless.
We received him in such fashion as became a freakish
mechanic and inventor. It was many hours before I learned
that he was a graduate of Yale, and hours again before I
knew that he was an ordained Presbyterian minister. Later
he was revealed to me as one who lived chiefly for the good
of others. I fell wholly in love with him when I found
that he was an out-of-doors man, a profound naturalist,
and, in every fibre, a poet.
I learned, months after, that his career as a teacher and
a preacher was spoiled by fits of melancholy. During these
seizures he was often unable to endure the sight qf a human
face for many days together, and he was sometimes obliged
to seclude himself from the pubfic for many weeks con-
secutively. At the worst he fasted incredibly. - When all
was over, he would come forth, a staggering cadaver, slowly
and shyly to resume his place in the family and in society.
It is a marvel that, like most geniuses, he did not learn
to blunt his pain with alcohol, or end all with suicide.
When I had learned that he was under the curse of genius
I comprehended his countenance better, and I came to doubt
that the cloud ever lifted from his noble mind. If I mis-
take not, he died at the top, and achieved the only rest pos-
sible for such as he.
Well, I watched him from afar; I brought him dry
and rotten maple wood and saw him subdue the bees with
smoke. When they were gorged he inverted the old hive
and drove his tens of thousands into an empty box set upon
it; I saw the myriads shaken upon a sheet; I noted the or-
derly march into a Langstroth hive. ^Ve took the old hive
to the cellar and mounted the combs as well as we could
in another Langstroth hive, and we soon drummed out an-
other colony of bees to take possession, and that day I grad-
uated an apiarist. It was the first of many happy days with
Langstroth and bees. Dr. Miixikin.
^tf.^-^T'^rp^p^^f^^?!^;^^^?^^
142
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
Dr. Miller — Mr. President, may the peace-loving spirit,
and the spirit of unselfishness that pervaded the entire life
of Langstroth, be present at all our. sessions, whenever and
wherever these gavels are wielded.
Pres. Dadant — The thoughtfulness which prompted this
gift can only be rewarded by a vote of thanks from the
Association and I will await the motion.
Mr. Taylor — I make the motion.
Dr. Bohrer — I second that motion; and before the mo-
tion: is put I wish to supplement Dr. Miller's statement.
A remark occurred in one of the papers that they had never
seen Mr. Langstroth smile. I met him at one time and I
think he was one of the j oiliest men I ever met. That was
in 1864. I was home from the army on furlough. I didn't
see him any more until 1866, when I happened to catch him
in his apiary when one of his attacks of melancholy was on.
He was out in his api.iry when I came to the gate and opened
it, and I went right to him, and it was where these gavels
were taken from, at the brick house standing in the grounds
in Oxford, Ohio. He recognized me and shook hands with
me, and said, "Please excuse me and talk to Mrs. Lang-
stroth and my son James." That day, however, he did not
smile. I saw him at what was known as the American
Convention of Bee-Keepers, in Cincinnati, a few months later,
and he did not smile there. It was a short time after he
had lost his son, James T. Langstroth, and he asked me if I
had ever endured any such experience as that. I said, "Not
in the way of a son, but I have lost some near and dear
friends. The most I can say in cases of this kind is to look
to the mighty Physician, and in addition to that the record
of your son is one no one need blush at." The old gen-
tleman did not smile. I think the Association ought to ac-
cept this gavel as a memento, and it should be guarded and
looked after with jealous care because he was one of the
greatest men in bee-keeping that the world has ever known.
There probably will never be another man live that will do
so much for the profession as did Mr. Langstroth.
Mr. Hilton — I will now move to amend the motion,
that the vote be given by rising.
The President put the motion as amended, and on a
vote being taken it was carried unanimously.
Pres. Dadant — I wish to say the Presidents of both
Associations will take good care of these gavels, and that
they shall be handed from one President to another as long
as the Associations last.
Dr. Miller — One little personal remark. At one time
when I was for some part of the year working in Cin-
cinnati, I went up to see Father Langstroth at Oxford, and
I did not see him, he wasn't there at all. A very short time
after that I was working in my office down in the city pre-
paratory to the first of Theodore Thomas' May festivals,
and Mr. Langstroth came in and we had quite a pleasant
little visit. I was unknown entirely to him, and owing to
the fact that an obscure bee-keeper had called to see him,
• D -ifZ
^^15E *S!^Wt?SK^^|lSW-
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION l'^
he came back to see me. I think it shows the htunble spirit
of the man.
Mr. York — I would like on behalf of the Chicago-North-
western Association to thank the donor of the gavel, and it
seems to me it is a very strange coincidence. I knew noth-
ing at all about this, but about a month ago I designed an
idea of having Mr. Langstroth's picture on the front page
of this paper, and a poem that had never been published
before, that he mailed to me over lo years ago. I had the
pleasure of meeting Mr. Langstroth at the Toronto con-
vention, in 1895. I think Mr. Hutchinson will remember I
went to Flint on my way to Toronto, and I believe it was
near the Port Huron tunnel that Father Langstroth and his
daughter, Mrs. Cowan, boarded the train; but I had never
seen him before that. After we had ridden some miles Mr.
Hutchinson said, "I believe that is Father Langstroth." They
traveled nearly all day with us in the car, but we did not
speak to him. At that convention I had the very great
pleasure of meeting Father Langstroth, and talking to him
for about two hours in the hotel while a number of the bee-
keepers went to visit the Exposition. It seems to me I never
had been so entertained with any conversationalist asf I
was at that time with Father Langstroth, and I have
been thankful to this day that I went to Toronto and had the
pleasure of meeting the great Father Langstroth. y
Mr. Aspinwall — Although I have been a resident of Michi-
gan for 23 years, my home was originally in New York State,
and my acquaintance with Mr. Quinby was some considera-
ble, and tip to the time of 1895 I had never met Mr. Lang-
stroth, and I fully endorse the remarks made by Mr. York,
of the courteous manner in which he received strangers and
guests and entertained them. Previous to my return home,
Father Langstroth, upon that short acquaintance, volunteered
to send me an autograph copy of his work, which he did
shortly after that session. I merely state this to show the
spirit of the man as manifestly displayed by the remarks of
Dr. Miller, that he lived largely in the interests of others.
Pres. Dadant — I wish to state that this gavel is en-
graved as follows: "Wood from tree planted by Rev. L. L.
Langstroth in his garden in Oxford, Ohio. National Bee-
Keepers' Association, 1905. T. M. G."
Mr. France — I would like to request on behalf of the
Association, if they would favor it, that the Association draw
upon its funds sufficient to have Father Langstroth's picture
framed and hung in our convention halls at future meetings.
I would move that. (Applause).
Dr. Bohrer — I second the motion.
Pres. Dadant — It will be understood that the motion
is simply to recommend this to the Directors.
The President put the motion which was carried unani-
mously.
Dr. Miller — With your permission I would like to read
the poem that Father Langstroth had written which has never
been published till just now. It is entitled.
.;-.f-
144 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
TO MY WIFE IN HEAVEN.
Wife of my youth — I dream of thee,
Arrayed in bridal form;
I hold in mine thy trusting hand —
Hail! Happy marriage morn!
To God we vow our glad "I will" —
Thy soft, responsive voice —
Of twain made one by wedded bands —
And I, with thee, rejoice.
Sweet, loving wife — God's gracious gift —
And art thou all my own?
This plighted hand I'll closer clasp —
Dear Lord! I wake alone.
Ah ! Silent lips, whose law of love
So gently swayed my will,
When trusting in thee, heart to heart,
We were united still.
Weeping lasts but a night, dear wife;
Joy Cometh with the light;
But for a moment darkened days.
Then where there is no night.
Both shall be present with the Lord,
Grievings and partings past;
Soul knit to soul by Heavenly bands
When lengthening ages last.
Dr. Bohrer — I received a letter embracing that sentiment
a few days after he buried his wife.
Mr. York — I think it ought to be made a matter of record
that Dr. Bohrer was present at the first meeting of this As-
sociation, and is present at this meeting.
The convention then adjourned to meet at 2 p. m.
Second Day — Third Session.
At 2 p. m. the President called the convention to order,
and stated that they would now proceed with the discussion
of the paper read in the forenoon, entitled, "Producing Both
Comb and Extracted Honey on the Same Colony."
Mr. Lyons — I think Mr. Green hit the nail on the head
as far as the arrangement of his supers is concerned. I would
like to hear some of the members tell their ideas with regard
to the excluders.
Mr. Whitney — The method adopted by the gentleman
who wrote the paper is identical with that which I use
myself, excepting he used a half-frame for the extracting
super instead of a whole Langstroth. To build up in the
spring for the purpose of producing comb honey, I use the
same method he does, and always have, and successfully.
',^V%^'^^
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 145
Mr. Wilcox — Did you say you had made a success of both
comb and extracted honey at the same time?
Mr. Whitney — As I understand the paper, he used some
of those frames for extracted honey after taking off comb
honey, by putting on some of the section frames. I do not
produce comb honey and extracted honey on the same colony
at the same time.
Mr. Stewart — I produce both extracted and comb honey
on the same colony, at the same time, and very successfully,
and I btlieve it is a good idea to do it. We all know that we
can get the bees into extracting supers a great deal easier than
into sections. We also know that at the close of the honey season
it is the hardest work to get our comb-honey capped, and I use
shallow extracting frames or extracting supers and comb-honey
supers ; the outsides of them are identical. My extracting frames
are only 4J4 inches, and they are closedin. The way I do it is, I
put a case of sections on those that I think are less apt to go
promptly in the sections, and after they get nicely started to
work I put a comb-honey super underneath them, and they
work in both of them, finishing up the extracting super and
going on with the comb-honey work.
What I am most interested in is something that I have
not practiced at all, and it is in line with the paper that was
read, and I will give you an explanation of an idea that I
have: I will set up loo colonies in the spring if I do not find
some obstacle to it. I have the bee-space in the bottom in-
stead of the top ; and to produce comb and extracted honey in
the same frame, my extracting frame is identical with 4 of
the honey-sections. I will put one frame of comb on each
side of each super, and I will fill in the inside of it with sec-
tions; and my idea is that they will start up more readily
in this drawn comb; not only that, but when the weather is
cold, or for any reason, they do better work in -the inside than
they do in the outside. My experience is, in grading honey
that 80 percent or more of the culls and unfinished honey
that does not come up to the grade is on the outside. If
I can have the outsides for extracted honey, I have my cull
honey all in the shape that I can extract it. The way I cal-
culate to use the T's in my supers is this: I will make some
T's that are shorter than these here, and my frames are made
of ^-inch stuff all round. jThe ends are ^ of an inch wider
than the tops or bottoms. They are reversible, and instead of
hanging at the top they rest upon a support at the end of the
casing. Then the extracting frames fit in there very nicely.
But the rub is to get the T-supers to fit your cases. The way
I will do that is, I will make some T's, and then take a little
piece of tin and have that soldered on so that it will project
out J4 of an inch further than at the top, at the apex of the
T. That %. of an inch will just hook over the top of the bot-
tom part, and the bottom of the T will be flush with the bot-
tom of the extracting frame.
There is another obstacle to overcome in using separators.
I use plain wooden separators, and in order to have every-
thing just as it should be you must have a fence or cleats on
the sides of your outside separators to hold them up to the
i^mh::miixi-
% -
146 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
sections; and if there are cleats placed on the outside you
have a separator between your extracting frames and outside
frames, and everything held up; and everything, as far as
the comb-honey is concerned, is identical with what it should
. be in the other case. The advantage is in starting bees
I • earlier than you can in any other way ; and not only that
ly you do away with 75 percent of the culls. That I think is es-
^:;: pecially true in the after part of the season. In the early part,
■h- - and in the midst of the honey-flow, I could not see any advan-
>J.; tage in it at all, more than possibly it would give them a
^" ' chance to start some more honey.
|, • Mr. Wilcox — Do you continue using those outside frames
fi-:."' . through the season?
IJ' / 1 Mr. Stewart — I don't know. I would use them to start
'2; : \^ . with and finish the season. Whether I would use them in
^« ;,'^. the center of the honey-flow I am rather doubtful; I don't
£^ ';; know.
p:' . Mr. Ferris — I can see a great future for the comb-honey
:; V -*■ producer in that line of thought. I believe there is some-
thing we would all do well to think upon, and put in prac-
^;SS,v , tice. I believe we will find our culls will be lessened, and
^,v.- our first-class finished article be more, and still have our
S;- V culls in an extracted form so that we can dispose of them.
I^V; Dr. Miller — There still remains the fact that some of
Jv^ . us do not get any more unfinished sections than we want
■ -^ to start in with the next year.
_^ Mr. Stewart — This applies to those that do get more
t' than they want.
r- Mr. Ferris — To my mind we don't want any unfinished
t^' sections left over at all. I wonder how many of us have
'^^ V ever found as fine, first-class honey in the unfinished sec-
i* tions left over from the other year as those nice, new sec-
:^ tions we put in this year? I never have; and this is to get
j:r; rid of all the unfinished sections entirely, and ,yet have the
j^-i ■ extracting combs we can use in the commencement of the
season, and still do the same work as we would otherwise
with unfinished sections.
5 : Mr. Whitney — It seems to me that if the extracting
; ; frames are put into a double- walled hive and then trans-
s;'^ ferred to some other locality and the section-cases put in,
: ■■ the outside sections will be filled just as quickly by the bees
%>- in the center. That is the way I have produced comb honey,
1^; and without any danger of having a lot of culls on the out-
side. The bees gather right around the closed section, and
cluster inside of the outside shell so as to cover those cases
completely, and the outside sections are just as warm as the
inside; and they fill them out just as quickly, and often com-
; > - mence capping first.
t; " Mr. Holtermann — The objection which I have seen to
;• the production of comb and extracted honey in the same
fe- . hive is this: It requires a good deal of concentrated energy
r;';> to produce good comb honey ; and as far as skill and time are
;^' : concerned it requires more careful and skillful application
tl to produce comb honey than it does good extracted honey;
^- and where you have a percentage of your extracting combs
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 147
in that super you are really producing extracted honey at an
increased expense compared with comb honey; and the more
you produce the greater is the cost of producing that ex-
tracted honey. The question has been touched upon as to
the unfinished sections on the outer sides of the hives. It
has also been mentioned that it is not necessary to have
these unfini^ed sections. That I am thoroughly satisfied is
correct. I learned some years ago by putting in wedges be-
tween the bottom-board and the brood-chamber, the brood-
chamber was practically raised an increase of % of an inch
from the bottom-board, and by that means the bees were
compelled to go up at . the side. By having a dotible bee-
space at the sides, by careful experiment, I have found that
the outside sections are in many cases even better filled
than the center.
Some objected to the suggestion Dr. Miller threw put
about cull sections, and an exception was taken by Mr.
Ferris, which is perfectly right and legititimate. I have
never 'seen a bait-section as well finished as a section built
upon comb foundation. But on the other hand, I want to
plead this, that for these bait-sections you can get a better
price than you can get for honey after it has been extracted
from those extracting frames. That is the reason I do not
consider the system without its faults.
Mr. Wheeler — There is a point that has not been
touched on, and that is the fact that when the bees have room
to store extracted honey they stop the production of wax.
To prove this, it is an easy matter to put on an extracting
super when you take off the section-comb honey. Then after
a few days put on a super of sections, and you almost in-
variably stop that colony of bees from working for comb
honey. If you put into that hive some empty combs on
the outside it has the same effect for the time being. The
bees put honey into these empty cells and they stop the
production of wax. I think it is a detriment rather than
an advantage. I prefer to have every section filled, and then
the bees are secreting wax.
Mr. Stewart — My experience is in working the brood
in shallow supers, by getting the bees nicely started in the
tops, and then putting on a case for comb honey and tiering
up, it does not check them, and they will work in the sec-
tions below as if they had a case of sections above them.
I don't think there is any difference. A person wants to use
judgment as to when they shall put under that case of sec-
tions.
Mr. McEvoy — Now I think we can work this all right.
We are going to work for both comb and extracted honey.
This gentleman is going to put a frame for extracting and
comb on the outside. That is all right. In the first place,
fill those in between with foundation, and after they have
extracted the first round the bees will brush up those drip-
ping with honey, and they will pull those combs out between
the sections very readily till I get them started. They are
going to crowd the queen, and it is going to lead to a little
early swarming. Now, I will head off the swarms and then
;•• "r
;-'.«gf
148 ' FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
take out the extracting frames and shove these others up. I
will hang a separator back of the frame and crowd them up,
and now they have gone to work in that, and I will secure
a quantity of honey, and I will take more dollars out of it
than on the other section. Try it, and you will find I am
pretty near right on that. I have worked at that since
1882.
Mr. Wheeler — I would like to ask Mr. McEvoy — why, in-
stead of putting in full sheets of foundation and making them
build it out for extracted honey, he does not put in sections
just as well?
Mr. McEvoy — If I said that, I made a mistake. This is
nice white comb. I raise it up and I put under a super or
half-story comb to keep them working there. The space which
is between the bottom and the top is just the same as was
talked of, only it is a narrow frame and they crowd up. Give
it a trial. If you find the season coming to a close, you can
take 2 or (3 and put them in the center in extracting, and put
the extracting combs on each side. They will come out with-
out any being unfinished.
Dr. Miller — Mr. McEvoy spoke of having nice white
comb there, and that point must be emphasized. If some of
you think you can take old black combs and put them in
there you will find the black comb will be carried over to
your sections.
Mr. McEvoy — You are right. It will spoil them.
Mr. Pettit — There is a point in the subject matter of
this paper, which I think I heard emphasized, and that is this
shallow extracting super. It is about the right quantity of
space you want to put on in the spring for fruit-bloom. It
takes up the dark fruit-bloom honey, and what dark fall
honey there is to go up, and that goes up into these combs,
and then the sections are put on afterwards, and they get
the white honey. And there is another point, when they get
to working in these combs you don't want to take them
away just when you put on the foundation, because I find
without using the extracting combs we don't want to have
them start storing honey in the extracting combs, and then
take these off and put on foundation, because that imme-
diately makes them sulk, and swarm before they start on
the sections.
Mr. O. L. Hershiser presented the following paper
on
WAX-EXTRACTING METHODS AND THEIR FAULTS
Wax is the most valuable of apiarian products, because
it commands the higher price; and for the further reason,
that it may be kept indefinitely without injury to its proper-
ties. Moreover, its market value is comparatively stable.
Although a product of great value, comparatively little at-
tention has been given to its production until quite recent
times. The only explanation of the lack of interest in wax
production is the fact that the product from a single apiary
is small. Formerly the bee-keeper had but one apiary, and
that rarely exceeded 100 colonies. The honey-extractor was
^^:S:.:-
?^^:^0^7B
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 149
not in existence, and, hence, there was no wax from cap-
pings. It is doubtful if the wax product before the era of
modern bee-keeping, which may be said to have commenced
with Langstroth, exceeded one-half pound per colony under
the most careful methods by the best apiarists. A close ob-
server, Mr. W. L. Cogshall, estimates that the wax-j)roduct
under the present methods of production, is at the rate of
12 pounds to every i,ooo pounds of honey. In 1893, Mr. Mer-
cer, of California, produced 100,000 pounds of honey, and
about 2,000 pounds of wax, which would be at the rate of
20 pounds per thousand. Much depends upon the thorough-
ness with which the bees are allowed to cap the honey.
It may be renjarked, in passing, to those who may feel dis-
posed to save time and pounds of honey by extracting be-
fore it is sealed, that they lose in wax more than they make
up in additional pounds of unripe nectar, and are losers in
the end both in dollars, and in conscience, by reason of
failing to allow the honey to reach perfection in the natural
way.
Until within quite recent times the most common method
of producing wax was to place the bee-comb within a bag,
immerse the same in a kettle of boiling water, and when the
wax had melted and floated to the surface, skim it off or al-
low it to form into a solid cake before removing it. Good
wax was thus obtained, but, obviously, it was a wasteful
method; the amount of wax thrown away with the slum-
gum or refuse being from 25 percent, to 35 percent of the
weight of slumgum.
The extracting of wax was a messy job, and because
of this disagreeable feature, various other means of obtain-
ing it have from time to time been devised, but classified
with reference to the principles involved, they may all be
brought under three heads, namely, the sun or solar; the
steam and the hot-water methods. Practically there is but
one solar method, but of the others, the steam and the hot
water, the variations and the combinations are too numer-
ous to mention in detail.
The solar extractor, with, which most of you are familiar,
is an excellent method of obtaining wax from cappings. The
wax is of superior quality, which is attributable to the
bleaching power of the sun, but mostly due to the fact that
cappings are nearly pure wax with very little dark coloring
matter in them.
For extracting cappings the solar is, perhaps, the most
economical, as there is no expense for fuel, and no time re-
quired in its operation, except to fill it and to remove the
wax. Moreover, in the extracting of cappings the amount
of slumgum resulting is very small. When it comes to ex-
tracting wax from old combs the solar method is about
the least desirable. Some wax can be obtained, but scarcely,
enough to pay for cost, maintenance and operating the ma-
chine. The difficulty with the solar method, in extracting old
comb, is that the latter is usually largely made up of cast-off
cocoons of the larval bees, pollen, propolis and other for-
eign materials, which act as a sponge to absorb and hold
^ —~.x- V-.
'-■ -^u' "■ '■^)^'--^ -i^^;:-J'^>mf:''y-^^
150
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
the wax, preventing it from flowing out into the receptacle
when melted. The extractor becomes choked with slumgum
from each filling, and this refuge contains from 25 percent
to 30 percent of pure wax. The percentage of wax remaining
in the slumgum from cappings is even higher, but the small
quantity of such refuse makes it of little consequence.
The solar extractor is perfect as far as perfection may
reasonably be expected in it ; that is, to get out all the wax that
will drain off it by gravity. It is simple and cheap to con-
struct and operate, requires no artificial fuel, and is no more
mussy than any other method.
But a good, modern pressure-machine will do the work
of extracting both the old comb and the cappings, and such
a machine should be used by every apiarist, the solar method
being supplemental thereto.
A method somewhat similar to the solar is the placing
of the comb in an oven, on a screen, or a strainer, over a
receptacle, so the wax will collect therein.
This method requires artificial heat, like the bleaching
influence of the sun, and is open to all the faults of the solar
method. Obviously, this process is slow and tedious on ac-
count of the limited capacity of the average oven.
The wax-extractor much used about 20 years ago, and
through false economy still retained and used by many bee-
keepers, consists of a tin can divided into two compart-
ments — a small on« below to contain water, and a large
one above within which a wire-cloth or perforated-metal
basket, for containing the old comb and cappings, is placed.
Means for steam to pass from the lower into the upper com-
partment is provided, and a spout at the lower plane of the
upper compartment is so placed as to drain off the wax.
In operation the perforated-metal basket is filled with water
and placed over the fire. Steam is generated and as much
wax as will drain out by gravity is obtained; that which
remains in the slumgum being nearly as much as that left
by the solar method. The last above-described method is, in
the opinion of the writer, very little, if any, improvement over
the primitive bag-and-hot-water method first mentioned.
A great improvement over the method last described
is found in the Ferris extractor. It is rectangular in form,
and is composed of from one to three units, like the other.
These units are long and narrow, which facilitate the flow of
wax. This machine has a compartment below for water
from which to generate steam, and the compartment above
within which is a wire-cloth basket to contain the wax-
yielding materials. As first manufactured the wax drained
off by gravity, but, subsequently, pressure, by means of a
screw and follower, was used, resulting in a largely in-
creased percentage of wax. To obtain the best results the
screw must be taken out, the follower removed, and the
slumgum raked over to expose new surfaces, and again
pressed ; and this operation repeated several times or until
no more wax can be obtained. The fault with this machine.
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 151
in the writer's opinion, is that the follower and screw are
too frail, resulting in their speedy destruction. Again, in
this method, there is a certain amount of wax held by the
slumgum, by capillary attraction, which no amount of pres-
sure will expel. In my own operations, by an improved
method, I have found the amount of wax that could be ob-
tained from this slumgum to be over 15 percent of its
weight.
Another form of the steam process is found in the Root-
German wax-press, and with^this I feel safe in saying you
are all familiar, either by having operated it, or in the study
of the machine in bee-supply catalogs, or in advertisements
in our bee-periodicals. It has the merit of being compact
and powerful, and it has satisfactory capacity. In my judg-
ment, there is no better steam method in use. I believe it is
recommended that the steam be combined with the hot-water
method, by first boiling the comb or slumgum and then press-
ing it while under steam. In order to get the wax out clean
it is recommended to take out the plunger or follower and
also the slumgum, rake or stir it over to expose new sur-
faces, and press again; repeating the operation until no more
wax can be obtained. This, obviously, is a mussy operation.
However, while mentioning the good qualities of this method,
I desire to note an exception to the widely published state-
ment by the manufacturers of this press, that by its use "You
can get every particle of wax out of old combs."
Having extracted several parcels of slumgum which had
previously been treated by the German method, my experi-
ence is that several particles of wax still remain in this refuse.
In two careful tests which I made of refuse from the Ger-
man press, I obtained from one parcel 7 percent and from the
other II percent of its weight in pure wax. I desire to go on
record with the statement, that, so far as I have been able
to ascertain, no machine with any amount of pressure will ex-
pel every particle of wax, when economically operated. I am
prepared to say, however, that it can be accomplished econom-
ically to within less than i percent of the weight of the slum-
gum.
Messrs. Hatch and Gemmill have done much towards
initiating improvements in wax-extracting methods, and I
take pleasure in acknowledging that the publication of their
experiments was what inspired me to make researches in this
line. Not having had the time or opportunity to look up past
records, I am unable, I fear, to describe the Hatch and Gem-
mill methods correctly. However, they are essentially hot-
water methods, the comb first being boiled then placed in the
form of a cheese with burlap or some other suitable cloth
to retain it in place, and screw-pressure applied. I then be-
lieved, and still believe, that the hot-water method offers the
best possibilities, and it has been along this line that my ex-
periments have been made.
The pointing out of faults in methods implies that im-
provements are possible. All the methods described have
more or less merit, and by using that which is- good in them,
with some added new features, an ideally perfect wax-ex-
f-
^■¥5' 'I'f: ^^ *?:iA?^- ^^•'Pirf ' s
152 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
tractor is possible. To produce this perfect machine cogniz-
ance must be taken of certain laws and physical properties
of the various combinations of elements with which we have
to deal in the operations. Specific gravity, adhesion, capil-
lary attraction, absorption, etc., must be advantageously used
or they will, and do, operate to our disadvantage. For ex-
ample, take a sponge, saturate it with ink, or any coloring
matter; now subject it to the most powerful pressure, and
you cannot expel all the coloring matter. Why? Because
capillary attraction holds it with a giant grip. But dip the
sponge in water and press again and you will expel more of
the coloring matter, and if you will repeat the process a few
times you will get it clean of all color. The slumgum is
sponge-like, and in a similar manner the wax must be washed
out. Again, the specific gravity of wax being less than water,
if we do our pressing under the surface of hot water the
wax will float to the surface and thus be out of the way where
it will not be re-absorbed by the slumgum. The masses of
slumgum should be comparatively thin in order that the
wax may more readily be expelled. It is not possible by the
ordinary process to extract all the wax from the mass of
slumgum for the reason that the interior parts thereof are
not subjected to the same compression as the outside portions,
the elasticity of the mass opposing and diminishing the actual
pressure. Again, as the surface of the mass becomes hard and
compact, the escape of wax is impeded. It follows that the
interior part of the mass of slumgum is never so cleanly ex-
tracted as the exterior portions. Moreover, the power re-
quired to compress the mass increases greatly towards the
end of the operation, as the more the mass is compressed the
more solid and less impervious it becomes, especially on the
surface of the mass, and hence the greater the force necessary
to expel the remaining wax; and finally capillary attraction
will hold a portion of the wax and moisture which it will
be impossible to expel with any great amount of force or pres-
sure.
So it is obvious, that, with methods heretofore in use,
a certain amount of wax is locked up, as it were, in a safe,
requiring a certain combination to open and release it. The
writer claims the discovery of this combination, the principles
of which may be surmised as follows, namely:
A construction in which the masses of slumgum within
the device should be in comparatively thin layers, so that the
wax ha$ the shortest distance possible to move to become free
therefrom.
A device in which the mass of slumgum can be pressed
while itnmersed in boiling water so that when the wax is
freed it will float to the surface.
A wax-extractor in which the pressure may be intermit-
tent, and so arranged that when the pressure is released the
slumgum or material may take up water like a sponge, which
can then be readily expressed to carry out more wax and
this operation repeated until all the wax has been expelled.
A wax-extractor in which the condition shall be the best
:f --■■". ^
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 153
possible for the slumgum or material operated upon to take
up water for the displacement of the wax.
A structure which readily and automatically separates the
various layers of material operated upon and relieves the
pressure therein when the press is released, so that the slum-
gum may absorb the water like a sponge in large amounts.
In practice the cheeses of slumgum rest on surfaces of
wire-screen, the bottommost one of which rests on springs
capable of exerting several hundred pounds of pressure, so that
when pressure is applied the springs will continue to squeeze
the masses of slumgum as the wax and water are expelled.
There should be several masses or cheeses of slumgum,
each separated from the other by a slatted frame covered
with wire-screen with a spring at each end to separate auto-
matically the several masses or cheeses when the pressure is
released. Above the uppermost cheese is a follower against
which a screw works. The cheeses and slatted frames are
contained within an iron frame-work which in turn is con-
tained within a boiler of sufficient depth to immerse the
cheeses in water. The water is boiled until all the wax in
the slumgum is melted. Pressure is then applied, gently at
first, to allow the wax and water to run out gradually. The
wax floats to the surface where it will not be reabsorbed
by the slumgum. The pressure is now released and the
cheeses separate, allowing a free access of boiling water.
Pressure is again applied and as the hot water is pressed
out it brings more wax with it, which floats to the surface.
The process of intermittent pressure is continued until the
work is complete. By this method practically all the wax
may be easily obtained; and in order that I may not be mis-
understood I will construe "practically" to mean that iKJt
more than i percent of the weight of the slumgum, when
the extracting is finished, will be wax. That is, in every loo
pounds of slumgum there will remain less than i pound of
wax which this process will leave if directions are carefully
followed. One test of slumgum, after treatment by my
method, failed to reveal more than §^ of i percent of wax,
and the cheese from which the test was made weighed be-
tween 25 and 30 pounds and was 2 inches or more in thick-
ness. It is not recommended that the cheeses be so thick
when the pressing is finished, as the thinner the cheeses are
the cleaner the work.
It will be observed that there is no opening of the ex-
tractor after it is filled, until the work is complete; no raking
or pawing over of the slumgum to expose new surfaces and no
excessive squeezing. The wax simply comes out with the
water and floats to the surface under moderate pressure where
it may be run off through a spout or be skimmed off with a
dipper.
Great strides in advance have been made in apiculture
continuously ever since the awakening which dates from Lang-
stroth. Wax-production did not receive the attention its im-
portance merited until Hatch, Gemmill, Ferris and the A. I.
Root Co., took hold of the proposition in earnest less than a
dozen years ago. Much has been accomplished in the intro-
T ■"^^^J??!5s??jfeS<-^:. >- '>:■< '^' ''i''-^"'^'-'\--i}
154 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
duction of better methods, but the bee-keeping fraternity will
not be content until it is able easily to obtain all the wax
that can possibly be produced.
Have you loo colonies of bees, and are working and muss-
ing along in a primitive fashion, trying to save the expense
of a modern wax-extractor? If you are so doing, you are
wasting, at a low estimate, the price of a good extractor every
two years, which means that an investment in a modern
wax-machine is worth annually at least 50 percent, besides the
convenience in using it. If you have 200 colonies of bees you
save the price of the extractor every year.
There is no doubt that over 25 percent of the wax here-
tofore present in old combs and cappings has been thrown
away. In the aggregate, apiculture in America has thrown
away hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of wax during
the past 25 years. It is time we cease to waste our precious
substance. Let's save our wax; it is needed in the sciences
and industries, and a good market is always in readiness to
take it. O. L. Hershiser.
Dr. Miller — Mr. Hershiser spoke of having a dish in an
oven. I would like to know whether he speaks from experi-
ence, from observation, or from hearsay with regard to that?
Mr. Hershiser — Hearsay. I heard Mr. Abbott speak
of it.
Dr. Miller — That would be so exceedingly objectionable.
In the first place there would be the danger whenever the
wax was melted down in the bottom, of it being over-heated.
In the next place there is a very close relative of that, so that
I think likely he has got them mixed in some way. That
relative is putting a dripping pan into the oven, with one
corner cut open and projecting out of the oven, raised a lit-
tle at the back end, and the wax dripping out into the dish
outside. That will hold 4 times as much as the machine
mentioned, and be perfectly safe; and while I would not
think of speaking of it as an important thing for rendering
wax on a large scale, for very many who have only a little
to do it is a method not at all to be despised.
Mr. Hershiser — If Dr. Miller would refer to the proceed-
ings of the Chicago-North-western convention, two years ago
this winter, when Mr. Huber Root had a paper on "Wax-Ex-
tracting," he will find that what I mentioned in reference to
the oven process was described by Mr. Abbott.
I want to say another word ; that the idea of using springs
in the bottom of the extractor in order to continue the squeez-
ing after you have turned the screw down, I got from what
Dr. Miller demanded should be a part of a wax-machine, at
that same meeting.
Mr. Arnd — This press Mr. Hershiser is talking of, is at
our place of business. I think it could be demonstrated.
Mr. Hershiser — I have it up there. It is the first ma-
chine I ever made, and it is not a beauty, but it is effective.
If any of you would like to see it you can go up there and
look at it. Mr. Sherburne — I extract my wax practically
without a press. It happened to me in this way : I had .a
■d --:
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 155
square pan for melting honey; it was made of lo-inch plank.
When I had a lot of wax to extract I used it. I put in a lot
of water, several inches deep, and start it going. When the
water commences to boil I dump in the waste and cappings,
and as they melt I take a piece of wire window-screen and
put it on top of where the wax is accumulating and com-
mence dipping. I melted all day and dipped as the wax came
to the top. Perhaps nearly all of. us have seen a sorghum
pan boiling. The bubbles start from the bottom and come
up through. You can call it a disintegrating process. Those
bubbles will come up so fast, if the fire is adjusted properly,
it will boil, with those bubbles over the whole boiling sur-
face. As fast as the wax is melted, dip it off over in this
other corner where it is not boiling. I have enough so that
I can boil all day and dip all the time. By this disinte-
grating process, the boiling will take the slumgum all out. If
you think it will not, try it, please. Now, at the last, I have
a square frame to fit nicely, covered with common screen,
and I drop it on that and load it down so that it will sink
the whole of the slumgum below the surface. If you will
let it bubble' a while and let the fire die out, in the morning
you can take off the remaining wax. The last 2 or 3 days
I did that, there was practically no wax in the slumgum;
and let me tell you, it would hurt me a good deal if I thought
there was some there. I believe I shipped down 300 pounds
of wax the last shipment.
Mr. Hershiser — Where do you reside?
Mr. Sherburne — Iowa ; a very fine country.
Mr. Hershiser — From the fact that you produce 300
pounds of wax frequently, I would imagine you would have
considerable slumgum, and I stand here ready to pay $1 per
100 pounds for it. And I will pay the freight to Buffalo.
Mr. Sherburne — If the gentleman would come after it he
could have it for nothing.
Mr. Hershiser — There are a good many bee-keepers that
have been in th|e business a long time, and they are "dead
sure" they get all that wax out; and it is just like this:
They don't want to sell anybody a gold brick, or even give
them one, but all the same, I met one of these gentlemen in
St. Louis last summer, and I almost begged of him to let me
buy his slumgum. He says, "There is nothing in it ; I get all
the wax out, and I would feel pretty bad if I didn't. But,"
he said, "I will send you a barrel of it, and you can try it;
all I will ask you is to tell me how much wax you get out
of it;" and he extracted it similar to Mr. Sherburne. About
5 weeks after I got back to Buffalo I wrote and reminded
him of the promise he had made. He wrote back and said,
"I have been extracting wax the last 2 or 3 weeks, and I have
about 5 barrels and I will send you one barrel." He said,
"If you get 2 pounds of wax out of that i you will not get
4 pounds out of all the rest." In due time the barrel came,
and suth a mucky looking mass I never saw. All the same,
out of about 85 pounds of refuse that he sent me I took out
23 pounds of pure wax. I want your slumgum for the same
purpose.
■^?^■:^;^^^^^^;^-..>«-.r-s^ ,.- ■-;/; *-;■ ' ^- ^^^r^t^^^^tl^^f^^^^^
156 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
Mr. Hatch — I will give you a word of advice. Don't
let him have it. I have been something of a crank on the
wax question. I have talked to every beekeeper that has
•come to visit me, on the wax-press, and I heartily wish to
endorse everything in Mr. Hershiser's paper. I have been
using a press myself for quite a number of years, but I
realized I wasn't getting all of the wax out, but I can say
during the time since I have been using the press I have felt
very well pleased. If anyone has lOO colonies of bees I
would say that in one season he can pay for a good press
by the extra wax he gets; and he gets it nicer. You won't
have half as much fuss as this man here, that fusses all day.
I can take his wax and run it over and get, I suppose, 25
percent of it, and have it all done in half a day, and have
the wax caked and ready for the market. I say, get a wax-
press. If you haven't got one, get a bench-screw and make
one; it won't cost you more than three or four dollars, and
the wax you get is what counts.
Mr. McEvoy — I would like to endorse Mr. Hershiser
and Mr. Hatch on that. Mr. Hall used to sweat and work
with his old comb, and thought he didn't lose a drop of
wax. Mr. Gemmill wanted to bring down his press and try
it, and after melting up the slumgum; dish after dish of
pure wax came out. Mr. Hall said, "I want that." I have
4 presses, and I have loaned 3, but I could get use for 53
as soon as the people got to know them.
Mr. Ferris — I have had some experience in this line.
The gentleman spoke of dipping the wax. I have dipped
and dipped all day, and got out every bit of wax I could find,
and I had about 1J/2 bushels of slumgum. I constructed a
wax-press mentioned in the "Review," and from that ij^
bushels or 2 bushels of slumgum I secured 33 pounds of as
fine wax as you could ask to look at.
Mr. Bartz — I want to say something in regard to wax-
presses that has not been mentioned. Those who have not
a wax-press, and who render their wax by the hot-water
process, would do well to take the comb to be rendered,
on a cold day, and put it through fine wire before they put
it in the water. Take a sieve made of this common wire,
and sift the wax or comb through this sieve into a course
sack, and the pollen will stay in the sieve. Immerse this
pollen in the water and weigh it down with a screen and I
arn pretty sure I can get more wax by the water-process
than I can with the best wax-press now in use.
Mr. Hershiser — I desire. to make Mr. Bartz an offer of
$1.00 a hundred pounds for his slumgum, and I will pay
the freight on it; and I will say that to all.
Mr. Wheeler — I, have had considerable experience with
a wax-press and wax-extractor. I melt my comb in the
Ferris extractor, and press it with the Swiss Extractor, and
that works nicely. I have always had in mind something
different. If I were a mechanic, and had a factory, I would
try a scheme I have in mind, and that is of using the same
force in extracting wax as is used in extracting honey, and
use steam for heating, and use centrifugal force for extract-
ing. I would like to try it.
£^--..v.:.;-4:iSr,
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 157
Mr. Hershiser — Adhesion and capillary attraction will
beat you on that proposition.
Mr. Hintz — I have been in the habit of getting my wax
with a solar-extractor. I like that very well, except where
we have to get it out of old black combs; and in my
experience in that case I don't believe I get very much of
the wax. I think perhaps a very large percentage of it re-
mains in the combs. Whilst I have always gotten it out in the
old way in water, in a kettle or something of that kind, since
there has been so much said about their being so much wax
left in the combs, I have rather come to the conclusion to
keep my old slumgum.
Mr. Hatch — There is one thing we are overlooking en-
tirely, and that is the advantages of the solar wax-extractor.
I thmk every bee-keeper, especially an extracting man, should
have a solar extractor. Not but what you can get all the
wax out of the cappings by a press, but they work so easily
and board themselves, and cost nothing for fuel. If you
have made it on the plan suggested by Mr. J. H. Martin,
or "Rambler," you will find your wax all caked ready for mar-
ket right in the extractor. There is another advantage: You
may bring the cappings just as dry as you can get them, and
then melt them up for wax, and you will get an astonishing
amount of honey out of those dry cappings if you put them
into the solar wax-extractor. If you run loo colonies of
bees you will get honey enough out of the cappings to pay
for the expense of a solar wax-extractor in one year.
Mr. McEvoy — Three of them.
Mr. Hatch — And if you want to be real careful and
watch it, you can save that honey even for table use. As
soon as- it is melted draw it out and it is all right. If you
leave it there it is stronger. I use it for feeding the bees.
You can't afford to be. without, first, a solar wax-extractor,
and, second, a good press, if you are in the bee-business
at all.
Mr. Stewart — I am very much interested in extracting wax.
I am one of those poor unfortunate fellows that has a lot of
foul brood, and that has given me something over i,ioo pounds
of wax in the last two years. I have a solar extractor and
also a Root wax-press; and while the Root wax-press is a
good thing, I know that in my slumgum I buried up more
than 100 pounds of wax; and for that reason I have been
very much interested in the matter, and was determined to
endeavor to find some method by which I could get some of
that wax out. I ship each year into the New England States
my honey, and go with it and sell it, and I formed the
"^acquaintance of Arthur C. Miller, Rhode Island, and, last
year, while there I had a talk with him, and he told me he
was working on the lines of a wax-extractor. He said it
was something diflferent entirely from an3^ing there was,
and something that he had great confidence in, in revolu-
tionizing the wax-tracting business. Going down to New
York City, I stopped off this year, and saw Mr. Miller, and
saw his machine, and he has it perfected, and they are manu-
^^"-\ :'-.■ '•;;:'r'''i?^*J^^ •■:;.,""'". ^■•- -y^ ^Ji-?f''^yK^i^-X-'-*'(r:^?^V^
158
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
facturing them now. He had as many fifty in the process
of construction, and it is so different from anything else that
I will endeavor to give you the process upon which he works.
The wax-extractor is round, something the same as the Root
press. It has an inside can, but instead of being perforated all
around, it is perforated only at the top and bottom. That
is immersed entirely in water, and there is a cover put on
the inside can after "it is filled, so that there is no possibility
of any slugum coming out. Inside of that there is a shaft
running down through the machine, and on that shaft there
are flanges, and also on the inside can, and that is soldered
fast. He puts a conical shaped cover, and so fitted as to
prevent any leakage, and that goes up to a cone. Built out
from this is a hot-water tank. There is a shaft running
down to the bottom, as it is boiling he turns that shaft slowly,
and in that process it grinds the slumgum up as fine as possi-
ble. These flanges on the inside and outside can are ar-
ranged so that they come together, and they are made of
perforated metal, and the slumgum is all ground between
them, and at the same time there is a pressure there that
presses them. The kettle is boiling, and the hot water which
is constantly fed, causes an over-flow at the top. At the top
of the over-flow there is a spout that runs down through
the hot-water tank to keep it hot; and the wax as it is
liberated overflows and flows out at the bottom. Mr. Miller
says he can get every particle of wax out of th'e slumgum.
If it will do what he saj's, it is a great thing for the bee-
keepers.
Dr. Miller — I would like to ask whether Mr, Hershiser
has made an offer for Mr. Miller's slumgum?
Mr. Hershiser — I never received any offer from him,
and never had any correspondence with him. Nevertheless,
I would like to try some of his slumgum.
Mr. Acklin — Instead of putting the sticky cappings into
the solar wax-extractor, we moisten them with as little water
as possible, and strain them and drain them every night,
and that seems to give a sweetened water of the right con-
sistency for vinegar. I think the vinegar is the best that
can be put on the table.
Dr. Miller — Right in that line I had cappings down in the
cellar and they were what you would call pretty dry cap-
pings. But the moisture of the cellar will be attracted to
them, and if you let them stay long enough there, you will
find that you will get just about every particle of honey
that is there. The longer it stays the longer it keeps drip-
ping and attracting fresh moisture to it ; and you will get it for
vinegar or any use you want to make of it.
Mr. Holtermann — I have not much experience of value
in connection with extracting wax, but I would feel like
endorsing what Mr. Hershiser has said. The question came'
up, of the solar wax-extractor, and as far as cappings are
concerned, I consider it very valuable, but it has one de-
fect, and that is the constant turning to the sun; and for
some years I have had a thought which I believe can be
made practicable, and that is, to arrange to have some sim-
■•*^.
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 1^
pie clockword device by means of which that extractor will,
upon a pivot, turn itself towards the sun during the day,
and will need no looking after in that direction.
Mr. Hatch — I don't change my wax-extractor more than
twice during the year. You must have a different kind of
sun in Canada from what we have here ! My extractor is
3 feet by 4.
Mr. Baxter — The cellar will have to be very damp to
get vinegar that way. I have about 10 barrels of cappings
in my cellar now. Some of it I washed last winter, and
when I got within a foot of the bottom of the barrel it was
a solid mass of cappings and candied honey. The only way to
get it all is to wash it.
Dr. Miller — That mass of cappings will be held there
and the moisture can't get to it. With a smaller quantity
there is plenty of chance for the moisture to get all through it.
Pres. Dadant — We would not depend on the moisture
in the cellar to moisten our cappings ; we want to wash
them thoroughly first.
Mr. McEvoy — I had nearly 400 pounds of honey from
cappings burned as black as buckwheat. I can make use of
that. I have a long capping tank, but, for all that, there is a
lot of honey that melts down, and it is too dark to be good
honey, so I save it up till spring and thin it with water,
and between fruit-bloom and clover I feed the bees with it.
Mr. Frank — I would like to ask Mr. Hershiser a few
questions. It is labor-saving that I have been seeking for
as much as anything, and I thought I had found perfection
in the solar extractor. Now for extracting or rendering
wax from cappings, would you think, considering the labor
you are saving, that your device would be profitable?
Mr. Hershiser — I used to use a solar extractor, but of
late years, since I have been using the wax-press, I discon-
tinued its use. I don't know whether that is a wise thing
to do or not. It doesn't take very much trouble to get
all the wax out of the cappings with your press. Of course,
where you use the sun you save that much fuel. I save labor
in reference to the cappings by using my press, from my
standpoint.
Mr, McEvoy — ^You lose the honey in that case.
Mr, Hershiser — I don't know. I put my cappings out a
great many times and let the bees carry away the honey.
Last year I washed the cappings and got about half a barrel
of nice sweetened water, and I tried to make vinegar out of
it and it is in the cellar yet, and it doesn't seem much like
vinegar.
Pres. Dadant — The experience of each man is different
in different locations. There is a difference between the sun
of Utah and Canada.
Mr. Wilcox — I have a sun extractor 3 feet by 7, and I
save a vast amount of honey from it. My broken combs
and wasted honey of every kind go in there, and by drawing
it out before it gets too hot it is fit to market, especially
that market you will find among wholesale bakers. You cah
sell scorched honey there at any time, because they must
i'V -v»-- ;;i-^" ■~":^:-^'-Z-''''v''$'7^--y'1ii\ -jfiV*^^^^
160 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
necessarily heat it in baking, and do. The amount of honey
you save in melting up the cappings is quite an item.
Pres. Dadant — We will now take up the next subject
by Mr. Holtermann, of Canada.
MIGRATORY BEE-KEEPINQ
Mr. Holtermann — As to migratory bee-keeping, there are
those who carry it on in one sense, and, again, others who
carry it on in another sense. I may say I have read more or
less of the European bee-literature with profit, and in Eu-
rope migratory bee-keeping, the moving about from one
section to another has been carried on to a greater extent
than upon the continent, and I believe it is a line in which
we can receive instruction from others; and after receiving
hints and suggestions we can get from Europe, with all due
respect to European bee-keepers, we in this country can im-
prove upon their method as a rule, because we are practical
to a greater extent.
First of all comes the question whether it shall be carried
on at all or not. In my estimation every specialist should
in a sense carry on bee-keeping in that way. Unless it be
in a section of country foreign in nature entirely to my own
and that which I find in the Northern States, no specialist
should create permanent large apiaries to any extent. I find
conditions vary from year to year so much that it is de-
sirable for one who makes a special business of bee-keeping
to be able to go to favored localities.
In our Province the year before this the clover was
largely killed out ; it had been killed out by thaws, snow and
rain, and then the freezing in of the clover and smothering. I
had intended to go to a certain section. I had my super-combs ar-
ranged for that purpose and I found out by going to a section of
country where there was very rolling land I could get a
fairly good clover locality, whilst if I had remained in the
territory which I originally intended and had before gone
into I would have had no clover surplus at all.
Again, you know the rainfalls vary in every locality.
Even within a few miles you can go and get quite a differ-
ence as far as rainfalls go. In the heavy clay lands, if in the
early part of the season, you get a shortage of rainfalls; it
takes more rain to bring that ground into condition for
.yielding honey then it does upon the lighter soils; and one
should be always ready to pack up an.d go from one section
to another.
Again, I find if you get into a section of country where
there are good early flows, that then you can not in that
same section get good and heavy late flows, and for that
reason for the specialist, if he can move an ordinary distance,
say 40 miles, he can secure a larger yield, and in that case
I would advocate the moving about of the bees. Each per-
son must decide for himself after studying up the condi-
tions, whether he shall practice this system of bee-keeping or
not. To a certain extent, it is his own business as to
whether he shall practice it or not, but it is everybody's busi-
..;aS'#
•^'^'y<7 -rJ-^-^^^^~~-\-'' -
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 161
ness as to how he shall practice that. We have had some
discussions in our American bee-literature as to the advisa-
bility of moving bees when the hives are open; and I feel
very strongly upon this subject, as to whether he shall do it
or not; and I do not hesitate to say, after years of pretty
extensive experience in moving bees, that it is a very great
mistake to attempt to move bees with open hives. You know
that as far as bees are concerned, they rarely do any harm
as far as life is concerned; that if anywhere upon this con-
tinent a life is lost through the stinging of the bee, it passes
through the whole press of this continent; whilst with other
live stock there are so many accidents happen, and they are
so common, that the incident is not mentioned, or is only of
local interest.
Now, I know what I am talking about, because my
system gives me a chance to know just what bees will do as
to coming in and out of an entrance. I am willing to admit,
if you get your bees started safely and are on the move,
the bees are not likely to come out. But I also know that
you never know at what moment you may have to stop, and
then, when you start again, you do not know whether you are
going to get into trouble or not.
I have a permanent portico upon this hive; it may be
attached to any hive. At the entrance of my hive a screen
is slid down in front, and I know just exactly how the bees
will act when the entrance is open, or is not open. When
we first start the bees will come out ; they pass really out
of the hive and come to the entrance and will circle about
in the screen, in that portico, depending upon the temperature
and strength of the bees, and so on; they will either stay
there or go in again; and you can go along the road and see,
perhaps, sometimes, no bees outside of the hive; but you
stop, and then jar your wagon, or whatever you have, and
start up again, and that is the time when the bees come out
and the time that the danger exists. Now, in moving bees
we want to have ever3i:hing arranged as expeditiously as
possible ; we want to be able to pack up and move at any time,
and the device I have at the front of the hive is with that
object in view. I have found the matter of screening bees
in the hive, or by having screens above or below, is
a very diflferent thing in principle, to having a screen
out at the front, the way I have it. When the hive is
barred, the bees can come out of the entrance; they don't
seem to feel the confinement in the hive and they act in a
different way from what they do if the screen is close to the
brood-chambers. With the ordinary entrance the bees in
their efforts to get out, pack against that screening and
shut off ventilation. In this system, when we are going to
move, we put on the screens during the daytime and the
earliest moment at which you can get away in the evening
is the desirable one. If you can close your hive, and load
up, and get away, before dark, you are a great gainer of
time. So, in practicing this system of moving about, we put
in the screen in the hive in this way, then, towards evening,
when the bees begin to discontinue flying, we take the colo-
;.^,^;s^:' ',-:,/■" ;-^- ■■ -'-•-■■ ;■■ -'A>,;: ^'^'s■ -«-x.'^-;;-<'.'''7'-' ♦'■>. ;^ *r--'-;j7^-^;^vv^^'vs';fTsjr'^
4 -.
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 163
Dr. Miller — I have used both the lath and staple for
years, and I have had more trouble with the lath coming
loose than the staples.
Mr. Holtermann — That is a matter you will have to de-
cide for yourselves. I want to say to those of you who have
not practiced this moving about of bees, if you want to know
what hard work is, begin that line of business. In my es-
timation, to simply set down the bees and run them for one
season in one place is play, when you compare it with what
you get wlien you have to move your bees about, and per-
haps be up all night some times, and carry on the business
in that way. But in my estimation there are many locali-
ties where you can get much better results by moving them.
No one should do it unless he knows how to do it, and fol-
low it up carefully and watchfully.
In moving, the bees get restless in hot weather, and
perhaps you have seen them, when they were screened, with
their tongues out through the screen. Now, we water our
bees, and in moving them I think it is exceedingly impor-
tant. Give the bees sufficient, and you will be surprised how
they will quiet and cool down under those circumstances.
I also find a peculiar characteristic of the Italian bees
in this respect, and that is this: Of the blacks, hybrids and
Carniolans and Italians, the Italians I found were the only
bees, when they got very restless or very excited and began
to run about, that would actually turn upon one another and
sting one another to death right in the hive; but by water-
ing you can always stop that, and overcome these difficul-
ties. I believe by not watering them you might have very
disastrous results by having them destroy the brood. The
time will come when they will suck the food from the young
larvae, and in a very short time destroy a number of young
bees.
Mr. Abbott — How many pounds of honey do you get
from your hives from those 5 moves? "
Mr. Holtermann — In the Farmers' Institute, when they
asked that question, I replied by asking them. How much
milk do you get from your cows?
Mr. Abbott — I get about 2 gallons from mine.
Mr. Holtermann — It is a very long and interesting study.
Clover does well upon clay soil. I don't believe under prpper
conditions there is any soil it will do as well upon. When
you turn around again to buckwheat, I used to say, the
better the soil the more yield you will get from the blossoms.
It depends upon the nature of the blossom. You have got
to get down to the kind of soil that the plant will do best'
upon. This year has been an exceptional year for me. I
have had from 296 colonies of bees over 60,000 pounds of
honey, and I have done no feeding. My 12-frame Langstroth
hives will average 85 pounds going into winter quarters.
But I don't want this convention to think, and Mr. Abbott
knows well it is a question you can't answer — to get the best
results out of it, you have to be a careful observer.
Mr. Abbott — On a chance estimate what would you get?
200 pounds?
-^m'.
364
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
Mr. Holtermann — No, not when I say this was an ex-
ceptional year with me. But I think the members of the
convention here will justify me in saying that I could not
give an honest and sincere answer to that question.
Dr. Miller — Do you use the cover altogether, regularly,
in that way?
Mr. Holtermann' — I use it regularly in that way.
Dr. Miller — Will you give us about the cost of the two
parts?
Mr. Holtermann — This thickness of galvanized iron can
be bought for a 12-frame hive, made up, for about 17 cents.
The rest of the cover would be about the cost of your hive;
and the felt paper, you will have a pretty good idea of what
felt is worth in your country. I don't want you to figure
that cost with a %-inch ordinary board. In the spring of
the year there is heat escaping from that, and you know, how
often, if there is a lot of frost, you find that no frost has fallen
upon the cover, and that indicates the heat is passing oflF
from that cluster at that time of the year; it is a very expen-
sive cover, if that is the case, because you are not only using
honey that is required to produce that heat, but the vitality
of the bee is being exhausted. If that were all it would be
sufficient, but, more than that, you are curtailing the capacity
of those bees by using that kind of cover.
Dr. Miller — If there is any part of the hive that I would
not economize on it is the cover.
Mr. Holtermann — When you go into the dairy business
you are not looking around for $25 cows, but for the cows
which for the least amount of food and looking after will
give you the greatest returns; and just so soon as bee-
keepers will look at matters from that standpoint, so soon will
the supply dealer give them something better than he is giv-
ing them today. There are little unevennesses in your combs
and quilt, and so on, and if you have a plain wooden cover
over them there must be more or less spring out at the sides.
With this soft felt there is sufficient "give" to it to overcome
this unevenness, and the cover fits down more closely.
Mr. Putnam — Did you ever use wool-twine to tie around
to hold the hive together?
Mr. Holtermann — No, I have read of it, but I wouldn't
want it. When I start I want to be sure I am not going to
have any accidents.
Mr. Abbott — I was thinking while Mr. Holtermann was
talking about the people who were interested in that kind of
thing, how many there were of them, and how practical it
was; and I tried to get at the practical side of it by getting
a direct answer from Mr. Holtermann. Now, while it may
be applicable in Canada, I wanted to see if it would work in
Missouri. I know how much hon«y we get down there with-
out migrating, and simply sit down and stay there. I migrated
for about 20 years of my life, and I was sick, and $150
worse oflF than nothing, until I sat down and began
to do things, and then I found myself in better con-
ditions. It was a question with me whether this migratory
bee-keeping might not be an expensive amusement.
<.\-'^S^^l
C, '- - -f :Ji^ ;
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 165
Mr. Holtermann — It would be very expensive if it were
an amusement.
Mr. Abbott — I wanted to find out whether Mr. Holter-
mann was pursuing this line of action simply because he
found satisfaction in it, and was solving problems he wanted
to solve, or whether he believed it was of practical utility
to all the bee-keepers in the United States and Canada. Down
in Missouri we can get from 150 to sometimes 250 pounds
of honey from a single colony of bees if the clover yields
well. When there was plenty of basswood, 150 or 200 pounds
was nothing. Now if Mr. Holterman doesn't get more than
that it seems to me it would not be practical for us to move
if we would only get honey to the extent he would get. He
said all of this boxing-up busifiess, and so on, would be
ready in ten minutes, but I question if he can get ready to
move for less than a dollar per hive every time he moves.
Mr. Holtermann — Did you have this kind^of device?
Mr. Abbott— Yes.
Mr. Holtermann — I doubt it.
Mr. Stewart — I moved 90 colonies of bees 7 miles a year
ago last fall, and it cost about $10. I moved them out of a
location where there was no possible show of their getting
any surplus honey at all. I got from that apiary 1,500 pounds
of honey after I moved them. You can figure whether it
paid or not.
Mr. Holtermann — I have been practicing this for 4
years, and if I am in the bee-business another 4 years, and
have the necessary health and strength, I shall likely practice it.
I keep a careful record of all my expenses, and I know at the
end of the year what I have.
Mr. Baxter — I know in Illinois that the moving of bees
has paid under certain circumstances. I have seen it done.
Dr. Miller — I would not be fool enough to spend money
moving bees 5 or 10 miles in any direction, no matter whether
I got at home 50 pounds or 150 pounds, because I wouldn't
gain anything by it. There wouldn't be anjrthing more to
get where I moved them. But it is not a question whether
at home I got 150 pounds or 20 pounds, it is a question as to
whether I get more somewhere else. Now, if there is some-
where that I can go to where there is a yield of honey and
none at home, I might make money by moving, even if I
were to have 150 pounds at home.
Mr. Abbott — It is all right to discuss these things, but
is there anything in it for the great mass of bee-keepers?
Dr. Eaton, of Chicago, then addressed the convention as
follows, on,
THE DIETETIC AND HYGIENIC VALUE OF HONEY
The paper that I have prepared is perhaps of more value
or interest, or was prepared more for the general public than
for bee-keepers, because I suppose all of you are wise enough
to use plenty of your own product; in that respect being
different from the dairy farmers of Holland, who sell their
fine, high-priced butter, and import oleomargarine for their
\- i?«-.
166 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORt
own use. I hope it will have some interest for bee-keepers.
Food-stuffs are divided into three great classes, protein,
fat and carbohydrates. Honey belongs to the carbohydrates.
On a strictly scientific bases standards have been prepared
showing the amount of each of these food-stuffs a given
animal doing a given work should consume. Using Atwater's
standards, we find that if honey supplied all the fuel except
that derived from protein, a man could eat two and eight-
tenths pounds, or in round numbers, 3 pounds of honey per
day. 1 his is using strictly the amount of food necessary to
maintain man in perfect health' as determined by scientific
experiment. As a matter of fact, it is probable that a smaller
amount of protein in connection with carbohydrates will
suffice for body maintenance.
A late investigation by H: Labbe, shows that a healthy
man may maintain nitrogen equilibrium on from i to 14
grams of nitrogen per day — an amount much less than re-
quired in Atwater's standards. Luigi Cornaro, a Venetian
nobleman, lived to a ripe old age, subsisting during the last
50 years of his life on less than 12 ounces of solid food a
day, and a part of the time on but one egg and a bottle of
wine a day. Edison, the inventor, recommends food reduc-
tion, and claims to have subsisted for a time on 12 ounces
of food a day.
If less protein were employed in the diet, more honey
could be used. Of course, it might not be practical to replace
all fats and carbohydrates by sugars for an indefinite period,
as nature has provided means for the digestion of fats and
starches as well as sugars. However, this is undoubtedly
true as regards the substitution of sugars for fats and
starches :
(i). That sugars are more quickly assimilated than
any other food, and the energy derived therefrom is more
immediately available. For this reason sugar in the form of
candy is employed in army dietaries, and especially in emer-
gency rations. Queen Victoria's present of chocolate candy
to the British soldiers in the South African War was more
than a demonstration of her affection and gratitude; it was
an illustration of applying the discoveries of science to prac-
tical use. Honey might be used much more freely than at
present in soldiers' rations.
(2). The digestion of sugars is performed at less ex-
penditure of energy than other foods; in fact, some sugars
are immediately and in natural form taken into the blood.
Glycogen, the emergency food of the body, manufactured and
stored by the liver, is itself a sugar. Sucrose merely re-
quires splitting into dextrose and levulose. Commercial glu-
cose and honey is practically predigested. Milk-sugar is so
easily digested as to be nature's food for the young.
(3). Sugars increase the flow of saliva and other di-
gestive ferments, or more properly speaking, "enzymes," and
thus stimulate appetite and aid the digestion of all food.
It was once thought that the rapid assimilation and muscular
activity shown on feeding sugar was due to this stimulation,
but experiments substituting dulcin, saccharin and other
\
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 167
sweet substances devoid of food value for sugar, proved
that such was not the case. The influence of sugar on the
digestion of other foods is, however, a strong argument for
the generous use of sugars in the dietary.
(4). Sugar' as pure sucrose or as honey is a most con-
centrated food. Sugar contains practically no water, min-
eral or other non-digestible impurities, and will keep in
perfect condition in any climate.
(5). Sugar is even an economical food. The cheaper
varieties of candy, such as stick candy and those so freely
advertised at 15 cents a pound, and honey at almost any
market price, may displace many carbohydrates and fats at
an actual monetary saving. Butter fat, olive and other oils
are more expensive, and so are the fats in high-priced meats
and poultry. Many vegetables, especially out of season, al-
though greatly inferior to sugar in food value, commanding
more than 15 cents a pound, however, can replace even the
cheaper varieties of starches at an economic saving.
It has been argued against the use of candies, honey
and other sugars that they create digestive disturbances; that
they are deficient in iron, lime and other inorganic salts neces-
sary to nutrition, and that they injure the teeth. The first obj ec-
tion may be true in some instances with particular individ-
uals, and undoubtedly not too concentrated solutions of sugar
should be digested at a time; the same may be said of other
favorite food materials. The objection that sugar contains
no inorganic salts is not worthy of notice, unless sugar were
to be employed as a food to the exclusion -of all other
foods. This, of course, is impossible, because sugar cannot
supply the necessary protein. When sugar is used as an
auxiliary to other food, as it should be, the objection has no
weight, as iron and lime are only found in relatively small
amounts in the human body and most articles of food con-
tain all the mineral ingredients the body demands, and more.
The prevailing idea that sugar is especially injurious to
teeth is probably erroneous, as the West Indian natives, as
well as the darkies in the sugar belt, where naturally much
sugar is consumed, have exceptionally good and sound teeth.
Exposed nerves are sensitive to sweets, as most mature peo-
ple know through sad experience. This, however, does not
argue that sugar caused the decay. Sugar, like other or-
ganic material, will decompose with the formation of acids,
such as butyric and lactic, and it is undoubtedly proper, wise
and Godly to use a tooth-brush and antiseptic mouth-wash
occasionally, whether sugar, honey, candy or other foods are
eaten. Sugar, however, is so completley soluble that it would
seem that there would be less danger of decomposition in the
mouth with it than with other less soluble foods.
In conclusion, notwithstanding the fact that the consump-
tion of sugar has greatly increased in the most progressive
countries, reaching almost 100 pounds per capita per year,
and in the form of glucose, honey and other sugars, much
more than that amount, I see no reason from the standpoint
of the physiologist, chemist, or dietist, why sugar in the
form of pure candy, honey or other wholesome sweets might
/ii5i3n^.;S^A'£\- iSiv^f5.>*i\-a3£iSfe4sS&su^^^ .'.iXife-- : «;-■::->:' ■■.] ;, ;
Sfl?' ■■ ' .■•-.■-■■■• -.'■ %■ ■■ _'^■,?^-'^■ ' ■.-^'' ■;',.':,^"-."'~^'j;.:^^^
168 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
not be used much more extensively than it is now, to the
satisfaction, and not to the physical detriment, of the people.
E. N. Eaton.
Dr. Miller — Most of us came here to learn how to get
more honey and we listened to that sort of stuff all day long.
But I want to tell you if you can get more of this stuff
before the people, so that they will know a little better than
they do the facts that Dr. Eaton has been giving us, you will
find a better outlet for your honey; and if you can get those
facts published in the papers generally, it will be worth a
good deal to you, in your local papers and anywhere else.
I would like to sit down and study that thing; I don't know
enough to swallow it all down just as he reads it off there.
Mr. Root — I would like to know what you consider the
comparative value of ordinary commercial glucose and honey
as a food?
Dr. Eaton — I made no distinction in the paper between
ordinary commercial glucose and honey. As to the food-
value of them, they are perhaps something similar, although
I should think the honey would have the greater food-value.
Commercial glucose contains one ingredient the same as
honey, and that is dextrose ; but dextrin is not a sugar proper,
and, therefore, does not have as great a food-value as honey.
I think I am safe in saying that; although I don't know
of any experiments that have been made that are directly
upon that subject. But my impression is that dextrin is not
as digestible or as valuable as a food as sugar proper; and
therefore I would say honey is of more feeding value -than
glucose, even just considering the solids; and usually glu-
cose contains considerably more water.
Dr. Miller — There are certain things in commercial glu-
cose that make it commercial glucose instead of chemically
pure glucose. Supposing we can get those things out of
commercial glucose that would make it chemically pure, and
put them into honey, how much do you think that would
improve the honey?
Dr. Eaton — There is so much confusion in the use of
the terms "glucose" and "pure glucose," that I don't be-
lieve I can answer the question. When I refer to glucose
I refer to the commercial product which is obtained by the
action of acids or other material such as inverts and ferments
upon starch; and that product is only partially composed of
sugar — composed of dextrose and dextrin^f you would say
pure glucose in the meaning- of pure dextrose, it was once
a sjTionjrmous term with glucose, then I don't believe there
would be any great diflference in the feeding value of pure
dextrose and honey, because there is no difference in the
composition or feeding value as far as I know between dex-
trose and levulose, which are the sugars which compose
honey; and so if you add just one of those sugars to honey
there would be no difference in the feeding value. But using
the term commercial glucose you have quite a different propo-
sition, because there you have dextrin, which is a gum and
not a sugar, and not as digestible as dextrose; and in addi-
■ -.^'-^^^u^i-S^sjiE^^siaS-:
STAfE BEE-KEEPERS* ASSOCIATION 16&
tion to that you have perhaps some sulphurous acid in glu-
cose which would interfere with the problem of digestion of
the glucose very materially, in my judgment.
Mr. Whitney — I notice the Professor speaks frequently
of sugar. Do you mean sugar as we find it commercially
sold, or is it sugar such as we find it in honey, and in the
commercial world?
Dr. Eaton — I use the term sugar as a generic term,
covering a large nimiber of sugars; and if I should use sugar
in the sense perhaps that you are more accustomed to using
it, meaning cane or beet sugar, I would use the term sucrose,
chemically, to determine that sugar matter — sugars that have
been obtained from the cane, and maple, and palm tree, and
also, to some extent, in other vegetables. But there are
a great many other sugars, as the generic term implies;
we have the levulose and dextrose; those two sugars are
found in honey. We have the dextrose, that is found
in commercial glucose, and then we have milk-sugar
which is very similar to cane-sugar, and a large number
of other sugars which are not so well known; but, so far as
I know, there is no great difference in the feeding value of
these different sugars. Certainly there is no difference in the
fuel-value of the different sugars. That is, one sugar when
burned should create just about the same amount of energy
as another sugar when burned. That is practically what oc-
curs in the human body. But there may be yet some differ-
ence in the digestibility of these diffrent sugars, and there
probably is, as milk-sugar has been found to agree better with
infants than other sugars.
Mr. McCain — ^A great many intelligent people are op-
posed to their children eating a very large amount of sweets.-
If I understood the doctor correctly, he advocates the con-
sumption of a larger amount, and I think in his paper he
put pure candy and honey on a level, and spoke of them
together. Now, Doctor, shall we, as bee-keepers, and educa-
tors, advocate the consumption of a large amount of sweets
against the prejudice of intelligent people?
Dr. Eaton — I do not see why you should not, from a
scientific standpoint; nature craves it, and children want their
sweets, and I don't believe there is any harm in it, provided
you use the pure article. There are a great many of the
cheap, inferior candies on the market that I do not think
should be placed in the hands of children. But giving them
pure sucrose candy, honey-candy, or anything of that variety,
and allowing them .to use it judiciously, I believe it would
be used to the benefit rather than the ill health of the chil-
dren, providing they were fed on other foods to balance the
candy rations.
Mr. Holtermann — I should like to ask Dr. Eaton whether
the fact that the bee inverts a very large proportion of that
honey, and, therefore, in that respect it is quite different
glucose, wouldn't it have a very marked difference, not in
the chemical value of the product as a food, but in its avail-
ability and liability to be digested?
Dr. Eaton — As far as dextrin is concerned, I should
>-A*-■;;'•■••-:.■" ii ■'^ >ii''- - A ■ *-"-?*-^- ' >:--!v5?&-S..
172 FifTH ANNUAL REPORT
of the" honey-bee so that by deviations from Nature man may
increase the productiveness of these instincts for his own
good.
So much for apiculture; it is now time to find out what
is meant by "Experimental Apiculture."
An experiment is a "trial or special observation made to
confirm or disprove something doubtful, or an act- or opera-
tion undertaken in order to discover some unknown prin-
ciple or effect, or to test, establish, or illustrate some sug-
gested or known truth." There are plenty of unknown things
in apiculture even if some contributors to bee-keeping jour-
nals write as if this were not so, if they would but tell all
they know ! Our knowledge of bees is really very limited.
Little is known concerning the parthenogenetic development
of drones and the determination of sex; practically nothing,
of the finer structures of bees, and very little concerning the
principles of breeding. There is an abundance of good and
valuable work yet to be done on the purely scientific side of
bee-life, but Experimental Apiculture, as I understand it,-
deals with a dollars-and-cents proposition, and the thing
which appeals most strongly to the bee-keeper is more pounds
of honey. In .discussing this subject I propose to deal en-
tirely with the practical side; and the work suggested is in-
tended to lead to commercial results. The bee-keeper can,
for the present, do without much theory, but he needs
money. I firmly believe that a greater theoretical knowledge
would be of benefit to bee-keepers, and more work of this
kind would benefit apiculture, at least indirectly, but there
is still so much of vital interest to be done along practical
lines that we can confine ourselves to that in the short time
allotted for this discussion. What is wanted, then, is more
honey, and to this we must bend our energy. Instead of
speaking about Experimental Apiculture in general, it may
be better to give special instances of desirable experimental
work in apiculture.
One of the first things which seems to warrant men-
tion is the need of better methods of queen-rearing. Enor-
mous strides have been made in this branch of the apicul-
tural industry in late years but, after all, the methods are
crude and too uncertain. During the past summer I have
tried, several times, every method of queen-rearing of which
I knew, in the apiary of the Bureau of Entomology, and
have succeeded in rearing good queens with all of them,
but there seem to be some faults in all, and every point at
which there remains a chance of failure should be exam-
ined, and the method improved if possible. After these
trials, I conclude that artificial queen-cells will yield more
uniformly good results than natural cells, because the en-
vironment is more under the control of the operator; and
that mating in nuclei is much preferable to the use of
large colonies in decreasing the labor necessary; but we
need improvement in our appliances and methods of manipu-
lation. We want more uniformity of result, a decrease in
the necessary manipulation, and greater assurance of suc-
cess, and these, it seems to me, are the things for which to
■jt^-sM,
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION ^^
work. The most urgent present need, it seems to me, is
an improved combined nursery-and-introducing cage, and a
style of mating-box which will rarely require refilling dur-
ing the entire season, and practically no feeding ; and these
two things will receive the first consideration in our apiary.
Bee-keepers should know that bees, left to themselves,
will not always rear good queens, and the only safe method
is to re-queen at least every 2 years, and preferably every
year. This is preached enough, I know, but a small per-
cent of honey-producers practice it, I fear. It need scarcely
be added that, a sure method of introducing queens — not
necessarily one said to be sure, whereby there would be no
failures, or even fewer — would result in the saving of sev-
eral thousand dollars a year to bee-keepers.
The improvement of forage is another thing which needs
attention, but this must be dealt with by some one else, for
my present work is necessarily confined to entomology, and
botanical subjects do not come directly under my supervision.
I feel, however, that there is much to be done here. New
plants can be imported which will be of great value, no doubt,
and, above all, our present forage can be improved in nectar-
secretion.
There is room for improvement in hive-appliances, ex-
tractors, forage, and other things, but the one place where
there is the greatest need for improvement has been gen-
erally neglected by bee-keepers ; I refer to the improvement
of the bees themselves. AH bee-keeping is pre-eminently
breeding work. The honey is the product and the ultimate
object of the industry, but the working problem is strictly
one of breeding. The bee-keeper can increase his output
by improvment in two places : first, in the manipulation and
food supply; and, second, in the bees themselves. Manipu-
lation and food supply are being discussed continually, but
we get very little real information on the improvement of
bees. I do not refer now so much to the introduction of new
races, but, particularly, to selection of breeding stock.
The Italian race of bees was introduced into this coun-
try about i860, and the credit for this important introduc-
tion need not concern us at this time. The important thing
now is to examine the situation to see how much this race
has been affected by breeding in the hands of the bee-
keepers of this country since its introduction. From about
i860 on, there has been, in some quarters, an interest in
breeding this race for color and this has been done very
successfully, several different breeders having taken up this
line of work and succeeding, by selection, is producing 5-
banded Italians. As an example of what can be done by
careful selection among bees this work is of value to us.
Other breeders have selected for gentleness, and, since this
character is not as measurable as color, it is harder to make
definite statements concerning the results obtained, but it is
evident that, either intentionally or accidentally, some good
has been done along this line.
But the main object in the keeping of bees is honey-
production; how much has the average output per colony
:u^~.ir-~&r^^'^m*•!?^W;^■ii:''aMSlK^MM ■
174 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
been increased in the past 45 years? Every bee-keeper knows
that the more populous the colony during the honey-flow the
more surplus honey stored, other things, such as honey-flow
and weather, being equal. The problem, then, reduces itself
very largely to the fecundity of the queens, and the question
may be changed so as to ask how much the prolificness of
Italian queens has been increased in the past 45 years.
Another very important factor in honey-production is the
eagerness with which bees go after nectar; and a third is
the tongue-length, enabling them to reach the nectar in long
corolla-tubes. Italians lack the eagerness which is possessed
by Cyprians, but there are Italian colonies which have it to
a marked degree. Several strains of long-tongued or "Red
Clover" Italian bees have arisen in the past few years, but
what is the history of the strains? When a queen is sold
and introduced into a honey-producer's apiary, before many
generations, the progeny cease to work on red clover, if
they ever did; for the reason that proper selection is
scarcely ever practiced, and there is not close enough in-
breeding. This is certainly due to lack of proper methods
in following up the breeding.
We may conclude, then, that prolificness, vigor, and
tongue-length, which frequently appear in Italian bees, are
not ordinarily used to proper advantage by the majority of
bee-keepers. Anyone reading the reports of the early Italian
importations will see that the average per colony, throughout
the country, is not much better than it was 45 years ago, and
in some strains there is reason to believe that it is less.
Of course this is not true in certain apiaries, but I feel
sure this holds for the country in general, and I am inclined
to think that prolificness in some strains of this race is
actually decreasing.
It is natural that we should want to know why this is.
There is but one answer, it seems to me, and that is that
queen-breeding in honey-producing apiaries, is usually not
done with a knowledge of the common principles of breed-
ing as practiced on other animals and on plants. Careful breed-
ers of almost every other form of domestic animals know to an
ounce what their stock produces, but how many bee-keepers can
give this sort of a record? and it is commonly recognized
by breeders that without records they work in the dark.
Breeding of both plants and animals with a view to the
betterment of stock is now attracting wide attention ; this
work is not confined to experiment stations and wealthy in-
dividuals, but the farmers of the country are recognizing
the fact that there is more money in choice stock than in
scrub animals. Let me quote General Burchard, associate
editor of Hoard's Dairyman, a short extract of an address to
dairymen of Wisconsin, what he called "The Cow Breed-
er's Shorter Catechism" :
"Q. How many kinds of cows are there? A. Three.
Q. What are they? A. Dairy cows, beef cows, and
combination cows.
Q. What is a dairy cow? A. One that has the
ability to turn all the food she may eat and digest, over and
^^*^W^'
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 1*^
above that required- for maintenance, toward the udder, there
to be tran-sformed into milk.
Q. What is a beef cow? A. One that turns her sur-
plus food into flesh and fat.
Q. What is a combination cow? A. One that tries to
take "both forks" of the road and never gets anywhere.
Q. What causes the difference in cows? A. Heredity.
Q. What is heredity? A. The biological law by which
living beings tend to repeat themselves in their descendents."
Cattlemen realize that they must breed for one thing in
cows, and I believe that bee-keepers should settle down to
one line of selection. Honey-production, gentleness and color,
do not necessarily go together, and the chances of finding
all these combined in one colony are small. Which should be
chosen? Honey is the object of most bee-keeping, and that
then should be the one, and the colony line of selection for
the honey-producer. You may arrive at this by selecting
prolificness, or tongue-length, but not both without great
difficulty, and, therefore, prolificness, which is vitally neces-
sary, should be the first consideration.
In the extensive work of the Maine Experiment Sta-
tion on egg-laying, in hens it has been found that some of
the best formed hens were poorest in laying ability, and
vice versa. They, therefore, select for number of eggs anLL
s?" ."^ •ffjr^p*^ •'
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION IT?
tested 5,000 ears, which bore no relation to each other, and
chose two as breeding stock. Luther Burbank, the wizard
of horticulture, advocates even larger numbers, having chosen
I in 10,000 from among some of his plants. In queen-breed-
ing we are more restricted by the limitations of any locality,
but I think I am right when I say that a breeding queen
should be the best in at least 500 tested queens, and the test
is to be made by the actual amount of honey produced in a
year as compared with the other 499, always assuming, of
course, purity of stock. Cattlemen use scales and the Bab-
cock test as the only safe method of choosing the dairy
cow; let us use scales in our judgment, and disregard color
and other fads when rearing honey-producers.
For "fancy" bee-keeping, as practiced by many amateurs,
color or anything else that attracts may be used.
Since mating cannot be controlled in bees as in mam-
mals, it will be necessary to have several colonies producing
drones, but every colony chosen for this purpose should have
a high honey record of at least one year's standing, and the
queen should be quite as good as the breeding queen. The
majority of bee-keepers are notoriously lax in this regard.
In many cases the drones of every colony in the yard are
allowed to fly, and just so long as this is done we will have
no advancement, for this one-sided selection is working
against odds that the bee-keeper cannot overcome. In de-
fense of such loose methods some queen-breeders argue that
a very large number of drones are necessary and that they can
be procured in no other waj^ During the past summer in 16
colonies in the Arlington yard, of the Bureau of Ento-
mology, I produced enough Caucasian drones to stock a
queen-breeding yard with an output of 2,000 queens a year, and
this could have been done with half that number to advan-
tage. I may also add that pure matings were secured in the
very large majority of cases, although that apiary is far
from being isloated; I mention this to show that more drones
are unnecessary.
We have pedigreed horses and cows, and even pedigreed'
corn and wheat; why not pedigreed bees? I think I am not
asking too much. I hope the day will come when the breed-
ers will advertise as follows :
"I am this year using my celebrated breeding queen-
Smith 168, which is the mother of a colony which last year
produced 50 per cent more honey than my average colony.
This queen is the descendent of 6 purely mated queens,
all of which were mothers of colonies producing over 300
pounds of honey a year. For drones I am using 5 queens,-
all of which are mothers of colonies which last year pro-
duced over 300 pounds each."
This is not visionary by any means, for it is. exactly
what breeders of other stock are doing; and it is pleasant to
note that some wide-awake queen-breeders are doing almost
that now.
There is the recorded case of a colony producing 1,000
pounds of honey in one year; of course this was in a good
season, and under careful manipulation, but think what a
178 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
valuable queen was lost when that queen was not made the
mother of a long line of breeders to be distributed all over
the United States. Few honey-producers are so situated
that each colony can produce any such amount of honey, but
it is necessary to aim high.
There are two points which require additional considera-
tion. The first is the desirability of breeding the race pure.
Crosses or hybrids are so variable that they should be avoided
except when necessary. Let me quote from Dr. W. E. Cas-
tle, of Harvard University, on this point:
■'Since cross-breeding is likely to modify characters even
when these conform to the laws of alternative inheritance,
and is certain to modify them when they give blended in-
heritance, it should be practiced with extreme caution, and
only by the breeder who has a definite end in view, and a
fairly clear idea of how he is going to attain it.
"The purity of standard breeds should be carefully
guarded, and much attention should be given pedigrees, for
even when individual excellence is not apparent, it may be
present in recessive or else in a latent state, which suitable
matings will bring into full realization, provided the ancestors
were superior animals.
"At the same time the breeder should be on the lookout
for individual peculiarities of merit. And he should not be
discouraged if these are not transmitted to the immediate off-
spring. A simple character which disappears from the chil-
dren, but reappears among the grandchildren, can at once
be made a racial character, for it is recessive in heredity."
The breeder who uses a mixture of races for breeding is
doing something which is very likely to cause him trouble.
There is very little necessity under present conditions for this,
since a good race may be chosen as a foundation stock which
can be surpassed by crossing, only with difficulty, and careful
and systematic selection within the race will bring almost
as good results with the great advantage of more stability —
a point of vital consideration. Let me make this point a little
mpre clear. There is reason to i)elieve that, where some
qii«en-breeder takes up the improvement of bees by cross-
inig, he will outstrip all the rest. He will induce greater
variability, and will, consequently, have a greater range of
material for selection; he will be enabled to combine the
desirable traits of two or more races, and, at the same time,
if proper care is used, eliminate the undesirable traits. This
can be done purposely only by a person who has a most
thorough understanding of heredity and variation and no one
else should undertake it, for there is otherwise too great a
danger of bringing out all the undesirable traits and losing
the good ones. This, then, is why pure races are generally
so essential; when the proper men take hold of crosses they
will get great results, but the majority of breeders should
not risk the handling of fire in that way, and, as for the
rank and file of bee-keepers, it is, I think, absolute folly.
A bee-keeper may say that he cares nothing for races; that
all he wants is honey. All this is very true, but he cannot
afford to overlook the fact that nature has laws which he,
:V:'-U:i',^r»-:i;&!iS^ii.'i'5iS^.>^SSi ^ife
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 179
with all his independence, dares not disregard. I consider the
bee-keeper who fills his apiary with what we may call scrub
hybrid stock as a poor bee-keeper.
The second point is the common prejudice against in-
breeding. I can do no better on this point than to quote from
Mr. N. W. Gentry, who is well known as an extensive breeder
in Berkshire hogs. Mr. Gentry has for years practiced in-
breeding, and before the Champaign meeting of the Ameri-
can Breeders' Association, in February, 1905, he said:
"From father to son for generations has been handed
down the common belief that inbreeding of animals pro-
duces offspring of less vigor, less vitality, less constitution in
proportion to the extent to which it is carried on contin-
uously, and this belief seems to have been accepted as true
without any proving by the very great majority. My ex-
perience has led me to believe otherwise, or rather that such
results need not necessarily be true. .
"Neither inbreeding nor the reverse will be a success
unless matings are made with animals suited to each other,
that is, having no weakness in common, if possible, and as
much good in common as possible. This, in my opinion, is
the key to success in all breeding operations and success will
come in no other way. In my opinion inbreeding as a rule
is very good or very bad."
"I have watched results of inbreeding in my herd for
years, and until I can discover some evil effects from it —
and I have not yet — I shall continue to practice it."
Mr. Gentry has one exceptional boar known as Long-
fellow 16,835; he says concerning the stock:
"In my breeding operations I reasoned that if the Long-
fellow blood was the best to be found (and I have no reason
to change my mind yet), and, if I used a boar not related at
all, as most would advise, I would lose at first cross half
this good blood, and upon another like cross a quarter more,
leaving them only one-fourth the Longfellow blood. This
I reasoned would be losing a good thing too rapidly. I
think I have continued to improve my herd, being now able
to produce a larger percentage of really superior animals
than at any time in the past."
In breeding it is generally believed that inbreeding is
detrimental or fatal, but, fortunately, breeders are trow see-
ing that the idea is usually without foundation. Of course,
inbreeding accentuates common weaknesses but we should
use it in accentuating strength, as it will when properly
directed. Think what it would have meant to bee-keeping
if the blood of the Cyprian queen whose bees produced 1,000
pounds of honey had been preserved by inbreeding; and what
it will mean if some of the present good queens are kept
by this method. I do iiot advocate universal inbreeding, for
it is well known that inbreeding is, generally speaking, not
natural, but, even in nature, it is frequent, and it is by no
means universally true that it is detrimental. Therefore, if
there is reason to think that it is best, it should be fearlessly
practiced. How this prejudice against inbreeding arose, I do
i-'iaiM^JlajMiii&ife^wlfSgSfeffiSi^i^^
•■■K'-
180 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
not know, but we all know how general it is. Nevertheless,
it is true, that the breeders of stock who now practice it are
the ones who are getting results of lasting value. On one
or two points, I do not wish to be misunderstood. I
do not wish to condemn the breeding for color or for long
tongues. I really consider color selection a fad, but
there are those who prefer the lighter colored bees, and as
long as there is a market it will pay to select them. Long
tongues would be an advantage doubtless but in whatever
way we are breeding let us not forget that increased honey-
production is the essential. If these bees have longer tongues,
all right and well, but the selection should be made by the
scales.
Now you may ask whether in the work of the Bureau
of Entomology this problem is to be taken up. I can make
no promises for the future, for I am not in a position to
outline future policy, but whoever takes up scientific breed-
ing of bees will do a good work, and results seem certain
enough. It is not my purpose to confine myself to promises
for I do not like to make promises for fear that I may
iK)t be able to fulfill them, but I hope this may be done by
some one. It may not be out of place to say here that the
idea of having any outside aid for this work "which it was
suggested that I do, was entirely that of Professor Cook and
had neither my sanction nor approval, either before or after
publication. I desire no such assistance.
But to leave general experimental apiculture, it may not
be amiss if I speak of the work of the Bureau of Ento-
mology since I am a representative of that branch of the
Department of Agriculture.
During the past few months some work, which may be
of interest to the members of the National Bee-Keepers' As-
sociation, has been done and I will briefly outline it. Most
of this is to be considered merely as tentative, since the in-
vestigations are not yet completed, but some idea may be
got out of what has been don« recently. I will report only
on the past and leave the future till a later date.
The best methods of queen-rearing have occupied most
of the time during the summer. I have tried several times
every method of which I could learn and have tried to test
them impartially. I am convinced after these trials that
by the use of artificial cell-cups we can get more uniformly
good queens than by any other means. For mating nuclei I
prefer a comb area about equal to one standard Langstroth
frame, divided into 3 frames with about 500 to 800 bees.
The style of box is relatively unimportant. I have prepared
a short bulletin on this subject which is ready for distribu-
tion, and I will take pleasure in sending it to any one who
requests it. I can say that the illustrations are fine, since I
did not take the photographs myself, and they alone show
most of the methods more clearly than is possible in a
description. This will be sent to all persons on our mailing
list, and any person interested in bees may be included in
this list.
iik
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STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 181
A considerable number of queens of the Caucasian variety
have been distributed during the summer. These bees cer-
tainly surpass any other race, known at present, in gentle-
ness. As to honey-production, not so much is known but I
have received some excellent reports. I think there is a
great future for these bees, and good queen-breeders are
taking hold of them. If selected for honey-production, ac-
cording to the ideas which I gave a while back, I believe
they would be the most popular bee we have for city bee-
keepers, at least. There seems to be an idea among some
of the bee-keepers that the Bureau of Entomology claims
that these bees are the best bees known to apiculture. These
bees have been recommended for gentleness, and no exag-
gerated statements have been made either by Mr. Benton
or myself, as far as I am aware.
Let me quote from Mr. Benton's Farmers' Bulletin No.
"Caucasians are natives of that portion of Russia lying
between the Black and Caspian Seas; are exceedingly gen-
tle, good workers, good defenders of their hives, prolific, build
many queen-cells, and swarm often if confined to small
hives. They are dark gray in their general color, although
the workers show frequently one or two yellow or leather-
colored bands; are somewhat smaller-bodied than Italians
or Carniolans, have good wing-expanse, and hence are nim-
ble flyers. The drones are rather small and quite dark in
color, queens not large, and varying in color from a cop-
pery yellow to a dark bronze."
At the St. Louis convention these bees were discussed
from the published statements. I cannot see that too much
was claimed for them. It is too early to prophesy as to the
ultimate future of the race, and above all they should not
be condemned without cause as has been done. Of one
thing I think I can be sure — unless care is used in selecting
breeding queens of this race we shall hear the bees con-
demned when it will be the fault of the breeder. This is
why I am anxious to see these in good hands until they are
tried out.
There has been some misunderstanding as to the method
of distribution of queens by the Bureau. The Bureau of
Entomology should not, I think, give away any queens which
can be purchased in the United States, and thus interfere
with the business of the domestic breeders. The regula-
tions concerning this distribution have not been well out-
lined, and, after consultation with others who have con-
ducted government distributions, I, therefore, drew up the
following plan which has been approved by the chief of
the Bureau and by the Honorable Secretary of Agricul-
ture:
"To any experienced queen-breeder who will guarantee
to rear queens and mate them purely in considerable num-
bers for general sale, the Bureau will send, as far as the
supply will allow, one high-grade breeding queen, purely
mated and carefully tested. In addition, several queens whose
matings are not known will be sent for drone-production,
182 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
since drones are not affected by the mating; all queens,
however, will be from good stock, the number to depend on
the supply at hand. The breeder making the request must
give evidence of his ability to rear good queens, must agree
to offer at least 200 pure-bred queens a year for sale to
the general public, and must not ask for them an exorbitant
price. It is the opinion of the Department that 20 percent
more than the current price for Italian queens would be fair.
It will also be expected that in future years the breeders
will do their utmost toward the improvement in honey-pro-
duction, at the same time maintaining the purity of the
races. The Bureau will be glad to aid breeders of this
class to its utmost ability, but will not aid in any way a
breeder who offers for sale or sells crossed hybrids of the
various races, except in the case of untested queens, and
even in that case, every possible effort should be made to
get pure matings.
After this distribution, all inquiries to the Bureau will
be answered by giving a list of reliable breeders, including
those who have received stock from the government apiary;
and the name of any breeder who knowingly sends out in-
ferior stock will be dropped. It is not the purpose to interfere
with the -private business of the persons receiving queens,
but these precautions are taken to protect the bee-keepers of
the country.
"No applications for queens under other circumstances
will be considered. All applictaions will be considered in the
order of their receipt."
I trust that this method will seem fair and just to all,
for it is my desire to give everybody a "square deal," and
I do not care to distribute queens merely to give something
away. I also hope that by this method we may be able to
induce a good many first-class men to take hold of this work.
I will do everything I can to aid the right men, but careless
breeders, and those who give second-grade queens to their
customers, need not apply. If I could give you a list of the
persons who have written for Caucasian queens this sum-
mer, I am afraid you would all go into the business. The
present demand is due to notices in ordinary newspapers
which were caused by the extreme gentleness of these bees.
This is not the kind of fame which I desire for bees being
distributed.
Caucasians, Carniolans, and Cyprians are now being in-
cluded in this distribution, as will be any other races which
may be obtained in the future. The Banat, or Hungarian,
bees which are also very gentle, are being tested and may
be worthy of distribution, but that remains to be seen. If
they are, t-hey will be included.
During the summer I found some lesser wax-moths,
Achroiagrisella, and began to breed them in a wire-cloth
cage. They behave in much the same was as the other large
wax-moth, Galleria mellonella, but I think they are more
inclined to burrow in the brood-chamber. I asked for in-
formation concerning the distribution of this species, through
the American Bee Journal and Gleanings in Bee Culture,
t:-w-:^:. ■ vj-'Ste'-*!'
"V,^'!^'5^-|S*?t^^1fSi;^
%^^^-v;-;v
186
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
difficult to accomplish anything, and I can only assure you that
I shall do my utmost to advance the interests of the industry
with your help. I shall appreciate any criticism which may be
made of my work, as long as it is based on facts, and shall
endeavor to profit thereby; but I ask for neither praise nor
blame from anyone who does not know what he is talking
about. Let me especially ask for your co-operation in the
bee-disease investigation during the coming summer.
E. F. Phillips.
Dr. Miller — I believe that if an3rthing is done to amount
to very much in the way of improvement, such as Dr.
Phillips has been talking about, it will not be so much by
some one special person, as it will be by the rank and file
taking hold of the matter. So many seem to get the idea
that it will be a queen-breeder. 1 would like to call special
attention to this distinction between queen-breeders and
queen-rearers. I would like to ask the question. What per-
centage of queen-breeders are there among queen-rearers?
I don't want to press that question, but I believe all of us to
a certain extent can become queen-breeders; and when the
rank and file do that, then we will begin to have advance-
ment and improvenient in our stock. I do feel like heart-
ily thanking Dr. Phillips, and I wish all who feel with me
like thanking him to signify it by a rising vote of thanks.
[The members of the Convention arose, and the suggestion
was greeted with applause.]
Mr. McEvoy — I never heard a paper in my life that I
liked so well as that one.
Mr. Moore — Dr. Phillips, in his very excellent article,
has touched on a point that I think we are all intensely
interested in, and we have with us one who has perhaps the
best experience of any person in this country, and I would
suggest he now address the convention on his personal ex-
perience in connection with foul brood. I refer to Mr. Wm.
McEvoy, of Canada. [Applause.]
Mr. McEvoy — I could not help but take keen notice of
what the Doctor was saying about these different kinds
of brood — black brood and foul brood — and I can not help
but think that there were many mistakes made in some of
the kinds that were sent; that they were mistaken for some-
thing else. It has been thirty years since I first handled
foul brood. In 1875 it broke out in my own yard, and I
worked out the cure I have given to the world on that.
Speaking of the kind of dead brood, I meet it every
year. Last year all over Ontario and in many parts of the
United States there were immense quantities of dead brood
mistaken for foul brood, and by many that had had it be-
fore, and felt sure they knew what they were talking about.
It was simply starved brood. After the apple-bloom failed,
for a long period before they touched clover, in many places
they started brood, and they ran out of unsealed stores, and
when they are caught like that they will not uncap the old
honey fast enough to keep pace with the amount of larvae;
the result is death. Part of the brood is well fed, some of it
is starved and some does not get enough just before it is
»■"- *i..i.- '.-*-■-. ,.^' !''■ -'^-'■:..'..f--r.-.
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 187
capped. Some of them will die under the cappings and
some hatch out, and you cut the cappings and it will be re-
capped. The bees are poorly fed. Every year I have been
called out in connection with these cases, and I found no foul
brood. For every 4 or 5 cells of foul brood you will find
19 or 20 starved in the comb, and this is what causes mis-
takes and confusion. They say, "Oh, I have had it before
and the bees cleaned it out." But sometimes it is foul brood,
and it will clean the yard out, and it is just as well to be
careful of what they get hold of. The bee-yard is no place
for a burying ground or a graveyard. But I would advise
that you sacrifice your bees by treating the whole yard as
dead brood. Let us go to work and feed them, and give
them a double shake.
There have been men in Ontario and the United States
who have treated it for foul brood when it was starved
brood, and it was feeding that it wanted. This treatment
only aggravated it, and it still did not get enough. If the
bee-keepers will feed they will not have this ordinary dead
brood. Some queens are good feeders under poor circum-
stances, and others, again, are poor feeders under good cir-
cumstances. I have never, heard a paper I liked better than
that, especially where he spoke of breeding, and I do think
90 percent of all the queens on the continent of America
want killing. I like the bees that under trying circum-
stances will feed the larvae well; and in feeding that larvae
in these periods we will have bees that will double the honey
crop. It will pay to feed during these periods. But come
to the disease, that is what so often causes the confusion ;
it is this finding of so much dead brood. There is lots of
it this summer. It took a dark color and almost a blue
nature, and it would stretch almost a quarter of an inch;
but hadn't the stench, although it had a pretty heavy odor.
I notice that, all over, the bee-papers speak of so much
chilled brood. That was a little out of place. It was starved.
The flow shut off, and the bees didn't uncap the old honey
fast enough. Feed during these periods, and it tneans a good
deal. Feed, and watch the results, and you will see how
fat, and plump, and white the larvae are. That which is
half starved, you will see little hollows that you can put the
head of a pin in.
I have not in 20 years opened a hive of bees, but what
I have taken a close look; and some places they have said,
How do you find the queen? How do you like the color of
the bees? I didn't look at the bees. I could see how they
were feeding the larvae. Come to find out, they had gotten
the queen from certain parties in the United States; and
I would say, kill every one you have got and breed from
this good one. The Doctor is right.
The treatment I give is the only practical one. Drugs
are of no use. Don't be deceived with drugs. You can't
cure any apiary if it is bad. You may use gas, and so on,
but where they fill the comb and fill in on the hard crust
old foul brood and cap it over, you can't kill that and make
a success. The only way to do is to take away the combs
'~. ,^. T^.„«(j »^'&::
.■>-•>■ fr^y-WJisi:*
yp
188 FIFTH ANNUAl\rHPORT
\
and follow the bees for the honey they take from the combs,
and let them build combs for day^.^ bad cases. Now put
the honey and case in the bee-yard^nd give it one shake and
it will generally cure it; but therq'are also several that would
fail, because the next thing they' do when they get weak is
to fill in the center. The honey to become diseased in a bee-
hive must first of all be stored in a diseased cell. Nearly
all the honey in the top of the comb is sound. Why? It is
clean honey from the fields in queen-cells. But where it is
stored close to the ring, in on the old crust, that is where
the disease is.
Mr. Lyons — Do you consider pickled brood has the germ
of the disease?
Mr. McEvoy— I never like to say anything about any one
else's treatment. If you do the feeding at the proper time
you will never have pickled brood. You feed "now at the
close of the honey-flow and help your bees up the hill.
The spring of 1889 was one of the most favorable springs
in Ontario. Things went booming along. On May 28 came
frost, which was followed by 3 or 4 days of rain. • I said to
all the bee-keepers, the brood-chambers will be a mass of
dead matter. The bees are caught out, the brood-cham-
bers are full, and they are going to use up the unsealed
honey; they won't uncap the old stores fast enough, and
great starvation will take place. All over Ontario they
were spreading, and they had foul brood, and dead brood,
and everything, and run short of the honey crop. The last
two weeks in May and the first week in June, in 1894, we
had three weeks of rain, rain, rain all over Ontario. Dur-
ing that time the bees run short of bringing in stores to
keep pace with them, and that year there was a lot of dead
brood all over Ontario the same way. Then last spring was
a bad one, and the spring before. There is not enough
attention paid to help the bees during that gap.
Mr. Lyons — That has been exactly my experience this
spring. I had 50 or so of those Alexander feeders and I
put them right on after fruit-bloom and it worked very
well.
Mr. McEvoy — Pickled brood will turn on its back and
turn up. You will notice some of the cells thin capped.
The bees as much as uncap and say. What is the matter with
you? You will find in some cells that a cap is not cut.
The bees have not enough strength to move the jaw. Feed
will save all that.
Mr. Rice — Wouldn't uncapping honey answer the same
purpose?
Mr. McEvoy — Yes, you are right. That is business, and
I do that,' too; and I would rather do it while there is
honey. Give 2 or 3 frames; do not bruise or scratch it;
shave that off neatly and then it will not run. Skip the
next night and then give 2 or 3 more frames. Take a jar
and turn it upside down and put it on the center of that,
and you set that food down where the bees most need it,
and feed continuously. In 1894 I tested it. I was feeding,
and the food kept going, going, going, but there was a
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 189
little drawback about it, that got onto the honey-flow and
at last my out-yard nearly went to pieces. But the bees
were vigorous. You will get these bees from a fed colony
that will come right down in showers. There is a vim,
and a snap of life in the bees that are fed, compared to what
there is in the others. It is best to feed in this bare period.
Mr. Moore — I wish Mr. McEvoy would help us clear
up this question as to the difference between foul brood
and black brood, and what bearing it has to a layman;
and as to bacillus alvei being found in foul brood or black
brood ?
Mr. McEvoy — I am not able to tell that, when it comes
to black brood; I have seen it, and handled it, and treated
it the same as the other. When you speak of a specific germ,
you are going beyond me. You will have to take the scientist
for that. But in either case this treatment has got to come
in. No drugs will be of any use with foul brood.
Mr. Hatch — I understood Mr. McEvoy to say that there
would be no such thing as pickled brood if we feed between
fruit-bloom and clover bloom.
Mr. McEvoy — You will never have pickled brood un-
der those conditions.
Mr. Hatch — I found it in California. I had 250 colonies
in one location and I had, half a dozen times, at least, right
through the honey season, pickled brood. I had the same
thing in 3 apiaries in Wisconsin.
Mr. McEvoy — And running on till the end of the honey
season? You will find some of it in combs near the end of
the honey season.
Mr. Hatch — How is feeding going to help it?
Mr. McEvoy — Don't let it start. It didn't start them. The
bees from some queens are poor feeders of larvae.
Pres. Dadant — If it continues during the honey season
it is contagious.
Mr. McEvoy^No.
Pres. Dadant — My experience is different.
Mr. McEvoy — It will hang on and continue. This year
it did continue pretty nearly to the end of the honey season,
but I would change the queens in that case when they won't
feed their larvae.
Mr. Hatch — I have changed the queen in one and it
had no effect whatever; the disease kept right on the same.
Mr. McEvoy — I never had a case, or saw a case.
Mr. Hatch — This year I saw only one colony that was
the least affected, and that only in two cells.
Dr. Phillips. — What difference does it make whether
there is a germ or not? was asked. I think it makes all
the difference in the world, if we have something in the
hive that is going to carry contagion if it is spread; if it is
due to some other cause it will not spread in the same way,
and the bee-keeper will have to know whether there is a
germ there or not, so that he will know how to avoid it.
Mr. Baxter — I have had no foul brood in my apiary, or dis-
ease of any kind, until this year I had a case I thought was
foul brood. I got scared about it, and I asked my brother-
■•4^:::'
->-rO-..''^K^*:-'
- ^' f^'J'^^-fS. ::'%^?y'T-';' ■"' •:^'''":^'-
190
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
in-law to come and look at it, but meanwhile I changed
queens, and the trouble stopped at once.
Mr. Evoy — It generally will in that case.
Mr. Moore — This seems to be a heresy. Dr. Howard,
of Texas, has taught us that bacillus alvei was found in
foul brood. I have studied all of them, and all the authori-
ties have told us the same thing; but Dr. Phillips comes along
and says there is no bacillus alvei found in foul brood. 1
thought an answer to the question would help us to get clear
on this point.
Dr. Phillips — Bacillus alvei was first described about 1885
by Cheshire. They described it from specimens obtained in
England. The second description was that by Prof. Harri-
son, of Canada. He described it as present in foul brood.
Then Dr. Howard, of Texas, described it as foul brood.
After that Doctors Moran and White of Cornell got up and
found in black brood the same germ. I think, personally,
what Cheshire described was what Mr. Moore refers to,
and from the other conditions I should judge it was another
disease. Let me say here that in every case in which I took
a sample of brood I got it from a man who had had years
of experience in treating the diseases. I got it from men
who know these diseases from pactical experience all over
the United States.
Mr. Holekamp — Mr. Phillips, when we send you samples
of foul brood, do you keep a record of them?
Dr. Phillips— Yes.
Mr. Holekamp — I sent 5 samples last year to Mr. Ben-
ton.
Dr. Phillips — I can't say about Mr. Benton's records.
I have kept my own. I suppose it can be looked up.
Mr. Holtermann — There is one point in connection \yith
the paper that I think should be brought up, and that is
that quite a number of us are very much exercised about
the distribution of Caucasian bees. I think it would be wiser
if these Caucasian bees would not be spread about at the
present time. I may say I am personally very much pleased,
indeed, that the Department of Agriculture at Washington
is taking this matter in hand, of helping the bee-keepers,
and I think it should receive the warm co-operation and as-
sistance of the bee-keepers, not only in the United States
but in other countries. I am pleased, also, that they are
seeking to find if possible new races and varieties of bees,
and improve the race; but for my part I think it would be
better if these bees were not distributed as it is proposed
they should be, because, as we know, we can not control
where they shall go. if we find they are as objectionable
as some say, it would be a very serious matter to have them
scattered abroad. One man in our own country had 22
queens, and he says at the present date he finds strains of
these characteristics cropping up which are confined to the
Caucasian bees and he has tried to stamp them out during
the entire 23 years. Wouldn't it be better to test them
somewhere where they would not spread, instead of scat-
'•ii:A'^iM!i:ii:^&K^'fMik&^^,i^^l^^^M,s
STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION
191
tering them through the country where we may not be able
to control them and it may prove serious for us?
Mr. Abbott — I agree somewhat with Mr. Holtermann,
but not for the reasons he gives. I don't think the Gov-
ernment should distribute anything, but I think the most
disgraceful thing the Government does is distributing seed,
and I would object to the queens being distributed on the
same ground. But it is entirely too late for us to tell the
Government what to do. We have a very excellent Secre-
tary of Agriculture, who is wide awake and progressive.
And we have a very excellent entomologist, and they have
marked out these lines and now the best thing we can do is
just keep our mouths shut and let them do what they want
to, in my opinion.
I want to say, while Dr. Miller was commenting on this
excellent paper he said one thing that I don't believe is so —
he said that this would not be confined to one individual,
we could all have it. We can't do it. It has never been
known that all people have it. How many Burbanks do you
think there are in the United States? There is only one. And
there are only two or three men that have made any progress
in the matter of the Corn Investigation; and there are two
or three breeders. Now we have finally found a young man
with brains, with energy, and with a disposition to work, and
who is peculiarly adapted to this work, and the best thing
we can do is to just keep our hands off him and let him
go his own gait, and let him have his own way about it,
just as Luther Burbank has gone his own gait and had his
own way. This work can be done by these individuals, and
it will be done, and I think we make a serious mistake.
I don't believe in the distribution of anything. I do not
agree with Secretary Wilson on that line; and I do not
agree with the Government's work, wherever it sends any-
thing. I don't believe in giving away literature and sending
it out miscellaneously, and that costs millions of dollars,
and some of it is good and some exceedingly bad, and
the peculiarity of this paper is that it does not partake
of the bad. We have something here that is progressive
and intelligible.
Mr. McEvoy — The best you ever heard. ■>»
Mr. Abbott — Yes. There is a man with a disposition
to work. Now, let him go; don't let us bother him.
Dr. Phillips — I have been for the last 8 days right among
the honey-producers, and I think I know their views in
regard to a good many things in addition to Caucasians.
I did my best to talk the thing over with them. I wiU give
you their criticisms. In the first place, the criticism was
made that these bees are too gentle; robbers will come in
and take away the surplus honey. In reply to that I will
say, I don't think these bees are gentle enough for that,
and just as long as a man does not know how to handle bees
he will do the very thing that will irritate them. The other
criticism was made that these bees are so gentle that you
will have amateur bee-keepers all over the country. I don't
think you have to fear much from the amateur; he always
,Tt-.'-.i--i=s?S-5.':*-iik:i
192
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
goes to the wall in about a y^ar or two. I am not afraid of
the amateur bee-keeper at all. Perhaps I am wrong on that
point.
The criticism was made, and the only criticism that I
could consider as valid against any race of bees was, Will
it produce the honey? If it will not produce the honey we
don't want it. In regard to that I don't know enough about
it to give a definite answer. Rauchfuss Brothers, of Colo-
rado, have reared Caucasian bees and speak in the highest
terms possible of them as honey-producers. They were the
ones that recommended them to Mr. Benton for his work.
In regard to the distribution, as soon as the Depart-
ment of Agriculture gets hold of anything and somebody
wants it, what are you going to do about it? To prevent
an indiscriminate and unwise distribution I have limited the
distribution in the way I have mentioned. It was the only
way I could see out of it, and I don't think it is going
to be detrimental. The argument came up, you will con-
taminate all our other races. How much contamination do
you get that is any worse than the black bees all over this
country? I don't think the conditions can get any worse than
they are now with the blacks, Carniolans and Cyprians all
mixed up as they are now. I would be very sorry indeed
if the Department of Agriculture were to introduce some-
thing that would be detrimental. We have enough reports
to indicate that this race needs testing, and the Department
does not have it in control to say just exactly where these
bees shall go.
Mr. McEvoy — How do you manage, Mr. France, with
this pickled brood? Does your experience bear out mine?
Feeding.
Mr. France — Almost the same thing. This feeding to
avoid starvation during shortage has overcome it largely.
I would like to add that we are all proud of the valuable
paper that Dr. Phillips has given us, and I want, on behalf
of the Association, to ask if he will accept the enrollment
of the National Association on the mailing list, that anything
he gets of value we will all get.
Dr. Phillips — Any person can get this for a post card.
If they do not want it badly enough for that it might be
just as well to keep it where it is.
Dr. Miller — May I ask Dr. Phillips this practical ques-
tion for us who are honey-producers? I am working for
all the honey I can get to sell it. Is there anything that you
think I can do to raise the character of my bees, and to
get more honey from them?
Dr. Phillips — I think you can not do anything more or
less than keeping the records and cutting out all stock that is
not of value; keeping the races pure at the same time.
Dr. Miller — Now, he says, I, an every-day, common bee-
keeper, can do something to improve my bees, and I can
help him.
Dr. Phillips— In regard to what a honey-producer can
do, let me cite an example. There is a man in New York
State who has 98 colonies of bees; he has a neighbor 5
--:-i.'
STATETBEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION l^**
miles away who has 200 colonies. One man has selected in
breeding for the last 10 years and has inbred very closely.
The other man has been buying stock from all over the
United States, 5ut not selected in breeding. The man with
98 colonies got exactly the same amount of honey within a
very few pounds as the man with 200 colonies, and they
both admit they have about the same localities.
Mr. Moore moved, duly seconded, that Mr. Abbott be
asked to give his paper this evening. Carried.
Mr. E. T. Abbott then addressed the convention as fol-
lows:
POULTRY-KEEPINQ FOR THE BEE-KEEPER
I want to say that I haven't any paper, neither do I
intend to give you the kind of poultry talk that you hear
every day. When Mr. Hutchinson asked me to take some
part in the progam down in Texas, I suggested that he put
me on for this talk instead of some bee-keeping talk that I
had been talking all these years. This poultry talk of mine
is not along the usual lines, and I do not know but what
it would be just as well if I didn't give it all. I will talk
just a little while along the lines I usually talk, and- if you
don't like that kind of thing we can easily enough change
off. I remember Mr. Root heard me on this poultry talk
once down in Missouri. He came in and sat down in front
of me and dropped his head down, and put his hand over
his eyes and looked fearfully discouraged, and I didn't
know but what he was going to cry. Some time after-
wards he straightened up. He said afterwards that it wasn't
the kind of talk he was expecting, just as though I could
teach A. I. Root anything about bees.
Poultry is a broad subject; it is much broader than you
can discuss in one evening. There were two or three
old hens up in Wisconsin, that got under a pair of stairs and
began to scratch and scratch around the leaves and dirt,
and after a while they scratched up some several thousand
dollars, and the money was found and it got into the papers.
I do not know whether or not you read it, but it was in
every newspaper, almost, in the United States. Now, hens
have been scratching up money all these years, which amounts
in Missouri, I think, to something like forty millions every
year; in other States they have been scratching up equal
amounts, and nothing has been said about it. We have
been looking all these years for something we could do in
connection with bee-keeping. I will tell you what I do.
I milk a Jersey cow and keep some fine poultry, and have
for years, and I have been advocating that inbreeding for
10 or 15 years. When I first began to advocate it, like
Mr. Holtermann, they said I was upside down, and I was
talking nonsense, but I went on until I had some of the
finest golden Wyandotte s I ever had in my life, the most
perfectly marked. The boys thought they were such a good
mark for markmanship that they killed them off.
The first secret of success is to know how, and in order
--^■v - ■ ;.-;wi«>5i?-s'-;::=;? -^ ':;™ -r ~'^'V '."?-^^^v^■7*S??^'■?:^^
194 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
to know how you have to study the hen. She is a peculiar
creature. She has had but little study. The reason has
been that men inherited a theory that in order to make poul-
try a success they must turn it over to the women, and as the
women didn't know much they wouldn't expect them to ac-
complish much; it was a kind of a small, one-horse business
and the woman was a kind of a small, one-horse affair,
and it could all be turned over to her and it would be one-
horse all the way through. The man didn't have much in-
terest in it only when- he wanted a little money to buy his
tobacco, or to get something when he went to town, and
then he went to the old woman's purse and got enough to
buy a plug of tobacco or a drink. That is about all he
knew.
Mr. York — That was in Missouri, wasn't it? [Laugh-
ter.]
Mr. Abbott — No, sir; all over.
The great secret of success in keeping poultry is to
make the poultry comfortable. I want to give you some good
rules that will work out in practice. Now in order to make
a hen comfortable, the conditions and surroundings must be
such as are adapted to hens. Some people think a hen
has no feeling; they think it isn't an animal; it is a kind of
automatic machine to grind out eggs and to eat for Sunday
dinners; but there is a vast deal more to a hen. If you
expect to get eggs — and that is all hens are worth — ^that is
what there is in a hen, is eggs — if you can't get eggs out of
the hen you can't get anything out. In order to get eggs
out of the hens you must put eggs in. You can't get any-
thing out of a hen you don't put into her. You put it in
in the form of feed, and take it out in the form
of eggs. And the food must be first, enough to nour-
ish the hen's vital energy, and to build it up; and then
there must be sufficient superabundance of food to make
eggs, and eggs should always be in a hen, so that you have
a circle. You feed a hen eggs in food, and the hen gives
you other hens in eggs, and the circle keeps going around
and around, but you must supply fuel to run the machin-e.
There has to be eggs put into the hens and then" you will
get eggs out of the hens.
Somebody in "Gleanings" said: "Gleanings" always has
things in it that are so, and things very wise, and sometimes,
a small illustration. There was an old man, who, in his
condemnation of his poultry business, said he had hatched
320 chickens and only raised 200. Now, a man who doesn't
know any more about raising chickens and hens than that,
ought not to go in the business. He ought to keep out
of the poultry business and go to something else. Now, I
say you must make the poultry comfortable and the first
essential of comfort is a comfortable home in which the
poultry can live. I experimented a little the winter before
last to see if it were possible to increase the egg-production,
and have a simple house that was inexpensive. I prepared
the roost so that I could drop a curtain right down in front
of it. They say hens should have air. I believe they should
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 19^
have some air. Every night I went out to my biddies, just
like the mother puts the babies to bed; I ^yent out with the
lantern, and found them all lined up on the roost in a nice
row, and they would talk to me, and I would pull down
the curtain and they would stay there perfectly quiet till I
went out in the morning; and in the morning one old hen
was the first one to begin, and she would talk in hen fashion
and get down off the roost rfeady for her food. I don't
suppose they knew any different, and I don't suppose they
appreciated it. The fool hen hasn't got sense enough to
know when she is warm, but every day she laid an egg.
The average farmer expects a hen to lay eggs under average
conditions. I presume in Illinois 9-10 of the hens roost
in trees, and 9-10 of the men think hens ought to roost
about 40 feet, more or less, from the ground in the tree;
and when the mercury is down 20 degrees below zero, that
she ought to come out of the tree and hunt around in the
snow for a dry place and lay an egg as a return for the
kindly treatment she gets ! Do you know what I would do
if I was a hen and got that kind of treatment? I would
swear by the eternals I would never lay an egg. You can't
expect the hen to lay under such conditions. She couldn't
lay if she wanted to, for it takes all of the hen's vital
energy to keep herself warm and live, and she hasn't any
extra vital energy for eggs.
Then a word about the hen-roost. The old-fashioned
roost was built up on an angle of 45 degrees, and the
poles ran one above the other. In the evening when the
hens went to roost those poles were loose at one end or
the other, and, of course, if they are loose like that at both
ends every hen will like the middle best; and every hen
wanted to get on the top pole. Hens are a good deal like
men, they want to get on the top pole, and when they are
trying to get there they don't care a continental whom they
knock off. And so the hens start up one after the other,
climbing up one on top of another, and you hear them
squealing and screeching, and all sorts of noises, and it
takes the hens from one to two hours to get settled down,
every time. Now, that kind of roost is not the kind of
roost to build. The hen-roost ought to be on the level,
just as all men ought to be on the level. If I could get the
men reduced to proper hen-roost style I would accomplish
more for humanity than ansrthing else. We are always try-
ing to climb up above some other. If we all had roosts and had
to pome home at night and get down on a level, can't you
imagine what it would mean for humanity?
Now, then, if you want a hen to lay eggs you must keep
her comfortable all the time, and I will tell you one of the
things you must do. The average farmer likes a chicken for din-
ner. He doesn't have to cook it, he doesn't have to pick it ; and
he doesn't care how much his wife has to work on Sunday, if he
can go out to the corner and tell yarns and chew and smoke and
have a good time, and come back at half past one or two o'clock
with half a dozen of his neighbors and have a good chicken
for dinner and have a good, jolly time. He always wants
. fi^-'ilSl';:^.-.
;v:S??SV.''?^i"!?S''
r^, ^-''<^T^
STAtfi BEE-KEEPERS^ ASSOCIATION 19^
ing to circumstances, all the way from a very little loss to an
entire loss of the whole business, if you feed it slowly enough.
If you say you are going to feed fast, and ask how much you
will have left, then you might get something with a definite
answer. You feed so much, and you will have so much left,
but be sure to put in a good deal more than you count on.
Mr. Kimmey— This was fed to a strong colony and fed
all at once.
Dr. Miller — I should expect in that case of Mr. Kim-
mey's the bees fooled him, and were doing something on the
sly, and got something elsewhere.
Mr. Wheelef — A great deal depends on another point,
and that is, what time of the year you feed. If it is in a
warm part of the season, when a great deal of brood-rearing
is going on, a great deal more of the syrup will go into the
brood.
Mr. Huffman — I can't just agree with that. As I under-
stand the question, it is, what percentage of shrinkage there
has to be when it is going to be sealed over.
Mr. McEvoy — It depends a good deal on the conditions of
things. If there is a large quantity of food, and it is fed
slowly, it will be nearly consumed; but if you limit the num-
ber of colonies and feed with a rush it will not; but don't
have it too thin. It will be nearly a half.
Pres. Dadant — This question is misunderstood by some
parties. Now, all that the gentleman wants to know in re-
gard to this is, what proportion" of sweet there will be in the
feed, or in the cells, to what there was when he put it in?
I think Dr. Phillips has understood it rightly, and told us the
proportion that he found, 80 percent.
Mr. Aspinwall — Certainly, if he found 20 percent less
there would be a loss that has gone into the cappings. -If not
capped over there would be be a difference also.
Mr. Wilcox — The chemist has simply given us the per-
centage of sugar.
Dr. Phillips — ^This was sugar-fed, absolutely no honey in
it, and 50 percent of water in the sugar when it was fed.
Mr. Aspinwall — If there was 50 percent of sugar and 50
percent of water, there couldn't be 80 percent of sugar after-
wards.
Dr. Phillips — When this sugar was fed it was half and
half sugar and water; when we were through and extracted
the result, 80 percent of that was solid.
Mr. Holtermann — I don't think this question is one which
should take up a great deal of time, because it is not a prac-
tical question. This syrup is too thin for practical purposes,
to begin with. If I understand the question, it is, what is left,
and if it is of any profit at all, that is the practical side of it.
Mr. R. L. Taylor read a paper on,
THE HONEY-PRODUCERS' LEAGUE
Fellow Bee- Keepers : — I say fellow bee-keepers, because
what I have to say is for bee-keepers, and not for our members
who belong to what some one has euphemistically called the
"^)r:~^r^S?^^P^'''^^^- ii-~^- ■■ ■' ■■■ --;■•'■ -^ -'."''- -. / '-^ '"^Tr': -y^^ ^-■-- ^r-:^'':?';^-. v'^>^- "; - 'v^fc,>-vi^''s5'i^
i^^. ^':fff^ ■: , -1fe>-^?|f •^
200 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
"allied interests" ; for, remember, that we have a strong ele-
ment in our Association, not directly interested, or, at least*
not primarily interested, in the production of honey. I refer
to manufacturers of supplies, dealers in supplies and in
honey, authors, publishers and editors of apicultural books
and journals.
It is scarcely necessary to say that there are some
phases of some topics that are of great concern to honey-
producers, but of no special concern to the honey-dealers; and
so of the others.
But I am compelled to go further and say that the busi-
ness concerns of the allied interests are hostile to those of
the honey-producers. Now, do not misunderstand me. I do
not say there is any hostility between you — ^the honey-pro-
ducers — and the representatives of the allied interests. Far
from it. They are good men, strong men, and a neces-
sary part of our Association. I am only calling attention
to the fact that in some points our business interests clash.
I would have you guard your interests as shrewdly as they
guard theirs. They themselves, I am convinced, would not
have you do otherwise, for they are upright men and at
heart desire your prosperity. You do not always study your
own interests as you ought. They, in a fatherly fashion, at-
tempt to guide you, and you are too much inclined to follow
blindly. But no man can serve two masters. It is not in
human nature that they should adequately care both for your
interests and their own when those interests clash. It is a
sound principle of law that no man may be judge in his own
matter. Burns sounds the same note :
I'll na say men are villains a',
But och ! Mankind are unco weak.
An' little to be trusted;
If self the wav-ring balance shake,
It's rarely right adjusted!
You ask for concrete examples. Well, take this: Soon
after the white clover season was over some of our leading
journals came out with the usual advice to sell your honey
early; that the early sellers got the best prices; and, forth-
with, bee-keepers, where they had any crop, were tumbling
over each other to get rid of their honey at any price.
The advice was bad for your interests in a year of
scarcity, but disastrous in a year of plenty, for nothing is so
ruinous as a glut in the market, unless it be the concomitant,
to-wit: the piling up of honey in cold, damp warehouses to
sweat and crack and become ruined. I don't question the
honesty of the advice, but given, I doubt not, on account of a
vision clouded by some conflicting interest. Dealing in honey
may have been involved, or the desire to stir up the tyro
to get rid of his honey lest he in his inexperience should
neglect too long, and so give up the business in disgust;
for know that it is common to all the allied interests to aim
to secure and maintain an ever-increasing constituency of
bee-keepers. That this should be accomplished is obviously
ep^v^jir^--^f^^jc?*^.i;:s ?;.?-"; --'^
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 201
contrary to the interests of existing bee-keepers. We have
room for all earnest, intelligent and stable students of api-
culture, who turn in with us because they are birds of a
feather. But the majority are not such. They come in
thinking to make an easy fortune. They endure but for a
time, play havoc with our markets, and then fall out by the
way.
Perhaps there are no conditions in which the honey-
producer must be more careful to use all his intelligence and
caution than in dealing with jobbers and commission men.
If you entrust them with honey, the grading is right, or the
tare is too little, orlyour weight of the honey is too much
on account of whichj or by some carelessness or negligence
on their part, the true weight of your honey is not ac-
counted for.
If you express any hestitation about intrusting them with
with your goods — ^you have little faith in mankind; if you
suggest some condition to test their faith in mankind, that is
contrary to business principles.
In 25 years' experience I do not remember that I had one
fully square deal at their hands, unless I either required pre-
payment or delivered the goods in person, until this year;
.and yet I believe they were honest men — self the wavering
balance shook. This year I found the exception that proved
the rule. Rather against my judgment, I made a consider-
able shipment because I lacked time to dispose of it as I have
heretofore found most satisfactory. In due time, the report
came that the honey arrived in fine condition, that the pack-
ing and grading were above criticism, with a check for a
larger sum than my bill called for. Perhaps I ought to give
the name, but he is present and such men are modest.
Another point! Some of you no doubt have already
learned that in the matter of supplies your interests and
the interests of the dealer are antagonistic. Some say the
dealers in supplies have formed a trust to control prices,
or at least have an understanding, that amounts to the same
thing. But I am bound to say that as yet I am not ready
to go so far, for to form a combine is unlawful, and there-
fore dishonorable, and I take them to be honorable men.
And as yet, it is not to be denied that there are many
things that seem to point to a combination. Once one could
easily get a reduction from published prices, but now if he
suggests it he hardly gets a civil answer. Then there is a
constant tendency to crowd prices up unnecessarily. In the
case of sections this is perhaps most noticeable. Not many
weeks ago a manufacturer of supplies dilated in one of our
journals on the outlook for sections. Timber was getting
scarce and more costly, so that the price of sections must
go up. Indeed, the prospect was that basswood and one-
piece sections must go out, then four-piece sections must
come in at another advance of 75 cents a thousand ; and a
sub-editor and a bee-keeper responds in substance. Let them
go up; we can stand it.
But we can't stand it if they are not worth it, i. e., if the
profits are too high I have what is to me satisfactory proof.
262 fllTS ANNUAL REPORT
Within the last i8 months I have bought just 25 M.
sections, partly one-piece but mostly four-piece. The dealer
said he could let me have the one-piece at $2.70, but the
four-piece did not cost so much to make and he could sell
them at $2.50 a M., and those were the highest prices I paid.
And this was not a sacrifice sale. The sections were not only
all No. I, but they were made to order.
One reason of the high prices is the branch houses, and
the immense amount of advertising done by dealers. You
pay for these luxuries without receiving any equivalent for
your money.
Another curious argument is used to boom the price of
sections. The honey-producer can afford to pay the prices
because he gets a higher price still for them when he sells
them with the honey. How millennium-like this would
sound: Section comb foundation 15 cents a pound only,
because the bee-keeper cannot get more than that when
he sells it with the honey.
To illustrate how carefully the supply dealers belonging
to the allied interests look after their own profits when the
interests of the honey-producer intervenes, let me give one or
two more items. Information comes to me from a manu-
facturer of a certain line of supplies that he was aranging
to give members of this Association a large reduction in
the price of his line of goods. When news of this move-
ment got abroad, he was communicated with by a repre-
sentative of a company prominent as supply dealers and
members of the Honey- Producers' League, with the result
that he was compelled to withdraw from the arrangement;
the immediate consequence of which withdrawal was that
for the time being at least you were compelled to pay for a
line of goods much used by honey-producers, a price almost
so percent higher.
Again, I am credibly informed that glass for shipping-
cases could have been bought recently at the factory in small
lots at $1.50 a box, but an extensive dealer also connected
with the League, who no doubt buys much cheaper in large
lots, sells the glass at $2.75 to $3.00 a box — almost, perhaps
quite 100 percent on what he pays. No tender regard for the
interests of the sweating honey-producer shines forth from
profits of such magnitude.
But time and space fail, and what has all this to do with
the Honey- Producers' League, anyway?
This League was organized ostensibly to create a larger
demand for honey and to hunt down lies about it. But
startling to tell, 5 of the 7 ofiices of the League are filled
by men connected with the allied interests, and the strength
of the League is from the same source.
So I have written all this to help inculcate the counsel
of Captain Standish in Longfellow's "Courtship of Miles
Standish" :
"If you wish a thing well done you must do it yourself;
you must not leave it to others."
If you neglect the counsel as he 4id, and send someone
-4. ;.,','■:'•
. jii^.' '5- J t^'.*'*J^>- ■5?_-i
-■; %'■=!
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION '20i
else to do your courting, you will surely lose Priscilla. Who
is to be benefited by the working out of the plan proposed?
Would you expect to increase the consumption of wheat
by advertising? But honey has been known as long as has
wheat. Advertising cannot change the tastes of the people,
nor increase their capacity for consumption, nor make honey
a necessity. r '
The course proposed is admirably calculated to pique the :
curiosity and thereby lead many of the ultra optimistic who
have a little leisure, to embark upon the apicultural sea. :
And that is for the good of the allied interests, and doubtless
what they want. But do you honey-producers want it? I
can see how it would decrease the price of honey, but I can-
not see how- it would tend in any way to increase it.
What has advertising done to influence the price of
honey heretofore? Only the other day Mr. Doolittle, in an
article, asks. Why the difference in the price of honey
30 years ago and now? He makes the reduction from 28 J^ \ - '''' '--f-''::;^
cents to loj/^ cents. He does not attempt to answer the
question, but I can, and to my own satisfaction at least.
It was about that time that the advertising of honey and the
honey business began to assume" some magnitude, and ever
since the advertising has increased yearly and the price of
honey has as steadily decreased.
One pretext for the organization of the League is that ,
we used assistance in the disposal of our honey. I know of
no such necessity. No one of experience has, I think, any
difficulty in disposing of his honey. Insist on an unmanipu-
lated market; ripen your honey well before moving it; get
it to the consumer, or to some one directly interested in get-
ting it to the consumer, and there will be no glut in the - --^--'--^
honey market. ' •J^
We are informed, too, that the League is to chase the '^'-^ : .i-ZV--''.-':^
ignis fatuus of manufactured comb honey. In my opinion \ Cv^
the longer it is pursued the bigger it will look. If let alone ^ i;^^^^^^^
it will die. I never yet saw a person that even suggested ■ '^ '^'^
that comb honey could be artificial. It is impossible for any " ri'jS
intelligent person to examine a case of comb honey and [y::'':^^
believe that it might be artificial.
Traveling salesmen are charged with the lies. They are
great jokers, and invent wonderful stories, and will repeat
them so often and so long as they will incite or irritate
or frighten any one. Disregard their stories and they will
drop tiiem. .■■-_'
But if the plans of the League were in all respects un-
exceptional, why divide our forces? Can any sensible rea-
son he given for it? In division there is weakness. I only
quote from an article of our president-elect when I say: The
National Association is the proper channel through which .
all national reforms for bee-keepers should be secur^.
R. L. Taylor. '^■■'.'-■^^^i,M
Dr. Miller — Mr. President, we are told it is not a good
thing to have someone else do our courting. I am not
sure about that. I never got any body else to court for me .
I succeeded very well all alone, and on that account I sup-
^.'.ifi,
-.^■Vi
m
'■-- *i;"&*.-.'Ai*. irt.?
204 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
pose Mr. Taylor thinks every thing else ought to be done
alone. But everything is not courting; there is such a thing
as my doing something that nobody else might help me at. If
I were to try to court a girl, and deputized one of you to go
and see her, it is not assured at all that her affections would
remain true to me; but if I owed a man $50, and some other
man goes and pays $25 of that debt for me, will you explain
how that is going to hurt me?
Let me throw some of the saw-dust aside and see what
milk is in the cocoanut. Here a number of men got together
and said to us, We want the truth told about honey. They
got some $1,400 together, and they said what they wanted
that used for was to create a larger demand for honey
through advertising in newspapers and magazines, its great
value as food, and by such other methods as may be con-
sidered advisable to the Executive Board. Also by publica-
tion of facts concerning the production of honey to coun-
teract any misrepresentation of the same.
Now, do you object to an editor telling the truth about
honey in his paper because he is not a bee-keeper, because
he will do it free? Suppose he is one of these iniquitous (?)
supply manufacturers, if he offers you money you are glad
to have it in your Association. If he is willing to pay a dol-
lar to get some editor to tell the truth about honey, don't
you want him to do it? It seems to me this is all in the air,
yet there is a feeling of that kind, and that these men said.
We don't want any misunderstanding. I know I am the
President of this iniquitous (?) concern under fire now,
the chief devil of the lot, and I know that those men, unless
they fooled me, were entirely honest in saying that-,the truth
ought to be told. You were looking for their motives. Now
I think I can understand them, I confess. Maybe there is a
nigger in the fence I don't see. But I can see this, I think:
Here is a supply manufacturer, a supply dealer, anything that
hurts the bee-kepers to make less sale of honey or lower the
prices of honey, hurts his business. If he can help bee-keepers
by having the truth told about honey he is helping himself.
If there is that sort of feeling, a new and better use can be
made of that money. I am going to read you a resolution
made before I knew whether Mr. Taylor was going to be on
one side or on the other side:
"We, the Executive Board of Honey- Producers' League,
propose (subject to the approval of the majority of the
League's members) to turn qver to the National Bee-Keep-
ers' Association the funds now in the League's Treasury
(about $1,300) provided that such funds when received by
this Association shall be used for the purpose for which they
were orginally contributed in the Honey Producers' League.
"Further, we would recommend, if these funds are so
accepted, that a sub-committeee of the National be appointed
to expend the same."
Mr. Holekamp — I am one of the Executive Committee
Board of the League. I am a bee-keeper, nothing else, and
I believe in advertising, and I believe it takes more money
than we can get out of the bee-keepers for this purpose,
I I
1
-^^^^^
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 20S
therefore, I thought it was a good thing if the supply men
would help in this matter. The supply dealers are benefited
probably more than we are through this advertising, inas-
much as the supply dealer can sell no goods unless we can
sell honey at a profit. The morfe honey we can sell the more
goods the supply dealer can dispose of. I don't believe the
supply dealers in furnishing this money had any other
thought than to increase the sale and price of honey for the
bee-keepers, and therefore I was willing when I was asked
to go on the Executive Board, to take this place. I had
been asking to do more advertising to increase its funds.
But after coming here I heard that there was a feeling that
if there was an3rthing done with it, it was unfair to the bee-
keepers, and, therefore, it is probably better to have the mat-
ter done the way it has been proposed, and I voted in favor of
doing this. I think we can help ourselves. I know it by my
own feelings. I began keeping bees for pleasure, and I used
to give my honey away, but my crop was so large I had to
dispose of it. I didn't know what to do with my honey until
I began to advertise, and, since I am advertising, people are
getting the honey from my house. So I believe advertising
does us good, and I do not believe the supply dealer has
anything else in view other than the benefit that is to help us
and to help themselves.
Pres. Dadant — In this matter, if we wish to take the
proposal of The Honey - Producers' League, we cannot
accept or reject it, but we can recommend to the Board of
Directors of the National Association to accept it, or take a
vote upon it through the members of the National. We are
a very small percentage of the entire membership, and we
can pass anything that will stand for the approval of the
members. A motion made here, recommending the acceptance
or rejection, as you see fit, will undoubtedly have an influ-
ence upon the Board of Directors. Therefore a motion now
would be in order.
Dr. Miller — As a member of this Association, I move
that we recommend that the proposition of The Honey-
Producers' League to take over from them this money (some
1,300), to be used by us, and to have a committee arranged
to expend it in the way proposed, be accepted and that Siis
be recommended to the Directors.
Mr. Smith — I second the motion.
Mr. Wheeler — I sell honey in Chicago. I go personally
to the trade, and in that way I get at the feeling of the
people as some men do not. As far as I can see, and know,
the people all know what honey is, and they know that the
honey they are getting in Chicago labeled as pure honey is
pure honey, and they know that the comb honey on the mar-
ket is comb honey, and pure honey. If this honey is pure I
don't think that the labels or printed matter sent out by
The Honey-Producers' League, or this National, should bear
the names in large letters of the officers.
Pres. Dadant — ^ilhe question is whether they should ac-
cept or reject.
Mr. Wheeler — \ want to tell you what The Honey- Pro-
206 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
ducers' League has done. This League goes before the pub-
lic with their circulars put into comb-honey supers, and say-
ing so and so, and then at the bottom they put the name of
somebody that is interested in the sale of honey the same as
I am. I am a member of the League and of the National,
and if this League goes into the National ; and if the oflS-
cers of the League are to be at the head of this department,
and use their names there to advertise their goods, I am
placed in competition with my own brothers in the same
society.
Dr. Miller — I rise to a point of order. He is mentioning
something that would not be the case.
Mr. Wheeler — I want to be placed on this market in
Chicago on an equal footing with every member of the
National Bee-Keepers' Association. I am willing to take my
stand on my own goods and guarantee them, but I must
not be put in competition with a man in the same society that
I am supporting.
Mr. York — I think Mr. Wheeler said he was a member
of the Honey Producers' League. I don't find his name on
the list.
Mr. Wheeler — No. I said if the Honey-Producers'
League joins the National I will be a member of both.
Pres. Dadant — No. The League will be destroyed.
Mr. Muth — If the National Bee-Keepers' Association
takes that money and insists upon the names of all these
Directors, then I would call that tainted money, and I would
certainly be in favor of not accepting their money under
any condition. I want to advertise my business, not Mr.
York or Dr. Miller or the Lewis Company or Mr. Borden,
or any of the Honey-Producers' League or National Bee-
Keepers' Association. I wouldn't have the money under any
circumstances.
Mr. Johnson — As I understand this question, the effect of
this motion, if passed or rejected will amount to this:
Whether this Honey-Producers' League shall die right
here and we shall take that money, or whether we wish
them to continue on and try to do good in advertising
honey. I am a member of The Honey-Producers' League,
and I produce honey. I have no objection to the
League. These people that have not paid anything, it
does not cost them anj^thing, and I don't see what objection
they can have. The Honey-Producers can not do any harm
in advertising honey, and I would like to wish them well,
and let them go on and see what they can do.
Mr. Scott — I would like to ask a question: Who has
ever intimated that the officers of the Honey-Producers'
League should become some of the officers of the National
Association? Who has ever intimated anything more than
that The Honey Producers' League wishes to turn over
the money to the National?
Dr. Miller — That Dutchman right there (Mr. Muth) ;
he says if those names are going to be on, which is inti-
mating those names will be on.
Mr. Kimmey — If I understand it, this money is offered
:■ t -
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 207
US to use in a certain manner. I think we better accept
the money first, and then after that if we are afraid we will
be injured in our business by the names of the oflScers of ,%
the National Association being put upon the notices, that
is a matter to be considered afterwards.
Mr. Hershiser — I have lost interest in this proposition :/
since it was first presented to the bee-keepers, about a year S , 3
ago; I haven't any really clear recollection upon the matter .-.^'y/-,;^
now, but at that time I couldn't see they were ever going '^ '■ ' -'-^'''^^^
to be able to help me. They proposed to raise the price of -i^
honey, as I remember it, but the point to which they pro- '''.■■■:-'■. IS^
posed to raise it was below the point I am able to sell at. :;v^^
I believe if every bee-keeper will take the same pains to > "
advertise his goods that some of us do, this League can not
help them. As I see it, the far Western fellows are raising
the price of their honey from 3 to 5 cents a pound, by bring- ^ ^
ing it down to compete with me; I don't want that done; if " ■ 5"^
they will let me alone I will take care of that question.
Mr. Taylor — This Association has a constitution that pro-
vides for the expenditure of any money in their hands for
the interest of the bee-keepers. Why is it necessary that there ^ " ^^^
should be a condition put in this motion to embarrass the '-J
Association after it receives the money? We have a very
distinct article in our Constitution that practically covers the
same ground, and if this condition is put in, it will only '*i
give rise to further discussion and wrangling as to what is ■ :^
the meaning of the condition. I move that the motion be - ; - ^ii
amended by striking out the condition.
Mr, Muth — I second the amendment.
Dr. Miller — ^The question is, why should you receive the
money with the condition attached? Simply this: That
money was handed to us for the express purpose which I
mentioned to you — to be used for advertising. Now, if the
money should be handed over to be used for some other
purpose, the man who handed it to us for advertising would
not have his wish carried out. If you won't take this gift
on our terms, we won't give it.
Mr. Taylor — I want to put this motion in such a position
that the Association can vote on it without a condition.
If we adopt this motion without the condition it doesn't
necessarily follow that we get the money. In the adoption . ' rl
of the motion in that form, if it should be adopted, they can .:■ -Y'r^-^
refuse to hand over the money. It is simply a question as -^ a
to the form in which this Association is willing to receive ^'-'.'M
money. Do they desire to receive it with the condition, or ■:./:'i:?t^^
untrammeled? It seems to me if we are going to have the „ ' f I
money that the Association ought to have it so that they can i- 1
handle it without being trammeled. Z;^
The question was called for. ;^
The President put the amendment which on a vote hav- J;^
ing been taken was declared lost. ^^^
The President then put the original motion, which, on '-■■r^'M
a rising vote, having been taken, was declared carried unani- vj;
_ mously. -^ ;
:j.;3
.':-«
y-^:
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•■■'ifi'--. -^^■
-i;-'>»v»a-;?ii
208 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
The Secretary read a communication from F. E. Brown,
giving the report of the National Honey-Producers' Asso-
ciation, as follows:
To the National Bee-Keepers' Association Assembled —
Gentlemen : — As it will not be possible for me to be with
you at this convention, and as chairman of your committee
to organize a National Honey- Producers' Association for the
marketing of our product, I take this opportunity to make my
report.
I beg to say that the committee found that the producers
of honey from every center are anxiously looking and in-
quiring for our sucess, and without an effort on our part,
mziny hundreds of dollars were offered for stock as soon as
it should be issued. However, we moved carefully and judi-
ciously that the child born at St. Louis convention and named :
"The National Honey Producers' Association of America,"
should have a good "constitution" to build upon; this matter
the committee did much hard and effectual work on, but was
greatly handicapped, being scattered from the Atlantic to the
Pacific; this made the work go rather slowly, and as we were
about to make a grand finish, with incorporation papers
nearly ready to file, to our great surprise, something, or
someone, gave birth to the League. While the latter is not
a child of the National Bee-Keepers' Association, yet it is
in her house under the same roof, partaking of the nutritious
substances that should have gone to the National's legiti-
mate child, until the committee could see no room for both
to grow and prosper, and have decided to give away to the
League. This is done with much regret, for, as producers
of honey, we believe that better results would come to the
bee-keeper if they should market their own products, rather
than have it done by publishers and manufacturers. The one
who produces honey, should also have some say what price
he should get for it. This can only be done by associating
ourselves together in a national way as bee-keepers, not as
dealers. It is only natural that dealers, either individually
or collectively, will strive to sell us, as bee-keepers, our sup-
plies, and then to buy or sell our honey, thus dictating prices
both ways. Beware!
Therefore we will have to give up another good work,
allow another grand opportunity to pass by, which we fear
will not soon again return.
Respectfully submitted,
F. E. Brown, Chairman.
Mr. York — I think Mr. Brown is mistaken, because the
League did not interfere with- the National Associatioa
Mr. France, the General Manager, then read his paper
on,
BUSINESS END OF BEE-KEEPING
Some people say the business end of the bee is its stinger,
but for me it is the long tongue "that improves each shin-
ing hour, and gathers honey all the day, from every opening
flower."
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 209
The business end of bee-keeping means modern, sys-
tematic methods, familiar with and experienced in the best
methods of handling bees. The rearing, introducing and
shipping of queen-bees, controlling of swarming, producing
the best quality and greatest quantity of honey per colony
his locality can produce; the preparing of honey for market,
and getting, in cash, what it is worth, instead of letting
other people set the price and time to pay for it. The
business end requires the bee-keeper to know what his
locality is able to produce at different dates, also when
to have his colonies in the best possible shape to get it.
If for comb honey, all the sections with thin starters in,
in supers, ready to put on the hives; or, if for extracted
honey, an abundance of clean, straight worker - combs,
all interchangeable. Not later than the close of a honey
harvest to plan for the next. Early in the fall to have the
bees ready for a hard winter. He has examined the several
honey-producing plants of his locality with prospects for
next harvest; has decided how many of his best swarms he
desires to rear queen-bees from, which ones to rear drones
for each apiary; how many swarms for comb honey, and
how much extracted honey he wants. In the fall, as soon as
the honey is sold, with the cash in hand, he takes advan-
tage of low price of supplies, buying what he cannot atford to
make. Then all winter he is getting all his hives mane up
and painted, brood-frames made and wired; sections with
starters in supers ready; shipping-cases and storage for ex-
tracted honey in such packages as his market demands.
When you find a bee-keeper as carefully attending to
his bee-keeping business as the successful merchant or other
business man attends to his business, you will likely find
hives all of one size, upper stories, frames or supers are a
perfect fit anywhere. Hives painted and set in some regu-
lar order in tJie apiary so as to help the bee-keeper at work.
He will have strong colony at the beginning of the honey
harvest, swarming under control, and. the bees busy gather-
ing honey. No hives with big clusters of bees loafing on
the outside of the hive or going to the woods. In my State,
while inspecting apiaries, often I do not find all of the above,
• nor the business end of bee-keeping. Sometimes hives shaded
with the tall grass never cut, unpainted hives with crooked,
old black comb, half of it drone-comb; bees swarming and
going where they please — in short, the bees take care of
themselves. This class of bee-keepers seldom have any
fancy honey, but such as it is, goes to town to break down
prices, which hurts both the producer and market for others.
If a bee-keeper has but a few colonies and handles his
bees alone, he should have a method, business-like, so as
easily to keep ahead of the work of the bees; or if operating
several apiaries, and has some hired help, a small part of
the j'^ear, each hired hand has his respective duties and is
held responsible, so everjrthing goes like clockwork.
When the honey harvest is over, the business end of
bee-keeping requires the bee-keeper to know about what the
honey crop of the United States is, what dealers are paymg.
I^S^^^j^-r- ~ ._. ^ _ . _ _ _ __ .__"^.y'-r'_-.«_-A' _ i»-*j^:
; ■ ■: W;vt'V;.-'^ ■ *%->-?i^^ T*f ^'^^^ ^KW^W.-'^^^^'i * ■ ■■' ''"-;•
f:
210 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
and what in cash he should get for the different grades
of his honey. I fear some of us have only partly finished
our bee-keeping education. We have partly learned how to
get all the honey our locality produces. We get some nice
comb honey, but have by far too many unfinished sections,
too many sections that will not case up well, too many
grades and a poor market. Are we not to blame? The
merchant spends much time and money to get trade, in
advertising, displaying goods. Yes, each clerk must undergo
a training of neatness, pleasant ways to await on customers.
By his business methods he knows the daily markets, when
and where to buy as well as to whom to sell goods on credit.
Then let us spend another hour studying how the manu-
facturer or professional man succeeds. AH by strict busi-
ness principles enforced. Can we not take a lesson?
When I go into honey commission houses and see the
untidy, dirty cases of broken comb honey, several grades
in the same case, thick and thin combs together, fancy combs
in front of a case of poor honey, leaky packages of extracted
honey, I wonder the commission dealer gets as good prices
as he does. Who is to blame? Large bakeries now buy
honey in car-lots at prices the average or smaller bee-keeper
can not afford to sell at. He must sell to consumers, in such
packages as such market demands. For my home market I
find the 2, 3, 5, and 10 pound syrup or friction-top, cans nicely
labeled, the same as all canned shelf-goods, sell best. For .
farmer trade and shipping market, the 5 gallon flat-top, jack-
eted can with 3-inch screw cap, and bail handle, costing 35
cents each to any National member. Honey in this package
goes over all railroads west of Chicago as fourth-class freight,
billed "Honey in cans entirely encased in wood." I have no
trouble to sell tons of honey in this package. Only in my
home market, I sell liquid honey in winter, unless to some -
one who is a traveling salesman for me, going from city to
city, and he has no place to liquify honey. For such customers,
I remove the can from the wood jacket, set the can in hot
water a little while, until the honey is liquified, then return
the jacket and ship. This winter I have two such salesmen,
one selling from 4 to 15 of those cans in each town. My
home market (city of 3,500 inhabitants) uses at least 10,000
pounds of extracted honey and 500 pounds of comb honey each
year, no one selling from house to house, but in every store
in town where groceries, meat or provisions are sold, is the
above-size labeled honey-cans ; prices in , each store, all alike,
and marked on each package by me. Customers pays same
anywhere, my house or town.
If I buy goods of my dealer he makes a profit on his
goods in exchange, or if I draw cash for honey, I allow him
10 percent commission. Tons of my honey are sold this way
in several cities. Why can't others do likewise?
To-day I called on a Wisconsin bee-keeper using business
principles (by the way, he is here in the room). This year
he got a pretty good harvest of 7,000 pounds fancy comb and
8,000 pounds of extracted honey, while his neighbor bee-
keepers got less than half as much per colony. He also got
^i-V
^s4^4:l;;;-^:i#,iiS^^>; ■]: .:-:'C5.v:.^-\ i l::y-:rr:i£:iy^:^:f^.^
t .
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 211
a much higher price for his honey than his neighbors, wh^
loaded in. the same car; all cash at car. He uses fence sepa-
tors, No. I plain sections, and extra-thin foundation; all
hives leveled on stands, everything kept clean and tidy, while
those other parties say "no use of all this." Remember,
he got twice as much per pound as some of those parties.
A few winters ago this same man was to read a paper at our
State bee-keepers' convention in February, but when the date
came, with the thermometer indicating 30 below zero, he wrote
me his bee-cellar had cooled down 2 degrees, and he must
not leave his bees.
While at his house to-day he told me many neighbor bee-
keepers were judging the amount of winter stores by lifting
the hives. On examination, he found they were fooled, as
many combs were heavy with bee-bread instead of honey.
Excuse me for being personal in illustrations, but it is these
little business ends of bee-keeping that pay. Let us think
about such things, and in the future keep a better account
of all expenses and sales so that at any time we can tell
the niunber of colonies of bees, poimds of honey produced
and sold, to whom sold, what kind of advertising paid us
best, etc. Let us attend more bee-keeping conventions, read
more carefully the bee-papers and bee-books, ever remember-
ing this great land we call ours, is large enough for us all.
With charity for all, and honest hearts, using the business
end of' bee-keeping, we continue in the sweetest occupation
of our repubUc — ^bee-keeping for pleasure and profit.
N. E. France.
Mr, Moore — I would like Mr. France to state the style,
net weight, and prices of the packages he gets for his honey
for local trade.
Mr. France — I would rather use a lo-pound pail, as it is
a little less work; but in spite of all I can do to try to crowd
the larger package, students, who are largely consumers, buy
the smaller packages, so that the 3 and 5 pound tins get
rid of the larger portion of the honey. I have the i, 2, 3,
5, and 10 pounds in the grocery stores. The 3's and 5's
are the ones we have to renew. My price has been 8 cents
a pound net for the honey, and then add the cost of the can
to that, with no cans returned.
Mr. Hershiser — The cost of putting up the smaller pack-
ages is greater.
Mr. France— Yes, but having some hired help, when we
have rainy days, they say, "Mr. France has a lot of work for
us down at the bee-house, there is no play to-day;" so that
the cost that way is not very much.
Mr. Hershiser — I put up a larger quantity in jelly glasses
and I am able to net 13 cents a pound for them. I presume
I have put up about 14,000 of the packages; and the honey I
sell as low as 8 cents is put up in the wholesale package.
Mr. Holekamp — How do you keep these packages from
leaking?
Mr. Hershiser — I cut a little cap out of paraffin paper just
a little larger than the top of the jelly glass. Then force the
,v J
212 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
tin-top of the jelly glass down over that, and it practically
seals it, and it doesn't leak.
Mr. Bartz — As to the tin honey-package, isn't it stated
in the bee-papets that tin is detrimental to honey? If this is
so, I should like to have it stated here.
Pres. Dadant — That is so if the tin is made of lead. I
have had as large experience as anybody in keeping honey in
tin, and we have kept it for years. When it is cut, and the
iron is shown, it rusts and darkens the honey. But with good
tin after 5 years the honey will come out just as bright as the
first day.
On motion of Dr. Miller the convention adjourned.
Third Day — Afternoon Session.
At 2 p. m. Pres. Dadant called the Convention to order.
REPORTS ON INCORPORATION.
Mr. Abbott — The majority of the Committee on Incor-
poration of the National Association have decided that it is
not wise to incorporate under present conditions. The Com-
mittee is composed of 5, and 2 were in favor of incorpora-
tion and 3 against.
REPORT ON EXHIBITS.
We, the committee, find the following articles on ex-
hibition :
By N. E. France — Samples of 60 kinds of honey from
nearly every State in the Union; also from Japan, Portugal
and Peru.
Mr. Clyde Cady — Section honey in pasteboard sections.
R. F. Holtermann — 12-frame Langstroth hive, with por-
tico, and screen for moving bees — double door for ventilation,
cell-detector and packed cover.
The A. I. Root Co. — Full line of bee supplies.
Twin Baby Nuclei, by Arthur Stanley.
Twin Baby Nucleus, by A. K. Ferris.
Hive by Doland Sherburne.
Wax-extractor by O. L. Her shier, with ij^ pounds of
wax from 18 pounds of slumgum, from the German wax-
press.
A selection of comb and extracted honey by Louis Wer-
ner.
A hive by unknown exhibitor.
Super of honey by unknown exhibitor.
Samples of honey in 4x5 sections by Theodore Fluegge.
Seven-inch comb-honey case of 24 sections, N. E. France.
MORLEY PeTTIT,
A. K. Ferris,
E. J. Baxter,
Committee.
report on RESOLUTIONS.
Resolved, That the National Bee-Keepers' Association in
convention assembled do hereby tender a vote of thanks to
mp^^^^^^^ f^^^^'c^ f^^-^
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 213
the Chicago-Northwestern Association and friends for the
fine hall and accommodation for the entertainment of this
convention.
Resolved, That the convention tender a vote of thanks to
all who have prepared papers for this meeting.
Resolved, That this convention recognize the great help
which Federal and State Government can accomplish by
bringing the people the value of honey as a food, and the
method of utilizing and keeping the same and in connection
therewith, we would heartily approve of the issue of such bul-
letins as No. 140, on "Uses of fruit, vegetables and honey,"
issued by the Department of Agriculture for Ontario, Can-
ada; and that a vote of thanks and appreciation be tendered
the Honorable Nelson Monteith, Minister of Agriculture for
Ontario, Chief of the Department, and that a copy of these
resolutions be sent to him.
Resolved, That it is the sense of this meeting that the
Board of Directors be requested to publish the pamphlets
directed to be published at the meeting of the National
held at St. Louis last year.
Mr. France stated that the pamphlets spoken of were
referred to at page 74 of the report of the St. Louis conven-
tion.
Pres. Dadant put the motions to oppose the various reso-
lutions presented, which votes having been taken, were de-
clared carried.
REPORT ON AMENDMENTS.
The committee have put their report in the form of a
question as follows: "Is it advisable to divide the territory
of the National Bee-Keepers' Association into districts and
have each district elect one director?"
What will you do ?
Mr. Holekamp, in speaking to the motion, suggested
that if the country were divided up into 12 or more dis-
tricts, as might be considered advisable, and have each dis-
trict elect a delegate who would be expected to look after the
welfare of that district, and to look after the increase of
membership, that he believed much more good would be ac-
complished than was being done at the present time. He
thought the membership could within two years be made
10 times as large as it is at present.
Mr. Moore supported that view and presented the fol-
lowing resolution, duly seconded:
Resolved, That it be the sense of this convention here
assembled that we recommend that it be an amendment to the
Constitution, that there shall be a representative upon the
board for each State in the Union, and for each Province in
Canada; the resolution to be submitted to the membership
in proper form.
Mr. Hatch was in favor of decreasing the number of
members upon the Board of Directors rather than increas-
ing it.
Mr. Kluck expressed the opinion that if a Director were
elected from every State in the Union that the Association
". ''~%S~'' ■'''-'^: ,
214 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
would have a body so cumbersome that they would not ac-
complish anything.
Mr. Moore stated that he thought it would meet the
views of every person to add to the general motion that the
Board of Directors shall elect from among themselves an
Executive committee, one for each lo members of the Board
of Directors.
Sec. Hutchinson stated that he did not see any use in
having directors that did not direct; he thought it would
be a good thing if the territory were divided into districts,
and every State which had 200 members would elect a direc-
tor, and every group of adjoining States making up 200
members, would elect a director; that he would support
such action.
Mr. France stated that the Association did not want any
larger Board than they at present had, but he suggested that
the territory be divided up in proportion to the number of
members, and if that was done something would be accom-
plished.
Mr. Abbott moved that the following be substituted for
the motion before the house :
Resolved, That a committee of 3 be appointed by the
chair, one of which shall be from Canada, to divide the
United States and Canada into as many districts as there are
now Directors in the National Association, having as near
as possible an equal number of members from each district,
according to the Report which is about to appear, and that
thereafter these districts be permitted each to elect their own
director.
After some discussion the President put the motion to
substitute Mr. Abbott's resolution for the resolution offered
by Mr. Moore, which, on a vote having been taken, was
declared carried.
Some further discussion followed on the substitute af-
ter which Mr. McEvoy moved, seconded by Mr. Taylor, that
the motion be laid on the table.
The President put the motion, which, on a vote having
been taken, was declared carried.
The President called on Mr. H. M. Arndt to read a paper
entitled,
SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCE IN THE MAKING OF
HONEY-VINEQAR
As an introduction to this paper on successful vinegar-
making, I wish to say that if it is of any value to the bee-
keepers at large, a part of the thanks is due to George W.
York, although he personally did none of the experiment-
ing. He and I, under the firm name of "The York Honey
Co.," expended hundreds of dollars on my instruction, ex-
periments, and the manufacture of honey-vinegar.
Vinegar is produced by the action of oxygen on alcoholic
fluids, under the influence of ferments of which the active
constituent is acetic acid.
Honey-vinegar is usually made by the old, long process,
which takes about one year; but it can also be made in about
:fc:
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 215
5 weeks, by the quick process by means of generators. In
either process, honey-water must ferment, to produce alco-
holic fluid, which can be converted into vinegar only by
powerful oxidizing agents.
I will speak briefly on the old way, as it is familiar to
most of you. You can utilize 'the washings of honey-cap-
pings, the rinsing of cans, barrels, or waste honey in any
form, for the sweetened water. This is put into barrels, with
one head out, the wider the barrel the better, as the more
air-space the better chance the bacteria have to work, as they
need air. You can hasten the fermentation by adding yeast
or by acetic-acid bacteria, commonly called "mother of vine-
gar," and let it go through about the same process as you
would for cider- vinegar. Always keep it in a warm place,
and covered with a thin cloth to exclude the dust. In about
a year the alcohol will be aljnost worked out, and the oxida-
tion will stop. You will then have honey-vinegar, of grain
strength in comparison with the strength of the sweetened
water. It is then ready to be barreled and put into the cellar
for future use.
The quick process, with which I am more familiar, is
one that is hard to explain, on account of the many details
and chemical changes that one must understand in order to
use the process successfully.
To be a first-class, practical vinegar-maker, one should
be somewhat of a chemist. My ability as a chemist being
very limited, I will try to tell you in plain terms how The
York Honey Co. proceeded.
What first induced us to make honey vinegar was to
utilize all waste honey, such as inferior honey, the washings
of barrels, tanks and empty cans — in fact, all honey that
would otherwise be wasted in the warerooms of an up-to-
date bottler and dealer in honey.
In the first place, I took a course of instruction in vine-
gar-making, under a first-class instructor, standing at the
head of my class, also at the foot, as I was the only pupil.
We secured two generators, casks for fermentation, a
complete cooper's outfit; a saccharometer, a vinegar-tester —
in short, everything necessary to carry on vinegar-making
successfully.
A generator such as we used, is a large, open-top, round
tank, carefully filled and packed with long, curly beechwood
shavings, to within a foot of the top. On top of these shav-
ings is a close-fitting, round distributing-board, filled with
many small holes equal distances apart There are several
vent-holes about i8 inches from the bottom, and also a large
faucet within a few inches of the bottom. There is a hole
about 2 inches below the distributing-board, so the tempera-
ture in the. generator can at all times be observed. In addi-
tion to this, there is a close-fitting cover on top of the tank
to prevent the aldehyde from escaping too freely.
The fermenting casks are nothing more than large, open-
top, wine-casks.
It takes about 50 pounds of honey to run a generator
properly for 12 hours, so we decided to start only one. It
<-^,^S!^3^.. :.,,;,' , -. .■■,,,.-■.■■»,>,:,.- A> -.^^-^n^^r-^-^m0'F^-^-WW-^:-^m
216 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
takes lyz pounds of honey to each gallon of water to make
a 40-grain vinegar. The proper proportion can be had either
by measure or by testing the mixture with a saccharometer.
Forty-grain vinegar means 4 percent of pure acetic acid
in the vinegar, or 40 grains of acetic acid to every 1,000 grains
of vinegar. Stock tested by the saccharometer, for every per-
cent shown by this instrument you will get a 4 or 5 grain
vinegar. It varies according to the completeness of the oxida-
tion. Stock testing 10 percent should give at least a 40-
grain.
Having everything in shape, we will proceed to turn
the sweetest of sweets into vinegar.
To make stock, the fermenting tanks are nearly filled
with water and honey, in the porportion of i gallon of
water to Ij4 pounds of honey. Add to this mixture a
specially prepared malt yeast to start a rapid fermentation.
(The temperature of the room should be at all times about
70* degrees.) In about a week this will be almost worked
out, and fermentation nearly stopped. To hasten the oxi-
dation, the shavings in the generator are soured with vinegar,
so when the stock is poured in at the top it trickles over the
soured shavings.
Charge the generator every ij^ hours with 6 gallons
of stock, having all the vent holes open, and soon the oxida-
tion will start.
The oxidation in a generator creates a damp heat, but
it is as true a fire as there is in a stove, and if you keep
a stove as a model, and think of the alcohol as your fuel,
and the vents or air-holes as the dampers, you will not go
far wrong.
/Keep charging from the stock in the fermenting tanks
evtery 90 minutes until the shavings are well saturated, and
tha fluid runs out of the faucet at the bottom. Then let it
stand until the generator draws, and warms up. You can
tell,whether or not it is drawing by putting a candle in front
of an air-hole; if it blows out, it shows that the temperature
is greater outside than in the generator; if the light is sta-
tionary, it shows that the bacteria have begun to propagate
and have raised the temperature equal to the outside, and in
a few hours you will find that the light is drawn in. Then
the oxidation is in full operation, and the temperature inside
exceeds that outside. You must then begin to watch at the
thermometer hole, near the top of the generator, and when
the temperature gets above 85, charge with 6 gallons taken
oWt of the bottom. If there is not that amount, add enough
stock to make up the full 6 gallons. In about 2 hours ex-
amine the drafts and insert in the air-holes plugs having
J4-inch holes, to decrease the size of the air-holes.
During the day take 6 gallons from the bottom and put
in the top every 90 minutes. If the charge is short of 6
gallons add enough stock to make up the shortage. Charge
12 gallons at night; and close the drafts; in short, "bank
your fire" for the night.
The large vinegar-makers have automatic chargers, and
keep it up all night.
I ■ , ■
:' ;-'S^^w-"*'s^S^vr^Sf*F?i^?MW-*®^ 'w^^¥-'
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 217
Aldehyde is the intermediate composition between alco-
hol and vinegar; it is a very volatile liquid, and if you are
not careful, it will nearly all escape. The weak alcohol is
converted into aldehyde by the bacteria, before it becomes
vinegar. If you give the generator too much draft, the
aldehyde will be lost, so you can see the drafts are as im-
portant in a generator as in a stove.
The charging from bottom to top is continued until the
vinegar does not gain any in strength; then every other
time 6 gallons of vinegar are taken from the generator, and
stored in casks for the market.
For every gallon you take from the generator an equal
amount must be added at the top, from the stock.
The most profitable, and best way is to run the genera-
tors in sets of 3, one above another. Start the stock at
the top of the generator, and by the time it trickles through
the 3 generators, it comes out vinegar.
It is very essential that the generators should be cor-
rectly packed with shavings, kept perfectly level, and charged
with greatest regularity, so that the stock will be equally
and regularly distributed. One of the most important iJiings
is to keep it drawing, for if the fire gets low, the bacteria,
after they have no more alcohol to work on, will turn
around and destroy all the acidity in the generator; in the
courae of a few days putrefaction will set in, and the gen-
erator will be dead. It will then take weeks to restore it to
its former condition.
Vinegar can also be made by the quick process, in small
quantities, by using rolling vinegar generators.
The chemical changes in the manufacture of vinegar are
alike in both processes, but in the quick method advantage
is taken of the oxidizing action of the vinegar fungus. By
vastly enlarging the surface of the liquid exposed to the
air, at the proper temperature, we can reduce the time oc-
cupied from about one year to 4 or 5 weeks.
At the present price of honey, pure honey-vinegar can
be manufactured on a large scale for about 15 cents per
gallon, and perhaps cheaper. I have sold honey-vinegar for
40 cents per gallon.
If any present would like to convince themselves that
vinegar made in so short a time is first-class I will gladly
giye them a small sample to take home to try. I am sure
a trial will convince them that honey-vinegar, made in the
way described, is not only good, but as good as the best.
H. M. Arnd.
Mr. Cummings — Mr. Arnd said in his paper to leave it a
year in a barrel. I think that this can be aided a good
deal by having the barrel swung, and every time you pass
near the barrel, swing -it and it mixes it. The air in
that way gets in and it oxidizes it more rapidly.
Mr. Strong — I have an uncle in Ohio who, some 20 years
ago invented what he called a vinegar generator. This one
Mr. Arnd speaks of is what was then known as the shaving
generator. My uncle got what he claimed to be an improve-
ment on that. It was simply a series of shelves, raised one
-^ - ---,' ^«f7-S®-^.;ft4=^
218 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
above the other, and the fluid was passed over them and
exposed to the air. It dropped from one shelf to the other
and was continually passing back and forth until it got to
the bottom, when it was good vinegar. The strength of the
vinegar would depend upon the height of your generator.
If it was not long enough it would require passing through
again, but the result was good, strong vinegar by the time it
had passed through.
Mr. Arnd — ^That process had the same chemical action
exactly. If you put it on shelves or a long trough, or any-
thing else, it would be all the same.
Mr. Hintz — I have had some experience in making vine-
gar from honey, usually made from washings of the cappings,
and I have never succeeded in making vinegar that was
good and strong, and which gave good satisfaction to my
customers until it was about 2 years old, and now I find
vinegar at that age seems to be liked very well — so well
that they return and get it a second and third time.
Mrs. Honaker — I believe vinegar made with pickles in
small quantities will keep just as long as any other. We
make it by putting sweetened water in 20-gallon jars and
put a fine cheese cloth over that. We keep them in an up-
stairs room for about a year, and we have the best luck
with it.
RIPENING EXTRACTED HONEY — DIFFERENCE IN QUEEN-CELLS.
"Should extracted honey be further ripened or evaporated
by artificial heat?"
Mr. Hershiser — Let the honey stay in the hive until it is
thoroughly ripened by the bees. Don't remove it until they
get through with it. Only use artificial heat where bot-
tling the honey.
Mr. Lahtrop — I agree with Hershiser.
"Before shaking the bees to present swarming, how can
a bee-keeper tell the difference between queen-cells, if built
under the swarming impulse, or for superseding?"
Mr. Taylor — For superseding they are generally a small
number and about the same age, while for swarming there is
a considerable number of different ages.
Mr. Rice — I think any practical bee-keeper would know
by the strength of the colony. If they are going to super-
sede, the colony is decreased in number.
Mr. Holtermann — I asked that question. I don't know
with any degree of certainty. 1 consider that a very serious
defect in connection with shaking bees, and I came to this con-
vention to try to get some light upon the subject. In going
through a large number of colonies you can't very well make
a careful examination and find out whether the cells have all
got the age before you begin; and as far as the evidence that
that colony has depopulated, and so on, I have not succeeded
in finding that a satisfactory test.
Mr. Taylor — If cells are built for superseding at swarm-
ing-time it will result in swarming. So that I don't see any
particular benefit in knowing one from the other.
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 219
Mr. Holtermann — If you break down the on-e that super-
sedes, you have stopped the superseding.
BEST HIVE STAND.
"Which is the best kind of hive stand?"
Mr. Wilcox — Generally speaking, a stand that will hold
2 colonies, no more and no less, and of such size and shape
as you desire to accommodate your hives, and the location of
your ground, and so on.
Mr. Holekamp — I set my hives on bricks.
Mr. Wilcox — The objection I have found to that is that
moles will undermine one corner and the hive tip over. That
is why I want the stand long enough to hold 2 hives.
Mr. Strong — I have an apiary of lOo colonies, and I put
4 bottles under each hive, and that is permanent. They do not
freeze or break.
Mr. Hintz — I build a stand for each colony of bees.
I take 2x4x18 inches long, and nail strips about 2 inches
wide across those, and I set one hive on each stand.
ADVERTISING HONEY — MATING QUEENS.
"What can be done by the National to place honey
where it belongs as a food?"
Mr. Abbott — Advertising.
Mr. Wilcox — If we placed it where it belongs we must
make extracted honey a staple artick. To do so we must
produce nearly all well ripened honey.
"I wish to mate queens on a small island, in the lakes,
within 4 miles from the shore. Will all the queens mated
be absolutely pure?"
Sec. Hutchinson — I should say they possibly would. When
I started in to rear queens I had trouble with mismated
queens. I Italianized all black bees for a distance of about
3 miles in every direction, and after that there was no more
trouble.
Mr. Abbott — I mated Cyprian bees in St. Joseph, and in
the city I don't think i out of 25 missed; and where my bees
were in the country, 2 miles out, I don't think i out of
25 hit. •
COLOR OF RED CLOVER HONEY.
"What is the color of red clover honey?"
Mr. Townsend — The same color as white clover.
Mr. Davenport — A very light amber.
Mr. Hershiser — I would like to know how they know it is
honey from red clover. It blooms at the same time as white
clover.
Mr. Hutchinson — One fall we had 500 pounds from a
second crop of red clover, and there was nothing else at that
time, and light amber is the color, or dark white.
Mr. Wilcox — The reason is because red clover does not
yield nectar to any extent until the second crop, and the
second crop is in bloom in August after white clover is dead,
and before buckwheat is saelding much.
220
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
Mr. Davenport — I have known my bees to work very
largely upon the second crop of red clover, when there was
scarcely any white clover in bloom, and the honey they stored
in the hives was amber honey.
Mr. Hershiser — In answer to Mr, Wilcox, I would say
that the first crop of red clover does yield nectar, but the
petals are so long the bees very seldom get it.
Mr. Stone — I got a good crop of red clover honey one year
from the first crop. Until I got Italian bees there was no seed
in the first crop of red clover, and after that a good many of
my neighbors got as much seed off the first crop of red clover
as from the second.
Mr. Hutchinson — When our bees got that soo pounds
of red clover it was all ' gathered by Italians. The blacks
didn't gather a pound.
Mr. McEvoy — I have seen the blacks gather from red
clover, but as a rule they don't.
Mr. Townsend — Where I live in Michigan the bees got
about 2,000 pounds of red clover honey from red clover
alone. This was gathered within two weeks' time, and the
color was identical with white clover honey gathered there.
I will admit that the color of the white clover honey was
not as white as in some other places. I think the color of
honey from various flowers varies in different localities.
HONEY CROP INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS.
"Should the National send information from member to
member concerning their honey crop, for the purpose of let-
ting members who are short purchase from the ones with
plenty of honey?"
Mr. France — Partially that has been done in a private
way this season. Several who had more honey than their
own market could handle decided about how much they
wanted to ship abroad, and made it known to me. I made a
table of the list and right opposite I had a list of those
who did not have honey enough to supply their customers,
and I said, "You go to A. — , he has some honey;" and in
that way a lot of the members have been helped through the
Association.
Mr. Kluck — I say for one that they should.
Mr. Davenport — I did that last year.
Mr. Abbott — That is what I have been insisting on for
the last 5 years, that the National Association ought to be
a bureau of information to its members; and every member
ought to have a list sent to him so that he would know some-
thing about who had honey to sell.
Mr. Moore — Moved, seconded by Mr. Abbott, that the Gen-
eral Manager be requested, when there is a sufficient number
of those who want to sell, and those who want to buy, to
make up a circular and send it to the members of this Asso-
ciation.
Mr. Kluck — Our General Manager has always done that.
If we would notify him that we have more honey than we
can dispose of, he will always find a market for it.
':k
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 221
Mr. Hershiser — It costs a very small amount to put a
line in a periodical to say you have honey to sell. The As-
sociation can't help you do everything.
Mr. McEvoy — Where you don't do that, and send it to
the Manager, send 50 cents along to pay him.
Pres. Dadant put the motion, which, on a vote having
been taken, was declared lost.
The President suggested that the convention appoint a
committee of 3, composed of the members most interested
in the matter, to report on the question of amendments at
the next meeting.
Mr. Taylor moved, seconded by Mr. Wheeler, that such
a committee be appointed.
The President put the motion, which, on a vote having
been taken, was declared carried.
The President appointed Messrs. Abbott, Holekamp, and
McEvoy as the committee.
QUEENS BY REGISTERED MAIL.
"Is it advisable that we ship our queens in the common
mail, or pay a little more and ship them by registered mail?"
Mr. France — The gentleman who asked this question
made this reply, that the common mail-bag at many sta-
tions is caught from a little post on the swing, and you
know what the result would be on those queens. In the
distribution of the mail, that class of package is almost in-
variably thrown into the bags, whereas in registered mail the
Government requires that they shall be passed by hand
from one to the other.
Mr. Hilton — We had this very question under discussion,
and a mail clerk of wide experience tells me almost exactly
the words that have been spoken relative to the handling
of these cages, and you have only to go into a mail-car to
see that this is true. These little bags can be thrown for
10 feet, and they may strike the steel rod or side of the
car and then drop in. It will cost 8 cents more to send one
or send a dozen by registered mail. The registered mail is
not handled that way. It will also take about a day more
to get through a registered mail package, because there has
to be a record of it made by every official through whose
hsmds it passes, so that it can be traced if lost. I believe
quOMig would arrive in better condition if sent as registered
matMf-
Mr. Holekamp — My experience has been large. We used
to send out every day between 50 and 60 small packages,
and we found the registered bees did not arrive as soon as
the others. We gave up registering altogether, and we had
our packages insured, and we did much better than through
the registered mail. I don't beheve that registering would
help.
Mr. Ferris — I have had a good deal of experience in ship-
ping both by mail and express. I have shipped some very
expensive breeders, and my experience is, where you want
to get breeders shipped properly, do not have them shipped
- '■ ■^■'" "'-'•'. ■ :■!- ■■■■'".';; "/;.';"< v*."-
222 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
by express. I have had frames that were ]4 of an inch
thick, and over an inch wide, smashed in two, shipped by
express. You can imagine the result with queens.
Mr. Woodman — In registering, don't you have to put
the package in another package, and do it up again? How
would you supply air there?
Mr. Hilton — We have envelopes of different sizes in
which we enclose registered matter. I don't think there is
any question about air. They are pretty close when they
get in the mail sacks with 150 pounds of mail on top of them,
whether in an envelope or not.
Mr. Eidmann — I am in the regular mail service, and I
suppose I handle as much registered matter as anybody in the
room. In the case of sending one queen the price per regis-
tered mail is the same as sending a dozen, or two dozen. In
case you send one the postmaster is liable to enclose it in an
envelope and seal it, and it will suffocate, while if you have
a dozen or larger bulk it will be tied up and a register
tag put on. What Mr. Hilton said in regard to the handling
is true, but the delay is not as great as most people think.
They take the registered mail as soon as it arrives, and it is
taken to the next train, providing the connection is too
close.
Mr. Strong — I have had experience along the line of
sending bees, and I wanted to test this matter of the danger
of smothering in the mail. I took a queen I didn't care to
keep, and placed her in an ordinary mailing cage. I got
a strip of pliable paper about an inch long and wider than
the length of the cage, and wrapped it not less than a dozen
times around, and folded it down at the ends as tight as I
could wrap it, and I threw it into the mail box on the east
side of my shop where the sun would strike it. I left it 24
hours, and I then opened it and I expected the queen would
be smothered, but to my surprise, there was a lively buzz in
the attempt to ventilate — that was all there was. I tried it
again and left it 2 days in the same condition, and the sun
shone on it all the time ; I continued that for a week, and the
queen was still in good condition. This shows to me that it
is almost impossible to smother a queen in the mail.
FREIGHT-RATE ON EXTRACTED HONEY.
"Can we have a fourth-class freight-rate on extracted
honey?"
Mr. France — North, south and west of Chicago the
Western Freight Classification recognizes honey in barrels,
kegs, kits, and in square cans boxed, or the round package,
which I have here, as fourth-class freight. I believe all the
associations will adopt what the Central and Western have,
as soon as it is made plain.
Mr. Scott — In speaking of rates and methods of ship-
ping, I would like to say something in regard to shipping
comb honey. I have had a little experience in that, and my
experience has been a teacher, inasmuch as I have paid higher
freight rates a great many times than was necessary. I have
r.,:^Am€,;^:<::- ,_:-_ r^^-.v-:; u^^/-;. ■;',>-i;;jvm:^»^ts"
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 223
quit it, and I have succeeded in collecting over-charges on
shipments of comb honey instead of letting the producer do
that. The classification on comb honey is not so plain,
but what it is very often misconstrued by agents at small
shipping points. They wish to be on the safe side and they
bill it as first-class, when comb honey packed in wooden
cases should go as second. That holds good all around, and
every way from Chicago. We have been paying first-class
r'ates. If you will notice the marking on your freight bills
you will see it was invariably sent as honey in glass. The
agents are called upon to do the billing. This ought to be
done by the bee-keeper in every instance, and be sure to cau-
tion the agent that it must go as second-class. I refer him to
the joint inspection bureau at Indianapolis. Mr. Barr, who is a
high authority on freight rates, says, that many bee-keepers
make a mistake in shipping comb honey with the glass ex-
posed. That was advocated several years ago. The freight-
handlers can understand what they are shipping. If you have
to put in a claim for broken honey, that is where the difficulty
will come in.
Mr. Stewart — I ship considerable honey, and there should
be different classifications for shipping comb honey. If you
want to get the best classification you want to box your
honey and bill it "Comb honey in cases boxed." It will then
go as second-class freight, whereas, if it goes without box-
ing, it will go as first-class. Look into the billing of honeys
and you will find in the Eastern Classification different classi-
fications. It makes all the difference in the world whether it
is boxed or not.
Mr. Holtermann — In the direction of giving instructions
as to the best method of shipping different lines of goods,,
the bee-papers could do something. We have a Railway
Commission to bring our cases before, and their decision is
final. The}^ can force the railroad companies to give us a
reduced rate if they think it just and right. I was on a
committee on that question and we decided the bee-papers
could help.
DEFENDING MEMBERS.
"Shall the National Association defend its members
when spite is at the foundation, and the bees are simply
made an excuse for persecution?"
Mr. McEvoy — ^Where there is reasonable ground, I think
the association should defend him.
On motion of Mr. Kluck, seconded by Mr. Niver, the
convention adjourned.
Third Day — Evening Session.
At 7:30 p. m. Pres. Dadant called the convention to or-
der and said: "I wish to thank the convention for the cour-
tesy shown me. I have found the members much easier to
manage than I expected. I did my part. I think you will all
appreciate the fact that although I am not a very good par-
''■&J
\h -.-.'• I '.
224 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
liamentarian, I tried to do the best I could. I started with
some trepidation, feeling I would not be up to the task, but
behavior of the members has been such that it has made it
easy and comfortable for me. So I thank you all." [Ap-
plause.]
Mr. Putnam then read a paper entitled,
IN WHAT WAY CAN BEE-KEEPERS SECURE THEIR
SUPPLIES AT LOWER PRICES?
Coming in contact, as I do, with many thousands of bee-
keepers, I am amazed at the indifference displayed by the
99 out of 100 who are attempting to make a part of their
living out of bee-keeping. It is variously estimated that
from 400 to 700 thousand people in the United States are to
some extent engaged in bee-keeping. Of that vast army
scarcely 2,000 can be coaxed, entreated or bribed to join- a
bee-keepers' association of any kind. I have heard our Gen-
eral Manager talk for hours to a gathering of bee-keepers,
detailing the benefits to be derived from organzation, and
had it not been for the determination of one or two who had
originated the movement, the organization could not have
been effected.
The first step in the way of lower prices, then, in my
opinion, is to awaken interest — to induce the bee-keepers
themselves to co-operate. But let us see. What are the
conditions? We find that the catalogs read very much alike.
Without sections and starters the ij^-story 8-frame hive,
nailed and painted, $2.45; nailed only, $2.20; i in flat, $1.85;
5 in flat at $1.70; 10 in flat at $1.55; 25 in flat at $1.45 each.
The foregoing are supposed to be for retail amounts. The
wholesale range is from 25 to 200 hives on a descending
scale — 50 hives at $1.35; 100 at $1.25; 200 at 1.15 each; and
finally the carload price of $1.02 each.
Some dealers put a Chinese puzzle before their quota-
tions, and if you are an adept at rebus deciphering you will
make out that A E 5 2 S 8 describes the same articles as
mentioned above. One dealer says, "What's the use of all
these tables of complicated figures? I will make a flat rate,
one hive $1.85, and give the customer a discount of 25 to
40 percent, according to the amount purchased."
Now there is a discount for early cash orders commencing
with 10 percent in September and decreasing as the dull
months pass by, until finally in March the net price is reached.
Some dealers quote a scale of prices 10 cents per hive lower
than above quoted, beginning with one hive at $1.75 and end-
ing with 92 cents as a carload price. These are printed prices
and the wise bee-keeper knows that all he has to do to get
a less price is to write to half a dozen dealers or manufac-
turers and tell them he will give his order to the lowest bid-
der, and he will get as many different quotations as he does
replies. How do I know? Only last month a reputable firm
which turns out $30,000 to $40,000 worth of bee-hives and
supphes a year, and which publishes prices at the highest
f- :;:
STATK bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 225"
rates, named me a price of 85 cents per 8-frame Ij4-st6ry
hive, and $2.98 for No. i sections.
Only last year, at our St. Louis meeting, I was asked
for prices by one of our leading members. I quoted him
92 cents for an 8-frame i^-story hive, and had the sand
taken completely out of me by his firm and positive assurance
that my prices were away too high — that he could do very
much better down home in York State.
Where is the bee-hive trust? Where is the combina-
tion among manufacturers when such a state of affairs ex-
ists? Like that other ghost that haunts the path of the
poor, deluded bee-keeper — ^the artificial comb-honey lie — the
trust does not exist, or exists only in the imagination of some
demagog who is bent on deception and fraud. Nevertheless,
the vast army of bee-keepers are paying the long price for
their supplies and receiving the short price for their honey;
but they are the bee-keepers who do not take a bee-paper,
and who do not belong to an organization of bee-keepers;
they are the people who wait until the last moment, and
rush to the nearest bee-keeper or dealer for a hive into which
to hive the bees that swarmed before the bee-keeper thought
of procuring a hive.
The vast amoimt of ignorance in connection with bee-
keeping may be illustrated by the true story of the darky
boy employed at a dairy, who came to me one September
evening about 25 years ago with the news that "Our bees-
didn't have anything else to do so they thought they would
go swarming — ^yes, mister, they be hanging on a limb waitin'
for dat hive." Needless to say he consented to pay $2.50
for a bee-hive — which, by the way, he never did. And this
brings me to an important part of my argument,
THE CREDIT SYSTEM.
The present credit system is responsible for a large part
of the increase in price. When the elder Root established
the mail-order, cash-with-the-order system of supplying this
class of goods, it was a cash system. To-day the middle
man buys for credit-^r-not 30 or 60 days, but on long time.
He will pay the manufacturer for the supplies when he has
sold them. Allow me to quote from page 10 of "Collateral
on Merchandise Accounts" under the heading of
"protection of profits — ^RISK IN CREDIT."
"Profit is the ultimate object of all commercial enter-
prise, and a reliable conserver of profits is therefore of in-
calculable value to general business. As long as goods are
sold on credit, the risk of loss through insolvency of custom-
ers is constantly impending. The gravity of this risk is
appreciated when one considers how little a dispenser of
mercantile credit positively knows about the actual financial
condition of each of his customers, and the inside facts of
their business. And think of how many accounts are out-
standing all the time, each involving risk of loss through
the incompetence, inexperience, lack of capital, unwise cred-
226 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
its, neglect, extravagance, competition, crop failures, strikes,
money markets and speculation, which may cause the in-
solvency of customers. It is not surprising that the losses
through insolvency exceed the losses by fire in the United
States."
The above refers to general business. The merchants
referred to are those of regular trade — dry goods, groceries,
hardware, etc. — all of which are rated and reported by Dun
and Bradstreet, with whose assistance it would seem that a
comparatively close estimate could be made of a man's finan-
cial standing. Nine out of lo of the people who ask for
credit as distributors of bee-hives are men without commer-
cial rating. How much more difficult must be the task of
the dispenser of bee-hive credits. As the risk increases,
so must the margin of profit, to cover the risk increase, so
that the fellows who do pay must also pay for the fellows
who never pay.
We have here a range of prices beginning with the cash
carload buyer at 85 cents per hive for 8- frame i^-story, and
.increasing under the varying conditions of credit and quan-
tity until the purchaser of one hive set up and painted pays
$2.45, without sections and foundation, or $2.85, complete and
ready for the bees. Does it require a Sherlock Holmes to
discern the remedy ? Organize ! Co-operate ! Employ the
man from New York to do all the buying for all the bee-
keepers! Form one vast co-operative association, and every
member will get supplies at the lowest rates ! It is being
done in spots all over the country. Why not let the move-
ment become general? In my locality an association bearing
the name of the St. Croix Valley Honey- Producers' Asso-
ciation has no members. A 2-leaf circular is the extent of its
earthly possessions. The association actually distributed from
April, 1904, to May i, 1905, about $1,400 worth of bee-hives
and supplies. The purchaser of one bee-hive got it for $1.02
and freight; the user of 1,000 No. i sectidns got them for
$3.00 at any time through the season, local freight added.
The officers and managers of that association received the
sum of $52 for their year's services. The association pro-
duced and sold for cash at the car-door 3 carloads of honey.
The manager of the association received $19 for his services
in the marketing of honey. The bee-keeper paid the short
price for his supplies and received the long price for his
product. The same thing has been going on for years in
Colorado. The continued success and harmony of the Colo-
rado Honey-Producers' Association is a case in point.
We must not be too narrow in our vision or compre-
hension. I have shown you the state of affairs as it exists
today for the purpose of mutual benefit. There is reason on
both sides. The bee-keeper who keeps bees for profit cannot
afford to pay $2.85 for his hives. Neither can the manufac-
turer afford to sell a well-made bee-hive from good material
at 85 cents. He does so at a loss, and if all his sales are
made on that basis it is only a question of time when that
manufacturer will suspend.
:a,Ml
--S^'^Wif'?"''^.
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 227
By the way, had you heard of the recent advance in the
price of shop-lumber ? It is getting scarce and now commands
a price of $3 or $4 per thousand more than one year ago.
Then there are the requirements of standard goods. The
lumber must be clear, surface smooth two sides, %
thick. There are only a few mills that saw lumber
that will season out and surface two sides %. All
St. Croix and Mississippi river mills cut green Ys, and when
seasoned out will barely skin ^. A large box manufacturer
and lumber dealer recently remarked to me, "It will only be
a year or two riiore that you fellows can cultivate that %
fad." It is only the extreme Northern mills that cut for the
Eastern market that can supply the full inch shop lumber, and
as each mill completes its cut the circle of available material
rapidly diminishes, and in consequences the price goes up.
There is no doubt about it — ^the soft white pine, full %
thick, is the best bee-hive on the market. A bee-hive may be
made from clippings and scraps from some wood-pile, scant
thickness and mixed quality of material — some white pine,
some Norway, some cross-grained, cross-breed material —
and sold for less money than the standard goods, but the
quality is not there, and in the long run it will be found that
the standard goods will out-last the cheaper article.
Nowhere will the well-tried maxim prove more true than
in the purchasing of bee hives — "The best is the cheapest."
W. H. Putnam.
Mr. Aspinwall — I note one remark in the paper, that the
bee-keepers who are successful have to pay for the ones
who make failures, and that have long credits extended to
them by a jobbing house which charges for their hives and
supplies. That seems to be the rule in every department
of human affairs. You and I pay high hotel bills because of
the man who uses the soap, and takes the towels away, and
breaks things ; also the table is extravagantly luxurious proba-
bly two or three times more than it need be. There are
numerous lines in which the same thing is made to balance
the extravagance and wastefulness in all departments. I
don't know but that is the only safe way. However, there
are lots of things in the article to commend it, notably one,
where the Association can buy in large quantities and so
purchase at a discount.
Mr. Fred W. Muth then read a paper entitled,
HOW THE PRODUCERS AND DEALERS MAY AD-
VANCE THEIR MUTUAL INTERESTS
My subject was given me by our worthy Secretary, and,
I believe, as a nut to crack; when finished, I will leave you to
judge as to whether or not I have succeeded.
As a dealer, I am proud that I am afforded the oppor-
tunity to speak to you on this subject, for it is the most im-
portant one before this convention, for the reason that it
touches the pocket-book of the fraternity.
I will endeavor to give vivid descriptions of some ship-
ments of honey as received ; dissect a number of transactions.
- 1;
228
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
and show results. Furthermore, I will prove to you that it
is indeed necessary for many producers to use better judg-
ment in grading their honey, and also to use better packages,
so that their product will command marketable prices. At
the same time, however, I will describe to you clearly some
nice shipments of honey, and their results.
Some time ago, a party sent us some 20 odd barrels of
honey; it was in the month of September. When they arrived
at the depot, we were promptly notified by the R. R. Co., of
the leaky condition of the lot. Our drayman, accompanied
by a cooper, repaired quickly to the depot, in order to get
the barrels into shape, so that they could bring them to the
store. When the barrels were rolled over the sidewalk, the
honey oozed out from between the staves. The cooper at-
tended the packages at three different times, and even then
did not succeed in checking all the leaks. Our motto from
the very beginning of our business career, has been, "Money
back the day shipment is received," and we always adhere
to the motto. However, we cannot afford to lose any money
on account of another's negligence. We immediately in-
formed the shipper of the exact state of affairs, telling him
at the same time that we could not possibly remit for this
shipment until after we had disposed of same. We further-
more stated, that, on account of the poor cooperage, and the
close margin of profit, we could not do otherwise, but prom-
ised to let him hear from us, at an early date. Well, in a
comparatively short time, we received a real nice letter from
the A. I. Root Co., in which they asked why payment for
this honey was withheld, etc., and at the same time they
stated that probably the shipment was too large for us. We
sold 10 barrels of the lot, which were shipped out of the
city. When they arrived at their destination, we received
a telegram from the consignee as follows: "Honey at depot
all leaking; refuse to accept." We responded promptly by
wire, asking him to please accept the shipment and protect
our interests. This shipment had been attended to by an
able cooper before it left the store, and we fully believed
would stand shipping.
Such transactions are not to the mutual advantage of
the producer and dealer. The result — no more shipments
from this producer, for he really believed we took advantage
of him.
Now, then, I call to mind another shipper, who has
shipped us no less than 300 barrels of honey to date. When
he makes a shipment, he forwards, with the B.-L. a letter, in
which he enumerates the barrels, gives the weights, gross and
tare, and describes the quality and flavor of the honey with
such accuracy that we know exactly how it tastes by his
letter. I wish to add here, that his honey is always free
from dirt and is well ripened. Frequently his shipments are
sold before they reach Cincinnati, for the reason that we can
depend upon his weights, and so far there has never been
a leaking barrel received. Many of you know this gentle-
man, he is a bee-keeper. Such shipments are certainly an
advantage to both the dealer and producer.
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 229
Two years ago, I visited a bee-keepers' home, and saw
50,000 pounds of comb honey he had produced that season.
He cases his honey immediately, and just as it comes from
the hive, making no distinction in the grading, places the
good with the poor quality, and, should there be a leaky sec-
tion, does not discard it, but places it in the case with the
honey that is sound and solid. Had he graded his honey
carefully, we would have bought the lot on the spot. Besides
being interested in the bee-keeping industry, he is a farmer,
and, by the way, his farm contains i,ooo acres ; he is also an
extensive stock-buyer. I know his bees do not receive the
attention they should, for his other interests crowd him.
At the time, I told him that I would buy his honey if he
would grade it properly, stating that it would pay him to do
so. , He replied by saying that he had no difficulty in dis-
posing of his crop. Right he was. We received several ship-
ments from him, just to see how it would sell, but on ac-
count of the grading, we could not possibly pay him the
price he could have otherwise demanded. Transactions of
this kind give rise to the fact that such shipments are neither
profitable to the producer nor the dealer.
About one month ago, a farmer walked into my office,
and asked for Mr. Muth. When I had made myself known,
he said he had 223 cases of comb honey down at the wharf-
boat, and asked what we were paying for good honey. Upon
my question as to how it was packed, he replied, "In the caps,
just as it was taken from the hive." "Why," I said, "isn't
it in shipping-cases like that honey over there ?" pointing
to some nicely packed comb honey. "No," he said, "it is still
in the caps, and when I sell it, I want the caps back, as I
thought I could probably make a trade, that would be worth
my while." I told him that we made no offers, unless we
saw the exact condition of the honey, but if he would name
a price that would justify, I would go down to the wharf and
look at his lot. I can assure you he startled me when he
said, "If you will take the whole lot, and return 'the caps,
I will make the price at 14 cents; that's the price at which
fine honey is selling." Of course, I was not interested, and I
failed to understand or learn where he sold his honey in
our city. I really believe he went on down the riveV. I
leave it to you to form your own opinion of sudjyship-
ments.
Now, let me relate another transaction with a producer,
who understands his business. This bee-keeper wrote us
stating that he had some 25,000 pounds of comb honey that
graded Extra Fancy, Fancy, and No. i, and that he knew it would
please us, for it was graded according to rules and his best
judgment. He quoted ,a price that met with our approval,
and his correspondence was so satisfactory that we imme-
diately came to the conclusion that he was, a practical bee-
keeper, and informed him that we would accept the ship-
ment at his price, provided he would ship us as a sample a
few carriers of each grade, and if the same came up to our
expectations, he could expect our order for the entire lot.
Promptly we received a shipment of 15 carriers. (By the
/
__"_.->4a.# V.
230 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
way, this was the first shipment of comb honey this sea-
son).
-Right here I wish to relate to you how I disposed of the
first cases which I used to feel the pulse of the market. The
day this lot arrived, a dealer in bee-supplies and honey from
another city was visiting at our store. The 15 carriers, con-
sisting of some 160 cases, were opened, and a finer lot of
honey we never saw before. I took one of the cases, told my
friend, the dealer, to come with me, and I would show him
how to sell honey. Our first stop was at the finest retail
grocery in Cincinnati. The proprietor, a fine gentleman,
wants only the finest of everything, and is well posted. Pass-
ing through the store, saluting the clerks, I was making up
my mind as to how many cases I should sell him. "Shall I
say 25 or 30 cases?" said I to my friend, "or shall I sell him
40 cases?" I finally concluded to sell him 50 cases and make
the price I5>4 cents per pound. I walked up to the elderly
gentleman, who is always very busy, and business must be
done quickly and to the point. I showed him the case of
honey: he knew I would offer only the finest. He asked
if the lot was all like that sample case. My reply in the
affirmative closed that sale of 50 cases at 15^ cents, in less
time than it takes to tell it.
When we were again on the street, I remarked how
easy it was to sell at I5J^ cents, and proposed that we go to
another store and try our luck at 16 cents. Well, I did sell
8 cases at 16 cents, and felt that I had not reached the top
of the market even at that price. We repaired to the next
store, and after quite a bit of hesitation and arguing, I sold
another 10 cases at 16J/2 cents. This price, however, proved
to be the limit, for at the next store I tried my very best to
sell this party 5 cases at 17 cents, but in vain. He was will-
ing to pay i6j^ cents, but no more; sold him 2 cases. Well,
in this way, we learn what price the market will pay.
This producer shipped us honey as fast as he could pack
it; we forwarded a check the very same day shipments ar-
rived, and in the entire shipment, just think of it, there was
not one leaky case ! His honey was packed as he stated in his
first letter, viz., Extra Fancy, Fancy, and No. i. The rows
in the center of the case were equally as fine as the ones next
the glass. This producer is certainly an honor to the frater-
nity, and if more would follow his example I know there
would be less complaints, and lamenting about the cheap
prices of honey.
Recently, a bee-keeper shipped us a barrel of bees-wax,
at which time he wrote us stating that he knew from past
transactions that we will do the right thing by him. The
wax was not all choice, but upon its arrival we separated it,
allowing him 30 cents per pound for the good quality, and
25 cents for the poorer grade. A few days before I left
home, I received a letter from him stating that he received
our check for his wax, which was more than he expected.
We may also depend upon him for his shipments of honey
in the future. It pleases us when a shipper is well satisfied.
Here is another transaction: Recently a party shipped
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 231
US 21 carriers of comb honey, 12 over one road and the other
9 over another. Never before have we seen honey packed
as this was. The bottom of the carrier was the exact size
of one case ; there was a thin layer of straw, upon which
were placed 5 cases of honey, one above the other. This,
with 4 sides and a top constituted the carrier, which could
be rolled about as a baggage master would handle a trunk.
The condition in which this hon^y arrived was most de-
plorable. Five of our employees worked one whole day over-
hauling the lot. The fruit of the day's -work was a great
big lot of chunk honey that we were compelled to close out
at 6 cents per pound. Withal, we are still in hopes that the
R. R. Co. will grant reclamation, and if they do, we will
send the shipper a check in full for his shipment. Now, when
we forward remittance to this shipper, we will write him
a nice letter, telling him how to pack his comb honey in the
future, so that it will stand transportation. I venture to say that
our advice will not be received with gratefulness, but proba-
bly with scorn. Now, if the bee-papers, which are ever ready
to do the individual bee-keeper some good, would print slips
teaching the bee-keeper how to prepare both his extracted
and comb honey for shipment, using as few words as possible,
and enclose one of these slips in each copy of the paper
for one whole year, believe me, the benefit derived would
be amazing.
And last, but not least, I want to relate a little instance
that will close my talk on this subject. Some time ago,
we opened communications with a producer of comb honey-^
of whom we had heard, 'tis true, but had never had any
dealings with him. Well, he hesitated and procrastinated so
long that we finally wrote him stating that he had very little
faith in mankind, and that if he didn't trust us, he needn't
mind shipping us his honey. He was satisfied with our
offer, and decided to favor us with his shipment. When
he advised us to that effect, he wrote us saying that since we
surmised' that he had very little faith in mankind, he in turn
took it for granted that we must have a great deal of faith,
and he therefore makes bold to ask us to remit for the ship-
ment, upon receipt of the B. L. Naturally, we are adverse to
doing business that way, and his statement necessitated an-
other delay.
Again we wrote him that we are honest and trustworthy,
and referred him to a number of prominent persons. I don't
know if he inquired about us, but we finally received a letter
from him in whiclf he simply stated that he shipped us 17
carriers of comb hbney, gave us the weights, and requested
us to remit him when the goods arrived. His honey ar-
rived in due time and in good condition, for well did he un-
derstand the art of packing, and the honey was very fine.
We could not have criticised, nor even offered a single sug-
gestion. The same day his honey arrived, we sent him a
check that amounted to more than he expected, for the
honey weighed more than he had stipulated. I know he held
his breath when he received his money, for in one of his first
letters he blankly stated that he expected to be fleeced. If
^■ifji.,.-'
,^-,;'- ■-',>;;'• £i^;vV-,.=?_^ ;t^v i-'. =^J^.?^ -.^'kiy^-^^
232 FIFTH ANNUAL REPOJIT
that gentleman is in the audience, I want him to rise and tell
you what he named me after he learned our method of
square dealing.
This concludes my speech, if I may so term it, and I
trust you have benefited thereby, in learning how the pro-
ducer and dealer may advance their mutual interests. I thank
you. Fred. W. Muth.
Mr. Eidmann — I wish to say this in regard to Mr. Muth's
paper, that I was present at the time that comb honey ship-
ment came from Illinois, and it was just as he stated. I
may say Mr. Muth took as good care of the honey as the
shipper could have done; he had the shipper's interests at
heart. He was not there, but his men were.
MOVED BEES DO BETTER THAN UNMOVED.
"Why do bees removed a considerable distance in spring
invariably do better than bees in the same locality not hav-
ing been so moved?"
Mr. Baxter — I have observed that for 20 years, and those
move to out-apiaries have done better than those that had
been there all winter. I have been trying to find. out how it
was, but I can't.
Mr. McEvoy — What time did you move them?
Mr. Baxter — April and May.
Mr. McEvoy — Before fruit-bloom or after?
Mr. Baxter — Before and during fruit-bloom. I moved
them from 3 to 5 miles. I have noticed that every year,
invariably.
Mr. Stone — I would like to ask Mr. Baxter if he was not
a little choice in selecting the bees he moved. May be he
took just the ones he knew were very strong and moved them,
and then compared them with some that were weak and
strong together.
Mr. Baxter — No, sir, I have not. I have taken them on
the average, some weak and some strong, but both did better
than bees that were not moved.
Pres. Dadant — I have remarked the same thing. I as-
cribe that to the fact that the bees having been moved are
disturbed and more likely to breed, and produce more heat.
I do not know whether that is the answer.
Mr. Niver — We found out in New York State that our
home-apiary in the village wintered better, and seemed to
get pollen in the spring much, quicker, than they did in the
out-apiaries. We noticed the same effect when we moved
them from the home-apiaries to the out-apiaries; they were
the strongest and did the best. It was a better place to
winter.
Mr. Aspinwall — As the discussion went on it occurred
to me that the cause was the same as the President sug-
gested, that they fed themselves with honey which was
largely used to secrete the larval food,- or food to supply the
queen, and egg-laying ensued.
Mr. McEvoy- — I was going to remark the same as this
gentleman — the jarring and jolting caused them to uncap
^
-".-Vr-s' !>»'■. 'f J'-^^if:' 'ii'^^^fJi^-'L^ J :
^'i^^-^^T'^^
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 233
~and prepare a little more; at the same time they are led to
stimulate more.
Mr. Wheeler — I have noticed the same thing, but I attrib-
uted it to the fact that where we wintered our bees we didn't
pay any attention particularly to the flow of honey. It was
the most convenient place. When we start an out-apiary we
are always thinking about the location, and we are more apt
to take them to a place where there are more honey
flowers.
Pres. Dadant — In the case of Mr. Baxter, the bees
were moved to places where there were other bees, and
they did better than the bees that were on the spot.
Mr. Baxter — In some instances I practice the feeding
in the spring to stimulate and move the combs as occasion
niay require, to get as much brood as possible. I have done
that in these apiaries from which I have taken these bees,
and if it was the result of stimulative feeding, why didn't
those bees profit from that stimulative feeding, as well as
these that gorged themselves with honey on the trip?
NUMBER OF COLONIES REPRESENTED.
"How many colonies of bees are represented in this
■convention?"
Mr. France — In regard to the National Association, I
have a good many objects in view in the Annual Report to
make it of value to its members. One is the crop report,
and it is not half completed because the members did not give
me their reports. It is not satisfactory. I would liki, to
"make these volumes something that you would retain in fu-
ture years, and care for them sufficiently to bind them.
Mr. Hershiser — Couldn't it be bound better when it
reaches the bee-keepers?
Mr. France — Yes, it could. That crop report is of a
value that many of you do not know. In Michigan they
get up a leaflet bulletin, and that has pretty nearly marketed
^e honey for Michigan. You get it largely, though, in the
rough, and in the full report later on.
Pres. Dadant — I hope the members will bear that in mind,
and when they receive the blank from our Manager that they
will pay more attention to it. I trust most of you are not
among the guilty ones.
SHIPPING COMB HONEY.
"What is the best method of shipping comb honey in less
than car lots?"
Mr. Muth — If they are 24-section cases the best method
is carriers containing 8 cases each, with straw underneath and
handles on the outside, and marked with great big letters,
"Handle with care. Comb honey. This side up." You can
ship it in that way from one end of this country to the other,
if it is done right. Mr. Taylor understands it better than I.
Mr. Taylor — Everybody knows my method. The ship-
ment J. made, to which reference is made, I shipped in car-
riers that would hold nine 24-pound cases; it would hold 3
234 FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
in the bottom and 2 upon each one of the 3 — 9 cases. In the
bottom I put 3 or 4 inches of straw. I think peastraw is
first-rate, if one has it; it is sort of springy and does not pack
together so much as some other kinds. Have the carrier
so made that it will retain the straw, and then put in the
cases upon the straw. I generally have one case at each
end that shows the glass a little. I don't know whether
that is an advantage or not. I sometimes think it is not.
I sometimes think a person handling it, if he sees the glass,
may be a little more careful.
Mr. Muth — Right here is a point. The truck man or rail-
road man just likes to put a foot through it for fun, and
then stick their fingers in to taste the honey. Turn it
around the other way, and they won't do it.
Mr. Taylor — Then I give directions upon the top of the
carrier, "Keep this crate cross-wise of the Car with care."
That is all there is to it. Putting it cross-wise of the car
makes the sections stand lengthwise of the car, so that they
will stand a great deal more julting than the other way.
Mr. Hintz — How do you pack the 9 cases in a carrier?
Mr. Taylor — Put 3 in the bottom side by side, and then
upon each one of them, 2; that makes 9.
Mr. Wheeler — Do you put two handles on the side?
Mr. Taylor — The carriers are so made that there is a
place to take hold of them. The handles don't stick out on.
those carriers. If I were making crates or making carriers
to ship honey, I would make them so that they would hold
6 cases instead of 9, and be handled more easily, and per-
haps more safely. So that there would be 2 piles of 3 each
instead of 3 of 3 each.
Mr. Hintz — You have nearly 400 pounds?
Mr. Taylor — No; they would run about 25 pounds to a
c^fse; 9 times 25 is 225 — perhaps 250 pounds besides the
packing.
Mr. Muth — I believe the carriers that contain eight 24-
section cases, with carriers all the way through on each
side, are more preferable, because two men can handle them
better. I remember with one shipment we had to have a
strong man go down there and help, and I had to go down,
too.
Mr. Aspinwall — I believe Mr. Muth has suggested that
the bee-papers send -instructions to the comb-honey producer
as to packing. How would it do for the jobber to do so
every time a letter was sent or received?
Mr. Muth— We are always doing that. We are going
to put them in printed form.
Pres. Dadant — I believe a private letter would be read
with more attention than printed circulars.
Mr. Muth — Whenever we get a shipment of honey that
is real nice, if we can criticise we always try to tell the
shipper where it could be better.
Mr. Scott — It might be added to what Mr. Taylor has
said, that in making up the crates the slats are always up^
.and down in a carrier crate, and it is just as handy to have
this part to which the top of the up-and-down boards are
:.;'^: rt>V7:?vfV :'-^- '
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 235
nailed about 8 or lo inches longer than the crate is to be. That
leaves 4 or 5 inches at each end to stick out, and that is
suggestive itself to the railroad man to take hold of that.
And be sure and mark it comb honey. I was at one time
checkman in a freight-house, and when we could see any-
thing of that sort we were in duty bound to caution the
truck man to be careful. That does some good in one way,
but it is to yoUr disadvantage if you have to collect a claim
when the officials come to it. Cheap hay is as nice a cushion
as I have ever seen — even excelsior, but it is finer, and the
bottom of the crate has to be tight.
Mr. Hershiser — Have you seen hay made into a rope
and put around? It is twisted in a rope, and it is more of a
springy nature.
Mr. Wheeler — I would like to ask Mr. Muth if he thinks
it at all advisable to use packing on the sides and top of the
honey, also between?
Mr. Muth — No, sir. Down below only. Then put them
close so that they don't jar. Don't show the glass. That is
all rot.
Mr. Niver — I found in shipping honey quite extensively
in York State that it was very nice to have a large circular
printed in large letters to put on top of the case; and the
most important thing I have found to put on that case was,
"Don't handle on a 2-wheeled truck." That is what breaks
more honey than anything else, by tipping the honey. The
angle at which it is held is just right to hit the edge of the
section, and drive the honey out of the comb. I found that
was the main breakage point. Put that label on, and ship
them without any carrier.
Mr. Muth — The railroad company will not receive honey
for local shipment in single-case lots.
MEMBERSHIP FEES.
Is the acceptance of members at 50 cents, when an asso-
ciation joins the National in. a body, fair to the other mem-
ber who sends his $1.00 in?"
Mr. Muth — Yes. Be grateful.
Pres. Dadant — My impression is that the time is com-
ing when we will get members in no other way.
Mr. ICannenberg — I think the member who pays the dol-
lar has the same chance as the other that pays the 50 cents.
CHANGING FRAMES — LEAVING HONEY ON HIVES.
"Will it pay me to change the Standard Langstroth
frame when nearly all of my 200 hives now in use contain
the old-style of loose-hanging frames, which are g% in-
side?"
Mr. France — I would say no.
"Is honey injured by leaving it on for days after being
capped, where extracted honey is taken off?"
Mr. McEvoy — When it can possibly be taken out soon
after it is capped, the honey is thicker than if left later.
Mr. Kluck — In a wet fall and cold weather it may do
K^-' \ ••^'"
Jk.
1
4
236
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
;f
r^ity:;ft
that; in a dry climate and dry weather it won't make any
difference.
A
EXTRACTING FROM SAME COMBS YEARLY — POUND SECTION.
"Is extracting from the same combs every year right?
If not, what is the objection?
Mr. Baxter — I say yes, of course, every year. I have
combs I have been using for 25 years, and I can't see any
difference in the honey. I have combs as black as the ace of
spades, and the honey is white.
"Why not have a section that will hold, when well filled
by the bees, one pound?"
Mr. Hershiser — Because you can't get such a section.
Sometimes the bees will fill a section made to hold a pound,
but more often it won't hold quite a poun^ whereas, if you get
a section a little larger than that, that will hold a pound
when not well filled, it will hold more than a pound when
well filled.
Mr. York — When you get the bees to put in just a pound,
you will then have a section for it.
"How would a section be 4^4 x 5 xi^ for holding a
pound of honey?"
Mr. Muth — It would be impracticable, because we have
so many different sizes of sections on the market, and they are
a humbug, 9 out of 10.
Mr. McEvov — It takes too much wax.
HONEY DEALERS AND CARLOADS OF HONEY.
"Why do honey-dealers ship carloads of Colorado and
Cuban honey to commission men, to a white clover market?"
Mr. Hershiser — They do that to take advantage of the
good market which the clover honey has made.
Mr. Muth — That question is wrong, because they don't
ship on commission.
"Why don't the honey-producers and sellers get to-
gether, and then do business?"
Mr. Wheeler — I think they are together.
Mr. Muth — They do.
"Why do bee-keepers ship their honey to commission
men ?"
Mr. Muth — Because they know no better.
Mr. Taylor — Because they haven't a cash buyer.
TAKING BEE-PAPERS.
"Should a bee-keeper take more than one bee-paper?"
Voices — All of them.
>A
PREVENTING BEES FROM DRIFTING.
"What is the most desirable position to place hives in
the yard to prevent 'drifting,' especially when setting them
out in the spring, or placing them for swarming?"
Mr. Hershiser — The term "drifting" means where bees
are set out from the cellar, when they take their first flight,
,.^*S^-
STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION 237
when they come back they are likely all to settle in the most
convenient place.
Mr. McEvoy — In many places in Ontario that happened
last spring, in the front rows, with the majority of the bees.
If the rows had been kept back farther from one another it -
would have been better.
Pres. Dadant — I think you have more drifting because
you don't pay attention to putting them back in the same
spot. If you put the bees back in the same spot where they
were before the winter, you will have very little trouble.
Put the covers on the stand and bring the hives back to that
spot. - ^^
Mr. Huffman — I had some trouble last spring. The day '^
r set them out it was a nice, warm day, but it was windy -^
and they went to the south end of the yard. I couldn't
prevent it. i
"Will bees drift when returned from the cellar to the {^
same stands?" ^^
Mr. Hershiser — I asked that question in order to get a , ^
chance to answer it. I moved my bees about ^ of a mile "*■
and placed them in the cellar, and when I placed them out
again they were set right near the places where they had
been wintered. I found last spring that my bees drifted very ' %
badly, and it wasn't because they were not returned to their
original stand.
Mr. Taylor — I don't think there is any difficulty in pre- .J
venting that drifting when you take them out at the right :^
time. Never take your bees out when it is warm. That is -^
contrary to what is talked of, but I don't practice it any "A
more. I take them out when it is rather cool — ^too cool for , ~^^
them to fly, a little before soft maple. At all events, take iS
them out when it is a little cloudy and cool, so that they
will stay in their hives; and when they come out they will
come a few at a time and won't fly far, and will learn the -^
new location. - "^
FUMIGATING FOUL-BROODY COMBS. •
•^
"Has fumigation of brood-combs exposed in a tight - '^
room ever been tried on foul-broody combs with formalde- ~ '|
hyde?" ' ' 4^
Mr. France — Yes, and as a rule not successfully. ■ ^
Mr. McEvoy — It will never be a success in an apiary. ,- ^
STOPPING LIES ABOUT COMB HONEY. " |
-i
"How can we best stop or prevent lies about manufac- Ji
tured comb honey?" "* --1
Mr. Muth— Don't try to argue with foolish people and
foolish reports. Say nothing.
Mr. Stone — I have never found a better way to beat that
lie than just to explain to them the difficulty of the rolling
out of the foundation comb, and then ask. How you are
going to roll out a cell an inch deep, and as fine as silk all
around ?
4
l3li:S^^-'ttP^k£&-
Y-.
23S
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
HONEY OOZING FROM MASON JARS.
"What causes honey to ooze from the common Mason
fruit- jars when they are not filled quite to the top, and are
kept level?"
Mr. Hershiser — Capillary attraction.
Mr. Arnd — I think by screwing down the top it com-
presses the air and forces it up through the rubber.
"What does the National Bee-Keepers' Association do,
or what is it going to do, for members of such associations
who pay half their dues to the National?" i
Mr. Holekamp — In my work in our State I have sent
out many hundreds of circulars asking bee-keepers to join
our association, and I have received many and many a
letter ja which the question was asked. What are you
going to do? What do we get for our money? I
have ?..nswered those letters to the best, of my ability.
Formerly the National Association held out the inducement
that we would defend the bee-keepers against unfair prosecu-
tion. A resolution was passed that we pay only half the ex-
penses of defending the bee-keepers in such cases. I put in
that question to find out what could be done for them,
because it is certainly of great importance that these bee-
keepers can receive an answer which would bring in appli-
cations. We have protection that is worse than nothing to
them. If a olain bee-keeper in a town must pay half the
expenses of defending himself, it is better for him to pull
out.
Mr. Stone — The question is put from the wrong thing.
The man that pays the dollar has become a member of the
National, and is the one that ought to have asked that ques-
tion, because the one that joins the State Association and
pays half a dollar in the State Association, and half a dollar
in the National, and gets the benefit of the State Associa-
tion, gets as much in the National as the one that pays his
dollar.
Mr. France — The point Mr. Holekamp wanted to bring
out was this : When A gets into trouble with neighbor B,
and gets into a lawsuit now, the Association asks him to pay
one-half of the costs to get him out of it.
Mr. Stone — Does he, by joining the National, get fully
paid for the defence?
Mr. Ta3dor — There is no difference between them.
Mr. France — As a word of explanation in that line, when
this was first started the Association over-reached what it
should have done. It did pay every dollar of it, and we
foresaw that it was going to be ruinous to the Association,
inasmuch as it had the record of never losing a case, and
our members were over- stepping their privileges with their
neighbors, and were doing things they would not have done
had they not been members of the Association. I submitted
it to the Directors, and in order to keep that class of our
members from further getting themselves and all of us into
more of those troubles, we decided to let them pay part of
that. Dr. Miller's motion at that time came up, and was
'■;s*--».\-ye/^-'-^fC
STATE bee-keepers' AS SOtlATION 239
passed to let him pay half, and I want to say it has reduced
the expenses of the Association a lot, and stopped a good
many promising laWsuits. The Association is doing, as it
has from the beginning — all possible to protect and defend
every member attacked in any unjust or illegal way, with in-
structions that we pay not to exceed one-half, or over $ioo,
without permission of the Board of Directors; and the
expenses on any case not to run up to over $200.
On the other hand, that is only one of the things that
the Association has been doing. It hopes to continue to
help market the honey, and to get better packages to market
it in. I found to my sorrow that we have not a good stand-
ard for honey in the United States. On that point, I got
samples of 84 kinds at St. Louis last year, and had to pack
them before they were all in the shelves, to save them.
I could have sold that lot of samples and realized from them
a little profit, but I said. No, I have made arrangements to
divide those 84 samples and submit them to three of the
best chemists in the tlnited States, one of them being in the
United States government department. They know them by
a number. We will have, in time, a chemical analysis by
3 expert chemists, of 84 kinds of honey. That is an analysis
for the purity of the honey. From the reports I have got in
now, there is over ii percent of difference. The worst of
all was from a sample of honey that has been held for a
term of years.
Mr. Hershiser — I would like to know from Mr. France
whether there are many people who decline to join the Associa-
tion because the Association does not extend full protection to
them in case they get into trouble. I would like to ask, fur-
ther, if that is the case, if it would not be possible for the
Board of Directors to use their discretion as to whether a
person is entitled to any protection or not instead of limiting
them to one-half.
Mr. France — The motion defines this, but I was in-
structed to allow a variance according to the individual case.
In reply to the other part of your question, Have we gained
or lost members by this change in the line of paying one-
half of the members' costs? I desire to say we have gained
two members where we lost one. Many of them said, I
■ believe that is a good thing ; the bee-keepers will be a little
careful as to what they are doing.
Mr. Taylor — I may say in partial answer to Mr. Hershiser
that in case of necessity the Board of Directors would pay
more than one-half of the expenses. It depends upon the
case. They can use their own discretion.
On motion, the convention closed at 10 o'clock p. m., to
meet at the call of the Executive Committee.
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