•'^''V-. UNIVERSITY OF (UINOIS AGRICULTURE U8fMJnr ' '■w'^^ ■.'^Kir : .•'?^'-. r--^f$.*^' '■^^^V;; ^'SwS ^^r , * /;. /.-'■'■'i^^^V. «|- vv;;,-!^^ ^■«H- .«■■ :a^ite: ,- /-".^is^^^v-- ^^itt -\;'-"-V'''ft*?^^V-'- /-■' ■_ .S'.-.; ^^^K'^'-V^'f ' = ;.-ii5sS#> w- '^x '1^?* ■f 1 i-..; ■■^'Lr-:.: ^ '--"J^y^-'i, .:;^^:. -^*£f 5 , , .^: ■ "'?tiii>- ilS^)^" ■ ■ ^V-: .;1 "'>--^ "Sf^^ifi n ^(.w-t-^^^ ^j ^-'j*'Ti-^^^'^»'»^^*5*^CTs?t^y9BWjawr«9«¥^-^-- ,5-,-^jj,^ ■-'OCY.'- ' '^K^-. !?H'Vj:c?S!;-n- tw • yl^ ygj^ J' A , NINTH ANNUAL REPORT or THE Iffinois Biaic Mec-If eepers ssoeiaHon Organized Feb. 26, 1891 SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS Compiled by JAMES A. STONE, Secretary, R. R. 4, Springfield, ML 91S ^ '^n'nmr of fLUi«ois imm NINTH ANNUAL RBPORT^^^^^ ^^13 -;: i -OF THE- I i mm DuD"( Organized Feb. 26, 189 1, -AT- SPRINGFIELD, ILL.r COMPUTED BY JAMES A. STONE, Secretary, R. R. 4, Springfield, 111. ^ Springfield, 111, Illinois State Register Print, 1910. y. K c . /I UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AGRICULTURE LIBRARY LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. \ \ Office of the Secretary, R. R. 4, Springfield, III., March 1, 1910. To his Excellency, Charles S. Deneen, Governor of the State of Illinois: Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith the Ninth Annual Report of the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association. Respectfully submitted, James A. Stone, Secretary. FATHER T.AXGPTROTH, ]ii\-fntui- (if tlic MovaliU' Fraiiiu Hivc OFFICERS -O]-' TUK - Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association FOR 1910 C. p. DADANT. ........ . . President Hsriilton. ii!. A, L. KILDOW. Putnam £t.-.te Fc-. 1 Srcod Inspector. VICE- PRESIDENTS. ^ist— ..AARON COPPIN, Wenona 2:: — J. W. BOWEN ... Jacksonville ?,H — LOUIS WERNER Edwardsyille 4th— W. B. MOORE Altona 5tii— I. E. PYLES, . . ...... ..... Putnam J.AMES A. STONE, ... Secretary CHAS. BECKER ' Treasurer Fieasani Plains. Lisi .if jii'-iiili.i's will aMJt;:-!' ii"i i.'ack '.'( Rep. in. .\;>- Sl;i li ~l ic il Ki;.! Tt. J. Q. SMITH, I^ate President of the Illinois State Bee Keepers' Association. ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS* ASSOCIATION Formation of the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association. ^Springfield, 111., Feb. 26, 1891. The Capitol Bee-Keepers' Associa- tion 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. Tocum temporary secretary. On motion, the Chair ap- pointed Thos. y the Gov- ernor, the Auditor of Public Accounts shall draw his warrant on the Treas- urer of the State of Illinois in favor of the treasurer of the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association for the sum herein appropriated. Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the treasurer of the Illinois State Bee- Keepers' Association to pay out of said appropriation, on itemized and re- ceipted vouchers, such sums as may be authorized by vote of said organiza- tion Qpa/ the order of the president, couiifersigned by ihe secretary, and make annual report to the Governor of all such expenditures, as provided by law. ;— 7V-c^-.;;j>/' yr-^.-/ -i 12 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Copy of a petition sent out to 1,200 bee-keepers in the State- turned to the Secretary during the year 1910. -to be re- We, the undersigners, most earnestly petition the 47th General Assembly to enact the following: A BILL For .m act providing for the appointment of a State Inspector of Apiaries, and prescribing his powers and duties. Whereas, The disease Icnown as foul brood exists to a very considerable ex- tent in various portions of this State, which, if left to itself, will soon ex- terminate the honey bees; and. Whereas, The work done by an in- dividual bee-keeper or by a State In- spector is useless so long as the official is not given authority to inspect and, if need be, to destroy the disease when found; and, Whereas, There is a great loss to the bee-keeprs and fruit-growers of the State each year by the devastating ravages of foul 'brood: Section 1. Be It enacted by the Peo- ple of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly: That the Governor shall appoint, a State In- spector of Apiaries, who shall hold his office for the term of two years, and until his successor is appointed and qualified, and who may appoint one or more assistants, as needed, to carry on the inspection under his supervision. Sec. 2. Said Inspector shall, when notified of the existence of foul brood, or any other contagious or infectious disease 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 person 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 as di- rected, then the said Inspector may treat them at the owner's expense, or iburn the diseased colonies, or their combs, as in his judgment seems best to prevent the spread of the disease. 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 de- stroyed, and the expense incurred in the performance of his duties. Said In- spector shall receive $4.00 for each day actually and necessarily spent in the performance of his duties, and be re- imbursed for the money expended by him in defraying his expenses, out of the appropriation made to the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association; pro- vided, that the total expenditure for such purposes shall not exceed $600.00 per year. Sec. 4. Any owner of a diseased apiary or appliances taken therefrom, who shall sell, barter or give away any such apiary, appliance, queens or bees from suoh 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 hoindred dollars. Names Senatorial District No. Addresses No. of Colonies of Bees ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 13 No. \ . V CERTIFICATE OF Illinois State Foul Brood Inspector of Apiaries. Date 191. I have this day inspected the Apiary of:— .;■ • Mr .....:... P. O No. of colonies fn Apiary ''. • • • • • ■ ■ • • r • • ■ - In cellar Doss . Last winter. Outside Loss . I i: Libs. Comb 191 Honey. Lbs. Extracted. No. colonies apparently healthy.., Nb. colonies diseased , Name of disease Date bees to be treated. No. colonies or hives to be burned. Subscriber for Remarks Foul Brood Inspector of Illinois. 14 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE Code of Rules and Standards for Grading Apiarian Exhibits at Fairs, as Adopted by Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association. COMB HONEY. Rule 1. Comb honey shall be marked on a scale of 100. as follows: Quantity 40 Quality " 40 Style of display 20 Rule 2. Points of quality should be: Variety 5 Clearness of capping 10 Comp|^eness of capping 5 Completeness of filling 5 Straightness of comb 5 Uniformity 5 Style of section 5 Remarks: 1. By variety is meant different kinds, with regard to the sources from which the honey is gath- ered, which adds much interest to an exhibit. 2. By clearness of capping is meant freedom from travel stain and a water soaked appearance. This point is marked a little high, because it is a most important one. There is no bet- ter test of the quality of comb ihoney than the appearance of the cappings. If honey is taken off at the proper time, and cared for as it should be. so as to preserve its original clear color, body and flavor will take care of them- selves, for excellence in the last two points always accompanies excellence in the first. Clover and basswood honey shoud be white; heartsease, a dull white tinged with yellow; and Spanish needle, a bright yellow. 3. By uniformity is meant closeness of Tesemblance in the section's compos- ing the exhibit. 4. By style is meant neatness of the sections, freedom' from propolis, etc. Under this head may also be consid- ered the size of the section. The 4%x4% being the standard, should take the preference over all others, and 1% to 2 inches in width over narrow ones. 5. Honey so arranged as to show every section Should score the highest in style of display, and everything that may add to the tastiness and attract- ivness of an exhibit should be con- sidered. EXTRACTEiD HONEY. Rule 1. Extracted honey should be marked on a scale of 100, as follows: Quantity 40 Quality 45 Style of display 15 Rule 2. The points of quality should be: Variety 10 Clearness of color 5 Body 5 Flavor 5 Style of package 10 Variety of package 5 Finish 5 Remarks: 1. Light clover honey pouring out of a vessel is a very light straw color; Spanish needle, a golden hue, and dark clover honey, a dull am- ber. 2. Style of package is rated a little high, not only because in that consists the principal beauty of an exhibit of extracted honey, but also because it involves the best package for market- ing. We want to show honey in the best shape for the retail trade, and that, in this case, means the most at- tractive style for exhibition. Glass packages should be given the prefer- ence over tin; flint glass over green, and smaller vessels over larger, pro- vided the latter run over one or two pounds. 3. By variety of package is meant chiefly different sizes; but small pails for retailing, and, in addition, cans or kegs (not too large) for wholesaling, may be considered. . In the former case, palls painted in assorted colors, and lettered "Pure Honey," should be given the preference. 4. By finish Is meant capping, label- ing, etc. 5. Less depends upon the manner of arranging an exhibit of extracted than of comb honey, and for that reason, as "well as to give a higher number of points to style of package, a smaller scale is allowed - for style of display. V ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 15 SAMPLES OF COMB ANI> EX- TRACTED HONEY. Rule 1. Single cases ofi comb honey, entered as such for sepa.ra?•" - ■>-« ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 17 originates from chilled or dead brood. Dr. Howard, of Texas, one of the best practical modern scientific experi- menters, a man of authority, has proven beyond a doubt that chilled or common dead brood does not produce foul brood. I have, in the last five years, also proven his statements 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 float- nig in the air, for, if they were, why would not every brood-comb cell of 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 sun- shine on hot days. 2. The foul brood may be caused by the need of proper food and tempera- ture. Generally this disease does not appear to be serious during a honey- flow, but at the close of the honey sea- son, or at time of scarcity, it is quite serious, and as the bees at such times will rob anywhere t'hey 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 honej- 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 diseased hive, will hatch, as is often the case. I never knew 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 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 food given to the young bee, if in the proper temper- ature, said germs of disease will grow and develop" rapidly. Causes of Contagion. I fully believe that if the history of foul brood in Wisconsin were known. nearly every case could be traced to coritagion from diseased combs, honey or from home diseased queen-bneed- ers' cages. Here are some instajlces. where I have traced the history of con- tagion in Wisconsin: 1. Diseased apiaries, also single col- onies, 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 imple- ments from diseased hives, used by other bee-keepers, and borrowed ar- ticles. 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 of hives, so that neighbor's bees might get the honey. From those combs I lined robber bees to seven ot'her 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 api- aries, some located in far distant States, even Cuba. 5. Loaning of hives, combs, extrac- tors, 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 w^ere introduced, and the queens came from distant States. To be safe, on ar- rival 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 be- fore 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 tfhe shipping cage and bees were put in with the colony. The great danger is in the food in said cage being made from diseased honev. I was called to —2 18 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE attend a State bee-keepers' imeeting in another 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 sev- eral hands were raised. Even bee- keepers there had traced the disease in their apiaries to the buying of queens, and all from tihe same breeder. If you get queens from abroad, I hope you will do with them as I have described above. 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 colonies before the disease was checked. Having a honey- extractor apd 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 comhs, then fed the boiled honey. Several years have passed, and there has been no sign of disease in his apiary since. 2. Foul-brood germs are not always killed when exposed to a temperature of 212 deg. F. (boiling point) for 45 minutes. But in every case where tihe combs are boiled in boiling water, and same were well stirred while boiling, no germs were alive. 3. Foul hrood in brood-combs is not destroyed when exposed to the temper- ature 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 preserving 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 fromi a solar or sunheat extractor, is not heated enough to kill foul-brood germs. Several cases of contagion where robber bees worked on solar ex- tractor refuse or honey. 6. Comb-foundation made by sup- ply manufacturers is free from live germs of disease and perfectly safe to use. To prove this experiment be- yond a doubt, I took a quantity of badly diseased brood-combs from sev- eral apiaries and rendered each batch of combs into wax myself on the farm w*here found. Then on my own foun- dation mill I made some brood-foun- dation. I also took quite a quantity more of said wax, went to two whole- sale comb -foundation manufacturers, and both parties willingly made imy ex- perimental 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 has 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-s dead bees in and around the hive-entrance, and often robber bees seeking ntrance. 2. Upon opening the hive, the brood in the combs is irregular, badly scat- tered, with many empty cells which need inspection. 3. The cappings over healthy brood are 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 Willi draw out much like spittle or glue. 4. In this ropy stage there is more or less odor peculiar to the disease; it smells something like an old, stale gluepot. A colony may be quite badly affected and not emit muoh odor, only upon opening of the hive or close ex- amination of the brood. I have treated a few cases where the foul brood odor was plainly noticed several rods from the apiary. 5. Dried Scales. — ^If the disease has reached the advanced stages, all the above described conditions wiJl be easily seen and the dried scales as well. This foul matter is so tenacious that the bees cannot remove it, so it dries down on the lower side-wall of the cell, midway from the bottom to front end of the cell, seldom on the bottom ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 19 of the cell. According to its stage of development, there will be either the shapeless 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 bunoh at the front end of the cell, not larger than a part of a 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, wihile 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 of foul 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 sticky excrements from the adult bees. Treatment. "A bee-keeper w'ho does not disicover foul Jjrood, 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 useless waste of time and material, wholly ineffectual, inviting ruin and total loss of bees: Any method which has not for its object the entire re- moval of all infectious material beyond the reach of both bees and brood, will prove detrimental and destructive, and surely encourage the recurrence of the disease." In Wisconsin, I have tried many methods of treatment, and cured some cases with each method; but the one that rever fails, if carefully fol- lowed, and that commends itself, is the McEvoy treatment. Canada's foul brood inspector 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 tihe 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 complete. 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 starters during the four days must be burned or made into w'ax, 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 as no confusion or trouble. This same method of curing colonies of foul brood can be carried 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 rob- bing 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 W)hen 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 ■■■:^- :t 20 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE tiie bees plenty of sugar syrup, and they Avill 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 tlie starters, and g-ive the bees full sheets of comb-foun- dation, 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 the 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 diseased combs, frames, etc., as are to be burned are burned in this pit in the evening, and then the fresh earth from the pit re- turned to cover all from sight. Often I use some kerosene oil, a little at a time being 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 sur- face of the soil, there is great danger: the honey, when heated a little, 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 founda- tion. It heilps 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 100 cases, to be unneces- sary." In Wisconsin, I, too, have cured sev- eral cases by the one transferring, when honey was not coming in very freely, but it lis better, an^ 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 sxm or solar extractor, the wax, honey or residue is not hot enough to kill germs of foul brood. This I have proven by several experi- ments. It must be boiled and well stirred while boiling, to be safe. I do not believe in, or practice, burn- ing 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 so many beerkeepQrs are not so situated as to keep all diseased material from rob- ber 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 remarkable success I copy the report of his method of treatment: "Wherever found, it should be dealt with earnestly and with dispatch. If the colony is weak, I recommend smothering the bees, and in order to do this without letting a bee escape, take a tablespoonful of sulphur and place it in the hive 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 escaping 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 ^ny 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 this box. This must be done in the even- ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KKEPERS' ASSOCIATION 21 ing, when no bees are flying. Keep the ' queen in this box for 24 to 48 hours, al- lowing 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 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. "Wilcox. 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 colo- nies, even large apiaries, to doubtful hopes, but those same colonies, after I gave them treatment, were in a ■month free from all disease. Some- times it takes as careful handling as if foul brood. I do not believe it is con- tagious, for all I have seen 60 colonies in one apiary badly .reduced by it. As an experiment, 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 ten of the worst brood-combs, where at least two-thirds of the brood were dead, and placed these 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 iater the cappings have small holes in — the cappings are not shrunk- en or dark colored, as in foul brood. The dead bee will be first swollen, with a black head, dried to a hard bunch, and often turned up — China- man-s'boe-like. The skin of the dead bee is quite tough, and, if punctured, the thin, watery fluid of the body will flow as freely as water, often a little yellow or brownish colored from the dis'solved 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 piolled 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 the bees and brood comfortable on cold days and nights. Never put bees on old black brood- comlbs, or those with dead broods in; better make wax of the combs, and give the bees full sheets of brood- comb foundation. Treatment. Keep all colonies S'trong, 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 signs of weak- ness :by putting 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 lit- tle, an<3, wihen queen-cells are 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 plenty of sealed honey in the outer combs. There is a time in spring in Wisconsin, be- tween dandelions and white clover bloom, when there is no honey coming in from flowers, and often cold days and nights, so that the live bees con- sume 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 it dies, and then it is 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 disap- peared, while in the same apiaries, other colonies affected and not so treated, continued 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 cel- lar or in chafC 'hives, wintered out of i^lLt:£Ai'£^^S^ii&i^is&ii^:i£jd^f^ai^iSs-^Z'^^ ■■ 22 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE doors in sheltered location, seldom have pickled brood, chilled or other dead brood, or dysentery, and are the colonies that give t'heir owner profit. Black Brood. Black brood is another fatal and •contagious disease among bees, af- fecting the old bees as well as the brood. In 1898, 1899 and 1900, it -de- stroyed 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 microscopic 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 reac'h' the pupa stage, then turn black and die. At this stage there is a sour smell. No de- composition from putrefactive germs in pickled brood. In black brood, the dark and rotten mass in time breaks down and settles to lower side-walls of the cell; is of a watery, granulated, syrupy fluid, jelly-like; is not ropy or sticky, as in foul brood, and has a pe- culiar smell, resembling sour, rotten apples. Not even a house fly will set a foot upon it. Treatment. Best time is during a Jhoney-flow, and the modifled McEvoy plan, much as I have treated foul brood, by caging the queen five days, remove the foundation starters, and giving full sheets, keeping queen caged five days longer. As great care should be taken of diseased hives, combs, honey, etc., as in foul brood. Dysentery. Dysentery among bees in Wisconsin in the spring of the year is often quite serious. Many colonies die with it. Dysentery is the excrements of the old bees; it is of brownish 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 with- *hold their excrements, and are com- pelled 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 fiowers. % 3. Old and especially moldy pollen or bee-bretad. 4. Hives too cold or damp. If mois- ture from the breath of the bees is not carried out of the hive by some means, such as throug'h 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 ir cellar is 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 confined on those combs late in the fall, and the hive contracted to fit the same. This is one of the most im- portant conditions for success in win- tering. 2. If in the fall the bees have gath- ered this- unwholesome honey from the above named sources, it should all be extracted and either exchanged for those ihoney-combs, or feed the bees good honey or sugar syrup until win- ter stores are secured. This should be done before cold weather in the fall. 3. Hives contracted and made com- fortable, whether in cellar or out- doors. 4. If wintered in chaff hives out- doors, with feed as above directed, and there come one or two warm spells during winter, so that the bees can have a cleansing flight, they will not have dysentery or dead brood, and will be much stronger when clover opens. If wdntered in the cellar, the bees will not need so much honey, and if the winters are generally long, with doubt- ful warm spells, the cellar will be best. But to keep the bees from dysentery, so often fatal to cellar-wintered bees, tihey should have such winter stores as above spoken of, then the cellar kept at a uniform temperature, about 42 deg. F., ventila,ted so the air is fresh, and no mold will form in the cellar. Fresh air-slaked lime on the bottom of the cellar may help, if it is damp or has poor air. 5. Dysentery will not appear 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. ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 23 C. P. DADANT, President. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NINETEENTH ANNUAL SESSION #' < . OF" THE -x.-. Illinois State Bee-Keepers' ilssociation November 18 and 19. 1909. AT THE STATE HOUSE Mortidng Session, Nov. 18, 1909. Meeting was called to order by the First Vice-President, A. L. Kildow, at 10 o'clock. Prayer was offered by Greo. W. York, of Chicago. Reading of -min- utes of last meeting was dispensed with. The Secretary's report was read as follows: ISBCRETARY'S REPORT. Although the past season has been a record-breaker as to failure in the honey crop, our Association has gone the other way, for our membership this year was the largest on record. The Association was organized in February, 1891, with only 15 charter members, as follows: 24 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Black, S. N Clayton Coppin, Aaron Wenona Dadant, C. P Hamilton Dadant, Chas Hamilton Draper, A. N Upper Alton England, P. J. (first President) . . Fancy Prairie England, A. J Fancy Prairie Hambaugh, Hon. J. M Spring, 111. Lyman, Hon. J. S Farmingdale Mills, Col. Chas. F Springfield Robbins, Geo. F Mechanicsburg Stone, Jas. A. (Bradfordton) now R. F. D. No. 4 Springfield Wallace, Thos. S Clayton Yocom, C. E ' Sherman Yocom, J. "VT Williamsville Of these 15 members, five are dead; and how many are present? Answer: Three — A. Coppin, C. P. Dadant, and J. A. Stone. The next year we had a membership of 108, mostly through the efforts of A. N. Draper, who got about half of them in Alton — just any one who would pay their fee — and, of course, that kind of a membership list would not last. The next year we only had those in- terested in bee-keeping, and the list dropped to 56. In 1894 we had 40 members. In 1905 we had 172. Nearly one- half of these came through the Chicago Northwestern. In 1906, we had a membership of 236 — ^^124 members direct; 91 through the Northwestern Association; 21, Western Illinois Association." In 1907, 148 members — 142 members direct; 6 through Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin; none from any other Association. In 1908, 132 members — 120 members direct; 6 t'hrougii Western Illinois; 6 through Northern Illinois and South- ern Wisconsin. In 1909, 256 members — 179 members direct; 59 through Northwestern; 18 through Northern Illinois and Wiscon- sin. ^ :}: ^ Since the National Association has permitted our Association, as well as others, to join in a body at 50 cents per member, we feel sure we will be able to 'get a still larger list of mem- bers as time goes on. The different associations affiliating as at present, we are all helping -one another, wlhile we at the same time help ourselves, and thus are all ena- bled to share equally in the State ap- propriations. As we said in the beginning of our report, the past season has been the poorest on record for our State. There was no early crop, except honey dew, and it was as black as it ever gets. Our experience has been, on one oc- casion, that the honey dew at first was almost as light as heartsease, and after a dry, windy spell of weather th« leaves that were covered with the honey dew were also covered with dust, and as black as the ground, and the honey gatjiered at the latter date was just as black, and seemed to have settlings in it. The prospect for another year will surely be better, as there seems to be a good lot of white clover in the pas- tures. We have observed during the year that, in the first place, the fruit bloom secreted but little 'honey to call the bees, and the result was a light crop of fruit. The effort in nature is to reproduce itself in forming seed, and if the blos- soms are not fertilized the result is no "seed, and, therefore, no fruit. We noticed, and were told by bee- keepers here in town, that the white clover had no honey in it, and it pro- duced no seed, because the bees were not called there to fertilize it. The Linden trees bloomed as full as we ever saw them, and in nice weather, but t'he bees did not work on them, and in consequence they did not seed at all. After harvest we made the predic- tion, along with our crop report •that the Daily Journal requested of us, that if the red clover flowered in the same course as other blossoms had, there would be no honey, and, therefore, no seed, but they thought (I suppose) that I was trying to advertise something, and if they ever published it I did not see it- It is the seed in the white clbver that makes horses slobber from eating it, and we have noticed that -^hen the bees had nothing to call them to the white clover — the absence of seed was proven by the fact that it did not make the ihorses slobber. 4: ^ ^ During the State Fair, parties asked us why the red clover had no seed (or so little) this year; so we found our iai:.C;.rtr^;'^vj t.'^i^lLi^sJ&'Ai^^Q^^i^J^lifS:^?^^- ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 25 prediction had come titue, and we told them it was because the clover, like other blooms, did not secrete any honey to call the bumble a^d honey bees to do their work of poll^nizing the bloom. Our last year's . experience with the Legislature has brought us to the de- cision that if 'we do not use the same tactics that our opponent does, we had just as well leave the field. We found that a petition signed by less than a dozen went farther than a resolution, though it could have been unanimous, for the reason that three could report a resolution, but a petition weighed according to the number of signers to it. So let's have a petition with a thousand names, if need be. It is cer- tain that "they who are for us- are more than they who are against us." We had five hundred (500) copies of our last report printed — three hundred of them in cloth for the members, and for the call "vve have from State Li- braries and Universities. Our first annual report was all in paper covers, except for the offices. When we have a call for all the back reports, they say, "Send them along." If they are not cloth bound, we will have it done. When we received the last pall for all our reports, we only found a very small number of several of the copies, and thought perhaps we would be compelled to send out to some of the members in those years to see if an odd copy might be had. So preserve your old reports. We have on hand more of the second annual report than of any other. We had more of them printed because they contained a report of the World's Fair year at Chicago. If any one should want one of them, they could be had by paying the postage and wrapping, 10 cents. We sent out one thousand letters to bee-keepers of the State, with blank applications for membership. This has proven the best way we have ever tried for securing members. We are assisted very materially in this by the free use of our friend York's Mailing List,* for which he surely deserves a "vote of thanks." The Premium List Committee did not suggest any change in the list, from what it was a year ago, but we are of the opinion that some slight change in the wording of some of the premiums should be made, as they are construed differently by different judges. The crowded condition of our ex- hibit at the last State Fair was almost unendurable, and we urge upon this Association that they petition the State Board of Agriculture for a new •building to be erected, that will be large enouglh' for .the bee-keepers and horticulturists. The latter to occupy the center space and the former the space next to the outer walls. The District Horticultural Society that had charge of the display at the last Fair, were crowded about in the same way as the apiculturists, and they are with us in this move for a new building. This year is the first since the re- duced railroad rates to 2 cents per mile, that they have offered the I. O. O. F. reduced rates. When our date was made for this meeting, we set it for Thursday, in order that the crowded condition of the hotels might be easing up at the beginning of our meeting, and when we sent out our notices we were not aware that the railroad rates would end on Tuesday — as the Odd Fellows' notices did not name the time. In the nineteen years of the life of this AssociatioTi, this year was the first in which death has taken our President from us, and, although none of our former Presidents are now living, our late President was the first one to he called while in office. His life and acts' while with us will long bex remembered, and are greatlj- de- serving of fitting resolutions. The seven States having the largest membership in the National, for 1909, rank as follows: Illinois ........399 Wisconsin . .235 Michigan 189 Pennsylvania 189 New York .165 California 160 Minnesota 146 Illinois as many as Wisconsin and California combined. ■_:/ JAS. A. STONE.: President Kildow — ^You have heard the Secretary's report. What will vou do with it? By motion of Mr. Dadant, the report was received and placed on file. Mr. Dadant — The Secretary's report 26 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OP THE shows the necessity of passing some resolutions. I move that a Committee on Resolutions be appointed by the chair. Motion seconded and carried, and the following committee was appoint- ed: C. P. Dadant, J. W. Bowen and W. H. Hyde. President Kildow — We will now have the Treasurer's report. Treasurer's Report. Treasurer's Account with Illinois State Bee- Keepers Ass'n. 1908. Dr. Cr. Nov. 19. To Bal. on hand and for membership fees from Sec'y...$ 129.94 Dec. 26. To check from Herman F. Moore (for 54 fees) 13.50 1909. Jan. 27. To check from Herman F. Moore (for 5 fees) 1.25 1908. Nov. 21. By salary to Secretary for 1908 $ 60.00 Nov. 21. By salary to Treasurer for 1908 15 .00 1909. Nov. 17. By balance 69.69 1909. ? 144.69 Nov. 17. To balance on hand $ 69.69 Chas. Becker, Treasurer, Account with State Fund. 1908. Dr. Cr. Nov. 18. To balance $1,351.44 Nov. 20. By Dr. C. C. Miller, R. R. fare as delegate $ 8.25 Nov. 20. By R. A. Holekamp, R. R. fare as delegate 4.20 Nov. 20. By Geo. W. York, R. R. fare as delegate 6 .55 Nov. 20. By H. "W. Lee, R. R. fare as delegate 8.20 Nov. 20. By Mrs. Snider (Reader) 5.00 Nov. 20. By C. Becker, postage and notary public .88 Nov. 20. By W. B. Moore, R. R. fare as delegate 5 .00 Dec. 4. By J. Q. Smith, delegate to N. W .-. 11.80 Dec. 15. By Miss Behrend, Stenographer ' 40.00 Dec. 24. By Geo. W. York, printing blanks and stamps 34.20 1909. Feb. 10. By Geo. "W. York, for copy of N. W. report 84.80 June 9. By Illinois State Register, to printing report 231.00 July 9. By J. Q. Smith, for inspection (7) and expense 37.40 July 9. By J. Q. Smith, for inspection and expense 62.60 July. To State Treasurer 1.000.00 Aug. 3. By J. Q. Smith, inspection 103.00 Sept. 1. By J. Q. Smith, inspection 105.00 Sept. 1. By "W. B. Moore, inspection 26 .92 , Sept. 7. By Chas. Becker, inspection 63 . 85 Oct. 14. By Chas. Becker, inspection 23 . 65 Oct. 20. By A. L. Kildow and I. E. Pyles. inspection • 81.20 Oct. 22. By Louis Werner, to exhibit foul brood (cost of bees).. 7.25 Nov. 1. By Louis Werner, inspection 32.00 Nov. 17. By balance 7 1,368.69 1909. $2,351.44 Nov. 17. To balance on hand $1,368.69 The report was read by Mr. Becker. A financial report was then read by Mr. Moore — I move that the Treas- Mr. Stone, urer's report be accepted ana placed jyij.. Bowen— I move that this report on record. I^e referred with the Treasurer's report Mr. Stone— I am not ready to vote to the Auditing Committee, .consisting for that; I move that an Auditing of three, Mr. Moore and two others, Committee be appointed. There is a appointed by fhe Chairman, and that difference in our accounts; they do ^^ financial reports may be referred to not coincide, but I expect he has made ^he Auditing Committee, his all together, the State fund and Association fund, and I bave made Motion carried, and an Auditing accounts for Secretary, and Treasurer. Committee appointed as follows: Mr. I could not put them together, and Moore, Mr. Pyles and Mr. Werner, when the Auditing Committee looks President Kildow— Report of com- over it they will be able to explain it. mittees Mr. Moore-I will withdraw my mo- ^^ Pyies-There was a Legislative ^^^l' ^ „ . ... Committee appointed last year, and I Mr. Bowen — Before appomting an +v,j„i, ,•+ ^,,r.^* +« w,oi,« „ tr.-^^-^+ . ,.,. ^ ... .. J.., ?, .V. think it ought to make a report. Auditing Committee wait until all the reports are in. Mr. Stone — ^It is a verbal one. ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 27 Foul Brood Legislation. The President asked me (the late Mr. Smith was chairman of the committee, considered such by virtue of his office,) if I would act as charman because he was going to Texas, and he left it that way; and Mr. Becker and I were the only two of the committee that went before the Legislature; we got the Bills drafted, by typewriter, and. our Senator ad\iised us to put them only in the hands of a member of the Sen- ate, and let them pass through the Senate ; that they would go before the House with more force than if they were offered in both houses at the same time. We had done that the term before, and it went through the House and was defeated there, and it seemed to get them into a kind of fight- ing position; when the iBill came from the Senate, they were ready to defeat it, and in that way we did not get any- thing done; we acted upon the advice of Senator Hay, who had offered our Bill in the Senate. The Bills, both of them, went through the Senate all right; the Appropriation Bill went through the House all right. When it came to the Foul Brood Bill we were notified by a good many of the mem- bers of the Appropriation Committee that that was not the committee it ought to have gone before; we don't know why. They said that letters had been sent to them, showing them that there were some bee-keepers that op- posed that Bill. They asked us why we were not unanimous, and we told them the best we could about the fight that occurred two years ago with those men in the northern part of the State, who had always been opposed to it, and that they had attacked the com- mittee who had asked for this Bill on the ground that they were manufac- turers and sellers of apiarian imple- ments, and that they were doing this for the sake of destroying the bee- hives that they might be enabled to furnish more bee-hives. At that time we went before the Senate Committee, Agricultural Committee, and this whole thing came up in opposition to it at that meeting, and after we had been heard by the Committee the chairrjian (who was Senator Dunlap) said that he had a letter in his possession that he wanted to read before any action was taken on that Bill, and hfe pro- posed that they defer action until a week from that day. When Mr. Dadant and il guessed and told the Senator who the party was who wrote the letter, he thought perhaps we knew something about it, he listened to what we said. We wrote letters, then, to Mr. York and to Dr. Miller, and others, and that committee was just flooded with letters, so that when next week came round, we went there ready for them and I asked the Chairman if that Bill would be considered or acted upon, and he said: "No, but you may rest easy; that letter will never be read and we will report the Bill out all right." In that letter he attacked the committee as being manufacturers and sellers of apiarian implements (al- though Mr. Dadant was a member of the committee — he was not one of the Executive Committee). They had got wind of it that Mr. Dadant was on the committee, I suppose, and they ac- cused the whole committee of being interested in the manufacture and sale of bee-hives. A petition, this last time, came before the Appropriation Com- mittee in the House; in that letter they had even stated names — C. P. Dadant, and also mentioned A. I. Root and other parties that were interested in the manufacture and sale of bee-hives — as being the chief promoters of that Bill, and it did not make a bit of dif- ference what we said to that com- mittee, we could not get that out of their heads. They read the signers' names off — we demanded it — and we got it because we guessed the irv-rlter of that letter; they had all signed the petition that the law be not allowed. That is why I recommendea what I did in my report. The only thing that the bee-keepers now can do for the meeting next year, is to get up a proper petition, and to get all the signers they can to it, to see whether we can outnumber them or not. i be- lieve that is the only way we will ever get that Bill through. I do not think of anything more, and if any wants to know any more than I have told, they will have to ask questions. Mr. Becker — Mr. Chairman, you will remember a year ago I spoke of how hard it would be to get anything from the present Legislature, as there were so many factors in both parties. Your committee met the Legislature; we put our Bill in the hands of Senator Hay, of this District, and he did good work for us. It went through the Senate, but the session was prolonged, and there was nothing done by the >^-- ;.'.~:-^V/-.i-;.. "' '\--, .'■ ■ '■^- ■S^'^^™*i' '^^ r-T^'^fr'y 28 NINTH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE Committee on Appropriations, until nearly the close of the Legislature, and they all were anxious and wanted to get home. I came up here several times and saw Mr. Hay about it, and he said: "We will let you know whenever it passes," and >«j finally it passed, and Mr. Stone and 1 came up here and we went before the Com- mittee on Appropriations. Both Bills — the Appropriation Bill and the Foul Brood Bill — were given to this Com- mittee on Appropriations, when it should have been given to the Com- mittee on Legislation, and the Chair- man of that committee, as anybody could see, was opposed to it. He came right out, the first time we came up here, and just told us: "We will pass j'our Bill on Appropriation all right — you can go home; and the other you won't get." But when we went up again, he finally gave us a few minutes, and we had not talked more than five minutes, until he called us down and he did not even give us the courtesy enough to vote on the Bill. We had a great many friends in that committee, we had at least eight or ten friends for the Foul Brood Bill there, but you know, in a legislative body, if the chairman is against you, you might just as well stick your papers in the pigeon-hole, then and there; that is tftie end of it. We wanted to go home, and I told Mr. Stone "they are not going to bring up that Bill at all." Mr. iStone said, "I will see that they will." He went to some party, and he finally brought it up, and they took a vote on it. He told us in the first place the Appropriation Bill would be passed. A petition was drawn up by some parties opposed to the Foul Brood Bill. He did not want it to pass. There is this much about it — we went away from that committee, at least I did, disgusted. I did not care to go back there any more, and I said then that until the bee-keepers wanted the Foul Brood Bill, that there was no use in agitating the question any more. We surely want a Foul Brood Law. There is more foul brood in the State of Illinois now than there has been in years, and probably, by next year, there will be a great deal more. There will always be some men opposed to it, always. There is no measure that you can bring up but what has its enemies, who will be opposed to it. I think we will just have to keep con- tinually agitating this question and bring it up from time to time, and probably we can learn something, by the experience we have passed through, and we will finally succeed in having a Bill passed. We must have it, after all the work that is being done, and that we have done, in trying to stamp out Foul Brood. So far it has not amounted to anything. It helps a few individuals, but their neighbors let things go, and they have it right back again. They tell you, "what is the use of me cleaning up? This man, and that man's bees have it, and mine will have it again, anyhow; I might just as well let them go." I think next time we would better not bring this matter before the Com- mittee on Appropriations, but before some other committee. We will prob- ably have better success next time, if we work hard and in earnest before hand; the old saying is: "If you don't at first succeed, try, try again," and may be, if we do this, we will finally succeed. Mr. York — I don't know whether this is the place to discuss Foul Brood legislation — perhaps not — but I think it might be well for us to know the names of those who signed that peti- tion. We might be able to tell the next Legislative Committee who they are. I imagine there are some on that petition who do not have more than one or two colonies of bees, and if we just know who they are, we will be able to tell the committee next time — and we can get one hundred names of large bee-keepers who are interested in the business; let the legislature know who they are — who are opposed to it, and who not. Mr. Stone — I could name two or three — the ones that I remember, but I would hate to do it, because those men have a little ground for feeling hard, and I will tell you why. I never told it before at a Bee-Keepers' conven- tion; I think I told Mr. Smith, and perhaps Mr. York. In the outset of our foul brood busi- ness, the foul brood inspector appoint- ed^on one occasion sent an assistant inspector, and this inspector came to the house of a certain man (who told me of this incident) from an apiary where he had heen handling foul brood. He said it was about 11 a. m., and he was very certain that that inspector had not washed his hands, coming direct to him from where he had been handling foul brood. He was de- ^'j- "-■^J.ifT'-'\',. ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 29 termined that the inspector should wash his hands, that he should not go into his apiary until he had done so. He told the inspector to wait just a minute, he would go to the house and see if din- ner was not ready, and that they would eat dinner before they went in- to the apiary. He thought then he would be compelled to wash his hands, and he succeeded in doing that; but, he said, "Suppose I had not succeeded in getting him to wash his hands, he would have gone into my apiary, and if I did not have any foul brood, he would have given it to my bees." The fitst time I ever saw foul brood, I was afraid to touch it, for fear I would take some part .of it home to my bees. Other bee-keepers are just as scared of it, or at least some are, and I can't help but sympathize with the man w.ho sees those possibilities. Now, we can't >be too careful with our inspectors — to see that they have disinfected their hands and clothing before t'hey go into another apiary, after they have been in one that is infected with foul brood. Now, these men have got these things to consider, and when they don't know who the inspector is .who is going to be sent, it makes them somewhat fearful. Mr. Dadant — I wish to call the meeting's attention to the fact that there is no excuse for people wanting to destroy . hives so as to sell them more. I know there is not a soul in this room who would accuse me of wanting to do such a thing. Mr. Stone — I want to say this, Mr. Dadant; if a man is guilty, if he is serving the devil, he always finds ex- cuses for even that. Mr. Bowen — I would be opposed to have it go on our reports, any one name mentioned in connecton with this matter. I have seen other cases, where parties have opposed things, be- fore now, and when they got hold of the thing in the right light they were most enthusiastically in favor of it. When these parties get hold of the question rightly, they will probably be as much in favor of a foul brood law — foul brood legislation, that will govern this thing, as any one of us. I am opposed to naming names; let's do what we do in a kind spirit. President Kildow — There is a good deal in what Mr. Bowen says. We don't want to stir up any more strife than we can .help. Our reports give us the names of two, so we can't help that; we can't help but know them. Mr. York — I don't want to prolong this discussion, but I think that is a queer stand to take; when these par- ties name Mr. Dadant and Mr. Root — those names have already, been pub- lished. President Kildow — It seemed as though they dared to do more than we. Mr. York — They have named these men, who are not guilty at all, and we know some "who are opposing this legislation. Mr. Bowen-^I don't want to flght in that kind of way. Those men, proba- bly, when they And they are in the wrong, will apologize. I would not mention the names, or go so far as (honoring them with consideration in that respect. Mr. Pyle — ^I move that the report of this Legislative Committee be adopted. The motion was seconded and car- ried. President Kildow — Any unfinished business? Anything any one wants to bring up? Mr. Stone — I suggest that right here we listen to Mrs. Snyder, whom we have on our program. Mrs. Snyder gave a recitation en- titled, "Bee Sting Cure for Rheuma- tism," by Bob Burdette. Mr. Foster — I am interested in foul brood legislation, and want to do what I can towards furthering that cause. I wish to become a member of this Association. If you will cite me to the proper parties, I have the dollar. President Kildow — ^Would it not be well for any one who wants to join, to come forward — any one who would like to pay the dollar? The Secretary will take it at any time. A meyiber moved that we adjourn until 1 o'clock p. m., which, on second- ing, was carried. FIRST DAY — Afternoon Session. The meeting conV^ened at 1:30 p. m., with President Kildow in the chair. President Kildow — Any unfinished business ? Mr. Stone — I suggest that, as we have a whole lot of matter to come before the convention, and a good deal of it is embodied in the question of foul brood, that we hear from Mr. 30 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DR. C. C. MILLER York. Mr. York has a paper, by Dr. Miller, on the subject of foul brood, and then right in that line will follow Dr. Bohrer, and others who have anything to say along this line. It might be well to discuss the election of foul brood inspector, and then the question of election of offlcers, in con- nection with tJhe election of a foul brood inspector. President Kildow — If there is no ob- jection, we will listen to Mir. York. Mr. York then read the following paper: Dr. Miller's Experience With European Foul Brood. In 1907 some cells of dead brood were found in 'No. 13. We thought it might be that they were poisoned, as an orchard in easy reach had been sprayed while the trees were in bloom. If we had known at the time that we could send samples to Dr. Phillips, at Washington, for identification, it would have saved no little subsequent trouble. But No. 13 apparently recovered, and was one of tihe very best in the whole apiary. In 1908, I think the same trouble appeared in two colonies, and little heed was given to it, the sup- position still being that the spraying accounted for the trouble. The year, was a boomer for the bees, and if there was any dead brood later in the season it was unnoticed. In the spring, or early summer, of 1909 we noticed more or less dead brood in a number of colonies, but not until after we had done our level best to spread it throughout the whole apiary by exchanging frames. A sam- ple was sent to Washington. The re- ply came that we were entertaining *,'T-?yT'^--r'''>.''r^--r- ■ ■ -r^- j..-'-^ V' ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 31 foul brood — not American, but Euro- pean— the kind that had been pro- nounced ten times worse than Amer- ican! Just for a little I had a feeling like giving up in despair. But not for long. Others had fought the disease; why not I, even if it was spread all through the apiary? One thing to be thankful for was that I had given up the out- apiary, and had nothing but the home apiary to care for. Things are never so bad but they might be worse. In all, there were about 150 hives in the apiary with bees in, although a ^ood many hives contained nuclei, most of which' were shortly broken up. Looking over t'he record book now, I find only 22 colonies that were at all times entirely clear of the disease throughout the entire season, against 93 that were more or less affected. How many of the nuclei were affected I do not know, but breaking them up certainly lessened the number of af- fected families to deal with. Besides, the season being one of dearth, there was always danger that robbing might be started at any one of the nuclei, and a diseased nuoleus might thus give the disease to several clean colonies. The failure of the crop made matters look more discouraging, although I may remark in passing that the late flow filled up the hives in good shape for winter, and gave about a thousand sections besides. The most discour- aging feature of the whole case was the fact that all around were those who had one or more colonies here and there, whose bees were diseased, and however often I might clean up, these sources of infection would always be ready to give me a fresh start, until they were all wiped out; since there is no law in Illinois to prevent any one from indulging in all the foul brood he likes. In some colonies, only a bad cell or two were to be seen; and right here is as good a place as any to say just what was to be seen. Generally the diseased iDrood was seen 'When, nearly full grown and still unsealed. A healthy larva is pearl-white; the diseased brood is cream -color, or darker. That's the only thing we paid any attention to, and it is not difficult to detect, even if there be only a single diseased larva in the hive. Generally very little ropiness could be detected, and the odor in this European or black brood is very little, compared with that of American follil brood. There was no appearance of anything wrong w^ith the sealed brood, as is the case in American foul brood. Perhaps there is little or no diseased brood in the sealed cells of European foul brood, the brood all dying before it is sealed, and being cleaned out by the bees. And right here, I think, is a marked difference between the two dis- eases. In American foul brood the putrid mass dries down in the cell so solid that the bees cannot remove it: while in the European variety it is not so much like dried glue, and the bees can clean it out of the cell, as was shown by the blackened remains thrown out at the ihive entrance in at least some cases. The amount of bad brood in a hive ran all the way from a single cell up to perhaps one in every 8 or 10 cells of unsealed brood. This, however, may not be entirely correct, as it is only a matter of memory. As we wanted to give attention first to the worst cases, we marked as "bad" any colony that had one or more bad cells, up to those that had, perhaps, one bad cell in every 20 cells of unsealed brood, and any- thing worse than this was classed as "very bad." I know it may sound a little strange to some to class as "very bad" a colony having among its un- sealed brood only 5 to 12 per cent dis- eased, for that would class as very bad a colony having only about 1% per cent of its 'whole brood diseased; when they have seen foul brood so bad that nearly all the brood in a comb, both sealed and unsealed, would be rotten. I am only telling how it was here. How long the disease would have to run before it would get to be so very bad, I do not know. July 8th we began throwing on- foun- dation after the orthodox plan, begin- ning with some of the "very bad" cases. In the first case, we shook the bees on newspaper in front of the hive, so that if any affected honey was shaken out the newspaper could be burned. But after this first case we brushed the bees off. It was, perhaps, safer, and, on the whole, less trouble. Dr. Phillips having said that he thought the second shake was not nec- essary, the bees were thrown upon full sheets of foundation, and I may say here, in passing, that in no case where ^ ■^Ty^^f'^fiP^^^S^^ [""T^W^r^^^^T. 32 NINTH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE they were thus thrown upon founda- tion did the disease appear again. Neither did the disease reappear from infected hives, for nothjng whatever was done to aisinfect the hives. Whether any harm may come in future, remains to be seen, but as no harm was found up to the close of the sea- son, it seems probable that none will be. The frames were boiled in lye and used again. It was not long before we discovered that colonies that had been treated were deserting their liives. In all, there were 9 hives that were thus left utterly empty. We concluded that, as no honey was coming in, they were starved out. So, after that, we began giving honey to each colony when it was brushed. If a super with a little 'honey had been on the hive, it was left, with an excluder under it. Other- wise a section or two was put into the body of the hive. Although these sections were generally from diseased colonies, in no case was it discovered that any infection came from them. Giving the bees a lunch at the time of brushing them was generally effec- tive in preventing desertion, but not always. We finally settled on the plan of leaving in the hive one of their combs. This was put in one side of the .hive, and next to it given two empty frames. Not empty combs, but empty frames — not the least bit of a starter in them. Generally the bees made no use of more than one of these, and within three or four days we found at least a little co:n:b built on the frame next to the comb. Then we took away the comb, leaving the frame they 'had started on, and filling up the hive with full sheets of foun- dation. Sometimes we took away the frames they had started on as soon as a gooS beginning was made on the foundation, and sometimes we didn't. In either case, the cure was all right, only there ^was danger of the frame being filled out with some drone-comb. The brood that was taken from four colonies was piled up on a 5th over an excluder. In three weeks the brood would be hatched out, and the combs in the four upper stories would be ready to be melted up. But there would still be the lower story full of affected combs, which would have to be dealt with. Then I thought we might take advantage of the Alexander plan, if there was anything in it. The plan of tne laie E. W. Alexander, in treating European foul brood, was to make a colony strong, make it queen- less for three weeKs, and t'nen give it a young Italian queen, the bees, while queenless, having cleaned out all dis- ease from the cells. So I took the brood, from; the diseased colonies and enough bees to care for the brood, and made a pile four or five stories high, leaving the pile queenless. In ten days all queen- cells that were started in the pile were killed, and, either then or within two or three days, a very young virgin queen of choice stock was given. The combs of some of these piles, after being thus treated, seemed to be cleaned out all right, and no disease . showed in the brood that was in them afterward. Other piles were a failure. I am inclined to think that the success was where the piles were very strong in bees, and the failures where there were not so many bees. As before said, we commenced first on the "very bad" cases, leaving till the last the mildest cases, and by the time we got around to take care of these last, no bad brood was to be found in thera, the bees having appar- ently cleaned out the disease of their own accord. Of course, these were left without any treatment. There were 23 of these colonies, which had at least a few cells of bad brood, and were cleaned up by the bees themselves. The regular thing is to shake on foundation or starters in the evening — that, probably, 'because safer from starting robbing. With so much to do, it would have been inconvenient for us to do all the work in the evening. We did it any time in the day, when the bees were at work, arid, although a dearth was on, yet there was at least a little the bees could do for a good part of the day, even if they did not get enough for their own use.' We kept a very sharp look-out for robbers, and whenever there was any sign of them we suspended opera- tions. From the experience I have had so far with European foul brood, and from, what I know about American foul brood by no small amount of read- ing, I have doubts as to European be- ing very much worse than American, if, indeed, it is as Ibad. But it may be ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 33 DR. G. BOHRER. that for some reason the European was not so bad here as elsewhere. The Alexander treatment was, in some cases, suecessful, and in some cases a failure. In all cases where colonies were thrown on foundation, although we did some things that were not according to rule, there was never a single diseased cell to be found in any one of them afterward. Yet, if it were to do over again, I should make more use of the Alexander plan, and throw fewer colonies on foundation. A colony thrown on foundation was so much more reduced in strength than one left with its combs, that one could afford to treat again the cases of failure with the Alexander plan. Moreover, it is possible that there would be a few cases of failure with" the Alexander plan if all colonies treated were first made strong enough. . It is just possible that what suc- ceeded in a year of crop failure might not be just the same in a bumper year. And what succeeds with European foul brood may not turn out the same with American. I have some doubts whether the Alexander treatment will succeed at all with American foul brood. C. C. MILLER. President Kildow — Does anybody wish' to discuss this question, or ask any question on it, or anjrthing of the kind? If not, we will listen to an ad- dress by Dr. Bohrer, of Kansas. Dr. Bohrer's Address On Foul Brood. Mr, President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Convention': — I have had some knowledge of foul brood ever since in the '70's. I have noted with some care the different methods of treatment, and the progress that the disease has made throughout the length and breadth of the land. I regard it as being the most important question now confront- ing Amerrican bee-keepers — the control of and stamping out of foul brood. The position has been taken by a few .K-i. ,*v £rv.. ~ ?^.* ..__? ■rj'.-^-.-" ;:•;:< ^trW^-^'^^-pr-,'-'-^''-^-'' ''^.■y}m'ff';^^^^^fW^- 34 NINTH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE — but a very few, I think, that know anything at all worthy of mention concerning the disease of be«si and their management — that foul brood is not curable. I am satisfied that it is a mistake. You, here in the State of Illinois, your legislation is not perfect — it is very miuch at fault, like our own in Kansas. We have a law there, but not by any means a perfect one. We have been trying for a number of years to get a bill that will cover the ground, and I ^believe we are a little better fixed than you are. The law is not operative in some counties, while it is effectual in others. It requires a commissioner to be appointed in any county, upon the petition of twenty- five bee-keepers. We have a good many counties that have not twenty- five bee-keepers in it, and the law is not operative there; they can't get a commissioner. Last winter I tried to get the law changed, so as to give the nearest county inspector the right to inspect in counties where they only had, say, ten bee-keepers; not as many as twenty-five. It passed the House, ibut persons who are familiar with a good deal of this legerdemain that is practiced in this matter of legislation, kmow that some times Bills are lost through very trifling occurrences. The Bill passed the House and went to the Senate, and would have passed there, but Senators arid members of the House all have their pet measures. For instance: I would say to Mr. York, "I am a bee-keeper. I have a Foul Brood Bill I am interested in. I want it to go through." But, for some cause, I can't see my way clear to sup- port his measures, and for that reason he gets my Bill killed. That is the way our Bill was killed. I have heard a gentleman named today (I under- stand he is an honest man) of Chicago, who takes the stand that foul brood is not curable. In order to prove to him that it is, we have got to demon- strate the matter in some way or other. What does foul brood consist of? Primarily it seems to be a germ, and I have no right to question this. Both Dr. White and Dr. Phillips have testi- fied to that fact so emphatically as to ■make it almost beyond question — that it is a germ disease, and, if we can destroy that germ, that must be an end of it. Now, as to the remote or primary cause of what ushers that germ into existence, we know nothing. Dr. White and Dr. Phillips have said that publicly, before our conventions, and I am satisfied it is a fact;- but it is the primary, exciting cause we have to deal with, and for that purpose we want legislation to keep it out of our apiariesi. We have three different methods of treatment. The first that ever I heard was by Mr. Rood, of Michigan, in In- dianapolis, in 1871. Foul (brood got into his apiary, and the bee-keepers wanted to know his experience, how to diagnose the disease. He gave it so clearly that the first case I saw, two or three years ago, I knew the very moment I got scent of it. If you ever once get scent of it, you will never forget it. And the method of treatment tliat he recommended was something like this: He said he had tried a good many different plans; he gave one he re- garded as effectual. He says: "I would advise that you dig a hole in the ground; put hay or straw in it; sprinkle coal oil all over the hay or straw, and in the dead of the night, close up the hive and set it carefully over that straw; then put more straw on top of it, and more coal oil on, and set fire to it." I understand that one large Illinois bee-keeper took the position that cer- tain men who were furnishing bee- supplies throughout the Country wanted to get a foul brood law passed, in order to get bee-keepers to destroy their property, that they might sell them miore. They may get some leg- islators to believe that, and no doubt have, but when you come to analyze it, and look into the depths of it, there - is nothing to it. The like has never been known, and it becomes the duty of your Legislative Committee, and every bee-keeper in the State, to say to his Senator that such a thing never was known, not since we got out of the stage that Mr. Rood, of Michigan, spoke of; they don't do that; that is folly. He made that up out of whole cloth; he manufactured such a story as that. W^e, then, will take it for granted that that is not true, and you want to show that up before your Legislative Assembly; and if I lived here in the ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 35 State of Illinois, I would try to form the acquaintance of your Governor, and have a talk with him. Say to himi that, while there is an appropria- tion for the purpose of exterminating foul brood in the State of Illinois, we want to make the law more effective, and clothe your bee-inspector with power to enter on the premises of any man in the State of Illinois', and inspect same at any time he may see proper; and if the disease is found, to adopt such a method of treatment as bis judgment may prescribe; and if you can get your Governor now to say something about that in his mes- sage, it will go a long ways toward influencing your Representatives and ■Senators to enact a proper law. I have had two terms in our Kansas Legislature, and know that when you can get a Legislature to understand that wliat you ask for is necessary, you are very apt to get it; they will interest themselves in it when they are satisfied it is not going to do any- body any harm, and that it is some- thing that is necessary for the good of the public. Another thing, they are very much afraid of grafters. Now, I will give the language that was used by one of our Senators. He said: "Who ever "heard of such a thing as passing a law to go around picking dead bees out of bee-combs?" governor Folk, of Missouri, was as bad as any; he vetoed a very good Bill. I scored him right to his face for it. I said to him: "You have thrown a stumbling block right in the face and eyes of an industry that is worthy your consideration (for this reason, if for no other), that you know nothing about it. If you knew anything about it, you never wouild have vetoed that Bill." These Governors are our hired men, and we must come to them and tell them what we want, and the need of it, so that they will have knowledge of it and understand it. The next time the Legislature met, and a Bill came to him, Gov. Folk ap- proved it. I understand your Gov'ernor here is in sympathy with the bee-keepers of the State. Send a committee to him, and have him, if possible, say some- thing in his message. Then every one of you write to your Representatives and Senators; go to them; see them in person; they are your servants; they will do what you tell them to do, if they are given a good and suflacient reason for it. Give them a good and sufficient reason for wanting a law of that kind. There is a way to get at these men who are opposing foul brood legislation; I believe that they can be approached in the right way; don't get mad, and stay mad very long; that doesn't do any good. I stirred up a Pension Commissioner at Washington when he said I was get- ting all the pension I deserved. I asked for an increase in my pension; he wrote me inside of three weeks from the time of my examination that I was getting all I was entitled to un- der the law. Said I, "General Black, that is not a fact. There are men on the pension roll getting all the way from $1 to $100, and you are one of the $100 men. The law says you are a wreck, yet you can. run the U. S. Pen- sion Office, and yet you say $8 is enough for me, and you say I am get- ting all I am entitled to. I will not stand for it; I demand an appeal to the Secretary of the Interior, or a re- hearing." And I got it; I had a re- examination, and my pension was raised to $24. That is what can be accomplished if you go after a thing in earnest. You want to get the facts about foul brood before your representatives; it is the duty of every one of you to con- sider yourself a committee of one to see your representative and tell him what you want, and that you Must Have It. Show him the amount of capital in- vested in bee-keeping in the State of Illinois, and the number of bee-keep- ers there are in the State of lUinoisj you are away ahead of any other State in the Union; New York and Cali- fornia are behind you. You have got intelligence enough, if you will wake yourselves up; stir these fellows up all over the State; tell them to go and see their Senators and their Repre- sentatives, and tell them what amount of money there is invested in bee- keeping, and what it will amount to in a few years; and then what, if foul brood is allowed to run rampant, uncontrolled, what it must mean to , the bee-keepers; and that if we have such a protective measure passed as we are seeking, giving our inspector power to go on the premises of men and inspect his bees, that it will mean f^^ ;-^i^B«^^^^- 36 NINTH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE everything to the bee-keepers of the country in helping them carry on their industry. I went for a man in Kansas, who was selling a few bee-supplies, who got foul brood in his apiary. He said to me: "You are injuring me and my business very greatly; if you don't stop it, and retract what you have said, I intend to prosecute you." I said to him: "I wish you would, and if you don't do it I will prosecute you, and I am going to send the bee in- spector on your premises, and if you don't get rid of that foul brood we are going to destroy every bee you have got." He came down off his perch in a minute. You want to have your bee inspec- tors clothed with authority to enter upon a man's premises like a gentle- man; don't try to insult him; show him what the law is, and that the in- spector has come for his protection. We were having an election for road overseer in Kansas, and I made the remark that if I was appointed road overseer I would plow up the streets of this town; I would have them graded at any cost. The next morning I found I was appointed road overseer. Inside of two hours I ordered the wood-piles off the streets, and things cleaned up. Many of them said they would not do it, and would like' to see me undertake to make them do it. But I said: "Your wood- pile has got to go; don't forget that." And it was not many hours 'before every wood- pile was ofC of the street. They talked about licking me if I would make them do it. Then I discovered a gravel bank, and I got every man in the road district, and gravel was put over the principal streets a foot deep. It was a hard matter to keep them from electing me after that, every year, for road overseer. That is the way these things are. You may go to some man's house, and he will say: "When I want my bees inspected I will send for you." Read the law to such a man. He will prob- ably say: "Blast your law; I don't care for such a law." But you can say to him, as I said to the men who had wood-piles in the street: "That wood- pile has got to go; it will cost you $5.00 for every day that you let that wood-pile stay there." Whenever you get your law in that shape, and clothe your officer with proper authority, you will find people will submit to it, as with other laws. I believe the road is plain, ladies and gentlemen, if you will adopt that plan. It may cost you a little money to keep two or three men about the Legislature here, and have them go and see able men in both the House and Senate, to get them to support your measure; if you don't, you may suffer a loss. If you adopt that plan, I believe you will meet with success. The bee-keepers are going from Illi- nois to Kansas, and building up an industry, and foul brood is coming into the State rapidly. I fought foul brood in my apiary last year, dast summer; my apiary was cut down to 34 colonies. (I don't keep bees for money, but for a pastime, and what I may be able to teach other people, and what I may be able to learn.) I don't know all about bee-keeping and all about foul brood, but I do know some things that some other people have not learned. I believe it is our duty to exchange ideas and opinions, and to get valuable ideas from each other. Now, in the matter of treatment: One of the most powerful colonies I had, or ever did have, was in the Jumbo ten-frame hive. The bees had filled one super about full, and were capping it. After I raised it up, and put another one under, they quit work. I opened it immediately to in- spect it, and I discovered foul brood. There is an odor about it; if you once get the scent of it you will never for- get it; that is, American foul brood. I went to work to treat it immediately. There was the honey-flow going on! I didn't want to take it away from the apiary; that would have been the most satisfactory method, if it could be adopted, but I could not do it at that time. There was a colony within about five or six feet on each side of it. I began to take these bees and put them on comb-foundation; I took all that honey and comb away from them. I set the new hive on the old stand, lifted the combs out one by one, and brushed the 'bees ofC. I did not shake them; I would not risk that, because more or less honey would fly out and be scattered and the disease be spread; I didn't want to do that; that was, with me, an original idea. In ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 37 order to keep the young bees from going to the hives on either side, I spread a sheet right down in front and brushed them down on that, and I thought almost every bee went in, but in about three or four weeks — maybe not to exceed two — I looked into both hives, right and left, and found foul brood in the one to the left. I was crestfallen — to have foul brood creep into a colony where it had not been before! And what had caused it? A bee or two went into that hive and carried some honey wit'hi them. If I had my way about treating foul brood, I would' close up the hive, and at the dead of night take them', say, two miles from the apiary, away from the possibility of its being spread by that means. Where you are situated so you can do that, I believe that would be the safest plan. The foul brood I had to deal with, I sent a specimen to Mr. France, and he pronounced it Amer- ican foul brood. To confirm what he said, I sent a sample to Dr. Phillips, and he said it was American foul brood. I knew that it was foul brood, and I must adopt some means of get- ting rid of it. Dr. Miller may get rid of what he calls European foul brood, but I don't believe it is 'as hard to get rid of European foul brood as it is American, and that the plan he sug- gests will not succeed with American foul brood. I kept watching my hives, inspect- ing them closely, and treated those colonies that had foul brood in the second and the third time. I tried the McEvoy plan, and found that to be successful in instances, and also tried the Baldridge plan. I like this very much if the bees are all of a size, and they never slip past the bee- escape. You can save many colonies by that method, providing the bees don't get in there and get out again and carry the diseased honey. I have tried putting them into a new hive, and have put coal oil, or kerosene, on some hay in the old hive, and set fire to it, so as to destroy everything of living kind inside. You have got to stamp the disease out; you have got to destroy the germ! Foul brood is not curable by any medicine or appli- cation that you can use on the combs, or feed to the bees. There is nothing known now by which you can reach the disease in the way of medicinal application. You have got to do the same as you do in the case of small- pox. The patient is quarantined, and if the patient gets well or dies, the place is disinfected; you disinfect the premises and everything about the patient, and you have to do the same thing with your hives. Now, I don't know about this thing of disinfecting hives, whether it is necessary in every case or not; I don't believe it is. Some timies all that is necessary i? simply to lift the bees out of the hives, take the combs away, and brush them down in the hive. Give them comb-founda- tion, say, a strip nearly two inches wide, and fasten that to the top of the frame, and give them six or seven strips, and leave them in possession of that from 36 to 48 hours. They will consume all the honey that may have been spilled about the interior of the hive. If you leave them in from 24 to 48 hours, then take that away from them and give them full sheets of comb-foundation, the disease ought certainly to be considered cured. You take the" strips away and give them the full sheets of foundation; I have never had it reappear again when thus treated. I have it about stamped out. I have two colonies I have an eye of sus- picion upon. I have marked them, and I shall watch them in the spring, every day; that is what we have all got to do. If you don't use every pre- caution and care, you will have foul brood creep into a colony where you have never had it before, and what will cause this? A bee or two will get into the h'ive, from a diseased hive, and carry some of the honey with tbem. I have decided that the safest way, when j'ou have a colony infected with foul brood, is to take the hive clear away to a location beyond your apiary. As for the combs, I put them into gunny- sacks as fast as I cut them out of the frames, and burn the frames up; some I put in boiling wa- ter; boil them for half an hour or more, and I don't know but what I will burn them up yet. I understand these microbes will live from 15 to 25, or even 30 minutes in boiling water; carbolic acid does not destroy them; nothing except to put them in hot water and boil them persistently for half or three-quarters of an hour. You have to cut ofC every avenue of r.tO-^y'r^*:'^- ': ?»^i?W''59^j3ri^}rT3T^iB^jJ)pjig%.!f^,- it to the flowers or drinking place, and an- other bee comes along and gets it. It ought to take .more radical means of treatment than American foul brood; it seems to me there is more danger oif infection than that of the American foul brood. Mr. York — ^I understand there have been others in this State who have been deputy foul brood inspectors; we might hear from all of them. Mr. Stone — ^I want to say one word In recommending — or whatever you want to call it — Dr. Bohrer's address. When we go before the Legislature, and take a copy of this report (we will have it in print), and ask each of the Representatives to read it. That ad- dress of Dr. Bohrer's before this con- vention, I believe, will weigh more than anything we have ever put be- fore them. I think that is a fine talk for this occasion. Dr. Bohrer — Let me make this sug- gestion: If you do that, summarize it; get it condensed; get the points, and show the amount of sales — you can, from statistics — amount of capital . ^. - 1 »;;:. jj-f-r'j''>}-7i^^)?.'r:^/:%^'^'^1?J--^^^^ W^/ 40 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE there is invested in the bee-business in the State of Illinois, and how de- structive foul brood is. if not con- trolled, and that the industry now is threatened with destruction — ^^will be, just as sure as fate, completely de- stroyed if you don't get legislative control; otherwise there will be no help for it. Mr. Becker — In going about in- specting bees, I find' there are so many men that are indifferent, and if there is any indifference at all, they rarely know anything about bees, and that, all the work the inspectors can do, it is simply a matter of education; if they don't want to be educated, it is simply money thrown away. Many are too indifferent, and they will hide the fact that they ihave foul brood in their apiaries, if possible. I know one case, particularly, where a man's bees had foul brood two years ago. I went there this fall to see 'his bees; he told me about it a year ago, and I exam- ined the bees, and I am satisfied that he had foul brood still last spring, from the way he talked and from the indifference that he manifested in re- gard to the bees. He didn't care about bothering them; he had a little honey, and he didn't care; and there were apiaries with numbers of colonies of bees right around there. I know of another case, where they wanted to examine a man's bees; he had foul brood all around him, yet he didn't want his apiaries examined. He said: "You can go and look at them, but I wish you would not disturb them." I find this is true: There is more foul brood t'han there was a year ago. At Bloomington, a bee-keeper said the first time, to his knowledge, foul brood was in their neighborhood, it was within two miles of him. "Why," he said, "I suppose I will have it among my bees the next thing you know." If you have it in your neighborhood, you are very- apt to get it sooner or later, and we have to have a law that will give a man power to act — power to go in a man's apiary and examine and inspect his bees, regardless of consent or no consent. It is up-hill work. Another thing, we people that are assembled here from various parts of the State, why, we are taking an in- terest in it. We don't want foul brood. and nobody really wants it, but how is it with parties living in our neighbor- hood, that have from two to twenty- five colonies? Can you get them to take an interest in this work? There are seven or eight bee-keepers in my neig'hborhood; some have twen. ty-five colonies, others only two col- onies, and I have tried to get them to take hold of this work and join our organization. They want to know all about foul brood, and they come to me if anything gets wrong with their bees, and that is the end of it; and I suppose that is .true in all other lo- calities. If they have a big honey crop, they make their brags about how much honey they have, and when they haven't any, they want to know what is the matter, and that is all they care about it. One great trouble with our legisla- tive laws, there is so much about it that is simply a matter of politics, and they don't care for any business, and the business that really was before the Legislature last time was trans- acted in one week's time; the balance of it was simply politics. Each party wanted to try to get the best of the other, and they didn't care what they were doing until the last week, and then there was not time. All winter we should have this busi- ness in mind; let the committee have it up with their Senators, and with members of both Houses; discuss the matter; visit with them. When the committee did get to it, it went before a committee we didn't expect it would at all, and they had no time for us. Mr. Pyle — ^I don't know whether it would look very good for a man f my age to attempt any discussion be- fore so many more experienced men, but there are some few things I have found out myself, with reference to foul brood — perhaps not found out new, but things that I have come to the conclusion of. One is, that in the suc- cessful treatment of foul brood, there is just one thing to do, and that is, to get rid of the germ; and there is only one way to do that, and that is, to get the bees entirely away from it. If you will take your hives and shake the bees, either on full sheets of foun- dation or starters, or any way, so you get the bees off the honey, the saime old hive will do; carry your bees into ILLINbiS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 41 the cellar, leave them there for three days, and bring them out and feed them, and you have the job done. I ■will gruarantee you will have no more foul brood. You don't need to destroy your hives. Take some sugar syrup; shake that over the bees until they are fairly damp; put a quart, or two quarts, of feed on top of the hive, and in the morning they will go out and get to work; and in one week's time your colony will be in good conditon. The Baldridge plan is a success nine times out of ten, with a little care. I had an experience with one colony of bees that we S'hook at least three times, and they developed foul brood every time; it broke out in the same colon5^ Finally I had to destroy that brood. If I had 150 colonies of bees, and found one hive out of the 150 had foul brood, I should certainly burn it; if I found twenty- five, I would surely treat them on the' plan I tell you of. J. Q. Smith, the Late President. Mr. Dadant — I offered to prepare a paper concerning the work of our late President, and, under the circum- stances, I thought best to write to his w'idow% and ask her for the data that was not in my possession, in order to be able to state what he had done; but I had the misfortune of my letter reaching her when she was sick, and, perhaps, away, for I got toer answer only a day or two ago, and she was then in Texas. I didn't* understand whether she was already there when my letter reached her; at any rate, she w-as unable to furnish me any data. I could have put in my informa- tion what w^as already in the American Bee Journal, but I thought best not to do that; so that what "I have concern- ing our late President concerns only the question of foul brood. It seems to be_ the question of the day. The paper is as follows: The Work of Our Late President and Its Continuation. Verj?- few people have an adequate idea of the extent of the disease known as ifoul brood all over the w^orld. As bee-culture becomes extended and apiaries enlarge, the chances for dis- ease enlarge also, not only on account of the greater number of hives, but, also, because of the greater traffic, purchase and sale, shipping and mov- ing of bees and bee appliances. The growth of bee- culture has exceeded the expectations of many. Careless bee-keepers have gone into the busi- ness with inadequate information, and have made a failure. In numerous cases, it is through these incapable men that the disease has spread. In olden times, the entire lack of knowl- edge caused but little trouble, because there was comparatively no ^hipping of bees. When a man failed, his hives were destroyed, or used for hen-coops, and there was an end of it. As api- aries w^ere quite a distance apart, the spread of diseases as contagious as this was prevented, much as a fire goes out at the edge of the forest; it burns itself out. . - Today, with our improved methods and the business of bee- culture be- coming every year of greater import- ance, it is most indispensable to take strenuous means for the abolition of foul brood. As with the white plague, the dreaded consumption, wrhich cuts down so many useful men and women, it is necessary that everyone should know that the disease is contagious, by what means contagion is spread, and they should also know that there is a positive cure for this, as well as for consumption. Our late President, J. Q. Smith, who has so long served as one of the most useful members of our State Associa- tion, was long ago initiated in the cure of foul brood. The museum of the State, in the Capitol building, contains a sample of foul brood, supplied hy him years ago. He had found the malady among his bees, and had erad- icated it. Since the ^tate of Illinois has given financial support to our State Bee- Keepers' Association, Mr. Smith has acted as our inspector, until his death. Hundreds of cases 'have been cured through his indefatigable efforts. But much remains to be done. Another man is needed, as active as he was, and as devoted to the cause. The allow- ance given by the State for publishing our annual report and for fighting foul brood should be sustained by a law similar to those of most of our neigh- boring States, a law which will make it a penal offence to knowingly keep, ship or sell contaminated colonies. As a rule, apiarists are progressive men. J^ T 42 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OP THE and it is sufficient to call their atten- tion to the disease to secure their help in eradicating it, but nothing must be left to chance. On the other hand, there are many instances where mild diseases are mis- taken for the contagious disease. I have myself, in several instances, com- forted bee-keepers who imagined that their bees were suffering from foul brood, by an examination, wliioh re- vealed that the trouble was due either to chilled brood, or winter losses. It is, therefore, of the utmost im- portance that a good, experienced man should at once take the place of our late inspector, and that the bee-keepers of Illinois should unite in giving him ardent support, so that those who may call upon him for help in curing any infected colonies may be readily re- lieved, at the least possible expense, and with the least possible loss. There was a time when apiarists thought that nothing short of destruction of the diseas'ed colonies would secure re- sults. This' has long ago been proven an error. But great care is needed. The disease does not exist in many places. Active work will sooner or later put an end to it. Let usi, theni, unite, both in demand- ing from our Legislature some practical foul brood law, and in selecting a good, efficient foul brood inspector, who will receive our undivided support. C. P. DADANT. Mr. Bowen — If I mistake not, there are quite a number of men present who are candidates for foul brood in- spector, and this may be a good chance for them to show their ability before the convention, by expressing them- selves. I don't know a better opening for them than right here and now. I would like to hear from each of them. I understand they are all in favor, ex- cept mj^self, of being appointed in- spector. Mr. Coppin — A few instructions should be given to bee-keepers. One thing is in the case of bees dying. A bee-keeper should be instructed not to save the combs, under such conditions, and use them over again. I think that is where foul brood is spread a num- ber of times. If the bees have already die,d with the disease, and he doesn't know it, the bee-keeper simply goes and puts bees on the same combs, in- stead of melting them down. Mr. Moore — I hav6 acted as deputy inspector, and, as I have been in- formed, quite a number of other bee- keepers here have acted as deputies, and they are all for the office of in- spector. Now I have had a little ex- perience with foul brood myself, in, my own apiary, and have had a little work, and some experience with it in inspecting other apiaries. I always ad- vise a man who has foul brood to de- stroy the combs; never to save any combs. ' If I should get foul brood in my apiary, I should practice the "shook" plan, destroying all the combs, and in that way manage to keep it under control. I never advise anybody to burn hives or frames, because they can be saved; but combs you can destroy and render them into wax and get your money out of them. It is a very simple matter to save your hives. Although we have lots of evidence from those who put their bees in the hives, without taking any precaution, and have had no return of the disease, yet we do have evidence in many other cases where the disease has returned, and, with little trouble and expense, it is better to take that precaution. The hive covers and bottoms can be dis- infected with a very few cents expense, and very little trouble. The frames (if enough of them to amount to much, after cutting out the combs) can be boiled in lye water, and they are made safe to use again. If there are only a hive or two the frames could be burned up, but I never advise, in my inspec- tion work, to destroy anything we can possibly save; and so far as this plea that has been brought up, I don't be- lieve there is a man in the State Bee- Keepers' Association who would accept this office of inspector, who would force a man, or advise him, to bum his hives to make business for some dealer. I w^ouldt not advise my own custom- ers to burn anything, and I don't be- lieve there are any dealers in bee- keepers' supplies that would urge a bill of that sort, to benetit themselves. I have had considerable dealings with a good many and have found them honest, and I don't believe there is one who would advise anything of that sort. Mr. Bowen — Don't you believe boil- ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 43 ing water would be as effective as to use lye? Mr. Moore — Concentrated lye would clean the frames thoroughly, while boiling water would not do it. Dr. Bohrer — I would ask if our State Horticultural Society gives bee-keepers any encouragement in any way? Do they affiliate with us in any way? Do they allow us to go before them and discuss matters? It would be a good thing if they would allow us tt> do this. We used Mr. Dadant in this way. I had our Sta;te Horticultural (Society agree to let him read a paper, and it was published in our Horticultural Re- port. Anything of that kind hasi a tend- ency to educate somebody — if.it meets only a few people it is worth while. Bee-keepers have been pretty modest in all the States; you have an appro- priation of $1,000 a year, and they have appropriations in Nebraska and Min- nesota. If you can ever .get interest of that kind going, the time will come when the rudiments of bee-keeping will be taught in common schools, as it is in Grermany. I believe that the iime will come here if we can reach out, and we ought to try to urge it, through sources of that kind; it is worth a trial any- way. Bee-keepers have been very modest out with us. I was sat down on when I first wanted to have the paper dis- cussed, that iMr. Dadant read, but af- terwards they came pleading to us for help ; said that the State Legisla- ture was going to kill the Horticultural Society, and wanted our help. In the matter of educating kee-keep- ers — educating the people on bee-keep- ing— come thirty-two years ago Pro- fessor Anderson came to me, in Tope- ka, when I was in the Legislature, and asked me to go up and deliver a lec- ture before the students. He said, "We want to teach that industry in the colleges, and there is no man or child here that knows anything about it." I went up; they gave me an hour, and I don't think that I ever addressed a more attentive audience before or since; you could have heard a pin drop all over that house. I simply took up the queen, the worker and the drone, and their habits — how they were to be controlled. And there is another thing I would impress on bee-keepers, and that is, about going into cages and manipulating bees, and in explaining to people how it is done. I was judge of an exhibit at Hutch- inson, Kans., and there was a man t^ere who delivered a lec- ture, who put in three hours, and if he gave one sentence that was val- uable to bee-keepers of that country, I could not find it; he made the people believe that he had' a wonderful mag- netic influence over bees that nobody else possessed. We want to shut down on this sort of thing; we don't want to tolerate anything of this sort; it is not right. If a man goes into a cage to exhibit bees, let him tell the people how it is done. When bees are loaded down with honey they never act on the offensive, but on the defensive. You can take them in any cage and handle them so long as you don't pdnch one of them. The young lady this afternoon didn't tell the w^hole story; she started to tell about bees getting into bed with the man. Some one told me of a schoolteacher; a little boy, where the school teacher stayed, had to sleep with him; he was in the habit of kicking and tossing in his sleep, and the school teacher would punch the boy. You know boys sometimes get to talking in their sleep; this "boy wanted to get even with the teacher, so the went to a bee-hive and got a dozen or two bees, and put them in a bottle and took them! to his bedroom. He put them in bed, under the cover, on the old school teacher's side of the bed. Well, they had been in bed only a short time, when he began slapping himself and making the greatest fuss, and he declared to the landlady she had the biggest fleas he ever run across in all his life! Mr. York — That must be "another story." Dr. Bohrer — That w^as no story; that was an actual fact. Mr. Stone — ^When we first got an ap- propriation and started out to find a foul brood inspector, we looked all over the State for one; application was made to different parts of the State, and we could not find a man who was willing to be foul brood inspector. Our president was Mr. Smith, and he said he had experience in wiping it out of his own apiary, and knew how it had to be done, and he expected he could afford that much time, and he would try it. Now, at this time, it does not seem that we have any trouble in get- ting a foul brood inspector. We have ^«WYl^^ *'5«r?*,w5i^-' -^"^ "i-»- I *ort) — all this is an incentive to get membership in our Association. If a bee-keeper goes into it once, if he thinks any- thing of his profession, he is not going to drop out of it; he can't afford to. I do not feel any anxiety about it. We should all do like Mr. Werner does. Some man at the Fair asked him a question, and he replied that he could not answer that question unless he was a member of the Association, He sent three men to me at the Fair, that way. If we ail did as he does, our Association would have one thousand members. Dr. Bohrer — An increase in member- ship is what I and all of us ought to wish to see, and I believe it is on the increase. I was one of the first readers of the American Bee Journal; Samuel Wagner began its publication, and he suspended it for a while; it has been alive ever since. I am satisfied there is a great deal more bee literature read through the length and breadth of the land than there ever was before. We should try to have our college® take up the subject of bee-keeping; they should have it in the schools; get after the professors of your institutions and the superintendents of public instruction; tell them it is important that they take up the subject. The time is coming when it w^ill be done; when these things will be taught in our universities and other institutions. The people do not know of the possibilities of bee-keeping — only a very few of them; they have to be educated! in this. Gradually it will come to the front. Let us talk to the teachers in our educational institutions, and the educational institutions of the State, ajid to our representatives, and tell them what should be done; that we want the people educated in these industrial pursuits. In Germany bee- keeping is taught in the common schools, and many of the Gtermans know about the management of bees. There they are taking advantage of it; this industry is gradually being pushed all over Europe. In Pennsylvania I notice they have Field I>ay Exhibitions, and lessons given to the young men and women of the country. They don't think it beneath their dignity to go out and take lessons. 54 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE I introduced perhaps the first Italian queen ever introduced in the State of Indiana. I was then a practicing phy- sician. When the people found I had sent a ten dollar bill to Mr. Langstroth for a queen, they did not know what to make of it. I went on, though, and introduced that queen, and in about six weeks I had built up a good col- ony, and asked the people to look at it. They said, "See what that fellow has done;" and they said I had manufactured the bees! What knowledge the people get about bees and bee-keeping you have literally gox to pound into them, and keep pounding it; It is an industry that i>eople, gen- erally, don't take to. Mr. Bowen — I believe the question is. How we can best increase our member- ship? I think one thing that would make it interesting would be to put ourselves in position to go before the legislature and get the lawsi we w^ant; and in order to do that we should have a Legislative Committee appointed, consisting of a dozen or fifteen; they should organize and thoroughly can- vass the State; send out literature, and get what information we can get from Mr. York and others who have lists of bee-keepers throughout the State. We ought to find one or more in each county, and interest them in circulat- ing a petition to the Legislature in regard to our foul brood law; that will interest others; that will make inqui- ries in regard to the Asisociation, and the first thing you know we will be getting namesi from those sources for our State Bee-keepers Association. Right down at Jacksonville a party telephoned the other day to know some- thing about the State Bee-keepers As- siociation, and he said, "I want to join it." A lot of men know nothing about the Association. That is one way, by getting out in each county, and have a petition circulated there by one or more men, getting names on the petition; those men who sign their names are going to become interested, and in this way I feel sure we will get good re- sults. Any move we can make in that direction will be a benefit. Mr. York — ^I don't »want to talk too often, because you know some people talk a good deal and haven't said any- thing when they get through. But this certainly is a live question. Mr. Stone said awhile ago he didn't think the Asenciation would go back any; I don't believe it will; bee-keepers are not very easily discouraged. I think this is the best attendance we have ever had at a State Convention, to start with, and I think we are hajving about the best meeting we have ever had in Spring- field that I know anything about. I don't think bee-keepers are going back- ward. I have visited practically all of the bee supply dealers in this country, within the past three or four weeks, and they all tell me they have had the largest demand for bee-keepers' sup- plies this year; that it has been the best year they have ever had. I don't think Mr. Dadant is discouraged at all, because I think he had probably the largest comb foundation sales the past year that he has had. G. B. Lewis Co., while they were burned out last June, will build a bigger place than ever. The A. I. Root Co. is spreading out — fifteen acres! I simply give these to show you that those people still have faith in the bee business, or they would not spread out in the way they have. I believe the bee-keeping business has only just, be- gun. I am surprised at Dr. Bohrer; think of the enthusiasm he has mani- fested; I don't think he was ever so enthused before over bee-keeping as he is today. He attends many conven- tions. I think we ought to try to get a thousand members in this Associa- tion next year. How to do it is the question. Here is one way: , We want to get up a monstrous peti- tion to present to the next Legislature. Let us print such a petition and mail it to all bee-keepers we have in this State, and ask them not only to sign it themselves, but to get their neighbor bee-keepers to sign. Tou can present just as many petitions as you want to the Legislature. Have a number of petitions signed. Send out a thousand or fifteen hundred petitions to bee- keepers in this State, and ask them to get their neighbors, also, to sign the petition, and at the same time, ask them to join this Association. I don't think I have done very much. I have tried to help this organization, but I believe we can do better the coming year. Here is Mr. Werner; see what he has been able to do; he has been able to get members for this Association; he is not afraid to ask people to join, and ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 55 he does ask them. I believe we can get one thousand members in the next year, and then we will get our law. As the Secretary said, "There are more for us than are against us." I don't think there are more than twenty- five bee-keepers in this State that are against the law that is needed, and if they understood it properly, thej^ would see how foolish it is to stand out against it. There are thirty-five thou- sand bee-keepers in this State, so the census says. I am ready to do my part; maybe I can help, because I have the American Bee Journal back of me, and I know the more I do for this Association, so much the more will it help the Na- tional. I think that was a great plan that was adopted, that $1.00 should cover the membership in the two As- sociations; it helps us both. What we want to do is to push for members ! Have a large Legislative Committee appointed, of twelve or fifteen mem- bers, and get together and lay out a plan, and we will not only get a big petition to present to the next Legisla- ture, but also a lot more members lor this State Association. Mr. Bowen — I would like to inquire if it is the intention to meet again to- night ? Mr. 'Stone — They seemed to veto that. Mr. York — If we are not going to have a session tomorrow afternoon, we might as well have one tonight. A Member — ^I think we ought to get through by tomorrow noon, for the rea- son that since I have been coming fliere to conventions, there has been very lit- tle to do in the afternoon. Mr. Pyles — I move that a committee of 12 be appointed, a Legislative Com- mittee, to take up the consideration of a foul brood law, and the maitter of bringing it before the Legislative As- sembly. Mr. Stone — ^Would it not be well to postpone that another year? The Leg- islature does not meet next winter. Mr. Bowen — That is where the trou- ble has been. We have been postpon- ing too much already. Mr. Stone — Work a year at it? Mr. Bowen — Yes, get ready now. The motion was seconded. Mr. Stone — Was the chair to appoint the committee? Mr. Moore — I would ask if there is anything in our Constitution and By- Laws in regard to the Legislative Committee? Mr. Stone — The Constitution and By- Laws provide that the President, the Secretary and the Treasurer are the Executive Committee. It does not say how such a committee shall be ap- pointed. President Kildow — It has^ been moved, seconded, and carried, that we proceed now. iHbw will we do? Will we each write down twelve names? Mr. Pyles — Each write one name, and take the one who has the largest num- ber of votes, Mr. Bowen — We vote for all of them at once. Take the baUot now, and let the tellers report as soon as they can. Mr. York — Report tomorrow morning. Mr. Stone — The chairman should ap- point two tellers. President Kildow — I will appoint Mr. Bowen and Mr, Dadant as tellers. Mr, York — I would suggest that we write just the last name — no initial, because there are no two by the same name. Put twelve names on the bal- lot. A Member — This order of election strikes me very peculiarly. I knew nobody here until today. I know a lit- tle something about politics. This committee should be composed of men Wiho have influence with the Senate and House of Representatives. We can elect, on this committee; twelve of the men who are here in this conven- tion today; but I might have a little influence up in the northern part of the State, but what good could I do here? What influence would I have here among your representatives? Mr. Dadant — The imen who come here to attend these conventions are gen- erallly the men w'ho are interested; you may have a friend who is inter- ested. If you are not, yourself, ac- quainted here, you may have some friend through whom you could work: you could tell him that you wanted has help. It is much better to appoint a committee from the men who are here, than to appoint some one who, possi- bly, would throw the paper in the waste basket if you wrote to him and told him he was' appointed. Mr. Bowen — It looks to me as though ^«?^iyS5" ;.->!'??*?ssp^H'?=*-; ■■:?;:rc'^ Po''^5«-v •^'iP^ir."=iesas?7v;" "^^^ 56 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE we should postpone this election until tomorrow imornirig. I move that we reconsider the action of the convention in taking tMs vote at this time. Mr. York — I second the motion. The motion was' carried, to reconsider. Mr. Bowen — ^I move that we fix the time of putting- in our ballots the first thing in the morning, at the opening session. Mr. York — ^I>on't you think it would be a good idea to have a Nominating Committee, and have this committee select for nomination, a foul brood in- spector and the officers of this con- vention; say, ihave a committee of five, to report at ten o'clock tomorrow morning? Mr. Bowen — ^I am opposed to that. It looks to me like a wheel within a wheel. Take the names and consider the location, and if we want to know about them, we can ask Mr. Stone; he knows all of them, and we can hand in an intelligent ballot. Mr. Dadant — I object to any Nomi- nation Commi'ttee, especially for in- spector. President Kildow — ^You have heard the motion to fix our ballots and put them in at the opening session. Ail in favor, etc. The motion was put, and carried. Mr. York — I move that we adjourn until 7:30 this evening. The motion was put, and carried. EVENING SESSION. The convention met at 7:30 p. m., with President Kildow in the chair. Mr. Stone — Dr. Bohrer made a state- ment about the study of bee-keeping getting into the universities. I just want to say a little on that. We have 'been called upon for our reports, to go to the different libraries; one at Al- bany, N. Y., has asked for our reports, and one at Washingtan, and several others; I can't name them all. Last week I got a request from the Uni- versity of Illinois, at Urbana, for the reports; they asked for all the num- bers, and it was tha.t I spoke of in my report this morning. In looking up the matter. I thought I was going to fail to find a copy of the Third Annual Report, but I finally found a bundle. In the letter that I received from the librarian at Champaign, or Urbana, Ills., he says: "Enter our request on your mailing list for all copies that are issued hereafter, and send us all you can; all you have on hand. They will be very fine for the graduating class, in their research for literature along that line." He spoke of their being very valuable. That shows they are beginning to investigate things along this line, as well as others. Mr. York — ^I was at Columbus, Ohio, last July, on the State University grounds, and I found there about thirty colonies of ibees. So they are making a study of bee-culture there, also. During the winter course, a short course in agriculture, they have a lecturer come to talk to the students, giving them several lectures during the winter on bees and bee-keeping. It seems they are getting interested at our own University at Urbana. I think it is about time our own State University is getting busy. Dr. Bohrer — They are also getting busy in Kansas, too. Mr. Dadant — ^We are still on the question of the growth of our Asso- ciaton. I guess I am probably one of those who came to the first meetings that were held here. For four, five or six years it was almost impossible to get more than half a dozen bee-keep- ers to come. I came here when there were only four people. Mr. Stone, I think, was one of the men who was here. I think there are only three or four of us here now that came then. If it had not been for Colonel Mills, I don't know whether we would have grown much. Colonel Mills suggested to us that the only way for an associa- tion to become permanent was to or- ganize— to be incorporated, and to get a charter, and he joined us; he put his own name on the list; he never was a bee-keeper. He joined us simply to •help us incorporate. He said then we would be a body, and that then we oould do something; that the only way to accomplish things was in organiza- tion; that we could then petition the Legislature. And you see we have grown, and I don't think we will ever go ibackward. I think our future is as much toward growth as our past is from nothing. Mr. Stone — ^I have passed the years of anxiety. I used to be anxious all the time. .'~^ *('-'J:j^-l,>^j-}\- ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 57 Mr. Pyles — Three years ago this month was' my first attendance at the convention, and, if I remember right, we got here along about noon> and met with the second session; we met and organized committees in the morning, for the first hour after we met. There was but seven in the roam the second session. It looks to me as if we have grown some. Mr. .Stone — We have !had a nimiber of meetings when we just about got nine fees on to our Mst; but the work of getting the members comes after. There has hardly a month passed but what we got from one to a dozen mem- bers; they are coming in all the time. My book will show now that two or three have paid for 1910. Their fees are not counted in our statistics in our financial report; they will be counted next year. Bee- Keeping in the Schools. Mr. Moore — Wihile we are talking on this subject of education, I think a great many of us are so situated we can do something along that line. Take it in the public schools, and in the High schools, particularly: they are advocating more time and attention to outdoor studies of animal life and in- sect life, and, by talking the matter up, we could get a chance to demon- strate before the pupils, and give them lectures and talks on bee-culture that will help them out wonderfully; and the teachers and the principals are very glad to receive such help, generally. Not long ago I was talking with a principal of our ihigh school; the chil- dren were getting specimens of various insects. I happened to find a seventeen- year locust on the sidewalk, and gave it to one of the girls^ in this class, as a specimen. I spoke to the principal about bee-culture; he knew that I was in the business,! and he said he would like to have me come and give them a talk, and demonstrate the working of the bees. So I took an observation hive right into the schoolroom, and gave them a lecture on the subject of bees and ibee- culture. I think, if more of us would do something of that sort, we could accomplish a great deal in educating the people in this line. If you take an observation hive right into the schoolroom, and talk to the chil- dren, you will find that the knowledge you give them will be pretty well dis- seminated. It will create a demand for honey, and stimulate the interest of every one in bees. Mr. York — ^I may say that I have done that. I did a 'little along that line in the Chica'go schools during the past summer vacation. I was invited to IjrSnjg some live bees to one of the vacation schools. I gave them three or four talks. They would fill the room up with children, and then those would pass out, and another lot would come in; and so I kept it up for about three hours. I also have 75 or 80 stereopticon slides, that take an hour, or an hour and a half, to run through. Next Tuesday night I expect to deliver a bee lecture before the T. M. C. A., of our suburb. I have given this lecture, and it seems to take witlhi the people, especially if "you can show them pic- tures on the screen. I would toe glad to use them more, if I had an oppor- tunity— ^^an evening a week, perhaps, in different parts of Chicago, that I could reach in an evening. I think it is a good thing. Mr. Coppin — ^In order to make up a collection of insects, I always give the children queens, drones and workers: that will help to make a display. Beeswax and Butter. "Is it not true that ^beeswax is in the honey, the same as butter is in milk?" Mr. Moore — I should say not. Mr. Coppin — The honey Is in the wax, instead of the wax in the honey. Mr. Moore — I think that has been demonstrated by scientists — wax is a secretion of the bees. Mr. Moore — I have had people ask me if those bunches of stuff bees had on their legs was wax. Mr. Stone — Is not beeswax in all honey? Mr. Dadant — Beeswax is in sugar, when you come to that. Mr. Moore — The bee has to eat honey and digest it, to stimulate those glands to secrete the wax. I>r. Bohrer — This stands in about the relation that blood stands to corn or brf ad. There is blood in bread — in corn bread — in any of the digesti- ble food that we eat, and it is what the bees eat that enables them to se- crete wax; but you will never find wax in globules in honey, not as you find globules of butter in milk. W^e have ■.«T* sa NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE never seen any such revelations by the microscope. Rendering Combs Into Wax. "What is the best way of rendering old brood-com-bs into wax, w^here a person ha,s from 150 to 200 hives of fouil' broody combs? Who knows any- thing about the Hershiser wax-press?" Mr. Dadant — The old combs — I don't care whether foul broody combs or not, if you don't leave them where the bees can get at them — the old combs, in order to get the most beeswax, should first be soaked, and they should be crushed, because, if you melt combs when they are not crushed, there is a cihance of wax lodging in the cells. The cells are very heavy; the skins of the larvae that are left, one after another, in the cell, make little tubes, and when you melt those combs, those little tubes are still in existence. If any wax lodges in there, it is difficult to get them out; if you crush the combs, you destroy those things, and if you soak the combs, it will wet the wax so it will not stick to any of those particles. By wetting the combs, you have the advantage of taking a great dfeal of color out; you will find that out if you soak the combs for from twenty-four to forty- eight hours; the water is of a brown- ish color. After the broken combs have been soaked, melt them; you can melt them In a kettle and dip out the beeswax from the top — ^take all the wax and then purify it again the sec- ond time. But if you can afford the Hershiser press, it is certainly the best, to my knowledge, and I believe those who have tried it, have found it good. The Hershiser press is made on a rational principle. When you have a large, round press in which you put a considerable quantity of old combs, the wax in the center will come out with difficulty, after it has been pressed quite tight, because it is imprisoned in there; ibut if your wax is put in a press like the Hershiser, it is in lay- ers— a full layer, then a spacing frame; another layer, another space, and so on until the top; your layers of beeswax are from an inch to an inch and a half in thickness, and when you press, you have all of those spaces through which the liquid wax can escape; and for that reason it is very much better. The residue that other presses would leave in such a manner that never could be extracted, would still furnish some wax, with the Hershiser press. We have used one now, I think, for two seasons, and it has 'been used very ihard, but it has done a great deal of work. It is ex- pensive, but it is good. Mr. York — It costs $18.00. Mr. Stone — Is it not a fact that Mr. Hershiser sends all over the country and gathers up the old refuse that has gone through other presses? Mr. Dadant — Yes. I suppose you know, we have had a good deal of experience with residues, they are worse tlhan beeswax in the old comb. Tak« our residue, and we have rags and sticks of wood; in fact, anything you please, that would stick to bees- wax; and when we come to the last pressing of our residue, we have a lit- tle press made of steam coils, about the size of a cider press — 1% feet in diameter; we have a steam coil going around that, and we put our wax in and turn on the steam to keep it at a boiling heat all the time, and press it, and we get very black stuff out of the residue; hut it is wax. We find the same trouble with that as with other presses, the center does not run out very good. If any of you have any of the German wax-presses, bear in mind that, in order to succeed in getting the most wax out, you must not hurry it. It is just like pressing grapes to make wine; if you hurry it, you imprison the center in such a tight way that the wax can't get out; press a little and then let it leak; then press a little more, and the liquid in the cen- ter will not be imprisoned; but if you go too fast, you are going to get the thing too tight, and some liquid will be in the center, you cannot get out; give it plenty of time. I can only see one improvement possible in the Hershiser press; that would be, to have those layers on edge, instead of hori- zontal; for the reason that the wax that is under will less readily escape. I have thought several times of design- ing something that would be an im- provement on the Hershiser press. The Solar Wax- Extractor. ' "Would you advise the use of the solar wax-extractor in rendering up foul brood combs?" Mr. Dadant — No. In the first place, . ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 59 the solar wax-extractor is very slow. I think it is a good thing for bits of wax you have during the summer season, a little wax you gather and don't know what to do with — throw it in the solar extractor; but not to use it for ilarge quantities of wax. "We think the solar extractor is useful for small quantities of wax. Mr. Becker — ^I want to tell you one way to get the wax out of old combs — for those that haven't two hundred colonies, but have about fifty or sixty. Three years ago I lost, one winter, about forty colonies, and I saw that I could not save the combs, so many of them had bee-bread in them; those that had no bee-bread, I put them away and saved for the "bees, and the others I cut out and put in a big box — I had two boxes full. They set out in the open for a long time, until they got well soaked, or rained on. Finally, I concliided one day I would melt those combs down. I got a kettle ready and went to work on them, and I saw I had trouble in hand. I happened to be down to the postofHce, and I said to one of my neighbors: "If I only had a beeswax press now, I would like it;" that I would like to buy one, but I never got it. I said to him: "I don't know ihow I am going to get those combs pressed out." He asked me if I 'had ever used a lard press. I had a lard press, and I went home and went to work. I got out the lard press; got a couple of small gunny sacks, and put in a gallon of combs: put them down into the hot water in my kettle; got another sack and filled it, and got it soft, and put it in the press. It worked the same asi other presses; and, by myself, in two hours, I had extracted sixty pounds of bees- wax out of those combs. If you have only a small number of colonies, that is, between five and seventy-five; if you have lots of old combs, just get a lard press; it costs j'^ou only about a quarter of what one of those big presses cost, and you can press out every bit of wax in it. Of course, old combs I put back a second time, after pressing out all I could at first, I put it 'back again into hot water and let it boil once more; get it all good and hot again, and put it back in the press. I first pour hot water in my press, so that the press gets good and hot, and then I put in the wax. After you are through with it, if you want to use it for lard, you can take a clean rag and wipe it out, and it wipes right out, and your press is ready for lard. That is the way I did my extracting. Mr. Stone — ^You will run the other presses out of the market! Mr. Dadant — I always like to figure on what things cost. If the press costs $18.00, interest, at 6 per cent, would ibe $1.08 a year. I am satisfied that if you have only fifty colonies of bees, you have saved $1.08 from that press over the one Mr. Becker recom- mends, by buying the Hershiser press. I am satisfied he leaves that much wax in his combs. We have seen stuff look as though there was no beeswax in it, and we would produce quite a little from it, when pressed right. Mr. Stone — I believe it is a good deal like the cider press. A man came to our house to get some apples to make some cider; he had been told that eight 'bushels of apples (Jonathans) would make a barrel of cider, so he thought he would get twelve, .and be on the safe side. I afterwards inquired of him how many bushels of apples it took, and he said he lacked about ten bushels of making a barrel; I asked him what the trouble was. I knew of a man who got a barrel of cider out of twelve and a half bushels of Ben Davis apples, and they were not considered as good as Jonathans. I believe the reason he did not have bet- ter success was because he run the press down too quick, and left the cider in the middle. That is the way bees- wax is left in the middle of the comb; it does not come out, but the Hershiser press will bring it out. Reports of Committees. Mr. Moore — The Auditing Committee is ready to report. It found the re- ports all correct, with, one exception. Mr. Stone had turned over to Mr. Becker $64.00 that he included in his last year's report. Mr. Becker had carried it on in this year's, so he re- ported a balance of $1,438.38, 'but that $64.00 should come out of that; his balance really was $1,374.38. He re- ported $64.00 too much. With that ex- ception, everything is straight. President Kildow — ^Tou have heard the report. What will you do with it? 60 NINTH ANNITALi REPORT OF THE J. Q. SMITH, Late President of the Illinois State Bee Keepers' Association. Its adoption was moved, voted upon, and carried. Mr. Dadant — The Committee on Res- olutions has two resolutions to report to the members, if you are ready. Resolutions regarding' the late Pres- ident, 'Mr. J. Q. Smith, were read, and adopted: "Whereas, Our late "Worthy Presi- dent, J. Q. Smith, departed this life on October 9, 1909; be it Resolved, That we deplore the loss of a man w^ho has rendered great ser- vices to bee-culture, both as President of the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' As- sociation, and also as State Inspector of Foul Brood. That we instruct our Secretary to enter this resolution upon the records of the Association, and to send a copy of it to his wife and chil- dren. C. P. Dadant, J. "W. Bowen, "W. H. Hyde, Committee. On motion, a vote of thankS' was extended to Mr. George "W. York for permitting the use of his lists to spread literature among the bee-keepers of Illinois. Mr. York — I appreciate very much this resolution. Lest I should forget it tomorrow, I want now to extend a hearty invitation to this whole conven- tion to attend the meeting in Chicago, of the Chicago-Northwestern, the first and second days of December, to be held at the Briggs House. "We are going to try to have a great meeting; quite a number of bee-keepers have promised to be present, Dr. Miller amiong them, and I know you will all like to see him. "We would like to have all present who are here, and as many other bee-keepers of the State as it is possible to attend. i Resolution. "Whereas, The room given to bee- culture by tlhe State Agricultural Board is entirely inadequate for the present needs of our growing pursuit; be it Resolved, That we join the Sta'te Horticultural Society in requesting the ^.^:w-^^^9&;iL'%A.:^V'^'^^l.<^:l.'tL^i;^.;c;^N'.«:^;;^.d'-:>£2^:.i>C^&^ ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 61 State Board of Agriculture to erect a larger and more commodious building for these two closely allied industries in their annual exhibits. C P. Dadant, J. W. Bowen, W. H. Hyde, Committee. On motion', the foregoing was adopted. Revising the Premium List. Mr. Dadant — I have a resolution in regard to the preanium list. The Sec- retary, in Ms report, said the premium list had some TViordinigs in it that needed changing. ' (The resolution was read, and, upon motion, it was adopted seriatim, and placed with the Secre- tary, as a part of thisi report.) Mr. Stone — ^I want to say to the As- sociation, this premiium list (I worded myself), and I came near being beaten at the Fair, because of the letter "S." The other fellow got beaten because he Ihad only a single design, and I happened to have more than one de- sign, and didn't get ibeaten. Now, in getting up tShat list, we put It in the plural number, because we supposed where there were three or four de- signs, one would get the first, one the second, and one the third; we didn't think each man would be required to have two designs. That "&" just hap- pened there. Like we put it, "Honey Extracted on the Ground," and the first thing we knew th^ere were men, that came there with 500 pounds of honey that claimed to be extracted on the ground, when it was not. Our object was to make It educational, and have the honey actually extracted on the ground. It is not educational where they bring it on the ground already extracted, so we changed it to read, "Honey Ex- tracting on the Ground." I think tlhat the letter "s" should be taken off from the word "designs" of beeswax — to make it singular number. Mr. Coppin^ — I fail to see how those two jars of comb honey could have been awarded the first premium as being designs, in preference to the let- ters that were built by the bees, in honey, "Illinois State Fair," and the words, "In God We Trust." The judge gave the blue rib'bon to a man, because he said: "This man Ihasn't got any ribbon at all." He did not do it be- cause of the design, but because he took pity on 'him. Mr. Dadant — 'Perhaps it would be as well to have a vote on each of these sections separately. First, we might consider the matter of the letter "s" in the designs on beeswax, making it read "^design." Mr. Stone — ^I want to say this list now Ihas been going on for four or five years this way, and it occurred two or three years ago that this premium was wrongly awarded to an Indiana man, that had just two nicely shaped bottles, like you see in any druggist's window. The first globe was one color, and the otlh^r another color. He had two of those bottles, and they were filled with ihoney. Mr. Coppin never knew until this year why he failed to get the premium, and Mrs. Ooppin cried over 'it; we all sympa- thized iwith her. Mr. York — Were not those same things there a year ago? Mr. Stone — ^Mr. Coppin had two or three designs. He had "In God We Trust" and his own name, wofked out in letters, by the bees. Mr. York — I certainly gave him the premium on it, as I was the judge. Mr. Stone — The other fellow didn't. I got onto it in this way: Mr. Becker said to 'ine, "Who are we going to have for judge this year?" I told :him that the Superintendent told me it was going to be Mr and he said, "Well, his decisions have been satisfactory." I referred him to the decision he had made that was not satisfactory, and Mr. Becker said, "Don't you know why ihe ruled that way? Because there were two de- signs." Mr. Becker — A little explanation may be well fromi me on that. The .judge came around to my exhibit, and I sup- posed, like Mr. Stone and the rest, that we were simply to furnish a design. He said to me, "WTiere are your de- signs?" And I replied, "There it is — the Honey-'H'ouse." He said, "You must have more than one design." That was the first time we ever had noticed it being "designs." As to the Indiana man getting the premium over Mr. Coppin, Judge Blank's only ex- planation was, "The poor fellow ought to have something." Mr. Dadant — In this matter you want to 'have everything so explicit that a ^'i^y^-..-^'r/jJi^:-iii.^^i^'yiSS,-.f'ji^^':jai^'i^ t'^^WSievtf ■. ,, 62 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE judge cannot get around it without making a downrig'ht, square injustice. I expect iie can do that anyway, if he has a mind to, hut the idea for us here tonight is to word the thing so that the exhibitors themselves, and the judges present, will feel there is no dhance of making a mistake. I would take each one of those premiums sep- arately, and pass upon them; some of you may have objection ^to some one clause; if you are all of a mind, it will be quickly done. Take the words, "Display of Designs in Beeswax:" To tell you the truth, df I saw one .big design, and it was far better than half a dozen little ones, I wouRd give that the premium. Mr. Pyles — I move the Secretary read these premiiums one at a time, and ac- tion be taken on them. Motion seconded, and carried. 1st. A Full Colony of Bees of any Race — in Observatory Hive — $5.00, $3.00, $2.00. Mr. Becker — ^What is tihe premium to be on — the hive, on the Taees, or on the comb? If it is on the comb, shooild it be filled combs, half combs, or quarter comibs? Wlhat is the premium to "be on? Mr. Dadant — If there were four or five exlhibitors, and one of themi had a good colony. In good shape, I think I would give tJhat one the premium. If others were only part of colonies, that should be taken into consideration. Mr. "Werner — I think it ought to be a full colony, in working order. Carried. 2d. Carried, that the words, "with queen," should he added to numbers 2404, 2405, 2406 of the above named premium ilist. That an addition shouM also be made to the list, as follows: One Frame ObserVatory Hive, of Caucasian, with queen, $4.00, $3.00, and $2.00. A Menaber — I wooald amend that by ' making it, one nucleus hive, same as Colden, Italian, Carniolan, and Leather Colored. Mr. Dadant — ^We made It read ex- actly as on the ipaper. The motion was seconded, carried, and adopted. Mr. Stone — That No. 2400, on ex- tracting honey on the grounds, read: "Honey extracted on the grounds, ex- ecution and explanation considered." (Adopted.) That No. 2408 read: '"Display of design in comb honey executed hy the bees under the control of the apiarist." Mr. York — Why the (word "display?" Why not simply say "design?" Mr. Dadant — The word is "dispilay" in 'both cases. Mr. York — Everytlhing is on display; I should think it would be simply "design." I move to take out "display of" in both places. (Carried.) That the letter "s" be removed from the word "designs" in :Premdum 2409. Mr. Dadant — ^We will have to change that if we want to take out the words "display of." That Premium 2409 sihould read, "Design in Beeswax." Mr. York — Do you mean to have just one design in beeswax from one ex- hibitor? Heretofore nearly every ex- hibitor had a number of things made of beeswax. Mr. Stone — ^The premium should be on "design" in beeswax. Mr. Dadant — At the World's Fair we had one design that cost us three weeks of labor, and if somebody had had three designs^ under this ruling, it would ihave 'beaten us. Mr. Becker — It doesn't look to me as if you have got this really right; you exihibit just one article and noth- ing else. It seems to me that the Bee-Keepers' Association doesn't tell a man what he shall ex^iibit; he should know what he can get a premium on and what Ihe can't. If he wants to make a half dozen designs, he should have the privilege. If one man's ex- hibit is considered better than another, he should get the premium. Mr. Dadant — I move that we change the wording to "Design or Designs in Beeswax." Mr. Pyles — If you wish to offer a pre- miium. for the best horse, you would not hinder a man from exhibiting just as .many horses as he wanted to, not only one horse; but, of course, the one horse that is the best would get the premium. One design in heeswax, if the best, will iget the premium, al- though you may have a dozen. President Kildow — I think the ex- planation Mr. Pyle gives Is all right. We may have four, five, or more ; we may have three good ones, and one would be considered better than the others; we get the premium only on design, after all. , ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 63 Mr. Dadant — I think that is a mis- take. I don't think a man can make two entries on one premium. If (he can't make more than one exhibit, he will certainly select iMs .best piece. If there are two designs, and the judge hesitates between the two, he will give tttie premium to the one who has the better. Mr. Stone — Now, this is just ex- actly like the design in honey. The controversy came up because the man did not have two designs in Ihoney; the other fellow, an inferior exhibit, got the first premium because he had two ibottles 'Of honey. It is the same with beeswax, exactly, and if you make a dhange in one you have to make it in the other; and if you make a change in the other, why not go back and modify the whole premium list? Take it in the case of white clover honey, 12 to 24 pounds. A man could exhibit 500 pooinds, if he wants to, on that. He Ihas to liave so much, and if he Ihas ten times as much, if every- thing el'se is equal with the man who has a single case of honey, he would be apt to get the premiumi. It ds the same with design in beeswax and honey. If the man ihiad the best, who toad a single design, he would proba- bly get it; tout if another man had several pieces, but not as good, he wouild not be apt to get it because he had more. I can't see any way of crawling out of that. Mr. Coppin — It seems to me there is a little mistake there. If the premium list called for a sa.mple of twelve bot- tles, the judge would certainly give the exJhibitor the full score for twelve bottles; if the display is for a .weight of 500 pounds, that will be given the full sicore. The other mam migiht have a thousand pounds, but he would not get any more recognition on this ac- count. Mr. iStone — If the man who had the larger quantity was equally as good as the other, he would be apt to get it. Mr. Coppin — Does it not say, 500 pounds wil'l get the full score, on the premium list? Mr. Stone^ — -The score card reads, 500 pounds shaJll score for quantity; it does not say anything about quality. It takes 500 pounds to score for quan- tity, and if the man has 500 pounds, he would score full point; but if the other man had more equally good In all respects, he would score a little more; it would weigh with the judge. Mr. Becker — It says 500 pounds only will receive full score; that does not mean 600, or 700, or 800. Mr. Dadant — I would understand that to mean not iless than 500. Any one who was judge, if he saw two ex- hibitors, one with 1,000 pounds, and one with 500, and he hesitated between the two, he would turn it over to the man who had 1,000. Of course, if the honey of the one who ihad the 500 pounds was 'better than the one who had 1,000, that would be a different matter. But we are discussing honey, and the question is beeswax. Some one has said that if you make up several .designs in beeswax, one party is en- titled to but one premium; that you cannot get a first, second and third premium. I think if what a man ex- hibits is entitled to it, Ihe should have it. For Instance: Here comes in a man with three designs in heeswax, eadb good. If a man goas to work and takes the time and the expense of making up three nice designs, and any one of them is better than that of other exhibitors, I think he should have tftie first, second and third pre- mium'. Mr. Becker — If you will look hack, I think you will see that those 500 pounds were put in there for a pur- pose. You will remember very well when a certain man from Indiana got the premium on ahout 100 pounds of honey; another man from Iowa was there with 500 or 600 pounds. When we got up the premium list we meant to make the Pair Association of the State of iMinois a fine exhibit, and we can make a finer exfhibit with 500 pounds of Ihoney than we can with 100 ; and so, all the way through, with your beeswax. If you have a fine display of beeswax, it is attractive to the people, to the Association, and to everybody. Why, then, will you go and cut it down, and set it down to one thing j alone? I say, make as many designs , as you desire to, and if the other man's one design is better than all of these others, give him the premium. I don't 'believe it is justice to cut a man down, and say you can make but one design. Mr. Stone — It does not read that way; it does not hinder a man from making a dozen design®. ■••i-'^.^^i^^.yir •;,?■■ -, .;..vi f: v^*;?rv?-'-*^'W.^T'«iv: jr-.^t^^T^A-J'^^;- "'?:'/Wl^'3;W'^^s?JTf-??^?=*' 64 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE Mr. Becker — I would make it "de- sign or designs." Mr. Pyles — If you take twenty horses to the lair, and there is only one pre- imiumi the best horse will get it. So will the best design get it. Mr. York — I was trying to think back to the last judging I did here at the State Fair. It seems to me Mr. ■ Stone Ihad two designs in beeswax. One was a fence around an exhibit — gas pipe fence — and the other one was Uncle Sam chained to a saloon. It does not seem to me I would give Mr. Stone two premiums on "designs in beeswax," and leave out the other fel- low. It woul hardly be fair to give one man all three premiums. You might as well say "design or designs;" a man could not enter if he had only • one design, if you say "designs." A Member — Is it not a common thing, that one man gets first, second ■ and third premiums on horses, cows, dhickens, and the like? Don't that often happen? Mr. York — Different entries, though. A Member — It seenns to me I have seen them get first, second and third, because they had the first, second and third best in that particular line. Mr. Stone^ — Onlly one entry will be. allowed each exhibitor for any one premium; that is at the ihead of our list. Mr. York — One design would not compete at all, if j'ou say only "de- signs." Mr. .Stone^ — My son worked two or three weeks on Lincoln's Monument, in beeswax, and three weeks on the - Log Chain — about twenty feet long. Both he and his wife worked until midnight two nights. Mr. Coppin — It seems to me if it were put "design or designs," it would give them the privilege of making one large article, or a number of small articles, and I would make a motion ' to that effect — that you put it "design or designs." Mr. Pyles — The Secretary just read ' tihat more than one design could not be entered — only one entry of each article. Mr. Stone — Suppose that Mr. Coppin had a design in beeswax, or five or six of themi; and Mt. Becker had five or six designs — don't you suppose the judge would pick out the best one of each of them and pass on them? There is no reasonable man that would think they would just bunch the wihole thing together, and pass on them. Mr. Dadant — I ibelieve if the judge had several articles under his eyes, and he knew they were all under one entry, he wouM take that under con- sideration. I second the motion to make it "design or designs." Mr. Bowen — I am opposed to the amendment. I think the word "de- sign" can cover the point. You can get a premium only on one design; it does not make any difference if you have a dozen designs; you get the premium only on your design. Mr. Stone — I shall vote against that amendment, because it will make it imore confusing than it ever v.'as. The judges will get mixed up worse than we are on it. Mr. York — Not the way I look at it now. Mr. Dadant — If I was judge, and it was "design or designs," I would say if any one design is better than the other, I would give it to the one that was the better; and if there were a number of designs', and any one de- sign was the better, I would give it to that one. A vote being taken, the amendment carried — "Design or Designs in Bees- wax." Mr. Stone — How much better is that than the "Design in honey?" On motion, the convention adjourned until the next morning at 9 o'clock. SECOND DAY. The convention met at 9:30 a. m., with President Kildow in chair. Mr. York read a paper on: Honey — Its Marketing and Staple Use. To some bee-keepers the word ■"honey" is almost a new one, so far as the honey season of 1909 was concerned. A few not only har- vested no honey at all, but even had to feed their bees; or else what their bees did store was honey- dew, which, in some instances, was but little better than no honey at all, and in other cases worse than none, especially for the bees' winter stores. But as the good honey seasons have been in the past, so they will be again in the future. About 20 years ago ■L .■■.vi^'ft'l^iiiiV*!. •■-';■-.■■. ■ ,*;!J«^,1i..«s*jS«.lAtiakjti:i*l£i.*;.i 1 ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 65 there was considerable said about the then poor and discouraging honey sea- sons, many bee-keepers even wonder- ing if the good honey crops of the early '80s would ever be repeated." But it was not so very long until the good old seasons came again, and with in- creased amounts of honey, so that the crops of 1903, 1906 and 1908 were even more abundant than those of the for- mer bounteous years. While, of course, there will be little or no difficulty experienced in dispos- ing of the honey crop this year, very likely another large crop will soon be here, and the question of marketing it will be up for consideration again. In the meantime, it may be well to look at some of the present most successful methods of disposing of honey. Perhaps the bulk of the honey crop each, year is sent to the large city markets — sold wholesale. This is, of course, the easiest way to sell, but not always the most profitable to the pro- ducer. And yet, for the most extensive producers it is the best way, for such can not hope to work up a demand at home sufficiently large to take all the honey produced in their immeaiate locality. But all who ship or sell wholesale should be exceedingly careful with whom they deal. There are commis- sion men who handle all kinds of prod- uce, and such do not know best how V to dispose of honey. They seem to think that any old price will do for honey, so long as they get their com- mission on the sales they make. And thus, often the market is ruined almost before much honey has begun to be shipped. In nearly every large city there are now commission men, or dealers, who make a specialty of honey. They have developed a line of customers to whom they can sell honey right along, year after year. Such dealers can usually realize much better prices for the pro- ducer than can the ones who know lit- tle about honey. Every bee- paper publisher knows f pretty well who are the reliable and best wholesale honey- dealers, and if every bee-keeper reads the bee-papers (as, of course, every up-to-date bee- keeper does), he will have little trouble : . 1: about learning where it is best to ship . his honey. ;- Next is the retailing of honey — ^that Is, selling it near home, or to consum- ers residing within a short radius of the producer. Many bee-keepers, after years of patient effort, have developed a good local demand. If more would do this, I think all T\"Ould soon find that better prices, both wholesale and retail, would result. Less honey would be sent to the already overloaded city market, and thus, by reason of less quantity, a higher price would be real- ized; and by cultivating the home market, it w^ould be found that soon raore honey would be required to sup- ply it, or else what honey there is to be disposed of there would bring, a better price. The fact is, there are thousands upon thpusands of people in the country and in small cities that do not see any honey from one year's pnd 1o the other. And this ought not so to be. It surely doesn't pay to neg- lect the home market and overstock the large cities with honey. And this brings me to a considera- tion of honey as a staple article. You ask, "Will honey ever be used as com- monly or as extensively as sugar? May- be not. But the fact remains that it ought to be used ever so much more generally than it is today. And it is "up to" the bee-keepers themselves to see that honey has its rightful place among the articles of daily consump- tion. I say daily consumption, and I mean it. I declare that honey should aKv'ays be on every table, just as mucn as butter or any kind of sauce or fruit. And surely at the present price of ex- tracted honey, why should it not be eaten daily? Oh, yes, I know that some people say they don't care for honey! But I have found that there are but very few people who would not eat honey pretty regularly if thej"- had a chance. Right here I want to touch upon the f Jim of honey to be placed before the people, if we ever expect it to be used extensively or by practically every- body. Of late, my attention has been called to chunk or bulk comb honey, which has been in recent years such a suc- cess in certain parts of the South, es- pecially in Texas. Do you know, I be- lieve our Southern brethren have hit upon a good thing, in more ways than one? In the first place, they can pro- duce more honey by their present methods than they could if produced in sections, or even in extracted form. And then, they get a higher price for ■.■■;;^,,.'^A-- 66 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE It than they could expect for the !i(iuid honey free from the comb. They pro- .luce all their honey in shallow extract- ing: frames, then cut it out and put it in tin cans of various sizes, ready lo be Cifelivered to the consumer. And 1 can readily understand how nearly ev- erybody would "take to" such honey, just as naturally as a duck takes to water. It has the real bee -honey taste. There is nothing about it that sug- gests artificiality, as do the clean, white sections, free from even a stain of propolis or bee-glue. Chunk or canned comb honey shows on its face that it is the real honey,' simply cut out of the hive and placed on the market. It could very well be put into tin pails or other receptacles, that may easily be handed out to consum- ers. I predict that this method — which may seem somewhat slipshod, and savor a little of the back woods — will be practiced pretty generally over the whole country within a very few years. It is a sane, sensible, success- ful method. It is economical for the producer — no sections needed, but plen- ty of shallow frames; more comb foundation, more hives, more supers, and then more honey harvested. And, with plenty of such super-room on the hivesr-4^ere is going to be less swarm- ing. T^Sv honey is not removed i'rom the hives tlTl the end of the honey sea- son. Result, a better quality of honey because thoroughly ripened while with the bees. But I didn't start out to boom chunk, bulk, or canned comb honey. And yet, I believe it is going to prove to be the method which will help most to popu- larize the use of honey — help make It a staple article of diet sooner than anything else I know of. I think this method needs to be encouraged, be- cause it will also put more money into the pockets of the honey-producers; more money in the bank for the bee- supply manufacturers and dealers; and thus bring the greater financial suc- cess to all connected in any way with the industry of bee-keeping. And above and beyond all this — and also more important — more people will be eating honey, and thus more people will have better health, liv-3 longer, and be happier. And, maybe, mere people will be keeping bees, more bee-keepers will "keep more bees," and thus there will also be produced more and better fruit because of the more pi rfe'^t fei- tilization of the fruit blossoms throughout the country on account of the presence of a larger number of bees to do the work. Now, you may say that all this looks, very well on paper, bu* it is the talk of an enthusiast. All right, let it be so. But what I am telling you is al- ready being accomplished in Texas and other parts of the South — that fair land that has in very recent years been teaching the North how to "sober up" and get rid of the curse of the open saloon, State by State. Who knows but our Southern bee-keeping brethren and sisters will yet teach us of the North how to "sweeten up," as well? Let us not despise our calling, but let us go forth to help make our goodly land "a land flowing with honey," whether it f.ows with milk or not. Our dairy cousms can look after the cow-and- milk part of it; let us attend to the bees and their honey. GEORGE W. YORK. Chicago, 111., Nov. 15, 1909. Pres. Kildow — Is there anything to offer on this paper? Dr. Bohrer — I heartily endorse the paper. I got the impression that our Southern bee-keeping friends are ex- tensively engaged in the procluciion of chunk honey that is out in cans, with the comb and all; but many of the bee-keepers in the North are preparing it in a more economical form than that, and I believe it will, in time, be more generally done in the South as well as the North, because we save the wax, that is, by the, use of the extractor. Wax is no more digestible than a dia- mond or piece of glass, and people are more and more coming to realize that. If honey can be produced in large quantities, and be put on the market at lower rates, you can sell more of it. You can get from six to eight cents a pound wholesale for the honey now. I believe I could sell 20,000 pounds of honey within three months within the limits of my own county — extracted honey. Everybody knows me there, and they don't believe I would put up bogus honey; and, besides that, I tell tihem how they can catch me if I at- tempt it, and they take it for granted that I produce the right kind of honey. We have one of the ablest secretaries of the State Board of Health in any part of the United States, and he :r--m^'-^^'l':y^i.i>-'.\J:yS^rjV.. ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 67 would get after any one if he attempt- ed to sell bogus goods. When you come to extract honey in large quantities, it will have as ready 'sale as this 90 per cent glucose and 10 per cent cane syrup, and it will very largely supersede it. Every time you say anything to the press about health, throw a stone occasionally right into the vender of glucose and blended syrup, which I say (and make the statement fearless of successful con- tradiction) is not wholesome food. It is only a question of time when it will increase (if people keep on using it), a disease of the digestive organs; it is on the increase now, and has been for years; we are said to be the greatest dyspeptics in the world. Why, you go Into Europe, and they are not using the corn syrup or glu- cose, you will see them living on plain diet; and you will see them eating lots of ihoney. That is the reason they take up the subject in their public schools, and are teaching it there, that they may have a wholesome food. In the Northern States, I look for the matter of bee-keeping to be com- pletely revolutionized. The man who produces section honey need not be scared; it is not going to be within our lifetime. The time is coming when there will be a very strong demand for it; if the women, now, could be made to see that it gives them a good com- plexion— the use of honey — our sales w^ould be increased. Mr. Stone — A great many doctors in this city, and throughout the country, are beginning to prescribe honey for their patients when they have cold. One of the best customers I have in this city is a doctor who talks honey to liis patients. A good many come to me and get honey, whom he has sent. This thing is growing, and if we can give them a good quality of honey, instead ■of glucose syrup, the health of the people will be made better. I would like to ask Dr. Bohrer why it is that glucose is not considered so good? Glucose Cause of Cancer of the Stomach. Dr. Bohrer — There is said to be more of the ingredients of sulphuric acid in it than in other sweets. It produces eventually organic disease. I think it Is the source of what is known as can- ;■ ■:>:?^~;,-'Sir>.;':i^: r'*^'*';"- v ■ '-r "«?' 68 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE of chunk honey, and undertook to sell it at about half price, they would have to keep it. They would have hard work to seil it at Putman. Mr. Coppin — I don't think it would ibe wise for us to go hack to produc- ing chunk honey. If we had some that we could not put on the market in comb honey form — some that could not be sold in the comb as first-class A No, 1 — not properly finished, or something of that sort — it might be all right to cut that out and sell it for chunk Ihoney. But we have gone to lots of expense and experimenting in order to get a perfect section of honey, as- certaining the hest method to do it, and so on, and we are surely not going back on this to produce chunk honey. Maybe people living in small towns and on farms might make some use of it, but what would they do with it if they wanted to send it to the city? if they had all their Ihoney in chunk form, they could not dispose of it. If we have a fine article in section honey, we can send it to the city, or to any place, and it will always bring a price. I don't think we should -^o back to that method. Mr. Moore — An up-to-date bee- keeper, producing first class section honey, sends it to the market, and it nets him probably 12% cents a pound; by the time it reaches the retailer, it costs 15 to 16 cents, and the consumer pays from 18 to 25 cents a pound for it. By producing dhunk honey, and marketing it amongst the working classes of people — the people who can- not afford to pay from 18 to 25 cents a pound — they will probably buy 20 to 25 or 50 pounds of this chunk honey, at 12% cents, directly from the bee- keeper, and in that way will use more of it. In the other way, they probably would not have honey on their table more than once or twice in the season, if they bought the section honey. They will use the chunk honey constantly on their table; their children will grow up to use it; and this will increase the demand for it. I think this eihould be worked together. I take pride in producing a first class article in sec- tion honey, but I also aimi to produce a lot of chunk honey, and, in a good season, where we have a good honey- flow, I should produce lots of it. I have no doubt that in the city of Galesburg alone I could sell several thousand pounds of chunk honey. A great many people will use much more honey if they can purchase it in this way. Election of Legislative Committee. The teller reported the election, for members of the Legislative Commit- tee, the following: Messrs. Stone, Dadant, Kildow, Becker, Coppin, York, Hyde, Bowen, Werner, and Pyle. President Kildow — The persons ■wlhose names have just been read will constitute the Legislative Committee. I think they would better get together and form an outline of what they will do, as soon as possible. Election of Foul Brood Inspector. Mr. Bowen — I move that we proceed to the election of a foul brood in- spector, for this reason: I believe it is the consensus of opinion that we •do not want our President to be foul brood inspector this time, and if we select a* foul brood inspector first, then we know what to do about a Presi- dent. In other words, some of those who are ambitious to become foiil brood inspector, and do not get it, would probably like to be President! The motion was seconded, and car- ried. Mr. Dadant — I would ask that the Secretary read the names of the can- didates. Mr. Stone — Messrs. Coppin, Kildow, Moore, and Hinderer. Mr. Dadant — For informiation, I want to know if we are to elect by plurality or by majority. Mr. Bowen — I think it ought to he by majority. Mr. Becker — I move that it be by majority — the man who receives the least number of votes will be dropped. Mr. Bowen — After the second ballot the lowest man can be dropped. • Mr. Stone — I will amend that mo- tion. After the first ballot, vote on the two higthest; then the one that gets the majority should have. it. Mr. Bowen — That will not do it. That would hardly be right. The mo- tion is, "Be elected by majority of votes; after the second ballot, the low- est one to be dropped from the bal- lot." Mr. Pyle — A large number of people ' may have heard me express myself outside about this matter. I am op- A. L. State Foul Brood KIL.DOW, Inspector for Illinois. A L. Kildow, State Foul Brood In- spector, Putnam, 111., was born in Shef- field, 111., Dec. 21, 1859. ; In his early life he showed a great liking for bees, and purchased two col- onies, while yet a boy. These colonies were in old box hives, and in the year 1880 he transferred them, with their increase, to the movable frame hives. In 1885 he began rearing queens for market. This he continued for many years, and also greatly increased his apiaries. In 1901 he moved to Putnam, 111^ where he now has 250 colonies. The first summer after moving to Putnam, his bees contracted foul brood from a neighboring apiary. After treating the bees and getting the disease under con- trol, the late J, Q. Smith, State In- spector, visited his yard and approved the treatment. Later he was called upon to assist Smith in looking after other yards in this and neighboring localities. His occupation is fruit rais- ing and bee-keeping. His apiaries are run for comb honey. " .■ ■afc-.:^::~-i»a .j:*; :ij!»< ^ if Ct\ • * V «r> J^.?>* •. I mMiT^ ,-' ' 1^; w^T^^^M '^i- '''■'W^^'^ " » ^^ff^^^^H •""^ii>= i fc^ no GO flOrlflte' ' -' r ^ ■ ^K.i|i^^r^, , .1;.,, , -Kp ^ ' - . a r — K !- U ~ . • ~ •-> - to iiflgP ^?^^^S — '^ Z — -r ''*' -— " .— Z r -i ~ ^'iZ^ —;__—. r^ ^_.:.^.; Ov 71 r ; 7 1 -1 — o Ov »> a . 11 • ID > -' - tl o - ^ . — Z ■^~ >''.■ , s ^ I : -f i 5 c >:::;.-'• 5 ii| o ^ !^s;'.-:-:i '55 . ^ ^~ . X u J^ :^ I-; _: i: -d' c/i -r 1 -:" -_r I - y' ~^ biO c c b _ o >^ ^ ^^ ■jr O ■4-> >■ H CO ■;f . Z -H ■M -^ r -* E"0 c '> — "~ ^ ■ S5 4> — ^ ' ' ' ^ 'Ji t/1 u 1 - >'' c; — " .— ^ ri a> ' ' ■ i n r- C U :? _ _,^-^- -■ = 5^^ o — Jl rt , ■'•^ ~ — ..-'^"F — c" .*^ - ' s — ' a-:^-zZA ILLINOIS STATE i;p:e-kp:epers' association {,9 posed til uiint is known as the ma- keeper in this State — and he is not too jority laile, I'or the simple I'act that a okl to imt in an oflice Ukv the presi- nian can so out and canvass, and you denc-y of tliis Assot-iation. are pledged to vote for some man: I don't lielieve we lan fill tiie place after he has Ijeen dropped, you conie ^\■itll an.v other man as \\f\\ as \se can to me, to vote for your niaii, and jieo- wWn him, so I nominati' Mr. C. P. Da- l)le can trade. If there ar<' ei.i;ht men dant \'nv Pr<>sident. in tliis room that are iTi favor of o)ie Mi-, l^yles — I mo\'e that the Secretary man, and there are seven m<'n that are be instructed to cast the l)al]ot foi- Mr. in favor of anotlier, and six for another Dadant for President of this Associa- one, and five for tlie next one — there lion. are foui' candidates. It doe.'me one gets tihe ma- b>- ballot, and the five that receive jority of votes on the fli-st ballot, then the highest number of vfites dci-Iared you take his name. Sui)pose one Vice Presidents, in the order in which man gets 8 votes: another 7: the_\- rtK-eive them. another G: another ') — if those 7. fi and The motion was seconded and car- ,") conclude they would rather have one ried. of the 7, 6 and r. candidates, there The result of the ballot was as fol- would be IS \-otes against S; now, lows: Mi-, ("oiiiiin. 1st: Mr. IJowen. I'd: that is a majority, and the majority ^'r. ^^^■|■neI-. :',d : Mr. Moore, ^tli. and elects tihe candidate. ^Ir. P\lc. ."ah Viei' Pi-rsid<-nt. On a vote being taken the motion -^'r. Pyles- In \iew of the r'-Cngnized "v\-as carried. abilit\- and i-aruestness of iln- m.-tn r'residenl — Proceed with the ilertinn. ^vho has ln-ld the otfiee of .Scet-ci,-i ry of ]\Tember — I vote tin.' •'"hair api>oim the Ulinoi.-; I Ii-c-ke.-p. rs' Assmiation the Tellers. for so man\' > cai-s. 1 moyi' tlie ;i<-t- President — I apjioint the s;ime two ing Trisident cast the vot.- of ih.- as- as acted on the other. sociation for -Mr, Stone fm- the otfit-e The result of tlie balhiting \Nas: Mr. of Sei-retary of this AssociaT inii. Kildfiw. 17 votes: .Mr. roi)])in. ^^l. and .Mr. Hec-ker — 1 would liki to make ,-i Mr. Hinderei-, 2. .Mr. Kildow. receiving motion that the salai-.\ of the .- the majority of vules. w:;s declared be lixed before wc elect him. and I elected to the office of fmil brood in- m(i\-e that the new- Se(-i-etar.\- recivi- speetor. the same amount as he gut t!;is >-car — .$7.-..00. Election of Officers. 'Piie motion was seconded and car- Mr. Stone — I don't think we can do ried. any Vjetter than U> iJi(-k out one of the Mr. Dadant — T second the motion men who is most widely known in the made by Mr. Pyle that the President United States as a bee-keeper, and that cast the vote for Secretary, is Mr. C P. Dadant — the largest bee- The motion was ]iut and carried. - 5 70 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE By a similar motion Mr. Becker was re-elected Treasurer, and his compen- sation was fixed at $25.00. Mr. Becker — ^I thank you very much for the election and for the increase of $10 in the salary. I didn't ask for an Increase, or anything of the kind. Time of Meeting. Mr. Dadant — I would like to suggest that it might be a good plan to change our day of meeting. The railroad rates now are not so different as when large conventions met here at low rates. It would be much better for us if we could come at a time when the city was not so crowded. I would like to hear it discussed, whether we would not better come at a time, either be- fore or after the Odd Fellows, or at some time other than when these dif- ferent gatherings are held here, so as to have better accommodations for those who attend our convention. President Kildow — I would rather be here when I could have better accom- modations; the railroad fare now, as Mr. Dadant has said, does not cut much figure; it used to make a dif- ference, but it does not make so much difference now, Mr. Stone — I guess you all under- stand how we failed to get rates this year, for the convention at this time. The Odd Fellows had railroad rates, but those rates closed on Tuesday. "When we sent out our notices of the meeting, I supposed we could get those rates, also; we did not know that they were going to close on Tues- day; the railroads did not notify as to when they would close. It is a good thing to have it the same week as they have theirs; you see, we have not been crowded out of the hotel, although we had to shove out of the way as we came in. But there is no objection to the meeting being placed at any other time if the convention see fit to do so. Mr. Moore — As far as the reduced rates are concerned, I don't think that will cut much figure. The railroads did not all make reduced rates, even for the Odd Fellows; rates might pos- sibly have been made with roads radi- ating from Springfield, but connecting lines didn't do so, and even if I lived on a road that was making reduced rates, I would sooner pay full fare and have better hotel accommodations than we have had since we came here. I don't like to sleep on a cot, and I don't like being crowded up with four or five men in a room. Speaking for myself, and I think the majority here feel the same way, I would rather come at a time when there would not be so much of a crowd. Mr. Foster — There are some disad- vantages, but there are some advan- tages. We have this week off, and when we come down here to attend the Grand Lodge, we have no objection to staying over, but some of us would not come to the convention if the meet- ings were held at any other time. It makes a difference, and I know there are different ones who will come next year, if it is held at the same time that the Odd Fellows come here, and we can get more to come if it is held at that time. Mr. Pyles — If we have the meetings on Thursday and Friday, as we have been holding them usually; if people are off from the direct line to Spring- field, they must start the day before to get here, or else we get here late. I like to be here when the meetings are first called. We have to start from our place the day before in order to get here on time. I think it would be better if we were to come here on Wednesday, and not have the Odd Fel- lows to contend with. Wednesday night there were seven of us slept in the hotel in one room. For me, at least, it would be a great accommoda- tion to be able to come some time when we are not so crowded. I think we can get almost as great an attendance. People don't like to be crowded at any time. Mr. Stone — I would like to ask, how many are here who came to the Odd Fellows' meeting and to this, too? ' Mr. Coppin — I would not have come, for one, but for the advantage I got by coming to the Odd Fellows. I had the advantage of the excursion rates, and I believe it would not be a bad idea if more of the bee-keepers were Odd Fellows. It would not hurt them to become Odd Fellows and be inter- ested in both. If it comes in just like it did this time — Thursday and Friday — we would get them to attend both conventions with one expense. I think we could make arrangements and find a place where they would not be crowd- ed, to sleep. We could put up with it for one or two nights, and then there ' '"v,ij^''^-;';.iiiif5i^feS.iI i'-..-, -iiJ-Siiit-wtS': ilLii^J^^ ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 71 would be plenty of room. I think it is a good Idea to have the convention meet at the same time as the Odd Fel- lows meet. (Mr. Dadant — If the members who intend to come to this meeting would write to the Secretary, tlie possibilities are that we could get private houses, and lodge there, and then get our meals at res- taurants. I introduced this subject merely to find out what the members thought. For my part, it does not make any difference; I am very well fixed. I have a private house, whidh ddes not entertain Odd Fellows, except myseilf. I would suggest, from what I have heard, that if the Secretary would put in a card, iwlhen he sends invitations to bee-keepers, that if they will let him know, he can make ar- rangements for them, and if it costs him a few dollars, and ih-e charges the Association for it, to find lodging places, I believe it would be better for the Association. If it costs $10.00 of time, I believe it would be just, and we could imeet at the same tirme as do the Odd Fellows, or at some time right after, and you would draw a crowd. I think the bee-keepers would be more liable to come if they knew they could get accommodations. Mr. Becker — ^^The trouble is, all went to one house. Mr. Stone had se- lected that, at $1.25 a day, but as far as the Odd Fellows crowding the ho- tels in Springfield, they can't do it. The only thing is, that these cheaper houses are occupied. Now, if you want to pay 50 cents for a room, you can get plenty of good rooms, with steam (heat. I always stop here in the city; have a fine room, and a good bed, and pay only 50 cents for the night. Mr. Moore^ — I want to say I have no comiplaint about the service wlhere we stopped; the tables were all right; the meals were good, and we had plenty to eat, but what I object to is the crowd. I do not like to be crowded. I like to have a comfortable bed to sleep in. I slept on a cot, and it was not very comfortable. Keeping Extracting Frames. Mr. Bowen — ^I would like a little in- formation as to what is tihe best way to take care of extracting frames, with honey in, where to keep them. For instance; Suppose you have a number of tihem, and want to keep them over from one season to another, and are not very well fixed for room. I don't care to extract the honey at present. Would it be a good idea to put them in hive-bodies and set them over the bees? My bees I have cov- ered' witih oil-cloth. Mr. Coppin — I would think the better place to put them would be in the brood-chamibers, and t'hen put them in the house, Tvhere you can keep them dry and warm. Outside of that, as good a pdace, if you could not keep them warm, would be to put them on top of the colony, the same as you are speaking about; but you would be to quite a loss if you did that. Tour honey would candy; the bees could not use it the next season. Mr. Bowen — How would it do to have a warm, dry cellar? Mr. Coppin — That would be all rigfht. Mr. Becker — I have a box made, and then set one on top of the other, and about twice during the summer I put on some bi-sulphide of carbon; that kills ail the moths. Just take a little cup of some kind and pour about two tablespoonfuls or more in it, and that will kill any moths, and keep mice away. Mr. Dadant — ^I will tell you a cheap way to do it, if you have ten, fifteen, or twenty frames. Take a piece of rag and pour bi-sulphide on the rag, and lay that on the frames, and that evaporates from the rag. It is heavy and inflammable; don't put it next to the light. Mr. Becker — Twenty-five cents a pound can is what bi-sulphide costs. President Kildow — You have to cover it all over? Mr. Dadant — 'Of course it has to 'be air-tigiht. Mr. Coppin — ^It seems to me you are getting a little away from the point. I thought Mr. Bowen's question was as to the best method of keeping those extracting combs from fall until spring — frames that were full of honey, where you are not prepared to keep them in a warm room. Between the fall and spring, there is no danger of moths hurting them ; if you have a very warm place to keep them and take them in, it would be all right for the honey, but it might mean something to keep the moths away. n-iiar:.,:.,.:^.t W ■'-;■-,>:.--■: 'a* iVV -■:7V- '^^^^^f^^T-y''?.- -if^ '■' 72 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Mr. Bowen — 'Suppose we had the hive-bodies of frames over the brood- chamber, and put on the bi-sulphide, and there should happen to be a hol« so that the fumes would get into the brood -chamber, what would be the ef- fect on the bees? Mr. Dadant — Kill the bees, of course. Mr. Stone — Perhaps if I gave my ex- perience, it would be the information Mr. Bowen wants. Did you want to save the comb over until next spring? Mr. Bowen — For use, yes, sir. Mr. Dadant — Full or empty? Mr. Bowen — Full. Mr. Stone — "Why don't you extract the honey? Mr. Bowen — I don't want to. I have never been bothered with granulation very much. Mr. Stone — I have been delayed sev- eral times' with some honey on the hives to extract, and I moved it to the cellar, where I have a hot- water fur- nace, and the cellar is warmer than any room in the house. I moved the extractor down there, and when it is a bad day, I go down there and do the extracting. I don't believe it ever can- dies there, and I believe it would keep there all winter in the same shape as you put it in. If the moths get in, put a little bi-sulphide on the top of the frame. It is as explosive as gasoline, and you have to use it carefully. I£ you get a little of it on your finger, your finger feels as cold as ice. Mr. "Werner — I have over one hun- dred frames of honey in my house. I don't use anything of the kind, and they are just as nice today as the day I put them in; am never troubled with any moths getting in. Mr. "Werner — Those frames he can put in a hive body and set right out- side where the other frames are. Mr. Bowen — I have in my out-apia- ries, about 20 miles from home, quite a good deal of honey in extracting frames. I don't care to extract them now; and what I want to know is the best way to keep them until sp'-ing. President Kildow — ^I would bring them home and stack them up in my house, somehow. Mr. Moore — I never advise putting them in a hive body and then on top, even with an oil-cloth over it. You winter bees out- doors, and you will have trouble by loss of heat; the bees will have to keep that upper body warm; and you will stand a pretty good chance of losing your bees alto- gether. I would sooner, in a case of that kind, put them in a dry shed, or a dry barn, anywhere that I could stack those hive bodies up, If I had not house-room for them; it would, of course, be better if you could put them in the house. Mr. Bowen — ^We have tried the cel- lar, where the cellar is warm. President Kildow — I would advise putting them in the driest place that you have. Mr. Dadant — "When I advised the use of rags with bi-sulphide of carbon, I expected you would have it in the house. I never would use bi-sulphide over the hive; I don't think it i.s ad- visable. You want to use it in a ciosed place, where there will not be a cur- rent of air to blow it away before it has its effect. Mr. Stone — ^Would it do at all to have comb honey in brood-frames on top of hives through the winter? A iMember — It would not do at all to have section honey in there; it gets damp and moist; the heat of the bees and the cold make a moisture, so that the water would run out of the hives at times, and, in the spring, the comb honey (the section) will have been wet and then dry, and they will all be warped out of shape and mouldy, and the honey will be acid. Where I would leave a section on by mistake, I would find moths. I found where I had left a case of sections on top the hives, it was in such poor shape that it was not fit for table use, or to mar- ket, or fit for anything. It had to be extracted, and then it was acid, and not worth much, not worth anything, . in fact. I would not consider for a minute leaving honey in any shape on top the hive during the winter. Mr. Sauer — About granulation in brood-chambers, will that not liquefy in early spring? Mr. Pyles — No, it will not. On motion, the convention adjourned, subject to the call of the Executiv-^ Committee. 'fSI^Wilf!i!^f9^9^i^i««^S^f^^ 'TP?^*^^^ T^Sy^ ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 73. PROCEEDINGS OF THB ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE Chicago- nortbipcstcrn Bee- Keepers' ilssociatioit Held at Chicago, Illinois, December 1 and 2, 1909. The opening session was held, Wednesday, December 1, 1909, at the Briggs House, at 10:30 a. m.. President George W. York, of Chicago, occupying the chair, and Mr. IH'. F. Moore, the Secretary, acting as such. President York called the meeting to order, then the following invocation was offered by Rev. Rufus Judson Wyckoff, pastor of the Ravenswood (Ohicago) Methodist E?piscopal church: Prayer by Dr. Wyckoff. It is fitting, our Heavenly Father, that we recognize, in the opening hour of this, our session. Thee, our Creator. We were made in Thy own image. Thou hast created us, and hast put us in this world, so full of mystery; so full of power; so full of beauty, and hast given unto us the faculties with which we may overcome t!he things of this iworld. All through the centuries we have been finding out the secret mysteries and powers of the life that surrounds us, and we pray that in this beautiful and delicate field in which Tlhou hast placed us, and tlhe work to which Thou hast called us, we may approach our oinsolved problems with- out fear, and with, the feeling that God is always here. We thank Thee that Thou art in nature; in the vast ocean; in the flap- ping of tttie bee's wings, as well as in the movement of the angel's wings. and that Thou hast placed us here to carry out the high ideals of the Master, and thus to attain the best, the truest, and t!he (highest manhood. We pray that our life may be so molded, day by day and hour by hour, that we may reflect Thy image. Bless us together, as brothers in one common, beautiful calling, and bless us in all our deliberations here in thi» convention assembled; and bless those who, through patient years of study and effort, have learned so much of this Ihigh calling. Bless us as we exchange thoughts- one with another, and learn the se- crets and mysteries of the lives of the .bees over which Thou hast placed us, and make us devout in all our work. Bless us as we together sit during tftie (hours of this convention, and may we go home feeling we are the better for having come together, and have gained the knowledge which we. are seeking; and finally give us an abundance en- trance into Thy Kingdom, when the task of life on earth has been com- pleted^ Amen. President York — The Secretary has prepared a short program; he has not all the papers -in, but sufficient to open this morning's session. Usually, at these meetings, one of the first things is the Introduction of those present. It seems to me, as I look over this com- pany, there are more here whom I have 'i" "fti irive sticks around the mold after you have smoothed ofC the top, and in' five minutes' time you can take the boards away and the block is completed. That makes a very hard block, and one you can carry anywhere you please. The front block I make so as to answer the purpose of a land- ing board. I make it slant from the mouth of the hive to the ground; the bees will run right up; you isee them tumbling end over end in the grass, and they will run right up that block and be in the hive. It is movable; you can move it anywhere you please. Tou have to be careful and level it, or the hive won't set level, the same as with a wooden block, but it is a more durable stand; doesn't cost much, and will last as long as any. Mix it dry, one to five; stir it up dry, and sprinkle with a water pot and keep stirring it, so that you can get it up in a balli and squeeze it. "WTien it is finished, you have a very hard block. Mr. Huffman — ^I have found in using cement bottoms, that where I have "had twenty -five or thirty that I didn't use, .they make a very good sidewalk. My boy took a number of them and made a good sidewalk, so that they come ih handy, to be used for some- thing else besides a hive-stand. I think it best to make them in a solid ■block; I would not change from that; it answers the purpose very well; set It with a slope and the dampness doesn't bother. Mr. Horstmann — I have made a lot of the blocks^ — about a hundred last year. I took an ordinary door, and then took a piece of 2x4, and made a Mnd of frame, and the cement, about four parts of sand to one of cement. Then take a shovel and shovel it right in and level k all off nicely. Leave these blocks stand about three days, until they harden; and they will drop right out by loosening the 2x4s from one end; set the block up on one end and you can move them anywhere. You can give them a slant, and they will always be dry; they are handy in case there are any ants around; you can raise the block up and use a lot of kerosene, or any old thing, to put under that slab and make it uncomfor- table for the ants. I call them "ce- ment slabs," to take the place of hive- stands; you can make it long enough so in case the grass or weeds grow up, they can grow up in front of the hive, and won't go through the cement. Mr. Holtermann — How thick are they? Mr. Horstmann — Two inches; if you use them about one to four, or one to five, you can have them strong enough so that they will not break. I have made two different sidewalks with some of the blocks, and they make a No. 1 sidewalk. Mr. Huffman — There is this about the mold: The man who made mine, made a platform to build the cement block on; then he simply unhooked the frame, and set it aside until it harden- ed, and went right on and made the next block of cement. Mr. Horstmann — Tou must get tlio blocks hard enough to set thoroughly. I tried to take one or two out before they were set and thoroughly hardened, and they broke. A good many leave them in the mold three or four days — then there is no danger of breaking when you take them out. Make molds enough to last. Mr. Huffman — How do you finish the edges after you take them out of the mold? Mr. Horstmann — The 2x4s form the edge. Mr. Huffman — They finish the sides the same as the top; make it perfect- ly smooth? Mr. Horstmann — ^They will be per- fectly smooth; just smooth the top off with a trowel. Leave them long enough so that they will be thorough- ly set before you take them out of the mold, and they will be nice and smooth and hard, and the cost will be about ten cents apiece. Mr. Baxter — I have had a good deal of trouble with hive bottoms; I have 2x4's parallel across with the entrance; the weight of the hive, when full of honey, causes it to settle in the ground, so that the bottom of the hive rests practically on the ground. Every fall I have to level them up so that all the water will run off; I have a good "^ -sai^iaywv ' ' j»^fTW??fr*^'**T'T^'^'=T^ 82 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE deal of trouble. I have made cement blocks. My mold is hinged in the mid- dle, so that after the block is made I can open the mold and take the block out. It keeps the hive up off the ^ound, and keeps it dry. I have had a good deal of trouble with large white ants, which practically eat up all the sap-wood in the bottom board. In having my hives pitched in that way, on cement blocks, I will not have the trouble in settling I had otherwise, and the 2x4's I give a coat of tar — hot tar — and it preserves them, and is good for keeping the ants away. IMr. Baldridge — I made two or three of the cement blocks, but I don't make any more. I like the 2x4's, one under each end of the hive; that is all I need. Mr. Hall — ^How many have used stands? I have made them out of a big trough; they make a very nice block, one for each end of the hive, after you have filled them; the moist- ure can't collect and the weeds can't grow up in them. Mr. York — The question asks as to hive-bottoms, and not to hive-stands. Mr. Horsemann — ^I don't think they would be practical at all for hive- bottoms; they would be too cold, es- pecially in the spring time. I would not think of using them except as a hive stand. Mr. Baxter — Besides that, they are too heavy. There is nothing like wood for hive-bottoms, and you want the bottom board loose, so that you can raise the hive at will, and wood is the only thing to use. Side Packing for Hives in Winter. "What is the comparison between air- space and chaff packing on the sides of the hive for wintering?" Mr. Baxter— ^he chaff hive Is much the better. I have some chaff hives; we put 3 or 4 inches of chaff between the walls of the hives, with two % inch boards, with dead air space of about 1 inch. When packing in the spring, 'we invariably find the chaff hive much the stronger; although they have one frame less of comb, the bees have more stores left, and they are ready to gather honey quicker than the others are. iMr. Thompson — What do you find in the way of accumulation of moisture on the other part of the hive? Mr. Baxter — I never have any; we guard against that when packing in the fall; I had one experience one winter. When you open the hives ia the spring, you will find them as dry as can be. iMr. Thompson — Don't you ever find water running from the entrance? Mr. Baxter — ^Sometimes, yes; but never an accumulation inside the hive; it condenses, falls on the bottom. I never find any ice when you unpack them in the winter time. 'Mr. Thompson — Did you make any comparison between the chaff and the- air space, and the amount of water that runs through the entrance? Mr. Baxter — No difference. The amount that runs from the front of the hive amounts to almost nothing. In those very same hives, when un- packing, you don't find any moisture on the hive, only on the bottom board,, and simply in front. Mr. Huffman — Would that packing, according to Mr. Baxter's experience, be governed somewhat according to- location; would that not have a good deal to do with it? I think in Wis- consin we have colder weather — more frost; I think under those conditions more ice would gather in the hives, and consequently more dampness; I think the locality has a good deal to do with the packing and outdoor win- tering. Mr. Baxter — Remember that the hive is a chaff hive. The packing I use is dry leaves inside the hive. I have a board which I move over from the west side of the hive — take out two frames and move it over so I can pack that side with leaves; I have telescope covers, 6 inch top, filled with leaves; that is inverted over the frames. I take the cloth away and put matting all across the top of the frames, then leaves on top of that; all the moisture goes up into those leaves and condenses there or escapes. I have a hole in the back end of the hive; the entrance is below in front; there is a current of air through there. If you remember the winter of 1884-' 85, that was a tester; that winter I engaged to teach school, against my best judgment, because a certain man promised he would come and pack my bees for me; I knew that he could do it all right, but something prevented him and he didn't pack them. I had three apiaries, one at home, and two out-apiaries; the one at home I packed ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 83 myself, on Saturdays, whenever I had the time, with dry leaves. I lost only two or three colonies out of eighty. You could examine them at any time during that winter and they were all right. During January there were two or three weeks at a time when the mercury never went aibove zero; and the same in February. Out in the country, where my bees were not packed, some I examined had sheets of ice, just like a pane of glass over the comb; with the result that where I had sixty-ifive in one apiary, I had twelve left in the spring. We had zero weather for almost a month at a time when the bees could not come out at all; I don't believe they came out from the January thaw until the beginning of March; where I had them packed in this way, they came out all right, and they will do that anywhere where they have good stores; the stores have a good deal to do with wintering bees. Packed in that way, perfectly dry, I believe they would winter in Wiscon- sin, in Minnesota, or anywhere where they don't fly once in six or eight weeks. Mr. Cavanaugh — It seems to me a very important consideration is in hav- ing upper ventilation. I have wintered bees in Michigan; have tried to winter them in Wisconsin and am novr trying to winter them in Indiana. There is one thing I feel sure of, in any of the experiments I have made, you have either got to have tight, sealed covers and plenty of packing about it, and keep that moisture in the hive below, or you have to have upper ventilation to car- ry it off. We have a form of hive down where I am located now, that has an air space, a double wall and a tight cap above, and several have re- ported to me having filled that cap with absorbent material, and the bees died. There must be an outlet for the moisture; even the hive-cover will be wet underneath without it. Mr. Baxter — Right there I will say that some of these hives that didn't have a hole at the back, and that were perfectlj' water-tight, the leaves were as wet as they possibly could be when opened up; those bees didn't winter nearly so well as where there was evaporation. You have to get the moisture out of the brood chamber, be- cause, if it condenses there, it will condense on the comb, and it will freeze there, and your bees are going to starve then, if nothing else. President York — The next thing on . the program is the question of joining ; the National Bee-keepers' Association in a body. Mr. Baxter — I move you that we join ; thei Illinois State and the National, as ,. we did last year. The motion was seconded. President York — It has been moved and seconded that we join as before, which was 50 cents to the National ; and 25 cents to the State. Dr. Miller — I move to amend this by taking up each one separately for dis- cussion. The motion was seconded and car- ried. Mr. Kannenberg — From our Secre- tary's report, we would hardly have ':'/■. money enough to send anything to the National, and to pay our dues here, ; We would have to make a larger as- sessment if we were to join the Na- tional. President York^ — I might say, for the benefit of those who have' come in since the reading of the Secretary's re- port, that we are about $12.00 short; last year we also joined the Illinois State Association. Mr. Baxter — A great many of us are members of the National, anyhow ; it seems to me that this meeting is the .: mo(st interesting and instructive of any held in the United States. Why ' can we not use our funds for this so- ciety? I think we owe our first duty here, to this Society, and I, for one, would vote against joining the Na- tional as a body. I thing that our dues ought to be kept for this Society; the National will maintain itself. It is an interest we have individually, to help maintain the (National ; as a Society here we must look after our self-pres- ervation; as to the National, each one should do it individually. Mr. Moore — I am going to cast aside ,. any delicacy in discussing the ques- tion. . am not a candidate for re-elec- tion. This year I shall receive no salary, which means six years I have served this association for love. I am ■ = . not a candidate for re-election; I am going to talk to you on this subject :' of finance. A number have referred to the financial condition of this So- cietyu There must be a reorganization of the financial condition or this As- fl'-^ rfZZt'f.. 84 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE sociation will be out of business. You may say the Secretary has not been active enough, or he would have got- ten more money. Last year we got in $57.00. There was a deficit of $12.45. Now you propose to join the National. I have made an estimate here. Out of one hundred people coming here, there are about seventy to seventy-five pay- ing dues. Every one should pay his dollar. The Association can't live otherwise. Suppose that fifty would join and pay their dollar; that leaves a deficit of $7.45. There won't be money enough to join this Association, by paying your dollar, and also join the National; we have got to face the situation. We have got to get in more money. I have tried to do everything I could. Dr. Bohrer — I have been of the opin- ion, since I heard the report of the Secretary, that each organization would better be independent, and stand upon its own responsibility, and depend upon its own membership for support. If we were sufficiently strong, numerically, so that our funds would bear dividing between the two Asso- ciations, it would be different, but as we are coming out behind, we would better save what money we take in as fees and take care of our home affairs, and let any one who wants to join the National, join it; that is, allowing each organization to be self-supporting. Dr. Miller — Can you find out what proportion of the membership of the National is from societies like this, coming in a body? President York — I think I heard Mr. France say about one-half the total membership of the National. Dr. Miller — I think that is an impor- tant matter. I believe the National is a power for good in the land, and if all the societies stand separately, we will cripple the National very much; it cuts it down half to start on. Across the water they have larger societies, a great deal, than we have here; it runs up into the thousands; it is alto- gether due to the union of the socie- ties. Before we decide hastily to with- draw our part toward helping the National, we should do some thinking. Is there not some way that we can manage without it? I, for one, dislike very much to have it said that a so- ciety which holds meetings that are considered amongst the best in the land, should stand to the front and support the National. The National has done quite a little good. It may do more good. I believe we would bet- ter do quite a good deal- of thinking before we drop our membership in the National. "Mr. Kannenberg — I am in favor of that also. Why not make the dues $1.50? Then we can join the Nation- al, even for that matter make it $1.75, and join the National and the State Association as well. I would like to belong to the three. At the same time, I would like to belong as cheap as I can. In that way I think we can manage the three of them. Mr. Moore — Last year quite a num- ber paid $1.25. I count here twenty- six who paid only $1.00 (counting from book) ; for them the dues were taken out of the general treasury to join the Illinois State. Mr. Huffman — I am not a member of this Association, and I am with Dr. Miller as to the joining in a body» Where would our National have been today as to numbers if it had not been for this one thing? We would not have had to exceed 2,000 members at a dollar a member. We didn't have over 800 at the time this thing was started. I, for one, am greatly in- favor of this consolidation, getting mors members for less price. By getting > more members at a lesser price we would get more money, I believe; that has been our experience. I am not here to argue; you people do as you please, but I look at it like this: In our Wisconsin State Association the dues are 50 cents; then when Mr. France got to be Manager, he sug- gested— I believe our State was the first to join in a body — that we join the National in a body, and we did, and all the rest followed. What was the result? We have about 3,400 mem- bers today in the National, an.d it sure- ly is a power for good, and I say. Let's all join in a body. I am here to join this Association, and give my dollar if I never attend it, and I am a mem- ber of the National. I want to see these Associations kept up, and a little money will help to do it. Mr. Cavanagh — I have been getting a little bit warm under the collar. A business that will support a conven- tion like this every year, and a Na- tional convention, and then talk about s economizing on 50 cents to join the National! Let us not have a State ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 85 convention first; let us put the Na- tional first; then support our home State, too. There are several of us from other States besides Illinois. I think the first consideration ought to be the National. The National is do- ing things for us today that our State Association could not do. We ought to look at this thing in the right light. We should not look at it entirely in a financial way, that is going to bring us some gain in this year or next, but something that is going to uplift our profession. I don't think we ought to decide to give the National second place, but first place every time. Mr. Kennicott — We had better stick to the National; keep that up. I think that we had better increase our fees, so that we can pay our Secretary; our Secretary does work enough to earn his pay, and he should have it. I would be in favor of making our dues for the State, the National and the Chicago-Northwestern, about $2.00 a year, and keep it up. Mr. Thompson — I would like to ask if this was not a concession on the part of the National, in our getting this rate, and if it is right that we should withdraw after the concession they have given us. I believe if we raise the dues to $2.00, we will be short a good many members in the Chicago-Northwestern. President York — Now, if we increase the dues to $2.00, we are not gaining anything because of joining in a body; you can join the National in a body, for 50 cents; the National does not ask a dollar a piece when we join in a body, but 50 cents. This arrange- ment was made at Philadelphia Na- tional Convention In 1899. If I may be pardoned, I had the honor to introduce that resolution, that we allow local as- sociations to join in a body. The first Association that met after that was the Wisconsin State, and they were the first organization that took advan- tage of joining in a body at the 50- cent rate. The next association was the Chicago-Northwestern. It seemed to be a good thing all over the coun- try, and increased the membership of the National greatly. It seems to me we are not going to gain anything by increasing our dues to $2.00. I believe $1.50 would be enough. ■ Mr. Horstmann — I am in favor of raising the dues, but I don't think we should raise them to $2.00; if we raise it to $1.50, we will have money enough to join both associations. We don't intend to give our Secretary a big sal- ary, but I think we ought to pay him something. I think this matter should be laid on the table until tomorrow morning, and be taken up the first thing after the convention convenes. I will make that as a motion. The motion was seconded. Pres: York — ^The question is to lay this matter on the table' until tomor- row morning, to be taken up as the first business ; it is not debatable. The motion was put and carried. Pres. York — The other part of the motion was that we join the State Association in a body at 25 cents; that is before you. Mr. Moore — I move that that part of the motion lie in company with the other on the table. The motion was seconded, put, and carried. Election of Officers. Pres. York — We will now proceed to the election of officers. I will appoint as tellers Mr. Macklin and Maurice Dadant. The election resulted as follows: President, George W. York, of Chi- cago. Vice President, Miss Emma M. Wil- son, of Marengo, 111. Secretary- Treasurer, Louis C. Da- dant, of Hamilton, 111. Address by Dr. Bohrer on Foul BrOod. Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Convention: I carry in my pocket a little Article of Agreement that was signed by my- self and the Railroad Company, for which I pSid $25.25, to carry me to Chi- cago and return to my Kansas home, for no other purpose than that of at- tending this convention and hearing the deliberations of this body concern- ing the matter of foul brood and its treatment, and legislation in reference thereto. I made a trip, also, to Spring- field, 111., to attend the State conven- tion there, for the same purpose. It might seem that it looks a little ego- tistical on my part — bee-keepers of Illinois may look upon it in that light, but I go, I intend to make it a point to go wherever that subject is dis- cussed, until we get the proper legis- lation. iiTicfy^';v ?"^i ., r^ V'^<^,y '■'W'v '^^ifftV^^'^^^ y^ ■"■■'■ '^"'"W'"- 86 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE I have seen many classes of indus- trial people in this country grow up, and I have watched the progress of different industrial pursuits, and the kind of legislation being enacted in their behalf, and I find that no indus- trial pursuit has been overlooked or slighted as much as is the subject of .bee-keeping, not only in the State ot Illinois, but in all other States, and throughout the civilized world. In European countries, the people went to work before their legislative bodies, in years gone by, and showed the importance of the bee-industry, and they received some proper protec- tion. Here in the United States, we have next to none. I was present at the first conven- tion ever held in North America, in Indianapolis, in 1871, in the month of December; perhaps Mr. Baldridge was present at that convention, and served as secretary. The matter of foul brood ' cvas discussed, and ideas were gone over as to how the ailment should be treated. It was discussed there by a gentleman by the name of Rood, from Michigan. He gave us his experience in that convention, and the remedy that he regarded as being a cure. It was to dig a hole in the ground, put straw or hay in it, or chaff, or something of that kind, in the bottom of the hole, and pour coal oil on it, and m the dead hour of the night set the hive in it, put on more hay or straw, and more coal oil, and set fire to it, and then fill up the hole. He said that was a perfect cure. Theie was some reason for adopting that measure then, bcause movable- comb hives were scarcely known. Nearly all the bees were kept in round logs and boxes or different ^<{inds: they simply thought so long as they got their bees in a cavity of some kind, that was all that was necessary in that day. But today we have a better method of treating it, and one that will suc- ceed. It has been charged, I understand, right in this city, that some of the manufacturers of bee-supplies are guilty of wanting a law passed in this matter of foul brood in the State of Illinois, in order that they might have an opportunity to burn up hives, that they might have a larger sale of bee- supplies; that they might sell more hives. I think those statements are far- fetched, and a great mistake has been made, to make any such assertions as those. I do not believe we have a bee- keeper in the United States who would advise legislation of that nature for any such selfish purpose. I can't be- lieve you could find such a one. But before we go into the treatment of foul brood let us ask. What is it, anyway? Well, it is a living organism, a little microibe, that multiplies with great rapidity; but what ushers it into existence we don't know anything about. Dr. Phillips has made this statement, and Dr. White the same, and all who have been Investigating the matter have made similar statements — we don't know what ushers it into exist- ence; we know the remote cause of foul brood, but of the primary cause we know nothing; the immediate, ex- citing cause, we do not know; we do know that if honey infected with foul brood microbes is given to the bees, that are in otherwise perfect condition, they will contract that ailment imme- diately, and that it is incurable, that is, by the administration of any kind of drug or chemical, or any such sort of treatment that you resort to, you cannot stop the destruction of the brood or a perfect colony ibefore in- fected going to destruction. I think it requires a great deal of care and attention, and it is due to lack of care in conducting some of the methods of treatment of curing foul- brood that has led some persons to believe it is not curable. I heard a gentleman say in this city, that, treat foul brood as you may, it will reap- pear. I think that is a mistake, unless it is exposed to the same cause as started it in the beginning. I know very well that I have treated it in .my own apiary, and it never got back into those colonies again, and it never ■w'^ill, unless exposed to the same cause. I have been fighting it for about two years now. It was brought into our part of the country innocently, and we had to have legislation before we could do anything in the way of stamping it out. Some parties bought some bees, who were keeping bee-sup- plies, not knowing that they were in- fected with foul brood; they did not know anything about it. I was the first ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 87 one to discover it. A veterinary sur- .geon said to me: "I wish you would look at a colony of bees; they are do- ing no good." As soon as I opened the hive, I discovered foul brood, because there is an odor about it that if you •ever get the scent, you will never for- get; that is, American foul brood. Eu- ropean foul brood I know nothing about, except as I hear. Different persons who purchased bees from this man had foul brood, and I told them so. We have a foul brood law in the State of Kansas. The man who sold these bees came up to me, and said: "You are doing me a great injury; unless you take it all back, and quit circulating such reports, we intend to prosecute you." "All right, sir," I said. "I would like to have you do that right away, and if you don't, I will commence on you. I will prove, now that we have got the law on our side, that you have loul brood among your bees, and it has got to be cured." Immediately I sent an inspector to Ms apiary, and he pointed out to him where the foul brood was. "You have mot cured it at all; you have taken out those dead larvae, but it is a fact, which no one has a right to dispute, "but what it is in the honey of that hive, and the honey has to be taken away, and the wax." I make it a point not only to take lioth away, but to disinfect the hivea completely. As to the method of treatment: Mr. Baldridge has a system I like very much, if the bees were all of a size, and theji never slipped past the bee- escape. I can save more brood by that method than any other, provided the iDees don't go in there and come out again and carry the diseased honey into the hive you put the bees in that belonged to that hive. He takes his hive and turns it square around, and all the bees that usually leave the hive, within a given length of time (I suppose it is about twenty-four hours), the bees that leave the hive will go out and come into the hive that you put on the old stand, then the young bees that hatch out, as they come out, you can turn them in, and the disease is undoubtedly cured, but we don't know when they get down; twenty-four hours may be long enough for all the bees to come out. I have tried the McEvoy. system and found it good. He takes the position that if the bees are put into the hive and given foundation, and shut them up in the cellar for, say from twenty- four to forty- eight hours, they will consume all the honey that is in the hive. I have put them in a new hive, and then have put coal-oil or kerosene into the hive and set fire to it, so as to destroy everything of living kind inside, and put them back. I have taken the top bar door of the frame, leaving off the end and bot- tom, and simply fastened a strip to the top bar of the frame, turning the bees loose on that and let them stay there from twenty-four to forty-eight hours, and then take that away from them and give them sheets of comb foundation, and they will consume all the honey that may have been spilled in the interior of the hive. One of my largest colonies got foul brood. To illustrate, I will put three chairs in position, to represent three hives. That gentleman represents one stand; here is the diseased stand, and here is another one, six feet away. I did not want to take it away from the auiarv; that would have been die most satisfactory method of treating it if one could adopt it, but I could not at that time. Now here was thlfe colony within six feet of it. I took the bees out, lifted the hive down by the side of the stand, put a new hive on it, and brushed the bees off; I kept the honey from going on the ground to prevent other bees gathering it up; I took the precaution of spreading a sheet down in front, so that every young bee would have an opportunity to crawl up that sheet into the hive. I brushed the bees ofE. I would not risk shaking them, because more or less honey would fly out and be scat- tered and the disease be spread; I didn't want to do that. I felt sure that almost every bee went into the hive. Well, in about two w^eeks, I was crestfallen, to find that foul brood had crept into this hive (indicating), which hive had been entirely free before. What caused it? A bee or two went into that hive and carried some honey with it. I have made up my mind to this: The safest way to rid a col- ony of foul brood is to find some lo- cation remote from your apiary, and take that hive away, beyond the reach PRS5?TK^^y'.fr-.S'T' •'■-,■, 'I'™ 88 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE of your apiary. It would be well to do this in the dead of the night; and you would be less likely of a possibility of its spreading. The foul brood that I had was pronounced by Mr. France to be American foul brood, and Dr. Phil- lips also said that it was American foul brood. You have to be very careful and keep inspecting and watching carefully all the time; you may have to treat them the second and even the third time. As for the comb. I put that into gunny sacks as fast as I cut it out of the frames, and burn the frames up. Some of the frames I would put in boiling water and boil them for half an hour or more. I don't know but what I will burn them up yet. Then I get kettles of boiling water, put the comb, sack and all under boiling water, and boil for thirty minutes before skimming. I understand these microbes will live from fifteen to twen- ty-five, or even thirty, minutes in boil- ing water; carbolic acid does not de- stroy them; nothing except to put them in hot water and boil them per- sistently for half or three quarters of an hour. I did all that, and, my friends, if that method will be adopted, and we will all use precaution and care, I think we will get along without any trouble. "We have to be careful and cut ofC every avenue of the bees getting into diseased honey and combs taken out of hives; to burn the frames up is about as sure a way as any; yet I don't think that need to be done every time. It is going to take some work to boil them and fix them up; I don't know but that I would as soon buy new frames as to clean up the old ones. As to the kind of foul brood law you want: You simply want a law that will clothe a bee-inspector who is competent, one who knows how to dis- charge his duty, with authority to go on the premises of any man who keeps bees and inspect his bees, and if he finds the bees diseased, to put them under immediate treatment. You want to have your law framed so as to allow an inspector to go on the premises of a man, whether he wants him to or not. In many cases of diseased horses, the horse, to all external appearances, may be sound, yet a veterinary sur- geon will examine the horse and prove beyond question of doubt that the horse is diseased. To allow an inspector to go on a man's premises and inspect his bees, only when the bee-keeper chooses, has to be dispensed with, and whether a man wants him or not, he must have the authority to go. It is hard for a person to give up a family horse when it has been found diseased, yet I have seen one of my neighbors lose seven head of horses and mules, in order to get rid of a disease, and there was no way to do it, except to destroy the animals. It is different with us; I don't be- lieve it is necessary to destroy the bees or hives. I don't believe it is necessary if it is treated at the right time of the year. "We have a law in Kansas that reads that upon the petition of twenty-five bee-keepers in the county, a bee in- spector shall be appointed, who must be known to be competent, and have proper recommendations that will in- sure that the work will be done. In our State the law is not operative only in part, in this respect. Many of our counties have not as many as twenty- five bee-keepers, so last winter we got a bill through the house, giving the nearest bee inspector jurisdiction in such counties. In the matter of legislation, I have served three terms. One senator has some pet measure that he wants to put through, and because you cannot support him, he says he will not sup- port you, and oftentimes your bill is lost in just this way. I don't believe that you have all had the experience I have in securing legislation. You want to select your committee; they did in Springfield; they selected a leg- islative committee consisting of twelve members, and I told them to select the very ablest men they had; the most intelligent and best informed in bee- keeping, men well acquainted, who knew the senators and members of the House, and in addition to that to re- quest every member of the bee-keep- ers' association to say to his represent- atives, members of the House and Senate, that he wanted them to support a bill of that kind, telling them what we stood in need of in the State of Illinois. You have more members of the State organization than any other State in the Union; but that is per- haps not one out of twenty of the bee- ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 89 keepers in the State. I don't know- how many thousands of colonies ydu have; the probability is you have from 250 to 300 thousand colonies in the State of Illinois. A great many men have nearly everything they have, in- vested in the industry of bee-keeping. When the members of the legislature see your wants and needs, I believe they will be in favor of giving you the law you require. We have to let them know what our wants are. You want an intelligent, capable leg- islative committee. If you have some men personally acquainted with your Governor, who will talk to him and tell him how important this matter is, and get him to say a few words in his message, that from time to time a sum of money has been appropriated in the State of Illinois, endeavoring to stamp out foul brood, but that without a competent bee inspector, clothed with authority to enter a man's premises, whether he wants it or not, it is not answering its purposes, it will be apt to get you what you want. Oftentimes the senators do not give this any consideration, not that they mean any harm, but because they feel it is of little consequence. When our bill went first to the Sen- ate, one of the Senators said: "The idea of asking for an appropriation to clothe a man with authority to take dead bees out of combs." That was all he knew about it. I remember when the first conven- tion met at Indianapolis. I was re- quested to deliver the opening address. The then Governor of the State of Illi- nois came into the hall. I would have given everything I was in possession of if I did not have- to make that ad- dress. There was the Governor of the State present to see me probably make a break down. I studied over the mat- ter, and came to the conclusion that he probably could not .tell the differ- ence between a queen-bee and a horse- fly; that broke the ice; I delivered the lecture, and he sat there and seemed to be interested. Governor Folk, of Missouri, vetoed our bill because he didn't know any- thing about it. T saw him, and talked with him, and I wrote him a letter, telling him that he had committed a Wrongful act, having passed on some- thing that he simply didn't know any- thing about. He afterwards approved the bill, and they now have an efCect- ive law in the State of Missouri. I believe you people can get it here. You want to have a strong Legislative Committee, and it is going to take a little money to support it. The men should go down to iSpringfield, and stay there two or three weeks, or a month, and get busy among those rep- resentatives and senators, and make them acquainted with your business. Get the most influential members of the House and Senate to work for your measure, and I believe you will get such a law as you desire. I thank you for your attention, and for giving me the permission that you have granted me to talk about this matter, because I feel very deeply in- terested in it. I have reached a time in life when I cannot perform manual labor, and the ailments which I contracted while a soldier in the army drove me out of my profession. I now keep bees as a pastime. I believe there is money in the busi- ness if one have enough phyysical en- ergy and strength to carry it out, and my ow^n State of Kansas is going to be among the foremost States in the Union. Curing Foul Brood. "Did Dr. iMiller, of Marengo, cure his bees of foul brood?" Dr. Miller — ^Yes, I did. Now I am not going to take the time to tell all about my experience. I want to give a few^ points directly from experience, especially where something seemed new to me. You have literature on foul brood, and perhaps you are read up on it as well as I am. I want to say to you that if you have read as much about it as I have, you have read quite a good deal, but experience is something that is a little different sometimes from reading. In the first place, the matter of shaking. We are used to saying "shake" ui)on comb foundation, but we didn't shake, at least not more than one colony. Dr. Bohrer is right in saying that the way to do is to brush and not to shake. There is no use in scattering a lot of honey about. I don't know of any ad- vantage that there is in shaking. I would brush the bees, always. Allow me to say that if at any time I do not give exactly what you want. T'T" 90 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE or if I do not make any point clear, I Willi be g-lad to 'be interrupted by ques- tions. The orthodox rule is, shake upon foundation; shake first, put upon start- ers, and then leave that four days, and then shake upon foundation again. Dr. Phillips wrote to me that for European foul ibrood he didn't consider it necessary to have more than the ■one shake, so I commenced shaking, as I told you; I shook one. (When I say "shake," I mean brush.) I commenced upon the foundation, and a number of •colonies were put upon foundation, and that worked all right — the cure was coimplete. There didn't come any more foul brood there, but there were some of them that de- serted their hives, and I think there have been other bee-keepers who com- plain of that same thing. I didn't want that. I may say that at this time there ■was a dearth; we had, two years to- gether, a dead failure of the honey crop, and European foul brood. I don't know whether you think that is a good combination or not! So we thought we would give them something to eat, to help to keep them from deserting their hives. We fed some, and still there were some deserters. Then we tried another way. We tried leaving one frame of brood in the hive, and not taking all away; taking what appeared to be the clean- est we could find in the hive. We put the one frame of 'brood at the side of the hive. I w^ant to tell you what things we did; you may find some- thing in it that will be of use to you. We put the one frame of brood at the side of the hive. Next to that we put two empty frames; when I say empty frames, T mean just what il say, empty frames; not even the slightest starter of foundation in them. In the course of perhaps two or three days, we would find on one of those empty frames (and seldom was there more than one of them used), a little comb built, and some eggs there. When we found that, then we took away the foul brood frame at first that (then we filled up that foun- dation). At first we took away that frame that had a little starter in it, as quick as they made a start in the foundation, but afterward we didn't even do that, so that nearly all of them simply had the one frame taken away after they made this little start I told you about; then filled up that foundation, and they were left in that way. Not one that was started in that way showed a return of the disease. We didn't disinfect the hives in any way, or do anyything towards disin- fecting the hives; we used them straight along. If a super was on the hive where the colony was treated, we left that super on with whatever little honey might be in it. As I told you before, it was a time of dearth; therefore, there was not much honey there, and any feeding that we did (I told you that we fed them), we did that, in most cases, by putting a section or two of honey down in the hive, and generally that was a section of honey that had been taken from a diseased colony. Now, I don't know that it is any proof at all. I believe that the dis- ease is carried in the honey, but if that proved anything, it proved that, at least in some cases, they don't carry the disease. The time of day is the next thing that comes. The rule is — the orthodox rule — "Shake in the evening after the bees have stopped flying." With 70 or 80 diseased colonies in the apiary, that would be trouble- some, as you will readily see. More- over, if we did the work just at the evening (as this was a time of dearth) there would be robbing going on even quite late in the evening. We pre- ferred the time of day when the bees would be at work. You know that even in what we call a time of dearth there will be a little part of the day when the bees will do a little gather- ing. We worked at them when we thought there would be the best chance against robbers, and if at any time the robbers put in an appearance, we stopped it, so you see we were not orthodox in the matter of time of day, but took rather the time of day when we thought the robber-bees would give the least trouble. That is about all I know about the method of treatment, unless there is something I have forgotten or omit- ted. Mr. Lathrop — ^Why do you think Eu- ropean foul brood is worse than Amer- ican foul brood, when you could cure it so easily? I don't think you could ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION n cure American foul brood as easily as that. Dr. Miller — I don't believe that European foul brood, as it was in my apiary, is as bad as American. Mr. Moore — What is the other name for European foul brood, is it black brood? Dr. Miller — Yes, in New York State it was first called black brood. Dr. Miller — ■! was asked to try the Alexander treatment, and after having thrown perhaps, I think, 57, on foun- dation, I did make some trial of the Alexander treatment. I may say what the Alexander treatment is; it is very simple. Mr. Alexander said, make a colony strong; make it queenless; leave it queenless for twenty-one days, then give it a young laying Italian queen; that is all; that made the treatment. Dr. Bohrer — ^For American or black foul brood? Dr. Miller — OFor European or black foul brood. Dr. Miller — ^Mr. Alexander, if I re- member rightly, said he thought that that would cure American foul brood, too, but his experience was with the European. Now, the first part of that I think is not emphasized enough: Make the colonies strong; there is no use in fooling with the Alexander treatment at all with a weak colony. If you want to do anything with it at all (and I may say right here, I succeed- ed with the Alexander treatment with some colonies, and with some I didn't) — ^but if you want to do anything with that, the first and foremost thing is, you must have strong colonies. We made the colony queenless; in ten days, we cut out the queen-cells, and gave (now here is a departure from Mr. Alexander's treatment, and I con- sider it a very important departure) — after the colony was queenless ten days, cut out the queen -cells, give it a virgin queen of best stock — and that is all. After the colony is queen- less ten days, cut out the queen-cells, give it a virgin queen of the best stock! Make the colony strong (don't forget that!) Take away the queen in ten days, destroy the queen cells, give it a virgin queen — and the bees will do the rest! It would perhaps be all the same if instead of giving that virgin queen, you should give it a queen-cell. Pos- sibly it would be all the same, if you would leave one of their own cells there and let them rear a queen from that; but the point is this: After a colony has been queenless for about two weeks, it becomes discouraged, and you keep it then queenless for another week, so that it has been entirely queenless for three weeks, and that is a rather discouraged colony, and it will not work as hard to clean out as one in better heart, and I be- lieve the giving of that .virgin queen when the ten days are up is something that is very important to- help them to do the work of cleaning out the disease. Right here I may say, that there were cases in which we found very little of the disease, and then perhaps a week or two later we would loo-k and would find the bees had cleaned it Out themselves. You may perhaps ask: "Could you tell very readily if there was very little in one or two cells?" Yes, it is not very hard to find a single cell in a whole colony. You know that the brood, when it' is well grown, is of a pearly white, and if the European foul brood is there, it is cream color — yellow — and you will spot it very pix>mptly. Take a frame that is diseased, you may not smell a thing about it. If a whole colony is diseased, you may hold your head over it, and you may get something of a smell; but there is not such a smell as the smell of American foul brood. If we left them there, with a very little of it, the bees would, in some cases, clean it out themselves. Now, I am not so sure that there is anything I have not told you about The question might be asked now: "Would you prefer the Alexander treatment or the McEvoy treatment, as it is called?" Well, there is a division of opinion at our house. Miss Wilson, my as- sistant, as we were coming in today, and discussing the matter (I don't know that we had ever discussed it before), but I said: "If I had it to do over again, I would use the Alex- ander treatment more than I did." And, with her usual Scotch determina- tion, she said: "Well, I wouldn't."^ (And I don't suppose she would.) Mr. Macklin — Well, by the Alexan- der method, the honey is left in there j f. ,....,... 'Af > ''- -^-i-jp^' -mf: 92 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE the bees may clean out the cells of the dead larvae, but is not the honey there to carry the germs of the disease to the new queen that is put in? Dr. Miller — Possibly it would be in some cases, but I do know this: Those frames that they cleaned out — we used them afterward where they w^ere clean, and it didn't give the disease there. I don't know. (I am entirely candid in saying I don't know.) It is a question: Would they not carry the disease in the honey? But they didn't. Mr. Macklin — It may crop out next year. Dr. Miller — That is true. Dr. Bohrer — You took the honey away from them? Dr. Miller — No, whatever honey was there, was left there. Mr. Thompson — ^What was the final condition of the larvae that the bees carried out — dried — in scale form? Dr. Miller — No, it does not dry down. I may say right here, I would not have any faith at all in the Alexander treatment with American foul brood, because American foul brood dries down in dried scales right tight down to the cells, and the European foul brood does not. They can take them out, and you will see little black pieces of dried-up larvae at the en- trance of the hive. A Member — Does the larvae straight- en out in the cell? Dr. Miller — I don't know. I think, in that respect, it is different from American foul brood — you will find that sealed over. I think we didn't have very many cases when it was sealed over, although I know we had some queen -cells sealed over with the European foul brood. I want you to note three things about that in all that I have said: We are talking about foul brood — European foul brood. That American foul brood might be entirely different. And this was (another thing) at a time of dearth, and that may make a differ- ence. It has occurred to me that, possibly, in a time of dearth, there might be, in some respects, a good deal of ad- vantage, because, in these cells they wanted to clean out, if there was a rush of honey, might they not pile in honey that had some dead scales? And another thing: It is very easy to crow and say: "Oh, yes, I am all over with it." But wait until next year; it is not next year yet. Even if it should come next year, that would not prove whether the treatment was bad or good, for I suppose the disease is all about me, scattered here and there. There is the hopeless case in the whole thing, that it is scattered all around. The disease is here and there, and I can't help myself. Now, no matter what view I have had before, if I have buttonholed any of you, and begged you to oppose leg- islation about foul brood, I want to take it all back most thoroughly now. I am thoroughly converted to the idea that we need legislation of the strong- est sort about foul brood, for this thing may keep on for years to come. Three or four years ago it was within a radius of twelve miles of me, and now it is there, and it is all around me, and if it reappeared with me, I could not tell whether it was because the treatment was bad, or because somebody else around me has gotten it. I wish I could say it in some sort of an eloquent way, that it wouM get into your heads, and make you feel how much we need the help of legis- lation. A Member — You would not want it again, would you. Dr. Miller? Dr. Miller — I did have just one com- fortable thought. When I found it in the first place (I suppose some of you would say I must have been very stupid to let the thing go on so far) — but I tell you we didn't have any legis- lation on the matter of spraying, and there was a good man who sprayed his trees, and for the last three years we thought at that time that the bees were poisoned by the spraying, and so we concluded that it was all right. But this year I sent a sample of it to Washington, to Dr. Phillips, and he wrote back — and he tried to do it in a gentle way — and told me we had European foul brood. You don't know how I was taken back. I am not the most despondent person in the world, but I felt the bot- tom had dropped out of everything when I learned I had foul brood in my apiary. When I had a chance to take a second breath, as I commenced to tell you before, I took a little com- fort in it, and I said: "We are going to have a lot of fun fighting it, any- how." I am not so sure but I would ■»??35^Pr ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 93 like to have one or two cases to prac- tice on in the future, but I don't want a. whole lot of it like that again. Dr. Bohrer — Did the bees become •discouraged, as in the case of Ameri- can foul brood? Did they lie about the •entrance, in a despondent, crestfallen manner? Dr. Miller — I don't think so. Mr. Smith, the State inspector, came and looked things over, and he said: "Oh, you haven't foul brood bad; it is not bad; it is just a litle naughty." But I don't know as to comparing it with specimens of American foul brood; I should say it was not very bad. There is another thing that is important to be considered: It may be that the dis- ease was not so bad there as it is in many other cases. President York — ^We have had two talks on the subject of foul brood — some real experiences — now . for the paper written by Mr. C. P. Dadant, who was invited to prepare a paper on "Legislation Needed, and How to Get It." Mr. Dadant was elected Pres- ident of the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association at Springfield, two or three weeks ago, and he is very much interested in this question. Secretary Moore will read the paper. Meeded Legislation and How to Get It. The Secretary asked me to write a five-minute paper on the above sub- ject. I know of only one question of legis- lation now agitating the bee meetings of Illinois, and, if I judge, by the last meeting of the State Association at Springfield, it is the foul brood ques- tion. I believe the State Association has taken the proper method of beginning tlie work on this subject for the next session of the legislature. They have elected a committee of twelve mem- Tiers on legislation. This committee is to keep active until the Legislature meets. '^ How are we to get the needed law? By a continuous action and a united effort among the bee-keepers. More States are passing laws on this sub- ject every year, and sooner or later Illinois will fall in the ranks of the progressive ones. It is in this as in the matter of spraying. It has been easier to secure a compulsory law on spraying in the young States than in tlie old ones. The result is that they succeed in producing sound fruit in those States that enforce the spraying laws. But although 'Illinois is one of the most progressive and one of the best, if not the very best, producing of the States, it has not felt the need of compulsory laws until it found itself distanced in the race by younger com- munities. That we will succeed, whenever we go at it with a will, is not to be doubted. If the Chicago Northwestern Asso- ciation is as enthusiastic on this matter of legislation as the Central As- sociation of the State has shown itself to be, let it also elect a committee of twelve or more to act in unison with the committee of the State Associa- tion, and let it be composed of men who are determined to work for the good of the cause without a rest until a result is secured which conforms with our all but unanimous desires. Petitions should be circulated and signed by bee-keepers all over the State. These petitions should be put in the hands of influential politicians in the Legislatures, for politics and bee-culture must for once join hands. If you fail, do as before, try, try again. There is not the shadow of a doubt about your ultimate success. The ignorant or ill-intentioned opposi- tion will sooner or later fall before you like a straw before a blaze. C. P. DADANT. President York — Now, we have had the two talks, and paper of Mr. Da- dant, and it seems to me that we might as well finish up the question this afternoon. W^e will then throw open the question for discussion by the members of the Association: Dr. Bohrer — The doctor called at- tention to the matter of not taking the honey away from the bees, in the case of European foul brood. Don't ever risk anything of that kind in the case of American foul brood, and don't use a comb that has ever been in the hive that has been occupied iby bees dis- eased with American foul brood. If there happens to ^be one particle of scale or dead larvae glued fast to the bottom of the cell that has been in- fected with foul brood, sooner or later you will find that it has been spread; don't ever risk not taking away that honey from the bees. What honey I have on hand, I have been trying to think how to use it. I can't get the -". j^-.^-Js-^v^^^rg "^^'^st'^'-''^- 94 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE idea out of my head about digging a hole and putting it away from the possibility of the bees ever reaching any of it. If I give it away, some , neighbor may use it on his table next spring, and the bees may get hold of some of it and scatter it. I ibelieve in using the utmost care and caution in everything around your apiary that has been infected with foul brood. I use carbolic acid, but it is * more of a superstition than benefit, as I understand that carbolic acid does not kill the germs. I believe in thoroughly washing the hands and scraping the nails. I change my clothing, and put my cloth- ing in boiling water. By being vigilant, we may ;be able to master the situa- tion, and having the proper laws to help lis in the work. If you will make it unlawful for a man to allow a bee- tree to stand on his farm, that would be well; he must take the bees out of it; not allow them to build in the trees. Wherever bees are out from under the care of the bee-keeper, we want a law to make the people destroy them; otherwise they will make mis- chief. Mr. Moore — ^I wish to make a motion that the President appoint a commit- tee on Resolutions, of five, to express the sense of this convention on this question. The motion was seconded, and car- ried. President York — What about the recommendation of Mr. Dadant in his paper? He recommended that a com- imittee of twelve be appointed to co- operate with the committee of the State Association. (Mr. Moore — I move that, a commit- tee of twelve be appointed to co-oper- ate with the committee of the same number appointed by the State Associ- ation. Dr. Miller — It is not a question whether so large a committee is ad- visable in this case. In the case of the State convention, there are quite a numiber that are right close at hand there. I don't know whether it would really be objectionable; it seems to me twelve is a pretty large number. President York — The committee ap- pointed at Springfield, I think, covered the State fairly well; they were pretty well scattered over the State; then an Executive Committee of three out of that twelve was selected. Filling Combs With Sugar Syrup to Feed Bees. "What is the hest way to fill empty, combs with sugar syrup to feed bees?" Dr. Miller — I am not sure that I know the best way. I will tell you a way that I used quite satisfactorily some years ago. I had a 'box made^ in which I could lay a comb flat in the bottom of it, and then, somewhat elevated, I had a dish; I think it was a baking powder can, with a lot of holes made in the bottom of it with a nail; that can was hung at a height so that anything falling out of it upon the comb would fall, perhaps, three or four feet; then, taking another vessel with a spout, I poured into this can, and moved it about, so that the syrup would fall in a spray all over it. You will find, if you take a comb and pour the syrup over it, it will just run off; it won't run in; but letting it . fall at a distance in fine drops, it goes into the comb. It has to have force enough to force that syrup into the cells into the bottom. I have also filled combs by pouring, hut the sp'-ay- ing I find more speedy, and it gives the necessary force, the same as grav- ity does in using a can with holes in the bottom. The only object I had in having this elevation was to have it go with force. Mr. Cavanagh — 'Would a large box, sufficiently large so that the comb can be suspended from the bottom, and a spray pump, do the work pretty well? Dr. Miller — The main thing in hav- ing the elevation was to get the force, 'but I should suspect, with that force pump at three inches distance, you might 'make it work all right. Did you actually try it? Mr. Cavanag^h — Yes; three inches would be rather close. Dr. Miller — it would not have time to spread into drops — that is right. . Mr. Cavanagh — A couple feet away; or a foot away, anyhow. Mr. Thompson — After they have the syrup in the combs, I would like to know if the the bees take it out. Dr. Miller — They will in my locality, I have had a large experience in feed- ing syrup in combs. I fed — I was going to say — tons, more than a ton, any- how, in that way. When the comb was filled, then it was set where there was a chance for a little drain — not very much — when it was put in the -■ V, ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 95 hive. Do you mean to saj^ you have bees, and you put comb in there, and they won't touch it? Mr. Thompson — They will clean it up, ibut not take all the honey out of the" cells. Dr. Miller — That is quite possible; some times they will clean it up and fill the cells; put more in than you have in it. If you get them to fill that up, and clean it up, and still there is room in it, you can spray it again. If they keep filling it in with some comb — what more do you want? Mr. Thompson — If the bees handle the syrup, it is all right; it would not do for winter stores, as a rule, as you prepare it. Dr. Miller — Yes, I had some combs melted, put in that way. Mr. (Hluffman — I handed in that ques-, tion; I wanted to see what experience others had. I believe I can give you a better remedy. Take a can full of syrup; hold the comb at an angle of about 45 degrees; take a dipper and pour that syrup over the comh, and you will fill every cell, invariably; turn it over on the other side, and do the same with that; go around the, edges, and in less time than I am taking to tell it, you can fill the comb. Then have a place and let it hang there, and let it drain, and you have your combs filled as well as the bees can fill them. I filled hundreds of combs in that way; but, of course, you should feed in the evening, when you won't excite the bees to robbing. Dr. tBohrer — Do you advise giving feed to them that way at night? Mr. Huffman — Always, especially in the spring of the year. Dr. Bohrer — I notice that some do their feeding of bees at all hours of the day; it is much better, I think, to feed them at night; then the bees are better to clean up and have things in better shajpe in the morning. A pep- per-ibox feeder is a good way to feed ■bees when they are weak. Turn the mouth right down over the cluster, and do that at night; put a warm cloth all a,round it; keep the bees down below, and pour the syrup In the comb. I usually take a pitcher and let it run as small a stream as possible, and it will penetrate the cells, and not run over. Many times it will run over the top of the cells and not fill half of it — ^have it run as email a stream as possible. To do It at night is the best time to keep the bees from robbing. Mr. Cavanagh — In regard to rob- bing. Dr. Bohrer has brought out this point: We can't always feed at night in our out-apiaries. I never had any trouble in feeding syrup. The princi-* pal thnig is not only to kesp the rob- ber bees out, but to keep the bees in the hive from rushing out. Dr. Miller — If you want to avoid robbing, it is a good plan to use the Miller feeder, and then you can feed at any time of the day^morning, noon or night. Dr. Bohrer — Did you ever know the bees to leave the hive at night, after they are fed at night? Dr. Miller — Oh, yes; I have seen them quite late in the evening fly out. Dr. Bohrer — After night,- would they crawl out of the hive and fail to get back? Dr. Miller — I believe they would all get back. Dr. Bohrer — I spoke about this mat- ter to a gentleman at Springfield, and he said he did not like to. feed at night; he said his bees would go out of the hive at night and fail to get back. That is a new experience to me. I never observed anything of that kind. Shaking to Cure Foul Brood. "Is there a more profitable method of treatment of the European foul brood than the orthodox shaking methods?" Dr. Miller — Answering that more fully, perhaps, than I did before, I don't know about it. I am inclined to the opinion that the Alexander method is more profitable than the shaking method, because when you shake on the foundation you are weakening that colony a whole lot; at least it was so with me this year. I am talk- ing about a season of dearth; if there was a big flow of honey on, it might not be the same thing. Although there might be some failures with the Alexander plan, I believe I would rather have some failures, and do it over again, than the cost it would mean to have everything thrown onto foundation. Of course, as I said be- fore, I don't know, but I believe if I had it to do over again, I am very confident I would do more with the Alexander plan than I did before. Mr. Holtermann — ^I would like to> hear from Miss Wilson. —7 «r. Bohrer — Do you regard European foul brood as being as hard to deal with as American? Mr. Cavanagh — Indeed I do. If American foul brood is properly treated, it is easier to get rid of. European is a flighty kind of a dis- ease— aibout the time you think you have hold of it, you have not. I de- stroy all combs that have brood in it. Dr. Bohrer — How do you disinfect them? Mr. Cavanagh — I should not consider it necessary to disinfect them, where they have no brood in them, in Ameri- can foul brood; simply to have the honey clean. Mr. Kannenberg — How do you detect the European foul brood ? Mr. Cavanagh — The European foul brood can only ibe detected in the early part of the season; when it sihows at this time of the year, it woTild be impossible to detect the European foul brood, unless some bacteriologist got it. In the early part of the year, European foul brood is detected by dead larvae; usually there will be some that will be black- ened in the ibottom of the cells; some times they will lengthen out almost ready to cap, and the bees will hesi- tate to cap them, and they die and crawl up in the bottom in a black scale; a little later in the season they usually just settle down in a shapeless mass; some times in the upper part of the cell, and some times in the lower, and are often light in color. As the honey-flow advances, the bees begin to clean them out in the early stages; finally, if there is a real heavy honey-flow, it will disappear en- tirely; of course, as the flow ad- vances, the ibees will crowd down the line of ibrood and cover up the cells that have formerly been dis- eased, and the brood that is left will show perfectly healthy; but it will be there next year, from the fact that the honey is there. Here is the advantage of the McEvoy treatment at this time of the year: The disease has disappeared, but the Jioney is before that brood, and if we can take those bees now and shake them onto healthy honey, we are rid of the disease, because there is no dis- ease possible; it is all kept up in the hives that have the European foul brood — that is, late in the season. The scale in European foul brood is not at all like the American foul brood. In European foul brood, instead of going down to a little tiny black scale, it is usually larger, and lies there in plain sight. Mr. Kannenberg — Is there any bad odor attached to it, as in the American foul ibrood? Mr. Cavanagh — If there is any, it is only when the bees are so badly dis- couraged that they leave that brood scattered all through the cells; leave it until has become decayed in there. Of course, any brood that is left long- enough will take on a bad odor; but nothing like the American foul brood at all. I have treated several cases where the bees were completely dis- couraged. Mr. Kannenberg — You cannot detect it iby smelling in front of the hives? Mr. Cavanagh — You can in advanced stages. Another point is to Italianize everything with golden Italians; better than leather- colored. I And the golden Italian three-band are very much im- mune to the disease. Mr. DeMuth, our inspector in Indiana, told me a great deal about his experience; he has been fighting it for several years, and has not got it cured, because it has been all around us. He tells me that he has had combs w^here the brood has hatched out, and has not even made them queenless; and has used the combs again after they have been cleaned out, without a recurrence of the disease. He tells me, also, that he has used unfinished sections from colonies that were diseased, in feeding for the winter, and that that colony took the disease, which shows that at times we have the disease carried into the super. Mr. Thompson — Can you describe the odor? Mr. Cavanagh — I don't know as I can think of any comparison. Mr. Thompson — Any comparison to a colony that has died in the winter? Mr. Cavanagh — ^No. In the modified McEvoy treatment is the problem as to what to do with that orood, which is very valuable in getting other col- onies in shape. In the first place, I ^iSfa:- ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 99 would never treat a colony, if I could avoid it, that was in a discouraged con- dition; I would either destroy that col- ony utterly as a colony, or I would pile at least two supers of 'brood on top of them, and get them strong first. Don't shake a weak colony; they will never do anything if j-ou do. In using the modified McEvoy treatment, that is, in putting the brood above, and starting them 'below — in using the shaking treatment, we use that brood over the weak colonies that are dis- ieased, and, in so doing, we get that colony very strong, so that they will stand shaking in their turn. Dr. Miller — Mr. Cavanagh said that the colony should be, very strong; now, I said that before he did. I am glad he said it. .1 want to say it again, and emphasize it — the colony should first be made strong! If there is any one thing I believe is important, it is making the colony strong. I sup- pose you take a weak colony and pile up three or four stories of brood upon that, the bees will be comparatively weak in taking care of them, and you think you are making it worse when you pile it up that way, but you are not. There was one colony that I had, that was not bad; it happened to be No. 100; I piled up four stories on that, and those four stories that were put on, at the end of three weeks' time seemed to be all right; and more than that, the colony below the ex- cluder was all right and clean. Some- how the idea of having a lot of bees encourages them. Just a word about the character of the queen: I don't know ; Mr. Cavanagh may be right about that. Mr. Alexander says to give them vigorous young Italian queens. I had the hj^rids. I think it is correct that those vigorous young Italian queens are the right ones to use, because they are the best kind of queens. If it is vigor you want, if you have the golden Italian queens, they are more vigorous than anything else, and are the ones to use; if you have black bees more vigorous, then use the ^black bees. Still, I am inclined to think, as a rule, that the Italians are very much better for cleaning out foul brood, and I guess there is something in it. I am not sure but that there is ■ something about European foul brood that affects the queen herself. Did you " ever notice anything of that kind, Mr. Cavanagh ? Mr. Cavanagh — No, I never did. JDr. Miller — ^It seemed to us that the queen appeared to be logy, and in some of those that were thrown upon foundation, the queen disappeared en- tirely. Mr. Cavanagh — ^Yes, I had quite a little experience in that, in weak col- onies especially, the queen disappear- ing. Dr. Miller — -It seems to affect the queens themselves. If you ever find anything like disease in your hives, the first, thing you do, send a sample to Dr. Phillips, at "Washington; he is one of the nicest men in the world, and he will treat you kindly. He will make you think you have done him a favor by sending him a sample. If you ever are in trouble with European foul brood, see that you make all colonies strong. Mr. Baxter — I have had no experi- ence with foul broodj I don't know anything about it. I am here to learn. I have studied the question for a long time, and have gathered all the infor- mation I could. I have talked person- ally with men like Mr.McBvoy and other foul brood inspectors, and I find that there is a great difference in opinion. I know that my bees never had foul brood, unless they had it year before last. I had one colony then that showed the symptoms. It was a hybrid colony, half black, half Italian. I called up my brother-in-law, Mr. C. P. Dadant, and asked him if he would come up and examine it. He was very busy at the time. The colony was very weak; it was going down, weak- ening all the time, and it showed all signs of foul brood. I did not give it a golden Italian queen; I gave it a leather-colored one. Inside of two weeks that colony had no more signs of foul brood. Mr. Dadant did not come up, and that is the last of it I have seen in my apiary. The question with me is as to what is the best method to pursue in the treatment of foul brood. One says dig a hole and put your hives in and burn them; another says, leave the honey in; another, that the germ is found in the honey — and all kinds of things. The more I study this, the more puzzled I get. Since I have been sitting here this afternoon, I know less about loui brood — as to how I should treat it — than I did when I first came heic. Mr. Holtermann — I would like to ask -5;ii¥--:«*'/;r,, 100 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Dr. Miller whether he had all sealed brood, or was the larvae and brood mixed ? Dr. Miller — ^You mean those diseased combs? Took everything just as it was. Dr. Miller — Mr. Cavanagh, can you detect it as to color? Mr. Cavanagh — Tes, where the larva is not straightened out yet, a gteat many times it will show a cream color, and sometimes they will die before they straighten out; the color is no- ticeable; they will start to turn cream, and then brown, and then almost black; it is different; there is nothing regular about it; it works different in one hive than in another. Dr. Miller — I am not sure that I ever saw anything straighten out — in my locality — but it is very easy to see the difference between pearl-white and yellow-like. Dr. Bohrer — One other method was spoken of; about making colonies strong. Nearly all the colonies that I ever treated for American foul brood I find weak. I always adopt this rule. As soon as I know they are on safe ground, that the disease has disap- peared, I put them on comb founda- tion the second time; then going to a strong colony, get the brood just hatched' from cells and build them up with that. The comb foundation must be entirely free from disease. Swarm From a Foul Broody Colony. "Will a swarm cast from a foul brood colony develop foul brood the same season?" Mr. Cavanagh — Sometimes it will, and sometimes it won't. As a rule, no; we saw several instances this year where we were uncertain. Mr. De Muth called my attention to the fact that we should not pass those colonies without examination. Mr. Macklin — I asked the question. I have kept a record for a good many years. Where I have found a colony with foul brood, frequently I have traced it into the first swarm, so that since I have discovered that, when I have a swarm, I immediately go to the colony from which it came and ex- amine it to see if it has foul brood, and if it has, I put the new swarm on starters and leave them there three or four days, and then put them on full sheets of foundation, and I have been able to keep track of them, and keep it down; I go back and treat the old col- ony. Mr. Baxter — Can a foul broody col- ony cast a swarm? Mr. Holtermann — Oh, yes, right along. President York — Perhaps I would better appoint those committees. First, the committee of five on reso- lutions: Mr. Moore, Mr. Horstmann, Mr. Baxter, Mr. Huffman, and Mr. Cav- anagh. Legislative Committee. The committee of twelve on Legisla- tion: Mr. Baxter, Mr. Lyman, Mr. Macklin, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Winter, Mr. Horstmann, Mr. Kannenberg, Mr. Moore, Mr, Baldridge, Mr. Kennicott, Dr. Miller and Mr. Grabbe. "Pure Extracted Honey." Should the words, "Pure Extracted Honey" be stamped on tin cans when they are made? Mr, Moore — I have sold extracted honey for twenty-four years or so, and I want to enter an emphatic protest against the words, "extracted honey." People say they don't want "extract of honey." They say they want "honey." I think it should be "honey separator," or "slung honey" — any- thing but "honey extractor." Mr. Thompson — ^Where have you sold honey for the last twenty-four years? What kind of people can your custom- ers be? Mr. Moore — For twenty years in Chicago; I have sold honey in Logans- port, Ind. Dr. Miller — You object to the name, "extracted honey" — what would you call it? Mr. Moore — ^Slung honey, liquid honey, separated honey, clear honey. Mr. Hfuffman — I think if Mr. Moore is going to change the name of the honey, he ought to change the name of the extractor; call it "solar ex- tractor." Mr. Moore — It doesn't matter what you call it for you folks, but it does to people in the city, full of supersti- tion and distrust. Extracted honey doesn't mean anything to such men. Call it "pure honey," or "liquid honey," or "clear honey," but don't use the word "extracted" on your tin cans, or labels, or on anything. Dr. Bohrer — Pure honey covers the ground. They are putting up a good 'l'Si^i£^'-^..Jt-jVJa^:A''^-£-^.^^^^^ti:^.J^^i;ii^&'f,Sii-r' ^■tf^i-^y- ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEOEPERS' ASSOCIATION 101 deal of chunk honey — comb honey in cans; you might stamp that "Chunk Honey." That means not only it is honey, but that the comh is in it. The word "extracted" means nothing; all you want is pure honey, if you are put- ting honey on the market. President York — ^It seems to me that simply "honey" is enough. Mr. Holtertnann — ^What will we call the strained honey, taken from the ex- tractor ? Dr. iBohrer — Call it pure honey. Mr. Holtermann — Some think ex- tracted honey is manufactured honey. Mr. Moore — They say to me: "I don't want any extract of honey!" Mr. Thompson — ^I would like to know why we should not let our agitation for foul Ibrood protection drop, if people are not familiar with it; this would toe the same as to say we should drop the extracting business at this late •hour. Mr. Moore — No, you are mistaken; you must give these people who don't know anything about it, a name they will understand, that will count for something This foul brood agitation has to do with bee-people, but the name "extracted honey" goes before people who do not understand, and it is very material, in putting honey on the market for sale, to give them something that will mean to them the article they want to buy. The word "extract" comes on jars, and a large number of people would think that it is extract of honey. Mr. Horstmann — ^I don't think you could get a word that would be better. On my cans, "Pure Extracted Honey" is pressed on the lid, and when people get that, they know what that -means, if they know anything, and if they don't, I will tell them. I have pure comb honey and pure extracted honey. I might have pure candied honey, if they want it, but the words, "Pure Extracted Honey," are all right, 1 think. I would like to have a vote on that. Mr. Holtermann — I appreciate Mr. Moore's position; we have men in our community who think because it is ex- tracted it is not pure honey; they won- der what "extracted" means. I think the word "separated" would explain it more quickly. I don't like slung honey; I would suggest the word sepa- rator, and dispense with the word ex- tracted; people are full of supersti- tion even in this late day; they are distrustful, and are not familiar with the pure food law with regard to honey. Mr. Moore — This word "imitation" has been used so much to avoid the operation of the pure food law, and these people in the cities think the ex- tracted honey is an imitation of the real thing. You have to take people as they are, and give them what they want; you have not the time to edu- cate them. Mr. Thompson — The proper way to educate them is to give them good goods, and they will not ask you if it is the pure honey; the goods will speak for itself, and they will know. Mr. Kennicott — If you say "separate," there are many ways to separate honey. Honey is extracted honey com- ing out of the comb. Mr. Moore — The public say "strained honey." Mr. Baxter — Simply speaking, is not honey taken out of the comb extract- ed? They are both extracted — extract- ed from the comb. President York — If you call it sepa- rated honey, some people might think it ran through a cream separator! Mr. Holtermann — Most people call it strained honey; it is all strained, any- way! Mr. Winter — They ask me for strained honey, and 1 give them strained honey. Dr. Miller — The English language changes from time to time, and some- times it takes a long while to make a change. A word comes into use, and after it becomes a fixed expression, it is a very difficult thing to change it. Now the words "extracted honey" — that is the name that that has gone by for a long series of years; if you called it slung honey, or extracted honey, or separated honey, it would take years to have the public know what is meant; they know extracted honey. It is called extracted honey thousands of miles from here, all over; now, if you talk until midnight, and say it ought not to be called extracted honey, it will be called extracted honey tomorrow, ana the day after, just the same, and you may as well let it go at that, and try to do something that you can do. Mr. Lyman — The fact was this year I did not have any pure extracted honey to put into cans; all my cans .:t:-^:;,;.;»Tr, '■ ■".5 'S¥ "T'ir 102 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE were labeled pure extracted honey; I prefer a blank can, and label it as I like. Feeding Syrup in Cold Weather. "Can syrup be fed to bees success- fully at this time of the year (Decem- ber) ?" Dr. Bohrer — Yes, I have done it lots of times. Dr. Miller — Yes, I have, but I won't do it again. Sour Extracted Honey. '"What is the best thing to do with sour extracted honey? Is there a mar- ket for it?" Mr. Arnd — Make vinegar out of it. Dr. Miller — Feed it to the bees in the spring. Mr. Arnd — After you boil it and skim it, it will sweeten somewhat. Mr. iHloltermann — It will spoil the flavor. Heating Honey Before Canning. "Should extracted honey be heated before putting it into cans or barrels?" President York — How many think so? Everybody voting, votes against it. Dr. Miller — That depends upon whether it is candied or not. Do Moved Colonies Do Better? "Why is it that colonies closed up and removed several miles in the spring always produce more honey than colonies not so removed?" President York — If they do, you should remove your colonies. Dr. Bohrer — I don't know whether that is a fact or not. Mr. Huffman — The location has something to do with it. Mr. Baxter — That is an old quesstion of mine. I have had that up before conventions for the last ten years, and it has never been satisfactorily answered. It is a fact they do, and bee-keepers here last fall conceded that was a fact. I removed an apiary of sixty-five colonies last year, to a poorer location than they were before, and a poorer location than my other apiaries, and the sixty-five colonies produced more honey than any of those in a much better location that had not been moved. It has been my experience invariably. "Why do uiey do it? Mr. Cavanagh — The "shook swarm," as they call it, they claim is the same as to remove colonies; it riles tnem up; it stirs them up. You take a man who changes his business location — why, he goes to work "like a nailer" to make everything go fine for a while. I think it is just the same with a colony of bees. The psychologi- cal effect in a case of that kind strikes the same as it would a human being. President York — I believe Mr. Cava- nagh has moved around; he certainly is making a success where he is now! Bees in Winter Passing from Frame to Frame, "Is it advisable to confine bees on frames in winter without a space above, so they can pass from one frame to another?" Mr. Baxter — No, it is not. Dr. Bohrer — To avoid anything of that kind, I used to bore a hole in the combs; take a stick and bore it through the frames from about an inch and a half to two inches of the top-bar, so that they can pass through from one comb to another. I have had colonies starve to death by being kept in one corner or one end of the hive. Dr. Miller — I think it is generally understood there should be a passage from one comb to another over the top-bars, but I question whether it is always necessary. Suppose you have a colony clustered down below the bottom-bars, what do they need of a passage above? Mr. Cavanagh — The Doctor brought up a point in line with my experience. If a colony of bees is warm enough, they don't need any other passage. I used to pack them in cases like Ira Bartlett uses. Now I never give them any provision to get from one comb to another, and I never lost a colony yet. If it is not warm enough so they can get around the comb, they must have a passage through or above it. ■ A Member — I would like to ask Mr. Cavanagh what he has over the top of his frames? Covered with bur- lap? Mr. Cavanagh — A quilt, usually; sometimes burlap. A Member — You winter out-of- doors ? « Mr. Cavanagh — Yes, sir. Mr.. Baxter — I can't afford to go to that trouble in packing my bees; an- other man and myself packed eighty colonies in five hours, and if I had to go to work and get that paraphernalia ;: ^^:.*-ir .1 -^^■--^.-•iirAA'.^V.-^ i.2ji;*A5ua;s. ,■ ■ ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KHEPERS' ASSOCIATION 103 together, I would not be able to take care of my bees; with those double- walled hives and naats that I use, it is very easy to pack them quite securely, and in such a way that they will winter well. We know that the bees in winter-time will eat from below up. When it is twenty degrees below zero, how are they going to get over to the other combs unless they can go above? Yoii take the temperature of a hive of bees in cold weather, the heat is from above and they have to go over above if they get over at all. Lay a small stick of wood one-half inch in diameter over the top of your frames; they get over that just as easy, from one frame to another; you have everything in a nutshell, but done quickly and se- curely. I would not want to take care of a lot of stuff to cumber up the workshop. Mr. Cavanagh — The point is, with those cases I spe&k of, there is heat enough; so that the bees can go around behind the combs if they want to; they are warm enough so that tney can go anywhere they want to; tuose bees are comfortable, no matter how cold it is. I *on't advocate that kind of a case, although I' used them at one time. Mr. Baxter — To make the most money with the least expense is my motto, and I want to do away with those things that require a lot of work, and get results; that has been my aim, always. Dr. Miller — ^And what does Mr. Bax- ter use? Mr. Baxter — I take a little piece of wood — a stick about one-half inch in diameter; lay it on top the frames; put the mat over that, and leaves on top, and the bees below, with space between. Dr. Miller — There is locality again. I don't want to be bothered with that stick; he has too much parapher- nalia for me! I don't want to bomer with picking up that stick; my bees are hanging down in a cluster below. It is locality, I tell you! Mr. Baxter — I can winter mine, thirty degrees below zero, and have done it, out-of-doors. I have colonies in hives that \have stood for thirty years on the same spot. President York — ^We had one con- vention member who said he had the same bees he had thirty years before! A Member — I agree with the doctor; I don't want so much paraphernalia around as Mr. Baxter has. A chaff hive is rather handy, but it is too heavy to lift around. Mr. Baxter — I never lift them. Mr. Cavanagh — We run for extract- ed honey. Mr. Baxter — I produce extracted honey. There is nobody here who gets more pounds of honey per colony. I reported here in this same convention in 1883, forty colonies had thirty- three barrels of honey — 600 pounua per barreL Mr. Cavanagh — The point I want to call attention to is that the doctor said the locality had a lot to do with it. I have made so many different experiments on wintering this year. The man who helped me pack the bees, I said to him: "Now, if there is another single way we have not tried to pdck bees, I want you to help me to think of it." We packed them in bunches of eight; we packed them singly; we made some with closed en- trances; we used tar felt; we made little holes so they could look out; we left other entrances open; in most cases we packed those bees in boxes of eight, that is, four with their backs together. I am not ready to report on these experiments as yet. I don't think the chaff hives would do for my system of management. Mr. Baxter — Don't you think that rould be a bad way if you had your entrances to the east or west or north? Mr. Cavanagh — I would as soon have them to the north. Mr. Moore — My brother has bees; he bought chaff hives at an expense of $400, but he will never do it again. He Starts with a floor about a foot from the ground; puts saw-dust be- tween the hives; over the whole he has a cover, a metal cover, absolutely storm-proof; he can pack his bees at much less expense than the expense of a chaff hive; he leaves them out year after year; he can put probably three supers on each side. He runs for extracted honey exclusively. Mr. Holtermann — Does he leave them that way in the summer? Mr. Moore — Oh, yes. Mr. Baxter — I don't want people to understand I advocate chaff hives. I had those hives; I happened to get a certain number of them, and I have had them ever since. At first they r?*f*,-v4»^-/r'\- J. :-."^ r ''-ri n 104 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE LiOUIS C. DAD ANT. Secretary, Chicago Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Association. were chaff hives with stationary bot- toms, but I have cut them down now so I have single-board bottoms, so I can raise them up and give the bees some ventilation. The question was asked this afternoon, I believe, in which hive had they wintered the best. Those chaff hives cost a little more than the other hives; I have dou- ble-wall, two sides 1-inch stuff. I have saved in the last twenty-five years, with those hives, even if they cost more, I have saved more in the work, two or three times over, than if I packed this other way, and have as good results; they have made me more money. Secretary Dadant. Mr. Moore then introduced the new secretary, Mr. Louis C. Dadant. Mr. Moore — It seems strange to me to get out of this position. I am really greatly gratified to be able to shift my responsibilities on such good shoulders. I take great pleasure in introducing Mr. Dadant, who will take charge of the secretary's and treasurer's work. Mr. Thompson — I think we all ap- preciate the work Mr. Moore has done for the association. If we have nothing more to offer Mr. Moore, I would move that we give him a rising vote of thanks. Dr. Miller — There was a man who said today that Mr. Moore might have perhaps done more to get members in- to this society — I think his name was Mr. H. F. Moore, that said it. I doubt very much if any one would have done more than he has done to get members into the society. The motion was seconded and car- ried unanimously. • The convention- then adjourned until 7:30 p. m. FIRST DAY— EVENING SESSION. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p. m., with Mr. York presiding. President York — We have one paper to be read this evening, written by Mrs. H. K. Beard, of Pennsylvania. I will ask the secretary to read it. "Fruit and Honey— Can What You Can." (By Mrs. H. K. Beard.) There is no mystery or luck aoout the canning or preserving of fruit. If properly done, failure is almost out of the question. The fruit or vegetables should be barely ripe, never over-ripe,, perfect of their kind, or at least with no fermentation started in them, and the sooner they are taken from tree or garden and sealed up in jars the bet- ter. If particular about keeping the fruit in shape, or where a large amount is to be done at once, it is usually put uncooked into the jars and covered with the honey, and the jars are then set into a large boiler, with a perfo- rated rest under them, to keep them from the bottom. Fill the boiler with : vtiwg;»i!Ee*=?*':4^ij- ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEOEPEBS' ASSOCIATION 105 cold water nearly to the shoulders of the jars. Screw the tops on rather loosely, put the cover on the boiler, and bring to a boil. The steam helps to cook the fruit or vegetable, and the tops of the cans being on, the drops that form on the inside of the cover can not get into the jars. If the lid does not fit, lay under it a thick cloth to prevent the steam from escaping. When nearly done, tighten the tops on the cans. These general directions fit both fruits and vegetables, but the latter are, as a rule, more difficult to keep than fruit, and require much longer cooking. Berries, cherries, and plums should cook about 15 minutes from the time the water begins to boil around them; peaches and pears from 20 to 30 minutes. Currant preserves, which are be- lieved to be the finest of their kind, as follows: Take out the seeds witii a needle or tiny embroidery scissors; take the weight of the currants in honey, and when this has been heated, add the currants. Let it simmer a minute or two and then s«al, as for jelly. The currants retain their shape, are of a beautiful color, and melt in the mouth. Care must be taken not to scorch the honey. Cherries — Take 6 quarts of fruit, one and a half quarts of honey. Meas- ure the cherries after the stones have been removed. Pit them or not, as you please. If you stone them, be careful to save all the juice. Put the honey in the preserving kettle over the fire until it simmers. Put in the cherries and heat slowly to the boiling point. Boil 10 minutes. Skim carefully. Strawberries — Take equal parts of honey and berries. Simmer the honey so as to have the syrup thicken almost like jelly before adding the berries. Boil from one to two minutes. Raspberry Preserves — Twelve quarts of raspberries require two quarts of honey. Put two quarts of fruit in the preserving kettle and heat slowly on the stove. Crush the berries with a wooden vegetable masher and spread a square of cheesecloth over a bowl and turn the crushed berries and juice into it. Press out the juice and turn it into the preserving kettle. Add two quarts of honey and put on the stove. Wihen the syrup begins to boil, add the remaining 10 quarts of berries. Let them heat slowly. Boil 10 minutes, counting from the time they begin to bubble. Skim well. Pears, peaches, and plums take equal weight of honey and fruit. Plums should boil about 15 minutes. Pears and peaches from 20 to 30 minutes. Blackberries, huckleberries, and rasp- berries— Take 4 quarts of fruit and one quart of honey, boil 15 minutes, then put in jars. Rhubarb — ^Do not peel it or it will look green. The color is a nice pink, if not peeled. Two quarts of rhubarb, 2 quarts of honey, boiled to thick sso-uip, then sealed. Corn — Two quarts of corn cut ofC the ear, one pint water, one -half pint of honey, 4 even tablespoonfuls of salt. Boil 30 minutes, put in cans, and seal- Corn and Tomatoes — Three quarts of corn, 3 quarts of tomatoes, one pint of honey, one-half pint of water, 6 table- spoonfuls of salt. Boil one-half hour. Apples and Quinces — Equal weight of fruit and honey. Boil 10 minutes. Fruit juices, grapes, cherries, rasp- berries, strawberries, peaches — Simmer the fruit, then strain through a cheese- cloth, take one quart of fruit juice and one-half pint of honey, boil from 10 to 15 minutes. Manheim, Pa. President York — We might hear from the ladies on the use of honey in canning and preserving fruits. We will be glad to hear from any of them as to what their experience has been. Miss Wilson — ^We make a good many honey- cookiesi at our house, and like them very much. We canned a few cans of fruit, strawberries and rasp- berries, with honey, and they were good. President York — Good enough to eat, were they? Miss Wilson — ^We thought so. Mr. Baxter — I will say that jelly and jam made with honey is free from the tartaric acid. Tou know grape jelly or preserves, after they get to a cer- tain age, are full of tartaric acid, and if it is made with honey instead of sugar, it will avoid that. That has been the experience of my wife, and I know she used honey in preserves, too. It makes nice preserves. She uses it very generally in cooking. Dr. Miller — Does Mr. Baxter mean in the grape preserves, there were none of these crystals at all? - '■T u^j--:'}TV^-s^ f^.^ '^I'l^i::^^ 106 NINTH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE Mr. Baxter — None of those crystals at all. Dr. Miller — That is something new, because those crystals are very un- pleasant. Dr. Bohrer — My impression is there is little, comparatively, known about the use of honey for culinary pur- poses. I know that fifty years ago it was not fit, not prepared in a state that would admit of its being used. The nearest to absolutely pure honey you could get was what they called "strained honey." That is, it was pressed out of the comb and was strained through a cloth and there was so little of it, it was never used for cooking purposes; but the time has come now, when, if the ladies of the country will use it and experiment with it, almost anything can be done with it that can be done with sugar or syrup. That would be my impres- sion about the matter. But it has been so little used that I don't blame the women for not talking about it, be- cause very few of them have tried it but very little. Mr. Burnett — I would like to ask Dr. Miller, in his opinion, what the prop- erties of honey are in this matter of removing tartaric acid, or its results. Is it because of the fact that it is turned to the left instead of right, in the process of fermentation? Dr. Miller — I don't know, but I sup- pose there is more or less of a chem- ical combination, that the honey com- bines with the acid. You know if you take sugar, if you make sugar syrup and put an acid with it, it will not granulate. Now something the same way here. I don't know just how it is. I cannot give you a satisfactory answer. The combination is made in some way. I only got the fact from Mr. Baxter, and I am willing to take his word for it, that with the honey it does not form those granules, and . I know that is a common thing with a jelly made from grapes, or any prepa- ration from grapes, you have the acid crj'stals. That is the way they make cream of tartar. Feeding Sugar Syrup to Bees. '7s sugar syrup better feed for bees in winter than honey?" Mr. Bull — It is just about as good. There is very little difference between honey and sugar syrup. Mr. Fluegge — It may be better than most honey. If you have the best kind of honey, I suppose it would be just as well. I think the syrup goes fur- ther, the same amount, and not liable to give them any dysentery if handled rightly. Mr. Huffman — I didn't use to think that sugar syrup was good for bees, and I wouldn't try it. But two years ago last fall I took five colonies, after the honey season was over — our honey season the last of June or middle of July is all over with. I shook them on empty foundation, and fed them nothing but sugar syrup, half and halt I used the Miller feeder, and I never had bees winter better in my life. I would rather have it than honey, but sometimes you don't get the good ar- ticle. La^st winter, especially in the middle part of the State, a good many had to extract their honey. If you have a sugar syrup, you don't need to fear any trouble. That is my experi- ence. Mr. Cavanagh — I think it has been conceded by some others that bees consume less sugar than honey. It is less stimulating, we know. And 1 al- ways feel that the less the bees find necessary to consume during the win- ter wants, the better they should win- ter. For that reason alone, I would say that sugar syrup would be pre- ferred. Dr. Miller — I think there is quite a little we don't know about bees, and that matter of sugar and honey is one that I think there is a chance for us to konw more about than we do. There are certainly some cases in which it is a very great advantage to get rid of the honey that is present, and to put sugar syrup in its place; but where the honey is of the best character, there may be some question. In Eu- rope, I think, the general opinion is that it is much better to have honey. In this country, I think the general opinion is that sugar is the better. They claim that if, for any consider- able length of time, you feed sugar your bees will become weaker consti- , tutionally, that there is food in the honey you don't get in the sugar. This much is certain, that in honey you have more or less pollen, where you don't think you have, where you don't see it, and when it comes to rearing a brood in the spring, then you have the support for the brood in the honey that you don't find in the sugar. So ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KE3EPERS' ASSOCIATION 1<»7 all of these things should be consid- ered, and I am inclined to believe, on the whole, where there is good honey, take it year in and' year out, we are better off to stick to honey. And yet I don't know. Mr. Wheeler — I have had a little ex- perience in different kinds of honey for wintering. I lived out in Dr. Mil- ler's country one time, where we had white clover honey, and some other flowers, and I thought at that time there was nothing better than sugar syrup to winter on, but since I have come to Chicago, and winter my bees on sweet clover honey, I would not change sweet clover honey for sugar syrup, any time. It is a great deal better than any other kind of honey. Pure sweet clover honey has very lit- tle pollen in it, and the bees will wint- er well on it, and breed well in the spring. The thought that struck me at the time Dr. Miller was talking was, it is strange the kind of honey we people like so well does not keep the bees so well. It does not seem to be as healthy, for some reason. Sweet clover honey, people don't take to, but the bees invariably winter well on it.. Mr. Baxter — Besides that, I don't want to have the name of feeding my bees sugar syrup, unless there is less reason. A year like this, when we have so much honey- dew, I might feed sugar syrup in the fall, but if I had good white clover honey, or good Spanish needle honey, it is good enough to winter anywhere. Temperature to Prevent Honey-Granu- lation. "If 160 degrees is the temperature to heat honey before sealing the bot- tles^ how long should it be held at this temperature to prevent granulation?" Mr. Arnd — ^I have never had any bot- tled honey that would' not granulate. Mr. Cavanagh — I would like to ask Mr. Arnd if he heats the caps or tops, whatever he has on his bottles. If the entire bottle, in other words, is brought up to 160 degrees in sealing? Mr. Arnd — I don't keep it at any regular temperature. I bottle the honey when it is hot. Mr. Cavanagh — You bottle when it is hot, but there is a little air space there when it is cool and the tops — do you heat them, too? Mr. Arnd — No. Mr. Cavanagh — I think there iis a fault in your bottle. The entire bot- tle, and air-sipace, should be kept at the same temperature. I would not say it never granulated; I have had good success heating the bottles and heating the caps, because if the bot- tles are not heated, there is a spac© above the top of the honey, that when the honey is poured in at 160 degrees, the honey will not bring that air- space up to the proper heat. May be it does not have anything to do with it. I am talking of clover honey in Michigan. President York — How long should it be held at a temperature of 160 degrees to prevent granulation? Dr. Miller — I have seen a great many times directions for heating it to tnat point, and sealing it up, and I never saw anything said in connection with •.hat as to the length of time to hold it at that temperature. So that I have always supposed it was not faecessary to hold it for any length of time. There may be something in that. The point that Mr. Cavanagh makes is simply the difference between 160 degrees and something less than that, because the cold top, of course, will cool off the honey, when it is not raised to the same temperature. Mr. Arnd — Mr. York, what do you say about it? You have had as much experience as any one. President York — ^I don't remember that we ever kept the honey at 160 degrees for any length of time. We never heated the bottles. There may be something in that, because if the bottles were cold, it would cool the honey off much quicker. I should think that might help, heating the bottles and sealing it up quickly. Mr. Cavanagh — I would like to ask, when you have the honey candied, when done for the market, haven't you had any experience in melting that, without opening the bottles, and then sealing up, ever notice whether that honey candies again or not? Doesn't that remain liquid almost indefinitely? I mean taking h<3ney that is candied and liquefying it in bottles. You do that sometimes ? ^ Mr. Arnd — Yes, very often, honey that comes back, we heat it. Mr. Cavanagh — Does that ever candy again ? Mr. Arnd — Oh, yes. Mr. Cavanagh — As badly as it was before ? rc?J5p3f-«v-'^-^;, -j^v.;'^;,,-,-i;e,.;'7..A.;,'S.;s'^'?>f.^%^t^"'^'^\^-->iitt»l^ii?Vt^-i^^^ V'vS^KKf ■ '/ f'^ • ■' •'^'^*^ '.a':-'''^^'°>^ 110 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE J. J. WILDER, of Georgia. sthan any other kind. Now, what is the matter that we cannot do anything of the kind here? President York — Before we go any further, we have an article on this very subject by J. J. Wilder, of Geor- gia, and I will asik the secretary to read it. It will come in right along with this very question. Chunk Honey — Its Present and Future. Upon request of your Secretary, I have prepared this paper, the subject of which is "Chunk Honey," and I hope that it will interest you. First, permit me to say that I have had successive years of experience with persistent efforts in the produc- tion of section, extracted, and chunk honey; and at present I am operating 16 apiaries in the production of the latter, iwhich I have found far more satisfactory, either on a small scale, or extensively. The cost of the equipment and ap- pliances necessary in chunk honey production are less. It is less labori- ous, and the simplest, most economic- al and satisfactory way honey can be produced. One apiarist can harvest, with the same number of colonies, pack, case and ship, a crop of chunk honey, the returns of which would be greater than if he had produced either section or extracted honey. If this be true, and it surely is, the financial side of the question is solved. Time does not permit me to go into the practical side of my subject, but it is simple and will be given in full in the bee papers before another season. It is a combination of both comb and extracted honey, produced in shallow extracting frames and supers, about one-third extracted and two-thirds comb. The' honey is closely packed in large-mouth jars and cans, sealed up, the darker grades in the cans and the lighter grades in the jars, and neatly labeled. The honey will retain its fla- vor better and longer, and does not granulate so soon; and if it does it can be quickly liquefied by setting it in warm water, the sunshine, or a warm place. This direction should be placed on the labels, and if it should carelessly be brought to such a high temperature that the comb would melt, there would only be a small amount of clear wax which would collect on the top of the vessels, and the honey ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 111 would be a nice article of extracted. Therefore, chunk honey is freer from all impurities, better kept and more wholesome than any other way comb honey can be put up. Transportation charges on chunk honey is a matter of great consiaera- tion. Freight rates in glass, No. 1; In tin. No. 4, and if shipped by express, B class, or the same as merchandise; and smash-ups on the railroads hardly ever occur. But what about the market, which by the way is very timid here in this portion of the South? I am glad to say that it has solved the market problem for me, which was, previous to chunk honey production, a great drawback to me. I did a lot of trav- eling, drumming and advertising; since then I have done no advertising, and but little traveling or drumming (none the last season), and the output of my apiaries does not nearly fill the orders. The prices obtained are about the same as for section honey, and the' dealers make about the same profit, but the railroads get less out of it, and the consumers more. These are great advantages in favor of chunk-honey production. Now about its future: I believe it has a bright one, taking all things into consideration. It has contributed . much towards making Texas the great- est honey-producing State we have, and other States are sure to fall in line. If honey ever becomes a common sta- ple, it will have to be produced and put on the market in this way, for the present style and manner in which honey is produced and) put on the mar- ket will never extend its sale in towns and cities, and out over the country, to any great extent. Country people, and a large number living in towns and cities, will never buy it. at all. We have to reach this trade, which can only be done with chunk honey; and if we create a much greater demand for our product, we have got it to do. There are several organized compa- nies that are canning and placing in nearly every store in our land great quantities of syrup, with but little ef- fort. Chunk honey would supply the demand better. One of these large syrup canneries is located near me, and it is astonishing to know what an enormous business they are doing, and it is netting its stockholders a large dividend. Why not the bee-keepers share in the harvest? Then, too, the numerous styles of hives and supers, and the legions of methods of management which are knotty, misty, tedious and burden- some, and are a deadly weight on the progress of our industry, will have reached their climax, and we will enjoy a season of rest and prosperity. J. J. WILDER. Cordele, Ga. President York — A man with sixteen apiaries ought to have a right to speak. Mr. Burnett — Dr. Miller rather cov- ered the situation. It is a matter of education, as to how you eat your honey, I agree with the Doctor, with the idea that where honey is put up in this way, if the comb was built without foundation, it would be a great advantage and the honey would be much better. Now, it is a matter of fact among all of you with . regard to comb foundation, that the founda- tion used has not given so much trou- ble in the marketing of the honey. While it is an objection at the present time, if they would produce the honey and take time to educate the people into thinking of that honey — a dish all smeared over the comb with ex- tracted honey, that it was as inviting to the eye as it would be to put on a plate. Now, without any honey being taken out of the cells, there certainly would be a market for the honey and it would be better, but it would have to be cut with a spoon instead of a knife, and people as they do in South- ern Illinois — my own experience there — they brought on at the hotel a bowl of honey with a spoon in it, and it was part liquid honey and part comb; cut out what you wanted and help your- self. I tried it and the honey was all right. It was produced without foun- dation. The combs were not straight, but it didn't make much difference when you cut it out with a spoon, and it was as palatable as any honey of its kind. It was a yellow honey. Notst people of this section of the country, this side of what they call the Mason and Dixon's line, are accustomed to having the honey put on the table in a neat fashion, not mushy, and if it is possible to get people, in a reason- able length of time, to regard honey —8 -rw% _a _ ,(i. - ?^"'r^'SWy~'' *- ■•JP^?9^^.^. ■ -"T^^ 112 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE as clearly desirable in that mushy state, it would be an advantage. Mr. Brown — I have one hope that Mr. Scholl and Mr. Wilder and those people who work for comb honey will succeed in getting other bee-keepers to follow their example, and, for one rea- son, to save our basswood. The enor- mous quantities of basswood cut down, it seems to me, that bee-keepers use, ought to be changed or stopped in some way. Mr. Dadant — Don't you think one reason why this chunk honey is in such general favor in the South is that it resembles so closely the natural honey cut from the bee-trees? In the South there are many more bee-trees than here, and the people down there are used to seeing the mussed-up honey, as you call it, and when they see this honey, it is a sort of an assurance to them it is a pure article. That is the wa5 they are used to having it. It looks to them like the pure article. Mrs. Holbrook — One fact I gathered last fall from across the lake — a man has about fifty colonies and produces all of his honey in chunks, and I saw it in the grocery stores, right out on an open plate, and they tell me it sells very rapidly. It was on a tray there in a grocery store. Mr. Baxter — What is the gentleman's objection to foundation in chunk honey? Mr. Burnett — The objection would be, it is more difficult to dissolve, and it dissolves with less ease. The wax as prepared by the bees seems to dissolve with much more ease than the foun- dation which is prepared. Mr. Baxter — Well, the foundation is used in the comb honey and it is not objectionable there, and I should not think it would be any more objjection- able in the chunk honey. Mr. Burnett — It is objectionable ev- erywhere, if you can get along with- out it. Mr. Baxter — Even natural comb is objectionable to me. Mr. Huffman — Isn't it a fact that honey built on foundation is a little tougher? The process it goes through makes the wax tougher than if it is right direct from the bee. I think Mr. Dadant is correct, and I think you will find that is where the trouble Is with the process; all of this wax goes through in the foundation makes it tougher. President York — You mean Mr. Bur- nett was right, don't you? Mr. Huffman — Yes. Mr. Cavanagh — I don't think that is objectionable to every one. I know it is not to me. I rather like to get that chewy foundation. President York — Whenever I get a chance to "get back" at Dr. Miller I like to do it. He criticized me for us- ing the word "chunk," said I ought to use "bulk." And that man used "chunk" all through his article, and he has sixteen apiaries! (Laughter.) Dr. Miller — Where does he live? President York — In Georgia — in the South. Dr. Miller — I said the Texas people. A Mr. Hyde, more particularly. He be- lieved— if you remember — he believed in "boolk" honey! Aroma of Extracted Honey. "Is it possible to get the delicate aroma found in comb honey, after it goes through the extractor?" President York — How about that, or is extracted honey as good as comb honey? In other words, does it have the delicate aroma or flavor that comb honey does? Dr. Miller — I don't believe that ex- tracted honey, as it averages, begins to compare, in quality, with comb • honey. I don't believe there is any sufficient reason that extracted honey ought not to be as good as comb honey, and I believe the men who are produc- ing extracted honey, if they know their business, they will try very hard to make it so we cannot tell any differ- ence in the taste between extracted and comb honey. I think you will all bear me out that there has been some very vile extracted honey on the market. Mr. Burnett will say that, I am very sure. Worse than anything you will find in the line of comb honey, which is because you can abuse extracted honey, as you cannot abuse comb honey, and leave it still comb honey. There is a chance for the air to work on the extracted honey; there is a chance to have unripened honey — ex- tracted when it is unripe; you cannot get it in as unripe a condition" as you can in the extracted honey. So you see, it depends upon Which way yon are looking at the question. If you are looking at what may or what can be, that is one thing; if you arex look- ing at what is, that is another thing. ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION lis I Tielieve if the bee-keepers know their own interests, they will strive very hard not to put anything in the line of extracted honey on the market that is not up to a good standard. And 1/ am condemning myself when I say that, because years ago, when I run for extracted honey I put something ■on the market that no decent white man ought to put on the market. (Laughter.) I didn't know any better than that. If some man had said the things I have said to-night I would not have done it. Mr. Baxter — What makes the differ- ■ence? What difference does it make whether it is good, or not as good? "The public don't know the difference — the public never looks at the quality. Tou have to take their eye, that is the only way you can satisfy the public. Take a Ben Davis apple, take a Con- cord grape; the public don't look at the quality of anything. I know that, Tjecause I have been shipping grapes in big car-loads. Tou show them some- thing beautiful, like these Western ap- ples that are in the market, and that is what they want. They don't care ■a snap for the quality, if it looks nice. Mr. Burnett — I do not wish to disa- gree with the last speaker in this matter, but let us accept his explana- tion, that it does not make any differ- ence about the quality to the public, if it pleases the eye. Now I grant that is true, that people should buy Iioney simply because it is honey and looks pretty. But they don't buy honey very often. They don't say, "Here, it looks pretty and seems to be all right, but I don't care about it liaving any taste that I particularly care about." They don't say it. Now, last year, of course, we had a great honey crop, had lots and lots of comb "honey. We didn't get it used up until this autumn, but it is all used up now, so far as I know, and we had very little W^esern honey. I am speaking now of comb honey, and towards the •end of the season, people got to using boney more largely — that is, judging from our sales — than they had for some years before. They said they didn't know how it was, but somehow the "honey tasted better to them this year; don't know whether the apples were not so good, or something else was not so good, but they had eaten more "honey than they had for some time. Now, there is such a thing as buying more goods because you like the taste of it; if it tastes good, you like it; if you taste a thing, if it does not look good to you, if you taste it you like it, and you will use much more if it pleases the palate than if it pleases the eye. Therefore, the facts are Vhat the people who extract their honey have got the idea largely as our friend has, that all you need to know about it is to get honey that looks good. But people who sell honey from house to house, they find they say, "We have got some of that honey you got of us last year." And I, from an experience of over thirty years, have noticed this thing carefully, and this year there was such a demand for Western honey came from all over, and it was ob- served at once. People wanted it. Next year, if we get a crop of honey here, we will have to go through this same fight again, to talk them up to the fact that the honey this year has got some taste to it. That is, next year. This year they will say, "Well, the honey looks good and pretty, but our folks don't use it." The store-keeper gets it and sells out a case and it looks all right, but the people don't buy any more of it. Last year the crop of Illi- nois, Wisconsin and Michigan, out of that crop they sold, after a time, more and more honey. It has been cleaned up. Years ago we used to get good sage honey from California that, in my opinion, when properly ripened, is not excelled by any honey for people to continuously use. They will use it and ask for it year after year. I have said this year, "Yes, we will have some of that sage honey this year." They say: "I have not had any good honey for several j'^ears that tasted right. When you get it, let us know." Now sage honey comes this year and it i? not as good as it was, it is not so good. So far as we have gone, we have not had any that has been equal to years past. It may be that the fla- vor is not in the sage this year; the flavor is not there. It is good honey, it is clear enough but it lacks flavor. And when you put it in your mouth, the taste leaves quickly, it does not remain there. The flavor is not there. It ihas not got that pen- etrating aroma that honey- lovers, or people who eat honey for honey's sake, want. Now, in comb honey, the bee- keepers have to leave it in until it is ripe, and honey that comes out of the . >;„_j,;, '■^'•ivi^:,7vp;^Z'q^p^/:tS'^-f;f:^^^^^.-.:7j;-'i'':f;^: ■ 114 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE comb is good, has that sweetness of aroma to it that pleases the people who use it. They get their extracted honey, yes, out of comb honey, but, on the other hand, if they do that with Western honey, they don't get it. They say, "That honey — why, I guess that is that sugar-honey the bee-men are using now, that ain't got no taste to it.!" Mr. Baxter — One reason there was such a large sale of honey last year was the dearth of fruit, and high price of fruit. There were no apples here last year, and Mr. Burnett knows ap- ples sold here right on this market last year at five dollars a bushel; and, an- other thing, the use of honey is very much a matter of custom. I had Mr. Dadant the other day ship a consign- ment of honey to southern Kansas. He said he would not use that honey at all. He is an Illinois man. He wanted Spanish-needle honey, and we didn't have it. He got heartsease. I got a letter from him the other day and he said that was all right; he was pleased with it. Take a man that comes from a buckwheat region, he won't use any- thing but buckwheat honey. But when you come to those fine distinctions, the difference between a fine aroma of extracted honey compared with comb honey, nobody but a connoisseur would know the difference. Mr. Burnett — ^In regard to that apple question, I want this to support what I have said. I deal in apple, and, of course, as Mr. Baxter says, I do know a little about it. The government sta- tistics this year show the crop is about one per cent less of apples than it was last year. So there is the difference in the statistics he has got and those that are given where I found them. The apples last year were good. We have not had as good apples as we had last year in the Western States for years. The crop in those same sections this year are not so good, and the ap- ples are not so good, and they start in at a high price this year — poor apples at a high price. People have quit using them already, and apples are about a dollar a barrel less than they were sixty days ago. We are beginning to realize we are stuck on poor stuff again. The crop of 1908 apples started in at low prices. People found they were good, and they continued to use them, and they did go up to those high prices. Simply because the stuff was- good, and good stuff I have found, gen- tlemen, will tell. Live as long as Dr. Miller has, and grow as good as he has during these years, and you will find that to be a fact. Mr. Baxter — Right there I would say, how about the Apple Shippers' Asso- ciation? What do they say about sta- tistics'? They say there is twenty per cent larger crop, according to them, than there was last year. Why, Car- lisle alone shipped fifteen thousand; how about Oregon, and how about Ida- ho? Wliy, the quality of apples this year is far superior to what they were- last year. And how about Vermont? How about York State? When you come to quality, the quality is better this year. Mr. Burnett — I don't wish to enter into a discussion of the merits of ap- ples this year. The apples are on the market and can be tested for them- selves. The Colorado crop of 1908 was cut off by a frost. This year, they have a very abundant crop and they are probably the best apples that are coming to this market this year, or any other market. The crop from the West — the apples are smaller and not as good as they were last year. President York — We are getting off on the apple question instead of honey. r>r. Bohrer — I was going to ask what infiuence this has on the extracted, or the other haney? That, I understand, was the question. I don't see how the use of the extractor could exert any influence on the taste of the honey, I could never detect any difference. There is some in the wax even after it is melted, and there is a taste that goes with it, but I say when it wa» manufactured and molded into the comb, it stays with it, and that if it forms with the honey, it will go with it to the extractor, and has nothing ta do with that matter at all, except to take the wax away from it, or to put it away from the wax. As for the looks of it, I think there is more in the looks of comb honey that makes peo- ple want to eat it than anything else» It is a little like Limburger cheese; it looks better than it tastes. I can prove that by Mr. Huffman Mr. Burnett — I object to turning this into an experience meeting.. (Laughter.) i ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEiEPERS' ASSOCIATION 115 States Represented. "How many States are represented :at this meeting^ of bee-keepers?" President York — ^We find by the membership list that we have Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Wisconsin, Indiana •and Kansas. Dr. Miller and European Foul Brood. "Does Dr. Miller know anything about black foul brood?"' President York — I think he explained himself this afternoon, and we will re- fer that questioner to that answer when it is published. Dr. Miller — It is barely possible that in all soberness that question was asked, and it is barely possible, it would be nothing strange, if thei'e might be some here who thought black brood was identical with Europ^in foul brood. The black brood in New York State was called black brood for a number of years, and the Europeans • objected strenuously to our naming those diseases as we did. Feeding Sugar Syrup in the Spring. "If bees are fed sugar syriip in the . spring for stimulation, will any of it left in the brood-chamber be carried into the super?" Dr. Miller — It may and may not. If the combs in the brood-chamber are filled pretty full, then the room is needed for brood when supers are on, you may count pretty safely on some of it being carried up. Mr. Huffman — Dr. Miller's explana- tion then would be: Would it be ad- visable, then, to feed very heavily in the spring of tihe year, sugar syrup, for fear of it being carried into the L super ? Dr. Miller — No, it Tvould not toe — I would not say that. Mr. Baxter — It is not often necessary to stimulate them. Mr. Huffman — Some times they are pretty near starving; then, what? Mr. Baxter — You would not have to 'feed again. The object in feeding in the spring is to keep the bees in a ■good, healthy condition, for breeding, and you -don't fill' the hives for that purpose. That is, between the bloom of the fruit and the white clover. Mr. Brown — I would like to say, as a general rule, I don't think any syrup would get into the super, for the rea- son about the time the bees enter the •section, they crowd down and put more honey into the brood-chamber, and re- duce the amount of brood at the same time, so that unless the bees are very much overfed, there would be no dan- ger. I don't believe anybody would go to the trouble and expense of over- feeding bees, for it would be a useless expense. Refoundationing Brood- Frames. "Is it practical to remove the wedges from fbrood-frame top-bars to put foundation in the frames after the first time?" Mr. Baxter — It is. Where I had foundation in last year, and the bees gnawed holes in the foundation, and there was danger of their building drone-comb in those places, I took the wedges out and put new ones in. Bottom Starters in Sections. "Does it pay to use bottom-starters in sections? If so, in what way?" Dr. Miller — I think it is important. Possibly I am prejudiced, for I think that is my own idea. I am not sure about it, but I don't know of anybody using' ibottom-starters (before I did; but since coming here I have learned one reason for using bottom-starters I had not heard of before, and that was, it made the section more saleable. TIhe whole section not being built down to the bottom, the customer would say, "That section is not full," but where they use a bottom-starter, it would be full nearly down to the bot- tom. The reason that I began to use bottom-starters for fastening the sec- tion at the bottom was, first, to make it safer for shipping, Thit alone is sufficient reason for me using the bot- tom-starters. Mr. Kannenberg — I have used the ■bottom-starters, also, but those bot- tom-starters I had, or, I don't know whether it was my fault or not, but the bees built the bottom down too far, and it got a kink in the section, and it looked worse than if there was no bottom-starter. So I gave it up. Dr. Miller — How large did you use it? Mr. Kannenberg — Just about half an inch. Dr. Miller — How near together were the two starters? Mr. Kannenberg — Just about an eighth of an indh". Dr. Miller — I should say you had your bottom- starter rather shallow, Five-eiglhths of an inch is better; and : "■_ ,; -.^►^;;^^W?^*i;i''-'C-f "T'-v--''^^^^^^ 116 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE yet I don't know why there should be that trouble. Mr. Kannenberg — The bees built it down so far it got a kink between the bottom starter and the top starter. I>r. Miller — I ihave seen that kink often when they were partly down, but by the time they finished it up, the whole thing was built down square. Mr. Kannenberg — It was not with me. Mr. Brown — Did I understand some- body to say that the bottom starter curled away? Mr. Kannenberg — Not the bottom starter; the top starter. Mr. Brown — I was going to say, in connection with the bottom starter, ■tlhat in all cases the foundation should be put not in the way the bee would build it naturally, but with the cell- wall — the 'horizontal wall of the cell — on the upper and lower side. The bees naturally build a cell-wall vertic- ally on the side, and the foundation should toe turned half around, in order to make it stiffer. Otherwise, you will have trouble with the bottom starter curling over. Mr. Wheeler — I think that is a very important question with people who are producing comb honey, the compet- itors with Colorado honey and CaU- fornia honey. In those countries, it looks as if the bees do not require bottom starters. They build down a section and clear down through it, "Without any starter, but in this coun- try they don't do it, and the people w!ho produce honey for market in this part of the country have to compete with t^ie Western honey, more or less, and when our honey goes on the mar- ket, as it has this year, with the sec- tion short at the bottom, they don't look well. If they have a bottom starter, the bees will attach the sec- tion to the bottom and make a section look fuller and better, to my mind. I would not attempt to produce a crop of comb honey without bottom start- ers. Mr. Trickey — As the gentleman says, as to combs not being 'built down to the bottom of the section, in Colorado and California, and the Western coun- try, I find, by twenty years' experience in that line of business, that we get the ihoney off the hives in that coun- try that is not filled out good to the bottom, and we even get some of it off that is not attached to the bottom by from a half to a quarter of an inch; built down very square and nice^ but still fail to attach it to the bottom^ The bottom, starter seems to remedy that defect to some extent, and, while there may be some defect to it, it remedies that witlh us. We have some of that kind of honey sold to us here, but a great deal of it is kept at home, and is not brought on the mar- , ket here. And the cause of that, gen- erally, is a sign, in that country, of a cessation of the honey-flow at a cer- tain stage of the completion of the section, more ihan the bottom starter, or the side starter, or foundation for the bees to w^ork on. If we get a good honey- flow that lasts until the com- pletion of the section, we very seldom have any trouible about filling out. But, if it slacks off in the season, we have all kinds of trouble, the same as you do here. On motion, the convention then ad- journed until 9:30 a. m. the next day^ Second Day — Forenoon Session. The convention was called to order at 10 a. m. The Question- Box Program. President York — This morning we have with us Mr. Holtermann, fron* Canada, Mr. Wilcox, from Wisconsin, Mr. Whitney, J. L. Anderson, and Mr. Kimmey, from Illinois, and others who were not here yesterday. A great many people think this is the best convention held in America,, exxcepting, of course, that held in On- tario, whre Mr. Holtermann comes from! The old "Northwestern Society"^ never had a paper read. Liast year we had papers, and Dr. Miller thinks we make a mistake in bringing in papers this time. I tried to prove to him that we were more progressive than in those days when they did not have any papers read. I do not think the papers hurt very much, and if you do, I wish you would notify the Executive Com- mittee. If you do not want any more papers, I think we can agree on that point and not have any. The papers have been short, and have brought up questions that we have discussed. Dr. Miller — It may be interesting for some to know Just how that started, having the meeting taken up entirely with questions. The first meeting had ilj:,inois state bee-keepers' association 117 been called in the American Bee Jour- nal. Mr. Rice was temporarily in the chair, and then a set of officers were elected. I think I didn't come into the meeting until just about the time of that election, and to my surprise I was elected president. There was no program — no prepara- tion whatever, and I was to preside over that meeting, and what was going to be done, I didn't know. Well, I took Mr. Langstroth'g bee-book, and looked over the index and checked the things from the index that I thought might be interesting to talk about, and presented those as they came along; then I said. If any of you have any questions, put in your questions. And that question thing grew until it was all questions. Now I don't know, I would not pre- tend to say it is best to shut out all papers, but I do believe that the inter- est centers largely on these discus- sions. I can read a paper after it is pub- lished, and I can't hear you men talk, and I would not come here to hear things read. I can read about things in the bee-paper, but I would come quite a long way to hear any of you talk about bees. Like attracts like. Here is Mr. Holtermann. He would not come here if he didn't think there would be some wide-awake men to talk, whom he wants to hear; he can read about these things in the papers, but he comes here to hear you talk. Mr. President, you can bring in all the papers you like. I have kind of prejudiced the minds of these people; I know they will want the Question- Box. I don't say altogether Question- Box. I felt a little bit uneasy when I saw so many papers'; the Question-Box is my baby. Dr. Bohrer — I only want to add a word in regard to the papers. While some papers we get are excellent, a great many are not worth the paper they are written on. The question -box is the most valuable source of informa- tion. Bee-keepers come here from long distances, and they put questions be- fore a body like thi^ that some one is able to answer in some form or other; it is a sort of distributing information among bee-keepers. I regard the question-box as an excellent thing — .the best of all; but it won't do to ignore the papers entirely, because once in a while there is an excellent paper. Mr. Holtermann — I might say what brought me here was, I read from the notice of the convention the men who were going to be here, and I made up my mind there was some pretty good material going to meet with you, and I wanted to come and see what was to be said. In regard to the question - box drawer, I am standing between Dr., Miller and the president, at present. The question-box drawer has degene- rated in some places into one man an- swering all the questions, and I don't consider it worth very much. Once or twice I have been asked to take the question-box, and I said: "No, I don't pretend to be^ able to answer every question." The right way to conduct the question-box is as you are doing it. I am in favor of saying that such and such men are coming to the con- vention. I think it reflects great credit on your secretary to get out notices of that kind, and to have one or two spaces definitely announcing short pa- pers is an advantage, and I think that is what you both think. Mr. Wilcox — I never like to go to an institution and see all the discus- sions on one side. Those who advocate the question-box exclusively ignore one important fact. Now, in all our agricultural conventions, conducted un-' der the direction of State officials and others interested, they have in mind the presentation of certain facts; cer- tain things they want to talk about; certain things they want discussed, and to ask for papers on those subjects that you wish to bring before the people. Then you may have as many quesitions as you please, after the papers are read. In this' way you get subjects discussed in which the managers are particularly interested. President York — Mr. Wilcox "is a man after my own heart," on that sub- ject! Mr. Kannenberg — It is all right, as Mr. Wilcox expresses himself, but at the same time, when these papers are read and the man who wrote a certain paper is not here himself to give an- swers to the younger bee-keepers who want to know about the things set up in their papers, we would not be able to answer it because the man is not here himself. If the man is here, he can answer those questions; I think **?^^9^r ^;:.;^i=|^-* (^--"-^r ^:--X'-^''T!^;-yli>7;^--~,^-7^7-:~:^^^^ 118 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE that is the best way for the younger •bee-keepers to learn. President York — I was glad for one thing: That Mr. Holtermann said he came because he wanted to come. I notice Dr. Miller said he w^as forced to come. We never want to force a Cana- dian to come over into the United States, although they want to get us to come over and settle in their coun- try! Dr. Miller — Before this is closed I want to ask three questions: 1st, How many persons prefer mostly question - box? 2d, How many prefer mostly pa- pers? 3d, How many prefer half and half? Pres, York — How many prefer most- ly questions, raise your hands? (Tiwen- ty.) How many prefer mosty papers, raise your hannds'? (None.) How many prefer an equal quantity of questions and papers, raise your hands? (Five.) Clarifying Black Beeswax. "How can black wax be clarified?" Dr. Miller— Can it? Dr. Macklin — I asked that question. I had some wax come in that was as black as my hat, and I clarified it, but I don't know whether I did it the right way. I used sulphuric acid. I melted up in a large can about 20 pounds of it; after it was boiled I set it on the back part of the stove and left it for a half an hour, and poured in sulphuric acid, slowly, a few drops at a time, until it got to be what I con- sidered clear and then I let it settle, and took it off. I got 19 pounds. Dr. Bohrer — ^What amount of sul- phuric acid did you use to the amount of wax in the kettle? Mr. Macklin — I had 21 pounds of wax in the first place, and used six ounces of commercial sulphuric acid. Mr. Holtermann — How did that wax get black? Mr. Macklin — I bought it of some one, and suppose it was rendered in an iron kettle outdoors. Mr. Wilcox — Once I tried to clarify dark wax, and it turned black instead of white. I used sulphuric acid; we finally concluded that the reason was that there was iron in the water in which it was boiled. Mr. Baldridge — What sort of a ves- sel did you have your wax in when you clarified it? Mr. Wilcox — An old, can I found, made of galvanized iron. It was per- fectly w^hole when I started operations, but when I got through the bottom was eaten full of holes; but I managed to get the wax out of it. Dr. Miller — Suppose, Mr. Dadant, that I have some of that black wax; in other words, suppose that Mr. Mack- lin wanted to send some to you. Would you rather he would first clarify it in * that way with the acid or send it with- out clarifying? L, C. Dadant — Send it without clari- fying, and let us do the purifying. The use of acid is always objectionable, for making comb foundation the bees - do not like it. It might take a good deal of light wax to bring the color of that up, but we hardly ever run across very black wax, and we can use a very little sulphuric acid in purify- ing that black wax by our method, and get it clear, while the bee-keeper uses six or seven times as much, especially if he follows the directions given by some manufacturers of comb founda- tion. Mr. Andersort — Would you allow him as much for that black wax as you would for the lighter color? Mr. Dadant — ^We could not, because the light, clear wax we use for making surplus foundation, and that is worth more than for brood foundation. We would use that wax for brood founda- tion. Dr. Miller — I think you don't quite get Mr. Anderson's question: Take that same wax — suppose he had sent it to you, black, without clarifying, you would allow him a certain .price. Sup- pose he clarifies with acid, and sends it to you, will you give him more for it? Mr. Dadant — I would pretty nearly have to give him more for light wax, but it would be under protest. You can tell wax that has been clarified by acid, unfortunately, by the smell, and we tell them not to do it again. Mr. Holtermann — There is one point there. The gentleman lost two pounds in weight, so you could afford to get a little less per pound and get as much out of it. Mr. Macklin — The question has not been really answered yet. Pres. York — It may be a trade secret, though. ' Mr. Kannenberg — Mr. Barkemeier tried it; may be he can tell something about it. ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 119 Mr. Barkemeier — I had some black wax, and I put five cents worth of sul- phuric acid in it, and it was not yel- low enough; then I boiled it again, and put ten cents worth in, and it was yel- low. Mr. Holtermann — Is this thing called clarifying not really a failure? Mr. Dadant — That is what It is; you can get black wax clear, but it will be black wax; it won't be white. You can have wax that is almost white, but have it cloudy, so when you take the ifoundation up you can hardly see through it; Dr. Miller knows something about that; but by heating it to a cer- tain temperature and keeping it there, it will be so clear that you can see right through it. It will not be pretty wax. You can hardly make nice wax out of wax that has once been ruined; you can clarify it to some extent. Br. Bohrer— What effect would it have, passing it through a solar ex- tractor, towards bleaching it? Has any one ever tried it? As far as I have observed, when I have passed wax through a solar extractor, it has a tendency to get whiter; but, really, I have had no very black wax. Mr. Badant — If wax originally was light-colored, and not been broken too much, it can be bleached back. I have heard my . father say that bleachers would rather get this grade of wax than the Mississippi red wax; you can't bleach that so it will be white; you can lighten it. Br. Bohrer— What effect would it have, passing it through a solar ex- tractor towards bleaching it, was my question? I would like to hear from some one else who has had experience ^ with it. Mr. Badant— If the original grain or light color has not been ruined too far, it will lighten it up. You can't get it as nice, though. Mr. Trickfey — As to the Doctor's question, as to how to bleach wax, or whether it would bleach it to put it through a solar extractor, il tried that once and got a lot of it into thin sheets and exposed it to the rays of the sun, where it would not be too hot, and that will bleach it white without any acid or anything else. From my observation, putting it through a solar extractor — the biggest effect it has on it is that it separates the dirt from the wax without changing the color to ajiy great extent. Mr. Dadant — Mr. Trickey's wax is from the West, where he has alfalfa; that from alfalfa is light grain; never is anything else. When it is not light grain, it is spoiled in rendering. His wax went back to its natural color; but you take the red wax, from the Mississippi bottoms, and you can't change that to any appreciable extent, and the bleachers won't pay by three or four cents per pound as much for that as light-grained wax. I mean that from the Mississippi Valley, and around there. IMr. Trickey — As to our wax being light-colored, and having been spoiled by the rendering of it: The dark wax will bleach white as well as the other, under the sun, but it is a very tedious operation, Br. Miller — Might I ask Mr. Trickey whether in bleaching the wax it is not hardened at the same time? Mr. Trickey — ^Well, I hardly think so, under the sun. I didn't experiment with it very much, because I concluded it was more expense and work than I cared to undertake, so I didn't test it very thoroughly. Br. Miller — If you have a foundation exposed — for instance, lying on the table in a room where there is no direct sunlight upon it — it would bleach there in time, but I know it hardens at the same time, and, I sup- pose, bleaching in the sun it would harden also there. Mr. Wilcox — 'If it would not be foreign to the question under discus- sion >1 would like to ask what causes wax to be soft? I have bought founda- tion from an Illinois manufacturer that was so soft I could not use it; it would straighten all out of shape (not Mr. Badant's). Mr. Dadant — Of course there are dif- ferent ways of making foundation. You would have to know how to purify your wax; get your wax the right temperature when you are making foundation, or there will be trouble. We can make a foundation that will pull right apart; and we can make it where it is so tough you can hardly pull it apart. Mr. Anderson — Can you make foun- dation that doesn't need wiring? Make it heavy enough? Mr. Holtermann — Some ten years ago I had some comb foundation, from a ■ V_>.;t<;JiteK;r. Bohrer — ^White. Mr. Wilcox — All the wax- scales I have ever seen "were white. Mr. Holtermann — Take a cake of beeswax, and take a fine shave off of it, and you say it is white; you have to be very careful about that — I am not saying it is not white; it appears white. Mr. Trickey — In my neighborhood, the dandelions blossom in great sihape, an in the spring of the year, when they come in bloom, the bees gather the honey in sufficient quantities to build new comb, and that comb is in- variably yellow at first. Dr. Miller — That is not the question; the question is: What color is it when first secreted? I don't say what color it is; it might be white, but, in the building, they might make it yel- low. Mr. Holtermann — Like with golden- rod, the whole hive is made yellow. Mr. Trickey — As quick as those yel- low flowers go out of commission, and the bees get to work on flowers that will produce white honey, the comb becomes white as well, every time. Mr. Wilcox — Is the comb whiter from clover? Mr. Holtermann — Yes. That brings in again a point, how very careful we must be. I will confess I don't know what color that scale is, and I want to be very careful about coming to a conclusion. Now, this fact that the comb is yellow when the bees work on the dandelion, does not prove that the scale is yellow, because I know when the combs are being built, in buck- wheat season, that, with me, is nice, white wax; and that when the bees begin to work on goldenrod, where the yellow pollen is, it is not alone in the comb they build, but even the wood in the .'hive gets a yellow tinge. So, is it not possible the same is true of the dandelion? I don't know that it was understood what I said 'before about taking a cake of beeswax, and take a thin shave off of it, and it appears to us white; when you get a lot of it and melt it together, it might have a yellow appearance, when, in the scale, it would not. I would like to hear Mr. Dadant on that. Mr. Dadant — I don't believe I can give much light on that. Mr. Wheeler — I would hate to see this Nevada man voted down. I am absolutely certain that the wax the bees secrete from dandelion has a yel- low scale. Mr. Holtermann — What is the proof? Mr. Trickey — The wax itself. Mr. Holtermann — How do ^ou know but what a little pollen in the comb, added to the wax, will change the cplor? I want to know; where is the proof? This question has inter- ested me for a long time. ■ I am look- ing for evidence before I accept; I want to sift that evidence. Where is the proof that this pollen — as in the golden-rod — does not come in contact, witih these scales and work in with the scales, and then after the wax-scale has been secreted and in the building of the comb it becomes yellow? That is what I want to know. Mr. Wheeler — The scales that drop on the bottom of the ihive are j-ellow.. ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEiPERS' ASSOCIATION 121 : Dr. Miller — I want to say that I pre- sented that point to Mr. Cowan. In his book he says that all wax fs yel- low, and I asked him whether the scales were. He said, "Yes, they are yellow. It is a thing you cannot see the color in it." But Mr. Wheeler sees tihe color in the scale. If you see the color in the scale, there is no disputing that. Here conies another question I might ask Mr. Dadant: Have you ever seen a sample of white wax that you had reason to believe was not bleached? Mr. Dadant — ^Well, we receive a number of tons at a time, of Cali- fornia wax, and when you break the cakes, they would ibe as white as white could be. I would not think bee-keepers, as a, rule, would bleadh their wax; it is too expensive — too hard to do. Migiit have been run through a solar extractor once and bleached, but it is reasonable to believe they do not bleach it. "We receive big quanti- ties of this wax almost as white. Dr. Miller — I have had a little cor- respondence with Mr. Cowan about that. I took some virgin comb that was built, and melted a little of it to- gether, and sent him a sample, and that was white, and no disputing it at all. If you have it white after it is in the comb, certainly there is reason to be- lieve it was white in the scales, and that sample, I know, was white. I have had more than one sample that, when melted up, was white. Mr. Diadant, if he could tell us, that would be satisfactory proof. If you knew that the white wax you receive was not bleached. Mr. Dadant — It might have been bleached, but I have reason to believe that bee-keepers seldom go to that trouble and expense. You take cap- ping wax, it is light, anyhow; espec- ially California capping wax — from light-colored flowers, alfalfa, or white sage. If run through a solar extractor once, it might be enough to bleach it perfectly wih'ite. Mr. Wilcox — There is always a chance for the best of us to be mis- taken. I heartily agree with Mr. Holtermann, that we may be mistaken as to some of these things, but in re- gard to the color of wax, which is so positively testified to — in my locality, all wax secreted through dandelion blossom is of grayish color, rather dark, indicating that it has been col- ored from the combs in the hive, or some of it from a foreign substance, after it has (been secreted from the pollen. I have seen no wax built yel- low in the spring, in the early spring, that was not of that darkish color, unless it was a new swarm, in which case it would be white; but if old combs are in the hive that are colored it is evidence that it is colored from something in the hive; new wax- scales, I believe, are generally white. Mr. Whitney — ^It seems to be an in- teresting question. It would seem to me that the food the bee gets would have something to do in coloring the wax. Now, you know how^ fan- ciers who have white fowls do. They won't feed their chickens yellow corn, because they say it will color the feath- ers. Neither will the cattle man, who is desirous of producing a white line of beef, feed yellow turnips, or some- thing of that kind, because it does af- fect the flesh. Why should not the feed affect the scales of wax? It seems to me that during the time when the bees are finding nothjng but dandelions they might produce yellow wax; if it is white clover season, or they are feed- ing on basswood or something of that kind, I would think the wax would be pretty white. President York — Can you tell the source of wax; that is, from what kind of honey it came ? Dr. Miller — I was going to make a partial answer to Mr. Wheeler's ques- tion. I think we know very well that there is a difference, and if you will take the ground that all wax is the same color, and then try to decide whether white or yellow, you will fight all day; there is a very marked difEer- ence in color of wax, and I have no doubt there is a difference in the color of the scales. Wax is of different colors; there is a wax I think that is green; wax that is red; wax that is yellow; wax that is white. Really, in answer to that question is that it is of different colors. Dr. Bahrer — W^hen first secreted? Dr. Miller — ^When first secreted. Dr. Bohrer — And before put into comb? Dr. Miller — ^Yes, because if it were not that way, the working over would not make it into different colors. Mr. Trickey — As to Mr. Holtermann's suggestion as to the coloring of wax from the different colored pollens, es- 122 XIXTll AXXrAL REPORT OV THE I>ecially srilden-ntd, we havo tliat color- ing- uitli us very decidedly, not I'rom wliat u-nuld be called golden-rod. but from a species .if sage-biaish. a spread- ing toji c'>vered with xcllow tlowers, that comes in about the first of Sep- tember, and when that apjiears the bees will carry that dust and pollen from those dowers to the hives, and they will color all white combs nearly, more nr less, with that; and that is discernible from the dandelion coloring in new-built c(jmbs. I have .seen that wax built from dandeliims, by a new swarai, there being no other comb in the hive, and it still maintained that yellow color, the same as it did when built with other combs. Mr. Holtermann — Did you find buck- wheat to be yellow, too? Mr. Trickey — We have none in that country. Dr. Bohrer — The bees would, some times, in constructing a new comb, use old comb, and work it over. I have had them go into supers where the combs were a little on the brown order, take part of it, cut the cells down and render it into comb; I have had them take foundation that was put into su- pers and carry that down below, wihere I put them on a little too early. We don't know just what the 'bees are "up to" at all times. I have had them carr.\- every i)article of wax out of the supers, down below, and weld it into comli; if the foundation happens to be a little brown, the comb will be colored. As far a^ my observation has extended, it has simi)ly been confined to the matter of finding scales on the bfittuni-biiards : where swarms have been turned into new .hives. I have never seen anything V>ut white scales. Mr. Wheeler has seen colored scales of that kiml — was it always from swarms that \\'ere newly hived? y\v. Wheeler — I think not. We don't havt- any swarms at that time of the year. Dr. P.ohrer — All scales I have ever seen were white; it is generally where tlu-y were ])Ut into new hi\-es and con- iitructed tlu'ir uwn com)). President Yurk — I don't would better spenil much on the ciilnr of wax-scales. Mr. Trickex- — As to color rif wax, with us. you take the whiti' honey that has the white wax, and m-lt that up, and ymi invariably get that white wax without any colorin.g. nelieve we more time Mr. Holtermann — There has been a stateinent made in connection with the color of honey — that the color of honey would give the color of wax; I am pi5sitive that is not correct, because buckwheat honey will give as nice white wax as I ihave ever had; I be- lieve that the food does affect it, be- cause you take a cow for instance; you know what she feeds upon, and it affects the butter; it is the same with the color of the fiower the bee feeds upon; I believe it has its effect. Source of Wax. "Can you tell the source of wax, fron^ what kind of honey it came?" Mr. W;heeler — I moved from a white clover district to a fruit country, and I never before experienced that pe- culiar colored wax you get in the i^pring. until I came to Cook county; from the dandelion blossom comes the golden comb, just as quick as the bees start on it. I never saw that golden- colored wax until I came into this county; I suppose it is because the bees out farther don't gather enough honey from the dandelions to color the wax. Acid Smell in Comb Foundation. "Why does some foundation ihave the strong acid smell? Why does it cost as much as better foundation that has no acid odor?" Mr. Dadant — I would not think that would need any answer. Mr. Macklin — In connection with that, why could not that wax that has an acid odor be melted over again, in pure water, and eliminate the acid by that means? Mr. Dadant— After you have had acid in once, it is pretty hard to get rid of it. I have never tried a little quantity in water, but I know that after you have had acid in once, it is a hard matter to get rid of it. Mr. Wheeler — I had a little experi- ence once that caused me a good deal of thinking. One year I hail quite a imm'))er of hives, with starters of such foundation, left over. I put new swarms on; I shook my bees out In those hives in each apiary, and in one apiary I could not keep the bees in them; they swarmed out; I lost about fifty. I began to look around for the cause, and I found that the founda- tion I had been using had a strong ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATIOX 123 smell of f^ulphuric acid; I made up my mind it came from the foundation, ^ome way or other. Mr. iHViltermann — How many swarmed out? Mr. Wheeler — Nearly all; 100 of them out of 113. I lost, I think, 45 that wiere united with others; they all went together. I went back to that yard, and found bees as high as that table, all in one hiye. I clipped all my queens, and in that way kept them Mr. Holtermann — If he took out three pound.s, and used brood-founda- tion, under ordinary circumstances, he got all out of it but two ounces. I haye taken frames, put the foundation in it, and weighed it; knew the amount of wax; then, after the bee.* drew it out, weighed it again, and found about 21/2 ounces of foundation I used, and after the bees drew it out, there were five ounces; that is fifty ounces to a ten-frame hive. LJ.I I iitT-.-A Xo. 1 — Ferguson UNC.^rriNC, M.^chixe in Actuai, Opkration. from going away. I the whole thing if I my queens. would ;have lost had not clipped Amount of Wax in Combs. "What amount of wax can be se- cured from one set nf ten brood- combs?" Mr. Wilcox— I have heard Mr. France answer that question, and he melts up more wax than any one I know of. In many cases, three pounds can be taken from ten brood-combs: I have never taken over two pounds myself. A ^Member — Were those combs built on foundation, or were they natural combs? Mr. Wilcox — I could not answer that. As for niy own, they were 'built on natural combs; what Mr. France's were, I don't know. I think he made that answer at the National conven- tion a year or two ago. Ferguson Uncapping Machine, President Yurk — We have with us, Mr. Ferguson, to give us an illustration of his uncapping machine. Mr. F^erguson demnnstrated his un- capping machine at this ti:!ie, and spoke as follows: The first rcqui.'^ite of a practical uncapi)ing machine is a knife that will do good work under any condition to be found in everyday work. This form and arrangement of knives has been used enough to jirove beyond ciuestion that they will work under any practical working conditions, and I have usfd them on cimibs which were just from the hives, on a hot day, and in that soft, iila.^tic condition in which the cell- walls would collapse and bend a goo.] deal easier than they would cut; I have kept filled combs in a refrigerator f. ir several hours, and then uncapped them without 124 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE trouble, and in some winter trials the comb was so cold and brittle that the cell-walls would crumble under tne knife, having a rough, jagged edge like the edge of a 'broken egg-shell, and yet the removal of the cappings was carried out perfectly in every case without any clogging of knives, and, under all these conditions, patches of unsealed comb were leveled off without trouble. The knives are iheld rigidly in place while doing their work, yet • are easily removed for sharpening or cleaning, and they work at such an angle that suction and friction are re- duced to their lowest point. They are so arranged with relation to the advancing comb that their points are introduced first, and as a comb advances, tihe edges widen the cut, but the loosened iposition is held in place and carried forward by the uncut portion between the blades until the rear points of the cutting edges are reached, when the detached cap- pings fall into the tank below, and can not again come in contact with the com.b. After the knives, the mo3t important -consideration is tIhe manner of hand- ling the frames. In all the machines of which I have been able to learn, the frames are dropped or forced downward through the machine, the object seeming to be, to handle them the same as tlhey are handled in the hive, but this method is open to some serious objections. Either the comb, after being un- capped, must (be withdrawn again from tIhe top, taking extra time and labor, or, if taken out at the bottom, the hands of the operator must be put down into the capping tank and di- rectly in the way of the dripping honey and cappings; or else there is provided a special slide or guide to carry the frame out at the end of the machine after being uncapped. In either of the last two methods, the combs are withdrawn at a point considerably lower than the one at which they are inserted, making rather awkward work in. handling, especially if one has to reach down into the cap- ping tank; besides, the comb, being taken out at the bottom, would be likely to become more or less loaded with the cappings dropping from the Icnives above. "With my machine once established at the proper working height, all the work is done at this height, there be- ing no necessity for the 'hands to be brought in contact wih the dripping honey from the knives, and the ma- chine will work over any capping tank with a top opening as large as two inches square, and used with one of the new capping- melters, one would have an ideal comibination. In developing my machine, I worked on the theory that as long as one had to handle the frames anyway, the movement should be confined to the frame, and have all iparts of the ma- chine stationary; in other words, it is easier and better to move the frame alone than to move both the frame and the madhine. The thrust-bar used for pushing the frame the last two or three inches, is the only part of the machine which moves during the operation of uncap- ping, and, while that is very light and simple, I am still trying to devise some means of getting rid of it. One suggestion I have received Is to remove it entirely, and pull the comb the last two or three inches -with the fingers, but I fear this would put rather a severe strain on the finger muscles, if kept up all day, especially with the full-depth frames. In selecting frames for this demon- stration, I took those which would rep- resent the average conditions under which the machine would have to work when in use. The deep frames have been un- capped once before, this being the second filling; but the shallow ones are filled for the first time, and are, therefore, more uneven in surface than would be the case if they had been evened up once by the machine and then refilled; some of them have low spots, which the knives will probably miss; one in particular lacks consider- able of being (built out, and shows quite a little unsealed soirface; all were filled during a slow, unsteady fall flow, and I had to feed to get the deep ones finislhed, so they probably repre- sent as poor conditions as the ma- chine w^ould have to contend with in everyday work. In the act of uncapping, the frame is set into the flaring lower guides, and pushed through between the knives until the end-bar is even with the up- rights of the machine, when a dog drops behind the top-bar, and a ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEE)PERS' ASSOCIATION 125 slight push on the thrust- bar finishes the operation, and the frame is ready to remove; or, to make the description as short as the operation, set the frame in the guides, pus'h it twice, and remove it. The machine was designed and built for use with plain frames, but, realiz- ing that there are a great many bee- keepers who insist on having a self- spacing frame, I hit on the scheme of using spacing staples in Lhe sides of the top -bars, so that, by removing the knives wihich come apposite the top- bar, these staples will pass through the opening, and the knives below will uncap the comb just as close down to the frame as when the unspaced frame is used. The removal of these knives also al- lows the use of a top-Jbar wider than the end-bars, thus reducing tihe ten- dency of the bees for building bur- combs between the frames at the tops. Any pair of the knives may be re- moved to suit the height of frame used. Frames of any lieight up to and including the regular Langstroth may be used, and tlhere are separate ad- justments for difEerent widths of top and bottom bars, and the knife-bars may be adjusted to uncap at any thickness from % inch to 1% inches, according to the requirements of the operator. To change the adjustment for differ- ent heights of frame, it is only neces- sary to loosen one screw, bring th6 top gyide to the required position, and tighten t'he screw again. The guides are strong and sure, and, touching the frame witlh their edges only, will easily cut through any bur- combs on accumulations of propolis. I made several of the machines, and put them in the hands of producers for trial this season, and the results of tlhese trials, so far as I have been able to learn, can well ibe summed up In the words of Mr. Hutchinson, on page 328, of the November "Review," where he says: "It is simplicity itself, does not clog up, and slices off the cappings as slick and smooth as a mowing machine clios down a field of timothy, and if all combs were built with plain %-inch end bars, were as straight and smooth as a board, were slightly bulged on each side so that all the capped surface projected about V4, inch beyond the edges of the end bars, but little more could be asked for in the way of an uncapping machine." Then he states that but few of his own combs will fill these requirements and leaves one to infer that he thinks that they can not be filled; and I will admit that where no special effort has been made to provide straight combs, or where the previous uncapping has been hurriedly or carelessly done by hand with some spots cut way below the surface of the frames, or where the frames are unevenly spaced in the supers, these requirements will not be filled; but with a little effort and attention given to getting them once properly built out, and then properly spaced in the hive, this trouble would disappear, as the knives of the ma- chine can not cut below a certain limit, and all combs, after being once un- capped, and leveled up by the machine, would be built out enough at each sub- sequent filling and sealing to insure a clean job of uncapping. You know we have been reading a good deal for some years past about spacing the combs wide in supers to secure thick, bulged combs, and then cutting close down to the frame in un- capping, thus securing more wax, more rapid work, and requiring the handling of fewer frames; and that is just the practice I had in mind while developing the machine, and I bave been under the impression that among extracted honey producers there was a growing tend- ency toward the adoption of plaia frames and wide spacing. The success or failure of this ma- chine in Its present form, however, will depend almost entirely on whether or not combs can be produced under prac- tical conditions, with their surfaces uniformly bulged enough for the knives to catch. One other objection raised by Mr. Hutchinson is that, after pushing the frame nearly through the machine, one must "step around to the other end and pull out the comb;" but the thrust- bar at the top of the machine is in- tended for pushing the comb the last two or three inches when it may be removed without any "pulling," and the only "stepping around" required is a slight forward and backward move- ment similar to that of a carpenter planing the edge of a board, and I be- lieve I would rather do the work with this slight movement than the same amount of work confined to one posi- tion; and the time consumed in this movement is so slight that in this v^y ■ "■^^rr'S.'^ T^v -' 126 ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEtPERS' ASSOCIATION year's work I uncapped nine frames per minute, taking them from one super and returning them to another, and did not work unreasonably fast, either. The objection which is oftenest raised is that Hoffman frames can not be used. Of course it would be desirable to have a machine which would work with any and all frames, if that were possi- ble without too many drawbacks in other ways, but as a general thing the more complicated a machine is made the more impractical and troublesome it becomes; and I have tried to avoid all unnecessary complications, and pro- duce a simple, practical, machine for the use of the extracted-honey produc- er, and I believe there is enough range of adjustment and variation to make it a practical success. As an illustration of the varied re- quirements, if a machine were made to fill the wants of all producers, one man wants the simplest and lightest ma- chine possible to produce, and has trou- ble with his combs not being bulged enough; while another strongly favors the addition of a quick adjustment de- vice for quickly throwing the knives out to a greater width when an extra thick comb is to be uncapped. While it would not be practicable to use the regular Hoffman frame, yet with a chisel the end-bar projections may be cut off, thus saving the combs already built, and producing a frame almost as good as the regular plain frame; and by using the staples in the top-bars the self-spacing feature is re- tained, besides eliminating the old trou- ble of propolization at the points of contact between end-bars. The tendency of the times is toward specialization, and the uncapping ma- chine used in connection with the uni- form equipment which the specialist must have, would come in play, not only as a time and labor saver, but would help solve the problem of secur- ing competent help. One decided advantage which the machine has over the hand -knife is the fact that in order to do good and rapid work with the hand-knife it is neces- sary that the operator be a man rather above the average in capacity and In- telligence, besides having a good deal of previous practice in order to work up the requisite speed and* skill; while- with the machine any common laborer can learn in a few minutes to push the frames through, and do just as good work, and nearly as much of it, as the man having previous practice; or, to put it in another way, the doUar-and- a-half man picked up on the street will take the machine and do more work than the high-priced, skilled hand- uncapper who is sometimes very hard to get. For the bee-keeper with only a few colonies, or with a mixed assortment of frames, a machine of this kind would be of little value, unless the old frames were remodeled or replaced with new; but in many cases the saving in time and labor would in a few years over- balance this expense and trouble, es- pecially as there would be nothing about this special preparation that would in any way hinder or complicate the other work, the tendency being in the line of simplification; a fair illus- tration of this being the case of the farmer, who, a few years ago, ha' one crop on the hill-top, another on the hillside, and probably pastured the rich creek bottom land, with no regu- larity as to size or shape or fields, or position of fences; but as he adopted time and labor saving machinery, found himself forced to straighten fences and creeks, drain the bottom lands and clear up the odd corners, and then found that he could do all his work to so much better advantage that the extra expense and work was *a ex- tremely good investment. While the machine, in its present form, does excellent work, it is, in a measure, still in the experimental stage, and it may be advisable to make some provision for handling the Hoff- man frame, or cutting below the sur- face of the frame, although I am very muctti in favor of the present, light, strong, simple construction, and I do think it will be hard to improve upon either the stationary triangular knives, or the method of pushing the frames in a horizontal direction be- tween the stationary sets of knives. To sum up, the machine as it stands, i I believe, possesses the following de- ' sirable features: Simplicity of construction and op- s eration. ', Light weight and compact design, ; ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 127 making- it easy to carry for out-apiary work. Tilie practical absence of troublesome moving parts. A set of knives' that will uncap only honey that can be extracted. The entire separation of the detached cappings. An easy and rapid method of feeding the com.bs throug'h the machine. Simple and effective guides and ad- justments. L. R. FERGUSON. Mr. Holtermann — With reference to the spacing, I believe we are going to work more and more on this principle of moderately wide spacing; I don't believe it pays to put aiine frames into a tw^elve-frame super. Tihe wider you space, the more sure you will be to uncap; I don't believe it is a good plan to allow those comtos to remain wide; when I uncap, I S'have it down to normal, because if you don't do that, you have very deep cells, and bees don't care to begin on that as well as a shallow one; as they put honey in it, they build out; I sihave that down to about normal, and then tttie bees' will use tttat cell, if anything, a little more readily than if deeper; they will add to it. The secretion of wax is in part voluntary; you will give the bees an opportunity to add to that. I use the staple in the top-bar. The difference is, I use the staple only on one side. If this is the top-bar (illustrating), 1 use the staple on tlhis sdde, and on this (the other end), but not on both sides. Mr. Anderson — ^I use them on both sides; if you have it only on one side, you have twice as long a staple; that is, on this machine. Mr. Holtermann — That machine would suit me. ' ' Mr. Baxter — My bees are not fhat kind of bees; don't work that way; they put tbeir honey in the bee-cells'; I always get lots of wax. Mr. Dadant kYiows, for I sold him over five hundred pounds of beeswax; my bees produce wax, and honey, too. Mr. Holtermann — What is your spacing? Mr. Baxter — I have nine frames in eleven-frame ibrood-chambers. Mr. Holtermann — ^I used eleven to twelve. Mr. Cavanage — I would like to know if any of the bee-keepers her© ever observed the 'bee putting honey in one of tihose deep cells — about like you would have them, in a ten-frame super with eigiht combs? I would like, to know if you have seen the bee deposit honey in one of those deep cells? I>r. Miller — I never have; I never no- ticed it; I never thoug'ht of that point. The honey is put in there, Dut in wftiat position would the bee have to get into to put honey in the bottom of on© of those deep cells? It would be almost impossible for a bee to reach into a very deep ceU. With other spacing, with eight combs in ten-frame super, we would not have as deep cells as that; tihe point is very well taken; there is a question there; I would like to hear from some one who has had experience. Mr. Wiheeler— I have no answer to that question. I know the bees put honey in those deep cells; I have seen honey placed in those cells, and have used those thick frames myself for years, but I don't use them any more. I changed to a narrower frame, similar to the one on that machine. I changed my old wide-frame comb-honey supers to extracting supers; I find they give me the best satisfaction; I can tier them up as higlh as I want to. I would not have a deep frame for ex- tracting super, under any consideration. I would not have a wider one than eight or nine frame. I don't think they cap them over; I don't think the bees like them; that is my impression, from what I saw last summer. The bee would prefer to start on founda- tion, and build tihe wax right frem the start. They have acted that way with me this year. Mr. Holtermann — Did you have a very slow flow? Mr. Wheeler — Well, yes, a moderate flow; sweet clover flow. Mr. Holtermann — Then that makes a difference. Mr. Macklin — ^I would like to have Mr. Ferguson tell us what a machine like that would cost. Mr. Ferguson^ — If I were to figure my time, $50.00 or $75.00 apiece for what I built so far. And I put in a good deal of extra time on tihem, but, so far as the cost would be, were they to be manufactured and put on the market, that would be a matter of guess work. Mr. Huffman — ^Don't you know about what? Mr. Ferguson — I would guess, $20.00; that, of course, depends upon Kow many could be sold; if made and soli --9 ' , ^;rv . ! 128 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE by the thousand, they could be put on the market for, possibly, $10.00 each, but they are something that I realize ■will not be sold very extensively among bee-keepers. How many bee- keepers . are there who •would operate extensively enough to buy one of these machines? Mr. Holtermann — At what figure? Fifteen dollars? A great many. A Member — I would like to ask if that machine can work on a closed- end frame ? Mr. iFerguson — I don't know. My machine will uncap any width, provid- ing you can get tthe comb built beyond the end-bars. Mr. Cavanagh — I think there may be some in the convention that have a wrong impression of that machine; that is not the fault of the machine, that the knives catch on tlhe end-bar; the oomb is built, possibly, a quarter of an inch beyond that end-bar; with us there would be no objection to using that style machine; the comb that he has in the madhine, the surface is even with the end-bar. Mr. Ferguson — I never did any work with it since I re-adjusted it to bring up here. My object was, that the knives would be kept as close as pos- sible toward the end-bar; Ihese combs are cold, and will draw the knives in; that is merely an item of construction — nothing against the theory of the machine. A Member — How does that work w'hen the comb is half full of pollen? Mr. Ferguson — I don't know; I have not tried it on anything but clean ex- tracting frames. Joining the National in a Body. Mr. Thompson — I move that we join the Naional in a body, as before. The motion was seconded. Li. C. Dadant — We have, just now, 47 paid members, and will not have nearly enough, after we pay our hall rent, and the $12.45 that we owe to our former Secretary. We will not have enough to pay Mr. France 50 centsi per mem- ber. What are we going to do ? How can we join the National if we haven't got enough? We need $23.50 with tlhe present membership in order to join the National in a body; and that is the only way to get in for 50 cents. What is best to do? Mr. Kannenberg — The only thing to be done is to raise the dues ; I think $1.50 dues would, perhaps, pay the amount. ,Mr. Baxter — It is impossible. You cannot raise the dues; you can begin to raise for next year. If the mem- bers so far want, voluntarily, to pay an extra 50 cents, all rigtht; it is not right for a few of them to pay and take, for the others, out of the treas- ury. I think the wisest plan is not t« join this year, but to wait until next year. President York — The way to change the Constitution is to order the Secre- tary to give notice to the members thirty days before the next meeting as to what you want to do. If you wish to make a motion to raise the dues to $1.50, you had better make that motion now; then you can talk about raising the fifty cents afterward. Mr. Anderson — I make that motion. Mr. Baxter — I believe our first dues are to this society, and we ought to keep it alive; therefore, I am against joining the National this year. I move that we a.uthorize the Secretary to give thirty days notice next year so that the matter of changing the dues from $1.00 to $1.50 will be brought up. Dr. Miller — How will that notifica- tion be made? Would it not be well to make the notification now? President York — The Constitution requires thirty days notice must be given in order to be legal. Dr. Miller — ^If you notify themi now, would that not be more than thirty days? iMr. Kannenberg — That means those that want to join the National that they have to pay their dollar to the National; if a person here voluntarily wants to join the National for fifty cents can we do that? President York — Not until after we join in a body. We must first take action on joining in a body. IMr. Baxter — I don't believe that; they won't accept it. President York — Yes, they are doing it right along; we join in a body; then as new members come in during the year the Secretary sends fifty cents and keeps fifty cents. President York — We are voting on changing the Constitution next year, so that the dues will be $1.50 instead of $L00. iMr. Huffman — ^Is that the under- standing that we will join the National in a body? ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEElPERS' ASSOCIATION 129 President York — 'Not yet. Mr. Kannenberg — It is necessary that we hold over a year for that changing of by-laws? President York — Yes, that is accord- ing to the Constitution. Thirty days notice must be given before the next meeting. Mr. Whitney — i think if every mem- ber of this Association ha,d done as well as I did we would have had money enough to join in a body at fifty cents a piece; I got a new member to join this Association. I agreed to do it last year, or pay his dollar myself. Now I wonder how many of us did the same thing. If so, we would have twice as many members as we have here now. Mr. Huffman — I would like to sug- gest this, that you let this run one year, I think the motion is all right; if you see fit to adopt it then, you can. I think in the meantime, if this goes on, you will find you will have addi- tional money, because people are get- ting interested in the Chicago North- western. President York — Are you ready for the motion? My idea would be that we make it $1.50 next year; fifty cents for the National, twenty-five cents for the State, and we will have T5 cents per member for ourselves. I think 75 cents will run this Association. The question is whether you will authorize the Secretary to notify the members thirty days before the next meeting of an increase in dues from $1.00 to Jl.50; you can make it at that time $5.00, or twenty-five cents. But this Is the motion now. The motion was put and carried. President York — Now, shall we join send out the notice to members thirty days before the next meeting. President York — Now, shall we join the National in a body this year? Wr. Whitney — Mr. President, when it comes to joining the National, how can we when we don't have money enough to do it? If there are volun- teers enough to pay fifty cents a piece we can join the National; I am willing for myself. The question is, would it not be better to pay the Secretary the fifty cents on top of the dollar and let him send that to the National? Mr. Baxter — iDon't the records show that out of a membership of eighty- five there was twenty- six that didn't pay the extra quarter last year? President York — ^That was for the Illinois State — not the National. Mr. Baxter — That is right. Mr. Lathrop — There are some here that are from other states, like myself; we belong to the National already; I don't see any reason in joining through this Association. I am willing to pay $1.00 here, to be a member of this As- sociation; I am already a member of the National, and always have been ever since I don't know when, and I thing there are quite a few others in the same fix, and they have no occasion to join, here, in a body. We joined in connection with our own iState Asso- ciation. This organization is not a. local organization. It is an organiza- tion of the Bee-Keepers of the North- west. It doesn't seem to be a practi- cal lay out, except for just Illinois people. President York — Let me say, if you are already a member of the National, you would not be affected by this. You would not need to pay again. We can't vote a man in twice; only those whos'e dues are not paid to the Na- tional. I>r. Bdhrer — The Kansas State Bee- Keepers' Association joins the National in a body. It is hardly necessary that I should belong to this Association and then join it again. I would not want to vote on this question, for that rea- son. Mr. Wilcox — I am in exactly the same situation as Dr. Bohrer and Mr» Lathrop. I join, every year, tihe Wis- consin State Association. I am about two years ahead in the National now. I have always paid up fhere; I don't know when I will get even. Dr. Miller — Perhaps it would help a little if we get a little more informa- tion on one point — if you ask those to rise who are willing to pay the extra half dollar, we would know a little better just where we stand. President York — Those who are al- ready paid in advance in the National don't need to vote on this, and don't need to pay another 50 cents. Mr. Baxter — Last year I raised that point, and told tlhe Secretary to with- hold my half dollar, and not send it to the National, and he said it could not be done, and I got a receipt from Mr. France as a member of the Na- tional throug'h this organization, as well as through the State society. Mr. Thompson — I would like to ask ..,^1^^^ ■^. :\-^7^/v* '- -/rT^'"'^ ^j'^S^^'^^P^iT^-^'v -:'mi'~rS' 130 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE here, before this vote is put, if there are not some there that are not mem- bers of this Association? Mr. Kannenberg — How many mem- bers have we in this Association? Secretary — ^Forty- seven. Mr. Kannenberg — Those members that are not paid up, if they are willing to pay that half dollar, then this Asso- ciation can vote them in the National, and not in any other way, unless a single member wants to pay Ihis dollar in the National. President York — If any have paid into the National, our vote doesn't affect them at all; they don't have to pay in here to belong to the National. Mr. Holtermann — I didn't join here this morning; I always have; I go to New York, to Michigan, and to one place and another; it costs me a good deal of money, I am paid up to 1915 in the National; I didn't pay here, but wlhen I find out you are so hard up, I would consider it a favor to be al- lowed to help you to the extent of a member, so here goes; but I think it is quite right that those that are not members should not vote on this ■ question. I feel sorry for you. We ' have got things so well managed in; Canada that we have a $500.00 Gov- ernment grant; it seems your treasury is not in such a good condition. T would advise you all to come to Can- ada! Mr. Baxter — ^Please ask all tihose who are members of the National, that are here, to rise, and then those who are members of this society, to rise. President York — All who have paid for one year in advance in the Na- tional, please rise. Mr. Baxter — I want to know how many members that are paid up in this Association a year ahead, are also paid up one year ahead in tihe National. I want to know how many members that paid their dollar he.'e are also paid up In the National a year. fPresident York — How many mem- bers here have paid their dollar, which w^ill entitle th«m to a membership in thisi society, and also have paid in some otlher society that has made them, members of the National? Mr. Kannenberg — I move that all those rise who are members of this Association. The motion was seconded, and car- ried. A vote was taken. President York — Eleven are mem- bers of the National. Mr. Kannenberg — I move that we join the National in a body, providing we get enough 50 cents to send. President York — The rule is, that we have to send in 50 cents for each of the members we Ihave. What is right, is what the Constitution and By-Laws say. Mr. Baxter — You have got to pay 50 cents for those that don't advance it, also. Mr. Kimmey — I would like to pay my dollar. Let me be a little personal. Last year I think I paid $1.00 here, $1.00 to the State, and $1.00 to the Na- tional. I found, during the year, when the reports were sent out, I got three of everything — tihree receipts, three re- ports— and I suppose it was because imy name was duplicated. It never oc- curred to me that when I came here and paid my $1.00 for this Association, for which I get value received, that, in addition, I was to be a member of the National. It seemed to me I had got my dollar's worth here in this meet- ing. Then, if through the liberality of the National, I was allowed to join with a lot of other men, it did not oc- . cur to me that I got anything extra; that I got any credit in advance. I may have some dues paid up ahead, hut I never so regarded it. I got my dol- lar's worth here in this meeting, and paid for it, and I helped somebody else; helped tIhe National; helped somebody else in getting in for 50 cents. It seems to me we had better vote to join the National in a body, and trust something to luck. The Secreary says we have not got money; if, when he gets hard up, and cannot find a way out, he will write me, I will send him a check for the balance. (Clheering.) Now, don't cheer to» hard. I have no doubt that you will "make good" here. , Dr. Miller — I move we join in a body. Mr. Kimmey — ^I was going to say this: Don't cheer too hard, and think I have done a great thing in offering to send a check, because I don't be- lieve I will have to; if I judge the Secretary right, he is going to get this money somewhere; but I second Dr. Miller's motion that we join the Na- tional in a body. The motion was seconded. President York — You have all heard the motion, that we join the National ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 131 in a body, according to iMr. Baxter, Mr. Huffman, and others; that is, we pay fifty cents for every member who paid $1.00 here. Mr. Huffman — ^We, who are members of this Association and belong to other States," and are paid up in the National, have a right to vote. The motion was put and carried. iMr. HufEman — ^I would suggest that all those who are members here in this Association be so free as to give the Secretary an extra fifty cents; that would make the check so much smaller for indebtedness to send to Mr. Kim- mey. President York then gave the Secre- tary another dollar, a number of others gave $1.00 each, and some 50 cents each, so that in a few nynutes plenty of money was in the treasury to join both the Illinois State and the Na- tional Associations in a body. Mr. Baxter — If I ever get foul brood in my apiary it will have been worth many times more than it cost me to come to this convention, to have been here and heard the discussions. President York — A committee of five, on Resolutions, was appointed. We will listen to their report now. Report of Committee on Resolutions. Whereas, The disease known as foul brood does exist and is rapidly spreading in Illinois; and. Whereas, This disease is highly contagious and infectious, and which, left unchecked, 'has already wiped out many apiaries; and. Whereas, Many of tihe bee-keepers of Illinois have many thousands of dol- lars invested in this industry, and are suffering annually the loss of tons of honey, due directly to the inroads of this disease, being unable to eradicate it under the present conditions; and, Whereas, The foul brood laws of Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, and New York, giving the inspector au- thority to perform his duties in a tlhorough and impartial manner, have been successful in curing and sup- pressing this destructive disease in those States; therefore, be it Resolved, That the Chicago-North- western Bee-Keepers' Association, in convention assembled at Chicago, this 2d day of December, 1909, does petition the honorable members of the Illinois •Legislature to pass an efficient foul brood law similar to that of surround- ing States, providing for a foul brood inspector with the necessary powers, and an adequate appropriation to carry out tIhe objects of the law in a thor- ough and. efficient manner; be it fur- ther Resolved, That we pledge our hearty co-operation with the commit- tee of the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Association in the securing of this law; and, be it further Resolved, That the Secretary be instructed to place a copy of these resolutions in the hands of every member of tihe Illinois Senate and of the House, and also one in the hand of the Governor of the State of Illinois. F. B. CAVANAGH, JACOB HUFKMAN, EMIL J. BAXTER, Committee. The convention then adjourned until 1:30 p. m. Dr. Bohrer — ^I desire to move the adoption of that resolution as read, without amendment; I think it covers the ground precisely, and that is just what you want to do, in order to se- cure this legislation. Place a copy in the hands of the Governor, of every member of the House and Senate, and every bee-keeper. The motion was seconded, and unanimously carried. The following resolution was pre- sented on the death of Mr. R. B. Hol- brook: Whereas, Our beloved brother and member, Mr. R. B. Hollbrook, has been called to his reward; be it Resolved, That, in behalf of this convention assembled, we extend to Mrs. Holbrook our sympathy in this, her great affliction. EMIL J. BAXTER, ; • JACOB HUFFMAN* F. B. CAVANAGH, Committee. The following resolution was also presented on the death of Mr. J. Q. Smith: Whereas, The All-W^ise Providence has taken from our midst our beloved brother, J. Q. Smith; be it Resolved, That we, as a convention, extend to Mrs. Smith our heartfelt sympathy in her bereavement. EMIL J. BAXTER, ^ F. B. CAVANAGH, JACOB HUFFMAN, Committee. Rising votes were taken on the two above resolutions, and each was carried unanimously. ,»._, , ,.,,.. ^,.^.-j ,- -^. ji-~f'"l-'-jts~^-^--^,-'^i^^^^r~^^f^'_--t.^ ,-' 132 NINTH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE SECOND DAY — Afternoon Session. The convention was called to order at 1:30 p. m. President York — Dr. Miller, who is on his way home, left with me a slip, giving the Alexander treatment for American foul brood, in condensed form, which he wrote out this noon; also for the European: Alexander Treatment for American Foul Brood. Make the colony very strong. Take away the queen. Ten days later, destroy the queen - cells and give a virgin queen. For European Foul Brood Treatment. Brush all frames of brood but one. Put beside that one, two empty frames. When eggs are found in one of the empty frames, take away the foul brood comb. Mr. Horstmann — Dr. Miller speaks about making colonies ve)*y strong; now, the question is, how is he going to make them strong? Is he going to unite several colonies? Or how is that to be done? Dr. Bohrer — I did it in this way: Go to a strong colony that can spare some brood, and take brood just emerging from comb, and give it to them; that will reinforce them, and they can build up rapidly. After you have put them on, say, strips of comb foundation from two to four days, then put them on full sheets, and give them brood just as fast as they can take care of it; in that way you will build them up strong. When you find you have American foul brood, you will notice that the colony is very apt to be reduced in numbers, and be- come dispirited. That is one of the first symptoms. I discovered the bees lounging around the entrance of a large Jumbo hive, and I knew that something was wrong; I opened the hive, and found they were infected with foul brood; that was a powerful colony. I put them on strips of foun- dation, and then on full sheets, and they went on and built up, and I saved them, and they are a fine colony to- day. Mr. Cavanagli — I think there is a little danger of being misunderstood if Dr. Bohrer will pardon me. The ob- ject in getting those colonies strong. with European foul brood, is so they may may cheer up and clean that dis- ease out, so that when they are shaken there will not be a back-set. The treatment that Dr. Miller has is for European type, and there is great dan- ger of our confounding the two dis- eases. There is no object in strength- ening the American foul brood colonies, to have them clean it out — they will not do it; but they will clean out European foul brood. Dr. Bohrer — Let that be emphasized — they will not clean out American foul br^ood; don't risk the kind of treatment just mentioned for Ameri- can foul brood; European foul brood will do with that kind of treatment, in all probability; I have no reason to doubt it. Mr. Cavanagh — The Alexander treat- ment is useless in American foul brood. I wish they would cut out the name of one of those diseases — make them dis- tinct and separate, as they really are. In regard to strengthening colonies: In our treatment this summer we used these hive -bodies from diseased colonies in strengthening other weak ones. We kept the diseased combs to- gether, and the healthy combs to- gether; and when we cured them up we cured them together instead of spreading in fresh combs that are not diseased; we make the sickness cure itself. Mr. Baldridge — ^The simplest and best way that I know of for strengthening weak colonies, no matter whether dis- eased or not, is to put them in the place of strong, healthy colonies — ex- change places; in strengthening my bees I have always done that way, of late years. Select a strong, healthy colony and change places with the dis- eased colony; you will not carry the disease into the healthy colony, but you will strengthen the other; I don't believe in taking combs from healthy colonies and giving them to diseased colonies, because you will ruin the combs if you do. You have to melt those up. President York — We discussed this question so thoroughly yesterday I think we would better pass on to the nutnerous questions that we still have for discussion. Apiarian Exhibits at Fairs. "How best to make bee and honey exhibits at fairs?" President York — We have a paper on ::^id ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 133 R. A. MORGAN. that subject by Mr. Morgan, of South Dakota, which I will ask the Secre- tary to read: Secretary Dadant then read the paper of R. A. Morgan, of Vermilion, S. Dak., on Making Bee and Honey Exhibts at Fairs. To such Fair associations as have no buildings for apiary purposes and con- templatje building one, I would suggest the following: A very complete building may be built quite cheaply, and as small as 24 X 32 feet at a short distance from the other buildings, constructed with a walk through the center, and pro- vided with shelves fitted with glass doors for the reception of the honey, both comb and extracted in its dif- ferent packages. Then at the rear of the building have a series of compart- ments screened in with wire cloth, all of which may be viewed either from w^ithin or without, and provided with bee-escapes at the top to be opened or closed at option ; also arranged with openings so that colonies of bees might be given a flight at any time. This rear part of the building is to be en- closed with a wire fence to guard against spectators getting so close to the flying bees as to get stung. First, after we have a building, is to see that you have a large assortment of live bees both in one-frame hives and in full colonies, as live animals are much more attractive than other exhibits. These live bees should be in a separate part of the building, so as not to de- tract from the other parts of the ex- hibit. Again, have the comb honey entirely separate from the extracted, as it also is much more attractive than is the ex- tracted. The same precaution must be taken with each department, and in this way you can have five different departments, all of which may be very good. It is well to remember that the quan- tity of each exhibit adds very much to the interest taken in the general ex- hibit. So, in summing up, I would suggest to make each display separate and as large as possible, and in order of importance as follows: 1st — Iiive bees. 2d — Comb honey. : 3d — Extracted honey. 4th — Bees wax. 5th — An industrial department. Have a little comer where you show hives, extracters, smokers, veils, tools, etc., then remember that the young people, boys and girls, are to make our future bee-men and best customers. T-' Wf fTiBTjfiH' 134 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE Have a good, genial young man or wo- man to take charge of this part of the display, who can actually put a section together, and put in the foundation or wire a frame in a neat and rapid man- ner, and, at the same time, answer many of the questions that will be asked, in a concise and pleasing way. Contrary to the opinions of some, I would use my best endeavors to get all goods put up in the most approved packages, but would insist that all goods should be shown in the package used by its producer, as the package is as much a part of the display as are the goods themselves. In this way a prospective purchaser could determine at once which bee-keeper he would prefer to deal with by his exhibit at the Fair; and, again, the producer could see his own products, and com- pare them with his neighbors', and thereby gain useful information. R. A. MORGAN. President York — Is there any one who wishes to add anything to what Mr. Morgan has said, or comment ■upon it? Who have made exhibits at Fairs? Mr. Holtermann and Mr. Wil- cox. Mr. Wilcox — I have not made ex- hibits of any importance; I have been Judge of exhibits for several years; I have seen a great many very fine ones. Mr. Holtermann — I might say that I think it is a very important point, that of making a display at Fairs. I have not shown any for ten years, but back of that, for fifteen years, I fol- lowed it right up. I feel that I am indebted to any one who makes a good display of bees and honey at a fair. This is a means of bringing attention to honey, and is a good medium of increasing the demand for honey. There are certain things in con- nection with prize lists which I have had in mind for quite a while, and that is, that in putting down that upon which the prize is awarded, there should be as little latitude as possible allowed to the judge to decide. For instance: I was judge of a Flower and Honey Show in Toronto recently; the question came up with regard to a display suitable for a grocer's win- dow, and award given upon it. One of the men claimed that a grocer's space was very valuable in a window. As a rule, I don't think a grocer's space in a window is very valuable; he said the exhibit should be confined to a very small area. That led me to the conclusion that it would be well to limit the space upon which the ex- hibit should stand. Then there was another point: I considered that, in awarding that prize, the kind of package should be considered. What is meant when it says, "Suitable Grocer's Window." I thought the packages should be as large as possible. There was one man who had a pretty exhibit, made of very small stuff, fancy, and I didn't feel like awarding him the prize on that ground. The same way as was mentioned this morning, about bees- wax— there is a diversity of opinion about beeswax. If we are going to give the exhibitor the best chance, we should, as much as possible, make the prize list read so it cannot be misinterpreted, either by the exhibitor or the judge. This matter 6f showing bees at Fairs, I think, should be given as much attention as possible. People who come to Fairs, see these demon- straitions, and talk about them; tell their neighbors about what they saw, and the result is to make the people have the honey brought to their at- tention, and create a demand for it. We could easily sell one hundred pounds of honey, where we are selling one today, and one of the means of doing that is, by making proper dis- plays at Fairs, both State and County. Mr. Anderson^What is a display of honey? I will explain: At a certain County Fair, one gentleman had four jars of extracted white clover honey, all alike; another, three — one of buckwheat, one of wihite clover, and one between the two. Which had the best display; the one that had four of one color, or the one that had three of different colors? • Mr. Holtermann — ^We would not call that a display in our Canadian coun- try. I think the proper way is to specify in a display something as to the quantity which should be shown; that is the way I should say. Some people say if you have it in fancy col- ored bottles, that is a display of honey; that is not a display of honey; that is a display of glass. Now, of course, I don't know just how legally to settle that point; I would give it to the one that had variety, instead of one kind. iv-.-.;*: .. ..:.. .• : ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASiSOCIATION 135 Mr. Wilcox — I "had a friend who was :a prominent exhibitor of flowers, and I asked her to walk around to the honey exhibit and tell me which was the finest display. She happened to come to the same conclusion that I did. She looked at it with reference to the beauty of the display; that the word "display" was intended to con- vey the idea of good' appearance; that is my judgment of it. Some contend that the quality of the honey is what is to be considered. Mr. Holtermann — ^It would seem to me it would be well to give the prize not solely on display — count some- thing on quality and something on dis- play. Mr. Wilcox — Quality does not cut any figure with me on display, because I don't sample the honey. Mr. Holtermann — ^It would if it read, 200 pounds of extracted honey. Mr. Wilcox — ^We give the premium for the best, then; then quality is considered, but not the word display. When it is display, it is attractiveness that counts, arrangement of packages, etc., taken into consideration. Dr. Bohrer — I have been at a num- ber of Fairs, and it has been my lot, also, to judge exhibits at Fairs a num- ber of times, and I have found this to be the case, that the exhibits are not as largely educational at Fairs as they should be. I hold that all exhibits, no difference of what kind, or department of industry it may originate from, it should be for the general benefit and instruction of the people, not simply to take a premium. That is not the only thing; it should be instructive to the people. I have seen, at Lyons, Kans., the bee-keepers' department of our State always have quite an extensive ex- hibit of bees, honey, hives, and bee- supplies of different kinds. Some are instructive, and others are not. For instance: One man had there twenty -different observatory hives; it takes up space, and for no good purpose, that I can see on earth; simply the largest display of observatory hives, and on that they pay a premium. Another man has three different kinds of bees he wants to exhibit, and I even condemn that; I don't want but one kind on my premises. The ex- hibits are oftentimes too massive — too many queens — too many bees — too many observatory hives — one fellow tries to get a little ahead of the other one. Another thing that I condemn, and I told them at the Topeka State Fair that they were simply wastin'g money in hiring men to go there for no good purpose. A man came there and stood in a cage arid talked for three long hours, and if he said one word that was instructive to the people, I don't know wha4; it was. He didn't say one word to the people who attended that Fair that they could understand. The impression that he sought to make was, that he had some wonderful magnetic influence over the bees that no one else possessed, it seemed. I don't want to see anything of that kind at a Fair; it is of no value what- ever. He should have gone on to ex- plain the reason why — he could have done it in two minutes. Mr. Holtermann — The fault was not with the prize list there, or with the demonstration, but with the man. President York — That was in Kan- sas, was it not? Maybe "locality" had something to do with it! (Laughter.) Dr. Bohrer — It was in Kansas, but not a Kansas man who did it. I won't say whether he was from Illinois or not! (Laughter.) These exhibits can be made instructive to the people. It is one way of letting the world know what we are producing in the different States, to show them at the different Fairs, County and State. When we have a County Fair out there, men bring hogs, cattle, horses, and things that I didn't know were in existence in the county at all. It is so with the bee-business all over the country. People are surprised when they come there and see so much honey, and so many bees. In Kansas, about thirty- six years ago, when I located in Central Kan- sas, a colony of bees could not exist there without being fed, I was satis- fied it was not adapted to bee-keeping at that time. Today it is getting bet- ter every day, and we have the grand- est display you ever saw of alfalfa honey, short of California or Colorado. They are older than we are, and have got more of it. But what I would aim at is, to make your exhibits profitable and instructive to the people; do away with all fraud in the exhibiting of bees; let the people know just how things are done. 136 NINTH ANNUAI^ REPORT OF THE Joining the Illinois Association. Mr. Baxter — Does this Association want to affiliate with the Illinois State Association? There is one advantage, I think, in doing so; it is this: The reports of this, the National, amd the Illinois State Associations, are pub- lished in a nice little book, bound in cloth, and you can refer to it when- ever you want to. I am bringing this up now, as I am going soon. President York — You will get three "■ reports in one, and they will take us in as a body at twenty -five cents a piece; that book alone is worth $1.00; a full report of the Illinois^ State, of this con- , vention, and of the National, all in one book. If you are a member you can get it. What will you do about it? Mr. Hortsmann — I move that we join in a body, the Illinois State Associa- tion, at twenty -five cents a member. Have we money enough? President York — I think the Secre- tary said we lacked about a dollar. Dr. Bohrer — ^I don't know that that would strike me at all; I was down tluere to the convention; I can pay a quarter if they need it; but they said I was made a member of that Associa- tion, whether an honorary member or . not I don't know. The motion was seconded and car- ried. Cyprian Bees. "Has any one tried Cyprian bees, ,- and how are they liked?" How many have tried Cyprian bees, : raise your hands? (Four.) How do you like them? Mr. Cavanagh — I like them pretty well. We had some comb honey that we didn't use; I left it stand in the yard, forgot to bring it in. I was working up things around the yard, kind of lazily; was not paying very much attention as to how I handled - the bees, and they were very much • more interested in that comb honey than in me. I put the comb honey away, and they got busy on me. I had twenty-five stings, or thirty perhaps, before I got the hive I was working on under control. Usually they handle very nicely. Dr. Bohrer — ^Did you ever get control of them? Mr. Cavanagh — Yes, I did, most of them. Some of them were firmly im- bedded in my trousers. I got them under control after a while. They were supposed to be Cyprians and Italians. The original stock came from Texas; I think from the Atchley's, I was told by the man of whom I purchased the bees, but as to which were Cyprians, I could not tell by the markings. He asured me that certain of them were Cyprians. Mr. Baxter — ^They have some good colonies and they have some pretty poor colonies. I know mine were Cyprians; they are very good. They breed up fast — make good strong col- onies. If you open a colony in the morning, you have them following you over the yard all day, I don't care how long the day is; you can't get rid of them until night comes. They are the worst stingers I ever saw; I would rather handle a hive of hornets, any time, than Oyprians. I got rid of them. There is no use to belong to a so- ciety unless you get some good out of it. I am in the market for some good Italian queens. I would like to get in touch with some breeder who can give me the genuine leather-colored Italian. I have bought some several times and am satisfied I got Cypria'ns for Italians, although the dealers I bought them of are supposed to he honorable, straight- forward, square men. I believe they sold me Cyprians; they act the same way; they breed up the same way. They are fine bees, but I don't want them on my place. I would rather have lost a hundred dollar bill than to have had that stock on my place. I am in the market for some good Italian queens;, the genuine characteristic of the Italian is docility. Mr. Holtermann — ^I would agree with all that Mr. Bsixter has said, though it is not very often that we catch Dr. Mil- ler making a mistake, but when I read? in the American Bee Journal that Cyprians and Italians were very much the same, I think Dr. Miller made a mistake. There are one or two other traits the Cyprians have; they will keep breed- ing long beyond the time that it is really desirable that they should. The Carolians will tide through periods of no honey-flow and keep on breed- ing, which is an advantage, but when you get a bee that will keep on breed- ing long after the flow season, it gets to be a positive disadvantage. Another thing, with smoke, you can handle the Cyprian bee if you are care- ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEE'PERS' ASSOCIATION 137 ful and make no mistake, and at the right time she will handle just as well as the Italian, but if you happen to make a slip you cannot' subdue them with smoke; it is quite impossible, and they will follow you, not only around the yard, but through two or three dark rooms, into a light room, and sting you. Some years ago some one recom- mended to me a Cyprian queen mated with an Italian drone; those bees par- took of the temperament of the drone; I found those bees as gentle as Caro- lians; you can't keep them there, and, as Mr. Baxter said, I don't want a particle of Cyprian blood among any of my bees; you can detect it, if only to a slight degree. Dr. Bohrer — I want to supple- ment what the gentleman pre- ceding me said with regard to the temperament of the Cyprians. I don't think that the average bee-keeper has any real use for them, because there are other varieties that are so much better. It would be hard for me to believe they didn't have a whole lot of stings instead of one a piece. I have smoked them, and have loaded them down with honey, but it didn't make them good natured at all. I caged the queen; put her in the ihive, and left them, and in due time I lib- erated that queen, but got stung badly every time. The best thing is to give them an Italian queen and get rid of iUtie stock as soon as you can. A hornet is not in it; they act half way decent. Cyprians are not half as decent as the hornet. r Mr. Cavanag'h — I want to say one or two good words for the Cyprians. They are good honey gatherers, and they resist European foul brood very well; also the Caucasian bees are good re- sisters. They are equally as good as the golden Italian; however, I am not sure of my stock, which are the Cyp- rians and which the golden Italians, so my judgment does not amount to very mudh. Keeping More Bees. "Is it better to keep more bees, or to keep less bees better?" Mr. Cavanagh — It is better to keep more bees, and keep them better; it can be done. • Mr. Holtermann — There is no doubt there are a great many bees in the country that should be kept better than they are. Mr. Baxter — It all depends upon the capacity of the bee-keeper; if he can't keep more bees better, he better keep a few bees and keep them better; but if he is able to keep more bees, the should keep them and keep them better, and he will do better. Dr. Bohrer — I am so much in favor of all bees being kept well; I don't like to sell a colony of bees to any person who does not understand the habits of bees and can take care of them. It is a sort of loss to bee-keepers of the country to sell bees to people who know abso- lutely nothing about bees. There is one of the fruitful forces at work in tihe spreading of foul brood all over the country. I won't sell a colony to my neighbor, unless he will learn how to take care of them and attend to the business carefully. Mr. Kannenberg — That reminds me of a colony of bees I sold la^ spring to a lady. She was awfully inclined to learn about bee-keeping, but I tell you, that all summer long I had to do the business for that woman, to 'keep her a going; she would telephone me every little while: "Mr. Cavanagh, what is the matter with my bees?" and that is the way it kept on, and when they com- menced to swarm I told her how to hive them, and the bees came out at 8 o'clock in the miorning, and she thouglht they would go back them- selves; she left them hanging until 11 o'clock, or about noon, and then the bees flew off, and 5 minutes afterward she telephoned me that "the bees are all gone; they didn't go back into the hive." Mr. Wheeler — I don't like to take too mudh credit to myself, but I sent that lady to Mr. Kannenberg! Pres. York — Mr. Hutchinson was asked to write a paper along this line. The secretary will please read it at this time. The following is the paper written by Mr. W. Z. Hutchinson, of Flint, Mich. : Intensive Versus Extensive Bee- Keep- ing. Tour Secretary has asked me to give a short paper on. "Is it better to keep more bees, or to keep less bees better?" This question could be an- swered in four words: "It depends upon circumstances." It may be worth while, however, to consider the cir- cumstances. jTf^^xr'-\^ /■-\'' ''>-?jt-c'»*T/^i:" ^ 'J-- ^ ,r •.•v''^-r^f^-rr*-'r'- ''7\^--.s'^^£'"- *" ' . - ;\f •.>."'-R^^?i!?^-^ T\^--.s'^^£'"- *" ' . - ;\f •.>."'-R^^?ifS 138 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE W. Z. HUTCHINSON. There is an inference in the query, and it seems to be quite generally be- lieved, that the man who "keeps more bees" must, necessarily, neglect them. Not so. He may not give so much time to each colony as does the man with a few bees, but he gives all of the time that is necessary, with his system of management. In fact, the man with several apiaries, one who is making a sole business of bee-keeping, is much less likely to neglect his bees than the man who has bees mixed with some other busdness. To the man who bestows every possible care on a few colonies of bees, the short-cut methods of extensive bee-keeping ap- pear to be slipshod, while the exten- sive bee-keeper looks upon the plans of the former as fussy. The truth is, that both men may be doing what is best for them. As regards intensive versus exten- sive methods, bee-keeping has often been compared to farming or garden- ing, and the illustration is a fair one. Where' land is high in price, as near a large city, the farmer, or gardener^ cani't afford to produce the ordinarsrV, crops, such as hay, com, or potatoes; | he must raise strawberries, or some ^ kind of garden-truck, and he can af- ford to use every possible means of securing the greatest possible results from an acre of ground. He can plow and re-plow, and cultivate, and pile on the manure, because the products will sell for a large price, and the land costs so much that it is profitable to use it for producing crops, only by getting the greatest possible returns. A man better spend all of his time and money upon a single acre, for instance, then to spread them over two acres, because the rent for the additional acre would make a big hole in the profit. But let us go out West, where land is cheap; where the rent for a acre is almost nominal. After a man has put an acre into wheat or corn, using ordinary care, there is more profit for him to put in another acre in the same manner, instead of putting that much more labor upon the first acre. It is exactly the same with bee- keeping. The man with a few colonies on a city lot can afford to spend con- siderable time on each colony if, by so doing, he can greatly increase the returns. But let no one think for one moment that a great amount of care bestowed upon a few colonies can ever make the profits equal those from a large number of colonies cared for in ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 139 the manner that is best for the man- agement of bees in large numbers. Let us put the matter in another form: Let us suppose that a man is going to devote his whole time to the keeping of bees, desiring to secure the largest possible profits, in which di- rection cam he work with the greatest hopes of success, that is, by "keeping more bees, or less bees better?" Per- haps this might depend upon whg.t we consider "less bees" or "more bees." For illustration, however, we will sup- pose that the man has 100 colonies. Now, then, shall he spend his whole time on these colonies, packing them up in the spring; feeding them; shift- ing about the combs of brood; taking away individual sections as soon as finished, or extracting as soon as a few combs are filled, or any of the thou- sand and one things that are supposed to increase the crop — in short, shall he turn his whole time and talents and capital into securing the greatest pos- sible amount of honey from 100 col- onies, or shall his energies be turned in the direction of short-cut methods that will allow him to care for another 100 colonies, either in his home apiary, or placed out two or three miles? I suppose this is the real chit of the question. I can answer it without theorizing. I can answer it in a concrete way. For a score of years I have been visiting bee-keepers in this country, traveling from ocean to ocean, from Minnesota to Missouri, and those bee- keepers who have made the most money have kept bees in large num- bers. W. Z. IHiUTCHINSON. Mr. Wilcox — Tihat exactly agrees with my sentiments. I was about to express them before the paper was read. I have tried both plans; I kept 300 colonies of bees, and finally went down to 30, with tihe idea that I was going to keep them exceedingly well. When I had 300 colonies, I gave them better care and had a better yard per colony; when you get down to a very few colonies, your mind is on some other business; you are not thinking of yotir business, and not taking care of your bees as you should. If you are going to devote your whole time to bees, you want enough to occupy your time. If you have but a few colonies, you will have your attention and time diverted to som6thing else. Getting Extra Combs. "What is the best method of get- ting extra combs?" Mr. Wilcox — The presumption is, that they want extra combs in order to Change from comb to extracted honey; that is usually the case, or they would not wish extra combs, and I have advised using full sheets in the brood-chamber; put the bees on tihat, and set the combs on that to extract from, placing the queen below until well establis'hed. In that way you have your old combs, if they are strong enough, to extract from. The objec- tion to that is, that the old combs are supposed by many to give poorer grade of 'honey tihan clean white combs. I am not sure that is a fact, but, at any rate, I know people some times object to it on that ground. Mr. Lathrop — I have a great many extracting combs in comparison to the number of colonies I keep. In accu- muaatiing those combs, I often do it by putting two full siheets of foundation in the extracting super, right in the honey season; instead of giving them a super of comb, I put in five combs and two sheets Of foundation; that would be seven combs to an eigiht- frame super. In that way I have ac- cuimulated a great many combs — nice combs, too. I think there Is no capital that pajys better than to have a nice lot of extracting combs, in good shape. Mr. Holtermann — There is a way I have used. We often have extracting combs, and want to get more. Now, we spoke this morning of spacing; that is, to use ten combs in space of twelve (for instance); if I want to get more in the honey- flow, I put, say, six combs in a super, and then the re- maining ones, foundation. The bees w^ill not work on foundation, and draw out that foundation as readily as where the spacing is beyond the nor- maJ. I suppose most of us know, but, for the edification of any one who might read this later, it is n6t advisa- ble to put alternate foundation and drawn-out comb; the tendency is for the bees to draw out the comb into space where the foundation is, so we like to keep together the foundation. There is a point there in connection with that spacing that is important; as I said before, the bees will not work on foundation and draw out that foun- dation as readily where the space is- beyond the normal, so that when I want /■Vi<:k\;^te:j^3i;^j;it^,OJiiji^,:'^^^E;»^ / ".?.iV--"--.V_ .^ ■J<- s^.^:-'Ji^x,^::. ^'rl ' 7%^ 140 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE to draw out foundation, I space nor- mal, and then, after that, spread. You will find the bees don't draw out that foundation when it is beyond the nor- mal. It is a mistake, I think, to put nothing but foundation in the supers. The tendency is for the bees to swarm out; they are less inclined to do that tlian if you put partly drawn out comb and partly foundation. Pollen in Extracting Combs Affecting Honey Flavor. "Does pollen in extracting combs affect the color or flavor of the honey •when extracted?" Mr. Wilcox — According to .my expe- rience, there is not liable to be very much pollen in extracting-combs, un- less the queen has access to them. If you use a queen- extracting honey- board, the pollen will not be placed in the extracting-combs, and it is natural ifor the bees to place their pollen be- low, if there is room for it. If you give them two-story hives, and give them access to two stories, you will find it full of pollen below, and honey above; they will not carry the pollen up into the extracting-combs unless the queen has access to it. Getting Pollen Out of Combs. "What is the best method to get pollen out of combs?" Mr. Cavanagh — Where there is plenty of brood, the bees will clean it out, even if pollen be left in the combs over "winter for some reason. Mr. Huffman — I think that is "lo- cality." Mr. Wheeler — I would like to hear from Mr. Baldridge again, to find out something about how miany tried his method last summer, that ibe gave us last year. I didn't try it. He said, take a toothpick, or anything of that kind, and disturb the pollen in the cell, and the bees would carry it out. Mr. Baldridge — My honey is all comb thoney, and I want my comb honey free from bee-bread. I use the shallow frames, but have used the Langstroth, and don't see much difference. I get a good deal of bee-bread, especially when working on dande'lion, and I can secure those combs entirely free from T>ee-bread by looking them over, and breaking down the cell with a tooth- pick or a match. There may not be a dozen cells of bee -bread in a standard 'Comb, but it is objectionable to sell a comb with that bee-bread in, and it is a good idea to know how to have it re- moved by the bees. Mr. Holtermann — This matter of pollen in the combs is quite an impor- tant point, and one man said that lo- cality had something to do with it. I, at one time, tlhough't that locality had something to do with it; it may, but I am satisfied that management has much imore to do with it. In telling you the way to get poU'^n out of combs, I am going to answer it in a way, at least, as I see it, that you won't expect to get the answer. And the way to get pollen out of combs is, to keep laying queens in the hive all the time, and have the bees use it up about as fast as they bring it in. By that, I mean that where colonies are run under the swarming impulse, there is an accumulation of pollen, and an excess, which is not tbe case wihere the queen is kept vigorous continually. I use a twelve-frame hive, but I have rarely seen a cell Of pollen in the ex- tracting supers. I remember, my father-in-law, who has now retired, was continually cutting out combs of pollen, and I thought it was locality; finally I satisfied myself thoroughly it was owing to a difference in manage- ment; he run on the swarming im- pulse; where a queen is kept vigorous, you don't have that trouble, as far as I can judge. Mr. Cavanagh — I must agree with Mr. Huffman, that locality has a great bearing on the presence of pollen in combs. I ran bees one summer in Wisconsin; there is a great difference in the amount of pollen stored. The man I purchased my bees of said he melted up comb after comb of pollen; the question was, (how to get it out. There is no question but that locality has some bearing on it. Mr. Holtermann — From what source .did the bees gather the pollen, mostly? Mr. Cavanagh — I could not say from, what source the pollen was gathered. The honey- flow there was sthort. I suppose, for want of something better to do, the bees stored pollen. Mr. Huffman — I want to know how to iget rid of it; with us, as Mr. Cav- anagh says, in Wisconsin, we have that one great trouble. We put on the super, and when we come to get the bees ready for winter, we find the combs are nearly half full of pollen. ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 141 and we ihave to take them out and put in honey instead. Mr. Holtermann — What system? The swarming system? Mr. (Huffman — No, sir, no swarms at all; I tried to avoid that all that I can, "but it seems that, in our section of the country, we have so much dan- delion; that is where they get this pollen. We have prolific queens, and all that, yet, in spite o^f it, they will fill that comb. I saw an article that said to soak those combs in water, and then give them to the bees; I don't know whether that is effective. Mr. Wheeler — It has been my expe- rience, by putting the toees in the win- ter in a damp cellar, the pollen would ferment; in the spring wlhen you take them out, it becomes dry, and the bees take it out and empty the combs. I don't see that it hurts them at all. Mr. Thompson — I find that the pollen stored in good honey-comb comes in a season of dearth; some seasons we have only about six weeks or two months of honey-flow, tihen we have a dearth, and the bees want to get ac- tive, and thiey get all the pollen they can find and fill up the combs. Mr. Wilcox — ^I always have an excess of pollen; it comes after the honey- flow is over; I never trouble myself about it further than to see tfhat I have honey instead of pollen to put in wintering colonies; I look out after that, and give them honey enough. Mr. Huffman — What do you do with the comb that has pollen in? Mr. Wilcox — The toees will take it out in t/he spring, when they go to rearing brood. Mr. Cavanagh — The presence of pol- len in the brood-chamber has a great bearing on fcees in the spring; I be- lieve Mr. Huffman spoke of taking that pollen out in the tall of the year. I came to grief last spring by not having the pollen in, at a time when the bees did not fly, and thy wanted that pol- len. I believe my colonies went down on account of Uhe lack of it. Mt. Huffman — I don't want you to undersatnd that I took it all out; I took it out in part. I leave a couple of frames with pollen in; but I would have hives that, four out of five, were nearly full of poller;. You know that is detrimental. Divisible Hives. "Has any one present had any ex- perience with divisible hives, as per Mr. Heddon?" Mr. Wilcox — ^I want to say that I am not authority on this subject. I tried it in the days w'hen Mr. Heddon first invented the 'hive, and then abondoned it, because, all things considered, I didn't like it. It had some advantages, but more disadvantsiges; I completely ahandoned it. Mr. Wheeler — I wish to say that I have used the Heddon hive for over twenty years, and have at present 500 colonies of 'bees in them. I would un- der no consideration change and go back to the old style. I>r. Bohrer — In the summer, it may be well enough to use it, but, for out- door w^intering, I never have found it satisfactory at all. Mr. Heddon sent me one from Michigan some forty odd years ago, and I didn't like the hive at all; I could not use it, and I think the majority of bee-keepers who tried it feel the same way. I don't say not to try it; I believe in trying a whole lot of things, and then you can see which you like the best. Mr. Cavanagh — In view of tfoe fact that management and hives go to- gether, I would like to have Mr. Wheeler tell us something about his management of the Heddon hive. President York — The question Is, how do you keep bees, Mr. Wheeler? Mr. Wheeler — That is a pretty deep question; tlhat is too much for me. You would not have the time nor the patience to listen to mie. Mr. CEJoltermann^ — Before we leave this question, I may say that I, too, tried the Heddon hive, and didn't find it satisfactory; but w^e must always remember this: I realize it, that we may have made a failure of a thing because we didn't know how to run it. I found the same thing witttii the Camiolan bees. I pronounced them a failure once. I don't like to say so very often, but I have a sort of sneak- ing affection for that divisible brood- chamber system; I have not one, but consider the subject a question well worth studying. Mr. Wheeler — I wish to say that I went into the Heddon hive rather ex- tensively to start with; by years of careful work and study, my plan Is entirely different than Ihe gives in his hook of handling hives; I would not 142 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE say entirely different, but it is differ- ent. A great imany things that he omitted, I put in, and a great many things I have left out that he had in his book; but I use ihis hive just as Ihe sent me a sample, over twenty years ago, and there is not a thing about it I would change today, except, possibly, the top and bottom-bars are a little shallow. A good many say, "How do you iget those frames out of there?" Mr. Heddon didn't tell us. When I want to get those frames out to extract, I use the old method that I>r. Miller invented. Another point: I don't use the tlhumb- screw; I leave a space and crowd them against one an- other. I can get any frame out I please. Mr. Whitney — What do you run for, extracted or comb? Mr. Wheeler — Both. Mr. Wilcox — The question was shal- low hive — it was not the Heddon hive. A hive I made was of my own inven- tion, on the Langstroth plan, to be used, one, two, three, four, or live stories high, as I chose. It was made just large enough so it could hold 4% -inch sections in the frame; you see, they are shallower than the Hted- don hive, only about 4% inches, out- side measure. I used them very much as I would use the L^ngstroth hive. Mr. Wheeler — I want to speak of one thing, and that is just where so many of these men have fallen down with their divisible brood-dhamber hive; it is the fact that they use a hanging frame. That closed end- frame is the whole secret of it. I don't shake my bees out; you can't do it; I could not. I have a way of taking my hive in my han-d, and thumping one end of it on soft ground; change it, and thump the other, and in a short time you can take every bee out of the hive without injuring the comb; but you can't do tlhat Tvith the Langstroth frame. Mr. Wilcox — Somebody in the Amer- ican Bee Journal described the jounc- ing process, by "Rambler." I tried it, and have tried it ever since; when I* want to take off extracting combs, I throw the empty comb down on that, and I have no trouble in getting out the bees, Mr. Wheeler — The reason that I like this divisible brood-chamber ihive, and its being shallow, is, because, with smoke, I drive tKe bees to the bottom of the super and open the top of the hive. I can sihake the whole Siwarni. out while I am talking to you. You can't do tlhat in the Langstroth hive; the bees get about the middle, and you can smoke and smoke, and there . will be the young bees and, possibly, the queen, and you can't get them any farther down; that is the trouble with a deeper-frame hive. Size of Hives. "Which is the better, ai;i eigM or ten-frame hive? Or does locality make a difference?" Mr. Dadant — Go on to the next one. President York — How many here prefer to use an eight- frame hive? (Five.) President York — How many would use a ten-frame hive in preference to an eight? (Fifteen.) Mr. Whitney — ^Will you put the question, "How many prefer to use the nine-frame?" President York — How many? (One.> President York — How many prefer to use a larger ttidve than ten-frame? (Five.) Mr. Kannenberg — If I intended to run for comb honey, I would prefer the eight; if, for extracted honey, I would rather have the ten. I think there are a good many that way. President York — How many think locality makes a difference? (F^ve.) President York — iHtow many think locality does not? (Ten.) Mr. Horstmann — I didn't ask that question, but I think it does not make any difference whetiher you use on eight or ten, either for comb or ex- tracted— not a bit. I have used them for comb and extracted. Tf you want to get fancy comb honey, I think the eight-frame hives have a little advan- tage. If a bee-keeper is a good, big, strong man, it would be all right for him to use a ten-frame hive; if he does not want to carry sudb a load, then the eight-frame would give him just as good service. Mr. Cavanagh — The question with me is, if there were eight ten-frame supers set out on the ground, or ten eigiht-frame supers, which would I rather carry in? I would carry in the eight ten-frame supers, that is why I want the ten-frame hive. Mr. Anderson — ^I have used eight and the ten for about iforty-two years; the past summer my ten-frame-hives colonies did the majority of the work. ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 143 Mr. Holtermann — I tlhink if a bee- keeper doesn't want heavy-weight hives, he should go into a poorer lo- cality! Mr. Cavanagh^ — Answering Mr. Hol- termann, I would say that it is not the amount o£ honey I object to carrying in, but I don't like to carry in those eight-frame hives; it is the lumber I object to. Mr. Holtermann — This gentleman is a man after my own heart; be feels enthusiastic about this subject. The time was when I would admit that an eight-frame hive was better for comb honey than a twelve or larger, but I won't admit it any longer, for the sim- ple reason that the larger hives — you take an apiary with twelve-frame Mves, and take one with eight-frame hives, and you will have just as much', if you imanage right, in proportion, for full twelve-franies as eights in the fall of the year; that being the case, you winter equally as well, and will have more bees to begin with in the twelve than in the eight; therefore, the bees can rear, in proportion, more brood, and you have more bees there ready for your comb honey-flow, or ex- tracted, whichever it may be; you have as many supers full of comb honey from the ten as the eight, and, of course, there are more sections' in the ten. I think this gentleman is perfectly correct, and, as Mr. Anderson says, the ten-frames are better than the eight. Mr. Wilcox — I was' going to say I endorse what Mr. Holtermann has said, and there is one point we might emphasize, I think, in the ten-frame hive — there are more bees; they have more honey in the spring to commence with; they require less, care, and watching, and attention; rearing more bees, when the honey season comes they will store more honey, and I don't see any disadvantage whatever in having the ten-frame hive in prefer- ence to the eigJit. The eight-frame hive, for the production of comb honey, in a district where all is white clover, might be preferable, because you must get just as many bees as' you can be- fore the honey harvest commences; but, in a locality like that in which I live, where the (harvest is more or less through the whole season, from the middle of June to the middle of Sep- tember, I will have the larger hive. I am satisfied as' to this, because I have 'many of both kinds in use all the ■wiMle. I get more bees, consequently, more honey. Mr. Horstmann — I can't see any rea- son in the world' why you cannot get as many bees in the eight-frame hive as in the ten, working on Dr. Miller's plan. Any one who knows anything about getting bees ready for the honey- flow will not confine the colony to eight-frames. I never do. I have used the double ihive-bodies in the spring until the honey-flow starts. The question is, what constitutes an eight- frame hive? Mr. Cavanagh — ^We use two bodies— ten-frame or twenty-frame hive — to get our bees in shape to get honey when the honey- flow comes. I don't tihink the eight-frame hive is large enough to build them up. Mr. Whitney — I want to refer to the report of last year's proceedings here; we settled that question about an eight or ten-frame hive last year; re- fer to last year's report, and you will settle that question! President York — Which is the better, the ten-frame Langstroth, or ten or twelve-frame Jumbo, regardless of weight? How many consider the ten- frame Langstroth the better? Raise your hands! (Seven.) Presidenit York — How many think the ten or twelve-frame Jumbo the better? (Six.) Dr. Bohrer — I voted on the last question; I should have voted on the other the same way. For some pur- poses I like the ten-frame Langstroth best, and for other purposes I prefer the Jumbo. The Jumbo is the best hive for wintering on a summer stand. I never carry one of them into the cellar; pack them out-of-doors, and the stores are in the rear of the bees and above them, so I never had a colony starve to death with plenty of honey in the hive, because it is) above them and in the rear of them. I have lost bees in both the eight and ten- iframe hives. If I intended carrying the hive into the cellar, I would prefer to carry an eight-frame. Then I have another hive — a fourteen-frame. That is too big to carry in the cellar, so I pack them carefully, or else watch them from time to time during the winter. I prefer one for one purpose, and another for another purpose. Right here I want to say, I have to' start in a few minutes; my train: —10 . > ;^*^^^ - ■ ,iAt7 i.srvv" -:»'*-- rs^^:;r^ '^iVy^-' 144 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE leaves for Kansas City at about 6:00 p. m. I am glad that I have had the privilege of meeting with you one time more, and I think it has been the most interesting session I have ever been present, out of the three. Every- thing that has been discussed has been discussed in a very able way, and in an exhaustive manner. The question, above all others, that brought me here, is one that I think is of most importance to American bee-keepers today, and that is the matter of foul brood. I do admire the way you have handled this question here. There has been no antagonism manifested; it has' been handled by men in a becoming manner, and the resolutions you have adopted are cer- tainly reasonable, and I firmly believe you are going to get the law you want; you may not get exactly the law that will suit you at first. We have now, in the State of Kansas, a banking guarantee law; while we are getting along with it, it is not what we want, and when our Legislature meets, we will have it amended. You can do the same with your bee-keepers' law. If you don't get just what you want, go before your Legislature and ask them, in a becoming manner, to give you what you require; state what your needs are to them very plainly, and you will get attention. I thank you, one and all, for the at- tention you have given me, and the invitations I have had to meet with you, and if I never meet with you again, I wish you all well. President York — How many are at this convention that were at the first meeting of the Nothwestern? Mr. BaldTidge — I don't remember, but I think I was. Mr. Wheeler — I think I was. President York — Mr. Baldridge and Dr. Bohrer were at the first meeting of the National, in 1871. Super for Jumbo Hive. "In the use of the Jumbo hive, is it advisable to use a ten-frame super or the eight-frame?" Mr. Holtermann — If anything, I would use the wider. Mr. Wilcox — I would use the wide super, if I used the w^ide hive, even if I had to run the sections crosswise af t/he frames. Mr. Huffman — In using the wider, w(hat would you use for cover, the same as over the hive, or have extra? Will the same cover fit both? Mr. Holtermann — I use the same. The question is, the matter of lessen- ing the width; I said, if anything, I would use it wider, not narrower. Doolittle Method of Preventing Swarm- ing. "Has any one tried the Doolittle method of preventing swarming? Also, is it practical in running for ex- tracted honey in out-apiaries?" President York — Raise your hands, those who have tried it! (One.) Mr. Cavanagh — I was not just sure whether you said extracted or comb honey. President York — Extracted. Mr. Cavanagh — I tried it with comb honey, so that I could not answer that. Alfalfa As a Nectar- Yielder in Illinois. "Is there any nectar in alfalfa clover in Illinois?" Mr. Wlhiitney — I visited an apiary at Barrington last July, and the bees were working on alfalfa very vigor- ously. I was surprised to see them working it as vigorously as they were. Mr. Holtermann — ^Were they storing? Mr. Whitney — Yes, the man who had charge of a number of colonies there told me he thought he could take ofC a thousand pounds tttien. Mr. Thompson — In 1908- there was alfalfa enough gathered by some col- onies of mine so that the alfalfa flavor was pronounced in the honey. I was not looking for it; therefore, I don't know where it came from, but the flavor w^as' there. Mr. Kannenberg — I have tried it; I had a little experience. I sowed some alfalfa, and watdhied it patiently to see if the bees would go at it, to see If there was any nectar in it. I didn't see five bees on that batch of alfalfa. I don't think there is any alfalfa in this ■part of the country. Mr. (Holtermann — I would say that there is a small field of alfalfa near us, and imy neighbors say that they repeatedely saw the bees thick on it. Tlhie question is, do they gather the honey when they are working on it, or are they simply hunting for it? Mr. Huffman — I will say this in re- gard to alfalfa: As a rule, when it first blossoms, there rs no honey In it; about the time you want to make the hay and cut it down, and then let it ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 145 -Stand a couple of weeks, you wiW find ihe bees will gather quite a little honey from it. Mr. Holtermann — Don't you think the season imiakes a great difference? Mr. Huffman — I do. Mr. Holtermann — With us, in On- tario, they worked on it this year quite a dittle, and I think about four or five years ago, they were on it quite conspicuously, and the other years you could scarcely see a bee on it; so I am satisfied it is probably the same here as with us. Once in a wQidle the 'bees will work on it, but with us it is only now and then — scattering seasons — where they work on it. Mr. Trickey — I live in an alfalfa region, and have for twenty-odd years Ijeen in the bee-business. I have seen alfalfa fields, with bees very thick on it, the first crop, and just across the wire fence you could not find a bee in tihe next field; maybe, on the second crop, the bees would be busy in the other field, and there would be none on this one; so, as to whether alfalfa will furnish honey or not, I think it depends a great deal upon the condi- tion of the soil, weather conditions, etc.; moisture, and other things, all combined. "Mr. Kannenberg — I knew Of tibe time when it was stated here in this convention, that alfalfa w^ould not have any nectar on this side of the Missis- sippi. President York — I remember that. Late Re-Queening of Colonies. "Is it advisable to renew queens in Septeonber, October or Novemiber, when queenless, or wait until spring?" Mr. Wilcox — ^If they are queenless in SeptemlDer, I should give them a queen. I would not in November, because it is too cold and too late. Producing Honey Without Separators. "Has any one present any experience dispensing with separators when run- ning for comb honey?" President York — How many produce comb honey without separators? Raise your hands. (Three.) Mr. Whitney — I have not very much to say; I have S'aid, tw^o or three times, through the papers wlhiat I have to say on this subject. I see in the American Bee Journal, Mr. Morrison is quoted as having stated that good section honey can be produced without separators. I read a paper here last meeting on that subject, and I quoted Mr. Morrison, and I see he has' stated it again, that it can be done. I know it oan be done. I have sold thiousands of pounds of It, produced -without separators; but you can't do it with 1%-inch or 2-inch wide section; the thinner sections will do it, if you have a good, strong col- ony of ibees, and a proper honey-flow, and your supers are protected from the weather. Some times we have chilly nights in June, and the bees will dhirlnk away from the outside sections to the center in single-board hives; but if you will put protection around those supers, they will work right up and ibuild the combs straight. Mr. Holtermann — Would you recom- mend that? Mr. Whitney — I don't say I would for the average bee-keeper, Ijut it can be done all right. Mr. Holtermann — If it depends on the weather, the (hioney-fiow, and so on, over which you have no control, is it worth while to take the risk? Mr. Whitney — If the bees build the> combs straight down from side to side, and the flow stops, the sections on tfti© outside will be just as good as the center ones; of course, if you have a poor honey-flow, you would not be very likely to get good, straight comb honey, anyhow. Mr. Holtermann^ — The' greatest factor in it is the narrow section. Mr. Whitney — Yes, a section that will produce a cell just about deep enough for the bees to rear their brood; tih/en they will .T>uild up straight every time. It can be done all right. Mr. Wilcox — I want to say I have tried' it pretty thoroughly, but I would not recomimend anybody else to do it, I don't think it advisable for a con- vention to go on record as favoring the production of comb honey without sep- arators. It can be done in a good honey- flow, with strong colonies, but that does not continue always; strong colonies are not always strong, and you 'have got to be very careful if you try it, or you will have a good many imperfect sections. Mr. Cavanagh — Will some one please tell us what tfhie comparative yield is between having comb honey produced with separators and without separa- torsi, and what the effect upon sw^arm- ing is of the two different plans; if -.^-^^.KT^r^ - •' ■ / -v ■^ V ■-"■?'. ■> . ■^r^-\"^^^^^v^^'?W^^'-'X^- 146 NINTH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE there is some one who has tried it, I would like to hear from them. Mr. Wilcox — I can only say I don't know, altthiough I have tried both plans a great deal in my life- time; I never saw any difference. Mr. Whitney — In saying that comb honey can be produced without sec- tions, I don't say I would recommend it to the average bee-keeper. I think I would not,- but where anybody has plenty of time, as' I have, and always have had, ever since I kept bees — I spend most of my time in the bee-yard, studying the bees — he can produce a good comb honey witibout separators. Mr. Hand does it; Mr. Morrison says it can be done; but, as I said before, I don't think I would recommend it to the average bee-keeper, because he has not the time; he does not spend the time in his yard to give it atten- tion. Honey in a Beer- Keg. "Will bees produce as much honey in a beer-keg as in an eight or ten- frame hive?" President York — Bees in this coun- try don't use beer-kegs! Mr. Huffman — I know of a man that used a two-gallon jug; tihat is not a beer-keg, but it would hold beer! A Member — No, certainly not; tell us which has the largest capacity, and I can tell you which would produce the most honey. Fall Breaking of the Bee-Cluster. "Is breaking the cluster of bees late in the fall injurious' to a colony?" Pres. York — ^How many think it is? (Four.) Double Hive For Wintering Bees. "What are the advantages of the double -hive chamber for wintering?" Mr, Wilcox — il am decidedly in favor of double chamber for wintering, if I winter bees out-of-doors; I would not do it in the cellar. Mr. Whitney — I have always felt that a division in there was a detriment; if I could make it practical I would cut it out. Mr. Holtermann — That is one reason wily I thought I would like the hive. Mr. Wheeler — There is too much ven- tilation through there; that is just my notion, however; I have no proof of it. Mr. Holtermann — ^I know there are thousands who have that kind of hive, who argue that that was an advantage, in that the bees could move about and ■change places in the cluster, which they cannot do, for instance, in the hives I use — the Langstroth as well. I have felt disposed to admit that it was su- perior to the Langstroth frame which I use. I would like to hear sometning more on that. Mr. Wheeler — I winter bees out-of- doors; when I first started in I began with some of those, and I think Mr. Heddon wrote to me if I would not send him a testimonial. I didn't answer him because I didn't know. I watched the thing closely, and of course when the hive is new and the frames are new and no bur- combs between the frames, I think there is too much ventilation; the bees didn't seem to work as well in those hives a& they did in the others (the Langstroth); as soon as they be- gin to get old, the combs are more or less connected; there is not as much ventilation, and the bees are drawn more closely together; where the tops of the frames are covered with bur- combs, they are almost the same as solid frames, except the holes. Mr. Holtermann — Might not your method of packing have a little bearing on it? Mr. Wheeler — It might. Mr, Wilcox — Don't more bees smoth- er in winter for want of air than those that suffer from too much ventilation? Fall Feed for Bees. "How much honey is equivalent to twenty pounds of feed — half sugar and water — for fall feeding?" Mr. Holtermann — Depends on how you do it. Mr. Thompson — ^I estimate about 12 pounds. Mr. Holtermann — I don't think there would be that much. I think anybody who would be foolish enough to use half sugar and water to begin with, they would make a mistake, for their fall feeding; for fall feeding I would not take anything less than two pounds of sugar to one of water, and then feed that as rapidly as possible. Mr. Huffman — How early do you feed? Mr. Holtermann — I don't think it is wise to feed too early, for this reason: If you feed early, sugar syrup is the best possible stores you can get for wintering. Where you feed, as in our •.y -,'' L.^.-^^:it.- ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION ya IfoeaJity, the early part of September, and. you have part sugar syrup and part honey stores, the bees are using up the best stores before they go into winter quarters, so I would prefer to leed aa late as possible. This year I fed as late zs the last week in October, and where twenty pounds of feed is used, half sugar and half water, that would only mean ten pounds of sugar. I don't think the final quantity that bees store under good conditions is more than the amount of sugar that you feed, and when you use half sugar and half water, it takes more to ripen that, and there- fore there would be more waste. Mr. Cavanagh^ — There is the advan- tage of storing that feed in the combs. I would like to hear from any one who has had any practical experience, to show whether the honey has to be tak- ■en in by the bees, and replaced in combs, or whether it is just as safe to put that good thick syrup in the combs and let the bees go directly on it. Mr. Holtermann — ^I have never done it; I believe it is. Mr. Cavanagh — The point is, that if •we can do without the bees handling that honey for syrup, we are at a great saving, because they will consume a lot of it in storing from combs in the ordi- nary way, which they will not in the other. Mr. Huffman — I have always fed sugar syrup, half and half, and have good results; when it comes to the amount they use up, I am unable to say. Mr. Holtermann — It would do no harm to give here the way in which I feed for winter. I have a honey-board ■on top the hive, and it has round holes in it; then I take a two-quart jar (what ■we call a jam-jar) ; I have a finely perforated top instead of the glass top; fhat holds five pounds; six of those w^ould make thirty pounds — a good col- ony of bees would take that down in twenty-four hours. I don't know any better method of feeding. I never tried filling the combs except in the spring; "but I know this, hy using tartaric acid, that so changes that honey I have had it granulate solid in the jars. Now we Icnow it is quite a different process for the sugar to crystallize, but I showed experienced bee-keepers that jar, at a distance; I opened the jar and I de- ceived them; they said, "That is hon- ey." But" when yt>u come to taste it, •you can tell it is sugar syrup. The tartaric acid changes the nature of that sug-ar so that it does not crystallize. Mr. Cavanagh — The way I feed bees in the fall is to invert the cover; we have a cover with a ledge some two inches; invert the cover on the ground — that cover is previously lined with oil c.oth — pour in twenty-five or thirty pounds of syrup; (put in sufficient leaves so the bees will not drown). I have never tried feeding by filling oombs for winter storage; I would not advise any one else to go into it on a very large scale, either; there are diflEiculties there that might show up. Mr. Thompson — ^I would like to have an expression as to the ditierent Kinas of feeders used, and the manner of feeding, and tihe time when they feed for fall feeding. Mr. Cavanagh — I have used the feed- er below the hive; I lay the cover on the ground and place the hive above, so that the feed is taken from below instead of above. Mrs. Holbrook — ^I would like to ask, if he uses the feeder below, if he uses the ten-frame Jumbo, or the 8-frame; it makes a difference in lifting that; I had the experience of trying to put the feed below, allowing space in front of the super for the bees to crawl over. I found difficulty in handling large frames. Of course there is some anxi- ety about cold weather. Mr. Cavanagh — I don't know whether I clearly understand Mrs. Holbrook; the reason I started in to use those feeders below was because the weather was so cold I could not feed above, the year I tried it. Mr. Holtermann — It takes two per- sons to lift a Jumbo; more than that, the bees are on the bottom-board, and if you are feeding late, you have the conditions of t)h'e weather to consider. Mr. Cavanagh — I would say that there is a very serious objection to using the Jumbo and any heavy hives, for some; for a lady bee-keeper, es- pecially, there would be a serious ob- jection with those hives, that the hives have to be lifted from their stands, and then lifted again to be replaced on the stands. Mrs. (Holbrook — For a man, either, for that matter. A man has no busi- ness to lift such a heavy hive; It Is too heavy for him to lift, too. Mr. Holtermann — I have a good many of those bottom feeders ; they are made with partitions in, and I find them very 148 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE good, next to the metihod I have spoken of. I might just explain: You see a jam-jar, almost any one can get, and the only added expense is this round piece of finely perforated tin or zinc — you put that on top in place of the glass top; when you invert that, it Is within one-fourth of an inch of right where the cluster is. If you have not got the honey-boards I speak of, you can use (and I have used them) a couple of quarter- inch sticks, and set the jar on top of that, so the bees can go under, and then you can pack leaves around, and the ibees get right to that syrup, and I don't believe there is a cheaper or better method of feed- ing bees than this. I am very mudh pleased with it. Mr. Wilcox — "When I extracted last time — I generally know when the last extracting comes — I save out sufficient quantities of well filled and sealed combs', set themi aside, and I go over the apiary and hang in the combs, and take out the empty combs, and reserve the balance for spring. I go over them again and remove the emp- ties and put in the filled combs; it is better, because it is less work. Mr. Thompson — I would' like to ask Mr. Holtermann if tJhere is not a cheaper feeder than his, on the same plan? Take a ten-pound pail and punch the top full of holes, and you have the cheapest feeder I ever saw. Mr. Holtermann — A good deal of trouble in punching the holes and get- ting them uniform. Mr. Huffman — I have tried all tihe feeders imaginable, and I must con- fess I find nothing, to my notion, equal to the Miller feeder. I have tried the ten-pound tin pail — have, probably, a hundred of them — but have abandoned them, and, with all of them considered, I will take the Miller feeder in prefer- ence to any of the others. In the spring of the year, the feeder may not be so good, but, for stimulating in the fall, and feeding bees for winter, the Miller feeder beats anything else I have found. As to Mr. Cavanagh's way of feeding, do not those leaves dissolve some of the syrup, and the ibees don't gt all of the syrup out of the leaves? Mr. Cavanagh — There is no waste, because the cattle will come around and eat those! Mr. Huffman — ^With the Miller feed- er, you have no waste. I think, next to the Miller feeder, is the ten-pound: pail, and they are easily made, easily filled, easily sealed; you don't have to- make your hive perfectly level. Refining or Bleaching Dark Honey, "Can dark honey be refined so as to make it white, without injuring th« honey ?" Mr. ffHufeman — I don't think it can be done; that means either extracted or comb honey, I suppose. Mr. Wilcox — I don't know anything about that subject myself. Some years ago. Judge Grotty, a very prominent bee-keeper, suggested it could be done; he was a very intelligent man; had a good deal of experience in the business. I have waited all my life-time to see it brought up, and see if somebody could tell us how dark ihoney could be changed to white. Can they not change -molasses and make it a lighter color? Feeding Bees in March. "When bees are in need of feed in. this locality, during March, what feed and feeders are the best to use? It i& herebey taken for granted that the month of March is a very mild one." Mr. Thompson — The best "feeder" would be the honey-knife at that time of the year. Mr. Huffman — I think locality has a good deal to do with that. Mr. Holtermann — I don't think we would be satisfied that the honey-' knife was the best "feeder." That would imply that they, didn't need feed. I would say, at that time of the year (and I fancy your climate is much the same as our 'Own), the best thing would be to feed them something in the shape of sugar — solid sugar. You: can't, at that time of the year, feed liquid; it would tend to make the bees fly out of the hives and to be lost; therefore, I recom'mend a cake of sugar. Wintering Bees Outdoors. "What is considered the best way to winter bees in this locality, without chaff hives — outdoor wintering?" Mr. Wilcox — I think Miss Candler'sr method is the best. President York — May we hear from' Miss Candler? Miss Candler — The way I like best, is to wrap them in tar paper — around t!he hive; wrap the paper snugly, and as tight as you can. ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 149 Mr. Holtermann — How many years •have you been wintering beees that way? Miss Candler — Seven or eight years. Mr. Horstmann — ^It seems foolish to answer that question like that. I want the convention to decide which is an eight and which is a ■ten-frame hive. I consider the body that is used, re- gardless of the number, is what the hives sihould be named after. President York — How many agree with Mr. Horstmann on that? (Twelve.) Mr. Horstmann — I hope that will get in the report. Mr. Kannenberg — Eight or ten- frame hive — I don't understand. Does he mean, if he puts two hives on top of each other, that is meant to be an eight-frame hive, also; if two hive- bodies are put on top of each other? Mr. Huffman — No, I don't believe that; an eight-frame hive will always be an eight-frame hive, and if you put one on top of another, that will be 16 frames. Mr. iHtoltermann — I would like to ask what authority this organization has to decide that question for every one? Mr. Horstmann — I consider this con- vention supreme; anything they say is law in these matters! Mr. Holtermann — Of course, it makes me smile when advocates of eight- frame hives begin to want to use, as a brood-chamiber, combs in the super. I think the hive is generally consid- ered that part -which is the brood - chamber; and the super is that which is for the surplus honey; and, there- fore, when, an eight-frame-hive man wants to begin to use the super as the 'brood-chamber, that moment I begin to smile, and say he admits that a ten, twelve, or more, frames are better than an eight. I think a proper defini- tion for a hive is that portion which is used as the brood-chamber, and the rest is surplus; we call the one "hive" and the other "super;" therefore, that is a distinguishing mark in the number of combs which happen to be on the bottom -board. Mr. Kannenberg — As Mr. Holtermann says, that is called "brood-chamber," the first ihive, but the way Mr. Horst- mann says, he puts that on top of the hive to .make it strong; now, if the queen goes up in the second hive, what is called super, that is also a brood- chamber, what will you call it then? Mr. Holtermann — Jumbo! Mr. Cavanagh — ^I would like to ask Mr. Holtermann What right he has to say the brood- chamber of the hive is the hive, or the super-chamber is the hive? Mr. Holtermann — All you have to do is to go to your bee-literature; your catalogue of bee-keepers' supplies.' What is known as the bodj^ of the hive is usually called the brood-chamber; the supers have a separate distinction. When I ship my supers, I don't ship them as hives, but ship them as supers. Mr. Cavanagh — In Root's catalogue, is the super not a part of the hive? Mr. Holtermann — You would say, ac- cording to that, the hive with the upper story is a sixteen-frame hive, where two eights are put togeth'?r, but you don't. Mr. Cavanagh — I would say it is two-story eight-frame hive. I would tlhink an eight-frame hive would be a hive, each section of which contains eight frames. There is no limit to the number of frames we can use in a hive; in one apiary we might have one, two, three, or four- story hives, but we would be running eight- frame hives, perihaps, in all. Mr. Holtermann — The very fact that you call them eight-frame hives indi- cates the distinction I spoke of. Mr. Cavanagh — Yes, sir. Mr. Holtermann — ^I want to be fair; let's ibe fair; if it is called an eight- frame ihive, that would designate the brood-chamber was what we call the hive, primarily. Mr. Kimmey — Two eigOit-frame hives may be equal to a sixteen-frame hive, but may not be the same thing. Value of this Convention. "In a single sentence, give your im- pression of the value of this conven- tion to you." Mr. Cavanagh — Financially, in dol- lars and cents? President York— No, you might be out dollars and cents, coming here. Is it worth attending? Mr. Cavanagh— I think there has been a great deal of "sense" about it. Mr. Horstmann — I will say I got a great deal of satisfaction today, even on that Ihive question. Mr. Whitney — In renewing old ac- quaintances, if nothing more, it has been very valuable, I think. I would not say that was all. l ^aaiiifciiJ.JiSi5 -;:;A:; 150 NINTH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE Mr. Kimmey — To me it has been one of the most pleasant and most valua- ble day's work I have done in a long time; not only in the things that I have learned, but in the feeling of fel- lowship that has been aroused within me, and the desire to go among my bees and do lots of things I have not •done before. Mr. Kannenberg — I know it has done ■me a great deal of good. I have been waiting for this for the last two /mionths. I know it does me more good than what is costs ,me to come here. A Member — In exchanging ideas and methods, this convention has been of great benefit. Mr. Wilcox — In awakening enthusi- asm in the pursuit, for various meth- ods; at the same time it has shown a good fellow^ship existing among us, it has brought out those social quali- ties in us which are worth more to us than money. Mr. Holtermann — I am sure that it Ihas been a satisfaction to me to come back here and meet old faces, and new ones. I have gone to a good many conventions, and I generally carry home somiethlng that is of profit to me, and I will from this convention. I can't ihelp but realize that it has been quite a number of years now since I attended my first convention in the United States — that was the National, held at Rochester at that time. The years roll by, and, while we enjoy 'bee-keepers' conventions, and it is our right and privilege to study our busi- ness, I often think of the passage in the Scripture which says: "Be dili- gent in business;" yet, over and above all, there is this to remember, that we are in this scene but for a short time — "What shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?" So that, in coming to these conventions, I realize^ from year to year, that the time I will be here is short, and so it is with many of us who are here. So far as the bee-keep- ing standpoint is concerned, I enjoy the conventions, 'and I have carried ihome, and will carry home from here, something that is instructive to me. It is a good thing to disagree on sorme things; it brings out the points for discussion, and it does not hurt to do that with energy, yet with good feel- ing, and I am sure that only the best of good fellowship and good feeling have been manifested in this conven- tion. President York — Dr. Miller left this question to be asked. He says, "This is the convention of all." Mr. Huffman — I wish to say this, in regard to attending this convention: It is my first, and I am well pleased with the questions that have been brought out; the way in which they have been discussed; the information I ihave gathered; for the knowledge Ive can take home with 'us, and the things we can put into practice. Things have been brought out that I had not thought of. By exchanging views and thoughts, we gather this knowledge, and I will say it has been pleasing for ■me to have been here. Mr. iHioltermann — I believe there was no resolution, as yet, passed, that this organization would endorse the invita- tion of the Ontario Bee-Keepers' As- sociation for the National, to be held in Toronto in 1910. If you decide to go there, we are going to have spec- ially rednoed rates; it will be at a time of the Toronto Exhibition. We will promise you a good time. It has been nearly fifteen years since it was held in Canada. I would like you all to do all you can to have it go there, and we want a good meeting. If you come to Toronto, we will try to make it as pleasant as possible. A Member — How far is it from Chi- cago ? Mr. Holtermann — It is 500 imales to Buffalo; I came for $14.55 to this meet- ing. At that time of the year you can go by rail and by water. I am quite sure you will 'have a successful con- vention if you come ;to Toronto. Mr. Kimmey — ^I move that this As- sociation endorse the invitation of the Canadian bee-keepers for the ^meeting of tihe National Association. I make that motion simply for the purpose of getting it before the body. The motion was seconded, and car- ried. Mr. Macklin — I missed part of the meeting today. I would like to know who was appointed bee inspector. President York — The Illinois State Association elects the State bee in- spector. The late Mr. J. Q. Smith was the inspector, and at the meeting in Springfield, two or three weeks ago, Mr. A. L. Kildow, of Putnam, 111., was ■ ■■foS='.iSt>>.,.Tt-U-' '.,kJ^-^^i)S^^j!^s^,aLLiat^.^^^s^,^LS&^^^ . ■'^^kiaidi^lii^sh^^^Sie^lk^^l..- ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 151 elected to fill that position. Mr. Kildow considered the best man, next to Mr. is a large bee-keeper in that part of Smith, or maybe better, po far aa I the State, and has toad a great deal of know. , experience with foul brood. He as- A Member — I move that we adjourn, sisted Mr. Smith in his work, and I subject to the call of the Executive should judge, from what was said in Committee. Springfield (and I think he was almost The motion was seconded, and ear- unanimously elected), that he was ried. !'*!«<{•, .<*■"£« cr, >"."* 152 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE HON. N. E. FRANCE, Gen. Manager. OFFICERS FOR 1910. President — GEO. W. YORK, Chicago, 111. Vice President — W. D. WRIGHT, Altamont, N. Y. Secretary — LOUIS SCHOLL, New Braunfels, Tex, General Manager and Treasurer — N. E. FRANCE, Platteville, Wis. DIRECTORS. Time Expires 1910. G. M. DOOLITTLE Borodina, N. Y. JAS. A. STONE Springfield, HI. R. A. HOLEKAMP St. Louis. Mo. Time Expires 1912. UDO TOEPPERWEIN, San Antonio, Tex. E. D. TOWNSEND Remus, Mich. R. L. TAYLOR Lapeer, Mich. Time Expires 1911. WM. McEVOY Woodburn, Ont., Can. M. H. MBNDLESON Ventura, Cal. R. C. AIKIN Loveland, Colo. Time Expires 1913. R. A. MORGAN Vermilion. S. Dak. E. F. AT WATER Meridian, Idaho J. E. CRANE Middleburg, Vt. PROCEEDINGS OF THE FORTIETH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE NATIONAL BEE=KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION Held in the Library Building, in Sioux City, Iowa, Wednesday and Thursday, September 22d and 23d, 1909. • On Wednesday at 11 o'clock a. m., at the request of the President, the Vice-President, Mr. George W. York, of Chicago, took the chair and called the Convention to order. On motion of Dr. Bohrer, duly sec- onded,. Mr. R. A. Morgan was appoint- ed Secretary pro tem. The following Committees were ap- pointed: /^6*:-.'-^iii;Asi--ii--i J [ l;^''.^-l'Jr?i-^;i^j[' '^-sA' ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEiPERS' ASSOCIATION 153 ■ Committee on Program — iMr. N. E. France, General Manager, Platteville, Wis. Committee on Rules — Messrs. Geo. W. York, Illinois; O. O. Poppleton, Florida, and C. J. Barber, Iowa. Committee on Resolutions — ^Messrs. C. P. Dadant, Illinois; W. P. South- worth, Iowa, and P. B. Ramer, Minne- sota, Committee on Questions — ^Messrs. R. A. Morgan, South Dakota; M. E. Darby, Missouri, and J. P. Goodwin, Nebraska. After the appointment of these Committees the "Vice-President left the chair, and the same was taken by the President, Mr. George E. Hilton, of Fremont, iMich. Dr. Bohrer — Speaking with refer- ence to the next place of meeting, I think the matter should be gone into carefully, and instead of holding the meetings at different places extend- ing over long distances there should be some central place selected, and the Annual Meeting should be held there from year to year. The President — ^This Association represents a very large membership, and there are probably more people engaged in the business of bee-keeping than In any other business in the world, and unless we oscillate and change about from one point of our great country to another, but very few of those engaged in the business are going to attend. I would not be in favor of locating it in the geograph- ical center of any one State, but I would have the meeting moved about from one side of our grand country to the other, so that the greatest pos- sible amount of good may be received by the greatest number. Five years ago we were at Los Angeles, then at San Antonio, Texas, then at Harris- burg, Pennsylvania, and last year at Detroit, Michigan, and today we are here. Next year we will be some- where else. We try to do these things in accordance with the wishes of the people. I am talking now as a Member of the Executive Committee. We try to hold these Conventions where we think the best results will be accomplished. I believe the Com- mittee has acted conscientiously and have wanted to do the best they could. Mr. Ramer — Mr. President, I would ask whether it would be appropriate to hold the next C/onvention in con- nection with the^ Minnesota State Fair. I hope th©^ Executive Commit- tee will consider that matter. We have a good many bee-keepers in Minnesota and T\''isconsin. The State Fair is held between Minneapolis and St. Paul. It would be for the Com- mittee to decide whether they hold the Convention in one of those cities or on the Fair Grounds. The President — These matters will all be considered by the Executive Committee very conscientiously, and they will be glad to receive sugges- tions from both the United States and Canadian brethren. Mr. Dadant — If the question is still open, I would like to state personally that I can see a great deal more ad- vantage by the Association meeting at different places than by meeting all the time at some center — always at the same point or near the same point. There are some who cannot afford to attend the Conventions at long distances, and if the .meetings are held in the different localities they will be glad to attend them and bring to the meetings their ideas. The men who attend Conventions, and who live far away, will attend no mat- ter where the meetings are held. They also will bring their ideas. If the members met at the same spot every year, the same men would at- tend, the same men from far away would be there, and nothing new com- parativly would be brought forward. WTien we go to a strange place we have people attend who have differ- ent methods and different ways of do- ing things, and who bring us their Ideas, and in return get ours. We thus make a greater amount of ex- change of views. Therefore, I believe it is very much better to have the Convention in a new place each time. We have at times to go back to the centers. There are many bee-keepers who are very anxious to have the Con- vention in their neighborhood. There are parts of the country where the (Convention has never gone. There are men who dislike to become mem- bers of the National because they think they are not treated right. We would, therefore, do better if we tried to hold the National Convention first in one section and then in the other. I think the President is exactly right. >• ■:;,— -Jr^^K ■^yVtffiS^'yii^f^---''^.''' :■ ^''i^"/?^'- 154 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE On motion of Mr. York, the Con- vention adjourned to meet at 1:30 p. m. AFTERNOON SESSION. At 1:30 p. m. the President, Mr. Hilton, took the chair, and, having asked the Convention to came to or- der, called for the report of the Com- mittee on rules, which was presented by Mr. York as follows: 1. Ordinary parliamentary rules are to govern the proceedings of this Convention. 2. Time of opening sessions: 9 a. m., 1:30 p. m. and 7:30 p. m. 3. Discussions: No one to speak longer than five minutes on any one subject, nor more than once, unless with consent of the Convention. 4. Each speaker will first address the President, and be recognized by him by name or numoer before pro- ceec'ing, so that the reporter may know jusr. who is speaking. (Signed) GEORGiE W. YORK, C. J. BARBER, O. O. POPPLETON, Committee. On motion of iMr. Dadant, seconded by Mr. Kretchmer, the report of the Committee on Rules was adopted, and the Committee discharged. The 'Piesident then addressed the Contention as follows: To the Bee-Keepers of the United States and the Dominion of Canada, Greeting. In endeavoring to prepare some- thing in the form of an annual ad- dress for the fortieth annual meeting of an oiganization representing cwo of the greatest nations on earth, I can not but feel my incompetency for the task. Then, too, the varying conditions contanied in these two vast domains make it practically impossible to say anything except in a general way, extending as we do from the Tropical coiiditions of our southern posses- sions to as near the Arctic circle as the industry of our chosen pursuit can be made profitable. No Associa- tion on earth covers so many miles of teiritory, or such a wide expanse, in which agriculture is the leading fea- ture. And in what I shall say I shall be largely indebted to our United Slates Department of Agriculture in gereral, and to Dr. E. F. Phillips, in particular. Few people realize the magnitude, inioorrance and possibilities of the present bee-keeping industry in the United States. Those who are con- versant with the pursuit, and even thosr, who are extensively engaged in it, geiierally fail to comprehend what an important factor in the agriculture of the country apiculture is as a whole, or how much the honey bee, by collecting nectar and storing to pro- duce a commercial product, is instru- mental in saving our resources. The- All Wise Creator, in placing the drop of nectar in the corolla of the flower, intended that it should attract the in- sect kingdom for the purpose of fertil- ization and cross fertilization. But man has taken advantage of these conditions, and in causing the bee to convert this wise provision into an article of commerce, has assisted In canyin£- out this wise provision. And, although the total value of the bee products is small as compared with the value of the products of many other branches of agriculture, it nevertheless has an importance which should not be overlooked. Few rural pursuits have made greater progress during the past half a century than has this one. Before that time the bees of this country were kept in box hives, and as a re- sult the. annual average crop of honey per colony was small. In addition to this handicap in not being able to manipulate the bees as was needed, bee-keepers generally lacked a knowl- edge of the methods of caring for them. With the invention of the mcveable-frame hives by Langstro.h in 1851 it became possible to care for bees properly and to manipulate in such a way as to get the best crop. As the use of this type of hive and of the hqr.ey extractor became general, bee keepers become better educa'.ed in modern methods of manipulation, and the industry has advanced from a n«jgl;gible quantity to its present im- portant place in agriculture. In t!he vast majority of cases, bee- keeping is not the principal occupa- tion, but is carried on in conjunction with some other business. According to the census of 1900 the average number of colonies to the farm in the United States was less than six, and valued at $14.40 — a very ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 155 small investment. Some States, how- ever, averaged more, and some even less. And the numher taken from the census can scarcely be accepted as correct. Then, too, bee-keeping is taken up by many as a recreation or a subject of nature study. Such per- sons do not wish to make it their sole or imain occupation. Many farmers, also, keep a few colonies of bees and add "to tiheir income to sorae extent in that way. It is obvious that bee-keep- ing must continue to be an avocation in the majority of cases. This brings up for consideration an important question which has been much discussed by those interested in bringing about an advance in the in- dustry: Shall an attempt be made to increase the number of bee-keepers or to make better ones of a smaller number? Bee-keepers who follow the pursuit on a commercial scale are anxious that there be no increase in the number engaged in the 'business, but leather a decrease, with an accom- panying advance in the proficiency of those so engaged. This desire is not wholly selfish, for unless the increase is directly in the territory of the individual his crop is not affected. If progress is to be made toward getting the largest possible Ihoney crop from the United States, it will hardly be done by making bee-keepers who own an average of five colonies. It (moist be done by progressive bee- keepers financially interested to an extent sufficient to compel them to combat disease and to do their ut- most to get the entire crop. We may not hope to attain this ultimate condi- tion, but an effort might be made to discourage negligent and indifferent 'bee-keeping. In spite of the fact that bee-keeping is the sole occupation of but few, it, nevertheless, commands attention in that it adds considerably to the resources of the country and increases the income of thousands of people. The possibilities for its in- crease are great, and the advance- anent of this vocation is a worthy ob- ject as aiming to save for human use a resource which is now so generally wasted. It is very difficult to estimate accu- rately the annual value of the prod- ucts of the apiary, but from various sources of information it is reason- able to suppose that tlhe value of the honey produced annually in the United States is on the average about $30,000,000, and that of wax, $2,000,000, or more. Since the honey harvest de- pends so completely on various cli- matic conditions afCecting the secre- tion of nectar, it is obvious that there is an enormous variation in the an- nual yield. As nearly as can be be learned, the number of sections for comb honey manufactured annually by supply dealers is about 80,000,000, and that may be considered a fair estimate of tihe number of pounds of comb honey produced in the United States, since relatively few sections are ex- ported. Extracted honey is produced more extensively, and it is safe to say that the annual crop is three or four times that of comb honey. Taking into consideration, also, the chunk honey and honey not marketed, hut used in home consumption, the esti- mate is none too hig!h. In addition to the revenue derived frami the bee in the production of 'honey and wax, we must not lose sight of the great value of the honey bee as a poUenizing agent, and in esti- mating the value of the industry in adding to the resources of the coun- try this phase of the subject must be included. Other insects, of course, aid in this way, hut the honey bee occupies a peculiar position in a con- sideration of this subject. For this purpose there is no ques- tion but that the bee is of great service to the grower of fruits. No other insect appears in such vast numbers at this very important time in tihe spring when their agency is so much needed to fertilize the orchard and small fruits. I should like to touch upon the different sources of loss, of which there are many, but the matter of dis- ease, I trust, will receive the attention of this convention it deserves. There are now recognized two distinct brood diseases, wihch are contagious, and wihich annually cause enormous loss to those engaged in the industry. There is reason, too, to believe that these diseases are spreading to new localities at a rapid rate, and unless vigorous steps are taken there can 'be no doubt that in a few years they will •be distributed to every part of the United States; and I cannot urge t-o- strongly the necessity of stringent foul brood laws in every State and' i^_.. 156 NINTH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE Territory. The apathy of the bee- keepers, as a class, to these scourg-es is remarkable, in view of the fact that information is available which sihould point out the dangers now incurred by inadequate efforts toward the con- trol of those pests, or in most cases by no effort at all. It is absolutely ' known that in a few counties in one of our States, a loss has already oc- curred, amounting' to $25,000, and there are many areas much larger where disease is equally epidemic, the loss imay well be estimated at $2,000,- 000 annually. This and other subjects I migiht dwell upon indefinitely, but it is not my purpose to take the time of the convention. There is one matter, however, that 1 feel we are all interested in, tJhat I hope may be adjusted at this conven- tion, namely, the present unsatisfac- tory anethod of electing the officers of the Association; and when I say un- satisfactory, I mean the officers upon whom the great honor is conferred, and the rank and file who place them In office; so little is known of the 700,000 bee-keepers of the United States and Canada, as to their fitness for these important positions, that there is too much of a repetition from year to year; and I feel, os do .many others, that could some method of nomination or recommiendation be made other than we have, without dis- franchising any member entitled to a vote, it would 'be better; and in seek- ing advice from all available sources, I think something like the following might be an improvement upon the present method: For instance, if at the first day of this and succeeding conventions, a committee of good size representing the different sections of the United States and Canada, could be appointed, they to hold a meeting during the convention, when all ap- pointed could be present, .and they to report two membership names for each office to be filled at the next election. These names to be voted on by each member at the regular elec- tion, the member receiving the ma- jority of votes cast being the choice of 'the entire membership. I am only offering this as a suggestion, but we are all at sea as it is, and it seems to me we would welcome a nominating committee, or something that will tend to give us some intelligent meth- , od of choosing the best men for the place. I hope this matter will receive due cons'ideration. Thanking this Association for the great honor that has been conferred upon me, I am, Very respectfully, your servant, GEORGE E. HILTON. The President — The next in order upon the program is "Shaking Energy into Bees," by George Williams of Indiana. Mr. York — Before we take up the next subject it seems to me we ought to have the Committee appointed on Nominations. I think we ought to pay some attention to the suggestion ot the President. This is really the first session of the Convention, and I would move that a Committee on Nomina'tions be appointed, one mem- ber from each State represented here, that Committee to report before the close of the Convention. Mr. Dadant — As a member of the Committee on Resolutions I have pre- pared a motion, but I thought perhaps it would be premature to bring it up right away; yet, if the matter is open and the Associations sees fit, wiiile I have not yet met the other two mem- bers of the Commitee, I will read it to you. The President — I would be very glad to have any part of the paper I have just read taken up and discussed; I wrote it with that in mind, that it would bring out some discussion, and I was loathe to go to the next subject without something of that kind being done. I believe I have said things that are worthy of your attention and con- sideration; and I wish that the matter might be taken up and discussed. If there is any paragraph or point, or any part of a paragraph, that I have read that you feel should be brought up at this time, it will certainly be in order, and the chair will so recognize. • Mr. Dadant — Here is a resolution which I had prepared, and which I in- tended to submit to the other two members of the Committee: "Whereas, The present method of nominating officers for the annual election of the National Bee-Keepers Association seems inadequate, be it Resolved, That a Committee of as many members as there are States represented at the National Conven- tion be elected to select and report the names of two candidates for each ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 1S7 office, in addition to the nominations obtained in the usual way." If the other two members of the Committee are willing to present this as a report, we can hand it in. The other two members stating that they were agreeable, Mr. Dadant said, As the Committee is unanimous on that, we present that as a partial re- port of the Committee on Resolutions and submit it to the Convention. Mr, Kretchmer moved, seconded by Mr. York, that the resolution be adopted. Mr. Darby — I just rise to ask a •question. If I mistake not, the re- port said those members representing the different States would be elected. Am I right in that? The President — ^I think the resolu- tion reads "elected." Mr. ' Darby — It seems to me we might save a little time by having the President appoint those members. It would take quite a little time to elect so many. The President — ^I think the Com- mittee was very kind to the chair in avoiding any feeling there might be that the President was taking too much upon his shoulders, but the Convention can move any amendment that they see fit. Mr. Foster — I think it would save time to have it "appointment" instead of "election." Mr. Poppleton — I move that the resolution be amended to read "ap- pointed" instead of "elected." Mr. Kretchmer — I accept the amend- ment. The President — Then the resolution will read "appointed" instead of "elected." Mr. Dadant — I would like to hear Irom Mr. France on that matter. Mr. France has more experience than any of us in regard to the manner of nominating candidates. He has often •expressed himself on the shortcom- ings of the present method. We can- not change the present method be- cause it is in the Constitution, but we can add to it through simply suggest- ing to our members in our report what names we prefer. It is only a tenta- tive action on the part of the Conven- tion, but Mr. France can show you, I think, the necessity for such a move. Mr. France — Mr. President, I heart- ily endorse the move in which we are starting. Those who are now in ofHce •are re-nominated year after year, and people ask me to fill out the blank for, they don't know who. That, of course, I would not do. It shows our system is sadly defective. This same idea was suggested by our Director from New York, Mr. G. M. Doolittle, and it has also come from the Cali- fornia Director, somewhat upon this same line of thought, and this puts it in a way that I certainly approve of. The question was called for. The President put the motion to adopt the resolution as amended, which, on a vote having been taken, was carried unanimously. Mr. Bohrer — The resolution does not specify by whom these Committeemen are to be appointed. The President — The gentleman did not say the chair, but it is taken f»r granted that he means the chair. ' Mr. Darby — My suggestion was that the President make the appointment. I am not sure whether the gentleman who made the motion placed it in that manner or not. Mr. York — There is only one that can appoint, and that would be the President. Mr. France — As I want to present to the members who are not here a thorough understanding in regard to this matter, I wish to say there must be a time when a change will take place. Will we expect this Commit- tee to make suggestions or bring in a nomination report that the members at the coming election can consider, or will it have to be held over for the next election? We already have re- ceived from thirty-four hundred and some odd nominations ballots sent out only 328 nominations. Now, if this Committee can suggest, it is my im- pression that the Committee's report will be the one the members will cater to. Mr. York — There ought to be s6me way to amend the Constitution of this Association. When this Committee re- ports, if their report seems satisfac- tory to the Convention, it might be that they could recommend an amend- ment to the Constitution, which ccfuld be voted on in the next election which would be in November. I would move that this Committee on Nominations be instructed to make a recommenda- tion looking towards the amendment of the Constitution on elections. :^4f^-:. 158 NINTH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE Mr. Goddard — I second that. The President — I will read article 9 of the Constitution, "This Constitu- tion may be amended by a majority vote of all the members voting pro- viding' such proposed amendment shall be approved by a majority vote of the members present at the last Annual Meeting of the Association, and copies of the the proposed amend- ment printed or written shall have been mailed to each member by the General Manager at least 45 days be- fore the Annual Election." I think we are in line to take the action that Mr. York has suggested, and it would be perfectly proper for us to do so at this time. Mr. York's motion was put to the meeting and carried. Mr, York — I would suggest this Committee be appointed by the Pres- ident before we adjourn today so that . they can make their report tomorrow. The President — I will endeavor to take the matter up by States and make this appointment before we ad- journ this afternoon. In doing that I will call the "Vice-President to the chair, because it will take me some little time. The Vice-President, Mr. York, in the chair. The Vice-President — Is there any- thing else in the President's address we wish to discuss? Mr. France — There are others val- uable ideas advanced and one is upon the subject of bee diseases, and in making out the program, which is not yet printed, tomorrow forenoon will be devoted' to bee diseases, and the President's suggestions will come in line at that time. I like somewhat of a system. Let us have the talk on bee diseases altogether tomorrow forenoon rather than to take up a part of ihis suggestions at this after- noon's meeting. The Vice-President — If there is noth- ing else, the next topic on the pro- grann is "Shaking Energy Into Bees," by George Williams, of Redkey, In- diana. At the requeifet of Mr. France, Dr. PMUips, of Washington, read the paper as follows: When the truth of a generally ac- cepted orthodox proposition in poli- tics, morality — ^or even bee culture — ■ is questioned, a class of critics whom Samantiha described as being "Sot in their ways," hasten to try and prove the critic a fool, crank, or heretic, be- cause 'he has the courage to intimate that the old ways were wrong, and a new one is right. History is full of such instances, where the heretics were in the rigfhit, and their heresies eventually sup- planted the old orthodox ideas. Galileo was condemned and made to suffer because he chose to find fault with and differ from the previously accepted teachings in the Sciences. But he was right, and 'his critics were wrong. Christ Himself was condemned and crucified because His teachings were new and different from the accepted beliefs of the Jews. That His teach- ings and theories were the truth, is now universally accepted, and His judges now appear as narrow-minded men, who allowed their prejudices to overrule the truth. I use these instances, and could re- call scores of similar ones, to illus- trate the fact that all divergencies from, the beaten track of orthodox be- lief are first met by opposition, but if they have the element of truth, they are eventually accepted. These examples, ■which show us that we may be wrong when we fully believe ourselves to be right, give me the courage to advance an idea tlhat until recently was new to most of you, and which I believe to contain much that is good for us to know and prac- tice. It is not yet fully understood and analyzed, and I shall term It, for lack of a better name, "Shaking bees to induce honey-gathering energy." You may include under this term, if you please, every disturbaince of the hive that causes the bees to fill them- selves with honey and set up the "glad buzz" we hear when a swarm is entering a hive. Now, most people are in the busi- ' ness for the revenue and incidental pleasure — therefore, they nre Demo- crats or Republicans — ^I hardly know the difference nowadays. As for my- self, I suppose I am a Prohi — ^not in the sense to prohibit the other fellow from getting his share of honey, but to prohibit the bees from loafing, and to keep them all at work all the flow. When Brother Hutchinson and I ex- i changed views in this matter a year ago, ihe agreed with me that it was something entirely original as far as iV^^-iaJn£-->i JiA''t"i;..I--ifel*i::i-i:-iT ilLr% ^i^''.i^-*-^":'iJt^i'.;,-v' ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 159 he knew. But since the matter has been discussed, we find that numbers ■of close observers had noticed the energy of bees after any manipulation, Lewis Scholl assures us that he has observed and utilized the increased energy of bees after any manipulation, notably, after moving them in a wagon for some distance. C. P. Dadant testlified at the Chi- cago convention to tihe same thing. A. I. Root states that smoking will induce lazy bees to go ' into the sec- tions some tiimes. An old' Catholic Father once told me in confidence that he Induced his bees to work in the caps (box hives) by drumnaing steadily on the hive for seven minutes, or long enough to re- peat his aves', or creed, or something, every Friday at twelve o'clock. And I noticed that Ihe always had more honey than his Protestant neigh'bors, who did not drum. No less an authority than the late E. W. Alexander ('OS Gleanings, p. 196) knew of the energy-giving prop- erties of shaking, and practiced it in his yards. And later ('09 Oleanings, p. 2^5), J. E. Crane says: "There s no doubt that shaking at tIhe right time and conditions has its advantages." He then intimates that we had better not be too free to sihake, as the conditions are not always right. As well tell us not to cut any 'hay at all, as the con- ditions are not always right for cur- ing it. B. F. Cavanaugh ('09 Gleanings, p. 273) insists thait it is "not the sihaking, but the change or disarrangement of the have excitesi the faculty of fixing things, and creates a necessity for ex- tra effort * * * for a colony of bees when shaken is in dire necessity of a new 'home, combs to store honey, etc. For this reason, if not discouraged by shaking under wrong conditions, a gain in energy is resultant." Brother Cavanaugih, let me shake hands with youi on your clear analysis of the mat- ter. And another, M. V. Facey, that staunch old Wolverine, ('09 Review, p. 171) in discussing the energy ex- cited by the physical act of frequent extracting, says: "Under exactly sim- ilar oondlitions, one bee-keeper will ra- ced ve fifty pounds per colony; another one,- one 'hundred, and still another re- ceive two hundred pounds." CHte then shows conclusively that tIhe added yield was induced by the energy-giving process of frequent ex- tracting. This is a valuable article, and all should read it.) He adds in conclusion: "The im- petus thus given can be readily noted in tJie increased vigor of their work; so much so that the apiary leisurely before is changed to vim and energy." There is no doubt that Brother Facey has struck the rigiht note, buit as many extracted honey producers wish* to leave their honey in the su- pers to ripen, and as comb honey pro- ducers of necessity must do so until capped, I would suggest that when the hives get full of honey, and the bees are inclined to be lazy, it would an- swer just as well to "shake the bees," and raise the super above an empty one. • Again, ('09 Review, p. 106), J. E. Hand, "Opening the hives and manipulating the frames accomplishes the desired object." (i. e., induces greater energy.) "I am inclined to believe that this is the right theory, and that shaking is unnecessary. All that is necessary is to tlhoroughly frighten the bees and throw them in a panic, causing them to fill their sacs with honey, and, also, disarrange the combs, etc." Right you are, Brother Hand, and here is my hand on it, that it is not al- ways necessary to absolutely "shake" the bees off of the combs, but as the process of shaking is the manipula- tion par excellence that induces the conditions, both mentally and phys- ically Off a newly hived swarm, I chose to apply that term to my system.. "Stirring up" might be a better term to use, but that is hardly sufficient in every case. For instance, :;ou can not always safely introduce a queen by simply smoking, interchanging the frames, or any mild form of "stirring up." It is necessary to "shake," and do it thoroughly, after which you can . safely allow the queen to run in with the bees with assurance that she will be accepted — a bSg thing, some times. In an outyard with limited time. Or, again, in moving bees a short distance, the only absolutely sure way to keep all the bees on the new stand is to thoroughly sihake them at night, when all are at home. Hence, the term "shake" was chosen with the thought that it would cover —11 . yi ••,-(•• 160 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE the whole ground. I could go on plMng up whole stacks of testimony frami the journals, private correspondence, and conversations that proper "stirring up" or "shaking," or manipulations of any description whatever, does "per se" in- duce working energy when condiitions indicate it. But my time is limited, and I have given enough, I think, to estab- lislh my position. The point I wisih ito emphasize is this: It is the physical effect of the manipulations themselves that revives the waning energy of the bees when they slack up work for any cause, and it is Immaterial what the nature of the disiturbance is, so that it is suffi- cient to excite the bees to the re- quired degree. All the big yields are produced by colonies and apiaries that are fre- quently "dug into" for some cause or other. New beginners and amateurs with new queens frequently outstrip their iw.ore experienced neighbors, and aittribute the phenomenal success to the strain of bees or something that may not be the cause at all. Later, with the same strain of bees, when they have lost some degrees of the "fever," or Qiave so many colonies that they can not "fuss" witlh them so much, they do not secure nearly such good results, and think, maybe, it may be on account of overstocking, or something else. At ■ one time I compared the meth- ods and systems of a large number of successful bee-keepers — ^men who pro- duced honey by the ton, and who, I be- lieved, knew the reasons for their success. I can as'sure you that it made better reading than "Peck's Bad Boy" to compare and analyse these conflicting opinions and systems. This was when Etoolittle advocated the Gallup frame and spreading brood in the spring. At that time he attri- buted big success to these two things to quite a considerable extent. (He knows better now.) One advocated an 8 frame hive, an- other a 10, and still another a still larger even up to a 24. Heddon want- ed his hives small so as to handle hives and not to be bothered with sin- gle frames. Dadant wanted a broad side as big as a country newspaper. Dr. Miller refused to paint his hives (although I do not remember of his claiming that unpainted hives were better for securing honey.) But he did refuse to allow an Italian bee to come on his premises, even to get ac- quainted in a friendly way with his bees. On the other hand, A. I. Root claimed' that his Italians had such long tongues that they could rob the bumble bees of their legitimate birth- right. And so on down the list. It was you could do this and you could not. You should do that and you should not. But in spite of doing or not doing these men all made a success. They secured the honey. I reasoned that these men — all suc- cessful— and each attributing his suc- cess to different and conflicting, things, could not all be right in their conclusions, for if so how could' the one fellow who did the one thing the other claimed to be fatal, succeed if the other was right? Therefore, all the apparent conflict- ing ways were right or rather harm- less, and success did not. depend on either pet theory, but on something entirely different. Then I began a process of elimina- tion of the conflicting theories and processes and found that the common factors of success were very few in- deed. They could be counted on the flngers of one hand. All agreed' in the following joints: Given a fairly intelligent bee-keeper, it requires: 1st. Colonies strong in bees of al- most any old strain at the beginning of the flow. 2d. Movable frame hives of some pattern or other that admits of tier- ing up. 3d. A vigorous and prolific queen at all times. ' ; 4th. A good location. 5th. And last but not least, all practiced manipulations for various purposes frequently. Now by comparing these results with another list which I made of un- successful bee-keepers, I found that even though the first four common factors were present, almost invar- iably no manipulations of any descrip- tion were practiced, and in all cases the degree of success could almost be measured by the number of manipula- tions performed, and it seemed to make but little difference what these manipulations were, either. But I eliminated again and found that where success in any degree was achieved, two common factors were ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 161 present in all cases — smoking and handling frames for various purposes. Hence the logical conclusion wa» that if we are given the first four fac- tors, and supply the last two in a proper manner, we would achieve suc- cess. I experimented quite extensive- ly by extracting every ten days and comparing results with colonies let alone. I made quite complete notes and records of these, but they were destroyed by fire that also destroyed nearly all my apiary and fixtures. Recently I have gone back to my old love and have demonstrated to niy own satisfaction that judicious "shak- ing" gives me the "added pound," which means a profit. I tried it uu a small scale last year and it gave me quite a nice margin over my other yards where I did not use it so freely. I planned to use it in all my yards this year, and in fact did in a small way ; but as Adrian Getaz says in the Review: It was a complete failure. The bees I shook did not net me more than five pounds per colony, and that badly colored with honey dew, but as none of the others not shaken did any better, I eliminated again and found the common factor of failure to be in the drought last fall which killed the clover, so we must not blame the shaking for the failure or for the honey dew either, as one critic tries to do. Do not make the mistake of think- ing that shaking your bees will cause them to gather honey when none is secreted by the flowers, as it surely will not. Neither is it very valuable the first few days of a flow, unless you wish to introduce a queen, move your bees or they will" not enter the sections, but when the first spasm of work is over and the hive is pretty well filled with brood and honey, and they begin to be dilatory, then is when the shaking will count big, and the heavier and longer the fiow the more value it is to you. If you are a bee-keeper worthy of the name, you will not put in overtime stimulating the little fellows to their best effort, and gain dollars by it, too. Do not imagine that shaking where the bees run back on the old combs will dis- courage swarming, for it will not. It stimulates brood rearing and thereby tends to promote swarming or in- crease. But as Kipling has it, "Swarming is another tale." I find I can increase largely of a good season and not sacrifice any honey whatever, rather increase it if anything, by judicious shaking. This is quite a big item for me, as I am en- larging my yards and increasing their number. The value of shaking lies in its sim- plicity. A novice can readily master the few manipulations required, and a bee-master can thus multiply himself indefinitely. While there are other and different ways of doing many of the things that bring success, shaking has proven to me to be the best way of doing most of them. But, after all, success depends largely on a good flow and the judgment of the bee- master and the watchful care and faithfulness of his assistants. The Vice President — You have heard the paper as read by Dr. Phillips on "Shaking Energy into Bees." Now, it is open for discussion. How many have had any experience with this question? (Nine members raised their hands.) Mr. Brown — My experience has been that it was not merely the fact of juggling up the bees that could really be called shaking, at the same time I think that helped; but the plan w^e worked was — I didn't think of it as shaking up the bees at the time — ^we used to go over the yards about every two weeks and commence at one cor- ner of the yard, and go over the full' number of colonies that were in that yard, and spread the brood to a cer- tain extent in the spring, or remove a few frames that were filled with honey, using that brood to build up some other colony. As we would go over them we would get things ready for the honey flow, and just before it started we would put on our uppers. After the uppers had been on a cer- tain length of time we went through and took out a few frames of brood for the purpose of building up new colonies for helping some of the weak ones along, and holding some of the others back from swarming. If they began to get clogged up with honey we would go through the yard and take out from every hive from one to four frames of nearly capped honey in the centre of the hive. There was one yard that was pretty large, and we could not get over it very welL It took us a day to go there and a day to come back, and we would run wi?i:.7*"';^-,,.»; ■ ■'X'-J!;:-^rT, 162 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE down there, and frequently we would have rain, and there would be one comer of that yard we would not get over, and we noticed that it was worse for swaiTning, and at the same time the bees did not go to work; there would be more bees lying out in that corner of the yard than anywhere else, and less honey, although they had room enough in the uppers. We had to change our system and make a plan, and keep a record of what we had gone over, and commence at that point in the yard the next time we went over it, and go as far as we could the next trip; and while it was not entirely the shaking that caused the increase. It had the effect, as the paper stated, of causing them to build up, and causing them to spread and keep the brood nest in good shape for the brood, and that kept the colony active. A new swarm would always go to work with more energy than an old one. This manipulation of the frames I think brings about the same advantage that swarming does. Mr. Poppleton — I dissent from the paper on three or four points, and especially the one that extracting ex- cites the bees to greater activity and causes a greater yield. I tested that matter very thoroughly in Cuba. Some of those things we can test much better there than in the United States, I find for two or three days after ex- tracting that those bees will gather less honey than the other bees, or than that same colony without extract- ing. When I came back to Florida I kept a hive on the scale, and kept a thorough record for two or three years, and my experience is that for two or three days after extracting, the bees gather less ihoney than be- iPore. The extracting seems to dis- courage, instead of encourage. I ex- tract part of my 'hives once in two weeks, and I have come lo the con- clusion— I have watched it very close- ly— that so long as the bees have plenty of room in the hive, with not too large a ihive, they will gather just as mxich honey whether you extract or do not. Tou can go on and allow a large part of the colony to become sealed; so long as they have got room to store 'honey, they will store just as much as if you take out part of it. I have watched this point very closely. Mr. Bernschein — Mr. V'lce-President, it seems to me that frequent extract- ing is very im.uch against us in regard V to getting ripe honey; I know it would i be with me. I can't extract every ' ten days and get my honey as ripe as i I would like it, and as ripe as we read } about in our journals; tSierefore, I am i against frequent extracting. I Mr. Dibble — Isn't it a fact, from j Mr. Poppleton's statement there, that < in extracting, if he placed the comb in the hives, that for those two or . three days he is speaking about, the ' bees are preparing the com'b, and, therefore, he would get less honey than. [ he would if he had not extracted? Be- , cause we all know when we put combs ' back in t!he hive 'there is certainly a ■ lot of work that has got to be done by the bees 'before they will go to | work gathering honey; they will all go to work and clean those combs lup. Mr. Poppleton — I would suggest that 'the bees do that work in a couple of hours. Mr. Kretchmer — Mr. Vice-President, ' although I voted on the question, yet my deductions 'are not according to the version that has been given of I the question at issue. My deductions have been something like this: We aH have noticed that a new swarm of bees works with more energy after swarming than any other time. I en- deavor to prevent swarming by chip- ing out the queen cells. I have shaken the bees from the comb. In fact, I make a natural swarm in an arti- flcal way, hiving them back into the hive, and tftie bees have acted simi- larly to a natural swarm just hived, working with energy. My inference is, [ it was not the shaking that brought the enery, it was simply by produc- ing an effect similar to a natural swarm that gave me the result. We may have our own ded'uctions in the matter, but my idea is, it was not the shaking at any time, but simply by producing something siimdlar to natural swarming, and hiving them the same as a natural swarm. Mr. Dadant — I see my name is men- tioned twice in the paper, and I de- sire to explain what my views are on the subject. I don't want you to think that that is exactly it, but I just want to explain how I understand the matter. Now, I have not seen anything at all in the way cf improve- ment while the bees were making honey. The improvement I have seen is in the way the bees were handled ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 163 before the crop. We have transported bees from one place to another, and we have !had those bees do better than the others, althougih the location was not any better. We have handled bees a great many times before the crop, and we have had those colonies more populous, and, therefore, more active. Htere is imy explanation of the matter: When you open a hive of bees and smoke it, you frigihten the bees. In order to tame bees, you have to smoke them so tihat they will fill themselves with honey. When they do that, they go about the hive for a while before they return. If you do that many times, you have many bees filled with honey We all know that tihe queen is fed by the bees without i" i ■^■^i'JSL ■]4ruii**-*i*iWJ*: --^iii- ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 165 thing I have ever found that puts en- ergy into bees is transferring entire- ly, that is, taking them from one hive or one location off their comb and. put- ting them in an entirely new location on new comb, or make them build their own. If you watch them and manipulate them properly you will get the results. Mr. Huffman — I have been listening quite a bit to this shaking business. I will admit you can shake bees, but I don't believe you can shake any en- ergy into them, but they can shake it into you. I am with Brother Dadant on this. Keep your colony right and have the right kind' of bees, good strong bees, and you will get more honey than from any other kind. It depends on the bees more than any- thing else. I have shaken several; I have shaken them on empty combs and put the brood on top, but I could- n't see there was any more energy in them than any others. If you shake them and move them it may help some, but if they go into a new field they have got to work to find some- thing new, and they get out, when the honey seasdn comes on they are ready to go to work at it. If you .manipu- late your swarms and manipulate them at the right time, and get ready for the honey flow when it comes, and give them plenty of room, I don't be- lieve they will need any shaking; and when they are fit to extract, put on your combs. Dr. Jones — ^I think that those gen- tlemen who have spoken last have hit the nail on the head. It is not the shaking, but it is giving them plenty of room at all times, and they will get the honey if there is any. As to get- ting honey in the top stories, I think one bee-k'Seper said by raising up a oomb or two with honey or brood in it from below and putting it above that, wiU start your bftes to work every time, I have noticed that at different times, in different seasons. Mr. Facey claims that dividing bees will put more energy into them than anything else you can do. We haven't any trouble up in our country getting the 'bees to work, but wihen they get crowded, they are not going to do any- thing. When bees loaf, it is because they haven't room to work. If you give them plenty of room, and keep aihead of .thetni, they are going to work all the time. Mr. Ramer is acquainted with our system of manag^ing bees up there. Mr. Huffman — I wish they would de- vise some means this year to put the energy into the bees - in our locality. We have the bees, but we don't have tiie honey. Mr. Snyder — The last two gentle- men's experience coincides with mine. It is my experience that to gfive plenty of room when the bees need it is what gets the 'honey. Last year I undertook to experiment with dividing my bees and establishing an out- apiary, thinking my home apiary was a little overstocked, or was in dan- ger of being so, and the results were not satisfactory to me. The bees I had movedl w^ere hauled some four miles to a location that seemed to be unusually good for gathering honey; It wajs a splendid location for clover, etc.; and, in "hauling these bees, if shaking was any advantage to them, I think they undoubtedly had it, as I (had to go down two very stony hills on the way; and they got some smok- ing when we arrived at the. place, in taking them off to quiet them for handling; and I am positive had I kept those bees all at home, in the home apiary, I would ihave had much more honey, as my heaviest yields were froimi the colonies at home that were given plenty of room. Mr. Bernsdheim — My experience Is not shaking bees for the purpose of putting energy into them, but watch- ing them closely that they do not hang out. Whenever I see a cluster of bees as big as my hand hanging out, I ex- arnine the upper story, and quite like- ly I add another story betv/een. This last summer I took 37 swarms on sihares. The man that owned them went out West on account of his health. The lady that was left at home wanted me to take care of them in her own yard. I said I couldn't do that, because, I said, when your bees need your attention, my bees need my attention at home. So I took theni to my own place. When I got to harvest- ing the Ihoney she apparently thought she got more honey by getting half the honey fromi me than sihe did when, her husband ran them at home. I don't average more than one swarm out of three colonies per year, so It shows I keep therti doing something else than swarming. At this point the President resumed . ^%:-:^re;iVi>.p?i;>- ! ..■.-v-rJr-.r,:/r;:j; ' .V-.i^.^ii:. -;<^-. ?J.si4a«ai*;Xs:«iat<,,vf5-^: ;v.--n,f;-' 166 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE the chair, and said: I will make my report at this time. We find that we have but eleven States represented, and two or three of those with only one or two present. I am sorry to say my State stands in the one column. Alphabetically arranged, we have made the following selections: D. C. — E. F. Phillips, Washington, I>. C. Florida — O O. Poppleton, Stuart, Fla. Iowa — W. P. Southworth, Salix, Iowa. Illinois — George W. York, Chicago, 111. Kansas — Dr. G. Bohrer, Lyons, Kans. Michigan — George Hilton, Fremont, Mich. Minnesiota — ^P. B. Ramer, Harmony, Minn. Missouri — M. E. Darby, Springfield, Mo. Nebraska — J. P. Goodwin, iHbmer, Nebr. South Dakota — R'. A. Morgan, Ver- milion, S. Dak. Wisconsin — Jacob Huffiman, Mon- roe, Wis. The President — The next subject on the program is "Putting in Comb Foundation," by Mr. W. P. Southworth, of Sailix, Iowa. Mr. Southworth — Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: You no doubt expected to bear Mr. Brown on this subject. Neither of ois knew that there was a program. Mr. Brown is the wax presser. he is the man that hodls up the old combs and gets the •wax out, and is probably more conver- sant with that part of it than I am; not that I am more conversant with foundation and wiring of frames than (he is. As to this matter of foundation, I am, no doubt, talking to men that have had a great deal more experience than I have had, and I feel some of them ought to have taken this place instead of me, but, nevertheless, I am indebt- ed to the men that have made a suc- cess of their business and have "been willing to give these points on which they have made a success to the pub- lic, and if I can give anything that will ibe of any benefit to this meeting, I want to do it. I am of the opinion we need more honey-producers, and that there is not enough honey pro- duced at the present time to supply the needs of the public. Every enterprise must have its foundation; the same thing applies to the bee-hive, and I go a great deal on foundation in the brood nest and in all parts. I don't want to speak from the standpoint of a supply dealer to urge people to use foundation, to get them to buy it, but from the stand- point of a honey-producer. The thing we want is the honey, and we have got to have t)he combs to put it in. We have also got to have the ibrood nest to raise the bees to gather this honey. We do not want crooked combs, we do not want odd sihaped cells, nor do we want a great amount of drone comb. Foundation gives us the best results in securing this. We want the combs filled with brood from end to end; from top to bottom, and from corner to corner, and I am quite sure that all through we will get the best results with using the full sheets of foundation. ; Not long ago it was my privilege to look over a lot of combs in whidh- the man had only used starters. I imaght say he has the finest lot of combs I ever exaanined, iboit he had to put lots of work on these combs, after they were drawn, to get them in that con- dition, by cutting out such parts as he didn't want and piecing in the others. In the matter of getting our founda- tion drawn into good combs, we w^ant to put them on in season and not out season. It Is useless to put founda- tion into the frames in the hives if the bees are not in a condition to utilize that foundation, to build it out and use it. The hees must be gath- ering nectar or else have a sufficient amount of food to stimulate the se- cretion of wax to draw out and get nice straight combs. If we put it in at a time when the bees cannot use it, it will sag with the weight of it. I would put the foundation in in the spring when the flo^y commences and would prefer to have it drawn in the brood nest or in natural STvarms. In arranging the foundation in combs, I think it is well to use wire or splints. In the matter of using splints, I cannot speak from experience, as I have nev- er used them nor come in contact with persons who have used them, but I have used different methods of waring; longitudinal wires were very good, but I found it would sag; we could not keep the foundation up in all cases so that it would not spread. Then I used ..'.v:^i£-kLS3BiiiS;- ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 167 the longitudinal wires with a diagonal wire, and still did not reach the re- sults, and I don't know that any wir- ing is absolutely iperfect under all conditions. A little method we have is to put in two longitudinal wires, and then one up and down, and fasten it home, or take a wrap around the second wire. This particular frame I have in my hand was one from which the comb had been boiled; I think it was treated for foul brood, and I found the wiresi were in suitable condition to fill again without using new wire. But, I have one here with a longitudinal andi diag- onal wire, and it was treated the same, and it is all loose. This method of wiring is quite quickly put in. We have a frame in which we lay the frames to drive our nails; then bend the wire to a hook with a pair of round nosed pliers, and then the loop in one end of the wire is drawn around, and we prefer using a nail and hook at the other end, ibecause we al- low for the emergency of boiling out, if it is necessary, and re-wiring and putting them in. This method is not altogether original with me; I am in- debted to Mr. Chantry or some of the men in his employ that were handling over a lot of old comb and found the diagonal wiring loose, and they hit on the method of tightening up by put- ting in vertical wire, and found it was a good method, and I have been using it since, and I know -of others that have used it in like manner. In put- ting in the foundation after the frames are wired I prefer good hanging frames to the self-spacing frames. In those common home-made frames we fasten our foundation with hot wax. We hang the wax over a lamp to keep it warm, lay the frame in place on a board, and with a spoon or some other plan run the wax along the edge and fasten it to the frame. We fasten the wire either witlhi a wire imbedder or rocker. In the extracting super, I think it is well to use the foundation all through. It is as profitable there as it is in the other part. In the mat- ter of the section super, yve do not w,ant any defective use of foundation there. I have sold a great many hives to people to catch a stray swarm' with, and they want somethihg cheap. I ■Slave shown them the sections with the starter in, and with nearly full sheets, and they say, "No, I don't want to put so much money in it; sell me a set of section without anything in." That man would go out and put them on, and I would hear that it was an entire failure. I am sure, in start- ing bee-keeping, we want to start with right foundation, and put in enougih, sections to guide the bees in line. The question of putting in full sheets of foundation and fastening them on all four sides of the section has been brought up. From the stand- point of a honey dealer wanting to ship, probably this is good. The honey well fastened and attached to the sides of the section will, no douM, stand the handling and bumping around of sihipping, but is it the best thing for the table? Can we use little enough wax in fastening that fottnda- tiom so that the consumer is not going to have to eat it? I rathar doubt it. But, I do ibelieve if we will use nearly full sheets of foundation and fasten the top and bottom starter, and then have a good honey-flow, or make the conditions the same as a good honey- flow by feeding our bees wihen they are wiorking in the section supers, and keep the bees working, we will have just as good results as though we fas- tened the foundation on all four sides of the section. I want to hear from others in re- gard to it. If there are any points I have missed, I want you to supply the deficiency, and if there are points where I am wrong, I want to hear from you. I aim in the business to get honey from the bees, to gt a good equip- ment for (handling, and I want to help and encourage others w'ho are start- ing in the business by working along the same line. I thank you for your attention. The President — The matter of the use of foundation is certainly an im- portant one in our industry, and I trust the matter will be discussed thoroughly and intelligently, and that we may learn something. Is there anyone who has anything to say upon this subject at this time? Mr. France — Mr. President, there are one or two points, in briefing this, tihat possibly Mr. Southworth over- looked. After seeing this method demonstrated, towards spring, I wired sufficient for 25 hives on this plan, for the purpose of comparing it with the other. W^here these staples come, if your foundation comes close to it, 168 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE I find it is advisable to put a little wax in, with a ibrush or something, upon that staple, otherwise the bees will cut away tihe foundation from that point, leaving a deficiency in the comb. Also, wftiere the crossing comes, those spots I also attach by the (brush, with a little melted wax. It has this advantage over the other system, where these wires become slackened, our comb foundation has a tendency to sag. This way, with those wires tied in the ceniter, it gives it tihe strongest tension right where you want the weigftit. That part of it is a grand, good feature. Again, the staple method of wiring prevents the tendency of a loose ten- sion, from the fact that, while you wire through the wood, the wire soon cuts into the wood, and gives you a slack wire. In this way, there is no chance to do tlhat. I tried this method on 25 hives, and I will own that for me, taking tihe length of time to put in the nail, bend the staple, and put in the wires, that I couldn't make fifteen min- utes difference in time on the 25 hives. It takes less time after those are put in to flnislh the wiring than in the other way. Dr. Bohrer — Do you deem two wires BUfiicient? Mr. France — I believe they are. Mr. Miles — It was up to the con- vention here two years ago, and I wired 25 hives tlhat way, and I had the foundation sag, and' I got the poorest combs that way I ever got. Tfhey sagged w^ith ime right between the two wares. "With the few I used as upper stories I got fair results, but I used most of them for brood-chambers. Last year I went back to wiring on three wires and putting in staples. I found a great deal less sagging than with this system. Mr. Kretchmer — There was one re- mark which I desire to reply to. Mr. SOTithworth made the remark that he objected to the Holtoian frames be- cause he couldn't extract from them. I think that is not the fault of the frame but the fault of the construc- tion of the extracter. If the screen is made so that it will exactly fit be- tween the two projections so as to allow the frame to lie perfectly smooth, there will be no breaking, and consequently the fault is not with the Hoffman frame, but with the ex- tracter. Mr. Brown — ^We used that system and the foundation sagged, so that it was practically useless for that pur- pose. Mr. France spoke of the time required in wiring. I have had sever- al frames wired through the wood- work, with three cross wires and two corner-ways, and I have not been able to get from a man any more than from 200 to 250 of those frames in a day's time. After Mr. Morgan had put in the nails I wired 135 in an hour's time. The only principle is to take your bunch of frames, have a place for nailing, drive the nails as fast as you can, and then start in and bend your staples, and do your wiring afterwards. Where the five wires have been put in I have got the best possible combs out of them, but it takes too much time for that, and too much time in fastening the foundation. If you are going to draw combs you must have a good honey fiow. As far as using the Hoffman frame for extracting, it is not merely the fact of the frame not working right in the extracter, but it does not work right at any time all the way through for a good many men; and I have noticed a great many of the larger bee-keepers use a n on -spacing frame. Mr. Morgan — In regard to the wir- ing of the frame, I want to say that I use two wires only, like the one shown by Mr. Southworth. This year I used 500 of those frames, and I don't think there was a single frame which sag- ged or broke down in the 500. I had a young man wiring the frames for me, and he would wire three a minute and put in the nails. We used the frames not only with full swarms, but in the upper and lower stories, and with good STicces's in every case. I use two different makes of foundation so that I know whether an ordinary founda- tion will work nicely in that class of frame with that wiring. I am not so prejudiced against the Hoffman frame as some, although I believe it has no particular advantage over the ordi- nary frame. Dr. Jones — I would like to hear Mr. Poppleton explain a scheme which he has, which I think beats them all as far as sagging is concerned. Mr. Poppleton — Some six or eight years ago a gentleman in California sent me a permit to use his patent, and it is the finest I have ever used, but on account of it being patented '.■ I'S. .■v3'j-,'> ;.■'/,> r*j' 1,- .^r^i.f'^^^iJi^'^J^k^.^i41J^S^.:.- ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 169 I have never given it out very much. Mr. Hill, the late Editor of the Amer- ican Bee- Keeper in Florida, and my- self tried to retain the patent for the purpose of giving it to the bee-keep- ing world, but we could not succeed, and we dropped the thing. We use it ourselves; it beats wiring. I have not used wire for years and years. It is a very simple thing indeed. I have got now in use something very similar to the old Given press. I had one in the apiary when I went to Cuba, and in using that I would make a double dip of the top of each sheet, that is, dip sideways instead of end- ways, and by doing it that way and pressing it, I got sheets that would iK»t stretch, having the upper half very heavy and the lower half very thin. I tried to interest the Root's but they said there was some mechani- cal difficulty in running foundation by that method. Then I tried a few years ago to interest them again, but they were then working on another scheme, and didn't take it up. This process is simply forcing the wax to any part of the section that you want it by brushing melted wax over the surface. It also adds wax to the edges of the cells and in some way or other strengthens them. I think that also solves the question of feeding wax to the bees for them to use. I take my comib, and I have a little dish over a little kerosene stove so as to keep the wax melted, and I use an ordinary three inch flat varnish brush. I take up all the wax I can andi just rub it over the upper half iintil tlhat wax will press out over the edges of the cells. It adds wax to the cells in the upper part and I have ho trouble. I use 1-4 inch deep foundation. I have the finest combs I have ever had in my life. It solves the entire problem o£ stretching combs. The gentleman who has patented this process lives in South California, and his name is Henry Vogan. It was patented in 1900. I would no more think of going back to wires or doing without it than I would of trying to keep 'bees that would not rob. Dr. Jones — This is a patent process, and I read in the American Bee-Keep- er how to do it. I didii't know who' the man was or where he iivedl, but I will take that frame and show you how I did it. I have got one of the finest frames you can find. I (have a paint (brusih about half an inoh wid«, and I dip that in hot wax. I wire my frames the same as this is wired, be- cause we use them for extracting pur- poses in the upper story. I was afraid of them breaking, otherwise. Last year I tried it, and I just took the brush and daubed a little wax where these wires are. Here is where they break loose very often, "We don't need much wax. I worked it that way last year, and had very nice frames. Here- tofore I (have always Ihad trouble with tJhem bending, especially if it is hot weather. I could never get them to suit me. I have my wax almost boil- ing, so that it will smear well. With a brush, using it lightly and quickly, you can get the wax on there after a little practice, so that it reinforces it. My experience is, it will blend right between these wires, but this stiffens it up so that you can put it in the brood nest or in the extracting cham- 'ber, and tihe bees will build it out. I (had it in twenty supers, and there w^as not a comb but wtiat was just as' straight as a board, and I never had that before. I tried it on a small scale last year on two or three hives. I got a nuimber of extracting frames, and I put in a couple of sheets of this, and the bees drew it out just as nice as anything. You take th;>se and put them up' above, and you have got a lot of new combs that way, and you have got them straight. I read that article, and I saw^ Mr. Poppleton had a right to use tihat process, and I thought I had a right, too, and I thoxight if they ever caught me, that I would pay for it. Dr. Bohrer — In the matter of wiring, I see there are a great many different methods. This thing of the wire sag- ging and^ becoming slack, is one of the great difficulties to overcome. I axca very much interested in what tfhe Doctor and Mr. Poppleton have said in regard to waxing the comb founda- tion; I believe it will avoid this buck- ling of it. No matter how systematic we try to be, we cannot alw^ays put the foundation into the frames and give it to the bees just exactly the way they want it. We have got to anticipate in a good many instances, and for that reason I believe that this is going to be :ft»4.-,w ,,MK\-,""-ij-f'..'-l^.--V- ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 171 I have had about as much experience in putting- foundations in sections as perhaps any other party in the room of my age, or of my time of bee-keep- ing, perhaps about fourteen years. I have in the back room here a founda- tion machine that was built by the Lewis Company that I have gone to work and fixed over into a bottom starter foundation machine, and before you leave the hall entirely I want you to examine it. There is no patent on it. The Lewis Company have promised me to p'ut the process on the market. Their buildings were burned down this summer, and they have not gotten around to it, but probably they will get the machine on to the market in time. They told me to send the machine to them two years ago and to let them examine it, and shortly after that the elderly gentleman died. The young Mr. Lewis at that time was in Florida, and he came home shortly after this and took the mat- ter up with me, and they have agreed to put the machine on the market in the manner in which I have got it ar- ranged in the back room. Anybody can easily fix a machine as I have fixed it for a bottom starter machine in a very few minutes, and by ex- amining it you can see how it is done. It will cost you nothing. I was the originator of it, and consequently there will be no patent on it. Mr. Poppleton — ^I hope no one will credit me with advising the use of the Given Press foundation. I should condemn it entirely for all use except it taught me that one lesson, the use of the upper half. The instant I saw this description iby this man from California I saw it solved tne very thing I had been working at for fifteen years. Another thing, the wax put on there being cast is a little softer and I think the bees will work it out a great deal more quickly than after it is pressed hard. That is simply theory. Mr. Manz — I would' like to ask Mr. Poppleton if he does anything to keep the wire in the centre of the frames? Mr. Poppleton — I don't use wire. I leave about a quarter of an inch space all around, Mr. adant — I don't believe honey- dew is good for wintering under any ciroumsitances. Question — iHow to winter our bees this winter when the hives now have honey- dew in them? Mr. Huffman — Take the honey- dew out and put in sugar. Question — ^What should a ten -frame hive weigh, ready for outdoor winter- ing, including tlhe bees, combs and honey? Total weight wanted. Mr. Hall — Sixty pounds wouldn't hurt it any. Dr. Bohrer — It depends upon the hive. I have some hives that have the heavy Acme covers on, and they are in turn covered with galvanized iron, and that w^ould make quite a difference in the weight of the hive; and the thickness of the board has something to do with it; and then, again, if you use an Acme or Colorado cover, that would' make a difference. Mr. Hall — The edge of the com'bs, and the amount of pollen in there, would also have something to do with it. Mr. Clark — On the ten-frame dove- tail hive with the ordinary excelsior cover I have been weighing the combs when they have been first drawn out in foundation, and I have weighed the hive bodies separately, and the ten-fr^me dovetail hive with the excelsior cover and combs, not over two yea*s old, will weigh 31 pounds, so all the rest of the bee- keepers know how many stores it is-- .necessary to keep a good strong col- ony throug'h the winter; you can eas- ily get at it now. Question — What is the best way to feed ten or more colonies for winter? Mr. Hall — In, I think, 1902, when we got back from the Denver Conven- tion, my bees, 63 colonies, were starv- ing, and there was nothing coming in from the field, and they were carrying out brood. I had to do something and do it quickly. After I got off the three o'clock train, and before I went to bed, I went to the sugar sack and mixed up some syrup, and went around to each hive, jerked up the cover and doused in ahout a teacup - ful or pint of sugar water right on top- of the bees. I don't consider that a really good way to feed, it is a lit- tle dangerous. The next day I went down to the store and ordered 3,000 lbs. of sugar; I went to the pasture and got mj^ 16-foot water trough, made of 12-inch plank. In that I already had a fioat made of half -inch boards, enough to fill it all except sufficient space at one end for the stock to drink from. I went to work and took two 16-inch boards and nailed a lath four inches from each end, leaving a strip up the middle. Up the middle I laid a piece of gunnisack. I put one end of one of these boards in the trough, and the other end on top of this other board, and at the top end I put a barrel with a faucet in it, over which was tied gunnisack, so that the bees didn't get into the barrel. In a week's time I fed 3,000 pounds of sugar to those bees. That was out- , door deeding right in the yard. At ; one time I tested the bees to find how i fast they were taking the sugar, and j they took it at the rates of 125 pounds | to the hour. Some people would •• think that was a good way to create a .; lof of robbing, but I had no robbing ] whatever. Mr. Griffin — Were there any more ; bees in the neighborhood? j Mr. Hall — Yes, there were. There were not any bees closer than about . half a mile. If I had continued it any j considerable time in the fine weather I 1 would have had a good case of robbing I from the other apiaries, but I didn't i have it. Mr. Dadant — ^Didn't that feed the \ ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 175 strong colonies very much more than the weak ones? Mr. Hall— It did. Mr. Dadant — Are not the weak col- onies very much more m need of it than the strong-? Mr. Hall — That is true too, but I went around afterwards and equalized them. The next season was the best honey season I ever had. I wrote to Ernest Root, and he said: By all means feed your bees, don't let them starve. My neighbor lost 24 colonies out of 28 because he failed to feed them. They went along pretty well till about midsummer, and the queen got tired and they tried to supersede her, and they fizzled out. I had 7,000 pounds from 63 colonies the next summer. There was no spotting of the hives. There were a few colonies I found a little sugar syrup in along in May. My syrup was one-third water to two-thirds sugar. I would take a pail of cistern water and throw it into the boiler, and at the same time throw In a pail or two pails of sugar. I kept tesiting it and tasting. On the average it was about two of sugar to one of water. I never brought it to the boiling point. I put a little tar- taric acid in it, I don't know whether it did any good or not. Mr. Bernschein — iMr. Hall's bees are more honest than any I have had in my neighborhood. I never could feed that way for a week without robbing. Dr. Bohrer — ^That method of feed- ing is certainly a safe one in Mr. Hall's own apiary if his bees require feeding. As to the method of prepar- ing the syrup, I think he is correct. I usually fill my feeder two-thirds full S»:^-_ !.'■ 176 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Mr. Miles — There is no need feed- ing at ithis time of the year. If it is necessary to feed them, I would like to suggest putting a little bunch of blue grass down one side of the hive to the feeder, and you can scatter a little syrup on that, and the toees will go down. Mr. Ramer — I have used' all kinds of feeders, and I Ihave settled down to this: That I sihall feed out of doors when there are no other bees near, and then equalize. I will do that till I think they have plenty. Question — How to prepare bees for outdoor wintering in the West or North? Mr. Hall — I have had some experi- ence in that. In the year 1903 or 1904 I had 126 colonies to winter. I hadn't roam in my cellar, so I concluded to experiment, and put 63 in.side and 63 outside. The 63 I put inside the cellar were all the lighter ones. I was a little afraid to risk outdoors. The re- sult was, 59 colonies wintered indoors, as against 26 colonies outdoors. Now, my method of packing those outdoors was, I placed the hives in two rows, probably about six or eight inches apart. I put a 12 inch board behind the hives, and then cleated twelve 3- inch boards for a roof, and before I iput the roof on I piled all around the back of the hives, down in between them, and up over tihe top of them, probably about a foot of Chaff and straw together, and then I laid these tihree-lnch boards, cleated together, over the top of the straw, and project- ed them down over the board behind, making a shanty roof that sloped backwards. In front of the hive, for a ^ade board, I laid another 12-inch •board; I laid it on pieces of wood to keep it off the ground. At times, w^hen I thought it necessary to )et the bees have a fly, and thougiht it was warm enough, I let this board down. I did thait two or three times through the •wiinter. I "thought I had them per- fect. Tlhe result w^as, I lost 37 colonies out of 63 outside, and only 3 out of 63 In tlhe cellar; 45 degrees is about right for cellar wintering, keeping the cellar perfectly dark with sufficient ventilation to give the bees air. Question — How often shall we re- queen our colonies for the best re- sults ? Mr. Doolittle — Every two years or oftener, when any queen shows she is failing. Mr. Hall — Two years is long enough for me. Dr. Bohrer — Whenever I find a queen not doing good work I supersede her immediately. As a rule, if my queens are doing fairly good work I let them alone. Two years I think is the rule. I got a queen from Mr. Davis of Springfield, Tennessee, and that queen has done good work for three years, and I won't destroy any queen as long as she does good work. In Sep- tember or October if the queen has been doing good work all the season I will let her alone. I very seldom have a queen of that kind die during the winter, but about the fourth sea- son they will supersede. Mr. Bernschein — ^I am a clipper; I believe in clipping my queens, and I do that every spring, and I find that at least one half of my clipped queens are superseded every spring. Dr. Bohrer — I had a young queen that laid a lot of eggs that never would hatch out. Did anyone of you ever have that? Mr. Poppleton — Yes, I have had it. On motion of Dr. Bohrer, seconded by Mr. Dadant, the Convention ad- journed to meet 7:30 p. m. Evening Session. At 7:30 p. m. the President took the chair and said: The Convention will please come to order. The committee on nominations will meet at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, and we hope the entire committee will try to be present at nine o'clock. The evening's deliberations seem to be composed entirely of a Question Box. The first question I find is — Honey dew honey, what is the color, and how known for a certainty that it is honey- dew? Dr. Phillips — There is no uniform color to honey- dew; it varies all the way from a light color to a dark green, and sometimes a brownish tinge. I saw some honey-dew which, after it was granulated, was as white as al- falfa honey when it was granulated. The chief characteristic of it in North- em United States is the fact that it granulates so quickly. We had a good deal of honey-dew in our apiary this year, and it grranulated almost as £A>-./-;';ii: Miii^!^:ii.,.:Afi, ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 177 soon as it struck the comb. There is, on the other liand, a good deal of honey- dew in various parts of the world that never granulates at all. There is some honey-dew that will not granulate inside of five years. I don't know of any other way to tell honey-diew except its taste. Question — ^Which is superior, Gold- men Italians or Red Clover Bees ? Mr. York — Some people write me and tell me they think the long tongued "bees are a fake. Dr. Dohrer — That is a question I would like to hear discussed, if there is such a thing as the Red Clover "bee; I would like to know what dif- ference there is — how it differs from the ordinary three banded Italian. I wrote to a queen breeder once in regard to that matter, and he told me he was satisfied of one thing, that they couldn't remain in the hive and Teach out into the fields and get nectar and draw it in with their long tongues, but he wouldn't take the po- sition that there was such a thing as the Red Clover Italian bee. I ■don't believe there is. I never have seen anything of the kind. Bees of the same strain will differ I think as to size, and the tongues will differ as to length, but a strain of bees uni- formly that will go into a red clover "blossom and get honey regularly, I don't believe there is anything in it; at least, I have never been able to tind a man that will guarantee any- thing of the kind. In 1865 I was in the Army, and on my return home I found a peculiar looking honey in one of my hivesi; I opened it out, and unless it was red clover honey I don't know what it was. It w^as hardly a peach blossom color, and yet it was of a reddish cast. "We had in Indiana at that time a great deal of golden rod honey, but this was different from that. Mr. Langstroth never claimed there was any such thing as the red clover Italian bee. Question — The best way to hive swarms which have clustered on high trees or difficult places? Mr. De Jong — I have a swarm catch- er on a long pole; I have had to get on to the wagon and reach up with that. I have given them a good push, and most of the bees would fall in. In that way I get the swarm down into the hive. Dr. Bohrer — "What is the probable height that you could reach? Mr. De Jong— About ten feet, and I got up on top of the wagon, on a spring seat, and reached as high as I could. Mr. Saunders — I had a little experi- ence with a swarm clustered on an over-hanging branch of a tree about eighteen feet -from the ground; it kind of puzzled me, but I finally made a tripod of long, small poles, and raised my hive underneath them and raked them into the hive and left them there till night, and then removed them. Anybody can make a tripod with three long poles, and it is very easy after you get your hive up there to put them in and leave them there till night, and then remove them. The President — ^We have an answer to the question from Ernest Root, which I will read — "In a well regulat- ed apiary swarms should not be al- lowed to cluster in high trees. This can be prevented by having the wings of all queens clipped, or queen ex- cluders placed over the entrances; but it sometimes happens that a stray swarm will take up with some virgin in the air and alight in an inacces- sible place. "Where they cannot be reached with swarming poles and step- ladders, the only thing to do is to climb after them. If they can be reached by a spray of water from a force pump they possibly may be dis- lodged and made to cluster elsewhere or at some point more accessible. There have ibeen occasional reports of how a shot gnn has been used to advantage by sending a charge of shot right into the center of a cluster located at some point where the swarm cannot be reached by ordinary means; but this irritates the Dees, kills a good many, and usually fails in its object. "Where a swarm has clustered on the end of a limb, some forty or fifty feet froim the ground, it can often be reached by the following manner: Tie a string to a stone weighing a pound or two. Get some good base- ballist to throw this so that the stone ;will just go over the limb and lodge in some crotch, if possible. If thrown right, the stone may pass over the limb and make a circle a couple of times, winding the string around the limb. This will give a secure attach- ment, so that the limb can be shaken by means of the string attached to '/^^Jtb>J:'' 'rl*'}'^- 'sr,f;t^ ...,,^. 178 NINTH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE the stone. If this limb is shaken, vigorously for a period of fifteen or twenty minutes, the bees will lodge on, some other point, usually nearer gyound, where they can easily be hived by means of a step-ladder, or step- ladder and pole with basket." Mr. Bernschein — This reminds me of a case that came -to my notice last summer, a neighbor of mine who was just starting in bee-keeping had bought a few colonies in the neighbor- hood and came over to me, and he says, I will give you a. dollar to go over to nny place and hive a swarm of bees on a tree about twelve feet from the ground. That wasn't much of a job for me. He didn't tell me the bees w^ere on the trunk of the tree. "We had two ladders strapped together, and I made as good use of myself as I could to climb, and we had a hive perched on the top of the ladder. I went up well prepared to smoke, with a veil over my face. They were all around the tree about a foot in diameter. As I began to brush and smoke they began to fly, and they went off about one hundred feet farth- er west and clustered in a basswood tree. They must have been at least sixteen or twenty feet from the trunk of the tree, and at least fifty feet high. I said, I am done with them. He said, What can I do? Said I, get a couple of long poles and then tie or nail them together, and then on top of that get a strong wire with a hook on and hook on to the limb close by, and shake the bees off. They will go back again if you stop, but keep shaking. He said, all right. He did so. The next morning he came and said, we got the bees. I said, how did you do it? He says, we hooked on and shook, and shook and shook, and finally they came down and clustered low so that we could hive them, and we did. Mr. Dadant — ^In the remarks made by the gentleman who has just spok- en he spesks of smoking the bees on the trunk of a tree. If you take a comb, especially one containing brood or even dry comb, and if you put that next to the bees, with a little smoke they can easily be driven to that comb, and you can then get your swarm. Question — What is the average weight of wax in a Langstroth frame? The President — It is suggested Mr. Brown answer the question. Mr. Putnam — In conversation with Mr. Brown he told me that he got about four pounds of wax out of a ten-frame hive. Mr. Poppleton — ^The com'os that I use are about the size of the Lang- strotih. I tested tftiat a little this sumirh/er, and out of 100 of those comiba I secured, I think it was, 32 pounds, or nearly so. Mr. Hatch — The answer to that ques- tion is based on the usual results obtained w^here foundation running seven sheets to the pound is used, or, in other words, I iisually get two and one-half pounds of wax as an average from ten Langstroth frames. Mr. Dadant — The quantity of bees- wax in a comb depends on the age of the comb. A comb that has been built the same season -will be lighter in wax tftian combs that has been built longer. I think you will all rec- ognize that if you call attention to your section. If you have a section ibulllt the same year, you know the comib is very light, but let that be carried over till the next year, and you will notice your comb is very much tougher. The bees add wax to the comb. The older your comb is, the more beeswax it contains. The edges of the comb will be built with little projections — ^burr combs, we call them. All that is beeswax, and adds to tihe weigiht. Question — What percentage of wax can a wax-press save? Mr. Hatch — Fifty per cent. Mr. Poppleton — I deny that, up hill and down, positively. I get a good deal more than fiflty per cent of the entire weight of the combs before I put themi in the extractor at all, and how they can possibly get 50 per cent of the wax lost wfhen I get a good deal more tlhan 50 per cent before if is extracted, is something I can't understand. Question — Take 100 pounds of old combs, what amount of wax can a wax-press get out of them? TQie Presidenit — That is practically a repetition of the former question. Mr. Poppleton — My answer does not refer to the wax- press at all. The President — The question says a wax- press. Mt. Hall' — That is an important ques- tion, I believe, but it seems to me I ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 179 would rather talk about it in a back- ward way, what amount of wax will - a good wax-press leave in the comb? I have not got a wax-press, but I have been anticipating getting one for some time. I have never been able to find one that I thought it would pay me to get. Mr. Kretchmer — Taking old combs, it is almosit impossible, with any kind of press, to get more than 80 per cent out of the combs. Yet, if the combs are not too old, a boiler wax-press will take out 90, and some times 92 per cent. You can repeat the process by allowing the water to pass through again, and, with additional pressure, get more wax out. With steam it can- not be done. Mr. Dittrich — Mr. Hershiser, with Ms press, gets about 95 per cent. Mr. Snyder — There is a great dif- ference in difCerenit kind's of presses, as I have proved this past summer. I had one of these German presses the Jast time, and I pressed down three large cheeses whicttii were made up of old combs, and I was unable to get any wax out of tJhose cheeses with the steam presses or the German press. This summer I got the new Hershiser press, and out of those three cheeses I got 26 pounds, Mr. Kretchmer — The word "Ger- man" is misleading. I traveled quite extensively among German bee-keep- ers a year ago, and I found they all, without any exception, used a boiler press. Mr. France — ^With reference to ren- dering wax, in going over our State as inspector and finding a great many diseased coimibs and old brood-combs, I try to save for the bee-keepers all I can by saving the wax. I find there Is a decided difference in the princi- ple of saving wax between our dif- ferent presses. Those presses, using the term "German wax-press," that press melted slumgum into a dry cbeese will not save near the per cent of wax that you can in any form wherein that pressure is down under water. "Wax being lighter than water, and in using the Hershiser press, or any press involving that principle, as you press it the wax comes above, therefore j-^ou save quite a percentage more of wax than you can with the German press. Again, with the Ger- man' press we lose more than half the value if too much is put in at once. I remember one lot which we were melting, and about two and a half pails of the ordinary milk pails were put in one press, and the cheese when pressed was about four and a half or five inches thick. I broke it in two, and there was good cupful of hielted wax in the centre wrich couldn''t escape. So that this princi- ple of pressure under hot water, giv- ing it a chance to rinse and wash, and again pressing, has a decided Ad- vantage. Upon many of the farms wrere they have but a few bees one of the better presses' costs too much for the farmer to afford to keep, so I have upon the ordinary farm used such conveniences as I could find, taking an iron kettle and making a slatted arrangement to go in near the bottom of the kettle, and anottoer slatted fol- lower, and putting the broken comb in a sack between the two, and when melted, applying a lever pressure, which amounts to the same thing as the screw. Iron discolors the wax, and for that reason I want to get it out of the iron kettle as soon as I can and' let it cool in wood or tin or copper. The more water used the better the wax. Mr. Kretchmer— Another feature in getting a little additional wax is to take old combs and soak them first before submitting them to heat and pressure. In that way the water soaks up the old dry cocoons, and then when filled with water these cocoons do not absorb as much wax. Mr. Dadant — I wish to add my tes- timonial to the merits of the Her- shiser press. We melt a great deal of beeswax, and we melt residues, and the Hershiser press has given us the best satisfaction, but I must mention one thing, most people press too fast. When we make wine we press our grapes, and if we press them too fast we form a hard shell on the outside, and the seeds and skins are brought together in the pressure Press slowly and let the juices escape, and as you give them more room add to your pressure. It is the same thing with beeswax. If you press too fast you will have a shell on the outside which will keep the beeswax inside. It will be much more difficult for it to escape than if you pressed slowly al- lowing it to gently come out, and as it comes out keep pressing it a '■f^yS^r-rW^i^'l-.^ ."^-;a?\.;;^:j 180 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THK little tighter. Take more time and you will get better results. Mr. Brown — I have always found in working wax in order to get a good result from it, it should, if possible, be melted up and pressed as quickly as possible after it is melted. If your- water, or the apparatus, or whatever you have got, is hot enough so that they boil up with a good bright, yel- low fluff, the slumgum will come out better than if it stands for any length of time. If it is allowed to stand, all the cocoons will raise above the water and the wax seems to go right under, and while you will press prac- tically nothing but clear wax, you don't get the value out of it. There is not water enough in it to take the place of the cocoon and carry out the wax when pressure is ap- plied. The President — ^What is the experi- ence of the Convention in overheating of wax? Mr. Dadant, can you give us some thoughts on that? Mr. I>adant — Beeswax can be over- heated with water by over-boiling. The water in boiling through the beeswax will beat it into a grainy substance which looks like a pulp. You can change your cakes into powder from one end to the other by over- boiling— by allowing the water to beat your wax into a grainy mass. If you have seen something like corn meal at the bottom of your cakes, it is beeswax, and the only way in which you can return that is by dry melt- ing. There are several things about the rendering of combs that are of some importance to know. Do not melt your beeswax with water in pans that contain iron at all; iron will turn your wax black. There are a nxmiber of little points that should be considered. Do not use any acids in rendering wax. Most people, when they do use acid, use twenty times as much as they need. It takes the smell of the bees out of the bees- wax. Our friend, Mr. Kretchmer, said soak your combs a long time. That is right. Take the old combs and crush them as much as you can, so tihat tihey will not take in the beeswax. Those cocoons have the shape of a, honey cell, and they remain there afiter they are crushed, and there is no chance of the beeswax getting 'into them. Put your combs in clean water and imelt them. It is not necessary to use a press until you have taken the best of your wax out. We never do use a press with cappings, tout we use a press for the residue. A gentleman asked me a question. The boiling must be with water, and if you spoil the beeswax and get it grainy, that part which is grainy, and which is more or less dirty, and which, contains a good deal of water, must be returned to good shape by dry heat. Then you will not have as good beeswax as you would otherwise have. I have had shipments of beeswax that were so badly beaten with water that they would lose 20' per cent; it woul'dn't look very much like beeswax; it would look like a cake made of ground corn. I had a discussion, a long one, in regard to pollen and beeswax. I didn't know at first that there was any such thing, but I found it out when we were making founda- tion. We were throwing away our residue containing that grainy sub- stance. In the course of time it melted in the sun, and in the course of time we took up this residue and got 100 pounds of beeswax from it. Mr. Brown^ — ^What would cause wax heaited In a copper tank, being used for dipping foundation, to turn black and became grainy that way? It was kept Ihot, but there was no boiling or water connected with it. Mr. Dadant — It would be impossi- ble for me to answer the question unless I knew all the particulars. We use copper tanks, but they are tinned inside. If wax remains in a copper boiler that is not tinned, it will turn it green; it makes verdigris — Paris green. But, I do not know, I have never seen the effects mentioned; that is, of wax becoming grainy if there is no water in it. Question — What are the relative merits of the Caucasian and Italian bees? Dr. Pttiillips — I suggest you call on Mr. R. A, Morgan. Mr. Morgan — Some few years ago I received from the Government some Caucasian queens, and I have been testing and trying ever since what their merits were. Before that I had been using the yellow bees, the Ital- ians; some I got from Root; some from Doolittle. and some back as far as those that Langstroth sold, and my experience !has been that, the Caucasians are superior to the yel- '.■i^^^wsi&a«ii' ;v .i.-' ^''v!:<^:^!L'^.i^W^(i^^^^ri2.£::^eclailly to the Italians. They are much more easily induced into the boxes. Mr. Dibble — ^I would like to ask Mr. Morgan something about the swarm- ing tendencies, and, also, about their faults; if they are worse than Italians as to propolis? Mr. Morgan — I don't think they are more likely to swarm than the or- dinary Italians, that is, the hybrids, as they are generally kept in this country. Of course, the very best strains of Italians, wihen they are pure, are not quite so liable to swarm as the Cau- casians, but, for me, that is rather a good feature. They are more indus- trious and 'more vigorous; and, as I said here once before in this room last winter, when any animal or stock of ibees is in a very vigorous condi- tion, they are more likely to increase and' swarm tlhan they would be other- wise. Other things being the sarnie, I don't think they are any more liable to swarm than the Italians. In re- gard to propolis, they gather a good deal and use a good deal of it around the entrance to tihe hive in the fall of the year, in order to protect them- selves. I think that is a characteris- tic they .may have by living in a Nortlhern climate. I think they do not use the propolis around the honey any more than other bees. I>r. Jones — ^I would like to enquire how they are in regard to gentleness in comparison with the Italians? The President — I thought Mr. Mor- gan answered that question. Dr. Phillips — I think Caucasians are by far the gentlest bees that have ever been brought into this country. I have never seen any Italians that would compare with them in gentle- ness, and I woTild also agree with Mr. Morgan in regard to their propolizing tendencies. They do propolize their entrance almost solid, but they ap- parently do not propolize any other parts of the hive any more than any other race. The chiet objections I w^ould have to the Caucasians is that they build burrs and burr combs over everything. Do you find that, Mr. Morgan ? Mr, Morgan — Yes, I find they do not do that so much in a well spaced hive. Dr. Phillips — Even in that kind of hive they will often build comb into the proper space, and that was, to my mind, the worst feature of the Cau- casian. Their propolizing has never seemed to me to be anything serious, and I am inclined to agree with some of the Russian writers In attributing this tendency to the fact that it is a very primitive race. Italians are one of the more highly specialized races. If a colony of Caucasians or Cyprians is made queenless they raise a large number of queen cells, or if they fail to raise queen cells they very eas- ily become fertile workers, showing that the division of labor between the queen caste and the worker caste is not so well defined. I would -there- fore consider that races with such characteristics are more primitive; and I think this propolizing of the entrance is the going back to an an- cestral condition where they had to build not only an entrance, but per- haps a large part of the nest. It may go back to something like a bumble- bee tendency, particular the sting- less bee of South America. Mr. Darby — ^I had a little experi- ence just last week in handling some of these bees, and I want to say that this burr comb is one of the worst features I see about it. One yard was so badly glued up that the owner - took his hand axe and went at it with main force to get those frames loose so that he could examine them. I find when they are crossed that they are as bad to sting as any bees I know of. In fact with those that I have had to work with I have not seen the great difference In the gentle qual- ities that some speak of, but I know there is a great difference in differ- ent strains of bees, and I think pos- sibly these were not of the gentlest. Another thing I noticed was that in these 5^ards there was not the honey that there was in the neighboring yards of the Italians within a quarter of a mile of them, and I have noticed this difference two years in succes- \iiiii&*5ii3fi£.( 182 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE sion. The owners are doing thtir best to get rid of them. So that there is a difference in the bees or a dif- feienco in the people nandling them. One mail was so disgusted with them (his start was given to him by a friend, and he is a very rough man and uses very rough language) that he said he would just as soon the man had givea him the Prince of the warmer regions. (Laughter). Mr. Snyder — Of course one swallow doenn'l always make a summer, but I have had one colony of these Cau- casians, and this is the second summer, and I have not oibserved any of these bad qualities. They have neither built burr combs nor propolized their entrance, and this one colony ha-; gafhered more honey than any other colony in the yard. I have some very fme Italians, but this colony of Cau- casians has outstripped them a little bit this summer, and they did not swarm either. Mr. Morgan — I would like to admit the facts with regard to this burr comb a.uestion. I didn't think of that at the time I spoke first. I will admit they are a little more likely to Duild burr combs than any other races 1 have seen, and the only separator I have been able to use with success is the tin separator, and I have tried four different kinds this season. I use wire, quarter inch mesh, gaivan - ized, and I use the solid wood. I shall Caucasianize anything I have hereaf- ter, no matter what color they are. Dr. Phillips — I have noticed one rather striking thing in regard to the crosses between Caucasians and other races. I noticed in a striking manner particularly last winter the fact that they propolized the entrances. We maliciously left the hive >entranceaf Avide open to see what they would do, and the.v did all that we could expect, where they were pure Caucasians. Our bees are very close to some good Italian bees from one of the best breeders in the country, and whenever the Caucasians had interbred with the Italians the entrance propolizing was almost entirely absent, and the brace and burr combs were almost always entirely absent, but the cross of the Caucasians and the Italians is about as cross as the two combined; there is no half way business' in gentleness between the Caucasians and any other race; they are decidedly ungentle. In fact that is about the quickest and easiest way to tell whether you have bred your Caucasians purely or not. Question — Is bee-keeping not rather a loss than a profit to the general interest of apiculture for persons who know little or nothing of the habits or scientific care of bees, and do not and will not read or study standard works, or read standard periodicals on bee-keeping to help them? Dr. Bohrer — I have mad'e it a cus- tom for several years, especially since foul brood has come into the coun- try, to discourage all persons who know nothing about the management of honey bees. When they talk to me about buying them, I tell them unless they do soemthing of that kind — study standard works on the habits and management of the honey bee, and read the Bee Journals — • that they can buy decidedly more hon- eV than they will ever get ofit of bees by owning them; and they will let foul brood get into them and cause more trouble than one can imagine. I believe it ought to be discouraged by ■ bee-keepers throughout the length and breadth of the land except where they go into it and study the habits properly. They know nothing about the diseases of bees, and when they get aonmg them they are about the hardest class to deal with, to allow you to go to work and effectually treat and rid them of foul brood. I find it is so in our country. One man threatened to prosecute me if I re- ported any more that he had foul brood, in his apiary. I said, if you don't get rid of foul brood, I will cause you to be prosecuted and de- stroy all the bees you have. Then he permitted our County Bee Inspec- tor to go and examine the bees, but before he would agree that he should take comb and honey all away from them and treat them properly, he must cut out some isolated patch to see if he couldn't cure them in that way. The inspector said to me. What do you think about that? I said, if it happens to be confined to those localities he may perform a cure, but otherwise it will spread. I said, You go back. He went back, and it was still spreading. For reasons of that kind I discourage in every way pos- sible those that know nothing about bees from owning them at all unless i *.-.T--.i..'.._': /'.A^-^ -:. .iiA*.]j::iai,'-;*;ji3Ar.«^^=.fi.^:iaL ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 183 V. they intend to study their, habits and management properly. I don't want to 'be dogmatical about this matter and only state matters as they really exist. I want to find out if other bee- keepers do not find it a good deal that way? Mr. Morgan — There are just about three classes of bee-keepers that ought to be recognized, the one who keeps bees for a profit, the one who keeps them for scientific research, and the ones who make a nature study of them. Aside from that we want to discourage the keeping of bees by the ordinary one frame hive people. I don't know of any way to prevent them; I don't know of anjr way we can pass a law to discourage them keeping them. Mr. Darby — I just want to say a word or two. I find the class of peo- ple that give me the most trouble in my work of inspection in our State are those ^that get the least benefit from their bees, those that have a few colonies in old boxes or some old buckets or barrels, or something of that kind, that they never get any honey from, or scarcely ever, and let them stay there and act as hot-beds for spreading the disease of foul brood in the neighborhood. If we discour- age anyone from keeping bees, we should discourage those that will not take an interest in it. I find it very difficult to go out and tell people in my ^^ork that they should not keep bees, \ but I do tell them this, if they keep bees they must keep them right; they must take interest enough to look after .. them and keep them prop- erly. If we can discourage that class of people we are doing some good and helping the cause. Mr. Miles — I agree with what has been said, but there is one little phase of it that has puzzled me. I have a nearby neighbor who thinks he can raise honey cheaper than he can buy it. I have had him come to me and say, I have got a swarm of bees down there, can't you fix it up, I am a little afraid of it. A person hates to tell that neighbor that he should not keep bees, that he ought to buy his honey; but we should dis- courage those kind of cases. Question-^Has a bee-keeper a legal Tight to kill birds which are killing bees? H. D. Davis, of South New- "bury, Vermont, is under arrest for kill- ing pee-wees. Also bees are killed in great numbers at a cider mill in the fall. Has the bee-keeper any redress or remedy? Dr. Bohrer — No, he has no redress. I am a great friend of the birds, but ; there is the bee marten which I shot every time. I have an orchard of over 600 apple trees, two or three hundred peaches, and as many cher- ries, and they built in trees of that kind, and you can hear them about among the trees; they are darting all through the air; and if you have got a large apiary every once in a while you will lose a queen. I shot prob- ably fifty of them last season. I don't keep it a secret. If they want to prosecute me we will try it out. I don't think there is anything in the law of our State that prohibits the shooting of birds of that kind that you can demonstrate are a positive nuisance. Mr. Kretchmer — It depends to some extent on the wording of your State law. In Iowa the birds are prohibited to be shot except birds of prey or migratorial birds. The birds of prej^ may include those that kill our bees. Mr. De Jong — Last summer while the alfalfa was in full bloom and I had my shot gun with me, and I was watching for the bee marten, I saw her take bees. Then I shot her and opened her up, and she was full of bees from one end to the other. Then there is a little gray bird that does the same thing. Mr. France — I think it is what is called the Shrike — the Loggerhead Shrike. Mr. Goddard— ^I would like to sug- gest that the bee marten has a beau- tiful red flower tinged with yellow in the forehead; yoti con't see it un- less you open the brown feathers, and the proposition to me is whether that is not put there entirely for a decoy for the purpose of decoying the bee near to it. I was taught that when I was a boy. My father kept bees. It was discussed through the Literary Digest. I see now it was discussed through the Bee Journals, and I took a bee marten's head and sent it to the editor of the Literary Digest, and he said he had never heard of that before. I would like to know if the members of this Association know whether they do use that blos- som as a decoy. Mr. De Jong — I would rather think -_i". ;Wi 184 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE not. She would sit on the fence post, and I could see the bees going- not more than six steps from her, and the minute a bee lit on the blossom she would swoop down and get it. iMr. Snyder — ^I don't think they are in the habit of using the blossom, as they call it, as a decoy. I watched one o fthose bee-martens a good deal this summer that was in the habit of coming into an apple tree in the apiary, and she would sit on a little dry limb and make a dive for a 'b«e and get it, and then a dozen other bees would chase her out of the yard. I think the bees recognize them as an enemy. Mr. Gerald — Some years ago I think Prof. Cook, of California, gave a de- scription of those birds, and he says they are both fcee-martens ; the light colored bird has the same red spot in its forehead that the gray one has, "We have both of them, and I have shot both kinds, and I shoot them because I know they are taking the tees. Mr. Lommedieu — This summer there was' a brown mocking bird got a notirn to catch bees to feed her young birds, and she caught a good many bees from one hive in particular. I noticed her come and go to that one hive more particularly but still I have seen her catch bees from other hives and kill them. She would go back about a foot from the front of the hive and all at once make a dive for a bee on the bottom board of the hive, and then fly off and give it to the young birds. Mr. France — This question was sent from a long distance to have it dis- cussed on the ijoint of the legality. The man mentioned in it is under aixest. One of our platforms i.i the defense of our members, and he being a me^mber of our National, I replied to him in this way, that I had found no law dn any State, so far as I could gather them, but what he had a legal riglM to "the protection of his prop- erty. If the State law includes the pee-wee a)mjong the birds protected by law, under the ordinary interpretation of the law (he would not have a legal right; but where he was protecting property that could not be protected otherwise he would have a right to protect it on tihe same basis that a man has a right, if he cannot protect his own 'property without the use of the gun, to drive a robber away from his own property wdthi it. As a test, which may be somewhat of a parallel,, a few years ago w^hen the timber was in abundance about my place, adjoin- ing it I had several acr^ of black- berries. The ibirds would gather in there and in a short time take suffi- cient of tihe early morning berries as^ to amount to cases of the berries mutilated and 'destroyed. I resorted first to using the shotgun with blank shells and scaring them away, but It was not sufficiently effective, and finally I resorted to killing some of the birds. Our officer 'from the city came out and said, "I understand you shot some robins' yesterday." "Yes, sir." "You know the la'W says differently; you are not allowed to kill robins?"- "Yes, sir." "Don't you know you are subject to arrest for killing birds?" While he was talking, some more birds lit upon a bush and were destroying the next morning's pickings. I said, "Mister, would yooi sitand here and see a thief, right in your own view, takingf- tomorrow's berries, and you have no protection?" An4 I up with the gun and killed the birds, and I said, "Take those as evidence of your own per- sonal view of imiy killing them, and take S^^£K^»^4»-.Jl^^v>^^"Jij:.".■ ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 185- good ibook we call the Bible, which is the wbbd of God, mentions the bees a great many times, wlhile it does not mention any of the birds, as far as I have seen. Samson killed the lion by -the roadside, and the next day, when ih© came along, what did he find? A swarm of bees. And when John the Baptist was in the wilderness preaching repentance to the Jews, his food was locusts and wild ihoney; and the Bible says there is nothing as sweet as honey. Question — -Would I have better suc- cess if the hives stood in the sun 'jhe y«ar round? Mr. Dadant — ^No. Question — ^What is the best plan for comb honey and not have many swarms ? Mr. Morgan — To the first question, which, as I understand it, is, which is preferable, the shade or sun for bees, I would say, as ifar as my experience goes, that the sun is the better place, with a board shade, sometlMng that you can ihandle and; take off and put on at your leisure, and not a large tree shade, as some prefer. I would prefer the open ground, and If we had trees, to have them very small, and not large enough to shade the hives. Mr. Lawrence — If he lived in Florida, he would want the shade. Dr. Jones— I think if you kept bees in the sun the whole year round, you would (have a bee funeral on your hands, and you would be the chief imiourner. I think it depends a great deal on tfliie locality. Question — ^Is the Root capping melter a success, and a good thing to use? Mr. Ranter — ^I used one of them this siHnmer, and I came to the conclusion that with all new combs I liked it very much, but where you have old combs it doesn't work so nicely. Where you have but one yard of bees I don't think I would use it. Where you go to one yard and extract a day here and, a day there, and you have comparatively new combs, and you have your honey and wax all melted up and separated atl night you are done. As far as new combs are concerned I would consider it a suc- cess, but if I had many old combs I wouldn't. Mr. Dadant — Isn't the heat of fhe machine in the way? Mr. Ramer — It is somewhat unpleas- ant, and I have been wondering what an electric fan over me would cost^ I noticed one of the Hutchinsons ob- jected to the color, and we took that honey and we placed it in two glas- ses, and it was slightly colored, and. I asked different ones if they could see any difference in the color, and we sampled' them, and some said the honey had been through the capping- melter which gave it a. little peculiar taste, but they thought that was the best honey. I took some of that honey, and I mixed it with an amber honey, and I thought it improved the amber honey very much. Mr. Goddard — Mr. Chairman, I used one of those this summer, and I found just as Mr. Ramer states, that new- combs melted up as fast as we put the cappings in to the capping melter and left nothing behind, but when we had old combs they didn't melt up entirely and it was inclined to clog up. Mr. Brown — I couldn't find a plant where a person was running a cap- ping knife and was using even the newest and best combs, or trying to melt sections, that he could melt them with rapidity enough to pay for his time and trouble and the extra, heat and not color it. Wben you come to old combs the machine won't work at all. Mr. Dadant — We have had consider- able experience with extracting honey. We have a number of apiaries. We have been extracting since the 60's. We had an extractor long before the manufacturers made honey extractors, and we have had quite a long experi- ence in the matter. I suppose you all know that the uncapping can la called after me. We have had a large number of colonies and honey to extract, and we used pans and sieves, and I don't know what not, and we had nothing convenient. I con- ceived the idea of having a large caji and using a sieve. We have been using a large capping can and we are still using it; it was made strong, of heavy tin; and had a strong pivot in the centre, and we can go and ex- tract all day; it holds about as much as a barrel. The cappings fall into the can the sieve, and the honey drains to the bottom. When evening comes w© prepare for the next day by dump- ing those cappings in a barrel with 186 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE the head off. We keep on doing that until we are through. Then we have three or four or five barrels full of cappings that are partly drained. While we are doing our other ex- tracting those cappings keep dripping off and the honey goes to the bottom of that barrel. We take the top of the cappings and put them away til they are almost dry. We thus have the cappings that are almost dry when tlip season is at an end, and there is very little honey wasted. The honey we get is all good. We wash the cappings and use them for vinegar or wine mak- ing— that is the honey that is diluted out of the cappings. I think it is a great deal better than to try to melt the wax because then you color your . jioney and hence give it a little taste. ' Mr. Poppleton — My practice is very similar to Mr. Dadant's; I have raised extracted honey almost as long as he has and perhaps in nearly as large quantities. I use almost the same ap- paratus in the way of decapping cans, but I run them through a solar wax extractor and get every ounce. I don't lose a thing. That honey that goes through there is clear. I keep that in barrels by itself and send it off, and never have a dealer dock me a farth- ing for that kind of honey. It is not, of course, on an equality with the fine w^hite clover honey. If you are docked anything in the price of that up here it is simpjly one or two cents a pound, just a small amount of money. There is a great deal more honey in those dry combs than anyone would think till they test them. I save from two to three barrels every year of that kind of honey. I would decidedly prefer the solar wax extractor. (Mr. Dadant — Mr. Poppleton's meth- od is very good, but I want to warn the bee-keepers against this, if you melt your cappings in a solar extrac- tor, your wax is more or less sticky with honey, and if you have foul brood you run the risk of shipping foul brood when you ship that beeswax. There- fore, if you follow Mr. Poppleton's method be sure to render your bees- wax by hot water afterwards ; that is, in case you have foul brood. Mr. Barber — We have been using one of those capping melters from Root's, and the first three hours I worked it I thought it was a pretty fine thing. I took some of the honey into the house for dinner, and couldn't tell the difference between it and the ex- tracted. We turned off the heat partly, and when we went back again the old combs in that screen filled up with what had got in before getting kind of cold, and in a little while I went down and said, Henry, what is the matter with that thing? He said, nothing; he didn't' melt fast enough he guessed. I said, There is something the matter with it, and I came to the conclusion that this sieve had filled up with old combs and had not melted. So I put on more fire, and in an hour or so I went out and I got two or three gallons of honey of a pretty dark color, r didn't dare to feed it to the bees. If the melter is handled all right, it works all right. Mr. Lommedieu — il find by mixing the cappings up with the honey, and not draining the honey out of the cappings, but using a stick like a po- tato masher and mashing the cappings all up thoroughly, that it only takes two or three minutes, and by dump- ing them on to a coarse cheesecloth strainer they will be practically pretty near dry by the next morning. If you want to finish the job you can set them to drain into something. It works all right for me. Dr. Bohrer — There is a reptile in the country, in Kansas, that destroys a great deal more ibees than the birds do, and that is the toad. If anybody knows how to shut them out of the hive by an inexpensive method I would like to know what it is. I have caught great big ones as big as my fist right at the end of the hive. Mr. Quinby, in a work of his which I have, recommends putting a broad board around the ,apiary; but if one has a large apiary it would require quite a large number of boards to put them right around to shut the toads out. That they will reduce a colony in a few days and reduce them very materially, is a fact. I don't know of any other plan than to kill them, and I don't like to do it be- cause they catch a good many insects. Question — In preparing bees for win- ter, would it be a good plan to remove the center comb to make room for bees to cluster? Answer — No. Question — Which of two colonies at beginning of honey flow, if six weeks before one should have , plenty of stores, the other given same amount during the six weeks, equal amount ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 187 daily? Answer — iMuch depends on lo- cation. Generallj"^ plenty of stores. Question — Is a colony over too large at close of honey flow, or beginning of winter? Jacob Huffman, of Wis- consin, answered that in his talk on wintering. Question — Is it possible to feed when weather is warm and no honey flow and keep down robbing? Yes, feed inside the hive. Miller feeder. Question — How about wintering bees outside in Danzenbaken shallow super hives? Answer — Can be done in the south. Question — Has the Alexander treat- ment been effective for black brood with amateurs? Mr. Wright, of N. Y., answers The Alexander method of treatment for European foul brood has not been adopted nor likely to in N. Y. Question — ^If nearly all my bees were requeened this year from purchased good breeder, will it pay me to next year buy another breeder to rear queens from, or use same one? An- swer— Yes, I recommend purchase of second breeder to rear better drones for mating in apiary. Question — What is best way to keep Alexander feeder in place? Let the weight of hive rest on feeder. 10:00 P. M. On motion of Mr. South- worth, seconded by Mr. Dadant,. the convention adjourned until Thursday, 9:00 A. M. Morning Session. Thursday, Sept. 23, 1909. At 10:15 the President, Mr. Hilton, took the -chair and said: The Con- vention will please come to order. The first thing on the program is "Fooil Brood," by R. L. Taylor, of Lapeer, Mich. I think there is a paper from him to be read. Mr. France — Mr. President, Mr. Tay- lor, of Michigan, unaJble to be here, has mailed, itftirougta our Secretary's kindness, his paper here. I have not read it, tout, as best I can, I will give you the paper. It is as follows: FOUL BHOOD. To attempt to write anytihing new upon the subject of foul brood must be the despair of any one not scien- tifically trained, as -well as scientific- ally equipped; you would not expect one, therefore, to undertake it, nor would it be useful for me to detail in your ears what you have heard a hundred times about the character- istics of the disease, or the proper •method of its cure, so you will be re- lieved, then, to know tlhat I must re- strict myself to the making of a few remarks which may be of some inter- est to some of you. What is the appearance of the larvae of the bee when they first be- come affected with foul brood? For myself, I cannot undertake to say definitely, but I find it is a point which causes uneasiness in the minds of many when tlhey first find themselves confronting this disease. The dead those already afflicted, and to •all others within several miles of this scourge, I would say, Itlianize, first, last and all of the time. It is very ex- ceptional to find an Italian apiary bad- Qy affected with this disease, so much so in fact, that in making a prelimin- ary examination of an apiary, I often skip the Italian colonies. Now, friends^ please don't conclude from this, that I am careless and lack thoroughness in my inspection work, as it is only by long experience in this line, that I am able to decide in a measure, by the appearance of the bees at the entrance of the hive, what is contained within. No doubt Brother France can corrobo- rate this statement. The three banded or leather colored Italians are the only strain or race that I can recommend for this purpose. I notice in the September number of the American Bee Journal that one of the Canadian Inspectors, Mr. Scott, has discovered a strain of Golden Italians that seem quite immune to this disease. It must be a very exceptional strain, as I have failed to find such in ten years of inspection work. In my territory, I strenuously advise the Italianizing of black, cannolian and hybrid bees, in advance of the tidal wave of disease, thus saving much la- bor and expense to their owners, which would be entailed in treating this dis- ease, not mentioning the loss in surplus honey, when an apiary is strongly in- vaded by it. The old proverb, "An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure" is applicable in this case. Mr. J. L. Byer, of Ontario, reports that this disease will spread all through an apiary in a few weeks when there is no robbing going on. I am at a loss to know why this is so. I have found the spread so rapid, except fol- lowing the robbing period in the spring, where foul brood honey has been ex- posed and been taken freely by the bees throughout an apiary of black or hybrid bees, then as brood rearing in- creases, the amount of disease keeps pace with it. I still recommend shaking as the quickest and best method of treatment during the honey flow. This method is usually effective with any race or strain of bees, but unless they are Italians the apiarist may reasonably expect to repeat the treatment the fol- lowing season, if foul brood is rampant in his locality. Diseased colonies which have not been treated during the honey flow, or which are found to be diseased too late for treatment, might best be brimestoned, the contents properly i;ii.V. :-'i:i.-:j'^'^-^ -■lii.h-^'r^;^ii4-:ix^\-- ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 189 «cared for; and the hives cleaned up . for use another season. I note that Doctor C. C. Miller has recently run foul of this foul disease and it is reported that he has had "lots of fun" in the treatment of -same. Would that we all might be as phil- osophical as he in such a misfortune. P. S. — No Italian Queens for sale. W. D. WRIGHT, Altamont, N. T. The President — The next is "How to know American Foul Brood," by N. E. France of Wisconsin. Mr. France — Mr. President, I may be somewhat partial in this, that Ameri- can foul brood so widely spread has been the one thing as to which our bee-keepers have been alarmed. But, if I realize the seriousness of foul brood, either American or European, in connection with which I have been the Wisconsin Inspector, acting now this thirteenth year, I am ashamed to own that in my own State practical bee-keepers-, who are keeping bees lor a commercial consideration, pay little attention to the disease until it is in their own yard; don't know what it looks like, and before they are 3.ware that it is there, through their tnanagement it has gone through a large part of the yard. I am asked, how near to my yard is there some- one infected That cuts but little figure, for with the various ways of exchange in which bee-keeper® now-a days are engaged, a far-distant State ■may be his nearest neighbor. We have had several cases of it brought into our State across a good many States. Every practical bee-keeper should know every symptom of the disease, and every time he has a hive open the must be on the watch for those symptoms. Never let it get a start, for with those who are produc- ing extracted honey, especially^ with the combs all going Into the same extractor, and back into other hives again, the bee-keeper has been the means of repeatedly spreading it througih his own yard. The loaning of the extractor or other implements has been tthe means. ' Even where they have called it bad luck, and the bees did not winter well, or died from other causes, not knowing that foul ibrood was the cause, and have loaned their extracting comibs to some neigh- bor, who might use them for a year or two to avoid tihe danger of their be- ing destroyed by the bee moth. You can see what tJhe ill- effect would be. So that I do find, after thirteen years of hard work in our State, many bee- keepers who today could not tell the American foul brood were it in their yard. In fact, I expect to get home some time early tomorrow, and the next morning leave for near Br. Mil- ler's neighborhood to inform some pai-ties in regard to the disease in that locality. But, to be brief, do we know what the symptoms of American foul brood are when we see them? The sunken capping with a perfora- tion in it is a fair indication from out- side appearance, especially if those sunken cappings witih holes in are ir- regular, more or less, all over the comb. There is also a little tendency towards a darker shade to those cap- pings, but at that age, where those cappings become sunken, 'f a tooth- pick or something similar is inserted into the dead larvae, and it draws out brown and ropy, with a foul odor, you need not question; that one char- acteristic sets it apart from the other diseases. It w^ill continue to dry down until on the lower side wall of the comb, a Jittle way back from tftie front end, will be noticed a little black dried down scale, not quite as thick as the side walls of the comb. In that condition it will remain almost indeflntely, but it is dangerous. In a crowded condition, in a swarm, the queen will deposit eggs in that same comb, or the bees put in pollen or honey, and in either case it is the medium for again spreading the dis- ease. I question if the disease spreads as rapidly in that hive, where it be- gins as many have inferred. If there are but a ifew cells infected, I can't see how it would spread in that hive until thiose infected cells had had a medium for transimission, mostly toy honey having been placed in that cell and then that used as food to feed the other larvae. So that there is in every hive, in the earlier stages, a larger per cent of the brood healthy. The more that becomes infected, the more rapidlly it spreads, of course. At your convenience, at the noon hour, you can look at this sample w^hiich I took from a hive, where, a year and one month ago, I found four cells of Amer- ican foul brood in the wibole yard, in r.:^;*5Sfcii 190 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE that one hive. The man said, "Can't I cut those out?" "Yes," I says, "you can, hut what is the effect?" I said, "Mister, if you have small pox, if you take off your undershirt, are you free of the disease?" It is thorough eradi- cation, and nothing else. I said, take it all away; it is so easy to do now, with hut one swarm in this yard af- fected. He said, "All rig*hit." I went on, and I say a little over a year after, I returned and expected to find . a healthy yard. I found 24 swarms in the yard; 24 with every comb equal to this sample. Now, you see what it has djone for hiiri'. In order to know that it was thoroughly cared for, as I had a date to keep some distance from there that evening, and not wanting to risk ■ him any longer, I deputized man right there, a practicable bee-keeper, and who was at the mercy of heing exposed to this yard; I appointed hrm as my deputy to immediately go at it that evening and eradicate the whole thing. Now^, to look into a comb, there are various ways to see this disease, but for me, I wouldn't want to look at a sample of foul torood by lamp liglht, and 'by daylight I want the light fair- ly strong, and I prefer to have it come from over my shoulder, rather than the reverse. Then hold the comh tilted sufficiently that the light will strike down into the ce'l nearly to the bottom, then I can see those lit- tle iblack dried down scales; look into the openings where the sunken cap- ping are, and there see the brown ropy larvae. There are occasional cases in the last dying effort of that larvae that it throws out the tongue as a last effort of life, and wherever it strikes that ropy tendency it will stay attached, so that I quite frequent- ly find combs where the tongue in the last effort has gone with force sufficient that it has struck the up- per side wall, and it remains there, a tiny thread tacked down to the dried down larvae. I found several of them in this particular sample here. The peculiar odor has ibeen described over and over again. I don't know that it is correct, it is something like glue "■-when it becomes stale. Although there is a scent of tobacco from this cigar box in which I have this sample, if you will allow it to be closed for a moment, and on opening bring it close to your nose, you will get a scent of foul brood which I presume you will not forget. Remember that one thing, ! if we have seen the disease, let us I ever be on the watch for it. I don't ; think many bee-keepers in a commer- ; cial way would allow it to get very ; much of a headway, but, as I said at i the beginning, I do find men who are ; readers of the American Bee Journal, ; Gleanings in Apiculture, the Bee-Keep- \ er's Review, and keeping over 100 colonies of bees, who are indifferent ; imtil it gets into their own yards, and : then they could work night and day, so it is that one thing, if any, that I want to caution you as to, know what ! it looks like, post yourself, and then be on the watch for it. The President — The next paper is "The Practical Treatment of American and European Foul Brood" by Dr. E. '■. P. Phillips, of Washington, D. C. Dr. Phillips is our representative from the Agricultural Department, Washington, and is sent here by the Department itself. Dr. Phillips then read the follow- ing paper: . THE PRACTICAL TREATMENT OF AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN FOUL BROOD. (By E. F. Phillips.) The subject which has been as- signed to me at this time is one of the most important now before American bee-keepers and, unfortunately, is not very well understood by anyone. To- ward the end of devising proper treat- ment all investigations of the cause and characteristics of bee diseases must bend, if they are to be of any value to the practical bee-keeper. However much the bee-keeper may be interested in the bacteriological find- ings in a bee disease, these things are of less importance in his practical work but he wants and needs careful, reliable work on treatment. The bacteriological investigations are very important but I shall not dwell on this point. It is perhaps enough to say that, until we know the cause of a disease and can make a detailed study' of that cause, we can- not know just what we are fighting. In finding methods of treatment, there are two possible ways to pro- ceed. By repeated trials of various manipulations the practical bee-keeper may by chance hit on something which ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 191 enables him to save his property from destruction; he may make such a lucky find without any Knowledge as to what has caused the disease. It was in this way that Schirach, in the eighteenth century, found the shaking treatment for foul brood and since then this same treatment has been used extensively. The Schirach treat- ment, or, as we now call it, the shak- ing treatment, enables us to prevent the brood diseases from destroying our bees and it certainly is satisfac- tory in the majority of cases. The other way of investigating treatments is to find the cause of the disorder, study its chajracteristics and plan manipulation in the light of knowledge gained in that way. This method of procedure, while probably the more logical way, is open to the minority, but all can take the results obtained and utilize them without any great knowledge of bacteriological technique. But such work is slow. I fear that majiy bee-keepers wonder why the Bixreau of Entomology is not able in a short time to make positive statements concerning the causes of disease, particularly European foul brood, Te tell why would t)e a some- what lengthy task; but let me sim- ply point out that, in all disesises of animals so far studied, accurate re- sults have been obtained only by years of work and no problem in bacteriol- ogy is an easy one. It took years to establish the cause of American foul brood and there is still much to learn. The bee-keeping public has been vic- timized by too many hasty workers who jump at results on insufficient data and we do not cajre to be in that class. To illustrate the great desirability of first getting the cause, let me cite simie recommended manipulations. Be- cause carbolic acid is used quite gen- erally as a disinfectant it has been repeatedly recommended that a 2 per cent to 5 per cent carbolic acid solu- tion be used to disinfect hives in which infected colonies had lived. This was done without a knowledge of the cause of either disease and in the case of American foul brood of which we now know the cause it is certain that a 5 per cent carbolic acid solution will not destroy the spores of (Bacillus larvae) in the short time tak- en to wash out a hive. In the case of European foul brood, of which we do not yet know the cause, we are unable to sa^ whether the carbolic acid acts as a disinfectant or not. In a similar manner w^ithout know- ing the cause of either disease, var- ious authors have recommended the feeding of carbolic acid, napthole beta, salicylic acid and similar drugs in sug- ar syrup to diseased colonies. While, as suggested previously, it is possible to stumble on a method of treatment by promiscuous experimentation, we should not take these recommenda- tions too seriouslj' until more is known about the diseases. Such recommen- dations are largely conflned to Euro- pean authors for American bee-keep- ers, from sad experience, have learn- ed to put littlle faith in these treat- ments. It has also been recommended that various antiseptics be placed in the hive to ward ofC disease. One Euro- pean writer, posing as the omniscient guide of the bee-keeping world, writes in a recent edition of one of his books as follows: "There are certain antiseptics such as carbolic acid, phenyle or oreolin, izal, eucalytus, camphor, napthaline, etc., which evaporate at the ordinary temperature, of the hive, and whose vapours, while not actually killing the bacilli, arrest their increase or growth." "WTien it is remembered that this is apparently recommended without any knowledge as to the cause of any brood disease, it will not be taken seriousl5^ Surely no American bee- keeper would entertain any hope from such a treatment. It is wise at times to cast up ac- counts to see where we stand. Let us look over the field of bee disease treatment to see what we know and do not know. We know from the experience of hundreds of bee-keepers for years past, that the shaking treatment w^ill enable the bee-keeper to keep either disease under control so .that he can remain in the business and make money out of it, if the seasons permit. This treatment consists of removing all combs, honey, pollen and brood from the colony and putting the bees on foundation, compelling them to re- place their comb, rear new brood and gather new stores. By this means the diseased nm.terial is removed and the contaminated honey and pollen which we consider as the carrying agents are —13 192 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE no longer available to feed to the brood. We do not know what be- comes of bacteria which may oe car- ried over In the honey in their honey stomachs or possibly even on the out- side of their bodies. We do not know when it is safe to use full sheets of foundation and when we should use only starters. There are many other points variously surmised which are not yet settled and we must content ourselves with the fact that it a ctis- eased colony is shaken from its combs to a clean hive on starters of founda- tion, the disease rarely reappears. Starters of foundation are here speci- fied largely because reports would in- dicate a larger percentage of suc- cesses when they are used. If all worker comb is desired the bees may be given fuU sheets of foundation later. We do not yet know just when or how it is best to shake in order to meet with the least financial loss and this is one point which must be thor- oughly investigated. Ten frames of Langstroth size will probably contain, on an average, four pounds of wax and to shake the bees so that they will secrete this wax with the least consumption of time and stores is a problem of great importance. Prob- ably a more important point is to de- vise a way by which the bee-keeper can get out of the combs all the wax in^them. Our present methods of wax extraction are exceedingly crude and we are annually losing a great deal of wax by the use of the wax presses now commonly employed. We do not know whether it is al- ways necessary to disinfect the hive or not but to be on the safe side we should continue to do it until we know that it is not necessary. Since chemi- cal disinfectants do not promise any results for American foul brood and since we do not know the cause of European foul brood, we can be sure of complete disinfection by burning out the hives. If this is done care- fully, it does not injure the hive. In the field work of the Bureau of Ento- mology a blue flame torch such as is used in removing paints has been found very satisfactory. We do not know of any antiseptic which can Ije fed in syrup or given in any other rnanner which will cure the disease. Neither do we know of any method by which combs can be dis- infected by fumigation or otherwise to insure success. Until careful bacter- iological work has demonstrated the value of any such method it would be folly to put any reliance in it. Fur- thermore the experience of most American bee-keepers up to the pres- ent has shown that antiseptic feed- ings and fumigations which have been tried are not of the value attributed to them. It would therefore be un- wise to recommend them. The logical practical treatment for both of the diseases under discussion would, therefore, appear to be the shaking method. Until something bet- ter is devised, this is the only treat- ment which we can recommend. When our knowledge of the causes of the two diseases is more complete, it is to be hoped that we can find something better. It is also to be hoped that the present weak points in the shaking treatment may be strengthened by work which will give us information whereby we can decrease the expense of shaking. The main conclusion which we can draw from a study of treatment is that there is still much to learn. So far I have discussed the subject of control from the standpoint of the indi- vidual bee-keeper. . We have learned, however, that individual action is not enough and that co-operation and out- side aid are essential points in a ra- tional control of foul brood. Although this portion of the subject of disease work is not specifically assigned me, I shall ask your indulgence for a few moments longer on some phases of this problem which occur to me as a result of some recent experiments of the Bureau of Entomology. The work of the various states in providing inspection of apiaries is of great value to the bee-keeping indus- try and an earnest effort should be made to have proper laws passed where they are needed. In several states such movements are now on foot. When such laws are passed, however, we cannot afford to believe that the problem is settled. It has only begun and the state inspector cannot be ex- pected to do all that remains to be dona The element of the work in control- ing disease which will require the most labor is the educational feature. It is really remarkable after all that has been written how many bee-keepers do not know that there are any dis- eases of the bee. ,; I t'%'k--: *Ti_U'>...i-;ri^-W; Ji6 JE--'-J;'.'i'^*Stf;^^'.Sii^s^: ■ . ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 193 The first step in this work is to learn just where the diseases exist. This phase of disease work has been neglected in this country and no con- ■certed effort has been made to estab- lish the necessary facts. During the summer just closing the Bureau of Entoimology made a greater effort to locate diseases and in all we have ex- amined nearly a thousand samples to get the data desired. We are not yet prepared to give our results. In doing this work we are compelled to make it a rule never to be sure whether disease exists in a given locality until a sample of diseased brood had been obtained. Furthermore, all samples were examined bacteriologically to be . sure of no error in diagnosis. In the case of European foul brood this is particularly necessary for the symp- toms are not constant enough to be sure of a sample after it has been away from the hive for a time. Many reports of disease turn out to be unre- liable and this matter is too important for any suspicions to be accepted as facts. While the sending in of these samples ■ by various persons interested is much appreciated, it has seemed rather strange that some men who were in a position to help us material- ly with this enormous task have not responded as we might *ave wished. There niay be some bee-keepers who do not want it known that they have disease in their apiaries and, there- fore, are opposed to work on distribu- tion. It is no disgrace to have disease break out in an apiary; the only con- dition under which a bee-keeper may be considered remiss is when he does not treat his diseased colonies. Any man who hide^ disease and tries to give the impression that his bees are liealthy when they are not is, to say the least, no friend to other bee-keep- ers. In some states he is legally worse than that. After the distribution is learned the next step is to get in touch with every l)ee-keeper In the territory where dis- eases exist. This is not easy. During the past summer the Bureau of Entom- ology has sent out something over 10,000 circulars to postmasters, ask- ing each one to give the names of bee- Iceepers in his vicinity. All of the returns have not yet been received but each report will probably average live names. The same plan could be , Tised for a request from a government ' , ,-•: -.-. --*:'■, ■ : ■ -■■ ;' ■- . ■■ , • , ;■;■■ - - -, . ■ department for all the post offices in the United States (over 60,000 in number), if necessary, but our very limited ofllce force will not permit it. In some parts of the country we have been able to get extensive lists of bee keepers from other sources. After the names of the bee-keepers are received, the next step should be to send out a notice to each one living in a county where either disease ex- ists, advising him of that fact and sending a circular on the subject so that he can become familiar with the symptoms and treatment of the dis- ease. We have not been able as yet to do this in many cases but hope to continue the work in the future. I have briefly outlined this scheme, not to advertise what the Bureau of Entomology aims to do nor to make elaborate promises but merely to in- dicate the fact that, if diseases are to be controlled it will take work to bring it about. To sit by and expect an in- spection law to wipe out disease is not the part of wisdom. It has never done so yet. Nor have I indicated all that must be done. I should be very much pleas- ed, however, if by this outline I could induce each person interested to do his share for the furtherance of the industry. The Bureau of Entomology will continue to do what it can with the present limited funds, but it would be just as unwise to leave too much to us as it is to expect too much of an inspector. Bureau of Entomology, Washington, D. C. The President — 'I doubt not that there is very much to be said upon this subject, and the Members will please bear in mind the recommenda- tions of the Committee on Kules, that each member will speak but five min- utes. The chair will endeavor not to be arbitrary, but that all should have a chance to talk in the limited time left to us, let us try to be as pointed in our remarks, and as precise in our statements as we can. Dr. Bohrer — I have had some ex- perience with this thing called foul brood, and it is a very sore experience, an experiencfe I would not have under- gone for $500. I am not in bee-keep- ing for the purpose of selling either bees or a large amount of honey, nor queens, or anything of that Kind; I have no ax to grind. I keep m NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE bees for pastime and for what littlie I can learn, and for what I possi- bly might be able to teach others. Foul brood struck my apiary two years ago, and I have had a stubborn ifight with it. The man who thinks he has got a walk over and can get rid of it easily when foul brood gets into his apiary is mistaken. I have read everything upon the subject I could find, and have been vigilant, and, as Dr. Phillips has said, we know so lit- tle about it that I have not got to the bottom of that treatment by any means. Legislation on this line is imperfect. None of our laws are per- fect. The law should give the In- spector perfect and complete control, and not have to undertake to bluff any- body as I had to do in the County I live in. I drew up the first Bill, and it became a law, almost as drawn up, in our State. It provides for a County Inspector, arid I think our County was one of the first to get an inspector appointed. We had foul brood there, and they wanted me to take the position, and I told them I didn't want to do it, I didn't feel physically able. We had a man ap- pointed. The first man we tackled was a man handling bee supplies, and he declared he had no foul brood on his premises, and I knew he had. He said, you have injured me very great- ly, and if you don't stop' it I will prosecute you. I invited him to com- mence immediately, and I said, if you don't I will commence on you. I said. Here is the County Inspector, if you will allow him to go into your apiary he will show you you have got foul brood. In establishing the law the trouble was he didn't have authority to go there without calling on the County Sheriff or something of that kind. I believe a State Inspector should be clothed with authority similar to a Sheriff. Now, as to the manner of diagnosing this disease, Mr. France has in part outlined it and given a pretty fair de- scription. This thing of sticking a tooth pick into a cell and drawing it out tells something, but if there are many: cells in a hive you will get an odor ;Vou will never forget; compared to the glue-pot scent it will beat that all hollow. In my case there were seven out of every ten cells in the hive that were infected, and it was a terrible odor that struck my nostrils. I say that after having been a medical student and having gone through the dissecting rooms and done a gofed many things that were not as easy to do as they might have been; and it took about three days before I -could eat a square meal after it. Then was when I said I would not have it in my little apiary for $500; but a young man named Frank, who never had seen a case of foul bfood, took some shares in that self same firm that kept a few bee supplies and sold col- onies all over that country, and spread it all through his own apiary and mine. This thing of treating foul brood in the apiary where you find it I don't believe to be practical, or at least it is not as successful as if you took and closed the hive at night and took it off a mile or two and treated it. I treat- ed one colony. Here were two col- onies, and there were about six feet between the colonies on either side. I determined not to excite that col- ony, and I set them to filling them- selves with honey. I opened the hive as quietly as possible, and slid it down off its own stand, after having pre- pared a hive with strips of foundation; I just took the top bar off some frames and fastened some strips on an inch wide. I made a brush of catnip, and with that I brushed the bees off, having a board there for them to run up on. I didn't want them to go to the other hives. If the disease was in the honey I knew the more honey they had the more they would carry with them. I brushed them off the combs as quickly as possible and put every comb of brood beyond the possi- ble reach the bees, and took the hive off also. I closed the hive off in 48 hours, I took those strips of founda- tion away and gave them full sheets of comb, and went to feeding them a syrup composed of two parts of sugar and one of water. I fed them that way for probably two weeks. Just then the honey was not coming in rapidly. In about three weeks I ex- amined the hive on the left to see whether any of the bees had crawled from that hive into any of the hives on either side. I knew those hives were free from it w^hen I treated this one, but here I found it showing up in that locality. There is danger now of treating it in your apiary. I would advise every man if possible to close up his colony at night and take it. ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 195 clear beyond the reach of the bees and treat it in an isolated spot. I took every bit of clothing ofC that I wore and went and boiled my hive out, and I started up my gasoline stove and laid the hive in the heat of a burner, and then threw it into wjater to cool it. I took a teaspoonfuli of carbolic acidi to a pint of water and washed my hands, and took my knife and scraped my nails and even shampooed my head. You will agree with me you cannot be too careful; the greater care you exercise the better, t"' Now, about disinfecting hives, it is nearly impossible to take ten frames out of a colony without getting a little on your fingers, and as like as not when you dip your fingers down you will rub a little honey off, hence the importance of disinfecting that hive>v, and I invariably go to work and pour two or three ounces of gasoline down in the bottom, light a piece of news- paper and drop, it in there; put the lid on my hive,- and after it has burned a fractional part of a minute — I let it char or burn that hiv^ brown on the inside — I use bibiling water, and the heat of that will reach every part in it. There are rabbets in the hive, and I have been in the habit of tearing them off fully,! and lighting them sep- arately, and letting them burn up the propolis completely. Mr. McEvoy of Canada does not do that; but when you get the honey in the hive the germs are there too, and you may ibreed 50 or 100 colonies and not get the disease in the hive in that way as described, and yet you may do it every time, hence the importance of adhering to the rule that Dr. Phillips recommends of disinfecting every hive that has foul brood in it. I heard this given as general treatment by Mr. Root at the first Convention held in the United States at the City of Indianapolis. He said: After trying all other remedies my advice is to dig a hole and as soon as it is night and the bees have all settled, wrap your infected hive up carefully, put it into the hole, cover it over with straw, and not burn it, but bury it if you can beyond the possibility of resurrection. I wouldn't do that now with a good Mve. ■ There are hundreds of thou- sands of box hives all over the coun- try. If a hive is worth saving we can save it, and if the comb is not old and worthless we can save the bees- wax. If it is an old worthless hive, and a weak colony, and the comb not worth much, 1 would say turn in and dig a pit, put some dry s'traw down in there, and after night set your colony in there and put coal oil on it and burn it ail up, and then fill up the hole with dirt. Now, that kind of treatment I regard as radical, and it will cure every time. Cleanse your implements after you use them, and either boil or burn a suit of clothing that you have used. As to this matter of shaking bees when they are in the height of the honey flow, you can't shake bees off your frame without shaking more or less honey out, and before that honey is all gone and evaporated and has disappeared the flies raay take it all up, but if they do not the bee comes along and takes up some of that honey and you see what happens, the colony becomes infected at once, so that we want to cut off every avenue. I don't claim to know all about this by any means, and I feel I have scarcely learned the alphabet, and I would not have been at this Convention if it had not been for this subject which in- terests me above all others. I feel as though it needs the help of every man that is capable. I have said before this Association that I do not ever expect to make any money out of it, but it is just for pastime, and what I may be able to learn and teach others. •Mr. DeJong — ^This thing is new to me. We have a good deal of foul brood in our country. The best way I thought would be to take a board and put it on a new hive and set it out in the old place, and set the other hive on top of that; take your queen out and put her below on som6 comb foundation and let the bees work it out there. I thought in doing that twice the new hives would prevent them carrying any honey. Dr. Bohrer- — Tell us. again. •Mr. DeJong— I suggested to our In- spector to take and set a new hive right on the place where the infected hive was, and then take a board and lay it on top of that, and set carefully your infected hive on top of that, and then take out your queen and put her below, and then the. bees will go down there. Dr. Bohrer — Have yuu treated it that way? 196 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Mr. DeJong — No ; it is too late now. We intended to go to work £Liid treat them that way twice. In that way they would not carry the honey with them or make amy mess or disturb- ance. Dr. Bohrer — I tried that same plan only in a different way. It would be all right if no bees would get through that escape and return, but I had them do that, and they carried the disease. You may treat fifty colonies success- fully, and you may not. Mr. DeJong — Suppose the most of them go back, and the next morning you take that old hive off and close it up and set it away? Dr. Bohrer — That will do. Mr. DeJong — If you put any food down below, it seems to me it would !be drawn down by the queen. Feed them down below. That I think is a better plan than shaking. Dr. Bohrer — ^Try it and see. Mr. De Jong — The Inspector has power of attorney to act; he has the right to enter any place and they can- not resist him. He has that power under our new law. Mr. Huffman — I would like to ask Dr. Phillips if in the shaking process he would recommend full sheets of foundation or starters? Dr. Phillips — As I stated in my paper, I recommend starters. Dr. Bohrer — Take them away in .two or three days and give them full sheets. Dr. Phillips — 'It depends on the wishes of the individual bee-keepers, sometimes bees will build very nice frames of worker comb, and then we leave them. If they get too much drone comb we take that out and give them full sheets of foundation. Mr. 'Goddard — We had two cases of infection in our apiary, and we did as the gentleman states, we put an empty hive with starters carefully under the old stand, lifted the old stand right up and slid the new hive under the honey board and Porter escape, and we let it stay there for three days be- fore we took out the starters and put in new sheets of full foundation. We let it stay there till all the brood was hatched and let the brood go down, and kept water in the upper hive in a shallow pan. We have seen yet no signs of foul brood in the lower hive. Dr. Bohrer — I believe that is right if the escape is all right. Dr. Phillips — I don't like to con- demn the use of a bee escape, be- cause sometimes it is all right, but I think it is a safe statement to make,, that in nine cases out of ten the bee escape is not the thing to use. Bee keepers all over this country that have- been successful in the treatment of American and European foul brood, have not used the bee escape treat- ment. There have been a few men who have made successful treatment with what is known as the Baiarldgfr treatment. If there is anything in shaking energy into bees, we might as well get that benefit. I do not recom- mend the use of bee escapes. I think we can get better results in nine cases out of ten by shaping the bees on to starters or foundation, and I would not recommend anything else. Mr., iSyverud — I have tried the Bald- ridge plan, and: I thought I was; care- ful in every detail, but in every in- stance I found the bees would find a way up through either cracks or- crevices in the hive, or get iback through the escape and rob the dis- eased brood or honey, or both, and I have discarded that unless it is very slightly affected. What I like best is to use starters or full sheets, and use a dry extracting comb. The bees will store their diseased honey in there and you can remove it in 24 hours, and to be doubly sure, you can replace another dry comb and remove that in 24 or 48 hours, as you like. I think it will be successful. Mr, Morgan — ^This method that has just been described is called the Chantry method and differs from the other in that we place it right on the centre of the hive and remove that the next morning after the shaking is done. To make that good, if this honey has not been all disgorged by the bees, a little feeding can be done, and in that way the bees will disgorge the honey that is contained in their systems into this dry comb and take up new honey and also disgorge that in the morning before they go out in the field to work. Then the second morning take out the dry comb and the work is complete, with full sheets of foundation. I have treated a good many this present season that way with perfect success. As Dr. Bohrer has stated, if we wait till we smell the disease, we have almost lost the colonj'. If we are not able to detect ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEJPERS' ASSOCIATION 197 that disease before it gets? to a stage where we can smell it, we might as well say we will not get any surplus from that stock that season. We must be able to discover that disease as it appears in one or two cells, and get right to work. I would recommend that idea of having a yard two or three miles from the regular yard to treat this disease I think it would pay everyone to move their bees for treatment — remove them at least two miles. Dr. Phillips — I would like to say a word or two about the two maps that are put up on the blackboard. About a month ago I took the records of the samples of disease which have been received at the Bureau of Entomology from all over the United States, and charted them on maps. I do not claim by any means this represents the dis- tribution of the two diseases in the United iStates; it simply shows where we have found it; and I would be very glad to get reports from persons here as to other localities in which the dis- ease exists. The solid red colored Counties are those from which we have had samiples, and those surround- ed by a red border are those from which we have reports of samples. We do not take the report even from the best men in the United States as a positive thing until we get a sam- ple. We would be very glad to know where to look for the disease in the future, in making this map complete. Eh-. Bohrer — From the external ap- pearance you can't always tell the disease. This last spring I had a powerful colony in one of those Jumbo ten frame hives, and they had gone to work in the super and reached the capping stage, and all at once they ceased while other bees were ener- getically at work in bringing in honey. I saw them listlessly crawling about the entrance of the hive. I at once opened it and I found foul brood. When in the height of the honey flow you find them lazy in their habits and seeming to be cross, and so on, you may rest assured that there is some- thing wrong and you must look for it immediately. Mr. Syverud — I would be pleased to have someone describe the European foul brood. Dr. Phillips — After Mr. France's de- scription of the American, perhaps I can describe the European better by pointing out the difference between the two. European foul brood attacks the larvae at an earlier age than does the American; the larvae are gener- ally attacked while they are still curl- ed around in the bottom of the cell, and the characteristic thing is the yellow color. The name "black brood" is not a good name; it does not de- scribe the disease at all. If any name representing a color is to be given to tliis disease, it should be "yellow." We, however, have given it the name of European foul brood. The larvae turn yellow or somewhat grayish at the time while they are still curled up in the bottom of the cell before they straighten out. The larvae are oc- casionally attacked a little later and they may even come to the place where they, are sealed, but a large ma- jority of the brood is attacked before sealing, whereas in American foul brood the majority of it is attacked after sealing. There is no ropiness to amount to anything, and no odor such as we have in the American. There is sometimes a little sour odor connected with this brood, but it can- not be accepted as anything typical. The curled up position of the diseased larvae, and the yellow color I would take to be the chief characteristics of this disease. You can tell it is not pickled or chilled brood by the way in which it spreads in the colony. It simply goes through a colony like a plague. It spreads in a colony and in an apiary more rapidly than American foul brood. Another characteristic should be mentioned, and that is, in the fall of the year it often disappears of its own accord. That does not mean the disease is cured. While sometimes it will disappear and not re-appear, it generally comes back again. Dr. Bohrer — Does not American foul brood do that sometimes? Dr. Phillips — I only heard of but one or two cases where it did. When the American dries down it forms a scale, which Mr. France described. The scale adheres tightly to the side wall. In the European it remains loose, and a knife-blade run under it will lift the scale right up. The scale in European foul brood is not smooth and flat as it is in the American; it is rough as a rule. Dr. Bohrer — I have thought a great deal about the matter of legislation, and I have thought a national law 198 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE prohibiting this thing of keeping dis- eased bees in any parts of the terri- tories would be a good thing, and I don't know but this Body might be able to select a Legislative Commit- tee that would be able to do some- thing. But, whether they can or not, I believe it would be a good policy to have every State in the Union try to have a Legislative Committee, and try to get every bee-keeper to consider himself a committee of one, and con- sider it his duty to see his representa- tive both in the House and Senate, and let that Legislative Committee agree as to what is important and al- most indispensable in every State. By that means they will find out what you want. Having been a member twice of our State Legislature, I have learned something about the commod- ity of legislative bodies; if they know what you want and it is at all within reason, you are likely to get it. The matter of bee-keeping is less under- stood than any other by our Legisla- tors. In Illinois they are having trou- ble, I don't know why or how it is; I know they have got one man there, a very contrary kind of man. I don't know what kind of halter you want to break him or handle him; but in Illinois you have got a lot of bee- keepers there, and you want to have a good, strong law. They are mov- ing out of that State into other States where they don't know it, and they will take bees with them that nave the disease. There is a pretty heavy penalty for taking the disease into the State of Kansas, but, innocently, not knowing what they are doing, it may be done. We are all alike interested in it, and want an effective law in every State. Let us So to work and labor for it. Mr. Brown — There is a question I wanted to ask Dr. Phillips. Will nap- thole beta kill the disease; and where it is fed to the bees at their watering place, a small amount put in the water, would it in any way control the spread of the disease? Dr. Phillips — Personally, as far as we have gone in the matter of feeding antiseptics, I am not inclined to at- tribute any value whatever to any of those things. Napthole beta, salicylic acid, carbolic acid, and all those things as I mentioned in my paper, have been recommended as antiseptics; but not only has the experience of American bee-keepers ihown the absolute use- lessness offthose things, but a more thorough and scientific investigation would indicate largely the same thing, that there is practically nothing to be hoped for in that way. Mr. Ramer — I believe Dr. Phillips made the statement that we knew the origin of American foul brood, but he didn't define; I have a little curi- osity to know how lit originates. Dr. Phillips — American foul brood is caused by a bacillus, bacillus larvae; the way that has been demonstrated is that the scale of American foul brood contains millions of spores. These spores have been taken and grown in pure cultures and leu oack to the bees, and the disease has been produced in that way, so that by the organisms fed to it and in this dis- eased material we again find the same organism. That is the course followed in determining the cause of American foul brood. That sounds, perhaps, easy enough, but it took Dr. ■ White years to get anything on which this bacillus larvae would grow, and it was a long, tedious line of operation. We now know the organism that causes it, because we can produce it any time we care to artificially, by feeding these cultures. He is still at it, to try to find out what will kill it, and we an- nounced some of these results at the Detroit meeting. The spores of this bacillus are very tenacious; a five per cent carbolic solution will not kill them for weeks, and it takes at least fifteen minutes of boiling to kill them. In various other ways, it is a very tenacious organism, and there is still a very great deal to learn. In regard to European foul brood, the cause has never been determined. We find a number of organisms present in this disease, and have good reason to think that one of them is the cause of it, but which one is the cause has never yet been determined. Dr. Bohrer — What disposition do you find people making of the honey they extract from foul brood? Dr. Phillips — They are putting it on the American market. I think it is safe to say 99 per cent are putting their honey on the market regardless of the law and public sentiment in the matter. I haVe seen it time and time again, where a man would have a goodly number of diseased colonies in his yard, and he would go and extract everything and put it all into cans, and .'ij^-. ■.-j(i>v-,j5'i.*;.,*..as;v-ji 'i.}imMi^jx}j^^^&}^«i£>AJi^w ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 199 send it away. Of , course, that is not the right thing to do, and it is con- trary to law in a good many cases, but I have yet to find the inspector that will conscientiously prohibit that In every case he finds. I am not familiar with all of them, but I have travelled with some of them, and I have seen them wink at that sort of thing. I know there is too much con- taminated honey being put ou itf the market. The only safe thing to do is to destroy it or disinfect it by hard boiling. It can be disinfected by boil- ing with water for half an hour. Mr. Darby — I want to say I believe that this contaminated honey is the means of spreading the bee disease throughout the United States more than any other one thing. I have good reason to believe that the honey being shipped from diseased apiaries 'has been responsible for the greater part of the trouble in the State of Missouri, and I think that this work of educa- tion along this line and various lines is one of the best things we can do towards the wiping out of bee diseases. You must get people to understand that they must do right themselves if they expect others to do right. This is a pretty hard matter. We find so many of them that count the dollars and cents first and then the princi- ples dt right and wrong after. We should seek to educate the bee-keepers in our community. Each individual bee-keeper should attempt to do this right at home; and not only must the bee-keepers be taught this, but you should talk it to your individual leg- islators, your doctors, lawyers and school teachers; everybody should be familiar with the bee industry to an extent that they should think it was right that we should have protec- tion. I have had occasion to talk this way to many of our law makers and influential men in our State, and when they understand it once they will readily drop in with the idea and say, ' you should have protection; but if you ^on't educate them how can you ex- pect them to give you assistance when it comes to asking the Legislators to hear you? In this work of education along the various lines I want to say we must learn to be careful in the smallest detail. I was very much impressed yester- day afternoon by a few remarks Dr. Bohrer made in regard to handling frames. I find so many bee men, and in other respects good bee men, who are careless about handling their frames when they go to look for bee disease or eggs or larvae; they will turn them fiatways and look over this way, and you all know when new honey is coming in that it is so thin it will often drop out, and if you hap- pen perchance to lift a comb out of a disased colony, maybe you don't know the disease is there, and before you are aware of it you drop some of that honey on the ground, and by that means maybe have diseased a num- ber of colonies in your apiary. Tell bee-keepers to hold the frames straight. Mr. France has told you here and elsewhere at Conventions to hold the frames straight. Then there is no danger of this diseased honey dropping out. It is the proper method any way of holding a frame. I don't like to speak harshly about it, but it shows the bee -keeper has not stud- ied along some of the lines as much as he should, and I think we should discuss these little details so that we may get the bee-keepers to think about the little things as well as the large ones, because they all go to making up the sum total. In the matter of disinfecting, there are so many bee-keepers that are careless in that respect like they are in some others. We find some peo- ple very careful, and we find some others that will make a mess of every- thing they undertake, and those kind of people should not be in the bee business; and if you leave the im- pression it is not necessary to disin- fect hives or other things that they are using, they will take it for granted they are just as careful and clean as anybody in their work and it is not necessary for them to disinfect. I make it a rule to say to people throughout the country, when they are treating diseased colonies, to disin- fect those hives. It doesn't take but a minute to paint the inside of the hive with gasoline or kerosene and touch a flame to it, and in a verj' few minutes' time this work has been done, and if a few drops of honey have been accidentally dropped there, then you have done the work. So, do your work thoroughly. I know with a care- ful man, and a man that has been working with bees for years, he may get along all right without any of this ^A.; 200 NINTH ANNUAIj REPORT OF THE -\ work of disinfecting, but when we are talking about this we must remem- ber we are talking to people all over the United States. While they may not be here today to hear us, and even though they may not be members of the Association, they may in some way get hold of these reports, and we should make ourselves understood so that these people will carry out the 'Work thoroughly. Mr. France — Mr. President, the care of honey from infected hives has been one of the greatest hobbies of my work in our State. About five or six weeks ago I received notice that a whole apiary w^as to be moved from Wisconsin to Iowa, and that there was infection in that yard. I wasn't aware of it. I went there and found infec- tion, and in order to hold the man I put a printed quarantine card upon the yard, and I said. You dare not move one thing; it must be treated right here; but he said I am away from home at expense and I can't afford to stay. I said, "Sir, if you are sick with the smallpox you will stay. This is not smallpox, but to the bees it is equal to it." He had four colonies of bees all ready for shipment and they never left the City. The honey was extracted from those combs with the understanding that it sholud all be used as a food consumption in two families who knew what they were using, and that the dishes or cans in which it came were at my piercy, and they were disposed of. Infected honey I have not been able to say positively is injurious to human health. I can't for one moment recommend it. I have used some of that honey purposely from some badly infected combs myself, and I fancy I have received some ill-effects tempor- arily. One man in one County extract- ed honey where the brown ropy mat- ter was in some combs and went into the honey visible to the eye, and that honey he himself used, and his family, and he is still living and in good health. To go back to the point of what we are going to allow with re- gard to this honey, in two cases where they had considerable of this infected honey I allowed them to ship the honey to bakers, marking the barrels and notifying them that it was infected honey and that those bar- rels must be burned. Otherwise I have not allowed anyone, where I have known of infected honey in the State, - to do anything with that honey than . either totally destroy it or boil it, and afterwards it is not of any value , because if you boil it enough you - have blackened your honey till there : is no commercial value in it. Mr. Ramer — Would it do to feed ta the bees again after boiling? Mr. France — Don't take the chance. I believe it is possible that that honey i can be boiled and used again from ' the fact that I made a desperate effort twelve years ago this year to save everything in a yard of 200 and some odd infected colonies. We took the hives, cleansed them, and put the bees back into the same hives, ex- tracted the honey and boiled it, and, having a foundation outfit on the farm, we made some infected wax into comb foundation, put the bees on to that and fed them with boiled, infected honey. That is twelve years ago, and no disease has shown up since, but I wouldn't want that to become a gen- eral public statement, irom the fact that anyone else mignt not be as thorough. We boiled* that honey to a finish. I have seen honey that has been called boiled in which the germs of the disease were plenty and alive. There have been in my State and adjoining States, not giving names, nine instances where honey from an unknown source has been used as a means of feeding bees for winter stores, and in those cases it has brought the disease to their yard. E>o not for one moment buy honey to feed to your bees unless you positively know the source it comes from. Sugar syrup is better than to take those chances. Dr. Bohrer — il have some at home canned up, but I won't sell it; I am too good a Christian to sell it; I would as soon go into my neighbor's barn and steal his horses. As to ex- tracting it when it reaches the stage Mr. France has spoken of, that is with a large number of diseases larvae, and decomposed and ropy, I never ex- tracted any honey from a frame of that kind. I simply take the frames that have no brood in them and sim- ply extract the honey from them. If I use that at all I use it on my own table in the winter time. Where Mr. Poppleton lives he had better not use it at all, because he lives in a warmer climate and bees get out every day in the year and they may ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 201 get at that honey. You don't want to take any chances. If you can't use it during the cold winter weather it is better to dig a hole and bury it. Mr. York presented the report to the Nomination Committee as follows: Report of Nomination Committee. N. E. France elected Chairman of the committee, and George W, York V Secretary. Nominations : President — George W. York, Chi- cago, 111.; Thos. Chantry, Price, Utah. Vice-President — W. D. Wright, Alta- mont, N. Y.; G. M. Bentley, Knoxville, Tenn. Secretary — Morley Pettit, Jordan Station, Ont., Canada; Louis H. Scholl, New Braunfels, Texas. Gen. Mgr. and Treas. — ^N. E. France, Platteville, Wis. Three Directors — J. E. Crane, Mid- dlebury, Va.; J. J. Wilder, Cordele. Ga.; R. A. Morgan, Vermilion, S. Dakota; Edw. G. Brown, Sargent's Bluff, Iowa; B. A. Hadsell, Buckeye, Ariz.; E. F. Atwater, Meridian, Idaho. (Signed) GEORGE W. YORK, Secretary. For Com. from 11 States. Sioux City, Iowa, Sept. 23, 1909. On motion of Dr. Bohrer, seconded by Mr. Goddard, the report was re- ceived and adopted. On motion, the convention stood ad- journed until 1:30 p. m. AFTERNOON SESSION. At 1:30 p. m., the President took the chair and said: The convention will please come to order. I appre- hend the majority of the members have gone to the Fair or something. We will take up the subjects, how- ever, and dispose of them according to the program. The first upon the list is "How to Get Big Honey Har- vests Without Swarming," by A. C. Allen, of Portage, Wis. Mr. France — Mr. President, that is one of the papers which, as yet, has not arrived. Possibly I might outline briefly the method by which Mr. Allen conducts this way of handling bees, so that we may have some of the ben- efits of it this season. However, I will see that the paper becomes a part of the Annual Report, alth-ough it has failed to reach here. In short, it is simply this, working for extract- ed honey to gather all the products and not have swarming. As soon as the bees are out of the cellar in the spring, weather permitting, stimula- tive feeding to encourage more brood rearing. As soon as the first hive body or brood-chamber is well equip- ped with brood, taking a portion of that brood into another hive body, placing it above this one, and con- tinuing, so that by the time the white clover harvest comes you have two hive bodies nearly solid, full of brood. That is a big swarm. It is the big swarms that we realize our returns from. The swarming fever would soon take place under tnose condi- tions when th4 harvest opens. To get the harvest and have no swarm- ing just at this time when queen cells would begin , to be formed, he raises that entire double hive body up, put- ting another hive body under with a queen-excluder between; in this low- er hive comb foundation and some drawn combs, if he has them, giving thereby the queen an empty division to work in, a Ad as the brood above hatches, you still have all the work- ing force of that big swarm. That gives you room for the storage of honey as fast as it comes in, and if need be then you can^add your other super for more honey. In doing that, those combs are filled, and there is no necessity for being in a hurry to extract your honey before it is ripen- ed. There is no shaking energy in'o the bees, if you please; it is giving lots of room, and at the same time no swarming. Mr. Allen has out -apiaries, and without hired help is enabled that way to work those yards •;\ithout any swarming whatever, and get good, big returns. I have been at his yard sev- eral times, and he has nearly double per colony the yield that his neigh- bor bee-keepers have. HOW TO SECURE- THE HONEY HARVEST WITHOUT SWARMING. (By A. C. Allen.) During the past fifty or more years the attention of all large honey pro- ducers has been turned toward de- vising some means of absolute con- trol of swarming; and at the same time not detract the amount of honey that a colony would gather, did it not contract the desire to swarm. For all we know that honey gathering is ^"^- -j^^^.- 202 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE effected to a greater or less extent where the swarming fever exists. This subject has been discussed at length in nearly all conventions; nearly every issue of our bee journals contain something new which, grasped at and tried by many, only to find it a fail- ure. Various styles of hives have been constructed and tried with like result. The writer has also been studying this matter clearly for the past ten years, and not until the sum- mer of 1906 did success crown my efforts. Most apiarists who have given this the most thought have gone at it by studying the CAUSE OF SWARMING; but I cared little about that so long as I could prevent It; therefore, went after it in a different way, for to be successful, I wish every colony to get so strong that it will want to swarm; therefore I STUDIED THOSE THINGS THAT SATISFY DESIRE and thereby fulfill the laws and demands of nature. The plan I now give to the world has been used in my apiaries three seasons without one case of failure; does not in any way detract from the strength of the colony or amount of nectar gathered, but rather increases both. A colony can be treated by the expert or novice alike in ten minutes time or less; and he can rest assured that his bees will not swarm for that season; and the plan is so simple that I often wonder that it was not discovered before. THE PLAN. The first requisite of success is in having a young and vigorous queen in each colony when they go into win- ter quarters and at least thirty pounds of good stores which will keep them until fruit bloom the following spring. At this time each good colony should be strong enough to take a super of extracting combs which is put on with- out an excluder, thus allowing the queen free access to both stories. From this time on until the clover flow starts each colony is fed twice a week one quart of warm syrup at evenings. The abundance of feed w^hich the colonies had when spring opened and the feeding after fruit bloom, has resulted in the queen doing their best at egg laying, and when the clover flow starts the hives are liter- ally full of bees just anxious to go to work. With me the honey flow usually starts from nothing, to good business in two to four days, the pasturage being such that the pro- fusions of blossoms open at once. Just at this junction I apply the treatment which causes the queen to continue laying just as vigorously as before and get a supply of bees ready for the fall flow, rather than almost stop laying as is the case if left to them- selves. I go to a colony and remove it from its stand putting in its place a hive full of empty comibs less a center one. Next a comb containing a patch of unsealed brood about as large as my hand is selected from the colony and placed in the vacant space in the new hive. A queen excluder is put on this lower story and above this a super of drone comb and on top of all an empty super. The bees and queen are then shaken in front of the new hive onto a cloth which has been placed in such a position that the bees can easily crawl into this new home, and the top supers filled with combs full of brood, which is left there to hatch and reinforce the colony. Thus the swarming fever is satisfied, the colony is stimulated to do its utmost in honey gathering and the queen encouraged to lay anew. In another hour the bees are at work and there is no sulking. The whole colony is kept together and as the brood hatches the bees fill the combs with honey and usually before the flow closes I have to put a third super on, so the hive is four stories high. If I happen to notice the queen on one of the first comos taken out I see that she goes at once into the lower story and no more shaking is done, simply putting the brood in the top story, thus shortening the job. Nearly every colony which is strong enough to treat in this rhanner has more combs of brood than will go in this super and the surplus is used to strengthen any w^eak colonies that may be found. Why do I use drone comb in the second story? For two reasons: I bought an apiary having a lot of these combs and this is a good place to put them, — and because the bees store honey faster and get more of it into a. super of drone comb than in a super of worked combs; so I really like them for this particular place though I would not now produce them for it. If increase is desired, nine to twelve days after thus placing .■..-■,f/;,j&4&^; '■jL'C-tti.^A-.-^' .'i^y''\-;^f.,lVii^C^'-:-it'-^' ''&^'l\.'i't^J!.^bi£^,iJh.'Sif -j:.\ ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 203 the broad on top, it is removed to a new stand and a ripe queen cell or queen given, and 'by the time the fall flow comes these new colonies are usually ready for a super. When a laying queen is given a super of fall honey is often secured and when a cell or virgin is given the colony often secures its winter stores. This is the first season that I removed the brood for increase and to ascertain whether this detracted from the amount of honey secured for extract- ing I weighed the honey taken from each hive separately. Those from which brood was taken, stored just as much clover honey as those in which the brood was left to hatch and re- turn to the parent colony. The only way I can account for this is that those bees do not become old enough for field workers on clover, but they did store a, little more fall honey than those from which brood was taken, but not as much as the two divided colonies did; so the making of in- crease would be gain, even if the bees were again united after the season ended. When first using this plan to control swarming, fears were enter- tained that so much honey would be stored in the brood chamber that not as much would be realized from the surplus apartments, and I used dum- mies in the brood chamber for two weeks after shaking, giving the col- ony only six combs, but I found this unnecessary in the case of eight frame hives; as at the close of the white honey flow there are five to seven combs fllled with brood. With ten frame hives one dummy is still used on each side, being removed after the flow and replaced with empty combs which are' fllled with honey for winter stores. When queens dre thus forced they are used only two seasons. Al- though I think as Mr. Doolittle did about his comb honey plan, that this is head and shoulders above anything ever given for the production of ex- tracted honey. The President — 'I am sure our Man- ager has given us a pice outline in- deed, ^which will enable us to discuss the paper without it being here. Mr. Huffman — Mr. President, I would like to know is it the eight or ten-frame hive he uses? Mr. France — ^The majority of them are eight-frame in the out-yard. The home yard is all ten-frame.. He has tried very much the same method for comb honey production and finds it works very well for that. Mr. Lawrence — I would like to ask when he puts the excluder on that bottom story what he does with the drones that hatch out above? Mr. France — For about three days the entrance to the upper one is left open, that allows the drones to come down, but it won't do to keep that open, for the young bees would learn their way in and out there. Within those three days those drones ,have found their way out; the balance of them would have to stay up there till he opens the hive for further con- sideration. Dr. Darby — I would, like to ask what he does with the queen cells that may be constructed up there afterwards? Mr. France — There is very little tendency for those queen cells from the fact that the queen's new brood is all away below. You have so iso- lated it. Putting her below and the new brood all below, the tendency is to form those new queens where there is young brood. Sometimes he has had a queen hatched above, so that there would be a plurality queen in that hive, one above and one be- low, and he has allowed the two to remain, but Nature seems to provide for one queen in a hive, and in time when that excluder is taken out they equalize that by the survival of the fittest. Mr. Darby — If those" queens were confined there they would in course of time become drone layers, having had no opportunity to get out, and if something is not done you may have your whole colony manned by the droning queen. Mr. France — He is going through those hives fast enough so that his first turn around extracting would come in the neighborhood of twelve to fifteen days after making the change, and at a glance he could see whether the chamber where the brood was was in proper condition or not. Mr. Darby — ^If a system of this kind could be managed on somewhat of the let-alone plan, how would that work? Mr. DeJong — I have tried that let- alone plan once, and I don't see how they did it, but they had a que^n up in the super, and she was a drone lay- er, and when I came in to extract I 204 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE said, They must have it full by this time. I saw^ what she had done, and I naturally sliced their heads off and put them back in there, and they car- ried them through the queen excluder down through the hive and when I came back two weeks later it was all full of honey. Dr. Bohrer — Mr. France struck the key-note when he said. Keep the young brood all down below. If you do that you won't have to bother with queen cells above. The least drone comb you have the least trouble you will have with drones either below or above. I find that there is a disposi- tion on the part of queens when there is drone comb in the top of the hive, to slip up there and fill it with eggs. Dr. Miller, I believe, has taken the position that probably the queen Bets tired of laying worker eggs. It is supposed by some it requires an effort on the part of the queen to fertilize that egg. I would say: Have just as little drone comb about your apiary as possible; three or four inches square is plenty. "With that kind of manipulation I have some very large hives, and I have tested that more effectually. I have 14 -frame hives, and it takes a powerful colony to fill a 14-frame hive. I take out some combs for fear they will swarm, when it is pretty well capped over, and go and hive them in the upper story of a hive that is not so strong. The bees will take better care of it than I can anywhere else. Put in an empty comb for them to fill up, or a sheet of foundation, and let them have that, and I believe, in that way, you can manage a large swarm of bees and have no swarming. They won't al- ways swarm in big hives when you allow them to develop queen cells. The mother and daughter will live on terms of peace, both laying eggs for a term of weeks. Mr. Alexander tried to make that effectual, but he was trying to do something he couldn't do. The President — The next paper is "The Saving of Wax," by E. G. Brown, of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa. Mr. Brown presented his paper as follows: "THE SAVING OF WAX." Wax is a secre-tion from the glands of the abdomen of the bee, and, while its production is largely voluntary, it requires the consumption of a large quantity of honey to produce it. Va- rious estimates range from six to six- teen pounds of honey being required to produce a pound of wax. The large amount of honey consumed in its production, combined with its va- ried uses, makes it one of the valuable products of the apiary. It is used in many places where xvo other mate- rials can be substituted. For apicul- tural purposes there can be no substitute, and many of the large cathedrals use it exclusively for can- dles, as other wax or lighting material cause a sediment to accumulate on oil paintings, which is very injurious to their beauty and durability, and wax also burns with a much steadier and clearer light. It is also used extensively for den- tal and medical purposes, and in shoe polish and floor wax, and in polishing fine woodwork and stone. It has nearly a steady market, at a price of about 30 cents per pound, and if a bee-keeper is careful of his scraps of comb and hive scrapings, he will find it will accumulate very rapidly. The cappings from extracted honey are, perhaps, the greatest source of production, as they are nearly pure wax, and, when carefully rendered, produce the purest and best quality of wax. Old combs that for one reason or another have become undesirable for further use and patches of drone comb cut from the corners of the regular brood comb furnish a large amount of wax. Ten Langstroth frames will, when properly rendered, produce from two and a half to three and a half pounds of wax, or equal to 20 or 25 full sheets of medium brood foundation, and a chemical analysis would show there ought to be nearly four pounds. For this reason, there is no economy in using old, crooked or broken combs, and it will generally be found advisable to change one's supply of combs every eight to ten years, dis- carding one out of every eight or ten every year, as the wax will pay for the rendering and the new founda- tion, and he will be able to produce a better, clearer grade of honey, and, in an infected locality, will be less subject to disease. Another source of accumulation is from the scrapings from the hives and frames, as the bees almost al- ways seem, to have a little extra wax • ".'.i^^iigfw,^^. >-iV&??^.iiJ.«tft3ii?k^^'^ ' j'-. 2i'.;''. i-^'Jt^llili.'^ . ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 205 on hand to tuck away in the corners, or on top of the frames, or between them, in the -form of burr combs. In the spring, when the bees are using large quantities of sealed honey, they seem to want a place to store the extra wax from the cappings, and, for this reason, pile it on top of the frames, or build burr combs between them, and unless these are kept scraped off they generally cause some trouble in handling the combs and, if left until the honey flow comes on; a large amount of it will probably find its way into the super and cause dark, inferior looking cappings where comb honey is produced. The simplest method of rendering is the sun melter, and while this pro- duces the best quality it does not get nearly all the wax, as it obtains just the free wax that will drain out of the scrapings and old combs, yet I be- lieve every bee-keeper should have one of these in his yard ag a catch-all for scraps and bits of comb, and if he is a little careful he can, in a short time, accumulate many times over the cost of the melter in wax saved in this manner. This form of rendering is by far the most practical for the small "bee-keeper, and then by saving his slumgum for a year or so he will ac- cumulate enough of this to either sell or render in some other way. But be sure to keep it dry. The most complete and about the only way to render large quantities of old comb and slumgum is by means of hot water or steam. In order to get the wax entirely out of the melted slumgum it is necessary to have a steady, hard pressure, and essential that the press cake or slumgum be thoroughly melted and kept at a high temperature during the entire opera- tion. Where the press is arranged so that the slumgum is submerged below "boiling water while pressing, it is best to apply the pressure as hard as pos- sible and then release and allow the slumgum to boil ■ up again and then press again. The only material that will give any satisfaction for press sacks is common burlap, and ir; order to have them stand the necessary pressure they should be very heavy and strong. If too closely woven a material is used the wax cannot be forced out, as the .•slumgum cakes in next to the cloth. and even the best burlap clogs very rapidly. One of the most rapid ways of ren- dering wax in large quantities is to use a hot water tank heated by a steam pressure, and using a steapx heat under the press cake. The great drawback to this plan is the expense, which would place it beyond the means of a man who did not have a large quantity of wax to render and also other use for his steam power. The capping melter, whil6 it pro- duces the best possible quality of wax, is not practical because of the inability to apply sufficiene heat to melt the wax and not darken the honey. Be sure that all wax stufC — that is, scraps of old comb, cappings, scrap- ings and solar melter slumgum — are kept dry, as there is nothing that will mould quicker than this material when once it gets damp, and it takes very little mould to make dark wax out of the best material. Black iron should always be avoided for melting apparatus as it will also color wax. Copper is considered the best material for a melting tank, al- though tin or galvanized iron are both good and are much cheaper. Care should always be taken to see that wax is thoroughly strained and settled, and, to accomplish the latter, it should be cooled very slowly, and there should be some water in the bottom of the container. It never pays to prut an inferior or drity grade of goods on the market, as it will riot bring the price, and also leaves a bad impression with the dealer who buys. y^ — --. BUT DON'T save wax by scrimping on the use of foundation, because for every cent you save in the cost of foundation you lose ten in the amount of honey secured and frequently twice that in crooked combs and inferior sections. Mr. Brown — I was talking with Dr. Phillips and he says that there is an- other plan that will produce nearly four pounds of wax to every ten Lang- stroth frames, but he said that had not been developed in a way that it could be used and it is a new invention. The^ best results I have ever been able to get were about three and a half pounds of wax out of good Langstroth frames. I can get more wax ou_t of heavy old combs where there are comers plugged ■;^aSSw«s?K&is.Mi;5^ififiiS!gKaiS; • i^ V '-jTv *nS.V - -■,&■ 206 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE in with old comto and where there are a number of sub-queen cells built on; those will accumulate more wax, so that an old frame generally yields a larger amount of -wax than a new one, especially one that has been used in the brood nest about two years. Dr. Phillips — It seems to me that this matter of wax production is a very important subject. It is almost part of our discussion this morning in the matter of foul brood control, be- cause in order to reduce the expense of the disease treatment, we want to get all we can from the material taken away from the bees, and every ounce of wax in a healthy colony de- creases the expense of the treatment just that much. It is, of course, im- portant for the man who has no disease, because he has a great deal of comb to render at various times. I have never been satisfied with the wax-press method of wax exti action; it has always seemed to me a slow process. I have nothing much better to offer as far as I myself am con- cerned. In the first place, I dijn c like to put the combs themselves into an ordinary wax- press. In our work we always melt the combs down m a double boiler and let all the wax that will come off first, and then press the slumgum. It makes a great deal shorter operation of it where ii is possible to get a double boiler, which is not very expensive. The other method to which Mr. Brown has re- ferred is a method being developed by some bee-keepers Sn the Hawaiian Islands; they don't use any pressure or press at all, but the slumgum is ground all to pieces, and when it comes out it is almost a powder, and when it is put in the fire it does not crackle. In an operation v/here they took 120 colonies in an apiary an-l rendered the wax from all the sur- plus combs,^some used for brood and some not, they got 4 4-10 pounds of beeswax to every ten fr.ames of Liang- stroth size. Dr. Bohrer — I am glad Dr. Phillips made mention of that matter. I have no wax- press, no machine of any kind; do not handle Lees enough to justify me in buying one of those ex- pensive wax-presses, and I don't le- lieve they can get very much wax out of the comb by the time t get through with it. In order to shut the bees off from it, I put It all in a gunnyyack and put it down in a dark cave, and then I take about a SO -gallon sugar kettle; I get the water boiling in it, and dump the sack in it, and in half a minute it is melted down. I boil that probably for an hour befor.3 I be- gin to skim off any. Then I skim it off the top with a dippe", and then pour it into something ike a large dishpan, and keep boiling and fekim- ming. I did this in one ease, and rhe water began to look pretty muddy for a while, and I took the sack out and then put on another kettle and heated that up and boiled the same sack over again, an-^,^':'v 208 NINTH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE under hot water. In that way it is not a difficult matter f(jr one person to run, say, a thousand to fifteen hun- dred combs through in a day, having some receptacles that you can cool the wax in. I see someone has brought here and left -at the desk some samples of wax. There is a difference in the shade of those two samples, and the more iron there is, the darker the shade. Don't leave the wax in iron longer than you are obliged to, and by all means let it cool in wood, tin or copper. My prefer- ence would be bright tin, and wherever it cools, that receptacle should have considerable hot water below the wax, and the entire cnn, or whatever it is that the wa-i cools in, should be enclosed so as to be -i long time cooling. A few years ago, when I was up in Mr. Dadant's foundation factory, in their melting building, the wax that was melted was run into deep, long cans perhaps half full of boiling wa- ter; those were run into a little cup- board and enclosed; in the inside there was liquid wax in abundance, yet in that can it would take from 24 to 36 hours before that "'ax would be into the form of a cake and the for- eign material had settled nut of it. As far as acid is concerned to purif> the wax, we, as bee-keepers, had bel- ter let that part alone, for the ma- jority of us are not equipped. For comb foundation, men of experience have learned how much to use, and can use a little of it in the final melt- ing. Mr. Brown — One of those samples of wax, bright yellow, is from cap- pings that have never been in water, but the cappings were melted; and the other one is from scrapings that w^ere over half or two-thirds propolis. The lighter colored one is from pro- polis, and if you notice in the smell, you will notice there is a large smell of propolis on that one cake. I no- ticed here a short time ago a state- ment that where propolis was mixed with wax it would not work for polish- ing purposes, and, also, if you broke a cake of wax from cappings or clear combs you could put your finger on It and rub it around, and it would shine. Take a cake where there is propolis, and you can't do it. Mr. Morgan — I would like to ask Dr. Phillips, or anyone who knows, if wax made in the solar extractor is superior in any way to water render- ed wax? I have heard it was, and that it was worth from five to ten cents a pound more than the water rendered wax. Dr. Bohrer — It is if it is purified. That is, white wax is used for mak- ing ointments. They refine it. You can take a solar extractor and run it through that as many times as you like, and get a piece of galvanized iron and get your tinner to turn the edges up at the bottom, and run it to a point, and set a basin under that with water in it, and put a pane of glass over that, and put your wax in it, and put it out in the hot sun, and the oftener you run it through, the whiter it will get. Dr. Phillips — The rendering of the white wax of commerce is not done under glass. The way the wax manu- facturers take care of that is to cut it up into very fine shavings, and put it out in the sun on trays and leave it till it is perfectly white. I do not think that wax from the solar wax extractor will bring a very much big- ger price than the others in the mar- ket, because the men who have to buy the wax have to take care of it and fix it up for their own use; and in making it up for floor polish or medici- nal purposes, or candles, it all has to be re-treated anyway. Mr. DeJong — I spoke to iMr. Dadant about thiat point yesterday, and he said that was all nothing, it is all the same; he said that there was no difference. This is what Mr. Mor- gan speaks of. A man from the Black Hills said that he melted his comb right in the kettles dry, and his wax was worth seven to eight cents a pound more than the other wax melted in hot water. Mr. Poppleton — ^In one way the wax of the solar wax extractor is better than other wax; in the solar wax ex- tractor it remains from two to three hours settling there, and that will al- ways clarify it better than in any other way. Mr. Dadant has advanced the idea of slow melting helping the wax. It is not in the slow melting', it is in keeping it melted a long time. In the solar wax extractor it is kept so. and the wax from that, if it can be properly handled, is almost always clear from other material. I presume I have used the solar wax extractor - Jti'Sit^ *J-s;ii-.*6i--'i ■".^n;>;;.->^rfA-^...vc ■' ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 209 probably more than any other bee- Iceeper in the- United States. I use it altogether. I ran through 500 pounds this year. I have used it for over thirty years steadily. I have yet to have the pleasure of dealing with foul brood, consequently that question has not entered into my calculations at -all. The President — "The National Bee- Keepers' Association," by N. E, France, General Manager, of Platte - ville, Wis., is the next and last sub- ject upon the program. Mr. France — ^To begin with I would say that the locomotive ahead is the power of the train, and to quite an ■extent the Association members are willing that the Manager shall be the "locomotive, they following behind. The President — Or staying at home. Mr. France — And for the benefit of some who haive been here, I would like to say we had the pleasure of a surprise at noon hour today to see the first manager, as the locomotive, Mr. Secor, and have dinner with him, and I will ask Mr. Secor to rise that you may see him; he is one of our past masters, and those of us who have the Annual Reports know, from the reports he gave, of the work he had to do and some of it at a time when •our Association and its funds were rather light. The membership is grow- ing very nicely, and I dare say that the duties devolving upon the office have grown proportionately with it. At the time ,Mr. Secor was our Manager, it was not expected then that he would put into the Annual Report anything but the business transac- tions; later it was demanded that the report of the Annual Meeting should - "become part of the Annual Report. That complicates matters and makes expenses a good deal more, and it is "by very close handling of our funds that we are able to keep our finances at a point under those conditions so as to make no additional expense to the membership. The Annual Report expense is on the grow. I hope what is within it is worth its cost. I also revised the little pamphlet. Legal Rights, tliat we first had. It seemed to need more on the subject of legal aid or instructions to our members. Many of our naembers, especially city members, had neighbors too near for convenience to the bees, consequently something upon the line of city ordi- nances had to be brought up. I am now trying to revise and give the members, free of charge, another re- vised edition of the Bee-Keepers Le- gal Rights. The subject of foul brood legislation and copies of the different laws now in force will be therein so that the States not having a law can see what the different States that have a law have formulated, and can from those formulate what they want. During this last winter a large por- tion of our States being in legislative session, I was helpful in many places in securing foul brood laws. So that the National, in a way, has helped a good many States on that line. I hope that this revised edition will be in plenty of time for these States which failed to help them, so that the more States we have now with laws, the better. With our city bee-keep- ers, or those living where neighbors are near, in many of those cases the bees are not directly at fault; very often it happens that the bee-keeper and his neighbor are not friends from some other cause, and the bees are in- directly brought into the deal. City ordinance troubles result. We have five on record at the present time that we are counselling with on that basis. Neighbors living near have a right to their proi>erty undisturbed, and four times since the last Annual Report there have been reports of teams of horses, or of cattle, having been stung to death; damage claims have come in, and we have had the cases to look after. Then, as to the bees and fruit com- plaints, I was really surprised after all we have had on that some years ago, that it- should, in this age of in- telligence, become a part of our neces- sity to follow that same thing up seemingly harder than ever. Only two weeks ago, in one of our States not very far away, the Professor in Horti- culture at the State University made the statement, and still sticks to it, that the bees in his neighborhood were destroying his fruit, and he wants $200 damages from a bee- keeper. Again, one of our members sold some bees, and at the time of the sale also had a certificate from the inspector that those bees were in- spected that day, and were free of disease. Later on, other bees were brought into the same vicinity. These bees were found to be diseased. A 210 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE damage suit is brought for $1,500 against the man for selling that lot of bees. Can the National do any- thing to help him out? Now, in a way, that interests us all, if we sell bees that are free of disease and later on there can be a charge made that those bees are diseased, and it is proved that they are diseased. This case is yet in the Court, and what the result will be, I do not know. I am sorry to own again that there are some who have advertised in our journals as queen-breeders who have received money from the National members, who never sent the queens or acknowledged the receipt of the money, and they want the National to take the matter up. There are some who have sold honey or supplies, and cannot collect. Could the National collect? I don't know that we have any jurisdiction in the case "of a man's Individual business accounts. It is his own dealing; he ought not to come to the National if that were the case. I would be glad, indeed, if some one else in the Association, offi- cially, will collect some debts that I don't suppose I will ever get. That part of our Association work is almost entirely devolving upon the office of manager. I tried to establish what I thought would be of great value to the members, but would cost a little something — an information bureau. I have been sharply censured for the same several times, but I do feel that there can be some plan devised for the various members who may have something that they want to dis- pose of, and which somebody else may want to buy, so that through the medium of the office of manager those wants could be made known, and both satisfied at a little expense, rather than the continual issuing of a long list, "A" asking where he can buy some honey this year, not having a crop, and wanting to supply his mar- ket. I don't believe it is good policy in the interests of the Association's finances to print frequently a bulletin giving that long list of those who are not all interested; but where I have a list of members wanting to buy and wanting to sell, if a man is Jn Cali- fornia, and he wants to sell honey, I would not to a man in New York recommend this man in California, but I would look over my list and find someone in his locality that can buy from him, and I write to this party. Then I am through with the deal. In that way i bring the two together, and they make their own contract, and do their own work. This season, al- though it is ' a short time since the honey harvest, I have been a medium by which over six carloads of honey have been unloaded for our members this fall. Again, one of our local Associa- tions a year ago voted, at their an- nual meeting, that their manager there should have the control and sale of the honey of the Association. He contracted the honey, notified the members the day it should be shipped, and the markets had changed a little, and a few of them found they could get a fraction of a cent more for their honey, and they would not stand" by their manager. iHe was held in con- tract to deliver that carload of honey, and he hadn't it to deliver. One of our old members, living in the city, and seeing the situation, to relieve thiat man, wrote me to know what could be done, that there must be a carload of honey furnished soon, or else there would be a heavy damage claim. I looked over my list and found there were two carloads of honey, either one nearer than the car- load they were buying, that could be had for the same money. I notified him, and one of the other carloads was taken in exchange, and relieved the pressure. But here, is the sad feature: If we have a local Associa- tion, and agree to do something, stay by it. Business men find they have to, and we must learn to sooner or later. Our annual meetings bring together many old faces, and a great many new ones, and it is necessary, for the good of the entire body, geographically, that these annual meetings shall move from place to place, consequently, that must be left to a Board — our .present Executive Board, perhaps, is as good as any. I would rather, indeed, if someone who has something they want to know would ask questions upon this subject of what the National ought to do for Its betterment. I am doing all I know how, or all I can do, for the Associa- tion, but the locomotive cannot pull without the power put into it. The steam must be there, and the indi- vidual mem:jL'-l. ^^^ -^-.^i:r-'^t. v.-:4j.o';.^v^T^ju't^^v:^.>i.^':-ia.-.->ft'''^;i^.4j^'-A:l:^"?--'^ . ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 213 think I have had more complaints this year than for several years. I will not give the names, but I wish hereafter, when you order queens from any deal- er, you would order by postal order or money order, and if you do not get yoiir queens put it up to the Postal authorities. I would like to see that done. We publishers cannot always tell who is honest, and some of the queen-breeders who have advertised this year have been honest in other years, but it seems this year they have not been, and I don't know what we publishers can do, except not to adver- tise for them any more, and that I think we will do; but we do not like to think our subscribers have to pay the expense of finding that out. I think every queen-breeder ought to return the money if he cannot send the queens. He has no business hold- ing on to the money. He puts the publishers in a very bad position. We have to explain as to what has oc- curred; and one or two of them I have written to, and they absolutely refuse to answer my letters as to why they do not send the queens. It is time some of the queen-breeders stopped advertising unless they do as they ad- vertise, and fill the orders with queens. Mr. Brown — There is one point about the number of bee-keepers in attendance. I sent out over 400 postal cards just a few days before the con- vention, and most of the men I sent cards to were within a radius of 200 miles of this place, and there were very few of those cards that I sent out that did not go to bee-keepers that I have met personally at the Fairs here in the past, or at the conventions, and know that they are men that are to some extent interested in bee-keeping; and if the Fair rates and Fair are the attractions, why aren't they here? I know there are a great many of the members of our Associa- tion that have been here at our own meeting, and have been at the Fair the rest of the time; there are a num- ber of men who are interested in the Fair locally, interested in the exhibits, and who cannot attend these meet- ings. I think the best time to pick for the bee-keepers to meet is a time when there won't be anything else to do but attend the meeting, and the city will pay more attention to it. If «ven the number of bee-keepers that have been at this convention went in a body around town, where there was nothing else to attract attention, they would be noticed, and it would be enough so that it would- make some difference in that town; the people would say, 1 didn't know there were so many bee-keepers. But there are so many other people in town that a great many have said to me, "You haven't got any bee-keepers here, have you?" They say, "I have seen two or three badges;" and that is all they know. Another point is, we cannot make the places where we take our meals a common point of meeting to any extent, and we cannot make oAr places of lodging in any way close where we would be together; and there are a great many times when conversations at the dinner table, or conversation^ in the evening after the cc)nvention, will bring a point to some individual that is worth a whole lot to him, and it certainly does more in pro- moting thV-good fellowship of the or- ga^i^zation than anything else that can be done. One thing that is needed is more good fellowship in the Bee- Keepers' Association. It always seems to me that the point of a fifty cent rate for membership in the National ought to be cut off. If a man is in- terested enough in the National Bee- Keepers' Association, and if a few men over the country would get it. in- to their heads to boost the National, and get every man that they could that was interested in bees, to come inside as a member of the National, and make those dues \enough so that they would amount to something, the National would have money enough back of it to do something. The cen- sus of 1900 shows 128,000 farms in the State of Iowa, that have bees on them; out of that number there are hardly 100 men in the State of Iowa belong- ing to the National, and there were a good many less beforeNje started the local organization here. A thing I would be in favor of would be to get higher dues in the Association and make members of the men who have some interest in it. If you pay enough for a thing you have got interest enough in it to talk up what you have paid' for. If you don't pay anything, you say, ."Well, I don't care: I have only paid a little bit in there: it doesn't amount to anything;" and that is as far as it goes. The President — About a year ago I k-i*"- 214 NIN-TH ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE think you held your local Association meeting in this building, did you not? Mr. Brown — Yes. The President — How does the at- tendance of this meeting and the attendance at your local meeting com- pare ? Mr. Brown — We had more men, I be- lieve, at the local Association at every meeting than there are here. There were as many people from this city as there are on the south side of the room now, and a great many of them who were simply interested in the natural history of the bee, or something of that kind, and many that had only one or two colonies. At the time we had the meeting, there was nothing particular going on in the town. We picked out a date that would be convenient for the people to come here. I know at several of the meetings we had a good deal larger attendance than we have in the room at the present time, and that was sup- posed to be only a local Association. The President — That is the surpris- ing feature to me, that your Associa- tion meeting should be so much more attractive than an Association meeting of a National character, and I am at a loss to Itnow why it is so, unless it is the reduced rates and the Fair. Mr. Miles — From a practical bee- man's standpoint there was one thing that struck me in this locality, and that was in regard to the season when these meetings are held, and I think that has something to do with the fact that this local Association had a larger attendance, as I can corrobor- ate; they held their meeting at a time when the bee-keeper was througn with his work and had time to go. This meeting comes just at the time that if a person had a crop of honey he could not have been here. It takes about a week for me to come here, even if I am nearby, and my time is worth more to me than all the other expense. I would rather pay out quite a little bit more in money later on in the fall or winter than waste this amount of time. At this point. Dr. Phillips addressed the meeting, but requested that the reporter make no record of what he said. Mr. Goddard — I want to endorse all that Dr. Phillips has said here. I am virtually a new man In the bee busi- ness. The way I got notice of your Association was this: I bought some bees from a man, and he says, "I have got a lot of Bee Journals and other stuff I will dump in if you have any place to put them." And he brought a barrel of old Bee Journals and stuff to my place, and I sorted it over, and I ran across one of your Annual Re- ports, and 1 sent in my membership fee right away. That Annual Report alone to me was worth more than the dollar it cost me to become a mem- ber of your Association. I don't be- lieve it is necessary for this Associa- tion to divide the fees or dues with the local Association; I don't believe it ought to divide the dollar with the State Association, or with the Honey Producers' Association, or any other association. I believe you ought to have your dollar, and I believe you ought to have enough of those Annual Reports so that you can send them to the bee-keepers in the State, those that are not members as well as to the members. I will venture to say there is not one member in ten in this State, or in South Dakota, who knows the benefits of this Association, or what he could learn, and which he would learn if it were advertised, and then you would get your money. Dr. Bohrer — ^With all due respect to the gentlemen who have made remarks concerning the papers, I have heard papers read at bee-keepers' associa- tions and medical associations, which were not worth the paper they were written on. If we have papers prop- erly prepared and brought here and read and discussed, it is going to be a valuable feature of the Association. But, I know of no well conducted or- ganization, medical or bee-keepers' association where the membership is entirely prohibited . from dropping questions upon the desk or in a box to be answered. At the same time, there are persons who do not know the rules of discussion, and know nothing about parliamentary usage when they are talking, and they say a whole lot about nothing. I am not anxious to defend a thing of that kind. I don't think that you would like it yourself if you adopted that and excluded everything of that kind. We cannot anticipate everything bee-keepers may want to know when we come into an assembly of this kind. We often find men and women who can answer to our satisfaction privately, but may I ^ 1 ^*'■vi^:c■^-'ijt''X,-. ..r.r;.,„: ,*■.-%>■ ., J]'^i;Sx'.'\ ,/■_>/:■ -i^:-..-?/*. .''?«;'s!kt m •« H-P ffi§ w§ HiO 23 OS £«. s& 30, ^ O ^O . o : E '. » • or • n- • 9 : o- 112 1700 300 73 • • • • 3100- Anderson, Jas. L. — Harvard, 111 Andrews, T. P. — Farina, 111 Arnd, H. M. — 191 Superior St., Chicago Augenstein, A. A. — Dakota, 111 Bagley, Miss Pet — Putnam, 111 Baker, A. H. — Durand. Ill Baldridge, M. M.— St. Charles, 111 Bamberger, Vohn — Freeport, 111 .... Barkemeyer, B. D. — Oak Park, 111 .... Baxter, E. J. — Nauvoo, 111 .... Beardsley, E. H. — Princeton, 111 .... Becker, Charles — Pleasant Plains, 111 Beeler, David S. — R. 5, Springfield, 111. Beidler, W. H. — R. 6, Freeport, 111 Benjamin, W. W. — Box 76. Metropolis, 111 Benson, August — R. 2, Prophetstown, 111 100 1700 Bercaro, Geo. W. — Eltoro, Orange Co., Cal Bevier, M. — Bradford, 111 27 Bishop, W. W. — Virginia, 111 . , . , Black, S. N.— Clayton, 111 .... Blocher, D. J. — Pearl City, 111 150 Blume, W. B. — Norwood Park Sta., Chicago Boardman, Mrs. E. E.--:JB20 S. Douglas Ave., Springfield Bodenschatz, Adam — Lemont, 111 Bohrer, Dr. G. — p, 2, Lyons, Kans Bolt, R.— R. 3; Fulton, 111 92 1500 Bowen, Clyde — Linden, 111 .; . . . . , Bowen, J. W. — Jacksonville, 111 .... Boyden, Ralph W. — Jeffrey Bldg., Inst. Place, Chicago Boyden, R. W. — Chicago, 111 Briggs, Bert B. — Shirland, 111 35 300 Bronell, L. F.— Piano, 111 , 6 so Brown, E. W. — Mourton Park, 111 .... Brubaker, W. H.^R. 3, Freeport, 111 150 350 ■wj^IC^^J:— -■r,.jtrA:^»ti!K^^X--^. ». V _ i^S- ^. ., '-^w; T^-^'ef^^'yi' * .,:,?:••;;,% '. ' t^v. 218 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ■.1 J NAME AND ADDRESS. 25! ►fl 5-? W^ c^2., §a on . o 3 _ ■ H. ^1-.'-'. Bull, John C. — ^Valparaiso, Ind Caldwell, C. S.— P. M. Elvaston, 111. 112 Campbell, Grover — R. 2, Quincy, 111 Candler, Miss M. — Cassville, Wis Carrico, John G. — Bamett, 111 . ,. . . , Cavanagh, F. B. — Hebron, Ind Cave, Geo. W.— Kirkwood, 111. . , 146 Cherry, Thos. M. — Quincy, 111. . .i Cleveland, Frank — Prophetstown-, 111 Cook, A. N.— Woodhull, 111 Coppin, Aaron — ^Wenona, 111 Cremers, L. H. — E. Dubuque, 111 168 Crim, S. T. — Dawson, 111 Crosley, E. G. — Farina, 111 i Crotzer, A. S. — Lena, 111 '. Cunningham, J. C. — Box 119, Streator, 111 Dadant, C.^ P.^Hamilton, 111 . . : Dadant, H. C. — Hamilton, 111, . . .■ Dadant, L. C. — Hamilton. Ill Dadant, M. G. — Hamilton, 111 Deem, B- L. — Colona, 111 40 Diebold, A. J. — Seneca, 111 39 DoUin^er, Henry — R. 1, Lockport, 111 50 Donyes, G. F. — Durand, 111 Dowdy, John S. — Atlanta, 111 Downey, Elmer E. — Putnam, 111 Drorak, John, Jr. — ^Algonquin, 111 Duly, H. S.— R. 4, St. Anne, 111 Dyon, Clarence — St. Anne, 111 Earnest, David P. — R. 1, E. Alton, III Eidmann, E. C. — 407 Portland Ave., Belleville, 111 Emmons, A. I. — Greenfield, 111 54 Enger, A. J.^824 E. Jefferson St., Morris, 111.^ Engle, Tobias — Freeport, 111 Enigenburg, J. — Oakglen, 111 Eve, George — Minonk, 111 * Falconer, W. W.— 1700 N. 48th Ave., Chicago ^ Fergeson, Mr. L. R. — Harvey, 111 ' Fergeson, Mrs. L. R. — Harvey, 111 Finger, C. A. — ^Marissa, 111 27 Flanagan, E. T. — B^l,leville, III 100 Fluegge, F.— Elmhurist, 111 Fosse, E. P.-^Marion, 111 50 Foster, John — Wenona, 111 Frank, J. C— R. 1, Davis, III 220 Frank, John C. — Dodge City, Kans Gandy, W. C— Ritchey, 111 6 Garde, Benj.— R. 2, Box 49, Worden, 111 Glasser, Wm. — Dakota, 111 Glassner, Mrs. J. J. — Chicago Grabbe, F. — Libertyville, 111 Grant, W. W. — Marion, 111 13 75 *t3 ^ o to ^ CO r» • «-»• ■ & 320 1200 100 400 125 600 8 • • • • 20 400 U 240 500 2500 160 ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCJATION 219 NAME AND ADDRESS, Gray, Robert — ^Box 73, Virden, 111 Gray, W. H.— Chillicothe, 111 Gross, S. T. — Atwood, 111. . . .- Group, Jno. F. — Franklin Grove, 111 , . , Hagler, H. T. — Girard, 111 Haines, C. A.— Box 303, E. St. Loiiis, 111 Halbrook, Mrs. R. B.— R. 2, Elgin, 111 Hall, E. L. — St. Joseph, Mich Hansel, Charlie — Minooka, 111 Hansen, Will — Box 14, Minooka, HI Harris, W. B. — Mounds, 111 Hartman, Fred E. — ^R. 2, Troy, 111............ Hastings, Chas. — Decatur, 111 Hawthorne Farms — Barrington, 111 , . . . Haych, Bernard — H. 6, Quincy,?Ill Heinze, Herman — R. 2, Edwar^sville, 111 Heinzel, Albert Q. — Lincoln, 111 Heise, Paul — ^Warsaw, 111 Hettel, Mathias — Marine, 111 Hill, H. D.— Lima, 111 Hinderer, Frank — ^Frederick, 111 Hintz, August J. — Lemon t, 111 Hinze, Herman — Edwardsville, 111...... Hitch, Rev. H. F.— R. 1, Harrisburg, 111 Hitt, Samuel — ^Elizabeth, 111 Holdener, J. D. — Carlyle, 111 Hohner, Peter — R. 1, Henry, 111 Holmes, Miss H. C. — Belrive, 111 Holterman, R. F. — Bradford, Oiit., Can Horstman, M. H. — 6759 Morgan, Chicago Huffman, Jacob — Monroe, Wis Hyde, W. H.— New Canton, 111 Johnson, Jno. A. — ^Altona, 111 Johnson, J. P. — ^Box 61, Elburn, 111 Jones, Gteo. W. — ^West Bend, Wis Kanneberg, C. F. — Oak Park, 111 Kendall, Frank R. — Lock Box 35, Bjrron, 111. . . Kendall, Jay S. — Chemung, 111 Kennedy, B. — Cherry Valley, 111. Kennedy, Miss L. C. — R. 11, Curran, 111 Kennicat, E. E. — Glenview, 111 Kerley, Josiah — Anna Hospital, Southern, 111. Kiliiow, A. L. — Putnam, HI Kile, Henry — Mason City, 111 Kimmez, P. L. — ^Morgan Park, 111 Kluck, N. A. — Lena, 111 Knox, C. S. — ^Round Grove, 111 Kuczynski, John F. — Oglesby, 111 Kurr, J. T. — Louisville, 111 Lampman, C. W. — ^Rockton, 111 Lange, J. W. — Thawville, 111 Lathrop, Harry — ^Bridgeport, Wis 3-^ I 9 o 25 90 § 20 65 20 27 10 5 gS 375 500 25 I • • • 150 700 600 • o • a : & 400 300 50 250 57 Little honeydew • ■■• •••• 1475 225 21 12 100 170 24 39 19 50 12 35 70 150 200 50 . 100 1160 736 200 175 200 600 75 500 • • • • loe • • • • • • • • 36 13 200 40 400 20 • • • • 100 4 •■"'=s.'-" ■'?;W';"^':#SW^55WJ-- ■ 220 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE '1 NAME AND ADDRESS. 5-P '. o : 5. '. s* • CO Kl Laxton, J. G. — Lyndon, 111 Lebkuechner, Harry R. — 1728 Summerdale Ave., Ravens - wood Sta., Chicago Lee, H. W. — Pecatonica, 111 Leff er Bros. — Hamilton, 111 Lehmann, Gustav — 3262 Lincoln Ave., Chicago Lind, M. H. — Baders, 111 Lindgram, G. A. — Bishop Hill, 111 Lyman, W. C. — Downers Grove, 111 Macklin, Chas. G. — Morrison, 111 Mathiot, E. H. — R. 3, Freeport, 111 May, Fred H. — Box 52, Meredosia, 111 Mayville, John P. — Volga, Iowa Meise, F. A. — Coatsburg, 111 Menkhausen, Louis T. — Belleville, 111 Michell, Philip A. — Forkland, Ala Miller, Dr. C. C. — Marengo, 111 Miller, W. C. — Box R, Ottawa, 111 Moore, iHerm^n F. — Park Ridge, 111 Moore, W. B. — Altoona, III Mottaz, A. — Utica, 111 Muchleip, H. — Apple River, 111 TMundorff, C. H.— Kirkwood, 111 McCullough, John T. — Centralia, 111 .-. . McCune, Thos. — Dixon, 111 McElfresh, Wm.— P. O. Springfield, 111 McKown, C. W.— Gilson, 111 Nelson, Andrew N. — Altona, 111 Ness, L. L. — Morris, 111 Newcomer, Sam. M. — Forreston, 111. Norberg, Peter J. — Spring Valley, 111 Null, Wm. D.— Prairieville, Hall Co., Ala Nydegger, John — Danville, 111 Oakes, Lannes P. — Joppa, 111 Offner, Fred — Monee, 111 Olson, John — Davis, 111 Ostermeier, John — Mechanicsburg, 111 Owen, Chas. — 755 Alma Ave., Austin Sta., Chicago Parker, Solomon — Harrisbur^, 111 Payne, John W. — R. 1, Georgetown, 111 Peterson, C. B. — 6959 Union Ave., Chicago Peterson, F. E. — R. 31, Edelstein, 111 Piper, G. M. — Chillicothe, 111 Poindexter, James — Bloomington; 111. Pyles, I. E. — Pupnam, 111 Ramm, T. W. — Bewdley, Ont., Can Ravnaas, Jacob — Rochelle, 111 Reynolds, W. G. — 1956 Ogden Ave., Chicago Rigg, R. T. — Auburn, 111 Riley, W. — Breeds, 111 Hitter, W. — Genoa, 111 Robbins, Daniel E. — Payson, 111 8 110 115 75 122 40 65 70 37 14 96 200 60 160 140 23 85 20 115 50 24 45 13 Or o3 50 500 400 1000 600 50 200 4000 500 1500 250 23 tS Qi ^ o a"" :-il^ i 500 ; 400 U 1000 6000 ^^ 1500 500 300 3000 370 2000 60 85 all honey dew * h ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 221 NAME AND ADDRESS. a; •t TJ 5-P ag wg i_iO 2» 2» S'-» So. Ba P9 . o : 5. if 5=3 ■ 0 • r* • » : »• Rohakaster, Herman — Fruit, 111. 7.^ RussoV, Gottlieb — 3029 N. Leavitt, Chicago Sauer, G. L. — Polo, 111 Sauer, John — R. 5, Springfield, 111 Saxe, A. J. — 206 LaSalle, Chicago Schmertman, Louis — R. 1, Freeport, 111 Scroggins, A. C. — R. 3, Mt. Pulaski, 111 Seastream, Geo. — Pawnee, 111 Secor, Eugene — Forest City, Iowa Secor, W. G. — Greenfield, 111 Seibold, Jacob — Homer, 111 Shawver, Oscar — Casey, 111 Shupe, Frank — Mazon, 111 Simpson, Wm. — Meyer, 111 Slack, Geo. B.— Mapleton, 111 Smith, John T. — Altona, 111. Snell, F. A. — Milledgeville, 111. Stanley, Arthur — Dixon, 111 Stephens, P. J.— 1110 Ace. St., Galesburg, 111 , Stewart, Henry — Prophetstown, 111 Stewart, W. H. H. — Emerson, 111 Stone, Jas. A.-^— R. 4, Springfield, 111 . . Switzer, Samuel — St. Charles, 111 Taylor, C. E. — Custer Park, 111 Thompson, J. E. — Carpenterville, 111 Thullen, P. J.— 102 W. 110 Place, Chicago , Trickey, H. — Reno, Nev Truby, S. K.-^Maple Park, 111 Ulrich, G. E. — Campus, 111 Van De Wiel, Anton — -E. Dubuque, 111 >. Vawter, P. E. — Industry, 111 Vogel, Henry — Galena, 111 Wagner, F. M.— -Quincy, 111 ; Walker, Byron — Clyde, 111 , Weckerle, Mrs. Anna^l2345 Wallace St., W. Pullman.. Werner, Louis — Edwardsville, 111 , Wheeler, J. C. — Oak Park, 111 , WTiitmore, Dr. N. P. — Gardner, 111 Whitmore, H. — Momence, 111 Whitmore, N. P. — ^Box 334, Gardner, 111 , Whitney, W. M. — ^Evanston, 111 Widicus, Danl. — St. Jacob, 111 ' Wiegand, Adam — 1575 Claybourn Ave., Chicago Wilcox, P. — Manston, Wis , Wilkie) J. D.— R. 2, Chicago Heights, 111 , Willham, R. C. — 802 Hall Ave., Edwardsville, 111. Winter, L V.— N. Aurora, 111 r Wilson, Miss Emma — Marengo, 111 , Yoos, Geo. F. — Sta. 1, 215 W. Green St., Centralia, 111. . , York, Geo. W.— 146 W. Superior St., Chicago Toung, A. O. K. — Box 264, Girard, 111 Zeller, Mrs. Caroline — R. 35, Box 48, Peoria, 111 105 22 60 50 25 30 84 59 100 62 15 1? 6 18 30 400 100 2100 300 F brood 500 1100 480 500 60 250 150 1400 200 80 j 60 34 all honey 600 40 50 r. dew •■"•'^^^pK^'y ^WE«v?w ^-"'■BTsr -•-^«.C^""»^r^•'!?3r•<^*s73^«^^^ ^^p^S^^^>f^!!^W- 222 NINTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE . - '^ .. ' ^ ■ -i. In the foregoing Statistical Report, nearly all the honey reported was honey dew honey, and some of the members would report nothing because they said it was honey dew and not fit to report. I RETURN OF PETITIONS. The petitions to the next Legislature (47) that have been returned up to- April 1, 1910, for a Foul Brood Liaw for Illinois, rank in the following order for the number of signers — naming only the seven highest Senatorial Districts: 35th District 59 Signers 30th " 44 20th " 43 45th " 30 47th " 28 12th " 28 8th " 22 The parties sendingVln a list of more than ten names are: Thos. McCune, 35th District 40 Names Louis Werner, 47th District 28 R. F. Rigg, 45th District 28 Frank Shupe, 20th District 27 M. H. Lind, 30th District 25 J, C. Frank, 12th District 24 Jay S. Kendall, 8th District 19 W. B. Moore, 43d District 16 Geo. M. Piper, 37th District 16 J. F. Group, 35th District 15 H. Whitmore, 20th District 13 " A. J, Diebold, 39th District 12 O. S. Biggs, 30th District 11 We hope, when the secretary makes his report at the annual meetingr next November, he will be able to report many larger lists than above of petitioners for the Foul Brood Law for Illinois. The list of members was placed in the back of the report so that we would be able to record the names of members joining up to the latest date of the finishing of the report, April 12, 1910. INDEX TO NINTH ANNUAL REPORT. Page. Act of Incorporation 8 Adulterated Syrups 52 Alexander Treatment for American Foul Brood 132 Alfalfa as a Nectar Yielder in Illinois. 144 American and European Foul Brood — Dr. Phillips Treatment of 189-190 19th Annual Session of the Illinois State Bee-Keeers' Association 23 Apiarian E^ibits 132 Appropriation 11 Association Membership Increasing.. 52 Basswood Honey Dew 76 Bees in "Winter — Passing from Frame to Frame 102 Bee-Keeping in Schools 57 Bees Was and Butter 57 Black Bees Wax — Clarifying 118 Black Brood — Treatment 22 Bottom Starters in Sections 115 By-Laws 9 Cancer of Stomach — Glucose cause of. 67 Candied Honey From Barrels 79 Caucasian and Italian Bees Com- pared ." 180 Cement Hive Stands 80 Charter Members 7 Chicago Northwestern Proceedings... 73 Chunk Honey 109 Chunk Honey — Its present and future. 110 Colonies — Best Way to Feed 174 Colonies Moved— Do They Do Better? 102 Colony First be Made Strong 99 Color of Wax Scales 120 Comb Foundation — Acid Smell in 122 Comb Foundation — Butting in 166 Comb Honey — Not Many Swarms 185 Comb Honey — Without Separators... 145 Combs — Rendering Into Wax 58 Committee 201 Committee — Legislative 100 Committee — Report of ............... 59 Constitution 9 Contagion — Causes of...... .......... 17 Cyprian Bees 136 Dadant — Weak Colonies Most in Need. 175 Darby — Spread of Disease 199 Dark Honey — Refining or Bleaching. 148 DeLong — Names New Plan 1-95 Diagnosing Foul Brood 194 —15 Discussion on The Plan 203 Divisible Hives ..... 14.1 Doolittle— Method of Preventing Swarming 144 Double Hives to Winter Bees 146 Dr. Bohrer — Address on Foul Brood.. 33 Dr. Miller and European Foul Brood. 115 Dr. Phillips— Refers to Maps 197 Dr Phillips— Wax Production 206 Dr. Wyckoff — Prayer by 73 Dysentery — Causes, Treatment 22 Election of Officers 69, 85 European Foul Brood I88 European Foul Brood — Dr. Miller's Experience with 30 European Foul Brood— Treatment.. . 132 Evening Session .... 56, 104 Exhibits at Fairs ... ... ....... 133 Experiments 18 Extra Combs — Getting 139 Extracted Honey — Aroma of 112 Extracted Honej' — Closing up 77 Extracted Honey — Sour 102 Extracting Frames — ^Keeping .:. 71 E.x tractor — Solar Wax >: 58 Fall Breaking of the Bee Cluster 146 Fall Feed for Bees 146 Feeding Bees in March 148 Feeding Syrup in Cold Weather 102 Filling Combs with Sugar Syrup to Feed Bees 94, 115 Foul Brood 16, 187 Foul Brood Colony — Swarm from 100 Foul Brood — Curing 89 Foul Brood — Drug Treatment of 48 Foul Brood— Getting Rid of 44 Foul Brood — Honey from . . 48 Foul Brood Inspector — ^Election of 68 Foul Brood — Is it in Extracted Honey? 108 Foul Brood Law — Petition for 12 Foul Brood Legislation . . 27 Foul Brood — Shaking to Cure. 95 Foul Brood — Symptoms 18 Glucose — Cause of Cancer of Stomach. 67 Glucose — Cause of Indigestion 52 Golden Italian or Red Clover Bees... 177 Granulation 107 Heating Honey Before Canning. 102 Hive Entrances — Boards in Front of.. 51 224 INDEX TO NINTH ANNUAL I^EPORT. Page. Hives— Divisible 141 Hives— Size of ; . 142 Hobbies \ 200 Honey Harvest — How to Secure With- out Swarming 201 Honey In a Beer Keg 146 Honey — Its Marketing and Use 64 ji Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Ass'n — Formation of 7 Illinois State Bee-Keepers' Ass'n — Joining same 136 Inspection — Certificate of 13 Inspectors — Utah 20 Intensive Versus Extensive Bee- Keeplng 137 Judging Honey — Rules for 14 Jumbo Hives — Super for 144 Keeping More Bees 137 Keepinig Prices of Honey Up 76 Late Requeening of Colonies 145 Legislation — How to get it 93 Legislative Committee 68 McEvoy's Treatment 19 Meeting— Time of 70 Ntitional Bee-Keepers' Ass'n — Even- ing Session 176 National Bee-Keepers' Ass'n — Final Session 201 National Bee-Keepers' .^ss'n — Illinois Ranks First 25 National Bee-Keepers' Ass'n — Joining in Body 128 National Bee -Keepers' Ass'n — Morn- ing Session, 2d Day 187 * National Bee-Keepefs' Ass'n — Pro- ceedings of 152 National Bee-Keepers' Ass'n President — Suggestions for 211 Pickled Brood — ^Dr. Phillips' Treat- ment .21 Pickled Brood — Symptoms 21 Pollen — Affecting Honey Flow 140 Pollen— Getting Out of Combs 140 Premium Li^^t — Revise 61 President — ^Work of Our Late 41 Programme — Mr. York on 212 Propolis — Removing From the Hands. 52 Refoundationing Brood Frames 115 Report of Sec'y 111. State Ass'n 23 Page. Report of Treas. 111. State Ass'n 26 Resolution 60 Resolution — Report of Committee.... 131 Rheumatism — Bee Stings for 49 Secretary's Report — ^111. State '. 23 Separators . . . , 145 Session — Chicago N. W. — Afternoon, 1st Day 79 Second Day 116 Final 132 Se.ssion — 111. State — 1st Day 29 Second Day 64 Session — National — Afternoon ... 154 Side Packing for Hives 82 Sliates Represented llS Sugar Syrup — Feed to Bees 106 Swarm — Control 75 The Plan 202 Wax — Brushing on Combs — by Mr. Poppleton 168 Wax In Combs — Amount of 123 Wax Press — Per Cent Saved by 176 Wax — Source of 122 Wax— The Saving of 204 White Clover — Does It Come From Runners 173 White Clover — Prospect for 75 Wingless Bees 51 Wintering Bees Out of Door.s 148 Wires — Two Sufficient for 168 York, Geo. W. — On Programme 212 ILLUSTRATIONS. Bohrer, D*r. R ' 85 Dadant, C. P., Pres. 111. State 23 Dadant, Louis, Sec'y N. W 104 France, Hon. H. E., Gen. M'g'r Nat'l. Hutchinson, W. Z 138 Langstroth, L. L 4 Miller, Dr. C. C 30 Moore. Herman F., Ret. Sec'j' 74 Morgan, R. A 133 Smith, J. Q., late Pres 6 State House 2 Uncapping Machine 123 Wilder, J. J., of Georgia 110 York, Geo. W.. Pres, National 74