  Selling Extracted Honey at Retail.Written for the American Bee Journal BY H. M. MELBEE. My attention is called to some remarks by Dr. Miller, on page 817 of the Bee Journal for Dec. 28, 1893, on the subject of selling extracted honey. Judging from what I see between the lines, I do not think the Doctor desires any instructions that would insure him 24 cents per pound, at retail, for extracted honey, nor any other price, in fact, whether remunerative or otherwise. The reason, perhaps, for this, is because the Doctor does not produce honey at all in the extracted form, but confines himself entirely to the production of comb honey. There seems to be all through the Doctor's remarks, a vein of ridicule, and this may be accounted for by reason of the fact that certain parties have been, and still are, able to dispose of extracted honey, at retail, at a higher figure than the Doctor can secure for that in the comb. The Doctor says he is sure that he could do nothing of the kind himself, but that should surprise no one, nor should it discourage others from trying to do so. Not many years ago the Doctor stated publicly, if my memory is not at fault, that he could not produce first-grade Some of the imaginary talk the Doctor gives with that imaginary lady, plainly shows that he has had no experience, worth copying, in selling extracted honey. In short, he imagines a talk, which, in some respects, I have never met with in more than 20 years' experience. An agent, properly instructed, who could not have silenced that lady's remarks, would not be worth his salt to me. I know from experience, not theory nor imagination, that any lady or gentleman competent to sell books, can be instructed to sell extracted honey in thousands of cities and villages, and at remunerative prices. But the agent must have proper instructions, and then must follow them. But I never attempt to give those instructions to any one who has no desire to know them. I have now had in my employ three agents who have always sold extracted honey at my prices, and profitably, by following my instructions. One of these agents was a lady—the other two young men. No, Doctor, I do not live in a mountainous country, nor where the people I trade with live miles away from groceries, nor where honey-producers are unknown. The country where I live is just about as level as where the Doctor resides, and groceries are just about as convenient and numerous. I presume the people are just about as wealthy and intelligent, with possibly one or two exceptions, as those in the Doctor's neighborhood This being the case, the Doctor does not seem to understand why my customers do not find out that they can buy honey at a lower price than they pay me. Why, doctor, they do know they can buy comb honey, in wooden sections, at about the price you mention, but they have intelligence enough to know that when they pay for a section of wood and honey they do not get, on an average, to exceed 12 ounces of honey. And, with some assistance, they reason thus: If they have to pay 20, or even 18, cents for three-fourths of a pound of honey, they might as well pay my price, or 24 cents, and get 16 ounces, or a full pound. Again: Neither Melbee nor his agents, when soliciting orders for honey, have ever yet been found guilty of carrying around with them a bee-paper of any description, for the express purpose of showing to would-be purchasers the market reports, as prepared and manipulated by commission merchants, nor do they ever intend to be guilty of doing so. On the other hand, the Doctor perhaps would not approve of such an un-business-like procedure. I presume the Doctor would carry a sample of honey in one hand, and a sample of one of those market reports in the other, and then call the special attention of his patrons to both samples. That, of course, would be just like the Doctor! The Doctor seems to think that Melbee might be a wealthy man if he would only set a score or so of agents to work selling honey for him on his terms and at his prices. Perhaps the Doctor is right for once. On the other hand, the Doctor perhaps might have been also wealthy, if he had stuck to the music trade at a salary of—say $2,500 per year. But as he did not do so, perhaps we have a right to infer that he has become exceedingly wealthy from the sale of his honey crops. The Doctor attempts to make it appear that the difference between 7 cents wholesale, and 24 cents retail, is all profit. A novice might think so, but a bee-keeper of Dr. Miller's experience should know better. Evidently the Doctor has had no experience as to the expense connected with the sale of extracted honey, by the plan pursued by myself and my agents, or else he desires to misrepresent the profits we obtain. I am frank to confess that we do get a good profit, but no larger than thousands of others might secure by knowing how. To conclude: Melbee desires it to be distinctly understood that he does not follow the honey-trade simply for health and pleasure, but mainly for dollars and cents. Honeyville, Beeland. Decorative Divider Positive Prevention of After-Swarming.Written for the American Bee Journal BY FRANK COVERDALE. James Heddon, I believe, was the first to give us a practical method for the control of after-swarming; however, the method could not be absolutely depended upon to do the work, but was a grand step in the right direction. Who knows, to a certainty, just when the first queen-cell It was when I was busy making hay, when an occasional swarm would leave me, causing much vexation in my mind, and many hours of deep study, how I should overcome this difficulty; and it came, to my mind that a bee-escape might do the work, so I attached one to a hive, at the first opportunity. A 1½-inch hole was bored in the center of one side near the bottom edge, and a wire-screen cone fitted in the hole, and the entrance entirely closed; the newly-hived swarm was placed close by its side, with the entrance just under the above prepared cone, and every bee that left the old hive became an occupant of the new hive. In three days an examination was made in the old hive, for I was afraid that too many bees would leave the brood, and destruction be the result. But, oh, how I was delighted! All was lovely still. In three days more another examination was made, with like results, and still another three days later, making nine days. Then I began boring holes in other hives, and treating them as above, with the same results, until all (60 colonies) that swarmed were in the same condition. Some of the old hives were moved to their new stands in 12, others in 13, 14 and 16 days, the last being rather too long a time—14 days is about right in my location. Then these old colonies can be given a ripe queen-cell, or a queen, or the entrance be opened and left so until all the young bees are hatched, when the entrance can be again closed, and it will unite with the new swarm, and the combs will be empty. In fact, you may have full control of the matter, as to managing against second swarms. The first two years I used the bored holes, covering them over when through, with a piece of section tacked over them; but since then an escape has been used at the entrance; however, at times the latter would get clogged, causing some annoyance, and I now think the bored hole at the side is best. If the reader will carefully look over the back numbers of the Bee Journal, it will be seen that I have touched upon this point before, but dare not recommend it as being entirely practicable. But I hesitate no longer, but advise all who stand in need, to try and be convinced how this plan lessens labor, cost and vexation of after-swarms; and in my location greatly increases a crop of comb honey, and of finer quality than it otherwise would have been. Fear not that the new swarms will be overcrowded in numbers, and swarm again, but furnish each new hive with starters below and full sheets of comb foundation in all the sections above, and you will soon begin to wonder whether it is best to "prevent swarming" or not. It is nice to have wood-zinc queen-excluders, then all can be arranged at the time of hiving—such as moving the partly-finished sections from the parent colony immediately to the newly-hived swarm, and not have to wait two or three days for the queen to establish her brood-nest below. Welton, Iowa. Decorative Divider Making Sugar Syrup for Feeding Bees.Written for the American Bee Journal BY G. M. DOOLITTLE. The following has come to hand from some one who forgot to sign his or her name, so I will answer through the Bee Journal, as requested. "Will you tell us through the columns of the American Bee Journal just how you make sugar syrup for feeding bees, as I have some bees which will need feeding before long? I think you have given this before, but I cannot find where it is. If I remember rightly, you use honey to a certain extent, and, if so, is there no danger of getting foul brood, where one may have to buy honey for this purpose?" In answering the above, it may be well, and interesting to the reader, to know just how I came to hit on the formula for sugar syrup, which I have given several times before in the different bee-papers, as hinted at by our correspondent. Some years ago, after a poor season, I found that all of my queen-rearing colonies would have to be fed, as well as some of the others, so I set about looking up recipes for making the feed, as I had no surplus combs of honey. I found plenty of recipes telling how to make it, using vinegar, cream-of-tartar and tartaric acid in greater or less quantities to keep the syrup from candying or crystallizing. When about concluding to use one of these, I ran across one that said all that was necessary to do was to pour boiling water on the granulated sugar, Having the syrup made and the feeders in the hive, I proceeded to feed, all going well the first feed. When I came to feed the second night, I found the feed skimmed over with a crust of sugar which had formed on the surface during the 24 hours it had been standing. I also found that it had granulated on the bottom and sides of the can, and upon going to the hives I found a little on the bottom and sides of the feeders. However, I persisted in feeding it, as the one giving the plan said nothing was needed to keep the syrup from crystallizing, as the bees put acid enough into it in manipulating to keep it a liquid. After a few days, I noticed bees out at the entrance of the hive of each colony fed, having little grains of sugar on their wings and bodies, trying to fly, but most of them had so much on them that they could only hop around, making a purring sound with their wings. I next looked inside of the hive, when I found that fully one-fifth of the bees had more or less of these sugar crystals on them, while the inside of the feeders was all covered with crystals. Upon looking into the cells containing the syrup, I found that in many of them crystallization had commenced to such an extent that the crystals were easily seen. I said this would not answer, so when the next batch of syrup was made, I put vinegar in the water before stirring in the sugar. While the vinegar helped about the crystals, it also gave a taste to the syrup which I did not like, so in the next I tried cream of tartar, and then tartaric acid; but in spite of them all, the syrup would crystallize some, unless I added so much that a disagreeable taste was given the syrup. It now came to me, how in early years I had used, owing to scarcity of honey at our house, honey and sugar mixed, on the table, in which case neither the honey nor sugar granulated, so the next batch of syrup was made as follows: Fifteen pounds of water was put into a large tin dish and brought to a boil, when 30 pounds of granulated sugar was poured in and stirred for a moment till it had mostly dissolved, when it was left over the fire till it boiled again. Upon taking from the fire, five pounds of honey was poured in, and the whole stirred enough to mix thoroughly. I found in this a syrup of about the consistency of honey, which remained a liquid from day to day—a syrup that any bee-keeper could easily make, and one which would not crystallize on the bees, feeders or in the cells. I have kept this syrup standing in an open dish for months at a time without its crystallizing or souring. It has now been some 10 or 12 years since the experiments above given were tried, and during all that time I have never found how I could improve on this food for feeding bees for winter stores. For spring feeding, I would use 25 pounds of water to the same amount of sugar and honey, as this gives better results in brood-rearing than does the thicker syrup. As to there being any danger, should it so happen that honey from a foul-broody colony was used, I would say that there need be no fears, for if the honey is stirred in as above given, it will all be scalded, and the scalding of honey anything else having the germs of foul brood about or in it, effectually kills these germs. However, care should be used in handling honey which may have come from a foul-broody hive, as the least bit of it carelessly left where the bees can get it, while in its raw state, will carry with it the seeds of foul brood, just as surely as corn grows from seed corn. There is one other item I wish to notice before closing, and that is where our correspondent hints at its being necessary to feed his bees before long. If, as I suspect, the correspondent lives in the North, he should have fed the bees in October what they needed to carry them through the winter. This is a duty he not only owes to himself, but to the bees also, for, while bees often do come through the winter when fed during cold weather, yet the chances are that a loss of colonies will not only waste the bees, but the syrup fed as well. Borodino, N. Y. Decorative Divider Bees in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.Written for the American Bee Journal BY S. L. WATKINS. The honey season, the past year, was above the average, and bees have paid well. The last, two or three seasons I have not kept so many bees as I formerly did. I took up a piece of land here in the upper Sierras, and have been improving it. I have started in the nursery business, and I find that this goes splendidly with the bee-business. From now on, I shall increase my bees up, and Some will ask, why I kept my bees on stumps. Well, I had no other place to put them. This country is heavily timbered with yellow pine, sugar pine, incense cedar, cypress, spruce, fir, madrona, oaks, etc.; and it is extremely hard to clean, but after the land is once cleaned, it is very valuable. Land that was one year ago covered with pine stumps, is now covered with strawberry plants, fruit trees, and ornamental plants, and they look splendidly, too. It took an immense amount of work, but it pays well. The bee-hive that I use, and the one that I expect to use for a long time, takes frames about 7x14 inches; the hive is about 14 inches wide; two stories comprise a hive, which is about 16 inches high. I tier up several stories high in the honey season. I find that I can handle bees very rapidly; can shake the bees from the combs without even breaking the comb loose from the frame; with the Langstroth hive, or frame, rather, the combs will give way occasionally in hot weather, if not wired. I think that I shall always run for extracted honey at this apiary. In Placerville, Calif., where I used to rear bees for sale, I had a decided preference for Carniolan bees. I think that I shall rear them largely. The so-called Golden Italian bees—if I can prove to my satisfaction that they will equal the Carniolans, I will insert a number of queens. When I was extensively engaged in rearing queen-bees, the call was for the leather-colored Italians—and very few of the light-colored queens were called for; now it seems to be the reverse, all queen-breeders are advertising the Golden Italian bees and queens. The Holy Land and Cyprian bees seem to have gone out of fashion; so also the Albino. I see that the Carniolan race is not much advertised in the bee-papers any more. Well, I shall pin my faith to them for awhile yet, until I find something better. A cross between the Carniolan and Italian race of honey-bees, makes wonderfully energetic bees; they protect their hives well, and are marvelous honey-gatherers. There has been a greater interest manifested in bees this season than for a long time, and I contemplate, from now on, that a great many will engage in this industry in the Sierra Nevada mountains. I am pleased to see that the American Bee Journal is improving so steadily. Later on I shall give you some bee-notes for its columns. Grizzly Flats, Calif. Decorative Divider Danger in Climbing for Swarms, Etc.Written for the American Bee Journal BY LEWIS K. SMITH. As a caution to my brother bee-keepers, I will say: Don't climb unless you are sure of your footing. On the 26th of last May, I was called on to hive a swarm of bees that had settled high up in an apple tree. Having been a great climber from childhood's days, I bounded up to the top of the tree, and sawed off the limb containing the swarm while I stood on a limb below. The additional weight of the bees and limb split off the one on which I stood, and down came Smith, bees and all—a distance of 22 feet. That it did not kill me I am humbly thankful to Him who holds us in the hollow of his hand. For nearly two days I was partly paralyzed, and was finally relieved by the application of an electric battery, and other means applied by two eminent physicians who were unremitting in their attentions day and night. Do we sufficiently appreciate the arduous labors of those men of science, working day and night with both mind and body, taxing every energy, and enlisting every sympathy of their being? Is it wonderful that they wear out, break down, and die suddenly? Whenever I think of those terrible hours of suffering, when my digestive system was completely paralyzed, and my life was wavering in the balance, my heart goes out in thanksgiving to a merciful Providence, and I treasure the faithful ministrations of my physicians and friends. DRUMMING BEES FROM A HIVE WITH |
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